[She hates how it stirs at something in her when he says her full name, even like this. She can hear the way his inflection would ripple through her name.]
She doesn't answer him, not for several slowly drawn-out minutes. She wonders what changes in the room that alerts him so easily to her presence. He's the only one that can, almost every time.
"It's much more fun for me this way," she says from her perch in the window of his office. She knew he would be here, he usually was. Especially at this time of night. "Not many can say they hold the power to make Kaz Brekker...squirm."
“Hello, Inej.” How he can always sense her presence is a question Kaz has teasingly dodged answering over the years. So much of how Inej moves is like magic to him, he enjoys being able to show her a trick or two in return. The air shifts upon her entrance into his window, weight gathered by her presence that tells him he’s no longer alone. He’s seated behind his desk, head bent over papers he’s studying, his right foot propped up on a small stool beside his chair. There’s a coffee mug settled near him, what little is left in it cold by now.
“I’m hardly squirming. I’m studying.” At that his gaze flicks upwards towards where she’s perched upon his windowsill. It’s become synonymous for him, her and that place, so much so that he moved his office downstairs into Haskell’s old one. It’s also less walking up and down the stairs during the day, that’s his practical excuse. What he hasn't said is the fact that he keeps getting distracted looking towards that window ledge when he’s up here, missing that she isn’t there when she’s at sea.
He’s kept his old desk in his bedroom so he could still work at it throughout the night when sleep eludes him. “The crows will be glad you’re back so they can con you out of birdseed.” Nevermind that he’s taken it upon himself to feed her birds in her absence.
The laugh is silent, a little scrunch of her nose, a grin, picture-perfect. She eases back into stillness, taking a few quick glances around the room inside. The way Kaz has positioned himself is usually the most obvious clue about how long he's been there. He gets lost in his own head and forgets he needs to move occasionally.
"Someone's been over-feeding them," she says, the teasing tilt of her words colored in amusement. "Too much bread, I think." she glances back at him over her shoulder. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
He wishes he could hear the laugh. Kaz always feels a fluttering in his belly hearing it, his mood instantly lifted by the sound. It sings beneath his skin, making him feel as warm and giddy as if he’s drunk a shot of whiskey. Kaz doesn’t let himself get sloppy or fall-down drunk, but he feels like hearing her laugh puts him in a nice, tipsy state as long as the sound lasts. For now though he settles on just soaking in that she looks happy and at peace perched where she is. For all that he enjoys irritating her, and he does, he also enjoys making her feel at ease and happy.
Reaching out he lifts up his coffee cup, draining the last dregs of caffeine. It doesn’t taste particularly good right now, stale and cold, but Kaz couldn’t care less. His eating habits are much like the rest of the way he operates. He’ll eat or drink anything and think it’s fine as long as it gets the job done. He might have preferences, such as coffee over tea, but at the end of the day he’s never lost the canal rat realization that any food is worthwhile if he’s hungry.
Setting his cup aside, one eyebrow of his arches. Leaning back in his chair he muses with absolute innocence, “That doesn’t sound like me. Nina’s the bleeding heartrender of this group when you’re gone. Although if they get fat enough we could always turn one of them into dinner.” No, he wouldn’t actually do that.
"You wouldn't hurt my birds," she tosses lightly back at him, the confidence streaming through unhalted. Some things she just knows as fact, no matter how much he may want to allude otherwise.
She scoffs softly. "Oh, sure. You and that black hole where your heart should be, yes?" she rolls her eyes playfully at that.
She’s right that he wouldn’t harm the crows, even if he won’t admit it. While it’s Inej who started feeding them, cautioned against doing so by him, he has always liked the animal. He likes what they represent enough to have informally called his friends by the same name. It means something to him that Inej has taken that symbol to heart, even if through the more literal animals’ care. No matter where she is, she’ll always be part of the Dregs and one of the Crows to him. It’s both a fact and far too sentimental to pass his lips. Instead the curve upwards in a smirk. “The hole comes in handy, Captain. I could fit some extra kruge in there if I needed to. Prime real estate shouldn’t go to waste.”
"People forget that you can be funny because they are too busy being scared to anger you," she smirks back at him. "I'm glad I get to witness it more than most." It does, in fact, feel like a privilege to see him like this.
“Most people can’t hold two thoughts together in their heads at once. They especially can’t if the two aren’t easily reconciled with one another. Rubbed together they just give themselves a friction headache rather than understanding nuance.” He counts on it, the simplicity most people strive for in order to maintain a status quo. He’s created a superficial myth rich with rumors to hide that he’s just a man. An intense man, a man whose morals bend to what suits him rather than society. He enjoys frightening the merchers, he likes making them mad to have a dark mirror held up for them to face. He also likes that he can make her smile, and that he can joke with his few friends. It’s a contradiction best kept hidden from most.
Inej, too, has legends surrounding her. First as the Wraith in Ketterdam, and now she’s building a reputation out on the seas as one not to be trifled with. He likes that there’s more to her than that, too.
“I trust you won’t think less of me because I also happen to be hilarious,” he adds with a faint smirk. He trusts her, period. “Most people don’t need to see more of me than they do. Might ruin some of the mystique. Much like I’m sure you’re protective of your reputation as the Wraith out on the water.”
She rolls her lips together to suppress the soft laugh that threatens to bubble up out of her as he continued the bit.
“Quite the opposite, actually. It makes you much more attractive than you already are.” the words come easy and light, like they talked like this all the time.
“Plenty of mystique left, even knowing you have some sort of sense of humor,” she points out, lifting her eyebrows.
So close. It’s almost a challenge he sets himself now to make her laugh. Kaz’s mind works in a manner where he needs constant stimulation and puzzles to feel satisfied, but it’s rare that those workings aren’t darker in nature. With Inej though there’s a balance. He is striving to be a better man to build a future with her, and he’s coming to find that it’s not always difficult and arduous - though it can be that, too. In moments like this though it’s silly and soft, and while it feels like new waters to tread, he doesn’t feel like he’s drowning.
Reaching his hands behind his head, he stretches and rolls his shoulders, feeling the pleasant pop of joints gone stiff while he’s been in thought. In her keeping the tone easy and light they can pretend there hasn’t been years of buildup to talks like this, that it’s merely no different than the many random conversations they’ve entertained as hours ticked past them. “You have a slyer sense of humor than many give you credit for, while we’re on the topic. It’s good. It means I’m never bored when we talk.” Which is a huge compliment coming from Kaz, who sizes up, assesses, and dismisses most of the world within moments socially. He’s an introvert who often prefers his own thoughts, save for a select few. “Are you hungry? I have some things stashed in my drawers. And safe.” The snacks he knows she likes he’s stored so that nobody with sticky fingers can reach. Jesper might attempt to ransack his drawers, the Dregs have a policy of eat or be eaten, but nobody can break into his safe.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-05-15 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-15 06:49 pm (UTC)Sorry! Work this week was insane. Hope all is well on your end.
Date: 2023-05-19 03:58 pm (UTC)Though to be fair, I’ve mostly dealt with the political and military side of Ravka. Those often aren’t known for their intellectual prowess.
Nooo worries lovely. Threads have no expiration dates 💕
Date: 2023-05-23 04:53 pm (UTC)Agreed! I love them whenever time is found.
Date: 2023-05-26 11:27 pm (UTC)Though I’d put your mind far ahead of theirs, too.
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Date: 2023-06-02 10:30 pm (UTC)A direct compliment, bold of you, Kaz Brekker. I like it.
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Date: 2023-06-03 02:06 am (UTC)I’d hate to become predictable.
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Date: 2023-06-03 08:49 am (UTC)Is that so? And what are those perks, exactly?
You are many things, but predictable isn’t a word I’d use to describe you.
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Date: 2023-06-03 02:36 pm (UTC)I know better than to ask how you might describe me in turn.
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Date: 2023-06-06 07:30 pm (UTC)Scared to know my true thoughts?
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Date: 2023-06-06 08:40 pm (UTC)[Perhaps a little, though he won’t admit to it.]
Wary they might come out as a proverb.
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Date: 2023-06-06 09:06 pm (UTC)You're incorrigible.
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Date: 2023-06-06 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-06 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-07 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-07 01:28 pm (UTC)"It's much more fun for me this way," she says from her perch in the window of his office. She knew he would be here, he usually was. Especially at this time of night. "Not many can say they hold the power to make Kaz Brekker...squirm."
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Date: 2023-06-07 09:34 pm (UTC)“I’m hardly squirming. I’m studying.” At that his gaze flicks upwards towards where she’s perched upon his windowsill. It’s become synonymous for him, her and that place, so much so that he moved his office downstairs into Haskell’s old one. It’s also less walking up and down the stairs during the day, that’s his practical excuse. What he hasn't said is the fact that he keeps getting distracted looking towards that window ledge when he’s up here, missing that she isn’t there when she’s at sea.
He’s kept his old desk in his bedroom so he could still work at it throughout the night when sleep eludes him. “The crows will be glad you’re back so they can con you out of birdseed.” Nevermind that he’s taken it upon himself to feed her birds in her absence.
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Date: 2023-06-07 09:54 pm (UTC)"Someone's been over-feeding them," she says, the teasing tilt of her words colored in amusement. "Too much bread, I think." she glances back at him over her shoulder. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
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Date: 2023-06-08 02:13 pm (UTC)Reaching out he lifts up his coffee cup, draining the last dregs of caffeine. It doesn’t taste particularly good right now, stale and cold, but Kaz couldn’t care less. His eating habits are much like the rest of the way he operates. He’ll eat or drink anything and think it’s fine as long as it gets the job done. He might have preferences, such as coffee over tea, but at the end of the day he’s never lost the canal rat realization that any food is worthwhile if he’s hungry.
Setting his cup aside, one eyebrow of his arches. Leaning back in his chair he muses with absolute innocence, “That doesn’t sound like me. Nina’s the bleeding heartrender of this group when you’re gone. Although if they get fat enough we could always turn one of them into dinner.” No, he wouldn’t actually do that.
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Date: 2023-06-08 05:24 pm (UTC)She scoffs softly. "Oh, sure. You and that black hole where your heart should be, yes?" she rolls her eyes playfully at that.
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Date: 2023-06-08 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-08 07:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-09 02:41 pm (UTC)Inej, too, has legends surrounding her. First as the Wraith in Ketterdam, and now she’s building a reputation out on the seas as one not to be trifled with. He likes that there’s more to her than that, too.
“I trust you won’t think less of me because I also happen to be hilarious,” he adds with a faint smirk. He trusts her, period. “Most people don’t need to see more of me than they do. Might ruin some of the mystique. Much like I’m sure you’re protective of your reputation as the Wraith out on the water.”
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Date: 2023-06-10 08:02 pm (UTC)“Quite the opposite, actually. It makes you much more attractive than you already are.” the words come easy and light, like they talked like this all the time.
“Plenty of mystique left, even knowing you have some sort of sense of humor,” she points out, lifting her eyebrows.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-10 08:51 pm (UTC)Reaching his hands behind his head, he stretches and rolls his shoulders, feeling the pleasant pop of joints gone stiff while he’s been in thought. In her keeping the tone easy and light they can pretend there hasn’t been years of buildup to talks like this, that it’s merely no different than the many random conversations they’ve entertained as hours ticked past them. “You have a slyer sense of humor than many give you credit for, while we’re on the topic. It’s good. It means I’m never bored when we talk.” Which is a huge compliment coming from Kaz, who sizes up, assesses, and dismisses most of the world within moments socially. He’s an introvert who often prefers his own thoughts, save for a select few. “Are you hungry? I have some things stashed in my drawers. And safe.” The snacks he knows she likes he’s stored so that nobody with sticky fingers can reach. Jesper might attempt to ransack his drawers, the Dregs have a policy of eat or be eaten, but nobody can break into his safe.
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From:maybe wrapping this one soon? ❤️
From:We can wrap!
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