#kanej week 2022

[mageofspace924]

@kanejweek day 3 — relationships | first date

because kaz giving inej her first knife is equivalent to a first date (right? right.)

#kanej #kanej week #kanej week 2022 #theres this entire inner dialogue in his head during this moment #if i give her a knife she'll love me for sure right #kanej supremacy #kaz x inej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows art #six of crows #grishaverse #amita suman #freddy carter

[desidarling123]

He doesn’t hear her enter, but he can sense the fury beneath her words before she even speaks —

“Kaz — when were you going to tell me you had plans to infiltrate Nachspiel Ball, of all places?”

He could be direct and tell her right away, but half the fun is in the build-up. So instead, he lets out an imitation of a long-suffering sigh. 

“Darling,” he says simply, “you’ve been on land for all of two hours. I promise, I was going to tell you eventually.”

There is some truth to that, for once — he could never hold any secrets over her head for too long, even if he tried. And she may have spent the last few months away at sea, but even now, Inej scarcely ever misses a beat. 

“We’d be recognized on sight if we stepped foot there,” she continues, frustration seeping into her words, “and if you’ve somehow forgotten, the last Tailor you’d vetted thoroughly enough for a job like this is currently dead.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Kaz shoots back, “but you’re missing one rather important piece of information. Something that only a few are privy to, at present.”

A flash of irritation passes over her face, though there’s no true malice for him behind it. It’s more a look of annoyance that he has a leg over her own information-gathering (so to speak). And Inej is nothing if not competitive, after all.

 It’s cute, actually, though he has no doubt she’d kill him herself if he ever said that. He’s missed that look -- the slight furrow of her brows, the small frown on her face. If this job pans out the way he thinks it will, well, he'll be seeing a lot more of it very soon, anyways.

Inej leans in closer now, hands resting on the surface of his desk.

“And what information is that, pray tell?”

Kaz lets the moment hang in the air, just a moment longer. Just because he can. She can have at him for it later.

“This year,” he says carefully, “it’s being hosted as a masquerade ball.”

For @kanejweek Day 1: Masquerade Ball. Not an actual fic (nor do I have any plans for one) but just a fun little snippet. Enjoy! 😊 💕

#kanej #kanej week #kanej week 2022 #my edit #myedit #my edits #mine #kanejedit

[kanejweek]

Kanej Week 2022 Official Prompts!

Kanej Week 2022 will be occurring from Sunday, June 19th to Saturday, June 25th 2022. Here are our winning prompts!

Sunday, June 19th: Royalty

Kings & Queens

Masquerade

Monday, June 20th: Storytelling

Once Upon a Time

The 5+1 Trope

Tuesday, June 21st: Relationships

Marriage 

First Dates

Wednesday, June 22nd: Supernatural

Angels & Demons

Ghosts

Thursday, June 23th: Affection

Rooftops & Stars

Love Language

Friday, June 24th: Perspective

Jealousy

Outsider POV

Saturday, June 25th: Growth

Memories

Sharing & Secrets

See you in June!

Each day has a theme with two prompts each that you can choose from. You can just follow the theme or be as creative with the prompts as you’d like! All kinds of content creation are allowed for submission. Please tag @kanejweek and tag #kanej week whenever you post so that we can reblog your submissions!

Our FAQ will be linked soon. Our askbox is open if you have questions or would like clarification on anything.

We’re so excited to celebrate with you!

#kanej #kanej week #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows #shadow and bone #kanej week 2022 #kanejweek #kaz x inej #crooked kingdom #helnik #wesper #the crows #ship week #grishaverse

[aquariusshadow]

@kanejweek Day 1 Prompt: Royalty (Masquerade)

#ayeeeeeeeee #a day late but im here!! #kanejweek #kanej week #kanej week 2022 #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #masquerade #my art #digital art #i love how my first ship week for art is these two #i just started reading SoC and well #theyve taken my heart #kanej #aquarius' adventures in digital art

[manikas-whims]

Sneaking & Stealing

[Read on AO3]

For @kanejweek 2022

Day 2: Storytelling [The 5+1 Trope]

Pre SoC

5 times Kaz humors Inej sneaking up on him.

+1 time Inej plays along to Kaz's thieving.

1

Inej waits patiently behind the wall separating the tiny kitchen at the Slat from the rest of the ground floor. It's six bells at dawn and most of the Dregs are either asleep or too drunk to make sense of anything. She has blended herself well within the darkness of the room and indulges in watching her co-members snore and murmur in their sorry states.

A soft rhythmic tapping makes her scoot further into the darkest corner.

Kaz is finally downstairs.

After six months of being in the gang, she has caught onto some of his oddest habits. His sugar intake in beverages being far more than hers, him feeding his stomach at unsaintly hours, her finding him fiddling with a set of cards when he's unable to scheme, or him going out for early morning walks.

Inej watches him step out and shut the door. She slips out of the shadows, opts to exit the place through a window, and follows him quietly.

"Come to join me for a walk?"

Her feather-light feet halt in their pursuit and her eyes widen. How? Was she too loud jumping out that window? Or had he already spotted her back in the kitchen? He'll never tell her.

She slides away from her obscured position behind the column of a rundown cottage and reveals herself.

Her eyes immediately take note of the slight lift of one end of his lips. That smirk– a clear indication of his awareness of the game they're playing– irks her the most. He knows she's been trying to sneak up on him ever since that night at the Menagerie where he had told her not to. He knows, yet he won't address it outright.

Inej takes a breath to suppress her annoyance and walks down the cobblestones to fall in step with him. One of these days she'll definitely catch him off-guard.

2

They're on a job to steal an antique vase from the personal collection of Dreesen, a member of the merchant council. She's expected to be the undetectable spider that she's known as in Ketterdam. And yet, she can't help herself from trying even in a situation like this.

Kaz had suggested earlier that they walk in directly through the front doors disguised as the mercher's personal guard. She declined and chose to stick to her conventional methods that involve scaling walls and gliding in via the windows.

The minute her feet land on the floor of the drawing-room, she spots the back of a lone man dressed in the fine indigo and gold colors of Dreesen's livery. Kaz.

A grin begins stretching on her lips as she slowly ascends toward him. Her hand reaches out but before she can tap his back, a long stick-like object gently swats her fingers. She stiffens and trails her gaze along its length to find a crow's head atop it. And upon tilting her head further up, her eyes meet Kaz's imperceptible coffee ones. He's dressed in a similar uniform as the guard. The index finger of his other gloved hand rests on his lips, gesturing to her to stay silent. She barely manages to keep herself from jumping and compromising the whole plan.

"Hardly the time or place for our game, Wraith." He whispers in his rock salt rasp, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

Together they close in on the oblivious guard ahead of them. Inej grabs the man by his torso while Kaz knocks him out with one smack of his cane. They leave the body lying near the stairway and continue with their job.

3

Inej jogs and hops off from one rooftop to the other, her gaze peering down to the streets occasionally to confirm she hasn't lost Kaz. He's forgone his usual route to the Crow Club which simply indicates it isn't his destination for the night. But that doesn't bother her at all. She's far more concerned about his surprisingly fast pace and how it directly affects his right leg.

The alleyways keep getting so narrow and unfamiliar that even Inej isn't sure if they're in the Barrel anymore or strayed away to some part of Ketterdam that the Wraith has yet to explore.

Kaz finally stops before a seemingly abandoned tavern and knocks thrice at its swollen, wooden door infested with fungi.

Inej soundlessly slides over the gabled roof of a warehouse next to the said tavern and lands behind a pile of sacks filled with only Saints know what. She's thankful for her custom-made, rubber-soled slippers for they keep her from making so much as a squeak. She had only intended to tail Kaz due to the childish game she has ongoing with him. But as the thief of secrets, there's no harm in stealing some about the infamous Dirtyhands as well.

It's when the door is answered by an unfamiliar young man with a familiar tattoo– five birds in a wedge formation– a Razorgull– that Inej realizes she isn't supposed to be here. That she mustn't be spying on this clandestine meeting between the lieutenant of the gang she works for and a new recruit from their rivaling gang.

It's then that Inej takes note of the normal cane Kaz is holding, has been holding throughout his walk here. And that he only ever switches his precious, silver, crow-headed one when on a secret rendezvous or a job involving a disguise.

Inej can't even begin to comprehend what the formidable Dirtyhands might need from a low-rank thug of the Razorgulls. But she has definitely witnessed the horrors a Dregs suffers if ever caught eavesdropping. Kaz makes sure of it.

But Kaz wouldn't hurt me. Kaz never promised her safety or comfort but he has always been kind.

Yet the self-assurance does nothing to ease the rapid beating of her heart.

Uncertainty creeps up in her gut and her feet slowly tiptoe back. One excruciatingly silent step after another.

Until she's reached the dark alley between the tavern and the warehouse. There, she cautiously feels along the walls in hopes of finding cracks or divots, anything that can assist her in climbing back up and running off.

Yet just as she finds a small sewer pipeline, she also comes to the grim realization that the street is eerily quiet. That the conversation between Kaz and the Razorgull has already ended.

“You can come out now, Wraith.”

The instant chill of dread roots her in place. She gulps, trying to stay as unmoving as she used to when standing still atop a tightrope, hoping to somehow trick him into believing he had merely mistaken her presence.

“I know you're there,” Kaz speaks again, followed by his approaching footsteps and the dull rap of a cane.

She clenches her fists, exhales deeply, and walks out of the shadows to face him.

We meet fear. Her father had told her long ago. But Kaz isn't a stranger she fears. Kaz is a 16-year-old boy she dared to speak to in the gilded halls of the Menagerie.

He notices her vigilant stance and lets out a breath. “No need to be so on edge.”

“The boy was a spider. Obviously not as efficient as you, my Wraith but useful nonetheless.” He explains. “I have several planted within each gang of the barrel.”

Inej can't help her curiosity and asks, “Why would they betray their own?”

“How naive.” Kaz scoffs. “They do it for the same reasons as anyone else in this saintsforsaken city. Money, protection–”

“Freedom.” She finishes, her somber gaze meeting his.

Kaz nods and resumes walking.

“And Inej, ” He stops a few steps ahead and looks back at her. “No one knows about this. Not even Haskell. And I'd prefer to keep it this way.”

She blinks in shock. Not even Haskell?

“Can you keep a secret?” He waits expectantly.

“I can.” She replies without a beat, surprising not just him but herself as well. She may have not realized it but if it comes down to picking sides, her allegiance lies with Kaz. Always has . Since the night he helped her out of the hell that was the Menagerie and of Tante Heleen's preying clutches.

4

Inej isn't impressed by the pigeons splurging their earnings at the Crow Club. She would've requested her saints to watch over them but they aren't deserving of such blessings.

She slithers through the crowd, untouched and unnoticed, quiet as a wraith .

As expected, her eyes spot Anika bartending and Rojakke dealing cards. Pim is in a corner, arms folded across his chest, eyes sharp in surveillance. And she had also greeted Rotty at the entrance. It's not her job to check on them but she ensures everyone is faithful to their assigned tasks, faithful to Dirtyhands .

She finds the said guy sitting in his personal booth, cane resting at his side. Jesper Fahey, his favored sharpshooter sits on the other end of the red and black couch, and next to him is the newly-hired heartrender, Nina Zenik.

Inej rolls her shoulders and silently approaches the booth, hoping the liveliness of Kaz's company will be distracting enough for her to catch him off-guard.

Yet she barely reaches behind him when Kaz cranes his head at her, Jesper and Nina yelping in unison.

“Wraith.” Kaz greets, taking a sip of his drink.

“Sweet Ghezen!” Jesper exclaims, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “How did you even know she was there?”

“Y-yeah..” Nina stutters, a hand over her heart. “Share the secret, Brekker.”

Inej settles down in the empty spot next to Kaz, making sure to maintain proper space between them. For whatever reason, she has felt that he disapproves of unanticipated touches as much as she does.

Despite knowing there's no chance, she peers at Kaz just as her two friends do, awaiting some kind of response.

Kaz merely shrugs and takes another swig from his glass.

5

Under the heavy, evening downpour, Inej's eyes catch sight of two suspicious men by a flower barge. As Kaz drifts past them, they step away from the barge and start tailing him.

When Inej had decided to shadow him tonight, it was more out of habit than an attempt to sneak up on him.

But the Bastard of the Barrel has carved quite a reputation for himself. One that comes with a bunch of troubling disadvantages at the most unsuspecting moments. One that rarely allows him peace.

Her hand immediately reaches for Sankta Marya strapped at her thigh, only to waver at the last moment. What if they are some of Kaz's other spiders? There is no need for her to shed blood based on mere suspicion. So she follows the men instead.

For a good part of the walk, they do nothing and it almost seems that Inej might have misjudged them after all. Yet the very next instant, her optimism is proven wrong.

The sturdier one of the men pounces at Kaz.

But no one in Ketterdam gets the better of Kaz. He easily sidesteps and avoids the attack, letting the man crash into a dumpster nearby. The other guy uses this opportunity to shove Kaz into the alley.

“'Shouldn't walk the streets alone, Brekker.” The man says, throwing a punch at his jaw.

Kaz readjusts his leather gloves and strokes back his rain-soaked hair, lips curling into a devious grin. Dirtyhands has taken over.

“Who says I'm alone?”

Inej's heart skips a beat. Even from her elevated spot on an old diner's roof, she can feel the full force of his grin directed at her. He knew.  

The sturdy man is up already and lunges once more. Kaz turns sharply, the movement sending a jolt of pain through his right leg. He grits his teeth and smashes his cane in the big man's face. Then proceeds to land punch after punch, bruising his face beyond recognition.

Unknown to him, the other man advances and before Kaz can even react, he pulls out a pistol from his coat pocket and fires.

The bullet tears through the fabric of Kaz's coat as well as the cotton shirt and lodges straight into his left bicep. The grip on his cane falters as he coughs and clutches the wound with his right hand.

“Not so smug anymore, eh boy?” The man jeers.

Enough. Thieving, scheming, conning. She has excused them all. Killing however is the one part she despises the most about being the Wraith.

Yet in this moment, she realizes that Kaz's life is worth more to her than she may like to admit.

She releases the trigger on the sheath at her right forearm, feeling Sankta Petyr slide into her palm. Staying cautious of the slippery railing, she leaps off the roof, landing gracefully on top of the man, her blade sinking deep in his throat. Blood gurgles out of his neck and mouth, and with a final groan, he falls dead.

“May the saints receive you.” Inej prays, slowly shutting his eyelids with her palm. One more life to pay penance for.

“You follow me quite a lot.” Kaz remarks from behind her. “Why Wraith? Taken a fancy to me?”

Inej ignores the traitorous warmth in her chest and pulls down the hood of her cloak. He is in no shape to be making such tasteless jokes. “You need help.”

“I'm sure your Saints can spare a few blessings.” He quips weakly, voice rougher than usual.

“Shevrati, ” She glares at him. “The Slat is too far and you're bleeding too much.”

“Fret not, darling Inej.” He shucks off his coat, rips the left sleeve of his shirt, and ties it firmly around the wound using his free arm and teeth. “There's a safe house nearby.”

He tightens his hold on his cane and begins walking out of the alley, expecting her to naturally tag along.

Saints! She picks up his abandoned coat from the wet ground and jogs up to him.

+1

Inej climbs with ease from her room's small window to the one in Kaz's attic. If she isn't mistaken, the back and forth tapping noises that roused her from her slumber are an indication of him being still up and pacing about his room. And since she doesn't feel sleepy anymore, she might as well try to scare him. Surely, he wouldn't be expecting anyone else to be up past midnight.

With a level of grace impossible for any spider in the barrel, she lets her soundless feet touch the floor and approaches his unsuspecting back.

"Not tonight, Wraith."

Inej is startled, not by the stern statement but by the fact that he noticed her presence again. Was it her soft breathing that gave her away? He turns around then, in the process of buttoning his shirt, and flashes her a halfhearted smirk. Annoyance replaces her initial reaction and she tries her best to conceal it. He had known all along. Somehow he always knows!

"Why not, Kaz?" she asks, hoping the conversation will assist her in easing some tension off his face.

He shrugs and settles on the chair behind his makeshift desk. She takes note of the expensive, sealed bottle of brandy resting on it.

“Something special tonight?” She asks. A harmless question out of curiosity.

He chuckles bitterly at that, strong tea eyes glinting with emotion. “Just a reminder.”

He explains no more and she isn't the type to press further. So they stay like that for a few moments in peaceful silence— Kaz laying back on the chair, eyes closed in deep thought; Inej reorganizing the things scattered on his desk.

Until Kaz sits up with an audible sigh and looks at her. “Inej.”

She hums in response, too busy arranging a pile of papers according to their dates.

“Let's go on a heist.”

She raises a brow in disbelief. The restless pacing and the bottle of brandy are an indication enough that he isn't in the right state of mind. Especially not for a heist.

He walks past his bed space and returns with his coat and cane. From the coat's pocket, he pulls out a folded piece of paper, which Inej realizes– as he unfolds and spreads it on the desk– is a layout of some building. No. A mansion actually.

“This mercher Van Eck bought a painting the other day,” Kaz speaks in an amused tone. “Let's nick it.”

Inej blinks. It's way past twelve bells of midnight. Everything in her is telling her to be the sensible one and chide him to rest. Yet the scarce hints of hope twinkling in his tired eyes waver all reasonable thoughts. Saints!

“Just us?” she asks, scanning the layout to find the stealthiest way in and out.

He cocks his head. “Is the Wraith not up for a challenge?”

The Wraith is always up for a challenge and he knows it. Dirtyhands? Not so much tonight.

Kaz had once told her that stealing is like solving puzzles. You can't decode a puzzle unless you take the right steps. As it appears, his current frame of mind isn't ideal for something as precarious as a heist. And usually, she wouldn't even entertain such a reckless proposition. But she can feel that the boy before her needs this right now. That more than the painting itself, he needs the distracting thrill of doing this.

“Fine.” She stretches her lips into an easy smile. “Let's nick it.”

SoC Masterlist

Reblog/Reply if you enjoyed reading this ♥

Custom SoC Divider by @skylightlantern

#kanej #kanej week 2022 #kanej week #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows #crooked kingdom #grishaverse #freddy carter #amita suman #kanej fanfiction #kanej fanfic #kanej fic #kaz x inej #inej x kaz

[aneiria-writes]

Belonging (to you)

Written for @kanejweek 2022 day 6 prompt: jealousy

For all his dark, dangerous reputation and his dead-eyed stare, Kaz Brekker catches the eyes of plenty of mercher's wives at the annual ball in Ketterdam.

Inej Ghafa, watching from the other side of the room, has one way of keeping her jealousy at bay... and her man on his knees.

Read on AO3 now!

#kanej week #kanej week 2022 #warning: here be smut #rated e #kanej #kaz x inej #oneshot #six of crows #soc #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #my writing #fanfic #fic #pwp #shameless smut #prompt: jealousy #jealous inej #bamf inej #good boy kaz #d/s vibes

[nerdyhuntress]

@kanejweek 2022 (Day 1: Royalty) ​

“We'll be Kings and Queens, Inej. Kings and Queens.” (Six of Crows)

#six of crows #kanej #shadow and bone #socedit #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanejedit #kaz #inej #sabedit #kanej week 2022 #kanej week #my gifsets

[anneshirlei]

Traditions

There were some traditions Inej was never able to let go of.

Her culture was one of the most important things in her life and Inej tried to stay connected to it as much as possible. The life she led made it harder — just like the Suli, she didn’t stay in one place for long; she was always traveling, always meeting new people, new cultures, new traditions — but she always made sure to bring it with her in her heart.

Now, at the age of twenty-seven, so much had changed within herself, and her understanding of her culture had changed with her. As a seasoned pirate, who spent most of her time at sea, it was hard to find the remnants of her Suli origins if you didn’t take a closer look. Most didn’t have the chance to.

Her clothes were different, to begin with. No silks, no colorful fabrics, no traditional embroidery along her skirts, none of that. These days, Inej was most comfortable wearing practical clothes that allowed her to climb and fight, and made it possible for her to blend into the shadows. That change didn’t affect her that much. She was more than happy to return back to her origins whenever she visited home, fitting in with her people, belonging to her community. But the silks were still a problem, even after all this time, so removing them from her life was a decision that didn’t pain her as much as others.

Read it on AO3

#kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej week 2022 #wedding celebrations #six of crows #fanfic

[persimnon]

Title: i still trace our shadows (across the midnight streets)

Pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Word Count: 10k

Summary: Five things Inej has deduced about the infamously secretive Kaz Brekker. And one she still can’t quite work out.

Written for @kanejweek 2022 days 1 and 2: (Kings & Queens, Masquerade) and (Once Upon a Time Trope, The 5+1 Trope).

[read on ao3]

#HAPPY KANEJ WEEK I CAN'T BELIEVE I FINISHED THIS #unfortunately it will be my only entry because writing is hard #kanej week #kanej week 2022 #kanej fanfiction #kanej fics #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows fanfic #six of crows #my writing #mine #my fic #kanej tag

[jackwolfes]

She’s everything. His wraith, his queen, his everything. She could be more, and he knows that too: he just doesn’t know how to ask. 

He finds his train of thought cut off anyway when a bouquet of flowers hits him in the face. 

--

Rating: T Ship: Kanej Summary: Kaz Brekker hides at his best friends' wedding. Someone finds him -- as she always does -- and he has some thoughts about it.

Happy @kanejweek !

Read on AO3 now

#kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #six of crows #crooked kingdom #wesper #kanej week 2022 #demigodbeautiies: does kanej but in a wesper way #someone did want a wesper wedding fic which ive done but kaz pov bc i love writing that asshole simp

[judaluffy]

Kanej-Masquerade

Warning: Original Characters---Kanej Children // Wylan POV

@kanejweek

#kanej week 2022 #six of crows #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #six of crows fanfic

[annabeth-my-beloved]

Final fanfic of Kanej Week published! It went too quickly, seven days isn’t enough Kanej for me.

Here’s my fic for the “Memories” prompt.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39873543

#kanej week 2022 #kanej #Kaz Brekker #Inej Ghafa #fanfic #six of crows #soc

[cameliawrites]

kanej week fic wrap-up

I posted a trio of absurdly fluffy, absurdly domestic kanej-as-parents ficlets this week to celebrate @kanejweek, so here they are linked for your convenience:

1. prompt: “first dates” (linked here)

summary/snippet:

“That was my first date with Inej,” he responds, as if it were common knowledge.

Based on the incredulous look Inej shoots him in response, that’s hardly the case. “You think the DeKappel heist was our first date, Kaz?”

“...Yes?”

2. prompt: “ghosts” (linked here)

summary/snippet:

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Saritha inquires offhandedly, tilting her head toward her sister.

The glare that Lieze shoots at her is sharper than Mama’s collection of knives. “Please tell me that’s not the only reason you’re making me walk you home.”

3. prompt: “sharing & secrets” (linked here)

summary/snippet:

There were very few secrets that Inej kept from Kaz anymore. After all, with two children and nearly two decades of marriage between them, they’d be hard-pressed to come up with anything they didn’t already know about one another.

In fact, the puppy she’d been hiding in the downstairs coat closet was probably the first secret she’d kept from him in a long time.

#no thoughts just kanej giving their daughters the childhood they didn't get to have #i'm a 'kaz is a girl dad' apologist #inej is not like other moms she's a COOL mom #I promise I'll produce substantive work again someday...but that day is not today #thanks for all the lovely comments on the first two! #camelia writes #kanej week 2022 #kanej #kanej fic #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #kaz rietveld #kanej daughter #six of crows fanfiction #kanej fluff #enjoy my kanej kidfic brainrot!

[eden-does-art]

Kanej Week 2022 Day 1 entry!!!!

#kanej week 2022 #kanej #kanej moodboard #kanej art #kanej breakdown #kanej fanfiction #kanej fic #kanej fic recs

[violetfolgi]

rarecrows week: kazpernej

• @rarecrows-week - Day 1: NEW

inspired by the iconic Anne Hathaway picture! thanks to the BOTB people for all the encouragement on the making of this drawing :) this one's for you @feelinglikecleopatra <3

#Rarecrows Week 2022 #kazpernej #kanejesper #six of crows fanart #soc fanart #six of crows #kanej #kanej fanart #kazper #kazper fanart #idk the name for inej x jesper actually hmm #nor the official kaz x inej x jesper one for the matter lol #polycrows #rarecrows week #kaz brekker #kaz brekker fanart #inej ghafa #inej ghafa fanart #jesper fahey #jesper fahey fanart #grishaverse #ot3 fanart #ot3 #fanart #shadow and bone netflix #sab fanart #so is it kazpernej or kanejesper 🤔? #kazpernej sounds way better imo #kaz x jesper x inej

[aneiria-writes]

Sleepover

Written for @kanejweek 2022 day 7. Theme: growth, prompts: memories, and sharing & secrets. Read now on AO3 or right here:

A fragile, quiet whimpering sound crept into Kaz Brekker’s dreams, pulling him from sleep. By the time he blinked his eyes open, Inej was already sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed and messy-haired, their two-day-old daughter in her arms as she lowered her nightgown to feed her.

Kaz let his head fall back on his pillow, sleepily watching the impossible picture before him, mother and child, happy, safe and secure in the cushion of the night. Inej smiled at him, leaning back on the pillows as the baby began to suckle hungrily. 

From beyond their half-closed bedroom door, another cry, louder and stronger, started to emerge from another room.

Inej groaned good-naturedly, and Kaz couldn’t resist pressing a gentle kiss to her hair before he shuffled out of bed, standing carefully on his stiff leg. He made his way to the hallway, treading the familiar boards of the farmhouse in the dark. 

The cry was coming from the room of their two-year-old son, Micah. Kaz’s gaze landed on him immediately, noting, with a pang of his heart, Micah’s crumpled little face, the silvery streaks of tears on his chubby cheeks. He was standing at the side of his cot, fat fists clutched unhappily around the bars, and hiccuped as he looked up at his father.

‘You had a nightmare, bud?’ Kaz asked sympathetically. Micah sniffled and pathetically held out his hands. Kaz leaned over and pulled his son into his arms, holding him close to his chest and stroking his feather-soft black hair. ‘It’s all right, darling,’ he soothed him. ‘You’re safe.’ 

Kaz rocked him for several long minutes, until it seemed Micah would settle back down, but every time he tried to place him back in his cot, Micah awoke with a start, the cries starting afresh each time. 

With a sigh of resignation, Kaz decided he might as well bring Micah back to bed with him and Inej for a while. He turned to the door, Micah’s head tucked into the crook of Kaz’s neck as he sucked on his thumb, and raised an eyebrow at the little shadow peering around the doorframe.

‘You’re supposed to be in bed,’ Kaz said sternly.

Five-year-old Mila, the spitting image of her mother, was not swayed. She crossed her arms, stubborn as her father, and pouted. ‘Micah’s not in bed,’ she pointed out, ‘and I heard the baby wake up again.’ 

Kaz stifled his sigh, and levered his very best ‘I’m in charge here’ expression at his oldest daughter. ‘Yes, and remember what your mother and I told you? As the big sister, you’re supposed to be showing them both how well to behave.’ 

Mila blinked her big, brown eyes at him, unmoved. ‘But Da,’ she whined, her eyes starting to glisten with unshed tears (how had his daughter learned such dramatics? Kaz wondered in despair). ‘I don’t want to be left alone, you’re taking Micah to your room! Why don’t you love me as much as him and the baby?’ A fat, slow tear fell from her oil-black eyelashes and rolled down her bronze skin, and Kaz’s foolish heart melted completely. He shifted Micah into one arm — when had he gotten so heavy? — and held out his spare hand to Mila. She grabbed it in delight, all trace of tears disappeared, and led Kaz and Micah towards the master bedroom.

Inej looked up when they walked through the door, the baby still feeding, although slower now. She just raised a knowing eyebrow at Kaz, and he shrugged helplessly as Mila released his hand, scrambling up onto the bed to snuggle up to Inej and gently poke the baby’s cheek. 

‘Are we having a family sleepover night?’ Inej whispered like a conspirator to Mila, and Mila giggled and nodded. Kaz carefully got back into bed, settling back on the pillows with Micah heavy and warm in his arms. His son was asleep now, black lashes closed over chubby cheeks, and Kaz could feel Micah’s heartbeat, strong against his own chest. Inej sighed happily and leaned her head on Kaz’s shoulder, Mila tucked between them. Kaz kissed his wife’s hair, and leaned his head against hers. 

Back when he and Inej were traumatised teenagers, struggling to hold hands or even speak their feelings for one another, this would have been a dream so far beyond possibility that Kaz wouldn’t have even thought of it. But now, a decade and a half later, those old lives far behind them, they shared a life so perfect it hurt Kaz’s heart to contemplate.

‘Da,’ Mila murmured quietly, as the baby finished feeding and Inej straightened her nightgown. ‘Tell us a story?’

Kaz hid his grin, but he gave Mila a little nudge of his shoulder. ‘Which one, sweetheart?’

‘The one where you took Mama on the first date and the kitchen caught fire.’

Kaz grinned ruefully as Inej giggled beside him. The memory of that fated night was still vivid in his mind, and it was one of Mila’s favourite bedtime stories. Kaz took a deep breath, and began:

‘Once upon a time, the cleverest, most beautiful acrobat in the world lived in a place called Ketterdam, and her name was Inej Ghafa…’ 

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