Kyle walked past the grinning receptionist in the agency lobby and used his access card to get inside the designated elevator that would take him into the unseen part of the fake real estate business. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he leaned against the metal wall and let out a sigh. He hated this.

He wasn't even sure how and why he'd suddenly wound up the leader of the team, but Herrsion was bombarding him with administrative mumbo jumbo, and everyone was coming to him for progress reports regarding their departure. What sucked most was that he actually had them.

The elevator dinged and the doors open to reveal the pristine hallways of the research department. Kyle pushed himself off the wall and headed for the engineering lab, sure he'd find Jimmy there. Over the past few months, he'd made the place his second home. He'd probably sleep there if their mom didn't bug him to come home.

As expected, Jimmy was there, joined as usual by his new best friend and mentor, Steve Turner, the head of engineering. They were both bent over a huge magnifying glass, while Jimmy was using some tiny tools to work inside what looked like a watch.

"More to the left," Steve said, waving his hand in the opposite direction.

"Dude, shut up, I got this," Jimmy mumbled, closing one eye and bending his head under the magnifying glass. A buzz followed his words and he pulled back, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Told ya."

"You self-satisfied brat," Steve said, affectionately. "I have no idea how you could see that without the magnifying glass. I'm impressed by your hardware skills. Too bad your coding sucks."

"My coding does not suck."

"Hey guys," Kyle said before the argument could start.

"Hi Kyle," Steve said with a dazzling grin. "How's things?"

Good question. He had no idea how things was. "Not sure." He looked to Jimmy questioningly.

Jimmy frowned back at him, a sudden worried look crossing his face. "You look worried. Did anything happen to Sam and Tom?"

Kyle jolted, feeling like he'd hit a huge bump in the road which drove his stomach into his throat. A sudden fear grabbed hold of him because he hadn't thought about it. Crazily enough, ever since his little brothers had left, he hadn't once thought that something might've happened to them. They'd been gone for three days. They could be dead.

"I don't know. I have no news," he finally said. Was he an idiot? But to him, Sam and Tom together were indestructible. Sam was brilliant and Tom turned out harder to kill than a cockroach.

Jimmy visibly relaxed and leaned back, joining his hands behind his head, his elbows spread out. "You still look worried though."

He was, but it was such a stupid reason.

"Do you guys need space for bro talk?" Steve asked with a concerned air that didn't fool anyone. He was one second away from laughing.

Kyle squinted at him. "That would be nice, smartass."

Steve grinned some more, ruffled his flaming hair, stretched dramatically, then basically skipped out of the room. Kyle shook his head. He'd never seen such an overgrown child in his life. Well, Billy was close, but the missions had matured him a lot.

"Did you really want to talk to me in private?" Jimmy asked.

"No, he just annoys me," Kyle answered with a laugh.

Jimmy smirked. "So what's going on?" He waited for an answer, and when he didn't get it, let out a sigh. "Kyle, it's not stupid. You're worried about Kay, aren't you?"

Kyle just nodded, impressed by how perceptive Jimmy was. "It bugs the hell out of me how Mom and Dad keep cornering her. I have no idea what they're up to, especially because Kay says it's just irrelevant small talk."

"I know what you mean." Jimmy leaned further back in his chair. "I'm very suspicious about Dad, though. He spent the last four months wishing her away, and now he's suddenly fine with it?"

"He's not. He told me that much." Kyle leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "But he claims he's making an effort for my sake."

"Maybe he is."

"Yeah, right." Kyle huffed. The only effort Freider had ever made was to ignore him. Which had suited him just fine. "He's up to something and I just can't figure out what it is. It's not like he's fooling anyone."

Jimmy just shrugged. Kyle watched him for a moment, noticing the tension in his body, probably wondering if their father would target Jessie next. But Jessie had a bigger problem at the moment, and maybe it was best for Jimmy to know it, too.

"Hey, Jimmy, what do you think about Tina?"

"Huh?" He focused his gaze on Kyle again. "You mean the whole her snapping at Jessie thing? I think Jerry can handle that."

"Not sure that's such a good idea..."

"Why not? Besides, I'm pretty sure it was a slip because she's stressed out about Christine."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. Jimmy was intentionally being an idiot. "A slip of what? Her real thoughts?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling, balancing on the chair's hind legs. "That was probably Alice talking. I know she and Tina were close. It's just..."

Ah, shit. Kyle hadn't really thought about Alice as a trigger for all this, but Jimmy had a point. And it made the whole situation a lot worse, because it meant that as far as Tina was concerned, her fears were legitimate.

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"What what?"

"That face. You know something about this, don't you?"

There was no use pretending. This was why he'd brought it up in the first place. "Tina's jealous that Jessie and Jerry are spending time together."

"Seriously? What the hell is wrong with her? It's not like Jerry would pull the moves on Jessie."

Kyle fought the impulse to laugh hysterically. Maybe Jimmy really was an idiot. "I think she fears it's the other way around."

Jimmy stopped his balancing. "What? That's even stupider." He groaned. "Great, this is exactly what we needed right now."

"What do you mean?" Kyle knew exactly what he meant, but it felt like a bit more. They would be leaving in a few days so Tina would no longer be an issue.

"That's why I called you over." Jimmy stood and started pacing. "They're sending Tina with us."

"What?"

"My thoughts exactly. They claimed they need another French speaker."

That was a decent point, but still... Tina. "Maybe we're assholes. Maybe she could be really useful."

Jimmy bit his lip, apparently fighting the impulse to continue being an asshole. "She hasn't been doing very well in training. I'm convinced she won't have to shoot at anything. I'm also convinced that her French is great and she'll help us a lot with that. But I'm not convinced she won't trip when we have to run."

"Come on, running on pavement is easier than running through the jungle, and she did okay then."

"Snitch Gravel has also upped his game about three notches and is no longer employing undertrained drug dealers."

Kyle knew Jimmy had a point, but it was his new and annoying duty to make everything seem much easier than it actually was, so he just smiled. "But she has some training now and Jerry is actually much better. We'll be fine."

"Agreed," Jimmy mumbled. "As long as she and Jessie ignore each other."

❄

Kay wanted to scream. Like literally groan and punch and kick and tell Kyle's parents to leave her alone already. She didn't want to become best friends, didn't want to share her family history with them and definitely didn't want to sit in awkward silence while they just smiled benevolently at her.

What was their problem? Why couldn't they see they were not bringing her any closer to them? But, like a given, every time she left her room and tried to join the others in the library, Maxi or Freider would inevitably appear and ask her for a word. A word that would only end when Kyle came and dragged her out. Except he was gone for so long, he was almost never at home.

As she hurried down the stairs with light steps, she wasn't fooled by the silence. It had happened many times when she thought she'd finally get to the library. She hadn't even seen the inside of the room.

Unexpectedly, she managed to reach the landing. Her heart picked up the pace. Nothing happened, all was quiet.

On the tips of her toes, Kay made her way towards the library door. This couldn't be happening, it was too good to be true. But here she was, actually reaching out her hand for the door handle.

"Kay."

She flinched and shut her eyes. Freider. Damn Freider. Forcing a smile on her face, she straightened and turned around.

"Hello Mr. Grant."

He stood in the threshold of the door next to the library, his head tilted, a pensive expression on his face, as if he couldn't remember why he'd called out to her. She wished he'd just give up and go back wherever he had come out from, but knew it was unlikely.

"A quick word, please?" He nodded towards the room.

Biting back a sigh, she entered the room which turned out to be a home office. The walls were covered in wooden paneling and a few filing cabinets were placed behind a massive desk. Freider sat down behind it and indicated that Kay should have a seat in one of the chairs in front of it.

Mentally cursing, Kay dropped on a chair and placed her palms under her thighs. Freider just watched her for a while, making her squirm. What did he want from her? As friendly as he acted, she couldn't forget the antagonism he showed towards her, how he'd treated Kyle, how he'd abandoned him when he was only a baby.

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" he suddenly asked.

No, I couldn't be more uncomfortable. But she was sure that wasn't what he meant. "I'm not sure what you mean."

He leaned back in his seat, joining his fingers together. "You are barely home, Kyle even less. Are you sure you don't want to move up one story?"

Heat shot to Kay's cheeks, so powerful that she was sure she looked like a blonde tomato. What kind of question was that? Of course she'd rather stay with Kyle, but that didn't make it appropriate or less awkward. She'd never dream of taking such an important step in their relationship with Kyle's parents hovering over them.

Freider fixed her with a slightly narrowed eyes, his lips a firm line. Kay raised her eyes and held his gaze, trying to read his intentions, understand why he was suddenly supporter number one, pushing her and Kyle together. It was true that she barely saw Kyle anymore, even less than when they weren't living in the same house. But between the academy, college and the agency, Kyle was rarely home. Hell, they hadn't kissed in days and she was getting antsy about it.

"I'm sorry Mr. Grant, but I don't think that would be appropriate," she finally said, still trying to burn him with the intensity of her stare.

He huffed and looked away. "Really, Kay? Do you think we don't know how things work? Maxi already had Kyle at your age. You don't have to hide or pretend."

"No one is hiding or pretending," she snapped. Unfortunately. Only when Freider turned to her, his eyes wide in surprise, did she realize he'd actually read a lot more into the simple answer. Damn.

He tilted his head. "Are you saying you and Kyle never... ?"

It was so none of his business, but she didn't think she could get out of this one without answering, so she shook her head. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe this way he wouldn't think that she and Kyle were a bunch of hormone driven stupid kids. Though they were and she wished they could be alone for one freaking hour.

"Then maybe it's not too late!"

Kay froze. A tight knot formed in her stomach, twisting and painful. "Not too late for what?"

Freider stood, clasping his hands behind his back in an overdramatic fashion. He eyed her for a few more agonizing seconds before he started pacing behind his desk. "Not too late for you to get away."

She bit her tongue not to tell him to screw off, the transparent bastard. What, did he really think she couldn't immediately tell what he was doing? He was about to start the trash talk. "Get away from what?" she asked instead, trying to keep her tone as polite as possible.

He stopped and leaned his hands on the surface of the desk, looming towards her. "Kyle is my son and I love him. I also think I've gotten to know you pretty well over the last few days. I know I was against your relationship at first, and I'll admit it was mostly because I didn't trust you. But now..." He sighed and straightened. "Now I realize that you're a good girl who just moved too far away from her family."

Kay just stared. What the hell was he doing? She fought the minor twinge of relief his words brought because Freider liking her wasn't going to fix anything. There was a but coming and it wouldn't be good.

"Do you like staying with us?" he asked.

She nodded warily, not trusting herself enough to open her mouth.

"I must admit I enjoy having you over, too. You're polite, well behaved and a delight to be around. I'll admit I've taken a liking to you despite not wanting to."

"Thank you?"

"But given that, and since you're so far away from your own parents, I feel like it's my duty to protect you."

And here it was. The reason for the worried parent introduction. Though Kay had to admit she couldn't really see where he was going with this. Unless it turned out into a discussion about her virtute, which would be cringey, she had no idea what he wanted.

"What do you mean? Protect me against what?"

With a tired sigh, Freider dropped back on his chair. "I'm not sure you've noticed, but Kyle has a... he has this... let's just call it dark side to him. When he gets angry he gets... scary. And violent. I've had a bit of a fight with him when you left last time and he... Let's just say his mother and I were lucky Sam and Jerry walked in."

Kay glared at him, but her traitorous body shuddered. Because, unfortunately, she knew exactly what Fredier meant. As hard as she tried, she couldn't forget Kyle's darkness, how he lost control sometimes. The time he cornered Eye Patch in Delhi and almost blew his brains out still haunted her dreams. The chill surrounding him, the snarl on his face, the glassiness of his eyes, it still made her muscles tense, her heart beat faster and her stomach clench uncomfortably. She was aware of Kyle's dangers. What surprised her was that his father seemed to be, too.

"It's..." Freider faltered. "Maybe it's partially my fault, but I was scared. Scared for Jerry, scared for Sam. And later, scared for us all."

Kay shuddered, fighting the impulse to actually flinch. She hated this, hated that he'd touched her deepest fear. But she'd always been aware of this danger, he'd mentioned it way before they became a couple. She knew what it did to him and she'd vowed to help him fight it, not get scared and run away. But sometimes, it became overwhelming, and she understood what Freider meant.

"And now I'm scared for you. But since you're still in the incipient stages of your relationship, you can still break free. Save yourself. From what he is and what he'll become."

Kay glared at Freider but wasn't sure she could pull it off. She wasn't going to run, but she wished there was something she could say to defend Kyle, something she could do to protect him from this part of him. Because she felt useless, like she needed him, the real him to protect her from what she sensed he could become. However, Freider, the abandoning father, couldn't know all that.

"And what exactly will he become?" she asked, trying to sound disdainful, show him she wasn't buying this conversation one bit.

Freider heaved the deepest sigh yet. "Snitch Gravel."

The two words lingered in the space between them like poison. Then Kay's body couldn't stop the violent shudder going through her. She caught the fleeting satisfaction in Freider's eyes before the worry retook its claim on his expression, but at that moment she couldn't care less. Because he'd hit her where it hurt the most, played on the only tiny bit about Kyle that gave her pause.

This is stupid. Why am I even considering this? Kyle and Snitch Gravel had absolutely nothing in common personality wise. Except maybe the snark. She halted her thoughts before they went into deeper analysis because she sure as hell didn't want to discover anything else. She knew Kyle. She loved and trusted him.

Yes, the Kyle you know, the one fighting alongside you against the other one. There was no other one. Who was she kidding?

She tightened her grip on her thighs, fighting to still her body. The door opened and she jumped so violently, her butt left the chair. Before she could turn around, Freider stood and hurried around the desk.

"I'll leave you two to talk," he mumbled as he passed Kay.

She turned around when he walked past and her eyes fell on Kyle who stood in the doorway. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and the load on her shoulders seemed to ease. He closed the door after his father, walked to her and crouched in front of her chair.

"You okay? You look a little shook up."

She nodded, but even that was shaky.

"What did he want?"

For a second, she considered playing it off as nothing, but she'd never lied to him and she didn't see the point now. "He wanted to warn me about you."

Kyle's concerned expression morphed into one of supreme exasperation. "Really now? Why? Because I don't respect my elders? Heed no mind to traffic safety?"

"He said you're dangerous and that you're turning into Snitch Gravel," she whispered.

The concern returned and he squeezed her hand. She hated that look on his face, the pain and the way he seemed to be considering warning her too, pulling away from her, leaving her for her own good. It would break her. As much as he fought to make her independent, she couldn't pull this crazy life off without him.

"I'm not turning into Snitch Gravel," he finally said with a sigh. "But I am dangerous. You know this. You've known it for years. But you also know that you light up my darkness. You've known it since your fear stopped me from beating your boyfriend up. God knows what would've happened if I'd have lost it with Danny."

She squeezed his hand back, tears filling the corners of her eyes, and she just nodded, because he was right. She did know all of that. And she trusted him and herself enough to know they could handle it together.

"It just surprised me a little that he knew," she said, her voice low.

"Yeah, it surprises me, too. But don't let him get to you. We're not breaking each other, Kay." He lifted her chin gently and the butterflies were back, stronger than ever. "We make each other better, stronger."

She didn't believe it would be possible to still feel this way after everything they'd been through. But each time he came near her, it was like the first time he'd kissed her all over again. The same anticipation, the same undying need.

And no one could take that away from them. Not Snitch Gravel, not her parents, and definitely not Freider Grant. They were in it for the long haul, for better and for worse. And they'd prove it to everyone.

❄❄❄

Just what the hell was that weird conversation? Is Freider really devious or just really cares about Kay and knows Kyle better than anyone thought?

And stubborn youngsters? Should Kyle and Kay maybe not brush this off so easily?

Also, yay, Tina is coming along. I bet you are all so happy about that!

I might be late posting the next chapter since it's not actually done, but I'll do my best. Shit is about the get real.

Also that song out there is old AF but fits Freider so well 😅

Vote and comment for me!