A/N: Hey guys! I'm backish. The chapters might take me a little while to type up, but I am definitely working on them. There are three chapters to go, and I am super excited to finish this story out!
Please enjoy!
"Mom there is nothing to be nervous about." Clary held the phone between her head and her shoulder, as she trucked the laundry upstairs.
"Thanksgiving has always been just us. Last year Jace was here, but now you want me to go to the Lightwood's home and do it here. I've never done a big family thanksgiving before." Her mom sighed over the phone, making Clary roll her eyes.
"Maryse and Jace will have everything prepared. All you have to do is spend time with me and my in-laws." She explained, dumping their unfolded laundry onto the bed.
"You know I am not a fan of Maryse or her husband, Robert. They are stuck up and think they are better than us." She huffed in annoyance.
"You hardly know them. Besides Simon is coming. You love Simon." She sang, tempting her mom with her best friend.
"Fine." She hung up without a good bye, making Clary roll her eyes. Whenever her mother gets worked up about something, she gets a little rude. It drives her crazy. Clary looked at the time, knowing her husband wouldn't be back until late in the night. She sighed quietly, deciding to get her book after she folded the laundry, so she could begin studying for finals.
OoOoO
Clary flinched awake when a weight shifted beside her. She scratched her eyes, seeing her husband join her on the couch. She pushed herself up, glancing at the books she was using as a pillow, as she inhaled a deep breath. She couldn't help but see the exhaustion in Jace's face, as he unbuttoned his black shirt and rubbed his neck gingerly. One of the bouncers at pandemonium quit, so Jace decided to pick up the slack. They could use more money before they move, but Jace was going almost non-stop for a week and half. Finals were around the corner, which meant Jace was studying 7 hours a day, going to class 6 hours, and working 7 hours a day, leaving 4 hours for him to sleep.
"How are you doing, baby?" She leaned against his back, rubbing his arms lightly.
"Not good." He mumbled, shaking his head.
"Come to bed and get a good night rest tonight. You don't need to study right now. We have two weeks more until finals. You can't do anything when your sleep deprived." She encouraged quietly, kissing the back of his neck. "Besides thanksgiving weekend is here. I say we take three days off, and just spend some time with our families." She whispered, moving her head to try to see his expression.
"I can't afford to let my grades slip." He put his hand into hair, sighing heavily.
"I'm not saying we stop for the rest of the semester just over the holiday. Jace, I hate seeing you like this." She rested her chin on his shoulder, feeling genuinely worried about him. "I know we could use the extra money right now because you're not going to work right after we move, but if you get sick because you weakened your immune system we are screwed." She explained, squeezing his tightened biceps in attempt to soothe them.
"Alright." He mumbled, running his hand down his face. "Come on, time for bed." He groaned, as he climbed to his feet.
"Could you carry me?" She asked, yawning heavily. He silently lifted her in his arms, and she held onto him tightly. He hugged her to him before he laid her down on the bed. He climbed up next to her, pulling her body to his. She looked over his face, seeing the way he was mesmerized by her. She loved the way that he gazed at her because it made her feel like the most special person on this earth.
"I love you." He touched her face lightly, trailing it across the side of her neck. She hummed softly, tangling their fingers together. She kissed his hand, feeling heat across her cheeks. "Thank you for making me sleep." He sighed quietly, gathering her into his arms.
"Well, someone needs to look out for your well-being." A soft grin stretched across her face, letting her eyes close once again.
"Good night." He breathed, kissing her head.
OoOoO
Clary jammed her things into her backpack early the next morning, as the house prepared to go to the Lightwood home for thanksgiving break. Clary wanted Jace to sleep a little longer, so she was packing as quietly as possible. He needed every ounce of rest that he could get. She pulled her backpack over her shoulder, stepping out into a living room area. Everyone else was packing up their clothes.
"Morning." Simon left Isabelle's side, walking over to her.
"Morning." She ran her hand through her hair, grabbing the coffee from the machine.
"Where is the husband? Shouldn't he be getting ready?" Simon teased, sitting on the counter next to her.
"You know he's been working really hard, and we don't need to leave for another 30 minutes at least." She released a sigh, feeling overwhelmingly tired. So much has been going on since they got back from fall break. Clary was taking care of literally everything around the house, while Jace worked continuously at the club working. That left Clary with the bills, the laundry, and all the food. She felt like she constantly had a chore to do, but she couldn't bring herself to complain about it. Jace was having a much rougher time then she was, so she was going to grin and bear it until they were through this spell.
"He's never around, Clary." Simon pointed out, making her a little frustrated.
"He has been working for the two weeks straight. I know he's never here, but we need money for when we leave, so don't say anything to him. He's very stressed out." She sipped her coffee, huffing loudly.
"Ok, I just want to make sure everything is alright with you two. I don't want him to hurt you." He bumped her shoulder lightly, trying to show that he was worried about her.
"Everything's fine. I know I seem out of it, and I am, but I still have to take care of things. Jace normally does a lot of work around here, and I had to take over so he could focus on work." She explained, setting her mug down. He nodded silently, getting himself a glass of coffee. Their friendship had grown tense since she got married, which was slightly disappointing. They used to be so close, but Simon had been put on the back burner for the last two years. She didn't know what to do about it either. Him and Jace just didn't get along, so when it came down to making plans, does she go out to dinner with her husband or does she go out with her best friend. She always picked her husband. She hated that she turned into one of those people, but since they got married, he has been her best friend through everything. "How have you been?" She asked, looking up at Simon. He shrugged his shoulders in response. "I see you hanging with Iz a lot. Anything happening there?" She asked, seeing his cheeks redden.
"I wish." He muttered, staring into his cup.
"You would be good for her." She bumped his arm, biting her lip.
"Whatever." He drifted away from her, walking into his room.
Clary rolled her eyes, pouring Jace some coffee in a travel mug. She glanced over at the time, hating that she had to wake him up. Thankfully, Alec was driving all of them out of the city to his parent's country home. She walked back into her room, lying next to her beloved husband.
"Baby," She stroked through his hair, scratching his scalp tenderly.
"What?" He grumbled, rolling on his side, as he kept his eyes closed.
"You need to get ready to go." She murmured, kissing him lightly. His eyes remained shut, which made her smile. "Come on, baby." She snickered.
"No." He whined, turning away from her.
"Jace." She crawled on top of him, falling onto the other side of him. "Time to wake up." She tickled his sides, watching him flinch heavily.
"I hate it when you do that." He huffed, shaking his head.
"I love it." She jabbed his sides again, making his entire body cringe.
"Men like me aren't physically made to be prodded like that." He groaned loudly, sitting up.
"Well, it woke you up." She smiled, crawling out of bed. "Pack your stuff up and let's go." She teased, ripping the blankets back. He grumbled, rolling onto his back, as she exited the room.
OoOoO
The crew climbed into the car, as they headed out to the Lightwood country home. They had a small family farm in the middle of nowhere, but they didn't tend to it at all. They planned to retire there, so until then they had an older couple was tending to the grounds. Clary was excited to go because she didn't know much about Jace's family. It wasn't a secret that his adoptive parents weren't a fan of their marriage, so they kept their distance from them ever since Jace proposed, which always disappointed her. They took Jace in as a boy, and then they completely turn their back away from him when he married Clary.
"You ok?" Clary rubbed Jace's arm, looking over at him.
"I'm fine." He sighed, ruffling his hair.
"You're spiraling." She put her arm around him, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"I've just been really stressed and seeing my parents isn't making matters better." He muttered, leaning against her.
"You're worried about seeing your parents?" She questioned softly, not wanting the rest to hear.
"I didn't live up to their expectations of me." He shrugged, dropping his head back.
"You are an amazing man, and they'll see that." She assured him, kissing under his ear. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I love you. You are my everything."
"I love you." He kissed her lightly, yawning heavily. "I'm going to sleep." He tangled their fingers together, resting their joined hands on his lap.
Clary hated seeing him so stressed out. He was dealing with work, school, and family all at the same time. She wished that she could relieve some of the things he was dealing with, but she didn't know how to without over working herself as well. She squeezed his hand lightly, resting against him.
OoOoO
Clary gently woke her snoozing husband. He rubbed his eyes, grunting softly, as he stretched himself out the best he could in the back seat of a car. Everyone piled out of the car, and Jace grabbed both of their bags. She put her hand on his arm lightly, as they approached the country home.
"Alec, Isabelle," Maryse hurried out of the door, hugging her two children.
"Hi, mom," They said sheepishly, hugging her back.
"Jace," Maryse's tone changed, as she approached her adopted child.
"Mom," He hugged her lightly, but it was not the same as the other kids.
"Come on, let's get out of the cold." She held her sweater tightly to her, making her way back in doors.
"See." Jace muttered, trekking inside.
"I made up some hot coco." She lifted up the mugs, passing them out among the college student, and Clary noticed that she didn't get one. She furrowed her brow slightly, wondering what was going on.
"Maryse, I didn't get one." She pointed out, suddenly feeling like the environment was tense.
"Oh, I guess I miss counted." She shook her head, putting a pot on the stove. "I'll make you a fresh one." Her smile seemed pinched when she spoke. "I made up five rooms up for you guys, so you can go upstairs and claim them." She poured the coco in the mug, reluctantly handing it to Clary.
"Five? Mom, Clary and I share a room you didn't need to get five rooms ready." He said awkwardly to her.
"Oh, my bad. I forgot you two got married." She brushed it off like it was nothing, but it didn't seem like nothing. Everyone glanced between themselves before making their way up the stairs. Clary heaved a sigh, taking her bag from Jace, as she hurried up the steps. She dropped a bag in the first room she saw, turning to face Jace who just closed the door.
"You're mother hates me?" She exclaimed, feeling like his mother was passive aggressively attacking her.
"She doesn't hate you." He murmured, sitting on the bed.
"She didn't make me coco. She made up five rooms, assuming that we weren't sleeping in the same room." She huffed, looking at him in bewilderment.
"She doesn't hate you specifically. She hates that I got married, in general, which is why we haven't seen her in over a year." He ran his hand through his locks, shaking his head.
"You never said that." She deflated slightly, suddenly feeling guilty that she married him.
"Because I didn't want you to worry about it." He got to his feet, placing his hands on her hips.
"I didn't realize I was coming into a hostile environment, Jace. Now I'm going to have to be a saint the rest of the week. Why did you let me invite my mother? She already didn't want to come, and now your mom is treating me like the plague." She groaned, collapsing on the bed.
"She doesn't have a problem with your mom. They were best friends in school remember." He hung onto an ounce of hope for the next few days to come.
"Yes, they were, until her husband and my dad had a huge falling out." She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to see the bright side in that.
"Fine, this thanksgiving is going to suck. I mean at least your dad is dead, so we don't have to deal with him and Robert fighting." He stated. Less than a second later, his palm connected with his forehead when he realized that he said he was thankful that her father had died.
"You are getting yourself on some pretty thin ice, Jace." She inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I can see the regret on your face, so I will not blow up at you. I just want to let you know that I am not a happy woman right now." She replied, keeping her calm. It wouldn't do either of them any good to fight about this because he obviously said it without thinking. If she knew her father, she probably would have been more offended, but he died when she was baby. She had no real connection to him, which made it hard to miss him. There were times where she would miss a father figure in her life, but her mom's best friend, Luke, tended to fill the role when she truly needed it.
"I didn't mean it to come out like that." He sighed, knowing that he was in the wrong.
"I know." She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to brighten herself up a little. They have been here for less than an hour and she already felt drained. "I kind of want to take a nap." She murmured, looking towards the bed.
"Go ahead. I'll wake you before dinner." He rubbed her arm lightly, recognizing the anxiety across his wife's face.
"Thank you." She mumbled, as he kissed her head.
"See you in a bit." He made his way out the door, leaving her alone.
She was so frustrated at Jace for not telling him that his parents disapproved of their marriage. She wasn't mentally prepared to deal with semi-hostile in-laws, but she knew she could handle it. If she could handle creeps in college, she could handle her mother-in-law. She knew which buttons to push to get her to back off. She had to do the same thing in high school when they first started dating. Maryse didn't think that Clary was good enough for Jace, but she proved that she was worthy of Jace. If anything Jace wasn't good enough for her when they started dating. He tried to pick her up time and time again with the cockiest of attitudes. He finally got the hint that she didn't respond to his antics, and he showed her the man underneath.
OoOoO
Clary woke up on her own probably an hour before dinner. She put a comb through her hair and fixed the clothes she was wearing before making her way down stairs. Everyone was playing monopoly. Clary couldn't help but notice Robert's absence. That seemed extremely unusual, but she wasn't going to question it at the moment. She walked over to the table, sitting on Jace's lap because the seats were taken up.
"Hey there," He smiled up at her, putting his arm around her waist.
"Hi." She pressing her lips to his cheek, as she brushed the hair from his forehead.
"You guys are disgusting." A familiar young boys voice grimaced.
"Max! Where were you when we got here?" She questioned, getting up to hug the youngest member of the Lightwood family. Secretly, Max was her favorite. He was a fanboy; how could she not love him more than everyone else.
"I was reading in my room." He shrugged, as his cheeks turned a little red.
"I don't blame you." She snickered, moving to sit with Jace once again. She could feel Maryse's eyes bearing down on her, but Clary wasn't going to act differently with her husband just because her mother-in-law didn't like that they got married. "So when is dinner?" She asked, looking over at her.
"Whenever this game finishes, I'll start cooking." She explained, moving her piece across the board.
"Sounds good." She smiled.
OoOoO
Clary crawled into bed later at night, curling next to Jace. She heaved a sigh, dropping her head back against the pillows. She felt so tense from dealing with Jace's mother, but she attempted to be kind and civil to Maryse. She didn't want to make matters worse by being a jerk to her.
"Thank you for trying with my mom." Jace rolled onto his side, facing his wife.
"We're family now. I need to try to make it work with her." She breathed, exhaling a soft breath.
"I love you." He pecked her lips lightly, sliding her hand over her hip. She whimpered softly, needing a different kind of stress reliever. She connected their lips again, as he pulled her over him. She smiled against him, tugging at his shirt. He chuckled, sliding his hands under the hem of her tank top. "We can seriously have sex anywhere." He laughed, as she leaned down to brush their lips together. She cupped his neck lightly, moving her hips against his. He moaned, squeezing her hips lightly.
"Yes, we can because we can do it silently." She laughed, pulling at the laces on his sweats.
"This is true." He panted, peeling her top off. She grinned, tangling their mouths together slowly. His tongue slipped into her mouth, making her moan softly. She could just kiss Jace for hours. He was just so good at it.
Clary flinched heavily when she heard the door open. She whipped her head around, seeing Maryse standing in the doorway. She widened her eyes at Maryse, feeling like she was about to explode at her. She just walked in, without knocking, without announcing her presence, and without a decent reason to even some in their room. "Jace left his shoes downstairs." She said, pursing her lips.
"You could have just left them there." Jace furrowed his brow at his mother, who was still standing in the room, awkwardly staring at them.
"I don't like shoes laying around the house." She cocked her head to the side, setting them on the ground.
"Maryse, we are, like, in the middle of something." Clary shook her head, crossing her hands over her bare stomach. She was surprised that she didn't explode at her, but she was glad that she was able to keep control of herself.
"Right." She gritted her teeth, beginning to pull the door closed. Clary leaned down to kiss Jace again because he was lying ready and wanting between her thighs, but the door swung right back open. "You're cleaning the sheets before you leave because I don't want to touch that." She stammered, quickly closing the door behind her.
"Well, I think the mood is sufficiently ruined." Clary dropped her shoulders, knowing that nothing could get her worked up enough to preform now.
"Oh, come on, we've made it through worse." He rubbed her thighs lightly, appearing to be fairly turned on.
"Your mom just told us that she wanted us to clean our jizz off the sheets before we leave." She exclaimed. "I mean I wouldn't have minded doing that in the first place, but did she have to say it like that?" She shook her head, sighing softly.
"It isn't that big of a deal. You're mom walked in on us all the time." He pointed out, running his fingers along her waist. "I didn't stop when she walked in. I kept going actually."
"This is different. My mom would retreat out immediately or tell us to use a condom." She slumped back against his legs, picking at her fingers.
"That was incredibly awkward for me. Half the time she walked in on us we were in the act, not half undressed." She was surprised about how much he wanted to be with her, but she didn't really blame him. It wasn't often they completely stopped the act, which made her feel a little guilty, but she just wasn't in the mood anymore.
"Jace, I just don't want to right now." She murmured, looking down at her hands.
"Ok, let's just go bed." He sighed softly, pulling her against his side. She burrowed against his chest like she normally did, as his arm held her securely against his torso. "Can you at least take the sports bra off? That can't be comfortable to sleep in." He pulled at the elastic, snapping lightly it against her skin. She looked up at him with a playful smile on her lips, as she shook her head at him.
"I guess." She rolled her eyes mockingly, wiggling out of the bra and tossing it aside. She laid back down, feeling the warmth of his skin radiating off of him and onto her chest. She enjoyed snuggling with him like that because he kept her warm throughout the night when he wanted to keep the room cool.
"Tomorrow will be better." He spoke softly, playing with her hair. She could tell that he felt guilty about not telling her that his parents didn't like that they for married. His words sounded like an apology, which she appreciated, but it was hard to tell how tomorrow would go.
"I love you." She breathed, turning up her face to press her lips lightly to his.
"I love you too." He bumped her nose with his, splaying his hand across her back.
A/N: I feel like there was a lot of sleeping in this chapter, but a lot of what was going on I think married couples would face. During my long break I decided to give up on writing Poison & Wine, so if you didn't see my post about that, I'm sorry it no longer exist. I decided that I didn't develop the characters enough in the beginning to really move forward, which was disappointing because I really liked the idea. If you would like to read the ending I have it already written, so you can PM me and I'll send it to you.
There are about three chapters to go in this story, if there is anything you want to see within those three chapters let me know. I would some more ideas from you guys!
Thanks so much for being patient with me!
Please review!
