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[onlycareaboutshipping]

the shipping picture prompt meme
SIMILAR TO THE PICTURE PROMPT MEME & THE SMUT PICTURE PROMPT MEME ONLY FOR SHIPPING.

i. COMMENT WITH CHARACTER
ii. OTHERS LEAVE A PICTURE (OR TWO OR THREE....)
iii. REPLY TO THEM WITH A SETTING BASED ON THE IMAGES.

THIS POST WILL BE IMAGE HEAVY.

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[wayward]

[creatio]

[ The tap keeps dripping.

That's all Clary can focus on. The tap keeps dripping and the water's been cold for a good twenty minutes and she still doesn't have the energy to get out of the bathtub and deal with the problem at hand. At least she managed to get most of the blood off in the sink, so she's not just sitting around in ichor making herself feel even worse. Well, she is. But without the gore.

The fight had been a bad one. Valentine and his army had surprised them. Clary can still feel the nervous energy that had gone through the Clave recruits, the sudden intake of breath when they realised they'd just walked into a trap. But it hadn't shocked her the way it had them. She'd been too busy watching a blonde head on the periphery. And when the tide had turned and she'd seen her chance, she'd taken it. He could have fought her off, she's sure, but he hadn't pulled out of her grip as she'd grabbed his wrist, nor had he stopped her from dragging him down alley after alley until they were stood outside her old home. They'd been trying to fix it up, that's why it's not a husk anymore. There are even towels, a dressing gown, things that lied and pretended someone lived there. Except then Jocelyn had moved into the Institute and the plans had been abandoned. She doesn't think anyone will look here. She doesn't care if they do. Part of her is afraid she'd kill anyone who came to her door and tried to take Jace away now.

With a sigh, Clary submerges herself back in the water once, red hair floating on the surface. She wishes she could hide away, but the longer she leaves it the more he might scale the wall and leave again so eventually she gets up, gets out. The robe is enough - her clothes are pretty much ruined and she hasn't it in her to worry - and she's almost silent as she pads her way to the door. It creaks as she opens it, her shoulder pressed against the frame. ]

Jace?

[ He's where she left him. That's one worry down. Except now she's reminded how much she wants to touch him, how badly it aches in her throat. Swallowing against it, she tucks a wet strand behind her ear. ]

You okay?

[wayward]

[ Clary stole him off the battlefield.

It's been months of battles and blood and death. The touch of her hand on his wrist had been a shock. Jace had been expecting an attack, but Clary had just pulled. And he must have lost his mind entirely, because he'd let her. They'd run until the sound of fighting had faded entirely. Momentarily, he'd wondered if she was taking him to the Institute. Being deemed a traitor and stripped of his runes would have been excruciating, but fitting. He'd been bracing himself for it right up until he'd recognized the back alley Clary was steering them down.

This is her home. He's never seen it like this, whole and unblemished, swept clean of ashes. Jace is so aware of how out of place he looks, all in black, smeared with blood, trespassing in a place he'd never had any right to.

Jocelyn hadn't taken him here for a reason. Jace thinks that's obvious right now, even as he turns towards the sound of Clary's voice. ]

I shouldn't be here, [ he tells her, sidestepping the question. If he were being truthful, the answer would be no. ] This is dangerous for you, Clary.

[ And if he were being smart, he'd have left while she was cleaning up. She's luminous even in the dark. Jace can't stop looking at her. He feels helpless with it, gripped by how much he loves her in ways that he shouldn't.

He'll get up and leave, he tells himself. In just a minute. He's just so tired, and his heartbeat thuds erratically every time he thinks about returning to his father's clutches. It's necessary, but Jace can't help stalling just a little, stealing these few moments where he looks at Clary and wishes to the Angel that he could stay. ]

[creatio]

[ Her temper flares white hot, and not for the first time does she think that Jace has got this all wrong. He's not the monstrous one, she is. It burns inside of her. Because her anger has always been close and tight to the surface of her skin. Jace doesn't see that. He thinks that by being here she's in danger and all she really wants is to tell him that it's the opposite.

Clary, without him, has less reason to be safe.

But she bites it back, because it would be one of those things. A catalyst, a reason for him to escape. Without saying anything she lifts a hand, tucks damp hair behind her ear and watches him quietly. He's so tired. He looks like he's being drained of all the things she loves about him. What did either of them do to deserve this? Why are they the ones who have to suffer. ]

For all anyone knows we could be halfway to England by now, Jace. [ It might have actually been smarter, but she's not sure. Eventually someone will track them down. But she's banking on Alec. ] I just --. [ She sighs, and then moves like she's caught in his orbit. She doesn't come close enough to touch, but it's a near thing. ] I miss you.

[wayward]

[ How had he ever existed in a room with her before and not been touching her? The desperate, bone deep need is almost overwhelming. He can't tell if it's amplified by his absence or if it was always like this, and he'd been stupidly, unknowingly sated by how easy it had been to take her hand. She hovers out of arm's reach, and it feels like torture. How can it still feel like this when they both know all the reasons it shouldn't? ]

You shouldn't.

[ It's a useless statement. Jace knows that. He could repeat those words until the ran together and they wouldn't change anything. ]

I'm going to have to go back. I made a promise.

[ Their safety for his obedience. A fair trade. Jace's fingers still twitch, wanting to reach for her against his better judgement. He curls them into fists. He's bloody and tainted, among all the other reasons he shouldn't try pulling her in towards him. He breathes out hard, echoing her sigh as he lets his head dip forward. ]

[creatio]

Well, I shouldn't with a lot of things but here I am.

[ Loving him.

Clary flings her arms out angrily, frustration taking over the shape of her. But just as quickly as it comes does it go again. He looks so young, so lost. She thinks maybe if she could have been his sister properly then they would have been unstoppable. If only they'd been given a chance. There's little good in wishing the past changed though. She knows that better than most. She can only deal with the present and hope it makes the future a little better. Lifting her hand, she presses the heel of it into her eye hard enough to see stars and then moves, drops into the space beside him like she's a dead weight. Their arms brush and her throat aches. ]

I hate this. I hate that we don't have a choice.

[ One day she'll get to Valentine somehow, make him pay for all the things he's taken from her. ]

I hate not knowing if you're alive, Jace. I lost my mom, and now I've lost you. [ Jocelyn being back doesn't mean she can exchange him. Her heart is a difficult thing. ]

[wayward]

[ The urge to comfort her is so strong it hurts. Jace never knew love could feel this way. He wants her so badly he feels like he's going to be crushed under the weight of it. Reading the pain and frustration in her expression cuts him to the bone. There's no way to brace against any of it. He can't stop himself from feeling these things for her, even knowing that he shouldn't have ever felt them in the first place. He lifts a heavy arm to put around her shoulders, indulging the selfish need to stop the pain, even for a moment and even if it meant riding out guilt later on. ]

It won't feel like this forever, [ Jace tells her, even as his chest burns, rioting at the closeness of her. ] You'll move on.

[ And who knows what will happen to Jace? He feels trapped. There's no way to escape the path he's chosen, as far as he can see. These stolen moments with Clary may very well be the last time they have the chance to talk like this, to be close like this. ]

Stay angry. You should try to do that, even if you forget the rest of it.

[ Picking out which parts of her emotional responses won't be even half as easy as Jace is making it out to be. But he can pretend. Maybe it'll convince Clary. ]

[creatio]

[ He puts his arm around her and Clary can't help but lean into it. It's far more comforting than any words she's heard recently, than any of the empty assurances that have been placed in her path. She knows it's wrong to let herself be soothed by his touch, but her heart continues to be traitorous. There's nothing she can do. ]

Will I?

[ She doesn't want to. That's the awful part, Clary doesn't want to move on. She wishes she did. Sometimes she lays there at night and aches because she needs him with her. The phantom weight of his hands in her hair, the memory of his lips. Her stomach always ties itself into a sick knot, shame and weakness carving out a space in her that might never really be filled again.

She can't tell him that. ]

Like you're angry? [ She's seen him furious. But now he just seems tired. ] I wish we could just go away. I don't know, work this out. There's never enough time.

[wayward]

[ She doesn't have to tell him that. Jace knows, because he feels it too. The accusation his father had leveled at him when he'd still worn Michael Wayland's face eats at him. Shadowhunters mate for life. Would he ever feel this sort of adoration for anyone other than Clary? Would the desperate longing for her ever fade? He hasn't found a way to outrun it. He doesn't know how to carve this out of himself. ]

I wish...

[ Jace's wishes are many, and they're all futile. His hand squeezes her shoulder tightly, anchoring himself there. ]

I don't know. I don't know anymore.

[ He wants to kiss her. He wants to lay down with her and sleep, if only to forget for a few hours before reality came to drag him back. But he doesn't feel like he can voice any of that. It's weakness. He can't drag Clary down that path with him. ]