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manikas-whims · 3 years

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Troublesome New Girl

Sequel to A Place Good Enough

[Read on AO3]

Characters: Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Kaz Brekker

Summary: Inej has newly joined the Dregs. She goes to return Kaz's coat in the presence of many members. *cue the teasing & jokes*

Jesper meets Inej & evidences of Jesper's crush on Kaz (tiny bit of angst).

Kaz is his usual self & sets an example. A violent one :)

Note:

I just noticed this complete written fic has been sitting in my drafts for a month now. I'm so dumb 〒_〒

PLEASE DO READ THE PREVIOUS PART IN THIS SERIES TO UNDERTAND THIS SEQUEL.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Inej

The constant noise of banging against wood rouses Inej from her sleep. She looks around haphazardly only to find herself lying on a cot in an unknown room, her torso covered by a grey coat. Sun's rays blind her eyes momentarily as she turns her face, an open window staring back at her, not the daunting walls of the Menagerie. Memories of the previous night flood back and her shoulders deflate in relief. She takes a long breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. She doesn't need to endure Heleen's beatings or sell her body anymore. She is free of that life. Free.

“Oi new girl!” a voice calls, followed by more knocking at the wooden door to her small room. “Brekker told me to bring you some clothes. I’m leaving a pair out here.”

Right! Kaz Brekker had promised her better clothes. She leaves the comfort of the cot but by the time she unlocks the door to thank whoever was on the other end, the person is gone. She catches a short glimpse of a feminine figure with blond hair at the stairs and vows to thank her later. Picking up the clothes, she closes the door.

Jesper

When Jesper had heard his fellow Dregs gossiping about Dirtyhands bringing back a girl with him late at night, he hadn’t given it much thought. He had ignored Anika when she had said that she was literally asked by Kaz himself to provide the said girl with some clothes. In fact, he had completely shooed away anyone who came up to fill his ears with rumors about this unknown Suli girl and the bastard of the barrel. So when a small, bronze-skinned girl bumps into him on the third floor of the Slat, he's stunned.

"Ohhh—", The girl waves her hands frantically, her pupils dilating in concern, "I'm sorry."

But Jesper doesn't bother with apologies for he's too busy appraising her. Now she does match the rumored descriptions and is even donning Anika's lame clothes. But what actually piques his interest is a neatly-folded coat in the deepest shade of grey held between her dainty hands. He doesn’t need to think long to guess who it belongs to. There’s only one person who doesn’t indulge in the colorful fashion sense of the barrel— Kaz “Dirtyhands” Brekker.

He feels his insides fuming. But no way is he going to act like an idiot and jump to conclusions. Just because here's a girl he’s never seen before and she happens to have a coat, doesn’t mean that every single narrative he's heard about this whole situation is true.

He narrows his eyes in what he assumes is his best look of suspicion as he towers over the girl. “Where did you get that?”

"Um", she looks down at the piece of clothing and mumbles in the most innocent tone, "Mr. Brekker lent it to me."

Mr. Brekker!? The hell kinda way is this to address a man you slept with? Or whatever the heck it is that Dirtyhands prefers to do with girls..

"Why?" he asks. From Jesper's experiences, the young lieutenant of the Dregs isn't big on kindness. "Why did he lend it you?"

The girl's brows narrow in thought. It seems she herself is unsure of the reason. Her left palm clutches her right forearm in apprehension. "I guess..because I wasn't in a very decent attire."

Alarms go off in Jesper's head again. What exactly happened between her and Kaz? His heart needs answers yet he knows that its none of his business so he suppresses the unease welling in his belly.

"Well Kaz is up there." He gestures in the direction of the attic. "I'm headed there right now so I can give it to him."

The girl frowns. "I can't let a stranger do that for me. Besides," she twirls a strand of her hair, her eyes alight with some indescribable emotion, "I must properly thank him myself."

Jesper is familiar with this look. It mirrors his own when he was still a newbie at the Dregs and wanted to prove himself, wanted to repay Kaz for saving his ass. And not just by helping him pluck stupid pigeons but also by adding extra sums of profits to his ledger. Jesper can empathize with her on this.

"He saved you too," The Zemeni asks carefully, "didn't he?"

She stares at him, gauging the understanding in his expression and simply nods.

He rubs the side of his neck awkwardly. "Well, wanna go up together?"

Her eyes widen and she involuntarily takes a few steps back. Distrust. Fear. He can empathize with this action as well. In the barrel, it'd be foolish to believe a complete stranger within few moments of the first encounter.

"Then," he smiles the smile that many have called charming and starts his ascend upstairs. He only looks back once to wink at her, hoping it'll quell her anxious mind a bit, "follow my lead?"

"I can do that." she mumbles, more to assure herself and takes the first step of many that will become the foundation to their sibling-like friendship.

Kaz

When it comes to change, development and fresh ideas, Per Haskell always cowers and dismisses the topic. People like that will never achieve anything if they aren't willing to take risks. The restoration of that abandoned fifth harbour would already be in motion if Kaz hadn't chosen to waste another of his precious mornings trying to convince his boss that investing in it may prove fruitful to the Dregs. And so, after a pointless argument he had had earlier with the old man, he's decided to take matters into his own hands.

Huffing audibly, he continues explaining every member present in his room their respective job for the day. The boisterous throng huddled around him, begins dispersing all of a sudden. Curiously, Kaz looks up to find his faitful right-hand man Jesper Fahey walking in, a mischievous glint in his silver irises.

"We bumped into each other on our way up here." Jesper gestures behind him.

And it is then that Kaz notices her presence— Inej Ghafa, the strange Suli girl he had brought back from the West Stave. Oddly, he had felt her presence moments ago but had brushed it off as a mere byproduct of his rest-deprived mind playing tricks on him. Turns out his intuition hadn’t been wrong at all.

"Its that Suli girl."

"The one that Brekker took up to his bed?"

"Who would've thought Haskell's rabid dog had such exquisite tastes."

The one that Brekker took where? Haskell's rabid what? Kaz isn't sure which remark he finds more insulting towards his reputation. Although he does realise he has no one except himself to blame. He should'nt have let the girl follow him up to the attic last night. As usual, he'll have to cover this small err with fresh tales about himself that are even more gruesome than the previous ones. But for now he must find out why the new girl is here.

Anika’s clothes are baggy on her small frame— a deep green shirt so loosely-fitted that she has tied its ends into a double knot just above her belly-button whilst the fawn-colored trousers hang tastefully around her hips. He watches her long, silky hair sway behind her as she walks gracefully in his direction, determination glimmering in her dark brown irises. Shock briefly flits across his gaze but before he can even think of stopping her, she shoots out her hands in which he (dreadfully) recognizes, she’s holding his coat. He can feel all eyes in the room already settling on him. They collectively stare in a mix of shock, curiosity and..is this jealousy he's witnessing on a few faces?

"What do you think you're doing?" He grits out. He hears a muffled snickering which he's sure is Jesper's and wonders if the two somehow managed to become friends in the short span of their climb up the stairs. And that they both planned this prank together on their way.

However, Inej only furrows her brows, debunking his ridiculous theory. She seems to be wondering what she's done wrong as she answers confidently, "I forgot to return it last night."

More interested staring ensues. The new pen in his palm snaps.

Is this girl serious right now? It took him long, unrelenting years to rise to the position he's at. He's spilled his blood, sweat and tears to scatter the seeds of terror about him throughout the expanse of Ketterdam. Even people who come across him for the first time, visibly shiver and turn pale. So what part of their last conversation has given her this courage to approach him so casually? She seems to have forgotten the fact that he’s an infamous barrel thug, feared by merchers, stadwatch and gangsters alike. She isn’t supposed to saunter up to him and return his coat, making this whole exchange appear to be a scandalous affair to the curious bystanders. She isn't supposed to crumble Dirtyhands' hard-built reputation with just a few words!

"Stand aside, I'm busy." He mutters, because he truly has no idea how to get out of this predicament and hopes that his caustic tone will get the message across just like it does with everyone else.

To his utter dismay, Inej seems to be far more tactless than Jesper, who still hasn't stopped snickering. She tucks the coat back in her arms and bites her lip as if suppressing herself from saying something mean. Her eyes quietly regard his own, an unspoken understanding settling between them. She is aware that if she doesn't wish to be thrown back into the Menagerie, she must behave properly with him. And yet, her nostrils flare as she responds, "I just wanted to pay my gratitude-"

"You can pay your gratitude," Kaz hisses back, glaring up at her from his perched position, "with your services." And its only after uttering those words does he realise the ambiguous implications hinted in them. Jesper's shoulders are shaking uncontrollably now, his palms tightly clamped around his mouth to muffle his laugh.

"Slow down, Dirtyhands." comments someone from the back and the whole room bursts into a howl of laughter. Inej brings a palm to her lips, gasping in mortification.

Kaz massages his eyes. Dealing with these ruffians has already been a headache. Now this new girl just walks in and takes the cake. She's proving to be far more dangerous– scratch that– far more more troublesome than he had expected.

He lets them have their fun as he pulls out a knife from his coatsleeve and gets up. He ambles towards Dirix, his steps slow and deliberate. He's sure it was Rotty who'd made the joke but Dirix is standing closer and it doesn't really matter who said what. Dirtyhands just needs to set an example.

The young boy is suddenly looking very pale. Kaz grabs his right hand, the dominant one and digs the blade along the joints of his fingers. The knife easily tears through his skin and goes deeper into the muscle beneath. Dirix is now screaming whilst everyone else hold their breath. From his peripheral vision, he catches the horror on Inej's face and rolls his eyes. Surely she must've heard of his violent endeavors at the menagerie. She shouldn't have approached him in the first place if she's going to be so shocked everytime he spills someone's blood.

He roots out the knife before it can completely sever Dirix's limbs. "Get 'em patched up." The boy is already running out.

He walks back and tosses the knife to the desk, its loud clang making everyone flinch in fright. "Pipe down before I actually start chopping tongues."

The threat silences everyone.

"This is Inej Ghafa." He points at her and the girl cowers slightly. Not at all the abrupt attention on her, he notices, but from him. "She's to be a new spider."

This one simple statement seems to piece together everything for them. Though he has an inkling that his previous act of brutality also plays a major part. They nod and whisper amongst themselves. He almost scoffs. Of course its easier for them to believe that Kaz Brekker took up a girl to his room for information. Not some spicy dalliance.

"Now get to work." He orders and one by one they shuffle out of the room, Rotty nodding respectfully. He knows he was spared merely by luck.

Jesper is the last one. He winks at Inej before taking his leave. "See you around, new girl!"

And with all of them gone, Kaz turns to Inej. She inhales a breath in anticipation.

"Let's start your training."

So hopefully that was as fun reading as it was for me writing :3

Coming parts will have Inej's training and ofc her picking her canon outfit.

SoC Masterlist

( divider by @firefly-graphics )

#six of crows #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #kanej #kaz x jesper #inej x jesper #kanej fanfic #pre soc #grishaverse #kanej fanfiction

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zephirine-blog1 · 7 years

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Six for Gold

A response to @savagekaz and their generosity in giving me a writing prompt for my first fic. (Thank you once again!) General warnings include: alcohol and innuendo.

This thing is just over 2.5k, so there’s a cut for obvious reasons.

The crowd in the lounge rippled with interest as Jesper made his way to the spread of reserved setees and couches. Jesper made it a point never to walk into a room. No, he strolled, he ambled, he strode like it was the word of the day and he was a really kinesthetic learner. Shoulders back and chin up, not a care in the world except for ensuring that all eyes were on him.

And then he sank onto the couch next to Wylan, folding all his angles into the gaps between cushions and Wylan’s limbs, a silent declaration that he was off-limits to the watching crowd. It was a declaration that wasn’t always heeded.

Wylan loved Jesper for how bold he was, but sometimes he wished that his boyfriend would be a little less attractive in front of groups of people, mostly because Wylan… wasn’t. He liked button down cotton shirts and cardigans, and never wore jewelry because it got in the way in the lab. So people let their eyes glance over him, drab and friendly and easy to dismiss. It’d been that way most of his life, but in social gatherings it became especially grating.

In the high-rolling world that Jesper liked to frequent, assumptions were made; assumptions that ended up with Wylan dumping expensive cocktails in persistent strangers’ laps after a few too many insinuations that Jesper couldn’t really truly be dating someone like Wylan.

Jesper, the rat bastard, thought that Wylan was never more attractive than when he was making a scene, so Wylan had long resolved himself to overcoming fits of jealousy in public. At the end of the day, it was his boyfriend they were all ogling.

Wylan stretched, making himself comfortable around Jesper. He’d finished his drink while waiting on Jesper, and was holding off on ordering another until their group of friends actually managed to arrive. Jesper was looking over the fancy menu on the table.

“Aren’t we waiting for our friends before ordering?”

Jesper popped a stuffed olive from his martini into his mouth. “Nina and Matthias are probably hooking up in a VIP lounge that she didn’t pay for, so they’re going to be late.”

Wylan considered this. It sounded entirely likely, except…

“Isn’t Matthias being considered for an position on a Vice squad?”

“Has his job ever stopped him and Nina? Or even him from being friends with us?”

It really hadn’t, because Matthias was capable of impressive levels of double-think when it came to their little band of misfits.

“Inej left me a message earlier - I listened to it while you were getting our drinks - she and Kaz are on their way,” Jesper continued.

“I’m impressed that-”

“He’s coming at all? Me too.”

This was the first time that all six of them had met in over a year. They had seen most of their friends over the months, but busy schedules took their toll on most attempts to reconnect. Kaz was without a doubt the worst of the lot, despite the freedom that self-employment should have provided.

“Maybe he just missed us, and couldn’t bear to stay away.”

Jesper scoffed, taking a long sip from his drink. Wylan took the moment to watch him, the long slide of his throat and the golden gleam that the dim lamplight gave his dark skin. He’d tried to sketch Jesper a hundred times, but could never capture that purity of motion. Everything Jesper did seemed to end in a flourish. It was that dynamic energy that had first caught Wylan’s eye, years ago. As always, his hands itched to try again, on his tablet, on a napkin, however Wylan could manage it.

As if sensing admiration, Jesper met his gaze, and made sure to ruin the moment with an impressive waggle of his eyebrows.

“Feel free to take me now, before anyone else shows up. On this table even,” he drawled.

Wylan scowled and blushed, all sense of artistry lost. If asked, he would blame his lack of composure on his earlier drink. It wouldn’t be true, but Wylan had standards to maintain and admitting how flustered Jesper could still make him had no part in that. “I don’t believe in giving people a free show to my dick.”

“Oh?” The word lingered heavily,

Jesper smiled, all teeth, and slid closer. Flirtation and promise tied up into a glimmering cranberry silk-shirt package. Wylan eyed him carefully.

Jesper always thought that he was so damn smooth, but Wylan saw through him. He was not smooth, he was like a cactus covered with sandpaper he was so not smooth.

It didn’t stop him from being attractive.

“What’s this about dicks? Wylan, I thought you were above conversations of the likes of these?”

Nina sank into the seat beside them, with an air of expectant aplomb. Her eyes were sparkling and her hair looked artfully mussed, but aside from that there was no hint to confirm or deny Jesper’s earlier theory.

Matthias appeared after her, looming over them all. Standing at a generous six-three, the police officer loomed well. It was a talent of his specifically. He had a smear of red lipstick vanishing beneath his collar that matched the red of Nina’s smirk.

Jesper, all too happy to contribute, answered her gleefully. “Wylan was complaining about my wicked ways.”

Nina laughed, clapping her hands, uncaring of the heads that turned at nearby tables.

“Now you know how I feel! That’s Matthias’ favorite hobby,” she leaned forwards, allowing her chest to press dangerously against the neckline of her dress. By design it was low and tight, and it appeared to be losing the war of decency. Nina pitched her voice low and breathy. “We’re both terribly awful people, Jesper.”

“No hope for us,” Jesper agreed cheerily, swirling his martini. He had effected a look of noble suffering, contemplating his numerous sins.

As a general rule, Wylan and Matthias didn’t share very much in common. The cop was sombre by nature and didn’t always appreciate Wylan’s stunning humor and wit, and Wylan knew that he underestimated the other man. But in that moment, with Jesper and Nina grinning at each other like the cats who had gotten the proverbial cream, Wylan and Matthias shared a moment of complete exasperated camaraderie.

Nina sat up, and dabbed at her immaculate lipstick. If he had never met Nina, Wylan probably would have trusted the innocent look on her angelic features.

“I think,” she paused to make sure everyone was focused on her on her pouting expression, “that we need to be punished.” And then, with deliberate emphasis, she shook her ass.

Jesper would have fallen off the couch laughing, if not for Wylan’s arm across his waist.

Matthias turned about three different shades of red in two seconds, looking as if he was torn between trying to cover Nina with his jacket and hauling her back to that hypothetical VIP room.

Wylan just covered his face.

At some point he was sure that he would come to terms with the fact that this was his life, and these were his friends, but that moment was not going to come when the woman that bought him his first drink was making comments about BDSM to his boyfriend.

“You’re a witch,” Matthias scolded his girlfriend, face still bright red.

“Mmm, yes. But you adore me!” Nina dragged him down for a kiss. It had been her way of shutting him down since they started dating, but Wylan couldn’t fault Nina because it was plainly still effective.

Matthias recovered himself, and went to go place an order for another round of drinks (“And appetizers!” Nina was quick to add). Jesper glanced at Wylan, but he brushed his boyfriend’s concern off and ordered the paté and a glass of pinot. Wylan had listened to the menu before arriving- perk of going to ridiculously fancy places was that they updated their website consistently.

“Do we actually know when Inej and Kaz are going to get here?” Nina asked. “It’s not like either of them to be late.”

The crowd went hush, conversations dulling to a murmur the way they always did when Kaz walked into a room. Partly the force of his personality, partly because he looked like the type of person it was better to steer clear of, and partly because people stopped to stare whenever a person with a cane walked by.

Jesper cocked an eyebrow. “Speak of the devil and all that, I guess, but that was suspiciously well-timed”, he murmured into Wylan’s ear, careful not to let it carry. Even after so many years of friendship, he remained a little cautious around Kaz. The remnants of hero-worship or wise precaution, Wylan was never completely sure.

Probably a bit of both.

Whatever the reason, Nina didn’t share it. She leaped out of her chair to embrace Inej, compliments for her friend and happy chatter spilling from her lips easily.

She didn’t reach to touch Kaz at all, but she did smile widely at him before kissing Inej on both cheeks, proclaiming “One for you and one for him; Kaz needs all the kisses he can get.”

Inej beamed back at her, hand perched lightly on Nina’s broad hip, thumb stroking small circles.

“You look so good. I’m glad to see it.”

From the look in Inej’s eye, she’d been worried about her friend. Though none of them visited as much as they wanted or promised to, Wylan and Jesper at least saw Nina and Matthias every few weeks. The other two saw their friends sporadically at best, though Inej at least had the excuse of traveling for work. It had probably been months since the two women had seen each other in person.

Nina waved her concern off. “Thank you! Matthias does his best to take care of me, no matter how stubborn I am.”

“Very stubborn.” That was Matthias, returning with a plate of baked brie and peaches in one hand and the paté in the other. “They’re bringing the drinks,” he offered to Jesper, who was making mournful eyes at his empty glass.

Kaz nodded to the group as a whole before settling into the sole armchair, resting his cane against his lap. As always, his suit folded crisply around him, wrinkle-free and screaming of the kind of money that meant he didn’t have to try. If Wylan struggled to depict Jesper in motion, then Kaz was someone he could have drawn in his sleep. All sharp lines and careful stillness.

Kaz stretched his bad leg out in front of him, but made no indication of pain otherwise. “It’s good to see you all in one piece.”

“And in one place,” Inej added, perched on the arm of his chair. Kaz grunted what was probably meant to be an agreement, and Wylan felt a bloom of warmth in his chest.

These were his friends, as aggravating as they could all be.

Some just took more patience than others, he thought, looking at Kaz. It was easy to think that he didn’t care about any of them but Inej, but Wylan knew that they’d all felt the benefits of his high regard more than once. It was why they always invited him out, even while expecting the texts to go unanswered.

Jesper leaned away from Wylan’s side to gesture at the bar. “I ordered you a Sazerac, Kaz. They make a good one here, and I thought you’d appreciate a taste of home.”

Kaz’s lips spasmed into a quick smile. “Thank you.”

Wylan would have been jealous of the way that his boyfriend turned toward Kaz’s approval, like a flower toward the sun if he didn’t know how careful Jesper was of his affection for his oldest friend, and how much it also meant to him. But beyond that, Wylan knew the feeling of craving Kaz’s attention.

Some people were just magnetic like that, and Wylan sometimes thought that if the world was a fairer place, then Kaz would have been making history.

Nina settled back into the curve of Matthias’ arm, occasionally nudging Inej’s foot with her own. “Inej, I can never predict your taste, so I went basic and got you a cosmo. They don’t come with umbrellas here, so obviously it’s not a perfect drink but it should taste good.”

“And if it doesn’t, Nina will take it off your hands, I’m sure,” Wylan added with a grin.

Inej smiled at them all. “An act of stunning sacrifice, I’m sure.”

“More like an act of thievery,” Jesper muttered. “I love cosmos.”

Matthias stared at Inej somberly. “So do I.”

Inej blinked at them. “I don’t know what makes any of you think that I’m giving up my drink after an international flight, but you’ve clearly all lost your minds.”

Jesper sat up. “Oh, that’s right you did just get in! I forgot you were flying in today. Have you even stored your stuff yet?”

From the dark circles under her eyes, the answer was a strong ‘no’.

“He,” Inej said, nodding at Kaz, “sent someone to pick me up from Dulles, and someone to get my luggage, so I’m assuming that everything is going to be in my apartment when I get home.”

“With your door locked,” was Kaz’s contribution.

And then Kaz shifted his weight, briefly coming into contact with Inej’s hip. It barely qualified as a movement, and was done before anyone else saw what happened. But Wylan was an artist and a chemist. Watching things carefully was what he did. And even if he had missed it altogether, the proof of it was clear enough in the warmth that washed over Inej’s face.

He almost thought he’d gotten away with it, but her dark eyes flickered to his and she quirked an eyebrow. Wylan smiled, not at all ashamed at being caught. She was his friend too, and it felt good knowing that she had someone in her life that made her smile like that.

He had Jesper, and was glad for that every day.

The waitress brought the drinks over, and Nina wasted no time in sampling Matthias’, only to declare it more like paint thinner than a beverage. The five of them quickly swapped around glasses, criticizing each other’s taste in turn, before settling with their original selections. Kaz sat back with his drink, and looked as though he would take fast action against anyone who objected.

Predictably, Jesper was the first one to break the ice.

“So, are all of you as bad at cards as I remember? Anyone up for a friendly game?”

Inej frowned. “Should you even be playing cards?”

“I said a friendly game,” Jesper smiled at her, “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Wylan was less enthusiastic. “Even if you’re fine - and I believe you that you are - that never stops you from cheating.”

Jesper’s indignant ‘Hey!’ and Nina’s drawl of “It won’t stay friendly if Matthias plays.” sounded at the same time, and instigated a wave of bickering that made the likelihood of any organized game seem incredibly low.

The familiar patterns of the argument were as familiar and well-worn as the best pair of shoes Wylan owned. He let it wash over him, and sank back into the couch, feeling Jesper’s side shake against him as his boyfriend laughed.

It had taken them a year and a day to come back together, but Wylan knew how lucky they were to all fall into place as if they had never left.

A/N: and that’s it you guys! I have a really weird amount of backstory for these versions of the characters, but given the nature of the story and who they are as general people, I figured including it would, uh. Significantly reduce the ‘fluff/happiness’ factor. (Which isn’t my usual forte anyways, which I’m sure comes through.)

This was my first time doing anything for SoC fandom in particular, so please let me know any critiques or comments. It’s also my way of introducing myself, I suppose!

#six of crows #crooked kingdom #six of crows fic #kaz brekker #wylan van eck #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #nina zenik #matthias helvar #that's all of them thank god #my writing

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