Winter days were short and getting shorter and it was something Jimmy hadn't noticed properly until they reached the city of Clermont-Ferrand at 5 p.m. and it was already dark out, like France was in some light devouring black hole.

Kyle had been right. The drive hadn't taken long, but they'd stopped for gas, then lunch, and treated it like a field trip. Eventually, they'd all taken turns dozing off in the car after their sleepless night, which hadn't exactly been helpful.

But even if he hadn't made up for the missed sleep, once they reached the town and checked into their hotel, Jimmy had to admit that he didn't feel like going to bed. Jessie and Kay were lively and eager to visit, and one pleading look was all it took to convince him that it was a great idea.

"Come on, it will be fun," Kay said, batting her eyelashes at Kyle.

"I'm sure it would," Jerry answered with a shrug, "but the lack of sleep gave me a horrid headache so I'd much rather nurse it in the lobby with a cup of tea then head to bed."

"You made me ride in the trunk where I couldn't sleep," Billy said, pointing an accusing finger at Kyle. "So I'm joining Jerry for tea."

"Tea is a lovely idea," Tina piped in, clasping her hands together over the novel she'd brought from one of the gas stations. "And the lobby is so nice with a lovely view of the street."

"Jessie and I are going out," Jimmy announced, earning a side hug from Jessie. He squinted at Kyle though, wishing his brother wouldn't back out and leave Kay disappointed.

"I think we should rest while we can," Kyle said, his tone careful and hesitant.

Jerry nodded in agreement. "I must say, I love how level headed you are. Good job."

Kyle squirmed at the compliment and turned to Kay. She looked ready to burst into tears of frustration. Jimmy clenched his fists, reigning in the impulse to pick a fight with him in front of everyone. But they'd have it out eventually if Kyle didn't stop being a moron. This aloof attitude worked for Sam, but not him.

"Come on, it's only for a couple of hours," Kay said, her voice low and defeated.

"Don't be a buttmunch," Jessie interjected.

"Oh, you're just using that word because you know it gets to me," Kyle mumbled. "Okay, I'm coming. I actually want to look around the place."

Jerry just shrugged and headed for the lobby with Billy and Tina, leaving the four of them alone.

Even if he'd finally agreed to come, Kay didn't look thrilled as they stepped out in the street. Jimmy watched them through narrowed eyes, but once Kyle took Kay's hand and it was obvious they wouldn't explode or start fighting, he focused on what really mattered.

The streets were decorated with Christmas lights, glittering red, green and blue against the snow. An intricate web of colorful girlands hung between lamp posts and the distant hum of Christmas carols filled the air. A Christmas market made out of tiny wooden cabins stretched across the square between them, and the air was heavy with the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread.

Jessie nestled closer to him as they walked, her eyes sparkling with wonderment. And as he looked at her, his heart felt too big for his chest. The honest smile on her face, the way she regarded everything with childish delight, the light speckle of freckles on her cheeks...

"It's so beautiful," she breathed.

"Yes, you are."

She looked up at him and her smile widened. "What?"

"I just..." He had no idea what to say because there were no words out there to describe what he was feeling. Except maybe three. "I love you."

Her face lit up with a new glow as she turned to face him. "I love you, too." Snowflakes danced in the air, fell on top of her nose, buried themselves in her hair.

He brushed his fingers against her cheek. Despite the cold outside, her skin was warm. She shivered the tiniest bit, but her smile never wavered.

"Are you cold?" he whispered.

"Quite the opposite, actually."

"I know that." Because he'd never seen a hotter girl in his life.

She bit her lip and looked away, looking even more amused. "Remember when you told me you weren't romantic? You're a big fat liar. Yes, you are."

"I said I didn't know if I was." He'd just never had the chance to be until he met her. And now he didn't care if it took away all his cool points. He'd do anything for her.

"Can't stress enough how you are."

"Don't care what it's called as long as you like it." He brushed the curls away from her cheeks and turned her to face him again.

"Damn it, hotstuff, stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

She huffed. "All hot and confident and in love."

"Sorry, can't do that. There's no way I can look at you not in love."

"Oh, come here, you insufferable..." She trailed off as she put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him down into a kiss.

Yup, this romance thing was really paying off.

"Hey, guys, look what we found," Kay called.

Jimmy and Jessie broke apart, smiling at each other. As much as he liked where this was going, they were in public, so maybe focusing on sightseeing was the better option. So they headed further into the Christmas market and finally spotted Kyle and Kay. They were on the corner of a dingy street that appeared to be a alley.

"Take a look at this!" Kay pointed down the dark street.

When Jimmy looked where she was pointing, the surprise knocked all words out of him. Between the rows of tight, tall houses rose an impressive cathedral, its pointy turrets lost in the clouds.

"Holy shit, that thing is huge."

Even if the palace in Avignon had been much bigger, it was a damn castle. This was a church. And Jimmy was hit by the sudden realisation that he was in Europe. He'd left the country, the continent, when he'd never thought he'd get to leave the city. Sure, he'd been to India, but for some reason, that hadn't touched him as much as this. Because that had been a mission. This felt like a vacation. And the moment the thought formed, he was sure he'd just jinxed the whole thing.

Kyle grinned too, finally looking excited. The Christmas vacation vibe was back stronger than ever. Damning his better judgement, Jimmy let the excitement take him over.

"Picture time," he called. He pulled Jessie's hand and dragged her in front of the cathedral, stopping on top of a low set of steps, far enough for the building to actually fit into the picture. "Get your phone out," he said to Kyle, who was just staring like a moron instead of doing the obvious.

Still looking a bit stunned, Kyle took his phone out and snapped a picture of them.

"Great, another." And Jimmy leaned over and kissed Jessie. She just stood there for a second, probably shocked, then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a lot more force than he expected.

For a moment he was very tempted to lose himself in it, but he'd swore he'd stop PDA-ing, so he pulled back with a grin.

"Oh, those are lovely," Kay said.

"Come on, your turn." Jessie bounced to them and took the phone from Kyle to look.

Jimmy joined her as Kyle and Kay took their spot in front of the cathedral. Jessie had been right. The pictures were awesome, and it was time he returned the favor. Except Kyle and Kay were standing awkwardly.

"Move a little closer there, Jerry and Tina," he called.

"Hey, I resent that," Kyle said.

Kay mumbled something that had Kyle turning to her. Their body language became even chillier as Kyle answered her in a low voice.

"Um... do you think we should give them some privacy?" Jessie asked.

Jimmy bit his lower lip, wondering if he should. All he knew was he wanted to punch Kyle if they started fighting and how could he do that if he walked away? The answer was provided the next moment when Kyle leaned over Kay and kissed her out of the blue.

"Yeah, we definitely should," he said, snapping a quick picture and turning around.

Jessie giggled and followed him back towards the Christmas market. "I'm curious what Kay said to him to snap him back to his senses so fast."

"Alas, we shall never know."

"Thank God they're going back to normal."

Jimmy couldn't agree more. He was half tempted to go take another picture of them. He was looking down at the phone, considering the possibility, when it started vibrating and a unknown number appeared on screen.

"Um, should we answer it?" Jessie asked.

"Wouldn't want to disturb them from something this important," he answered with a shrug and brought his phone to his ear. "Yes?"

"Jimmy, thank God!"

"Tom?" he asked, shocked.

"What?" Jessie came closer to him. "Put it on speaker."

He did, still trying to wrap his mind around this.

"Yeah. What are you doing with Kyle's phone?"

"Oh, he's otherwise engaged."

"To Kay, I hope."

"Sam?" Jessie asked.

"Jessie?" Only the question had been asked by two voices, one of which brought a bubbling sense of hope to Jimmy.

"Angie?" both he and Jessie asked.

There was confirmation from the other end of the line, and Jimmy felt lighter than he had in days, maybe weeks. Not only were Sam and Tom okay, but they'd apparently succeeded in getting the girls back as well. "I'm so happy to hear you, Angie. Is Christine there as well?"

Deadly silence followed his question, and unease crept back. Jessie tightened her hold on his hand, looking at the phone as if expecting Christine to pop out of it.

"No, she isn't," Sam finally answered, his tone flat and cold. "It hasn't all been fun and games. Where are you guys and what are you doing?"

"We're on our way to Tours," Jimmy reported immediately. "From there we want to start raiding the castles on the Valley of Loire. We've raided Avignon so far but found jack squat. How about you guys?"

"We're in Paris," Sam said. "But the jewel isn't. Snitch Gravel's men have raided the Louvre and most likely Versailles by now."

"Crap," Jessie muttered under her breath.

"Not really. I think the castles on Loire Valley are a lot more likely to hold the jewel." A long sigh followed Sam's statement as if the joy of plotting their mission was taken away from him. "Anyway, it will take us a couple more days to get out of here and meet you guys. So, in what order are you taking the castles?"

"We haven't really decided yet, but Kyle did say something like Amboise, Blois, Chambord and then the rest of them," Jessie said quickly.

"Then I guess we'll be meeting at Chambord," Sam said, his tone still a little harsher than usual.

"Are you guys in trouble? Do you need help?" Jimmy asked.

"No, we'll be just fine. I'll handle everything," Tom said dismissively. "We have to go now, but we'll see you in a couple of days and tell you all about it."

Jimmy didn't like the sound of that, the offhand way in which Tom assured them there was nothing to worry about. He knew that tone very well, and it usually meant his brother had either done or was preparing to do something incredibly stupid or dangerou or both. "Tom. Are you sure you've got this? We could be in Paris in a few hours."

"As tempting as that sounds, the men are right," Angie said. "We've managed to handle it, so there's no point driving all the way up here just to turn back. We'll be fine."

Jessie opened her mouth as if to argue, but seemed to change her mind. "Okay, but please take care of yourselves," she said instead.

"Will do. Just keep in mind we don't have a phone, so wait for us at Chambord," Sam said and the line went dead.

Jimmy stared at the phone in his hand, trying to figure out why Sam had kept the piece of information to himself until the end. It was very problematic. What if they didn't show up?

"Then we'll go to Paris," Jessie muttered to herself as if reading his mind.

"We should tell the others," he said. Though he wasn't sure if they should get Kyle and Kay and head for the hotel or just go back and tell them later. Like an answer from the heavens, his watch buzzed, sending a painful electric jolt up his arm, to his elbow. "Fuck!" He sucked air through his teeth.

"What happened?" she asked, her tone urgent.

Jimmy checked his watch. The dial blinked red and a tiny dot appeared on it, indicating Kyle's position. He was where they'd left him just a few minutes ago. Jimmy stiffened, praying his brother had only wanted to show the watch to Kay and had shocked him for the hell of it. He however doubted it.

"Jimmy!" Jessie said, tugging on his arm. "Why's your watch blinking?"

"Go to the hotel." He turned towards the cathedral, straining his hearing, but it was impossible to discern anything among the noise in the square. Yet that narrowed street was dark and dangerous and free of people.

"What?" Jessie asked outraged.

"Jerry and the others might be in trouble," he answered, only half lying. "I need you to make sure they're safe." Because unlike Kyle and Kay who were basically an army, the others were pretty helpless.

Jessie shifted her weight from one foot to the other, biting her lower lip, obviously torn.

"I'll be with Kyle and Kay. Trust me, the others need you."

With an exasperated sigh, she turned around and rushed towards the hotel. Grateful that she'd actually listened, Jimmy hurried towards the cathedral. Fortunately, all the noise and carols masked the sound of his footsteps. He slowed the moment he reached the corner of the narrow street and peeked behind a massive house.

He froze in shock. Kyle was on all fours, some random goon pointing a gun at the back of his head. Kay stood in front of him, two other men holding down her arms. Jimmy wasn't sure, but there appeared to be two more lumps fallen over in the snow. But this standard attempt at capturing them was not what fazed Jimmy. It was the way Kyle's body was wired, how his arms shook and he seemed to be putting a lot of effort into staying still. Kay wasn't struggling either, probably waiting for the best moment to attack.

And Jimmy was going to give it to her. He took out both his guns, securing the rubber bullet one in his right hand for a steadier shot. The recoil hardly fazed him as he sent the rubber bullet soaring towards the head of the goon holding a gun on his brother. He shot his real gun into the thigh of one of the men holding Kay. She immediately seized the opportunity and crashed her elbow into the other guys face before knocking him out completely.

Jimmy rushed forward, in a hurry to see all men unconscious. It took him precisely thirty seconds to leave all three of them flat. Kyle didn't move, his arms still shaking, his eyes shut tightly.

"Are you alright?" Kay dropped to his knees next to him, but fortunately didn't touch him.

Jimmy moved closer, fighting the impulse to pull Kay away, because, after all, she had the most power over his brother when he got like this. Except it didn't seem to work this time. When Kyle raised his gaze, Jimmy stepped back. He'd never seen so much fear in Kyle's eyes. And the brief show of fear was quickly replaced by a blood chilling rage.

"Get away from me," he snarled.

Kay's eyes widened and she pulled back. "No. Come on, snap out of it."

Kyle looked down again, his breathing labored, his elbows still shaking. "I said go." His voice was lower, more controlled, but it seemed to sap all the energy out of him.

"Kay, come on." Jimmy grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Ow, Jimmy, that hurts." She yanked her elbow out of his grip but followed when he stepped away.

"Sorry." His eyes still on Kyle, he took another few steps back. "What happened?"

Kay glanced over her shoulder, pursing her lips, her face set in worry. After making sure Kyle wasn't going anywhere, she finally turned her attention to Jimmy. "They came out of nowhere and attacked us." She didn't elaborate on goon strategy because she knew that wasn't what Jimmy wanted to know. "At first it was okay. Normal. He let me go, turned around and knocked two of them flat in thirty seconds. But then..." She nibbled on her lower lip. "Then for a second, I thought he'd lose it. He tensed up and the men pulled back. That's when they took their guns out. And he just... dropped to the ground. Just gave up."

"He didn't give up." Jimmy raised his wrist to show Kay his still blinking watch. "He called me."

She tilted her head. "Oh. That explains almost everything." She glanced over her shoulder again and Jimmy could practically feel her need to go to Kyle and hug him. Snap him out of whatever had gotten hold of him.

"You should go to the hotel," he said quietly. "See if the others are okay. I'll deal with this."

Kay's face whipped in his direction. "No. I need to know he's alright."

"You're leaving him with me. I'll make sure he's okay." Plus, Jimmy trusted Kyle. If he thought Kay was in danger, she probably was. "Please. Jessie might need your help."

Kay hesitated, but she finally nodded and, with one last backward look, rushed away into the main square. Jimmy made sure she was out of sight before he focused on the goons. Yep, still knocked out. Then there was the matter of Kyle. He wasn't in one of his scary moods, Jimmy could tell that much, but what did that mean? Why wasn't he moving apart from his body trembling madly?

Jimmy walked over to Kyle and sat cross-legged in front of him. His brother's jaw was tense and his eyes still shut. The snow seeped through his jeans, bringing an uncomfortable wet feeling to his butt, but Jimmy didn't move, studying the subtle changes in Kyle's expression. It somehow felt like he was trying to decide on something. Maybe he needed some help.

With a shrug, Jimmy picked up a handful of snow, leaned over, and rubbed it on Kyle's face. In a second, Kyle jumped into a crouch and charged at Jimmy. Out of reflex, Jimmy pulled his knees to his chest and managed to keep Kyle off him. Just his brother's hands were pressing heavily over his chest, making it hard to breathe.

And in that moment of total surprise and slight panic, Jimmy couldn't help but be grateful that Kyle hadn't reached his neck. "Get off me," he hardly managed to say.

Kyle didn't get off him. His gaze was hazy, his pupils dilated. This wasn't his brother. And the thought brought a strange focus to Jimmy. He narrowed his eyes and kicked Kyle off him as hard as he could, given his uncomfortable position.

It strangely worked. Kyle landed with a thud and a loud curse. Jimmy rolled into a crouch at the same time Kyle got to his feet. They both lunged at each other, only that Jimmy went low and wrapped his arms around his brother's knees, effectively tackling him to the ground.

"Ow, fuck," Kyle said, but stayed down.

Taking it as a good sign, Jimmy let go and pulled away, dropping into a sitting position. He took in controlled breaths, his body still half tense, weary of another attack. Kyle sat up, resting his forearms on his knees, his face downcast.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "I... It wasn't that bad. We weren't outnumbered by that much, they had no weapons, we had this. But then..." He sunk his face in his hands. "I lost it, just like that. It usually builds up and I can control it, chose if I let it out or not. I only slip if I'm really stressed out or exhausted. I'm neither."

"You are a bit stressed out."

Kyle raised his eyes and to Jimmy's shock, they were watery. "A bit. Not a lot. Not enough to lose control. And when I tried to push it back, I couldn't. As much as I tried, I couldn't."

Jimmy watched his brother as he stared at his own hands, turning them over. This was troubling news. Kyle had been so good at controlling himself lately, he'd half-forgotten about the problem until it smacked them in the face again.

"I could've hurt you. I could've hurt Kay," Kyle said, his eyes still on his hands. "I could've killed somebody."

"Maybe you should let it out."

Kyle raised his gaze and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe you trying to control this thing is making it a lot more violent when it gets the chance to come out. Maybe you should release the pressure constantly."

"I don't want to be that guy."

Jimmy took in a deep breath because what he was about to say sucked, but he saw it as part of the problem. "Kyle, there's not other guy. It's you. This is all you. You're not bipolar or schizophrenic. You don't black out anymore."

"Easy for you to say," Kyle muttered.

"You said it yourself. I have that in me as well," Jimmy pointed out.

"It doesn't seem to manifest much."

Kyle ws right. So far, Jimmy hadn't had trouble with controlling anything dark and scary inside him. But maybe it was because every time he felt anger, he just let it out, consequences be damned. The thought was suddenly scary, but he pushed it away. It was easy to numb it and just not give a fuck.

"This is bad," Kyle said. "This is so bad."

Jimmy couldn't agree more. What Kyle had to deal with was brutal. He couldn't imagine what it would be like always having to fight himself for control. The thought that it might happen at some point kept him on edge.

"Are you okay now, though?"

Kyle nodded. "I think I freaked the shit out of Kay."

"Why did you send her away? She's usually the one who calms you down."

"Not this time. I didn't feel it was safe for her to be here."

Jimmy wondered why. Kay had always made a difference to Kyle, in every subtle way possible. From his mood to his posture to his... The thought came to a screeching as a possible answer for this anomaly presented itself. Maybe this lack of proper control was actually caused by trying to control too much.

"How are you doing with the other control thing?" Jimmy asked.

Kyle raised his eyebrows, rightfully confused. "Not sure what you mean."

He felt like a total prick for actually asking this, but Jimmy was almost sure this was the reason his brother was all screwy. "You and Kay. Are you still repressing everything or did you get it out of your system?"

Kyle's eye narrowed. "Are you asking if I slept with her?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking."

"Why's that relevant?"

"Depending on your answer, I'll tell you in a minute."

"Well, no."

And there was his answer. Jimmy took in a deep breath. "I think that's the problem."

"You think I'm losing my shit because I didn't sleep with Kay?"

Wow, that sounded stupid, but Jimmy truly believed that was the case. "Yes. And that's because you most likely really want to and are exercising a whole lot of control to not do it. So your will power goes into that, leaving the other, slightly more problematic side of yourself unchecked."

Kyle fell silent, taking in the genius of Jimmy's argument. Though he looked incredulous rather than convinced. "Okay, let's try this again. You're saying that because I'm putting a lot of self control into keeping it in my pants, I'm slipping when it comes to my rage issues. As in your theory is exclusively based on my having a limited amount of self control I'm using wrong."

"Yes, that's pretty much it."

Kyle rubbed his chin. "Yeah, sounds about right. Fuck."

"Exactly."

Kyle smirked. "I was actually expressing my displeasure with this whole situation. I can't focus on being leader if all I have inside my head is Kay. I have to do this, at least for a while longer." He stood, brushing the snow off the seat of his jeans. "We should head back. See if the others are okay."

❄❄❄

Surprise early update because I'm late celebrating Easter and I won't have time. And it's a long dramatic one. It will be followed by more drama in no time.

I hope you enjoyed the fluff before things got out of hand. Though I think you enjoyed that more.

Do you think Jimmy's right? And if not, what's really happening to Kyle? You didn't think it was over with the darkness now did you? 😂

A special thanks to Lynn for the chapter title. See y'all soon. Don't forget to vote and leave me a comment.