A/N: Hey guys! I think you all are going to really enjoy the end of this chapter.

Please enjoy!

2 months later

Christmas decorations were up, snow was left on the ground, and space heaters were plugged in. Christmas Eve. It was most people's favorite time of year. I disagree with that. I hate winter because cold. It isn't too bad when your cuddle up under a blanket indoors, but if I step outside I am instantly miserable. The Christmas Eve service had just let out, and my mom and I went to the bathroom to freshen up.

"You know I noticed you and Jace have been attached at the hip the last few weeks." My mother stated, as she touched up her lipstick in the mirror.

"Yeah so?" I curled a few of my curls around my fingers, trying to tame them again. It wasn't really working.

"You guys aren't together or something. Are you?" She glanced over at me, gritting her teeth awkwardly. I knew she didn't want to talk about this, but I understand why she brought it up.

"What? No. We are just friends." I exclaimed at her indication. Sure, Jace and I hang out most of the time and we occasionally snuggle, but that doesn't mean we are together. He's my brother now! It would be weird.

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure." She sighed quietly, turning her gaze back to the mirror. "It's just you two look at each other differently now, and I wanted to make sure nothing was going on." She assured me, but what she said wasn't assuring. What did she mean by that?

"How do we look at each other?" I furrowed my brow slightly, wondering what she was talking about. How do I look at him? I pursed my lips, trying to think about what how we acted around each other.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It just... Different." She stated, as she gathered her purse.

Different?

It's probably because we don't hate each other anymore. We get along. We understand each other. We are friends.

I followed my mom out the bathroom door, and we met up with the boys. Jace was in his Sunday best, which really looked good on him. I hadn't seen him dressed up since our parents wedding, but man it looks good on him. He seems so much older and more sophisticated. I walked up next to him, and he slung his arm around my shoulders. I rolled my eyes at him, heading out of the building.

We arrived at home minutes later. We were ordered to put on some pajamas before we prepared our Christmas dinner. I slipped into my favorite pair of flannels, as I shuffled out of the room. My mom and Luke were already pulling out the supplies to cook, which made me smile. This is our first Christmas together, and mom assured me we would still do our holiday tradition. Luke didn't object because he and Jace hardly did anything. Jace walked in the kitchen only wearing a pair of pajama pants, and I raised my hand eyebrows at him. He shrugged his shoulders, as I attempted to not stare directly at his bare torso. I should be used to his glisten muscles, but honestly I'm not. It's so sad sometimes. The parents hadn't noticed his state of undress. They were too absorbed in one another at the moment. Luke's gaze broke from my mothers, landing on Jace who leaned against the counter.

"Jace go put on a shirt." Luke huffed, adjusting his glasses.

"Fine." Jace sighed, trudging back into the room. I snickered quietly, rolling my eyes. How did he think he could get away with that? He came back out a few minutes later fully clothed. "I'll have you know I only sleep in boxers, so this right here isn't pajamas for me." He crossed his arms, seeming annoyed to spend time with our parents.

"You only sleep in your boxers? Clary is in the room with you should you be wearing more than underwear." My mom's eyes widened at the thought of him prancing around in underwear.

"We kind of gave up on modesty. Too many accidental walk ins for that." I ran my hand through my hair, remembering when Jace walked in on me completely naked.

"I don't know if I'm ok with that." Jocelyn stammered, glancing over at Luke.

"It's fine. It's not like we are into each other." Jace rested his arms across his chest, leaning against the counter.

"Ok." She eyed us carefully, like she was trying to determine if what he said was true.

"Anyways, for our holiday tradition, since we haven't always had the most money during Christmas we always make pizza, and when I was old enough, I thought I could make better pizza then my mom. So now every year we have a pizza making contest." I grinned widely, glancing between around my family.

"Now we don't need four pizzas, so kids verse parents." My mom clapped, handing me a tube of pizza dough. I quickly peeled the paper open, popping the canister open. I get a sickeningly satisfied feeling from opening dough cans.

"Jace get a pan." I peeled the pizza dough from the container, and rolled it out on the pan I just received. I scooped up some sauce.

"No, no, no." Jace took the sauce from me, causing me to spill some on the counter.

"Jace!" I exclaimed, grabbing a towel to wipe off the counter.

"You just put the sauce on. No. We need some butter, garlic, and salt." He grabbed them, putting them together in a bowl.

"Why?" I furrowed my brow at him, wondering what he was doing.

"You need to coat the dough first in the stuff. It gives it more flavor." He informed me, sticking it in the microwave to melt.

"Ok." I snorted.

"I'm in it to win it." He pointed at me with a serious face.

"I can see that." I laughed, adjusting the dough in the pan. Jace poured the butter on the pizza.

Surprisingly Jace made a lot of additions to the pizza that I never thought of. I smiled over at him, seeing him tapping his foot impatiently at the stove.

"You know we are going to win." Luke grinned deviously at Jace.

"Yeah, right." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I saw what you did to your sauce that doesn't compare to what we did to our crust."

"They are smack talking about pizza." Jocelyn whispered to me, snickering quietly.

"Boys." I bit my lip, fighting off laughter.

"I know right." My mother crossed her arms, smiling happily.

OoOoO

The pizza was pulled out of the oven, and Luke and Jace quickly cut it. Jace took a bite, nodding his head with satisfaction. "Clare try some." He gestured for me to eat. I grabbed a piece of our pizza, nibbling on it. It was delicious. That garlic butter made this 1000 times better.

"Oh my gosh." I exclaimed, covering my mouth. "This is some of the greatest pizza every." My eyes were wide, as I looked over at Luke. "I don't think you can beat this." I announced, seeing my mom's eyes roll into the back of her head from their pizza. Luke quickly snatched a piece of ours, as Jace and I grabbed theirs. I quickly ate some of theirs and my knees buckled. The sauce was soo good.

"Crap." Jace tossed it back to the pan. "You win." He sighed, racking his hand through his hair.

"Come on, guys, sit." Luke clasped his hands on our back, leading us to the table to eat out dinner together.

OoOoO

After our parents turned in for the night, I climbed up the fire escape behind Jace, and we settled next to each other on the roof. I blew out a breath, as I laid back against the shingles. He had told me that this was his tradition. I wanted to join him because the view sounded amazing. I gazed up at the night sky, seeing the deep purple that surrounded us. "I wish I could see the stars." I breathed, seeing my breath in the crisp air.

"I could take you to see them some time." Jace propped his legs in front of him, wrapping his arms around them loosely.

"Really?" I turned my head to glance over at him. "Where would you take me?" I asked, as I turned my eyes back to the night.

"Luke has a farm house in the country. He rents it out to people, so maybe I could take you some time." His words seemed a little choppy and hesitant, which made me wonder why.

"Yeah, that sounds fun." I smiled faintly, pushing myself up, so I could be face to face with him.

"I snuck this out of Luke's cabinet." He pulled out a flask, twirling it between his hands. "I have no idea what it is, but I figured Christmas toast." He shrugged his shoulders, unscrewing the top. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I smiled, resting my head on my knee. His face crinkled from the strength of the alcohol, which made me snicker.

"You want some?" He held it out for me.

"I guess." I blew out a breath, taking the flask from him. I have never had a drink in my life, but it was Christmas Eve. Why not? I took a little sip, feeling my throat burn. I coughed, covering my mouth to keep from looking like a total fool.

"You ok there, Clare." Jace laughed a deep from his throat, rubbing my back soothingly.

"I'll be ok." I choked out, shaking my head.

"I should have warned you that's some pretty heavy stuff." Jace took the flask from me, downing some more of it. He was right that stuff was strong. My head already started feeling fuzzy after one sip. A chill traveled up my spine, causing me to shiver. The cold air of winter finally caught up with me.

"It's freezing." I bit my lip, as I tried to rub my hands together for warmth.

"Give me your hands." Jace slipped the flask back in his pack, reaching out to me.

"Why?" I wrinkled my nose, clasping my hands together.

"Because I'm going to warm them up." His lip quirked upwards. I put my hands in front of him, and he wrapped his big ones around mine. I never felt like they were really small until this moment; they were Jace's hands enveloped mine. He put his mouth to our hands, blowing hot air on them. I sighed contently, as the feeling returned to my fingers again. He breathed again and again, until my hands were completely thawed. A pit of nerves formed in my stomach, as he looked up at me with eyes that seemed darker than normal, and I didn't know if it was from the alcohol or something else. He drew away from me, releasing my hands hesitantly.

"Thanks." I murmured, as I stuffed my hand into my jacket pockets.

"No problem." He sighed, keeping his eyes on me. I tried to ignore it. I tried to watch the city. Most of the people were asleep right now because it's Christmas Eve. Most nights the streets are still a little busy. A car will go by every few minutes, but not tonight.

I looked back over at Jace, wanting to ask him why he was looking at me like that, but he answered that question for me. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine. He drew a very short distance away from me, watching my reaction. I let him scan me for a second before I connected our mouths again. His cool hand held onto my cheek, as our lips brushed together rhythmically. This wasn't my first kiss, but this was definitely the best. I drew away from him, chewing heavily on my lip. We stared at each other for a few minutes, wondering what was going to happen next. I mean he's my step-brother. Is this even legal? I gulped, ruffling my hand through my hair, as I contemplated leaving. I should leave. This was a bad idea. I can't believe that that just happened.

"I'm going to bed." I whispered faintly, pushing myself to the fire escape.

"Clary." He said after me, but I kept moving. I needed to think. I needed to get away from him.

A/N: They kissed! Ahhhh! This should any have five more chapters probably.

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