A/N: one of my friends thinks austin is the best backyardigans character and ive decided he is no longer my friend. acceptable answers to 'who's your favourite backyardigan?' are as follows: pablo or tasha, and maybe uniqua, but lets be real, thats a basic ass choice and i will judge you
Kaz was at the docks within thirty minutes of hearing that The Wraith had been spotted heading towards Ketterdam. Inej and her crew weren't supposed to be back for another few days and her early return to the city would doubtlessly be motivated by more than just wanting to see him (although that's what Kaz liked to believe). He panted as he leaned against the rail, trying to regain his composure after half sprinting across Ketterdam. Kaz squinted into the setting sun reflecting off of the waves. Just on the horizon, silhouetted against the sunset, he could make out Inej's ship.
By the time the ship had pulled into berth twenty-two, Kaz's breathing had returned to normal, though his heart rate had only sped up at the thought of seeing Inej again. He tried to force thoughts of what could be wrong from his mind as the crew lowered the gangplank and began to head down onto the dock.
Kaz had researched each member of Inej's crew extensively, sometimes at her request, sometimes because he needed to be sure she wasn't going to drown at sea because of the incompetence of some sail mender. So he was surprised to see quite a few unfamiliar figures make their way down, more captives than Inej would typically rescue between her drop off in Os Kervo and Ketterdam. There had to be more than twenty new people clambouring down to the deck between the captives and slavers clad in irons and patrolled by Inej's toughest crew members.
Inej disboarded last. The second Kaz saw her, he knew something was wrong. The way she held herself, favouring one side, the shorter, clipped step, even the slight catch in her breath that he could detect from thirty feet away. She scanned the docks as she made her way down the gangplank, a smile stretching across her face as she caught sight of Kaz. Inej headed over to her crew, presumably to instruct them in regards to how best to handle the slavers and captives.
Kaz ground his teeth as he forced himself to wait until she had finished speaking to her crew. The second they began to scatter themselves around the docks, taking care of various tasks, Kaz was at her side.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Inej shook her head. "I'm perfectly alright, it was only-":
"Inej," Kaz cut her off, taking her elbow and gently turning her to face him. "What happened?"
"We were doing a rescue last night," Inej said. "I caught a blade to the ribs."
Kaz's stomach rolled at the thought of Inej being in danger, being hurt, without him there or even knowing. He knew she could handle herself, perhaps better than him, even, but knowing she had been hurt sent his blood boiling.
"How bad?" Kaz asked.
"Stitches," Inej said. "But not too deep."
"Do you need to go back to the Slat?" Kaz said.
Inej nodded, not meeting his eyes. He knew the cut was worse than she was letting on, but he also knew there was something else. Something had happened on this journey, something significant enough to rattle her. He wasn't sure what it was, but if she wasn't offering an explanation, he wasn't going to force one out of her, at least not right away.
They made their way back through the Barrel, dodging through side streets and back alleys to avoid the throngs of people, mostly tourists out in droves now that the West Stave had reopened. Kaz had started out walking beside her, but after her breathing grew unsteady and her pace slowed, he looped his arm through hers, letting her lean on him as they walked the remaining few blocks.
It wasn't until they made it to the stairs leading up to his room that Kaz truly began to feel worried. The stairs weren't wide enough for him to help her up them, so he stepped aside to let her go first. Inej made it only two steps up before she let out a sharp gasp of pain.
"Inej," Kaz's gloved hand was on her elbow, holding her up.
Gripping the banister, she pulled herself up one more step. Inej let out a choked sound as a wave of pain overtook her. She stumbled back, into Kaz's chest.
"Here," he said, turning her gently to face him. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her brow, even though there was a chill in the air.
Looping her arms around his neck, Kaz took a deep breath and lifted Inej into his arms, being as careful as possible to avoid her ribs. He made his way slowly up the stairs, Inej and his limp slowing him down. When they reached the top, he set Inej down, forcing himself to remain close enough to make sure she was steady on her feet before he put a few steps of much needed space between them.
"Thank you," Inej mumbled. The hint of a blush coloured her cheeks and she looked down, embarrassed to have needed help for something as simple as stairs.
Kaz pulled his key from the chain around his neck and let them in, shutting the door behind Inej.
"Alright," Kaz said as Inej limped over to his bed and collapsed onto the carefully folded blanket. "Don't lie to me, how bad is it?"
Inej groaned. Now that she was lying down, Kaz could see a faint red stain seeping through her coat. He turned to his dressing table and began rummaging through the drawers. He ought to have bandages somewhere.
In the few minutes it took Kaz to search through his drawers and find his meager stash of medical supplies, Inej looked half asleep.
"Inej," he said as he crossed the room to her.
She groaned as she pushed herself up her elbows.
"You need to take off your coat," Kaz told her, setting an armful of bandages beside her on the bed.
Inej hissed as she tried to pull her arms from the sleeves of her jacket. Kaz gently tugged the sleeves off, setting the coat on the bed. Blood soaked the side of her body, sticking her shirt to her torso and staining the white fabric a deep pomegranate red.
Kaz didn't say anything as he reached for the hem of her blouse. Inej went still, her eyes glued to his gloved hands as they pulled the fabric of her tunic away from her body. Noting the expression on her face, Kaz opted against pulling her shirt all the way off, instead tucking the fabric over her shoulder to keep it out of the way while still allowing her to remain partially covered.
A blood soaked bandage covered the wound. Kaz peeled it away quickly, grimacing at Inej's flinch as the fabric stuck to her cut. The bandage gone, Kaz found a messy row of stitches, only partially closing the wound. It was deep. Kaz forced himself not to recoil from the sight as he took in the severity of the wound.
"How did this happen?" Kaz asked her.
"I got distracted," Inej whispered.
"You don't get distracted," Kaz said.
"This time," Inej replied. "I did."
"Who gave you stitches?" Kaz asked. "I thought you had a talented healer in your crew."
"I did them," Inej said.
"Inej," Kaz said. "Why in Ghezen's name did you try to sew yourself up? You look like a blind grandmother's pincushion."
She was quiet for a minute before responding. "I didn't think I could - I couldn't handle having someone's hands on me."
A cold rush of realization poured through him. Followed, of course, by the sharp burst of anger Kaz always felt when he realized just how much Inej's past still haunted her. How horrible her life had been, how unfair. Inej looked down at her hands, not meeting Kaz's gaze.
He reached out, his gloves still smeared with her blood, and took her hand in his. Inej grasped his fingers tightly, ignoring the blood staining her hands.
"I can help you," Kaz said. "If you can manage it. Otherwise, we'll have to get you to a healer, you're losing too much blood."
Inej nodded. Kaz stood, but Inej kept her grip on his hand. He forced himself to focus, to not think of how close he would have to get to her to do this. She needed him to be strong enough to help her. So he would.
Still not releasing his hand, Inej pulled a knife from the concealed sheaths on her arms and passed it to him, handle first. It was the one he had given to her years ago, one she had named after one of her Suli saints and carried with her everywhere. He took the blade from her and knelt before her to better see the wound.
With a delicate precision that came from years of lockpicking, Kaz split the messy stitches one-handed, his other still holding Inej's. He could feel the heat of her skin through his gloves, feverish around the wound from the blood flow. Gently tugging out the thread, Kaz took in the severity of the wound. It was deep. Deep enough that he couldn't fathom how she had walked all through Ketterdam to get back here. He could feel Inej's exhale on his skin, could see her body expand and contract as she breathed. He forced himself to think only of the needle and thread, tugging his hand from Inej's briefly to prepare the stitches.
"I'll be as quick as I can," Kaz told her.
Inej only nodded, her eyes barely open as she took Kaz's hand back into her own.
He pulled the needle in and out of her flesh, tugging the skin back together, trying his best to ignore the pained grimace on Inej's face. Kaz tied off the knot one handed, before stepping away from Inej to find a bandage. Very glad he had chosen to keep his gloves on, Kaz unwound the spool of cotton and wrapped it around Inej's torso, securing the fabric with a knot. He felt her let out a shaky breath as he was forced to move closer to her to secure the bandage.
"Thank you," Inej said shakily as he stepped away from her and began to gather up the bloody remnants of her previous bandage.
He nodded in response, heading over to his closet. Kaz pulled one of his shirts from its hanger, handing it wordlessly to Inej as he made his way to his dressing table. He could hear her changing behind him as he peeled his blood stained gloves from his hands.
Kaz stared at the pale, unmarked skin of his hands. Inej was putting her life at risk, putting her very self on the line, facing her own past to confront the deepest, darkest problems of the world, and he was still conning pigeons out of their kruge and hiding behind thin strips of leather.
"Kaz," Inej said from behind him.
He turned and walked to her.
"Are you okay?" she said, her voice muddled by exhaustion and pain.
"I think I should be the one asking you that question," he said. He took his spot on the bed, closest to the door.
"I missed you," she said, the arm of her good side thrown over her eyes.
Kaz scoffed as he lay back against the pillows.
"I did," she said, opening an eye to gaze up at him.
"You deserve to miss someone who is a better man than me," Kaz said after a minute, not meeting her eyes.
"Kaz," she found his hand in the blankets. "Good people are those who put others before themselves."
"Inej, I ruin people's lives for profit," he said dryly.
"You saved me. You saved Jesper and Wylan. You saved Nina and Matthais. It's because of your actions that all those captives were freed last night," she said.
"Just because I keep good company doesn't mean I count as such," he told her.
"Your actions have echoes," she told him. "And that is what defines them. You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that you are soulless, or evil, or a monster. You hide behind the guise of villianhood because it is easier to become dangerous than to appear vulnerable."
"Spin your proverbs however you want, Wraith. I've done too much harm to deserve you," Kaz said.
"I'll decide what I deserve," Inej said. "And if I decide it's the person who has fought for more freedoms than his own, I will be happy to have him."
Kaz was quiet for a minute.
"Something else happened," he said. "while you were gone. There's something you're not telling me."
Inej sighed, wiggling a little closer to Kaz. "I saw my past."
He breathed in the night air, waiting for her to continue as he struggled against the pounding of his heart in his chest at the increased amount of contact.
"I looked into the eyes of the man who tore me from my old life," she said.
"He's dead, then," Kaz said. "You killed him?"
"No," Inej breathed. "I need something from him."
"What is it?" Kaz asked.
"Information," Inej said. "His crew separated me from my brother. I need to know where he was sent."
"You never spoke of your brother," Kaz said.
"You never spoke of yours," Inej whispered. "The slaver is still unconscious. I stabbed him hard enough to put him under for a day or two."
"When he wakes," Kaz said, "whatever you need, I'll get you your answers."
"I don't need your protection," Inej said. "This is something that I need to confront."
"Not protection, then," Kaz said. "Backup."
Inej snorted. "The word you're looking for is company."
"Company," Kaz agreed.
Their hands wrapped around each other's. This was the most prolonged contact either of them had managed to hold for longer than a few seconds. Not giving himself enough time to reconsider, Kaz pulled Inej's hand up to his mouth, brushing a quick kiss against the back of her hand, before returning their hands to their usual spot in the middle of the bed.