#tidemaker! reader

Inej, observant as always, noticed his attention wandering and looked in the same direction. As soon as she saw it was you he was watching, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s Y/N.”

“Who?”

Inej rolled her eyes at him and continued.

“She’s a Tidemaker, sort of a floater. She’s been on a dozen different crews and sailed from port to port for years.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“Finishing a job, probably. Would you like me to introduce you?”

Inej’s tone was teasing and Kaz scowled at the suggestion. But he let her lead the way to you anyway. The pair was still fifteen feet away when you set down another crate and closed the gap, running to meet Inej.

“Miss Ghafa! A pleasure to see you as always.”

The shining smile on your sun warmed face made Kaz tense up. Your familiarity with Inej was no surprise, but the way you addressed her was.

“It’s good to see you too, Y/N.”

“Are you heading out again?”

“I am. I was just saying goodbye to my friend first.”

Inej gestured to Kaz. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself, so he just tightened his grip on his cane and nodded slightly.

“You know, you can say hello. She doesn’t bite.”

“Usually.”

You gave him a wide grin, a look in your eyes that told Kaz you weren’t kidding. You made no effort to shake his hand once you glanced at his gloves and opted instead to wave at him.

“Afternoon, Inej’s friend.”

While he could easily have left the exchange at that, your voice stuck in his head. You both bid Inej goodbye. You returned to the berth where a half stocked ship still waited, waving goodbye to Kaz as you went. You didn’t seem to have a clue who he was. If you did, you’d done a very convincing job of pretending not to.

Over the following months, he started seeing you more often. It was as if, once he knew you existed, he saw you everywhere. You showed up at the Crow Club a few times with some sailors, acting as a handler. If any of them got too rowdy, you had the situation managed before Kaz even had time to send one of the Dregs to deal with them. He saw you every time he ended up at Fifth Harbor. He didn’t know how he could have missed you before, all shouted orders and waving arms as you went about your job. Each time you noticed him, you’d give a great big smile and an exaggerated wave. He found himself waving back after the first few times.

He’d never tell a soul, but he even started visiting the harbor simply to see you there. He had investments to check on, of course. That was his excuse for spending an hour on the docks listening to you explain a captain’s rules to a newly hired deckhand. You were always looking out for the others, though no one did the same for you. You’d spent enough time on ships and in foreign harbors to advise others who to stay away from and where they could turn for help. Kaz realized he admired that greatly, the way you never let the world change your inclination to kindness.

Once, Jesper came down to the harbor with him. Wylan had some business to attend to, but he’d asked Jesper to check on an incoming ship for him. When you walked past with a few scrawny new sailors, giving advice and leading them away from their more threatening looking seasoned shipmates, you took a second to wave at Kaz as usual. Kaz, without thinking, waved back and let one corner of his mouth twitch up at the sight of you grabbing one of the stragglers and draping an arm around his shoulder to keep him close.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“What now, Jesper?”

“You don’t wave at people on the street. You don’t even like to wave at me and I’m your best friend.”

Kaz glanced at him and he raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, fine. Your second best friend. But my point still stands.”

“She’s a friend of Inej’s; we met when Inej left last.”

“And… what? Inej has introduced all of us to her friends before and you never show any interest.”

Kaz shook him off and continued on his way, but Jesper wasn’t about to let it go.

“Come on, Kaz! What’s so incredible about this girl that she caught your attention?”

“Who said she has my attention?”

Jesper gave a dramatic groan.

“Everything I’ve learned about you since the day we met points to the conclusion that people don’t matter to you. Everyone is either an investment or an irritant. If that girl was an irritant, she’d be long gone. So what is it about her?”

Kaz wouldn’t give him an answer. He couldn’t. Because how could he possibly explain that every time you waved at him, smiled, shouted an enthusiastic greeting before being pulled away to work, he felt his heart lighten? That each time you played with the waves, splashed your crewmates, or stopped another boat dead in the water for petty revenge he fought the urge to smile? How could he tell Jesper that on the days when running the Dregs felt like a punishment, when he wanted to simply bury his head in the pillows and ignore the whole world, he heard your voice in his head and got up to work?

It didn’t make any sense. It was completely irrational and insane. The only person he could imagine trying to talk to about it was Inej, but that wasn’t an option. Not only because she was at sea, but also because he knew it was a secret she was likely to share with you in some way or another. She’d never outright betray his trust, but she’d start dropping hints and encouraging you both to spend more time together. He couldn’t have that.

It was no surprise that you were the one to finally change things. It had been nearly a year since you met Kaz. He’d hired you to go on a few voyages to protect his investments on board and, to no one’s surprise, you did your job well. On your next return to Ketterdam, Kaz was waiting on the docks when your ship pulled into Fifth Harbor. You decided to forgo waiting for the gangplank to be lowered and simply caught yourself on a wave on your way over the railing, landing easily on the dock and running toward him.

You stopped a few steps away, always carefully keeping your distance. Another thing he loved about you; your unwavering respect for his boundaries and comfort zone. You gave a little wave and another smile like sunshine. Kaz felt himself smile right back.

“Afternoon, Mister Brekker. You’ll be pleased to know your shipment arrived safely in Novyi Zem.”

“No complications?”

“Nothing a skilled Tidemaker like myself couldn’t handle.”

Kaz turned back toward the streets and you followed at his side.

“Then I suppose there are two reasons to celebrate.”

“Two?”

“A very important ship made port two days ago.”

“Inej!”

The Suli girl dropped down on Kaz’s other side, seamlessly falling into step with the pair in the busy streets.

“Nice to see Kaz has put you to work now too.”

You let Kaz take a few steps ahead so you could shuffle into the middle of your trio and throw an arm around your friend.

“Oh, he certainly has. The big bad king of the Barrel has me holed up on ships for weeks at a time. I hardly have the chance to make port anymore before I’m back on the waves.”

“You say it as if the sea isn’t your own personal paradise.”

You gave Kaz a teasing glare.

“The sea, yes. Scowling old sailors or ditzy newbies who have far too much to learn, not so much.”

“You could always just push them overboard and use a little Tidemaker magic to drown them. No one would be the wiser.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say to me. And it’s small science, not magic.”

You turned up your nose at the word ‘magic’ and nudged Kaz’s arm. He simply let a small smirk cross his face.

“Either way, I’m simply suggesting a solution to your problem.”

You and Inej laughed at that. Kaz was always more skilled at creating problems than solving them. It was in his nature to be a headache for as many people as he could. A hobby, even.

“Drownings aside, let’s get waffles. I’m starving.”