Clary could hardly contain her jubilant emotions when she had awoken the next morning after having such a memorable night with Jace. She had gotten up and went about her morning routine before she exited her room and headed into the kitchen, humming along to a song as she did so.
She settled upon making herself a quick protein shake, drinking it on her way towards the training room. She knew that she couldn't miss a training session since her graduation was so close and she couldn't afford to mess up. After she finished her protein shake she hooked up her phone to the speaker, allowing herself to relax to the soothing lilt of the current melody being played whilst she began her stretches.
Not long after she had completed her stretches had her senses picked up on the fact that she was no longer alone in the room. She stayed in her tranquil state as to not show the person that they had already blown their cover, and within a moment the person had made their move as she had anticipated. She dodged to her right upon hearing the slightest noise of their movements coming from the opposite direction since she had been keeping all of her senses on high alert before she spun on her heel to face her opponent and immediately got into a fighting stance.
A mirthful grin settled upon her lips when she saw it was Jace who had tried to sneak up on her. She had been expecting it to have been Jonathan instead. She tsked at him. "Did you really think that you could sneak up on me? I expected more from you." A hint of amusement was laced in her words as she held his golden gaze.
Jace hadn't been shocked that she had been able to dodge his effort to attack her from behind since he had heard the stories of how well she had been trained, but he figured it couldn't hurt to try and see if all the talk of her had been true. He wasn't disappointed at all. An impish smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth in response to her words. He shrugged his shoulder before moving onto the mat to face her whilst getting himself in the same fighting stance. "I think you just got lucky. Now how about we see if all of those rumors about your impeccable fighting abilities are actually true?"
"Bring it on blondie." She mused aloud as she had wanted to provoke him to make the first move.
Jace snorted at her choice of insult. "I've heard that one before. Doesn't faze me." He replied silkily before he lunged towards her.
Clary deflected each of his attempts to land a hit on her, summoning up her extensive training as she tuned everything else out and gave into her natural instincts to help guide her as she had begun to gain the upper-hand. She had managed to land multiple blows onto him, using her both her height and quickness to her advantage.
Jace grunted lowly when one of her hits had been given with such force which he expected he would be having a bruise there soon. As he was keeping on with their sparring he was studying her movements so closely, and when he saw what she was about to do, he managed to maneuver himself to be able to take her down and had her flat against the mat, using his weight to keep her in place whilst a smug grin was plastered onto his face. "One point for—"
Clary didn't get to finish listening to what he had been about to say. Silent rage was filling her entire form when he had managed to tackle her onto the ground. The only person who bested her was Jonathan, but that was expected since he was much stronger and faster than her. Her ego had been effected when now she would have to come to terms with knowing that it was now two people who were able to bring her down. She was not about to go down without a fight, and with that thought she had managed to squirm out of his hold, raising her knee up in a swift movement, making contact with her target before she wrapped her legs around his waist, rolling them over so she was now holding him in place. "I'm sorry what were you about to say?" She said in a slightly winded tone but her words had carried a playful lilt to them.
Jace's eyes narrowed into slits as he tried to seem unaffected by her latest blow she had delivered to him. He wasn't about to voice aloud about how much that had hurt him, but he also couldn't help but notice that a sudden flare of arousal had overcome him with how much she had resembled an avenging angel just a moment ago. His lips curved into an amused smile as he didn't bother to fight against her hold. "I believe I had spoken too soon. It seems that the rumors were true."
Clary smiled wickedly down at him as she loosened her hold on him to run her hands down his chest whilst she held his gaze. "Oh, I don't need to be reminded at how amazing I am… But I have to admit that you are nearly as good as me. I guess that's another bonus to add to the ever growing list of my boyfriend's amazing qualities." She retorted playfully as she wriggled against him to get more comfortable.
Jace nearly groaned when her subtle movement had caused her to brush herself against him. Before he knew what he was doing he had already rolled them over so now he hovered above her. His golden hues skimmed along her now rosy complexion that was slightly covered with a sheen of sweat that now mixed with her sweet scent, and just made her even more desirable. His gaze lingered upon her lips, and just as he was about to kiss her there was a sound of someone clearing their throat from behind them, making them both look towards the doorway where Jonathan was standing with a look of disapproval upon his face.
"Please refrain from defiling my sister right before my very eyes, Wayland." Jonathan crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe, attempting to keep calm when all he wanted to do was grab Jace and throw him across the room after catching him plastered all over his little sister.
Clary rolled her eyes in annoyance as she untangled herself from Jace to stand up, facing Jonathan as she tried to mask her emotions to not let him see how much it bothered her that she hadn't heard his arrival, and the fact that he also had interrupted a moment between herself and Jace. "Oh, calm down, Jonathan. We were only sparring up until you showed up with your grumpy self." Her gaze left his to skim along his current attire, making her tilt her head to the side as a coy smile curved her lips. "Did you just come back from somewhere?"
Jace had gotten up from the floor, keeping his distance from Clary as he watched her interaction with Jonathan, which he found amusing. She was such a little thing, but she could be such a spitfire when she wanted to be one. It was one of the many things he was growing to like about her.
A hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of Jonathan's mouth in response to Clary's words. "You win sister. I will keep what I was doing earlier a secret, and we can pretend that I didn't just walk in on something I rather would not want to happen under this roof. Keep your hands to yourself if you can." His last words came out with a threatening lilt as his gaze flicked towards Jace before he turned to leave the room.
"I can't promise that. Your sister can't keep her hands off of—" He was stopped mid-word when Clary punched his arm, making him chuckle before he reached out to ruffle her hair, which he learned was a bad idea since she shot a deathly glare in his direction.
Clary was holding her breath when she heard what Jace was about to say and before she knew what she was doing she had already punched his arm to silence him, not noticing that Jonathan had chosen to ignore the comment and leave them alone. She was about to tell Jace something when all of the sudden he reached out to ruffle her hair, making her gasp aloud as she shot him a glare. "You did not just do that!" She was trying not to laugh when she noticed that he was mildly worried at what she was about to do. She made sure to not give away anything as she lunged forward to pounce on him.
Jace braced himself for her sudden attack, but what he didn't expect was for her to merely jump onto his back, making him laugh as he held her in place. "Did you think this through or was this always your plan?"
Clary elicited a melodic laugh as she held onto him as tightly as she could. "Oh, I thought it through very well. Now giddy up! I'm in need for some breakfast."
"Alright, don't get your panties in a twist. Now let's go feed my girlfriend before she kills me because she is hangry." Jace said jokingly before he suddenly laughed whilst shaking his head in disbelief when she had smacked his ass and told him to hurry up. He set her down onto the counter as soon as they had gotten into the kitchen, watching as her eyes sparkled with excitement. He glanced around to make sure that Jonathan wasn't around before he leaned in to brush his lips against hers.
Clary returned his gentle kiss, shifting closer to press herself against him, allowing this moment to last just a moment longer then she pulled back to smile in an impeccant manner before she trailed her fingers along his chest. "Aren't you supposed to be making me breakfast?"
Jace refrained from laughing when he heard the playful lilt in her words. He took a step away from her and bowed in front of her. "I shall do whatever my lady asks of me." He retorted in a suave tone, flashing her a wink before he turned his back on her to walk over towards the fridge, opening it to see the contents in it.
Clary elicited a giggle in response to his display, but that wink he gave her nearly had her melting at his feet. She forgot how charming he could be. She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed that he had been speaking to her. "What was the last thing that you said?"
Jace chuckled as he looked over his shoulder to spare her a glance before he turned his attention back to the fridge, seeing that his options were limited, and he didn't want to admit that he couldn't cook much. "I said if you wanted some eggs?"
She tried not to grimace when she heard his offer, and against her better judgement she found herself nodding as if he could see her. "Sure. That sounds good." She hopped down off the counter to walk over to him, trying to find something else to make so she could better stomach the eggs she was going to have to force herself to eat. "You can make the eggs, and I can make us some bacon and see if we have ingredients for pancakes. How does that sound?"
Jace tapped his finger against his chin, pretending to think over her offer whilst he fought back a smile. "I suppose that sounds like a fair deal."
Clary heard the amusement in his tone, making her laugh as she grabbed the bacon out of the fridge before she smacked his rump gently on her way towards the pantry.
They worked perfectly in unison as they each cooked what they had to, making jokes here and there in the midst of their chit chat before they finally sat down at the table to eat.
Clary had just cut up her pancakes and added some syrup to them when she heard someone walk into the kitchen, not bothering to look up as she spoke. "I set your plate in the microwave, Jon."
"How sweet of you." Jonathan retorted as he walked past the table, arching a brow when he noticed that she had one particular item of food on her plate. As if she felt his gaze she peered up at him, giving him the chance to smirk wickedly at her as he mouthed 'good luck', assuming that Jace must have cooked the eggs for her and now since she was so nice she was going to have to eat it. He turned away from her before he could see her response and went about retrieving his plate from the microwave before he walked over towards the table, taking a seat across from his sister.
Jace was too busy eating his food to notice the silent interaction between the two siblings, but he did peer up once when he noticed Clary hadn't eaten anything yet, making him arch a brow. "I was under the impression that you were hungry. Are you feeling okay?"
Clary forced a smile upon her lips, nodding her head once in answer. "I am. I was just waiting for Jon." She lied smoothly before she took a few bites of her pancakes and ate a piece of bacon.
Jonathan was trying his hardest not to laugh, but he also couldn't fight off the urge to tease his sister. "Do you want some ketchup or hot sauce for the eggs? I know how much you love to add something to them before you eat them." His eyes sparkled with amusement as he held her gaze whilst he had begun to eat his food.
Clary kicked her brother from underneath the table, trying not to glare at him as her smile grew. "You're absolutely right. Would you mind passing me the hot sauce please."
Jonathan kept a blank expression even though his leg was stinging from the kick he had just received, but he abided by her request and wordlessly passed the hot sauce towards her then went back to eating as he waited to see if she'd actually go through with it.
Jace was looking back and forth between Clary and Jonathan, noticing that he was clearly missing out on something. He cleared his throat as he watched Clary pouring the liquid onto her plate in an almost hesitant manner. "You could have told me that you didn't like eggs."
Clary almost froze when she heard what Jace said, making her shake her head as she flashed him a genuine grin, wanting nothing more than to make him happy and not hurt his feelings. "I do like them." She set the hot sauce down and before she could stop herself she had started to devour the eggs with such haste to get it over with then grabbed the last piece of bacon off of her plate and immediately ate it to mask the taste. But she didn't stop there. Her mannerisms went out the window when she went on to eat her pancakes in the same manner, not noticing the shocked looks of both men at the table with her until she could practically feel the burn from their gazes. "What? Do I have a hickey or something?" Her words came out muffled since she had a mouthful of food.
Jace shook his head in disbelief as he laughed. "I take it back. I underestimated how hungry you were. Next time I'll make sure to feed you before you end up choking on food with how fast you were attacking that plate." His words came out in a playful way before he finished what was left of his food and polished off his drink. He pushed away from the table, carrying his dishes over to the sink to proceed to wash them. "I'm going to shower and gather my stuff before we head out, Clary." He gave them both a slight wave before he exited the kitchen.
Jonathan recovered from his initial shock in time to bid Jace goodbye before his attention was back on Clary. "You must really care for this one if you actually had the guts to eat what he made you."
Clary made sure that Jace wasn't still within earshot before she turned to face Jonathan, rolling her eyes in an annoyed manner. "Oh, shush. I've witnessed you do far worse things just to please those groupies of yours." She snapped back at him before she gathered up her dishes and went about washing them as well.
"My groupies? I don't recall ever having those." He retorted as he rose up from his chair, trying not to laugh as he went to go stand beside her. He knew what she was referring to, but those girls hadn't meant anything to him. Just merely used to pass time until he finally met the one he was intended to be with. "You still didn't answer my question. Do you really care for him?"
An irritable sigh emitted from her lips as she was drying off her hands. "Yes, I do. And you better not try to sabotage this for me. He's actually a really nice guy, and he understands what I'm going through right now." She looked down at the ground, willing herself not to get teary eyed when the signs of her grieving were starting to rise back up again. She knew it was stupid to be so upset with what happened to her father since he wasn't the kindest man, but he was still her father nonetheless.
Jonathan frowned when he heard her voice break mid-sentence, making him push back the unfamiliar feeling that filled him when she had confirmed his suspicions. He instead focused on gently tilting her face back up to look at him whilst offering her a smile. "I promise that I won't do anything. I guess I should be happy that you have someone to talk to when you can't come talk to me about things. Now let me see that radiant smile of yours." He gently prodded the tip of her nose, trying not to laugh when she scrunched her nose up in an adorable manner.
Clary refrained from laughing as she swatted his hand away, smiling in a jovial manner as she felt relieved to know that he wasn't going to try and keep her from Jace. "Thank you, Jon. That means so much to me. Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite brother? Cause you really are."
Jonathan shook his head whilst chuckling. "I'm your only brother. Of course I'm going to have to be your favorite. You silly girl." He pulled her into a tight hug, trying to bask in her presence before he knew she was going to be away from him. He couldn't wait for her training to be done with so she could come back home to him, and he could finally bring her into the family business. He thought it was time already.
Some time later, Clary and Jace found themselves coming out of a portal just near their current destination. They held hands as Jace led the way towards the institute whilst they both examined their surroundings out of habit since they knew to never let their guards down. They also both knew that they were going to be in some deep trouble as soon as they entered the building, but it was worth it to have spent those two days together.
It wasn't until the doors of the elevator opened that they were immediately confronted with a situation.
"Well look who've decided to finally grace us with their presence." Someone noted in a dry tone.
I know this chapter wasn't much, but I hope you all enjoyed the Clace fluff. I promise things will pick up shortly.
