my teeth and ambitions are bared

I’m mostly show-based, but I’ve read the books so there’ll be some influences from that. I’m entirely open to write with mostly book-based blogs!

You can find my rules and about here, there should also be a working link to a google doc in the header/sidebar

Memes are over here, feel free to send one in whenever you want, either to break the ice or if we’ve already got a thousand threads going!

I’m also on discord, you can ask for my username if you want to talk or write with me on that app

character-wise: Raphael is demi-romantic and asexual, please keep that in mind

A Little Extra Warmth

(Advent prompt: Cuddle) (Read on AO3)

The sun is just coming up outside, not that Jace can see it (the blackout curtains in Raphael’s room block out any sunlight for obvious reasons), but he imagines it’s still lightly snowing outside as it was when he arrived about an hour ago. Jace switched most of his patrols to overnight assignments so that he can be on the same general sleep cycle as his boyfriends, going back to the Institute to submit his report and clean up before heading straight to the Dumort for the day.

Jace managed to warm himself up pretty well with a hot shower and getting ready by the fireplace at the Institute, but he realizes how pointless that was now that he’s within the walls of the old hotel. Jace feels like he might as well be sleeping on the street for how cold the inside of the Dumort is - it isn’t the first cold day he’s spent here, but it’s definitely the worst so far, and it’s only mid-December. He’s ready to suck it up for another day but the moment Simon’s icy hands wrap around him Jace shudders and pulls away.

“What’s wrong?” Simon asks. Jace hesitates, but when Simon reaches out again he knows he has to be honest because at least ‘your hands are ice’ is better than a vague ‘I won’t want you to touch me right now’.

“You’re freezing, Si. And there’s like, negative heat here,” he adds for good measure. “Sorry. Normally I can ignore it, but… maybe no cuddling today?” Watching the way Simon’s expression drops Jace adds, “Or I could just go back to the Institute for the day.” Except that idea only seems to make things worse.

Raphael, who’s finishing up writing something down in a notebook at his desk in the corner, turns with a frown on his face. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Jace shrugs. “Like I said, normally I can ignore it. I like being here, and spending time with you and Simon, even if it’s just sleeping.”

“And I’d like you to be comfortable while you’re here,” Raphael adds, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t consider the temperature before now…”

“Pretty sure most of the humans you’ve kept here for any extended amount of time before haven’t exactly been… guests,” Jace points out, trying to joke and make light of the situation, only to get another regretful wince from Raphael. Zero for two, Jace thinks to himself.

“I’ll be right back!” Simon says suddenly, leaving the room before Jace or Raphael can question or stop him.

Jace sighs, trying to ignore the knot steadily forming in his stomach, cursing his impulsive complaint. He never should’ve said anything. “It’s fine,” he insists to Raphael. “Really. I can handle being a little cold. Or maybe I’ll go back to sleeping at the Institute for the winter, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Raphael says. “We want you here, and you want to be here. We’ll figure something out to make it work.”

There’s a ‘no fire’ rule at the Dumort for obvious reasons - it isn’t that a contained fire in a fireplace would pose a serious threat, but it’d be too easy for one to start an accidental fire that could have dire consequences, especially if it’s during the day and no one could flee outside. Without breaking that rule (which he would never do, even if Raphael offered), Jace really can’t imagine there’s much that can be done.

Jace is starting to worry that he really upset Simon the longer he’s gone until Simon comes back with a small pile of blankets in his arms. “I warmed them up in the dryer,” he says, sounding pleased with himself as he sets one on Raphael’s side of the bed, gives one to Jace and takes the other for himself. Simon then proceeds to wrap himself up like a cocoon before shifting into bed next to Jace again.

This time Jace feels the warmth radiate off the blanket as Simon presses against his back. “Better?”

Jace closes his eyes and smiles. “Much,” he confirms, draping his own blanket over him.

“My mom used to warm my blankets up in the winter before I’d go to bed,” Simon explains. “Definitely not a perfect solution, but better than nothing, I hope.”

“It’s a wonderful idea,” Raphael agrees, coming over to join them. He wraps the blanket around himself as well before sliding up into his usual place against Jace’s stomach.

“Good,” Simon says, the words breathed against the back of Jace’s neck. “Because I don’t think I could fall asleep without both of you at this point. I really didn’t want to lose our daily cuddles.”

“Me either,” Jace admits.

Raphael mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like he’s agreeing with them, but pretends he’s already asleep when Jace whispers, “what was that?” and gets no response.

1. Movies

Comedy or Action?

Romance or Horror?

Adventure or Drama?

Historical or Musicals?

Sci-fi or Westerns?

2. Food

Tea or Coffee?

Cake or Pie?

Fruit or Vegetables?

Sweet or Spicy?

Cereal or Oatmeal?

Bagels or Cookies?

Sandwich or Pizza?

3. Nature

Early Bird or Night Owl?

Summer or Winter?

City or Countryside?

Cats or Dogs?

Hiking or Swimming?

Forest or Meadow?

4.  Misc.

Hugs or Kisses?

Books or Movies?

Shorts or Long Pants?

Monopoly or Sorry?

Comic Books or Novels?

Showers or Baths?

Chess or Checkers?

Hip-Hop or Classical Music?

Simon yelped in surprise as Raphael suddenly appeared. Normally he’d have picked up on the other’s presence sooner, but he’d been on edge for other things and hadn’t noticed the other’s arrival in the slightest. Seeing it was only the older vampire, Simon let out a smal relieved breath.

“Raphael! You scared the shit outta me…” After a moment the vampire’s disapproving words registered and Simon winced slightly.

“Look, it’s not my fault this time—” Okay, so maybe it was, but how was he supposed to know that girl was going to die, come back to life and then dedicate herself to stalking him anyway?! At least he hadn’t been the one that killed her, small relief though it was.

After a quick, nervous look around, Simon settled to explain what was going on.

“Okay, so there’s this completely crazy chick after me. At first I thought I’d killed her by accident, but I didn’t, I swear! Except now she won’t leave me alone—”

He wasn’t about to ask Raphael for help with this though, despite how well she was driving him up the wall. This was his problem and he wanted to prove, not only to himself but to Raphael and the Clan as well, that he wasn’t useless and that he could take care of himself and his own damn problems. That didn’t mean he’d turn the other down if he had any advice to give, though…

He cocked a sarcastic eyebrow as Simon babbled and started making excuses, but quickly turned more grave. He hadn’t thought Simon’s trouble was quite this serious. “She’s still Mundane? Does she know you’re a vampire?” That was first order of business, they could deal with anything else later on.

Raphael knew he should probably let Simon deal with this on his own. He wasn’t part of the Clan anymore, after all. He’d betrayed them and should suffer the consequences. But the Shadowhunters knew that Raphael had claimed responsibility for him ( expecially since he was the one to kidnap Simon for Camille ). If the Fledgling broke the Accords by accident then it’d be bad for both of them. And he hadn’t been leader for very long yet, the ground under his rule was still too unsteady to weather something like a Shadowhunter incursion. 

                It was interesting, just how easily they discussed murder like it was normal. This is why Magnus loved Raphael, even if he was one of few Slytherins he could stomach. Sighing, Magnus gestured with the sleeve that had been dirtied, smattering some housemates with the wet goop without noticing. “You don’t even want to know. Finnigan’s stupidity knows no bounds.” Magnus wasn’t rowdy, he was just tired. He wanted to rest, not worry about being set on fire. Exhausting! “Thanks, Rafa, what a compliment. Though, you might be right. The people I see him hang out with are a lot more disastrous than me.”    

“You’re welcome,” he ignored the sarcasm in Magnus’ voice, would much rather rile him up just a bit more. His eyes tracked the spatters, but didn’t mention any of it. His housemates could deal with it on their own and if Magnus didn’t notice by the time they left for class he’d say something then. “It’d require real effort to be more disastrous than they are. I’m sure Lightwood would be glad to have someone more normal around.” The drama between the blond and the ginger seemed to escalate each week, and then there was the Lewis boy who only ever seemed to talk in references that were lost on most of the population here.

                        isabelles arms were crossed around her chest and she turned her gaze away from the vampire , trying to find a spot on the floor she could focus on , before she inhaled a deep breathe and looked back up at him. „ and just because you have human emotions you think you can save me ? “ , isabelle asked curious and furrowed her eyebrows together. „ i don’t need anyone to look out for me , i am no damsel in distress and i am fine. “

                Nicte sighed as she leaned against the desk, hip cocked and brow arched. “Of course it would go to Lily. I always forget you two are close because of how much you pretend to hate each other. That be as it may, you probably shouldn’t die then. Since it’s not worth it for me.” 

@shesacred​ said: 1, 9, 17!

1. What is your muse’s love language / how do they show affection?

According to that test I did (that’s sitting in the queue) Raphael’s love language is quality time. And that makes a lot of sense! He’s a busy man who takes his responsibilities very seriously, so it means a lot when he can clear his schedule for just a few hours to spend time with the people he loves. They don’t even necessarily have to do anything, just being in each other’s company is enough. He enjoys spending time with his loved ones without any distractions.

9. Does your muse like to sing? Would they do a duet?

He does like to sing! He’s very careful about when and where he sings, though. When he’s in the Dumort, Raphael doesn’t really care about who hears him, they’re all his family, and it’s not unusual to catch him humming in the kitchen or while working on correspondence.  Dueting is only for the people he’s really close to, though. Lily and Eliot, Magnus and Ragnor, those are the few people who can get him to full on sing in their presence. It’s not that he’s ashamed of it or anything, but it’s another way to vulnerable so he’s a bit cautious about it.

17. How does your muse behave when they are with their best friend?

“Did someone hurt you?”

Rarely did she leave the Spiral Labyrinth. Her heart still ached for her loss and the Labyrinth was the one place where she could work and not have to think about the loss of her family, of her husband, of the men she’d loved. The only person who could get her to leave was her old friend Magnus and that was why she’d been in his loft. He hadn’t said if there were going to be visitors and seeing the other standing there in front of her, her mothering instincts kicked in. From what she could tell he’d been hurt, but Tessa had been away from their world for so long that she didn’t know who might be willing to hurt someone like him. There was also the fact she wasn’t certain who he was. Magnus had been out in the world more than she had and probably had more friends than she could count. “Come in, let me see what I can do. I don’t know where Magnus went off to.”

“Always is” Andy said evenly. There was no way of sugarcoating, and she was not someone that talked around something. Straight to the point is how she wanted to go through life. Even with so much time, there was none to waste. “The catch is always the same. It could go wrong. Horribly so, and what happens after could be the absolute worst we’ve ever experienced. There’s no guarantees.”

                                                           Nicte had seen her older brother, and she didn’t know what hurt worse, the fact that he hadn’t died and no one told her, or the fact that he seemed as though he was happy. Sure, it had been a thousand plus years, but she had hoped that she had some effect on her brother. He had loved her, when they were kids, hadn’t he? Why didn’t Elphas tell her that Ragnor was still alive? “I can’t be imagining it, I swore I just saw him walk out of here. He looks a little older than he had been, but it was definitely him.” Had he seen her? Did Ragnor even think about her now, or had it been so long that even he lost his memory of her over time?

I just saw him walk out of here. The only person she could’ve seen was Ragnor, but she couldn’t possibly be talking about him, could she? Granted, Ragnor didn’t often talk about his past, but surely he would’ve mentioned a sister by now? There was nobody else she could be referring to, though, no other guests had come to the Dumort today. “Do you mean Ragnor Fell? Is he your brother?” If that was the case it wouldn’t be hard to reunite them, if that was what both parties wanted.

To Simon’s credit, he managed to keep the wince from showing on his face a Raphael’s bluntness. It was justified, and he had no reason or right to feel any differently. In fact, he might have been a tad suspicious if they’d just welcomed him back with open arms. This was more than he could have hoped for, honestly.

Clary wouldn’t like it, but ever since things had finally calmed down, he’d felt this unrest creeping into his bones, and even Jace had started noticing that something was wrong. He’d played it off as home sickness at the time though… Especially considering Alicante did make him nervous. For all that things were apparently alright now, he wasn’t about to forget the messes that the Clave had caused in regards to the Downworlders, and at least to some degree he’d started feeling defensive on the topic. Never mind what they’d done only recently to the Blackthorns and the entire Seelie court.

Simon may not like the Seelie queen and have a personal grudge, but he did respect the fae as a whole, and the Cold Peace left him with ice in his veins. Meliorn had helped them out on countless occasions as well, and now being seen with him could get him arrested. The entire Shadowhunter dominance thing they’d tried to stop when Valentine had been active hadn’t gotten any better… Honestly, it felt like it had gotten worse. Maybe that was part of it, part of the reason he wanted some space away from the Shadowhunters.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t spend any time with Clary or Izzy or anyone else, but he’d keep away from the institute and Alicante unless he had no other choice. Besides, for all that he’d been through, he knew damn well he was still a rookie vampire, and there was much that only the DuMort clan could teach him.

“Thank you Raphael, this… This means a lot to me.” Steeling himself, he took a step forward and held out his hand to shake. Maybe it showed in the tense lines of his shoulders and the gaze behind square glasses or maybe it didn’t, but he had every intention of committing to this decision. He could deal with his friends freaking out over it later…

Raphael’s eyes studied the offered hand for a second before reading Simon’s expression. Only after he found the sincerity and determination he’d hoped for did he shake on it. It was a deal. Simon was an official member of the Clan once again. 

“We have a room ready for you, if you need help moving anything you can ask Elliott.” Not that Elliott would wait for Simon to ask. He’d offer his services soon - as a sort of test. It’d be a good way to see how Simon would react to members of the Clan he didn’t know yet. And hopefully it would also settle some of his nerves about having to meet them.

They’d give him a day or two to get settled in his room and get reacquainted with the way things worked in the Dumort. Maria was already planning a movie night that Simon could join in a few days. Movie nights weren’t unusual, but he doubted Simon knew that, it wasn’t something they advertised. 

“If there’s anything you need or want, let me know and I’ll take care of it.” It was in everyone’s best interest to make sure the Fledgling was comfortable. The Dumort was to be his home and while Raphael couldn’t trust him yet, Simon would be his family and he took that responsibility serious. If anything was lacking, Raphael would remedy that. They might all be monsters, but he would make sure all of them were well taken care of. It was most of the reason why he’d gotten rid of Camille, after all, to make sure his Clan didn’t have to suffer any more at her hands.

@kingofdirtandnothing​ said: do they have any routines? (also please ignore the fact that my fingers are dumb and I have unfollowed and re-followed you five times in the last three minutes)

//lmao no worries about the dumb fingers 😂

Raphael definitely has routines! The main ones are when he wakes up and goes to sleep. 

He never lingers in bed. As soon as he wakes up, he gets up. He washes his face ( or showers if necessary ), puts on the clothes he’d laid out in the evening and styles his hair. It’s essentially his way of putting on his armor for the day, getting ready to deal with anything that’s thrown his way. Once that’s done he’ll go down to the kitchen to get breakfast, chat a bit with any other Clan members he comes across and then go back to his office to start working.