timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ everyone has flaws. what's important is that you love someone despite the flaws they carry.

but at kaz's response, she hums to herself, thoughtful, watching him carefully. trying to envision kaz wandering through ravka . . . but ravka pulls at inej, the urge to go back stronger with the day.

mostly to see nina. inej's people have no love lost, for the constant warring, or the new regime. but nina was worth navigating ravka for. particularly if kaz wants to come along for the journey. ]

So let's go to Ravka.

[ easily. ]

[ He has no real idea what it's like. All he knows of Ravka is from second hand sources; papers, word of mouth. When he'd spoken to Nikolai for the auction, he'd gotten a little glimpse of what the regime is going through to put the country back together and he doesn't envy him in the least. Broke and in debt, war torn and just barely recovering. No doubt being hounded by Kerch to see about repayment.

Still, that's Nikolai's problem and not his. And the curiosity about his neighboring country hasn't waned in the least. Also, spending time with Inej when it doesn't involve Dregs business or being in Ketterdam—it would be good. ]

I'll start putting things in place. Anika's a decent lieutenant but she needs work.

[ she's half expecting him to not call the bluff. after all, they had talked about it. inej had jokingly made plans to include a bigger bed in her chambers, and whatnot. but at the end of every trip, kaz has stayed, and inej has gone.

but as he continues to plan for him leaving for a period of time, her eyebrows slowly move upward. there's no masking the surprise. ]

You are serious?

[ there's also no masking the bare thread of excitement, in her tone. ]

You would go to Ravka?

[ with her. ]

[ She's brought up traveling with him in the past, but it's always been an idle conversation. One that ultimately ends with them joking about her quarters and then moving on. Because when she gets back on her ship, he's the one at the end of the gangway, on solid ground and waving her goodbye.

Some part of him recoils at being on that much open water but...if this is going to be her life, he wants to know what it's like. To share it, in some way. Ketterdam is a decent place to dock and resupply, but it can sometimes be out of the way.

He tilts his head down to look at her, expression serious. ]

I want to see where you grew up. [ So yes, he'll go. ] I can't promise it'll be this time, but soon.

[ The Barrel stabilized faster than he expected after Rollins' forced departure, so most of his work has been making the Dregs as airtight as possible. And maybe a couple expansion projects. ]

[ she allows the words to settle around her, watching him. she's gotten good, at telling when kaz brekker is lying, and when he's not. but he's serious now. an actual plan to leave ketterdam for longer than a few days.

so, after a few moments, she reaches up to mess with the collar of his coat, her tone thoughtful: ]

Kaz Brekker on a boat.

[ it's a nice image. ]

You could make for a decent pirate.

[ the rest of the barrel wouldn't know what to do. ]

Don't let aspect hear you call it a boat, he'll make that one face.

[ Something of a pained expression. Kaz can hear the correction now: a boat is one of those tiny things, this is a ship by all rights. ]

Pirates and thieves are birds of a feather. [ Similar job requirements. Just one roams the oceans.

He lets her fiddle with his collar for a moment before catching her hand, gently pressing his lips to backs of her fingers. Before he can rethink it or give himself any time to react to it. ]

Maybe I'm just eager to let a certain captain boss me around.

[ the kiss to her fingers is pleasant, and warm, and and causes an odd stirring in her chest. but she offers him a grin, at the last comment, eyes bright. ]

Are you?

[ she sounds a bit doubtful, at that -- kaz doesn't let anyone boss him around, even her. on most things, anyway. ]

Everyone scrubs decks, on my ship.

[ she wouldn't make kaz do that with his leg, but he'll be put to work!!! ]

A little.

[ He'd like to see what she does when she's in charge. In the Dregs, she'd basically been his right hand and if she hadn't left, he would've had her as a lieutenant. But that hadn't been her dream and a future staying in Ketterdam didn't wholly suit her. ]

You say that as if I didn't in my early days. [ Working his way up through the ranks had been a series of unpleasant jobs. ]

Ah, but you aren't in your early days, now.

[ knowingly, as she leans forward slightly, her lips curving into a goading smile.

inej has earned her place as captain, in part, due to her reputation as the wraith. she doesn't have to bark orders or make herself seem bigger than she is; her crew knows what she wants to do, and knows what needs to be done, and simply does it.

the wraith doesn't exactly operate on principles of revenge, but the ship only works if everyone does their part. and, thankfully, inej has a crew that knows exactly that.

not that kaz wouldn't be capable of doing that, but he's the one who opened the door for teasing, so: ]

I am not so sure that Kaz Brekker knows how to take an order.

[ Well, she has a point. It's been a while since he's had to do any small work like that, having gotten his break in the Dregs somewhat early on. Per Haskell had liked his sharp mind and had tolerated his sharper tongue for it. His quick ascension had left more than a few disgruntled older Dregs to foster grudges.

That's neither here nor there. ]

Try me. [ Then again, he doesn't just take orders from anyone. Inej is an exception, as she is with most things. ]

[ they're fairly close, and inej watches his expression carefully, the quirk of her lips still present as she seems to think about what type of order to give him. the list is long and varied, as she carefully considers what to make kaz do for her.

she can thing of at least seventeen instances of kaz asking her to do something that she found annoying, grating, or frustrating, that she did with minimal complaint and not a thank you in response. but really, the thing that pops into her head first, that causes a particularly mischievous glint in her eye, is: ]

I want a new hat.

[ thoughtfully, as if she doesn't particularly need it, but, you know. it would be nice. and kaz is obviously there to go get her one, so that's what he's going to do. ]

By tomorrow morning.

[ The look on her face is calculating and for a moment, he wonders if he's made a mistake. Just what is she going to ask him for? There have been so many things he's asked of her over the years. Small things that he looks back and knows he annoyed her with.

But she'd done them with little complaint.

So really, it could be anything. What she does ask for has him huffing out a laugh, though. Of course. ]

Should've anticipated that. Alright, captain, you'll have your new hat.

[ his laugh sparks one of her own, and she leans forward to brush her lips against his cheek. the second time in as many weeks, but this time she remains squarely in his personal bubble, nose wrinkled in amusement. ]

I'll be waiting.

[ -- okay, now she's joking a bit. she doesn't really need the hat, but he was the one who asked her!! ]

[ As always, her laugh makes him feel a little lighter on the inside and some of that bleeds out into his expression, a bit of smile curving his eyes. It fades into surprise when she kisses his cheek, his pulse ticking up as it usually does when she's so close. Sometimes, he's wondered how she hasn't heard it or seen right through him.

Whatever they'd been talking about seems a bit far from this moment—he'll get back to that topic eventually. The only thing that seems important is to reciprocate, want warring with a familiar curl of disgust. He swallows the latter down, closing that small space between them and tentatively brushing his lips across hers. ]

[ she honestly hadn't expected him to reciprocate, and is about to tease him about how he has to personally go get the hat, and how he can't go make someone else go get it for him, because she would know, when he kisses her.

there's a tentative moment where her anxiety spikes, and inej is suddenly in the menagerie. there's some nameless man there, and she can hear some drunken slurred version, calling her a lynx. her heart races, and a million thoughts race through her mind. how to escape, how to get out, how to push the weight of whoever is on top of her off, how quickly can she get out of the window before --

but her fingers curl into the fabric of kaz's coat, and the sensation is familiar. how many times has she touched this coat? in different variations, surely. kaz has lost more than one coat, in the time that they've known one another, but it always feels the same. excellently tailored, smooth underneath her fingertips.

there's the smell of the salt from the water, and warmth against her side. kaz's arm is still around her waist, and it's such a light movement that it snaps her back to reality, which is she is in ketterdam, with kaz, overlooking the water.

she has a knife, flush against her rubs, underneath her jacket. accessible easily through the custom slit in her own coat. and she's fine, and safe. and free.

it's that final thought that causes inej to laugh suddenly, the sound just a pure expression of delight as she loops her arms around his neck, careful that her bare hands don't actually touch his neck, resting her forehead against his cheek after they part. almost breathless, from the experience, but triumphant.

if she was capable of a kiss, then she wasn't so broken after all. ]

[ At first, he can feel her hesitation. The way she draws back a fraction of an inch, her memories catching up to her. It doesn't last as long as he expects; he's fully prepared to give her more space when her fingers curl into his coat and she relaxes in increments.

There's a vague sense of creeping water at the back of his mind, the drag of it at his heels. But it's easy to ignore with her sudden laugh and the warm circle of her arms around his neck. He smiles as she leans her forehead to his cheek and some part of him wants to pick her up, give her a twirl like he's seen people do in the streets.

A brush of lips barely qualifies as a kiss, but they'd done it. One little step. The arm he has looped around her middle gives her an affectionate squeeze before letting go. ]

Come on then, I have a hat to acquire and it's nearly dinner.

Edited (Typooooo) 2020-06-05 21:18 (UTC)

[ he lets go, and inej looses her own loop around his neck, but she's reluctant to part. not quite yet, as she smooths her fingers down the hem of his coat, resting them lightly on his chest. ]

You do have a hat to acquire.

[ warmly, as she fidgets with his collar before she lets go. granting them both the space they probably need. and, just so kaz doesn't have to wander all over the city with his leg: ]

I can handle dinner.

[ she can skip over the rooftops to get them dinner to eat on the roof later that night. ]

[ He's as reluctant to break the moment as she is, though he knows any longer up here and it'll start to get unpleasantly cool. With it being this close to the water and high up, it tended to get the winds off the ocean first.

Also, he has several places to check for a hat. It'll take some time.

(Still, it really is tempting to stay here, with her hands laid flat as they are on his chest). ]

The deal is the deal. [ Normally, he'd protest he could do both. Realistically, he knows he better not. Standing, he offers her a hand up and once she's up, he's carefully picking his way down the slanted half-stairs they'd come up.

From there, it's a bit of a walk out of the university district back towards the Barrel. They part ways just before it, Inej heading off to handle dinner while he goes to see a few shops. There's one in particular he wants to stop by, though he's going to check all of his usual places.

It, perhaps, takes him longer than usual to pick something out. But he wanted it to be slightly ostentatious, which is more difficult to find than overly ostentatious. Eventually, he makes his way back to the Slat and up the stairs to his room, box under his arm. ]

[ she's waiting, already dressed in her sleeping clothes, though her hair is still tied back. she's sitting in a chair, one foot tucked underneath a leg as she separates out the food. and when he enters, she looks up with a faint smile . . . which grows slightly wider, at the sight of the box underneath his arm. ]

You had success, on your mission.

[ and she gestures toward the box with a fork. ]

[ She looks so at ease when he comes in that he almost forgets to say anything, so distracted by her all dressed down. It doesn't matter that he's seen her like this almost every evening and morning. Every time his heart does a little stutter and any words seem to die on his tongue.

Her prompting, of course, is helpful for reminding him that simply staring will make him look a fool. ]

I did. [ He sets the box at the corner of the desk that isn't occupied by what she's laid out and proceeds to collapse into the chair across from her, blowing out a quiet sigh. ] Took longer than I wanted, the keeper was being difficult.

[ she's not oblivious, to his brief moments of captivation. and she's reminded of nina, on the boat. how kaz's heartbeat and breathing change, when he looks at her. then, it had been frustrating, but now, it's almost . . . sweet.

she arches her eyebrows at that, though. ]

How was the keeper being difficult?

[ she sounds curious -- and she hasn't moved to open the box, not yet. instead, she pushes a glass of water toward him, along with his share of food. ]

Chatty.

[ It's not exactly a sin to be so talkative, it just grinds his gears. He likes to concentrate on his task and get it done with as little chatter as possible. Usually his reticence is met with people matching that energy. But occasionally, it's like his silence invites people to babble at him.

Nerves, maybe. Or in this case, obliviousness.

He takes the glass and food, digging into the latter gratefully. ] She wanted to tell me about her grandchildren and six cats.

[ when he says chatty, inej purses her lips together to prevent a smile from escaping, listening seriously to his complaint of this woman who wanted to chat up a customer. but when he continues about the grandchildren and six cats, inej's eyebrows raise, and she leans back in her chair, looking

well

wholly unimpressed. ]

That sounds horrible.

[ it should be a crime to sound so deadpan. ]

I am sorry you had to experience such a thing.

[ you're being a baby!!!!! ]

[ When he looks up, he can tell she's trying not to laugh. He scowls at this, stabbing his fork into his food. It's stupid. The whole situation had been stupid, being outdone by a grandmother who wanted to talk every second.

Also, it had been embarrassing, getting asked who the hat was for. His face must've said something because the shopkeep had gone down a trail of questioning that he was honestly surprised he didn't blush through. ]

Don't be patronizing. I was there to do business, not hear about Lizabet or whatever she named her cat.

[ oh, he's properly irritated now, and inej watches him stab the fork into his food with an unimpressed amusement. most people fear kaz brekker when he's in a bad mood, but inej has long since learned that kaz is rarely actually in a bad mood. it's when he's actually furious that people should probably duck, but kaz's baseline is generally grumpy, and so inej has learned what lines she can prod and what lines she should avoid.

this one is a line she can toe, because -- well, he's being ridiculous. ]

I'm not being patronizing, I'm serious.

[ as she pokes through her food, seeking out an olive that she can pop into her mouth, amused. ]

Entertaining an old woman's conversation about her beloved cat while you do something for someone else sounds like torture.

[ REAL LIVE TORTURE ]

Should I pay her a visit, to remind her not to slight you again?

[ maybe now she's being patronizing but you're being ridiculous. ]

OPEN POST 2020.

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