the storm inside | kitty (boyxboy)

27 | The Land Under the Hill

They found Alec, Emma and Julian at the LA Institute, then proceeded to one of the entrances to fey land that Magnus knew. On the way, Magnus had explained everything to Julian and Emma.

They had left Tavvy behind, so now their group's numbers were back to six. From his judging of Emma and Julian's expressions, their last encounter of the Seelie Court had not been a good one.

The Seelie Court was ever-changing, as usual. Today, it was of a sort of wintery theme—thick, white snow blanketed the Court, but never obstructed the pathways. Curtains were sewn together from snowflakes.

The beauty of the Court never ceased to amaze.

It was snowing softly when they reached the Court, Alec having seized a guard and demanding an audience. The Queen sat in her throne, regal as always, her fur coat falling to the floor.

The Seelie Queen's fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders, locks of hair in her fingers as twirled them in one hand, her eyes cold and—was that fury?

"What do you want?" she said, her voice crisp, annoyance clear in it. "I don't have all day. Speak your business."

"What we want is very simple," said Julian, ever the negotiator, stepping forward. "We've heard you have the Gold Texts of the Living in your possession. We would like to have it."

"Oh?" the Queen said, arching an eyebrow. "What do I get in return?"

"We will try our best to fulfil your desire."

"I have only one request: Find me my son." The Queen folded her arms across her chest challengingly.

"Ash... Ash Morgenstern?" Julian looked a bit startled. "Is he not with you?"

"No," the Queen snapped. "Are you going to help me, or shall I enlist the help of... what was his name again? Ah. Yes. Barnabas Hale."

"No!" Kit cried out, then covered his mouth quickly. Ty pulled him back to where he was standing, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it lightly. The warmth comforted Kit, and Kit calmed down.

"Fine," said Julian tightly. "We'll find your son."

They left the room, a faerie escort leading them out of fey lands. Julian was frowning and looking quite upset, the way he always did when he had gotten a deal that he didn't like.

Alec eyed the entire faerie kingdom with disgust, probably remembering the terrible Dark war they had all been through. Magnus had slung a casual arm 'round his boyfriend's shoulder, as if to reassure Alec that it was all over.

Ty looked positively explosive. Kit knew that it was the Dark war which took away his sister, and for that, Ty resented the faeries. Kit only wished he could remember more, so that at least he would be able to comfort Ty.

They arrived back at the Institute, where Ty promptly pulled Kit into Ty's room, drawing a Silence rune and locking the door. He sat on his bed, legs dangling off. Kit did the same, puzzled.

"Christopher," Ty said suddenly, and Kit felt a sudden jerking in his chest. An image crossed his mind, quickly, but Kit still saw the gist of it. It was Ty, outside the Accords Hall, his grey eyes fierce and strong. Kit blinked twice, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Did you really mean it?" Ty's sharp voice cut through the haze in Kit's mind.

"Mean what?"

"When you said—said all that stuff when we were locked in the house." Ty's fingers interlocked nervously. "Or did you—did you say it because you thought we were going to die?"

Kit laughed. "Is this what this is all about?"

"No—" Ty stopped. "Well, partially. It's just... I know, you've reassured me dozens of times. I know, I still shouldn't be having doubts. But sometimes I feel like you're only doing this because you feel pressured to. Not because you want to."

"Then tell me, Ty," said Kit. "Who in their right mind would fall in love with someone twice, if they didn't want to? Who would, through all the memory loss, still yearn for what they had?"

"I don't know, maybe they would—"

"They wouldn't, Tiberius," Kit whispered. He shifted to fall onto the bed. There was a slight depression in the bed and he saw that Ty had kicked off his shoes and socks and had curled up onto the bed.

Kit bent over to remove his shoes and socks, then moved beside Ty, the tips of his toes touching Ty's. After a moment's hesitation, Kit reached for Ty's hand and took it.

"Ty, no one would ever feel pressured to be with you." His fingers moved across the back of Ty's hand in circular motions. "I can't believe you would ever say that."

Ty's hand suddenly gripped Kit's tighter, pulling Kit towards him. "Hold me."

The words created a knife-like sensation in Kit's head. They sounded so familiar, yet so distant and faraway. He knew someone had said those words to him before, but he just couldn't place it.

Kit's arm curved around Ty's shoulder, pressing Ty to him. Ty turned and pressed himself into Kit's chest, his black hair tickling Kit's chin. "Don't worry," Kit said, more to himself than to Ty. "I'm here for you. I'll always be."

Ty laughed, an angelic, melodious laugh that resonated in Kit's ears. It had been so long since he'd heard it. "That is so mushy, Kit."

Kit grinned crazily. "But it made you laugh, didn't it?"

"Maybe." Ty shook his head, looking up at Kit. "Maybe it did."

Kit bent down, his forehead touching Ty's. Finally, on this bed, he was taller than Ty. He could look down at Ty. "Don't you understand? You mean more to me than anything in this whole world."

"Did you just seriously quote Peter Pan?"

Kit shrugged. "Seriously, I meant it, okay?"

"You unoriginal idiot," Ty said, poking Kit's arm.

Kit swatted Ty's hand away, his legs crawling up Ty's waist. "But I'm your unoriginal idiot, right?"

"By the Angel, I missed this." Ty's breath caught; his fingers twisted around Kit's shirt. "I missed you, dammit."

"I'll make sure that never happens again, because you better be happy or screw it, I'll start flipping tables—"

"I'm happy now."

"Are you?"

"You're here and that's all I need to be happy."

***

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~𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓭, 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓮~