The Slat story

The aftermath

All of that night had been a blur. A blur spotted in darks and lights, hazy greys and saturated in a sickly red. Her side was still terribly sore, and her arm stung. Kaz was leaning heavily on his cane, though his dark clothes made it impossible to see how bad it was. Inej's hands gently, fearfully rested on his shoulders. From this close, she could see how tense he was and that he was breathing hard.

The darkness felt sacred, soft, quiet. It was full of grief, fear, and anxiety evaporating into relief, tiredness, and need. A desperate pull to be close once again, ensure that this wouldn't be the last meeting.

Kaz didn't even care that he was supposed to be the Bastard of the Barrel, it wasn't like they were all idiots anyway. They knew, and he was too tired to hide. When Inej walked to him, their eyes repeating the same steps, looking the other over for any wounds and unfortunately finding plenty of cuts and scratches, he didn't halt his relieved sigh. He didn't stop his feet as they wandered closer to Inej, or his hand as they reached up for her own.

Inej did not falter, instead, she dropped her hands from his shoulders and let a soft smile break across her face, intertwining her hand with his as she stepped into his space. She rested her head lightly on his shoulder, Kaz pulled her close with his other arm, pressing his face against her hair, her presence warm and gentle and everything he needed. His leg screamed but his mind was at peace for once, whispering soft assurances to Inej, his mouth only a few steps behind.

Inej pulled away to press a kiss to his lips, soft, careful. Good, alive. When he pulled back, pressing his forehead against hers, the world was just theirs. As it was, the others were enveloped in their own greetings, sobs of relief and laughter mingled together like the darkness and the stars. "Home?" Kaz whispered, Inej's eyes glittered. "Where would that be, Kaz?"

He lifted her hand up and let his lips caress her pulse. "Right here, with you," he whispered against her skin, his lips pulling into a smirk as he felt the beat of her heart pick up and watched her face fill with a blush that complimented her skin so nicely. "And anywhere you go." Inej tried to roll her eyes, but her hand lightly glided down his cheek, draping down his chest briefly before drifting back to her side.

"Jesper, Wylan, we'll meet you for Waffles later?" The two turned from where they were excitedly whispering, still entirely wrapped in each other's arms. They didn't joke or tease, just nodded and wished the two a good night before whisking away down the street, heading toward the mansion.

Kaz limped down the cobblestones, following Inej who stayed on the ground beside him, her hand holding the one not occupied with the blood-slicked cane. The wraith was closest, so that's where they went. Inej's skeleton crew nodded to her and Kaz, not questioning how they leaned against one another. Kaz didn't appreciate the stares but he knew Inej trusted them, and it'd be no better at the Slat.

They had both taken their fair share of beatings tonight. When the door was closed and locked behind them, Inej gingerly made her way to her desk where she started to remove her knives one by one. Once the task was done, she pulled the first-aid kit from one of the desk's drawers.
"Sit down, Kaz." He hummed, limping toward the bed since besides the desk chair that was really the only furniture.
Inej followed, standing before him, she had dragged her desk chair over and sat so she was a few inches away.

She set the kit beside him, laying open on the bed and grabbed a rag. "What happened to you?" Inej asked, as she dampened a rag with alcohol. Kaz shrugged and grimaced as his body pulled tight. "We underestimated their count, there was more than there should have been. I saw gulls amongst the ranks."
"I took out a few Harley Pointer sharpshooters." Inej agreed, reaching out and gently touching the rag to the cut on his face.
Kaz flinched, but let Inej press the rag into the cut despite the sting. She dabbed at the cut before moving to a bruise on his cheek, her fingers lightly tracing the shallow cuts against the purple flesh.
"Brass knuckles." Kaz supplied an answer to her unspoken question, Inej winced in sympathy.
"You need to be more careful, I can't be watching over you always." Inej reminded him, but smiled.