Notes: Written for the Fandom Writing Challenge over on tumblr. My prompt was log cabinand this is what came out of it. Hope you enjoy it and I'd love to know what you think!
It had been a ridiculous idea to begin with, but Jace had still been able to see it for what it really was – an opportunity.
In fact, that was exactly what made it so appealing. Jace was sure that if they'd really tried, they would have avoided it somehow, but in the end of the day, neither him nor Alec had protested too much at the prospect of being sent out in the middle of nowhere on something that resembled a wild goose chase to truly be anything else.
Still, it had to be done and having Alec do it had seemed like the best option in Maryse's eyes. While Jace was sure that she had no plans of giving up her position as Head of the Institute any time soon, everyone knew that this was what Alec was being prepared for and Jace hadn't really been surprised that she'd seen this as a teaching opportunity. He'd had the sneaking suspicion that things would go this way the moment he'd heard that the newest mission involved some kind of a war for territory between two vampire clans just outside of the city and while Alec hadn't said anything on the matter, he knew that his parabatai had thought the same.
When Alec had agreed to the assigned mission, Jace had immediately requested to join him. It was a given that he couldn't go alone - not just because it was too dangerous but because he would need at least a little support in the face of only the Angel knew how many vampires - and who would be a better choice than his parabatai? His request had been granted without a second's thought and Jace had been almost smug when he'd packed his bags for their trip. Managing to slip under the Clave's radar - and, more importantly, under their constant surveillance - was quite a feat and he while he'd mentioned none of it to Alec, Jace knew that they could use the opportunity to have some time for themselves. They were both tired of sneaking around and constantly looking over their shoulders and finally, finally, they would be granted a moment of peace.
Jace's enthusiasm didn't wane during their final preparations - if anything, it had only been getting stronger ever since they'd actually left the city - and yet, as soon as he spotted the accommodations that the Institute had arranged for them, he could feel himself starting to doubt the success of the trip he'd envisioned.
"We have to blend in," Alec announced as he dug into his bottomless pockets for (Jace assumed) the key to the building in front of them. "If they can fix this conflict on their own, there might be no need for intervention, but in case there is, the more we can surprise them, the better. That way, if anyone's breaking the Law, we'd know." Alec threw him a look over his shoulder. "Vampires always get cautious with Shadowhunters around."
"They do," Jace replied faintly, eyes still locked on the log cabin - log cabin - they'd been provided with. "So you want us to pretend that we're tourists?"
"It'll take just a bit of glamour," Alec shrugged. "And it's better to be as close to the nearest vampire den as possible. The first hotel is almost ten miles from here."
"Are there any cameras?"
The door opened with a deafening creak once Alec pushed it hard enough and he stifled a cough as he stepped in. "No." His parabatai's voice sounded almost distant until he opened the nearest window. "It's not property of the Clave, if that's what you're asking. We just rented it for the occasion."
It was a reasonable decision and, as much as Jace hated to admit it, it was probably the best option they had. Even if they were far enough from the city for the Institute to not be able to reach the local CCTV, there was always the risk that someone would be able to do it if they put their mind to it. Here, they were quite literally in the middle of nowhere and if that was what it took to have a moment of peace with no one but Alec around, then Jace was going to make the most of it.
He decisively followed Alec in, picking up his own luggage and surveying their surroundings fully for the first time.
The heat they'd had to endure back in New York was mercifully absent in the forest they'd been sent to; the sparse trees drowning the cabin in shadows. It was a good place as any to start a dispute over if you were a vampire, Jace supposed; some of the children of the night preferred their peace and tended to look for it in places like this one rather than the big city. And he couldn't really blame them - the place was beautiful enough to compensate for its remoteness.
It couldn't compensate for what was waiting for him once he stepped over the threshold.
"Maryse really outdid herself this time," he said, dropping his bag on the floor. He regretted it almost immediately - while the furniture had clearly been meddled with in the past few days in preparation for their arrival, every other flat surface was covered in a fine layer of dust and the floor was no exception. "We could have just slept outside, you know."
"And left our weapons laying around? What if someone comes by and we don't wake up? Or the vampires find us while we're asleep?"
On second thought, maybe Maryse had nothing to do with this. Alec was perfectly capable of thinking of the worst possible scenarios for every situation all on his own. "Fine. Let's get settled, then."
They were standing in something resembling a living room and Jace headed for the nearest door to take a look at the bedroom. It was better than he'd expected even if it looked just as abandoned as the rest of the place and he motioned Alec to come over and see it too.
"A double bed," he noted and found it in himself to smile. "You really think of everything, huh?"
"I don't know what you mean." If he had been anyone else - anyone who didn't know Alec as well as he did - Jace was sure that he would have missed the change in Alec's voice; the clear boredom of the past several hours vanishing in favour of something that almost resembled mischief. "This place was the only option we had. And I was just about to offer that one of us should take the couch."
"Liar." It was an easy accusation to make when they were out here, so far away from anything and anyone they knew; far away enough to remind Jace that for the first time in a while, they truly were alone.
"It's true," Alec protested, still too busy surveying the room to pay attention to Jace's realisation. "It was the best place I could think of, and if you've got any other-"
Before he could even finish his offer, Jace kissed him.
It only occurred to him now how much he'd missed this. He spent a lot of his daily life by Alec's side and it wasn't like they could never afford anything more than a hug, but it was never anything like this. Unless they'd made the effort to excuse themselves from the Institute for one reason or another, they never dared to exchange anything more than a quick peck in public and even that - even their most personal moments - was loaded with the constant, underlying knowledge of the crime they were committing.
It made their kiss all the sweeter now and Jace relished in it while he could still have it. Alec, who had caught up quickly enough, pulled him closer into his embrace, hands settling in the small of Jace's back as if to keep him from drawing away. The happiness between them, mixed with desperation as it was, was almost enough to make Jace want to reassure him that there was no danger of separation, not right now, not right here, but he couldn't muster the strength to do it; not when he could let his body do the convincing instead.
Alec seemed more than happy to let him and Jace laughed into his kiss as his parabatai's arms tightened around him just a fraction before he was pushed onto the bed behind them.
o.O.o
"We won't be able to get anything done today." Alec noted later the same day as he kept wandering around the limited space of the cabin for any possible flaw in their security that they hadn't noticed. He'd been at it for a while and at some point, Jace had stopped participating - they'd checked everything and they knew enough to be sure that the place was hopeless against anything even remotely supernatural. "It's started raining."
Of course it had, Jace thought as he sorted through the food they'd brought with themselves. Rain was the last thing they needed if they wanted to get the job done quickly as it hindered any attempt they could make to be inconspicuous. No tourists in their right mind would come out for a walk during a thunderstorm and chances were the vampires wouldn't like it too much either. A storm like this was just a step away from a forest fire and the creatures of the night had far too many reasons to try and avoid that. The fact that there at least wouldn't be any trouble was a small comfort, but Jace welcomed it anyway.
"We can get started tomorrow morning," he said and approached Alec where he stood in the corner of the room examining the almost unnoticeable spot where the rain had dripped through the wood. "Alec, calm down. No one even knows we're here, least of all the local Downworld."
"We were supposed to get this done as quickly as possible." Even as he spoke, Alec let himself be led away from his corner and back to the table in the middle of the room. "I thought you wanted to get away from here."
"You did?" Jace's feigned surprise didn't last long under his parabatai's unimpressed stare and Jace laughed as he settled down on the sofa. The deafening of yet another thunder made them both flinch, their bodies always on alert for potential dangers even when they'd done their best to relax. Still, any possible danger was as far away as it could be and Jace leant over the table for a kiss; a wordless celebration of that fact. "The thought hasn't even crossed my mind."