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- Kaz was 18 years old when he first saw you - a shivering child, barely even a teenager, bruises covering your body and just underwear on.
- He knew from the first glance that you were from one of the pleasure houses, judging by how you peered towards the street full of them.
- Kaz didn’t really know what came over him - maybe you reminded him of himself as a child to some extent. A broken child with nowhere to go.
- Or maybe Inej was whispering into his ear across the seas, urging him to save you.
- So with a sigh, Kaz limped towards you, and you backed up into the corner the moment you saw him - Dirtyhands approaching you was probably even more scary than your master finding you - or at least on par with it.
- You had probably been taught he rips hearts out and eats them while they are still beating, like one of the newest rumours said.
- But instead, after Kaz had glanced around, he shed off his coat and held it out for you.
- You stared at him with wide eyes, then at the coat, then again at him.
- So Kaz sighed again, took a careful step towards you and laid the coat around you.
- You let out a breath, furrowing your brows as you looked up at him, carefully pulling the coat tighter around you. You clearly had not expected the turn of events.
- Kaz then nodded towards the Slat before turning away, and you silently followed him - some semblance of trust had been established.
- He was probably the first person to show even some kind of kindness to you in a long time, even if he was the most feared crime boss around, and you knew you had two options - returning to the pleasure house or following Dirtyhands. And only the first option had a certain severe beating, even death, so you chose the latter.
- When you arrived at the Slat, people fell silent. You were dirty and terrified, with Kaz’s coat wrapped around you.
- “Jesper,” Kaz had called, and a Zemeni man with two guns on his waist strode towards you.
- You immediately staggered back, hiding behind Kaz - men with guns often meant you’d be threatened next, and then you’d be forced into something horrible.
- The man frowned at your reaction, and talked with Kaz for a moment. You barely heard what they were saying, your eyes too fixated on the guns.
- A boy with messy hair came to you next - his eyes kind, and you found yourself relaxing a little. He extended a hand towards you, and you looked at Kaz, who nodded and you took the boy’s hand, letting him lead you to a bathroom. And you were able to have a bath all by yourself - relax there, taking your sweet time. Your master wasn’t brushing you with a sponge until your skin was red and irritated, you could lay in the warm water, wash away the grime, wash your hair and just… feel you were safe.
- At least for now. You knew from experience you couldn’t trust anyone before they had truly shown you they were to be trusted.
- Even when the Bastard of the Barrel, somehow, made you trust him almost instantly.
- There just was something strange about him - something familiar. You had a feeling he had understood you somehow.
- When you rose from the bath, wrapping a towel around you and changing into way too big clothes - you made your way out from the bathroom and made your way back downstairs.
- Your eyelids had started to feel heavy from relaxing for so long in the bath and when Kaz noticed it, he gestured you to come with him, and you made your way to the attic.
- There, he made you a bed on his sofa.
- “You can sleep here,” he had said, and you swallowed before slowly lying down and pulling the blanket over you.
- You didn’t know if you had ever slept somewhere so comfortable as his sofa was - your “bed” at the pleasure house had been a plank you regularly got splinters from. So it didn't take long for you to fall asleep.
- You had woken up to Kaz coming to sleep as well, but were quickly falling back asleep again after you realised he’s not going to assault you.
- In the coming weeks, Kaz grows to be fiercely protective of you.
- One time, you actually saw one of the men who had spent a night with you as you were at the Club - and Kaz immediately told his goons to throw the guy out.
- He hadn’t even done anything while there, but Kaz wanted to protect you.
- Of course, he didn’t tell anyone the reason why he threw that guy out…
- You both suffer from nightmares, Kaz pushes his own nightmares aside to do his best to comfort you with your own nightmares.
- "They fade over time," he had told you one night, as you had woken up screaming and had been rocking yourself back and forth, hugging your knees. Kaz had come running to see what's the matter, and seeing your tear-stained cheeks told him everything he needed to know.
- You had looked up to him, huffing. "How are you supposed to know that?"
- Kaz didn't reply right away, just held his cane, running his thumb over the crow head as he looked at the floor.
- "They do," he then repeated, standing up from beside you and leaving the room. You had sat there for a moment longer, before you had laid down again, attempting to continue sleeping.
- Overtime, Kaz realised he cared for you - he felt like he was your big brother.
- After Inej came back from her sea adventures, she quickly became something between a mother and an aunt to you.
- She grew to love you just as much as her boyfriend did, even when Kaz didn’t show it as much as Inej.
- Inej could offer you peer support, when Kaz protected you from harm.
- And of course, Jesper and Wylan grew close to you too.
- Sometimes, you fell asleep against Kaz’s shoulder, and he let you - you had grown close to him, and he was recovering from his own traumas, touch wasn’t that big of an issue anymore.
- Having you leaning against his shoulder, touching him through his shirt, your hair slightly touching his neck - it didn’t feel that bad.
- He barely felt water hovering over his toes. Actually he wasn’t even sure if it was water or if it was a draft blowing through the floor.
- He could touch Inej skin to skin too, so you being his unofficial little sibling could rest against him if that were to happen.
- When you were outside, he made sure you wouldn’t drift too far from them, the Barrel was full of dangers. Especially if someone from your old pleasure house would see you.
- Fortunately most knew you were under his protection.
- And as you became older, you were healing a lot faster than Kaz was - and even though he knew he wasn’t actually your brother, he sure felt like one - a proud brother.
- Kaz didn’t believe in Saints, but he still felt like something had brought him up to you, at the right time - something had just clicked.
- And now his family had one more member.