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dontmindmyshadowhunting · 3 years

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Kit & Ty’s reunion (Fan Fiction) - Part 2 - A sense of déjà-vu

Characters by @cassandraclare. The events take place three years after the Dark Artifices.

Kit had disappeared into his bedroom after training, in order to shower and dress for dinner. He tried five different shirts, before settling for the first one. He kept pacing, cursing, until he gathered up the courage to walk out of his hiding place.

When he finally came into the Institute’s dining room, Kit realized that he had no reason to be nervous after all. Ty was nowhere to be seen. There were two Centurions though, sitting at the table, with their backs very straight, as if a cord was pulling them upward. Was that part of the training at the Scholomance? Kit wondered.

One of them introduced himself as Anush Joshi. He was tall and dark haired, and had a friendly face, Kit thought.

The other was a girl, with white blond hair. Kerstin Lindquist. She had apparently grown up at the Stockholm Institute. She was very pretty, and looked more like a Barbie doll than a Shadowhunter. But Kit had learnt that, where Shadowhunters were concerned, looks could be deceiving. Deadly so.

They were both wearing casual clothes, rather than their Centurions’ uniforms, and that helped Kit warm up to them. So far, his encounters with Centurions had not been the friendliest. That was an understatement. He could only count one of them he actually liked. Well, “liked” was a big word. Diego Rosales, who was now the Inquisitor.

They made polite conversation with Simon and Isabelle, who had joined them. Clary and Jace were apparently caught up in Institute business.

“So, any juicy news from the Scholomance?” asked Isabelle, as they were having dessert.

Kit saw Anush and Kerstin cast an uneasy glance at each other.

“Not much fun, actually” said Anush, closing the subject.

“Is Tiberius getting along well with everyone? I know Maximilien Verlac holds him in high esteem”.

“He is the best of us” Anush said simply. “He actually makes us all look like sword-wielding idiots.” Kit couldn’t help but notice the fondness in Anush’s tone as he was speaking of Ty.

“Yes, but what about friends?” enquired Simon.

“He has friends. We are his friends” said Kerstin defensively. “But he does keep to himself most of the time. Himself and Irene of course.”

Irene? Kit felt his heart squeezing into his chest. Blood pounded in his ears, a mixture of dread and rage.

“Oh, I heard about Irene” said Isabelle, her eyes glittering. “She’s a Carpathian Lynx right? Catarina Loss told me all about her. Where is she now?”

Kit felt relief wash over him. He hoped no one had noticed his emotional rollercoaster. Wait- Tiberius had a Lynx?

“Yes, well, Catarina Loss is the one taking care of her, while Tiberius is away” said Anush.

“So I guess he doesn’t have a girlfriend” Isabelle pursued. Kit made a silent prayer to thank Isabelle and tried very much to look uninterested.

“Well, he is definitely popular with the female crowd” said Kerstin. “Although he is gentle and kind, he is as difficult to approach as a wild animal. And girls do love a challenge. Better yet, a mystery. Of course, being drop-dead gorgeous is certainly a bonus. But he is not interested.”

“What do you mean, he is not interested?”

“Girls – even boys – gathered the courage to ask him out, but he never said yes to any of them. Well, from what I’ve heard. Tiberius is a gentleman and doesn’t talk about those things. Anyway, it seems that after a while, people stopped trying. Some even started calling him “the marble statue”. Beautiful as a greek god, but cold, emotionless” Kerstin sounded angry. “Rejection and jealousy make people spiteful”. Kit decided he was growing to like that Kerstin girl.

“Of course, people who actually know him, know that this could not be farther from the truth” said Anush. Kerstin nodded vigorously. Kit felt a twinge. How well did they know Ty? Well enough, it seemed. Was any of them secretly dating him? Was that the reason they were uneasy earlier?

“Talking about Ty, will he not be joining us?” asked Simon.

“Sometimes he gets engrossed in work. Skips dinner. I will bring him food later”. It was Anush who had spoken.

“I’ll do it” said Kit, speaking for the first time in a while, before he could stop himself.

Everyone at the table turned to look at him. So much for being inconspicuous.

They all started heading to their rooms a few minutes later and Kit exchanged briefly with Simon in order to know which bedroom had been assigned to Ty.

*****

Kit tried to ignore his growing excitement and the hard beating in his chest as he hurried down the scarcely lit corridors of the Institute. He was just turning around a corner when he collided with a tall figure. They both stumbled on the floor, Kit landing on top of the stranger. Kit lifted himself on his elbows to take a look at his victim. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized who it was, even in the darkness. Not a stranger at all.

“Kit” said the not-stranger.

“Ty.”

Kit moved then, but did not stand. Instead, he kneeled so that he was sitting directly on Ty’s chest.

“Does this feel like déjà-vu to you?” Kit was relieved and surprised he had managed to sound calm and casual. That’s it. Get it together. Stay cool. He flashed his best smile. “Although, it seems, the tables have turned.”

Despite the dimness, Kit could not miss the two perfect V shaped eyebrows raising as Ty answered. “If so, I make a poor criminal. I didn’t even have time to fill a backpack with stolen goods before I got caught.”

Kit’s smile grew even wider. When had Ty learnt to respond to jokes? To make jokes?

“Didn’t you? Is that a stolen knife you are carrying or are you just really happy to see me?”

A look of confusion crossed Ty’s face. Well, maybe not all jokes.

Kit stood up, lending a hand to Ty, who gratefully accepted it. As their hands touched, Kit felt a little fire igniting in his body. Well not that little. And it was spreading. Stop. Stop it now. Stay calm. Stay cool. You’ve got this.

“So, I was actually looking for you. As you did not join us for dinner, I wanted to bring dinner to you. Your friend Anush told me sometimes you skipped meals. But not on my watch. The Angel forbid my bodyguards pass out on me, when I am in such grave danger” said Kit, in what he hoped was a conversational tone.

They were both standing now, facing each other. Although Kit had grown several inches in the past years, Ty was still taller than him. Damn. Would he ever stop growing? If Julian was any indicator though, Ty’s height was not a surprise. He was leaner than Julian, though not as lean as he used to be, his muscles had developed and his shoulders were broader and… Kit was grateful for the cover of darkness while he was making this assessment.

Speaking of which, Ty’s gaze seemed to be moving over Kit, mainly focusing on his hands, searching for something? That’s when it struck Kit. Food. He had just announced to Ty that he had brought him dinner. Kit wanted to smack himself. What kind of idiot finds a lame excuse to go see the guy he has a crush on and actually shows up without the excuse.

“You can see I have no food on me” said Kit, before he could take it back. Kit wanted to smack himself. Again.

Ty just smiled. “I can see that you brought the dinner I was going to eat before you came to see me.”

“Says the criminal without the booty”.

“Order out?”

“I have a better idea” said Kit. No need to tell Ty he already had dinner. He could eat twice. He needed the fuel. Right?

[To be continued.]

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