After COHF

Chapter 25

~~~ note: thanks for 23K! never thought i'd get this far, I was wondering... is there anything you really want to see in this fanfic? ~~~

The book loomed over the house for what seemed like decades, but was only a sum of days. Of course, the probability of Jace seeing that way was low, and Alec tried not to push too much.

Magnus had spent the past nights glaring at the ceiling and trying not to blink, Simon stayed closer than ever to Iz, and Iz was more upset than ever at all of them.

Then there was the baby that squealed every time she saw anyone she liked, which at the time was everyone, almost as if she had totally no idea what was happening. Magnus hated that, children made him too nervous.

Alec tried to think of how likely it was that Magnus had spent much time with young children and couldnt fathom much of a reason for one being in his company much, besides Clary he didnt know of any children that Magnus would have ever had purpose meeting.

Making himself shudder, Alec pushed his body deeper into the couch and pretended the shiver was only because e was chilly. If anyone had been paying attention and actually thought about the fact that it was mid summer and almost to 90*(f) they wouldv'e questioned it, but the house was miserable in it's own madness.

"Why do we even stay?" Iz finally asked, "I like it here as much as the next guy but, uh. it's getting more depressing everyday,"

"If he'd grow a pair and open that stupid boo-" Magnus began but was interrupted by Alec's hand, which covered the warlock's mouth.

"I dont care what you all do," He began, "but that son of a bitch is my parabatai and I have to watch out for him," He ignored the slimy wet feeling on his hand, where he continued to cover the warlocks mouth.

"Well I'm not leaving you here in the asylum," The muffled warlock recieved nods from Iz, and he knew anything Iz went along with her little subjugate would agree.

It was then that flaming red hair came into the sofa room, setting a teething child on the only other woman in the houses lap, shot a look at Magnus and Alec who were confusingly staring at each other (and for whatever reason Alec was covering Magnus' mouth), before she ventured out of the room and toward the stairs.

She mindlessly walked toward the room Jace had frequented most often in the entire manor.

The door was propped open and music spilled through the doors from the grand piano set in the middle of the walls of books. She passed the cluttered desk with the book and seated herself on the piano bench next to the source of the sound.

Jace played expertly, she layed her head on his shoulder, hoping he had come to a slow spot in the song and wouldn't move his shoulder.

He slowly finished, then moved his hands to hers. Taking her hands in his he layed her hands on the keys and began to manuver them. Striking the keys, through all the slurs, through the jumps, accents, filling the room with stagato and legato. 

She had always marveled at the fact that he could activly be a shadowhunter, working in Idris three times a week and training every day, while still playing and paying attention to the arts.

Since she had started this new course of life she had hardly drawn anything, she hardly read anymore (although she had never loved it like Jace, she liked to quietly enjoy a book), she hardly spent time outside of being a shadowhunter and mother.

 She let herself fall against him, but didnt take her eyes off her fingers. He lead her fingers across the keys in a slew of beautiful notes. Each note rang with love. She didnt want to let this moment end. Didnt want to let her fingers fall from the keyboard. After a few minutes she realized he was playing the same notes, all in a patten. She began to pick up on the pattern and could predict where the song was headed. Before long she was playing on her own.

Jace moved down the piano, pulled out another song, and played a chord lower. The room filled with music, and Clary felt a rush.

She was playing on her own.

Before long she knew why Jace liked to play like he did; the music had lulled her. The slurs and the staccato each pushed past the topics she needed to discuss. she let herself pretend she didnt remember why she came, ignored the fact that she really needed to talk to Jace.