A New Tale from the Shadowhunter Academy

16. Epilog(ing)

Max and Alex sat next to each other in the great hall, where the Ascension ceremony took place. After the exciting beginning the rest of the year went by rather uneventfully. Thanks to Rafe pulling some strings no member of the Cohort's fraction at the Academy had dared to approach him or hurt Max again. Now it was time for Cara to drink from the Mortal Cup to ascend. Well, technically she had already ascended of course, but as no one must know she would simply take a second sip. It wouldn't hurt.

As Cara was out of danger to die today for Alex there was actually no reason to be nervous. But he was and not because of the ongoing Ascensions. He had made a life changing decision and today was the day to put his decision into action. The solemn ceremony created the right atmosphere to place his question. Gathering all determination he could find, he addressed the warlock next to him, who excitedly applauded to every freshly baked Shadowhunter: "Max?"

With gleaming eyes Max looked at him: "What is it? Don't you enjoy the ceremony? It's so great to witness how the Anscendees take this most meaningful step of their entire life, don't you think?"

"Yes, I do," Alex quickly replied. "But I wanted to ask you something."

"Just go ahead. You don't have to ask to ask."

Alex gathered his courage one last time and then spilled out: "Dyouwannabecomyparabatai?"

Max, who had raised his hands to applaud to the next ex-Ascendee, stopped in mid-motion. Incredulousness spoke from his eyes.

"It's ok, if you say 'no'," Alex threw in hastily. "I mean, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and we don't know each other that long, so..."

Max interrupted his stammering by grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Stop it," he said. "I would love to become your parabatai, but... I mean, I can deny it as much as I want, but fact is, I can't bear runes, so our bond would be completely symbolic. We would never be able to draw each other's strength in battle or sense our life forces. Are you sure that you want to do without it?"

"I do," Alex assured Max. "I never had a friend like you, who so readily accepted and even embraced my interest for mundane technology, who would so readily overlook my poor physical abilities. You even managed to keep my..." he interrupted himself and lowered his voice. "My color-blindness a secret though normally you tend to spill out everything that comes to your mind, however secretive it may be. Thank you for that by the way."

Max had cocked his head thoughtfully: "It may be advantageous to always have someone at my side to close my mouth shut, whenever I ramble."

"Exactly," Alex nodded enthusiastically. "Besides, your fathers' bond is also symbolic, as your Ba can't bear runes either. And no one considers their marriage inadequate."

"Except the Cohort perhaps, but who cares about them?" Max laughed. Then he became serious again. "As I said, I do want to become your parabatai. Perhaps we can just wait until we graduated before we finally decide. I don't want you to regret this decision for the rest of your life."

"Agreed. We will wait. But be assured that I'll not change my mind."

----

Rafe sat in the library, waiting. An open book lay in front of him but he couldn't concentrate on the contents. This was his and Cara's last night at the Academy. During the last year the two of them had met here every evening. First they busied themselves with learning, but soon they had covered every important aspect of Shadowhunter-culture so they occupied themselves in other ways, mostly reading, but sometimes they migrated in the training room for some extra exercise. Not that Cara would have needed it. Rafe had not once been able to beat her in their practicing fights. He had never been much of a fighter anyway, but since Cara's Ascension, her real Ascension that is, when she had gained the speed and strength of a Shadowhunter, she had been the most skilled warrior in their form, though she had to hold back during classes to not raise the suspicion of the teachers. Especially Miss Wrayburn had been annoyingly inquisitive when Cara had cut her opponents sword into pieces and broke both of his wrists during her first lesson after their nightly demon hunt. But as they had Dean Penhallow on their side, the truth had been concealed.

Now it didn't matter anymore. Cara had officially ascended and tomorrow the two of them would head to the New York Institute and start their duty. Rafe couldn't help but dread the goodbye. He had enjoyed the evenings with Cara more than anything else at the Academy and feared that their routine would be kicked into the long grass by patrols, missions etc.

When he heard familiar footsteps behind him he closed his book and stood up.

"Hey there," he said and for the first time in his life felt nervous. "Um... I took the liberty to prepare a little dinner for us to celebrate you official Ascension and... as this is our last evening together..." His voice trailed off. Cara had raised an eyebrow and examined the table, which was laid for two people and lit by some candles. Rafe had even mustered a kind of tablecloth. Well, it actually was a bedsheet but he had washed it thoroughly beforehand.

"Salmon and potatoes?" she wondered.

Rafe knew her well enough by now to understand that she didn't criticize his food-choices but rather inquired where he got these delicacies from.

"Max conjured them up for me. After telling him that I wanted to surprise you he was so excited that he readily accepted that his doll's pram appeared alongside."

They enjoyed their meal in silence. They never had felt the urge for conversing, but Rafe could see that Cara relished the taste of real, edible food. After finishing Cara said: "Just because we're leaving the Academy doesn't mean our meetings will end. We'll live at the same Institute after all."

Rafe shrugged: "Even so, it'll not be the same anymore. So I wanted to make this last evening count."

Cara looked at him solemnly: "Every evening with you counts."

Then she stood up, went around the table, grabbed the front of his T-shirt with both hands and nearly lifted him off his feet before placing a hasted but determined kiss on his lips. After they had parted neither of them moved or spoke for at least a minute. To his surprise Rafe felt nothing but... well, surprise. Of course kissing Cara was what he had dreamed of a long time, though he had never allowed himself to belief this dream to come true. But her sudden offensive had caught him so absolutely off guard that he didn't exactly have time to relish what had been happening.

Cara's face displayed nothing of her thoughts. She was the only one, who has never been an open book to him. After what felt like an eternity, she released his shirt and said: "Just a try."

She turned to leave, but Rafe grabbed her wrist to hold her back. Cara spun around and Rafe half expected her to knock him down, like she had done with Edda. Never had he dared to touch her before as he knew this would ruin their relationship. But desperate situations require desperate measures. He hastily let go of her. However, Cara just stood still and watched him.

"Cara, I'm sorry I didn't react. I was just stunned. But I assure you, my feelings for you have not faded, on the contrary. And if you're ready to give us a try, I would be more than happy to do so."

Another minute of silence followed during which Rafe felt his heart beating against his ribs. By the Angel, he hoped desperately that he had not messed up his one chance with Cara. Finally, she moved. She took Rafe's hand and intertwined their fingers. Now, this is how it should feel, he thought when a shock waves roamed through his body starting where their skins connected. This simple gesture felt so personal, so overwhelmingly intimate that Rafe was sure no kiss, however passionate, could even come near.

"I'm ready," Cara stated. "I don't want to encapsulate myself forever. This whole year you've kept your promise to not put pressure me, so I decided to put my trust in you. Besides, Max has told everyone that I'm your girlfriend anyway. Now we don't have to correct that. We have to work on that kissing skills of yours, though."

Rafe chuckled lightly. That was typically Cara. Even when it came to something like kissing she thought of improving.

"Excuse me, this was my first try," he replied. "Of course, I'm willing to submit to a strict practicing schedule. As long as it's with you."