Kaz Brekker imagines

Innocent

A/N: this takes place yearss after the events of six of crows and crooked kingdom so everyone is aged up. 

"Kaz wait up!" Tiny feet pattered through the fields of tall, dying grass of the season. "You're too fast!"

Laughter spilled from the young boy's lips as he kept running to the small lake. The young girl tried her best to catch up, while the pair was followed by the older Rietveld boy.

"Yeah, Kaz, you're too fast!" Jordie called out as he kept his pace to match Y/N's.

"You're just too slow!" Kaz laughed as he reached the lake.

Y/N threw herself down next to him, gasping for air. "That wasn't fair." The boy said nothing but smiled brightly at her. She smiled back, watching the older boy with eyes that held him in such a high regard. The two year age gap felt like a mountain to her but she adored him with her whole heart. He was her bestest friend, the only one who sat with her in the school yard during lunch and the only one who stood up for her against bullies. The oldest of the Reitveld brothers had quickly picked up on the strong bond between the two and left them to have their fun.

They never would've guessed what life would have thrown at them, but one thing was for sure. That whatever it was, it wouldn't get in the way of their friendship. As cheesy as it sounded, it stood the test of time.

~

"Y/N/N," Kaz nodded to the girl who sat in the window seat of his room. She had curled in on herself with a book in hand with the window pushed open. "You'll catch a cold, close the window."

She rolled her eyes at him but smiled as her eyes continued to follow his movements. He reached into his dresser to pull out a new set of clothes, eyeing the extra shirt he left out for her on her chair opposite his by the desk. Everything would've passed off as a normal evening for the two if only she didn't notice that Kaz's limp was heavier than normal and his shoulders were so tense he was almost hunching.

Y/N grabbed a spare sheet of paper and slipped it inbetween her book pages. "How was your day, Kaz?" A grunt was all she received in response causing her to roll her eyes. "Come on, Kaz. What's got you in a knot?"

She could hear the rustling of his clothes from the bathroom and waited patiently for him to finish. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and into the spare shirt that was set out for her, letting it fall just above her knees as she walked to grab a pair of thick socks.

Kaz walked out of the bathroom in his black night clothes set, avoiding eye contact with Y/N as he made his way over to his desk. He sifted through a few files and started to put them away in the desk drawer. Her y/e/c eyes scanned over him thoughtfully, trying to piece together what happened.

"What's wrong, Kazzle?" she spoke quietly, adding her childhood nickname for him.

His shoulders tensed again. "Don't call me that," his voice was strained, it almost sounded pained.

Y/N moved to sit in her chair across from him. "You're going to have to tell me what's wrong eventually... You know that."

She watched as he clenched and unclenched his jaw, his thoughts racing and flickering through his eyes.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if we still lived on the farm?"

The question caught her off guard for a moment before she understood what was wrong. "I do sometimes, but i don't pay it much thought."

Kaz hummed. "We would probably have a family and live on my parent's farm. I would've put a ring on your finger a long time ago and I would've gotten your father's blessing. We probably would have had a traditional wedding. Unless you didn't want that, then we'd do whatever you wanted."

"Kaz," Y/N reached her hand out across the desk.

He placed his finger tips against hers. "I'm sorry I can't give you that life. That I've forced you to live this out with me. You didn't deserve any of that."

"Hold on now. You didn't force me into anything. I chose to live this life with you. I wasn't going to lose you no matter what. You didn't force me into this life, Kaz."

He sighed as he finally made eye contact with her. "I've changed, that much is obvious, and with you staying beside me... You've had to change in order to adapt to me."

"And I would do it all over again if it meant we are seated right here today. Sure everything was easier in our firefly catching days, running through the fields but look at us now. I happen to like us the way we are right now. Sure, we're far from perfect and I know you think you've done terrible things. But remember, I did them too. Please don't think that I need or want anything different from what you've given me or who you are. That insults me."

Kaz squeezed her fingertips in her hand, and tried to hide the flush of his cheeks. His eyes spoke his gratitude more than his lips ever could. She smiled her bright never changing smile as they both came to terms with the situation. Sure life would be great if they were able to stay back home and had never stepped foot in Ketterdam. On the other hand, if they never came to Ketterdam they wouldn't have their friends or all the life experience they've gained along the way. The couple may be in their early thirties but they felt like they were still growing up. And as long as they were by each other's side they'd be innocent in the other's eyes.