Author's Note: As promised, here is the latest update to enjoy on your Friday afternoon! As I have been warning throughout, this chapter contains physical slash. It is not graphic enough to be considered smut, but there is absolutely no ignoring the slash. I don't know why I feel the need to be so cautionary in these author's notes - perhaps because this fandom seems to be a little less receptive to that sort of thing than many of the other fandoms I have written for. In any case, for those of you who do enjoy a good bit of slash, please let me know what you think!

Also, I suppose this could be considered the "final" chapter, with what comes next functioning as something of an epilogue. I haven't decided yet if I will write a sequel or anything else that includes Nan as an OC (liddlepierat did give me the excellent idea of writing a bit more from Jem's point of view), but I would like to say thank you so much for all of your kind reviews and enthusiasm where this story has been concerned : )

Will did find his own way home, though not before spending some quality time at some of his favorite "nighttime establishments" as Jem had so kindly termed them.

He drank down twice as much liquor as he'd consumed at dinner. He laughed at every ribald joke and joined in every game of chance. He kissed a few girls of questionable modesty and swore filthy oaths up and down the East End. He didn't know why, but it made him feel better to act out in this way. Charlotte had once told him that he behaved poorly when he was looking for attention, particularly from Jem – that Jem always corrected him, or scolded him, or came to his rescue – so even if it were unconscious, Will's bad behavior was almost always an attempt to catch Jem's eye.

Will scoffed into his drink when he remembered this, but couldn't deny that it was probably all true, if only because everything Will did was in some way connected to Jem. His every action, every word, were either a reaction to Jem or the desire to elicit a reaction from Jem…

When he finally returned to the Institute, Will tried to enter as quietly as possible. It was well after midnight. He would have succeeded, too, if Jem hadn't scared him half to death barely two paces inside the door.

"Hello, William," he said from the sitting room, just as Will had been about to take the first step up the stairs. Will turned to look too quickly, missed the step by a full three inches, and smacked his shin so hard against the stair that he toppled over in pain.

"By the Angel!" he swore at Jem from his place on the floor. "Is there a reason you're lurking about in the mid-morning hours like a vampire, James, or was it simply your intention to kill me under cover of darkness?"

Jem hummed, unamused. "I was just thinking," he said quietly.

"Thinking doesn't ordinarily cause so many near-fatal injuries," Will whined.

"No, but gin does," Jem said evenly. "I shall not feel sorry for you, Will. You've brought this on yourself."

Will pouted but picked himself up all the same. He felt his way into the sitting room where he could only just make out Jem's profile in the moonlight. "Might we turn on a light, it's-"

"No," Jem's voice was calm, but Will could hear the gravity beneath it. He took the armchair across from Jem's and asked: "So what is it you're thinking, then, Jem?"

"You're awfully smart, Will, what do you suppose I'm thinking?"

Will flinched at his tone, feeling like a scolded puppy. "…That you'd like to take a swing at me with your cane, dissolve our parabatai bond, and ship me back to Wales?" he asked, only half joking.

"Well you're right on one count, at least … I would like to give you a sound beating, and you'd deserve it, too." Jem paused. "But I would never wish you away, Will, and nothing in the world could ever make me wish to dissolve our bond. Why would you say something so terrible?"

Will shrugged, then realized that Jem could not see him in the darkness. "I don't know," he said, sounding pathetic. "It has just seemed, with Nan around…"

"Ah," Jem interrupted, sounding only mildly amused. "I suppose I owe Jessamine a shilling. Thanks for that, brother."

"How can you joke?" Will demanded, suddenly too flustered to censor himself. "He was meant to be your parabatai before me – he should be your parabatai!" And then: "You two are perfect for one another. Everyone can see it. I – I am so sorry you've been stuck with me, Jem. I'm sorry you had to come here when it's obvious you belong in Shanghai, you belong with- with Nan."

Jem sighed heavily, as if he had been expecting an outpouring of this sort. "Will," he said softly, "are you blind?"

Will was about to reply when he felt Jem take his hand and realized that the other boy was kneeling at his feet. "Nan and I were childhood friends, and he is very dear to me. But he is as surely a part of my past as you are a part of my present… and my future. Nan was meant to be my parabatai, yes, but it was not as simple as you might imagine. We … Nan asked me to be his parabatai when we were ten. We were friends, good friends, but I knew we were not meant to be parabatai. I could never have told Nan this, of course, it would have hurt his feelings. And our parents were very close. The bonding of shadowhunters at the Shanghai Institute is more … more political than it is here in London. Nan's father was in a position of some power, and my parents ran the Institute. It was rather expected that we would become parabatai, whatever our own personal inclinations might have been. I do not doubt that Nan was sincere in his request, but there was far more to it than our personal relationship…"

"I don't understand," Will interrupted, miserably, "Why didn't you want Nan? If you were so close…"

"We were," Jem nodded, "we were very close friends. But parabatai are more than friends, Will, surely you know this. I did not feel any deeper connection with Nan – even as a boy I knew we would not have been compatible. You feel your parabatai, even before you are bonded, do you not agree?"

"I do," Will breathed, waiting for Jem to finish.

"I did not feel that with Nan; I did not feel that for Nan. But my parents and his parents were determined that we be bonded, and I could do little to change their minds. Besides, I did care deeply for Nan – we would not have been utter failures as brothers. I could have done far worse. So we scheduled our ceremony and began training together. But then, of course, well … you know what happened next."

This time it was Will who squeezed Jem's hand. "I'm sorry," he said, and didn't know if he meant sorry for Jem's parents or sorry for the mess he'd made.

"William," Jem said, and the name sounded perfect on his lips. "You have not a reason in the world to be jealous of Nan. I know you cannot see inside my head, inside my heart… But if you could, you would know how very differently I see the two of you. Nan is a dear friend, certainly, and his visit brings back all sorts of happy memories – Shanghai, my parents, my childhood. But you are my brother, William, and I do not take that lightly. When I met you, when we were bonded, I knew what parabatai were meant to feel. I felt for you all the things I had never felt for Nan, I-"

"Please stop," Will whined, "God, Jem, I'm so sorry. I've been a miserable wretch. You're right about everything. You usually are. I'll apologize to Nan first thing in the morning, if you wish it."

Jem chuckled. "Why, Will, you must be truly touched. You never apologize, not to anyone."

"I apologize to you, Jem," Will said, "and to whomever you ask me to. You're my conscience, after all, or so Charlotte is fond of saying…"

Jem shook his head. "You have your own conscience, Will, and a good one, though you seldom choose to listen to it."

Will chuckled. When he became serious again, he said: "I seem to always be a disappointment to you. It is never my intention, but it certainly seems inevitable."

"Oh, Will…" Jem reached a hand up and Will felt it, cool against the side of his face. He was startled at first, but not truly. If he had ever stopped to think on it, he knew Jem loved him this much.

Will took Jem's fingers in his hand and slid off the chair to join him on the floor. "You really ought to be sleeping, you know." A beat and then: "I'm sure Nan will have you up with the sun again tomorrow."

"Ugh," Jem groaned, laughing, "he does like to be up at an absurdly early hour."

Will laughed and Jem laughed and the air in the room felt just a bit lighter.

After a moment, Jem sighed. Will was very conscious of the fact that they were still holding hands. "Will," Jem said, cautious, "I know you've had quite a lot to drink. But I wonder … if I asked you something of an odd question, do you think you could answer it truthfully?"

"Of course," Will said, without thinking.

And Jem said, "Were you only jealous of Nan as someone who might once have been my parabatai before you?"

Will swallowed, suddenly feeling much more sober than he had any right to. "I don't understand the question," he said, knowing it was pathetically evasive.

Jem sighed again, but it sounded sadder this time. "Then that is answer enough."

Will bit his lip, hard. Jem was pulling his fingers away, and Will tried to hold them as long as he could. When he couldn't hold on any longer he said suddenly, breathlessly: "I thought you were lovers."

The last word seemed to ring in the silence of the empty room. Then Will exhaled and said, "Not then, obviously. Not back in Shanghai, you were just kids. But … but you're grown now – and then there was all this talk of writing letters through the years. I – I thought you might have fallen in love with him. I thought that was why he was coming back now. To- to claim you or … or… Oh hell, Jem, I don't know. I just know you never spoke a word of him to me before, and suddenly he shows up looking gorgeous and exotic and hanging on your every word, always at your elbow like some lovelorn girl…"

Jem laughed. "Will, he only speaks Mandarin. He is, quite literally, incapable of speaking with anyone else but me. Of course he sticks close to my side-"

"But you do the same!" Will argued. "You ignored me all through dinner yesterday and practically all day today."

Jem sighed and scooted closer. "Perhaps you're right," he admitted, and Will's heart dropped. "I shouldn't have tried to keep you from him, when you might have been friends."

Will scoffed. "I don't have friends, Jem – whyever would I want Nan for a friend?"

"I wasn't afraid you'd want him for a friend," Jem chuckled, "I was afraid he'd want you."

Will frowned, and Jem took his hand for the second time that evening. "You don't seem to understand the effect you have on others," Jem said, almost darkly, "do you?"

"I do," Will protested, "they generally find me absolutely repugnant."

Jem laughed. "Yes," he agreed, "because you try so very hard to make them. But even through all that, they are irresistibly attracted to you. No, let me finish," Jem said when Will tried to interject. "You're absolutely breathtaking, William, in all that you do. Your beauty draws the eye, just as your arrogance rouses the soul and your wit captures the imagination. Even the broken bits of you are captivating. Do you think I could let anyone near you who might steal you away from me? Nan is, as you said, quite handsome himself. You noticed – and I noticed you noticing." Jem laughed at himself. "It all seems so silly now, doesn't it?"

Will smiled, "Too bad he thinks I'm hideous."

Jem laughed too loud. "That did take me by surprise," he admitted, "though it also set my mind at ease – made me realize how foolishly I'd been acting."

"Foolish or no, you certainly wear your jealousy much more gracefully than I," Will said, mocking. "No matter how you frame it, my behavior has been tenfold as poor as yours."

Jem hummed, not disagreeing. Then he said thoughtfully, "We haven't finished discussing my earlier question, you know."

"We have," Will said, "we each have acted abysmally and have apologized."

"Yes," Jem said, "but is that the end of the discussion?"

Will groaned. "I've had far too much gin to be speaking in riddles, James." But he knew what Jem was about to say, and it made his blood pound faster.

"…Do you love me, Will?"

Will sighed, tried one last time to ward off the subject. "Of course I do, Jem – what an absurd question."

"No, Will. Not as my friend, not as my parabatai. Were you … were you upset to think of Nan as my lover because, well, because you consider us to be lovers already?"

Will could hear his heart beating in his ears. "I…" he stuttered, never able to lie to Jem when Jem looked at him that way. "I … well, I suppose I do."

Then he spoke very quickly, trying desperately to claw his way out of the hole he had dug for himself. "Though, Jem, I know how outrageous that sounds, for me to think something like that. If you ever wished to take a lover, Jem, I would never presume to have any … any claim on you – please do not take today as evidence to the contrary. If you … if you wished to take someone as yours, Jem, how could I ever stand in the way of your happiness? I may be brash, immature, and selfish, but I am not heartless. It might take some time, of course" Will swallowed, "to accept … your- your … lover, but I would, Jem, of course I would. I know you are not exclusively mine; I know we are not … lovers. Obviously. We have never even…" he let his voice drift into the stillness, let the blush color his neck and ears rather than say the words that would made his stomach flip over.

Jem chuckled. "How quickly you try to push me into the arms of another. And you're right. We have … never," he mocked Will, a devilish smile turning up his lips. "Though," he continued, the oddest tone to his voice, "if you would like to try, you would not find me contrary to the idea."

Will sat a moment; let Jem's words sink in. They sank slowly, and Will waited. Had Jem just suggested… was Jem asking… did Jem just say…?

"Yes," Will said, too quickly. "I mean, I would like to… try. Are we trying now? I mean… this isn't a joke?"

Jem laughed, though it sounded suspiciously like a giggle. He pulled himself up to his knees and leaned down until he was an inch from Will's face. The moonlight came in and illuminated a boyish grin. "For someone so smart, you are awfully slow."

Jem was too close; Will's breath was coming faster. He didn't know why Jem was laughing when they ought to have been kissing…

"Jem, please…" Will whispered, and Jem stopped smiling.

"No," he said softly, almost regretfully, "we are not trying now. It is late, you have had far too much to drink, and I would not want to take advantage."

Will pushed himself up to his knees as Jem had, meeting him halfway. "You wouldn't be taking advantage," he said eagerly, "I'm quite-"

Jem put a finger to Will's lips and it sent a shiver up Will's spine. "Do not tempt me, William," he said, his eyes suddenly dark. "In a few hours Nan will be awake and I will have to play the gentleman host."

"But-"

"Will," Jem warned, his voice low. "If you take me to your bed now, I do not believe I will be able to leave."

Will stared at his parabatai as they knelt together on the carpet. They were knee-to-knee, chest-to-chest, a hand's span away from kissing. Jem was speaking, but his words were making Will's ears ring and all Will could do was sit and gape at him like a fish out of water.

"There is, however," Jem continued, his breath warm on Will's face, "one thing I would like to try … now. If you're amenable."

"Yes," Will said again, pathetic again. "Anything you say, Jem; whatever you want."

But it was not Jem who kissed first. He was laughing again, laughing at Will and Will could have punched him for making him wait, for teasing him so. But he didn't punch him; he kissed him instead. He took matters into his own hands and tackled Jem to the floor, sending both boys sprawling. Will landed on top and kissed Jem and kissed him and kissed him. He pinned Jem's hands on either side of his head and held him and kissed him as he'd wanted to kiss him each and every day since the first day they'd met.

Jem broke away first, nearly gasping for air. "Will," he smiled, he laughed, "Will, you have to slow down. My lungs – you forget! I need air, William!" he laughed as Will kept trying to pin him back down. Finally Jem jerked his hips forward, twisted his legs around Will's torso and flipped the other boy beneath him with impressive dexterity. From his new vantage, Jem grinned mischievously. "You must behave," he said, but Will only pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to reach Jem's face once again. "William!" Jem scolded happily. "I'm quite serious. I'll be distracted enough tomorrow without reliving these moments over breakfast…"

The only thing that saved him was his fierce blush. Will saw it and smiled, knowing that Jem was sincere; that he wanted just as much as Will wanted. And that was enough … enough, at least, to make waiting bearable. Will could not resist pushing Jem just that much further, however, and he rolled his hips up into the other boy with a sigh and a grin.

Jem moaned suddenly and exposed the white of his throat. It was enough to make Will rethink the whole waiting idea, and Jem must have seen it in his eyes, because when he looked back down at Will he gasped, said desperately, "I can't, Will, I can't…" and beat a hasty retreat to the sofa in the corner.

Will remained on the floor, watched Jem go, felt the air come and go from his lungs in an attempt to clear his head.

"Will…" Jem said from his safe distance, "I – I do not think I can remain in the same room as you. Not … not right now."

He was breathless, and Will smiled to hear it, feeling quite pleased with himself. He grinned impishly and said, "Then go to bed, James, and I shall see you at breakfast…"