A/N: Nothing much. I just want you guys to enjoy.

Summary: "They leave me. Why does everyone I love always leave me?" Jace Lightwood felt alone, now that everyone he knew—everyone he ever loved, had left. "I won't leave you." She reassured, then, he turned to her, "Promise?" "Promise." R&R. Post-CoG. Clace.

Rating: T to be safe

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns this. I only own the PLOT ..


Chapter Two: Venomous Trap

Jace hurried down the stairs, wearing the clothes Luke had given him just this morning.

His heels clacked into the wooden stairs. Then, he arrived at the kitchen and saw Luke with a plate of stripped bacons and honey waffles. Luke looked at Jace, frowning. "Where's Clary?" Luke asked. Jocelyn overheard it and looked back, meeting with Jace's honey freckled eyes.

"Uh, she's still upstairs." Luke nodded his head and poured more honey into his waffles.

Jocelyn leaned and stared at Luke. Her eyes fluttered, staring at her long-time closest friend and now happens to be her fiancé. Luke had proposed to her the night she ran after him before the battle. Jocelyn accepted, knowing it would be a very good start for the both of them and also for Clary.

"That's sugar, Luke, you'll get fat." He frowned at her, settling the bottle of honey aside.

"Wow, she's afraid I might get fat." Jocelyn leaned into Luke to give him a light kiss in the lips, which made Jace and Magnus groan in annoyance. Jocelyn snapped her head at them, curling her lips as she looked over at the younger man in the table. "You know, Jace," Jocelyn started, making him look at her, "You exactly look like Stephen."

Jace did not answer; instead he curled his lips and smiled. Of course, he looked like his father. Jocelyn watched as he remained silent and soon stared at her future-husband. "Jace, Luke mentioned me something last night. About my daughter crying last night?"

Magnus snapped at the young boy next to him, wide eyes, "I knew it! Clary realized that this boy is a complete dumb ass." Luke nearly choked with his drink and Jocelyn looked him.

"Seriously, Magnus, if you kept on pushing that idea that I am dumb ass, well I might be if I really have to punch you in the face." Jace turned to Magnus and snorted.

"Why is she crying anyway?" Jocelyn decided to ask. Jace lifted his head and looked at her, not knowing what to answer. He shifted his eyes to Luke, who nodded his head. Then, he sighed and remained silent. Jocelyn waited, still looking at the blond haired boy. "She's worried that maybe this problem hasn't ended yet."

Jocelyn's frown deepened, looking back at Luke for further explanation. Magnus kept silent, his eyes focused blankly into nothing. "Well, she thinks Sebastian might be alive for his body is still undiscovered and there was no trace of him." Luke said, nearing the mouth of the cup to his lips.

The woman turned to Jace, "But you killed him."

"I suppose, but there was no body. Plus, he's half-demon, right? It makes him stronger than any shadowhunters, except for me and Clary." Jace explained.

"He's got a point, Jocelyn." Luke agreed.

Then, there was silence. Jace finished his waffle and grabbed another one, pouring it with more honey. Jocelyn sat next to Luke as they continued on talking about things, they only can hear. Magnus kept silent after being snapped by Jace.

Jace knew he couldn't protect Clary all the time, and that is his biggest fear. He couldn't cut himself into a half just to protect Clary with the other and the other to the Shadow World. He kept his arms length short, making him lose the piece of courage. Somehow, he kept regaining his strength whenever Clary's around. He loved her, ever since he saw her in Pandemonium.

"Morning, everyone!" Startled, he looked back and saw Clary arriving downstairs all dressed. Magnus ignored her. Clary walked towards Jace, and kissed his cheeks. "Why is everyone so silent?" Clary asked, as she grabbed a few pieces of stripped bacons and transferred it to her plate, glancing at everyone. "Magnus, did something happen? You look so… depressed."

Magnus looked at Clary and shrugged, "Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"

Clary turned to Jace, meeting the ends of her eyebrows into a very deep frown, and asked, "What happened?" Jace looked at Magnus, sternly and shook his head.

"He called me a dumb ass." Jace said, sadly, which only made Clary giggle.

"Well, isn't that cute?" Clary turned to Magnus, "Don't worry, Magnus, I already know that he is." Magnus chuckled and took a sip on his drink.

Jace stared at her, his mouth fell open and give her an unbelievable look. "Jace, close your mouth. Your face is priceless." Clary started eating her breakfast, sitting next to her boyfriend and looking over at her mother and her soon-to-be-father, or maybe the only father she knew.


Jace had taken out his girlfriend for a walk, maybe a stroll into the town and see Alec and Isabelle. Clary was silence, not speaking at all. Then, she finally sighed. Jace placed an arm around her shoulders, which made her look back and smiled. "Are you still worrying about Sebastian being—"

Clary shot him a meaningful glance, trying to shrug the topic off. Then, he gave up, knowing Clary doesn't even wanna talk about it. "I'm just anxious, about anything that can happen."

He stopped, pulling her close into his chest. He hugged her, closer than he did before. She heard his heartbeat, pounding right into her ear, whispering her name slowly. "There is nothing to be scared, Clary. We're all here—Alec, Isabelle, your mom, Luke, Magnus, Maryse and Robert… I'm here."

She nodded her head, knowing he is right about that. There are other people who would do anything to protect her, people who would stand with her until the end. "Thank you." She mumbled. He tried to protest but she placed a finger into his lips, hushing her.

"I told you to stop thanking me." He muttered, trailing kisses into her finger.

Then, he led out his hand for her to take. Frowning, she stared at his hand and he grabbed hers, intertwining his fingers in between hers. She giggled, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and locking herself in between two hands connect. "I love you, you know that." She muttered and he nodded.

"I know, because I am certainly attractive." She playfully slapped him, giggling at the way he spoke. He kept his arm around her, smiling as she kept her own smile in her lips. She's so beautiful, he thought, the most beautiful girl he's ever seen—probably the most beautiful girl in his world.

"Will you quit staring at me? It's strange, you know." She whispered.

Then, he laughed. "I am absolutely not trying to make you feel strange; I'm just staring at the most beautiful girl in the world." She looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed, and laughed at him. She jabbed his arms and he rubbed the spot. "That hurt you know."

"Then, stop staring at me. You know, I'm not like those girls you've dated before." Clary stated.

He stopped in front of her, locked his eyes at her and sighed. "Clarissa, stop being so modest. You're unique, you're being you. Unlike those bitches who are completely obsessed with me, you're just the way you are." She found the truth in his eyes. He's saying this because he loved her. "I loved you because you might be the strangest girl in the world, yet you still see me inside—you believe what I can do, and you believed that I could love someone who deserves to be loved. And that, I love you."

Before Clary could respond, her phone rings immediately which startled her. She fished the phone from her pockets and looked at the screen. It is her mother, calling her. She answered, placing the phone beside her ears. "Where are you, Clary? You've just disappeared." Jocelyn's voice was overheard.

"Mom, I told Magnus that I'll be out with Jace. I told him to tell you." Clary confirmed, looking over at Jace.

"Well, he's not here anymore. Maybe he went to see Alec or something, I don't know." Jocelyn said over the phone, "Stay safe with Jace, okay? I'll see you with the Lightwoods later. And Jace—," Jace looked surprised and looked at Clary, "I know my voice is loud enough for you to hear, keep her safe will you? If you don't, I'll certainly kill you myself." There was a horrifying tone in Jocelyn's voice, and at the same time, the concern.

"Yes, ma'am." Jace mumbled.

"Bye, mom. I love you." Clary hung up from the phone and looked over at Jace, "Don't worry, I trust you babe." Clary leaned into to peck Jace in the lips and they walked again.

Jace placed an around her waist, keeping his hand into the curve of her waist and it perfectly fits. Clary looked up at him. "Are you going to train me when we get back toNew York? I'm sure Mom would absolutely be anxious about that because I was never trained to be a shadowhunter before, but I would like to train." Clary stated, wanting to clarify things to him, "If you don't want to train me, then, okay. Maybe I'll just train myself."

He laughed, which made her look at him with a frown and confused look. He looked down at her. Why would she train herself? That would be hilarious. "Of course, I will train you. You cannot train by yourself, which would be hard enough for you to give up easily. Plus, it doesn't matter if you weren't raised with daggers and dangers. And if possible, I will make sure the training will be like hell."

"Oh, you mean on torturing me?" Clary snapped.

"No, not that." Jace shook his head, smirking at her, "What I mean is, I want to make sure the training would be hard enough for you to learn your own mistakes. When you got hurt, you should learn to get up easily and must not whine or complain about how this and that hurts. That's one disadvantage of being a Nephilim."

"I completely understand that. I just wanted to be skilled as you are, swift as Isabelle and brave as Alec." Then, she dropped her hand from the air in annoyance, "God, I feel so vulnerable, so fragile." Instead of feeling worried, he roared into laughter. Clary shot him a look and frowned. "What's so funny, Jace? I'm being serious."

He shook his head, "You know, when your father—Erm, I mean, when Valentine raised me, he found the training so easy but I found that quite hard to believe. He would order me things, some hard and some easy, but the easy parts were becoming hard. Then, whenever I thought I did what he ordered, he would say it's all wrong and I'm not good enough to be like him."

"Well, you don't have to be like him." Clary found her voice soothed and guilty about being annoyed with her own weakness. "You're strong enough to be yourself and that's what I love about you. You tend to pretend you aren't better, even though you had already let out the best in you. You don't have to feel guilty anyway, you're strong as you are—probably the best and most skilled shadowhunter ever."

"I doubt that." Jace mumbled, curling his lips.

"If you doubt that, then you also doubt my affection for you because I loved you for what you are, not for what you want to be." Clary clarified.

He did not answer. He was silent, staring at her. She is right, he shouldn't doubt his strength. Hell, everyone knows he's the famous Jace Wayland—no, Jace Lightwood for being skilled enough to kill dozens of demons and like she said, the best Nephilim. "You're probably right." He muttered.

"I am right." She snapped, smirking at him, "Don't tell me you also doubt my words, and do you, Jace Lightwood?"

"No, not at all, Fairchild."

As they walked farther, they arrived into the forest which was unknown to them. Jace would have remembered this place. This is the place where he and Alec had gone playing around when they were both young and experienced their first demon, nearly killing them both. He looked around, the place feels awkward right now. Not that the trees were he used to hide were all growing taller, but he felt something—an urge.

They are not alone. He turned to Clary, who still looked normal. "Clarissa." He called, using her full name, not just a nickname. She shot up her look at him, anxious why he was looking at her like that. His eyes stirred fearfully, and nervously as he looked around and turned to her. "If I told you to run, you have to run," he whispered. His hands locked into her arms, pulling her closer to him.

She frowned. What the hell does he meant by that? "What do you mean?" She asked, frowning deeper. Her eyes narrowed, waiting for an answer but he tried to ignore her.

He had two seraph blades into his back, just in case. He grabbed the first hilt of his first dagger, Gabriel. He handed it to Clary and forced a smile, "Take this. Just do what I say and warn the others." She took the knife and stared at him worriedly. He cannot just fight a demon by himself… or demons.

She gasped, seeing three demons standing there. She gripped his shirt worriedly and he turned. He blocked her way, he wanted her safe. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Run, Clary, save yourself." She stared at him, tears burning in her eyelids and holding back from falling. She shook her head, she won't leave him alone here. She knew what might happen to him and she wouldn't bear to see him lifeless sooner if she left. "Clary, I told you to run. You have to run! Now!" Her pushed her away, as the first of the large demons attacked him.

Clary fell into the ground, stumbling towards the seraph blade that he had given her. She reached the hilt but she watched as Jace pushed the blade into the demon's throat, and cuts off the head. Clary turned her head, watching as the second demon took a step forward and made the ground rumble like earthquake. She touched the dried leaves into the ground and looked over at Jace. He mouthed the words, but she shook his head. "I won't leave without you." Tears had already strained her cheeks, salty like seawater, but she ignored it. The tears touched her lips, sniffing as Jace stood up bravely—then, she realized it. He had a bite in his shoulder, blood ruining the color of his shirt and his hands bloodied.

She wanted to get up and help him, but she was untrained and fragile. She watched as he ripped the demon's chest, and burying himself in a small amount of dust and ichors. He ripped sleeve off and she saw the deep large fang marks in his arm, wincing in pain. She winced as she heard him screaming painfully over the bite on his forearm. "Do you really think," the last remaining demon hissed, though Clary could barely see the demon's mouth moving or talking, "That I would really attack you unplanned? Well, how foolish of you." The demon leaned down, baring its black and dirty fangs into Jace's neck, which made Clary stood up bravely.

She brought the hilt in between her fingers and gasped. "Are you really gonna attack someone who's defenseless? Why don't you fight me, you little cowardly bastard?" Clary found herself, trying to be brave and save Jace's life. Their eyes turned to her, surprised.

Clary took one simple look at Jace and apologized without a word. He shook his head, slowly and weakly, "Don't do this." He mumbled, tears falling from the corner of his head and sliding down into his temple as he crooked his head sideways. Clary sighed, breath deepening. The demon released Jace and she backed away, as if she's been pushed. Jace stared at her, worriedly and wanting to get up and fight the demon, but the poison started spreading into his body and slowly weakening—probably creating a large effect on him that might cause him his early death. Clary mumbled something, maybe the name of the blade. Then, the demon lunged forward to Clary—in a blink of an eye. Clary stepped backwards, swinging the blade in the way the demon lunged into her. But there was no effect.

The demon shoved her blade, and she dropped it far enough. It lunged forward, aiming for Clary's neck—instead, it shoved her off. "Clary!" Jace tried to scream, as Clary flew into the other side. She fell into ground, closing her eyes painfully. She now realized demon-hunting is far as easy as would have remembered.

Clary shot her eyes open, seeing the demon flying slowly towards her. The blade was just a two steps away from her or less, but it was two far for her to reach. She touched the very end of the hilt, but she missed it. She reached more, as the demon floated closer to her—faster. "Do you think, Clarissa Morgenstern, that I am vulnerable as you are? You think opposite. I'm stronger than the two of you. As much as I wanted to kill you, I cannot. Your brother would certainly want you to personal reasons."

Clary stood, grabbing the blade and plunging it into the demon's chest, dark vicious liquid spilled into her fingers. "I have no brother." She hissed and dropped the hilt, its blade missing—actually pulverized by the acid vicious substance from the demon's body. She stared at her hands, sticky and all bloodied by the demon's death. She looked around, found Jace lying there.

She ran into him. He was motionless, but he was still breathing. Clary placed a hand at his chest and he flung his eyes open. He looked at her, "You're alive." A hand ran into her cheeks, as she touched his hand feeling his soft hand against her cheeks. She showed a faint smile.

"You are too." She said, and landed a soft peck into his lips, "We're gonna have to take you back into the Penhallows, I'm sure Magnus will be there. He can treat you." He tightened his grip into her blood-stained hand and she stared at her golden luminous eyes, shining like a star in the dark skies alone. "We'll be alright, Jace, I promise."


To Evelina

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