#jesper loves that hes still associating himself with the dregs if even privately

[honeyxmonkey]

Wylan ends up getting a Dregs tattoo. It's very high up on his forearm so he doesn't have to worry about the other members of the Council seeing it if his sleeve rode up a bit. Only the Crows know he got it

[klbwriting]

Unexpected Allies - Chapter 4

Fandom: Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone

Pairing: eventually will be Kaz/female!Reader, and that is really starting to happen

Warnings: I mean, Kaz Brekker is involved, someone is getting maimed

Summary:  The journey to town doesn't go as planned

Notes:  I’m trying my best to respect Kaz’s touch aversion while also working him into accepting someone, its a fine line to walk so I hope I’m doing alright, also Kaz can be soft in private we’re learning

They had spent the evening planning their next day, what supplies they needed, who would get what, and how they would get out of the town. Y/N knew trusting Jesper with anything extreme was a bad idea so she told him that his only job was to find them warm clothes for the trip, giving him just enough money to get them. Kaz was going to gather the food and water canteens while Y/N was getting the camping supplies. She had gotten the tents and blankets, lugging the bags with her through the town when she noticed that the Grisha presence in the town was increasing as the day went on. This was concerning. She walked the perimeter of the town monitoring where the Grisha were gathering and frowned. Damn, the only road north had Grisha guards checking every traveler who walked or rode out. She went to the woods around the town, her dismay growing. Grisha were everywhere. She headed to the meeting point near the stables, finding Kaz and Jesper already there. She waited out of sight, listening as Kaz reamed Jesper.

"You gambled the money and didn't get the clothes? Is that what you're telling me?" Kaz said, voice low, dangerous. She could see Jesper from her place, fidgeting, eyes looking anywhere but at Kaz.

"I won some, but then I lost it," he said. "Its alright, you have any money left? I'll go and win it all back, get us some nice warm coats." Kaz let out an annoyed grunt.

"No, I thought and bought some clothes on top of the food. Now, the other important thing, when we get our crew back, how are we getting out of that resistance?" he asked. Y/N thought this might happen. She knew he wasn't just going to join up out of desire to help others. Kaz Brekker didn't care about anyone but himself, she knew that really, dark eyes and a jawline that could cut glass had blinded her for a minute and now she felt foolish for mooning over him last night. She took a deep breath, making sure to calm her demeanor. No reason to let herself be blinded again, she had convinced the Darkling she loved him, should be easy to convince herself that she didn't have feelings for Kaz. After collecting herself she stepped into full view, making them halt their conversation.

"We have a problem," she said, approaching and handing off the bags she had bought for each of them. She explained about the Grisha presence as they stashed their supplies. "They are in the woods even, probably looking for you two, possibly me, I can't imagine the body is convincing them I'm dead anymore." Kaz pursed his lips and she used that moment to steel herself because the last thing she needed was to think about his lips. Not that he would allow them near her in the first place, she didn't need the visual in her mind. She turned and used the moment to check their surroundings. It was getting dark now and she knew soon the Grisha would establish some type of curfew.

"At the gambling hall I was at they had rooms to rent, we could stay there for the night, they were cheap? The place had a no Grisha policy and it was loud so I doubt anyone would notice us," Jesper offered. Y/N smiled and put a friendly arm around his shoulder.

"You're a genius Jes, pure genius," she said, motioning for him to lead the way. She didn't notice the look on Kaz's face, but Jesper had, and now he was a little afraid of sleeping in the same room as his boss.

 Kaz had instantly figured out that Y/N had heard the conversation he and Jesper were having at the stables, the icy look she gave him when she came out of hiding was enough for him to know that her infatuation with him might be over. He should have been overjoyed by that, it would save him trouble in the future, but he found that he was irritated by it. He looked out for himself and sometimes the Dregs, why did she think he would look out for her too? If she wanted to be moody then fine, but when she put her arm around Jesper and called him 'Jes' Kaz nearly walloped the Zemeni boy with his cane. Now they were stuck in a room together for the night and Jesper had abandoned them to get dinner brought up.

"You know he's an addict, he's gambling the food money right now," Kaz said after he washed his face and upper body in the basin. Y/N had gone behind a makeshift privacy wall she had created with a sheet and some rope to wash herself also. He only spoke to get his mind to focus on something besides the fact that her shirt was hanging on that rope line right now.

"I know that Kaz, I didn't give him much and I requested dinner be brought up to us at 9 bells when we rented the room, I just wanted at least one of you gone while I cleaned up. Saints know you weren't going to leave the room," she snapped. She had pulled on a new shirt, this one long enough that she could remove the pants she had been wearing for a little while. "Are you decent?" Kaz pulled a new shirt on, pulling down the sheet himself and tossing it onto Jesper's cot. He stood still, leaning on the wash table, cane leaning next to him, buttoning his shirt up slowly. Despite trying to avert her eyes Kaz caught Y/N glancing at him as he dressed. She met his eyes and he cocked his eyebrow at her. She scowled and folded her arms, a naked leg crossing over the other. Now he gawked for a moment. Their eyes met again and this time they both smirked. Damn.

"Are you going to finish dressing?" he asked, folding his arms now that his shirt was properly done up. She shook her head and stood up, showing that the shirt she wore went down to her knees.

"This is nearly the length of a proper night gown, and its hot in this room," she said, leaning across from him and folding her arms. They stared at each other for a long time, both trying to figure the other out. Kaz didn't know her thoughts which irked him. Most people were easy reads and in most cases Y/N was the same, but there was something underneath the shallow exterior she showed the world. Those big brown eyes held hidden depths that he couldn't quite capture, but he desperately wanted to explore them. He could tell himself that he just wanted to know his associate, make sure he knew all her secrets so he could use them when the time was right, but he knew that he truly wanted to know her secrets so that he could really know her, and he would take her secrets to the grave with him. He could see that she was once again, studying his body so he did the same to her. She was curvy, and looked soft in all the right places, and he imagined for a moment what it would be like to feel those soft places, his bare hands tracing those curves, exploring her hips, breasts, lips. He swallowed hard, shaking the thought from his mind, but noticing that the thought of Jordie took more time to arrive than it normally did when he thought about touching someone. Progress was being made, prison must have worked some magic on him. He had been forced to touch nearly everyone he came in contact with there and after awhile he had just braced himself all the time for the interaction. That was probably why he could brace himself now, without the thought occurring to him.

"Are they playing music now?" Kaz asked suddenly, hearing what sounded like a full band playing downstairs. Y/N perked up and smiled some.

"We used to dance to this song at the Little Palace before everything went to shit," she said. "Have you ever danced Kaz?" Kaz looked at her surprised.

"You think that I dance? Do I look like I dance?" he asked, not sure how anyone could think he would dance. Not only was his aversion to touch a problem but his knee wouldn't handle a dance well either. Y/N just laughed.

"You could do this dance, I'll show you," she offered. He stood still for a moment before he found himself standing. What was he doing? Why was he letting himself dance with her? He needed a strong drink and someone to torture, he was becoming soft. "Hold your cane level with the ground." Despite his mind telling him to just go to bed something else had him holding the cane how she asked.

"Now what? Do I swing it around, take out as many dancers as I can?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed and reluctant. Y/N just laughed, making his lip twitch up again.

"No, put your one hand on the end and put the cane behind your back, good, now the other hand sits next to your hip holding the cane again," she explained. He was now standing with his cane held behind his back, half of it sticking out at her. She approached and he inhaled sharply. "Don't worry, I won't touch you, just the cane. Normally we would have our arms behind each others' backs holding hands but this will work." She took hold of his cane the same way only facing the other direction. She started the dance by taking two slow steps forward, forcing Kaz to follow suit. They were a few inches apart and he watched her feet as she took a quick step this time. She let go of the cane and it dropped back to standing. He watched her and followed as she did a bow he did too, their eyes never losing contact as they danced. She stepped up to him and he moved to her, mere inches apart again. He could feel the energy from her body before she spun away, back to him. She looked back over her shoulder at him and for a moment he thought about how easy it would be to just touch her hair, brush it aside, feel the skin of her neck. His hand was starting to reach out, eyes still staring into hers when the door to the room flew open and Jesper rushed in.

"I won a chicken!" he proclaimed, holding up the roast bird high above his head. Kaz looked from Jesper, to the chicken held high above, then back to Y/N. She was shaking with laughter and before he could control himself Kaz let out a laugh, gripping the cane for support.

"I knew you could smile!" Y/N said triumphantly. This sobered up Kaz and his clamped his mouth closed, bringing back his sour demeanor. There was no way she was getting him to dance and laugh in one evening. He wouldn't allow it. Not in front of Jesper. Being soft around the girl you were falling for was one thing...

 Y/N could pinpoint the moment that Kaz's brain stopped working. He had just clammed up again, going from dancing and actually laughing, back to being the leader of the Dregs, the Bastard of the Barrel again. She wanted to be annoyed but she couldn't, not after Jesper had come acting like a chicken was the jackpot of the tables downstairs. He set it down on the end table, pulling the bird apart with his hands and sharing with them. They all ate in silence, enjoying a hot meal for the first time that day. It was dry and turned to dust once chewed but Y/N found herself enjoying it, helping herself to two servings as she listened to Jesper tell the story of his win.

They were just about to get into bed when someone shouted down the hall that the Grisha were there. Y/N dashed to get pants on, yanking on her shoes and then her vest and coat. She could hear Kaz and Jesper around her getting ready in the dark when they heard footsteps. They froze in place praying they would pass but instead the door was shoved open by a Squallor wind, sending Jesper down on his ass. Two Second Army Grisha entered the room, having seen Jesper and Kaz but not Y/N. As quiet as she could Y/N moved towards the door, hoping to get the drop on them, but she was not naturally stealthy. The two turned and stared shocked for just a moment. It was all Y/N needed she moved her hands and sent one Grisha flying with a gust of wind while her other hand clenched, bringing the Squallor down unconscious. Jesper was still getting to his feet, not noticing her abilities but she knew that Kaz had seen what she had done and judging by the look on his face he had already started to figure her out more than she hoped.

"Come on, we need to leave now," she said, grabbing her pack. She waited for the other two to grab their bags before entering the hall. She could see Kaz tense as they pushed through the thrall of people trying to get out, being pushed to the ground as soon as they got to the bottom floor. An Inferni stood guard at the door, trying to keep the crowd inside as the rowdy bunch tried to force their way out. In the melee Jesper drew his gun and shot first at the Inferni and then at the glass of a nearby window, breaking it. The Inferni screeched in pain, throwing a ball of fire randomly into the crowd, catching on the gambling tables on fire.

All hell broke loose.

The crowd started to stampede in all directions. Jesper took off out the window and ran off into the night while Kaz tried to follow. His cane was knocked out of his hands, moving away from him. Y/N threw herself into motion, a hand reaching out to draw the cane back to her, while also bracing herself over Kaz, coat spread open and forcing the crowd to go around her. She felt her muscles ache as she held firm, protecting Kaz the only way she could until he could get to his feet. He finally was able to compose himself enough to stand and hurry out the window. Y/N moved after him, giving him the cane and running towards the woods. Other Grisha was hurrying to the burning gambling hall and Y/N found herself praying to whatever Saint would listen to let them get into the woods.

They were almost there when a carriage stopped in front of them. Panic washed over Y/N for a moment before she saw Jesper in the drivers seat.

"Get in!" he shouted. Kaz threw open the door and dove in, his hand reaching out to yank Y/N in after him. They landed on the floor awkwardly, her on top of him, but she was able to keep herself held up on the seats, keeping her hands to herself so to speak. Kaz sat and then she did as Jesper drove the horses out of the town and into the night.