Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Months. It had been months of embracing his new life besides the Blackthorn family. Months of slowly accepting that being a Shadowhunter was what he had always felt was missing from his life. Months since Johnny Rook had died. Months to accept that fact.

Months to hide that he hadn’t.

Kit pulled up the hem of shirt to wipe off his sweaty face, frowning at the smell only to quickly take it off and throw it into the corner of his room. A small mountain of black fabric had begun to form, piling up as he continued to train day by day for hours only to be too tired to wash any of said clothes.

He knew he should be in bed, everyone else was. If Julian found out he was training outside of what was normally scheduled, he knew he would get a lecture. He was still new to such strenuous actions on his body, and doing too much would only have a negative impact. Kit frowned as he bent over to unlace his boots, his lower body aching in protest.

‘It all comes easy to them, the bastards. Those Shadowhunters don’t understand what it means to work to make yourself strong, they’re already born with it.’

Kit let out a choked laugh, pulling one of his boots off. “Sure comes easy, dad. I’m sure you would have laughed off the two broken ribs I got last week.”

‘Pain is something you keep to yourself, you hear me Kit? Never let anybody know when you’re in pain, they’ll use it against you. You can’t trust anybody outside of your family.’

Kit hurled his other boot at the door, letting himself flop onto the floor as he rubbed at his eyes furiously. “What a bunch of crap…”

Lost in his own head, Kit almost missed the small knock at his door. He glanced at the door, unsure if he had actually heard anything. Another knock, this one a little louder, resonated throughout the small room. Kit hastily stood up, going to the door. His hand hesitated at the knob to pull it open.

“If that’s you Julian, can you yell at me tomorrow? I’m really not in the mood.”

“It’s Ty. Were you expecting Julian? Should I go?”

Kit opened the door. Ty stood in front of him in a baggy navy hoodie and sweats, headphones around his neck and silent. He glanced up at Kit only to look back down at where his hands were hidden in the pocket at his stomach.

“Don’t go,” Kit said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Was I being too loud and woke you up?”

Ty blinked. “No. I was in the training room, you didn’t notice me. I was doing a weapon count. I decided to follow you after you ran out.”

Kit was confused as to how he could never not notice Ty in the same room. “Sorry, I thought I was alone…”

“Do you want to be alone right now?” Ty asked, taking a step backwards ready to leave.

“No,” Kit said, moving himself out of the doorway to let Ty come in. “Not anymore. I’d much rather be with you, to be honest. Wanna come inside and tell me about that new book you’ve been reading?”

Kit smiled as Ty gave a small nod, already walking towards his bed. He rubbed at his eyes one last time before closing the door and heading to bed.

Chapter Text

Kit yelped, losing his grip on the wall as he plummeted onto the cushioned floor. He glared up at the hilt of a dagger poking out of the area where his face was a few seconds ago. “Really, Livvy?”

The brunette smiled as she walked past his sprawled-out body to scale the wall. “You need to be aware that anybody can attack you at any moment.”

“Not in my own home!” Huh. He had never said that out loud before. He kind of liked it. He tilted his head back as he heard light footsteps near him.

“Need a hand?”

Kit grabbed the offered hand, letting himself be hauled to his feet by Ty. He rolled his shoulders back, trying to soothe some of the pain from the fall.

“Don’t worry about falling,” Ty stated, walking over to the climbing wall. Before Kit could even blink, he was up the wall. “You’ll get better with a little bit of practice.”

“Never as good as Ty, though.” Kit turned to see that Livvy had silently retreated back to his side. She curled her wrist, poking the hilt of the dagger into his hip. He carefully grabbed it, putting it back into the sheath on his thigh.

He glanced back to where Ty was already about twenty-five feet up. Unlike his usual training attire of a dark t-shirt and black sweats, he was wearing a tight-fit gray compression shirt and loose black shorts. Thanks to the heat of summer, everyone seemed to be wearing less and less clothing. It was rare sight for Kit, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming up and down, lingering on Ty’s biceps as he went to grip another rock. The stamina rune that Livvy had put on him earlier in the day stretched across his pale skin, sweat making him glisten under the beaming sun leaking through the overhead windows. Ty really did have nice arms. Kit wished he could see them more often. Often being every day if he had any say in the matter.

Livvy snorted and began to howl in laughter, holding her sides. “Oh my god, you so have it bad for Ty.”

“Did…did I just say that out loud?”

“Everything from how nice his arms look to how you seem to apparently like the hot and sweaty look.”

Kit spluttered, his face slowly turning pink. “I do not!”

“Okay, let me correct myself.” Livvy smirked, leaning into his side. “You like the sweaty look on my brother.”

Kit shoved her off of himself, his face still warm. “Stop repeating it, he’ll hear you!”

She rolled her eyes and placed her hands around her mouth in a small oval. “Ty! Kit thinks you have nice arms!”

Kit wished he was warlock so he could snap his fingers and disappear. Or you know, make Livvy disappear. Either worked for him. Ty let go of his grip on the wall, landing almost catlike onto the ground. He jogged over to the two, Kit keeping his eyes glued to his feet and Livvy smiling at him.

“You think I have nice arms?” Ty asked, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm onto the side of his leg.

Kit gulped. “I may have said something similar to that.”

Ty ran his eyes over Kit with a blank stare, making the other boy fidget.

“You have nice arms, too. You’re actually very appealing to the eye. ” Ty said, giving Kit a small smile before turning around. “I’m going to take a shower. See you guys at dinner.”

If Kit didn’t know Ty, he would have assumed that the gray-eyed teen was flirting. Kit knew what flirting sounded like, he had been hit on plenty of times at the Shadow Market. If Ty had been flirting, Kit would have had no trouble flirting back. Flirting was a game he knew, as it was often up to him to get information for Johnny Rook from his younger clientele. But Ty lived in a world of facts and honesty. He wasn’t trying to make Kit feel better about himself or offer up a compliment in return for the one he had received, he was simply stating that Kit was attractive. That on whatever scale Ty unconsciously used to decide if somebody was good-looking, Kit had been approved.

Kit let his head flop onto Livvy’s shoulder, groaning as his face warmed and his lips turned up into an obvious grin. Livvy patted his head in a mock sympathetic gesture. “You two are hopeless.”

Chapter Text

The walls of the institute passed Kit by like a blur as he ran to hopefully catch up to Ty before he headed out on what Kit could only deem a horrible idea. As he turned the corner, he saw the peak of a black head squeezing through the front door as it shut. Kit took a quick gasp of breath as he squeezed out what little energy he had left from his run to sprint and slam his body into the door, opening it wide thus resulting in him thumping and toppling over the taller boy. Kit untangled himself from Ty, sitting on his stomach with his arms crossed and blonde hair disheveled. Ty blinked up at him, his headphones thrown aside and dirt smudged onto his cheek. Even in his frustration, Kit couldn’t stop himself from finding it oddly charming.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Ty closed his eyes, letting his head thump softly back to the ground and his hands rest upon Kit’s legs. “Are you actually expecting and answer because I have no doubt you already know where, which is why you’re angry.”

“Oh, I’m angry?” Kit scoffed, poking a thin finger into Ty’s chest. “Tell me exactly why I’m angry, Sherlock.”

Ty stiffened at the nickname, and Kit felt himself sag. He rubbed at his face with his free hand, the one on Ty’s chest now lying flat over his heart. “Ty, I didn’t mean for that to sound like that. Just…please, tell me why you’re doing this?”

Livvy told Kit that while he was in the shower trying to get cleaned up for dinner, the institute had received a call from a local werewolf about a group of rogue vampires targeting innocent mundanes to make sport amongst themselves. Normally, one of the older Shadowhunters would have taken the mission on themselves, but all of them were in Idris trying to negotiate with the Clave for permission for Kieran to be allowed back. Ty had quickly agreed to taking care of it, telling Livvy to stay behind and watch over the kids as she was still injured from being nearly killed by Annabel. Kit tried not to let himself feel hurt that Ty hadn’t even thought about asking him for back-up.

“Someone needs to take care of it, and we don’t know when the others will be back. We can’t keep letting them do everything, we’re Shadowhunters too. We have faced war and looked death in the eye. I’m positive a couple of vampires won’t be a problem.”

“That’s not the point! You know you’ve been acting differently since the whole Annabel thing, don’t try and deny it. You’re being rash. You should have at least told me before you decided to be the next Jace Herondale.”

Ty mumbled under his breathe. Kit bent down, his face only a few inches apart from his. “You wanna repeat that?”

Gorgeous gray eyes stared back into his. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission.”

“You don’t need my permission, Ty.” Kit said, moving the pad of his thumb to rub the bit of dirt on his cheek away. “I just would have liked to known when someone I care about was about to put themselves into a dangerous situation.”

Small burst of pink slowly blossomed onto Ty’s cheeks. Kit grinned cheekily, leaning in closer. “Wouldn’t you feel the same about me?”

“M-maybe.”

“Uh-huh,” Kit smirked, standing up. He offered a hand to Ty who let himself be pulled to his feet. “Don’t worry, I won’t lecture you about this whole new reckless side you’ve suddenly gained. That’s Julian’s job.”

Ty rolled his eyes.

“But,” Kit said, gathering all the courage he had to wrap his own clammy hand around Ty’s cold one. “I do ask that you keep me in the loop and not hide things from me to keep me safe. I know you’re still worried about what happened to Livvy, and I can’t promise that kind of thing won’t happen to any of us. But I’d rather be hurt and by your side than know you’re facing everything by yourself.”

The two stood in silence for a moment, the breeze wafting the smell of the ocean towards them. Kit slowly began to pull his hand back, but Ty turned his around to shyly grip back.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Kit weaved his fingers through Ty’s.

“Always.”

Chapter Text

Julian stared down at the polished black floor, shoulders hunched and hands against the edge of the desk he was leaning on. He listened to the muffled chaos ensuing outside as Mark guarded the door. Taking a deep breath, he raised his gaze to stare at the bored blonde headed teen staring back at him.

“Tell me again why you decided to pour a jar of fire ants down Zara Dearborn’s shirt.”

Kit crossed his arms, the black sleeves a little too tight on his biceps thanks to his developing muscles. “I saw you laughing, don’t try to act like you didn’t enjoy it either.”

Mark smothered his startled laughter. Julian frowned. “That’s not the point. Why did you decide to do such a thing right before a Clave meeting?”

“Emma gave me the idea. I’ve been carrying the jar around for a few days, waiting for the key moment.”

“Of course she did,” Julian mumbled, putting that bit of information aside for later. “Still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well, she was just standing right in front of me, talking about herself like always”-

“Kit.”

“-when suddenly she starts talking about the Blackthorn family. About how co-dependent you all are with one another, how everyone overestimates you guys”-

“Don’t let it get to you, Kit. We can’t control what Zara says about our family or what others choose to believe.”

“Which is bullshit,” Kit scowls, putting a hand up to stop Julian from interrupting him. “But that wasn’t why I did it.”

Julian watched as Kit let his eyes fall to his lap. “I think she wanted one of you guys to react, give her something to show everyone heading inside to the meeting. She noticed Ty lingering by the wall, playing with one of those gadgets you made him.”

Julian and Mark bristled, both going into older brother mode. Kit stood up, placing a calming hand on Julian’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t as terrible as you’re probably imagining. She just snatched it out of his hand, demanding to know what it was and what it was for. Ty told her. She told him how weird he was, how he’ll never be a true Shadowhunter if all he can focus on are his stupid little toys. How he’d only be a liability on the battlefield, ” Kit spat, hatred shimmering in his eyes.

From the couple of months Julian had gotten to know Kit, he was surprised to see such hostility riled up so easily from the boy. Most of the time, he seemed bored. Or at least, acted bored. In the rare instances in which he found himself laughing a little too loud or acting a little too excited, his expression would turn blank. Whenever Kit became the center of attention, he would often stiffen and divert the conversation around, offering him the chance to slip away when he felt it was too much. Compared to when he had first arrived at the Institute, he took to the Blackthorn family quickly. After becoming the missing piece at Ty and Livvy’s sides, and months of being surrounded by the same family twenty-four seven, he had gradually warmed up and found his place amongst them. Sometimes he would help Julian with meal prep, often using the time to ask peculiar questions about Shadowhunters that weren’t covered in his lessons with Diana. In the mornings, he would be out the door with Mark for their daily run in which he would point out new things and locations for him that Mark had missed out on getting to know. In his free time, whenever he wasn’t around Ty or Livvy, Julian would regularly stumble upon him either lounging on Dru’s bed watching a new horror movie or playing outside with Tavvy. Considering where he had gotten the idea to pour ants on Zara Dearborn, Julian reckoned he was spending way too much time with Emma.

Julian contemplated the boy in front of him, from the top of his sun-streaked blonde hair to the tips of his scuffed black boots. Currently in his growing phase, he was wearing some of Julian’s old clothes to save money. The neckline of his gray shirt was smeared with a splash of pink paint. Julian remembered apologizing to Kit for it and some of the other articles of clothing just like it. Kit had simply stared at the stain and shrugged it on with a simple, ‘It’ll make it seem like I have personality.’

Kit flinched as Julian laid the palm of his hand on the back of his neck, giving it a small rub. The look of animosity had quickly fallen from his face into a mask of confusion. Julian had tried his best to not let this boy into his heart, but without remembering when or how, he found he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to protect Kit. He let his hand fall down to Kit’s chest where he gently patted him before turning around. “You stay here for the meeting, no discussion. I think it’ll be best if you steer clear right now, let me handle everything. Livvy will tell you about everything that goes down, no doubt.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. I’m sure if I’m correct,” Julian said, opening the door to reveal Ty. “My little brother will keep you company.”

Julian peeked over Ty’s shoulder to see that the meeting was about to start. He gave Ty a glance, promising a debate about how what Zara said was untrue later before ruffling his hair and walking out. Mark glided past him as well, letting the back of his hand bump softly into his in a quick and comforting gesture. As the door clicked shut, Kit felt Ty’s gaze stop directly on him.

“Ty, before you say anything”-

“Out of all the possible things you could have done, you had to do the most idiotic one?”

Kit bit his lip, balling his hands at his sides. “So I should have just let her get away with treating you like that? Nothing she said was true, and I’ll be damned if I let her think she has any right to say that crap to you.”

Ty bristly walked the short distance to Kit, pulling a fist between his own two hands. “I don’t care what she says, Kit. I’ve heard it before, I’ll hear it again. What I care about is that you might have just made yourself a target for her next scheme. She was only picking at me because I’m a Blackthorn, but now you’ve embarrassed her in front of the people she’s spent years trying to prove herself to. She’s not going to simply forgive and forget.”

“I…” Kit mumbled, letting his eyes wander the wall behind Ty’s head. “I’ll admit I didn’t give her response back much thought. I’m an idiot.”

Ty simply stared at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that statement. Kit leaned over, letting his forehead touch Ty’s. He felt his own heart quicken, still not used to the idea of what the two of them might be. Right now there was no label for what the two boy were to each other, but both knew something was there. “I may be an idiot but I’m your idiot.”

Ty gave him a gorgeous half smile before letting his face fall into the crook of Kit’s neck. “That you are.”

Chapter Text

From the entrance of the kitchen, Ty leaned against the door frame, observing the shuffling and mumbling figure at the oven. His eyes roamed over the empty counters to the rack of drying clean dishes. For being the only one up in the dead of night, Ty had to give Kit credit for being able to stay so quiet amongst an Institute of Shadowhunters who had been trained to wake up to the snap of a finger. Then again, Kit also had experience in the ways of going about unnoticed when need be.

Kit leaned over to glance into the small clear glass on the oven, giving his head a small nod before jumping onto the counter to sit. Ty felt a steady blush rise to his cheeks as his eyes adjusted to get a better view of the boy. Under the only patch of moon light beaming through the window behind his head, the top of Kit’s blonde and disheveled hair glowed as if surrounded by a diminishing halo. His eyes slowly fell to the sheer expanse of a tan and naked torso, marked only by a mere handful of runes and no obvious scars. Ty shook his head and stood up straight to stop his gaze from wandering further down to the haphazardly thrown on black shorts around his hips. Across the room, Kit coughed.

“So are you going to come sit with me or keep pretending I don’t know notice you?”

Ty made his way across the tiled floor to lean against the counter besides Kit. “I know you knew I was here. You tensed up when I arrived. I just didn’t know if you wanted company or not.”

“You should know by now the answer to that question,” Kit said, unconsciously trailing his fingers gently up and down Ty’s spine. “You don’t need to ask me every single time you think you’re intruding.”

“Why are you baking muffins at three in the morning?” Ty asked, blatantly ignoring responding back to the previous statement.

“It’s part of my vengeance scheme against Julian. Every time he denies me the right to a single cookie, I’ll eat a dozen muffins in its place.”

Ty gave him a bewildered stare, obviously not sure how to reply. Kit let his fingers trail up Ty’s spine to his neck before ending up in his hair, trailing his fingers around in a circular motion. Ty closed his eyes, enjoying the relaxing sensation, tilting his head to let Kit have a better angle. They sat like that for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying each other’s presence.

As Kit’s fingers slowed to a stop, Ty rotated his body so that he stood face to face with Kit. He let his elbows rest on Kit’s thighs as his legs enclosed around him. “I had another nightmare about my Dad.”

Judging by the lack of response of Ty’s face, he didn’t seem surprised.

“Usually I would just go train, but my body still kind of hurts from getting my ass kicked by Kieran.” Kit said, trying to hide the grimace from remembering the fight.

“Still doesn’t explain why you’re baking of all things.”

Kit leaned, putting his upper weight on his arms as he got a better view of Ty. “I just…when I woke up, this strange image of your brother cooking popped into my mind. He told me one time when I was preparing dinner with him how cooking helps him release some of the tension building within him. He said how he never tired of seeing all your faces light up whenever you ate something made by him that you truly enjoyed. I kind of wanted to try it out.”

Ty felt his heart swell, not thinking it was possible for it to grow any fonder of Kit than it already was. He also felt his heart begin to beat a little faster as his eyes traveled from Kit’s face to his chest. Considering Kit’s eyes were glued on Ty as well, he was sure the other boy could see the obvious effect he had on him. Ty was thankful for him not saying anything.

“What kind of muffins did you make?”

“Chocolate chip. Your favorite.”

The two bashfully smiled at one another before falling into a serene silence.

Chapter Text

Kit cursed as he narrowly avoided colliding with a group of college students on the sidewalk of the street, stumbling to catch his footing once again as he sprinted around the corner. He wished that so many people weren’t out tonight and or that his conscious would let him tackle pass a few passerby’s with no guilt. He dashed past a lone werewolf waving him down for his attention with an apologetic grimace and incoherent excuse. A Shadowhunters duty was to the Downworld and mundanes, and Kit could already hear the lecture he would be getting from Diana if she were to find out he hadn’t stopped, but his main priority at the moment was finding Ty.

~

“-kill the demons hiding out in the abandoned shops around the city. Everyone clear?”

Everyone gave a small nod, already geared up and ready for their monthly sweep mission over the city. Dru gave them all a quick wave of goodbye as she grabbed Tavvy’s hand and led him back inside the Institute. Kit felt himself feeling guilty at the fact that he was going on the mission instead of her. He knew how much Dru desperately wished to be included, and how her hope for that being so had slowly declined since Julian had let her accompany them all those months ago. The worse part was that there was really nobody to put the blame on. Julian no longer had qualms about her fighting besides them, but the youngest Blackthorn had. Or more specifically, Tavvy had begun to have issues about being separated from any of his siblings. Since his breakdown with Julian, the small boy seemed to handle his siblings leaving home worse and worse. Diana was rarely at the Institute during the moments Tavvy needed somebody to watch over him. Emma was Julian’s parabatai, not to mention the best Shadowhunter amongst them. Kieran was still not entirely sure how to handle a human child, let alone in a place where he was still learning the in’s and out’s of as well. Cristina and Mark still couldn’t be separated for too long. Kit had volunteered to stay behind multiple times, but even with the new bond between himself and Tavvy, the young boy wanted only his family.

Shaking his head and promising to himself to bring something back for the two youngest Blackthorns, Kit began to march his way towards Ty’s side when Emma and Julian stopped in front of him.

“Change of routine. You’re going with Emma.”

“What? Why?”

Julian tapped a slim finger on the phone in his front pocket. “Our informer says that the location of demon hideouts has increased. We’re separating to catch more ground and be done by morning.”

“Not that I don’t enjoy being in Emma’s company,” Kit said, giving the blonde female a quick wink. “But why am I the only one being paired up with somebody else?”

“It’s your last mission being a shadow. After tonight, you’re free to be assigned or take on any missions by yourself. I’ll be present to keep an eye on you and judge if I think you’re capable of taking care of yourself,” Emma winked back, but with a playful smirk on her lips. “No pressure.”

Kit crossed his arms nervously, shuffling his feet. “Can’t I just go with Ty?”

Emma made an x with her fingers. “No can do mini-Jace. If you get in some sort of trouble, I know Ty will jump in to help you. I, on the other hand, will let you take a beating before saving your ass at the last minute thus proving whether you’re truly ready to be a Shadowhunter.”

Blue eyes turned to give Julian a pleading look of rescue. He placed his hands on Kit’s shoulders, giving him a small pat and refreshing smile. “Think of Emma like the final boss you have to beat in a video game. Make it past the terrifying beast and you’re free to continue on with the rest of your story.”

Kit turned as Emma lifted a hand to punch Julian in the side, walking quietly over to where Ty sat on the lone bench fiddling with his headphones. Kit halted his steps directly in front of him. Ty had been at his side since he first set foot in the Institute, Kit had yet to be on a mission in which Ty was by himself and not with him or Livvy. On some level, Kit knew how ridiculous his worry was, as Ty had probably snuck out on his own dozens of times. That didn’t stop his chest from blossoming with worry. His hand came down to fondly tousle itself in Ty’s black locks, making the boy raise his eyes.

“Be careful.”

“It’s a routine mission,” Ty murmured, shaking his head. “Just because I’m not like the others doesn’t mean I’m any less capable of handling myself. You don’t need to worry.”

Kit sighed in exasperation, flicking Ty’s ear. “You know, Sherlock, I don’t worry about you because you’re ‘different’. I worry about you because it’s you.”

Ty stared at him with a look of confusion and Kit pointed at him, hand on hip. “Think about it.”

He turned around, catching a glance at Emma who was already at the gate waiting for him, grinning at the two of them. Not for the first time, he wished that getting a moment of privacy wasn’t so challenging. Being in love with a boy who had had seven intrusive siblings sure was difficult.

Kit gave Emma the middle finger to which she kindly responded back with two of her own.

“Watson.”

He turned around at the sound of his name, looking back at Ty who was looking at his own feet. “Yeah?”

“Be safe.”

Giving him a two-finger mock salute, Kit turned back around, dopey grin on his face. Even though they rarely had a chance to be alone, he wouldn’t change anything. The small moments he shared with Ty would be enough.

~

Kit steadied his arms on the brick wall he was leaning against, gasping for breath. Screw building up muscle, when he got back home the first thing he would be working on was his endurance. Sure, a simple rune might would have fixed the problem, but in his haste Kit had left all his gear on the kitchen table. An idiotic move, and one he might regret if he happened to run into some random demons, but Kit couldn’t bring himself to care. Taking one last gulp of air, he twisted his body and continued his path to where Ty was last seen by Livvy.

~

Hot. Why was it so hot? Kit took off his belt holding his seraph blade and steele, throwing it onto the table as he shrugged out of his jacket. He gave the sleeve a cursory glance, taking note of the giant hole surrounded by dried blood. Rolling it into a ball, he threw it into the trash. Emma sat at the table, texting Cristina furiously as Julian walked in with a slight limp. Behind him trailed Mark and the others, everyone looking pissed and worse for wear. Emma flung her phone down, scratching her nails on the table as she glowered at Julian. “I’m going to kill your informant.”

“Too late,” Julian stated, throwing down a wallet Kit had never seen before. “Already did.”

Instead of the usual four or five demons, each hideout had held around a dozen, all ready and waiting for fresh Shadowhunter blood. Emma and Kit had handled the situation decently, but judging by the arm Mark was cradling to his chest or the slightly green bite wounds on Livvy’s hand, everyone who had gone solo hadn’t.

“When I went to go ask him why he decided to leave out that bit of information from us, he attacked me. Apparently, it was a set-up. I gather he was paid by somebody, but I don’t have any proof.”

The name Zara Dearborn floated amongst the silence, everyone thinking it.

Kit took another glance around the room, finally noticing in his tired haze that there was no head of ebony hair. “Where’s Ty?”

All eyes sprung up, roaming the room to see that Ty was the only person missing. Kit spun to stare at Julian who already had his phone to his ear and a frown on his face. He pulled it back, hitting the screen with his thumb. “It keeps going straight to voicemail.”

The memory of Johny Rooks death popped into Kit’s mind, but where his father normally laid, was Ty. Broken and mangled, his head at an unnatural angle as his blank gray eyes stared past Kit at nothing. His fingers which always seemed to be moving stood still by his side, while his other hand reached out towards Kit as if trying to grab something, anything, to help him.

Kit ignored the screams of his name as he tumbled out of the kitchen and to the front doors of the Institute.

~

“-it! Kit!”

Kit skidded to a halt, doing a three-sixty to see where the familiar voice had come from. Ty stood in front of him, sweaty and pale, but safe. Kit felt his body sag in relief as Ty came closer and closer, his headphones practically falling off his head.

“I’ve been yelling your name for the last five minutes,” Ty muttered, only slightly out of breath. “Where are you going? Are you lost? The Institute is the entirely other direction.”

Of course Ty had no idea the utter panic he had placed in Kit’s heart. Kit let out a weak, wet laugh as he closed his eyes and rubbed at his face. It was so stupid, he felt so stupid. There was no reason to panic, Ty was an amazing fighter. He could handle himself. Hell, even if Kit had found him in the middle of a fight, with how tired he was, he would have been more of a nuisance than anything. As his heart beat slowed to a steadier pace and his anxiety reeled itself back in, Kit raised his eyes to stare at Ty with a look of determination.

Before Ty could open his mouth to ask Kit what was going on, the blonde boy had taken the seven or so steps to be in front of him. Kit grabbed the lapels of Ty’s jacket, pulling him close until their lips touched in a surprisingly soft kiss. Ty’s eyes widened in surprise, his hand coming up to grip itself on to the side of Kit’s shirt. Ty stood still for the first few seconds of the kiss as his mind rambled on with what seemed to be a million different thoughts. The kiss was…different. Nice. He wasn’t necessarily surprised by the kiss, either, more by the way it conflicted with what he had always imagined. When he had let himself daydream about Kit kissing him, which seemed to happen more and more as of recently, the Kit in his head was always so simple. The kiss was always a fast peck. Ty supposed he could blame the imaginary Kit on his lack of experience. The real Kit kissed him as if he was something precious, tender and thoughtful. Ty felt a blush rise to his cheeks at the amount of affection he could feel through the kiss, hesitantly kissing back in the last few seconds before Kit pulled away.

Kit leaned his forehead against Ty’s, holding his face with both of his hands as his thumbs stroked his cheeks. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I wanted the first time I kissed you to be something special.”

Ty’s eyes sparkled as he let out a small chuckle. “I’m pretty sure anytime you kiss me, I’ll think it’s special.”

Chapter Text

“Just because you both are boys, don’t think there won’t be some ground rules, buddy.”

Kit groaned, letting his head slam onto his folded arms lying atop the kitchen table. He knew he should have skipped breakfast. Screw his body and its hunger. Julian threw a comforting glance over his shoulder as he fiddled around the stove, obviously knowing the annoyance that was Emma at seven in the morning.

She balled up her napkin, flinging it at Julian. “Don’t look at him. He may seem sweet now but who do you thinks gonna kick your ass if he finds you in some lewd situation with his baby brother?”

“I would never hurt Kit.”

Kit’s head shot up, looking indignant. “You kicked me off the balance beam the other day because I drunk the last of the milk!”

“Never come between a man and his thirst for a cold glass of milk,” Julian said, winking at the two of them. “Never let the same man see you and his brother in a compromising position.”

“Why are Kit and I never to be in a compromising position?” Mark questioned, strolling into the kitchen.

Emma scooted over, offering Mark some space to sit beside her. “The other brother, Mark.”

“That makes more sense,” Mark stated, reaching over to give Kit a quick pat on the back. “Julian is correct, Kit. Do not let sexual desire take over, no matter how enticing it may seem. You have plenty of time for that in the future when you are both older and more mature. My first time with Kieran”-

Kit felt his face heat up and he quickly went back to burying his head into his arms. “Please stop. By the angel, I beg of you to stop.”

Emma laughed, pulling at a lock of his hair. “You knew the sex talk was coming at some point. Best to suffer now then delay it.”

“S-Sex isn’t even on the table right now!” Kit squeaked, slapping her hand away. “We just got together a couple of days ago. I haven’t even taken him on a date yet!”

“So you’ve never thought about Tiberius in a sexual way? Have you thought about anybody in a sexual way? I believe I had fantasies when I was your age. It was how I discovered I liked both the male and female gender”-

“Stop teasing my boyfriend, please.”

All four pairs of eyes shot up as Ty ambled into the kitchen to sit next to Kit. Julian smiled and ruffled both of their hair, pulling Emma and Mark up by their wrist. “Time to collect the rest of the heard for breakfast. Let’s go.”

Ty yawned as they left, rubbing at his eyes to shake off some of the drowsiness.

“-say?”

He tilted his head, casting a questioning gaze onto Kit who was still a little pink from what the others had been saying. Ty decided he would rather not know. “Hmm?”

“What did you say?” Kit asked, reaching over the softly grab Ty’s hand. “Earlier when you walked in. What did you call me?”

“I called you my…boyfriend. Is that okay? I thought that’s what we are but maybe I’m wrong? I’ve never done this. Was I not supposed to call you that or”-

“Ty,” Kit said with a chuckle in his voice. “You’re not wrong. I’m your boyfriend. I was just happy to hear you say it.”

“You were happy to hear me say you’re my boyfriend? Interesting. Are you happy to hear me say I’m your boyfriend?”

A rumble of footsteps echoed outside. Kit smiled, leaning over to peck Ty on the cheek before everyone else walked in. “Yes.”