19k One-Shot: Kit, Tessa & Jem
April 20 2013
The sun outside was setting. It cast a warm and soft orange glow through the kitchen’s ample window, onto the large, circle-shaped, wooden table. Kit squinted at the ray of light that hit his blue eyes. He raised his gaze to Tessa, who sat on the other end of the table. He softly shook his head. “Please don’t do this.”
“I have to, Kit.” Her face was impartial of feeling, and her voice had no actual tone behind it. “I have to.”
Kit leaned his forearms on the table. “No, you don’t. Please, Tessa, I am begging you. It doesn’t have to end this way. Don’t let it end this way.”
“I’m so sorry.” She whispered, and let the card fall on the table, face up. There it stood, in all its glory, the ultimate end. The black and white card flashed in mockery, the +4 sign laughing at Kit’s misery. He looked up at Tessa. Her head was leaning to the side, and she was softly shaking it, a small smile playing in her lips. “Uno.” She said.
Kit threw his cards on the table and dropped his forehead on it with a small thud. He groaned loudly. After a couple seconds, he lifted his head again and pointed his finger at Tessa. “You’re evil.” At that point, Tessa’s smile had widened into a pearly white one.
“What just happened?” Jem sat on one of the sides of the table, placed between Kit and Tessa. He was staring at the +4 card still glinting in the sunset’s glow. “That was the most intense and most dramatic game of cards I have ever seen.”
Tessa laughed while cleaning up the cards. “You think that was intense and dramatic? You should’ve seen Will and Matthew play Go Fish. The literal meaning of intense drama.”
“How bad could it be?” Kit asked.
Tessa pulled up the sleeve of her t-shirt. “See this scar?” There was a small white uneven scar along the inside of her arm. “Family game night.”
“Will and the kids were that competitive?” Kit leaned back in his seat.
Jem snorted. “Yeah, they’re the competitive ones.” He muttered.
“Pardon?” Tessa pursed her lips.
Jem shook his head. “Nothing, dear.”
“Uh-oh. Jem’s pulling the ‘dear’ card. You must have screwed up real bad.” Kit crossed his arms. Jem threw him a grin.
“I’m not competitive.” Tessa’s eyes had widened slightly, and her eyebrows were raised. Her tone was sure but daring.
Jem took a card from the table and inspected it. “Of course not.”
“Say it.” Jem bit down on his lip to keep from smiling. “Say I’m not competitive.”
“You’re not competitive.”
Tessa was staring at him with humour in her eyes, and yet this was still one of the worst fights Kit had seen them have. “Look me in the eyes, and tell me I’m not competitive.”
Jem looked up at her. “I cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Because that would be lying, and I could never lie to you.”
“Aw that’s sweet.” Kit interjected. Tessa threw him a glare. “…tly horrible.” Jem looked at him, barely able to contain his smile. “I’m definitely on Tessa’s side. How could you ever think that she’s competitive.” Sarcasm dripped on every word he said, perking up one of the sides of Jem’s lips.
“That’s right, I’m not competitive.” Tessa was either too worked up to notice the sarcasm or had chosen to ignore it.
“Kit, let me tell you a story.” Jem leaned forward in his seat. Kit rested his elbows on the table and held his head upon his palms. “Once upon a time, many many years ago, on a regular uneventful night, I was called to the London Institute on a medical emergency. When I arrived at the Institute, I found our friends sitting around playing a card game. On the corner of the room, was Gabriel Lightwood, a large gash on the side of his head, and bleeding profusely. Apparently, someone had hit him on the head with a massive book. I had to give him stitches. Guess the someone.”
Kit fake scratched his chin, as if deep in thought. “Could it have been someone that goes by the name of Tessa Gray?” He turned his gaze to her. She was nibbling on her thumbnail, a faint blush to her cheeks.
“It was an accident.” She said, in a low voice.
Jem smirked at that. “Really? An 800-page book accidentally flew from your hand, and travelled two meters in the diagonal to the other side of the table, hitting Gabriel, who happened to be your partner in the game, completely by accident?”
She shrugged. “We live in a world of wonders.” Jem chuckled and shook his head.
“Wait, but why did you ‘accidentally’ threw the book at him at all?”
“Apparently he caused them to lose the game.” Jem mocked.
“That card was clearly a 3. And the bastard confused it for an 8 the entirety of the game. You would have to be the stupidest person on Earth to not see it was a 3. You would have to be the dumbest, blindest-“Tessa cut herself off when she saw the looks the boys were throwing her. “Again, totally an accident.”
Jem and Kit burst out laughing. The sun was barely visible outside, and the kitchen was almost in darkness. Tessa waved her hand, and the lights turned on, flooding the kitchen in a soft white glow. After settling down, Kit gave them a questioning look. “Wait, didn’t you say you just went there to give him stitches?” Jem nodded. Kit’s face scrunched up in even more confusion. “Wouldn’t an iratze fix that? Why would you call for a Silent Brother?”
Jem and Tessa shared a look and giggled. “Will did things a little differently.”
“He used to call me for the minimal sign of hurt.” Jem shook his head with fondness. “Even if it was just a paper cut.” He smiled widely. “The Silent Brothers keep a record of every time they are called in the Silent City. They made a separate room for Will’s records only. It’s like a museum down there.”
Kit snorted. “Seriously?” Jem nodded. “Uh. The Silent Brothers are surprisingly humorous about the situation.”
“It got even worse after the kids got old enough to join in.” Tessa rolled her eyes.
“What did they do to those records?”
“Lumped them in with Will’s.” Jem shrugged. “They could tell.”
“You must have some fun stories about this.” Kit directed this at Tessa.
Her smile turned sad. “I don’t really remember a lot. I didn’t even remember this story until you brought it up.” She turned to Jem, who stretched his hand towards her and took hers, rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. “My memory of those days is like a light fog around the house. I know what’s supposed to be there, but everything is too blurry to make out.”
“Is it easier for Silent Brothers?”
Jem nodded. “Yes. We have special runes that help us remember everything in great detail. But ever since I left the Brotherhood that my memories have progressively become blurrier.”
Kit bit his lip and looked out the window. “Does it make it easier? Getting married, having kids, falling in love. Does it make eternity easier? Is any of it actually worth it?”
Tessa studied him. She noted the sharp intake of breath as he waited for an answer, noted the way his fingers fidgeted against one another, the way his gaze was focused on everything and nothing all at once. She’d seen that look before, on specific people. She could feel their presence on the pictures that hung behind her on the wall. She blinked away the tears that threatened to escape her eyes. “It’s different for everyone.”
“I’m not asking everyone. I’m asking you.”
The pearl bracelet around her wrist felt heavy and tight. She shook it off. “There is no easier or harder. There’s just time. And time is never enough. Not even eternal time. Married, single. Kids, childless. Having one true love, slutting it up around town. It doesn’t matter. Time is never enough. So why not spend it with the people you love?”
Kit breathed out slowly and worried at his bottom lip. Eventually he spoke up. “What if the people you love, don’t love you back?”
Tessa turned her gaze to the same direction he was set to. “Someone once told me ‘It’s all right to love someone who doesn’t love you back, as long as they’re worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it.’” Tessa looked at him again, a small smile on her lips. “Does he? Deserve it?”
She could feel Jem giving her a confused look. Kit looked at her quickly, his eyes widened in shock. Tessa didn’t look away, nor did she change her expression. Kit stared at her for a few seconds, before whispering. “He does.”
“Then you shouldn’t feel bad about loving him. You should never feel bad about loving someone.”
Kit gave her a small nod. He leaned back in his seat, the intensity of the moment worn off and his usual relaxed demeanour returning. “Who told you that? They sound like one of those dope motivational posters that school therapists hang on their walls.”
Tessa snorted. She racked her brain, but everything came back blank. “I can’t remember.”
“Do you remember who they said it about? Maybe it’ll jog your memory?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing.”
“Do you remember who they meant for you?”
She smiled and leaned closer to Jem. “There’s only two options there.”
Jem grinned and leaned forward to kiss her. They heard Kit groan. “Ugh, we get it. You three have an epic love story that makes all of us peasants have impossibly high standards. Blah blah blah. I want a rematch.”
Tessa broke the kiss giggling. “Sure. I would love to watch you lose again.”
Kit raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Totes not competitive.” Tessa threw him a glare while Jem laughed.
They settled back into the fun teasing environment that reigned supreme during their last game, the memories of black haired beauties that were too far to reach lodging in the back of their minds.
I’d completely forgotten I wrote this thank you to the person that reblogged this for reminding me of it
