a/n: Obviously, I have never been to the Victorian era, and I haven't really done a ton of research about it, so I apologize for any mistakes.
Thank you for your feedback!
Summary: Tessa and Will visit her old home in New York.
May 3rd, 1880
When Tessa left New York three years ago, she never expected to return like this. Of course, she always knew that she wouldn't stay away forever, that sometime in her future she would return to the city of her birth, even if it were only for a visit.
She had always thought though, that the person that would be accompanying her would be her brother. She had thought they would re-visit all of their old haunts, say hello to friends, and visit Aunt Harriet's grave together. That had been her last comforting thought before she boarded the ship.
Of course when she had departed for London, she had never imagined the trials that she would face there. Her original plans seemed faded now, and she had practically given up ever returning to New York. It didn't matter as much to her anymore, she had Will and that was all that really mattered.
Still, no one could say Will Herondale didn't like to surprise her. So on the morning of her twentieth birthday, she found herself back in New York, thanks to Will's insistence to make this the best birthday of her life, even tricking Charlotte into letting them use the portal to get here instead of traveling by boat.
"So this is where you grew up?" Will asked with a great deal of curiosity, peering up at Tessa's old apartment building. She nodded shyly.
"But someone else must live here now," she said quickly, not sure if she wanted to see the interior. If it appeared unchanged, the same old building, she thought she might break down. Surely something about this place must have changed, like she had changed so drastically.
"Well," Will tapped his chin thoughtfully, his blue eyes flickering to meet her's. "Do you want to check?" he asked her, and she bit her lip.
"It seems silly," she began, "but I'm rather afraid of what I'll find."
"Well the person living in your apartment might have a large collection of ducks," he said thoughtfully.
"Can one truly have a collection of ducks?" Tessa asked despite herself. "Don't ducks usually live in the wild?"
"Some people have been known to domesticate them," Will said wisely, "but of course, those poor unfortunate souls have never been heard from again." Tessa laughed, despite herself.
"Well, now that we've canceled that theory out," she said, taking a deep breath, "and I believe that ducks could be the worst possible scenario, I guess there is nothing left but to go and find out!" Will smiled down at her, and held out his arm. She took it gladly, sending him a tense smile in return.
Before they could step into the building however, a shout erupted from behind them.
"Tessie?! Is that really you?" a loud boisterous voice exclaimed, and Tessa winced inwardly. This was the one person she really hadn't wanted to meet again in New York, so of course he was approaching them now. Nate's former best friend, Daniel Lockster.
"Hello, Mr. Lockster," Tessa said politely, turning around, her arm slipping out of Will's. Nate's best friend was the person who originally got him into the drinking gambling game, and Tessa and her Aunt had never been particularly fond of him. Unfortunately for her, he had always been overly fond of her.
"Oh c'mon Tessie!" he said loudly, and pulled her forward in a rather rough—not to mention improper embrace. "You've known me for years, what's up with familiarities?" He smelled like alcohol. Thank the angel she had gotten stronger over the past three years and was able to pull back from him with sheer force, that and Will's hand on her arm, yanking her out of the man's arms.
"Mr. Lockster," Tessa began, but Daniel cut her off once again.
"Don't be so formal, Ms. Gray," he said, smiling a wide grin. He didn't seem to have noticed Will, who was quite clearly debating whether or not to kill the man in front of them.
"Actually," Tessa said, deliberately stepping on Will's foot as he opened his mouth to talk. "It's Tessa Herondale now. I will ask that you call me Mrs. Herondale, and not to touch me like that again."
Daniel looked flabbergasted. Will took this opportunity to say something very inappropriate to him in Welsh, which Tessa only understood because he had been teaching it to her.
"He's Welsh," Tessa said cheerfully, " and he doesn't know how to speak English." Daniel looked even more shocked, and Tessa smiled. Will looked slightly annoyed, but he couldn't make any snappish toward him, which meant that this could potentially end happily.
Will took her arm again and they marched off, making sure to be well in the apartment building before he talked.
"Why did you say I could only speak Welsh?" he asked her in annoyance, "I had some very choice words for him in English."
"That's exactly why I said it," she said smiling, "I didn't want him to punch you."
"I could take him," Will scoffed.
"Oh I know," she said, smiling, "But I don't think the American government would react so kindly to you giving one of their citizens major injuries." Before Will could respond, she looked around the small lobby of their apartment building. It looked the exact same, she realized with a shaky feeling in her chest. There wasn't even any new unusual holes or cracks, it was just the same. It was like she would see Aunt Harriet walking down the stairs any moment now, ready to take Tessa to the book store.
She pulled free from Will again and started towards the staircase, suddenly needing to see the place she had once lived. She could hear his footsteps on the steps behind her, but she didn't give any word or indication that he should say anything. She realized how fast she was moving, her leg muscles much stronger after three years of training.
They had lived at the top floor, a small dingy apartment and when she reached the door she gasped. The peeling red paint was exactly the same, as was the name's printed on the sign beside the door.
She shoved open the door, her new strength making the lock push free easily. She heard Will's sharp intake of breath and knew that this was probably illegal, but she had to see.
"Why haven't they moved this all out?" Tessa asked quietly, because her apartment was exactly the same. Her small bed in the corner by the window, her old books stacked on top of them. The small kitchen table, Aunt Harriet's sewing still draped over the back of the chair. "I swear, I packed this all up." Will crossed over to the table and picked up a note that she hadn't noticed at first, his blue eye's scanning quickly over the paper.
"It seems this was going to be Mortmain's engagement present to you," he said in a disgusted tone, flinging the letter back onto the table. "So now we know where your missing belongings went." Tessa took a shaky breath, and crossed over to her small bed, picking up the small blanket that lay on top of it, and held it to her face, inhaling the scent.
She didn't know how Mortmain had persevered the smell, but it held the same fragrance her Aunt had always used to smell like. That smell had once brought her memories of home, of Nate dancing her around the kitchen, of her childhood. Now it just smelled of forgotten memories.
"This is rather creepy," Will declared, "but luckily there is no food on the premises."
"Well that's good," Tessa said, trying to sound happier then she felt.
"Do you want to take any of this stuff back with you?" Will inquired, opening a wardrobe, and looking inside.
"Maybe the quilt," Tessa said softly, it's fabric still wrapped in her arms. Will turned back to look at her once he heard her quiet voice, and in a moment he had crossed the room. He wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I wish we could move out here—you could be in your home, but I have to run the institute—"
"This isn't my home Will," she whispered against the crook of his neck. He pulled back slightly so he could look down at her, his features pulled into a confused expression. "Not anymore anyways," she let the quilt fall to the floor, sending up puffs of dust. "You're my home Will," she said, smiling, "You're all I need." He sucked in a deep breath, and then leaned down and kissed her.
This home, this home right in front of her, was the only home she would ever need.