GRISHAVERSE X READERS

MOVING FORWARD | KAZ BREKKER

Fem!reader!!

Word count: 1.2k

It had happened so fast. A guard had tackled Wylan on your way out, and you had returned to fight him off your friend. And then Wylan had broken free and the guard had grabbed you by the throat, pushing you against the wall.

"You know what we do to rats like you here?" he'd asked in a low growl. He pushed his face closer with each word: "Rats won't live to see another day."

You had clawed at his hands but couldn't get away from those cold eyes or that hot breath on your neck. You knew how this ended if you didn't act quickly, so when he squeezed tighter around your windpipe — you slammed both of your arms into his shoulders and kicked him hard enough in the groin that he crumpled to the floor without even a whimper.

You scrambled away from him, still gasping for air, the world dizzy and spinning, your vision blurry, as though someone were pressing their fingers over your eye sockets. The man behind you growled again before lunging forward, wrapping an arm tight around your chest.

"You little—" His voice was choked off and you felt him falling off you. You turned around to see Kaz standing there and you smiled in relief.

"I thought I got caught," you said shakily. "When he pulled me back, I could hardly breathe..."

Kaz looked down at you, his brow furrowed in something that almost looked like concern. "Let's get somewhere safe," he murmured.

But as soon as he said that, a blast went off right in front of you. You felt a burning sensation in your eyes and you screamed in pain while stumbling backward, blindly trying to escape.

You heard Kaz's voice saying something you couldn't make sense of, and you collapsed to the ground. As consciousness faded further and further away, you wondered if you would ever wake up again.

***

You woke up with a start, jolting up in bed and a headache pounding through your head like drums. You heard shuffling in the darkness, and soon a hand landed on yours.

"Y/N, you're okay," Nina's voice reassured as your breathing quickened, realising you didn't see anything. "Inej, get Kaz."

You heard a door opening and closing, and steps going up the stairs.

"Nina?" you blinked a few times, desperately hoping you not seeing is only temporary and Nina interwined your fingers.

"I'm here. Y/N, breathe." she murmured and you looked around.

"I... I can't see. Why can't I see?" you whimpered, and felt Nina rubbing your hand with her thumb.

"Shh, it's okay. It's going to be alright." she sounded annoyingly calm but you sensed sadness behind her words. "We'll figure this out."

The sound of a door opening interrupted you, and Nina let go of your hand. You heard steps going to the door and heard her whispering something to whoever was at the door. Kaz grunted, and a door closed again. A silence engulfed the room again, and for a moment you thought you had been left alone. But then, a sound of a cane clicking against the floor filled the room and you heard some shuffling again as he sat on the armchair where Nina had just sat a moment earlier. But unlike Nina, he didn't take a hold of your hand and try to reassure you. He probably knew you already knew what's up with your eyes. You remembered the blast, and the burning sensation in your eyes.

"Is everyone else okay? Where are they?" you asked nervously. "Did Wylan make it out?"

"He's fine." Kaz grunted. "You're the only one who got hurt. Nina has been keeping you sleeping for a week in order to heal those wounds and fractures who she could heal."

You nodded, a tear slipping out of your eye. You almost saw Kaz right now, how he swallowed as he looked at your broken form. You had had a some kind of a relationship for a year now, an unspoken agreement between you, and you just sensed he had been worried about you.

"Kaz," you whispered.

"Yes?"

"Could you read to me? I just started a new book, I would like to finish it..."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but when he spoke his voice was surprisingly gentle: "Of course, Y/N."

You heard him picking up the book from the nightstand, and the soft crackling of the pages turning over. He was quiet for a moment, and then started reading.

"Neia didn't know if she had done the right thing. The path she took through the woods felt wrong; too easy. Her father had taught her better than that. There were dangers she needed to be cautious of. She hadn't learned that lesson yet. So instead of taking the direct route to the camp, which led by the river, she had gone around the forest. But at this time of night, it wasn't surprising to find nothing except the wind whistling past her ears. Neia stopped and stood still, looking into the distance, trying to sense the danger that lurked in the dark trees."

The words flowed smoothly, and you closed your eyes and listened.

"She couldn't see far because of the darkness, so she made her way to a nearby tree and climbed up. As soon as she reached the top, she found the answer. It was there. A red glow surrounded the forest, and a warm breeze brushed against her skin."

The sound of a page being turned sent shivers down your spine, and you could imagine the scene Kaz described.

"A light of flames reflected off the bark of trees, and on their branches, hundreds of men lay in wait. They must have been waiting for an enemy, someone or something to attack them. An army... No, not an army. Some kind of hunting party."

You rested your hands on your belly, concentrating in Kaz's words and had even a slight smile on your face. Dirtyhands reading a book to someone wasn't exactly a common sight at all, but it sure did feel comforting and it helped you escape reality for a while. Your blindness would have a lot to get used to and you taking part in heists wouldn't be possible anymore, or at least not in a form it used to be. But you knew your friends would stand by your side, and the fact that Kaz agreed to read to you showed how much he cared about you, and took your relationship into the next level. And Nina was right, things were going to be alright. You had people who loved you and they were never letting go. You just had to take the next step towards acceptance.

You had to start moving forward again. And you could do it. It would be a rocky road, but you could do it.

---

A possible part 2 coming but not promising anything.