As Time Went
Summary: In the future things are different. A collection of one-shots from various points in their lives. Part 1: It is the night before Jace and Clary's wedding.
A/N: This was written up on my iPhone (and it stops where it does because the battery basically died), and it's the first time I've done that, between watching the kids and baking cookies, food and whatnot. The quality may be affected, but you tell me! I have filled in what I believe will happen in CoHF between the lines, you will understand what I mean as you read. There may be/are probably spoilers up until CoLS.
There will be more of this, of other people, or just Clary/Jace. But there'll be more, whenever I need a mental break from my NaNo story this year. Intense.
Hope you enjoy!
Clary insisted that white did not suit her, quickly fending off her mother's wish for her to have a traditional Christian wedding. One ounce of normalcy in a demon infested reality. Gold was only slightly better; it didn't make her feel washed out, grey, and pale, but it made her skin look like a million dollars. Had she had Isabelle's strong personality, it would've worked. As it was, her personality was softer, and the only time she felt strong was in battles. Which was why she loved them so much, and none of her family members found that charming. In fact, they wanted to discourage her from joining up in battles as much as she's had, especially after the battles she fought, and nearly lost, as a teenager. Though she was undoubtedly not a teenager anymore, her family was still her family, and would forever treat her as one.
Of course Clary could understand why she shouldn't fight demons the night before her wedding, yet the itch was still there. A part of her, the part that was persuading her into joining the fight, was arguing that if she got that adrenaline, then the dress would look great on her tomorrow. The other, sensible, part was silencing her with logic and reason: spending the night before your wedding in the infirmary was the opposite of an aphrodisiac, and would ruin their wedding day and night.
Which was why she was just sitting on her bed staring at her dress. A deep gold dress that looked more like a beach dress than a wedding dress. It had been the condition for agreeing to marry Jace, after over 8 years together. No longer able to deflect his proposal due to young age, or postpone it by studying for her GED. After everything she understood her mother's yearning for a normal life, and did what was possible to find a place in the mundane world. However mundane it felt. She had been 22 when she got it, the same age most where graduating from college, yet that didn't feel like a loss. She had Jace, she had saved the world. What mattered after that?
She wanted a simple wedding. That was her only request. Or, a simple wedding she did not have to be the one to plan. Only guide slightly so it would not get out of hand. Jace did most of the planning, which he found surprisingly fun, since he got to act out all of his controlling nervoses on something other than cleaning their tiny studio apartment. It only took half an hour to clean properly, so he was always bouncing off the walls. It drove Clary nuts.
The wedding dress has been up to Clary, and eventually Isabelle too. Isabelle knew dresses, or clothes in general, better than Clary, it only seemed natural that she got to voice in on it. When Isabelle got married a few years back, to another shadow hunter she had only been seeing for less than a year, her wedding dress had been a spectacular thing which would have been prefect on the red carpet of the Oscar's. Old Hollywood inspired, tight, and a long train following behind her. Afterwards she dared to admit that the train was a horrible idea, and she had contemplated cutting it off after just an hour of reception when most of the guests has already walked on it a couple of times each. At that wedding Jace had gotten more persistent with his marriage plans for us, whereas I just felt younger than I had in years. Which was why I threw myself back into high school work instead.
Married for 4 years Isabelle had a couple ideas of how things should go, and wasn't shy about sharing them with Clary. While most Shadowhunters still would adhere to traditional ideas of marriage, Isabelle naturally scoffed at those. Children was not a part of Isabelle's life plan, and she was insisting that Jace and Clary would, at least, wait a couple of years into their marriage to know for sure that they wanted children together. Clary never pointed out that she had met Jace when she was 16, and now she was almost 25 years old. If they knew they wanted children, they knew already. They'd known for a long time, after many discussions, that they wanted two children. Or maybe just one, or maybe 10. At least one, though.
When Isabelle first started expressing her opinion of parenthood they had agreed. After all the horrors they had witnessed, the lives lost, the childhood Jace had endured, what right did they have to bring a child into this world? They were jarred into reality the year after Isabelle's wedding, though, by Clary's late period. They were always careful, using condoms and birth control, using it perfectly. The condoms were stored in a cool place, a special metal box made just for them, they never used one out of date. Clary took her pills at the same time everyday, never missed a single one. Yet, she was late. At first they were struck with horror, feeling much too young to be held down by the responsibilities of a child, yet while neither of them wanted to admit it, they were excited. When it turned out only to be a late period, they were both relieved, but aware of the fact that children may be an non negotiable part of their lives. Of course, Isabelle knew nothing of this, and no one wanted to take that argument with her prematurely.
It was however a discussion they had to take soon. Especially since they deviated further from traditions on most places on earth; she's taken a pregnancy test the week previous, and her late period had not been a scare this time. Pregnant on her wedding say, albeit only about 6 weeks if the calculations she had done online were correct. The doctor's visit to confirm it was still three weeks off. She shouldn't have been surprised that OB-gyns were virutually fully booked in January. After all, Christmas and New Year had just rolled around.
Their baby, which she hesitated to even think, was a Christmas baby. After they had gotten back from Christmas eve celebrations at the Institute they had been a little too affected by the drinks which had been served, and a bit more reckless than usual. Having gone off the pill, and completely relying on condoms, one time without was all it took, and all it did.
They were worried about how this would affect their wedding, if Clary would be overcome with terrible morning sickness, as her mother had been when she had been pregnant with her little brother. A surprise he was, and a joy for everyone. They named him Simon, after her childhood best friend, and a person who saved thrm all through his stumbles in life, before he succumbed in the final war against Sebastian Morgernsten. While it felt dishonest against Sebastian Verlac to use his name, it was the name he went by during the battles. In the end he died a Sebastian, just as he wanted.
Simon was now 6 years old, and in some strange way it was as if he'd gotten Simon's soul. He was just like she remembered Simon being when they were young.
Luckily, at 6 weeks I had yet been spared anything other than the plague of perfect smell. It would have been good to smell everything, if it was just everything I smelt. The most overpowering smells were garbage and sweat. While Jace's sweet smell of sweat was addictive, other people's sweat did almost make her barf. Inclined to send out a memo to everyone to dose up on the deodorant the next morning, she stopped herself only because she didn't want to use up her quota of pregnancy hormone rudeness before she even hit the second trimester.
In the end, it all led back to the wedding. A wedding that, apparently, had been a long time coming, and waited for by many.
The dress hung there in front of her on the wardrobe, under them stood a simple pair of black heels, barely an inch and a half heel. High enough to give her posture, low enough to allow a lot of walking. Nothing white in sight, nothing to remind of mourning. Yet, the picture of Simon, her best friend, standing on the dresser reminded her still. She'd left it here, in Luke's and her mother's apartment, in her old room, because she couldn't stand to take it with her, have the sorrow of him following her around, following her to her and Jace's apartment. It may have been selfish, but self-preservation often is. Now, he was here again, with her.
"Oh, Simon," she said, sighing as she reached over and hugged his picture. He still would have been 16, despite the years that had gone by. He would've looked exactly the same. But he would've been here.
"Is that the other Simon?" the child Simon asked from the doorway, hanging off of it like he knew he wasn't allowed to.
"Yes, it is," she said. She scooted over in her bed to give him room, and he bounced in and sat down next to her, looking down at the picture too.
"He's got glasses, I don't," he said, pointing at the glasses Simon wore I the picture.
"Yeah, he had glasses," before he died the first time, Clary added in her head.
"How old is he?" He held his toes and rocked slightly on her bed, unable to keep still.
"In this photo? He had just turned 16, it's on his birthday." It was his last one, he missed his 17th birthday only by a couple of days, but she's not sure it would have counted, anyway.
"I like his t-shirt,"Simon said after a while, with a nod. The t-shirt was his usual ironic kind, a spaceman on the moon with the American flag, and a text saying "finders keepers". Even Clary had found it funny.
"Isn't it bed time for you?" She asked, looking at the clock. It stated in bold red lights that it was almost 10 at night.
"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to sleep with you," he said, already starting to crawl under the covers.
"In this tiny bed?" She narrowed her eyes at him. He nodded. "Well okay, just wait while I change into my pajamas."
"Clary," he said before she had gone into the bathroom. "Don't tell mom I slept here, I promised I would let you sleep for tomorrow. "
"I won't," I promised.
END A/N: I killed Simon because I thought he should've died in book two, but I never get what I want. I understand his purpose now, but he annoyed me straight away (my personal experience with boys like that isn't good, hah).