#because i will never shut up about kanej | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elysianrey · 1 year

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adante

(a/n: I wrote this as a companion piece to @whatanybodygets’s kanej fic, Adagio. This short fic explores a soft moment set in the distant future of the world she’s created between Kaz and Inej. I’ve been thinking about this hypothetical moment ever since I finished her WIP yesterday and this is what resulted! I hope you enjoy! also, if you’re not up to date with that fic, what are you doing with your life?!)

pairing: kaz brekker/inej ghafa

rating: T

tw: chronic pain

The sun is slowly beginning to peek above the collection of tightly clustered apartment buildings in the red light district when Inej sets down her familiar morning routine on the wine crate turned coffee table, saving the cup of heavily spiced tea to serve as a source of warmth on the chilly autumn morning in Ketterdam. Despite the apparent temperature drop, she glides toward the doors leading to the juliet balcony, unlocking the hinge and cracking it open, the city smells and noises immediately enveloping her senses. The cheap perfume from the pleasure houses a few blocks down is inescapable as well as the sounds of crows squawking over the overflowing waste bin at the corner of the street. A small grin blooms across her features, the reality of her life coming to the forefront of her mind.

This is home in the strangest, yet most comforting sense of the word.

She turns around, taking another sip of her steaming mug, and sets it atop the makeshift coffee table. It’s well-past the usual waking time for her companion, but she lets him sleep, knowing he came roughly limping into their shared space only hours ago. Inej pushes the crate against the wall as quietly as possible, then begins her stretching routine on the faded blue rug, her back muscles sighing in relief as she grasps the soles of her feet. Since retiring from the company two years ago, her outlet and purpose had become the studio she opened for the children in West Stave. Teaching dozens of classes each week did not come without consequence, even for her, with years of experience. She always manages to lose a toenail or overextend a limb.

Reaching for the muscle roller on the coffee table, Inej aligns the grooves with the twisting muscles in her lower back and begins to knead out the ache, relief causing her to let out a soft sigh of content. She would defend the effectiveness of using muscle rollers with her life simply because they have never failed to alleviate the pain that’s come with being a professional athlete.

The tell-tale sign of stirring sounds through the paper-thin walls of their bedroom, and not ten minutes later, a disheveled Kaz Brekker comes thumping into the small living and kitchen space, his cane extra loud on the wood floor. From her place on the carpet, Inej can already tell he is hurting exceptionally bad by the harshness of his walk. She continues the back and forth motion of moving the foam roller up and down her spine, her eyes closed, drawing in deep, belly-filling breaths until he quite literally, collapses on the threadbare couch beside her, muttering curses only Kaz Brekker would say at 6:30 in the morning.

“Saints Inej, it’s fucking freezing in here,” he grumbles, which leads to her cracking an eyelid open to take in his oversized, sulking form.

“Good morning to you, too,” she replies, halting her massaging to sit upright and properly take in the sight of her bitter, other half. “Late night?”

“Business as usual,” he snaps, practically heaving himself upright to limp over to the balcony doors, shutting them with more force than necessary in her opinion.

His leg nearly gives out on his return to the couch, his breath catching sharply as he reaches for the arm of the furniture. Inej frowns, chest tightening at the pain he’s so obviously experiencing. Typically a change in weather brings weariness to his limb; however, she knows it’s not uncommon for overexertion to equate to the same pain, or even worse, than the mood of the sky.

She presses lightly, “Not to sound like Nina, bu—”

“No,” he shoots back, likely knowing where she is going with the ‘Why don’t you take the painkillers you so often refuse?’ line.

It’s moments such as these that make Inej question why–out of all the perfectly suitable men in the world—did the saints make her so hopelessly attached to the stupidly, stubborn one lying as stiff as a board on their couch with an affixed frown on his stupidly handsome face. She wants nothing more than to argue with him until he eventually relents to defeat and takes the medication, yet perhaps she could attempt a different approach this morning.

Scooting closer to him on her knees, Inej stares at the lines of his sharp, downturned features. Despite their relationship pushing four years, and the progress each of them have made in terms of physical touch, she resists the urge to run the tip of her finger along his jaw, knowing he’s rarely in the mood to accept physical contact, even from her, when he’s hurting so badly. They have learned through trial and error that pain is too close of a trigger to the horrific accident that created his fear in the first place. She will never forget watching him vomit and violently shake with pure terror early on in their relationship after he insisted she could work out the kinks in his shoulders late one evening. It took months before he was willing to accept her touch again.

“What can I do to help you, Kaz?” she says softly, fully aware that he’s going to pretend like he’s entirely fine.

“Nothing.”

The walls are impossible to penetrate when Kaz Brekker is unwilling to let them down.

“Let me help you,” Inej insists, sitting back on her legs to provide space for him to possibly become reasonable.

“I told you, Inej–”

She interjects before he can spout another lie, “I want you to get on the floor.”

This demand gets his attention, his head turning to look at her face, a slight quirk of his eyebrow signaling he was not expecting her request. Inej knows he values a challenge as much as her so it’s nothing short of a miracle from the saints above when he actually obliges, his body ungracefully sliding from the couch down the short distance onto the rug.

“Well that was unex—” she starts to tease before Kaz prods her with the tip of his cane to silence the comment. The tiniest of giggles escapes her throat as she holds up her hands in surrender, saving him from cruel embarrassment.

“Now what?” he bites, leaning back on his elbows, splaying his long body across the floor. His feet practically touch the small island they added last year.

Inej’s mouth goes dry at the view of him on the floor next to her, his hair an unkempt mess, his cotton t-shirt revealing the prominent veins of his pale arms, the black ink of the tattoo on his forearm, and exposing the smallest sliver of skin along the waistband of his sleep pants. Swallowing the distraction away, she forces her thoughts back to the reason she ordered him onto the floor. Her stares do not go unnoticed by the man beside her, and she spots the barest flush of pink on his cheeks at the vulnerable state he’s allowing her to witness him in.

One he most definitely would kill a man over if it came to anyone else in the world other than Inej.

Reaching for her muscle roller, she holds it out for him to accept. His eyes narrow as he glances between the bizarre contraption he’s watched her use on a daily basis and the warm face that is asking him to trust her. In the end, trust outweighs skepticism. Inej bites back the victory grin threatening to show.

Kaz has never been an easy student. Teaching him how to use a muscle roller might as well be like teaching a grizzly bear to perform a grand jete. Since she cannot touch him, Inej provides visual examples with another muscle roller about where to place it under his leg, how to rock his body back and forth over the roller, and the amount of pressure he should apply in the areas that are especially tight. She even demonstrates various hand techniques she’s learned to knead out a muscle spasm on the top of her leg. It’s an arduous task to refrain from biting the bait of arguing with her overgrown student as he grinds out his frustrations and a slew of curses that would put a sailor to shame. Kaz Brekker is clumsy and unsure with the muscle roller under his leg, quite the opposite of his usual daily facade. It nearly makes her laugh–if she also didn’t want to strangle him at the same time.

By the end of their lesson, Kaz is lying on his back, hands over his stomach, panting at the effort of kneading out the pain in his leg. A slick sheen of sweat glistens from the morning sun and causes the front strands of his hair to stick to his forehead. Overall, his body has significantly relaxed much to Inej’s relief.

He reaches out his hand to rest atop hers, turning his head so that their eyes meet. This is a promising sign. “If you ever tell anyone about this, just remember that I know where you live,” he warns half-heartedly, his chest still rising and falling rather rapidly.

Inej’s face breaks out in a full smile. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Brekker?”

“Do you consider me a threat, Ms. Ghafa?” he quips, giving her hand the slightest of squeezes.

“Oh, most definitely,” she concedes, bringing his knuckles to her lips and brushing the barest of kisses upon them.

The corner of Kaz’s mouth ticks upward in a tender grin and Inej knows today will not be the last for stretching lessons with her idiotically, adamant man, yet she would not have it any other way.

find me on ao3

#kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kaz x inej #grishaverse #six of crows #leigh bardugo #fic: adagio #fic recommendation #whatanybodygets #I wrote this #please accept this humble offering #im sick rn and this is my new fixation

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sanguineerose · 7 months

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hellllloooooo so you may be aware of my existence now cos i just went through your blog liking most of the posts (sorry for spaming ur notifications btw) but there was this one that said that you will answer any top 5 questions, so here i am

top 5 ice cream flavours

top 5 book series

top 5 queer tv shows

top 5 canon couples

top 5 fictional friendships

top 5 cartoons

top 5 songs

and, the one that interests me the most based on what i've seen on ur blog:

top 5 marauders ships

also have a wonderful day

omg hi hello thank you so much for the questions and i'm really happy you enjoy my silly little blog <3 currently i'm suffering trying to write so you gave me the best excuse to procrastinate a little longer.

top 5 ice cream flavors:

vanilla (i either hate it or love it. if it's a good one i love it)

pistachio

lemon

matcha

cookie dough

top 5 book series (i mostly read standalones so there aren't much on my list):

villains by v.e. schwab (actually obsessed with it)

the broken empire by mark lawrence

six of crows by leigh bardugo

criminal intentions by cole mccade

shades of magic by v.e. schwab

top 5 queer tv shows (i actually can't pick 5 because i haven't watched many tv shows lately :(():

young royals

interview with the vampire

heartstopper

top 5 canon couples (i can't pick three, i guess i just don't read/watch that much romance lol):

andreil from the foxhole court

kanej from six of crows

marshall and benedikt from these violent delights

top 5 fictional friendships (again, this is hard. i read too many sad books):

james and sirius!!!!!!!! going crazy about it actually

sam and frodo from lotr (though in my mind they're in love... but let's stick to canon for once)

robin and steve from stranger things

georgia and pip from loveless

literally any friendships from heartstopper

top 5 cartoons (i'm mostly picking from childhood favs because if i include anything animated, you'll never shut me up):

w.i.t.ch.

courage the cowardly dog

spiderman (the animated series from 94 i think)

adventure time

bob's burgers

top 5 songs (i'm way too into music to pick only 5, so i'm choosing 5 from my on repeat playlist:

w.d.y.w.f.m. by the neighbourhood

every you every me by placebo

hanging out with all the wrong people by billy talent

break stuff by limp bizkit

strangers by kenya grace

top 5 marauders era ships (there are so many great ships in this fandom omg i have so many actually):

rosekiller

wolfstar

pandalily

jily

bartylus

#this was fun thank you and have a wonderful day you too <3

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lady-a-stuff · 1 year

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I've seen people saying that the Kanej scenes are deprived of weight in the sab season 2 and I can't agree with that.

Why I think the "I'll have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker" scene worked in the show even though is different from the books.

First, Kaz paying off Inej's indenture. I think it's different from the books but because it's different it helps to explain Inej's line at the end.

In the books she is not expecting to receive her contract at that point of the story, it's a gift and a way to guarantee that she will have her freedom even if the job goes wrong, it shows that he cares.

“What is this?” she asked, her eyes scanning the page. “It’s not…” She ran her fingertips over the words as if expecting them to vanish. “My contract,” she whispered. “I don’t want you beholden to Per Haskell. Or me.” (...) “How?” she said. “The money—” “It’s done.” He’d liquidated every asset he had, used the last of the savings he’d accrued, every ill-gotten cent

But in the show it is something that she is expecting since S1 with the money they would get from kidnapping Alina, and then from the jewels Alina gives them, it's a promise he made her so she would go back with them to Ketterdam and it's a promise he keeps repeating everytime she says there's a chance that she has to go back to the Menagerie. In the scene where he gives her the indenture contract, he is open to her in a moment, telling without telling how he was concerned about her ("I didn't know where you were. I didn't know if Pekka hired another assassin to kill you. I didn't know if you would... " line) and in the next moment he shuts down and gives her the contract not to guarantee her freedom if everything goes wrong, cause things had already went perfect, but because she is a weak link "I make one thing without consulting you and I'm a weak link?", and then he basically states that he can't trust her because of it (quite cruel if you ask me).

So the scene of Kaz giving Inej her contract ends up being a way of him sending her away, keeping her away.

In season 2 Kaz is constantly trying to send Inej away, literally, like when he says she should go after Alina, then after giving her contract, then again when she wants to join the crew to go to Shu Han, it's almost like he doesn't want her there, but in fact it's just a way of showing how he is not ready to be open with her, to let her in (cause you know... is a weakness).

So he tried to keep her way physically, but she still goes with them to Shu Han and there it's all about work again: finish the job and get the money. When he has a panic attack, Inej is the one to help him pulling him out of the crowd and the 1st thing he says after this is "You were supposed to follow her(Ohval)", this is a way of showing that he doesn't want people near him in vulnerable moments and that the job is more important than other things (and isn't this what is the problem with Kaz? Everyone thinks he is always thinking about the job and the money in detriment of his and others' well-being? And all that to what?) in this moment he is keeping her away emotionally.

Then we have the hallucination scene and here Inej's own trust issues and fear of commitment takes place. For me the hallucination is the moment where Inej decides that Kaz would never be open to her and that leads to The Line™ at the end of the season, because at the end of the episode Kaz recognize that she saves him ("those who pull us out") and she says "hope is dangerous", tossing his line back to him, she is saying 'you taught me to not have hope I've learnt the lesson' (she won't cling to hope that he will be open to her).

Throughout the seasons Kaz shows Inej repeatedly how he feels and how he cares about her: the "no saint ever watched over me", he taking care of her wounds, the "it will give me some comfort to know that you're with me in the shadows", and he is emotionally more open to his crows (admitting Jesper as a brother, telling her his tell), but he is also constantly shutting her out and often after she sees a vulnerability: the "I can't have a weak link" after the I didn't know speech, the "You were supposed to follow her" after she sees him panicking in the crowd, the "to die under the weight of my own gold" after saying he was looking for her family.

Also Inej knows by Nina that he rather push her away than admit he feels anything for her, this means that Kaz is not ready to be really open to her and to his own feelings, it's another reason for Inej to say The Line™, especially because she is not ready too (not that she notices it, but is something that she can use as excuse)

There's this great post about this scene and Amita's acting, and it explains the differences between the show and the books and how the same line lands with different meaning and I so agree with that. As if Inej is questioning Kaz "this is what it's gonna be to be with you? You'll never really open up or you will just to a certain point before you lock me out again?"

In short I don't think the "I'll have you without armour" is deprived of weight in the show, they didn't reduce he line to physical touch and they build up things to justify all the scene, it's just different from the books and Inej's own problems with relationships and emotions appears more.

#i'm just begging y'all to stop judge events of the show based on events of the books #it's not because it happened different from the books that is shallow or it doesn't work #it's just different #just me rambling #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone spoilers #kanej #or i am wrong and i read the scenes in the show completly in the wrong way and the scenes don't show anything that i saw #lady a speaks now*

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hardwon · 5 months

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tag game: (9) people you'd like to get to know better

tagged by @hereticshadowhand

1. last song: Hold My Life by The Replacements! Specifically the 2023 remaster

2. currently watching: d20 burrow’s end. also the bridgerton premiere announcement on loop

3. three ships: kanej, perc’ahlia, and hardshine (shoutout to @hereticshadowhand and @matchaado for reminding me because it turns out I have no idea what ships I like even tho I never shut up about them) honorable mention goes to lizzy bennet and mr darcy

4. favourite colour: pink!!!!

5. currently consuming: momofuku sweet and spicy noodles with a fried egg and everything but the bagel seasoning on top. lazy girl meal of the gods

6. first ship: percabeth if we’re talking first thing I ever shipped, olicity if we’re talking first thing I ever like. consumed fandom stuff for

7. relationship status: i’m like cassandra for my friends’ shitty tinder dates. this is not an answer but also it is

8. last movie: saltburn!

9. currently working on: making mun @naaicha read the saint of steel series. mun if ur listening please read the saint of steel series. please. it’s got complex mole people society. grace has a pet civette. there’s even nuns

tagging @naaicha @can-a-robot-learn-to-love @knifegnome @safin @hamilbug

#everyone PLEASE read the saint of steel books by t. kingfisher I am begging u #ask me ask me ask me #also fun fact I delayed posting this until after I made dinner so I could say momofuku noodles

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eerna · 1 year

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rereading the bird heist book too to wash down the sour taste and as it is my first ever reread of soc, some observations:

kaz and inej are SO cool, like this time around I’m loving them even more. theorizing heists and escapes and crimes together? being aware of each other without ever touching? taking slight digs at the other about religion and greed and stuff? a+

i now understand the marketing of the show. in order to get and if they do a third season, you will not see any post without “ice court heist” or “the six of crows book” in it. because while ck is imo better written (both are great obv), soc has that loud selling point that probably sold the pitch of the book in the first place, an unlikely team and an impossible heist. nvm that it’s out of order and that ck is such a high stakes culmination :( like i hate that pekka is still a relevant part of the show after all of that… and lastly, matthias WILL still kick the bullet and i have no reason for this but idk I just think it’ll be brum that does it. his death was already bad but this is more in line with the quality of the show lol

Their dynamic is so brilliant!! Kanej reigns supreme forever fr. And you're right :((( The sad thing is that while CK is better than SoC in p much every way, it isn't a flashy blurby tropey heist story, so it can be cut into little pieces and pasted wherever the writers wish. God anon if he kicks it that way. If you are correct. I will never shut up about it because you're so right it would be so dumb and you're so right

#eernask #eernanon #eernask talk grishaverse

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grishaverse-chaos · 1 year

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as promised, here is:

grishaverse ships as taylor swift songs!!

malina - im only me when im with you

THE childhood friends to lovers song!!

just a small town boy and girl! living in a crazy world! trying to figure out what is and isn't true!!

and I'm only me when I'm with you!!!

don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground!!

it's SO malina

darkl!na - dear john (censoring the ship name so it doesn't show up in tags!)

sksadgshdh I had to

on a serious note it does fit very very well

don't you think I was too young to be played by your dark twisted games!! regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can!!

you'll add my name to your long list of traitors!!!! the darkl!ng literally DID add her name to a list of traitors sjdhshdgjdhd

genyadavid - paper rings <3

it's just..... so cute and soft, I love it sm

and you know something? david DOES like shiny things and he WOULD marry her with paper rings!!

nikolina - getaway car

taylor literally wrote this song for nikolina, I take no criticism

you were driving the getaway car!! we were flying but we'd never get far!! should've known I'd be the first to leave!!

no but they LITERALLY met in a getaway car. they were LITERALLY flying. but they didn't get far.

I'm sorry I will never shut up about this ever

ANYWAY!!

kanej - renegade

that one scene in soc where inej goes "I will have you without armour or I will not have you at all"

it's literally just GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER SO I CAN LOVE YOU!

there was nowhere for me to stay but I stayed anyway!! you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody!!!

GOD the accuracy of this is killing me.

I can't lie I could write a whole essay on every line of this song and how perfectly it fits kanej.....

you fire off missiles cause you hate yourself but don't you know you're demolishing me!! let all your damage damage me!!

wesper - enchanted

idk how to explain this one it's just the Vibes

walls of insincerity.... playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks

just the whole thing where they first meet reminds me SO MUCH of enchanted I can't even

helnik - miss americana and the heartbreak prince

.....yet another that I could write a whole fucking essay on

nina IS miss americana!!

my team is losing! battered and bruising!

boys will be boys then, where are the wise men!

IT'S YOU AND ME THAT'S MY WHOLE WORLD, THEY WHISPER IN THE HALLWAY SHE'S A BAD BAD GIRL

and I'll never let you go!! cause I know this is a fight! that someday were gonna win!!!

zoyalai - peace

tbh I considered ciwyw as well but in the end I think this is ALSO such a zoyalai song I couldn't not pick it

honestly I can see this being from either perspective.... neither of them can give the other peace! and that's what they love about each other!!

I can't even choose any lyrics to highlight, just the whole song

actually wait that was a lie.

okay so think about zoya believing nikolai is too good for her. now think about "your integrity makes me seem small, you paint dreamscapes on the wall... it's like I'm wasting your honour....."

SIT WITH YOU IN THE TRENCHES!!!

the chorus.... I can't imagine it any other way than nikolai singing it to zoya tbh. I'll keep your brittle heart warm?? I would die for you in secret??

but you got a friend in me = as my general. as my friend. as my bride.

this is probably incoherent but OH WELL

tamadia - invisible string

again I cannot explain it's just the Vibes

isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?

it's so CUTE and I love it

also "cold was the steel of my axe"

because tamar and axes.

anyway! that's it!! this definitely got super incoherent and rambling towards the end but I hope y'all enjoyed it :D

#grishaverse #mayhem.txt #taylor swift #i genuinely cant decide if i should tag this with the ships or not lmao #shadow and bone #six of crows #king of scars #mayhem grishaverse originals

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singsweetmelodies · 1 year

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just stopping by to say: you've had SEVEN accounts over ELEVEN years in fandom?? you actually are a legend, wtf. any chance you can reveal some of the other fandoms you've written for? 👀 no need to answer if it's too personal or if you're not comfortable revealing it btw!!

ahhhh, anon, you'll make me blush 🙈🙈😍🙈 YOU are the actual legend for sending this ask!! ❤️❤️ also, omg, noooo worries, i don't mind answering at all - i am also an incredibly nosy person, lmaooo, so i completely get wanting to be curious about everything you can, hehe.

and as for fandoms: i'm not going to reveal absolutely all of them (mostly because i'm too lazy to go open up all 7 accounts AGAIN and check, so i'll most likely forget some, lmao 😆🥲) but also bcs there are one or two i'm redacting for shame, kslldjdhdhdgdhdgdhdggdd 🙈

ANYWAYS. let's get to it - here's a list of many of the fandoms i've written for over the past 11 years, in the order of how quickly my brain remembers them lmao. also! pls note that these are only the fandoms i've written for. the ones i've READ for are absolutely impossible to count, i fear 😅😅

and now with the disclaimers and whatnot done - the list:

Harry Potter (specifically, Marauders Era)

Avengers 2012 (specifically, Clintasha)

Once Upon A Time (Captain Swan beloved)

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (definitely the fandom I've written the most for to date)

Star Wars (Reylo. sorrynotsorry)

Supergirl (Supercorp, of course)

Star Trek: Discovery (one fic in total but it counts)

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (again, one fic, but I loved this quirky little series very dearly)

The Queen's Gambit (this is the one I completely forgot I ever wrote fic for, and was pleasantly surprised to remember lmao)

Six of Crows (Kanej forever!!)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Sambucky, of course)

Black Widow 2021 (specifically, the fascinating and excellent Natasha & Yelena & Melina & Alexei dynamic)

Miraculous Ladybug (shut UP, the content in this fandom is genuinely god-tier)

Spider-Man Homecoming & No Way Home (Spideychelle <333)

Arrow (I never finished this show but by god I had my Olicity obsession. also. Sara Lance!!)

Arcane (one fic but God I wish I'd had spoons to write more because this show is awesome. Caitvi 😍😍)

Avatar The Last Airbender (OH MY GOD almost forgot this one but how could i. this show is so good!!)

there you have it, anon! 🥰 insanity that has spanned 11 years, lmao. but this is only a fraction of the true insanity, really - there are SO many fandoms where i just lurked, and obsessively read fic, but never posted anything of my own 🥲🙈 anyways!! looking at this all again has definitely been A Ride for me. i do hope you enjoyed(?) the answer - pls do tell me if anything here is a massive surprise, or not surprising at all, lmao. i of course believe my taste is impeccable, but please do tell me what you think too <333

#asks & answers #anon #about moi #writing tag #i guess?? lmao #anyways that's a wrapped #Fandoms Wrapped i should say #the katie version #teehee 🤭👌#i just find it crazy that after more than half a million words of fanfic i somehow ended up in fucking F1 RPF #the world is insane. just. INSANE #xD

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caspianxth · 11 months

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SHADOW AND BONE SPOILERS!

okay first, Kaz would have not fucking given up his cane, and for a king?!?!? love it but he would not do that, it was adorable tho. Second, he just wanted to be loved:( i think i read it in the book cause they never said it in the show but all he wanted was the love of his people, and for them to be safe, and look what it cost him:( Third, why would they change all that, like yes i get this is basically a prequel for six of crows BUT i enjoyed jesper and wylan being slow burn and now theyre a thing?? like what happpens now instead of all the teasing and pining in both upcoming heists, and also with kanej, cause like yeah the love confession was word for word which was nice BUT theyre still TWO heists to come, what about the pining!?!?!! and speaking of inej, she's now free and also a slaver-hunting pirate, which is all she wanted but what about the heists!!!!! like i guess she'll come back out of the love in her heart but why have her achieve her dream just to give it all up?? And don't even get me started on Mal and Alina, like i get their story hasnt really ended, especially with the nikolai thing (poor baby), but wtf.

Despite all of that, I really enjoyed it, it was really well made, I just wish I didn't compare everything with the books, anyway, sending love, thanks for letting me rant none of my friends like s&b.

I do v much agree that it's v diff from the books, but I don't hate that! lemme dive in under the cut tho <3

I wish they had more time bc they were trying to do So Much though and I feel like nikolai's arc as a monster was just weirdly done. alas, lemme dive in!!

I actually disagree on the cane, and here's why. kaz had no reason to tell inej about jordie. he even says in his chapter he had no idea why he did it. was it because he loved her? or was it that he truly felt like she deserved to know? why would she deserve to know??? he also expands on this with jesper, someone who unwittingly betrayed him! he sees jesper as jordie and then when jesper asks who jordie is after kaz slipped and called him jordie, he doesn't tell jesper off, he doesn't shut down. he tells jesper that jordie was someone who meant a lot to him in a way that makes it pretty clear for me that he truly cares for jesper too. he didn't have to do that, but he did it for inej and for jesper, the crows who have been by his side longest. also in soc he allows the crows to drag him to a different cafe in djerholm after they stake out the prison transports. kaz's way is the highway at this point in soc, the crows haven't learned that they can team up on him the way nina and inej do for the ketterdam grisha in crooked kingdom, they didn't have to relocate, but they did. if kaz wanted to shut down their complaining he would have. instead he gave into their apparent need for sweet buns and hot cocoa. also, when we get flashbacks from the ferolind via wylan in crooked kingdom, kaz was the one who was warning wylan about tailoring his face using nina's powers on parem and it was kaz that believed that wylan's father still loved him. he even bet on it and lost (which is hilarious btw, I mean not for wylan but u get me). also, in crooked kingdom after kaz robs cornelius smeet and then crashes into him to return the dog whistle and returns his wallet, smeet gives kaz 5 kruge. he then turns and gives that to wylan. sure, they have pekka's money, but why would kaz brekker give wylan something for nothing? he also steals back jesper's pistols from club cumulus's safe. he claimed that a shooter's nothing without his guns, but jesper helped get his dad and wylan back to black veil just fine without his beloved revolvers. kaz also swore to inej that even if her legs were broken, he'd come back for her. yeah, he's in love with her, but would he do that if there wasn't still a kernel of kaz rietveld inside him?? would he give wylan 5 kruge or warn him that he might always have kuwei's face?? would he have worked so hard from the initial heist at smeet's to get wylan back his money by replacing jan's will??? no. dirtyhands wouldn't. kaz rietveld would. there's still pieces of him there, and that's exactly why he'd give his cane to nikolai. firstly, he still needs to be paid, a slow king is an easily killed king, and as kaz himself said he is more experienced with pain. it's the most logical move to make. kaz is also someone who still has kindness in him despite what he says, even in the show when he promises that he'll help nina w freeing matthias. there's a heart buried in him, and I for one love to get peeks at it. also I think they made his need to be loved by his crows in the show decently clear, like when he asks wylan when he last ate or when he gives up the deed for the crow club for inej (let's face it, dirtyhands could have found a way to get leverage on helene to make that work without risking everything for inej but he did it bc he cares about her) and with how he was keeping jesper's zowa powers a secret. even though jesper's zowa powers could have been pretty useful before, kaz said nothing. he also wanted all of the crows in the building when he took pekka down. inej was the only crow not in attendance (and matthias but he's in jail, so he kinda has bigger shit but kaz still paid the guards to keep him out of the fights).

w the wesper: gimme gimme gimme!!! I'd rather get it fast than not at all esp w how weird netflix has been the past year with what gets renewals and spinoffs and what gets cancelled. and I think they did it in a way that was very true to the characters!! it's so cute!!!! the stroopes!! you remember that nOW??!!??!?!?!? and can we talk about tolya being the #1 wesper shipper!!! also there's a gifset idk if I can find it tonight but it's kaz saying 'everyone's losing their minds' after wylan and jesper kiss outside ohval's and the caption on the gifset is 'my brother in ghezen you set them up' and I think about that a lot.

with inej I think that it's great that she's slave hunting early bc I think that it gives a really great opportunity for a bit of kanej closure that the books never had. at the end of crooked kingdom, inej prepares to leave and just says she isn't done w ketterdam (and by extension kaz) yet but that's p much it, even in king of scars / rule of wolves we don't get concrete kanej. I think with inej's story, it gives her that option to find her family and get that closure, and hell that could've been the payment kaz asked for when they returned to ravka, we don't know, but once she finds the slavers it'll bring her closure and I think that'll help give us a possibility of a definitive kanej endgame for the show.

also w the not malina end, I'm sorry but I'm all for it. I think it makes sense esp bc she used merzost to rip him away from death. we saw him in the field, he was content, he was at peace, and she legit Yanked him back. I think a part of him knows that. also, he did die. that no doubt changed him, so he's v right to explore who he is if not a mythical tracker and I loved nikolai dread-pirate-roberts-ing him by making him the new sturmhond even tho he isn't in charge. also I really really wish they'd done nikolai's monster story better. I wanted to see him w the wings and the talons and all they did was make him look like a nichevo'ya. boo!! but I think they were just trying to set up too much and cut a ton (harshaw and oncat 😭) and redo stuff to make it work, it felt like at times alina got sidelined for everything else they had to do.

also of course!!! ur welcome in my inbox bestie!!!

#asks #sorry this is an essay lmaooo #shadow and bone spoilers #kurtcobainsgreencardigan

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jackwolfes · 2 years

Text

will you marry me?

this fic is part of the valentines day prompt swap event hosted in the bastards of the barrel discord server! thank you to @wylanvanfeck for all the work organising this, and @partoftheillusion for the prompt!

Rating: T Ship(s): Kaz & Jesper, Kanej, Wesper Prompt: Person A asks Person B to marry them

“Alright.”

“Right.”

“Jesper.”

“I’m listening.”

Kaz rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a podge.”

“I’m being patient! Just– spit it out.”

Kaz sighs.

“Jesper,” he says, again. “I’d like you to marry me.”

Jesper raises an eyebrow.

“Well Saints, Kaz, I’m swooning,” he replies. His voice is dry and dull and deadpan – not, he thinks, too dissimilar to the lacklustre delivery Kaz is giving him right now.

“Fuck off,” Kaz spits. He clicks his little ring box shut and slam it down onto his desk. He doesn’t look at Jesper after, staring resolutely down at the grain of his desk. “I told you this was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Jesper groans, “You’re not trying.”

“I am,” Kaz insists. Jesper doesn’t believe him. If Jesper has read this correctly – and for all he can be dense, he thinks he’s got it nailed this time – Kaz is stalling. He’s avoiding the issue, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It definitely doesn’t come as a surprise to Jesper, at least.

“Where’s the romance? The anticipation? The heart-felt bullshit about how pretty my eyes are?” Kaz glares at him. “You can tell me I have pretty eyes, Brekker.”

“This is not what I meant when I said I needed to practice.”

“Shit, you want me to pretend to be ‘Nej?” Jesper rolls his shoulders and flutters his eyelashes, sinking down just barely with bent knees so he’s lower to the ground. He’s still standing taller than Kaz, unsurprisingly. When he speaks again it’s in a high pitched voice, an accent that Inej most certainly does not have. “Saints, Kaz, I love you oh so much–”

“That is not what Inej sounds like.”

“All saints, Kaz, I know,” Jesper groans. “I’m trying to make you less nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Bullshit.”

“I am not.”

“Dear Ghezen, you fucking podge,” Jesper groans, finally. It’s not like he’s religious, and if he was religious it would be for a faith that he at least grew up around, but living with his fiancé leaves Jesper picking up the quirks of Wylan’s dialect. He’s probably picking up the stubbornness, too, or else he wouldn’t bother doing this. “Give me that.”

Kaz makes an instinctive move for the ring box, but Jesper is faster. He stretches his long, gangly limbs over to the desk to swipe up the ring box before Kaz can squirrel it away somewhere.

He’d seen the ring when Kaz held it out like he was offering it, but he’d done it in such a stilted, awkward little way that Jesper hadn’t been able to take it seriously. Looking at it now, well. It’s gorgeous. Maybe it isn’t something he’d wear – the band is too thin, and he doesn’t think black diamonds are quite his style – but then again, it isn’t his engagement ring. His is gold and thick and inlaid with three kinds of gemstones; rubies and diamonds and black opal, all big ones. He runs his thumb along the smooth underside of his ring because it’s habit now. Inej would never be caught dead wearing something that gaudy, but something simple and elegant like the one in the box he holds now…

“She really will love it,” Jesper says.

He can almost believe that Kaz bought it with his own money, hand picked from a shop, rather than pinching it from some mercher’s wife. He knows that he has to have picked it out himself. It’s so personal, so perfect, that Jesper has no doubt that Kaz made the time to choose something special.

“That’s not what I needed help with,” Kaz replies.

Jesper makes a gentle noise. He supposes he’s right: there’s only so much one can wish for when it comes to Kaz Brekker. Saints, hearing him admit he asked for help in the first place is a lot.

“You want to make sure she knows what she means to you, yeah?”

Kaz nods. Jesper nods right with him. He knows what he must be thinking, because for once it’s clear as day even when Kaz is almost never an open book. But here, now, because he’s thinking about Inej, Jesper can read him like a sonata – and he’s gotten quite good at sight reading sheet music.

How can you put what Kaz Brekker thinks about his Wraith into words?

No one can; it’s an impossible task, and Jesper is quite aware of the difficulties, even if he’s struggling about other things. He’s running into the limitations of language time and time again, trying to write vows and put words to promises he feels in his bones. That’s not something he can just translate into Kerch, or Zemeni or Kaelish or even fucking schoolroom Fjerdan. He can make it known with kisses pressed against bare skin, he can seep it into every income report he reads aloud. He can’t just say it, though.

Jesper fidgets with the ring box, until the lid flips open and stays that way. It’s a plain little box, black wood, not lined with plush velvet like the ones from the fanciest ring shops at the top of the Geldin district. Those are very nice: he still has the one his ring came in.

“Okay,” Jesper says. “Let’s pretend I’m proposing to you.”

“More acting?” Kaz says; it’s nearly a groan, frustrated and annoyed and Jesper ignores him completely.

“Dearest Mister Brekker,” he says. He puts on a voice again, and Kaz rolls his eyes. Jesper hardly cares: it’s too strange to be sincere about something like this. “You, Kaz Brekker, have made my life indescribably better since the very day I met you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone, and don’t know how it’s taken me this long to ask you for your hand. I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please do me the honour of marrying me.”

Kaz says nothing.

Jesper coughs.

“Some bullshit like that,” Jesper says. He looks away.

They’re both quiet for a long, weighted moment.

“Is that what you told Wylan?” Kaz asks, finally. Jesper rolls his eyes, because in seconds the tension has snapped like thread. Fucking annoying. Why are they friends?

“He asked me, thank you very much. And his proposal was far less sappy.”

“I don’t believe that,” Kaz says.

Just as well: Jesper was lying. Not that he pinched any of Wylan’s words for something silly and benign like this. For all his soon to be husband isn’t able to write, his control of language is categorically, undeniably gorgeous. He knows how to use words to get whatever it is he wants, and he makes it all seem utterly effortless. Wylan wouldn’t hesitate for a second to find the words Kaz needed to ask for Inej’s hand in marriage. He would be leagues more helpful than Jesper is: of that he has no doubt.

The words he used to ask for Jesper’s hand, though, those words are theirs. Years ago, now, but imprinted on Jesper’s memory like the only good kind of scar. The soft way he told Jesper how much he meant to him, that day and every day; the way he falls in love a little more than he knew was possible every time he sees the glint of the sun reflect off his grey eyes; the earnest way he simply says I love you, Jesper – those words are just for them.

“You know she’ll say yes even if you sound stupid, right?” Jesper says. He tries to be gentle when he does, but Kaz bristles anyway.

“It won’t matter if I can just stop myself from sounding stupid.”

“You don’t,” Jesper insists. “You– don’t try to be sappy if you aren’t. Just be you. She loves you.”

Kaz says nothing.

“Get her flowers,” Jesper says, softly. “Whatever her favourite kind is.”

“I don’t know her favourite kind of flower,” Kaz replies. Jesper laughs, but it’s soft and joyous. There’s nothing malicious in the set of his eyes, in his gentle smile.

“Then find out, Kaz. You’re a saintsforsaken Barrel boss.”

“But–”

“And stop, for the love of every saint, trying to fight me on this. You asked for my help, and this is what I’m giving you. She stops to smell the geraniums at the end of our garden every time she visits. Start there.”

Kaz is silent for a long moment. Then he just– nods.

He takes the ring box back from Jesper when he offers it, and it looks like the fight has gone out of him. Jesper watches him right himself again, snapping the box shut again and tucking it gently, carefully, into the inside of his coat pocket. He touches it like it’s a treasure, a bit like how Jesper touches his own engagement ring, or the gold bands picked out to exchange on the date of their ceremony. It’s coming up soon, fast as a firecracker launched into the night sky, and Jesper can’t wait. He just has to hope that Kaz won’t steal their day with an announcement.

“Geraniums,” Kaz repeats. Jesper shrugs.

“And those little vanilla sponge cakes we have with tea? I can ask Wy where he orders them.”

Kaz doesn’t say please, just like Jesper knows he won’t say thank you either. Not for any of this. But he does nod, a short, curt little thing, and Jesper knows he’ll be expecting a calling card for whatever bakery it is that Wylan has chosen to fund by ordering more cakes than any man needs. Him and his sweet tooth, saints. Jesper loves him.

Likewise, Jesper doesn’t say, I know you’ll be fine. He doesn’t say, how could someone say no to a ring like that? He doesn’t even say, she’d be a fool to turn you down and our Wraith is no fool.

“Don’t steal the spotlight on our big day, yeah?”

“As if you’d let anyone,” Kaz replies. Jesper feels his grin widen.

“Did I tell you my suit is going to be purple?”

“I don’t believe Wylan would let you.”

“No lie, Brekker. And I’m putting all the groomsmen in lime green. Including my best man.”

“Over my dead body.”

Jesper laughs.

It isn’t easy to think, now, that Jesper had once wanted Kaz like that. He doesn’t know how he thought that he could have loved Kaz in any other way than this way: the friendship, the brotherhood, the way Jesper knows he’ll be teasing Kaz about this for months to come. The way he laughs, but the way he knows without a doubt that there’ll be fond joy, true happiness, when he hears about how Kaz’s proposal has gone. It will go well, and Jesper will be so happy for him. That’ll make him happiest, more than the thought of ever being this kind of romantic with Kaz could make him.

He pushes back a shudder. Never in his life.

He’s too happy with a friendship like this, anyway.

#kaz brekker #jesper fahey #wesper #kanej #soc #six of crows #six of crows fanfic #soc fanfic

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draggingthedregs · 3 years

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Hello! I love your writing so much! Can you write some kanej with Kaz being protective of Inej? If not that’s completely fine :) thank u!

a/n: okay so I always really struggle with “protective Kaz” things because I feel like he knows that she can most definitely take care of herself and he respects her for that. So this is what I came up with to try and meet in the middle. There’s that scene in Six of Crows where Kaz sends Inej to get rid of Rojakke (is that how you spell it? Idk he was in one scene, his name is not the point) and then when they’re back in his office that night he asks like “Did he put up a fight?” and she says “Nothing I couldn’t handle” and he says “Not what I asked” so thats where the idea for this came from, thank you bye.

word count: 2634

There was something about the floor of the Crow Club that set Kaz at ease.

Its endless cacophony of coins bouncing from table to floor, the spinning of Makkers Wheel, the laughter floating onto the street, and, his personal favorite, the flipping that only accompanied a deck of cards. Somedays he thought he’d be content to shuffle at a table forever.

It was then that Inej pushed through the entryway, shaking off the rain that rarely ceased to pour over the crowded city. She pulled her hood down, her inky hair braided into a long rope laying against her shoulder. Kaz traced every inch of her, as he often did when she entered a room: the slope of her nose, the smile she flashed to the greetings shouted in her direction, the knives strapped to her hips. He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head that reminded him he’d also be content to be with her forever.

There were times he hated the things that he would notice, hated how his brain slipped past the innocent intention of watching to a sinister place of touch and consequence. He flipped the thoughts over in his head, studying them from every angle like he would a card trick, trying to mold them into different pictures. But the images froze in place anyway; the feel of her skin against his burned like fire, even in an illusion.

Most of all, he hated that he couldn’t force these delusions into reality, couldn’t touch her how he wanted, couldn’t force the bile down and only feel Inej’s warmth.

As she approached him, nodding to the private game rooms at the back of the club, giving him a clear view of her, he saw that something was amiss. Scarlet bloomed through her vest and onto her sleeve, trailing down to her thigh. He followed her, shutting the heavy door behind them and turning its complex series of locks. She’s upright. That’s all you should care about.

“The Exchange was crawling with Stadwatch. Security must be tight since the incident.”

“Did they see you?”

Inej practically scoffed, leaning her weight against the wooden table. “No. But I’m sure they’ll find someone who fits their bill. You know as well as I do, the council will want this quieted soon.”

Kaz nodded. Two weeks ago, the Exchange had been robbed, and though it was never publicly released, Kaz knew exactly what was stolen. After all, he had all the stocks and shipment papers locked in his safe as they spoke.

Roeder had been the one to pull off the job originally, this being one of the few things Kaz had required a spider for while she was busy at sea. He had done a mediocre job, but he was sloppy with locks and leaving the place as he’d found it. Going back to the scene of the crime seemed too risky a gamble but when Inej returned, she knew she could scrape it. And Kaz wasn’t going to start doubting the Wraith’s abilities now.

He flipped through the file she handed him. To anyone else, it may have looked useless, just pages and pages of numbers and times, scratchy handwritten tables filled with nonsense. But to him, and to a mercher with half a whit, this was key to investing. With the talleys and dates in hand, he would know what shipments to bank on and where to place his shares for the next few months.

“As always, the Wraith pulls through.”

Inej nodded and pulled her hood up once more. “You’re welcome.”

Kaz gave her another once over, slower than intended. “What happened?” He blurted, his voice sounding like a low growl in his throat.

Inej looked down at herself, brows knitted, studying the blood on her trousers. “Bullet or two from a guard just shooting at shadows.” With her brief summary of events, she took her weight off the table, readying herself for the journey back into the wet.

Kaz felt a sinking in his chest at the thought of her walking away from him, even if it was just to her apartment, and he hated himself for it. Now especially with her covered in blood, he couldn’t stomach the thought of her leaving. Without meaning to, he had taken himself back to before she had left.

It had been Inej’s last night before heading to sea when they had tried to pretend they were normal, that there wasn’t still so much between them. Kaz sat next to her on his bed, bad leg out in front of him, avoiding her gaze.

“We don’t have to do this at all.”

But he did. Kaz had to prove that he had come further than this. I can best this…

When she set sail the next morning, the feeling of failure settled deep within him, right beside the feeling that this time, he may never get her back from the sea.

Now, he couldn’t help but stop her. “Inej-” he began.

She turned, her hand resting on the doors heavy handle.

He made up the steps between them to stand beside her. Kaz forced himself to give any semblance of explanation, knowing that he’d promised to give her what she deserved and knowing that he was currently failing. “Let me walk with you.”

Inej nodded, dropping her hand as Kaz unlocked the door and opened it for her. He felt awkward, and quite frankly stupid; opening it as if she was some pretty girl that couldn’t handle the difference between whether to push or pull. She strided through anyway and he followed, silently cursing himself and hoping the grimace on his face looked normal for his temperament. Once they’d made it to the street, she slowed to walk beside him.

At first, neither of them spoke. Then, in her gentle and hushed tone, perhaps to avoid his inevitable questions about her evening, “Am I getting a personal escort through the Barrel?”

Kaz needn’t look down to feel the smile in her voice. “Is that what you’d prefer to call it?”

“It isn’t exactly an evening stroll down the canal, is it?”

“I suppose not.” He cringed at the sound of his own rasp, smashing against the lift of her voice like waves against stone. Though from what he could tell, she didn’t do the same. Inej only shrugged, tugging her hood forward against the drizzle.

“I only meant that I should feel lucky to get the King of the Barrel to myself for the night.”

Kaz thought he might keel over. “I am a busy man, but I still find time to survey my kingdom.”

Inej only rolled her eyes and kept her gaze straight forward. A moment of silence nestled between them, leaving only the sound off the East Stave hanging in the air. After fighting with himself for what seemed like far too long, his gaze settled atop her.

“Yes?”

Kaz swallowed hard, “Did you miss Ketterdam?” Did you miss me?

She considered his question, and to him, the silence stretched through the air like a rubber band about to break.

“I did. More than I thought I would.” Inej finally relented. Her voice had drifted to a somber place, a quiet stillness replacing the humor she’d had minutes before.

They had turned down a back alley, the darkness consuming them in sore contrast to the dazzling lights of the Stave. Their footsteps echoed in a syncopated rhythm, his awkward gait and cane paired with her near-soundless steps.

Maybe it was the high of having her back, walking next to him through Ketterdam as they’d done so many times before, but he hadn’t realized the direction they’d been walking. They approached the Slat, its crooked frame jutting out from the foundation at a welcoming tilt. He glanced down to Inej once more, watching as she took in the building, trying to see it through her eyes, as he wished to see much of the world.

“Is the Captain afraid of her old nest?”

If he had intended it as a jab, she didn’t take it as such. Inej shook her head once, “It just feels like home…”

She moved before he did, taking a deep breath of the stale air inside as she stepped through the threshold. There was movement, as there always was, but the Slat was quiet this time of night and Kaz was thankful. It meant that, selfishly, he could keep Inej upstairs and to himself for as long as he could come up with things to talk about. Perhaps they’d even sit on his bed and she would allow him to make up for the last time they’d found themselves there.

Kaz marveled at her as she took the creaky stairs ahead of him, the steps creaking beneath his weight after seemingly not registering her. His eyes once again wandered to the blood stains that covered her. He felt a hair-pin trigger go off in his chest and suddenly, there was anger.

Stop that. She isn’t yours to save.

Inej waited for him to open the door, sidestepping as they both now stood on the landing. If Kaz hadn’t just been studying her, he might have missed her change in demeanor and the way she shifted her weight to the wall behind her.

“Inej.”

“Hm?”

Kaz attempted to even his tone. “How bad are they?”

“What?”

His voice sounded like stones grinding against one another, “The bullet wounds.”

She shrugged but he could see the stress of the evening in her features. Her limbs seemed heavy and her eyelids fought to open with every blink. With a shove, Kaz unlocked his office door, forcing the warped wood open and, without hesitation, Inej followed him in, taking in the room as she clicked the locks back into place.

He leaned his cane against the makeshift desk and shucked his gloves off as he approached the cabinet beneath his wash basin, digging through its drawers for gauze and shears. Behind him, he heard the familiar creak of his window opening. The smell of rain against the cobblestones wafted toward him.

“Your window seat has felt neglected. Your crows too.”

“Does that mean you stopped feeding them while I was gone?”

No. They reminded me of you. I couldn’t let another piece of you go. “They’re scavengers. I’m sure they managed.”

It was then that Kaz turned to see her standing by his bed. Inej looked up, her cheeks flushing red like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been. He only walked over, setting the bandages on the thin mattress. “So I don’t have to find a heartrender for you.”

“They really aren’t that bad-”

“You’ve bled through your clothes. They’re bad enough.”

Inej cleared her throat as she began removing layers of knives and clothes. Kaz’s eyes roved over her, the pounding in his chest growing louder. He hated it.

Her arms and shoulders were covered in fresh scars, some of them still red and scabbed, and the bruises on her ribs were still deep purple.

“Slavers don’t give up their cargo easily.” Inej’s voice came out with caution, as if she was waiting to see his reaction.

His gaze met hers, voice carving into the air like a rusted blade. “Where are they all now?”

“Dead.”

A sense of pride cracked through him as a rare smile settled on his lips. Kaz nodded. “Good.”

She picked up a strip of bandage, wrapping it around the bullet wound on her bicep, silence filling the space between them. Inej didn’t need to look up to feel the weight of his eyes on her. A flush crept to the tops of her ears. “I didn’t want you to see.”

It was rare for Kaz Brekker to be confused and yet, here he was.

“I thought you might kill someone. Or start to doubt that I could handle myself.”

“I could never doubt you. Only a fool would.” It was only after he said it that he realized it had been aloud.

Inej tied off the bandage then glanced down to the blood on her pants.

“I can-”

“No.” She said, finally making eye contact with him again. “Stay.”

For his sake and hers, Kaz turned his head to avoid staring as she shimmied out of the bloodied fabric.

She sat on the edge of the bed and poked around for any bullet fragments, the muscles in her thigh tensing, the dried blood on her skin looking black. Inej was just as strong as ever; all her limbs built of corded muscle coated in the lithe grace of an acrobat, just as he remembered. Despite his better judgement, Kaz took a long look at her.

It’s shame that eats men whole. He could feel it gnawing at him as he attempted to push away the image of her bare thighs against his sheets.

“Kaz, can you-?” She nodded to the scissors, her hands stuck at an awkward angle around her leg, the apprehension on her face clear.

He picked them up and took a deep breath before sitting down beside her. When he leaned over, he was careful not to touch her. Her breath stirred the hair on the back of his neck. One turn of his head and their lips would have been inches apart. This reminded him far too much of the hotel washroom; he only hoped it would end better.

Kaz cut the bandage gently, taking the end from her and tying it, his knuckles grazing against her skin. Panic hit him before anything else, afraid he had overstepped. It took him a moment to realize there was no revulsion roiling through him.

“Inej-”

“It’s alright… Thank you.”

He nodded, grabbing what was left of the bandages and the shears and placing them on top of his dresser. Then he opened one of his drawers, rummaging through the mess of clothes until he found what he had been looking for.

Kaz handed her a pair of cotton sleep trousers. “I can’t imagine yours are salvageable.”

Inej smiled, sliding them over her legs. They were huge on her. And though they hadn’t discussed her sleeping arrangements for the evening, it appeared she would be staying there.

He sat back down, staring at his bare hands; the hands that had just graced her without trouble or hesitation. She reached over, threading her fingers through his, and studied him, watching for the shift. But it never came.

“Will you lay with me?”

At that, he looked up.

In front of him was a girl who deserved so much more than Dirtyhands. A girl who made the sea cower and made the sun look dull. A girl who could have done anything she wished in life with ease and grace. And yet- she was sat in his bed, holding his hand, and patiently waiting for the semblances of affection he could provide.

Kaz felt himself nod.

She pushed herself back until she was against the wooden headboard. They both moved slowly, carefully placing their limbs so there was no overlap.

Then, he was laying beside her; both of their heads turned to study each other.

“Thank you.” Inej’s voice nearly a whisper.

The minutes stretched into hours, and Kaz lay listening to her breathing. I will have you without armor.

Well after twelve bells, the cadence of sleep seemed to grab hold of him, weighing heavy on his body. As his eyes drifted shut, he hoped that there would be more nights like this: nights with Inej close by his side and stillness in his mind.

He reached for her hand in the dark and promised he would not let go come morning. He would never let go of her again.

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meher-sumedha · 3 years

Text

The Kanej Child - Inej giving birth

So, they did it. Yes. They got a happy ending in my head. No one can say anything else.

It was after 4-5 years when Kaz got comfortable with Inej and one day just randomly told her he loved her.

Like he would stand up and say, "Inej, Oomen has come back from the dead, I love you" And then just go back to sorting papers on his desk

Inej would just stand there at him and stunned, like he just told her he loved her and this is what he does next. Typical Kaz

"Is there something wrong?" Kaz would have asked. Pretending not to care about her response.

Inej would have been lost in her world, she was thinking about them living happily with her family in ketterdam and having lunch. Until Kaz's voice brought her back to reality.

She didn't know what to say. She was utterly frozen. The Wraith was frozen.

When Kaz didn't hear her response, he got worried. He had heard her tell him she loved him many times under her breath, when she thought he wouldn't hear but when Kaz admitted he loved her too, she didn't say anything.

Kaz was internally panicking. His hand was not moving, he couldn't turn the page. He couldn't, not until she said something.

Just when Kaz thought all hope was lost, Inej took him by surprise by taking his face in her hands and kissing him.

After what felt like just a second, Inej pulled back. He didn't let himself admit the emptiness he felt when she did that. But she didn't pull away completely.

It was nothing like Kaz had imagined. No thoughts were running through his head. He had no idea. Kaz Brekker didn't have an idea.

She held his face in his hands, their foreheads touching but not their lips, they would have touched if one of them moved a bit closer, but neither of them dared.

Every instinct in Kaz's body was forcing him to move, to push her away. But he didn't, he wouldn't. Not this time. Not ever

Inej was still looking at Kaz's lips. But then she finally met his eyes and said, "I already took care of Oomen, and also, I love you too".

And then she pulled away and went out of the window, leaving Kaz completely dumbfounded.

So this was their story, and now Inej was giving birth.

"Ahhh" She shouted, her hair slick from sweat, she was in labor.

Kaz was freaking out. Jesper had never seen him so panicked. Kaz was holding Inej's hand, but panic was on his face.

They were in the Van Eck house, In Inej's bedroom. Kaz was holding Inej's right hand. Nina was in front of her, telling her to push. And Jesper and Wylan were to Inej's left.

Wylan was fine. Jesper was not. It was like all his bullets, guns and Wylan were being gambled, and this game could change everything.

"I can't watch, ahh but I can't miss it either, thank god we adopted, i don't think you could have handled being pregnant" Jesper said.

"SHUT UP JESPER" Everyone except Wylan said in unison.

"Well it would have been much less painless for Inej, you know, she wouldn't be shouting on top of her lungs and we would still have had our ears, but then it happened because of the sex, did you have fun? Was he any good at it? Is he lo-".

"I swear to god Jesper if you say one more word about me and Kaz having sex i will gut you in the balls with Sankta Alina and you would never have sex with Wylan" Inej said, in the middle of shouting.

Wylan blushed at that, his face becoming red as a tomato, "Well to be honest I don't really need my balls-"

"SHUT UP JESPER" Nina and Wylan said in unison. Nina wiped her forehead.

He frightened a bit by Nina's threat, but smirked at the tomato standing beside him.

After 6 hours, Inej finally gave birth to the little baby girl. Everyone was crying by now, including Kaz who had a tear sliding down at his face when he saw Inej hold her little girl, their little girl.

"What should we name her?" Kaz asked, his voice breaking.

"Meher" Inej replied, while looking at the baby in her hands. She was tired, and sleepy. But she couldn't stop looking at the little girl, their little girl.

"Why?" Kaz asked.

"It means mercy" Was all Inej said before going back to looking at Meher.

He would give them everything he had. He would give them himself. He wouldn't just be a resemblance of a man, he would do his best and he would not let a single thing in the world hurt her little child.

He understood why Inej gave her that name. Because none of them were given mercy. But he would make sure, that his-their child, would never be at mercy for anyone.

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mostly-delusional · 2 years

Text

Desi Grishaverse Headcanons

• inej would sing hindi lullabies to her and kaz's child (this is, of course, many years post ck when both of them have healed enough)

• inej teaches wylan a few hindi songs and he plays them every weekend when all the crows gather for dinner. he loves them a lot and soon starts writing his own songs (he has to ask inej for help because she's still teaching him how to speak hindi but he gets better at it). he has written many songs for jesper.

• you know that thing where character a says something to character b in a different language and character b asks what they said so character a just makes some bs up but actually they were just confessing something? yeah, that. imagine that with kanej. inej says something really poetic + romantic in hindi to kaz when she first leaves ketterdam and kaz obviously doesn't know what she said. so he tries to translate it. when he realises she was saying that she loves him, he says it back in the next letter he sends her.

• every year before holi, nina forces all of the crows to meet at the hendriks mansion to make gunjhiyas.

• jesper once slipped some bhaang in kaz's thandai and let's just say that no one ever speaks about what happened that day because they don't want to risk loosing their limbs to dirtyhands.

• nina and jesper LOVE qawwali. every once in while all the dregs divide into two groups (half side with jesper and the other half with nina) and they have a qawwali competition at the crow club. kaz is done with everybody's shit on that day because the entire club is pure chaos but their little show attracts a lot of visitors so he doesn't interrupt. and when the noise gets too much for him he sneaks up to the roof and sits outside. inej soon joins him and they spend the night on the roof, looking at the stars.

• inej loves lighting dhoop-batti or agar-batti in her room. when kaz gets to know she's about to return, he always lights a few in her room beforehand.

• inej writes hindi poetry while she's on the warith and sends them to kaz.

• as a child, inej used to steal her mother's dupatta and wrap it around herself like a saree so when inej sees her child doing the same, she can't help but tear up and smile.

• nina has taken up new ways of annoying kaz so she always hangs neembo mirchi on the doorknob of his office to "ward off negative energy". and every time kaz gets sick, nina insists it is because of "buri nazar" and suggests doing one of the nuskhas (if you've never had you dadi or nani or any other auty try to rid you of the "nazar" are you even desi?)

• we've talked enough about kaz in a kurta, but what about kaz wearing a DHOTI??? inej is teaching him how to wear it and jesper barges into the room and laughs his ass off until he's kicked out by kaz with a threat to keep his mouth shut.

• when everybody meets at the hendriks mansion, nina and inej insist on oiling their the boys' hair while inej tells them different stories (nina makes sure to comment on kaz's hair which leads to an argument until inej shuts them all up with a stern glare)

• wesper eating the same bhutta (you know how those cute couples drink something from the same tumblr with two straws? yeah, that. but with a bhutta) (fyi i got this idea after seeing a video of a hamster and a rabbit eating the same corn)

• nikolai loves eating biryani with his hands and he claims that whoever uses cutlery for it is stupid.

• genya has a huge collection of jhumkas, bangles, juttis, naths, maangteekas, etc.

• nikolai swearing in hindi. DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE ABOUT THIS??!!

• genya doesn't like the quality of kohl available in ravka so she makes it for herself (she has some of it always sent to inej).

• we've already had a gajra headcanon for kanej so now it's time for zoyalai. Nikolai always makes gajras for zoya a day before he's about to arrive at the ravkan ports.

• zoya loves doing yoga and that's how every morning starts for her (she even forces nikolai to join her who's all grumpy about it but stops complaining as she starts doing the asanas. he's quite good at yoga but he deliberately messes up his posture so that zoya helps him. yk what i mean? ;))

• david once found an old radio and fixed it for genya. now she has it in her room and listens to it everyday.

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wagner-fell · 3 years

Text

I am still very new to this website and I don’t know how link a post but this fic is based on a post by @sandersgrey

(If someone reading this knows how to link a post please either explain it to me or link it in the comments because that post is *amazing*)

“Hmmm,” said Tessa, depositing Mina into Kit’s waiting arms and examining her buzzing phone critically. She shot a quizzical look in his direction.

Jem looked up from his novel. “What is ‘hmmm’, my love?”

Kit mimed vomiting but stopped dead in his tracks when she replied, “it’s Astrid’s mother. You remember her from parent teacher night, don’t you, my darling?” Kit swears they were being extra insufferable just to mess with him but he didn’t have the time to be annoyed when Astrid’s. Mom. Was. Calling. Tessa.

To understand why Kit was panicking as much as he was, you must know that Astrid’s mom was incredibly chill. She never got mad. The worst punishment she’d ever given her daughter was taking away her iPod for a week so she couldn’t listen to Mitski.

Was she calling about last night when Astrid, Mari and Kit threw eggs at the Shadowhunter’s that were giving Mari’s pack a hard time for no reason? No, that couldn’t be it. She’d given them the eggs.

Could the call be about the day before yesterday when Kit and Astrid got distracted doing homework and ended up snapping the coffee table clean in half while battling gladiator style with pool noodles? No, that wasn’t it. She’d just handed Astrid a twenty and told them to go to Kevin’s parents' shop and get a new one. Was she pissed because they ended up spending the money on ice cream instead? No, they ended up finding a table for free in the rubbing bin outside a fancy hotel.

Kit clutched his sister to his chest and prepared for the worst.

“Seo-yoon! What can I do for- Oh, hello Astrid!” Tessa paused briefly, presumably to listen to Astrid speak, and Kit sighed in relief.

“Kit is occupied at the moment but I can relay the message.” Another pause. “Oh don’t be frightened of me. I’m a tots rad mom. Your secret is safe with me.” Kit felt his face flush red as he heard his best friend’s laughter echo across the living room. “Okay! I’ll let him know. He has to get Mina to sleep before he can leave though. Lord knows he’s the only one who can these days.” Tessa chuckled at something Astrid said before wishing her good luck in her endeavour and ending the call.

She turned her attention back to Kit. “Astrid needs your help breaking into your teacher’s home to retrieve her cell phone.”

Kit blinked at her, dumbfounded. “You aren’t mad I’m going to go break the law?”

Because of course he was doing it. Astrid’s dad had bought it for her and he was extremely cautious about money. That was one of three things Kit knew about her dad. He was cheap, he lived in America and he loved the movie Fight Club.

Tessa ruffled Kit’s hair affectionately. “Please. I’ve raised two other Herondales. At least I know about this particular adventure beforehand.”

Mina began snoring softly and Kit handed her back to her mother. He grabbed his bag and started his journey to the door when Tessa added, “she also told me to say hi to a ‘daddy Kit’. Are you ‘daddy Kit?’”

‘Daddy Kit’ closed his eyes and wished for the sweet release of death.

“Why is Kit a daddy,” Jem asked, genuinely confused. “Aren’t I the daddy?”

Kit swung the door open so fast not even a speed rune could have aided him. But not before I heard Tessa reply, “Lily Chen certainly thinks so.”

Mrs. MacNamara clapped her hands together. “Why don’t we all go around and say a few things about ourselves?”

Kit buried his face into his hands. He’d been relieved when no other teacher had fulfilled the Disney channel stereotype of making every student introduce themselves to the new kid. But Mrs. MacNamara didn’t even seem to realize what she was doing.

All Kit’s fellow classmates groan. Expect one. Her hand shot up immediately. She was short, like smaller than Clary short. She wore a baggy pink shirt with the words ‘Queen Glimmer of Etheria’ sewed on with purple sequins and tight black jeans. Her colourful, choppy hair was in a low ponytail and she flew a few strands out of her eyes as her hand wiggled in the hair.

Mrs. MacNamara pointed at her. She stood up and smiled at Kit. “Hi. My name is Astrid. My hobbies include making my little cousin’s girl Barbies kiss, as it should be, and watching television shows where everyone is a terrible person so you can love all of them!”

“And what shows might that be?” asked Kit, already in the process of pulling out his phone and opening the Notes app.

“Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Grey’s Anatomy again because it’s seventeen seasons as of right now. And to be fair it practically became a different show when they killed off Mark Sloan.”

“That’s enough, Miss Yang,” said Mrs. MacNamara. Astrid sat down and winked at Kit. Then she took out her phone and airdropped him a complete list of all her favorite shows, along with her number.

After Blessica’s pre-birthday birthday party, they went to Cirenworth and stayed up till four A.M. binging them.

They met outside a queer dry bar called Aries Not Welcome, the unspoken gathering place of the Merry Hoes. It was run by a poly lesbian couple in their mid-thirties. Quinn, Sydney and Aliyah may not have served alcohol but at least they were open 24/7.

“Did you bring the shit?”

Kit gave her a look. “The shit? How conclusive.”

“Shut up. You know, the shadowhunter thing.”

“The shadowhunter thing?”

“The, the, the glow stick that you draw with.”

“The glow stick that I draw wi-“ Kit closed his eyes briefly. “Do you mean a stele?”

Astrid snapped her fingers. “That’s it!” Kit shook his head in exasperation, smiling fondly. “I borrowed a torch from Quinn, let’s move.”

“Should I be worried that you know where Mr. Smith lives?” questioned Kit as he followed Astrid’s lead through the park.

“Should I be worried that your mom was fine with us breaking and entering?” she shot back playfully. Kit pushed Astrid and she fell off the path, laughing all the way.

“You called me ‘daddy’ to my mom’s face.”

She just laughed harder, slinging her arm around Kit’s shoulder. “It was over the phone, Christopher. And as I should.”

“Pffffttt. Why did you get your phone taken anyway?” She put her hands into her jumper pocket and looked at the ground. “Astrid.” She remained silent. “Astrid?”

She mumbled something under her breath. “What?” asked Kit.

“I WAS READING NINEJ FANFICTION!” she shouted.

Kit gasped. “I thought you were a die hard Kanej shipper,” he whispered.

“I’m a multishipper, okay?!” she replied, equally quiet.

“Does Blessica know?”

She shook her head. “And she will never find out.”

Kit saw the opportunity and he seized it. “She’ll never find out as long as you never call me daddy in front of either of my parents.”

She removed her arm from his shoulder and guided them out of the park, in the direction of the many apartments that lined this side of town. “I hate you.”

“Well, so does Mari. You're not special, Ast.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know Mari doesn’t actually hate you, right?! They’re just still in the enemy phase of your enemies-to-lovers romance. She only dislikes you because they feel something for you but they don’t know what so she interrupts it as loathing. In reality, her inner soul knows you’re hot and shmexie.”

Kit didn’t know how to process this so he just nodded and follow Astrid in silence to Mr. Smith’s house. (Plus, he was kinda glad that, according to his best friend, he had a little more time for Mari to ‘discover their true feelings’. If Kit screwed this up, he was out of countries to run off to.)

“Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What,” asked Kit, turning around to face Astrid and closing the drawer he was rifling through. “Did you find your phone?”

“Yeah. But I also found Blessica’s. She was Snapping Kevin. Platonic my ass. But he took the fucking trans flag out of her phone!”

Kit snatched Blessica’s phone out of her hand to examine it for herself. She was telling the truth. Where the glitter pride flag usually rested was just a clear purple case. Kit couldn’t believe his eyes.

“It’s one thing to misgender her every day.” Blessica had forced all four of the other Merry Hoes to sign a contract saying they wouldn’t do anything to harm him because of it. “But this is the last straw. You know what we have to do.” Oops.

“Yeah, but we don’t have any spray paint.”

Kit eyed Mr. Smith’s pink sofa, blue bar stool covers and white picture frames. “I think I have something better in mind.”

It would have been easier for both parties to just zip off the sofa cushions and tape them to the wall but by ripping them off in strips, they ensured he would have to buy new ones. And judging by the car he drove and the fiji water in his fridge, Mr. Smith could definitely afford it.

That reminded him, “I’ll finish up with this. Go put all his fiji water into my bag.” Astrid saluted him and ran off. “Wait.” She stopped and looked at him. “Steal all the remotes you can find.”

“How is he not awake?,” asked Astrid as they ripped the fabric of his seating from the stool.

He shrugged. “Don’t question it.” He shoved the bundle of cloth into her arms. “Glue this above the pink. I’ll handle the frames.”

“Say the magic word,” she sang.

“Please?”

“No. Lesbian. Come on, I thought you knew me better than that.”

Kit laughed quietly. “Can you lesbian glue this above the pink?”

She grinned at Kit. “It would be my pleasure.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello! Sorry I haven’t written anything in so long. School just restarted and it has been…a lot.

@adoravel-fenomeno @thechangeling @the-blackdale @the-wckd-powers @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @im-not-ruined-im-ruination @ithurielkeepsgettingkidnapped @noah-herondale-lightwood @arangiajoan @shelvesofgold @maxboythedog @book-dragon-not-worm @hardlymatters

Very sorry if I forgot anyone. Lmk if you want to be addEd/removEd from the tag list.

#mari the werewolf #mari machado sotomayor #mari machado #kit rook #kit herondale #astrid yang #blessica reyes #Kevin chu #tessa grey #jem carstairs #lily chen #mina carstairs

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manikas-whims · 3 years

Text

A Tantalizing Surprise

[Read on AO3]

for Kanej Week (@kanejweek) Day 5: Love (domesticity)

It took around eight years and a lot of mutual support to achieve this level of intimacy. But he was glad they never gave up..

• Friend 1: write Inej in a silk dress and some sexy Kanej moment Friend 2: No! Write injured Kaz being patched up by Inej Me: *an unbiased friend* mixes both requests into this fic ~♥ • I headcanon Liddies being a gang run by women :)

Kaz Brekker utterly despised private parleys. Majority of the time they were a farce. Excuses crafted in order to get him alone and put an end to his reign forever. Everytime a haughty barrel boss offered him a drink or a condescending mercher invited him for dinner, it wasn't for the sake of striking amiable business deals with him. But to drive a knife through his rotten heart or shoot a bullet into that scheming head of his.

And yet he had agreed to meet the leader of the Liddies in a small coffee house on the bustling streets of the East Stave. They were stirring up too much ruckus and if left unchecked any longer, they'd embolden every other gang to go against the Dregs. Dirtyhands couldn't let that happen, now could he?

As suspected, no pleasantries were exchanged. The door was jammed shut immediately upon his arrival.

Their lieutenant, a burly, middle-aged brunette, attacked first. She tried smashing her wooden bat into his face but thankfully Anika blocked in time with a crowbar. Two other females followed, swinging rustic metal pipes at him which he managed to counter with his cane. Roeder was struggling on the other side, engaged in a one-on-one with their spider.

"This ends tonight, Brekker." Their leader howled from her perch atop a stool. "Barrel needs a queen."

"Barrel already has one." He responded calmly.

"The little whore? The one who's barely in this city?" she grinned sharply, getting up.

"Careful." His gaze turned steely and his gloved fingers flexed tensely onto the crow head of his cane. "I can gut you and your ladies for insulting my Wraith."

"I'd like to see you try." She sneered, madly lunging at him with her bare hands.

He sighed. This was going to be a long night.

The fight lasted for an hour. Liddies finally ran off when more Dregs arrived on the scene and broke down the coffee house's door.

Kaz dictated his gang to double the security around the Crow Club and his other establishments just in case. He then dug his fingers into his right leg in hopes of quelling a little of the ache there as he dragged himself back to his place. Not the slat anymore but a luxurious mansion on the Geldstraat. He had purchased it under a pseudonym after Councilman Hoede had passed away three years ago.

Blame Wylan for making him waste his kruge on a deadman's house. Though the dark wood walls and coffered ceilings looked amazing upon his first visit, he did get a few things renovated. Such as converting the dilapidated Grisha workshop into an ordinary shed and the addition of wild geraniums to the vast variety of flowering plants in the gardens.

Despite his habits, he pulled out a key that he kept within the hidden pocket on the left side of his coat and swiftly unlocked the large, black, entrance gates. The next few minutes of the long walk through the front stone pavement didn't feel regal, atleast not to his leg. He retrieved another key upon reaching the main doors. It was an odd experience every time— to enter a house this big without utilizing his skills in lock-picking.

He didn't stop to admire the blown glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling or the stolen DeKappel displayed mockingly on the opposite end of the hall. He simply braced himself for the walk up the long staircase leading towards the more private quarters of the mansion.

His steps came to a halt only when he reached the master bedroom. And that too, not because it had been his destination all along but because he felt her presence.

He shook his head in disbelief. Maybe six months of being apart were taking a toll on him, playing tricks with his senses. Or maybe it was just an effect of blood loss due to the cut he'd taken during the fight with the Liddies.

He turned the knob and entered, the room same as ever. A bookshelf tucked in the left corner from the door, a vanity table with a full-length mirror right next to it; a door leading to the balcony and another door to the bathroom on the other end. And of course, the king-size bed atop which his eyes found her tantalizing form, aglow under the golden flame of the dimly burning lone candle.

Kaz regarded her silently. Her lithe frame was covered in a purple, silk nightgown that left barely anything to his imagination. Or rather, it was exactly the sight he envisioned every night. An ideal reverie where he pulled her onto his lap and kissed down the delicious curve of her neck. A fantasy where he relished in her whispers of his name. A fantasy where they did all the unholy things they're capable of now. A fantasy he had been yearning for yet kept locked in the darkest recesses of his twisted mind.

But this was different. This woman in his bed had longer hair and was far more breathtaking than any imagery he could will his mind to conjure. This was real. She was real.

"Saints!" She slid off the bed. "Kaz, what happened?"

Yes, she was real.

And she had chosen an interesting outfit for their reunion.

But it was unusual of her to dock in Ketterdam and not send a runner to let him know. Not to mention, she had somehow managed to sneak into their mansion without any keys.

"You're hurt!"

He scoffed at her concern and proceeded to discard his coat. After all the times they've fought and bled together, she should be used to witnessing him a little roughed up.

He peeled off his gloves with methodical ease and tossed them onto the table. Then he tentatively reached for one of her hands, his thumb stroking along the pulse in her wrist. There was no harm in confirming she was real and alive.

"Welcome back, Wraith."

She freed her wrist, completely ignoring his greeting, and placed her palms over his stubbled cheeks. Fortunately, no waves lapped up his skin. So he let her turn his face this way and that to check for any signs of injuries. When she found none, she smiled in relief and pulled his face down so their lips could meet. His arms immediately snaked around her waist. And he was glad her only reaction was a soft sound of contentment, not tensing or vanishing in his hold. It took around eight years and a lot of mutual support to achieve this level of intimacy. But he was glad they never gave up and worked together to get accustomed to one another's touch.

The contact overwhelmed him everytime, in a good way of course. It was exhilarating to be able to brush his lips against hers. A common gesture for most couples but a very big accomplishment for them. Just like everything else.

Everytime they shed a piece of their armor, touched longer, touched more, they counted it as a new milestone. He was thankful to their patience and to whichever of Inej's saints had blessed them for their persistent efforts.

The kiss deepened with every passing moment, all those months of separation provoking their dormant desires. But as soon as his tongue slid past her mouth, he felt a twinge of pain in his abdomen and broke away. "Fuck! What the hell, Wraith!?"

In trailing her hands along his torso, she had accidentally discovered the cut wound on the left side of his lower abdomen. She glared down at the small dot of blood staining his clothes. "You have absolutely no sense of self-preservation!"

He laughed at the furrow of her brows as she pushed him back until he was seated in a chair. "Takes one to know one."

He heard her huff before she disappeared inside the bathroom and returned seconds later with a roll of bandage, cotton swabs, and a disinfectant.

The blade of the knife had torn past both his vest and shirt but fortunately, barely grazed his skin. The cut wasn't deep or life-threatening, only seeping slow trickles of blood. However, that didn't stop his fiercely gentle partner from worrying. She began undoing the buttons on his vest and in the heat of the moment, he joked. "Someone is eager."

This time she glared at him directly and resumed her task. She was cautious in shrugging off the vest. Even more whilst removing his sweaty shirt.

As soon as the disinfectant-soaked cotton pad grazed his wound, he pressed his lips into a thin line. "Care to explain why I wasn't informed of your arrival?" He gritted out through the light haze of pain. He wasn't mad. But had he known, he would've cleared his schedule for her. Denied that parlay altogether and avoided being injured.

Her hands hesitated in cleaning the blood. "I wanted to surprise you."

Now his brows quirked.

"And was this part of the surprise?" He stared at the thin slip of nightdress snug on the curves of her beautiful body. His voice lowered an octave. "You put this on for me?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, a small action he had noticed her doing when in contemplation. "My intention was to doll-up for the King of the Barrel."

He shook his head, tugging on the hem of her dress. "Seems to me the Queen of the Seas was intent on arousing me with her alluring silks."

She punched his shoulder lightly. "You're bruised and bleeding and this is what you think?"

"Inej," He spoke earnestly, his ardent gaze focused on her as she continued bandaging him, "I always think about you."

"Aside from when I'm out there making money." He added as an afterthought.

She giggled.

He waited until she was done tying the last knot of the bandage to stand up. His fingers disappeared beneath her dress, glided tenderly over the flesh of her thighs in the moment he lifted her up. Her legs naturally came to wrap around his waist and she looked at him. "Kaz?"

He responded with a soft, lingering kiss before pulling back, his breath fanning her lips. "Still in the mood to surprise me?"

She nodded, her eyes averted shyly for once as he carried her towards the shower.

#kanej #kanej week 2021 #kanej fanfiction #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows #day 5 #love #domesticity

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i-lovethatforme · 2 years

Note

Immediately jumping on the kanej bandwagon! Love your first drabble! would you mind writing something where kaz comforts inej?

Inej is fine. She’s fine.

She can hear the whispering. The questions about whether she’ll break. The doubts about her mind. But she’s coped with worse before, and she’ll do it now.

Things change. She didn’t want to be the reason anyone stopped breathing, yet a man lay dead with a gash in his head that could only be traced back to her dagger. She never wanted to kill anybody, but she didn’t have a choice.

“Maybe I should -” she hears.

“She doesn’t want you,” Jesper whispers. His words are not unkind nor are they true. Inej doesn’t want anyone and she doesn’t appreciate the suggestion in his tone that she does.

She stares at the fire from where she sits on the ground, as far away from the others as possible, yet close enough for her limbs not to freeze. She’s not sure she deserves the warmth right now, but if she dies, she can’t help tomorrow. And she’s needed for that. So she’ll stay for them.

She watches the flames go from orange to yellow and then they disappear. They turn to nothing. She watches them dance through the air until they cease to exist. Like the man she killed earlier today. She wills her nose to stop burning and she wishes her throat would relax and she just wants a second to take a deep breath without everyone attempting to stare at her. She’s mainly hidden by the tent, but she sees faces every now and then.

The desperation to just forget, to be comforted in a way she doesn’t understand begins to suffocate her. Because she can’t see a way out of this. Even if it only lasts for the night, she thinks the heartbreak may kill her. And she has no idea how to let it go.

And then she sees him. He’s walking towards her from across the campsite, not that it matters. It won’t help in the way she craves, in the way she wants but she’s terrified to admit, but seeing him here is momentarily enough.

But Kaz doesn’t stop when he hits the logs on the ground and he strides straight past the fire, his cane barely knocking dust from the ground and he’s not slowing down as he reaches her and she tries not to blink in case the tears fall. He doesn’t say anything as he sits next to her, close enough that she can feel the chill from his coat but she doesn’t ask him to leave. She doesn’t say anything at all, she just looks at him hoping to find something to soothe her. Something to save her, not that she’d ever admit it.

He’s hidden from the others here, not that it would matter, he's not looking at her anyway, so she turns away as well.

“Are you alright?” he asks, staring at the fire with the same ferocity she is. But she can’t respond.

“Inej?” he says, his voice breaking. She looks up at him and he’s already looking at her too closely, yet not giving her enough.

“I’m - I’m fine,” she says.

"Inej.”

Her face crumples before she can hide it and she sees the flash of pain on his before she screws her eyes shut. She doesn’t want him to feel guilty because she killed someone for him. Because of course, she would. Of course, she did.

She can't even tell if it's worse that it happened or if it's worse she knows she'd do it again in a heartbeat.

But then she feels his arm go around her, his body shifts closer as his hand rests against the back of her head. It’s overwhelming, the scent of him, the feel of his body against hers. The pressure of being touched when it’s something she isn’t trying to fight. It calms her and it terrifies her, and she lets it. Her hand gripping his coat as her body is wracked with sobs.

“Okay, you’re okay,” he whispers. “It’s going to be okay.”

And she can't see how. But she believes him. She trusts him.

Because it's always going to be him.

#kanej #shadow and bone #kaz brekker #inej gafha

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