Six of Crows One-shots

The road to recovery must be walked upon

Inej huffed, leaning against the hallway wall, panting. "Keep moving." His rasp was indifferent, Inej ground her teeth together. "It hurts." She hissed, Kaz shook his head. "It's healing, your practically re-growing muscle Inej, so it's going to hurt a little." He said frankly, Inej glared at him. "Have a bit of sympathy." Inej snapped at him, he only raised an eyebrow as he asked, "sympathy or pity? Who is to say the difference." He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. He wasn't using his cane and limped over to Inej, she glared at him but was too tired to back away.

She was suppose to cross the hallway, only making it about a fourth of the way. Her progress had been slow and Inej was impatient which made it even slower. It had been two weeks since she had the healers fix her legs. Her body felt exhausted and her legs were sore and bruised. His leather clad fingers closed around her hand, sliding under it, the tips of them brushing her wrist, his black leather thumb on top of her soft pale brown hands. "Come Inej, walk with me." His voice changed, dropping a bit, his rasp making the low words sound like a gentle whisper. He took one step, then another backward, Inej following only moving forward.

He kept up a meaningless bit of chatter, normally this would of annoyed both of them seeing how Kaz and Inej both admired silence. But now it dragged her mind away from the pain and the steps. It became a dance of sorts. A step at a time that neither noticed, both in sync, in the rhythm of their conversation. He asked Inej how her parents were and small things like that, how she would find slavers and pick up a crew, she tried prying answers from him about his past and even now. Sometimes he would answer, other times he would swiftly sweep past the question or simply go quiet for a bit. This annoyed Inej when she caught it, suddenly Kaz paused, Inej did too. She looked back and saw the long hallway behind her.

"That wasn't too bad now was it?" Kaz asked a smirk in his rasp. "No it wasn't, it was awful." Inej teased, but couldn't stop smiling, her nightmares from the Menagerie stayed, only now she couldn't run because her legs were broken. It was always reassuring to know it isn't so in reality. "Hmm. Then I can let you walk back without me.." Inej moaned, turning fully to Kaz who was the person Inej asked to help get her on her feet. She knew he would not skimp out on her like Jesper might, or get distracted like Nina, or go too fast like Wylan might. Kaz knew the pain and the right pace, he knew her. When she was about to break or too tired to carry on. He never overworked her like Matthias  might have done.

"Please don't leave me to walk that horrible never ending hallway alone." Inej sighed, when she was on her own she needed support to walk, which was even more exhausting, when Kaz walked with her she leaned slightly on him, even in their small walk through the hall he had taken some off her weight from the pressure on her legs. "I could lend you my cane." He said with a smirk, eyes glistening. Inej laughed, "no thank you! The thing seems to bring bad luck." Kaz chuckled. "It brought me to you, is that a bad thing?" Inej noticed the way Kaz had slightly hid himself into his coat. "Of course that's the one good thing it's done." Inej said smiling. Her mind still raced over what he said.

Kaz wasn't one for simple words. He would most likely never say I love you, not because he didn't love her but because he liked subtle things. They had a hidden message system set up between them. Through eye looks and body language and even words with secondary meanings. Things hidden behind things. Strings behind every deal and meanings to every word. He was a silver tongue for sure, and this added to his mystery, a rather large pull factor for Inej towards him. She liked the satisfaction of solving a puzzle nearly as much as Kaz, though she wasn't one much for trickery. He wasn't good with being direct and often times when he showed his emotion he was unsure, like a creature darting across the road. Inej knew why though, she knew that something had happened to him, he had opened himself completely and someone had taken advantage and Kaz paid the price with the mangled scars on the inside.

With Kaz there was always a reason, therefore their was a reason he was terrified of touch, of love and of showing his emotions. Inej wasn't sure what kind of horror he had to go through to become encased in a shell so thick, but she knew it was something traumatizing, for he knew the trails of sorrow as well as she. She looked into the black pools of his eyes, seeing reflections in them, seeing the dust in he air swirl in the reflection making his eyes look like a starry night. "Inej, you ok?" Inej mentally cursed herself, she was still yet to be sure if he liked her or not. He could have meant they were just close friends. Most the things he had done for her she could see someone doing for a close friend.

"I'm just really tired Kaz.." Inej muttered, which she was but that wasn't the full truth. "Can you walk back?" He asked after a pause filled with silence. "I don't know... but I really don't want too." Inej looked down, shuffling her feet. "Would you like me to carry you again?" Kaz said teasingly, Inej huffed keeping her head down so he missed the rising rosy color in her cheeks. "What about your leg?" Inej asked, shifting her weight to try and ease the pain. "Better than yours." He said, Inej sighed, she didn't quite agree with that. He was in a lot of pain often, he was feeling what she was. Except his leg would never heal.

"Alright then.." Inej said with a sigh, she was having a internal battle. Her worry over Kaz's leg and her longing to be near him. It had started when he had to pick her up the first time. She fought him at first, but settling down she realized how much she loved the way his warmth seeped into her and the aroma of crisp fall or winter and a sort of forest like scents that seemed to cling to him and his clothes. It was things she would have never noticed about him. She didn't know quite know what to think of it, but she liked it no matter what she tried to tell herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden weightlessness, he held her bridal style. "Where are we off to?" Kaz asked, looking at Inej's eyes, hidden longing pushing against his guarded eyes, trying to break through its cage.

"My room." Inej stated calmly, Kaz nodded and set off with an even pace. The sway of his body should have been making her dizzy, but instead she felt tired, like the swaying motion was that of a crib being gently rocked. She laid her head on her shoulder taking in a deep breath and sighing out contentedly, his scent wafted around her head, if Kaz noticed her odd new habits he didn't mention it. She hoped he didn't, it would be not only hard to explain but rather embarrassing. The rasp of his voice as he started to answer some the questions he skipped in their walk, which made Inej smile sleepily, also added to the drowsiness. The rasp in his voice came out smoothly, like smoke as it came out either ragged or gentle. It was like the growl of thunder and it started to get farther and farther in Inej's mind.

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Kaz noticed as her weight suddenly got heavier, he looked down to see she had gone limp in his arms, head against his shoulder and eyes closed, a sleepy smile still placed on her perfect lips. He repressed a shiver, he loved it and yet he feared it. But everyday with Inej made the love stronger, yet his anxiety and fear had began stronger, and now he had quite a bit of catch up to do. But he wasn't for her anyway.

Yes she supported his own world, but he would not hold her down to him, she was far better than anything he deserved. She was a saint and he was an ordinary sinner, but he didn't mind spending the days he could with her. He opened the door to her room with his elbow, gently setting Inej under the covers without disturbing her sleep.  He pulled the covers gently over, watching her silky black waves of hair curtain the pillow. He watched her parted lips breathing in and out and then he turned and left, ignoring the want to watch or to hold her.

He passed Nina as he walked the halls and told her to put some food out for Inej on her dresser. She gave him a look and scurried away. He walked up onto the top deck, the sun beating down upon his ivory skin. His bitter coffee eyes shadowed from the sun by his dark brown and black hair. Slight highlights of dark brown, turns red tinted in the sunlight

He himself was quite tired and he took a long nap. He woke to the door clicking closed, he sat up with a knife drawn and eyes narrowing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Inej mumbled, looking for a place to rest in Kaz's tiny cabin. Kaz sighed, collapsing back into bed with a moan. He felt the mattress move underneath him as Inej joined him in the bed. "Why are you here Wraith?" Kaz grumbled, this was basically his sleep since rather than sleeping he took naps here and there. "Im worried about you..." Inej whispered, just loud enough for Kaz to hear. "I'm fine Inej, you shouldn't worry." Kaz said easily, Inej scowled. "But I do!"

That's where I'm leaving you guys. Have a good night/day.