A/N: Hey, so after the 'heavy' last chapter, here's something lighter for you guys. It's a little bit of an in-between chapter where nothing much happens. But I think it's still necessary for the continuation of the story. I hope you like it.


Chapter Five

Clary POV

Something is wrong. Jonathan hasn't picked up his phone in hours nor has he responded to any of my texts. I've been sitting on his bed for two hours now. It's four in the morning. The sun is about to rise and he's still not here. I'm worried sick. As soon as we walked into the club he disappeared and soon after I got his text. He never feels sick, so that was a blatant lie. I tried having a good time, but I felt uneasy about Jon's abrupt disappearance. Jace was really nice, he bought me welcome drinks and we danced a lot and hung out with Izzy and Alec. It was the most fun I had in ages and it would have been a perfect night if only Jon was acting normal.

I can hear quiet steps in the corridor. Suddenly there's a pause. Jon knows I'm here, waiting for him. I run to the door and into the hallway before he gets the chance to vanish. I slide to a stop in utter horror.

Jonathan is in front of me, he's covered in blood from top to bottom. He's soaked in it. His blond hair is pink. His clothes are ripped. There's blood around his mouth. There's blood everywhere and he looks, he looks broken if I didn't know any better. I carefully move towards him. He's not looked at me yet. His gaze is fixed on the floor. "Jon?" He doesn't respond. I cautiously take his hand and feel him jerking away from me. "Jon," I whisper, "It's ok. I'm here. It's only me. It's me, Clary." I pause and then try to take his hand again. He looks up at me then and I want to shriek back, but somehow I manage to hold still. I can see so much pain in his eyes. I can see that he's hurting, but where? I slowly pull him into his room. "Jon, what happened, are you hurt? Wait I can see deep scratches and marks, of course you are."

Jon has gone back to not looking at me, but finally I can hear him rasping his throat, trying to form words, "Clary. It's ok. Go to bed. I'm ok," he utters so quietly that I have to strain my ears.

I want to laugh at his idea of 'being fine', but I manage to swallow the giggle that's about to burst out of me. "Obviously you're not fine. Let me look after you. You look like you've bathed in blood, Jon." I pull him into the bathroom and start pulling his T-shirt off. He shrugs back like I've stung him. I try really hard not to show how unsettled I feel, so I grin at him, "Well, if you're not going to let me strip you, then do it yourself." He hesitates, but then gets undressed to his feet, leaving only his boxers on. I take a sharp breath at the sight of him. He's definitely not a boy anymore. His body is that of a strong man. He's matured, but I missed it somehow. He's a lot trimmer since I last saw him this naked. He's handsome, I can see that. Yet again the sight of him makes me think of a fallen angel. There's sadness all around him. I guess a demon is a fallen angel of sorts. His beautiful body is bruised and marked all over, there's a lot of old scars scattered across his skin and now there may be some new ones as well. I just want to cry at the sight of him. I catch Jonathan looking at me, he saw me staring at his body and I blush at that, I'm not sure why, probably because I got caught staring. I see him looking at me again with that insane level of pain in his eyes. I know that he's not ready to talk about it, so I'm not even attempting to go there yet. Instead I turn on the shower and push him inside. I pick up a loafer and start washing his marred upper body.

He jerks away angrily and barks, "Clary! Stop! Let me do this. Stop bloody fussing. I'm a grown man," he points to the door, "GO outside and wait there." He pauses and I can hear him taking in a deep breath to calm himself. He then adds more softly, "Sorry, just please don't worry, I'll be out shortly."

I wait outside, biting my nails anxiously and ten minutes later he comes out, still looking hurt all over minus the blood. I stir him towards the bed and get my stele out. I start applying iratzes around the worst wounds. Usually his demon blood is enough to fix his injuries, but these must have been pretty bad if they haven't fully healed yet. His worst marks are finally beginning to seal, and he's starting to look better already. I peck him on the cheek, put the stele away and jump into his bed.

"What are you doing Clary? You can't stay here," Jon announces to me sternly.

I look at him with shock and shake my head vigorously. In ten years, Jon has never forbidden me to sleep in his bed. "But you're hurt and I've missed you, please? Please let me stay, I can't bear the thought of not being near you right now when you're like this," I wave my hand in his direction, "I won't be able to sleep. I have to stay here. You get that don't you, Jon?"

"You can't Clary. This thing needs to stop. We're not children anymore and we're not at home. We're surrounded by strangers. What will people think of us? You need to go to your room Clary."

I'm dumbfounded, where is this coming from? I can see that he's being completely serious about this, "Please Jon, don't do this. Don't be like that. We're siblings, why would anyone think anything strange about this?" I look at him questioningly, "Wait has anyone said anything to you?" I add angrily, "You know, I was so worried for you. I won't leave. I don't care what you say." I look at him defiantly, but then decide to follow it with my sweetest smile.

He studies me and I see him hunching his shoulders, he's going to concede. Finally he gives in and nods sternly. He gets into bed, but moves right to the edge, looking rigid and uncomfortable. What is going on with him and since when is bed sharing an issue? "Jon," I laugh, "Stop being silly," I pull his back towards me, then I hug him quickly. " I love you Jonathan." I'll find out what's happened tonight. With this one thought circulating in my mind and finally finding peace from being near Jonathan, knowing that he's ok, for now, I fall asleep minutes later.

JON POV

Clary has been asleep for an hour. I know this, because I've been counting every second of every minute for the last hour. I can hear her calm breathing and it brings me peace. I've still not turned around. I feel so much shame. I'm unworthy of her. Unworthy of looking at her. Unworthy of her love. I just wanted her gone out of my room, so I could wallow in misery. When I scented her from the corridor, the last thing I wanted was to see her, have her see me in the state I was in. The contemplation cost me. The few seconds of hesitation gave Clary enough time to reach me. And that look she gave me, she saw a monster in front of her. When she studied me in the bathroom, I could see the horror in her eyes. I can't let her see the Demon. Ever.

Who am I kidding. I am the monster. I'm pretending. My whole life is a pretense and soon enough Clary will see my true face and she will hate me for it. She won't want anything to do with me. That thought alone is slowly scraping at my heart, ripping it apart in tiny pieces. I need to see her face, but I'm scared of what I'll do. That's why I didn't want her here, but she wouldn't leave.

It took me killing thirty demons to get the bathroom scene out of my head. Oh god what have I done. I push that thought away and think back to all the demons that begged me for mercy. I took my time killing them. It was pure demonic torture. I'd remove an eye first, then remove bone by bone, push my hand through their chest cavities. I relished the feeling of my hand sliding through layers of skin, bone, tissue and organs. I made each demon die slowly, so very slowly. It felt amazing, holding one's life in my hands and squashing it like it was nothing. One of the shax nests surprised me and they managed to get a few deep scratches and bruises on me. Once I killed all the demons and covered my tracks, hid the corpses of the ones that didn't disappear to whatever hell they came from; I triple checked there was no evidence left behind. I needed to make sure I left no tracks to avoid a scenario, where the institute issues a demon serial killer investigation. This thought makes me quietly chuckle under my breath.

Once I was satiated, I snuck back in through the downworlders entrance and luckily I didn't encounter anyone until Clary. Of course she would be waiting for me. I thought of everything, of every last detail, but my mind was so occupied with not thinking about Clary, that I ended up averting all my attention to demon killing and covering my tracks. So much so that I just didn't think it through. The last thing I wanted was for her to see the aftermath of my wicked actions tonight. She saw me covered in blood. She saw the killer I am. A monster. If only Clary knew how much space he takes up within me. She'd hate me. If she knew of my actions tonight, if she knew what I did to that girl. She'd be scared of me. Repulsed. I can't let her see. She is my tether, without her I have nothing. I am nothing. I need to try harder. I'll be better. From tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start.

I can't hold it any longer. I turn around slowly and see her sleeping form. She's the most beautiful creature. I slightly move my hand towards her and stroke her curls, then her cheek, I kiss her forehead and still. I breathe her in. Despite the evening I had, she's making me feel unbelievably content right now. That's why I can never stay away from her. I'm doomed. I try to roll back to my side, but I can't make myself do it. I carefully fold her into my arms and pull her closer, so her head rests in the nook of my neck and my legs are enveloping hers. She's completely tugged into me. I hug her small frame even closer to me. She centers me instantly. I can feel the pain dissipating slowly and sleep finally finds me.

Clary POV

I wake up feeling rested, I look around but Jon is nowhere to be seen. I'm still so worried about him, I wonder what happened last night. I won't push it. For now. I look at the time and hurry out of the bed. It's 10 am and we said yesterday that we'd train at ten and I'm obviously running late. Why hasn't Jon woken me up. I rush back to my room, throw on some training clothes and run to the training room. I make it there ten minutes late.

"Hey sleepy head," Izzy calls to me, "I came to get you but you weren't in your room. Jonathan mentioned that you were looking after him last night and fell asleep on his sofa?"

" Yeah, he was quite poorly, probably the dirty NY air," I grin at her. Then look around. I see Alec and Jace warming up in one corner and wave to them. I spot Jonathan in another corner of the room. He's wearing a black T-shirt, as always. His toned arms are covered in runes. He's pale in comparison to Jace and Alec, but it suits him. I like the way the runes whirl around his arms and disappear underneath the sleeves. Both Jace and Alec are wearing wife beaters. Jonathan would never wear something so exposed, because his many scars that cover his shoulders and back would be visible. I see him getting on with some warm up stretches.

I walk towards him carefully and smile, "Hey Jonathan, slept well? Didn't think to wake me, did you?"

He looks at me guiltily. "Sorry Clary. I know I kept you up late, so I thought you might want to stay in bed. You looked like you needed it, snoring and all."

I punch him laughingly and ask if he could help me stretch. We warm up for fifteen minutes, but we don't talk. He just keeps eyeing me and then looks away. He's making me nervous. "Jon are you and me good," I whisper, looking at him warily.

I see his eyes panicking, "Yes, why wouldn't we be?"

Something is definitely wrong. Of course it is, if last night is any indignation. "Oh don't pretend there isn't anything awkward here," I point between the two of us. "I mean last night you seemed you know, and I haven't mentioned anything to give you space, but we are going to have a talk about it, right?"

He stays quiet, pulls me up and mutters, "We will." He then turns around and tries to leg it, but I grab his arm in time and stop him.

I guess I have to be patient with him. This change to New York may be harder than I thought.

I study him and I can see that it's making him jittery. Jonathan is the opposite of a jittery person. He usually exudes confidence and calm. So much so, it's often hard to guess what he feels. He's like a blank page. To me he is like an intricate code and usually I'm very good at cracking it. But this 'new' jumpy version is an unknown territory to me. I decide not to push the matter, I give him a quick smile and drag him towards the mat to meet the others, "Just remember to play nice Jon."

He chuckles in response, "Oh I'll try, but with Jace I can't promise."

"Jonathan," I whisper-shout at him, but can't get into it as we've reached the guys.

"So Clary, Jon told me I can't fight him without sparring with you first, something about him being unbeaten and you're the only worthy opponent for him," Jace grins at me rolling his eyes.

Alec bursts out laughing whilst Izzy is having a giggle fit and coughs out, "Jon! Jace is the strongest fighter here. Clary has no chance. Sorry Clary, no offense," she looks at me apologising.

"None taken," smile at Izzy. People always underestimate me, but I've trained with Jon these past ten years, Jonathan who's half demon, so they're in for a surprise. I grin at Jace and wave him over, "Come on."

Jon shouts, "Watch yourself Jace, she'll surprise you." Jace winks at me and I smile. I like the ease that Jon portrays right now. He does seem a lot better the way he's acting this morning.

I get into a fighting stance, but Jace seems almost too relaxed. He's not taking me seriously. Yes, I'm willowy with a delicate frame, but I'm fast, sometimes faster than Jon and I'm surprisingly strong for my size. I wait for his attack. He comes towards me with force. Quite fast but not fast enough. I back flip and kick out hitting his stomach. I then jump into a low stance and kick out at his legs. Jace falls and I launch myself at him, holding the blade to his neck. "Thirty seconds Jace," I grin and look up. I see Alec and Izzy staring at us in disbelief. In contrast, Jonathan looks at me proudly.

Jace looks shocked, gets up and utters, "Again."

We spar three more times and only in the third round he wins. I then get the upper hand in the fourth round again. Jace looks almost angry, I give him my widest grin, "Oh don't pout pretty boy, with me and Jon here you're what...the third strongest fighter in New York," I wink at him.

"We'll see, I'm still having a go at Jon, right Jon?" Jace shouts across, but Alec cuts in, "You need a rest Jace, I'll fight Jonathan next."

Jonathan and Alec get on the mat, and I can see that Alec definitely isn't underestimating my brother, very good. They get fighting and thirty minutes later Alec has lost sixty times. That's what it took. Thirty seconds per fight. My brother fights with a lot of grace. He makes it look like an art performance. I love watching him fight. He's graceful, strong and unbelievably fast. Izzy next to me is literally drooling in his direction, "Clary, he's a fighting god she whispers to me," with her mouth so wide open it may as well be hitting the floor. "I know Izzy, I know. That's who I've trained with for the last ten years and that's why Jon told Jace that he shouldn't underestimate me."

"'I can't wait to train with him," Izzy looks on dreamily, "Or you," she adds hastily.

I chuckle and see Jace pushing onto the mat demanding to be next. Alec comes and stands next to us, shaking his head and muttering to himself that he's never been beaten so many times in thirty minutes. I suddenly hear quite a bit of commotion around us and by the looks of it, we've drawn a large crowd. Jace looks like he's out for blood and Jon seems relaxed in comparison. I know that he's concentrating, shutting out the outside world and focusing all his senses on the fight, which really worries me. I hope Jace will walk away with all his limbs attached.

The fight begins, Jace throws himself at Jon, tries to go for the abdomen, but John swiftly avoids the hit, moves behind him and gets him into a neck hold. Beaten in ten seconds...he must have given Alec a bit of a reprieve, I wonder why. This goes on for a while and Jace has literally zero chance in beating Jon. Jace is red in his face and sweaty and my brother looks like he's just come back from a spa weekend. Internally I'm cringing at how bad he makes Jace look. At least with Alec, he let him get some punches in and that. Alec and Izzy are standing with their mouths wide open and the audience is eerily quiet. I guess they can't believe how easy Jon is getting the upper hand on their star fighter. What is he doing I wonder. He's drawing attention to himself, that's what.

Ten minutes in, I decide that it's enough before anyone becomes suspicious, "My turn big brother," I shout and run towards the boys, "I think Jace here needs a breather, right?" Jace looks positively flabbergasted and moves off the mat as if in a trance. I face Jon and whisper to him angrily, "You shouldn't have done that, it looked too easy.

"He needed a lesson in ego management Clary," then louder, " Give me your best Clary," and I do. We get the crowd into a frenzy. It must be the best fight they've seen in years and out of ten fights, I manage three wins. Jon looks at least a little exhausted. Good, I smile to myself.

After our last fight ends, there's lots of cheering. Izzy and Alec run our way shouting, "You guys were amazing," and then turn to Jon, "And you of course, a fighting genius. We can't wait to train with you two."

I turn around scanning the area, "Where's Jace disappeared to?"

"He's gone to sulk I think," Izzy tells us cheerily, "He's never been beaten like this. It'll do him some good, trust me. It's good someone knocked him off his pedestal and I love you for it Clary. Jace beaten by a little redhead, it'll make the Shadowhunters newspaper...if we had one."


A/N: Side note, I've decided to make Jace a normal Shadowhunter In this story arc. Jace was never raised by Valentine. He doesn't have any angel blood. He's a superior fighter, but still he can't compete against Clary or Jonathan. Just in case anyone wondered how Clary could best him in the fights so easily.

This was a bit more fun with the fighting. Honestly, I struggled a little with those scenes, so hopefully they'll get better, before I decide to avert fighting scenes altogether. I've got a little surprise character appearance planned in the next chapter, so stay tuned. Let me know how you like it so far. I'm back at work now, so expect updates weekly.