Chapter Text
It goes like this, there is a fight that starts on the street on the barrel. Kaz brekker in the centre of it all, because where else would the bastard of the barrel be, expect for the centre of chaos. And who is dirty hands without his trusted stewards on his sides,
and who are they if they do not leave destruction in their path.
There's an explosion and a rattling fire and ship that takes 2 injured away in the quiet of the night.
The ship lands next to a quiet town in Liji. And six people get off.
Kaz sleeps, for the first time in a few days. Exhausted from the burns on his arms and the trance nina puts him in.
They all retreat into the tiny farmhouse and at an Unholy time of night
"I did not think this would place would fit kazs taste", jesper says as he cradles a cup of coffee in his arms, the wound on his forehead is bandged and his hair curls around his forehead from his shower.
They are all huddled around a small table. It's It's intimate atmosphere, where they can almost see a family sit down as they enjoy their lunch of the day. There's a small carving at the edge of the table - k and j.
Jesper traces that absentmindedly thinking of the ways this house is haunted at every nook and crevice. He shudders.
Nina is soundly asleep on the sofa in the living room. A space big enough for them huddle in. Her head is in matthias lap. It's so cute that jesper wants to throw up.
He looks at wylan sitting in the corner of the room, huddled next to inej, who's dozing off at his shoulder. Wylan with his wet curls, wylan with his absentminded stare while he sits. Wylan who looks good enough to eat.
Jesper shakes his head. Willing the thoughts to stop. It's not th eplace for this—he reminds himself. He looks around the house.
There's something that niggles at the back of his head, soemthing that forms a vague shape in his mind and disappears like smoke through fingers.
Sighing, he plops down to the creaky chair at the table of the kitchen and takes out his guns, wiping them clean.
He does that for a while. But he gets bored. He taps his feet on the floor, drums his fingers on the table when he hears a whined stop fro the adjacent living room. He leans over to looks at nina and matthias. He's fallen asleep aswell.
Inej and wylan are now sprawled over the floor. Both also fast asleep. He grabs the least dusty looking blanket and thinks better of it. Grabbing the old shawl nina had thrown off of herself right before she collapsed and cover them both.
He walks around the house. It's a different house amd different country and yet jesper is reminded of home. Of his pa, who he now misses so much his heart aches. He thinks no matter how far away from your home your are, it will never leave you. How can it? When you've spent so much time cleaning it's floors.
He walks into the room where kaz is currently passed out in. It had taken a massive team effort to get it somewhat clean enough, so that kaz wouldn't develop a breathing problem onto of everything else. it had taken longer than it should have too— but everyone was so tired, bones aching, legs trembling and shaking.
It's starkly night but jesper can't find any rest. It's always like this after a great fight. His blood stays rushing—stays alive enough that he cannot sleep.
He walks into another room where there lines drawn to trace heights of two people. He smiles. Again he sees the k and j. There are probably so many memories etched in these walls and it feels like an intrusion to wake among them.
He drains his cup before he walks into the creaky attic. The floor groans at every other step he takes and for some reason, the attic is uncharacteristically not as dusty as the rest of the house. Huh. Ghosts, he thinks and shudders again.
There are fallen photographs huddled in a corner, just piled onto each other like money hastily grabbed in a pile.
He grabs the one on top. Flips it. J and k, again. He's seriously curious now. Why would kaz brekker, the bastard of the barrel, buy a farm in this little town AND keep it.
The niggling feeling earlier, returns. He looks at the photos.
People tend to forget that he's known kaz the longest. He's had a period in his life where he's seen kaz's face more than he had seen his own (credit to the lack of mirrors at the slat).
It's a different expression, a smile instead of scowl. Cheeks filled with baby fat. Eyes still somehow shrewd looking and yet it's all kaz. It's still kaz.
Jesper does not, pointedly, gasp like an old maiden and drop the photo to the ground.
He doesn't say anything. He doesn't. He grabs the pictures and shoves them in his trousers. They're still a little bit blood crusted. He doesn't think about that. He doesn't. Not when there are so many things running in his head.
Kaz has always been that figure who he'd belive actually formed of the ketterdam harbor. Crawling his way into existence. He thinks about the smile on that boy. He thinks about the arms wrapped around another
J and K. Carved into the table. The height lines. The ghost haunting each corner of this house.
God this was kazs house. Kaz brekker had grown on this little farm. Grew up loved by a family.
Jesper gets up. He walks down to the living room. He doesn't say anything. Wylan is curled next to the couch where nina and matthias sleep. Inej is missing. She's probably next to kaz.
His head hurts. His limbs hurt. The fuzziness that comes with the need to sleep cover his eyes.
Jesper sitz on the floor. Next to where wylan is curled up. He always sleeps like that. Knees tucked in and arms under his head.
Jesper closes his eyes.