FROM THE SHADOWS

[09] MOTHER-IN-LAW

It was early in the morning when the three of them headed back to the Institute. They stopped on the way to get a breakfast sandwich and some coffee, which they ate on the go. Once they'd all finished their breakfast, Alec decided to break the comfortable silence.

"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer." He was looking at Mabel, who nodded as she sipped her coffee.

"Sure."

"Who was that memory about? The one the demon showed you?"

Mabel's eyes softened and her expression became bittersweet. The look in her eyes was gentler than either of them had seen it yet, even more so than when she'd comforted Clary before.

"That was my mother. It's one of the last memories I have of her." A sad smiled tugged at her lips. "My dad dropped me off with her and I ran into her arms. We went to get ice cream after that. She always got strawberry and vanilla even though I kept telling her that was boring." She gave a teary chuckle and shook her head. Jace grabbed onto her hand, interlocking their fingers and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"I don't think I could've parted with a memory like that either," Alec told her, earning a small smile from her. He put a hand on her lower back and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb.

Jace nodded in agreement, "The last happy memory of someone you love, I'd cherish it too."

"Glad you think so, because it almost got you killed." Mabel shot his a tight-lipped smile and Jace gave her a look, ready to remind her – again – that it wasn't her fault. Mabel already raised her free hand in defence. "Kidding." Jace rolled his eyes and grabbed her in a headlock to ruffle her hair. "Hey!"

Mabel shoved his shoulder and Jace just laughed. Alec watched the two with a fond smile and an eyeroll.

. . . . .

Mabel stepped out of the shower, towel drying her hair. She picked a pair of fresh jeans from the bag she'd brought with her from Mickey's, glad to finally be able to change into something else. She'd spend so many nights at Mickey's that she had a bunch of extra clothes laying around there. As much as she appreciating Izzy lending her whatever she wanted, Mabel preferred having her own stuff.

She shimmied into a pair of dark pants when she heard a knock at the door. Still in her bra, she opened the door a crack to see who was behind it. A smile instantly pulled at her lips. It was Alec, holding to mugs with what smelled like coffee. She opened the door fully to let him in.

"Oh, hey, Alec." She turned around and began rummaging through her closet. While she couldn't really borrow pants from Izzy, since Izzy was much taller, tops were another story. Izzy had dumped a whole pile of tops in Mabel's room which she insisted would suit her perfectly. Mabel took her word for it and had thanked her.

Alec cleared his throat after his eyes had roamed over Mabel's figure and he'd regained his composure. "I brought you some coffee."

Mabel smiled over her shoulder. "Thank you. Can you put it on the dresser?" Alec did as told and when he looked up, Mabel turned to him with two tops in hand. "Which one?"

Alec, being used to Izzy asking such questions, took one look at the two options and answered, "The red one." Honestly, she would've looked great in the green one too, but he liked the red and he knew that saying he liked both wasn't an answer to that question.

Mabel beamed and put the green option back in the closed, shrugging on the short-sleeved red top. It was a wrapped top at the front, creating a V-shaped neckline. The colour was a deep, darker red which suited her. She held her arms out, silently asking for Alec's opinion.