Work Text:
"You look busy."
Ty glanced up and saw the smirking, tanned face of Kit Herondale. He removed the headphones that were blasting Beethoven into his ears and said, "What?"
"I said you look busy. What are you doing?" Kit asked, swinging his lanky body into a chair next to Ty. They were almost the same height, but Kit always seemed taller.
"I'm reading about necromancy." Ty's voice was steady, but his fingers had begun to flutter, the way they always did when Kit was around.
"Necromancy," Kit repeated. "That's - raising the dead, right?"
His voice was dangerously tight, and Ty wondered if Kit was thinking of his father. Johnny Rook had been a liar and a crook, but he'd been the only family Kit had known and Ty pitied him for that. He found himself wanting Kit to be part of their family, here at the Institute.
"Yes," Ty said. "But it's not really helping. I know it already."
Kit moved closer and took the book in his hands. "'A Booke of Darke Magicke,'" he read. "Pretty self-explanatory."
He jumped up nimbly, still holding the book, and looked around the library. "So do you just have a section on evil books or what?"
"It's over here," Ty said. He walked swiftly toward the shelves, then stopped himself and turned around to wait. Livvy had told him he should do that more often.
Kit caught up quickly and looked at the books around them. "Pretty dark stuff," he noted. Ty agreed - the books were all bound in sinister blues and blacks.
Ty took the book from Kit's hand and placed it back on the shelf. Kit's fingers brushed his hand, and Ty enjoyed the touch; he'd never been uncomfortable with sensual stimulation, even though most other interactions made him feel awkward. Kit's two fingers clasped around Ty's for a moment and let go, but Ty smiled at him.
"It's okay," he said. "I don't mind."
Kit's mouth opened slightly and he glanced down. Ty offered his hand.
"Um - " Kit hesitated but took Ty's hands. They were facing each other now, their interlocking fingers the only thing separating them.
"Your hands aren't shaking," Kit murmured. It was true: they were completely steady. "I see you moving them all the time, but now you've stopped."
Ty was taken aback that Kit had noticed such a thing. It was the sort of thing that he, Ty, would observe if he were someone else; but it was strange for Kit, who barely knew him, to have seen it.
Ty studied Kit's face. His mop of dirty blond hair, tanned, freckled cheeks, and deep blue Herondale eyes. Ty found himself staring into them, which was strange. He never liked looking directly into people's eyes, but somehow Kit's were different. Better.
"Have you - have you ever kissed anyone?" Kit asked softly.
"Yes," Ty said truthfully. Kit's face fell, and Ty wondered if he'd used a figure of speech. He continued, "My family. But I've never kissed on the lips."
Kit squeezed his eyes shut and Ty felt the boy's pulse speed up under his fingers. He was sure that meant Kit was nervous, but why would he be? The Kit opened his eyes, and the pupils were dilated drastically.
"Would you like to?" he whispered.
Somehow they'd moved closer, so their noses were almost touching. Kit's hands were warm and soft - not Shadowhunter hands. Ty nodded.
Instantly Kit pressed them together, and Ty almost cried out in surprise. He'd never thought anything could feel so good. Being hugged by Livvy, having his hair ruffled by Jules - here was another thing he could add to his list of ordinary gestures that felt extaordinary. Then Ty felt Kit smile. Okay, he thought. Not quite ordinary.
Kit's mouth was closed, but Ty opened his in curiosity. He like the feeling of Kit's chapped lips, and how Kit seemed so shy as he kissed.
"Whoa," Kit said breathlessly. He looked the way he had when Ty had held a knife to his throat. His cheeks were pink.
Ty's hands began to flutter, and he let go of Kit's hands. They stood together, Kit scuffing the ground with his toe. At last he asked quietly, "Did you like it?"
"Yes," Ty said immediately. "Of course I did." He put a hand on Kit's cheek and kissed him quickly again.
A loud whoop! cut through the air and Kit pulled back, startled. Livvy and Drusilla jumped down from the rafters and ran to meet them.
"I knew it!" Livvy was exclaiming. "I knew they liked each other." She catapulted into Ty and squealed in delight as Dru put her arms around both of them. Kit was blushing profusely, but Livvy and Dru pulled him in too and squeezed them together.
"I'm so glad," Livvy said. Kit looked delirious, and Ty wasn't much better himself; Livvy noticed immediately. "I'm sorry," she added. "It's just - it's perfect!"
"Don't tell," Kit said quickly. "I don't think my father would ... " He trailed off, remembering.
Ty suddenly had a strange urge to get to know this boy, in a way he usually only knew the pages of his books. He knew that people said he was broken, that he was only half a Shadowhunter. If that was true, then Kit would make him whole. And Ty - well, he could help Kit just as much as Kit would help him, if there was anything Kit wanted.
He smiled at Kit. "It's okay," Ty said. He kissed him again.