** ALL CHARACTERS AND EVERYTHING MORTAL INSTRUMENTS RELATED IS OWNED BY CASSANDRA CLARE**


Clary woke to the sun shining brightly through her window. As she let her eyes adjust, she recognized the large shape next to her. Jace. He had spent the night with her again. Smiling, she kissed him lightly on the lips once, twice, three times. She watched a smile form, the only indication that he was also awake.

"Good morning," she whispered. Clary sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed, but before she could stand up a pair of strong, muscular arms circled around her waist, pulling her against Jace's chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" He teased, nuzzling his face in her hair.

"I have class, I need to take a shower." But she made no effort to break out of Jace's grasp.

"A shower, huh?" His nose began grazing up and down her neck. "Need help with that?"

She turned in his arms and lightly kissed him, "Tempting, but no. Stay here, I'll be right back." Then she gently unwrapped Jace's arms from around her and stood up.

After grabbing fresh clothes Clary started toward her bedroom door when she heard Jace call her in a serious tone. She turned slowly, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Clary, we need to talk about last night."

She looked at her feet, ashamed. She was never violent before, nor did she break down like that. Ever. Talking about it was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I know, Jace. We will, just let me shower first." Without waiting for a response, Clary slipped out the door and closed it behind her.

On her way to the bathroom she passed her mother's room. She stared at the closed door for a moment. When she felt the tears build back up behind her eyes she tore her gaze away and walked into the bathroom.

She turned the water on and let the heat and steam calm her tense muscles. Leaning her head against the wall, Clary thought about the past few days. Everything happened so fast. She barely remembered meeting Jace, it was as if he has always been there with her. She believed in fate and believed that fate brought them together.

Then her thoughts drifted to Sebastian. And how he changed so much over the past year. Last night was roughest he ever was with her. Sure he left his fair share of bruises before, but last night she was scared of him. An emotion she never felt about Sebastian before.

She shivered, even though the water was as hot as it could be. After quickly washing her hair and body, Clary turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

She was fully clothed and dry when she returned to her room only to find Jace sprawled out on her bed, asleep again. Taking advantage of the moment, she looked over his sleeping figure, admiring every part of him.

A grin appeared on his face. "Are you going to join me?"

Clary crawled onto the bed and was immediately pulled into Jace.

"Tell me about last night?" She didn't look at him when he asked. Instead she just stared at his unexposed chest.

When she didn't answer right away he placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her head up so her eyes met his. "At least tell me what I am kicking Sebastian's ass for. What did he do? Aside from this." His hand brushed over the bruise on her neck.

Clary shivered, not from pain, but rather from the feel of Jace's sensitive touch. Sighing, she began to tell Jace about the previous night. She watched as his eyes grew darker with each detail.

"After he mentioned Jon I walked out of his apartment, ran to Taki's and texted you. And well, you know the rest…"

"I am going to kill him." Jace growled.

Clary placed a hand on his chest and felt him relax right away. "Please, Jace. Don't do anything. I told him it was over, whether Jon would want it or not. That's it. It's over."

Feeling his anger subside, she ran her hand up his chest and tangled it in his hair. She pulled his head down and their lips met.

Before the kiss deepened Clary pulled away. "I really have to go to class." She got off the bed, grabbed a scarf from the back of her desk chair, and wrapped it around her neck. It was getting colder so no one would think twice about her scarf.

Jace closed his eyes and nodded and also got off the bed. "I'll walk you."


Four hours later Clary walked out of the Institute to meet Jace. He held two cups in his hand.

"Coffee, love?" He offered one.

"Mmmm, thank you." Clary took a sip. It was so good.

"How was class?" They began walking back towards Clary's house hand-in-hand.

"So boring. I zoned out for three of the four of them. Drawing was the only one I paid attention to of course. What did you do?"

Jace shrugged, "I went home for a little bit."

Clary stopped walking, causing Jace to stop walking as well. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Clary pushed him down a side street and lifted his shirt high.

"Clary, what are you doing?" Surprisingly, he didn't sound angry but worried. He watched as she studied his chest and realized what she was doing. Most of his cuts were half healed but a few of them from the other day still looked fresh.

She brought her hand up and gently ran it down his chest. He was perfect, even with the cuts and scars, to Clary they were a part of him.

Her voice shook with worry and fear. Fear for him. "There aren't…I mean… You didn't…"

Jace wrapped his hand around Clary's wrist and brought her hand up to face level and place a tender kiss on her palm. "Clary, I haven't cut myself since I met you. I have no reason to."

"What do you mean? Why did you even do it in the first place?" Her voice was quiet but full of curiosity.

"Let me try to explain. I started after my mom died. I did it because I was so numb to the world. I felt like I wasn't even here. Cutting it…it brought me back. I caused me to feel something. Without the pain, I didn't feel anything. But then I met you, and instantly you made me feel things I thought I never could. You're my reason. You have completely turned my life around these past few days."

He closed his eyes and took a few long, deep breaths. When he opened his eyes he saw that Clary was staring right back at him. Her eyes were wide, bright, sparkling green. Instead of the disgust or fear that he would have expected, Jace saw affection and adoration in her eyes. She had to stand on her tip toes to kiss him on his forehead.

"You never deserved any of the pain you've experienced. I am so sorry, Jace. But like you once told me, I want to say the same thing. I will always be here with you, for you."

Jace's lips came crashing down on hers. It was passionate and desperate at the same time. The kiss deepened instantly as their tongues danced with each other. Clary's hand twisted in Jace's hair, pulling him closer. Jace's strong arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her safe from the rest of the world.

Jace pulled away all too soon, his hand cupped her face and he smiled. "Come on, I've got a surprise for you."

Clary stole one last quick kiss and nodded. Jace moved his hands from her face and placed one arm around her waist as they walked back to Clary's house.


A/N: I am so sorry for the super short filler. It was either this short or a really long chapter that would have taken longer to update. There will only be 2 maybe 3 chapters and an epilogue left. I am starting on my next fanfic "Famous Last Words". I'll be posting the first chapter soon :)

Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! You guys make my day :)

PS Happy Thanksgiving for everyone in the States!