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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

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Chapter Six: Matthias

Although Nina keeps calling Matthias their getaway driver, he feels more like a coach driver trapped on a bus filled with hyperactive children. On any other day, he would have told them to shut up by now, but one glance to his left at Nina steals any complaints from his lungs.

Her feet are propped up on his dashboard — another thing he wouldn't allow from anyone else — and her hair is blowing around her face as she sings. The rest of them are only human, but in this moment, she looks like a saint.

"You're the slowest getaway driver I've ever met," she complains, smiling up at him.

"I have a black box," he grumbles. "I can't go any faster."

"Next time, I'm getting Kaz to do it," Jesper decides.

"Next time?" Wylan asks, raising an eyebrow.

Jesper smirks, nudging his fiance's shoulder. "You know what I mean. Besides, we'll have to renew our vows at some point."

"Any excuse for a party," Nina agrees.

The drive to the courthouse only takes twenty minutes, even with Matthias sticking to the speed limits. Jesper throws himself out of the car before he stops moving, but Wylan musters enough patience to wait until they're parked. The two of them make it halfway across the car park before he can put the handbrake on.

"Have they no patience?" Matthias asks, exasperated.

Nina pats his cheek. "You just have too much, hot stuff."

She grins when he blushes. Why must she find such pleasure in flirting?

"Let's go, or they'll get hitched without us," she says.

The courthouse isn't usually open so late, but several of the interns who work there study politics alongside Inej. They find Jesper and Wylan in a corridor outside the room where they'll hold the wedding, speaking rapidly to a freckled man with dark red hair.

"And these are my friends who we'll be living with, Nina and Matthias!" Jesper finishes, gesturing at them.

The man peers up at them. "Well, I must say this whole event is a bit of a surprise, but I'm very proud of you for getting married, son."

Nina and Matthias exchange a look. Is this Jesper's dad?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fahey." Wylan also looks a little dazed.

"Please, call me Colm. You're part of the family too, now."

The officiant steps into the hallway, his eyes darting left and right down the hallway before beckoning them in. He's younger than any of them, probably in his first year, and keeps tugging at his long, black hair.

"Where's Inej?" he asks. "She said she'd be here."

Jesper shrugs. "She's on her way. But this wedding is time-sensitive, so we really can't wait—"

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

Nina tugs Matthias over to the front row of seats, dragging him into the seat next to Jesper's father. He glances over at Colm Fahey, wanting to ask him how Jesper convinced him to come, but the man looks paler than snow.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asks.

"Oh, yes, yes. I just never thought I'd see the day, that's all. His mother would be so proud. Are they truly in love? Will Wylan make my boy happy?"

He better, after all the effort they'd just put in to make sure this wedding happened. Matthias nods solemnly, hoping that's enough to address all of Colm's worries. He's only met Wylan twice before today, and one of those occasions was this week.

"He's amazing. And you should have seen Jesper when he found out Jan Van Eck was keeping his son from seeing all of us — he nearly stormed over there to give him a piece of his mind," Nina says.

Colm looks over at Wylan, who is fidgeting with something in his pocket while Jesper continues trying to persuade the officiant to start the wedding now.

"The poor lad doesn't sound like he has the loving family that he deserves, so I'm glad he's joining mine. Oh, my." He fishes a handkerchief out of his pocket, dabbing at his eyes.

The officiant crosses his arms, resolute. Evidently, Jesper's persuasion techniques aren't working, and he looks close to the end of his tether.

"We have to wait," Jesper says, retreating over to them with Wylan in tow. "Where are they?"

"Jes, there's something I want to give you," Wylan says.

Jesper raises an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet."

Wylan produces a ring box from his pocket. It's old, the green velvet on the outside beginning to fray, but Wylan cradles it as if it's the most precious thing in the world. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Jesper carefully plucks it out of his hand, gently opening the lid to reveal a simple gold band. For once in his life, he's speechless.

"It was my mother's," Wylan continues, fiddling with the sleeve of his jumper. "She told me to save it for my special person, and... well, that's you."

Colm dabs at his eyes again. He looks dangerously close to having some kind of emotional-related heart attack.

"Oh, Wy, I love it." Jesper sounds close to crying himself. Wylan guides the ring onto his finger, and then pulls Jesper in for a kiss.

The doors burst open and Kaz and Inej run in. They're both red from running and panting for breath, grinning like idiots and clutching onto each other's hands.

"What did we miss?" Inej asks.

In all but officiality, the wedding, Matthias thinks.

"We wouldn't start without our maid of honour and best man!" Jesper announces, as if he hasn't spent the past ten minutes trying to convince the officiant to do exactly that.

"Let's get married," Wylan says, smiling up at Jesper.

Nina squeezes his hand, and they settle into their seats.

*****

Considering the rest of the evening, the wedding foes smoothly and the rest of them have said goodnight to Colm and are back at their house by midnight.

Jesper and Wylan disappear to their shared room, giggling like children. Inej plants herself on the couch for the night, and Kaz insists on staying up to complete Wylan's tenancy agreement and re-enrollment.

Nina tugs Matthias into their bed, wrapping her warm arms around his chest and lying so close to him he can feel the soft thump of her heart against his back.

"When we get married, we're having a proper ceremony," she says, already drifting off.

"In a church," he agrees.

"With a chocolate fountain."

They fall asleep like that, tightly intertwined in each other's arms, dreaming of their own wedding.

Unfortunately, the entire house is woken up seven hours later by someone attempting to break the door down.

Matthias stirs at the incessant knocking, but it isn't enough to convince him to disturb Nina, who is still latched onto him like a sloth. When their visitor holds the doorbell down, however, he groans and sits up.

"What time is it?" Nina mumbles, rolling over and opening one bleary eye.

"Early. Go back to sleep, little red bird. I'll deal with it."

There's only one person who could kick up this much of a fuss at 7am, and Matthias won't let him bully any of his friends any longer.

Jesper and Wylan are whispering furiously to each other at the top of the stairs. Matthias is too tired to eavesdrop, so he shoulders past them and mutters, "I'll answer it."

Jesper grabs the top of his arm. "It'll be—"

"I know who it is." Matthias shrugs Jesper off easily and descends the rest of the stairs before he can protest further.

Jan Van Eck's cheeks are red with rage when Matthias opens the door. He's flanked by two burly men on either side of him, both looking like they're probably armed.

"Where's my son?" Van Eck demands. "Release him to me right now!"

"Who are you?" Matthias asks, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"I am Jan Van Eck, and you're holding my son hostage," he splutters.

"Like you held him hostage?" Jesper snaps from the bottom of the stairs. Matthias glances back at him, one arm protectively wrapped around Wylan's trembling shoulders.

So much for pretending to be ignorant, then.

"Please remove yourself from our property," Matthias tries instead.

"Not without my son! I won't have him—" Van Eck pauses, lowering his voice, spit flying out of his mouth. "I won't let him run loose in Ketterdam, ruining my reputation."

"I think you're doing an excellent job of ruining your own reputation, Mr. Van Eck," Inej retorts, leaning on the doorframe leading to the living room. It's the first time Matthias has ever seen her hair down and she's wearing cat print pajamas, but her glare is so fierce he nearly apologises to her out of instinct.

"You're not welcome here. Leave, or I'll call the stadwatch," Matthias repeats.

"Who do you — you children think you are? If you call the stadwatch, they'll take the word of an upstanding mercher over that of a handful of teenagers any day."

"Actually, none of us are teenagers any more." Kaz steps forwards, his eyes as black as ink, those of a shark locking onto its prey. "Or did you forget your own son's age? Besides, I'm sure they'll believe us when we show them the evidence of how you forced your precious son to drop out of university, stole his phone, and refused to let him leave the house."

Van Eck squints at Kaz, clearly not intimidated by the claims. "And what proof do you have of that?"

One moment, Kaz's hands are empty, and the next, he's holding up Wylan's phone for all of them to see. "I think the texts Wylan snuck to Jesper and testimony from his tutor and a guard you posted outside his door should be enough, don't you think?"

Van Eck takes a step forward, but Matthias moves to block his entrance to the house. He jabs a finger in Kaz's direction. "He's my son. He has no right to live here or go to the university if I say so—"

"He's been re-enrolled," Kaz says coldly.

"And our landlord allows the addition of a married partner to join the tenancy agreement at any time," Wylan adds. It's the first thing he's said since his father showed up, and he looks proud of himself.

Van Eck turns his gaze to Jesper for the first time. Wylan's hand is gripping onto his husband's shoulder tightly, the ring that started this mess on clear display. Jesper holds up his left hand too, a shit-eating grin on his face as Van Eck sees his ex-wife's ring glittering against Jesper's dark skin.

"Now you have your explanation, I suggest you leave," Matthias says, squaring his chest. Van Eck brought backup expecting a fight, not to be humiliated by a group of students.

"You — how dare you?" he bellows. "You lied to me! You dare to get married to — to some man—"

Matthias decides he's had enough, and slams the door in Van Eck's face, locking it for good measure.

"If he has any sense, he'll leave," Inej says, yawning and wandering back into the living room.

"And if he doesn't, I'll wait up to call the stadwatch," adds Kaz. He vanishes through the doorway after Inej, closing it softly behind them.

Nina appears at the top of the stairs, rubbing her eyes. "What did I miss?"

Matthias squeezes past a stunned Jesper and Wylan to meet her. "Nothing, dear. I was just coming back to bed."

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #helnik #matthias helvar #nina zenik #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wesper #kanej #sabpromptweek2023 #my writing #mmb writes #the things we don't say

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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

Playlist 🎵 Buy me a cup of tea ☕

Chapter Seven: The Night We Met

"How was your weekend?" Nikolai asks as soon as Inej steps through the door of The Little Palace on Monday morning.

"Oh, you know." She shrugs, tying her apron around her waist. "I planned and successfully pulled off a heist, performed with my ex-boyfriend to a room full of the richest people in Kerch, was maid of honour at a wedding, and threw an upstanding mercher out of my friend's house."

Nikolai stares at her for a few seconds. "Not much, then. Zoya, honey, come and listen to the list of crimes your best barista has committed over the weekend, so I don't gaslight myself into believing his conversation never happened."

Zoya raises an eyebrow. "Please, describe how your life is more interesting than mine."

Inej curses the fact it's Nina's day off, but tells them anyway. She tries to focus on Wylan and Jesper — their wedding was the reason behind the heist, anyway — but she can't miss Zoya's incredulous expression and Nikolai's smirk every time she mentions Kaz.

"You still never told us why you broke up," says Zoya, turning on the coffee machine.

Inej sighs, leaning against the counter. There are never any customers this early in the morning. "It's not for me to say."

"Mysterious," Nikolai says. "Or are you holding out on us because you think there's a chance at rekindling the romance, perhaps?"

She smiles. She's waited for Kaz to call for two months, and a part of her would love for them to go back to what they were. But if he doesn't want to open up to her, she won't hold her breath.

"I certainly hope so," that familiar rock-salt rasp says from behind her.

Inej spins around, glad that her bronze skin disguises her blush. How long has Kaz been standing behind her? Nikolai and Zoya must have seen him walk up to the counter and not warned her, the traitors.

Zoya hands him a black coffee. "Two sugars. Take your break, Inej."

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

"I feel like I'm being ganged up on," she mutters, but she follows Kaz over to a table hidden in the corner of the cafe.

He takes a sip of his drink instead of jumping straight into whatever he wants to say. It must be hot enough to burn his tongue, but he doesn't flinch.

"Is this about Jesper and Wylan?" she asks. If she doesn't prod him for answers, her break will be over by the time he explains why he's sought her out.

"No, they're fine. From what Matthias said, they're... enthusiastically celebrating their new marriage."

Inej laughs. "Poor Matthias. I bet he's regretting his choice of roommate already."

"I actually..." He trails off, staring into his coffee like it might hold the answers to life. "I wanted to tell you what my nightmare was about."

Inej sits up straighter. "You don't have to. You don't owe me the truth if you don't want to tell it."

His eyes meet hers, and she realises they're the same colour as the coffee. "I know. But I want to be that better man you spoke of, if you'll let me."

She smiles, tilting her head to one side. "I'd like that."

He takes a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever memory he is about to dredge up. "There was an accident, when I was a child." He looks like he's fighting every word that leaves his mouth. "My — my brother took me on a cruise. We weren't going far, just from Lij to Ketterdam. But on the way, he got seasick."

Inej's heart sinks.

"He had to stand at the back of the boat so he could vomit into the water. I laughed at him for being so green. And when we were nearly there, when Fifth Harbour was just in sight... he fell in."

She reaches a hand across the table, waiting for Kaz's silent permission before squeezing his gloved fingers.

"I'm not sure what happened. I think he hit his head on the way down. But I leapt in after him, and the boat never noticed two missing boys. I nearly didn't make it to the harbour, but when I got to Ketterdam, Jordie was dead."

"Kaz..." Inej trails off, not sure what words could ease such a loss. "I'm so sorry that you both went through that."

He shakes his head, taking a shaky breath through his mouth. "I've never told anyone before."

She squeezes his hand tighter. "Thank you for trusting me," she says, and she really means it. "How does it feel?"

"Painful. Raw." He places his other hand on top of hers, brushing his thumb over her hand absentmindedly. "But... good."

"Good," Inej echoes.

He lets go to take another sip of his coffee, looking down at it again. "I might need something stronger than this to drink, though."

She grins. "Nikolai owes me an afternoon off. How about we go and get spectacularly drunk?"

He smiles, and it feels like the beginning of a new chapter. "That's the best idea I've heard all week."

*****

The first stop on their quest to get as drunk as possible is the tiny (overpriced) shop on campus, and then back to Inej's flat to drink the cider they bought.

She doesn't bother getting changed, and makes sure she doesn't bring anything important with her that isn't a necessity. Inej isn't much of a drinker, but she's had to pick Jesper up from enough parties to know that drunk people are incapable of keeping track of their belongings.

Once they've finished their drinks and Kaz has beaten her at three rounds of Uno, they walk into the center of Ketterdam with another bottle of cider each. It's only fifteen minutes away, which is a blessing because the buses in this city never show up when they're supposed to.

The weather is pleasant for this time of year, and the fruity taste of the cider reminds Inej of her mother's autumn apple pies.

They have dinner in a pub in town — a burger for Kaz, and a waffle for Inej — and then they make their way to the same shady club that they went to on the night they met.

Inej buys them both two rounds of drinks so she doesn't have to keep getting up to walk to the bar and then sits next to Kaz in the same booth where he broke a creep's hand with his cane the last time they were here. They sip their drinks in peace — gin and tonic for Inej and a vodka lemonade for Kaz — giggling about the quality of dancing and the choice of music. They only leave when a bouncer recognises them and threatens to throw them out.

When the night air hits her, Inej feels like she could fly. She throws her arms out and runs down the hill of a cobbled street in a decidedly wonky line, laughing to herself and grinning up at Kaz.

"Where to now?" she asks once he's caught up.

His eyes light up with the wicked sparkle she's missed so much. "How about we find ourselves a house party?"

There's no shortage of parties in Ketterdam, especially not in the Barrel. Inej has never had much of a reason to stray this far from the university, but Kaz assures her he knows where he's going, so she's happy to follow him to their next destination.

It ends up being one of the narrow houses perched on the canal. For a Monday night, the house is packed, and as soon as Inej walks through the front door, she knows she isn't going to make it to her 9am lecture tomorrow.

They drink unnaturally flavoured punch from a bowl, and then Kaz pours himself a whiskey and Inej grabs a can of gin and tonic and they make their way into the garden.

"I'm sorry," Inej says as soon as they sit down on the unmowed grass. They aren't the only people outside, but she doubts the two women arguing at the bottom of the garden care about their conversation.

"About what?" asks Kaz. He stretches out his bad leg, laying his cane next to him. She can just see the crow's beak peeking through the long grass, and it makes her smile.

"Leaving."

She's replayed that night over and over a million times in her head, wondering what would have happened if she had stayed. The guilt kept her up at night, and now she knows the truth, she only feels worse about pressuring Kaz to tell her about his past.

"Don't apologise for that." Kaz takes a sip of his drink. "You were right to go."

She leans back on her hands, looking up at him.

"It was the push I needed," he admits. "You were right. I needed to tell someone. And losing you is the only thing worse than facing my demons."

"Still," she says.

"If you're insisting on apologising for that, then I'd like to say sorry for telling you to leave in the middle of the night."

She smiles up at the moon. "If you insist."

It's a clear night, and the wind is blowing the cool water from the canal at the bottom of the garden up to them. She shivers and edges closer to Kaz. Without saying a word, he shrugs off his blazer and wraps it tight around her shoulders.

"I missed you," she admits, burying her nose in the collar of his jacket and laying her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you too."

The two women's argument steadily increases in volume. They're both slurring their words, and are only a few steps away from the water, so Inej really hopes they can both swim.

She turns her gaze back up to the stars. She can't tell whether the alcohol is making her confident, or if the words are just long overdue, but she says them anyway.

"Kaz?"

"Mmm?"

"I think I love you."

He doesn't speak for a minute, but she doesn't risk turning to see his reaction in case she breaks the spell.

Eventually, he says, "You think?"

"I know," she quietly corrects.

"Well, in that case," he says, turning to look down at her so their faces are only a few inches away. "I know I love you too."

She closes the distance between them, Kaz's blazer slipping off one of her shoulders as she lifts her arm to wrap it around his neck.

They're rudely interrupted by a loud splash, and they break away to find one of the women flailing about in the canal.

Both of them burst out laughing at the same time, and it takes a while for them to calm down, especially when the woman squelches past them with a glare.

"What time is it?" Inej asks, when she's able to talk again.

"Time to go home," Kaz suggests. "I'll call a cab."

"Wait," she interrupts, a ridiculous revenge plot forming in her mind. "Let's call Jesper instead."

Maybe his last call was the one that got her and Kaz together, but she's still salty about being woken up at 2am.

"I'll call Jesper," Kaz says. She can only describe the grin on his face as evil, and it makes her desperate to kiss him again. "And you can call Wylan."

Laughing, they take turn making the calls. When both Jesper and Wylan have promised that they're on their way, they lie back on the grass, still giggling as they wait for their ride.

*****

Inej wakes up the next morning with her stomach rolling and stars exploding behind her eyes. She sits up slowly, Kaz's limp hand sliding off her and onto the mattress.

She rubs her eyes, trying to remember what happened last night. They went out, but how did they get home? She doesn't remember much after leaving the club, if she's honest.

Luckily, there's an orange square taped to Kaz's forehead. She leans closer to read it, not wanting to wake him up by accidentally shaving his eyebrows off.

Congratulations for sorting out your shit, Jesper's handwriting reads.

Inej smiles. There's still a million things left for both of them to say, but this time, she won't be letting Kaz go so easily.

She kisses him on the forehead, and then slips out of bed silently. Before they can face their future, she needs two things: breakfast, and a glass of water.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #wesper #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #helnik #matthias helvar #nina zenik #zoya nazyalensky #nikolai lantsov #sabpromptweek2023 #my writing #mmb writes #the things we don't say

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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

Playlist 🎵 Buy me a cup of tea ☕

Chapter Two: The Crows

Jesper drums his fingers against his thigh.

He's not one to talk right now, but Inej doesn't look well. She moves slower than she used to, as if the weight of the world is drowning her. The break up must have hit her harder than he thought.

She is really not going to like his plan to rescue Wylan.

"Have you ever heard of Jan Van Eck?" he asks.

Inej shakes her head, zipping up her coat. "Should I know him?"

"He's a rich business owner who lives in one of those mansions in the Financial District. Unfortunately for us, he's also Wylan's dad."

She raises an eyebrow. "You want to break into a multi-millionaire's house? Jesper, his house will be crawling with security. We'll get caught."

"Have a little faith," he replies, but she's right. He drags a hand down his face. "We've got to try anyway. Wylan needs our help."

Inej's face softens at the mention of his fiance. There's a reason she always aces her religious studies and politics course; all Inej wants to do is to protect other people. She'll change the world someday, but today, he only needs her to change Wylan's.

"Where are we going?" she asks, half-jogging to keep up with Jesper.

He slows his pace. He forgets she has little legs. "My house. I've already convinced Nina and Matthias to help us out—"

"You're stealing my friends," she mutters.

"—And we bribed Wylan's tutor to pretend Wylan is with him for an hour, so Matthias is picking him up now."

He glances over at Inej, gauging her reaction. This is not the happy-go-lucky woman he spent time with last spring, and she's probably going to punch him when they turn the next corner.

He'll take it on the chin, though. Getting her to agree to the plan is the easy part. Getting her to stay is riskier.

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

"How are we getting there?" she asks. "I have a 9am lecture tomorrow, so I don't want to be walking home at midnight because you..."

She trails off as they reach the front of the library, staring at the minivan with 'free candy' spray painted on the side. Folding her arms across her chest, she stops in her tracks and glares at Jesper.

"Seriously? Jes, I want to help you, but I can't..."

The break up may have happened months ago, but the pain in her eyes is fresh. He should have called her more often. He was so consumed with his own love life that he forgot to help his friends through theirs.

He expected anger, but Inej looks defeated. Neither of them would tell him what happened; Kaz shut him down with a sharp comment and his infamous glare, and Inej gave him a wishy-washy answer that didn't explain anything. But he can't say he's surprised. Kaz hates vulnerability more than anything else in the world, and Inej would never bad mouth anyone.

"I promise I'm not trying to set you up," Jesper says. "Kaz doesn't know you're here either. But you're both my friends, and I need all the help I can get."

She frowns, unconvinced. He doesn't blame her for being reluctant. No break up with Kaz Brekker would be pleasant.

"Please," he repeats. "We're on a deadline, so you'll only have to see him a few times. I need you, Inej. We do."

She sighs, shoving her hands in her coat pockets. She looks even smaller than usual in the near-darkness of the evening light.

"Fine. But he won't be happy about this either."

"When are either of you happy about the things I do?" he says, smiling. Then, quieter, "Thank you, 'Nej."

"I would say 'any time', but if you try this again, I'll get Zoya to kill you."

Jesper crosses his heart. "I promise to never make you free my kidnapped fiance with your ex-boyfriend ever again."

There's no humour in her laugh. "Let's get this over with, then."

They approach Kaz's van, and Jesper opens the passenger door and sticks his head through. "I brought an extra person," he says, forcing nonchalance into his voice. "Is there room in the back, or is that crate still there?"

"I dropped it off. Who?"

"Don't be mad at me..."

Kaz pinches the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand. "Really?"

Jesper shrugs. "We need all the help we can get. Please don't kill me."

"Fine." He glares at him, pointing at the back of the van. "But both of you sit in the back, or I might consider driving us off a bridge out of spite."

"Thank you!" Jesper slams the door shut and hurries to the back.

"He's alright with me coming?" asks Inej.

He chuckles nervously. "Yep. Totally."

Her eyebrows shoot into her hairline. "You're a terrible liar, Jes."

"I know."

He slides the door open, gesturing for her to climb in first because he's a gentleman, goddamnit. She hesitates briefly before straightening her posture and clambering in.

Jesper shuts the door behind him and pretends not to notice the tension in the air. On any other day, he'd be pestering the two of them to tell him what happened, but right now, all he can focus on is Wylan.

His stomach is rolling, and he can't tell whether it's because he hasn't eaten since breakfast, or because he hasn't seen his fiance in over a month.

Drunk Jesper may have been the one to propose, but it was Sober Jesper who spent hours comparing every (affordable) ring in the jewellers. It was Sober Jesper who trusted Kaz to keep the ring safe until the time was right. Maybe this is a whirlwind romance and they'll be divorced in a year, but even then, Wy doesn't deserve to live with his father's cruelty any more.

Kaz glances at Inej in the rearview mirror. "Where am I going?"

"My place," Jesper says. "I'll direct you."

Inej shrinks down in her seat, and they're off. They could have walked to his house, but he doesn't want to waste any of the precious hour he gets to spend with Wylan on something as boring as walking.

They pull up outside in a matter of minutes. Jesper leaps out of the van before Kaz can put the handbrake on.

He can see Wylan through the window of the living room. Nina and Matthias are pressed together on the red loveseat, but Wylan is alone on the armchair, his back to the driveway.

Jesper bursts through the front door, hoping Kaz and Inej don't kill each other while they're alone. He throws himself through the door to the living room, and stops dead in his tracks as soon as he sees Wylan.

Even with his tangled hair and red-rimmed eyes, he's exactly how Jesper remembered him.

"Jes," he says, slowly rising to his feet.

Jesper crosses the last few feet of distance, barrelling into him and hugging him tightly.

"I missed you too," Wylan says. Jesper can feel his smile against his chest.

"Of course you did." He swallows back the tears clogging up his throat. He's Jesper Fahey, he's not about to cry in front of all his friends. "I'm fabulous."

Wylan laughs. It's a relieved, choked sound, but it's music to Jesper's ears.

"You didn't take your boots off," Matthias grumbles, but he doesn't stand up to do anything about it. There's a loud thud as Nina smacks him. "What? They're tracking mud in."

Jesper reluctantly breaks away from Wylan, but clings onto his hand just as tight as his hug. They don't have long, but if this all goes to plan, they'll be spending the rest of their lives together.

He plonks himself down on the armchair, tugging Wylan into his lap.

Inej and Kaz walk into the room together, refusing to meet each other's eyes. Nina's eyes darken; she must know too. Matthias and Wylan, however, are clueless.

"How are you two! I haven't seen you in ages!" Wylan says, beaming.

Inej and Kaz both realise they're going to have to share a couch at the same time, and they lower themselves onto opposite ends of the leather, leaving as much room between them as possible.

"I'm alright," says Inej, unconvincing. It's a bold-faced lie, but neither Matthias or Wylan seems to notice. Nina, on the other hand, looks ready to throttle Kaz. "Are you doing well, all things considered?"

Wylan shrugs. "I think Jesper is insane, but that's nothing new."

"Hey!"

"If it works, I'll feel much better, thank you."

"What is your plan, exactly?" Kaz asks.

Jesper rubs his forehead. "Well... I only really had the beginnings of one—"

"Seriously?"

Matthias shakes his head. "You're all doomed."

"What do you have so far, then?" asks Inej. Her tone is encouraging, but Jesper can tell she's nearing the end of her tether.

"I talked to the university, and they said that if Wylan wants to re-enrol, he has to do it by Monday."

"That's a deadline, not a plan," Kaz says.

Jesper huffs. "I'm getting there. Wylan tells me that Jan Van Eck happens to be hosting a party at his mansion on Friday. All we have to do is sneak Wylan out of the house, elope, and move him in with us before dear old daddy notices."

"Oh, is that it?" Nina says, faking a yawn. "Sounds like a piece of cake."

Kaz steeples his gloved fingers under his chin. "What kind of party?"

Jesper looks at Inej, raising an eyebrow as if to say, see, this is why I invited him.

"All his rich friends," Wylan says. "They make business deals and parade their wealth around for a few hours, and everyone goes home happy."

"Sounds insufferable," Nina says.

"How many guests?" asks Kaz.

Wylan shrugs. "Fifty? It's not a dinner party, because they take up the entire mansion, but it's not an open invitation either."

"Entertainment, then?"

"A band, sometimes. And usually some performers doing a scene from the Komedie Brute."

Kaz stares out of the window above Jesper and Wylan's head, his eyes unfocused.

"Scheming face," Jesper whispers.

"Definitely," Wylan replies.

Even Inej is smiling.

"We split up," Kaz says, after a while. "Half of us can escort Wylan to the courthouse, and half of us make sure Van Eck doesn't realise his precious son is missing."

"How do we do that?" Matthias asks. "None of us can pretend to be Wylan, and Van Eck will notice if five uninvited teenagers show up to his party."

"That's why we go in as the entertainment." Kaz looks around the room, assessing all of them. "Does anyone have any special skills that could pass as a performance?"

"Bowling?" Jesper offers.

"Matthias can speak to fish?" Nina says.

"I can play the flute?" Wylan suggests.

"No to all of those. How are you supposed to be the distraction for your own escape?"

Wylan flushes red and buries his face in Jesper's shoulder. "I don't know," he says, his voice muffled.

"Acrobatics," Inej says, her voice barely audible.

For a moment, Jesper thinks Kaz is going to ignore her. He acknowledges the new information with a slight tilt of his head. "Nina?"

"Other than baking and flirting?"

"Flirting isn't a skill," Matthias grumbles.

She winks at him. "It worked on you, didn't it?"

Kaz shakes his head. "Then Jesper, Nina, Matthias, you're rescuing Wylan. Inej and I can keep Van Eck distracted."

Inej stiffens, but she doesn't protest.

"I'm just glad I'm not in the middle of those two," Jesper whispers into Wylan's ear.

They're running out of time. Soon, Wylan will have to leave again. His tutor will pass a message along to him on Thursday, but if everything goes wrong, this could be the last time Jesper sees him.

How had he come to rely on another person so quickly? His entire life, Jesper has caused his own problems, and so far, he's solved them all without much help.

But, since the moment his drunken fist accidentally connected with Wylan's face, he's been dragged into his fiance's orbit, and he never wants to leave.

Kaz pushes himself to his feet with his cane. "I'll have to call in a few favours. Wylan, I'll need you to draw a map of the house. I'll get in touch with the rest of you when I need you."

He makes it all the way into the hallway before stopping.

"Inej, do you need a lift back to campus?" he asks, his back turned to her.

All eyes are on her as she considers it. Eventually, she says, "If you don't mind."

Jesper waggles his eyebrows at Nina. He wasn't lying when he said that this isn't a matchmaking scheme, but he's still going to take all the credit if it ends up fixing their relationship anyway.

Nina mimes stabbing him and Inej smiles, but shakes her head. Rising gracefully to her feet, she waves goodbye to them and follows Kaz to his van.

No one speaks until they've driven off.

"Christ, that was awkward," Nina exhales.

"Was it?" asks Wylan, frowning.

"They broke up," Jesper explains. "Fuck knows why. Neither of them will say."

"I'm going to hoover," Matthias declares. "Unlike you, I want my deposit back."

Nina follows him into the kitchen, muttering something about waffles.

"We've still got fifteen minutes," Wylan says, looking up at Jesper.

The streetlight outside glows yellow through the window, bracketing his ginger curls in an artificial halo.

"There's a lot of things we can do in fifteen minutes," Jesper says, grinning. They may not have much time, but you'd better believe he's going to make the most of it.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #kanej #wesper #helnik #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #my writing #lina lore #mmb writes #the things we don't say #sabpromptweek2023

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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

Playlist 🎵 Buy me a cup of tea ☕

Chapter Five: Villains

The party is in full swing, and until Jesper rescues him, all Wylan can do is wait.

Music drifts up through the drafty floorboards. For once in his life, Wylan would love to be downstairs, enjoying the talented musicians his dad hired and the strange combination of a close-up magician and acrobat to go with them.

How Kaz snuck himself and Inej in is beyond him, but judging by the enthusiastic oohs and aahs floating yo the stairs, the guests are loving it.

Wylan quietly zips up his suitcase, praying that the guard doesn't hear. He has no idea which of his father's many servants has been paid to loiter outside his door to ensure he doesn't bother the esteemed guests, but he isn't taking any chances.

The note Kaz passed onto his tutor yesterday made it very clear that if Van Eck is alerted to their heist, their plan will fail before it can begin.

Wylan surveys his room, searching for any important belongings he might have left behind. His suitcase has enough clothes to last him a few days, but he's sacrificing everything but the basics so that he has room for all his sentimental items; art supplies, photos of his mother, and — of course — his flute.

The only thing in there that Kaz would approve of is a stack of kruge he's been squirrelling away for years, in case this moment ever arrived.

He carries the suitcase over to the window, wincing as it thuds against the carpet. The music outside is jollier than the usual classical stuff his father insists on, and the jaunty fiddle fills him with a giddy sense of unease.

The whole party is to celebrate the new Van Eck heir, which he only found out about this afternoon. All of his father's dreams are finally coming true, held safely in tiny, young, pretty Alys. The child will be everything his father ever wanted him to be. He doesn't envy them.

It's a good thing he'll be long gone by the time they're born.

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

Only two more months.

It became Wylan's mantra over the summer holidays. Only two more months. As soon as they were up, he could finally marry the man he loves and escape the Hell his father puts him through.

He thought no one would notice the ring. From the moment his father realised that his grand heir would never be of any use to him, he hadn't paid Wylan a lick of attention. If the ring was on his finger, and no one cared about the person the hand belonged to, how would anyone ever know about his fiance?

Wylan should have guessed that money would be the thing that finally drew his father's attention back to him.

"What's that?" he'd asked one day when they'd passed on the stairs. He grabbed Wylan's arm, nearly dislocating it as he yanked it up to his face. "A ring?"

Wylan didn't answer, paralysed with fear.

"Where did you get this?" He turned Wylan's hand around, inspecting it further. "Who would marry a fool like you?"

Wylan bit his tongue until he tasted blood. He is well-versed in his father's tempers, and he won't let Jesper be dragged into this.

Jan ripped the ring from his finger. Wylan cried out, reaching out to snatch it back, but missing.

His father held it up to the light, frowning. "It's terrible quality. Tell me, which poor girl did you try to impress with this cheap ring?"

Jesper could have proposed to him with a paper ring, or a hair bobble, or a particularly shiny rock and he still would have gladly accepted. But Jan Van Eck built his empire on chasing money, not love, and after his mother passed away...

Well, the love disappeared entirely.

"I bought it for myself," Wylan stated, channelling his best impression of Kaz.

"And wore it on the same finger as a wedding ring? Either you're even stupider than I thought, or you're lying. It better not be to me, boy."

Wylan tried not to audibly gulp.

"Who are you trying to impress? Those university friends of yours? Did you think they'd have more respect for you if you were engaged?"

Tears pricked at his eyes, but Wylan refused to let them fall. He concentrated on memories of Jesper; the awe on his face when he saw the T-Rex in Ketterdam Museum, his hands on his hips when they went bowling.

"I can tell you one thing, son. If any of your friends discovered you can't even read a simple sentence, they'd lose all respect for you anyway. No amount of sacrilege will save you from that."

He dropped Wylan's arm, and he nearly tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs.

"I won't have you embarrass me any further. You aren't leaving this house until I figure out what to do with you. And you certainly won't be going back to the university."

He dropped the ring. Wylan's heart dropped with it, and he just watched as it bounces down the stairs, belting out a tuneless melody as it ricochets off the polished wood.

*****

Wylan turns the ring over in his hands before sliding it back onto his finger. The only time it has left his person was that day on the stairs, but he'll have to take it off later so he can actually marry Jesper.

He sits on the edge of his bed, wondering what his wedding will be like. Not the grand event that his father would have planned for him, that's for sure.

He looks down at his outfit and considers whether he has time to change again before Jesper gets here. He didn't want to wear a suit, but now his jumper doesn't feel fancy enough—

His question is answered by his bedroom window shattering, followed by a loud thud. Wylan throws his hands up to protect himself from the shards of glass, but he's luckily a safe distance away from the window. He lowers them gently, his heart thudding in his chest, to find that someone has thrown a brick through his window.

"What was that?" the guard asks. It's Adem Bajan, Alys' music teacher. His father's usual security must be helping with the party.

He cautiously approaches the window, glass crunching underneath his feet. Jesper and Matthias are standing on the first floor roof, and Nina reaches the bottom of the ladder and sprints off just as Wylan pokes his head through the new hole.

"O Wylan, Wylan, wherefore art thou Wylan?" Jesper calls up.

Wylan shakes his head. Even when he's not in class, Jesper's theatre genes make themselves known. "What are you doing?"

"He threw a rock through your window because he is an idiot," Matthias says, glaring at Jesper.

"Being subtle is not a Jesper talent!" he hisses back. "Are you going to stand there all night, or can we elope now?"

"Mr. Van Eck, I'm going to have to come in if you don't answer me," Bajan insists.

"One second," Wylan calls towards his door and his friends at the same time. He quickly opens his window, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, before lowering his suitcase down to Jesper and Matthias. He picks up his satchel, rummaging through it for a new project that he's been working on while he snatches a glass from his bedside table.

He opens the door a fraction, angling it so Bajan can't see the broken glass on the floor behind him. The Suli man is only a few years older than him and kinder than most of his father's staff, but unfortunately also the perfect height for his plan.

"I'm so sorry," Wylan says, thinking inappropriate thoughts about Jesper so that his cheeks flush. To Bajan, it'll look like embarrassment. "I dropped a glass. Could you fill this cup up for me?"

"I'm not supposed to leave my post..."

"And I'm not supposed to leave my room." Bajan hesitates, so Wylan holds the glass out closer to him, smiling. "You can say hello to Alys while you're downstairs."

Bajan takes the glass. "It's only right to pass on my congratulations. I'll be right back."

He makes it four steps down the hallway before collapsing into Nina's arms.

"What the Hell is going on?" she exclaims, panting for breath. She lowers Bajan to the ground and Wylan picks up his glass by the rim before it can break.

"He heard the window smash," he explains. "Help me carry him into my room."

Between them, they lug Bajan over to Wylan's bed. Nina thoroughly tucks him in, making sure that no identifying features are poking out from beneath the pile of blankets other than the hem of Wylan's pajama pants. Meanwhile, he carefully retrieves the glass and wipes the transparent substance from the bottom, placing it back on his bedside table.

"What did you do to him?" asks a red-faced Nina, her hands on her hips.

Wylan huffs, trying to catch his breath. He's never considered how much effort it is to pick up a dead weight before now. "I've been working on a sleeping tonic that absorbs through your skin." He holds up the vial so Nina can see before shoving it back into his satchel. "He'll wake up in a few hours feeling fully rested and probably rather confused."

"You'll have to let me borrow some of that so I can sleep through Matthias' snoring."

Wylan crosses back over to the window, looking down to see a very impatient Jesper and Matthias still waiting for them.

"Wylan, sunshine of my heart, hurry the fuck up before we get caught," Jesper says.

He rolls his eyes, tossing his satchel down. "Oh, shut up. I'm going to get shredded by broken glass on my wedding night because of you."

He helps Nina out of the window and into Matthias' waiting arms first. It's a tight squeeze and she lets out a very unladylike shriek when her boyfriend nearly drops her, but they start their descent down the ladder safely.

Wylan glances back at his room. He'd love to burn the whole mansion to the ground behind him with his father and all his guests still inside, but he'll have to settle for his getting his revenge another day.

He scrambles out of the window, swinging his legs around so he can land gracefully. Unfortunately, his jumper catches on a piece of broken glass as he leaps. He hangs in midair for a few seconds before the fabric rips and he plummets towards the edge of the rooftop.

Jesper shoots a hand and grabs his flailing wrist before he can topple off the roof to the cobblestone of the courtyard below. He pulls Wylan close to his chest with a grin, wrapping his other arm around his waist as he kisses him, fast and passionate.

Wylan has never thought of the roof of his father's mansion as a particularly romantic spot, but he's going to remember this kiss for the rest of his life.

"Get a room," Nina crows.

"We need to leave," Matthias adds.

Jesper pulls away, his wild grin matching Wylan's. "Let's go get married."

They climb down the ladder, and Matthias quickly picks it up to put it back in the shed where it belongs. Usually, the courtyard would be populated by drunks needing air or a few couples looking to get away from prying eyes, but tonight it's deserted. Kaz and Inej's performance must be working perfectly.

The four of them hurry towards Matthias' car. He's parked around the corner, next to Kaz's free candy minivan. They load Wylan's luggage into the trunk and clamber into their seats; Matthias and Nina in the front, and Jesper and Wylan clutching tightly to each other in the back.

"No making out in my car," Matthias says, and then they're off.

Nina cranks up the radio as Matthias drives them towards the courthouse. They race into the night, whooping out of the open windows and singing along to the music.

Wylan can't picture a better way to start his future.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #wesper #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #nina zenik #matthias helvar #helnik #lina lore #the things we don't say #my writing #mmb writes #sabpromptweek2023

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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

Playlist 🎵 Buy me a cup of tea ☕

Chapter Four: Kaz and Inej (Favourite Ship)

It takes them two hours to perfect their routine.

A clever combination of Kaz's close-up magic and her acrobatics tells the tale of Sankta Margaretha, Ketterdam's patron saint of thieves and lost children. It's a well-known story, and one the wealthy guests at Van Eck's party will love.

Once they've run through their performance a few times, they migrate into the kitchen. It's late — much later than when she usually cooks for herself — and Nina and Matthias can probably hear her stomach rumbling from the other side of the city.

Kaz opens the fridge, stares at it blankly, and then closes it again. "I don't have any food in."

She knew she should have eaten before coming. "It's fine."

"Pizza?"

"Sounds good," she smiles.

He places the order without having to ask what she wants. He knows all of the important things about her; her favourite kind of chocolate (salted caramel), her favourite flower (geraniums, like her mother), and her favourite pizza topping. It's deceptively easy to fall back into their old routines, even though the people they used to be are long gone now.

"It'll be twenty minutes," he says.

Not enough time to run through their routine again, but too long to stand here making awkward conversation. "Do you want to watch a film?"

Kaz tenses, his hand flexing on the head of his cane. "Do you have a particular one in mind?"

She racks a brain for a film that won't make the situation even more uncomfortable. Not a romance. Nothing serious. They need a comedy or something, but not a rom-com — nothing that will remind them of their failed relationship.

"Have you ever watched Now You See Me?" Inej asks.

Kaz shakes his head.

"You'll love it! It's about a group of magicians doing a heist."

He raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. But he follows her into the living room and hands her the remote without arguing with her choice.

By the time the pizza delivery guy rings the doorbell, Kaz has already pointed out five different magic-related inconsistencies. He passes the spicy meat pizza to Inej without taking his eyes off the screen, and shucks off his gloves to eat his strange anchovy-covered concoction.

If he notices the way Inej's gaze lingers on his bare skin, he doesn't say anything.

She tries to refocus her attention on the TV. Her eyes drift over to Kaz whenever she stops paying attention, delighting in the incredulous expression on his pizza-stained face. Every time he yells at the screen she grins like a fool, only to shut it down a few seconds later.

Papa always says that the heart is like an arrow. On the trapeze, it was easy for her to decide on her trajectory, pinning her focus on the next handhold as she soared through the air.

Now, she just wishes her heart would latch on to someone other than Kaz Brekker.

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

Inej walked to the nearest hotel, still wearing Kaz's oversized shirt and a pair of black sweatpants she found at the top of her bag. Checking in so late felt like a waste of money, but she didn't care. She needed somewhere to be alone for a while.

The first thing she did upon entering her room was to change out of her clothes. The shirt smelt like him — like burnt coffee and foxgloves — and even when she tossed it onto the patterned carpet floor of the Geldrenner hotel, she couldn't rip her eyes from it.

She fell asleep on top of the mattress with the taste of her salty tears on her lips, wearing a band t-shirt Jesper gave her years ago.

When she woke, she forced her head up from the damp pillow and she strode on shaky legs to the bathroom. She stopped in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection for a while. What could she say to console the broken girl gazing back at her?

There was one thing she knew for certain: Kaz was too stubborn to come running back to her on his own. They were over, and her perfect summer had come to its abrupt end.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered to her reflection. The girl in the mirror didn't believe her, so she repeated the sentiment. "We're going to be alright. We're going to shower and get dressed, we're going home to mama and papa, and you will not wallow in this pain."

The girl in the mirror held her head a little higher.

"You can't force him to open up to you, but you don't have to watch his past swallow him. It's his loss."

Inej nodded once, a jerky movement, and then did exactly as she said she would. She cleaned the salty residue from her cheeks, braided her hair, and dressed herself in her comfiest clothes. By the time she returned her key to the front desk, her posture was as confident as it always is, even if she didn't feel as brave as usual.

On the bus over to her parents' house, the reality of the situation hit her all over again, and she has yet to recover.

*****

As soon as the film ends, Kaz launches into the rant that he's been saving up for the hour and fifty-five minutes they've been sitting there.

"It makes no sense," he grumbles, carrying their empty pizza boxes into the kitchen. "Did they learn any magic before making this?"

"I thought you said all magic is a con," Inej points out. "So's acting."

He rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean."

She smiles, fetching herself a glass from the cupboard above the sink and filling it with cold water from the tap. "I take it you don't want to watch the sequel, then."

"They made a second one? Who on earth asked for that?"

Inej laughs. It's always hard to tell whether Kaz is playing up his reactions — yet another of his cons — or if he just lowers his guard around her. She takes a sip of water, leaning over the counter. Outside, she hears the first drops of early October rain tapping at the window.

Kaz turns his head to watch the heavens open, and Inej knows they're both thinking about the same thing.

"It's late," Kaz says. "Do you want to stay over?"

Inej puts her glass down before she can drop it. "Is that the best idea?"

His neck stays firmly angled towards the window. He's shutting her out again. Why did she expect anything different? They aren't a couple any more. She has no right to his secrets. If he wants to dig his own grave, she won't be there to watch it after Friday.

Still, she can't help but push her luck. "Where would you have me sleep, Kaz? In the bed you threw me out of?"

He faces her then, his dark eyes searching her face. It's the first time either of them has mentioned that night, and Inej nearly regrets the question.

"I didn't throw you out. You left."

"Because you told me to," she corrects. Anger rises up her throat, threatening to spill out all over Kaz's spotless kitchen tiles. "Past three in the morning."

He looks down at his cane, turning the crow's head away from her. At least he looks ashamed, she thinks, but it doesn't bring her any comfort.

"I told you on the first of those double dates Jesper dragged us to — I'm not the man you think I am."

"You're exactly the man I think you are." She sighs. "That's the problem, Kaz. You were perfect for me. But you can't believe that another person can love you back, so you push us all away because of some imagined future wrongdoing."

He swallows, shaking his head slightly.

"I realised that a long time ago, thanks to your regular warnings. And so has Jesper, and Wylan, and all our other friends. But I wanted to stay. I wanted to be the exception to your rule, because I loved you. But you asked me to leave, and I respected that even though it destroyed me in the process."

She dips her head, focusing her gaze on the cup in front of her as she blinks away traitorous tears. She shouldn't have come here. She didn't intend to pour her heart out in his kitchen, unprompted. But at least this finally might give them closure.

"You don't know what you're asking me to confess." Kaz pauses, choosing his words carefully. "All of what you've said is true. You've just laid out all the reasons why you deserve a better man than me."

Inej shakes her head. "You are that better man, Kaz. You just refuse to see it." She finishes her glass of water in three desperate gulps, placing the cup in the sink carefully before turning back to him. "If you're still offering, I'll sleep on the couch."

He nods. They set up the makeshift bed together, moving the furniture back to where it belongs and spreading out Kaz's spare blankets and pillows. The end result is comfier than her own bed.

He hovers in the doorway as she sits down to unbraid her hair.

"Goodnight, Inej."

"Sleep well, Kaz."

He closes the door softly behind him, and a few minutes later, she hears his cane tapping against the hard wood as he climbs upstairs to his bed.

Inej lies down on the sofa, tugging a blanket up to her chin, and she dreams of Margaretha and her demon. As she drifts off, the demon morphs into Kaz's face, and she wonders whether that is how he sees himself; twisted, crooked, wrong, but still the boy she loves.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #lina lore #mmb writes #my writing #the things we don't say #sabpromptweek2023

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milo-my-beloved · 1 year

Text

things we don't say

A continuation of the some other life 'verse.

Playlist 🎵 Buy me a cup of tea ☕

Chapter Three: Magic

Kaz has avoided calling Inej for two months, but his fingers itch to pick up the phone all of Tuesday.

The heist is ridiculous. If Wylan had a spine, he would have left the mansion as soon as his father started insulting him. But he's helping anyway, because they're his friends, and they need him.

Not everyone is as ruthless as him.

The worst part of the plan isn't marrying Wylan and Jesper off at midnight or potentially pissing off one of the richest men in Kerch; it's Inej.

His finger hovers over the call button.

They never would have worked out. He'd known that from the start. But a small, foolish part of him believed they would. Instead of waiting for the illusion to come crashing down around him, he'd been drowning in dreams of Inej in the future — a year from now, five years, ten years.

But she's Inej Ghafa — perfect, kind Inej — and he's Dirtyhands. She's the one who puts her faith in fate, but they were never destined to be together.

They'll do this one job to help two mutual friends, and then they'll never see each other again.

He presses call and holds the phone up to his ear, hoping she hasn't blocked him. It rings, and rings, and rings. Just as he thinks she won't pick up, there's a click, and her voice floods his ears.

"Kaz?"

"Inej." He swallows, his mouth suddenly dry.

"What do you want?"

He shakes his head, scrabbling to regain his composure. "We need to go over the plan before Friday. I've organised our entry into the party, but we need to go over what we'll be entertaining people with."

Inej's gods know that he never explains himself this much to other people. If Rotty was the one on the other side of the phone right now, he would be demanding his presence without bothering with a reason. But, even now, he trusts Inej more than anyone else.

Stupid. She walked away from him, and he won't be the one begging her to come back.

Inej sighs. "Where and when do you want to meet?"

"My house. 5pm."

Inviting her to the scene of the crime is a mistake. He doesn't realise what he's done until the words leave his mouth.

There isn't anywhere else big enough to practice acrobatics, he tells himself. He knows it's a lie.

"See you later," Inej says, and she hangs up before he can offer her another awkward lift.

Great. He has six hours to pull himself together before he has to practise close up magic with his ex-girlfriend, pretending she never slept in his bed upstairs.

Continue reading under the cut // Continue reading on AO3.

To begin with, the summer was perfect.

Kaz never believed in perfection, but that's what Inej named it one day while they were lazing on the grass in his garden.

Kaz's waistcoat was balled up under his head to protect it from the hard ground, and Inej's head lay on his chest, a steady weight. He drew patterns on her arm with his bare hands, focusing on her smile rather than the sensation of drowning on dry land.

The sun shone down on them. In the dappled light, Inej glowed like the saints she put so much faith in.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Kaz," she murmured.

"You're always welcome here, my love."

When the sun sunk below the trees and the temperature dropped, they moved inside. Kaz served them both a bowl of chilli that had been simmering away all afternoon, and they curled up on the sofa to watch Moulin Rouge.

Inej sang along to every word. Kaz spent most of the movie watching her instead of the screen, memorising her smile.

For the first time in his life, he felt lucky. It was the first time in years that he felt like there was something that could compete with his grief for Jordie.

Love.

It never lasts.

A storm whipped up outside as they got ready for bed. They aren't uncommon for the summer months in Kerch, when the heat melts into a suffocating humidity. This one had built up for days, and it did not surprise Kaz to hear the threatening rumble in the distance.

"Is it bin day?" Inej asked, peering out of the window.

To an untrained ear, they are similar noises. To Kaz, they could never be confused. Thunder was living, angry; a wild beast that hunts you from above.

Inej didn't notice the way he froze in the middle of the kitchen, a tea towel in one hand and a wet plate in the other.

They went to bed, and she didn't notice the way he lay awake for hours. Time slipped away as he listened to the rain patter against the windows and watched the flashes of white light shine through the gaps in the curtains.

Telling her was impossible. They'd talked about his asexuality, and his leg, and his haphephobia. She'd seen his fear of the sea on the day Jesper and Wylan dragged them to the beach, and again in the aquarium.

Jordie can be nothing more than a vengeful ghost story. What's the point in dredging up his past so that she can look at him with pity for the rest of their lives?

Until that day, Inej's warm presence was enough to keep Kaz's nightmares at bay. But thanks to the storm, or the hours he spent swallowing back the waves that afternoon, his demons came to haunt him.

He woke gasping for breath, sweating, his arms flailing for dry ground. And when he calmed enough to recognise his surroundings, he found himself face-to-face with the pity he feared.

Inej's hair was tangled around her shoulders, her face pinched. One of her arms was outstretched, a kind palm hovering a few inches from his shoulder.

"Don't," he said, his voice tight.

She withdrew her hand, burying it under the duvet. "Kaz?"

He knew it was over as soon as she spoke his name. She deserved someone better than him. She deserved a boyfriend who wasn't afraid of her touch. A husband who could sleep through the night without waking them both with his terror.

He thought he could pull himself into a semblance of a man for her, but he failed.

"Kaz. Look at me."

He didn't.

"Kaz."

He lifted his head, but kept his dead-eyed stare on the window. The rain had stopped, at least.

"Kaz, don't ignore me."

"What is there to say?"

She threw her hands in the air, the mattress rocking with the violence of the action. "I'm worried about you. Please, let me in."

Didn't she understand? She's too perfect to be dragged into the murky depths of Kaz Brekker's mind.

"Let me share this burden with you," she begged.

"Believe me, you don't want to."

She folded her arms. "I'm serious. I can't keep turning a blind eye to your pain. I've seen the way you toss and turn at night. I've seen that distant look in your eyes. You can't go on like this alone."

"I've managed so far."

"Please." She reached out her hand again, her palm up for him to take. "Shed some of your armour."

"I can't," he said. He'd carried it too long for it to fall off so easily.

Inej retracted her hand. "I can't watch you destroy yourself, Kaz."

He'd finally faced her then. Her eyes glistened in the dark, twin stars flickering with compassion. What did she see? A monster snarling back at her? Or a broken boy for her to fix?

"Then leave," he said.

Inej didn't recoil. She didn't cry. She waited a moment, giving him an opportunity to snatch the words back, and then she nodded.

Her exit was silent. She slipped out of the bed without a word, picking up the suitcase she'd leant against the wardrobe a week earlier, and she didn't pause until she opened the door.

She turned back to him, one hand still on the handle. He'd leant her his shirt on her first night when she realised she forgot to pack her pajamas. It only reached her mid-thighs; she'd need to change before she left the house.

"Goodbye, Kaz."

The door shut softly behind her, and that was it.

He hadn't asked her how she got home at past three in the morning. He never asked for his shirt back. He just accepted that they weren't to be, and tried to erase her from his mind ever since.

*****

When he opens the door to her at 5pm, his hands are gloved and her hair is tightly braided. The first thing he notices is that she looks tired, and Kaz suddenly realises that he never should have allowed Jesper to drag him into this scheme.

He gestures for her to come in all the same, closing the door behind them.

"Where are we doing this?" she asks. Straight to business. Good.

"Living room."

He'd spent the afternoon pushing the furniture out of the way to make room for them to work. If he'd extended his cleaning frenzy to the rest of the house so she didn't see how the separation has affected him, she doesn't need to know.

Inej strides into the living room without saying another word. She doesn't need to ask where it is.

He crosses the room to the pile of items he left on the table earlier and props his cane against the wall so both of his hands are free.

"If I'm dancing, what are you supposed to do?" she asks, shrugging off her coat.

He holds up a pack of cards. "Magic." He slides one out of the deck, sliding it in between his fingers in a complicated series of moves that creates the illusion of the card dancing in and out of existence.

A smile tugs at her lips. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"A lot of practise." He shrugs, placing the cards neatly back in the pile of his tools. "And the internet."

She drapes her coat over the far end of the couch. "I've never seen anybody mix magic and backflips before."

"Which is why only someone as wealthy and well-known as Van Eck could hire us." He steps closer to her, pretending to pull a coin from behind her ear. "And why we'll make an excellent distraction."

Her smile grows. The trick is designed for children, but Inej always sees the wonder in the world where he has only seen a con.

"Well, if you've shown me your talent, it's only fair you see mine."

She moves so her back is flush with the wall and surveys the space, calculating how much room she has. Satisfied, she raises her hands above her head and springs head over heels, landing steadily on her feet with a flourish.

Kaz nearly claps out of instinct. The flip is spectacular, but avoiding the light fixture by only a few centimetres is even more impressive.

She turns to him, grinning properly now. A strand of hair has come untucked from her braid, and Kaz has to stop himself from reaching up to brush it back into place.

"What do you think?" she asks.

"Brilliant," he says before he can stop himself.

She ducks her head. "Enough to distract Van Eck and his guests for a few hours?"

If Inej thinks his simple trick is magic, his complicated ones might blow her mind. But to him, nothing is as magical as her flawless movements or as captivating as her beauty.

He doesn't say any of that out loud.

Bringing her over was a terrible idea, he thinks.

"Together, with what I have planned? We could set fire to his mansion and he'd never notice."

Inej tilts her head. "How can you be so sure?"

"A good magician is a good con artist." He picks up a coin, holding it up for her to see. "The trick," he continues with a smirk waving a hand in front of the coin and quickly opening his empty palms, "is to make it look real."

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #kanej #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #my writing #lina lore #mmb writes #the things we don't say #sabpromptweek2023

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