SebJace || Shadowhunters || SebJace || Falcon Feathers || SebJace || Shadowhunters || SebJace
Title: Falcon Feathers – Writer's Month 2020
Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, daemons, bonding, fluff, canon divergent, soulmates
Main Pairing: Jonathan/Jace
Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan Christopher 'Jace' Herondale, Jonathan Morgenstern, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Isabelle 'Izzy' Lightwood, Imogen Herondale
Own Characters (Daemons): Celestina (Jace's barn owl), Desdemona (Sebastian's falcon), Minerva (Alec's snow owl), Nagendra (Isabelle's cobra), Cornelius (Imogen's horned owl)
Writer's Month Prompt: fantasy
Summary: Jace and Jon learned about each other through their daemons and together, they fled Valentine's captivity as children. They were close as they grew up in the City of Glass together.
Falcon Feathers
Writer's Month 2020
Jace used to have a falcon when he was a child. The falcon's name was Desi – Desdemona, he was not to call her by a nickname. She had been hard to tame, used to scratch him and nip at him, like it was unnatural for Desi to be close to him, but slowly Jace softened Desi to him.
His father had slapped him and told him he had failed. He had made the bird love him, while he had been supposed to tame it – break it. But Desi wasn't an it and Desi shouldn't be broken. Desi was his only friend. Jace loved Desi and Desi loved him. That night, as Jace cried because of his father's punishment that had followed his failure, he learned that he was not alone.
Father had tried to capture Desi and hurt her, but she had flown away. And as she returned to him, in the darkest hour of the night, she wasn't alone. With her was an owl and a boy. Blonde, his age.
Another Jonathan, they shared the same name. That was how Jace had come to be called Jace. The other Jonathan had come to be called Jon. Jon and Jace. Together, they ran away after they learned the truth. Which was that the birds they had tamed were each other's daemons.
Humans had daemons. That was a concept Michael Wayland had never taught either of them about. Daemons were extensions of someone's soul, only magical beings, such as the Nephilim, had such a magical being. They manifested in animals that mirrored their truest core. Normal Nephilim grew up with their daemons, as their guardians and companions.
Michael had separated Jace and Jon from their daemons and he had kept them locked away. Now that they were ten, he had done an experiment. Trying to see if they could switch daemons.
That was when Desdemona and Celestina – which was the name of the cute little barn owl that was apparently Jace's daemon – had had enough and had managed to escape together and free their humans. The four of them ran, as fast and far as they could, stumbling their way to the City of Glass, where someone found them and brought them to the infirmary.
At that point in time, Jace didn't understand anything. Not where the other boy had come from, not why the two birds could talk or what a daemon was. He just understood that they were getting away from his father, who had hurt him, so often. That was all he understood at that point.
An adult had sat with them the entire time, trying to get them to talk. Jace had been too confused and overwhelmed to talk and Jon, well, he wasn't overly talkative or social anyway. Seeing as the two boys didn't talk, didn't say their names or where they came from, the adults decided to run some tests. Test their blood. All Shadowhunters were archived in a database, blood-records and such. Things that made no sense to little Jace, but he accepted when the adults said they'd do it.
He had learned long ago not to argue with adults. So he just sat there, together with Jon and Desi and the little owl that was supposed to be his soul. Part of his soul. Desi and Celestina had explained it on their way – it had been a long, long hike to the City of Glass. But it still felt very abstract and weird to Jace. Celestina was a part of Jace, somehow, but outside his body, in the form of an animal that represented him. The weird part to him however was the fact that Desi – that Desdemona the falcon he had been taming for weeks now – was not his, that she was part of someone else's soul. That she was Jon's. The boy who had his name and lived in the basement.
Were they brothers? But why would their father keep them apart then? Jace didn't understand any of it, but he also did understand that he needed to get away from his father. On that day, under the insistence of two talking birds, he understood that he needed to get away.
The adults who ran their blood returned at some point, though Jace would never quite remember how long it had been. He was just there, petting Desi and carefully getting acquainted with Celestina, whenever she'd let him get close; for the most part, the owl was nestled against Jon.
The adults returned and they brought results with them. Jace was a Herondale, his blood matched up with Inquisitor Imogen Herondale? Whatever that meant? He couldn't be, he was a Wayland. But his birds had told him and Jon not to mention their father. Jon was a Morgenstern. There were flickers of fear in the adults' eyes at that and confusion. Much confusion.
"For now, you will both come to stay with me and then we will figure something out."
Imogen's voice had been warm as she said that. She had tried to hug Jace, but he wasn't really used to positive physical contact and he still didn't understand how he could be a Herondale. Jon had glared, but he still followed as she brought them to the Herondale Manor.
There had been more testing, things Jace would only learn about far later. Because things were strange about their blood. Jace's had more pure angelic properties than the average Shadowhunter. And Jon had... demonic properties in his. Jace's was peculiar, but people came to the conclusion that it was some kind of blessing from the Angel. Like Jace was somehow a Chosen One of sorts. For Jon, they had their own word though. Half-blood. Half-Seelie. There were other Shadowhunters, who had demon-blood running through their veins, because one of their parents was a Seelie.
Someone came to pick up Jon after a few days. A family named the Blackthorns, they had two children, around their age, who were both half-Seelie. Jon had, in the few days, already displayed strange powers – flowers in Imogen's garden had died, just because the boy had been present.
"I'm not sending you away to punish you, my boy", had Imogen said in reassurance as she knelt next to Jon. "You have special powers, Jon. Powers I am not... equipped to help you with. They have two children who are like you, half-Seelie. You... can learn to control them there."
Jon had simply glowered at her, before he turned toward Jace. Imogen had given them their names – because they were both Jonathan Christopher and that had gotten confusing rather quickly, so the six of them (the three Shadowhunters and their daemons) had brainstormed nicknames for them. Imogen had been very playful about it and while Jace hadn't known her long, he had gotten the impression that this was rather untypical for the woman. It must mean she cared for them? Right?
"It's okay. You can see each other every day, I promise. The Blackthorns live just around the corner. You will always be welcomed here, Jon. But I... think they are more cut out to take care of you."
Jon had simply nodded and accepted it, like it was another order from their father. Jace understood. They had no grasp on Imogen yet; they didn't know the actual rules here. What punishments to expect, what would happen if they disobeyed. Jace had hugged Jon, on impulse. Over the past week, the other boy had been the only constant in his life. It startled Jon, but he awkwardly accepted it. Their daemons were as unwilling to part; Celestina was close to Jon, while Desdemona was fond for Jace. Jace hoped Imogen was telling the truth and he wouldn't lose Jon and Desi.
/break\
Jon wasn't special. Not in a negative sense though; this was a good thing. He had grown up thinking he was special – he was cursed, a dark abomination. Mark and Helen weren't dark abominations. His brother and sister were... nice. Kind. Helen was sweet, he quickly came to adore her. He was special in a way, but he had been assured that it wasn't bad, that it was fairly normal for half-bloods to come out with a varying degree of ressemblance. Some were full Shadowhunters, others were full Seelies, some perfectly evenly split. Jon, he had come out of it with powers over nature. That was okay, the Blackthorn-parents arranged for him to be taught at the Seelie Court to learn control, they were patient – there were no physical punishments for failure at the Blackthorns.
Every day, he would sneak out of the window to return to the Herondale Mansion. It was a source of amusement for Imogen, Andrew and Eleanor. The adults kept telling him he was allowed to go there whenever he felt like seeing Jace, but he still doubted it. Then again, he didn't quite understand why exactly he felt this drawn to Jace to begin with. He blamed Desdemona.
Desdemona was his daemon, his soul. And she was so very weak for Jace. So fond of him. Wanted to protect him, make sure he was safe. For many months, that annoyed Jon, but the more often Desdemona, whom Jace insisted on calling Desi, dragged him to see Jace, the... fonder... he grew of Jace himself. And of Celestina, the little owl had been his for many weeks as he had trained her.
Having a family was something he needed to adjust to. It took Jon years of getting used to Andrew, Eleanor, Mark, Helen, Julian, Livia, Tiberius, Drusilla – and the latest addition, the only one to whom Jon would always have been a part of the family, because he was only born after Jon came to live with them – Octavian. Having a family was a hard thing to adjust to for Jon, all the more reason to run away to the Herondales every so often – so many people at the Blackthorn home, just too many and the younger ones were so nosy and noisy and it was so tiresome. The Herondales only consisted of Imogen, who seemed rational and wise, as well as Jace, who was – well – Jace.
They were trained together. Training was different than it had been with father though. No more punishments for failure. And yet Jace and Jon remained top of their classes at all times. There was praise, others looked at them in awe at just how good they were. Jon liked to stay close to Jace, Helen and Mark though. He wasn't one to socialize. Well, those three were already more socializing than he would like. But they trained well together. And then he trained alone. Trained his powers.
That wasn't the only thing they were helping him with though. They quickly noticed his anger issues – he tended to lash out, he got violent when he did so. Father used to say that was due to his demon-blood. It made him inherently evil. Wrong. The Blackthorns disagreed. They got him help about it too, professionals to help him learn to channel his anger and control it.
He was stable, or what they called stable at least, when they became teenagers and were assigned Institutes, to learn on the job. He could control his powers and his anger. Both was far easier when Jace was close, which Jon didn't quite understand – but he blamed Desdemona nonetheless. His soul was too fond of Jace, so Jace relaxed him. Desdemona's fault.
/break\
"Good evening, Jon. Imogen has left you a snack in the kitchen."
Jon looked up to glare pointedly at Cornelius – the horned owl daemon of Imogen. The owl looked smug, if an owl could look smug, as he sat on top of the lamp right next to the first floor window that Jon had climbed into. Huffing, Jon pulled himself fully into the Herondale Mansion.
"Imogen keeps telling you that you are free to use the door", tagged Cornelius on.
"I like it better this way", grunted Jon, looking around.
Desdemona had already taken off, Jon could barely see her tail-feathers as she headed straight for Jace's bedroom. Not minding Cornelius any further, Jon headed for Jace's bedroom too. By the time he entered the room, Desdemona was already sitting nestled on Jace's thigh, with the blonde gently caressing her. For a moment, Jon just stood there and watched how gentle Jace was with his soul.
This was a big no-no. One of the first they had learned about. Under no circumstances was one supposed to touch another person's daemon. When the adults had first seen Jace and Jon so freely interact with each other's daemons, they had tried to make sure the children knew not to touch anyone else's daemon. They didn't understand at first, because touching Desdemona and Celestina was very normal for them already – Jon had 'trained' Celestina as Jace had 'trained' Desdemona.
They learned to understand it after staying in Alicante for longer. The thought of anyone else touching Desdemona made Jon overcome with murderous intend. The stranger it seemed that it didn't bother him to see Jace caress Desdemona? Shouldn't it bother him...?
"You're looking as grumpy as ever", noted Jace teasingly. "Come sit."
Jon heaved a sigh and sat down with Jace. Immediately did Celestina fly down to him, sitting down on his shoulder and nuzzling against his cheek. It was so natural to have Celestina be affectionate with him. Furrowing his brows, Jon started caressing Celestina's fur.
"You have been... spending a lot of time with Lightwood", commented Jon dryly.
This seemed to confuse Jace. Well, it did also confuse Jon if he was being honest. But something about Alexander Lightwood's growing role in Jace's life was irritating. They all had started attending classes at the academy, with the other teenagers their age. And ever since Jace had walked in on Alexander training and Alexander nearly shooting Jace, the two had been practically inseparable. It bothered Jon so much, like a white-hot flame lit in the pit of his stomach and he loathed this feeling, he wanted to drown it, make it stop, but he didn't know how, because he didn't understand what the feeling meant to begin with.
"You could just... tag along, you know", huffed Jace with a small grin. "Get to know Alec and Izzy. They're both pretty cool. You have to spend time with non-Blackthorn and non-me people."
"I decidedly disagree", drawled Jon dryly. "You are exhausting enough for ten."
Jace narrowed his eyes at him and stuck his tongue out, cheeks flushing just a little bit. There was a weird sensation in Jon's chest. Like a fluttering of sorts, light and warm. It chased away the white-hot flame. How strange. Jon liked this sensation. Only Jace elected it from him, only Jace filled him with this warmth and comfort that managed to make all of the bad feelings go away. It was what Jon channeled in his training of control. Meliorn – the Seelie who was training him – had told him to concentrate on a positive emotion, something that makes him feel grounded and balanced. It took Jon to figure out what would work, but then he'd recall the first time Jace had smiled so proudly at him for being able to control his powers. That smile had filled Jon with so much proud and accomplishment and it had eased him. Thinking of that smile calmed the rage and wrath inside of him down until he was in total control of himself again. Only Jace could do that, because Jace was special – perhaps it was the extra angelic blood coursing through Jace's veins? That the goodness in Jace allowed him to have control over the badness in Jon? No, not badness. He wasn't supposed to think about his demon-blood as badness; it made Helen sad and it was an insult to not just himself but also his siblings, who had demon-blood in their veins too. Not badness. Jon wasn't bad.
"Fi—ine. I'll tag along to meet your little friends", sighed Jon exasperated.
The smile on Jace's lips was blinding and breathtaking. Jon wasn't bad, but Jace was definitely good.
/break\
"I don't like this much", muttered Jace as he looked around.
"I think the room looks nice. High place above the bed. Good for nesting", countered Celestina.
The barn owl was building her nest on the balk above Jace's bed. Jace smiled softly as he looked at her. She had grown quite a bit. Well, so had he. He was a teenager now, officially. They were in New York, the Institute Jace and Jon had chosen. Jace still didn't quite understand why Jon had decided to follow him instead of his siblings – Mark and Helen were in Los Angeles. Jace had entertained that idea too, but he had actually made two friends during training and they were the children of the heads of the New York Institute. They were his only non-Blackthorn friends, though he wasn't that close to Helen and Mark. Jon was his primary Blackthorn – being an orphan, Jon had officially been adopted by the Blackthorns a couple months after moving in with them. Jonathan Blackthorn. Jace quite liked the ring of it. He hadn't yet entirely gotten used to Jonathan Herondale himself though, it sounded strange. Jace and Jon were both better.
"You like the tall one though", offered Celestina after a stretch of silence. "He is why you came."
"Alec. Why do you refuse to learn names, Tina", huffed Jace with an eye-roll.
"The tall one and the girl one. That suffices", huffed Celestina, puffing up her golden-white chest. "Jon and Grandmother are the ones that matter, Jace. The tall one and the girl one are still new."
"...You call Mark 'Blackthorn 2' and Helen 'Blackthorn 1'", countered Jace dryly. "They're not new."
"There is too many Blackthorns, you can not expect me to remember all of them. How many are there? Ten? Twenty? Jon is the Blackthorn that matters", dismissed Celestina, wiggling her beak.
Celestina had always made her priorities quite clear. There was Jace and there was Jon, everyone else was just background noise. At least the Blackthorn siblings had gained themselves their last-names. Imogen had, over the years, earned her title as Grandmother.
"I like the tall one", offered Jace softly. "He's... kind to me."
He was still not entirely used to kindness. Imogen offered him kindness. Jon... he was still learning kindness, he showed it, but in a more stoic, annoyed manner. He would hug Jace when Jace was upset but look slightly irritated by it. He would play around with the younger Blackthorns and sometimes, he'd forget to be stoic, sometimes he'd laugh freely and have fun. It was a process, that's what Jace's therapist said. Both of them had been abused for ten years of their lives. Not just that. They had been isolated from anyone and separated from their daemons. That neither had gone completely insane still surprised many. It was because Jace and Jon were stronger than that. But yes, learning to be social, learning to be children, learning to heal – it was all a process, one that was still ongoing. Thankfully, no one punished them for taking their time, or for failing at it. Set-backs were normal, was what the adults would say whenever one of them had a set-back (mostly, it was Jon. He was really battling with the anger-issues).
"Mh, yes", mused Celestina, tilting her head in that cute owlish way. "If he continues being kind to you, I may upgrade him from tall one. He is still too new though. No name for the tall one."
Jace huffed to himself, smiling a little bit. Celestina was very protective of him, just like Desdemona. Though both daemons also hovered around Jon, were as protective of him. The two of them, they were a package deal. Everyone knew that. Everyone knew wherever Jace was going to go, Jon would go, whatever Institute he'd pick. Jace hadn't been this sure about it, he really had thought Jon would prefer to go with his siblings. They were a package deal though.
/break\
Celestina didn't dislike Alexander Lightwood. The boy was honest and hard-working and he clearly cared a lot about Jace. However, Jon didn't seem to like him and as long as Jon refused to like him, Celestina felt wary too. No one – no one – knew Jace better than Tina, Desi and Jon. The three of them only had Jace's best interests in mind. Jace was naive sometimes – she didn't mean that in an insulting manner, she loved her human so very dearly. But he grew attached fast, he opened up fast. Jon was more cautious than him. Jace... Jace longed to be loved so very, very much.
"Why do you like Jon so much that you let him touch you, but don't even say Alec's name?"
Tina sighed as she turned toward Alexander's daemon. Minerva, a tall snow-owl. Taller than Tina, because the barn-owl was smaller in size, but Celestina still held more authority. Minerva wasn't assertive, or authoritative. She was shy, much like her human. The two of them sat in the tall beams above the training area, where their humans were in the middle of sparring. Celestina had to admit that Jace and Alexander had a very good rhythm with each other, they fought fell, Jace knew he could trust Alexander in a fight. In a fight, but what about everything else...?
"Jace has suffered a lot", whispered Celestina. "For ten years, I was separated from him. Imagine, if you had spent this much time away from your human. I was kept locked away into a small cage, close enough to not cause serious damage to Jace, but never even letting him... know... that I existed, that daemons existed. Ten years, Minerva. For ten years, I had to listen to my human cry himself to sleep through a wall, I had to listen to the angry shouting of the man who hurt him. Ten years, I was locked away, unable to help. I will never let anyone hurt Jace again."
"I... I understand that", replied Minerva in a tentative voice. "But Alec would never-"
"You're his daemon, of course you'll say that", countered Celestina dryly. "I'm sorry. But I have to make sure for myself that the people around Jace will be safe and will not hurt him."
Both their attention was drawn as Jace yelped. Celestina tensed immediately, ready to leap down and defend, help, whatever. But then laughter followed as Jace and Alec had ended up on the ground in a tangle of limbs. Laughter. Her boy was happy. Truly happy.
For a long time, Jace had lived in fear that his father would find him again. He was struggling with the adjustment into the Shadowhunters society, because everything was so different and there were so many people, something Jace wasn't used to at all. So much pressure that he couldn't deal with. And even then, he only had the woman who had taken him in – Grandmother Imogen, whom Celestina acknowledged because she genuinely cared about Jace, cared fiercely about him because he was her only one, the woman had lost everyone else, her husband, her son, her daughter-in-law, she had spent ten years thinking she had lost her grandson too, but here he was, alive. Imogen and Jon remained Jace's only humans and Celestina was fine with that.
But now. Now, Jace's world was growing. He was attending school, he was making friends – Alexander Lightwood, in particular, the two spent so much time together, Jace trained with him, laughed with him, opened up to him. And Celestina knew, from hereon out, Jace's world was only going to keep growing. After school, the Shadowhunters were supposed to pick an Institute, where they would work with other Shadowhunters closely in teams, would have to rely on others to protect him while he risked his life out there. At one point, Jace may fall in love even. Start a family of his own. There would be more and more people in his family.
"You could... you could talk to Izzy about the feathers?", offered Alec softly.
He was only pointing vaguely, not actually touching them. Jace wore three falcon feathers on a leather-string, he had simply tied them up there. Over the years, he had gotten them from Desi. Celestina smiled pleased at the thought of the other daemon, who was just as protective of Jace as Tina herself was. There was no need for Jace to carry around pieces of Celestina, because he had his daemon. For Desi, it was the fact that she couldn't always be with Jace because she had her own human. So she had gifted him feathers, a sign that he was part of hers too.
"Why would I talk to Izzy about them?", asked Jace, grasping them.
"She's a great smith. It's a hobby. She makes jewelry herself. Maybe she could make something, that holds them? Like, an amulet or something?", explained Alec.
"Oh. Oh, that's a great idea", whispered Jace surprised, grinning. "Thanks, Alec. You're awesome."
/break\
"So, why aren't you and Jace becoming parabatai? You're so close", asked Isabelle.
Jon had a best friend. It was a peculiar concept that he was still struggling with, but the Lightwoods were important to Jace, Jace had befriended Alexander Lightwood in particular. And Jon and Izzy had been the ones to kind of... tag along. Especially after they had come to live at the New York Institute, the spending of shared time had increased. Jon and Izzy had grown closer. They became friends – best friends. The concept of liking other humans still bewildered Jon a lot. But here he was, liking his parents, his siblings, his Jace, now also his best friend Isabelle.
"I will never make myself this weak and dependent", declared Jon sternly.
"But like, you know you're already su—uper weak for Jace and totally dependent on him?"
The beautiful king cobra that was Isabelle's daemon hissed in amusement at that. His name was Nagendra, he was large and quite beautiful. While Jon had never touched him before – a lesson him and Jace had to learn to fit into their society; one usually did not touch another person's daemon – at least Nagendra seemed fond of Jon. Isabelle grinned at Nagendra, caressing his head.
"There's different bonds, Izzy-Belly", hissed Nagendra, slithering onto Isabelle's lap.
"How so?", asked Isabelle curiously and even Jon found himself leaning in.
He was sitting close to her, the both of them in Jon's bedroom, sitting on his bed. Desdemona was in her nest above the bed, a nest she had made of, among other material, owl-feathers. Feathers from Celestina, not just random owl-feathers, no, feathers from another daemon. Jon didn't know what it meant, but he could guess that it was a big deal.
"Parabatai are brothers-in-arms who fight as one. The humans choose this bond", offered Nagendra bemused. "There is another concept, old as daemons themselves. They're called Symbolo."
"I've never heard that term before", noted Jon, hating not knowing.
"Parabatai are chosen by the humans. Symbolo are chosen by the daemons", explained Nagendra. "Soulmates, if you will, chosen by your very soul. The person most fit to be with you, the person your soul responds to. Desdemona and Celestina made their choices."
Jon's frown deepened while Isabelle made the most delighted noise. "Romantic soulmates are real! I have read every mundie novel about them! Oh, this is amazing."
That was not the word Jon would have used. He was Jace's soulmate? Jace was his soulmate? But soulmates were supposed to complete each other, he knew that. How could he possibly complete Jace? Jace was already perfect the way he was. He grew more beautiful every day, became a better strategist and fighter and human. He had mastered the art of socializing. He was everybody's darling, half the girls had a crush on him and so did some of the boys.
/break\
The Inquisitor visiting an Institute was generally seen as something to make people cautious. Not a good thing, because clearly they had screwed up in some manner to make her come all the way. Not this time. Inquisitor Herondale came to New York, not for an inspection, but because her grandson was having his parabatai ceremony. She smiled so proudly as she hugged Jace tightly.
"I'm so glad you found someone to match you like this", stated Imogen. "A Herondale and his parabatai. You, you will come for dinner some time."
She pulled Alec into a hug too. The archer was awkward about it, but he was also relieved that the Inquisitor didn't try to put him on the stand and see if he was even worthy of her grandson. Jace was bounding on the balls of his feet, grinning to himself as he watched Celestina with Imogen's and Alec's daemons. Alec's was a snow-owl named Minerva, she was huge and beautiful and she loved to be around Celestina. Right now, she was kind of hiding behind Celestina, intimidated by Imogen's demon. Cornelius was strict and serious, like Imogen, but he was also very gentle and caring, particularly with Celestina and Desdemona. Still, he could be intimidating.
"Where are Jon and Desi?", asked Imogen as she looked around.
"I... don't know. I've been so busy with preparations for the parabatai-ceremony, I haven't had a chance to look for him", admitted Jace with a frown. "He's been weird lately."
"Jon's always weird. It's his thing", supplied Celestina. "Alec can stay with Grandmother and show her around, while we go look for Jon. Alec, be useful and show Grandmother around."
"But Tina-", argued Minerva, a little distressed as she looked at Cornelius and Imogen.
"Minerva, take Alec and show Grandmother around", requested Celestina once more.
The way Alec perked up made Jace smile. It had taken Celestina a while and the confirmation that Jace had chosen Alec to be his parabatai and only then had she started to acknowledge him and use his name. The first time it had happened, Alec hadn't stopped smiling all day. Imogen was smiling too, she knew how peculiar Celestina could be. Minerva made a small, distressed sound, but nodded in the end, motioning for Cornelius to follow her after exchanging a last look with Alec.
"I can show you the training facilities, Madam Inquisitor", offered Alec.
"Please, call me Imogen. You'll be part of the family from today on", chuckled Imogen. "And you two, bring Jon and Desi along with you and tell them I am very disappointed they didn't greet me."
Jace smiled and nodded before running off to find Jon. It was strange, over the years since they had run away together, Jace had acquired other people he cared about – and so had Jon; he had all of the Blackthorns, which was such a huge family, then Jon had also befriended Izzy. Jon also was the object of desire for many teens, because he had that edgy mysterious vibe, which was adorable because Jace was about 98% sure that Jon wasn't even aware of it. Which probably made up part of the appeal. Jace had to guess, because for him, the appeal in Jon was his protectiveness, his strength, his motivation. Jon was amazing and handsome too, but... to Jace, he wasn't edgy or mysterious, because Jace understood how Jon worked and why he acted that way.
The two of them would forever share a connection that no one else could ever compare to. Because no one else knew what it was like to be abused by Michael Wayland for a decade. They didn't understand it yet – they reasoned that Michael must have been driven crazy when his own son, the actual Jonathan Wayland, had died, so he stole the children. They didn't know how exactly Jace's mother truly died then; perhaps she had been murdered to get to him. And they assumed he took Valentine's son out of loyalty to the Circle and to Valentine Morgenstern. Which made as much sense to Jace as anything else, really. He now knew of the history of the Circle and the role his parents and his abuser had played in it all, but it was still hard to fully wrap his head around it.
"Jon!", exclaimed Jace as him and Celestina finally found the other boy.
"Mh? Shouldn't you be with your... parabatai?", asked Jon, disdain in his voice.
Jon didn't like Alec and he didn't like the entire concept of parabatai for some reason that Jace didn't really understand. He wished the two most important people in his life would just get along...
"I should. So, how dare you keep me from him", hummed Jace amused. "Grandma arrived and she sends me to express her deepest disappointment that you and Desi didn't come greet her."
"Imogen already arrived?", asked Jon and got up slowly.
Jace hummed amused, watching Jon as the two blondes made their way back. "So... why are you avoiding me? I mean... Why don't you like Alec? Because he's... he's been the first person outside our families to accept me. I like him a lot, he's important to me. But... so are you. I can't... I don't know if I can go through with the parabatai ceremony if you genuinely don't like Alec."
He hadn't wanted to say that aloud, because it sounded awful, because it sounded like he was taking Jon's side over Alec's and he didn't want to, he wanted both of them in his life.
"I don't want to get in your way", muttered Jon, not looking at Jace.
Jace paused and walked around Jon, grasping him by the arm. "You're not in my way, you are my way. You do know that, right? You and me against the world. What we have been through, what binds us together is... No one will ever be as close to me as you are, Jon."
Jon faltered, while Celestina and Desdemona were circling them above. "I don't want him to take you away from me. What if, after you become parabatai, you'll want to spend all of your time with him? And won't need me in your life anymore? You already spend so much time with him."
"You nearly sound jealous", snorted Jace amused, before he paused at the look on Jon's face. "Wait... you... actually are jealous of Alec? That's stupid. He's not you. I like you both, but... differently. I mean, you aren't jealous of Imogen either, right? Because it's different."
That gave Jon pause as he considered those words. "So you're saying that Alec won't replace me."
"Yes. Obviously. Because I have enough space in my heart for the both of you, but in entirely different ways", sighed Jace softly. "I promise he will never replace you."
"How different?", asked Jon after a moment, confusing Jace. "How... are you feeling differently for me than for him? In the way that... I feel different about you than about... Mark?"
Jon sounded tense, nearly nervous. It was very unlike him and confused Jace a lot. Though so did the phrasing, mostly because no. No, what Jace felt for Jon was most certainly not brotherly.
"I... don't know. I mean, I can't explain it. I just know that you're... the most important person to me, like you're my person", explained Jace with furrowed brows. "Am I explaining this right...?"
"You are", assured Jon with a small, surprisingly warm smile. "You're my person too."
"Good", sighed Jace relieved before lightly punching Jon's arm. "Then stop being a dickhead to Alec and come be there for my parabatai-ceremony."
/break\
"The amulet turned out nice", commented Alec with a soft smile.
Isabelle had created an amulet for Jace, a small golden one with the three falcon feathers attached to the downside of it. It was decorated with delicate vines that grew out of the amulet itself to snake around the feathers' stems and hold them. It was truly beautiful and much better than how Jace had worn them before, just tied together with leather.
"Ye—eah. Thanks for that idea", grinned Jace, nudging Alec.
"I know how important they are to you... parabatai", shrugged Alec.
He liked the sound of that. And the way it made Jace smile too. They shared this connection now. It was theirs, no one could take it away from them again. While Alec may never understand what kind of bond Jace shared with Jon, he now at least had his own bond with Jace.
"Is... Jon being nice to you?", asked Jace reluctantly after a moment.
That took Alec by surprise. He paused, thinking about it. Actually, ever since the parabatai-ceremony, Jon had been much more... civil? They weren't friends, but at least the open hostility had ended. And Celestina was calling Alec by his first name too. Wins all around, really.
"He's... being... nicer", offered Alec after a moment. "I... Why didn't he like me?"
"He was... jealous?", replied Jace, though he looked confused himself.
"J... Jealous?", sputtered Alec panicked, cheeks heating up.
"I don't get it either", Jace sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "But I explained to him that it's different. I mean, he wasn't jealous of Imogen either when she came into our lives. I'm not jealous of his siblings either. It's... different. You can... love different people differently."
It took Alec a moment and he stared very deeply into Jace's eyes. "...And how do you love him?"
Jace's eyes widened and his cheeks turned redder than Alec had ever seen them. Ah. He had suspected something like this. Jace and Jon had been inseparable ever since he had met them, he knew just how important Jon's safety and opinion were to Jace.
"I... I mean...", drawled Jace, voice wavering a little, cheeks darkening.
Something in Alec's heart broke – and not just because he had a crush on Jace himself – but because he recognized that look. The doubt, the worry if what he felt was wrong. Quickly, Alec pulled his parabatai into a tight crush, burying his face in Jace's neck.
"It's okay", whispered Alec. "It's okay, Jace."
"Is... Is it?", asked Jace wondrously, clinging onto Alec. "I don't think Jon would ever feel that way about me. It's so impossible to read him... I... just... I can't tell him..."
Alec couldn't speak to that. He couldn't imagine telling someone he had a crush on either. And he found Jon far more unapproachable than Jace; with Jace, Jon was soft. Stunningly soft, even though Alec wasn't sure Jon was even aware. He was fairly sure Jon felt the same way Jace did, but this wasn't something he could give advise about. All he could do was hold Jace.
/break\
Knowing Alec wasn't a threat did ease Jon's mind and he became more amicable toward Jace's parabatai. Which was a good thing, because it meant spending more time with Jace again. The four of them became a team – Alec, Jace, Jon and Izzy. A good, efficient team. And with every day, Jace seemed to grow more breathtaking – not just in the physical sense. His personality, the way he grew as a fighter and Shadowhunter. His smiles became warmer and more all-consuming by the day.
"You really need to tell him", noted Isabelle softly one night.
Jon rolled his eyes and elbowed his best friend. They were out together, not on patrol, just to have fun. Isabelle had been flirting with a Seelie all night. Alec usually opted out of those, he was even less of a social creature than Jon. Which had gotten them closer over the past years. He was actually friends with Alec now. He didn't even know why he had come – usually, Jon let Izzy and Jace go alone and he stayed back with Alec, usually playing chess. However, they were sixteen now and recently, Jace had started flirting and even kissing people and... Jon was, well, jealous.
"Just. Tell. Him", ordered Isabelle, pushing Jon a little. "You know you're meant to be."
He still doubted it though, even after years. That he could be Jace's other half. When Isabelle got up to go dance with the Seelie she had been flirting with, Jon turned toward Jace. He was wearing a necklace, an amulet with three falcon feathers attached to the little golden amulet. Not any feathers; feathers from Desdemona. No one would ever part with feathers from their daemon (if they had a feathered daemon), but... it seemed so natural for Jace to own them. Jon needed to see a part of Desdemona – of himself – on Jace. Without thinking on it did Jon take Jace's hand, the hand playing with the feathers on the amulet. Jace startled and turned to look at him.
"Dance with me", requested Jon, not knowing what else to say in that moment.
Jace seemed confused about this, but he gladly accepted. They danced, closely. The music changed, got softer. They danced even closer now. Jon got lost in Jace's eyes, those eyes he loved so very dearly. He leaned in, hypnotized. Closer and closer. One arm around Jace's waist, the other hand reaching out for the amulet, feeling Desdemona's essence in the falcon feathers.
"You are part of my soul", whispered Jon, aware that Desdemona and Celestina were circling them.
Always above them, always close. Always close to each other, always close to them. Jace blinked, surprised. Realization set in as Jon leaned in even closer, until Jace could feel his breath against his lips. Jon could feel Jace's heart racing against the palm of his hand as Jon was still tracing the feathers. Slowly, Jace's eyelids fluttered shut as their lips touched.
"Fi—inally!", exclaimed Desdemona, shaking herself and making some loose feathers rain down.
Both humans huffed and ducked, though Jace was smiling to himself as he leaned against Jon. He laid his arms around Jon's neck as Jon laid his around Jace's waist. Whatever the future held for them, they were by each other's side. Jace made Jon stronger. They protected each other, fought for each other. They – well, they completed each other, two sides of the same coin.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: Upping the fantasy on a fantasy franchise. ;D
Also, I AM a sucker for Jace getting a good childhood AND a sucker for Jon getting a chance, because in the "nature vs nurture" department, this franchise is really putting too much blame on nature. But... Jon has angelic and demonic blood, just like any Seelie.
One thing that REALLY bothers me is that no one ever does DNA tests in this franchise. They are sooo scientifically advanced, but when Val claims that Clary and Jace are siblings, everyone accepts it, no one runs a DNA test, when he claims Jace has pure demon blood, no one does a blood test, everyone believes it. So, what if the kids ran away together and this scientifically advanced society would actually use science to see where the kids may come from.