Thanks to wavingthroughawindow and franklyherondale for reviewing!

wavingthroughawindow: Thank you! And it wasn't intentional that both chapters finish that way, but what can I say, Kaz is Kaz. I'm so glad you liked it, and I agree that Nina would be just like that. Her complaining was so much fun to write.

franklyherondale: Thank you so much! Writing Wylan is always a little hard for me, because I love him but it's hard for him to get a word in edge ways between Nina and Jesper and all the others, so having him crack a joke like that was fun. I hope you like this chapter!

There are quite dark themes in this, so avoid if you don't read things like that. Mainly references to self-destructive tendencies due to grief/guilt.

Disclaimer: I don't own Six of Crows; the franchise belongs to Leigh Bardugo.

Prompt: "Because it's the mature and adult thing to do."

From: wavingthroughawindow

Setting: AU - Canon Divergence. Inej is present when the drüskelle shoots Matthias, and she dies instead.

Word Count: 855

"I'm going to turn myself in."

There was a clatter as the fork Nina was holding dropped out of her hand and onto her plate. "You're what?" she demanded angrily, that natural protective fury of hers rising to the surface.

Matthias braced his hands on the table, and prepared for the barrage of objections he would undoubtably get when he explained it. It was the reason he'd decided to only tell Nina of his plans; he'd waited until Wylan and Jesper left the dinner table to speak. "I said, I'm going to turn myself in. To the Fjerdan authorities - to the drüskelle."

"Why?" Her fists were clenched, and her emerald eyes as cold as the ice of the land he loved as she spoke. Her fork lay forgotten on the table.

"Because if I leave, they won't send assassins after the rest of you. Not if they know I've already been apprehended, stood trial, and punished."

"They won't send assassins after us anyway. They're drüskelle. They'll try to publicly discredit you, get the Kerch authorities to hand you over, but since you never technically broke a law whilst on this island, you're safe here. And they need Kerch as a trading ally too much to cause war over one person." Her voice made it clear that there was no arguing with the facts she laid out. "It's not our safety you're worried about. So I'm going to ask you again: Why?"

He fidgeted in his seat as she picked up her fork again, and resumed eating. "Because it's the mature and adult thing to do."

She jabbed her fork in mid air as she spoke, making Matthias feel vaguely threatened. "Mature and adult thing, my arse." She narrowed her eyes at him, and gave him a once over. After a moment, her expression softened minutely, and she asked, "Is this because of Inej?"

"No," he said, a little too quickly.

"It is." Nina's eyes were wide, and he could see tears brimming in them. "Matthias, it wasn't your fault."

This was a conversation they'd had before. "Nina, that drüskelle shot at me. The bullet was meant for me. Of course it's my fault that Inej died from it. You're just saying it's not because you don't want to hurt my feelings." He breathed in sharply through his nose. "Because you love me."

"Yes!" she shouted. "Yes, I do love you! But that doesn't have any effect on the truth!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "And the truth is, it wasn't your fault."

"That bullet-"

"Was meant for you, yes," she interrupted. "That's true. But do you know what's also true? I love you. Inej loved you. Inej willingly jumped in front of that bullet so you had the chance to run. She did it because she loved you, and she didn't want you to die.

"The drüskelle have sent no more agents or assassins or whatever you want to call them after us. They would not stoop so low to. And rest assured, I'm sure that if they ever do, Kaz will let you die this time rather than risk his neck. But I won't. And neither will anyone else.

"If you don't believe me," she sobbed. Matthias watched in vague horror; he'd never seen his Nina brought so low before, even when imprisoned by the drüskelle on that ship with all the other Grisha so long ago, "then ask Wylan. Ask Jesper. Shit, ask Kuwei; Saints know he's suffering from guilt just as much as you are. But it was not your fault, Matthias. It was not your fault."

His voice was quiet - scolded. "I don't want you to get hurt. You deserve to have a bright and brilliant future."

"And that's what Inej died for." Silence fell as Nina blinked away the tears on her face. "Inej was my best friend, too - you know that. And I miss her more than anything. But she died for our future, so you could live and be happy, so we could be happy.

"Going to the drüskelle and turning yourself in. . ." She took a shuddering breath, and chose to stare down at her plate instead of at him. "It's your guilt manifesting in self-destructive tendencies. It's you believing that you don't deserve to live after what happened. It's you throwing away her sacrifice. And I refuse to let that happen."

She looked up, and regarded him with fresh sorrow. "Stay with me, Matthias," she whispered. Her voice broke, as did what was left intact of his heart. "Stay with me. I love you," he was silent, and she choked out, "please."

How could he ever have thought to leave her?

He was a fool.

"I won't." He whispered. It felt like a lie, but now that he'd said it, it had to be the truth. "I promise."