Chapter Text
“C’mon on Simon you have to wear this it looks amazing on you!” said Clary desperately. For the past few months, Simon grew a liking towards Jace, in a romantic way. Clary being the best friend she is, has been trying to set the two up and Simon finally agreed. He grabbed the dark blue button up shirt from Clary and hid in the closet to put it on. Clary knew since the first time Simon set eyes on Jace he was gonna be hooked. She has never seen Simon so astounded by someone; she just hoped Jace felt the same way about him. As soon as Simon came out she couldn’t speak. “Oh Simon I told you you look good in that shirt.”
Simon looked down at himself and then in the mirror, dark blue has always been his color. He has never been so nervous in his life which makes him even more anxious because he has been on dates before so he doesn’t understand why he’s this nervous. Ever since he saw Jace outside of the Institute, he knew he was in trouble. Jace was this hot, dangerous, troubled guy that he couldn’t help but fall for. It wasn’t all that great because once he realized Jace was falling for Clary, he knew he would never have him. When Simon confronted Clary about Jace, she told him that she was falling for Izzy and she was so not into Jace. Simon never felt so relieved in his life which made him fall for Jace even more.
Clary helped pick out Simon’s outfit completely it with black jeans, leather jacket, and some gray vans. Ever since Simon turned into a vampire, his sense of fashion was something he didn’t expect to change during his transformation. His closet is filled with leather and black clothing you would think Alec threw up in there. Once he slipped the jacket on, he felt way more confident than he did 10 minutes ago. “Okay I’m ready.” Simon said truthfully which was a new, weird feeling for him.
Clary’s phone started ringing and he knew by the smile on her face that is was her girlfriend, Izzy. He turned his vampire hearing on and not surprisingly, they were talking about him and his kind of date with Jace. He started listening in when Izzy said, “Yeah I walked into Jace’s room a few minutes ago and he actually seems nervous. He changed his clothes probably like five times it was hilarious.” After hearing that, he started getting nervous again. Jace Wayland, the most powerful shadowhunter was nervous to meet up with Simon, the awkward vampire.
Simon’s phone buzzed and his mouth fell open when he saw that Jace texted him.
“Hey Si I’m outside… are you ready?”
“Yeah I’ll be right out!”
“Cool I’ll be here (:”
Simon’s heart would’ve skipped a few beats if his heart could beat. Jace has never called him “Si” before and he actually likes that nickname especially if it’s coming from Jace. Clary was still on the phone when he turned towards her. “Jace is here so I’m going to get going.” he said as he grabbed his wallet and keys and put them in his pocket.
Clary put Izzy on hold and walked over to Simon, grabbed him by the shoulders and says, “Simon I better not hear that you freaked out and gave up okay? You’re Simon Lewis,” she pulled him in for a hug and continued, “you can do this!”
They kept hugging for a few more seconds and Simon pulled away, “Thank you Clary, you always know how to calm me down.” He took a deep breath and started walking towards the front door, leaving his anxiety behind it.
He didn’t know where exactly Jace was so he just looked down at the floor until he got outside. It was a bad idea considering as soon as he walked out of the front door, he ran right into Jace. Simon looked up and said, “Oh I’m sorry I- I didn’t know you were right there I- I- sorry.”
“Well thankfully we both can heal quickly because that was one hard hit.” Jace always made jokes when he’s nervous it’s just something he has always done. They both took a step back so they can have their own personal bubble. They both looked at each other from head to toe when Jace finally broke the ice and said, “We better get going, our journey awaits!” He turns around and starts leading the way and once he got a good distance between him and Simon, he very quietly said to himself, “Holy fuck.” Simon tried his best not to smile when he heard him say that, he didn’t want to embarrass Jace as it was obvious he didn’t want Simon to hear that. Jace slowed down so he could be right next to Simon and said, “We’re gonna have a fun day today.”
The first place Jace took Simon is to an abandoned warehouse in Queens. If Simon was still a mundane, he wouldn’t be able to see the beautiful building the warehouse actually is. “This is one of our safe houses. Only people from the New York Institute come here, but it’s open for all shadowhunters.” As they walked through the gates Jace continued talking, “Nobody has really been here for a while since there hasn’t been any huge incidents. I like to come here sometimes just to cool down. If someone pisses me off, I come here because no one would think to find me here,” he pushes the huge doors open to reveal the inside. It looks just as beautiful as the Institute, but it’s a lot smaller. “I get to train all I want, eat all I want, and sleep all I want, and because it’s a safe house, no one can track me here. Not even the Institute.”
Jace gives him the tour of the entire place and all Simon can think about is how lonely it must get. They walk out of the safe house and Jace draws a rune over the door to lock it up so only shadowhunters can get inside. As Jace was drawing on the rune, Simon couldn’t help but stare at Jace’s arms. He’s seen them so many times before, but they still amaze him every single time. He snaps out of his daydream as Jace turns around and says, “Alright Lewis it’s your turn to show me something I have never seen before.”
“Okay, but we have to get on the subway again.”
“Jesus where is this place?”
Simon smiled as he grabs Jace by the shoulder and says, “Manhattan, my friend.”
Simon thought that since all Jace does is train and fight demons, he probably doesn’t have time to have actual fun. He looked up where to find this place and apparently it’s one of the best hidden clubs in New York called “The Flame”. Of course, Simon has never actually been to this club so he’s curious as to why it’s the best. They got off the subway a few blocks from where it’s suppose to be at and it’s dark out so it’s the perfect time to go to the club. Jace was walking a little fast so it gives Simon an excuse to check Jace out and he was taking full advantage of that chance.
They finally make it to the entrance of the club he thought was suppose to be a secret, but it has a sign for it right outside. Simon ignores it and turns to Jace and says, “Are you ready?” He grabs Jace’s hand without even thinking and drags him inside. They head straight to the bar, order a few drink, and once they turn around they realize this is not a regular bar.
It’s a gay bar. The walls were black and the lights were very dim, but they were many multiple colored laser lights illuminating the entire place. There were beautiful people everywhere Simon looked. He didn’t think he could witness so many outstanding looking people ever all at once. His eyes finally fell on Jace and he could see the little faint of worry in his eyes so he said, “Jace I’m so sorry I didn’t know it was this kind of club, oh Go- fuck okay we can go.”
As he was walking towards the door, Jace stopped him, took a deep breath, and said, “No it’s okay, Simon. Let’s stay.” Simon was so surprised he couldn’t even talk so he just nodded his head in agreement as they walked back to the bar. When they got back to the bar, their beers were waiting for them so they raised their glasses and Jace said, “To being free.”
Simon couldn’t help, but stare into Jace’s beautiful blue eyes as he said, “To being free.” They both took a drink without breaking eye contact. Simon knew by the end of tonight, he was going to be completely in love with this beautiful man, and he wasn’t so afraid anymore.
Because Simon is a vampire, it took six beers and 15 tequila shots to get him drunk. If Jace had that much, he would be throwing up until tomorrow. To get himself tipsy, he only had two beers and 5 tequila shots. Jace is finishing off his third beer at the bar while watching Simon dance the night away. He wanted to get up and dance with him so desperately, but he doesn’t know how to dance and he doesn’t want to risk the chance of someone he knows seeing him. “To being free,” echoed inside of his head and at that moment he knew he had to go dance with him. He slammed his empty beer bottle onto the bar and got up from the stool while quietly repeating, “To being free. To being free. To being free.”
Simon turned around and stopped dancing once saw Jace walking towards him. “Jace! Oh beautiful Jace come dance with me.” Simon said while grabbing Jace by the shoulders. The club plays one slow song every hour so once Simon heard the slow song of the hour playing, he jumped and said, “Oh my G- fuck ouch,” he started giggling and continued, “Jace dance with me please.”
Simon held out his hand like a proper gentleman waiting for Jace to take it. He took his hand and said, “I can’t even dance so it’s your fault if I embarrass us both.”
Jace’s right hand was on Simon’s lower back and Simon has never felt so safe in his life. He laid his head on Jace’s shoulder and Jace couldn’t help but smile. Having feelings for a guy was so new and weird to him, but he knew it felt somewhat perfect with Simon. As if they were meant to find each other. All this time he thought he was falling for Clary, but it wasn’t Clary he was falling for. He always had the thought of always having to be perfect and if that meant being with a woman and marrying a women to please the clave then that’s what he would've done. When Alec kissed Magnus in front of the everyone, he knew right then and there that he was done being perfect. He just wanted to be himself and today Simon helped him embrace who he is.
They were both so deep in thought that they didn’t even realize the song was almost over. Simon raised his head to look into those blue eyes he loves so much. Jace knew that this moment is the right moment to make the first move. He unlocked their hands so he can put his hand on Simon’s neck. He rubbed Simon’s cheek with his thumb as he slowly moved closer to Simon's pink lips. Simon was trying to keep his breathing under control as he felt Jace’s lips very slightly run against his own. Just as their lips were about to connect, the fire alarm went off, causing the whole club to scream and panic.
People started running towards the door and pushing everyone apart including Jace and Simon. The two broke apart and started walking towards the front door trying to be the first people out. As they finally got out of the crowd, Simon fell down due to the alcohol. Jace hurried to his side and said, “Okay it’s time to get you home.” He picked up the drunken vampire and slid his arm around Simon’s waist to hold him up properly. He couldn’t help but think about what just happened in the club. The exhilaration from almost kissing who could possibly be the love of his life makes him so delusional that when the feeling fades away, they’re suddenly on the subway to Brooklyn. Jace decides to close his eyes for a little bit so he rest his head on Simon’s head which is on Jace’s shoulder.
When Jace finally opens his eyes, he notices they thankfully didn’t miss their stop. They get above ground and see they’re only a few blocks from Simon’s house so they start walking. Simon is finally sobering up so he’s able to walk on his own now. Once they get to Simon’s front door, Simon turns around to look at Jace and says, “Thank you for tonight. I haven’t felt like myself in a while and tonight I was 100% myself.” He walks towards Jace and gives him a strong hug. He digs his face into Jace’s neck and enjoys the warmth, surprisingly not thinking about blood. Blood was the last thing on his mind when he’s with Jace.
Jace’s hands are once again on Simon’s waist and he starts rubbing circles into Simon’s hips to comfort him. When they pull apart they look each other in the eyes for a few seconds before Simon disappears into his home, leaving Jace feeling lonely and cold again.
Jace starts walking back towards the subway when he pulls his phone out and starts typing a message to Simon.
“I also want to thank you for tonight. I felt… free and it felt good. Don’t forget to drink some water before bed. Goodnight, Si.”
Just as he puts his phone back into his back pocket, he gets a text back.
“To being free. :)”
He also sends Jace a picture of himself with a glass of water and says,
“Goodnight, bossy ;)”
Jace can’t help but smile at Simon’s beautiful smile in the picture. He saves the selfie into his camera roll hoping it doesn’t seem weird. He finally gets onto the subway and spends the entire ride thinking about the dancing and the almost kiss. Then he thinks about the ridiculous fire alarm that went off right before they kissed. Before he could get anymore upset, his phone starts to ring. Thinking it’s Simon, he quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket and answers, “Hello Simon?”
“Not exactly but hey.” Alec says on the other end.
“Sorry I didn’t check who was calling. What’s up?”
“Nothing I just wanted to see how today went. I know you were nervous and I just wanted to check up on you.”
Jace sighs and says, “I’m more than okay. I’m almost at my stop so I’ll talk to you at the Institute. See ya.”
“See ya later lover boy.”
Alec hangs up before Jace can yell at him, but he isn’t wrong. Jace is falling for Simon and he’s okay with it.