DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of this story, only the plot!

We softly ran through the corridors in a comfortable silence, trying not to wake someone else. I had no idea where we were going because my orientation system, generally already horrendous, clearly had no night mode. After a few minute Jace lowered his tempo a bit, only to stop abruptly on the corner of the hallway. Of course Clumsy Clary hadn't foreseen this, so I reacted too late, causing my body to bump into his. "Whoa, Clary. Calm down!" He said with a smile. "I know my body is unspeakably sexy, but that doesn't mean you may constantly touch it."He grinned and I couldn't help but blush while I took a step backwards. All the time his hand hadn't let go of mine, but now he loosened his grip, though a bit reluctantly. "That was not my intention! I just…" I made a weak attempt to defend myself but he interrupted me by laying his hands on my eyes as he went to stand behind me. "I was just joking Clary…" he said laughingly after which he came closer to me. I could feel his warm breath against my neck and his chest against my back as he leaned forward and brought his mouth near my left ear. He whispered cheeky: "you may touch my body whenever you want…" I couldn't suppress the shiver that went down my spine as a reaction on those words. I hated my body for betraying my feelings so explicitly and somehow I knew he had seen my reaction, even though the place was only badly illuminated. This made me feel even more embarrassed than I already was…

I tried to distract myself from the fact that he stood still very close to me by asking him why he was covering my eyes. "I want to surprise you", he said honestly, and I nodded my head to shake of all the emotions that popped my head because of those words. "Well than you can better finally show me your "big surprise" before I die of curiosity!" I said playfully. "That would be a shame indeed!" he grinned. "Come on" he said as he leaded my body around the corner to stop a few meters further. "Ready?" he asked, his hands still on my face. "Yes! Stop with your time stretching! You are killing me!" I said teasingly, though not able to hide a sliver of nervousness. "I would never do that!" he said fake insulted while he took his hand of my face. I gasped when I saw where he had leaded me to and I turned around searching his eyes with mine. Our eyes hooked into each other and I saw the determined though somewhat uncertain look in his eyes. "Are you sure?" I asked softly, while I searched for confirmation on his face. He nodded while he took my left hand, his other hand resting on the door hand. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life" he stated soulful as he swung down the door handle and opened the door.

In the five weeks I had spended in the house of the Lightwoods, Jace's room had been… off-limits. On my first day, Izzy had taken on the task to guide me around the house. Firstly, she had shown me the most commonly used rooms, such as de library, the kitchen, the dining room and so on… But afterwards she had turned to the floor where the bedrooms were situated. Before we went to the room that would be mine, she showed where I could find her room and Alec's, in case I needed something. After that little interruption, she headed for my new room, super enthusiast to show it because she had decorated the room herself. As expected, the room was perfect. One wall was painted in a beautiful bright red and the other ones had a deep chocolate-brown shade that perfectly matched the dark wooden floor. The furniture was white and elegant, and a beautiful, graceful manufactured canopy bed dominated the room. It was beautiful and breathtaking, but I wasn't really paying attention. And naturally Izzy noticed it…

She assured me that we could always redecorate it if I didn't like it, and on that moment I captured a sparkle of the insecurity she always tried to hide from the outside world. I reassured her that it was magnificent and that I totally loved it -which I did! - but I couldn't help but notice that she hadn't mentioned where Jace's room was. As a reaction on my question, Izzy sighted while she plumped onto the bed. I still remember the exact words she said… "I knew you would notice" she had said with a sad smile, "you're a clever one…" I had been sitting next to her and now she laid her hands on my knee. "I didn't show you his room because it is… unlikely you will ever enter it Clary. Jace is… he…" She had searched for words… "Let us say that it is quite an understatement that his privacy is very important to him. It took us years before he allowed us to enter his room. Even now, Alec and I have only been there for a few times… I give you one advice Clary, as a friend. Never enter Jace's room without his permission… Never ever! Promise me!" I nodded confused and promised I wouldn't. Somehow this made my interest in Jace only grow… I mean, he was so intriguing and inscrutable! It felt like he was some sort of puzzle that needed to be solved. And as the weeks proceeded, I noticed that the urge to be the person who did that, grew stronger and stronger…

The first thing I saw after Jace had opened the door to his room, was a burning fireplace on the right side of the room. It sent an inviting warmth of, and suddenly it struck me that I was really cold. However, I resisted the urge to run towards the burning flames to heat my body, because I didn't wanted to be pushy or rude to Jace. He probably had noticed my inner doubt, because he let my hand go and pushed me gently inside the room, his hand now lightly rested on my lower back… I heard him close the door silently behind my back as I headed to the fireplace. I felt the heat percolating my body and I felt my limbs relax a bit as the warmth loosened up my muscles. I turned around and looked at the room, my back turned to the fire. The only light came from the flames behind me, because Jace hadn't turned on the light, so I couldn't discern a lot, but I still tried to absorb everything. Close to my right there was a bay window, but he had closed the curtains so I couldn't see what kind of view the window offered. The same thick, heavy-looking curtains of the other window in the right wall were closed too, but due to the size of the room it didn't make the room oppressive. On the contrary! It gave the room a warm and cozy sphere, something I missed a bit in a lot of the other rooms of the house which had a more modern, sleek design. My eyes wandered further trough the bedroom… a writing desk that stood against the left wall with in addition a huge bookcase that bulged with books, another door in the same wall as the one where I had come through and… a huge bed, situated against the wall right in front of me. And with huge, I mean literally gigantic! It occupied a big part of the room yet it fitted perfectly into the style of the room. The sheets of the bed were impeccably, like no one had ever slept in it before and I couldn't help but come closer and touch the beautiful woodcarving on the side of the bed. "Really Clary?" said an amused voice from behind me. "Immediately heading to the bed? I never thought you where that kind of girl!" Jace said teasingly. "Not that I mind though" he winked. I turned around, slightly startled. I had forgotten Jace completely, entirely preoccupied by the fact that I could finally discover something personal about him.

On first sight, it looked like he was just casually leaning against the door, but I could see how tensed his body was underneath. The muscles on his arms were strained and he breathed faster than he normally did. I knew this had to be difficult for him, and even though I didn't knew why this was such a big deal for him, I was so… proud of him. At least he tried to resolve his problem, and didn't deny it all the time… I shook my head lightly to shake of the thoughts that crept into my mind. This was nor the time, nor the place to think about those things… I stepped closer to him, not sure whether or not he wanted it. I looked into his eyes and it felt like I could look down into the very depths of his soul. And I saw exactly those things that I felt deep inside, but that I had tried to deny to myself: loneliness, doubts and a strong desire to be held by someone who just said it would all be ok, even if it wouldn't…

Before I let myself the chance to think about it –because I knew that I would make up thousand excuses to hold back- I quickly stepped up to him and hugged him for the second time this night. I could tell that he hadn't expected that action because he inhaled surprised before he putted his arms around me. My head leaned against his chest and my arms, wrapped around his back, pulled him close to me. His muscular arms did the same with my body and I could hear how he breathed out slowly. "Thank you" I said soft, "Thank you for showing me this." He laid his head on mine and I felt the vibrations of his voice trough his chest as he spoke. "No Clar, thank you. For everything" he said while he rubbed my back slowly. "I haven't done anything" I mumbled against his chest, taken aback by the gratitude that laid in his voice. He laughed warmly: "Is it so hard for you to just accept it and say "You're welcome"?" I smiled… "You're welcome" I whispered. He just hugged me a little more tightly and I closed my eyes. The sound of his beating heart in combination with his delicious scent that was so 100% Jace, made me relax entirely for the first time in a really long time…

Let me know what you think of the story please! I would be a huge help, because I'm not sure whether or not it is going in the good direction :s :( xxx N.