Hi everyone! This is a TMI next generation fanfic I've been writing with my friend Brooke (_cookie_brookie_). The idea was hers but she was super awesome and let me jump in and write with her! I hope you all enjoy our little story!
Summary: Willow Herondale has always been stuck in the shadows of her parents' glory. Since she was born, everyone expected something great to come out of her, but Willow can't help her clumsy nature. Not strong enough to get into Shadowhunter Academy, her friend, Asher Lewis, makes her a deal; he would enroll her if she let him train her. Confronted with the difficult task of making Willow a warrior, he too begins to doubt her. But when a posing threat forces her into battle, will she be able to prove that she is, in fact, worthy to be called a child of the Angel?
"Jace, It' your turn,"Clary said tiredly. Their restless baby had caused her a lack of sleep with his relentless crying.
Jace reluctantly removed himself from the bed where he had been snuggling with Clary, and walked over to the crib that held little Jonathan. They had contemplated what they would name their baby boy since the moment Clary discovered she was pregnant. They argued for hours at a time and spent most of their downtime on the internet searching baby names. And then Clary had an idea; roughly 6 years earlier, her brother, Jonathan had passed away after she had destroyed the evil that which he was made of with the heavenly fire. Clary only got to speak to the real him through his last dying words. Grieving over the brother she never had, Clary decided to honor his lost life by naming her son after him.
Jace carefully picked up his son and swaddled him, lulling him to sleep almost instantaneously. With his bright curly blond hair and big green eyes, Jonathan shared an uncanny resemblance to her husband. She watched Jace with wonder as he placed the already sleeping child back into his crib.
"How do you make it look so easy?" Clary said with a slight tinge of jealousy in her voice.
"I don't know. Maybe it's my ravishing good looks, or my gentle nature, or maybe it's just that he likes me more than you," Jace teased, tossing a pillow at Clary. Any other day, this would have meant war, but Clary was drained of her energy and was finding it hard to keep her eyes open, even though it was only 8:30.
"Jace. If you really want to be helpful right now, how about you come over here and give me a back massage?" Clary said, playfully ,as she moved closer to where he was sitting on the bed.
Jace crawled back into bed aggressively and hopped on top of Clary. He seized her legs and held her arms down, leaving her defenseless against his annoyingly effective tickling. "Get OFF of me RIGHT NOW Jace Herondale before I feed you to Jonathan's creepy stuffed bear!" Clary screamed, while attempting to cover her weak spots. It proved to be totally ineffective considering Jace seemed to know all of them by heart. He continued to torture her, poking her sides with his long, slender fingers. "BY THE ANGEL. If you do not let me go I will TEAR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR FINGERNAILS OUT!" Clary struggled to form her sentence, as her laughter was hindering her ability to speak.
Jace laughed, "Are you threatening me ? Because I will have you know that I don't take well to death threats…" He laughed at the lethal glare he received when he finally loosened his grip and allowed her to escape.
"Seriously though, you need to get some sleep… I don't know how much longer this quiet will last for, so take advantage of it while you can," Jace said more seriously as he touched Clary's hand to his lips. He moved closer to her, allowing her body to fill in the shape and curves of his, gently draping his arm over her side.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you, too," he answered.
Clary's eyes were closed now, but she opened them one last time to admire the beautiful man who lay next to her. His golden skin, wild blonde hair, and deep golden eyes, had always reminded her of a majestic lion from some exotic country. She marveled over how God could create such a beautiful being, and knew she was immensely lucky that he was hers. Clary enjoyed the sense of security and love she got in his warm embrace.
With this feeling of affection and satisfaction, she drifted off to sleep. Until a high pitched wailing forced her bloodshot eyes open once again.
The next morning had Clary dazed and confused as she awoke to an empty bed instead of the comforting embrace of her husband.
It was already 12:30. Maybe not morning after all.
She got up and walked downstairs to find Jace making breakfast. He had made her favorite-scrambled eggs with maple syrup, crispy bacon, and sausage. She felt her stomach rumble aggressively, and hurried over to the table. Clary hadn't realized how hungry she'd been; she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.
"Good morning, baaaaabe!" Jace sang as he plopped a very delicious looking plate of food in front of her. Without saying a word, she quickly started shoveling the food into her mouth. Jace watched her, laughing, and replaced the food as quickly as it disappeared. "I never did understand how such a tiny little thing could eat so much food…like seriously. Where does it all go?" Jace joked.
"Shut up." She glared and threw one of her sausages at him.
"Now that is not how to thank someone who has spent their morning cooking breakfast for you," Jace laughed tossing the sausage into Chairman Meow's food bowl.
"Thaaaank youuuu," she smiled sweetly. "Where are Willow and Jonathan?" Jace pointed to the den where his son and daughter were watching TV and went back to cooking more eggs. They had been watching teletubbies, an old show that Clary liked to watch when she was a kid. She heard Jonathan giggle at something Po said to Dipsy. Clary caught sight of her daughter's fiery red hair and tiny frame and smiled, quietly marveling over the fact that Willow looked almost identical to how she did when she was 4 years old. At least, that's what her mother was constantly saying.
"MOMMMMYYYYYYY!" Willow ran over to Clary and hugged her leg. Her little hands were sticky with syrup, and she had marker all over her arms, legs, and face.
Clary turned to Jace and eyed him with a look of disapproval to which he said, "Willow, I think it's time you had a bath." He scooped her up and took her upstairs. Jonathan was still watching tv in his bouncer. "Mama, Mama!" said Jonathan, his eyes going wide as she entered the room. Clary walked over to him, picked him up, and plopped down on the recliner.
"I'm here baby," she said pulling a blanket over them. Clary sat for a moment watching the teletubbies, who were still running around on screen. She thought back to her childhood, when she used to go over to Simon's and watch re-runs of the show. Smiling, she reached for her phone and dialed Simon's number; she knew it by heart.
After two rings, the line connected. "Hello?" Simon said.
"Hey Simon. Are you busy today?"
She twirled the cord around her finger, waiting for his response. Simon hadn't been around a lot lately. He had been working as an ambassador for the Shadowhunters and Vampires to get an agreement on some document Clary didn't care enough about to listen to.
"Well...we were going to head out for lunch. Do you, Jace, and the kids want to come with us? We were going to stop by Java Jones," he said.
"That sounds great! Willow is taking a bath at the moment, but we can be ready in around an hour."
"Okay. See you then," He said happily and hung up the phone.
"JACE!" Clary called to him from downstairs. "We're going out for lunch with Simon and Izzy in an hour. Help me get the kids ready!"
Jace came downstairs a few minutes later with a wet-haired Willow in his arms. He had changed her into a bright blue dress with embroidered butterflies on the sleeves and her hair had been tied back into a loose ponytail. Jocelyn had made the dress for Willow a few weeks ago, and the bright blue against her striking red hair reminded Clary of sunsets over Lake Lyn in Alicante. It had been almost 6 years since she had been there last. Even though Alicante was basically her second home,Clary had avoided going back since the passing of her brother.
Simon walked in exactly fifteen minutes later, Izzy and their son Asher trailing behind. Asher immediately went into the den and turned on the tv. Isabelle chided him and he reluctantly turned it off following her to the base of the stairs where Simon stood.
"Simon! I said an hour!" Clary yelled from the top of the stairs. She was only wearing one shoe and her red hair stuck out wildly around her face; it clearly had not been brushed yet.
Simon shrugged. "What can I say? I missed you, Fray. We haven't seen each other in, what? Twomonths?"
"That's Herondale to you," Jace said, coming out of the kitchen.
"I stand corrected," Simon rolled his eyes. He watched as Clary fumbled for her other shoe.
The two families lived across the block from each other, so Clary was used to Simon walking in whenever he pleased. He basically lived in her house, and vice versa. However, lately he had been more busy with trying to get a new Downworlder peace treaty signed, so they hadn't seen each other in a while. Clary missed her best friend; sure she had her children and her husband to take care of- Jace may have been harder to manage than Willow and Jonathan combined-but staying busy couldn't get her mind off of Simon's absence.
"Uncle Simon! Aunt Izzy!" cried Willow from next to Clary. She practically fell down the stairs as she ran to give them a hug.
"My little princess!" said Isabelle. She picked her up and spun Willow around in the air. Willow loved playing with Izzy; to her, Izzy was like an older sister who she looked up to. She had been there when Clary gave birth, and she always offered to babysit.
"Hey, Willow!" said Simon hugging the small girl. He always thought of Willow as a miniature version of his best friend with her red hair, small build, and love for art or anything colorful. However, he saw Jace in her eyes, for they were gold, and they sparkled like the sun's light cast upon the ocean.
Standing next to Simon was his son, Asher. He was short and thin, with long, curly black hair. Asher had always resembled Simon more than Isabelle, but his stubborn and defiant personality he definitely got from his mother. Willow smiled at him, who instantly turned away, avoiding a hello. They had never really been close, which was shocking considering they were practically family. They each called one another's parents their aunt and uncle and spent enough time together to be related. Isabelle got pregnant with Asher around the same time that Clary got pregnant with Willow, but Asher was a few months older. Even from a young age, Asher seemed to avoid Willow like the plague and she had no idea why.
"Hey, little man!" Jace said, playfully tousling the boy's curls.
"Hi, Uncle Jace!" said Asher, grinning. Clary couldn't help but smile at how goofy Jace looked next to the six year old. He had to bend down just to touch the top of his head."Are we ready to leave now?" asked Isabelle impatiently. She was holding Jonathan now, her long black hair flowing around her pale face. She looked strikingly beautiful in a bright red dress that hugged her impeccable curves. Compared to her, Simon was laughable in his casual plaid shirt and glasses. Six years made a significant difference in Simon's appearance. Becoming a Shadowhunter caused him to gain a lot of muscle-training was rigorous- and he now had the same black marks that Clary wore. They wrapped around his biceps, and snaked across his chest.
"Only if you are," Jace said. He grabbed Willow's hand and opened the door.
Java Jones hadn't changed since the last time Clary and Simon had gone there together, when they were still ordinary teenagers. Clary remembered sitting with Simon and just talking, simply talking. She would drink her black coffee and Simon drank an overly sweetened chocolate frappuccino that she always laughed at him for. She'd tell him it was girly, but he would argue that if it tasted good he didn't care if people judged him. He used to say that all the guys in the world were missing out. To this, Clary would laugh and lean into Simon's shoulder. They would sit there like that for hours and talk about anything and everything.
She thought about how different their lives were now, how their whole lives had changed in just a few years; first Simon sacrificing his memory and then becoming immersed in the Shadowhunter lifestyle, it was quite a journey to their current state. Now they were both married with children, and were beginning their lives as adult Shadowhunters.
Simon.
A shadowhunter.
Clary still laughed at this idea, even though he got offended when she teased him.
"I'll take a double chocolate chip frappuccino with extra whip cream please," Simon ordered his drink, ignoring the giggles coming from behind him, where Clary and Jace stood.
"What? No extra chocolate-y cow blood today?" Jace said as he punched Simon in the side.
"I won't be drinking blood again any time soon…" said Simon. He thought that when he became a Shadowhunter Jace would finally stop teasing him, but yeah, that was probably never going to happen.
"Oh leave him alone Jace," said Isabelle taking a sip from Simon's drink. "I still haven't gotten used to seeing you eat human food you know." She flashed a playful smile at him.
"I still haven't even gotten used to my heart beating," Simon said, a small frown on his face. Getting his memories back had been pretty painful and remembering the empty-chested feeling wasn't pleasant either.
They all sat down at a large table in the corner of the coffee shop that looked out onto the busy city streets. Clary studied each ordinary family that walked by and then looked around the table at hers. Nothing about her family and friends was ordinary.
She observed Isabelle and Simon laughing while they played with Jonathan and Willow, and Jace was laughing with Asher, probably busy corrupting his young mind.
This is how it is supposed to be, she thought to herself, everyone is safe, and we are all happy.
And in that moment, for the first time in years, Clary actually remembered what it felt like to be normal.
Unfortunately, all moments have to come to an end.
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