Clary didn't mean to let the time slip away from her, but before she knew it, it had been months. After the phone call with Isabelle she made the choice to put some distance between them. While she didn't fully credit her words with Jace, she did know that she needed time. Then she became busy with work and wedding planning and suddenly it was almost Christmas without a word exchanged between them.

On occasion she would ask Magnus to see a photo of Jessamine when she saw him, but she didn't even allow herself to gaze too long. After all, the baby that had looked so much like Isabelle was now transforming into a mini Simon. Her eyes had darkened to a chestnut. The curve of her cheek and the shape of her nose was almost identical to the baby photos Simon's mother had shoved under Clary's nose when they'd been dating.

"So I was thinking we'd go out for dinner tonight?" Jace's words shook Clary from her musings as he put down the papers he'd been holding.

"Sure," she replied with a smile. Their evenings had taken on a routine. Clary would return home from the studio with Jace not far behind. When he had at one time worked at the office late into the night, he now rushed out as soon as he could, eager to get home to Clary. Although some nights he still brought work home with him, he preferred sitting at the table with Clary or hearing her soft footfalls outside his office.

"Taki's?" Jace grins. Clary chuckles and nods as she stands from her place on the sofa. She'd been trying to finalize the flowers for the wedding for weeks now, but what had once been so novel and exciting had quickly become overwhelming. They couldn't decide on a venue let alone all the other endless details that come with a wedding. She had hoped to set a date for the spring, but that seemed like an impossible feat.

The couple got in the car and took the short drive into town for their dinner. As they were walking up to the restaurant, Clary blurted out, "Why don't we just elope?"

Jace had just reached to open the door, but now his hand hung in the air as he looked back at Clary, "Is that something you'd want?"

Clary wrung her hands as Jace got a grip on the door handle and pulled. A flood of people flooded out as if waiting and any response Clary might have said was lost in a wave of sound. They entered the restaurant and were quickly seated despite it being the tail end of the dinner rush. Once they had slid into a booth facing each other did Jace raise an eyebrow as if asking for some kind of elaboration.

"It's just… I didn't have a huge wedding before. We were young and kinda broke… but it was still a bit of a production. And all this planning is not as smooth as I'd hoped it would be," Clary sighed.

Jace had picked up a straw from the table as she spoke and his fingers were anxiously tearing at the paper wrapping. He had a small pile of white shreds by the time she had finished. He had noticed her lack of enthusiasm. Even when he tried to suggest colors or flowers or cake flavors she brushed him off. Will and Tessa had assured him it was just because he was the guy and was probably making all the wrong suggestions, but he couldn't push down the dread that this isn't what Clary really wanted.

"So, you don't want a wedding?" he asked, "I could hire a wedding planner. You could tell them what you like and they could handle it all,"

"That's a lot of money," Clary shook her head, picking up her menu.

"We have money, Clary, this isn't about money. Don't be ridiculous," Jace pressed. He knew he sounded pompous and pushy, but he was losing the handle on his dread.

Clary's eyes snapped up to his, "Did you just call me ridiculous?"

"Well come on, Clary-"

"Don't "come on, Clary" me. I'm not ridiculous. Just because you make money doesn't mean you should throw it around," she hissed, her voice lowering as the waitress came to take their order.

Now Jace was twisting the last strip of the wrapper around and around his finger. Clary ordered but his chest felt tight and he didn't want to eat. This was going poorly and he suddenly didn't know how to say what he wanted. He must have ordered something, though his ears did not hear it, because the waitress left.

"I don't know why you'd want to spend a bunch of money on some party for everyone else anyway. That's what a wedding basically is. A party for everyone you invite while you take a bunch of pictures," she continued and Jace just wished she would stop.

"Flowers die anyways, and I read that 70% of couples don't even eat at their reception…" she continued and he wasn't sure why she was doubling down like this.

"And don't even get me started on the dress! A big white dress you only wear once, such a waste," she huffed. And because Jace was sure she didn't want to marry him at all, he finally responded.

"If you don't want to marry me, you can just say it," he muttered, his eyes burning into the tabletop because if he looked at her, the tears would surely fall.

"If I want?" Clary leaned in. The restaurant was louder than usual and she hadn't heard him.

"If you don't want to marry me, you can just say it," Jace repeated, punctuating each word. He waited for a blow that didn't come, as Clary reached a hand out and brushed his knuckled,

"I didn't say that. It's just, we're both so busy and we can be married without a huge wedding. We can do something small, somewhere beautiful. Then we'll be married," Jace's eyes flitted up and when he saw how warm Clary's was, he also noticed how tired they were. Jace felt the knot in his throat loosen as he linked his finger's with hers.

"All I've wanted for 15 years is to marry you. If that means Will marries us in the living room, then I'll be happy," he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, "I'm sorry I freaked out a little bit there,"

"How could you ever think I wouldn't want to marry you?" Clary attempted to brighten the mood. Jace just shook his head, a little embarrassed.

"So what were you thinking?" he said.

"I haven't really thought about it, just something to consider,"

"Okay,"