Ty blinked his eyes open to a noise from upstairs and tried to remember where he was. Looking around, he saw Max and Rafe, still on the floor watching another movie and then Kit asleep next to him, the other boy's head resting on his shoulder carelessly. His eyelashes feathered out over his lightly freckled cheeks and his lips slightly parted letting in deep breaths. It was a beautiful sight really to see him without the creases of stress and grief maring his soft skin.

'Good morning… gooooddd morrrningggg.' a small voice called from upstairs.

Ty realised it must have been Mina, having woken from her nap and wanting to be gotten up. It looked like Kit wasn't budging, a soft snore crackling at the back of his throat. Carefully, he extracted his shoulder from Kit, having to awkwardly roll the other boy's head back onto the cushion with his free hand. Once he was free, Ty headed up the stairs to go and check on Mina.

Slowly, Kit became aware of someone laughing and began to open his apparently closed eyes. He must have fallen asleep, he thought. He scanned the room and noticed that Ty, Rafe and Max were missing and the laugh seemed to be echoing from behind the sofa.

'Hmmm, I wonder where that noise could be coming from?' Kit said in a playful tone.

'Si estamos silentio, no nos vera.' a small voice whispered.

'Yo hablo Espanol, pequenos monos.' He said leaning over the back of the sofa.

Rafe dropped the phone in his hand. 'Wacha!'

'Oh, it's on kiddos.' Kit leapt over the sofa and grinned at them, hands raised and ready to chase.

Both boys responded to this by leaping up and bolting out into the main hall, laughing all the way. Their footsteps echoed across the floor and out towards the back door, the tile giving them away. Kit pursued slowly, unable to contain his own child-like amusement as it bubbled up inside him. Briefly, he wondered where Ty was but brushed it aside assuming Ty had perhaps gone to the bathroom or taken himself to bed for a bit.

As the garden came into view from behind the now mysteriously open french doors, Kit could see a bolt of blue dart behind the koi pond's water feature. A plan formed just then, he knew the garden better than the boys and he could definitely creep up behind them using the Persian rose walkway. Slowly as not to let his sneakers crunch on the gravel, Kit edged his way along the grass until he was behind the boys. He took a moment to check they hadn't caught him and then pounced using both hands to tickle the boys. They both began to giggle, Rafe somehow managing to look mad that he was in fact giggling at all.

'Okay, we will delete the photo Mr Kit.' Rafe said through laughter.

'But we want cookies though!' Max added

'Sorry dudes I don't think we have any left.' Kit felt kinda bad. 'Also wait, what photo..? Ohhh' that's why he had woken up.

'Max could always magic us up some!' Rafe said and Max raised a hand.

'No,no,no,no,no… how about we make some?' Kit's eyes widened

'Okay, but maybe Max can flame cook them' Rafe grinned.

Max's eyes shone with a terrifying flame of determination.

'Hahah, no I think we'll be okay!' Kit said, turning back to the house and beginning to walk. 'Have either of you seen Ty by the way?'

'Oh, yes, he went upstairs because Mina woke up.' Max said.

Kit nodded his thanks 'Cool, you guys go turn the tv off and wait for me on the kitchen table, and I'll go check Mina is okay, alright?'

They both nodded though Kit didn't know if he trusted them, they were far too much like him.

As soon as Kit went inside, he took the back staircase and made his way through the old servants quarters until he reached the room he was looking for. The door was decorated with hundreds of pink hearts and a board with Wilhelmina was branded across the middle. Slowly, he cracked it open, just enough that he could see inside, so that we wouldn't surprise either his sister or Ty. What he saw nearly had him passing out. Ty had Mina on his lap on the rocking chair as he gently sang a song Kit couldn't quite make out. Ty's voice sweet like woodsmoke, its deep tenor smooth as Tennessee whiskey. The way he gazed at Mina with a gentle smile was something so precious that Kit's heart tried to burst from his chest.

Carefully, he pushed the door open making a little more noise this time so they knew he was there.

'Hey.' lame

'Hi Kit, sorry Mina woke up and I didn't want to wake you, I hope you don't mind?' Ty replied softly.

'No, uh thank you. Do you want to come downstairs? The boys want to make cookies and I think it'd be better if we evened the odds… Rafe has already suggested Max use his magic to flame cook them.'

'Cookies, I want cookies!' Mina bounced off of Ty's lap fully awake suddenly and coincidently.

'Sure thing peach, but you need to get changed first okay?' Kit smiled at his little sister and walked over to her dresser.

'I can do it myself.' Mina replied confidently.

'Okay Min-Min, we'll wait just outside if you need help.'

The kitchen was a state… it was worse than what Ty had once described to him as Mark's first attempt in cooking. Flour painted every available surface, sugar water dripped from the roof as well as the blender it had somehow been put in, Max was wearing a whole pot of margarine and Mina was running up and down the back stairs having eaten all the chocolate chips. Ty seemed to be sat at the kitchen table with Rafe, far too calmly rolling out what Kit assumed was the only successful batch of cookie dough they'd managed to make. Kit found himself wondering if encouraging Max to magically clean this was worth the risk of setting the kitchen on fire. Kit could use his magic to stop a fire right? He'd managed more before in high stress situations and this was definitely one of those.

'Hey guys, where'd you go?' a voice called from down the hall.

'In here!' Ty called, not looking up from his work.

Footsteps echoed down the hall until Dru appeared, two carrier bags in hand. 'By the angel, what happened!'

'Where the hell have you been.' Kit asked.

'Oh, I met a super chill werewolf at one of the coffee shops.'

'You stopped for coffee?' Kit huffed in exasperation.

'I got you both one.'

'Okay, you're forgiven… Now gimme, I need it!' Kit reached grabby hands out towards her like a toddler, a caffeine deprived toddler.

'Sure, but how exactly are we cleaning this up?'

'Magic?' Max's eyes shone once more.

'Not yours though… I can always try?' Kit stopped Max before he could start.

20 minutes and three failed attempts later, the cookies were in the oven and the 6 of them were attempting to clean by hand. Well, Kit, Ty, Dru and a slightly guilty Max were trying to clean while Rafe tried to teach Mina some basic shadowhunter training positions- a definite excuse not to help. Kit found himself stood on the wooden table using a mop to scrub at the now hardened sugar syrup on the ceiling. Ty and Dru were working together to brush then wash away any traces of flour and Max was washing up. Or rather Max was sort of washing up, sort of playing with the bubbles and making a mess.

Around half way through, Dru disappeared and returned with a speaker and put on some sort of rock playlist. Ty took that moment to pause and take the cookies out and turn them out on a cooling rack on the now mostly clean unit. He also quietly slipped his headphones on which Kit took as a sign he may become overwhelmed. He made sure to keep an eye on the boy from then on to check he was okay.

By the time the cookies had cooled the kitchen actually looked like a kitchen again, and the group decided to go sit in the lounge with their snacks. Kit made himself a cup of tea, Dru a coffee and the rest of them a glass of milk and sat back down on the sofa about ready to have another nap.

'I got your crunchie thingy by the way but they only had a multipack.' Dru mumbled through a mouthful of cookie.

'Dru, have I ever told you I love you?'

'Yes, multiple times and all when food or coffee was involved.'

'What can I say, I love food.' Kit retorted, reaching for the remote.

Quickly, he found what he was looking for -a movie called Spirit he watched when he was a kid- and clicked play.

'Didn't take you for a horse girl Kit.' Dru retorted.

'Can it, this is a cinematic masterpiece and I will take none of your slander! The horses show such emotion without uttering a word and it's a great commentary on the American west and the poor treatment of Indigenous peoples.'

'By the angel!' Dru rolled her eyes.

'Well, Mina likes it so we're watching it.'

'Whatever.'

Kit dropped the remote on the arm of the chair and curled his feet up underneath him, tea in hand. The opening scenes flickered across the screen in their hues of green, blue and orange and Kit found his eyes becoming heavy.

'Hey Watson,' Ty whispered from beside him 'the Centurions are coming over this evening aren't they?'

Kit blinked his eyes a few times to right himself 'Yeah, around 5 I think.' He quickly checked the time on his phone: 3:15.

'Yes, Anush told me 5 too. So the plan is: we take each of the others aside and tell them a certain piece of information about "the halfling" and then we get you to go into that trance again and visit Alicante to see what's being said.'

'Okay, but how will we know who said it… also I've only been into the Glass City once and it was by accident.'

'Ahh Watson, that's why we tell each person something different. And the second problem, well I have a theory about that.'

'And that is why you're Sherlock' Kit smiled, enjoying the thrill of the game the same way he always had.

'Dru are you crying?' Kit tried to hide a laugh

'What, no… maybe?!'

'See, I told you it's a cinematic masterpiece!'

'I thought it was a lovely Kit. However, the ice getting stuck on his tongue in the first part was somewhat inaccurate. A foal could never carry such a weight and it would probably rip his tongue.' Ty spoke evenly.

'Yeah, I get that but also its movie magic right?'

'Were home!' someone called from the hall again and everyone was saved from Kit's tirade.

'Dad, Bapak?' Max stood and called into the hall.

Magnus rounded the corner first, his jacket somehow not even having a ruffle to it. Tessa, Jem and Alec followed, all covered in dirt and some kind of red splodges that looked not to be blood but were still somewhat unnerving.

'As it turns out, the Cornwall institute has raspberry bushes… rather a few of them!' Tessa said, giving a well needed clarity.

'Can I smell cookies?' Alec smiled in a surprisingly child like way

Rafe, Max and Mina all ran at their parents, grabbing any body part they could and hugging.

'Si Papa, we made cookies.' Rafe told Alec.

'You saved me some right my little angel?' Rafe went red at the nickname.

'Why don't you all go and shower and we can have cookies, catch up, and then make dinner.' Magnus said, patting Max on the head. 'Tiberius, your team will be here for a debrief now you've returned from LA am I correct?'

Kit noticed the way Ty's eyes lit up with excitement as he nodded and it melted his heart just a little more.

Kit was sat in the library with all the other residents of Cirenworth when Ty gave him the signal, something Kit had had to convince him was germaine to the mission. He had also managed to convince Ty to name the mission: operation fakeout.

'Ansuh, could I speak to you for a moment please?'

Kit watched as Ty stood up from his seat and took Anush to the side before standing himself and moving towards Mari.

'Hi, Mari?' Kit proceeded with a polite caution, having only spoken to her a few times, the last being their Romanian lesson out at Barricane.

'Hello Kit, how may I help?' He smiled politely at him.

'I have something to share about this First Heir that I've learnt.' Kit kept his voice even, falling into the conman, trader of secrets and lies, that he had been before.

'Oh? Please continue.'

Thankfully, Ty and he had come up with a list of ideas for each person. 5 in total. Though Kit still didn't like the idea that they were including Magnus and Alec in this, even if just to be sure.

'I found an ancient scroll in the Los Angeles library, one of the paragraphs said "the child of both lands hath been branded with the flame and burnished in frost so stands impervious." Does that mean anything to you?'

Kit watched Mari think for a moment before she answered 'While English is not my first language, I believe it translates to something meaning that the First Heir having been made, in part, of fire and ice means those elements can not hurt them?'

'Okay.' Kit nodded 'I'll continue to research that avenue… just don't tell anyone else yet as I'm not sure I trust the authenticity.'

'Your secret is safe with me lover boy.' Mari winked and turned back to her notes.

Kit stood and went over to Sunish who was browsing the bookshelves towards the back, thankfully alone. Finding someone alone was always easier than making an excuse to get someone away. He put back on his mask and placed the rook back on the chessboard.

'Sunish?'

'Hi there Kit, 'ow can I 'elp ya?' His English accent thicker today.

'Can you keep a secret?'

'Well, it depends… though I do have the memory of a sieve so I doubt I'd remember anyway. What I'm trying to say is go ahead' Sunish rambled out.

'So, when I was in Ty's uncle's study in LA, I found some of his old memoirs and one stated that the First Heir has a necklace made of quartz that keeps them safe from any attacks. I thought maybe we could look into it?'

'Oh yes, Ty would love to hear about this!'

'No, no remember it's a secret, I haven't confirmed it yet'

'Ah, yes… sorry' Sunish sank back a little.

'It's okay, just keep it on the down low for now please'

Sunish nodded and Kit slunk away just in time to see Ty walking away from Alec, a clearly fake smile on his face. Well, Kit could tell it was fake at least, even if Alec hadn't seemed to notice. He caught Kit's eyes and gave a thumbs up which Kit returned before walking out of the room and to his bedroom to await his co-conspirator.

10 minutes later, the door swung open and closed quietly and Ty snuck in sitting at the desk opposite Kit who was half sitting half laying on the bed.

'Did anyone suspect you?' Kit asked.

'I don't think so, I hated lying but I think I may be quite good at it.'

'Mine all took the bait too… maybe my old man was good for something after all.' Kit couldn't help but feel a tug somewhere deep in his chest.

'Oh Kit, I'm sorry, I'd forgotten.'

'Its okay, if I'm honest I kind of liked the adrenaline.' and he hated that he meant it.

Ty smiled a sad smile at him then. Kit didn't like that smile.

'Now how are we making me use the force to astral plane or whatever?' Kit had been wondering such a thing as soon as the words had left Ty's lips.

'Well,' Ty paused a moment 'you told me last time that you went to the beach, yes? And it was a quiet night?'

Kit nodded 'Yes, and I was laying on the sand but then I felt pulled to use my magic and so I did. I forgot to focus but then when I opened my eyes to try and start again properly, I ended up in Angel Square.'

'Okay,' Ty said resolutely 'I think what you need to do is be somewhere natural, like the beach or perhaps here on the moor, and you need to clear your head and let the magic guide you… I think.' Ty seemed to be doubting himself which was unheard of.

'Hmm I think you might be right… maybe we could try it?' Kit tried to show Ty his theory was good, tried to wipe the uncertainty away.

Ty smiled and it was like sunshine once more, his storm grey eyes shining. 'Okay!'

'How long will it take for the message to pass on?' Kit asked.

'Considering Zara likes to work fast, I imagine that the Cohort will have the information within the next 3 hours after my team leaves here. She will probably announce it the next hour following I'd imagine. That means we will need to be ready around midnight… Do you think you can do it?'

Kit would do anything for Ty and almost laughed at the silly question, only stopping himself because he'd have to explain himself. 'Lets go catch a spy!' Kit grinned.

'Sure, but can I ask what you mean by the force? Is that what your powers are called?'

'Oh Ty, oh sweet, innocent Ty… I really need to introduce you to Star Wars.'

'Innocent? I would not say I was innocent Kit'

Oh my god… his mind began to spin at that comment.

'I did complete a necromantic ritual after all!'

'Right' Kit really needed to get his mind out of the gutter.

Hi everyone, welcome back to the moors i hope you enjoyed this chapter… shiz is about to get dramatic. Please feel free to drop a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! Sorry for the delay, its been one hell of a couple weeks and the last one ive had to isolate for. I ended up writing a couple one shots and an entire 5 and 1 series (the first of which is on my page btw) but had a real block here.

Dictionary of terms

Wacha- i googled this, apparently its an argentinian spanish swear but feel free to correct me.

The spanish in this chapter is probably incorrect because while i speak a few languages spanish has never been one of them. Feel free to correct me if you know the language :)

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron- this movie has always been one of my favourites and reminds me of my nan.