ᴶᵉˢᵖᵉʳ ᶠᵃʰᵉʸ ᴵᵐᵃᵍⁱⁿᵉˢ

Qᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜᴍᴀᴋᴇʀ

It had been a busy day, that was for sure. You had flopped carelessly on a chair the first chance you had, after entering the Slat.

And then, you had winced as you remembered the bruises left from the most recent heist. The Crows had, as expected, vanquished their foes or in more simple terms, Kaz had wacked a few, Jesper shot some, Inej threw knives at others and you had used your bare fists.

That was your usual approach, but now you thought of it, it probably wasn’t the best way to go about fighting.

The bar keep had frowned when you entered with a bust lip and bruised body and after you had noticed you smirked and said, “You should see the other guys. Trust me, we’re better off.”

He had nodded, reluctant to believe you and given you some ice from behind the bar.

Still, Nina had decided that successfully evading an attack was a fantastic reason for a party. You weren’t sure Kaz wanted to be crowded around right now either, but if he didn’t he said nothing to deter the heartrender.

So she bustled about, calling the Dregs down and organising drinks as you sat next to Kaz in the corner furthest from the crowd now present.

After a while, the whole room was pretty much filled and you could barely see a foot ahead if you without bodies blocking your view.

Inej crept up in the shadows and you smiled as you teasingly told them something else required your attention. Kaz had rolled his eyes at your remark as Inej scoffed.

“Clearly in denial!” You shouted over the other yells and cheers. You weren’t sure if they heard as there was no reaction but considered your job completed anyway.

You pushed yourself up onto the windowsill as it seemed to be the only available space left. It seemed your shout to Kaz and Inej had caught Jesper’s attention and from across the room, his warm, honey brown eyes connected with yours.

And through the rowdy, sweaty bodies you shared a soft smile, barely a quirk of the lips each but a genuine smile none the less. Then his smile grew a little, but it was still gentle and he winked at you from across the room.

Your smile matched his now, as yours too had widened. And just before he disappeared from your view for a minute, you returned the wink.

When the sharpshooter reappeared, he was right in front of you. You realised he must have meandered through the crowd and as he reached you, he gave a lazy but nonetheless tender and sweet kiss that you eagerly returned.

Then he pulled away and glanced at Kaz and Inej shyly simpering at each other in the corner.

“Quite the matchmaker, aren’t you?”

You shoved his shoulder gently and hushed him. Even if you knew they wouldn’t be able to hear you, you didn’t want to ruin their moment.

It seemed, two soft smiles had been shared between two couples that day.