A/N: This story is better than it sounds by the summary. This is my first fanfic, so be nice! No flames, please!
It was a week after the battle on the boat. Everyone was still exhausted from the fight, and even Isabelle, who was always up for cooking, didn't feel like making any of her inedible mush. So I volunteered to go to Taki's to get food.
I got into the elevator. Before I could press the button for the ground floor, the doors whooshed closed and the elevator started to move. I didn't think it was odd, so when the doors slid open I was surprised when Clary was standing there, her finger hovering over the "up" button. Judging by her expression, she was surprised too.
"-on," she finished, dropping her arm from the button. "Oh. Hi."
Still staring, I forced out, "Clary?" Even now, months after I had first seen her, the sight of her made me want to take her into my arms and kiss her.
"You cut your hair," she said, and she was right. I had. Or rather, Maryse had. "Oh. Right. Maryse cut it." Unconsciously, my hand had gone to my hair. I was still standing in the elevator, so when the doors started to shut, I held them back. "Did you need to go up to the Institute?" I asked her.
She shook her head no. "I just wanted to talk to you." she said, surprising us both.
"Oh." I said, my surprise showing clearly on my face. I stepped out of the elevator, letting the doors shut behind me. "I was just running over to Taki's to pick up some food. No one really feels like cooking…." I said, explaining what I was doing.
"I understand." I could tell she wished she hadn't said that. I didn't understand why, but of course I didn't really understand Clary in general, like why I loved her more than I should.
"We can talk there." I said, starting towards the door. When I realized she wasn't following me, I turned around and snapped, "Are you coming, or not?" I could see why she hadn't moved. She'd been staring at me for no apparent reason.
"Oh. Right. I'm coming." As she ran to catch up with me, I thought I saw a flash of something in her eyes - hurt, maybe?
As we walked to Taki's, she seemed to avoid subjects including me, her, or us. It was kind of strange, but I passed it off as she asked about everyone else was doing. I hesitated while we were crossing First, the wind blowing up the street. There weren't any clouds, a perfect autumn day in New York.
"I'm sorry." Clary winced. Why? There was so much I didn't understand about this girl… "They must be pretty miserable. All those people they knew are dead."
She was so kind. "It's different for Shadowhunters," I said. "We expect death in a way you-"
She sighed. I could tell she hadn't been able to hold it back. "'You mundanes don't.' That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"
"I was," I admitted. "Sometimes it's hard even for me to remember what you really are." We were at Taki's now, and the ifrit guarding the door was staring at us with his glowing red eyes.
"I'm Clary," she said.
I loved the way she said her own name, as if she didn't even care. "I know." Her hair was blowing into her face. I reached up to brush it away without thinking.
On the way in, we passed Kaelie, the pixie waitress that I had once dated. There were a couple of werewolves arguing about something that involved some wizard dude named something like Dumbledore from a book series and Magnus Bane. I think it was about who would win in a fight.
When we sat down, Clary asked, "This is so weird. Are you listening to them?"
Even though I was, I answered, "No. It's rude to eavesdrop." At the same time, I was examining the menu. When she didn't answer, I said, "You're staring at me," without looking up. "Why are you staring at me? Is something wrong?"
At that moment, Kaelie showed up at the table, preventing Clary from answering. She asked, "Do you know what you want?" By her expression, I could tell that Clary was caught completely off guard. She ordered a few random things off the menu, while I ordered sweet potato fries and some of the Lightwoods' favorite dishes to-go. With our order in hand, Kaelie left.