Lacie: *sits abnormally stick straight in her spinny chair, her hands folded atop the table that holds the microphones that you readers have been listening to for who knows how long*
Clary: *Is also sitting very still, her hands twitching in her lap*
Chris: *the only one that's slouching, but he's doing it a little too casually*
Lacie: *is very serious when she says this* Hello my fellow readers. Thank you, so so so much for being here, in these final last words that you'll ever read from this fanfic. I just want to say, that in occasion with the fact that this is the epilogue, the gang and I, *looks to Clary and Chris* are going to act, well *sighs, looking down, then back up at you, the reader*
Lacie: Completely the same! *bursts into a huge smile as she makes party hats pop out of nowhere and land on everyone's heads*
Clary: *laughs as she spins in her chair* Thanks Lace, you were starting to sound like a news reporter!
Chris: *even he half smiles, spinning the party hat on its tip on the table* For a moment I thought someone died.
Lacie: well I thought to have a serious intro for once, and then I thought 'Flip that!' This is The Angel to Balance the Demon, and I choose what goes on in this world of mine! Meaning FREESTYLE
Chris: Please don't tell me you're free styling now. Meaning you're letting you mind flow to the fullest?
Lacie: Oh you bet I am! I've got a lot of ideas ready to incorporate into the epilogue, and plenty of details about the characters that you know and love!
Clary: Hey that's me! :D
Chris: Don't forget yours truly! ;)
*knocking on the door and it bursts open, a trail of blue sparks flowing with it*
Chris: Oh no-
Magnus: *jumps into the room* I hope you intend to add us into the mix as well, hmm Lacie?
Alec: *peers behind Magnus's shoulder* so this is where you've been doing this stuff the whole time*
Izzy: *pushes herself into the room* move aside, move aside, *tugs Simon in with her, her hand on her hip* huh, this is the first time I've ever been in here.
Jace: *walks in too* it's not much, once you've seen it
Clary: *stands up* What are all of you guys doing here?
Chris: *stays seated* I'd like to know that too
*more people come into the room, including Maia, Jordan, Jocelyn, Luke, Emery, Raphael, etc. *
Chris: *almost climbs onto the table from the rush of people* Okay now I REALLY want to know what these people are doing here!
Lacie: I guess they read chapter 40 and are here for the Epilogue?
Clary: Mom? *looks at her mother* You read the fanfic? *blushes* all of it?
Jocelyn" *squeezes through the people* Why do you think I haven't been worried for you? I've known where you were this whole time
Chris: *is now fully on top of the table* Hey! You! Blue eyed boy! Put down my saber!
Lacie: *smirks* that's what you get for leaving your weapons all over the room.
Isabelle: I found the mini fridge! :DD
Maia: *stands next to Izzy in the open fridge* Ohhh Chinese food
Clary: *runs to them* Hey wait! Don't touch my mu shu pork!
Chris: *looks to Lacie* Do something!
Lacie: *puts hand to chin* hmm—Oh I know! *snaps fingers*
*suddenly everyone is wearing party hats*
Lacie: Perfect! *smiles wildly*
Chris: that's not what I meant! *removes his party hat*
Lacie: *points finger threateningly at him* put it back on! And everyone! *gets their attention* I realize you're all, umm, looking at all of our stuff—
Simon: *points to wall* is that blood?
Raphael: *rolls eyes* you're vampire, you should know very well that that IS blood
Clary: Isn't that from our jousting match? The one with boxing gloves?
Lacie: *talks over them* I need you all to do me a favor, everyone, repeat after Clary!
Clary: Lacie doesn't own anything!
Everyone, Magnus is practically singing: Lacie doesn't own anything!
Lacie: *shouts at the top of her lungs* I OWN THE ANGEL TO BALANCE THE DEMON!
ENJOY MY LITTLE LAMBS OH HOW I WANT TO HUG YOU ALL!
Clary POV
"Ow, ow, ow, that's my spine, oh-ugh-that hurts stop!" Clary shouted into the pillow that her face was pressed into, her hands flailing at the sides. She was currently lying face down on a bed, Chris giving her a 'massage.' It felt more like he was torturing her. "You're going to bruise me like a banana!"
"It's not my fault your knots have knots," Chris said, digging his elbow into the spot where Clary's chicken bone was. "You really need to loosen up a bit, or else you're going to have pains later on."
"I'm feeling a lot of that pain now," Clary gasped as he pressed his thumb into the spot where her neck joined her back.
"Man, you've got a lot of tension right,-"he put his thumb onto a spot on her neck, making her shiver with the touch. She could practically hear him smirk,"-here."
Groaning, Clary sat up, crossing her legs as Chris worked on her shoulders. Even though she complained, Chris's hands knew magic, and she secretly liked the way it felt, his hands working out all the stress built up inside her.
"I can't help it," she explained, "Remember how Ghayth got sick two days ago? Well he contaminated the other kids, so I was up and around all day and last night, tending to a bunch of sick kids. Rhine was throwing everything up, her temperature tipping over one hundred and two Fahrenheit, Ghayth couldn't even move, and the twins refused to take their medicine. I was running in circles and it was hell taking care of them. Had I not phoned Jace to bring medicine I don't know what I would have done. Which reminds me," she turned her head, her red ringlets flowing over her right shoulder, "Where were you yesterday?"
He wrapped his hands around her shoulders, leaning into her back. She could feel his pale almost white hair tickle her ears, "I had a full class yesterday. If I'd known you needed help I would have come straightaway. I'm sorry."
Clary turned her head so that her cheek came into contact with his jaw. He smelled like chocolate, and Clary leaned back to give him a playful scold, "That's it, where are you hiding all your chocolate bars?" He had developed a habit of eating chocolate whenever he felt like it, not only that, but whenever he'd come home, he'd bring whole king size bars of Hershey's, Kit Kats, Crunch, and a whole bunch of other ones too. Clary wasn't necessarily worried for his figure, Chris was as muscular as always and had never once neglected his training and workouts, and she even found it endearing to see him and the kids sitting at the couch, sharing chocolate. But all that stuff can't be good for you, especially before breakfast, "I swear, you're teaching Rhine that it's okay to eat chocolate when you've just woken up."
"And is that a bad thing?" he teased.
"You're supposed to be helping me!" Clary accused him, "I feel so bad whenever I have to tell her to not eat chocolate! I feel like I'm the bad guy." Clary sighed, "Raising kids is hard."
Chris laughed, cupping her chin, "You're the one that wanted four of them."
It was true, at that very moment, there were four, now healthy, children playing outside with sticks and a sandbox and climbing trees and getting hurt and doing all sorts of things kids do. Sometimes Clary sat by the open door on the back porch and watched them, most of the times she joined them, the summer sun lighting up all of their faces and making her heart swell with love, despite the back pain and headaches they cause her.
Two and a half years. It's been over two and half years since Clary, Chris and Jace and the others fooled the Clave and escaped Idris without a scratch. And since then, a lot has happened. But to explain things, chronological order is best.
It had only taken several hours of trekking through the unknown landscape for Clary, Chris and Jace to come across people, and after some communication and lies as to who they were and why they were lost, they'd discovered that the house had stopped in New Zealand, an island country to the bottom right of Australia. They'd convinced the locals that they had come to see the scenery, gotten lost somewhere in the mountains, and had nowhere to go.
That day they were kindly taken to a ski resort, a rather cheap one too, where they promised to only stay the night and leave the next day. They were so desperate to not have to owe anything (considering they had no money) that they even accepted only having one room to live in.
Clary could not describe how awkward it had been that night. One room, meant for one person, in which the three of them had somehow survived the night.
"So…" she had said, while Jace knelt by the fireplace to start a fire. "Who wants the bed?"
The bed was queen size, big enough for two people, but there was also a small couch in the corner, for one person, and a plastic chair in the other corner.
Jace and Chris looked at each other, almost as if in silent conversation. Chris spoke, "You can take the bed, Clary. It'll be warmer."
Now that he mentioned it, it had been pretty cold, even with the fire illuminating the room. The sheets of the bed were starting to look very comfortable now. But if she was on the bed, then…
"But then one of you will have to take the couch, and there's not a lot of blankets, and then the other will have to take that chair," Clary pointed out, "That can't be comfortable, or very warm."
Again, Chris and Jace looked at each other, and Clary couldn't help but think of exactly how alike the two were sometimes. They looked like they were using a secret language they both learned as young children, and she wasn't very happy to be excluded. However, it looked as if they were discussing something, as if they'd been trying to decide which one of them was going to do something. Which one of them was going to get the better end of the stick?
Jace looked at her awkwardly, "Yeah, that's exactly what's going to happen."
"But," Clary didn't know why she was arguing, but this didn't feel right, "Then one of you will be cold."
"Have you got a better idea?" Chris looked at her.
Clary scratched her arm, suddenly uncomfortable, and turned her face to hide her blush. "Well…."
That night, while they were all warm and toasty thank to body heat, the three of them slept on the bed. Of course, they slept in this weird position, where Jace was on the left of the bed, Chris on the right, and Clary at their feet, sleeping horizontally since she was the shortest and didn't need as much space as them. There was also the matter as to how since there were two blankets, Chris slept under all of them, as to how Jace only slept under one them, refusing to sleep completely in the bed with Chris. There was also the matter of how his fevers kept him warmer already. Clary just sucked it up and slept with her back to their feet, half of her enjoying this, and the other half trying to decipher whether it was okay to enjoy this.
The next morning they left the room before the sun was up, slinking their way into a town. The three of them went into a random office building, and had been sizing up the receptionist.
"It's a girl," Clary said, peering from behind a potted plant. "Jace you go ask."
"Why me?" Jace questioned.
Clary gave him a look.
"Oh right," He smirked, "I'll use 'the Jace charm.'"
She had rolled her eyes, Chris fake gagging as Jace openly flirted with the lady at the receptionist at the counter, asking her if they could use an empty room to make a phone call.
Shortly afterwards they were in an unused conference room, using the cord phone at the large desk. Clary had been the one to take a deep breath as she dialed in the numbers, her fingers moving almost as if on their own, the number more familiar than her own face.
Simon had answered on the fourth ring. "Hello? Eric if this is you, I already told you I can't come to band practice so don't try to be funny by prank calling me on some other phone."
"Gee, I sure hope you came up with a good excuse for Eric, because I don't think you'll be able to go to band practice for a long time," Clary said seriously.
Her best friend practically sputtered into the phone, "Clary! Holy hell!" There was a bit of shouting going on, as if people were running towards him. After a moment, he spoke back into the phone. "Where in the world are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she had assured him, "We're all fine."
"We?- oh gosh, thank goodness you mean Jace right?" After she confirmed it, he sighed, "That's good. Not because I care that much, but because the Lightwoods are livid. Wait, hold up Isabelle, Mrs. Lightwood I was just about to—oh okay!" Simon sounded a bit frustrated, and Clary was smiling.
"Are you guys alright over there, Simon?" she laughed.
"Yeah, just a bit crowded. No one's left the house since we all jumped through the Portal, and well, we were more than worried." Simon laughed now though, relief pouring through him, "Hey, can you put Jace on? Maryse is going to skewer me with those eyes of hers if she doesn't get listen to Jace soon."
They'd spent about an hour on the phone, on speaker, because it was tedious passing the phone to each other, explaining everything to everyone. Clary asked Magnus why had hadn't just tracked them, and he responded saying, "I did track you all, and I saw that you were alive and healthy, so why bother?"
When Chris asked Emery what he'd done to find them, she could practically hear the warlock shrugging, "What would be the point? Didn't you two want to go off into the world anyway?"
Maia and Jordan had been relieved to know that they were alright, because they didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. Maia said that as soon as they were anywhere near Australia they were off, but she didn't want to unless she knew they were okay.
"Clary I hope you don't think you can live the rest of your life without saying a proper goodbye," Maia teased, "The next time I see your face, I want a hug. You owe me a hug."
Clary giggled, "Will do."
"Do I get one too?" Jordan asked.
"Sure."
"Awesome."
It'd been extremely horrifying speaking to Jocelyn, because Clary was so unsure as to whether or not she'd said anything to anyone about what she'd seen that she almost hung up as soon as she heard her mother speak.
"Mom," she said to Jocelyn, "You know that I love you, right?"
Jocelyn could be heard exhaling, and then, Clary was so relieved, she could hear her mother smiling as she said, "I know now. And I hope you know that I love you too, and that no matter what, you'll always be my little girl."
Clary thought that was it, and was about to ask to talk to Luke, when Jocelyn continued, "And Jonathan, or Chris, I think you'd rather be called now." She almost had a heart attack, worried that Jocelyn would call them out now, but Jocelyn only said, "I know you think that I want to kill you, although, I can't say that everything is buried under the bridge with us, but," she took a breath, "I'll have to give this time. I have to let this sink in. All of it," she added, making Clary bite her lip. "In the future, we will talk, extensively. But for now, I'm willing to put up a truce."
Chris had stood very still, his hands almost frozen at his sides. Clary, though, could see something deep within his eyes move. "Okay."
"Take care of Clary," she added, "But not too much."
Clary willed her ears to not turn pink, or the rest of her face for that matter/ Chris, to his credit, managed to stay composed as Jace searched their faces, trying to interpret what 'But not too much,' meant.
After that, things were a little less tense. Jace listened to Isabelle and Maryse scream at him for about five minutes until they were all laughing, Jace explaining to them why he didn't want to return.
"I can't Isabelle," he said while looking at Clary from the corner of his eye while Clary pretended to admire the wallpaper for Chris's sake, "You know why. I love you guys, a lot. And you know I can handle myself."
"As long as Clary is there, you mean." Alec could be heard sighing, "Clary, if you ever want to renounce your job as 'Jace watcher,' just kick him to the curb and I'll take my post back."
"Is that what being his parabatai is called now?" Clary laughed.
"Pretty much," Alec answered while Jace pretended to sob.
"I can't believe this is how you really felt, Alec?" he exaggerated, "All those years of friendship, my most trusted friend, my most preferred ally, what do you think of me?"
"I think you're a thick headed, ego inflated, most narcissist martyr I've ever met," Alec punctuated, "But you're also my parabatai, and I'd rather you not die."
Chris and Clary laughed, while Jace continued his theatrics. It had been like that, not a sad depart, no crying, because it wasn't the end. They'd see each other one day, all of them.
Things after that were kind of rough. The three of them searched about for any supplies they could, looking for any sort of religious temple so that they could find any sort of Shadowhunter supplies (steles, seraph blades, etc.) so that Clary could draw a Portal if need be. Luckily, New Zealand was pretty far from Idris, and it seemed that news had not reached the small island country yet. Clary was unsure as to whether New Zealand had an Institute, but if it did, it was pretty far away from where they landed.
New Zealand had two main islands, the North Island, and the South. They were currently in the South, and after going into several Downworlder pubs, using the techniques that Chris had taught her long ago to locate them, in disguise they determined that most Shadowhunters mostly lived in the North Island, and that in the South they were scarce. The city they were in was called Queenstown, which was near a lake.
They had stayed near Queenstown for a few weeks, hiding in the forests near the Lake, living in a little broken down cottage that barely lived up to living standards, but nevertheless, they managed to stock up on basic materials. They packed as if they were ready to leave at a moment's notice, Clary's new stele always up her sleeve or hidden in her boots. After Queenstown, they traveled up and down South island aimlessly, having no clue as to where to go, or what to do. She always wanted to travel, but she didn't have the smallest idea as to where to go, and Chris and Jace seemed to follow her as if she were the grand leader or something.
It was the start of spring when they left New Zealand. Clary had drawn a Portal wall already covered in pounds of graffiti, their backpacks full of the essentials, food, clothes, even money that Chris had pulled out from the bank. Apparently, Valentine had placed money into mundane accounts too, ready for anything that happened. As much as Clary detested Valentine, if it weren't for his careful thinking, the house, the money, they would have had a much bigger problem getting along.
When they were all out of the Portal, Clary breathed in the scent of the air, smiling. When she had drawn the runes, she only had one place in mind, and it was only until she saw his familiar face and had him in her arms that Clary felt the guilt die in her heart.
Ghayth had been skinny, dirty, and as poor looking as any little ten year old boy could look if he had no family or home, but it could have been worse. It had always been her intentions to come back to Ghayth, after everything was solved, because she didn't want to bring him into her troubles of looking for Chris. Still, that didn't help the guilt that built inside of her little by little every time she sent him food whenever she could from the magic cupboard.
"Where have you been?" he looked at her in the way that only little kids could accuse adults with, "I've been calling you for weeks!"
"I left my phone at home," she had told him. "And I wanted to see you instead of call you."
"What about you?" she asked him, "What have you been up to?"
He had smiled at her, his grin worth more to her than food or money, "A lot! Let me show you my friends!"
Ghayth up to that day was still helping out at the same gypsy bar that Clary had danced at months ago, and he received little money from the tips given to the dancers. He practically lived in the storage room, occasionally getting help from the dancers, but no one had taken up the kid. Either way, Ghayth was smart. He'd been saving money, and had taken up to stealing again, just like Clary had saw him do when he almost got whipped, but he was better at doing it now. Not only that, but he'd followed in Clary's footsteps, and had begun to save other children who were abused by adults as well.
"The twins' parents are dead," he pointed to two little children who couldn't be more than seven years old, "But they're really sneaky. If Luce ties her hair up, she looks just like Oz, and they pretend to be the same person to steal food."
"Hello there," Clary crouched on the ground, careful to keep her distance to not appear hostile to those wary eyes. They were quiet, and scared. The little girl, Luce, stuck back into the shadows from a box of clothes, while the boy, Oz, held onto his sister's hand, standing a foot step in front of her, as if to protect her. "I'm not going to do anything to you. What are your names?"
Neither of them had spoken, and Jace had taken that moment to say, "Um, do they speak English?"
Ghayth shrugged, "They never really talk much, and I've only spoken to them in English, and they seem to understand when I tell them stuff, they just don't talk back sometimes." He walked up to the twins, taking each by the hand, "Come on, it's okay, this is the lady I was telling you about."
Hesitantly, they stepped forward into the light, and Clary opened her mouth in pleasant surprise. They were both heterochromatic, one of their eyes were brown, and the other one was a beautiful hazel. Their tanned skin combined with their dark black hair only succeeded in making their eyes stand out even more.
"Whoa," Jace said, "Look at that." He also crouched on the ground as well, smiling up to the twins. Luce stepped back, hiding behind Ghayth. "Hey, I'm not going to do anything to you, in fact, here."
He rummaged in in his pockets a bit, until he pulled out a two small candies, "Here. They're not very good, in fact, they're mints, but they'll make your breath smell amazing."
Holding out the candies, the twins stared at it suspiciously, but Jace only held them patiently, his eyes never losing the soft edge he made them into just for kids.
Oz stared at the mints with doubt, but it had been Luce who was the first one to take the mint, and as if he were waiting for her, Oz took it shortly after. Clary had never wondered how Jace felt about kids, but it was obvious he was good with them. To this day, the twins absolutely loved being around Jace, and he was the first one they talked to out of the three of them.
"Alright, is that all your friends?" Chris asked. He had stayed behind, leaning back with his arms crossed across his chest against a stack of boxes, "I don't want to risk the chance that anyway who saw us back then recognizes us now, even with a glamour."
"Actually," Ghayth said, letting go of the twins as they were now happily sucking on their mints, Jace talking to them, "There's one more, but she's a little—"
"Boo!" something suddenly dropped from the stack of boxes, almost landing on Chris's head.
"What the hell!" Chris shouted as he reached his arms upward, catching the small body before it hit him on the head. As soon as he caught it, Clary almost laughed.
It was a little girl, and she was so tiny she could have been two, only her eyes showed a higher intelligence. She had chopped brown hair, as if someone had attacked it with scissors, making the ends uneven. She was wearing a dirty pink dress, and her hair had cobwebs from crawling around the unused boxes.
"Hi!" she smiled endearingly, "I'm Rhine, and I have this many," she held up four fingers, indicating she was four years old.
Chris held her awkwardly, her bare feet swinging feet from the ground, "Um hey, I'm Chris."
"Chris!" she repeated, then giggled.
"That's Rhine," Ghayth introduced a little too late, "I don't know what happened to her, she won't talk about it. But she's very, energetic."
"I can see that," Chris told him, setting Rhine down. Rhine immediately started moving, running around, only to stop next to Luce to hold her hand, swinging it back and forth, chatting with her in Arabic.
"So how long are you going to stay," Ghayth asked her. "Please tell me you're staying, don't leave again."
He had stared at her with those puppy eyes and Clary held one of his shoulders saying, "I'm sorry Ghayth, but we can't stay for long. We're leaving soon. Tonight."
"You can't!"
"That is," she stretched, "Unless you want to come with us…"
She smiled as his eyes brightened, but then quickly dimmed, "I can't. Who will take care of them?" His eyes looked over the three children that he had been watching over for the past months. "I can't just leave them."
Clary took one look at Luce and Oz, watching as Jace showed them magic tricks with a coin, and saw how Rhine was pulled Chris over by the hand to watch too. Ghayth's shoulders were steady, his expression wise beyond his age. He'd been taking care of them, acting like an older brother, and sometimes a father even, all at the age of ten.
Smiling, Clary walked over to the children, holding her hand out to Rhine who immediately reached for it so that she and Chris would swing her between them.
"I think I can find a way so that you won't have to."
That very night, the seven of them left Saudi Arabia. The kids didn't have many personal belongings, all of the twins stuff fit into a small bag on Luce's back, and Rhine wasn't carrying anything except the dress she was wearing. Chris and Jace had been a bit skeptic about bringing all the kids along. Clary had told them about Ghayth, about how she wanted to bring him with her, but they hadn't accounted for three more children. They said that of course they cared about their lives, but as Jace pointed out, were they capable of caring for four kids? They were fugitives, who were they to take in these children?
Chris had been silent, his green eyes following watching the children as they played around, climbing the many boxes of clothes in the storage room. Mainly, he watched Rhine, Clary could tell.
"I think we can do it," he spoke. "We just need somewhere to live."
"Chris," Clary started, "I've been meaning to ask, you wouldn't happen to know how to make another apartment, would you? Another one, just like the old one?"
Chris raised an eyebrow, "I might. I know the general process of how Valentine did it, but I can't be sure."
"How long would it take?" Jace asked.
"Depends," he answered, "Which house do you want?"
House "shopping," as Jace called it, was actually fun. Clary lost track of how many Portal's she'd drawn in those days that they'd jumped from place to place, mainly staying in America, considering it was the only country Clary knew well. She forbid Chris from looking at houses that people already lived in, or bought. She didn't want anyone coming home after grocery shopping just to see that their house was missing.
Nevertheless, the kids found it fun to run up and down the stairs of houses they'd walk in, after setting glamour over the house, that is. Rhine wanted to get every single house, asking Chris every time she stepped foot in one, "Is this the one we'll live in?" and every time he would grab her, put her on his shoulders, and say, "Maybe."
Clary mainly watched the reactions of the twins. They were still pretty quiet, but at least they wouldn't shy away from her anymore. She could deal with any house they got, but she preferred that they be happy. Jace said that as long as the house had stairs with a banister so that he could slide down them every single morning, he was okay with whatever one they got, and Ghayth was too excited to care.
Chris was the one who made the final decision, because it appeared that some houses were easier to enchant than others, so he was always watching that. In the end, Clary could see it in the way he stood on the wooden floor of the living room, staring up at the beautiful bay windows and large kitchen, and glorious staircase (with banister), that he thought this was the one.
"Well?" he asked her, not moving from the in front of the threshold as they watched the twins and Rhine run to catch up to Jace as he climbed up the stairs. "What do you think?"
Clary walked into the empty house, devoid of furniture or any other embellishment. The house had been in a pretty out of the way highway somewhere in Illinois, America, and there were dozens of trees surrounding it, obscuring it from the eyes of anyone driving by. When they walked up those wooden porch steps, looking up the small, stained glass window in the attic, she felt a small tingle crawl up her spine. Excitement.
That had settled it. The sign at the front of the house said 'For Sale' but it was gone in about a week. The house along with it. Clary felt sort of guilty for just taking someone's property, but at least the person who left their number on the For Sale sign would find that a certain redhead had called and left a check for the house hidden under the root of the bent tree on the right.
That's where they've been, for two years full of strange, happy, stressful, painful, exciting, terrifying, and relieving years, Chris, Clary and Jace lived under one roof with those four kids. Well, at least, Chris and Clary did.
"Clary?" a voice spoke, "Clary? Hello, earth to red head."
Clary blinked, her mind whirling out of memory lane, shooting herself back into the present.
What a weird time for me to get nostalgic…
"Hey, are you okay?" Chris's hand came into her vision as he waved it in front of her eyes and she focused again.
Waving her hand casually, she turned around so that she faced him, the two of them sitting cross legged on the bed. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."
"About what?" he questioned.
She shrugged, "Just a lot about the stuff that's happened in these past two years."
Chris nodded, and Clary expected him to hold her, or put his hand to her face, or something. But he didn't, and that made her feel strangely disappointed. She'd been feeling like that a lot, lately. Ever since Jace left, she felt like things were supposed to have changed. But she guessed Chris hadn't felt that yet.
"You know," he said instead, "I've been thinking a lot about what's happened to us too."
Clary stared at him, looking at how his jawline had lost all of its last remnants of boyhood, now a complete man. She saw how his hair flowed silkily over his ears. He cuts it regularly, so that it was just above his ears, not too long, not too short. If he cut it too short, Rhine complained about how she couldn't play with it anymore, and Chris tended to spoil Rhine whenever Clary wasn't watching. His arms were strong, from his daily classes he taught at the dojo. That's right, Chris was a sensei at a dojo, teaching all sorts of fighting techniques, taekwondo, karate, judo, kendo, et cetera to any mundane (and occasional Downworlder, but the other students didn't know that) that came through the doors.
The money that Valentine had left them in the bank could only last so long, and eventually they found that they would need other means to supply themselves. One night, when the house had situated itself in Nevada, they had taken the kids out for a walk in the dusk light. They'd found an empty park in a quiet suburb, and as Clary watched over the kids, Chris had said he wanted to check something out. When they were back home later that night, Chris had told her he'd gotten a job.
Clary almost thought he was joking. Chris? A job? She'd assumed that she was the one who'd have to get to working, perhaps selling paintings in a shop instead of off of EBay like she'd been doing. Of course, she'd found it hard to believe, but soon enough, Clary was drawing Portals every day so that Chris could get to work. If you considered teaching people how to beat up others work. He quickly got accustomed to it though, she'd been afraid that he wouldn't know how to behave in the mundane world, but he did, and he did it just fine, going to teach every day, and coming back home using a trinket that he made, that worked all the time instead of only once a week.
He started working at the dojo about eight months ago, making the kids very upset because it meant that they only had one person to play fight with, that person being Clary, considering that Jace no longer was able to see them every day like he used to. The three of them started teaching Ghayth about being a Shadowhunter, considering that it was on his blood. Naturally, when the other kids saw that Ghayth got to play with knives and learn about demons, they all complained that they wanted to learn too.
Clary was reluctant at first. Rhine was much too young, as were Luce and Oz, then was the matter that they were all mundane, not a drop of Shadowhunter in them, so how could they teach them of Shadowhunting?
Chris said it was never too soon to start training, and that the younger the better, they'd become better fighters that way and make up for not being natural Shadowhunters. Jace said that since we already dragged them into our world, let them see Clary draw Portals, glowing steles and lit witchlight runestones, that they already had the Sight. Not only that, but just by being around them, the children were already more prone to coming into contact with demons, so it was better to educate them than to hide them from it.
"You do realize that by hiding them from it, you'd be acting like Jocelyn did to you?" Chris had mocked her, and that was the final straw. Luce, Oz and Rhine would be raised like Shadowhunters, the first ever mundane Shadowhunters. Maybe one day they'd be able to Ascend and bear the Angel's Marks like Ghayth and the rest of them.
Now it was Clary's turn to snap her fingers under Chris's nose to get him back to Earth, "Come on. They're going to wonder what we're taking so long in here for. We told them we were only coming inside to get dinner."
"Oh right," Chris got up from the bed. "And Luce is going to have a fit if I don't bring out the cake soon."
"Cake?" Clary asked, unraveling her foot from where she had them crossed, "What do you mean by cake? Chris I told you to get Chinese food, please don't tell me that you spent twenty dollars on cake because I swear if you did you and I have to talk about your sweets obsession."
"Relax," he bent to tie his shoelace which had come undone, "I got your Chinese food too. It's just that I told Rhine there'd be cake at the surprise party, and you really don't want a bawling six year old at your party, do you?"
"Party? What are you-?" she broke off as Chris extended his hand to her, helping her up off the bed.
"Yep, surprise party. Happy nineteenth birthday, Clary."
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Apparently she wasn't supposed to know about the surprise party, so when Clary walked into the backyard, which also teleported with the house wherever it went, saw the picnic table decorated with what looked like doodles that the kids drew on with Crayola Markers, party balloons, a banner with 'Happee Berthday Clary' written in Rhine's childlike scrawl tied across the top of the swing set with its two swings and a slide attached.
The moment she walked outside, a chorus of, "Surprise!" rang out, and for their sake Clary did her best to fake surprise.
"By the Angel, what is all of this?" she spoke as she was group tackled/hugged.
"It's your birthday party!" the twins grinned.
"Were you surprised?" Rhine asked her.
"Oh yes, very surprised," Clary tickled her stomach, making the little girl giggle.
"Clary, do you like the banner?" Oz pointed, his curious eyes watching her. Clary always felt like the twins had some hidden intelligence that no one knew about, that no one could see. Or maybe it was just their heterochromatic eyes. "Rhine made it. She wouldn't let any of us do it, so we decorated the table instead."
"Rhine, you misspelled happy." Luce said, detaching herself from the group.
"You also misspelled birthday," Ghayth said walking under the banner. At age twelve, Ghayth was a growing boy. He'd gotten quite taller, his voice losing the sweet sound of a little boy and began to harden a bit. His dark hair, which used to always have traces of sand in it, was wild and crazy, and no matter how much Clary had tried to tame it, it wouldn't stay still. It didn't matter though, she loved his hair. His tan that he had in Saudi Arabia had faded a bit, making his brown eyes stand out. Training was giving him an early, lean build, even at this age. He gave it his all when training, and Clary couldn't help but admire his determination, but a bit sad when she realized the little boy she met in the desert was growing up.
"Well I like it," Rhine pouted, "And Jace liked it!"
"Jace?" Clary asked.
"He helped put it up," Luce explained. Even at age ten, Clary could see that Luce was going to be absolutely gorgeous when she was older. Her black hair was lush, silky, like a raven's. It reminded Clary of Isabelle's, but at the same time was different. Luce liked to make little braids in her hair, tying them with little green rubber bands. She still looked a lot like her brother, so much that if they shaved the two of them and made them wear identical clothing, it'd be near impossible to tell them apart. Well, near. After a while, you start to notice that identical twins weren't so identical.
Their personalities were starting to be clearer now as well. As they spoke more and more, Clary could see how different their minds were. Luce was more straightforward, brash, not realizing what she was doing until someone told her to stop. But she was also more in touch with her feelings. Even if she shouted at Ghayth until her voice was hoarse, she couldn't stay mad forever, and eventually would go to apologize. Oz was more, well, to himself. He acted like a child, liked to explore, and was just as open and loud and playful as Luce. But whenever something bothered him, he didn't talk about, and preferred to stay quiet, put on a mask and pretend everything was okay. He was strange in how he could act like a complete angel sometimes, yet at other times be wild and troublesome.
Sometimes Clary worried about how much Jace was rubbing off on him.
"Where is Jace?" she said, walking up to the picnic table to see the twins' doodles.
"Surprise?" Jace said, walking out of the shadows of the tree where Ghayth had broken his wrist when he fell, and where Chris and Clary broke a branch when they had a competition to see who could climb highest the fastest. Okay, so maybe it wasn't always the kids that acted like kids. They had their fair share of broken plates and pillow fights and ruined living rooms.
Jace held a gift wrapped box with a red bow at the top under his arm, dressed in gear, his golden curls tousled by the wind, a ring, a bronze band, really, with an insignia of a clock missing its numbers stamped on it. The ring was made by Chris, so that Jace could come to the house whenever he wanted. Chris and Clary had identical ones on them at that moment. She thought it was meaningful, to have her rune symbolize home. Chris and Jace thought so too.
Walking up to her, Jace put the present on the table, hugging Clary. "Happy Birthday Clary."
"Thank you," she said into his shoulder before they let each other go. Jace had gotten impossibly taller, only about an inch or so. He looked like a college guy, if college guys looked like golden angels ready for mortal combat to the death at a Roman coliseum, that is. "You didn't have to get me a present."
"Well, the first present I ever got you was a rock, so I figured it wouldn't be that hard to outdo myself from then," he laughed.
"That's right, you gave me a witchlight," she remembered, "So how are things at the Institute? Are the Blackthorns doing well enough?"
"Let's just say that I thank the Angel I had some experience taking care of the twins, because trust me, if our twins and the Blackthorn twins got together, we'd have to prepare for world domination." Jace ran his hand through his hair tiredly.
"Is it Ty?" Clary asked, remembering him mention the young Blackthorn before.
"Ty? He's brilliant, but he's sort of secluded from the world. Took me a couple of tries until I could get him to join the group. He listens to Zachariah more than he does to me." He explained. "Otherwise, things are great. Tessa teaches the kids their book classes, while Zachariah, well actually, he asked me the other day to call him Jem, anyway, we teach the kids combat and defense lessons."
"Jem? Is that short for James?" Clary asked. Several months ago, Clary could see that Jace was getting tired of having to stay all around the house all the time. Sure, he got to go out to see the world, kill demons whenever he found them, and taught the kids how to fight, but she could see him longing for his Shadowhunter roots. Clary and Chris never lived at an Institute, at least Clary hadn't for a long amount of time, so they weren't as affected by it, but Jace was another story.
He'd pace the halls, frantically, flip blades in and out of his belt, sometimes scaring Luce who would constantly follow him around and be shocked to see him suddenly whip out a blade.
One night, Clary couldn't stand to see him like the caged lion he was starting to resemble. She took him into her room, and sat him down on the bed while she sat next to him.
"So." She said.
"So." He said.
Cricket, cricket.
"Well," he joked, "That was certainly an enlightening display of human conversation, I feel like I just underwent an epiphany. You?"
Instead of laughing, she sighed. "Jace, are you alright? Because you don't seem to be."
He had faked confusement, "What do you mean?"
"Jace," she said honestly, "You can leave if you want to, you don't have to stay for my sake. I understand completely."
He had been quiet, but then after a few minutes, in which Clary had contemplated leaving, he spoke, "It's not like I want to just leave you here. I mean, I do feel, I feel," he took a breath, "I feel like I should be doing something else, like I should be somewhere else. And I can feel it, I can my soul trying to leave, but, I also don't want to leave. I mean, I'll miss the kids. Is it weird to say that lately I've been thinking that they really are my kids? Kind of weird for someone as young as me to think, right? But I do, and I can't just leave them."
"Luce and Oz will go on a speaking strike," Clary agreed. "But you do realize that just because you go, that doesn't mean you can never come back. I'll always let you have a home here." She put her hand over his, squeezing his fingers automatically, and he squeezed back. This was normal, this felt normal, being together like this, talking openly like this. It felt so familiar, that it reminded Clary of another relationship she had. Her relationship with Simon.
"Another thing is," he continued, "is that I don't want to leave you."
His hand went up to her hair, and he played with the red ringlets, "I feel like leaving you, would be like throwing away everything we've ever had, like it all meant nothing—"
"That's not true," she immediately told him, "That's not true in the slightest."
"But at the same time," he spoke over her, "I feel like I have to go. Lately, I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything here, like I'm just, a third wheel. I don't like feeling like this Clary."
Clary hadn't spoken; she just let him finish what he had to say, while in her heart she knew he was right. Lately, she hasn't been seeing him as her Jace anymore, just Jace.
"Hey," he told her, "You know I love you, right?"
She smiled, "When will I ever forget? And I love you, too."
"Clary, please tell me, that you feel what's going on between us too, that I'm not the one breaking your heart by doing this, because if I am I will kill myself personally." He slightly joked, but she could tell he was actually very worried about this.
When they first exited the Portal from Idris over a year ago, Clary told herself she'd never be able to choose between Jace and Chris, and she still couldn't, she loved both of them too much. However, she hadn't realized that she meant their lives, that she loved them both and would never give them up. Just like if someone asked her if she loved Simon, she'd say yes. But she also loved Jace, maybe differently than Simon, but still…
Clary looked up, pushing back sadness, not heartbreak sadness, but sadness of something that was gone, "Jace Herondale, you are not breaking my heart any more than this is breaking you. I will not be the brick that holds you back. As for what I feel…"
She kissed him, feeling him gasp beneath her lips, but before she could do anything, she leaned away, looking him in his golden eyes, "I feel the exact same way as I did the first time we ever kissed in the gardens at the Institute in New York, but now, I feel like, like I can come to peace with things, like I can.."
"Like you could let it all go." He finished for her.
She nodded. That was exactly how it felt. Like they were an old senior couple, having lived a long, loving life, and were ready to die now, to let go. Only they weren't old, they were just accepting what they felt.
"But where will you go?" Clary asked, "The Clave is still looking for us, I saw when I snuck into Taki's last month, there are posters of us all over Downworld."
"Well, I already had somewhere in mind," that's when he told them the real reason why he'd taken so long to get to the Portal in Idris. It had been a lie that he was waiting for them. In reality, he'd been talking to Zachariah. Chris had explained to Clary what happened to Brother Zachariah, and why he was now just Zachariah, and how he was leaving to go looking for someone. Jace told her that Zachariah had met him while Jace was running back to join the others at the Portal, and that they had a little conversation about Herondales and Carstairs. He also said that Zachariah offered him a safe haven at the Institute of Los Angeles, where he and a friend would start teaching next year.
"He said that I would be welcome there any time next year, you guys too, if you want to go."
At that Clary shook her head, "If I go, that means the kids come with, and you know mundanes can't stay at Institutes."
"I kind of want to go there." He confessed.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
It had taken a week to explain to the kids why Jace was no longer living with them, and another day to stop them from crying and convince them that Jace would come to visit them often. After that, Jace packed and was off to L.A.
Sometimes when he comes to visit, he takes Ghayth with him to train at the Institute. He had to go one time, and when he came back, he had the Voyance rune, a Shadowhunter's first rune, marked onto the back of his hand.
"Did it hurt?" Rhine had asked immediately after Ghayth returned.
"Of course it hurt," Luce said, "They burned it onto his hand."
"They didn't burn it Luce," Oz told her, "Clary told us this, they use steles, and it only stings."
"It wasn't that bad," Ghayth assured Rhine, "As soon as they finish, you feel really proud."
"So it didn't hurt?" Rhine asked again, to which Ghayth rolled his eyes.
"If you can fall down the tree and still be able to run fast enough with a bleeding kneecap and tackle Oz to the ground, then you're more than tough enough to handle this."
Rhine beamed, her two missing front teeth from where her baby teeth fell out the day before making her look laughable.
"Yeah, it is short for James," Jace told her, snapping her back to the present. Birthday party. Backyard. Jace. Present. Okay, back on track. Her mind tended to roam a lot like it did back then. "Apparently, Tessa and he used to be engaged like, in the 1800's. Did you know that Tessa and I are related? Her last name is Gray, but she used to be Tessa Herondale."
"Who did she marry then?" Clary asked, curious.
"It's a long story," Jace said, but that's when Oz shouted, "They're here!"
Clary turned to say, "Who's here?", when her eyes widened. A Portal was forming in the middle of the backyard. Chris suddenly materialized beside her, holding a large birthday cake. Not meant for their family of seven, but for about twenty people. And made of chocolate, no less.
"Oh, just in time," Chris smirked at the Portal. He nodded at Jace. The two of them were getting along quite nicely now.
"Chris," she looked at him in puzzlement, her hand halfway to the blade that was at her belt. "What's going on?"
"Your surprise." He grinned that maniacal grin she loved so much.
"There are more surprises?"
Jace put his arm across her shoulders, "There's never enough for this lot! Now don't be rude Clary, smile!"
Before Clary's eyes, the Portal opened, and soon very familiar figures started pouring through it.
Simon, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Jordan, Maia, Jocelyn, Luke, Maryse, Robert, even Emery came through, all of them holding presents, all of them smiling.
"Happy Birthday Clary!"
Simon: Oh! Now I see why we're all wearing party hats
Lacie: I'm always prepared :P
Chris: Why did it have to be Clary's party, and not mine?
Clary: Do the math. Two and a half years, that's around summertime, which is my birthday so ha.
Magnus: Is anyone else feeling slightly crowded in this room? Hey you! *points to Raphael* don't stand so close to Alec like that! *holds Alec *
Raphael: *rolls his eyes* I wasn't going to eat him or anything
Magnus: You never know. Come Alexander, stay near my bosom.
Alec:…you don't have a bosom.
Jocelyn: Aww…the children are sweet.
Clary: OH MY GOODNESS I'M A MOTHER OF FOUR CHILDREN HOLY RAZIEL
Izzy: Clary are you trying to say that Luce will be prettier than me?
Clary: Umm…Lacie what was I trying to say?
Lacie: that Luce will be the Izzy of her generation, in looks.
Maia: *sizes Lacie up* does that mean you think Isabelle is the prettiest of all of us?
Lacie: Oh god do I have to give an explanation for everything that I say?
Jace: Are these daggers decorative, or are they, hey they're glowing purple, I wonder what would happen if I….
Chris: OH NO EVERYONE HIT THE DECK
*Everyone drops to the ground**dagger spins in the air and almost decapitates Alec*
Magnus: Alec! *holds him* Did I not tell you to stay near my bosom!
Alec: *pale* YOU. DON'T. HAVE. A. BOSOM.
Lacie: CHRIS! What did I tell you about weapons in the studio!?
Chris: Those have been there for weeks, and nothing happened until Jace touched them!
Izzy: Where did you get these? *fascinated*
Simon: Oh no no no *pulls her away from daggers*
Clary: Are you alright Alec?
Raphael: Ay dios mio, why are there demons when these people kill themselves. Adios *leaves room*
Emery: I think we're going to need a change of scenery *snaps fingers* *they are in a magnificent ballroom*
*everyone is wearing fabulous clothing, such as grand dresses and handsome tuxes*
Simon: *looks down at his tux* Holy déjà vu, is this my bar mitzvah?
Luke: Reminds me of that ball in Alicante? Do you Jocelyn?
Jocelyn: *wearing an extravagant laced peach dress* Luke, we were only about six, how am I supposed to remember?
Maia: I think I would remember a dress this pretty *wears an orange and red old Victorian dress*
Izzy: this is like, straight out of the nineteenth century! *wears a purple and black lace dress with a corset-like lace tie in the back*
Clary: Emery, why did you- Emery, where'd you go? *nowhere to be found*
Jace: Clary, you look amazing
Clary: Huh? *looks down and sees herself in her dress* *it's a platinum, sleeveless, with a heart neckline. Hugs her torso and at her waist shoots out into layers of silky frill.*
Chris: Hey Clary, look, we match. *his tux is black, but the tie is platinum, well as the buttons on the cuffs, and the watch on his wrist*
Jace: Silly Chris *goes next to Clary, wearing a gold tux* don't you know that platinum goes with gold? Shall I have this dance, Clary?
Chris: Did you not read what was written above, you two are over
Jace: In this fanfic, maybe. Not in the series :P
Chris: clary, let's dance
Jace: I asked first
Simon: Hey Clary! *calls from the food table* check out the chocolate fountain! It's an ACTUAL fountain!
Magnus: *in an electric blue tux to match his personality* Oh Alec my dear *looks around him* have you ever felt so nostalgic you think you might burst?
Alec: No? Do you feel like bursting? Are you okay? *dressed very handsomely in a black tux with a blue silk shirt matching his eyes*
Magnus: I've never been better. Oh hey look, Chinese food
Clary: Chocolate? Chinese food? OUT OF MY WAY *runs*
Jace: o.o
Chris: -_-
Jordan: hey, has anyone seen Lacie?
*somewhere, high up on a balcony overlooking the floor where all of the characters that she borrowed are having a good time, Lacie smiles*
Emery: *standing next to her, wearing his simple clothes and baseball cap* Aren't you going to join them?
Lacie: *also wearing regular clothes, as in an old pair of jeans and a green T-Shirt that's so big and baggy it reaches her thighs* Nah, let them have their fun, I've intruded their lives long enough. What about you, you're a figment of my imagination, shouldn't you be down there with them?
Emery: I'm your character, you should know why I'm up here
Lacie: Oh, that's right. *looks down, where her favorite people are now dancing to Simon's band's ridiculous music* It's best not to interfere, isn't it?
Emery: I guess so, sometimes mortals are best left alone
Lacie: I'm mortal too
Emery: That's also true.
Lacie:…
Emery: You're dying to go down there aren't you?
Lacie: YES *jumps off of balcony* and lands in front of the huge chocolate fountain* Epilogue Part 1 is at its end, meaning everyone gets to be here, yes I mean YOU TOO READER. Next Epilogue, Part 2, will be Chris and Clary only. What started as us three, will end with us three.
Clary: Don't make us cry!
Lacie: thanks guys! Enjoy the party! And hope to see you soon! Hopefully, maybe, you know, what, we'll definitely see you soon!