Chapter 1: Letters from T S Eliot
Clary
"I don't see how that's any of your business, Lewis."
"I don't really see how its not my business, Fray."
"Cut it out! He'll see you staring."
Clary tried her hardest to hide her blushing red face as her lifelong best friend attempted to kill her via humiliation. Ever since she had broken up with her long-term boyfriend- of two years, she might add—he had been incessant in his desire to hook her up with any and every eligible male that she set her eyes on. It was getting to be a drag. Simon looked down his nose at her, hipster tortoiseshell glasses sliding down his face and lending to his disapproving gaze.
"Well, if you won't say hi to him, maybe I will." Simon responded, turning to further inspect the subject they were discussing, a somewhat gangly guy dressed in a suit at the front of the line. Clary shook her head, laughing.
"Simon, please! Stop trying to set me up and decide what you want to drink—aren't we meeting Izzy in like 5 minutes?" Her best friend hissed and checked his phone, cursing under his breath.
"Oh shit, you're right! Okay, no time for coffee anymore Fray, lets head straight to hers." He decided, taking her by the hand and leading her from the coffee shop they had been waiting in for nearly twenty minutes, Clary protesting weakly.
"No! Simon, please, you know I need my coffee, I've been on shift all day!" Clary exclaimed, trying to drag her heels. It was no use.
"Tut, tut, Fray. You can have coffee when we get to mine, you know this is an important day for her."
Clary avoided a puddle, jumping to keep up with Simon's long strides. "Yes, I know, I know, Iz's favourite cousin is coming to visit, we have to make a good impression, yada yada." She replied with a smirk—it was more Simon that needed to impress the elusive cousin, not Clary. After all it was him that was planning on one day marrying into the family soon enough, not her. Simon and Clary had known each other practically their whole lives; Clary and her mother moved in down the hall from Simon and his family when Clary was ten, and the rest was history. Her older brother Jonathon had started dating Simon's older sister, Rebecca, when they were both seventeen (and broken up with her when they were nineteen), and Jocelyn and Marie, their respective mothers, had bonded over their singledom and love of James Dean movies. It was only recently that Isabelle had come into their lives—Clary was in her first year of nursing when she met Isabelle, and they hadn't gotten along at first. She had seemed like the typical high school bitch: long inky hair, supermodel looks, and she was smart to boot. Clary had spent the first few weeks silently hating her out of nothing much but jealousy. It only took an actual conversation between the two of them for them to actually realise quite how similar they were, and they had been friends ever since. That was five years ago, now, and they were lucky enough to have found places at the same hospital, living in the same city.
It had taken Simon a year to work up the courage to ask out Clary's hot friend from college, and another year after that for her to say yes. But fate works in mysterious ways, and they had finally found themselves together. And as Clary reminisced, Simon was busy dragging them both to the elevator of his apartment building, ready to get grilled by the cousin Isabelle had been telling the pair stories about for five years, the guy who was like her third brother and was more than likely to hate Simon's guts. Clary tried to stifle her yawn.
"We're here!" Simon shouted as he entered the apartment he and Isabelle shared, throwing his keys at a small side table, missing completely and ignoring as they slid along the floor.
Isabelle appeared from their bedroom wrapped in a towel, hair wet and steam following her. Clary frowned at the fact that, even though they were the same age, in the same job, same friends, Isabelle was always so much more glamourous. A glance around at the apartment would tell anyone that: whilst Clary rented a somewhat cramped apartment she used to share with her ex, Simon and Izzy's place was huge, with two spare bedrooms, a huge kitchen, and was decorated by Isabelle's immaculate taste. While they both worked the same job, Isabelle came from some rich New York family, and Simon had made more money than he would ever let on by running a tech company he and a friend had started up in college. To say the least, Clary was extremely jealous as she watched Izzy peck Simon on the cheek, flicking back her drying hair.
"Clare! Did you just get off?" Isabelle asked, wrapping her friend in a rose scented hug as Simon made his way into the kitchen. She pulled back, frowning. "Did you bring your clothes to change into?" She asked, and Clary tried not to laugh.
"What! I changed before I left the hospital!" She said, gesturing to her jeans and jacket, but Izzy just sighed.
"Oh, Clary. When will you learn? That is so not dinner party attire."
Clary looked up as she heard voices in the kitchen. "Is everyone here already?" She asked, trying to peer round the corner as Isabelle herded her into her room. Izzy shook her head, planting herself down in front of the huge vanity and getting ready to do her makeup.
"Nah, that's the caterers." Isabelle said as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say. "Alec and Magnus won't get here for at least another hour, and Jace is getting a ride in with them."
"I can't believe I'm finally going to meet the infamous Jace." Clary said, stroking one of Isabelle's dresses. "It seems like we should've met sooner since you guys are so close."
Isabelle smiled. "Yeah, he's definitely a character. But he's been travelling for ages, but he has finally moved into the area, so I thought it'd be good to finally introduce him to my favourite guy and girl." She said, flicking Clary a smile. "Oh, and Mags said that he and Alec have some news, so they're coming dressy." She spun on her chair, giving her friend a pointed look. "That means you need to take a shower, stat, and I'll find you something to wear."
Isabelle stood up and threw her friend a towel, ignoring the protests as she pushed her friend toward the en suite. "And shampoo!" Izzy said, shutting the door behind her.
Clary had to admit, it was nice after a long day to finally shower, and she let the hot water run over her aching limbs. She took advantage of Izzy's huge shower, without the drippy faucet and leaking door, and twenty minutes later she padded back into Izzy's room, wrapped up in lush towels and smelling of the same strawberry shower gel Isabelle always left out for her.
Isabelle was only halfway dine with her makeup, but was not in a skin tight black dress that hugged her perfect figure, tight at her calves with a small slit pointing directly to her stiletto heels. Clary laughed—no occasion was too small for Isabelle.
"That one's for you." Izzy said, waving a makeup brush at the bed, where a small green dress had been laid out.
"Where's the pants?" Clary asked, picking up the tiny piece of fabric with a grimace. Isabelle scowled in response.
"Shut up and put it on, Fray, it stretches. And there's shoes over there—ah ah, I know, they're flat—and I'll do your makeup when I'm done."
"Jeeze, Iz, you'd think I'd never dressed myself before." She grumbled, dropping her towel and pulling on the all too tight dress, frowning when she realised that, no, she hadn't suddenly grown to Izzy's height with her statuesque figure yet. She huffed, letting out her hair and pulling at the hem of the dress as she slumped onto her friend's bed.
"Could've fooled me." Isabelle laughed, throwing Clary the hairdryer and ignoring the sharp look. They sat for the next half hour, Isabelle painting Clary's face on, Clary complaining about being cold in the strappy dress and Isabelle laughing at her friend when she did. It was nearly seven by the time they were finally done, emerging from Isabelle's room looking ready for a night of clubbing, not a dinner party. Isabelle said something about place settings and Clary took the excuse to run to find Simon, and hopefully some sort of snack.
"Simon!" She chimed, walking into their enormous kitchen. "Oh, sorry," She said as she bumped into a caterer, ignoring his strange look and heading toward Simon. "What ya stealing?" She asked, and he turned toward her guiltily still chewing. His eyes widened when they landed on her.
"Woah, Fray. You clean up nice." He said, eyes fixed on her dress. Clary rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut the fuck up Simon before I get your girlfriend in here to kick you ass." She said, stealing a piece of bread from the plate behind him.
"Who says I'd mind that?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Clary swatted at him. "Seriously though, you look very nice. Not as nice as me, of course." He said, flicking the suit jacket he's put over his dressiest shirt.
"Yeah, yeah, you're a dreamboat. Gimme your jacket." She said, pushing it from his shoulders, and he complied hastily.
"Why?" He said, watching as his far smaller friend pulled on his jacket and rolled up the sleeves. "You look like David Bowie." He deadpanned. Clary just grinned.
"Honestly, there was far too much of my skin on show and Izzy has hidden my sweater so this will have to do." She said, and Simon rolled his eyes.
"Izzy will have that off you the second she sees you." He muttered, and Clary just chewed on her bread happily.
"I am starving, and in desperate need of coffee… What are we even having for dinner anyway, this stuff looks…" Clary lifted a cover off a white tray, peering in. "Inedible… is that a flower?"
She dropped the cloche when she heard a knock at the door, sharing the same guilty look with Simon. They heard low voices and a number of caterers walked back into the room, shooting Clary the same funny look before getting to work. Simon gestured for them to head out, but it was the call from Isabelle that made them hurry out. Isabelle shot her a disapproving look at the jacket, but Clary was too busy making her way toward Magnus and Alec: Isabelle's brother had been with the flamboyant fashion designer as long as Clary had known him, and although Alec had a somewhat icy personality, he had a soft spot for Isabelle's short, fiery friend. She had stuck by Isabelle through a lot, and he knew that they worked hard with each other.
"Little Fray!" Magnus exclaimed as Clary walked toward him, getting wrapped up in a hug that smelled distinctly like patchouli. "My dear, you look more gorgeous every time I see you. What is this? Is it couture, I love it, absolutely inspired." He sang, pulling at Clary's jacket, and she laughed in response.
"Leave it out, Mags, it's Simon's. Isabelle refuses to dress me appropriately." She said, and Isabelle clucked at her from beside her brother. Alec, tall and slim with the same regal looks as Isabelle, reached out and pulled Clary into a swift, one armed hug, kissing her cheek gently and pulling away quickly.
"You look lovely." He said quietly, shooting a sharp look at Simon. "At least he does something gentlemanly."
They couldn't help but laugh at Simon's indignation—Alec wasn't Simon's biggest fan. But then again, what big brother liked the guy his little sister was shacking up with. Isabelle finally forced Clay to begrudgingly give up the jacket, leaving Clary to loop her arm through Magnus', pretending to shiver dramatically to everyone except Izzy's amusement.
They all looked up as the door opened again, caterers walking in and out behind them. "That'll be Jace." Alec said, checking his watch, and Clary peered eagerly around the corner for the first glance at the guy she had heard so much about for so long. And when she did, she couldn't help the breath that caught in her throat.
"I've got the wine!" Came a voice, low and friendly.
Into the room strode the most gorgeous man she had ever seen: he was nearly as tall as Simon and Magnus, but where they were both slim and willowy, he was broad, muscled arms clear under the dark sweater he was wearing. His face, Clary couldn't even look straight at him: chiselled, a warm smile fixed on his face, and the most intriguing eyes she had ever seen. Like the sun, golden brown. And they were looking right at her.
…
Jace
Jace paced his kitchen, Alec and Magnus sat at his kitchen table with undrunk coffee in their hands, watching the man before them search through boxes and empty cupboards.
"Where did I put it—I promise I have it Alec, I literally bought it yesterday."
"The one I recommended." Magnus said, leaning forward to watch in amusement.
"Yes, Mags, I bought the seventy dollar wine that you so kindly recommended." He replied, still kicking at boxes around him. "God, why haven't I unpacked yet, this place is a mess."
"It really is, Jace." Alec murmured, and Jace shot him a dark look.
"Well, you could have offered to help unpack." He replied bitterly.
"I requested a bottle that was at least eighty dollars, I believe." Magnus chimed in unhelpfully.
"We didn't realise your place was this much of a mess when we offered to pick you up, Herondale, or I never would have." Alec again, and Jace made the executive decision to ignore the couple while he tried to remember where he left it.
Magnus rubbed his chin. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a wine less than two hundred."
"Honestly, you should just call Iz to help you decorate, I think my mom still has a number for Michael—"
"Aha!" Jace said, pulling a bottle of wine from a bag by his bedroom and waving it triumphantly. "I knew it!" He dumped it on the table and sat down with a grin. "Now, what were you ladies going on about?"
Alec shot him a look of disdain. "I hope you'll be on your best behaviour tonight. This is supposed to be special." He said, and Jace raised an eyebrow.
"So you keep saying." He eyed Magnus. "Will you let me in on what makes today so special?" He asked, and Alec just rolled his eyes, standing up. "Okay, okay, I'll wait patiently I guess."
"Yes, you will. But Iz is also hoping to introduce you to her friends as well, especially since you'll be staying around here, so it might be a good idea to make a good impression."
"My impressions are always good." He laughed in response, grabbing his keys and coat. "Will I finally get to meet the elusive boyfriend?" He asked his cousin as they left the apartment and made their way down to the car, Magnus leading the way to a waiting town car.
"You're the elusive one, Jay." Alec said, sliding into the car. "You've been off the continent for the past two years."
Jace frowned: he was a research assistant, working toward becoming a professor of Literature and had spent the past two years in the UK, studying and working. His cousin was right: he had been off the grid. He also was seemingly the one person in his family that hated dipping into his wealth—the car they had just entered was huge, a driver in uniform at the helm.
"What's Iz's place like, is she paying the rent?" He joked, and Alec frowned.
"Keep your head on, Jace, Simon isn't like that. He has his own company."
Jace raised his eyebrows—still a touchy subject, he guessed. While he had been free to do what he pleased with his life, Alec's father was the CEO of Lightwood industries, a family company, and was also one of the richest men in America and a business tycoon of the century, and Alec had spent his whole life being groomed to follow in his footsteps. Whilst Jace was a favourite of his grandmother, Imogen, he was nowhere near the family business and as a result wasn't part of the messy monetary negotiations that often went on. He knew he would one day inherit shares from his parents and grandmother and have to get involved, but until that day came he was happy to just sip scotch at the board meetings and pretend to be interested.
"I'll be on my best behaviour, stop worrying."
"Good, because we're here." Alec said as the car came to a stop. He was out of the car quickly, dragging Magnus with him, and Jace took the opportunity to thank the driver, who just nodded briefly at him.
"Jace!" Alec called, practically through the door already. "Hurry up!"
Jace raced to the door that Alec was holding open, cursing. "Oh shit, I forgot the wine, give me one minute—you guys go up, what's the number?" He said, and Magnus smiled.
"It's the penthouse, darling, just go to the top." He said, and Alec shrugged. Jace ran a hand through his hair and raced back to the car, apologising and opening the door to grab the godforsaken wine.
He took his time on the stairs instead of taking the elevator, giving himself a minute to think on his own. He had always found his family to be slightly difficult, the fuss and frivolity of every occasion. And as much as he loved his cousin, he knew that Izzy would be planning something elaborate. No beer and pizza for the Isabelle Lightwood.
Finally, he made it to the door and knocked. Of course he was met by an unknown guy in uniform who silently took his coat and pointed him in the direction of the voices. Everything was decorated perfectly, white walls, silver décor, wide hallways. Jace laughed.
"I have the wine!" He called out with a grin, knowing it would piss off Alec, and he rounded the corner.
He stopped short when he did: Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus were stood with two people he didn't know. One was a tall, somewhat scrawny guy who he instantly knew was Simon. He had his arm around Izzy, who looked lovely as usual. But it wasn't him he was looking at—it was the redhead with her arm interlinked with Magnus.
She was heartstopping. For a minute, he genuinely couldn't breathe, move, think, except about the girl in front of him in the green dress, with the legs, the full hips. He tried not to stare as the girl peered around Magnus, and he was met by the most enchanting green eyes, charcoal lashes blinking up at him. She was mid laugh, watching him curiously, and he realised that he was probably staring.
He coughed and moved forward to kiss Isabelle's cheek, handing off the wine and reaching out a hand. "Simon, right?" He said as the bespectacled man shook his hand firmly.
"Yeah, good to meet you, man." He said warmly, and Jace felt a bit bad for his previous judgements. He seemed nice.
"And this is Clary." Isabelle said, gesturing to the girl in green. Jace swallowed, swinging his eyes back to the person he was trying very hard not to stare at.
"Clary." He said, the name rolling off his tongue nicely. Her bright eyes flicked back to him and she extricated her arm from Magnus, holding it out to shake. He took it gently with both hands, dropping it quickly when he realised. The girl in front of him just laughed, brushing back a loose curl of vibrant red hair. Jace followed her movement, then realised she was talking.
"It's so nice to finally meet you, Jace. Iz has been going on about you for as long as I've known her." She said lightly, and Jace watched as Isabelle shook her head lightly.
"I have not."
Clary laughed again. God, it was a nice sound. "You most definitely have—your favourite cousin, was it? The one who you missed so much?"
Jace joined in the laughter after that, bumping Izzy with his elbow and putting an arm around her shoulder. "Awh, missing me, Dizzy Izzy?" He said as Isabelle shook him off.
"Get off me, goon. Nice bottle of wine by the way, did Magnus tell you to get it." She said, pushing him away as there was another knock at the door. "That must be Jordan and Aline."
She moved away to greet whoever had just entered, and the girl—Clary—went with her. Magnus turned to Simon to murmur something in his ear, and Jace put his hands in his pockets.
"Who is she." He asked Alec, watching the redhead walk after Izzy, a sway in her hips. Alec, for once, let out a small laugh.
"She is way out of your league." Alec said softly, glancing around at his sister, then back to his cousin. "That's Clarissa, you know, the girl that went to college with Izzy? I'm pretty sure you met her before, she was at Tessa's wedding." He said, and Jace frowned.
"No way, I was in Venice for Tess's wedding. I would remember meeting her." He said softly, and Alec clucked.
"Stop staring will you, I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be ogled all night."
Jace glared. "I'm not ogling. I just… she's…" He swallowed.
"Yeah, like I said, she is way out of your league."
Jace watched as she came back into the room: her arms were no longer exposed, and the tempting dress was hidden by a huge suit jacket. The guy she was walking in with was laughing at her as she rolled up the sleeves, the woman with short black hair beside them also laughing at the sight. He frowned.
"Guys, this is Aline," Izzy gestured to the woman beside her whose eyes landed appreciatively on Jace. "and Jordan. They work with me too."
Jace allowed Aline to shake his hand for far too long, then turned to Jordan who was laughing with Clary. He was shorter than him, with closely cropped hair and hazel eyes that were fixed on Clary. He looked away as Izzy began to scold Clary for something and greeted Alec and Magnus, then turned to introduce himself to Jace. "How's it going?" He said, shaking Jace's hand before turning back to the argument between Izzy and Clary.
"Honestly, Iz, she can keep it—I'm not cold." He said, and Simon held in a laugh at Clary's triumphant smile.
"What a gentleman."
They were interrupted by a man emerging from the kitchen and informing them that dinner was ready, and the group was herded to a beautifully set dinner table. Jace tried to manoeuvre himself beside Clary, but was pushed out of the way by Jordan, and so took his seat slightly jaded by Aline. Clary was, however, opposite him, and shot him a warm smile when she caught him looking before turning back to Jordan, then Simon who was on her other side. Isabelle and Alec sat at the heads of the table, like royalty, and Jace had to keep turning to Magnus to stop himself getting too frustrated with Aline who seemed to be a ruthless flirt.
Clary on the other hand was trying very hard not to let her stomach rumble as three waiters set plates down in front of them.
"What is this?" She whispered to Jordan, who appeared equally clueless.
"If it's not from the Taki's menu, or comes in a box, I have absolutely no idea what it is." Jordan lifted a forkful of leaves and sniffed. "Definitely some sort of vegetable." He said, and Clary laughed again, digging in.
"So, Jace—Iz told me you've been working in London." Simon said amicably, noticing a somewhat dark look crossing his face and wanting him to not feel quite so left out. The guy snapped his head up, biting his lip.
"Um, yeah I was in London for a bit, and then Oxford for the last month… We were actually doing this really cool research into the origins of these Eliot letters—"
Aline cut in. "I have always wanted to go to London." She said, swallowing the large gulp of wine that she had in her mouth. "I mean, Oxford Street, Hugh Grant? Yes please."
Jace laughed awkwardly at the woman beside him, and Clary felt a surge of indignation. Aline wasn't usually this annoying. "Yeah, there's a lot to see." Jace finished awkwardly, and Isabelle kicked Aline under the table. The rest of the dinner went relatively smoothly, mainly concerned with Clary attempting to figure out what she was eating whilst both Isabelle and Magnus picked apart her outfit choices.
"Um, I am a very busy woman you know." Clary finally said as they were served hot coffee and dessert. "I don't have the time to think through my every look."
"Any look." Isabelle said, and Clary feigned shock.
"Whatever princess, I think I look very stylish." Clary blushed. "If you'd only let me wear clothes that cover my ass I wouldn't need to steal jackets."
Jace stifled a laugh as their argument began again, and he was rewarded with a brief flash of a blinding grin. There was a lull in the evening when the caterers finally cleared away the rest of the meal and Clary and Jordan were engaged in a conversation about the extreme benefits of copious volumes of caffeine when Alec cleared his throat loudly. Considering he fact he never did anything loudly, everyone was quick to quiet down.
"So, I know this dinner was mainly to introduce Jace to Izzy's New York, while we're down for the weekend Mags and I though we would share some news with you all."
Clary shot Isabelle a curious look but her friend just shrugged, sipping her wine.
Magnus took a deep breath. "We're getting married."
Jace choked slightly on the water he had taken a sip from, and he heard Clary gasp, Isabelle shriek, and a sound of uncommitted excitement from Aline. For a moment everything was chaos as Clary jumped from her seat to hug Alec around his shoulders. Jace thumped Magnus on the back, grinning, and tried not to lean in too close when Clary crossed her way to Magnus and leant in to kiss his cheek, strawberries and coffee lingering in her wake.
From that moment it was all talk about wedding plans and the engagement story and Clary found herself both exhilarated and slightly sombre. Instead of bringing down the mood she excused herself and headed to the kitchen. She knew she would be unnoticed in the fray.
Except by Jace, who had watched the dark cloud cross her features, and followed her to the kitchen. She had her back to him, creamy legs disappearing into Jordan's jacket. And she was elbow deep in dishes.
"You know, I think Iz hired people to deal with that." Clary dropped the plate she was holding and jumped, swinging her head round to look as Jace rushed forward to catch the offending object. "Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He handed back the plate, her wide green eyes wide as her face split into a grin.
"I like to stay busy. Helps me contain my excitement." She said with a smile, dunking the ceramic back into the sudsy water and placing it beside her. Jace took the opportunity to grab a dish towel and began to dry the stack that was appearing beside them.
"Are you not a fan of weddings?" He asked carefully, side eying her. Clary shook her head, red hair slipping down her shoulders.
"I love weddings, I really am excited for them, honestly! I just…" She bit her lip. "Its best to let Isabelle and Magnus get some of their excitement out before approaching the situation."
Jace laughed in response. He could tell that she was lying, but guessed that whatever had her washing dishes was something she didn't want to discuss.
"I read those Eliot letters." She said suddenly, and Jace frowned. "Sorry about Aline, she can be a handful. But I read those letters, to Emily Hale. I can't believe they'd only just discovered them."
Jace blanched, ignoring the way his heart was beating in his ears. "You… you've read the letters? Really?"
"Yeah! I love Eliot. Well, I love poems. It's probably best to leave the artist out of it." She said, handing Jace a plate instead of placing it on the side between them. Jace dried it before placing it down and turning his full attention on the woman before him, resting his palms on the counter behind him.
"Interesting. You don't think the artist is important?" He asked, and Clary rolled her eyes.
"Don't get all intellectual on me, Mr 'I went to Oxford'. I just mean sometimes you just have to enjoy things," She blew at a piece of hair, not wanting to touch it with wet hands. "Sometimes you have to forget the context."
She tried her very hardest not to stare at the veins in his arms, the tensed muscled exposed by his rolled-up sweater. She did notice his rolling of the eyes. "What!" She asked, and he laughed.
"Am I really Mr 'I went to Oxford'? You know I only worked there, right?"
"Oh, c'mon, don't sell yourself short. It's impressive!"
"Nah, you and Iz are impressive. Nursing seems tough as hell." Jace handed her the towel to dry her hands as the final dish hit the rack, and Clary finally tucked her stray hair back.
"Nursing's not so bad." She said, hopping up on the island and crossing her ankles. "It's fun being with Iz so much, and it actually isn't as bad as everyone thinks."
"I couldn't do it," Jace said, looking at his palms.
"Well, no. Not with a Literature degree." Clary said, rewarded with a lopsided grin that made her breath catch. Calm down, Clary. You met this guy three hours ago. He's Izzy's cousin. Calm down.
"Got me there, cherry. Is that what you always wanted to do?" Jace asked, watching her swinging legs, and he glanced up at Clary's light laugh. "What now!"
"Sorry, it just feels like we're playing twenty questions." She said with a grin. "Want to ask about my first kiss too?"
"Well, only if you're offering."
Clary laughed and hopped off the counter, rolling down the sleeves of the long jacket she was wearing. "C'mon, I think I we should grace the others with your presence. You are, of course, the guest of honour."
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as they walked back out to the others: Jordan and Aline were stood up, saying goodbyes, and Jordan's eyes landed on Clary as she re entered the room.
"Sorry short stuff, Aline and I are working the weekend shift so we have to head out early—" Jace watched as he leant down to kiss her cheek, his large hand on her arm. He frowned. "Imma also need my jacket."
Clary laughed as she slipped it off, patting his arm as a goodbye and wrapping Aline in a hug. "See you Monday night I guess." She laughed.
"It was nice to meet you," Jordan said, shaking Jace's hand. "Lemme know if you ever wanna get a beer or something, Iz'll let you know."
Jace grinned. "Sure, man, sounds good." He watched them leave, ignoring the strange wink that Aline threw over her shoulder as they rounded the corner.
"Yeah, we have to be heading off too, we're on a plane at eight tomorrow." Alec said as he and Magnus approached the door.
"No!" Isabelle said. "Stay a bit longer, we need to celebrate."
"Oh, my dear Isabelle we will be celebrating when we're back from Milan, just wait for the gilded envelope." Magnus said with a flourish. Simon laughed.
"Yeah, I guess I should be heading to bed soon too." He said.
"When did everyone get so old?" Clary laughed. "I mean, don't get me wrong I am exhausted."
"Yeah, what happened to caffeine addict?" Simon grumbled.
"But—" She continued, elbowing Simon. "We're meant to be showing Jace that he won't die of boredom living here!"
Alec just patted her arm and made a move to leave. "This is not us being boring. It's being…"
"Responsible." Simon interjected, and put a consoling arm around Isabelle's shoulder. She looked like she wanted to argue further but the wave of fatigue threatening to roll over her won out.
"Okay, fine. But I expect an engagement party very soon." She pouted as they left. There was a chorus of goodbyes, and Clary quickly dipped into Izzy's room to grab her clothes.
"Iz!" She shouted, peeking her head out the door. "Where's my stuff?"
"Oh, I chucked it in with the laundry, I'll get it back to you." Her friend said with a grin, walking into her room to join Clary.
Clary sputtered. "But, what will I wear home!" She asked, and Isabelle passed her her bag and a long grey coat.
"You can have this, I never wear it." She said with a flourish before leaving the room again. Clary rolled her eyes and pulled it on.
"If my legs freeze off it'll be your fault." She said, pulling her bag onto her shoulder. Jace was saying goodbye to Simon, ready to leave with his cousin, and Clary pulled out her phone as it pinged.
"Ooh, okay I'm going to go and meet Jon for a bit—sure there's no chance of you coming out?" She said to Simon who just rolled his eyes.
"Bye Clary," He pushed her toward the door, planting a kiss on her head, and she found herself heading down the elevator between Magnus and Jace. He smelled good, like soap.
"Who's Jon?"
Clary blinked, breaking her stare. Jace had asked her a question. "He's my brother," She said finally, smiling lightly. "Hey, Jace, you've been in England for a while. Fancy a trip to the pub?"
….
Jace felt slightly on edge as he walked beside Clary: she was chattering excitedly, long hair flying wildly in the night wind, but Jace couldn't quite concentrate fully on what she was saying. His brain was fluttering between shooting daggers at every guy they passed, all of whom stared slightly too long at Clary, and trying himself not stare at her creamy legs, the way her coat whipped around them every time she stopped—
"So, what do you think?"
Jace shook himself from his reverie and looked to Clary. She was standing at the entrance to a small bar, her hands shoved in her pockets and a bright look in her eyes. She was grinning, and Jace watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Sorry?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Clary laughed, rolling her eyes and looping her arm through his.
"For a professor you have the worst attention span." She said, pulling him into the bar, him having to duck at the low beams.
"Sorry. I was distracted by something." He murmured, meeting her eye, grinning at her blush. "And for the last time, I'm not a professor. Now, what am I looking at."
He had to admit, it was pretty impressive. It was like someone had picked up a British pub and dropped it down in a back alley in New York: Jace laughed at the soccer being played on a small television above the bar, and the unique names of the tap draughts. "Okay… this is pretty cool." He breathed out, and Clary smiled happily.
"Jace Herondale, meet The Morning Star." Clary said, wandering in like she owned the place. Jace took in the scene—for a Friday night it wasn't particularly full, but it there was a group of older guys playing darts, as well as a few groups of people dressed in office attire, all laughing loudly and looking more than slightly inebriated.
"Jon!"
Jace turned around back to the bar as Clary dumped down her bag and greeted the man behind the bar, having to stand on the bar rail to lean over and wrap her arms around him. He looked older than them both, and if it wasn't for his bright green eyes Jace would never have guessed it was her brother. He was tall and buff, with startlingly white hair. Jace moved forward to introduce himself, and suddenly found the bright eyes scrutinising him darkly. Of course. Brother.
"This is Jace." Clary said as she sat herself down at the bar. "He's Izzy's cousin."
The furrowing of Jon's brows released slightly and he reached a hand over the bar to shake his hand, gripping only slightly too tight. "Hey, Jace. I actually think Izzy's told me a lot about you."
Jace sat down, slightly surprised.
"You have an English accent!" He blurted before he could stop himself and found himself flushing for once. "Sorry, it just surprised me."
Clary was laughing at his awkwardness, and Jace couldn't help but laugh when Jon joined in.
"Yeah, did little Cherry not tell you? She's the odd one out."
Jace glanced down to Clary who was frowning jokingly. "Our mom is English—Jon was six when we moved here, I was only a baby. So I get the plain old New York accent while they they are the exotic Brits." She huffed, and Jonathon just laughed as he placed two pints before them.
"Only you would call it exotic. Besides, I'm still convinced it's just sheer stubbornness that allowed you to avoid the accent."
"I am pretty stubborn." Clary said with a grin. "Where's Seelie tonight?" She asked, and Jon sighed.
"Her mom isn't doing so great so she took the kids up to see her. She'll be back next week though, if you wanna come over for dinner."
"Sure! Or I can babysit." She wiggled her eyebrows and was met with an eyeroll from her brother.
"Stop embarrassing me and enjoy your date, I'll call you tomorrow. See ya, Jace." He walked away, ignoring his sister's blush.
"So… Aunt Clary?" Jace said, taking a drink, and Clary blushed harder.
"Auntie Clary, actually. I'm the cool one."
"Oh, I'm sure." He grinned. "It must be nice to be so close to your family." Clary turned in her chair to face him, and ignored her usual anxiousness in favour of taking a large gulp of beer.
"Yeah, I may as well be an advert for this city. My mom still lives in the apartment next to Simon's mom."
"I love that: that's how I want my family to be."
Clary bit her lip slightly. "So… your girlfriend wants a big family too?" Oh, very subtle, she thought to herself, and Jace just laughed.
"No girlfriend. I'm kind of waiting at this point. I'm getting old."
Clary laughed, hiding her grin. "Oh yeah, you're ancient."
"Ouch. But honestly, the Herondale family can be… difficult…"
"Oh, I've heard all about it from Izzy. It must be hard having a family that's so busy all the time."
For a minute Jace watched her sip her drink, wondering just how much Clary had actually been told about their family. He glanced around at the homey bar they were sat in, the fact that her brother worked here, and she as a nurse. He wondered if she knew why Isabelle could afford everything she could. He just smiled.
"Exactly. Iz and Alec are basically my closest family—I've spent more time with them than my parents." He saw Clary frown and backtracked. "Not in a bad way, believe me my Dad is way less fun than those two anyway."
"Good, I don't like the thought of anyone being all alone." She downed the rest of her pint and he followed suit. "Okay." She said, smacking her lips. "I rarely get a chance to show people around New York, so lets go."
She made to stand up and Jace followed her, laughing. "You know I grew up here, right?" He asked, and she grinned.
"Uh uh, my New York." She said as she began to walk with purpose. "Besides, you've been gone for what?"
"Only two years…" He said.
"Two years! That's an entire lifetime. Empires have risen and fallen in less time."
"Very poetic." He laughed and watched as she turned around to reach out a hand.
"Come on, trust me?" She said earnestly. Jace looked at her face, the way the street-lamps hit her green eyes, technicolour reels bouncing across her like a lightshow. His face broke into a grin, and he took her hand.
…
"This… This is crazy." Jace said as he followed Clary up the ladder. They had already stopped off and Clary had bought a bottle of cheap champagne, and they were drunk like teenagers. He felt like a teenager as he stumbled, trying his very hardest not to look up at her legs. They were currently climbing up the side of her apartment to the rooftop that she promised was 'open to all', however the barrier they had to climb under said something different. But when Jace finally reached the top, Clary holding out a hand to help him, he realised why she brought him up there.
"Wow." He breathed out, looking across the skyline. "I've missed this," He glanced at Clary who was approaching the edge of the building, spreading her arms out. "You come up here a lot?" He asked.
Clary sighed: her eyes were closed, a soft wind blowing across her face, strands of scarlet brushing against Jace as he approached. Her face broke into a smile. "No. I'm busy most of the time, but this is what I wanted to show you." She opened her eyes and walked toward the adjacent side of the building, where a second apartment block stood taller. The exposed wall was in front of them: instead of exposed brick it was covered in endless graffiti, loops of fluorescent colour against the dark night. Jace breathed out
"Okay… this is cool… who did this?" He asked, and Clary reached out to trace the mural. There were flowers, people, vague looking animals, huge winding swirls of colour.
"I don't know who started it, but I know basically everyone in the building has added something." She was tracing something, and a flash of sadness crossed her face: she has been stroking a small orange flower, 'C+S' engraved at the centre. Jace looked away, feeling that the moment was too intimate.
"Why did you show me this?" He asked, inspecting the looping mess that was the mural. Clary smiled, ducking to the floor and emerging holding a small square of purple chalk.
"It's to make it official. If you plan on staying in New York, of course."
Jace took the piece with a laugh, the dusty paleness rubbing off against him. He didn't quite know what to do, so just stroked the chalk in a simple swirl until a small string of flowers emerged. He handed the chalk back happily, gesturing for Clary to admire his handiwork.
"What is it?" She asked, leaning in and inspecting it. Jace shrugged.
"Violets. For our violet hour." He murmured, glancing sideways at Clary. She was beaming.
"Perfect. For the evening hour that strives."
"I love that you can quote Eliot more than me," Jace commented, running a hand through his hair and knowing he had left behind a violet smear, and Clary bumped his shoulder.
"What can I say, I'm multitalented. C'mon, we can call you a cab from my apartment."
They turned to leave, but before they did Jace watched as Clary made a quick stroke against the orange flower she had been staring at, and as they descended the ladder he couldn't help but feel inexplicably happy that she had replaced the two initials with a tiny, blooming violet.