So this is the final chapter...
It was strange how things shifted, after Sebastian and his accomplices were taken care of. It's not like they went back to 'normal' exactly, because normal had changed. Two years ago, normal was Clary teaching through the week days, going home most week nights except for dinner on Tuesdays with Simon and yoga on Wednesdays with Maia. Weekends were sometimes spent quietly by herself, although her time could also be spent with friends and going out for brunch or dinner. Then a year ago, normal was keeping two large parts of her life separate—her work and close friends, and then Jace and his friends.
But Clary like the new normal that settled.
She officially introduced Jace to Simon first, and Jace knew how important Simon was to her, and so he told her that she could fill him in on what had been going. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but he understood her need to talk to her best friend about what had happened to them. She hadn't told Maia and Jordan, even though Jace had said she could tell them as well, because she figured that Maia didn't need that stress on top of the pregnancy. She did introduce them, however, and Maia seemed to approve, which is more than what Clary could say about Simon. He was angry at first—he actually looked like he wanted to punch Jace, which would have been amusing to witness, and would then have been a bit messy to diffuse afterwards. He was still angry now, but he could also see how much Clary loved Jace, and how much she trusted him. She showed him, opening up all the warmth and colour in her mind that she felt when she was close to Jace, and Simon tried to keep his teeth gritted in a stubborn lock, but the amount of love that was pouring out of her softened even Simon's expression.
Going back to university full time without having a body guard there, watching pretty much every move, was a relief as well. Tessa looked a little disappointed when Clary told her that Will wasn't going to be coming back, but Clary gave Tessa his number, and even though Tessa tried not to act completely lovestruck, Clary caught her sending a text only a few minutes later. Clary liked that she could give her full attention back to her students as well, without worrying that she might be attacked, and sometimes she forgot how much she liked teaching. She loved being with her students and feeling the happiness come off them as she taught them something new and complimented them on their work.
Jace went back to his normal job, although he had blatantly told Clary that he didn't want to involve her for some time. She was okay with that. Despite how vehemently she had demanded that she follow through with Sebastian and the problems that occurred after that fateful day that was meant to be a simple meeting with Hodge, she was okay with being left out for now. She still went by his office to see him when he was working late, and she was still in almost constant contact with Isabelle, as well as Magnus, Max and Raphael. She just carefully kept her mind switched off when she was around them, not even wanting to catch a glimpse of what they were working on at the moment.
It was a Sunday morning—nearly a month after the whole mess with Sebastian—when Clary woke up to the sound of butter sizzling in a pan. Her body was aching a little, but in the best possible way. She didn't doubt that there were a few purple marks on her neck and collarbone, and she was going to need to cover them up tomorrow, but they didn't have any plans to leave the apartment today.
Their apartment.
Her own had officially sold last week, and she had moved the rest of her stuff into Jace's—their—apartment. Most of her furniture was sold, but there was still quite a few things that she was taking, and the spare room in the apartment was looking a little messy at the moment, but they were working their way through it. Her and Isabelle had gone out shopping a few days ago for a whole new set of bedroom furniture, mainly just so they had a bigger set of drawers, all on Jace's credit card, of course. Another painting was hanging in the lounge, and Clary had traded out a couple of Jace's plain black cushions for her more colourful ones on the couch. She had put a peace lily in the bathroom, and a few pictures in the bedroom, adding her own personal touch, and she liked the way Jace smiled as he saw her making herself comfortable in his space.
Clary took her time waking up, stretching her arms above her head, pointing her toes, letting out a loud yawn. She rolled her shoulders and then pushed back the blankets. She rolled herself out of bed and looked at the time on her phone, seeing that it was just before eleven. She was surprised by how late it was, they didn't usually sleep in as late. She was completely naked, and Clary smirked as she noticed a couple of bruises on her inner thighs, her mind flashing back to last night. She got a pair of underwear out of the top drawer and then rifled through Jace's drawers as well, finding a loose, grey tee-shirt, and pulled that on as well.
Clary padded out of the room quietly, heading toward the kitchen. There was music playing through the speakers in the lounge, not very loudly, but probably just loud enough that Jace could hear it in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen, giving Jace a nudge in his side with her elbow as she moved to stand beside him. Jace smiled, leaning over to kiss her on the temple.
"Morning, liebling," he murmured.
"Morning," Clary responded softly as she leaned against his side. He was making pancakes, which were a specialty of his. There was fresh fruit cut up on a chopping board nearby, and the oven was turned on the heated setting. When Jace finished up with the pan of pancakes, he flicked a few fingers, and the oven door opened, and the metal shelf was pulled out carefully. There was a plate on the shelf, with a pile of pancakes. "Ooh, they smell so good," Clary sighed as she took in a deep breath. "How long until they're ready?"
"How about you go wait in the dining room until I bring them out?" Jace began as Clary was attempting to reach past him to grab at one of the strawberries and he playfully tapped her hand away. "And that's why I'm asking you to go wait in the dining room, because you get so impatient!" He gave her a slight push and a pointed look and Clary sighed before grabbing for some pineapple and then skipping out of the kitchen with a laugh.
Clary walked over to the dining room, which was open plan with the lounge. The blinds were pulled up so that she had an incredible view of the city and the sun that was rising in the distance. The skies were clear, blue and cloudless, and she was warm where she was sitting. She let her eyes close and her head tilt back as she listened to the music and the sounds of Jace in the kitchen. She heard Jace come out a few minutes later and she let her eyes open slowly, a smile spreading across her face as Jace put a plate down in front of her.
"Don't start without me," Jace told her with a grin before heading back to the kitchen. Clary waited until he was gone, and then plucked one of the blueberries up off the plate and stuck it in her mouth. Jace came back with his own plate and then made a last trip to the kitchen for cups and a jug of orange juice. "You know I don't have to be in the room to know that you ate without me, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he took a seat at the head of the table, beside where Clary was sitting.
"What?" She protested. "It was one blueberry! That's barely starting! Plus how do you even know I started before you come all up in here, accusing me?!" Jace let out a laugh and shook his head as he poured the orange juice.
"I might not be able to read minds," he began with a raise of his eyebrow. "But I can read you." Clary rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop her smile. The pile of pancakes on her plate was covered with passionfruit sauce and strawberries and blueberries and pineapple and there was a dollop of cream on the side. If she had to describe the way that she felt, happy or content didn't do it any justice. At times, she wondered if she was literally glowing from how happy she was, and when she passed by someone in the streets who was feeling a little down, she just wanted to share the happiness that she felt, cover their negative thoughts with her own ones.
And when she was with Jace, it was even better.
She could feel his love in everything he did, even if she wasn't listening to his thoughts at the back of her mind. The way he touched her, the way he looked at her—the way he constantly told her how much he loved her. Every morning before they went their separate ways, and then at least once throughout the day via text and then each night before they went to bed, he made sure to tell her. And when they were together, when they were wrapped up in each others bodies and joined together in the most intimate way, he would let his flood of thoughts push into her mind, spreading how much he loved her, how perfect she was, how happy he was that she was in his life.
"Jace?" Clary said, and then let out a giggle as he looked at her with a mouthful of pancakes and a smear of cream on his lip. She leaned forward and swiped it away with her thumb before resting back in her chair. "Thank you."
"For what?" He frowned.
"I don't know," Clary laughed and shrugged. "Making me so happy." Jace's face softened as he looked over at her, and he reached out and linked his fingers together with hers, giving them a squeeze.
"I'm pretty sure it's me who should be thanking you. For sticking with me through everything," he told her earnestly. "I love you."
"I love you too."
I hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for your support and reviews throughout it :)