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luciehercndale · 9 months

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Congratulation on your follower count!!

Would you be up for writing some Will, Jem and Jessamine (and maybe Sophie) interaction, set pre-Clockwork Angel? I'd love to see more of their teenage dynamic explored. Thank you!

Thank you <3 I finally made it after a few months. I hope you like this. I tried to include everyone and put a little Charlotte too. This is set pre-TID as you asked, mostly around the time Jem and Will are investigating and they find the girl's body, so close to when CA starts. 🙂

Read on A03 💜

We Hunt Demons, Not Monkeys

“On the count of three,” Will whispered. “One, two, t–” and he jumped from the window onto the alley below.

Jem shook his head, and followed after him. “You should’ve said three,” he admonished him, but Will just shrugged. “Did you get it?”

“I got it,” he replied bitterly, glancing at the box in his hand, something hissing inside it. “Shut up, you!”

“Leave the poor thing alone,” Jem chided, but Will just scoffed.

“Will! Jem! By the Angel, do not hurry!” Jessamine said behind them. She had barely managed to leap from the window unscathed, and was trying to keep up the pace.

Will snorted, glancing at the blonde girl. “Whatever,” he rolled his eyes, and kept marching towards Fleet Street, unbothered, his black coat blowing after him as if he was in a hurry.

Jem offered Jessamine a sympathetic look and slowed down until she reached him. “Thanks, James,” she squeezed his arm lightly, and clutched her gloved hand under his arm as if they were a couple enjoying a night stroll. Which was weird, because she barely spoke to Jem, seeing his illness as a weakness. But he was too kind and didn’t say anything. She glared at Will’s back, wishing to burn a hole there, cursing that she could not. “I wish we had taken a cab to go back,” she lamented with a sigh. “I only like strolling when there are people around and shops are open and I can look at all the pretty things.”

“We are not strolling, though,” Jem objected. “And carriages don’t work at night, unfortunately.”

“What a pity!” she said quietly. “I wished I had stayed at the Institute. I could’ve slept. I’m going to have bags under my eyes come morning.”

“It’s already morning,” Will answered her, the effects of the amplification rune still hadn’t worn off. “And you could have stayed back, Jessamine. We could’ve finished this hours ago but we had to look out for you because you decided, of all things, to wear that hideous dress for a mission,” he spat without turning, his anger evident in his voice.

“Nobody asked you to, I can handle myself,” Jessamine frowned and looked at Jem, who could only shrug. “I hate patrol gear, so unladylike!” she seethed. “Just like your nasty manners, Will. You will never find a woman if you behave like this, and I hope no one marries you!”

Will just laughed. “The hell you know,” he said under his breath. It was a bitter laugh, one of those you make when you try to hide your true feelings. Jessamine only knew Will as the opposite of a gentleman, but she didn’t know how he was forced to behave like this. To answer like this. “Likewise, miss Lovelace. You pretend to be such a refined lady coming from a wealthy family when, in truth, you’re deluding yourself,” he stopped only to say the last part in her face. “ Coming to patrol with a dress? That’s foolish. Any person in their right mind would be turned off by your thoughtless behavior,” he snapped. “On top of that, you are also poor and mannerless. You better realize that before you delude yourself more.”

Jessamine squeezed Jem’s arm. Hard. Hard for her, at least. He glanced at Will and shook his head. He told him several times that he shouldn’t rile Jessamine up. She was quaint like a bouquet of flowers could be, but even roses had thorns. And even though they didn’t know much about her past, he knew enough to be aware that Jessamine couldn’t get over not being wealthy anymore and unable to afford her fashion items like she used to. Will knew that as well, but he seemed to enjoy bringing that up to enrage the girl. He would talk to him later, he would –

“You are disgusting, Will Herondale,” Jessamine let go of Jem’s arm, and tightened her grip around her parasol. “Even your name makes my blood boil,” she recoiled. “If I weren’t against physical violence, I would hit you with my parasol this instant.”

“I dare you to even try,” Will provoked her, and Jem saw Jessamine exhale deeply. She didn’t want to do that. “See if you can even hold a fight with a regular human being.”

“There is nothing regular about you,” she held her head high and seemed to prepare to strike. “You are a monster. A demon just like the creatures you so adore to crush to dust.” And then she advanced and tried to hit Will on the head. But he expected it. Jem didn’t.

Will dodged the blow with ease, moving on the side with the heavy box he was holding. Jessamine tried again, and this time, Jem stopped her by holding her wrist before she could continue. “Would you please end this? Both of you.”

“But he started it!” Jessamine complained with a scowl, while Will just stuck his tongue out and giggled like a school boy.

“I know, but you could have decided not to respond, Jessamine,” Jem said. “Do not lower yourself at the same level as him,” he looked at his parabatai, who was acting oblivious and was mocking someone wiping their tears.

“Like you?” she inquired, squaring her shoulders. “Do not act like you’re better than us, James Carstairs,” she replied coldly, and started walking away.

Their quarrel died down, and even Will stayed silent for the reminder of the trip back. It was dawn, and they were exhausted from spending the whole night in the heart of London looking for clues. Instead, they found – “A monkey, of all things,” Will snorted, tightening his grip on the iron cage he was carrying. “I wonder what it was doing in that basement.”

“Charlotte said some members of the Pandemonium Club brought them from India to experiment on them,” his parabatai explained. “Do you want me to hold that? It looks heavy.”

“We are shadowhunters, by the Angel,” Will rolled his eyes for good measure. “Why do we have to save monkeys? We must be on the lookout for demons!” he said with annoyance. “And no, Jem. I’ve got it.”

Jem didn’t want to argue. He knew that Will would carry it anyway, insisting that he had to look after his poor health. “We couldn’t leave it there,” he added, but Will was already entering the Institute and he quickened his pace.

“They should’ve put Will in a cage, see how fun it is,” Jessamine rebuked after them, but Will either didn’t catch it as he was far from them, or decided to ignore the girl. Better.

“I will deliver this precious package in Charlotte’s study,” Will informed his parabatai when they reached the first floor landing. “So I can finally rest my bones after a night of hard work,” he rolled his eyes, underlining the last two words.

“What do us, shadowhunters, have to do with these lowly apes? I risked being bitten thrice by that ruthless creature!” Will said, outraged.

“Don’t forget that you also told us we supposedly descend from them,” Charlotte replied, reminding Will of a prior discussion about some work by a scientist called Charles Darwin who claimed people evolved from primates, which had Will criticizing the man for the whole day because he couldn’t believe it. For now. “Moreover, they are not ordinary. They are magical. Enchanted. They must not fall into the hands of people who don’t just want to torture them, but force them to perform magic.”

“How are they, though? I mean, who enchanted the monkeys?” asked Jem. “And monkeys, plural?”

“We have no clue,” Charlotte answered sullenly with a sigh. “Maybe it was a warlock who wanted to have fun. From the Pandemonium Club. We must find them and try to make them reason. We need to investigate further.”

Will giggled. “Then let them have it instead of bothering us with such trivial matters,” he huffed. “We hunt demons, not monkeys that belong somewhere else.”

“I’m well aware of that, William,” she said. “But we must do what we can, especially since this matter concerns us as a group. Who knows what would’ve happened if the monkeys ended up being used for entertainment? Aside from the brutality that is using animals and holding them captive, we still don’t know what the monkeys are capable of.”

Charlotte could barely finish her sentence that they all heard a scream and glanced suspiciously at each other.

“Should we go and check?” Jem offered, and Charlotte nodded and rose from her chair along with him. Will and Jessamine stayed put in their places. She hadn’t spoken a word and had been sitting in an armchair by the window by herself, which meant she either didn’t want to mingle with them because she often repeated that she hated them all, or she was up to something.

“I believe it was Sophie,” Charlotte said, going for the exit with Jem. “Well? What are you waiting for?” she raised an eyebrow at the other two, who hadn’t moved an inch. Will had even picked up a book from the inside of his jacket and started to read.

“Why should I care?” Will demanded bluntly. “I’m in good company here,” he showed her the book in his hands, so they would know it meant that and not Jessamine.

Charlotte exhaled in exasperation and looked at Jem for help. “Come on, Will. What if it’s an intruder? You can beat him up,” he suggested, but Charlotte shook her head. “Or do what you want.”

Will rolled his eyes and closed the book with a thud. “Fine, Jem,” he stood up. “This book wasn’t getting anywhere,” he explained, which was partially the truth. He was curious to see what the ruckus was about.

“What about you, Jessamine?”

“Pretend that I don’t exist,” she muttered, and Will swore he saw her smirk.

Sophie was in the bedroom quarters when they found her. She turned to the group once she heard the steps, and everyone could tell that she was angry.

“Sophie, what happened?” Charlotte asked, worried, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I have been patient, Charlotte, and you know it,” she began. “But this,” she clenched her fists, her hands turning white. “This is absolute horror and it should not go unpunished. I may be the maid around here, but this doesn’t mean I have to be subjected to such treatment.”

“Wait, what should not go unpunished? Sophie, you’re being cryptic!” Charlotte said. “Are you hurt?”

Sophie shook her head and freed herself from Charlotte’s hand and retrieved a box from a room, which was her own. At once, everyone pinched their nose because of the revolting smell that came from there.

“What in the Angel’s name is a box full of fecal matter doing in your room?” Charlotte wondered, baffled, one hand trying to cover the hellish odor and failing. It was too strong.

“I think this belongs to you,” Sophie ignored her and looked up at Will, who was wearing a disgusted expression on his face and was trying not too hard to hold in his laughs. She thrusted the box full of the foul mess in his hands, and he barely didn’t drop it on his shoes or the carpet.

“What the Dickens do you think you’re doing?” Will spat, trying not to be triggered by the awful smell right under his nose.

“I am just returning it to the sender,” Sophie spat back with venom, her brown eyes would incinerate Will if they could. “Without my regards.”

“And I’m giving it back because I am not responsible for this, whatever it is,” he pushed it back in the maid’s hands with a glare, and this time she was about to drop it. “I don’t know why you are under the impression I put a box full of poop in your room, Sophie.”

“Because that is exactly what you would do,” she tilted her head and stared at him with contempt. “But you will not get away this time. I’ll make you clean with your own tongue until every surface shines and I can see my reflection in it.”

“Sophie, calm down,” Jem came to her, and when she glanced at him, her expression changed completely. “I know you are upset, but can you explain what happened before accusing Will?”

“I better show you,” she sighed, and put the heavy box on the floor after giving Will, the one she believed to be the culprit, one last death glare. She showed everyone to her small room, which was mostly covered with the same filthy material otherwise known as crap.

Will, who couldn’t help himself, started to laugh. “This is so out of my league.”

“By the Angel,” Charlotte said with exasperation, looking at the mess. “I believe I know who it must’ve been,” she declared to the group.

They went to her office where Will had deposited the monkey several hours ago, and they found the animal still there, locked in the box. “If the monkey is still here, how did it escape and cause that mess?”

“The horses,” Jem suggested. “It must’ve been theirs. A small monkey can’t do all of that in such a short amount of time, unless they have a colic, which is highly unlikely. Even an enchanted monkey.”

“By this point, Jemmy, I don’t care what it is as long as we find who did this to poor Sophie,” Charlotte said. “Right?” she looked at Will as she did so, and he pursed his lips together. “Let’s go check the stables, shall we?”

And there they went. It was Charlotte who checked the boxes where the feces were put before they would be discarded elsewhere. “One of the boxes is missing,” she announced. “So it’s not the fault of our little primate in my office. It’s definitely from the horses.”

“I found this in Xanthos’ stall,” Sophie told the group proudly, showing her prize. It was a dagger, and everyone recognized it at once, with its design of herons on the blade. “I think this is yours,” she said for the second time that night, thrusting the dagger into Will’s hand.

“Will,” Charlotte said gently. “I believe it is time you confess.”

Everyone glanced at him. Sophie was fuming, her hands still clenched in fists by her sides and she was probably imagining crushing Will’s neck with her fingers, or worse. Charlotte was shaking her head and looked defeated. But he didn’t care for either. They could threaten him with a sword for all he cared. What hurt him the most, although he tried to keep his composure, was Jem’s reaction. He was disappointed in him. It was a hard blow to take, but he must bear with the consequences of his choices.

Seeing that Will wasn’t answering, he said: “I thought you said you lost it when we saved the monkey.” He didn’t add that he had dreaded having lost the dagger, the only thing that he brought back from home in Wales. They all knew how much that dagger meant to him.

“And I did,” Will admitted. “I thought I did. Does it matter now? You all believe me to be someone who would vandalize a woman’s room with horse waste, I better plead guilty and make you all happy, shan’t I?”

“Nobody said you did it,” Jem said.

“Nobody said it, but I can see it on your faces,” he said bitterly with a sigh. “And you know what? I don’t give a damn about this.”

“Will, let’s talk –”

“What is there to talk about, Charlotte? He was caught red-handed!” Sophie insisted, but Charlotte shook her head.

He turned his back and started walking away from the stables, Charlotte’s voice calling after him. But Will didn't listen anymore, and pretended in his heart that being accused of something he didn’t do wasn’t hurting him deeply in his soul. If he wanted everyone to believe he was heartless, he had to act like he had no heart.

“Finally,” Jem said. He sat on the steps of the stairs that faced the entrance to the London Institute. “Where have you been?”

Will blinked, passed a hand through his hair, and shrugged. “Depends who's asking.”

“Come on,” he told him. “I was worried about you. We all were. You can’t just disappear like this.”

“I didn’t disappear,” Will argued. “I just took a long walk, that is all.”

“A walk which lasted an entire day?” He raised an eyebrow at his parabatai. “Come on, let’s go to Charlotte,” Jem put a hand behind his back to guide him, but Will stopped on the landing before they could take the long corridor that led to her office.

“I am not in the mood to see her, let alone talk to her,” Will protested. “I need to be alone. Can I at least be alone in this forsaken building or not? Are you afraid I’m going to smear the walls with something else this time?” he turned left, directed to his bedroom.

“Don’t be a fool.”

“William.” It was Charlotte, just as he’d dreaded. He heaved a deep sigh, and felt better that she couldn’t see his face. “I’m glad you returned. I was worried.”

“Ah, yes, the prodigal son returns,” he mocked with a lopsided smile. “Too bad I never had any fortune to spend recklessly,” he shrugged. “Just primal, smelly, crap. All in all, Shakespeare believed that feces brought luck and pushed spectators to defecate in a bucket before his plays. Maybe it will bring me luck.”

“Stop saying nonsense and come here,” Charlotte ordered, and he didn’t know why, but he listened this time. “I know it wasn’t you.”

“Good for you,” he sneered. “Do the others believe you?”

“It was Jessamine,” Jem intervened. “She confessed to it. She said she wanted to prank you because she wanted to teach you a lesson.”

Will started laughing. “She’s getting dirtier, I see. That little witch. She will pay for this.”

“No one is going to pay for anything,” Jem said quickly. “And she is also going to apologize to you. Sophie will apologize for accusing you too.”

“I don’t need their apologies, nor I want them,” he said sternly. “I’d rather thrive on their dislike for me,” he added, “than have them kiss my backside with fake apologies.”

“At least he came back, right?” Charlotte offered, but Jem just shrugged, helpless.

#tsc fanfiction #tsc fan fiction #tsc #the infernal devices #will herondale #jem carstairs #jessamine lovelace #charlotte fairchild #sophie lightwood #heronstairs #clockwork princess #clockwork prince #clockwork angel #tweety's celebration #cassadra clare #the shadowhunter chronicles #tweety.writes

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