Summary: Simon and Clary.
Alec had been in the training room for hours, he still had a few hours before his patrol and he had been avoiding both Isabelle and Jace, Isabelle because of her flirting and Jace for his probing questions, he did not want to talk about the past, never did, it shocked him that he had been so forthcoming with Warlock Bane.
"That was brilliant." An excited voice said.
Alec glanced over and saw the redheaded girl from the first meeting with Warlock Bane and a young man with glasses, it took Alec a moment to realize that the boy was likely the Vampire.
Alec shrugged, "I guess."
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" The girl asked, "That's not like anything Jace has taught me."
The two approached him and Alec took a step back.
The Vampire halted the girl and looked at Alec, "We're making you uncomfortable."
Alec shrugged, "It's not really you."
"Just people." The Vampire said, knowingly.
"People are complicated." Alec said.
"Yeah, we can leave." The Vampire offered.
"But I want to learn, Simon." The girl whined.
"Clary, he obviously wants to be alone." Simon offered.
"So, it's the training room, he can train me." Clary said.
"I don't train children." Alec growled and turned to walk away.
"Clary!"
Alec felt a hand wrap around his wrist and reacted, flipping the girl over his shoulder and slamming her harshly into the floor, slamming his knee into her diaphragm, making her gasp for breath as his hand on her shoulder forced her to remain gasping on the ground.
"What the heck is your problem?!" Jace's voice rang out as he shoved Alec away from Clary and helped her sit up.
Alec stared at her, hiding his shaking hands by grasping his arms behind his back by his elbows.
"Clary tried to stop him from leaving." Simon offered.
"No one asked you, Vamp." Jace snarled.
Alec's head snapped up, "That was uncalled for."
"Excuse me?" Jace growled as he helped Clary stand.
"I may have overreacted to a perceived threat but Simon was just telling you what happened." Alec told Jace.
"You know, you have some nerve to stand there after attacking someone and tell me what is called for or not." Jace growled as he crowded into Alec's face.
Alec refused to flinch, Jace was hardly frightening, Alec had faced a sent a Greater Demon back to it's realm, he might have nearly died afterwards but he had managed, Jace was no more than a child used to getting his way, and Clary was the same.
"She attacked me first." Alec responded.
"She grabbed your arm!" Jace yelled.
"Yeah, and the last time something did that I got a knife in my gut." Alec said.
Jace startled and stumbled back, "What?"
Alec raised an eyebrow, "I am not like you, Jace, I don't have a home Institute, I don't have the luxury of having someone to watch my back, if I wanted survive I needed to be cautious and quick to act. Just because we're in an Institute does not mean we are safe, we're just safer than being out there alone. I'd appreciate it if you and your people kept their hands to themselves and their opinions about what is appropriate as well, when they have my experiences then we can have a chat, until then..." Alec explained, "I'd also appreciate it if you'd watch how you treat others in my presence, and I think you owe Simon an apology."
"What?" Jace said, "No way."
Clary was staring at them and Simon shifted uncomfortably.
Alec stared at Jace and Jace started to feel uncomfortable as well under that gaze.
"Fine!" Jace snarled, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Simon said quietly.
"Come on, Jace, show me some moves." Clary said suddenly ad started to tug the other man away, she wanted to learn from Alec but she could see that there was no way the man was going to offer, not after the mess she had just made, she'd try again later, after he had time to forget about what had just happened.
"You okay?" Alec asked Simon.
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, it's fine." Simon babbled.
"Hey, look at me, Fledgling," Alec started, Simon's head snapped up, body almost tense and his senses alert, Alec had learned this trick when he was twelve and had been dragged into a Clan of Vampires, they had wanted to drain him and they had been doing it slowly and Alec had observed how the older Vampires had treated the younger, newly turned ones, they had this tone of voice that demanded attention and obedience, it only worked on the newly turned and it was this tone Alec now used to make sure Simon was listening and that he would remember what Alec was about to tell him, "No one is allowed to you like you're less of a person just because you drink blood for nourishment instead of eating lettuce and cheese, have you ever killed anyone that was not attacking you?"
"No." Simon answered, shaking his head.
"Have you ever drank from someone who was unwilling, or hadn't offered?"
Simon shook his head.
"Then no one has any reason to treat you like you've done something wrong, you haven't at this point the only thing you have done is stop breathing and from what I'v heard yoou didn't even get the choice on whether you get to be buried or staked." Alec said.
"Clary made the choice." Simon said quietly.
"Yes, and it's time to make yours." Alec said.
Simon looked startled, "What do you mean?"
Alec sat on one of the benches and Simon followed.
"You're dead, Simon, you have a choice, you can cling to the remains of your human life and flounder when the last of it fades away, through the death of your last family member or the demolishing of a childhood home, or you can embrace what you've become, welcome it and move past what you were and be who and what you are."
"I don't have anywhere else to go." Simon whispered.
"What about your Sire?" Alec asked.
"I she's been sent to the Clave, for, um, for turning me." Simon told him.
"Ah, you know that the Clans always have open welcomes for newly turned, you just have to listen for the right words in the right places." Alec offered.
"How do I find that?" Simon asked.
"Or you can ask a Clan leader for acceptance, most will allow you to at least have access to blood and a chance to earn membership." Alec explained.
"How do you know this?" Simon asked, "I mean, generally Shadowhunters seem ignorant about any societal order among the Downworld."
"Most Shadowhunters don't spend years fending for themselves, a Shadowhunter without an Institute can barely be called a Shadowhunter."
"And did you?" Simon asked.
"Did I what?" Alec asked.
"Call yourself a Shadowhunter?"
Alec stared at the Vampire, "No, I still don't, I'm not what they want or expect me to be, that itself would have them threaten to deRune me, but... I'm good, especially when it comes to Greater Demons."
"I... thank you."
It suddenly occurred to Alec that they hadn't introduced themselves and he smiled, "You're welcome, Simon, by the way, my name is James."
Simon grinned back, "Thank you, James. I... umm, hey, you can say no of course, but do you think you could teach me some of what you were doing?"
Alec looked at Simon, "Sure, let me just apply a couple Runes."
"Sure, awesome, take your time..." And Simon just kept babbling and Alec realized that maybe the Vampire could use that to his advantage.
It took Clary two weeks to realize that there was no way that James had forgotten the incident in the training room and while he seemed happy to teach Simon, the Vampire babbling about everything from Star Wars to the history of male circumcision, he had flat out refused Branwell's request to teach Clary.
It annoyed Clary that the man refused, it also made her angry that Simon was now hanging out with Raphael during the early evening or early morning instead of answering her phone calls.
Clary sighed and watched Izzy and Jace spar, she wasn't even allowed to watch James train Simon, she was sure she could learn that way but when James had noticed her the two had asked Raphael if they could use the DeMort gym for their training sessions and Clary was starting to wonder if there was a Rune that would allow you to go forever without sleep because James never seemed to sleep, and he always seemed ready to go on patrols, she wondered how she was going to get her friend back and get James to like her.
Let's play spot the reference.