Who: Clary and Jace What: Truthiness Plot When: 11/12 Where: Off to the Movies Rating: PG SFW Status: Complete (and late thanks to holidays and Nano)
Jace wasn’t sure what had come over Clary. She had asked him out. He wasn’t complaining, not by a long shot. He had never had a woman ask him out, unless you count the Sadie Hawkins Dance at the high school, and that had not been serious at all. He hadn’t really had a serious relationship. There were women that he dated here and there, but none that had truly captured feelings. In part, this was due to the life with his father, moving around a lot, never feeling like he was secure in one place. He also knew he hadn’t found the one truly turned his head.
When Clary had arrived, Jace had taken an immediate interest. He couldn’t say it was just because of the dreams, although they had given him his first impressions of her. He found himself wanting to know about her, outside of the dreams. This was not New York, and they weren’t really shadowhunters. He wasn’t born with angel blood, and she wasn’t the product of a shadowhunter and their enemy. They were Jace and Clary, and their was something between them that had nothing to do with dreams at all.
Even though Clary had asked him out, he felt like he should pick her up at least. He pulled up to her place, checking himself in the rearview mirror quickly. He walked to the door and knocked, trying not to seem nervous at all.
Clary, on the other hand, was very nervous. She couldn’t believe she’d done it and she planned on blaming Magnus next time she saw him if this went south. Hearing the knock on the door, she trotted into the hallway to check herself in the mirror, her hair being stubborn and not staying tucked behind her ear. She took a deep breath as she looked herself dead in the eyes before turning to answer the door. Opening it up, she saw him on the other side and gave him a small, anxious smile as she spoke to him. “Hey, you ok?” she asked, smoothing her skirt down over the backs of her legs. She was wearing leggings underneath it, but still felt quite self-conscious about wearing it. She wasn’t used to skirts, much preferred jeans, but when she told her mother about this date, she’d insisted on taking Clary out for some girly shopping. Which included make-up that she wasn’t used to wearing. Her mom had kept it quite light and natural looking, but accentuated her eyes and gave her a healthy looking blush and a gentle pink on her lips.
Jace looked a little surprised, tucking an errant blonde strand behind his ear. “I’m fine. Are you surprised?” He laughed, taking in her outfit. “I would say you didn’t have to dress up for me, but I like it, so you look great.” There was a little bit of red on his cheeks, not the cool confidence of his dream counterpart. “Really, you do look great.” “Do you have everything you need?” he asked, wanting to make a quick getaway. He wasn’t great with introductions, and tended to talk way too quickly. Instead, he led them both out to the car, opening Clary’s door for her. Once he was seated on the other side, he turned the key in the ignition. “Do you have any idea what you want to see, or we could always just go and pick one when we get there?”
"Thanks," Clary blushed at his compliment, tucking some of her fringe behind an ear. "Almost, just let me grab my purse," she turned and picked her bag off the rack before following him out to his car, smiling as he held the door open for her. "Look at that, chivalry's not dead after all," she teased with a smile as she sat in the car. "I figured we'd just pick something when we got there, is that OK?" she asked when he started to drive.
“It’s not quite dead. It just lies dormant, waiting to spring on an unsuspecting woman.” Jace did have manners, even if they were questionable at times. “Of course it’s fine.” He still would like action, or maybe horror, but he was going to let her choose. Anything that put them close together would help. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous. He had actually had a date once or twice, but this was different. Their dream lives were rolled into this date, making it a little more complicated.
Clary laughed at that. “So I’m an unsuspecting woman, am I?” she joked, looking over at him as he drove. “Not that I’m complaining, I like the Considerate Jace. More than Big-Headed Jace anyway,” she told him with a teasing smile.
Jace gave her a mock pout as he pulled up at the theater. It wasn’t far from her place. “My head isn’t that big,” he laughed, “only the size of a small state.” His alter-ego was a lot worse. “I will try to keep it under control tonight. Tomorrow, I make no promises.” The teasing grin came back easily. “I am glad you asked me out, and I’m glad you seem to like my finer points - like - ,” he paused, “my driving ability.”
"Well, good thing for you that it seems I have a thing for older guys," Clary laughed easily as he pulled up to the theatre. "So the whole driving thing is a total turn on," she joked as she got out of the car. "And I think your state sized ego is alright too," she winked at him over the top of his car.
“I’m not that much older,” he said, with a mock frown. Blonde strands fell in blue eyes, unruly as ever. No matter how many times a brush touched it, his hair did what it wanted. He walked to her side and offered his hand. “Have you drawn any more pictures of me?” he asked as they walked towards the theater. That had meant a lot to him, taking the time to draw him and make it look right. He couldn’t quite put it into words, but the picture sat by his bed, and that was a statement by itself.
She blushed and grinned, biting her lip, as she took hold of his hand. No-one had ever asked to hold her hand before,” she thought to herself. “Uhh...yeah, as a matter of fact,” she told him with a smile. "I had another...vision the other night actually, after I text you about this," she gave his hand a little squeeze and glanced at him sideways as they walked. "I think I had run home or something, but when I got there the place was a mess, like someone had ransacked it," she took a deep breath before continuing. "I called out for my mom but she wasn't there and then there was this...evil centipede thing leaping at me. I fought it and I think I killed it but not before it stung me, but then you were there and you took care of me, dragged me to the Institute and put some sort of mark on my arm before I passed out," she shrugged a little. "That's all I remember so far, but my room is starting to look like a really weird storyboard with all of these drawings," she laughed.
“That’s how I found out you were one of us,” he smiled. He had the dreams himself. He knew what she was talking about. “I had a feeling from the start when you could see me when I was supposed to be invisible. I wasn’t sure why.” He looked down at her, being a few inches shorter than he was. “I put a healing rune on you. Believe it or not, I woke up and found that stele on the nightstand.” He pulled the little tool out of his pocket proudly. Izzy and I have been working with it.
They continued to walk, nearing the line. “I do want to see the storyboards. Maybe after this?” He was aware that he was asking for a trip to her room, not really sure what she would think of that.
“I’m not sure what my mother would think about bringing a boy back to my room on the first date,” Clary grinned over at him. “You’re on a date with her only child remember, which makes you public enemy number one,” she teased. “For now,” she winked at him and bumped shoulders with him as they walked.
“Right, parents,” he grumbled. His dad had never really cared what he did when the man was around. He would have congratulated him for having a girl in his room, and probably offered her a beer. He frowned at the memory. “Well, I do live with my cousins and have two jobs if that helps.” Of course, he was a model and musician, both of which were a bit suspect in parental eyes.
“I’m going to have to meet her first, aren’t I?” He looked a little nervous at the thought. Most looked at him, with the long hair, the earring, and the tattoos, and he was labeled instant thug, the kind that would use girls and then discard them. That really wasn’t Jace, who didn’t have quite the same arrogant approach as his dream counterpart.
“Don’t worry about it, she’ll grill you plenty on your lifestyle, friends, hobbies, convictions and intentions then she’ll be fine,” Clary smiled broadly as she teased him. “I’m sure Izzy’s given you a hard time over girls before,” she smiled, trying to remove the worried look from his face.
“Right, no problem then,” he said, giving her a worried look. He wasn’t so sure that would be fine, although him holding stable jobs and getting himself through high school wasn’t bad. He looked up at the screen at the ticket window. “What would you like to see? Nothing with overprotective mothers though. It might give me a panic attack.” He was exaggerating a little bit, even though he was nervous about it.
Clary laughed at that as she looked up at the screen. “I’m not sure any of those have that particular plot point,” she joked, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze and a gentle smile. “You choose,” she told him.
“How about - ,” he looked up at the listings of movies in front of them, “Oh hey, how about Thor? That’s always a good pick, I think. Course, I’d rather have you staring at me instead of him, but it would be good.” The Dark World hadn’t been out that long, and it looked like fun. He looked down at her, arching a brow. He was always very drawn to her eyes. He couldn’t quite explain why. Maybe the way she was drawn to his. There was definitely a spark there.
“Thor’s good,” Clary said as she turned to look up at him. “It’s got a nice...tall...handsome...blonde hero in it,” she trailed off as she gazed up into his eyes. He had lovely eyes, more often than not hidden away behind his fringe.
“Wait, I’m right here, not up there,” he smirked. He did like action though, so he paid to see Thor. He escorted her inside, taking her to the snack counter. He picked out black licorice, raisinettes, popcorn and a huge slushie. “Do you want anything else?” he asked, shrugging at his haul. He always had a sweet tooth and really couldn’t help it. He also leaned forward and kissed her cheek. It was a move that surprised him, but he acted like it was planned, of course.
Clary paused and blushed as he kissed her on the cheek, a grin splitting her face at the feel of his lips against her skin. “Well, not if you’re willing to share that slushie,” she teased, bumping shoulders with him playfully as she flirted with him.
“I could share. I’m not a slushie hoarder or anything, and the mutual straw thing is - ,” his lips turned up a flirty grin, “very sexy. I really don’t mind.” He pulled out a twenty and handed it to the cashier, collecting the food. They walked down to the theater with Jace trying to balance everything in his hands, but managed without spilling a drop. Once safely seated, he picked up the slushie again, offering her the straw after taking some himself, leaning towards her.
Clary tried to help him carry his haul, but he stubbornly kept hold of it all until they were seated. Once he took a sip from the slushie, he leant over to offer her some and she smiled up at him. She took the straw between her thumb and forefinger and sipped delicately, looking up at him alluringly as she did from beneath her lashes.
There was a part of Jace that could have quite the ego, and another part that was very shy. Girls were much easier to talk to when he didn’t feel anything. This was a lot different. His mind kept going back to the picture that she had drawn of him. He thought that was amazing. He looked up at her. “Give me a taste,” he said, taking the straw. His head dipped towards it for a second, but then he caught her lips instead. His hand came up to her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb before letting her go.
Before Clary knew what was happening, Jace was kissing her. She sat there stunned for a moment, eyes wide in shock while she figured out what was happening. Then, just as she relaxed into his embrace and the feeling of his hand against her cheek and lips against hers, it was over. Her eyes were closed as he pulled away and she imagined that she looked just like the cliche girl from the movies after her first kiss. Eyelids fluttering before drifting up to meet his, she gazed up at him and smiled shyly, feeling a blush starting to colour her cheeks.
“What?” he asked, trying to fight the color off of his own cheeks, although he could definitely feel it there. Hopefully the dim lights were helping. “I stunned you into silence because that was so perfect.” He laughed lightly, but then his eyes caught hers. “And I want to do it again.” His teeth skirted over his bottom lip. There was a bit of that boldness, a glimpse of the fighter in the dreams in there.
“No,” Clary said at length with a hint of a smile. “It just means that you caught me by surprise is all,” she defended, unable to stop the smile from splitting her face before looking up at him. Her eyes flicked between his eyes and him biting his lip. “And that I want you to do it again too…” she admitted quietly.
Now that was a much better reaction, a smile, and a big smile at that. There was always a look on a girl’s face that told the man that they were doing something right, and that was the look. He felt good. His hand slipped into her hair, feeling the smooth strands moving through his fingers. There were girls who liked how he looked, but none he really had any feelings for - except for this one. He pulled her closer, brushing his lips across hers before kissing her again, taking much more time while the lights dimmed and the preview started.
Clary reached a hand up to touch his wrist as it lay by her cheek, letting him lead the kiss, able to enjoy the softness of his lips against hers more this time. Her head tilted back and she brought her other hand up to gently run along his jaw and hold him to her as the kiss increased in intensity. He was so familiar to her, despite having only met a few times. And suddenly it was as if she found her courage, all but pouncing on him and deepening the kiss, not remembering the slushie cup between them as she did.
A light moan escaped his lips when she pulled him closer. Yes, this felt right, and it had been far too long since something felt this right. If she wanted this too, he was definitely going to make sure she knew that it was completely mutual. His grip in her hair tightened, but not enough to hurt - just enough to let her know that she was wanted.
He was nearly out of breath when he released her. A smirk crossed his lips. “It’s too bad there is an old man two rows back who is watching us instead of the screen,” he joked, nipping at her lips again. “I think next time, we stay in and watch Netflix, and not pay any attention to the movie at all.”
“You’re a genius,” Clary told him breathlessly, grinning at him happily. “I’d say let’s give him a show but,” she glanced behind them at the man watching them. “I’d rather have you all to myself. I don’t share well,” she smiled back at him slowly, then drew him closer to her and kissed him slowly, deliberately before pulling away slowly, eyes flicking between his eyes and his lips. The film started properly and she sat back in her seat, leaning over to be as close to him as possible and wishing the arm of the chair wasn’t between them as she brushed her hand against his, hoping he’d take hold of it.
“I am,” he agreed easily, giving her one last kiss before she settled in. He already missed the contact, turning to give the man an irritated look. He took her hand though, getting as close as he could, even with the metal bars in his side. He simply wasn’t going to let that annoying bar be in his way.
He looked to the screen, pulling her hand up to his mouth. He kissed the back of her hand. “One more thing, and then I will be good and watch. I promise. I mostly promise.” He might have to steal a kiss now and then. It was just necessary, but there was one thing still on his mind.
Clary smiled as he took her hand and settled as closely as the chairs would allow him. She looked back at him curiously as he kissed her hand. She smiled at him, she hadn't thought he'd be quite so...sweet. "Riiight..." she replied with a knowing smile, disbelievingly. "What is it?" she asked quietly, ignoring the cough of the man behind them.
Jace’s eyes rolled as the man coughed. He considered tossing popcorn at him, or walking by and accidentally dumping a drink on him. That would mean that he would have to move and that wasn’t really what he wanted to do at the moment. Instead, he turned his attention back to Clary. “I would like you to be my girlfriend,” he said, offering a charming smile to accompany the half-statement, half-question.
Clary grinned at him. "Oh I don't know..." she teased. "I seems a bit much to ask of me since I asked you here, you bought all of these snacks and we just pretty much made out in front of a really creepy man," she joked, squeezing his hand so he knew she was joking. "Coz, yknow, I do that sort of thing with everyone!" she laughed a little, expecting him to call her a tease. She gazed up at him happily, thumb stroking against the back of his hand that was holding hers before reaching up to place her other hand against his cheek. "I'd love to," she grinned up at him, pulling him down for one last, long kiss.