Clace's Ending
Part I
Clary rested her head on Jace's broad shoulder and closed her eyes, knowing this will all be over later tonight. It was Alec's and Magnus' big day, the two had officiated their marriage under the roof of the institute. The wedding reception had begun and everyone was in attendance to celebrate their special union.
Jace and Clary held each other tightly as they moved slowly in sync to the rich mellow melody of the piano. Clary attempted to block out the Angel's words out of her mind, instead she focused on matching her breathing with Jace's and her steps with his. She didn't want to admit it to herself but the Shadow world was slipping away from her. Clary could no longer remember how she first met Jace, and she knew it wasn't going to stop there. She had no other choice but to bury herself in Jace's arms for as long as she could and savour this moment before she loses the memory of it.
Clary felt an uncomfortable tingling on her wrist, she opened her eyes, landing her gaze on her arm that was placed on Jace's back and watched tearfully as her angelic rune faded from her skin leaving an empty space, as if it were never there. Clary squeezed her eyes shut again, not wanting to believe what was happening. Not only was she losing the love of her life and her family, she was losing herself too. How could the Angel be so cruel? She thought to herself.
Clary invited every memory of Jace play in her mind like a movie; their first kiss right here in the institute; the stolen motorcycle that they rode on together; Jace's training sessions, where she had learnt most of her fighting skills; their first date; when Jace drifted off to sleep in her bed and Clary's pencil found it's way around the paper in her sketchbook, making sure to capture the moment of peacefulness.
"I love you," Jace whispered into Clary's ear.
Clary's throat grew tight and she felt like she was going to explode into a big sobbing mess, "I love you Jace," she managed to whisper back, although her voice was strained.
Jace noticed this and he leaned his head back to view Clary's face properly, he immediately recognised that she was upset.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jace asked her concerned.
"I need you to do something for me," Clary answered reluctantly.
"Anything," he responded.
"Go to your room, there's an important object that I need you to see," a single tear ran down her cheek.
Jace furrowed his eyebrows, "Clary, you're scaring me."
Clary's hands desperately moved to either side of his face, "Please," her voice urgent, "I need you to do it, for me," she gave him pleading eyes.
She couldn't tell him what was happening right now, it was impossible to get the words out and if Jace found out now, he would try to stop her, and even though he would burn the world down till he could dig her out of the ashes, this was the one thing he couldn't fix, he couldn't stop what was about to happen, nobody could.
Jace remained confused about her request but agreed to it, "Alright, let's go."
She stepped back suddenly, "No," she replies, "I'll meet you there, I just want to get some fresh air first."
And then for the very last time Clary moved her hands to the back of his neck and yanked him towards her, meeting his lips. The world melted away as they unknowingly explored each other's mouths for the final time. This kiss wasn't like any other, it was filled with waves of pain and eagerness. Clary made sure to taste every inch of his soft lips and before she knew it, they were pulling away from each other. Clary met his blue and brown eyes - eyes that she had drowned in many times before and eyes she hoped to never forget, and then using all the strength and bravery she held within her, she turned away from him and walked away.
With every footstep Clary felt like she was dragging boulders behind her. She couldn't hold them back anymore, she finally let all of the tears escape, and in a matter of seconds she was crying oceans. Clary held her stomach as she headed for the Institute's doors. Her trembling fingers wrapped around the handle and she looked back one last time, Magnus and Alec were hand in hand, chatting to their guests looking the happiest they had ever been; Izzy and Simon had their bodies close together as they danced, completely lost within each other; Aline and Helen slow dancing, and Luke who was one of the two people she knows from the mundane world, who was sitting with Maryse, clinking glasses of champagne together.
"Goodbye," Clary whispered, to her family, to Jace, to the Institute; the only home she knew and to her only life that she wanted.
Clary allowed the blackness of the night eat her up. As her tears hit the pavement below her, Jace's tears hit the letter that he held in his hand. He read it once, and then again, making sure to read every single word. Punishment from the Angels. Memories gone. The runes she's drawn.
Just when Jace truly thought everything was going to be okay, it wasn't. He could physically feel his heart drop, so he did what he only could do; he ran. Jace raced out of his room and down the hallway, he dodged past people and sprinted outside of the institute's doors, he felt like he couldn't breathe as he searched for her red hair through the darkness and the pale moonlight and then he dropped to his knees. He lost her again.
PART II
Six months later Jace continued to have difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep, because every night he would dream of her, it was both a blessing and a curse. For the past six months he was forced to grieve a woman that was still living. The pain was like no other. His brother and sister would comfort him to the best of their abilities but this heartache was here to stay for as long as he lives. Jace, the once strong warrior fell apart once, sometimes twice a day. He couldn't help it, he had lost something that he'd never have again. When Clary left, she took his heart with her.
To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed. It was true.
Whilst Jace looked for Clary in every room and closed himself off, Clary had quickly forgotten every part of the Shadow world, her skin was now like a blank canvas as her runes vanished and she was living an ordinary life again. She attended art school and still saw Simon and Luke regularly, although Simon was unusually busy with a girlfriend she hoped to meet one day. Clary picked up her life right where she left it before she met the Shadowhunters - in her mind they never even existed.
It was an early spring morning in Brooklyn and Clary had just picked up her latte from Java Jones, she thanked the barista before exiting, as she turned to the right, somebody knocked right into her, nearly causing her to drop her hot coffee.
"Hey can you watch where you're going?" She questions the rude stranger although it's more of a demand than a question.
The stranger, a boy wearing black jeans and a leather jacket with his blonde hair neatly combed back snaps his head around towards her.
"Clary," he says with a dazed expression on his face.
Clary widens her eyes, "How do you know my name?"
The blonde boy eyes change from shock to sadness in an instant, "your name is on the coffee cup."
She glances down feeling flustered, "oh, yeah," and then she reverts her gaze back to the stunning boy in front of her, "do I know you from somewhere? you look familiar."
The boy struggles to find his words, he was is complete disbelief that the woman he loves and will ever love stood an arms length away from him. She wasn't the same Clary that had left that night six months ago of course, her runes were gone, her red hair still glowed fiery red but it had grown longer and she no longer wore leather jackets or her weapons. This was mundane Clary. The Clary he had first met in front of Pandemonium. The start of everything for him.
Jace knew that he shouldn't but he just had to, "until the day I die," he says out loud, absentmindedly.
Clary's face is blank, Jace's chest feels like it's ripping apart, it meant nothing to her. Knowing there's nothing he can do, he forces himself to walk past her. Jace had to remind himself that he is a Shadowhunter and she's now mundane. He was a stranger to her now, every moment they had shared only existed in his mind and it shattered him.
"And if there's a life after that I'll love you then," Clary tells Jace who instantly stops in his tracks.
It has to be a hallucination Jace thought to himself, but no. That was definitely her voice that spoke. Jace spins around. Clary's eyes were filled with tears, and at her feet was her empty coffee that splattered a creamy brown on the concrete.
"You remember?" Jace asks in astonishment and steps towards her, a lump builds in his throat.
"Everything," Clary responds, unlike six months ago the tears that flowed were of happiness.
Jace triggered all of Clary's memories of the Shadow world to come back. She remembered it all. She remembered all the others as well, Alec, Magnus, Izzy, Maia, Maryse, Helen, Raphael, Aline, Max, the Seelie queen and more. It felt like she had never left it all behind.
Clary felt her entire body burn, she glanced down at her arms and chest where her runes were reappearing. How is this possible? She wondered.
Her eyes met with Jace's, and she raised her hands, reaching out to him. He showed no hesitance as he walked closer and took her hands in his. Something he never thought would happen. After everything they had been through, all of the countless times they've almost lost each other forever, they were finally here, together.
Their eyes never leave each other's as both of their runes slowly but surely light up gold, a gold brighter than the sun. A gold that illuminated the store windows around them.
Angels couldn't keep two soulmates apart.
