My eyes were glued to the book in my hands, reading and rereading every word on the page I was on, my back leant against my headboard as I sat in my room in silence.

I thought I was alone, until I looked up at noticed Jace standing in the door frame, watching me from afar, "Hey there, stalker-"

Jace softly smiles, walking into my room, as I bookmark where I was, sitting up, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long." Jace stopped in front of my bed, the smile not leaving his lips, "I actually wanted to talk to you- but, you looked really into that book-"

"Well, I'm at the part where they're screwing-" I shut the book and handed it to him, "Maybe if you read it, you'd gain some tips-"

"Oh, really?" Jace looks at me with amused eyes, the smile on his lips widening, "I think I'm pretty good in bed, don't you think?"

I purse my lips to hold back laughter, "If I thought that, I wouldn't be telling you to gain some tips from the protagonist-"

"Well then," Jace set my book on the nightstand, backing me into the wall, putting a hand on my waist, and the other on the wall, next to my head, "Let me refresh your memory-"

"Jace, stop-" I playfully pushed his face to the side with a small giggle, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Jace doesn't move from his position, rather just looks me in the eyes, "I want to apologize."

"I don't recall you pissing me off-" I began to say.

"For never taking you anywhere that didn't involve seraph blades." Jace puts a strand of my hair behind my ear, "That's why I'm sorry."

"That's kind of our thing, don't you think?" I placed my hands on his chest, "It's our normal."

"Well, what do you say we do something completely not normal for us?" Jace suggests, "I know- I've been preoccupied lately- and I'd like to make it up to you."

"Well, don't look at me-" I blinked, "I have no ideas-"

"What would you say to dinner?" Jace thought, "Tonight, someplace mundane- just the two of us."

I tilt my head. "Like a date?"

"Yes, Zee." Jace wouldn't help but laugh lightly, "Yeah- if you wanna call it that, a date."

I nodded only once, "Where?"

"Uh- it's a surprise." Jace gave me a small smile, before pressing my lips into mine for a few seconds, "Dress nice-"

-

"Hey-" I walked over to Luke after catching him walking into the Institute, "How's Ollie?"

"She's fine-" Luke stopped when he saw me, "She got a little banged up, but- she'll be all right."

I nodded slow, "That's good-"

Luke gestured to me, implying what I was wearing for my date with Jace, "Is there a special occasion I don't know about?-"

"Well- no," I rubbed the back of my neck, "I'm actually- grabbing dinner with Jace."

Luke smiles lightly, "Dinner?-"

"God, is it too much?" I gestured to myself, implying my entire appearance, "Too little?-"

"Don't stress it-" Luke softly laughs at me, lightly shaking his head, "You look great, kiddo-"

I softly smiled back, then point at the file in his hands, "You being here have something to do with that?"

"Yeah-" Luke held it up, "I'm just running this case by whoever's on duty-"

"I could do it-" I reach for it, "I can just reschedule with Jace- I know he'll understand-"

"No, no, no- I got it covered." Luke pulled it back, knowing I was using this as an excuse to get out of this because of how nervous I was, "You go."

Luke lightly nudges me, as I sigh quietly, giving him a small smile, "Have fun."

-

"Jace-" I looked around, my eyes slightly wide when we walked into the restaurants, "This place is really nice- how did you hear about it?"

"Oh, you know." Jace's words made me purse my lips to not start laughing, "I hear things."

A waitress came over to us, "What's the name of the reservation?-"

"The what?" Jace's expression dropped almost immediately, "The reservation?"

I placed a hand on his arm to calm him from his panic, "Do we need one?-"

"I could squeeze you both in at a communal table." She suggests, "If you're okay with that?"

"Um- I don't know, what do you think?" Jace looks at me, caught off guard, "I mean, we can go somewhere else-"

"No, it's alright- we'll do the communal table." I rubbed his arm, softly smiling at the waitress as she nods and starts leading us through the restaurant.

"Little tip about the mundane world," I whispered into Jace's ear as we walked, "You call, make the reservation, then come to dinner."

Jace exhales slow, trying to ease his embarrassment, "Noted-"

When the waitress brought us to our table, Jace and I stopped when we saw Simon and Maia at the table, Simon noticing us right away, "Zee?-"

I swallow hard, "Hey-"

-

"You called Simon for dating advice?-" I gaped at Jace, leaning back in my seat, my arms crossed.

Jace corrects me, shaking his head, "No, I called Simon for restaurant advice."

"Had he called me for dating advice, I would have advised against this situation-" Simon gestured.

"You couldn't have called- I don't know, Izzy?" I shot Jace a look, "You know- my parabatai?"

"You don't think I did?" Jace gapes at me, "She told me that she wasn't an expert on the subject- I tried Alec, but- he didn't answer the phone-"

"Okay, not a problem." Maia cuts in, "You guys just- do your own thing- ignore us. There's no reason this has to be weird."

When we all agreed, Jace looked at me from the menu, "Uh- do you want to split an appetizer?"

"Yeah, alright-" I held my menu, "You choose-"

"Okay- uh, can't go wrong with oysters, right?" Jace began, but then immediately corrected himself, his eyes wide, "Wrong- you hate seafood-"

I stammer, "Uhm-"

"Flatbread?-" Jace looked down at the menu, then back up at me, "I- no, okay-"

Simon suddenly quietly whispers to Jace, pretending to be slick, scratching his head, "Burrata salad-"

"Burrata salad!" Jace blurts, clearing his throat, giving me his best smile, "Let's do a burrata salad."

I looked between the both of them, "Am I just supposed to pretend that I didn't see that?"

"Alright-" Maia sits up, her words making us all sigh and agree immediately, "Who's up for cocktails?"

-

"I'm likin' this margarita." Maia said, setting down her drink that she kept sipping at while eating.

I sipped mine, nodding at her lightly, "Coming from a bartender, that says a lot-"

"Oh, ketchup on fish?" Jace caught eye of Simon, "That's disgusting."

Simon replies, "It is not ketchup-"

"That's more disgusting." Jace looked at me with amused eyes, making me just softly laugh, "Right?-"

"It's gotta go down some way, chief." Simon shot him a look, before putting the small bottle away.

"Alright, so- I've got a question." I turned toward Maia, "What happens to your clothes when you- you know, wolf out?"

"Nothing good- I've shredded some of my cutest outfits that way." Maia admits, "It's kind of wolf protocol to stash pairs of pants all over town."

A small smile played at my lips, "Have you ever tried- you know, uh, spandex?"

"Have you ever seen a wolf in spandex?" Maia was laughing, "It's horrifying-"

"My deepest condolences to your wardrobe." I laughed with her, my glass hitting against hers as a cheers, the both of us taking a sip of our drink.

"Don't worry about it." Maia set her drink down, "You know, I still think I'd want to be a werewolf over a Shadowhunter- I don't think I could remember all those the runes."

"Um, it's actually not that hard." Jace tunes in, "You just kind of stick to your favourites, like Strength or Speed or Iratze-"

Maia shrugs, "Anyway, I don't know that I'd want my whole body covered in tattoos-"

Jace took a sip of his drink, speaking without thinking, "Says the girl with the butterfly tattoo."

I sat back in my seat, "Butterfly tattoo?"

"How do you know about that?" Simon looks at him, "It's pretty well hidden."

Jace's eyes were wide, Maia shooting eye daggers at him, their reactions giving me all I needed to figure it out.

"So, you slept together?" I looked between the two, then sat up, easing up the tension, making Maia burst out into laughter, "See, I've been telling him that he needs some tips-"

-

"Are you okay?" Jace asked me when we were walking down the sidewalk, putting his blazer around me.

I put my arms through, "I'm fine."

"Zee-" Jace sighs, stopping in front of me, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Maia-"

"What?" I looked at him, "Why? I'm not upset-"

Jace stares at me, "You're not?"

"Jace- are you serious?" I placed my hands on his arms, "I mean- I have no say on who you decide you want to spend your time with when we're not together- I mean, I was the one who told you to move on and find someone else-"

"This wasn't- when you told me to move on, this was when you told me that you felt nothing for me." Jace admitted, looking down, "I just- I got so angry, and-"

"Jace- you don't have to explain yourself to me." I moved my hands onto his shoulders, "I really don't care- stop worrying so much."

Jace stares at me, not saying anything as I continued, "That doesn't even matter- what matters is that we're together now- right? So, stop-"

"You're so- amazing." Jace slowly puts his hands on my waist, looking between my eyes in slight amusement.

"What?" I blinked when he continued to stare at me, "What's wrong? Is it me?-"

Jace lightly scoffs to himself, "Yeah- it is."

"Well then," I tilt my head, "Thanks-"

"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you, Zee." Jace grabbed myself face with one hand, "I didn't know what love felt like until I started to see you differently-"

His sudden words made me be the one to go quiet and stare, "Stop it, Jace-"

"I'm serious- you're so special." Jace softly laughs at me, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear, "Everything about you."

"Like how you always find a way to lighten the mood-" Jace gestured back the way we came, referring to the restaurant, "Like how you always double knot your shoes before you train- or, like how you spend your free time reading, and then spend hours sketching what you imagined the setting to be-"

"But- more than that, it's how you always see the best in people, in me." Jace held one of my hands, "And I am- so scared that if something comes up that you don't like- or I screw up, you're gonna see something in me that you don't like- and you're going to leave."

Jace exhales, "I just- don't want to ruin this."

"You don't have to worry." My voice was quiet, giving him a soft smile, "I love you always."

Jace softly smiles and leans his forehead against mine for a few moments, then pressed his lips against mine.

-

"You're gonna use the Angelic Core?" Raj wasn't happy with Alec's words, as we were all surrounded around a table in the Ops Center, "Are you serious?"

"This is our only chance to stop the corruption." Alec said, "We're gonna flood the ley lines with angelic energy- put an end to this, once and for all."

Clary said, "So- your plan is basically divine Drano?"

"The only problem is the Institute is not built on any ley lines- at least it's not yet." Alec pulled up a hologram, "That's where Magnus comes in."

"I know a spell that'll allow me to temporarily divert the flow of magic at the core." Magnus uses the hologram to give us all a visual, "Once the ley line's in place, you'll tap into the core, and we can kiss the demonic corruption goodbye."

"Right- and what happens if a demon shockwaves hits while you're using your magic?" Raj spun the hologram, "The core- will be totally exposed."

Jace remarks, "Well, that doesn't look good."

"If we're lucky, it'll only vaporize the Institute." Magnus told us, looking between everyone.

Isabelle asks, "But- what if we're not lucky?"

"Better not to think about that." Magnus said.

Alec steps up, "This is a risk we have to take."

"The whole point of building the Institute away from the ley lines was to avoid something like this." Raj shot back at him, "Why not just quarantine the warlocks outside the city?-"

Alec was stern, "Because kicking innocent people out of their homes isn't going to solve anything."

"Neither will blowing up the Institute!" Raj shouting at Alec made everyone start to bicker and argue.

I jumped to Alec's defense, "Who do you think you are talking to the Head of the Institute that way?-"

"You can't just go around quarantining Downworlders!" Clary said right after me.

"That's enough!" Alec raised his voice at all of us, making us go silent, "This isn't just about the warlocks- you know what happened at the hospital, everyone is at risk- we are under siege by a greater demon- and it is our job to solve this problem."

"Evacuate the Institute." Alec was stern and forward with his orders, "Essential personnel stay behind."

-

"Come on, move it!" Isabelle called out, walking along with Clary, Jace and I as we walked through the Institute, "You don't want to be inside if this goes bad-"

"We're not going anywhere." Raj stood his ground.

Jace stopped by my side, looking at him, "Your orders were to evacuate."

"Yeah, I know the orders." Raj shout back, "Look, I'm all for helping out the Downworlders, but- we can't let Lightwood destroy the Institute to do it, without it, we leave New York completely defenseless."

"That is not your call to make." said Clary.

"Doesn't matter." Raj shook his head, "I've already locked him out of the system-"

I grabbed Raj by the neck, "Then unlock it-"

Raj aggressively grabs my arm from his neck, making Jace immediately take my defense, grabbing his arm and pining him against the table with a slam, "Don't touch her-"

"Unlock it, Raj." I came by his side, "Now!"

"Not possible." Raj grunts in pain, "Even if it was- my answer would still be the same."

Clary looks at Isabelle, "Can you undo it?"

"No- not anytime soon." Isabelle sighed, typing away on the keyboard, "It's too late."

authors note:

zace is a dynamic duo, period

i loved this chapter up until i ended it at a cliffhanger since i didn't know what to write for the next scene sksksk but it's okay it all works out in the end-

zee really do be hella understanding tho- i applaud them both for having such a healthy relationship

but, thank you for 27k !!

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