#giftee: amchara

[sh-rare-pair-exchange]

Backflips are Always Necessary

For @amchara

Summary: “For real? You have a crush on Simon?” Alec’s eyebrows were so high they were nearly in his hairline. “Lower your voice.” Jace glanced back to see that Simon was still talking, laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to the internal meltdown Jace was having across the bar. “I don’t have a crush. I just—” He paused, not sure how to put his not-a-crush into words. “Want to stare at him longingly from across the room while he sings love songs?” Magnus kept his voice low, but it was still full of sass as he continued, “Want to see how long he can hold you up against the wall of the training room?” And then he said in a more sultry tone, “Want to drag your teeth down his abs?” ~~~ Jace and Simon have been working and training together for months. When did Simon get so hot??

Read on ao3

“The backflips are so unnecessary.”

Jace shot a quick grin at Simon, and then did another backflip over Simon’s head, landing behind him. He whirled and swung his sword, and Simon just barely dodged the blow—but the tip of Jace’s sword caught the edge of his shirt, slicing cleanly through the fabric. Simon scowled down at it, poking a finger through the hole.

“Not so unnecessary when it distracts you,” Jace responded with a grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet. It was getting harder and harder to score a hit on Simon, and a rush of victory ran through him. This was fun.

“Dude!” Simon glared at him, and then started tugging his shirt off. “This was brand new!”

Jace smirked as Simon held his sword in one hand and his shirt in the other, frowning down at it. Jace swiped the sweat off his forehead; they’d been at it for nearly an hour. Simon was always strong, it came with being a vampire, but he’d learned so quickly these past few months. His reflexes rivaled Jace’s, and he’d gone from constantly being put on his back to knocking Jace on his ass more often than he should. Jace almost hated to admit it, but he was kind of proud of the little nerd.

Not so little, Jace thought, unable to tear his eyes away from Simon’s torso. He didn’t need to breathe, but he still did automatically, and with every breath his chest flexed. He wasn’t as built as Jace was, but he was agile, lean, power flowing through each fluid movement of his body. Jace could imagine dragging his fingers down those strong pecs, over his nipples, down his stomach, past his belly button and following the little trail of hair that led to—

“Jace!”

Jace jerked his head up to see Simon with his sword raised, shirt discarded on the floor, ready for another round. “You okay, man? You zoned out there. Need to tap out?”

Heat swirled in Jace’s gut as he stared at Simon, those dark eyes looking at him intently. What the fuck? He shook his head, falling easily back into a defensive stance.

“Yeah, you’d like that,” Jace said, forcing another grin, keeping his eyes trained resolutely on Simon’s face. His face, not his stupid washboard abs and— “Let’s go.” And then he lunged forward.

Simon wasn’t ready for the aggressive attack, and he stumbled backwards a step before parrying Jace’s blow. They continued to move across the training mat, gaining and giving ground to each other as they sparred. Jace let his muscles move on auto-pilot, his mind stuck on whatever the fuck just happened. He had been ogling Simon. Simon. Nerdy vampire Simon, who nearly did a cartwheel when he found the lego version of Kylo Ren’s shuttle on Ebay for a price he could actually afford. Simon, who thought his ‘James Bond’ face was an effective method of seduction. Simon, whose idea of a good time was sitting on his ass and playing Halo until 3AM.

Okay, so he was right about the Halo thing. But he was Simon. He was not attractive. Jace didn’t go for guys often, but when he did, they weren’t whiny whimps that just so happened to be stupidly built, with dark brown eyes that focused so intently on Jace when they were arguing or sparring or doing anything ever, and a freakishly charming smile with full lips that Jace could so easily imagine pressed against his own, dragging down his jaw, sliding over his throat—

A hard impact against a solid surface jarred Jace out of his thoughts. He blinked once, focusing on the gleaming grin that was inches in front of his face. He registered heat, and something solid pressing him against the cool brick of the wall—Simon. Simon had him pinned against the wall, their hips slotted together easily, Simon’s face so close that his hot breath fanned over Jace’s cheek.

“You’re really off your game today.” Simon’s teeth gleamed as he smiled, his body taut and tight against Jace’s. Simon had Jace’s wrists pinned on each side of his head, and something sparked down Jace’s spine, radiating a delicious tightness throughout his body. Jace stared at Simon for a beat, and the sword Jace was still holding onto fell from his hand with a clatter.

“I can be distracting too,” Simon said in a teasing tone that definitely did not cause a flush to run through Jace’s body, “and I didn’t even need a backflip.”

Irritation (and that was it, only irritation) flared high in Jace’s belly, and he tried to shove Simon off. But of course Simon was a fucking vampire with stupid superstrength. He didn’t budge; in fact his smirk said he seemed to enjoy Jace struggling and fuck he was getting hard fuck fuck fuck.

Jace twisted his leg at the knee, hooking around Simon’s calf and jerking. Simon let out a very undignified yelp as he fell to the ground, landing hard on the mat on his back. His smirk was still in place as he looked up at Jace. It made his stupidly adorable dimples more prominent, and Jace exhaled through his nose as his heart gave an extra-hard thud against his chest.

“Your form is still shit,” he said tersely. “Maybe focus on that instead of cracking jokes all the time.” Then he spun on his heel and walked away, ignoring Simon cackling behind him.

~~~

He didn’t see Simon for the next several days. He was training with Alec and researching with Clary and doing basically anything that kept his mind busy (and his body away from wherever Simon was). Because when his brain wasn’t occupied, it kept digging up memories. Of every sparring session that ended with one of them on their back, every grin that Jace hadn’t read as flirtatious at the time, every smart-ass remark or argument where Jace wanted to throw Simon up against the wall.

And of those memories that Jace had boxed up and locked away in the far corner of his mind. Like that night when Simon had drunk his blood.

Jace had known it would feel good; people didn’t get addicted to a vampire’s bite for no reason. But the entire situation was the farthest thing from sexy—Simon was on the edge of death, and he needed Jace’s blood to heal him. Jace hadn’t expected the electric charge that had gone through his body when Simon’s lips pressed against his wrist, or the heat that tangled in his gut as Simon pulled blood from his body.

He’d told himself it was just the adrenaline, and the euphoria from Simon’s vampire venom. But now, after how his body had reacted in the training room, he wasn’t so sure. His brain kept flickering back to the memory of Simon’s hard body pinning him to the wall, of his mouth just inches away from Jace’s face, of Simon’s thigh pressing against his, in the perfect spot to just ghost over his—

“Stop.” He set the dagger he’d been cleaning down a little more roughly than he should have, and he felt Isabelle’s disapproving frown before he saw it.

“I don’t know what crawled up your ass, but don’t take it out on my equipment.” Isabelle picked up the dagger, giving it a critical look before rubbing it carefully with the cloth in her hand.

“It’s fine.” Jace sighed. This wasn’t working, no matter what he did, Simon just kept crawling back into his head like an annoying little gnat. With really nice gnat arms. Fuck.

Okay. Clearly some weird, hind part of his brain had suddenly decided it found Simon attractive. It had decided it way too many times over the past few days, from how often he’d found himself with his cock in his hand, stroking himself to the memory of Simon pressing him against the wall of the training room.

Which, yeah, objectively Jace could understand it—Simon had the smoking body that was only getting hotter the longer he trained. But the second Simon opened his mouth, he negated all the allure his washboard abs and ridiculously firm ass brought him.

He argued. Like, all the time. He questioned every decision Jace made, wanted to know the hows and whys and ‘maybe we should try this’ or ‘why do we always have to do what Jace says’ and maybe it’s because Jace actually knew what the fuck he was doing, Simon.

He also rambled about the nerdiest shit; he had once spent two hours going on about why the tenth Doctor was the best Doctor, and why the ninth was ‘vastly underrated.’ First of all, Jace had no idea why Simon went through so many doctors and it worried him. Second, the only reason Jace hadn’t cut Simon’s tongue out that night was because Clary had hidden his knives and he was too drunk to find them.

But, Jace had to admit, he had seen another side of Simon over the past several months. He’d gone from hardly being able to hold a sword to holding his own against Jace with not only it, but also several other weapons. He’d proven himself more than capable in the field, with his quick wit, ability to think on his feet, and a relentless cleverness that had surprised everyone (even Jace had to admit he was impressed when Simon tricked the Piskies into signing a treaty by using their own crazy logic against them). Plus, when he used his words for things that actually mattered, like recommending new music for Jace (his ability to put together the perfect playlist for whatever mood Jace was in was almost uncanny), or showing Jace a new strategy in Call of Duty, he was actually pleasant to talk to. Maybe even fun. So it was possible, maybe, that Jace could understand why his dick had decided to overlook how disgustingly dorky Simon was.

In any other circumstances, Jace knew what he would do—he’d flirt. Like, hardcore flirt. And if Simon flirted back, Jace would make a move—ask him out, or just have another training session in a more… secluded location and see what happened.

But this was Simon. Jace had no idea if he even liked guys—he’d only ever seen Simon date girls. And while he was pretty sure he’d caught Simon staring at his ass once or twice, that was hardly a good barometer for if Simon wanted to do more than look. Jace had a really great ass; it would catch anyone’s eye.

“You wanna talk about it?” Isabelle asked way-too-casually as she began placing the weapons back in their holders.

“Not really.” Jace handed her a dagger, steadfastly avoiding her gaze. Asking anyone about Simon’s… preferences was out of the question. Especially Isabelle or Clary. First they’d die laughing and then they’d probably try to do some kind of romcom set-up thing. Jace would rather poke his eye out with his steele than deal with any of that.

Isabelle hummed, and he waited. Surely she would poke and prod and try to force Jace to talk and that was not happening. He was going to take his illicit fantasies of Simon blowing him on the training mat to the grave.

So he was surprised when Isabelle simply said, “Okay,” and continued putting weapons away. They worked in silence for a moment until Isabelle asked, “Are you coming with us to the bar tonight? Simon’s playing a set.”

“What do I care if Simon’s playing?” The words were out of his mouth before he realized he was going to say them, and he refrained from rolling his eyes at his total lack of chill. Get a grip. So what if his brain was pulling up memories of Simon strumming his guitar, crooning soulfully into the mic? Memories he’d never considered sexy before. But now, just the thought of them sent a gentle heat swirling through his torso.

He clenched his jaw. This was ridiculous; he felt like a horny teenager that just figured out how to masturbate.

Isabelle arched an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t say you did. I just think it’ll be fun and, no offense, but you really look like you can use some of that right now.”

Jace forced a rueful chuckle. “Watching Simon croak out his latest emo ballad-of-the-week is the last thing I’d do for fun.”

Isabelle’s face went from amused to contemplative. The fake grin fell off his face; he knew that look. It was the same one she used when they sparred, when she was considering if she should take him out at the knee or disarm him first, or when she was putting together an outfit for an important date. She was puzzling something out, putting pieces together in her head, and this was one puzzle Jace did not want her to put together.

“You said you liked his music,” she said thoughtfully, taking a step closer. “That it had ‘soul.’”

Jace snorted, even as his heart sped up in his chest, because he had totally said that. He’d been a little drunk at the time and he didn’t think Isabelle could hear him because she was sucking face with Clary a few feet over. (No, it didn’t bother him that his adoptive sister was hooking up with his ex. Okay, it did for like a week but he got over it.)

“Doesn’t sound like something I’d say.” He turned away from Isabelle, like if she kept looking in his eyes, she’d know that he was imagining Simon singing Lover while staring right at Jace. Which Jace totally wasn’t imagining. Because he hated that song. Taylor Swift was the worst.

“I have other plans tonight. You guys have fun.” He strode out the door, feeling Isabelle’s stare following him. Whatever. He was going to go find something to hit, and then find a date for tonight. He was totally not going to go watch Simon sing.

~~~

He was not here to watch Simon sing. He just literally had nothing better to do. He had done every single job he could possibly do at the Institute, he couldn’t find the book he was reading, and the drinks here were the cheapest in town (free, since his brother-in-law owned the place and all).

He had nabbed a stool in a dark back corner of the bar on the lower level; a stage had been set up across the room, and Jace watched as Simon adjusted his equipment. He was nervous; Jace could tell by how he kept re-tuning his guitar and his inability to stand in one spot for longer than three seconds. He also kept glancing up and scanning the room, as though he was looking for something. He apparently wasn’t finding it from how he would frown and look back at his guitar while muttering under his breath. With his vampire senses, Simon should be able to see Jace even in his dark corner, but if he noticed Jace, he didn’t make it apparent. A cold bead of disappointment formed in his chest at the thought that Simon might not notice him, and Jace brushed it away.

Clary, Isabelle, and Alec were sitting at a table not far from the stage. Jace had waved at Maia when he came in, and he recognized other familiar faces around the bar. It was a larger crowd than Simon usually played for, and his first time playing at Magnus’s club, which was probably why he was more nervous than Jace had ever seen him. As Simon did one last sound check, his mouth twisted in an uncharacteristic frown, Jace was suddenly struck by the urge to run up to the stage and wrap his arms around Simon, reeling him in tight so he could whisper in his ear, ‘Untwist your panties. If you can take out a fire demon without breaking a sweat, you can plunk out five songs in front of a few dozen people.’ Simon would pull back and smile at him, highlighting those stupid dimples—

“Well, well, well. Look who decided they could make it tonight after all.”

Only years of training kept Jace from jerking in surprise at hearing Magnus’s voice so close behind him. He tossed back the rest of the bourbon he’d been nursing, focusing on getting his stupid emotions under control before turning to Magnus. Whose ever-present smile aimed directly at Jace.

“Isabelle said you were otherwise engaged.”

“My plans changed, so.” Jace nodded at the bartender, who poured him another drink.

“One for me, please,” Magnus said, sliding onto the stool next to Jace. The bartender grabbed a glass for Magnus. On the other side of the room, Simon began his set, launching into a slow song Jace had never heard before. Jace wasn’t sure to be irritated or thankful that Magnus had shown up; one part of him wanted to be alone so he could drink in every moment of Simon on stage in private. The other part of him was horrified about the entire thing, begging Jace to ask Magnus to check if he was under the influence of a spell that made you lose all common sense.

They sat in silence for a moment, long enough for Jace to wonder if maybe Magnus just didn’t want to be subjected to Clary and Isabelle’s overenthusiastic antics during Simon’s set. Currently they were both swaying and holding up lighters while Alec sat with his arms crossed, looking like he was ready to sink into the floor next to them. Jace couldn’t stop a corner of his mouth from pulling up as he watched Simon’s face light up with amusement as he sang to the crowd.

“So,” Magnus said, and Jace turned to see him leaning back, looking at Jace knowingly, “that was quite the display in the training room the other day.”

Jace’s gut twisted, but he kept his face neutral as he replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh?” Magnus leaned forward, grinning way too wide. “You don’t remember that—” he pointed to Simon, who was accepting a smattering of applause at finishing his first song, grinning sheepishly he made some kind of joke that Jace didn’t catch but he was sure was impossibly corny— “sexy hunk of vampire pressing you up against the wall? Too bad; it’s certainly an image I’ll remember for the rest of my days.” Magnus took another sip of his whiskey, watching Jace expectantly.

Jace frowned, shifting in his seat. He had thought he and Simon were alone, but he should know better by now. “What were you doing there?”

“I had just had lunch with my husband and was on my way out when I heard the most enticing grunts and gasps coming from the training room.” Magnus grinned again as Jace rolled his eyes, trying to cover the heat he felt rushing to his face. “You know me,” Magnus continued, enjoying himself way too much, “I like to be where the action is.”

“There was no action!” Jace replied indignantly. On the stage, Simon had switched from his keyboard to his guitar, strumming a song with a melody Jace vaguely recognized from one of the mixes Simon had made for him.

“Are you sure? Certainly seemed like there was some below-the-belt action from my perspective.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jace replied through clenched teeth. He didn’t even know why he was getting so irritated, or why his heart was beating so hard he was surprised the bar wasn’t shaking.

“Me? Ridiculous?” Magnus scoffed, turning his attention to Simon, leaning in closer to Jace and speaking conspiratorially. “What’s the problem? He’s cute, capable, has a pleasant enough voice… that I distinctly remember you telling me ‘had soul.’” Magnus rolled his head until he caught Jace’s eye, and Jace groaned, falling back against the barstool. Magnus looked back at Simon, continuing, “Maybe he’s a little… nerdy, but some guys like that type.”

“I don’t,” Jace replied immediately, even as a little voice in his head, one that sounded suspiciously like Isabelle said, ‘Oh, you so do.’

Magnus hummed. “Your lips say no, but your eyes have been saying yes all evening. Why, I’m surprised he can still sit on that stool, with how hard you’ve been eye-fucking him all night.” Magnus nodded towards Simon, and Jace lowered his head, raising one hand to cover his eyes.

“By the angel. I’ve only been here twenty minutes. And I’m not—eye-fucking anyone.”

“A few more minutes in that training room, and it would have been actual—”

“Magnus!” Jace whirled on him, scowling. “Can you please not be so… you?” Magnus grinned, taking another sip of his drink.

Jace glanced over at the stage, his heart skipping a beat as he saw Simon staring directly at him. He was strumming his guitar, his eyes alight, and a delicate warmth surged through Jace’s torso as Simon sang. Jace had seen Simon sing before, and he was always good, but tonight, he was—he was fucking breathtaking.

He was wearing a t-shirt, but it was far from his typical, colorful shirts with sayings like ‘Mordor Fun Run’ or ‘I had friends on that Death Star.’ Jace half-wondered if Simon had stolen the tight, black t-shirt from his closet. The stage lights bathed him in a soft, golden light, giving him an almost ethereal glow as he sang into the mic. His voice was strong, soulful, his dark eyes locked on Jace as his fingers effortlessly moved over the guitar strings.

Jace kept waiting for Simon to look away. But he didn’t, and Jace found himself unable to break the connection. The whispered conversations around him fell away, the anxiety in his body faded, and for a moment Jace felt like they were the only two people in the room.

Then Magnus cleared his throat and Jace jerked in his seat, looking over at him. By the time he turned back to Simon, the song had ended, and Simon was smiling at the crowd, introducing his next song.

“Oh yes,” Magnus said with raised eyebrows. “There’s absolutely zero eye-fucking going on here.”

Jace ran a hand through his hair, glancing between Magnus and Simon. Then he grabbed his glass, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp, enjoying the burn of it down his throat. After he set it down, he turned to Magnus. “It’s just. It’s Simon. He’s so—”

“Annoying? Immature? Very enthusiastic about rather… odd things?”

“Yes!” Jace breathed.

“And also smart and sexy and surprisingly magnetic and intense?”

“Yes.” Jace let his head slump down until his forehead hit the bar.

Magnus laughed, reaching one hand out to squeeze Jace’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be attracted to a nerd. I won’t tell anyone.” He stood up, walking around to Jace’s other side, and Jace picked up his head. “I’ll leave you to stew in your unresolved sexual tension for now, but please feel free to join us. You know, your friends?” Magnus gestured towards the table at the front. “I promise the view will be much better up close.”

Jace knew his face was flaming as Magnus winked at him and then strode away towards the stage. He settled back in his bar stool, his heart doing a somersault in his chest as Simon’s gaze came back to him with another grin. Jace’s mouth automatically formed a half-smile back before he caught himself.

Jace nodded to the bartender as Simon launched into another song. He needed at least one more drink before he had to deal with his friends. And honestly, the less people that saw whatever his face looked like when he watched Simon play, the better.

~~~

Jace slid into an empty chair next to Alec a few moments after Simon finished his last song. Clary and Isabelle had wandered over to the bar, and Jace gave Alec a nod, which he returned with a raised eyebrow.

“I was wondering when you’d make your way over here.” Alec took a sip of his beer, and from the small smirk on his lips, Jace didn’t have to wonder if Magnus had told Alec about what he’d seen in the training room.

“I was running late.” Jace glanced over to see Simon chatting with a few very excited girls on the side of the stage.

“You were brooding in the corner.”

“I wasn’t brooding,” Jace said, frowning as one of the girls put a hand on Simon’s bicep, squeezing and laughing. “I was contemplating.” Simon grinned at the girl, and Jace turned back to Alec, ignoring the sour feeling in his gut that was totally not jealousy. “Like you’re one to talk about brooding, anyway.”

Alec opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Magnus sliding into the seat next to his. “I love it when he broods,” Magnus said, leaning into Alec’s side. Alec’s cheeks turned pink as he rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face told Jace he didn’t really mind.

Jace glanced over at the bar where Clary and Isabelle were standing very close together, smiling and laughing. As he watched, Clary leaned in and kissed Isabelle softly, their hands tangling together. He turned back to the table, only to be met with Alec and Magnus staring into each other’s eyes. He sighed; apparently tonight was going to be a big reminder that everyone else was head-over-heels in love while he was in the corner, alone and salivating over Simon ‘Call me ‘Your Lordship Daylighter’’ Lewis.

So this is what rock bottom feels like, Jace thought as he took another gulp of his drink.

“Did you enjoy Simon’s show?” Alec’s voice was just on the edge of teasing, and Jace forced his face to remain blank.

“It was fine.”

“He was captivated.” Magnus was enjoying himself way too much.

“I was not—”

“I’m having a very hard time with the idea of you being captivated by Simon.” One corner of Alec’s mouth was quirked up in what, for him, passed as a small smile, but Jace could see the question in his eyes—Are you really into Simon? Like, Simon Lewis? “I know you’ve been training with him a lot lately—”

“In many different areas,” Magnus added. Alec shot him a look, and Magnus shrugged, but sat back in his chair as Alec turned back to Jace.

“—but I thought you didn’t really like him. Because he’s annoying.”

He is completely annoying, Jace thought automatically. But then he sighed. That was a lie. It was true when he and Simon had first met, back when they only saw each other as rivals for Clary’s affections. But it wasn’t true now. It hadn’t been for a while. Somewhere along the way, he’d developed genuine affection for Simon.

Gross.

Jace was horrible at hiding things from Alec, and he realized that at this point, it was fruitless anyway. He shrugged helplessly, and Alec’s mouth dropped open.

“For real? You have a crush on Simon?”

“Lower your voice.” Jace glanced back at the bar to see that Simon was still talking to the girls, laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to the internal meltdown Jace was having across the bar. “I don’t have a crush. I just—” He paused, not sure how to put his not-a-crush into words.

“Want to stare at him longingly from across the room while he sings love songs?” Magnus kept his voice low, but it was still full of sass as he continued, “Want to see how long he can hold you up against the wall of the training room?” And then he said in a more sultry tone, “Want to drag your teeth down his abs?”

Alec turned to his husband, a perturbed look on his face, which Magnus scoffed at.

“Oh, Alexander, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like we haven’t talked about his abs. And his perfect little dimples.”

“He’s the worst,” Jace said, sneaking another look at those dimples that were being wasted on drunk girls at the bar. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he sighed, turning back to Alec, who was still staring at him as if he’d grown another head. “I just—can’t get him out of my head.” After another quick look over his shoulder to make sure Clary and Isabelle were still at the bar, he quietly asked, “Is he even into guys?”

Alec snorted as Magnus’s head tilted. “Oh, honey,” Magnus said, “That’s a rhetorical question, right?”

Jace frowned at Magnus, and then out of the corner of his eye he saw Simon approaching the table.

“Shut up, he’s coming,” he mumbled, and the look Alec gave him told Jace he would definitely be talking about it later.

“Hey! You made it!” Simon thunked down in the seat next to Jace, his grin making his dimples even more apparent than usual. His knee bumped against Jace’s, and just that light contact reminded Jace of that last training session—Simon’s body pressing hard against his own, Simon’s face and chest so close that Jace could’ve leaned forward and licked—

He cleared his throat, trying to shift his upper body away from Simon. His traitorous legs, though, refused to budge and kept lightly brushing against Simon’s knee under the table. “Izzy said I had to,” he blurted, ignoring Magnus’s snort into his wine glass.

Simon chuckled, his smile dimming slightly, and a stab of shame hit Jace in the chest that he was the cause of it. He was possessed by a crazy urge to apologize, to say anything to bring that smile back full force and fuck he had to be going insane.

“I wasn’t sure if you knew I was playing.” Simon fiddled with a guitar pic in his hand, a nervous habit that Jace had seen before. He wasn’t sure why Simon would be nervous now though; the gig was over. “I looked for you at the Institute, but couldn’t find you. Figured you were out on a mission or something.” Simon paused, nervousness flickering over his face as he asked, “So what’d you think?” He turned his big, dark eyes on Jace and waited.

A million responses flew through Jace’s head—It was better than a root canal—You didn’t suck (at least not in the way I want you to)—Can you stroke my cock as well as you stroke your keyboard?—Why can’t I stop thinking about you?—Can I drag my teeth down your abs?—but luckily what came out was, “It was a really good set. I even recognized a few of the songs.”

Simon’s smile came back full force, and for fuck’s sake, it was like the sun came out and goddamn birds started singing. That same delicate warmth from before started simmering inside Jace’s entire body, and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. Next to him, he could practically hear Alec staring at him, and he definitely heard Magnus emit a smug, happy little hum of approval.

“Yeah, I was thinking you might.” Simon turned his body more towards Jace, which pressed his knee more firmly into Jace’s. The heat in Jace’s veins sparked hotter, and he clasped his hands together in his lap, lest he do something stupid like reach out and touch Simon.

“I put some of them on the playlists I made for you.” Simon chuckled again, and fuck it was adorable. “Which, I mean, I don’t even know if you listened to them—”

“You made Jace playlists?” Alec’s voice was nothing short of amazed, and when Jace turned to him, he was staring at Simon with his eyebrows practically in his hairline. “Of music? And he listened to them?”

Simon shrugged, moving the guitar pic over his knuckles. “Well I just said I didn’t know—”

“Oh, he’s listened to them.” Magnus was smiling as he leaned forward, and Jace suppressed a groan. “He told me they had—gosh, what was it you said, Jace?” He tilted his head as Jace glared at him. “Oh yeah—soul.”

“Really?” Simon was staring at Jace now, smiling again, and Jace could feel his cheeks flaming up.

“They—they were good,” Jace said, looking at the table, at the empty stage, anywhere but at Simon’s smiling face, Alec's stunned one, or Magnus’s entirely-too-delighted one. I have to get out of here.

Jace prided himself on his control, his ability to think clearly through the worst, most stressful situations. And he didn’t know what it was about Simon, but he was knocking Jace entirely off-kilter, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Luckily at that moment a waitress arrived, setting a dark drink with a pink umbrella down on the table. “For you,” she said to Simon, an expression of surprise falling over his face. “From them.” She pointed back at the bar, to where the girls Simon had been talking to earlier were waving at him.

Simon glanced at them and then picked up the drink, sniffing it. It was blood, Jace realized, and the sour feeling in his stomach returned.

“Oh, wow. It’s the good stuff,” Simon said. He grinned. “No one’s ever sent me a drink before.” He turned and gave a small wave over to the girls, who smiled and waved back.

Jace’s gut twisted, and he found himself glaring at the women before he could stop himself. They didn’t even notice him; they were too busy making moon eyes at Simon.

He rolled his eyes, turning back to the table. “What do you expect from vampire groupies? They’ll do whatever they can to get you to take a bite.”

The table went silent, and he looked up to see Alec and Magnus exchanging a look. Simon’s smile had dropped into a frown.

“They’re not groupies,” Simon said, irritation in his voice.

Clary and Isabelle appeared then, dropping into their seats on the other side of Simon. “Hey, Si,” Clary said with a wicked grin, “one of the girls at the bar said she’d be interested in a ‘private show.’” She giggled, and Isabelle smiled, shaking her head.

Jace arched an eyebrow at Simon, and he sighed. “They’re not vampire groupies. They’re… normal groupies.”

“You deserve all the groupies.” Clary reached over and squeezed his arm.

“Clearly it’s the wardrobe.” Isabelle looked over Simon, smiling in approval. “Glad you took my advice.”

Of course Isabelle dressed Simon. Jace didn’t know if he should thank her or kill her.

Simon looked down at himself, his shoulders hunching in self-consciously. “I don’t know. I think it’s all still too tight.”

“Nonsense.” Magnus smiled brightly, and Jace didn’t like the look in his eye one bit. “You look amazing. Don’t you think so, Jace?”

Jace froze as all eyes turned to him. He was going to kill Magnus. And Isabelle. Just everyone. Do not look at Simon, do not look at Simon. He shrugged. “He looks fine,” he mumbled to the table.

“You should go say hi,” Clary said, and Jace picked his head up to see her addressing Simon. “Isn’t that one of the perks of being an amazing musician? Having girls fawn all over you.”

“Not just girls,” Magnus muttered, just low enough for Jace to hear (and, with his vampire hearing, probably Simon as well), and Jace’s blood turned to ice in his veins. He never should have come here tonight. He should have worked out or stayed in his room and jerked off. Again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of the groupies approaching their table, and Simon was opening his mouth, probably to tell Clary that she was right and he does deserve all the groupies and a stab of irritation hit him in his chest. He was this weird mass of tension and emotion, and he’d probably do something really stupid if he stayed there another second.

“I gotta go.” He stood up abruptly, ignoring the surprise on his friend’s faces.

“What? But you just—” Simon was interrupted by the girl—the groupie—coming to stand next to him.

“Hey, Simon,” she said with a smile. “Do you wanna come have your drink with me and my friends at the bar?”

Jace turned on his heel, not wanting to hear Simon accept her offer. He was out the door and had turned the corner into the alley next to the club when he heard quick footsteps behind him and a hand fell on his shoulder.

“Alec, can we please not do this—” Jace turned, prepared to fend off a worried Alec when he stopped short at the sight of Simon standing before him.

“Are you okay? You ran out of there so fast, and you seem… weird.” Simon’s eyes were full of concern, and he shifted on his feet.

Jace stared at him for a minute, his mouth hanging open slightly. How did Simon look even better under the dim, crappy streetlight than he did in the bar?

Jace inhaled a sharp breath, glancing away. “I’m fine. Just tired.” He took a step back and waved Simon off. “Go back to your little fan club.”

“My ‘fan club?’ Come on Jace, what’s your problem?” Simon’s voice had a tone Jace was very familiar with from him—irritation. It sent a wave of adrenaline through Jace’s body, and he was turning back to Simon before he even realized his feet were moving.

“Nothing,” Jace said, automatically adopting the same pissy tone. “I don’t have a problem.” He stared at Simon, daring him to… Jace wasn’t even sure. Simon stared right back, his brow furrowing in confusion. Then he shook his head, crossing his arms.

“I see how it is.” Simon stepped closer, and Jace forced himself to keep his face expressionless, to not react to having Simon inches away. His heart didn’t quite get the memo, as it instantly started beating twice as fast. “You’re jealous.”

Jace jerked back. “I am not jealous.”

“Oh, you so are.” Simon let out a humorless laugh, and that sour feeling came back to Jace’s gut, along with a stab of annoyance. Simon not only knew Jace was jealous of those stupid groupies, he was laughing about it.

Simon started moving, talking with his hands like he did when he was agitated. “You’re always the big, scary, hunky Shadowhunter with the amazing hair and the fantastic arms and beautiful eyes that can see into my soul and you can get anyone you want. But now people are actually starting to notice me—” Simon stepped closer to Jace and pointed a thumb at himself, “—and you can’t handle the fact that wimpy little Simon Lewis is actually getting some attention.” He crossed his arms and stared defiantly up at Jace, daring him to disagree.

Jace looked into those big, brown eyes, and just like that all of the annoyance and frustration flowed out of him. Maybe Simon wasn’t as straight as Jace thought.

Giddiness swept through him, and he didn’t even try to stop the grin that formed on his face.

“You think my eyes are beautiful?”

“I—don’t change the subject!” Simon sputtered, taking a step back.

Jace stepped forward, not letting him get away. “And you think I’m… hunky?” He reached out slowly, giving Simon plenty of time to back away, and ran the tips of his fingers down Simon’s arm, over the soft fabric of his t-shirt, grazing the skin of his elbow.

“Look, you—” Panic played over Simon’s face as he looked everywhere but at Jace. “You know you’re gorgeous, alright? And—you’re trying to distract me.” Jace lightly pressed his thumb into the crease of Simon’s elbow, and an electric current flowed through his body, lighting him up from the inside out.

Simon looked down and stared at Jace’s hand like he’d forgotten Jace even had hands. “And it’s working,” Simon added softly.

“You’re not wimpy,” Jace said, and Simon’s gaze cut up to him, his mouth hanging slightly open. “And you’re not little.” Jace’s hand slid up to his bicep, squeezing lightly.

Simon kept staring at him, his face the perfect picture of befuddlement. “Thank you?”

Jace held his gaze, his heart thudding in his chest. He knew Simon could hear it; that he knew how fast his pulse was racing. “You are wrong about one thing, though. I can’t get anyone I want.” He let his gaze drop down to Simon’s lips, wanting to lean in, but that niggling worry was still at the back of his mind. Simon was still just standing there, staring at him, not making any move to touch or come closer. What if Jace was completely off base here?

He felt a hand lightly touch his chest, and he looked down to see Simon’s fingers curling into his shirt. The air felt so thick Jace wondered how he was breathing, and then Simon said softly, “I think you can.” He swayed an inch closer, and something inside Jace snapped. He closed the last few inches between them and pressed his lips to Simon’s.

It was a chaste, soft kiss, Jace capturing Simon’s upper lip between his own. The fragile warmth Jace had been carrying with him all night suddenly solidified, searing hotter, sending bolts of electricity throughout his body. He was still holding Simon’s elbow, and he gently swiped his thumb over the bare skin there. Simon seemed frozen, unmoving, his hand still loosely clutching Jace’s shirt as they kissed.

Jace hung there for a moment, his heart sinking as Simon didn’t kiss him back. Fuck. He pulled away, their noses bumping, asking, “Was that ok—”

He was cut off by Simon surging forward and kissing him, his hands sliding up Jace’s chest so he could wrap his arms around Jace’s neck. Jace let out a muffled noise of surprise that melted into a moan of approval as he kissed Simon back, letting go of his elbow and resting his hands on Simon’s waist. He slackened his jaw, tilting his head to change the angle and kiss Simon deeper, and holy shit it was so much better than the fantasies he’d been nursing for days. Simon tasted sweet with a tang of iron, and his fingers tightened against Jace’s neck, his nails lightly digging in when Jace slipped his tongue into Simon’s mouth.

When his need to breathe made Jace finally pull away, he was light-headed, his breathing was ragged, and he was half-hard in his jeans. He kept Simon close, one hand resting on his lower back, the other sliding up his arm.

“Yeah,” Simon breathed, gazing up at Jace with dark eyes. “Yeah, that was—that was okay. Like, holy shit.” He exhaled a shaky laugh and then clumsily carded a hand through Jace’s hair.

Jace let his eyes flutter shut; everywhere Simon touched him sent a shot of lust through his body, straight to his cock. “Yeah,” he said, because that one word was all he was capable of. He leaned forward, and Simon met him for another kiss, this one instantly deep and wet. Sliding both hands to Simon’s hips, Jace gently guided him backward until Simon was pressed against the brick wall of the bar.

He leaned against Simon with his full weight, pinning him to the wall just like Simon had him pinned that day in the training room. Simon let out a moan, keeping one hand in Jace’s hair as the other moved down his back, over his hip, anywhere he could reach. Jace trailed his lips down Simon’s jaw, nibbling and sucking on his throat.

“You feel so good.” Simon’s voice was raspy, and he pulled at the back of Jace’s shirt until he could slide a hand under the hem and press his palm against the bare skin of Jace’s back.

Jace shuddered against him, slotting a thigh between Simon’s legs. He couldn’t resist lightly grinding against the hardness there, and he grinned at the whimper that fell from Simon’s mouth.

“So do you. Better than I thought.”

Simon pulled slightly away, turning so he could see Jace’s face. “You’ve thought about this?”

Jace blinked at him. “Yeah.”

“Really?” The hand Simon had on his back tightened, and Jace got distracted by Simon’s earlobe and leaned in to tug it between his teeth. “Why—Why didn’t you say something?” Simon gasped.

“I didn’t think you were into guys,” Jace murmured, his hands starting to wander again.

“Oh. I wasn’t.”

Jace froze at that, pulling his head up. Simon’s eyes were closed, but once he realized Jace was no longer actively mauling him, they flickered open. “Or I didn’t think I was,” he said after seeing the look on Jace’s face.

Jace stared at Simon as doubt, cold and icy, crept into his chest. It was one thing to fuck around with a guy that was curious; he’d done that, hell, he’d been the curious one not all that long ago. But those encounters rarely lasted longer than a few hours, and he’d never see the guy again. And if they did this—whatever this was—and Simon regretted it, if he couldn’t look Jace in the eye again, if he turned into extra-weird, squirrely Simon…

That would probably be for the best. This was just a physical thing anyway. They’d fool around, Jace would work Simon out of his system, and then things would go back to normal.

The iciness in his chest spread down his spine, and crawled up the back of his neck. He pressed his lips together, glancing away.

“If you’re not into this—”

“No! No, I am, I definitely am.” Simon’s hand slid from Jace’s hair to the side of his neck, warm and thoroughly distracting. “Look, I’ve thought about you—and me, um, for a while.” Simon’s gaze flickered between Jace’s face and his chest. “I never thought it would ever actually, like, happen. And I won’t lie, what you got going on there—” his gaze quickly dropped to Jace’s groin, where his own hard cock was pressing against the seam of his jeans, and Jace couldn’t help but smile— “is a little—it’s intimidating. But it’s also really hot.”

Simon’s eyes had somehow grown darker as he spoke, his hands still on Jace’s skin, and Jace licked his lips. Simon tracked the movement as he continued, his words falling out of his mouth almost faster than Jace could keep up with. “All I can think about right now is how good it feels to touch you like this, and if you’ll let me keep touching and kissing and I am so, so into this. I mean, you can feel how much I want you.” And then he grabbed Jace’s hand from his hip, and placed it right over the bulge in his jeans.

All coherent thought left Jace’s brain as he palmed the hard line of Simon’s cock, and Simon made a noise like all the breath had been punched out of him. “Fuck,” he said, letting his head fall back against the brick. “I didn’t really think that through. And I probably shouldn’t just assume you wanna—”

“I wanna,” Jace said, pressing more firmly with his hand, cupping Simon. He placed his other hand on the brick next to Simon’s head and leaned in closer, caging Simon in. A small noise of pleasure fell from Simon’s lips, and Jace made it his mission to see how many different sounds he could get out of Simon before the night was through.

“So if I take you home tonight, you’re not gonna freak out in the morning are you?” He brushed his nose along Simon’s cheek, dragging his lips down his throat, all while steadily dragging his fingers over Simon’s dick. If they weren’t in an alley behind a bar, he’d have his hand down Simon’s pants.

“You’d let me stay the night?” Simon somehow managed to sound both surprised and helplessly turned on all at once.

Jace chuckled, his hand moving up to curl around Simon’s waistband, his knuckles brushing Simon’s stomach. “I think we can keep our mouths occupied enough to not annoy each other.”

Simon chuckled, and the breathlessness of it, from a vampire who didn’t need to breathe, made his heart beat shamefully hard. “I can’t promise no freaking out,” Simon admitted. “But if I do, it will probably be because I can’t believe this is actually happening.” He caught Jace’s eye, grinning and Jace grinned back. He couldn’t remember the last time he smiled this much.

Then Simon looked around. “And that it’s happening in an alley.”

“Yeah.” They should go before someone saw them—not that Jace really cared about hiding it; he was already guaranteed a mountain of shit over this from Alec and Magnus. But the longer he could delay adding Clary and Isabelle to that list of people who knew he wanted to hump Simon’s leg, the better.

Jace pulled away, tugging Simon along by his grip on his waistband. “Let’s go.”

They’d only taken a few steps, walking side by side with their hands brushing when Jace asked, “You sure you don’t wanna go say bye to your groupies?”

Simon rolled his eyes. “They aren’t groupies, dick. If anything, you’re my groupie.”

“Never call me that.”

Simon nudged Jace’s shoulder. “Seriously, remember when you wouldn’t even hug me? And now you’re kissing me in dark alleys and taking me back to your room to have your way with me.”

Jace groaned. “You know what, let’s just forget this entire thing.”

“It’s the James Bond impression, right? It always gets them.”

~~~

They fell silent after that, the only sound their footsteps against the pavement. The walk back to the Institute was short, but it was plenty of time for Jace to replay the past hour in his brain. He kept stealing glances at Simon out of the corner of his eye, and he had to stop himself from yanking Simon into a few more alleys along the way.

With every step, the tension grew, and by the time they stepped through the threshold, it was so thick Jace thought he could reach out and touch it.

He couldn’t, but he could touch Simon. And after they walked through the deserted hallways, Jace grabbed Simon’s hand and pulled him into the safety of his room, locking the door behind him. He’d barely turned around when Simon was on him, shoving him up against the door, kissing him with a determination Jace hadn’t seen out of him before.

Jace melted into it, opening to Simon, the kiss turning deep and dirty nearly instantly. Simon let out a muffled moan against his mouth, and then he slotted their hips together, pinning Jace to the door with his torso. Then he grabbed Jace’s arms, his hands sliding up to his wrists to pin them on either side of his head.

Jace couldn’t help the ragged moan that left his lips; it was exactly like that day when they sparred, when Jace ran out with his dick leading the way.

“You remember that day in the training room?” Simon asked, grinding his thigh against Jace’s cock. “I had you just like this, and your heart started beating so fast.” Simon lowered his head to Jace’s neck, dragging his lips across his pulse point, and Jace angled his head to give him better access. Probably not the smartest thing to do to offer up to a vampire, but approximately zero of Jace’s blood was in his brain at the moment.

“Just like it is right now.” Simon’s voice was low, almost hypnotic, and Jace squirmed beneath him, heat searing through his veins as Simon held him hard and fast.

“I thought you were pissed I had beaten you,” Simon said, his fingers squeezing Jace’s wrists, his lips brushing against Jace’s overheated skin, “but you were turned on, weren’t you?”

Jace grunted; he was so hard it was almost painful, but he was still able to do the same move that he did that day—he twisted his leg and knocked Simon’s feet out from under him. He mourned the loss of the pressure against his body as soon as Simon fell on his ass, but he smirked down at him.

“You didn’t beat me,” he said. Then he tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. Simon’s eyes darkened as he looked over Jace’s frame, and Jace stepped forward, pulling at his belt buckle with one hand. “Now do you want to fight or do you want to get naked?”

Simon was a blur as he shot up to his feet, removing his shirt in the same motion. He stopped a few inches in front of Jace, and Jace’s breath caught at having a half-naked Simon smirking at him.

“Is both an option?”

Jace huffed out a laugh. “Always.” And then he reached out and reeled Simon in, kissing him hard.

Jace had always enjoyed kissing, but with Simon it was on another level. He had only been with a handful of guys, and most of them had preferred to skip straight to the main event, which Jace had been fine with. Simon seemed more than eager even to kiss and explore, his hands sinking into Jace’s hair and tracing over Jace’s arms and back.

Jace lost himself in it, in the taste of Simon’s tongue, in how his body trembled beneath Jace’s touch, in how he gasped and moaned and pushed closer when Jace found a sensitive spot. He met Jace for every push and pull; he was just as strong as Jace, and Jace relished that he could kiss and grip as hard as he wanted and Simon would only gasp and hold just as hard.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, relishing in the taste and feel of each other, but when Jace finally steered them towards the bed, Simon’s lips were red and puffy, his hair was sticking up everywhere, and he was staring at Jace like he wanted to devour him. A flash of memory hit him, of the sharp pain of Simon’s fangs piercing his skin, and Jace stumbled and basically fell on his back onto the bed.

“You good?” Simon asked, hovering over Jace in an instant, his eyes tracing over Jace’s chest and stomach. He traced his hand down Jace’s chest, and Jace shivered as Simon’s fingers grazed his nipple.

“Yeah,” Jace breathed. Simon lightly tweaked his nipple and smiled as Jace sucked in a breath. Then Simon pinched it, hard, his eyes trained on Jace as a wicked grin crossed his face.

Jace’s cock jumped at the sharp pain, and he grabbed Simon’s wrist, stilling his hand. “Watch it. You keep that up, I might change my mind about sucking your dick.”

Simon’s eyes got wide, and he flattened his palm on Jace’s chest. “You—you want to do that?”

Jace was about to turn himself inside out with how much he wanted to do that. His desire for it surprised even him; it wasn’t his go-to move. He’d only given a few blowjobs before, and they weren’t the best experiences—one guy had gotten too rough with his hair, another didn’t give any warning before he came.

But the sounds Simon had made in the alley just from Jace’s hand on his dick through his clothes were going to fuel his spank bank for years; Jace couldn’t even imagine what he was going to sound like when Jace got his mouth on him. His need to make Simon fall apart against his tongue outweighed anything else in his mind.

But this was Simon’s first time with a guy. While all Jace wanted was to strip him naked and make him scream, he should probably use a little more finesse.

He grabbed Simon’s shoulders and with a quick movement, flipped them so Simon was laying on the mattress, with Jace hovering over him.

“I do,” he said, letting his hand drift over Simon’s neck, down his chest. “But only if you want me to. I know this is all new for you—”

“I want you to,” Simon interrupted, reaching down to flick open the clasp of his jeans. “I am ready to buy my First-Class ticket on the train to Pleasuretown, courtesy of your mouth and tongue.” He froze then as Jace half-groaned and half-laughed.

“Uh, can we pretend I didn’t say that?”

“No,” Jace said. Such an idiot, he thought, but he was unable to stop the small smile from crossing his face. He got his knees under him and slid back, brushing away Simon’s hands so he could pull down the zipper on his jeans. Before he moved to pull them down farther, he looked at Simon’s face. Simon was watching him through heavy-lidded eyes, his lips swollen, hair disheveled, and marks starting to form on his neck from Jace’s kisses. It was the sexiest thing Jace had ever seen, and he felt momentarily lost in a wave of emotion as he took him in.

“You sure?” Jace asked softly, and Simon nodded.

Jace had seen Simon half-naked plenty of times. Before that sparring session, he’d never thought twice about it. He knew, objectively, that Simon was attractive, but he was Simon. And now, splayed out naked on Jace’s bed, lit by the dim light of the bedside lamp, laying against the pillows like he belonged there, he was Simon. With his muscled chest, chiseled abs, toned arms, (seriously, why did Simon hide that body under the baggy jeans and t-shirts he wore?), not even his nervous expression could take away from how beautiful he was. His thick cock jutted out between his thighs, already glistening at the tip, and Jace’s fingers twitched with the need to touch everything he was looking at.

Simon’s gaze flickered nervously between Jace and anywhere else, squirming slightly. Jace trailed one finger down the center of Simon’s chest, over those ridiculous abs as he said, his voice soft but serious, “You’re kind of gorgeous.”

Simon’s mouth fell open, and Jace was sure that if Simon wasn’t a vampire, he’d have a full-body blush going on right now. “I probably should have asked this a half-hour ago, but are you sure you’re not under some kind of crazy magic spell?”

“That’s a fair question,” Jace admitted, letting his fingers ghost over Simon’s hips, around the thatched hair around his cock. Simon shifted under his touch, a tiny strangled sound leaving his mouth. “I don’t think so, but I’m willing to risk it.” He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Simon’s sternum. “If I do freak out, I’m going to make sure tonight is worth it.” Then, he dragged the flat of his tongue over Simon’s nipple as he reached down and wrapped his fingers around Simon’s cock.

Simon made a noise Jace had never heard before, a strangled gasping moan, and his hand slid into Jace’s hair, pulling it away from his face. Jace looked up at Simon as he stroked him; Simon was staring down at him like he was still in disbelief that this was real life.

“Tell me when you’re close.” Jace slid further down Simon’s body, finally licking a warm, wet path down Simon’s firm abs. It was a thousand times better than his fantasies, because it was real fucking life, with Simon keening above him, his body shuddering with every movement.

Jace paused to drag his teeth over the divot in Simon’s hip, and then he settled between Simon’s thighs. Simon’s hand was still in his hair, but ever so gentle, keeping it brushed away from his face. Jace’s gaze flickered up to see Simon watching him, his pupils blown. Jace maintained eye contact as he wrapped his lips around the head of Simon’s cock.

Simon whimpered, his hips jerking, and Jace used one hand to keep him down against the mattress. Salt burst on his tongue, and he hummed, drawing a muffled curse from above.

“Fuck, Jace, I can’t—you—this will be the shortest blow job in the world, holy fuck.”

Jace pulled off, lazily stroking Simon’s cock as he grinned up at him. “That’s okay. I bet you could get it up again.”

Simon half-snorted, half-gasped as Jace thumbed around his head, using precome to smooth his stroke down the shaft. “Because you’re so attractive all I have to do is look at you to get a hard-on?”

“You said it.” Jace licked a broad stripe on the underside of Simon’s cock, and then sucked him down again, bracing himself on the hand he had pressing Simon into the bed. With the other, he reached down and opened the clasp on his jeans, needing to get some relief to his own hard cock.

It wasn’t the shortest blow job Jace had ever experienced, but it was only minutes later when Simon choked out, “I’m close.”

Jace had never swallowed before, and he hadn’t planned to start now. But instead of pulling off, he found himself taking Simon deeper, until he bumped the back of his throat. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen after tonight, and if this was a one-time thing, he wanted everything he could get. Simon’s hand had been in his hair the entire time, but now he yanked it out, slamming it into the mattress next to him.

“Jace, I’m serious, I’m gonna—I can’t—” Jace squeezed his hip, and then Simon’s body jerked. Seconds later he came in Jace’s mouth, high-pitched gasps falling from his mouth.

Jace swallowed what he could and pulled off, some getting on his chin and on the bedspread. He coughed lightly, wiping at his face and letting his forehead rest on Simon’s thigh. When he had his breath back, he moved up the bed, laying on his side next to Simon.

Simon, who had an arm flung over his face, his mouth turned downward.

Oh, shit, Jace thought. Simon could have at least waited until Jace got off to have his freak out. But the mild irritation instantly faded to concern as Jace slowly reached out to pull Simon’s arm away.

“Hey,” he said in a low voice, “you okay?” Simon was staring at the ceiling, seemingly concentrating very hard on not looking at Jace. He forced himself to be casual, even as worry formed a hard ball in his stomach. “If I’d known a bj would shut you up, I would have done that a long time ago.”

Simon rolled his eyes. “You shut up,” he said, and then he snapped his mouth shut. But Jace had already seen what Simon was trying to hide—his fangs, sharp and ready, now hidden behind his lower lip.

The memory of Simon’s mouth, warm and hungry against his wrist slammed into him again, and he was very quickly reminded of his hard cock that was still straining against his pants. He had to get some breathing room; he squirmed on the bed, shoving his jeans down his thighs and kicking them to the floor. He left his boxers on, he didn’t want to send Simon into cardiac arrest at the first sight of his hard dick, but it was still making its presence known—the tip was barely poking out of his waistband. He quickly adjusted himself before turning back to Simon.

Simon looked a little less stressed, or at least his jaw wasn’t clenching so hard. He appeared to be thoroughly distracted by Jace’s cock, staring down at it with dark eyes. Jace desperately wanted to touch him, but he wasn’t sure if that was what Simon wanted or needed. He propped his head up on his hand and asked, “So is this a, ‘I just came in a guy’s mouth’ freak out or a ‘I want to bite the guy whose mouth I just came in’ freak out?”

“It’s not a freak out,” Simon responded instantly. Jace raised an eyebrow, and Simon said, “Okay, it’s kind of a freak out. But not about you.” His gaze trailed down Jace’s body, flailing one hand helplessly towards him. Jace preened under the attention; he knew what he looked like, in nothing but his black boxer briefs, his pale skin setting off the dark ink of the runes that were scattered all over his body. “Or, not about what we just did, not really, even though it—I just—you—that was—”

“Amazing?” Jace broke in before Simon burst a blood vessel. “Incredible? Life-changing?”

Simon let his head fall back against the pillow, laughing, the tension finally leaving his face. Jace could see that his fangs had receded, and he tried not to think about the pang of disappointment that swept through him.

“You’re so vain.”

“That’s not a no.” Jace slid closer and let a hand drift over Simon’s chest, and Simon immediately reached up and started touching Jace’s wrist, fingers trailing up his arm as they spoke.

“It was my—” Simon pointed to his mouth with his other hand, a sheepish look falling over him. “I can usually control it, but when you—” Jace smirked and let his hand trail further down Simon’s stomach, and Simon shivered, “—it was so good, and they just popped out and I didn’t want you to think that I would—”

“You can,” Jace interrupted, and Simon froze. “If you want.” Simon’s eyes widened, and Jace swore he saw Simon’s cock twitch.

“Fuck. You can’t say stuff like that, Jace.”

“Why not? I’m okay with it, your control’s gotten so much better, and it felt good—”

“Oh, I know it felt good.” Simon exhaled, and yeah, he was definitely getting hard again already. “I was there, and if I hadn’t been nearly dying you would have been able to tell very obviously just how good it felt to me.” He turned to Jace, his brown eyes full of want and worry. “But I don’t—I shouldn’t—”

“Hey.” Jace slid his hand up to cup Simon’s face, pulling him closer. “I trust you. You won’t hurt me.”

The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he was going to say them, and now it was his turn to freeze. He could count the number of people he trusted on one hand, and Simon had never been among them.

Until he was.

Fuck. When had he gone and developed feelings for the little gremlin?

“You do?” Simon asked, his eyes wide again.

“Yeah,” Jace said, still stunned. “I guess I do.”

Simon smiled at him then, big and bright, and leaned in. The kiss was soft and sweet, the complete opposite of the desperation and lust that had been fueling them since they walked through the door.

Then Simon pressed closer, wrapping a leg around Jace’s, and the kiss instantly turned deeper and dirtier, with Simon licking into Jace’s mouth and reaching down to palm his ass.

“Okay,” Simon said when he pulled away, leaving Jace panting. “I trust you too. And please don’t laugh at me, but honestly, I’ve kind of had this fantasy—”

He instantly had Jace’s full attention. “Tell me.”

Simon hesitated, staring at Jace, and then he gently pushed on Jace’s shoulder so he would lay back on the bed. He moved to hover over Jace, and he slid his hand down Jace’s chest, tracing over the runes scattered over his skin. He paused to tweak a nipple, smiling at Jace’s huffed out breath, then down his abs, over the waistband of his boxers to between his legs. He avoided Jace’s cock, instead letting his fingers drift to Jace’s inner thigh, stopping them a few inches below the crease where his thigh met his hip.

“Here,” he said softly.

Jace wasn’t proud of the sound he let out; it was somewhere between a whimper and a moan, and his eyes flutter shut. “By the Angel. Simon, you’re going to be the death of me.”

“I don’t have to—”

“No.” Jace’s eyes flew open, and he pulled Simon down on top of him, kissing him hard. “You are absolutely going to,” he said against his mouth, squirming beneath him. Simon chuckled, kissing him one more time before moving down his body.

“I also really want to blow you,” Simon said into Jace’s neck, right before he splayed his hand directly over Jace’s stiff dick. Jace’s hips jerked, and Simon traced the line of him through the fabric, the words still falling out of his mouth like he couldn’t help it. “Like, I honestly can’t believe how much I want to. But before you come, I could pull off and use my hand, and then bite right when—”

“Simon.” Jace couldn’t believe it, but he was going to give Simon a run for shortest blowjob ever if Simon kept talking. He cupped Simon’s cheek, forcing him to make eye contact. Jace needed to see his face when he asked his next question; he had to be sure. “You really don’t have to sell me here. But you’re sure you’re ready for that?” Please say yes.

Simon stared at him for a moment, his hand still curled over Jace’s cock, and asked, “The blood sucking or the dick sucking?”

This is it; this is how I die. Again. Blue balls via Simon Lewis.

“Both, Simon,” Jace said tightly.

Simon smiled, and then lightly squeezed with his hand, drawing a small gasp out of Jace. “I am,” he confirmed. “You already said you trust me not to hurt you. Can you also trust me to know what I’m ready for?” He took his hand away so he could push up onto his knees and tug at Jace’s boxers. Simon was almost fully hard again, and Jace had to stop himself from reaching out and stroking him.

“I just want to make sure—”

“Will you just shut up and let me blow you?” Simon said in exasperation. “Take your underwear off.”

Jace smirked up at Simon; until the past hour, arguing had been his favorite thing to do with him. “You take it off.”

Simon glared at him for a moment. Then— “Fine.” He reached down, grabbed a fistful of Jace’s boxers, and yanked hard. The fabric tore easily under with super strength, and Simon tossed the cloth over his shoulder.

Jace’s eyes widened as a new wave of heat cascaded over his body; that was stupidly hot. But still— “Was that really necess—oh, shit.” He was cut off by Simon’s hand wrapping around his cock, stroking him from base to tip and back again.

“You’ll tell me if I do anything wrong?” Simon settled between his legs, staring at Jace’s dick like it was the holy grail or the one ring from that movie marathon he’d tried to make everyone sit through. (Jace and Clary were the only ones that made it through all the movies; Clary actually enjoyed it, and Jace thought the fighting was cool.)

“I always do.” Jace’s voice was tight as Simon thumbed at his cock, smoothing wetness around the tip. “Just go slow, and don’t try to take too much. I’ll tell you when I’m close.”

Jace wasn’t sure what he expected, and he didn’t care; he was so wound up he felt like he could explode just from Simon’s warm breath blowing over his skin. But he wasn’t expecting Simon to dive right in, keeping eye contact as he wrapped his mouth around the head of Jace’s cock and sucked him down until he nearly hit the back of his throat.

It was a glorious three seconds of wetness and heat until Simon pulled away, coughing. Jace let out a half-amused, half-irritated noise as he said, “I literally just told you to go slow.”

Simon didn’t respond, just wiped at the corner of his mouth, glanced up at Jace, and leaned down again. He took him in slower this time, licking and sucking, one hand braced on Jace’s thigh, his thumb swiping along the sensitive skin. Right where he’d pointed to earlier, where he wanted to bite Jace. The thought of it made Jace’s heart speed up in his chest, a fast thumpthumpthumpthump, and he knew Simon could hear it from how he hummed and squeezed Jace’s thigh.

Simon was messy and clumsy, but also an incredibly fast learner. He started off tentative at first, sucking at the head, laving his tongue and lips along the shaft, but it seemed like only minutes later he was figuring out how to relax his throat and take Jace in deeper. He used the fact that he didn’t have to breathe to his full advantage, taking his time swirling his tongue in just the right way to make Jace squirm and moan.

“Fuck Simon, are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Jace finally gasped out, after minutes of fisting his hands in the duvet and clamping down on all the words threatening to spill out of his mouth. He was not going to call Simon ‘baby’ or yell out his name or any of that shit. Feelings or not, it wasn’t his style.

Simon pulled off his cock, immediately stroking him with his fist. “Pretty sure I’d remember if I had,” he said, and then he dipped his head low to drag his tongue over Jace’s balls.

“Oh, fuck fuck fuck.” Jace felt as though he was aflame from the inside out; Simon’s mouth and tongue and hands were going to be his undoing.

Then he felt a feather-light kiss against his inner thigh, and his entire body tensed as the buzz of desire in his gut threatened to overtake him. Simon’s hand faltered on his cock, and Jace reached down and wrapped his hand around it, showing him how he liked it to carry him over the edge.

“Do it Simon, I’m so close, baby, please, please, I can’t, I need—”

Simon let out a strangled rasp that sounded like Jace’s name, and then there was a sharp pinch in his thigh. Jace gasped; it hurt, but just as quickly the pain faded into the blunt edge of pleasure, wrapping around him, soaking down into his bones. His orgasm was like a punch to the gut in the best way, and as Simon took a long pull from his thigh, he spiraled higher and higher until it felt like time stopped.

It started again when he felt Simon’s fangs pull out of his skin, and Simon’s high-pitched gasps filled the room. He was light-headed, nearly dizzy, still coming down from the high of one of the most intense orgasms he’d ever had, and when he looked down Simon was kissing over the marks he’d left, licking them clean.

“Come up here,” Jace croaked, and Simon was instantly next to him, wrapping his arms around him.

“Are you okay?” Simon’s voice was worried, and he was cupping Jace’s face, staring at him like he was checking him for wounds. “I didn’t take too much?”

“No,” Jace said, reaching up to touch Simon’s hair. It was so soft, and he was suddenly sad he hadn’t buried his fingers in it when Simon was between his legs. “I feel fucking amazing.”

Simon grinned, leaning down to rest his forehead against Jace’s. “So do I,” he whispered. “You tasted so good. In every way.” He sidled up fully against Jace, tangling their legs together, and in his daze, Jace noticed he wasn’t hard anymore.

“Did you come again?” Jace asked, and Simon looked away sheepishly. Jace was sure he would be blushing if he could.

“Like I said,” Simon pressed a soft kiss to Jace’s mouth, and the tangy, metallic taste of Jace’s blood in Simon’s mouth really shouldn’t be hot, “you tasted really good.” Simon was trembling against Jace, clutching at him, and Jace clutched right back. “That was so—”

“Intense.” Jace maneuvered them so Simon was half-laying on top of Jace, and pulled the duvet over them. “Probably shouldn’t do that too often,” he said, though he really wanted to. Even with his angel blood to protect him from getting addicted, he could already tell that Simon’s bite would be more than enough to push any boundary.

Simon tensed against him, and Jace automatically pulled him in a little closer. “You mean,” Simon started, paused, and then continued, “like the sex part? Or just the blood… part?”

Jace exhaled against Simon’s forehead, his hair lightly fluttering with his breath. There was no way this would be a one-time thing—at least, not if Simon didn’t want it to be. He’d figured it out before his cock had gotten into Simon’s mouth, but now that he’d experienced it, now that he knew what Simon sounded like when he came and what it was like to have all that nerd focus placed squarely on him, he wouldn’t be able to live without it.

“The blood part,” he said, and Simon relaxed. “The sex part we should repeat. Frequently.”

He felt Simon’s grin against his neck, and he turned his head down as Simon angled his up, meeting him in a kiss. “We can add it to our training,” Simon said.

Jace hummed, imagining Alec’s reaction if he walked into the training room at the wrong time. “We may have to rethink our training schedule. It’s going to be hard to keep our focus on the work after—”

“I sucked your brains out through your—”

“—I gave you the best orgasms of your life.”

Simon snorted, but Jace noticed he didn’t protest. Jace turned out the bedside lamp, and they lay there in silence for a few moments, listening to the wind whistle outside. Jace ran a hand lazily up and down Simon’s back as Simon settled more deeply into Jace’s side. Eventually, Jace asked the question that had been rolling around in his head since Simon had nestled up close to him.

“So you think you’ll freak out in the morning? I only ask because it’ll be good to know in advance.” He forced his body to stay relaxed as he waited for Simon’s response. He knew that while things felt warm and safe in the darkness of his bedroom, things could look entirely different to Simon in the morning light.

Simon’s arm curled around him, and he shifted so he was laying on his side, sharing Jace’s pillow. Beneath the covers, their legs tangled together.

“No,” he said. “I’ll only freak out if you do. Do you have any plans for that in the morning?”

Jace grinned. Really, he hoped this whole smiling thing didn’t become a habit. He had a reputation to protect. “My only plans for the morning include finding a fun way to wake you up. And then maybe breakfast.”

Simon smiled, his hand caressing up and down Jace’s waist. “I am fully on board with any fun plans you come up with. And breakfast, too. If I’m uh—invited to that. Not to assume—”

“Simon.” Jace caught his hand, intertwining their fingers together. “I’d love for you to come to breakfast with me. If we’re doing this, we may as well make it known.”

Simon’s smile somehow got so bright Jace was surprised it didn’t light up the entire room. “So we are? Doing this? You and me?”

Jace shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I mean, if you want. If you don’t think we’ll kill each other and it won’t be too distracting to our training and our work and—”

“Oh it’ll be completely distracting. And we will totally try to kill each other.” Simon squeezed his hand, pressing in close enough for a kiss. “But it’ll be worth it.”

Jace kissed him again, dropping his hand so he could wrap his arm around Simon, slide his fingers into his soft hair and cradle him close. “Yeah,” he whispered against his mouth, “I think it will be.”

~~~