"Yeah later," Jace waved back at Alec as he was leaving. He turned to Clary and added, "It was nice to see you."
"You too," Clary smiled back. She could see in his eyes there was something else he wanted to say, but she couldn't figure out what. Then Jace turned and left the apartment. Clary's gaze didn't leave the spot where Jace's bright blonde hair had last been visible to her. Her mind went blank as she stared. When would she see those golden eyes again, she wondered.
"You hungry?" Alec asked.
"Huh? What?" Clary asked, snapping out of her haze and turning to Alec.
"Food," Alec said. "Want some?"
"I ate at work," Clary said.
"Okay, but if you change your mind I'm making breakfast for dinner when Magnus gets home," Alec said. Clary replied politely then turned and headed to her room. Her laptop was in her room and she very much wanted to kill a few hours and a few brain cells by watching hours of mindless youtube videos.
Clary followed some really talented and engaging content creaters on youtube, but tonight she wasn't up for any of that. Instead, she made searches like 'adorable kittens' and 'dogs doing tricks'. After that, she followed related video links and generally tried to turn her brain to mush. She didn't even come out of her room when she heard the door open and knew Magnus was home from work.
It was past eight o'clock by the time any noise outside her room could distract from her mindless youtube binge. She could hear a voice in the living room that wasn't just the married couple squabbling. Curious, despite herself, Clary closed her laptop and finally got out of bed. She had to stretch for a moment, having gotten stiff from sitting still for so long.
Then suddenly Clary froze. She recognized the voice. It was Jace.
Why was he back so soon? Was something wrong? Did this mean he'd finally decided? Did this mean she would lose him forever? Clary had almost been enjoying this little world of hope she'd been living in since they'd become friends again. If he'd made a decision that meant everything could come crashing down.
Then again, maybe she was being too pessimistic. Maybe Jace was just here to see Alec for something. Besides, if it was bad news it hardly made sense for him to rush over and tell her, right?
The fact of the matter was that she'd never know what was going on if she didn't open her bedroom door and find out.
Taking a deep breath, Clary moved her hand forward towards her door handle. She could do this. She needed to do this.
Then suddenly the door was wide open and there stood Jace, grinning at her.
"I don't have to choose," he told her.
Clary had to admit she was more confused now than she'd been before. This fact must have shown on her face because Jace explained what he meant without being asked.
"Between my maybe someday being a dad notion and you," Jace continued. "I don't have to choose. I put off my decision like an indecisive chicken and the universe went and decided for me."
"How's that possible?" she asked. She could tell he was happy and it was getting her hopes up, but he was also making absolutely no sense.
"I can have my cake and eat my cake," Jace said joyously as he reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, swinging her up into the air for a moment before placing her back down. His hands now rested on her hips and Clary enjoyed his touch so much that she almost missed his next words.
"Annika is pregnant."
It took Clary a moment to really process what that meant. Jace didn't have to choose between being a father and being with her because he was already a father, but that didn't make any sense. Hadn't they stopped sleeping together months ago?
"She just told me," Jace continued. "Even Annika only found out a few weeks ago. It seems she didn't have any symptoms so she didn't know for a while. I didn't even know that was possible."
Clary wanted to say that she suspected everything Jace didn't know about women could fill several books, but it seemed off topic.
"Anyway I'm going to be a father in about four months - which means I don't have to choose between the woman I love and being a parent!" Jace was smiling, but then suddenly he stopped. "That is if you think you could handle it. Being with me now means having a child in your life forever, even if only in a stepparent kinda way. It's a compromise, but I'm hoping it's one you can live with - because Clary, I miss you like mad."
Looking at his beautiful face with those golden eyes she loved so much, Clary tried to seriously think about what he was saying rather than getting lost in those eyes.
She failed. All her thoughts became completely occupied by the face of the man she loved. Somehow he looked even more stunning now than he usually did, with hope etched across every inch of his face. His soft blonde hair came down across his forehead, making those beautiful eyes stand out even more. Next, she focused on the shape of his mouth. Those lips she knew so well. She could remember the feel of them against her own so perfectly and yet she knew if she ever got to kiss him again it would feel bright and new.
"I miss you too," Clary whispered. "So much."
She couldn't turn her eyes away from his. It was like he had her spellbound and Clary knew in that moment she had to accept his compromise. The way she felt it was like she had no other choice. She needed him, the way living things needed the sun. He was her own personal sun and she would do what she must to stay in his orbit.
"For you Jace, I can be a stepmom," Clary spoke softly. "But only for you."
Jace beamed at her. It was like she could see the weight being lifted from his shoulders.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Clary Fairchild," Jace said grinning from ear to ear.
The next thing Clary knew he was kissing her and not some soft gentle kiss but a deep passionate one. Clary moaned softly, enjoying the moment as she wrapped her arms around him.
Despite being almost literally lost in her soulmate's touch, it was hard to miss the great whooping shout.
"Well, it's about damn time!"
"I second that motion," Magnus's voice chimed in to agree with his husband.
Clary had forgotten they were even in Magnus and Alec's living room. She'd forgotten a lot of things. She could feel her cheeks warming and knew she must be blushing a deep pink.
"Thank you," Jace said with the air of someone bowing after putting on a show. "But the rest of the evening shall be a private show. Good night."
And with that he whisked her away back to her room and closed the bedroom door.
"I thought we could do without the audience," Jace smiled at her.
"Wise thinking," Clary giggled.
She couldn't help but smile as she looked at him. It was a big beaming kinda smile and it had been so long since she'd smiled like this Clary thought her face might freeze this way. Her heart felt lighter than it had since she'd left for Paris.
Jace leaned in to kiss her again. Clary closed her eyes. His touch felt so warm, so wonderful. It was almost intoxicating. Until this moment she hadn't realized just how very deeply she'd missed him.
Clary wasn't totally sure how they ended up on the bed, but she was glad of it. She'd missed the curve of Jace's body against her own. Missed the shape of his arms and the touch of his skin. She'd missed other things too but they'd have to wait.
"I stopped taking my birth control pills," Clary told him sadly. "It just seemed rather pointless without you."
"Fair enough," Jace smiled back. He leaned forward and kissed her again. Then his mouth moved down her neck and along her arms, before he held up his weight again on his arms and looked into her eyes.
"I am beyond happy just to be able to hold you again," Jace told her.
"I know the feeling," Clary smiled at him. Reaching up she stroked his face with her hand and saw his eyes close slightly.
"Do you remember our first night together?" Jace asked softly after a moment's silence.
"How could I forget?" Clary replied. "You stayed at my side all night to make sure I felt safe." Smiling, she added, "I remember how relieved I was when I woke up and you were still there."
"How could I leave?" Jace answered. "When you asked me to stay so sweetly." He chuckled before adding, "And to think you were technically still dating Simon back then."
"Oh yeah," Clary chuckled. "Feels like a lifetime ago. He and Izzy are getting married next week! I assume you'll be my date for the wedding."
"You assume correctly," Jace chuckled.
"It's crazy how much has changed since we first kissed," Clary said thoughtfully. "We've basically all graduated. I went to Paris. Izzy and Simon are getting married. Magnus and Alec are basically an old married couple. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of other stuff too."
"A lot has changed," Jace agreed. "But at least one thing hasn't."
"Oh and what's that?" Clary asked, grinning.
"How much I love you," Jace replied affectionately.
Clary closed her eyes for a moment, drinking in his words like they were her lifeline.
"I've been in love with you since the first time I wore your jacket," Clary told him softly. "And in this moment I feel sure I'll love you until the day I die."
Jace's arms wrapped around her more tightly then and he buried his face in her shoulder. It wasn't until she felt the tiniest drop of water against her skin that she realized he was crying.
"What's wrong?" Clary asked, worried she'd upset him somehow.
"Nothing," Jace's voice replied but it broke in places.
"Then why are you crying?" Clary tried again.
"Happy," Jace mumbled into her skin.
An involuntary smile spread over Clary's face again. She couldn't remember when she'd smiled more in the space of an hour. She wrapped her arms more tightly around him and buried her own face in his hair. He smelled so good. He'd clearly changed shampoo brands since last she'd held him. Today, Jace smelled a bit like green apple.
Clary didn't want to move and it seemed neither did Jace so they stayed like that, arms wrapped around each other laying in the bed with all their clothes on. Clary hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until she woke up a bit stiff.
"Jace," she said softly pushing on him gently. "Wake up. If we sleep like this we are gonna be sore tomorrow."
"Hmm," Jace mumbled. Clary leaned down to kiss his forehead gently. "I, at the very least, want out of these jeans."
After another gentle nudge, Jace managed to stand and remove his less comfortable clothes. Once he was down to his boxers however, Jace curled back into bed and passed out again. Clary had to admit she was a little jealous. How did he fall asleep so fast! Clary stripped down and put on an old t-shirt to sleep in before curling up in the bed next to Jace and pulling the blankets up over them both.
Just as she was about to fall asleep for the second time, Clary was woken once again by the sound of a cat scratching on her door. Getting up slowly so as not to wake Jace, Clary let Chairmen Meow into the room. Lately, he'd been sleeping at the foot of her bed at night, which had helped Clary get through all those nights alone. Tonight, even though she wasn't alone, the cat was still welcome.
She patted the bed gently and Chairmen jumped up on the bed. Then Clary got under the covers again and settled back into being the little spoon. She felt Chairmen's little paws walk along her legs for a bit before finally settling down between them.
"Good night, Meow," Clary whispered.
With the little cat purring against her leg and her soulmate's arm draped over her, Clary couldn't remember when she'd ever slept better.
Wow, huge delay with this chapter guys. Sorry, but I got super stuck on how the second half of this was gonna go. Usually writing adorable fluff is easy for me so I was surprised when I kept blanking on it. Then one day it just worked. Funny how that happens.
Also YAY Clace is finally back together. Only took me forever! Not much left to wrap up now. I have to write Sizzy's wedding which is coming up very soon here and a few other loose ends to tie up before we call it on this INSANELY LONG STORY.
Let me know if there is any particular plotline you want to see wrapped up and I'll see if I can add it. I am 100% that some of you know this story better than I do at this point so you if remember a bit that I never followed up on just let me know in a PM or review and I'll do my best to work a conclusion for it into the story. With Clace back together all the major conflicts are now solved. Everything from this point on is going to be a bit epilogue-like though I do plan to do an actual epilogue with a time skip at the end.
Sneak Peek Chapter 203
...coming soon...