Things We Hold On To by lyricalecho (K+)

[queenitsy.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BIG TIME RUSH
Pairing: Katie-centric gen, with background James/Carlos and Kendall/Logan, implied OT4, and Jo/Camille
Length: ~4,900 words
Author on LJ: lyricalecho
Why this must be read: Katie is a fantastic character. She avoids all of the younger-sibling-on-TV clichés (she's neither cloying nor antagonistic, and there's no sibling rivalry whatsoever). Her relationship with her family is lovely -- for all her mother wants her to be friendly and normal, she's also clearly aware that Katie is not like other little girls, and she trusts Katie enough to let her be independent. Katie's relationship with Kendall is also adorable, and it's clear that she thinks of the rest of the guys as brothers, too.

All of which is to say, this fic must be read because it's a wonderful take on Katie as she grows up. Her family isn't normal by any means, and neither is she, but she loves her life and wouldn't change a thing.

For a brief period in Katie’s life, she was honestly convinced that she had four older brothers.

(One day, in fact, she finds a picture she drew in preschool of all six of them, together, titled “My Family”; she rolls her eyes but takes it and keeps it in her desk drawer anyways. Just in case.)

It didn’t take her too long to figure out that Carlos and James and Logan had families besides her and her mother, of course, but now with all of them living together even that’s ceased to matter; and so when Kyle tells her, during a Castle Bashers tournament, “Your brother’s really protective,” she spends several seconds trying to figure out how to explain things to him before settling on, “Yeah, he is.”

It’s strange how right it feels saying it.

Things We Hold On To