Sorry about the delay in updates! I don't want to say anything else right now because I have a feeling you're all really going to enjoy this chapter...

When a pillow was thrown at Jace, he didn't really budge. He was awoken from this, yes, but he didn't move or make any effort to see who it was that was in his room. Truthfully, he just assumed he was having some weird-ass dream. It was only when another pillow hit Jace in the head that he grunted in protest and told whoever was there to go away. Moments later, he felt pressure on his bed, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Clary hovering over him.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

Immediately, Jace jumped back from the girl. She stood up straight, her arms crossed over her chest. He was confused, to say the least. What on earth was she doing in his room in the middle of the night? And hadn't he already explained everything?

"Clary?"

She threw her hands up, exasperated. "Yes, it's me! Who the hell else did you think I was? The tooth fairy?"

Slowly sitting up, Jace looked around his room, checking if anyone else was there. "Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" She repeated. Clary gasped, then grabbed a pillow off the floor and started wacking Jace with it. "I'm here because you are a jackass that kept a really big secret from me." With every word, she hit him with the pillow.

Still, Jace was rather confused. "Okay...I thought we had already moved past that and you just hated me now?"

Rolling her eyes, Clary dropped the pillow. "You are the biggest idiot I've ever met." She ran a hand through her hair and stalked to the other side of the room. "You know, if you had just been honest and communicated with me from the start, none of this would have ever happened."

And that was when it clicked. Jace sprung from his bed, nearly tripping on his blanket and face-planting on the floor. "Wait, are you saying-do you have your memories back?"

Aggravated, Clary nodded her head. "Took you long enough."

Overcome with joy, Jace ran toward her. He picked up Clary and spun her around once before setting her back down. The lightest of smiles tugged at her mouth as she stared up at him. He kept his hands on her hips, holding her close to him.

"How? How did you get them back?"

"That's a story I feel like I should tell you in the morning." Clary removed Jace's hands from her. She walked back over by the bed and Jace followed. "For now, I want to focus on the fact that you are a jerk."

"What did I do?"

"You tried to give yourself up! You went to Black Angel behind my back and offered your powers and your memories to him."

"I was trying to save-"

"Me and all of New York," Clary finished for him. "I know. How heroic of you."

"You're one to talk," Jace scoffed. "You took my place, and because of that, you lost three months of your memories. Don't I have every right to be just as pissed off as you are?"

"No!" Clary shouted, which took Jace by surprise. "Because without you, I'd be dead. Without you, I am nothing and nobody. Don't even pretend for a second that I could go on without you by my side because I couldn't. So, the fact that you almost made me lose you means that I'm going to be mad!"

For a second, Jace was softened and all he felt was sorry for ever having let Clary feel that way. Then he realized that she had been the one to actually put him through that. "And you think it's any different for me? Do you think that over this past couple of weeks I've just been a ray of sunshine? No! I was broken, Clary! I didn't know what to do with myself. You didn't want anything to do with me. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

Instead of arguing back, Clary just looked at the ground and nodded. "Yeah, I know. That's part of the reason why I came here: to apologize. The only excuse I can give you is that it felt like I was going insane. I wasn't myself, and I can still remember all the thoughts that had been running through my mind as I said those things. But I didn't mean it. Any of it."

Clary sat down on the bed. Jace sat down beside her. He took her hand in his own and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"I didn't mean what I said either." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke. "Before this all happened, I mean. When we were in our last fight against Black Angel and you had gotten really badly injured, I didn't mean anything that I said."

Clary nudged him with her elbow to draw his attention back up to her. "Not even the part where you told me you're in love with me?"

Jace didn't look up at her right away. He smiled though, remembering how he had accidentally blurted that out. When he did look up at Clary, she was gazing intently back at him. He let his forehead touch her, still staring back into her eyes.

"I will always mean that."

Clary tilted her face forward until her lips touched his. She brought her free hand up and cupped Jace's cheek. He moved backward so they were lying together on the bed, and pulled Clary so that she was on top of him. Her legs straddled his waist. One of her hands stayed intertwined with his while the other combed through his golden hair. After what felt like an hour but was probably only minutes, Clary pulled slightly away from Jace, panting hard.

"As much as I would like to continue this," she said in a whisper, "I'm really, really exhausted."

Jace sat up with Clary still in his lap. He ran a hand through her long hair before resting his hand on her back. "Would you like to go to sleep?"

She only nodded.

Jace released Clary, and she climbed off him onto the bed. She settled down underneath the blankets, leaving plenty of room for Jace to lie at her side. When he did so, she moved over so that her body fit against his. She slid one of her arms beneath his torso and the other one over it. And as he felt her chest steadily moving up and down against his, Jace couldn't get over how right this felt.

"Before you fall asleep," he said quietly. "I told you I love you."

This seemed to be enough of a question in itself because Clary raised her head just enough that she could look at Jace. She spoke quietly, yet with such conviction. "I love you so much, Jace. Knowing you has made me question whether I truly understood the meaning of love before." She buried her head back into his chest. "I don't think I did because nothing in my life has compared to a single emotion I've ever felt for you. You complete a part of me I didn't even know was missing."

The last sentence had been mumbled more than anything else. Jace stared down at the top of Clary's head and whispered her name. When he got no response, he figured she was asleep now. Pulling her tighter, he closed his eyes too and drifted off into sleep with a smile on his face.

In the morning, Clary laid awake, staring at Jace's unmoving face. His golden details were brightened by the streak of sunlight coming in through the window. A single strand of his hair was hanging across one of his eyes. Unable to help herself, Clary gently pushed it to the side with her hand. Before she was able to pull away, though, Jace's hand came up at caught her wrist. His golden eyes fluttered open, meeting her green ones.

"So, that wasn't a dream then?"

Clary shook her head. "No, it wasn't."

Still holding her wrist, Jace brought her hand down to his lips and kissed it. Then, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her snug against him. Clary giggled as she was smothered against the boy's chest. She managed to wriggle out his grasp just enough to lift her head up and continue staring at him. He was evidently rather tired because he had closed his eyes again.

There was a knock at the door then, and it quickly opened. Startled, Clary pushed herself under the blankets completely. Jace jolted up a little when light streamed into his room and the girl that had been lying beside him disappeared under his blankets. He looked down at the lump that was Clary briefly before turning his attention to the figure in his doorway.

Squinting, Jace made out that it was Alec who was invading his privacy. The raven-haired boy put his hands on his hips and frowned and Jace's bed.

"I was coming in to make sure you weren't going to sleep the day away," Alec said, but he trailed off. "What's that?"

Jace decided to play dumb. "What's what?"

"That lump." Alec motioned to it.

Looking down at the lump, Jace patted it. "Oh, this? I got a pet dog."

"You...got a dog? You couldn't even take care of our goldfish in college."

Jace shrugged. "Dogs are more independent, right?"

Alec rolled his eyes and his arms dropped to his side. "I can tell that's obviously a girl in your bed. I thought you were better than that, Jace. I thought at the very least you were loyal to Clary. She's struggling to come to terms with the fact that she's lost three months of her memory and you just up and move on? Did she mean nothing to you, you pig? I thought you would've done anything for her! At least, you acted that way. So, what? Love means nothing, is that what it is? You're so quick to move on because you never truly cared in the first place. Is that really who-"

"Alec!" Jace finally cut him off. He pulled back the blankets to reveal Clary. Her eyes widened and she grinned nervously, slowly sitting up.

Alec was quiet for several moments. The expression on his face was indescribable and hilarious. "Clary?"

The girl nodded.

"I thought you hated-Didn't you lose-I mean, you wanted nothing to do with Jace, with any of us."

Clary scratched the back of her head. "About that...my memories are back. Surprise!"

Alec bit his lip, taking in the scene before him. "So, you regain your memories and the first thing you decide to do is sleep with Jace?"

"No!" Clary protests. "Well, technically yes, but really no. We literally only slept. You see, I came to talk to him last night immediately after getting my memory, and it was so late-"

Alec held up one hand. "I don't want to hear how the story ends."

"It's not a dirty story." Jace chuckled.

"And yet, you're in bed at ten in the morning." Alec gestured to Jace. "He's literally shirtless!"

Clary dropped her head in her hands. "Ugh!"

"I'll just go ahead and take my leave now," Alec said. He began to turn.

"Wait!" Jace called. "Don't tell the others Clary has her memory back."

Both Alec and Clary gave Jace a questioning look, but it was Alec to actually inquire about it. "Why not?"

Jace shrugged. "I just think it'll be really funny."

Alec seemed to consider this. He then nodded his head. "Yeah, fair enough." He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

"You really think it's a good idea to lie to our friends like that?" Clary asked, turning to Jace.

"It's not a lie," he said. "It's more like a prank."

"Really? And what prank did you have in mind?"

Jace rolled over so that he was looking down at Clary. "Can't we think about that later? I'd much rather pick up where we left off last night."

Clary laughed. She slipped out of the bed much to Jace's dismay. "We should be getting up. You don't want to, as Alec puts it, 'sleep the day away.'"

Jace plopped back down on his bed and glared at Clary. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." She smirked.

"Yes." He sat up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. And you want to know how I know?" She leaned in close to him, a sparkle in her eye. "Because I can read your mind."

Jace's face fell as Clary stepped back from him. He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I forgot about that. Any chance you've figured out how to give my power back to me yet?"

Clary shook her head. "No, but I'll work on it. In the meantime, I get to know all your dirty, dark secrets."

Jace leapt up from his bed. "No fair! I always promised you that I would never read your mind."

"You promised Blindeye you would never read her mind. You made no such promise to Clary." She was about to head out the door but paused. "Oh, but that reminds me." Clary raised one hand and snapped. From her fingers came a small flame. Jace's eyebrows shot up. "I got those stealing powers just before Sebastian put me into the machine. I guess intense anger is all it took to trigger them." With a shrug, Clary turned and opened the door. Jace followed as she walked out of his room.

Alec was still in the apartment when Clary and Jace walked out into the main room. He was sitting at one of the kitchen barstools, but Jace wasn't sure why he was still there. He didn't live in this apartment anymore.

"I mean, I implied that I promised to you I would never read your mind. And seeing as you guys are the same person, I don't know why it wouldn't count for both of you!"

"Your arguments will get you nowhere, Jace. I know you just don't want me finding out about all your quirks." When she reached the kitchen, she leaned on the island, smiling up at Jace. He glared at her as he took the seat beside Alec. Clary then cocked her head at Jace. "Why are you so obsessed with mangos?"

At this, Alec burst out laughing. Jace side-eyed the bowl of fruits on the counter. He pursed his lips, not knowing what to say. "You're very mean."

"You don't mean that."

"I hate you."

"Still don't mean it."

"I hate this."

"Now that you mean."

"Is there something I'm missing here?" Alec asked, looking up from his phone.

"She stole my telepathy," Jace murmured.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Really? Clare, please don't-"

"Alec, I would never," Clary said, waving a dismissive hand. "Your friendship is too important, and I respect you too much."

Jace threw up his arms. "So, what am I?"

Thinking for a moment, Clary answered, "A cheeky superhero."

"Haha, you're very funny."

Clary pecked Jace on the cheek. "I know. I should be going, though. I need to talk to Simon. And anyway, where's Isabelle? I should apologize to her too."

"Izzy is with Simon. They're discussing some...relationship things," Alec said.

Clary pursed her lips guiltily. "Right, that's what I have to apologize. I put her and Simon on a break without meaning to."

As Clary started to leave, Jace caught her wrist. "Please don't leave," he asked with wide eyes.

"I'll be back later. I promise." With one last kiss, Clary left.

When she was gone, Jace sat back down on the barstool, his head in his hands. Alec watched him with eyebrows furrowed. "You disgust me."

"You mean to tell me that you weren't worse when you and Magnus first started dating?" When Alec was unable to answer, Jace nodded his head. "Precisely what I thought."

"Whatever, you still disgust me."