Genyalinej || SaB || Genyalinej || A New Life in Ketterdam || Genyalinej || SaB || Genyalinej
Title: A New Life in Ketterdam – The Newest Crows
Fandom: Shadow and Bone / Grishaverse
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadow and Bone show reserved to Eric Heisserer, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Leigh Bardugo. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: polyamory (f/f/f), fluff, getting together
Main Pairing: Genya/Alina/Inej
Grishaverse Characters: Genya Safin, Alina Starkov, Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Jesper Fahey, Milo the Goat, Malyen 'Mal' Oretsev
Summary: Genya left. She couldn't believe it, but she had fallen in love with the Sun Summoner and turned her back on everything she knew to go Ketterdam with Alina... and the Crows, who could make good use of a Tailor. Only that one of the Crows was also in love in Alina.
A New Life in Ketterdam
The Newest Crows
Genya had worked all her life toward this. It was all she had ever know. General Kirigan had her loyalty. She was happy at the Little Palace. She lived there. That was her home, the only home she knew. Those were facts, things she never thought would change.
And then they found the Sun Summoner. And she was... not what Genya had expected. At first, she was not very impressed. But then, when the dirt was washed off, when she was all dressed up, and even more so when she relaxed. Got comfortable. Genya started to fall for her. With every smile, every joke, every touch. Genya was falling irredeemably in love with the Sun Summoner.
No. That wasn't true. She was falling in love with Alina Starkov. Because this woman was more, so much more, than just the Sun Summoner. And just like that, everything changed. Genya's loyalty shifted. It laid with Alina. Or, she wanted it to lay with Alina. These things were a progress and in this case, too slow. Alina left the Little Palace – and for a while, Genya was afraid. Afraid she had been kidnapped, or hurt, or dead. And then she was reunited with Alina, in a tent, hugging her.
And that, that was the moment everything irreversibly changed. Because Genya made a choice. She chose Alina, she chose Alina over everything she knew and believed in. She chose Alina and, on the ship, siding with her against General Kirigan, there was no going back anymore.
"I can't believe I did that," whispered Genya, a nervous wreck.
She sat huddled up around the camp-fire with a group of strangers. Alina's childhood friend Mal, the one whose letters Genya had held back on. And three... wanted criminals? Genya didn't know how she fit into this, she wasn't sure if there was a place for her. But then Alina smiled at her and took her hand, squeezing it, and suddenly, Genya knew that this was her place. Wherever it was, wherever it would lead; being by Alina's side was where she belonged.
And then Alina turned toward the other woman. They smiled at each other, Alina resting her hand on the other woman's arm. It got cheese when the other woman promised Alina her hand in whatever Alina might need, particularly as Alina followed that up by gifting her a knife.
A strange surge of jealousy overcame Genya as she watched the two women exchange smiles.
/break\
Inej had never dreamed of actually meeting the Sun Summoner. And not only did she get to see and meet her, she... got to know her. Not as the Sun Summoner but as Alina Starkov. A strong young woman – strong beyond her abilities as the Sun Summoner. And so pretty. Inej didn't know if she was biased toward Alina from the start because she was the Sun Summoner, but Inej was pretty sure she had never met anyone prettier than Alina, especially when she smiled.
Inej wasn't prone to babbling, but when she sat together at that camp-fire, she babbled. Just a little bit. Saying honest but slightly embarrassing things like promising Alina her hand – what an awkward way to phrase this! She wanted to promise Alina loyalty and fighting power. Instead, she had accidentally made it sound like a proposal. The thought made her flush with embarrassment.
At least she hadn't disturbed the Sun Summoner. No, all Alina had done was smile, taking Inej's hand... and put a knife in it. Gift her a knife. Inej's heart raced. It had raced in that moment and it raced now, at that memory. Her fingers gently ran over the knife's handle. It was beautiful and it was even more special because of who gave it to her.
They had gone with the Crows. Alina, and her two friends. They just... followed Inej, Kaz and Jesper. Because they didn't know where to go either, because they wanted out too. Out, through the fold. A new life. Ketterdam was named. Inej's heart beat even harder at that.
There seemed no going back anymore by the point that the Crows returned to the bar to pick up the goat – because it made Jesper happy. However, Jesper was not the only one overjoyed at seeing the goat. For some reason that they only learned later, Mal was also excited about the goat. Turned out Milo had saved more people than just them. Perhaps the goat had earned its freedom and its spot with the Crows. Maybe not the animal mascot Inej had imagined for them, but Jesper looked so happy as he hugged the goat throughout the entire drive through the fold, with Mal sitting on one side to also pet the goat. Kaz took the seat on Jesper's other side, watchful of Jesper and the goat.
That left Inej to sit opposite Kaz and next to her the Sun Summoner and her other friend. The redheaded one, a Grisha. She stuck very close to Alina, trying to touch her a lot. Alina was a tactile person, she had taken Inej's hand too more than once. Every time she did, the redhead reached out for Alina too. Inej might not be the best at reading these things, but she seemed jealous.
At that point, that seemed preposterous to Inej. Jealous of what? This was the Sun Summoner and Inej was just—Inej. She had made a name for herself in Ketterdam, yes. She was by no means a nobody, but the thought that there was something to be jealous of here was so confusing.
That was then though. Then, on the ship. Hours on their drive home had bonded them at least some. The six of them, they made plans. Mal was an excellent tracker and fighter (and a lover of goats, which gave him Jesper's vote), Alina was the Sun Summoner and while that would draw attention if used wrong, there were certain careful ways in which that would be immensely helpful. And... it turned out the redhead, Genya, was a Tailor. That would be incredibly helpful in their line of work, what could be more useful to get in and out somewhere undetected than someone who could literally change their physical appearance. Genya looked the least pleased by the idea of becoming criminals and joining the Crows, but she seemed to be in this for Alina.
A motivation that Inej could relate to. She had been ready to leave the Crows to follow Alina and help her in every way the Sun Summoner could possibly need or want. Thankfully, Kaz saw that Inej was serious about this and, as always, he backed her up. He was ready to give these three a chance. Not entirely just for Inej's sake. Those three could genuinely be useful.
Two birds and one stone. They would gain new, helpful members and for Alina, it was a chance to hone her powers, train and make a living without drawing attention to herself. She needed to lay low, hide. The Crows were the best place to be lost to the people and not be alone.
Yet the longer those three stayed with them, the closer they got. Jesper and Mal were hard to separate by now, even though what had brought them together was their goat. Inej spent a lot of time with Genya and Alina. She had never had girl friends before, not like that. Certainly never as part of their crew, especially. What had been worship and awe slowly turned into love, the closer she grew with Alina. Even Genya, once the initial distrust and jealousy faded away, the two women grew closer. With every shared mission and drink and laughter afterward. Until it strangely started to feel like more. Not the same as Alina, exactly, but Inej had to admit that she had grown very fond of Genya and being with the redheaded Grisha also warmed her in a way.
/break\
Alina groaned to herself as she sat in the meadow with Mal. It was a bit outside of Ketterdam, but it had quickly become their favorite spot. It reminded them of their childhood. Also, it was a great place for Milo to grass. The goat made a pleased noise as it ate and got patted by Mal.
"You're literally the only person I know who can complain about having two gorgeous women at their beck and call. How you can complain about that is beyond me," commented Mal dryly.
All Alina did was glare at him. She had developed a quick crush on Genya at the Little Palace already, because there weren't many she could trust, even less who made her laugh. When Genya chose her, chose Alina over everything else... But then there was Inej and quite frankly, Inej was not someone Alina could have ever planned for. Then again, who expected to befriend – and join – the criminals who tried to abduct them. Though Alina had a lot of fun living with the Crows and their missions proved to be very useful for her in learning her powers. Inej, the way she looked at Alina from the get-go, like Alina wasn't just the Sun Summoner but the actual sun in person. It was overwhelming and flustering at first, but the closer they got, the more Inej eased into their friendship until they were truly close and comfortable with each other. And now Alina was torn, with crushes on both Genya and Inej. How was she supposed to chose?
"Shut up and hug your goat," Alina huffed with a slight glare.
"Don't make fun of Milo. He is a vital part of our team," warned Mal, tickling Milo under the chin. "Right? Good boy. Very good boy. Sankt Milo, savior of the Crows."
It was strange. Mal had only agreed to this for her sake at first, but he was thriving in Ketterdam, as a Crow. He worked as a muscle at the club (after their very mission was to get the club back), enjoying the gambling and the booze and the company. He quickly became close friends with Jesper, the two of them regularly going out and enjoying life in Ketterdam.
"C'mon, let's get back to the club. I wanted to buy Inej croissants," declared Alina and got up. "And eclairs for Genya. Stop looking at me like that."
"You gotta make a choice at one point," argued Mal with an eye-roll. "They're both pining so hard. Jes has a betting pool going on in the club, you know. Got into trouble with Kaz for it."
That made Alina laugh, brightly and happily. This really had become home, for them both. The two childhood friends got up and made their way back to the club, with a quick stop at the bakery. They parted ways inside the club, when Jesper spotted them and called out loudly for Mal. He quickly went to join Jesper at the poker table. Alina made her way toward the back. She found Genya and Inej with Kaz in their boss' office. Seeing them immediately made her smile brightly.
"Hey, Kaz. I brought you... a strudel," said Alina, holding one bag up.
It was a bit of a game they were playing. Genya's tastes were spoiled by the Little Palace and they had tried to find something that lived up to her standard here, in trying to do so, they had gotten to know the Crows better. Like, Inej loved sweet baked goods, such as the croissants. Jesper was happy with kind of everything, really. But Kaz. Kaz was impossible to read. So Alina took it as a challenge, to find something that Kaz genuinely liked. Making him show it. Strudel, once again, gave her no reaction from him at all. Oh well, next time.
"Breakfast. Wonderful. We were done here, were we?" asked Genya pleased.
"Yes. I believe that's all," confirmed Kaz, giving a distasteful look at the bag now in his hand. "...And thank you for this. Truly... my favorite."
"You mock me, Mister Brekker, but I will figure out what you like," stated Alina pointedly.
She smiled to herself as their fearless leader wordlessly walked past her. When she turned, she saw both Inej and Genya waiting for her, with equally happy expressions on their faces. Mal was right. She couldn't string them along, as he said. But... she really couldn't chose either. They were both so special and amazing, but in their own ways. For a few moments, Alina simply stared at them.
"...I suspect you brought us something too," started Genya after a stretch of silence.
"Right. Sorry. Yes. Come along," requested Alina, motioning for them to follow her.
She led the way to the roof-top. Sitting up there, with all of Ketterdam laid out in front of them, was amazing. She loved it nearly as much as the meadow. And while that was he spot with Mal, this one was her spot with Inej and Genya. Though it had taken Genya a bit to adjust to climbing out the window and onto a roof. Ever since they had moved here, she had lightened up a lot.
"I love this," whispered Alina when she sat down.
Inej and Genya sat down on either side of her, accepting the paper bags. The smile on Inej's lips spread widely as she took the croissants out of her bag. The smile made Alina's heart flutter. And the eclairs, according to Genya, were nearly as good as at the Little Palace.
"The view is quite amazing," admitted Genya, letting her eyes wander.
"Not just... the view. I like being here, with you two," admitted Alina.
She flushed just a little and Inej stopped mid-bite. "I... Yes. It is nice... having girl friends."
"Yes. Girl friends are great," agreed Alina. "Girlfriends would... also be nice."
Inej looked a little confused. Genya's face matched her hair.
"W... What do you mean? I mean. Who do you mean?" wanted Genya to know.
Alina bit her lips hard, tugging on it a little as her eyes wandered from Genya to Inej, who now seemed to understand too, her eyes wide and a flustered, surprised look on her face.
"To be very honest with you, because you both deserve it, I... like you. I like the both of you. A lot. I don't... I don't want to... I like the both of you and I think you might also like me. So I'm putting my cards on the table. I like you and I would like to be with you. I... hope you might be open to the idea of being together, the three of us, because I wouldn't... want to chose."
She was fidgeting with her own food, picking little bits off her bread-roll to keep busy while the other two were processing. Genya's eyes went past Alina to look at Inej curiously. In the time they had been living together, surely both must have noticed how attractive the other was.
"I... uh... I don't... I've never had a girlfriend. Much less two," noted Inej.
"I have. The Little Palace could get a bit... experimental," stated Genya with a shrug. "I'm... not opposed to it. You sure both grew on me, despite me not having any plans of that."
"So you have a type," teased Alina with a small grin.
Genya flushed at that, glaring a little. "Just perhaps, yes."
Inej was tucking her hair behind her ear, regarding them both slow and long. Both Genya and Alina looked at her, waiting for her. There was no pressure. It would be okay if Inej didn't like it. Alina knew that it was a lot and might be too much for her. Though Inej's answer was rather clear, because she surged forward and kissed Alina. A quick but passionate press of lips.
"Girlfriends. I like it," whispered Inej with a smile. "We could try it. And see if we can... make this work. Though we can't let this get in the way of missions."
"Ye—eah. I can just see the displeasure on Kaz' face," agreed Alina before she laughed.
She fell backward onto the rooftop, staring up at the clouds with a smile. Her attention was drawn over toward the others when Inej gently grasped Genya's face and pulled her into a kiss too, leaving Genya looking rather surprised when they parted. Though Inej looked happy and pleased with herself as she laid down next to Alina, also looking up at the sky. When Genya also laid down, she kissed Alina too, snuggling closer to her. Mh, yes. Life here in Ketterdam was... better. Good.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: I am of the mind that when I have two ships that overlap by one person, I go "why not both though?" and since I came out of the show shipping both Genyalina and Alinej, I figured that could make for an interesting OT3 - and Genya would definitely make for a useful Crow. ;D