The Shadowhunter Chronicles One Shots

3- fairstairs - i will not break

"I should probably go..." Said Cordelia, sheathing Cortana at her hip and turning to face Matthew. Despite having spent the last two hours sparing, he looked the same as always: golden hair, messy in a way that seemed purposeful, smiling that irresistible smile that made birds sing and harps play, eyes like green carnations lit up with excitement. The  sun from the large window of the institutes training room cast him in a light that appeared ethereal. He leaned casually, using his bronze rapier to prop himself up. Always one for fashion over practicality, there was a pale green ribbon wound about the hilt of the sword, which Matthew had matched by choosing to wear a very expensive looking broach pinned to the lapel is his training gear jacket. It was the same bronze as the blade, and sported a green jewel in the centre. Cordelia smiles slightly at the mildly ridiculous sight of her friend, and pondered how he managed to fight so well while looking to good.

"Oh come on, Delia." He whined, "One more round. Please?" Birds sang, harps played, and Cordelia understood why no one could resist that smile. She was afraid that if she said no - as she should, her mother was waiting for her - then the smile would crack, the birds would cease to sing, and the harps would cease to play. "Alright then, but just the one."
Cordelia took a fighting stance, unsheathing Cortana again. She watched Matthew straighten and raise his sword in her directing. The thin blade glittered. "One," Matthew said in a ridiculous voice, as was his way. "Two," he smiled crookedly. "Three!"

Cordelia lunged, swinging a wide blow with Cortana that she knew would miss. Matthew took a bound backwards and met Cordelia's next blow with his blade, the clash of metal on metal ringing in her ears. The fight was like a dance, and like any good dance partner, Matthew seemed more concerned with showing off Cordelia than actually winning. He spun away from each of her blows, moving lightly and quickly with the fluidity of experience. She noted that he was fighting defensively, and wondered if he was afraid of hurting her. Not that he could of course, but it was nice of him to worry.  James did that too.

Cordelia realised with a jolt that she had become distracted, and that Matthew seemed to have pushed her back to within feet of the wall. She swung out with her sword in an attempt to create some distance, but her wrist was met with a hard kick from Matthew's booted foot. Cortana fell from her hand and clattered to the floor. Cordelia, not missing a beat, balled her hands into fists and prepared for hand to hand, but Matthew kept ahold of his sword and with a mischievous grin he took two large steps forward until he had pinned her against the wall with the blade against her throat. Through heavy breathes he said,"I win." And moved the weapon from her neck to his hip, where he sheathed it, but made no attempt to move back. "You did. There's a first time for everything," Cordelia said.

Their faces were inches apart, and at this distance she could see the slight shadow of golden hair on his jaw, and noticed for the first time the flecks of yellow in his irises. Forgetting herself for a moment, she lifted her hand and ran her fingers from the slight dip in his chin to the curve of his cheekbones. His skin was soft and warm, and for some reason she felt completely at ease. He was incredibly beautiful; she had thought it the first time they had met in the ballroom. He had been so kind. Saved her from embarrassment and then comforted her when she had been upset about James. Come to think of it, Matthew had always been there for her when she had been down. He was probably her best friend besides Lucie. He had done so much for her, listened to her talk for hours about her pain over James, held her while she cried, offered her comforting words when she felt lost. He had been angry on her behalf when he heard how James had been ignoring her their whole engagement in favour of spending time with Grace. He had been her salvation or late.
She looked back up at his eyes, and found him to be staring downward at her lips. Not quite knowing what she was doing, she glanced down at the soft pink curve of his mouth, and leaned forward so that they were as close as possible without actually touching at all.
"Delia, what..." Matthew whispered and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. She watched his eyes shut suddenly, and wrinkle at the corners at though he were in pain. "Matthew..." was all she could manage. Cordelia felt him place his hands lightly on her hips, and the slight contact through the training tunic made her eyes flutter shut too.