A/N My thanks to anyone still following the story! I love your love. Life marches on with or without time to write.

Songs to listen to while reading: Elliot Smith, Going Nowhere & Big Thief, Pretty Things & The Cure, Prayers for Rain.

-Windy

Rated M for sexual implications and actions as well as potential language.
Disclaimer: All characters/settings belong to Cassandra Clare.

No sooner than he drew out the final note of the lament, Jem heard a knock at his door.

"Come in," he called softly.

Will eased the door open and came to rest uneasily against the wall in front of Jem, who gazed at him, eyes lightly hooded over the surface of his violin. Still swept up in the music of the lovers' tragedy, Jem could only breathe as he waited for his parabatai to speak.

"Jem."

He blinked at Will.

"Jem, please."

The plea snapped Jem out of his reverie and had him replacing his instrument in its case before crossing the room to stand just in front of his partner.

"Will, what is it?"

The dark-haired boy's shoulders shook as he began to sob.

"Will…Will, talk to me, what happened?" Jem was growing increasingly frantic as this was rarely a side of Will that anyone was allowed to see, including himself. Grasping him by the shoulders, Jem pulled Will to him and wrapped his arms around his friend, lover, he reminded himself gently. His taller build meant Will's head sunk neatly into the crook of his neck and shoulders, where Will gratefully burrowed.

The truth was nothing had happened. It was more for fear or want of what could have, might have happened, that Will cried.

Suddenly, insisting hands pushed Jem hard and he stumbled back against his bed. No sooner than he had regained his balance, Will was upon him again, those same hands scrabbling at his chest, presumably in an attempt to unbutton Jem's shirt.

Jem knocked aside said wandering hands in favor of removing the offending article of clothing himself. As soon as it came undone, Will was on top of him, crashing their lips together as Jem shrugged out of his sleeves.

Bringing his hands up to cup Will's face, Jem was startled to find it damp. He pulled back sharply. Will surged forward again, grinding himself down Jem's hips as both boys bit out a moan.

It took all of Jem's self-control to separate from the lovely figure pressed along him, but he did so, stilling Will as best he could and retreating an arm's length. Still clutching Jem's forearms, Will let out a whine before turning his face to hide it from Jem's gaze.

"Will."

Will didn't respond.

"Will, you have to talk to me."

At that, Will's head snapped around and his eyes settled on Jem. There was a blaze alight in them.

"No, Jem, no. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to talk to you about anything." Sighing in frustration Will continued, "We're supposed to be uncomplicated. We're parabatai and that means even though we're keeping it all a secret, our feelings should be clear, and our relationship used to be defined by that."

Jem abruptly let go of Will. "What do you mean, 'used to be defined by that'?"

Will's arms dropped to his sides before he folded them confrontationally across his chest. It was all he could do to not blurt out the events of the last few hours for the shear purpose of sending everything in his life crashing down about his ears.

All at once, the silvery boy turned, all sharp angles in the dim light. Quietly, Jem retrieved his violin and set it to his chin, closing his eyes and resuming his stance with his back to the door and thus Will. Breathing evenly, Jem began to play.

Will trembled silently behind him, knowing full well what he had implied and correctly interpreting Jem's reaction. They were over.

But it was hard to feel that could be the end of it. Will shook his head, determined this would not be the end of it. Straightening up, he moved almost in a trance to lay a hand between Jem's shoulder blades. He didn't falter in his playing. Will snaked his other hand around to trace Jem's exposed collarbone seeing as he hadn't redressed following their argument.

If you could even call it that, in all its brevity, Will mused.

He then bent his head to press a kiss to the exposed skin of Jem's neck, spine, shoulder, where against him, he whispered, "I'm sorry," before pulling away. When his-well he didn't know what they were at this exact moment-didn't move, Will went to leave.

As he stepped towards the door, a hand darted out and slim fingers closed around his wrist.

"Don't you dare walk out that door, William Herondale."

And he didn't.

…

Jem stretched languidly, rotating his taunt shoulders and twisting to find Will still sacked out next to him. Grinning, Jem recalled the intense heat between them not yet hours prior.

"Mmmhm…" Will grumbled into a pillow as Jem's movements disturbed him.

Laughing gently at his parabatai's antics, Jem rose, intent on finding a glass of water. In standing, he unsettled the bed, and Will rolled to the center, arm flailing to find the warm body that had vacated the spot next to him.

A resounding smack echoed through the room as the flat of Will's hand accidentally contacted Jem's bare arse. Both boys froze.

Will cracked open one eye to assess the reaction of the slender boy standing next to him.

"Jem?"

Jem turned then, flushed from proverbial head to toe.

Will appraised the figure before him, biting back a grin at the rapidly hardening member at about his eye level. Snaking a hand out, Will cupped his partner's erection and blew warmly over it. With his other hand, he hooked Jem's knee and used his vantage to pull the lighter boy on top of him. No complaints were uttered from either party.

"So," Will murmured, running both his hands over Jem's toned rear. "Someone likes a good smacking, eh?"

Jem flushed even harder, muttering a near unintelligible comment having to do with Will and a penchant for depravity.

"What was that, love?"

At the sickly-sweet question, Jem scrambled to get off of Will, but it was too late.

Will seized Jem by the wrists and wrapped a leg around those on top of him, using it to flip them, resulting in a very pinned Jem squarely beneath him.

Jem squeaked a he saw the hunger in the stronger boy's eyes and Will took advantage of that open mouth to plant a savage kiss. This was the side of Will he was growing accustomed to seeing.

Leaning over, Will plucked a swatch of red cloth from the bedside table and deftly tied Jem's wrists together. He then proceeded to flip his bound partner onto his stomach and attached the bond to the headboard.

Jem groaned, predicting what was to come.

Tenderly (or perhaps sadistically, Jem wasn't quite sure), Will caressed the lovely, pale arse presented beside him. The first purposeful thwack on the sensitive skin surprised Jem and he let out a yelp.

Will cooed at his partner, following it up with a twin slap on the other cheek.

"Will…Will, stop…" Jem was panting at this point, though by Will's mark, they were just getting started.

Grabbing his stele, Will sketched a hasty endurance rune on each of their thighs. "I should think you need someone to take care of this for you," Will purred, teasing Jem's erection trapped beneath him. "And perhaps to teach you to stay in bed."

Jem bucked against the friction and was quickly swatted for his efforts.

"You didn't think I'd let you off easy, did you?" Will's voice was pure predator in Jem's ear.

His cheeky retort, "Well, I'd hoped," earned him another smack on the bum.

At this point, Will's own hardness was straining to be seen to in one form or another.

A generous smear of oil at Jem's entrance caused him to gasp which earned a chuckle from Will as he pumped his hand to coat himself in the same fluid. Bracing himself with an arm on either side of Jem, he slid into Jem's waiting arsehole, burying his cock deep within the other boy.

Jem gasped again and cried out at the rapid intrusion. Slowly sliding out until just his tip remained nestled in Jem's cheeks, Will traced a nonsense pattern down his parabatai's back, helping the slender figure to relax. Without warning, Will thrust heavily, slamming himself up to the hilt to fill Jem's bottom.

Jem pushed himself backwards as best he could from his prostrate position to grind against the dick within him.

Taking advantage of the gap creating by Jem's motion, Will grasped the other boy's cock and timed his strokes with long pumps down the pulsing shaft in his hand.

At this, Jem cried out and fisted his hands above his head.

Near shouting, Will plunged himself roughly in and out of his partner's arse several more times before slumping over Jem's back, filling his bumhole with sticky seed.

Both boys lay panting for several minutes before Will rolled sideways to allow Jem some room to breathe.

Jem whined slightly at the loss of contact, causing Will to smile. With one last solid smack on the still prone arse of his parabatai, Will stood and made his way to the wash room to clean up from their antics, leaving Jem tied to the bed for the time being.

The image of Jem still trussed up like a present waiting for him, and naked at that, was one that appealed to Will greatly. He thought he might like to see where this afternoon would take them…