Whoa, here we go! Very groundbreaking stuff, here, I kid you not. Stuff goes further... LOL, you'll see for yourself. Enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: What is it I usually write? Something about C squared? Yeah, that.

At Breakfast

The Institute's kitchen was very crowded that morning: Charlotte and Maryse discussing something in a low voice; Henry intensely fiddling with a piece of machinery; Clary watching as Jem ate a piece of toast; Will watching Clary watch Jem, looking thoroughly annoyed; Tessa shyly flirting with Jace, who was playing it absurdly cool; Isabelle trying to catch Will's attention, though she eventually gave up and left to find Simon; and Alec and Magnus, who had joined them, making out in the corner. Only Robert was not present, as he was out on Clave business.

Jace and Tessa

"Well, this is an absurdly popular place," Tessa remarked to no one in particular.

"If you find it too busy, and it is, we can always take our food somewhere else. There's actually somewhere I wanted to show you, and no one'll be there now," Jace offered with a gentle smile. Why is he being so nice to me? Tessa thought. He's so much like Will, yet Will was hardly anything but cruel to me. Why is Jace different in this one crucial way?

For his part, Jace felt similarly, just as confused as to where this sudden sweetness had come from. He had only recently learned that no, the part of his heart responsible for loving was not broken, as he had feared, so perhaps that was the reason. He thought it had something to do with Tessa's innocence, the way she acted as though she wasn't accustomed to anyone being nice to her. It's true that Jem was pleasant enough, but Will… I am not going to waste my time with Tessa thinking about William Herondale, relative or not.

He led her through a complicated series of twists and turns in the corridors, eventually coming out to a set of huge wooden doors. "After you, my lady," he said, holding the door open for her and inclining his head.

Tessa grinned. "That's hardly necessary," she retorted, but looked pleased nonetheless. Her expression melted to one of pure astonishment and wonder when she took in the room before her. It was the library, huger and grander than the London one, and absolutely beautiful to Tessa. "How did you know that I…"

"Would want to come here?" He shrugged. "I heard someone telling someone else that you liked to read, and you know how these things travel…" He shot her an amused smirk, wincing a bit, something that was not lost on Tessa.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. She studied Jace's face with steady grey eyes, her hand fluttering up to lightly touch his left eye. "You're getting a black eye," she announced, disgusted. How on Earth could Will have done this? "And you've done nothing to fix it? Why ever not?"

He shrugged again. "It'll heal soon enough."

Accepting this, however unwillingly, Tessa moved to search the shelves for something to read. Jace came up behind her, leaning over slightly to help her search. She didn't know he was so close, so when she turned her head to ask him a question, she was exceedingly surprised to feel their lips meet.

Clary and Jem

"Hello, I love you. Won't you tell me your name?" That was the snippet of an old Doors song that played as Clary's ringtone, and she checked her phone impatiently. It was Simon, so she didn't answer; he would just text her. Sure enough, a few moments after the phone stopped ringing, it buzzed and the mail icon showed up on the screen.

Hey, going out with Izzy, sorry to cancel our plans. See you later, maybe. Clary texted him back, a quick okay, thanks for telling me, bye before shoving the phone back in her pocket.

Jem was watching her with a curious look on her face. "What was it you were just doing?"

Clary sighed. It would be too complicated to explain. "It doesn't matter. I was just telling my friend Simon that I'll see him later."

"How?"

"Jem, trust me, it would take way too long to tell you." He seemed to accept that explanation, and so just glanced down at the sketchpad Clary was absent-mindedly doodling on. "Do you like to draw?"

"Oh, yes, more than anything."

"May I… see? One of your drawings, that is?" She hesitated for a minute; her drawings were like a diary to her, saying everything she didn't have words for. Then again, this was Jem. It couldn't do any harm. She nodded, opened to a random page, and slid the paper across the table to him.

Clary loved watching the expressions flit across his face as he took in her artistic ability, which was, not to be immodest, quite extensive. The drawing in question was one of Jace on the roof, with a pair of wings, looking as though the ten-story drop to the ground was a personal challenge.

"I know that look on his face!" Jem exclaimed. "That's the same look Will always has before he does something idiotic. It looks like someone said 'I bet you can't so this', and they take it as a personal insult their self-worth. The only ones they're proving wrong are themselves, of course, but they do enjoy a challenge."

Clary nodded. "You just described Jace perfectly." After a beat, she asked, "Jem?"

"Yes?"

"Would you let me draw you?"

Will, Alec and Magnus

Damn it, Will thought as he watched Clary and Jem flirting suspiciously. It was rare to see Jem so involved with someone he had barely met, but then again, he was a very friendly person. There goes that plan. Who does Jace care about if not Clary? She's clearly busy, and it's a sure bet he is too. He thought of the radiant Isabelle, whom he had seen in passing. She was like a sister to Jace, he could see that clearly. He wondered if that would piss him off. It better, or I'm screwed.

He found himself thinking, almost longingly– though that was of course ridiculous– of Tessa. Her laugh, her beautiful eyes, that funny look on her face when she corrected him… Why can't I stop thinking about her? Surely I don't– No, that's absurd. I care no more for her than for, say, Charlotte. It must be these devils in my head, the ones that always make me want exactly what I can't have. I didn't want her when she wanted me, but now that she's so enamored of Jace, I suddenly want her. How excellent.

He decided to wander around, see if he could find Isabelle. Instead, he just walked into someone's bedroom, but it wasn't empty. Magnus was there, shirtless, tightly wrapped around that Lightwood boy, the one with Will's raven-black hair and brilliant blue eyes. He, too, was lacking in clothing. "By the Angel!" Will yelled, followed by some words that, if Charlotte were present, would get him in so much trouble he would never again see the light of day.

"Oh, hello, Will," Magnus said pleasantly, making no move to recover his shirt. The Lightwood boy, on the other hand, blushed a deep scarlet and hastened to throw his clothes back on. "Will, this is Alec. Alec, meet Will Herondale."

Alec, looking thoroughly embarrassed, held out a hand to shake Will's. Will recoiled, saying, "I knew your great-great-grandfather, Lightwood. I'm not touching you."

Alec shrugged, looking confused, while Magnus sighed in an exasperated manner. "William, Alec is nothing like Gabriel. Relax, why don't you? Don't forget what I told you earlier." He winked smarmily, and Will shuddered.

"I was trying to repress the memory. Thank you for bringing it back to the front of my mind."

"You're very welcome," Magnus said with a grin. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, Alec and I were busy. Kindly get your adorable little ass out the door."

"Language," Will scolded in a singsong voice, but he left, smirking when Magnus flipped him off.

Jace and Tessa

The third kiss in Tessa's life. This was her third kiss, and it was by far the best. Not that Will didn't have skill or experience, because he did– though Jace had them too– but Will was more rough, taking instead of giving. Jace knew exactly how to make her happy, make her get that fluttery, warm glow inside of her. He seemed to be enjoying himself as well, and it was the symbiotic relationship that made the kiss worth it.

With a small groan, Jace pulled away. His eyes were blazing such a bright gold that it was hard to look at him; he looked like the sun itself was glowing there. "Tessa," he breathed, "maybe we shouldn't–"

Instead of letting him answer, Tessa just crushed her lips to his again. The feeling was so comfortable and pleasant that she could have stayed there forever. Indeed, he didn't seem to want to move either, and his lips moved in sync with hers for a few minutes longer. The next time he separated them, though, he took a step back.

"I mean it. We shouldn't, not here."

"But…" Tessa could feel the places on her body where he had just been growing cold from the lack of his body heat. "Do you mean that we shouldn't be doing this, or we shouldn't be doing it here?"

Jace almost let out another groan. The girl was almost insatiable, and he wanted to satisfy her in whatever manner she pleased. She was a sweet, smart, beautiful girl, and though he knew Shadowhunters had no business messing around with warlocks, or Downworlders in general– though the Angel knows Isabelle had broken that enough times– he couldn't help but want more of her. He was sure she wouldn't giver herself to him, not fully. She was very proper, and from a time period where pleasure like that branded one a whore.

Of course, no one in their right mind could think Tessa was a whore, but that didn't really matter to anyone. Sex equals whore, no questions asked. Besides, I barely know her. Not that that's stopped me before, of course, but… He had to stop thinking, because thinking about Tessa in that way started making him feel… uncomfortable, using one sense of the word. A few minutes alone would fix that, but she wasn't going to give him that.

He took one last look into her face: her eyes wide and soft, her cheeks as red as he was sure his were, and her lips swollen. That was it. He had no more coherent thoughts after that, because he was too wrapped up in Tessa.

Clary and Jem

Jem sat in the window, reading. Clary told him to just relax, and reading kept him sitting still, so that was what he did. He opened A Tale of Two Cities and started reading while Clary drew him. He could feel the heat of her gaze resting on him, both in a critical, artistic manner and in another way, a way that almost made him blush. He liked it, though.

"Okay, done," she announced some time later– he didn't know much time had passed. He marked his page and stood, heading over to the drawing Clary had done of him.

His first thought was, wow. That is extraordinarily well done. His second thought was, do I truly look so tired and sad? It was true; Clary's drawing was like looking into a mirror, and he saw the dark circled under his eyes, the downward tilt to his mouth, though it was possible it was because he was concentrating on the book. It wasn't a happy story, and he noticed Will often frowned when he read. It was possible he did the same.

Clary thought she could read his mind. "You look like that when you read, like the troubles of others make you sad. Didn't you know?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Now I do."

She cocked her head and looked at him curiously. Does anything ever faze you, Jem? Do you ever get angry? She didn't much care one way or the other, but it might be amusing to see him get angry for once, or at least show some sort of strong emotion. I wonder what he would do if I…

Quickly, she leaned in and kissed him. She wanted to see what he would do, but she also did want to kiss him, and it was every bit as sweet as she hoped. He was gentle and warm, caring, giving, sharing. It was not a passionate kiss, but Clary had enough passion. Now she wanted slow and sweet, and that was exactly what Jem gave her.

! Mad kissing going on here! By the way, when Jace says he feels "uncomfortable" and that "a few minutes alone would fix that," who knows what he means? If you don't, preserve your innocence. If you do, here's a shovel to help get your mind out of the gutter. And if you find mine, bring it back. :) Yeah, it was kinda dirty, but, you know, it's JACE we're talking about here.