Thoughts

Headcanon Drabble

I decided to write a small Six of Crows drabble loosely based on one of my previous headcanons. Here it is!

(note: this happens after Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom but there aren't really any spoilers. Inej is staying in Ketterdam for a while, too.)

Something was different about Kaz today. 

Nobody else quite saw it, but there was a line in the air, just enough of an edge that the Dregs paused when he entered the Slat, that nobody turned to look as his presence cleared a path to the stairs.

Inej felt it. She saw Jesper stiffen and subtly peer at Kaz as he passed. Conversations retook their volume as the thuds of his cane moved up the stairs. When he reached his room, Inej slipped through the crowd to the gambling tables and tugged on Jesper's sleeve.

He gestured for the dealer to wait, and followed her up the stairs into her room. He waited for Inej to close the door before speaking.

"What was that?" He looked worried. "Kaz looked more dead than I've seen him, and that's with him walking around every day looking like a corpse."

Inej perched on the windowsill. "He just came back from a meeting. There's a new gang around, and he went out to politely intimidate them."

Jesper nodded, fiddling with his revolvers. He spent a second concentrating before apparently realizing something. He looked up at Inej. "You know, this actually isn't the first time I've seen him like this. He looked like that for a while when you were gone. He wasn't sleeping well, obviously... Have you actually seen him sleep recently?"

She shook her head. For the last few days, he had always been awake when she visited, whether it was early afternoon or late at night. She had even visited before sunrise, landing silently on the roof and slipping through the window. She had found him going over a meticulously handwritten stack of documents for errors.

Now, Jesper leapt up from the trunk where he'd been sitting and pointed a dramatic finger at her. "That's it. He's tired." Jesper giggled. "Kaz Brekker, the Bastard of the Barrel, tired enough that it's visible. That's worth kruge, my friend. Let's go." He opened the door and almost skipped onto the landing. Inej followed silently, amused but with low expectations. 

Kaz's door, of course, was locked. Jesper sighed dramatically and turned to Inej. "Inej... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

Inej had already slid down the banister and entered her room. She stepped through her window and onto the gravelly roof. She gave herself a second to gaze at the sky—it was almost clear today—before settling outside Kaz's window. Carefully, silently, the Wraith slipped like a stream of smoke over the windowsill and onto the wood floor.

And blinked. No smirking face greeted her—Kaz was sitting at his desk with his head resting on his arms... asleep.

Inej stared for a moment. (She could hear him breathing) He wasn't asleep. (His jacket was slung over his chair) He couldn't be asleep. (One row of dark eyelashes stood out against his pale skin) He would never let anyone see him sleep. 

(Did he really let her, though?)

She stared for a bit longer.

His hair was messed up. (There was a single freckle on the back of his neck) She kind of wanted to touch it. (Bad idea)

She heard a gentle tap on the door and spun around.

"Inej?" Jesper hissed. "Are you in there?"

She strode quickly across the room and let him in. He started asking her something, eyes already scanning the room, but stopped dead when he saw Kaz. 

Jesper whistled softly. "Damn."  Then he turned to Inej, eyes wide. "Not like that, I know you two are a thing. But I've learned to appreciate moments like this"—he gestured at Kaz—"when they arrive."

Inej looked at Jesper expressionlessly for a long moment, drawing out his panic.

Finally she smiled and looked back at Kaz. "I know what you mean, Jes."

That's the first Six of Crows fanfic I've ever written so constructive criticism is welcome but I will delete flames.