I'd love to see your take on how the crows would react to Kaz showing Inej some affection in front of them :)
they had all been up for hours.
like an ungodly length of time
the job they were working on had taken the majority of the past two days, allowing for little to no sleep
kaz was pretty sure he caught wylan sleeping standing up at one point (doing that thing where your head keeps falling forward cause you’re nodding off)
they were supposed to steal a bank statement and business agreements from the inside of a merchers house but things had gone a bit astray
the man had come home extremely early from him monthly visit to the countryside, kaz assuming he had gotten poor results at the races
now everything had to be watched, had to be timed, there was no room for any mistakes
inej would be the one to crawl across the roof, down into the office window, something she had done nearly a thousand times by now
kaz stood watch from behind, wylan and jesper walked along the street, not-so-accidentally crossing paths with the man and coughing to set the plan in motion
inej has been waiting, her body crunched at an awkward angle, laying on her belly and waiting to scale the steep decline of the roof
she watched as kaz nodded to her, the cue she had been waiting for. she skittered along quickly, her bones and muscles aching
she worked at the lock quickly, her fingers trembling as it clicked open
she swung it inward, slipping in silently. immediately she went to the cabinet kaz had directed her to
inej had never been more grateful for an organized mercher in her entire life.
below her, she heard the front door creak, the mans heavy footsteps against the wooden floorboards
she tucked the statements and files into her vest, snug against her chest. she crossed the room to the window once more, careful to avoid the loose floorboard she had noticed the first time.
she stepped out onto the small window ledge, locking the window behind her and crawling down the brickwork
she turned into an alley, crossing two streets to reach the inn they had agreed upon meeting at. she didn’t stop at the bar or the desk, instead climbed the stairs to the fifth room on the right. she knocked and nina answered.
they all breathed a collective sigh of relief as she pulled the papers out of her vest and tossed them on the rickety side table.
as the rest of them chatted and celebrated, inej walked over to kaz by the window.
“the wraith saves the day once again.”
she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck, “i cut it close.”
“but you always make it.”
kaz noticed as she rubbed both shoulders, turning her head as if trying to relieve some tension. “are you alright?”
inej nodded, dismissing his concern, “just tired.”
he knew that what she really meant to say was exhausted. she had been scaling up and down the same building for two days straight, he was sure her body was beginning to feel the affects of the odd positions required.
he pulled her close, tossing his gloves onto the chair next to him and placing his hands on her shoulders. he gently worked away at the knots in her back, cautious of not making them any worse.
kaz then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. “any better?”
inej turned and gave him a sleepy smile, as she nodded.
he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. her head laid against him as she let her eyes close.
it was then kaz noticed that silence had blanketed the room and every set of eyes was on them. his voice turned rough again, the gentleness replaced by the rock salt. “what?”
nina spoke first, never afraid of kaz’s tempers, “don’t play dumb, brekker. you know what.”
and he did. of course he did.
“all these years and i couldn’t even get a hug but inej gets a massage and a cuddle? seems a bit unfair.” jesper crossed his arms over his chest, his face split by a sly smile.
kaz could only roll his eyes. he felt inej laugh. clearly everyone was really enjoying this.
“what’s it like, wraith? is it cozy in there? i wouldn’t know!”
she turned enough so her voice wouldn’t be muffled by his shirt. “it’s alright.”
kaz couldn’t help but smile. inej looked up at him then and touched her nose to the bottom of his jaw. he pressed another kiss to her forehead.
matthias leaned against the wall behind the bed. “all of you quit it. it’s all fun and games until the demjin decides he’s had enough of the joke.”
“oh, helvar, don’t feel the need to stop on my account.” his tone was dripping with sarcasm, coming like a growl from the back of his throat
wylan gave his opinion on the matter by simply saying, “finally.”
they all laughed. to his surprise, kaz felt himself laugh with them.
this moment hadn’t been something he’d looked forward to. the idea of showing other people what had grown between him and inej had actually made him a bit anxious.
he was sure that it would be a sight to see: kaz brekker holding onto inej, kissing her as if they were simply another couple. he had been expecting for them to view it as some kind of spectacle, to ogle at and ask questions like it was their business. but they hadn’t.
they had smiled and laughed together, simply happy for them. happy for the broken boy and girl that had worked so hard to simply touch the other.
dededos
kaledo-art
2087
jacobvanloon
yousharknotpass
