{Chapter 7}
~Three Weeks Before The Wedding~
Jace was nervous.
The last month of planning had been a living nightmare. As it turned out, the reason Magnus was so good at dealing with emotional and unstable brides is because he was worse than all of them put together. He was terrifying. If Jace wasn't helping Clary and Iz plan the wedding he would think that the ceremony was the next day. Although that was all stressful as hell, it wasn't why Jace was pacing up and down the hall of his penthouse.
He could hear the soft humming coming through his bedroom door and when he pushed open the door his breath was knocked out of him. Clary sat on their bed with her legs crossed, surrounded by magazines and binders showing different fabrics in varying shades of white, flavours of cakes and flower arrangements. Her teeth were nipping on the edge of a ballpoint pen as she looked through the seemingly endless pages.
"Hey, you." Clary grinned around the pen when she saw him standing in the doorway.
"Hey, pretty girl." Jace gulped and stepped into the room. Clary blinked up at him through doe eyes and went back to flipping through the pictures, completely relaxed in the bed they shared. "Clary, do you have feelings for me?"
She froze and the pen dropped from her mouth. Jace waited but when she kept quiet he started becoming even more freaked out. Could it be possible for him to have made up everything he thought was going on between them the last couple of months? His face turned crimson when she broke out into a fit of giggles.
Clary couldn't breathe, he was a complete idiot. "Of course I have feelings for you."
"Romantically?" He said, trying to keep his heart from burst out of his chest.
"How can someone so perceptive be so stupid? Yes, romantically!" Clary maneuvered out of the maze of Magnus wedding portfolios. Magnus had given her his favorites and asked her to narrow it down. She was supposed to be going over them with Jace but he had been gone all day. "Do you have feelings for me?"
"For someone so perceptive-" Jace mocked before his words became muffled by Clary's mouth. Her tongue slipped into his momentarily slack mouth before he responded in earnest.
He kissed her like she was air, like Clary Fray was the only oxygen in the room and he was suffocating. Her legs were around his waist and he held her closer still. When she finally pulled away from him she could feel the warmth from his hands on her thighs and the beating of his heart. There was a hardness against her stomach and she knew how painful it could be for men to go on without taking care of that. Clary thought back to all the times they had kissed and were lounging around the apartment half naked.
He had never pushed her for anymore. "Go out with me?"
"Are you kidding me?" Clary blanched. "I've been trying to ask you out for months and you just take it away from me. What the hell, pretty girl?"
Clary grinned against his lips and closed the distance.
Everything about him made her heart beat faster. The feeling of his hair brushing through her fingers, his fingertips digging into the soft flesh of her bare thighs, the arousing groans coming out of him as her tongue moved against his. Her socked feet locked above his ass, pushing herself against him, unconsciously grinding against his hardened arousal.
"If you keep doing that my plan to keep this sweet and PG is going to go out the window." Jace growled into her mouth. Clary couldn't think of a reason why they should keep it PG, she nibbled his jaw.
Clary hummed against his throat. Sucking on his skin Clary moaned, he tasted like salt and fresh scent of mango filled her nose. "Clary." He warned. A gluttonous groan slipping between his lips.
"Jace," Her voice came out husky and wanting. Jace couldn't think anymore. All he wanted was Clary. Kissing him, holding his hand, being with him. Jace was moving before he could stop himself, his knees hitting the mattress of the bed. "Wait, no!"
Shocked and scared that he'd done something wrong, Jace stopped moving. Clary was gripping him tightly and he figured maybe she just wasn't comfortable going the whole distance just yet, for fuckssake he hasn't even answered her yet.
"Sorry," Jace ducked his head into the junction where her neck met shoulder.
"I want to, I just don't want Magnus to murder us because we destroyed his wedding files by having sex on them." Jace couldn't help but chuckle and hug her around the waist, her legs still clinging to him. She was like a monkey trying to climb him.
"For the record, I wanted to go out with you before you threw yourself at me," Jace said jokingly. A face splitting grin lighting his angular features.
Rolling her eyes Clary brushed strands of hair away from his forehead. "Is that a yes?"
"Absolutely and since you took that away from me, will you go to Magnus and Alec's wedding as my date?" He loved her ecstatic grin.
"Sorry, I can't. I have a boyfriend now and I don't think he wants me seeing other people." She slid down his body in excruciating slowness, wanting to feel him a bit longer, and when her feet were finally planted safely on the ground, she kissed his cheek. His heart soared and, if he wasn't scared of Magnus clawing his eyes out, he would have dammed the binders and had his girlfriend right then and there.
"Only you, pretty girl." Jace pushed aside the mess on the corner of their bed and watched his girl mark 'yes' and 'no' on an organized sheet. Jace leaned on his elbows and began sorting the piles she'd gone through.
"Thank you for helping," Ironically his phone interrupted her.
His phone continued to ring, looking at it he could see Alec's name flashing. "Sorry baby." He kissed the top of her head and answered the call.
~o.O.o~
~Two Weeks Before The Wedding~
Clary was cuddled up in Jace's arms on their couch. The television was on but it was only background noise. They kissed slowly, exploring one another's mouths with their tongues. Clary giggled when the knocking at the door got louder and more persistent.
"Every fucking time." Jace growled as he opened the door to see Izzy standing on the doorstep with different shades of white fabric piled high in her arms. "Isabelle Lightwood, I would really like to hang out with my girlfriend without you."
"Jace, no one is more happy that you two finally got your heads out of your asses and finally got together but if this wedding isn't perfect Magnus will murder both of you so you guys can snuggle and make out when this is over." Jace wanted to argue but he knew that she was right. Even though it annoyed the living hell out of him.
They had finally made it official and every time they got close someone showed up to ruin it. The first time it was Magnus' binders, then Magnus himself, then Alec, now Izzy. Jace was starting to think that kidnapping his girlfriend and taking her to a deserted island was the best idea he had had since emailing Fray back.
He could hear Izzy talking animatedly, waving two identical looking fabrics in the air. He closed the door and sat back on the couch next to Clary. His arms crossed and sinking into the soft leather of the couch.
"Don't pout, baby." Clary kissed his cheek and turned back to Isabelle. "Maybe we should go with the creamier seashell. It would match with the blue." Izzy inspected the tester Clary was holding and nodded, pushing the rest of the whites off the table.
Jace stroked Clary's arm comfortingly as the two girls went over the last binder with their final choices. Several things were finalized: the colors, blue and seashell. Venue, bed breakfast in Long Island. Guest list. Wedding party.
Clary rubbed circles into her temples to ease the headache creeping in. Jace hated seeing her in pain but she always promised him that it was worth it to give their best friends the wedding they deserved. Especially when he held her closely at night, Clary would be in the safety of his arms and he could rest easily.
"If my brother doesn't appreciate the shit out of me after this, I'm never getting him a Christmas present again." Isabelle laid her head down on the arm of the recliner.
"If anything goes wrong during this wedding, I will have an aneurysm." Clary was close to tears as the stared at a blank point on the wall. Jace wanted to help, he really did, but Alec wasn't as high maintenance when it came to the wedding.
She had driven to Long Island twice to make sure the venue was completely set. Clary had sent out every invitation and filtered through them to make the seating arrangement. The fucking binders full of cakes and suits were becoming the last straw in her mental house of cards. After watching Clary exhaust herself for weeks on end for this wedding, Jace was certain that if the grooms didn't absolutely love it, he would kill them.
~o.O.o~
~One Week Until The Wedding~
Magnus had finally lost his mind after the fourteenth wedding cake he tasted. Jace and Alec were on one end of the table, Izzy and Clary on the other. Magnus sat in the middle of the group with pure desperation on his face. Alec's hand was clasped on top of his fiance's, fingers warm and soothing.
"We're never going to find the perfect cake for our wedding," Magnus slammed his forehead against the edge of the table repeatedly.
"The orange and vanilla was pretty good." Alec said hopefully.
"Pretty good? It needs to be perfect! This isn't just any other wedding, it's our wedding, it can't be pretty good. It's the most important day that will be the start of our future together, our forever. It can't be pretty good." Magnus explained, his voice shaking with emotion, gripping Alec's hand tightly between both of his.
"Mags. It will be perfect because it's you and Alec." Clary reached out to her best friend. "You love each other so much, anyone can see it. Right now it all seems so important- the cake, the exact white of your tux, but when you're up there. With Alec." Clary watched the two grooms for a moment before her eyes shifted to Jace. "None of it will matter because you'll be standing up there with the man you love starting your life together."
Magnus kissed Alec on the lips soundly, "You're right, the orange vanilla was delicious."
Isabelle cheered, "Yes! I gained twenty pounds in the last two hours and I need to fit into my dress in a week."
"One week." Magnus grinned, finally being able to breathe. "I love you."
"I love you too."
~o.O.o~
~Judgement Day~
Today was Magnus and Alec's wedding day and Clary was already getting a headache from the amount of disasters happening around her all weekend. One after the other. Even worse, she had to keep it all underwraps from Magnus because he was one wrong shade of flowergirl pink away from getting an ulcer. The most upsetting thing from planning the wedding was the bare minimal time Clary got to spend with her boyfriend.
She missed hanging out with Jace, especially now that they were dating it was getting harder to be interrupted every time they became intimate. She just wanted to spend some quality time with her boyfriend- clothing optional style. With all of the details for Magnus and Alec's wedding Clary just hadn't had the time to, hopefully after the wedding she could have quality Jace time. In excess.
First, the bed breakfast place hadn't readied enough rooms for all the guests that had shown up Friday afternoon so Clary had to hustle a dozen maids to clean until their fingers bled, herself included. Thankfully she had managed to distract the guests without rooms with the bar and Magnus was none the wiser.
Second, when the grooms tuxedos and bestmen suits were delivered they made the critical mistake of steaming and ironing out everything except Magnus' pants. An adventure of drycleaners had taken up the majority of her morning before the next crisis struck. The flower arrangements were at an uneven ratio of pink peonies to cherry blossoms. An unusual combination but Clary thought it fit perfectly with the couple. She had been on the phone for hours, sounding like the most OCD paranoid person as she prattled on about the need for at least another two stems of peonies to each table bouquet.
After that Saturday was smooth sailing. Jace was worried about her since Magnus asked her to be his bestman. Clary barely had anytime to spare for her boyfriend or herself in the weeks that followed her acceptance and Jace was scared she was damaging her health.
Clary and Jace were woken up in the early hours of Sunday morning, a nervous delivery boy shaking on their room door. As it turned out the food had arrived but Clary needed to sign for it and direct the kitchen staff, Clary didn't complain as she got dressed and kissed Jace goodbye. She was becoming used to all the madness.
Finally having sorted all the French cuisine, Clary was dragging her feet up the stairs and into the dressing room. She wanted Magnus and Alec to have the perfect day, hell, she had shaved years off her life stressing and perfecting it, but Clary was tired and she missed her boyfriend. Jace helped where he could but Clary had made so many of the arrangements for the wedding that it would take longer to tell him what to do than to just do it herself.
When she slipped into the deep blue dress, that matched Alec's eyes according to Magnus, Clary felt the weight begin to lift off of her shoulders. Soon the wedding would be over and her friends would leave for a two week long honeymoon. Although she loved them both dearly she really didn't want to see either of them for those two weeks. Rightly so.
Isabelle did her hair and makeup. Coils of bright red hair cascading down her back in elegant waves and silver eyeshadow that apparently made her eyes pop. The groom's sister wasn't happy covering up the purple bags under Clary's eyes but she didn't say a word. Both knowing the tiredness was from her extensive wedding responsibilities.
"Thank you, Iz. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had to apply all this stuff to my face." Clary cringed away from the vanity just thinking about the horrible clown face she would have worn if her makeup was in her own hands.
"Don't mention it. I like doing your makeup." Izzy shrugged as she put the final touched to her cheeks and lips. When she was happy with it Iz helped Clary stand from the chair. "I think it's time for the ceremony to start."
"It'll be beautiful."
"All your hard work will finally pay off, weeks of putting yourself second." Izzy linked her arm with Clary's as they walked towards the wedding chapel. "I wish you would have unloaded more on Jace and myself."
"I guess I just work better on my own." Clary said sheepishly.
"Well, you aren't on your own anymore." Isabelle bumped her hip against Clary's.
They approached the grand double doors and Clary could see the bodies filing in, colorful dresses and suits marking colorful streaks against the white walls. Clary could hear the soft music planning from inside, but something was wrong. The band was playing too slowly. She checked the time on her wristwatch and breathed a sigh of relief, she had time to fix it before Magnus was set to walk down the aisle.
"I'll handle it." Isabelle said before Clary could. "Yes, I'm sure. You're Magnus's bestman but Alec is my brother. I can handle a little music tempo fix."
"Thank you!" Clary called out watching Iz disappear into the sea of people.
She hoped that Izzy wasn't upset with her for taking so much of the wedding planning. Clary didn't want all the work, she certainly didn't mean to take over completely, it just worked out that way. Magnus would get an idea and he would call Clary- no matter what time it was. She would write it down and then go through with putting it into action as quickly as she could. As it turned out, doing it like that meant Jace and Isabelle were often left out.
Clary felt the muscles in his arms around her waist before she heard him whisper in her ear. "Hello there, pretty girl. Are you ready to see our best friends tie the knot?"
"As ready as ever," All the guests were inside the chapel and Clary knew it was time for Jace to take their place at the alter. She could see the line of flowergirls, ring bearer, and the empty place for her. "Go in, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Jace kissed her cheek as he passed by. Almost every ivory seat was taken by family and friends. A few random chairs were empty due to circumstance or personality, Jace saw the empty chair next Magnus' mother and his heart squeezed.
Both of Magnus' parents knew Magnus was bisexual, but his father hoped that meant he would still marry a woman one day, not a man. It made Jace angry watching that bare chair. What kind of a parent willingly missed their child's wedding?
"You saw it too, right?" Alec whispered to his bestman. "He's not here. I know Magnus pretends like he doesn't care if he's here or not, but I know it bothers him. It hurts him."
Jace clasped his shoulder in support. "I know but at the end of the day that man doesn't matter, you and Magnus do. Look how many people are here- every single one of them means more than Asmo Bane, he doesn't even make the top two hundred."
Alec nodded solemnly before he blanched, "There's two hundred people here?"
"Take a breath, man." Jace stood calmly on the step below the groom. "And let it out."
Alec never really liked attention all that much, he had almost had a panic attack during their high school graduation walk. It had been in alphabetical order so Jace was up ahead in the line and Alec was between Kilorn and Morgenstern. The only reason Alec hadn't panicked was because Jace pretended to faint and drew all the attention away from him.
Although that option didn't seem like a good idea at their wedding. Since Magnus could actually kill him for ruining it. Hell, Alec might kill him for upsetting his husband-to-be.
The music changed to a classic version of 'here comes the bride', the band playing softly as the wide doors opened. Magnus' bestman stood in the center of the aisle with a wide grin breaking her blushing face.
Clary Fray held a bouquet of cherry blossoms and peonies firmly in her hands, the pink offsetting her dress. Her lightning blue dress hugging her curves and chest pleasingly. Jace had seen it in the hallway but watching her walk down the aisle, towards him, Jace felt absolute joy. It was as though he could see a glimpse of his future. One that he desperately wanted now.
I'm going to marry this girl.
When she reached the steps he held out his hand to help her climb them. He knew she hated high heels and the ones strapped onto her feet were obviously Izzy's choice. Her warm hands fit into his like a piece of a puzzle. Clary took her place parallel to him on the stairs.
Magnus' nieces walked next to each other, glittering silver dresses with thick bows around their waists shining in the light. Their little hands dropped handfuls of red petals on the strip of white leading to the alter. When they reached the front Jace waved them away with a grin. The girls scurried away to their mother with childlike giggles following behind them. He could feel the tension leaving Alec's body.
Even at eleven Jace knew Max would be a heartbreaker. The little comic book monster walked down with a ceremonial pillow in his hands. His shoulders straight, hair gelled back and a knowing smirk on his soft face the entire way down. Jace tugged the boy towards him and tried to resist the urge to mess with his hair, knowing full well that Maryse would kill him.
Seems all Lightwoods were violent. Magnus Lightwood-Bane would fit in perfectly.
Magnus's suit was seashell white. A color that Jace had come to resent for taking away his girlfriend, but even he had to admit that it was the perfect shade. The wedding planner had spiked his hair up and away from his radiant face. For once in his life there wasn't an extreme overload of jewelry adorning his fingers and neck, because he would be getting the most important ring today.
Jace watched Magnus take the steps to his future in earnest. His catlike eyes never leaving Alec's. Jace followed Magnus' movements until he stopped in front of the pastor. Neither Magnus nor Alec were religious but Maryse wanted them to get married in a church, though Jace didn't think either of them really cared where they got married as long as it was to each other.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of Magnus Brooks Bane and Alexander Gideon Lightwood." Jace stared at the joy and contentment on his best friends face. He didn't think he had ever seen Alec look more at peace.
"Magnus, I have loved you since before I knew what loving someone really meant." Alec reached out to grab his fiance's hand. "I thought I knew what true and complete love was but the day I realized I love you, that changed. You're eccentric, you burned down a Wendy's booth on our third date and I'm pretty sure you shed glitter but you're the love of my life and even your arson won't scare me away."
Magnus chuckled. Jace's golden eyes flickered away from the couple and glanced at his girlfriend. Clary's face was cracked in a large smile but her eyes were tearing up. She looked beautiful, as if she sensed him, her eyes locked onto his.
"You are a bright light in my world, when I get home from work I just want to talk to you. It could have been the worst day in my life but when you're there I can breathe again. You aren't just the love of my life. You're my best friend, my lifeline. You make everything okay." Alec reached out and gently wiped away a tear rolling down Magnus' cheek. "When I met you, my life was a mess. I had promised myself not to get involved with anyone until I figured out at least a little bit of what was going on with me, but then you fell into my pool. I couldn't keep that promise but I can keep this one- I promise to love you until my last breath."
Jace couldn't look away from Clary, her hair pushed back over her shoulders and the wonderful deep green of her eyes. She sniffled but her smile never dropped from her face. Jace wanted her to be up there with him. He wondered how rude it would be considered if he asked her to marry him during Magnus and Alec's first married dinner.
"Alexander Lightwood," The notary spoke loudly in the all too quiet church. "Do you take this man to be your husband, to live together, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." Alec grinned and Jace knew that he didn't notice the dozens of people staring. Alec slipped the golden band on Magnus' finger with a shaking hand.
"Magnus Bane, do you take this man to be your husband, to live together, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"
Magnus was nodding before the man had even finished. "I do." Magnus placed the matching ring on Alec's finger.
"Repeat after me." The notary turned to Alec. "I, Alexander Lightwood, take you Magnus Bane, to be my husband and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Alec repeated the words quickly, followed by Magnus. Jace could tell how how excited they were to be married in a few short sentences.
"By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss."
Magnus grabbed his new husband by the collar and smashed their lips together, the crowd cheering as they parted, twin grins splitting their faces. Clary clapped her hands around the bouquet and hollard, Jace cupping his hands over his mouth as a megaphone. The newly married couple laughed as their lips closed over one another again.
The couple walked hand in hand towards the exit, followed by Jace and Clary. Each row of their guests stood on their feet as they passed by. When they passed through the double doors Clary could see the happiness on her friends faces.
~o.O.o~
The dining hall was decorated with streamers of peach and cream. It was lively and bright. A crystal vase sat aesthetically in the middle of each lace tablecloth, ten people filling the spaces around the table. Clary could hear bits and pieces of the conversations at each table as she walked towards the front.
The main table was long and thin, Alec and Magnus sitting in the middle with sweet expressions of love on their faces. Jace sat on Alec's left, Isabelle and Simon down the table. Clary sat between Magnus and Ragnor. Magnus' sister, Catarina with her husband and daughters beside Ragnor. Clary heard Jace ring his wine glass with the tip of his knife.
Jace stood tall beside the married couple. His fitted suit made him look handsome, ribbons of peach on the seam of his jacket. Clary watched the nervous blush appear on his cheeks as the crown in front of them turned their attention to him.
"When Alec asked me to be his best man I had a lot of things on my mind. The bachelor party and how to steal my girlfriend back from Magnus. I started planning for this speech, knowing that the internet is an amazing and slightly scary place, I Googled "heartfelt best man speech". Like a good best friend of over a decade would do. I found a website with thousands of different speech examples that I could pay to see. But I'm cheap, so I'm winging it." The guests laughed and Alec rose his champagne flute in defeat towards his best friend.
Jace gripped the microphone in his hand and continued, "Alec was a very awkward child. From birth to now, honestly he hasn't grown out of that. Despite that, Alec has always been there to bail me out of whatever mess I managed to get myself into. I was fourteen when my parents died, Alec brought me home with him like a stray. Maryse took one look at me and the next thing I knew I was moving into their house. I don't know who I would be without Alec, his kindness and his willingness to help others makes him more than just a good man, it makes him a great one. It has been my honor and my privilege to know Alec Lightwood, to the best man I know."
Glasses filled the air and Alec hugged him tightly. Jace was a head taller than Alec but in that moment he felt small and vulnerable. Like that teenager from so long ago, being held together solely by the strength of his best friend. When Alec finally let him go there were tears shining in their eyes.
Magnus cleared his throat, "Okay, no more touching speeches or I'll cry. Let's dance!" He held out his hand towards his husband and intertwined their fingers.
"Introducing for the first time, Mr Lightwood and Mr Lightwood-Bane." A faceless voice announced from the speakers as Alec and Magnus stepped into the middle of the dance floor.
Magnus led Alec in a slow waltz. Their feet moving in rhythmic circles to the music falling around them. Jace could see how lost they were becoming in each other, losing track of the countless people watching them.
"Excuse me," Jace tapped Clary's shoulder, holding out his hand he bent in a light bow. "May I have this dance, m'lady?"
"Only if you stop talking like that." Jace grinned as she pulled him next to Magnus and Alec's swaying bodies. His hands rested on her hips, Clary reached up and wound her arms around his neck. She hummed along to the tune of the music and Jace smiled at the familiarity of her sweet and husky voice.
"Clary Fray, I am going to marry you someday." The redhead became paralyzed in his arms and Jace's eyes widened at the realization of what he had just said.
Jace was losing his goddamned mind. He had just officially asked her out and they hadn't even gone out on the actual date yet, other than the wedding. It had only been a month of calling her his girlfriend. Jace knew he had had feelings for Clary for a lot longer than the last month but this wasn't normal. Normal people didn't just blurt out marriage proposals in the middle of someone else's dance. What is wrong with him?
Her eyes softened and Jace gnawed his bottom lip in worry of what she would say. They were standing stock-still while other couples moved around them, glancing in their direction curiously. Clary leaned up to his ear, "Is that a promise?"
What Jace said next was filled with complete certainty. "Yes."
To Be Continued...
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mortal Instruments. However, if my life plan works out and I build a time machine- I might one day.
Did you guys like the Malec wedding? There might be another, less family friendly, Clace moment coming up soon so M rating, 18, all that.
Favorite and review!
- Rant ahead -
Did you guys know that the entire Mortal Instruments franchise is based off of a Harry Potter fanfiction that Cassie wrote in the 2000's? It was called 'The Draco Trilogy' and it was taken down because of the amount of plagiarism from a lot of other works. (I'm pretty sure you can even find it on Goodreads). I read this article that compared the characters of Harry Potter and TMI together and the plots from her fanfiction and the TMI books, and basically Jace is Draco, Ginny is Clary, Harry is Alec, and Izzy is a version of Blaise. I want to cry.