Hello guys – or rather, good evening to those in America and good morning to those in Asia/Australia. And good night to those in Europe like me... OK. I am completely dumb at this hour of the night (!). These last two weeks have been hell and I was too depressed to write. I thought things would put in a different ways but they did not. Well, what can I do. :/ by the way the new chapter is set in City of Fallen Angels. Our shadowhunters team have to go on a mission and there's a little tension between our beloved Clace. In maybe the next or the following chapter, we will finally see some M rated stuff between them. I am not sure when I will post that sort of chapter – it will depend on my mood and energy. I don't want to write bad M action, I want that sort of one shot to be special! ;) Anyways. As always I want to thank you for reading my one shoots and all the comments, faves + follow you did. Hope you'll also let me know what you think of this short shot. See you next time! ;)

….

"Have you got a message, Alec? Don't tell me it's him again" she teased him, referring to Magnus. They were in her room and her older brother was looking for a book he couldn't find anywhere.

Alec blushed but didn't turn to let his sister see. "It's not him. Actually, this is your lucky day. We've got our hands full tonight."

She raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"There are some demons at that new disco that has opened downtown. Apparently they are disguised well among the dancers. We need to destroy them."

"Can we make it alone or we should call the others?"

Alec, as seemed to be annoyed by something, sighed loudly. "They've told me there is some of them. We'd need to disturb somebody else."

Isabelle shrugged. "Alright. I'm going to disturb the lovebirds."

She went out of her room and left Alec alone. For some reason, her brother didn't like to interrupt Jace and Clary whatever thing they were doing at that moment. He had heard some noises and laughs when he passed his parabatai's door few minutes before. It would have been very awkward to walk in while they were doing something... private. But Isabelle wasn't like that. Isabelle didn't seem to be moved by anything. That was why she didn't bother to knock on Jace's door when she got there. She wouldn't care if she saw something she shouldn't see, she need her stepbrother and she would get him. When she got inside Jace's room, she shook her head. She didn't know why but she had expected to see something like what she caught when she figured what Jace and Clary were doing.

Her brother was half naked. He had no shirt on, just casual black pants. He was running after an equally dressed Clary – that is, she still had her underwear on. But she was wearing one of his shirts over her undergarments. They were laughing and supposedly she was running not to be caught. But he did catch her anyway. Clary fell on his bed and he jumped on her like a lion with its prey, and then, when he was about to kiss her, Isabelle cleared her throat. Both of them froze and turned to her. "Good that I was able to catch your attention at least."

"You know, if you had closed your hand in a fist and you would've hit the door, it would have been better" Jace complained, getting off Clary as soon as he finished his sentence.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "There was no time for knocking, Jace. And no, I'm not here to interrupt your heavy petting session. I came with a purpose."

"What's that? I won't forgive you if it's something lame."

The dark haired girl laughed sourly. She surely wasn't the type to say lame stuff. "Do you think I would have bothered to walk into this if it wasn't something important? By the way, cut to the point. We need help. Some annoying creatures are disturbing a quiet disco. They asked us to handle this situation."

"First, a disco is never quiet, Isabelle. And second -"

"Cut the crap, Jace. You need to follow us. And Clary does too. There's no need to comment more upon this matter." She said a bit rudely, making the blond very angry.

Clary could tell that Jace would say whatever if the matter was different, but since it was about demons, she knew he would do his job no matter what. "Is that many of them?" He asked, then he got off the bed looking for his boots.

"They've told me yes, there's many of them. And we need to hurry before they change location – it's better to kill them when they're all together. Just to be safe. I'll be waiting for you downstairs. Be quick." Isabelle left the two of them alone and closed the door shut behind her.

Jace kept collecting items as Clary was doing the same. They had felt a little bothered by Isabelle watching them, above all Clary, who had been caught in such a private rendezvous with her boyfriend. When the guy had worn a plain black shirt and put some blades hanging on his belt, he put a hand on Clary's hands. The girl was just now wearing her sneakers.

She looked up and met Jace's eyes. "You are not coming" he said sternly.

"I want to come."

"Well, you are not. You can't come, Clary."

A confused expression appeared on the girl's face. "Isabelle required my help. And I am coming. You can't stop me from that."

Jace stopped the skin contact once he walked away to one of his closets to collect more blades. "It's too dangerous. And you are not yet trained like you should be."

"Say what?" she exclaimed, raising from her seat while she was taking off the shirt. "You are not entitled to tell me what I can or cannot do, Jace. You are a shadowhunter, and so am I. I need to practice to become a better one, that is the main reason I want to come."

He shook his head and put a hand on his temple when he turned back to her. "No. I've said n-" he froze. Her shirt was down her arms now, and she only had her lace bra on. He was tempted to run to her and kiss her shoulder to let each shoulder blade fall and reveal more skin... he had to have more resolution. "Enough, Clary. Enough!" He shouted, more to himself rather than her. The fact that she was wearing so little made him mad.

"You should let me decide" she protested as she tossed his shirt away. "And I said I wanted to come. So I will come."

He closed his eyes for a brief second and reopened them once luckily Clary was putting her sweater on. "Why are you so stubborn, Fray? By the angel, you will make me die!" He lamented, turning around to grab his leather jacket and leave the room. Clary glared at the door as he did so, but she followed him outside where Isabelle, Alec and Simon were. She didn't know why her best friend was also there. She thought he probably had to meet with Izzy or he just wanted to tag along.

Jace was walking very fast and she had to run to reach him. "Come on, let's go" he said to the others once he got to them.

"Wait, you're not going to wait for Clary?" Wondered Simon, still closer to his best friend than the others.

"No. I said let's go" Jace hurried, putting a hand on both Alec and Izzy's shoulders.

"Jace Herondale! You're not gonna get away with this!" Clary screamed from the elevator.

Isabelle and Alec were silent as Clary reached Jace who had just now turned. She gave him a soft punch in the stomach; hell, she was angry at him. The others watched them with confusion written on their faces. Alec wasn't bothering much, Izzy thought she was mad because they couldn't do the dirty stuff, and Simon believed theirs were usual couple arguments.

"Now that Clary arrived, we can go" Simon commented, but Jace stopped him.

"No. Clary isn't coming with us."

"No? Why? Clary, your mother asked you to come early, maybe?" Asked Simon.

"No. She actually has her – uhm, she can't come." Jace replied for her, making Clary punch him in the ribs stronger than before.

"Stop making silly excuses, Jace. I don't have – I am not..." she blushed and looked away. "I am fully prepared to come with you, I also have a plan."

"What's the problem, Jace? Unless Clary is hurt or something, she should come with us. We need her. She's important for our team. Moreover, she can only become a good shadowhunter if she experiences how is to be a shadowhunter." Isabelle explained.

Jace sighed. "I think it's too early."

"Are you afraid she might get hurt? Well, you could get hurt too. Don't forget about that." Isabelle winked at him. Of course she wouldn't want her brother to get hurt, but it was a possibility. Even older warriors could be damaged. "Come on. Follow us, Clary."

….

Half a hour later, outside the disco they had to get in, poor Jace was rambling again. "Are you crazy, Clary? That's why I didn't want you to come! It's too risky."

"I know what I'll have to do. Don't you trust me a little bit?"

"Right, Jace. I thought you two were together. I am also afraid for Clary, but I think she can manage that. She's so good at -"

"Shut up, Simon" he ordered, side-glancing him. "I still think you shouldn't get in with us. Maybe Lewis can keep you company."

Clary felt even more enraged. "Would you stop it, please? If I said I can do it, I will do it. You just need to wait and see. And, haven't you already done this scheme?"

"Yes. But there was Isabelle at your place, I wonder how you can do that without being hurt."

"I'm not a porcelain doll, Jace. I was not made to be put on a shelf and look people doing stuff that I am also supposed to do. I am exactly like you." Clary said.

Isabelle interceded in Clary's favor. "Give it a break, Jace. Clary is a girl. She knows what to do. And for once I am happy we have another bait. Come on, you can't really stop her from helping. We are a team. Clary is part of this team. And you know fine well that she'll do it anyway." Isabelle commented while she was fixing her blades on the skirt of her dress. "And we need another girl for this."

Jace didn't look very happy. "You mean my girl? She's just getting the hang of being a shadowhunter, she shouldn't get in this risky stuff!"

"Oh, yes. She should." Isabelle disagreed. "She needs to get dirty now to avoid getting dirty later. Plus, she isn't actually yours, Jace."

He looked anxious. He wanted to explain his sister that she was being wrong, Clary still had too much to learn, but how could you argue with two women who knew what they wanted and were willing to get it? "It doesn't matter. She still shouldn't come, period."

"You won't be the one to decide." Isabelle continued.

Jace grumbled and murmured something under his breath and walked towards the entrance of the club. Clary was sure to have made him mad but she couldn't excuse it. He was being too protective of her and she didn't want that. Well, she loved when he cared for her. But she could actually take care of herself too. Plus, she knew what she had to do. She hadn't tried it before now, but she had seen it do many times on TV – it couldn't be that hard.

What Clary had to do was dance to tease the demons they had to catch. Basically similar to what Izzy did when Clary first saw her and her brothers. It wasn't difficult, and Jace's worried eyes from the corner of the room wouldn't make her feel uneasy. She had agreed to have Simon and Alec beside her while Izzy danced somewhere alone. She was dancing on a cube, that kind where dancers go on in shitty discos. She hadn't done that before, because she had only worked her rhythm on the dance floor. She was sure it was going to be memorable.

After a few minutes, a group of demons disguised as blue haired guys approached her. Alec had warned her that these kind of creatures liked to act together because they had small minds and they couldn't think as their own. These five ugly beasts circled her and started dancing around her, although dance wasn't the right verb. They were more wiggling like worms, and smiling like idiots. That was what she was seeing at least, she was sure that the crowd would not.

She lost herself in dancing until two of them touched her hips. She started to feel very sick because they had disgusting hands and so she giggled like an idiot and started to walk away. As expected, the group of demons followed her inside of a wide cabinet located next to where Jace was waiting for them.

Once they had got in, he pushed Clary outside with Simon and closed the door. This made her mood change again, that she was about to be hysterical when she reminded herself she had to be calm and that Jace would get his payback later. Simon convinced Clary to go outside to cool down, and gave her a bottle of water he had took from the bar of the club. "Calm down, Clary. You need to breath in and breath out" her best friend was recommending.

"Don't talk me about breathing" she said animately.

"Yes, yes. You're right" he giggled, reminded once again that in the state he was now, he wasn't able to breathe anymore.

They sat on the stairs of a building next to the club while Clary sipped her water. The minutes seemed to pass slowly and at some point the girl expressed the desire to go home. Simon was a little reluctant to say yes. He knew that his friend wanted to wait for Jace and to talk about the problems they were probably going through as a couple, or so he suspected. But he also knew Clary acted like this when she was frustrated. She usually wanted to be on her own to cool off.

So, when he dropped her home, he didn't complain to wave her goodbye very soon. Clary was a mess. This was their first argument in weeks and she hated it. But some things had to be said. Lately Jace was always worrying too much, guarding too much. He looked like he was even tired to train her. He was treating her too kindly in regards of their everyday missions, and she didn't like that at all. She wanted to fight. She wanted to learn.

She started to sob once she got inside Luke's house. She couldn't cry when Simon was there. She knew he wouldn't have beat Jace down because he wasn't the type, but he would worry for her as well and she didn't need him to do that too. She was lucky all the lights were out in the kitchen and living room as she approached her bedroom. That meant her mom and Luke were already sleeping. She couldn't have bore her mother's concern either. She decided to calm down with her usual medicine. Drawing. When she was down, her cure often used to be a pencil. She would draw whatever it was troubling her so it would stop making her anxious. She sat down on her bed, making herself comfortable without her sneakers, and started to draw her main cause of nervousness.

On this drawing Jace had angelic wings, but his expression wasn't what you would expect from an angel. She pictured him frowning, worried, with his arms crossed on his chest. Unlike the other times, she was very proud of what she had drawn. For some reasons that drawing held a certain something to her, and she felt that she had reached her goal.

"Wow, I don't remember to be that angry."

Clary jolted. "No. I don't want to see you. Go away."

"Ouch, I must have done it big for not wanting to see me" Jace said, getting off the window to get inside. He walked slowly and carefully towards her desk.

She cursed herself for not having closed the windows. "I'm tired."

"Are you really tired or...?"

"What does that have to mean?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I came to apologize" he admitted, suddenly lowering his voice. Clary was all ears to hear him. "I know how much you want to get better, and I know how much you want to participate in those things – our things. This is gonna be our future. You need to be prepared for that. I am a stupid for not having thought it like this."

"What enraged me so much was that you pretended to decide for me. What, am I not a person anymore? I may not have your knowledge, but I can learn" she explained. "I chose my destiny when I came back from Idris. My mother accepted it, why can't you?"

He opened his mouth. He looked speechless for a moment. "Believe me, Clary, I have accepted this since the first time I saw you. I knew you would have fought, and hard. And that as much as you want a peaceful life, you also want a little adventure. After all, this is also what you were born for. You are a shadowhunter. And I should remind myself of that."

She wanted to smile, but didn't want to make him believe he had won just yet. "Did you see how smoothly we handled those demons tonight?" she asked, changing the topic.

He grinned. "Yes. Good job. The main group went to you first. They were amused by your moves. I've got to admit I was a little jealous" he timidly confessed.

She wasn't sure if he was blushing or not but that affirmation made her happy either way. "Are you jealous of me?" Nobody had ever been jealous of her.

"In my place anybody would be jealous of the people who are with you, Clary. Have you ever seen yourself? You are wonderful. Beautiful. You may be a little stubborn but that's forgivable."

He had told her she was beautiful. Again. Her heart was fluttering in her chest like butterflies. She stood up, so she was close to him. She put her hands on his cheeks. They were warm. She felt giddy. "You need to trust me next time, Jace Herondale."

He made a weird face. "You meant that literally?"

She rolled her eyes at the clear double meaning of the question. "You never stop."

"You make it hard not to" he replied, and she interpreted that in a pervert way too.

She shook her head. "I'm serious, Jace. I trust you. Even if you do something crazy, I believe in you. And you should believe in me. Because otherwise we can't go anywhere."

"And how could I go on without you, without us? I'd be dead already."

"You see, that is an important reason why you should believe in me next time" she laughed.

She licked her lips as he smirked. Then she helped herself up a little and kissed him.

When they parted, she seemed rather unsatisfied because of what he said. "I've gotta go."

"Already?"

"What, do you want me to sleep here with you? If you still want to have a boyfriend tomorrow, I suggest I don't. And don't you have to finish my drawing?"

She smiled. "You're right."

"I want it when it's finished. It will remind me of tonight." Jace kissed her one last time before he turned for the window. He didn't want to leave her as much as she didn't want to leave him, but they knew they had to part at least for the night. "I love you, Clary."

He got out of the window before she could answer. He made her heart melt every time he said those words. Three little words, very simple but strong. She was grateful for Jace every day. She told herself that yes, things between them were surely progressing very well. But they had still a long way to go. Together.