Senses

Part 1: The Scent of Strawberries

Tessa sat in the drawing room, her fingers pressed against the aging pages of a particularly interesting book that she had found in the library that morning. It was oddly calm in the Institute that morning – no signs of Henry on fire or Will telling wild tales of his escapades the night before. Even Jessamine seemed to have a severe lack of anything unpleasant to say, which was considerably odd since Tessa had worn a pale lavender dress that she had earlier deemed 'Utterly hideous with her skin tone'. Sighing, Tessa flipped the page, feeling bored despite the vivid descriptions of odd Downworlder traits recorded throughout history. She wished there was something to do today but she didn't want to become a burden to the others – after all, it wasn't their duty to entertain house guests.

As though answering her prayers, Jem appeared around the corner with a beatific look on his face. He looked better today, his eyes a lively silver and his skin looking a little less translucent and sallow. He had scared her half to death yesterday when he doubled over in lung wrenching coughs, and even more so when he had lain in bed for the entire afternoon and evening with sweat drenched clothes and feverish skin.

"Hello Jem," greeted Tessa with a smile, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

His eyes danced with amusement "Trying to get rid of me already?"

Tessa's smile widened "Of course not. Is there something you wanted?"

He walked towards her, his steps languid and graceful. Holding out his hand, he pulled her up from her sitting position on the armchair. She left the book on the coffee table, vaguely remembering the page number so that she could continue reading it later.

"I thought you might enjoy a little time outside," said Jem, placing her hand in the crook of his arm while leading her down the hallways.

Tessa frowned with concern, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Upon such close proximity she noticed that he had a very distinct smell about him when he wasn't covered in demon's blood and sweat – it was spicy and earthy, and a tiny bit sweet from the yin fen. Tessa found it pleasant and comforting, words that she often associated with the boy beside her.

"It's a splendid idea," replied Jem easily, nodding to Sophie who looked at the pair curiously "And it's not far"

Tessa acquiesced, deciding that some fresh air may do him good. The pair kept up a stream of steady conversation, ranging from Henry's newest inventions to Shadowhunter politics between the families. Soon enough, Jem led them out of a side door that Tessa had never seen. Stepping out into the sunlight, Tessa was surprised to find that they were in a small but lush garden.

"I didn't know London had enough sunlight to actually grow things," remarked Tessa dryly, though her eyes betrayed her delight. The garden was small but had lovely dense green hedges lining the perimeters as well as blooming flowers of every colour and kind neatly potted into their flowerbeds. However, it wasn't those things that made Tessa smile with fond nostalgia. It was the scent, a deep heady perfume that permeated everything in its entirety.

Strawberries.

Again, Jem seemed to know what she was thinking. With a knowing smile touching his lips, he led her towards the strawberry patch and sat her down on the stone bench next to it. Somehow, he must have known she would come with him because on the ground was a wicker picnic basket filled to the brim with wild strawberries as well as a pitcher of cider and two cups.

"I heard they were your favourites" murmured Jem, pouring them each a glass of amber liquid. Tessa resisted the urge to throw her arms around him and envelope him in a hug at his kindness. She didn't remember telling anyone about how her mother use to make strawberry jam tarts for her sometimes, or how the Gray family would go berry picking in the American summers. But somehow Jem had known, like he always seemed to know things, and it warmed her heart to think he cared enough to go out of his way to do lovely things for her.

"Thank you Jem," she said finally, settling on giving him a tremulous smile. She fought back the tears that were threatening to spill, feeling a little bit ridiculous that she was almost about to cry "Thanks for everything"

He ducked his head slightly, busying himself with sorting out strawberries to hand to her in a thick napkin "You're quite welcome"

Tessa saw the high spots of colour bloom on his cheeks, contrasting against his pale skin. He was embarrassed of all things!

Tessa gently placed her hand on his arm, realising that he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows so that she was touching his warm skin. She took a deep breath and spoke, sincerity and honesty lacing her words.

"Really Jem, Thank you. I want you to know that I never take you for granted. That I appreciate everything you do for me even though you know you don't have to. Thank you"

Jem looked mildly speechless at her confession, his mouth parting slightly so she could see a hint of his tongue. As though noticing her staring, he closed his mouth hurriedly and licked his lips before pulling a particularly ripe berry from the napkin and holding it towards her mouth.

"Try some, they're delicious," he said lightly, seemingly unaware of Tessa's flushed cheeks and wide eyes.

She leant forward, capturing the fruit in her mouth with a quick nip of her teeth as Jem watched, fixated as she chewed thoughtfully.

"It is delicious," declared Tessa at last, savouring the sweet fragrant juices "Did you plant these?"

Jem laughed, light and quick "Heavens no! Charlotte is the secret gardener out of us all. She planted these a few months ago when the weather began to warm up"

"Would she mind that we're eating these?" asked Tessa, plucking another strawberry from Jem's lap and placing it delicately in her mouth.

He shook his head, a stray lock of silvery hair falling into his eyes that glinted with amusement "No, I complimented her heavily on her gardening skills this morning. She seemed awfully embarrassed for some reason and told me that I could eat as much as I want as long I don't tell another soul"

Tessa laughed, the sound startlingly loud in the garden "You broke her promise then"

He levelled his gaze with hers, his warm fingers finding hers before entwining them together with a familiarity that still left her breathless "You are worth it"

She smiled, scooting over closer so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder and knee-to-knee. In this moment, free of the future and free of their own pasts, all was perfect between them in this little safe haven doused in golden light. Angling her head slightly, Tessa rested comfortably against Jem's shoulder, watching the sun set over the city skyline in the distance as the scent of strawberries bathed them in a beautiful memory.

A/N: ANOTHER Jem and Tessa story – I know, I know… But in my defence, I'm just stocking up on super duper happy pleasant thoughts about those two before Clockwork Princess comes out and ruins all of that :P For some reason, I usually write fluffy kind of stories on this site but in real life I can't even stand public displays of affection. Weird, or is that just like everyone else?

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please review :)

- DecoyDream x

By the way, the theme for these little ficlets is obviously each of the five senses but they are not related time wise and nor are they set in any specific time period. If I were to say, it's probably around Clockwork Prince times when Jem and Tessa started happening fo' real.