Disclaimer: I don't own the Infernal Devices series.

Summary: Gabriel knew it was insane, but he couldn't get that Downworlder out of his thoughts. Maybe he didn't want to. GabrielTessa, oneshot

And, here's yet another addition to the ID fandom. I don't know why, but I really love the idea of Gabriel and Tessa together. I just thought they would be a very interesting couple and that…yeah. I just really like them together, for what little interaction they had in Clockwork Angel. Anyway, I hope that y'all enjoy this fic!

Not Quite Human

He couldn't get her out of his head.

Gabriel Lightwood never usually had this problem. All the girls that were interested in him were never really his type. Really, he wasn't sure he had a type. All the girls - mundanes, Downworlders, or Shadowhunters - held no interest for him. It was strange, because there were some intriguing mundanes out there, and even more interesting Downworlders. He had yet to find a Shadowhunter he had been attracted to in that way.

Sure, Jessamine was beautiful, but her personality detracted him. Charlotte was a looker, but she was married and not his cup of tea. Not to mention all of the various other young, female Shadowhunters that he'd seen in his time.

None of them held a candle to this girl, however.

Tessa Gray.

He'd heard about her, sure. Who hadn't?

The mundane that wasn't so mundane after all. The innocent little girl that came to England to live with her brother. The girl that was kidnapped, held prisoner by the Dark Sisters, and found out that she was more than normal. The girl that was trying to find her place among the strange new world that she was thrust into without any explanation or reason.

He knew about her power, and that seemed to intrigue him even more. At the time, he didn't know what she looked like, but he figured that she was at least somewhat freakish. As Charlotte had told his father, she didn't have any markings of a warlock, but that seemed to be the only explanation for her gift. However, he still pictured her as strange looking, like the warlocks he was used to seeing.

But he was in for a rude awakening.

When he met her, finally, she was no strange looking warlock, and he felt a pinch of guilt for even thinking that way. And he rarely felt guilt.

He was even more surprised by her demeanor. She was quiet at first, listening intently to everything they were saying. He noticed her eyes widening at certain parts of the conversation, noticed the way she would purse her lips as if she were deep in thought.

But then, he'd insulted Will, and…

She had lost it.

Gabriel was surprised at how quickly this put-together girl could lose her temper. On anyone else, he supposed it would be unbecoming. But her gray eyes were alive with anger, eyebrows knit together as she reprimanded him for being mean to will, demanding that he apologize.

He found that he…thought her attractive in that moment.

Not that he didn't think of her as attractive when he first saw her, that is. He had thought she was pretty, for a warlock of whatever kind. Strangely, she looked alive even before she became livid at him for defiling the name of Herondale.

That was another thing, something that Gabriel didn't like at all.

The fact that she looked at Will with such adoration, the fact that she seemed to have such a respect for him that it was almost unbecoming - even though he doubted anything could make her seem unbecoming. He was still angry at Will for what he did to his sister, but the fact that it could also happen to Tessa made Gabriel even more livid.

He found himself feeling a mixture of emotions, something odd and foreign to him. He wasn't used to feeling like this over a girl. And a Downworlder girl, at that. He'd heard the rumors about his father and his taste for Downworlder women, and he had promised himself that he wouldn't be like that…

But when Tessa was concerned, he would make an exception.

Another different emotion that he recognized was protectiveness. Certainly, he'd felt the urge to protect before. He was a Shadowhunter, after all. He wanted to protect his sister from Will, from all the nasty rumors that she, too, had accumulated from being associated with him. But he felt some kind of urge to protect Tessa from that. An urge that was so strong that he had to resist the urge to pull her away from the Herondale's arms the moment she had clasped onto his sleeve.

Gabriel knew it would sound crazy to anyone that he told, not that he was privy to sharing information about himself with anyone anyway, so he kept this to himself. He even tried not to think about her in the company of other people, which was in vain. Usually, though, in times like this, he'd think of her when he had enough time to contemplate his feelings, to wonder about why he felt this way and how it was possible.

He was utterly pathetic, he knew.

Which was strange, when he thought about it. Rarely, if ever, he thought about girls, he would never have been like this. The most he'd think if an attractive girl would pass him would be, oh she's attractive. Nothing of worth, nothing of merit. He wouldn't try to talk to them or anything of that sort. Just a mere thought, and that would be it.

With Tessa, it was different.

It seemed he thought about her so much that it would be considered unhealthy - an obsession of the worst kind.

That didn't stop him, however. She seemed to occupy many of his thoughts, seeping into his dreams when he thought he could get away from her. In his subconscious, she was brilliant and intelligent, fiery and persuasive, beautiful and strong. Gabriel was pretty sure that was true in real life as well.

He hadn't seen her since then, since the argument. He had heard about what was going on in her life, though, and he soaked it up like a sponge.

She found her brother, but that didn't last. Her brother betrayed her for the Magister, which happened to be Mortmain and not de Quincey like everyone had thought. The clockwork soldiers had attacked the Institute, and they all barely escaped alive. It was a lot to take in, but it was something that he was glad to know, at least. That she was safe, even if it was Will that had saved her.

Gabriel shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts. He had tried to do so for the past hour or so, but to no avail. He turned over in his bed, looking out the open window at the moon, high and full in the night sky.

He needed to get control of himself, control of his thoughts, control of everything. Control was good, control was safe.

He closed his eyes, and her face popped up behind his lids.

Somehow, control didn't seem so great anymore, especially not when he thought of Tessa Gray.

End.

And there it is! I've been wanting to write GabrielTessa for the longest time, and I finally did it! I absolutely love this pairing, even though it has little to no chance of actually happening. But aren't those the most fun? Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I'd love it if you dropped by with a review!