Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"If that's everything the Clave has to offer, I'll gladly decline" Raphael sneered walking down the row of men and women the Shadowhunters had brought to him. "I won't be swayed by the offerings of mere mundanes." He stated, turning back at the Shadowhunters in question with an unimpressed look.
"Come on, you gotta find some of them at least appealing. Just pick some for whatever harem you guys have in there.." Jace made a vague gesture towards the looming front of the hotel DuMort in the background.
They hadn't been allowed to haggle inside, instead being forced to offer their ransom on the streets, like this vampire didn't know who they were. It made him angry at this obvious dismissal.
Raphael simply raised one elegant eyebrow at the other’s tone, not dignifying his words with an answer. He mustered the row of blindfolded mundanes again, before turning fully to the Shadowhunters.
"I refuse your offering." he firmly declared, challenging them to question his authority.
They had done so before and were made to regret it fiercely.
“Oh come on Santiago! This is the third batch of mundanes you refuse. Even you can't have such a weird taste, as to not like any of them. Just fucking take them and lets be done with it!” Jace cried over the short distance that the assembled Shadowhunters had left between themselves and the vampire Clan leader.
“What my tastes are is none of your concern, Shadowhunter. And your offerings are declined. My Clan has no use for mundanes.” Raphaels tone challenged Jace to try and insult him again, but the blonde Shadowhunter thankfully stayed quiet.
“What do you want then? All you need is some blood, and you always want it from humans, so we offer you some humans for free. Just take them?” a redheaded Shadowhunter besides the blonde piqued up. Raphael resisted the urge to bare his fangs at the impoliteness.
“Let me remind you, little Shadowhunter, that you and your precious Clave are the ones that came to me. You asked for a truce. You are the ones that want something from my Clan. I merely asked for a token to show you truly mean it. So far, all you people have done is parade mundanes - that could have been picked out of a dumpster for all i know - in front of my door.” he turned around, secure in the knowledge that his Clan was watching the ongoings from various points in the surrounding area, and that no Shadowhunter would be fast enough to even touch him. “You and your little friends are dismissed” he threw over his shoulder, casually walking back into the direction of the hotel.
“Wait!” a sudden cry rang from amidst the shadowhunters. Raphael had half a mind to just ignore them, but then again his Clan and himself seldom had that much entertainment, so he could afford to humor those foolish mortals for a while longer.
“Humor me” he grinned, turning around. The Shadowhunters looked between themselves confused for a second, but then a figure emerged from the back, wild black hair and his jaw set in a determined way. He glanced back at the redhead for a second and Raphael couldn't help but wonder what the story there was, but then the Shadowhunter started speaking.
“I am offering myself as a peace offering to the Clan.” His voice was steady and didn't show an ounce of fear. Raphael was taken aback for a second, but before he could respond, the Shadowhunter had opened its mouth again. "I mean, I think it's totally fair you be offered a Shadowhunter in exchange for peace with the Shadowhunters, you know. It's like one of these arranged marriages...except we are not getting married obviously...or maybe we are, I'm not sure. Not that I'm not sure about being a token of the truce or whatever. Totally sure about that part. Just what it entails isn't so clear, you know. Maybe I should have thought about that. Forethinking isn't really my strong suit, you know. But I'm a Shadowhunter so I think it's a fair deal, you get me, you hold peace with the others?"
Raphael was stunned by the wall of words suddenly forcing itself out of the guy’s mouth. If the faces of the shadowhunters around him were anything to go by, they were just as stunned as he was, watching with big eyes and open mouths. Suddenly the tension was broken by the redhead crying out 'NO!' and forcing her way to the black haired male who had just offered himself so foolishly to Raphael.
"You can't do that Simon! They will kill you..or..or worse!" the redhead was talking to the man feverishly, but he didn't pay her any mind, instead fixing Raphael with his eyes, daring him to say something.

"I accept the offer." Raphael heard himself talk without meaning to. /Dios mio what am I doing/ he thought to himself. Quickly assessing the situation, he saw the surrounding Shadowhunters exchanging glances, probably not sure what they themselves were supposed to do. Some started shifting into an aggressive position, as if to strike at any moment whereas others just watched the scene curiously or even disinterested. The redhead was still hanging onto the man's arm, now almost crying. He ignored her babbling and met
Raphael's eyes, nodding curtly. He freed himself of the grasp of the woman, who fell to earth still crying. The blonde Shadowhunter who had insulted him just a few moments before rushed to her aid and embraced her. Raphael sneered, showing such openness was sure to lead to their downfall one day.
His gaze was drawn back to the Shadowhunter slowly approaching him. He saw him reach into his jacket and automatically he shifted his stance and bared his fangs, daring the boy to even try anything. But his steps didn't falter as he slowly pulled out an unsheathed Seraph’s Blade and his Stele from inside the jacket, holding his flat hand with the items out for Raphael to take them without having to worry about being assaulted in the process. The boy had guts, Raphael had to admit that much. He quickly took a step forward, grabbing the items off the others hands and to his surprise the Shadowhunter merely flinched but didn't back down. For good measure he put one of his gloved hands on the mortals neck, just in case he decided to run from them after his foolish display of bravery.
Raphael turned back to the still watching Shadowhunters, baring his fangs at them. "I, Raphael Santiago, leader of the New York Clan, accept the Clave’s offer in form of one of their own. This Shadowhunter now belongs to us, in return we will cease our attacks on the Clave and Shadowhunters, as long as they don't provoke the attacks."
The Shadow-hunters around him nodded their agreement, even though Raphael could smell their anger from where he was standing. Slowly they backed away. One of their ranks broke free though and Raphael had to take a second look at the back haired boy approaching the redhead and blonde still sitting on the ground, because this one he actually knew. This was Alec Lightwood, the head of the New York Institute. He slightly inclined his head towards the figure in silent acknowledgement. Just then he noticed the figure underneath his fingertips squirming.
"Hold still or I will have to make you." he hissed dangerously low
"Sorry. It's just. Can I say goodbye to them? They are all I have left of a family..." the young man held his gaze on the ground as he spoke but the hope in this tone was clear. Raphael contemplated for a moment before letting go of his neck. "You have 5 minutes. Don't make me regret giving you this opportunity" he hissed turning around slightly "I expect you to come to the Hotel when you are done so you can be shown to my Clan" he stated before fully turning and zooming away.

Simon looked after the vampire for a stunned second before turning on the spot and rushing to the side of the figures huddled on the ground. In one steady motion he fell to the ground and embraced the still sobbing Clary.
"I'm so sorry Clary." Simon choked out a sob.
"How could you! They are vampires! They will probably just kill you after playing with you for a while." Clary started sobbing again. Jace fixed him with a dark glare.
Simon helplessly turned to Alec, searching his face for any kind of comfort.
"You made an incredible sacrifice for us today. But I wish you didn't." Alec inclined his head.
"None of the past offerings even seemed to interest them. And we couldn't just keep kidnapping innocent mundanes!" Simon cried out at the lack of understanding coming from his friends.
"But Simon they are vampires!" Clary shouted.
"And Luke is a werewolf. And Izzy's boyfriend is a Seelie. For God’s sake, Clary. " Simon let go of her and slowly rose to his feet.
"I will miss all of you so much, but one thing I sure won't miss is this fucking prejudice you and this whole society carry around like a torch." He spat, regretting his words a second later as he saw the tears in Clary's eyes and the sad faces of his chosen family. But he couldn't back down now. So he pushed himself to fully stand again and turned around, not daring to look back, because he didn't know if he would have the strength to carry on walking if he turned around. The dark silhouette of the Hotel DuMort seemed to daunt him, but it was way too late to back out now so he just kept walking until he reached the front doors. He took one last deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever awaited him inside, before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Chapter Text

The inside of the Hotel was dark and gloomy, the air heavy and stale from years of disuse. Simon looked around, taking in the seemingly endless hallways and dark walls. He was startled from his observation by a sudden hand on his shoulder. He whirled around, instinctively making a grab for his seraphs blade but was left with his hands coming up empty. He made an attempt to kick at his assaulter, but was stopped short in his tracks by a hand on his throat and his body slamming into the wall. He furiously strained against the hold but without his Stele to activate his runes he was left to struggle.
"Hold still, little mortal.." a voice whispered against his ear "..you brought this onto yourself.." he was suddenly dropped, the hand at his throat pulling away in a quick motion and leaving him to struggle for his breath back and to regain his composure.
"So you are the little Shadowhunter that offered himself for peace." The figure, a woman, in front of him tutted at him. Then she smirked, letting her fangs show and crowded against him again. Simon stood, pulling himself to his full height and bravely met her gaze. The woman laughed. "Oh oh, a fierce one. We are going to have so much fun with you." she cackled. Simon's gaze dropped to the ground at the thought what they would do to him, but he remained standing, not wavering from his position.
"Well come along now. I'm gonna show you around..." She inclined her head towards the stairs leading to the upper levels of the hotel and turned around, not waiting for Simon to follow.
The Shadowhunter watched after the retreating figure for a second before turning on his heels and curtly walking after her. He quickly resumed his soldier stance, with his head held high and the arms held behind his back he strode behind the foreign woman, all the while observing his surroundings and automatically making note of anything he could use as an escape or as weapon.

They stopped after many turns and twists in front of a nondescript door. The vampire motioned for the human to open the door and as he did he was low-key aware of her gliding away down the hallway. He glanced after her, thinking of all the possibilities he had of getting out of the hotel without being noticed, but just as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he quashed it again.
He had chosen to do this.
He had a reason for this and him fleeing from his fate would in the end make everything worse than it already was. He had offered his life to the vampires in exchange for peace and as long as they would hold that peace, he would belong to them. He shuddered at this thought.
Maybe he should have done a bit more thinking before stumbling forward and offering up his whole life just like that. But he had seen what this war was doing to everyone, not just the Shadowhunters and the Clave. And he was well aware of how rude and plain wrong they all had been in offering up random mundane they found on the streets. Hell, even he wouldn't have taken himself up on that offer. Those mundanes meant nothing to the Clave, as much as they like to pretend. Giving them away was easy. Offering up a Shadowhunter, no matter how young or untrained, that was a real sacrifice, a real sign. And if giving up his life meant that many others would be safe it was well worth everything the vampires would throw at him.

He took a moment to assess the state of the room. It was dark and looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time, but the bed was made and there were some books in the shelves lining the walls. He carefully felt his way over the walls until his fingers hit plastic and he tried the light switch, pleasantly surprised that the lamps lit up, illuminating the room in a soft orange glow. Not knowing what else to do, he shuffled to the big bed and tentatively sat down on it. Finding it surprisingly comfortable, he rose again to switch off the light, before making his way back to the bed, slipping under the covers this time. Not caring that he was still fully dressed, he simply closed his eyes and hoped that sleep would take him under very soon...and maybe that he would wake up and everything would turn out to have been a dream.

A few feet down the hallway, a door closed and Raphael looked up from his pacing, meeting the eyes of his second in command, Lily.
“The Shadowhunter is pretty brave for someone who just signed over his whole life” she quipped at the Clan leader.
“He is a foolish mortal who will regret his decision in the morning, like they all do.” Raphael shot back, not meeting her eyes.
“Well, too bad for him then.”
“His friends will probably be standing in front of the hotel before too long, declaring war again just to get their precious boy back.” Raphael sneered at the thought of having those fools dirtying up his entrance hall again.
“He’s got nerve. Maybe he also has enough brain to realise that there won't be an easy way out of his situation. If not… well they are welcome to try.” She smiled dangerously.
“Shadowhunters never have enough brain.” Raphael smirked back at her and she laughed with him. But immediately both of them turned their attention back to the problem at hand.
“So what do you plan to do with him?” Lily asked
Raphael looked at her and slightly shook his head.
“I don't know yet. I mean he is a Shadowhunter. But he offered himself willingly. For all intents and purposes he belongs to the Clan now. I guess I will take their wants and needs into consideration before deciding what to do with him.” Lily nodded slightly at his assessment, staying to chat about other matters for a few minutes before excusing herself and leaving the Clan leader to his thoughts.
Raphael barely noticed his second leaving the room, too preoccupied with thoughts of the black haired Shadowhunter. He realised he didn't even know what the other was called. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. The man was basically their prisoner now. Except he had come into his prison willingly. He tried working for a few minutes but his thoughts always circled back around to the human in his hotel. He wasn't even sure why he had agreed to the offering. He didn't want a shadowhunter in his hotel. But it had been the first honest offering any of the Shadowhunters had brought forwards. Refusing it would not only have been bad manners but Raphael was also very aware that he wouldn't get a better offering. Shadowhunter were usually so fiercely protective of each other, that it seemed like a wonder they had let go of this one so easily. After a few more minutes of fruitless staring at the pages in front of him he got up and made his way to the room the Shadowhunter had been given. Even if half of his Clan had probably been witness to what happened outside, he still needed to be introduced properly and the Clan had to decide what they wanted to do with him. In the end, the decision would be Raphael’s to make, but he wanted his Clan’s opinion on this whole affair nonetheless.
He arrived in front of the door way too soon, despite not having used his vampiric abilities. For a quiet moment he just stood in front of the door, not sure if he should knock or just barge into the room to assert his dominance. He finally settled on knocking on the wooden door and after listening for a few seconds and not hearing any kind of reply, entered the darkened room. He stood in the doorframe, listening to the steady heartbeat, a sound so foreign in this place and yet still so familiar. Of course the human had fallen asleep. Raphael couldn't fathom how in the world the mortal had managed to fall asleep after what had happened outside not even an hour ago. No normal human should be able to sleep with this unknown fate looming over them and yet here they were, the Shadowhunter being deep asleep in a hotel full of vampires. This was going to be a very tiring time for him, Raphael just knew it.
Sighing, he dragged a hand over his face, who would have known agreeing to peace talks with the Clave would land him in such a mess. He entertained the thought of waking up the mortal and forcing him to attend the Clan meeting for a moment before shaking his head. Maybe it was better this way, they could decide what to do with him without him being present.
He backed out of the room and closed the doors silently.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, some Clan members coming back some wanting to go out. But as soon as Raphael entered the room, all activity ceased and the vampires turned their attention to him. Raphael nodded at them “We are holding a meeting 2 hours before sunset. Attendance mandatory.” Some of them nodded and moved out of the room leaving enough space for him to move to the fridge himself.
A glass of blood in his hand he settled down on one of the many sofas and was content to sip his drink while observing the various Clan members going about the business. Being the Clan leader meant he had to look out for them, act in a way that was the best for all of them. Not like Camille, the former leader, had acted. It had been two years since Raphael had managed to overthrow the dangerous vampire, securing himself the position of Clan leader in the process. It had been a good time for them until the Clave started acting out against them a year ago. Suddenly vampires had been deemed dangerous and Raphael had been losing Clan members left and right. The only option that had been left was to retaliate. And retaliate they did. For every vampire that had been hurt by the Clave’s new policy, they had hunted down the Shadowhunters responsible. It had only taken a few deaths until the Clave abruptly changed its stance, asking for a truce. Not apologising, of course. There never was a wrong in the things the Clave did, after all. Raphael scoffed silently. He and his Clan had been willing to accept a truce, wanting to focus on having fun in their lives instead of being at war. but words of the Clave didn't mean much, so they asked for a token to show the Clave was serious about wanting to settle the feud.
This was why the last weeks had been filled with ridiculous talks, writing of many reports and the refusal to accept random mundanes as tokens of peace. Raphael had refused to sign the new accords without some guarantee that the Clave would hold it’s word this time around. Not that offering some meager mundanes was showing much trust in the vampires, but Shadowhunters weren’t know for being the smart ones.
Now that this Shadowhunter had offered himself up, all that was left to do for Raphael was signing the new accords and they would have their peace.

Simon awoke by being shaken quite rudely. He jumped up without fully opening his eyes and promptly collided head first with another body. He cursed, opening his eyes finally, just to be confronted with an angry stare and bared fangs.
“Come along Shadowhunter, you will meet the Clan.” Raphael sneered, not waiting for a response he turned around and strode out of the room again. Simon quickly dragged a hand over his face, checking for injuries, before remembering he wouldn't be able to heal them without his Stele. So he abandoned his actions and hurried after the Clan leader.
They passed several rooms on their way to the kitchen, some seeming to function as mere storage rooms, whereas others looked well lived in. Simon couldn’t help but wonder about the inhabitants, who they were, what their choices of decorations said about them. Getting lost in his thoughts he almost didn't notice Raphael coming to a stop in the kitchen. He tripped the last step down, but managed to catch himself just before meeting the floorboards. He quickly got up again, chuckling nervously, running the back of his head in embarrassment. The vampires around him mustered him with mostly unimpressed faces, some showing signs of curiosity.
Raphael instantly had the Clans attention on him. He mustered the assembled vampires, making a mental note who was absent to ask about the whereabouts later.
“Okay, listen up, everyone. The Shadowhunters finally made a suitable offer to show their intentions for peace and it was accepted. “ he checked the faces for any sign of malice but since he saw none, he continued “This Shadowhunter offered himself up to us. So it is up to us to decide what we do with him. I'm open to all sensible suggestions.”
Instantly a few hands flew up. Simon, who had been standing shock still, trying not to break his attention stance, felt his heartbeat elevating as he thought about all the things they might come up with to punish him for the Shadowhunter’s crimes. He started reciting Marvel movies in chronological order in an attempt to calm his nerves and get his heart to calm down, but in the process stopped listening to his surroundings. A sudden shove to his ribs startled him out of his musings and he looked at the Clan leader confused.

“You better start listening little Shadowhunter, it is your fate that's being decided.” Raphael hissed, dangerously close in front of his face. Simon flushed. This was not going how he anticipated his demise.
“‘M sorry” he mumbled, averting his gaze from Raphael's furious complexion.
The vampire scoffed and motioned for another member to voice his opinion.
"What's his name? If he's gonna stay we can't go on calling him 'Shadowhunter' forever."
Simon glanced up at Raphael to make sure it was okay for him to talk and at his small nod he answered “I’m Simon. Simon Lewis.” Simon looked up and smiled shyly
“We should sacrifice him to Cthulhu!” a voice chimed in from the back of the assembled masses and Raphael actually groaned at this.
“Stan, you are banned from making propositions.” he quipped back and Simon grinned at seeing the pout on the black haired vampires face.
There were some other ideas, like making Simon brush all their teeth, having him clean the windows and one woman even suggested Simon to become her personal butler, but Raphael shot down their weird suggestions effectively. Simon had to concentrate very hard to not start laughing, as the ideas for his duties became more outrageous. He couldn't believe he had been afraid of this, they all acted like teenagers outdoing themselves to annoy their dad, if he was honest.
“Anyone has any sensible propositions?” Raphael finally called into the room. The Vampires that had been smirking at each other and talking amongst themselves perked up, catching the annoyed undertones in their leader’s voice and ceased their shenanigans, not wanting to risk to piss of their leader in earnest. He fixed them with an unimpressed stare, before turning back to Simon.
“Well it seems like the Clan will go easy on you. Congratulations you are our new janitor and housemaid.”
“Do I get a cute outfit?” Simon blurted out and immediately blushed furiously, a few of the vampires in the room snickered at his antics. Raphael cocked his head to one side, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. “Sorry, I didn't mean to say that.” Simon held up his hands, as if expecting to be hurt for making a joke. Raphael shook his head.
“You're not getting a uniform.” he stated and wistfully ignored the murmur of protest from the vampires.
“Uhm.. can I… am I still allowed to talk to my friends? Like on the phone or something? Like I'm not sure how this whole thing works now, I mean I figured I kinda belong to you guys now? But I just really would like to keep in contact with them. You can like read the messages or I have the phone conversations on speaker or something so you can make sure I'm not like plotting against you or something.” Raphael blinked, yet again at marvel how this human could talk so much, so fast, without needing to breathe. It made sense that he wanted to keep his family and friends close. And there really was no reason to refuse him, but they way he had phrased it made the vampire feel uneasy. He made a mental note to revisit this topic later on.
“Sure you can!” Lily chimed in from the side, throwing one arm over Simon's shoulders. Simon only flinched for a mere second before composing himself and grinning seemingly carefree but Lily's eyes narrowed at this.
“Stan can show you around and show you your duties, right Stan? “ She called over to the goofy vampire from before, who, upon hearing his name ginned broadly and suddenly stood right in front of Simon. This time Simon wasn't able to hide his panicked expression quickly enough and he took an instinctive step backwards but only collided with Raphael's torso.
“Stop scaring him, he's supposed to work here, not hide in corners afraid of being assaulted.” the Clan leader narrowed his eyes at the two innocently grinning vampires before carefully turning Simon around to face him again. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned for the boy’s safety, but he wouldn't let him be threatened under his watch either.
“You okay with going with them?” He asked Simon who nodded and was quick to grin again
“Yeah of course, just caught me off guard.” he smiled sweetly at Stan who in turn raised an eyebrow.
“For a Shadowhunter, you get flustered way too easily.” he turned to Raphael “Are you sure he's a real one, not just some tattooed mortal?” his tone was mocking and none of them noticed how Simon’s features slightly hardened at them doubting his abilities.
“Well, excuse me for not being used to being around vampires so much.” Simon stared at him defensively.
“Oh look he's got fight in him, feisty.” Lily chuckled and Simon blushed, embarrassed by his outbreak, but still meeting their stares head on, refusing to back down.
“He definitely has the stubbornness of a Shadowhunter.” Stan finally laughed and with that he took Simons arm and dragged him out of the room.

Chapter Text

Simon knew he should be listening to what the vampire was telling him. He should be concentrating on the words leaving his mouth, but he just couldn't. He tried a few times, but only ever caught a few words, before his mind started drifting again. His brain was actively working against him again and he hated it with every part of his being. Being so far in his head about his brain not acting in a way he wanted it to, he didn't even notice that Stan had stopped talking and looked at him now.
“Are you even listening, Shadowhunter? Or is this beneath your mighty highness?” Stan mocked.
Simons head snapped up, his eyes growing big at being caught zoning out. He quickly shook his head
“No. I’m sorry. I didn't mean to.” Stan scoffed, but continued his explanations about the Hotel DuMort, its’ occupants and Simon’s various tasks around the hotel. Simon forced himself to really listen this time around and was mostly successful.
They stopped their tour back in the hallway where Simon’s room was situated.
“You better keep to your room if you’re not doing your tasks. Raphael’s room is just down the hall and he really doesn’t enjoy being disturbed.” Stan smirked at Simon and Simon thought for a moment that the other was probably enjoying taunting him way too much. Before he remembered that he was practically considered their enemy and they all most likely had good reasons to not like Shadowhunters like him. So he simply nodded and murmured a small thanks before heading inside his room.
His phone still lay on his bed, but right beside it a charger had magically appeared. Simon shook his head in amusement over his own thoughts. It had most probably not been magic. Someone must have taken pity on him. Or it just came as a standard with every room. He quickly scanned the room for the electrical socket nearest to the bed and plugged his phone in.
He didn’t have to wait long for his phone to turn on after that. He retrieved his headphones from his jacket pockets and turned on his music, before settling on the bed and scrolling through his notifications. There were a lot of angry messages by Clary, cursing him for being so reckless, accusing him of abandoning her and even of siding with the vampires. Simon sighed and chose to just ignore her for the moment. She had an incredible knack for dramatics, but he guessed she would calm down before long and realise that what he did would profit all of them in the long run. She would eventually stop being mad at him, she always did. Just to be sure, Simon opened his calendar and set himself a reminder to check in with Clary in a few days. Satisfied with his course of action he moved on to check his other notifications.
There were some texts from Izzy, the first one asking him if he was out of his mind and the last two assuring him that she would help him, whatever he needed. Simon smiled slightly at her insistence that he call her, should the vampires be mean to him. From all of his family, she was the one who would understand his decision the best. They had dated for a short while around two years ago and Simon remembered the fierce way in which Izzy had ranted about the unfairness in the Shadow World and about downworlders and Shadowhunters deserving equal rights with fondness. They hadn’t worked out for various reasons, but they always stayed friends and Simon knew she was currently dating a Seelie named Meliorn. If anyone would support him, it was Izzy. He quickly typed out a reassuring reply to her, but left out his new duties as a housecleaner. He knew she would use it to make fun of him before long. After scrolling through the various notifications for some apps, which he all ignored, Simon put his phone down beside the bed and moved to get ready for sleep. Only then he realised that he didn’t have a change of clothes with him. He cursed loudly, only to remember that the vampires in the building would probably be able to hear him. Continuing to curse more silent, he moved through the room, checking the cupboards and the closet. In the latter he finally found some clothes, none of which seemed to have been worn before. For a moment he thought about magic again, but the more logical explanation seemed that every room came equipped with some kind of basics. He changed into a loose pair of sweatpants and then went back to bed, sending another text to Izzy asking her to please find a way to get all his stuff to the Hotel. He then double checked if his phone really was still charging and laid back down to sleep.

The next days consisted for the most part of Simon trotting around the hotel and cleaning stuff. He had quickly figured out what he had missed from Stan’s explanation, for example where to find the cleaning supplies. So he spent most of his days cleaning, sweeping the floors, dusting off cobwebs and being all around pretty busy. The hotel didn’t seem to have seen a thorough cleaning in several years, or decades. For all Simon knew it was quite possible that nobody had really cleaned this place since it had been a real hotel and not a den of undead creatures. Sometimes he ran into a member of the Clan, but it didn't happen often and Simon started to feel incredibly lonely in his daily tasks. During the day they all mostly slept and the hotel seemed gloomy and dark without anyone around. To be fair it also seemed gloomy and dark with people around, but it felt a bit better. He had taken to listen to music through his headphones while cleaning. At the moment he was listening to Hamilton for what must have been the 20th time this week, quietly humming along under his breath. So naturally he didn’t notice when a vampire snuck up to him from behind and suddenly poked his sides. Simon screamed and without thinking used the broom he had in his hand to attack his assailant. His defence was quickly blocked and he found himself nailed to the wall, the broom held in front of his torso and a laughing redhead in front of his face.
“You’re not all bad Shadowhunter, you could make a decent opponent.“ She laughed and released her grip on his broom, taking a few steps back.
“Uhm...thanks? I guess..” Simon mumbled.
“I’m Ruby. We haven't met, I was away when you came here. But I was told all about you and I always wanted to train with a Shadowhunter so you and I are gonna spar now.“ She grinned at him and Simon just nodded, instinctively shifting into fighting position. Ruby laughed again.
“Not right now, dummy. It's still light outside and I want to sleep. Meet me in 5 hours in the basement, room five.” She didn't wait for Simon to answer, just turned around and was suddenly gone. Simon stared at the spot where she had been standing for a few moments, before shaking his head. This was his life now apparently. He put in his earphones again, which had fallen out during the short fight, and just caught the last notes of “Stay Alive” he chuckled at the irony and resumed his sweeping.
As the sun was going down, Simon had finished his daily duties and was in the process of storing all the cleaning supplies away again. He took a quick look at his phone and figured he could take a quick shower before heading downstairs to spar with Ruby, so he quickly made his way to his room again. He took a quick shower and changed into a loose fitting outfit from the wardrobe in his room. He had to smile at the sight of himself in the mirror. He looked like a proper Shadowhunter in all black clothes. He missed training with the others and he missed actually having interactions with other beings than himself and the internet.

Sparring with Ruby was different than anything he had ever done, due to her being a vampire her movements were so much more swift and faster than he could ever be, even if he had his stele to activate a rune for this. But it also was fun. He bantered with her and she in turn called him out on his fighting techniques whenever she felt him slipping or not giving his best. She also talked a lot during sparring, about everything from her youth and how she came to the Clan to the newest developments in technology and Simon kept up with her rambling about the new iPhone as much as he kept up with her attacks.
Finally Ruby called a halt to their session, when she landed an especially vicious blow to his ribs and he didn't dodge it fast enough. Pain blossomed from where her foot had connected to his sides but Simon grit his teeth and smiled through the pain, not wanting to seem weak.
“You’re getting slow.” the vampire laughed at him. Simon simply nodded, not daring to speak, as he didn’t want to admit that he was in pain. At the institute they had taught them how to breathe through the pain and to cover it up as perfectly as possible. Never admit to weakness.

Ruby laughed and pulled him upstairs a few minutes later, dragging him into the kitchen where she got herself a glass of blood. Simon didn’t notice all the eyes in the room following them, too busy with working through the pain in his torso. Some vampire suddenly bumped into him and Simon automatically bit his lip to stop himself from shouting in pain. A second later he tasted blood in his mouth and inwardly groaned.

“What the fuck!” The angry shout ripped Simon out of his musings if he would be able to accidentally bite through his lip if enough force was applied and he noticed how suddenly all eyes in the room were on him, including those of the Clan leader, who looked incredibly angry at him.
“Everyone out! Al instante!” Raphael bellowed at the other vampires and surprisingly they instantly left the kitchen, none of them taking their eyes off Simon though, some even baring their fangs at him.
“No reason to act all rude.” Simon murmured, licking a bit of blood from his lips, Raphael barely stopped himself from crashing his mouth on the others, to taste the blood. He knew it would be an immensely bad idea. Instead he grabbed the Shadowhunter by his arm and forcefully dragged him out of the kitchen and into his office, before he managed to attract the attention of any of the Clan members that hadn’t already fed that day.
Simon spluttered but couldn't fight against the Clan leader. He probably would have nevertheless tried, if it weren’t for his still existing injuries.
In his office Raphael unceremoniously dumped Simon on the nearest armchair and took a few steps back from him. The smell of Shadowhunter blood had subsided, but it was still fresh on his mind and he needed a bit of space between them.
“Are you out of your mind? Idiota! El burro sabe más que tú! I always knew Shadowhunters were stupid, but making yourself bleed in a room full of vampires? Do you use that head of yours for something else than growing hair?” Raphael fixed Simon with an angry stare.
“It’s not like i can tell my body to stop pumping blood around now, is it?” Simon quipped back, feeling rightfully insulted, he tried to cross his arms in front of his body, but instead he just winced in pain as he tried it. “Aw, fuck this fucking shit.” he cursed under his breath, but Raphael still heard him.
“What is wrong?” the vampire asked
“Well I was sparring with Ruby and she hit me and it hurts? And then I bit my lip and suddenly I’m getting chewed out like a fucking kid that ripped his pants while playing?” Simon answered truthfully, not caring for acting invulnerable anymore. Raphael was perplexed by actually getting an answer, but seeing the open pain in Simon's face he quickly reassessed the situation.
“You got hurt, why didn't you tell anyone?” he asked more careful.
“Well it's not that bad, it will be healed in a few days.” Simon answered dismissively, Raphael's eyes widened.
“A few days?”
“Yeah maybe a week or so?” Simon answered, sounding not so sure anymore. He helplessly shrugged his shoulders and instantly pulled a face at the pain shooting through his body.
“Let me see.” Raphael took a step forwards coming to a halt in front of Simon. The human hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately lifted up his shirt carefully, revealing a jumble of blue and purple bruises covering half his torso.
“See it's not that bad.” Simon told him through gritted teeth but still managed to somehow smile up at Raphael standing over him.
“Idiota!” Raphael exclaimed again, at which Simon just huffed.
“So can I go now?”
Raphael threw the Shadowhunter an exasperated look and moved over to his desk, rummaging through the drawers. He came back and handed Simon his Stele. Simon just looked at him with lack of understanding.
“Your runes, idiota. heal yourself.”
“Oh.” Simon quietly said, taking his stele with careful motions. He quickly activated his Irate rune and actually let out a pleased sigh, at feeling the hurt vanish from his body. Raphael's eyes narrowed. If he had been in so much pain, why had he insisted on being fine before. He was just about to question him on it, when the Stele was thrust back into his hands and Simon suddenly stood up, smiling disarmingly at Raphael.
“Well that was nice, thank you.”
“Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?” Raphael cocked his head confusedly.
“I mean you are kinda the leader here? So you being nice to me is kinda like fraternising with the enemy, seeing as I am still a Shadowhunter, kind of? Except that whole offering up myself thing was really like a marriage, but you don’t act like it was so I doubt it was. Was it? Anyways you don’t really seem to like spending time with me? it seems like you barely tolerate me most days.”
“Dios, do you ever shut up?”
“Geez, I’m sorry.” Simons retort was made to sound jokingly but the hurt expression on his face didn’t match the humor in his voice. Raphael desperately wanted to say something, anything at all to soothe the hurt from Simons face, but his brain came up empty and he just stared at him.
Simon answered his gaze for a few seconds before lowering his head and making a move to leave Raphael’s office.
“Wait.” the vampire called after him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But next time you get hurt like that please just come to me and heal yourself. I can’t have you running around a hotel full of vampires while you are bleeding.” at Simons solemn nod he smiled.
Simon returned the smile tentatively and without any warning moved towards Raphael enveloping him in a quick hug before hastily skipping out of the room. Raphael stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, before shaking his head and deciding that he might as well get some work done.
Simon walked down the hallway smiling to himself. Even though he still wasn’t sure if the vampire didn't like him, he at least seemed to be concerned for his well being somehow and that meant a lot to him.

Chapter Text

Simon left Raphael's office feeling a lot better about himself. True, he was tired but at least he felt accepted by the older vampire. He stumbled over this thoughts for a moment, wondering when he came to care about the other’s opinion of him that much. But Raphael had been mostly nice to him, even if his enactment of niceties lets something to be desired, his intentions had obviously only been to help Simon, so he let it slide.
Occupied by his mind running wild, Simon didn’t pay attention to where he was going and was taken by utter surprise as his body suddenly collided with an unmoving object and he fell backwards, barley catching himself on the way down.
“I do not think I have ever been witness to a Shadowhunter as ungraceful as you seem to be. And I have encountered quite a lot of them” a mocking voice above him chided. Simon grumbled, adjusting his glasses, which had slipped down his nose during his fall. He looked up and was met with a taunting smile.
“Oi, leave him be Lancelot.” a second voice chimed in suddenly from behind. Turning around Simon was met with the redheaded vampire with whom he had sparred earlier on. She extended a hand towards Simon, which he gratefully took and pulled him back onto his feet.
“Whatever.” Lancelot said in an almost hiss and Simon actually took a careful step back. Ruby just swatted at his head, which made the vampire growl at her.
“Quit being mean to him, it's not his fault he's a human.” she laughed at the blond haired vampires antics.
“It’s still not an excuse to just start bleeding.” Lancelot murmured, but already turned his back and probably using his vampire speed, was suddenly gone.
“Don’t mind him, he’s one of the youngest around here. Not as easy to ignore his urges as for the older ones of us.” Ruby patted his shoulder a bit awkwardly, but Simon appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
“Thanks.” he murmured “I didn’t mean to, you know. The bleeding part I mean. But it kinda hurt after you kicked me and it just happened.” he awkwardly fumbled with his sleeves, not entirely comfortable with admitting to such a weakness.
“You should have told me.” Simon just shrugged. ”No seriously. I enjoyed sparring with you, but if you don’t tell me when you are seriously hurt, it could get really dangerous for you. You can’t take as much damage as we do, you’re just a human after all.” Simon scoffed. “No offence, it's just a fact.”
“Yeah, alright fine.” he finally agreed.
Ruby furrowed her brows at his obvious dismissal of her concerns.
“You seem like a nice guy, don’t ruin that impression.” She told him and walked away before he could reply. Simon stated after her for a moment, replaying the interaction in his head, not quite understanding how he came off as rude to her. After a few moments he chalked it up to miscommunication and shrugged. People tended to misunderstand him a lot. He walked the rest of the way to his room and got himself ready for bed.
But as much as he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. His body was exhausted but his mind was wide awake and working full speed to his disappointment. He took out his phone and sent a quick text to Izzy checking how things were going, but considering it was in the middle of the night, he was not surprised by the lack of response. Their last conversation had been about Clary moping around the institute and how the Clave was starting to make up annoying new rules again. Simon had almost been glad to be away. He opened up Twitter on his phone and scrolled through his feed for a bit, but there wasn’t much going on. The clock kept going and somewhere around 6 am Simon finally gave up and dragged himself out of his bed again. He did the math in his head and figured that he had been awake for roughly 20 hours and groaned. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep now anyways he gathered the blanket around himself, wrapping it securely around his body and scuffled over to the bookshelf.
His eyes scanned the titles and he was surprised to find a broad variety of works and genres. Somebody had been an avid reader, it seemed. He moved along the shelf and had to take a double take at the last few books. They were spanish children books, looking rather old but not uncared for. Simon thought back to his struggles to learn spanish in an attempt to feel closer to his biological family and sighed. It hadn’t really make him feel at home but he had enjoyed the language and hadn’t been half bad at it. He still fondly remembered the exchange program with Argentina he had been part of, where he had stayed with a host family for 3 months and their son had stayed with Clary at their uni rooms in exchange. He hadn’t spoken a single word of english in those three months and cried when he had to go back. And it seemed like his new boss, if you could call Raphael his boss, spoke spanish. Coming to a decision he grabbed two of the books and went back to his bed, intent on reading through them and brushing up on his language skills.

An insistent buzzing woke him up a few hours later. He lifted his head carefully from the page he had fallen asleep on and fumbled around the nightstand to get his phone. After seeing Izzy's smiling face on his caller ID he slid to accept the call.
“Finally, sleeping beauty awakes” a way to chipper voice on the other end greeted him. Simon couldn’t help but smile at hearing her voice.
“I’m living with nocturnals now, what did you expect?”
“Oh so you are adjusting to their sleeping schedule now? Isn’t that a bit over the top?”
“Eh. It’s not like I’ll be sucking blood anytime soon. Don’t worry. It’s lonely being the only living thing up at day. Well I am the only living thing at night too. But you know..” He chuckled at Izzy’s sigh through the phone.
“Anyways, loser, I got your stuff. Yes even that insane amount of comics you insisted on taking with you when you guys moved in.”
‘“Oh! that's amazing! Thank you so much Izzy.” Simon smiled brightly at his empty room.
“It’s the least I could do. I mean you did a very stupid thing, but it’s kinda what’s keeping us all safe now. So.. thank you, I guess.” Simon shrugged, before remembering that she wouldn’t see it through the phone.
“Yeah I mean. Sure.”
“Eloquent as ever:” Izzy’s laugh rang through the phone. “So when can we dump your stuff at the Hotel ?”
“Oh. I’m not sure. What time is it?” Simon fumbled with his phone until he saw the clock showing that is was already 5pm. “Oh wow. I think I actually slept the whole day.”
“Only you would move in with vampires and then accidentally adjust to their sleeping cycle, Simon.”
“You say ‘move in’ like this is a flatshare. I’m not recreating F.R.I.E.N.D.S.. with them, you know?”
“I mean you are totally Joey” Izzy laughed again and Simon found himself smiling along while hearing her laugh.
“I will have you know that I am most definitely Phoebe. Even though I am being treated like a Monica here.” both of them were still laughing.
“So when do I hand deliver your stuff to you?”
“Uhm..I will have to check with Raphael “ Simon admitted sheepishly
“Alright, go ask your slave master. Just send me text, I’m not due for patrol until 2am.”
“Will do. Thank you Izzy.”
“Anytime:”

The clicking on the other end of the line felt miles away from Simon, as he unlocked his phone to double check the time. He then got up and drew back the heavy curtains over his window, seeing that it was still light outside. He did a quick google search when the sun would go down and seeing that it would be another 3 hours he sighed impatiently. There was no way he could wait 3 hours.

This is how Simon Lewis found himself pacing in front of Raphael's door just a few minutes later. He had been set on just walking up to his door and knocking, but as he had actually stood in front of the man's door, he had realised what a stupid move that would be. He had been living with the Clan for what, a week? And he was technically their property or something, he still didn’t exactly know his standing with them but they hadn’t chained him to a wall and tortured him so that was a win.
Though that could still change, especially if he woke up their leader in what must be the middle of the night for him. But he really, really wanted to get his stuff, he sick of wearing clothes that belonged to other people, or possibly dead people. Probably dead people, no matter what kind of dead he was thinking about.
He stopped walking in front of the door and instead walked to the opposite wall, sinking down against it and settling on the floor. We could wait. He was good at waiting.
He lasted a whole five minutes until he abruptly stood up again and began pacing again. he tried counting his steps from the wall to the door and back again. Five, Six, Seven… and suddenly collided with a something. Raising his head from where he had been staring at his feet moving around he sheepishly smiled at the Clan leader into whose very solid chest he just had walked.
“Uhm...hi.” he tilted his head a bit downwards to meet the Clan leaders eyes, forgetting why he had come to his door in the first place for a few moments. The vampire just scowled at him impatiently.
Simon took in the sight of the vampire in front of him, Raphael's hair was free of the usual product and the black hair seemed to have soft curls adorning it, which Simon found very cute. In fact he was so preoccupied with mustering the other, that he didn’t notice that he was supposed to speak and explain himself, or maybe apologise for waking the other.
“You want to bring a camera so you can take a picture? Then I can go back to sleep at least?” the voice of the vampire brought Simon back to the moment.
He blushed, quickly averting his eyes and took a stumbling step back.
“Sorry. No. I mean yes. But no. Definitely not okay, I’m very sorry.”
Raphael only scoffed as a response, still bitter about having been woken by the humans annoying heartbeat and trampling at this late hour.
“Either talk or get out of my sight.” he snapped at Simon a few moments later, at which Simon seemed to snap to attention.
“I want to meet with Izzy!” he blurted out, making Raphael cringe at the other’s volume. Simon for once picked up on the others miserable expression and continued his explanation in a quieter voice. “She picked up my stuff from the Institute for me. You know because I probably am not allowed back there. Not sure if you would allow me to go there but I figure the Clave won’t want me to go back there either. But I kinda need my stuff here? Like clothes and my books and comics. And Izzy got that for me.” he looked at Raphael hopefully.
The vampire had listened to the other’s rambling with growing impatience.
“And this couldn’t wait until it was time to get up, no?” He once again snapped at the other. Simon’s face immediately fell and Raphael almost regretted his harsh tone. But the Shadowhunter couldn’t just expect everyone to jump to his every wish.
“Yeah, sorry. You’re right. I’m sorry. Sorry.” Simon turned around, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
“Dios, it’s still light outside. What did you expect?” Simon turned around and just shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
“I may have not thought it through?” he admitted sheepishly. Raphael just rolled his eyes.
“That much is obvious. I’ll accompany you after sundown. Tell your Shadowhunter friend to meet you at the football field in Jefferson Park by the river.” without waiting for an answer, Raphael turned around and went back into his room, the door falling shut behind him.
Simon stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, confused by the sudden change in mood by the vampire. But he quickly recovered and a smile spread over his face.
He skipped back to his room and texted Izzy about the meeting place, receiving a thumbs up in response

Chapter Text

It was several minutes after sundown and Simon was pacing back and forth in his room, stopping every few paces to look at the door, willing it to open.
After having disturbed the clan leader during his sleep, he didn’t dare to go to his room again and ask him when they would leave. He didn’t exactly have a death wish, no matter what Clary used to say about his clumsiness, thank you very much.
Finally, after what felt like hours of waiting and walking, there was a swift knock on his door. Simon didn’t have time to react before his door was opened and Raphael stood in his room, his expression carefully blank.
Simon opened his mouth to thank the other again, but Raphael gestured for him to stay quiet and Simon obliged.

The way to the park was uneventful, Simon had to jog to keep up with the vampires speed, but he didn’t mind. He knew how fast vampires could travel and was very glad that Raphael restrained his pace for his sake. At least this way he was getting some exercise again, he figured.
It still took them some time to arrive at the meeting place and even from afar Simon could spot the lone figure of Izzy standing by several boxes, which contained all of Simon’s earthly possessions.
Raphael stopped and a few moments later Simon was by his side. Izzy mustered the vampire for a moment, before turning all her attention towards her fellow Shadowhunter. In a few quick strides she stood in front of Simon, who had been fiddling with his sleeves awkwardly, and embraced him. Simon went rigid for a split second, before relaxing in the embrace and slinging his arms around Izzys shoulders.
Without Simon noticing, Izzy fixed Raphael over his shoulders with an icy stare. The vampire, being used to this treatment from shadowhunters didn’t think anything by it,and just returned her stare impassive. That's when he saw her lips moving and even though he couldn’t hear any any words escaping her lips, he could see what she is going at. ‘If you hurt him, I will end you’. Raphael is not scared of Shadowhunters, he seldom was. But the Lightwood siblings never seemed like the most stable people to him and he knows a honest treat when he sees it. He felt his fangs drop at the thought of this girl threatening him, but she was still embracing Simon and it wouldn’t look good on their new cease-fire if he attacked a Shadowhunter. So he settled on growling at her, well aware how it would look like to anyone watching the scene from the outside. But his vampire senses reassured him that they are the only people at the park, he had checked this first as they entered the premise. He wasn’t growling because of the implication that he would ever intentionally hurt simon, he told himself. He simply didn't like how feisty the female Shadowhunter wass behaving and wanted to remind her who he is. And he almost believed it himself only for his growl to turn into a quiet hiss as he watched Simon slowly letting go of the girl only to kiss her hair.
It took Raphael a moment to realize what he was doing and he instantly stopped and forced his fangs to retract, but the woman was already looking at him curiously and Simon looked about ready to scold him about being nice to his friends. Before any of them could speak however, Raphael did.
“So that all of your belongings?” He addressed Simon, not willing to talk with the female shadowhunter if its not absolutely necessary. The human nodded, still looking at Raphael like he will jump at them any moment and Raphael hated himself in that moment for having put this suspicious expression on the others face.
“Cheer up, Vamp.” Izzy smirked at him and Raphael had half a mind to damn the law and rip her head of as she leaned into Simons side again, whispering something in his ear. He choose not to listen to their conversation, respecting the mortals privacy seemed like something he would appreciate. And Raphael had already made him irritated once today. For a few moments he wondered when he started caring about the wellbeing of this fragile mortal so much but he chalks it up to him being his responsibility.
The two shadowhunters seemed to have finished their conversation and Raphael wanted to remind them of him still being there. But Simon once again embraced the female and she returned the gesture just as fierce. Then the ringing of a phone was heard and the Lightwood sibling let go of Simon in order to retrieve the cell out of her pocket. Taking a look at the display she threw Simon an apologetic look.
“It’s from the Institute. I have to go, sorry.” Simon shook his head and smiled at her.
“It’s fine Izzy. It was great seeing you. And thank you again for doing this.” he gestured to the boxes still standing by the side.
“Of course.” Izzy’s face softened for a minute and she moved to drop a kiss to Simons cheek, offering one last hug before taking out her stele and suddenly she was off into the night again. Simon watched after her for a few seconds,thinking about how much he used to love the feeling of runes giving him power. It had made him feel useful for once. But he didn’t linger on these thoughts, as suddenly Raphael was standing next to him, two boxes already in his hands.
“Come on, I have other responsibilities then accompany you to your dates.” Raphael didn’t mean for it to come out quite as harsh as it sounded, but Simon didn’t seem to notice. He picked up the remaining two boxes without complaint.
“I’m not dating her.” Simon murmured under his breath but Raphael of course still heard him.
“You don’t need to lie to me.” Raphael snapped at him, and he could see Simon rolling his eyes at his demeanour but he didn’t care. He was for all intents and purposes responsible for Simon and lying to him won’t make his life easier.
“I’m not. We tried that but it didn’t work out.” there was a hint of annoyance in Simons voice and Raphael suddenly felt bad for prying that much.
“Well she seemed very fond of you, I’m sure you can win her back.” he didn’t know why the words left his mouth. He wasn’t even aware of thinking them, he just heard the annoyed tones in the mortals voice and wanted to make him happy again.
“Don’t let Meliorn hear that.” Simons laughed at him and Raphael almost asked who Meliorn is, because the only Meliorn he knows is working as a knight for the Seelie Queen and there is no way that Simon would even know him. But he refrained from asking and they continued their way back to the Hotel in silence.
He also refrained from thinking about Simon and the black haired Shadowhunter again.

At the Hotel Simon and Raphael were met with some confused stares, but a simple stare by Raphael sufficed to shut up anyone who normally would have tried to pose a question about them being out. The vampire accompanied Simon to is room and gently set the boxes down in the middle of the room.
“Wow thank you again fpór allowing me to get my stuff any y’know coming with me any helping carry this stuff.” Simon smiled at Raphael again and the vampire was taken aback by how satisfied it made him feel to see the human smile like this.
“Not like I could have left you out there on your own.” Raphael replied and by the way Simons smile faltered slightly he could tell that this hadn’t been the right response. He had the sudden urge to hug the other, which confused him even more. Deciding that the had been standing there in awkward silence for long enough he turned around and left the room, speeding to his office in the hopes that doing paperwork would manage to take his mind off those foreign thoughts.
Simon watched the place where the vampire had stood just a few seconds before. The reminder that he was basically a prisoner inside the Hotel now had taken his mood a few notches down but looking around himself he chose not to dwell on those feelings and instead focus on the fact that he had all his stuff with him again.
So he set out to unpack the boxes and rearranging the room to his liking.

Simon happily looked around in his room. There was a pile of boxes and everything he valued especially was strewn across various surfaces of the room. It was just starting to look a bit like home.
At this thought Simons face froze. Did he really think about the Hotel as his home now? Not like he had much of a choice, but normally it took him way longer to feel comfortable at a new place. He had been living in this space not even a full week and already was referring the Hotel as his “home” in his head.
It should scare him, how he was so eager to accept this place full of dangerous creatures as his new safe space, but it oddly didn’t. No one inside of these walls seemed to be threatening to him, on contrary, they sometimes even seemed to go out of their way to not threaten him.

The buzzing of his phone kept Simon from exploring this thought any further. He glanced on the screen, ready to dismiss whatever notification had decided to pop up, but paused when he saw Clarys name.

From: Clary
OmG Simon all your stuff is gone! What happened?!?

To: Clary
Izzy dropped it off at the Hotel .

From: Clary
WHY?!?

To: Clary
Well, I live her now so my stuff being here is kinda favourable

From: Clary
Don’t be stupid Simon! I won’t let those Downworlders hold you hostage forever.

Simon looked down on his phone display frowning. He had had this discussion with Clary several times, but she still refused to see that this was his life now. He may not exactly like it, but it was not like he was in danger or being treated badly, in contrast to the Institute sometimes. But it seemed like Clary just wouldn't’
budge from her viewpoint, and Simon couldn’t help but resent her for it. He settled on sending her a facepalm gif and after not receiving a reply for several minutes considered the matter resolved.

While unpacking the rest of his stuff, Simon received a new message and he frowned at the sender. Jace didn’t usually talk to him much less send him messages, so why would he do now, that Simon wasn’t even living at the Institute anymore. He sighed and tapped on the preview to see the message.

From: Jace
Dude what have you done this time?!

Simon sighed. Whatever it was that Jace was trying to blame on him now, he already new he would not like it. There was no way the blonde didn’t hear about Simon being traded to the vampires, so for him to still be blaming him for something, that can’t be good news.

To: Jace
What?

From: Jace
Clary is throwing a fit at Maryse and Robert about saving you. What have you set her up to now? Not enough you are living with the enemy now, is it? Still need Clary to save your ass after being so stupid, do you?

To: Jace
Why me? I am not doing anything. I told her I don’t need saving or whatever. Not exactly a damsel in distress

From: Jace
You’re way too ugly to be a damsel either way.

Simon huffed in annoyance at the latest message and choose to not deign it with a reply. The blonde could go choke on his ego for all he cared. All the blonde cared about where looks, fighting techniques and overall prowess and he took every opportunity to boast about these things. As Simon possessed none of those qualities in the other Shadowhunters mind, they had never gotten along well.
Maybe Simon really was way better off living with vampires than Shadowhunters. At least they didn’t taunt him quite as much.

He sighed and decided to put his phone in flight mode, not willing to deal with any more messages from so called “friends” for the night. Instead he choose a playlist from his phone and went back to unpacking his stuff with the comforting sound of disney classics wafting through his room.

Chapter Text

“You know, it’s not all bad being a vampire I guess.” Raphael turned to face the human currently standing in the Hotel 's kitchen apparently trying to make food for himself and cooked an eyebrow , silently prompting him to elaborate.
“I mean yeah, sun and everything, jada jada. But you guys don’t have to deal with making food, and that has to count for something.” Simons voice got gradually more annoyed as he attempted to cut the pieces of vegetables in front of him, without cutting himself in the process. He wouldn’t risk going all bloodbath on the vampires again.
Raphael looked at the scene in front of him with barely hidden amusement, before deciding to take pity on the human and moved in behind him, grabbing his hands in his. If anyone would ask Simon about it later, he definitely didn’t yelp in surprise and almost cut off his thumb.
Raphael chuckled at his antics before adjusting Simons hands on the carrots he was currently occupied with and on the knife, He then moved their hands in unison, quietly explaining how Simon should hold the knife, which way to cut and what to look out for.
If asked, Raphael wouldn’t be able to explain why he had taken this approach instead of just letting the human fend for himself. But now he was standing behind him, their bodies incredible close. He could smell the Shadowhunters blood and his brain unhelpfully supplied him with images of Caramel and sunshine. He was way too controlled to be affected by the smell, but somehow he was still relieved that he just had feed.
They moved through the small pile of vegetables like that, Simon slowly relaxing into the almost embrace they shared in this way. He would absolutely deny being disappointed when Raphael moved away from his back. But Raphael just moved a bit to the side, leaning his back against the counter and watched Simons techniques, sometimes making small comments how to improve his cutting.
“How do you know how to cook?”
“What, do you think vampires suddenly lose all memories of their lives before?” Raphael chuckled amused, reaching out his hand to slightly nudge Simons glasses, which had slipped down, back onto his nose
“Uhm, no?”
“My mother used to cook with us. Me being the oldest meant I had to help her quite a lot. I still sometimes cook. I have a sister, she’s 80 and lives at a retirement home. She doesn’t remember me but I could never forget about her.” Raphael wasn’t sure why he was sharing these informations with Simon. He didn’t usually go around telling people about his family, but the Shadowhunter just had something that made him trust him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Nobody knows.” Raphael admits silently, and Simon nods in understanding, resting his Hand on top Raphaels for a moment.
They spent the rest of the time cooking in silence, but it didn’t feel weird or uncomfortable. It felt like comfortable.

When Simon finally sat down to eat, Raphael joined him, sitting down opposite of him.
“This is really nice.” Simon commented, smiling at Raphael who just nodded.
“it’s really cool that you care so much about your family.” Simon tried again to get a conversation flowing between them. At this Raphael actually looked up, meeting the others honest gaze.
“Family is important.” Raphael simply replied.
Simon shrugged his shoulders in between two bites of food. “Not like I would know it.”
“You don’t like your family?” Raphael perked up, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly.
“I don’t know. Grew up in foster care, Clary is the closest thing I ever had to a stable family. And we aren’t even related. I only know a handful of small facts about the people that I came from.LIke that they were jewish.” Simon admitted quietly. He had become used to this being his life for a long time, but telling new people about it still held a bit of a sad twinge to it. He really would have liked a chance to grow up with his real family. Or any family for that matter.
Raphael was stunned by the others admittance. He didn’t know how to respond to this open statement, was he supposed to comfort the other? Ignore his words and act like nothing was wrong?
Following a sudden impulse he covered Simons hand with his and gave it a small squeeze.
Simon smiled at him in response and Raphael felt like he had done the right thing.
“Do you...Want to talk about it?” Raphael carefully asked after a few moments. But Simon just shook his head, still smiling.
“Not today. Tonight. Whatever. It’s too nice for that.” Raphael furrowed his brows at Simons words, but if the human noticed it he didn’t comment on it, instead busying himself with the rest of his meal.
It wasn’t until Simon moved to clear his plate away that Raphael noticed that he was still almost holding his hand. Simon didn’t comment on it, but Raphael was sure if there had been enough blood in his body he would have blushed furiously at this point. Instead he chose the moment to excuse himself from the room, wishing Simon a good night, despite it being way too early for any of them to actually go to sleep.
Simon looked after Raphaels retreating back and absently rubbed his hand where Raphaels had touched it. Despite the touch being cold it had felt good and Simon shook his head at those silly thoughts penetrating his mind. He turned around again to do the dishes, the smile never quite leaving his face.

A few days later, Simon was walking down one of the many corridors in the Hotel, quietly humming a melody under his breath when suddenly a hand grabbed him and dragged him into the room it came from. He almost tried to fight again, but stopped his efforts when he realised that it was Lily, who had dragged him into her room.
“Is this the part where I succumb to your vampire powers and you take advantage of me?” Simon blurted out and immediately covered his mouth with his hands, his eyes growing wide.
Lily just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.
“Sorry, didn’t mean that. It’s just like in those vampire movies.” Simon mumbled taking a step back from the female for good measure.
“Are you dreaming of being seduced by the big bad vampires, little Shadowhunter?” The amusement in Lily's voice was clear, but Simon still felt the need to clarify.
“I mean yes. But like no. This is wrong, oh my god. I mean when I was younger I definitely did, who wouldn’t? Like fangs, and a mysterious aura? Sign me up, right? But like not from you? Not that you are not attractive. I mean you are. Just not for me? Like not that I’m gay, though I am, but not gay gay. I’m pan. And I am still talking, oh god. Shutting up now.” He furiously stared at the ground beneath him, hoping it would open up and swallow him whole.
“As interesting as this seems, not what I got you here for.” Lily answered, showing herself totally unimpressed from Simons unprompted infodump.
“Oh.” was all Simon could bring himself to answer before he was shoved into a chair by Lily.
“I am doing your nails to test out the new colours I got.” Was all the warning he got, before the vampire was attacking him with a file and clippers, expertly moving over his nails.
Simon had half a mind to protest, just for the sake of keeping up appearances. But he knew his position and also he really didn't mind. He could imagine worse ways to spend the next minutes than having his nails done and looking badass afterwards. So he did his best to sit still and listened to LIly talk about the colours she got. Somewhere on his first hand, the topics shifted and Simon told Lily about his first experiments with the girls Nail Polish at the foster home, and Lily told him about attending a beauty college some many years ago. They talked about various topics from there on, Simon taking over the manicuring, after his nails had dried and Lily had settled on a colour for her own nails. Simon learned that Lily had been turned over 100 years ago, but refused to give up an exact date. She told him about living in London and Russia before settling down in New York, having followed the former leader of the vampire Clan. Simon tried to ask about them, but Lily refused to give up any informations, citing it a “sensible topic” and Simon didn’t poke any further.
Walking through the Hotel with his nails beautifully done was bound to draw some gazes, Simon had figured. He already was watched enough as it were for being a human. And a Shadowhunter. But somehow every single person that he encountered that day seemed to only look at his nails, there were no animosities but Simon couldn’t help but feel unsettled by the stares that followed him. He hadn’t take the vampires to be creatures that upheld antiquated gender norms.
Simon wasn’t ashamed to wear nail polish, but getting so many stares made him very self conscious. So he had take refuge in his room, busying himself with some Apps on his phone. He was very aware that he was skipping on his duties, but he figured he could just do them in the day instead.

“Where is the Shadowhunter? I thought he was supposed to reorder our blood supply closet today?” Raphael mustered his Clan members but only got shrugs as a response.
“Lily’s not here either, maybe she has him.” one of the others suggested and Raphael raised his brows in a silent demand to continue talking.
“She painted his nails. Chosen that unworthy human. Very unbecoming if you ask me.” one of the older vampires chimed in from the back and Raphael’s eyebrows rose again.
This was news to him. He nodded at the others and turned to leave the kitchen. He didn’t like the news he had just received. Why hadn’t Lily talked to him about this beforehand? He understood the others disapproval, but the choice of words sat wrong with him. Simon may be human but he hadn’t given him indications of being particularly awful. He quite enjoyed spending time with him, not that he would tell his vampires about it.
The clan leader shook his head and banished those thoughts from his mind.
He focused his senses on intend on finding the humans heartbeat and after a few moments he located him in his room.
Without further comment to the others he left the communal area and made his way to the humans room.
He knocked and waited a few seconds before simply entering the room.
Simon was still sitting on his bed but had abandoned his phone in favour of one of his comics. Fixated on the reading material he didn’t hear the knocking sound on his door nor the vampire entering his room. Consequently he was startled when the comic was suddenly plucked from his hands and he was faced with the irritated face of the Clan leader.
“I was wondering when you will be attending to your duties.” Raphael tilted his head in false curiosity.
“Yeah sorry. Everyone has been staring at me weirdly and it’S kinda freaking me out. I’m gonna do it in the day, okay?” Simon ducked his head, well aware that he was taking a big leap with being so bold.
“Maybe you should have thought about the stares before getting involves.”
“They don’t approve your mating habits.” Raphael winced at his own choice in words.
“Excuse me, what?” There was a look of utter shock on Simons face.
“They think you are Lily’s plaything now, obviously. She painted your nails so she claimed you. It’s common etiquette amongst ours that we start a relationship or courtship by doing something for the other that we hold dear to our heart. Like painting for them oder braiding hair.” Raphael rolled his eyes at the others shrill tone.
“Obviously?” Simon scoffed. “How am I supposed to know this? Do I look like an expert on vampire customs to you? I used to be an accountant for fucks sake! And we both know the Clave’s information on Vampires, concerning anything but killing them, are patchy at best. So even if I had wanted to educate myself it wouldn’t have worked.”
Raphael fixed the Shadowhunter with an unimpressed glare. Everyone was aware of the shocking lack of information the Clave possesed about Downworlders. Not that any Shadowhunter would ever admit to it and he couldn’t help but wonder how Simon had become aware of it. But this wasn’t the time to explore those questions.
“Now you know it. Lily should have explained it to you before doing something with you. “Raphael furrowed his brows, not being used to his second in command making such silly mistakes.
“But that’s not. No. She only asked to paint my nails?” Simon looked at the vampire confused.

Before Raphael could respond however Simons door was opened yet again and Lily strode into the room.
“So, care to explain why everyone is murmuring about me and you, Shadowhunter?” her voice sounded cheary, but Raphael had no problem hearing the threat behind her words.
“They think we're together or something,” Simon told here and accusingly held up his nails. “because of this!”
“They think what?” Lily’s laugh must have rung through the whole Hotel, Simon thought and couldn’t help but feel a bit insulted that the thought of being with him was amusing her so much.
“Hey I have you know I would be an amazing catch.” he grit out between his teeth.
Lily turned to face him again and her face softened a bit. She reached out to softly pat his cheek.
“Of course you would be, such a soft, fragile human, what vampire wouldn’t call themselves lucky to have you.” Simon huffed and stuck his tongue out at her which made her chuckle again.
“I’m gonna take care of it, don’t worry. It’s probably been too long since I did anyone else's nails for them all to remember that it is something I simply enjoy doing without it meaning anything.It definitely was before you came along Raphael.”
“Thanks.” Simon murmured and Raphael inclined his head at her and she winked at him.
True to her words, when Simon walked around the Hotel the next evening, nobody was staring at him anymore. Instead he was the one staring at the vampires, as many of them suddenly spotted beautifully done nails.

Chapter Text

“You realise you are being charged for wifi and cable every month despite not having wifi set up at the hotel, right?” Simon had caught Raphael outside of his office just shortly before sunset and everything the vampire wanted was to fall into his bed and sleep, but the mortal seemed to have other ideas.
“It's tax-deductible.” Raphael told him, shrugging his shoulders. He was starting to regret giving the Shadowhunter their accounting books. After Simon explaining his job, Raphael had added keeping their books and doing the clans taxes to Simon's list of responsibilities. And as it seemed, the other hadn’t lost any time on his new duties.
“But you don't use it. You could at least use it.” Simon threw his arms in the air in exasperation. Didn’t these vampires know what wonders they were missing out by not having wifi?
“If you are so upset by it, you are welcome to change it. Now vamos. “ Raphael sighed, being done arguing with the human, he just never stopped and he was in no state to argue. He was rewarded his words by a beautiful smile appearing on Simon's features and a quick “thank you” being thrown his way, before Simon turned around and ran down the hallway, no doubt to get to work about setting up the internet at their hotel. Well it could have come worse, Raphael supposed and finally turned to his room.

“I heard we have internet now?” Lily entered his office smirking the next day. Raphael just shrugged his shoulders. “Stan is mad at you, because he asked you to have it set up, I quote “at least 3 million times and the moment a handsome face turns up you suddenly need it`”
“I just didn't want to argue with Simon” Raphael replied, but even to his ears it seemed like a lame apology.
Lily just smiled at him again and left his office.
Out of curiosity Raphael started up his laptop and checked the signals. there was a new network added.
“Big Bad Vampires, dios mio Simon.” Raphael groaned upon seeing the names of the networks.

When he left his office a few hours later his first instinct was to seek out the Shadowhunter. He didn't even know where that urge came from, so he ignored it and instead went to the kitchen to get some blood and maybe talk a bit with his Clan members. But upon entering the kitchen, he found it deserted. He frowned and then concentrated on the noises in the hotel, trying to pinpoint where all the others currently were. Glass in hand he followed the noises to the upper level ballroom. He pushed open the doors and took in the scene in front of him.
All the furniture had been assembled in a half circle around a very big flat screen, various members strewn over the couches and armchairs, as well as beanbags or just plain lounging on the carpeted floor. All of them were watching the scenes on the flatscreen with rapt attention, no one showing any sign of having noticed their leader entering the room. He walked up to them and watched the scene before him for a few seconds, taking in the calm and loving atmosphere, when suddenly Simon's eyes snapped up to him and a blinding smile broke out on his face.
“Raphael!” He grinned and the spell over the others was broken as well, many turning around to him, greeting him or just watching how he would react. Simon didn't seem to notice the sudden tension in the room, instead he moved on the sofa a bit, squishing himself to stans side and motioned to the free room beside him for Raphael to join them. The vampire contemplated for a second before nodding and moving to sit beside Simon. As soon as he sat down, the tension in the room ebbed down again, the vampires relaxing at their leaders' approval and the attention turned back to the screen.
“We are watching all of the Disney classicas.” Simon beamed at him. He had moved his legs to rest over Stans and the other vampire scoffed at his antics but made no move to move or push Simons limbs away. Raphael took the sight of them two cuddling in and was surprised how unsettled it made him feel. He brushed the feeling away, if they wanted to cuddle it was none of his business and focused on the screen, where a blonde girl had just hit a brown haired guy with a frying pan.
“I identify with this kitchen utensil.” Raphael heard Simon whisper to Stan and he grit his teeth at Stans answering chuckle.
He spent the rest of the movie barely focusing on the screen, instead focusing all this vampire senses on the couple besides him. As soon as the movie was finished he abruptly stood up and left the room. He couldn't stand to be in the room with those two making eyes at each other anymore. He was frustrated by their obvious display of affection and by his own reaction to it, not really understanding why he cared about it so much.

“What's wrong with him?” Simon asked after Raphaels retreating form.
“I don't know. But I'm claiming his space.” Ruby,chirped up from her place on the floor and sped to sit besides Simon who in turn laughed at her antics.
“Alright fair but you have to be my pillow.”
“You’re on, human boy.” she laughed. Simon moved to get the remote and choose the next film, before settling between the two vampires again, throwing his legs over Stans knees again who just chuckled he moved to place his head on Ruby's knees and then clicked start on the next movie. Soon all the vampires were engrossed in the adventure of the red headed scottish princess.

Raphael paced his office. He didn’t like the feelings he got when watching the Shadowhunter being so close with his Clan members. The Shadowhunter had been a means to an end and suddenly he was everywhere, taking over their lives. He was constantly spending time with the Clan and the Clan clearly felt comfortable with him now. In contrast to the first two weeks, he hadn’t had any complaints about Simon recently. Raphael could feel how the Hotel had started to feel less gloomy. All of them profited from Simons happy endaemour and his outgoing attitude. And Raphael adored the feeling of being alive he brought back into their dead lifes. So he didn't know why seeing him be so intimate with his members made his skin crawl. He thought back to two weeks ago when everyone had thought Lily had claimed Simon for a few hours and how it hadn’t bothered him quite that much back then. So what changed?
He didn't really mind them being friendly with the Shadowhunter. Of course he didn't. It made their lives as a whole better and he enjoyed being with the Shadowhunter as much as any of them did. But why did it bother him so much to see the human getting close to Stan then? Both were perfectly consenting adults, because he would know if Simon had been encantoed by the other. It really should be none of their business as long as it didn’t affect anyone negatively. And yet he found himself pacing his office because he couldn't stand the thoughts of them.

Too absorbed in his musings, Raphael did not notice Lily entering his office and was startled as she suddenly stood in front of him. She chuckled at his wide eyes and he lightly shoved her in retribution which only made her laugh more.
“What's got your fangs in a twist this time?” She questioned.
“You are all getting incredibly comfortable with the Shadowhunter.” he tried for his voice to sound nonchalantly, but Lily picked up on the slight discomfort in his tone anyways. She raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her body, waiting for him to go one.
“He’s been here a month and has already managed to get friendly with everyone. It’s..concerning..” Lily raised her other eyebrow at his statement.
“Raphael, he legally belongs to our Clan. Would you rather we ignore him?”
“No…” the vampire sighed frustrated, looking at Lily in defeat. She just mustered him silently, waiting for him to figure it out.
“I don’t know.” he finally admitted. Lily nodded and uncrossed her arms.
“He’s good for us and you know it.” Raphael nodded at her statement.

The next afternoon found Simon standing in the kitchen with various baking supplies strewn across the counters. It still was a few hours until the sun would go down and the kitchen would belong to the nocturnal residents of the Hotel again. After their movie night, Simon had tried to go to bed, but he had been haunted by Raphael's sudden departure the other day. He couldn't help but feel like it had somehow been his fault. So after turning around in his bed for a few hours he had decided he might as well get up and do something useful. After the first week living on take out, Raphael had agreed that Simon was allowed to use the kitchen for cooking and Simon intended to make good use of this. He had scoured the most obscure websites on the internet for a recipe that would allow him to bake something that the vampires would be able to eat too. It was probably best if he burned the whole laptop after this, deleting his browser history would not be enough. But his search had proven fruitful and that's how he was now standing in the kitchen, headphones on and lowly humming along to whatever song his phone decided to throw at him. He double checked the instructions on the cooking website again and set to work.

An hour later a sleep drunken Ruby stumbled into the kitchen, being attracted by the smell coming from the room, but froze in the doorway at the view. In between something that looked like a cake and various dirty amd flour coated pieces of kitchenware, Simon sat on the counter, his head on his arms and fast asleep. Ruby smiled and quickly ran back to her room to retrieve her phone. Making sure not to make any noise that could disturb the sleeping human, she took a picture of him and sent it into the group chat that the vampires had established after getting wifi in their home.

RubyRed
Look at that tired little bunny
*View attachment*

IStan
*Heart eyes emoji* *Sleeping emoji* *bunny face*

RaphaelS
*Rolling eyes emoji*

IStan
Don't act like that, you love him just as much as we do.

LilyTheSecond
Why are you all awake at this hour? Go to sleep!

RubyRed
Yes mum

IStan
Geez, Chill.

LANCElot
You’re not my real mom!!

LilyTheSecond
I hate all of you

RubyRed
*heart emoji*

Ruby chuckled at the interaction in the chat. Silently she made her way across the kitchen and got one of the blankets from the couch. She carefully draped the blanket over Simon's sleeping form and removed his headphones so he wouldn’t accidentally strangle himself, then she retreated again and made her way back to her room.

It was several hours later, that Simon actually awoke again. He woke up slowly, like pushing through a fog. He registered that his head was laying on a hard surface and for a moment he panicked about not remembering where he was. But just as he was starting, a hand suddenly laid on his shoulder, shaking him carefully. Simon turned to look at the person and was surprised to find the Vampire Clan leader standing over him, his brows creased between worry and annoyance.
“What are you doing here?” he inquired groggily
“Seeing as this is the kitchen, having breakfast.” Raphael replied, indicating the glass of blood standing next to them.
“Oh.” Simon sat up, looking around and Raphael was reminded of a lost animal looking for it’s owner for a second, mustering the sleepy human.
“It’s fine. But you should get out of here, before the others arrive looking for food. Someone might just decide you look like a more tasty snack.” Simon told himself that it wasn’t meant to sound flirty but rather teasing, but he still blushed furiously.
“Yeah… Uhm..I made cake for you. Not you specifically, for the Clan. Though I suppose if you wanted to eat it by yourself, I wouldn’t be able to stop you. Not that I think you would eat a whole cake by yourself. Not that there's anything wrong with eating lots of cake. You definitely could eat a whole cake. Not that you are too skinny, I don’t even know if you can gain weight as a vampire and..and I..I’m gonna shut up now.” Simon ended his rambling quietly, still gesturing into the vague direction of the cake, without actually looking up.
“Go to bed conejito.” Raphael chuckled and reached over to ruffle the taller man's hair. Simon ducked his head, not sure if he had heard the spanish endearment correctly, or simply imagined it. He raised his eyes, smiling at the vampire and nodded, before shuffling out of the room.

Shortly after Simon's departure, vampires began to trickle into the kitchen, taking in the still messy kitchen with amused sighs or shakes of their heads. Most of them had seen the picture in the group chat by now and thoses that hadn’t or didn't own a phone were soon shown by the others. There was an air of amusement in the room, mixed with fond emotions about their human, as they shared the cake sitting around together on various surfaces and sofas.
It felt like a family dinner and really it probably was. They were a Clan, a family after all. In quiet understanding they all got up after finishing their pieces of cake to clean up the kitchen together. It felt like a real family time and somehow they all lingered after the kitchen was clean again. Neither wanting to leave this bubble of feeling homely and protected and like a family. Raphael couldn’t remember the last time all of his Clan had been together like this for a non-official purpose. They all lived under the same roof and they went out to clubs together, but being together like this, just enjoying each other's company, they hadn’t done it in a very long time. He thought about all the work that was awaiting him in his office, but he couldn't be bothered to move from his place on one of the armchairs either.

This is how Simon walked in on all of them an hour later. He had hidden in his assigned room, trying to fall back asleep, but just restlessly turned and tossed again. So after an appropriate amount of time had passed he figured everyone at the Hotel must have fed and he could try and venture out again. Maybe Stan or Ruby would be up to play a game with him. Or even train with him. A quick glance to his phone showed him that he hadn’t received any new messages and he decided to just leave it in his room, not like he would get any messages in the middle of the night anyways. Walking into the kitchen felt like walking into another dimension somehow. He had expected to see some familiar faces, but to actually have what seemed to be the whole Clan, lounging around and doing nothing seemed strange. He had half a mind to just walk out of the room again when he was suddenly tugged down by a hand on his sleeves and found himself half falling on top of Lily.
“You make good cake, you can stay.” Lily murmured so low, Simon had to really focus to get what she was saying. He beamed at her while carefully untangling his limbs from hers and sitting down besides her.
“Thank you.” he smiled, only to be shushed by some members of the Clan around them. He sheepishly grinned at them, a few returned his smile carefully. He looked over their relaxed forms and marveled at the fact that he got to see the Night’s Children in such a peaceful state, that they allowed him to see them in this vulnerable state. But as peaceful as it was, Simon's mind and by extension his body couldn’t stay still. It started with his fingers tapping against his knees, that got him a few raised eyebrows until he noticed what he was doing and instantly stopped, sending apologising glances into the round. He tried hard to concentrate on sitting still, but as his mind started to wander again, so did his body tension and soon he was tapping out a rhythm with his feet that was stuck in his head. He didn't even notice what he was doing until a hand landed on his thighs, in an attempt to still their movement. He jerked his head around and was met with Raphael looking at him in amusement.
“Como un conejito de duracell.” the clan leader murmured, shaking his head in fond amusement and Simon fought hard as to not blush again.
“Sorry, can’t help it.” he murmured, starting to fidget with his hands, in an attempt to distract himself from the very solid weight of the vampires hand on his leg.
“Oh my! Raphael that's genius! He certainly does have the same insane amount of energy as that pink rabbit!” Ruby laughingly called out from somewhere behind them and just like that the moment, Simon imagined them to have was broken. Raphael took his hand away and turned to smirk at the red haired vampire knowingly before sitting down besides Simon.
The human pouted at the vampires, clearly not okay to be compared to a pink rabbit, but they ignored his protests entirely. Simon sighed, accepting his fate and settled back into a comfortable position. If that position just happened to be leaning slightly against the clan leader, well who would know.

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since their impromptu clan cuddling session and Simon had spent most of his days, or rather nights, helping out the Clan members. He had taken up sparring with both Ruby and Stan, to the delight of them both. After Stan had found them sparring the other week, he had insisted Simon train with him too. Ruby had pouted and Simon had been very amused and agreed. So he was getting plenty of exercise to keep himself fit and also learned more about vampire fighting techniques while doing so. Sometimes he brought his speakers down with him and they trained to whatever music Simons playlists consisted of at that time. Once it had even turned into a dance battle, much to Simon's delight.

The time he didn’t spend fighting, he still cleaned around the Hotel , though it wasn’t that much to do anymore. He had scrubbed every inch clean over the course of the last month so it now was merely a matter of keeping it clean. Which left him with a lot of free time at his hands. 

There was a soft melody reverberating through the silent air of the Hotel and the resident vampires looked up in confusion. Sure they had become used to the sounds that accompanied living with a human in the last month, but this one was new. The music was wobbly sometimes, but it went on and on and soon there was a soft voice joining the chords being played. Not all of them recognised the voice instantly, but those which had heard Simon sing before perked up and listened to the song.
Simon however was totally unaware of how far his playing was heard in the Hotel . He had originally only intended to practice a bit, it had been a long time since he had been able to really play and he was getting worried he might forget how to play the guitar. Turns out he needn't be worried, because he still remembered how to play the instrument. Somewhere between practicing different chords he had started to actually play songs through and now he was long lost in his own little world of music and notes. 

Raphael followed the music, intending on telling the human to shut it. It was not like he didn’t appreciate the music, but he was trying to do paperwork and having that much noise severely messed with his concentration. Besides, who in their right mind played a song about feeling alive, in a den of undead creatures anyways? Simon Lewis would, Raphael sighed at that thought. Of course he would.
He sped down the hallways, until he reached the Shadowhunters door, intent on just barking at him to shut it, but upon laying eyes on Simon all his thoughts suddenly seemed to evaporate.
Simon was sitting on his bed, cross legged, clad in simple black pants and a weirdly patterned sweater. His eyes were closed and his fingers flew over the strings on his guitar without any effort and Raphael was struck by how beautiful he looked. He had been intent on making the Shadowhunter stop, but now he couldn’t draw his gaze away from the human, who seemed totally unaware that he was being watched, too entranced in his activity. 

Raphael wondered when his life had turned into a bad romance novel, leaning in a door frame and watching someone play the guitar had to be a scene from one of these awful books his sister had adored so much as a young woman. But he wasn’t in love with this human, he didn’t do things like love. He shook his head slightly at the absurdity of his own thoughts. Raphael had never done such silly things as fall in love and if he would, it wouldn’t be with a silly human.

The vampire looked at the human one last time, before turning on his heels and storming down the corridor, back to his office, slamming the door behind him, just because he could.

“Do you ever get sick of living?” Simon lay on the roof of the Hotel, Ruby to his right and Stan to his left, gazing at the Stars.
“What kind of question even is that? Define living.” Stan scoffed.
“No need to get all philosophical on me. I don’t know. I was just wondering.”

“When I was first turned I thought I would hate eternity, but so far I haven’t grown bored of it.” Ruby chimed in silently.

“When was that?” Simon piped up curious

“You don’t ask a Lady her age.” Stan chided him

“That seems a bit sexist…” Simon shot back.

He raised his arms and crossed them underneath his head. There were several minutes of silence between them.

“The stars are long dead and yet we don’t get tired of their light.” Simon's voice finally broke the silence.
“Not like we can enjoy the light of the sun, the stars have to do.”
“That’s not what he meant, Stan. God, you are so basic sometimes.” Ruby reached over Simon's head and lightly flicked at Stan's head. He patted her hands away annoyed.

“What got you in such a philosophical mood anyways?” Stan nudged Simon's arm with his to get his attention.
“I don’t know. It’s just a lot is changing. For me that is. But you guys, you have been through so much change in your lifes. And yet you are still nice? You probably could still pass as human if there wasn’t that blood and sun issue.” 

“It’s not exactly desirable to be a human when you have been a vampire for so long.” Stan mused

“When I was first turned I hated being a vampire. Most of us did. Even those that get turned out of their own will hate it at first.” Ruby told him, he voice barely a whisper in the silent air of the night.
“Yeah I can imagine. I mean, no offence, but being a vampire sucks. Pun intended. I can’t imagine what it is like to not be able to walk in the sun.” 

“Well you don’t have to.”

“Stan‘s right bunny, you can go out and enjoy the sun.” Ruby agreed. 

Simon nodded but didn’t really answer them. Silence settled over their forms once again. This is how Raphael found the trio a while later.
“Dios, nowhere is safe from you, is there?”
“Sorry.” Simon quickly scrambled to his feet, intending to leave the roof immediately so as to not antagonize the clan leader, but was stopped by Ruby's hand on his ankle. He stumbled forwards awkwardly and almost fell but was stopped by Raphael catching his fall and helping him to stand upright again. 

Simon blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what to say, but Raphael just smirked at him as he let go of the man's arms.
“We are stargazing.” Stan piped up from his position on the floor.
“Sólo... watching las estrellas?” Raphael mustered them for a few moments before suddenly sitting down between Ruby and Stan, and laying his head on the concrete imitating their positions.
Simon was too stunned to react for a moment, it took Ruby tugging at his leg insistently for him to move again. He gingerly sat down at the concrete again, not sure where he was supposed to lay, now that Raphael had occupied his former spot. But before he could voice any questions, somebody tugged at the back of his sweater and he was lying squished between Raphael and Ruby, neither of whom even looked at him. 

Simon almost convinced himself that he had imagined the whole thing and was about to get up again when he caught Stans face in his line of sight and saw the vampire wink at him.

It took Simon a lot of willpower to just lay still and not think about all the places his body was touching that of the Vampire leader, but Raphael seemed totally unaffected, his face tilted slightly upwards and his eyes glued to the stars above them. 

“So..” Simon started, not sure if he liked the silence. It had been fine before, but now that Raphael was here it made him feel uncomfortable, restless, as if something was supposed to happen and they were just filling the time until it happened. But he never got to finish his sentence as Raphael suddenly turned and had a finger on his lips.
“Don’t talk, conejito. Just enjoy the sight.” He whispered, Simon was incredibly aware how close together their faces were. He could see the hairs that made up the others perfectly shaped eyebrows. If the vampire would breathe, Simon was sure his glasses would get foggy. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, not daring to meet the others eyes and simply nodded. Raphael seemed to be satisfied with that, because he turned back again and fixed his eyes back on the stars overhead. Simon tried to do the same, but his gaze kept being drawn back to the vampire laying just inches away from him. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on the feeling of the body next to his. 

At some point he must have nodded off, because the next time he opened his eyes, he was laying in his bed, the curtains drawn safely shut and a blanket draped over him. He wondered who had carried him to bed, but his brain came up empty about it. 

He retrieved his phone from his pants and groaned at seeing that it was only 12am. But seeing as he was awake he figured that he might as well get up and make some food before going back to bed.

He shuffled through the Hotel into the empty kitchen and set up the electric kettle, taking a bowl and a packet of instant ramen out of the cabinets that had been emptied for his use. While he waited for the water to boil he checked his phone and got rid of some of his notifications, when one of the messages suddenly caught his eyes.

From: Clary

F igured out a way to save u. call me asap

Simon furrowed his brows. Save him? From what was she meaning to save him?

To: Clary
What are u on about? I don’t need saving.

He was momentarily distracted by the kettle snapping and signalling that he was ready. Simon moved to make his food and when he returned there were two missed calls from Clary and another message.

From: Clary

Are you allowed phone calls? 

From: Clary : 

Apparently not. I know how to get you out of this wretched place. Don’t worry I will save you.

To: Clary

omg, wtf? I don’t need to be safed. I volunteered to be here. Stop with this bs

From: Clary

Simon, this is not you talking. Whatever spell they have over you, I will find a way to break it. And make those creatures pay.

To: Clary

Have you lost your mind? Clary wtf? I am happy here. I chose this.  Stop it, whatever you are planning.

From: Clary

Oh. Yes, of course.. I won’t rescue you then ;)

To: Clary

ty i guess

Simon stared at his phone for a few minutes in disbelief, half expecting Clary to send another text, but nothing came. He finally allowed himself to relax again and sat down at the counter to eat his food. He still couldn’t quite grasp how his best friend and almost sister had turned from this sweet girl he had known into an utterly biased moron. It can’t just be the Shadowhunters influence, because he had been told the same nonsense she had, but he had kept his head and not eaten up all this bullshit they had told him about Shadowhunters being the best and most important beings. He knew enough about history to figure out that this kind of thinking was utter bullshit. The bit he knew about his family, being jewish and latino, he figured even if he knew his family, half of them would be lost to history treating people like Shadowhunters treated everyone that didn’t share their powers. 

And Clary had eaten it all up in wonder and amazement, never sparring a second thought to her friend who had once been stuck in a locker for a whole hour because people thought them being American made them better than him who didn’t even know if he had been born in the US. Simon had learned to mistrust anyone who followed an Us vs.Them narrative.
He finished his food and quietly rinsed his bowl before going up to his room again, still mulling over the brief conversation he had with Clary. He thought about telling Raphael about it for a second, but then he had to laugh at this idea. Clary surely wouldn’t be dumb enough to attack the vampires, and the Clave was content with the situation as far as he had heard from Izzy, so there was no need to worry.