Better Together
Written for the @shadowhunterschallenges Today’s theme is RJS (This is for @thelightofthebane <3 Thanks for helping me come up with this idea)
Jace looks out the window to his right, watching as people stroll by, oblivious to the weird situation he’s found himself in.
“Jace,” Raphael says gently, pulling Jace back to the present. Jace flushes, looking down at his coffee cup and wrapping his fingers around it.
“Sorry,” Jace murmurs, shaking his head. “I’m bad at this. With Simon it felt easy, you know?” Raphael makes a noise of agreement and Jace feels confident enough to keep going, looking up and meeting Raphael’s eyes. “He just smells so right. And it’s easy to court him. I’m not sure if it’s because you and I are both alphas or if it’s just me being freaked out about the thought of having two mates but this feels harder.”
Raphael watches him a moment and Jace has to look away, suddenly feeling too seen. His hands tighten around the cup in frustration.
When he started courting Simon, he never thought it would put him in this position. He fell so fucking hard and so fast, and somehow, so did Raphael and Simon at the same time. Simon’s been so stressed out, so devastated because he said they both smell like the best thing he’s ever scented. He couldn’t pick between the two alphas. And therefore, he stopped accepting gifts from both of them, not wanting to hurt them further.
It was Raphael who came up with the solution. Jace and Raphael would go on dates and get to know each other and see if they were compatible. Then they’d both get to be with Simon. Triads aren’t unheard of. This was fine.
“I understand how you feel,” Raphael finally says, leaning back in the booth. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“How do I smell to you? Because if I don’t smell right, I have a feeling we’re wasting our time.”
Jace instinctively takes in a long sniff, scenting the air. The corner of his lip curves up into a soft smile. “Uh, that’s not really a problem,” Jace confesses. “You smell like spicy chocolate. It’s really nice.”
“Oh,” Raphael gets out, the tops of his cheeks brightening just slightly. “For the record, you smell nice to me as well.”
Jace nods his head, his eyes glued to his coffee as the cream on top slowly melts into the rest of it. “I feel like if you were an omega I’d be able to wine and dine you without overthinking it.”
Raphael rolls his eyes. “Like I would let you do the woo’ing. Obviously I’ll be the one wining and dining.”
Jace huffs in amusement. His chest feels a little lighter, things coming a little easier. The banter flows back and forth. Jace gets why Simon loves Raphael and if he’s being honest with himself, he could very easily see himself falling too. Raphael is handsome and smells good and his no nonsense attitude is refreshing and he’s got such a dry sense of humor that leaves Jace’s side aching from laughing.
When Simon shows up to the coffee shop looking apprehensive, Jace is the one to stand up and reassure him. He kisses Simon’s cheek before guiding him to sit down beside Raphael. Raphael leans over, kissing Simon’s other cheek before wrapping his arm around Simon’s shoulder.
At one point, seeing them together had left Jace’s chest aching with jealousy. But now that they’re all on the same page, it leaves him feeling warm. His inner alpha purrs that these two are his. Both of them. Together.
“So you worked something out?” Simon asks nervously.
Jace reaches his hand out and Raphael takes it halfway. “Yeah,” Jace says with a smile. “This is gonna work out just fine.”
