Simon had been ecstatic when Clary had called to tell him that they had found an old Dungeons and Dragons game tucked away in one of the many hidden corners of the Institute. He had of course insisted on coming over to play it with the redhead who was his best friend and what he imagined a little sister would be like.
They were sitting, legs crossed as they had done in first grade, in the Sanctuary, the only part of the Institute that Simon could enter, with the musty, worn out board between them. Jace, unable to resist a challenge, was playing with them, and Isabelle and Alec had soon followed, having nothing better to do. Magnus had declined, and was spread out on a fluorescent orange couch he had made appear, apparently more interested in watching his boyfriend playing the nerdy Mundane game than playing himself.
Isabelle was getting increasingly frustrated as the rolls continued to mysteriously come out in Alec's favour. Jace was trying his best to ignore how Clary kept glancing toward the couch, where the occasional blue spark could be seen from where they were sitting. Alec either genuinely didn't notice or was pretending not to.
By the time they finished the sun was almost setting and they were grateful for Maryse and Robert not being around to tell the three young couples that they needed to go to their respective, and separate, homes.
Simon yawned, moving Magnus' long legs off the couch none too gently before throwing himself down on it. The warlock only gave him a slight death glare that he didn't see as he shut his eyes and leaned back. "Well, I'm exhausted." he announced to the room easily. "And hungry," he added. "Isabelle, can you make me a sandwich?"
Simon opened one of his eyes nervously at the silence in the room in response to his question. Clary had her forehead buried in one of her palms, Magnus looked like he was about to start laughing hysterically, and Alec was shaking his head in a manner that clearly said 'You are so screwed.' Simon raised his eyebrows and turned to Jace, whose face was impassively amused as it frequently was. "What did I do?" he asked the blond.
"You might want to start running." Was the only response Jace gave him. It was then that Simon caught Isabelle's eye—her glare put Magnus's previous one to shame and her fingers were twitching toward the perpetual electrum wire strung up her arm.
Eyes wide, Simon jumped off the couch and backed up slowly toward the door of the Sanctuary that led outside. "Right," he told the room, "well, I should probably start heading home now…wouldn't want my mom to worry…" when he felt his hand hit the cold metal bar of the door he turned around and bolted out of it.
As soon as he left Isabelle relaxed her posture, brushing her hair back. "I would have made him one, I really don't care." She said, shrugging.
"Then why did you make him think you were about to murder him?" Magnus inquired, still looking endlessly amused.
Isabelle shrugged again at her favourite sparkly warlock. "It's good for him to have a healthy sense of fear. I'm not going to be with someone who thinks they wear the pants. Boys need to be broken in first before you go making them sandwiches—I'm sure you know that after 800 years."
Magnus shook his head. "Yes, but that doesn't work with the shy, nerdy ones. They tend to run away terrified. Exampli gratia, the Daylighter just now."
"What I don't understand," Jace said, jumping into the conversation, "is why he would ask Isabelle to begin with. Personally, I would rather eat my own foot than a sandwich that Isabelle made. Which reminds me," he said, turning to Clary with a grin, "I'm starved, make me a sandwich?"