timewasting | open post 2k4.

[ ketterdam was cold and foggy -- a relatively normal day, all things considered, as inej slips her way through her city, skipping along rooftops easily. kaz would know that she was in the city, of course; there was no hiding the wraith docked in the harbor. but even so, she was determined to find him before he found her.

mostly because jesper had asked her to come home. kaz had been in a particularly foul mood as of late, and granted, inej had been away from home for quite some time. but jesper was also close to graduating university, which gave a pleasant reason to return home too. even nina was to make an attempt to come to ketterdam, though she could nevr be sure if that would be the case. the country kept her busy, naturally.

it took about an hour to get to kaz's favorite waffle stand, and with a grim satisfaction, she sees his silhouette. it's quite a bit of a walk, but she knows he likes to stretch his legs whenever he's in a poor mood.

she waits patiently until he buys what he likes before she slips down to the street. despite being (slightly) disappointed in him, given the stories of how he has been a menace, her heart immediately swells at seeing him. it has been some months.

so there may be a slight skip in her step as she slides through the crowd, silent as the grave, before a diminutive hand slips through his arm at his elbow, tone amused: ]

Why have I received reports that you require a humbling, Kaz Brekker?

[ she missed him so much. ]

[ In the autumn, he'd written to the tenants of his old home, informing them of his intent to visit in the early spring. They'd worked out the logistics through letters and he'd been surprised by their seeming joy at his proposed stay. A small part of him had felt the prickle of shame–he'd been in Ketterdam for so long that he'd nearly forgotten the simple hospitality of those in south Kerch. How to them, community was everything.

He tries not to let that fact feel overwhelming now, as their carriage rounds the gentle bend leading up to the house. His house. Kaz has been back, a few times, especially in the beginning when it had been in desperate need of fixing. And since then, well, a routine inspection of land was common. Ever since the tenants had agreed to the upkeep, he hasn't personally come to see it. With the light of the day slowly sinking under the horizon, the house and the acres of land surrounding it are awash in dusty oranges and deep purples, making it difficult to pick out the details. The shadows are familiar to him as his own hand; the long stretch of the apple tree's bare branches, the tilt of the porch's railings on the hard packed dirt of the drive. If he stares long enough, he thinks he can see the ghost of himself and Jordie, catching fireflies in the dimming light, his Da puffing away at a pipe in the rocker that's no longer there.

As if knowing his thoughts, the coach rolls to a careful stop and when he steps down, he holds a hand out for Inej. She doesn't need the balance, of course, but it's the proper thing to do. And maybe he needs the physical reassurance, since he keeps ahold of her hand even when both of her feet are firmly on the ground. He only lets go to finish out payment to the driver and to make sure their bags are all accounted for when they make it in the front door.

With the season coming off the frosts of winter, it's still quite chilly, so he keeps busy for another few minutes poking and prodding the fireplace to life. The tenants were kind enough to leave the oil lamps on in spots, turned low, so flaring those to life to illuminate the inside is a small thing.

Now mostly out of things to stall with, he gravitates back to Inej, who he finds in the kitchen, near the enormous bay window. The sun's just about sunk, its final red-orange rays a bare glimmer above the dark curve of the fields. Some of the weak light is still highlighting her edges and he has a moment where the past is uncannily blending with the present. Shaking himself from it, he curls an arm around her waist, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. ]

There's a bath, if you want to wash the road dust off.

home.

homecoming of a sorts; rietveld farm