Chapter Text
Jesper was huffing and puffing as he mounted the final set of stairs up to Kaz’s office. How does he do this with that damn leg? Jesper thought incredulously. He reached the top of the steps, pausing to catch his breath before rapping on the door.
“Enter,” came Kaz’s rough voice.
Jesper did, hovering in the doorway just a moment to take in his surroundings. He’d hardly ever been asked up to Kaz’s office before - and he knew better than to come without an invitation. It looked slightly different than he remembered, with Kaz’s few furnishings pushed up against the far walls and the old, threadbare rug rolled up and removed from the center of the floor.
A cool breeze brushed Jesper’s face and he turned to see that the window was open with Inej perched beside it, her knees drawn up to her chest. She lifted a hand in greeting, which Jesper returned with a smile.
“Doing some redecorating, Kaz?” He laughed, indicating the moved furniture. Kaz did not answer. He was in the farthest corner of the room, leaning on his cane.
“Close the door,” he said. Jesper did as he was told.
“Are you going to tell me what the job is yet?” Jesper asked.
“Actually, I was just about to. You’ve met our lovely Inej,” Kaz replied, and Jesper didn’t miss Inej’s scowl at the endearment. “She’s going to be our new spider, but if she’s going to join our ranks, she needs to learn how to fight. That’s where you come in.” Jesper’s eyes darted from Kaz, to Inej, and back again. He furrowed his brows.
“Not following.”
“I want her to learn how to fight. By fighting you.”
“You-? You want me to-? What?” Jesper stuttered. He looked to Inej as if for help but her face was impassive. Certainly, she seemed in no way surprised by Kaz’s proposition.
“Kaz, I can’t fight her. I’ve got like, 2 feet of height on her!” Jesper insisted.
“So will a lot of other Barrel thugs. She needs to start somewhere, and I don’t want the first punch she throws to be in a real fight.”
Jesper nervously touched his hands to his revolvers. He didn’t like the idea of this at all. Inej was a young girl - much smaller and much less experienced than him. Jesper had learned to hold his own in a fight the way most Barrel boys learned - in street brawls or bar fights or on jobs with his gang. He’d never heard of getting lessons before, much less giving them. He decided he needed a new way out.
“Ya know, Kaz, I much prefer my guns to my fists,” he said, nervously drumming his fingers on their shiny pearl handles. “Maybe you should get someone better at this than me to teach her.” Kaz only smiled wickedly, like he was hoping Jesper might say something like that.
“Oh I’m well aware of your skill level,” he rasped. “That’s why I picked you. You’re a good place to start.”
Jesper made a wounded expression, which Kaz ignored. “Let’s get started, shall we? You won’t need those,” he added, nodding to Jesper’s revolvers.
Sensing he had lost this battle, Jesper removed his gun belt and laid it on Kaz’s desk, as delicately as he could. Then, he crossed to stand in the center of the room.
He watched as Inej dismounted from the window, her feet hitting the floor without a sound. She padded over to him and held out her hand as she had just the day before in the Crow Club. Once again, they shook.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Jesper told her, his hand still clasping hers.
“I know, but I want to. I want to learn,” she said. Jesper met her eyes, searching for any sign of hesitation, but there was none; only fierce determination. He nodded slightly and stepped back, raising his fists to a boxing position.
***
There were three things Jesper learned in his first week of fighting lessons with Inej: first, she was fast. Although Inej did not know much about fighting, Jesper found that it didn’t matter what she knew if he couldn’t catch her in the first place. She was light on her feet, effortlessly shifting her weight and recovering from feints with all the grace of a dancer. Every time Jesper attempted a grab, she somehow slipped away, slicker than an oil spill. She was so good at defensive moves that eventually Kaz, watching from the corner, made it a rule that she had to attempt at least three offensive attacks for every dodge she performed. This turned the tides in Jesper’s favor significantly.
The second thing Jesper learned was that Inej was smart. Her initial attempts at offense were nothing short of pitiful, but they did not stay that way for long.
“No,” Kaz interjected suddenly, pushing up from his chair and striding to stand between them. Jesper stopped his attack, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. They’d been at it for almost three hours, and both of them were bruised and sweaty.
“See how you’re dropping your left shoulder down?” Kaz continued, his back to Jesper as he demonstrated for Inej. “You’re leaving your flank open. Keep your arms raised, like this.” Inej nodded, breathing hard and mimicking his stance. She seemed to absorb his every critique like sponge. She adapted so quickly, in fact, that by the end of the first week, she was so familiar with Jesper’s style that she was beginning to anticipate his moves before he made them.
“Better,” Kaz affirmed. “Now try again.”
In moments like these, it became apparent to Jesper that he was not the teacher in these lessons, so much as he was a practice dummy. He tried to pick up on Kaz’s tips for himself, but his erratic brain couldn’t remember them all, and his habits constantly fought to take over.
More than once, Jesper let his eyes wander to Kaz, hoping to see some semblance of approval there. There was none. His attention was reserved only for his star student - the girl destined to be his great thief of secrets.
The third thing Jesper learned was that Inej was tough. It was day five of their lessons, and Inej and Jesper were circling one another in Kaz’s office. Both of them were sore and beaten up - Inej somewhat more so than Jesper - but Kaz had been relentless about their progress.
“Again,” he said dispassionately. He was sitting on the edge of his desk, his crow head cane resting across his lap.
Jesper offered Inej an apologetic smile and lunged, but Inej dodged him easily. She dove forward then, onto her hands, rolling between Jesper’s long legs and appearing on the other side of him. Jesper whirled and stumbled out of the way in time to avoid the kick she aimed at his ribs.
Kaz looked merely bored. Jesper was growing tired of it.
He hated that he wanted Kaz’s attention so badly, but well… how could he not? Kaz was handsome and mysterious and gave out compliments about as readily as he gave out his Kruge. Jesper wanted to believe he’d been chosen for this task because Kaz trusted him, but in truth he could never really be sure.
Kaz would always keep him guessing, and apparently, so would Inej, who sprung effortlessly into a back walkover, avoiding another one of Jesper’s swings and landing a kick on his chin.
Right then, Jesper could’ve sworn he saw Kaz’s brows rise; he almost looked impressed. And that, officially, was too much for Jesper.
He doubled down on his advances, pressing Inej until she was almost backed into a corner. Her breathing hitched, apparently surprised by the new intensity, but Jesper did not relent. He watched her eyes dart left, right, looking for an escape, but too late. Jesper swung a right hook. His fist connected with Inej’s cheek bone, the force of the punch rattling up his arm.
Inej stumbled backwards, doubling over and colliding with the wall. Her hand flew to her cheek, then just as quickly she dropped it again, her fingers curling into fists as she resumed the fighting stance Kaz had taught her.
Something about it brought Jesper back to earth.
“Are you alright?” He gasped. He took a step forward, extending a hand towards Inej, but her eyes remained fierce, her hands up and guarding her face.
“Jesper, what the hell are you doing?” Kaz snapped. Jesper whirled to face him.
“I punched her in the face! I’m giving her a second to recover,” Jesper said, exasperated. Kaz leapt up from his desk with surprising agility for a guy with only one good leg.
“Are the people she faces on these streets going to give her that grace? No. They’d beat her bloody and leave her for the rats.”
“And you expect me to do the same for the sake of practice?” Jesper retorted, his anger rising. He hated this, and he hated that he didn’t hate Kaz, that he’d let himself get carried away.
“I’m fine, Jesper,” Inej said quietly. The boys turned to look at her. She’d been so silent while they argued, they’d almost forgotten she was there.
Now that Jesper got a good look though, it was clear she was not “fine.” A deep purple bruise was already blooming over her cheek bone and spreading towards her eye, causing it to swell shut.
Jesper glanced at Kaz. His eyes were roaming over Inej’s face, his expression unreadable. Jesper saw his jaw tick.
“Break for the day. We’ll pick it up again tomorrow,” Kaz rasped. He snatched his cane off the desk and stalked out of the room, leaving Inej and Jesper alone.
“Let me get you some ice,” Jesper said after an uncomfortable silence. “Wait here.”
His long legs made for a quick run to the icebox, and soon he was back with handful of ice cubes bundled up in a tea towel. Inej had returned to her place at the window. Her face was swollen but she looked rather peaceful silhouetted against the setting sun, her long plait thrown over one shoulder. She nodded her thanks as Jesper handed her the ice. He took a seat on the ledge across from her.
“You can take a punch,” he said in a would-be cheery voice. He still felt horribly guilty. Exercise or not, it had been his feelings towards Kaz that had caused him to hurt Inej; he vowed internally that he would never do something like that again.
Inej adjusted the ice on her face, peering at him with her uncovered eye.
“I had to, to survive the Menagerie,” she said. A light breeze came through the window and Inej turned her face to it. She wore a sad, hardened expression that made her look both 16 and 101, like she’d been through far too much for someone so young.
Jesper swallowed, his fingers beating a nervous rhythm on his knee. Though he knew Inej had come from the Menagerie, their interactions thus far had been mostly limited to fighting lessons with Kaz. There wasn’t much time for small talk, much less topics like this.
“Tante Helene was generous with her beatings,” Inej continued. “The first time she hit me, I cried so hard I threw up on my bed. Helene added another hundred Kruge to my debt for the sheets I had ruined. After that, I learned to take her beatings quietly.”
Jesper could think of nothing to say. His fingers were drumming faster than ever.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out at last. Inej glanced at him as if confused - as if they were words she did not recognize.
“I have been free from that place almost a month now and I still cannot walk down that street. That’s why I want to do this. Not just for Kaz, but for myself. I want to be able to face my fears.” She readjusted the ice again, and Jesper caught a glimpse of her injury. It looked a bit better now, but not much. She’d probably have a black eye for the next few days. Jesper wondered vaguely if Kaz would charge him for damage to his investment.
“Well… I hope I’m helping then, at least a little bit. I’m much better with a gun, but you’re getting really good at close combat. Plus, you’re gonna look super tough with that black eye,” he added in an attempt at lightening the mood. Inej merely sighed, resting her head back against the wall. The ice was beginning to melt and leak through the cloth. She let the cool droplets run down her face.
Jesper tried to sit quietly with her, but he’d never understood the concept of “comfortable silence.”
“So… if you don’t walk the streets,” he asked, “how do you get around?”
Inej smiled then - a real smile - for the first time all day.
“The rooftops,” she breathed, gazing out the window again. “They’re the best way to see Ketterdam and… they remind me of home.”
Home. Jesper hadn’t seen his home in quite some time. He wondered when Inej had last seen her home, and how it could be anything like rooftops in the Barrel. Perhaps these were conversations they could have someday. After all, she was part of the crew now.
That’s when an idea came to Jesper. He held out his hand, as if to shake. Inej eyed it, confused.
“I realized we were never properly introduced,” Jesper explained with a grin. “I’m Jesper Fahey. I grew up on a farm in Novyi Zem. I came to Ketterdam for school but, well… you can see how that turned out.”
Inej giggled, placing her small hand in his.
“I’m Inej Ghafa, and I’m part of a caravan of acrobats in Ravka. Kaz Brekker bought me out of my contract at the Menagerie, and now I steal secrets for him and his gang.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Inej Ghafa. I’m glad to be part of your crew.”
Inej put her other hand on top of his and gave it a squeeze. Jesper wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was: that it was hard to find real friends in Ketterdam, but maybe he could have this one.
“Come on,” Jesper said suddenly, pulling her from the window. “I bet Kaz hasn’t taken you out for waffles yet. They’re like, the one good thing this rotten city has to offer.”
He looped his arm through hers and Inej seemed to stiffen for a moment, but she relaxed just as quickly.
“You’re right,” she said, “let’s go.” And she allowed her new friend to lead her down the street.