timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ there's something of a sigh at the knowledge of salt and pepper being the be all end all in kerch. which she's used to, by now, but she still misses the tastes of ravka whenever she comes back to kerch.

still, she adds a small amount of oil to the roasting pan before turning her attention to the squash. and quickly, she examines the length of the kitchen blade and tests the balance of it with her hand before she gets to work, quickly trimming and dicing the squash one by one, creating a pile.

she idly considers giving kaz a task to do, but she sort of enjoys just having him talk. and besides, he just woke up. handing him a knife and expecting him to work quickly is probably a bad idea.

even though he's the one who taught her in the first place, inej has long since surpassed him. it's easier to just do it herself.

so, as she moves on to the next squash, she says: ]

I could tell, when I asked where the rest of the selection was, and I was treated like I had seven heads.

[ dryly. ]

I'll have to go elsewhere for flavor, I guess.

[ Before he'd traveled with Inej, he might not have understood her sigh as well. It would've been a theoretical understanding; she missed things from where she'd grown up. That's the way it would've made sense.

Having it first hand is quite different and he agrees right along with her exasperation. For all that Kerch liked to trade, they didn't always integrate those traded items into popular society very well. Or rather, they focused on more material wealth—hand woven tapestries, silks, specially cut gems. And not so much on the things they could use on a potato dish to make it taste different.

Their loss. Between the two of them, they'd figure out a way to fill the gaps.

He watches as she gets to work on the squash first, breaking through the thick skin with a clever application of pressure and angle. From there, trimming the rind off and dicing the leftovers looked easy. Well, anytime she used a knife she made it look simple. But he'd taught her the foundations and knew exactly how tricky some of it could be.

She's surpassed that several years ago now; any sort of knife in her hands could be a dangerous one, even one for buttering bread. ]

Go easy, paprika was a big thing last winter. [ Ah, the basics. ] I'll make a traditional stew sometime. It's not fancy but you'll rarely find someone here who would turn it down.

I would like that.

[ with a warm smile, in reference to the stew. and soon, the squash is done, and inej drops it into the oiled roasting pan, tossing it with salt and pepper. she then turns her attention to the chicken.

it’s already been butchered and gutted, so adding oil, salting it and adding pepper is really all to be done, and she deposits that into the pan with the squash before turning to the oven, sliding it in after checking to make sure it’s properly lit.

once that is done, inej turns to wash her hands in the sink, scrubbing them clean before she says: ]

I think it will be ready in about forty five minutes. It isn’t a very large chicken.

[ she had tried to find something quick, easy, and able to throw together with minimal effort. success. ]

[ He doesn't watch her rub salt and pepper onto the chicken, the skin texture of it alone enough to make him feel uneasy. It's the one thing he really has leftover—touching raw meat gives him that nauseated reaction even now.

Once it's safely in the oven and she's wiped her hands off, he considers what to do in the meantime. ]

I think we can kill forty-five minutes pretty easily. [ Just. You know. Putting that out there. ]

[ she deposits the towel on the counter, about to ask him what he wants to do when he beats her to the punch. and inej allows herself a slight roll of her eyes at his comment before stepping forward to curl her fingers into his shirt, tugging on it.

pulling him a little closer. ]

Dinner could burn if we get distracted.

[ thoughtfully. ]

What did you have in mind?

[ She rolls her eyes but still steps closer and he grins. Her fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt and he follows the tug, looping an arm around her waist to pull them flush. ]

Maybe a little distraction. [ After all, she had gone through the effort to get the food to begin with, he doesn't want it to go to waste. ]

Haven't decided. [ Not fully, anyway. ] Hold on.

[ And that's really all the warning she's going to get before he tucks his cane under one arm and uses both hands to lift her up. ]

[ she’s about to lazily loop her arms around his neck when he pulls them together, but inej gives him a questioning look at being told hold on when she is suddenly in the air.

the largest mistake she made was allowing him to pick her up in the first place, inej thinks to herself as she’s suddenly at his eye level. but it’s a bit too late now, and so she loops her arms around his neck and lifts her legs a bit to loop more fully around his waist, so she’s a little more anchored, and easier to carry.

she then kisses his cheek. ]

Do not drop me.

[ how inej manages to say something affectionately while also sounding vaguely threatening is beyond anyone, but she does it. ]

When have I ever? [ Okay, they might've had a few close calls in the Slat. Three flights of stairs was sometimes hard on his own, let alone with the added weight of Inej—however slight that is.

Still, he never actually dropped her, not even in that desperate run to the ship that would take them to Fjerda. Though most of that journey is a blur to his memory, all he really remembers is panicking.

A far cry from where he is now, as he steadily carries her to the bedroom. The layout just happens to make it easy to get to and he feels a vague sense of relief when there's no incident from one room to another. He sets her down on the bed and then uses the same motion to kiss her neck. ]

You nearly dropped me down three flights of stairs.

[ a bit flatly, though she knows kaz is going to argue the nearly to his grave, because she did not, in fact, get dropped down three flights of stairs. but as she's set down on the bed, she unfolds herself from around him easily, tilting her head back a little as he kisses her neck.

she hums to herself, closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling, before she adds: ]

The only reason why you have a perfect track record is because of me.

[ as usual, she adds silently to herself, but best not to ruin the moment with an argument over ego. ]

[ A fair point, though he still stands by the fact it had only been nearly dropped, not actually dropped.

Granted, it had been Inej's quick reflexes that had stopped them both from toppling from near the top of the stairs. They hadn't done a repeat of that particular move afterwards, probably for the best. ]

And what would I do without you? [ He murmurs into the side of her neck, a bit of a cheeky smile pressed there. Reluctantly, he pulls away to set his cane aside before joining her on the bed, running his hands up her legs and leaning in for a proper kiss. ]

[ oh, he's in a good mood.

so she grins, returning the kiss in earnest, curling her fingers into the collar of his shirt to tug him properly on top of her, her back hitting the bed with a laugh before shifting to press her lips to his jaw. ]

Dead at the bottom of the ocean.

[ murmured, fingers brushing through his hair. ]

With cement blocks tied around your waist, probably.

[ He goes with her eagerly, using one arm to brace himself up. The other he sneaks a hand under the hem of her shirt, walking his fingers up along her side. At her kiss, he tilts his head, making an agreeing sound. ]

A likely possibility. [ The Black Tips certainly wouldn't mourn the loss. He'd say the same for the Razorgulls but their most recent leadership is more of a friendly rivalry than it has been in the past.

Which. Whatever, not important at all right now. Not when he could be thinking about other things, like kissing Inej. He presses another to her mouth and works his way down, shifting backwards so he can lift her shirt and kiss a line along her torso. ]

[ a certainty, really, inej thinks to herself, letting her eyes close at the feeling of his lips trail down her body. kaz is a capable person and more than capable of surviving on his own, but she always feels better when she's nearby. because while she knows the barrel is terrified of kaz brekker when furious, inej knows they're even more scared of the wraith.

the ghost in the dark, who is always watching, even when she's not there.

but similarly to kaz, inej pushes that thought of her mind, instead shifting her arms so she can get out of the shirt that kaz is pushing aside anyway. she manages to do so without distracting kaz from his mission, depositing the shirt off the side of the bed.

being flexible has perks. ]

[ At this point, he's seen her shirtless hundreds of times. And yet, it still gives him the same reaction—a mix of gratefulness that she trusts him and, well, the more obvious thrill that goes straight between his legs.

He works his way back up, cupping one of her breasts and brushing his thumb across the nipple. The other he drags his tongue over before he takes it in his mouth and sucks. In a bit, he's going to have to get his trousers off. But that's for later, when he isn't so preoccupied. ]

[ it’s been a difficult journey, to trust and vulnerability. but the rewards have been worth it, not just in being able to enjoy physical intimacy, but in confidence. in love, and trust, and appreciation of her own body.

so she exhales, at the feeling of his mouth and hands, a slow grin appearing as she relishes the feeling. ]

I’ve missed you.

[ she murmurs for the second time that day, combing her fingers through his hair. not really doing much in terms of movement or reciprocation yet. just soaking up the feeling, and the thrum of energy and anticipation working it’s way through her chest, pooling in her stomach. ]

[ Getting to this point hasn't been easy. The memories of either one of them having a violently ill reaction are still fresh and some days the queasiness still climbs up his throat. Those times are getting fewer and far between, seemingly triggered by less and less. Inej is making similar progress and he's careful about certain touches, especially if he's behind her.

But the fact is, a couple years ago they couldn't have even gotten this far. Not with her shirt off and with so little hesitation. ]

I missed you too. [ He says, glancing up at her before placing a single chaste kiss to her breastbone. Sleeping without her nearby had been difficult. And he'd missed all the little things throughout the day; her quiet laugh, the sassy remarks, her legs draped across his lap. A part of him had also missed this, having woken up from dreams the imitated more than a few memories, leaving him wanting someone hundreds of miles away. ]

Help me get these off. [ He tugs at the waistband of her pants once he sits back on his heels. ]

[ the word lazy is on the tip of her tongue, at the tug to her pants. surely he’s capable of removing them himself. but they are on a time limit, so inej supposes she should probably be a team player, as loathe as she is to rush anything.

so she unbuttons her pants and lifts her hips, sliding them down part way before using her legs to sort of shimmy them the rest of the way off. or mostly, because: ]

You are between my legs.

[ amused; he’s sort of in the way of finishing the job. ]

[ She takes care of the trickier part of getting them over her hips, at least. He does move out of the way momentarily, taking over where she stopped, dragging them down her legs and off. Much like her shirt, they're dumped over the side of the bed—they'll come back to that later.

To balance things out a little, he tugs his shirttails out and unbuttons it, shrugging the garment off. It lands somewhere on the floor, he isn't paying much attention. Because there are much more interesting things to focus on, like kissing a line up the inside of her thigh. And finally touching between her legs, his fingers lightly stroking up. ]

That's the general idea. [ To answer her earlier snark. This time, though, he does the work to tug her underwear off, easily lifting her hips up. Once they're off, he keeps her hips lifted a bit as he leans in, giving her entrance a slow lick. ]

[ she used to be so terrified of being like this, vulnerable and exposed. now, Inej just sort of watches him as he shrugs out of his shirt, almost about to make another affectionate comment before kaz decides to open his mouth.

it does cause a laugh to rise, as he kisses her thigh and then moves between her legs properly. the tail end of the laugh ends in a shaky breath, as she shifts her legs a bit to give him a little more room. and maybe roll her hips a little bit closer.

she thinks they have about thirty five minutes left before the food burns, though inej has already resigned herself to having to make eggs for dinner, knowing that the chicken is going to be a lost cause. ]

[ Her hips push closer and that's all the incentive he needs to keep going. It's the silent answer that yes, she's fine, she isn't going to disappear in the current moment. He affectionately slides his one hand down her leg to her knee and back up again, thumb digging in just a bit.

Most of his attention goes towards getting her off. Or at least putting her close to the edge, as a tease. Another lick follows the first, this one less of a test, and then another, tasting her from bottom to top. A groan gets muffled in his throat as he goes to suck her clit, feeling his trousers getting distinctly more uncomfortable.

(He'd wanted to do this when she got back in, but someone had been impatient). ]

[ Inej’s first thought after being away for so long really hadn’t been to drag him straight to bed. she had just been desperate to see him, and touch him, and hold him. but one thing had led to another and inej, honestly, isn’t even sure they had fully taken each other’s clothes off before they had finished.

once that was done, then they could catch up. properly. and she had been told (somewhat petulantly) that she had been impatient. she told him that she hadn’t heard an ounce of complaining, and that had been the end of that.

she’s fairly certain she’s paying for her impatience now, a breathy gasp escaping involuntarily as kaz decides that he’s apparently finished with being coy, her fingers curling into the strewn comforter of their bed before she manages: ]

Impatient—

[ — as her head presses back into the bed, breath catching. she’s usually not loud, in very much in life, but he’s threatening her to break her number one rule of keeping quiet if he keeps acting like that. ]

[ Really, he hadn't been complaining all that much when she'd first gotten back in. At the very least, getting dragged to bed had taken the edge off for them both, months of loneliness boiling over.

That hadn't stopped him from gently griping about not being able to eat her out. Because who is he if not a little greedy? It's difficult not to be in this instance, as he hears her breath catch. He flicks his gaze up, enjoying the sight of her head tilted back, the way her body's curved. And maybe he gets a kick from hearing her reactions. She's quiet everywhere else, after all.

One hand goes to blindly undo the front of his pants, sighing out against her at the bit of relief. He alternates between licking and sucking before adding his fingers to the mix, lightly rubbing her clit as he slides his tongue between her folds. ]

[ she doesn’t want to come soon, but it also cannot come fast enough. the addition of his fingers causes a hissed exhale, reluctant to allow anything close to a moan escape. why, inej has no idea. probably because the one time she had allowed such a thing to escape, she hadn’t been able to escape Kaz brekker’s arrogant smugness for at least a week.

but it’s quickly becoming a losing battle. her back arches just enough to roll her hips against his tongue, and instead of sheets, Inej’s fingers have found his hair. giving just enough of a tug to indicate that if he stops, she is going to be furious.

or, at minimum, his tongue had better be replaced with something else. ]

[ She is, perhaps, lucky that he's concentrating enough not to remark on the quiet hiss. Now she's wet enough that every swipe of his tongue comes away slightly slicker than the last, which only adds to the tension curling at the base of his spine.

When her fingers tug, he exhales a moan, mouth pressed close enough for her to feel it. Of course, he takes the hint, two of his fingers carefully sliding into her. He licks around his fingers as he pulls them out and pushes them back in, slowly continuing the pattern. His thumb traces along the outside and he goes to suck on her none too gently, clearly trying to get her to come. ]

[ inej can't really remember when kaz decided that he enjoyed doing this, but she knows it was a quick transition from figuring out what to do to deciding that this was something that he absolutely needed to do. she's not really sure why.

she has a sneaking suspicion it has to do with her reaction.

her back arches abruptly, at the feeling of his fingers, and inej exhales slowly. trying to control her breathing, to make it last a little longer, but her breathing escalates, becoming shallower. clear indications that she's closer.

she can feel the somewhat uncomfortable pressure building in her stomach, as her breathing gets quicker -- and suddenly, there's a tipping of the scales, a tumbling over the edge as she gasps -- rough, and ragged, and very unlike her, thank you very much, her fingers suddenly tightening into his hair as she rides through it.

no moaning. thank you very much. but pretty close, given she feels a little dazed. ]

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