Their Souls Entwined

A Room Full of Candles

"What about this one?" Izzy asked holding up a long dark blue dress that had a slit running up one side. "Don't you think that's a bit much, Iz?" Clary replied, dropping herself onto the bed, she had been trying on dresses for the last hour and had given up. "Absolutely not! Clary you are the guest of honour and blue is the colour we wear when the lost return, at least try it on. Also, you left this in my room" She held up a box which contained a delicate black lace bra and panties that Clary had bought whilst shopping with Izzy, before she had lost her memories, and left here. "I forgot about this," Clary said, heat rising in her cheeks. She took the box and the dress and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Izzy was wearing a fitted light blue dress that ended just below her knees, "Ugh Iz, I've said this before and I'm going to say it again, every colour is your colour." Izzy smiled before turning around to look at Clary, "You look amazing!" The dress Clary was wearing was fitted at her waist and flowed down loosely to her feet. "Thanks, Izzy." 

They had received a message from Luke asking if they could hold the party in the institute event hall and Izzy had left early to make sure everything was in order. Clary looked at her phone and saw she had received several messages from Jace, so she got up and went down the hall into his bedroom. The room was exactly the same as the last time she had been in it. Before she had left, she had moved some of her stuff from her room into his; some clothes and her easel which stood in the corner. Untouched. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. He kept all this stuff, she thought to herself as she ran her hand along the canvas. She heard footsteps and turned just as Jace walked in. His eyes fell upon her and widened in amazement. "Clary, you look incredible," he said, the expression on his face, which had been one of sheer fascination, shifted to concern when he saw the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" He spoke, a hint of uneasiness in his voice, as he moved quickly toward her. "Nothing, I'm just being silly." "Are you sure it's nothing?" He was still looking at her worriedly as he had brought his hand up to caress her face. "Yeah, I'm okay, I promise," she replied before pressing her lips to his. He moaned against her touch. "How much time do you think we have?" He was looking at her with his cheeky grin. "Don't get any ideas, Izzy spent ages trying to help me find something to wear and I can't show up to my party in a creased dress with smudged lipstick." She had just noticed that he was wearing a crisp white dress shirt under a tailored deep blue blazer, Jace hated wearing shirts, but she knew he had done it for her and she couldn't help the smile that was spreading across her face. "You look handsome," she beamed; his expression slipped from one of utter confidence, to bashful and then quickly back to confidence again, it was fast but Clary had seen it. He never had trouble with getting compliments from girls, for years he had relished it, but after he had met Clary, the only opinion that mattered to him was hers. He took her hand and brought it to his lips before turning and leading them out of the room.

The party was filled with Clary's favourite people but she couldn't help but think back to the last time she had been with them all, the night of Alec and Magnus's wedding. Leaving Jace that night had been the hardest thing she had ever done and with every step she had taken away from him, she had felt her heart crack a little more, so throughout the evening she constantly found herself reaching for him. There were toasts, tears and more tears as everyone celebrated her return. Magnus had filled the room with stunning lilies and fairy lights which rained down from the ceiling, and Maia had provided a feast with the speciality being the Fairchild Burrata Salad. Clary couldn't thank everyone enough for all the effort they had put into this beautiful evening. How did I get so lucky? She found herself asking as she looked around the room. Izzy was smiling from ear to ear as she leaned against Simon looking up at him, Alec had one arm wrapped around Magnus and was drinking with Jace who kept glancing at her now and then, Luke had gotten a bit tipsy and Maryse was patting his back laughing her head off while he attempted to sober himself up with cake. This was her family, and she loved them with all her heart.

When the night ended, Clary had noticed that Jace had slipped out whilst she was saying her goodbyes, and she made her way back to their room alone. She opened the door to find the room had been filled with candles, and her heart leapt from her chest as she thought back to the last time the room had been like this, their first time together. Jace had come up behind her and put his arms around her, "This wasn't what I had originally planned for tonight, but..." "It's perfect," Clary cut in, before turning around to face him. She loved him more than she thought it was humanly possible to love someone and cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, gently at first but with growing passion as she led them toward the bed. She had practically ripped off his shirt and placed her hands on his bare chest, feeling his heart beating more rapidly with every passing moment. He was unzipping her dress now, unveiling her underwear which he looked upon in wonder. He would never get tired of looking at her, she could be wearing a trash bag and he would still be looking at her the same way. He was kissing her again, his lips moved from hers, slowly down her body which curved against his touch. Jace was sitting on the bed now, Clary's arms and legs wrapped around him and now there was nothing in-between them. She playfully pushed him down onto his back and began to kiss his chest, tracing the smooth muscles of his body with her fingers. She felt him shudder and watched as his eyes rolled back when they closed the gaps between them. She had craved to be with him again from the moment they had been apart, and she dug her fingers into his shoulders when her head fell back and he fell to pieces around her. He brought them down swiftly and wrapped them in a blanket, still panting hard. He loved how perfectly their bodies seemed to fit together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle when she curled up in his arms. Clary felt the pull of sleep and breathed, "I love you," before closing her eyes. He kissed her forehead and tightened his arms around her, "I love you too," he replied in a low voice. They slept peacefully that night, both unaware of the events that would befall upon them the next day, events that threatened to tear them apart once more.