Work Text:
Lucie wished the foggy London night were more memorable, given that this was a rather special one. She wasn’t expecting anything too absurd, but a few falling stars or an aurora would have been appreciated.
She supposed patrol was going well enough, so far. She was used to going with her parabatai, but given that her and James had just returned from Amsterdam the evening before, she thought it best that Cordelia rested after her long day of travel.
This was supposed to be her first official night patrol with Jesse since returned from their honeymoon. These milestones weren't very important to others, but they were important to her. She mentally tallied all of their firsts as husband and wife like it was a crucial quest: their first time having eggs at breakfast, their first stroll along the Thames, their first time bickering.
That night, they had geared up, Lucie polishing and sharpening her throwing ax, before stepping out with Jesse who was also fully clad in black. He had reached out his hand for her, like the gentleman she knew he was. “After you, milady.” She had just poked him in the ribs and walked past him, into the dimly lit street. He chuckled as he caught up to her.
It was a quiet night. They walked together shoulder to shoulder, content with each other’s presence, not having much to say besides the occasional remark. Eventually, Jesse had started asking her specific questions on the draft of the latest chapter in her manuscript that she had let him read the night before. They had ended up in a dark neighborhood of London– deep yet narrow alleyways periodically interrupted the shabby buildings. Deep in conversation, it was too late when Lucie noticed the dark figure creeping up behind Jesse.
“Look out!” She called, reaching for her ax, and running in front of Jesse but it was too late– the monster had flung a barbed tail forwards across her chest. Hissing in pain, she sank to the floor, ax clattering to the ground, unused.
“Lucie!” Jesse’s footsteps pounded against the cobblestones. She felt warmness pool her chest, dulling the anxiety of Jesse potentially getting injured because of her. She instead focused on the cracked stones in front of her eyes, and nearly shuddered when heard Jesse name his seraph blade and felt ichor splatter on her arms.
A few seconds later, Jesse knelt next to her, propping her head on his leg. “Lucie, can you hear me?” She hummed in acknowledgement but she was so tired…
“Lucie!”
Her head jostled with Jesse’s throttle but she could only mutter under her breath, “Goodnight.”
Jesse should have known that this was not going to go well.
All things considered, he was a new Shadowhunter. Yes, he had received his Voyance rune as a boy, but that was before he died. It was before he had learned what it really meant to train, and fight, and battle. He should have known better than to let his guard down– he wasn’t just responsible for his own life now. The matching marks over his and Lucie's hearts said otherwise.
Before he picked Lucie up, he had drawn some quick iratzes on her arm, and a quick glance confirmed they had already started disappearing. That was not reassuring. He held Lucie’s unconscious body tightly to his chest as he ran to the nearest place he could think of.
Curzon Street.
It was late– he suspected a few hours past midnight– but he hoped they would hear his knocks. He reached their front door and began frantically pounding with his right hand, trying to survey Lucie’s wound, and feeling nauseous at the sight of so much of her blood.
“James! Cordelia!” He banged harder. “Open right now or I will open it myself–”
Mid-knock, the door opened before him, revealing a very tired looking James Herondale, black hair disheveled from sleep. “What–” At the sight of his sister hanging limply in Jesse’s arms, however, his eyes sharpened. Jesse walked past him without being invited in, finding a dark velvet couch in the drawing room to lay her on.
“Daisy!” James called loudly, “Daisy, come down!” He knelt beside Jesse who was hunched over Lucie, adjusting her sleeping frame to properly examine her wound. “What happened, Jesse?” He sounded frantic.
“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Jesse was desperate, ripping the fabric of her shirt to reveal a long, but luckily, thin looking scratch across her torso.
“Lucie!” Cordelia ran over, her nightgown billowing behind her. She crouched next to James and Jesse, putting a hand on her cheek. Jesse didn’t know if it was his imagination but he could have sworn that Lucie leaned into her touch.
“Let's take her upstairs,” Cordelia said firmly. “We will clean the wound, and I will give her more runes. She will be alright.”
“We should call the Silent Brothers,” James said.
“No.” Lucie mumbled, eyes still closed. Jesse could have cried at the sound, but they all leaned forwards, Jesse reached to brush her hair back. “I’m fine. I think there was something on the talon that got me.” She spoke softly, which was unusual for her. “I only require sleep.”
“Lucie…” Jesse muttered, stroking her hair with his shaking hand. She smiled softly, hinting at her dimpled left cheek. Cordelia stood up.
“You heard my parabatai. She doesn’t want to call the Silent Brothers, so we won’t call them.” Jesse and James eyed each other with apprehension, but Jesse figured they had to clean out the wound first, regardless. He stood, scooping Lucie back up into his arms. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and warmth flooded his chest. He pulled her in closer.
Cordelia turned to James and said, “Stay here, James.” He looked ready to object, but she continued, “We have to dress Lucie’s wound and I doubt she wants you there, considering it's across her chest.”
“What am I supposed to do, then? Nothing?”
“Oh, no. You have a very important task, husband.” She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, and said, “Make me a cup of tea,” as she walked past him, and up the lavishly carpeted stairs.
James only looked at Jesse with a vague expression of bewilderment, and reluctantly walked towards the kitchen.
Jesse made his way up the stairs.
By the time Jesse arrived at Cordelia's room, she had already set up supplies for Lucie. A bowl of water, strips of cloth, scissors, and more towels were laid out on the bed.
Jesse rested her on the end, and she made a sound of protest as she left the secureness of his arms. This time, he reached out to grab her hand, his thumb rubbing the Blackthorn ring that now lived on her finger.
“Jesse,” Cordelia said softly, reminding him of the task at hand. He cleared his throat and retreated, letting Cordelia survey the wound. She lifted the fabric of Lucie’s shirt, soaked with blood and poison. There was already a tear down the front where the barb cut through, but until she tugged on it, it had stayed together. Now, it seemed that the shirt had been hanging on by a few threads, falling apart under her hands.
“Luce,” Cordelia spoke to Lucie softly, gently tugging at her shirt. “Is it okay if we take this off? To bandage you up?”
“Mm, nothing my husband hasn’t seen and nothing you don’t have yourself, tenfold,” she muttered, her eyes still shut and her voice dripping in grogginess. Cordelia let out a scoff and looked up at Jesse with a smile.
“She’s ridiculous. Do you hear her? She’s going to be fine.” He nearly crumbled at the words.
Jesse helped Cordelia peel the drenched shirt off of her body, wincing as the wound dripped more blood, having nothing to stop the bleeding. He could tell now, though, that it was a lot more shallow than he had initially thought, it was just fairly large, stretching from one shoulder, to the middle of her ribcage on the other side.
Jesse placed a towel on her chest as they wiped off the cut. Cordelia would periodically stop to place an iratze or blood replacing rune, but they worked in silence. The silence was occasionally interrupted with a hiss of pain, or a squeeze of Jesse’s arm, but this only comforted Jesse as it meant that Lucie was lucid enough to feel what was going on. When they were done, Cordelia asked him to lift her torso to more easily bandage her up. Halfway through this process, James knocked at the door, and Cordelia instructed him to leave the tea tray outside the door, and leave. Between the two of them, they were able to easily wrap her up securely, and Jesse felt a lot better now that he saw the clean bandages covering what used to be a bloody mess.
By the time they finished, Lucie's eyes were cracked open, bright blue peeking through her eyelashes. Jesse knelt next to the bed, his face close to hers.
“Do you feel better?”
“Loads.”
He squinted at her in suspicion. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I would never, I promise. Just like I promised to marry you. See?” She extended her left arm, uncoordinated and drunk-like. Her smile was lazy, but sickeningly sweet. She attempted to lift her ring finger to show off her ring, which she still did roughly four times a day, despite having worn it for a few months now. Jesse always found it endearing— like she was trying to remind herself they had somehow found a happy ending.
He took her hand and kissed it, then leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth. “I love you,” he said. He tried telling her often, but he still felt like he didn’t say it enough to convey how much he felt it.
Lucie let out a drunk giggle, and reached out to pinch both of his cheeks like he was a chubby-cheeked infant. Then, she threaded her fingers through his hair and slurred, “I love you, my Jess.” His cheeks warmed. Despite their marriage and getting to know each other in the most intimate ways— her loving words still affected him. The use of his nickname, Jess, she also only used when she was feeling particularly soppy.
They shared a gaze for a moment longer before Jesse asked, “Why don’t you want us to call the Silent Brothers?”
She turned her head so she faced the ceiling and took a deep breath, “Because that means something is wrong and I’m fine.” Jesse reached to tilt her face back to him.
“Lucie, look at my shirt.” Although it was already black, it was stained darker with her drying blood. He figured it must have been smeared on his neck and arms, too. She sighed.
“But, I’m alright now.” She squeezed his hand, weakly, as if to emphasize. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was hot.
He stood, announcing to Lucie and Cordelia, who had finished putting away the bandages and now sat on the other side of the bed, “I’m going to find James and tell him that we are done. Maybe he can let me borrow a shirt.”
Cordelia nodded, and said, “He should be in the drawing room. I’ll stay here.” She put her hand on Lucie’s shoulder. He nodded and walked out the room.
Downstairs, it was dark besides a witch light emitting a bluish cast on the drawing room. Shadows of furniture were painted across overflowing bookshelves, but instead of being ominous it inexplicably felt comforting. Jesse found James sitting in the corner, book in hand, but he seemed to be fixated on the view out the window. The sun would be rising soon.
“How is she?” James asked, not looking away.
“She says she's fine.”
“You don’t believe her?”
Jesse took a seat across from James, leaning forward, his elbows on his legs. “I believe she wants to be fine.” James’s golden eyes narrowed. “I was going to ask you if you could call the Silent Brothers.”
He let out a long sigh, “Thank the Angel.”
“What?”
“Oh, I sent my Uncle Jem a fire message a few minutes ago. But I didn’t know if I made the right call.” Jesse smiled thinly and nodded. He should have known that as much as he was worrying, James was likely also pacing his house. Jesse would have done the same thing for Grace.
“Thank you,” He managed, suddenly feeling exhausted.
James only nodded and said, “I’ll wait here. You can go back up and get cleaned up… I won’t tell her that you asked me to call them. I’m okay with being the villain. I may always be Evil Prince James to her.”
Jesse smiled. “If you insist.”
He began walking away but he was stopped by James who called after him, “It’s not your fault, whatever happened. You know that right?” Jesse didn’t know what he thought, so he clenched his fists, and continued going upstairs, not turning back.
It had only been a minute since Jesse had left the room, and Cordelia didn’t know what more to do with herself besides brushing through her parabatai’s hair with her fingers.
Occasionally, her fingertips would brush her forehead, and she tried not to be alarmed at the heat that radiated off. She quietly hoped this was just her body fighting off whatever demon poison was making her so lethargic, and not something more grave.
She assumed Lucie wasn’t completely asleep though, especially since she seemed to be able to respond when spoken to, but it was clear she drifted in and out of consciousness. However, she was surprised when Lucie spoke to her first.
“Were you impressed by my assets?” Lucie mumbled, her eyes half lidded. Cordelia snorted.
“I can’t say I was particularly focused on them, given all the blood.”
“It's, okay Daisy, you can say you were underwhelmed, I’m rather secure with myself now.” Her lips stretched into a weak smile. She readjusted herself, wincing slightly as she made room for Cordelia. “Come. You need to sleep, too.”
Cordelia hesitantly joined her, putting her arm around Lucie’s front protectively, careful not to put too much weight on it. She brought her in close, resting her chin on the top of her head. Quietly, tears pricked at her eyes and she was thankful Lucie couldn’t see them. She didn’t need another thing to worry about.
She wondered if she made a mistake with not calling the Silent Brothers. She wanted to honor her parabatai’s wishes, but still something nagged at her. If Lucie needed more help and she didn’t get it for her it would be Cordelia’s fault. But she felt Lucie's breath, strong and steady, and maybe it was the exhaustion of the night, but she was lulled into sleep.
Jesse, feeling more calm in a fresh shirt he stole from James’s closet, made his way back to the room he had left Cordelia and Lucie in. The door was silent, as he pushed it open, and his heart warmed at the sight of Cordelia and Lucie curled up together, fast asleep. The sight was so adorable, it reminded him of two children who had drifted off after a long day of playing pretend.
He supposed that deep down, they would always be the little girls that had met in France and found their matching halves. The thought was enough to make him feel a bit better, too.
Light had finally started peeking through the windows, and he was thankful for it. This night had stretched too far.
As soon as he sat on the bed, beside where Lucie’s head lay, he heard footsteps approaching. James and Brother Zachariah entered the room, trailed by Will and Tessa, looking rather distressed. At the sight of their daughter safely dozing with her parabatai, they seemed to ease a bit, but they looked at Zachariah, clad in the same robes as always.
When did this happen? He asked Jesse, voice echoing in his mind.
“It must’ve been a few hours ago at this point.” Zachariah nodded but Will seemed miffed.
“And why are we hearing of this now and not a few hours ago?” Will said in a hushed tone, that made Jesse’s heart contract with guilt. Something about Will’s frustration potentially being directed at him made him feel worse than he could’ve imagined. His father in law was typically in good spirits, which made him great company, but it made his moodiness even more stark. Tessa put a hand on Will's chest and they had a silent exchange. He took a deep breath, stepping back and gesturing for Zachariah to examine Lucie.
Cordelia began to stir, opening her eyes and looking somewhat alarmed that there were now five more people than there had been when she fell asleep. She stood, taking her spot beside James as he draped his arm around her shoulders, and pressed a kiss into her hair.
Zachariah simply walked up to Lucie’s sleeping body, and placed his hand on her forehead. They all watched in silence until he spoke to them all: She needs sleep. That is all. The Demon Venom is being fought by her body– she could possibly be tired for a few days but it won’t bring her more harm.
The whole room practically sagged with relief, and Lucie finally woke up enough to see everyone that had joined her in the room.
She squinted up at Brother Zachariah then at her parents, closed her eyes again, then said, “Which one of you betrayed my trust.” James made eye contact with Jesse, then darted away quickly, obviously opting to stay silent.
Cordelia laughed to herself, obviously comforted to hear her parabatai’s sense of humor coming through despite the circumstances. Jesse, however, suspected this might have been the wrong thing to say, considering Will crouched next to her and said, “I might ask you, my sweet daughter, why you betrayed my trust and ignored the most crucial Herondale rule.”
She opened one eye, and asked, “Which is?”
“Absolutely never,” Will emphasized, “turn down a chance to call on your Uncle Jem.”
“I thought it was no necromancy.”
“Not funny.”
She smiled, then turned her face into her pillow. “I’m sorry Uncle Jem, it’s not that I don’t want to see you.” Her voice was muffled, and Jesse thought it was rather charming how sleepy she was acting. “I just didn’t want to make a big deal.”
This time Tessa sat at her other side and brushed hair behind her neck with her hands. “Darling, don’t be silly. We want you to be taken care of.”
They fussed over Lucie a bit more, and Jesse layed back down next to his wife, watching Will, Jem and Tessa have a conversation in hushed tones. At some point, James and Cordelia left, presumably to get rest themselves. Jesse felt exhaustion start to take over so he shut his eyes, pulling Lucie in close. He basked in every breath, every flutter of her eyelashes that tickled his neck, every twitch of her leg, and fell asleep, not caring his father and mother in law were still in the room.
When Lucie woke up, she was disoriented by the light and the room she was in. It took her a few seconds for her to recall the fuzzy memories of getting injured, brought to Curzon street, and bandaged up. She felt a rigidness in her chest that suggested tightly wrapped bandages, although she barely remembered them being placed. She vaguely remembered her parents showing up too, and she fought off a groan.
She made to sit up, but realized Jesse’s arm was holding her down. At her movement, he awoke, groggy green eyes surveying her own. Before she could say anything, he closed the space between them and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips. “You scared me.” He said quietly. “Don’t do that again.”
“Good morning to you, too.” She rolled her eyes and tried to sit up again, but winced as she felt a sharp stab of pain from her cut. Jesse helped prop her up in bed, clearly relieved she was feeling better than the night before. His clear green eyes looked clouded with trouble but before she could say anything, he spoke first.
“I'm sorry–”
“Jesse, stop.”
“No, I was there I should have–”
“Jesse,” She leaned forward, taking his face in her hands and pressing their foreheads together. She ignored the pain sparking in her chest as she said, “This is who we are. I am going to get hurt sometimes, so are you, and we can’t control that. But we can control what we do when it happens, alright? You were perfect. You are perfect.” His eyes still swam with unshed tears and guilt but he swallowed and nodded, closing his eyes. They breathed the same air for a moment, and she relished in his closeness, tracing the planes of his face, and along his cheekbones. Finally, the pain in her wound became so strong that she drew back, cringing.
Jesse stood up immediately, “Sorry, I should have gotten Cordelia as soon as you woke– I will be right back.”
The two of them returned a few minutes later, and Cordelia looked very relieved to see Lucie alert and seated. She smiled at Cordelia, extending her hand for her to hold and said, “Daisy, how was Amsterdam? I’ve missed you!”
Cordelia’s smile was genuine and sweet as she said, “Wonderful, but I’ll tell you about it later. How are you feeling?” She took out her stele, and began drawing more healing runes on Lucie’s arm, as they conversed.
“Oh, I feel perfect besides having a corset of bandages suffocating me.”
“You’re welcome,” Cordelia flicked Lucie’s cheek, “These bandages might have saved your life.”
“What dramatics! It’s a scrape!”
“You’re funny.”
Lucie squeezed her parabatai’s hand and whispered, “Thank you, Daisy.”
Cordelia only smiled, and looked up at Jesse who had been quietly observing. “Your wife is rather ridiculous, don’t you think?”
“Oh, I know,” he said, ignoring Lucie scrunching her nose in displeasure.
“Agh, you two are supposed to support me! Instead I get this slander,” she hung her head to the side in mock defeat. They laughed.
It would be alright.