OPEN POST 2020.

[legalized]

【my ❝CALL ME OUT❞ post】
get my ass in gear.

♛ here is my muselist. ♛ post "calling" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line! ♛ can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/explicit/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ feel free to make up a scenario at the start, or wait to see where things go. meme code.

Comments

[wraithes]

So you say.

[ but that does not explain the amount of money paid for her, or kaz becoming her protector in the dregs, teaching her how to fight, making certain that she could defend herself... he had done all of that on what, a hunch?

perhaps. but Inej didn’t really believe that, and as she watches him run a hand along her arm, and rest his fingers against her forearm... ]

I wish I had met you sooner, too.

[ but she smiles — and it’s soft, but no less genuine. ]

But we met when we met, for a reason. And you gave me hope. Which I think is my favorite thing about you. [ and she nudges her leg against his side, her smile becoming a small grin. ] When you are not an aggravation, anyway.

[ketterdamn]

[ It really isn't the whole story, to simply say she was silent and that she'd impressed him. Nor is it fair to even consider her an investment, not when he'd done so much to make sure she survived Ketterdam. To make sure she had ways of getting out, when everything had started going downhill and the likelihood of ending up in a noose had crept so close.

She hadn't taken him up on it, but the offer had been made. Because he'd found himself caring about this girl and her saints, her willingness to challenge him, the effortless flash of her knives.

It goes beyond just caring, though, when he thinks about her smiling towards the sun or laughing so brightly, suddenly. He's still afraid to put a word to it. ]

I did warn you I'm a bastard. [ He returns her grin, amused at her little jab. His hand settles on the knee she has nudged against him, halfway to an affectionate pat. ] I'm glad you stopped me in that hallway. Every day.

[ Is he admitting to thinking about her that much? Seems like. ]

[wraithes]

[ the hand on her knee is new, but a nice weighted warmth. and she watches him, peaceful and comfortable, a free hand playing with a loose thread on his shirt. ]

You have a very specific face when you think someone is repulsive. You are not as good at hiding it as you think.

[ and she stops playing with the thread, instead resting her hand against his chest, the movement lazy and light. ]

I knew you were my only chance after I listened to your conversations with Haleen. You looked bored. Or you tried to, but you hated her.

[ no man who walked into that place hates haleen. ]

I would have died there, if you had not visited on that day.

[ketterdamn]

[ Read from day one. He shouldn't be surprised but he is, just a little. Since then, he's gotten better at hiding how he feels to people, to the marks or informants he dislikes. After all, he fooled Haskell for years, goading in the right places. Every second had made him grind his teeth that it was even necessary, though, and that was probably what she'd seen when he'd visited the Menagerie. ]

I don't like people who pretend to be something they aren't. [ Rollins has been the first strike, the one that pretended to care. Heleen had the same type of face and he'd known it as soon as she said hello. It was how her smile was a little too wide and too sharp, never reaching her eyes. How she wanted so badly to dig her claws in and see him squirm.

He hadn't given her the satisfaction. ] Frankly, I was concerned you weren't going to make it in the aftermath.

[wraithes]

[ there's a soft noise, but it's hard to place what it means. inej means it when she says that she would have died in the menagerie, had kaz not rescued her, but making it afterward . . . once she knew she could leave, she clawed her way out as quickly as possible. ]

She has faded into nothingness.

[ it's said finally, swinging her free leg that is hanging off the bed lightly. ]

As has that place.

[ thanks, again, to kaz. ]

[ketterdamn]

I wanted to burn it to the ground.

[ There's something satisfying about having a physical outcome. But that would've just gotten Heleen pity for her property and an insurance payout. Rumors of a plague was much more damaging—she hasn't had a lick of business since.

A financial ruin. If she ended up on the streets of the Barrel, he'd make sure she stayed there, miserable.

He brushes his palm across her knee and sits up, taking a hand through his hair tiredly. The day was catch up quickly. ]

Get some rest. Those birds of yours are going to make a racket in the morning.

[wraithes]

[ burning it to the ground would have been beautiful. maybe some day, just to drive the nail into the coffin. and she's about to say so when kaz sits up, and encourages her to go to sleep.

she probably should. though the comment about the birds causes a roll of her eyes, because the birds were there before she lived in the slat, and they clearly have stayed after she left. and she remains seated on the bed, watching him, her expression hard to read.

she then decides to be brave.

she shifts her weight, to place her hand on the bed to steady herself, before she leans forward into his personal space. she feels her own anxiety spike, at being so close, but inej ignores it, before gently kissing his cheek.

a silent thank you. an easy way to say a lot without saying anything at all. it's hard, really, to put into words how much kaz means to her, and what he's done for her means to her. she figures it's a good start.

then, before much more can be said, inej leans back to unfold her legs, to stand, and adds a dry: ]

They are not my birds.

[ jerk. ]

[ketterdamn]

[ When she doesn't immediately stand, he wonders if he's said something he shouldn't have. Or maybe he's said something right and she's weighing her response. Whichever the case, her expression has gone unreadable. It makes him slightly nervous, because he can never tell what that means. Sometimes it's simply thoughtful, other times she's got something on her mind that will have an impact when she finally speaks up.

Except she doesn't say anything. Not out loud, anyway. He should be used to that, considering how many times they've had a full conversation without speaking. Instead, she leans in and he forces himself still, a bit wide-eyed when she kisses him on the cheek.

He's still in shock when she gets up and it takes all of his willpower not to touch the spot she'd kissed. ]

They might as well be. Any time you aren't here, they harass me from the sill.

[wraithes]

Perhaps you should feed them.

[ knowingly, as she rises to her feet, allowing her fingers to gently brush against his shoulder as she does so, to make her way to her own corner of the room. ]

Go to sleep so we can get breakfast, tomorrow.

[ as she settles on her own bed, slipping underneath the covers easily. and, finally, she exhales to herself, allowing her eyes to close as she allows relaxation to claim her.

he hadn't pushed her away, or had a reaction, that she could notice.

progress. ]

[ketterdamn]

Then they would bother me more.

[ Not necessarily true. They might be more affectionate, at least? Like they are with Inej, chirping and hopping about.

Well, whatever. He appreciates the small touch on his shoulder and gets up after her, flipping the covers back and sliding under them. All at once, the day catches up with him, an exhaustion settling in. But it doesn't come with the usual ache, he feels strangely light; his mind cycles back to the kiss on his cheek. The last thing he thinks of before sleep creeps up quickly.

He wants to return it, before she goes. ]