"One word from you and I would, jump off of this, ledge I'm on, baby, tell me "don't", so I can, crawl back in."

— First love/late spring, Mitski.

     Soft sounds left Trixie's lips from where rest her head on Jesper's shoulder, the two sat on the floor together, in two very different dreams. The others went about their mornings as usual; Inej making tea, Kaz sat at the table trading sketches with Wylan and occasionally Kuwei, Matthias sending lovesick glances towards Nina. Basically, an average day for them.

Standing up from the seat he was sat at, Kaz raised his cane and tapped the two sleeping forms with the end of the metal. Jesper jolted first, Trixie following at they scrambled in a mess of limbs. Sleep and irritation swam in the irises as they shot their eyes up to meet Kaz's, emotionless and void of any life. He merely shrugged and sat back down while the other two tried to wake themselves up and erase the tiredness they felt.

"Brekker, if you even think of doing that again, I'll suffocate you in your sleep." Trixie announced, dramatically sprawling on the floor with a groan while Jesper rubbed his eyes.

"It's amusing that you believe I'd be foolish enough to let that happen." Kaz replied, his hands flickering over some papers.

"We'll see."

"We should go soon." Matthias called out to Nina and Trixie whirled around to face the two. "We have little more than an hour before sunrise."

"What exactly are you wearing?" Nina asked, staring at the tufted cap and woolly red vest Matthias had put on over his clothes, slapping Trixie's shoulder as the girl began to snicker at the sight.

"Kaz procured papers for us in case we're stopped in the Ravkan quarter." Matthias explained, shifting uncomfortably as Trixie's laughter passed his ears. "We're Sven and Catrine Alfsson. Fjerdan defectors seeking asylum at the Ravkan embassy."

"Are we married, Matthias?" Nina asked him, batting her lashes.

Trixie had stood up, looking over at the papers before turning away, laughter being the only sound as Matthias squinted. "I believe we're brother and sister." He replied and Nina paled at the comment.

"This is amazing." Trixie called out, her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds that passed her lips.

"Not creepy at all." Jesper commented, moving from the floor and onto the chair at the table.

"Why did you have to make us siblings, Brekker?" Nina scowled at the boy who kept his gaze on the document he was looking through.

"Because it was easier for Specht to forge the papers that way, Zenik. Same parents' names and birthplace, and he was working to accommodate your noble impulses at short notice." Kaz explained, uncaring for the horror that the girl felt.

"We don't look anything alike." Nina protested incredulously as Inej placed a cup down in front of Trixie, sending the blonde girl a small smile as she gratefully accepted it.

"You're both tall." Inej offered slowly, her eyes glancing at Trixie to see the girl had placed her head on the table, muffled laughter sounding around the room.

"And neither of us have gills." Nina shot back, throwing her arms up. "That doesn't mean we look related."

"Then tailor him." Kaz retorted coldly, rereading the same words over and over again as he'd been distracted.

"I don't want to be tailored." Matthias quipped quickly and Trixie finally stopped laughing, raising her head to look at them.

"You'll be fine." Jesper called out, breaking the sudden tension that had taken over the room. "Just keep the soulful glances to a minimum and try not to grope each other in public."

"Thats going to be hard for them, have you seen these two?" Trixie motioned to them as they sent her unimpressed looks.

"Here," Matthias ignored her comment as he handed Nina the blonde wig she'd used for the Smeet job and a pile of clothes.

"These better be my size." Nina grumpily mumbled, heading over to a side catacomb to go get changed, her clothes in one hand while a lantern rest in the other

When she reemerged from the passage, she tugged on the dress slightly, capturing the attention of the crew. Trixie pursed her lips, trying to halt any laughter while Jesper did the opposite and doubled over. Kaz's brows shot up at the sight while Inej's lips twitched ever so slightly. All their reactions made Nina feel suddenly self conscious, an exasperated sigh passing her lips.

"Saints." Nina sourly questioned, if Kaz had given a reaction it had to be something terrible. "How bad is it?"

"You do look a bit..." Inej trailed off, clearing her throat as Trixie tried her hardest not to laugh again.

"Enchanting." Matthias' jaw dropped as he looked at her as if she was the only one in the room, everyone else just being mere background noise. "You could be a maiden on the first day of Roennigsdjel."

"I'm going to vomit if these lovebirds don't stop." Trixie frowned, slamming her head against the table, Inej rubbing her back softly.

"What is Roennigsdjel?" Kuwei asked, unfamiliar to the name.

"Some festival," Nina explained to the boy, "I can't remember. But I'm pretty sure it involves eating a lot of elk. Let's go, you big goon, and I'm supposed to be your sister, stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Matthias asked, unsure what he had done wrong.

"Like I'm made of ice cream."

"I don't care for ice cream."

"Matthias," Nina began tearfully, although failing to hide the softness in her voice that she reserved for him and him only, "I'm not sure we can continue to spend time together."

"Nina, you deserve better than this." Trixie grabbed the girl's hand and spoke with a joking manner. "I can't believe you have to cope with this."

"Oh, shove off."

      Laughter passed by her lips as she said her goodbyes to Matthias and Nina, the two heading to complete their role in the job. The girl's eyes scanned the room as she found them landing on Kaz, the boy sat alone as he raked his eyes over the papers in his gloved hands. Concentration sat on his features as he tried to figure out any small details he could've possibly missed. Beside her, Jesper and Wylan were engaged in a conversation about something, she was saddened they'd stopped bickering now, where was she meant to get entertainment from?

      Moving from her seat, she sat down beside Kaz and picked up the paper he'd just placed down, scanning her eyes over the words. Placing it back down, she looked at the boy for a few seconds, noting the scar on his lip that made him seem menacing but she was curious as to how he got it. They all had some remnants of their past, physical or not and it was sort of interesting to see how people hid them, wanting no remembrance of it, of their past selves.

      "You're staring, Van Der Woodsen, what do you want?" Kaz commented and she grinned playfully.

      "To know where you got that." She hovered her hand above his lip, motioning to the faint line that rest there.

      "A fight," Kaz replied nonchalantly, moving his eyes to the girl as he noticed a faint white scar, trialing along her upper arm, "and how did you get this." He motioned towards where he'd been looking and she raised her brow.

      Trixie's lips upturned as her eyes dropped to her arm where he had been hovering above. "That is from falling while trying to a pirouette when I was seven." She explained, an amused grin playing on her lips. "I fell into a box where my mother had kept a bunch of plates that she'd paid a shit ton of money for. As I fell, the plates smashed and one of them got stuck in my arm. Ma went ballistic and she was scolding me while crying, I couldn't tell if she was crying because I was hurt or because I'd ruined her new decorations."

      A quiet laugh left her lips as she found herself smiling at the memory, unaware of the fond look Kaz was staring at her with. "So, what happened after she discovered you'd broken the plates?" He asked, his voice quieter as he looked at her, hanging onto every word.

      "She yelled for a little bit but ultimately she didn't seem all too bothered, more concerned that I'd dripped blood on her one of a kind carpet." Trixie shrugged, looking up to meet his eyes. "When we finish this shit show, I want to join the dregs."

      Kaz raised a brow at this declaration, his lips upturned ever so slightly as he noticed the happiness practically raising off her. "You're already a part of the dregs." He replied and she nodded slowly, that grin still on her face.

      "I know but I want to be in it for real, like, the tattoo and all." Trixie announced, tapping her chipped nails on the table. "You guys are the closest thing I have got to a family and I'm tired of pretending you're not. If that means I have to get a tattoo then I don't care, it'll piss Ma off anyway."

      The boy chuckled, shaking his head as he listened to the girl, unable to fight the feeling he got every time he spoke to her. Their conversation shifted and Inej, Wylan and Jesper joined in, the group sharing mindless chatter, Kuwei joining in every now and again. Despite the people around him, his eyes always managed to see out hers, as if she was the only there.

Words~1622.
{edited:no}