Beauuuuuuutiful architecture!
Alec gazed longingly at the huge stone castle in the distance. Despite the fact that it had only been built this month, they somehow managed to make the bricks look aged and worn, and ivy grew against the walls as though the structure had been there for years.
"It's about time we get to see the inside of this thing," Magnus said as he drove through the long forested driveway. "They've been building it for ages."
"It's only been two weeks," Clary scoffed.
Alec nodded. "They built this whole place in a fortnight! Look at how amazing the east wing looks. Are you kidding me?"
"Alec, please don't get horny for the architecture in front of our new neighbours."
"But Magnus! The bricks!"
Magnus shook his head and sighed. The car pulled into the grand driveway beside a lux fountain at the center of the drive.
Clary strapped James into her baby backpack and exited the car, followed by Alec and Magnus. They would have waited for their new neighbour to greet them outside, but the door swung open ominously on its own. The three of them entered suspiciously.
"This is kind of creepy," Magnus noted.
Alec nodded, looking around the entrance hall with his mouth wide open. "The best houses are just the right amount of beautiful and creepy. This is all so amazing. And oddly familiar. It's like this place was built for me."
"Or by you," Clary commented, pointing towards the large marble fountain at the center of the entrance hall.
The fountain was at least ten feet high and just as wide. The statues in the middle portrayed a classic Greek scene of one lover pouring water from a vase onto the other. You know, because the Greeks were all weird and slutty. Each statue was a display of perfectly carved abs and impossibly flowing stone hair. They were also two people that Clary unfortunately recognised.
"Is that supposed to be Jace and John?" Alec noted in horror. He spun around, noting the grand double staircase, the skylight showering sunlight onto the marble fountain, the exposed brick, and let out a soft and horrified squeak. "My blueprints! My house!"
"Oh yeah," Magnus whispered. "I guess that's what Jace stole when he came back that one time…"
Alec pointed to the statue in horror, tears streaming down his cheek. "This was supposed to be the Venus de Milo! Not this pornographic perversion!"
"Did someone say porn?" came a voice from the overhanging balcony.
There stood Jace, wearing nothing but an untied silk robe and spongebob briefs. He held a glass of wine that was obviously full of protein shake, and leaned against the railing in a way that somehow displayed his abs. "Oh hello new neighbours," he greeted. "Welcome to my humble abode."
A large office chair suddenly wheeled in from the next room, the back facing them. "Well hello sister, I've been expecting you." John spun around in his chair to face them. He was wearing a matching robe to Jace's and fanning himself with a hot pink lace hand fan.
"John," Jace called from above. "I told you we're not doing the gay godfather thing."
John slammed his fan shut and pouted. "Well at least my entrance didn't have anything to do with porn."
"Hey," Alec interrupted them before they could begin bickering. "Jace, you stole my blueprints for my dream house and built it right next to my actual house?"
"Yes, genius isn't it?"
"Not really but ok," Alec mumbled.
"If you had only chosen me to stay instead of this lying—"
John coughed.
"This misleading—"
John coughed again.
"Well what am I supposed to call her?"
John shrugged. "My sister?"
"Uh…" Jace took a sip of his protein shake wine. "If you had only chosen me instead of my sister who had my baby… no that isn't right."
"Enough," Alec interrupted. "Jace, I know you're hurt by what happened but you shouldn't have given us an ultimatum to begin with. You have loads of money left for you by your parents. Clary works in our house and it's her only source of income. It wouldn't have been fair to make her leave."
Clary stood silently off to the side, holding James and distracting herself by kissing his forehead. She refused to look up at Jace or her brother.
"That's not the point," Jace said, pouting worse than James did. "I'm your brother. It's the principle of the thing."
"You two don't have to fight," Magnus suggested. "You could just bang it out. Maybe that'll solve all your problems."
"Or have a discussion like adults," Alec suggested.
"Oh, like discuss how she threw our beautiful baby in the trash like some kind of Mexican tapeworm she had removed?"
John coughed obnoxiously.
"John," Jace snipped. "If you want me to stop, you gotta cough before I finish saying it."
"I'm sorry," Clary finally said, looking up at Jace like he was a fly she's been trying to swat for hours. "I am so fucking sorry that I went through an enourmously painful and tedious process to have our baby adopted into a safe and loving home because I knew that if I had kept her she would not have survived. I'm so sorry that you were hurt by the idea of a baby that you never would have even met living with another family who can provide for her and care for her. I'm sorry that I had no way of getting in contact with you or knowing that you were rich or even knowing if you wanted the baby and that I had to make all the decisions on my own. I'm so fucking sorry, Jace, that you are so upset over this ordeal, because I never gave a shit about the baby that I carried in my body for nine months and cried over having to give her up because I couldn't afford to feed her. I never think about it and get upset now at all. I guess it's just you that's upset about the baby that I threw in the garbage."
"Clary, I'm—" Jace started.
"Sorry, Magnus," Clary interrupted. "I can't be in a relationship with someone who can't even check his privilege enough to understand that people die from being poor. And what I did was for the good of both me and my baby. Forget the stupid naked picture. If you can't understand that what I did was to give our child a better life, then I have no desire to be with you." Clary turned and stormed out of the grand hall.
"Clary, wait!" John called after her. He stood from his wheelie chair and followed her out.
Yes, we finally updated! there are only 2 chapters left and they'll be up soon. No more waiting 6 months for each chapter! We promise!