Getting Kit into the institute, in the middle of the night, while not being able to ask for help -save having to explain some very covert information- was not easy but they had done it. Magnus and Ty had managed to hoist his body upright between them and half walk, half drag, Kit's limp form through the halls and into the bedroom.

'Come to think of it I could have just used my magic' Magnus helpfully supplied after the monumental task they'd just managed

'This is why we shouldn't drink too hard in the middle of a soon-to-be war, I suppose' Ty offered

Magnus nodded for a moment, before focussing back on the boy in the bed who was still but for his chest rising and falling in time with the crash of the waves against the shore outside.

'I must go, I have a feeling we will need to find out what has happened fast. I'll also make sure nobody comes to the door as best I can' Magnus said softly, the way an adult may talk to a fussing baby and it made Ty's skin crawl for a reason unknown 'make sure you look after yourself too, I can come and swap with you if he doesnt wake up soon. I'll be down the hall if you need me' and with that he turned and left.

Any slight remainder of alcohol in his bloodstream had long since vanished from his system and yet Ty still couldn't seem to breathe. Sure, shadowhunters got hurt all the time and sometimes even got killed for less but this? This was different and unknown and, well, scary frankly. The issue with having sobered up and regained his clear head was that a blanket of panic had been thrown over him, and it's fibers were finding ways to dig into his skin. What had happened? Was this Ty's fault? Would he wake up? What did the mark on his arm mean? His hands shook beside him and his legs became jelly, his breathing shallower and faster than before. Were the walls closing in? His clothes felt all of a sudden too heavy, too itchy and uncomfortable and he began to bounce on the balls of his feet, pulling at the powder blue jumper he had been told to wear because 'it brought out his eyes' according to his sister. Ty squeezed one of his thumb nails against his finger until he could see a crescent moon appear on the skin followed by a bead of blood trickling from the site.

Glass, twin, apple, whisper, stars, crystal, shadow, lilt, heron

He had to calm down, panicking wouldn't help anyone… that was the logical part of his brain.

Glass, twin, apple, whisper, stars, crystal, shadow, lilt, heron

But what if he died and it was all Ty's fault again..? Those were his intrusive thoughts

Glass, twin, apple, whisper, stars, crystal, shadow, lilt, heron

Heron

Herondale

Closing his eyes, he pulled on a thread of a memory. The first week he had sat outside of Kit's door, waiting for him to venture out and then the moment when he had, focussing his eyes on the floor but letting a meek smile pull at the corners of his mouth. His eyes shining with something, perhaps renewed vigor, perhaps defiance, but whatever it was it had intrigued Ty, and from then on he had promised to uncover the secret that was Kit Herondale.

Ty suddenly became aware that he could breathe deeper now and he had stopped bouncing, the solid floor below him grounding him a little firmer to the present. Slowly, his vision focussed again and he could lift the blanket of fear just enough to calm himself down. Exhaustion suddenly crept up on him as he stood in the center of the room, he had been up early and not yet slept and now this. Yeah, he was drained.

Slowly he reached for the small wooden chair at the desk and pulled it over before pulling his headphones on, letting their familiar weight of them center him further. Panicking over something that had yet to be proven deadly wasn't helpful nor worth the energy. Kit would be fine, he always was.

Ty fished his phone from his pocket, momentarily staring at his lock screen with a melancholy smile. It was a photo of Livvy, Kit and himself from when they had visited 'Big Ben' during their time in London. It had been a mizzly and drizzly afternoon and Livvy had come bursting into the library where Ty had been engrossed in a book about rare UK demonology and Kit had been hanging backwards off of a sofa singing a mindless tune. The group had found some heavy coats in a closet with the help of the institute ghost Jessamine, and Kit's Herondale charm with her, and scurried off into the streets of London. In her excitement, Livvy had managed to get them rather lost and in the end they'd had to take 2 different underground trains -or tubes as the locals called them- to get there. It had taken them over 45 minutes longer than it should, but as they'd stood on the bridge and stared up at the great clock tower with smiles on their faces, Ty had decided it was worth it. Kit back then, with his hood pulled over his face and his arms wrapped around him, had looked so broken and scarred and yet his eyes still shone like the summer sky sparkling off the sea.

Ty was broken from his reverie by a ping of a notification, attached was a picture of Irene asleep in a basket in Ms Penhallow's office with the words 'I think she finally tolerates me'. Ty couldn't help but smile, Irene was a tricky one but when she liked you that was it. Ty closed the message app and opened his music app selecting one of the few non classical songs he had. It was called 'all I want' by Kodaline and it was a song Sunish had played to him and Anush once before, after a girl called Lia had apparently broken his heart. Ty had liked the way the gentle piano had echoed through the start of the song and slowly picked up tempo as it went along.

He let the opening notes fill his head and focussed on Kit, the way he looked so peaceful even with a slight frown etched on his face, the way his soft, golden curls haloed his head and fell across the pillow so precisely, the way his chest rose and fell slowly proving he was alive.

All at once, Ty became acutely aware of the lyrics, of the words 'if you loved me then why did you leave me'. Ty had been so sure Kit and he had been friends and then he had left without a goodbye, with so many things hanging between them, all those years ago. They had made up over it and they'd promised to be friends once more, but the thing about scars is that they take a while to fade even after they seem to heal, and this one he wasn't sure would ever fade completely.

Letting the lyrics fade away again, Ty was drawn in by the memory of the night Kit had left, it had been the night of Magnus and Alec's wedding. After a while, the crowd had begun to thin so Ty had wandered down towards the shore line. He and Kit had left things on such a bad note and the other boy had basically ignored him all night though Ty barely knew why. He let the familiar feeling of the tide well around his ankles and pull his feet deeper into the sand as he had glanced up to the cliffs where he had seen Kit disappear into a portal. Ty was sure he wasn't meant to see it for it broke his already shattered heart to dust right then and there, and right then and there he had decided he would look into joining the Scholomance.

He had not known why it had hurt quite so much back then but he was beginning to now. The talk with Alec back in Tawstock Woods had given him a lot to consider and Ty was beginning to find his conclusions.

Kit began to stir slightly, his lips forming what were probably meant to be words but came out more as whispered groans. Ty sat up in sudden clarity and focus waiting to see if Kit would wake up. After what felt like an hour but may have just been a few moments, Kit went still again but still didn't open his eyes. It was going to be a long night and Ty could already feel the ties of sleep trying to pull him under, but of course he refused them. So Ty sat and watched. He watched while the birds began to sing; he watched as the sun began to peak out from over the ocean, creating a look of sapphires alight with flame; he watched when Magnus came to offer him tea and to swap for some rest, which of course he politely declined; he watched as the songs on his phone began to loop which he did nothing to change; and he watched as the memories kept flooding in.

Magnus had quietly informed him that as far as his family knew, Kit had a wicked hangover and Ty was looking after him while researching alone. Apparently his family had bought it.

Ty thought of the night they had reunited, how Ty could only think of how beautiful Kit had been, how he had looked as if he could belong in a painting of an angel framed in the city of glass. He had been so frozen that when Kit had first spoken it had been like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over his head. Kit had been so angry with him and Ty still wondered why. At the time the words had felt like thorns scratching at his clothes and catching on his skin. He had followed Kit for some reason and ended up in the place he had been trying to avoid for the entire trip. Ty thought of the way Magnus had looked at him that night, with a mix of shock and grief, it had only been for a second, but Ty had picked it up. Kit had been angry at him and stormed off but all Ty could think was how graceful the other boy had become and how his muscles had flexed under his shirt.

'Ty, Tiberius?' a hand was tentatively placed on his shoulder and when he turned, he saw Alec looking at him 'I know that face well, that was the face I had when I first saw Magnus' marked skin back in Shanghai… you're hurting and you're scared right?' Alec gently sat on the end of the bed facing Ty 'you really do love him don't you?' Alec's expression was soft and slightly sad

'I- I think so' Ty said, finally voicing the conclusion he had made only a small while ago to someone

'He'll be okay, he's a shadowhunter and he's a herondale, those guys are harder to kill than a greater demon' Alec smiled, clearly trapped in a flash of a memory for a second

'Thank you cons- uh Alec' Ty smiled in spite of himself

'Its okay, I understand, trust me! I remember how hard I fell for Magnus when I first met him and how terrified I became every time he was injured. I was an absolute wreck when Sebastian took Magnus and I barely ate, talked or breathed until I had him back again'

'It all seems so dramatic' Ty sid, still confused with the lack of logic in this situation

'Love often is Tiberius Blackthorn' with that Alec stood and made his way to the door 'I know there's no way I can convince you to take a break, but I will ask you to at least try and eat one of the biscuits Magnus brought up earlier or at least drink the tea'

Ty agreed of course and Alec, seemingly satisfied, turned and left, letting the door click shut quietly behind him.

Ty focussed back on Kit and wondered how long he must have been in love with him, he knew it must have been a slow process but he couldn't place where it had grown from. Had it perhaps been during their time in London, or Idris or even earlier? That didn't matter but Kit waking up so Ty could tell him this certainly did.

So he picked up his phone once more and opened another music app, typing in the name of an artist Dru had suggested and letting it play. Gradually, he became aware of his body's weight and the exact degree of exhaustion that he had been feeling this whole time, both physically and emotionally. Ty usually napped after some time out socialising or after a panic attack and he had done both but taken respite after neither. His eyelids were leaden and his arms were weights against his side, they were traitorously trying to pull him under and they were winning. Ty decided that he would just close his eyes for a moment and rest, that was all, just for a moment.

When he opened his eyes what he thought was 5 minutes later, the sky outside Kit's bedroom window was freckled with constellations sparkling silver against a deep near black backdrop above. His head had somehow ended up on the edge of the bed and he was awkwardly hanging half- off of the chair he had been sitting on. Ty's neck really hurt so he carefully stood and began to stretch out his aching muscles before looking down at Kit who seemed to still be fast asleep. Ty was becoming more and more concerned by this fact, considering it must have been nearly 24 hours since he had blacked out now. Hi smind swam with panic and what ifs including what his family must be thinking considering he and Kit had disappeared for basically a day. He hoped Magnus had managed to preserve their secret. He also wondered if Magnus had discovered what in Edom 'Cathair' meant and why it had appeared on Kit's forearm.

With a good few hours sleep and the clarity it seemed to bring, Ty managed to center himself once more and focussed back on Kit as he had been doing for nearly a day now, still not tiring at looking at his beauty. It was even more shocking now in the evening's light, his golden colours shining against the silver caste of the moon's glow. The feelings in his chest were beginning to ricochet against his ribs and were begging to be let out so much so that it was almost physically painful. Ty felt as though he were standing at the precipice of something like a cliff, the waters below crashing against said cliff and their spray soaking the outer layers of the armour he had built himself.

Ty was one for logic but, as Julian had once told him, love loses logic and forgets itself, so, with a shaking breath, he jumped right off the cliff he had planted himself firmly on the edge of.

'te-am iubit și nu ai știut, La început nu mi-am dat seama dar acum știu, te iubesc Christopher'

Thank you so much for reading, this chapter was fun but hard to write. I hope you all enjoyed, please feel free to leave a comment or some kudos if you liked it!

Dictionary of terms

Mizzly: apparently my friend says this isn't a common word but i use it to mean grey, rainy and miserable

The romainan sentence: i'm not telling you yet but you will get to know and i know some of you will work it out you detectives you. I tried my best not to rely too hard on translate but if anyone who speaks Romainan can make it sound more authentic please tell me how.