Aaaaaaand I'm back!
This chapter's gonna be a tad bit shorter - it's not the shortest chapter, but it's shorter than the previous. BUT TO Shining-Sea! I think that people that aren't into this type of stuff are weird. X3 Seriously...I've been reading and writing (even drawing) stuff like this since I was in 7th grade (12-years-old) and I'm 20, now. . THIS IS NORMALITY! :O
Also, Willfur, Clary's been mentioned. I know that's not the same as having her in this story, but this fic is to center around Jace's relationship with Alec after Clary leaves. That will be further explained in a later chapter, though. But Jexyna, I think what it is is that, as much as we (humans) love the idea of perfection, seeing perfection ruined and tainted is something we love even more, no matter how much people deny it or how sadistic it is. Humans are peculiar creatures. xD
Uchihacest Girl, I lied. There will be another chapter. :P
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except the idea of this fic.
7
Rehabilitation
"We'll have to figure out something. Jace needs to recover – not be hounded by the Clave for answers."
"They're bound to find out, Maryse. You can't just hide him here for a month. And news of Jonathan's return is, inevitably, going to reach their ears."
"I know; but what can we do?"
Alec, who had been standing outside of the door while his mother and Magnus tried to deliberate on what to do with the current situation, shook his head and walked back down the hall with his hands shoved in his pockets. He passed the Study and wound up staring at the staircase that led to the top of the Institute. Deciding not to create noise with the elevator, he stepped up the first stair and began his ascent.
He and Magnus had returned to the Institute, deciding that it would be best for the younger Shadowhunter to rest and mend where he was comfortable. However, trying to move Jace from the cold, concreted room had proven to be no simple task; every time they tried to help him up, their ears were met with shouts of shear agony from the movement it forced on the wings. Many of the wounds would take until later that morning to be completely healed, but the wings seemed to be immune to any and all runes Alec tried. They knew that it would be best for Jace to sleep through the worse part of the pain, but it was obvious he was in too much pain to willingly sleep; so Alec had drawn a rarely-used Mark to force him to rest. When he lifted Jace, the stub-of-a-wing twitched violently and the full wing stretched out, laying itself over Jace like a blanket.
When they came back to the Institute, Isabelle was sitting in a chair against the wall in the foyer; the book she had been reading earlier still in her hands. Before she had looked up from her book, she only asked if Alec had found him. When she looked up, the colour had drained from her face and she dropped the book, coming over and asking what happened. The commotion echoing off the walls was loud enough to wake Maryse, who came down in the elevator, ready to scold them for making a racket. That was until she saw the condition her adoptive son was in and instructed them to take him upstairs where they could begin trying to mend him. For the time, all they could do was apply medicine to the cut wing and wrap it.
He pushed open the door to Jace's room and shut it quietly behind him, releasing a sigh. His eyes landed on Jace, who was sleeping, though not soundly – he kept moaning and his face would continually flood with pain before he would relax. Every few moments, it was repeated. He was lying on his side, the full wing folded behind him, also appearing to rest.
He walked up to the edge of the bed and looked down at his wounded ally. Seeing Jace in such a vulnerable state had his spine chill; the only time he had ever seen him that way was when Jace willingly put himself in those positions with intentions of getting himself out, but this….
Sensing a close presence, the wing shifted to cover Jace, shielding him from Alec's view. Though he was unsure why, seeing that reaction sent a sharp jolt to his chest. He began stroking the wing, feeling the softness of the feathers beneath his fingers. Realizing that Alec was not a threat, the wing stretched, practically pushing itself against Alec's hand, as though it were a cat begging for attention. After he ran his hand through it a few more times, it returned to its resting place behind Jace's back.
Slowly, he let his hand lie against Jace's face before moving to run gently through his hair. The dried bits of blood and matted dirt had been washed away earlier when he was being tended to, putting the light, gold shine back into his hair. Dawn light was just starting to flood in through the window, dousing both of them in the golden-orange glow, as though it was washing away the contents of earlier happenings and purifying the air. It cast shadows along the sharp features in Jace's face, showing how undernourished he truly was; but when the sunlight touched the wing, it seemed to almost burst in silvery-white light. It was in that moment that Alec saw what was truly in front of him: Not only his comrade – his ally, but an angel; a true angel. His mind was too wrapped up in keeping the other safe and stopping his pain, that he had not realized that was what Jonathan had done: He had somehow found a way to harness the Angel's blood that coursed through Jace's veins and unleash his true potential – to create the essence of purity, all so he could destroy it and have Jace suffer with the consequence.
"Figured you'd be up here." Alec turned to see Isabelle standing in the doorway to the room, her hand still on the handle. He did not even hear the door open. "Alec—" she started, her eyes shimmering. He brought up his hand, wiping his face from tears that he had not even been aware of. "Look, he's asleep and resting right now; not much you can do. So why don't you go ahead and go to bed?" The question ended in more of a statement. He nodded, but, before he left, he looked back to Jace. "He'll be fine, now, Alec."
"I hope so, Iz…I really do."
o-o-o-o-o-o
For the most part, the rest of the morning was met in silence, with the exception of the occasional moan from Jace's room. It was as though everyone seemed to tiptoe around the subject of what happened, but they all knew it was inevitably going to come up. Magnus had left the Institute around eleven, saying that he had to pick up something; whatever it was, he did not relay it to anyone. Alec spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon in a chair next to Jace's bed; the only sleep he managed to get was when he had fallen asleep leaning on the edge of the bed as though he were a high school student who fell asleep on their desk.
It was mid-afternoon when Jace finally stirred. Once he was awake, his mutilated wing was tended to again; fresh aloe and bandages were applies and Jace could not help but cringe when the aloe caused a sting to the sensitive bone. Even Maryse kept finding herself staring, mesmerized at the wings – or wing and a half, as it were. It was difficult to look away; they had never witnessed anything like it.
A human-angel.
Not a typical sight.
Jace had not said a word since he had woken up, and, for the most part, he just stayed in his room, as though he was shying away from the world. By the time dinner came around, Jace continued to hold up in his room, ignoring the knocks from both Isabelle and Alec telling him that he needed to eat. It had seemed they gave up when he did not respond multiple times. An hour later, Alec had returned and rapped on the door; when he opened the door, pushing his way into the room, Jace was sitting on the windowsill with the window completely pushed open, flooding the room with the cool night air. The lights in the room were off, leaving only the outside to fill the room with white light. The sounds of the city below could be heard. The waning quarter moon was seen hanging low in the sky, showing that the time was still early in the night. Alec could not help but watch the younger male: With one leg bent and set on the windowsill and the other hanging outside of the window, with his right, full wing facing his direction, curled behind his back, blocking the view of the other, Alec stood in awe. It was a scene from a painting: A perfect angel gazing into the star-filled sky, as though wishing it could return to the skies it fell from.
He shook his head, pushing the door the rest of the way open and stepping into the room.
"Jace, I brought you something to eat." He set it on the table next to the bed and looked back to Jace, who was now staring down at his lap. Alec released a sigh. "I don't care if you only take a little, but please eat something. You can't do this to yourself." Still, he failed to get a reply. He turned to leave, his hand holding the side of the door. He looked over his shoulder; Jace did not move. "We're here for you…. I'm here for you, Jace. Don't forget that, okay?"
Still nothing.
Alec released another breath and turned away, slowly shutting the door behind him. Just as the door was about to latch shut, he caught Jace's voice.
"I don't."
It was so quiet and fluttered that Alec wondered if Jace had spoken at all. But when he opened the door back, he was met with Jace's eyes looking at him; his eyebrows were furrowed up, creating creases in his forehead. Even in the dark, Alec could still see the shimmer in the other's eyes.
"I don't want to forget."
For the next moment, they just stared at each other, unmoving…unwavering. A small breeze blew through the room, ruffling some papers on the bedside table and picking up their hair; even Jace's feathers shifted with the Night Wind. Alec's heart pounded in his chest: He still felt a deep unease seeing Jace so vulnerable. It was like watching an illogical logic; seeing a bird swim or a fish take to the skies.
"I want to know why."
Alec lightly shut the door, leaving it to be only him and Jace. "Why?"
Then Jace asked, barely in a whisper, "Why do you care?"
Alec felt himself tense. His shoulders fell and he just stared at Jace, as though he thought he heard him wrong. The look behind Jace's eyes gave it away and the pain in Alec's chest returned.
"Jace…."
"Why couldn't you just leave me there, Alec?" All Alec was able to do was get the other's name out one more time before Jace got down from the windowsill and stood up, almost appearing to have an aura in the glow of the moon and stars. "All I ever seem to do is hurt people I care about. Even Clary couldn't stand me! Look at me, Alec!" he said, the ferocity behind his voice blatant. "I can't even fend for myself? What the hell kind of Nephilim am I? In case you haven't noticed, I have wings – or had wings. Can't even protect that! Why do you care about someone so bloody pathetic?"
Alec could not respond. He only stood staring, his mouth slightly agape as though he could not believe anything he had just heard. This was not Jace – this was a shell of the young man he had come to know.
A broken shadow.
Unconsciously, he took a step forward. He must have stepped closer than he though, because, the next thing he knew, he stood directly in front of Jace. Jace had put one foot behind him, as though he was preparing to step backwards and jump out of the window. He lifted his hands up and set them on Jace's shoulders, peering into his eyes. Jace's eyes shimmered, and Alec questioned whether or not Jace even knew why he had the reaction he did. After gauging him, he wrapped his arms around Jace's shoulders and pulling him into an embrace. He felt Jace's body tense; even the full wing tensed, pulling itself closer to the fair-haired Shadowhunter.
"You're beautiful, Jace," he said in a whisper in Jace's ear. He could sense the other's reaction; Jace's eyes widening at his words. "I don't care what you think you are or what you think you're not. You're not pathetic; and I don't care if you can't fend for yourself one hundred percent of the time: No one can. So for that point zero, zero one percent you can't handle yourself, I can."
There was a moment's pause, but Jace seemed to relax slightly and he brought up his arms, returning the embrace. He shut his eyes, his senses being introduced to the familiar scent of his best friend. That was the scent he was used to. He did not care that it was an abnormal behaviour for the two of them; he allowed his senses to be overwhelmed. He pressed against Alec, taking in the feel of his arms around him, his scent that he had become so accustomed to without ever realizing, the way his heart could be felt pounding against his chest and the sound of his heartbeat and Alec's even breathing.
In that moment, he felt…safe.
Whether it was that he felt safe or that his mind and body welcomed the comfort, he could not tell.
"And plus," Alec started, "if anyone kills you for being an idiot, I claim rights on that one."
Jace laughed somewhat awkwardly.
"Your sense of humour sucks, Alec." Alec released a silent chuckle, vibrating his chest and Jace lightly tightened his hold. "I mean…it really really sucks."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Jace's eyes trailed the area around the room, not focusing on any one thing in particular, absorbing the information. Alec stood, watching him, and Isabelle raised an eyebrow as she stared at Magnus. The dust-covered book was in his hand at his side and he tapped it lightly on his thigh, waiting for a response. Jace's eyes finally found their way back to him and he met the warlock's eyes, face still uncertain.
"There's no way to do both?" he asked, voice tracing with hints of annoyance.
Magnus shrugged and put his hand on his hipbone, holding up the closed book he had returned to the Institute with. After he disappeared for the remainder of the day, he returned when the moon was near the middle of the sky, signaling how close it was to midnight.
"It's possible, but I don't think your body would be able to handle the trauma – no offense." Now Isabelle's and Alec's gazes were also upon him. Magnus released an aggravated sigh, obviously wanting either a yes or no. "To do both, it would have to be done back-to-back, and it's no small feat." Jace and Isabelle exchanged looks of sarcastic interest. "The initial phase would be hell alone; and with the recovery period…you'd be out of commission for at least a month. Runes wouldn't be able to help you in this scenario."
Jace's eyes darted away, confliction behind them.
"Why wouldn't Runes help?" Isabelle asked, officially entering the conversation. Her face was flooded with concern; concern for her adoptive brother's safety and well-being.
Magnus shook his head, bringing the book back down. "Let's just say that words from certain books aren't meant to help the Nephilim." His attention shifted to Jace, whose eyes had gone dark, thinking. "If you choose to go through this, Jace"—Jace looked at him, hearing his name and being pulled from his thoughts—"you'll be immune to any and all Runes until it fades. If you choose to do both, it'd be a month at the minimum where you'd be as vulnerable as any mundane. Basically, you're a typical human until the recovery's complete. And that's if you can manage to withstand the processes."
Isabelle scoffed and tossed her hair behind her. "Seems like a rather high stake, if you ask me."
"There's a reason for that."
Silence filled the air, leaving a feeling of awkwardness between them.
After Magnus explained what could be done and how it had to be done, Jace was hesitant on whether or not it was worth it. The pain when the wings were extracted was the worse pain he had ever felt; at least that was what he thought until Jonathan cut the left wing off as though it was a mere twig. To have it restored would be the feeling of the extraction and cut combined into one; not something the sensitivity of the wing could handle – at least he did not think so. But the restoration would be a scrape compared the latter portion.
The latter portion that revolved around the wings being shoved back into his body.
The thought of feeling those hands on him again had him shudder. He barely withstood the pressure and pain the first time; it coming around ten-fold?
"I'll do it."
They all turned to look at Jace; his eyes glowing with regretful determination.
"Jace…."
"I can't just stay like this," he said hastily, cutting Alec off. "And the sooner it's done, the better." He clenched his jaw. "What do I have to do?"
Magnus's cat eyes beamed and he brought the book back up, opening it and turning to the marked page. "We're gonna need a diagram."
WHA! I LIED! There will be another chapter. Maybe two. Not sure if I have Jonathan's uprising as a different story or as a bonus chapter in this one. It's written, for the most part.
ANYWAY! What'cha think? I know, I know. You all wanna shoot me. But think of it this way! If you murder me in my sleep, you'll never know how this ends!
...is that an insentive?