𝕬𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝕷𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖞 - [𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿]

𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐢𝐢. 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘬𝘦𝘳

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 — dear brekker

━━━━━━━

 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 Ketterdam was set in stone. As though someone had taken a chisel to marble, carving out its likeness as though crafting a statue for the many to gape and gawk at... everything was frozen in time, it seemed.

 From the Crow Club and the Slate... to Kaz's Office. Kaz's little slice of solitude had always contradicted him in a way. He appeared so very cold and calloused, he was a multitude of edges so sharp that even breathing near him could have dotted cuts and slices into one's flesh... but his office was always warm, even with the window cracked open, even with raindrops seeping into the room.

 Perhaps it was due to the candles scattered over the surfaces. Perhaps due to the scent of old book pages and parchment.

 Either way... it was still the same. Aleksa drew a finger over the bookcase. She had memorized his collection, and now there were at least a dozen more added to his arsenal. She stopped, her finger dipping into a scrape against the wood. An old remnant of Cas; a memory of him.

 Aleksa dipped her head and the ring upon her pointer finger felt heavier than it ever had before. Kaz would be elated, or at least as elated as he could be; Cas wasn't around to muck up his wood or peck at his cheeks... he wasn't around to claw through his coats.

 Aleksa slumped into the chair she had practically claimed; it sat opposite his desk and would always grant the most perfect view of dear Kaz Brekker. The candlelight would spark beneath his cheekbones, casting a shadow over his structured features... she used to stare for hours, grinning when he would tut and roll his eyes.

 She missed that.

 She wondered what exactly Kaz had gotten himself into; he looked just as he always did when he arrived at the Slat, but Aleksa knew the details. She could see things about him that nobody else could; from the slight rumple of his coat to the little red patch of skin beneath his jaw. There had been an altercation.

 Soon enough, Inej slipped into the room. Aleksa had no doubt that she'd spied through the little peep hold in the wall, watching as Kaz and Per Haskell had their little talk. Kaz always regained his manners in front of the 'boss'. From banishing his snark to using the title sir... he always knew how to play people.

 "Anything interesting?" Aleksa uttered, hands flicking through the papers atop Kaz's desk. Just because she'd been gone for months didn't mean she'd forgotten her place... and her place was to stick her nose anywhere and everywhere.

 Inej tucked herself away on the windowsill, watching as dewdrops trailed down and over Ketterdam. The sky was hard to see through, even with a squint, "There's a job. Kaz said he'll be gone for a while."