#look at this; she think she can do thing ( jace speaks; edit )

[its-actually-minicika]

A Bumpy Aftermath (18+)

(HotD Hogwarts!AU)

part 2 of "The Yule Ball";;

List of headcanons for the main three;;

Pairings: Aemond x Reader, Jacaerys x Reader, Aegon x Reader;

Warnings: ANGST, pining, jealousy, NSFW content (not in the way that you hope for), (Y/N) is crushed in this one, not proof-read yet;

Word count: a lot, and we're not even done;

Author's Note: I apologise for the delay! I know I was meant to post this long ago, but I got wrapped in so many things this holiday season. When the time came to edit what I had in my drafts, I rewrote the whole thing from scratch - I think you guys deserve the best I can offer, and I wasn't proud of that particular end result :")

Speaking of time, this fic contains a lot of time-travelling - as opposed to how it's portrayed in the Harry Potter franchise, the time travelling in this fic works quite differently; When you do it, not only do you disappear from the present you left, but you also fully replace the past version of yourself from the time you decided to travel to - as such, there no "clone" lurking around that you have to be careful with. The only disadvantage for our heroes is that there is no one to fulfil the good and the bad actions that they did a night before...

After the wrap up of last night's celebrations, (Y/N) wakes up with dread flooding her veins - although she has Aemond, the sun rays bring both Jacerys and Aegon forth, shining over her confused feelings.

All's well when ends well, but what will happen if she can't figure out her heart?

The gentle promise of a new dawn slowly stirrs (Y/N) awake.

Her eyes flutter open, and she brings her hands up in a lazy stretch. Slowly, yet surely, she gets up from her warm bed, and stiffles a yawn that threatens to escape her parted lips.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head!" Celeste Bone, her roommate, teases the girl lightly. "We thought you were dead for a sec there. Not even the screams of the Quiddich team woke you up."

(Y/N) is taken aback, and her eyes widen momentarily - not only was it a Sunday afternoon, but there were no games to play during that time of the term, either.

Noticing her confusion, Celeste shakes her head and adds through a mouthful of jelly beans, "The Slytherins had a fight with our guys - tell me something new - and they took it up on the empty playing field. But Lucaerys got pretty roughed up. They're not sure he's gonna play in the next games."

(Y/N)'s mouth hangs open in shock - a pained look graces her features, and she bites her inner cheek, while quickly dressing up in her robes. "Merlin's beard, is he okay now?! What started the fight?"

"He's in the West Wing, in the Infirmary. Wost thing he's donning on is a concussion. They..." Celeste scratches her head in an attempt to remember what exactly started the misunderstanding. Her expression turns sour and she snaps her fingers.

"They overheard the Slytherins taking shit about that Graphorn Professor Lynnen brought last week to class. You know how Androw got scratched by it? His mommy issued a whole investigaton over the legality of bringing a real magical creature to class... turns out there's a lot of but's and if's when it comes to that."

(Y/N)'s head pumps in pure shock and adrenaline. You oversleep one time, and this is what happens to the whole school?

Celeste shrugs her shoulders.

"Either way, their guys said some fucked up shit, ours retaliated by punching them real good. Luke called Androw a 'hairy butt' or something, and those bastards full on jumped him!"

"Fuck." (Y/N) exhaled through a strained breath, not even bothering to tie up her shoelaces. "Poor Luke. And poor Jace, too..."

She left her Common Room in a hurry, jumping once every two steps on the moving staircase, until she reached the Infirmary. As she entered through the big oak doors, the exasperated sighs of Miss Margelle, the school's main nurse, could be heard as clear as day.

"To anyone who isn't his immediate family, get out. Out, I said! Let the poor child rest!" She scolded infinitely, until the students of the Gryffindor Quiddich team started leaving the waiting room one by one.

(Y/N)'s back stiffened, and she lowered her head to sneak past the student body to reach Luke's bed. There, she found Jace, Baela and Rhaena already seated, and a very beat up Luke to match their worried faces.

"Luke!" The girl uttered affectionately, reaching for his bandaged palm. "I came as soon as I heard. Those Slytherins are God damn savages."

Jacaerys is the first to leap up, his eyes full from a mixture of affection and reluctance over last night's events. He is quick to offer (Y/N) his chair, running a hand though his brown hair, not knowing whether he should apologise once more or concentrate on the subject at hand.

(Y/N)'s eyes are the first to soften up at the sight of him, and his bloody nose.

"Jace... don't tell me they got you too!" She muses with a crooked smile, worry evident in her voice.

"If you think they got him, you should've see how they looked like after Jace had a turn." Baela announces loud and proud, jerking her head in the direction of two far away beds, separated from her field of view by a sheer curtain.

"Baela...!" Jacerys chastises the young Targaryen with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"What? They can listen in all they want - It's not like it's a lie!"

After shaking his head with a barely hidden smirk, Jace turns his full attention to (Y/N), and bites his lower lip. "We're fine. Those fuc--... those Slytherins aren't gonna touch either one of us anytime soon."

"But they'll take their revenge on Böfur alright!" Rhaena sniffles loudly with teary eyes.

This snaps (Y/N)'s attention, and the girl exchanges a look with Jacaerys, who only bites his cheek in remorse at the reminder.

"Wait, what happened?" The Gryffindor enquires, leaning onto the chair more, her hands clasped tightly over her chest. "Celeste told me that Androw pressed some charges against Professor Lynnen. What will happen to the Graphorn?"

"That's the thing." Luke sighs in the hospital bed. "The lawyers pressed charges against them both - they wanted to arrest Lynnen and euthanise Böfur."

"The news for the latter came by this morning." Jace added sombrely. "Their request actually went through."

For a second, (Y/N) can feel her heart stop. The only noises that befall the Infirmary are Lucerys' growl and Baela's loud curses.

She nods her head briskly, and gets up on her feet, just as fast as Jace did. "Then we must do something. We can't just let the poor guy be taken in by the Ministry."

Jace's eyes fill with glee and determination, and the male hums in agreement. "Absolutely." He concludes, dusting the creases out of his robes.

"And I know just the way to do it."

Two sets of rapid footsteps descend from the moving staircase. Jace and (Y/N) scurry along, on a pathway that could only lead to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

With each taken step, the girl's brows furrow deeper - what did Böfur's fate have anything to do with the gentle Hufflepuffs?

And, if she could be honest to herself, she had no wish to bump into Aegon again.

Mayhaps sensing her distress, or simply being wrecked by their lack of conversation, Jace takes in a deep breath and lowers his head to the ground.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about the things I said last night." His husky voice echoes throughout the empty corridor. Only when he feels (Y/N)'s shoulders relax, in a silent encouragement to continue, he keeps going. "I behaved like a jealous pig, and I want you to know that I'll spend every single day that's left in this year to make it up to you."

Chocolate hues clash with shining (y/e/c) eyes - Gryffindor glances at Gryffindor, until both their stares soften in fondness.

"Jace..." (Y/N) utters through a deep sigh, "It's okay."

"No. No, it isn't." He whispers amusedly, vexxing himself for his unprincely behaviour. "You were so happy on the dance floor, and I ruined it all, because... Because I couldn't stand the idea of you having fun with someone other than me."

Jacaerys' pained face speaks of his honesty from miles away - still, he takes in a shaky breath and recoils into himself, persisting with his confession.

"I was selfish. I was an ass. Most of all, I was a coward." His eyes flutter close for a few seconds, before opening them again to grace the girl with the softest of smiles. "I wanted to ask you to the dance myself. I had everything ready, I knew all the things that I had to say, and yet... I never did."

He shrugs his broad shoulders and runs a hand through his rebel hair. He can't say he expects the girl to answer. Even now, he feels selfish for staining a heartfelt apology with his feelings for her - still, he had to let her know.

The only thing he was hoping for now was that (Y/N) could find it in herself to still be his friend.

Her mouth hangs wide open, before she collects herself, biting her lower lip in tribulation.

Although Jace's confession made her heart leap in place and her face surely turn red, the girl had to swallow down the feelings he awoke in her - she was Aemond's girlfriend now, and she had to let him know. As gently as she could.

Before she can cook up an apology and a reasonable explanation for her following rejection, a familiar head of silver hair catches her eye.

Of course it was him.

"Jace - there you are!" Aegon's distressed groan shook the very staircase to the core.

His leg was jerking rapidly in place, and he looked as if he'd been waiting on him for hours on end. "Took your sweet time, didn't you? You know I can't stay here for long."

Quickly, his attention falls on the familiar clump of (y/h/c) hair, and Aegon averts his eyes while choking on his own remarks. "(Y/N)." He says in a most stale manner, coughing in the back of his hand.

Utterly unimpressed, the girl apprisingly nods her head, keeping her mouth in a tight line. As for Aegon, the older male was doing anything but look at (Y/N), shifting from one foot to the next.

The other one who is sharing her expression is the older Velaryon, who completely gives up on waiting for his uncle; instead gesturing towards Aegon's pockets and taking the first step forward.

"We're sorry we're late - but we're here now." He finally says, as Aegon's hand frantically searches through his robe. His purple eyes light up when he gets a hold of something.

"Ah, here we are - good as new." The Targaryen muses expectantly, handing Jace a rusty looking necklace with a proud look.

"What is that?" (Y/N) asks through a quirked up brow, as she runs her fingers down the dainty hourglass.

"That, dear (Y/N), is a very old and important family heritage." Whilst speaking, Aegon pauses dramatically, waiting for the girl to gesture him to keep going.

Noticing her lack of enthusiasm towards his antics, he nods his head in awknowledged defeat and quirks the corners of his mouth downwards in a most amusing frown.

"You're still mad about last night - fair enough. Are you familiar with the term... 'time-turner'?"

At that, (Y/N)'s eyes turn up. She nods her head decidedly and huffs out in a breath.

"The magical device that allows any witch or wizard to turn back in time for a limited amount of hours."

Jace gives her a boyish wink and smiles happily. "That's right! ... This is our best bet to save Lynnen and Böfur." He adds in a more serious tone.

"How in the world did you get your hands on this?" The Gryffindor asks, mesmerised by the priceless antique. "I thought the entire stock of Time-Turners were somewhere in the Ministry building, held under lock and key."

Aegon throws (Y/N) an arrogant smile, and shrugs his shoulders playfully.

"As I said, it's a very precious family heirloom... and the name Targaryen weighs very heavily in the magical world." He snickers while adding, "You know, just in case you were wondering."

A pang of annoyance graces (Y/N)'s features, and Aegon raises his hands up in quiet surrender.

"I only meant it as a helpful tip in case you ever need anything." The oldest of the Targaryen brother solemnly says.

Jacaerys, too, rolls his eyes silently, but pats his uncle on the back in a greatful manner. "Thank you, Aegon. We couldn't do it without you."

"I know." The older male agrees thickly, checking his own pocket-watch. "Well, look at the time, indeed." He chuckles to himself, "I wish you good luck on your ventures, dear nephiew, darling (Y/N)."

Choosing to ignore his petname, the Gryffindor looks at the Targaryen with renowed interest and confusion.

"You're not coming with?" She asks tentatively, to which Aegon shakes his head, rocking an expression akin to frustration.

"Tsk, I can't." He tuts lightly, as he buries his hands into his black robes. "I have to go to court - courtesy to my baby brother."

"Aemond?" (Y/N) asks in disbelief, before adding on. "Court? I knew you'd eventually end up there, but I thought it'd take more time than that."

Feigning hurt at her silacious words, Aegon placed both his hands atop his heart, moaning painfully, as if he'd been shot.

"You hurt me, wound me truly - mom always said that the prettiest girls have the deadliest mouths."

Snickering at his double edged meaning, no doubt more than overjoyed, Aegon rose to his feet again.

"It's not what you think, though - thanks to your precious Aemond, Professor Lynnen is in more trouble than worth." This time, his attitude is serious.

Aegon lets out a bitter laugh and clicks his tongue in pure annoyance. "That brat can't keep his mouth shut about anything he deems improper."

"What do you mean?" (Y/N) asks, eyes wide from both confusion and offence raised at her boyfriend.

"You don't know?" Aegon asks, fully befuddled, before letting out in a low whistle. "I though you were the first to know, since my brother is your best friend and all."

As Aegon turned his back on the pair, taking the way down on the moving staircase, he threw nonchalantly over his shoulder:

"Aemond was the one who alerted the Ministry of the 'misconduct' the head of my house was showing. Professor Lynnen is facing trail because of him."

For once, (Y/N) is happy that Aegon has his back turned on her, for she imagines that the expression she's wearing beats the result of any farce he may have pulled on her over the years.

Anger bubbles inside her: not only from Aemond's lack of communication and transparancy with her, but from his cruelty, as well.

Professor Lynnen was an old man, with a happy attitude and a kind heart. He never showed up late to class, and was always understanding with missed deadlines and less than stellar turned-in homework.

Most of all, he took it upon himself to give his students the best possible experience with the 'Care for Magical Creatures' course. And if you were to take a survey over Hogwarts' most popular and loved professors, Lynnen was a safe bet to always come out on top.

To say that (Y/N) took the news personally was an understatement. Aemond knew - this was her favourite faculty employee!

... And Lucaerys' too. But there was no way he did it on a whim to hurt him, despite all the differences they both had. ... Right?

Although she defied the thought with everything inside her, (Y/N) couldn't help but feel as though this mummer's farce was a sleek attempt for revenge; over something that happened way before their time at Hogwarts.

Always the kind and attentive soul, Jace quietly puts his hand over the girl's shoulder, rubbing small circles in a soothing manner. He offers her a sympathetic smile, one that lets her know just how much he understands her fury.

"I'm... I'm so...?" She tires to say though a quizzical brow. The Gryffindor lets out a huff of pure disbelief, and shakes her head, not knowing what to think.

"I know how you feel. It sucks being left out of the loop. Especially on something so important. But we'll fix it - together, right?" Jacaerys offers her a tiny smile, reassuring her with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder.

"Right. Together." She repeats, eyes full of determination.

Jace's hands reach for (Y/N)'s neck shyly, and, for a moment, the pair catches each other looking into the other's eyes with unspoken longing. (Y/N) is the first to break the stare, coughing slightly while glancing at their shoes on the hard floor.

The boy's ears are caught ablaze, but he brushes off the feeling soon enough.

"Right, so..." He whispers, biting his lip, "About 32 turns should do it?"

"32 hours sounds good." (Y/N) concludes as well, "It gives us enough time to prepare for everything and talk to the twins and Luke about our plan."

Jace smiles at her fondly, and lets out a small chuckle. "I'll tell Luke to mind his business when he hears those rascals talk nonesense about Böfur and Lynnen."

The pair share a laugh and turn their eyes to the dainty necklace that sits over both their necks. Silently, they beging to count.

One... Two... Three... Four... Five...

"Alright, here's the plan: since there isn't anyone who can take our place at the Yule Ball, I fear we'll have to attend." Jace's velvety voice rings into the girl's disoriented ears, puncturing through her dizzy head. He's holding onto her, gently, ensuring that she doesn't fall over or backwards due to the nature of their trip.

(Y/N) lets out a groan in protest, and brings a hand to massage her temples. "What a ghastly way to time-travel..." She heaves out in an attempt to ground herself back to reality. "How do you look so well after all that?"

The eldest Velaryon smiles sheepishly and shrugs his shoulders.

"Fine, keep your secrets." The Gryffindor nudges him playfully, though still with a quirked brow. She nods assuringly, and returns her attention towards the subject at hand.

"Right. I still have to dance the opening waltz with Borya. We'll leave after - thankfully, everyone will be preoccupied with the ball, so the sneaking around part should be easy."

Jacaerys gives the girl a wide smile, and checks his hand watch from underneath his Gryffindor attire. "It's twelve o'clock. We need to get to Lynnen's office first, talk to him about what'll happen to Böfur."

As he speaks, the two begin walking side by side towards the small hut by the trident river.

(Y/N) exhales shortly, and gives her classmate a saddened look.

"I wish we could do something for him, too. Even if we sneak the graphorn out and away from Hogwarts, Lynnen is still going to face trail for school misconduct."

Jacaerys' steps cease for a moment, and a deep frustration crinkles his eyes. He spares the girl a comforting look, and runs a hand down his face in defeat.

"Aegon will still testify in his favour, to be sure." He breathes out in deep thought, "As will the Headmaster and every other student involved - safe maybe for Aemond and Androw."

In exchange for his words, (Y/N) hums in agreement, and adds in her own right.

"He's held in too high esteem to ever lose his job. Most of our Professors are eccentrics, anyway." She agrees quickly, "The worst they can do is prohibit him from bringing any more magical creatures to class."

Having given each other some courage with their shared hopes and beliefs, the two resume their walking in a more hurried pace. They pass classroom after classroom with their heads hung low, until...

"Ahaha, oh, Aemond!"

The soft giggling of a girl catches (Y/N)'s attention. It seems to be coming out from the 'Advanced Potions' class. Both Gryffindors share a curious look, before taking a peak inside the empty room.

Sure enough, there they are: Alys Rivers and Aemond Targaryen, fevereshly conversing about something with wide smiles on their faces.

"Listen, Alys, I wanted to ask you something." The Slytherin's smooth voice echoes throughout the spacious room.

"Of course~ anything!" She replies in a flirtatious manner, pulling her lavish hair out of her sleek ponytail.

(Y/N) was fast to take a step back, pulling at Jace's robes in a quiet attempt to grab his attention.

'Let's go.' She mouths to him, jerking her head to point at the ever moving enchanted set of stairs. He nods promptly.

For the rest of their way down, the Gryffindor tries her best not to think about the interaction she unwillingly spied upon.

So that's where Aemond was when he...

Her partner in crime disperses her thoughts with a nonchalant smirk.

"You know she stole Rosaline Petch's hair conditioner last year? Then she gaslit her into believing she just used it all up. That's why they had that ugly fall out." He states in a matter-of-fact tone.

Unexpectedly, a roaring laughter cascades from (Y/N)'s lips. Unable to calm down, she leans into the cold wall for support, raising up her brows in a display of surprise.

"Jacaerys Velaryon! Where in the world did you hear this?"

"It is known!" He laughs alongside his friend, "Come on, everyone in the Gryffindor Common Room talked about it!"

(Y/N)'s fit of giggles aggravates by the second. She quirks her head to the side and holds her sides from shaking. "Oh, everyone, is it?"

"Okay. Maybe not everyone." Jace's ears redden at having been caught. He offers the girl a beaming smile and admits shyly, "It was Sara and Elisabeth who wouldn't stop talking about it, and..."

"And?"

"And they might have invited me and Cregan to one of their super-exclusive gossip groups last winter... and..."

(Y/N) lets out a fake gasp, jabbing his side with her elbow in a playful manner.

"I cannot believe my ears. Jacaerys Velaryon and Cregan Stark - listening to gossip about Alys Rivers' hair!"

"Hey, it's like, totally full of extensions!" Jacerys strains his mellow voice to a higher pitch, immitating Elisabeth's manner of talking.

"Oh my God!" The girl exlaims, undisputably laughing even harder, crouching forward to steady herself once more. "That's what you were doing instead of Charms homework?"

"Come on, it was totally worth it!" He chuckles whilst looking a way for just a moment.

"How?" She grins cheerfully at her friend. "Past you would cuss you out to the Seven Hells and back! I remember even now how you used all your money to buy an enchanted feather, only to have it taken away when we took our O.W.L.'s."

Jacaerys groans into the air, and shuts his eyes while shedding an imaginary tear. "Please... don't remind me about that. It's supposed to be a well guarded secret!" He whispers near (Y/N)'s ear.

His eyes soften, however, and he ruffles the back of his head. "It was worth it... because it made you laugh now." He answers truthfully.

A comforting silence befalls the two after that: both hiding their faces away, smiling wistfully and blushing profusely from the all-but-an-actual-confession that Jace managed to slip from his lips.

"Sir, you must allow us to help you release Böfur back into the wild." (Y/N) says categorically, leaving no more room for pleading or refusing.

Professor Lynnen sits down at the pumpkin shaped table, a warm cup of tea presented in front of him and his two little guests. He runs his spotted handkerchief over his bald head and neck, taking in a deep, consoling breath.

"(Y/N), Jacaerys..." The old man begins, but cuts himself off at the sight of the distressed teens. "Böfur will be returned to his herd in Switzerland by the end of the month, I, I..." His eyes squint from underneath his rectangular glasses, and he shakes his head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand why you're so adamant in having him go tonight."

"Something bad is about to happen if we don't smuggle him out tonight - or at least hide him in the forest." Jace's voice is laced with worry, and he openly pleads with the Care for Magical Creatures professor.

At his explanation, Lynnen's shaky hand comes to ruffle the boy's hair affectionately, as he smiles down at the two of them prudently.

"Child, there is no reason to worry over the unknown. I, I know that the Ministry wants to seek judgement against the poor fellow, but rest assured that nothing bad is going to happen to him." Having said that, Lynnen sniffs into his handkerchief and readies his voice by coughing. "All life is precious. The Ministry knows this, as well." He adds wistfully, with an admirable determination for a person so spent.

"Sir, but you don't understand... we do know." (Y/N) bites her lip harshly, glancing at her professor from over her simmering cup of tea; prolonging herself against the chair even further.

Lynnen's already expanded eyes widen to a comical amount.

"You... know already?" He asks tentaively, taking in a deep breath of understanding. His eyes swell with the warning of tears, and he brings another pocket handkerchief to his runny nose. "Oh, my poor Böfur..." The old man wails silently.

Both Gryffindors exchange a look of worry, and get up from their seats in order to console the hurting soul.

"He doesn't have to die." (Y/N) says with renowed fire, "We'll make sure he doesn't, but we need your help to take him away."

Jacaerys follows the pattern of her words not a heartbeat later, "Tonight is the Yule Ball. Every teacher and student will be in the Great Hall, dancing. We can come unseen to your hut again - we'll take Böfur and give him in the care of some centaurs we know until the time comes for him to leave." He speaks with passion in his heart.

"You can stay with the rest of the students for the whole celebration - you'll have an alibi, and no one will suspect you of freeing him. There's thousands of students at Hogwarts, but only twelve professors." (Y/N) proclaims optimistically, giving his wrinkled hand a gentle squeeze.

To both their surprise, Lynnen squeezes back, giving the pair a big, tight smile.

"That went better than expected." (Y/N) huffs, as she skips yet another two steps on their ascend.

"We still got a mouthful for using a Time-Turner on school grounds." Jace shudders at hammering tone Professor Lynnen used with them, but still smiles to himself when (Y/N) laughs. "Everything is falling into place, though." He takes a moment to collect himself, before uttering, barely above a whisper, "I'm glad we're doing this together."

"Me too. I don't want to jinx it, but I think we're actually going to pull this off." The girl muses to herself, and stops her walking once they reach the portrait guarding the entrance to their common room.

"I'll see you tonight?" Jace hushes in a sweet promise.

"I'll see you tonight." She replies with a wide smile that scrunches up her freckled nose.

The two turn to the awaiting Fat Lady, and prepare to say the month's ever changing password:

"Caput Draconis!"

The rest of the evening went on in an uncanny recall of déjà-vu.

(Y/N) put on her black and red silk dress, and she asked Celeste to do her hair.

She put on the same red lipstick, and did her eyes with the same eyeliner.

Finally, she walked down the stairs to the Great Hall, skipping down the exact same steps.

Borya bowed down, he kissed her hand - she might have blushed.

Alys tugged on Aemond's arm, and she might have glanced at them - although her nerves were pulling her apart.

This time, she forgot to wave and smile.

The first waltz began.

A flutter of emotions overcame her.

She looked at Jace.

Once.

Twice.

Three times, before the dance was over.

Once.

Twice.

Three times, she was twirled around by the Durmstrang student.

When they pulled apart, she looked at the clock - half past eleven, so close to midnight.

She danced two more, maybe three dances.

Jacaerys did the same.

When the clock struck the hour of the wolf, both Gryffindors excused themselves, promising to return momentarily.

While everything went down, Aemond looked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

Five times.

Endlessly - until (Y/N) disappeared into the night with Jacaerys Strong following her foosteps.

The one thing that wouldn't change that cursed night, was the feeling of pure anguish he felt, as he watched the girl he loved leave with his nephiew in such a hurry.

Then Alys called out to him. And his vision became blurry.

Two sets of hurrying footsteps made their way across the smooth pavement, seemingly chasing each other to who was the fastest runner.

Jacaerys' hand went under and into the green flowerpot, in which Professor Lynnen left the set of keys to Böfur's fence.

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relief when the boy presented the set to her, and she grasped it with her own cold fingers.

Since no one was watching them, and there was no reason to hurry besides for their own benefit (the sooner they freed the graphorn and took him into his safe oasis, the sooner they could return to the warmth of the Great Hall), the two friends joked and wrapped their heads around the one problem they were facing in between small breaks: 'Just how are we going to transport him without having the guy scream into the night and alert everyone?'

Jacaerys came with the solution. There was plenty of fresh kill inside Lynnen's house, to feed the beast during the day, and they so happened to have all his keys.

Baiting him into the forest with it, all the while keeping him busy with the copious amounts of meat, the daring Gryffindors managed to pull through with their plan.

(Y/N) bowed down in reverence when she handed Böfur to Magorian, the mighty centaur who overlooked all which moved and entered in the Forbidden Forest - and Jace followed suit.

"Okay, now let's get out of here." She whispered to him in a grave tone, shaking to the core from the unforgiving cold.

Jacaerys soon noticed her shaking, and no amount of future protest from the girl managed to sway him into taking his coat back from her smaller form.

"I have the blood of the Dragon." He jested lightly, shaking his head at another of her failed attempts. "It keeps me warm enough. Don't be proud and wear it! I wouldn't forgive myself if you caught a cold."

"Y-You could die from anaphylactic shock, you know." The girl retorted through grittered teeth, rubbing her hands together to bring more warmth to her stiffened limbs.

"And it would be an honor to die knowing you were safe."

The smallest of smiles graced her lips, and she grabbed the eldest Velaryon by the robes again.

"Today is not the day you die."

Now it was Jacaerys' turn to smile.

The celebrations might've just as well ended when (Y/N) and Jace reached the Great Hall again. More than half the student population seemed to be utterly drunk on the spiked punch - courtesy to Aegon, who, in lack of both his nephiew and darling (Y/N), got bored during the forth or fifth dance -, and the other half poisoned by the questionable cookies that Vela Castillo made 'especially for the occasion'.

Not even Borya escaped their deadly clutches. Almost green in the face, he bowed down stiffly before his date - it was a miracle that he didn't empty his bowels then and there -, excusing himself profusely from the dance floor and scurrying to the Dungeons, where the Slytherin Common Room resided.

Baela had already went to sleep.

(Y/N) scrunched up her nose in amusement, and Jacaerys stiffled a small laugh.

"It seems that we're both partnerless." The girl noticed with a quirked brow. Her eyes scanned the perimeter of the wide room, but found no sight of silver hair, or charcoal black.

Where did Aemond and Alys go?

"Yeah, but the party's spent." Jace noticed in a stale manner, glancing at (Y/N) with the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry." He added, barely above a whisper.

"Huh? What for?" It was her turn to question him, utterly perplexed.

"For... I mean..." Jace gestured towards the ballroom with a solemn expression, "For taking you away from the ball. You didn't get to dance like last night - or, well, tonight."

A cautious smile graces (Y/N)'s lips, lighting up her fair features. She pats Jace on the back and jests delicately.

"I don't need two nights in a row of dancing like that - I have a killer muscle ache already."

Hearing her words, Jacaerys laughs earnestly. Still, he gives her an apologetic look, which (Y/N) shoots down with a passing wink. "Don't worry. I mean it."

Her hands go above her head in a linguid stretch, and the Gryffindor stiffles a yawn.

"Good job to us for today!" She concludes lazily.

Although tiredness was taking over her, she couldn't help but feel a tad aggravated by what the end of the Yule Ball meant.

Since I never had the fight with with the boys... then there's no reason for Aemond to take off on his broomstick and confess to me tonight. When I wake up tomorrow, we won't be...

A heavy sigh unwillingly parts from her lips - (Y/N)'s eyes trail down sadly, but a pang of optimism finds it's way to her heart.

Even if he didn't confess, I know the way he feels about me. I can just tell him that I love him tomorrow. Explain it to him the way he explained it to me.

With her mind made up on the matter, she relaxes her tense muscles once more. Still...

"Jace, I think I should check up on Aemond. Make sure he's not... food-poisoned and whatnot."

For a second, the girl can swear that his jaw tightens in repressed anger, and his brown eyes glaze over with sadness and longing - but just as quickly as that look seemed to appear, it left his face in an instant.

"He's still your friend." The Velaryon reassures her with a strained smile, "Of course. But let me at least accompany you to their dorms - it's far too dark for comfort, and there's a lot of drunk students haunting the halls still."

"Thank you, Jace." (Y/N) returns his grin sweetly.

Their walk through the catacombs is one of a pleasant silence, and (Y/N) even finds herself humming to a low tune that her mother used to sing.

All's well when ends well, but...

"O-Oh! Oooh, shit!" A slurry moan cuts through the established taciturn.

"Shh, keep quiet..." A loud slap carries it's sound through the deafening darkness, spilling over the Gryffindors' ears. "Fuck, good girl..."

The man's voice shakes with lust, and with each passing second, a feeling of dread seeps into (Y/N)'s body. Jace stiffens next to the girl, and shoots her a quick look.

"Look at you, taking me so, so well - can you give me another one? Hmm?"

"Mmhh, yes, yes, yes, Aemond...!" The woman gasps louder and louder with each wet thrust, until she lets out a muffled scream, no doubt covered by... Aemond's... hand.

The same hand who held onto (Y/N) the night before. A night that didn't even happen. This was now her reality.

The girl's throat closes into itself. It's getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Yes...!" Aemond lets out in a loud bark, groaning loudly, "Good fucking girl. That's it, Alys, that's it, take all my fucking cum."

A loud step back. And then another one.

Retreating is all that (Y/N) can think to do.

Hot, scorching tears fall from her eyes, wasting over her red cheeks, falling on the floor.

She's running away now, clawing at her collar for a chance of fresh air.

She doesn't mind the fact that the couple more than certainly heard her, or that her sobs are so loud, that they're threatening to wake the whole castle up.

"(Y/N)!" Jace's desperate tone chases her down the hallway.

He marches towards her, before changing his mind in favour of approaching the tangled Slytherins, who are definitely closer yet.

"Lumos maxima." He commands with a rage fuelled voice, lighting over Aemond Targaryen and Alys Rivers - who tries to hoist her skirt up in great haste.

Jacaerys doesn't spare her a second glance, instead concentrating on Aemond - without even thinking twice, he punches him straight in the face, busting his knuckles and leaving them bloody in their right crochet.

"You piece of shit." He hisses at his uncle, and he wants to hit him again, but the unforgettable sobs that left (Y/N)'s throat make him immediately run after her.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!"

The Gryffindor must have lost his voice by the time he finally finds her, in the inner garden of the castle, resting her head on her knees, trembling with the intensity of her cries.

For what feels like an eternity, he sits on the icy steps with her, silent; rubbing her back soothingly after placing his coat over her smaller form.

The blood that coats his knuckles coagulates, and the initial sting turns into an easing numbness.

Eventually, like all things, her crying ends. Either from acceptance over the situation at hand, or from lack of remaining tears - it ends.

"... When this whole mess happened for the first time," (Y/N) began with a breathy voice, "Aemond sneaked in o-our dorms and told me he lo-loved me."

The girl swallows thickly, and levels her breath again before choking out. "A-A-And he said... that he always will."

Jacaerys is borne of the Blood of the Dragon. Despite all that, when he reaches to hug her, his hands are cold.

His chin rests atop her head in a comforting manner. His strong arms engulf her fully, better than his coat can. Jace's body radiates heat and safety, and he begins to rock her gently from side to side, feeling his own heart break with every venture.

"I can't e-even be mad at him, can I?" She weeps harshly into his arms, "We're not a thing here a-anymore... w-we never were in this reality, I s-suppose."

Jacaerys can't say anything - he doesn't know what she'd like to hear, or how to judge the situation impartially himself.

He feels his blood boil. Of one thing he is certain: he would never do that to her.

He wants to tell her that. He yearns to let her know - but the Gryffindor realises that they are both heartbroken in their own right. And that he had no right to, in light of her situation, to confuse her.

Jacaerys Velaryon settles on hugging her tighter, on smoothing the hair on her back in a gentle caress. "Shh, shh... don't cry. Don't waste your tears on that guy."

Jacaerys Velaryon stays like this however long she needs to. Burning on the inside, and shivering from the cold on the outside.

His jaw clenches and unclenches repeatedly. His concious is fighting against his selfish will - the former wins, and so he tells her.

"We can turn time back again, you know." He rubs her back, creating enough friction to keep her warm. "A turn or two should do the trick. I'll go set Böfur free, and you stay here and dance."

Tears well into his eyes again. They cloud his vision, blurring his surroundings - but he doesn't need eyes to continue, anyway.

"You dance with Borya and have fun... you let Aegon and his stupid brother froth at the mouth again. And then you go to your room. And then you wait for him. And then you talk to him."

For the first time that night, (Y/N)'s eyes shoot up in their own accord. She shakes her head relentlessly, parting from the warmth that Jace's body provided.

"No. No way." She denies him strongly.

"Why not? I can do it by myself." He soothes her back into his embrace, "I'll get it done and you, and Luke, and Böfur will be happy."

"And what about your own happiness? ... No." (Y/N) repeats again, as she brings her own hands to hug Jace back into her. "If Aemond truly loved me, he'd fight harder for me. What s-sort of relationship am I hoping to have, if he jumps Alys the second I'm not available?"

"He's an ass." Jace whispers atop her head again. "Ever since we were children. Don't waste your tears on him, sweet girl. He doesn't deserve you."

After a few more sniffs, (Y/N) finally raises her puffy face from the boy's robes. Her cheeks are red from crying, her eyes still glassy from the tears.

Her full lips quiver in the moonlight - once, twice, three times -, before she collides them with Jace's.

Hers move in wild abandon, while his stay frozen in their place. Perhaps they truly are.

Sensing his lack of desire for their unconventional peck, (Y/N) feels the heaviness of guilt suddenly pierce her soul.

"I'm sorry..." She whispers, an inch away from his swollen lips. "I misunderstood."

"You didn't misunderstand a thing." He murmurs against her turning cheek, while bringing his hand out to cup her jaw delicately and kiss her in his own right again.

Quiet moans leave both their lips. Jacaerys brings his free hand down, down to her waist, and pulls the girl closer to his body yet.

A flash of awareness brings him back to his wits on earth, as (Y/N) lets out a small whimper in his mouth.

With a tenderness rarely found in men, Jace pulls away from her face, caressing her stained cheeks with his calloused thumbs. "I'm sorry. I... I can't."

Seeing her eyes squeeze in pain and her body recoil in sadness, Jace holds her face in his hands gentler still, and whispers once more.

"From the first moment I met you, all I wanted was to kiss your lips." He admits fevereshly, shaking his head, "But I don't want to take advantage of you. You're hurt right now, and for good reason."

Jacaerys slowly rises on his feet, taking (Y/N) with him in his protective cradle.

The two make their way inside the castle. The warmth of the thousand fires flooding their veins like a warm bath after a harsh day in the Winter's outskirts.

"If we are to do this... I want you to choose me." He adds softly.

"I'll wait for you, (Y/N). And even if I'm not the one, I promise you to always be by your side."

All's well when ends well, right...?

┌���── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

Taglist:

@caramelcandescence @spn-obession @ramielll 💗

└─── °∘❉∘° ───┘

[coleoffduty]

I was initially guilty about spamming you so I'm really glad to see the asks cheered you up!! I'm trying not to abuse the functionality but the universe you created in legacies is really interesting with so many complex dynamics. Can you talk more (if you want) about

- the relationship between viserys I and rhaenyra

- how all the kids see daemon (couldn't gauge how baela felt about the custody battle but she seems unsettled by the nettles thing)

- the closest real life voice/music/face claim for lucerys (and others if possible, i know that you said daeron ~~ damon albarn)

- was rhaenyra's rebellious youth a product of her upbringing (tumltuous as drew barrymore's was) or an idolising of notorious troublemaker daemon or because of her mother's loss

- what are the worst targaryen scandals in this universe? (Assuming maegor exists)

-where laena & laenor specifically stand with everything going on (the abuse lucerys suffered from his mother seemed like something laenor wouldn't accept unless he went through the same and thinks of it as normal)

oh em gee hi—welcome back <3 i rlly do wanna preface this by saying if you have questions and interests about something: flood my inbox as much as you want! i love interacting and getting to go back and forth about my fics, especially legacies since it’s so intricate and very slowly being unraveled due to slow updates (i’ve got like 6k words written up for this current chapter and i’m not even halfway so…).

but with that being said; change my first name to yip and last name to yap because boy do i have a lot to say.

viserys and rhaenyra’s relationship.

there’s a lot to cover on her story and perspective in this universe, but one of the main ideas i tried hammering in when it came to ‘you turn me inside out’’s first chapter is her only child syndrome. she’s very lonely but still incredibly doted on. growing up, i feel viserys made certain to tell everyone how much he expects of rhaenyra solely because that’s his only child. not because of what she can do or who she is as an individual away from him. i’ve always really liked the idea of how viserys names her his heir or focuses on how rhaenyra will take on his role in the family as the next generations successor is not because he actually believes in her, but because he’s already talked it into existence. it’s why he doesn’t really prep her or genuinely take the time to spend time with her. if he says it will be, then it must because the whole world’s watching and he can’t look like an idiot if rhaenyra fails. very much more of that in the prequel and impending sequels…

daemon and his relationship with the kids.

jace understands that daemon is his stepfather, the person who his mother chose to be with after harwin and eventually got cheated on, but he ultimately holds his tongue because he understands that he is baela’s father. she’s the one allowed to be mad and angry while he takes the more adult approach. luke was away at driftmark when rhaenyra and dameon married so, he doesn’t hold a really weighted opinion on him other than he was a great paternal figure with how he gifted him his cello and treats the littles, especially with visenya and her disability. joff is just angry about how daemon was the main father figure he grew up with even if he’s laenor’s favorite and then all the things coming to light. definitely one of those ‘i used to idolize you and you let me down’ moments aemond and lucerys talk about when it comes to their family. all the littles (aegon iii, viserys ii, and visenya) just know their parents love each other still but can’t stand one another anymore. when i was editing legacies, i forgot that in the scene for chapter 5 when aemond and luke start speaking in high valryian in front of visenya, she becomes immediately curious and luke alludes to how she’ll become angry if she doesn’t know what’s being said. i added that detail because i feel like rhaenyra and daemon would argue in high valyrian so the kids don’t understand/can't keep up with what’s being said, even though they can clearly see the tension. as for baela and rhaena, it is similar but different. both are very unsettled and repulsed by their father being with nettles because maybe i’m the only one who thought it was weird but: nettles is their age, with their similar phenotypes, and is a dragon rider so most likely related to them. i'm not saying in this fic that nettles is daemon's daughter, but there are clear parallels between his children with laena and her. i also feel the twins have become women who have grown out of that similar idolization period with their father to notice his patterns of getting with a young girl, having kids with her, and when times get too tough— leaves her to then repeat the process. baela is more outward and direct with her disdain about it while rhaena internalizes it. more of that will be covered in the legacies sequels, since the rhaenicent continuation will be in rhaenyra’s pov following that whole ordeal.

face and voice claims.

for lucerys, i mostly reference kurt cobain’s style of singing and combine that with his face claim, timothée chalamet. i’ve always felt luke has a deep voice even from what the actor portrays on screen, so something that sounds very low but can pitch high if strained. so yeah, kurt ('been a son' is lucerys writing about rhaenyra but anyways). daeron’s voice claim is indeed damon albarn’s and i felt this direction was kind of funny to have. damon's accent really comes through so daeron being the only singer with a thick brit voice i felt could tie back to how he studied music in oldtown and the technique taught there is also another thing that differs him from his family. in legacies i envision daeron as the ever popular face claim lucas lynggaard tønnesen. rhaena’s face claim is taylor russell (my love) and her voice claim is Beatrice Laus (beabadoobee, my other love). cregan was written before the actor was introduced so i said his face claim was jaime flatters which i still feel fits right with legacies. dalton greyjoy is young aaron paul and i feel with his voice claim, i could get away with some gerard way. for rhaenyra and alicent’s voice claims though, i always felt like fiona apple fit rhae and mitski for alicent. again though, we’ll have more of that in the future. 

rhaenyra’s upbringing.

a lot of the ideas you listed actually all factor into why rhaenyra was pretty wild during her teenage to young adult years. she grew up in the scene, at clubs, surrounded by adults smoking and drinking and partying and being this little kid who is essentially her parents’ party trick. like ‘oh look at little rhaenyra pretending she’s doing shots’ kind of thing when she should’ve been at home in bed. it’s what she’s used to and feel like she’s born for. daemon is also another addition to it as he only encourages her, which is one of my favorite key points in the prequel. and of course, with aemma’s death, rhaenyra goes off the deep end. she’s surrounded by the same people her father is, which are yes-men who will feed into anything she wants. i’ve always liked how rhaenyra antis are like ‘she was so entitled’. it’s like yeah, any 15 year old with the world at their fingertips, surrounded by people her entire life who make her feel she can do no wrong as ’the realm’s delight’ would probably be a spoiled diva. targs have done worse.

the worst legacies universe targaryen scandals.

honestly, i’ve only barely started making a dent into world-building before the young rhaenicent period as i’m writing rhaenys/corlys’ little story so i haven’t given it much thought. i feel like though in the previous periods, since social media wasn’t around and especially with jaehaerys and alysanne’s children, not a lot of them became musicians and their dirty laundry wasn’t aired out. i have aemon written as holding an army job which i feel also allows for the family to have larger ties to political aspects of westeros in the same way some actual celebrities do. hence if maegor did do all the things we know he does also in this timeline, the targs are probably well connected enough to have it forgotten about/utilize public stunts to move on. i feel like legacies really embodies the idea of a modern take of ‘the dance’ without the aegon vs rhaenyra succession plot since even though there’s so many musicians in the family and they should be at their peak, there’s all this internal affair happening with scandal and wondering who the leak is.

laena & laenor.

oh, how i think about those two. in ‘all apologies’ i wrote about how they’re basically ghosts in the house, just shells of themselves. they still reside on driftmark and live with their parents and teach music, but are incredibly burnt out. laena is sober and constantly battling addiction after overdosing and nearly dying + other things while laenor is trying to lead a quiet life after being married to rhaenyra. i don’t know if i mentioned it in the actual fics, but with how everyone knows laenor is gay, it wasn’t on his terms. he was outed and harassed on a national level which does a lot to a person, especially one without a clear support system. so when it comes to trying to intervene with the cycle of things (lucerys’ treatment) they’re pretty much rendered powerless. they know baela and lucerys are the substitutes of what their parents wanted them to become, which also adds another level of fuckery to their dynamics. but what i want to highlight is that a lot of the direct and seen abuse is mental (the physicality comes from how the kids' bodies sort of break down after practicing for so long or being neglected in order to prioritize perfection), and the person it's normalized from would be corlys (as it happens to be with baela). so rhaenys being how she is with luke is almost seen as a lesser pain and uncharted territory since she’s laenor and laena’s safer option. she's never been that way with anyone and so they don't see it as concerning as it actually is. they especially don't say anything since what happens is behind closed doors and not for long since rhaenys teaches luke when he’s 15-19, as well as because he’s corlys’ heir. he’s fitting into the mold fine, so they see stepping in as possibly messing up lucerys’ future the way they did to their own (for now at least). 

hope i covered most of the questions without veering off too much!

[liveshaunteda]

come on little lady; GIVE US A SMILE

mutuals can reblog

[ladyhindsight]

Oh, don't worry, real life stuff is obviously more important, although also more boring. I made the decision and I started to write the crossover fanfic I have on my mind for long time, but I was afraid it'll be horrible. You encouraged me. Thank you for it. I'm struggling with geography and inventing new cultures and their customs. Because once I fill the blank world the opportunity for plot lines will emerge.

I think Clare didn't want to write about sexism explicitly and that's why she didn't address the change. It would be work for her to write it and some people would be angry at her. Because in our day and time a lot of people like sanitary books, without social issues of past - even if the plot is in past.

Can you eleborate about the other changes? What else Clare changed?

You are totally right. It's weird downworlders didn't have any voice in Clave before. The thing with one person for entire race is also very weird. Especially when we look at what we know about vampires and werewolves. Werewolves live in packs. Vampires in clans. Packs fight with other packs and clans with other clans too. Therefore how exactly can they come up with one person to speak for entire race? Other weird this is the two courts of Faerie. Only two? It isn't a lot for entire population of faeries.. I came to conclusion, the two courts are the only ones who communicate with Clave and who sign Accords and the others are hidden in Faerieland minding their bussines. It's weird to imagine the entire race would sign Accords at all. Maybe there are kingdoms of vampires who are independent and are on thin ice with Clave, because they didn't sign Accords, but also don't hurt any mundanes nor do any mayhem between races. I have idea on my mind for chinese vampire kingdom lead by empress, who aren't under rule of the Clave.

How many shadowhunters do you think are out there? It's said the Council Hall can hold all the Clave members. So I have to ask how big is the population? It doesn't seem like nephilim would be able to protect world from all the demons if their population isn't at least 50,000. It's my wild guess, but I think it's minimum force needed to maintain authority and protect world.

I managed to forget Praetor Lupus exist, 😅 such a big impression it made on me...

If they kill Livvy, they would have actual problem to handle. Opportunity to grow, Clare would be able to show angst, but also the power of mercy and pity. They wouldn't kill just Livvy, but other innocents during the battle. I would add one more threat to the series, Emma and Julian take the risk and they would surely die completing their task in desperate need of forgiveness. Then their family and friends show up and save them. They didn't forget, but they are merciful, love Emma and Julian and they don't want to lose them too. It would be nice, if after all Emma and Julian won't even finish their task. They get injured and others do it instead. They don't need to be heroes. It's not the lesson of their story, it's story about tragic love not about war heroes.

That’s so cool, happy writing! 😊 I often find it soothing to have ideas and thoughts written down, even if I’m going to do absolutely nothing with them. But then again, I get them out of my head and stored somewhere in somewhat coherent form.

What I’ve gathered so far on changes made in TMI:

Change in lines

The revision on female Shadowhunters

The scene with Pangborn and the other guy whose name I totally forgot (though I think this was due to the original being a bit confusing)

Magnus’s age: In in the original 2009 version Magnus tells Alec he is 700-800 years old, but this was changed in the 2015 edition to 400-500 instead.

Some of Sebastian’s lines in CoG were changed: At the Gard, Sebastian says to Alec that he had already taken care of one of them (the Lightwoods) that night, which implies he knows he only killed Max and not Isabelle. But when Isabelle later comes to Jace’s aid and attacks Sebastian, Sebastian says to Isabelle: “I should’ve smashed your face in with that hammer until I was sure you weren’t breathing anymore—“, meaning he intended for the both of them to die. What made this nonsensical was the fact that the line was changed. The original 2009 version was: “I should have smashed your face in with that hammer when I had the chance—”, meaning Sebastian never intended to kill Isabelle, which in its own right leaves a plot hole: why did Sebastian just kill Max and not Isabelle?It seems that there was an attempt to cover this plot hole by having Sebastian intending to kill both of them but failing to kill Isabelle. But because only one of the lines was changed (and not the one with Alec), Sebastian’s intentions and words become contradictory.

The demon blood: Many have criticized the whole reason for Sebastian’s evilness being the demon blood in him because the warlock are also part demon and they aren’t evil because of it. The original 2009 version of the scene where Clary says this exact same thing doesn’t address the fact at all or try to explain it:

Clary pushed away the memory of Valentine’s voice saying, She told me that I had turned her first child into a monster. “But warlocks are part demon. Like Magnus. It doesn’t make them evil—” “Not part Greater Demon. You heard what the demon woman said.” It will burn out his humanity, as poison burns the life from the blood. Clary’s voice trembled. “It’s not true. It can’t be. It doesn’t make sense—” “But it does.”

In the 2015 edition the dialogue goes instead like this:

Clary pushed away the memory of Valentine’s voice saying, She told me that I had turned her first child into a monster. “But warlocks are part demon. Like Magnus. It doesn’t make them evil—“ “But they are born that way. Having demon blood put into you is different. It’s like being exposed to radiation. It changes you.” Clary’s voice trembled. “It’s not true. It can’t be. It doesn’t make sense—“ “But it does.”

What makes me conclude also once again that the world-building sucked is because of the original line “Not part Greater Demon” because, wait, huh, aren’t Magnus and Tessa both offspring of greater demons? Isn’t there like a whole series named after this? Magnus wasn’t the eldest surviving son of Asmodeus nor was Tessa the daughter of Belial.

Again, Clare could’ve said that Lilith’s blood in particular does this, but like with Raziel, these opportunities were wasted and made only worse and more nonsensical by making these edits to the writing. I’d like to know if there is a list of things that have gone through changes in the original trilogy to fit better the subsequent series, or if there isn’t one then do one, but I don’t plan on reading this book ever again.

There were probably couple more but here are at least the major ones I could think of and find on the blog.

And yeah, the Shadowhunters are constantly squabbling with each other, branching into different sects when the story demands it, but all the vampires and werewolves have no beef with each other? There’s no faerie that isn’t happy with their rulers and creating their own realms with other like-minded? It’s too simplistic and unrealistic to have such large, homogeneous groups of people. I haven’t actually thought about how many of the Nephilim exist, because it seems there’s very few of them and everyone at least seems to have heard of others by name or some other way. So it’s hard to think that there’d be tens of thousands of them, which again, like you said, would be far more effective on global scale.

It was highly convenient that the True Nephilim Emma and Julian only killed bad guys and only slightly injured Jace. Becoming a (war) hero of some sort seems to be an on-going theme with every major character. There’s always a big battle to be won and the world saved by the protagonists. Livvy’s death could’ve been utilized far better, that’s true, because in the end it was more about Julian’s grief than that of Ty’s or any other sibling’s. Livvy’s death contributed majorly to Ty’s actions in QoAAD, but Julian really was the whole star of it all, with angst and everything.

[khaleesiofalicante]

OK I GOT 5 HOURS OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT WHICH IS PRETTY OK IG (I did stay up to read the fic-) BOTH MY TESTS WENT LIKE SHIT, I HAD AN ANXIETY ATTACK IN PROGRAMMING CLASS BECAUSE BY TEACHER IS A LITTLE SHIT WHO KEPT ON YELLING AT ME WHEN I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AND I SPENT LUNCH ALONE BUT AT LEAST NOW IM ALONE WITH MY LAPTOP SO YAYAYAYYA

first of all, this chapter right here is my comfort chapter from now on. i said what i said. I will be rereading it again and again just because i can. it was PERFECTION

here's me going crazy at 2 am yesterday.

MAGNUS' CHAPTER

LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO

AHHHHHHH IT'S THEIR ANNIVERSARY

SCREAM

oh

alec shaved his beard because it made him look older

RAFAEL WAS SO UPSET AFTER THE MEXICO ATTACK BECAUSE OF ANJALI RIGHT??

magnus and alec are the oblivious parents istg

“Are you decent?” Max yelled. “I don’t want to be traumatized again.”

“Hey! We agreed not to talk about that!” Alec yelled back.

Im not even surprised at this point

“Happy anniversary, bapa!” Rafael kissed him on the cheek and handed him the flowers.

“Where are my flowers?” Alec asked.

Rafael plucked a rose from the bouquet and threw it at Alec. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, son,” Alec mumbled.

IM WHEEZING

DAVID BAKES

“David made it,” Max said shyly. "

Oh,” Alec replied and then shrugged. “Well, the icing could be a little sweeter I think.”

Ever since Max started dating, Alec had become incredibly protective. Alec liked David of course – it was impossible to find someone who didn’t. But that didn’t mean Alec approved.

And it didn’t help that the blond boy was absolutely terrified of Alec.

ALEC STOP TEASING HIM

THE BOY IS ALREADY SCARED

“I don’t know,” Alec analysed the card. “David used too much glitter.”

“Since when do you have a problem with excessive glitter?” Max demanded.

ALEC

“I didn’t use him!” Max huffed. “He was thoroughly compensated for his efforts!”

“Compensated how?” Alec asked.

“Uh,” Max said. “With donuts.”

when i saw donuts i immediately thought of rose and luisa from jtv

iykyk

but should i continue the show? i got tired of jane continuously embarrasing herself

“You expect us to follow rules?” Alec asked in surprise. “In our own home? On our anniversary?”

The warlock boy grinned wickedly before leaning close to Alec.

“You better do it, or I will tell everyone about your secret,” Max whispered.

Alec blinked at that.

the secret...

I DONT LIKE HOW MANY THINGS POPPED INTO MY HEAD

is highschool musical that bad? i havent watched it. should i?

what if i cried

i just wanna hug alec??? but i cant say it'll be ok because it wont

“Is that why you are not attending?” Magnus grinned at his friend. “Or is it because you are terrified of Georgia?”

“That child is the reincarnation of Christopher Lightwood!” Ragnor complained. “I heard she made explosives out of demon ichor! Who makes explosions out of demon ichor?”

RAGNOR IS PROBABLY GETTING FLASHBACKS

THESE STUPID FUCKING BITCHES

how tf do you think we have survived huh??

medicine that's how

vaccines, anti biotics and what not

stop being close-minded and fucking do it

ok i know the risk is great

BUT OTHERWISE THEY ALL DIE

it was different for warlocks. The Shadow World was their universe. The nephilim kept it safe. At one point in their lives, they had learned to coexist with them, out of necessity and out of obligation.

And now here they were – working together in the name of friendship and love.

how things change...

what

say what

the causes are what

ok let's not jump to conclusions

im fucking crying wtf

alec doesnt deserve this shit

all he's done is make the world a better place

hes worked so hard on this

RAZIEL CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF

what am i supposed to say to my parents if one of them comes to check on me and im sitting here crying at 2 am

He didn’t want to believe in a reality that would punish Alec. Alec who only wanted to do what is good and right.

Alec was who was losing his hope and strength every passing day. Alec who was struggling. Alec who was turning to desperate measures to cope with all the stress.

please alec

no please

THE ANGELS ARE BITCHES

Because if Magnus found out Raziel was the one causing all this pain for Alec, he would march up to heaven and set the bastard on fire himself.

AND I'LL GO WITH HIM

KNEW THE SPY WAS LIVVY

AWW RAGNOR LIKES SELENA THATS SO SWEET

blue and gold

STOP IT IM CRYING AGAIN

The shadowhunter was a good influence on him. Magnus hoped Alec would see it sooner rather than later.

HUH

HUHU

HUH

omg

GIGI GETTING A SIBLING

“Max isn’t allowed to do a lot of things,” Magnus chuckled. “But he does them anyway.”

thats my boi

GASP

]THE NECKLACE

rafael is growing into the consul voice

they grow up so fast

nope nope he's still the little 5 year old

voice cracking what do you mean he's 20

im glad hes happy with mila. or is he...?

Magnus had deduced as much. Alec lived in his beautifully oblivious world. But Magnus noticed.

He noticed the hickeys. He noticed the late-night visits. He noticed the tense phone calls.

well thank god there's at least one non-oblivious person (alec i love you so much but you are very very oblivious)

“What’s stopping you then?” Magnus asked.

"2554 miles,” Rafael chuckled sadly.

me with all my online friends

probably more miles

Magnus tried to do the math but promptly gave up.

me

But Alec did lie though. Magnus pushed the thought away.

NOT NOW

LET ME LIVE IN PEACEFUL OBLIVION

HUSH

“Except melt it?” Rafael chuckled.

“Yes,” Magnus chuckled back. “As you can see, the bar is extremely low in the Lightwood family.”

AHHIUCCDSKUHDCV

i have no clue what the words describing the outfit are

time to google

OK PRETTY

Fifteen years. Fifteen years of loving and Alec still made his heart stutter.

dont do this to me right now I WILL CRY

“What the hell?” Max exclaimed. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s my anniversary,” Alec chuckled.

Max-

Fifteen years. Fifteen years and Magnus still took Alec’s breath away.

HJCSDHJBJDHSGCDYGJVVC JHVDFYMJ

it's not funny MY EYES ARE WATERING

“Bapak is a good looking one in the family,” Rafael pointed out. “You are the chaotic one and I am the smart one.”

“What am I then?” Alec asked dryly. “A sack of potatoes?”

“You’re the sexy one,” Magnus grinned. “A sexy sack of potatoes.”

yes.

Alec grinned back and leaned forward. Magnus put his hands around Alec’s neck and kissed him. He kissed Alec with all the love he had inside his heart.

Just like the first time. Just like the hundredth time. Just like the thousandth time.

Because with Alec, every kiss mattered. Every single one.

muffled sob

“Stop making out, oh my god!” Max groaned.

Magnus sensed a pillow coming their way but Rafael caught it before it hit them.

“Max, stop!” Rafael scolded. “You will wrinkle dad’s suit and ruin bapak’s hair! I spent hours ironing both!”

why is max me when i see people display affection in front of me

ALSO RAFAEL HKUIUIDCSKIHUDFVHJDFVHU

“They are here,” Rafael said. “You two better look exactly the way you did when I left with Max or I will raise hell.”

IM SCREAMING

Selena was wearing a blue crop top with the words “MIND YOUR OWN UTEREUS” written in gold.

i need that top

DAVID'S SHIRT IS THE COLOR OF MAX'S MAGIC

AHH ISABELLE DOESNT KNOW SHE'S PREGNANT YET

The argument of “who gave the best gift” had started when Jace and Izzy had gotten drunk on vodka. It didn’t help that Alec had gotten drunk as well. All three Lightwood siblings had then proceeded to have an argument about who had the best spouse. The whole night had been drunken chaos. Magnus, Clary and Simon had let them have it since the Lightwood siblings had a tendency to carry the world on their shoulders even when nobody asked them. They rarely ever let loose ever since their worlds had plunged into sickness and demon attacks. Especially Alec. So, Magnus had let his husband be that 18-year-old boy again. The boy who got drunk and fought with his siblings and sang songs about Magnus’ pretty eyes.

OH MY GOD THE CHAOS

Georgia considered that. “I’m not allowed to melt it, right?”

“No,” they all replied in chorus.

LET GIGI MELT IT

SELENA IM SO PROUD OF YOU

“Dad,” Max said. “Can you keep a picture of me wearing this necklace in your office?”

“Why?” Rafael asked.

“I think it will piss off the boomers,” Max giggled.

“Nice!” Lexi grinned. “A downworlder wearing a shadowhunter heirloom? They will lose their heads. Uncle Alec, you must do it.”

“I will do you one better. I will hang a tapestry,” Alec chuckled.

YASSS I CANT WAIT FOR THE SHADOWHUNTERS TO BE PISSED

AWW THEY DIDNT KNOW THE NECKLACE USED TO BELONG TO MAGNUS

he actually gave to camille first-

Why couldn’t this boy just cause chaos during his travel year like the rest of them? Why did he actually study and do his research as recommended?

why would you NOT study and research during your travel year????

oh shit

well well well

david bby stfu

i love you but pls stop speaking for all our sakes

“Holy shit,” Max said. “It is expensive then!”

“Don’t pawn the ruby!” Rafael warned.

MAX NO-

OH THE STONE COMES FROM EDOM

oh no

pls dont fight

oh so i was wrong about magus confronting him from that snippet

all you need to know is im sobbing right now and grammarly is the only thing making this coherent

dont mind me just

NO I FORGOT ABOUT MAX AND DAVID

GET BACK IN THE ROOM YOU IDIOTS

don't do this to me at 3 am

OK THE DILF PART

thank you for adding light into my life again

(me while editing this: today really isn't my day huh? i just slipped in rainwater outside my balcony because I heard rain and ran there. now my knee and back hurt and I think I sprained (?) my toe-

ANYWAY

wait im gonna go check out the rain and then continue editing this

ok i got bored of the rain)

that made me laugh through my tears

“Objectively good looking?” Jace snorted. “Excuse you, but my parabatai is smoking hot! He is a freaking prize, okay? If we had a magazine for hot shadowhunters, you would be on the cover page. Every single issue.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Alec interrupted. “Magnus, are you happy? Now all my friends have told me I am pretty.”

“I said smoking hot,” Jace corrected.

“We are not being biased,” Clary pointed out. “It is the general consensus, Alec.”

“It’s true,” Lexi said. “So many people have asked me for your number, Uncle Alec. And I would have given it to them if I wasn’t worried about being turned into a marshmallow.”

LEXI DUHDUGHUDFCUHKVDFUIKFDU

“Dad, I don’t know why you are so worried,” Max said in a bored tone. “You’re a told DILF.”

David choked on his champagne and Jace patted him on the back.

“What the hell is a DILF?” Alec demanded.

“Oh, I know this one!” Jace said excitedly. “It means Dashing and Irresistible Looking Father. Max is right, you are a total DILF.”

“Mr. Herondale-” David raised a hand.

“I heard one of the shadowhunters in their travel year calling me a DILF too,” Jace said proudly.

THAT IS NOT WHAT DILF MEANS OH MY GOD

“It’s not a rumour,” Selena spoke up and passed her phone. “There is a group chat at Scholomance just to thirst after you.”

add me to it

ALL THE COMMENTS I CANT BREATHE

“Alec Lightwood can run me over with a Maserati and I would thank him.”

“Give me that,” Izzy grabbed the phone and started giggling. “Petition for Consul Alec Lightwood-Bane to stab me with his mortal sword.”

“Isabelle!” Alec hissed, cheeks flaming. “Stop it!”

“I want one!” Jace grabbed the phone now. “By the Angel!”

“Read it!” the kids yelled in chorus.

“I would gladly let Consul Lightwood-Bane inspect my mortal instruments,” Jace chuckled and threw the phone at David.

David shook his head vehemently and threw it at Max.

“My body is just a hole for Alec Lightwood,” Max read out loud and started laughing so hard that he fell off his chair.

Lexi grabbed the phone and giggled. “I want the Consul to strip off my runes among other things.”

She passed the phone to Gigi, who looked at the phone and look at Alec.

“Uncle Alec,” the girl said. “This person wants you to crush them with your massive archer arms.”

“Give me that,” Rafael grabbed it now. “Aw, this one is a classic, dad. Alec Lightwood turned me gay.”

He threw the phone at Simon, who stared the screen and looked up. “Uh, I don’t think I can read this one out loud in front of the kids.

“Is this the one about the basement?” Selena chuckled and Simon nodded.

WHAT'S THE BASEMENT ONe

TELL ME

AWW GIGI AND LEXI PUTTING MAKEUP ON DAVID AND MAX RECORDING IT

google translator time

oooo Rafael's gonna talk with Mila

Magnus you're such a good father

seriously

“Sometimes things are just sad. So, you need to let yourself be sad.”

YES

SAY IT LOUDER

THEY ARE UNDER THE BED

AHHH MAX AND DAVID

DAVID CALLED HIM MY ANGEL IN FRENCH

Alec and Magnus hiding under the bed and spying on them is just-

Jace had tried to give Max the shovel talk and had gotten a little too emotional.

of course, he did smh I love him so much

“David doesn’t need a shovel talk,” Alec smiled. “He knows what would happen to him if he hurts my son.”

David gulped. “You will throw me into the silent city?”

“I will ask me husband to portal you to hell,” Alec said – Consul Voice. “We have relatives there.”

the beloved relatives yes

“Goodnight,” Jace gave them a salute. “Have fun inspecting Magnus’ mortal instruments.”

JACE

OH SO THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT SMOKING

damn it

oh my god guys he said he'll stop smoking

just lemme have this moment

my boy's lungs will be intact

HIS LUNGS WILL BE OK

“I can’t wait to see all the messages on the chat after that,” Magnus giggled.

Alec looked up. “I’m more than a tall glass of water, Magnus!”

SCREAMING

In his dream, he saw them again. But they weren’t smiling this time.

what

wait

THE PROPHETIC DREAMS

nope nope nope

Nah I don't know what you're talking about

haha

damn, I think I really hurt my back...

OK BUT THE IMMORTALITY ANGST???? WAS SO SO GOOD???? I know it makes me cry but is it bad that I'm always so excited for angst written by you because of HOW GOOD it is????

"When I die I will love you from my grave" I NEED THIS ON MY FOREHEAD OH MY GOD I LOVE THESE TWO SO SO MUCH

alright I need to get something for my back and my knee (I'm home alone so this will be fun)

OK, I THINK THE NEXT CHP WILL BE ANJALI'S POV I JUST FEEL IT!!! I miss my girl so much I hope she's doing ok. Jaime too...

I'm rereading all of these chapters after chapter 10 because why not. Bye!!

OKAY I AM GLAD YOU LIKED IT BUT I AM ALSO DEEPLY WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.

I hope your knee and back feels better soon!

also fuck that teacher yelling something doesn't make people understand it any better ugh dumb piece of shit anyway screw that person.

I hope you get some good rest and recovery from this rollercoaster of a day.

Take care!

[echo-bleu]

no one ever said it would be this hard

For @moonlight-breeze-44 Happy birthday Em!! I hope you like this. I made it all angsty and painful for you 💙

I've been wanting to write Alec breaking down after breaking up with Magnus for a good while, and this was a great opportunity. This is part of my map out a world series (though there's no need to read the other parts first as it's mostly canon compliant), but it can reasonably be read as a prequel to take me back to the start, too. Hence the Coldplay title.

Huge thanks to my amazing beta @jeanboulet who edited this super fast and helped me figure out a title.

[self-harm, self-injurious stims, meltdown, blood, dissociation]

Read on AO3.

It should be raining, or something. There should be some kind of external sign that the world has just turned on its axis. The night shouldn’t be this… normal.

Alec runs back to the Institute on autopilot. He doesn’t even realize that he’s forgotten to activate his speed rune until he arrives, panting, at the front doors. He runs fast enough to make his lungs burn, because it prevents him from crying all the tears in his body. He shouldn’t cry. He chose this.

It doesn’t make it hurt any less. It doesn’t make it feel any less like his whole world just ended.

Maybe because it did.

“Alec!”

He’s assaulted by Izzy as soon as he steps inside. He doesn’t even have time to take his hand off the handle of the door before she’s in his space, shouting. Something about Jonathan. Something about Clary. Something—

Wait. He didn’t follow any of that, but something clicks in his mind. He felt pain in the parabatai bond, before. He didn’t really feel it, with how fucking tense he was, but he noted it in a corner of his mind somehow. Jace is hurt. Izzy is panicked. Clary is… missing, if what his brain is parsing together is right. Jonathan is gone.

Fuck.

Alec pushes it all away. He knows how to do it, how to switch to soldier mode. Dissociate his feelings from his actions, make his body and his brain do what needs to be done. He’s always known. It was the first thing he learned, long before the Academy, long before formal training. He closes his eyes for a second, and when he opens them again, there is nothing but complete clarity.

As long as he holds on tight.

He takes Izzy by the shoulders. “Tell me again.”

“Jonathan got into Clary’s head!” Izzy shouts again, too loud in his ears, like she can’t control the level of her voice in her panic. Alec doesn’t wince. He doesn’t feel pain the same way, when he does this.

It’s useful. He can just hold her tighter and get the whole story out of her, how Clary knocked Jace out and freed Jonathan. “They’re gone.”

“Okay,” Alec murmurs, for Izzy’s benefit. “Okay. Calm down. We need to secure the premises.”

“Already done, sir,” Underhill comes behind Izzy. “No sign of them. We have a Seelie knight dead in the observation cell. Three dead guards.”

Alec tightens his fists, remembering just in time to let go of Izzy first. He doesn’t feel his nails digging into his palms. He doesn’t feel his phone buzzing in his pocket with the Institute-wide alert. He doesn’t feel.

It’s a good thing.

“Izzy, go find Jace,” he orders. “Underhill, I need a full sweep. Where’s Jens?”

Underhill points to the Ops table, beside which Jens is talking on the phone. Izzy shakes herself – she’s no stranger to obeying orders, either – and she jogs away. Alec doesn’t bother tracking where she’s going. He knows he’s operating on limited bandwidth, limited energy. He has to rely on his subordinates.

“I’ve informed the Clave,” Jens says over the noise of the ops center as soon as he hangs up his phone.

Alec walks up to him, Underhill on his heels.

“Sir,” Underhill starts, agitated. “Won’t they—”

“They will, but we can’t do without it now,” Alec says. “I assume they’re reinstating the kill order?”

“Yes,” Jens confirms. “We have orders to put all our available teams on it, and they will send additional ones in the morning.”

Alec places his hands flat on the edge of the table, and takes strength from the pressure for a second. “Brief the teams. Capture, don’t kill. I’ll handle the Clave.”

Underhill nods at his dismissal and walks away, but Jens lingers. Alec grits his teeth. There’s so much to do, and so little time to do it, and he can’t let go now.

“Alec, is everything alright?” Jens asks – not softly, not exactly, but he can see what no one else notices. He’s known Alec forever. He’s known Alec better than his own siblings for years.

“I can’t do this now,” Alec responds honestly. He can barely make himself speak out loud.

“The Clave is handled for now,” Jens answers. He’s switching almost automatically to trying to relieve Alec of as many duties as possible, like well-oiled machinery. He knows exactly when to push Alec, and when to hold back. He knows that Alec can’t handle more pressure now. “They’ll call if they need more intel. Paperwork can wait.”

“Maybe it shouldn’t,” Alec says. Maybe he won’t be able to handle it later.

“It will,” Jens asserts. “Go to your siblings. I can hold the fort.”

Alec sighs. He can’t slip now. He nods at Jens and grips the edges of the table tighter.

Jace, Izzy and Simon, his presence almost incongruous, stride up on the catwalk at that moment. “Alec!”

Alec moves like he’s in a sea of treacle. Every muscle in his body is tenser than a guitar string. It must be visible, because Izzy gives him a look of concern. Or maybe she suspects what he abandoned them for.

Fuck. He was supposed to be there with them. If he had been, maybe—

It almost makes him crumble. He stumbles, just barely, and pulls his control back tighter. They have a whole conversation around him about the Clave’s orders and the Heavenly Fire serum, and Alec is sure that he participates in some way, but he would be hard-pressed to say how.

He’s entirely unsure of what happens for the rest of the night. Or the next day. He doesn’t have a single second to himself to reflect on things, and it’s good. He’s fairly sure that he allows Jace desperate measures that he would have never signed on otherwise, but, well, Jace needs to get Clary back. One of them needs to end this with their heart intact.

There’s one moment, during the day, when Jace asks about Magnus. Alec nearly crumples just at hearing his name. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to.” He hears the words coming out of his mouth like he’s far away, in another world, another universe. There’s a version of him that enunciates them, and Alec has lost track which. Alec the Clave soldier doesn’t have room for any of that. And he’s closed the door on any other part of him.

He falters for one moment, and as soon as Jace leaves his office, he activates half the runes on his body, just to anchor himself on the rush of energy. Stamina. He hasn’t slept in almost three days. Strength. His body feels like jelly. Calm Anger. It pushes everything back down.

And if he abuses them, well, no one else needs to know.

*

He’s sitting on his bed when his siblings find him. It must have been, what, six hours since Jace was thrown back through a portal into the Institute? He’s frozen, afraid that if he moves an inch, he’ll shatter into pieces.

He hasn’t moved for hours. He’s sitting with his back perfectly straight, his feet flat on the ground, still fully dressed in patrol gear, long past the time when the position should have become uncomfortable – but he can’t even feel it. His hands are clasped together, too tight, his knuckles white with the effort. Stuck.

He doesn’t move when Izzy and Jace knock, and at his lack of answer, they slip inside. He can’t look up at them, he can’t react. He clenches his jaw hard and tries not to fall apart.

“Alec,” Izzy calls quietly, passing through his field of vision. She disappears briefly and reappears kneeling beside him, just shy of touching him. Alec wants to jerk out of the way, but his body doesn’t obey.

“Alec, you’re feeling really awful, buddy,” Jace says, crouching on the other side.

Alec breathes carefully, evenly, as he has for hours, until there’s a hitch. His breathing goes out of sync with his brain, with his locked down body, and it crumbles. He falls apart.

He crumples in on himself, chin reaching his knees as he curls up, gasping. He digs his thumbs into his forehead and, when that doesn’t work, he stuffs his fingers into his mouth and bites down hard. He slips off the bed and falls onto the floor, and the pain of hitting his back against the bed frame doesn’t even register as he starts to rock back and forth.

“Alec!” Izzy reacts. But she doesn’t try to touch him. She knows if won’t go over well.

Jace doesn’t have the same compulsion, not when Alec’s fingers are still in his mouth and he’s tasting iron. Blood. “Alec, you have to stop,” he tries. He approaches his hand to pull on Alec’s forearm, but as soon as their skins touch, Alec lets out a strangled cry and backs away, into the bed frame, then brutally onto the bed, until he’s backed up against the headboard.

Fuck. The urge to hit his head to dull the agony is irresistible, and it makes a thud as pain erupts under his scalp. He hears, vaguely, his siblings trying to stop him verbally, but nothing is coming through anymore. He screams silently, mouth open in agony, as his head hits the wall again and again.

“Alec.” Izzy is crying now. Alec thinks distantly that she’s never seen him this bad, not since they were little kids and she didn’t have to handle him. He’s long learned to hide his meltdowns, to shutdown instead, like he’s done for most of today – yesterday. Dissociate until there’s nothing left of him.

This time, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough, because nothing is enough.

He’s been able to stay numb for twenty-eight hours, since he closed the door of his mother’s shop and left Magnus inside. He’s been—

Magnus.

Fuck.

He pulls at his hair, hard enough to uproot it. Nothing is enough. His skin is too tight for the pain bubbling inside of him, and he’s exploding, losing all control. He’s a giant knot, muscles taut and burning from staying so tense all day, runes overworked and overloaded.

His eyes stay dry, even as he craves the relief of crying. “Alec,” someone murmurs – he doesn’t know who anymore. “Shhhhh. It’s okay.”

It’s not okay. There’s no such thing as okay, now, not without—

His chest feels like a hole has been punched through it, and it’s been filled with self-expanding foam. He sobs without a noise, his shoulders shaking and his whole body trembling.

Suddenly, there’s a warm body against him, and for a moment, Alec is about to throw it off, to react violently against the unbearable touch. He resists, but the arms around him tighten until it almost smothers him — paradoxically, that calms him down. Jace holds him and rocks with him and slowly, very slowly, Alec settles.

The tears don’t come until Izzy’s smaller hands reach him, first checking him for injuries, then soothing him, running over his shoulders and his neck, always strong and tight. Alec hiccups and almost throws up, but he hasn’t eaten in too long. He dry heaves instead, coughing without breathing, gasping until his eyes water and finally he’s sobbing fully.

He hears Jace’s voice in between painful hiccups. “Izzy told me what happened. How do we help?”

Alec shakes his head when he’s finally parsed the sentence, probably too late for it to make sense. There’s nothing they can do, and Alec has no words in him to tell them. It’s over. Magnus is gone. Gone from his life, forever.

The sobs redouble, and Alec heaves over the arm holding him up, probably Jace’s. His chest is on fire, but it feels right. It should hurt. It should be so painful as to be unbearable, because that’s what it feels like inside.

There’s already a Magnus-shaped hole inside him, and it’s only going to grow deeper and larger. Alec wonders, vaguely, how long he has until it swallows him whole.

*

It feels like hours before his sobs subside, leaving him breathless and listless, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Alec gradually slides down until he’s curled up on his side on the bed, his head on the pillow Magnus slept on just two days ago.

Jace and Izzy move with him, refusing to let him go. They scoot over until they’re framing him, Jace curled against his back and Izzy in front of him, one hand cupping his wrist. Alec lets himself soak up their warmth as he starts shivering.

He doesn’t stop crying in one go. He keeps seeing flashes of Magnus, and it only takes a half-formed thought to start again, the sobs wracking his body. It’s less violent every time, though, and after a while it only extracts a pitiful hiccup from him, his tears long dried out. Jace and Izzy keep holding him silently, though Alec can feel the looks they exchange over his shoulder.

“Alec,” Jace murmurs after a long time. “Was there really no other way?”

Alec struggles to focus his gaze on something – Izzy’s hand on his wrist, in this case – and he wets his lips several times without managing to speak. He shakes his head.

“It’s okay if you can’t speak right now,” Izzy whispers. “We’re here for you.”

Alec nods gratefully. She’s only recently learned to do this, to recognize when he’s struggling to form words. None of his family ever caught on – his siblings used to laugh at him, when he struggled with seemingly simple things. His parents would shake him and force him to hide it.

Magnus was the first one to understand.

Magnus was the first one to see Alec. The first one to love him for who he is, and not for the image of Alec he had in his mind. And Alec ruined it, over and over. He betrayed Magnus and let him suffer because of his actions.

He brought Magnus nothing but pain.

He tastes ashes. His mouth feels dry, parched by a thirst that will never be quenched again. He hurts all over from tensing so much, but it feels like a too small punishment for his sins.

“I can’t,” he starts, forcing the words out over the knot in his throat. “I can’t imagine living without him.”

It opens up yet another avenue of thoughts, that he’s pushed away until now. All his plans for the future include Magnus. There is no Alec without Magnus, not in his head. He’s dreamed so often about marrying him, recently, about seeing the Lightwood ring on Magnus’ hand and moving in together and—

What is he going to do now?

He can’t stop seeing Magnus’ face as he left the shop, the desperation in his eyes. Did he really do the right thing? Magnus has lost so much recently—

But that’s exactly why Alec did it. Magnus has lost too much. His magic is an intrinsic part of himself, something he can’t just do without, even if it took Alec too much time to understand. His immortality is a part of him. Alec… Alec is just a lover. One more lover in a long string of them.

Magnus has had many relationships, and he’s lost them all eventually, and he lived through it. But this, losing his magic? He was ready to risk dying from Lorenzo’s transfusion, just to be able to use this second-hand, wrong magic. Even Alec could see how weird the yellow magic was in Magnus’ hands, how sickening, but Magnus latched onto it like it was more important than breathing.

No, Magnus can replace Alec in a way he can never replace his magic. As bad as Alec feels for hurting him on the short term, it’s the only decision he could make.

From the moment the idea of going to Asmodeus went through his brain, he knew that he couldn’t live with himself unless he tried everything. He wishes, selfishly, that he’d never thought of it. He’d be holding Magnus right now in this bed, instead of lying heartbroken between his siblings.

It wouldn’t hurt like this.

“You can do this, Alec,” Izzy says softly, but even Alec can tell that she doesn’t fully believe it. “I know you can. We’ve just gotta take it one step at a time.”

“That one of your mundane group things?” Jace asks when Alec doesn’t react.

He doesn’t know how to react. He can’t think of tomorrow, of next week, of any time without Magnus. One step at a time implies that he even wants to go on.

He’s not sure he does.

“Yeah,” Izzy mutters. “It helps. Sometimes.”

Alec wonders if this is what Jace felt when they thought that Clary was dead. What he feels right now when Clary is out there somewhere, brainwashed by Jonathan. Alec can’t feel anything through the parabatai bond, not on top of his own pain.

He grits his teeth against the urge to hit his head again, just to overwhelm the emotional pain. His scalp is going to bruise as it is, unless he uses an iratze. His fingers are covered in teeth marks where he bit himself, some of them still bloody.

“You hope the pain here will overpower the pain there,” Magnus told him once, hand on his heart. Alec almost whimpers.

Oh, to go back there, to the beginning of them. The pain of that day, the overpowering guilt at Jocelyn’s death, feels so inconsequential now. So much has happened. They never had time to stop running, one thing after the other.

It’s been over two years, but Alec feels like he never had time to just breathe. Curl up with Magnus and just enjoy the moment. They always had to think about the next step, the best thing for their respective people, the next threat coming to rip them apart.

And now they’ll never have that time.

Alec jerks his hands out of Izzy’s grasp and he digs his nails into the skin of his scalp, pressing on his eyes with the heels of his palms. Fuck. He can’t do this. He can’t live with this pain.

Jace must sense his distress, because he slings his arm over Alec’s and holds him, so tightly that it’s nearly painful. It eases something in Alec, calming his crawling skin until he can relax just a little. “We’re here,” Jace murmurs in his ear. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“We can’t replace Magnus, but we’ll support you no matter what,” Izzy adds, slipping her arms around both of them. “We love you, Alec. That will never change.”

Alec closes his eyes.

It doesn’t make things better. It doesn’t make tomorrow any less daunting, and it doesn’t stop the excruciating pain. But it soothes something in Alec, making it just a little less unbearable.

His body exhausted beyond its limits, Alec finally falls asleep.

[megs-readstoomuch]

Newest installment in my “Shadowhunters: Parenthood Edition” stories. The rest can be found on AO3 HERE!!!

Happy Birthday Reesa!

Jace woke up earlier than usual. He stretched and immediately turned his head to check on Clary, as he always did when he awakened. She was still asleep, red hair fanned out on her pillow and the quietest of snores coming from her mouth. Jace grinned. She never believed him when he said she snored, but honestly, he found it adorable, so he didn’t complain that much. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, lingering for a moment to breathe her in. He smiled and gave her one more quick, light kiss.

Jace slid quietly from the bed and went about his morning routine of shaving and dressing. As he sat to put his socks and boots on, he heard her. She was humming the lullaby Jace had played her last night before bed, as he did every night. The song his Mom had sang to him and his siblings when they were young. With a smile, Jace went into the nursery and found his daughter standing in her crib, the morning sun slowly turning the room a warm gold. Reesa’s strawberry blond curls were wild from her night’s sleep and stood out like a cloud around her head. She had a thumb in her mouth and was still humming their song, but broke into a smile when she saw Jace.

“Hi Dada!” She waved her hand excitedly as if they were seeing each other again after a long journey. Jace lifted her from the crib, kissing each cheek. She laughed and patted his face.

“How is my girl?” Jace said as he proceeded to change her sleeper. He picked out one of the bright, colorful rompers Magnus and Clary kept her closet filled with and started dressing her. She wiggled as she waited on him to finish the snaps and buttons. “Guess what Reesa?”

The little girl blinked at him in response, as he tried to tame her curls a little with the tiny hair clips Clary bought. “Today is your first birthday. It is a big day. You’ve been here with Mama and Daddy a whole year. You are one.” He surveyed his work. Dang, he was getting good at this hair thing.

“I’m one.” Reesa said, watching as he proceeded to put her shoes on. He let her fasten the Velcro tabs herself. “All done!” She held her hands out.

“Excellent work.” Jace complimented her, lifting her down off the changing table and stood her on the floor.

“Where Mama?” Reesa asked as Jace careful put her favorite old stele of his in the pocket of her romper.

“Mama is sleeping. It’s just you and me this morning.” Jace answered her. “Shall we have breakfast?” He held out his hand. She slipped a tiny soft hand into his callused, scarred one and Jace felt his heart swell again with joy over having this little girl in his life.

“Mama sleeping.” Reesa said. “Ssssh.” She twisted her face into a comical shush and pressed a finger to her lips. Jace grinned at her.

“Exactly.”

———

There were only a handful of people in the dining hall this early, as it was barely 5 o’clock. Jace liked it this way though. Mostly those present were coming in late off of patrol, bleary eyed and exhausted. But despite that, each one perked up a little at the sight of the toddler in her bright pink romper, with the butterfly clips in her hair. She always waved at everyone as she and Jace moved through to find a table to sit at.

Reesa refused a high chair on the grounds she was “nota baby”, instead kneeling in the chair next to Jace, happily eating her bacon. Jace nursed his cup of coffee and just watched her. He couldn’t believe it had been a year since she arrived. He still remembered it, he had never been so scared and happy. And now look at her. One year old.

He pushed away the ever present worry about her “Angel gifts” as the family called them. She was just one, but she functioned more like a 2yo. She was quick and smart, speaking in small sentences already. She could jump and run faster than your average child, quick with all her reflexes and motor skills too. She was also taller than average. Aside from all this and a predilection for being found constantly leaping off of the top of Jace’s baby grand and landing perfectly every time, she had yet to exhibit any other manifestations of her pure Angel blood inheritance. Jace still wondered if she would have any of Clary’s gifts. Tessa often hinted that there would be more to Reesa than she had shown them so far.

“More please.” A tiny voice cut into Jace’s thoughts. Reesa had finished her bacon and eggs and was looking expectantly at Jace. “More bacon.”

“Alright, but just two more, ok?” Jace answered her, raising up from his chair.

“Okey doke,” she said, picking her orange juice up with both hands. He chuckled.

———

Clary found them in the office after she had woken and had her own breakfast. Jace at his desk and Reesa on his lap, as usual. He was flicking through night patrol reports on his tablet and Reesa was concentrating on drawing runes on a notepad, her tiny tongue stuck out in concentration.

“Hi Mama!” Reesa cried, wiggling off of Jace’s knee to run around the desk and into Clary’s arms.

“Hi, my baby,” Clary kissed her on the cheek and then blew a raspberry against the soft skin. Reesa giggled. “Happy Birthday!”

“I’m one!” Reesa held up one finger proudly.

“Yes, you are! And we are going to have a party for you,” Clary kissed the outstretched index finger.

“A party?” Reesa crinkled her forehead in confusion.

“A party?” Jace made the same face.

Clary smiled at the resemblance. “Uncle Magnus is planning a party for your birthday. With cake!”

The one year old’s eye lit up. “CAKE!” She yelled, wiggling to be put down so she could run around her mother in a happy gallop while continuing to yell about cake.

“It will be at 5 this evening,” Clary told Jace over Reesa’s yells. “I already asked Underhill to cover your patrol so the whole family can be there.” Jace frowned a little. He hated to ask favors of the other Shadowhunters, even if he was the Co-Head of the Institute. Clary walked around the desk and sat on the arm of his chair. “It’s for Reesa’s birthday. Underhill was happy to do it. And you can cover his next patrol to make up for it, he said.”

Jace’s brow smoothed out. “Well, that does seems more fair.” Clary kissed his cheek and then leaned against him as they watched their daughter dance happily around the room.

———

“I think Magnus made the apartment bigger to fit everyone,” Alec whispered to Jace as they walked into the living room from the kitchen.

“You think? Because I don’t remember there being two bathrooms in the hallway,” Jace pointed out. “Or that hatrack. Tell me that’s not anyone we know, by the way.”

“Dang it, you’re right,” Alec agreed, ignoring the query about the hatrack and sipping from his plastic cup. He made a face. “What is this?”

“Something called punch,” Jace eyed his own pink drink warily. He didn’t like pink drinks in general . “Jocelyn insisted it is what mundanes drink at birthday parties.”

“By the Angel, why?” Alec muttered, quickly dumping the rest of the drink in the ficus behind him (that he was pretty sure hadn’t been there this morning).

“No idea,” Jace said, tossing back the last dredges in his cup and swallowing.

“You still drank it?”

Jace raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever known me to reject food or drink?”

“Fair enough,” Alec said.

Clary came over with two bottles in hand. “Here. Have some water. That punch is as gosh-awful as it was when I was kid.” The two men gratefully accepted the drinks.

A crash came from the kids’ room. The parents all turned, waiting for any cries of distress.

“Everything’s fine!”shouted Rafe. Alec raised an eyebrow.

“I think I’ll check anyway,” he shook his head and went down the now extra long hall to his sons’ room where Rafe and Max were “fighting demins”, according to Max.

Clary slid her arms around Jace’s waist and he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. They looked around the room.

Jocelyn, Kadir, and Maryse were chatting in the corner, the every present dried paint visible on the back of Jocelyn’s hand and around her nails as she made a gesture in the air. Maryse nodded to whatever was being said and politely sipped from her cup, making no face but Jace knew his mother enough to see in her eyes what she thought of “punch”. He bit his lip to keep from smiling. Kadir was very focused on Jocelyn’s story, his own hands suspiciously empty.

Luke and Simon bookended the sofa, a 4-month pregnant Isabelle with the start of a baby bump sitting between them. All three were discussing a new weapon the Iron Sisters had sent to the Institute this week. Simon was particularly excited, waving his hands about. Isabelle rubbed her bump and watched him in amusement.

Tess and Jem were sitting on the loveseat, Reesa sitting on Tessa’s lap and talking with them. She was making some of the same gestures with her hands that Jocelyn was making and Tessa nodded encouragingly at her. Mina was sitting in the floor, leaning against her father’s legs with a surprisingly content Chairman Meow on her lap, bedazzling his fur with sparks of magic from her fingers.

Magnus was busily waltzing around the dining room, flashes of magic visible as he finished placing copious amounts of purple, pink, and blue streamers and balloons around a banner that said, “Happy Birthday Baby Biscuit”. Alec had gently pointed out no one else called Reesa that but Magnus had merely kissed him firmly and said, “I make the party rules.” Alec had said nothing more and left him to his decorating.

“You know,” Jace mused. “I never had family around for birthdays until I my 11th. And that wasn’t even my birthday, as we now know. And really by the time you get your first rune, it’s downplayed. Shadowhunters don’t do parties much. Just a cake if everyone is around. But the Institute was always empty. And of course I didn’t have anyone else...before. I got a gift or a wish as you know, but it wasn’t the same as this. I like this. Except maybe the punch.”

“I do too. I like birthdays. I had my first kiss on my 16th birthday, you know,” Clary gave him a saucy grin. Jace shot her a look that made her stomach flip. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“You better stop, Mrs. Herondale. I’m not a well-behaved man.” Clary giggled.

“Alright you two, stop it,” Alec rolled his eyes at them, coming down the hall with his son’s following behind him like baby ducks, each carrying a fake weapon of some sort, the two boys in their miniature gear jackets that they played in. Both their cheeks were red from their “battle” but they looked pleased with themselves.

“And the crash?” Clary asked.

“Bookshelf. Magnus will have to sort it,” Alec shook his head. Rafe and Max looked properly contrite, although Clary knew them enough to know they weren’t really. She winked at them.

“Time for cake!” Magnus announced and everyone gathered in the dining room. Reesa was given the seat of honor and a rounding chorus of “Happy Birthday” was sang. She sang along, much to everyone’s amusement.

She carefully blew out her candle, and Max relit it so he could blow it out too. Reesa found this hilarious, so Max and Mina kept relighting it until everyone had blown out the candle and Magnus finally had to remove the stub from the cake before a second round of candle blowing was started.

The cake was, of course, delicious. Magnus hinted strongly that it had came from France.

“I left money in the till,” He hastened to add before anyone said anything. “But our babies have to have the best cake.”

Clary watched as Reesa picked up her plate and licked the frosting off. “I think you chose well,” she said. Jocelyn shook her head in amusement and cleaned the chocolate off of Reesa’s nose and eyebrows.

“Bapak! Present time! Present time!” Max was bouncing in excitement as Rafe carried in the gift.

Magnus placed the brightly wrapped present in front of a wide-eyes Reesa who looked at him expectantly. “Magic?” She asked.

With a smile, Magnus snapped his fingers and the paper and ribbon unfurled to reveal a tiny gear jacket of her own. Reesa squealed. “On! Now!” She demanded.

Clary complied, slipping it over her bright pink romper and zipping it up. Reesa rubbed her hands over the jacket in amazement. Jace squatted next to her chair and adjusted the collar.

“Can you say thank you to everyone?” He prompted her gently.

“Thank you Unca Alec and Unca Magnus,” she whispered, still in awe. “And Nana and Papa and Gran’ma and Kad and Unca Simon and Ant Izzy and Max and Rafe and Jem and Nonna Tessa and Mina.” The adult all smiled as the little girl listed her whole family.

Alec smiled and knelt next to Jace. “Look,” he showed the little girl the pocket for her stele, tucking it in for her.

“You’re ready to fight now, Baby Biscuit,” Magnus said.

Max and Rafe bounced around her. “Yeah, we are all ready now!”

“Me too,” Mina cried, sending golden sparks through the air as she jumped down to dance with the boys.

“Well then, how about you all go train outside,” Magnus directed, snapping his fingers to cover every surface of the spacious balcony with large soft training mats, a low balance beam, and wooden swords. Reesa gave a suspiciously high jump off her chair and landed next to Rafe. He grabbed her hand and the four children ran outside.

———

The grownups sat down to enjoy decent, less sugary food (courtesy of Simon’s sister Rebecca’s restaurant, which Magnus used as often as he could) and watch the kids through the large windows. The punch had mysteriously disappeared (Jace wasn’t going to point fingers, but he suspected his mother had instigated a punch-removal directive to Kadir), so Magnus produced “adult drinks”.

Jace stood next to the window, watching the children play. Reesa was observing Rafe, who was showing Mina how to balance on the balance beam while holding her hand. When they were done, Reesa tried too, but refused assistance. She managed to walk it as easily as if she were on the ground and even did a large jump at the end.

“She’s good.” Jem had come up beside him, his eyes on his daughter who was comparing magic colors with Max. They were shooting little sparks in the air, and Reesa was laughing as they landed on her hair and arms.

“She is,” Jace said, a mix of pride and worry in his voice.

“Having a child with a gift you can’t exactly understand, it’s not easy,” Jem admitted. Jace looked at him, realizing Jem was a former Shadowhunter, with a half shadowhunter-half warlock wife and a child with an odd mix of warlock and shadowhunter blood.

“I don’t care about her gifts so much anymore, I just want her to be happy,” Jace said quietly. “I wasn’t, as a child. I want her to be more than just her gifts.”

“I remember you,” Jem mused. “You were the quietest, most composed, well-trained, and polite 10 year old I had ever met.”

“The ship. The attack by the werewolves on that ship the night I came to live with the Lightwoods.” Jace looked surprised. “I had forgotten, that was the first time we met, wasn’t it? I used your staff. The one with WH carved on it.”

“Yes. Your gifts were very visible that day, I just didn’t see them clearly. I’m sorry you weren’t happy, though.”

“I was later. I found part of my happiness with the Lightwoods. And the rest,” Jace’s eyes searched out Clary, laughing with Tessa and her mother near the fireplace. “The rest with Clary. And now with Reesa.”

“I understand,” Jem replied. And he did. He knew the fulfillment of happiness that came with love. With Will, with Tessa, with Mina and Kit. He saw that same completion in Jace now, what had been missing all those years ago when he had been the solemn and determined child with those golden eyes and that Herondale recklessness that had reminded Jem of Will even then.

The two men watched as Mina and Reesa joined hands to run away from Max and for a moment, it seemed like Reesa’s eyes glimmered and Mina’s fingers sparked a brighter gold and they seemed to be moving faster than they should have been. He blinked and it was gone. Jace’s brow was slightly furrowed , as if he had seen something as well.

“I think...those two may be trouble together,” Jem said.

“A Herondale and a Carstairs? Definitely. I’ve heard the stories from Tessa.” Jace laughed and Jem joined him.

“Oh yes. Will and I.” Jem smiled at the memories. “Will and Tessa’s daughter Lucie, her parabatai was also a Carstairs. Their son’s was a Fairchild.”

“Herondales, Carstairs, Lightwoods, and Fairchilds. Chaos and mayhem since the beginning, is what you’re saying?” Jace queried.

“Yes,” Jem confirmed. The two men stood in silence for a moment, watching the children play.

“Mundanes have gifted children too, you know.” Jem murmured. “But I think it means they are better at things like math and reading.” Jace looked bemused at this. Reesa turned and saw him watching her. She waved. He waved back.

“I can’t wait to see what they do,” Jace said softly. Jem nodded in agreement.

“I think,” Jem paused as Reesa and Mina joined hands again, their black and golden-red heads bent together to listen to Rafe and Max. “I think they’ll change the world.”

[artificialqueens]

Pros and Cons, 1/3 (Witney) - Marion

Summary: The wives of two conmen become fast friends (and maybe more) as their husbands plot an elaborate heist. As the planning progresses, Willam and Courtney grow closer and begin to think that maybe their husbands deserve a taste of their own medicine.

A/N: Partners of partners in crime to lovers AU? I’m not even going to pretend that I didn’t steal this plot (with permission) from Ortega. I’ve had this done and waiting to be edited for about four months now so I figured I’d finally try getting the first part out before the end of the year. I haven’t forgotten about Academic Dishonesty, and hopefully I’ll finish that in the next few weeks now that I’m on break. Shout out to Ortega, Freyja, and Jazz for betaing this and making it so much more readable!

The dock was quiet, as usual. Courtney liked it that way. Perhaps not as much as actually being present during one of her husband’s meetings, but it’s not like her input would have been appreciated anyway. Instead, she had been sent out with the wife of her husband’s new partner to “get to know each other while the boys talk”. She had wanted to argue, but it wouldn’t have done any good. It was better to do as she was told than make him angry in front of his team.

Willam seemed to think the same of her own husband as well. Considering the way that he had acted when they had first arrived, Courtney wasn’t surprised about that. She had left without protest, or a word to anyone. When they had reached the yacht’s deck, she picked a chair - the one Courtney thought of as her own - and sprawled onto it without a glance at Courtney. Had she seemed more inviting, Courtney might’ve attempted to talk to her, take her husband’s advice and get to know the other woman. They were going to be seeing a lot more of each other over the next few months, shouldn’t they at least try to be friends? But Willam had all but asked to be left alone, and Courtney wasn’t in the mood to get on anyone’s bad side.

So she left the boat and walked to the end of the private pier to be alone with her thoughts. With her sandals next to her, she gently kicked at the water as she sat. She wasn’t sure how long had passed before she heard someone approach. She watched as Willam wordlessly took a seat next to her.

As the silence stretched between them, Courtney searched for something to say.

“So how did you two end up together?” she asked as the silence began to feel insufferable, not bothering to look away from the sun setting in the distance.

“He was good for me,” Willam said, her voice even.

Courtney tore her gaze away from the sunset and raised an eyebrow. “That is what ‘good for you’ looks like?” He could have been putting on a show of dominance in an attempt to impress his new teammates when they had arrived, but Courtney had a feeling that Willam’s husband was always like that.

Willam didn’t bother to turn to look at her. “PhDs aren’t cheap,” she said, as if that told her everything she needed to know. Maybe it did.

Courtney nodded. That was something she could understand, even if it hadn’t been a problem for her. “I can imagine, given the amount they charged for my Master’s.”

That got Willam’s attention. She raked her gaze over the other woman, as if reassessing her initial conclusions about her. Courtney felt something warm swell in her chest. It wasn’t pride at her achievement, though she felt eighty pages and countless sleepless nights spent evaluating the results of her research warranted it. No, she knew that feeling. This was different. As if she had received approval that she hadn’t even known she’d been waiting for.

“I hope they gave you your money’s worth,” Willam said, “my program didn’t teach me shit.”

“Oh?” If her interest in this woman hadn’t already been piqued, it was now. What had Willam studied, gotten a PhD in, that she felt she hadn’t learnt anything from? If she had to guess, she’d say fashion design, but that didn’t feel right. Willam seemed to her more like someone who wore designer clothing rather than created it.

Willam nodded decisively. “No one would take me seriously without a degree so I figured there had to be something that they were gonna teach me that was super important, but no. There’s nothing in computer science that you can’t learn from fucking around in your free time after finishing your homework.”

Courtney was taken aback. She hadn’t thought that Willam was stupid, but she hadn’t taken her as a programming prodigy, either. “You knew everything they teach you for a PhD by the time you were eighteen?” she asked. She tried to keep the surprise out of her voice, but she was sure that she had failed at that.

Willam shook her head. “No, but by twenty, yeah. I got a bachelor’s in acting first. It was fucking stupid but I couldn’t really change it by the time I realized.” She shifted, pulling her legs up from where they had been dangling over the side of the dock and tucking them under her. “And I graduated high school when I was sixteen, not eighteen.”

“Why are you out here then? You’d probably be more useful in a heist than like half the people in there combined.”

“Probably the same reason as you. I mean I’m sure your shit is useful too,” Willam said, and Courtney knew she was right. They weren’t here to be masterminds, they were here to be pretty. And they were out here because their husbands didn’t need pretty right now, they needed masterminds. And surely those two things couldn’t intersect.

Courtney shrugged. “It’s still stupid that you don’t get a say in any of this. I’m sure you’d be a better hacker than Tim in there.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me what you studied?” Willam asked, done with the subject at hand. Of course she’d be good at what they’re doing, there was no need to dwell on it.

Courtney shook her head with a smile. “You’ll laugh.”

“Probably,” Willam said, no hint of jest in her voice. Somehow, the sincerity of it emboldened Courtney instead of scaring her away.

“I studied forensic psychology.”

Willam snorted. “Like criminals and shit? Is that how you ended up here?” she asked.

“It’s complicated,” Courtney said, a bit deflated.

After a few moments of silence passed, Willam nudged her with her shoulder. “C’mon, I think they’re gonna be done soon,” she said, standing and then holding her hand out to help Courtney up.

Courtney took it without hesitation. A buzz she couldn’t quite name moved through her. She couldn’t tell if she was excited or terrified of the next few months, but she felt certain that things were going to change.

***************************************************

“Do you love him?” Willam asked as she rifled through a rack of fur coats that Courtney had been side eyeing since they reached this side of the store.

“What?” Courtney asked, certain that she had heard correctly, but willing the other woman to pretend she had asked something else. She hadn’t recognized anyone when they had entered the store and she knew that her husband’s most loyal lackeys were in the conference with him, but she still felt the urge to look over her shoulder and see if anyone had overheard the question.

“It’s a fair question,” Willam said, apparently unwilling to give Courtney the out she had been hoping for.

“Is it?” Courtney asked. Willam turned and eyed her, looking like she was sure that she already had her answer. Courtney supposed that she had, indeed, given her one through omission.

“Yeah, it is.”

Courtney felt herself grow a bit defensive. “Okay then, how about you answer it. Do you love Jace?”

Willam looked her in the eye, her gaze steady. “No.”

Her bluntness surprised Courtney, though maybe it shouldn’t after having known her for as long as she had. Having spent time with her nearly every other evening for two weeks had made it obvious that Willam would say what she thought without hesitation, at least as long as her husband wasn’t around.

Nonetheless, Courtney wavered. “Did you ever love him?” she asked, her voice quieter than before, hoping they hadn’t drawn the attention of those around them.

Willam turned back to the rack and shrugged. “He was the guy with the most money that treated me the least shitty. There wasn’t really an expectation on either side.”

“He’s the one that treated you the best? The crime boss that doesn’t let you speak in front of his colleagues?”

“I didn’t say he kept the title for very long. Besides, he wasn’t a crime boss when we met, just like third in line or whatever. And honestly I could say the same thing to you. If everything you say about Jace is gonna sound like you’re insulting me then maybe we should talk about Rick. He’s a keeper, isn’t he?”

Courtney wanted to hide. Willam’s tone had remained steady, but her searching through the rack had become more erratic. It wasn’t the way that Willam had said it, or the way that the atmosphere had changed as she spoke that left Courtney uncomfortable - it was what she said. She was right, of course. But she didn’t need anyone reminding her of it.

“Touche,” she all but whispered, and turned away to look for something a little more her style, and a lot further from Willam.

***************************************************

In the last month, there were times where being around Willam felt insufferable. But not always, and certainly not on the days where they ignored why they were spending time together in the first place. No, on those days, Willam was tolerable. Better than tolerable. Funny, quick-witted, honest, perhaps the best friend Courtney had had the chance to see with any amount of regularity in years, and breathtakingly gorgeous. That last one could become a problem, Courtney could admit to herself when she was alone, but her resolve was strong and her self preservation was even stronger.

Upon seeing Willam in a bikini for the first time, Courtney began to wonder how much she really believed that.

“No more sitting around whining when they have their meetings on the yacht,” Willam said as she emerged from below deck. “If they’re gonna have us this close to the beach, we’re gonna use it.” She didn’t wait for a response before leading Courtney off the yacht. She didn’t need to. Wherever she went, Courtney would follow. That’s how it had been since she had first presented Courtney with the idea of “let’s do something fun!” during their second evening together. Even at her most overbearing, Courtney couldn’t seem to keep herself from her side for long.

Walking behind her along the dock, Courtney tried and failed to keep her eyes off of Willam. Her hair was tied back in a fishtail braid- there were new colorful streaks, courtesy of not having to try to look professional as a stay-at-home wife. Scanning down her tanned back, Courtney couldn’t decide what was drawing her eyes more, the newly discovered tramp stamp on her friend’s back, or the enticing ass below it.

Stop it, Courtney reminded herself. Trying hard to focus attention anywhere else, she continued her sweep down to look at the ground. Except–

“Are you wearing platform crocs?” Courtney asked, unable to hold back the question. If she had learned anything about Willam in the past month, it was that she took her shoes seriously. Courtney never would have imagined Willam having anything to do with what she was wearing now, aside from perhaps taking any opportunity to mock them.

“Yeah,” Willam said, glancing back at her. “I was gonna wear my pool party pumps, but those are more pool than beach. These are fucking great for the sand, though.”

Courtney could not imagine any way that the shoes would be good for the sand. Easier to clean, perhaps, but while they certainly seemed like a better idea than pumps on the sand, they still seemed like a recipe for disaster. Still, Courtney kept her mouth shut. Maybe she didn’t know Willam’s tastes as well as she thought.

The beach was nearly empty when they arrived, owing to the fact that most of those who shared the property preferred to spend their Tuesday evenings plotting a bank heist or figuring out the most effective way to steal from their workers’ wages. Generally, that thought led to a spiral of guilt over the fact that she hadn’t found some way to force her husband to be a halfway decent person, but Willam drew her attention away from it with ease.

“You’re too much of a prude to go skinny dipping before sunset, aren’t you?” Willam asked.

Had she had a drink, Courtney would have done a spit take. Skinny dipping? With Willam? She wanted to argue that she wasn’t a prude, but what could she say to convince Willam without having to give a different reason that she wouldn’t go skinny dipping with her? It didn’t sound unpleasant, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it sounded a little too pleasant, and she wasn’t ready to face that fact, not yet.

Willam rolled her eyes. “It was a joke, Court,” she said, spreading out the two towels she had brought next to each other in the sand. She put on a pair of sunglasses, and laid down on one of the towels.

Courtney looked down at her. “Didn’t we come here to swim?” she asked.

“What?” Willam asked, her voice tinted with the slightest amount of panic. “There’s fucking sharks out there, I’m not going out there!”

“Shark attacks are a lot more rare than horror movies would have you think,” Courtney said, taking a seat on the open towel. “Trust me, I’d know. Where I’m from even the rivers have sharks, and I’m in one piece.”

“Remind me that I can’t ever go with you to visit your family,” Willam said.

Courtney felt her mood drop, but tried not to let it show. “I’m just saying, we humans kill a lot more sharks than they do us.”

“And I’m just saying, if you wanna see me get wet, you’re gonna have to take me somewhere without monsters.”

Courtney felt her face heat and hoped that Willam’s sunglasses would keep her from seeing the flush that she was certain was rising on her cheeks. Willam hadn’t meant it like that, she was sure, but that didn’t keep her mind from wandering where it shouldn’t. Willam was her friend, her straight friend at that, and they were both married. Married to men they didn’t enjoy the presence of and who made it clear that they thought they were better than their wives by some divine right, but married nonetheless. She had to get a hold of herself.

“Are you gonna just sit there, or what?” Willam asked.

“I mean you’re just gonna lay there, what’s the difference?” Courtney asked, glad for a deflection from her thoughts.

“Yeah, but I’m tanning, and that’s a thing people do. You’re just sitting around on the beach like a weirdo.”

Courtney hadn’t quite realized that she was looking for an out until she found one. If she could get away from Willam, even just for ten minutes, she might be able to get a hold of herself. Being around her for hours every week was intoxicating, and she needed to try and sober up if she was going to spend the next few hours next to the nearly-naked frame of the woman beside her.

“Actually, I forgot to put on sunscreen. I’m gonna run back to the yacht for a minute,” she said, hoping it came out casually rather than quick and flustered.

“I’ve got some in my bag,” Willam said, sitting up and reaching into the purse next to her. “C’mere, dumbass, I’ll get your back.”

***************************************************

“Any idea how much longer they’re just gonna sit around planning?” Willam asked as she reclined in her seat. The mall didn’t strike her as particularly Willam when they had been dropped off that afternoon, but as their time had progressed, it seemed that she fit better than Courtney had ever anticipated. Half an hour in the pet store and one Yves Saint Laurant purse later, Courtney felt as though she had never quite seen Willam as herself as she was now.

“Planning’s important. It takes time to make sure nothing is gonna end up getting screwed over,” Courtney said.

Willam rolled her eyes. “I know that, I just didn’t think that they were capable of thinking this long without their brains breaking. Besides, I bet we could pull something together in a third of the time.”

Courtney’s eyebrow shot up. “You think so?”

“I know so. I mean c’mon, all of them have, what, like three brain cells all together? I mean we’ve got at least five. Besides we’ve got psychology and computers and feminine wiles on our side,” Willam said, trailing her hand up her thigh in demonstration. It was really, really in Courtney’s best interest that she not lift her hemline any higher. “What have they got?”

Courtney pulled herself out of it. Straight. Married. Friend. “You mean aside from the money and weapons and hired thugs?”

“I’m sure if we needed them, we could get some of those too,” Willam flashed Courtney a grin, “but I doubt we’d need ‘em.”

“If I ever need to pull off a heist with a quick turnaround, I’ll keep you in mind,” Courtney said with a snort, but it seemed as though Willam’s attention had been pulled away from the topic already.

“Oooo girl, look to your left! Hot ass alert!” Willam said in a conspiratorial whisper.

Courtney followed Willam’s gaze and wrinkled her nose. “That guy’s like seventy.”

Willam looked at her like she was stupid. “Not him, dumbass, the blonde in the mini dress!”

Courtney looked back again.There was a tall blonde woman, about their age, standing in line to get a smoothie. She was wearing a tight black mini dress and did, in fact, have a nice ass. Maybe she really didn’t know Willam’s tastes as well as she thought. The thought made her mind drift. So maybe Willam wasn’t straight.

Still your friend. Still married, both of you. She scolded herself.

“Don’t look so surprised,” Willam said. “And don’t try to pretend you don’t like girls either, you’re not subtle.”

Courtney felt herself flush. Had Willam really seen her looking, all this time? She must seem like an ass.

“Sorry,” Courtney said, trying and failing to find some excuse.

“Don’t be,” Willam said. “I like the attention. And I already know I’ve got a nice ass. It wouldn’t hurt for you to compliment it while you’re staring at it.”

Courtney had been certain that she couldn’t go any pinker, but she began to lose that conviction. She really needed to work on her subtlety.

“I know you don’t always walk behind me because you trust my directions. And you’ve got a nice ass yourself. Now c’mon, there’s another store I want to check out before we get picked up.”

Unprompted, Courtney could’ve sat in the same spot for hours replaying the conversation, but she didn’t get the chance. Willam’s hand wrapped around her own and began tugging her to their next destination, with no courtesy given to the fact that Courtney had spent the last few weeks using all of her willpower to avoid imagining feeling those hands on her skin.

[beclynn-herondale]

Clace Week Day 4 - hurt/comfort

( the characters and world belong to cassie clare ) (the writing is mine ) and the pictures I from the internet that I found along with the quotes and I edited and made a moodboard)

Warning there is mention of abuse so if you think you will triggered be careful.

Jace had noticed over the years that he has been happier, sleeping better, and living his life to the fullest you can as a shadowhunter, and it was not only because he has started healing from his childhood trauma but also the wars he had fought along side Clary and his family and friends, it takes a toll he thought to himself even though him and Clary made a promise to always come to each other when the bad days come and have found coping skills some days are still so hard but he knew he can do it with Clary by his side, his Clary always helping others and shouldering her her own problems at the same time, always there to give compassion and forgiveness but not always for herself, always there to be a good friend, a good sister and a good girlfriend but never feeling like she's doing a good enough job even with everything she achieves she doesn't always think she helped enough or got through but she does by the angel she does, after all she saved and got through to him which no one had been able to do before. She loves a man who others would say is unlovable and broken, the son of Valentine Morgenstern or at least Raised by, often he thought about Valentine not cause he wanted to it just kinda happens but when he thinks about the way Valentine raised him he realizes how wrong it all was and he has more trauma but now he can handle it better well with Clary being the to his shield heart and protecting him even though she doesn't have to but he doesn't mind he loves her for it even more, this woman was all he ever wanted but didn't know he did until he met her.

Jace had been laying in bed awake for hours now his mind wouldn't rest although he was starting to dose off and fell asleep.

A couple hours later he woke up screaming because of a nightmare about Valentine and him as a child waking Clary up who was next to him asleep.

-

Clary woke up to Jace tossing a turning in his sleep, she was saying his name softly though he didn't hear her she supposed, and then he jolted awake with a scream and she got startled Jace doesn't do that often she could only think of a couple times and it hadn't happened for a while, her heart started to break a little it must have been one of the really bad dreams he sometimes has and she can't understand why the angel does this to him he doesn't deserve to be tortured by Valentine anymore hasn't he suffered from that piece of shit enough,she had to calm herself before she got angry she often does when it comes to the things Valentine did to Jace.

She touched his cheek gently and he let her recognizing her touch and put his arms around her and held tight like he would lose her, he put his head on her chest and started crying and her heart broke more and she noticed a tear falling down her face for him because it had to have been bad so very bad, he was shaking as she tightened her arms around him.

Jace... she said softly do you want to talk about it? I don't know he said. You don't have to if you don't want but I'll listen to every word and do what I can to help she said. Give me..a minute he said just let me stay like this for a bit. Okay she said.

They stayed like they were him hugging her tightly while sobbing and her shirt started to feel damp where his face was snuggled into her chest and she wanted to wrap her arms so tight around him and shield him from any of this ever again, and wants to give the people who have ever said Jace doesn't have feelings or is a bad person or he doesn't have it in him to be kind or how they keep mentioning his actions as a teenager, it makes her angry because he has grown and changed and has become an amazing person so amazing and she would probably slap them if he didn't stop her, how could they say that about her Jace, the Jace who saved them and fought bravely in the wars that have had to fight, the Jace who has sacrificed so much and giving so much of himself to these people, it makes her laugh how messed up they are, they say "well remember his mother was crazy the woman probably passed her crazy on to him and he's probably crazy to let's be honest" how can people be like this, why can't they see that mental illness isn't a joke and it doesn't make anyone crazy and for people like them she is surprised there aren't more cases or maybe there are but in secret, in fear they will be shamed for it, it sets a fire of rage in her and she wants to speak out but how can you? when so many don't think that way, she won't stop though she'll find a way to make it better, though with Alec being Consul now things are gonna change that being one but it won't be easy.

Clary Jace said and she snapped out of it, yeah? And he lifted his head to look at her, I'll tell you now if you want? Of course I do why wouldn't I? And she put her hand to his cheek again.

Well he said the nightcore his voice shaking, was about my fath- Valentine and I was back with him when I was six and.. i was reliving something he did and it still hurts in my heart for some reason because I thought he was my dad and I thought that was how dads were but i I realized he never actually loved me did he? Jace... Clary said, No let me finish before you say anything please or I won't be able to. Clary sat in silence for a minute waiting for him to continue.

-

Jace was trying to think how to explain it how do you tell the person you love more then anything something that is going to break their heart, Well you see there was a day my father was particular Angry and I bumped into some books and they fell, he noticed I was still up and not in bed... he had been on edge all day, but I couldn't sleep and wanted a book to read and I would get ahead on work I thought, I should have been more careful but wasn't, well he approached me and well he did the usual beating saying I needed a lesson and that it will make me stronger like he always did. But there was something else he decided, he sat me down and took one of my fingers and broke it, I shrieked in pain and he said if I made another noise or moved again it would be worse, so I didn't and he broke every finger and would heal them with an Iratze and when they did he would break them again and then after he was finally done, he said "Jonathan you're to gentle and you'll never be anything I know that but I suppose I will keep trying and maybe one day but you keep disappointing me every day, and it's getting tiring so go do your work and do not bother me and do better! You hear me do better! Or it will be worse next time and I will give up on you!", and so I didn't do that again and I decided to try to be perfect at everything and ge left still he left, I didn't do good enough I know but I thought I was doing good but it wasn't good enough, I was never good enough for him, I was never what he wanted. And the worst part was in the dream he had you Clare and he.... killed you, slit your throat and threw your body away like it was just trash and said I warned you Jonathan I did and you didn't listen and I ran to you and you were gone it didn't matter how many iratzes I used you were dead and I couldn't do anything and he said come with me come and be what I always wanted and I said no! And he killed me to but I didn't care you..... were gone, it didn't matter anymore. It felt so real Clary like it actually was happening, I thought I lost you.....

Jace Clary said as her heart was breaking and tears falling again, I am here right here it wasn't real baby it wasn't real i promise and i wouldn't leave you okay. I will always be right here always. And he broke down and started crying again and she wrapped her arms around him and whispered I love you I love you I love and I will never be anywhere but with you over and over again as he was sobbing uncontrollably into her chest and she was crying now to god she hated that man so much for what he did to her Jace, she kissed his forehead and laid her on the top of his head and started rubbing his back something that calmed him when he wasn't and he relaxed and eventually cried himself back to sleep in her arms and they had laid down she didn't remember when but they had and she feel asleep with her arms around Jace and she swore she will protect him always and if anyone ever hurts him like this again she'll kill them, please angel don't let him have to go through anything else please.... she thought before she did fall asleep.

Guess got something written for today.

(Tags @sarcasticmalecfan @tsc-clave @thomaslightwoodx @rednailpolishqueen @theheavenlybooks @daisyherxndale @sorta-a-perfectionist @itsjustjace )

[pixie88]

 Never have I ever

Chapter 3 - TNA - After the Wedding.

A/N: At the moment I’m editing all my work, tidying it, shorting down chapters and tiding up my tumblr. Let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Find previous chapters HERE under The Nanny Affair - After the Wedding.

Word count: 3394 Might be a lot but so worth it!

WARNINGS: ⚠️ Some adult language & sexual content.

Disclaimer: Characters are property of Pixelberry.

Pairings: Sam x MC - Olive.

Enjoy 😘

4 Weeks after leaving Italy and Sam behind. I take a job at Tallulah's while I wait for interviews for my dream job.

*21 Missed Calls from Sam Dalton*

*13 New Messages from Sam Dalton*

I open up his messages and read the last 3.

[Olive, please talk to me!]

[I need to talk to you! There's something you need to know! Will you just answer your phone.]

[We're back from Italy. I've seen you have cleared your room out. We all miss you. Please meet me. We need to talk, Please.]

After 2 weeks I got fed up and change my number so, he can't contact me anymore. Whatever it is I don't want to know he made his choice when he said I do.

It's Friday night one of Tallulah's busiest night and I'm working with Jace and Ben behind the bar.

Later, as we are locking up Jenny walks in "Hey guys, I thought I'd meet you so we can walk home together." I smile at her. "Awesome, while you are here you can help clean up!" I throw her a damp cloth, she catches it and starts to wipe over tables.

"Why don't we play never have I ever?" Ben asks us, I roll my eyes, "I'm in but there isn't a lot I haven't done." Jace tells the group, "OK, so this game will end up with me, Ben and Jenny sober and you finish the whole bottle?" I tell him before Jenny starts "OK, Never have I ever had sex at a party" Fuck! Parents party's doesn't count right.

Jace and Ben drinks before Jace turns to me "Come on, Olive surely you've sex at a party?" "Nope, don't think I have!" I shoot back at him. "It's can be any party like a high school one or a family member's one!" He's smiling at me and I drink.

"Olive!! Why am I just finding out about this now? What party? Who with?" Jenny asks me. Great, now I have to make up a fake hook up. Thanks, Jace!! "It was a party that you couldn't attend. Anyway, who's next?" I try to change the subject quickly.

It's Ben's go "Never have I ever kissed someone of the opposite sex?" me, Jenny and Jace drink I laugh, "Ben, that one was too easy!" "Hey, it was one way to get you guys to drink, where I didn't have to." he laughs.

"My turn, never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex." Jace says and me, Ben and Jenny drink he looks at Jenny "What? Who?" "Jenny points at me and Jace whips his head round, "It was a dare, when we were like 15?" I say as I laugh.

"Anyway, I believe it's my turn. Hmm, Never have I ever performed oral sex in the middle of a cinema!" I say, trying not to laugh as Jace's eye dart to mine, then he drinks. "Jace!" Jenny shouts at him then turns to me "Olive, How did you know?" she asks me.

Crap I didn't think about this! "Oh! I was there a few rows in front and I caught them as I went to the bathroom!" Jenny looks at me weirdly of course she does, as if I had seen it I would have told her? "Speaking of bathrooms I need to use it. I will be back in a minute" Jenny gets up and heads for the bathroom.

"OK, I know there is something going on with you two, definitely not just friends!" Ben says, "Nothing is going on! I don't know what you are talking about!" I tell him "Olive, I'm anything but stupid!" "OK, Olive and I have done things friends don't normally do, but Jenny doesn't know, and we would like to keep it that way." Jace whispers to him.

"Things meaning Olive was the girl in the cinema?" Ben asks, "OK, It was me!! We had a thing one summer about 10 years ago, but it was over before it began!" I tell Ben then I hear her "Olive, is that true?" Jace and I whip round and see Jenny 2 feet away from us.

No, no, no, no, no! "You and my brother slept together?" "Jen, you were never supposed to find out!" I tell her as I get up from my seat and walk towards her, but she takes a step back not wanting to be near me.

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY BROTHER!! WHEN?!" she shouts at me, "Jen, It doesn't matter, it was a long time ago!" I say, but she is having none of it! "Olive, just tell me how long you have been keeping this a secret?!!!" I can't deny it there's no point "Summer 2010. When you were at your Nan's."

"10 Years!! It all makes sense now! Whenever I called my mom, she would tell me how Jace was out all the time and how she thought maybe he had a girlfriend, then I would call you right after and you were always busy." Her face goes pale "Jen, please you have to listen to me!"

I step towards her before talking again "Things happened that summer, we were spending so much time together working, hanging out and stuff we grew closer and things went from there! I never meant to keep it from you, I just didn't know how to tell you." I step towards her again.

"You slept with my brother, then kept it a secret for 10 years! What kind of best friend does that!" "It's not like I could just drop it into a casual conversation like Jen would you like a coffee and Oh, by the way I lost my virginity to your brother!" "I rather that, then you never tell me and finding out by chance! You were supposed to be my best friend! No, wonder Sam chose Sofia!" Jace interrupts us.

"Jenny, this must be a shock, but what the big deal? Yes, she is your best friend and I'm your brother, but we did nothing wro..." He doesn't finish his sentence as Jenny slaps him before storming out.

I go to chase after her, but Jace pulls me back "I think it's best we let her cool off first!" I start to cry Jace tries to hug me, but I push him away and run off into the kitchen. Did I really just lose my best friend? In a month I lost my best friend and the man I love.

I'm sitting on the floor against the fridge door not sure how much time has passed before I hear the kitchen door open again. Jace wanders over to where I'm sitting on the floor before taking a seat next to me. "Olive, I'm so sorry! When Ben asked about us I shouldn't of said anything." I get up and run off into my uncle's office but Jace follows me in here to.

I'm sat at my uncle's desk Jace comes round and sits on the desk in front of me "Olive, I promise, once she calmed down and thought about it, she'll be fine!" He lifts my chin to look at him. "Don't cry! If, it will make things better with you two I'll tell her it was all my doing! I pursued you, I mean just look at me no wonder you gave into temptation!" I can't help laughing at him "Oh, shut up!" "Ah ah ah, I got you to smile Olive, so that's an achievement!" I roll my eyes before he continues "But seriously she won't be mad about it for long!".

"I know Jenny is mad and I'm sorry," he smiles as he downs his drink. I take a seat next to him on the desk.

"Here is to being free, single and not giving a damn." we clink glasses before downing our drinks again "Argh, does that taste ever gets better?" I ask him "Nope, you just get to drunk to care if you drink enough." I giggle it's hitting me already must be the vodka too.

I sit up to look at Jace, and he looks at me for some reason I feel drawn to him I want to kiss him. He runs his thumb over my lips, then his other hand cups the other side of my face, and he kisses me hard, pushing further on to the desk. His tongue dances with mine, I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer. The kiss turns more urgent, his hands slip under my jumper and up to my bra, where he unclips it.

My hands move to unzip his jacket and slip it off before slipping them under his t-shirt, feeling his chest, his abs and his back. He pulls away "Olive, we shouldn't!" "I know, but I don't want to stop.” His hands slip down from my breast and under my tights and into my underwear.

In this moment I need him, and he can tell that by how wet I am as I feel him smile against my lips as he touches me. He whispers on my lips "Feels like you've missed me as much as I've missed you!" I pull him back to my lips and bite his bottom lip. With that, he pulls my legs up around his waist and places me against the cold oak desk.

"I want you...." He says, "Then take me." I tell him without thinking. Then, he pulls down my tights and my underwear, I undo his belt and jeans as soon as he's free of his jeans, his pants are down, and he is inside me and I wrap around him adjusting to his size.

I start to move up to match his pace. His lips move to my collarbone, then back up to my earlobe before he whispers into my ear "God I've missed this!" "Me too!" I tell him.

He thrusts harder, each one making me cry out louder than the last. I can't hold back anymore, I call out his name as I hit my peak, he hits his own right after and my head collapses against the desk, he kisses me on the lips.

We get up and grab our clothes to redress, Jace looks at me "Olive, we should forget that happened with everything you have going on at the moment I think it's best." "Yeah, you are right! Nothing says sorry to your best friend for sleeping with her brother like sleeping with her brother again!" I say with a laugh, and he smiles at me.

The next day.

"Olive, wake up!" I feel someone poke me "Olive, come on wake up," I start to stir when I realize where I am. I turn to see its Jace pokes me "Morning, Did you sleep OK?" he asks me as I sit up "Yeah, I slept fine. I don't remember getting home." I then grab my phone to check the time.

He smiles at me "Must've been all that drink. I'm heading to the gym want to join me?" "OK, I guess" We grab our stuff and head to the gym. Jenny's bedroom door is shut, she's probably still asleep.

As we walk into the gym a lady behind the desk smiles as she spots Jace and it drops as she spots me with him "Jace, You just can't stay away from this place?" she says to him with a flirty tone, and he laughs as he leans on the desk to talk to her "Nah, I need my morning workout." he winks at her.

"So, is she with you? Are you PTing now?" the lady points at me "Yeah, she is. Olive this is Emma, Emma this is Olive," I just smile at her, but she doesn't return it "Olive huh? That's a weird name! So, you will need a membership?"

I go to speak, but Jace beat me to it, "Actually, it's Olivia, but she prefers Olive and no, she won't unless she wants one?" "Well, Olivia is a much nicer name I don't get why you would shorten it but each to their own I guess. Jace as for using the gym without a membership, I'm not sure I can today. Sneaking one in is easy but two." I roll my eyes.

"Oh, come on Emma, Olive won't be no bother? I promise to keep her out of your bosses view" her face goes red she doesn't like that idea one bit and looks round "Ermm...I guess I can let you both in but you have to be quick," she gets up from her desk and takes us down some stairs to the gym and uses her card to let us in.

"Olivia, the ladies showers are down there once you are done, clean towels in the lockers and soap on the shower wall, be quick" We head into the gym and start.

Later I head to the shower, grab a towel and undress to take a shower it's so warm on my skin, I start washing my hair and let the water run down my face.

I hear the door to the shower room, open "Olive, are you done yet?" Jace asks, "Oh, nearly! How are you done so quickly?" "When Emma means quick she means quick, I've learned otherwise she comes in to check on you" Of course she does! "OK, I'm coming out now I just need to dry off and get dressed." When I come out of the shower I see Jace sat on a bench I was expecting him to be at the door.

"Are you going to sit there while I get dressed?" he smirks "Olive, I've seen you naked plenty of times. But if it makes you feel better I'll turn my back?" "Yeah, if you could that would be great."

He turns and I start to dry myself "So, Emma, what's the deal with her?" I ask him "What do you mean, Olive?" "She seems erm...smitten with you." "Does she? I haven't noticed." He says with a laugh.

"You have! She seems to bend over backwards for you and she definitely doesn't like me." "What are you asking Olive? Why are you even bothered?" "I'm not bother I just thought she was rather rude to me and you can see who you like." "I did notice. There's nothing going on between me and her there never has and never will be." "So you flirt and slip her a few lines to get her to let you use the gym and shower? She's pretty." "Well, she might be pretty, but she's not my type at all. I do flirt with her to use the gym when I want yes, but doesn't everyone?" "I don't!" I shoot at him as I start to get my clothes on.

"Oh, you do Olive!" "What! No, I don't!" "You do! That's why last night happened. You had an itch you needed scratching!" I don't have an answer for that, so he doesn't say anymore about it. "Are you dressed yet?" "Nearly just my boots." he turns round.

We head out of the shower room and up the stairs at the top Emma looks up from her desk Jace smiles at her before saying "Thanks!" as we leave.

This shift goes by pretty quickly around 8pm it starts to quiet down, so I restock the snack bar as Jace comes over to me, "A bunch of suits just walked in Olive, I need a hand," I put down the crisp packet I have in my hand and turn to serve these guys and that's when I spot Robin the other side of the bar, he notices me straight away.

"Olive!! How are you? Where have you been?" "Robin, Hey. I'm great thanks. What about you? I've been here and staying at Jenny's. How was the rest of the Italy trip?" I smile at him "It was OK, I guess. I'm good thanks, in fact I'm excellent now I'm joint CEO of Dalton part of Dalton and Russo Enterprises with Sam!" "What? Joint? But I thought Sam was going to be sole CEO?" "Oh, Olive you missed so much. When is your break? I'll fill you in on everything!" I look at the clock.

"I could take one in 5 minutes once we've served this lot" "OK, come and find me in 5." He walks off and sits down we 4 other people. My head is spinning with questions. What happened? And why are they joint CEO's? I remember Sam's texts [There's something you need to know] [we need to talk] Now I'm more curious than ever I tell Jace I'm taking a break and go off to talk to Robin and suggests we sit away from everyone, so we walk over to a table in the corner.

"So, Olive why did you leave Italy so suddenly? Why did you quit?" Robin asks, "Don't act like you don't know why Robin! I never took you for stupid." "Olive, I told you that the only person that was going to get hurt in all this was you!" "I know. But enough about that. What has happened? Why are you and Sam joint CEO?".

"Well about a week after you left, Sam seemed pretty down, we were all at the villa and Sofia made a toast to her and Sam and their long happy marriage they were about to have. Sam just flipped told her it wasn't a happy marriage, and he didn't love her and never could. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Sofia when she opened it was papers telling her he wanted an annulment." "What?" "Yeah, he wants out of their marriage, Dad wasn't happy but Sam managed to talk him round and convince him to let us be joint CEO's. Which is actually alright, I get the CEO title, but half the work load!" he laughs.

"What about the merger? Sofia?" "Well, apparently you can't unmerge companies once they are merged, so we run the Dalton side and Paolo runs the Russo side. Sofia, she stayed in Italy. I think she had a fancy man on the side." She definitely did! "Sam has been looking for you, he'll be happy when I tell him you're working here!" "No, Robin you can't tell him I work here or you've seen me!" "Olive, why?" "I need to move on with my life and as crappy as it is." "OK, but the boy's miss you and come on you've not done too bad! You landed a job pretty quick and a place to live." "It's my uncle's bar, hence why I got it so quick." "What about your parents? Jenny?" "My parents living in Dubai they moved there 3 years ago for my dad's job. Me and Jenny kinda had a falling out." "Oh! Not over anything serious I hope?" "Kinda, but I'm sure we'll work it out." OK, anyway I better get back to the guys. Hopefully see you round Olive and take care of yourself!" "Thanks, You too Robin".

I head back to the bar where Jace is "Who was that?" he asks, "Oh, That was Robin. Sam's brother" Jace's facial expression changes "Was he bothering you?" "No, not at all. He was just asking why I left so suddenly." I don't mention what else he told me. "OK, now you're back, I'm going for my break" "OK, see you in a bit."

It's the end of our shift, and we are locking up, and we take the subway home "Do you think she'll forgive me?" I ask Jace. "Olive, there's nothing to forgive. Jenny just needs to get over herself OK?" He smiles at me "OK, we better head in."

Jace opens the door with his key the flat is dark, maybe she's in bed it is pretty late. Jace turns on the lights, and we head to the living room she's not there as we walk to the kitchen her bedroom door is open. Jace turns on the light and her bed hasn't been slept in but there's a note on the bed. I go over and pick it up and read it out.

'Olive and Jace,

I've gone to stay with mom and dad please don't call or text. I need space from you both. I'll contact you when I'm ready to talk.

She's gone!

Jenny x'

Continue reading this story here - Chapter 4.

[intrepidguardian]

How Design Miscues are Failing Portrayals of Relationships in MTG

Discourse? Discourse. 

Love is a difficult topic to discuss because it can encompass so many things that aren’t “love” - you know what I mean, the kind of stuff that would get a fanfic tagged as “fluff.” My wife’s and my third anniversary is coming up, and more and more I find myself still learning about what love is. I love the study, but I know that I could fill hundreds of external hard drives with epitaphs and musings about every interaction my wife and I have had, each exemplifying a different aspect of our love and still not get the point across of just how much I love her.

(Btw I love you Ash and thank you for helping me edit this)

So how could you get an idea as complex as love across in the 25 words you’re allowed on your average Magic card? More to the point, why bother portraying love in Magic: The Gathering?

"Players won’t care until they are cards.” - Matt Cavotta, Senior Art Director for Wizards of the Coast, discussing the motivation for implementing Planeswalkers as a card type. 

A few years back, and I’m sorry that I can’t find the actual post, someone asked Mark Rosewater something to the effect of “Red is supposed to be the ‘emotional color,’ yet the only emotion we tend to see out of Red is anger. WTF?”

Mark responded that R&D was working towards showing different aspects of the emotional spectrum in Red, but was hampered by the fact that Magic: The Gathering is a game about fighting and it was difficult to portray anything other than MAD RED in a game about fighting.

“No, my battlefield only has room for more Goblin Chainwhirlers.” - Solid Snake, probably. 

A little while later, they apparently cracked the love code and printed Cathartic Reunion in Kaladesh, which was meant to portray Chandra finally reuniting with her mother Pia Nalaar, when both thought that the other had died years ago. 

Shoutout to all my Dredge opponents that keep beating me with four-card hands thanks to this card.

Like yeah, it’s a nice moment and a nice piece of art. It’s not romantic love, but it’s familial love. You can see the love between Chandra and Pia in their embrace, and I think this might be one of the first portrayals of a hug in Magic: The Gathering [someone prove me wrong]. When you only have 25 words to explain love, the art and flavor text can pick up the slack. But mechanically, what is this saying about maternal love, or love in general? Is love just more inherent deck consistency? Is drawing cards the greatest display of love in Magic: The Gathering? Artistically and flavorfully, this card is trying to say a lot. Mechanically, this card could have easily been called “Super Rummage” or “Elicit the Dredge” and no one would be able to tell the difference. This card is trying to show what love is, but without any sort of mechanical tie-in, Cathartic Reunion just tells you what love is. 

Wow, my opponent loves me A WHOLE LOT!

I would say that the best way to explain love is to show love. And I think the best way to show love is to show people who love each other interact positively with one another. Like, love is hard to explain but is easy to see. When you see two people who love each other interact, you can just tell. Maybe it’s small physical gestures or communication purely through facial expressions, but when love is there, it’s obvious. Yes, the art of Cathartic Reunion clearly shows a tender love between Chandra and Pia, but both Chandra and Pia Nalaar were given cards in Kaladesh! Show us how they interact where we are most likely to see both of them: on the battlefield!

What are these cards doing for one another when both are on the battlefield? Not a lot. Chandra’s second +1 makes enough mana to use Pia’s first activated ability one additional time. 

That’s cool, I guess.

Pia has a tag-along flying creature that can block for Chandra once, so Pia is essentially two blockers for a planeswalkers.

Yeah, but Whirler Rogue can make a bunch of Thopters to block for Chandra, so what does that mean? There’s no love between Chandra and some random Vedalken just because the three-drop blocks real good. 

</3

There isn’t any mechanical unity here. Chandra doesn’t care about artifacts, and Pia doesn’t care about card advantage or incidental damage. They can do some things for each other, yes, but there isn’t anything for a deck builder to go “Hmm, how can I maximize this?” It’s the mechanical equivalent of Pia and Chandra getting Amazon gift cards for each other for their birthday - a display of love, but not a particularly meaningful one. 

Well, here you go. -Chandra

But maybe this isn’t fair. Pia Nalaar’s card maybe wasn’t supposed to work well with Chandra, it was supposed to convey a sense of emptiness from missing Kiran, her husband who had actually been killed. They had been shown on their own card in Magic Origins, which is powerful enough that it hovers around Modern whenever Jund or Grixis are good. Pia’s card is cheaper, but comparatively weaker, and even when you look at the art, Pia Nalaar is significantly dimmer and emptier than the card Pia and Kiran Nalaar.

“What does Kiran bring to this relationship? DO THE MATH!” -My Grandmother-in-Law, maybe

Maybe before we can show a good example of familial love in card mechanics, we need to show people in love working together on the battlefield! 

So let’s grab some examples. Three couples right now in Magic that people are really talking about are Jace x Vraska, Tomik x Ral Zarek, and Chandra x Nissa. If you wanted to show some cozy couples, what’s cozier than being in a deckbox with your significant other?

Jace x Vraska

Well, these cards could maybe work together? Not a lot of decks can make two blue mana on turn three and then turn around and make black and green mana on turn six.  

Mana problems aside, they kind of work well together. Jace is looking for creatures to get through combat damage and Vraska makes difficult to block creature tokens thanks to Menace. However, there’s also a cost problem here, which is that Jace wants to come down turn three and Vraska, the muscle of this relationship with all the free blockers, doesn’t come down for another three turns, so Jace has to try and hide behind a Bird that goes away if you look at it too long while Vraska’s trying to get mana together. If you can find a way to get both on the battlefield in the same deck, maybe it works, but it’s a lot of work without a lot of payoff.

Okay, what about a more recent example? Chandra and Nissa both got new cards in War of the Spark and they’re supposed to be canon, so they probably have something going on between their two cards. 

Chandra x Nissa 

This is a pretty symbiotic relationship - Chandra finds extra cards to cast, and Nissa makes a lot of mana to cast those extra cards and creates blockers so the player has time to do so. It’s the RG formula we see in a lot of ramp decks in this color combination - Green makes the mana, red makes the otherwise-unwieldy payoffs. But much like Chandra’s mechanical relationship with Pia, this doesn’t feel special or unique. Yeah, Chandra finds extra cards, but she also comes into play before Nissa, so there’s a turn of vulnerability where Nissa might arrive too late to actually help Chandra. And anyone could  do that “find extra cards” job. See, look:

It’s like the dating game, but for really, really sad people

They all can do the same “get extra cards” thing for the player the way Chandra can, and all benefit from the blockers and extra mana that Nissa produces.. Mechanically, there is some synergy between Chandra and Nissa, but there’s nothing that speaks to the relationship between the two characters - it feels more like a convenient coincidence that these two cards work together rather than two people who finally came together when it mattered most. 

Maybe what we need is a mix-up - people represented on different card types could have more design space for synergistic effects. 

Tomik x Ral

So the last pairing is Tomik x Ral. I don’t know if any of you have bought a “Planeswalker Deck,” but a big selling point to those cards for beginners is that there is usually a creature in the deck that benefits from having that deck’s planeswalker in play. They’re flavorful and fun to get out ahead when when you find your planeswalker, but they’ve never been really viable for tournament play. A planeswalker like Ral being in a relationship with a non-planeswalker seems like the perfect fit for creating a competitive-level combination of creature and planeswalker and could really highlight the relationship between Tomik and Ral. 

Yeah, they didn’t even try with this one. Double white on turn 2 into Red and Blue on turn 4 is already a tall order, but these two cards have entirely separate goals. Tomik, a card designed for Legacy, really wants to hate on his opponents trying to manipulate their lands. 

Ral doesn’t have the word “land” on his card, and is a card designed with card advantage and maybe some combos in mind. 

They’re two totally different cards designed for two totally different decks. I get that. My point is that they shouldn’t be. Wizards clearly knows how to design “planeswalkers matter” creatures, had an opportunity to do so, and instead opted to design a Legacy card to hate out cards that don’t exist in Legacy anymore. 

You barely even deserve this, WotC.

That last bit was a little dense. I get it, it’s hard to read without caring a lot about flavorful mechanics, but I am trying to get my point across that Wizards had so many opportunities to make cards that could work together and mechanically create a sense of a relationship between characters and repeatedly chose not to, instead prioritizing other design goals. If I’m coming on a little strongly, it is because I know Wizards knows how to do this. In fact, Wizards had the opposite problem to the Chandra x Nissa issue, waaaay back in Battle for Zendikar. 

“...and the Lord of the Multiverse said to Gideon, “It is not good for a planeswalker to be alone,” and so the Lord created Nissa and brought her to Gideon who jubilantly exclaimed: ‘Voice of my voice! Planeswalker of my heart! I shall call you Nissa, Voice of Zendikar! Together we shall grow plants and make Ally offspring and they shall have dominion over the entire plane of Zendikar!’ And the Lord of the Multiverse saw that it was very good...” -A very tongue-in-cheek quote by Craig Wescoe discussing Nissa, Voice of Zendikar in the upcoming Oath of the Gatewatch set. 

Do you see this? Do you get it? 

These two cards were made for each other. 

There are a lot of similarities between these cards, and because they’re similar, they work well together in a lot of ways, all of which scream “PLAY US IN THE SAME DECK.”

1. Both Planeswalkers make tokens without losing loyalty. 2. Both Planeswalkers have an ability that gets better with more tokens, and can boost each other’s tokens.  3. Nissa curves into Gideon and can help make a safe battlefield for him. 4. Nissa coming down late is still good for Gideon, and she can even boost him with a +1/+1 counter when he’s a creature.  5. Both Planeswalkers have the same naming convention: Planeswalker, Whatever of Zendikar. We’re battling for Zendikar, of course I want Zendikar’s Ally and Zendikar’s Voice!

“But wait!” somebody wanting to say something said. “Two green mana on Turn 3 could be tough, and needing two white mana on turn 4 is even tougher!”

Well, hold on there buckaroo, because have I got the love note in a Magic card for you:

We didn’t see it, but Gideon planeswalked to a high school on Theros and had a popular girl fold this card up into a little triangle before giving it to Nissa.

This card is the perfect mechanical tie-in for a Nissa x Gideon deck. Card selection has rarely ever been afforded to white decks, and GW token decks have often struggled with getting their mana right to cast their white payoff cards without making room for superfluous mana decks, and even then that might not fix it (just ask Richard Bland about his GW Tokens deck in the Worlds 2011 finals). And as a little bonus, this card can get either Nissa or Gideon or, you know, whatever creatures you wanted, and what color combination was going to have more efficient creatures AND planeswalkers than Green and White Mechanically, these cards work so well together and they look like they’re supposed to work together. 

In fact, this was the core of an incredibly powerful GW Tokens deck that won Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad in the hands of Steve Rubin. 

And when I was younger and looking at this deck for the first time, I thought Wizards would leap at the opportunity to pair these two up. Two reasonably popular planeswalkers paired up together to save a plane and worked really well together when I sleeved them up together? For a time, I was locked in - I thought Nissa x Gideon was going to be canon, and the lead-up to Kaladesh was where we’d see a little fluff between the two, or at the very least some genuine bonding between the flagship planeswalkers of the two colors most-interested in community. Instead, we got this:

Nissa: You’re being a little extra for me.

Gideon: My bad lol. 

I was a little salty about that interaction (mostly because it felt like every color combination in the Gatewatch has had a good or at least interesting interaction, except green and white), but I was down with Nissa x Chandra. It seemed like they had some chemistry in the story, and I was excited to see that chemistry reflected in the cards. Instead, we got a whole lot of nothing, which is infuriating because Wizards knows how to mechanically tie-in planeswalkers. 

Okay Wizards, here’s your second fifth chance...

So why is all this important? Why go into this deep dive about card mechanics trying to convey something that is decidedly not a mechanic in Magic: the Gathering? 

It’s because love can be expressed in this game’s mechanics, which is really hard in a game about fighting, but also a very unique opportunity. A card can care about what another card is doing, can subtly emulate what another card is doing or how it is presenting, and other cards can tie the two together. That kind of mechanical interlinking has a real-world analogue: a genuine, deep love for another person. Wizards has clearly struggled with the problem of portraying relationships in a way that its multiple player bases will care about and want to play with. The solution to that problem is creating powerful cards that mechanically care about one other and attributing those cards and mechanics to characters that emotionally care about each other in its stories.

Wizards, you clearly know how to do that, so...

[magicalmarauder]

Stronger

Pairing: Jace Waylalnd x Reader

Warnings: Mild Language

Word Count: 7.7k+

Summary: You have been training as a Shadowhunter for months and months and believe yourself to finally be ready to get out there with Jace and the others to hunt demons. However, your boyfriend disagrees and tries to sideline you. Arguments and fluff ensue! 

A/N: This is something I wrote on a different platform years and years ago and I thought I would edit it and post it on here for anyone who might be interested. Definitely not my best work, but I hope everyone enjoys! :) 

“Again, Y/N!” Jace shouted as you fell down on the mat for what had to have been the thousandth time that day. You groaned as you got back up to your feet. You could feel your muscles aching from working so hard and you longed for a nice, hot shower; however, unfortunately your drill sergeant/boyfriend wouldn’t allow you to.

“Please Jace,” you whined after he had pinned you down once again. “We have been going at this for hours. Can we please just call it a day so that I can shower?”

Jace regarded you coolly with his stunning golden eyes. He absently pushed a golden lock of hair out of his face and smiled down at you. Your heart rate picked up and you couldn’t help but thinking that this beautiful creature was actually yours.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jace said, a secretive smile dancing across his lips. “If you beat me, then we’ll be done.”

You threw your hands up into the air. “But I’ll never beat you!” You exclaimed in frustration, pouting at your boyfriend.

He grinned that cocky smile of his, the one that made you want to kiss him and slap him all at the same time. “Exactly,” he stated smugly, giving you the sudden urge to slap that obnoxious, yet highly attractive look off of his face.

Glaring at him, you stood up and got into position, determined to show him that you could, in fact, beat him and that he wasn’t this invincible god that he seemed to think he was.

Jace smirked and stood across from you. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Your eyes narrowed and you regarded Jace, who was standing across from you in a defensive position. You took a deep breath and charged at him, completely focused on the fight, determined to win and knock his ego down a peg.

Smiling briefly, you continued running forward before throwing a punch toward his face, which he neatly and effortlessly dodged. You groaned internally. If you had attempted that move, you would have looked like some kind of distressed otter or something. It both amazed and aggravated you that Jace was so perfect at everything he did. It just wasn’t fair.

Jace smirked at you as if sensing your thoughts and you glared back at him. “C’mon, Y/N, you can do better than that,” he taunted, causing your anger to rise. It was one thing to be extremely skilled and talented, but he didn’t need to always be a cocky bastard about it all the time.

You whipped your foot out and toward him, hoping to bring him down, but it had the opposite effect. Jace grabbed your leg and brought you down to the ground. However, before he could pin you, you rolled over and jumped up. Surprise and a little bit of pride flickered in Jace’s tawny eyes before he refocused on the fight, bringing his fist down toward your face. Dodging quickly, you brought your own arm out, making contact with his rock-hard abdomen.

Jace dodged before advancing toward you. He kept kicking and punching, but somehow you managed to evade each attack that he sent your way. You were actually surprised that you were doing so well. Usually Jace would have won the fight by now. Jace knew this too and seemed to be thinking along the same lines as you because all of a sudden his attacks came faster as he tried to bring you down.

Finally, you grew tired of remaining on the defensive and did a move that Jace had taught you not too long ago in one of your training sessions and one that you had seen him use on several occasions himself. You feigned right and then as quick as a snake, you changed directions and landed a blow to his chest, surprising him and sending him to the ground while you followed, falling on top of him.

“I win!” You exclaimed, smiling hugely. You almost couldn’t believe it. You had actually beaten Jace. Wow. That was a first. It had been a very long time since anyone had beaten him, which had only caused his already too large head to grow even bigger than it had already been to begin with, so you definitely were not planning on letting him forget this anytime soon.

Jace stared up at you in surprise and a hint of pride in his eyes. “Good job, Y/N. You did excellent, but I must tell you that I was going easy on you. Trying to be a good boyfriend and all that, y’know?”

Rolling your eyes in exasperation, you sighed. “You’re impossible. You just don’t want to admit that I beat you.” You tried to get up, but Jace pulled you back down, smoothly rolling on top of you and pulling your body as close to his as possible.

“That may be, Y/N,” Jace whispered, his breath surrounding you, causing your breath to hitch. “But I do know something that I am the best at,” he murmured softly, lips skimming your throat.

“What’s that?” You breathed out shakily. Damn him for having such a prominent effect on you.

“This,” Jace whispered before crashing his mouth to yours and circling his arms around your waist, while your hands automatically went to his hair, pulling him even closer to you. You just laid there, kissing, until you heard a throat clear behind you a few minutes later. You and Jace shot apart, not expecting anyone else to be in the training room and looked up to see Alec in the doorway with an amused and slightly disgusted expression on his face.

“You’re lucky mom wasn’t the one to catch you,” Alec said, crossing his arms. “You’re supposed to be training, not making out.”

“We were training,” you protested. “We were just finishing up.”

Alec shook his head but didn’t comment on what you had said. Instead, he informed, “mom wants to speak to the both of you in the library right now. She said it was important.”

Jace sighed before standing up and pulling me along with him. “Okay, we’ll be right there.”

Alec turned to leave, but then paused, sticking his head back in and looking at you. “Oh, and Y/N, congratulations on beating Jace. It’s about time someone did. His head was getting far too big,” Alec said, grinning and turning to face Jace as he said that last part.

Jace’s mouth popped open as he regarded his half-brother in surprise. “How did you know about that?” He demanded.

“I was here when she pinned you down. Very impressive, Y/N. You have greatly improved. You’re a very quick learner.”

You blushed at the compliment. “Thank you, Alec, but I couldn’t have done it without all of you. You’re all amazing teachers.”

“Some better than others,” Jace said smugly, having regained his cocky attitude. “I’m sure that I’m Y/N’s favorite teacher though, right Y/N?”

Alec laughed out loud before you could even answer. “You probably are,” he said, still chuckling. “Especially considering all of the extra benefits that you give her.”

Jace grinned at Alec lazily. “Hey, it benefits me too, so it’s a win-win situation.”

Rolling his eyes, Alex walked out, calling over his shoulder, “remember, mom wants to talk to you in the library. Don’t be late.”

“Win-win situation?” You asked Jace incredulously, smacking him on the arm.

“What?” He asked, feigning innocence. “It is. Don’t tell me that you don’t enjoy kissing me?” Jace questioned innocently, placing a hand over his heart and faking hurt.

“I don’t,” you said unconvincingly.

“Oh really?” He asked, stepping closer to you and wrapping his arms around you, immediately enveloping you in his scent of soap and sweat.

You nodded, unable to form coherent words. He brought his face down closer to you, his lips an inch away from your own. You couldn’t resist anymore. Leaning forward, you brushed your lips against his, only for him to suddenly pull away.

Eyes flying open, you were met with the sight of a grinning and highly amused Jace. “Nah ah,” he tsked, humor filling his voice. “You said that you didn’t like my kissing, so I wouldn’t want to make you do something you didn’t want to do.”

You glowered at him. “Just kiss me, Jace,” you demanded.

“Only if you admit that I am an amazing kisser,” he said, his grin widening.

You groaned. The things that boy did to you. You weren’t sure if he even knew the full effect he had on you, or maybe he did and he was just torturing you on purpose. “Fine,” you sighed heavily. “You’re an amazing kisser, Jace. Now, c’mere.”

He smirked before lowering his mouth onto your own and kissing you deeply, leaving you dizzy. You knotted your fingers in his hair and pulled on it lightly, causing him to groan deep in his throat and you to smile, pleased with you ability to elicit that type of reaction from him.

Before you could get too carried away; however, you pulled away and walked out of his grip. “C’mon, we’re going to be late to see Maryse.”

Jace groaned again, this time in disappointment. “You’re such a tease.”

Smiling, you turned around to face him once again. “You coming?”

Jace didn’t respond verbally, but instead stepped over to you, kissed you lightly on last time, and then grabbed you hand to head toward the library together. When you entered the library, you saw Maryse sitting at her desk. “Ahh, there you two are. Take a seat place,” she said, gesturing to the couch that was placed directly in front of her desk.

You and Jace sat down obediently and turned expectantly to Maryse once situated, curious as to what this impromptu meeting was about.

Maryse cleared her throat before speaking. “As you both know, Y/N has been training for a while now and has been making excellent progress. As a result, I believe that she is ready to go out hunting tonight with you three.”

Your face lit up as you heard what Maryse said. You were finally going to become a real Shadowhunter! After all of this time and all the hard work you had been putting in, it was finally going to pay off.

You turned to Jace with a big grin, but were instead caught off guard when you noticed the angry expression gracing his normally light features.

“Are you crazy?” He demanded, addressing Maryse.

“No, Jace, I am not,” she replied drily. “Why are you so upset? I would have thought that you would be proud of Y/N for advancing so quickly.”

“I am proud of Y/N,” Jace replied stiffly. “I just don’t think that she’s ready to go hunting with us. She still has a lot to learn.”

Standing up, you glared at Jace. How could he think that you weren’t ready? You had just beaten him, Jace, who thought he was the master of all things.

Jace shrank back a little under your fiery gaze, but otherwise didn’t move. “I have been training just about every day for the last several months,” you stated angrily. “I have learned so much and gotten so much better. I’ve beaten Alec and Izzy a handful of times and I have even beaten you once, so don’t you dare tell me that I’m not ready for this, because I am.”

Jace stood up from his position on the couch and grabbed my hand, but I quickly yanked it away.

“Y/N, please,” he pleaded earnestly.

“No, Jace. You see me as this weak little thing and I am so sick of it. I am a Shadowhunter just like you and I wish that you would start treating me like one. Everyone else does.”

Jace looked pained, but you ignored him and stomped out of the room angrily. He had been treating you like a fragile little doll ever since you had met and it hurt to think that he saw you as weak. You were just as strong as he was. You were a Shadowhunter and he had to accept that fact, whether he liked it or not.

You were about halfway to your room when suddenly an arm snaked around your waist, pulling you into their arms. You struggled to get free, knowing already who had grabbed you, but Jace just held on tighter, refusing to loosen his grip.

Finally, you gave up, knowing that fighting him like this was useless. When you finally grew limp in his arms, Jace began speaking. “I’m sorry Y/N. I’m so sorry. I know that you’re more than capable of slaying demons; it’s just that I worry so much about losing you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he breathed out. Your expression softened slightly at his admission and Jace must have taken this as an encouragement as he continued on, “I love you so much, Y/N. You have no idea how much it scares me to picture you fighting demons. You could get hurt, or worse. You have no idea how much that idea haunts me.”

“Yes, I do Jace. I experience that every single time that you go out hunting,” you said, remembering all those lonely hours full of fear. “I would stay up for hours, pacing my room, worrying about you, wondering if you’d even come back home to me.”

Jace gently pulled you against his chest and you inhaled his scent, allowing it to calm you. “Nothing is going to happen to me, Y/N, I promise.”

You pulled away to look him in the eye. “And nothing will happen to me either.”

Jace groaned and closed his eyes. “Here’s the deal. You can go with us, but only to observe. And if there’s any danger, you stay out of it and make yourself hidden, and do not come out no matter what. Do you understand?”

Your eyes narrowed as you gazed at Jace, not liking this plan at all. If Jace, Alec, or Izzy were in any kind of danger, then of course you were going to do something about it. You weren’t just going to sit there and let them die, but Jace didn’t have to know that.

“Fine,” you finally said, hoping that Jace wouldn’t see through your lie. “I’ll stay out of trouble.”

Jace scrutinized your face for a second before kissing you on the forehead lightly and saying, “we leave in an hour, so start getting ready,” before walking down the hall and turning a corner, disappearing from sight.

You were just about to go to your room to dig through your closet to find something to wear, when a hand grabbed your arm. Whipping around, you saw Isabelle standing there with a huge grin on her face. “Mom said that you were coming with us, so let’s go get you ready.”

You groaned but allowed Izzy to pull you toward her room and shove you into the bathroom once you arrived. “Shower. Now. You smell horrible,” she remarked, wrinkling her nose at you in disgust.

Rolling your eyes, you complied, knowing she was correct. You felt sweaty and gross after your vigorous training session with Jace. Stepping into the shower, you reveled in the hot water and how good it felt against your sweaty and beaten body, which caused you to stay in there probably longer than necessary because by the time you shut the water off, Izzy was banging against the door and yelling at you to hurry up.

“I’m coming!” You shouted, quickly wrapping a towel around your body and preparing yourself for the torture that was surely to come. You absolutely hated it when Isabelle dressed you considering her style tended to be very short and way too revealing for your taste.

However, you sat down obediently in the chair that Isabelle directed you to and she immediately came over with a huge makeup bag in her hands. You tried to keep the grimace off your face, but failed miserably, unable to conceal your distaste. Nevertheless, you closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and allowed Isabelle to work her magic.

***

“No, Izzy, I am not wearing that!” You insisted, crossing your arms over your chest and staring at the offending scrap of fabric in Isabelle’s hands.

“Come on Y/N! This dress is gorgeous! You’ll have all the boys drooling if you wear this dress.”

“I have a boyfriend already,” you stated, frowning at Isabelle. “I don’t need to impress any boys.”

“C’mon, Y/N. Jace will love you in that dress,” she pointed out, still trying her best to win this argument.

“He already loves me.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Yes, I am well aware of that,” she sighed. “Especially considering how many times I have walked in on you and your lover boy making out.”

You blushed, but refused to back down. The dress was red, black, lacy, and barely covered your butt. Not to mention it was extremely low cut. Totally not your style at all. Your face turned ten different shades just seeing it on the hanger, let alone imagining it on your own body.

You voiced your thoughts to Isabelle and she just shook her at you. “Y/N, c’mon! Please, Y/N, please, please, please, please! For me?” She begged.

“Fine!” You yelled. “I’ll wear the damn dress, just stop making that face at me!”

Isabelle squealed and handed it to you. “Thank you, Y/N!  Trust me, you won’t regret it!”

You sincerely doubted that. Grumbling to yourself, you made your way into the bathroom to change into the stupid dress. You slipped it on and stared at yourself in the mirror, mouth dropping as you gazed at your nearly unrecognizable reflection.

The person in the mirror had silky curls cascading down her back and bright Y/E/C eyes and full pink lips. The dress wasn’t as bad as you had originally thought, but you still wouldn’t have worn it if you had been given a choice. However, it did give you curves that you never knew you had as well as made your legs look miles longer. You looked gorgeous, you thought to yourself as you continued to gaze into the mirror, partly stunned.

Isabelle knocked on the door. “Y/N? Are you ready? We have to go now. The boys are waiting.”

Stepping out the door, you glanced at yourself one last time before walking out into the room to face Isabelle.

Izzy whistled. “I was right. That dress looks amazing on you.”

You rolled your eyes. “Thanks, Iz. You look gorgeous too.”

She smiled and twirled around, showing off all angles of her blood red dress that was similar to mine in style. She held out her arm, the whip snaked around her wrist glinting in the light. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” you grinned, taking her outstretched arm.

On our way to meet Jace and Alec we stopped at the weapons room and grabbed as many weapons as we could. Once we finished that, we made our way to the entrance of the Institute where we were supposed to meet the boys. After rounding the corner, you immediately noticed Jace lazily leaning against a wall and carefully examining his fingernails while Alec played with his phone, most likely texting Magnus.

Jace heard our approaching footsteps and looked up, his mouth immediately dropping at the sight of you. He looked you up and down, taking in every single detail. You blushed under his intense gaze, which caused his eyes to darken even further.

He slowly walked over to you and gently put an arm around your waist, pulling you into his embrace. “You look absolutely beautiful,” he whispered in your ear before bringing his lips down to yours and kissing you hungrily. You responded with the same intensity, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing yourself closer to him until you heard an annoyed cough.

You pulled away with a blush plastered across your face, remembering that you were not alone. Jace, on the other hand, was grinning. “C’mon guys,” he said, grabbing your hand and pulling you out the door and toward Pandemonium for a night of demon hunting.

***

You all walked in silence toward Pandemonium, enjoying each other’s company and preparing yourselves for the night ahead. You could tell that Jace was still uneasy with the idea of you hunting with all of them tonight, even though you weren’t actually going to be doing any fighting. If he had his way, you would be back at the Institute, where you would be safe from any arm, but what Jace didn’t understand was that keeping you locked away from the world wasn’t going to help you. You needed to get out there and start learning from experience. There was only so much you could learn from books and sparring sessions.

Hopefully tonight you would be able to prove yourself to Jace that you were capable of fighting demons and that you were just as good as the others. You may not have been doing this for as long as they had, but you were a quick learned and truly believed that you were more than capable to get out there and start fighting demons.

A few minutes later, you finally arrived at Pandemonium. Once you were all inside, you scanned the room, looking for any signs of something out of the ordinary, but finding nothing. Looking over at Jace, you noticed him doing the same thing. Once he was satisfied that there was no danger, he turned back to face you and you could see the relief in his eyes. He was glad that there weren’t any demons out tonight. You, however, could not keep the frown off your face at this unfortunate turn of events. Jace saw this and kissed your forehead. “Next time, Y/N.”

You snorted quietly. If there was a next time. You were sure that Jace would use the extra time to think up a few excuses as to why you should stay home.

Unlike you, though, Isabelle was excited at the prospect of a night off. “Yes!” She exclaimed over the deafening music. “We can finally have a night off and enjoy ourselves. I don’t think I have ever been here to have fun. We are always hunting when we come here. It’s tiring really.”

Jace sighed. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be, Izzy?”

She huffed and walked away, muttering. “Alright, I can take a hint, jackass.”

“You didn’t have to be rude,” you pointed out, watching Isabelle walk away and slink off toward the bar where a group of guys were watching her hungrily. You almost felt bad for that group. If one of them so much as made one move toward Izzy, she would pull out her whip in a flash and teach them all a lesson.

Jace slipped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to him. “Izzy will get over it. She isn’t the type to dwell on things.”

You looked up at him while he gazed back at you with an innocent expression on his face. You almost snorted. Jace was anything but innocent. He was a lot of things. Smart. Sexy. Sarcastic. And deadly being a few of them, but innocent he was not.

“Forget about Isabelle for two seconds and let’s have some fun,” Jace said, a pleading note in his voice. “We haven’t been out and done something normal in ages. And now we finally have a chance, and all you want to do is sit here and lecture me about Izzy. Is that really how you want to spend this evening? Because I have a few suggestions,” he said, wriggling his eyebrows with that signature smirk of his plastered across his gorgeous face.

You felt an involuntary smile creeping onto your face and fought to keep it off without much success. “Oh, can you?” You asked, smiling mischievously up at him, bringing your face closer to his so that your lips were only a few inches from his, teasing him.

He licked his lips, a hungry look coming into his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, gazing down at you, a fire igniting in his eyes as all sorts of ideas flashed though his mind.

You leaned forward and skimmed your nose along his jaw, causing his breath to hitch as you pulled yourself closer to him. “You know I would,” you murmured. “But you’ve told me a million times not to lose focus while huntng for demons and I’m afraid your suggestions might just distract us from what we’re supposed to be doing,” you said, pulling away from him and going over to the bar to join Izzy, leaving him stunned. Once you reached Izzy, you looked over your shoulder and saw Jace standing in the exact same spot you had left him, with a look of disbelief on his face. You chuckled lightly and Izzy followed your gaze and laughed out loud. “Oh, Y/N. What did you do to the poor boy? He looks like he just lost his puppy?”

You laughed at Isabelle’s choice of words, but before you had the chance to respond, Jace came over to you, frowning down at you. “That wasn’t very nice, Y/N,” he pouted.

“Who said that I was nice?” You questioned, grinning up at him.

He frowned again and was about to retort when Alec came striding over. “Demon,” he hissed quietly so that only we could hear what he was saying. “Right corner by the bathrooms.”

Jace immediately snapped to attention and looked over in the direction that Alec had instructed. You looked over and saw a boy with green hair. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary boy, but once you concentrated, you were able to see him for what he truly was. A demon. He had green slits for eyes and sharp teeth that were also a sickly green color. You wrinkled your nose in disgust and turned back to the others, waiting to find out how you were going to go about this.

Jace was all business as he turned back to face everyone. You thought that he had been serious before when he was scanning the club for demons, but that was nothing compared to what he looked like now. His gaze flickered to you in concern for a brief moment before returning to the others. “Isabelle? Do you think you can lure him out into the alley out back?”

Isabelle nodded, smiling wickedly. “It would be my pleasure,” she stated confidently, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she eyed the demon, sizing him up as she searched for information that may be helpful for her in her pursuit.

“Good,” Jace said, nodding. “Alec and I will be waiting out there to help you if anything goes wrong,” he instructed the two Lightwoods before turning to face you. “And Y/N, you stay here no matter what and stay out of harm’s way. Do you understand me?” He demanded, his eyes boring into yours.

You stared back at him defiantly. “Why can’t I help?” You asked. “I’ve learned so much and I have become a pretty good Shadowhunter. Maryse believed that I could do it, why can’t you?”

Jace clenched his jaw and tightened his fists at his side. “You’re not ready, Y/N.”

“Not ready?” You exclaimed in frustration. “In your eyes, I’ll never be ready. You can’t protect me forever, Jace.”

Before Jace could respond to your accusations, Alec spoke up. “She’s right, Jace. She’s gotten really good and I believe that she’s ready to fight with us. She’s been working so hard, she deserves this. She’s beaten Izzy and I multiple times and she’s even beat you once. She’s ready, Jace.”

Isabelle’s eyes widened as she heard what Alec had said. “You beat up Jace, Y/N?” She asked in surprise. “You nodded and her eyes grew even wider. “Whoa. I wish I would have been there to witness that.”

Jace clenched his fists and ignored what his adopted siblings had to say. Instead, he addressed you. “Y/N, you are to stay here and that’s final. Do you understand?”

You glared at him harshly before nodding and turning away from him without another word, making your way over to the opposite side of the club. You couldn’t believe that he was still treating you like a five-year-old who needed to be sent away while the adults talked. You glared down at the table that you found yourself at, angry that you were stuck here while the others fought and endangered themselves, angry that you were being treated like this, and most of all angry with Jace for doubting you. He was supposed to be your boyfriend, not your father. What right did he have to treat you this way? None whatsoever, that’s what.

Suddenly you stood up, determined, and stalked over to where the others had disappeared. You pulled out your stele and drew a rune on the wall that enabled you to see what was going on on the other side of the wall. As you gazed out the window you had created, you saw the others finishing off the green haired demon. You sighed in relief when you saw that they were all alright. However, you heard a noise to your left and gasped at what you saw: five more demons stalking into view, ready to attack your outnumbered friends. You gritted your teeth. If only Jace had let you participate in the fight, they wouldn’t be so outnumbered.

You watched as Jace, Alec, and Isabelle grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the demons without hesitating. You held your breath as the fight commenced. Isabelle and Alec were each fighting one demon, while Jace was fighting the other three. You reached your hand out, touching the hilt of your seraph blade so that you could rush out there in case anything went wrong. You didn’t care what Jace had to say. If any of them was in danger, you were going to go out there and help them. Screw the consequences.

You continued to watch them fight and so far everything was going smoothly. That is until you saw something that you never expected to happen. One of the demons that Jace was fighting lunged toward him, catching him off guard, forcing Jace to dodge the attack and falter as the demon smacked him to the ground while they surrounded him.

Horror washed through you as you watched the events in front of you unfold. You didn’t think, you simply acted, grabbing your seraph blade and charging out there as fast as you could, throwing yourself in front of Jace and stabbing the demon closest to you. Black ichor squirted out from the demon and sprayed out onto your feet. The demond dropped to the ground and you focused all of your attention on the other two, your body still positioned protectively in front of Jace.

One of the demons charged at you and you kicked him away, sending him flying into the other demon. Quickly, you charged again and dodged attack after attack gracefully. The demons kept punching and kicking out at you, but you managed to dodge each of their attacks. Finally, you found an opening and sliced your blade at one of the demons, cutting off his head quickly and efficiently. He dropped to the floor and only one more demon remained. As you looked at the last demon, you noticed that it was the one who had originally knocked Jace down and your eyes narrowed. He was going to pay for that.

The demon charged at you and you neatly dodged the attack, jumping to the side. The demon growled and you smiled. He charged again and you swung your seraph blade around, cutting his hand off. The demon hissed in pain and glared at you. “You will pay for that, Shadowhunter,” he spat, rage filing his eyes.

You said nothing in return. Instead, focusing your energy on continuing to dodge the demon’s attacks. You were doing really well until the demon managed to use his remaning hand to scrape his claws down your arm. You clenched your teeth to hold in your scream of pain. You couldn’t show any weakness, you reminded yourself. Therefore, you pushed the pain away and advanced toward the demon, your seraph blade striking out at the demon over and over again until you finally made contact, you blade sinking into the demon’s chest. You advanced the blade further into the demon’s heart and watched as he shriveled to the ground before disappearing into nothingness.

You smiled in satisfaction as you realized that you had singlehandedly killed three demons. Alec and Isabelle, who had disposed of their own demons, came over to congratulate you. “That was amazing, Y/N!” Isabelle exclaimed, hugging you. “You were fantastic!”

Alec also gave you a hug. “Welcome to the team, Y/N. You did great!”

You smiled at the two Lightwood siblings. “Thank you so much guys, I appreciate it!”

“Y/N,” a voice said from behind you. You turned around grinning, positive that Jace would be proud of you and finally convinced that you were able to handle yourself in a fight. Because, how could he possibly doubt you now after what you had just done? You continued grinning until you saw the expression on his face. He looked absolutely furious. He glared at you. “What were you thinking?” He demanded, furiously.

You gaped at him in astonishment, unable to answer. You had never seen him so angry before. Your eyes started to water as he regarded you. You had never seen him look at you like that before and you never wanted to see that look on his face again.

“What were you thinking?” He asked again. “You could have gotten yourself killed!” He yelled at you, his eyes still full of rage. “Did you even think about that?” He demanded. “You can’t just jump into a fight whenever you feel like it. You’re not ready, Y/N, you could get killed. And didn’t I tell you to stay inside and away from danger?” He shouted. “Honestly, Y/N, do you ever listen?” He charged, breathing heavily from yelling at you.

Instead of yelling back at him, you looked him in the eye, showing him all of the anger and hurt that his words had caused you. Jace flinched slightly before glaring back at you once again.

You threw your seraph blade down at his feet and turned to walk away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jace ordered. “Get back here, Y/N, it’s too dangerous for you to be out there alone.”

At those words something in you snapped. You were tired of him treating you like this. He was acting like an overprotective, controlling father and you were fed up with it. Nothing had happened to you, you were absolutely fine. He had no right to yell at you like this.

You lost control of yourself as you recalled all of the things that Jace had yelled at you and you grabbed a dagger from your belt and spun around, launching it toward Jace. He ducked just in time, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he watched you. He couldn’t believe that you had actually thrown a knife at him! A few tears escaped from your eyes as you looked at Jace. You didn’t even bother wiping them away. You just turned around and ran away into the night as fast as you could.

***

Jace watched in shock as Y/N ran away from him. “Did she really just throw a knife at me?” He asked Alec and Izzy incredulously.

They looked just as shocked as he was. “I think so,” Alec answered in disbelief.

He ran through exactly what he had said to you in his head and sunk to the ground with his head in his hands. “What have I done?” He moaned, remembering the look that you had given him before running off. There had been so much pain and anguish in your eyes and it was his entire fault. He had caused that pain. Him, who swore that he would never hurt you, but rather do everything he could to protect you from that very heartbreak that he had just caused. He groaned. You were never going to forgive him for what he had done.

Isabelle sat down next to him. “You possibly just ruined your relationship,” that’s what,” Isabelle stated matter of factly in response to his question. He didn’t even both to tell Izzy that it had been a rhetorical question and he hadn’t wanted an answer. He knew that she would just ignore him anyway.

He groaned again and felt like he was going to be sick . He was a complete and total idiot. He had let his concern for you go too far and he had ended up hurting her.

“Isabelle,” Alec said, scolding his sister.

“No, she’s right,” Jace muttered miserably. “What was I thinking? How could I ever treat Y/N that way?”

Alec sat down next to Jace. “I don’t know.”

“That was out of line, Jace,” Isabelle said. “She was only trying to help and you just went off on her. Y/N did not deserve that at all. Did you see her face? You destroyed her. Are you trying to push her away, because that’s all you’re doing? Do you want to lose her?”

“Of course not!” He exclaimed immediately, that being the very last thing he wanted. “Y/N is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love her more than anything in the world.”

“Well, you have to show her that, Jace,” Isabelle said gently, yet forcefully. “Because if you keep pushing her away like this and treating her like a five-year-old, you are going to lose her. You have to treat her like your equal, Jace. You saw her fight tonight; you saw how good she was and how well she handled herself. She’s ready.”

He smiled slightly. “Yeah, she was incredible,” he said, thinking back to your fight and looking past the terror that had gripped him watching you go up against three demons at once. You had dodged every attack perfectly. You had fought like a true Shadowhunter and he was extremely proud of you.

“Go talk to her,” Izzy urged, pulling him up. “And go get your woman back!”

He smiled at them. “Thank you, both of you,” he said, before turning around and taking off toward the Institute as fast as his legs could carry him.

***

You ran away from that alley as fast as you could, tears pouring down your face. When you finally reached the Institute, you raced up the stairs, straight to the rooftop. Sitting down, you curled into yourself and began crying, the tears pouring down your face as you thought about what Jace had said to you. You couldn’t believe how Jace could be so harsh, especially to you, but you had seen the truth in his eyes as he glared at you. He had meant everything he had said.

A sob wracked through your body and you sat there, curled up into a small ball until you were finally able to regain your composure. You sat up and gazed at the city, refusing to let yourself shed any more tears. However, your resolute thoughts were interrupted as the door to the roof opened and somebody stepped toward you. Without turning around, you already knew who it was. You would recognize that scent anywhere. Jace.

“Y/N,” he whispered brokenly. You bit your lip and refused to turn around to face him. “Y/N, I am sosorry. I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. You didn’t deserve it. You were only trying to help and I see that now.”

You didn’t dare look at him because you knew if you did, you would break down again. Instead, you continued to stare straight ahead without saying a word. “Y/N, please,” Jace begged, his voice cracking. “I am so sorry and I promise you that I will neveryell at you like that again.”

You bit the inside of your cheek and tears began to roll down your face against your will.

Jace began talking again. Apparently, your lack of response to his words only seemed to make him more desperate. “Please Y/N, please say you’ll forgive me,” he pleaded. “I don’t know what I would do without you. You are my whole world and I am so, so sorry. I love you, Y/N. More than anything. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?”

You finally lost it as you heard his speech. A sob wracked through your body and you threw yourself into his arms, sobbing. He instantly wrapped his arms around you and pressed you tightly against him. “I am so sorry, Y/N, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I swear to you that I will regain your trust and confidence in me.”

You started crying even more and Jace held you tighter, rubbing your back with his hands. “Why did you get so mad at me?” You cried. “I only wanted to help.”

“I know, Y/N, I know,” he said, his voice breaking. “I was just worried about you and angry that you had just charged into the fight and threw yourself into it. I was so scared that you would get hurt, that I just lost it and snapped at you. I am so sorry Y/N, can you ever forgive me?”

You pulled away slightly to look him in the eye. Searching his face, you saw nothing but sincerity. He was truly sorry for what he had done and you were sure that you would never have a repeat of this incident ever again. He looked like he was in pain as he awaited your answer and you noticed he had been crying as well. Throughout all of the time that you had known Jace, you had never seen him cry. No matter how hard things got, he always remained strong. Yet here he was, crying in front of you as he waited for your answer. It was in that moment that you saw how much he truly loved and cared for you. Instead of answering his question, you smiled and crushed your lips to his.

He responded immediately, wrapping his arms securely around you and moving his mouth in synchronization with yours. You ran your hands through his hair and you moaned when he deepened the kiss. One of your hands remained in his hair while the other slipped beneath his shirt, trailing your fingers up and down his well-defined abdomen. He groaned and pulled you even closer in response, his hands moving up to tangled themselves in your hair.

After a few moments, you pulled away, gasping for air. Jace leaned his forehead against your own and intertwined your fingers together. “Is that a yes?” Jace asked hopefully.

You smiled. “Yes,” you murmured softly before turning serious once again. “But I’m serious Jace, you can’t treat me like that anymore. I’m not a five-year-old. I’m capable of making my own decisions and I am ready to hunt demons with you,” you stated seriously, looking him in the eye. “I’m a Shadowhunter too and you need to start treating me like one.”

Jace nodded. “You’re right, Y/N. And I’m sorry. I kept trying to shield you and protect you, but you don’t need that anymore. You can handle yourself and I saw that tonight. You were spectacular and I am so proud of you. I should have told you that right away, but I let my fear blind me.”

“Thank you, Jace, that’s all I want,” you smiled.

“You really did do great out there, Y/N,” Jace said. “Your aim has also improved greatly. You would have hit me right between the eyes if I hadn’t ducked,” Jace chuckled.

You ducked your head, a blush arising on your face. You had forgotten about that little detail of the night. “I’m sorry, Jace. I didn’t mean to do that. I was just so hurt and angry that I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the better of me though.”

“No, Y/N,” Jace interrupted. “I deserved that and much worse. I was a jerk. I definitely deserved much worse than having a dagger thrown at my head. I’m sorry I acted that way. I was just so worried about seeing you fight those demons and I was so scared that something was going to happen to you, but you can handle yourself. I see that now. And I’m sorry that I didn’t see that sooner. You are an extremely gifted Shadowhunter and I know that you can be one of the best.

You smiled at Jace, feeling lighter and happier than you had in a while. “Thank you, Jace, that means a lot to me.”

Jace’s arms tightened around you as he pulled you closer to him and your arms found their way around his neck as you gazed up at him. “I love you, Y/N,” Jace said softly, staring at you with eyes full of love.

You gazed back at him, the same expression on your face. “I love you too, Jace, more than anything.”

His grin grew wider. “I’m so glad,” he murmured softly in your ear before bringing his lips down onto yours once again, picking right back up where you had left off.

You smiled and kissed him back eagerly, thinking about how lucky you were to have him in your life. You knew that this wouldn’t be your only fight and you also knew that this certainly wouldn’t be the last time that you disagreed on something, but you also knew that your love for each other was stronger than any silly argument and that you would always be able to get through it. Together.

[liveshaunteda]

Morgan & Their Verse!

for info on each verse visit here

[alecmagnuslwb]

Alliance

Part of my Immortal Inquisitor and High Warlock of Alicante Series

Read on AO3

They haven’t had many occasions to fight side by side since they’ve been married and especially not since moving to Alicante and taking on their new leadership roles.

There haven’t been any near apocalyptic events in months and he can’t remember the last time Alec went out on a dangerous mission of any sort. But tonight they’d been in Cairo on business and taken advantage of the trip to have a romantic dinner. A dinner that was interrupted as they walked the streets back to their hotel room hand in hand and came across a sneaky pack of Raveners in a nearby alley.

Alec had immediately leapt into action the glamoured seraph blade strapped to his thigh in his hand in an instant, Magnus curling a ball of blue flames around his fingers. There’d been more of them than expected, halfway through the fight Alec suggesting they activate their alliance rune.

It’s a thing that no one had been certain of months before, Clary’s runes had been deemed too strong by the angels and the risk of them using them was real. When Alec, Izzy and Luke had started the Downworlder-Shadowhunter teams in New York the rune had seemed like a given, but Alec hesitated. It was Jace who despite his still poignant grief that had finally spoken up encouraging it.

“Damn the angels for banishing Clary for making these runes, but they never said anything about the rest of the Shadowhunters not using them after she was gone. What are they gonna do, banish us all?” he’d said and no one could find it in them to argue the point.

As time has gone on, the rune has become a regularly used gift even being added into the new revised edition of the grey book; the resistance that once existed when it was burned into the skin no longer exists. They’re not sure if it’s some sort of sign from the angels that they’re changing, reconsidering their once harsh beliefs, but it does make things easier in their growing world. It’s too hopeful to think seriously on it though, to think that maybe they’d change their minds about Clary as well.

Admittedly since it was deemed safe to use, Magnus and Alec have been known to use the rune for more extracurricular activities than on missions and against demons.

A swirl of blue flames leaves Alec’s fingers, a little shaky since he’s still learning but just enough on target, blasting the last of the demons away then heaving out a breath as he turns back to Magnus. The glowing red seraph blades in Magnus’ hand dulls and retracts. He flips it tossing it to Alec without a word, his husband catching it with ease and securing it back in its proper place on his thigh.

Magnus’ eyes drift to a small cut along Alec’s cheek as he looks up. He uses the focus of their still thrumming bond to activate an iratze on Alec’s skin to heal it. Alec’s lips quirk up as he feels the tingle of the cut stitching itself back together.

Their eyes lock across the alleyway after that, both still breathing a little heavy. There’s a tension in the air that Magnus can’t deny he’s missed. It’s not that they lack tension, god knows how they can get with nothing more than a look across a crowded room and all bets are off when they’re left alone. His husband has the uncanny ability to muster more desire than Magnus has ever seen directed at him in his life combined in just one look from up under his long dark lashes.

But this tension is a little different, has an edge of danger and adrenaline flickering around it. It’s the mix of a fight still burning at the edge with the desire they always have for one another. It’s the fact that there’s nothing quite as sexy as Alec in his element, be it a fight or a political showdown. His eyes ablaze with fire and pupils blown wide as he looks at Magnus. It’s the fact that he knows the way Alec looks at him when he wields a seraph blade, knows exactly how the bass in his voice will drop when he next speaks, the husky edge he’ll say Magnus’ name with as soon as they collide.

In a flash, between a breath, they breach the distance between them. Magnus pushing Alec back against the cool stone wall his hands immediately on Alec’s neck, running up through his hair as their lips meet. The fire between them simmers, then engulfs as their tongues curl together, Alec’s hands trail down his back one hand slipping into the back pocket of his tight black pants while the other rests at his waistline fingers dipping to tug at Magnus’ shirt sloppily pulling it from where it’s tucked.

Minutes, maybe hours pass as Magnus bites into Alec’s bottom lip pulling a guttural moan that echoes through the alley from him. He moves to Alec’s jaw where the cut has freshly healed now tongue and lips soothing the still tingling spot. Alec moans out Magnus’ name in the voice he’d predicted as he nips at his jaw.

Alec’s hand meets bare skin as he finally successfully untucks Magnus’ shirt moving along up his back, slightly calloused fingers gliding along the muscles leaving sparks in his wake. It takes Magnus a moment to realize that it’s literal sparks, not just the ones Alec always incites in him as he moves his lips along Alec’s deflect rune neck bared for Magnus to do as he wishes.

The shared rune between them thrums bright and hot on his wrist. Magnus’ magic has always reacted positively to Alec, curling around him protectively and welcoming his touch, but the rune amplifies it. The magic doesn’t just trust him, love him even, it’s within him, within them both, tying and pulling them together impossibly more than they already naturally are.

He pulls at Alec’s hands as their lips come back together entwining their fingers, pressing them back against the wall over Alec’s head. Blue flames ignite between their threaded fingers as soon as he presses them back and their breath catches almost simultaneously. Magnus breaks their kiss watching as the warm and sensational flames curl around them both. Alec looks up breath heavy and equally as affected as Magnus’, a simmering smirk at the corner of his lips as he speaks.

“Portal?” he says looking back into Magnus’ eyes, the hazel almost completely engulfed by blown out pupils.

Magnus nods squeezing Alec’s fingers tight as he tips their foreheads together. Alec squeezes back and together they conjure up a portal directly behind him falling through easy and bright with a laugh directly onto the bed in their hotel room.

Magnus lands cradled between Alec legs and leans in for another breathtaking kiss. The flames between their hands glow brighter with each kiss, their clothes being ripped away quickly and tossed to far ends of the room. The hot needy want between them grows as they connect skin to skin, over and over, the blue flames slowly engulfing them entirely.

[inventors-fair]

Fanwalker Notes, pt. 2 ~

(Sorry for the delay, wifi went down)

~

@guardgomabroa — Rodrigo, Bloodthirsty Corsair

Honestly, for a three-color planeswalker, this card’s not bad. The first ability is definitely the coolest, and I’m a little iffy on the fact that you can ult it the second turn it comes out. But the first issue is that that emblem is really tame. It relies on lots of treasure and also on that second ability going off, which takes a lot of resources in itself. As for wording: the emblem should have an “At the beginning of your upkeep” trigger, and that second ability can use “it’s” instead of “it is.” The second ability also needs to specify “colors and types” because it turns it black. And I know the hybrid border looks cool, but this is a golden card, chief.

@hypexion — Malios, Stitcher Pariah

Personally, I would have made the second ability just act like a Goryo’s Vengeance kind of effect, to prevent random graveyard shenanigans, maybe upping the cost? But the first and second abilities pair fairly well together, and I think I like that. That last ability makes no sense to me. Why an “Angel Demon Horror” token? What world has that flavor? Additionally, you’re missing the token’s power and toughness, and you don’t need to capitalize keywords. It’s a Grixis card, I suppose, but needs polish.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Aliana

I don’t get it. A planeswalker...mana dork? The second ability is confusing to say the least, and feels like it’s tied into the first even though they can’t regularly be activated together. The emblem is unique but so absolutely narrow that it doesn’t feel worth reaching towards all the time. I suppose there will be a story reason for all of this, but for a card, for a planeswalker, I don’t get the same sense of power or excitement. I think that it’s partially because this card is almost completely noninteractive; the opponent isn’t worried about anything much happening as long as she’s on the battlefield.

@ishouldgetatumbler — Glurmal, The Spreading Stain

Maro would be proud. I’m not quite with you yet. The first ability is pretty funny, and I like the execution. The second...almost feels exactly like the first, and I’m not sure if there’s really a time outside of a specific Ooze casual build that I’d ever use it. I do think the last ability is cool, but why not make it nonlegendary, like that one Jace from Ixalan? Speaking of, you mentioned that this character currently is on Ixalan, and I’m not sure how to process that. And I’m also looking over this again: it can make a blocker, then next turn destroy something AND copy itself AND get another blocker? I feel that chaining these together might be a little broken.

@ishtonreblogthings — Tacharan, Spy of Felldawn

Now I’m curious as to what her character’s original creature type is; if she’s from Lorwyn, the possibilities are endless! So, for a rare planeswalker, I think that this card would be amazingly fun in limited, and would absolutely break MTGO and commander. The phrase “all abilities” is really fun to think about but in practice can lead to some absolutely effed-up rules corners. Still, that’s what happens when you have shapeshifting effects. I’m not the biggest fan of that -2, despite the flavorful nature of it. Because the first two abilities are so unique and powerful, a Peek that takes away a third of her loyalty almost feels like an act of desperation over espionage. Maybe -1 would do the trick for a cantrip. Overall, the rules confusion makes this card probably hard to implement, but I’ll consider it an honorary runner-up. Thanks, Ishton!

@jonathan-hecht — Tanchik Archpainter

There’s a lot going on here. It’s hard to give critique on this card because it breaks a lot of fundamental rules of card design. The mana cost is a mess, the abilities lack cohesion and world-flavor, and the formatting has a lot of wording that needs editing. Having been through your blog, I can understand this card, not as anything that would necessarily be printed, but as an expression in itself. What of, well, that’s up for interpretation. I’m not sure what your intentions were with this submission. Despite that, I understand it.

@koth-of-the-hammerpants — Malagris, Butcher of Kulrath

It’s probably fine. I assume this is a Lorwyn-based card and I can see it fitting in there. The second ability feels pretty rough if your opponents don’t have anything in their hand, but man, if they do, that seven life can be a pain. Early in the game - holy crap, doing that turn four? This is a controlled burn right there. Hm, but considering that if they don’t have any cards in their hand it doesn’t do much... Yeah, again, the card is probably fine. For the last ability, P/T buffs come before keywords on effects like that. Why only opponents’ graveyards?

@lucianofsamosata — Syr Fuil

What, no subtitle? Regardless, I want to look at that last ability and open things up for discussion. Is that ability too much? Is there a point at which your opponents can’t possibly win the game from it? The thing about emblems is that they’re always some kind of answerable, even if they’re insanely powerful. They can always fizzle. This one mathematically has you win the game unless you’re so down on life that your opponent can take you out in one hit. And with that first ability that’s been happening, man, getting to that emblem isn’t that hard. I don’t know if that’s really a great idea. I’m open to discussion, but I feel that instead, it could be an Exquisite Blood or Bonds of Agony effect.

~

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I would absolutely love to work on those GIFs for you. Please send me all the ideas you have. I re-watched the series a couple of months ago and have some things in mind, but I think I need to refresh again. So yes, your ideas on the transgenics and anything else. Helps me get started on it. Thanks for the reblog and I will try and get the Max and Logan one out soon. You can reply to this with your ideas!

Oh my gosh. Thank you so much! And sorry in advance if I go overboard with this. Hahaha. And if I do, feel free to ignore me and only do the ones of these you want:)

I’ve actually done a few screenshot Dark Angel things that aren’t the greatest. So if you wanted to remake some of those as gifs, I wouldn’t mind at all. https://oveliagirlhaditright.tumblr.com/post/188483190012/i-know-brainiac-is-arguably-the-most-hated, https://oveliagirlhaditright.tumblr.com/post/186108463327/i-saw-alec-saying-the-move-your-furniture-thing.

And then some other ideas I had… uhh. It’d be cute–if you wanted to, I mean–if you gifed all the times Max and Logan held hands, or almost kissed… Or to do a comparison gifset between when Max says in the finale season of season one (And Jesus Brought a Casserole) “I’d kiss you, but I have to keep my head in the game”, with her in season two saying to Logan (Proof of Purchase): “Thanks, Logan. I’d hug you, but-”

Max kind of posing with the pool stick and smiling after Logan says he’s at Crash to see her in Fugheddaboutit is really cute. And so is the scene in Harbor Lights when they’re just smiling at each other when Max is in the hospital bed. Or when Max is telling Logan, in Gill Girl, how she wants this story to have a happy ending… and you can just tell he knows–without her saying it–that she wants the merepeople to have a happy ending, since they can’t right now. And before that in Gill Girl, when Logan is calling Max… and then hears her ringtone in his apartment, and then sees her coming in with a mermaid slung over her shoulder as she says “I’ll hit you back later!” That was funny. 

Logan’s speech about how it never mattered to him what Max was in Love Among the Runes is good, as is the whole scene when he’s sticking up for the transgenics that they do have souls, in Dawg Day Afternoon. And if you wanted to do a “Logan character development” post you could, in comparing Haven (”How can I even think of having a good time, when the man who orchestrated the shootings was a cop… and he not only got away with it, but got promoted for it, too?!”) with Proof of Purchase (”Well, you can only fight corruption for son long before you have to kick back and relax.”)

You could also do Max character development ones if you wanted! Like, in the Pilot when she’s telling Logan that people are looking to kill her, put her in a cage, or turn her into a science experiment or all three… and that she’s gotten by through keeping her head down and wants to keep it that way, and not help people… with the season two finale (Freak Nation), where she’s saying “Where will you go? I can’t force anyone to stay. But I’m tired of running, hiding, and being afraid. Aren’t you tired of running? Of being in being in darkness? Don’t you want to feel the sun on your face? It’s time to make a stand, right here and right now. They created us, and it’s time that they owned up to that instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage” and that sort of thing. Or how in the Pilot (even though she’s partially lying here) when she tells Logan that she doesn’t blame herself at all for what happened to him, and that it’s on him “one-hundred percent”. But then in Meow she and Original Cindy have this conversation: Cindy: The truth is, you love Logan. Max: We’re not even like that, and the fact is we both would have been better off if we’d never even meet. Cindy: Please. Max: He has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of me. Cindy: I didn’t see you on TV, pulling no trigger. Max: Yeah, but I could’ve protected him and I didn’t and that’s on me “one-hundred percent”.

I also love how Max and Logan give each other a piece that the other was missing: Logan suggesting that Max choose a birthday (C.R.E.A.M), and then her giving him back his mother’s locket in Art Attack. Or also how I think it was in Max going to the wedding with Logan in Art Attack, that she finally chose a last name for herself “Guevara”, and then began using it from then on out.

I once did a screenshot post (that I’ve since deleted), of Charlie telling Case the “storybook” version of Tinga’s life (this happens in Hit A Sista Back) that she’d told Charlie and Case (that neither of them had any idea was real at first), paired with Max incredulously saying to Bling about Logan in 411 on the DL, “I’ll go over and read him a bedtime story.” And then after that, I put Charlie telling Max and Logan in Hit A Sista Back, how he didn’t regret any of the time that he had with Tinga… and he’s essentially telling Max and Logan to get together there… and you can kind of tell by the way they’re looking at each other, that maybe they want this “bedtime story” for themselves, too. And if you wanted to remake this, you totally could:)

I also did another post in the past, that you could remake… Where Max says to Logan in C.R.E.A.M, that she’s surprised a high-minded, leftist, idealist like him would be okay with her greasing the enemies… and then paired it with her saying (in Prodigy) that she isn’t as high-minded as Logan is, with the idea that life is good and murder is bad, so she should have just let Lydecker go for that reason.

The scene where Original Cindy is talking to Max about Diamond at the end of Shorties in Love is really good overall, and is speaking of both the Max/Logan and Original Cindy/Diamond relationships, that could be cool to see gifed:)

You could also do a Max and Original Cindy comparison, where Max has to touch Logan’s hand through glass in Proof of Purchase and Original Cindy has to do that with Diamond in Shorties in Love.

Speaking of, any Original Cindy content–like with her and Max–would be awesome. I personally love the scene where they’re dunking the guy in the hot tub in Art Attack, being such a team, to get information out of him.

Gifs of Max being smart and a badass would also be great.

And just anything with Tinga, Brin, Syl, Jace, Jondy, and Mia would make me so happy.

You could even do a gifset that explains where the name of the show comes from: “Forever eyes, dark. Somebody’s angel” (the poem Logan made for Max in Shorties in Love) and Art Attack. Guy that Max Saves from Jumping Off a Building: “You’re the messenger, right?” Max: “Yeah?” Guy: “Well, I’ve never been much of a believer before… but you personally coming here to straighten me out like this. Thank you”. Max, smiling: “I’ll see about getting you that package back” (he thought she was an angel).

So these are just some of the crazy Dark Angel ideas I have. Feel free to use any or none of them. And thank you so much again:) And if you need me to try and explain any of this better, I can.

Edit: You could also gif what I believe is the closest we ever got to Max and Logan saying they were together in this series (aside from the times they told each other “I love you”, I mean. Or at least started to say it). Max saying angrily in “Boo” after Rafer insinuated Logan was her ex: “He’s not my ex! …I mean, we’re not like that.” And then Mia asking Logan in “Fugheddaboutit”: “You’re Max’s boyfriend, right?” And him saying, “Something like that.” You could also maybe have fun gifing all the times they said the ridiculous “we’re not like that” line, and then prove how untrue that was. LOL.

Edit 2: I also loved the scenes we got that showed how much Max and Logan knew each other, and that they got to know each other even moreso in scenes we didn’t see. Like when Max is sad in one episode (though I don’t remember which one it is), that he sold a painting his grandmother had given him, I think, to try and find a cure for the Virus (and we hadn’t known that painting was from his grandmother before this). Or when in Gill Girl, Max knows so much about people in Logan’s family–like Bitsy–and is talking about them with him, even though the audience had never heard of them before. Or in Some Assembly Required, when Logan knew how much Zack being alive would mean to Max and is gently and somewhat excitedly telling her, “You’re brother’s alive, Max.” …And really, just how kind Logan was to Zack actually says a lot about his love for Max, since Zack was always cruel to him (and I say this as a Zack Stan).

Edit 3: You could also do a Space Needle journey: Max on the Space Needle in the Pilot, Max asking Logan about going on the Space Needle in Heat, but him refusing since he’s scared of heights… Them almost going together at the end of Rising, but not for some reason… And then them finally getting there on Jesus Brought a Casserole together, and then Logan alone on the Space Needle at the end of And Jesus Brought a Casserole–echoing what Max said in the Pilot. Also, speaking of Max and Logan being on top of buildings: Max being on top of Logan’s penthouse in the Pilot, and Logan being on top of it in She Ain’t Heavy (as it seems he finally got over his fear of heights).

Edit 4: Gifs of Max interacting with kids could also be cool, since she loved them.