one day Jean made the mistake of telling Kevin about this weird french treasure hunt named La Chouette d’Or
which is unresolved to this day
meaning that there’s this golden owl hidden somewhere in France
that there’s this book full of enigmas supposed to guide the one who owns it to the owl
and that whoever gets their hands on it could end up crazy rich
Jean found out about the Owl when he was little and he thought maybe he could help his parents with the money problems if he found it
but before he could do anything he’d been sold, he had to learn another language, and to leave his home
so he just forgot about it for so long
it was the year before they’d joined the Ravens
they were in a bathroom of the nest, drinking their pain into oblivion after Riko beat them up
and they started a when-I-was-young-I-thought game
at one point Jean went “I thought I could help my parents by finding a real hidden treasure”
“a pirate treasure,” Kevin asked, half smiling
and Jean said, “no. a real one. there’s a book full of enigmas, and they guide you to some place in France and then you find a golden owl. I thought if I found it I could sell it and be rich”
Kevin snorted, “you’d be rich, you’d do whatever you want”
“if you helped me find it, I’d buy us both out”
“we’d do whatever we want,” Jean had added, before taking another swig
they never spoke about it again, but for his first birthday at the Trojans’, Jean gets a package
inside is this hideous little book, with a title in French
it has been used already, it’s an old and sad little thing
but when Jean opens it, he finds the enigmas, surrounded by Kevin’s scratchy writing
some have the answers scribbled in red ink, some don’t even seem to have been read
on the first page, he manages to read: “couldn’t find her, maybe you’ll do better? -K”
and if this isn’t the crappiest sentimental gift ever, Jean doesn’t know what is
this book is Kevin saying We made it, We both got out, We could make our own team, it’s him asking if maybe, maybe they could try and rebuild the bridge he destroyed when leaving for the Foxes
and Jean finds out he wouldn’t mind
so he ends up adding his own scribbling to the pages
and when he figures out an answer, he sends a letter to Kevin
because he can’t actually speak to him, not right now, but he wants him to know that one day, he will
he wants Kevin to know that, one day, he’ll be forgiven