Shadowhunters || Jimonael || Light of Their (After)Life || Jimonael || Shadowhunters
Title: Light of Their (After)Life – How Jace Accidentally Got Two Sugar Daddies
Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: polyamory (m/m/m), alpha/beta/omega dynamics, wingfic, hurt/comfort, courting, fluff, BDSM, kneeling, spanking, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, knotting, sex toys, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Raphael/Simon/Jace
Side Pairings: Magnus/Alec, Lydia/Izzy, Luke/Catarina
Shadowhunters Characters: Jace Herondale, Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, Lily Chen, Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Max Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Lydia Branwell, Clary Fray, Luke Garroway, Madzie Loss, Catarina Loss, Imogen Herondale, Rebecca Lewis, Elaine Lewis
Original Characters: Harald 'Hal' Armstrong, Timothy Jeong, Grace Oriol, Salvador Oriol Salazar
Summary: In the aftermath of the war, the New York Institute wants to strengthen its bonds to the local Downworlders by assigning permanent liaisons to each fraction. Jace becomes the liaison to the vampire clan and thus starts spending much more time with the mated Alpha clan-leader pair, Raphael and Simon. At the same time, he's come to the decision to start embracing his omega nature and get off the suppressants he'd been on his entire life.
Light of Their (After)Life
How Jace Accidentally Got Two Sugar Daddies
Chapter 5: The Incident at the Bar
Jace stood in front of his mirror, straightening his jacket. Straightening the brooch attached to his jacket, with a keen sense of pride. Which in itself was frightening, he shouldn't feel proud to wear these alphas' symbol like that, because they weren't his alphas. Shaking his head, he took another deep breath. He had more important things to focus on.
"Ready to go?" Raphael asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Jace turned around, facing Raphael. "You tell me. Am I looking presentable? Or rather, representable for your clan, Alpha Santiago?"
A bemused smile played on Raphael's lips as he looked Jace up and down very slowly. Jace swallowed hard, somehow Raphael's gaze felt much more intense than it used to. In the end, the alpha nodded pleased and then… offered Jace his arm.
"Very presentable," Raphael also sounded pleased. "Then, come. Simon! Hurry up."
Jace had to grin at that, shaking his head amused as Simon came stumbling out of the bathroom and then out of the bedroom to join them. He came to walk on Raphael's other side. Together, the three of them left the suite and walked toward the conference room they had booked for this. The majority of clan-leaders was already gathered in the conference room. Raphael led the way to the head of the table, and he motioned for Jace to sit next to him.
"I see some are still missing," Raphael furrowed his brows as he surveyed who was present. "Let's give them another moment. I'd like to use that time to thank you all for coming and hearing us out. It shows that you are open to this idea."
"Open is a stretch," someone muttered beneath their breath. "It's still debatable whether the Shadowhunters are going to give us a choice in the matter."
"Yeah. I can see them just pushing one on us if we disagree."
Jace winced. This was going to be a lot of work on his part. He straightened and put his poker-face on. All feelings and confusions in regard to Raphael and Simon was put aside, his focus became single-minded. This was about the mission.
"What do you need to know that will reassure you?" Jace asked.
/break\
After five hours of going in circles, the meeting had finally adjourned, at least for the day. Raphael thought it best if everyone got a chance to digest what had been said and genuinely consider what else they needed to know. Jace had found himself agreeing, and then parting with Simon and Raphael. He needed a drink. Jace stretched and headed straight for the bar. Diplomacy always made him want a drink, this meeting even more so. After ordering himself one, he headed toward the comfortable looking armchairs standing all around. He sank into one, taking a slow, deep drink.
"Gotta say, all of this is making so much more sense after this meeting."
Jace recognized the voice as one of the clan-leaders from the meeting. Turning his head just a bit, he noticed that not too far away, two of the clan-leaders, both alphas, were sitting and drinking together. Mh. He could listen in to get an idea of what their thoughts were on all of this. Toward the end of the meeting, it had all been a muddled mess. He'd like something more concrete.
"What do you mean, McKay? How so?" the other clan-leader asked, sounding confused.
"Did you see that Shadowhunter?" the first one, McKay, explained, amused. "If the Clave is gonna sent a pretty little omega like that to my doorsteps, I sure would be more inclined to accept too."
The second one laughed at that. "Okay, yeah. I see what you mean."
"There's no way Santiago and his mate aren't fucking that omega, come on. You don't get an unmated treat like that dangled in front of you and not bite. One way or the other, right?"
"For sure," the other one raised his glass, laughing.
"Really can't imagine another reason for vampires to willingly work with Shadowhunters. They're probably just… patting blondie's head and making him feel like he's doing great work, before bending him over. I'd too. Heh. Maybe I will."
Jace heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. Great. That much for diplomacy to be working. He lifted his glass up to take another big drink. A sudden commotion drew his attention back to the corner of the room where these two vampires had been sitting. When he turned his head at the sound, he saw that Simon had Tobias McKay pinned against the wall by his throat.
"So this meeting," Simon's voice was such a soft hiss that Jace had to use his runes to enhance his hearing to understand. "It's supposed to be non-violent. But you see, you're sitting here, spewing very gross and also very sexist shit about Jace. And I don't like the sound of it, so I am very tempted to tear out your tongue to make you stop speaking forever, right?"
"Oh, come on, man," McKay laughed nervously. "We're just joking around."
"You're insinuating that Jace is whoring himself out for his job, just because he's an omega. And you're insinuating that my mate and I would patronize him about it and take advantage of him," Simon growled, darkly, dangerously. "I'm still looking for the joke here."
Where the hell was Raphael to control his impulsive mate? Jace glared, looking around and… found Raphael calmly standing not far off. Clearly in earshot. Just standing there, not intervening. Taking a deep, annoyed breath, Jace got up and walked over there, grabbing Simon by the shoulder.
"That's enough," Jace growled, pulling to no avail. "Let him go, Simon."
Simon remained unmoved and he kept snarling at McKay. "No."
The scent of alpha aggression was heavy in the air, thickening with every moment. It was eerily quiet in the bar as nobody seemed to move, everyone looking warily at them. Jace ground his teeth together and pressed himself against Simon's side, trying to move the stubborn vampire.
"You're causing a scene," Jace hissed. "Step back and calm down."
He wasn't good at this, he had never had to do this before, but he did his best trying to emit some kind of calming presence. Omegas should be able to do that. Release pheromones that could calm alphas down. Simon inhaled sharply, his pupils dilating. Though he gave the other vampire another hard shove, he did finally take a couple of steps away, an arm around Jace's waist, pulling him close and away from the other vampires, possessive and protective. Finally, Raphael moved too. Instead of reprimanding his mate though, he rested one hand on Simon's arm and the other on Jace's lower back, turning his full attention to the two other clan-leaders, who still looked mildly rattled.
"I need you to know something about me," Raphael spoke in a calm, soft voice. "I protect those I consider mine from harm. If you were to lay a hand on someone under my protection, you will not survive that. Consider Jace under my protection. So I hope your… poorly chosen words are all there is to you. Because if you ever lay a hand on him, I will make you regret it. Are we clear?"
Oh. So that was why Raphael hadn't stepped in to stop Simon from threatening them. Because he wanted to threaten them himself. Great. Jace had two big, dumb, protective alphas to deal with. With a glare did he drag the now much more cooperative alphas toward the elevator, riding it in total silence, the alphas not speaking up either as they saw the angry glare on Jace's face.
"I am so sorry about that," Simon blurted out as soon as they were in their suite.
"You better be, what were you thinking?" Jace glared.
"Wha…" Simon blinked, confused. "No, I mean, that you actually had to hear them say stuff like that! What would I… Why would I be sorry?"
Closing his eyes, Jace took a slow, deep breath to calm himself. "I don't care about what they said. I care about the fact that you two idiots just threatened two other clan-leaders, from two different clans, over bullshit. That could bite you in the asses so badly, on a political level."
"Your priorities suck, Herondale!" Simon threw his hands up in the air. "You heard what they said! They acted like you were just earning your position by sleeping with us and like that's all you're good for! That's, urgh, I wanna go back and punch him, actually, why didn't I punch him-?"
"I don't need you to save me like I'm some poor damsel in distress who doesn't know how to deal with idiots," Jace actually snarled at Simon at that. "I heard what they said and I don't care. What? You think that's the first time someone reduced me to my body? C'mon. That happened even before I presented as an omega. That I'm just a dumb pretty blonde. Do I have to remind you that everybody mocked the mere idea of me having a book club, thinking it had to be a euphemism? Because there's no way Jace enjoys reading, it has to be about sex? This kind of talk isn't new to me and I do not care what others think. I have been the son of Valentine Morgenstern during the war, do you have any idea how people talked behind my back about me then?"
He took another breath, trying not to sound too agitated, trying to articulate himself calmly and evenly so these thick-headed alphas would actually listen. "I am really used to people not taking me seriously and belittling me for one reason or another. The nameless orphan. The dumb blonde. The beta who likes to sleep around. The son of Valentine Morgenstern. Being an omega is just… a new angle. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what some random asshole I may never see again thinks about me. What does matter to me is that I am here on a diplomatic mission. And if two clans back out of Alec's program, because two over-protective alphas thought they had to do some posturing on my behalf? I care about that. Do you… understand that?"
The real problem was that part of Jace had liked it when the two had stood up for him. Nobody aside from Alec and Izzy had ever stood up to anyone on his behalf. Even without his attraction toward them both taken into account, some part of him was incredibly pleased that someone felt like it was worth it to stand up for Jace and defend him. Even if Jace didn't need to be defended or protected, their willingness to do so – especially while Jace hadn't even been there, not as a show in front of him but simply because they wanted to stick up for him – still felt really good.
Good in a way that Jace was currently struggling to fully grasp. Because there was also another, slightly different, way in which this made him feel pleased, having his two alphas so readily threaten violence to other alphas just for talking badly about Jace. No, actually, Raphael had gone a step further. He'd made sure these alphas knew that if they ever touched Jace, he would kill them.
Jace was a trained soldier, even alpha vampires, he could take care of on his own if they tried to attack him. He didn't need to be protected. Apparently, that did not stop him from wanting it. Because what he was feeling right now? He was definitely enjoying the fact that his alphas were ready to protect and defend him. More things to digest and deal with.
"We… have overstepped," Raphael looked genuinely apologetic. "And I'm sorry for that."
"I…" Jace heaved a sigh. "Look. I… do… appreciate that you guys care, okay? That's… sweet of you. But I'm a big boy. I've dealt with worse than this. I will continue dealing with worse than this. The point is that this wasn't worth the trouble it may cause you guys, okay?"
"If that's the point, then… hard disagree on that," Simon stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest and raised his chin a little. "Look, if you feel patronized by us stepping in to speak on your behalf, then yes, absolutely with Raph, totally sorry, do not want to overstep. But if this is about you thinking that we tanked a political alliance over 'nothing', or dented our reputation or anything like that? Then you are just… wrong. Sorry. You are."
"That sorry was worth nothing," Jace muttered.
"He's right though," Raphael raised an eyebrow at him. "We would not create any kind of alliance with alphas who speak like that about any omegas, much less those close to us. Simon and I did not hurt our political situation with this, we simply made a stance for what we stand for."
Jace rubbed his hands over his face and heaved a deep sigh. "Stubborn bastards."
"We do mean it though, we don't want you to feel like we're two alphas trying to speak for you," Raphael's voice was softer this time. "That was not our intention. Our intention was to defend someone we care about."
Jace's heart made a little jump at that. Raphael admitting that he cared about Jace. Simon? That guy threw words like care and love and such around like they meant nothing. Or like he had been raised by a loving mundie mother who taught him to express his love. One of those. Simon had repeatedly, loudly proclaimed them to be friends and often stated that he cared about Jace.
Raphael and Jace were new. They'd never been close in the past, they had been building up to some kind of dynamic in these past three months. Work acquaintances, was what Jace tentatively called them in his head, because even in his head, he didn't care assume they were friends yet. The main reason Raphael even let Jace into his home was because of their new work relationship. And the vampire was so hard to read, so Jace hadn't wanted to assume anything, even if his own feelings for Raphael were rapidly changing and growing. To hear Raphael say that he cared about Jace filled him with a warm, comforting sense of relief. They weren't just work acquaintances, he wasn't just someone Raphael tolerated because of work, he was someone Raphael cared about.
Maybe that concern was stupid on his part, since Raphael frequently spent more time with him than he needed to, to sit together and talk. Raphael had even started picking up the same books that Jace was reading, so they could talk about them. Clear indicators that Jace wasn't simply the liaison that Raphael had to deal with. But Jace had some trust-issues, self-worth issues, born from the war.
After Robert and Maryse had so quickly and easily cut him out of their lives while the Clave hunted him down. The way Jocelyn had tried to murder him when thinking Jace to be her son, when Jace thought she was his mother. Hodge, who had always been a mentor and guardian, betraying them without any hesitance. And then there was his 'father', the man who had raised him, who had always warped Jace's understanding of love. A child should be able to assume that their parent loved them, and that they could trust their parent. That was something that had been broken multiple times in Jace's life, by multiple parental figures.
It came hard to Jace, to believe someone cared about him, truly cared about him.
/break\
Jace had gone to take a shower, but Simon had the feeling he'd mainly left to no longer be in one room with Simon and Raphael. The blonde had looked genuinely angry with them and Simon hated that, a lot. He also didn't understand that though. Jace should be angry at those vile alphas, not at Simon and Raph, who had just tried to defend his honor! And okay, Simon could hear how bad that sounded, in the sense that Jace was like a real-life superhero with super-strength and the training to kill a man like fifty ways without a blade, so Simon could understand Jace being peeved that two alphas thought he needed his honor defended like a damsel in distress or something. But still.
Simon groaned as he buried his face in Raphael's chest in frustration. "I don't like when he's mad at us but I am also kind of not sorry because if I just think about what this asshole was saying, I want to go back down there to punch him in the face. Like, how dare this asshole talk about our omega that way, I want to put him in his place."
Raphael hummed and smoothed Simon's hair down. "I… feel the same."
Simon tilted his head up to peek at Raphael, before gently kissing Raphael's jawline. It was amazing, that he now got to talk to his mate about Jace like that, and that Raphael shared Simon's feelings. No longer did Simon have to feel guilty about having feelings for Jace. Instead, he got to have someone who understood how frustrating it was to want Jace.
"How about we feed our omega to try and make him forgive us?" Raphael suggested gently. "Humans need to feed more often than vampires, but I haven't seen him eat at all so far. And it's already quite early in the morning."
"Yeah, I think this messed up vamp time schedule might have made him forget to eat," Simon sat up with furrowed brows. "We should order room service. That's a great idea."
/break\
Jace had taken a long, cold shoulder to calm himself down. He felt a little better when he stepped out of the shower. Still confused about his own feelings in regards to what had happened though. Pleased that his alphas wanted to defend him and annoyed that his alphas did that. He also needed to stop thinking about them as his alphas. He put on sweatpants and a hoodie and then headed back out into the spacious living room, because he could hear both Raphael and Simon's voices.
"What… is that…" Jace stared and sniffed, looking surprised.
The scent of food, good food, flooded his nose and there was a whole buffet set out. Simon came to stand in front of it with a bright, but slightly nervous, grin. Raphael sat calmly on the couch.
"So, we ordered dinner. Since you haven't eaten too much since we got here."
Jace's eyes narrowed as he saw actual lobster, steaks, salmon. This looked like they had just ordered every expensive item on the menu. His stomach growled. With a shake of his head did he approach the set out buffet and grab the lobster that he had joked about yesterday.
"If you are trying to bribe me with food to forgive you," Simon had zero poker-face, he immediately winced at Jace's words. "Foods with bacon."
"What?" Simon blinked confused.
"I don't need you to throw money at me to appease me," Jace motioned at the lobster, even while he ate it. "I like bacon, a lot. Everything is better with bacon. So. If you're trying to make me forgive you, use something I actually love. Bacon, or strawberries, I like those a lot too."
"Duly noted for the future," Raphael offered the smallest smile.
Him and Simon drank their blood while watching Jace wolf down about half the food they'd ordered, which was impressive considering how much they'd ordered. Looking at it, Raphael had to admit that it gave off an air of trying to throw money at the problem to make it go away, which was not the impression he wanted to make. While he enjoyed spending his money on those he loved, he did so to make his loved ones feel cherished and valued. Jace was right, expensive might not be the way to go when it came to apologizes, because it actually felt cheap in that context. Though he had mainly ordered so much because he didn't know what kinds of food Jace liked the most, so he had attempted to cover all their bases. They'd never really eaten with Jace before, after all. Something Raphael noted to rectify in the future. Perhaps he could cook something the next time Jace was over for liaison business, earning them more time with the omega and showing that he cared without spending money. After all, Raphael loved cooking – he used to cook for Rosa, he cooked for Elaine and Rebecca, whenever Simon's family was over visiting, for Isabelle too. The thought of being able to cook for Jace, to express his affections in such a personal manner, excited him.
Once Jace was done with his food, he groaned softly. It sounded pleased. He looked sated. And then he did something unexpected for Raphael. He unglamoured his wings, and spread them wide while stretching his body. It left Raphael stunned. Sure, he'd seen Jace's wings before. Outside, in the dark of night, during missions when the Shadowhunter took off for a fight. Never up close, in good lighting, with Jace holding still, before. They were gorgeous. Pristine white, dusted in gold in patterns similar to a barn-owl's wings. Raphael stared at them in awe.
"Okay, that was good," Jace sighed contently. "Why are you staring at me, Raph?"
"I've… never seen your wings up-close before," Raphael admitted. "They're beautiful."
Jace blinked, repeatedly, staring at him, his cheeks flushing. "...Thank you."
Raphael desperately wanted to touch them. Run his fingers through the feathers, feel if they were as soft as they looked. He shook his head, knowing from Isabelle how intimate wing-touching was.
Author's note: Hiii. Me again. Displaying Zero Self-Control about this fic! ^-^
BUT I had this scene at the bar in my mind and couldn't shake it and HAD to write it. I just LOVE the aspect of instinctively possessive protectivene alphas when it comes to ABOverse. And I also love the duality of Jace struggling with not NEEDING something but still WANTING it