Jace and Simon were out on a run a week before the big fight, when an older man with graying hair walked into the gym. I saw Max run out from behind him toward me.
"Hi, Red," I smiled and shook my head at his use of Jace's nickname for me.
"Hey, Max," I said. "Jace and Simon should be back any minute." I turned toward the man. "Who's this?"
"This is my dad." The man stepped forward with an extended hand and I took it.
"I'm Hodge," he said finally.
"Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you," I said. "Jace has told me so much about you."
I turned at the sound of the back door opening as Jace and Simon returned from their run. I smiled at him and he came up to me resting his arm naturally around my waist.
"Hey, babe," Jace said as he pressed his lips to my temple. "I see you've met Hodge." I nodded my head in agreement.
"So, you're Clary, I presume," Hodge said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Hodge, this is my girlfriend, Clary." We smiled at each other after being formally introduced. Jace turned to me. "Hodge is going to help me over the next couple of days. I won't be done for a while and it's getting late, so you can go home if you want. I'll be by later."
"I was actually going to go grab us some dinner and bring it back," I said. "Why don't I take Max with me and you guys can start? After we eat, I can take Max home with me so you guys can have the gym to yourselves and not worry about him."
"You don't have to do that, Clary," Hodge said shaking his head.
"Nonsense, I want to." I let go of Jace and turned toward Max, who was shadow boxing in the octagon. "Hey, Max. Do you want to go with me to get dinner and then come hang out at my place while Jace and your dad work?"
Max came barreling toward me and latched onto my waist smiling a toothless smile up at me.
"Okay," Max said.
We left the gym to go pick up the pizza I had ordered. He hopped in the passenger seat of my car as I turned the key and the engine rolled over. Max was nearly bouncing out of his seat as he bobbed to the beat of the music in the car. I couldn't help but smile at this little boy next to me. Jace had told me stories and I had learned just how much Max meant to him. Jace had been the only one home when Max's mother dropped him off for Hodge. Being a seventeen-year-old kid, he had no idea what to do, but when he picked Max up out of the car seat, he knew that he and Hodge would do anything to take care of him. From that point on, Jace had been Max's older brother. He protected him and helped guide him through life. I learned that Jace gave half of his earnings from every fight to Hodge and set up a college fund for Max. They saw each other every day and had a bond that was difficult to explain. What I did know was that Jace loved Max more than anything, especially fighting.
After we picked up the pizza, Max and I headed back to the gym. Jace was in the octagon and Hodge was yelling out commands while Jace punched and kicked the air. Max ran up to the outside of the cage and grabbed onto it, yelling at Jace. He turned and smiled as his eyes met mine. Hodge patted Jace on the back and they walked toward me while I set up a table with pizza, salad and drinks. Jace came up behind me and kissed my temple. It was definitely his favorite place to show me affection, well in public, at least.
"Thanks, babe," he whispered into my hair.
"Enjoy this now, Jace," Hodge said as he loaded his plate with two slices of pizza. "You won't be eating this heavily until after weigh-ins."
"Oh, I totally forgot," I said shaking my head. "You shouldn't be eating pizza right now. What do you weigh right now?"
"Calm down, Red, I'll be fine. I really just have to watch what I eat the last couple of days before weigh-ins."
Jace loaded his plate with as much food as possible, I assume because he wouldn't be eating much for the next few days, and we all gathered on one of the mats to eat.
"Hey, Jace," Max said around a mouthful of pizza.
"Yeah, bud."
"Dad said I could go to the fight this weekend."
"That's cool, but you know if you go to the fight with us, you have to hang out in my prep room with me before, right?"
"Really?" Jace smiled as he nodded and Max attacked him. The food was forgotten as they started grappling on the mats. I had a ridiculous grin on my face and Hodge shook his head as if he was used to this sort of thing. Jace allowed Max to manipulate him like I had seen him do with the kids in his classes and Max sank in a triangle choke on Jace. After a few seconds, I knew Jace wasn't feeling the effects of the choke like he would if he were fighting someone his size, but he tapped out anyway, giving Max the satisfaction of winning.
"Alright, you two," Hodge said. "Max and Clary need to go so we can get out of here at a decent hour."
"Come on, Dad," Max whined.
"Yeah, come on, Dad," Jace repeated with a smile on his face. He winked at me and I shook my head at his antics. "No, you're right. Go home with Clary, bud and I'll see you tomorrow. I bet she'll let you have ice cream."
Max's face lit up when Jace said ice cream and I knew there was no way I could deny him now. Thanks a lot, babe.
Max and Jace got up from the mats and helped clean up the mess from dinner. When the gym looked clean enough, I decided it was time for us to leave. I kissed Jace on the cheek, but he had other ideas. He kissed me full on the lips in front of Max and his pseudo father. I tried to push him away, but I didn't have the strength or, frankly, the will to. After a few more seconds, he pulled away and I could hear Max giggling behind me. Jace looked over my shoulder and winked at him, which made him full out laugh. I smacked him on the chest.
"Go finish training so you can win that fight and come home to me," I said before kissing him one more time.
"I'll see you later tonight," he said as he held me to him and rested his cheek against my hair. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Now, go."
He finally let me go and I turned to see Max waiting for me with a huge smile on his face. We made our way to my apartment and I let Max have free reign over the radio in my car, something I wouldn't even let Jace do. That little boy had won me over just like he did everyone.
Max and I entered my apartment and I immediately covered his eyes with my hand. Isabelle and Simon were on the couch making out like a couple of teenagers with Isabelle straddling Simon.
"Isabelle," I yelled and she scrambled to get off of Simon and straighten her shirt.
"Oh, shit," she mumbled as she put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Clary."
Simon's cheeks reddened as he saw Max standing next to me with my hand over his face. I finally lifted my hand as Max giggled.
"Max, why don't you find a movie to watch with Simon while I go talk to Isabelle for a minute," I suggested and he hopped over to the couch to flop down next to Simon.
I grabbed Isabelle's arm and dragged her to my bedroom shutting the door behind us.
"Clary, I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I had no idea you were bringing Max home and Simon and I got a little carried away. It's just that he's been helping Jace so much lately and I've barely seen him all week."
"Iz, it's fine," I said placing my hands on her shoulders to try and calm her down. "I should have called you and told you I was bringing Max home. Don't worry about it. Let's just watch whatever movie Max picked out and promise me that you two won't make out during the movie."
She laughed and nodded her head as I placed an arm around her shoulder and led her back out to the living room. Max and Simon already had some movie about fighting on and Isabelle and I sat down on the couch. I sat next to Max and he settled back into the couch by my side. Isabelle had her head rested on Simon's shoulder and I could tell she was going to fall asleep soon. I closed my eyes to rest them as the exhaustion of the past few weeks settled in. Working at the gym and taking care of everything Jace needed besides training was starting to take it's toll, but I kept reminding myself that there were only a few more days until the fight. I started thinking about the fight.
What would happen if Jace lost? Would he be the same person? Would it change him? I couldn't answer those questions, but they had plagued me since Jace told me he would be fighting Jonathan. He wanted to win this fight so badly, probably more than any other fight he had ever fought and I wanted this for him more than anything. I had done anything he had needed in the past few weeks and I knew he would be crushed if all of his preparation and sacrifices went to waste.
I felt myself nodding off as I thought about my life and how much it had changed in the past two months. I wasn't just Clary Fray, photographer. I had people who depended on me and loved me. I had found somewhere I belonged.
"Red," I was awoken by the sound of Jace's voice. "Wake up, babe."
"Jace," it came out as more of a question. I looked around and noticed Max curled into my side and the other side of the couch was empty. Simon must have taken Isabelle to bed. "What time is it?"
"It's after midnight. Come on, let's let Hodge take Max home." Jace picked Max up and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I'm going to take him to the car. I'll be right back. Go to bed."
I nodded my head and got up from the couch to go to my bedroom. Once I was in the safety of my bedroom, I changed into yoga pants and a tank top to sleep in. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. When I went back into my room, Jace wasn't back yet, so I crawled under the blankets and curled up into a ball closing my eyes. I finally felt Jace crawl in next to me as he pulled my back to his chest and kissed my head.
"How was the rest of your night," I asked dreamily.
"Hodge definitely knows how to kick my ass," he said as he moved my hair behind my ear and kissed my shoulder. "How was Max?"
"Other than him almost seeing Isabelle and Simon going at it on the couch, everything was great." He chuckled and pulled me tighter to him.
"He's a good kid." Jace entered a thoughtful silence and I didn't want to interrupt him. "So I just have one more day of training and then I'll be taking the rest of the time before the fight to relax and rest so my muscles aren't fatigued when I go in to fight."
"You mean I'm going to be stuck with you for three whole days?" I feigned disappointment.
"If I'm lucky, you'll be stuck with me for the rest of your life." He must have felt me tense at his words because he moved his fingers in circles on my shoulder to try and calm me. "I really can't thank you enough for all of your help lately. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"I told you I would do whatever you needed."
"Right now, I need to hold my beautiful girlfriend as I sleep off the exhaustion today has brought me."
I snuggled deeper into the bed as Jace's arms tightened around my waist. I turned my head back to kiss him goodnight and he place an extra kiss on the tip of my nose.
"Your wish is my command."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I just want to thank you all so much for reading and all the favs/follows.
So we have the big fight next chapter and it's going to be a good one! So stay tuned and let me know what you thought of this chapter and leave a review! Until next time! :)