Promises, a six of crows fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Leigh Bardugo's wonderful Six of Crows series.

A/N: This takes place after Crooked Kingdom.

He should have known it was a trick.

When he received an anonymous and brief note earlier that evening instructing him to meet at the harbor alone and unarmed, he didn't think it through. All he could focus on was the lock of dark hair that was enclosed in the letter. No threat was explicitly stated in the note, but that lock of hair clearly implied that the Wraith would be punished if he did not appear.

Kaz couldn't help but assume the worst - that Inej had been kidnapped. It had been over a year since she departed for her first sea journey to locate and destroy slaver ships, but every three months, she briefly returned to Ketterdam...and to him.

But this time, she was late. She had been gone for over four months, and he received no word from her.

So when he found the note lying on his desk, he didn't even attempt to deduce if it was all a ruse. He decided instantly he would meet with this mysterious person because he wouldn't take any chances when it came to Inej's life.

And so here he was, his arms and legs chained up and his face bruised and battered from the assailant that awaited him at berth twenty-seven. He had been brought to the deck of a ship called The Cavalier, where he was left beside the mast.

There was no sign of Inej.

Perhaps, the lock of hair did not belong to her. When it fell out of the envelope, he had allowed his ungloved hand to twirl it through his fingers. If only he had more experience in knowing what it felt like to run his fingers through her hair...then maybe he would have known it wasn't really her hair. Since that day her parents arrived in Ketterdam, the two had hardly gone further than holding hands. Kaz would seldom wrap his arm around her, but only if his hand would rest against her clothing and not her skin.

But he couldn't dwell on that now. Couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He needed to figure a way out of this mess immediately.

Then he heard the pounding of footsteps against the deck.

A dark-bearded, burly man flanked by two short, scraggly men appeared before Kaz.

Remington Skerr.

Owner of the new club called the Crystal Castle in Ketterdam. Also, reportedly a slave-owner.

Which is exactly why Kaz has had some business with him in recent weeks, and that probably explained his current predicament.

When Skerr had moved into his city approximately three months ago, Kaz kept his tabs on him. He already had an inkling his business would be a threat to his own. But then he learned that he owned slaves, and all Kaz could visualize was a younger Inej being sold to Heleene. Kaz knew at that moment he had to dispose of him.

The first part of Kaz's plan was to drive him out of business. Where was the fun in eliminating someone if they didn't suffer first?

"Listen, kid. I've had enough of your silly games in trying to drive me away from Ketterdam. And now you've become this irritating gnat that just keeps swarming around. Now I have no choice but to squash you," he said in a mildly irritated tone. He didn't sound angry...just annoyed.

After Skerr gave the man standing next to him a firm nod, the man stepped forward and yanked Kaz to his feet before shoving him toward the boat's side. The abrupt movement caused Kaz to nearly trip and fall over, considering his feet were still chained together. It was even more difficult to move with the ache in his leg flaring up.

One of Skerr's men came forward with a ball of iron in his hands that he was struggling to hold due to its weight. Instinctively, Kaz tried to move away from him, but Skerr's men had already surrounded him and restrained him from doing so.

The man with the ball of iron dropped it beside Kaz's feet with a thump that reverberated through the ship. He hooked the ball onto the chain around Kaz's feet.

And then Kaz was abruptly pushed over the edge of the boat by the others.

He tumbled with a splash into the cold water.

And after he took one last breath of air, he was submerged in the water, and the weight of the iron ball pulled him down…

Down…

Down.

She was going to kill them.

She was going to kill them all.

And Inej Ghafa would do so quickly.

She had been left tied up and unconscious behind some crates on Remington Skerr's ship, but when she awoke, she easily cut through the rope that bound her with one of her hidden knives. When she went to escape, she peered around the crates and witnessed them bring a chained Kaz out to the edge of the boat. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

As soon as she saw them push Kaz over the edge, she lunged forward from behind the crates with her knife drawn. With her light and quick footsteps, they did not hear her approach from behind them.

She managed to slash the throats of three of them before the rest of them noticed. Only Skerr was left standing in shock, giving Inej time to kick him in the chest to knock him to the ground and slit his neck.

She then ran over to the side of the boat and leaped off the ledge. She needed to save Kaz.

After taking a deep breath, she plunged into the water. With all the strength she could muster, she vigorously pushed her arms through it. Luckily, she did not have to swim too deep to reach the botton.

Upon reaching him, she immediately swam to his feet and her fingers fumbled with the chain that linked to the ball of iron. She didn't even know if Kaz could see her or if he had passed out. All she could focus on was getting him out of the water.

After what felt like an eternity, Inej managed to unhook the chain and then grabbed Kaz's unconscious body and pulled him against her before proceeding to swim up to the surface. She wouldn't be able to hold her breath much longer, which meant that Kaz was probably already drowning.

As soon as their heads left the water, she gasped for breath as she pulled Kaz up beside her. With one arm around Kaz, she used the other to swim toward the shore. His body was heavy, and she found herself growing weaker with every stroke she took. She willed her body to move faster and sent up a prayer to her saints that Kaz would survive.

Please.

After numerous prayers to multiple saints were expressed in Inej's heart and mind, she finally reached the grassy shore. Carefully, she dragged Kaz's body with her and laid him on his back. She shivered from the cool air as she kneeled beside his unconscious body.

There was no time to overthink about what she was about to do. There was no time to think at all, just do. She needed to save his life, no matter the cost.

"Forgive me, Kaz," she whispered before bending over to pinch his nose. Placing her lips upon his, she breathed five large breaths into him.

While she was traveling and destroying slaver ships, she'd occasionally catch herself daydreaming of Kaz. Being on a ship, it was easy to be reminded of their journey to and from the Ice Court. There were so many times she'd wanted to eagerly tell him something, only to remember that he wasn't there. Her hands would tingle in longing to feel the touch of his. And then sometimes, she'd wonder what Kaz's lips would taste like, and she hoped that one day they would both be ready to take such a step.

But it wasn't supposed to happen like this.

He wasn't supposed to be nearly dying while she pressed her lips against him in hopes of reviving him.

When she pulled her face away from his, she then placed both of her hands on top of each other on his chest and steadily pressed down repeatedly. She continued to plead with her saints for his life.

After she pressed down several times, Kaz's body began to move and he started to cough. Inej immediately pulled her hands away from him, fearful that her touching him would unease him. He turned to his side and retched up water.

"Kaz," Inej said softly as a few tears escaped her eyes out of relief and joy. Thank you Sankt Alina, Sankt Petyr, Sankta Marya, Sankta Anastasia, Sankta Vladimir...

When his coughing subsided, Kaz sat up and took several quick intakes of breath as his body shivered. As his breath steadied, he abruptly fell backward and his eyes shut closed.

Inej, still sitting on her knees, leaned over him and watched his body continue to rise and fall with each breath. Hesitantly, she laid her palm on his chest. She felt his heart beating at a steady pace and breathed a sigh of relief. He's only fainted.

But she needed to get him out of here. Wylan's house wasn't too far away, but she wouldn't be able to carry Kaz that far.

Looking around her, she tried to find something or someone that could help her. When her eyes fell on The Cavalier, an idea clicked in her mind.

After a long look at Kaz to reassure herself that he was fine and still breathing, she jumped back into the water and swam to the dock that was beside The Cavalier. After climbing up one of the dock posts to reach the ship, she hopped over its edge and went back to the area where Skerr's men left her. There were multiple crates sitting there, and she ran over to one and yanked the top off of it. Taking the large piece of wood, she headed back to Kaz the same way she came, albeit a little slower this time having to carry and swim with the piece of wood.

Walking up the shore, she laid the wood down right next to Kaz, who was still breathing but also still unconscious. Standing over him, she bent down to grab him from under his arms to shuffle his upper body onto the wood. His feet would drag across the ground, but this was the best she could do.

Lifting up one end of the wood off the ground, she hauled the bastard of Ketterdam toward Wylan's home.

The last thing he remembered was falling and the memories of Jordie's death flooding over him as the water rushed over him. As soon as he was submerged, he couldn't move, couldn't even attempt to to find a way to survive. He was paralyzed over the fresh reminder of having to hold on to his brother's dead body to swim back to shore.

Just as his brother's foolish mistakes brought about his death, so would Kaz's foolish mistake of being unprepared that night bring about his own.

Except it didn't.

He was supposed to be dead...and yet, he wasn't.

Feeling the glare of the sun hit his eyes, he slowly opened them, not sure what he would find. He first looked down and saw he was laying in a bed that was not his own and various blankets were piled on top of him. Peeling them off of his body, he saw his hands were uncovered and unshackled, but the red marks around his wrists were proof that it wasn't all a dream.

Looking down at himself, he saw that he was in clothes that were not his own either. He was in a plain white shirt and a pair of pants that was an appalling shade of lime green and caused Kaz to grimace.

"Jesper picked those out," Inej said from her perch on the windowsill across from the bed. Kaz's head shot up at the sound of her voice, not realizing she was there.

His breath still hitched whenever he laid eyes upon her. It had been months since he last saw her. She still looked the same, just perhaps a little wearied from her time at sea.

But there was one thing off about her. Her dark hair on the left side of her face was shorter than the right side, and the strands were of various lengths. It hadn't been cut straight, which meant...

"They cut off some of your hair," Kaz stated, as anger flowed through his veins. "What happened?"

Inej got up from the windowsill and noiselessly walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. "One of my crew apparently was working with Skerr. He had put a sleeping draught in my soup, tied me up, and brought me to Skerr, and then his men cut a piece of my hair. When I woke up, I was alone and managed to the cut through the rope with one of my hidden knives that they failed to find and remove."

"Who betrayed you?"

"Kip."

Kaz's eyes narrowed upon hearing Inej speak. "I'll kill him."

"That's already been taken care of," Inej said, and the one side of mouth tilted upward into a slight smile. Kaz's stern face immediately softened and he gave her a look of approval and admiration.

"So after you freed yourself, you then rescued me from the water?"

Inej nodded. "After killing Skerr and his crew."

He found himself swelling with pride for a moment. "I thought you were more merciful?"

Inej let out a sigh. "Not when it comes to those who participate in slavery," she paused. "...And not when it comes to you," she whispered. "How did they even capture you?"

Kaz sighed and turned his face toward the window, away from hers. "It's not important."

"Kaz," Inej said seriously. Kaz's eyes quickly met hers. "Tell me. Please," she said quietly.

"I had received an anonymous letter earlier in the day, telling me to meet at the harbor alone and unarmed."

Inej gave him a puzzled look when Kaz didn't say anymore. "Why would you listen to such a note?"

"Because enclosed in the note was a lock of your hair," he murmured.

"Oh," was all Inej could say.

After a pause, Kaz spoke again. "You shouldn't have saved me. You risked your life. I wasn't worth saving, Inej."

"Were you not doing the same for me when you went out to the harbor, unarmed and unprepared, after receiving that letter? We save each other," Inej replied as she stared at him. "It's what we do, Kaz."

Kaz looked away from her gaze. "Evidently, you were able to take care of yourself and you weren't in any danger. I was a fool to assume you were."

"Yes, you were," Inej said simply. "But I'm grateful for you coming all the same."

Inej slid her hand across the bed sheet toward Kaz's. His fingers tingled at their closeness, and he wanted to grab hold of her hand and feel that she was real. It had been so long…

But the water, the drowning, the smell of the sea...the recent experience brought back the memories of touching the flesh of dead bodies.

He had to fight it though. He had come so far in overcoming his fear of touch in allowing himself to hold hands with Inej without wearing gloves. He couldn't go back to letting his fear control him.

And he couldn't let Inej down. He needed to shed himself of this armor and become at least a shred of the man she deserved.

Slowly, he moved his hand closer to hers and she turned her palm upwards. He clasped it, and he suppressed a shudder that threatened to roll through his body.

And yet, he found that a sense of calmness came over him at the touch of her hand, like his body suddenly felt secure.

Like she was the tether that connected him to his sanity.

It nearly frightened him more than the memories of Jordie that surfaced.

"Kaz," she whispered to him seriously. "I need you to know -"

But he didn't want to hear what she had to say. By the warmth in her eyes, he could sense what she was going to tell him. But he wasn't ready for that conversation. He wasn't ready for her to verbally admit that she cared for him, a monster. He didn't deserve such words.

She deserved such words reciprocated and more. But would he be able to give that to her?

He instead chose to cut her off abruptly and switch topics. "So did you learn of anything going on in Ketterdam this morning? Surely you hadn't been sitting around watching my unconscious body for several hours." Considering she had been sitting on the windowsill as opposed to the armchair in the room, he assumed she had a morning adventure skipping across the city's rooftops and spying about.

Inej was at first taken aback by his interruption and her face faded into a look of worry. "Another slaver-ship is set to dock here in two weeks time."

Kaz gave a small nod. "And it would be best for you to ambush them before they arrive," he stated matter-of-factly.

Inej gave his hand a gentle squeeze before slowly nodding.

"Then you should go," he told her as he turned his face away from her and towards the window again. He hated saying it. She only just got here, and he had been knocked out for the majority of the time he'd been with her.

He didn't want her to go...but they both had their own business they needed to tend to.

"Kaz…" she began to say softly as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"You should begin preparing for your departure and buy your supplies. Wherever you go, tell the shop to charge it to the Rietveld account."

"The Rietveld account?" she asked confusedly.

"That's my real last name," he explained.

Her look of astonishment transformed into one of gratitude. "You don't have to…"

"Inej," Kaz said as he gave her hand a squeeze. "Go buy your supplies. Now. You'll need to leave immediately."

Inej looked down at their entwined hands for a moment before looking back up at him. "But you just woke up."

"And yet the slaveholders haven't seemed to halt their wrongdoing in light of my consciousness."

Inej let out a sigh.

"I'm going to go back to sleep soon anyway." A lie. He needed to get back to the Slat immediately and ensure there had been no havoc while he was gone. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been gone.

Inej eyed him suspiciously. She had a knack for knowing when he was lying. However, it seemed she was not in the mood to point out his lie this time as she reluctantly slid off the bed and slipped out of the room without a word.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

The sun had not even rose yet as she made her way from Wylan's house down to the dock. Only the glow of the moon served as her guide.

She couldn't stop thinking about Kaz's insistence yesterday that she depart right away. It sounded like he was trying to push her away.

It made her feel...empty.

She despised this feeling.

She had spent the late afternoon going around to different shops to stock up on food and purchase some new clothing for her next journey. She then had dinner with Wylan and Jesper in the evening before heading to bed early in one of the guest rooms at the house.

She had hoped everything would help take her mind off of Kaz…

But it didn't.

She'd hardly slept. She kept tossing back and forth, agonizing over the enigma that is Kaz Brekker...or well, Kaz Rietveld.

Part of her wanted him to ask her to stay and beg her not to go.

He never even allowed her the chance to say what she wanted to say...what she needed to say. With him nearly dying, she'd come to realize there was so much she needed him to hear.

Like how at the end of each day at sea, she wished he was there to listen about the adventures of her day. How a day has never passed without her thinking of him. How she longs for the touch of his hand in hers constantly. How she'd missed him and hoped he was thinking of her just as much.

But here she was, bringing yesterday's purchases to her ship and readying for her departure before the sun rose. Her crew was supposed to arrive within the next half hour.

When she went down to her bunk on the ship to pack some of her clothes in her trunks, she noticed an unfamiliar object sitting on her bed.

Dropping her clothes on top of her trunk, she headed straight for her bed and picked up the object, which was an ebony tri-cornered hat. When she tilted it to the side, she saw that it was embroidered with lilac geraniums.

Her mother's favorite flower.

...And her own favorite flower. In the years she had been separated from her parents, the sight of the flower never failed to bring warm memories to mind and a smile to her face.

She noticed a piece of paper sitting the bed where the hat had been. Picking it up, she found two words were written upon it in a familiar scrawl.

Thank you.

The sight of Kaz's handwritten words caused her heart to race as she remembered her father's words.

"Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you'll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won't matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart."

She needed to see Kaz before she left again. She wouldn't be able to take having all the words she needed to express still on her chest. She would not let him interrupt her again.

The sun's rays were beginning to peek through the sky as she ran out onto the deck. When she looked up in the direction of the dock, she'd stopped in her tracks as she saw the figure of a man leaning against a cane.

The day before, Kaz departed Wylan's home as soon as Inej left to shop. He managed to slip out without encountering Wylan or Jesper. He didn't want to deal with any kind of a fuss, plus he had to return to the Slat as soon as possible to make sure no one had suddenly taken his place as the head of the Dregs after his disappearance.

He needn't have worried however as nothing was amiss. When he returned, Pim and Anika filled him in on the happenings of the past few days. Neither asked him of his own whereabouts and he certainly didn't confide in them.

When he sat down at his desk, he saw the folded up letter containing the lock of Inej's hair. Opening the note, he picked up the ringlet and twirled it in his fingers.

Inej…

He assumed she would be setting out to sea the next morning...and yet, he didn't even say goodbye. She would return to Wylan's house and there would be no sign of him.

He shook his head. He needed to focus. Pushing her out of his mind, he continued on with crunching numbers.

But he did not stop twirling the strands of her hair through his fingers.

As the sun set, Kaz found himself already overcome with exhaustion and struggled to keep his eyes open. It wasn't long until he drifted off while laying back in his chair.

And in his dreams, he was brought back to a moment in his life that occurred last year...back at the Ice Court where he fell down into the river beneath it.

Down, down, down, down…

With a splash, he was submerged under water.

Kaz jumped awake when his dreams began to make it feel like he was drowning once more.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kaz slowly stood up and walked over to the window to look out at the night sky.

Thinking back to that night of the heist, he could remember the thoughts of Jordie that surfaced, but he also remembered that thoughts of Inej that emerged as well. It was another moment of his life that he nearly didn't survive, and in that moment, he thought of how he needed to tell her that she was lovely and brave. That he wanted to find a way to bring himself together into some semblance of a man for her.

And despite that happening, he still never truly told her how he felt. He had hoped that at least some of his actions had seemed to express that.

But then he sort of pushed her away and let his fears overcome him.

No matter how many times he told himself he didn't deserve her and that it would probably be for the best that they forget each other, he couldn't imagine life without her. He could not risk losing her.

Which meant he needed to give her a reason to come back.

And with that epiphany, he had left the Slat immediately to head to the house of a hatter he knew of, despite the late hour. At first, the hatter wasn't pleased to be woken from his slumber nor having to urgently make a hat to Kaz's precise specifications, but when Kaz dumped a pile of kruge in front of him, his attitude instantly changed and he went to work right away.

Once the hat was complete in the early hours, Kaz immediately made his way to The Wraith to leave his gift for her. He once had her buy him a new hat. It was time he repaid the favor.

He had been watching from afar when she first boarded. And now here he was, standing on the dock beside her boat, waiting for her to reappear.

He didn't want to make his presence known just yet. He wanted her to find the hat first.

A few minutes later, she came to the deck of the ship. It looked like she was determined to go somewhere, but upon seeing him standing there, she stopped abruptly. After a pause, she then proceeded to approach him, carrying the hat in her hands.

"Kaz…" she said breathlessly when she stood before him.

"A hat is meant to be worn, Wraith," Kaz stated with a the slightest hint of a smile.

She gazed at him curiously for a moment before holding up the hat and looking down at it while she spoke. "You knew my favorite flower, and I had never told you. How did you know?" Her brown eyes looked up to meet his.

"I made an educated guess," he said simply. Upon receiving an almost irritated look from Inej, he continued. "On that day you were released by Van Eck, and you and I were on that flower barge...you remarked that the flowers in the boat were your mother's favorite. It seemed it was a safe bet that they would be your favorite too."

Inej smiled, and Kaz couldn't breathe for a moment.

"My father...my father once told me that I'd meet a boy who would know my favorite things, including my favorite flower, and would know me as no one else does," Inej said softly. "It would be a true sign of love and affection."

Kaz's breath hitched. "I'd say that's...accurate," he replied quietly.

Inej's eyes brightened upon hearing his response.

Kaz gradually leaned in toward Inej, whose look of delight transformed into one of suspicion upon seeing Kaz's facial expression change. "Scheming face?"

"Definitely," he said smoothly, but faltered with his next words. "I'm trying to figure out…" he let his voice trail off as he lifted his left hand toward the side of her face. "How can I show you…?"

He wasn't talking sensibly. Somehow being this close to Inej had a mysterious, almost dizzying, effect on him.

"Go on," she said gently, and upon receiving her permission, he ran his fingers through the long tresses of her hair. When he brought his hand up again, he cupped her face and gently brought it closer to his face. At first she froze at his touch, but then she closed her eyes and leaned into him. A look of contentment came across her face as one of her hands had reached up into his hair to pull his head closer to hers.

Kaz's fingers were trembling...out of fear or excitement or both, he wasn't completely certain. But he needed to do this. He wanted this. He wanted her and couldn't risk losing her.

Pressing his lips against hers, he tasted her sweetness. Her lips were like cinnamon and caramel. Instead of being reminded of unpleasant memories, the kiss was reminiscent of sweets he'd enjoyed as a young boy.

They pulled apart, but Inej kept her hand in his hair, and he kept his hand on her face.

"Please come back, Inej," Kaz whispered.

"Always," she replied instantly. "I will always come back to you."

Kaz smiled out of relief.

Inej leisurely brought her hand down the side of his face, across his shoulder, and down the length of his arm, before finally ending at his hand, which she clasped onto.

"You should come with me though," she stated as she squeezed his hand.

"No," was all Kaz said. He looked down at her hat which she was holding in her other hand against her thigh. Taking his hand off of her cheek and removing his other from her grasp, he grabbed the hat from her hand and placed it on top of her head.

He took a step back to look her over, before giving a nod of approval. "Perfect," he remarked.

She reached out both of her hands to grab both of his. "Will you ever come with me?" she asked hopefully.

He grinned back at her. "One day."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

And the brightness of the rising sun couldn't even rival the radiance of Inej's smile.

A/N: This oneshot took a life of its own. I only wanted to write a fic about how Kaz and Inej have their first kiss. All I originally thought was Kaz would probably need to be in some near-death situation after doing something to try to save Inej but she ends up having to rescue him and then BAM! KISS! But then my warped mind decided to really torture Kaz with an almost-drowning. Maybe their kiss still wouldn't be so soon after such an event, but then I also saw it as something that would really propel him to go kiss Inej since he already was wishing he told Inej his feelings when he almost drowned in the first book. I don't know! Anyway, I just wanted this to be a quick overview of how they ended up having their first kiss. Hope you enjoyed!