#etiw

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Seven

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

For the first time since Izzy could remember, she woke up happy. She was warm because of the solid weight of Clary’s arm around her waist and there was a smile on her face that she didn’t think she could possibly wipe away even if she tried her hardest. 

It was a day that Izzy wanted to remember forever; the day her brother was getting married to the love of his life and the day Izzy was gaining a brother-in-law who had shown her that she could be exactly who she wanted to be, no matter what. Not only did he provide Izzy with confidence and more style than she already had, but he also brought her to the beautiful woman beside her and Izzy wasn’t sure how she could possibly thank him for that. 

“Your breathing changed,” Clary whispered, her lips ghosting against Izzy's bare shoulder before she hooked her chin around it. “I know when you’re sleeping because your breathing gets really slow and shallow and I might have had to check if you were dead.” Izzy laughed brightly and pushed back until she couldn’t be any closer to Clary. 

“Well, I know you’re sleeping because your arm starts twitching like you’re painting,” Izzy responded, turning her head just enough to press a kiss to Clary’s cheek. 

“Hmm, no one has ever told me that before,” Clary noted, seemingly unembarrassed by the new knowledge. “Though, I can’t remember the last time I woke up with someone in my bed who didn’t flee before I got to talk to them.”

“Idiots, all of them,” Izzy said as she turned. 

Clary looked just as gorgeous as she had every other moment, except this time, Izzy knew that she was the cause of it. Clary was gazing up at her like she hung the moon and she finally saw what Alec and Magnus meant when they talked with her before. She leaned forward and kissed Clary gently, savoring each second that their lips pressed together as her hand stroked at the small patch of skin that peeked out of her pajama shirt. 

As much as Izzy—and no doubt Clary—wanted to stay in that moment forever, she knew that they were expected at the wedding venue much sooner than Izzy would have liked. She pulled away and with a slide of her finger down Clary’s nose, started to move her legs off the side of the bed. Clary grabbed her arm and pulled her back, climbing on top of her as her head hit the pillow. Izzy instinctively rested her hands on Clary’s waist as warm fingers cupped her face. 

“I’m not going to be able to kiss you for so long, today, Iz, so just—” Izzy nodded before Clary could even finish her sentence and leaned up just enough to meet Clary’s lips before she had to lean all the way forward. 

“We—have—to—Clary—wed—brothers—” 

Izzy could barely get the words that she wanted out because of the ferocity behind Clary’s kisses, but she was quickly silenced when her lips disappeared to trace a soft line down her neck. They rested over the pulse in Izzy’s neck and she smiled like she enjoyed the way Izzy’s heart beat a little faster for her. 

“I like feeling your heart,” she whispered, confirming Izzy’s suspicions. “It’s a reminder that you’re really in front of me, that you’re here and you’re not going anywhere.”

Both of them sobered immediately at the words. It was like reality had sunken in from the last few weeks of bliss and both of them realized that Izzy wasn’t there to stay. She had a flight back to base in three days that left too early in the morning and wouldn’t return for another six months. For the first time, Izzy didn’t want to go. 

“Let’s not think about it,” Clary decided, running her thumb over the pulse in Izzy’s neck before resting her palm directly over Izzy’s rapidly beating heart. “Today is about happiness and forever. We can’t ruin it by thinking about the complexities of the future, you know? Besides,” Clary pushed herself up and off the bed before Izzy could stop her, “our brothers are going to need us to be in top shape today which means we should grab our dresses and get ready to head out.”

“But we will talk about it, right?” Izzy asked, hoping her worries were clear in her voice. She didn’t want Clary to push her away or start to disappear, not when she finally let herself feel the way she had in the last few weeks. Clary’s response to her nerves was to rush over to where Izzy had finally stood and kiss the life out of her, so Izzy was immediately grateful she decided to say something. Small steps , Izzy thought to herself. 

“I’m here, Iz. I’m not going anywhere even when you do. I didn’t go into this blind and we have options. Besides, I think if Magnus and Alec can figure it out, we sure as hell can, too,” Clary joked, placing what felt like a final kiss to the tip of Izzy’s nose. 

“How panicked do you think they are right now?” Izzy asked as she threw on her most comfortable clothes. They wouldn’t be getting into their dresses quite yet—even with as much as Izzy was dying to see Clary in hers—so she chose some leggings and an oversized tank to get her through the morning of putting out fires. 

“Alec is definitely at least at DEFCON three, if not already at a two, while Magnus is holding steady at a five outwardly, but in his head, he’s on DEFCON three with Alec,” Clary said. 

“Is it strange that I find it really hot when you speak in military terms?”

“Absolutely not, Sergeant,” Clary shot back with a wink. 

Yeah, Izzy couldn’t wait to show her just how hot it was once the wedding was over. 

“Alec?” Izzy asked as she peeked into the room he was supposed to be getting ready in. It was too quiet for comfort and Jace was nowhere to be seen which was more than a little suspicious. “I come bearing coffee and snacks!”

“Oh, hey, Iz!” Alec shouted and for a second, Izzy thought it had to have been Jace given the smooth and completely not panicked nature of the greeting. “You’re here early,” he noted as he walked around the couch he was sitting on.

“I, uh, yeah,” Izzy began, shooting a look of disbelief at her brother who stood a few feet away. His only response was to shrug and walk over to retrieve his own coffee. “Clary and I decided it would be best to pick up some stuff on the way here and there wasn’t any wait or—” She saw the dumb smile on Alec’s face and cut herself off. “Alright, what is happening? Did you get high before coming here or something?” 

“What? Of course not, Izzy!” Alec shouted, laughing. He swatted at her shoulder playfully before reaching into the bag she was holding and taking out one of the prepackaged snacks Clary had called poison and urged her not to waste her money on. “I’m getting married today, guys. Married. To the absolute love of my life in like,” he glanced down at his watch with an even wider grin, “two hours!” 

“He’s been like this since I got here,” Jace said by way of explanation. “Magnus said that he woke up without even a glimmer of panic, but…” He trailed off and nabbed a donut from the box Izzy had placed on the table. 

“How could I possibly be anything but happy right now?” He asked and as if on cue, their mother walked in the door. Even that didn’t have Alec’s smile fading which might have been a miracle in itself. 

“Alexander, you should start preparing your tux,” she demanded before her voice softened, “but first, I, uh, brought you something. Something blue. I wasn’t sure if this should go to you or Magnus, but—”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Alec said, his voice expressing the amount of surprise that was running through all of their heads if Izzy had to guess. She held out an open box that contained two cufflinks with sapphires sparkling in the light. They were beautiful and they matched what Alec would be wearing perfectly. 

“Your father wore them on our wedding day and I think they will match wonderfully with the colors you have chosen for your special day,” Maryse explained, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“I didn’t think you—”

“I didn’t, at first. But your sister,” Maryse glanced at Izzy and sent her a soft smile that Izzy returned hesitantly, “reminded me that what I want isn’t always right and doesn’t always matter. I love you, all of you.” She held onto Alec’s hands but directed her words at both Izzy and Jace that were on either side of him. “I’m sorry that I ever made you doubt that.”

Alec hugged her first, stepping away so that Jace could wrap his arms around his adoptive mother softly. She kissed his cheek before turning toward Izzy, not making a move to step forward. Izzy wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive her mother, not after the years of treating her like she wasn’t good enough. Izzy spent all of that time trying to convince herself that every person that left her wasn’t any fault of her own and that she was good enough to deserve the career, the love, that she had. 

“I’d like to speak with you, Izzy.” The use of her nickname tugged at the corner of her mind as she nodded. “Will you two be all set while I steal her away?” She asked. Both of her brothers waited for Izzy to give her approval before they nodded at their mother. “We won’t be gone long, I just… have some things I want to say.”

“Didn’t you say enough yesterday?” Izzy asked before she could stop herself. Maryse quickly shut the door to the room she had led Izzy into and leaned against it like she was distancing herself from her child. 

Maryse took a deep breath before she spoke again. 

“I meant what I said to Alec; I love you all and I love the people each of you has become. I’m always being told how amazing Jace’s restaurant is, how proud of you and Alec people are for fighting for the country. I am proud of both of you for what you choose to do, but it’s a mother’s right to want the best for her kids.” 

“What’s best for you isn’t what’s best for us, mama, don’t you see that?” Izzy huffed, tossing her hands in the air. Her mother had started out great and Izzy wanted to believe that she was truly changing, but it was as if she would never understand. 

“I do, I— I’m your mother—” Izzy opened her mouth to speak but Maryse held up a hand and sent her a pleading glance that had Izzy closing it again. “I wanted my children to be doctors and lawyers. I wanted the boys to be CEOs like your father and for you to have the life I always had the minute I met your father.”

“That isn’t the life we want, ” Izzy emphatically and Maryse nodded. 

“I see that now. It’s… I spent a long time convincing myself that I could raise my children into exactly what I wanted them to be, but I’m realizing, slowly but surely, that I instead raised my children to think for themselves, to follow their dreams, and to work hard for what they want. I can’t be disappointed by that , now can I?”

“You’d be a fool to,” Izzy muttered. 

“I’m a lot of things, but I am not a fool. I will—begrudgingly—accept the lives you and your brothers choose for yourselves, but I ask that you give me time to mourn the future I planned.”

“You make it sound like we’re dead,” Izzy pointed out with a roll of her eyes. 

“I know you’re not and I am not under the impression that you’ll ever understand, but I am asking for patience. Can you give me that, Isabelle?” At Izzy’s glare, she corrected the name with a soft smile on her lips. 

“I can’t make any promises, but this is more than I ever expected to get out of you, so… yeah. Okay,” Izzy agreed. 

Maryse moved forward with her arms open and Izzy walked into her arms, letting her head rest on her mother’s shoulder. She couldn’t remember the last time she had hugged her mother privately, where it wasn’t for show but just for comfort, and she found herself lingering longer than she probably needed to. 

When she pulled away, she saw tears in her mother’s eyes and it made her smile because she realized that her mother did truly care. Izzy thought it was a great day for happy tears. 

“Alright, I need to go check on the other groom and make sure he’s almost ready. Can you make sure everything is set in the main hall for the boys to walk down the aisle?” Maryse nodded and leaned in to place a soft kiss on Izzy’s cheek. 

“You go get ready with Clarissa— Clary ,” she corrected at Izzy’s squint. “I’ll go make sure Alexander and Jace are ready to go.” 

With a final nod of agreement, Izzy left the room and as her mother turned to walk down the hallway, she leaned back against the wall to take a deep breath, shutting her eyes as tightly as they could go. 

“There’s no visible marks or injuries and neither of you were crying when you came out, so I’m assuming that went okay?”

Izzy immediately recognized Magnus’ voice and opened her eyes to see him looking as stunning as ever in his vibrant gold suit with all the accents Clary had drawn in perfect position. His eyes were lined with gold glitter and his hair was standing perfectly on his head. The smile on his face was soft and beautiful and Izzy couldn’t help but leap into his arms. 

“You look incredible, Magnus,” she said, holding back tears. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he responded, rubbing his palm over Izzy’s back slowly before pulling away enough to look into her eyes. “Are you okay, Isabelle?”

“Yeah,” Izzy sighed. The only person she didn’t mind using her full name was Magnus—and Clary, she supposed. “Maryse and I came to an understanding,” she said contentedly, “but that doesn’t matter now!” She wiped at her eyes and patted Magnus’ face gently. “You’re about to be married and I haven’t even put on my dress yet!” 

“Go do just that. Clary is already on her way to make sure Jace and Alexander are about ready. It’s just you left,” Magnus said before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you on the aisle, little sister.” 

“Love you, Magnus,” Izzy said, wrapping him in another hug before he could leave. 

“Love you, too, dearest. Now,” he said with a flourish of his hands, “get on with it. I’ve got a Lightwood to marry.”

As Izzy pulled on her bright gold dress and started her makeup, it snapped in her mind that the break she and Alec had from their duties was almost over. She had figured when they asked for leave before their next deployment, that she would spend the time off focusing on Alec and Magnus’ wedding planning and no time to dwell on the problems she had in her own life. Realistically, she didn’t realize any of the things weighing on her mind until she was faced directly with them. 

They came in the form of Clary. 

She came to the realization after spending approximately one hour with Clary that she was lonely. She realized that she wasn’t exactly the most welcoming person and that she had a hard time allowing others into her life. In return, Clary taught her that she didn’t have to hide away from everyone in her life and the new people could be exciting.

In Izzy’s mind her future had always been set in stone, her prospects fixed... She would finish off her military contract and apply to be a paramedic in some big city. She’d blow the minds of all of the sexist coworkers she would no doubt have to try even harder to impress in her new position than she did in the military and save as many lives as she could in the mundane world. 

As she smoothed out the fabric of her dress, she envisioned herself in white, with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, and Alec walking her down an aisle. For the first time in her life, she imagined her future with someone else in it and that person was Clary. 

“Knock, knock,” Alec said, peeking into the room just as Izzy put the final touches on her makeup. She stood and turned toward him, watching as he nervously adjusted his tie. 

“It looks great, Alec, you look great. I’m really happy you went with these colors,” she said truthfully. She walked over and fixed his sleeves, running her fingers over the cufflinks that their mother had gifted him. 

“It wouldn’t be this way if it wasn’t for you, Iz,” Alec said softly. 

He stopped Izzy’s movements by grabbing her hands and leaned back enough so that she would look up at him. She tried to avoid it as she didn’t want to start crying before they had a chance to walk down the aisle, but he wouldn’t let her look away. 

“I should’ve been the one to stand up to our mother. It’s my wedding and I’m the big brother—”

“You deserve to have someone stand up for you now and again, Alec,” Izzy interjected, earning a glare from Alec. 

“I do, and I realize that now because of Magnus, but that doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for making this day what it is.” He took a deep breath and squeezed Izzy’s hand tighter. “You made this day and my life better than I ever expected it to be. I love you, Iz, so much, and I don’t think you realize how grateful I am to have you as my sister.” 

“Alec,” Izzy whispered, pleading with him to stop because tears started to flood her eyes. 

“No, you’re going to listen to me. I was so worried, when we were growing up and even as adults, that you would let what our mother said to you dictate how you feel about yourself and others. I saw that it didn’t matter what she said about you because you grew into this independent, badass woman who doesn’t need someone like me to protect her.”

“Even though you’re still going to,” Izzy teased, choking out a wet laugh. 

“You’re still my little sister,” he answered. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers gently as he spoke again. “I was still worried, though, that you would keep yourself from ever having the kind of love you deserve, the kind of love that I’ve found with Magnus, but I know that you have that now.” At Izzy’s inquisitive look, Alec let out a soft chuckle. “Clary didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. She loves you, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know,” Izzy whispered and she really believed it.

“You love her, too?” It was a question Izzy could easily nod her answer to, the smile tugging at the corner of her lips before she could stop it. “I knew it. She’s a good one, Iz, one that you deserve. Don’t mess it up, okay?” He asked and Izzy threw her head back in laughter. 

“I promise I won’t,” she answered, patting his cheek softly before pressing her lips to his other one. “You ready to marry the man you love?” She asked. 

“I’ve never been more ready or terrified for anything in my life. Is that normal?” Alec asked. 

Izzy laughed and replied, “I’ll let you know on my wedding day.” 

The ceremony was everything any of them could have expected. Though, Izzy had to admit that she barely paid attention to the two men getting married. 

The entire time, Izzy couldn’t stop staring at how beautiful Clary looked in her sapphire dress. It seemed to sparkle under the carefully chosen fairy lights, glistening and catching Izzy’s eye each moment possible. It contrasted perfectly with the golden hues of Magnus and Izzy’s outfits and matched Alec’s almost perfectly. It was a joining of both families and Izzy caught herself crying a little harder than she expected when the two men kissed at the end. 

She walked out arm in arm with Clary, following a beaming Alec and Magnus, and they sat in relative silence just taking in the day until Maryse let them know the reception was ready. As per most of the wedding, Alec and Magnus decided to say fuck the traditions. Their first dance was shared with any couple who wanted to celebrate their love and Izzy was the first one to volunteer to do just that. 

“Will you dance with me?” She asked. 

She held out a hand to Clary who was sipping on her glass of champagne and seemed surprised that Izzy had even asked. Her cheeks were rosy red and her smile was wide on her face as she nodded and took Izzy’s hand in hers. They pressed together, wrapped up in each other like they were the only two people in the room as the soft music played around them. 

Izzy had never felt so connected to another person in her entire life and she realized all too suddenly that that was what it was supposed to feel like. She had kissed people before, held people she thought she loved in her arms, and listened to them make her promises they would never keep. 

With Clary, she had no doubts, no worries that her hugs or her kisses would disappear, no concerns that the unspoken promises she was making with each passing day spent together would be broken. She felt safe and warm in the arms of the first person she could see molding a future with. 

She remembered the years of heartbreak and disappointment that she endured like they were distant memories and when Clary smiled up at her, she realized those moments were preparing her for how amazing it would feel to have Clary forever. 

Clary was the person Izzy had always waited for. 

“Was this summer everything you wanted it to be?” Clary whispered, her eyes gazing into Izzy’s. 

“It was everything that I ever wanted, but didn't think I'd ever find,” she admitted, pressing a soft kiss to Clary’s lips. “I love you, Clary.”

“I love you, too, Izzy.”

Izzy figured it was the perfect day for happily ever afters.

#etiw #chapter seven

[friedslimepaperdeputy]

Ben ne iş yapıyorum merak edenler için Görele de my asorti̇k bijuteri takı Hediyelik eşya dükkanım var ve Kişiye özel hediyelik ürün baskı atölyem var. Bijuteri takı dükkanımda neler satıyoruz takı ve toka, hediyelik eşya, çanta açık parfüm, şapka, bandana, çeşitleri satıyoruz. Baskı atölyemizde ise matbaa işleri broşür kartvizit davetiye baskısı ve kişiye özel hediyeler ve promosyonlar üretilir. Ör* resimli kupa ve sihirli bardak, resimli tişort, şapka, masa İsimliği, anahtarlık yapboz puzzle ve binlerce çeşit isteğe göre Hediyelik eşyalar üretilir prakande ve toptan satış yapılır. Okullarla belediyelerle çalışıyoruz tübitak gençlik ve spor bakanlığının Etiwing gibi projelerin işlerinide yapıyoruz Tüm hediyelik eşya ve baskı promosyon ürünlerimizle dünyanın her yerine elden veya kargo ile ürünlerimizi teslim ediyoruz Serdar ŞAHİN My Asortik Bijuteri (My asortik bijuteri takı - çanta) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHNBxQBjC7q/?igshid=17o1udgmohktn

[mijikai-tan]

what is your opinion on etiwe x kcalb?

Great characters 

#A++++ #Just A+ #thats all i have to say

[inthetracks-blog]

It's Coldplay !!

#coldplay #new track #every teardrop is a waterfall #etdiaw #etiw #etdiwf #etdiawf

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Six

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

To say things were perfect was both an exaggeration and an understatement. 

It was an exaggeration because things had never worked out for Izzy before. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to blast either her or Clary out of the happiness bubble they had been in the last few days. 

It was an understatement because every single moment Izzy spent with Clary was everything she could have wished it to be. 

After the waterfall trip, they spent even more time getting to know each other under the guise of prepping for their brothers’ wedding. They were helping Alec and Magnus out as much as possible which really meant sneaking behind Maryse’s back to make sure the two of them could have the wedding they had dreamed of and not the wedding Izzy’s mother wanted for them. 

In that time, Izzy fell even more for the feisty and talented redhead that wormed her way into Izzy’s life. It was impossible for her to stop once she had let her guard down. Every second spent with Clary had her heart flipping and her stomach filled with butterflies she never expected to feel. She hadn’t let herself truly feel so much for another person in years but with Clary, it felt… easy. Like there was no universe in which the two of them didn’t connect the way they had since they met. Everything was so wonderful that Izzy had forgotten why she had kept people at arm’s length in the first place. 

That was until Maryse showed up on her doorstep one afternoon a few days before the wedding. Izzy panicked, eyes darting around to where she had the boys’ newly fixed suits and the golden and blue accents decorating every inch of the living room. She backed away from the door, hoping that Maryse would give up, waiting but she should have known that would never happen. 

“I know you’re here, Isabelle. I saw you through the window even through the horrendous colors you’ve got around. Let me in,” Maryse chastised and Izzy winced. 

Clary peaked her head out and whispered, “Should I go?” 

“Grab the suits and hide them in your room. I can handle the rest,” Izzy said, acting quickly by pushing the wheeled mannequin housing Alec’s suit after Clary as she did the same to Magnus’. “Just one minute, mom. Clary just needed help with something. I’ll be right there.” 

“I don’t have all day, Isabelle,” Maryse said, her tone clearly unimpressed. Unfortunately, Izzy knew the sound all too well. 

“I’ll be here if you need me,” Clary reassured. She ran her hand smoothly down Izzy’s arm before squeezing her hand. The small gesture was enough to calm Izzy as she made her way over to the front entryway, letting out a breath when she heard Clary’s bedroom door shut behind her. 

“It’s about time,” Maryse said, clicking her tongue as she pushed her way inside. 

“Please, come in,” Izzy muttered with a roll of her eyes. A passerby would have thought Maryse witnessed murder with the dramatic gasp that left her lips, her perfectly manicured hands covering her mouth. 

“What happened to the vases? The napkins? Even the tablecloths have been ruined?! Isabelle—”

“Izzy—” She corrected, though it didn’t really matter because Maryse continued on. 

“—Your brother is going to be devastated when he sees what you’ve done to his wedding!” 

“Alec wan—” Izzy composed herself with a breath, not willing to throw her brother under the bus when their mother was already strung out. “I wanted it to be a surprise. These are the colors they associate with one another and I thought it would be—”

“Oh, you thought? Did you ever think about what this would do to your brother?” Maryse asked before scoffing. “Of course you didn’t because you only ever think about yourself, just like you always have.”

“Are you kidding me?” Izzy asked.

“I’ll have to talk to your father,” she began as she tore at the banner on the wall that Clary had worked incredibly hard on. “He can probably order us some new centerpieces and table arrangements in black and white, possibly get a rushed order in through one of his contacts.”

Izzy could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she destroyed the carefully crafted centerpieces that would house the painted flowers they specially ordered. She wanted to scream, to stop Maryse from ruining something else in her brother’s life, but her mother’s words were spiraling around her head and she couldn’t stop them. 

“How could you be so selfish? Alec and Magnus trusted you to make their day perfect and now you and that gypsy sister of—”

“Clary isn’t—”

“I would notice her handiwork anywhere, Isabelle. There’s no need to defend her. I can see her influence on you already. You’ve always been one to go against everything you’ve been taught so I should’ve figured you’d let her ways cloud your judgment,” Maryse said easily as if Izzy wasn’t about to spit fire. 

“Her ways? What exactly is that supposed to mean, mother?” Izzy pushed. 

Maryse waved her hand and said consideringly, “You know how artists can be. They’re flighty and like to pull people down with them on their journey to nowhere. That’s not who you are, Isabelle. You’re going to do great things once you can transfer over to med school and—”

“ Enough!”

“Isabelle,” Maryse shouted back, “what has gotten into you?” 

Izzy scoffed, “I’m trying to protect my brother from our overbearing mother. That’s what’s gotten into me!”

“Overbearing? Because I want my children to reach their full potential and won’t settle for less?” Maryse retorted like that was an actual argument for her case. 

“We’re not settling, mom. Can’t you see that? Alec isn’t settling for Magnus and we’re not settling in our careers. Everyone else in the world can see that we’re happy and satisfied with what we’ve done with our lives except for the one person that is supposed to care about that.”

“You think I don’t care about you now? Why would I allow this wedding to happen if I didn’t care? Why would I try to convince both of my children to not risk their lives every day if I didn’t care, Isabelle.”

“Izzy,” she interjected, but that didn’t stop Maryse from pointlessly defending herself. 

“You always do this, both of you. I do my best to keep this family together and you all pull away from me like I’m the problem—”

“Because you don’t keep us together, mom!” Izzy yelled exasperatedly. “All you do is push us away, from you and dad.”

“It’s not my fault that you’re not as close with your father anymore, Isabelle. When are you going to stop blaming me for that?”

“How about once you stop blaming us for your crappy relationship with him?” Izzy shot back. 

Maryse gasped and shouted, “You will stop talking to me this way right this instant!”

“It’s a miracle it’s taken me this long. Alec and I have done everything in our power to try and maintain the relationship we have with you and all you do is push . You push us away, you push us in directions we don’t want to go, you push at our insecurities and our weaknesses. You’re barely a parent anymore, mom,” Izzy admitted, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“I didn’t— I don’t— That’s not true, Isabelle.”

“ Izzy,” she corrected immediately, “Everyone calls me Izzy and I’m a combat medic in the United States Army with no plans to be a doctor. And my brother, Alec? He’s one of the best pilots the military has ever seen and he’s never going to follow in dad’s footsteps like you keep trying to force him to.”

“Is— Izzy,” Maryse whispered, shaking her head and pressing a hand over her chest. 

“Alec is getting married to a wonderful man who has an extremely talented and kind and practically perfect sister that I’m falling in love with. Magnus and Clary aren’t going anywhere,” Izzy ignored Maryse’s gasp in favor of walking to the door and holding it open, “and if you can’t accept either of those facts, you need to leave. Now.”

Without another word—like Izzy had been expecting—Maryse walked out the door, a mixture of anger and sadness in her eyes that wasn’t enough to have Izzy feeling anything but relieved by her disappearance. She shut the door and leaned back against it, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. Her eyes were closed, but she still heard the soft click of Clary’s door opening and the gentle patter of socked feet making their way over. 

“If you’re going to ask if I’m okay, the answer is yes,” Izzy said, still not bothering to open her eyes. Her head and heart hurt a little too much to deal with the brightness of the apartment or the sympathetic look she was bound to see on Clary’s face. 

“I was going to say that you’re incredibly brave for standing up to her like that; for yourself, for Alec, for… me.” Clary slid down the wall next to Izzy before reaching over to lace their fingers together slowly, as if giving Izzy that chance to pull away. She wouldn’t have dreamed of it. 

“I guess it’s pointless to hope you didn’t hear all of that?” Izzy asked, a small humorless laugh escaping her lips. 

“It was kind of hard not to,” Clary muttered, “but I’m glad I heard what I did. I know I don’t know the entire story, but I’m really proud of you.”

“For alienating my mother even further?” Izzy leaned her head against Clary’s shoulder, reveling in the comfort it provided her. She wasn’t sure when Clary became one of the only people in the world who could calm her, but she was immensely grateful for her and the way she leaned right back. 

“No,” Clary whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Izzy’s hair, “for being as strong as you are. I’m proud of you for not relenting to her even though it’s clear you care about her and what she thinks of you—” Before Izzy could deny that, Clary shot her a glare and said quickly, “You don’t have to pretend with me, Izzy. I know you care about very few people and unfortunately, Maryse is in that group.” 

“You are, too,” Izzy said; quietly, but surely. Clary nodded and nudged Izzy’s chin up with her fingers gently. She placed a delicate kiss onto Izzy’s lips that seemed to ease every pound of stress off of her shoulders and caused her stomach to flutter with happiness. 

“I heard you… What you said,” Clary whispered, stopping Izzy with another soft kiss on her lips when Izzy tried to turn away in embarrassment. She brushed their noses together and scrunched up her face in that adorable way Izzy loved before she continued, “I wasn’t sure, you know. You spent so much of this summer dealing with me, I didn’t think that—”

“After I took you to the waterfall? My self-proclaimed favorite safe place? After that kiss? You still thought I didn’t like you?” Izzy asked, flabbergasted by how oblivious Clary was proving to be. 

Clary blushed and hid her face in Izzy’s shoulder, muttering, “I knew you at least thought I was pretty.” 

“That’s one word for it,” Izzy said with a roll of her eyes. She pulled Clary’s face away from her neck so she could look into her beautiful green eyes and make sure she really heard the sincerity in her voice. “I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re what I had been searching for my entire life, but never let myself have. I spent the entirety of this summer loving the hell out of you, unable to stop it, so,” Izzy took a deep breath in and held Clary’s hands firmer in her own, “this is me, giving in and telling you that I—”

“I love you, too!” Clary interrupted like she couldn’t wait to tell Izzy the good news. 

Clary kissed her more fervently than she had ever been kissed and crawled into her lap as if she couldn’t stand for any part of their body to not be touching, but Izzy didn’t mind. She wrapped her arms around Clary’s back and kissed her back just as passionately, threading one of her hands through Clary’s fiery hair and running her tongue along her bottom lip slowly.

Izzy wasn’t sure how long they sat there, Clary nestled in her lap while her back was still against the front door, but neither of them seemed to care. 

Until a knock resounded through the room and down Izzy’s spine that was still connected to the door. 

“Do we want to know what you’re doing down there?” Magnus’ voice teased through the door. 

“One second!” Izzy yelled, wincing as Clary stood and pulled her up with her. 

Her legs were like jelly—from Clary on her lap or from Clary on her lap , she couldn’t be sure—as she fixed her shirt that had ridden up her stomach. Clary flattened out her dark hair and Izzy couldn’t resist doing the same to the red strands that flew in every direction from Izzy’s fingers. She also couldn’t resist kissing her again, both of their giggles resounding through the apartment. 

“If you want us to come back later…” Magnus began, but Alec gagged exaggeratedly before he could finish. 

“This is still technically my apartment and I still have a key. I swear to god if you two are anything but fully clothed, I’m going to—”

“Will you relax, big brother?” Izzy teased as she slowly pulled the door open, laughing as Alec pushed his way in. 

“Your darling mother called, insisted that you were ruining the wedding, and then hung up,” Magnus explained because Alec was too busy going through all of the decorations and centerpieces before attempting to find the tuxes. 

“Did she see them? Did she take them?” Alec asked, panicked. Izzy could hear it in his tone, see it in the way he stood up soldier straight even with Magnus’ comforting hand on her shoulder. As if sensing Izzy’s own anxiety tick up, he asked, “Are you okay?” 

“Your mother is a piece of work and it’s a miracle that both of you are so damn likable,” Clary interjected, sliding her hand into Izzy’s. They ignored the way that Alec and Magnus’ eyes both darted to where they were joined. 

“She came here and was less than happy at the new plan. I’m sorry, Alec, I tried to convince her—”

“What did she say to you?” Alec asked, guilt replacing the panic. 

“It was nothing I couldn’t handle, Alec,” Izzy said, though even she had a hard time believing it. 

“She was amazing and your mother left here with her ass handed to her,” Clary chimed in, a bright smile on her face that Izzy couldn’t help but match. She blushed and that time, Magnus took notice verbally. 

“Alright, do we have to give you guys the talk?” Magnus asked. 

Clary scoffed, “I’m pretty sure neither of us are blushing virgins, bro.”

“That’s not what he meant, Fray,” Alec choked out, both Lightwoods blushing wildy at Clary’s words. 

“Oh, I know, but it was important to me that I made you both as uncomfortable as possible.” 

Izzy stopped for a moment, just admiring the way her brother swatted playfully at her… girlfriend. If that’s what they were. It must have been, really, because Izzy didn’t want her to be anything else. She watched as Magnus wrapped his manicured fingers around Alec’s bicep and pulled him away and the way Alec slumped into Magnus’ shoulder like he’d just been witness to a horrible crime. 

As per usual, her eyes found Clary. But that time, Clary was staring right back at her. 

There was a mixture of concern and awe, a hesitation in the way she bit down on her lip like she shouldn’t be smiling even though it was the only thing keeping Izzy sane. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Clary’s waist before pulling her in and placing a passionate kiss on her lips. She ignored the way their brothers gagged (Alec) and cheered (Magnus) in the distance in favor of focusing on how Clary fell into her like they were made to be wrapped around each other. 

After a few minutes, the noise stopped and as Izzy pulled away, she tried to find Alec and Magnus, worried for a moment that they had left. Instead, she saw them sitting on Clary’s bed, wrapped up in each other just as much as she and Clary had been, with velvet boxes in each of their hands. 

“I forgot to tell them we got the final wedding rings in,” Clary whispered as she rested her head on Izzy’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. Izzy tossed hers over Clary’s shoulder and leaned her head so that her lips could press against Clary’s beautifully bright hair. 

“They love each other so much, don’t they?” Izzy asked. 

She had believed it, seen it with her own two eyes before that moment, but something about the way they grew even closer each second Izzy saw them together had her believing in soulmates for the first time. 

When she glanced over to see Clary gazing at her, she believed it for the second. 

“You know,” Clary began, pressing a kiss to Izzy’s hand as she led her to the couch, giving their brothers the moment that they deserved, “Magnus was right about one thing,” she said. 

Izzy glanced over at Clary, smiling when she lifted their joined hands to her lips to place a gentle kiss on the back of Izzy’s. 

“What’s that?” Izzy asked.

“He said that the wedding could be nothing less than perfect because Alec left you in charge,” she explained. Then, after a moment, she added, “He also said that you were going to be exactly the kind of person I needed in my life.”

“And was he right about that, too?” Izzy asked, knowing her voice was more hopeful than it had ever been. 

Clary nodded and whispered, “Yeah, you’re everything.” 

#etiw #chapter six

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Five

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

Izzy had never been much for hiking. It wasn’t until she finally convinced one of her ex-boyfriends to take her out instead of only toss her around the bedroom that she was first convinced to climb up a mountain. Meliorn had promised that the view would be worth it and it really was. When he told her that he was moving to some far-off forest town, she wasn’t surprised but couldn’t hold back her sadness about it. 

She took the hike a few times without him when she needed to clear her head or just take a breath, and it became a happy place for her. She had never anticipated showing anyone the spot, choosing to keep it to herself when she truly needed to step away from everything around her, but she knew that Clary would love it and she wanted to make some good memories at the place that meant so much to her. Those facts alone had them packing their bags for the trip bright and early. 

Clary had offered to make lunch and Izzy didn’t think she could argue as Clary had already started taking out ingredients to make sandwiches and snacks so Izzy preoccupied herself with drinks and water. She chose some fruity alcohol-filled seltzer that tasted dangerously of carbonated water and then made sure to fill two giant water bottles for the trek. It wasn’t that long, but the day was supposed to be hot and humid and Izzy wasn’t about to risk dehydration or exposure. She had treated enough of those illnesses over in Afghanistan. 

After they had driven to the parking area, Izzy and Clary strapped their backpacks and coolers over their shoulders and started to make their way up the trail. When Izzy expected some complaints about the walking, all she got was Clary stopping to take pictures and to pick up cool rocks to keep only for Izzy to remind her that she would have to keep carrying them up and back down the mountain. Clary would pout and set them down, but then she’d be onto the next beautiful photograph like nothing ever bothered her. 

Izzy thought her heart might burst out of her chest and knew it was absolutely the right decision to bring her to the spot she had protected so closely for so long. She also thought that her brother and his fiancé would be very proud of her for taking this step in letting Clary in even if it was a little selfish. Even if Izzy never showed her the final place, the climb up the mountain would have increased Izzy’s love for the spot in itself. 

“Are we almost there?” Clary asked, stopping to take a few gulps of her water bottle. She had a small pout on her lips still from Izzy telling her to toss aside another beautiful looking stone and Izzy could tell the heat was starting to get to her. 

“Yeah, it’s right through these woods,” Izzy instructed, pointing at a tree she had marked when she first had trouble finding the way. Clary gave her a skeptical look. 

“You want to guide me off of the clearly marked trail and through the woods into a place I don’t know?” Clary asked with a raise of her eyebrow. 

“Well, when you say it like that ,” Izzy complained, pulling aside a thick tree branch and beckoning Clary forward. “I promise I’m not going to kill you and leave you for the mountain lions. Our brothers would kill me in retaliation and you know it,” she challenged. 

“There’s mountain lions?!” Clary shouted, throwing her hand over her mouth when she realized how loud she had said it. She lowered her voice to a whisper and continued, “You didn’t tell me there were mountain lions!” 

“Babe, we’re in the middle of the forest. Did you think there were no wild animals?”

“I’m from a city and have only lived in cities, Iz. Wild animals aren’t exactly the first things on my mind ever,” Clary argued. 

Even through her complaints, she followed Izzy closely, resting a hand on her backpack to make sure Izzy didn’t stray too far in front of her. It was only a short distance to the view and Izzy could feel her heartbeat quicken in anticipation. She hadn’t been to what she considered her spot since her first deployment 

“I can practically feel you shaking,” Clary giggled, walking a little faster so she was at Izzy’s side. “I didn’t realize how much this place meant to you.”

“It’s just… important. I don’t really know how to explain it. And it’s so beautiful, Clary, you’ll see!” Izzy said excitedly, grabbing onto her hand before she could stop herself. 

Clary just squeezed it and let Izzy guide her, both of them smiling widely through their huffs of breath as they quickened their pace. Izzy saw the marker she had left at the clearing and heard the faintest sounds of water in the distance. She used her free hand to swat at Clary’s arm in excitement. 

“It’s just up here. Are you ready?” She asked, grinning when Clary nodded enthusiastically and gripped her hand tighter. 

“I am beyond ready!” Clary returned, sprinting forward to keep Izzy’s pace. 

They pushed aside the tree branches and the crash of the water flowing off of the stone was like music to Izzy’s ears. She pulled Clary to the small cliff face and turned her toward the water, laughing brightly when the water splashed up in rainbow colors mixed with white foam. The stream flowed as far as Izzy could see, bending around and into the forest. 

The view was just as beautiful as the last time she was there, only made more so by Clary’s presence. The sun was radiating off of Clary’s bright red hair like a halo and her smile shined just as bright. She was taking photos in each and every direction like she wanted to remember it forever and Izzy knew the feeling. She pulled out her own phone and snapped one just as Clary turned, her eyes practically closed at how wide she was grinning. 

She wanted to keep that one forever. 

“So, tell me about this place,” Clary said once she tore her eyes away from the waterfall. She plopped herself onto a rock and stared up at Izzy, waiting patiently for the story. 

“An ex brought me here a few years ago actually. I, uh, wasn’t quite sure if I would ever come back after he left, but this place was too beautiful not to. Whenever I needed some time away or just wanted to escape everything going on in my life, I would come here. It’s just…”

“Heaven,” Clary offered with a smile. Izzy nodded and glanced around before leaning her head back and letting the sun hit her face. “What did you learn from Meliorn?” Clary asked. 

“What do you mean?”

“Magnus has always taught me that relationships are a constant learning experience. Even if they don’t work out, there are things you learn from them. He learned from Camille—”

“She who must not be named,” Izzy chimed in with a scoff and a gag. 

“Yes, her,” Clary giggled. “He learned from Camille that you can only give so much to someone before they start taking and giving nothing back.” She sounded sad so Izzy reached out and grabbed her hand, uncaring that the gesture itself was on the edge of romantic. 

“I learned from Meliorn that if someone wants to leave, they’re going to leave no matter how much you want them to stay and that maybe it really is best to let them go.”

“He must have been a fool to leave you,” Clary said easily. She brought their entwined hands to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the knuckles on the back of Izzy’s hand, keeping eye contact with Izzy like she wanted to make sure a blush rose on her cheeks. 

It absolutely did no matter how hard Izzy tried to stop it. 

“And what about you? Did you learn anything important in your last relationship?” Izzy asked, resisting the urge to tug her hand away. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship, if I’m honest,” Clary admitted. She glanced away from Izzy as if ashamed of that fact but Izzy found nothing for her to be worried about. 

“I’m sure that’s not for lack of interest. You are so beautiful, Clary,” Izzy said. Clary let out a huff and it looked like she was about to argue so Izzy stepped closer. “You are talented and kindhearted and so absolutely stunning. I can’t imagine looking at you and not wanting to at least take you on a date.”

“Now you’re just stealing my lines,” Clary muttered. There was no annoyance in her voice, just a mixture of amusement and bashfulness that had Izzy’s smile widening. 

“We’re both pretty people, what can I say?” Clary laughed and swatted at Izzy’s arm gently. 

“If I knew you were going to be so terrible at flirting, I would have never started,” she teased, winking at Izzy dramatically. Izzy threw her head back in laughter as she gestured over at the water. 

“I bet my swimming skills would make up for it. Wanna head in?” 

Izzy walked to the cliffside and peered down just to be sure there was nothing in her way. She turned back to Clary and pulled off her shirt, tossing it to the side before tugging her pants down and off her legs. She noticed the way Clary’s eyes never left her body and smiled to herself as she stood back up. 

She knew she looked good. She tended to veer toward the girliest swimsuits and the bikini she had chosen for that day was a bright pink color with enough ruffles to put Elton John to shame. It was the bathing suit she felt the most confident in and judging by the way Clary’s eyes widened once she was fully unwrapped, it was a good choice. 

Before she could say the teasing words she wanted to, Clary pulled off the dress she was wearing to reveal a bright red bikini that rivaled the color of her hair. Izzy gulped audibly and had to remind herself to look back up at Clary’s face after a few moments had passed. When she did, Clary was staring over at her with a smirk on her lips. 

“See? Pretty people,” Izzy said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, clearing her throat to try to push away how much she wanted to see Clary naked. 

“So, how exactly do we—Izzy!” 

Before she could finish her question, Izzy jumped off the cliff and landed feet first in the water. The coolness of it was only a small shock to her body and she pushed off the sandy bottom floor to surge upward before the current could take her too far. Once she broke the surface, she glanced up to see Clary leaning over the cliff, a worried look on her face. 

“Your turn!” Izzy shouted after making her way over to the rocks by the waterfall. She could barely hear Clary’s response but she assumed it was a complaint or some worry so she gestured up to her ear and yelled, “Can’t hear you! Guess you gotta come down!”

“I hate you!” 

“Ready? One… two… three!” 

As Izzy shouted the last number, Clary shrieked and launched herself off of the cliff. Izzy clapped and cheered as she waited for Clary to resurface, kicking her feet in the water. After a few seconds, she started to worry, but then something grabbed her foot and pulled her off of the rock. She knew immediately it was a hand and squealed as she pushed herself off of the rock. Clary’s laughter was the first thing she heard when her red hair finally burst from the water. Izzy splashed her playfully and grinned widely at the sound. 

“I can’t believe you made me jump from there. That was terrifying ,” Clary complained as she hoisted herself onto a rock. 

“I’ve jumped out of an airplane. A ten-foot cliff is nothing,” Izzy retorted. She slid onto the rock next to Clary, reaching out her hand underneath the waterfall and letting the water bounce off of it easily. It fell in a rainbow mist that always made Izzy’s heart happy. 

“So, what do you do out here?” Clary asked, kicking her feet into the water a few times. “Besides relax and completely free your mind of any stress and worry?” 

Izzy laughed, “Yeah, that’s about it.” She glanced around, leaning back on her hands as she took in the sights around her, Clary included. “I think a lot. My brother and I have that in common, actually.”

“I noticed,” Clary said softly, but not unkindly. “You hide it a lot better than he does, though. He wears all of his emotions right on his face, no matter what they are, while you are more… guarded.”

“I wasn’t always like that,” Izzy said before she could stop herself. 

It was too late to turn back, though, because Clary was staring at her like she was about to spout the secret of the universe and it made her skin tingle—although she convinced herself it was just the chill of the wind blowing around them. 

“Alec protected me as long as he could; from my mother’s comments and expectations, from my father’s unhappiness, even from his own constant worry and the way he hid from the world. It wasn’t until I stumbled into the house during one of their infamous arguments about my future that I realized I was being protected. 

After that, I guarded myself as much as I could. From friends, from family, from partners, from anyone who had a chance to be in my life. I looked up to my mother so much and if I had to guess, I didn’t want the chance to be let down by someone who meant the same to me.” 

“What about Alec? Jace?” Clary asked as she reached out to take Izzy’s hand in hers. She rubbed her thumb on the damp, cool skin of Izzy’s fingers, but the touch warmed something inside of Izzy she couldn’t quite explain. 

“I was always waiting for them to let me down. They haven’t—thank the angel—but it was what I was waiting for. I’m still waiting for it, honestly,” Izzy admitted. The words were just as much of a surprise to her as they were to Clary. 

“Alec wouldn’t ever,” she said seriously, squeezing Izzy’s hand tightly. 

“I know that, I do, but… I guess I just worry that now that he has Magnus, he won’t need me anymore and he’ll leave just like everyone else has. That’ll be the biggest letdown of my life and I don’t know if I’d ever be able to recover.”

“Did you know that Alec wrote me when you were overseas?” Clary said suddenly and Izzy furrowed her eyebrows immediately in response. 

“He wrote… you?” Izzy clarified. Clary just laughed in return. 

“Yeah, I know. The first time I saw that envelope with Alec’s name on it, I thought that it must have been a mistake. I was about to walk to the post office and tell them that they had the wrong person, but… he wrote me. About you.”

“Me?” Izzy asked, her voice suddenly softer than she intended it to be. 

“He talked about how he wished that he could prove to you that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he would do anything in the world to make sure you were happy.” 

“Why would he tell you that?” Izzy asked, hoping it didn’t sound as rude of a question as it did in her head. 

“Because I believed that of Magnus and Magnus believed that of me. He wanted to know how both of us were so confident that no matter what, we were each other’s priorities. And do you wanna know what I told him?” Izzy nodded, scared to speak as she bit down on her lip. “He didn’t have to do anything. He went out of his way to send a letter to a different country, to his fiancé’s sister that he doesn’t even really like—”

“That’s—”

“At the time,” Clary corrected easily. “He was willing to do literally anything to make sure that you knew how much he loved you and that even though things were changing, that nothing would change between you and him.”

Izzy went to interrupt again, but Clary reached up to press her finger against Izzy’s lips. She froze and watched Clary’s eyes intensely as she stroked the skin of Izzy’s cheek gently, delicately, as if she might break at the touch. 

“He told me all about you; how you were kind to everyone you met even though you had no reason to be, how you were the most headstrong and confident woman he ever had the pleasure of knowing. How he wanted to protect you but realized that you were more than capable of holding your own against anyone in your life. He told me you were beautiful and deserved to be treated like the most precious gem a person could find.

The Lightwoods might be the most guarded people I’ve ever met, but he’s the most vulnerable when it comes to you, Isabelle. He cares about you just as much as he cares about Magnus and he’s not going anywhere—and neither are we.” 

Izzy gulped and looked away from Clary’s eyes. She heard the double meaning in Clary’s voice as clear as day. She was committing to Izzy with just a simple word. She wasn’t staying out of obligation, she was staying because, for some reason, Izzy meant something to her. She was trying to prove to Izzy that no matter what was spiraling around her mind when Clary looked at her, Clary wasn’t going to be another person to leave, another person for her to learn a lesson from. 

Clary wasn’t going anywhere. 

“I— Why me?” Izzy whispered. 

Clary smiled at her and pushed a strand of soaking wet hair behind her ear before cupping Izzy’s cheek in her hand and stroking her thumb underneath Izzy’s eye. Izzy let them close, letting herself feel everything for the first time. She could hear the water crashing beside her and the birds chirping in the trees surrounding them. She could feel the skin of Clary’s thigh underneath her fingertips and wondered when she had started to hold onto her so tightly in the first place. 

She let her heart skip that one little beat and her stomach tied in knots when Clary leaned forward, her breath ghosting across Izzy’s lips when she was close enough. Her lungs stopped their steady rise and fall and her mind was numbed by the scent of lavender that always seemed to follow Clary around. She felt her skin warm from either the sun shining down on them or the blaze of heat that burst through her as Clary spoke. 

“Because I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you with each letter your brother wrote me and meeting you changed the entire course of my life, Isabelle Lightwood.”

How was Izzy supposed to resist kissing her after that?

Slowly, Izzy rested her forehead against Clary’s, their noses brushing as they tilted their heads just enough for their lips to— finally —press together. It was as if every single piece of the puzzle made up of Izzy’s life slotted into place when they kissed. Clary tasted like nothing and everything all at once, the most perfect mixture of happiness and relaxation Izzy could ever hope to find. The world around her didn’t matter anymore because she could finally pull Clary closer and feel her warm body and—

The moment was broken the second Izzy attempted to move closer. She was so lost in Clary that she forgot about the rocks they had settled on and both of them went tumbling into the chilly water. Izzy’s nose burned and she sputtered as she broke above the surface, coughing to clear her lungs of the water she had inhaled. She could hear Clary laughing brightly and obnoxiously and she noticed that their hands still somehow connected as Clary pulled her back up underneath the flow of the waterfall. 

“As far as first kisses go, I can’t say I won’t remember that one,” Clary noted with an adorable scrunch of her nose. She still looked beautiful even drenched in water because the light was shining through the steady fall and making her glow like the angel Izzy knew her to be. 

“If I kiss you again, can we count that one as our first?” Izzy asked as she reached out to hold Clary’s face in her hands. 

“We’ll have a lot of firsts, Izzy. I’m not too worried,” Clary said before she leaned in again. 

That time, Izzy stayed above water and it felt like she was floating. Her head spun with every lick of Clary’s tongue against her lips, in her mouth, and every stroke of her soft hands against Izzy’s chilled skin. She warmed from the inside out when Clary held onto her shoulder, brushing her thumb against the pulse point in her neck only to dip her head and nip at it lightly. 

She had never felt so surrounded by anyone in her life. She didn’t care about the view, the waterfall crashing around them, the sun rising higher and higher in the sky, not when Clary nudged her nose against her neck and angled their lips together again. Nothing else existed except for the way Clary made her feel and the soft moan that bubbled from Clary’s throat when Izzy threaded her fingers through her hair had her believing that Clary felt the same. 

Izzy could have kissed her forever, underneath the rainbow mist with the sun radiating warmth and happiness through her, but Clary pulled away, biting down on her lip and taking a deep breath. There was a smile on her face and her cheeks and lips were red. She looked thoroughly kissed and Izzy thought she could have seen Clary look like that a million more times in her life and it would never be enough. 

“Does this mean I can flirt with you without you getting mad at me now?” Clary asked, stroking a finger down Izzy’s nose. 

“That’s the only question you have?” Izzy asked with a laugh. 

“I have about a thousand, but I figured we’d get there eventually,” Clary shrugged. Before Izzy could respond, she bounded into the water, resurfacing a few feet away near the rocks to climb but up to the cliff. “Right now, I want to draw you. Can I do that?” She asked. 

Izzy nodded and followed her because it was increasingly obvious that she would follow Clary just about anywhere. 

#etiw #chapter five

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Four

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

“Thank goodness you two are here,” Magnus said with a flourish, tossing the door open as he made his way back into the living room he and Alec shared. 

Izzy glanced over at Clary who had the same questioning look on her face. She briefly contemplated turning around and leaving without even saying hello, but Clary seemed to read her mind as she grabbed her arm tightly. 

“I didn’t realize today was going to be a full-on crisis or else I would’ve brought ice cream,” Clary said, unhelpfully. 

“Looks like we might need tequila for this one,” Izzy mentioned as she glanced around at the decorations. “What is all this? I thought you guys were going with blue and gold?” Izzy asked. 

The black and white color scheme surrounding them was almost exactly the opposite of what Magnus had wanted and when Izzy glanced over at her brother, the look in his eyes said everything she needed to know. Izzy reached into her pocket as quickly as she could, but before she could grab her phone, Alec had her wrists in his hands. 

“Iz, don’t. Please,” he pleaded. 

“This is your day, Alec,” Magnus cleared his throat, “yours and Magnus’. She can’t just come in here and change every single detail.”

“It’s not every single one,” Alec muttered, but even he didn’t believe his own words. 

“I don’t see anything in here that's you. I don’t see the flowers you had decided on, I don’t even see one piece of paper with the colors you wanted!” Izzy shouted. “Where are your suits?” She turned to Magnus when Alec hesitated to answer.

“Maryse took it upon herself to call the designer and make some… changes,” Magnus said, causing Alec to glare at him. 

“Let me guess…” She walked over to the bag labeled with Alec’s name and unzipped it with a sigh. “You are not making him wear white to your wedding, Alec!” 

“Iz—”

“Don’t you ‘Iz’ me! Neither of you wanted white and you both made that incredibly clear to both me and our mother. When are you going to stop her from walking all over you?” Izzy asked. Clary rested a gentle hand on her arm and it calmed her more than she thought it should have. 

“I can wear white to our wedding if it means that Alexander stops looking like a kicked puppy,” Magnus noted, sitting beside his fiancé and resting a hand on his shoulder. 

“You wanted blue and gold because those colors are important to both of you and your story, right?” They both nodded. “We’ll dye Magnus’ tux if we have to, but Alec, you’re wearing blue if I have any say in it.” 

“Who said you had any say in it,” Alec shot back. Izzy glared at him and it was enough to have him pressing his lips together and furrowing his eyebrows. “Okay, but we can’t tell mom. She just cares about how this wedding will look and—”

“Alec, big brother, I love you. You’re the most important person in my life,” Izzy urged, resting a hand on his cheek and stroking her thumb underneath his eye, “but if you change everything you dreamed of for your wedding because our mother wanted it that way, you’re not doing yourself or Magnus any favors for the future.” 

“But what if she—”

“She won’t, Alec. We both know that. No matter what either of us does, she isn’t going to suddenly become this person who cares about us. She will forever see us as the two kids she can try to change, but it’s up to us to be the ones she can’t. ” 

Alec nodded at her, staring up with big, round eyes as he leaned into her touch and the hand Magnus still had rested on his arm. 

“When did you become the voice of reason?” Alec asked, fondly but a bit surprised. 

“I guess once you met Magnus and all reason went out the damn window,” Izzy teased, patting his cheek gently before she took a step back. “Now, Clary and I only have a little bit of time before we have to get back to our apartment.”

At Magnus’ inquisitive glance, Clary explained, “I’ve got a vegetarian chili in the crockpot that’ll be done in approximately four hours.”

“Vegetarian?” Alec whispered as Magnus and Clary started their own conversation about his tux. Izzy rolled her eyes as she planted down next to him on the couch. 

“She said it tastes just like regular chili and I’m not one to say no to a meal I don’t have to cook,” Izzy noted. 

“None of us are,” Alec said, wincing as if remembering the last time Izzy cooked for him. 

(She wasn’t the best cook, but she would fight to the death that she wasn’t as bad as her siblings pretended she was.)

“How is… all that?” Alec said once the other set of siblings was far enough away. 

Izzy shrugged, “It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be?” 

“I don’t know why you thought it would be so bad in the first place,” Alec said. Izzy scoffed and smacked his arm. 

“You never gave Clary a flying recommendation. I believe your words were ‘short and bubbly’ and neither of them was bathed in a positive light,” Izzy reminded him. 

“Alright, she… grows on you. I thought she would get used to me and that attitude would change, but that’s just who she is. She’s bright and happy. It’s what I think you could’ve been if it wasn’t for…” Izzy nodded in understanding. 

“I know it’s hard for you to accept because you were meant to be their pride and joy, but Alec, I wish you would stop letting her control you.”

Alec scoffed, “I could say the same to you.” Izzy raised her eyebrows at him, challenging his words. “It wouldn’t kill you to let people into your life, Iz. I know that mom always told you that you had to be careful and I’ve been there each time you’ve been burned when trying to do the opposite but—”

He looked over to where Clary stood with Magnus and Izzy followed his gaze. Her eyes were like a magnet to Clary, had been since the moment they met. She was talking animatedly, moving her arms enthusiastically in the direction of Magnus’ tux, no doubt figuring out how to fix it with pops of color and accessories. The smile on her face widened with each passing moment and her laughter bubbled out of her like a music box Izzy wanted to play on repeat. 

She was beautiful, Izzy noticed again, and that time, Alec caught her. 

“She might be bubbly and bright,” Alec said begrudgingly, “but she isn’t going to burn.”

With that, Alec patted her thigh and stood, leaving Izzy alone with her thoughts. 

A few hours later, Clary had reimagined Magnus’ white tux with accents of gold and blue that brought tears to his charcoal-lined eyes. Even Alec was emotional watching Clary sketch out the plans for his own tux that matched Magnus’ while still being so… Alec. He even pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her on her hair like he had done with Izzy many times before and it had Izzy’s heart jumping in her chest. 

It was a perfect day, by any measure, and she hadn’t felt as light as she did then in a long time. She had thought the few hours at the beach had done wonders for her, but spending time with Alec had always been the most important to her. She could see the happiness shining in him each time Magnus so much as glanced in his direction and it brought her insurmountable joy to know that he had found someone so integral to that. 

She knew her brother loved her and would do anything in the world for her, but Magnus? He was Alec’s other half in every single way that mattered. Izzy knew that, Alec knew that, and Magnus was glad to say the same. It meant so much to her that the two of them not only found each other but were planning on being there for each other through everything. 

Their vows were sweet and simple, neither of them wanting a long ceremony in favor of a party-filled reception, but they were to the point. They would promise to be there for each other and be the best person they could be for the other. There wasn’t any theatrics or exaggerations. There wasn’t a promise that either of them couldn’t always keep. They would be loving husbands because, through everything, they chose each other. 

Izzy wondered what that felt like. 

She hadn’t had good luck in the dating pool as Alec had pointed out to her previously. She had been—for lack of a better word—burned by almost every single person she chose to invite into her life. 

At first, she had thought it was because of the partners Maryse had set her up with. They were always from families of high status with sons that would grow up to inherit businesses and become CEOs whether they wanted to or not. Then, when none of those worked out, Izzy found any person who she could bring home to her mother that would make her cringe and purse those lipstick heavy lips. 

She dated musicians, tattoo artists, baristas, freelancers, writers. She had made her way through half of the staff at her mother’s favorite country club before she turned eighteen. None of them stuck, but that wasn’t their purpose. Izzy never cared for any of them enough to want them to stay around longer than a few weeks or months if they were lucky. 

Once they had served their purpose, Izzy would toss them aside and any feelings that might have been forming as flutters in her stomach or skipping beats of her heart were squashed before they could change her mind. 

When she joined the military, she made sure not to sleep with anyone in her squad and that expanded to her platoon soon enough. That left almost no one for her to get attached to which was exactly how she wanted it. She didn’t need someone to be her other half like Alec had or to give her the perfect cookie-cutter life her mother had sought out when she married her father. 

All she wanted was to be a combat medic, save lives, and eventually, return home to do the same in a different capacity. 

She… wasn’t expecting Clary to change all that. 

Izzy shook the thought aside because Clary didn’t have to change anything. She was letting Clary’s beautiful smile and ridiculous flirting skills mix with what her brother said squeeze into the cracks in her mind and cause an annoying amount of doubt. Clary didn’t have to be anything other than a girl that Izzy thought was cute. 

“Mind if I join my soon-to-be sister-in-law?” Magnus asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. It must’ve been obvious what she was thinking about—or more precisely who —because Magnus smirked over at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “She is quite the worm, isn’t she?” 

“I don’t know what that means,” Izzy said slowly, careful of her words. Magnus knew how to read people and if he knew how to read Alec, he sure as hell would figure her out in a second. 

“It means that she’s like a little leach that latches onto the thing she wants and won’t let go. I bet she’s already slithered into the crevices of that big Lightwood heart before you even realized it was happening.” 

“Can you stop with the metaphors, Magnus, you’re grossing me out,” Izzy said with a shiver. Magnus laughed and squeezed her knee with his ringed fingers. 

“You were thinking awfully hard over here while staring at my charming little sister,” Magnus noted and Izzy scoffed. 

“Not you, too,” she complained. 

“Too?” Magnus asked, quite intrigued by her statement. “My, my. Alexander is getting much better at seeing what’s right in front of him. You should be proud,” Magnus said, poking at Izzy’s pouted lip playfully. Izzy smacked his hand away just the same, unable to resist smiling over at him. 

“He told me that I should… start letting people into my life,” Izzy explained, turning to face Magnus head-on. If anyone could relate to her unwillingness to get close to others, it was Magnus. “He knows it’s not that easy for people like us.” 

“People like us?” Magnus asked with a raise of one eyebrow. Izzy blushed, a little embarrassed at having to explain. 

“People who don’t fit into what society wanted for us, whose parents didn’t want us unless we were carbon copies of them , even though we couldn’t be less similar. The ones who’ve been burned time and time again and aren’t ready to just—”

She broke off when she noticed Magnus’ eyes turn sad and she sighed for making him feel that way when the day was supposed to be full of joy. Before she could apologize, he reached up to push a strand of her hair behind her ear, stroking his thumb over her eyebrow gently as he gazed at her. 

“I let Alec in.”

It was a simple admission. It wasn’t a demand or a story or really anything she could work with, but it was the truth. 

“How?” She asked, timidly. She hated the way her voice sounded. 

“I had no other choice. You’ve met your brother. Once he decided I was a person he wanted in my life, there was no way I was going anywhere. And I didn’t even consider it,” he added with a smile pointed directly at Alec. 

“Yeah, he can be pretty stubborn, can’t he?” Izzy said fondly. Magnus raised another eyebrow at her like a challenge but she didn’t say anything else. 

“When you meet that person, the one who won’t take no for an answer, it’s usually because they are meant to be in your life. I was meant to be in Alec’s and subsequently yours…” He trailed off as if he had made some divine point and Izzy thought about his words for a moment before letting out a small laugh. 

“And your sister would’ve always found her way into my life because of my brother, is that what you’re not so subtly pointing out?” Izzy asked. 

“And they say Alec’s the smart one.”

“Who says that?” Izzy pressed a hand over her heart, mock offended. 

“No one important,“ Magnus winked, “but that’s unimportant. Will you think about what I said? There’s a reason you sat over here staring at her like she hung the moon and if you think she doesn’t look at you the same, you’re in for a rude awakening.” 

“What do you mean?” Izzy asked, only a little scared of the answer. 

“My sister loves fiercely and with her entire heart.”

“She doesn’t love me,” Izzy interrupted quickly, blushing at the insinuation. 

“Not yet,” Magnus said slowly, “but you Lightwoods are ridiculously easy to fall in love with.” 

He glanced back over at Alec who in turn was eyeing the two of them suspiciously. Izzy realized she was frowning just a bit and turned it upside down quickly, sticking her tongue out at Alec and shooing her hand as if to tell him to mind his own business. 

“She’s—” Beautiful, talented, kind, ridiculous, messy, enthusiastic, incredible. Izzy could go on and on in her mind, but couldn’t quite choose the correct word. It didn’t matter though, because Magnus nodded with a soft smile on his face reserved for the love he had for his sister. 

“Yeah,” Magnus agreed. 

He patted her shoulder as he stood and made his way over to Alec and Clary. He kissed Clary on her head, twirling a strand of her red hair in his finger before pressing his lips lightly to Alec’s cheek. Alec smiled at Magnus as wide as Izzy had ever seen him and when she glanced at Clary, expecting her to be watching the happy couple, but instead, those beautiful green eyes were on her. 

Izzy had never noticed anyone look at her like that before. Clary’s eyes were soft, her smile was bright, and she beckoned Izzy over with a small wave of her hand. Izzy would have been a fool not to follow, so she walked over until she stood in front of the scribbled-on tux next to Magnus. Alec had his arm wrapped around his fiance’s shoulder like it was meant to be there and Izzy felt Clary’s warmth beside her. 

Without thinking, she brushed the back of her hand against Clary’s, smiling to herself when she felt Clary’s pinky entangle with her own. She turned her head enough to make sure Clary could see the smile on her lips before she listened to Magnus explain what Clary had figured out. It was a subtle step, one that Izzy had never expected to take with Clary, but it felt right. 

She stood in front of the beginning of her brother’s future and wondered if maybe hers didn’t have to be so different. 

Once they had finally torn themselves away from their brothers with promises to keep in contact, they made their way back home as quickly as they could. Clary was worried about her dinner, but Izzy couldn’t bring herself to care about much. She had a breakthrough day with her brother and the love of her brother’s life and on top of it all, she got to spend time with Clary. 

When they got back to the apartment, both of them went into their own rooms to change into lounge clothes and if Izzy took off her makeup only to brush her eyelashes with a more subtle mascara and coat her lips with tinted chapstick, no one had to know. 

“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!” Clary called from the kitchen as Izzy opened her door. “What would you like to drink?” She asked, glancing over in Izzy’s direction. 

“What goes well with vegetarian chili?” Izzy asked, furrowing her eyebrows because she doubted anything would actually taste good with something so unappetizing. 

“The red, and it’s not going to be bad, Iz!” Clary groaned, smacking Izzy with the towel that was over her shoulder as Izzy made her way into the kitchen. 

“Ow! That is clearly abuse that I don’t deserve considering I’m letting you poison me for dinner,” Izzy retorted. 

“Bold of you to bring up being poisoned when Magnus told me about the chicken noodle soup incident of 2019.” Izzy’s eyes widened. 

“He didn’t!” Izzy shouted. 

“Oh, he absolutely did. Sugar instead of salt, Isabelle?” Clary sighed with a fake pout on her lips. 

“It was an honest mistake and we had just gotten off the plane after a fifteen-hour flight. I feel like that’s just—”

“Hmm, then what’s your excuse for the chocolate chip cookie scandal of 2020? Or should I say, the raisin cookie scandal?” Clary said with a tilt of her head. There was a pretty smirk on her lips and Izzy had to hold herself back from kissing it right off her smug face. 

“I feel like it’s incredibly unfair that you know so much about me and my cooking skills while all I’ve got to work with is whatever is in that pot,” Izzy argued, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the counter. 

“I promise this is going to win you over!” Clary said excitedly as she leaned up to grab two bowls from the cabinet. As if it was an afterthought, Clary added, “I learned to make all of the best meals a vegetarian can eat so that I could impress pretty girls, and you, Isabelle Lightwood, are by far the prettiest.” 

Izzy pretended that it wasn’t the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her without actively trying to get into her pants and blushed deeply, turning toward the bottle of wine behind her to distract herself. She opened it and poured two glasses of the red liquid as Clary had instructed, smiling when she turned back to see Clary pouring the chili carefully into the bowls. She had her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth and Izzy had to look away or risk embarrassing herself by saying something stupid. 

“So, why vegetarian, anyways?” Izzy asked, a desperate attempt to change the subject to something she was interested in knowing the answer to. 

“I had a roommate when I was in Italy whose diet consisted of buttered pasta and salad. She didn’t like red meat and would occasionally eat fish if she wanted to impress someone, but that was the extent of her food intake.”

“That sounds…”

“Absolutely horrible?” Clary chimed in with an added laugh. “Yeah, it wasn’t great at first, but then I started to find all these pasta recipes that included veggies and slowly opened her world to good vegetarian food.” 

“Seems like a lot of effort to put into a roommate,” Izzy noted. “She must have appreciated that a lot.”

“You can just ask me, you know,” Clary said with a smirk on her lips as she glanced over at Izzy. Izzy shrugged and looked away as if she had no idea what Clary was talking about. “You wanna know if she was more than my roommate. It’s not an off-limits question.”

“I wasn’t sure if it was really my place,” Izzy began, biting down on her lip. “Seems like a weird thing to ask a roommate, ” Izzy said pointedly, wiggling her eyebrows to make sure Clary knew she was teasing her. 

“I tend to go above and beyond for those kind enough to let me stay in their homes, as you’ve probably noticed.”

“I let her make dinner one night and all of a sudden, she’s a slave here,” Izzy joked, earning a small swat from Clary before she reached for her glass of wine. 

“Esme was just a friend. Though there were a few lonely nights spent cuddling together. But I don’t make it a habit to sleep with my roommate,” Clary noted. 

“Hmm, a shame,” Izzy muttered, knowing full well Clary could hear her. 

“Isabelle Lightwood, you’re not even going to take me to dinner first?” Clary asked, leaning a bit closer, moving into Izzy’s space just a little more than Izzy had expected her to. 

“This weekend.” Izzy’s mouth said the words her brain was thinking, even though she told it not to, and she panicked just a little, sloshing her wine onto her shirt. 

“You’re going to have to spot clean that,” Clary said and Izzy nodded, setting the glass down before turning toward her room. 

Izzy thought she heard Clary continue to speak, but she was too embarrassed to stay out there any longer. She shut her door rapidly behind her and removed her shirt, mumbling to herself as she sorted through her drawers to find another. 

“This weekend? What happened to taking your time, Iz? God, I should have never talked to Magnus and Alec. I swear those two are just—”

“You okay, Iz?” Clary asked, tapping softly at the door. Izzy cursed the thin wood before tugging on another shirt, uncaring that it was a little too big and baggier than she wanted Clary to see her in. 

“Yeah, sorry, I just—” Izzy threw open the door to see Clary walking back over to the table, plates on either side and a candle lit between them. There was soft music playing from Clary’s phone and Izzy felt her stomach do that weird little flip that seemed to be directly correlated with Clary over the last few weeks. “This looks like a date.” 

“Apparently that’s this weekend,” Clary shot back, causing Izzy to blush again. 

“I want to show you a place. It’s nothing… special, but I think you’ll like it,” Izzy decided. 

“Then I’d love to see it,” Clary said softly in return. “Now, sit down and try this chili,” she demanded, gesturing at one of the chairs. 

“God, bossy, fine,” Izzy teased with a dramatic roll of her eyes. 

She sat down and glanced at the bowl in front of her, using her spoon to poke at the mixture indecisively. Clary opened her mouth to speak, but Izzy glared up at her before she could say anything about the look on Izzy’s face. Clary huffed but leaned back in her seat and waited for Izzy to take a bite. She scooped up a good amount of the chili into her spoon and sniffed it before finally putting it in her mouth.

Izzy hated how absolutely delicious it tasted. She wanted to dislike it and pretend that Clary was just as useless in the kitchen as she was, but a soft moan left her mouth before she could stop it and Clary clapped her hands in satisfaction. 

“Ha! I knew you were going to like it!” Clary shouted, a squeal echoing through the apartment. 

“Alright, relax, Clarissa,” Izzy began, the use of Clary’s full name a bit pointed, “it’s good. Great, even. God, is there anything you’re not good at?” 

She regretted the question as soon as it passed her lips and a grin spread on Clary’s lips. 

“I’m not very good at keeping my mouth shut, I’ve been told.”

“Now, who would say a thing like that?” Izzy said, glancing away because she knew it was her. 

“This incredibly beautiful woman who’s going to eat the rest of her chili and then tell me all about this place she wants to go just to woo me,” Clary ordered, taking a bite of her own dinner. 

“Now who says I’m doing this to woo you,” Izzy retorted. 

Clary just stared at her with a challenging raise of her eyebrow and Izzy stared back, reading everything from just a simple look. Neither of them said anything else while they ate a few more bites. They were both in trouble and the silence in the air made that painstakingly clear. 

For some reason, though, it wasn’t as scary as Izzy had thought it would be. 

#etiw #chapter four

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Three

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

Izzy didn’t mind the way things changed after that. Living with Clary was enjoyable at the very least. They would spend their mornings drinking coffee on the balcony and sometimes Clary would bring out a sketch pad and draw whatever they saw that day. They didn’t have a bad view from the apartment; good for people watching and for Clary to practice her building design when Magnus inevitably asked her for her input on one of his projects. 

They could also smell the freshness from the ocean if they closed their eyes and let the warm air breeze against their faces. It had Izzy yearning for some time at the beach even though she wasn’t exactly what one might call an outdoorsy person. Clary, on the other hand, seemed to jump at the opportunity when Izzy suggested it. 

“I’ve wanted to go since I came back but Magnus isn’t exactly a beach person and I haven’t really been ablAbe to make many friends here,” Clary said excitedly. 

“Oh, I can’t imagine why,” Izzy teased. She held the door open for Clary to follow her back inside and laughed when Clary nudged her side a bit harsher than Izzy expected. “I was kidding , Clary, gosh!” 

“Mhm, I’m sure you were,” Clary muttered with a glare. Izzy could see the small smile on her lips, though. “Were you serious? About going to the ocean? There’s this spot I’ve walked by a few times that I would love to paint, unless that would be boring for you…” Clary trailed off almost nervously so Izzy shook her head. 

“That sounds great, actually. I can get some sun, drink some lemonade, listen to the podcast I’m trying to catch up on and you can paint to your heart’s desire.”

“Sounds like a pretty great first date if you ask me,” Clary pointed out. Izzy’s heart did a strange flutter at the word and she glanced at Clary with narrowed eyes. 

“That’s not what this is,” Izzy corrected, but Clary just shrugged. 

“Why not? If it looks like a date and feels like a date…”

“It’s not a date,” Izzy said again, firmer that time. 

“Whatever you say, Isabelle,” Clary said, drawling out Izzy’s name all too similar to how her brother always did. 

“I’m going to go get ready,” Izzy said, knowing when to back out of a losing battle. Clary was a lot of things and one of those was persistent. 

She walked into her room before Clary could say anything more and threw open her closet door. It had been over a year since she had been able to wear her bathing suit down to the beach and Izzy was more excited than was probably normal. It wasn’t often she got to wear anything besides her clunky uniform and she was just happy that in the next few weeks, she wouldn’t have to step foot outside with the camouflage fatigues. 

She sorted through the few bathing suits she had before settling on a powder blue bikini with more ruffles than almost anything else she owned. It was exactly what Clary wouldn’t have been expecting—which was definitely not the reason she chose it, no way. She got undressed and pulled on the bathing suit before choosing a floral wrap to put over it for their walk. It wasn’t too far to the ocean so she decided on some strappy but comfortable sandals and made her way back out to the living room. 

Clary was still behind a closed door, so Izzy began packing what she could for snacks and drinks. She took a play out of Alec’s book and made sure the cooler was filled with water before stacking in the alcoholic seltzers and juices that she really wanted to spend her day drinking. She added a few snacks to her bag before cutting up some veggies and fruits and tossing them in small plastic baggies to pass the time. She propped herself on the counter when she finished, staring at the door as she waited for Clary. 

After a few moments, she called, “What’s taking you so long?” 

“Coming, coming!” Clary yelled back. Izzy heard some rustling and then a few small crashes before the door finally opened. 

“You okay there, Fray?” Izzy said, trying to conceal the smirk on her face. 

“I got distracted putting together my supplies,” Clary replied, only looking a little embarrassed. She had a bit of something on her cheek like she was actually distracted with the art and not just the supplies, and Izzy thought it was adorable. 

“You got a little something…” She gestured to her face and Clary wiped at it quickly with a groan. 

“In my defense, I didn’t think you were actually going to let me draw at the beach,” Clary said quickly. 

“You are aware that you are, in fact, an adult who can make her own decisions, yeah?” Izzy teased. Clary swatted at her before grabbing a piece of fruit to toss in her mouth. 

“Tell that to my brother—and yours, actually,” Clary complained. 

“Those are for the beach,” Izzy whined, smacking Clary’s hand when she reached for another one. 

“Alright, alright,” Clary giggled. “Are you ready?” She asked, her eyes trailing along Izzy’s body once she jumped off of the counter. “How am I supposed to not believe this is a date when you look like that?” Clary asked with a raise of her eyebrows. Izzy felt just a little smug at that. 

“Because I said so?” Izzy replied easily, snagging the cooler and cloth bag from the counter before making her way to the door. “You coming or what?” 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she said gruffly, a pout forming on her lips. “But I’m gonna spend the entire walk there figuring out how to convince you that this should be a date.”

“Well, what a productive walk that will be then,” Izzy responded. She let the door shut behind them, feeling a new excitement for what the day had in store for them. 

“So,” Clary began after only a few minutes into their walk, “why do you make it so hard for me to flirt with you?”

Izzy blanched at the question. She should have figured Clary would insist on some form of conversation, but Izzy had hoped she could put it off for just a little bit of time if she walked fast enough. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to Clary, it was that every time she opened her mouth, Izzy liked her a little more and that was dangerous. 

“Because if I made it easy, you might not do it anymore.” 

That wasn’t what Izzy had meant to say. 

“I— Has anyone ever told you that it’s really hard to focus when you’re around?” Izzy asked, hoping it sounded like the insult it was. Clary hummed and glanced over at Izzy as she caught up to her pace. 

“Yeah, but I have a feeling it hasn’t been for the same reason you’re thinking it,” she said, smirking. Izzy nudged her but the skin-on-skin contact proved to be too much for her brain to handle when mixed with the teasing banter they had between them. 

“And what reason might that be?” Izzy knew the question was a trap the second it left her mouth and held up a hand before Clary could answer. “No, wait. I don’t think I want you to answer that.” 

“But I had such a good response,” Clary whined. 

“I’m sure you did, but look,” Izzy said, pointing at the beach that had come into view, “we made it in record time for you to stop talking.”

“You know, if I didn’t know how cute you thought I was, I might be offended by your eagerness to shut me up all the time,” Clary muttered, rushing ahead with a few pointed skips. 

“The eagerness to shut you up isn’t the part I’m worried about,” Izzy whispered to herself as she followed, dropping her things on the sand. 

Clary set up her easel, moving it a few times before she seemed to find the perfect view. Once she did, she stretched her arms above her head and shook out her hands. It was something Izzy had noticed her do before she created any art and it had Izzy smiling for reasons she couldn’t quite understand. Maybe it was the familiarity or the way all of the tension in Clary from the walk visibly fell from her shoulders, but Clary was happiest when she was about to draw. Izzy liked seeing her happy. 

You know, the normal amount one would for a friend. 

“Did you bring any sunscreen?” Clary asked, suddenly panicked. “You probably don’t even need it cause you’re already so tan and perfect but this skin,” she pressed her fingers against her pale and freckled shoulder, “needs at least a few SPF to not burn to a crisp.” 

“You’re lucky Jace is as white as a sheet. I learned a long time ago to keep some in my beach bag.” Izzy tossed it to Clary who seemed delighted by the fact Izzy had it, but then she glanced over with a flirty look in her eyes and Izzy figured there was something more.

“Can you get my back?” She asked, batting her eyelashes. 

“Oh my god,” Izzy giggled, “that is the worst line ever. I can’t believe you just went there.”

“What?” Clary said, mock offended. “I just need help with rubbing this lotion all over my sensitive, delicate skin and you’re my roommate and friend who can help me.” 

“I’m going to help you, but just know when I decide to actually put moves on you, they’re going to be better than that .” 

“So that’s a ‘when’ then?” Clary noted. 

“Hold your hair up,” Izzy demanded, covering her with sunscreen before she could say anything more to incriminate herself. 

As she rubbed the lotion on Clary’s back, she realized that it was going to be a long day.

Izzy wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but the sand was comfortable and the weather was beautiful and she could hear Clary humming along to whatever song she had playing in her headphones. It was the most at peace she had been in a long while. It wasn’t until a few droplets of chilly water landed on her thighs, stomach, and chest that her eyes opened to yell at the clouds for producing rain when that wasn’t in the weather. 

Instead, Clary was standing over her, letting her sopping wet hair drip onto her skin. Izzy rolled onto her stomach quickly and glared at Clary who erupted into a fit of giggles. It would have been cute if Izzy wasn’t so annoyed at her peaceful slumber being interrupted. 

“C’mon, you’ve been out for like thirty minutes. One, you’re going to burn and two, I’m bored and want to play in the water,” Clary explained, hands on her hips indignantly. 

“I don’t really do the water thing,” Izzy said with a skeptical glance at the ocean. 

“Who lives by the beach and doesn’t swim?” Clary asked. 

“Uh, me?” Izzy answered with her best smile. 

“So, why not?” Clary asked, sitting down on the towel next to Izzy. There wasn’t a lot of room so Clary’s cold skin pressed against the bits of Izzy’s that had been warmed by the sun and it felt better than it should have. 

“Because,” Izzy said by way of explanation. She didn’t elaborate even when Clary sent her a look of intrigue. 

It wasn’t that Izzy was scared of the water, but she wasn’t part of the Navy for a reason. She could deal with being up in the air in a helicopter or in the middle of the desert in a tank, but the thought of being submerged into that much water terrified her. She could go swimming if she wanted to, but there was nothing fun about salt covering every surface of her body and whatever decided to check out the beach that day sliming up against her foot. 

“Don’t make me go in alone, Iz,” Clary pleaded but Izzy stood her ground. Or, really, she put her sunglasses back on and pressed her head into her arms. 

She felt Clary leave and let out a satisfied sigh as she soaked in the sun once more. She couldn’t relax fully, though, because she heard the telltale sound of Clary’s laughter echoing a few yards away and it was distracting. Not only was it loud and bright, but Izzy found herself more interested than she should have been in what the cause of it was. She made the mistake of turning her head in the direction of the noise, glaring when she saw Clary talking with a man in a blue swimsuit that hung too low on his hips and a body even Alec would be jealous of. 

“Don’t do it, Iz. Stay on your safety towel and ignore it,” she muttered to herself, hiding her face in her arms again. 

Except Clary burst into laughter again, a squeal leaving her lips at the same time. When Izzy looked up, the muscle man had her thrown over his shoulder and was running into the water. Clary looked like she was having fun but Izzy really wasn’t a fan of how much. 

Before she could stop herself, she had gotten up and thrown her sunglasses on the towel in order to stomp her way over to the water. Clary popped up from underneath the tide, a huge smile on her lips. 

“Oh, there she is! Come to join us?” Clary asked, raising her eyebrows almost like a challenge;  one that Izzy accepted immediately. 

“Yeah, you just seemed to be having so much fun over here and I just knew I couldn’t miss it.” There was so much sarcasm dripping from her tone, she was honestly surprised when the muscle man came over to greet her. 

“Hey, I’m Chad. I was just telling Cassie over here—”

“Hey!” Clary yelled, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly offended at the inaccurate name. Izzy chose not to correct him and held out her hand instead, gripping his as tight as she could when they shook hello. He winced and Izzy was satisfied. 

“Hi there. I’m Isabelle and I’m so glad there was someone to keep my girlfriend company while I was relaxing. This one is just so hard to keep up with sometimes, aren’t you, Cassie ?” Izzy said, accentuating the still incorrect name as she walked over and wrapped an arm around Clary’s neck. 

“Only because my girlfriend here is incredibly slow. Fast is much more my pace which I’m sure Chaz understands,” Clary said, insulting both Izzy and Chad in one breath. Man, she was incredible. 

Chad looked back and forth between them before someone called his name from a few yards away. He gestured over his shoulder and left without another word, but Izzy thought the fearful glance he sent her was worth the slap that stung against her shoulder. 

“First you want nothing to do with me and then you get all defensive over some frat boy who obviously doesn’t have a chance? Seriously, Iz, with the whiplash you’re giving me, I might need a medic,” Clary said. There was a hint of annoyance but it was drowned out by the smirk that spread across her face in satisfaction of her lame joke. 

“Well, I’m here now, and I’ll give you a head start before I push you underwater,” Izzy said happily, pulling her arm away from where it was still wrapped around her neck. She glanced down at her nails before peeking up at Clary. “You’ve got ten seconds.” 

“Are you—?” Izzy nodded before she could finish her question and Clary’s eyes went wide as she stumbled back into the water slowly, like backing away from a predator. 

“3, 2, 1…” 

Izzy pounced.

Izzy couldn’t remember the last time she had that much fun with someone that wasn’t Alec. It wasn’t that she didn’t have friends, but she didn’t exactly jive with the girls in high school and she joined the military too soon after graduation to worry about making other friends. She was ‘one of the guys’, even though she hated that sentiment, so most of the people she socialized with didn’t want to go hang out at a beach for hours on end or play in the water like children. 

It was nice and Izzy could have easily found herself getting used to it. 

“Okay, okay,” Clary shouted after Izzy had lifted her out of the water to toss her a few feet away, “I give up. You are obviously stronger than you look and I am a mere weakling.” 

“Ahh, smells like sweet victory,” Izzy said with a sniff, “and also hamburgers?”

“I could eat,” Clary noted, wiping her hair away from her face and licking the salt from her lips. Izzy didn’t stare at them, she really didn’t. 

“There’s a nice place a short walk from here. Wanna make our way over there? No shoes required,” she added as an extra bonus. 

“Well, in that case, let’s go!” Clary yelled, practically prancing over to where their towels lay. 

They both dried themselves off and made small conversation as they showered away the salt from their hair and skin, both tossing on the dresses they had packed to cover up on their walk. 

“Do you come here often?” Clary asked. “Before you left, I mean. Or when you come back?” 

“To be honest, I wasn’t really ever planning on coming back. If Alec wasn’t getting married, I probably wouldn’t even be here.”

“And I would’ve had the apartment all to myself? Damn!” Clary teased, nudging her shoulder against Izzy’s as they walked. Izzy rolled her eyes and pushed her back playfully. “You haven’t really… made yourself at home at the apartment. I kind of assumed that was because of me,” Clary continued, glancing at Izzy sheepishly. 

“No, it’s— You are definitely not the problem.” She wasn’t and Izzy found herself not liking that she had made Clary feel that way. “As you have seen, my family and I don’t exactly… get along. I’m here to support Alec because he wants me here for his wedding and I want to be there for him, but right after the wedding, I’m leaving and probably not ever coming back.”

“Where will you go?” Clary asked. There wasn’t any judgment in her tone like Izzy had somehow expected. She had heard it from enough people in her life to start to expect it. 

“I haven’t finished out what I want to do as a combat medic so I guess… wherever they send me next.” 

“What is it that you want to do?” Clary asked. 

Izzy tried to ignore the way her heart jumped at the question. No one had ever really asked Izzy that. They said they admired her for what she did or that she was brave to do it, but it was all a show most of the time. Those people just wanted anyone listening to know they respected the armed forces by giving praise and buying her coffee. When she looked around, there wasn’t anyone for Clary to impress. She was just interested and Izzy warmed inside. 

“I want to change someone’s life. I—” Izzy paused to think for a moment before running a hand through her hair. “When I chose to enlist as a medic, it was because someone changed my life. I want to be that for someone else, I guess.”

“I’m sure you’ve changed a lot of lives, Isabelle Lightwood,” Clary noted. 

“You’re a dork,” Izzy commented with a roll of her eyes. “What about you?” Izzy asked, wanting to change the subject away from her. 

“What about me?” 

“What is it that you want to do?” Izzy clarified. “You have all of this art around our apartment so I can’t help but wonder what your plan is.”

“I don’t really… have one,” Clary admitted, almost sheepishly. It was an interesting tone for her. “Everyone always expects me to have this big business endeavor or a 5-year plan for the future of my art, but that’s exactly what I don’t want.”

“What do you mean?”

“I—” Clary took a breath and leaned her head back, staring up at the sky. “My mom always felt stuck. She had a gallery that she loved, but she couldn’t do anything more with it once she had decided to settle here. I thought about following in her footsteps like everyone expected me to, but…”

“That wasn’t you?” Izzy guessed. She understood that more than she thought Clary understood. “You want to go where your creativity takes you and hope for the best, I get that. It���s not a bad thing,” Izzy said reassuringly. 

Clary snorted, “Yeah, tell that to every single person I’ve ever met.” 

“I will,” Izzy said and she meant it. Clary knew it too as she shot a wide grin in Izzy’s direction. 

“Right now, I’m content living with the funds I’ve saved up and what my mom left me. I’ll… figure it out.” 

“For what it’s worth, I think your art is beautiful. If you ever decided to sell it or have some big convoluted business plan, I don’t think you’d have any trouble,” Izzy said honestly. 

“Is that a compliment I hear? Maybe even a flirt if I look too much into it?” Clary teased, bumping their hips together playfully. 

Before Izzy’s blush could take up her entire face, they reached the restaurant Izzy had mentioned. She pushed open the door and was greeted with the smiling face of her brother almost immediately. 

“What a sight for sore eyes,” Jace called, pulling Izzy into a tight hug.

“ Hermano , I was hoping to see you while I was here,” Izzy said truthfully, holding him at arm’s length and patting his cheek. “Alec said that you’re still considering the wedding?”

“Ah, always straight to the point with you, isn’t it?” Jace said, glancing over Izzy’s shoulder to where Clary was standing a few feet away. “She kidnap you or something?” Jace asked with a wink. 

“Very funny,” Clary said, moving forward to wrap him in a hug similar to Izzy’s. She stood back with a very confused look on her face that both of them laughed at as they pulled away. 

“Who do you think helped Clary move into you and Alec’s place? You know it wasn’t Magnus,” Jace said pointedly. “He tasked Simon and me to do most of the work while he drank a martini on the couch.”

“Sounds like him,” Izzy laughed. “How is Simon? I haven’t seen him around since we got back and neither of you graced us with your presence at Magnus’ welcome home party.”

Jace scoffed, “You mean the one mom took over?”

“Fair point…” Izzy trailed off, sharing a look with her brother that meant they both understood why Jace and Simon weren’t there. 

“Are there any Lightwoods that actually like Maryse?” Clary asked. When Jace and Izzy turned to her, she pressed her lips together, clearly thinking she was off base. 

“Max,” Izzy and Jace said together, both erupting into laughter.

“He’s still a kid so he’ll get there,” Izzy said like a promise. Jace nodded in agreement before his name was calling out from somewhere behind them. 

“Duty calls. Let Maia know that your food’s on me tonight.” Before Izzy could argue, Jace kissed her cheek and said, “Welcome back, sis.” 

They made their way to a table with a beautiful view of the ocean and Izzy sighed as she inhaled the fresh, crisp air. She could also smell the delicious food that was being cooked in the kitchen and smiled as she glanced back at Clary. Izzy couldn’t remember the last time she had been so content. Between her morning with Clary and being able to eat at Jace’s restaurant, it was safe to say that she was having a good day and those seemed far and few in between when she was in her hometown. 

“You’re really beautiful,” Clary said like it didn’t cause Izzy’s breath to stutter in her lungs. It was so matter-of-fact that Izzy let out a huff of laughter. 

“Thank you?” she responded. It wasn’t meant to be a question, but she figured she deserved an explanation for the random compliment. 

“I just have a feeling that people don’t tell you that enough. They’re probably too stupid or incredibly intimidated by you, but either way, I feel like you deserve to hear it.”

“I thought we agreed that the flirting would stop until I decided to start it again,” Izzy noted, calling back to their earlier conversation. Clary shook her head and held up a finger at her. 

“I believe it was a request; one that I did not agree to, I might add.” 

“So, we’re just going to… what? Continue to live together while planning our brother’s wedding all while flirting like we’re teenagers?”

“I don’t know. It sounds like a solid plan to me,” Clary said, grinning as Maia walked over to take their order. “You seem like a smart girl.”

“I’ve been told that on occasion,” Maia said instantly, winking at Izzy. “Why do you say that?” 

“Wouldn’t we make a really adorable couple?” Clary asked and Izzy choked on the water she was drinking. 

“Clary, please!” Izzy shouted, unable to hold back a little snorted giggle. “You do not have to answer that.” 

“Izzy looks good with everyone,” Maia noted, “but yeah, you two would absolutely make a cute couple. Good luck cracking through this tough exterior, though.”

“Hey,” Izzy said with a glare at Maia. “I could easily tell my brother to fire you,” she threatened, though everyone knew it was a total lie. 

“You wouldn’t dare.” She glanced at Clary and continued, “She’s a softie once you get on her good side, and considering she brought you here , you must’ve already snuck through a little.” 

“Are we allowed to order, or…?” Izzy said, blushing wildly and really hoping to change the subject. 

“Jace is already preparing your food, but Clary, what’ll you have?” 

Izzy didn’t listen to the rest of her order, opting instead to look a little too long at the woman in front of her. She knew the second she met Clary that it was going to be impossible not to be attracted to her, but she hoped that if there was any good in the world, it wouldn’t mean actual feelings. 

She hadn’t had those since high school, never letting herself get close enough to anyone around her to actually fall into a pile of cliched romance like she had seen both of her brothers do. She was happy for them and the lives they had created with their husbands, but she had never wanted that for herself. 

She didn’t like how immediately she wondered if Clary could change that. 

“So, any fun plans for the rest of the day?” Clary asked. 

Izzy resisted the urge to mention that other than panicking, not really.

#etiw #chapter three

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter Two

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family.

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

“I can’t believe you’re making us get ready together like some teenagers preparing for prom,” Izzy teased when Alec and Magnus entered their apartment a few days after they got back. Alec had their suit bags over his shoulder and a grimace on his face that Izzy knew could only be because of the party that night. They all had the chance to settle back into their normal routines and Clary and Izzy started to figure out their new one, so now it was time to face the real world.

It was no secret that any event involving the Lightwood parents turned into passive-aggressive comments and the inevitable disappointment of said parents by whatever children opted to attend. Izzy was used to it by now and vowed to go into it without care, but Alec had never gotten to the same point. He still cared about what Maryse and Robert had to say about his life and that’s why his face was in a permanent frown that even Magnus had a hard time erasing when he spoke. 

“Oh, darling, just wait until we get closer to the wedding,” he commented, wiggling his eyebrows at her. At the mention of the wedding, Alec perked up minimally. 

“I don’t understand why you guys are dreading tonight so much,” Clary chimed in from the kitchen where she poured a few glasses of wine for the group. “Are parents de Lightwood really that bad?” 

“Oh, biscuit, you’re in for a real treat,” Magnus commented, earning a soft swat from Alec. “What? I’m not about to send her in without a warning!”

“She doesn’t need to be warned, Magnus. She’s not the one marrying me,” Alec retorted. Clary didn’t seem any less intrigued, though, as she turned to Izzy with a raise of her eyebrows. 

“Maryse is very business-focused. She wanted Alec and I to go into law or medicine or engineering or literally anything other than what we chose to do,” Izzy explained. 

“She’s… mad that you both are serving your country?” Clary asked and both Alec and Izzy glanced at each other with smirks on their faces. 

“Never say that in front of Maryse Lightwood. She’ll deny it to the ends of the earth,” Izzy said. “She’s also not really here for those flamboyant, artistic types.” 

“She’s also not a huge fan of three out of four of her children being not straight,” Alec chimed in, pressing an enthusiastic kiss to Magnus’ lips to show he didn’t care what she thought. 

“Three out of four?” Clary asked, none-too-subtly. 

“Please, Clarissa, tell me you didn’t clock Izzy the second you met her,” Magnus challenged, stealing a cracker from the platter Clary had made for them. 

“I didn’t want to make any assumptions, but…” She trailed off and Izzy gaped at them. 

“What? Just because I’m a woman in the military, I must be gay, right?” Izzy argued, pouring herself and her brother a quick shot of tequila. 

“Don’t be silly, Isabelle, it’s definitely everything else about you,” Alec teased. Izzy clanged their glasses together and they both tossed back the shots, Magnus and Clary watching on in amusement. “She’s really not that bad when there are others around. Plus, I think she’s just happy we had this party in the first place. Any reason to fraternize with the millionaires that attend that country club, right?” 

“I don’t know why she’s pretending it’s some sort of party for us, though,” Izzy complained, holding out her hand when Clary offered her some cheese from the plate. “We’ll be lucky if we make it through without a meltdown.”

“She’s not going to meltdown, Izzy,” Alec retorted. 

“I’m talking about me, big brother.”

“Well, I’ll just have to stay by your side, then, won’t I?” Clary said, knocking her hip against Izzy’s gently. 

“So, I take it that living together isn’t as horrible as either of you thought it would be?” Magnus asked, crossing his legs as he made himself comfortable on the couch. Alec plastered himself to Magnus’ side, clutching onto his unoccupied hand as if he was scared to let go. Izzy thought it was cute that even though they’d been back for a few days, Alec was still holding on for dear life. 

“We’re two peas in a pod, really,” Clary noted, tossing her arm around Izzy’s neck and grinning at her. 

“You know, once I realized I couldn’t exactly get rid of her.”

“Ouch,” Clary said, punctuating her words by pressing a hand against her heart. “Harsh, Iz.”

“Iz?” Alec said, his eyebrows furrowing at the nickname. 

“Relax, Alexander, this is what we wanted, isn’t it? For the two most important people in our lives to get along?” Magnus asked, smiling up at the two girls. 

“Yeah, Alexander, isn’t it? When you neglected to mention my new roommate and her extensive collection of art supplies.”

“It’s not that much,” Clary muttered, huffing as she made her way to the chair she had claimed as her own. She sat criss-cross on the cushion, her knees resting against each stained arm and her drink settled between her legs. The chair already had small spots of charcoal on it, but Izzy found that she didn’t mind. It almost gave the furniture a little character. 

“It isn’t, Biscuit, they’re just teasing you,” Magnus reassured, leaning over to pat her knee. 

“I really don’t mind,” Izzy corrected, leaning against the back of the chair Clary sat in. “It’s actually kind of nice to see this place lived in. Alec and I were worried it would be dusty and gross by the time we got back considering how much Magnus hates cleaning.”

Magnus scoffed at that, “I don’t hate cleaning. I just prefer when someone else is the one doing it.”

“It’s a good thing you’re marrying a neat freak like my brother,” Izzy commented with a wink. 

“I am not—”

“Yes, you are, dear. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Your organization and cleanliness are just one of the many reasons I fell madly in love with you, after all.” The two men grinned at each other, seemingly forgetting Clary and Izzy were even in the room, too lost in their love to look away even when Izzy cleared her throat. 

Clary giggled and whispered, “Why don’t we go get dressed? Leave these two to their… grossness.”

“Sounds good,” Izzy agreed, wandering to her room. Both of their dresses were hanging on the back of Izzy’s door. She shut it when Clary followed her before unzipping one bag and sighing. “I hate that my mother always makes me wear muted colors. I get that enough with my uniform.”

“You can still pull everything off, though, so I don’t know why you’re worried,” Clary commented, reaching for the other bag. She unzipped it and the bright red dress that appeared had Izzy pouting. As if Clary noticed, she paused and said, “You know, I don’t really look good in red.”

“I doubt that,” Izzy said without thought. Clary let out a laugh at the admission and reached for the dark grey dress Maryse had chosen for Izzy. “What are you doing?”

“Red hair means that most colors can’t look boring on me. Take my dress, Izzy. We’re about the same height and the same weight. You’ve got a little bit more,” she gestured to her chest with a blush, “up here, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Are you sure?” Izzy asked. It was too kind; probably nicer than she deserved considering they had still only just met and their first few interactions hadn’t exactly screamed best friend status. 

“Yeah, definitely. Plus, when I wear red on red, I just look like an awkwardly colored traffic cone.” It was Izzy’s turn to laugh at that, snorting at the mental image. 

“So I guess we’re both doing each other favors then?” Izzy said, grinning. 

“Plus, I get to see you in that dress, so I think I’m the real winner here.”

“You’re really smooth, Fray,” Izzy called as Clary disappeared behind the changing screen in the far corner of the room. “I might need that quick thinking tonight when dealing with all of the snobs we’re bound to meet at this place.”

“Isn’t this a party for you and Alec? Shouldn’t the people there be people you want to see since you’ve been gone for so long?” Clary asked. Izzy snorted and reached back for her zipper, huffing out a breath when she couldn’t pull it fully up her back. 

“With Maryse involved? Absolutely not. She invited colleagues and associates. If we’re lucky, they’ll bring their adult children so we might have someone to talk to.”

“Or they’ll suck just as much,” Clary noted, wandering back out. 

Izzy knew she was beautiful. She’d be blind not to have noticed almost immediately. But even in a dark grey businesslike dress that should have washed her out or made her look boring, she was stunning. Izzy wasn’t shy in letting her eyes trail over her smooth uncovered shoulders or the way the material clung to Clary’s subtle curves. She was right, Izzy thought, that dress was anything but boring on her body. 

“Like what you see, Lightwood.” 

Izzy rolled her eyes and shot back, “I’ve been overseas for months, Clary, let me devour my eye candy in peace.”

“Oh my god,” Clary said as she burst out in a fit of giggles. “I swear, I never know what to expect from you, Iz.” 

“Yeah, it’s one of my specialties, really.” Izzy walked toward her and turned, moving her hair aside so that Clary could help her with her dress. “Now, zip me up so that we can get the boys on the move. The sooner we get to that party, the sooner we can disappear without a trace.” 

“You guys are really selling this, honestly,” Clary joked. She pulled at Izzy’s zipper and when she thought Clary would pull away, she didn’t. She ran her finger across the line of exposed skin on her upper back, a move that should not have been as sensual as it felt, and moved Izzy’s hair back into place. “This dress looks much better on you than it would have on me.”

“You think so?” Izzy asked, turning so they were face to face again. Without thinking, she glanced down at Clary’s lips and gulped as want flooded through her. 

Uh oh , Izzy thought to herself. That wasn’t a feeling she had expected. Alec was going to kill her if she slept with his fiance’s sister. 

A knock at the door had Izzy moving back faster than was necessary. 

“You ladies almost finished in there? Alexander needs help choosing a tie and refuses to take my advice,” Magnus called, pushing open the door even though neither of them had told him to come in. “Oh, don’t you both look ravishing,” he said with an unexplainable twinkle in his eye. 

“For the last time, babe, I’m not wearing the bright yellow atrocity,” Alec called. Magnus rolled his eyes but there was still fondness in them like there always was. 

“It’s not yellow, Alec, it’s hazelnut!” 

“That’s a flavor, not a color,” Alec grumbled and Izzy let out a laugh, deciding it was her time to intervene. 

“I got this, Magnus. Little sister to the rescue,” she said, winking at him as she started toward the door. “You clean up nice, by the way.”

“I could say the same about you, Isabelle. Red is your color,” Magnus noted.

“With a body like hers, every color belongs to her,” Clary added. It was at that moment that Alec walked in and scoffed. 

“No,” he said simply, grabbing Izzy’s hand and pulling her out. She heard the laughter of the other siblings still in her room and a smile erupted on her face. “You will not flirt with my sister-in-law and you will help me choose a tie.”

“Yes, big brother,” Izzy agreed. 

He didn’t need to know she only agreed to the second part.

After only a bit more panicking and many words of encouragement, they found themselves in front of Belleview Country Club. There was a doorman to take their bags but both Izzy and Clary opted to keep theirs in case they needed to make a quick getaway. They had only been in the incredibly overpriced venue for about ten minutes before Izzy was forced to have a conversation. 

She would have been happy staying off in the corner and letting the enigmatic Bane-Fray’s charm everyone in attendance—she ignored the way both of them seemed to fit right into the crowd of Izzy’s supposed people—but she should have known Maryse would pull her into some boring measuring contest the second she could. 

“Isabelle, darling, come meet one of your father’s associates from Lilith & Son,” Maryse called, a wide grin spread across her lips. 

“Do I have to?” She muttered for only Alec to hear. Nonetheless, she plastered an incredibly fake smile on her face and made her way over to where Maryse was standing with a boy that looked about her age. He had sharp features and blonde hair that seemed to shine under the too-bright lighting of the room. When he looked her up and down, she tried to hold back the glare she wanted to shoot at him. “Hello, mother. It’s wonderful to see you.”

“Isabelle, don’t you just look beautiful. Doesn’t she look beautiful, Sebastian?” Maryse said, holding onto his bicep with perfectly manicured fingers. 

“Extraordinary,” he cooed, winking at Maryse before holding out a hand for Izzy. She obliged, cringing internally when he brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them gently. She thought maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt, but she hated men like that. He was the type of person to think he deserved Izzy just for looking as he did and she didn’t need more than a few moments with him to realize that. 

“My daughter here is going to be a doctor,” Maryse commented. Izzy couldn’t hold back her scoff that time. 

“I’m a combat medic in the armed forces, actually,” Izzy retorted and, as if punctuating her point, she held her arms behind her back and stood up a little straighter, her chin jutting up as she stared at her mother in her perfect soldier pose. 

“Oh, you know what I meant, Isabelle,” Maryse waved her off. 

“That you want me to be a doctor when all I’ve ever wanted I have achieved without any support from you?” Izzy spat. 

“Sebastian, it’s so wonderful to see you. I see you’ve met my roommate, Izzy,” Clary’s voice was a welcome distraction to the heat swirling inside of Izzy. 

“You two know each other?” Maryse asked. Izzy hated that she sounded almost impressed. 

“Sebastian and I shared a father and now, apparently, share the same taste in women,” Clary said, glaring at Maryse like a challenge. 

“I— Excuse me,” Maryse said as she rushed off. 

“Clarissa, it’s so wonderful to see you. I didn’t know you would be here. Thought you were still traipsing across Europe trying to make someone out of yourself as an artist,” Sebastian said. Izzy was glad she was right about her first instinct. He was a dick. 

“I see you’re still uncomfortably close with your mother,” Clary shot back and Izzy let out a loud burst of laughter that she couldn’t contain. Sebastian stomped off and Izzy took Clary’s hands in hers, shaking them excitedly. 

“Oh my god, you’re a badass!” Izzy shouted. She lowered her voice when she received a few glares at her cursing and said softly, “That was so impressive. I didn’t realize you and Magnus had another brother.”

“We don’t,” Clary said, clearly anxious as she grabbed a drink off of a passing waiter’s tray and downed it, “I do. Magnus, thank the Angel, has no relation to that monster or the family that raised him.”

“Are you… okay?” Izzy asked, brushing a hand over her shoulder to gain her attention. 

“Do you wanna get out of here? I don’t think either of our brothers would mind,” Clary asked, almost pleading as she stared over at Izzy. 

“Hold on,” Izzy said. She walked over to the bar, grateful Maia was the bartender that night, and grabbed a bottle of champagne, slipping her a few twenties with a wink before wandering back over to Clary. “Now we can go.”

“Did you just take that?” Clary asked, giggling as Izzy pulled her out of the back door. “Where are we going?” 

“So many questions, too little time,” Izzy shouted. She stopped long enough to slip off the heels she hated wearing and urged Clary to do the same. Together, they sprinted away from the club and to the center of the golf course where Izzy knew no one would find them. 

“What if we get caught?” Clary whispered even though there were no people around. 

“Where’s your sense of adventure? Weren’t you just ‘traipsing across Europe’?” Izzy teased, wiggling her eyebrows as she quoted Sebastian’s words back at Clary. 

In retaliation, Clary grabbed the bottle of champagne and drank a few sips down. “I have a great sense of adventure, but this country club is worth more than anything I could afford to pay.” 

“Maryse will cover the cost if we get caught. Can’t have her star child and the sister of her other child’s fiancé getting caught breaking any rules, now can she?” 

“Never thought I’d hear you sound so bitter,” Clary noted, rucking up her dress enough to sit down. She didn’t seem to care that her dress might have been stained by the freshly cut grass so Izzy found herself not caring either. 

She sat beside Clary and scoffed, “Is it really bitter if it’s true?”

“I guess it depends on how you look at it.” Clary offered the champagne bottle to her and Izzy would have been a fool not to take it. She tossed back a few sips, her face wrinkling as the bubbles tickled her nose. 

“So,” Clary began, leaning back on the grass to stare up at the stars, “why does Maryse care so much—or so little—about you two being practically war heroes?”

“We’re not heroes, Clary. We just… serve and protect,” Izzy explained. 

“Isn’t that the police motto?” Clary countered.

“Okay, yes,” Izzy drawled, “but that’s what we do, too. We serve our country to protect those who don’t want to or who wish to do other important things in the world. Like designing magnificent buildings or creating beautiful pieces of art.” 

“Aw, you think my art is beautiful?” Clary asked, turning to glance at Izzy as she laid down beside her, their bare shoulders brushing as they both gazed up at the sky. 

“Shut up,” Izzy said with a roll of her eyes. 

“I feel like I should start counting how many times you say that to me.”

“Maybe you should stop saying things that make me want to glue your mouth closed,” Izzy retorted. 

Clary let out a shocked gasp that sounded incredibly fake, swatting at Izzy’s arm lamely. Izzy wasn’t an incredibly huge person, but basic training left a solid layer of muscle all throughout her body. Clary seemed to take note as she pressed her finger against Izzy’s bicep. 

“Ouch,” Izzy complained. 

Clary scoffed, “There’s no way that hurt. You’re just a baby.”

“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” 

“Magnus tells me that all the time,” Clary said proudly, pulling her hand away. Before she could move it too far, Izzy grabbed it and laced their fingers together because it felt like the right thing to do and she wasn’t quite ready to not be touching Clary yet. “Oh, you don’t think my art is beautiful, you think I’m beautiful,” Clary teased. 

“You’re not too bad to look at and I liked the way you handled yourself in there, Fray,” Izzy responded. She wasn’t easily embarrassed and she wasn’t about to let Clary of all people fluster her. “Is Sebastian really your brother? You guys are… different.” 

“That’s one way to put it,” Clary laughed. “Our dad wasn’t a kind man, but unfortunately, my mother was. She’s had full custody of me ever since I was a toddler but Sebastian wasn’t as lucky. His mom is a demon—and I almost meant that literally.” 

“Harsh words,” Izzy noted. 

“Deserved,” Clary replied simply. “I guess… Sometimes I wonder what he would have been if he could’ve grown up with me.” 

“I think about that sometimes, too,” Izzy admitted. She could feel the way Clary stared at her but chose to stare up at the small satellite she watched float through the dark sky. “Alec and I left when we could because we had to, but Max? He’s still a kid.”

“How old is he?” Clary asked, rubbing her thumb along the back of Izzy’s hand gently, comfortingly. It had been too long since Izzy felt such a delicate touch and she hadn’t realized how much she yearned for it. 

“He’s nine, ten in a few months. I know,” Izzy began, sensing Clary’s internal math struggle, ”fourteen years between the oldest and the youngest is a lot.” 

“Makes you think…”

“That maybe Alec and I just weren’t what Maryse had wished for? Yeah, you’re right.”

“That’s not what—”

“I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. I’m not usually this open of a person,” Izzy said as if defending her words. Clary snorted out a laugh. 

“Magnus always tells me that I’m a magnet for other people’s stories. It’s how I inspire myself.”

“Yeah, what would you paint now that you’ve gotten a glimpse into casa de Lightwood ?” Izzy asked, squeezing Clary’s hand tightly. 

“I would paint a dark night sky, with just a few specs of light. A wide-open canvas constantly ready to add more to,” Clary said quickly, holding her hand up to gesture at the similar image above them. 

“How poetic of you,” Izzy teased. 

“Shut up.”

They got lost in easy conversation, which was something that hadn’t happened in a very, very long time for Izzy. It wasn’t that she didn’t like talking—her brother would argue that she spoke enough for the both of them—but it wasn’t often that people wanted to do anything more than look at her. She wasn’t conceited, though she figured others might see her that way, it was just that most people didn’t care what was going on behind the makeup when she was a civilian or the uniform when she was a soldier. 

Talking with Clary was refreshing. They took turns telling each other about their pasts, their hobbies, their brothers, their futures, neither of them really paying attention to how much time had passed until Izzy’s phone chimed from her discarded purse. It was Alec’s signature ringtone, a custom-made one of his voice that usually had Izzy breaking out into giggles. This time, only panic flooded through her. 

“Oh crap, how long have we been out here?” Izzy asked, scrambling for her phone. Clary shrugged as she sat up, stretching out her shoulders and leaning back on her hands. She never seemed to have an anxious bone in her body. 

“I would say at least an hour, give or take. Why?” Clary asked, eyeing Izzy. 

“I can’t believe I left him alone with her for that long,” Izzy said, guilt bubbling inside of her. 

“Iz, Alec is a grown man and he has Magnus with him. They can handle anything,” she reassured. Izzy typed furiously back to Alec’s message asking where they were, trying to ignore Clary’s warm hand that rested against her arm. “Hey, we can go back and save them if that’s what you’re worried about…” Clary trailed off. 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” Izzy agreed and Clary sent her an eyebrow raise that screamed disbelief. “What? You think there’s something else?” 

“You spaced out a few minutes ago while we were talking. Said something about not being used to sharing things with people,” Clary pointed out, “I figured that this was your out. So that you could stop oversharing with some stranger who you don’t even really want to get to know.”

“That’s not—” Izzy was saved by the bell as her phone rang, that time with a call. “It’s Alec.”

“Go ahead,” Clary urged with a wave of her hand. She stood up and wiped down her dress, still uncaring of the grass stains and wrinkles that had formed in it. She finished the bottle of champagne as Izzy answered. 

“Alec, I’m sorry, I—”

“Magnus and I were going to head out. Said goodbye to mom who said she hadn’t seen you or ‘that redhead’ in a while…” Alec trailed off, clear intrigue in his tone. 

“She knows Clary’s name,” Izzy scoffed.

“Yes, she does. But that’s not why I’m calling and you know it. Where did you two go?” Alec asked. It was an accusation as much as it was a question, that much was obvious. 

“We escaped after mom called me a doctor and we met Clary’s brother,” Izzy said. Clary’s eyes went wide and she rapidly waved her hands as if Izzy could take back what she had said. 

“Clary’s brother?” 

There was a shuffle on the other end of the line and Alec cursed before Magnus’ voice replaced his. 

“Sebastian?” Magnus asked quickly. Izzy stayed silent, sending a pleading glance at Clary because she obviously had opened a door she should have locked. Clary took the phone from Izzy and sighed, running a hand over her forehead. 

“It’s fine, Magnus. We knew this might happen when I visited.”

Izzy could hear Magnus on the other end of the line, sounding angrier and more worried than she had ever heard him. She couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but whatever it was had Clary smirking to herself and pressing her lips together as if concealing a laugh. Izzy tilted her head in question, but Clary shook hers right back, holding up a finger. She let Magnus drone on and on, voicing agreements and subtle hums every few seconds to make sure he knew she was hearing everything. 

When there was a few seconds of silence, Clary said, “We’re fine. We escaped, had a lot of champagne, and watched the stars.” Magnus let out a laugh that Izzy could hear even from her distance away then said something probably sarcastic. “Don’t worry, we didn’t christen the golf course, Magnus.”

“Clary!” Izzy shouted, smacking her before grabbing her phone back. “Alec said something about you guys leaving?” 

“We’ve done quite enough socializing for the time being,” Magnus began, only for Alec to interrupt. 

“And I’ve done enough watching Magnus woo every single person there and gain about six new contract opportunities in the last two hours.” 

“I told you I’m great with these kinds of people, Alexander. You were the fool who didn’t believe me,” Magnus said and Izzy could practically see the way he waved his hand at his fiancé. 

“We’re going to head to the car. Want us to pick you up?” Alec asked. 

“Yeah, we’re at hole…” She glanced around until the sign came into view, “seven. You can’t miss us as we’re the only ones out here.”

“Be there in a few. Behave until we get there,” Alec threatened. Izzy hung up on him. 

“So, would Alec actually murder me if I defiled his sister on the golf course?” Clary asked, wiggling her eyebrows. 

“Only if his sister didn’t want it,” Izzy retorted. She hoped the challenge in her tone was clear and when Clary stepped up to her, she figured it was crystal. 

“And? Would his sister mind?” She asked. Izzy shrugged her shoulders and ran a finger over the thick strap settled on Clary’s shoulder. It wasn’t the first time they had touched, but it was the first time the meaning had been obvious. 

“She’s still deciding,” Izzy said after a few moments of silence. They were staring at each other because there was nowhere else to look in the wide-open space they occupied, but Izzy was pretty sure neither of them wanted to look away. 

“And here I thought she was really good at making decisions,” Clary teased, stroking a strand of fallen hair from Izzy’s face. 

“Important ones take time,” Izzy said, her heart beating a little hard in her chest. 

“Oh? Does that mean I could be an important decision?” Clary asked. There was a sudden nervousness in her tone and Izzy was almost grateful to see a crack in her usually confident demeanor. 

“Yeah,” Izzy admitted softly, “yeah, it does.” 

She didn’t like how foreign the admission sounded or how hesitant the words were, but if she was honest with herself, she felt Clary’s importance from the moment she laid eyes on the redhead. It was only a matter of time until they both succumbed to the instant attraction and connection they had and that scared the hell out of Izzy. She wasn’t used to putting everything out on the table the way she would have to with Clary. 

Clary wasn’t just another girl she could kiss and date and then leave once she was back on base. She was her sister-in-law for all intents of purposes, one of the most important people to her brother’s most important person. It was messy in and of itself and Clary wasn’t exactly jumping at making it messier. 

But Clary stared over at her with those soft green eyes with flecks of gold and that fiery red hair that matched her glowing personality sticking out against the dress she immediately offered to wear just to make Izzy feel better. Clary, who made herself right at home in Izzy’s house unapologetically and beautifully, the creative ins and outs of her mind spread across Izzy’s relatively boring house like they belonged there. 

She could be important, would be the most important decision Izzy would ever make, so that meant she had to make it carefully and considerately. Izzy was good at that—she had learned from the best. 

She backed away when she heard the sound of tires on gravel and grabbed at her things before turning back to Clary and holding out her hand. 

“I guess the question is if Magnus’ sister is willing to wait?” Izzy asked, hoping with everything in her the answer would be yes. 

“Yeah,” Clary said, “she’s got all the time in the world.”

#etiw #chapter two

[half-bakedboy]

everything that i want (but didn't think i'd find)

Chapter One

Rated: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Combat medic, Izzy, worked side by side with her pilot brother, Alec, to ensure the safety of the country and the most important people in their lives; their family. 

Alec was starting a family with Magnus—a man Izzy never imagined her brother ending up with—and when the opportunity for them to get married on short notice during Izzy and Alec's summer block leave, Izzy couldn't have been happier for them. Izzy and Alec would make their way home to celebrate the momentous occasion and Izzy could leave everything behind without a second thought like she had when she was eighteen.  

Falling in love with Magnus' sister, Clary, was never part of her plan and that threw her off kilter.

“Relax, big brother,” Izzy said as she rested a hand on Alec’s bouncing knee, patting it with a comforting force that had Alec finally glancing away from the window. He ran a hand over his face and craned his neck to try and see the front of the plane. 

“It’s been six months, Iz. What if he…” Alec trailed off as his knee started nervously bouncing again. Izzy gripped a little tighter, pushing her nails into his skin. Alec pulled his knee away the best he could in the cramped space, glaring at Izzy. She smiled sweetly in response and stood as the flight attendants announced that military personnel could exit the plane. Alec shot up in his seat, banging his head against the overhead compartment. Izzy held back the snort of laughter at his eagerness.  

“He is going to be waiting with a no-doubt embarrassing sign that you won’t be able to care about because you’ll be too busy kissing his handsome face,” Izzy reasoned as she grabbed Alec’s duffel from above and tossed it at him. He rolled his eyes and pushed his way in front of her as she grabbed her own pack and followed after him closely as they wandered through the airport. She didn’t really know how to help Alec at that moment because she couldn’t even imagine how nervous he was.

It had been six months since they had seen their family and friends. Of course Izzy had missed them, but she didn’t miss anyone as much as Alec had missed Magnus. Their letters back and forth weren’t enough for them considering how much they loved each other, that much Izzy knew. She held Alec while he cried over their distance too many times to not see how much their deployment had affected him. She only hoped that Magnus had someone to help him through the way Alec did. 

“Is it normal for my heart to be beating this fast?” Alec asked as they made their way through the crowds of people. Izzy laughed and patted Alec on the shoulder when the bustle of the airport came into view. 

“You’re about to see your fiance after six months away. Everything you are feeling is perfectly normal, big brother,” Izzy affirmed softly, holding on to her brother’s arm as they followed the exit signs. 

Izzy’s own heart was beating fast, ready to see her friends and family again, especially with such a fun-filled summer in front of them. If she was honest, she really didn’t think it was going to be so hard to be away from them for so long. It wasn’t unusual for people to go off to college, take jobs in other states, or just have other things going on that made visiting daily not easy, but Izzy’s family was different. She missed her little brother, her parents and Jace more than anything and couldn’t even imagine how much Alec was missing Magnus throughout their time away. 

“If I cry, you’re not allowed to make fun of me,” Alec warned with a deadly glare in Izzy’s direction. Izzy giggled and rolled her eyes as dramatically as she could, staring up at the ceiling for a little longer than necessary. 

“Same goes for you,” Izzy retorted. Alec looked down at her quizzically and Izzy tried not to be offended. She knew she wasn’t the most emotional person in the Lightwood family, but she did have a heart. And that heart missed everyone she was about to see. 

They reached the escalators and she felt Alec stiffen beside her. Izzy knew that if she followed his eye line, she would see Magnus in all of his glory and when she turned her head, she was right. Magnus had his back to the escalator, but there was no doubt it was him. His outfit was impeccable, as always, and his hair was perfectly quaffed in a way that Izzy was always impressed by. Alec gripped her arm tightly, almost painfully, and Izzy hissed. 

“God, just give me your pack and run like you want to,” Izzy said, holding out her hand. Alec didn’t have to think twice as he ran down the escalator, bypassing those already on it who stood leisurely as they awaited their destination. She could hear Alec apologize as he bumped into one of the men but as he was in full uniform, no one said a word about it. Magnus must have heard, though, and Izzy watched as he turned quickly, the brightest smile Izzy had ever seen on his face. 

“Magnus!” Alec yelled and Izzy could hear the grin in his voice. She fought back tears as Magnus sprinted the rest of the distance, launching himself into Alec’s arms and holding on like he would never let go. Izzy wished she knew how he felt. She stepped onto the escalator, both packs in her hands making it impossible to take unnecessary steps. 

“Alexander, Angel, it’s good to see you,” Magnus said softly, holding Alec’s face in his hands so delicately, Izzy thought her heart might explode. She watched them, her stomach flipping with every intimate touch and gentle kiss, and couldn’t stop herself from yearning for the same thing. As she walked toward them, she smiled widely, blushing as Alec spun Magnus in a circle, their lips never leaving each other. 

“I thought Magnus was exaggerating,” a voice chimed next to her. She looked over and was instantly stunned by bright red hair, beautiful green eyes, and a face that Izzy would swear she had seen in her dreams. She was momentarily speechless until the girl giggled happily, the sound like music to her ears. “You’re Izzy, right?” She asked and Izzy could only nod slowly, setting Alec’s bag on the floor. “I’m Clary, Magnus’ sister.”

“I didn’t know Magnus had a sister,” Izzy said dumbly. She shook her head as Clary’s face dropped. “I mean, I knew he had a sister, I just-- I didn’t realize she was you?” Clary’s smile was back on her face and Izzy was grateful for it. 

Magnus had talked about his sister, the family that took him in after he lost his own, but last Izzy knew, she was in Europe for some prestigious art scholarship. Izzy hadn’t gotten the chance to meet her and she cursed whatever god decided this would be their first time seeing each other. 

Izzy didn’t mind her uniform. She knew that most people liked the military look; it stood for patriotism, bravery, and strength to those that respected it. Izzy had loved what she signed up to do. Being a combat medic was a dream of Izzy's ever since she was rescued by one during the scariest accident she had ever experienced. On that day, her father had taken her to see the most incredible aircrafts the United States military had to offer, and it was like all of the pieces of her life fell into place. She enlisted the minute she could and had never regretted her decision. 

But she had much more to offer physically than the uniform showed. It didn’t show off her curves or lean and long legs and she couldn’t even think about the tight bun plastered low on her scalp. She wished the first time she met Clary would’ve been at one of the fancy parties Magnus always threw where she looked like a million bucks. 

“I graduated this year and as much as I loved Rome, I couldn’t wait to come back and see my family.” Izzy knew exactly how she felt. Before she could respond, arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her off of her feet. She squealed in surprise and delight and kicked her legs as they were lifted off the ground. 

“Magnus!” Izzy shouted, holding onto the hands around her waist. When he put her down, she turned and surged into his arms, holding back tears at how much she missed his touch. 

“Isabelle, oh how I’ve missed your beautiful face,” Magnus cooed, smoothing the top of her head with his palm. Izzy scoffed and felt herself blushing. It had been quite a while since someone had called her beautiful and even though Magnus was practically her brother, she could appreciate the compliment for what it was. 

“Just wait until the welcome home party. You’ll regret the Lightwood you chose,” Izzy teased with a wink in Magnus’ direction. She heard Alec’s offended gasp before he grabbed at Magnus’s hand to pull him into his side. Izzy figured it would be a few days before Alec let Magnus stray from him, but Izzy understood. 

“I would never regret agreeing to marry this Lightwood,” Magnus said, punctuating his words with a gentle kiss to Alec’s cheek. Alec was usually embarrassed by Magnus’ affinity toward public displays of affection, but he leaned into the kiss, pulling Magnus even closer to him. “And how did you know about the welcome home party?” Magnus said offendedly, glaring down at Izzy. 

Izzy just smiled and shrugged, her hands going to her hips. “We’ve been gone for six months. There’s no way you didn’t take the opportunity to throw a party,” Izzy reasoned, raising her eyebrows at Magnus. He huffed but didn’t say anything to argue, reaching for Alec’s bag on the ground. 

“Let’s get you both home and out of those uniforms, yeah?” Magnus said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Alec. That time, he did blush, glancing around at the people that had stopped to watch the reunion. It happened every time they went anywhere in uniform so Izzy had just gotten used to ignoring it. 

“How’s my apartment, Magnus? Did you ruin it while I was gone?” Izzy teased, pulling the straps of her bag as they started weighing heavier on her shoulders. Magnus rolled his eyes but Izzy could see the fondness in them. 

“Your flowers are watered, albeit there are a lot less of them, and your mail has been collected and sorted. I also painted the spare bedroom because that horrid green color made me want to puke every second I spent in it.” Izzy laughed and tossed her head back, the motion straining her back as she hissed. 

“Iz, will you please—“ 

“I got it,” Clary said, moving to block Izzy’s path and holding out her hands. Izzy caught her eye for a moment and figured out quickly that she was just like her brother. “You’re going to make all of these people that won’t stop staring believe that we’re making our two hard-working soldiers carry their own bags after years overseas?” Clary said as dramatically as she possibly could, if Izzy had to guess. 

“We’ve been gone for six months…” Alec muttered, but Magnus rolled his eyes and took his bag and Izzy would be stupid to deny the woman in front of her. She pulled the backpack off of her shoulders and held it out to Clary, narrowing her eyes slightly when the redhead’s smile widened even more. 

“My brother was right,” she commented as she slid her arms in the loops, bending down enough so Izzy could rest the straps on her shoulders. 

“About?” Izzy asked, stretching out her now relieved muscles. 

“You Lightwoods really are suckers for a pretty face.”

Izzy snorted, “Especially one so conceited.” 

“You didn’t deny that you think I’m pretty, though!” Clary pointed out excitedly as they exited the airport. Izzy was about to argue, but couldn’t stop herself from taking a deep breath of fresh air, grateful to be off of the plane they’d been stuck on for far too many hours. She closed her eyes and let the soft breeze hit her face for a moment before turning back to Clary who was grinning widely at her. 

“No, I didn’t,” Izzy said simply.

Somewhere from a few feet away, Izzy heard her brother mutter, “I knew introducing them was going to be a bad idea.”

“Alright, well, this is where we leave both of you!” Magnus sang, opening the trunk to pull out Izzy’s bags and Izzy’s bags only. She glared at him suspiciously, eyes darting between Magnus and Alec, who was staring down at the ground to avoid Izzy’s gaze. 

“Who is both of us?” Izzy asked. Clary hopped out of the car and waved her hand, an almost salute that her commanding officer would definitely not appreciate. 

“I should have known my brother wouldn’t have told you,” Clary accused, hip-checking Magnus who waved a dismissive hand in response. 

“Tell me what, Alec?” She asked, her eyes narrowing more and more each second as Alec sputtered at her. 

“We’re about to get married, Iz, and I haven’t seen my fiancé in months. We just wanted a little privacy before the wedding when all of our family starts intruding on our lives and then we leave after that…” He trailed off just as Clary pulled keys out of her pocket and unlocked the front door to her apartment building. 

“Hey, roomie, we should let these two lovebirds go while I show you what I’ve done to the place!” Clary commented, twirling the keys around her finger. 

“Oh, you are so lucky I think you need to get laid. You know that, right?” Izzy accused, pressing a finger to her brother’s chest. He pulled her into a tight hug and rested his chin on her head. She could feel it moving, no doubt warning Clary of something as a giant sigh erupted from behind her. 

“You guys act like I’m some teenager who doesn’t know how to look after herself,” Clary scoffed, skipping over to kiss Magnus and Alec on the cheek. She grabbed Izzy’s hand which surprised her enough to not make a sarcastic comment like she had wanted to before tugging them to the door. “I just reorganized the place a bit and made Alec’s room look less like a prison and more like a home!” 

“The only reason it looks like that is because I spend so much time at Magnus’ place,” Alec grumbled, kissing the top of Magnus’ head before they both got back into the car. Alec raised his eyebrows at his sister, a silent question that didn’t need to be said out loud, and Izzy nodded. 

“We’ll see you guys at the party, yeah?” Izzy asked, still not knowing many details but trusting that Magnus had figured every single one out. 

“Of course, darling, now you two behave!” Magnus demanded and Alec groaned, slamming his head back against the seat. When they drove off, Izzy decided not to think about the order, turning back to Clary who was holding the door open instead. 

“You haven’t totally destroyed the place with like paint and charcoal, right?” Izzy asked. 

“Destroyed is such a strong word, Isabelle!” Clary sang as she hopped up the steps. She reminded Izzy of a rabbit or a really happy puppy that didn’t have a negative bone in her body. It was… endearing, though she would never say that out loud. 

“If this is a repeat of the summer of 2012 disaster Magnus always talks about…”

Clary turned abruptly and shouted, “Hey, there are two sides to that story!” Izzy raised her eyebrows and held up her hands in defense, grinning at the little bit of emotion she had brought out in Clary. Just like her hair, she could be fiery and Izzy couldn’t wait to see more of it. “Besides, he’s my brother and he was gone for an entire three months. I’ve only been in your place for like two weeks. The only change is that my art supplies are around but I can always move them.”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Clary. I’m really not too worried, it’s just… weird to have a roommate that isn’t my brother,” Izzy admitted as Clary unlocked the door to her apartment. Izzy stood frozen for a second because she barely recognized the place. Clary had rearranged the furniture so it was all stacked to one side, a few easels and canvases overtaking the space they once had. 

“I told you, I can—”

“No, no,” Izzy reassured, taking a deep breath. Alec was the one who would panic while Izzy had a cool head on her shoulders. That was their dynamic and she was sticking to it. “It’s really alright, just… surprising. You’ve got… a lot of stuff,” she said, walking over to the side of the living room littered with art. 

“Yeah, uh, most of it was at my mom’s but…” Izzy instantly felt her annoyance disappear, sympathy taking its place. 

It was only a few months ago that Magnus and Clary had lost their mother in a car accident. Alec hadn’t gotten the letter until after the funeral was over and done with and Izzy had to try and ease the guilt he felt. It was tough on Magnus to not have his fiancé there and Clary could only take enough time away from art school to attend the funeral and move her stuff—apparently, to Izzy and Alec’s apartment. 

“I’ll only be here for a few weeks, right? A little clutter isn’t going to kill me!” Izzy said easily, resting a gentle hand on Clary’s arm. She looked nervous and a little meek. Izzy wasn’t sure she liked that image of her, but she didn’t have to worry too much. It was quickly replaced with a smile when her phone chimed. 

“They made it back safe,” Clary said. At Izzy’s confused glance, she explained, “Magnus always texts me after a drive. Just… a thing we do now. He also wanted me to tell you that they are both shutting off their phones for the time being so if we need anything—”

“—We don’t.” They said it together, giggling at the antics of their brothers. 

“Well, I’m going to...” Izzy trailed off, gesturing over her shoulder to her bedroom. She couldn’t wait to get out of her uniform and to finally let her hair down after hours in the tight bun she had to have it in. She couldn’t wait to get showered and just relax for the first night in months. 

“I was going to order some pizza, from that place down the street? They have a gluten-free crust and a vegetarian option if you…” At Izzy’s clearly judgmental look, Clary laughed. “We’ll get two pizzas then?” Izzy nodded as Clary walked to the kitchen. 

Maybe having a roommate that wasn’t Alec wouldn’t be so bad after all.

When Izzy walked out a half-hour later, it was to the mouthwatering smell of pepperoni and sausage pizza and some pop music playing from the radio on the kitchen counter. Clary was dancing around the kitchen, a sight Izzy could definitely get used to, and struggling to grab plates from the cabinet where Alec had stored them. Izzy knew the struggle well and giggled as Clary hoisted herself on the counter to finally reach them. 

Apparently, Clary hadn’t been expecting the company quite yet and jumped at the sound, almost dropping the plates to the ground. 

“Sorry, sorry! You’re probably used to being here alone,” Izzy commented as she walked to the kitchen. Clary jumped down from the counter and handed a plate to Izzy with an easy shrug. 

“I mean, yeah, definitely not used to having a roommate, but… wow,” she said as if she had finally taken the chance to look at Izzy. 

She wasn’t trying to impress Clary, by any means, but she did get properly dressed instead of putting on the tattered sweatpants and tank top she had so desperately wanted to. She wore her favorite black jeans, high-waisted with too many buttons to be practical, and a cropped pastel purple top that left very little to the imagination. It was entirely different than the clunky uniform Clary had met her in and she relished the way Clary’s jaw seemed to hang out. 

She also did her hair. It had been stuck up in a bun for so long her scalp had started to hate her, so she let it flow down, soft waves that ended well past the middle of her back flowing with each move she made. Like she had said, she had a lot more to offer outside of her uniform and maybe, just maybe, she could offer it to the beautiful woman currently drooling in her kitchen. 

“You’ve got a little,” Izzy brushed her thumb across the corner of Clary’s mouth but Clary was quick to swat it away, her pale skin erupting in a dark shade of red. 

“Confident,” Clary noted, “that’s the first word Magnus used to describe you.” It was almost offhanded, not judgmental or harsh in any way, just a fact that Clary was accepting. It had Izzy unsure of what to say which was not a normal occurrence for her.  

“Colorful was what he used to describe you,” Izzy said, grabbing a slice of pizza and placing it right in her mouth before it even touched the plate. She practically moaned at the taste and Clary laughed at her, but she didn’t care. She had missed pizza more than almost any other food. “Alec and I laughed at that because if we were to describe Magnus with one word, that one would fit,” she added as she grabbed the glass of wine Clary had poured for her and moved to the couch. 

“Yeah, we’re definitely siblings,” Clary said fondly, sitting cross-legged beside Izzy. “You and Alec seem…” 

“Like complete and total opposites?” Izzy finished for her. Clary looked a bit bashful as she nodded. “We are and we aren’t? It’s hard to explain. We have the same morals and enjoy a lot of the same things, but I’m the more outgoing one while he’s more of the parent.” 

“Magnus told me that—” She stopped herself, as if unsure if she should say whatever she wanted to, but Izzy shook her head. 

“Alec and I have no secrets, so if Magnus told you something, neither of us would be mad. Siblings have to stick together, right?” 

Clary nodded and continued, “Magnus said that Alec was very much a parent to you and your siblings. That he took care of you both from a young age? He seems the type.” It was fond, the way she spoke about Alec, and that made Izzy happy. 

“Yeah, he really stepped up as the oldest. Our parents weren’t bad by any means. We always had food in the house and were healthy by all standards, but they were… absent. Alec was the one that took care of us when they would go away, even though he didn’t have to.”

“Magnus was the same way. I mean, before he was placed with us, he was always the one taking care of his foster siblings. He tried to take care of me until he realized he didn’t have to.” Clary giggled at what seemed like a fond memory and Izzy grinned up at her. 

“You definitely don’t seem like the type to need that,” Izzy noted. When Clary tilted her head, she explained, “Well, Alec told me that once you turned eighteen, you were pretty much out on your own already. He said you traveled a lot, got yourself into art school in some fancy European country, climbed the stairs to success with,” she gestured around at the full canvases, “all of this. Seems like you had it all figured out.”

“I could say the same for you,” Clary retorted, “Magnus told me that you pretty much knew you wanted to be a medic since you were a teenager and nothing has stopped you from fulfilling that dream since. It’s pretty admirable if you ask me.” Izzy shrugged and stared down at her pizza, trying to will the heat away from her face. 

“I had my brother with me almost the entire time, though. You traveled all over foreign land alone and made a pretty good name for yourself considering that art show Magnus raved about in his last letter,” Izzy pointed out. She was glad Clary’s face reddened so she wasn’t so alone. If that was how the next few weeks would go, Izzy wasn’t sure how either of them would make it out unchanged. 

“Hmm,” Clary hummed, holding out her glass of wine to Izzy, “the artist and the soldier, the unlikeliest of duos, spending a summer together before real life takes over. Whatever will happen next?” 

Izzy clinked their glasses together and said, “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

#etiw #chapter one