#all-thestories-aretrue

[discordkittenterumi]

Miles Davenport for the character bingo? If you're still taking requests.

of course. apes together strong

i can’t wait for miles’ turn to suffer immensely, its gotta happen soon :))))) need to see him at his absolute lowest only real ones understand

#. #ask #TYSM!!!!! #all-thestories-aretrue

[piratespencil]

Hello!! For the ask meme, a random thought about CR and/or what makes you happy and/or sad about FCG? If you would like to answer :)

Ooh, random thought about CR… Okay, before I got into CR, I was under the impression that it was Super Serious High Fantasy and I was like… pretty sure I wasn’t going to enjoy it because I like my heart-wrenching stories with a big dose of comedy.

So when I finally got into CR I was really surprised by how FUNNY it is a lot of the time, while still overall having a heavier, more serious (and more rules-heavy) tone than a lot of the other actual plays I’m into. Idk I just think CR does a great job of balancing that heaviness and humour. (And being pretty strict about the rules but using that to fuel the roleplay rather than hinder it… They’re SO good at that.)

As for FCG… omg what to say about this little metal guy…

Something that makes me happy about them is that they found the Krook House!! Or I guess Ashton found them, but you know. I’m just in love with the mental image of this cheerful, slightly clueless little robot chilling in a house full of abrasive punks but also they love him. It’s very cute.

(FCG and Imogen’s friendship also makes me really happy - mind-melding buddies!!)

Something that makes me sad about FCG is how badly they want to experience a flesh-and-blood body but don’t have an easy way to experience that rn… :( The way he enjoyed being that turtle so much!! But has no one around to polymorph him!! I hope one of the Hells learns polymorph soon and FCG can chill in various animal forms. (I’m also really curious to see how FCG’s relationship with their body is going to evolve over the course of the campaign but for now!! Let FCG be a little animal!!)

(Ask meme!)

#thank you for these qs!!! #i have a lot of thoughts about fcg my little guy……. <3 #critical role #cr3 #ask meme #fresh cut grass #reply #all-thestories-aretrue #kk talks about stuff

[gelatinouscute]

Thanks to @all-thestories-aretrue for pointing out that Pike's face when she finds out about the crack in her holy symbol of Sarenrae and the shocked pikachu face are exactly the same.

#Momstah! #Critical role meme #Critical role #Vox machina #Pike Trickfoot

[chappedlipjournal]

Already a little sad that i won't ever be able to watch the mighty nein for the first time again. Im ready for episode 17 and it feels like its going so fast.

#p #critical role #cr2 #i guess if anyone wants all of the thoughts you can find them on my fandom blog #all-thestories-aretrue #this blog is more of an open journal lmao

[bedknees]

Thank you so much for the clarification!!! I'm not familiar with LoL or any of the lore that goes along with it. Arcane was my first exposure to any of it. I've read a lot of fic that tends to blend LoL and Arcane together, especially in the Divorce-Era stuff. It was really hard for me to tell what is true to canon, fanon interpretation, and what is a blend. I'm not at all saying that it's an author's responsibility to make those things clear!! But I do greatly appreciate people more knowledgable than me taking time to explain it. I have found actual LoL lore to be quite overwhelming and haven't taken the proper time to explore it let alone see how it relates to Arcane. So thank you!!! 💜

absolutely! I know how confusing it is. I have been playing League for a long time, started shortly after Viktor was first released. So I got to witness the changes in real time. Even then, determining what's accurate canon and what isn't can still be a little crazy, especially since Legends of Runeterra (another Riot game) came out. That in itself is a 'soft' canon, but that's an aside.

For Arcane, I've mentioned this before but it is written as a League prequel... except the amount of broad strokes it takes and how much it has changed the backstory and characters is something to consider. The writers have stated that they are telling their own story, to the point that champions that exist in-game may not even be safe from death. That, and Viktor is not the same character as he is in League. That's not even a question. Same with many others. So tl;dr, Arcane is its own separate thing within the League multiverse. Whether or not Riot will update champions to match closer to their Arcane characterizations remains to be seen, but if they did it probably wouldn't be until after the show is finished.

#ask #all-thestories-aretrue

[bytheangell]

Hey! I am also attending the online con this weekend (or will be watching the recordings). How exactly did you find the free events/know which ones you are slotted to attend? I've only bought one panel (the secrets of Jace) and I'm worried that's all I have access to. I can't figure out how to navigate the site and the Whova app. They don't seemed to be linked at all. Any advice you have, I am open to!! Thank you. Also your fics are amazing! I read like all of them!!!

I’m not going to lie - I have no actual idea what is going on. I don’t like the app myself and it’s definitely weird to navigate. There’s a good chance if it’s chaotic and awful I’ll just... not do any of them in real time and just watch them later since I didn’t buy any specific ones/solo things/etc.  (I think I read that all except Matt’s will be recorded and if you have access to them you can watch them for a week after the con? So that’s nice at least.) As far as I know you need to have Zoom and the Whova app, and I think they’re posting links on the Whova Ap to the Zoom when the panels start? 

That said, I had a friend who told me this is the list of the included panels (I think they’re all labeled ‘Bonus Panels’ on the app/agenda) Bonus Panel A: Fantastic Realms (Will Tudor, John Rakich, Ron Rauch, Stephanie Terzo, Amanda O’Leary) Bonus Panel B: Writing and Playing Wicked Women (Tessa Mossey, Anna Hopkins, Aisha Porter-Christie)  Bonus Panel C: The Legendary Makeup of Jonathan Morgenstern (Luke Baines, Brian Hui) Bonus Panel D: The Perfect Spaghetti Supper (Dominic Sherwood, Alan Van Sprang, Dough McCullough) Bonus Panel E: Breaking Down The City of Glass (Jack Yang, Sydney Meyer, Pete Binswanger) Bonus Panel F: All Hail The Queen (Kimberly-Sue Murray, Brian Hui, Stefanie Terzo, Philippe Thibault, John Rakich) Bonus Panel with Tessa Mossey & Alberto Rosende Bonus Panel: Epic Collaboration: 3.03 What Lies Beneath? The Making of Shadowhunters (Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Matt Hastings, Katherine McNamara) The Shadowhunters Legacy Auction (Todd Slavkin) 

Sorry I’m not more help! And if anyone following me can be more help and knows more than me, which isn’t difficult to do at this point jfkldsjfklsd, please reply with some advice! xD 

#HotSW #Heroes of the Shadow World #Heroes of the Shadow World At Home #all-thestories-aretrue #ask rune

[my-nameless-bliss]

I've followed you for a while now (started for the shadowhunters stuff) but seeing you live your life and support yourself financially so you can go do all these cool things and have cats. Just being unabashedly into the things you are into is like so inspiring. Im getting ready to graduate college and i hope one day i am able to do the same kinds of things you are doing. Sorry if thats creepy or weird but your posts always give me a little bit of hope 💜💜💜

Thank you so much for sending this! I know my life is embarrassingly Extra these days, but I do deeply love it, so it means so much to me to hear that you’ve found some positivity from it! It took 25 years for me to get to this level of stability and freedom, and I’ve been loving and appreciating every moment of it so much. I know I’m incredibly fortunate to have this life, but I also work very, very hard for it, and I’m every bit as proud as I am grateful. 

I truly hope that you can build a comfortable, happy life for yourself once you’re out in the world. But please, don’t be too hard on yourself, don’t hold your life up against anyone else’s, and most importantly, please don’t put yourself into a timeline! I didn’t get the job that gave me this much financial security until over 6 years after I graduated college. Some things take time, and some things don’t work the way you plan them to, but there’s no wrong way to be an adult and live your life. Just remember that your life isn’t for anyone but yourself, and your happiness matters! 💜💜💜

#also im sorry that i never post about what you followed me for anymore #😅😅😅 #my life is consumed by schitts creek now #but seriously this message made me so happy! #thank you so much for sharing this with me! #i hope you have an amazing day! #nykeigh answers #all-thestories-aretrue

[magnusbae]

Hey if you need any help with basic obs stuff let me know! And I do mean basic, i am not an obs wizard 😂😂 Im also a novice streamer lol (my switch is in the shop rn so no streaming for me) i would eventually like to do fancy things in obs. If you want to chat or anything about obs or streaming or anything, hit me up!! Can't wait to see you stream :) 💜

Ohhh thank you sweetheart, this is so kind of you to offer!

I actually just finished setting up, sweating blood and pain, but I finished— those were some long, long nights watching hours upon hours of tutorials— but yes, yes I’m DONe ! ✨🎈🎡

I do hope that your switch is fine though, this can be so stressful when they need fixing :/// Also, what sort of games are you planning on doing? :D 

I’m hoping to start soon, if I didn’t completely burn out from the setting up lmao... I’ll be sure to message you when I do 👉👈🥺

#i'm actually a little nervous in a good way ahaha #i do hope that some malec fans would come around #because BOY I have a lot of stuff to say about them #more than I have the power to type lmao #though also-- there's gonna be actual gaming-- i think #I'm planning on trying the hardest setting of horizon zero down #RIP ME LMAO #tho i might also do some animal crossing steams still......though i'm burnt out from the game.... #all thestories aretrue #msg

[rhosyn-du]

Never make a mess when a total catastrophe will do - Master Post

Pairings: Jimon, past Clace, background Clizzy, a bunch of other minor background pairings Rating: Explicit Tags:  Alternate Universe - College/University, fake dating, oh my god they were roommates, friends with benefits, idiots to lovers, pining, miscommunication, holidays, drinking games, mistletoe, symbolically significant Oreos, domestic fluff, brief mention of past character death, Jace’s self-worth issues deserve their own tag Summary: What do you do when you find out your sister is not only dating your ex and love-of-your-high-school-life but is also bringing her home for Christmas? Bring your annoying, hot, annoyingly-hot roommate as your fake boyfriend to show them you're totally fine with it, obviously! There's no possible way this could backfire. Link: AO3

This fic was created for the Shadowhunters Mini Bang 2021: Presented by the @malecdiscordserver

The amazing cover art was done by @cor321, who also made a fantastic fanmix for this fic that I listened to pretty much nonstop while doing my final edits.

Many thanks to my beta, @all-thestories-aretrue​.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Epilogue

#shadowhunters #shmb2021 #jimon #jimon fic #jace wayland #simon lewis #all the tropes

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

@all-thestories-aretrue

I don't see it as much of manipulation as conflict of interests (and nearly every conversation in this story has a conflict of interests in a writing sense - otherwise there's no stakes), which he looses coz he's dumb and doesn't understand society he lives in. Good, being stupid and naive shouldn't be rewarded, having ones priorities not straight shouldn't be rewarded, not knowing your position in the system shouldn't be rewarded. Jayce is not special in this story - so if he fucks up, he looses. Things should not simply turn out good because he wants them to or because he wants them to be good. Now he has the knowledge to at least shape his own path in the system.

And also imo. his change comes a hair breath from too late, because he already very narrowly avoided three darkest - but maybe least painful to his own self image - timelines:

1. Vi doesn't seek him out / he doesn't go with Vi - Silco still dies in similar confrontation, Jinx still nukes the council. He has "confirmation" that people "down there are hell bent on destroying us", makes weapons and hands them off to enforcers - never seeing real cost of life his technology took in the undercity. But he can think himself as doing good and protecting the city, even if he never feels like he achieved anything towards his goal and doesn't understand why.

Sky still dies, and so does Viktor - in same circumstances as nearly would have happened.

2. He accepts Vi excuse and continues with their quest, they kill Silco - Jinx still nukes the council, but he can now continue his excuse "he didn't have a choice". He learns nothing but hey, he can keep good opinion of himself, even if he never feels like he achieved anything towards his goal and doesn't understand why.

Sky still dies, and so does Viktor - since he would be too late to find him - in same circumstances as nearly would have happened.

3. He fights Vi to get the gloves back, even if he wins and kills Vi - he now has to explain to Caitlyn "he didn't have a choice". That's the end of their friendship. He learns nothing but he can keep good opinion of himself, even if he never feels like he achieved anything towards his goal and doesn't understand why.

Sky still dies, and so does Viktor - since he would be too late to find him - in same circumstances as nearly would have happened.

Anyone wants to write these AUs that didn't happen?

Jayce already narrowly avoided three much worse outcomes to his character arc, because this story does not penalise character growth. What's he's getting is not the best but could be far, far worse.

The rocket would still be sent towards Piltover whenever Silco and Vi would have confrontation and one of them died, but now he actually knows how Piltover's political system works.

[all-thestories-aretrue]

Used to be diagnosed-un. Now all-thestories-aretrue.

Also have an instagram now and i swear i will be more active. Its @ all_thestories_aretrue

I changed because i do pretty much have a diagnosis now. Its the not quite behcets disease. And possibly fibro still. I dont feel so attached to whats wrong with me anymore. Conscious yes. But its taking up less of my identity which i desperately needed.

Im trying to go back to what got me on tumblr, people and fandom, pretty things, and reassurance. My sparse og posts won't change that much.

My name now is related to shadowhunters, the mortal instruments, etc. But it goes beyond that. All the stories are true. Yours, mine, everyones. I see social media as a way to share those stories and connect with other people. Plus i had to throw in the thing i love most in the world.

#the mortal instruments #shadowhunters #update #name change

[piratespencil]

Tagged by @wytchcore to do a 10 songs/10 people thing!! 💕💕 Not sure if the idea is to pick 10 random songs or 10 favourite songs?? But I’m gonna go with the 10 songs I listened to most recently!

1. Uptown Girl by Billy Joel

2. Sweet Bod by Lemon Demon

3. Does Your Mother Know by ABBA

4. Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

5. Wild World by Cat Stevens

6. Hellbent by Autoheart

7. Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

8. Forgotten Souls by Mother Mother

9. Binary Mind by Ra Ra Riot

10. Separate Ways by Journey

(I feel like it’s important to note that songs 6-10 here are on a playlist for @awittylemon’s dnd character, and songs 1-5 are on a playlist of songs that we sing to our cat lmao…)

Tagging @awittylemon @trashpandachaos @orangegoose @all-thestories-aretrue @katia-dreamer @muffintonic @captaindoubled @lesbeauien @pewcat2 @jennathearcher ✨✨✨ No pressure tho!!

#thank you for tagging me!! i hope i did this right lol #and i hope you like me and my roommate’s cat and dnd inspired music taste haha #music #tag game #kk talks about stuff

[piratespencil]

Tagged by @cloudheaded!! 🥰

Using your Spotify top 100 playlist, shuffle 10 songs and tag 10 people.

(Almost every single song on my top 100 is from a fandom playlist bc that’s all I listen to, so I’m also gonna include the name of the character(s) that each song is for bc I’m a nerd lol.)

1. My Lover by Birdtalker (Orym)

2. Happy by Danny Elfman (Ashton)

3. Little Fang by Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks (Fearne)

4. Ghost by Mystery Skulls (Nott/Veth)

5. Up the Wolves by The Mountain Goats (NeoScum)

6. Absentee by Jack Campbell (Wei Wuxian)

7. Bad Feeling by Cobra Man (FCG)

8. Hurt by Johnny Cash (Dak Rambo)

9. Can’t Go to Hell by Sin Shake Sin (Bell’s Hells)

10. Everybody’s Falling In Love by *repeat repeat (Wei Wuxian)

I’m gonna tag @awittylemon @wellimhavinga3outof10day @trashpandachaos @muffintonic @katia-dreamer @all-thestories-aretrue @dent-de-leon @gelatinouscute @sheyffer @darktharkthelark 💕

#no pressure if you don’t wanna do it!! #this was fun i hope you like my nerdy fandom songs #btw if you want links to any of the playlists that these songs are from just ask and ill send them your way!! #spotify wrapped #tag game #all about kk #music

[magnusbae]

Yayyyy!!! Congrats on setting it all up 🎉🎉🎉 obs is definitely not intuitive. I have no idea what horizon zero dawn is but I'm excited to watch you play it and scream about malec. I hope you enjoy doing it!!!

My switch will be fine. Something was wrong with the rails the joycons slide into so they are being replaced. I mostly stream animal crossing (although i restarted my island rip), pokemon, and then some coloring streams too (shadowhunters themed obviously).

If you are comfortable sharing your twitch/youtube (idk where you are streaming) i will go ahead and give you a follow 💜💜

Oh Horizon Zero Dawn is really good. One of the best storylines I experienced lately 🤩 I’ll be starting from the start again, too. :)

Oh no. Restarting your island is....brave. :’D 

I could never, even though my island is mostly empty LMAO 

I actually might be streaming some ACNH to test the waters today HMN.

Thank you for the interest and the support darling 💜💖💗

#it's a little rushed so it might be tomorrow wgbthb #idk yet #need to finish chores esths #all thestories aretrue #msg

[rhosyn-du]

Never make a mess when a total catastrophe will do - Chapter One

Pairings: Jimon, past Clace, background Clizzy, a bunch of other minor background pairings Rating: Explicit Art: @cor321​ Beta: @all-thestories-aretrue​ Tags:  Alternate Universe - College/University, fake dating, oh my god they were roommates, friends with benefits, idiots to lovers, pining, miscommunication, holidays, drinking games, mistletoe, symbolically significant Oreos, domestic fluff, brief mention of past character death, Jace’s self-worth issues deserve their own tag Summary: What do you do when you find out your sister is not only dating your ex and love-of-your-high-school-life but is also bringing her home for Christmas? Bring your annoying, hot, annoyingly-hot roommate as your fake boyfriend to show them you're totally fine with it, obviously! There's no possible way this could backfire. Link: AO3, Tumblr Master Post

Chapter One

“Lightwood’s Mortuary, you stab ‘em, we slab ‘em. How may I direct your call?”

“You know,” Izzy said, “that joke would land a lot better if you hadn’t turned green last week when I mentioned getting to do my first cadaver dissection.”

“First of all,” Jace said, abandoning his laptop in favor of flopping back onto his bed, “it’s creepy that you say ‘getting to’ instead of ‘having to.’ And second of all, no one wants to hear about how much fun you had slicing up dead bodies over Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Max wanted to hear about it.”

“Max also can’t wait to get to middle school because he heard you get to use actual fire in science class,” Jace pointed out.

“Max is just into science like his big sister,” Izzy countered breezily. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Christmas.”

“Please,” Jace said with far more enthusiasm than the situation probably warranted. “I’m desperate enough for any distraction that will take me away from trying to memorize third declensions that I would love to discuss whatever family holiday drama is so colossal I’m hearing it from you instead of Alec. Is Robert planning to show up uninvited to Christmas dinner with his girlfriend again? Oh! Did Mom finally snap and kill him? Is that why Alec isn’t calling? Is he helping her hide the body?”

“Oh my god,” Izzy laughed. “Dad and Annamarie are spending the holidays in Provance with her family, and there are no bodies to be hidden. This is what you get for taking Latin instead of Spanish like a sane person.”

“This coming from a woman who’s studying both,” Jace pointed out.

“Yeah, because a basic understanding of Latin and fluency in Spanish will both help me get into med school, and I need all the help I can get if I’m going to get into Grossman. Besides, I’d never imply anyone in this family is sane. If you studied more, you’d know that ‘Lightwood’ is just Latin for ‘totally fucking cracked.’”

“Please,” Jace snorted. “It’s not even a Latinate name. It’s Germanic. ‘Lightwood’ is Old English for ‘totally fucking cracked.’ Speaking of which, what’s the Christmas disaster?”

“It’s not a disaster exactly,” Izzy hedged, and Jace felt a sudden frisson of actual unease. Izzy normally had no problem speaking her mind. “It’s not a disaster at all, actually. It’s just. I invited someone.”

“Oh.” Jace relaxed. He didn’t know why Izzy was making such a big deal out of this. In the years since the divorce, Maryse had often encouraged her kids to invite any friends without a place to go to join them for holidays. Izzy’s own roommate had come for Thanksgiving last year. “That’s cool.”

“No,” Izzy said, like he was missing something obvious. “Jace, I invited someone. Someone I’m seeing. Seriously.”

“Oh,” Jace said again, this time with dawning comprehension. “That’s great, Iz. I’m happy for you. Wait, Mom’s not doing her overprotective, no-one-is-good-enough-for-my-children thing again, is she? Is that why you called, you need me to run interference?”

“No, no,” Izzy reassured him, although her voice still held an underlying tension. “Mom’s been great, actually. They knew each other already, so that probably helps.” Jace heard a shaky inhale before Izzy continued. “You, um. You know her, too, actually.”

“Oh yeah?” Jace said with forced ease, wracking his brain for any clue as to what could have Izzy so freaked out. Whatever it was, Jace wasn’t going to add to her stress. As far as he knew, Isabelle had never even been serious enough about someone before to even use the term girlfriend or boyfriend, let alone bring them home for Christmas. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“It’s Clary,” Izzy said in a rush. “I’m dating Clary.”

The world seemed to tilt on its axis, and Jace was glad he was already lying down.

“Clary?” he repeated. “M—” He just barely stopped himself from saying “my Clary.” Because she wasn’t, not anymore. Not for a long time. “Morgenstern?” It was a clumsy recovery, but it was the best he could manage. “You’re dating Clary Morgenstern?”

Jace and Clary had met at the beginning of Jace’s junior year of high school. Clary, a year younger, had just lost her mom, and the two initially bonded over the shared experience of having lost parents. But Clary was fierce and bold and so full of passion even in the depths of her grief that Jace really couldn’t help falling in love with her. They’d dated for nearly two years—practically forever in high school terms—and even though they’d both known they were growing apart by the time Jace had to choose between his first-choice college in Boston and staying in New York to go to NYU, Clary would always hold a special place in Jace’s heart as his first love.

“Yeah,” Izzy said on a heavy exhale. “For a while now. That—that’s why I called. I didn’t want it to be weird, you know? For us all to just show up and for it to be a surprise. But I guess I probably shouldn’t have done it over the phone, either. I just didn’t think—”

“Izzy,” Jace said, much more calmly than he felt. “Breathe. It’s okay.”

“God, I should have told you sooner,” Izzy continued as though he hadn’t even spoken. “I just knew it probably would be weird for you, so I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure—”

“But you are now,” Jace interrupted again. It wasn't really a question. “Sure.”

“Yeah,” Izzy breathed. “I’m so sure.”

“Then it’s not weird,” Jace lied. “I mean, come on, my sister is dating someone who makes her happy and who I know will treat her right. What kind of idiot would I have to be to complain about that?”

“Really?” Izzy pressed. “Because I told Clary I wanted to talk to you before we finalized plans. So, if it is weird for you, or even if you just don’t want to be the only single person at the table on Christmas—”

“I won’t be,” Jace interrupted.

There was a pregnant pause, and then Izzy squealed so loud Jace had to pull the phone away from his ear.

“Oh my god, Jace! That’s amazing! Why didn’t you just say you were bringing someone, too, you jackass? Do you know how worried I’ve been about telling you about me and Clary?”

Which wasn’t what he’d meant at all—he’d only meant that Maryse was single, too—but Jace couldn’t resist the excitement in Izzy’s voice, not after her earlier panic.

“If I’d known you were all freaked out, I would have said something sooner,” Jace improvised. “It’s kind of new, and I haven’t even had the chance to tell Mom yet.”

“Let me,” Izzy insisted. “I’ve been trying to get her to admit that she and Luke are an item for ages, and maybe knowing that we’re all happily attached will be the push she needs.”

“Hold up. Mom…and Clary’s stepdad?” Jace was starting to wonder if this was some bizarre stress nightmare brought on by impending finals.

“Yup,” Izzy confirmed, popping the “p.” “They’re not even subtle about how much time they’re spending together, but Mom keeps talking about how they’re ‘just old friends.’” Jace could practically hear the eye roll.

“Anyway,” she continued, “if I leave now, I can catch Mom closing up the bookshop and maybe finally get her to crack. Don’t worry about Christmas plans. I’ll take care of everything. Talk to you later!”

“Iz, wait,” Jace started, but he was interrupted by the telltale beep of the call ending.

Jace stared at his phone, wondering how, exactly, he’d managed to make such a disaster of things. He couldn’t deal with this right now, he decided, tossing his phone aside. He just had to get through finals, and then he could come up with some excuse for why his nonexistent girlfriend couldn’t make it for Christmas. An excuse that wouldn’t make Izzy suspicious. Or Clary. Or Alec. Or— Fuck. Not thinking about it.

He turned his attention back to his laptop only to realize after several minutes of staring blankly that he wasn’t prepared to think about Latin anymore, either. Fuck it. He was going to spend the rest of the evening on the couch, drinking beer and watching stupid people doing stupid things on TV and thinking about absolutely nothing at all.

Because Jace just couldn’t catch a break, he found both the couch and TV already in use. He wanted to be annoyed, especially since he knew this was at least the dozenth time this semester his roommate had watched Return of the Jedi. Part of him was annoyed. But another part of him was…not annoyed. And that was yet another thing Jace wasn’t going to think about.

Jace’s first impression of Simon Lewis, when he’d walked into History and Literature of Music their freshman year, had been that he was kind of hot, in a nerdy way. His second impression, when he actually talked to Simon a few days later, was that the guy was annoying as hell. Over the course of the year, as they somehow ended up hanging out with the same group of friends, it became a tolerable sort of annoying. So tolerable, in fact, that when Jace found himself desperate for a roommate the next summer when Raj bailed on him last-minute, he’d agreed to let Simon have the second room in the surprisingly affordable apartment he’d found.

Jace’s third impression of Simon came four days after they’d moved in together, when he happened to be walking down the hallway at the exact moment Simon stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, a stray droplet of water trailing down his surprisingly well-defined abs. In that moment, Jace must have lost his mind, because he had the sudden, almost overwhelming urge to follow the path of that droplet with his tongue and, oh. Oh no. Jace had been wrong this entire time. Simon wasn’t just annoying. He wasn’t just nerd-hot. He was annoyingly hot.

And Jace was maybe just a little bit in trouble.

Because he’d seen the kinds of people Simon dated. Thoughtful. Driven. Well-adjusted. Unlike Jace in pretty much every way that mattered. Not that Jace dated, but he wasn’t the kind of person Simon hooked up with, either, he was pretty sure.

(Jace confessed his fourth impression of Simon to Maia several months later, after many, many shots of tequila. Maia laughed at him for a solid five minutes, but she also poured them another round and never mentioned it again after they sobered up because she was actually a pretty good friend despite how much she always seemed to enjoy Jace’s suffering.)

“What’s wrong?” Simon asked around a mouthful of instant ramen. Jace refused to acknowledge that the way his cheeks puffed out when he ate was cute.

“Just.” Jace shook his head. “Holidays. Family stuff.”

“Your sister planning to make Christmas dinner again?” Simon asked.

“Worse,” Jace said, flopping onto the other end of their stained Goodwill couch. “She’s dating my ex.”

Simon winced. “Ouch, dude.” Simon poked at his noodles with a pair of well-used disposable chopsticks. “You still have feelings for your ex?”

“What? No, of course not. It was ages ago, and we were practically still kids. And the breakup was mutual.” He made a face. “But Izzy’s bringing her home for Christmas.”

“Okay, yeah, that could be a little awkward,” Simon conceded.

“It gets worse,” Jace admitted. “When she told me, I kind of panicked and said I was bringing someone home, too.”

Simon frowned. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“I’m not,” Jace told him. “Which is kind of the problem.”

“Wow. You really know how to make things difficult for yourself.”

“Thanks,” Jace said. “Very helpful.”

Simon shrugged, then said, as casual as if he were offering to toss Jace’s towels in with his to make a full load at the laundromat, “You could always take me home with you.”

Jace stared. “What?”

“I mean, I’m going to be in the city anyway,” Simon continued, “and it’s not like my family does Christmas. I think Mom and Becky can manage the traditional Chinese takeout and Fast and Furious marathon without me.”

“Your family watches The Fast and the Furious on Christmas?” It was the only part of that Jace was emotionally prepared to process.

“It used to be Die Hard, but Mom’s got a thing for Vin Diesel, so now we alternate years.”

Jace stared a moment longer, waiting for any of this to make sense. On the television, Boushh threatened Jabba with a thermal detonator.

“Right,” Jace said when it was clear the situation wasn’t going to make sense of itself. “Okay. Rewind to the part where I’m supposed to take you home with me for Christmas and, what, pretend you’re my boyfriend?”

He could picture it all too easily. Simon wielding his enthusiastic charm to keep Izzy out of the kitchen while Jace helped Maryse make dinner. Simon joining Alec in coaxing Jace toward the piano when it was time to sing carols. Simon flushed and smiling after a couple mugs of Magnus’s deceptively alcoholic eggnog. Simon’s hand in his because that’s just something boyfriends do.

It was a horrifyingly tempting prospect.

Jace pushed those thoughts away, crossing his arms over his chest and directing all the scorn he felt at himself into the stare he leveled at Simon. “What’s that supposed to accomplish other than giving me a headache?”

“Hey,” Simon said, setting the dregs of his ramen down on their secondhand Ikea coffee table, “I’ll have you know that I make an excellent boyfriend.”

That wasn’t exactly news. The fact that Simon was friends with basically all of his exes said as much. But Jace wasn’t about to let on that he paid that much attention to Simon’s dating habits. Or to pass up such a good opening. “That why you’re single?”

“Not the one currently desperate for a holiday date here, pal,” Simon pointed out.

“I don’t know, you seemed pretty eager to be my holiday date just a second ago,” Jace said, adding a wink just to be obnoxious.

“It was an offer, jackass. One which I now deeply regret.”

“Which you should,” Jace told him, turning to the TV and pretending to watch. “Now we can both forget this conversation ever happened, and I can go back to figuring out what I’m going to tell my family about why my nonexistent significant other can’t make it for Christmas this year.”

“Right,” Simon muttered, picking up his bowl and turning his own attention back to the movie.

Jace told himself he didn’t feel just the tiniest bit disappointed.

“The thing is,” Simon said several minutes later, as Boba Fett tumbled into the Sarlaac pit, “my cousin Rachel is getting married on Valentine’s Day. And my Bubbe Helen is still pretty cranky with me for breaking up with Maia.”

Jace frowned at him. “You and Maia dated for like a month and a half. Over a year ago.”

“Yeah, well,” Simon said, “Bubbe Helen really liked her, but I think maybe that’s because Maia’s the only person I’ve ever brought to a family function. So, I was thinking maybe if I brought someone else to Rachel’s wedding, she’d get the hint and drop the Maia thing. And then you suddenly needed someone to take home for Christmas, and I thought we could, you know, help each other out.”

It was a terrible idea, and Jace meant to say so. He really did. But what came out of his mouth instead was, “You want to introduce me to your grandmother?”

“I mean,” Simon said with a shrug, “she’d probably be happier if you were Jewish, but I honestly think she’d be happy to see me with anyone who’s not a total asshole. Ever since she found out Maia and I aren’t together anymore, she’s been acting like I’m going to end up a lonely old maid or something, which I totally don’t get, because A, I’m only twenty-one, and B, she doesn’t think it’s a problem that Becky’s single and Becky’s two years older than me.”

“Glad to know I meet the very minimal requirement of not being an asshole.”

“Not a total asshole,” Simon corrected with a teasing grin.

“You’re really making a compelling case for trying to convince our families that we’re a couple,” Jace said drily. But he was maybe just a little bit weak for Simon’s smile, so he added, “But you might as well tell me how exactly you think this would work. Theoretically.”

“Theoretically,” Simon repeated. “Right. Well, we’d need to come up with a game plan, obviously. And rules. Rules that we actually follow, because that’s where things like this always fall apart, when someone ignores the rules.”

“Where things always fall apart,” Jace repeated. “Is this something you do often?”

“What? No! I just mean like in movies and stuff. Fake dating is practically its own genre, so we have a ton of examples for how not to do it, and…” Simon frowned as his voice trailed off. “And now that I’m saying this out loud, I’m realizing how dumb it sounds. You’re right. We should forget this conversation ever happened.”

“Or,” Jace said slowly, knowing he was going to regret it but unable to stop himself, “we could spend some time coming up with a plan and then decide if we think it will work.”

“Wait, really?” The slow grin spreading across Simon’s face did nothing to ease Jace’s sense of impending doom, but it did fill him with a soft warmth that made the doom easier to ignore.

“Why not?” Jace shrugged with practiced nonchalance. “I’m done with classes at noon tomorrow if you want to do it then.”

“I’ve got a break from then till three if you don’t mind meeting near campus,” Simon said. “Say, Java Jones at twelve-thirty?”

“Sure,” Jace agreed to the background of Jabba’s sail barge exploding. He hoped that was less metaphorical than it felt.

~~~

“I thought we were planning a couple of fake dates, not staging a major military operation,” Jace said as he surveyed the notebooks and stacks of paper strewn across the rickety cafe table in front of Simon.

“Oh, sorry,” Simon said, hastily shoving exactly one of the many notebooks into his backpack. “I was just reviewing notes for my econ final while I waited.”

“Is all of this really necessary?” Jace asked, attempting to clear enough room on the table for his coffee and the banana muffin that was attempting to pass for lunch.

“It’s so necessary,” Simon told him, reaching over to steal a piece of Jace’s muffin. “I don’t want to end up like Melissa Joan Hart in My Fake Fiancé.” He popped the piece of muffin into his mouth. “Or Melissa Joan Hart in Drive Me Crazy. Oh! Or even worse, Melissa Joan Hart in Holiday in Handcuffs.”

“I have no idea what you just said.”

Simon sighed heavily. “I’m saying we need clear, well-defined rules if this is going to work.”

“Is rule number one ‘don’t be Melissa Joan Hart’?” Jace asked, snatching his muffin away when Simon reached for it again and taking a pointed bite.

“No,” Simon said, with far more seriousness than Jace thought the situation warranted. “That’s rule number two. Rule number one,” he continued, opening a blue notebook to a fresh page, “is ‘absolutely no sex.’”

Jace choked on his muffin.

“If there’s one thing everyone seems to agree with, it’s that things always break down when that rule gets broken,” Simon continued as though Jace weren’t struggling to breathe around a mouthful of muffin and why Simon thought they even needed a rule for that.

Jace washed the remaining crumbs of muffin down with a generous swig of coffee, then leaned back in his chair with a deliberately cocky grin. “I mean, I know I’m damn near irresistible, but do you really think you need a rule to keep from jumping me?”

“Rule three,’’ Simon said, scribbling furiously in the notebook, “treat each other with the same respect we’d treat people we’re actually dating.”

“Hey, I would have the same question for someone I was actually dating.”

Simon looked up from the notebook. “That explains so much about your dating history.”

Jace flipped him off, and Simon flashed him a shit-eating grin. “Nope, sorry, rule one. But,” he continued, serious once again, “we should have rules about what kind of physical affection we are comfortable with. Like, I know we don’t normally do hugs, but it would be weird if we never hugged in front of your family if we were dating, right? What about holding hands, is that too much? And what about kissing? I’m definitely cool with cheek kisses, but I don’t know—”

“Simon,” Jace interrupted before he could get too worked up. Or make Jace think about more things he really shouldn’t be thinking about. “You’re allowed to hug me. And hold my hand. Honestly, I’m sure I’d be fine with anything you’re comfortable doing in front of my family, so how about we just go with this: casual touches are fine and for anything else, I’ll follow your lead.”

The look Simon gave him was so searching that Jace almost worried for a second that Simon would be able to see right past his crossed arms and feigned nonchalance to the part of him that was less worried about showing physical affection than how much he wanted it, the part that avoided hugging Simon because he liked it.

“Okay,” Simon said finally. “But you have to promise you’ll tell me if anything I do bothers you even a little bit.”

“You mean like singing Shake It Off at the top of your lungs in the shower?” Jace asked.

“That was one time!” Simon protested. “I was up all night studying and under the influence of too many energy drinks. We agreed never to mention it again.”

“No, you told me never to mention it again and I laughed at you.”

“See, this is why we need rules. You’re already breaking number three.”

“Yeah, because we’re not pretend-dating yet,” Jace said. “That one might be a little rough, but I’m sure I can manage with some practice.”

There was that searching look again, but then Simon nodded like Jace had said something particularly insightful. “You’re right, we should practice.”

“We—what?”

“If we’re going to convince people who actually know us that we’re dating, then we should practice first,” Simon said, like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. “Not just the rules we know are going to be hard, but all of it, so we can work out any kinks in the plan before showtime.”

And maybe it was reasonable, but it was one thing to put on a show for his family, for Simon’s family, for a few days at a time in places that might be familiar to each of them individually, but that weren’t theirs. It was entirely another thing to do it here, in the cafe they went to at least twice a week, or on campus where they’d first met and had to keep on attending classes for at least another year, or even worse in the apartment they shared, around their friends—

“I really should have thought of it earlier,” Simon continued, blissfully unaware of Jace’s inner turmoil. “My best friend back home, she’s an amazing liar. Like, seriously, she got away with everything when we were kids. But any time she needed me to back up her story, she’d make me practice with her like a hundred times until she knew I could convince her mom and stepdad, even after I got good enough that I didn’t have to practice to convince Mom. Man, those two could sniff out the tiniest discrepancy in any story. Like, if normal parent bullshit detection is a one, my mom’s is probably a solid three, but Fray’s parents? Eleven, easy.”

“I’m pretty sure no one I’m related to has supernatural bullshit detection,” Jace told him. “And it’s common knowledge I’m a better liar than you are, so if you can fool your mom without practice, so can I.”

“Maybe,” Simon conceded. “But a little bit of practice couldn’t hurt, right?”

Jace was pretty sure that it could hurt, actually, but he was also pretty sure he was the only one in danger of getting hurt, so it probably wasn’t worth consideration. Especially weighed against the hopeful enthusiasm in Simon’s expression.

“What did you have in mind?”

“We could start by pretending we’re on a date right now,” Simon suggested. “We’re already sharing a muffin. So, just treat me like you’d treat anyone you were on a date with.”

“My dates don’t usually involve this many notebooks,” Jace told him. “And if my date stole my muffin, the date would be over.”

“Come on, you’re not even trying,” Simon said, gathering up the papers and notebooks. “You’d really ditch your date over a muffin?”

“Absolutely,” Jace insisted. “They’d have to be seriously good in bed to make up for it, and I’m pretty sure rule number one says you’ll never get muffin-stealing privileges.”

“If the biggest benefit to sleeping with you is getting to share your muffins, then I’m not the one missing out,” Simon told him.

“You selling your body for muffins now, Lightwood?” an amused voice interrupted. “I bet I know a few people who’d toss a bran muffin or two your way for a chance at that ass.”

“Which is why you’re not my pastry-pimp, Roberts,” Jace said, smirking at Maia as she helped herself to one of the table’s empty chairs. “I only trade this ass for top tier, gourmet muffins. If your muffins don’t have at least two Michelin stars, I’m not interested.”

“I give him a week until he’s working corners for Entenmann’s,” Simon told her. “He was just threatening to walk out on our date over a bite of mediocre banana nut.”

Maia’s eyes widened. “Your— Oh, shit, sorry,” she said, scrambling out of her chair and throwing them both an apologetic smile that Jace was pretty sure wouldn’t be directed at him if he were sitting with anyone other than Simon. “I swear I didn’t mean to interrupt, I just thought you were studying or something. You guys have fun, and I’ll just—”

“It’s a practice date,” Jace interrupted, “not an actual date. And Simon’s a dirty muffin thief who won’t even put out, so I’m not sure it really even qualifies as any kind of date.”

Maia looked between the two of them, then slowly lowered herself back into the chair. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what exactly is a ‘practice date,’ and why are the two of you on one?”

“Jace needs a fake boyfriend to take home for Christmas, and I need a fake date for Rachel’s wedding,” Simon explained, snatching the last bit of Jace’s muffin without remorse. “And we thought we should practice dating before trying to convince our families that were actually, you know, together.”

“That’s a terrible idea, and I regret any part I played in the two of you becoming friends,” Maia said flatly.

“Yeah, that would probably worry me more if you didn’t say that like twice a week,” Simon told her.

“Oh god, Simon, what did you let Jace talk you into now?” another voice asked, and suddenly there were three more people crowding around their tiny table, because apparently all of their friends were at Java Jones today. Which, in retrospect, Jace should have expected, given how often they all hung out there.

“It was actually my idea,” Simon told Maureen, sliding his chair closer to Jace’s to make room for her, Bat, and Lily. “Jace is taking me home to meet his family over the holidays, and I’m taking him as my date to my cousin’s wedding.”

This proclamation was met with a stunned silence that was broken when Lily turned to Jace and punched him in the arm.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“That’s for abandoning me, jerk,” Lily told him. “Not that I can really blame you—either of you,” she added, giving both Jace and Simon an appreciative once over, “‘cause damn—but I thought we had an understanding.” She sighed heavily. “Now that you’ve gone over the dating Dark Side, who’s going to be my wingman? You’re probably going to start doing all kinds of relationship-y things and talking about feelings—” she said it like it was a dirty word “—and crap like that.”

“I am not going to talk about my feelings,” Jace said, at the same time that Simon said, “We’re not actually together. We’re just pretending.”

“They’re planning to try to convince their families they’re dating even though they’re not,” Maia explained. “Because they apparently think that’s not just a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Oh,” Lily said, sounding oddly disappointed.

“Fifty bucks,” Bat announced, “says that when this blows up in their faces, Jace is the first one to break down and call Maia in a panic.”

“Hey,” Jace protested.

“Oh, you’re on,” Maureen said, ignoring Jace entirely. “Sorry, Simon, but no one panics quite like you.”

“I’m in,” Lily said, “and I agree with Maureen that Simon will break first, but his call to Maia will be interrupted by Jace calling five minutes later.”

“Why am I the one getting all of the panicked calls?” Maia wanted to know.

“Because you’re the only person at this table who isn’t an asshole,” Simon told her, “but nothing’s going to go wrong, let alone panic-inducing levels of wrong, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Dude,” Jace said, “she’s an asshole to me.”

“You like it,” Maia and Simon said in unison, causing the rest of the table to collapse into laughter.

“Okay, fine,” Maia said around her giggles several minutes later, “if you’re all betting, then count me in, too. I bet that these fools,” she looked pointedly at Jace, then at Simon, “don’t call me when this whole thing goes to hell, but I somehow end up having to haul their asses out of trouble, anyway.”

“I rescind my assessment of you as not an asshole,” Simon told her.

“I’d think twice about calling the woman who’s going to haul your ass out of trouble an asshole if I were you,” Bat said.

“Back to this pretending to be together thing,” Lily said. “What exactly does that entail?”

“That’s actually what we were trying to figure out when you guys showed up,” Simon told her. “We started a list of rules, but we only made it to four so far.”

“Your list should definitely include making out,” Lily said decisively. “Having made out with both of you, I can say with confidence that you’re definitely missing out if you don’t. In fact, you should try it now so we can let you know if it looks authentic.”

“You just want to watch them make out,” Maureen said.

“Yes,” Lily told her. She didn’t add ‘duh,’ but it was implied. “I always want to make hot people make out. But in this case, I’m also being helpful.”

The ensuing argument over the line between helpful and self-serving was thankfully cut short by the opening guitar line of Blonde Redhead’s Barragan.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta take this,” Simon said, holding up his phone. “I’ve been playing voicemail tag with Becky all week.” He looked at Jace. “Talk more about this later?”

“Sure,” Jace told him.

“Tell your sister I said hi,” Maia called after Simon as he headed away from the cafe’s crowd.

“You know,” Jace told her in a low voice, “you could always tell her hi yourself instead of always asking Simon to pass messages.”

Maia gave him an unimpressed look. “After everything I just heard, I’m pretty sure you’re the last person in this room I should be taking relationship advice from.”

“Bite me,” Jace told her, but he didn’t disagree.

#shadowhunters #shmb2021 #jimon #jimon fic #jace wayland #simon lewis

[rhosyn-du]

Never make a mess when a total catastrophe will do - Epilogue

Pairings: Jimon, past Clace, background Clizzy, a bunch of other minor background pairings Rating: Explicit Art: @cor321​ Beta: @all-thestories-aretrue​ Tags:  Alternate Universe - College/University, fake dating, oh my god they were roommates, friends with benefits, idiots to lovers, pining, miscommunication, holidays, drinking games, mistletoe, symbolically significant Oreos, domestic fluff, brief mention of past character death, Jace’s self-worth issues deserve their own tag Summary: What do you do when you find out your sister is not only dating your ex and love-of-your-high-school-life but is also bringing her home for Christmas? Bring your annoying, hot, annoyingly-hot roommate as your fake boyfriend to show them you're totally fine with it, obviously! There's no possible way this could backfire. Link: AO3 , Tumblr Master Post

Epilogue

“How is this the third store we’ve visited that’s out of cranberry sauce?”

“Because it’s eleven in the morning on Thanksgiving Day?” Maia threw Simon a look that clearly said ‘duh.’ “I’m honestly surprised we managed to snag those last two pie crusts.”

“I should never have let myself get distracted while I was doing my shopping on Monday.” He fixed Jace with a stern glare. “No more distracting me at the grocery store.”

“You were pretty into my distraction, if I recall correctly,” Jace said with a lazy grin.

“You’re laughing now, but you’ve never seen Bubbe Helen when she doesn’t get cranberries on Thanksgiving. You don’t even know.”

Jace wrapped his arms around Simon’s waist, pulling him close. “Hey, we’ll find Bubbe Helen her cranberries. We’ve still got a hundred miles left between here and New York. There’s bound to be a store along the way that still has cranberries.”

Simon relaxed in his arms with a sheepish smile. “You’re right. I’m being dumb.”

“It’s not dumb,” Jace corrected gently. “It’s tradition, and it’s important to people you love.”

“Wow, holidays make you really sappy,” Simon teased.

“You make me really sappy,” Jace corrected, reaching for Simon’s left hand. He brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the knuckle right above his father’s ring. The same ring he’d used when he actually proposed two weeks ago, at the same table in Java Jones where they’d made their list of fake dating rules all those months ago. He’d hidden the ring under his muffin, knowing Simon would steal the last bite like he always did, and even though it wasn’t the kind of grand, romantic gesture his siblings had suggested when he asked for their help, it was theirs, and the look on Simon’s face when he said yes was really all that mattered.

“You make me pretty sappy, too,” Simon said, drawing him into a kiss.

“If you two start making out in the middle of the canned goods aisle, I’m stealing the van and going to New York without you.”

Jace pulled away from the kiss to give Maia an unimpressed look. “No one’s making you watch.”

“Yeah, but every minute I have to spend waiting for you is one I don’t get to spend with my girlfriend, who I live two-hundred miles away from and only get to see maybe once a month if I’m really lucky.”

“She does have a point,” Simon said. “Plus, Becky can be really vindictive when she wants to be, and she’s got easy access to the room we’re sleeping in tonight.”

“And the longer we stand around here, the longer other people have to buy all the cranberries at other stores,” Maia pointed out.

“Fine,” Jace relented, releasing Simon. “Let’s go find some cranberries.”

Simon took his hand, and Jace could feel the warm metal of his ring pressing into his skin.

~~~

“We have cranberries!” Maia announced as they entered the Lewis home.

“Oh, thank god,” Becky said. “Someone was starting to get a little agitated.” She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head significantly toward the kitchen.

“So, you’re only happy to see me for my cranberries, huh?” Maia teased.

“I’ve got a whole list of reasons I’m happy to see you.” Becky gave her a quick kiss, then turned to poke Simon in the ribs. “But I’m only happy to see this fool for his cranberries.”

“Hey!” Simon protested, poking her right back.

“I guess I just don’t even rate, huh?” Jace asked.

Becky turned a wide, mischievous smile on him. “Oh, no. I’m happy to see you for an entirely different reason. I want to offer you a trade.”

“Don’t do it,” Simon said. “She’s sneaky, and she will rip you off.”

“I am sneaky,” Becky agreed, “but this is totally above board.” She turned back to Jace. “I hear that you and Maia are drinking buddies.”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” Maia commented.

“That’s probably a pretty accurate description of our relationship, sure,” Jace agreed.

“Which means you’ve seen Maia drunk,” Becky continued. “Which means you probably have embarrassing stories about my girlfriend. Stories that I’m more than willing to trade embarrassing stories of my brother to hear.”

“See?” Simon pointed at his sister. “Sneaky.”

“Yeah, babe, I’m not sure you’ve actually thought this through,” Maia said.

“No, I have,” Becky told her with a smirk. “I’ve also thought up all kinds of ways to convince you to forgive me.”

“Please don’t elaborate,” Simon said.

“Okay,” Maia said, “but I have an even better deal for you.”

“I’m listening.”

“How about we both tell embarrassing stories about Simon and Jace over dinner.” Maia leaned in and finished in a low voice. “And then you can show me how you were planning to get me to forgive you when we get back to your place tonight.”

“Oh,” Becky said. “Yeah, that’s a much better deal.” She turned to Jace. “Sorry, got a better offer. No hard feelings?”

Jace shrugged, biting back a laugh. “I mean, I can’t really blame you.”

“Is it too late to do Thanksgiving with your family?” Simon asked Jace. “Or we could just sit in the van and eat cranberries out of the can. That’s also an option that would be preferable to this.”

“Oh good, you found the cranberries.” Bubbe Helen emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She walked over and pulled Simon into a hug. “I knew my grandson would come through.”

Behind her, Becky shook her head emphatically, mouthing ‘lies.’

Simon kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without cranberries.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” She turned a critical eye on Jace. He was pretty sure she still held a bit of a grudge over him supposedly proposing to Simon in a storage closet. “And what are your thoughts on cranberries?”

“Oh, uh.” Jace was pretty sure he’d never thought much about cranberries before this morning’s frantic search across half of New England. “I’m definitely pro-cranberry.”

“Speaking of which,” Simon interrupted, “we should get these groceries to the kitchen and get started on the pies. You’re going to love Jace’s pecan pie, Bubbe Helen. It’s the best I’ve ever had.”

“Pecan, huh?” Bubbe Helen gave Jace a considering look.

Jace nodded. “With browned butter. It’s a family recipe.” Technically, it was Alec’s recipe, but Alec was family, so he figured it counted.

Bubbe Helen nodded. “You’ll do.” Then she turned with a wide smile to greet Maia, and Jace let out a relieved sigh.

As they made their way to the kitchen, Simon bumped Jace with his shoulder and spoke in a low voice. “It’s cute that my grandmother makes you nervous.”

“It’s not cute,” Jace muttered. “She’s terrifying.”

When they arrived in the kitchen, Simon’s mother was checking the turkey.

“Another half-hour, I think,” she told them as she closed the oven door. “If you work fast, you can put the pies in as soon as the turkey comes out. I cleared some counter space where you can work over there. Do not touch anything else.

“Hi, sweetie,” she added as an afterthought, giving Simon a quick hug.

Simon returned the hug. “Hi, Mom. Pie plates still in the same place?”

“Bottom cabinet to the left of the sink,” she confirmed. “Is there anything else you two need to get started on the pies?”

“Pie plates to the left of the sink, half an hour, don’t touch anything,” Jace repeated back to her. “I think we’re good.”

“Perfect. I’m going to go toss the linens in the dryer. You boys get started on those pies, and I’ll be back to check on the turkey in,” she checked her watch, “twenty-eight minutes.”

Jace watched long enough to make sure she was out of earshot before saying, “If we’re ever crazy enough to do joint holidays, she and Maryse cannot be allowed in the kitchen at the same time.”

Simon chuckled. “Mom can be a little intense about holidays being perfect, but I think it’s just because she wants us to enjoy them.”

“I get it.” Jace knelt down to retrieve the pie plates from the cabinet. “I mean, you saw what Maryse and Alec were like just over Christmas dinner. Military campaigns are less well-orchestrated than Thanksgiving at the Lightwood house.”

“Is it weird having Thanksgiving here instead of with your own family?” Simon asked as he rolled out a pie crust.

Jace set the pie plates down next to the pastry mat. “I am having Thanksgiving with my family. I’m having it with you.”

Simon smiled without looking up from the pastry mat. “If you keep saying romantic things, I’m going to kiss you, and then we’ll never get the pies ready to go in the oven on time.”

“I wasn’t being romantic,” Jace insisted. “It’s just, it took me a long time after the Lightwoods took me in to really start thinking of them as family, to accept that they thought of me as family. I’m not sure I ever would have if it wasn’t for Alec and Iz. They taught me that family can be people you choose, not just something you’re born with.” He shrugged. “And I chose you.”

Simon looked up from the now perfectly-rolled pie crust. “That was super romantic.”

“Maybe a little,” Jace conceded. He lifted the crust into one of the pie plates and began smoothing it into the corners.

“That’s actually part of why I wanted us to do Thanksgiving here this year,” Simon said as he began rolling out the second crust. “I know you haven’t always felt like you had a family, and even though I know you do now, I wanted to show you that you get to have my family now, too.”

Jace wound his arms around Simon’s waist. “Now who’s being romantic?”

The pies were not ready to go into the oven on time.

#shadowhunters #shmb2021 #jimon #jimon fic #jace wayland #simon lewis