There he was; just as angelic as I remembered him. His dark golden hair tumbling over his eyes like a fallen angel, claiming his revenge; it wasn't hard to imagine him with a pair of wings. Even from the distance I stood at, I could see the square jaw I had fantasised of seeing for so long and the strange dark golden eyes that stood out like a diamond amidst dull rocks.

Jace.

He was staring at me like he had just seen a ghost, engulfing my appearance like he would never see it again.

I tore my eyes away from him to look at the two at his sides.

Isabelle had to have grown even taller, if possible. Her legs seemed to go on for days; she looked like a model with perfectly applied make-up and her skinny build. Her features were sculpted by baby cherubs and her long black inky hair had not a single strand out of place. I glanced down at her outfit, all designer, of course.

While Isabelle had the refined look of a professional model, Alec had gone for the more rugged look. His hair tangled and tussled. He had grown slight stubble and his clothing was simple yet stylish. He had grown out almost as tall as Jace and, like him, had developed slightly visible muscles. Overall he looked good.

They all did. Too good for me, said a little voice in my head.

It took a couple of seconds for me to deduce all of this but, it seemed like an eternity.

In moments, Isabelle's arms were around me. I winced and tried to step away out of habit, thankfully, she didn't see. It took me a moment to realise she was speaking.

"Oh my god, Clary. I've-we've – all missed you soo much. Are you ok-" I blocked out the words and focused on her voice, recognising it and welcoming the sweet sound. I imagined that she was telling me something else- something normal. That everything that was happening was normal.

She pulled back and tears were running down her face, smudging her perfectly applied makeup. I wanted to rub it off- make her stop crying- but, resisted it.

And then Alec was hugging me, surprisingly, pretty roughly. Yet again I had to flinch and try to back away but, his eyes were also foggy with tears so he didn't notice.

"You scared me, little Red. Don't ever do that again." His voice rough with emotion, he was trying to laugh it off, but it was failing miserably, "It was…bad when you weren't here."

I became aware that I hadn't said anything and my facial expression hadn't changed at all from my neutral defensive look, something that I started doing when I realised crying or showing emotion made it much worse in the basement.

"Hey guys, back off. She's fragile." Jonathon stood in front of me after Alec had pulled away.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't," I said in a low raspy tone, I heard the other gasp at my broken voice, but I ignored them, "Ever call me fragile."

Jonathon glanced over his shoulder at me with worried eyes but, I gave him a glare so he took a step back.

Suddenly, strong muscular arms were around me as if they were meant to be there. I noticed a second too late that it was Jace and had recoiled away from him.

I looked up in horror to see Jace's hurt face confronting mine. Up close I could see the small details I hadn't noticed from the distance. The dark eye bags, the worn down nails, the tangles in his hair.

I looked down, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." My voice finally cracked, showing them some emotion. I hadn't meant to back away from him, it was just instinct. I felt the tears build up in my eyes. "I didn't mean to- You just took me by surprise." I tried to explain.

"Don't ever apologise Clary. You're existence has made me the happiest man alive, the fact that you're standing here overwhelms me with emotions I never thought I would ever feel. I don't care if you are broken or wounded, you. Are. Breathing. Never apologise to me." Jace said to me, forcing me to lift my head to meet his gaze.

Without realising, I had put my arms around him; my face burying itself in his shoulder, my fingers trembling and inhaling his scent. It was the same as before, soap and sunshine.

This was the first time I had hugged someone since I had been found.

Purposefully slowly, as if not to scare me, he put his arms around me. He held me gently but, as close as he could without crushing me. He face was lost in my hair and I was aware of every single place he was touching me because electricity seemed to run down all my nerves where he was.

It felt like I had only touched him for a moment before we had to pull away.

"So… anyone feel like doing maths?" I asked after a second of nervousness.