To Be Where You Are

 Kit woke up from his dreamless sleep, shivering. The cold wind, coming through the window, blew whispers on his ears.

 He checked the hour on his wristwatch – a gift from Jem and Tessa when Kit turned 18 -, carefully placed on the nightstand, itsgolden arrows marked three in the morning.

 Groaning, he fell back on his pillow.

 Kit kept staring at the ceiling of his room, lost in thoughts, until he was driven back by distant cries.

 Mina.

 Kit jumped out of bed, grabbed the nearest seraph blade and ran to his sister's bedroom.

 He found Mina on her bed, still sleeping, with tears running through her cheeks. Kit put the blade aside and got closer to her.

 "Min," he whispered, gently stroking Mina's hair, "Min, wake up."

 Her dark eyes flew open. When she saw Kit, Mina threw her small arms around her brother's neck.

 "The monsters again," she whispered between a sob.

 "Shh, it's okay, Min." he lifted her up on his arms, caressing her backs. "It was just a nightmare. Everything is alright now."

 "They were after you, Kit! They wanted to take you from us," the tears didn't stop falling.

 "Don't worry, Min, I'm not leaving you." Kit's lips twisted in a half smile, "If the monsters ever tried that, I'd have defeated them with my deadly charm."

 Mina chuckled, and Kit thought that was the most precious sound he had ever heard. She opened her eyes wide as if she just remembered something, "Oh! There were a dark haired boy and a girl with you. They were fighting the monsters."

 Kit's heart pounded, "Mina, what—"

 "Kit?" Jem appeared at the door, noticing them seraph blade on the floor. Tessa was by his side, looking around the room.

 "Are you and Mina alright?" Tessa asked, cupping Kit's face, searching for any sign of bruises.

 "We're fine, mom. Min was having a nightmare." he told them.

 Tessa sighed and caressed her daughter's hair. Instantly, Mina relaxed on Kit's arms, "My sweet flower, you're so young to be haunted by bad dreams. But it seems you're well assisted."

 Mina smiled, still chained to her brother's neck.

 "Do you want us to take it from here?" Jem asked.

 "No, it's okay, I don't mind. I'll put her back to sleep."

 Tessa smiled, her eyes were gleaming. She pressed a kiss on Kit's forehead and on Mina's cheek.

 Jem took his wife's hands between his, a mutual understanding crossing his face.

 Tessa left the room and Kit saw her drying off a tear.

 "She was remembering them, wasn't she?" Kit asked Jem, who only nodded. "How do you manage it? The pain."

 "'We suffer for love, because love is worth it.'" Jem said, his eyes were distant. "My parabatai once said that to his son." Jem paused,looking deep into Kit's eyes. He took a breath, "The pain will always be there, Kit. We learn to live with it. And the feeling of missing someone."

 Kit felt his stomach turn.

 Jem got closer and took Mina's hair away from her face. "How are you managing it?"

 "I—" Kit swallowed hard, "I guess the same as you." Jem smiled weakly at him. Kit continued, "But I can't stop thinking if—if he—" Kit closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "am I, forgotten?"