Hi there! This is my first time ever writing a fic but I've wanted to do it for ages now!

This story is set during Clockwork Princess as an Alternative Ending (like I said I've not actually

read the real ending yet! haha). It focuses mainly on Gabriel and Cecily but there's plenty of Will

action in there for any Will fans :) I think i've left poor Gideon out a bit in this chapter :(

If i contiue I'll try to write him in a bit more in the next chapter!

WARNINGS: Rated T for only a few uses of mild swearing, and some violence in later chapters.

I welcome constructive critisism but please no flames! .

Please comment! I plan on doing another one or two chapters after this one so If enough people seem

to like it then I'll keep going!

Hope you enjoy :)

Blood splattered the floor between Gabriel's feet and the automatons broken body and something inside Cecily shattered. Gideon shouted his brothers name before he began sprinting towards them across the large space of the courtyard, followed closely by Will; but Cecily was oblivious to either of them. Her entire body had gone completely numb.

"This is absolutely absurd!"

William Herondale had just about had enough. It had only been three days since
he had set out on a solo mission to rescue Tessa from Mortmain's grasp, and he
was already exhausted. When he had set out alone to find Tessa, he had meant to
do just that; find her, alone. He hadn't intended on finding himself weighed
down by one intolerable little sister and two imbecile Lightwoods.

Now, sat round the small camp they had set only a few hours before, Will could
no longer stand to sit and listen to the infuriating trio reorganizing his well
thought out plans to infiltrate Mortmains lair. Obviously they hadn't yet
worked out they were unwelcome; so when Will interrupted their thorough
brainstorming session by suddenly yelling up at the sky in a flurry of
frustration, it was fair to say that the three them were a little taken aback.
Well at least Cecily and Gideon were.

"That's it. I tried to tolerate the three of you but its just not going to
work!" Will yelled, "Your only going to get in the way. All of you
need to go home to the Institute now Or so help me..."

The look on Gabriel's face was of downright insult.

"And just exactly who do you think you're talking to, Herondale?"
Gabriel snapped scowling at Will, "If you think for one second that I'm
going to do what you tell me to then you are sorely-"

Seeing where this was going, another pointless argument between the two boys,
Cecily quickly stepped in, "What Gabriel is trying to say, is that we all
care about Tessa. We want to help rescue her just as much as you-"

At that Gabriel gave Cecily an incredulous look, "Well I'm not sure I
would go that far-"

Lifting her heel, Cecily brought it down sharply on Gabriel's foot, effectively
silencing the younger Lightwood.

"We're coming with you to save Tessa. Whether you like it or not."

For a moment the two Herondale siblings glared at each other in a sort of
silent challenge, daring the other to argue, before Will threw up his hands in
the air and gave a defeated huff of indignation, "I swear you have to be
the most stubborn child I've ever met!"

"I learnt from the best." Cecily quipped.

Will spared his sister one more calculating glance before resigning himself; it
was a futile argument. If Cecily wanted to stay, she was going to stay.

From there on out it was a solid two weeks travel to their destination. Even on
horseback it was a grueling task, and it took a lot out of the group. For the
most part Will kept himself to himself, avoiding as much distraction from his
unwanted companions as possible. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that
between the constant bickering of the Lightwood brothers and the annoying
determined silence of Cecily, it was going to be a struggle for him to keep his
cool. There was only so much someone with the 'patience of a saint' such as
William Herondale could take. What he couldn't stand however, was the ever
growing, overly sickening, 'subtle' flirtations between Cecily and none other
than the vile Neanderthal that was Gabriel Lightwood. It drove Will mad.

It wasn't the fact that his little sister had developed an unreasonable
attachment to the younger Lightwood brother that made him twitch; It wasn't
even because Gabriel acted like a gag-worthy love sick puppy trailing around
after Cecily twenty-four/seven; hell it wasn't even the way that Cecily and
Gabriel would unconsciously huddle together off to one side when they set camp,
talking in hushed tones, heads bowed together, Cecily giggling like a stupid
little school girl whenever Gabriel whispered something Will assumed was a joke. No, it wasn't any of that. What it was was the fact that they themselves were oblivious to it. That really - really - pissed Will off.

How could something so obvious to everyone else around them, go so unnoticed by
the very people involved? Will was this close to beating Gabriel bloody for
even looking at his sister, but even more than that he wanted to scream at him
to open his eyes. He had the girl he liked, so plainly mutually smitten with
him, and yet he didn't even see it. Why should such an idiot as Gabriel
Lightwood find his match so easily?

Not that Cecily was in any way a match for Gabriel Lightwood; Will refused to
believe that.

"Woah Will, Stop." Cecily said making to stand, "What did that
chicken ever do to you?"

Will looked up from his internal turmoil to find three sets of eyes on him and
an awkward silence hanging over the small camp. Cecily was looking at him with
worry written across her face, while Gabriel was observing him with a sort of
mild disinterested disdain, and Gideon with something in between. Looking down
at his hands, Will found what it was the three of them were staring at. He had
all but wrung his ration of chicken to a shredded mess. In fact any resemblance
it had held to a chicken before and after Gideon had cooked it earlier, was
long gone.

"I was just thinking." he gave bluntly.

The blank stares he got in return from the others round the campfire made it
clear that they were not going to settle for such a vague explanation for his
odd behavior.

"The little bliters are all but related to ducks!" he harped, "I
just cannot help but vent my frustrations upon them..."

Will tried to sound like his old humored self but between the relentless worry
for Jem and Tessa, and now the thought of Gabriel Lightwood being with his
little sister, it was almost impossible for him to hide the tension in his
voice.

Standing suddenly, Will brushed himself down, adamantly avoiding eye contact as
he did so.

"I'm going to go check on the horses." was all he offered before
heading over to the small dark clearing where they had tied the horses off
earlier.

Leaving the three of them staring after him, he put his head down and swiftly
left the warmth of the fire behind for the cold shadows of the clearing by the
path. If he had turned back, even briefly, he would have noticed the strange
look of curiosity on Gabriel's face, not something he often earned from the
younger Lightwood.

"Excuse me a minute." Gabriel said quietly from Cecily's side once
Will was out of earshot, "I just need a few words with Will."

He offered her one of his kinder smiles, a rare sight even to Cecily, before
standing and following after her brother, leaving Cecily more than a little
baffled; what in Raziel's name had gotten into everyone tonight. To add to her
annoyance, all she received in the way of explanation from Gideon when sending
a questioning look his way, was a raised eyebrow and a disinterested shrug.
Huffing in frustration she lay down, turning her back to the fire, deciding to
turn in for the night. She wasn't looking forward to morning; no doubt she
would have to deal with the consequences of whatever Will and Gabriel were up
to.