Work Text:
Inej collapsed into the chair, chest heaving with poorly restrained emotions.
Killing never got easier. It never got easier to see her blades pass through the bodies of men and women, ones whose crimes were not meant for her to be judge, jury or executioner of. Meeting and defending a living Saint did nothing but heighten her religious zeal, and these days when her blades flew fast and indiscriminate it was growing much harder to shake the weight off of her shoulders.
Shaking hands began to undo the clasps of her coat, quickly getting frustrated as her fingers slipped off of the metal hooks.
A door creaked open slowly and closed behind her. Soft, uneven footsteps began to approach, accompanied by the soft thunk of a cane against worn wood floors.
Inej didn't look up.
Slowly, Kaz Brekker- dirtyhands, the most dangerous man in the barrel- knelt at her feet. His bad leg crumpled beneath him as he half fell heavily, his cane clattering haphazardly beside him.
He didn't look up.
Reaching up, Kaz lightly brushed aside her trembling hands, his jaw clenched tight and teeth grinding slightly as he fought to remain in the moment. His own sure fingers slowly undid the clasps of her coat, letting it fall from her shoulders.
Inej's breaths came slower, calmer, without the weight of her cloak and the tight hold of the clasp at her throat. Her eyes slowly lifted from her lap, to watch as Kaz's hands retracted. Watching for his next move.
Brekker didn't move to meet her eyes. Instead his hands trailed down, hovering just above her legs. He couldn't get himself to lower them. Instead they fell to her boots. With gentle guiding, dirtyhands brought her left boot up onto his knee, and began to undo the laces. He pulled the boot from her foot and cast it to the side, before repeating with her right.
Leaning her head back, Inej rubbed her hands over her face and let out a heavy sigh. Focusing on each point of her body and working to release it's tension.
A soft clack of metal on wood sounded as Kaz drew in his cane and began to support himself.
He was stopped suddenly by a gloved hand, reaching out and slipping along the side of his face. It settled there lightly, fingers splitting on either side of his ear and a leather clad thumb gliding gently across his Cheekbone.
His whole body went tense. Kaz's eyes slipped closed and his jaw clenched again, but he didn't move his head away.
In fact, he stayed stock still until the hand began to recede. Only then did his eyes open and loft to meet her gaze.
The two sat like that for what felt like hours. It must have been only for a few moments.
Slowly, without a word, Kaz pulled himself up. He stood there for a moment, but could not bring himself to meet her eyes again. Instead, he dropped her boots by the door and was gone with a swish of his cloak and the soft click of the latch.
Inej dropped her head back and sighed, body suddenly languid in the chair as her eyes slipped closed..