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Living in the Slat taught you not to make mistakes, Inej had learned over many years. And when mistakes happened, you had to pivot quickly.
However, some mistakes were easier to recover from than others. Falling on her ankle from the side of the building was one of those slip ups.
It had been too long since Inej had been on a heist with Kaz. She’d started to forget Ketterdam’s little surprises along the rooftops, things that had once been muscle memory to her. Her feet had become accustomed to the deck of the Wraith.
Now she lay in a heap on the pavement, regretting not doing more recon before this job. Inej suppressed a groan as she got to her feet. Her ankle was definitely sprained, but not broken, thank the Saints.
Kaz’s figured melted from the shadows, she was perhaps one of the only people who found comfort in his looming figure. Inej watched as Kaz approached her, eyes scanning with a glimmer of concern.
“I’m fine, Kaz,” she said, teeth clenched, “I just need something to lean on.”
Preferably you, she thought. As much as she wanted that comfort, she didn’t want him to think she was weak. He walked, and often ran, through the pain of his leg; she could deal with a sprained ankle for a few blocks.
He offered her a hand first, then his cane. The tears that glinted in her eyes were not only from pain, but at his thoughtfulness. He was equally, if not more, careful about her sensitivity to touch. His gentleness never surprised her, but never failed to delight her.
At first, they ran and Inej gritted through the pain. Typically, Kaz kept up a breakneck pace, but she could tell he was trying to slow down for her. His cane wasn’t well suited for her height, but it helped take the edge off.
Too soon she could feel her pulse throbbing in her ankle. Inej licked her lips nervously, knowing her body’s limits. If she kept moving like this, she worried she would go down again.
“Kaz, I-“ he looked at her expectantly, but there was a softness to his eyes, “I need your help.”
“You should’ve said, darling,” Kaz said softly.
He got close and Inej shifted her weight onto him, returning his cane to help support them both. Instead of wrapping an arm around her waist, Kaz swept a hand under her knees.
Inej gasped as he easily lifted her up with one arm, tightening her own grip around his shoulders. She pressed her face into him as he picked up his pace steadily.
“Alright?” The question was soft, just under his breath.
“Just don’t hurt your leg,” she replied, grateful that the throbbing in her own foot had reduced slightly already.
Somehow he was able to carry her and use his cane simultaneously, which did make Inej feel slightly better. Somehow she’d get him to ice his leg tonight, they both knew he’d do anything she asked with a little bit of persuasion.
“Watch my back for me?”
She said nothing, because he knew she would. It’s what they did for each other always.