Warrior

The antique clock hanging high on the wall ticked away second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. William was leaning against the cobblestone wall near the front entrance of the institute, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he watched the clock, noting that Tessa was now ten minutes late. He sighed deeply, wondering where she could be, and what was taking her so long to get down here. They were late for their patrol, and they needed to get out there as soon as they could. There had been a tip off from some lowly vampire that was friends with Camille, who had informed them that there was a planned demon attack out in an abandoned building not too far from their current location. They wouldn't normally take this sort of information seriously, but Magnus had brought the news to Tessa, who convinced William that it was worth checking out. He admitted that if it hadn't been for her doe grey eyes staring down at him to convincingly that he wouldn't have even thought about heading out there tonight. She convinced him that they had nothing to lose, and everything to gain from destroying a new home base for the travelling demons.

Meanwhile upstairs, Tessa was trying to get ready as fast as she could. She loaded her quiver with a set of arrows, tipped with poison- deadly only to those of demonic nature. Effortlessly she slipped her arms through her signature leather jacket, with various straps and pockets, allowing her to hide two daggers in each pocket, and strap her quiver and bow on her back, securing it firmly so that it wouldn't budge whilst fighting. Finishing with her gear, she jogged to the front door of the Institute where William was waiting for her. They were currently alone at the Institute, spare Jem and Rose who were having the night off after patrolling for the last week whilst William was on holiday in Wales visiting family, and Tessa was down with a cold- or as he teased relentlessly, demon pox. They weren't on the best of terms at this point, always bickering and fighting over silly things. Jem and Rose thought it was hilarious and ridiculous all at the same time. They were sure that deep down the two harboured feelings for each other, but neither party was willing to admit it first.

Soon enough she arrived downstairs to see a very bored William, awaiting her arrival. He was juggling a few of his smaller knives, throwing them in the air, and bouncing them back up on the hilt, it was a wonder he wasn't hurting himself. The noise of Tessa's footsteps alerted him of her presence and threw all the knives up at the same time, catching them all in one go and placing them in their respective pockets so fast that Tessa muttered show off, rolling her eyes as he did so. He smirked, grabbing her hand and leading them out the door of the institute and into the dangers of the night that awaited them in the shadows.

They drove there on William's motorbike, a notion that had Tessa nauseous, resulting in her holding onto William's waist tightly as they whizzed in and out of the traffic. Though she was feeling queasy, she knew her raised heartbeat wasn't just because of the high speed that they were travelling at, but instead the result of being in such close contact with William. Her chest was placed firmly against his back, her arms wound around his flat stomach, delicate hands gripping tightly onto him. The whole ride there William had a grin on his face, knowing that Tessa couldn't see him as she was hiding her face against his back.

William slowed down as they arrived at their destination, the steady hum of the motorbike coming to a stop as he parked in front of the abandoned building. Slowly Tessa set her foot on the ground, slipping off the motorbike with ease, keeping her eyes on the old building in front of her. It looked like it had previously been an apartment block judging by the rusted mail boxes, and the design of the building. Without a word they both spared a glance at each other, and William nodded his head in the direction of the building silently, and Tessa took that as permission to go inside. Tessa took a deep breath before they both moved forward cautiously, walking into the abandoned building.

William turned the handle of the wooden door, the metal lock opening with ease, allowing them entry. Tessa followed his footsteps carefully, keeping her eyes peeled in case anything unexpected decided to pop out of the shadows. As they stepped into what looked like the main lobby of the building, they couldn't see anything. William took out his blade, whispering its name causing it to glow a bright blue, which provided enough light to guide their way. Their footsteps, though light and soft, still made the rusted and worn out floorboards creak. They inspected the ground floor looking for any sign of demons, and didn't seem to find anything.

"There's nothing here," Tessa said.

"Let's try upstairs," William suggested and they spent the next ten minutes up there, vigorously searching for any sign of demonic activity and their efforts were fruitless. They were about to leave when they heard a loud crash downstairs, a strong stench appearing in its wake, wafting its way throughout the building.

"Finally."

"Let's go. Keep your guard on," William cautioned as they ran down the staircase to be greeted with what seemed to be a small army of demons looking for a fight.

Immediately they jumped into action, William whipped out his elegant blades, slashing through the thick and spiky skin of the Shax demon, sending it sprawling to the ground as it took its last breath. The two shadowhunters were back to back as they fought. Tessa shot multiple arrows at the two demons in front of her, the poison burning the demons skin as they pierced their bodies. They continued to fight, hitting, kicking and slicing their way through the demons. They seemed to keep coming, one after the other, relentless in their attack.

Tessa ran out of arrows, her quiver now completely empty as she grasped at thin air, trying to feel for more. She threw her bow aside just in time to grab two of the throwing daggers that were in her pocket, flicking her wrist and sending the sharp metal into the throats of two smaller demons that were coming towards her.

"You seem to be fairing quite well," William commented, as he moved to the left, missing the hit that was aimed towards his head.

"You're not too bad yourself," Tessa threw back as she ran forward, kicking the knee of the demon in front of her, bringing it down to the ground and stabbing its heart. As she reached for the dagger hidden in her boot she realised that she had been flirting with him only a moment ago, and groaned at herself for letting her guard down.

"Duck," William yelled and she ducked just in time for him to direct his own blade at the last demon that was heading for Tessa's face. By the end of the vigorous fight both of them were covered in sweat, blood and demon ichor, but for some reason they burst out laughing, mostly in relief that they had survived without too many injuries, and partly because of the thrill of the fight… and even though they didn't want to admit it, mostly the flirting.

"Are you hurt?" William asked, as they both caught their breath, his eyes roaming over her body, looking for any injury.

"Are you concerned?" She jested, raising a brow as she ignored the ache in her left arm from where she stretched it a bit too much after using her bow. She knew that she was bleeding from a small laceration on her left leg, just above her knee, but it wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches.

"Do you want me to be?" William asked, his serious gaze meeting hers as they stared at each other for a moment.

"I'm fine," Tessa replied, ignoring his question as she looked away. She wasn't sure she was ready to answer it. Things between them had been rocky since Christmas. He had kissed her under the mistletoe, and then hadn't spoken to her for two weeks after. She took his silence for rejection, and she wasn't ready to dive back into that again. It had now been a few months since then and she felt as though things would never get to where they were before. At least back then they had a strong friendship, alas, all good things must come to an end she thought bitterly.

When she looked back at him, she noticed he had a slight cut on his lower lip, and blood was trickling down the side of his chin. She stepped forward, bringing her thumb to his mouth, slowly wiping away the blood with one swipe. He looked at her with surprise, and she quickly brought her hand back down, wiping it on the back of her pants before walking out of the building, her flushed face greeted by the cool chilly winds. William stared at the empty space she left, still shocked before he ran outside to follow her.

"Let's get back to the institute, it's getting late," Tessa said, and William sighed, keeping silent as he jumped on the bike, and she followed in suit. Tessa made sure this time not to wrap her arms around him like before, and instead kept her hands planted on the side of his waist lightly, just enough to keep her balanced.

She kept thinking over what had just happened, and she berated herself for her actions, knowing it was only going to end in her heartbreak if she kept feeling this way. They silently walked into the institute, finding that Jem and Rose had retired to their rooms for the night. Tessa walked past William, not bothering to pay any more attention to him as she headed for her bedroom and then the infirmary. After cleaning up and changing into something a bit easier to manoeuvre in, she went to bandage up her leg, walking down the long hallway and turning into the infirmary only to see William sitting there himself, and cleaning up a small gash on his arm.

"Are you alright?" Tessa asked, and he looked up from what he was doing and gave her a soft smile.

"Just a small cut," William replied, twisting his arm to try and clean the wound. Tessa walked over, taking the antiseptic from his hands and wiping it herself.

"Why didn't you just use a rune?" Tessa asked.

"I did. It'll heal within hours, I just need to clean it."

"Oh," She said, wiping the area, leaving it free from the sticky blood that had started to dry up. She then grabbed a small bandage, placing it over the cut, smoothing it down as she rubbed the area lightly with her hand. Her hand lingered for a moment too long and she turned around abruptly, throwing the rubbish in the bin before taking a seat on one of the beds, and tending to the cut on her leg as she rolled up her pants.

She pulled off the small bandage she had put there to see that the blood had seeped through it.

"You said you were fine," William said exasperatedly, walking over immediately to Tessa, looking at the cut on her leg with a pained expression.

"It's just a small cut," she threw his own words back at him.

"Funny." William said, narrowing his eyes at her before grabbing everything he needed to wrap it up.

"What are you doing?" Tessa asked as he dabbed the antiseptic on her leg, the harsh sting causing her to gasp.

"Fixing you up in case you hadn't noticed," William said, and she noticed how protective he had gotten as soon as he saw she was hurt. She really didn't understand what was going on in that albeit gorgeous yet stupid head of his.

"You were the one who broke me in the first place," She said softly and he looked up at her for a moment before looking back down, concentrating on wrapping the bandage around and around.

"I take it we're not talking about your leg anymore."

"Why did you do it?" Tessa asked, she was sick and tired of playing these games. She didn't have to even say what it was about, because he knew straight away, and he felt guilty. She had the right to know why he was so protective one minute, and then uninterested the next.

"I was scared," William whispered, slowly moving his gaze to hers. "I was scared that I was going to lose you. This life, it's not… safe, and I was scared that you would get hurt, because of me."

"Why would I get hurt because of you?" Tessa asked, leaning forward, curious as to what he meant.

"Everyone I've ever loved, they've either died, or have been damned because of me, and I couldn't let that happen to you," William breathed out and Tessa knew that he was referring to his older sister. But what she also knew was that it wasn't his fault.

"By pushing me away, you've already hurt me," Tessa said, and there was a look of guilt and regret on Williams face. He was about to speak again, when she shook her head. "You aren't responsible for her death. You know that right? Don't let it take control of your life."

"I'm sorry, for all the pain I caused you, for all the stupid fights and teasing, for everything," William apologised.

"Promise not to do it again, and I'll forgive you."

"I promise, with all my heart, with everything that I am," William whispered, and she offered a small smile, her soft gaze meeting his own. His gaze then flickered from her eyes to her lips just for a moment, and it was long enough for her to notice. She leaned forward, her nose brushing his as their faces moved closer, their breath mingling together as their lips touched, uniting them in a breathtaking kiss.

Authors Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the TID series, they belong to Cassandra Clare, but respectively, I own my OC's and creative genius.

I cannot believe that this has been sitting in my folder for nearly 3 years. I haven't written for the TID fandom for a while, but inspiration hit and I decided to finish this. Also Rose, the other character mentioned is my OC in case anyone was wondering. Please leave a review, and let me know if you would like more, or if you liked it. Many thanks.

Til next time.

Heroherondale. x