Their Souls Entwined

A Day of Reflection

Clary was woken by soft kisses down her neck, each one tingling her nerves. "Good morning," she murmured, opening her eyes to the man in front of her. She loved looking at his face in the mornings; the sun had caught his stubble making it glimmer ever so slightly, and she ran her fingers along its rough yet comforting texture, it had grown out and needed trimming. Her eyes met his, and she was reminded of the first time she had seen them; outside Pandemonium on her 18th birthday. Back then, the walls behind his eyes had been impenetrable, but now there were no walls when he looked at her, it was times like this when she realised just how far he had come. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, "Good morning," he said, his voice a little husky. This was the first morning in weeks, that Jace had woken up with Clary still beside him; she and Izzy had been nonstop planning and preparing for the wedding, and for weeks he woke up to a quick kiss from her before she dashed off with Izzy. "You're not meeting Izzy today? Not that I'm complaining," he said, his mouth quirking up at the corner. Clary smiled at him, "I told her I needed the day off before my boyfriend forgets I exist," she replied. He gave her an incredulous look, "Never," he whispered, bringing his hand up to cup her face before he met her lips with his. Jace thought back to the first time he had kissed Clary; it had been in the Ops centre of the institute; earlier that day, they had been split up after retrieving the mortal cup. He had been going out of his mind wondering if she were safe, and when she did show up, he had felt an intense feeling of relief that he had never felt before. Part of him had wanted to kiss her the moment he had seen her, but another part of him had held back. What if she only wants to be friends, he had thought to himself; he wasn't used to feeling this unsure about anything. He had tried suppressing the urge to grab her by talking, but he was aware each second that she was looking at him, and he knew if he looked into her eyes, he could no longer hold back. And then she had kissed him, and he had kissed her back. There had been a moment of utter peace at first, followed by a stream of thoughts, Am I kissing her right? Am I being too forward? Am I not being forward enough to the point where she thinks I don't care? He had kissed girls before, but there had been something about kissing Clary that had made him forget everything else; his pain and his loss, his cockiness and arrogance all drifted away as he kissed her, and he had known at that moment, that she was the only girl he wanted to kiss for the rest of his life. Each kiss afterwards had been no different, and this kiss was no exception; for every kiss with Clary was a miracle that he cherished. Her hands had found their way to the back of his neck, and her legs had wrapped around his waist. Jace let out a soft groan as Clary deepened the kiss; he felt her smile against his lips and he smiled too. He smiled because, despite everything that had happened, they were happy; they were together and they were happy. 

They had spent the rest of the morning in bed, talking, laughing, kissing and more. Then Clary had received a phone call, her bridesmaid's dress was ready and she had been asked to come in for a fitting. She had looked up at Jace with wide green eyes and he had crumbled, she was the only person he couldn't say no to. After grabbing a quick bite in the institute canteen, Jace mumbling the entire time that he was going to kill Izzy when he saw her, they had left. "I will make it up to you, I promise," Clary had said before she had kissed Jace on the cheek and led them into the shop. The inside was filled with flowers and expensive-looking dresses; a young woman with long brown hair detached herself from her desk and made her way towards Clary and Jace, a bright smile on her face. "Welcome to Mayfair Dresses and Gowns, my name is Katherine, how can I help you today?" Clary smiled back, "Hi, I'm Clary, I got a call about a fitting," she said as she glanced around the shop. The other woman gasped excitedly, "Oh, it just came this morning, it looks beautiful, let me show you," she replied, then proceeded to lead Clary and Jace to the back of the shop and behind a door, into a dressing room. There was a sofa in one corner, and a changing room in the other, sectioned off by a curtain. Katherine unhooked a dress bag from a rack by the door and handed it to Clary; she then gestured for her to use the changing room, before leaving the two of them alone. As Clary shut the curtain behind her, Jace headed towards the sofa and lay on his back, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. "Could you zip me up," he heard Clary say after a couple of minutes, he opened his eyes and turned his head; she was wearing a long fitted dark purple silk dress which brought out the fiery redness of her hair and the emerald green of her eyes. Jace jumped to his feet and opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, he just looked at her, mesmerised. Clary looked at him with an amused expression before she turned her back to him, bearing her smooth pale skin. Jace stepped forward and placed one hand on her shoulder and the other hand on the zip, he was very aware that only a door separated them from the rest of the world but he leaned forward anyway, planting a soft kiss between her shoulder blades as he zipped up the dress. Clary sucked in her breath against his touch before turning to face him, a grin on her face. "What do you think," she said, holding out her arms to showcase the dress. Jace gave her a soppy smile, "I think you've never looked more beautiful," he said in a low voice. Clary flushed as Jace leaned forward; she could feel the heat rolling off his body, and her lips were inches from his when she heard the creak of the door. She turned her face away from him just as Katherine walked in, "How's the dress," she said in her cheery voice. "Perfect," Clary replied with a smile, "Just perfect".

They had been walking down the street when Jace turned to Clary, "Hey, are you okay?" he asked her. She hadn't said a word since they had left the shop and he could tell something was bothering her. Clary looked at the floor and took a deep breath before she spoke, "Yeah, it's just... recently with all the wedding stuff, I've been thinking a lot about my mom. I see how excited Maryse is with Izzy and I can't help but think that I'm not going to have that when the time comes. It's silly, I know..." Jace took both her hands, "It's not silly, Clary. She was your mom, it's okay for you to miss her. And, she'll always be with you, even if you can't see her, you'll carry her in your heart." Clary was at a loss for words, she loved him so much at that moment, and she knew nothing she could say would be able to encapsulate just how much she loved him. She took a step towards him and put her hand on his chest, she could feel his heart hammering under the soft cotton of his shirt. "I wish she'd gotten to know the truth about who you were before she died," she said, "About what you mean to me, and how much you mean to me. I think she would have really liked you," Clary said finally with a proud smile on her face. Jace chuckled to himself, "I think she would have really liked me to stay fifty feet away from you at all times," he said. Clary bit her lip, considering his words for a moment, "More like a hundred feet," she replied, grinning at him. Jace encircled her in his arms and spoke in a voice which he only saved for her, one which was soft and void of all sarcasm, "I can't even be five feet away from you, let alone a hundred". Clary reached up and kissed him; it was a gentle kiss, but one that told Jace that she loved him with everything she had. She heard someone say, "Get a room," as if from a far distance and reluctantly pulled back from the kiss, her eyes still closed and her cheeks still flushed. "Mundanes," Jace muttered under his breath with a hint of disdain, before he tucked a strand of red hair behind Clary's ear and led them back towards the institute.