A/N: Songfic based of the song Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks. It's too darn cute and I could not resist!
"Isabelle!" Jace called, running down the hall. His heart raced a mile a minute. Clary and Jace had made a deal. She'd tell Alec if he told Isabelle. Clary wasn't in the mood to get tackled into a wall and screamed at.
A familiar dark head popped out the door, her eyebrow cocked in question. He shoved her back in, shutting the door with my heel. The other eyebrow went up.
"Jace, I never knew you—" She began, her voice taunting. Jace glared, pulling her vanity stool underneath him.
"Oh shut up Izzy. I need your help." He said. She laughed mockingly, sitting on her bed casually. She flicked a sweater off lazily, leaning back on her elbows.
"The great Jace Wayl—Lightwood, whatever your last name is, needs my help?" She clutched her chest dramatically. "What an honor." She said sarcastically. Jace chucked the first thing he could grab, which happened to be a bra, at her head. She caught it, laughing.
"Alright, serious face. What do you need?" Isabelle asked. Jace took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. Isabelle began tapping her fingers against her thigh, waiting impatiently.
"I asked Clary to marry me." He said quickly, watching her face go from bored to shocked to thrilled in a second. Isabelle threw herself off the bed and at Jace. They tumbled off the chair and hit the door with a loud thunk. Isabelle didn't care though as she continued to choke the life out of him, screaming incoherent words. He rolled her over, pinning her underneath his legs and covering her mouth. Isabelle licked his hand but he didn't remove his hand.
"No. You're a screamer." He said. An obnoxious giggle vibrated against his hand.
"Before you ask, she said yes." He said slowly. Isabelle clawed at his hands, attempting to say something. Jace lifted his hand just a centimeter above her lips.
"You asked Luke, right?" She said again, her eyes lit up with a feverish fire. Jace's eyes widened and he sat back. Isabelle snorted, sitting up also.
"I'll take that as a no. Angel, Jace. Be a gentleman. Do the right thing. Big bad shadow hunter isn't afraid of Luke, is he?" She mocked. Jace shot her a sharp glare.
"Of course not." He said sharper than he intended. Isabelle crossed her arms.
"Then go ask him. And take Clary to avoid your pretty face being torn apart." Isabelle said lifting him up. He set his shoulders back and set off to find Clary. He wasn't afraid of the big bad wolf.
"Jace? Clary? What can I do for you?" Luke asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose. Clary gave Jace's hand a reassuring squeeze, her face lit up too bright for a friendly visit. Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion and his eyes flickered towards Clary's stomach. She caught his gaze and nearly lost her head, babbling and waving her hands.
"I swear—no, Luke, stop, it's not that—I—will you please stop glaring at my stomach? The only thing in there is a hot dog, I swear! It's just—" She went on. Jace reached over, gently placing his hand over her mouth.
"Can we talk?" he asked Luke quietly, calmer than Clary had been by far.
"Alone? Luke asked in surprise. Jace nodded, releasing his hand from Clary's lips. Luke gave her a quick glance but gestured towards his office. Jace bent down and kissed Clary's cheek just in case he emerged without something important, like his lips.
"You can wait in the living room if you want. I'll just be a minute." Luke said quickly exiting the room. Jace had to maneuver around old books and newly priced ones into the living room. He glanced around, a habit from years of hunting, and noticed the photos on the wall. He didn't think he had ever really looked at these before. He took a step forward, examining them carefully. He chuckled; they were all of his Clary as a young child.
One was Clary dressed as a princess, a nametag declaring her as 'Cinderella'. She was staring at the camera with a giant, toothless smile and a crooked crown.
His flickered towards the next, Clary sitting on a blue bike with ribbons trailing off the handlebars. Luke's hands were covering hers, her purple helmet askew upon her knotted red hair. She was laughing, her face lit up with pride.
And there was one with her in a nightgown with a yellow rodent looking thing with a lightning bolt for a tail, a pillow blurring through the picture and her hair like fire in the air. Jocelyn was lying across the comforter, her shield a pillow.
A chuckle escaped his lips at the next on the wall. Clary was older, maybe nine or ten. She was in Luke's front yard, running through a sprinkler's discharge. There was a green stain around her mouth and a pile of wrappers in the grass. She was soaked but she seemed to be enjoying herself.
But it was the last one that struck a cord somewhere in that black heart of his. Isabelle and Clary had gone to a father-daughter dance a year or so ago. He remembered the dress well, it was purple and modest but it made her look sexier than he'd ever seen. The photo looked like Isabelle's handy work, she'd always been great with a camera. Clary was staring up at Luke who looked patient and proud as they danced in a very old fashioned way.
Jace leaned in closer, attempting to make out a faded school photo. He heard someone walk in the room, Luke's voice echoing out into the silence.
"She's a pistol, isn't she?" Luke said, the smile apparent in his voice. Jace turned around, returning the grin. He knew this was one of those questions where if he answered anyway but the way Luke wanted, he'd get drop kicked across the river.
"She's quite a woman." Jace said with a chuckle, realizing that he didn't care if Luke took that in a bad way. It'd be his own fault if Luke's thoughts took a nosedive into the gutter.
But Luke just stared at him with a mostly blank look. Jace's brow furrowed for a second before he realized that Luke didn't see the twenty-year-old woman in the next room who was likely pressing her ear against the wall. He saw that little girl with a lopsided crown and sugar stained mouth.
Jace knew Clary thought the world of him. But in Luke's eyes, he was just some chump representing the past he tried to leave behind, here to steal his Cinderella.
"I know what you want Jace. And I respect that you asked me, even if I'm not her real father. You just make that little girl happy." Luke said, reaching over to slap Jace's shoulder that was the male equivalent of a joyous girl hug.
"Clary. You can come in now." Luke said no louder than his regular tone. The door swung open, a mess of red hair and green sweater launched into Luke's arms. She was thanking him in a rapid tone only an excited girl could manage.
Looking at her then, Jace could see it. He could see the little girl with Popsicle residue on her face and a pillow in her hand, ready to bash it against the unsuspecting heads of her family. It brought a pleasant smile to his face.
"I like you Jace. I really do. But you hurt her—" Luke began when Clary released him from her clutches.
Jace held's his hands up in defense. "I know. You'll have my head on a platter and feed it to your pack." He said with a smirk. Luke nodded proudly.
Jace could understand the protective side of Luke that normally irritated him in other parents. After all, he was the one who was stealing Cinderella.