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theogony · 3 years ago

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Double Punch Entendre

A/N: Written for the @sixofcrowsbb <3 it was a pleasure joining everyone was super nice !! thank you so much Kenny ( @sunshinebunnie )for being an amazing beta and helping me bring this. meme to life <3 and cai (@bisexualoftheblade )! I am still going to take lessons from you after this on coding and thank you for the lovely podfic (link here) - working with the two of you were lovely and was a great experience <3

-oh. there's a body.

Nina kneels beside her, nudging the boy, before looking back up with wonder.

“He’s out cold,” she voices, oozing concern, but Inej can tell that there’s a very small part of her that’s desperately trying not to laugh.

oh, Inej thinks again, rather belatedly, as she finally processes the leather jacket, the studded ear, the vaguely familiar face. I just knocked out Kaz Brekker.

\\\

-Or, where he's a punk, and she does ballet, what more can I say?

[Also featuring an overzealous Nina Zenik, an overly flirtatious Jesper Fahey, and a too-blushy-for-his-own-good Wylan Van-eck. ]

READ ON AO3!

"I heard that Kaz Brekker ripped out someone's eye yesterday and the blood spot from it is still on the staircase. Not a single scratch on him."

"Ugh, no wonder that little freak was missing yesterday. You couldn’t pay me to mess with him."

As she opens her locker, Inej turns away from her half-hearted eavesdropping, the rest of her mind engaged with her day plans. With a full day of school and dance practice now, she figures that if she hurries to the bus stop, she'd have enough time for an iced mocha at the Dregs Cafe. Of course, after she got home, it was another hour of plies and arabesques, as well as another two hours of preparing for the approaching test-

"Earth to Inej -"

Nina frowns at her, her hands on her hips and her brows furrowed. "Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?"

“Um.” Inej removes her outdoor shoes and slips into her pointe shoes.

“Inej.”

"Nina!" Inej huffs, knowing where this conversation is going.

Wylan pops out of nowhere, his arm around Inej's neck, having apparently overheard the last few words of their exchange.

"Nina, give her a break - she hasn't even changed yet and you're already harassing her for free waffles."

Miffed, Nina abruptly tugs his ear, hand wagging like an impatient grandma as she berates him for "monopolising their bank" - though to little effect, as Wylan is plainly having the time of his life, trying to hold in his laughter, and then failing when his cheeks are faintly red. Rolling her eyes at their comedy duo, she quietly slips off to change, ignoring the ruckus that emerges midway through her braiding her hair into a bun. As she makes her way back, what strikes her as odd though is the eerie silence that pervades the locker room - obscured by a large crowd which she slips her way through, frowning.

Nina's clearly restrained by 5-6 bigger thugs, hand and lip bloodied, and Inej almost misses the sight of Wylan's small frame in the corner, covered by a much larger guy who's clearly trying to strong arm him into agreeing to something. As she quietly stalks forward, she hears an awful, grating voice and sees a snaking finger curl around a loose curl, pulling it - and Inej suddenly sees red.

"You," she says, pointing a finger with the most fury she can muster as the boy abruptly swivels, "have the most annoying laugh I've ever heard."

Maybe it's simply because he's a major asshole, but really, no one can blame her if she moves forward, rearing back her arm hoping to smash something - if not an eye, at least a cheek.

What she doesn't expect though, is a sudden scramble - as though he was almost jerked back - yet a collision into something warm, something smooth, and a surprising sort of grunt that abruptly breaks off.

There's a bated silence, and Inej rubs her knuckles, frowning slightly at the red forming between them, from hitting something with too much force, before looking down at the-

-oh. there's a body.

Then everything breaks into pandemonium.

"Did you see that?"

"Oh shit, I had no idea the ballet department's spider had it in her!"

Nina kneels beside her, nudging the boy, before looking at Inej with wonder. “He’s out cold,” she voices, oozing concern, but Inej can tell that there’s a very small part of her that’s desperately trying not to laugh.

oh, Inej thinks again, rather belatedly, as she finally processes the leather jacket, the studded ear, the vaguely familiar face.

I just knocked out Kaz Brekker.

How could she have missed it before? The sharp jawline, the deepening frown, and the sliver of a tattoo exposed beneath his jacket sleeves.

Now though - there's also a purplish bruise on his left temple, with darker blotches the size of Inej's knuckles. When Nina goes over to pinch his cheek, his eyes remain closed and don't even flutter.

A sense of calm envelops Inej, the same resignation she imagines one would feel if they were sentenced to death, knowing their time is running out and they only have so many hours to contemplate their life. The only difference is that instead of the electric chair, she will have to choose between two options: A) the principal, which means suspension or, in the worst-case scenario, expulsion, or B), the much worse-case scenario - Kaz Brekker's wrath.

Onlookers still shriek at each other, some taking pictures with their phones, others yelling for the nurse to come (someone even calls for an ambulance initially). Ignoring them all, Inej braces his arms over her shoulders, Nina following suit a few seconds later, carefully lifting him to the stunned stares of the remaining spectators. Wylan raises an eyebrow but says nothing, and he falls into step behind both NIna and Inej as they walk toward the infirmary.

When they arrive at the infirmary, the nurse instructs them to place Kaz in one of the two beds and gently arranges his limbs so that they are straight along his sides, fingers curled loosely. Much to Nina's chagrin, the nurse forces her to bandage her wrist, and so the turbulent storm that is Inej's best friend departs, leaving behind a quiet Wylan and pensive Inej.

"I'm sorry-"

"I didn't mean to interfere-"

The conversation between them comes to a halt because of their words said in unison - and, unable to stop themselves, they both start laughing. The conversation dies down, leaving Inej to mull over her funeral arrangements in comfortable silence - because there's no way Kaz Brekker is leaving her alive - the least she can do is probably try to wager a not so bloody destruction.

A loud crash interrupts her thoughts for the umpteenth time that day, and the harsh footsteps that follow remind Inej in an eerie way of Nina's bubbly nature and inability to not draw attention to herself (as it should be - I'm important! a ghost Nina chimes in her head).

"So you're the one who knocked him out! Nice to finally get a face to the whispers of the spider."

Inej is too busy gaping at the horrific combination of green plaid and bright yellow trousers rather than addressing the boy who now who greets her, though not for long - his eyes stray to Wylan instead, whose eyebrows are now disappearing into his hair as he too stares down the - atrocity that the guy's wearing.

"So anyway, ignoring our current situation.. - the name's Jesper - here and queer and to strike fear and all of that show biz - though right now I'm here to pick up our good friend Kaz over in that bed", and saying so, he walks over to Kaz, whistling through his teeth as his eyes widen at the purpling bruise.

"Yeah... unfortunate circumstances indeed - I'm Inej. Inej Ghafa and uh... I'm.. really sorry about what happened to your... friend?"

Jesper's eyes widen, and he laughs before facing her with a grin.

"Nah, don't sweat it - he needs the occasional sense knocked into him anyway. Though who's your.. friend?"

Wylan jolts, a little offended, rounding on him with a frown which contrasts brightly with Jesper's sharp grin.

"I'm Wylan - and I can speak for myself!"

As Wylan and Jesper begin to bicker (it's... one-sided though, with Jesper clearly being amused), Inej is left to look down at Kaz's face again. It’s hard to believe he’s so violent, Inej thinks—right now he just looks - peaceful. But he has a wiriness to him, and although she's never seen him in action, she's heard the stories— perceptive as a crow, strikes brutal and precise. While Inej isn't thrilled that their first meeting occurs while Kaz is unconscious, she is relieved that she won't have to witness the rage firsthand. Maybe she'll be able to slip away before the nurse releases him, and Kaz will have to deal with the fact that he doesn't know her face when he starts the hunt. That should at the very least give her a good head start—

Kaz groans as the nurse suddenly comes into view, Nina in tow - causing the group of teens to rapidly speak over each other.

"What happened?"

"Do you mind taking your friend and leaving the premises before I throw you out myself for monopolising the infirmary?"

"Guys, I think we should get out.."

"Well.... I don't know about you Wylan, but I sure wouldn't mind you staying-"

"GET OUT!"

As she, Nina, and Wylan frantically escape the nurse's wrath, Inej is convinced that a) the nurse either has really good timing - or b) Kaz has really bad luck - or c) the universe has suddenly decided to give her a life extension in return for some good deeds she'd done.

Jesper's too busy staring off dreamily into the distance, the sounds are way too loud for him to exactly process what exactly just went on, and realistically - his cheek is still smarting from that punch. Resigned to his fate, Kaz simply frowns - preoccupying himself with trying to conjure up the silhouette of that girl who... punched and then carried him here. huh.

"Do you think I have a chance with that guy?"

Kaz coughs before curtly answering, stowing away his irrational feeling towards.. whoever that girl was for another evening.

"No way in hell."

"Oh shit, you're awake?"

As far as last days go - not that Inej has had much experience on the brink of death, regardless of rumours - she supposes this one is quite nice. Nina and Wylan (her best friends, even though they may be aggravating at times) accompany her to a café when she finishes baking the reconciliatory present, and Nina offers her her last waffle. Inej doesn't even protest about the missing half. When they've finished eating, she walks with them to the dance school, diligently practising her plies and deciding that for a change she would listen to Tante Heleen (the sub whom Nina refers to as Tante Hell. affectionately, apparently.) — she considers this something of a last hurrah, and thus decides to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of her few remaining moments.

"C'est la fin pour aujourd'hui... N'oublie pas de pratiquer tes arabesques. Spécialement Nina - perds du poids, mon dieu!"

Instead of hurrying out of the room like they both normally do, Nina's abnormally quiet as she unlaces her flats, pulling her hair down as though vexed.

"Nina..."

"Par pitié, laisse-me tranquille! eugh, that absolute - ducon of a woman doesn't know what she's going on about. maybe she should try looking in the mirror before insulting an actual student! But enough of me - you know I don't care much about that Hell's opinion anyway. The gift's prepared, isn't it ? And there's only one place Brekker can be anyway, you know that."

The subject change is swift, and even though there's still a tinge of concern laced into Inej's face, it's for the greater part reassured by Nina's outburst, replaced with a hint of fear and sudden indecision.

"Do you think he'll like it?"

Nina rounds on her, before jabbing her finger into her chest with a resounding "oomph".

"Girl, why wouldn't he like it? Kaz Brekker may be a gang leader but that doesn't mean he's a complete emotionless robot. Besides, you're Inej Ghafa - you'd probably be able to charm him even if he was an absolute monster. Didn't we go over this - it's not that deep. You'll survive. and even if you don't, I'm sure you'll be able to haunt his ass from the grave."

By the time Nina's finished with her long spiel, they've both reached the end of the hallway where Wylan's been assigned as "scout" and "distraction".

Kaz leans against the wall outside of the abandoned room - the self proclaimed "crow-club" of shady deals and Ravka High - back rigid and straight, studiously ignoring all the other students in the hall, who are murmuring behind their hands— That's Brekker, isn't it? What happened to his face? Who's crazy enough to have messed with him?

Wylan places a firm hand against Inej's elbow as she swallows, throat suddenly dry again. "Don't worry, Nina and I will be right over there. We probably won't be able to fight him, but we can buy enough time for someone to secure some tranquillisers."

"Or Inej could just knock him out again," Nina suggests, glancing at Wylan as they both snort - before bursting out laughing.

"...Well, you're not... wrong..”

“Exactly,” Nina smiles. “Now, go get ‘em, tiger.” Inej barely steps foot in the hallway before Kaz quickly rotates around to face her, almost as if he has eyes in the back of his head.

Inej's stomach sinks when she sees that the bruise has seemed to become impossibly worse. Kaz's entire right side of his face is swollen, with the worst of it just next to one of his catlike brown eyes. He's frowning and moving his weight from side to side, arms folded across his chest.

"Your business?"

"Is that... are you going to be okay?"

Kaz blinks, surprised by the question, before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck before answering.

"It'll take more than that to knock me down."

"... I guess."

The short conversation dithers off, before Kaz levels her with a gaze that's.. somehow not angry.. just.. curious.

"Anything else?"

With a jolt, Inej awakens from her temporary stupor, before busying herself with the short giftbag's ribbon, ensuring it was tight.

"Oh and - this is for you!"

If Inej thought that Kaz looked surprised a few seconds back, it's nothing compared to the face of utter bewilderment as he accepts the bag, turning it over and pulling at the drawstring to the smell of buttered cookies.

"Consider it... an apology? For the other day-"

Kaz stiffens, before immediately going to return the cookies. "I know you didn't do it on purpose, I'm not going to.. come after you or anything."

"Well... that's relieving.. but that doesn't mean you have to return the gift back! I promise my cooking isn't that inedible."

It's only then that Inej notices the faint blush that dusts his pale skin, and she's hit with the sudden thought that it doesn't exactly - not suit him.

"Inej! The bus is going to be here soon!"

Oh shit, she frantically thinks, before pushing the bag into his hands, patting the jacket of his shoulder awkwardly and rushing away with a goodbye - thus missing his forlorn gaze, slowly tracing her fading sillhoute.

The next morning at school, Inej finds herself uncharacteristically preoccupied with Kaz Brekker. Her braids are messily done, and she turns around at every half noise, expecting (or was it more of hoping?) to see his expression once again.

Though she still thinks she'd be equally as surprised on any normal day to see Jesper (who's now sporting a yellow tartan jacket from.. somewhere) leaning against her locker, holding a token in his hand.

"I came to bring you this!"

It's a box, and while Inej's first thought is, "Is it a bomb?" Upon opening it, she discovers (much to her astonishment) a little German chocolate cake, covered with icing expertly spun into pale pink flowers. It appears to be delightful, and she looks up for an explanation.

Jesper clears his throat, before grinning.

“This is, an, uh, a gift from Kaz. He got a little tied up this morning so he asked me to give it to you. And to tell you it's only fair that he gets to pay you back. Though if you ask me, he was also struggling to ask you out."

Inej is certain her brain's short circuited, and she hears the distant bark of Nina's laugh.

"What."

"Yeah, though he may put it off for a few days? I promise that he's genuinely not a bad guy, he just gets paralysed easily in social situations - especially when he's around someone he likes. And besides, the way he talked about you.... Trust me, he's really a softie at heart."

Softie. Paralysed around someone he likes. The fact he talked about her.

Inej is fully certain now that it's the extra espresso shots from last week that are causing her to hallucinate.

"Anyway, Kaz is probably gonna try to find you sometime today. Give him a chance, okay? He’s not that bad, I swear.”

The warning bell rings, and even though Inej feels as though she may spontaneously combust, Jesper still lingers, almost bashfully looking away.

"Also... do you by chance... have Wylan's number..?"

For the first time in her known memory, Inej is late for class.

Inej eats the cake during lunch. It’s all she eats, and she eats the entire thing. By the time she’s finished her brain is buzzing from the sugar rush, but she just hadn’t been able to stop. It was delicious.

"What are you going to say?" Nina inquires lightly, her chin resting on her palm. The way she's grinning like a cat ruins her nonchalance.

"I...I don't know," she admits. "Nobody has ever liked me before... and I'm not sure what to do." When Nina's cough turns into a laugh, she frowns, perplexed.

"Half the girls in ballet and literally all of the mathletes love you, Inej," Nina adds. "You're so brilliant in everything else that you're an idiot when it comes to romance." Inej turns to Wylan for support, but she realises he's too busy tapping away on his phone (and the redness on his face makes it clear who he's chatting to) to pay attention.

"Who knew it only took a cake to win your heart?"

"He didn't capture my heart!" Inej argues halfheartedly.

"Inej, the fact that you're bothered by this at all suggests otherwise", Nina continues, eyes softening. "All I'm saying is that maybe it's time you be honest with yourself?"

Inej normally doesn't leave class so early, skipping up the stairs with a spring in her step, but somehow Nina's not surprised by the fact she's ditched her.

"Did you bake it yourself?" She blurts out, rounding the corner, almost crashing into a very surprised Kaz. The cake was perfectly moist, and the icing wasn't too sweet - but it didn't taste like it had been bought—it tasted like it had been made with care, and Inej is instantly struck by the mental image of Kaz Brekker with an apron.

"Did you enjoy it?" Kaz asks in turn, his eyes downcast as though bracing himself for.... rejection?

"I did it. It was delicious."

"That's... good." He sounds pleased, and it's only now that Inej takes a step closer, provoking Kaz to look up, bright eyes wide. Inej doesn't know Kaz. She has no idea what he loves to do (other than fight), she has no idea how he thinks about ballet, and she has no idea whether they have anything in common. But she does know one thing.

I want to get to know you better.

"Have you ever tried the nearby cafe's waffles?"

Kaz's eyes are wide like saucers, before he shakes his head.

"Well, I have ballet now, but after that, do you think you'd like to come with me? We don't have to have waffles, though I promise they're very good as well."

Despite the fact that her voice drifts off, she doesn't remove her piercing stare. She wants to learn more about this boy because, despite everything, her heart is still thumping so loudly that she can feel it in her throat.

"Sure," Kaz finally agrees, a bit breathlessly. "I would be honoured, Inej."

And Inej smiles, knowing this could be the start of something worthwhile.

comments and reblogs always appreciated! <3

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