Tessa had two meowing cats rubbing at her legs. This always happened when Magnus left. The silly creatures were so needy. Though she had to admit, she was rather fond of them. She bent down to fill their food dish and instantly the cats attention switched from her to their breakfast. She smiled as she returned to Jem who was sitting on the couch.

"I do like cats," Jem said as she was encircled by his arms. "I can't say I like the names Magnus chose though." Tessa chuckled.

"Magnus does have a problem with puns," she agreed.

It was Christmas morning and Jem had slept over last night, and the night before. Jem had basically been here every night since Magnus had left; Tessa didn't like being all alone. She had been raised by her Aunt Harriet ever since her parents died and usually returned home for the holidays, but this year she hadn't felt up to the long trip and, anyway, someone had to stay behind to feed the cats, right? Though she knew this was just an excuse. In the previous years they had always managed to find a cat sitter. Jem was here and Tessa craved his company in Will's absence more than her aunt's. Jem understood and shared her pain: the loss of Will. Short of forcing their company on someone who obviously didn't want to see them, neither Jem nor Tessa had any ideas how to bring Will back into their lives.

"Should we open presents?" Jem asked her. She had just opened her mouth to agree when there was a knock on the door. Without thinking Tessa got up and answered it. And there she stood face to face with the person she'd longed, for but hadn't seen in a month.

"Will?" Tessa whispered.

"Magnus threatened me," Will said quickly. "I just thought I'd check in, but if I'm interrupting I can leave."

"No." Jem's voice carried from across the room as he quickly got up to join Tessa at the door. "Please come in Will."

Tessa made a mental note to thank Magnus profusely upon his return as she offered to get Will a drink.

"I'm fine," Will replied, refusing any refreshment. "How are you two?"

"Worried about you!" Jem said.

"Missing you," Tessa added while Jem nodded.

"I'm trying to do the right thing," Will argued. "Why are you both acting like this?"

"How is ignoring me the right thing!?" Jem yelled. Jem so rarely raised his voice both Tessa and Will stared at him for a moment.

"We fell in love with the same woman!" Will yelled back at Jem with equal volume. Tessa couldn't help but gasp. Will had never said he loved her before and to hear it like this, uttered as the reason Will wasn't talking to his best friend, was quite shocking.

"You say that like it's an explanation," Jem argued. "But it's an excuse. I offered to step aside, no hard feelings, but you-"

"I know how happy she makes you Jem," Will said firmly then added sadly, all his anger gone. "And I can't be the thing that takes happiness away from anyone else."

"How many times do I have to tell you that what happened to Ella wasn't your fault!" Jem roared back, but with affection this time rather than anger.

"You weren't there," Will said. "You don't know." Will turned to leave muttering as he went, "Should have just taken Magnus's punishment."

Tessa reacted quickly. She reached out and grabbed hold of Will's arm. He turned to stare at her with wide eyes. The unguarded look on his face made her blush but she ignored it, determined.

"Don't I get a say in all this?" Tessa asked.

"Oh course you do," Will said. "But you love Jem."

"I love you too," Tessa spoke directly to Will as Jem had heard this before. "They say you cannot love two people equally at once and perhaps for others that is so. But you and Jem—you are not like two ordinary people, two people who might have been jealous of each other, or who would have imagined my love for one of them diminished by my love of the other. It's as if you are one soul in two bodies. I could not love Jem so much if I did not love you as well. And I could not love you as I do if I did not also love Jem. Please don't leave, Will. Please don't rip me in half again."

Will crumbled under her words and fell into her arms. She held him, but opened her arms to Jem as well. The three of them clung to each other for a long moment while Tessa felt the half of her heart that was Will's knit back into place.

When Will pulled away he stared at them. Tessa smiled and Jem put a hand on Will's shoulder.

"How can this work?" Will asked. "I hear your words Tessa, but that doesn't meant the world works that way."

"When each of you learned I loved the other," Tessa began. "Neither of you reacted as the world says you should. Both of you tried to give me up for the sake of the other. Don't you see, the world doesn't apply to us." She took each of their hands within hers and gently guided the two men she loved to sit on the couch on either side of her. "We three should be together."

"But what will people think?" Will argued.

"Why should we care?" Tessa replied.

"Because," Will said. "It can't be that simple. We can't just all three of us be together. Sure you can all sit here and talk or even have a group hug easily enough, but mar- dating two people is different."

Jem gave Will a funny look that Tessa couldn't figure out and she wondered if Jem picked up something in Will's words or tone that she'd missed.

"Can't we just try it Tessa's way?" Jem pleaded. "Rather than you never speaking to us again."

"Fine," Will said then moving quickly pulled Tessa into his arms. Will's hands were on her back and his hot mouth was on hers. She lost herself in the kiss so completely that when it ended she was stunned.

Will turned to Jem. "Now tell me that didn't eat at you even a little? Go ahead and tell me you didn't have to fight the urge to pull me off her?"

"I-" Jem started then stopped. "I am only human."

"See!" Will said throwing his arms in the air. "Told you this can't work. We are men Tessa, not angels!"

Tessa was still a little dazed from Will's kiss, but she had followed the conversation enough to realize she was going to lose one of them again unless she found a way to convince them. She turned to Jem.

"Kiss me," she whispered. Shooting a look at Will, Jem turned to her and slowly took her face in his hands. His lips weren't so hot but they were far more gentle. This kiss also ended much sooner than Tessa would have liked. Jem took his hands away from her and turned to Will.

"Was that necessary," Will growled. "I already proved this wouldn't work."

"I think it will work," Tessa said still determined.

"Easy for you to say," Will replied coldly. "You don't have to watch Jem and I make out."

Tessa couldn't help but laugh at the image his statement conjured in her mind. Soon both men were laughing with her. Something passed through them as they all laughed together, the air cleared somehow.

"Alright," Will said after the laughter died down. "We can try if that's what you want Tess."

"That is what I want," Tessa said firmly. "But there is something else I want Will."

"Oh?" Will inquired. "And what is that?"

"To know who Ella was and what happened to her?" Tessa asked kindly. "I want to know why you think so little of yourself."

"Jem never told you?" Will whispered. She shook her head. Jem and Will exchanged a look full of respect before Will turned to her.

"Tess," he said and she could tell his words caused him pain. "Ella was my older sister. She died when I was twelve."

"I'm so sorry Will," Tessa said squeezing his hand, trying to offer comfort. Though this was a horrible thing to happen to anymore let alone a child it didn't explain Will's behaviour so she waited for him to continue.

"She was murdered right in front of me," Will said. He spoke to the ground rather than to her, but he had Tessa's full attention either way. "Murdered trying to save me. It was my fault! I shouldn't have run off. My parents were devastated. My little sister was scared to leave the house. The killer was never caught and the thought ate away at my dad until he lost his job. It wasn't much later that mom stopped getting out of bed. I was just making it all so much worse and so I… I left."

"And met me," Jem added when Will fell silent. "And I have been telling you ever since to just go home. Nothing that happened was your fault, Will."

"It was!" Will insisted. "I'm toxic to everyone, especially everyone I love." He turned from Jem to Tessa. "I tried not to love you Tess but I failed. I'm so s-"

"Don't you dare apologize for that!" Tessa yelled suddenly furious. This explained all his strange behaviour when they had first met, the way he could be distant and yet not at the same time. "If you insist on believing you are cursed like this than it is a curse of your own making!"

"Tessa!" Jem exclaimed shocked. Will just stared at her with wide blue eyes.

"Your happiness is worth something William," Tessa said and it was the use of his full name more than anything that seemed to stop Will in his tracks. "The sooner you realize that the better."

She sat back down and faced him, holding his face with her outstretched hand. It was so good to be near him again, to touch him again.

"You risk your life every day to pull trapped and scared people of out burning buildings," Tessa whispered. "You are by definition a good person. Not a toxic one."

"That doesn't… I mean that's just work and…"

"Listen to her Will," Jem said leaning forward to offer comfort alongside her. Will looked frantically back and forth between their determined expressions before breaking down crying in Tessa's arms.

His sobs ended quickly and he pulled away, wiping his face. He didn't speak, but neither of them expected him to.

"Now, Will, won't you stay with us today and join us tonight for Christmas dinner?" Tessa smiled at him. "There shall be turkey and I believe Jem wants to open presents." She smiled hugely, and Jem, taking the hint, quickly got up to collect the gifts. Soon they had opened the few there were.

None of them were excellent cooks and it was a small miracle along with much assistance from the internet that they managed to get the turkey in the oven without ending in a major disaster. They worked well together, Tessa thought as she laughed and smiled with the men she loved while trying to prepare something edible. She realized while stuffing the turkey that she hadn't been this happy since before Will had left them.

"Oh Will!" Tessa said suddenly over dinner. "I almost forgot. Is there anyone named Jace in your family?"

"Maybe," Will said tentatively. "Why do you ask?"

"Magnus's friend has a roommate named Jace Herondale," Tessa said. "I didn't think it was a common name."

"You're right Tess, it isn't," Will said. "I think he might be my Uncle Stephan's kid." Tessa knew Will's father's name was Edmund, but only because Jem had told her. Will had never talked about his family with her before today.

"Why doesn't Jace know you then?"

"He was raised only by his mom," Will explained. "I think my uncle abandoned them when Jace was a baby. Celine wanted nothing to do with the Herondales after Stephan eloped with his high school sweetheart." He paused obviously trying to remember the details. "Amatis I think her name was, but anyway since she stopped speaking to anyone named Herondale the day Stephan left her, all I know is what dad used to say before..." He trailed off.

"Before you stopped talking to your family," Jem added pointedly.

"Well yeah," Will said. "And none of them have blocked me on Facebook yet, though I wouldn't have blamed them if they had."

"You need to go home," Tessa told him.

"You really need to at least call them," Jem agreed with her.

"I wonder why Celine gave Jace his father's last name though?" Will mused rather than respond to their pleading words. "That surprises me. I always figured Jace would have been a Montclaire."

"Fine, ignore us," Jem sighed. "Let's just enjoy what remains of the holiday shall we?"

Will grinned that devilish grin of his and offered to bring out dessert. After dinner they watched 'A Christmas Carol' cuddled up on the couch together, with Tessa in the middle. Everything seemed to be going fine until the hour grew too late.

"I should go home," Will said as he yawned.

"Please stay," Tessa begged.

"I don't know how this works," Will admitted. Tessa knew he still wasn't convinced this strange idea of hers would work. Tessa walked into her bedroom and lay down in the center of her bed suddenly very glad she had a queen-sized bed. She gestured for each of them to lie beside her. Jem complied first, but Will hesitated. After Tessa offered a smile of encouragement, Will eventually laid down with them.

Tessa had never slept so well before as she did that night.


So remember that thing I said I wasn't going to do... I did it. I uploaded the first chapter of my new Malec AU. Its called "Elusive Love."

Here is the Summary: "Magnus Bane is an internationally famous pop star, renowned for his love songs but knows little of love in his own life. Desperate to get away after a dramatic moment with the press Magnus takes off, ending up in small surfing town on the west coast. Who else should he happened to meet there but a certain beautiful blue eyed man!"

So yeah.. that's online now... and I am uploading three stories at once... so that happened... This new story isn't going to be as long as R&S (which at this rate is going to go on for freaking ever. lol.) but it won't be short either. Please go check it out and leave me a review! I had to write a lot of description which was alot of work because I am a dialogue person by nature so I'd love to hear what you think! There is only the one main couple in this new story though I may include other couples as secondary plots as the story progresses.

Thanks!


Sneak Peak Chapter 20:

"Izzy," Robert cautioned. "If Alec doesn't want to talk about it-" But he was cut off.

"Then Alec can just deal," Izzy huffed. "He dates so rarely and never gives me the chance to tease him!"

"Izzy," Maryse sighed but his sister grinned wickedly and continued.

"I think Magnus is going to confess he liked you all along and has just been being stupid up until now," Izzy said. "I bet you guys are going to be too cute to stand in no time."

Alec groaned again. This was the kind of thinking that would crush him if he let himself hope. Wasn't two months of living in the friend zone enough? Why was Izzy doing this to him?

"Please don't Izzy," Alec whispered. "You haven't even met him."

"But I know you," Izzy said beaming at him. "And no guy could resist you for long."

"Magnus doesn't seem to have had a problem with that," Alec growled. "Can we please talk about something else!"

"You are no fun," Izzy sniffed then she turned her other brother who was sitting beside her. "Max when you grow up I shall expect better."


I thought I'd be nice and give you a nice long preview. ^_^ First glimpse of Izzy!