→ did you see the light in my heart? did you see the sweat on my brow?

[creatio]

Characters: Clary Fray, Jace Herondale, and you.
Summary: The fightiest of children return from their canon update a little worse for wear.
Date(s): 08/10
Warnings/Notes: Spoilers for Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 20: Beside Still Water. Blood, wounds. Talk of murder and death. Also a whole load of schmoop.



a. closed.

( One minute there’s quiet. The next, a blond-haired Shadowhunter is reappearing in a flash of light. He seems unbalanced, losing his footing almost at once, and grabbing hold of the console he falls against. Gasping, he drops to his knees before hitting the floor, leaving a bloody handprint on the console above him. His eyes are wide, his breaths shallow, and he lifts his hand to clutch the gaping wound in his chest. His eyelids flicker while unconsciousness tugs at him. He manages to say: )

Clary…

( Before darkness pulls him down. He faintly aware of a commotion around him, of raised voices, and then of hands taking hold of him. He’ll be unconscious before he knows where he’s going. A dark red stain is spreading on the floor. He has minutes left to live, unless they can help.

The sudden rush of aid from the temple officials is noisy enough to mask the appearance of another Shadowhunter. Bruised, dirty, her thoughts clearly elsewhere, it takes a minute for the girl to understand where she is. It’s only when someone calls out an order that she seems to come back to herself, turning on her heel sharply. Her gaze immediately finds the figure on the floor, the mop of golden hair pulling her forward, the paleness of his skin squeezing her heart. )

Jace.

( She’s moving without thinking about it, tears springing to her eyes. Clary reaches the nearest official within seconds, her hands on their arm and something urgent and desperate in her tone. ) Don’t -- Don’t hurt him. Please. You have to do something. You can’t --. He can’t …

( He can’t be dead. He can’t be. She can’t be without him.

But even with some hushed reassurance, she can’t just let them take him away by himself. So she pushes through to follow them, her eyes never leaving his face.)

b. open to all.

( Pikad and Caind find them eventually, bouncing and swooping in respectively. By now Jace has come back to himself enough to argue with the nurses. Clary busies herself with sending messages to their loved ones, though she imagines Alec will have known immediately. It comes with a room number, at least, so he won’t have to wander the whole of the city until he finds his parabatai. It’s a simple task, but it helps. She’s trying not to fall too deeply into her own thoughts, the worry and the panic still swirling around in her mind. He’s here, he’s safe, and they tell her he’ll be all right.

She won’t stop interrogating them, but she can’t help that.)

Stop terrifying them.

( This is delivered to Jace, Clary looking up at his scowling face with a smile, something soft in her gaze. She’s just as bad. Jace turns back to her, and his irritation melts at the sight. He leans back on his pillow, irritated at being stuck, but happier than he would be if he wasn’t here with her. )

If I don’t get out of here soon I’ll go crazy.

( He will. But he squeezes her hand all the same. He’s aware she’s been texting, and he sits up a little to watch her. A wince accompanies the move, reminding him that he’s still healing. )

What’d you tell ‘em?

( He squeezes her hand and she can’t help but bring their laced fingers up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. She’s allowed to do that now. )

Just that you were fine, but they wanted to keep you in for a while. ( Privately, Clary’s glad they are. She’s half afraid that if he leaves the hospital he’ll drop in front of her eyes. She doesn’t know how they managed to bring him back. She doesn’t want to think about it too much. She just wants him to be safe. ) Maybe someone will bring you grapes. You can have the full Mundane experience.

( He’d hate that, but thankfully she’s saved from his sass by the door opening. )

c. open to all.

( In the days after, when Jace has finally been released back onto the streets of Xist again, he’s a changed man. He’s more social than before, more willing to stop what he’s doing and talk to people on the streets. He’s also actually walking the streets, going into stores and looking for odds and ends that he takes home with him, and puts in the apartment that he’d previously left untouched. Clary is often seen with him, and when they’re not together, she’ll often be seen heading to and from his place - rarely ever visiting her own, except for the few times she goes to collect her own odds and ends from it.

Right now, though, it’s rare to see them apart. They seem stuck to each other, and they’re both more than fine with that. On this particular day, Jace has found a broken piano in what he assumes to be an old music hall, or something like it. He has the main body open, and he’s tinkering with the strings inside while Clary watches. )

I think I can fix it. I’d need to replace a couple of strings, but...I can do it.

You think we could get it back?

( Yes, he does mean to the apartment. A piano, to the apartment, between the two of them. Despite the fact that it’s still raining heavily. Do feel free to interrupt this insanity. )

d. wildcard

( Feel free to find either of them at various points around the city. If you need any questions answered you can find us at or

Comments

[creatio]

He's dead.

( For a moment her voice is edged with steel, sharp and unforgiving. It's enough to break through the grief. ) He's gone, Jace. He's not going to hurt anyone ever again. ( He won't be able to take anything from her ever again. A brother she never got to know, a mother that was taken from her too soon, a love that made her feel whole. She doesn't regret it, not for one second, she's just having a hard time processing.

Instead of focusing on it, she leans over the space between them, irritated by the bars of the bed, by the wires and the cables. She only wants to be able to touch him. Carefully, she lifts a hand to brush his hair back from his eyes, her fingertips trailing along the skin at his temples. )

Everything's going to be all right now.

[estrayer]

[ Dead.

For Jace, it's complicated. Valentine had been his father. Not by blood, but he'd raised him. He'd taught him everything he knew. He'd also experimented on him, used him, beaten him to a pulp and put him back together again. Then in the end, he'd killed him. Tried to kill him. He should not feel sorry that he's dead, but there's a part of him that does.

The much larger part of him is relieved. So relieved. His eyes flick shut, and then open to focus on Clary. She'd done this. She'd killed him, she'd done what Jace couldn't do. He wraps his hands around her wrists, and then let's one go to touch her cheek. It moves into her hair. ]

You did it. I'm so proud of you, Clary. And I'm so sorry, that you had to do it without me.

[ Because that's the implication. That's why he doesn't remember. He'd been falling into darkness, and there may be a hospital here, but there hadn't been one where they were. He holds her, meeting her eyes steadily. ]

I was gone. Wasn't I.

[creatio]

You were --.

( The words choke off immediately, Clary turning her face into his hand. She can't say it, she can't bring herself to. Putting a voice to the words means she has to accept the reality of what happened. She can barely close her eyes because every time she does all she can see is how unnaturally still he was, laying there on the shore. The boy with such burning fire inside of him all snuffed out. It shouldn't be possible. Not with him.

Clary fidgets without meaning to, her hands twisting in her lap. There's blood still coating her fingers and it pulls every time she flexes them. She wants to cry, but Jace needs her. She can't let herself break down. )

All that matters is you're okay now.

( He's here.

Taking a breath, Clary does her best to pull herself together. She needs to focus, she needs to tell him the rest. ) He didn't manage to get the wish. Everyone's safe. The Downworld, and Alec and Izzy --. They're safe. Valentine can't hurt them anymore.

[estrayer]

[ Jace nods.

His jaw is tense, his eyes glassy. It's obvious that whatever emotion he's feeling, he's holding it back. He can't let it wash over him, can't let it control him. He's here now, and he's with her, and Valentine is gone and their friends are safe. That's what matters, that's what he'd wanted.

If he has to die to make that happen? Then okay. He'd give his life for that, for them. For her. ]

You're safe. [ He says, and squeezes her hand. ] I'm here. I don't know how I'm here, but I am. There's a lot...a lot that I wanted to tell you, that I didn't get time for. It's nice to have the time.

[creatio]

( Tears cling to her eyelashes, but she still manages to smile at him, something soft and sweet on her face when he mentions time. Clary has never been so glad for world hopping as she is now. )

Yeah.

( She looks at their hands before pulling her gaze back up to his. )

We do. And this time we're on the same page. ( She knows everything she didn't now. How Jace managed to keep everything quiet is a mystery to her. But she isn't angry, couldn't be after all that's happened. At least they have the opportunity to work it out. )