Clary was over all of it.
She was so tired of having to deal with Valentine, with the consequences of his actions. As "Valentine's Daughter," every horrible thing he did reflected on her, and caused everyone's trust in her to lower just a little bit more.
Except for Jace, Alec and Izzy; and Luke and Simon, but they were Downworlder's so that was a different story.
She didn't even know what to think about Sebastian. He was an unknown in an already unfamiliar world, so she wasn't ready to deal with him just yet.
She was beyond ready to deal with Valentine though. Most of all, she just wanted him out of her life. Her mother was gone, but she had Jace, Alec, Izzy, Simon and Luke; she didn't want Valentine.
She also wasn't entirely prepared to deal with her emotions towards Valentine though. She was afraid she'd start crying and never stop.
Sebastian had helped her confront some of her thoughts on the subject, but he had also acted like he knew her, had a right to know her thoughts and feelings…he didn't. She didn't know him and wasn't entirely certain she wanted to.
Alec had been there for her though, a silent (mostly), hovering older brother on the edges, there if she needed him. Today, she had.
If he hadn't been there with her and Sebastian, pulling her away from the warded doors before her common sense kicked in, she could've been hurt. Probably would have been hurt. All because Valentine cared about very few things besides his agenda and her mother. He only cared about Clary so that he could use her. Alec cared though, despite their rough start.
They all cared, but Alec was different. He was protective, but not in a boyfriend way; that was what she had to deal with between Simon and Jace. (She was still working that out). Izzy was like a sister, but really, she'd already kind of had that in Dot. She loved Izzy, she did, but with everything going on, they weren't as close as before.
Alec was the big brother she'd never had, but had always kind of wanted. Being an only child was awesome, but there were times that it was incredibly lonely.
Yea, Alec was like a big brother to her now, the kind who let her make her own choices and depending on what happened…was either happy for her, there to let her cry on him and then helped her destroy whoever upset her. Or if he was particularly pissed off, went off on his own to deal with the person who made her cry. He also tended to drag Jace along with.
She wished that Alec could make everything go away, the way big brothers make monsters in the dark corners under the bed go away if there was no one else. There had been other people for her, but Luke was the only parental figure she had left, and he was too buy with his pack. Granted, Alec was having a strange time with Magnus, but she still wanted him to say "boo" and make everything go away.
Selfish, yes but right now, with Valentine and the Institute and Simon and Jace….she didn't care.
She channeled those thoughts and more into her actions, putting the rune up so they could break through and was relieved when it finally worked.
As soon as the doors were open, Clary barreled for Valentine, determined to just finish everything. It wasn't necessarily part of the plan, but at this moment, she didn't care.
One of her thoughts as the portal closed behind them both, even though it was sending them to the Institute, was that Alec was going to be pissed she had acted rashly. Again.
She couldn't wait for the lecture.
Sometimes, having an older brother was nice…other times it was a pain in the ass.
Authors Note: Hi Guys! I know I said that this was just a little one-shot, one chapter story...well, your interest in it has prompted my brain into spitting out yet another one for you. I'm not going to say it's completed now and I'm not going to say it's not completed: more like I may just randomly add chapters to it and you'll get a surprise :) You all just continue to blow me away with your support of my stories. Somehow, even when I think it's just a weird snippet my brain came up with, you all seem to like it and I can't thank you enough for it. I hope you like this one, and as always, I hope it flows. half was written last night, and half this evening. My brain is tired. Please, as always, let me know if it sounds wonky. I wasn't super happy with how it turned out, but my brain wouldn't make it turn out better. :) All mistakes are mine, I own nothing.