#iwacu chapter 1

[ilovetyblackthorn]

“I will always choose you." | A KitTy Fic | Chapter 1 - Home is where family is.

“I will always choose you.”

“You were always a liar. Why didn’t you choose me?”

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Chapter 1

Los Angeles Institute.

Ty’s home.

Home. What a foreign word, after living so long at the Scholomance. After sharing his home away from home for so long, Ty didn’t know if he was relieved or not at the prospect of having his old room back. After living so long with a roommate, he didn’t know how long it would take him to settle down entirely, alone, without having to drown out Anush’s never-ending chatter with his music or waking up on his right side and seeing Anush’s peaceful face asleep. They were the little things that he called part of his ‘home’ like the posters of boy bands on the wall, paint splatters on his clothes, watches and other knick-knacks that didn’t belong to him, all the courtesy of Anush, who he once called his boyfriend, but now, his best friend.

Of course, the best friend part hadn’t changed; apart from Livvy, Anush was one of the only people who understood Ty.

Apart from a certain blonde who had run for the hills for reasons Ty didn’t comprehend still, but he was not going to think of that.

No. Thinking of… him would do no good. It would just cause a breakdown, and Ty couldn’t risk that.

No. Because Julian had just returned for good from his trip around the world with Emma, who, believe it or not, was already his fiancee.

That was another change that Ty had to get used to. But somehow, he didn’t think it would be much of one. Jules and Emma were already like a married couple, even when they were parabatai, and Ty had always suspected there was something more than platonic love between them. But he found out - they all did - that they had been in love with each other all along, and was that really a shock for him? No. Just that they PDA’d a lot more.

Ty stood on the steps of his home and took a deep breath of the salt-dissolved air that he had missed so much in the early months of his stay at the Scholomance, and felt the familiarity of the atmosphere settle into his body. Although Ty had changed quite a lot in the years he spent in the cold mountains of the academy, the Institute had not, and that was very reassuring for him. He felt grounded here. Confident, and no longer helpless, as he was so many times in the past. He was a Centurion. He knew what to do.

Ty walked forward and put his hand on the door. Immediately, it swung open.

A boy stood in front of him. Ty tried not to gawk as he looked on, stunned. Okay, maybe not visiting in five years was a bad idea.

Because the boy he saw in front of him, with blue-green eyes and tousled brown hair, classic Blackthorn look, was definitely not the youngest brother he remembered. Octavian, or Tavvy as they called him, had certainly grown into his looks and still was growing.

It was rare when Ty ever was surprised. But seeing his youngest brother, now thirteen, stand in front of him with an unreadable look on his face was like a punch to Ty’s stomach.

He had not thought of this when he’d decided, Screw the odds, and went off to study at Scholomance, partially because he’d always wanted to, and partially because of not being able to be in the places he knew he’d been in with Kit, but it seemed he had missed out on a lot. There was a curious light in Tavvy’s eyes - could he even call him that? - but other than that, he could not read him at all. Octavian’s Blackthorn cheekbones, mouth and jaws had developed enough to give him a handsome roguish look that immediately reminded him of his own father, uncle, and older brother. Octavian was the spitting image of a Blackthorn of their generation, and as Ty tried to locate his voice, Octavian said tightly, “Ty.”

No greeting. No “hello” or “good to see you”s. Just ‘Ty.’ There was something definitely wrong here. “Hi… Tavvy.”

Tavvy’s jaw ticked. “That’s not my name anymore. Not that you would know, of course.” There was a venomous undertone to his voice. “It’s Octavian.”

Ah. I guessed correctly. “I’m sorry. Octavian. Hello, brother.”

“Am I?” Octavian said abruptly. “Am I your brother? Because last I checked, brothers actually care if one of them lives or dies.”

As the statement sank in, Ty flinched slightly and frowned deeply, hurt seeping into his heart, along with bewilderment. “What do you mean? Of course, I care whether you live or die, don’t be ridiculous Tavvy.”

As the old nickname rolled off his tongue, Ty knew it was a mistake. Octavian’s sea-green eyes darkened with rage, and... betrayal? “It’s Octavian. And I’m not being ridiculous. Stop treating me like I’m a child, brother.” The last word was a mocking snarl, and although Ty had a few inches on Octavian, he clearly felt the waves of rage and intimidating wrath roiling off him. Ty was speechless. This was not the Octavian he knew.

Something was terribly wrong. And I think it’s my fault.

“Do you know why I asked you if you were really my brother?” Octavian said, his voice cracking as some emotion penetrated his brother’s emotional walls, and Ty found his own eyes darting on his brother’s face and finally resting on his eyes. It chilled him to the bone to see hurt swirling in there, along with a healthy dose of sadness and… loneliness. Octavian leaned in, the glaring intensity of his gaze ramming into Ty like a firetruck, and said, “Because.”

Ty’s eyes widened as his brother leaned back again, the unreadable look rippling across his face again. “Because?”

But he never got to know the answer as a blonde woman barrelled down the hallway leading to the front door and yelled, “Ty!”

And as abruptly as he had appeared in front of Ty, Octavian vanished again, but Ty couldn’t think of it again, not when the entire family was running to greet him, without the obvious exception. Ty was shaken but he quickly put it out of his mind. Octavian could wait. Now… he really felt how much he’d missed his family.

Home is where family is.

With that thought, Ty let Emma embrace his way back into his own world.

****

Okay, it’s official. Not visiting in five years was definitely the worst idea I’ve ever had.

Not that I haven’t had many.

Immediately a familiar face made an appearance in Ty’s mind, and Ty balled his fists as the betrayal that arose every time he thought of him, resurfaced and made his stomach churn. Shoving that thought out of his head, he followed Julian, Helen and Aline down the very familiar but yet very alien hallway. Helen and Aline had made a few slight changes to the Institute whilst running the place, and Ty had to admit, the now polished and sophisticated interior was a pleasant scene, although a little foreign.

It would certainly take a while to get used to though.

“Ty?” Julian said, looking over his shoulder. He had a perpetual smile on his face, as well as a tan. Ty noted that Julian must have become paler whilst staying in London; he and Emma were both sporting newer tans. London hasn’t changed then. “Yes?”

“Do you like the modifications?”

Caring, protective Julian. Always looking after everyone around him, and making sure they were okay. Ty felt a sudden rush of affection for his older brother. “I do, I suppose. It looks elegant now. Soothing. It’ll take a while to get used to but I’ll be fine. I like it.”

Julian smiled widely at him, as did Helen. “I’m glad you do, brother,” she said, reaching over and touching his shoulder lightly. He smiled at her. Aline, as usual, looked confident and proud beside Helen. “Of course he does, honey. We picked soothing colours and familiar things just for him.”

Oh, so that’s why they demanded to know which colours I liked and found soothing, Ty thought, smiling internally. It pleased him to know that even though everything else had changed, their love hadn’t.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed they’d already reached the training room and stopped only when Julian’s voice filtered through. “I think, out of all the places in the Institute, the training room has had the most changes.”

Ty looked up, frowning slightly. Julian inclined his head. “Wanna look?”

Ty nodded.

Julian then pushed open the door.

And there stood Kit Herondale, holding a crossbow in his hands.

Oh… God.

Julian Blackthorn, THIS IS A CHANGE?!

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LMAO. no really. lmaoooo.

tagging @gayforcarstairsgirls @buttcrflys-rose @ghafa-dale @ddepressedbookworm @tinypenguinenemy @the-enchanted-dreamer @khaleesiofalicante @blackasmysoul @noah-herondale-lightwood @gabtapia @roseberrylight @bookwormslounge @usual-disaster-bi @blindbandit1515 lmk if u wanna be added/removed from taglist!

here's chapter 1! hope u like it, cause it's my first time writing a longer fanfic. :D

[khaleesiofalicante]

Um Dani? I have a question about LBAF.

So. Remember in LoS, when Malec came to the rescue of the Blackthorns? Tavvy, Rafe and Max were made to stay together as in here:

Magnus glanced fleetingly at Alec. “After we eat we need to send the children to Idris. Diana’s standing by on the other side to help us keep the Portal open, and I don’t want her to have to wait too long.”

It was kind of him, Julian thought, to phrase it as if sending the children to Alicante was a favor Magnus was doing Diana, rather than a precaution taken to protect them. Tavvy skipped along with Rafe and Max to the dining room and Julian felt a pang, realizing how much his little brother had missed having friends close to his own age, even if he hadn’t known it.

So here's the confusion:

In LBAF, you mention that Rafe and Anjali are of the same age, aka teenagers. But in Canon, it's written that around QoAaD, Divya and Diego had just started to realize their friendship meant more. Like, Diego had a slight inkling, since he was still not over Cristina. In QoAaD, it says that Diego was brightly chatting with Divya about something (nerd stuff probably), which means that they are a huuuuge way from getting married and having kids.

Also, let's face it, Rafe's around 8 years here.

Divya and Diego are around 18 here.

They have a 10-year age gap!

Surely Anjali would be around 9-10 years younger than Rafe, provided the lovebirds do marry within two years after the Cold War.

Of course, I know we can manipulate Canon to our liking in our fanfics, but this kinda seems like a stretch?

Also. Selena and Lexi.

You say they are around 4 years younger than Rafe.

Clary was supposed to marry Jace in the Wicked Powers, five years in the future. Which means Rafe is now around 13 years. Aaaand seeing how badassy Clary is, I don't think Clary would have kids that early.

I mean, yeah, she could, but it's Clary. It just seems unlikely.

Selena and Lexi would be... around 15 years younger than my bebe Rafe?

Also. Georgia.

Isabelle is same as Clary, I think, she would want to have kids, but not as early (her case is different since she's already married, but I think she would have a kid later, not that early). Not to mention, if Gigi is as old as the twins, Rafe's 14-15 years older than her too?

David could be adopted when he is adopted, but he's still be around 9-10 years younger 😭. (Mavid could still work, since Max's aging would slow down but again, we don't know when that would happen 😭)

Lmao timelines are so confusing at times.

But, I swear, I have nothing against LBAF. I love the gang, I love Rafe and Anjali and the enemies-to-lovers trope, I love Max And David and their pure love, I love Lexi and her chaos, Liv and her drama, and their fake dating trope (!!!), I love Selena and her Magnus Fandom™, and all their chaos, and I love you, but I was just really confused. Feel free to delete this ask if you want, go right ahead. But I was doing a deeply thought out research on LBAF vs Canon and was just terribly confused.

Again mentioning this, we can bend Canon to how we see or want it (like I did in IWACU) but again, Rafe would have to be Peter Pan or go back in time, which I... don't think he does.

Lmao, I did delve right into this, didn't I?

(Also, TMI, but I was thinking about this in the shower 😂😂😂)

Oof okay. Not you making me do math on a Sunday.

Rafael and Anjali - Rafe was actually five years old in Qoaad. Max was three. Tavvy was seven.

And Anjali is adopted. She would have been around 7 when they adopted her. It's mentioned in part 01.

"Jace knew many children had been orphaned by the war with the cohort - like Diego’s daughter, who had been adopted from the Chennai Institute."

- Chapter 1.

“But how could you not care?” Selena asked, feeling utterly confused. “Don’t you want to go back?”

“I lost my parents in Idris,” Anjali said, her voice low. “I don’t ever want to go back there. The cohort can set it on fire, and I would gladly watch it burn.”

- Chapter 3.

Lexi and Selena -

I completely agree that Clary has the vibes of someone who wants to wait longer to have kids, but for the sake of the story, they had the twins right after they got married. I don't think that's a stretch tho.

The twins are only six years younger than Rafael. Which means they were born one year after the event of TDA (again, he was only 5 at this time)

Same goes with Gigi. She is seven years younger than him, not 14-15 lol. I feel like you have confused Rafael's age or got the years wrong or something.

And David and Max are the same age. They are both 19. I don't understand where the 10 year age gap came from....

Let me know if it makes more sense to you now :)