This story was requested by firequeen8569. Hope you enjoy it, love. Now I don't know much about sports in general, and not much about snowboarding, other than it looks hot when guys do it. Haha. One of my best friends, he was the best man at my wedding, is all into winter sports but I really don't know all that much. So apologies if any of my terms or explanations are wrong!
I apologize for any mistakes made.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.
The cold, mountain air bit at Clarissa Fray's face as she rubbed her mittened hands together. She caught a flash of orange against the glowing white of the snow and turned her attention further up the slopes and lifted her eyes, along with her camera. She focused her lens as the snowboarder came into view again, their body moving gracefully as he sped down the mountain, closing in on a jump. They bent their knees slightly, bracing themselves for the jump, with their hips, shoulders and knees all aligned. The jump was sharp, executed perfectly, and when the person was in mid-air, they tucked their knees up to their chest and flipped through the air, before straightening up, coming back down, and then continuing down the slopes. As they sped away, Clary zoomed in on the name in white lettered across the orange jacket; Wayland.
Another color caught her eye, as red as blood against the snow, and she grinned as she swung her expensive camera back up the mountain, clicking away as she focused on the second snowboarder. She didn't need to wait for this athlete to board away from her for her to see the name printed on the back.
Morgernstern; her half brother.
"You get enough shots, Clary?" Simon Lewis asked from behind her. Clary turned around to face her co-worker and grinned.
"I got some good ones, yeah," she replied, waving her camera up. She dropped it so that it bounced against her chest and rubbed her hands together again. "How much have you written for the article?"
"Most of it's done, I need a couple of interviews—I'll get one with Jon and we all know who the crowd favorite is," Simon rolled his eyes.
"Jace Wayland," Clary muttered out as she screwed the cap over the lens of her camera. "Every girls wet dream."
"I don't need to know about who you think about when you're in the bedroom," Simon smirked at her as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. Clary punched him lightly in the arm as they turned to walk down the icy steps to the freshly shoveled path below. They made their way down the mountain side, hearing shouts and cheers from other snowboarders and their audience. Down the bottom of the mountain, there were groups of the professional snowboarders with their goggles on their head, talking to each other and their coaches.
At the end of the week it was the semi finals of the Winter X Games, and the whole lodge was on lock down; only competitors, coaches, close family and several select members of the press were allowed in through the week, before the competition. Lucky for Clary, she came under two of those categories, as one of the competitors siblings and also as a photographer for the LA Journal. Given four of the boys competing were from Los Angeles, the paper had agreed to send Clary and one of their journalists up there to report on the week.
"Clary!" Jonathon Morgernstern shouted out from the steps going up to the lodge. He had pulled his feet out of the clasps of the board and was now unstrapping his boots. "You see my jump halfway down? I got this comp in the bag—"
"You mean you have second place in the bag," interrupted a cheerful voice from behind them. Clary spun around to see Jace coming across the snow to them, a wide smile across his face. She was glad that her cheeks and nose were already stained pink from the cold, or else she would be clearly blushing as the handsome athlete came over to stand next to her, facing her brother.
"Sorry, Wayland, you'll have to let me know how that silver medal feels," Jonathon jibbed back.
"Clary!" Simon called from where he had just finished speaking with one of the female competitors, Maia Roberts. "We heading in?"
"Yup!" Clary called back before turning to her brother. "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"
"It'll have to be later," he replied. "I'm heading up for something to eat now then I've gotta go to the gym, then I've got a meeting with my coach. Does seven work for you?"
"Sounds good, see you later, bro," Clary kissed her brother quickly on the cheek and nodded in Jace's direction before walking away toward Simon, her feet crunching through the fresh snow. Jace watched her go, tilting his head to the side as she reached her friend and talked to him quietly, before they started walking toward one of the side doors of the lodge. When he swung his eyes back to Jonathon, the older sibling was watching him with raised eyebrows.
"You know that's my sister you're checking out, right?"
"Oh, come on," Jace rolled his eyes. "As if you can check out anyone in all this snow gear. I couldn't make out the shape of her ass in those pants if I tried."
"Yeah, but the problem is that you are trying," Jonathon shot back.
"What's a guy to do?" Jace shrugged and Jonathon shook his head. They laughed as they made their way up the stairs and into the warmth of the lodge.
Simon had gone up to his room to skype with his girlfriend, Isabelle Lightwood, and Clary was left to her own devices. She had been working all day and although hanging out on the snowy mountain sides and taking photo's of skilled athletes was hardly the worst kind of work, she was still a little tired of squinting down at her camera screen, and she really didn't feel like uploading them to her computer and staring at another screen. Similarly to her brother, most of the competitors still had one or two hours at the end of the day where they needed to work out and unwind with their coaches, so the lodge was practically a dead zone. She changed into her bikini, a simple green and black bandage one, and then pulled her thick pants and shirt over top, walking down the hall. At the end of floor there was a balcony, that overlooked the mountain and the icy lake. Clary shivered as she took off her pants and shirt and then slid into the hot tub. The hot water contrasting with the cold air made her shiver, and goosebumps spread quickly over her shoulders which weren't under the warm water yet. Clary tied up her hair in a knot above her head, to stop it from getting wet, and then slid further into the tub, the bubbles created from the jets reaching up her neck and splashing at her chin.
"Do you mind company?" Came a voice from behind her, nearly making her jump out of her skin. Jace didn't appear too apologetic, standing at the side of the tub in a pair of black board shorts.
"Yeah, sure," she nodded to the opposite side of the tub, clearing her throat. Jace slid into the water, letting out a long sigh as the water massaged at his back and shoulders. She tried not to stare, but she couldn't help it. This man was gorgeous. He had his eyes closed and tilted his head back to rest on the side of the tub, his golden hair was damp and sticking to his slightly tanned skin. No wonder he was the face for so many athletic brands and plastered across the cover of almost every sports magazine. He had been competing alongside her brother for the past couple of years, and she had met him quite a few times, but they had never really talked, and they had never actually been alone.
Especially alone when they were both half naked.
"Did you get some good shots this afternoon?" He asked, without opening his eyes.
"Hm?" Clary blinked as she snapped out of her thoughts. Jace grinned and his eyelids lifted, revealing intense, golden irises that made her stomach clench.
"Did you get the photos you wanted this afternoon?" He rephrased.
"Oh right," Clary shifted slightly under the water. "Yeah, I got some. I mean, at the end of the day, they're only going to pick one or two photos to put in the paper. The only reason they chose for me to come out here is because it's hard to get press passes, and I've already got an in because of Jon. I'm not one of their top photographers, so they don't spend much on what I take."
"I've seen some of your pictures," Jace told her. "They're good."
"Thanks," Clary mumbled, looking down into the bubbles that were bursting along the surface of the water. There was steam rising, mingling with the cold air, and Clary knew that her cheeks were reddening—partly from the temperature from the hot tub and partly from the heat that was burning through her from the look Jace was giving her.
"I'm serious," he insisted, leaning forward in the water. He shuffled to the edge of the underwater bench he was sitting so that he was closer to her, and their knees knocked together. Clary forced herself not to jerk backwards and appear too obvious, so she just straightened up slightly, pulling away every to slightly. "Have you ever thought about submitting your stuff to Sports Illustrated or something like that? You would make better money, and they would appreciate athletic shots more than the paper."
"Yeah, well..." she looked up at the sky, which was crystal clear. "I don't think they're good enough. I mean, I'm not even near the top photographer at the Journal, I don't think I could go out as an actual photographer."
"Really?" Jace tilted his head to the side. "What do you want to do then, if not be a photographer?"
"Oh no, I want to be a photographer," she quickly said. "I just don't think I'm good enough at the moment." He considered her for a moment, pursing his lips before leaning back in the corner of the hot tub and stretching out his legs. His toes touched her legs under the water and this time she wasn't prepared for the contact, and she jumped slightly. Jace grinned at her, as though she knew exactly what was running through her head, and she couldn't help but frown a little.
She didn't like feeling uncomfortable, and she didn't like feeling she was the one at the disadvantage.
"Not all of us have everything sorted by the time we're twenty four," she told him, knowing that she sounded a little snippy.
"Twenty three," he corrected her, not sounded put out at all. "I'm a year younger than Jon—a year older than you."
"How do you know how old I am?" Clary's eyebrows furrowed deeper.
"Come on, Clary," he grinned at her, as though he enjoyed making her feel on edge. She licked her lips quickly, and felt her core temperature raise even more as she saw his eyes follow her tongue. "We've known each other for a while now."
"No," she stated. "We've known of each other for a while." Jace shrugged a shoulder.
"Same difference," he continued to grin. Clary sucked in a sharp breath before looking over where there were a stack of neatly folded towels on a nearby chair.
"I think I better go inside to...Edit," she stumbled over the last word embarrassingly and covered it by standing up and swinging her leg over the side of the hot tub. As soon as she got out and was standing with her body exposed to the chilly mountain air, her near naked body erupted into goosebumps, and her nipples pebbled under her bikini top. It was a good four or five steps to reach the towels, and Clary realized she hadn't thought this through as she finally grabbed a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around her body, then turned back to Jace and saw an intense look in his eyes.
"Bye, Clary," Jace sung out to her as she walked away from him into the lodge, almost tripping over her feet in the process.
Clary didn't have any more run-ins with Jace for the remainder of the week, although that was to be expected. It was Saturday now, the morning of the semi-finals. She had had dinner with Jon the night before, but he had hardly said a word. His leg was jiggling under the table, and he was tapping his fork erratically on his plate. Clary didn't take it personally, she knew that he was just energized for the competition the next morning. His coach had told him that he had to stay off his board that day, relax, work out a little, not push himself too hard so that he was rearing to go the next day.
Which clearly worked, because he was killing it on the slopes.
For the first half of the competition, Clary was at one of the lookouts near the top of the mountain, where there were a couple of jumps and gave her the opportunity to get some good shots. For the second half, she was down the bottom of the bottom at the finish line, catching the snowboarders as they skidded to a halt, spraying snow over the onlookers.
Jon was a natural, body poised perfectly on his board, grinning at the crowds and then directly at Clary as he came to a stop. She snapped half a dozen shots and then turned her camera up to where Jace was speeding down the final part of the trail. He looked as good as Jon—maybe even better—his knees bent, his elbows tucked in close to his sides. The goggles he was wearing only covered half his face, but the scarf covered the lower half, keeping him safe from wind and sun burn. He pulled it down when he reached the bottom, and grinned widely, waving at the fans and then at Clary.
It was just before five, and the sun was starting to sink in the sky and paint orange and pink streaks across the snow, when they announced the winners. Clary squealed and jumped up and down when Jon was given first place, and almost forgot to take photos. Jace was second place, and she switched off when the next three were announced.
The bar at the lodged did well that night.
Fans were falling over themselves to buy drinks for the snowboarders, especially the ones going through to the finals, and the athletes were bathing in the glory. Clary only got a couple of glimpses of her brother, but most of the time he was surrounded by leggy blondes—just his type. Simon bailed on the celebration party early, disappearing upstairs to call his girlfriend, leaving Clary to her own devices. She hadn't planned on staying late, but she was having fun, talking to Maia, one of the competitors who was going through to the finals with her brother. It was almost midnight when she swiveled around in her chair and realized that she had had a few more drinks than she had thought, almost tipping of her chair.
"Shit, girl," Maia laughed. "I think we better slow down."
"Yeah," Clary shook her head and grinned. "I think I'm gonna head up to bed."
"I'll go find Jordan, I want to celebrate getting through to the finals," Maia wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Clary laughed. The girl got off her seat and disappeared into the masses, leaving Clary at the bar. She was about to turn and pay her tab when Jace appeared next to her, resting his forearms on the bar.
"I think you're celebrating enough for all of us," he grinned widely at her.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you can find someone here to celebrate with you," Clary rolled her eyes at him. Jace glanced over his shoulder and then turned back to her.
"Eh, no one I want to celebrate with," he replied.
"Then that's your loss," she told him, pulling out her wallet and handing her debit card over to the bartender.
"No, no, no," Jace snatched it back and replaced it with his. "Drinks are on me."
"Shouldn't I be paying for your drinks?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, her green eyes glowing behind the strands of red hair that were falling around her face. "As a congrats?"
"A gentleman never lets a lady pay for drinks," Jace said.
"I wouldn't have pegged you for a gentleman."
"Well, I wouldn't peg you for a lady," Jace shot back with a smirk. "But we can all play pretend, right?" Clary rolled her eyes again, but couldn't help but smile. She swung her legs from side to side, which nearly threw her off balance and she quickly gripped the sides of the bar to remain upright.
"Come on, Ms Fray," Jace said to her, moving so that she was turned to face him and held out his hands to her. "I'll take you up to your room."
"Ooh, my room aye?" Clary raised her eyebrows at him and then jerked back in her seat, a puzzled look on her pretty face.
"What's wrong?" Jace asked.
"How do you know my last name is Fray? Everyone thinks it's Morgernstern."
"I told you the other day, Clary," Jace smiled at her again, and even in her drunken haze, she could tell that there was something different about the smile. It wasn't cocky and it made his golden eyes soften and his lips curve in a way that made her want to taste them. "We've known each other for a while. Or at least," he pulled a mock hurt expression. "I've known you for a while. Apparently you've only noticed me as Jon's friend."
"I've noticed you!" Clary blurted out and then pressed her lips together as Jace's eyes widened in surprise. She tired to twist the bar stool back to the bar so that she wasn't facing him anymore, and would have promptly fell off if Jace hadn't lunged forward and grabbed her. He pulled her close to him and Clary felt her body collide with hers, clearly toned and muscular from his years of snowboarding. She flushed as he tilted back her face and tucked her red hair behind her ear,
"You have gorgeous eyes, Clary," he said quietly. Clary made a huffing noise under her breath and lowered her gaze awkwardly.
"Whatever," she mumbled, trying to play it off. "Everyone becomes gorgeous when you're drunk—you even somehow get better looking."
"You admit you think I'm good looking?" Jace smirked.
"Yeah, well..." she shrugged. Jace let the silence between them linger for a moment, letting the loud music and laughs of the crowd surrond them.
"Come on, Clary," he repeated his sentiment from earlier. "I'll take you up to your room—I don't think that you'll make it alone."
"You carrying on this charade of being a gentleman?" Clary giggled as she slid off the bar stool and wobbled precariously.
"Something like that," Jace steadied her, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist. They made their way out of the main dining area and to the main foyer. There were a couple of drunk people, who all gave them smiles as they shuffled forward. "Just for the record," Jace murmured, his mouth close to her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I don't think you're gorgeous because I'm drunk. I don't touch alcohol during competition season."
"Oh," Clary muttered, glad that she was looking down and her reddened cheeks were reached the stairs, and Jace had to practically carry Clary up the stairs. She knew that she was going to be embarrassed about this in the morning—she wasn't usually this tragic a drunk—but the alcohol in her system impeded that feeling for now.
"Have you got your key card?" Jace asked as they finally managed to reach her room.
"Yeah, yeah," Clary tried to reach into her back pocket but her fingers just weren't functioning.
"Okay, I'm gonna get the card out," Jace told her, readjusting his grip. "I'm gonna go into your back pocket—"
"So much for gentlemanly," Clary giggled, leaning forward against the door and sticking her ass out. Jace rolled his eyes and grinned, reaching two fingers into her back pocket and pulling out the key card. He quickly pulled his hand back out and swiped the key card against the lock and then helped her inside. Clary stumbled away from him and to the bed, kicking off her shoes and swinging her legs.
"Shit, it's freezing in here," Jace muttered as he kicked the door shut and rubbed his hands together.
"I feel warm," she sung out from the bed, laying back and staring at the ceiling.
"That's because you have an alcohol jacket on," Jace commented as he turned on the heating system and then came over and sat down next to her. Clary blinked up at him, her body feeling comfortably numb and her eyelids getting heavy. "Clary?" She blinked again as she realized that he was talking to her. "You want to get under the blankets?"
"Only..." she mumbled as she rolled over and crawled up to the head of the bed. "If you join me."
"I don't think that's the best idea," Jace said, glancing back at Clary and then quickly away as he saw her taking off her jersey. "Really don't think it's the best idea."
"Why, you scared I'm gonna jump you? You sounded like you would've liked that downstairs," Clary grinned as she dropped her shirt to the ground.
"If you weren't drunk, I would love for you to jump me," Jace replied, turning back around and snapping his mouth shut as he took her in. Clary was nestled back in her pillows, her cheeks flushed from alcohol, the blankets pushed down around her waist, and a bra was the only thing covering her torso. She smiled shyly at him and patted the spot next to her. Jace considered it for a moment, taking in a deep breath, before getting up and flicking off the light switch. The only light in the room came from her laptop, which was on a screensaver of the photos that she had taken that day. Jace toed off his shoes and then pulled off his sweatshirt, leaving on his singlet and loose pants. He slid between the covers and stiffened as Clary curled her body around his. To wrap his arm around her waist was instinctive and he breathed in deeply, smiling slightly as he smelt her vanilla shampoo.
"You excited about the championships next week?" Clary asked, her voice soft.
"It depends," he gave her bare hip a slight squeeze.
"Depends on what?"
"You gonna be there?"
"Okay, I'm not so drunk that I don't realize that line was completely cheesy," she giggled.
"A man's gotta try," Jace laughed. They were quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "So? Are you gonna be there?"
"Yeah, with my camera," she replied.
"Good."
"Good?"
"Yeah," Jace rolled onto his side so that they were facing each other. "You're like my lucky charm."
"That's awfully presumptuous."
"Who uses the word 'presumptuous' when they're drunk?" Jace laughed again, his chest rising and falling against hers. Clary trailed her hand up his chest, resting it near his shoulder. He took in a deep breath and tightened his grip, pulling her closer so that there was no room between their bodies. He could feel her breath on his lips and leaned forward, pressing his mouth to hers. He didn't give her time to respond before pulling away.
"I thought that you were scared I was going to jump you," her voice was soft.
"I'm not having sex with you while you're drunk," he said. "There's no way that after all this time that I finally get you to properly notice me and don't get a kiss," Jace murmured. He traced circles on the skin of her hip and felt her shiver underneath his touch. This time, she leaned forward, their lips melding together and tongues rolling over one anothers. Her hand reached up to cup his neck and she made a little whimpering noise against his mouth when his hand slipped from her hip and squeezed her ass. Jace bit down gently on her lower lip before pulling back, able to make out her hazy eyes slightly from the faded blue light coming from her laptop. He looked over her shoulder to the desk and grimaced.
"What's wrong?" Clary asked, sounding worried.
"You're an amazing photographer, Clary," Jace began. "But I can't be in bed with you with those photos on." Clary twisted around to look over at her laptop and smirked when she realized it was a photo she had taken of her half brother when he had gotten to the bottom of the mountain, a grin on his face, staring directly at the camera and making it seem as though he could see right through them. She reached over and slammed the lap top shut and then snuggled back down next to him. "Okay," he smirked, pulling her so that she was stretched over him. "That's better."
"Stop talking," Clary muttered. "Just kiss me."
Now, two things that have made me get the feels over the past week. Went to the beach for a long weekend with a couple of my girls, which was awesome. Admittedly, we only actually went down to the beach once and spent the rest of it drinking wine and eating pizza and watching Geordie Shore and Ex On The Beach marathons, but it was perfect. The second thing is the song Haunt by Bastille. Oh my GOD. That song just makes me ache every time I hear it! It's so perfect, I just get the shivers.