DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. They are all owned by Cassandra Clare, the only creative control I have is the plot.

All My Life Before

One-Shot

It had been a week since the near-massacre, and in that week, it had given Clary a lot of time to think. She was sick, after all – if from all it had taken out of her to take down the ship, or the cold weather plus cold water combined, she didn't know, but in that week, she had thought.

Sparks had ignited in her in the dawning of the sun that morning, in Simon's arms, new sparks, or sparks that were always there, just waiting beyond the horizon, she did not know. But there, in Simon's arms, thinking he was going to die, she had a chance in those few brief moments to realize things she had never thought of before: things she had always taken for granted, like Simon. He had been trying so hard, all this time, to convince her of Jace and herself, and what they truly meant for each other: they were siblings, and he had saved her life half a dozen times over, so it was natural to think she had feelings for him. But come on, Jace was her brother, and she wasn't forcing herself to do anything by kissing Simon all those times, by calling herself his girlfriend… she just realized what she already knew: Jace had feelings for Clary, but the kind of feelings he had, the kind of things he wanted… they could just never happen. And Simon had been there, always, right in front of her nose, and before she even realized it, before she had a chance to even think on it, she was in love with him.

After speaking to his mother to find out where he was, she was told he was in the back garden, and would be thrilled to see her. He had missed her terribly, his mother had told her, and she responded with a blushing smile. By the look in Simon's mother's eyes, Clary's realization was confirmed – she was head over heels for the guy.

Biting back her smile, she made her way into the back yard, pulling open the gate and pushing it closed behind her. She found him lying out on a plastic lounging chair with a comic book in his lap. She tried to be quiet, but there was no more sneaking around him with his Vampire hearing.

At the sound of her his head shot up, and he grinned, tossing aside his comic he sat up. "Hey, baby," he said with the smile still stuck on his face as she made her way to him.

Letting the smile that fought to be free, free, she jumped onto his lap, landing with one leg on each side, and wrapped her hands around the back of his head, pulling his lips onto her own. His eyes shot open in surprise, but as the kiss went on and deepened, he found himself relaxing into her, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her petite waist and hugging her against him.

"Hey, yourself," she said softly, leaning her forehead against his and smiling at him.

"Um," she cut him off as she leaned in to kiss him again. "Wow."

"What?" she asked him, settling herself more comfortably on his lap. "Not used to your girlfriend so eager and happy to see you?" she asked with a smile before pecking her lips against his once more.

"Um, no, no," he laughed, shaking his head, smiling at her. "Not really. Um, excuse me, but who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"

She bit her bottom lip, pretending to think. "Hm, well," she began playfully. "The one who kept her eyes closed woke up and… No, I'm still the same one, just now I realize how madly in love with you I am, and how incredibly stupid I was before," she couldn't stop herself before leaning down to kiss him again – pressing her body firmly against his.

As she pulled her lips away, he couldn't speak, he had been waiting for this moment for the past ten years, and now that it was here, all he could do was look at her: look at the woman he had loved for so long, now love him back. He ran his hand up her side and into her hair, brushing his fingers through it until finally resting it against the side of her face. She placed her hand over his, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch, sighing contentedly. "Clary," he was finally able to manage, watching her with adoration.

"Hm?" she wondered, opening her eyes to meet his, still keeping her hand over his.

"I love you," he told her simply.

She smiled, leaning further into his touch. "And I love you, Simon," she told him softly. "So much," she added, dropping her voice even quieter.

If he were human, he wouldn't have been able to breathe. To hell with being damned, to hear those words uttered out of Clary's mouth being spoken only to him: she had just made his life on earth a living heaven - what was once cursed was now blessed.

He exhaled quickly, sliding his hand to the back of her head and pulling her lips to his, kissing her deeply and passionately. To think, he was planning on breaking up with her when she came over – but now, now he knew everything she said were true: the way she looked at him told him all: she was his, and that's all she wanted.

He kissed her deeper and deeper, and she kissed him back with just as much force, just as much need, pushing herself against him as close as she could. Forgetting the world around them, they toppled off the chair, Simon quickly adjusting them so he would take the impact of the ground; being vampire, he wouldn't feel a thing. Clary giggled as they hit the ground, though not breaking their kiss, he simply held her tighter, loosing his fingers into her fiery hair, the strands falling over his face.

"Clary," he said between kisses, "oh, Clary, Clary, I love you so much… Just so damn much."

They held each other tightly, kissing well into the evening. And at last, they were able to pull themselves apart, only to cling right back together again once they were back on the chair. Clary sat on Simon's lap, her arm around his shoulder and head leaning comfortably in the crook of his neck. Simon had his arms wrapped around her, their hands clasped together.

And sitting there on the lounging chair, held tightly in each other's loving embrace, they did something they never thought possible after he had become a vampire: They watched the sun set.

And once again, they kissed.

The end.