FIRST THINGS FIRST REMEMBER THE ONESHOT COMPETITION IS COMING TO A CLOSE! Second, as I said, I was at the SPN convention, and I got a big surprise. I GOT A PHOTO WITH JENSEN AND MISHA, AND ANOTHER ON WITH RICHARD SPEIGHT JR (AKA CAS AND DEAN, AND GABRIEL) THEY HUGGED ME. AND TALKED TO ME. HOLY CRAP IM DEAD. Last thing, I expect a LOT of reviews on this chapter. Read ahead my faithfuls.
I RECOMEND LISTENING TO CHASING CARS BY SNOW PATROL ON A LOOP
"Where are we going?" I asked Jace, who was clearly not driving to the airport.
"Our date isn't over yet." He supplied mysteriously, but I glanced outside, recognizing the way as we passed Taki's.
"Oh." I laughed as we shared a smile. A throat clearing sounded from the back.
"Uh… Would you guys mind telling me what's going on?" Chris inquired awkwardly.
"Let's start over," I turned to face him, "my name is Clary Fray. I'm this idiot's," I pointed to Jace, "best friend. Have been since birth… Sadly."
"Hey!" The indignant shout rose from beside me, accompanied by a soft shove. I stuck my tongue out at him before turning back to Chris.
"I originally came onto the show as an inside spy for Jace." "And no romantic intentions." I added.
"Mhm suuuuure." I really wish Jace would shut up.
"At least I didn't know I had 'romantic interest." I relented a tiny bit, "And don't forget, it was the same for you, buddy." That shut him up pretty fast.
"Wow." Chris spoke up again, "I really am gonna have to lie my ass off." But he said it jokingly, and that made everything okay. We came to a stop in the alleyway of an old, abandoned building. The words Hotel Dumort hung, unlit, on a sign ahead. Jace slipped through a flap intended to patch up the old, stone wall, and I went in after, Chris following behind.
"Uh… I think this is illegal…" Chris said with a nervous laugh.
"It's okay." I dismissed his worry, "We've come here all our lives." I hoped it reassured him, but Jace and I didn't wait as we walked up the many flights of stairs until we reached the hatch to the roof. I pushed it open, climbing out and waiting for Jace, but he stayed behind.
"I just need to talk to Chris quick."
"Okay…" I narrowed my eyes, but Jace shut the hatch again before I could figure out what he was planning. Resigned, I headed over to the edge of the building and sat down, allowing my legs to hang over the edge. I watched the city below me, all the cars rushing around, the hundreds of thousands of people walking down the streets. Then, I looked up at the expanse of buildings that lay around me, and I remembered why I loved this place.
I always felt so small, but, standing at the top of the building, I felt like the rest of the world was small too, but it all fit together. Almost like minuscule pieces in a part of one giant, chaotic puzzle of the world. I was pulled out of my musings by the creak of rusty hinges. I turned as Jace came to sit beside me, but Chris stayed where he was, face white as a sheet.
"How can you guys do that." His eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head, "Just sit there like you aren't more than a hundred feet above the ground…" He shivered, and I rolled my eyes at his antics.
"We've been coming up here since we were 10." I smirked in a purely Jace fashion, "We've gotten used to it."
"Geez, we've done so many things up here, I can't even count." Jace's eyes glistened with joy, "Remember that night in ninth grade-"
"Oh god." I buried my face in my hands, a flush quickly spreading down my neck, "We don't talk about it. Remember, it never happened." Jace laughed, throwing his arm over my shoulders and pulling me so that my head rested on him.
"Chris deserves to know!" He announced loudly, "Why don't you tell him. You're better at storytelling than I am."
"Hold up." I shot him a bland look, "You want Chris to know the most embarrassing story of my life, and you want me to tell it."
"Yup." He grinned, standing up and brushing off his legs.
"Ugh!" I groaned, "I hate you."
"No you don't." He leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. I glared at him as he moved to stand next to Chris, no doubt to comment as I told the story.
"So," I huffed, "A long time ago… In a galaxy far, far away." Jace shot me a glare, and I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay starting over," I began again, "When we were in ninth grade one night, we decided to come up here…"
—-
9 Years Ago
"Why are girls so complicated." Jace groaned, lying down and looking up the stars.
"Who did you piss off this time?" I sat down behind him, shooting him an accusing glare.
"Well, last week, I kissed Sophie, you remember that, right?" He asked, and I nodded in response, "But today I kissed Jessamine, and Sophie totally flipped on me. I mean it's not like we were going out or anything, but Sophie got James to try and beat me up-"
"What the hell?!" I interjected, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What-"
"Calm down," he shushed me, "the tables turned on him. I gave him a shiner, but there wasn't any real damage."
"Jace!" I sighed, nudging him with my foot, "One, when you kiss a girl, she might have expectations for after that kiss. Dating for example. And two, fighting with James?! Why did you… Gah what I'm I gonna do with you?"
"Hey," he defended, "James was the one who came after me." I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing.
"What would you have done if some guy played me like you played Sophie?" I pointed out.
"Umm…" Jace struggled to find an answer, but eventually gave up, "I hate it when you're right." He grabbed my arm, pulling me down next to him.
"Dating is too complicated." I turned toward him, poking him in the head for no apparent reason. He swatted my hand away.
"We should get married." He shrugged, "I mean, I'm a total catch for you, and I guess you're not that bad."
"Shut up!" I shoved him and he laughed, grabbing my hand.
"Seriously, what would it be like if we got married though?" He asked, and I bit my lip, pondering the question.
"We would date for a few years-" I started, but Jace cut me off.
"What?! A few years?" He exclaimed.
"Yes Jace, moving on," I continued, "We would get married… Somewhere nice."
"How about Maui?" He supplied, "We would have it on the beach. Not a lot of people, only the ones really close to us."
"We'd live here in New York." I picked up the slack, "At first, maybe with the Lightwoods in the Institute, but then we'd get a house of our own."
"It'd have to be walking distance from central park, cause you'd always want to paint there." He smiled, closing his eyes, "And we'd have your gallery right around the corner."
"And it also has to be close to your martial arts studio." I squeezed his hand, "Three years after out wedding, we'll have our first kid."
"A girl," his eyelids lifted, revealing the amber sparks that lay beneath, "Her name will be Seraphina… In honor of your dad." I cleared my throat, not believing the simple words were making me choked up. It's not like we were actually planning our future, so why did that make me feel so warm?
"Then our second kid," I cleared my throat once again, "a boy. His name will be Jensen."
"And then our third kid will be another boy, and his name will be…" Jace trailed off.
"Jared or Misha." I supplied, and Jace snorted.
"Are you just gonna name all our kids after Supernatural characters?" He raised an eyebrow.
"That's exactly right." I scowled, "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Yes," Jace answered instantly, "Look, you know I love that show too, but not enough to name our children after people on it."
"Fine," I relented, "How about Ezra?"
"Another TV show!" He shouted in exasperation, "I'll give you Misha. How about Dean? At least he's in the show, not a real life person."
"Thank you!" I threw my arms around him, and he returned the hug, laughing, "You're the best husband ever. This is why I love you!"
"I'm not done yet," He returned the hug, and I rested my head on his chest, "We're gonna have another girl. This one won't be planned, but we'll be so glad it happened. She'll be a Momma's girl, and her name will be Tessa."
"I love it." I whispered softly, pecking his cheek, "But don't you have to propose to me first?"
He laughed, pushing me off of him, and I stood up. He kneeled down onto one knee, fishing in his pocket and pulling out an arcade ring. It was nothing special, just a cheap red thin band. It looked almost like a really thin cylinder tied into a knot at the top, but it looked tied in a way that it didn't end.
Eternal, like our love would be, I thought sarcastically.
"So uh…" Jace stuttered, trying to find meaningful words, "I like you and your pretty I guess and you aren't horrible, so I wouldn't be sad about being stuck with you forever." I buried my face in my hands, trying to suppress the laughter that wanted to escape.
"Clary will you just say yes already?" He whined, "This is starting to hurt."
"How do you even know I'm gonna say yes? I might not want to marry you."
"Clary!"
"Fine." I sighed dramatically, "I guess you aren't too bad either, and even though that was a crap proposal, I'll marry you." Jace stood, taking my hand back in his own and slipping the band onto my left ring finger. His smile was so dazzling, and mine was spread so wide that my cheeks hurt. For a second, just a fleeting second, I could almost imagine us (older us of course) really in this situation, but for real.
"We should have a song." I blurted, not really intending for the words to leave my mouth, but rolling with it nonetheless, "All couples have a song."
"Uh.." Jace blinked, obviously confused, but then his eyes seemed to light up, "I actually have one that's perfect. I found it last week and I meant to show it to you. It's one of those cheesy love songs you like." He pulled his phone out, scrolling until he found what he was looking for.
"Ah hah!" he exclaimed, "I've got it!" The music started with a soft guitar, and he stared at me, shifting from foot to foot.
"What do we do now?" He scratched the back of his neck as the music sounded in the background. "We dance." I grabbed his hands, swaying awkwardly from side to side. He rolled his eyes.
"If you're my new fiancée, then we are not having our first dance be like… This." He grabbed my arms, stepping closer and wrapping them around his neck. He let his own fall around my waist, and I lied my head down against his collarbone. He pulled me even closer, eliminating whatever space had been left, and then we once again started swaying.
That was when I felt it. At first it was this weird fluttering in my stomach. Then, it slowly grew, and soon, it felt like my entire body was on fire. I gulped, not knowing what to make of it. No, that wasn't it. I knew exactly what it was, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.
"Jace." Apparently, my mind got the shut up message too late.
"Hmm?" He hummed, and I stepped back just enough so that, when I tilted my head back, I could meet his gaze. On of my hands moved up to the nape of his neck, his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. I heard the sharp intake of his breath, but he didn't say anything.
"Are we going to forget tonight ever happened?" I murmured.
"Well, technically it didn't happen yet seeing as this is our future." Jace retorted, but there was a different tone to his voice, one he had never used with me before.
"So we'll forget about all of this tomorrow?" I asked, raising onto my toes.
"Mhm." Was it me, or were his pupils extremely large? I stopped, my lips about four inches from his, and we just stood there, staring into each other's eyes, each of us quickly glancing at the other's lips. Neither of us moving closer. Neither of us moving away. I decided I had done enough, that Jace had gotten the message, but the ball was in his court now. I guess he had the same idea, because he didn't move, almost as if he was waiting for the same thing.
"Jace will you just kiss me already?" I took the initiative, throwing his words back at him, "This is starting to hurt." For a second, neither of us breathed, then, his mouth stretched into the absolute most dazzling smile I'd ever seen. I swear my heart stopped beating for a second.
"Only you, Fray." he started to lean in, but suddenly stopped.
"Wait," He scanned my face, worry evident in his gaze, "Clary, this is your first kiss, you shouldn't waste it on-" I put my finger to his lips, silencing him.
"Jace," I spoke slowly, hoping to get through to him, "Remember? This night hasn't even happened. I'll have my first kiss with someone else, but this doesn't count." We both knew it was a lie, that I would never forget this, that it would undoubtedly be my first kiss, but we both had the same mindset (being the idiots we were).
After tonight, we would lock whatever we felt into a box, and shove it to the farthest corner of our hearts, because we were best friends, nothing more, nothing less. And that's just how it would be. We didn't feel anything for each other, because that would be weird.
"Clary-" He tried to protest, but again, I cut him off.
"Do you want this?" I spoke the words clearly, "Because if you don't, say it. Don't use this to get out of it."
"What do you think?" He asked, as if I was stupid. He delicately tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His hand rested on the side of my face, and his thumb traced my cheekbone.
"I just… I don't want you to regret this." He looked down, and I could almost feel the self loathing coursing off of him in waves, "I don't want you to waste your first kiss on a player like me… On a person like me."
"Jace," he tilted his head back up at the sound of my voice, "There's no one else I would rather be here with, so just shut up and kiss me."
He shot me another one of those dazzling smiles, and I returned it, and our eyes filled with an emotion that our minds couldn't comprehend at that point. My eyelids fluttered shut and he leaned down, eliminating the few inches between us. I'm not gonna lie and say that I was naturally an amazing kisser. I wasn't exactly good, but my body seemed to move on instinct. Jace was so gentle and careful with me, guiding me through patiently until I finally got the hang of it.
And we stayed kissing under the stars.
And Chasing Cars played on a loop.
And in that moment, we were the only two people in the world.
But the kissing ended, and I linked arms with Jace. We started our climb down from the roof, and he have me one last kiss goodbye, and then we went our separate ways, forcing our minds and our hearts to forget the event that never happened.
—-
Present Day
"… But I never took off that ring. I've kept it on a necklace since that night…" I trailed off as I realized Chasing Cars was playing. A soft smile crossed my lips as I stared at the lights of the cars below us.
"Jace," I started to turn to face the two men, "I'm gonna cry if you keep playing that song." The last word died on my lips as I took in the scene in front of me. Jace was down on one knee, holding out a ring that looked like a really thin cylinder with a knot at the top. But this time, instead of cheap plastic, it looked like white gold, and in the middle of the knot sat a glistening diamond.
"So uh… I like you and your pretty I guess and you aren't horrible, so I wouldn't be sad about being stuck with you forever." He repeated his exact words from that night, and my hands went to my mouth.
"Okay, wait, that's not my real proposal." He backtracked, "What I really want to say is that Clary Fray, you are the absolute most beautiful, kind, and amazing woman I have ever had the pleasure to know. You've been there for all my life. Through the ups and the downs, the twists and the turns, you've been there for me. I don't know what my life would be without you, and I don't even want to imagine it, so Clarissa Adele-"
"Wait." I stopped him, voice shaking, "We… we just started dating two days ago." He raised an eyebrow, almost as if he was expecting me to say that.
"Really?" He asked, "Clary, we've been dating half our lives. All those dinners we went to together. Just us. All those nights when we would sneak away from the group and cuddle up on my bed and watch movies. All those kisses during truth or dare. All those times when we would hold hands or just be touching because we couldn't stand not to. How we would both get jealous when the other person was dating someone else. Clary, we have been dating for as long as I remember, and we both knew it. On some level we did, but we just didn't want to admit it."
I knew everything he said was true. It wasn't like I would be marrying a guy after two days of dating. We had been dating for as long as even I could remember, and no one we knew, not even us, would deny it. I knew the moment Jace saw my resolve and realization, because a spark ignited his golden irises.
"Clary will you just say yes already?" He whined with a smirk, "This is starting to hurt."
"How do you even know I'm gonna say yes? I might not want to marry you." I spoke the words, but with my voice crack, it wasn't very convincing. He slipped the ring on my finger as tears cascaded down both of our cheeks.
We both had those unbreakable smiles as he stood up, capturing my lips in a kiss. And then he pulled back long enough for me to rest my head on his collarbone. We danced to the soft music, but I couldn't control the words that tumbled out of my mouth.
"What about the show?" I voiced the question that had been itching at the back of my mind, "And the girls."
"I haven't kissed any other girl but you and Seelie by accident because I thought she was you." He answered, and I knew it was the truth, "I told them all that it was because I was saving it for my wife. I don't care about the other girls, but I do have a binding contract. I mean, I've broken it several times, but they have no idea. I just couldn't wait anymore." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I smiled into his shirt.
"Jace is my fiancee." I tried out the words, "Jace is my soon to be husband."
"Clay is my fiancee," He repeated, "Clary is my soon to be wife." I laughed through my happy tears.
And we kissed again under the stars.
And we danced to Chasing Cars.
And in that moment, I felt infinite.
But this time, we didn't lock our feelings in a tiny little box. This time we cherished them, relished in them. When we finally stopped dancing, I looked towards Chris, who had a soft smile on his face.
"You knew!" I shouted, "He told you before you guys came up here. You knew."
"Well, someone had to record that." He said matter-of-factly. I rushed over and threw my arms around him. "I'm really, really gonna have to lie my ass off when we get back."
"You are." I answered, not wanting to lie, "Thank you. And we'll call the cameras to get footage of us going to dinner."
"Perfect!" he smiled, "And for the record, we spent all day in the cemetery because you wanted a lot of time with your Mom. Got it?"
"Got it." Jace and I answered in unison.
"Now let's go to dinner and celebrate the happy couple." Chris threw his hands up happily.
"Wait." Jace grabbed my arm, "You can't wear that ring yet." I sighted, unclasping the chain from my neck and slipping the real ring on next to it. I was about to reclasp around my neck, but it was taken from my hands.
"Let me." Jace murmured into my ear, and I raised my hair to give him access. I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers brushed against my skin, and I could almost see his smirk.
"I love you." he whispered, "More than you'll ever know."
"I love you most." I replied, pressing one last kiss to his lips before we started our climb back down.
—-
There was nothing remarkable about dinner. It was as normal as we could possibly make it. Then, we drove back to the airport, and boarded the plane. The last thing I remember before falling asleep, lying on the couch and tucked in Jace's arms was something one of the cameramen said.
"You know." he whispered, trying not to wake us, "Those two are gonna get married someday."
BOOM SHAKALAKA! Bet none of you were expecting that! Hey, I wasn't gonna have Jace propose to her the normal, generic show way. Because they aren't normal. I really hope you guys love me for this, and again THE ONE SHOT COMPETITION IS CLOSING SOON. IF I GET TEN I WILL DO A CHAPTER OF YOUR CHOICE IN JACE'S POV. I love you guys, and hope this makes up for the sad chapters. And I expect a lot of reviews ;). Until next time, my faithfuls!
-Shadowhunter5801