"Julian?" Emma whispered into the dark, her head on his chest as they lay in bed.
"Yes?" He asked intently, but she could hear the exhaustion in his voice. She herself was especially exhausted as well, the past 24 hours wearing her down, but she knew she had to bring it up.
"We need to talk about what happened. With the rune." She sounded the words out slowly, as if testing them. He was silent for a minute and she thought he might have fallen asleep, but the he took a deep breath and responded.
"I know. But you need sleep, so do I. We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" He planted a slow kiss on her forehead and she couldn't help but relax, his arms wrapping tightly around her. She meant to say something back, whether to agree or protest she didn't remember, but the exhaustion washed over her body and she fell into a deep sleep.
And she had no nightmares.
When she woke up, Julian was nowhere to be found. He must have already gotten up despite the fact that it was early, the sun barely peeking in through the blinds. Why was she awake this early? Emma loved sleeping in, and it was unlike her to wake up early of her own accord unless she needed extra training or had a mission to go on. Seeing as she was already awake, she saw no reason to dally in bed. Especially if Julian was no longer there. Deciding to go on a run, she made her way to her room to change, only to stop right outside of Julian's door. With wide eyes she rushed back in and slammed the door shut. She was only wearing one of Julian's shirts which barely covered her underwear. Of all the things she convinced herself was normal for them and would not raise suspicion, this was not one of them. She quickly changed into her clothes and made her way back into the hallway, closing the door to Julian's door behind her. When she turned around, Mark was leaning against the doorway just inside his own room across the hall.
"Hey, Mark! What are you doing up this early?" She could feel the blush rise in her cheeks, Mark knew exactly what she had been doing in Julian's room.
"I could ask you the same. It seems as though you didn't get to bed till very late. I do live right across the hall." The red in her face deepened to a bright scarlet and she tried to will it away. She didn't know what to say, if she should say anything at all. It's not as if they had to keep it from him, but the fact that he knew they were up late was a sign they might not have been as quiet as she thought, "I imagine you two going into your room immediately followed by the shower running is a bit of a tip off."
"I'm sorry. Was that-" She trailed off, not knowing how to ask, or even if she wanted to ask.
"There is no need to despair too much, the shower was all that I heard." His lip turned up at the corner, the fairie blood in him was finding a great deal of amusement at watching her squirm, "I rather just enjoy making fun of you and him." Her heart slowed and she let herself smile as she playfully shoved him back into his room, catching him off-guard and earning a laugh from him.
The sun was beating relentlessly on her skin as she finished her run at the front of the institute. She usually ran at night, but since she was up early she decided to start the day off with it. She ran longer than her usual 5 miles, welcoming the cathartic feeling running gave her, especially with all that was on her mind. Jogging up the stairs, she wrapped her earbuds around her neck and made her way to the kitchen for something to eat. Somewhat to her surprise, no one was there. She had grown accustomed to eating with everyone together at the table like one family. One giant dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. She opened the fridge to find some fruit, a smoothie sounded good especially considering how hot it was outside. When she had enough she moved over to the counter and started mixing it all in the blender, as soon as the lid was on, she heard someone come up behind her. Before she even had time to turn, she felt a pair of hands wrap around her, warm on her bare stomach. She turned around slowly with a smile, snaking her arms up around Julian's neck.
"So much for being subtle, huh?" Emma teased, glancing at the closed door before stroking the side of his face.
"Well normally I would, but this is entirely unfair, you're barely wearing any clothes." She could see the dreamlike gaze in his eyes, but with a kiss on her nose, he pulled away and the desire was fading.
"Well I'm sorry, next time I go for a run I'll be sure to put on a parka." She turned back smiling to push the button on the blender, watching the red and blue colors blur and mix together. She jumped up on the counter and grabbed a glass of water between her hands, welcoming the cool sensation of the ice cold beverage.
"By the Angel, you would die of a heat stroke. I'll control myself, I promise," He was laughing with his eyes bright before they fell to a more serious nature, "I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Was it about the other night?" She fiddled with the glass in her hand, eyes tilted down. They hadn't talked about what the rune did. What it shouldn't have done. She knew it was only a matter of time until one of them brought it up again.
"No. Well, kind of I guess. I was wondering, do you and Clary still keep in touch?"
She was taken aback by his question, it was far from what she expected, "Um, yeah. We talk on the phone at least once a month. Why?"
"Last time we saw her and Jace they said that the New York Institute would always be there to help us, and as much as I hate asking for help, I can't just sit around here and wait for more people to be killed to figure out whatever this message is. We know something bad is about to happen, we need to be one step ahead." Her stomach clenched, she knew he was right. But she hated asking for help more than much anything else, she could ask Julian for help because he was her parabatai, but bugging Clary and Jace seemed to really set her on edge.
"I don't know Julian, they are busy running an institute, they might not have time-" She broke off, trying to think of another excuse of why they shouldn't.
"Well I already sent Magnus a fire message asking him to portal us to New York, so I am going to go. I just figured you would want to as well. I won't make you go, though." He shrugged and reached next to her to pour the blended fruit into a glass and handing to her. The whirring must have stopped at some point during their conversation, but she didn't notice. Looking into his oceanic eyes she knew what her answer had to be, not only because he was right despite her own pride.
"Whither thou goest, I will go."
***
Magnus was dressed uncharacteristically somber at a first glance, black pants and a black jacket accented in gold. It was only until he turned around that Emma saw the bright gold eyeliner and sparkles down his cheekbones, his jacket open to reveal a netted silver shirt underneath.
"Hello Julian," He turned with a smile and looked a bit taken aback when he saw Emma, "And the Carstairs as well. Swallowing your pride, are we?" Emma shot Julian a glare and he simply shrugged as if defending himself.
"What? Not like I have to tell him that."
"It's true, trust me I've dealt with those much worse than you," With a smirk his gaze fixed on something in the distance, something not there.
"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm great," The sarcasm dripped from the words and she crossed her arms across her chest, "Are you going to portal us now, or what?" Her and Julian were standing in the doorway of the Los Angeles Institute with Magnus standing outside, the sun high in the sky.
"Well not with that attitude, you can take a plane if you want." He shrugged and turned, mockingly threatening to leave.
"No, no! Please, Magnus. I'm sorry. She'll keep her mouth shut," Julian glanced sideways at her as she pressed her mouth together and folded her hands behind her back, indicating she would be good.
"Good, is it just you two then?" Stepping inside, he surveyed his surroundings, looking up at the high ceilings and down at the marble tilework. He had been in the Institute before, but they had been so concerned with what was going on that she guessed he didn't really have time to admire the architecture, or whatever it was that was holding his attention now.
"Yes, I already asked Cristina if she would watch over the kids and Mark," Julian continued and Emma couldn't help but giggle to herself at the fact that Mark was grouped in with the kids, despite the fact that he was technically older than all of them. His train of thought must have matched hers, because the corner of his mouth twitched up at the side as well.
"Very well, off we go then!" With that, Magnus began swirling his hands in a flourishing gesture, blue flashes sparking off the tips of his fingers and colliding with what seemed an invisible wall in front of them which then began to take the shape of a square, the sparks sticking and building up the image of the streets of New York. And then it was there in front of them, as if it were an open door to the city, slightly shimmery, rain pelting down on the pavement. Emma hesitated, but Julian strode forward without a second thought and walked through but not before hooking his pinky finger lightly with hers, the tempest of the portal swallowing them.