Kaz eyes flew open, and his body tensed. Someone was moving up the stairs to his room. He closed his eyes again, listening intently to the movement. It was two people, one careful and light, the other clearly trying to be careful, but failing badly.

Kaz's body relaxed a bit. He knew those footfalls, it was Wylan and Jesper. It still baffled him that Jesper, after all these years of using those stairs, still was so bad at walking them silently. Stealth had never been Jespers forte, and Wylan had easily surpassed him on that front after just a few lessons from Inej.

He listened to them as they neared the door. He was not in the mood for company, and secretly willed them to turn away and leave. He knew the door was looked, but that wouldn't stop Jesper if he wanted in.

Jesper liked to use his door's lock as training for his Grisha magic. More then once Jesper had had to spend hours fixing the lock after messing up, but Kaz had to admit he was getting better at it. It was a useful skill to have in the group, so he didn't discourage Jesper from it, no matter how much it annoyed him at times, but today was not a day he would encourage it either.

He pushed himself up into a seated position, ignoring his bodies protests and pain. He knew he should have stood up, but he wasn't sure his body would support him, so he settled for this. He let his hand slide trough his hair, making sure it was lying neatly.

The steps reached the top, and paused. A white envelope was slid under the door, sailing to the middle of the floor. And then to his surprise, they left, giving him a feeling that they had somehow read his mind.

Curious, he picked up his cane that was leaning against his nightstand, and used it to drag the letter to the bed, picking it up without having to leave the warmth of the blankets.

The envelope bore the Van Eyck insignia and had a wax seal with the Van Eyck seal. He was about to tear the seal, when he heard a sleepy sigh from his side, his eyes shifting towards Inej. He felt a rush of affection as his eyes landed on her, her silent presence momentary forgotten due to Wylan and Jesper.

He put the note on his nightstand, letting his eyes rest on her sleeping form. She was in the same position she had fallen asleep in, slightly curled up on her side, face and head towards him. Some of her long hair was splayed over her shoulder and forehead. He was tempted to lightly brush it away.

Her face was relaxed, giving of the serene look of a saint. And to him, that was what she was. She had saved his life many times over, and he would easily lay down his own if it meant saving her. Inej, his Wraith, was under his protection, and he would lay waste to anyone or any place that tried to harm her. She deserved protection, peace and happiness, and he would do anything in his power to give her that, even letting her go if that was what she wished.

Yesterday she had asked to stay, and inside him the small dream of sharing his life with her had blazed into an inferno. In the morning light it had dimmed again, finding it hard to believe that this had been anything more then a one-time incident born out of trauma, heavy rain, cold and exhaustion. But he wouldn't extinguish the hope as he had done so many times in the past, instead letting the small flame burn freely, waiting for Inej to decide his future. Patience was something he had mastered a long time ago, his brick-by-brick philosophy serving him well in that field.

He let his eyes scan the world outside his window. Morning had come and gone, and it was well into the afternoon. They had slept late, and missed their regular Sunday breakfast rendezvous at Wylan's house. That also explained why they had come to his office, probably wanting to check that they where okay, but not why they had left so suddenly.

He looked at the letter again, picking it up and spinning it between his fingers as he was scheming of a valid explanation as to why he had missed the breakfast. The obvious reason was to blame the injuries and exhaustion, and that would mostly be true, but he would be holding back some key information. Namely that he had woken earlier, remembered the breakfast, but had let his eyes close, and let the slow sleepy breaths of Inej and the warmth from her body lull him back to sleep, not yet willing to let the dream end.

"What's that?" Inej asked sleepily.

Kaz had been lost in thought, and jumped slightly at her voice. He watched her untangle herself and stretch out her limbs under the covers as she flipped herself onto her back, eyes looking at the letter he had been spinning in his hands.

"Good morning," Kaz answered, smiling at her. "Sleep okay?" he queried.

"One of the best sleeps of my life," she smiled back, an edge of teasing in her voice as she pushed herself up to a cross-legged seating position. She pulled the blanked around her shoulders, letting the edges pool in her lap. She met his eyes, apprehension in them "You okay?"

It felt weird to have somebody worry about his feelings and his well-being, but apparently Inej had taken on the role as his guardian. It felt good.

"I think a good night sleep did us both good. Despite everything I actually feel rested and somewhat decent," he offered. He was still in pain, his injuries and soreness still demanding his attention, but from past experiences, he had expected to feel much worse. Maybe Inej's idea of treating the wounds before resting wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Inej beamed at him, clearly happy with his answer.

"We'll have to check over the bandages, maybe change some, before we consider meeting Wylan and Jesper for Sunday breakfast," she suggested.

"Um, we kind of already missed that…" Kaz informed her.

"What?!" Inej replied.

"Yeah, it's past midday." Kaz answered somewhat sheepishly, knowing he probably should have woken her earlier as he knew she didn't like to sleep in.

Inej swiftly spun out of her blankets, and onto the floor. She walked over to the window, and opened it, Kaz's blue silk shirt swaying to her movements. The crows gathered outside as soon as the window opened, waiting for their daily feeding. "I can't remember the last time I slept so late," she said, a bit dazed at the thought.

"Me neither," Kaz answered as he watched her. She picked up the feeding bag, and started throwing out handfuls to the crows. The heavy rains of yesterday had passed, and the sun was trying hard to push through the lingering grey clouds that covered the sky.

The wind had picked up, causing the clouds to move quickly over the sky. A gust of wind blew in through the window, ruffling his papers and Inej's shirt. Small goose bumps appeared on her legs, the shirt a poor shield against the chill of the wind.

Kaz gathered the blanked from the bed, and pushed himself onto his good leg. He carefully tried to put weight on his bad leg, it hurt, but it no longer threatened to collapse under him. Satisfied, he carefully limped the few steps over to the window, placing the blanked around Inej's shoulders.

She turned to look at him, affection in her eyes. "Hold me?"

He blinked at her request, the small flame of hope growing. He stood behind her, and let his arms surround her shoulders within the blanked. He felt his heart race at the closeness, but the blanket made an efficient barrier, letting him touch her without sending him spiralling.

She let herself lean towards him, bringing their bodies closer together.

They stood like that for a long time, just watching the clouds glide over the sky while the crows enjoyed their food. It felt good, it felt right. but Kaz could slowly feel his body betraying him, still not fully healed and muscles starting to protest the prolonged use.

He didn't want to leave and fought the pain and trembling, but Inej was perceptive as usual, realizing Kaz was starting to struggle. She started to push herself out of his hold, taking the heavy blanket with her. She turned towards him, her face looking up at his, eyes glowing. "Thank you, but now its my turn".

She placed herself next to his bad leg, and slid herself under his arm. He let his arm and some of his weight lean on her as they started to move towards the fireplace and his lounge chair. She helped deposit him in the chair, and lifted his bad leg so it could rest outstretched on the stool.

He watched her as she closed the window, and collected his cane, the glass of water and note from the nightstand, placing it on the table next to him. She also placed some logs in the fireplace and lit a fire, wanting to remove the chill from the room. She settled on the stool, sliding her bare legs into the small space between Kaz's legs. She kept the blanket hanging lightly over her shoulders, and made sure she also draped some of it over his legs, making them part of her cocoon of warmth.

"Is this good?" she asked, wanting him to be as comfortable as possible.

"It's perfect," Kaz answered as he let his eyes take in her beauty as she sat before him, clad in only his silk shirt. Kaz relished the intimacy and closeness she afforded him, while still respecting his fears and need for boundaries.

She leaned over towards the table, picking up the letter. "Is this from Wylan?" She asked as she turned it over, seeing the Van Eyck markings.

"And Jesper, I think. They slipped it under the door this morning."

"They were here?" Inej asked, bewildered.

"Just outside the door. They delivered that, but then left."

"That's a bit weird," Inej commented, looking at the letter again. "Don't you think you should open it?"

"Probably"

"Then why haven't you?" Inej asked, puzzled again.

"I had more important matters to attend to," Kaz answered with warm smile.

The response elicited a shy smile from Inej as she realized he meant her. She held out the letter for him. "I think we should open it. I'm curious why they sent you this".

Kaz took it, and paused. It had been nice to just be the two of them in their own little world, away from all the troubles of reality, but he guessed he would have to let the real world in at some point. He broke the seal, and opened the letter.

The first page was neatly written, letting him know that Jesper and Wylan understood that he had missed breakfast after the last few days events, hoping he was healing well, and that he would be welcome to join them at their evening supper at their house if he wished. They had brought a basket of select breakfast items to him. It was placed outside his door, and it held enough for two in case Inej was still at the Slat, and they wanted to eat in each others company. If so, Kaz was to relay the invitation of evening supper to Inej in case they didn't see her at the house first. It was formal and nice, clearly dictated by Wylan as it was tactfully written, no pressure nor assumptions that Inej had spent the night in his company.

The second page was on the other hand pure Jesper, probably placed inside the envelope unbeknownst to Wylan. It was hurriedly scrawled, and said; "Finally! We've been rooting for the two of you for ages – don't waste the opportunity, and don't let her go this time, or I'll lengthen your sick leave myself if that's what it takes for the two of you to finally figure this thing out!"

He felt a slight blush rise in his cheeks. Apparently he and Inej weren't as coy about their interest in each other as they thought. Even though he felt slightly embarrassed by Wylan and Jesper knowing about them already, he couldn't help but feel warmed by their support, especially as it came in threats, a language Jesper knew he would understand and appreciate.

Inej was watching him, waiting for him to tell her what it said. "Jesper and Wylan brought us breakfast. It's outside the door," he informed her, "and we're invited to supper at their house tonight if we want to".

"Oh wow, that's nice of them! I'll get it," she offered, easily springing to her feet.

She soon returned with a medium sized, heavy box which she placed on the floor next to the table. She started unpacking it.

Wylan's household hadn't scampered. By the time she was finished the table was nearly overflying. There were waffles, fruit, juice, eggs, toast, pancakes, coffee, honey, chocolates, scones, tea, cream, glasses, plates, candles, napkins, wine and more, even champagne. All served with the best silver wares.

It was a decedent sight, and a lot more food than they could ever dream of finishing in one breakfast. Inej laughed at the sight, and Kaz only shook his head. He suspected they made sure to overfill it so he and Inej would be able to stay inside until the next day if they so wished. He felt grateful for the gesture as it would allow Inej and him the luxury of deciding on their own when it would be time to face the outside world again.

"So, breakfast first, then first aid?" Inej asked, stomach giving of a loud rumble at the lovely smells. Inej looked down at her rebellious stomach, slightly embarrassed.

Kaz couldn't keep back a laugh. "Sure".

He sat back in his chair as she filled her plate, content just to watch her.

Once she had filled her plate, she looked over the table, and paused. "It's impossible for us to eat all of this now, and it would be a shame to let this amazing food go to waste. How about we stay in tonight, and just send a letter to Wylans' house, informing them we'll be over for supper tomorrow evening?" she asked, hopeful eyes looking towards Kaz, asking him for more time in their own little world.

He secretly had the same wish. It would give them time to figure what this thing between them was on their own, unhurried by the worlds demands and customs. He hadn't dared to voice it himself, unsure if she wanted to return to Jesper and Wylans, or stay. But now he had his answer, he wasn't letting her go, not now, not ever.

"Yes, I'll make sure to send a letter to them later. We'll just rest and recuperate here till then, together" he answered, reinforcing the last word.

"I would like that" Inej replied while smiling warmly at him, before digging into her breakfast.

The flame of hope inside him, was now blazing. Maybe just maybe, there was a person for him out there after all. A saint, one Inej Gafha. As long as she wanted to stay with him, nothing, not even death, would make him let her go again. He would be her safe haven for as long as she would let him.

Maybe, just maybe, these broken and oddly matched crows, could learn to fly together after all.

Thanks so much to everyone for following along with my story, and my first journey into the world of Kaz Brekker and his Crows. Hope I did them justice, and that you enjoyed the story. If you did, I can reveal that I've started another story set after the books innvolving the same crew that I hope to start posting in not too long.

Feel free to leave a comment/review if you liked the story, or if you have any wishes for what to see in the next story :)