The rain starts off so gently. A damp haze more akin to fog. She doesn't give it a second thought, turning her face into it and enjoying the cool reprieve from an otherwise warm night.
Then the droplets grow larger, heavier, splattering against her face and blurring her vision. Her dark tunic and leggings don't provide much coverage.
Wylan and Jesper's house is a considerable distance away. Scaling up onto the rooftops and taking one of her shortcuts was out of the question in this kind of weather. Especially when she isn't wearing her climbing shoes.
So Inej straightens up and pushes her way through the storm.
She hasn't made it very far, grumbling to herself about how little she's going to miss the wetness that Ketterdam seems to love, and trying to ignore the violent gusts of wind, when a rough, familiar voice calls to her.
"Wraith?"
She turns on the balls of her feet and spots him. Leaning against the door of an abandoned factory and watching her with a glint of dark amusement.
"Why is my spider drenched?"
She rolls her eyes and crosses the street to join him in the somewhat dry alcove.
"Not your spider."
He chuckles at that but the sound is bittersweet. She nearly regrets saying it. It wasn't even entirely true. She still considers herself part of the Dregs, could still be his spider when necessary.
"It's not going to pass for awhile." Kaz informs her, propping himself up on his cane and studying the scene before them thoughtfully.
"How do you know?"
"I have a talent for these things."
She ignores that.
"What were you doing out here?" She says instead.
"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to. You're far too clever for that."
It's honestly incredible how easily Kaz can infuriate her. With a soft sigh, Inej turns her back on him and prepares to set off.
"Wait." A pause and then, "I'll walk with you. I need to speak with Jesper anyhow."
He limps into the torrent of water with the casual ease of someone preparing for a stroll in the park. She stays to his side, behind him slightly, hoping his tall frame will provide some sort of cover.
They fall into a companionable silence. It should be terrifying, how easy it is. But it isn't. It's something like comfort.
After a few moments he stops and begins shouldering off his thick black jacket.
"Here."
Inej can't, wouldn't even try to, deny the surprise she feels as Kaz drapes the coat around her. He moves with deliberate care, cautious and ready to retreat should she ask him to. Should he need to.
But he doesn't. Instead his gloved fingertips brush against her shoulders, the tops of her arms. Leaving a tingling burn in their wake. He steps back and surveys her quickly before starting down the street.
She flips the collar up and buries her now flushed face down into the rich material.
"Thank you."
He offers a half shrug to that and continues walking, slightly faster then before. The silence returns and she doesn't try to break it.
The jacket is surprisingly dry.
It smells of soot and smoke.
As they approach the manor, Inej notes how brightly lit it is. Wylan always made sure to leave the lights on when she was out at night.
It was a strange feeling, having people take care of these tiny things. And the not so tiny things, she thinks, cheek brushing against the soft material of Kaz's coat. It left Inej feeling vaguely off-kilter. As if this was all a happy dream she would soon wake from.
Jesper and Wylan had long since gone to bed, Marilyn, the maid who is adding wood to the fire, informs them.
But Kaz doesn't seem put out by it.
"Tell Jes to stop by the Slat when he has the time."
"It's not urgent then?" She asks curiously.
"Not at all."
Never one for goodbyes, Kaz gives her a nod and walks out the door.
Inej leans against the bannister for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should go swipe some food from the kitchen before heading up to her room, when she realizes she still wore Kaz's jacket.
She takes it off, ignoring the chill that prickles over her skin when she does so, the irrational sense of loss. Moving silently, Inej slips out the front door and after him. He was only just past the front gates, walking slower now that she wasn't with him. His leg must've been troubling him more then he'd let on.
She sidles up to him and offers the bundle of folded fabric.
Kaz pauses and glances down at it, then back at her. His sharks eyes fill with something dark and torn. He makes no move to grab the coat.
"Keep it, Inej."
It hangs there between them. An unspoken, unstarted raw thing. Something that may have been doomed from the start. But still it clung to life, as stubborn and determined as the two people it had ensnared.
Maybe that was why it was hard to turn away. To walk back to the manor and pretend this hadn't happened. Or at least pretend that it meant nothing, the way Kaz was sure to.
"Why?" Because she can't leave without asking, without knowing.
He doesn't answer, for long enough that Inej thinks he might ignore the question altogether. But he does answer, only the dark fierce thing in his eyes is gone, replaced by cool indifference.
"Ships are cold. And wet. You'll need it more then I will."
Kaz Brekker, once more clothed in Dirtyhand's mask, strides away without a backward glance.