They sent Wylan first.
The redhead knocked politely, waiting patiently for the man to come to the door. He drummed his fingers against his thigh, humming a little tune.
The door opened and the man glared at him.
"What do you want?" he grunted.
"Hello sir. Recently you were in the caring hands of Nina Zenik, the Corporalnik. Unfortunately, you left with some of her belongings. I am here to return them to her." Wylan began politely. The man's expression soured instantly.
"You think you can come to my house and demand that from me? This is my property, my place! Get the fuck off my land, asshole! This is breaking and entering!"
Wylan raised an eyebrow. "I haven't broken anything and I'm still on your doorstep."
The man slammed the door shut without another word. Wylan sighed, turning back to the street and gesturing for help. Kaz nudged his cane against Jesper's leg.
"Go."
Jesper grinned, hopping down and heading over to join Wylan.
This started when Matthias had barged into the Crow Club demanding to see Kaz.
"What business, Helvar?" Kaz had asked, shooting the Fjerdan a glare as he stomped into his office. Matthias had slammed his hands onto the table, and immediately regretted it. Kaz's cane, the sharp end, found its way to his jugular before Matthias could blink.
"Don't barge into my office and act like an idiot. What business?"
"Someone robbed Nina," Matthias managed to say while raising his hands off the desk slowly. Kaz rolled his eyes, letting the cane drop back into his hand soundlessly.
"Why do I care?"
"Nina's a valuable investment of yours. She can't perform her job as a Healer, Tailor, Corporalnik, without her supplies and kruge. She needs it back."
Kaz raised an eyebrow. "Well, you certainly learned how to grab my attention, Helvar. But I'm afraid you still have some work to do to convince me to help you. And Zenik isn't a Corporalnik anymore, you should know that."
He sensed her before he heard her, heard her before he saw her.
"Kaz," Inej began softly. "This is for Nina. I'm going. Wylan and Jesper are going. We need a thief's hands."
He stared at her, dark lashes framing darker eyes, black braid cascading down her shoulder, clothes dark and form fitting to make her easy movements even easier. The golden light settled on her skin, making it glow. He had a difficult time looking away.
Well played, Helvar.
He rose from his chair, cane thumping to the ground. "Fine. But I have other business tonight, so this better not take long."
Jesper stood next to Wylan, dropping his arm around his shoulder. "Look at us! Back in the criminal saddle. Did you miss it?"
Wylan snorted. "No. And keeping your arm around my shoulder isn't very threatening, you know."
Jesper pulled him closer. "But is certainly is cute."
Wylan blushed hard and shrugged his shoulder off. He knocked again. The man answered even more gruffly this time.
"Will you go away? I told you you're not getting inside this house!" He shouted. Jesper rested his hands on his revolvers. The man's eyes skittered downward.
"Sir, we just want our friend's things. We will leave after we get them," Wylan said. The man scowled again.
"No! Go home!" And he slammed the door before Jesper could even think to make a move with his revolvers.
Jesper shook his head. "Well, that was a bust." He turned around and shrugged to the rest of the group. Matthias frowned and lumbered forward. Kaz turned to Inej and scowled.
"You said you needed a thief's hands. Obviously, you don't."
Inej tilted her head to the side, looking down at him from her perch on a couple boxes in the small alley the had squeezed into. "Maybe not. They didn't need a thief's hands." She slipped her fingers around his gloved hand, the one not clutching the crows headed cane. "But maybe I did."
His fingers followed hers as she retracted, missing the warmth she provided already. She retreated farther into the shadows as Kaz turned around, stilling his face into his usual scowl, and thumped forward. He stood to the back of the group, Wylan still in the front, Jesper tailing him slightly, Matthias looming over them in the back with a large, angry scowl, and Kaz, farther back, hands resting on his cane and eyes screaming murder. Wylan knocked again.
The man reappeared, and he had trouble opening his mouth as his eyes raked over the newcomers. Kaz smirked a bit when the man's face paled as he looked at him. He must've recognized the new, ruthless Barrel Boss. Good. Men who feared men were weak. The weak men feared things they could not control. The strong learned how to control them. They embraced the unembraceable.
"Sir, I do not want to ask again. Please let us retrieve our friends belongings."
"L-listen boys, I mean no trouble. But I didn't steal anything of this girls. Y-You've got the wrong guy! And I've got company over, so now's not really a good time," He shot Kaz one last look of fear and closed the door much more quietly than before.
Wylan turned to the group. "What now? We know we have the right address, and Matthias did say he recognized this guy from Nina's shop."
Matthias scowled deeper. "I vote we take them by force."
"No need," Kaz said easily, tapping his cane against the ground. A shadow appeared next to them, and all three boys jumped.
"Shit!" Jesper yelped. Wylan squeaked, and Matthias muttered a quick curse in Fjerdan. Kaz barely saw Inej's little laugh under her dark hood. She slid past him, arm brushing his, gliding past the boys and hopping onto the doorstep railing, perching calmly, perfectly balanced. The boys watched her warily as Kaz hid his smirk, stepping forward and rapping on the door with his cane.
The man appeared again. He faltered, seeing the dreaded Barrel Boss, the intelligent looking young man, the Zemeni with the revolvers, the Fjerdan with the scowl, and behind them, a shadow, watching, waiting, perched on his railing. He did not want to know what disasters that shadow would bring upon him. He stepped aside.
"Get what you're looking for and go, please," he relented, keeping his head down as they filed inside. The Fjerdan went first, marching past the rest and glancing around the house. The intelligent boy next, nodding his head gratefully, and possibly in warning, slipping inside and looking around for familiar items. The Zemeni sharpshooter followed, grinning wide as he made a beeline for the man's kitchen. The Barrel Boss thunked past, cane threateningly stomping near the man's uncovered foot before disappearing into the home. Finally, the shadow, slipping in silently and fading into the natural shadows of his home. He did not want it to come back out.
Wylan began his search, grabbing items that he knew Nina owned, searching and tossing small tailoring kits into his box, then little stones and herbs, and occasionally a small trinket he knew Nina enjoyed to collect.
Matthias didn't seem to be looking for items as much as he was looking for ways to intimidate this man in his own house. He would lift up the furniture, occasionally test the strength of the wall with his fists, and just causing general stress to the man who stole from his girlfriend.
Jesper was in the kitchen. He was making a sandwich.
"I'm a sucker for egg salad. And you guys look like you've got this handled."
Kaz was rooting around in the man's house. He didn't seem to be doing much of importance.
Inej was stalking the man, shadowing him every time he moved, staring straight at him from under her hood. She was the most unnerving of them all.
They combined their boxes, doing one last search through the house to find anything of importance, before bidding their farewells (meaning Wylan said "Thank you for your cooperation," to which Jesper added "And the sandwich!") and leaving.
They made their way back to Nina's shop.
Jesper laughed as they walked. He kept imitating the man's paling face when he saw Inej. Wylan chuckled beside him, juggling his box between each hand, trying to find a more comfortable place to hold it. Matthias attempted to hide a grin. Kaz walked behind them, cane thumping in rhythm with his steps. Inej silently stepped in beat with Kaz, arm brushing against his as they walked through the streets of Ketterdam, knives tucked comfortably against her side.
It was nice.
Nina had opened her shop after they returned from the Ice Court and freed Kuwei Yul Bo. It was a small little shop, tucked into a back corner of the Barrel, only known by those who were looking for healing or had a large sum of money and a warpath in mind. Matthias spent a lot of time there. Nina was waiting for the Ravkan Ship to come to Kerch, bringing trade and treasure. She and Matthias would board and make a new life back in Ravka when the time came, Inej following suit on The Wraith with her parents.
The door was closed and locked, but with a quick turn of Kaz's lockpicks, the door swung open easily. Matthias went first. He carried his box proudly as he moved into the back room.
Nina stood from her chair, hands up and ready. She saw the excited face of Matthias and raised her eyebrows, hands dropping to her sides.
"Why do you look so happy? And how did you get inside, the door was locked…" She trailed off as Wylan came into the back room next, followed by Jesper and Kaz. Each of them carried a small box. Jesper had the traces of food on the corners of his mouth. Nina couldn't see Inej, but she heard her small chuckle as Kaz bumped his leg against the doorway and cursed.
"What are you guys doing here?" Nina watched as they ceremoniously placed the boxes before her. She glanced at all of them.
"What's this?"
"Open it," Matthias encouraged. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The box she opened first had small wooden trinkets, bone charms, and crystals used to ward off evil. Her stuff.
"Saints…" Nina murmured, ruffling through the box and finding things she didn't even realize were missing. Her missing belongings, the ones that man had stolen from her, priceless trinkets that had wormed their way into her heart… were they all here?
She dug into the next box, pulling out her Tailoring kits, the creams and paints and dusts that she needed for the special jobs. Wylan grinned bashfully as she squealed when she found her favorite rouge.
The last box made her pause.
"What the hell…?" She tossed the items in the box around. The lightbulbs were dusty. The random shoelaces were black. The carton of eggs was heavy.
"Kaz?" Inej asked. "What are those things?"
"Just some of his belongings," Kaz eased into a chair, resting his leg up on a small table. "I took the lightbulbs from his closet and bathroom. His soap. His eggs. His dress socks and shoelaces. The toilet paper in the closet, and the rest off his current roll. The ink from his pens. The bullets from his gun. And that hat, which I will be taking for myself." He plucked the hat from the box and settled it on his head comfortably. The corner of Inej's lips quirked a bit, and Kaz smiled slyly back.
The rest of the boys nodded approvingly. Wylan let out a small laugh.
"That's so inconvenient," he said, shaking his head.
"That's the point, Wylan."
"You guys…" Nina sniffed, wiping at her eyes before bursting into tears. They all tensed up, not sure how to handle a crying woman. Inej strode forward, placing her hand on Nina's shoulder gently.
"Thank you," Nina managed to say through her tears. Inej smiled softly. "How can I repay you guys?"
"I think the customary way is appropriate," Inej's eyes glittered with laughter. Nina chuckled a watery laugh.
"Waffles?"
"Lots of them."
Jesper hooted, tossing his hands into the air, Wylan's still intertwined with his from before. He jerked the boy up, spine snapping straight, before dragging him through the door at the prospect of waffles. Inej stepped back as Matthias offered his hand to Nina, and she took it gratefully, fitting into his side like two puzzle pieces. They left next.
Inej didn't turn around, but she heard Kaz stand up and walk over to her. He slipped his hand into hers, palms bare and calloused, fingers slender and gentle. She closed her eyes.
"It seems we did need a thief's hands after all."
Kaz managed a chuckle before pulling her out the door with him.
Oof this is cute
This is heavily based over that one tumblr post by throwtime (at least that was his name at the time its good look it up)
Also this is after crooked kingdom ended but were assuming Matthias is alive and everyone is happy yay
Tell me what you all think! I hope you guys enjoyed it!
Thank you for reading and please review!
~Ani