It was early. Jace was watching the sunrise, waiting for Clary to come and get him.
He checked his bag one more time. He had enough clothes to last him the week, plus various weapons and the things Clary asked for.
The golden ring was on a chain tucked under his shirt. He heard high heels clicking on the pavement. He looked up and saw Clary standing at the bottom of the steps, the sun making her red hair glow.
"You ready to go?" Clary asked. Jace nodded and stood up.
"Are you sure?" Clary asked, putting her hands on his chest, smoothing his jacket out.
"Yes. Why wouldn't I be sure?" Jace asked.
"You seemed very angry with me earlier." Clary said. Jace kissed her fingers.
"If I hadn't been here, what would you have done?" Jace asked. Clary looked up at him.
"Waited. I want you with me Jace." Clary said. Jace took a breath, swallowing the doubt swirling in his mind.
"Well here I am. Where are we going?" Jace asked. Clary smiled.
"You'll see when we get there!" Clary said.
"No. I need you to tell me, or I'm going to walk back into the Institute." Jace said. Clary took a step back in shock.
"I can't tell you yet. You have to trust me. You trust me don't you?" Clary asked.
"Of course I trust you. But I like knowing things." Jace said. Clary smiled and grabbed his hands.
"Just trust me on this one. Everything will be explained when we get there." Clary whispered.
"Okay." Jace said softly. Clary smiled and kissed him. Jace cupped her face in his hands and darkness fell over them.
+++
Jace sat up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed. The room he was in was white and there were no windows, only 4 doors. He got out of the bed and walked towards what he thought was the closet. He opened the double doors and frowned.
The closet was full of clothes. Clothes that were his size and in the colours that he would've worn.
He shut the door and walked towards one of the other doors. He opened it and saw an en suite with a claw foot bathtub and an enormous shower. He walked in and shut the door behind him. He got in the shower and quickly washed his hair before getting out and getting dressed.
He left the bathroom and grabbed his leather jacket before opening the last door. The door lead to an enormous room, made almost entirely of glass. There was a large modernized kitchen, a table, with 4 chairs, and he saw the glimpse of a living room, with a couch and a plasma tv.
He noticed the staircase and walked up the steps to the second floor. He opened a door and smiled. The room was white, but it was very clearly Clary's room. He walked in and looked around. The room was very clean and there was a photo tacked to the wall above her bed. He looked closer at the photo and smiled. The two of them were in the photo, Clary was laughing with her head thrown back and her eyes closed and Jace had his arms wrapped around her waist, smiling at her. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest before leaving her room, shutting the door behind him. He opened the next door and stopped.
This room was very clearly Sebastian's. It was painted black and all the furniture was made out of black wood. The duvet on the bed and the pillows were black. He heard a sigh and spun around.
Sebastian stood in the doorway.
"What are you doing in my room?"
+++
Clary sat laughing at the counter when Jace and Sebastian came downstairs.
"Was he invading your teeny tiny personal space bubble?" Clary asked, giggling.
"He was in my room." Sebastian said.
"Okay? So? He was looking around! He's in a new place. He's going to be curious!" Clary said, as if she was defending a new puppy.
Jace watched as the two bickered like they'd grown up together. He watched as Sebastian pushed past Clary, pulling one of her curls before walking into the kitchen.
"Where were you guys?" Jace asked. Clary walked towards him.
"Grocery shopping." She said. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him.
"Just in time for lunch." Sebastian said, pulling a bottle of wine out of the fridge. Clary smiled and sat at the table. Sebastian sat at the head of the table, after putting out a plate of cheese, some grapes, and some bread. He grabbed three wine glasses and poured some of the red liquid into all three.
Jace sat across from Clary and was reminded of the night at Renwick's. Valentine at the head of the table, separating them.
"Did you bring the stuff?" Clary asked, turning to Jace.
"The stuff? What kind of drugs are you getting Clary?" Sebastian asked.
"Haha. Worry about yourself Fetus Face." Clary said.
"Your stuff is in my bag which is in my room." Jace said. Clary instantly jumped up and ran towards his room.
"What did you get her? Some cocaine?" Sebastian asked.
"No. It wasn't drugs." Jace said. Clary walked back out in her jeans and her sneakers.
"Sneakers! Oh how I've missed you!" Clary said dramatically.
"Clary, I could've bought you sneakers." Sebastian said.
"Yes but these are my favourites." Clary said. Jace smiled.
"So what do you guys do?" Jace asked.
"Whatever we want. That's the best part of living in a travelling apartment!" Clary said. Sebastian kicked her under the table.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Clary asked.
"You aren't supposed to tell people that." Sebastian scolded.
"He's living here! It's probably important that he knows!" Clary hissed. They glared at each other for a few moments before Clary turned back to Jace.
"We're in Amsterdam right now." She said. Jace nodded and took a sip of his wine, even though the taste burned his throat.
"How much longer will we be here?" Jace asked.
"Depends." Sebastian said.
"On?" Jace asked.
"Various different things." Sebastian said. "Speaking of, we should lay down some ground rules."
"Okay like what?" Clary asked.
"Well for starters, Jace doesn't leave the apartment." Sebastian said.
"What?! He's not our prisoner. We can't keep him here." Clary said. "How about this, how about he can go outside if I'm with him."
Sebastian looked at Jace.
"Fine. Only if you're with him. Or if I'm with him." Sebastian concluded. Clary smiled and picked up her wine glass.
"So what's going on today?" Jace asked. Clary looked at him over the rim of her wine glass.
"Nothing in particular." Sebastian said. Clary smiled and set her wine glass down.
"We should go outside after dinner tonight!" Clary said excitedly. Jace smiled.
"Okay." He said.
"Like a date!"
Jace's heart sank. He was getting to go around Europe with Clary, but would she remember when they brought her back to New York?
+++
"Let's go!" Clary said. Jace smiled as Clary grabbed his hand a pulled him through the front door. Jace followed her and Clary started walking down the sidewalk.
"Where are we going?" Jace asked.
"On a canal cruise." Clary said. Jace nodded and Clary walked towards a dock.
The pair got in one of the boats and the driver nodded before pushing away from the dock. Clary rested her head on Jace's shoulder and he hesitated momentarily, before wrapping an arm around her.
"Why do you let him do that?" Jace asked.
"What?" Clary asked.
"Sebastian. You let him walk all over you." Jace said.
"I don't." Clary said.
"You do."
"It's not my place to say something." Clary said.
"Did he tell you that?" Jace asked.
"Partially. He said that I'm his younger sister and I should listen to him." Clary said. Jace didn't say anything at first.
"You can say something. About the way he treats you." Jace said softly. Clary sighed as they floated down the canal.
"It's fine." Clary said. Jace kissed the top of her head.
"Okay. If you're sure." Jace said. Clary pointed up at the sky.
"Look at the stars." She said. Jace looked up and smiled. The stars were starting to light up the sky and Clary sighed happily.
"I'm happy you came with me." She whispered.
"I am too." Jace said.
"Really?" Clary asked.
"Yeah. I love you. You make me happy." Jace said.
"Okay good! I was worried that you were unhappy. You didn't seem very chatty today." Clary said.
"Just tired. Time difference." Jace lied. Clary nodded.
"Six hours." She said.
"What?" Jace asked.
"Between here and New York. It's a six hour time difference." Clary said.
"That makes sense." Jace said.
"If you're tired, we can head home." Clary said.
Home. There was no way in hell that apartment was Clary's home. Her home was the Institute. Not some travelling apartment.
"No. That's okay. I'm having fun." Jace said quickly.
"Okay! Okay!" Clary said, giggling.
"Where do we go next?" Jace asked.
"Milan. Or Madrid. I can't remember. It started with an 'M' though." Clary said. Jace nodded.
"When do we go there?" Jace asked.
"I don't know. You seem very eager to leave Amsterdam." Clary said.
"I'm just being curious. I like knowing things." Jace said, leaning in to kiss her.
"Okay." Was all that Clary could say before he pressed his lips to hers. He felt her smile and kissed her harder, trying to do anything to convince himself that this was his Clary.