Tis now safe to post this :) Hope you all enjoyed your christmas / hannukah / holidays / new year's

Salt Is The New Mistletoe

Simon throws his hands up in the air as he finally, finally stops pacing the living room of Magnus Bane.

"Are you done, Sammy?"

"Magnus, I know you know my name. And this is serious!"

Magnus sighs deeply but then stands up so he's directly in front of the vampire and blinks slowly. "Love you as I do, Sally, my advice to you will stay the same no matter how much you wear down my carpet."

"Sally isn't even remotely close to Simon!"

"Who's Sally?" Magnus asks, feigning innocence.

Simon just glares at him. "I can't just tell him!"

"Then sing it to him!" Magnus replies, trying to hide his exasperation at the perpetually angst-ridden teen.

Said angst-ridden teen opens his mouth to argue but then falls silent, his eyes darting back and forth as he seems to plan something. Magnus raises an eyebrow at the look but smiles to himself, pushing Simon into a seated position on the beanbags before heading to his study.

It's hours later when Simon finally stirs from his contemplative state and searches for Magnus. He ends up only finding a note written in literally dazzling cursive, a note that tells him he can leave at any time because the wards on the apartment have been temporarily modified for him.

Smiling, he heads to the park so he can find a quiet corner where he can write this song.

Within minutes, he's immersed in his notebook, perched on his side atop one of the most peculiar boulders in the area, but that's nothing new - he's known to be crammed into the smallest nook or the strangest cranny with his glasses stuck to his face as if they've been superglued.

It's strange how naturally the words flow when he's picturing those mismatched eyes, those golden locks of hair in the sunlight, or that swing of a seraph blade. The lyrics piece themselves together like patchwork and his handwriting morphs into an almost illegible scrawl in his rush to get the words down. He can feel himself falling into a zone he usually doesn't leave until he has a completed first draft.

"Simon?" a voice asks, and he jumps, dropping his notebook, losing his balance, diving after said notebook despite his lack of equilibrium, and eventually falling on his side.

"Sorry!" the same voice exclaims, except now it sounds bashful and surprised, not to mention rather similar to someone he knows…

"Jace?"

'Naturally blond' hair flies up and settles once again as Jace nods quickly. "The one and only."

"What are you doing here?" Simon pushes his glasses further up his nose for no reason other than to avoid staring at Jace's perfectly mismatched eyes.

"I, uh, wanted a walk."

"A… walk?" Simon echoes, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, you know, moving your legs and lifting your feet?"

"Are you suggesting I don't know how to walk?"

Jace, to Simon's shock, flushes a deep cherry red and shakes his head. "Of course you know how to walk, that's how you get in all those impressive- I mean, crazy positions all the time."

Simon grins to himself but nods slowly, trying to act confused. It doesn't last long, however, because his phone rings and he jumps at least half a metre into the air, his notebook once again flying out of his hands only to land at Jace's feet. His eyes wide, he immediately grabs it back before the shadowhunter can blink, his heart racing.

"Trouble?" Simon asks as his greeting after picking up the phone with a silent, bashful apology to Jace.

"What do you think of me? I went to your parents'…" Clary trails off.

Simon can tell Jace is staring but dismisses the thought. "You did? Did they say anything about, uh, well… me?"

"No." Clary pauses, and Simon swears he can hear sirens but she continues, "Whatever you and Magnus did… worked… I'm sorry?"

His eyes close for the briefest of moments but he tries not to feel bad about it and instead reaches for the pride that should arise from a plan carried out correctly. He shakes his head. "Uh, thanks, I'll see you?"

"You bet," Clary responds; Simon hangs up.

He pockets his phone and runs a hand through his hair, sighing.

"Everything okay?" Jace asks. Simon had almost forgotten he was there.

"Clary's fine. I mean, I thought I heard sirens but there's usually sirens around there so I'm guessing she's alright and-"

"Simon," Jace interrupts, a bemused expression on his face. "I don't care about Clary."

Simon blinks.

"Wait, that's not what I meant; I do care about Clary." Jace looks like he wants to whack his head on the nearest wall. "It's just that I wasn't asking about her."

"Then who were you asking about?"

After a moment's hesitation, Jace answers: "The most oblivious vampire in all of history, apparently."

Simon's brows furrow in confusion as he considers this before he puts two and two together, so to speak. "You mean me? You were asking about me?"

Jace rolls his eyes but then nods as if worried about Simon's response. Simon shakes his head at the thought, knowing that there's no way someone like Jace could care what he thought... Sadly.

"What about me?"

"Is everything okay?" Jace asks, his voice as kind as the concern in his eyes.

Simon realises that he'd been biting his lip in anticipation of the reply but he clears his throat as Jace sends him a comforting smile. "I, um- yeah, I'm good. Not as good as Mike, mind you, but better than Joyce. I mean, those lights were quite the feat and I think-"

"Simon." Jace's clearly amused but still sharp voice cuts into his growing tangent, causing him to pause his answer. "I have no idea what you're saying, you nerd."

"Remind me to introduce you to Netflix," Simon mutters to himself before coughing. "Uh, I'm good."

"Sure? Do you want- do you need help with anything or...?"

Simon opens his mouth to decline but changes his mind and worries his lower lip instead

"So you do need help?" Jace asks, trying not to sound overly eager.

He can't even admit to himself that he'd gone out with something in his brain wanting to find Simon, never mind admit it to anyone else out loud, especially not the nerdy vampire himself. Luckily, something else clicks in his brain and he gasps loud enough to make Simon jump before apologising and declaring, "It's Hanukkah soon, isn't it?"

If Simon's frozen smile and arched eyebrows are anything to go by, he's astonished.

Jace doesn't know if he should feel proud of inviting such a beautiful expression onto the vampire's face or if he should feel guilty for painting himself as a person who wouldn't care about other people's celebrations.

"Don't worry about it," Simon says eventually.

No way is Jace having that. "How can I help? Do you want me to- I mean, should I buy ingredients or whatever?" He resists the urge to clench his fists. "Got nothing better to do anyway…"

He'd added the last lie to try and tone down his eagerness but the way Simon's excitement dims a little makes him regret it with every fibre of his being.

A strange silence floats between them until Simon nods. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I could use your arms." He goes redder than a vampire should be able to. "I mean, an extra set of arms."

"What do we- you need?" Jace asks, confusing himself by wondering what's wrong with his arms then cursing at himself for overthinking Simon's words.

"I don't know yet, I'll have to check what I- oh. Um, actually, I have to check what the recipe is."

"You don't know it?" Jace asks, then digs his nails into his palms. "I mean, I thought you'd remember because you seem like someone with a good memory and this seems like another thing you could retain but it's absolutely if you don't because there's no pressure or anything…" He fizzles out as he sees Simon laugh.

"For someone who says 'I mean' a lot, you don't seem to be telling me what you really mean."

I can't, Jace thinks, because you would run away from me faster than you've ever run in your whole life.

"So, what do you need?" Jace asks, ignoring the twisting of his stomach and raking a hand through his hair.

"We probably need to take a trip to the supermarket or something," Simon says, "unless you have eggs and potatoes in your pockets?"

Jace snorts, then catches himself. "That's not funny."

"Are you sure?" Simon asks as he starts leading the way. "You seem pretty amused to me."

Following Simon, Jace decides not to reply at all, letting a strangely soothing silence fall upon them once again. The two of them walk in silence to the nearest shop before Simon freezes without warning; Jace crashes right into him and lets out a small yelp.

"I can't-" Simon's statement stops as abruptly as his movement a few seconds ago.

"What is it?" Jace asks.

Simon shakes his head, nervously wringing his hands. "These people… They all know me. I can't go in… I can't…"

Jace has never before acted upon his small desire to wrap an arm around Simon's shoulders but he swallows his anxiety and does so, sending the vampire what he hopes is a comforting smile. "I'll do it for you, they won't be able to see you."

"You will?"

"Yeah, I'll be able to see you," Jace replies, pulling his arm back after a small attempted pat of reassurance.

Simon smiles. "No, I mean, you'd do that for me?"

Oh. Jace can't form words that accurately describe how willing he is to help Simon and how long he's wanted to do something that shows he cares so he just nods, raising an eyebrow. "Like I said, I've got nothing better to do."

When he says that, he doesn't mean to say he's only doing this because nothing else has come up. He literally means that helping Simon and trying to show he cares is the most enjoyable scenario he can imagine but, sadly, Simon doesn't seem to understand what he's trying to say. A part of Jace wishes he could explain but his fear of the endless potentially catastrophic outcomes stops him from doing so.

They sort out the runes and things needed for their arrangement, Jace swallowing the deep regret in his chest that doesn't seem to make sense but he can't find a way to stop it, to explain it, to unravel it.

"Right, what's first?" Jace asks, making sure his voice doesn't give anything away.

"Uh, potatoes," Simon answers, so the two of them enter the shop, Jace confident and full of smiles, Simon jittery and nervous.

"Why are there six different kinds of potatoes?" Jace mutters under his breath.

The woman beside him almost crashes into Simon with her violent jump of shock. She squints at Jace as if analysing him, then smiles. "What is it you're making, dear?"

Jace blanches, looking to Simon with a bemused expression. Simon laughs for a second but then mouths 'potato latkes' to him, which he then repeats, almost certain he's pronouncing it wrong. Luckily, the woman smiles at him and pats his head. "How kind of you."

"Sorry?"

"Well, you're making this for someone special, right?"

"Uh…" Jace considers her expression and decides it's best to agree. "Yes."

With a soft smile, the woman starts explaining potatoes to him in such detail he can't help wondering why she's not written a book on them yet. Nevertheless, he listens to her explaining about the vegetable for almost five minutes, then politely thanks her and goes to the till so he can pay.

"There's more to buy, you know?" Simon speaks up for the first time since he'd agreed he was making the latkes for someone special.

Jace waits until the potatoes are in a bag and he's out of the shop before replying. "I am not spending another moment in the vicinity of a woman obsessed with potatoes."

"Wouldn't want to ruin your perfect hair, would you?" Simon mutters, rolling his eyes.

"You think my hair's perfect?" Jace questions, his ego fluttering with happiness.

Simon snorts. "As if."

Simon doesn't know if he regrets saying that or not. Something inside of him is glad to have gotten away with such a remark where most people would be glared at or punched but another part of him decides that the diminishing amusement – or whatever it is in Jace's alluring eyes – isn't worth the snippet of satisfaction.

"So, where else?"

"That's all we need actually, Magnus said I can use his kitchen until… well, forever."

"What about him and… you know, Alec? Won't they be, uh, busy?"

Simon chuckles at how awkward Jace sounds talking about something he's no stranger to but shakes his head anyway. "Nah, they're in Brazil or something."

"Brazil? Alec didn't tell me they were going to Brazil…"

"He wouldn't have known." Simon waves a hand. "Magnus planned it as a surprise."

Jace nods, visibly relieved, but then frowns. "How do you know?"

Choosing not to reveal his song-writing decision or his pretty open but probably not as open as he thinks friendship with Magnus, he shrugs. "Overheard some stuff."

Despite being evidently suspicious, Jace accepts that answer. "Are we going to Magnus' place then?"

"You're coming?" Simon asks, shocked.

"I don't have t- If you're not comfortable or-"

"No, no, I just… I thought you'd be busy or something." Simon winces at the weak excuse but keeps his eyes on the shine in Jace's eyes, not wanting to miss a second of it.

"Nothing better to do, remember?" Jace smiles and Simon can tell he isn't saying what he truly means but he doesn't think it's his place to point that out.

And so, with a touch of tension and heaps of curiosity hanging between them, they make their way to Magnus' apartment, Jace carrying the bag of potatoes so he has something to clench his hands around.

"Wait, doesn't Magnus have wards around his apartment?" Jace asks as they climb the stairs in his building.

Simon bites his lip for a moment, considering. "Yeah… But let's try anyway…"

Jace looks mightily dubious but nods, the two of them knocking on the door together.

Simon's eyes widen as the door opens without any trouble; Magnus must have anticipated the two of them coming back together. No wonder he's the high warlock of Brooklyn.

"Well, shut the door, would you?" Jace calls to Simon as he walks into Magnus' kitchen, opening the bag of potatoes.

"How do you know your way around this place?" Simon asks after shutting the door and staring at Jace's hair for an entire minute.

Jace stays silent for the longest two minutes of eternity before shrugging almost nonchalantly. "Alec."

"Alec?" Simon echoes, turning behind him, half expecting to see said shadowhunter.

Chuckling, Jace shakes his head. "No, I mean- I mean I'm usually the one who has to come and find Alec when he's stayed here…"

Simon nods understandingly even though he doesn't understand. He can't tell if he's crazy or kind but it doesn't really matter, the only important thing being Jace and his rather flimsy explanation. A large part of him would love to believe Alec is the only reason to visit Magnus' but a small part of his heart can't stop nagging his brain, saying that Jace himself may have been in trouble, Jace himself may have needed Magnus' help.

He shakes his head, killing the thought. Turning to Jace, he smiles. "Right, do you want to beat the eggs?"

Jace blinks. "Beat them at what?"

There's a second of shock before Simon bursts out laughing, doubling over and one hand flying to his glasses to make sure they don't fall off and break. He doesn't even know why he wears them anymore – he doesn't need them – but it's probably something to do with sentiment and he'd rather not explore that anytime soon.

"You don't know how to beat an egg?" He breathes, his hysteria died down considerably.

"What am I supposed to beat them at?" Jace repeats as if asking the question a second time can make it any more acceptable and not completely wrong.

"You don't know…? Never mind. I have a new plan: sit back and watch," Simon orders, shaking his head.

"Sit and watch? Have you met me?"

"Unfortunately."

Jace groans loudly, rolling his mismatched eyes and lifting himself onto the counter. It wouldn't be a problem but he just watches as Simon dances around the kitchen and grabs the ingredients Jace passes him, doing whatever he has to do with them. He doesn't know what it is about the shadowhunter watching that makes him nervous, but he has butterflies nonetheless.

"Is there something on my face?" Simon asks as he stops to take a breath he doesn't really need. "You've been staring at me for the past six minutes."

Jace jumps and hits his head on the cupboard, immediately wincing and sliding off the counter only to overbalance and crash into Simon, both of them groaning as they beeline to the floor, landing with two soft thuds and the potential for a matching set of bruises.

"Sorry, Lewis." Jace coughs awkwardly, pulling himself up. "My bad."

"That doesn't make it any better," Simon groans, grabbing the bar stool and propping himself up on the counter. "In fact, that almost makes it worse."

Jace smiles, a genuine smile that lights up and crinkles the corners of his eyes.

Simon finds himself smiling at Jace in return without having to force the gesture. It's just something about Jace's bright eyes and hopeful aura that you can't refuse – it's basically a crime to turn away from him. It's a crime Simon would love to commit because it would save him the ache in his chest.

"Pass me the onions?" he asks, trying to change the atmosphere.

"Which ones?" Jace points at the basket of onions. "There are at least four different types here."

"The ones that look easiest to chop?" Simon suggests, making a note to inquire why the High Warlock of Brooklyn needs so many different onions.

He hears Jace mutter something but there's an onion in front of him before he can complain so he just salutes in half-mocking gratitude and carries on preparing the dish.

"You have flour on your face!" Jace informs Simon, already moving forward to get rid of said ingredient.

Simon flinches ever so slightly but leans into Jace's touch as the offending flour is wiped away. Without missing a beat, the two of them lock gazes, their eyes reflecting the confusion and concern they're both feeling. There's a hesitation in Simon's eyes that Jace hasn't seen before, a hesitation he'd never expected of the nerd.

"Why aren't you celebrating with your family?" Jace asks softly.

"They don't remember me," Simon replies eventually, just when Jace has decided he should give up on his curiosity.

Jace must frown because Simon steps back, shaking his head. "It's stupid, I know, I just couldn't stand them..."

"Thinking you weren't yourself and needed fixing?" Jace suggests.

Looking back up at him with a smile, Simon nods. "Yeah, exactly."

Something beeps before the conversation can become any more emotional and Simon moves to stop the infuriating noise so they don't both pull their hair out in desperation. Jace watches, rubbing a finger over the courage rune on his wrist, and smiles as Simon expertly manoeuvre his way around the kitchen as if it was his own house.

Once everything is safe and silent – aside from the gentle hiss of the stove – Simon turns back to Jace and Jace genuinely feels his heart lighten at the thought of someone immediately turning to him just because they can.

"They're not really my family anymore, you know?"

"Huh?"

Simon swallows and carries on. "My parents… they're not really my family. They're the old Simon's family, the human Simon's family. And um- they, uh, they wouldn't want a vampire for son- for a son."

Jace's heart melts and freezes simultaneously. He can't decide if he wants to hug someone or punch something so he chooses to do nothing, letting Simon breathe deeply.

"I don't even need anyone that- anyone to need me, you know? I just… I just want to celebrate with a people- with people that accept me?"

"I accept you," Jace whispers softly. "I will always accept you."

Simon's smile could illuminate a tunnel of despair.

Jace coughs, unsure of himself for once, "And don't you worry, we'll find your pretty face a partner."

"What?"

"There must be someone you like, right?" Jace raises an eyebrow as he pretends not to be cursing himself internally.

Simon blankly stares at him for a few seconds, then chuckles. "Are we really doing this?"

Unfortunately, they have to wait until Simon takes the potato latkas off the stove before the conversation can continue. Even as the vampire does something as simple as removing a pan or whatever it's called, Jace wants to scream his appreciation and do something to wipe the underlying sadness away from him.

"I'm not good at talking about this kind of stuff," Simon says immediately, "but I can sing it for you."

"Sing it?" Jace questions.

"Sure." Simon shrugs. "It's just like performing at Hunter Moon, but with less of an audience."

"I count for at least ten people, right?" Jace winks.

Simon's smile might be small but it's still a smile and Jace is happy to see it there. He follows Simon into what he assumes is the guest room and waits as he assembles his performing equipment.

There's an uncanny lullaby hidden in the melody of Simon's music, one that evokes a happiness inside of him he didn't know he had. Despite the foundation of bliss in the beats, Simon's words are heartfelt and touching, speaking of loves and pains and impossible decisions. Jace doesn't recognise who Simon is singing about in his gentle voice until there's a verse talking about the mysterious person's eyes: it would be hard not to recognise someone describing his own.

He waits for Simon to finish, his mind whirling and his heart just hoping.

"You wrote a song about me?"

Simon shakes his head and for one, chilling moment, Jace thinks he's messed up big-time but the vampire's action is accompanied by a shrug and a whisper: "Obviously."

Jace doesn't know what to say. He's heard a plethora of love confessions in the past but never from someone he's willing to sacrifice his beauty sleep for.

"You think my face is pretty?" Simon asks before Jace can form words in response to the song; speech is never usually a problem for him but music has never been so beautiful.

"The prettiest."

Simon smiles, apparently finding out all he needs from those two words.

He takes a small step forwards, smiling slyly. "You, uh, you have salt on your face."

Apparently, sodium chloride can now be used as an excuse to reveal and display affection; Simon leans forward and plants a small, gentle kiss on Jace's cheek.

Jace almost shivers and swallows before shaking his head. He sees Simon look worried but decides to carry on instead of trying to explain. "You can't get away with that."

"I'm sorry, I thought yo- oh!" Simon practically squeaks as Jace makes his move, this time landing a tiny kiss on Simon's lips with a classic Herondale smirk.

Simon doesn't know how to describe the emotions bubbling inside of him so he just grins widely, pushing his glasses up onto his face and trying not to literally bounce off the walls in excitement.

"Your, uh, potato things?" Jace coughs, flushed.

Raking his slightly shaking fingers through his hair, Simon nods and clears his throat, trying not to focus on his tingling skin. "Right. The Latkes!"

Five minutes later, there's a plate of potato latkes sitting on a plate in between the two of them.

Simon offers Jace the first one, purely to try and exile the tension in the room, but Jace shakes his head. "I think there's something missing."

"What?" Simon asks, alarmed.

Jace winks again, giving Simon a chance to lose himself in the colours of his eyes, and stands up, moving to grab something from the counter behind them. He genuinely has no idea what the shadowhunter is doing until the bottle of salt is placed in front of him.

"I think it needs a pinch of salt, don't you?"

It's hard to contain his grin as he nods slowly. "Maybe more than a pinch?"

Then, both of them completely ignoring the salt despite its existence being the trigger to their current situation, they kiss once again. This time, it's all out and proper, tasting of salt and warmth, potatoes and joy, relief and love.

When they pull away to catch their breath, Jace beams. "Who needs mistletoe when you have salt?"

"Definitely not us," Simon replies, still breathing heavily.

Their interlocked fingers and matching smiles are more than worth the awkward silences and tense moments they'd had to experience. As they share a lovingly sly look, Simon decides he couldn't possibly ask for anyone better to celebrate with, anyone better to share his traditions with, anyone better to love.

Jace coughs. "So, uh, for the record, I might- well, I probably don't really hate you…"

Simon just smiles fondly. "I love you too."

He's going to have to thank Magnus' salt for this one.

Hope you liked it! And feedback or comments? See you next time!