Kaz Brekker One Shots

Show Me Who You Are

A rewrite of season 1 episode 5 of Shadow and Bone.

Inej's POV:

I hurried through the halls to keep up with Kaz's long strides. Even without his cane, he was still faster than me.

We were at the Little Palace, trying to find... a dressing room, or something of the sort, where we could take our shot at kidnapping the so-called Sun Summoner.

I glanced at Kaz. He was gradually slowing down, barely concealing a wince. I looked at his leg in sympathy. The long journey to get to the Little Palace must have been hard on him, and now he had to walk without his cane. I hoped he would be able to complete our mission without too many problems.

Kaz's POV:

I clenched my jaw as another wave of pain ran through my leg. It was especially bad that day, and walking without my cane made it almost unbearable. 

I stole a look at Inej. Her focus was ahead, but her eyes flickered to me every few minutes.

I gasped softly as fire erupted in my knee. Even though I hated to admit it, I needed to stop immediately. 

"Inej?" I ground out. "Inej, I need to stop for a second."

She looked at me with understanding in her eyes. She silently led me over to a nook in the wall where I could rest, out of sight to anyone passing by in the hall.

I gratefully leaned against the wall for support, taking the weight off my bad leg. I clutched it tightly, a pitiful attempt to ease the pain. Breathing heavily with sweat running down my face, I closed my eyes for a quick second, then forced them open again.

"Okay, we need to move," I muttered to Inej. 

"Are you sure?" Inej questioned. "You can rest for awhile longer and-"

"No." I cut her off.

She sighed in defeat, but trailed behind me as I made my way towards a wall covered in expensive wallpaper. I felt for the seams, knowing there was a door hidden right under my fingertips. I tried to push it, but it wouldn't budge.

Inej turned quickly as footsteps approached us. We hurried to a door right behind the wall, leaving it open a crack so we could observe who the footsteps belonged to.

I braced myself against the wall, my eyes squeezed shut.  I hoped that Inej would take in everything going on around us and report the crucial information to me later on, for I could barely stand up against the wall from the pain in my leg.

Inej's POV:

I glanced at Kaz again. He was breathing in air through his teeth, eyes shut tightly from pain. I would worry about him later.

A Grisha fabrikator flanked by two guards had approached the wall. She moved her hands around, then a door magically opened from within the wallpaper. As I looked closer, I could see another female Grisha inside, this one an inferni. I barely had time to take in the sight of two identical keftas next to her before the door closed.

I averted my eyes back to Kaz.

"We need to go, Kaz," I whispered.

He nodded in agreement, eyes flying open. He slowly limped heavily back into the hallway. He shot out a hand to balance himself against the wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"Fine," he gritted out. "Keep moving."

I obeyed his request, but stopped short when he let out a hiss of pain.

"Kaz, let me help you," I pleaded. "Put your arm around my shoulders and I can support you."

He stared at me for awhile. It seemed like he was having an inner battle with his demons. 

Eventually, he whispered, "Alright. But don't... don't touch my skin."

I simply nodded and moved a little closer to him. He hesitantly looped his arm around my shoulders. When he looked ready, I took a cautious step forward. Together, at a snail's pace, we moved through the halls.

As we made our way back to Arken and Jesper, I couldn't help but let a small smile escape. Slowly but surely, Kaz was breaking down his armor. 

Thanks for reading! :)