(no subject)

[everymonstrousthing]

Waiting while Inej finishes getting ready, Kaz checks his cuffs for, perhaps, the thirtieth time. The suit is new on, crisply tailored, deepest charcoal. He had endured a haircut and shave that afternoon. His boots have a mirror shine. He's made an effort which, while not dissimilar to how he looks every day, is enough that he's sure Inej will notice. His tie is navy blue, not a colour he'd normally choose but one that he knows Inej enjoys when he wears it.

So he's trying.
He's more than trying.

Comments

[the_wraith]

He's always so courteous with her now; sometimes it feels even more telling, revealing, than when he takes off his gloves.

She smooths out her skirt and the tablecloth at her place, which was smooth to begin with.

"But we're always the same at the core," she says. "You think?"

[everymonstrousthing]

"I think so," he says, because he likes to think that about her, at least, even if he is rotten to his core. Even if he is ruined by what he become. She's better than him, he knows. She's made of rarer stuff. He picks up a menu and offers it to her. "Some things are too far gone to be fixed."

He's talking about himself, obviously. Never her.

[the_wraith]

She knows better than to believe that he's talking about anyone other than himself right now. Maybe he believes it of others -- not of her -- but he's made himself look a monster long enough that he doesn't see it any other way.

She takes the menu with a shrewd look. "I don't like broken things," she says, both casual and pointed, before dropping her gaze to the menu.

Inej wouldn't be here if she didn't think him capable.

[everymonstrousthing]

But that's the thing, isn't it? He doesn't feel broken when she looks at him. He doesn't feel monstrous when she sees him. He watches her for a moment, and then he smiles, glancing at his menu.

"Getting a taste for the finer things, Wraith?"

[the_wraith]

"Only that I can share with you," she replies without much thought. She went to parties, wrapped in silks, and the food and drink tasted like ash. The same things taste sweeter now.

"I'm sure you've scoped out this place before choosing it. What's good?"

[everymonstrousthing]

"The seafood is supposed to be excellent," he says, paging through his own menu. "But, admittedly, I mostly picked it because of the dessert menu." He glances up at her. "I've figured not out the way to your heart, Wraith."

[the_wraith]

She smirks at him, eyebrow raised.

"There's more to it than orange cakes," she teases, because he knows that. "You're going to get me fat, Brekker. I'll be an awful Wraith then."

[everymonstrousthing]

"Don't need a wraith here, anyway," says Kaz, definitely looking amused. "Just the girl I love and I'd love you no matter how round you got."