Jace
As I pass Simon, I hear not so nice things being muttered, but see clary rounding the corner and decide he isn't worth anymore of our time. I sprint down the street to catch up with Clary, and when I do, she's standing in front of a maternity store.
She looks serenely into the window, but her eyes hold a pain too deep to be yanked out by the roots. I slowly approach her until we are standing shoulder to shoulder.
"I pass this store every day on my way to work," Clary begins, "every day I see the cute toys and tiny shoes in the window. I used to want that with Simon, but now I'm glad I don't. In the end, at least I'm the only one hurting, not an innocent child," she sighs.
"But you aren't the only one hurting," I tell her, placing my hand in hers, "It killed me to see you that day in the coffee shop and to see the look on your face every time you think of what they did," she looks up and offers a soft smile.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," she sighs, holding my hand a little tighter.
We stand and look into the window for a few extra minutes. When I look over to Clary, I see a single tear roll down her cheek. Silently, I brush it away with the swipe of my thumb.
"One day, I'll give you a baby. I'd give you ten if that's what you wanted," I whisper to her.
"One day," she hums a soft smile on her lips.
Clary
On the way home, Jace takes me to the general store and we get a key made. Then, he took me for ice cream just like he always did when we were kids. Since we didn't get a chance to eat lunch after the Simon and Isabelle fiasco, I offer to make an early dinner for us and Will since he was expecting something.
"Maybe I'll even make some muffins," I tease Jace.
"Not until Will leaves!" he exclaims.
When we make it to the house, I get to use my key. It fits in the lock like a knife in butter, and the click it makes has never been more satisfying. This isn't just Jace's house, it is our home. The place I get to call my home with Jace. It makes me smile wide.
Walking in, we head to the living room to see Will reading a book, wearing his very dorky, dark rimmed glasses.
"Aww, Willy still has gwasses," I coo in a baby voice.
He looks up and smiles wolfishly, "I'll have you know, Tessa finds them to be a huge turn on," he replies.
"Ew didn't need to know such vile things," Jace shudders as he moves towards the kitchen.
"So, what's for lunch?" Will asks, setting the book and glasses aside.
"We had a little problem, so I'm just going to make something," I tell him.
"Sounds great, I like your cooking way better anyways," Will winks, following Jace into the kitchen with me at his heels.
We find Jace bent over looking in the freezer.
"We have chicken or I can grill some steaks," Jace reports.
"STEAK!" Will and I exclaim at once, looking strangely at each other after.
"Steak it is," Jace chuckles, taking out the meat and then declares he'll be outside prepping the grill while I season the meat. Will follows, claiming Jace would burn his eyebrows off if he was left alone.
Jace
"What happened?" Will asks, deadly serious once we're outside by the grill.
Sighing, I respond, "Isabelle is pregnant," I hear Will gasp. His eyes are wide and his mouth is open wide.
"How long-"
"Two months," we lapse into silence. I prep the grill and Will sits heavily in a patio chair.
"How did Clary take it?"
"She was upset. Apparently Simon never wanted kids even though she really did," I tell my cousin who looks confused, angry and hurt for out little redhead.
"Are you going to give her one?" Will asks.
"Give her what,"
"Oh, I don't know Jace, maybe a kitten. A kid! Are you going to give Clary a child?"
"It's too soon. She's still so heartbroken. She wants a baby, but we just started dating," I tell him.
"I get it," Will responds, "maybe we should get her a puppy," he looks lost, like a little boy unsure how to fix his parent's big problems.
"I don't kn-"
"I'm getting her a puppy!" Will suddenly exclaims, excitedly hopping from his seat as if the dog will make everything better. He runs back in, and then I realize. We are seriously getting a dog.
Five minutes later, Clary walks out holding the tray of meat, some corn on the cob and two beers.
"Will had to get something," she says simply, handing me one of the bottles "but he said he'd be back for dinner,"
"Sounds good," I go to the grill and do my thing, "Did he say what?" I inquire, wondering if she knows what exactly he is supposed to get.
"Nope, just that he'd be back before we knew it," she shrugs and I turn back to the grill. We relax and talk about what to do this weekend when my phone buzzes. I unlock it to see at least five pictures of an extremely cute dog. He was fur the color of snow and hazel eyes. His fur is long and lacey.
Say hello to Cornelius, your new dog
I shake with laughter at the ridiculous name for such a small dog.
"What's so funny?" Clary asks, smiling confusedly.
"It's a surprise," I tell her cryptically, sliding my phone back into my pocket. She bounces in her seat.
"A surprise!" she exclaims, "Is that where Will went? To get my surprise?"
"Maybe," I smirk. She rolls her eyes and runs inside, saying she's going to wait for Will to get back.
Clary
I wait for will with my nose basically pressed against the window like the child I am. When I see his truck pull up, I nearly scream in excitement and run to the front door, wrenching it open. He walks up relatively calm.
"What's up shortcake?" he says calmly, ruffling my hair as he goes. What the hell?
"So, what'd you have to get?" I ask, trying to sound normal.
"Just some lightbulbs. The one in Tessa's bathroom busted and I needed to get the hardware store before it closed," he explains, struggling to unzip his jacket, "Can you help? I think the zipper is stuck," he asks.
"Sure," I walk up and grab onto the zipper when the whole front of Will's jacket shifts, "Will, what is this?" I ask, unzipping the jacket only to see the most beautiful dog in the world. He's huddled in Will's jacket, his paws immediately flopping out as he gives a soft bark.
"Surprise," he whispers, handing the tiny puppy to me. It immediately licks my cheek, yipping excitedly in my arms. I look up in astonishment to see Jace has come in and is smiling happily and they are both waiting for my reactions.
"I love you guys," I nearly cry, setting the dog down to hug Will and then Jace.
"Why does he get a hug? It was all my idea," Will whines. I chuckle and place a kiss to his cheek, at which he blushes like a little boy. "Oh, his name is Cornelius," Will offers, pointing to the dog that's currently sniffing around our feet.
"Ridiculous," I hear Jace mutter.
"I like it, it has a nice ring," I contemplate, saying the name a few times.
"That's it, any children we have I am going to name," Jace sighs as he walks into the kitchen. I watch him go and then look to Will. He simply shrugs with a boyish grin, before following the food.
Jace
After dinner, Will and Clary play with Cornelius in the living room while I clean the dishes. Clary must be excited for the welcome distraction after today, and Will is simply a child. I smile when I hear the tiny barks and Clary's ensuing laughter drift into the kitchen.
When I'm done cleaning up, I decide to join the trio. I stand in the doorway and watch and Cornelius jumps all over Clary's legs, twining around and occasionally tripping over them, causing her and Will to giggle like schoolchildren. When the puppy sees me, he waddles over on his furry legs and hops up to place his front paws on my shin. He has big grey eyes and I have to admit, he is very cute.
I bend down and pick him up, holding the fur ball close to my chest as I walk further into the room and plop down next to Clary. She reaches her hand out and scratches her puppy's head just as a phone rings.
Will reaches up to the coffee table and grabs it. He reads the screen of Clary's phone and holds it out for her.
"It's your mom," he says. She freezes a little and looks over to me worried.
"I haven't told her yet," she rushes out.
"Don't do it over the phone. Ask if you can meet her tomorrow or something," I respond as the phone rings for a third time. Clary nods and answers it.
"Hey mom, how's it going?" she attempts nonchalance, causing Will to chuckle, earning him a smack to the head. He yelps rather loudly, making me wince.
"Oh that was nothing, just a scared cat outside I guess," clary stuck out her tongue at a pouting Will. Then she goes paper white, her widen and I can nearly see her pulse hammering in her neck.
"Who told you that?" she asks quietly. The response must not be good because her eyes grow murderous.
"ME?!" she suddenly screams in outrage, "That bastard was screwing Isabelle for months before I asked for a divorce. I am not in the wrong here, and I'd appreciate you believe your daughter over her slimy ex-husband," she continued and I realize with harsh realization. Simon called Clary's mom and played victim.
"No, I'm not kidding, it's over. I'm not going to live with that," she paused, "No, we can't move past it… Isabelle is pregnant," another pause, "you have no right to say that to me," her voice grew cold and I hear a raised voice on the other line, but Clary hangs up, cutting it off.
We sit in a tensely silent circle until Clary screams in frustration, the brewing anger beginning to boil up and out.
"SIMON CALLED MY MOTHER TO SAY I CHEATED ON HIM WITH YOU," she yells, pointing at me, "AND NOW SHE BLAMES ME FOR NOT TRYING TO MAKE THINGS WORK!" her chest heaves and her hands shake with rage. Suddenly, she stands and makes her way for the back door.
Will and I share a look before scrambling to follow her. We pass through the open door to see Clary throwing an empty recycle bin. She pulls at her hair and then simply collapses into the damp grass, curling her legs into her chest. The breakdown is brief, but it shows hos destroyed Clary is becoming.
Will grabs the dog and pushes me toward her, going back inside, and closing the door. I'm grateful for it to just be me and Clary. I slowly approach, as if she's a wounded animal and sit beside her.
Tears stream for her eyes as she whispers, "She always loved him, always. I should've known she'd take his side. But she and I were so close. I thought when she heard what he did, she'd…" she trails off with a shrug, but I know what she means.
Clary, a distraught woman, was at least hoping for her mother's support. For her to understand and be the mama bear protecting her cub. But she was more like a bird throwing her newly hatched baby from the nest.
Clary shakes in her spot, and I tug her into me, hoping to warm her cold skin and keep together her broken heart and soul. She melts into me side, sighing deeply into my chest and I place my cheek on top of her head. She doesn't need words. She's been told a lot of lies lately. What she needs is obvious care. The kind that you could see not just hoped for and promised to give. That's why we sit in silence, watching the stars emerge in the night sky until she pulls away a little.
"I'm okay, I really am," she smiles at me tiredly.
"It's okay if you're not, you don't have to be," I offer, pushing stray curls behind her ears.
"With you, I don't have to pretend, I just am," then she leans in a places a soft, tender kiss to my lips. Hers are salty with saline tears, but I only pull her closer, needing this as much as she seems to. She respond in kind, giggling a little into the kiss as she twines her arms around my neck and nudges me a little so I lay back on the grass.
Then she pulls back with a devious glint in her eye, "I need you to do something for me," she says and I swallow hard.
"Anything," I respond, placing my hands on her lower back.
"The museum Simon works at is opening a new exhibit in a few weeks and he is required to be there. I want to go, with you," she admits.
"To show him all he's missing," I respond teasingly, running a finger up her spine. I grin as she shivers.
"Exactly. He'd always get so mad when other men would look at me and make us leave. Now, not only will he have to deal, but I'll be there with you, the most gorgeous man in the world," she whispers hotly in my ear.
"Well," I whisper raggedly, "What if I get jealous?" I ask.
"Just remember, I am and always will, only go home with you," she places another kiss to my lips, and all rational thoughts go spiraling out the window.
"Okay," I murmur.
"Thank you," she replies, and we dive back in for a kiss, until freezing stream of water assail us. We shoot apart and see Will, standing a few feet away holding lime green water guns he must have fished out from my garage. Cornelius circle his feet excitedly.
"You little…" I begin, standing and stalking towards him. He tosses me the other.
"I declare war!" he yells, shooting me in the neck as he runs past, further into the backyard.
War is on.