After two days full of Clave meeting after Clave meeting, the only thing Simon wanted to do was to go home. He barely understood how the Clave worked, and the meetings seemed to be going in endless circles no matter how much talking seemed to happen. Yet Simon refused to leave and pass the situation off to someone other vampire. Because the only person he would be able to pass it off to would be Raphael, and that was the absolute last thing Simon wanted to do. He'd ushered Raphael home for a reason, and he wasn't about to go back on his word.
He couldn't imagine how Raphael felt. The mere thought of losing Isabelle was enough to make Simon feel nauseous. Simon couldn't imagine watching his tattoo fade, knowing that it would never come back. It was a part of him, it was part of what truly made him who he was, and Simon knew he couldn't live without it. Knowing that the absence of the tattoo would mean the absence of Isabelle, the absence of a piece of his soul. So he planned to sit through however many more meetings he needed to if it meant giving Raphael the room he needed to grieve.
Yet all Simon could think about was getting home, especially now that he was in his last meeting. All he wanted was for the Clave to hurry so that he could get back to New York, back to Isabelle. But he knew that wasn't going to happen because this final meeting was going to be the longest one of them yet. This meeting was just for the purpose of remaking the laws regarding Downworlder-Shadowhunter soulmates, but Simon knew that this topic was going to be the most heated of them all. And Simon knew that he should be paying much more attention to this meeting than he currently was, that this meeting was the one that would actually make a difference in his life, but he couldn't seem to clear his mind of the events of the past few days.
The only thing Simon truly heard was the Clave's final decision. He knew that his say in the matter didn't make a difference in the end, so he'd remained silent, the Clave having enough to say on the matter without his input. But when they finally made their decision, Simon actually forced his attention on the meeting, knowing that this decision would make or break his life. Simon had expected to feel like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders when the Clave revoked the law that said Shadowhunters could not have Downworlder soulmates. But in the end, when this announcement was made, Simon truly didn't feel any different than he had before. He wanted to be excited, he wanted to feel different in any way, but he was so tired that all he wanted to do was relax.
So when the celebration began, Simon quickly snuck his way out of the room, not stopping to talk to anyone. Not that he really knew anyone that was there anyway. As planned, he found his way back to where Luke and Jocelyn were staying. Jocelyn was terribly silent as she went to send Magnus a fire message to let him know that they were ready for him to make a portal. He idly wondered whether Clary he fought with Jocelyn because of everything that had happened. Jocelyn hadn't been back for very long, and he was willing to bet that Clary had had just enough time to become angry with her mother.
Once they were back in New York, Simon couldn't even begin to figure out where to go. He knew he wasn't welcome at home any longer, and he couldn't set foot in the Institute. Simon was surprised when Luke pressed a set of keys into his hand. "Isabelle is already there," he said, giving Simon a look that urged him to go to his place. So Simon didn't argue; he simply left Luke and Jocelyn to whatever situation they were about to be in the middle of, but whether that involved Clary or not, Simon had no idea.
What didn't surprise Simon was when Isabelle threw her arms around him as soon as he walked through Luke's door. "Before I get distracted by you," Simon began, hoping he was doing the right thing. "You should know that the Clave changed the Downworlder-Shadowhunter soulmate law, and I want you to be the one to tell Magnus and Alec. It means more to them than I think we'll ever know." Simon sighed in contentment as Isabelle pulled him through the door, shutting it and pressing her lips on his in one swift movement.
"Magnus and Alec can wait until morning," she said, a terribly soft smile evident in her voice. "They need their rest, especially Magnus. I can't imagine losing Alec or Max or even Jace," she finished, the joy of seeing Simon slowly fading out of her voice. Simon hated hearing her happiness drain away, so he did the only thing he knew how and he took her in his arms, willing himself to make things right again. Simon didn't want to fall asleep so quickly, but as soon as his head hit the bed, Simon couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. "Goodnight, Simon," Isabelle said, moving to wrap them up together, just the way Simon felt they were meant to be.
Telling Magnus and Alec about the change in the law was just as wonderful as Isabelle had imagined it would be. She had been worried that the news wouldn't make Magnus as happy as it could have, but he seemed to be just as happy as any of the rest of them, despite the pain she knew he was still feeling. Yet the best part of it was the fact that Alec's smile was the widest Isabelle felt she had ever seen it. Magnus shared a very meaningful look with her that told her he was thinking the same thing about Alec's happiness and then proceeded to invite her and Simon to stay for dinner.
Isabelle knew this was Magnus's way of celebrating without being extravagant about it, that this was his way of showing how happy he was without feeling as though he was ignoring his grief. So in the end, Isabelle ended up on Magnus's couch, sandwiched between Simon and Alec, eating Chinese takeout because no one had been up to the task of actually cooking. "You're not wearing your whip," Alec said between bites, his voice more thoughtful than anything else.
"I've got seraph blades on me just in case," Isabelle replied, knowing that her smile was evident in her voice. She was surprised, however, when Simon reached over to take her hand, automatically turning her wrist over so that he could move to gently kiss her tattoo. Isabelle was slightly unsure of what to do at first. Simon had never shown this sort of affection in front of anyone else before, and, even though she knew Magnus and Alec wouldn't have anything to say about it, it still brought her up short for several seconds.
And then Isabelle found herself moving to gently kiss Simon, despite knowing that Magnus and Alec were most likely watching them in a very amused way. "I guess that's all the explanation I needed," Alec said when they had finally pulled apart. It had been so long since Alec had felt comfortable enough with almost everything going on that he had joked in such a way, and Isabelle took that as the best sign possible. So she did the only thing she knew to do and she reached over to playfully smack him, making a face at Magnus when she saw the look he was giving them.
When Magnus decided that they were going to watch a movie, Isabelle decided that this was the absolute best way she could spend the day, even if she had had other plans for it. So she snuggled up against Simon and lost herself in the feeling of finally having her soulmate by her side. The only thing that distracted her from the movie was the fact that Simon started absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over her tattoo, as if he wanted to keep reminding himself that it was there. Eventually, Isabelle moved to do the same to Simon, resisting the urge to kiss him again when he realized what was going on, when he smiled so wide she felt as though nothing could separate them again.
When Valentine had finally admitted that he was not Jace's father, Clary had felt like a million weights had been lifted off of her. Falling for Jace and finding out that he was her brother would have been one thing, but having her brother and her soulmate wrapped up into the same person would have been another thing entirely. No matter how many times people told her that the soulmate legend also included platonic soulmates, Clary simply couldn't buy into it. Not when it came to her relationship with Jace. She refused to believe that her one and only soulmate wasn't going to be her soulmate in a romantic way. And for once, she'd actually been right.
But the time between when Valentine finally admitted this and the time that she was actually able to speak to Jace again, to be alone with him and finally get started on working things out seemed to stretch on forever. By the time they'd finally gotten home, Clary had been so exhausted that she hadn't felt like finding Jace, she hadn't felt like doing anything other than going to bed for as long as it took for her to feel less like she'd brought the fight home with her.
As soon as Clary woke up, she changed and cleaned herself up as quickly as possible, the thought of finding Jace the only thing taking up any room in her mind. She wasn't at all surprised to find him playing the piano, but she was surprised to hear that he was playing something she had never heard before. And that it was quite possible one of the most beautiful pieces of music she had ever heard. All Clary could seem to do at first was stand and listen, feeling like she was on a journey with the music.
"I wrote it for you," Jace said, not turning away from the piano to look at her. "I couldn't sleep last night, and I kept trying to come up with what I wanted to say to you now that this nightmare is over. And in the end, this is what my mind kept going to," he finished as Clary came to sit beside of him on the piano bench. "I didn't know of any other way to truly show you how I feel," he said, his voice catching ever so slightly, telling Clary that he was unsure of how she felt about the music.
"It's perfect, Jace," she said, reaching to take hold of his hand where it rested on the piano keys. "I wouldn't want anything else." She tried, and knew she failed, to hide the smile in her voice. But she was still surprised at the look on Jace's face when he finally turned toward her. It seemed like Valentine's admission had only made him open up, had made him finally begin to take down the wall he'd been building between them. He was so openly showing his emotions in a way that he never had before that it almost took Clary's breath away at first.
"We should talk about what happened," Jace replied, his voice distant as though his mind was on a million things at once. And knowing Jace, it most certainly was. Clary simply nodded, moving to walk to the couch, hoping that Jace would follow without being asked to. She could feel her heartrate rising, and she tried to calm herself down, telling herself that nothing Jace could say would be worse than the things that they had already been through.
Jace tried to steady himself by taking a deep breath, but he knew that would almost be useless even before he did it. The only person he'd ever been able to be completely open with was Alec, and even then he and Alec still kept things from one another, just the way he knew brothers usually did. But this time, he wanted things to be different, almost needed them to be different. So he dove in without thinking too much, worried about talking himself out of it if he took too much time. "You and I both know how skeptical I was of this whole legend," he began, forcing himself to keep his eyes on Clary even though he was far more nervous than he knew he should have been.
"But, Clary, I have to admit that you've swept me off my feet in the best way possible," he continued, playing with the ring he'd put on his finger despite himself. "All my life I believed that my parabatai bond with Alec would be the only sort of bond that could ever change me in any way. I forced myself to believe that this soulmate legend was nonsense because I wanted so desperately to be in control of who I was bonded to." Jace absently reached for Clary's hand then, slipping off her own ring so that he could look down at her tattoo.
"If I'm being honest now," he continued, forcing himself through the rest of what he wanted to say. "I have to admit that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade my parabatai bond for the world. But this bond with you is so much better than anything I could have ever chosen for myself." Jace finished speaking and looked down at their hands then, smiling ever so slightly at the contentment he found every time he looked at Clary's tattoo.
Clary was silent for several long moments, but only in a contented way, so Jace simply waited on her to speak when she was ready. "I won't pretend to know what a parabatai bond is like," she finally said, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "But if I've learned anything since I stumbled my way into the Shadow World, it's that there's a reason we're soulmates. It's that, no matter what happens, I'll make it through all of this as long as you're by my side. I don't know a lot about this soulmate thing, but I can't wait to learn from you."
Jace couldn't keep himself from moving to kiss Clary. After so many days of having to stay away from her, of having to be so careful because of how he felt for her, Jace had to allow himself to let go. He willed himself to be lost in her. He willed himself to let go of the pain of the past few weeks, of all the worries and heartache and misery that he'd felt. And in the end, it finally worked. For the first time in his life, Jace felt everything he'd been bottling up simply release. And not in the way it did when he was in battle, not in the way it did when he finally argued with Alec after days of keeping things inside. It felt like everything was suddenly lifted from him in the most peaceful of ways. And that's when Jace decided that he finally believed in the legend. So he did the only thing he knew how and he kissed Clary again, smiling against her lips at the very thought of what was yet to come.
So I'm lowkey very sad that this story is finally over, even though I feel like I've been writing on it for my entire life. Some of you have asked about Sebastian and the rest of the story so here's my response to that: At this point, consider this story finished and wrapped up completely. BUT it may not stay that way. I could definitely write a squeal to this because I have a lot of ideas about Sebastian as well as Camille and some of the others that I didn't include in this. But don't worry about that right now, just let it be.
Let me know your thoughts on this story! I love hearing from you guys! And let me know if you have any suggestions about what you want to see me write!