As the sun set behind the New York city skyline, a golden glow filled the bedroom of Jace Herondale. Since the battle in Idris, Jace had been spending an increasing amount of time with his girlfriend Clary, and evidence of her influence on his was spread throughout the room. On his bedside table sat a framed picture of himself and Clary at a café downtown, and above it a landscape painting of Alicante. His previously bare chest of drawers was now neatly covered in mementos and gifts that reminded him of Clary- an antique clock they had found in an old op shop, a collection of Tennyson's poetry she had found online, and a model Empire State Building she had bought him in the gift shop that he thought was ugly and unnecessary but reminded him of her.
The clock read 8:16, and suddenly the door burst open, breaking the silence of the room. Jace walked in, followed by Clary who held his hand loosely and was almost out of breath with laughter.
"Really," said Jace, grinning at Clary's reaction, "I'm not kidding. Antlers and all. It was humiliating."
Clary fell on the bed amidst a blur of laughter and smiles, Jace lying down on his stomach beside her, his elbows supporting him.
Clary stopped laughing only for enough time to speak. "What do you want to grab for dinner?" She asked, a grin still plastered to her freckled face.
Sitting up, Jace leaned against his bed pole and smiled. "I dunno. Chinese? Thai? I hear that Moroccan's making a comeback." He stretched his arms above him and yawned, revealing his scarred, bare skin.
"Chinese sounds good," said Clary, "Leave in five? I've just gotta quickly message Simon back about training tomorrow."
As Clary reached for her phone, Jace replied "You two are gonna hate me by the end of your training. Just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean I'm taking any short cuts with you."
Clary fiddled with her phone, the bright glow of its surface highlighting the curl of her lips as she tried not to smile. "I'd expect nothing less Jace."
"Good," he said, standing up and pulling on a jacket, "And be quick with that. I wanna get to the restaurant before I miss out on mu shu pork. You know I love my mu shu pork."
