Roommates & Soulmates

Ch51: Jace's Pride

For the first time in Jace's life, he was bringing a girl home to meet his mother. He was rather excited about it, though he was also possibly having an out of body experience. Was Clary really there next to him making him glow with pride? Surely it was someone else more worthy of her standing here holding her hand.

Jace walked up to Celine's house, Clary's hand held in his acting as his anchor Jace ran the doorbell. Why was he so nervous? He knew his mother would love Clary just as much as he did. He knew it, so why did Jace feel like a coiled spring of anxious energy?

"Jace!" his mother exclaimed as the door swung open. Jace suddenly found himself pulled into his mother's arms. "And this must be Clary!" Jace didn't get a chance to warn his girlfriend, before she too was pulled into the group hug.

Thankfully Celine soon realized they were all standing in a open doorway, and pulled out of the hug to let them in. The house was as Jace remembered it, with a dark carpet, yellowing wallpaper, and that old wooden cabinet in the corner with the peeling finish. If his mother had moved any of the wall hangings around, Jace couldn't recall what had been there before.

"It's so great to have you here!" Celine said smiling and clapping her hands together in that way she always did when she knew there was work to do. "Are you hungry? I have a casserole in the oven, or we could go out? Whatever you like."

"I could go out anytime," Jace replied. "I've missed your cooking."

"Not as much as I've missed you!" Celine cried, pulling him into a hug again.

"Mom, stop," Jace whined, very aware that now his girlfriend had watched as he was being hugged to the extreme by his mother twice in the space of about two minutes.

"Oh hush," Celine said as she finally let him go. "I haven't seen you since Christmas. Cut your poor mother some slack." Clary giggled while Jace rolled his eyes. He was at least glad Clary didn't seem at all phased by his mother's overly affectionate welcome.

"When I arrived home for Christmas," Clary added. "My mom did much the same thing."

"Yes I'd she they would. I was surprised when Jace told me to expect you," Celine said. "Surely your parents wanted you home for the summer."

"They did," Clary replied. "But I managed to convince them."

"Clary is very persuasive," Jace said grinning as he remember their first time together, and Clary's determination to ruin his perfect intentions. Celine smiled at them both, and Jace knew he'd been nervous for nothing, though really he'd already known. It was just nice not to have the knot in his stomach anymore.

"Jace has never brought a girl home to meet me before," Celine gushed. "I am so glad your parents let you come."

"I am an adult you know," Clary smiled. "They technically couldn't stop me." She winked, and Jace couldn't help but laugh a little. His girlfriend was so sassy sometimes.

"Oh pfft," Celine dismissed this argument. "Being a parent doesn't stop just because your kid turns eighteen. It's just that the government won't get upset if you kick them out after that." Jace's humor died long before his mother finished speaking. He wanted to hide his face in his hands, but Clary's easy laughter told him it wasn't as bad as he thought.

"I like your mom," Clary whispered as Celine went to check on dinner. "She's funny."

"Best mom ever," Jace agreed, smiling as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist. Celine returned then and announced Dinner wasn't quite ready.

"Would you like a tour of the house?" she asked. Clary agreed, and Jace followed them both down the familiar halls.

"And that's Jace's room," Celine said pointing to the room with his name spelt out in block letters on the door. "I should probably take those down, I just can't bring myself to do it. Oh, and you'll like the view from the patio." Jace followed Clary and Celine back down the hall and out through the door off the kitchen. He watched the look on Clary's face, rather than the view of the mountains covered in snow that he'd seen almost daily his own life.