lennonmorgenstern

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon slightly rolled his eyes as his parabatai corrected him. This was the way Len always was, and he loved her for it — even if it did frustrate him at times. He could sense the anxiety rolling off her in waves and squeezed her hand to hopefully reassure her. He looked deep into Davon’s eyes, ignoring the warlock mark around them. “Please.”

Davon sighed and turned around, walking towards a door off to the side. “Well, come on in. Tell me the whole sorry tale and I’ll see what I can manage for you.”

Lennon knew that Leon was trying to calm her down, but the both of them knew that it was relatively futile. She was a take charge kind of a person, unsuited for the background. When the warlock asked for their story it took all off her not to tell the other woman that it was none of her business. Instead she took a steadying gulp of air and began to explain their situation. 

Len was nearly finished explaining the fact that they were parabatai when she felt the charge of magic through the air and the edge of her shirt rolled upwards to reveal her parabatai rune inked darkly on her left lower back. “Oh yes, I can definitely help you. But what a price.” Davon’s scales glimmered menacingly as she tipped her head. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon felt Lennon’s eyes on him and realized it fell to him to do the talking. It usually did, unless they didn’t care if they pissed off whoever they were speaking with. He was the charm, Lennon was the honesty. He took a deep breath, then met the warlock’s eyes. “Ms. Rathmore,” he began, studying her face to see any change in expression. “I’m Leon Herondale. This is Lennon Morgenstern. We … we need your help.” He swallowed. “We heard you might know how to disable the tracking function of our runes, and …” He glanced down at Lennon, his fingers tightening in hers. “We need to hide from the Clave. Desperately.”

They’d moved from the doorstep into a massive foyer somehow before Lennon realised it, and her hand reached for the hilt of her seraph blade as a comfort. Davon’s eyes ran over the both of them as if she could see through their skin, and the shadowhunter felt dirty. “We don’t need to hide, because they can find things that are hidden. We need to stop existing, and we have pretty good intel that you’re the warlock to find.” Len stood with her shoulders back, head high, daring the downworlder to question her authority. Though, when she tought of it, her authority was the authority of the Clave. Exactly what she was trying to strip herself of. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

“Hey,” Leon said, bringing Lennon’s hand up to his mouth to brush his lips across her knuckles. “I promise, I get it. I know this is life or death. I just like when you smile.”

He grinned, then began to walk towards the house, on alert as many warlocks had their homes warded against unexpected visitors. But they made it to the door without incident. He leaned over to kiss Lennon’s cheek, then raised the large brass knocker.

The Warlock answered the door immediately, staring at them with wide brown eyes, the flesh that surrounded them scaled and dry like a snake. Lennon held herself back from the flinch that she wanted to pull. Warlocks usually hid their mark but Davon had clearly never seen the necessity. Suddenly though, all her menacing evaporated and she simply seemed blase and bored of the situation. 

“What can I be helping you with, Shadowhunters?” Her voice sounded as old as she was, displaying the wisdom of her years, and this time Len couldn’t help the shiver. She looked to Leon, swallowing hard. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon could feel the waves of anxiety radiating off his parabatai — it was part of why he was fucking around with music and things that didn’t matter. A (probably futile) attempt to help her calm down.

He followed Len out of the car, grabbing her hand as soon as he was close enough. They’d need to destroy the car — take it and dump it somewhere — but that was a job for after they’d seen the warlock. Taking a deep breath, Leon tugged Len towards the imposing home they knew (hoped?) belonged to the Downworlder they sought.

Immediately she pulled her hand away from his, her fingers balling into a fist to prevent him from taking it again. “Stop playing around, Leon. They’ll strip our runes, we’ll never see eachother again, don’t you get that?” She gesticulated with her hands as if to say ‘take this seriously’. Lennon knew that she was not actually mad at him in any way, but she couldn’t help the urge to escape the clave. 

“I’m sorry, okay? But we have got to go because I can’t lose you.” The brunette softened a little bit and held out her hand to him finally, her plump lips full with a smile. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

“Come on, you know teasing you is my kink,” Leon joked as he scrolled through his phone to get some music playing. His mother had always given him shit for his obsession with mundane tech — even though he was far from the only Shadowhunter who had a smartphone. A few moments later, music filled the car, and Leon looked up to see where they were going. “I always forget you’re a maniac behind the wheel. Oh, shit, turn here!”

“Are we alive? Then shut up!” Len huffed exasperatedly at her parabatai and quickly rolled to wheel left so that they could catch the turn into her renovated upscale community. Davon, like all warlocks, was a flashy being who felt some incessant need to be ostentatious. Lennon parked rather roughly and wasted no time in getting out of the car. She was getting anxious and didn’t like the feeling crawling through her skin that they could find her at a moment’s notice. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon nodded as Len pointed out the car, his hand grazing her lower back. “Looks good to me … babe,” he echoed, a hint of a smirk playing around the edge of his lips. “It’s been a while since I did this …” he muttered as they approached the car, as he pulled a Swiss Army knife looking lockpick out of his pocket. A few moments later, the door clicked and swung open. “You drive. I’ll be on tunes.” He climbed in, settling into the passenger seat. “It’s just like those roadtrips mundanes always go on in the movies!”

Lennon couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Leon repeated the name back. It was such a normal thing, yet she’d never imagined she would be doing it with him. It all seemed surreal and the world that she had grown up in was fragmenting in ways that made it unrecognisable. Len slid into the driver’s seat upon his command and immediately got a feel for the car. She wasn’t a bad driver, just a crazy one, and her foot found the pedals excitedly. Clicking her seatbelt into place and reversing from the spot, she threw them towards the highway and their warlock destiny. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

It still hadn’t really sunk in that he had left behind everything he’d ever known — well, almost everything. He still had Lennon — the person he knew better than he knew himself. He was still chanting a mantra in his head, insisting that she was all he needed. And she was. But, probably, later it would hit him — that he’d never see his family again. He couldn’t afford to go down that rabbit hole right now, so he didn’t.

Leon moulded his body defensively around Lennon’s, almost on instinct, shielding her from the crowds - despite the fact that they were invisible. “That way,” he muttered, jutting his chin toward the exit and guiding her toward it.

Lennon loved the way that she felt safe with him, how he formulated his very actions around protecting her. She kept a firm grasp on his hand as she tugged him towards the sliding glass doors that he had pointed out. It wasn’t practical for them to be so close together, if anyone attacked they were at a disadvantage, but the brunette believed their intuition and battle keenness would work when they needed it to. Though hopefully they wouldn’t. 

Len gulped the fresh air as they exited outside, her pretty green eyes searching the parking lot for the least conspicuous car they could steal. “That one, babe” She nodded toward a little silver Renault Megane nestled in the corner of the lot. She flickered her gaze to him nervously, suddenly extremely conscious of the mundane pet name she’d just used. 

Leon’s heart was still in his throat, even though it was hours since they’d left the Institute. So far, so safe. But the lingering anxiety was due to the fact that he knew their time was limited and running out — they had to get to Davon Rathmore, High Warlock of Versailles. They’d heard a rumour that she could disable the tracking ability of their runes. She was their only hope of a fresh start.

“How much further?” he asked Lennon, his hand reaching over to envelop hers.

@moonbeamsmuses

[lennonmorgenstern]

Lennon had taken to being quiet in the past few hours, burdened with the anxieties of their journey. They’d no hope besides this warlock, and Len couldn’t help the small twist in her throat. She didn’t find them appalling or wish the downworld dead but it was ingrained in her to be repelled by them, she hated herself for it. “It’s not very far, Leon. But we need to hurry up, the Clave could track us at any minute.

The brunette smiled and squeezed his hand, a flood of warmth bleeding into their parabatai bond. She pulled him off the train and into the crowded station, body alert and ready for about anything. “All we have to do is get to her apartment. Sounds a lot easier than it is, just so you know.” Lennon smirked softly, flipping back her silky locks of hair and leading the way.

Leon’s heart was still in his throat, even though it was hours since they’d left the Institute. So far, so safe. But the lingering anxiety was due to the fact that he knew their time was limited and running out — they had to get to Davon Rathmore, High Warlock of Versailles. They’d heard a rumour that she could disable the tracking ability of their runes. She was their only hope of a fresh start.

“How much further?” he asked Lennon, his hand reaching over to envelop hers.

@moonbeamsmuses

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon sighed as Lennon pulled away from his mouth, his eyes reluctantly opening to peer down into hers. “I should have known you’d be just as much trouble as a girlfriend as a parabatai.” The word slipped from his lips without his consent, an unexpected instinct. It simultaneously seemed like a momentous admission and an insufficient one — ‘girlfriend’ sounded like two kids playing games, and this was so much more than that. And yet, wasn’t that also horribly accurate? Two foolish kids, getting caught up in something they didn’t know the rules to.

He pushed those thoughts away, filing them into a mental box marked ‘open when only absolutely necessary’. Instead, he dipped his head to catch Len’s mouth again, his hands sliding to rest on her waist. I hope they’re clean, he mused as an afterthought, not quite sure how they’d explain away hand prints of demon blood on Lennon’s body. They really had to be careful — somewhat difficult when in the throes of the first heady rushes of new love.

Leon pulled back, reaching to tuck some of Lennon’s hair behind her ear. “What about you? You’re not looking entirely sparkly clean, either.”

Lennon’s world froze for a few blissful moments as she processed him calling her his girlfriend, everything seemed somewhat buzzy and light, though the entirety of her emotions were clouded with omnipresent anxiety. Be rational, do what you need to do instead of what you want to do, these were edicts that all shadowhunters tended to live by. When they were together, though, none of that mattered. Leon’s hands were becoming increasingly familiar the more he touched her and Len leaned into him even as he pulled back. “Mmm.” The brunette traced her fingers along the edge of his jacket before she stepped out of his arms and slowly lowered the leather off his body. “Don’t worry about me, let’s worry about you.”

There was a glimmer of mischief shining in Lennon’s eye, something all too common with the girl. A wide smile painted her mouth, pearly whites glittering in the soft light of his bedroom. Dropping the filthy article of clothing and stepping back towards the bathroom, Len curled a finger towards herself, a playful inquisition about her. Turning her back to him and letting herself into the bathroom, she paused for a moment to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was covered in blood, bleeding slightly herself from a cut on her forehead. Her mahogany tendrils were a ratty mess and part of her shirt hung in tatters; just another day of demon hunting. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon stiffened a little more as Lennon’s hand enclosed his, then forced himself to relax. His mother hadn’t been happy when he and Lennon had taken their parabatai vows — Alyssa was one of many who disapproved of non-sibling male-female parabatai pairings, given the Clave’s stance on parabatai who fell in love. Leon had found that most of their generation found this viewpoint to be outdated, partly for it’s assumption that men and women couldn’t be ‘just friends’ and partly for it’s assumption of heterosexuality. For his part, Leon had always dismissed his mother’s concerns as foolish. 

Well, he had. Until he had come to acknowledge his feelings for Lennon. Now, when he saw the way his mother looked at them, he felt something akin to guilt — even though he felt in his soul that there was nothing wrong with their love.

His mother eyed their clasped hands, arching an eyebrow. “You two are far too old to be carrying on like that. It was one thing when you were children, but now …” She sighed. “People talk.”

Leon rolled his eyes. “Okay, Mom. The minute someone appears who might get the wrong idea, I promise to let go.” It was common for parabatai to touch — their bond made them stronger when they did, enhancing many of their powers. It was less common for parabatai to hold hands when not actively using those powers, but … Fuck it.

Alyssa sighed like the weight of the world was resting on her chest. “There’s a briefing in fifteen minutes. Attendance is mandatory.” She sniffed, pulling a face. “And by the Angel, please clean that disgusting muck off first.”

She gave them one last look and walked back the way she came, leaving them alone once more in the corridor. Leon turned to look at Lennon, his eyebrow raised, one corner of his mouth turned up. “You little shit,” he said fondly. “I swear you wind her up on purpose.”

Lennon barely took a breath for the entirety of Alyssa’s diatribe, finally feeling the tense muscles of her shoulder blades loosen ever so slightly at her leaving. The brunette smirked softly as he chided her, amused by the little game that they’d played with one another, though in honesty she was earnest to not have to hide who they were anymore. “Pretty soon we’ll be busy running from her and the Clave and she will long for the days that all I did was talk sass in her face and monopolize her son.” Len huffed softly through her nose as she turned to face Leon, still struck by how hand some he was even covered in ichor. She scrunched her nose at him playfully and tugged at his filthy jacket. 

“The woman was right about one thing, though, we’re a little disgusting. Don’t wanna show up at assembly looking like this, do we?” A feign of admonishment painted the shadowhunter’s features and she winked at her parabatai. Lennon led the pair of them upstairs to his room, comfortably familiar with the knowledge he’d follow.  Every room had it’s own private bathroom for the individual suites, a perk that made the institue feel more homey normally. Now it came in handy because it meant the two of them had yet another reason to be alone together,  As soon as Len had swung the heavy oak door shut, the petite woman pressed herself up onto her toes and pressed her mouth to Leon’s. 

“Hmm, sorry. It seems like since the first one I just can’t stop myself now.” Her accent lilted through the air, tainted with her unceremonious giggling. Raising her green eyes to peer up at him she felt the soft pattering of her heart swell and immediately felt vulnerable. Lennon knew he would never hurt her in the same way she knew that there was air to breathe, instinct dictated her behaviour with him, but anxiety plagued her nevertheless. Rocking back to rest flatfooted, Len nodded her head toward the bathroom, nibbling lightly at her lip. “You should go have a shower.”

[lennonmorgenstern]

Lennon: Where are you?? I need you.

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon knew he was the optimist of the pair — he always had been. Some people saw it as a failing or a shortcoming, like he was deeply naive; he saw it more as an extension of his stubbornness and determination. He was positive because he was positive he would make it work out. There was something about running headfirst at a brick wall with a smile on your face that always seemed to make a dent, or at least that was his experience. But, despite all that, he knew that this time Lennon had the clearer eyes of the two of them. As she laid out every obstacle, the weight in his chest got heavier and heavier.

Not that any of that was going to stop him.

“Okay, okay, you’re right,” he muttered as they walked through the glamoured front doors of the Institute. He knew that any mundanes walking by would just see the two of them walking into an abandoned old plague hospital. He made sure to keep his voice quiet enough that only someone with enhanced hearing right beside him could hear — and even still, he kept his eyes peeled for anyone paying more attention than they should. “It is technically impossible. But when has that ever stopped us?” He bent down, his voice growing even quieter. “Jocelyn Fairchild hid from the Clave for years. We just need to … get creative. Maybe enlist the help of a warlock.”

Leon quickly snapped his mouth shut as an imposing woman appeared at the end of the hallway. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun, her skin a few shades darker than his marked on every spare inch with runes. Alyssa Emberdown rarely, if ever, smiled, but today she looked particularly displeased. He swallowed, resisting the ridiculous urge to clutch for Lennon’s hand. “Mom. What’s up?” he called out.

Leon was generally an intractable human being, the type to beat a subject into the ground, particularly with her. So when he grew quieter as soon as they were safely inside the wards of the institute, Lennon assumed it was to protect the sensitive nature of their conversation. Instead he began babbling about her aunt-in-law. Len had never met the woman, so the name was merely another token of reminder for the things that Valentine had done to her and the entire world. “Don’t you start bringing up names like Jocelyn Fairchild, things didn’t exactly end well for her.” The brunette rolled her eyes, a smile peaking through on her lips, and she admitted to herself that this was comfortable. 

At least it had been getting there until Alyssa emerged from the end of the hall. The woman looked like all Herondale’s, including Leon. Tall, powerful, exuding a demand for respect from the plebeian masses below them. There’d never been a shred of respect in their relationship and Len did not hide the scowl that crossed her features. Her generalised disrespect for authority had created pitfalls for her her entire life, though the disaster of her relationship with Alyssa Emberdown lay in another Herondale. Lennon’s eyes rolled over to her parabatai, he’d grown much stiffer, adopting the formality trained into him by previous generations. This was his worst look, she fervently believed, one that belied everything about the man he genuinely was. The man she loved. 

“Hi, Alyssa.” Lennon spoke softly, her voice brimming with sagacity. There were a great many things more that she wished to say, yet the younger shadowhunter held her tongue. In a display designed to piss the other off, she reached out and laced Leon’s fingers in her own. He was the source of their disgruntled nature, after all. They both loved him too much. and almost in a way she couldn’t control, Len giggled at the thought. Immediately she hid her features, knowing that Leon would be both annoyed and amused by her right then. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon joined Lennon in the scan of the area, looking up on the nearby rooftops. He wasn’t just looking for demons — he also had eyes peeled for any of their peers. It was dawning on him just what they were in the middle of signing themselves up for, and he didn’t want to be caught off guard. He knew that soon they’d be public enemy numbers one and two for the Clave. He’d rather be paranoid than dead.

When they were both satisfied the danger had passed, Leon let out a tight breath, his shoulders easing as he tilted his head into Len’s hand. He reached out for her waist, pulling her backwards into an alley, until his back hit the wall. He held her for a moment, just enjoying the thrill of having her in his arms. How many nights had he laid awake, imagining this moment while pretending the thought had never crossed his mind?

With a sigh, he leaned in to press his forehead to hers. “If that’s what it takes to be with you, then that’s what we do,” he replied, his voice as serious as hers had been light. It was a ridiculous thought — running from the Clave — but more ridiculous was the thought of ever being apart from her. “We go back. We plan our exit for our next hunt. We kill whatever it is, and then we go.” He opened his eyes, looking deep into hers. “We run like fucking hell into the sunset and find somewhere to do a happily ever after. Just us. Like it’s always been.”

Leon spun a fanciful faerietale of what their life would be and Lennon was content to just let herself fall into the moment a little. The way his beautiful brown eyes bore into her own made the girl feel a warming sense of home, one that made her curl even closer into him. Len knew that this entire plan had a slim to none chance of working to begin with but she was stuck with it either way. “You want to just sneak out like two kids, wild and free and messing about behind our parents backs.” Lennon chuckled softly, though they weren’t in much different a situation than she’d just described. 

Rocking back on her heels with a grace sapped from years of training, the brunette pulled away from her parabatai and began the short journey back to their institute. Knowing he’d follow, Lennon immediately began her diatribe. It wasn’t uncommon for her to lecture, and this was cooking up to be a good one. “You know that we’ll have to put a lot more thinking into it than that, Leon. They track us through our runes, I know you know that. Even if we flouted that somehow we still have to outrun an entire race of Shadowhunters. I mean, the idea is baffling. “ 

Len paused for a moment, swallowing some more air and tugging fervently at her braid. “Then if we escaped both of those two impossibly inescapable things we would still be faced with the final fact of being alone. No job, no life, no existence in the mundane world. We know our way around a blade, sweetheart, but I also know that you get cranky when you’re hungry.” A vibrant smile lit her features as they walked into the institute, one which she quickly lost when she realised they could never be them here. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon was ready the moment Lennon called out to him — this was a routine they’d perfected over the lifetime they’d been training together. Sometimes, it felt like he’d think about moving and then Lennon’s body would respond; they were like liquid, mirror images of each other. And she was a thing of beauty — strength and control and power and rage. She was the most extraordinary being he’d ever come across. He could stare at her forever.

Her second shout shook him out of his momentary reverie — a dangerous thing to indulge in at the best of times, let alone when a disgusting monster was about to murder the love of his life. Leon grimaced and launched himself at the creature, his blade swinging down to slam into the thing’s heart. He grunted as he pulled the blade down, gauging a huge slash in its chest. A moment later, it exploded with a wicked scream.

Leon reached up to wipe some muck off his chin, taking deep breaths to calm his panting to a normal rhythm. “You good?” he asked after a moment, moving closer to Len, to brush some hair out of her face. “We should check the area, make sure it really was alone.”

When Leon came down on the creature, Lennon immediately let go, sliding off it with a learned grace until she fell into a crouch on the floor. The beastly thing vanished with an explosive power and she was faced again with the man she loved. There was always a moment of relief after a battle, the first second that she saw him again and knew for sure he was fine. It was somewhat ridiculous given the fact that she’d know immediately if anything where wrong with him, nevertheless she felt that same rush of calm now as she stared into his eyes. 

Len tipped her head closer into his hand, savouring the way it felt to be able to do even that. Somehow in between fighting the demon and admitting she loved him the woman no longer felt the reservation to not express her love for him. “You’re right.” Lennon murmured as she pulled back from his touch, looking back over towards the square. Gently nudging past him so that she could make her way out into the open, the woman held her blade out before her, prepared for virtually anything. 

When she scanned the area and found that they were alone, Lennon turned back to Leon. “Thanks for saving my life. Again.” She murmured, reaching out to trace gently stroke the edge of his jaw. “We gotta get out of here. How exactly are we going to do this? Run away?” Len giggled softly, finding that the idea itself seemed so impossibly silly, but she wanted it so very badly. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Leon was about to reply with his typical optimism, shooting down every one of her objects (he wasn’t about to let her get away that easy), when his thought process was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the very thing they were out here to track. His entire stance shifted in an instant, adrenaline flooding his muscles like a long lost friend. It had been far too long since they’d been on an actual hunt. Well, it’d been a week and a half. That was an age, as far as he was concerned.

“Yeah, sure, blame me,” Leon said as he pulled his weapon from the sheath at his side. It was an ancestral seraph blade of his mother’s family, the Emberdowns; it was known as Lualgri and every time he wielded it it served as a reminder of everything he needed to live up to. Or, usually it did. It seemed a little like since he’d told Len how he felt, his family had less of a hold over him.

Leon let out a puff of air as Lennon was thrown back into him, unprepared for the force of her body slamming into him. He didn’t pause to ask if she was okay — he knew she was made of stronger stuff than that. Instead, he eyed up the alleyway they were in, and launched himself against the wall, using it to kick off and slam down on the demon, bringing his blade down into its shoulder. “You’re an ugly fucker, aren’t you?” Leon remarked as he leapt off the creature, pulling his sword from the deep wound he’d managed to carve, wincing as it caught his leg with its tail. “Still with me, Len?”

Leon was a force to be reckoned with even at the worst of times and watching him now it was easy to deify him, each of his muscles rippled with force as he struck out at the creature. Lennon’s head undulated with pain but the brunette Shadowhunter didn’t take time to readjust herself; instead she swung herself back onto her feet and brought her own blade down with a sharp metallic ringing against the demon’s armored tail. Black ichor sprayed at their feet and Len’s featured twisted in disgust as she stepped back from the creature roaring in pain before them. “I’m always with you.” 

Lennon adjusted her grip on the hilt of her blade so that she held it with the blade facing herself. Her green eyes darkened with a withering glare at the monstrosity and she charged at it, weapon raised high. The cobblestones felt familiar beneath her feet and Len used the little crevices to propel herself forward, the steel edges of her blade flashing in whatever dim light it could find. The muscles in her leg flexed as the woman launched herself higher into the air than conceivable for a mundane, bringing her heavy combat boot around to kick the demon in it’s head. Lennon landed on it’s neck and sunk into squishy flesh, her features twisting in disgust. 

“Leon, now!” Loosing her repulsion, Len wrapped both legs around it’s neck and held on as tightly as she could. The demon thrashed wildly, raising it’s now barbless tail in an attempt to sting her. Though it’s main weapon had been unequipped it still hurt to be whipped at with the muscled limb and she let out a huff of pain as she wrestled with it. “I can’t hold it for long” Lennon implored her parabatai as she felt herself slipping. 

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

This close to Lennon, Leon finally felt like he could breathe. For days now he felt like he’d only been able to take shallow breaths, just enough to survive. Now he was gulping down huge lungfuls, her scent in his nostrils, her fingers on his skin.

He’d dated before. Well, he’d been sent on supervised walks around the Institute with suitable matches. He knew the day was coming when his parents would heavily encourage him to marry the daughter of some political ally, to further cement their place in society. He’d always accepted it as an inevitable eventuality, assuming that a passionless existence was his fate, that love, of a kind, would grow. 

Now … now he knew there was no way he could ever take that road. He knew what it was like to be alive, to feel every nerve ending buzz. And worst of all, he knew she felt it to. There was no going back, no opting out. No matter how long they tried to fool themselves.

As Len pressed into him, he once again gave into that uncontrolled part of himself. His hands settled on her lower back, and he leaned down to cover her mouth with his. This, somehow, was safer than at the Institute — here the only ones who might see them would be the downworlder they were out here to put down. After a moment, he lifted his head slightly, his nose still brushing the side of hers. “We could run. We’re strong, we know how to survive.” He swallowed. “I’d burn the whole thing to the fucking ground if it meant we could stay together.”

The night bled away as Leon found her mouth, his kiss consuming her and all the rationality that she’d been trying to do something with. instead, the girl found herself curling impossibly closer to her partner, lips seeking the warmth of his. The taste of him flooded Lennon’s tongue and she felt intoxicated by his taste, his smell, every sensation of him drowning her. There wasn’t any way for them to go backwards any more. “Run? From the Clave. From your family. We’d be traitors, Leon, stripped of our runes if we ever got caught.” Fear was a cloud on her judgment and Len traced the runes that decorated his tawny skin, leaning closer to place the smallest kiss over one of them. 

It wasn’t until it was already too late that she noticed the demon approaching them. Lennon saw his hideous, deformed features before he really came into view. The scaled creature stood taller than the pair of them, its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it drooled in desire. Almost immediately she grabbed for Leon and pulled him backwards with her as a barbed tail swung their way. “This is what I get for finally opening up to you, huh?” Len peeked over at him from the corner of her eye as her body wound itself up, spoiling for a fight to release the energy he’d empowered her with.

The brunette charged straight towards the creature without any of the paranoia that crippled her decisions regarding him. Ducking low to avoid its dangerous tail and sharp claws, she slammed out with her seraph blade and met empty air. An attitude that nearly resembled playfulness filled her and Len smirked at the creature. Their fighting quarters were cramped in the little alley and she barely saw one of the strong arms as it slammed into her head and sending her toppling backwards into Leon. “Son of a bitch..” Lennon whispered as a sharp pain reared up behind her eyes.

[lennonmorgenstern]

leonherondale‌:

Lennon’s words stung — that was what the people who knew you the best could always do, stab you where it was most tender. It was true that his family were loyalists, incredibly powerful and well-respected. It was one of the reasons he’d always held himself so tightly, so carefully. When he and Lennon had begun to bond as small children, it had been clear his parents didn’t want him associating with a Morgenstern. To date, remaining dedicated to her was the most rebellious thing he’d ever done. Len brought out something in him — a fire that no one else could light.

“I was giving you space,” Leon retorted, his words losing some of their snap as he followed her gaze. He activated his night vision rune as well, glancing up to see if there was anything on the surrounding roofs. When he was satisfied they hadn’t stumbled on their quarry, he turned back to Lennon, surprised to see a calmer, colder visage had replaced the ire of the moment before. She’d always been better at him than this part — the hiding of her emotions. He had never seen the point.

He’d never had anything to hide before.

Leon sighed and reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. “I hate this,” he muttered, half to himself. “I hate feeling this … whatever is in between us now.” He hadn’t realised until the words came out of his mouth that it had felt, for days now, like there was a physical barrier between them. They had always been easy with each other’s physicality — they had to be, to learn to be each other’s shadows and mirrors — but now it felt like every touch was might opening Pandora’s box. “I … I am yours, Len. I will almost always follow your lead, you know that. I would — will — follow you into hell. But … you’re wrong about this. And I won’t ever pretend you’re not.”

Lennon was afraid, realistically, of everything that came in the territory of loving Leon. From the moment that she’d met the striking, dark haired man the girl had felt like she was where she belonged. That didn’t stop everyone around them from creating a stigma between the pair, telling them that they weren’t supposed to have the bond that they did. Len laughed very softly at the thought, her mind a cacophony of ideas that wound her into a tight ball of fizzling, electric energy. It wasn’t until he touched her ever so gently that the magnetism between the parabatai exploded inside her. The woman stepped back from his tender hold on her as he spoke, his voice rich and warm. 

The Shadowhunter pulled uncomfortably at the black turtleneck that clung to her figure, looking anywhere but at him. “You think I don’t know I’m wrong? That being away from you doesn’t kill me inside? That I can’t FEEL you through this damned rune that binds us.” Lennon had become slightly frenetic and it reflected in the words pouring from her full pink lips. She stepped forward and reached out to him, dark green eyes rolling over his gorgeous face as she reached up to graze her fingers softly along his jawline. Being close to him filled her with a strong sense of rightness, she felt more powerful when they were together than she ever would without him. Still she ground her teeth together and stepped back with difficulty. 

“I just can’t put you in danger that way, damn it.” Len whispered under her breath as she grabbed him by his shirtfront and pulled him along down a narrow alleyway so they were less visible. They stood pressed chest to chest and though she was at least 6 inches shorter, Lennon could feel his soft breathing on her cheek. He smelled divine and she was losing a tentative grip on the fading reality. “I love you, okay. We’re in love and that fact is going to destroy a lot of things for us, so I need us to come up with a plan here, because I can’t be apart from you anymore.”