Kit had spent most of his morning hiding after last night. He hadn't been able to sleep after he had seen him again and then Magnus had done that. He couldn't blame Magnus nor could he blame Tessa for agreeing, he knew the warlock had a soft spot for strays and waifs and his mother couldn't leave a child -no matter how old- out on their own. In that moment however, Kit had only seen red and to avoid any form of bad decision or explosion he simply turned tail, bolted upstairs and ran into the confines of his bedroom where it was safe. He had lain there for hours before the thrumming in his head became unbearable. He had had to get out. He had ended up going to visit Kitty, something he rarely did at night, and had sobbed his heart out for what felt like hours or at least until the sun turned the sky a dusty peach and his voice became hoarse.
Kit had let most of the rest of the morning pass as normal though avoiding certain places he knew Ty would probably be. He also trained his eyes away from the other boy through all of breakfast . He had come into the dining room last and for most of the breakfast, and due to the avoidance, hadn't really taken Ty in. However, when he had stood up after the meal to help clear up Kit had nearly blacked out...there Ty was in a pair of Kit's sweats -slightly too small of course- and one of his grey v necks that was just a little tight on him, defining each muscle beautifully. Kit had simply helped clear away at the speed of light then darting to his room to take a shower before the dreaded research session they had planned for today. Kit wondered how long, considering it was their current lead, it would be before either the Centurions figured out he was the First Heir or he had to tell them.
Kit was now sat at a table absentmindedly moving his left hand over an older piece of the wood that had started to splinter. He had sat himself by the large window, letting the natural light wash him out so that nobody would notice the bags under his eyes and ask questions he did not want to answer. Around the room each person had found themself a comfortable nook and was deep into their research. Tessa, Jem and Magnus were sat on what Kit dubbed 'the immortals knights of the round table club' because, well, they were at the circular table near the computer. Ty was sat alone just across from Kit in the area which he had dubbed 'The no-go radioactive zone' because after their fight they were not on the best terms. Mina, Max, Rafe and Alec were tucked onto a sofa in the back of the library where the second floor overhang jutted above them cutting out natural light. Kit had dubbed this 'the snuggle party zone' as it seemed its residents were all under blankets watching something on a tablet. Kit, however, kept finding the words blurring together when he tried to focus and would often catch himself staring out of the window and watching the raindrops run quietly down the long windowpane like little dancers. He also caught himself glancing at Ty every so often, enraptured by his simple beauty: the way his mop of black hair kept falling to his eyes and the way his long and slender fingers would move to swoop it back out of the way, the gentle crease of his brow when he must have been reading something particularly interesting. How he longed to run his hands through the other boys hair, it just looked so soft and fluffy and ughh Kit was losing focus, he was supposed to be mad at Ty. Wait was he? Kit had imagined their first reunion in many different ways: awkward, sad, something out of a romance novel or even Ty being mad at Kit which would have been understandable. However, Kit being mad at Ty was never what he pictured but it seemed to be the first and only emotion his short circuiting brain managed to get a hold of last night. He wasn't really mad though the more he thought about it. No, he was sad, sad at the fact that he had left? Sad that Ty didnt say it back? Sad that Ty had seemed to move on? He wasn't sure and yeah, maybe he was slightly mad but not at Ty for going through with the ceremony or not saying it back...the boy was grieving the loss of his twin for angel's sake! No, Kit was mad at himself for being such an idiot and he had taken that misplaced anger out on Ty.
Just as Kit had come to what he had decided to call an oracle-esque realisation, the door to the library swung open and in walked 4 arrogant looking individuals, each wearing gear of which Kit recognised as that of the centurions...these must be Ty's friends Kit guessed. Upon their entrance Ty looked up, carefully removed his headphones and stood to greet his compatriots. After a few moments of conversation, Ty turned to the group.
'I'd like to introduce to you my fellow Centurions: Anush Joshi originally from the Mumbai institute, Sunish Ashbarn from London, Lyric Solrio from Sao Paulo and Mari Colstear from the Cluj Institut. They will be joining us for the mission and I have selected each of them carefully myself and can assure you that they are all fully competent and reliable'
Each of the Centurions moved in turn to smile and wave at the group. Though, what Kit was more interested in was the boy Ty had introduced as Anush who seemed to have not taken his eyes off of Ty from the moment he walked in. Anush, in all fairness, was actually pretty good looking even for shadowhunter standards. He was tall, fit and had russet, reddish-brown skin. Anush also had the most oddly beautiful eyes in that they almost looked completely black where pupils met iris and faded to a deep, oaky brown towards their edge. Ty seemed to smile -brighter than Kit had seen in a while- at Anush as he learnt to say something to the boy and Kit felt a shock of something run through him. Wait, was he jealous of Anush? Anush smiled back at Ty with a tender and kind look in his eyes. Yup, Kit was officially jealous and oh fuck- could they be dating? Oh god, they had to be dating!
By the time Kit had finished his spiral, the group had sat themselves down on the other circular table at the far side of the room. Kit here and henceforth dubbed that area 'the jock nerds zone' hah, yeah he was quite proud of that one...he shouldn't have been but he was. Kit may have decided to have a couple of cans of scrumpy to get through this, only it seemed Granfer John's homemade scrumpy might have been a little stronger than store bought as Kit was suddenly aware of how tipsy he might actually be. Yeah, now the blurry pages, lack of ability to focus, jumping to (likely and definitely accurate, conclusions and weird, but hilarious, naming of his friends and family) made sense. Kit sat for a while longer mulling over the Anush/Ty dating scenario and trying to sober up on mental fortitude alone, all while occasionally death staring at Anush across the room before someone broke the silence.
'I think I may have found something or at least something vaguely related' Ty said his voice steady yet quiet
Ty had gone on to explain that he had found a legend in an old history book and believed the place to perhaps be a faerie hangout or maybe even a portal to faerie itself. Kit had spent this time swapping between death staring at Anush even more intently than before and inwardly panicking about being discovered as the First Heir though he didn't know why he was panicking since it hadn't been brought up specifically.
While Kit was enjoying a particularly heavy mental self deprecation monologue, he became very aware of a presence in the room and not a living one. Apprehensive, Kit turned his head and looked around for a moment until he saw Ty looking towards the second level. He followed Ty's gaze and was met with the bloodshot eyes of Livvy's ghost who had her mouth agape and from which spouted a fountain of water. It felt like an age as he watched the scene unfold and then abruptly Livvy let out a banshee cry that rang through Kit's ears and disappeared. It was terrifying and not at all how he remembered her. He looked to Ty for just a second and was met with wild eyes and a pale horror clear on his face. Kit took a moment to calm his own rapid breathing and racing heart and, though he knew nothing would be there, he looked to the ground below where she had been to see if any remnants of water were left. They were not of course. A screech echoed through the room, that of a chair being pushed backwards at speed, and Ty fled at a speed even a shadowhunter would be impressed by. Kit didn't think -not about their fight, his personal resolution, his feelings- he just ran.
By the time Kit had reached the guest wing, Ty was gone and a quiet whimper was emanating from his room. Kit held his breath and listened… pained, the boy sounded pained. Kit wanted to go in but he was also terrified of what he may find and whether Ty would even want him there since, as far as Ty was aware, Kit still hated him since he'd yet to share his resolution. Yet, he couldn't walk away and leave the boy he quite clearly still had feelings for alone and suffering. By the angel, he was doing this then! Kit strode towards the door with a renewed resolution and attempted to open the door… but it wouldn't budge. Ty couldn't have locked it because none of the rooms other than the bathrooms had locks (which a teen Kit had hated for "reasons") due to the age of the building. Was he holding it closed? Kit tried once more to which the door inched open painfully slowly followed by a soft thud. What he found behind the door nearly broke Kit's heart: Ty was half sat half laid on the wooden floor curled in a ball with tear tracks streaking his beautiful, porcelain skin. If Kit could do nothing else, he needed to stop the tears. Ty also seemed to be shaking and mumbling nonsense under his breath that Kit could barely hear. Wait, Kit recognised this… Ty was having a panic attack or maybe even a meltdown. Flashes of memories stood on the rooftop of the London institute ran though his mind and Kit, lacking any grace, fell to the floor beside Ty tentatively wrapping him in an embrace.
"Tighter, tighter, tighter"
The words echoed in his mind and he began to apply more pressure to their awkward embrace, pulling Ty closer to his chest. His skin prickled with fire and he felt like he couldn't breathe, it was all too much and all too little at the same time. He wanted to leave, to get out, to not have to face these emotions yet but he couldn't leave Ty like this so he stayed.
The boys sat in the awkward embrace on the floor of Cirenworth for what felt like forever. Suddenly, Ty's body sagged and went limp and Kit realised the boy had stopped crying. Kit began to freak out again, those awful feelings clawing their way back up his throat.
'I'm meant to be mad at you' Kit sprung to standing and looked down to a shocked faced Ty
'Well okay' Ty stood to meet him 'but why?'
A fair question but Kit flip flopped once more 'no we are not doing this now' he said honestly as he hadn't the energy to tell the truth for fear of rejection or hatred once more
Ty seemingly couldn't have that conversation either as he simply nodded at Kit and croaked out a meek okay before an odd look bloomed across his, now exhausted looking, face. Kit watched as the Centurion moved over to the full length mirror and- oh by the angel he was taking his top off! Kit, of course respectfully, moved his eyes across Ty's now beautifully toned chest and stomach, then slowly moved back up to Ty's face. Which is when he saw them: multiple bruises across Tys collar bone, each circular and each with a scarlet slash rimming the crest of it.
'What the hell?' Kit couldn't stop the sentence escaping him
Ty turned to him slowly now completely sobered from his attack 'Okay, I suppose I best explain'
Well that wasn't ominous at all. Kit moved to sit next to Ty on the bed. They sat in silence for a moment, Ty occasionally opening his mouth almost akin to a goldfish. This was going to be big wasnt it?
'As you know, when we brought Livvy back it didn't quite work? Well, you see the source was corrupt and due to that I believe her to also be corrupting, almost like a volcano waiting to erupt. It started with her just disappearing and not being able to stay long when she was here.' he paused for a moment looking off 'and then, a couple weeks ago, she became angry and volatile and would trash my room. I feel as though I may have accelerated the situation as a while ago we found she could pass through the Idris and Cohort wards undetected so I was sending her there to spy. What if that helped speed up the corruption?' Ty began to breathe heavily once more
'No no no Ty, i don't think that could be true. That's really cool though' Kit was dying to reach out and touch Ty but he wouldn't dare in case Ty moved back or said something hurtful 'please carry on' he added, hoping to stave off another attack.
'Okay well, a few days ago I came back to my room and she was there and she was calm but then something happened and she seemed angry. I thought she was going to hurt Irene or me or something worse but she just left streaming...exactly like downstairs. Then I noticed a pain in my leg and there was a huge scratch on it. I tried to iratze it but it didn't work. Kit, it should have worked!'
Kit blanched at his name, soft on Ty's lips, and he couldn't find his voice to reply.
'I'd say I wish I'd never done it, never raised her, but I don't wish that, I just wish it had been fully successful' Ty meant it and Kit's heart dropped… had he still not learnt?
'Okay, it's okay Ty we will figure this out' he didn't know why he said it because he didn't know if he meant it, nor if he could work with someone he had feelings for. Who at best would want to be friends 'are you ready to go back downstairs? I'm sure Anush will be worried?' Why did he say it?
'I'm sure my team will be working diligently' Ty replied standing from the bed and beginning to the door.
Kit was going to regret this because if he was honest? Yeah, he was still in love with Ty and distance did nothing to quell that, in fact it may have strengthened it. What was is Tessa said 'Absence only makes the heart grow fonder?' yeah he felt that. He was going to die.
Surprise my lovelies, its bonus mini chapter time! I wanted to add Kit's point of view but I couldn't just make that your chapter for the week. Enjoy and thank you for reading, please comment and kudos if you enjoyed! Yes Kit is as dramatic as Will and double yes it drives Jem and Tessa mad but they also adore it. Also this hasn't been beta-ed or that heavily edited as i wanted to turn it around quickly for yalls so hopefully it won't be too clunky.