As soon as Kit and Ty walk into the Institute for the first time in ages, they were greeted by an angry looking Julian. He stood at the bottom of the stairwell, his arms folded tightly around his chest. Kit could see the whitened knuckles and shivered a little. Emma stood next to him, one of her arms looped around his waist. Kit looked around at Ty, a panicked look in his eyes. Ty's face was entirely unreadable.
Thundering footsteps sounded from the kitchen, and Dru and Tavvy appeared from the doorway. Dru's face lit up when she saw Kit, and she ran up the stairs, launching herself into him.
"Kit!" She laughed. Kit wrapped his arms around her, a little stunned. Kit looked over and saw Ty pick Tavvy up and hug him, while Tavvy curled his fists in Ty's hair.
"It's good to see you too!" Kit laughed, pulling Dru off of him. Dru's cheeks were slightly damp, and her hair stuck to it.
"I missed you." She said quietly. Kit smiled pitifully and ruffled her hair. He felt a stab of remorse at his neglect of Dru. He couldn't imagine the loneliness Dru must have felt in the past months; losing her sister, her brother ignoring her, being stuck babysitting Tavvy. Kit silently promised Dru to include her more in everything he does.
"I missed you too." Kit replied. A tiny white lie to make Dru feel better. She smiled and stepped back down the stairs. Julian took her shoulder and pulled her behind him, as though Kit was a threat.
"Tiberius Blackthorn," Julian said, his voice low, his eyes boring into his younger brother.
"Hello, Julian," Ty said nonchalantly.
"You went against my specific instructions and threw yourself into an unknown world. Clary and Jace almost died in faerie. Emma and I almost died in faerie. It's a miracle the three of you made it out alive." Julian said. His voice wasn't raised, which scared Kit the most. Ty, somehow, looked entirely unfazed. This seemed to piss Julian off more.
"I love you Ty, and I don't want to see you hurt, or worse. But how am I supposed to trust that you won't go out and do something as reckless as this again? I've spoken to Mark. He should know better, but you should too."
Ty nods once.
"I don't regret what I did. Kit would have died if we hadn't done something. I'm not going to apologise. I'm not a child anymore."
Julian threw his hands in the air. Emma took one of his hands gently, calming him down.
"You're FIFTEEN Ty, for the Angel's sake, you're barely a teenager. I know you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I'm your brother, and you can talk to me about anything." Julian sighed defeated. Kit noticed the slight twitch in Ty's lip, a sign that he is becoming anxious. Kit wished to wrap this up quickly.
"I don't suppose I'll be able to stop from leaving this institute and doing what you want. Just tell me in future, and take Kit with you." Julian looked at Kit.
"I'm glad you're alright." He nodded. Kit nodded back a little awkwardly and watched as Julian and Emma walked away, Dru tagging along behind them scuffing her feet. Tavvy whacked Ty on the shoulder and Ty put him down.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Kit said. Ty sat down on the stairs.
"No, I suppose it wasn't."
Kit sat down next to him, close enough that their knees bounced against each other.
"You alright?" Kit asked, watching Ty with concern.
"Yes. Julian doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm fragile, incapable." Ty said.
"That's not true at all. You've proved to Julian, to all of us, just how strong you are. You show with your fighting, your brain..."
"I was weak when Livvy died. I was blind to what I was doing. I dragged you into something even I wasn't aware of and I put you and everyone in danger." Kit was stunned by Ty's frankness.
"Yes, but you were grieving. You had just lost one of the most important people in your life, you wouldn't be a human if you continued to think rationally. Nobody blames you for what you did." Ty looked over at Kit.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No, I'm saying it because I love you, and I'm being honest. Just like I'm being honest when I tell you that you are entirely stupid for thinking that anyone would think less of you for grieving over a loved one. It all comes from a place of love." Kit thumped his chest for emphasis, and Ty chuckled. It astounded Kit just how easily he was able to tell Ty he loved him, when mere months ago, the idea of admitting it made him feel sick. This was character development.
Kit whacked the stairs with the palms of his hands and stood up. He jumped down a couple of steps before turning around and raising his hand, beckoning for Ty.
"We live to see another day. What say we get a drink to celebrate?" Kit said in a strange British accent. Ty grinned and clasped Kit's hand.
Helen slammed down to cups of orange juice on the kitchen counter in front of the two boys, a grin on her face.
"I was thinking more a manly pint of beer, but you know, this works too." Kit said, wrinkling his nose.
"You're underage," Helen replied.
"So I've been told." Kit swivelled in the high stool, lifting his cup to Ty.
"To surviving another near-death experience, and kicking ass like two badass warriors." Ty lifted his drink and clinked it with Kit's. Ty took a sip before putting the cup back down and turning to face Helen.
"When did you get here?" Ty asked.
"A couple of days ago. Julian sent out a massive alert when he noticed you and Mark had disappeared." Helen replied, working a frying pan on the stove.
A couple of days ago.
"How long were we gone?" Kit asked.
"Two weeks."
Kit choked on a mouthful of orange juice. He knew time worked differently in faerie, but he assumed it had only been a day at most.
"Oh my god." Kit muttered. Helen nodded ruefully.
"You really gave everyone a scare. The institute was packed with people Julian had summoned. For about five days, Julian really hated you, Kit." Helen explained. Kit nodded.
"I'm not surprised. It's kinda my fault. I can't fight for shit." Kit said.
"Language!" Helen scolded, pointing to Tavvy, who had politely covered his ears.
"Speaking of," Ty said. "Kit has recently come into some powers that he does not know how to control. Do you know of anyone, faeries or warlocks, who might be able to help him hone into them." Kit was thankful that Ty was asking on his behalf, or he never would have done it. Helen looked thoughtful for a second.
"I can only think of a couple of people who would be able to help you, neither faeries, unfortunately. I believe Magnus Bane and Caterina Loss would be perfectly willing to help you, however, I do not know how easy they are to get a hold of, and Magnus has a very busy schedule. I would suggest Tessa Grey, but she is in England at the moment." Helen said.
"Well Clary can make portals, so she could just portal us to Jem and Tessa. They said they would be more than happy to have me for company. They even invited me to live with them." Kit suggested. Helen clapped her hands.
"Well, I guess it's decided then. Clary will not be too hard to get into contact with, seeing as in she was here just a couple of days ago. Although it will take Julian some convincing to let you go so far away for who knows how long." Helen said.
"We'll be with Jem and Tessa, like the two most responsible people ever. Aren't they like over a hundred years old? They won't let us get into trouble." Kit debated.
Helen nodded eventually, giving in.
"Okay. But leave it a couple of days, alright? Julian just got you back. He can't lose you again so soon." Ty nodded understandingly.
The rest of the day went by in a blur of being greeted by everyone at the institute and relaying the same information of what happened in faerie to each of them. By eighth in the evening, Kit was exhausted beyond words. He had had the longest, tiring, most painful few days of his life and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on his bed and fall into a coma, but ever since he, Mark and Ty had returned, Dru had been tailing him like a lost puppy. Kit remembered what he had promised Dru, but at the moment, there was nothing he could include her in unless she wanted to watch him drag himself up the stairs and into bed. Finally, Kit had had enough. He turned around to look down at Dru. Ty was stood next to him, his eyes wide and alert. Somehow.
"What do you want, Dru?" Kit asked blearily. Dru blinked up at him.
"Just making sure you're alright." She said innocently. Kit shrugged.
"I'm fine. We're fine. Just really tired." Kit replied, trying to even his tone out so as not to sound angry. Dru was just trying her best. It wasn't her fault.
"Yeah, I understand. See you in the morning." She smiled and skipped off.
"Why does she seem so cheery?" Ty asked as they made their way up the stairs.
"She's not used to being involved in anything. I think she's just happy we're talking to her." Kit responded.
"I talk to her all the time," Ty complained.
"Yeah but, not always in the nicest way, Ty. It's classic middle child syndrome. I'm sure she always felt alone and out of place, you know. You had Livvy, Julian had Emma, Mark and Helen weren't around, and Tavvy is too young to be much fun. And now that Livvy's... Gone, she's hurting just as much as you. I'm sure she just wants her big brother to notice her." Kit said. They had made it to the closed door of their bedroom. Ty looked past Kit's shoulder thoughtfully.
"I understand. She'll never be able to replace Livvy, but I will try and involve her in some of the things we do together." Ty said. Kit gave him a smile and pecked him on the cheek.
"What a nice, thoughtful brother you are." Kit said. He opened the door and they stepped into their dark bedroom. The curtains were still drawn and their beds both the mess they had been left in. Kit paced over to the cupboard on his side of the room and pulled out a clean set of clothes. He quickly removed his bloody shirt and trousers, turning to see Ty was doing the same.
"Where should I put this?" Kit asked, lifting up his dirty t-shirt. Ty, in only his boxers and socks, grabbed the shirt and examined it. Kit watched him work, a strange blush creeping up to him. It still felt odd to see Ty like this, especially since Ty seemed entirely unfazed by their lack of clothing. He guessed they had just become completely comfortable around each other.
"Well, we can put it in some water and baking soda which will remove the stain fairly easily. Or you can just throw it in the bin." Ty threw the shirt back at Kit, who caught it mid-air.
"I'll just bin it. Never liked this shirt anyway." He threw it in the small plastic bin in the corner of the room.
Kit watched as Ty put a white vest top on, and sat down on the bed to remove his socks.
"I also think we should bin this." Kit crouched down in front of Ty and pulled on the vest top. Ty blushed furiously. Kit smirked slightly.
"It'll look soooo much better on the floor." Kit leaned in closer, his breath tickling Ty's cheeks.
"You're ridiculous." Ty said, a little breathless.
"I know." Kit replied. He embraced the confidence Ty had given him. He savoured the startled, entirely innocent look on Ty's face. Kit slowly stood up, leaning Ty backwards on the bed. Ty didn't take his eyes off of Kit's face.
"I thought you were tired." Ty murmured. Kit leaned in and grazed Ty's jaw with his teeth.
"I've never been more awake." Kit said, his face serious. Ty looked at him for a second, before snorting. Kit pulled away from Ty's jaw.
"What?" Kit asked.
"You, Mr Confident. Not that I mind, but what suddenly brought this on?" Ty asked, shuffling slightly underneath Kit so that he could move his arm. His hand met Kit's bare stomach, splaying his fingers outwards. Kit shuddered.
"You. Just, everything you do. I find it hard to keep it so PG around you when you're constantly astounding me with everything you do. It makes me wanna just..." Instead of explaining it, Kit surged forward and met Ty's lips fervently. Ty responded immediately, the fingers on his chest curling inwards, his fingernails gently pressing into Kit's skin. Kit gasped against Ty's mouth.
In one fluid motion, Ty had flipped Kit over, so that Ty was leaning over Kit instead. Kit cocked an eyebrow, and Ty made a shushing noise, pressing his lips underneath Kit's ear, down the length of his jaw, and then, slowly, down his neck. Kit arched his back up, tipping his head to give Ty more room. Kit gripped one of Ty 's shoulder's, his other hand clenched in Ty's hair. Ty kissed along Kit's collarbone, each one deliberately slower and longer than the last. His hands moved to the waistband of Kit's boxers, one finger sliding underneath band, skimming along it. Kit turned his head into the covers of the bed, biting down on the sheets. But as soon as he closed his eyes against the bed, he felt the wave of tired wash over him, and he lifted a hand to stop Ty. Ty immediately climbed off of Kit and helped him sit back up on the bed.
"Are you alright?" Ty asked, a little flushed.
"As much as I was enjoying that, I am so fucking tired. We've just gotten back from the longest days of my life, and despite the fact that my magic cured me of pretty much everything, I still ache everywhere." Kit admitted.
"Would you like an iratze?" Ty asked softly. Kit shook his head. Ty gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, something that would probably heal him better than an iratze.
"Go to sleep. I won't wake you up in the morning." Ty said, helping Kit off of the bed and into his own. Ty leant over Kit in order to pull his covers over him, but Kit took his wrist weakly. His eyes were barely open and his words came out slightly slurred.
"I'm so in love with you." Kit whispered. Ty smiled softly and tucked the blanket into the mattress.
"Sleep, now," Ty said.
"Thanks, mom." Kit replied, before twisting onto his side and lapsing into unconsciousness.