Chapter Text
It started like any ordinary morning.
Sunlight spilled through the curtains of the Slat, the kitchen smelled faintly of Wylan's favorite cinnamon tea, and Kaz's cane rested peacefully by the couch. He was curled into the corner of it, book in hand, legs tucked beneath him in those ridiculously soft pants Inej insisted on buying him.
He was too focused on his book to notice the way Inej had gone very still across the room, at least not at first.
Her phone was in her hand, and she'd been smiling down at it — until she wasn't. Her brows lifted, then furrowed, then disappeared behind the cool, hard look of someone about to destroy. Kaz finally glanced up from his book just in time to see her open her front camera, adjust her braid to look just slightly more intimidating, and click record.
"What's wrong?" he asked carefully.
She didn't answer him immediately. She was focused, her thumb flying across the screen.
He carefully stood up and limped toward her, gaze flickering down to her phone just as she hit "Post to Story."
"Inej?"
She finally looked up at him, and it was then he realized — oh.
She wasn't angry. She was furious.
"What happened?" he asked again, softly now.
Inej opened her DMs and handed him her phone.
He stared. Then blinked.
It was hundreds of strangers, mostly girls. Some clearly just idiotic, others definitetly worse.
"who is that??"
"no disrespect but your man is SO fine"
"if he ever wants to explore other options 👀"
"if you're not treating him right girl just know i would"
"wait... you're just dating??? damn lemme shoot my shot"
And some even bolder than that, words Kaz didn't like to read about himself. Words he definitely didn't like being sent to Inej.
His jaw twitched. She reached out and cupped the back of his neck with her hand.
"They don't know, Kazzie," she said softly. "But they will."
He blinked at her. "You threatened them... didn't you?"
"No," she said, voice sugar-smooth. "I educated them."
Her video was only thirty seconds long.
But that was all she needed.
The camera showed only her face at first. Sharp, composed, radiant. Her voice was calm. Lethal.
"To the people in my DMs — yes, my DMs — who think it's appropriate to comment on my husband... let me be very clear."
Then, the camera turned to Kaz. He was sitting on the couch, book on his lap, loose hoodie slightly off his shoulder, his expression vaguely confused but still princely. Still Kaz.
"That is my husband. We are very much married, I love him deeply. And if you think I'd let anyone — anyone — speak about him like he's an object, or a joke, or an invitation... then you don't know me at all."
The camera cut back to her face.
"He is not yours to fantasize about. He is not a 'pretty thing' for you to message me about. He is mine, and I am his. So kindly keep your thirst to yourselves or you will regret learning how fast I can make a person disappear."
She ended the video with a wink, posted it, and then turned off her phone.
Inej calmly walked back to Kaz, curled into his side, and kissed his cheek.
"I don't care if it was harmless," she said softly, her voice suddenly tender again. "You're not some trophy for them to drool over. You're my husband, my person. And if anyone treats you like less, I'll make sure they never get the chance again."
Kaz, stunned, blinked down at her.
"Inej," he whispered. "You're terrifying."
"Good."
He smiled, slow and disbelieving. "You really mean all of that?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide and burning with affection. "Every word. You're not just beautiful, Kaz. You're precious. And you deserve to be protected too."
He didn't know what to say after that.
So he kissed her.
That night, the story went viral. People reposted it, commented on it, and applauded her.
"Inej Ghafa just ended thirst traps worldwide."
"Mother behavior!!!"
"No crumbs left. Protective wives RISE"
"Wait. HER HUSBAND??? I thought he was the brooding art student on pinterest 😭"
GROUP CHAT: CROWS!!!!!!
HotShotBangBang: someone tell inej to take it easy on the mortals 💀
Van Sunshine: No one survives getting cooked that hard.
WaffleWhiz: i want to be inej when i grow up
StillDontGetSarcasm: They deserved it.
Kaz didn't say anything.
He just got into bed that night, and whispered, "Thank you."
She kissed the crown of his hair and whispered back, "Always."
It started with a few thousand likes.
By breakfast the following morning, it was over a million.
Kaz was still brushing his teeth when Jesper sent the group chat a message in all caps:
GC: CROWS!!!!!!
HotShotBangBang: INEJ IS TRENDING! I REPEAT. INEJ. IS. TRENDING.
WaffleWhiz: actually its inej AND kaz.
you two are the internets new fav couple!!!
Van Sunshine: Also, someone edited your video to lo-fi music.
It has 400,000 likes on Twitter.
I'm scared.
StillDontGetSarcasm: they call you "queen of protectiveness"
HotShotBangBang: i want merch.
Kaz walked into the kitchen mid-scroll.
He blinked.
"...I think I'm famous."
Inej, already curled into one of his hoodies and sipping tea at the counter, glanced up. "No, love. You're ours. The internet just finally figured it out."
Kaz rubbed his eyes. "I'm not sure that makes me feel better."
"Here," she said gently, holding out her phone. "You'll want to see this."
Comments flooded every platform.
On Inej's original post:
"This woman just set the standard for wives🔥"
"PROTECTIVE WIFE INEJ GHAFA HAS ENTERED THE CHAT"
"that man looks like he writes poetry in candelight and stares out windows. I understad the DMs but I also respect you queen."
"I would die for Kaz Brekker and I don't even know him."
On fan edits of Kaz himself, mostly clips from Inej's other casual stories, where Kaz was reading, folding laundry, or cooking with his hair falling into his eyes:
"wait.. he's hot AND soft?"
"i've never seen a man look more like a sad prince in a fantasy novel and I need twelve more of him"
"does he have socials? does he have a SOUND CLOUD????"
"Kaz if you're being held hostage blink twice."
Inej laughed herself breathless. Kaz stared at the screen in disbelief, face flushed, jaw slightly slack.
"They're... complimenting me?"
"Violently," she said, delighted. Kaz slowly sat down, dazed.
"I thought the internet hated me."
But then — the tone shifted
Suddenly, the algorithm unearthed something else.
A grainy old video, from almost a year ago.
It had been taken during the worst of it — during the day almost a year ago, where the crows had all gone to the mall, to get a gift for Wylan's birthday. Multiple frat boys attacked and hurt Kaz, only because of his disability.
The video wasn't kind. The boys had laughed, Kaz had flinched. Someone had tried to grab his shoulder, and the panic on his face had been visible, even back then.
The video was posted once, then a hundred times, then thousands.
And then the real riot began.
"Wait wait wait. Is this THE Kaz?? From Inej's video??"
"THOSE are the boys who made him panic in the mall?????"
"they laughed at him?? laughed!!??"
"FUCK NO. SOMEONE RUN THEIR @'S"
"mass reporting now, say less."
Within hours, the boy's names, socials, school, and fraternity were exposed — and the internet, usually so quick to mock, turned venemously protective. Kaz stared at the screen in horror.
"Inej."
"I know."
"There are memes of me crying."
"I know."
"They're turning me into a soft warriro prince who needs to be protected at all costs."
Inej couldn't help it — she grinned. "Because you are."
"I am not."
"You're the peoples prince now, Kazzie. There's no going back."
He groaned and buried his head in her shoulder.
Meanwhile, thousands flooded his anonymous blod — one he had never promoted, barely updated, where he sometimes posted short fiction or journal entries in disguise.
They found it.
"This writing is so gentle and so sad."
"Kaz if you see this I just want you to know you're so loved"
"whoever hurt you before? i hope they never sleep again"
And the boys who hurt him?
Gone.
They had all been mass reported, suspended from school, and condemned. Some of them posted fake apologies. Others were found by classmates, friends, and teachers.
Kaz didn't speak much for the rest of the day.
But that night, he sat beside Inej with his laptop in his lap, hands slightly trembling, and posted a short message to his blog:
"Months ago, I thought the world would always see me as broken. That if anyone ever saw me panic, if anyone ever saw me, they'd laugh. Some did.
But today, for the first time, I don't feel like hiding.
Thank you.
And thank you to my wife — the strongest, kindest, scariest woman in the world.
You reminded me I wasn't alone. I never was.
By morning, that post had over five million likes.
Wylan cried. Jesper made shirts that said "Internet's Soft Prince" and "He's Taken, Bitch."
Kaz tried to hide the screen when he saw the views, but Inej curled into his side, pressed her lips to his temple, and said, "Let them see you. All of you."
He didn't respond.
But he didn't close the tab either.