yay! More fanfiction!

this chapter is long, and I feel like there isn't really any action, mostly just...whatever.

I guess I'm not really making you want to read it, but yeah, there are some Clary and Simon moments if you're into that! Eww, not sexual or romantic scenes; I'm a sizzy shipper, not a clamon shipper incase you have not noticed.

Anyway, this chapter takes places three years, five months and one day after the twins' birth (I love my preciseness, don't you?) and stuff has happened with the other couples-mainly clace because they're the only other couple I put in this chapter- but you will read more malec and jaia in this story soon, I promise. Well, only if you want more. I'll focus only on sizzy if they really mean that much to you :)

okay, enough with the boring a.n.

YoU cAn ReAd NoW

another a.n. at the end :P

…

"The ins and outs and ups and downs of parenthood are likely to have you tangled up in knots. So let laughter be the best medicine because sometimes all you can do is laugh!"

...

It wasn't often that Isabelle and Simon got to sleep in. They woke up at the usual time that the twins woke them up: seven thirty. But when they realized that both of their kids were still slumbering, they fell back against the pillows and gratefully back to sleep. Two hours later, the tired couple was jolted awake by a piercing scream of terror.

Panic immediately flared within Isabelle; never had they heard a scream so filled with fright or desperation. She flung off the covers and ran out of the bedroom, not checking to see whether Simon was following. Upon arriving in the nursery, he nearly mowed her over when she stopped in the doorway to survey the situation, "What's going on?"

Layla was huddled in one corner of her bed with a purple blanket gripped so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide and red rimmed, which was usually the only case when she had recently been crying. Kaden was sitting up in his bed, dark hair tussled and eyes heavy with sleep. He didn't seem too interested in whatever was causing all the trouble with his sister, "Layla, be quiet." Kaden mumbled, bitterness lacing his slurred words.

Layla pointed at something tiny and dark on her covers, but from where Isabelle was standing, she couldn't see what it was that was causing the three year old to freak out.

"There's a spider!" She shrieked.

Izzy felt all her panic melt away as relief surges throughout her body. A smile began to curve her lips despite the obviously strikes state her daughter was in. "Just a spider? I thought somebody saw a ghost or something. Not that ghosts are that scary. I actually dated one before..." She started laughing a little at how panicked she had been when the scream woke them up. Layla, however did not find any of this funny and when the spider darted towards her, another loud scream ripped from her throat, forcing her to squish further into the corner she was already wedged into.

Simon couldn't sit back any longer; he came forward and scooped her out of the uncomfortable looking position and attempted to comfort her. "It's not hurting you, Lay. You're fine." He looked over at Izzy, who was creeping closer to the arachnid-eyeing the glossy, black body inching closer to where Layla had been crouched.

"Eww, Simon, the thing is gross." She recoiled in disgust, moving more towards Kaden. "You can go back to sleep, buddy." Izzy told him, whilst brushing back his hair.

Kaden shook his head, but still proceeded in flopping back over the pillows. "It's just a spider, Layla."

Layla turned her head against Simon's shoulder and glared at her brother. Her eyes were narrowed now, and the same fiery blaze that Isabelle sometimes got in her eyes when she was angry was now burning in Layla's; just as clear and mean.

"Shut up, Kaden!" She shouted just as Simon started asking Izzy something, "Hey, Iz, do you want to get the spider-Layla, don't shout at your brother!" He scolded her quite firmly.

Layla pouted, but nodded anyway.

"Umm..." Izzy crossed her arms over her chest chewed on her bottom lip. Sleep was still clouding her mind and it was still a little bit difficult to sort things out clearly. "I'm not touching that spider."

Simon rolled his eyes and set Layla down next to Kaden. "So you can kill a demon, but you can't kill a harmless spider?"

"Precisely." Izzy laughed. "Now do it."

Simon bent down with his hands outstretched, gently coaxing the slider onto his open palm. "See, the spider is nice, Layla." He picked it up and brought it over to the little girl. She began to squirm and hot tears rolled down her cheeks as Simon chuckled. "It's not even touching you, Layla!" He exclaimed.

Izzy groaned. "Simon, quit playing; can't you see that she's terrified?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why. It's not-OHMYGOD IT BIT ME." He screamed, flinging the thing off of him. The spider flew out of sight, but Simon didn't look twice; there was a large red bump forming on his hand and it seemed to be pulsing and pumping out blood and nasty, yellow goo.

Kaden and Layla both perked up at the sight, curiosity replacing the fear and exhaust etched onto their features. "Mommy, it got Daddy!" Layla cried.

Izzy grabbed Simon's hand, wincing at the swollen, sickly sight. "It's alright, baby. He's going to get better really fast."

Simon was swearing under his breath and his fangs kept sliding in and out, sometimes slicing his bottom lip. "Goddamn spider!" He spat. It seemed like there was more venom coming out with his words rather than coursing through him.

"Simon, I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear you cursing in front of our three year olds and then I am going to go make breakfast." Izzy held her hands out for the twins. "Come on guys."

"What about Daddy?" Kaden asked, clearly worried for his father. "He's hurt."

"He's going to be fine, Kade." Izzy promised.

Neither of the kids moved.

Izzy sighed. "I'll let you put the chocolate chips in the pancakes."

...

"You can't just eat whipped cream for breakfast, Layla." Isabelle said shortly as she watched Layla pile the white, fluffy substance all over her plate. She had poured an entire bag of chocolate chips into the pancake batter with the help of her brother but when the delicious morning meal was done cooking, she had refused to have any. Simon and Isabelle were noticing more and more often how picky of an eater she was becoming. Recently, the only thing they could get her to actually finish was a cup of blood, but for Izzy, it wasn't something she wanted to give her everyday.

"Can I have some blood, then?" Layla asked innocently. Kaden looked up at her over his own meal of chocolate chip pancakes.

Izzy folded her arms over her chest and frowned. "No, you may not."

Layla stuck a finger in her whipped cream mess and then licked it clean, her fangs glinting in the early morning sunlight drifting through the sliding glass doors. "Fine. I'll just eat this."

Izzy ground her teeth in frustration and furrowed her brows at her daughter in an unkind manner.

Soft footsteps sounded in the hallway outside of the doorway, getting louder and louder until Simon appeared in the kitchen beside Isabelle with his hand looking as good as new. He looked questioningly at Layla's interesting breakfast and started pointing, then decided to just give up when he realized that Izzy wasn't ready to give out some information about the situation.

"If your little princess doesn't eat something proper soon, I am going to flip my shit." Izzy leaned over the counter with her hands covering her face. Simon nodded and gently rubbed her back in a soothing way.

"Layla, please just try the pancake." He pleaded.

Layla leaned forward and roughly ripped a piece of pancake off of the platter sitting in the middle of the table. Her eyes narrowed at the tiny sliver before she just let go and popped it into her mouth. Her face contorted into look of disgust, but a few seconds later, the morsel had been swallowed and she reached for her cup of milk to wash the rest of it down.

Izzy gaped, surprise bumping out all the exasperation that had been there before. "You don't like it?"

Layla shook her head, face still pinched. "It's too sweet."

"That's weird, since you're the one who put all the chocolate chips in it." Isabelle walked past the counter and sat down next to Layla. Her hand was warm against Layla's cheeks as she cupped them and then brushed strands of dark hair out if her eyes. "If you eat some peaches with yogurt, I will give you some blood."

Layla's eyes brightened and she began to bounce around in her chair. "Please, please, please!"

Izzy sighed tiredly, feeling her heart sink at the realization of how much it took to bribe Layla and get her to do as asked. "When we go out to dinner with Uncle Jace and Aunt Clary tonight, you're going to eat what we have there, okay?"

Layla's brows furrowed as she pondered the request. The smile slipped off of her face, but she nodded anyway, hesitance clear in her tone when she spoke again. "Okay, Mommy."

Moments later as the twins were finishing up breakfast, Simon and Isabelle stood behind the kitchen counter, Isabelle cleaning up around the place as Simon drank his own breakfast. He set the now empty cup down in the sink and circled his arms around Izzy's waist before she could grab a sponge and start washing dishes. Her back connected with his chest and she felt instantly calmed; stress free in that one moment. She tilted her head back to rest against his shoulder and he leaned down to kiss her neck.

"How're you holding up?" Simon whispered as his hands lifted the hem of her shirt and went to settle over her stomach. His hands were cool against the warmth of her skin, but to Isabelle it felt familiar and almost painfully pleasant.

"Now, I feel great." She sighed, closing her eyes to live a little more in the moment. The flicker of a distant memory crept up behind her eyelids; when she was still pregnant with the twins and only showing a little bit, but still able to feel them move inside. Simon would hold her like this when she was exhausted with trying to keep up with all the loss of energy and morning sickness and stress of being so young with so many responsibilities already. He would kiss her and reassure her. Caress and massage all the sore spots on her body. Tell her that although things would be different, things would also be okay. Isabelle knew how luck she was and how she could not ask for a better love to care for her and their family. He had been right. Everything did change, but everything was okay. In fact, everything was better than okay.

...

Isabelle was about to head over to the Institute for a meeting with her parents and the rest of the Clave when Kaden threw a tantrum.

"No, baby, I have to go." Izzy said as sweetly as she was able to muster. Kaden had red, puffy eyes from crying so hard and he wouldn't let go of his mother for the life of him.

"Don't go!" He cried, gripping her arms tighter.

"I'll see you in a few hours, Kaden. Daddy's going to take you and Layla to Uncle Jace's, okay? And you'll get to see baby Leo and play with him." She bent down so that she was at eye level with him and then wrapped her arms around his small body in a tight hug. He had stopped crying now and was just sniffling, along with some occasional whines. "Okay? I love you, baby boy." Izzy's lips left a corally pink lipstick mark on Kaden's cheek that he touched his hand to and let go of Izzy.

"Bye, Mommy."

...

It was so nice for Simon to just sit and catch up with Clary. They had always been best friends, but their separate families had kept them kind of busy from each other for a while. Even though Izzy and Simon were happy to help Clary and Jace out with their new baby, they also had Luke and Jocelyn's support, so Simon didn't really feel as needed in that area.

As the baby and the twins slept, Clary sat next to Simon on the couch with her arms wrapped around her knees and her toes wriggling against his thighs. He thought that she had looked absolutely exhausted -he understood, having dealt with colicky two month olds himself- when he arrived with the twins, but now, as she spoke to him about the past few months, he couldn't remember a time where she had been quite so animated while conversing.

"I don't know how you did it, Si." She sighed quietly. Her fiery hair was scraped back into a messy bun, and a loose green sweater wasn't quite loose enough to hide what remained from her pregnancy with Leo. The jeans she was wearing were clearly ones she didn't care that much about, for they were splattered with old paint stains and ripped at the knees. Nevertheless, she still looked beautiful and bright and happy. Her happiness was something Simon was always making sure she had surging through her, even if he was feeling crappy. Best friends until the very end...whenever that was. Hopefully, not very soon.

"What do you mean?"

Clary tipped her head back, letting the early afternoon sun rays light her already flaming hair with more fire. "I have one baby and most nights, I feel like I'm in the verge of insanity. You have two. Two. I can't imagine how hard it must have been when they were younger." She giggled. "Actually, I can."

Simon smiled at her. "Well, it was beyond difficult, but with so much help from my parents, your parents and Isabelle's parents, I was able to keep from ripping my hair out every night." He paused, thinking back to when the twins were only a few months old. "Kaden has always been the super fussy one, and with Layla being so good all the time, it wasn't as hard as two newborn could have been." He frowned slightly. "Now, it's Kaden who's the angel and Layla who gets into the most trouble."

Clary unwrapped her arms from her legs and crawled closer to Simon, nudging him with her elbows. A devious look glinted in her bright eyes and if Simon were to be frank, he would have said that she scared him in that moment. "What?"

Her poking was becoming quite painful, which was weird because she wasn't going for him with much strength. Then, Simon remembered that she had gained a lot of muscle from all the training she had been doing for years now. He couldn't believe how much they had all changed within the last three years.

"Are you and Izzy you know...?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively, which only made Simon more nervous.

"What?!"

Clary raised her hands above her head and brought them down across his biceps. Hard. It was all Simon could do to not cry out.

"Trying for another baby!" She exclaimed.

Simon's jaw dropped. "Is that what you think we're doing with our spare time?"

Clary shrugged. "Who knows what you guys do? Just answer the damn question!"

"No. No we're not trying to have more kids right now. Hopefully not ever again." He answered truthfully. Simon didn't quite know why he felt so strongly about not having anymore kids, but many of their family members had asked multiple times if there would be a third Lewis child in the near future.

Something in Clary's expression snapped, and all the light had faded from her eyes. "Why not?"

Simon frowned. "Everything is perfect now. I can't imagine changing anything."

"What if Izzy wants another baby?"

"She doesn't. I already asked her." He said simply. Something about the persistency and begging in the redhead's tone irritated him. Sure, it was cute that she wanted him to have more kids, but a big decision like that wasn't something that Clary would just be able to force them to make.

"Don't you think that maybe she was avoiding the truth there because she doesn't want to be the one who doesn't agree?" Clary asked. She was hiding something-or maybe trying to get something out-and Simon knew it. Izzy had seemed a little jumpy and stressed lately, and she had gone to Clary for some 'girl talk' a week or so ago, and that made him wonder if there were things going on that the two weren't letting him on to.

"Are you trying to say that you know my own wife better than I do, myself?" Anger was beginning to creep into his voice, but he tried his best to force it down, not wanting to spoil their afternoon together with an argument.

Clary groaned. "No, Si. I'm just wondering if you really had a discussion about it to see where she actually stood on this decision, or if it was just a quick question like: 'Hey, Iz, I don't want to have anymore kids, do you? -Nope. -Okay, cool." She shook her head at this and laughed. "I can't actually imagine you two doing that, but if you did...I think you might have a communication problem." It was a sarcastic joke, but Simon could barely choke out a bitter laugh before he veered away from answering the question by changing the subject, "I think I hear Leo waking up."

...

The sound of the two month old's cries and Clary's panicked attempts to get him to calm down reminded Simon of when he and Izzy would struggle with their own newborns. It wasn't a memory that he was particularly fond of. The long minutes of screaming and wailing usually would stretch into long hours, and within those times, arguments broke out. Breakdowns ensued. Isabelle cursing Simon out for being so unhelpful with the babies, and Simon frustratedly snapping back at her. The exhaustion made their temper shorter, more emotional and he could not-did not want to imagine reliving through all those sleepless, angry nights:

Izzy snapped the elastic around her hair and quickly applied eyeliner and mascara before throwing on a tank top and loose shorts. Sleep deprived and starving, but no time to eat and sleep with the twins fussy all day, everyday. She was now used to taking only ten minutes, at most to get ready, and that included doing her hair, makeup, and getting dressed.

Simon came into the bathroom with Kaden, who was, surprisingly, not crying.

"Where's Layla?" Isabelle asked, not stopping the comb running through her tangled locks.

"I just got her to sleep..." Simon trailed off as Kaden started to whimper and stir in his blanket. "And he is hungry."

Izzy put her comb down, letting her hair hang around her shoulders and took Kaden from him, groaning as he started crying loudly. "It's okay, baby." She tucked his blanket back around him and then pushed past Simon, into their bedroom. Layla was lying on the bed, sleeping on top of a fluffy yellow blanket with lions on it. She looked so precious, it made Izzy want to just go cuddle with her, but once Kaden started crying even louder, she broke away from her daughter and prepped for nursing.

"Do you need any help?" Simon was standing in the bathroom doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were ringed with red from the lack of sleep.

Izzy looked up at him, a frown pulling her lips down. It was clear that she was exhausted from being up all night, every night since the twins were born a little over a month ago. Taking care of a newborn was extremely frustrating, tiring, and difficult, but with two newborns...

"No, I'm fine." Izzy replied curtly. Kaden was clutching a piece of her shirt, screaming bloody murder. She tried to comfort him and feed him, but he was having none of it and just kept crying, which only made Isabelle more and more frustrated.

"Does he need to be changed?" Simon asked, climbing on top of the bed beside her.

"I just checked, Simon." She replied irritably. "There is nothing wrong with him; he's just being a brat."

Simon's jaw tightened at that sharp comment. It wasn't directed towards him, but he felt a pinch of empathy for his son. "Iz, he's a baby, if he could tell you what was wrong without having to cry, I'm sure he would."

At their arguing, Layla stirred and her eyes fluttered open, widening at Simon, who was sitting right next to her. She looked like she was about to cry, but he leaned over and picked her up so that she felt more comfortable in his arms.

Kaden kept crying persistently, for a while until Izzy stuck a pacifier in his mouth, and sighed when he finally settled down.

"What time is it?" She asked Simon.

"It's almost one thirty - have you had anything to eat today?" His brows furrowed in concern for her.

"No, but that's because I woke up late and the twins were fussy-"

"Iz, you need to take better care of yourself. I know it's hard with Layla and Kaden, but your well being is just as important as theirs..." He trailed off as she glared at him menacingly. "At least to me."

"You starve yourself all the time, how is pushing back my breakfast any different?" She shot back.

"I drink blood, and you can eat whatever food you want. Blood is harder to get, so there is a difference."

Izzy was so tired, she was finding it difficult to not snap at everything and everyone, especially Simon. Even though she knew he was only trying to be helpful, the hormones raging through her body were hard to keep in check. Being tired all the time obviously didn't help at all.

A silence filled the room as Simon and Izzy frowned at one another momentarily. Then, out of nowhere, tears started spilling out of Izzy's eyes and she clutched Kaden closer to her chest as she sobbed relentlessly into his blanket.

"Hey..." Simon's tone lightened immediately and he put Layla down so that he could pull Izzy into his arms instead. "Why are crying?" He whispered against her hair.

She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath that rattled in her chest. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such an emotional, hormonal wreck all the time, it's just so hard."

"But you're doing such a great job, Iz. I know you're exhausted-I am too-but this is part of parenthood. I can guarantee we are going to have more of these moments, but even more moments of happiness watching these babies grow up and learn to walk and talk." Simon let Layla grab his finger and grinned at the half smile on her lips. "I think this little one knows how you're feeling right now, because she's being an angel."

Izzy felt the corners of her lips tug up involuntarily and wiped away the rest of her tears. "I feel bad for being frustrated with Kaden. You're right: he's just a baby, so there really is not much that he can do for himself."

Simon kissed her temple and wrapped one free arm around her waist. "You're doing everything right, Iz. Everything is just fine."

Simon blinked the memory back and when he opened his eyes again, he was back inside of Leo's nursery, watching Clary rock him gently back to sleep. He was no longer crying, and his eyes were starting to flutter closed as sleep took over his tiny body. Simon still didn't talk as Clary put her baby in the his crib and then turned on some soft noises to help keep him asleep. He finally spoke up when they had drifted to the kitchen and were out of earshot from the sleeping infant.

"Are the twins still sleeping?" Clary asked him quietly.

Simon nodded distantly as he lightly touched the tip of his fingers to the smooth tile counter. The thought that Izzy might not be telling him something was really starting to bother him and he just wanted to get to the bottom of it all. "Yeah. Where's Jace?"

"He went to the same meeting as Izzy." Clary yawned and stretched a bit, rubbing her eyes until they had a new tiresome look in them. "I think," she checked the clock on the stove, "that I am going to rest for a bit before Jace comes back and then we go to dinner. Are you going to stay or go back home to wait for Isabelle?"

Simon shook his head. "I'll stay and wait until Layla and Kaden wake up. It should be soon; they've been down for almost two and a half hours."

"Sounds like a plan."

…

"You look gorgeous, Iz." Simon said, his voice no more than a breathy whisper, as if he were in awe. Which, he was. Isabelle was always beautiful to him, but when she got elegantly dressed up for whatever occasion, she never failed to give Simon a reason to express his endless love for her, relentlessly, if she let him.

"Aw, Si." Izzy stood from her vanity, careful not to get her sparkling heels caught in the long, flowing fabric of her dress, and made her way over to wrap her arms around her husband. He slung his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him until their hips were pressed together and there was no remaining space between them. "You know, I never get tired of you telling me that I'm beautiful." Although Isabelle was wearing tall heels, head head still tucked perfectly underneath Simon's chin whenever they embraced each other. Like now. Her arms were slung around his neck, forcing him to bend over slightly to look her entirely in the eye. The dark orbs were expertly circled with black liner, and darkened with shadow and lightened with highlighter in all the right places, completing her evening look to it's fullest. Of course, Simon did not mind her wearing heavy makeup all the time, as long as she knew that she was perfect with out it. He told her everyday when she got up to put it on. Sometimes, she would smile at him then put the brush down and go without it for the rest of the day. Those days were Simon's favorites.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Isabelle murmured silently, trying not to disrupt the calming silence too much. "You seemed a little distracted when I got home."

Simon sighed, his breath stirring a few dark strands of Izzy's hair. "Yeah, you looked hot. And you still do now. And I'm not talking temperature wise, I'm saying-"

Izzy bursted into a fit of giggles, her entire expression brightening up with the light laughter. "I know what you mean, and that's not what I'm referring to!"

The smile that was edging along his lips slowed and then completely died away. "Clary and I had an interesting conversation today…"

Izzy smiled, snuggling ever closer against him. "Yeah? What about?"

"Babies."

"Oh yeah! How's Leo doing?" Isabelle lifted her cheek away from Simon's chest and beamed up at him. "I haven't seen him since I went over to Clary and Jace's two weeks ago." She shook her head, seemingly reminiscing about her visit. "He's such a little cutie."

Simon cleared his throat. "Yes, he is, but he was not what Clary and I were talking about today."

"What other baby would you have been talking about? Our kids our kids, not babies, and Leo is the only baby in our lives currently-Oh shit!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled away from Simon.

His brows furrowed at her sudden outburst and he took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over the back of them. "What is it?"

Izzy took her hands from his and grabbed her purse instead, not looking quite so hysterical. "Nothing, I just…" She looked at him again and in that moment, Simon could have sworn that her eyes were shining with tears of joy. "I have to tell you something really exciting after dinner."

Simon opened his mouth the reply, but Izzy's hand covered it quickly and a shush escaped her mouth. "Shh! You can't guess; it's a surprise!"

...

Isabelle was fed up with Layla not eating. It was putting a damper on the wonderful evening at the fancy restaurant with Clary and Jace. She was just staring at the potatoes on her plate, and pretending to eat little pieces of her bread whenever an adult looked over to check on her progress. Everybody else was done eating, waiting patiently for dessert, while Layla picked at her full plate of main food.

During Simon, Jace's and Clary's deeps discussion of whatever, Isabelle leaned down to whisper into her daughter's ear, "You promised me you would eat what we're having tonight, Lay. Please eat it."

Layla pouted and crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, reminding Izzy a lot of her younger self. "No, I didn't!"

Izzy sat back in her chair and sighed with frustration. "Layla Mckenzie Lewis, I am this close to taking away your pool and tv privileges. Don't ever yell at me or your father like that."

"I don't care about the pool or the tv!" Layla snapped back. Her lip was poking out and her eyes were dark and angry, rather than the usual light joy they held. "This food is gross!"

A nearby waiter scowled disapprovingly at Isabelle, who only discreetly flipped him off as her response. When she turned back to Layla, she felt all her patience slip away, and with it, her kindness, "Fine, you'll go hungry then."

Layla's eyes widened with alarm, and her lower lip began to wobble as tears gathered. "No, Mamma!"
Distracted by his daughter's outcry, Simon backed out of his conversation and went to kneel down beside Layla. "What's wrong?"

"Mommy says I'm gonna starve."

Simon narrowed his eyes briefly, looking from Layla to Izzy, then back to Layla again. "You're not going to starve, Lay; I'll get you something else to eat."

Layla's tears vanished with record speed, which made Izzy wonder whether or not they were really tears in the first place. "Can I have grilled cheese?"

"Of course." Simon kissed the top of her head and then stood up, looking around for a waiter.

"Unbelievable." Isabelle cursed under her breath as Simon walked away.

Clary and Jace noticed the lull in conversation at the table and they looked questioningly after Simon. "What's going on?" Jace asked, accidentally spilling some white wine on his button up shirt as Leo squirmed in his arms. Nailed it.

Izzy ran a tired hand through her hair and glanced quickly at Kaden, who was busy coloring in his paper menu with some crayons. "Clary, did you tell Simon about our meetup a couple of weeks ago?"

Clary shook her head, looking even more puzzled than before. "No why?"

"I suspect he thinks I'm pregnant, and there is no way in Hell that I would have the energy to deal with another picky eater in this family."

Jace chuckled. "Who knows? You might get another Kaden." He gestured towards the topic of his input. "Sweet and happy."

Izzy smiled at Kaden and that idea. "Yeah, maybe." Her smile vanished as Layla frowned at her again. "You're sweet too, baby. You just have a funny way of showing it sometimes."

…

"Izzy, just tell me." Simon had her cornered in the bathroom, his arms crossed over his chest in a demanding way. Isabelle was sitting on the edge of the sink, her nerves sparking and bursting with anxiety over telling him the news. Her smile was so huge, Simon's own jaw was hurting from just looking at her.

"We're hosting the Christmas party this year!" Isabelle squealed, jumping into Simon's arms. He was so surprised by this news-he'd been expecting something entirely different-that he almost didn't catch her and brace himself from crashing down to the floor with her sudden tackle.

"Wait...what Christmas party?"

Izzy quickly pulled away. A look of utter disbelief was darkening her eyes. "The one that is usually thrown at the Institute. But, since I offered to host it and you're my date, who just so happens to be a vampire and can't enter the Institute, it's going to happen here." She gestured around them.

"In our bathroom?" Simon joked, but before he could laugh about it, Izzy had smacked him painfully upside the head.

"No, stupid. You know what I mean."

Simon laughed. "I know, I'm sorry." He held his arms out for her and she gratefully fell into them, letting herself be enveloped by the security and comfort that he always provided for her. "You love planning parties, so this will be good for you. Hopefully, you won't stress out too much more than you already are. It seems kind of stressful-"

She looked up at him curiously. "I've been stressed out?"

"Well, you just look a lot more tired and seem a bit jittery to me." Simon kissed her neck, his lips lingering over the pulse point that was rushing with her sweet blood.

Izzy sighed with pleasure, seeming to forget about not noticing her own emotions. "It's May 17th, so we currently have a little over seven months to get everything ready. I don't see why I should feel stressed at all right now."

Simon hugged her tighter and breathed in the sweet smell of her gardenia perfume. "How could you feel stressed with me around?"

She laughed, shaking a little bit in his arms. "I lay awake at night, worrying that you go around and actually say cheesy things like that to people other than me."

"Of course not. What happens between Isabelle and Simon stays between Isabelle and Simon."

Izzy squinted a little bit, thinking of how everyone, especially a certain warlock, seemed to know about every single one of their problems before they did. "I don't think that's entirely true."

Simon shrugged and Izzy shook her thoughts off, too tired to compete with the negatives any longer. turning around in his arms so that the zipper to her dress was in reach for him. "Unzip me?" She asked politely.

"Gladly."

…

I feel like my story always has to do with babies and parties...mainly weddings (spoiler alert for future chapters?! idk…)

Sorry this chapter is so late, but I was without inter for two week in the middle of nowhere, so that is why there were not any updates.

However, you can expect more of this story after I update NMBP, hopefully soon.

Awkward thing here: I just realized I may have been spelling Kaden's name incorrectly...not that there is a certain way to spell it, but I kind of like it better as Kayden, rather than Kaden. Oh well! Too bad I've suddenly had a change of mind :(

How'd you like this chapter though? Good? Or nah?

Anyway,

thanks for reading!

Until next time!

-H.

btw, Leo's real name is Elliot, but they call him Leo because they CAN