#Kanej baby

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Daughter of the Rain and Snow

Concept: Around ten years after the events of Crooked Kingdom, 25-year-old Captain Inej Ghafa frees Maya Olsen from a pleasure house in Ketterdam. Maya is looking for revenge against the man who put her in her position, a man who she knows nothing about except his name: Kaz Brekker.

Tags: @wraith--2 @lunarthecorvus @just2bubbly @real-fragments7 @cartoon-clifford @origami-butterfly @lady-a-stuff @thelibraryofalexandriastillburns @inej-ghafa-deserves-the-world @thatdelusionalnerd

If anyone wants to be added let me know :)

Content Warnings: in more general terms I want to remind people to be aware of the nature of Kaz and Inej's experiences and relationship since even if I'm not directly addressing these things they tend to be implicit in any writing about them, but specifically to this chapter there's ptsd references, anxiety, violence references, blood, wounds, and fear of losing loved ones

Note: Oh my goodness we only have the epilogue left to go... this is insane I can't believe we've reached the end

AO3 link: Daughter of the Rain and Snow - Chapter 145 - She_posts_nerdy_stuff - Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo [Archive of Our Own]

Chapter 144 - Kaz

At least the Crow Club was back in working order. Beyond that things weren’t looking at their best. Kaz knew from Anika and Pim’s reports that the damage was mostly repaired and they’d reopened the closed wing a few months ago, but he also knew from the income reports Yara had been sending him  that they’d taken a hit. Her projections looked sunnier for next month, but Kaz wasn’t feeling particularly confident. There was a nervous energy about the Slat when he walked in, still as rowdy as it usually was in these early hours of the morning but with a slightly frantic edge. Kaz had known his extended absence would take a toll, but he’d tried to keep in control of what he could. 

“I assume there are rumours going round about -”

“Your mysterious disappearance? Yeah,” said Anika, “We’re treading water trynna cover up for you being missing,”

“Anyone get wise?”

“To the fact you weren’t here or to what you were actually up to?”

Kaz shot her an unamused glare. Clearly he needed to stop telling Anika up to 50% of the truth, because she was getting too good at picking up what the rest of it was. 

“I don’t think so,” she said, “Not with any proof you weren’t around. Few people here and there are convinced you’re dead,”

That didn’t particularly surprise him.

“Any attempts at territory grabs since you last wrote?”

“Liddies are still riled up, but nothing new except a pretty hollow looking threat from Black Tips,”

Kaz sighed. They weren’t staying in Ketterdam for long, he’d have to get through work quickly and make a few choice appearances if he could spare the time.

As far as Kaz and Inej knew, the plan was for them to drop in on Jesper and Wylan for the afternoon, then go to the house overnight whilst Nina stayed on the Geldstradt. They didn’t have the space to have her at the house by the harbour - especially when Alyssa was staying with them too - and anyway she would only be kept up all night by Sadja. But apparently Jesper and Wylan had other plans, as soon as they were through the door it was all but a demand they at least stay there the first night. They’d even set up a room for Alyssa upstairs, so she was close if Inej or Sadja needed her.

“How are you feeling?” Kaz had asked, watching Inej’s hand find the railing on the porch of the Hendriks house.

“I’m fine,”

Kaz shook his head, looking down at Sadja.

“Once you can talk I’m going to teach you to shout at your Mama every time she says that,” he told her, gently readjusting the sling in hopes of helping her settle.

Nina laughed.

Sadja had done well on the boat, Kaz thought, for a stubborn two month old who had never travelled further than the Grand Palace until a couple of weeks ago, but she hadn’t slept well last night and still didn’t seem to be interested in sleeping now.

“Kaz, really,” said Inej, shaking her head, “I’m okay. I’m just tired,”

Kaz nodded, but he and Nina had shared a brief glance. Inej rang the doorbell and Sadja immediately jutted out her bottom lip in indignation; for a moment Kaz thought she was going to cry but she settled again, still looking a little grumpy. He readjusted his cane so that he could remain balanced whilst he offered her his finger, and once she’d acknowledged it he gently rubbed his hand up and down her tiny tummy.

“Do you not like doorbells, Sadja?”

“I think it’s quite normal for babies not to like loud noises, Kaz,” said Nina, peering over the sling, “You’re okay, aren’t you Sadja? You’re a brave little muffin,”

“Brave little muffin?” asked Kaz.

“Hey, that is just about the highest compliment I’ve ever given anyone,”

“Well, you are brave aren’t you Sadja? You’re just like your Mama,”

She wriggled a little in the sling, as though she was trying to look up at him properly, and smiled. Kaz glowed. 

The door had barely been opened when they were met by the practically shouted words:

“Where’s my niece?”

“Well, hello to you too, Jesper,” said Inej, sharing his soft laugh.

She leaned into the arm he offered and he kissed her on the cheek, ushering her over the doorstep. Kaz followed, nodding at Jesper.

“Saints, I’ve missed you,” said Jesper, hugging Inej again.

“Oh, I’ve missed you too,”

Nina cleared her throat, glaring teasingly at Jesper. He threw an arm around her shoulders.

“I’ve missed you too, darling, obviously. And I guess I missed you Kaz,”

“Always with the compliments,”

Where’s Wylan?” asked Inej.

“Couldn’t get out of a meeting,” Jesper replied, shaking his head, “He won’t be long. Now, where’s this little Sadja you’ve been withholding from me?”

“Withholding-? She’s only been alive two months - and you were in Novyi Zem for one and a half of them,”

“Withholding,” Jesper repeated

Inej laughed. Kaz gently scooped Sadja out of her sling and into his arms, rocking her for a moment before he passed her to Inej so Jesper could lean over and greet her. He looked like he was about to burst with glee.

“Oh my goodness, you two she’s so beautiful. Aren’t you? Yes you are, yes you are,”

Jesper looked up at Kaz and Inej, grinning.

“She’s wonderful,”

“She most certainly is,” Kaz smiled, pushing the door to behind him before they walked together towards the living room, “It’s good to see you, Jes,”

“You too. And honestly you with a baby is quite possibly both the funniest and cutest thing I have ever seen, so thank you for that,”

Nina snorted. Kaz glared at them both. 

“And how are you?” Jesper had asked Inej, as they sat on the sofa together.

It was about twenty minutes later and Wylan had just got back, all apologies for being late and overjoyed to see them all again. He was now sitting in between Inej and Kiada with Sadja in his arms, smiling.

“Well, I haven’t slept in about two months,” Inej smiled, leaning her head onto Jesper’s shoulder, “But other than that I’m doing pretty well. How are you? - How was Novyi Zem?”

“I’m good, we’re all pretty good at the minute, actually. And Novyi Zem was lovely, good to see my Da, and everyone did a very good job,” he squeezed Aimee’s hand lightly, from where she was perching on the arm of the sofa next to him, “There were a few moments where we thought we’d have to come home early - that was always in the plan as an option, if anyone needed it - but we ended up staying the whole time,”

“How’s Colm?” asked Nina, leaning forwards to pick her coffee up from the table.

The conversation floated on, and Kaz had drifted in and out of paying attention to it as he kept his eyes on Sadja. She started wriggling uncomfortably and Wylan passed her back to Inej, then a moment passed before she started crying. 

“Is she alright?” asked Kaz.

“She’s just hungry,” said Inej, looking at Kaz in a way that meant calm down, she’s a baby, she’s going to cry, you do not need to worry as she stood up and gently rocked Sadja against her chest, whispering to her in Suli, “I’ll take her upstairs,”

At some point, Kaz wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been, it was only him, Nina, and Jesper still sitting in the living room. Focus had switched freely: the trip to Novyi Zem - two weeks with Colm followed by a month and a half through in Weddle and Shriftport, then another two weeks with Colm - Kiada had struggled with the boat, Aimee had struggled on the farm, Kiada has struggled in Weddle; news on the Ravkans and their new little prince and princess, twins about three months older than Sadja; Clemmie Boscht had started renting an apartment in the city and came to the house to share roast dinner with the family once a month; updates on something Kaz had forgotten to pay attention to as he was wondering how long Inej and Sadja had been gone and if he should go upstairs to find them. Now Nina was asking about wedding plans - the original date should have been last month, but it hadn’t been set in stone when Kaz and Inej first went to Ravka so Jesper and Wylan had decided to postpone and visit Jesper’s father instead of him coming out to them. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Jesper was saying, “Nothing will ever make up for the fact that Kaz Brekker got married before I did,”

Nina flopped against the back cushions of the sofa.

“Yeah, it’s a real blow to the ego isn’t it?”

“Aren’t you two just the height of comedy?” said Kaz drily.

“To be fair, Jes,” Nina added, “I think we were all surprised you weren’t the first to get married. I mean how long had you two known each other before you moved in, two months?”

“No, well I really only joke,” said Jesper, glancing briefly at the door and lowering his voice, “Wylan told me ages ago he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get married, after everything with his parents he just kinda… lost faith in it,”

Jesper had told Kaz about it at the time. It was years ago, around the time of the Van Eck trial, and Wylan was having an unsurprisingly bad time of it. He said he’d burst into tears and told Jesper that it had been evil of him to trap him in a relationship that would never go anywhere, and that he could leave if he wanted to and Wylan would understand. Apparently Jesper had stared at him for almost a full minute, and then said:

“Wy, you’re seventeen,”

“Well, clearly,” Kaz had said, “You handled that well,”

“I helped him afterwards!” Jepser had cried defensively, “That was just my first thought,”

Now Kaz sat behind his desk at the Slat, flicking through the endless pile of papers laying in wait and watching the hands move on his timepiece. Almost five bells. He wanted to be back by six.

Sadja had woken up not long before three bells, screaming loud enough to bring the entire house down. Kaz fumbled in the dark, searching for his cane, before Inej turned on the gas lights and handed it to him, smiling and shaking her head. They sat next to each other on the side of the mattress as Sadja nursed, and for about half an hour afterwards Kaz was still rocking her slowly whilst Inej lowered the lights and lay back down. Sadja seemed on the verge of settling back to sleep and Kaz stood to return her to the cradle next to the bed, only for her to immediately start wailing again.

“Well I hope you’re not still hungry,” he said softly in Suli, giving her a gente bounce “I think Mama’s asleep,”

She flailed one of her tiny fists into the air and it whacked lightly against Kaz’s chest.

“Not bad form,” he told her, “But you need more strength behind it if you want to do real damage. We’ll work on that when you’re older. What can we do to help you sleep now though, hm?”

Sadja wriggled in his arm and Kaz moved to sit on one of the armchairs so he could set down his cane and support her more comfortably. 

“I don’t have anything new to read to you,” he said, “But I could tell you a story if you’d like,”

There was a pause broken only by Sadja’s impatient cries, before Inej’s soft voice came from the darkness on the other side of the room:

“You know the whole idea of us using one language each with her whilst she's still learning kind of depends on you speaking to her in Kerch, right?”

Kaz looked up.

“Inej? I thought you were asleep,”

“Kaz, if you think anyone could fall asleep through this then I have serious concerns about your hearing. And, again, you’re supposed to speak in Kerch,”

“I’m still not convinced that’s going to work,” he replied, “Isn’t she just going to hear us using both with each other anyway?”

Inej groaned.

“It’s three in the morning, Kaz, can we talk about this later?”

He laughed softly, nodding though he wasn’t sure if she’d see in the dark. He’d known that he needed to go to the Slat - the last word from Anika and Pim had been concerningly vague -  but he could stay here a little while yet, couldn’t he? What harm would it do, just to stay here for a little longer? He sighed.

“You need to go, don’t you?”

He didn’t know how she did that.

“It can wait until tomorrow,”

“You can’t,” said Inej, quietly, “Go on. I’ll get her settled, just don’t be long, okay?”

“Never,”

He really needed to stop watching the clock, or he wouldn’t get anything done and have to bully himself into staying longer. It was a good while past five bells when he left, ignoring the shouts for attention that followed him from the crowd. The Hendriks house was mostly still sleeping, though Wylan was unsurprisingly up and in the kitchen making coffee by the time Kaz arrived at six bells. Inej was awake but she was still upstairs, not long dressed and part way through brushing her hair when Kaz knocked softly on the door. She opened it slowly, pressing a finger to her lips as he slipped inside.

“Sadja’s asleep,”

Kaz stood over the cradle for a moment, watching her. She really was perfect. Inej appeared next to him, her arm slipping around his waist once he’d nodded confirmation. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

“She already looks like you,” she whispered.

Kaz shook his head.

“She’s beautiful. That’s all you,”

Inej shook her head then, her hand finding his and slipping beneath the rim so her fingers brushed his wrist. Kaz’s heart leapt, thinking of holding her on the floor almost a year ago, a knife in her gut and her blood soaking over both of them. He swallowed and she felt him tense, starting to pull away to give him space. His fingers tightened over hers, holding her to him. 

“We’ve not…” she hesitated, “We’ve not talked about a plan for where to live. For what to do next,”

Kaz had been avoiding the conversation, because he didn’t actually know what he was going to say. But it was a year ago when he couldn’t tell her everything he’d thought he should be able to say by now - 

Their happiness, together. In Kerch, in Ravka, they could move to the permafrost in Fjerda for all he cared. He would carve a life for her in the face of a mountain, if that was what she wanted.

- and so much had changed since then. He should be able to tell her that now. And he did.

Inej turned and leaned her face up towards his, glowing in the soft dancing light of dawn leaking through the window, her dark eyes shimmering. She lifted a hand up to cup his cheek, and slowly they leaned into each other. Their foreheads pressed against each other, Kaz’s hand slipped down Inej’s back, and their lips met in the warmth of spring and joy and a family that for so long Kaz had convinced himself he didn’t want, because he never thought he’d be able to find it. 

The entire world was golden.

[kanej-aes]

introducing mira jordan rietveld! my personal headcanon for a kanej daughter :)

mira means sea or ocean in hindu which i think is very beautiful & an accurate name kaz & inej would choose for obvious reasons.

You can already imagine why I choose jordan as a middle name, while I do think the idea of naming his child after his brother would be painful for kaz, I also think when they’re at a point where they’re able to think about children, the thought of keeping his brother's name alive could also be a soothing, healing thing for him.

Anyways this is just me babbling and thinking about a hopeful happy future for kanej don’t take me too seriously :)

(faceclaim: rebecca ablack)

[cameliawrites]

what a mother wants

It’s here, it’s here! (And it’s here on ao3.) My latest Six of Crows fic has been published: nine thousand words on family and trauma, domesticity and angst, motherhood and marriage, sacrifice and self-identity. Just the heavy stuff, you know? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one (even if your post-CK kanej headcanons are wildly different than my own; I’m here for the discourse). 

fic summary:

“Your mother says you haven’t stepped into the practice tent once. Since when are you afraid to walk the wire?” Kaz demanded. 

Since I realized what my daughter will lose if I fall, Inej thought. 

She replied, “I’m not afraid. I simply want different things than I used to,” and willed herself to believe it was the truth. 

…

Post-CK. Kaz and Inej are taking their three-year-old daughter to visit the Suli caravans for the first time, and Inej wants what all mothers want: for her child to be happy and safe. It is no surprise that her own mother wants the very same.

...

Before she and Kaz had the baby, Inej thought she knew the extent of fear.

She’d fought off rivals who outnumbered her five to one; climbed to dizzying, dangerous heights; pulled off impossible heists. She’d died in the belly of a slaver ship at the age of fourteen. Nothing, she thought, could be worse than the fear she had suffered then. 

In the spring of her twenty-sixth year, Inej came to be with child—more often, though, she thought of the child as with her, safe and warm even in the final cold snaps of the season. There was something sacred about sharing the space of one body between them, knowing that she’d never been closer to another human except her own mother. 

Soon enough, Inej knew her child would be forced to be without, divested of the inherent protections of pregnancy, born into the winter of an impossibly cold and cruel city. Most of the time, Inej’s fears regarding the inevitable separation were menial, manageable: What if the baby couldn’t latch? What if the baby wouldn’t sleep in her crib? What if the baby’s clothes weren’t warm enough to brave the Kerch freeze?

But there were far worse things than heavy rains and biting winds. Inej remembered the weight of bodies on top of her own, lips and teeth and tongues, heat and misery and unbearable guilt. What of those things?

And then a little girl was born to them one snow-covered day in Ketterdam—Lieze Rietveld, barely as long as Kaz’s palms when they pressed beneath her, cradling her in his hold. She was unbelievably tiny, arms and legs and fists and face all scrunched up like a butterfly’s wing just emerging from its chrysalis. 

The fear became a tangible, intractable thing. It’s a girl, they’d told her as they first pressed the bloody, wriggling body to her chest. It was naive of her to sob in relief then, pressing tear-soaked lips to the filmy skin of her daughter’s forehead. 

‘It’s a girl!’ resounded in Inej’s mind for months afterward. The longer it echoed, the more it felt like a warning.

…

read the entire one-shot here on ao3.

[charl3ss]

Kaz and Inej obviously get married one day because she’s religious and Kaz wants the tax benefits + he wants to make her happy, and I just know when that day comes Kaz takes HER last name

[kazscrows]

I keep seeing people say things like “Why would we want a SoC spin-off they’ve already used the entire plot” and I’m like?? Did we read the same books???

What about The Ice Court Heist? Kuwei? Van Eck? “I’m going to get my money, Kaz vowed. And I’m going to get my girl.”??? The sugar fiasco? The auction at the exchange??

[honeyxmonkey]

No Mourners, No Funerals

[grishaxverse]

so they’re going on a heist and falling through the ceiling together? THEM?!

[amandinemoon]

Some six of crows fanart (aquarelle) for my kanej audience (lol what audience ?)

[bookmarvelfox]

[kadazzle]

Day 3 of Kanej Appreciation Week 2023 - Parallel

[ruins-and-rewritez]

Kanej babies being so good at hide-and-seek they have to put a family wide ban on it so they can avoid the mini heart attacks they all get when they can't find them

[hauntsthenarrative]

puppydog eyes

that's it that's the post. SAME LITTLE FACE AND EVERYTHING 😭

[agent-tempest]

My Kanej heart <3

[undercover-grisha]

Six Months - Short Fic

Kaz Brekker woke up to his wife hitting him with a pillow. He blinked up at the dark ceiling. Inej sleepily tossed the pillow over him and in the direction of the noise that had obviously woken her up.

Kaz sat up, rubbing his face with both hands. Inej woke before him? Ghezen, he was getting rusty.

The noise hadn’t stopped. Kaz felt a soft, grumbling urge to throttle something growing in his stomach.

Instead he grabbed his cane— the wooden one that Inej insisted he used in the house so as to not give Jordan the chance to hurt himself on the sharp metal crow’s beak of his regular cane.

(Kaz understood the thought process behind the decision. It still hadn’t stopped him from keeping his cane with him until the very last moment possible. When Jordan reached and grabbed that stupid duck, Kaz had fought violently to keep his face from the narrow-eyed scowl he’d so wanted to do.)

So Kaz grabbed his cane and headed off down the hall. He clumsily buttoned the top of his shirt back together after it had apparently come undone during the night. He was stalling. Just a little, but still.

Kaz let out a breath, slightly strangled in nature, and raised his eyes to the slotted wooden rafters in the hallway. Six months. Just six short months since Jordan Harajj Ghafa had come screaming into the world, pudgy little brown face all scrunched up and furious that someone has disturbed him.

Kaz had never felt as full of life as he had in that moment.

Which was good, because it gave him plenty of energy to work off during the following weeks when the kid would not shut the hell up.

He’d eventually calmed down, of course, as all babies did, but there were still these occasional outbursts.

Kaz slowly opened the door to the nursery and stepped inside. He was sure the kid was just hungry, which, of course he was screaming about it, he couldn’t very well feed himself. Didn’t make waking up in the middle of the night any less annoying.

Kaz’s cane clicked on the wood floors as he shuffled over to the bassinet. Jordan was sitting up in his crib, gripping the bars like he’d been sentenced to Hellgate under false charges. He quieted as his father approached, and let go of the bars, as if he knew he was in trouble. Kaz leaned the tips of his elbows on the edge of the crib and clasped his hands together, leaning all his weight on his better leg and popping his bad leg to let it stretch.

Jordan stuck his hand in his mouth.

“You are a terror.” Kaz murmured. Jordan hummed around his fist, his eyes still watery. Kaz pulled his shirt sleeve up his hand and gently dabbed at the wet skin. He’d gotten better about touch in the past few years, obviously good enough to have a son, but he still didn’t like to risk his ability to handle water.

“Most people try to sleep through the night. You seem to be trying your damndest to sleep around it.”

The Bastard of the Barrel scooped his son up and headed out of the nursery and into the kitchen. He set Jordan on his stomach on carpet and opened the cabinet to find a pot. Kaz set the pot on the stove and turned to grab the milk out of the icebox. He paused momentarily as Jordan pulled himself up with a chair on wobbly legs out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, good job.” He murmured, half paying attention.

Wait.

Kaz froze.

No no no no no. No. This could not be happening now, not when Inej was asleep. Not again.

“Stop.” He tried.

Jordan did not stop. He bounced his legs.

“Jordan Ghafa, stop it now.”

Jordan looked up at his name. He let go of the chair.

Kaz strode over to the boy and flexed his hands slightly, unsure of what to do. Jordan babbled at him, giggling and bouncing on his legs.

Kaz picked him up. And set him down on his stomach, and put a toy in his hands.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all. There was no standing. If Jordan could stand tomorrow in front of his mother, well, Kaz would celebrate that then.

Kaz hesitated. He gently pat Jordan’s head and the boy looked up at him with those big, molten eyes.

“Very good.” He said, going for praise and wincing at how much it sounded like he was training a dog.

Dirtyhands turned to finish heating up the milk for his son.

[ghostofchaos-past]

Like Real People Do by Hozier represents all of the six of crows canon couples in a way i can't exactly put into words but just makes sense

specifically the lines

I will not ask you where you came from

I will not ask and neither would you

[whosthatfunkyrat]

*Inej holding Kanej baby*

Baby: *reaches for Kaz’s cane*

Kaz: “you like the birdy?” *starts wiggling the cane around in front of baby’s face*

Inej: *gently pushes the cane away* “that’s….sharp…”