timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ there's a laugh, at the comment, before she settles back on her knees, surveying him with half a grin, amused. ]

Can you?

[ his hands wander, but inej doesn't stop him, instead appearing to think to herself if such a distraction is worth the wait. ]

We have a lot to do today.

[ delicately walking her fingers along his stomach, humming to herself. ]

We need to buy more food. And furniture.

Extreme likelihood.

[ He's gotten pretty good at it. Not quite as good as Inej is, especially when she coerces him away from work, but still. ]

A city isn't built in a day. [ Does that apply to houses? Probably not. Does he care? No. They do need to get a dining table and some chairs at the very least, but that's floating at priority number 20 on his list of things to do right now.

Because she isn't stopping him, he slides one hand to the small of her back, fingertips tracing up her spine. His other hand palms her breast through her shirt, thumbing across a nipple. ]

[ he makes a fairly convincing argument, with how his hands wander, and she hums to herself before she catches his hand running over her chest by the wrist. but it isn't an aggressive motion or a panicked one.

instead, she tugs his hand a little closer, kissing his palm. ]

I think houses might be quicker.

[ she murmurs, kissing his palm again, before shifting to kiss his fingers. ]

Maybe we should buy the city and find out.

[ She catches his hand and there's a fraction of a second where he pauses, wondering if he's pushed a bit. The tension releases when she kisses his palm, the brush of her lips making him shiver. ]

Houses still aren't built in a day. [ Maybe a few days. Another shiver goes through him when she presses her lips to his fingers– even though he hasn't worn his gloves in the day to day in a while, the skin is still relatively soft. Sensitive. ]

Why not? [ The council would have a few things to say about that but they've had opinions about him for a while now. He still holds that threat over their head and they haven't seen fit to call him on it.

His fingers keep tracing up and down her spine and then drop to trace the waistband of her underwear around to her front. ]

[ she rests his hand against her cheek, lowering herself just enough so he doesn't have to stretch too much. his free hand wandering along her lower stomach tickles just a little, but she resists the urge to laugh.

the why not brings a grin to her features, though. ]

Because we don't need a city.

[ though saints knows the city would faint if inej ghafa and kaz brekker were in charge of it. though, as that thought crosses her mind . . . ]

Besides, we already own it.

[ in a different way. maybe not financially, with deeds and contracts and whatever else you need to own something. but nobody dares to cross them. not after van eck tried, and failed, and was summarily ruined for being stupid enough to tear them to pieces. ]

[ With his palm pressed against her cheek, he brushes his thumb across it gently. Her face brightens with the grin and he feels a swell of affection, returning the expression crookedly. ]

Fairly true. [ The council is aware of it. Most of the city is aware of it, really. How could they not be, after what happened to Van Eck? After they've continued to build their reputation throughout the city?

It's not like Ketterdam will ever bow to anything other than kruge, but they do have a certain amount of sway.

Kaz slides the backs of his fingers up to her stomach and then down again, dipping just below the waistband of her underwear, brushing through her curls. ]

So, captain, what will it be?

[ his fingers dipping into the waistband of her underwear causes a slight curl of anticipation to form in her stomach, and inej shifts to remove his hand from her cheek, dipping down to kiss him briefly before shifting to kiss his cheek, and then his jaw. ]

I think I can clear the rest of my morning.

[ as if she's the one being inconvenienced, and not him. ]

[ He tilts his head into the kisses, the hand dipping into her underwear going further, fingertips brushing her folds. ]

Well then, we should make the best of it. [ His other hand slides up her side and then settles at the back of her neck as he tugs her up for a proper kiss. There's no time limit, so his touch is simply teasing. Light and clearly avoiding her clit. ]

[ she goes with him easily, grinning into the kiss as his hand dips into her underwear. his touch is light, purposefully so, and inej hums softly to herself before shifting her weight.

she pushes herself up onto her knees to gently tug his hand free from her underwear, shifting the garment down onto her hips. she then places her hands near her knees before leaning her upper body forward, taking her weight fully onto her hands as she carefully lifts her legs to scoot the underweight off of her legs completely.

once that is fine, inej adjusts her center of gravity to lean backward, lowering herself back onto his hips and moving her hands to the base of her shirt to tug it off over her head, depositing it on the side of the bed. ]

Much better.

[ she says before lowering herself down for a more earnest kiss. ]

[ His breath is slightly hitched when she pulls away from the kiss and he wants to tug her right back into another one. But then she's leaning away, sitting up on her knees and shimmying out of her panties with seemingly little effort.

Kaz swallows at the sight, currently blessed as he is with a very good view. It runs right through him, curling somewhere at the base of his spine, especially as she follows up with tugging her shirt off.

Suffice to say, he meets her kiss both eager and a bit dazed, his hands cupping her breasts and giving them a playful squeeze. He rolls his hips up to meet hers, sighing into her mouth. ]

[ his hands find her chest and inej hums into the kiss, rocking her hips with his. the friction causes her to roll her hips a bit more, the movement more deliberate now that she’s out of her underwear.

her hands shift downward, to the waistband of his pajama bottoms, and she tugs a bit as she ducks her head down to kiss his neck, and then his collarbone, as she shifts her weight off his hips, moving down a bit to kiss his chest.

she needed these pajama bottoms off, but she’ll get there when she gets there. ]

[ There's a muffled gasp that turns into a groan against her mouth as she returns the motion, her hips shifting against his. His pajama bottoms are in the way but it still feels good, still sends a thrill through him.

That feeling doubles as she works her way down, heat curling under his skin as she gets to his chest, her fingers hooking into his waistband. He does lift his hips a bit, just out of anticipation, one of his hands smoothing across her shoulder, playing with a lock of her hair. ]

[ she slowly works her way down, tugging his pajama bottoms off as she goes. and once she’s situated between his legs, she takes his cock into her hands, gently stroking it.

this part has always been difficult. and it probably always will be. she can feel a ripple of anxiety underneath her skin, pooling in her stomach, but inej focuses for a moment to override it. to center herself in the present, and to keep bad memories at bay.

after all, she’s in her own house. nobody will hurt her here.

it’s really only for a second or two, barely noticeable, but once inej lands squarely in the present, she hums to herself before flattening her tongue against his length, taking a long, slow lick before running her tongue over the tip. ]

[ There's a shudder that runs through him when her hand closes around his cock, hips tilting forward instinctively. He props himself up after a beat, stroking fingers through her hair, knowing she sometimes drifts away trying to do this. They've both gotten better about touching, but her ghosts were a different sort. Harder to shake in certain aspects.

Soon enough, the slightly distant look on her face disappears; she hums, he relaxes a fraction. Though that doesn't last long, all of his nerves alight when she licks, and he exhales sharply, hips tilting forward again. ]

[ there are certain things she still can't do. the first time kaz finished in her mouth, she threw up for what felt like hours, and hadn't slept that night. she hasn't been able to successfully do that since, something about the taste and the motion prompting a physical reaction, followed by trembling and no sleep.

she had felt terrible. she still sort of does, not ever wanting to ruin the balance they've crafted for themselves. but everything is a work in progress, including her own progress.

this specific act is something that she's still working on, a tenuous balance of pleasure and anxiety. now, she knows when she's had enough, and inej is slow and purposeful in her ministrations, careful to avoid the things that she knows will trigger her memories, and focusing on what won't, instead.

like kaz gently stroking his fingers through her hair. no one in her memories ever did that. it was much more aggressive, in grabbing. she still doesn't like her hair pulled.

so she focuses on licking before enclosing her mouth over him, sucking gently as she runs her tongue around the tip. ]

[ He remembers the first time she'd tried this and how awful it had gone. She'd been determined to give it a go and he'd been stupid enough think that was enough reassurance. It had ended poorly, sitting on the bathroom floor with her while she shivered and retched. The shivering hadn't subsided much through the rest of the night while he held her; they hadn't been triggered by anything physical like a chill.

The whole situation is still tenuous and he keeps sliding his fingers through her hair, running the tips along her scalp, keeping the loosened strands away from her face. It's soothing to do and he knows it seems to help keep her grounded, being so different from her memories.

When she puts her mouth over him and sucks, he tilts his head back with a soft groan, pleasure sliding under his skin in a wave. He strokes his hand down her shoulder and arm, cupping his fingers over hers, thumb dragging over the knuckles. ]

[ the feeling of his hand running through his hair causes an exhale against him, the movement soothing. it's gentle, and reassuring, and it puts her in the safe space. and it encourages her to continue to run her tongue around the tip before she pulls off of him, moving to shift back up.

she drags her lips along his stomach before she settles her hips on top of his, sighing to herself to find her focus again.

she can really only do so much, before she feels the prickling of the urge to gag in the back of her throat. but something is better than nothing, and so she dips down to kiss his jaw softly, gently rocking her hips against his, relishing in the feeling of him between her legs. not quite taking him in yet.

this, for some reason, is much easier to conquer than the rest. ]

[ The soft sigh is a good sign—she isn't about to disappear—and he shifts his hips a bit when she slides her tongue across the tip, an instinctive twitch from the sensitivity.

She moves soon after and he can't say he regrets it, not when she's dragging a kiss up his stomach and settling her weight across his hips again. And he definitely can't complain about her being closer now, easier to hold. He settles one hand on her waist, the other coming to her cheek as he tilts his head to kiss her properly.

His hips roll up towards hers, cock pushing through her folds in a slow and lazy way. Both hands drop to her hips, tugging her down to meet his and he makes a noise against her mouth. ]

[ she returns the kiss in earnest, particularly as he slides against her. this feels more in her control, and as his hands drop to her hips to pull her closer against him, she grins against his mouth.

truthfully, she could spend hours kissing him slowly and rocking against his hips. but as she slides against him, her breath hitches as he drags against her in precisely the right way, and she leans back slightly to reach between her legs, to guide him as she takes him in.

and with that, she purposefully rolls her hips a bit more aggressively, using her weight to press him into the mattress as she presses her hands against his chest to stabilize herself, a sharp gasp escaping as she does so.

this part never really gives her hesitation. ]

[ There's no real hesitation from her once she's in his lap; he can feel the smile pressed against his mouth. It's taken time to get to this point but once they figured out this was the best way—with her on top—things had gone much easier.

The other way around he couldn't do for too long, the particular angle and weight on his one leg causing it to cramp. Badly. And she had frozen up if he leaned in too much, bad memories crashing over her face in the most obvious way. Once, she'd been determined and annoyed at him ignoring his leg that she had flipped him over easily and that had been the solution they'd been looking for.

Like this, she gets to set the pace. As she does now, sliding his cock in and rolling her hips with a purpose. The hand on his chest has him flopping back on the pillow and he pushes his hips up to meet hers, sliding in deep. She looks good when she lets out a gasp, features going just slack enough with pleasure. One hand brushes up her middle and cups a breast, teasing a nipple into stiffness. The other drops, fingers delicately tracing the inside of her thigh. ]

[ being in this position means she can stop whenever she wants, not haunted by memories of men who pinned her against a mattress and did as they pleased. none of them ever allowed her the space to be in charge, or to do what she wanted. it was never really on her terms.

now, it is. and how she feels matters, and what she gets out of this experience matters. and as she drives her hips into his again, relishing the feeling of him inside her, the feeling of his hands against her thigh and chest, she lets out another gasp, stabilizing herself with a hand against his chest.

it's rare, that she lets herself totally lose control, in . . . well, much in life. but she's in a good mood, this morning. ]

[ His hands keep teasing, touch light, the one on her chest sliding from one side to the other. The one on her thigh skates up, through the curls and just over where she's most sensitive.

That one stutters on the downwards arch as she lets her weight drop onto him more aggressively, the pressure of it making him breath a groan out, his hips hitching up to meet her pace. Both of them are carefully controlled people in their own ways; she's wrapped herself in silence, in the cloak of shadows, a ghost on the edges of someone's periphery. And he's slid on a mask of comfortable brutality, controlled cruelty where needed– nothing and no one got to see Dirtyhands with a hair out of place.

Except Inej, who he's allowed to see it all: the tremble of his hands on damp skin, the soft parts the Barrel would gleefully rip to shreds. And she's let him see the same, as she does right now, her control dropping away to simply enjoy this. ]

That's it. [ He encourages, tone raspier than usual, his attention rapt on her expression. ]

[ peeling away her own armor has been more difficult than expected. she had been so reluctant, to share stories of the menagerie. for a few reasons, the least of which it was difficult to talk about. it's violating, to think of herself that weak and powerless. and she never wants anyone to see her that way, particularly him.

not that he does. inej is pretty sure kaz lets other people know inej could kill him without even trying, which only causes more people to move out of her way when she walks down the street . . . on the rare occasions that she does. but it's still hard, to let those soft parts show, even if she does do it more frequently than kaz does.

not that she would ever tell jesper or wylan, about the menagerie. but nina knows. (nina knows most everything.)

at his words, an odd feeling snakes up her spine, and inej exhales, her breath hitching near the end as his fingers become a bit more persistent. and she rolls her hips again, her fingers digging into his skin slightly as she presses herself down into him, closing her eyes with another gasp as she focuses on the feeling.

relishing it, and enjoying it. ]

[ He remembers when she first told him something from the Menagerie. She hadn't even gone into the worst parts, the ones that involved the greedy men who frequented. Instead, it had been about what Heleen made her wear, how she had her hair a certain way, face made up, bracelets hanging from her wrists. Like a doll dressed up. It had pissed him off at Heleen all over again.

Because there's still days where she's reluctant to wear a dress, associating it too much with her time at the Menagerie. Most of the time, she wears it only around him, indoors.

It just reminds him how much she's pushed through to get to this point, being able to close her eyes and not lock up immediately. Instead, she's taking exactly what she wants, her fingers digging in. He finally slides his fingers between her legs, rubbing her clit lightly. His hips slant up as he does, sinking a fraction deeper, making him let out a sigh. ]

[ she would rather wear pants and a button-down shirt, if she has to dress casually, than a dress. she's slowly pushing herself to expand her comfort level, when it comes to close. and she's mostly comfortable wearing them indoors, but outside, she feels this uncomfortable clawing of anxiety underneath her skin.

she had tried once, in going out to dinner, and had been miserable through most of it. she had to ask to go back to the room and change before they explored the nightlife of the port, which he did without question or complaint. even though it was something of a walk.

but it's getting better. she used to avoid walking on the streets west stave altogether because walking through it made her feel unable to breathe. she stuck to the rooftops whenever she visited nina at the white rose, after she had escaped the menagerie. now, she walks through the west stave without any hesitation whatsoever, because no one can touch her, now.

she purses her lips together at the feeling of his fingers gliding over her, her mouth opening after a moment in a silent gasp, the noise stuck in her throat. her movements are beginning to get a little less controlled and purposeful and more erratic as she edges closer to the finish. ]

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