Requested by Anonymous
Pairing: Jace Wayland x Female Reader
Summer Event
Summer Event Masterlist
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The rooftop of the Institute was colder than you expected. It wasn’t exactly freezing, just cold enough that you pulled Clary’s oversized sweater tighter and rubbed your arms for warmth. The sounds of the city drifted up from below. Somewhere in the distance, music echoed through the New York streets, mixed with bursts of laughter and the occasional crack of fireworks.
You leaned against the stone railing with a sigh. “I still don’t understand why mundane holidays require explosives.” Beside you, Jace Wayland snorted softly. “That’s because you’re sensible.”
“That might be the first nice thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“I’ve said plenty of nice things.”
“You called me ‘alarmingly loud’ yesterday.”
“You are alarmingly loud.” You rolled your eyes at Jace, fighting a smile as your arms crossed over your chest in amused frustration.
The first time you met Jace, you were sure he was insufferable. He was beautiful, annoyingly talented, and more arrogant than anyone you’d ever met. You hadn’t even expected to end up at the Institute; your family had moved to New York only a few months earlier, and Clary Fray was the first person who made you feel less like an outsider. She introduced you to her strange world, insisting you would fit right in, even though you suspected she was just being kind. Clary, of course, found Jace fascinating right away. She dragged you along to watch him spar in the training room, whispering guesses about who would win each match, her eyes bright with curiosity. You, on the other hand, spent your first week at the Institute trying not to shove him down a staircase.
That was especially true after the night the three of you snuck out of the library window to chase down a supposed faerie sighting, and Jace spent the entire mission making up increasingly ridiculous code names for you. Or the time the two of you got caught sneaking into the weapons room after hours, and he somehow talked your way out of trouble, leaving you to do all the explaining while Clary laughed herself breathless behind a stack of training pads. Still, there was the night you both ended up on patrol in the rain, soaked and laughing helplessly as you dodged traffic and demons with equal clumsiness, Clary texting you both advice from the safety of her warm room. At some point, annoyance became a strange sort of camaraderie, and maybe something else you didn't want to name.
Now he was somehow the person you searched for first in every room.
Which was a problem you tried very hard not to think about. Every time you caught yourself searching for Jace in a crowd, a hot, embarrassing rush would creep up your neck, and you’d try to convince yourself it meant nothing. It wasn’t just nerves or your own stubborn denial; something deeper held you back. Maybe it was the way the Institute already whispered about Clary and her friends, the feeling that you were an outsider never quite fitting in, or the fear that letting yourself want this would only end in disappointment.
And then, even quieter, there was the worry of what Clary might think if she realised how you looked at him, if she noticed the flicker of hope in your eyes when Jace brushed close or laughed at something only you said. Clary had always been warm and generous, never possessive, but you couldn't help wondering if your feelings would complicate things between the three of you, or if they'd cast a shadow over the bright trust she'd given you. You’d seen these kinds of feelings turn friends into strangers, or worse, break already fragile trust. You told yourself that you were just being foolish, that it was only friendship, but the truth lodged in your chest like a secret you were terrified to speak aloud. If you let yourself linger on it for even a second too long, the ache of wanting something you maybe couldn’t have would start to burn, uncomfortable and bright.
Another firework exploded overhead, bright gold spilling across the sky. The city below erupted into cheers. You tilted your head back automatically, eyes following the shimmering sparks, your breath catching as the light danced above. “Okay,” you admitted quietly. “That one was actually pretty.” No response. You frowned, shifting your weight to glance sideways at Jace, curiosity prickling along your skin. Jace wasn’t looking at the sky. He was looking at you.
He wasn’t looking at you casually. There was no teasing grin or amused smirk. His gaze was soft, almost unbearably tender, as if every emotion he’d ever hidden was suddenly right there, naked and exposed, like he’d forgotten how to breathe for a moment. Your stomach flipped violently, a wild, dizzying jolt that made your knees weak. “What?” you asked, suddenly breathless.
For once, he looked caught off guard. Like he hadn’t expected you to notice. Another burst of colour illuminated the rooftop in flashes of red and silver. And still, he kept staring at you. “You looked at me during the fireworks instead of the sky,” you whispered. The confession slipped out before you could even swallow the fear welling up in your chest. Jace’s expression changed a little, and for a moment, something vulnerable flickered beneath all that confidence. “Yeah,” he said quietly.
The city noise faded into the background. Your heart pounded so hard in your chest you were sure he could hear it, your fingers tightening reflexively on the railing. “You know,” he continued, stepping a little closer, “most people would probably say something romantic here.” You blinked. “Are you saying you don’t know how to be romantic?”
“I’m saying,” he said, lips twitching, “that I got distracted.”
“By me?”
He laughed, quiet and real. “Dangerously so.”
Heat rushed to your face despite the cold wind, and you ducked your head, lips tugging into a shy, involuntary smile. Behind you, fireworks painted the sky in brilliant colours, but they felt distant, blurry, and unimportant compared to the way Jace was looking at you now. It was as if you were something profoundly precious, something he was almost afraid to want so much. Like he couldn’t look away even if he tried.
“You’re staring again,” you murmured.
“Can you blame me?”
“Oh my God,” you groaned, covering your face. “That was terrible.”
“You liked it.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
The smugness in his voice should’ve annoyed you. Instead, it made you swallow a laugh and smile, shoulders loosening as the tension faded. Jace noticed immediately, his own grin softening at the edges. For a moment, neither of you spoke. Then, carefully and almost hesitantly, which felt so unlike him, he reached for your hand. His fingers brushed nervously against yours before he fully intertwined them.
“You know what the annoying part is?” he said.
“What?”
“I was perfectly fine before you showed up.”
You laughed quietly. “Pretty sure that’s a lie.”
“Okay,” he admitted. “I was moderately fine.”
“Mm-hm.”
“And now I can’t focus during missions because somehow everything reminds me of you. Last week, when we were chasing those ash-demons across the High Line, Izzy nearly wiped out trying to leap onto the greenhouse roof, and Alec wouldn't stop yelling at us through the seraph blade comms. And all I could think about was you laughing when you slipped off the fire escape during that vampire stakeout behind Takis Diner. Even Magnus, waiting for us at the jade wolf at midnight, couldn't get you out of my head.”
“That sounds unhealthy.”
“It probably is.”
Another firework exploded overhead, blue this time, reflecting in his golden eyes.
Your chest tightened, sharp and painful, as hope and fear tangled together.
“You’re being weirdly honest tonight.”
Jace looked down at your intertwined hands.
“Maybe I’m tired of pretending.”
The teasing tone was gone now. This was real. Every heartbeat thundered in your ears, louder than the sky-shaking fireworks. Slowly, you stepped closer to Jace until barely any space remained between your bodies, your breath mingling in the cold air. “You know,” you said softly, “for someone who acts confident all the time, you seem nervous.”
“I fight demons for a living,” he replied. His mouth twisted into a half-smile. “Just last week, I had to chase a raven-skull Revenant through a subway tunnel while dodging hellfire traps. You’d think nothing else would faze me.” He glanced down at your joined hands, and for a moment, the bravado faded. “But if we mess this up, it could mean more than just awkward mornings. There are a hundred ways it could go wrong: missions thrown off, people getting hurt, losing friends, maybe even losing you completely. This is worse.”
Your laugh came out quieter this time. It was warmer, full of aching affection you could hardly contain. And before you could overthink it, before fear could ruin the moment, you lifted onto your toes, placing your hands gently on his shoulders, and kissed him.
Jace froze for exactly half a second. Then his hand cupped your face gently, and he kissed you back like he’d been wanting to for far too long. The fireworks boomed across the sky behind you, bright enough to light the entire city. Neither of you looked away to watch them.
For the first time in a long while, the world outside felt distant. In that moment, surrounded by golden light and warmth that outshone the cold, it felt like everything truly important was right here on this rooftop, close enough to touch. But even as you held onto that sense of belonging, a sliver of uncertainty crept in, a quiet question about what would happen once you stepped back down into the world below.
The future pressed at the edges of your happiness, full of secrets, risks, and the knowledge that nothing would ever be quite the same. Beneath the fireworks and laughter, you couldn’t ignore the flash of troubles waiting beneath the surface: the murmur of rumours already spreading in shadowed hallways, the possibility of Clary noticing the change between you and Jace, the threat of a mission going wrong because feelings got in the way. Even the uncertain peace of the city seemed fragile, as if anything might shatter it. You knew that once the night ended, you’d have to face the consequences, both good and bad, of what happened here.
