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"Come with me," Valentine tells Jace, hand extended towards the teen. The others are at the mercy of his minions, only the blonde shadowhunter is left untouched while his eyes dart around to his friends in desperation.
"If I go with you, you promise not to hurt them?" Jace asks, voice nearly breaking.
"No!" Simon shouts, startling his friends as the room shakes ever so slightly. "Don't you dare even think about it you pain in the neck!"
"Silence downworlder!" Valentine orders while keeping his focus on the shadowhunter he claims to be his son. "I promise you, no harm will come to them."
"I said no!" Simon's voice booms as he turns in his captor's arms. The man turns to a pile of salt.
"By the angel," Isabelle breathes out as bright white wings explode out of Simon's back.
Simon turns to the one holding Clary and he too turns into a pile of salt while the ones holding Alec and Magnus begin to shake as they worriedly look to their leader.
Valentine immediately open a portal and runs through it as the one holding Isabelle joins the fate of the others. The last two make a mad dash for the portal but only one makes it through.
Simon falls to his knees, tears streaking down his face as he mumbles, "I forgot. I forgot. I'm sorry. I forgot."
Clary shoves the Book of the White into Izzy's hands to kneel in front of her best friend, holding herself back by just an inch or two so as not to startle him. "It's okay, Simon. We're fine! What-What are you talking about, you forgot?"
Simon shakes his head, so Magnus speaks up, "I'd wager a guess your friend there forgot he was an angel come down to honor us with his presence."
The warlock twirls a finger over the teen's form to encompass his wings, "I have never seen such a powerful seal like that before. I'm a little envious of whoever he got to put it there. I doubt any of us would have noticed if he hadn't broken it himself just now."
"So, is he?" Alec's voice is quiet and unsure of itself as his hands flail around a little before coming to cross at his chest with a shrug.
"As far as I can tell without sampling his blood? He's an angel," Magnus grins. "You wouldn't be interested in offering up a drop or two of that now that you're in no need to drink it, would you?"
"Magnus!" Clary scolds harshly, turning a glare to the man.
"Too soon?" the warlock raises his hands in surrender, "Sorry, my bad. Just got a little excited is all. I'm sure your fellow shadowhunters can understand my curiosity. Jace hasn't been able to pry his eyes from the poor boy."
It was true, Jace had been staring at Simon since the other had shouted the second time. His eyes were wide in shock and awe as his fingers held his blade in a lax hold.
Alec moves to stand next to his parabatai while Isabelle remains rooted to her spot.
"I'm sorry," Simon says again as he look up at Clary. "I didn't lie. I forgot. I'm sorry."
"Stop saying that, Simon," Clary smiles at him encouragingly, hand moving to touch his shoulder before hesitating just over it. "Is it okay if I?"
"Yeah, sure," he nods a few times, then says seriously. "I won't hurt you."
"I was actually more worried about hurting you." She rubs at his shoulder and smiles at him. "We'll figure this out, just like we've been doing ever since I met Jace. Now we can be even closer best friends because we both had our memories taken away."
"Great, you can be amnesia buddies," Magnus remarks dryly. Alec nudges him harsh enough to make the man falter a step.
"We-we should," Jace clears his throat to help snap himself out of his daze. "We should go. There's no way of knowing whether Valentine will return and Clary needs to get the book back so we can free her mother."
"Can you stand?" Clary asks her friend worriedly, getting up and offering him her hands if he should need them.
"No-I mean yes, I got it, just," Simon slowly stands, wings spreading out when he fully straightens. "That's annoying."
"Wait, how are we going to get him around with those," the red-head motions to the wings.
"I could enchant them so no one can see them," Magnus offers with a half shrug.
"Will they still knock things over if it hits them?" Alec asks, eyeing the wings almost reverently.
"I've got it," Simon assures them, closing his eyes. "I just need to...."
With a deep breath in, the wings begin to shrink, pulling themselves back into the teen's body. As the breath goes back out, the wings fully disappear and Simon opens his eyes again.
"By the angel," Isabelle repeats, eyes welling with tears as she holds to book tight to her chest.
"Yes, the boy has a lovely trick we can fawn over him about later," Magnus frowns in a fit of jealousy over all the attention he wasn't getting. "Can we leave now?"
Clary takes Simon's hand as the warlock opens a portal of his own.
"I'm taking you straight to Alec's room in your precious home base," Magnus announces with a twist of his wrist.
"How do you know where my room is?"
"Honestly, dear, do you need to ask that?"
"Wait," Clary stops anyone from walking to the portal. "We can't just bring Simon in there like he is. What happens if his wings come out again?"
"He's have everyone on their knees in reverence?" the warlock guesses sarcastically.
"They won't come out on their own," Simon assures his best friend. "I know how to control them now."
"Just like that?" she asks, unconvinced.
He shrugs. "It's like an instinct."
"Fine, we'll go to my place so you can all hug it out and cry for a little," Magnus moves his hand over the portal a few times before taking Alec's hand. "Everybody hold hands!"
"Magnus," Alec warns him, pulling his hand out. "I need to get my bow first."
"Why?" the warlock snaps his fingers and the weapon appears in his hand. "I've got it right here."
Alec rolls his eyes and walks over to his sister. "You okay?"
"By the angel," Isabelle answers with a nod of her head.
"You said that, twice."
"He's an angel Alec!"
"Yeah, I saw that too."
"What do we do when we meet an actual angel?"
"I don't know, but we'll figure it out at Magnus's place."
Izzy nods, allowing herself to be guided over to the warlock while Clary takes Simon's hand and they near where Jace is standing.
"All together now, kiddies, let's not get lost," Magnus smiles. They all walk through together.
---
They all, including Alec, decide to keep Simon's new identity a secret for now (especially from the Clave), in order to focus on reviving Clary's mother and stopping Valentine's plans.
While the others work on waking Jocelyn, Simon finds Jace hiding away in his room. The shadowhunter is glaring at his hands as if they were his greatest enemy.
Simon knocks softly on the open door as he steps through and offers the other a lopsided grin when the other looks up at him slightly startled.
"Did something happen? Is Jocelyn okay?" Jace asks, getting to his feet in case there was a battle to be fought.
"It's fine! They're fine-I mean, she isn't awake yet but nothing bad has happened either, so...yeah..." Simon shrugs, looking down at his feet.
"Oh," Jace nods his head. "Good, I mean, that nothing bad is happening."
"Mhmm," Simon nods with him.
They stand in awkward silence for a few minutes before Jace finally asks, "Why are you here?"
"Because you're an idiot," Simon slaps a hand over his mouth in shock, then pulls it way, hurriedly adding, "Sorry! I didn't mean to let it out like that. I meant to say, you were going to be an idiot."
"I don't see how that's much better."
"You were going to go with Valentine, Jace," the darker haired boy frowns. "I can't think of many other words to describe that, but trust me when I tell you the other ones are far less pleasant."
"He's my father."
"He says he's your father. If I were you? I'd demand to hear it from Clary's mother first."
"He was going to kill all of you!"
"Yeah, I can't imagine the man wanting to win your favor over really going through with that."
"You can say that, because it wasn't your decision to make!" Jace stops, notices how close he had walked over to the other without noticing it and steps away again. "You don't understand, Simon. You can't. I know deep down that Valentine is my father, that he's been training me and preparing me for whatever he has planned next. I know..." he takes a deep breath in and nearly growls it back out. "I know that I'm no better than him. We're the same."
"Wow, you are an enormous imbecile."
Jace turns a glare Simon.
"I mean it! You're standing there acting like some wounded femme fatale over something some crazy person told you. It's ridiculous! You are going to be kicking yourself, KICKING yourself, when you find out Valentine is lying to you and this was all some sort of elaborate plan of his to turn you against us."
"Why do you care? I thought the idea of Clary and I being siblings would make you happy. Now I'm out of the way for you to actually muster up the courage to ask her out."
"I love Clary."
"I knew it!"
"But a lot like the way you love Alec."
Jace frowns, confused. "What?"
Simon heaves a sigh, closing the door for more privacy. "Before that room, before Mr. Evil Shadowhunter showed up and tried to bring you to the dark side, I thought that Clary was the only one I really cared about. I mean, other than my family, obviously."
"What do you mean?" Jace eyes him warily, feeling something strange in the pit of his stomach.
"I mean," Simon throws his hands out in exasperation. "I like you too, okay?"
"And I...tolerate you?"
"I mean, I LIKE you, Jace," the darker haired boy clarifies with s sad smile. "Like the butterflies in your stomach whenever you're in the room like. Or the I can't wait to see you again even though I just left the room. Or the staying up late at night staring at the ceiling while you try to figure out ways to make the other person smile."
The shadowhunter just blinks at him.
"But," Simon sighs. "It's clear that, you don't feel the same. Which is fine! I never thought of myself as Bi before I met you, and I know you have a thing for Clary, I just had to let that out so it couldn't eat at me later."
"How can you like me?"
"What?"
"How could you possibly like me? I've given you nothing but grief since I met you."
"I don't know," Simon shrugs. "I just do."
"Now who's the imbecile."
"Listen," the darker haired teen huffs out a slightly frustrated breath. "A few hours ago, I realized I wasn't who I thought I was. I'm not some deity or some super powered human-I don't know what I am. I only know that I changed genres in anatomy."
"You're an angel, Simon."
"That's sweet."
"No, I mean you're a literal angel."
"I know that, Jace."
"By comparison, I'm the spawn of Satan."
"Now you're being melodramatic."
"Simon."
"Jace."
The shadowhunter stomps over to the other and opens the door, but Simon slams it back shut.
"Either you leave or let me do the walking," Jace warns him in a hard tone.
"If you want me to leave because you don't feel the same way about me, I will be out that door in a second. But if you only want me to go because you're still thinking like an idiot, I'm going to play 'good conscience' on your shoulder till you snap out of it."
"Simon," the blonde says the name tiredly, then barely speaks above a whisper, "Please."
"You're braver than you know, which is pretty brave since you think you're the best thing ever. You're kinder than you think, because you don't want others to see your soft side. You're able to do things other people can barely imagine," Simon touches the other on the shoulder. "But when it comes to family, you're so blind you can't see what's right in front of your face."
"What is that?" Jace's voice rises ever so slightly.
"Alec, Isabelle, Clary and I all love you. We're not going to give up on you, so you might as well get used to it and let us help you!"
The shadowhunter turns away and walks over to the other side of the room, back towards the other teen and arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"When you're done acting like a child, come and see me, okay? Or Alec or Izzy," Simon laughs a little. "If Clary wasn't so worried about her Mom right now? She'd be the one in here talking to you about this."
When his words are only met with silence, Simon decides it's time to leave. He turns back to the door and grabs hold of the knob.
"Simon."
He turns back to see the other staring at him intently. There's a small smile on his face, which is all Simon needs to see to know that he's gotten through to him.
"What's a femme fatal?"
---