#oh and jesper while we're here

[sprnklersplashes]

shout out to leigh bardugo for creating a disabled character who can be described as "he doesn't let his disability stop him from achieving what he wants (threat)"

[omgkatherine01]

Creatures of the Night: Chapter 10 - The Conductor

Series Masterlist

Chapter 9, Chapter 11

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x female reader

Please comment, like and share ❤

"Jesper, new job!" Kaz said as soon as the both of you found him perusing the dim and rain-slicked streets; his back had been turned to you, and you were certain you saw him speaking to somebody who very swiftly disappeared upon the sound of Kaz's voice.

Kaz hardly gave him a glance as he walked past him, "Come along." You rolled your eyes but followed as you tapped on Jesper's arm, and he quickly followed as well.

"She did it again," he muttered. "Did what?" you asked quietly. "Inej was here," he said quietly, "So, where we going?"

You shrugged, "To see someone name Poppy." Jesper paused but quickly returned to walk by your side as he looked at Kaz who was walking ahead, "Oh... that's a joke right?"

You shook your head, "No. Who is this Poppy?" you asked. "A former friend and partner," he answered, "And now they hate Kaz."

"Ha, I wonder why?" you said sarcastically. Jesper took your hand and pulled you quicker with him to Kaz's side. "So!" he started and cleared his throat, "We need a demo man."

"You're still on that?" Kaz asked. Jesper frowned, "I just brought it up tonight."

Kaz shook his head, "Jesper, you ask for an explosives expert on every job."

"Because I don't want to be the one you point to and say, 'Explode something for us'. That is not a Jesper talent. I shoot things with style. And I look good. Just play to my strengths, boss."

"But wouldn't you look really cool with a building exploding behind you?" you asked, "I saw things like that in movies--something from where I came from, it's acting--it was awesome."

Jesper pointed at you, "Now, you, you would look really cool, y/n." You pointed at yourself, "Me?"

"How about we take a vote for y/n to be our new explosives expert?"

"No," you said with a scoff. "Oh, come on," Jesper said, "You'd be a total badass than you are now, and it's definitely will be a hot thing to do."

"Shut up."

"She already has a job," Kaz said as he for some reason glared down, and you followed his glare to Jesper's hand still holding yours without realizing it, and you let go.

"Yeah, I already have a job, and it's my shadow thingy," you said quietly. "Now," Kaz started as he continued forward, "Alina Starkov will be kept at the Little Palace. Entering the Little Palace requires us to be quiet. Blowing something up, we've likely failed."

"Well, we have y/n's shadow controlling job, the job will be easy," Jesper said. "Not enough control," Kaz said, "Anything can go wrong." Jesper frowned, "I think she has enough control, at least I think so. So does Inej. Besides, with y/n's shadows and Inej's skill, both girls together, unstoppable."

You smiled lightly and glanced at Kaz. "What do we do with Inej?" you asked, "Because I already said, if she's not going, I'm not going."

"I remember that," he said. Jesper let out a sigh, "We're at Pekka's turf now," he muttered, "The bouncers will know you on sight."

"That's why I brought you," Kaz said as he looked at him, "Make sure they don't see us." You pointed at yourself and then him as if asking, 'I'm going in with you?'

Kaz nodded for you to follow him and you walked away as you heard Jesper, "Handsome decoy is also not a Jesper talent."

--

You used the dark corroders for you and Kaz to slip in and quickly into a room he said Poppy will be there. "Boris, would you--" You looked over as Kaz stepped to their view and he grinned.

"It's been a while, Poppy," he said. Poppy quickly grabbed a small pistol and you frowned. "I see you're still upset," he said.

"About you stealing my shares of the Crow Club?" Poppy asked sarcastically. "It wasn't stealing," Kaz said, "It was just a raw deal. Most deals in the Barrel are."

"What do you want, Dirtyhands?" Poppy asked and their eyes peered over to you, "And who is this pretty girl you have hiding behind you?" They put the pistol away as you moved to Kaz's side.

"A friend," Kaz answered for you. You looked from him to Poppy, "Uh, I'm y/n, nice to meet you..."

"Poppy, pleasure."

You nodded slightly as Kaz turned their attention to him, "We need to find someone. Or at least, learn how to find them. Tonight."

Poppy began carefully applying lip stain, "Looking for a club act, are we?"

"We're looking for the Conductor," you spoke and Poppy turned to you in surprise. Kaz raised an eyebrow, "So you do know him."

"This is about a job, isn't it?" Poppy asked as you looked around the room, "One that sends you all the way east, for a million kruge? You'll never make enough to compete with Pekka, you know? He's a king. You're just the Bastard of the Barrel."

Your eyes landed on a pile of jewels and fabrics, between them there was a piece of crumpled paper hiding there. You curiously moved the jewelry away and looked at the paper, frowning at the symbol resting upon it.

You knew that symbol.

You took the paper and showed it to Kaz, who stared down at it before speaking, "Tante Heleen wrote you?"

"Just this evening, yes, you snoops," Poppy said, "She was asking about the Conductor as well. Probably about the same job. So I warned him to steer clear of her."

"You warned him?" you asked before Kaz could, clearly both of you thought the same thing. "Don't tell me you send a note."

Poppy turned their head to look at you and frowned before they nodded, "Yes... I did. Why?"

Kaz clenched his jaw, "She wanted you to do that so she could have the messenger followed," he said. Poppy looked between you and Kaz, "She wouldn't hurt him, would she?"

Kaz took a step forward, "She would if it meant hurting me. Now, if you have any loyalty to him, tell us where he is. Right now."

Poppy gave away the address right away, and you and Kaz went quickly to get to the Conductor. When you reached the building, Kaz send you to ran quicker up the stairs, and you did.

"Ask the Saints for me," you heard Inej's voice and ran into the room to see her having the man pinned against a chair and a knife against his throat.

"Inej, don't!" you said and instantly, a knife was thrown toward you, but you dodged before it hit you, and instead it hit the wall, the spot where you stood before.

You let out a breath you didn't knew you were holding and looked back at Inej. She stared at you in surprise, and her expression turned shock and horrified for almost hurting you.

You stepped forward, "We need him. He's our way to Alina Starkov."

Inej let out a breath of disbelief as Kaz walked in, "Him?" she asked as she glared down at the man, still holding the knife against his throat.

"Heleen knew it, Inej," you said softly, "She was using you to sabotage us."

She shook her head, "She and I made a deal."

"It isn't worth more than what we get with him alive," Kaz spoke. Inej turned her head to glare at Kaz, her eyes were burning with tears threatening to slip, "You choose him over my freedom?"

"No," you suddenly said and took a step forward, "This reward and your freedom are not mutually exclusive. You'd really think I'd agree to go if they were? You think I'd stop you if it meant for your freedom?"

Inej stared at you as a tear slipped down her cheek. She slowly turned to the whipping man for a moment before she withdrew her knife, and the Conductor let out a shallow breath.

Inej let out a breath as she stepped away from him. You quickly moved forward and took her hand, squeezing it gently as she looked at you.

Will you be okay? you wanted to ask but didn't. It seemed she knew what you asked by your eyes, and nodded lightly, as Kaz stepped forward.

He looked down at the Conductor with a glare, "Conductor. I have a job for you."

Taglist:

@lyria-skyfall, @myheartfollower, @cleverzonkwombatsludge, @mjlock, @clairewinchester14, @losteroops, @venomsvl, @yvxcy, @wickedlovely121, @supergaybish101, @woowwwee, @zeeader, @twlegit, @phoenix666stuff, @mortalmorgan, @wonderland2425, @dark-night-sky-99, @gabby10100, @lomlrhea, @juskonutoh, @zeeader, @mcntsee, @yaren23

[emmy-everafter]

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Pentagram

I'm excited to finally reveal the fic I've been working on for this year's @grishaversebigbang --and just in time for spooky season! I was paired with four incredible materialki who created some truly excellent art to accompany the fic. You can check out their work here:

Art by @crypitick

Art by @polekands

Art #1 and Art #2 by @idkchatie

Art by @discountscoobyart

Without further ado, here is the first chapter of We're Gonna Need a Bigger Pentagram!

Fandoms: Six of Crows, Shadow & Bone (TV)

Rating: T

Relationships: Crows as found family (with minor Helnik, Kanej, and Wesper)

Modern/Housemates/Magic AU, Nina POV, Supernatural chosen family shenanigans with a side of humor

Ongoing (Ch. 1 of 6)

Summary: Nina Zenik is a vet med student who's almost done with her clinical rotations... but she's also secretly a very powerful witch. When someone brings a cursed, injured werewolf into the animal hospital, Nina decides to try to save his life, despite the bitter hatred that exists between wolves and witches. She enlists the help of her housemates, Jesper (who's also a witch), Inej (who's fae), and Kaz (who may or may not be a vampire). But breaking this curse requires more than Nina bargained for, and time is running out. Can the Crows save the werewolf before it's too late? More importantly, can they do it under the nose of their all-too-human housemate, Wylan? And--perhaps the most important question of all--will Nina finally get some decent waffles?

Read the first chapter (3k) below or on AO3.

Chapter 1: Why did it have to be werewolves?

(CW for non-graphic mentions of blood & injury, harm to an animal, brief references to drugs [anesthesia, weed])

The thing about werewolves, Nina thought, risking one more glance over her shoulder at the slab of fur trembling in her backseat, was that they didn’t exactly sedate easily.

Although that was probably a good thing, she supposed. If this particular wolf had gone down after the first two tranquilizers, then perhaps she never would have been called back to help, and then she would have been too late to do anything. Did you hear about the wolf? Park ranger brought him in. Hit by a car, probably. Too bad we couldn’t save him. So weird how his body seemed to reject every medication, every suture. Oh well, c’est la vie, back to the horses and the goats.

But he hadn’t gone down, and one of the techs had thundered past, shouting at her to come quick and give us a hand!

When Nina had arrived in the operating room, she knew immediately that this was no ordinary wolf. She could feel the prickle of magic tingling up her spine, could smell the supernatural on him. He was stretched out on a table, a mountain of silvery-gray fur, enormous and blood-soaked, still thrashing feebly even as three techs tried to hold him down.

She froze, staring at the shape of his muzzle, the slope of his ears—just a little off, nothing to notice unless you knew what to look for. His head had flopped over, and for a long moment the werewolf made eye contact with her. Nina let out a soft gasp despite herself, despite the fact that she’d seen shifted wolves a handful of times before. She knew that their eyes always looked so unbearably human, and yet—it caught her by surprise, the moment of recognition when he noticed her, the heartbreak and terror and pain in his expression, the shame.

Nina felt her heart shatter, just a little.

“Zenik, grab the tranq!” one of the techs had shouted at her as the wolf seemed to regain more of his energy, breaking away from her gaze to thrash more earnestly.

She hadn’t bothered to think it through. While there was still some part of her that recoiled like a hissing cat at the presence of a werewolf, some part of her that screamed danger! at the sight of his gleaming fangs that had probably killed countless witches in the past, those instincts had been overwhelmed by the pain in the wolf’s eyes and the knowledge that if she didn’t do something right now, she would have to watch him die.

Her decision was already made, one hand already surreptitiously weaving the spell as she picked up the syringe with the other. She needed to work quickly if she was going to have any chance at all.

She didn’t know much about werewolf biology. The packs were notoriously private, protective of any and all information regarding their own species, but what she did know was that it was incredibly dangerous—impossible, even—for outsiders to treat wolves in their shifted forms. Only pack healers had any hope of actually helping in these sorts of situations. And, of course, the fact that this wolf was shifted right now was another complicating factor in and of itself. It wasn’t a full moon, which meant that something had gone terribly wrong for this wolf to get shift-stuck—some kind of spell, she guessed, judging by the oppressive feeling of magic roiling off his body.

If her colleagues—regular, ordinary human vets who had no idea the supernatural world existed at all—tried to help the wolf, she was certain he’d end up dead in less than an hour. But of course, she’d reminded herself as her enchantment began to take hold, I don’t know how to safely help him, either.

The wolf had finally slumped down onto the table, unconscious… followed by all of the humans in the room, each pausing in the middle of whatever they’d been doing, still standing but otherwise out cold.

Nina had shaken out her wrists, cracked her neck, and started weaving the memory glamour. Her first thought was to make them forget the wolf had come in at all, but that would mean trying to account for the lost time, as well as finding the park ranger later to erase everything for her, too. Removing memories was always trickier anyway—you ran the risk of leaving a gap, an itch that the brain longed to scratch and scratch until it found an answer. Her coworkers might not remember the wolf, but some of them might have an unshakeable sense that something had happened, something strange and noteworthy they couldn’t quite recall, and that meant people might start asking questions, poking and prodding.

No, it would be easier to convince everyone that the wolf had died from his injuries not long after arriving, that his body had already been picked up by wildlife services, that all that anyone needed to do now was complete the requisite paperwork.

It would be quick, shoddy spellwork either way, and she’d probably have to fudge some records in the database during her next shift, but figuring out a plan to save the wolf came first.

The moment the glamour was complete, she’d whipped her phone out, putting the call on speaker so she could keep her hands free.

Genya picked up after three rings. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I need a favor,” she’d said without preamble, maneuvering a trolley over towards the wolf. It had probably taken four people to lift him up onto the table, but Nina had magic and gravity on her side.

“Okay…?” Genya sounded nervous, and given the wild sorts of favors she’d asked for in the past, Nina couldn’t really blame her.

“Can you get in touch with your contact in the Drüskelle pack? Someone brought in a wolf today—one of theirs, most likely—and I can’t do much to help him when he’s shift-stuck like this.”

Genya had taken a moment to process all of that—a shifted, injured werewolf, brought into the East Ketterdam Large Animal Hospital as if he were no different from the farm animals and racing horses they usually treated—then finally said, “I can try.”

“Good. I’m bringing him back to my place. Have them send a healer there.”

Genya hung up right before Nina’s spell slipped under the wolf’s enormous weight, causing him to fall the last few inches down onto the metal trolley with a loud crash. Even unconscious, the wolf whimpered in pain.

“Sorry,” she’d whispered, before turning her attention to the problem of getting to the parking lot without being seen.

And that was how Nina had ended up driving home as fast as she dared with a werewolf bleeding out in her backseat.

Her sleep spell was fairly strong, but she had no idea how long it would last on a creature this large, so she renewed the enchantment at every red light, just in case.

She also called Inej, the normally melodic timbre of her housemate’s voice sounding tinny and distorted when routed through the car’s speakers.

“What’s wrong, Nina?”

“What makes you think anything is wrong?” She drummed her fingers nervously on the wheel and fought the urge to look back at the wolf again. He was still breathing—she could feel it—but she wanted to check anyway. Just in case.

“If nothing was wrong, you would’ve just texted.”

“Maybe I wanted to hear my best friend’s voice.”

“Nina,” Inej sighed, “just tell me.”

Nina huffed in response. “Fine. Look, is everyone at home?”

“I think so? Well, Jesper had some meetings but he’s on his way back here. He said he was gonna stop and pick up pizza for everyone.”

“Okay, if he gets back before me, I need him to start weaving some soundproofing spells in the basement. Go ahead and grab my bestiary and bring it down there, and my potions kit, too. And we’re gonna need lots of towels, as many as you can find. You’ll have to keep Wylan upstairs somehow.”

Nina hit another red light and bit her lip to reign in a frustrated groan. This is taking too long.

“It’s Thursday. Wylan’s probably planning to do his laundry tonight,” Inej replied.

“You’ll just have to think of some excuse. Tell him the machine is broken or something. But he can’t be down there.”

“And why is that, exactly?”

Cars streamed past in front of her, racing endlessly through the intersection, their light still green, Nina’s still red.

Fuck it. She raised her hands over the steering wheel and mumbled the incantation under her breath, improvising the words a little to fit the magic to the stoplight—it was technically a spell meant for turning an ordinary light on and off, but she thought it might work.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Nina worried that perhaps the stoplight mechanism had too many switches and circuits or too many digital parts for her simple spell to have any effect. She’d never been great with technomagic—as a heartrender, blood and bodies were her specialty—and the more something was computerized and complex, the harder it was for her to navigate. But then…

One last flick of her wrist, and the light for the cross traffic went yellow.

“Nina?” Inej’s voice was sharper now, closer to a warning. “What’s going on?”

Green light. Fucking finally.

“Soooo,” she began, her car surging forward again, “I may or may not be bringing work home.”

“If this is another goat, Nina, I swear…”

Nina winced. Once, she’d snuck a dying goat out of the clinic when her coworkers had decided there was nothing left to be done for the poor creature. And when it came to a human understanding of veterinary medicine, perhaps they were correct, but Nina knew she could save him with the spells in her bestiary and the power of her blood magic. She’d known her housemates wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about the situation. What she hadn’tanticipated was Jesper getting attached.

So now, Milo the goat lived in the shed beside the greenhouse, to the immense displeasure of everyone in Crow House except Jesper. When he stayed in his pen, Milo was tolerable, even adorable, but when he escaped—as he did at least two or three times a month—he became a menace, eating anything he could get his nasty little hooves on. So far, Milo’s list of victims included some of Wylan’s sheet music, one of Nina’s astrological grimoires, a pair of Inej’s pointe shoes, three pairs of Kaz’s ridiculously expensive gloves, multiple waffles, an entire carton of wontons, and some of everything that Jesper and Nina grew in the greenhouse out back, including an unholy amount of weed.

“The good news is, it’s not a goat,” Nina said brightly.

Inej heaved a resigned sigh. “And the bad news…?”

“The bad news is that it’s a werewolf.”

“Nina!” Inej groaned.

“He’s dying! And shift-stuck! What was I supposed to do?” Nina took a turn a little too hard, and in the backseat, the wolf slid and hit his muzzle against the door. Shit.

“What can you even do? You can’t treat a shifted wolf.”

“I know!” Her fingers clenched around the wheel. “Look, it’s temporary, okay? I’ve already called a friend who has contacts in the local pack. They’ll send someone to help and then it won’t be our problem anymore. We just need to keep him stable until the healer comes.”

Inej was quiet on the other end for a long moment. Eventually, she said, “Fine. I’ll see what towels I can find.”

Nina blew out her breath, relieved. “Thank you. I’ll be there in fifteen. It might be good to have some blood on hand, if Kaz has any. And make sure Wylan…”

“Yeah, I’ll keep him upstairs,” Inej interrupted. “See you soon.”

The call disconnected. Nina pressed a thumb to her temple where a headache had already started to build, rubbing the pad of her finger into the skin and releasing a small thread of magic to chase the pain away.

She knew Inej was irritated with her, but at least Nina could trust that her best friend would be on board with helping an injured creature. Inej was kind like that—compassionate, always empathetic with the pain of others. She wouldn’t just let the wolf die, even if taking him in was inconvenient in a number of ways. And Jesper probably wouldn’t mind much either. He was always down for Nina’s wild and unexpected shenanigans, as long as no harm came to his friends or to his precious hats. If all went well, Wylan would never know anything was happening. But Kaz…

Kaz is going to absolutely hate this.

The situation ticked off almost every box on the list of things Kaz didn’t like: last-minute surprises, strangers in his space, unnecessary risks, sticking his neck out for other people, making Nina happy. And while most decisions in Crow House were made democratically, Kaz remained resolutely in charge of the chore schedule, which he enforced by subtly reminding his housemates that he could drain all the money from their bank accounts—and possibly all the blood from their bodies—in the blink of an eye. Nina had a feeling there would be a lot of toilet scrubbing in her future.

She was only a few minutes away from home when her phone rang again.

“I managed to get in touch with the pack,” Genya said when she picked up.

Immediately, Nina could hear something cautious in her tone, something grim. “And?”

“They’re not sending anyone.”

“Why the hell not?” Without meaning to, Nina found herself nearly shouting.  

“Nina…”

She didn’t have to see Genya’s face to know what expression she wore in that moment—Nina had seen it too many times during her years with the Grisha to ever forget, not just from Genya but from everyone. Zoya’s infuriatingly calm voice echoed through her head, shaming her, as always, for being too fucking much, for acting recklessly from a place of emotion rather than trying to be reasonable. Slow down, Nina. Get ahold of your anger. Control yourself.

And as always, it only served to make her even more enraged.

“They’re the only ones who can help him! Are they really just going to let one of their own die?”

Genya sighed. “Yes, that’s exactly what they’re going to do. In fact, I think it was their goal all along.”

“What?” she screeched, stomping on the brakes in her anger.

Luckily, there was no one on the street behind her, although the wolf did slide forward a bit on the backseat, letting out another heart-wrenching whimper of pain.

“The guy I spoke to was being cagey about it, but I think I pieced most of the story together. The wolf is called Matthias Helvar, and the Drüskelle exiled him from their pack about a month ago.”

“Why?” Nina made no move to start driving forward again, not trusting herself to keep control of the car in that moment.

“I’m not sure. It sounds like he broke pack law, screwed up badly enough that they not only kicked him out but also cursed him.”

Cursed? Nina glanced over her shoulder at the shivering, unconscious wolf, covered in congealing blood that clumped in his fur and stained the fabric of the seat below him, and she suddenly understood.

“That’s why he’s shift-stuck,” she murmured, shocked by the cruelty of it.

“From what I gather, it’s some kind of… werewolf reversal? Where he’s only in his human form on the full moon and stays shifted the rest of the time, instead of the other way around. Apparently, he followed one of their hunting parties down to Ketterdam and was trying to sneak into their camp. When they chased him off, he ran onto the highway and got hit by a semi-truck.”

“So they already knew he was injured?”

Genya’s voice was quiet when she replied, “Nina, they left him for dead.”

Nina knew all too well what it was like to be betrayed and abandoned by the people who were supposed to be your family, but this… She shook her head, angry tears pricking at her eyes. This wolf—this Matthias—had been exiled, cursed, and left to die on the side of a highway by his own pack. Surely, no transgression against Drüskelle law was awful enough to merit that kind of punishment, right?

Faint memories of her lessons at the Little Palace began to trickle in—diagrams in textbooks illustrating the cold, draconian hierarchies of the Northern packs, lectures about wolf culture that devolved into tirades about the Drüskelle’s violent attempts to destroy not only the Grisha organization, but all witches everywhere, fueled by their hypocritical ideology that saw werewolves as the next step in evolution but witches as an unnatural abomination to be cleansed from the earth like a plague. The wolves are not like us, she remembered hearing, over and over. They did not come from the Other Realm but instead began as humans, and like humans, they cannot be trusted.  

Nina had spent the past few years trying to unlearn the prejudice and cynicism instilled in her at the Little Palace, with varying levels of success, but now, she wondered if perhaps they’d been right about some things.

“What are you going to do?” Genya asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied, trying—and likely failing—not to sound too murderous. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Just remember that he’s a wolf, Nina.”

“Does that mean he deserves to die?” she snapped in response.

“No, but he probably thinks that you do, just by virtue of existing as a witch. He may not want your help, and even if you do somehow manage to save him, he might very well kill you in your sleep instead of saying thank you.”

Nina knew she was probably right, and yet… This is why I left—so I could help everyone, not just the people that the Grisha think are worth saving.

“I can handle myself. And I’m not going to sink to their level. Unlike some people, I’m not obsessed with only protecting my own kind.”

With that, Nina hung up and disconnected the phone from the car’s bluetooth, and then, for good measure, put her phone on silent and tossed it into her bag in the passenger seat. She knew she wasn’t being fair, especially since Genya was one of the only people in the Grisha still willing to help her now that she’d gone independent. But it was hard not to be angry when she could hear Matthias’s heartbeat fluttering dangerously just a few feet behind her, could feel his nerves sparking with pain, knowing that his own family had let it happen, caused it to happen, because of one mistake.

It was hard not to relate—even if that meant empathizing with a damn werewolf.  

A sudden honk behind her reminded Nina that she was still stopped in the middle of the road.

“Alright, I’m going! Saints.” She finally lifted her foot from the brake and got the car moving again, squeezing the wheel tightly to stop her hands from trembling. Her headache was already coming back—she’d probably need to take one of those human painkillers when she got home and conserve her magical energy for… well, for whatever it was going to take to help this wolf.

Maybe Matthias wouldn’t want her help. Maybe he would try to attack her (although in that case, she could always sic Kaz on him). Maybe she wouldn’t be able to do anything at all and the wolf would die in their basement amongst the piles of Jesper’s dirty laundry and Inej’s sweat-soaked practice mats.

But Nina Zenik had never once backed down from a challenge. She’d been top of her class in vet school for three years in a row and was the best heartrender the Little Palace had seen in more than a century—even Zoya had admitted it. And if there was any chance at all of saving this wolf, nothing in this realm or the next could stop Nina from trying…

Not even her housemates. 

[sixofcrowsfandom]

Waffle day with Wesper, and Helnik.

if you had read my previous wesper fanfic, you will know where the story is rn. but if you haven't thats ok too :) !

"Matthias"? Nina shouted up to matthias. "have you seen Lina's wolf"? (lina was short of Alina, which iIthink you can connect the dots there yourself)

"not that I remember, no", matthias said as he made his way down the stairs.

"well, lina needs him to leav ethe house". she said. "you know how she gets without him".

"well, have you checked our bed"? he said as he walked upstairs to thier bedroom.

"no, because she didn't sleep in our bed last night", nina said as she helped lina put on her shoes.

"found him! he was underneath the sheets. but my question is, how did moo get underneath our sheets"? matthias said to lina as he handed her the toy.

"well, um, dday, if you must know i put moo there to keep you two safe. those shadow monsters are scary, but i can handle it. i just think that you two can't. which is why i put moo underneath the sheets. its for protection"! she said as she held up the raggedy toy up proudly.

nina and matthias shared a knowing glance, with that both of them knowing what a real shadow monster might look like, and they found it sweet that thier daughter thought they needed protecting.

"Alright, well now that we have that covered, can we leave"? nina asked.

"yep! lets mommy! i want to see uncle wylan and jes"! she said as she hopped out thier front door.

"you know she takes after you the most. personality wise". nina said.

"what? how?" matthias said as he put on his coat.

"she wants to protect us. thats her fjerdan showing in her".

"I guess you're right". matthias said.

"daddy, i bet you can't catch me! lina said as her little 4 year old legs ran ahead of nina and matthias.

"oh? well, you better run fast, because her I come"! matthias said as he ran and scooped up lina in a burst of giggles and tickles.

AT THE COOPEROM

"where are they"? nina said as she looked around the restuarant. "they live on the other side of town, it's going to tke a little while longer"matthias said.

just then, wylan ran in with milo holding his hand, practicly dragging the boy, then jesper sprinted in behind them.

"so sorry we're late everyone!" wylan said, huffing and puffing as he sat down beside nina.

"gods, wylan we aren't late. they just got her before us". jesper said with an eyeroll.

"Jesper. we are late since they got here before us". as the adults talked, lina and milo sat across each other at the wall end of the booth, and they started thier own conversation.

"who's that? milo said as he pointed at moo the wolf.

"oh, this? this is moo. he's my wolf". the four year old said with a squize of the animal.

"really? thats cool! this is my toy. his name is bits". the 6 year old said as he pulled out a gnarly creation, with random bolts, wires, and nails all aroun it. it sort of resembled a dragon. milo was working on an altercation to make bits breath fire.

"yeah, see if i just unscrew this, and then detach this, we can look inside of him. i'm working on a thing to make him breath fire"! the little pyro said to lina with excitment.

"really? thats so cool! I saw that you a notebook. whats in it? can i see"? she said.

"of course! you see, this right here is what my papa would look like if he was a fish. and on this page, this is what will make bits breath fire, and then over here...

the 4 and 6 year old carried on, and when it came time to leave, nina had to organise a playdate with wylan. the two trouble makers were like brother and sister. before they two parted ways, milo whispered into lina's ear " i bet i could make something cool for moo, too". lina's eyes widend in excitment. "really?" she said barely containing her excitment.

"yep. but you need to keep it a secret. then i'll bring it next waffle day" he said.

"ok! bye milo!" she said as she waved.

[arillusionist]

shadow and bone s2e1 reaction - i said i would watch this episode on sunday but i lied. haha

they should've put 6 crows in the sky are they dumb

kaz gave them papers?? when?? he probably did it offscreen i swear i didnt forget the last episode that quickly

ok oh my god by the way. they better have fixed malina in this season too because i'm halfway through siege and storm and i literally want to kill mal hes so fucking annoying and literally SO toxic. i miss the soc relationships they were all so well written

fuck this after i finish the s&b triology im rereading soc

ooh nice map

YAYY WE'RE IN KETTERDAM i hope they have more episodes here this season. aka more than 2

i have a feeling this is where they meet wylan... or nina maybe

"are you saying we have no home" ?? what about the slat

KAZ'S BACKSTORY??

thats how you pronounce inej's last name?? my whole life is a lie wtf

"she does that" aw he sounds so proud

stop this is like that one scene from soc except if he faints inej's voice wont be there to ground him when he wakes up ☹️

omg thats nikolai/sturmhond right

PLEASE KAZ'S SIDE EYE WHEN HE LOOKS AT JESPER

take your damn shoes off

ok they better tell him where shes going because while theyre on the verge of going to prison shes just making out with her boyfriend

i love alina but am i supposed to feel bad for her?? bc i dont

yayy he told him but good thing inej isnt here

Kaz side eye 2.0

theyre revealing the jesper grisha thing already...? interesting

omg novyi zem looks exactly like how i imagined it "these fugitives are wanted for crimes against our country" this isnt your country dawg

i can already tell theyre toyla and tamar

is this ketterdam again is that inej

so they kill heleen ofscreen. and inej has literally no reaction to it.

I am so confused rn didnt kaz buy inej's indenture??

WAIT NO I GET IT STOP IM SO DUMB

"im not leaving you. not now" ☹️☹️☹️☹️

HEARTRENDER NINA PLEASEEEEE 🙏🙏🙏

tf is he waffling about

talking about pekka btw

if theyre doing the whole pekka plot now what did they leave for the spinoff?? ik its probably not happening but they thought it was gonna happen and they wrote the scripts but what even are in those scripts

then again i think they only wrote the scripts for the first book

but what were they planning on putting in it for the second book if they got it 💀

WYLANNNNNN!!!!!

so he already had wylan employed (??) or whatever interesting

NINAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

"funny guns and angry hat" speaking of hats can kaz please stop wearing one it looks so fucking ugly

aww nina talking to inej in suli

MATTHIAS!!!

all the crows in one episode this is crazy

and they've been onscreen for 9 whole minutes?? even crazier

i spoke too soon 💀💀

is this a cult

GENYA!!!!!

i need to stop doing that everytime a character i like shows up

but seriously i just need zoya now and i'll be so happy

is he a fucking cannibal

IS GENYA A CANNIBAL TOO

WESPER MEETING!!!! i wasnt excepting it this episode but yay

ALL THE CROWS IN ONE PLACEE except matthias but ik thats not happening this season

"in truth hes the love of my life" kaz im sure you know so much about that

"he does this" "does he" lmfaooo

omg its the iconic scene i've seen in way too many edits

Inej in the middle i knew she was the main main character 😍😍

ughhhh i thought the episode would end with the crows but ofc not

ok now it ended

[vilixpran]

my shadow and bone s2 running thoughts

"there's only one bed!" speedrun

sometimes hot people can't act

this is actually.... not good

wow being incognito lasted three minutes

no hesitation to blow your cover

what a kind northern Irish village gentleman

the bitch is back, long live the bitch

show me a 40 year old! not every person alive is 25 and hot

genya's wig... ain't it

all he is is dumb and hot

let the fake Scandinavians mispronounce jail, show me realism

ah yes, we do cool nods at the wall of weapons

the ears are the sign of a good tracker, and mal sure does have two ears

Sea Whip, That Was Easy™️

all tell, no show, that's the way that we go

god inej is fit

total stranger, for now xx

they're just putting their faces close together on purpose

daaaamn these bitches dead and deading others

ah yes, ignite the bombs while you're in the room

pirate ship cult

Nikolai is a dork

how small is this ocean....

kazs PTSD, a running gag

baby girl, you won't "finally eradicate it for good" right now, it's episode three

aah so they fucked

TINY ROLLINS WEE SCOTTISH BAB

"hey babe, expose your knife wound while i trauma dump plot info"

god inej is fit

nina knows

god nina is fit too

*saoirse ronan* "women"

how many times can this man get stabbed in the shoulder? we're up to three

murder is good, murder is chill, i've got no qualms with murder

too many characters, too many plots, disproportionate amount of time spent on the crows and god bless them for that

"hey bro can i propose to your girlfriend bro"

the mood lighting in this plague cemetery, vibes

HORRIBLE FAKE SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGE, HORRIBLE -10000/10

girlie pop, youve got to lose the signature fancy hat, you are the most recognisable

dat ass

my man is here to be petty and he's bringing friends along for the ride

no plot! only flirting! as we deserve

let them all be lesbians

SPEEDRUN WESPER

episode four and they're already fucking thank Christ

good good wylan and Jesper are off shagging, I can brood in peace

"no"

time isn't real! geography is a myth! our boats will get there when it's convenient for the plot!

we are criminals, rats of the barrel, and occasionally help foreign royals when they ask nicely

"warm, and wet" the crows in Shu han, the gift that keeps on giving

can't believe I have to watch some reylo shit all over again

Dominik Dominik I sense an ex friend with benefits with our man Nikolai

good let the twink talk to butterflies and ignore the suffering of his friends

deforest station

happy to have a himbo in tolya

not so much a slow death by poisoning as a chance for nice life affirming trips to remotivate our heroes in the ninth hour

"throwing up or hallucinations" the only two possible outcomes of poisoning

she's the avatar!

one night stand to soulmates pipeline

ah yes, continue to make out in the background for everyones big character revelations

"you're a part of me mal, I can't loose you" well murder him and eat his bones and he'll be with you forever

boyfriend to organ donor pipeline

star wars levels of hand amputation, now featuring Mother's Good Finger Bones

"and there was only one set!"

yeah like, they definitely used to fuck, surely

twenty minutes of this episode and no crows, for shame

the crows aka Deus ex machina but make it fun flirty and bisexual

more finger amputations, moooooreeeeee

woohoo C plot lesbians

queue the fire benders

little viking boy, drawing crosses in the sand

Matthias villian origin story set up for season three

fun fact, I don't actually want to see another finger amputation

blue skies and sunny yet these bitches can't see a thing

the location scout must have been so proud of themselves for finding this fort, so proud that they spent two episodes having two identical groups chasing each other around three walls

you know what this big battle scene needs? some music

unecessarily squishy icicle stab sound effects

FIVE MORE FINGERS CUT OFF JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

oh damn she actually did it

slaaaayyyy

"series regular" shows up every two episodes for a single scene unrelated to the main plot

why aren't they lighting the kindling from multiple places and especially from lower down?

good for inej

again with the tiny ocean and instantly finding exactly what you were looking for, ofmd logic

uh oh hehe

gross

[sleepless-crows]

I don't know how I will survive season 2.

I mean earlier this afternoon I was watching the first 7 mins while on a quick break in the middle of my uni library and I almost had a mental breakdown at the fact that pekka got the crow club, the project Kaz built by himself from the ground up with his own tears, sweat and blood, thinking of young Kaz fighting for every scrape of everything he ever had, and building his home and making a safe place for the dregs but mostly the crows, and pekka stealing everything again, all his achievements he built brick by brick toward his vengeance but also and most importantly his home, his safety but also the crows' home and safety too, his family even though he doesn't really want to admit it yet, he got swindled by pekka like Jordie did but he's much older than Jordie ever was, and this time he's the big brother figure as the leader, he was supposed to protect them, they were supposed to protect each others !!! Plus seeing Kaz's face at this realisation just made me go feral, I was literally crying, screaming and throwing up inside, and I wanted to hit my head on the table, honestly if I was home at that moment, you know I would have closed my computer and paced my room back and forth while throwing myself on the floor... I couldn't stop thinking about all of these implications but I tried to stay focused because I know that I'll have at least 10 hours of college classes as soon as the season will drop at 8 am and I'll have to wait to be able to watch it, so I got most of my work done to have my evening free tomorrow and not stay still the uni library closing time at midnight like I usually do almost every day... but you don't understand, I'm so emotionally attached to the crows and especially Kaz so how am I going to survive seeing his backstory on screen, plus kanej, Inej fighting for her own storyline, Jesper's backstory, Wylan's introduction, Nina's interactions with the other crows plus Matthias in hellgate, plus everything that will happen with the shadow and bone characters, like pls help...

I also think about the show only watchers, happily and lightheartedly starting s2 not ready to be hit by the traumatic backstory of the century, I mean even if some books fan don't know about jordie's and young kaz's casting, as soon as they will saw them on screen they will know it's over. I mean I was already spiralling from the 1s shot of kaz in the water from the trailer

Also the ref to six of crows when they said that no one was waiting to murder them when they came back while in Crooked kingdom they had the whole city against them awww...

Anyways, I'm so sorry for having a mental breakdown in questionable english in your ask box but I needed to share my feelings haha, I'll stop now don't worry ! Have fun watching the show, I hope you'll enjoy it !

oh bestie having to wait sucks. and yeah this season will emotionally destroy so many of us. at least we're all suffering together here :) and not gonna lie you made me tear up a bit about that analysis since i really did not want to dwell on anything before the show but ouch bestie, hope you enjoy it once you get the chance to watch it !!!

[whoslaurapalmer]

shadow and bone s2, ep4

-OH THANK GOD BAGHRA'S STILL ALIVE -'everything i learned, i learned at your knee.' -there's definitely............the place for generational cycles here, in a way, especially with how old baghra and aleksander are, but also, does it vibe? -maybe THIS is when we should've gotten some backstory. some demon in the wood stuff. oh you know i still never read the demon in the wood btw

-oh we have not seen nearly enough of kaz's magic tricks. i want more oh my god

-'covers my whole face.' 'i kinda like your face.' it's just like. a bastardization of MAYBE I LIKED YOUR STUPID FACE -AND IT'S NOT THE MISTER CRIMSON SCENE WITHOUT THE ABSURD JOY OF MATTHIAS PELTING PEOPLE WITH COINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-NINA JUST PUNCHING KAZ THOUGH!!!!!!!! -you know what, good for her.

-yeahhhhh alina finally gets more training

-YOU ARE COMBINING WAYYYY TOO MANY BOOKS AND THINGS now nikolai is going to ask the crows for help????? -i.......................... -again, you have to, change things based on the way netflix is playing out, something needs to happen with these characters you have now so it makes sense, but it's taking away from the actual plot you haven't even GOTTEN TO YET

-there's a big emphasis on kaz being too dangerous here, with his plots against pekka bc it's so personal, and we're seeing them all get used to each other instead of really knowing each other, but there's a sense of like......nobody here likes kaz -i mean, they DO, jesper and inej love him, wylan looks up to him, nina comes to respect him bc no one works like he does, and kaz always keeps a distance, but it's like..... -they don't feel together, at all -IDK MAYBE IT'LL CHANGE BY THE END OF THE SEASON????????

-one of the major reasons the fake plague works is bc nina's queen of the dead then, right??

-taking down pekka here just. does not feel satisfying, at all -AND INEJ ISN'T EVEN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -okay, but getting pekka to kneel, that was actually satisfying.

-zoya and tolya going on a missionnnnnnn -torn between 'i forgot tolya loved poetry good for him' and 'like jesper, he gets some serious scenes but is mostly. comedic relief. and that's really shitty'

-i GENUINELY KEEP FORGETTING MAL'S CONSIDERED A DESERTER

-can't wait for vasily to die. don't we all feel that way

-jesper bringing up poppy WELL GLAD POPPY'S OKAY. WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF POPPY, NGL -i am not interested in jesper and wylan fucking bc i feel like there has been just the most lukewarm lead up to this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-boy. kaz doesn't even push inej away like that in the books, does he?

-vasily cannot die soon enough at this party. can he die while i'm typing this. while the audio plays in the other tab -yep! sounds like it. thank god.

[rubysunnday]

raise a cup

Request by anon: Idk I’d you would have any inspiration or ideas for it but I really loved your fic “bloody hands” and was wondering if you would be willing to write a sequel to it. I wanted to also say you are incredibly talented and your writing is really incredible

A/N: Am I giving you a sequel to Bloody Hands? Yes, yes I am. Am I giving you a kinda sequel to Snap Out of It? Also yes. @buckystarlight

Summary: You would think that dying and coming back to life would make Kaz realise that he couldn't lose Y/N. Yeah, who are we kidding, this is Kaz we're on about.

Jesper looked up as the door to Kaz's office slammed. Loudly. He watched Y/N storm down the stairs, a dark glare on her face, and grabbed the expensive alcohol from behind the bar, pouring it into the shot glasses he'd been intricately lining up along the top of the bar.

Y/N stormed up to the bar and picked up a shot, downing it and then slamming the glass back down.

Jesper rested his head on his chin, crossing his ankles. "Is he still not talking to you?"

Y/N growled. "He is so pigheaded at times," she snapped, taking another shot. "You'd think me dying and coming back to life would make him be nicer but nooo."

A hint of a smile pulled on Jesper's lips. "He is Kaz."

"He is a dick."

Jesper couldn't argue with that one. Y/N dropped her head onto the bar with a thump and he reached out a ring clad hand and patted her head, combing through her hair with his fingers.

"I'd ask if you're alright but I know you're not," Jesper said quietly. "All I'm gonna say is if you want to leave, I'll help you - no questions asked."

Y/N lifted her head, setting her chin on her hand. "Thanks, Jes."

"And whilst we're on the job, we can bitch about Kaz all we want."

Y/N stared blankly at Jesper. "What job?"

Jesper's eyes widened. "Oh, fucking hell. He didn't tell you?"

"Kaz has told you about a job and not me, classic, love that for me," Y/N muttered, dropping her hand. "Who else did he tell?"

Jesper was silent. He pressed his lips together and sighed. "Inej. ANd Nina."

Y/N dropped her head onto the bar top. "What did I do wrong, Jesper? I mean, other than falling in love with Kaz."

"Nothing," Jesper said, clasping her hands tightly. "You did nothing wrong. Look, I'll talk to Inej and see if we can do something. Meanwhile -"

"I stay here and sulk," Y/N finished, watching Jesper swing his coat on. "And run the 'business' whilst Kaz has fucked off."

"Exactly." Jesper vaulted over the bar top, knocking over a few glasses as he did. "And you do it flawlessly, darling," he said, kissing her cheek.

Y/N shoved him down the stairs and Jesper laughed loudly as he walked out of the club. She sighed to herself, crossing her arms as she looked out over the club, trying to work out what to do with the next few hours whilst she was on her own.

As she stood there, Y/N spotted Matthias and Wylan sitting in the Crows usual corner and found herself making her way across the room to them. At least she wasn't entirely alone that evening.

Wylan frowned at her as she slid into the booth next to him. "I thought you were on the job."

"Kaz didn't tell me about it," Y/N muttered. "Hence why I'm still here. You two working tonight, too?"

Wylan nodded but he looked sympathetic. "Matthias is helping me forge some letters."

"Didn't know you could forge stuff, Matthias," Y/N said, looking up at him with surprise.

Matthias looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'm not proud of it."

"When are you ever proud of anything other than your country and Nina," Y/N muttered to herself.

The three of them sat in silence for a while, Wylan occasionally asking Matthias a question or pointing out the writing didn't match. Y/N just sat there, fiddling with her knife as she tried not to let the isolated feeling building inside her swamp her.

Y/N looked over her shoulder as she saw Specht making his way towards them. "What business?"

"Some bloke is making a raucous outside the club, insisting on seeing Brekker."

"He's not here."

"We told 'im that and he insisted on seeing whoever's in charge," Specht replied.

Y/N shared a despairing look with Matthias. She sighed, looking back at Specht. "Fine, where is he?"

"In the meeting room by the front door," Specht said, gesturing vaguely to the front door.

Y/N and Matthias stood up and followed Specht to the meeting room - which also doubled as a storage room. As the door opened, Y/N winced slightly at the yelling coming from within.

" - I want to see who's in charge!"

"You're looking at them," Y/N said, glaring at the man, Matthias standing behind her with his usual, intimidating look on his face. Y/N's gaze softened as she looked at Anika, who looked a bit frazzled. "You can go, Anika, we got it."

The man straightened his blazer and cleared his throat. "Finally. I have a meeting with Mr Brekker."

"He's not here, can I help?"

There was visible disgust as the man looked at her. "I suppose so. Mr Brekker and I came to an agreement a few weeks ago and I came to get him to sign the documents."

Y/N frowned. "What agreement?"

"That's by the by, I just need someone to sign this." The man flourished a piece of paper and a case holding a pen.

Y/N glanced over her shoulder at Matthias. Matthias stepped forward and whispered, "I think something's wrong."

"No shit, Matthias," Y/N whispered back. "What do we do?"

"Well, I think... sign it and then send Anika and Pim after him, see where he goes," Matthias replied. "But use a -"

"Fake signature, yeah, I got it," Y/N said, nodding. She turned her attention back to the man. "I'll sign it."

"Excellent! Here's a pen," he flourished the case and opened it, holding it in front of him. Y/N frowned at the dramatics but picked the pen up. She signed the paper with a fake signature that looked a bit like 'fuck you, Kaz'.

"And to finish, a toast to our deal," the man said, somehow holding two glasses and a bottle of alcohol.

Y/N gave Matthias a wary glance but he gave her a subtle shrug. She took the glass and the man poured the alcohol into it.

"The deal is the deal," he said, clinking his glass to hers.

Y/N down the shot of alcohol and watched the man do the same. She swallowed it and set the glass down on the table.

"Right, I'll leave you to it," he said and quickly disappeared.

"What an odd little man," Y/N stated, frowning.

"Something wasn't right there," Matthias muttered as they walked out the room.

Y/N nodded. "Kaz said nothing about any business - or any random, weird men."

Y/N sent Anika and Pim after the men, with strict instructions to follow quietly, and returned to the booth, sliding in next to Wylan.

"What did he want?" Wylan asked, looking up from where he'd been drawing out a blueprint.

"Said he and Kaz made a deal and needed someone to sign it," Y/N explained. "It was all very..."

"Suspicious. Weird. Unusual even for Kaz?"

"All of the above, Matthias, all of the above," Y/N replied, leaning back into the chair. "Wylan, how're the plans coming along?"

Wylan began talking about the details and the issues with the plans, stopping every so often to make an adjustment or ask Matthias to write down the name of something.

Y/N was grateful Wylan and Matthias were still there. She didn't feel so alone and neither one had mentioned Kaz to her and, for once, it felt like normal. Like she wasn't ignoring Kaz and Kaz wasn't ignoring her and that nothing weird had happened.

Not that she completely understood what weird thing had happened. All she remembered was getting stabbed and then waking up and being engulfed in a hug by Nina.

Kaz, obviously, remembered it differently. But he refused to tell her how he remembered it.

Which had led to them falling out and ignoring each other.

Y/N swallowed, her throat feeling dry. A slight frown appeared on her face as a wave of nausea hit her and she grimaced. As soon as she noticed the nausea, a dozen other symptoms hit her. Y/N could feel her hands shaking, her skin becoming hot and sticky and the room was beginning to spin.

Matthias, who'd been standing next to her, drawing something on to the plans, glanced at her. "Y/N? What's wrong?"

"I feel.. weird," she said quietly, her voice croaky. She gripped the table, a wave of vertigo hitting her.

"How do you feel?" Wylan asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. He reached over and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "Y/N? Do you feel sick? Hot, clammy - like the room's spinning violently and you feel like you're about to fall over?"

Y/N nodded and regretted it as her vision disappeared. "Yeah.. why?"

Wylan swore. "Have you drunk anything?"

It was Matthias' turn to swear. "That man gave her alcohol."

"So, I've been poisoned?" Y/N asked weakly, her skin quickly growing paler. "Great. Just adds to my already fantastic day."

"Did you keep the glass?" Wylan asked, taking Y/N's hand, his fingers pressing to her pulse point? "Anything that might say what the poison was?"

"What do you think?" Y/N said, her voice growing weaker. "He took the bottle... I think the glass might still be in the room..."

Y/N suddenly slumped to the left, falling off the booth, her body unable to support itself anymore. Matthias caught her and lowered her to the ground, cradling her head in his lap.

"Hey, stay with me, Y/N," Matthias said quietly, brushing her hair back from her clammy forehead. "Wylan, what do we do?" Matthias asked, looking up at him.

Wylan closed his eyes and paused for a moment. "Get Nina. I'll find the glass and see what I can do."

Wylan jumped out of the booth and made a beeline across the room. Matthias looked around and spotted Specht hovering by the bar.

"Specht!" Matthias yelled - his voice silencing the entire Crow Club. "Get Nina. Now!"

Kaz stood in the corner of Y/N's room, practically absorbed into the shadows, as he watched Nina kneel next to Y/N's unconscious body, a hand on her chest, keeping her heart going. Kaz didn't know what he was feeling. There were numerous emotions circling through him - the overwhelming ones being anger and concern.

His head was a constant swirl of what if, what if, what if and he couldn't think straight.

"How is she?"

Kaz winced at how hoarse his voice sounded. He quietly cleared his throat and lowered his head again, using the shadows to disguise his face.

"Fighting," Nina replied softly. "Wylan's working to find the antidote - if there is one."

"And if there isn't?"

"I'll keep her alive as long as I can."

"And after that?" Kaz looked at Nina as she remained silent. "Zenik, what happens after that?"

Nina's shoulders slumped. She looked at Kaz over her shoulder. "I'll try and make it as painless as possible."

Kaz clenched his jaw tightly, the leather of his gloves creaking as he tightened his grip on his cane. He pushed himself out of the shadows and walked out of Y/N's room, limping down the stairs to the empty Slat.

"Where you going?" Jesper asked as Kaz brushed past.

Kaz kept going. "Keep her alive."

"Kaz, you can't go!" Jesper yelled, throwing his hands up.

Kaz whirled around to face Jesper, his eyes blazing with anger. Kaz Brekker as gone and Dirtyhands had taken over.

"I'll do what I damn please, Jesper. Besides, I've got a pigeon to catch," Kaz said, a smirk pulling on his lips.

Jesper sighed, watching Kaz limp out the Slat, the lights seemingly dimming as he passed.

Inej sat in the corner of Y/N's room, legs tucked underneath her, Sankt Anastasia twirling between her fingers. A soft knock at the door tore Inej from her thoughts and praying. Wylan poked his head around the door and gave Inej a tired smile.

"How is she?" He asked, coming to sit on the ground at the foot of Inej's chair.

"Ok. Nina said your antidote worked. We've just got to wait for her to wake up," Inej said softly. "Kaz?"

"Jesper saw him leave hours ago - nothing since. I'm half tempted to send Jesper after him," Wylan admitted.

Inej sighed. "I'll go have a look for him," she said, sheathing her knife back into its holster. "Can you -"

"I'll stay, don't worry," Wylan said, giving Inej a crooked smile. "Go find him."

Inej clambered out of Y/N's bedroom window, pulling her hood up against the light rain that had begun to fall. It was late morning and Ketterdam was quiet. The only sounds came from the harbour as the sailors load the ships and prepared to set sail once again.

Scaling Ketterdam in the day was no different to night - the only thing Inej had to worry about was being slightly more visible than usual. But Ketterdam was always overcast or dark making visibility harder.

Inej checked all of Kaz's usual haunts - Fifth Harbour, the Crow Club and the Broken Heart bridge running over the Canal. There was not a single sign of him. Inej began looking around West Stave, wondering just where Kaz might have disappeared to.

It was as she leapt over yet another dark, damp alleyway that Inej paused. She moved to the edge of the roof she stood on and looked down into the alley, squinting her eyes against the darkness.

A figure, dressed all in black, was slumped against the wall. Inej would've dismissed him for yet another drunk if it hadn't been for the golden crow's head cane lying at the figures side.

Inej jumped off the roof and landed silently. She cautiously approached the figure in case it wasn't Kaz but one glance at the man's face and Inej knew, for certain, that it was Kaz.

"Saints, Kaz!" Inej exclaimed, hurrying over to him, kneeling at his side. "Kaz!"

Inej didn't touch him. She knew he'd hate her if she did. So, she kept her distance and waited to see if he was conscious enough to respond.

Kaz's eyes sluggishly blinked open, struggling to focus on Inej. "Inej?"

"Saints, what happened, Kaz?" Inej asked, taking in his busted lip, black eye and bleeding forehead.

Kaz flinched as Inej shifted and she stopped moving, keeping as still as she could - essentially treating Kaz like a scared, wounded puppy.

"Kaz, what happened?"

Kaz hissed as he tried to sit up. "Tracked down the man who poisoned Y/N... got more than bargained for."

"And?"

"They're all on the Reaper's Barge, I just didn't make it back before..." Kaz drifted off, his head lolling to the side.

"Kaz! Hey," Inej tapped his foot with hers and he startled awake. "Can you walk with your cane?"

Kaz paused, hesitating. He eventually shook his head. "No. But don't... don't touch my skin." His eyes flickered up to Inej, the dim light hitting his pale face littered with blood. "Please, Inej."

Inej nodded. "Tell me what to do, Kaz, and I'll do it."

Jesper should've expected something else to go wrong that night. He just hadn't expected it to be in the form of a broken and bleeding Kaz, barely being held up by Inej.

"What, were you trying to kill yourself?" Jesper muttered, taking Kaz from Inej, careful to keep his contact to Kaz's coat covered arm.

Kaz took a step forward. His knees buckled and Jesper tightened his grip, pulling him into his side and holding him up.

"Saints, Kaz," Jesper said softly. He was only now getting a better look at Kaz's injuries and it was scaring him. He'd never seen Kaz like this - to be fair, he'd never seen Kaz in love before.

"Y/N..."

"She's fine, Kaz," Jesper said, trying to soothe his friend without making it obvious. God forbid anyone obviously cares for Kaz. "Wylan got the antidote, she's fine."

Kaz nodded, half dazed. "Good."

And with that, Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel and a fool in love, fainted into his brother's arms.

"I should've got life insurance."

Wylan laughed quietly as Y/N slumped back into the pillows. "Bold of you to assume your worth something."

"Wylan!" Y/N mock gasped, a smile on her face.

She still looked exhausted and had bags under her eyes but she looked so much more alive than she had hours earlier.

Wylan had yet to tell her about Kaz. He was secretly hoping Jesper would appear and do it for him. He wasn't exactly sure how to explain to Y/N that Kaz had gone and hunted down the man who'd poisoned her, killed him and several others and gotten injured to the point he'd fainted in Jesper's arms.

To be honest, Wylan wasn't entirely sure he understood what exactly had happened or was happening between Y/N and Kaz and he didn't really want to know.

He had enough of an issue trying to understand his own love life.

Jesper must've heard Wylan's secret prayer because not even a minute later, he appeared from behind the door, knocking on the wood with a smile.

"Hello, gorgeous," Jesper said, leaning down and kissing Y/N's cheek.

Y/N smiled at him, sliding further down the bed and taking Jesper's hand. "Hi."

"Please can you stop almost dying on me," Jesper pleaded, squeezing her hand. "I don't think I can cope with Matthias on my own."

Y/N snorted. "Or Kaz. Speaking of the devil - where is he?"

Wylan stood up, scraping the chair against the wood. "Jesper, you... uh, you want tea?"

Jesper rolled his eyes, glancing over his shoulder at his boyfriend. "Coward."

"I know," Wylan said, beaming, as he left.

Y/N looked at Jesper, puzzled. "Jes?"

Jesper sighed, turning back to look at her. "Kaz left and didn't come back. Inej found him in an alley, injured and bleeding. He's fine, Nina fixed him up with help from Inej, but he's still out of it."

"Where did he go?"

"He... oh, why didn't I get Inej to do this? He went after the man who poisoned you. And, apparently, he killed them all and threw them onto the Reaper's Barge."

Y/N was silent. Painfully silent. "Where is he?"

"In his room."

Y/N looked up at Jesper. "Can I?"

"Yeah, course."

Jesper stood up and held a hand out to Y/N, helping her to her feet and putting a steady hand around her waist. Kaz's room was on the same floor as Y/N's - thankfully. It meant no stairs and Y/N could simply shuffled down the corridor to the old wooden, paint peeling door that belonged to Kaz.

Nina looked up as Y/N walked in and she instantly stood up, taking Y/N's arm.

"You shouldn't be up," Nina scolded, sitting Y/N in her vacated seat.

"How is he?" Y/N asked, her eyes on Kaz.

Nina sighed. "He'll be fine. He's still an ungrateful prick but he'll be fine." Y/N nodded. Nina looked at her. "You, uh, gonna explain what happened between the two of you?"

"I would if I knew, Nina," Y/N said quietly. "I don't actually know what I did."

"You didn't do anything," Jesper said, perching himself on the edge of the chair and putting an arm around her shoulders.

Y/N nodded again. It was all she seemed to be able to do. Nod. She couldn't think of words to say to Jesper or even Kaz. Nina seemed to notice her silence and came over, crouching down in front of her and rubbing her knee.

"Listen, whatever happened or happens between the two of you, I'll support you, ok?" Nina said softly.

"And if you want to leave, we'll help," Jesper added. "Kaz may be our boss but if you want out then we won't hesitate to help."

Y/N nodded. Again. "I'm staying," she said firmly.

Kaz didn't remember falling asleep. He didn't remember making his way back to the Slat - back to the warmth and comfort of the wonky building.

But somehow, he had. Because, unless he was dead, he'd never felt so at peace.

"You really are a twat, you know that, right?"

Kaz lifted his head, squinting his eyes. Jesper was sat in a small, wooden chair in the corner, left leg bought up to rest on the seat of the chair, his chin resting on his bent knee.

"What?" Kaz croaked, running a hand through his hair. It was then he noticed that he wasn't wearing his gloves. And that the top he was wearing wasn't the one he'd left in. "Jesper, what the fuck happened to my clothes?"

"They got covered in blood. Your blood if you want me to be specific," Jesper replied. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

"Found the man, killed him, tada."

"Kaz."

"What, Jesper?"

Jesper sighed, dropping his leg back to the floor. "Kaz, you almost died. Y/N almost died. Whatever is going on between the two of you has to stop because it is quite literally going to kill the both of you. So, I'll ask again - What happened?"

Kaz sighed as if it physically pained him to slow his mind down and explain to Jesper what had happened. Jesper just waited. He wasn't going to let Kaz win this one.

"The man who poisoned Y/N used to work at the Crow Club. I kicked him out after I got him skimming and I thought that was that. Apparently, he wanted revenge so, he came up with an 'elaborate plan' that wasn't that elaborate and it took me less than ten minutes to track him and his thugs for hire down."

Jesper looked at Kaz. "And?"

"And I beat the shit out of all of them."

"Whilst also having the shit beating out of yourself?"

Kaz gave him a withering glare. "I solved the problem."

"You got revenge."

"Same thing."

"No, you got revenge for Y/N because you didn't dare stay in the same room as her in case she died - like last time."

Kaz rolled his eyes. "We turning this into a character assessment, then?"

Jesper scoffed. "No. I'm telling you what I know. And what I know is that you, Kaz, are completely and utterly besotted with her."

Kaz followed Jesper's pointed finger to the ground next to his bed and his eyes widened a fraction. Y/N was lying on a hastily put together mattress, numerous pillows scattered around her, fast asleep. Right next to him.

"And she's besotted with you, Kaz," Jesper continued, his voice soft. "Now, for the love of all Inej's Saints, talk to each other. I know it's your least favourite activity in the world but you need to talk. If only to save you both from dying again."

Jesper stood up, scraping the chair on the wood as he did so. He opened the door and looked back at Kaz and Y/N. He gave Kaz a tired, slightly encouraging smile, and then left, shutting the door behind him.

Kaz looked down at Y/N and was slightly startled to find her looking back up at him.

"Hi," Y/N said quietly, shifting up onto her elbows, quickly looking away.

"Hi."

"You alive?"

"I think so. You?"

"Just about."

Y/N nodded. She pushed herself up further until she was sitting cross-legged on the mattress. She looked down at her lap, fiddling with a blanket.

"I know..." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I know you don't want to talk. I don't know why but, that's by the by. I just need you to listen." Y/N turned to face Kaz.

Kaz looked at her and was slightly taken aback by the ferocity behind her eyes. Whatever she was about to say, she'd clearly thought about it for a while. Not only that, she clearly meant it.

"I don't remember what happened after that job. I don't remember anything after I got injured. So, I don't know what happened between us - whether I saw something or did something, I don't -"

"You died."

Y/N trailed off and looked up at Kaz in surprise. "What?"

Kaz inhaled deeply, his jaw clenching tightly. "Jesper and I got you back to the Slat... to Nina. And as she was trying to heal you... your," Kaz paused, his eyes looking anywhere but at Y/N, "your heart stopped. You died on the table."

Y/N didn't dare breathe. She looked at Kaz, her heart plummeting.

"I watched as Nina tried to bring you back but there was only so much I could take. I left, accepting that you were... you were dead. But then Inej comes and tells me you're not and that you're alive and in one piece and I..."

Kaz trailed off. But Y/N didn't need him to finish his story. She could piece together what had happened from what little memories she had.

And as she pieced together the puzzle, she realised why Kaz had been so... Kaz.

And as the memories and the pieces came together in the silence of the late afternoon, Y/N had only one question to ask him.

"Kaz." Y/N looked up at him. She noticed that he didn't have his gloves on. "I... I don't know what Inej said to you. What Jesper said. Or what I said. I don't know what you said to yourself or what you've tortured yourself with. But I would be denying my true feelings to tell you that I felt nothing. And I think you know that. If you didn't, you do now. But I need to know something.

"If we decide to keep going with... whatever this is. Can you promise me that you will try fighting for us as hard as I've been? That you won't just give up when the ocean gets too tough?"

Kaz blinked at the ocean metaphor. He'd never told Y/N about Jordie. She hadn't meant Jordie - Y/N had her own relationship with the ocean, ironically. But it still hit Kaz. Hard.

"Kaz?"

He looked down at her. Kaz inhaled deeply, holding his breath slightly. He held out his bare right hand to Y/N. Y/N slowly reached up and wrapped her little finger around Kaz's own little finger.

"Y/N, I promise you that I will fight for us," Kaz said hoarsely. "Knives drawn, pistols blazing, fire in our eyes."

Y/N squeezed Kaz's little finger and gave him a smile. "That's all I ask, Kaz. All I ask."

Kaz nodded and dropped Y/N's hand. She smiled to herself as he looked away, pushing himself to the centre of the bed. Y/N laid back down and rested her hands on her stomach.

"Kaz, you do realise that if we weren't such drama queens, we could've solved this without almost dying."

Kaz let out a snort of laughter. "Well, darling Y/N, where would be the fun in that?"

[rcksmith]

Rules — Kaz Brekker

Requests: “Your works is incredibly good, masterpiece. Can you please smut with Kaz Brekker and prompts 34, 37, 47? Using your rules, they are wonderful. I will really wait))”

“could u do #39 with kaz???ignore if ur not comfortable with this!!”

“Hello, just binge read your kaz brekker smuts and they are amazing! Was wondering if you could do something with smut prompts 34,84,&72?”

Smut prompts:

34. “You’d better watch your fucking mouth.”

37. “I’m so sick of your voice. Why don’t you come over here and put your mouth to better use?”

“39. “You keep acting like a little brat and I’ll take you over my knee right here, I don’t care how many people are watching.”

47. “You look so good on your knees like that.”

72. “Fuck you.” 1. “I’m up for it if you are.”

84. “Let me show you what happens to little brats who don’t follow the rules.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing, NSFW,explicit heavy smut, dirty talk, dom!Kaz.

Word count: 2k.

A/N: All smut requests for Kaz must follow these rules.

Thank you so much for the requests and for all affection 💖 I decided to compile these requests, since they were the same central plot. I added all the elements that were asked for individually, and made sure that all ideas were respected and written down. I hope you like it and good reading.

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are closed. Love you❤️

— — — —

There were two types of people in the world. The dangerous ones, with whom shouldn't play or challenge, people who are able to see and set your soul on fire with a single look, who exude power and domination with the way they walk. And there were people who loved to play with danger, with fire. People who felt the adrenaline pump in their veins and loved the feeling of being messing with something forbidden. Overcoming limits, challenging people on power.

Kaz Brekker was the first type of person. And you were second.

He was intimidating, dark and dangerous. An aura of mystery adored him like an underworld selvedge, and his caustic and intense gaze could very well be bought from what Lucifer cast around the world after The Fall. It was amazing how he hadn't left a trail of rubble where that gaze passed. People feared him, obeyed him, responded to his orders with astonishing precision. Everyone, but not you.

The surest comparison to define you would be to buy Jesper. Both with social personality, adrenaline addiction and seduction in their eyes. But you were a little more than that. More impulsive, more reckless, and more provocative. While Jesper knew all too well when to step back and keep your mouth shut, you refused to bow to Dirty Hands. Not because it was proud, but because it was fun, thought-provoking. Addictive. Every cell in your body felt extremely alive when you are under Kaz Brekker's dominant, angry, and dangerous gaze. He giving you a clear warning that you were swimming in turbulent water, but you were just plunging deeper into his waves.

You wanted to push him to the edge, the exasperation, to see what was really underneath that cold face and serious. Kaz could very well be the boss of the famous gang you were part of, but his rank wasn't enough to stop you. Never would be.

"Frankly, I just don't care." You told Jesper and Nina in one night, downing a shot of vodka.

"What?!" She looked at you dumbfounded. "Kaz is your boss and you argued with him about his plan!"

Nina looked alarmed, but all you felt was adrenaline and pleasure.

“Because it was a nonsense plan and…”

“What nonsense plan?”

And there was Kaz. With his height and his black underworld clothes, with his Lucifer gaze and mouth made for sin. You wanted him to sin. But you wanted l him sin with you.

Jesper and Nina soon stuttered trying to make up an excuse, but you weren't given to lies.

“Yours, in this morning.” Jesper looked like he wanted to stick his head in the dirt after your comment.

Then, once again, that fervent gaze was upon you, and every pulse in your body frantically pumped blood through your veins.

“Don't think I didn't notice your inability to follow rules, Y/n.” It was a warning.

“Oh I don't have a problem following rules “You rested your chin in your palm, with your elbow on the table, and held his fervent gaze, “,but only when they make sense. So that's the only way I can be very obedient, Sir.”

You heard Nina gasp, but your eyes didn't leave Kaz's. There was much more to that look than met the world could see. There was war for control, battles and ferocity. Kaz Brekker wanted to break you in half in that eye contact, but you wouldn't budge because a look. If he wanted you on your knees, you would be very happy to do it, but it would have to be the right way.

Kaz leaned toward you, closer enough for no one else to hear what he was going to say but far enough away that his mouth wouldn't touch your ear.

"You keep acting like a little brat and I'll take you over my knee right here, I don't care how many people are watching."

After that, the sexual tension between the two of you was suffocating, so thick it could have been cut with a knife. But nobody did anything to placate it, and you two just let it get bigger. Bigger and bigger. Until it's too late.

And in one night, it was too late.

"I won't do this just because you want to!" You crossed your arms over your chest.

Kaz wanted you to kidnap one of a mobster's kids to act as security when making a deal, but you wasn't going to kidnap anyone.

“You work for me.”

“No, I work with you.” It was a lie, but you didn't budge. “Don't think I'm here for lack of choice, Brekker. You need me as a vital member of this team and don't forget we're on an equal footing.”

His blue eyes turned almost black. Kaz Brekker rose from his office desk.

“Do you really think you're going to tell me how to act? Think you're gonna boss me around? Well, I don't think so.” His speech was slow and hot and dangerous, like that of a hunter prowling his prey and contemplating how pathetic you attempts to fight were.

“I don't give a damn what you think.” Your whole body was throbbing with life in that moment, as if fireworks had exploded in your chest. “But I won't do what you're ordering.”

"Fuck you." His voice was a growl.

A spot between your legs vibrated, and you gripped the taunt tightly. "I'm up for it if you are."

That seemed to be the pinnacle. The air crackled, the world shuddered, and Kaz's eyes roared with the flames of hell. He walked towards your with three long, purposeful strides, grabbed your chin in his gloved hand and brought you close to his mouth like you were just a rag doll.

Your breath burned in lungs, your unrestrained heart grew stronger and your entire body shivered. A low moan caught in your throat, but you could feel the warm, pulsing liquid stain your panties.

"You’d better watch your fucking mouth." Kaz's voice was husky, strong and gruff, like a boss. Your boss.

Pleasure invaded your body like waves of electricity, stealing your breath and making your blood burn in veins like scalding lava. Your whole body vibrated, screamed, begged. You wanted to disobey and be dominated. You wanted to fight and be defeated. You wanted to play rebellious and be demoted to a good girl.

And your desires must have been very explicit and pleading in your eyes, because Kaz let his lips curve into a cocky, smug smile. The smile of someone who knows he has power.

"You are such a hypocrite." He brought his body close to your. "Saying you're not easily obedient, likes others to think you're provocative and rebellious, but you're just a needy kid wanting my attention."

You moaned this time. A broken and delivered sound that gave away your entire game.

"I'm not one of the men you can challenge and get along with."

"I didn't think you was." You tried to rescue the last spark of provocation, your last fire of insolence.

“And yet you test me. Because you know what I can do with you.”

His husky words hit your skin, and Kaz pulled your chin more closer, until your lips were able to swallow his words. “Because you know I can break you.”

The moan came loud this time, desperate and needy. Kaz hadn't even touched you properly and you already felt ready to combust.

“Y-yes.” But if you were desperate, Kaz was burning with dangerous fury.

“I'm so sick of your voice. Why don’t you come over here and put your mouth to better use?”

Then his hand slipped from your jaw and stuck to the silky hairs on the back of your neck, closing his fingers there and bringing you with him to the armchair Kaz had been sitting in seconds ago.

They weren't sweet, affectionate, or kind touches, but that wasn't what you were looking for. You wanted roughness, fury, raw and strength. You wanted something wild, wanted had marks on your body the other day to tell a story. You weren't a woman who settled for the basics and wanted someone able to show you what a real fuck was. You wanted to be broken. And Kaz Brekker could give you that.

He sat down in the leather armchair and pulled you to the floor, settling you on your knees on the floor between his long, masculine legs. The awareness of what was to come filled your mouth with water, with desire, with lust, and you found yourself already leaning your mouth closer and... Kaz pulled your hair back, not hard, but firmly, keeping you away from his dick. For a while.

“Are you so eager to get my dick yet?” His free hand, now ungloved, glided to your face, running his thumb across your cheek in a firm, possessive touch. “Of course you are. Greedy slut."

Then came a slap. It wasn't aggressive, but you could feel the heat on your cheek. Your panties have never been so wet as they are now.

“S-Sir f-fuck.”

It was a plea, a whimper or a moan, you didn't know anymore. All you could feel was your pussy throbbing, mouth salivating and the overwhelming desire to put his cock in your mouth. It all hit you so hard that you wanted to cry with the wait.

Kaz lowered his mouth to your, slamming their lips together in a rough, brutal, dictating kiss. He invaded with his tongue and conquered everything you had, rubbing the hot flesh of your tongue in an erotic, maddening dance.

"Let me show you what happens to little brats who don't follow the rules." It was his sentence after back away his lips from your.

Unbuttoning his black pants with one hand and pulling the waistband down along with the boxers, he released the throbbing cock that sprang out with glory and grandeur. Thick, streaked with veins and with a pink head swollen and leaking with pre-cum. Everything about Kaz Brekker was delicious. Your moan at the sight was an opportunity that wasn't passed up. Kaz pulled your head by the back of your neck toward his dick, sinking into the velvety, warm, wet cavity of your mouth.

You accepted it readily, almost in desperation, tasting its taste with his tongue and sucking on his head like your favorite lollipop. Kaz moaned loudly, letting his head fall back and loosening his grip on your hair. Your eyes lifted to him, and the sight made you clench your thighs to ease the arousal.

His broad chest covered by the black button-down shirt rose and fell faster, his smooth white neck was exposed, and his firm jaw was clenched with fury. Brekker looked like the god of the underworld. And you loved it.

Your mouth suck to his cock better, increasing the back and forth movements and leaving a trail of hot sage. One hand rested on Kaz's thigh while the other aided the movements, spreading all the saliva down the length of his cock.

“You look so good on your knees like that.” His voice was more of a growl, and his grip on your hair went back to being firm.

You brought your eyes up to his once more, batting your lashes gracefully as you let out a few broken moans, sliding your tongue across every inch of his warm skin you could reach. Kaz gritted his teeth with your puppy dog ​​eyes. Losing all control and letting out a loud growl mixed with an aggressive curse, he thrust your head at him, sinking his entire dick into your hot mouth and hitting the glans at the beginning of your throat.

You gasped and he moaned loudly, increasing the back and forth and building with the movements of his own hips, fucking your mouth like it was the most delicious thing in the world.

"Fucking hell, what a velvet mouth!" He locked his teeth into his lower lip, using his free hand to slide his thumb across your cheek and give you a reward in the form of a small caress. "That's right, good girl."

You moaned, squinting your eyes and relaxing your throat. His compliment has done wonders for your feminine ego and your vanity, you've sunk your mouth down to touch the tip of your nose to his pelvis, and the grip on your hair has become rough as Kaz moaned loudly in a session of swearing and gasping.

He held you in that position, his whole body shaking with pleasure and despair, blood pumping like boiling lava through his saturated veins. With one last moan mixed with growl, he cum in your throat. In hot, strong jets, making sure you take every last drop. He tasted like salt, man and lust. And it was a miracle you didn't cum right away. The best liquid you've ever had.

Kaz released your hair with a hot gasp, and the hand on your cheek gently pulled you back. His dick came out of your mouth with a 'pop', saliva and tears mingled in your chin, your lips swollen and as red as roses at their apex.

You've never been so fucking delicious as you are now.

Brekker pulled you into his lap, settling you on his thigh and locking their mouths in a kiss permeated with lust and desire. You whimpered, body sensitive, pussy throbbing and throbbing. Your hands went to his hair as Brekker pulled the hem of your skirt up.

"Now, you're going to keep showing me how much you regret being insolent."

You smiled with teasing and malice. The night was just beginning.

[corporal-relativity]

Six of Crows characters as quotes my friends have said PART 2

Kaz: Oh really? Have you ever been stabbed in the back in the middle of the night while you're sleeping?

Wylan: I did come up with a perfect plan to blow up Boston.

Inej: We're like a tribe of goats.

Nina: Excellent! No one will be spared. From fun!

Jesper: What if we gave the snake an AK 47?

Mattias: I come here everyday to spit on your grave. You're welcome.

[alcottsangel]

Unsaid words {Kaz Brekker x reader}

Summary: Kaz Brekker suspects you to go out with someone and he can't help to feel jealous. But unsaid words lead to unsaid confessions.

Warnings: Brief mention of abuse.

This was a request by the lovely @mindofasupernova. I tried my best, but this one was pretty hard to do. I hope you like it anyways! <3

Kaz was almost completely sure Y/n was seeing someone. It had to be. There was no other explanation for her her being absent all the time, going out with bare hands, coming back with bags he assumed to be gifts.

She'd secretly giggle with Inej, gossip with Nina and whisper things into Jespers ears.

She avoided him. He hated it.

But Kaz had a plan. A new mission ahead of them, a mission that required all the crows.

Y/n would have to stay, spend time with him again. He called them into his office.

Dirtyhands announced it days ago. He expected all of them to attend and they wouldn't dare to let the Bastard of the Barrel hang down.

So on Friday, 10:00 pm, when all the Dregs were busy with drinking and Per Haskell was out doing his thing, all of the Crows were facing Kaz, who sat at his table.

All of the Crows, but not Y/n.

Kaz waited for her to arrive. He never did.

It was awkward, as they all just stared at him, expecting him to say something, while he was just scribbling things onto a paper.

"Are we're going to sit here forever, or will you finally say what you want to say?"

Nina asked impatiently, tapping her nails on the table.

"Where is Y/n?" Kaz asked the counter-question. "Does it matter?" Inej said carefully, after nobody else answered him for some time.

"If I tell you to attend a meeting, you attend. So yes, it matters." Kaz looked out of the window for a moment, before he looked back to the Crows. He sighed slightly.

"Birk Bantell." He then said. "He's a banker. And we're breaking into his place."

The meeting went on for two hours. They went through the entire plan. It would happen tomorrow. Y/n didn't attend.

Kaz didn't hesitate to let the others know that he was mad at her. But that wasn't the only thing. Kaz was jealous. Jealous, of whoever was the person she sacrificed her time for. The person that wasn't him.

The next morning, Kaz tapped his pencil on the table, his gaze was lost in the nowhere. Kaz didn't know what to think. He didn't feel like he had the right to have all these feelings. He couldn't help it.

Dirtyhands only woke out of his thoughts again as he heard a knock on his door.

There she stood, barefoot. Her heels were dangling from her hand. She looked tired, he thought, wearing a jacket that was much too loose and long. He could see the glimpse of a black, short dress under it.

"Mathias told me that you wanted to see me."

She started awkwardly, biting her lip.

"I know there was a meeting. I'm sorry that I wasn't there, Kaz."

He chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh no, you definitely look like you had better things to do. I'm sorry if my schedule was in your way." He waved towards her, as if he wanted to tell her to leave.

"No Kaz, no. Don't judge me now. I would never abandon the Crows for fun, I had my reasons." She said, as softly as she could.

Kaz looked into her face. Y/n looked honest.

He was disgusted by that. He knew she was lying, she had to. She wouldn't wear such clothes if not for something fun. Someone.

"Ah yes. Because, as we all know, you wear short dresses for business meetings. In the past years I only saw you wear something like this once, and that was to get close to a target. And now it's suddenly the most common piece in your wardrobe. I don't know, or care who you put that on for, but if you prioritise him over your team, over me, then maybe you should stay there." Kaz finally snapped, slamming his pencil on the table. Y/n opened her mouth, surprised and speechless.

Then she scoffed.

"And if I do? Don't act like you have the right to decide who I want to see and when I do it. It's none of your business what I'm doing with my life. You shouldn't care."

"But I do care!" Kaz said with a sharp tongue.

"Then stop." Y/n answered.

She had a bittersweet taste on her tongue as she finished her sentence and looked into Kaz' eyes. His face was blank, his eyes spoke all the words that he refused to.

And Y/n regretted it.

"Considering that..." Kaz started, but paused to look up to her. "I think you want to leave. You should."

The young women opened her mouth, ready to say something, anything that made up for the words she regretted so deeply, but she couldn't.

Kaz gave her the moment to collect herself, maybe he wanted to give her the chance to take it back and instead say out the words of confession that hung in the air. But she didn't, so instead Kaz opened the door for her.

She closed her mouth and looked him in the eyes again, almost apologetic. Slowly she began moving out the door, getting faster as she felt the tears filling her eyes. The same moment she was out, Kaz banged the door behind her.

That gave her the rest, she started shaking and the tears fell down. Her sobs were muffled by her hand pressed to her mouth and she stormed down the floor, praying that Kaz wouldn't hear her crying.

As she arrived downstairs, she kept her head down. The last thing she needed was for someone to see her weak spot.

The only thing she wanted was to leave, to bring as much distance between her and Kaz as possible. For as long as possible.

"Hey, Y/n! Wanna join?" The voice came from across the room. It was Jesper, who was sitting next to Wylan gambling.

She muttered a curse under her breath as she wiped the tears away, smiled and turned to him. "Sorry Jes, Kaz is sending me on a mission. Gotta make up for what I've missed today." She waved them off a little.

"But I wouldn't mind you buying me a drink when I'm back." Jesper chuckled softly. "He'd have to win money first." Wylan instead joked, Y/n forced herself to laugh at that.

"I will see you later."

Y/n gave them a last sympathetic look before she turned around and stumbled towards the door.

Both, Wylan and Jesper looked concerned. "Dont you think she looked a bit lost?" The shooter asked his boyfriend, who nodded. "Maybe talk to Kaz? She seemed upset about something." Jesper shrugged.

"I will, once I've lost my last penny."

Wylan giggled, so did the Gambler as he took a sip from his drink.

When she had left the Slat she looked the street up and down. What was she even supposed to do? Where was she supposed to go? Her place felt odd, wrong. Too obvious. If they wanted to, they could find her there.

She could go back inside and make it right. Tell Kaz how she felt. Say it. Say, that she loved him.

She shook her head and laughed at herself. She was a fool. Kaz did not love her back. Kaz loved Inej. And he needed her, not Y/n. He never would. She walked down the street.

Ketterdam felt as cold as always. The weather was foggy, which did not held any tourists from exploring the city.

Everytime she walked into someone she scoffed at them.

Sometimes she hated the busy city. It was too loud, too nosy, too close and intimate.

Everyone could easily know you and still nobody cared.

She passed her flat and two waffle shops, one of Pekka Rollins places and the store she brought her weapons. She ended up at the docks, her clothes drenched from the rain that had started to fall.

The same moment she stood still the tears fell again. Saints, why was she so emotional? What was wrong with her?!

She brushed over her cheeks roughly and sighed. If Kaz Brekker left these words unsaid, she shouldn't be ashamed that she did the same. Kaz Brekker never showed regret, or pity, or... love. Nothing was lost.

But she loved him. Saints, Y/n loved Kaz Brekker and she couldn't help it. And that's why she cried. Because she knew damn well, that she could never have him. That he was absolutely emotionally unavailable.

Kaz walked from one site of his room to the other, brushing through his hair every now and then. He could feel his leg starting to ache, but he couldn't sit. He couldn't just sit down and do nothing. Y/n was right, Kaz was in no position to judge over her personal life or her decisions. He had to right to be mad that she didn't attend a meeting of the crows, he had no right to be it over the circumstances she did it for. But there were all the words that they left unsaid. Kaz felt guilty. Like he owed her an explanation, just like she owed one to him.

So the Bastard of the Barrel grabbed his coat and hat, opened the door and... and there

Y/n stood. Holding up her hand, prepared to knock. "I wanted to talk to you." She said quietly, taking her hand down. "But if it's a bad timing I'll come again later." He shook his head.

"I was on my way to you, too." He moved aside to let her enter. "I agree that we should talk."

Kaz hung up his belongings again. Before he even had the chance to turn back to her, she started talking.

"I'm not seeing anybody. Not once, the entire time. I worked in a bar. I needed to make money and I had to buy clothes and food for my sister. She's here now, Kaz, here in Ketterdam. And that's what I intended to hide."

Kaz understood. He knew about her sister.

They were orphans, growing up with their abusive uncle. Y/n fled when she was twelve. He sister stayed behind. The money that Kaz payed her for missions was enough to send home for her sister to buy some food. It certainly wasn't to provide an entire living.

"You should've told me that." He said, sitting down in his chair.

"I know. But I didn't want to ask you for anything more. Without you I would've starved on the street, you saved my life. I owed it to you and to me, and my sister to save hers on my own." She tried to explain.

Kaz shook his head slowly. "No, no that's not how this works."

"What, because 'you care'?" Y/n said so softly, as if she was talking to a child.

"Because I'm falling for you." His words were a whisper that she barely understood.

As she had realised what he had said, her eyes grew big. "Leaving words unsaid causes so much trouble." She acknowledged, leaning against the table next to him.

"Because if we wouldn't, we would've confessed this long ago. I'm falling for you too, Kaz Brekker."

[swanimagines]

2/5 B73 + A50 for Kaz Brekker?

Fandom: Shadow and Bone

Prompts: B73. “Your smile is beautiful.” + A50. “Oh, are you looking for [name]? They’re probably setting themselves on fire right now.”

A/N: I'm starting from this one, don't be confused XD Still planning to do the rest. I hope you like it Charlie!!

Warnings: I changed the A50 prompt just with a few words but it means the same, and again, book stuff (includes mentions of Nina being a Crow) even though I haven’t been able to read them yet. Also cringy writing, I had a mini motivation loss going on when I wrote this...

Word count: 856

You had all been working tirelessly for days with this new heist, and you were spending a lot of time with Kaz while planning. You had sat in his office together all night and he had let you sleep on his couch for a few hours at the morning after you had fallen to sleep with pen in your hand and blueprints still on your lap, he had taken them away from you, careful not to touch you and sometimes even threw a blanket over you.

You thought he was just being a good boss and rewarding you for working so hard, even when he didn't do that with anyone else. You had just grown accustomed to it.

And now you were all doing your final plans for the heist happening in a few days, counting the plan over for the first time. You sat at the table in front of Kaz, but the rest of the Crows were scattered around the room.

“Y/N and I will be here-” he started, but you interrupted him.

"Kaz, I told you before that guards patrol our spot irregularly. What happens if we get caught when we're breaking in?" you asked, pointing at the spot on the map.

“I’ll protect you if that happens.” he answered without looking up, but making everyone else look up in surprise, eyeing between you and Kaz. You were too tired to realize the absurdness of his sentence though and took it as a joke, even though it was weird of Kaz to make a joke like that.

“So you’re kind of a mother hen for me.” you chuckled, half-expecting Kaz to glare at you but this time he surprised you and everyone in the room even further.

Kaz smiled.

Genuinely smiled.

It wasn’t a smirk, it was a smile. He dropped his facade in front of everyone for just a moment, before he noticed you all staring at him and quickly dropped his smile and clearing his throat, pretending it didn’t just happen.

But you, in your tired state, bit your lip and smiled at him. “Kaz?”

“Hm?”

“You should smile more often. Your smile is beautiful.” you muttered, Kaz froze and after a moment all the Crows in the room let out a stifled burst of laughter, snapping Kaz out from his frozen state and silencing them with his infamous glare.

It took you a moment before you realized what you had just blurted out, but when it hit you, you clasped a hand in front of your mouth and rose up from the table, quickly making your way out from the room. Kaz stared after you for a moment before he cleared his throat again.

“Well, as I was saying, Inej, you should go to your position at the roof, here. Jesper, you wait for Y/N’s signal before going in.” he tried to continue planning like nothing had just happened, but everyone could see the faint blush on his cheeks. The Bastard of the Barrel didn’t blush. At least if he didn’t have something going on with the person who made him blush.

And it was a known fact among the Crows that Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands, feared across Ketterdam, was head over heels for you, even if he didn’t admit it. Everyone knew it and saw the way he looked at you, except, of course, you.

Next morning you didn’t show up to breakfast, and Kaz didn’t find you from your room. And he realized that he needed to talk to you, let you know that he wasn’t angry about your little slip, and you had no reason to be embarrassed. He had made you all overwork, so slips like that happened. He, of course, wouldn’t reveal his own feelings for you, but the thought of you having feelings for him brought the slightest amount of warmth to his cold heart.

He had tried to ask around, looking for you but you had vanished, just like he had taught you to vanish if danger is near. He just never thought that he would be that danger.

“If you’re looking for Y/N, they’re probably setting themselves on fire right now.” Nina smiled as she came across to Kaz scanning the Club in hopes to catch a sight of you. Kaz swallowed at that.

“I figured.” he frowned, not looking at Nina. But where were you setting yourself on fire?

Nina just winked before licking her lips and disappearing back into the crowd.

It took the whole day before you dared to leave your friend’s place and tiptoed your way to your room and could just hope that everyone forgot what you did. Everyone was asleep when you got into your room and you believed that no one knew you had come back.

But Kaz would recognize your steps anywhere, and even though he would never admit it either, he was immediately relieved when he knew that you were back at the Slat, that you were safe.

And maybe someday he could finally tell you that he cared about you, in a different way he cared about his other Crows...

[iambecomeyourvillain]

so, I thought I'd better jot down important dates since I've been here

19th March, 2021 - when we all officially became the Clownverse because the trailer didn't release and we stayed up all night, and it was also the crazy thread day. Main participants @clubofthestarlesssaint @blackpheonix @wolfnzy01 @advictedtohim @bookavert @st3llitsa @brekkercookie @grishaverse-wraith @spnbrekker-deactivated20210327 and yours truly [bows] sorry if I missed people but I don't know everyone and these are the ones in the gc. oh it was also world sleep day the day after. Ironic, huh? [shoutout to poor confused people to whom Tumblr asked to go to sleep during afternoon] anyways this is the International Clownverse Day (or night)

30th March, 2021 - when the trailer got released on the one date we we were absolutely sure that it wouldn't be released on. Again; Clowned 🤡 it was also the day Rule of Wolves (the secowas released

17th April, 2021 - was the official Free Rein Day when @blackpheonix decided enough is enough and that we wants #free rein trend and we all blindly agreed and stayed up all night yet again (honestly, this fandom doesn't sleep) but alas, in vain. Because it didn't go on trending even though we almost exceeded 2k posts in one night. Le sigh. Special mention to @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog who queued like a million posts, @im-someone-i-guess [who made like two new accounts, stayed up literally all night, and got sick the day after and had to skip school (good for her)] and @cressjacquine who made a wiki page on us and got blocked from Wikipedia lmao rip and @grishaverse-wraith @mithriel-of-mithlond @alonlyfangirl @black-like-my-soul @ghafa-dale for their crazy efforts and do I need to mention our leader and captain @blackpheonix here????? I mean it's obvious. And never forget, the seagull post (yeah I'm not gonna let it go unnoticed because it was made by me because I'm narcissistic that way haha also because it was legendary)

23rd April, 2021 - Need I mention this???? Shadow and Bone finally got released. Half the fandom disappeared for seven to eight hours straight while the other half ran a running commentary while watching. This was also the day we officially added a new saint to the list of saints to the Grishaverse that is, [Drumroll] our one and only Sankt Milo. A special mention to @sankt-milo here, we're honoured to have you with us over here. Everyone bow.

1st May, 2021 - which was the second Free Rein Day, this day was just as chaotic as the first one. Though sadly, this didn't work out for us either because @staff hated and underestimated us but we still did it. This was also the day we were officially given posts, got named The Third Army, and the 🐎🤡Free Rein War Room🤡🐎 was created by @mithriel-of-mithlond.

21st May, 2021 - this was the day Grishaverse's official cafe was opened which is @mcgrishas opened by @22herondale. If you haven't ordered from McGrisha's yet, I ask you, what are you doing??? Go order now

22nd May, 2021 - this was, you guessed it, yet another Free Rein Day, because apparently we don't know how to take a hint and give up lmao- BUT

EVERYONE WAS IN UTTER SHOCK. WHEN FREE REIN

FINALLY. FUCKING. TRENDED. Oh, the absolute, utter, joy.

This day officially became the Free Rein Victory Day and it will go

down in history.

So. That's it, for now. I'm gonna be adding to this as we go. There was some food discourse that happened a while back that I don't remember the dates of, @jesper-fahey-supremacy @im-someone-i-guess @bookavert if you could kindly help with that it'd be great

Till then, toodles.

this was jes, over and out.

[slutfornat]

Could you do a kaz brekker x reader where kaz and the reader are childhood rivals who constantly try to outdo the other until they have to work together and kaz confesses that he loves the reader?

Rivals // K.B

As he glares across the room at you with Inej and Jesper standing in between the two of you, you can't help but smirk at the irony of the entire thing as you and Kaz had been rivals since childhood.

It all began with a simple game of hide and seek with you won then all of a sudden it was years later and here you both stood, having to work together to find Alina Starkov, the Sun Summoner.

"Look what the cat dragged in, the Kaz Brekker" you mock in awe and shock with a sly grin on your face. "why y/l/n, I thought I smelt snake" he bites back, his ears turning a whole new shade of red.

"Crows meet the devil herself" he introduces, "y/n y/l/n, long time no see. Did you finally get bored of playing chess in hell after so many games?"

"Suppose so, I just can't help but always win" you drawl back. Simply from being with him, you could feel your heart race and you wanted this job to be over with soon so you could go back to hating and loving him from a distance.

-----------

You managed to begin arguing once more after the plan failed while in the getaway cart. It's true you did have Alina Starkov in the trunk but you couldn't help be pissed off at Kaz because his plan didn't go as planned.

"I can't believe you, Brekker!" you exclaim in anger, "if we had just went with my plan then everything would go as theorised but of bloody course you get in the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess but we are not your servants so you can't order us around like you usually go with everyone else" he snaps at you whilst Inej and Jesper try to ignore the bickering.

It only got worse when Starkov escaped and you two ended uo in a a room alone just shouting hate at each other. "It's not my fault that you are so self-obsessed that you couldn't see any flaws in your plan" you yell.

"How about you not listening to my instructions properly and probably being the reason that we screwed up, huh? But that's obviously not a problem for you as you never actually care about anything" Kaz said, turning away.

"Well, maybe I would be able to focus properly if you weren't here, ever thought about that?" you snap, only to realise what you actually said and knew that you couldn't hide your childhood crush anymore.

For years you'd always try to beat him at every little thing not that you liked embarrassing him but it was because you never knew a better way to show feelings than to attempt to get his attention.

"You like me?" he asks, quietly and you nod in response whilst hoping the floor would open up and swallow you whole. "I... like you too. I never knew how to tell you as I always thought you hated me because of our rivalry."

"Kaz, I'm sorry that I have off the wrong impression, it's just I never knew how to get your attention overwise" you confess. "Does this make us a couple then?" he asks.

"I should hope so" you lightly joke as he sends you a genuine smile that caused a flutter in your chest. "This may seem weird but is it fine that we move slowly" Kaz asks and you remember that Kaz suffers from haphephobia.

"It's not weird at all, trust me" you whisper, comfortingly to him. "So, we're now official" Kaz smiles as if he's been waiting for years which you now know is probably true.

[ink-on-dead-trees-simp]

Rose Lemonade and Waffles

This is set after the SOC duology so there may be minor spoilers!

I didn't write anything for Valentines day so this is set after Nina and Matthias get back from holiday which is an idea I stole from @justdaphne 's Valentines Headcanons.

Helnik Fluff ignoring Chapter 40

NINA POV

Nina had felt close to heaven the past few days. Matthias had spoiled her and, now that they were back in Ketterdam, reality had come crashing down on her. It was no longer Valentines and there was no reason for her to lounge about anymore. So, when she got the note slipped under her door, she was expecting it to be a summons from Kaz.

'My Dearest Red Bird' It read, 'I know that Valentines and all it entails ended when we got back but I would live to done with you as soon as I finish my job with Kaz. If you would like to join me, meet me at 7:30 pm in Fith Harbour. Sincerely, Matthias Helvar'

Nina was ecstatic. Hadn't she just been mourning her lost time with Matthias? Before she became too wrapped up in her fantasies of a romantic evening, a knock came on her door. It was followed by a voice like honey saying

'Nina! We need your help at the docks!' It was confusing. Inej's voice seemed as though she was here to give you the greatest news but instead, she often was the bearer of bad news.

She walked to the door and opened it with a sigh. The sight of her closest friend should have given her hope in the exploit but instead, her presence let a blanket if unease fall over her. Why had Kaz called in the Wraith? She followed Inej and they chatted easily. By the time they got to the docks, Nina had almost forgotten entirely. It was only when she saw Jesper and another man standing opposite each other, guns drawn that the reality of the situation crashed around her. They walked closer and Inej slipped away to the rooftops as per usual. It didn't take long for Jesper to notice Nina slipping behind his opponent. It was only when Nina got close enough to the pair that she could clearly see the shrouded figure's face.

'Kuwei?!'

MATTHIAS POV

A wave of nausea overcame Matthias as he, Kaz and Wylan crept over the wall separating the Slat and the bakery the other side of it. He had been with the Demjin over two years now and still the idea if breaking the law unsettled him. He tried to put it out of his mind but it became increasingly difficult as he looked forward and saw Kaz’s slender fingers picking the lock. It took him less than three seconds to open it and even less to disable the cheap alarm system. The three of them then walked to the back of the room and collected the bag that had been left for them by the Crows that had 'failed' a robbery earlier.

After going to one funal destination before the secluded area by the docks, Wylan began to strike up conversation. Unfortunately, Matthias had no energy to talk and Kaz was being Kaz. Wylan's face fell when he realised no-one was going to speak to him but his mood automatically lifted when he saw where they going. To sociable people. Including Nina, his Red Bird.

He heard her voice before he saw her. The sweet tones yelled a name he new very well.

'Kuwei?!'

Wylan turned to them and said, 'Oh boy. We're screwed.' Kaz looked at him blankly and nodded.

As they walked into the courtyard-like area, Inej jumped down and landed next to Kaz. She leaned over and whispered something into his ear. Kaz’s blank expression was replaced with one of minor amusement. The second they walked within sight of Nina, she turned to look at them and fury filled her eyes. She was out for blood. Specifically Kaz’s blood.

Matthias and Wylan walked over to Jesper and immediatly Jesper let out an onslaught of questions about the operation which Wylan was happy to supply the answers to after being in virtual silence for the past hour or so. This left Matthias free to watch Nina with longing in his eyes. It had been a while since she had had the opportunity to yell at someone like this. She then turned to Matthias and stormed over. He cursed his breath.

'Matthias Helvar! I swear to the Saints and Ghezen and Djel and anything else you believe in, unless you come up with a reasonable excuse as to why you did this, I will send you to and early grave!' A thousand thoughts ran through his brain and eventually he picked the right one.

'Nina, my love, there is a surprise waiting in the Slat for you. But we needed you out of there to do it and at the time this seemed the easiest way.' Nina's face relaxed a little at hearing this explanation.

'Alright,' She said, 'Take me to the Slat so I may see this surprise.'

On the way back to the Slat, Inej and Kaz had slipped away, presumably to pursue whatever Inej had told Kaz. Wylan and Jesper both excused themselves leaving Nina and Matthias alone. They walked in a tense silence, Matthias wasn't sure what to say to Nina. Eventually the Slat door was infront of them and he was leading her up the stairs to her room. He reached over and opened it.

NINA POV

As Matthias opened the door, Nina's heart began to ache a little in her chest. She saw what he, Wylan and Kaz had been doing. There were rose petals and a dress laid out on her bed. She heard a cough from behind her.

'I shall leave you to get ready. See you at 7:30?' Matthias said. However, Nina was not quite done with teasing him yet.

'Ah so that was you! I wasn't quite sure.'

'Who did you think it was?'

'Doesn't matter.' Unfortunately, Nina couldn't hold her act up for long and so she crumbled, laughing at Matthias' expression. He soon realised it was a joke and left, chuckling under his breath.

Nina rushed over to the bed and felt the fine fabrics. She slipped it on and it fit her perfectly, showing off her curves rather than hiding them like the clothes she used to be forced to wear at the White Rose. She felt at home.

By the time 7:30 came, Nina was the one waiting for Matthias. When he finally showed up, it was on a canal boat. He gestured for her to get in.

'Hello Nina, you look lovely tonight.'

'So do you. How long did it take you to plan all this?'

'Not long at all. Kaz helped me because I helped him with his Valentines plans and so everyone else helped.'

'Ah. Where are we going on this fine evening?'

'I couldn't possibly say. It'll ruin the surprise. Anyway, we will be there soon' They settled for light banter all the way there.

THIRD PARTY POV

A gentle rock of the boat showed that they were finally at their destination. As they walked along the path carved out behind a few storage buildings, talking and laughing to each other, it soon became clear what the scent in the air was.

'WAFFLES!!!!' Nina let go of Matthias' hand and ran toward her one true love. The table was set with a vase of roses in the centre, a glass of rose lemonade each and a plate of waffles each. As they sat down and dug into the meal, Nina stopped eating for a second.

'Matthias? Why did you go to the trouble of all this?' Matthias looked up and smiled. He then got up out of his seat and knelt down.

'Nina Zenik,' He began, 'Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?' Nina immediately jumped up out of her seat and kissed him.

'Yes of course I will!'