Sometimes Clary was tired of being protected, of being thought as a "little girl." Most of all though, Clary was tired of being judged.
The other's constantly seemed to forget that she hadn't grown up a Shadowhunter, that she should know all of the rules and customs being one meant. Sometimes she was grateful her mom had kept her away from this world for so long, and other times she was so angry that she had been denied this world, felt so lost in a world that was her birthright yet felt so foreign to her.
Clary was tired of being thought no longer as Jocelyn Fairchild's daughter, but instead was now "Valentine's Daughter," with capitals and all. In this world, it was pretty much the same as being thought of as the daughter of a terrorist. After all, in the Shadowhunter world, he pretty much was a terrorist. That, and a cult leader.
At least though, no one judged her for being in love with Jace anymore. Those months everyone thought they were related was hell. Now, she was just confused; too many things had happened in the same time frame and she was not coping well. Not at all.
Clary hastily wiped away the tears that had fallen while she was lost in thought. She couldn't cry here, not at the Institute. Jace was out on a quick mission, but Alec and Izzy were still here and none of them liked seeing her in tears.
She didn't wipe them quickly enough though, as she heard a male voice call out to her from a few feet away.
"Clary."
She looked up and saw Alec standing there, really more hovering since he still didn't really know how to deal with her when there were tears close at hand. Or on her hands from wiping her face.
Clary could see the concern in his eyes though. Whatever his personality being with her in tears, or her in general, he did care. Now that she and Jace were more….intense…., she was slowly realizing Alec was placing her in the "little sister" category of his emotions that determined how he dealt with her. People could say a lot of things about Alec, but when it came to the people he cared about,...a pissed off Alec was an extremely dangerous Alec. Almost up to par with a pissed off Jace, but not quite.
She tried to compose herself as he came closer, but knew it was fairly useless. Alec was no dummy, and having a younger sister who could also be fairly dramatic, he knew how to recognize emotional distress and could some-what handle it.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Here was the part where she did her best to explain that it wasn't one specific thing, but a multitude of things that were causing the tears. She would then have to explain to Alec, that, no, he couldn't destroy multiple people much less the Institute because they made her cry.
"Nothing happened, Alec. I'm okay," Clary responded to him, all while trying to ignore the tear that was slipping down her cheek.
The look he gave her was nothing less than a question asking if she really thought he was that much of an idiot and if she was secretly blonde underneath her red curls.
She still refused to back down from the statement that she was fine. She didn't need people getting maimed today. The leaders would probably find someway to judge her for that too. Pity party? Yes, slightly but that was okay. With everything that had happened, she was allowed a small one.
Alec sighed and sat down next to her. If she refused to elaborate there was nothing he could say, not really. Well, there was one…
"Jace is back. He's looking for you," Alec told her.
Dammit. She didn't need people to die today, much less maimed.
"Alec, I'm fine. A lot's happened, I was just taking a moment to…wallow. But, really…I'm fine," Clary said softly.
Alec nodded, even though he didn't seem like he believed her. She wouldn't either, honestly.
She wiped the rest of her tears away, and slowly leaned her head on his shoulder. People could say what they wanted about his attitude, but Alec cared deeply and didn't like not being able to take care of people if something could be done.
"If you needed to come to me about something, or tell me something, you would…right?" he asked.
"Alec, yes, if I needed you, I would come find you" Clary responded.
Alec nodded as if that was the answer he was expecting, but she could tell that despite her reassurances, he was still thinking about her in tears earlier and figuring out a way to deal with it.
For his part, Alec already had a list of people who had been making Clary's life miserable and was simply going to join forces with Jace who also had a list. People didn't mess with the Lightwoods/Waylands/Herondales without receiving consequences in return.
As it was, Clary had no intention of moving from their position for the next few minutes, and Alec was in protective mode so he was going off Clary's cues. Jace was still looking but when he found out what had happened, he wouldn't mind the delay.
Sometimes, Clary thought, having a big brother could be a nice thing. Being an only child had been a little lonely at times, but the family she had now made it up for it.
Big brothers, while protective idiots at times, were a nice thing to have.
Author's Note: While I am working on my muses for Dangerous and Transmitting, I have been getting small doses of inspiration for other fandoms, so I'm working on those as they come. I've never written for The Mortal Instruments/Shadowhunters before, so I'm hoping this worked out. I liked the books, but I also like the show, as cute and cheesy as it is. The chemistry is also insane. There's not enough Clary/Alec moments, from what I call a Big Brother/Little Sister relationship, and as I have issues with my own big brother, I like doing fix it's with other relationships. Alec and Clary's didn't need much, but here you go...fluffy-ness! Hope you enjoy. All mistakes are mine.
Also, I know I said I would never really mark a story as complete...except for this one. I might add more eventually, but as of this moment, the story is complete.