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Jocelyn wakes up and tells Jace that he is NOT Valentine's son. A fact that everyone on his team, especially Simon, rub in his face and make him feel bad about for three days straight.
- - -
"Okay! I get it!" Jace growls, pushing away Isabelle's poking fingers. She had been sing/chanting 'We were right and you were wrong!' while incessantly poking him,
"He's right," Clary frowns in disapproval at the other girl. Jace looks away when she breaks into a fit of giggles. "We shouldn't pick on the fake son of darkness."
"I thought he was the spawn of Satan," Alec remarks dryly but with a small smirk.
"No, no, no, it was the prince of evil."
"Fledgling of the nefarious?"
"I don't think that one works out too well," Clary pretends to think about it before looking over to Simon who was sitting silently by the wall. "What do you think, Simon? Does 'fledgling of the nefarious' sound like it works?"
"Huh?" Simon looks up, face blank. "You say something Izzy?"
"I'm the one who spoke, Simon," Clary frowns, walking over to him. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Don't tell me you've been sitting over here trying to come up with the ultimate nickname from our previously diabolical leader," Isabelle winks at Jace before taking a seat next to their angelic friend.
"No, I was," he sighs. "I was thinking of Raphael, actually."
"Your old vampire boss?" Clary clarifies. "Why are you thinking about him?"
"I feel bad about what I did," Simon looks down to stare at his hands. "I betrayed his trust. After everything he did for me. I feel like...Like I owe him an apology at least."
"Simon, you can't go back to Hotel Dumort," Alec tells him with a touch of concern. "If the vampires figure out what you are now, they'll never let you out of there alive."
"He's not worth the risk," Isabelle tells him confidently.
"I know. I know," Simon shakes his head, then gets to his feet. "I think I'll just go for a walk. Get some air, you know? Clear my head."
"I'll go with you," his best friend offers.
"No, Clary," he smiles at her. "Stay here. Once your mother's done talking to the Clave envoy -whoever- in their super secret meeting, she'll want to see you."
"She'll want to see you too."
"Maybe. Later for sure. But definitely you first and for a very long, mother-daughter bonding amount of time."
"I'll go with him," Jace assures the red-head. "I could use some time alone from the nickname squad."
Simon offers them a quick wave before walking out of the building with Jace.
Right before they're out of earshot, Isabelle calls out to them, "Be careful, descendant of doom!"
Jace rolls his eyes, not even bothering to look back at her.
---
The sun had just set as the two teens walk through the graveyard of the Shadowhunter headquarters and deeper into the forests surrounding the building. The last fleeting rays of the sky are still a slightly purplish hue and Simon looks up to the colors as he takes in a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh.
"You gonna be okay, angel boy?" Jace asks after it's been too quiet. He wasn't used to a less gibber version of the darker haired boy.
"Angel boy?" Simon snorts. "You get so tired of your own nicknames, you're trying your hand at it for others?"
"Eventually Clary and Izzy will run out of original names and Alec won't continue without the two of them instigating it. So, I really only have to worry about you."
"I've had my fill," Simon kicks at a rock and watches it skip a few times across the ground. "There are other things to occupy my mind now."
"Like finding Valentine?"
"Him too."
Jace lets out a deep sigh, "Listen, Simon, about what you said before..."
"Before what?" the other teen stops to look at the blonde.
Jace stops as well, "Before Jocelyn woke up."
"Oh, that 'before'," Simon shrugs. "What about it?"
"I was thinking..." Jace clears his throat of the sudden lump he had in it. "Would you? I mean, did you want to?"
"Did I want to what?"
There's a sound of something cracking and Jace has his Seraph out as they're surrounded by vampires.
"Oh, crap," Simon looks around at the familiar, angry faces. "Clary is SO going to beat me up about this later."
"Clary, Clary, Clary," Raphael's voice mocks as he steps through the group to stand in front. "How is that, even after all I did for you, you still chose her over your own kind?"
"She's my best friend in the whole world," Simon explains with a sad smile. "Listen, Raphael, I'm sorry about betraying you. I didn't want to do it. We needed to get the Book of the White in order to wake Clary's mother and stop Valentine."
"And did Camille get you this precious book?"
"Not exactly."
"Then I don't see how that has any bearing on your case."
"Case?"
"Yes, Simon, your case. The trial that I'm going to put you through for your betrayal."
"You're not doing anything to him," Jace growls, pointing his blade at the vampire leader.
"He's one of us," Raphael turns a glare to the Shadowhunter. "He belongs to our coven and will be tried by them."
"He belongs to no one," the blonde disagrees. "So he'll be staying right here."
"Jace-"
"No, Simon!" the Shadowhunter puts a stop to the other's protest. "Remember what you said about me being an idiot for trying to sacrifice myself?"
"But-"
"No, buts," Jace cuts him off again. "It's the same thing. So if you really believed anything you told me, don't even think about trying to hand yourself over."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jace sees Simon nod his head in compliance.
"How touching," Raphael says in mock admiration. He glares at the pair, "But I'm afraid we didn't come here to offer Simon a choice."
The vampire bears his teeth and the entire group attacks.
---
"ce!"
"Ja!"
"Jace!"
"JACE!"
Jace startles awake, arms swiping out at the voice as his vision swirls.
"Woah there!" Clary takes his arms to steady him. "It's us; Clary, Alec and Izzy."
Isabelle comes into the blonde's line of sight. "How are you feeling?"
"What happened?" Alec adds before the teen can answer.
"Simon and I were ambushed by Raphael and his vampires-Simon!" Jace looks around for the teen but he doesn't see him. "Where is he?"
"We were going to ask you the same question," Izzy looks up to her brother, concerned. Alec shakes his head.
"I looked everywhere," the tall Shadowhunter tells them. "There's no trace of him."
"Raphael took Simon?" Clary's voice rises with her fear. "Why? Never mind, we have to get him back!"
"What about the Accords?"
"Screw the Accords," Jace growls, pushing himself to his feet. He takes a moment to regain his balance then he looks around for his Seraph. "Where's my blade?"
"Here," Alec hands it over to him. He keeps a grip on it as he looks into his parabatai's eyes. "Are you going to be okay? Barging into a vampire's lair is hard enough when you're at your best."
"I'm fine," Jace assures him, pulling the weapon out of the other's grip when he finally relaxes his hold. "It's my fault they have him. So I'm going to get him back."
"It's not your fault, Jace," Clary assures him. "Two against a whole group of vampires isn't exactly fair."
"I shouldn't have allowed them to get that close to us. I shouldn't have strayed away as far as I did," Jace pushes passed them to head to the hotel. "I should have protected him better."
---
Hotel Dumort somehow looks more threatening than it had the first time Simon had been trapped in it. The four teens had taken a short detour to pick up Magnus for more 'fire power' but otherwise kept their mission to themselves.
"To think, a little redecoration and this place might actual have some style," the warlock remarks as they head through the roof entrance.
"We're not even in the building yet, Magnus," Alec points out.
"Exactly," his boyfriend rolls his eyes. "If you're not wowed by the first few steps, then you're doing something wrong!"
"Silence!" Jace hisses at them from the front, blade lighting the way. His muscles are tense and his stomach churns with every second that he doesn't see Simon.
"Someone is a little antsy," Magnus mumbles to Alec.
The blonde leader pulls up an arm, stopping their progress as two vampires walk passed them. Jace jumps them both.
"Jace!" Clary jumps out after him, killing one of them when he goes for the Shadowhunter with a dagger.
Jace is too focused on the one he has pinned to the ground, Seraph at its throat.
"Where's Simon?" he growls at it.
"The traitor?" the vampire laughs. "He's being drained for burial!"
"Oh my g-" Clary covers her mouth to stop herself from gagging. Jace stabs the creature and continues his trek through the building.
---
The blonde Shadowhunter is a force to be reckoned with. Every vampire they meet is instantly met with his blade and those who don't give him the answers he wants get a quick death. It takes all their focus for the others to keep up with him and watch his back, all the while trying to reason with their friend and leader.
"Slow down!"
"You almost got yourself killed! Again!"
"I don't think he's listening to you."
"You're not helping, Magnus!"
"Alexander said I couldn't enchant him."
"You can't enchant him!"
"This is a surprisingly large hotel."
- - -
They make it to some sort of open space with mostly pillars and paintings for decoration.
"See what I mean about their interior design?" Magnus sighs. "You'd think with all their free time in the day, they'd use some of it to make this place more attractive."
"Intruders!" a very large, bald vampire shouts at them. He's holding a sword in each hand and panting like an animal.
In less than a blink, four more vampires who look almost the same arrive in the room to flank their comrade.
Their appearance doesn't seem to bother Jace because he immediately charges for them. The first of the five slams his fist into the Shadowhunter, sending him flying across the room and cracking a pillar in half.
"It's like they're on steroids!" Clary shouts worriedly, rushing over to Jace to help him get to his feet. Alec covers her by firing arrows.
"Worse," Magnus grimaces. "They're hyped up on angel blood!"
"One can only wonder," Jace grounds out angrily as he stands again. "where they got that."
Magnus freezes two of the vampires so Isabelle can kill them with her Seraph while Alec ends another pair with his arrows. Jace gets the last one as it tries to attack him again.
"This is a suicide mission," Alec warns them as Jace resumes his walk through the place. "We can't possible fight off many more of those types of vampires!"
"I'm not leaving Simon here!" Jace turns to shout at his Parabatai.
"Woah!" Clary gets in the blonde's face. "No one wants to rescue Simon more than me, but we can't be at each other's throats right now. Got that?"
Jace's hard glare softens a little as he look back over to Alec, "I...I'm sorry, Alec."
"You can make it up to me by stop acting so recklessly," the tall teen tells him seriously. "Clary," he turns to the red-head. "You've been in here with Simon before. Where were they keeping Camille?"
"In the creepy tomb area downstairs," Clary looks around the room as she thinks. "But I have no idea how to get there form here."
"I just thought of something obvious," Magnus raises a hand. "Why doesn't the hot Shadowhunter hold hands with his frustrated counterpart to track the little feather?"
"Magnus, you're a genius!" Isabelle smiles. She looks to her brothers, "Why didn't you idiots think of that sooner?"
"I highly doubt Jace has been doing much thinking at all," Alec remarks as he walks over to his Parabatai. The two grab hold and stare at each other in concentration.
After a moment, Jace's eyes widen and he pulls apart in a dead run, shouting, "He's upstairs!"
"Wait for us!" Clary shouts back, chasing after him; the rest of the team following behind.
- - -
Upstairs, the rescue party comes to a near screeching halt.
Simon is hanging from chains in the middle of the room. There are hoses scattered all over the floor and a few dead vampires as well.
Raphael is on his knees before Simon, just staring at him as if there was nothing else in the world to look at.
Jace is the first to snap out of his shock, striding over to the vampire leader to stab at him with his Seraph.
"Don't," a weak voice tells him and his head snaps up to see Simon smiling weakly at him. "Please," Simon pants. "Don't kill him."
Jace abandons his revenge to go to the teen. By this point, Clary and Isabelle are already there, finding the chains for the counterbalance and lowering their friend carefully into the blonde's arms. Alec and Magnus remain at the door to keep watch.
As soon as he's completely lowered, Clary drops her part of the chain and runs to her best friend's side.
"Simon. Simon? Simon. Simon!" she says his name over and over in a worried mantra.
"I'm," Simon winces. "Fine."
"And Magnus doesn't use hair product," Izzy remarks with a frown. "Don't lie to us."
"What she said," Clary agrees with a wild nod of her head.
"Guys," Alec warns them as he ducks away from another group of approaching vampires. "We need to get going."
"Alexander is correct, of course," Magnus smiles, striding over to a wall to open a portal. "All aboard the Magnus express. Next stop? My place."
Jace lifts Simon in his arms and the teen shouts out a little in surprise. "Jace!"
"You're injured," the blonde states plainly, ignoring the heat on his cheeks.
"Don't complain, Simon," Clary scolds her best friend, looking around worriedly as they walk towards the portal.
"Yes, instead enjoy the princely action," Magnus wiggle his eyebrows.
"Magnus," Alec warns him, but he's smirking.
"What?"
"Everybody in the portal," Jace orders, stepping through first. Everyone else following right on his heels.
---
Simon groans to wakefulness. Something slips from his hand and he groans again at the loss of warmth. He blinks away sleep as he looks around. His eyes settle on Jace, sitting right next to whoever's bed he was lying on.
"Hey," Simon croaks, inwardly cursing himself when the noise causes the other teen's frown to deepen. He carefully clears his throat and tries again. "Hi."
"How are you feeling?" Jace asks him, moving his arms around for a moment before crossing them over his chest.
"Like I need to sleep for a week," Simon tries to joke, but it falls a little flat. "Where-Where are the others?"
By the looks of it, it's just the two of them. Simon can't imagine any good reason not to see his best friend at his side when he's injured.
"I just relieved Clary," Jace explains with a very small smile. "She'd been by your side for hours before I caught her nodding off. Magnus is letting her sleep on the couch. He's been a surprisingly accommodating host. For a warlock."
"Alec brings out the best in him, I think," Simon smiles, remembering the scene the two made at the wedding. "Did anyone get hurt? How did you find me? Are any of you in trouble again? I still don't know a lot about your rules."
"Simon," Jace shakes his head to get the teen to stop talking. "We're fine. Maybe a couple of bumps and bruises but nothing compared to what those monsters did to you." The blonde's expression darkens. He quietly asks, "Why did you stop me from killing Raphael?"
"Because even though he kidnapped me again, which I am not happy about being the rescued princess by the way, I still consider him a friend."
"He was draining you of your blood, Simon. I don't think you should be using the word 'friend' to describe him."
"Raph stopped once he knew what was happening to the other vampires."
"What?" Jace forms a different kind of frown.
"My blood was killing most of the vampires who drank it," the angel explains. "Raphael made them stop. He took the tubes out of me himself. Then he ordered everyone out and kept on apologizing."
"So, he found out you were an angel and decided to stop? If you were still a vampire you might have been dead!"
"But I'm not and I didn't."
"That doesn't change the fact that he tried to kill you!"
"He didn't want to!"
"I find that hard to believe."
Simon starts to push himself up and Jace practically leaps out of the chair to stop him. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm having a hard time scolding you while lying down," Simon explains, pushing the other's hands away and getting into a sitting up position. Jace hovers over him until Simon orders him to, "Sit down!"
The blonde does and the other teen takes a deep breath.
"Raphael was under a lot of pressure to keep the coven on his side. Thanks to ME, there was a lot of unsettled feelings about Camille that were brought up. They were questioning him as their leader and he had to take drastic actions to get them to stay loyal to him."
"And for that, he used you."
"I was the only one he could use. I'm the one who betrayed him."
"It's still wrong."
"Well, life sucks sometimes," Simon shrugs.
"Did you just make a vampire pun?"
"Only if you thought it was funny."
"It was terrible."
"Then I definitely didn't."
Simon sighs, resting his head against the backboard of the bed. "All I ever wanted was to help Clary. With whatever. Even before all this Shadowhunter, downworlder, chaos. I just wanted to be helpful to other people. To make a difference."
"You do help people, Simon," Jace assures him. "Especially me."
"True," the darker haired teen points in the other's direction before dropping his hand back to the bed. "I gave you the best verbal beat down ever when you thought you were secretly evil."
Jace smiles at the memory but he shakes his head, "Not...just that, Simon."
"Hm?" Simon pulls his head away from the wall. "Who did I help?"
"Me."
"You?"
"Yeah," Jace gets from his chair to sit on the bed next to the other teen. "You've...found something in me I didn't know was missing."
"Poetic," Simon compliments nervously.
"I'm being serious," the blonde takes him by the hand. "I thought I wanted Clary. I already kissed her."
"Too much information, Jace."
"But," the Shadowhunter squeezes their joined hands for a moment to regain the other's focus. "I didn't get butterflies in my stomach. I never felt that sort of thing before. I thought it was a Mundane saying that they used because it sounded nice."
"And?" Simon pushes, voice quiet and almost afraid.
"Shortly after we had our talk I felt those stupid butterflies," Jace looks Simon in the eyes. "And when those vampires took you I wanted to burn that hotel to the ground. I wanted to kill each and every last vampire, regardless of the consequences. If you had been dead when we found you-"
He looks away, unable to finish.
Simon pulls on their joined hands to put Jace's hand over his heart.
"It's still kicking," the angel smiles brightly at him. "A bit harder than it should, but that's your fault."
Jace smiles as the steady rhythm calms his own beating heart. "So...What does this mean?"
"What do you want it to mean?"
"Should we....Go out?"
"When we're not killing demons or stopping the world from coming to an end," Simon smiles. "I can let you listen to some of my band's songs!"
Jace smiles back at him, "I'd like that."
---