Wake
Simon's eyes slowly opened as sun sparkled through the hotel window. He buried his face in his silken pillow and took a deep breath, inhaling a strong whiff of Clary's green apple shampoo. He glanced down at the crimson haired girl and blushed a bit as he moved his face away from her hair. Simon unwrapped his arms from Clary's slim body and sat on the edge of the comfortable hotel bed, watching her. Clary looked frail and alone, as if not having someone beside her made her vulnerable. Simon knew Clary's thoughts on being vulnerable, the impulsive girl hated being considered vulnerable. He sighed as he leaned over and tucked a few waves of ruby hair behind her hears and gently wiped the tear trails from her pale cheek. He paused as he saw a faint hint of blue on Clary's cheek. He took a deep, unnecessary breath and stood up abruptly. He strode quietly towards the window and stared out at the quiet city, the city that wasn't quite awake yet. He didn't understand how Jace could've done what he did to Clary. Jace loved Clary, unless he had cast that aside after Alicante. The situation was not computing in Simon's brain. Jace and Clary had worked so hard to work out; they had tried even when they thought they were related. This idea of Clary not loving Jace seemed so foreign and unreal. Clary had once turned him down so severely and now was leaning on him, doting on him; Simon hated to assume this, but maybe Clary even loved him.
"Damn it!" Simon growled, resting his fisted hand on the cool window. He walked towards the bathroom, unbuttoning his white shirt and pulling it off his toned, muscular chest. Closing the bathroom door, he discarded the shirt on the floor and hurriedly finished undressing, turning on the shower as hot as it could go.
Simon stepped out of the shower into steam-clouded air, and dried off his body. He was pulling on his jeans when he heard a loud tapping at the door. Simon slipped on his shirt and the thin fabric clung to his damp skin. He didn't bother to do up the buttons on his shirt.
Jace stood at the door, his amber eyes snapping with flames of anger, his mouth a thin line. His arms were crossed over his chest and his foot tapped out a rhythm on the floor. He knocked again, a short sharp rap. The door opened a crack and Jace caught a glimpse of a dark, un-Clary colored eye. What was someone else doing there? Had Clary turned to another male to fill her dark, lonely nights?
"Open up!" He demanded. He darted out of the way as Simon slithered into the hallway, closing the door silently. Jace's jaw tightened, and he ran a hand through his thick hair; he masked his surprise well, his face sliding into a feigned expression of indifference.
"What are you doing here?" Jace spat. Simon looked taken aback as he stared disbelievingly at Jace.
"You want to know why? Huh Shadowhunter? I'm here because you abandoned Clary, because you hit her. I can't believe you, it's Clary, you were supposed to love her, and now you lost her…she doesn't love you," Simon growled at the shadowhunter male, his voice raw. Jace saw the anger and protectiveness that blazed through Simon's dark eyes. The shadowhunter smirked,
"Sometimes you've got to smack a woman around before she'll listen to you," He said smoothly. Simon stiffened and his hands clenched in fists at his side.
"And you know Clary, never able to dodge a hit," Jace's smirk had turned into a mocking smile.
"You bastard," Simon cursed through gritted teeth. In the blink of an eye Simon had Jace pinned against the opposite wall.
"Don't talk about her like that!" Simon stated forcefully. Jace still smirked at the vampire, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. In a blur, Simon's fist met his nose, the soft skin and cartilage parting with a wet crunch. Jace groaned in pain as Simon examined his handiwork. The nose was broken to the extreme; blood was flowing in a torrential downpour out of nearly collapsed nostrils. Shards of cartilage poked out from bruising, mangled skin.
"Well, I think I made my point clear," Simon snarled. Jace attempted to stop the blood that was still spewing from his nose, while shaking his head.
"Maybe this will be a bit more clear for you! Leave Clary alone!" Simon bit out, letting go of the Shadowhunter. Jace staggered forward, and Simon moved quickly; he went back into the room, slamming the door behind himself. Jace shook his head and staggered towards the elevator, ready to go back home and nurse his wounds, both physical and emotional.
Simon grabbed the glass coffee pot off of the small hotel room coffee maker and filled it with tap water, before pouring the water into the machine. He slammed the coffee pot back in its place and crossed his arms, glaring at the coffee maker impatiently. The small machine bubbled to awareness and the dark liquid began to flow into the pot. Simon half smiled as the friendly scent of coffee filled the hair. He slammed two plastic mugs on the counter and let out a breath.
Clary blinked open tired eyes and stood up slowly. She heard the sounds of someone impatient making coffee. The crashing noises made her think about Simon, his reactions when he was mad. Clary rubbed her emerald green eyes with the heels of her hands, and scrubbed at her cheeks; She stretched and yawned like a cat before hopping out of bed quietly. She raked her fingers through her unruly mess of hair and yawned again. She padded softly towards where the noises were coming from and she spotted Simon. The vampire had finished slamming mugs onto the counter, and from his stance Clary knew he was tense. Clary crept up behind him, her bare feet making no noise on the carpeted floor. The girl snaked her arms around Simon's neck and buried her face in the back of his shirt; She shocked herself with how forward she was being. She breathed in Simon's comforting scent and a smile crept across her face.
"Good morning you," She whispered in Simon's ear, knowing she was embarrassing the vampire boy.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice childlike.
"How do you know anything is wrong?" Simon asked, thinly veiling the contempt in his voice. Clary let go of his neck to point at the cracked handle of the coffee pot and the chipped and cracked mugs. Clary took Simon's embarrassed silence as a yes and shouldered him aside, forcing herself between the boy and the coffee maker. She filled both cups carefully and picked them up, turning to face her vampire friend. She found herself facing his partially bare, well-muscled chest. A hot blush flamed across her cheeks and she abruptly handed Simon his cup, walking away as quickly as possible. She sipped from the warm mug as she stared out over New York City. She caught her reflection in the glass of the mirror, and saw the blue of the bruise Jace had given to her. Clary bit her lip and looked down, ashamed as Simon came to stand beside her.
"You don't have to be ashamed about what happened with Jace," Simon said softly, putting his arm around his friends shoulder.
"I'm not," Clary told him flatly.
"He was here this morning," Simon murmured softly, and Clary stiffened under his arm. She brought her green eyes up to meet Simon's brown ones, and the vampire smiled reassuringly.
