Hey, beauties :)

"I forgot how much this stinks out the house," Jace said idly as he got up from the couch and walked back into the kitchen when the alarm went off on his phone. Clary watched him go with a smile on her face before focusing back on painting her toenails a bright, candy pink colour. Jace stirred the cannabutter on the stove with a wooden spoon before resetting the alarm on his phone and came back into the lounge. It was always a long process making the cannabutter, so it was never something that Clary was in charge of, because she always got distracted, she just took over when it came to actually making the brownies.

"It's okay, we'll light some candles," Clary hummed out. Jace flopped down onto the couch, near Clary but not close enough to bump her from painting her nails. They were watching an old episode of RuPauls Drag Race, one of Clary's favourite seasons even though she always got worked up when Chad Michaels didn't win despite her come back, but Jace wasn't paying much attention to the show, and neither was Clary. They were comfortably quiet, which wasn't something that was common for Clary, and it didn't last long because then she was screwing the lid back on her nail polish and pushing it away and swinging her legs up in the air. "Blow!" She ordered with a grin, wiggling her feet in Jace's.

"Fucking hell," he muttered, but there was a smile curving his lips upward as he reached out to steady one of her feet, fingers wrapping around her ankle. He blew over her toe nails gently, starting on one foot and then the other, and when he looked back up and met Clary's eyes, her expression a lot softer than it had been before. "You're lucky I don't mind your hobbit feet." Her eyes narrowed and she kicked out at him.

"Asshole," she growled at him as he laughed.

"Careful—you'll mess up your nail polish!" Jace warned with a laugh as he rolled away from her on the couch. Clary giggled again but she didn't try kicking again and eventually Jace settled back to where he had been before, grabbing her legs and arranging them over her lap so that he could stroke his fingers up and down gently. Clary laid back on the couch, making little humming noises under her breath, clearly content, and Jace couldn't help but watch her.

He had honestly expected a lot more to change between them.

He wasn't sure what, but he had thought something.

Jace waited until the next episode started before he poked at Clary's knee, and she opened one eye to look at him. He poked her knee again and Clary opened the other eye, and he started shuffling her around, manhandling her so that she was no longer stretched out on the couch but was now in a seated position over his lap, a few inches taller than him now, given his slouched position, her knees on either side of his thighs.

"Hey," he murmured.

"Hey," Clary replied with a small smile. They both clearly felt lazy and a bit sleepy and they were both so comfortable in each others space. Jace reached up to kiss Clary gently on the corner of her mouth, because he could do that now, so casually and easily, without trying to hide anything. Clary's eyelids fluttered a bit as he pulled back and leaned into the couch cushions again, staring down at him. Then she leaned in, sliding one hand up his chest and around to cup the side of his neck as she brought their mouths together again. It was slow and sweet as her tongue dipped into his mouth, and Jace rested a hand on her hip, the other slowly dragging up and down her spine. When they pulled apart, Clary stayed in close, resting her forehead on Jace's and he kept his eyes closed for a few moments, a smile on his face.

"Hey," he repeated his earlier sentiment and Clary let out a laugh before nuzzling her nose against his.

"Hey," she responded, a little breathily. She touched her thumb to his jaw, leaving her forehead against his, their noses still brushing together, and the moment felt nice, as though they were suspended in a bubble, and Jace couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to press their lips together again.

Then the timer on his phone went off, telling him to go and stir the butter again and Clary slid off his lap with a pout.

Clary knocked twice on the door in front of her, looking back down at the address typed into her phone as she waited for a response. It was just after seven in the morning, which was a lot earlier than she would usually get up, and when she lifted her hand to knock on the door again because there had been no response, she was beginning to wonder if this had been a bad idea.

It had been a bit impulsive on her behalf, but then that was sort of how she usually did things, although it would be annoying if she had dragged herself all the way here just to be thwarted by a locked door at the last minute.

But then the door opened, revealing a sleep-mussed Sebastian.

"Clary?" He looked a little tired, and he was only wearing a pair of briefs as he stood in the open doorway, although he looked nowhere near as tired as Clary would be if she had been working until three in the morning. She was only human, so she couldn't stop the way her eyes dropped to his torso and the way his biceps flexed as he leaned against the door frame. "Is everything okay?" He asked, eyebrows pulling together and skimming her face for some sort sign as to why she was here so early when they didn't have any plans.

"Yeah," Clary replied, making a face as she dragged her eyes away from his biceps and then looked back up at his face. "Okay, I didn't really think this one through all this much, but I don't really have a habit of doing that anyway, so I feel that's just something you might have to get used to? I should probably have told you that I was coming over," she let out a laugh and it came out sheepish, and it was weird, because she didn't usually feel like she needed to apologize for how she was, but she'd made up her mind last night that she was going to go and visit Sebastian in the morning, once Jace had gone to work, and it wasn't until she was on her way over that she realized she didn't actually tell him, and by that point, she had just shrugged it off and not text him because he would be asleep anyway. She'd just text Jace, asking for Sebastian's address since he'd been careful not to wake her when he'd slipped out of bed that morning, and he'd replied without asking any questions. Her friends all knew what she was like, that she didn't always have a plan, but Sebastian didn't and he was more than a friend and maybe that wasn't a good thing.

"Clary?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow and he was smiling at her fondly. "You're welcome here any time. I show up at your guys place all the time. I want you here." That made Clary's insides smooth out and feel a bit mushy and she couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah?" She checked with him and he nodded. "Well, okay, good. Coz I really only came here to sleep." Sebastian looked confused. "It's early! You worked late, and I don't have anything on until this afternoon, but Jace is working, and I thought—I thought I could come over and sleep with you, and then, like, shower or whatever and hang out until you have your shift at the hotel," she shrugged and a smile spread across Sebastian's face as he reached out to wrap a hand around her wrist, tugging her into his apartment.

"That sounds perfect," he told her and Clary grinned.

"Course it does," she responded easily, kicking off her shoes toward his tidy line of shoes—not quite as tidy as how Jace tried to keep their shoes at their place, but definitely tidier than Clary kept them—and then she looked back at Sebastian. He was watching her with his head tilted to the side and she wondered what he was thinking, but then he tightened his hand on her wrist and he leaned forward to kiss her temple.

"Thanks for coming by, baby," he murmured and it made Clary's stomach tingle. She'd noticed he tended to call Jace 'babe' and her 'baby' and she liked that, even though she'd never really had tailored pet names before. "Come on." He still held her wrist as he lead her through the lounge and toward his bedroom to the left. Just like the rest of the apartment that Clary had gotten a glimpse at, the room had a minimalist design, but it worked, and there was a window cracked letting in a cool breeze, and the dark grey sheets and duvet looked warm and inviting. Clary had known what she had planned in her head coming over, but getting undressed in front of Sebastian just felt a bit different than getting undressed in front of other people, even Jace. She wasn't sure what it was—she didn't feel uncomfortable, just a bit strange. When she glanced over her shoulder, Sebastian had already slipped into bed and was making himself comfortable, not looking at her, which made her smile, because she was pretty sure that was because he was able to pick up on how she was feeling.

Clary undressed quickly, taking off her jeans and the jacket she was wearing. She had worn a pair of simple pink underwear and a camisole that was supportive enough that she could go without a bra. She got into bed next to Sebastian, and he put down his phone, smiling sleepily at her and reaching out an arm. Clary shuffled in close to him, tugging one of his pillows down so that she could roll her body in next to his and still have a pillow to rest her head on. Sebastian curled his body around hers, and it was different from when she slept with Jace, because whenever they slept together she usually ended up with her head on his chest and one of her legs thrown over his, whereas this was more like spooning. But before she could really analyze that, Sebastian kissed the curve of her shoulder.

"Go to sleep, Clary," his voice rumbled over her and she closed her eyes, and it only took minutes before she was asleep.

When Clary woke up, the sheets were cold behind her and there was music playing faintly from outside the bedroom. She rubbed her hand over her face as she got her bearings, remembering that she wasn't in her bedroom or Jace's, but Sebastian's, and there was a warm feeling that rolled over her as she saw that Sebastian had put her clothes in the chair in the corner of the room and placed her phone and keys on the bedside table, having taken them out of her pockets. It was kind of funny, how different they all were. Clary didn't care if her clothes and shoes were all over the ground, Jace was the complete opposite, wanting everything to be spotless and it had taken them a bit to adapt to each other, whereas Sebastian was somewhere in the middle, clearly liking things tidy, but not going as far as to fold her clothes, which was what Jace would have done.

It was nice.

She got out of bed and pulled on her jeans but didn't bother with her jacket as she picked up her phone and wandered out the door to look for Sebastian. He was in the kitchen, wearing a pair of shorts and a soft sweatshirt that looked like it might actually belong to Jace, because Clary was pretty sure she had worn it a few times as well.

"Nice hoodie," she commented as she walked over and Sebastian's head jerked in surprise at her voice and then flashed a smile.

"Thanks," he grinned. "You want something warm to wear?"

"Nah, I'm good," Clary shook her head as she got up on the bar stool opposite Sebastian. "What're you cooking?"

"You okay with omelettes?" Sebastian asked, although it looked as though he had already pulled everything out and started dicing everything up.

"Yeah, sounds good," Clary nodded as she spun around in the bar stool a couple of times, looking around the room and taking in everything. There wasn't much on the walls, it was definitely a bachelor pad, without too many personal items or pictures. There was a playstation and some games under where a flat screen TV was mounted, and some books in a tidy pile on the coffee table along with a laptop. Nothing else really caught her interest as she spun the bar stool back around and eventually stopped it so that she was facing Sebastian in the kitchen again, who glanced up from what he was doing and gave her a smile. "Do you spend much time here?" She asked him and Sebastian laughed.

"Doesn't quite have as much personality as you and Jace's place, huh?" He asked and Clary opened her mouth to protest, but then she shut it again and scrunched up her nose. Sebastian just laughed, not looking offended. "I work a lot, I've only slowed down...Recently," he gave her a pointed look and Clary stuck out her tongue playfully at him. "And when I'm not working, it's almost like I've got somewhere I'd rather be." Clary couldn't stop her smile from stretching into a grin and she was about to reply when her phone began ringing. She looked down and saw Jace's name on the screen, along with a photo of him from the music festival. She tapped at the phone, declining his call and then ringing him back on Facetime, and then turning back around on the bar stool and holding her phone up and out, so Sebastian would be caught in the shot.

"You know I don't like Facetime, Clary," Jace greeted her with a grumble and then he stopped and frowned, before pouting. "You guys are hanging out? While I have to work? This is bullshit," he was almost whining and Sebastian laughed behind her and turned the music down a bit so that he would be able to hear Jace clearly. "Is this why you wanted his address this morning?"

"You left me alone in bed," Clary shrugged a shoulder. "You know I like having someone to cuddle." Sebastian made sure to look up and watch Jace, and he saw the way the golden haired mans expression softened a little, and he met Sebastian's eyes over Clary's shoulder. Clary seemed to see the look as well, but she didn't say anything. "So what's up?"

"I was just going to say that I'm going to be home a bit later tonight. You want me to bring home dinner or you going to be okay?" He asked and Clary hummed while she thought, pursing her lips together.

"I'll text Iz and see if she's busy, or Kaelie, and go out for dinner with them, since both of my boys are leaving all alone," she pouted at them both exaggeratedly, before shrugging. "I'll be good."

"Alright," Jace nodded. "I'll see you tonight when I get home," his tone shifted a little as he looked past Clary. "And I'll see you tomorrow, Seb?"

"See you then, babe," Sebastian replied with an easy smile. Clary blew a kiss and then ended the call, turning back to Sebastian, who was turning the music up again and then bending down to open up a cupboard and take out a frying pan. Clary definitely didn't mind the view, and she was still ogling a little when he straightened up, and he grinned at her before setting down the frying pan. "The brownies all ready for tomorrow?" He asked and Clary nodded excitedly.

"Yup," she replied. "Jace makes the butter, because I just don't have the patience for that shit, but I made the brownies, and we all know that I'm great at baking." Sebastian grinned and he poured some oil into the pan, and then tipped the peppers, ham and spinach into the pan, along with minced garlic and salt and pepper and then he picked up the spatula.

"You know he loves you, right?" Sebastian suddenly said, and Clary had been reaching for the bottle of water on the bench and she froze. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her but didn't stare at her, just pushed around what was in the frying pan.

"I, uh..." Clary scrunched up her nose. "I mean...Me and Jace have always been really good together. I think we balance each other out a lot...Right?"

"You get nervous when love is mentioned," Sebastian noted, although he didn't sound surprised. He had heard things about her parents and he was good at reading people.

"I just—" Clary wrinkled her nose. "I mean, I haven't really done this before. What if it doesn't work out? What if something goes wrong? What if I lose you guys? And—I mean, there's not just me, right? There's you as well. So..." Clary swallowed hard and then snatched up at the water bottle and popped the lid, swallowing a mouthful of water. "I mean, if he does—if he does l-love me, is that okay?" The words came out in a rush, and it was clear she was worried as she rapped her nails against the side of the water bottle. Sebastian emptied the cooked contents of the frying pan into a bowl and then picked up the bowl where the eggs were.

"It is, Clary," he said softly, sending her a gentle look that made her relax. "Because I know I'm going to fall in love with you as well, just like I am with Jace." He tipped the eggs into the frying pan and then chanced another look back at Clary. She wasn't frowning or drumming her fingers nervously against the bottle anymore. He noted that her cheeks were a little flushed, and when she ducked her head, there was a small smile on her face.

So obviously it's been a while, and there's a lot of songs that I haven't recommended! I've just decided to log into that website thing that shows your top tracks, so these are my short term top ten. 1) She - Harry Styles. 2) Radio - Lana Del Rey. 3) Living Proof - Camila Cabello. 4) Hazel - Carlie Hanson. 5) September Song - JP Cooper. 6) We Made It - Louis Tomlinson. 7) All My Friends - AJ Mitchell. 8) The Sound - The 1975. 9) Wrong Direction - Hailee Steinfield. 10) Dazed & Confused - Ruel. Bonus song would be You Should Be Sad by Halsey, which is fucking amazing, so far my second favourite of the released tracks from Manic.

There's been a lot of amazing TV shows that have recently come out; The Witcher/His Dark Materials/Watchmen/The Mandalorian. These are all amazing, incredible acting, the sets and scenery and costume design is just A+. Also Spinning Out was really good, I absolutely loved Mandy and Marcus. I love when there are strong side characters that I can fall in love with, and it had good story lines.

I've also been to a couple of concerts that were great; Greta Van Fleet, Ruel, Shawn Mendes and Khlaid. All bloody brilliant.

Now. I don't want to say much about how shit 2020 has been because we're only 14 days in and holy shit, I feel like there's a lot going on. A fucking lot. For me, what hits closest to home is Australia on fire. On the fifth of January our skies turned an apocalyptic orange because the winds changed and the smoke reached us here in New Zealand. I just want to say to everyone who is dealing with anything right now—it doesn't matter how big or small—I love you and you're not alone x

Tumblr: SereneCalamity
Twitter: CalamitySerene