timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ 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. ]

[ Really, he should know better. Inej is gorgeous all the time, it didn't matter what she was wearing. And the occasions she has dressed up have always left him wanting in some way. His first urge is to hold her, feeling an immediate spark of joy whenever she was pressed close. It didn't always make sense to, mostly because walking with an arm around her waist is difficult when there's a cane involved.

So basically, he considers the other times making for when he can't. ]

If you say so. [ He says, leaning against the counter. She usually wins, whether he liked it or not. ]

[ she rests her elbows on the counter after she puts the pies in the oven, arching her eyebrows in his direction. if you say so typically means you're right, from kaz brekker.

but she decides to let it go. instead: ]

I have other news, about the mercher's council.

[ as she rests her chin in her hand, watching him, with a certain mischievous glint in her eye that usually means whatever news she has is both useful and funny. ]

About Councilman Visser, and visiting a house that is not his in the early hours of the evening while his wife is picking up their children from music lessons.

[ rat bastard. ]

Oh?

[ This will be good. He can tell because her entire face says mischief, her smile a bit impish. ]

Bold of him. [ To go calling on another woman while his wife picks up their kids. It feels like a very conscious decision, not just one driven by convenience of timing. ] And two-faced. He's always saying how much he loves his wife. Who's the new girl?

Mila de Jong.

[ the name means little to her . . . or meant little to her, at any rate, until inej did some digging. out of vague curiosity. and kaz could use this information to do . . . well, whatever he does with it. probably nothing good. ]

Her husband frequents the White Rose every lunch hour. So I imagine she's bored with him and found someone richer to pay her bankroll.

[ they live in a very nice house, for people who don't seem to do much work or participate in much coin. ]

Filling her pockets and her time.

[ The name is vaguely familiar. The face that floats up in his memory is a younger looking woman, with dark hair and light eyes. And a very pronounced pout. Someone used to being spoiled who doesn't seem to be making that much of an impression on her husband. ]

I wonder if he even knows where the extra is coming from. Or if he cares. [ That might be the way to unravel it all. He'll have to do some listening and poking around. ] I imagine our councilman's wife would be devastated.

She seems to be clueless.

[ thoughtfully, as she watches Kaz, and the thoughts running through his mind flicker through on his face. ]

He’s horrifically boring. [ as she glances toward the oven, to make sure their dinner isn’t burning. ] All he has is money... she would be better off taking his coin and leaving.

Most of the time, they are. A pity too, she seems nice.

[ Isn't that usually the way? Granted, he's met enough shitty women to know they aren't absolved of being horrible. It's just in these specific situations, it seems to work out in a very certain way.

Frankly, while he understands why someone might cheat—discontent, pride, generally not giving a shit—he can't sympathize with it at all. The mere word kicking around in his head alongside looking at Inej makes him feel vaguely ill. There's no one else and will never be, that he's absolutely certain of.

(Especially as his mind keeps going down that track, bringing up the possibility of a strange woman touching him and he definitely goes a bit green around the gills for a minute). ]

She could, as long as the divorce papers go in her favor.

[ oh, something is off. and she watches him, eyes scanning his face in a moment, brow furrowing as she tries to figure out what it is. what has him suddenly bothered?

she can usually read him like a book, but certain things are difficult. and whatever has him pale around the face is a mystery to her.

so she reaches out to gently take his hand, curling her fingers around his fingers, tugging gently. so he can focus on the present. or get away from whatever seems to be haunting his thoughts. ]

What is wrong?

[ with a tilt of her head, her brow furrowed. ]

[ Her fingers curl around his and he exhales, giving them a small squeeze in return. He doesn't let go though, using her grip as an anchor to help wash away the imagined feeling of someone strange touching him. ]

Imagination took a bad turn. [ Because as much as he can handle shaking hands with people or generally dealing with a more day to day touch, what Inej does is clearly different. And they've spent years working at it.

He has no desire to repeat that particular song and dance just for a fling. Why would he want to, anyway? The only person that has ever mattered that much to him is standing less than a foot away, her head tilted in a question. His queasiness dissipates and he picks up her hand, kissing the back of it. ]

So how are we getting the councilman's wife every drop of his money?

[ imagination took a bad turn both answers everything and nothing, and she considers him for a moment, weighing out whether or not to pry more detail out of him when he lifts her hand to kiss the back of it.

whatever seems to have seized his thoughts is gone, and inej decides to let it go. he's back in the present and focused on her, so he seems to have worked past it without much more difficulty. ]

I imagine he'd have to admit to the affair, because she would have no proof other than my word.

[ with a shrug, as she moves closer to loop her arms around his waist, resting her chin against his chest as she looks up at him. ]

It would be a shame if someone threatened him with outing his debauchery to the mercher's council, especially after their reputation is still rebuilding from what Van Eck did to it.

[ She comes closer and as soon as she wraps her arms around his middle, whatever vestiges of that imaginary creeping feeling goes away. Replaced by the familiar warm line of her pressed close. As usual, he feels that desire to pull her into bed and curl up.

But. They'll get there. A little later. ]

Hm, that would be a shame, wouldn't it? [ Would that straighten him out quickly? Hard to say, but it seems likely. Visser doesn't have as strong a foothold as he likes to think he does. And as much as the council likes to pretend Kaz doesn't hold anything over them, he does. ]

Too bad he's council and I can't just dangle him over a bridge.

Dangling someone over a bridge should probably be the last resort.

[ a bit dryly; no one is being dangled over a bridge for no reason, honestly!! but she pushes herself up onto her toes to kiss his cheek, relieved that whatever was haunting him seems to be gone, now, before letting go of him to check on the pies. ]

I could get more information about Visser's girlfriend out of the women at the White Rose, but I doubt the owner will let me in the front door anymore.

[ inej has a different reputation, now. which is good, in some ways, and annoying, in others. being kaz brekker's wraith usually meant she had free license to wander through the seedier parts of the city. and to most people, she is still kaz brekker's wraith . . . but word of her exploits of late have spread through west stave like wildfire, and the brothel owners are less inclined to speak freely to her anymore.

good riddance, for the most part. besides, she can just go in through a window. ]

Mila de Jong's husband likely has a regular, there. And I'm sure he doesn't keep his mouth shut about his wife.

[ men who are cheating on their wives rarely do, to the working girls in west stave. no one would believe the sex workers anyway. ]

It would be a strong start.

[ He's done it before!!! Granted the person he'd done it to hadn't been a council member, which invited more scrutiny. Also he'd admitted to blackmailing one of the brothel workers. If that wasn't cause to be dangled over a bridge, he didn't know what was. ]

Too bad for them that you don't need a front door. [ Seriously, since when has she been daunted by having to go through a window? These people have such arbitrary blockades, as if barring the door meant she would give up and go away. ]

Do they ever?

[ Almost never. The truth comes out eventually. Usually from a working girl ready to get back at someone truly foul. ]

[ the pies are nearly done, so inej closes the oven again, turning to lean her hip against the countertop, arching her eyebrows a little. ]

No.

[ men used to talk about their personal lives to her constantly. she never understood why. maybe to humanize the experience of rape, or something else. Inej remembered some of it, to use for later. and to this day, she knows the men in ketterdam who frequented the menagerie. filthy humans that they are.

but she moves past that, tilting her head at Kaz, curious. ]

The council turns a blind eye to anything in this city that doesn’t suit them. They could give a damn about the brothels, but they won’t so long as their members and friends still associate with them. Or make coin off of them.

[ and inej shrugs a shoulder. ]

If they don’t want to continue to be embarrassed, maybe they can give us something in return. Visser’s wife gets her money and silence. And they can actually do something to clean up West Stave.

It's been a slow process. There's two sitting on the council who seem to care, but they're outnumbered.

[ The shitty part of Kerch politics. Even with him throwing his weight behind certain policies, there's a careful balancing act on how much he can push without putting the Dregs at risk.

This, though, is tangible. Some place he can apply pressure. ] It's possible we can get Visser to straighten out over this. If he does, Teuling is likely to follow suit. He's practically attached to his heels.

[ That would swing the council into more favorable numbers. Four of seven. ]

[ politics is frustrating, particularly when things should change now. and inej isn't entirely convinced that anyone on the council really cares. if they cared, they would throw more of a fit to change it.

but kaz has the patience for things like this. politics, that is. whereas inej does not. she supposes that's why he's got an iron grip on the barrel and she's the ghost in the dark, and not the other way around. so she listens to him explain, humming to herself in thought before she glances toward the window.

thinking. thinking . . . ]

So I'll keep tabs on his outings on my way home, from now on.

[ to see what, exactly, what other dirt she can find. and a visit to the white rose is in order, to figure out how to get mila de jong to spill details on councilman visser. that part would probably be more fruitful. ]

Something will spill, eventually.

[ He knows she's frustrated by that answer. Because things should have been better. Should be better, in general. Especially with how long they've been making their own contributions behind the scenes to clean up the city.

The problem is they've had to work up from the very bottom. And there'd been a lot of corruption to work through. There still is, but it's a different game now. The council cannot ignore either of them, now that their power structure has made its way out of the Barrel. Kaz has eyes and ears basically everywhere and that has expanded with Inej staying in town.

And since the council can't ignore them, the larger portion of them are doing their best to curtail his operations where they can. ]

I'll visit the madames to see if I can get any information that way.

[ For some reason, they let him in the front. ] It always spills. Just might take some time.

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