#insignificant457

Turns out another chapter dropped a month or two ago

Loving the idea that Kaz still watches jordie when he sleeps- like the little creep he is

Had to make these quick-

*falls back into the void

this ficlet is shamelessly inspired by the ending of No Reason to Be Afraid by @insignificant457 because i couldn't get inej wishing kaz a goodnight out of my head. thank you for writing this beautiful pre-canon fic—all credit goes to you!

“Goodnight,” she calls after him, then winces. Goodnight? You’ve just joined a gang, Inej, have a little dignity. He pauses, already halfway out of view, then leans back to look around the doorframe, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Goodnight,” he says stiffly. She gives him a weak smile, which he registers before leaving without further comment.

Read below or read on AO3

It becomes a habit; a nightly routine. A goodnight, Kaz her closing remarks of most evenings—or sometimes in the dark and early hours of the morning, depending on the day. More often than not, he’ll murmur it back. If he doesn’t, she’ll give him a little tsk and a hushed, chiding manners before slipping out the window. 

They spend more time together than she thought they would—probably more than he thought as well. But after jobs, she begins to linger, the windowsill in his attic rooms now her designated perch. From it, she can watch both him and the city like the spy he’s crafting her into. She likes to dangle her feet into the cool air and observe the stars that burst through Ketterdam’s cloudy sky. They’re in different places in the night sky here than in the Ravkan plains and mountains, but the constellations are familiar. She is so far from home, but the longer she spends in the Slat, in her perch in this dangerous boy’s room, the more the definition of home starts to change (though for her, home has always been other people). 

She sometimes uses variations like sleep well or sweet dreams though she knows he’ll most likely have neither. She tries not to worry about that; tries not to listen to his pacing above her, the way his bed will creak in the middle of the night from him tossing and turning. She can only imagine what he sees when he closes his eyes in the dark. She understands what it’s like to face your demons even in sleep. 

When she uses these softer variations, he’ll often smirk and offer a wry remark in return. Something along the lines of, “What’s next Wraith, you’ll sing me lullabies?”

“Maybe if you ask nicely,” she shoots back. She gets comfortable, teasing him like this, and it pleases her that he doesn’t seem to let anyone else get away with it. 

But what neither of them know—and how could they?—is that years down the line when those same nightmares come knocking she will do just that, lending him the lilting words her parents sang to lull her to sleep whispered into his hair, the rich Suli consonants curling around them in the darkness. Their voices, they find, are one of the best ways to bring each other back from the crumbling ledge of their memories—though they’ve always known to some degree that that was the case. 

One night, she’s reclined on the sill, legs stretched out and head tilted back, the warmth of summer bathing over her even after the sun has set. She yawns and rubs her eyes, and when she opens them, Kaz is staring at her. He clears his throat and looks away, shuffling some papers on his desk in a manner she knows is just for show. 

“Go rest, Inej.” It’s a dismissal, but not an unkind one. Simply a directive. She nods, rubs her eyes once more and sits up all the way, about to wish him a goodnight when—

“Goodnight. Sleep well.” He mumbles it while still staring down at his mess of papers. 

She freezes and lowers her hands, a big smile spreading on her face. 

“What was that?”

“Go to bed, Inej.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what you said.” She is absolutely grinning now, much too pleased that she’s taught her Barrel boy niceties. She thinks his face is slowly turning pink, the tips of his ears bright with color. 

When he finally looks up at her, she feels her chest tighten at the sight. His eyes are so dark they’re nearly black in the room’s low light. The shadows crease his face into hard lines, but yes, there it is—a high blush spreading across his sharp cheeks. 

“Goodnight,” he finally repeats. “And have the sweetest of dreams, darling.” He’s injected a gratuitous amount of sarcasm into the words, but the way his eyes dart over her face—and, she thinks, settle on her lips before he looks back down at his desk—gives him away. 

kanej author recs | insignificant457

Notable/Favorite works:

What We Would've Become

“A hand seizes her wrist. It’s encased in cool leather, and she remembers it clutching at her in a chapel in Ravka. Remembers the voice that came with it, saying Stay.”

Rating: G / Quirks: Developing Kanej, Showverse/Book Blend (post-s2), pre-IC heist, Post-Canon (showverse), Canon divergence (book verse)

The Strangeness of Home*

She shakes her head, feeling befuddled. “I don’t know what to tell them, Papa. What do I say?” He smiles sadly at her, and gently tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You say whatever you need to. Tell them as much or as little as you want. It is your story to tell, when–if–you want to tell it.”

Rating: M / Quirks: Inej Centric, Post-canon, Visit to Ravka (Inej only), Inej's parents, Inej's relatives, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Kanej

*a good standalone story with a follow up (the unexpected visitor) but also that one can be read a separate too. While Kanej is not the primary focus I would highly rec for the feels.

The Unexpected Visitor (WIP)

So yes, she can admit that this visit is a long time coming. At this point, his myth is nearly as grandiose among the caravan as it is in Ketterdam. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Rating: M / Quirks: Established Kanej, Post-canon, Inej's parents, Inej's relatives, Angst, Fluff, Healing! So much healing, a lot of hurt but healing, Inej and her Dad actually having a moment (it's what we deserve), Kaz and Inej's mom having moments, Inej's parents love Kaz... I can't stress enough people actually love Kaz and hate him too

Operation Kanej (WIP)

“The point,” Nina says, “is that Inej and Kaz clearly have feelings for each other, and would clearly make a great power couple, but are both too emotionally constipated to admit it. So we need to, you know, give them a little shove.”

I was literally going to make that exact meme about them LMAO it's so spot on for them. His autistic swag bewitched her, body and soul.

I didn't have this headcanon until Light Bringer. Let's be real he wasn't in IG or DA enough to make a judgment like that. So finally getting to know him as a person in LB left me feeling confident in this. Pierce really said "I'm going to write a character so autism coded." (I'm joking...unless?) Let's see...

Adherence to routines. He will make his ship crew run through multiple practice battle scenarios, multiple times... just in case.

Blunt honesty. He will tell you what he really thinks, even under threat of death from a room full of people his family has subjugated for centuries.

Will not tell a lie. Not cannot... will not. There are rules to be followed! So even if it gets him in trouble, he won't tell a lie... Except when he does!

Flat affect. Unreadable face, except by those who know him best ie his family and Aurae, but really quite emotional inside. Darrow speculates this was trained into him but the thought that he's actually just Like That is hilarious to me.

Hyperfixation on flowers, apparently. Who knew! Love that for him. He will read your landscaping choices for filth. Naming your carved flower "The Vanquished Foe"? Disgusting. Get that weak gahja shit out of his face.

He will skip your dumb victory party to go look at said flowers (but not pick them!). Relatable king.

Bad at public speaking. Not necessarily an autistic trait. But he's just like me fr.

Slow reader. Again, not necessarily an autistic trait. But again relatable. Let me have it.

I am! :) The smiley could be a good thing, could be a bad thing. The prediction could be right or wrong. Who knows! (Me knows)