DELICATE , matthew fairchild

I. ODD HAPPENINGS

Matthew was the first to sprint into the shared bathroom, slamming the door behind him. "Wow. So much for lady's first! Oh dear angel Gabriel, why are there no longer any chivalrous men in this cruel world of ours?" The Velez girl draped her body over the couch, hand to her head for the added dramatic flair. She was nothing if not dramatic, but if she was the queen of drama then Matthew was the king.

"Oh quit your pleas, you shall not gilt me. You wear few ichor. You can wait till we get back to the institute to shower. Impatient, manipulative bastard." Matthews voice was slightly blocked by the door but still comprehendible. Ascella fought to hide her grin as her brother pushed her off the couch.

"Oh little boy, I wouldn't have done that if I was you. We haven't finished talking. You just wait until we get back to the institute where there will be no Christopher to save you." Despite still being mad at him for putting himself into danger by following her, it was hard for her to keep a grudge at her brother.

The Velez girl picked herself up from her position on the floor and walked over to the small collection of books consisting of all their favourites and a few occult books written by mundane magicians: the library at the Institute didn't allow such things, but James and herself collected them. The two grew quite competitive with their collections, keeping tally of who collected the most books. James was currently at 9 while she was at 11. She grabbed her copy of Romeo and Juliet (because who doesn't love a good tragic love story?) and sat back down alongside Christopher whom had taken a seat on the couch. The three boys fell into conversation as she began to read.

It wasn't long before Matthew returned from his shower in fresh clothes and wet hair, replacing Christopher's seat by the girl and leaning over her shoulder to read with her. Shakespeare was no comparison to Oscar Wilde and he often teased the girl for her cliché taste in literature, however she was slowly opening his eyes to the world of Shakespeare. He would never admit it aloud, he rather enjoyed Romeo and Juliet.

Not long after, James shouldered the door open, raising an eyebrow at the closeness of his parabatai and adoptive sister but not saying a word. He had his suspicions about the two and believed they would be quite perfect together if only they quit their consent quarrelling and opened their eyes. He joined Thomas and Christopher, who had both finished their separate showers and were sprawled around the circular table.

"James!" Matthew cheered upon seeing his friend with a bottle in hand, "Could it be? Is that a bottle of cheap spirits I see before me?"

"James," Christopher said, looking pleased. "I thought you'd gone home."

"Why on earth would I go home?" James took a seat beside Thomas, setting the wine down on the table and tossing Polly's dish towels onto the table.

Matthew and Ascella got up to join their friends at the table. The sound of running water could still be heard from the bathroom where Nash was currently washing off. "And if James went home, why wouldn't Ash and I?" The Herondales and the Velez's were practically family. Both their parents grew up together, resulting their children spending much of their childhood together. 

When Ascella was 9 and Nash was 6, they moved in with the Herondales at London institute. Their father usually visited once or twice a year, but his visits were short and sparse. While Ascella secretly longed for his visits, she knew Mr and Mrs Herondale were more her parents than he they ever was. From the moment the children appeared on the doorstep of the London institute with nothing but a crumbled letter, the Herondales treated them as family.