Chapter Text
“Zenik.”
Nina’s head shot up from the map she had been studying. It was almost embarrassing how easy it was to sneak up on her. She was a spy, for Saint’s sake. “Brekker.”
Normally, she would have gone right back to her map, but something about Kaz’s demeanour was off. His gloved fingers were flicking a silver coin back and forth and he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
Saints, he was nervous.
“I have a,” he grit his teeth. “Favour to ask.”
She smirked. “The mighty Bastard of the Barrel has a favour to ask of lil’ ol’ me? I might swoon!”
Kaz scowled. “Never mind. It was stupid to ask.”
The guilt hit Nina like a punch to the gut. Kaz was rarely so polite as to ask for help, rather than demand it. He was doing better, she could meet him half way.
“Hey,” she said, tone softening. “I’m sorry. What do you need?”
“I-“ his eyes darted to the ground. “You have to swear you won’t tell anyone, or I swear to every one of Inej’s damned Saints—“
“I know, I know,” Nina rolled her eyes. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“I need you to cut my hair.”
Nina blinked. She expected murder, maybe, or perhaps he needed her to raise the dead for information. Not something so mundane as a haircut.
“Uh,” she said eloquently. She'd cut Matthias's hair a couple times, and helped Wylan shape his hair after he singed a chunk out, but she wasn't a hairdresser by any means. “Sure. Why?”
Kaz’s pale cheeks turned red. “Inej is set to be back in Ketterdam next week and she’s bringing her parents.”
Despite herself, Nina’s heart warmed. “That’s alarmingly adorable.” She stood up. “I’ll go get my clippers. You sit down.”
“What, now?”
“Yes, right now!” She called over her shoulder. “It’ll need a few days to settle!”
“This was a bad idea.” She heard him mumbled.
“I’m ignoring you!”
When she came back, he was sitting down in the chair Nina had been studying in. His bad leg was stretched out in front of him and to anyone else, he might have looked calm, but Nina could see his good leg bouncing slightly and knew better.
“So, Kazzie, what are we doing?” She asked. His hair was getting a bit long, sure, but it was nowhere near as bad as Matthias’s in winter. She reached out to touch it and Kaz’s shoulders shot to his ears.
“Inej,” Kaz swallowed. “She likes it longer.”
“And you don’t?”
“The aesthetics couldn’t bother me less,” he said. “But the feeling of hair against my neck is horrendous.”
Nina added that to the long list of things she didn’t understand about Kaz Brekker. She loved the feeling of her long hair swishing against her back. Still, if Kaz didn’t like it, then she wouldn’t push it.
“Okay,” she said. “So a bit longer than usual, but nothing touching your neck?”“Yes.”
He grit his teeth as she touched his hair again.
“Sorry,” she said. She had no idea what had happened to Kaz that made him hate touch so much, but if it happened in the Barrel, then she could imagine plenty. “But this part is kinda necessary.”
“I know,” he ground out. “Talk.”
“What?”
“Talk. Gush about Matthias, make fun of me, I don’t care, just talk.”
“Fine, you bitch,” she said, as she started to trim. “Matthias fell of the boat when we got to Ravka. The water was only a few metres deep, he was fine, but Saints it was SO funny.”Kaz said nothing, but Nina could see his shoulders go down a smidgen. She continued on like that, telling him all about Ravka. As far as she was aware, he’d never been, and he seemed to enjoy learning about places outside of Kerch.
She turned him around about half way through and worked some gel into her fingers and into his hair.
“You use way too much of this stuff, you know,” she said. “You don’t need your hair to be able to survive a hurricane without moving.”
“I disagree.”
“I know.”
By the time she was done, his hair looked a lot neater, and much more flattering than it ever had before.
“Let me find a mirror,” she said, digging through her bag. “You look great! Inej will love it.”
Inej would love how Kaz looked even if he shaved himself bald, but that wasn’t the point. Nina passed him the mirror.
“Like it?”
Kaz bit his lip, but a small smile slipped through. “Yes. Um. Wylan says I’m supposed to thank people when I appreciate something. So, thank you, Nina.”
“We’re friends, Kaz. I’m happy to help.” Still, Nina couldn’t deny that it felt good to know that Kaz liked it enough to thank her.
Kaz slipped out the door without another word, but later that week a package of Ravkan toffees appeared on Nina’s desk, and when Inej finally came to town, she squealed when she saw Kaz’s hair, and that was good enough for her.