Crystallized

"Ack!"

"KITT!"

I saw the instant the sharp twig pierced Kitt's skin momentarily before falling carelessly to the ground, at his feet. My little brother's blood on the tip of it. I felt so bad when I heard his cry of pain when it hit him. I didn't mean to do it. Honest. I just threw it in the midst of my anger, not really caring nor paying attention to where exactly it flew.

Good one, Karr. You get pissed, have an argument and end up hurting him, the little voice inside my head told me, and I couldn't agree more with it. It was true as it stated about the whole argument thing. I wasn't in the best of moods after a rough week of case after case. As I'm sure you can agree.

But, as I said before, I didn't mean to do it. My temper just gets the best of me when I'm at my wits end with life. And it doesn't help any that I don't talk about it and open up to somebody over my feelings towards certain things. I've never really been that kind of person anyway, so it's very hard for me to just walk up to somebody and let it all out.

Unfortunately, today was one of those days where I just blow up...

And end up hurting the most important thing in my life.

"Kitt, are you alright?" I asked urgently, wasting no time in coming to my little brother's side.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He dismissed it as if it wasn't a big deal. But to me, it was a big deal. Let alone the fact that the wound must've been deep because I could clearly see the blood seeping through his fingers.

Not really knowing what else to do, I took his hand in mine. Giving it a little squeeze. "Kitt, I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything in response to my heartfelt apology. He only gave me a cold look. One I quickly associated with him not believing a single word I just said.

"I'm sure you are." Was all he said before walking away from me, his hand still clamped down over his new wound on his arm that I caused.

I. Caused. I did harm to my baby brother. I did something I always promised myself to protect him from.

As I watched him go, I couldn't help but feel the tightness in my chest increase. He didn't believe me when I told him I was sorry. He thought I did it on purpose. He thought I meant to hurt him. Oh my dear little brother, how wrong you are...

I wanted to follow after him, correct my wrong no matter what. But I didn't. I knew better than to approach the subject right after. It could only worsen the situation for us. For me.

So, I let him go. Only going inside a good 20 minutes later when I knew he wouldn't be there immediately upon my return back to the mansion.

/*KR*/

It's been an hour since the accident I inflicted upon Kitt. He hasn't come out, nor has he bothered to be anywhere near or around me. I was conflicted to just go up and talk to him, but for some reason that just didn't feel like the best choice.

"Karr? What's wrong sweetie?" I heard Bonnie's kind voice bring me out my dark, anxious thoughts.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking." I rolled the lie off my tongue before I could even stop it. In my defense though, it wasn't a total lie. Maybe a little white lie at most.

Either way, she gave me a stern look. And I knew I was busted.

"For some reason, I don't fully believe what you just told me." She said knowingly, placing her hands in her hips. I only sighed, leaning up against the back of the couch for support.

"Yeah, you're right in your thinking." I admitted quietly rubbing the back of my neck.

"What happened then?"

"Me and Kitt got into a little-well, more like I did and I ended up...hurting him." I told her, feeling the first bits of moisture crawl into my eyes. She softened her look and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Maybe you should go try to talk to him, hm?" She suggested softly.

"I would, but...I don't think we're currently seeing eye to eye on things right now."

"Well," she started in that motherly tone of hers. "You won't know til you try, right?"

I gave her a smile. She returned it and gave me a hug. "Thanks, Bonnie."

"It's what I'm here for." She said warmly. "He's upstairs in his room I believe."

I gave her a nod before departing up the stairs. When I reached the top, I felt a little bit of anxiety wash over me. What if he didn't want to talk? What if he stays pissed at me forever? Ok, well, the last one was just my worry some mind getting the best of me. But that didn't mean it helped the matter either.

Once I reached Kitt's door, I gave a simple knock. I may have not heard a response on the other end, but I did hear the rustling of plastic. Quietly I opened the door, expecting to see Kitt sitting there. But I didn't.

Instead, my little brother was in the joining bathroom to his suite. He had a dampened towel out and was trying to clean up the nasty looking cut the best he could. His old bandage was already thrown away in the trash. A new one waiting in it's place, ready to be placed after he cleaned up the dry blood.

"Hey," I started softly, staying put in the corner of the entryway to the bathroom. He didn't even look up at me.

"Hey." He said simply, putting continuous pressure on the bloody wound with the cloth in an attempt to stop the blood flow.

I felt my heart clench in my chest as I stared at him. I wanted to help him so bad, but the feeling of rejection hung heavily in my mind. I feared he would tell me to leave, wanting nothing to do with me. I didn't want that to happen, so I never offered.

After he cleaned it up as best he could, he bandaged it and sat down on the edge of his bed. It was obvious he knew something was bothering me. I could just tell by the way his face looked as he stared straight ahead, often glancing out the window towards the balcony.

I saw him suddenly wince when he moved his arm. I automatically went to his side in grave concern for him. This is all my fault...

"Does it hurt?" I asked him gently. I knew the answer already, but I was hoping I could get him to open up to me a little bit.

"A little. I'll be fine." He told me quietly, though I saw the tears of pain in his eyes.

I knew it was a lie.

I took him into my arms then. Cradling him close to my chest while softly whispering words of comfort to him. He cuddled close to me, trying to escape the pain I caused him. I held him tighter in my arms upon hearing his whimpers.

"It stings really bad." He whimpered into my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Kitt."

His whimpering didn't subside, so I took his hand in mine. Rubbing my thumb over it gently as I held both our hands close to my chest. I could feel how tense he was with pain, struggling to relax into my touch. I couldn't blame him. The wound looked quite painful.

It took a while, but I eventually started to feel him relax in my protective hold. His whimpering stopped as well as I continued to gently rub his hand. Soon I felt him go completely limp against me. I smiled down at him when I saw he was asleep. Joining him a few moments later when I got us comfortable, Kitt still wrapped in my arms.