timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ she lets herself walk with him, bolstered by the hand at her back, heading down the stairs as she sorts through what she's gathered inside her head, prioritizing what kaz should know versus what he probably doesn't need to.

and as they make their way to the foyer, she opens her mouth to tell him everything she saw. that some type of assessor, with cleaners, are moving through west stave, heading in and out of the menagerie with quasi-regularity. that the white rose and blue iris are still busy, and still hiring (or buying). and that they seem to know inej is watching, but are growing a little more brazen, in their purchases.

but what comes out instead is: ]

I want to buy the Menagerie.

[ that about sums it up, really. ]

[ She's been scouting out West Stave, keeping tabs on everything going on there. The ins and outs, whether the White Rose is keeping to its better track record or going off under the new ownership. He hasn't asked specifics yet, letting her get to that info dump in her own time. Though he might have been keeping a closer eye on her whenever she got back, just knowing what that place did to her.

Because it didn't feel too long ago that she couldn't even come within ten feet of the main throughway. Too many bad memories stirred too the surface.

He expects some kind of report and instead is met with something more decisive. And he's silent for a beat while he processes what's just been laid in his lap. ]

Okay. [ The word is drawn out slightly, mind pivoting from his expectations and starting in on what exactly this would entail. ] You'll have to enquire at the bank, to see about the building price. And who owns it—likely Helen's name is still on it, but if she owes Gemensbank for a loan, they could have a higher claim.

[ she's half-expecting him to repeat his question (that she didn't answer) or to ask why, but instead kaz . . . well, tells her what she would need to do. and it causes an odd stir in her chest, as she watches him, absorbing what he says . . . and once she's done, she lets it sit for a moment before saying: ]

People have been going in and out of the Menagerie. I have not been able to get close enough to figure out what they are saying, but some have cleaning supplies. Some have clipboards. I think they're trying to figure out the worth of the building, or Heleen is preparing to try and reopen. Maybe both.

[ she folds her arms over her chest, fingers digging into her forearms slightly, averting her eyes to look toward the front windows of their home. because inej is trying to look at this impartially, but it's impossible to do so, because: ]

I know her. She does not quit.

[ vile, filthy woman that she is. ]

And it has been long enough where people might not remember, or think to remember . . . long enough for her to rebuild reputation, or find coin elsewhere. Or sell it to the next profiteer, so she can puppet it from above, and reap the rewards.

[ and, finally, she looks back at kaz, frowning a bit. ]

So I want to buy it. Burn it down. Destroy it. Something.

[ ensure that it can never reopen again. ]

Both seems likely. She hasn't touched it in a few years so it would need to be re-appraised.

[ Oh, and: ] An empty building tends to add up with repairs. Once business dropped through the floor, it was vacated. Even if she decides to come back, she's in for at least some reconstruction to make sure it meets codes.

[ All of this really translates to the fact that they have some time to figure out what to do and how to pry it away from her hands. It's possible it could be an easy enough inquiry at the bank, to say they're interested in buying it. And if she wanted to destroy it, wiggling the appraisal out shouldn't be so difficult after the first step. He's bought a couple buildings and had them go through a secondary appraisal beforehand, not trusting the truth from a greedy institution. ]

You could turn it into a boarding house. If reconstructing outweighs the cost of knocking it flat, you'd get to destroy it and make it something else.

[ But that's all on the technical front. He nudges her into the bedroom and pulls her onto the bed with him, wrapping his arms around her middle. ]

[ he's guiding her along as he talks, but she doesn't really seem to notice, latching into what he's telling her. because inej is smart, but all of his is outside of her purview. she's never really been interested in the business end of ketterdam, or with money. but that's how ketterdam operates. that's its religion. and while kaz isn't necessarily a religious person, he's very familiar with what ketterdam needs in order for you to succeed.

but she lets him tug her into bed, his arms wrapped around his middle, and inej almost protests, because if heleen is doing something, then they need to stop it now. but after she allows herself the moment to pause, and she soon tucks her face into his chest to curl up against him, exhaling slowly.

sailing the seas and hunting slavers weighs heavily on her, honestly, but this has been a different difficulty. resuming operations in ketterdam. because it means encountering what happened to her more frequently. and sometimes, it nips at her heels.

after a moment or two, she says something, muffled into his shirt: ]

I bought food for dinner.

[ what she really wanted to say was i want to remove heleen's teeth from her skull but it's a bit too ugly and specific, for her. purging her sins is still a work in progress, though heleen deserves whatever she gets, at the end of inej's blade. ]

[ As he tugs her close, he can feel her tense up. Not the kind that tips him off that she's uncomfortable, but that drawn in breath right before there's a counterpoint. Or an argument.

She lets go of it a second later, pressing her face into his shirt. He holds her a little tighter, setting his chin on top of her head. As always, he isn't about to tell her what to do or what not to do—especially not when this particular bit of work is about eradicating someone like Heleen, who'd caused her so much pain. But he knows it's hard on her, to walk past that building. He had a similar reaction to the spot Pekka had used as his front for Jacob Hertzoon. Just seeing the building had been enough to turn his stomach, despite the rage. ]

Are you hungry? [ Because they could just stay like this. For a little bit. ]

No.

[ a bit begrudgingly, because eating when she's focused on something like this is always the last thing on her mind. she had only suggested it to fill space, not to actually move. because kaz's heartbeat in soothing to listen to, his slow and steady breathing. his arms around her waist and resting his head on top of hers.

not for the first time, she relishes in the fact that she has a space to go to, when she needs it. and she has this source of comfort and love that she never really thought possible only a handful of years ago. she had had moments where she wondered if shifting her operations to ketterdam was a mistake, for herself, but its in moments like this that she knows the saints guided her in precisely the correct direction.

she also idly wonders why tonight, she feels so weighted down by what happened in the past, but she supposes that she's spent the last handful of weeks compartmentalizing it. she doesn't really see a need to delve into every single difficulty she has, with kaz, because he knows. there's no need to explain the rage and disgust she feels whenever she walks through west stave, or the frustration that she couldn't do much about it right now. maybe it's just caught up to her. a bubbling over of memories.

so, after thinking to herself for a moment: ]

I want to be able to go through my city without feeling as if I've left something unfinished.

[ quietly, still muffled into his shirt. ]

[ It's a pitfall, in getting so close to each other. By the time they had done the Ice Court job, half of their conversations had been silent. An eyebrow raise her, the downturn of a mouth there. And they'd just known what the other was thinking. Or could make a very close guess.

Years of opening up has slimmed the gap even more. He knows the exact pinch of her eyes when she's irritated or the tilt of her chin when she's ready to challenge him on something. It's not a perfect system, but he's gotten pretty good at knowing when she needed reassurance. And when she's been stewing in her memories, like she has been lately, being in such proximity to West Stave. She knows he's aware of the details.

It also means she doesn't say something, when it starts to bubble over. They're both guilty of this and sometimes it backfires, their silence meaning there's no airing it out. He tilts his face down, pressing a kiss to the part in her hair. ]

So we finish what was started. [ He says, slightly muffled, as though it's simple. Which—the decision is. The planning, more complex. But it's not like he's daunted by something like this. Especially not if it's going to play into his strengths. Pulling the carpet out from someone resting on their laurels? Always an exciting venture. ]

[ he says it so easily, and really, it is easy. everything else they had accomplished had been done because they had simply been determined to do it. this would be no different. it was only made different inside her head because . . . well, because it was personal.

but really, it's the realization that her base in ketterdam is going to be more proactive, than stationary. because the people who buy are just as evil as the people who steal. people like pekka, or heleen. who look at it simply like it's a business venture, instead of dealing in the lives of human beings. and she can't just sink them at sea, here. she has to fully dismantle the system, not just the individual people.

but that's what kaz brekker is for. who is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes in order to make sure that the city remains breathable, for her.

and once she thinks about that, she separates herself from him just enough to push herself up onto her elbows, to lean over him, her braid falling over her shoulder as she watches him before lowering herself down for a soft kiss. ]

I love you.

[ murmured, the statement simple, her smile small, but present. ]

[ Over time, the implications behind his moniker have changed. It's a result of winnowing down his choices—and having the freedom to do so. He's built his power base from nothing and people in the Barrel tended to have long memories when it came to such things.

No one was going to forget that once, Dirtyhands was willing to take a job, so long as it paid out. Building such a reputation meant he wasn't questioned as he started to shift his focus, no longer interested in being a particularly vicious pawn on the board. He's moved up from the petty and brutal squabbles over power. Now he's got his foothold amongst another set of criminals, the merchers and council members who used all the systems to gain.

In doing so, he's carved out a path for Inej. Through ways to get to the heart of the problem, one person at a time. It's significantly more difficult work; someone with power didn't take kindly to having it wrested from them. They used every resource at their disposal, used fronts and pseudonyms, blank addresses and separated accounts. Some of it made Van Eck's work look like child's play.

But if it means there's not another story like Inej's in this damned city, then it was worth it. ]

I love you too. [ He replies, a smile curving his dark eyes. ]

[ she lowers herself to press her lips against his forehead gently, now relaxed. comfortable.

why had she wasted the energy in being stressed or upset to begin with? of course it was going to be solved. there was no other option. they were going to tear it down and build something better, together. knives drawn, pistols blazing. ]

I almost pity her. Signing a contract so substantially unfair that she loses everything but her life sounds like a horrible thing for someone to have to go through.

[ as she brushes the hair out of his eyes, eyes bright. ]

But the deal is the deal.

[ the look on heleen's face is going to be worth the blood, sweat, and tears it will take to tear her down. ]

[ The tension written in her face seems to dissipate, her eyebrows returning to their more gentle angle. He slides his hands down her sides, simple and affectionate. ]

Maybe she should've re-thought her business model. [ And the truth was: no one liked Heleen enough to dig her out of the hole. It was downfall of her own making. Years of sowing her particular breed of cruelty meant that sooner or later, someone was going to get her back for what was due.

It just so happens that the two of them are perfectly set up to do so. ]

The deal is the deal. [ He agrees, tipping his head to the side to kiss her cheek. ] I'll make an inquiry at the main branch tomorrow morning. I already know someone to call on for a personal appraisal, once we get that far.

[ she grins a little, at re-thinking her business model. because it's true. dealing in human beings works for awhile, but eventually, someone fights back. and that someone collects people to support them.

inej ghafa was willing to die with a knife in her hand, rather than remain at the menagerie. and heleen hadn't counted on her little lynx walking out the door with kaz brekker and becoming her worst nightmare. she had let inej go because kaz had been willing to pay and because inej had always been difficult. but heleen hadn't counted on inej surviving long enough to spit in her face. ]

Thank you.

[ quietly, reaching to take one of his hands, to kiss the back of it, in gratitude. ]

[ When Heleen had released Inej's indenture to him, she had thought that would be the end of the thorn in her side. He'd seen it on her face as they signed paperwork; Inej would no longer be in her hair and she'd wrongly thought the girl wouldn't make it very far. Especially since all she'd seen was the narrow, stoic face of the bastard of the Barrel.

Kaz already had plans for Inej at that point, to utilize her silence, but he'd doubled down on it. Out of spite. ]

Don't need to thank me. [ It's not like he's suffering, in helping her bring Heleen to her knees. He moves his hand up, blindly tracing his fingers down the swatches of her braid. ] Now if you're going to cuddle, let me up so I can do it properly.

[ He wants to take his shoes off. And his vest. ]

[ that earns a roll of her eyes, because he was the one who pulled her into bed, not her. but she lifts herself up to let him up, shifting so she can sit cross-legged on the bed, tucking her feet underneath her. ]

I did buy dinner. [ not that she's in a rush, at all. ] The market was selling meat pies, so I bought a few. The chef was insistent that they were the best ones in Ketterdam.

[ her tone indicates that inej is pretty sure that is false. but she inclines her head toward him, amused. ]

I also bought you a present.

[ Okay, he did pull her onto the bed without thinking of his attire. But it had been something of an emergency. So he sits up now, leaning over to undo the laces on his shoes and toeing them off. They're shuffled under the bed as usual before he takes his vest and tie off, draping them over the side table for now. ]

If they've been in business for more than two years, they're probably decent at the very least. [ One did not simply survive Ketterdam without having a halfway decent product.

He leans back against the pillows, reaching out one hand to pat her knee and slide up her thigh, thumb digging in slightly. ]

What kind of present? Or is that a surprise?

[ she watches him lean back against the pillows, his hand winding up to rest on her thigh. and inej unfolds her legs before shifting to lay horizontally, resting her head against his stomach, so she can look up at him with a glint in her eye, and a small grin. ]

You can find out later, I think.

[ mildly. ]

I have to put it on, and it's not very dinner appropriate.

[ -- well, she supposes it is for some people, but it isn't for her. ]

[ Oh, cheeky. His mind fills in some of the blanks and he can feel some color rising in his face at some of the possibilities. One of them definitely involves quite a bit of lace. ]

How much later? [ Is this a before dinner thing or after? He takes one of her hands in his, thumb brushing over her knuckles in a slow back and forth. ] That's an imprecise measure, most of what we do isn't dinner appropriate.

[ oh, semantics. he is curious. ]

I was thinking after dinner.

[ thoughtfully, letting him play with her hand, amused. ]

Though if you want, I could put it on now.

[ he did promise to rip heleen's empire from her horribly manicured fingers, so having dessert before dinner is probably fair. ]

That depends entirely on how hungry you are.

[ Because honestly, with their track record, it's entirely possible they'll get very distracted for a good while. Especially if it is what he thinks it might be. ]

If you're volunteering now, I'm not going to stop you. [ When has he ever stopped her? ]

[ she watches his expression thoughtfully before lifting herself up to lean over him, and she brushes her lips against his, before shifting to his jaw, then his temple, before she murmurs in his ear: ]

I am suddenly starving.

[ and she leans back to kiss his forehead, with a warm smile, before she scoots herself to the edge of the bed. ]

Do you want to eat in here?

[ A full shiver runs through him at the bare contact, not entirely expecting it. The surprise is a good one, as it usually is these days, leaving him wanting.

Which. Was apparently her goal. ]

Only if you plan on not finishing dinner. [ He grins, knowing how much of a distraction it would be if they stayed in here. Getting through a meal had a higher likelihood of success in the dining room or kitchen.

Ultimately, that means he does have to get up. And he does, with a sigh. Sometimes delayed gratification made things all the sweeter. That didn't mean he had to like it in the current moment. ]

I’m perfectly capable of finishing my dinner.

] without missing a beat, though she waits for him to get up before moving back toward the kitchen, amused. ]

I would wear it and make dinner if I didn’t think you were incapable of behaving yourself.

[ manner less delinquent that he is. ]

Famous last words. [ He picks up his cane before following her into the kitchen, remembering a few times she hadn't.

Granted, all of those times had been him wheedling her away from it in one form or another. Still. ]

Not incapable, it's just not at the top of my list of things to do. [ One can take the boy out of the Barrel but not the Barrel out of the boy. Also sometimes, she seems to encourage the behavior, so why would he change habits now? ]

[ predictably, Kaz dismisses her assertions of horrible manners, and inej lights the oven in the kitchen to heat the pies. she then removes the little pies from their packaging, placing them on a pan as she looks toward him, unimpressed. ]

I know you would be incapable.

[ not that she’s arrogant about her appearance or anything but she knows Kaz has certain things he finds attractive about her, and the pieces she picked out deliberately highlight those features. ]

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