𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮

𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣

set about a year after crooked kingdom.
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Kaz stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his tie to make sure it was perfectly straight. Although he always looked presentable - even after an unpleasant run-in with a rival - he was being extra careful, because Inej was finally coming home.

She had left to hunt slavers twelve months and four days ago, and she was returning to Ketterdam for the first time since. As much as Kaz hated to admit it, there wasn't a day that went by that he hadn't thought about her. When she first left, he'd started speaking to her as if she was hiding outside the window or around a corner. Sometimes he'd even forgotten that she was miles away, perhaps even in a different country.

But she would be here, in Ketterdam, with him, in a matter of minutes. Glancing at himself once more in the mirror, Kaz tore his gaze away, certain that he looked as smart as he could. Something about her made him want to be the best version of himself, and he'd realised that it was one of the things he admired most about her.

He was not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she made him feel like he was enough, which was more than he'd thought he deserved when Jordie died. He'd thought himself worthy of nothing except revenge, and when he'd gotten it, he'd been lost, drifting in and out of confidence about what he would do next. Until one evening, about a week after Inej had left. He'd sat in his attic window, watching the empty space where she'd once sat, feeding the crows. He'd remembered, all at once, how her goodness had spread like the sunlight that had been clinging to her face, and he'd resolved to make Ketterdam a better place for her. And not just for her, for every young man or woman, Grisha or not, who hadn't been dealt the hand in life that they deserved.

And he'd resolved to make himself a better man, too.

He curled his gloved hands around the familiar shape of his cane and strode downstairs, where Wylan and Jesper were waiting for him to go to the docks.

"About time you showed up." Jesper smirked. "Saints, Kaz, did you get a haircut?"

Kaz was in too good of a mood to give him threats, so he resorted to a simple but effective: "Shut up, Jesper." and left through the open doors.

The walk there was not far, but every step Kaz took felt like it had been elongated, and the seconds stretched into minutes as he cursed himself- not for the first time- for damaging his stupid leg and giving himself a stupid limp.

"Hey, slow down! She probably won't even be there yet." Wylan was almost jogging to keep up with Kaz's long strides, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything but Inej, Inej, Inej.

Finally, the docks were in sight, and he strained his eyes to find The Wraith. And there it was, towering tall above all the other boats in the docks- Kaz had made sure he'd gotten the very best of the best for her when he'd bought it. And there, standing on the gangplank, ushering her crew off, was Inej. His wraith. His pace slowed as the sight of her sunk into his mind.

The sun hung low in the sky, illuminating her figure. It was too far away to tell, but Kaz knew that her gorgeous brown eyes were sparkling with kindness, that her hair was tied into a tight ponytail but that a few loose strands had escaped and were flying in the wind. The docks were busy, as Inej's crew were reunited with their families and other boats were unloading cargo, but all noise disappeared when she saw him. She stopped what she was doing almost immediately and started to run.

Kaz couldn't believe his luck. Here he was, him, the bastard of the barrel, standing before a girl who was running to get to him. Him and the crows, of course. By the time she came closer to him, her hair had all completely escaped from its ponytail and was flying wildly behind her, and he had a sudden urge to run his fingers through it. She was only a few metres away now, and he dropped his cane to step forward and hold out his arms for her. She flew into him, and he wrapped her in a tight hug, picking her up with the force of it. She laughed. There it is, he thought. There's my girl.

It wasn't until he put her down that he felt a twinge of pain shoot through his leg, but she bent down and picked up his cane for him. He took it from her, his mouth twisting into what could almost be called a grin.

"Inej, I-" He started, before stopping. There didn't seem to be enough words in the dictionary to put what he needed to say into words.

"You just-"

"It's a little something I've been working on." He told her. While she'd been gone, Wylan and Jesper had struck up a deal with him- two free meals every week, for his cooperation in trying to improve his no touching policy, and the deal is the deal. He couldn't refuse. Plus, Colm Fahey was a damn good cook. He hadn't made much progress with taking his gloves off unless he was among his crows, but he'd become better at touching other people with other body parts- he and Jesper had practised sitting, knees touching, for days until he stopped feeling like he was about to faint, mostly because Kaz just got bored of sitting and doing nothing, which distracted him from the feeling of it.

"That's amazing, Kaz." Her eyes lit up as she smiled. "So, did you miss me?" She teased.

"Yes." He said, fiercely. "Unbearably. I-" He stopped, before the words that had formed on his lips made an appearance where they were least wanted.

I love you.