timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow.

[ with a shrug of her shoulders, taking another bite. she feels . . . properly relaxed, for the first time in a long time. eagerly looking forward to spending the rest of the night in a bath and pajamas.

now that she thinks of it, a bath sounds much better than racing across the rooftops toward the slat. ]

Everything important is already at the Slat.

Fair enough.

[ He finishes up his batch of dinner and extinguishes the stovetop, letting the pan cool. Stepping closer to her end of the counter, he leans against it and they chatter idly, working through vague ideas on what they want where, what to do with the rooms upstairs. Talking about something so mundane isn't totally new to him, but it's not their usual topic.

Soon enough, they polish off their dinner and he shoos her off to start her bath, knowing how much she's been looking forward to it. There's hot water in the Slat, but it doesn't compare—the bathroom is shared, after all. Here, she can soak without someone knocking on the door and complaining they need to take a piss.

When he's done in the kitchen, he can hear the water running from behind the cracked bathroom door. And above that, the occasional snatch of a humming sound. She's left his shirt hanging from the doorknob and he changes, pulling it on with his tie and coat, smoothing out any wrinkles where he can. Well, it's mostly dark, it's not totally noticeable. Collecting his cane once more, he makes his way out of the house, locking the front door behind him.

(Not that a lock would keep a lockpick away but...it is a very complicated one. Of course).

The walk back to the Slat is an uneventful one, though the East Stave is in full swing when he crosses over the Zentsbridge. It's a familiar weave in and out of the crowds back to the Barrel and he manages to avoid most of the questions when he gets back to the Slat. Anika looks at him with a knowing glance and he chooses to set off on climbing the three flights of stairs instead of deign her with an answer.

It takes a little time to pack up what he'll need in the more immediate future—the rest can wait. He takes up her bag and his own, neither of them very heavy, and starts his walk back. This time, thankfully, not stopped by anyone on his way out.

By the time he gets back, he's ready to turn in for the night. Maybe after a shower. He sets her bag at the end of the bed and his on the floor before sitting on the edge of the mattress and promptly flopping back into it. ]

[ the bath is divine.

truthfully, she could have stayed in there for another two hours. and inej very nearly falls asleep, after washing her hair and scrubbing herself clean. but she hears the door of the bedroom open, and her eyes open suddenly, about to ask who it is (a reflex, really, fo spending so much time sharing space) when she hears the telltale thunk of kaz's cane.

she then relaxes into the water, right up to her nose, idly considering just staying there before she decides she should probably free the bathroom so kaz could shower.

so she gets up, unplugging the drain. she dries off quickly, towel-drying her hair so it isn't entirely sopping wet, before wrapping a towel around herself to peer out into the bedroom, seeing kaz . . . flopped onto the bed.

she moves across the room, finding her bag resting on the bed, but is soon distracted by leaning over kaz slightly, one hand keeping the towel up, arching her eyebrows. ]

Are you alright?

[ somewhat amused, somewhat serious. it is a long walk. ]

[ He hears her drain the bathtub and eventually step out. Though her footfalls are quiet as usual; he's just used to the particular silence she keeps wrapped around her. ]

Hey. [ One hand rubs down his face, the day definitely catching up. Despite her being next to him the night before, he hadn't slept too well, all anxious about showing her the house. ] Long day.

[ Really, a long week. Same difference. ] How was your bath?

[ He asks, sitting up, momentarily taking in the sight of her damp hair and bare legs. Wow, he wants to hold her and go to bed. ]

Good.

[ she says as she brushes his hair back, a faint smile appearing, before she turns her attention to her bag, to find something comfortable to sleep in. but she remains close, tugging the bag closer to her and kaz, rather than moving further away. ]

You should go take a shower.

[ she says as she tugs out a shirt. a bath might make his leg feel better, but that poses a different difficulty, for him, and so she keeps the alternative suggestion to herself. ]

You would probably feel better.

I know.

[ He'll get there in a second. Just after her leans against her shoulder a bit, working up the energy to get moving again. After blowing out a slow sigh, he pulls away, using his cane to pull himself up.

Without any real care, he undresses in the bedroom, making sure to hang his coat and tie up before he hobbles to the bathroom, looking forward to a hot shower. At the very least, he can stretch his leg out under the spray. ]

[ she watches him go, pursing her lips slightly -- because his leg had to have hurt, after all of that -- but inej lets it go in favor of tugging a loose sleep shirt over her head and a new pair of underwear. not much else, though, as she collects the clothes tossed aside in their earlier adventure to add to a basket positioned in the corner.

when kaz is done and exits the bathroom, inej is putting away clothes in the closet, unpacking a little bit. but when she hears the door to the bathroom open, inej glances over from smoothing out a shirt on a hanger. ]

Better?

[ After he rinses off, he spends some of the shower zoning out as he flexes the stuff we out of his leg. Thankfully, it doesn't take as long as it can sometimes, the hot water doing him favors. So he's able to step out much sooner than he expected, toweling off and wrapped it around his waist before he comes back into the bedroom.

The exhaustion from walking has been mostly washed down the drain, so he's certainly less pathetic looking when he picks up his bag in search of night clothes. ]

Much. [ He fishes out a pair of pants and changes, momentarily disappearing back into the bathroom to hang his towel up. When he comes back out, he steps over to Inej by the closet, carefully curling an arm around her middle. ]

Leave it. [ Yes, he's being needy!!! ]

[ she's about to hang up another shirt when his arm wraps around her middle, and she tilts her head back against his chest to look up at him, arching her eyebrows a little. ]

I'm almost done.

[ though she does stop fishing out clothes out of respective bags, turning to face him without shaking his arm off of her middle, amused. ]

But if you would rather me do this tomorrow, I can.

Hmm, tomorrow sounds good.

[ She's close to done so he really should just leave her alone. But he's also tired and wants to go to bed with her. Which is selfish, but he's never pretended to be anything else.

There's also the matter that Inej has turned away from what she's doing, which allows him to lean down and kiss her forehead. ]

Tomorrow sounds really good. [ Another kiss and the arm around her middle tightens briefly in a half-hug. ]

[ she’s lost the moment he got an option to distract her. and the kiss to her forehead causes an odd curling feeling in her chest. it’s a purely affectionate gesture, and inej loves the little reminders of love.

so, she loops her arms around his middle, resting her chin on his chest to look up at him. she’s tired, and honestly, sleep sounds phenomenal. ]

Tomorrow it is, then.

[ with a small smile. ]

[ He missed this so much when she was away, the small moments they'd accrue throughout the day. Now she'll be around for a little while—or at least intends to be, he'll see how much they can push the timeline with her role change—without any prying eyes from those in the Slat or on her ship.

It's not as though they'd been keeping their relationship a secret, but perhaps more low key. Neither of them being as comfortable with open affection.

His hand pets down her spine and he lets her go. For now. ]

Inej, darling, treasure of my heart—after you.

[ that earns a roll of her eyes as she removes her arms from his waist, trailing her fingers along the front of his chest before she turns on her heel, moving past him toward the bed. ]

You are going to need a new line.

[ as she tugs at the comforter to slide into bed, extinguishing her bedside lamp as she does so. ]

That one is a little tired.

[ it’s pretty obvious she’s joking but also get a new line boi. ]

Only a little tired?

[ He grins, expression closer to boyish than purely cheeky, as he makes his way over to the other side of the bed. His side of the comforter is turned down and he sets his cane aside as he carefully slips in beside her. There's an immediate relief in being off his feet and he sighs before he turns off the lamp, the room going dark save for the moon shining through part of the windows.

Turning towards her, he reaches out blindly and finds the line of her arm, tracing down it until he curls his fingers around hers. ]

I'll show you how to pick the front and back door locks tomorrow. They're trickier than the one for the DeKappel painting. [ Just in case she forgets a key. Unlikely, but better to be prepared. ]

[ he finds her hand, and inej rolls closer, to stretch an arm across his chest as she makes herself comfortable. and Kaz can feel a laugh, though there’s no noise — a rise and fall of her chest, before she says: ]

That was easy.

[ no, it wasn’t, but inej counts that particular theft under “you would be dead in a jail somewhere” when Kaz asks “what would I do without you?” what a ridiculously stupid job. ]

You should probably find better locks, if that is your standard for difficulty.

[ this house is a fortress, if their front door can’t be broken into by anyone but kaz brekker. ]

[ She rolls closer and he smiles, relaxing as she gets comfortable. He'll never get sick of this, just laying with her tucked in close. It's amusing to think about how touch and go those first times had been, when they'd been figuring out comfort levels.

At least now they don't really worry about it. ]

They aren't that bad, just tricky. It's meant to dissuade someone in a rush. [ Just tricky says the man who's picked every lock under the sun. ]

Your definition of tricky is similar to my definition of gravity.

[ it’s murmured, allowing her eyes to close. ]

Besides, I doubt anyone is going to try and break into our house.

[ whoever does likely has a death wish. ]

But you can show me, if you want to.

Oh.

[ He supposes he might've overlooked that particular facet. Inej so regularly keeps up with him that it had slipped his mind. Also, he realizes in hindsight he'd been using his own measure of what counted as easy and difficult.

Oops. ]

That's probably true. [ It's not as though they were lazy merchers, who were painted as interesting and easy targets. Once word got out they were in the area, it would probably be enough to put off most people from willing to try.

Then again, if there's anyone remotely like himself out there, they wouldn't be deterred. ]

I'll go through it in any case.

[ her lips curve upward, as he connects the dots. for someone so brilliant, he was often four steps behind. on some things, anyway. most things, he’s fifty six steps ahead. at least.

but still: ]

I’ll let you teach me if you let me try it first without your help.

[ she won’t be able to get it but she’ll give it her best go. ]

Alright. No hints.

[ It's not the type jam up if she gets it wrong, so there's no harm in it. That and he knows it's easier to learn by feeling it out for oneself, getting a sense of what it does when you try to push the tumblers out of order.

This one takes a particularly patient hand, pushing the tumblers out of the way in a specific pattern. It had taken him a few tries to get it down. ]

Do you want to have Jes and Wylan over? [ Jesper had seen the house in an earlier stage and Wylan has only seen the outside. Maybe. If he had gotten curious and walked a few blocks. ] Unless you want to wait until everything's finished.

No hints.

[ an agreement that comes in a soft laugh that’s really more of an exhale. but at Kaz’s next words, inej shifts her head slightly against his shoulder to roll just a tiny bit closer, so she can fold her legs a bit over his lap.

she had missed falling asleep with him, desperately. so she as as well get as comfortable as she can. ]

I would like that.

[ and she would, genuinely. but her tone shifts to something a little more dry: ]

I assume they knew about the surprise, too.

[ She curls a bit closer and he loops a familiar arm around her middle, his hand resting on her thigh. It's how they've fallen asleep for a few years now, with her legs draped across his lap and his shoulder serving as a pillow. Eventually, they'll move around in the middle of the night, but it always starts like this. He likes the routine. ]

Jes found out. [ Kaz says, clearly chagrined. ] And definitely told Wylan afterwards. I threatened to dump them both in the harbor if they told you anything.

[ his hand on her thigh is comforting, and she grins into his shoulder, at the news of jesper discovering the secret... and the subsequent unraveling from that. ]

They kept the secret. [ clearly, given how surprised she had been. ] But I don’t think dumping them in the harbor would have been necessary.

[ saints knows inej would’ve fished them out. ]

It was a little extra incentive. [ Kaz please. ]

I was nervous that Jes was going to spill it at dinner. [ It wasn't that he was bad with secrets, just his excitement got ahead of him sometimes. ] He looked like he was ready to vibrate out of his chair.

[ Inej had definitely gotten suspicious, asking some pointed questions after. Somehow, he'd managed to dodge them. It worked out. ]

He always looks like he wants to vibrate out of his chair.

[ in jesper’s defense. sort of.

but she sighs to herself, tilting her head slightly to press her lips against his jaw. a soft motion, gentle. ]

It was a surprise well kept.

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