City of Heavenly Fire: My Version

Someone Listens

Luke was still rubbing at the knots in Jocelyn's shoulders when he heard the kitchen door open, and Clary appeared with Jace behind trailing behind her, hand in hand. Whatever the argument was about, apparently they made up, Luke thought to himself.

Clary's face was partly purple from the developed bruises. They were covering her right cheekbone, a small one under her left eye that was faintly purple and barely able to be seen, one on her chin, and there was one that was roaming over her forehead from her hairline. On her left cheek she had marks that looks like a cat scratched her face with their claws. Her hand was still bandaged but now it didn't have blood peeking out of it and staining the wrap. Meaning it was a new bandage, and the way it was wrapped suggested that she didn't do it herself.

Clary opened the refrigerator and stood there staring at the assortment of food, trying to decide what to eat as Jace got coffee cups down from the cupboard and poured them full of the steaming coffee from the pot.

Setting the cups down on the island table, he went over to the refrigerator where Clary stood still trying to think of what to eat. He wrapped his arms around her waist and set his chin on the top of her head, "Decide yet or are you just trying to feel the cool breeze it lets out?"

Clary stared, unaffected by his sarcasm, "I am thinking," she said simply.

"About what? What kind of alchemy can you do with pasta, zucchini, cheese, strawberries, bread, and..." he tilted his head to look farther into it, "cookie dough?" Jace smirked.

They heard a chuckle behind them and Jace turned them around to look at the source of the laughter. Luke was smiling at them, "Reading some Clary's books are you Jace?"

"I am actually on the fifth volume thank you very much." Jace said pretending that Luke hurt his feelings, and pouted.

Luke chuckled again, "Well, I finished the series so what now?"

Jace smiled and looked down at Clary who was still unaffected by the conversation going on around her. After a minute she looked up, "What is wrong with you?" her voice was twined with anger and sadness.

Jace was caught completely off guard, "What? What are you talking about? What did I do?"

Clary turned around and smacked his chest with her good hand, her voice and facial expression serious, "How could you say that?"

"What?" Jace asked, quite scared of what he might have done wrong.

"How could you say that I would waste perfectly good, delicious cookie dough on alchemy?" Clary yelled at him with the corner of her mouth quirking up slightly.

Jace's lips parted in utter confusion, "What?"

Clary squinted her eyes at him and gripped the front of his shirt pulling him closer to her so they were face to face and she was on the tips of her toes, "I wouldn't waste cookie dough on alchemy, nor strawberries. If I was to do any alchemy with food, it would be Brussel sprouts, and I would turn them into pizza. And it would be a very tasty pizza. I would eat my strawberries and cookie dough as I perform the alchemy to make the pizza, not waste them like that. That would just be cruel."

The corners of his mouth quirked up as he stared at her, trying not to laugh but failing, "Brussel spout pizza? That doesn't sound very appetizing."

"Trust me, it wouldn't taste like the nasty hell that they are, it would be five meats and a side of freaking Buffalo wings... And breadsticks." Clary said as she started smiling.

Jace moved his face closer to hers, "You were so behind in that conversation that it would just be too easy to tease you for it."

Clary squinted her eyes, "Remember our earlier conversation?" she glared. "I could survive, but you couldn't, and that is what would happen if you started teasing me about that. All that and I wouldn't let you have any of my alchemy pizza."