Chasing Ghosts (under construction)

chapter seventeen

As soon as Kit and Ty walk into the Institute for the first time in ages, they were greeted by an angry looking Julian. He stood at the bottom of the stairwell, his arms folded tightly around his chest. Kit could see the whitened knuckles and shivered a little. Emma stood next to him, one of her arms looped around his waist. Kit looked around at Ty, a panicked look in his eyes. Ty's face was entirely unreadable.
Thundering footsteps sounded from the kitchen, and Dru and Tavvy appeared from the doorway. Dru's face lit up when she saw Kit, and she ran up the stairs, launching herself into him.
"Kit!" She laughed. Kit wrapped his arms around her, a little stunned. Kit looked over and saw Ty pick Tavvy up and hug him, while Tavvy curled his fists in Ty's hair.
"It's good to see you too!" Kit laughed, pulling Dru off of him. Dru's cheeks were slightly damp, and her hair stuck to it.
"I missed you." She said quietly. Kit smiled pitifully and ruffled her hair. He felt a stab of remorse at his neglect of Dru. He couldn't imagine the loneliness Dru must have felt in the past months; losing her sister, her brother ignoring her, being stuck babysitting Tavvy. Kit silently promised Dru to include her more in everything he does.
"I missed you too." Kit replied. A tiny white lie to make Dru feel better. She smiled and stepped back down the stairs. Julian took her shoulder and pulled her behind him, as though Kit was a threat.
"Tiberius Blackthorn," Julian said, his voice low, his eyes boring into his younger brother.
"Hello, Julian," Ty said nonchalantly.
"You went against my specific instructions and threw yourself into an unknown world. Clary and Jace almost died in faerie. Emma and I almost died in faerie. It's a miracle the three of you made it out alive." Julian said. His voice wasn't raised, which scared Kit the most. Ty, somehow, looked entirely unfazed. This seemed to piss Julian off more.
"I love you Ty, and I don't want to see you hurt, or worse. But how am I supposed to trust that you won't go out and do something as reckless as this again? I've spoken to Mark. He should know better, but you should too."
Ty nods once.
"I don't regret what I did. Kit would have died if we hadn't done something. I'm not going to apologise. I'm not a child anymore."
Julian threw his hands in the air. Emma took one of his hands gently, calming him down.
"You're FIFTEEN Ty, for the Angel's sake, you're barely a teenager. I know you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I'm your brother, and you can talk to me about anything." Julian sighed defeated. Kit noticed the slight twitch in Ty's lip, a sign that he is becoming anxious. Kit wished to wrap this up quickly.
"I don't suppose I'll be able to stop from leaving this institute and doing what you want. Just tell me in future, and take Kit with you." Julian looked at Kit.
"I'm glad you're alright." He nodded. Kit nodded back a little awkwardly and watched as Julian and Emma walked away, Dru tagging along behind them scuffing her feet. Tavvy whacked Ty on the shoulder and Ty put him down.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Kit said. Ty sat down on the stairs.
"No, I suppose it wasn't."
Kit sat down next to him, close enough that their knees bounced against each other.
"You alright?" Kit asked, watching Ty with concern.
"Yes. Julian doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm fragile, incapable." Ty said.
"That's not true at all. You've proved to Julian, to all of us, just how strong you are. You show with your fighting, your brain..."
"I was weak when Livvy died. I was blind to what I was doing. I dragged you into something even I wasn't aware of and I put you and everyone in danger." Kit was stunned by Ty's frankness.
"Yes, but you were grieving. You had just lost one of the most important people in your life, you wouldn't be a human if you continued to think rationally. Nobody blames you for what you did." Ty looked over at Kit.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No, I'm saying it because I love you, and I'm being honest. Just like I'm being honest when I tell you that you are entirely stupid for thinking that anyone would think less of you for grieving over a loved one. It all comes from a place of love." Kit thumped his chest for emphasis, and Ty chuckled. It astounded Kit just how easily he was able to tell Ty he loved him, when mere months ago, the idea of admitting it made him feel sick. This was character development.
Kit whacked the stairs with the palms of his hands and stood up. He jumped down a couple of steps before turning around and raising his hand, beckoning for Ty.
"We live to see another day. What say we get a drink to celebrate?" Kit said in a strange British accent. Ty grinned and clasped Kit's hand.