#But the other part of that is alec knows that he's put magnus is difficult spot so he goes put of his way to make sure he's earned that

[backpackingspace]

Alec purposefully making himself appear as harmless as possible in magnus's public spaces

[bonniebird]

Isabelle Lightwood x Fem!Reader

Requested by Anon

Make a request

Request: Anonymous asked: Could I please have an imagine where the reader is the younger half-sister (warlock) of Magnus Bane and when she meets Isabelle Lightwood she is obviously smitten (as is Isabelle). Alec and Magnus then try to play matchmaker for their sisters?

Read on Wattpad

Read on AO3

“Hurry!” Izzy yelled and turned around. Grabbing your hand she pulled you up a ledge and away from the demon that was chasing you. Jace emerged from the shadows and cornered it while Magnus came from another direction. Once it was dealt with, Izzy led the way out of the building and up onto the rooftops.

You stumbled out of the building and took a deep breath as you followed her. The tops of the buildings caught the wind and it allowed you to slowly take in cold air and calm yourself. “Not used to this kind of fun?” “Fun!” You snapped and looked at Izzy who winked at you. Clearing your throat you recovered yourself and gave a flirty smile. “I have more fun to attend to elsewhere.” Snapping your fingers you vanished. Izzy smiled to herself until she spotted Magnus watching her. Turning away she started to walk off not liking the knowing look that your brother was giving her. “I think it’s time for a push.” Magnus said. Alec groaned and glanced at Magnus who was watching Jace hurry after Izzy. “No. Don’t push them. It’ll just make Izzy difficult.” Alec pleaded. Magnus smiled as he vanished the same way you had and was gone from view. Alec groaned knowing that the next few weeks were going to be rather dramatic. At least on his sister's part.

************

“What are we going to do?” Magnus said. You had been walking through Pandemonium looking for something to do as you sipped a colourful drink in your hand. “Do about what?” You asked and he smiled. “Your infatuation with the shadowhunter." He started to walk away and you quickly followed him. "What are you talking about?" You asked sharply and frowned at him. "I see it all you know. The sly glances, the way you smile to yourself and the lack of lovers all of a sudden. It's pretty obvious. Just because they miss the signs doesn't mean that I do." He was satisfied with what he said until you shrugged dismissively. Deciding that it wouldn't do to just push you towards Izzy, Magnus left you alone for the rest of the evening. He called Alex early the next day and welcomed him into his living room. "What're you planning, Magnus?" He asked when he saw the look on the warlock's face. "Why must everyone insist I am always up to something?" Magnus grumbled. "Well. Are you?" Alec asked. He smiled when Magnus' face fell. "Yes. But that's beside the point. What are we going to do about our respective sisters?" Magnus asked. Alec stared at him for a moment and huffed. “Nothing. I’m not going to get in between the two of them.” Alec said quickly. Magnus chuckled and gestured for Alec to sit with him. “They won't like us meddling.” “Who says they have to know?” Magnus asked and produced a small bottle of silvery blue liquid from thin air. “I’m not using any kind of potion or magic.” Alec said reluctantly. “All it is is a truth potion. One drop each and for the next few seconds, they will be helpless to say anything other than what they truly want to say. We could even make sure that it’s just the two of them together.” Magnus offered. Alec stared at the bottle. All his sister talked about was you. Which was fine at first but frankly he had begun to wonder if he had ever been so infuriating when he used to talk about Jace, before meeting Magnus. “Fine. But only if it’s just the two of them alone. I won't let them be humiliated.” Alec said. He pointed a finger at Magnus and found, deep down, he assumed Magnus wouldn’t mind embarrassing you a little. They put the plan into motion at the weekend. Inviting you over for dinner and hoping that the two of you might happen to confess your feelings before they got the potion part of the plan. “They’re just awkwardly looking at each other over the table.” Alec whispered loudly to Magnus who tutted and joined him at the kitchen door, peeking through and watching the pair of you. “Oh. they are.” He muttered. Alec frowned and glanced at Magnus. “Did you think I was joking?” Alec asked and Magnus pulled him away when Izzy spotted the pair of them watching. “No. I was just hoping there was something telepathic going on but nothing. We have no choice but the potion.” Magnus said as he headed over to the drinks he’d been making. Alec helped him measure out the drops into the drinks. “Thirty seconds. That’s all and it wears off. Any longer than that and I feel rude.” “Rude doesn’t quite describe it.” Alec said mostly to himself and followed Magnus out with their drinks. The two of you happily took them and drank while talking. You started to feel strangely warm and relaxed. When you realised what Magnus had done it was too late to do anything about it. “I was wondering how you felt about Izzy.” Magnus said before you could argue with him and waste the time you had under the effects of the drink. “I-I like her.” You said before you could think of a way to stop your body from betraying you. You glared at your brother while Izzy’s eyes widened. “Oh good because I like you too.” Izzy said quickly. The potion wore off before anyone else could say anything. “I. Don’t know what just happened.” Izzy said. Then she started to look upset and stormed off. Alec hurried after her. “That was a cruel thing to do!” You snapped at Magnus. He gestured as if he agreed and then shrugged. “Perhaps. But these mortals don’t live long and you might as well have a great love instead of pining and moping around here. You bring the mood down.” Magnus said quickly. He knew it would make you angry and that you’d go after Izzy.

“Why would you do that to me Alec?” Izzy asked. He sighed and scratched at his chin nervously as she hurried to the door. “I just wanted to help.” He said lamely. She turned back, planning on yelling but saw you behind him. “Help.” You said coldly. Alec jumped and turned, looking guilty and then retreated back into the apartment. You stayed with Izzy who was rooted to the spot. “Perhaps we should start over. Without a spell.” You offered. Izzy nodded and smiled. “I do like you.” she said with a flirty smile. “I like you too.” You answered. “We gathered that!” Magnus yelled from inside. “Why don’t we go somewhere without these two?” You offered and Izzy agreed, happily following you out into the street. “I hope them being mad at us was worth it.” Alec said once you’d both left. Magnus tutted and sipped his drink. “(Y/N) only holds grudges for a few hundred years, we’ll be fine.” He said casually. Alec gave him a withering look before nursing his own drink.

Izzy tags:

@gillybear17 @ravennoore14 @the-caravello-post @killing-gremlin @aegonandaemondtargaryenslut18 @lchufflepuffcorn @geekyandgay98 @savagemickey03 @evattude @kaitieskidmore1 @darklyndivinely @sashawalker2

[im-out-of-it]

part two of season two, episode four discussion post continued “day of wrath”

40. Magnus killing it in the fashion department in this episode

41. I like when they would put Magnus in more colorful attire. the black clothing is nice but Magnus is very versatile and can literally pull off anything. that’s why I think season one Magnus is super iconic because there isn’t a hairstyle or clothing that he wore that he didn’t look fantastic in. I just wish in the last two seasons, they would’ve spiced up his wardrobe and gave him different hairstyles. I like the spiked look but what about the pink hair, the different hairstyles?????

42. IM SORRY BUT SEASON ONE MAGS IS SO UNDERRATED SO CAN WE PLEASE APPRECIATE HIM??????

43. shit where was I???? oh that’s right, Simon is trying to open Camille’s little snake trapping protection box thing

44. Simon: ribs sound appetizing but not for me

45. also this is from last episode and Magnus’s facial expressions are always ON POINT

46. well good old hodge is the cell next to Jace. always fun when the person who cuts off your hand is now next to you in prison

47. ew hodge just told jace he’s the best. ADVIL PLEASE

48. I actually don’t mind the whole demons taking over shadowhunters bodies but I don’t like certain ones being blamed for the actions demons did (cough cough trying to make Alec feel guilty in a way clary)

49. Luke and Jocelyn have zero chemistry. I said what I said. I’m glad they got rid of her and put with Luke with someone else (don’t want to ruin anything for first time watchers)

50. also forgot to post this as well:

51. I love how everyone waits to be let in to Magnus’s loft and Alec just walks in as he owns the place lmao (I’m not sure if the bottom left is Alec just coming in but I wouldn’t be surprised.) Alec + Magnus’s loft = a package deal

52. to be fair, alec comes with the apartment (a little jest for season three) I just love how comfortable Alec is that he can just come in but technically, he’s been doing that before they got together. you can’t say no to Alec it’s impossible

53. BUT RAPHAEL CAN WE CRY FOR HIM YET

54. Simon is coming at the worst possible time

55. and before we get to Simon and Raphael fighting and causing Magnus a migraine, can we talk about the beautiful friendship Raphael has with Magnus? I didn’t like their friendship in the books. it was a very sarcastic but almost we aren’t that great of friends style in the books. I didn’t like it. I like how Raphael can come to Magnus in the show and not be embarrassed. I think they’re a lot closer in the show. I absolutely adore that some of the downworlders are Magnus’s children because he can’t have any children (biologically)

56. Magnus: revenge at its finest

57. and it’s so sweet to see Magnus catering to Raphael’s wounds. show Magnus will always have my heart. he’s constantly helping others even when his world is burning. literally has been through so much with Alec already and he’s been helping Alec out, Simon, and Raphael. there are no limits to Magnus and his kindness.

(helped clary try to get her memories, helped wake Jocelyn up, helped get book of the white and endured seeing Camille and magicking up a draft that sets Camille free, helps Simon face his fears, helps Raphael with his wounds, tracks Camille down knowing how difficult it’ll be, helps Alec with coming out and making sure he is comfortable, helps Luke with his wounds and this is just within 17 episodes) I’m just saying- there’s so much content they could’ve used with Magnus

58. Lydia’s back and not in the mood for raj

59. Magnus ended ya Raj so I would tread carefully lmao

60. asking Magnus to deliver Camille is a big ask because of their history. he definitely has a big choice although difficult one to make 😭 Camille hurt Magnus gravely but she also saved his life in a lot of ways. it’s not like “oh she’s my insane ex that I can’t wait to rid of” but at a time, they did have something beautiful. but when it comes to saving the downworlders vs Camille’s happiness, it sort of helps determine which choice is the best

61. Simon: how the fuck are you everywhere

62. ah just two sons of Magnus fighting

63. Magnus: children enough! if you’re going to fight, I’m going to need a drink 🍸 and we might as well make it a double

64. Raphael: this motherfucker has had Camille’s grave dirt all this time and I just find out?????? I WAS TORTURED FOR THIS? also to be fair, it’s not as though Simon went through vampire academy training 😭

65. see ya soon Camille

Simon: I portaled to freaking india and faced a cobra!!!!!! yeah Raphael, cut Simon some slack. he had to learn how to encanto while Magnus was shopping through his belongings lmao

stopping at 66 because I should remember that and will continue part three later

[carelessflower]

This is just Alec finding a family in laws and stuff that support him and shit. (My OC is back) takes two months after Malec in Europe, and its christmas day. Also James and Lucie Tessa children are younger here.

"Why cant your family be like mine?" Alec said outloud, he instantly regretted it as Magnus looked at him, they were both in Magnus's bed, under the covers. The snow was coming down fast from outside of his window.

"What do you mean?" Magnus questioned, yeah his family was not perfect, but looking at the Lightwoods they seem more sane then his, but Magnus only slept over at theirs for two days, while Alec has a key to the house, which his dad leant him. Magnus didnt understand.

"My father and I have a difficult relationship, he wants to know if im bringing over a girl or doesnt talk about my hobbies, my sibikings are okay, but they can be a handful, and our parents leave for work in Spain, letting me look after them for a long peirods of time. My mother is okay but she is also difficult to talk too." Alec was venting, letting all his emotions unload.

"It cant be t-"

"My father and mother were part of a hate group, my father is a homophobe. I look at you and your dad, and it seems better." Alec was stairing at the ceiling, he loved his family, but he wishes he would swap with anyone for one day.

"Well you know what happened to my mom. My dad on the hand, he is also difficult to have a conversation with, he makes me angry, or just sad, then again im not a great son. Alec, families come in different shapes and sizes, you find family in your friends, and loved ones, and you join new ones, my family like you, my dad gave you a key to his place, your own family loves you. Look at Clary, her dad is fucking Valentine." Magnus kissed his boyfriend forehead.

"True, thanks for listening." Alec kissed him back.

"Its what im here for." Magnus said, he got out of the bed, and put his Christmas sweater on.

"We need to go downstairs my family will be coming soon." Magnus stretched, as Alec grabbed his black shirt and pulled it over his head. He heard his boyfriend kiss his teeth. He looked up.

"Its Christmas Alexander, not a funeral." Magnus stated, he walked over to his walk in closet and pulled out a red and green shirt that has sequens sewed on, which read out. **be yourself, everyone else is taken.**

He threw the shirt at him, as Alec sighed, taking his top off and pulling the other shirt over. It was a bit tight, but he can manage.

They both walked down two flights of stairs, they walked into the kitchen, the smell of roasted meat and vegetables, and the heat of the ovens hit them.

"How many people are coming over." Magnus said, taking a bite out of the baked brownie.

"Fucking, all of them. Also put that brownie down Bane." Asmodeus said from the second kitchen, Alec chuckled, Magnus rolled his eyes, as he put the half bitten brownie down next to the other batch.

"Dont put it down next to the batch Magnus." His dad called out from the kitchen.

The doorbell rang, as Magnus and Alec walked out of the kitchen, he opened the door, and in walked Stanley, and his sister, Charlie. Alec noticed how Charlie's eyes were darker, and her hair had a tinge of pink dye in it. Behind them, stood a taller, slender, pale man, with black hair that was swept back, he was holding two suitecases.

"Stanley, Charlie." Magnus hugged them both, as Stanley hugged Alec.

It was two months ago, that they were in Europe. Alec's parents or sibilings still had no idea.

"Oh Stan, I was wondering if I can have your number." Alec asked, as Stan nodded, getting put his phone, and giving his number to Alec.

"You guys are early, hi Luci." Asmodeus said, as he hugged his older brother.

"The others are coming later I presume then." This Luci said, as he walked into the lounge. Alec heard the strong British accent that came from the man, his own children had softer accentsn

Alec, Magnus and his cousins went to the games room, which was through a hallway, and passed many rooms, until you got to the end. The door opened, four couches were in one corner, a beanbag next to it. There was a foosball, and a gaming console, and a snooker table.

"I heard you were moving out." Charlie said sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah I got us an appartment."

"You two are going to move in." Stanley smiled, as he went to the snooker table.

"Alec you play?" He called out.

"Yeah." Alec said, as he grabbed one of the cue sticks as they started to play. Magnus and Charlie watched, as the doorbell rang through the house, they heard conversation and laughter.

"So..your other dad is not coming?" Magnus said looking at Charlie.

"He wanted to come, to meet you, he hasnt seen you, just heard about you, but our dad said he needs to run a country. You know how it is." She looked sad, Magnus could sense that, he wrapped his arm around her, and he gave her a quick squeese.

"Its okay."

Alec was now beating Stanley, as Magnus chuckled.

"Okay let me play. Come on Charlie we can show them who can win." Magnus stood up, as Alec went on Stanley siden

"Its on." Alec said, as they started to play, Clary, Sebastian, and Johnathan walked in, followed by two other females.

"Hi Stan." Johnathan said, kissing his boyfriend. "Oh Alec your mother is here." He added, Alec nodded, putting the cue stick down, and went out to greet his mom, his sibilings were sittig on the couch, he went red, as all eyes were on him, there were a few people that he didnt know.

"Alexander its a pleasure meeting you." Jem said, hugging him.

"Alec can we play Uno." James said, pulling at his hand.

"Yeah, hello mom." Maryse hugged her son, as Alec picked up James.

" Come on then." He said, as he held Lucie hand as they walked to the gaming room.

"This is soo cool." Lucie aaid, running over to the ice hockey table.

"Who is winning." Alec said.

"Us." Charlie said, as Jace and Isabelle walked in, along with Simon. They were sitting on the couch talking.

"Hi Hannah, Ellyas didnt you see guys there." Alec said, as they sat down.

"Do you know what we are having." Simon whispered to Alec, some kids ran in, as they were now playign with the ice hockey table, James sat next to Alec, he got his Uno Cards out, as he handed them to Alec to shuffle.

"I think Chicken, some roasted vegetables, and other stuff." Alec said.

Stanley was now talking to Johnathan, while Magnus was playing with the little ones.

"Kids lunch." Someone called, James groaned, as Lucie dragged her brother away

They were all sitting down, Johnathan next to Stanley, Clary and Jace, Magnus and Alec, Izzy and Simon, and Charlie and Hannah and Ellyas were sitting next to each other.

"So are you guys gonna tell us the truth." Isabelle said looking at her brother.

"What?"

"You guys were in Europe two months ago." Jace stated.

"Um..yeah we were." Alec said

"Well thats unfair." Isabelle play slapped her brother's arm.

"Mom doesnt know." Alec stated, he had lied to his mom, about where he was.

"Look it doesnt matter." Magnus said.

A gasp came from Simon, as he was now looking at the door, a purple haired male stood there.

"Um..do you want to eat now or later."

"5 mins uncle Levi." Charlie stated , Levi nodded and walked back.

All eyes were now on Simon.

"You didnt tell me your uncle was Leviathan." Simon was shocked, his face was red.

"He is Simon fav youtuber, slash streamer."

"So thats the famous Leviathan." Jace said, smirking.

"I thought you knew." Magnus said.

"We should go out." Stanley stated to no one particular.

"In this weather." Sebastian said from behind, making the group jump.

"Forgot you were there Seb." Johnathan slapped his brother's arm away from his face.

"Why not. Come on." Stanley said, getting up and walking to the lounge, the rest followed.

ohhhh

[khaleesiofalicante]

“I like it,” Alec said as he inspected the coffee maker and the small box next to it. “What are these?”

“Coffee beans from Colombia,” Magnus informed as he walked up to Alec. “I think they would appreciate it.”

Alec  managed a small smile. 

After the Dark War, Aline and Helen had been ‘sent’ to Wrangle Island to ‘study’ the wards. 

They all knew it was exile. They all knew it was punishment. But no one really spoke about it. 

No one really spoke about a lot of things. 

Alec’s eyes drifted over to Magnus, who was feeding Chairman Meow. 

It has been a few weeks since their return from Edom. A few weeks since their talk. 

Magnus promised to be more forthcoming. Alec promised to be more patient. 

They both promised to try again. To try harder. 

But there was much to talk about. 

Magnus had trusted Alec with his past. Some of the things Alec read in the book Magnus had given him led to more questions than answers. 

But even in the book, some things were simply not there. 

Some things, as Magnus said, were too difficult to talk about. 

So, Alec didn’t push. 

He had pushed before and he had lost his Magnus. He didn’t want to make that mistake that. 

It was just that…Well, it was kind of obvious that the whole thing was bothering Magnus too. 

But they both ignored the elephant in the room. 

“I have to go back to Idris today,” Alec told the warlock. “My father wanted to talk about the future of the New York institute or something.”

Magnus hummed. “Sounds important.”

“He’s been trying to give me more responsibility,” Alec sighed. “Not that I’m ungrateful or anything. It’s just, well, I could do with a break.”

Magnus grinned at that. “Would you like me to whisk you away to Europe again, Alexander?”

“Maybe somewhere else,” Alec chuckled. “Asia? I’ve never really travelled there.”

He has never really travelled anywhere. Until Magnus. He has never really done anything. Until Magnus. 

It was funny how one person could change your whole life. Every single part of it. 

A fire message fell on his lap. Alec sighed. “It’s my dad.”

“Dads are the worst,” Magnus huffed, and then tensed up immediately. Then he put on a smile. “It’s alright, my love. Go. The Chairman needs a bath anyway.”

Alec nodded. He pressed a kiss to Magnus’ lips and got off the couch. The warlock made him a portal. But Alec couldn’t bring himself to walk through it. 

Don’t push. Don’t push. Don’t push. 

“He really was the worst, wasn’t he?” Alec heard himself ask. 

Magnus looked away. “I’d rather not talk about it, Alexander.”

“Him, you mean?” Alec clarified. “Asmodeus?”

Asmodeus. 

The Prince of Hell. A fallen angel. 

Magnus’ father. 

Alec had only found out in Edom. He had not talked to Magnus about it since. No one did. 

“Perhaps you should leave,” Magnus gestured at the portal. 

“Do you have me to go?” Alec asked. 

Magnus didn’t respond. 

Alec walked back to the couch and sat down next to him. “If you don’t want to talk about it, then we don’t have to.”

“It’s not that I don’t,” Magnus sighed. “It’s just…I’m-”

“You’re what?” Alec asked.

“I’m scared,” Magnus whispered. 

Alec blinked. “Scared of what?”

Magnus sighed deeply. “I’m scared that you’ll leave me.”

Alec chuckled. “Magnus, I already know you’re his son.”

“But what if closure-”

“I didn’t ask for closure. I asked if you wanted to talk about it,” Alec corrected. “I’m not going to leave you for talking about your feelings, Magnus.”

“You might leave when you find out what I am,” Magnus said. 

“What you are?” Alec echoed in confusion. 

Magnus inhaled and held the feline tightly for comfort. “I’m called an Eldest Curse. It refers to the oldest living child of a prince of hell.”

“Oh,” Alec said. “Are you different from other warlocks?”

“In some ways,” Magnus nodded. 

“Are you more powerful?”

“In some ways,” Magnus nodded again. “I was not so powerful in Edom as you might recall.”

“Right,” Alec said. “Well. Okay. So, you’re an Eldest Curse. Thank you for telling me.”

“That’s it?” Magnus blinked. 

“Baby,” Alec chuckled. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“I’m an Eldest Curse!” Magnus said incredulously. 

“You’re Magnus,” Alec reminded him. “You’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn. You’re my boyfriend.”

And one day, you will be my husband. 

“But my father-”

“He doesn’t define who you are,” Alec shook his head. “Just as mine doesn’t define who I am. We are more than our blood, Magnus. Isn’t that what we learned in the last few months?”

Magnus gave a small nod.

“And I don’t know why you were so worried about telling you are super powerful. It’s super hot.”

Magnus rolled his eyes fondly. “Stop it.”

“It is,” Alec insisted. “I hope it’s not offensive to say that.”

“It’s not,” Magnus huffed. “Not when you say it.”

“Are there others walking around and calling you super hot?” Alec frowned. 

“Many others,” Magnus winked. “What can I say? I’m in high demand. Despite being a curse and all that.”

Alec smiled and took Magnus’ hands into his own. He lifted it slowly to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. 

“You are not a curse,” Alec said softly. “You are my dream true.”

Magnus shook his head fondly. “You are a sap, Alexander.”

Alec smiled. “Will you tell me more? About how you met him? When did you find out?”

Magnus smiled back. 

He talked. 

I’ve always wondered how this conversation went. So, here is my take on it. 

For @malectober. Prompt: Curse

[plus-size-reader]

Leverage

Magnus Bane x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2107 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Magnus taking a special interest in you, Clary's human best friend who resembles a lover Magnus had centuries ago

Just a concept I was tossing around. Let me know what you think and If I should work on a mini-series based on this

—————————————————————————————————

“Just stay close and don’t say anything” Jace reminded, leading you and the rest of your party into Hardtail, his eyes focused on the surrounding crowd, constantly scanning for danger.

This whole thing should be easy.

All they had to do was find Magnus and get him to give Clary her memories back. All things considered, it should have been an in and out mission, something they had done a million times before.

...but they could never be too careful.

Especially considering that they had been forced to bring along some dead weight, in the form of you, as extra insurance.

Just in case the Warlock in question tried anything.

“This is a terrible idea” Alec grumbled, the words falling on mostly deaf ears, though by this point, even Clary was wondering if bringing you along had been the right call.

You were insistent, as soon as you found out that you could be of help but you weren’t blind. You knew that you were in over your head, heading into a downworlder bar with a couple of shadowhunters without any real idea what you were doing there.

Under any other circumstances, you would have turned tail and ran in the other direction, but this was for Clary.

If this ‘High Warlock of Brooklyn’ could give Clary her memories back, and help her figure out what their next step was, you were going to do anything you could to make that happen.

“We don’t even know if this will work-” he continued, earning an elbow to the side from Izzy, who knew exactly where he was going with that.

She knew what they should have already figured out, that once you found out why you were here, you were going to freak out for sure. After all, it wasn’t everyday that you found out that you bore a striking resemblance to someone else, long dead.

It wasn’t something you would be prepared to hear, so it would just be better if you could all get through this without you figuring out what you were actually doing here.

You took notice of the strange exchange between the Lightwoods but decided to ignore it.

The two of them were known to bicker, even to someone who had known them for a few short weeks, and you had more important matters at hand.

Like making sure you didn’t accidentally bump into a vampire or something as you made your way into the club.

“Keep your head down, and don’t go too far” Clary whispered, webbing her fingers with your own as you passed through the crowd, your grib unintentionally tightening as the reality of the situation set in.

Clary was built for this, it was in her blood, but you weren’t.

It wasn’t until you showed up to things like this that you realized just how far out of your depth that you were.

“I’m not going anywhere, trust me” you whispered back, focusing more on putting one foot in front of the other more than anything. Before now, you were sure that the correct answer to the question Jace asked you was yes.

Now that you were here though, you weren't so convinced.

You understood that getting Magnus to meet with you was a long shot in the first place, and you couldn't afford to mess it up, but you just weren’t sure why they needed you. Out of everyone here, you were the most out of place.

Anyone looking in on the scene in front of them would have seen just how much you didn’t belong. Not that anyone around you was all that concerned with you so far, all too focused on the music and lights.

As long as you did as you were told and kept your head down, everything would be fine.

All things considered, your job was easy.

You just had to stay out of the way, and hope that Jace and Alec didn’t need you for whatever it was they thought you could be useful for. Which could have been anything and you wouldn’t have known any better.

The Shadowhunters were so secretive, only telling you what they thought you needed to know, and even then, they always tended to leave out the important stuff.

It made working with them very difficult.

Still, you did what you were told and kept your head down, doing your best to blend in until something changed, which didn’t look like it was going to happen at first.

All in all, it looked to be a pretty standard conversation, though you couldn’t hear any of what they were saying from the distance you were at.

Of course, It wasn't until someone shot an arrow into some guy in the background that you realized just how wrong you were. Evidently, there had been an assassin in the crowd the entire time and no one noticed until Alec put him down.

Which, in turn, spooked the reclusive Warlock into nearly diving back into his wormhole.

He got his jewel, but from the looks on Jace and Clary’s faces, they didn’t get nearly as much as they were hoping for. The only thing that kept Magnus in place was the redhead’s grasp on his wrist, which likely wouldn’t be enough to hold him.

Clearly, they needed something else, which was exactly why they brought you.

You had inadvertently become the most important part of this mission just now, and that meant it was your time to shine, even if you didn’t exactly know what your part to play was.

Without missing a beat, Izzy shot over to whisper something in your ear, something that really didn’t seem like it would work. Though, by this point, you weren’t sure that you had any right to question any of the shadowhunters.

After all, you didn’t even know they existed until a couple weeks ago.

You shot Izzy one more questioning glance, just to make sure she was serious about this before she nodded, telling you to continue with the plan. If anything was going to get Magnus to stick around, it was this.

“Magnus, wait!” you called, doing your best to cut through all the noise that Alec’s arrow and subsequent murder had brought on, which worked surprisingly well.

As it would turn out, just because the Shadowhunters had neglected to tell you that you looked like the long lost love of his life didn’t mean that Magnus was going to. Even the sound of your voice was enough to ring alarms in his head.

He hadn’t heard that sound in so long.

Almost immediately, the Warlock spun around on his heels, his attention finding you immediately. It didn’t make sense, and there was no way that he could have explained it but there was no denying the truth.

Not when it was staring him right in the face.

It was you, and it didn’t matter how it had happened, not now. All he cared about in this moment was that you had come back to him, after all these years. . It was incredible, but even with as thrilled as Magnus was, staying here wasn’t safe. If Valentine managed to find him here, that meant that he likely already knew where the others were.

Every second he spent away was another second evil had to prevail.

Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t exactly trust the shadowhunters to tell him the truth. For all he knew, Magnus could have been looking at some glamour of sorts, and they were tricking him.

He was just having a hard time believing what he was looking at. After all this time, it didn't seem right to see you again.

“You always did like places like this” he hummed, that same far away look clouding his vision as had been this entire time.

No one had ever looked at you like that.

He was looking at you like the whole building could come crumbling down around you and it wouldn’t have mattered one bit. Like you had physically put the sun in the sky, and you barely knew who he was.

“I’ll be in touch”

...and with that, he was gone.

Though, the thought of walking away from you a second time was nearly enough to break his heart, he didn’t have a choice.

There would be no opportunity to talk to you if he was dead, besides, if they wanted to get Clary’s memories back, they were going to need his help.

~

“Who was he talking about? Who does Magnus Bane think I am?” you started, already asking all the questions that they should have seen coming but no one bothered to answer them.

They weren’t even sure they were going to need you when they asked you to tag along, and just because you had helped them out a little back there didn’t mean the Shadowhunters owed you anything.

You were still just some mundane.

The only reason you were still here was because of Clary, that and they needed you once Alec realized that they were going to have to meet up with Magnus in the first place.

Someone had to get him to agree to help.

“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is that he agreed to help us” Jace shrugged, ignoring you, which by this point was par for the course.

You were so tired of everyone acting like you weren’t here. .

“Come on. I did you a favor back there, can’t you at least tell me what I did?” you sighed, turning your attention to Izzy and Clary instead, because you already knew the males in your party couldn’t care less about what you’d done.

To them, you might as well not be here and you had come to terms with that. You just wanted to know who he thought you were, that was it.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t even that big of a deal.

“The last partner Magnus had, she looked a lot like you” she allowed, recalling the photograph she’d seen, which might as well have been you a couple hundred years earlier.

You couldn’t believe it.

All this time, you were masquerading as someone else, someone that you didn’t even know existed, and everyone else knew all along.

It was ridiculous.

Though, before you could inform the surrounding Shadowhunters of just how ridiculous, Jace chimed in just enough to let you know that, even still, it wasn’t really your place to ask questions or have opinions.

“We were hoping to catch him off guard, we needed the upperhand” Jace shrugged, truly not seeing how wrong this whole thing was. Not only did they use you without bothering to tell you what was going on, but they exploited him too.

It wasn’t right.

“You should have told me!” you scoffed, thinking that at the very least someone would have had the decency to fill you in on the plan but it would appear that no one thought about that before now.

Jace didn’t even look all that interested in having this conversation at all.

“I would have helped even if you told me beforehand, you know? It would have just been nice to know what I was walking into” you continued, well aware that you were basically talking to yourself but not caring enough to stop.

You couldn’t be both the mundane they didn’t even care enough to address by name and a member of the team that they used when they needed help.

You could be one or the other, but not both, and certainly not at once.

“Well, now you know. Congratulations! Can we get going now?” Alec called, several paces ahead of all of you by now, and not stopping even still. He didn’t care at all about whatever little moral dilemma you were having.

He was much more interested in getting back to the institute before another assassin got the better of one of you.

“Thanks Alec, I appreciate that” you countered, not bothering to cover up the sarcasm flowing from your lips. If he could talk to you like that, there was no reason you couldn’t give it right back.

The truth was that it didn’t matter what they said or how much they pretended this wasn’t a big deal. What had happened back there with Magnus was a big deal, at least, it was a big deal for you.

After all, you just found out that you looked like some dead chick that was hooking up with one of the most powerful warlock’s of all time.

How was that not supposed to be a big deal?

[cassandraclare]

I'm sorry to hear that your hard work was leaked but I was curious about what happened. I hope the person faced consequences because that was a very selfish thing to do leaking your work like that :(

I haven’t taken action against the person who leaked the book. I know who they are, since they uploaded the page I signed for them, and I was able to match that against my records. 

I haven’t refrained from taking action because I feel sympathy for them. I don’t. It’s beyond shitty behavior to receive an early, signed book as a gift, and to then leak the entire book online. It’s a shit thing to do to the authors and an equally shit thing to do to other fans. However, I don’t want to put myself (and Wes) through the exhausting, grim and expensive process of legal repercussions. It doesn’t mean what this person did isn’t horrible, and it doesn’t mean they haven’t cost the entire fandom any chance of there ever being an early contest giveaway like that again. They did. There never will be. There will be no ARCs of Chain of Iron, either, and you can thank them for that, too. 

Part of what makes piracy such an issue for authors goes far beyond the individual assholes who upload and distribute and translate stolen books. It’s that the whole system is set up to make it incredibly difficult for us to do anything about it. Publishers do little to nothing to prevent piracy, and authors shoulder the entire burden of searching out and reporting illegal copies of their books. And even then, we’re dependent on whether or not the reported website feels like complying with copyright laws or not. Twitter is incredibly slow to respond, Tumblr is about fifty-fifty on bothering at all. They’re legally required to take action, but they also know that the effort of doing something about it if they do not falls on exhausted, overburdened artists who often can’t afford to follow up with a lawyer’s letter.

And like, I get being broke and wanting to read books; there were a lot of books I had to pass up reading when I was broke (I will be forever grateful to the library system of New York and Brooklyn, which is how I read books at all from about 2001-2004.) I was broke enough that I slept on a bare mattress because I couldn’t afford sheets, but I’m pretty sure if I broke into Bed, Bath and Beyond and stole a bunch of fitted percale bedding I wouldn’t have encountered much sympathy if I got caught. 

I talked about this on Twitter before, and I’ll say it again here though I know it will make very little difference: pirating books doesn’t just hurt the author of those books. It hurts everyone at the publishing company, where the margin of profit is razor-thin (and yes, publishers should do more to protect themselves against piracy; I agree there); it hurts bookstores, especially indie bookstores (I remember doing an event at a store that told me, sadly, that they were likely going to have to close because people “came into the store, looked at the books, took notes, then went home and pirated them.”) It hurts libraries, who rely on circulation for funding, and the shutting down of libraries hurts people who actually can’t afford books.

Now, I know is no way to talk people out of piracy; the internet has normalized it, and besides, people will generally do the cheaper, easier thing — you can’t talk people into not doing something they want to do by telling them it’s wrong, in my experience. They’ll find ways to justify it, whether it be that they can’t afford the book or it isn’t yet available in their language or that they find the author “problematic” and this is the way they’ve chosen to punish them. 

The reason I put “problematic” in quotes is because yes, of course you can read and enjoy work that has problematic elements. Pretty much everything has some element that’s going to be found problematic by someone — which is exactly why deciding that it’s morally excusable to steal from people you think are creating flawed work is more than problematic. Holding creators accountable for their work means critiquing that work, not stealing it.

I listen to a lot of political podcasts, and some of them review work by extreme right-wing politicians etc. who have written books that the podcasters find morally despicable but wish to, or need to, review and discuss. Since they don’t wish to give money to the authors, they buy second-hand copies or take the book out of the library. They certainly don’t steal, translate and distribute copies of the books because they genuinely do not like them and do not want more people reading them. That’s what it looks like when you have an actual moral problem with a book or author. 

However, running multiple fan accounts for a book series, naming your internet identity after characters from that book series, and talking endlessly about “your favorite parts” and how this is “your favorite book” entirely invalidates any argument that you’re doing this because you think the books are bad, evil, etc. If you claim a book is actively homophobic or racist but are so desperate to read it that you’ll steal it, so excited about it that you’ll share that stolen copy, so obsessed that you’ll illegally translate a whole book and provide that stolen translation to as many people as possible, and so dedicated to the fandom that you’ll name yourself after the characters in the books and write poetry about them, I have to tell you: the last thing that looks like is that you actually find the books problematic, regardless of what you say to the contrary. It looks like you like them but don’t want to pay for them, because in fact, that’s the case. (Either that or it looks like you’re really into racist, homophobic books, and making sure as many people read them as possible, which is your problem.)

One of the issues I have with piracy is that it teaches you to hate creators. You have to hate them, because you’re doing a fucking awful thing to them and you have to justify it. This results in lying about creators — about their process, their translations, their research — as if somehow, even if they were bad researchers, that would justify widespread theft. (It doesn’t.) Those who steal books wind up in a headspace where they are obsessed with the content of the books, and entirely unwilling to accept the reality that those books were created by a real person that they’re really harming. It encourages the mentality that I didn’t create Jem or Magnus or Will or Cordelia: they came from some kind of sparkly outerspace planet and I was just lucky enough to get to write down their adventures. It invalidates the hard work creators put into what they create, and in fact, erases their very existence. The internet attitude toward creators is already incredibly toxic (especially if they’re women, LGBT+ and/or BIPOC) and the feeling of entitlement to free content, and vicious hatred toward those who aren’t providing it (even though a lot of creators, me included, provide a great deal of free content) contributes to that. Genuinely, if you’re stealing someone’s work, the least you could do is not also be an asshole about them. (Or pretend you’re Robin Hood. He stole from the rich who had taken property and goods from the poor, and returned that stolen wealth. He didn’t steal from artists and independent bookstores and use that stealing to benefit himself and his friends. The idea is actually kind of funny.) 

 I understand there is a pressure to be up to date on the books that are being released so as to participate in fandom, and I do get that. Unfortunately, piracy has real consequences that stretch beyond just hurting me and Wes. Because LGBT+ books are pirated at such an incredible rate, and we’ve definitely seen that with TEC, I am left wondering if there will ever be an actual Spanish translation of TEC, or whether the publisher will decide not to bother because it’s already been so thoroughly pirated in Spanish. I have to wonder if there will even be a third book of TEC at all, or whether publishers will feel it isn’t worth doing. And I have to wonder why the people who create this situation so often have usernames that include Jem or Magnus or Alec or Cordelia or Julian or Tessa. What an incredible misunderstanding of those characters, to imagine a world in which Will Herondale or Magnus Bane or James Carstairs would approve of stealing books and harming writers. And why name yourself after a character who absolutely couldn’t stand you? I don’t know. I don’t get it, any more than I get hating someone who provided you with something you claim is your favorite book. 

That was a much longer answer than you were probably expecting or hoping for, and I know I’ll get yelled at quite thoroughly for writing it. Writers always do, when we engage with the issue of piracy. I know most of you reading this acquire your books honestly; most of you are not like this at all. But like most things on the internet, a small amount of people really do have the power to make things pretty rotten for everyone else.

[malucy31]

Time is On Our Side

Alec is stuck on a mission in India in the 18th century and he misses Magnus. One day, he wakes up somewhere that feels and smells like home.

Chapter 1/3 - Moon troubles

Read on ao3

In a state of semi-consciousness, Alec senses Magnus hovering somewhere over him, his soothing words, soothing voice, familiar presence. When he manages to blink his eyes open, it’s only for a second.

The light is too harsh.

“Magnus…” his voice trails off on its own. He missed him so much.

“Hello, there. You slept all morning, I was starting to fear you wouldn’t wake up at all.”

“The mission, it – ”

“Shh, you’ve been injured, try not to talk.”

“Thought it’d never end…”

“It’s over now. You’re safe here.”

Alec smiles at these words, letting his muscles relax into Magnus’s magic. If he opened his eyes, he knows he would see his lovely husband weaving blue tendrils of magic like strings of air and atoms. But his eyelids are too heavy, and everything is so peaceful.

Two weeks.

Those missions are always supposed to last two weeks, but they never do. Faint recollections of a missed new moon and a missed opportunity to go home cross his mind.

How long has it been? A month? A month and a half?

Alec can’t focus. He has missed Magnus so much, has craved being in his arms, hearing his voice. It has just been too long.

Above him, Magnus says things, but Alec’s brain only registers a few words of reassurance, maybe replies to his unconscious ramblings. He doesn’t even know what he is saying.

Disappointment settles when the soft buzzing of Magnus’s magic leaves his skin. He realizes he must be pouting because the musical laughter he loves so much answers him.

“Try to rest. I’ll be in the next room if you need me, okay?”

Alec pictures himself nodding but has no idea if his head follows. After that, everything fades.

Magnus’s magic must have been what kept him awake because when he regains consciousness, it’s to an evening light filtering through half-closed shutters.

The feelings he had earlier are still floating at the edge of his memory. Magnus’s magic is there too, purring underneath his skin like it has found a home there. As always, Alec opens himself up to the feelings, letting it drizzle, letting it settle in every numb place.

Peacefulness only lasts a few seconds though. The sheets under his palms are rougher than usual. It’s not the silk he was expecting to find. These remind him more of the ones he had at the Institute. More than a bit confused, he sits up, trying not to pay too much attention to his still painful right arm.

Something as simple as it is terrifying grows in his stomach as he takes in his surroundings.

He is neither in their bedroom, nor at the Institute.

In fact, Alec has no idea where he is. It feels like home, but it isn’t. Between the echoes of a familiar magic lovingly coiling up around his bones and the scent of sandalwood coming from the other side of the door, Alec could swear he is at their loft, just like he could swear that Magnus is brewing a batch of his sandalwood shampoo.

Did Magnus add a room to the loft while he was away?

It shouldn’t be this difficult to remember, but everything is blank. It’s only when he sits at the edge of the bed and sees his reflection in the mirror that his brain finally catches up with the situation.

This isn’t his face, he is glamoured as a Mundane.

And he isn’t home because the mission isn’t over yet.

He is still in India in the 18th century…

Great.

Alec heaves a long sigh and falls back on the mattress, wincing as the room spins around him. He was so sure he was home, so sure that this whole nightmare was finally over. But no. The demon they had to kill was harder to find, making them miss the new moon, miss the ritual and forcing them to wait another month in a place and time they were never supposed to be.

So no, he isn’t home. Far from it.

His memories are coming back, but what drove him here is still a mystery. What happened?

It was Magnus with him earlier, and it’s him in the next room. That’s a certainty.

Everything starts spinning again, and Alec has to close his eyes.

What did he tell him? Not too much hopefully, nothing that can’t be put under the account of being injured and groggy, right? How long was he unconscious? Did he miss the new moon again? The thought makes him sit back up, swallowing a moan because his right arm is really hurting.

He can’t wait another month here.

He can’t.

He needs to go home, he needs Magnus, his Magnus. He is sick of falling asleep in beds that are too small, too cold, and too hard. Sick of waking up and having quick breakfasts amongst the other Shadowhunters like he used to do when everything inside of him felt wrong. He wants his life back. Now.

Jace would tell him to stop overreacting, but he doesn’t know what a life with Magnus is. He doesn’t know that nothing compares to this life they are building year after year. Jace doesn’t know, he can’t.

Tears start prickling at the corner of his eyes. Alec is just so tired… It almost makes him regret this blissed state of half-consciousness from earlier where everything felt like a dream.

In the next room, he hears Magnus make a contented noise, humming in approval and commenting to himself like he often does when he tries something new in his apothecary or in the kitchen. Without realizing it, Alec stands up, feeling much lighter. Quiet and calm are replacing the spiraling storm inside his head. There’s nothing like Magnus being happy to make him forget about everything wrong in the world.

It pains him to think he should escape through the window. He has no idea how he ended up here, at Magnus’s or what he told him. It would be safer to escape.

But on the other hand, isn’t that exactly why Magnus didn’t travel with him? Or why he made sure to add a protection spell to Alec’s glamor? They all knew this could happen. This Magnus won’t be able to detect his glamor, his Magnus won’t arrive to save him… There really isn’t any danger, is there?

Before he can make a decision, Alec is at the door, already hearing his siblings’ snigger at their lovesick brother. He just… A month and a half is too long. He misses him too much.

It’s impossible to hold back his smile and sudden yearning when he opens the door. It’s the apothecary. The exact replica of the one Alec knows so well by now. He doesn’t have time to observe the details because Magnus is already meeting his stare.

“There’s our mysterious and reckless traveler! How do you feel?”

“Better, thanks.”

“Is it still hurting?” Magnus asks, pointing to Alec’s right arm as he absently rubs it.

The scent of sandalwood and home is so overwhelming that Alec is barely aware of his own answer, or of the fact that Magnus is approaching.

With an elegant movement, he lets a little of his magic rain over Alec’s arm. As it usually does, it curls up around him with a tenderness that leaves him speechless. It makes this Magnus’s face soften, just like it does with his Magnus.

I missed this. I missed you, he wants to say and has to bite his tongue to refrain.

Euphoria fades abruptly when he realizes that this is the second time Magnus has used his magic on him without trying to hide it. Magnus, who isn’t supposed to know him or know that he is part of the Shadow World.

If he is acting like this, it means Alec did or said something he shouldn’t have.

What did he do? How much did he reveal while he was unconscious? Did he doom them forever? Will he come back to an empty loft? To a life where he doesn’t know Magnus at all?

Maybe he should have escaped through the window after all. He is getting nauseous. His mind sinks into bottomless spirals and the room spins again. It’s too late to play dumb, to withdraw his arm and look scandalized, asking things like What kind of witchcraft is this? It’s not like Alec has ever learned how to lie properly anyway.

Magnus must feel his sudden distress because he gently leads him back to a chair, “There, everything’s alright. Better?”

Alec can’t even nod.

As for Magnus, he is smirking, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Don’t worry, mysterious traveler, I don’t know a thing about you.”

Apparently, glamor or not, Magnus can still read him like an open book. Alec doesn’t know if it should make him scared or make him fall in love a little more. Maybe both. Definitively the latter.

“Good,” Alec can’t help replying and regretting it immediately because the amusement on Magnus’s features fades away. He knows his husband enough to know that this mysterious traveler must intrigue him. While healing him, he probably felt a lingering taste of magic, of his own magic without really understanding it.

“Come with me,” he eventually says. “You should eat something.”

*

Magnus’s kitchen makes Alec smile too.

Once, Magnus told him he used several decades of his life to perfect his cooking skills, even owned a restaurant. Something fancy and prestigious that still exists, where he took Alec for their tenth anniversary.

Seeing what can only be called a mess in the kitchen, Alec wonders if this is when Magnus started experimenting.

Usually, Alec gets nervous around mess, but never around Magnus’s. There is always a certain beauty about it, something that reflects his mere soul. Herbs are hanging from the ceiling, drying, diffusing the light in shades of rosemary, wild citrus, and marjoram. On the countertop next to the window are several bowls turned upside down to protect what Alec can only call mixtures. He frowns before remembering that one of Magnus’s obsessions in cooking were mushrooms. The rare and disgusting kinds if anyone were to ask him.

But what Alec finds the most endearing are the vegetables. He knows how Magnus likes to sort them out and visibly, he has kept the same habits in centuries. He sorts them out by colors, giving every corner of the room the right shade of red, yellow, green, or purple.

It’s all about the colors and how each piece reflects the light around, my dear, Magnus explained once. Would you like to help?

It was fun. It was more like Alec was fumbling with everything Magnus gave him than helping, but it felt like watching his husband apply his makeup or redecorate their home. Magnus was opening up for him, letting him share his view of the world, and it was mesmerizing. The world as a work of art. That was something new to Alec, and after getting a taste, he couldn’t get enough. Every detail pointed out by Magnus was like a revelation to him.

He is still daydreaming when Magnus starts cooking something, using some magic to speed things up. It stresses Alec again to watch his future husband use magic in front of him – a stranger. What happened?

“Please, have a seat, it will be ready soon.”

“Thanks.”

Alec does as he is told, not really knowing where to start, not wanting to make things worse by saying the wrong thing. He is about to ask what day it is when Magnus reads his mind again.

“I found you last night, some meaningless demons were after you. I wondered what demons could want with a Mundane in the middle of the night when I saw you draw a sword out of thin air. I thought you were a Shadowhunter, but I don’t see any rune or glamour.”

He stops for a while, deep in thought, allowing Alec the time bask in relief.

“You had almost all of them killed, and I was about to let you handle it when one of them bit you, and you collapsed. The thing poisoned you. It’s meant to affect your memory of them. Some kind of defense mechanism to make sure you don’t remember any of it.”

Oh.

Alec means to thank him, but Magnus continues in a more cautious voice.

“I’m guessing asking you who you are is useless, huh?” he turns slightly, enough for Alec to get a glimpse of his expression. Curiosity. Alec swallows thickly.

“I… I wish I could tell you, but it’s um—”

“Dangerous?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Magnus sighs. “I figured. You said that a lot this morning… Normally, I’d try harder, but there’s clearly something unique about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s…something about the way my magic responded to you, or rather how your body accepted it like it would oxygen, and at the same time, something was keeping me out.”

“I’m sorry, I really can’t say a thing.”

“It’s alright. I have nothing but time to figure it out, and you must have a lot of fascinating stories to tell. I want to spend a nice evening for a change.” On those words, Magnus brings food to the table and smiles. “Shall we?”

Thousands of memories instantly bloom in Alec’s mind from the seeds of these words and this smile.

To appease his homesick heart, Alec answers what he always does, re-enacting a cherished routine he has been craving for the last month and a half. “After you.”

[dontmindmyshadowhunting]

To never being parted - Part 2 Chap 4 - The Birthday Party

This is the Chapter 4 of the mini sequel to my flower cards inspired Kitty Fan Fic “Am I Forgotten?”

AO3 Link here.

****

As it turned out, Jace absolutely loved his surprise. He jumped in the pop-out cake to hug Kit, who pushed him away, and they ended up rolling and wrestling amidst the vanilla buttercream, with a crowd of onlookers cheering. The most enthusiastic was Mina, who shrieked with delight during the entire fight.

They both had to change after that, which was a relief. Tessa had to hastily recover Kit’s dress from Mina, who had undertaken to lick the fabric drenched in vanilla frosting.

The party was as decadent as any party organized by Magnus Bane could be. Dark blue velvet banners hung from the ceiling, stitched with the design of stars which seemed to shine, as if the guests were standing under the night sky. Candles glowed from every surface. Magnus had magicked up a small playground for the kids in one corner of the room, far from the chocolate fountains.

Kit carried Mina around on his shoulders for two solid hours before she finally asked him to put him down. When he did, she whispered in his ear. “When I am older, I am going to marry that tall and handsome Centurion bodyguard who has been following us everywhere… He takes such good care of my big brother.” Kit felt all the blood drain from his face.

****

The dinner table was covered with food from all around the world but Kit settled for a burger. He noticed that Julian had made the same choice although he saw him slip his lettuce to King Kieran, who had decided to make an appearance for Jace’s birthday party. He was seated between Mark and Cristina, and both were trying to get him to taste Mexican food. He shot Julian a grateful look.  

“So, has Ty been sleeping in front of your bedroom, as he used to in Los Angeles? That was so cute!” Cristina asked Kit, in a cheerful voice.

“Of course not”, Kit replied. “He is absolutely welcome to my bed now.”

Everyone around the table froze before turning to look at him. Shit. Did he say that out loud?  

Kit moved his gaze towards the only person whose opinion mattered in the case.

Ty, who was seated next to Dru and Jaime Rosales, was staring at him open-mouthed, his cheeks flushed. Oh well, thought Kit. I am not taking it back anyway. If I said I was joking, Ty would take it literally. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?

Kit shrugged and went back to eating his burger.

****

After dinner, there was a cluster of girls around Lily Chen, who was seated on a chair flaunting the Hot Shadowhunters calendar, as if it was the best book of the year.

She had decided to publish a first edition, as an experiment, in an attempt to boost the Clave’s revenues. Alec had been reluctant at first, but even he couldn’t deny the incredible success of the calendar after only a few weeks of sales. It had been sold to both Shadowhunters and Downworlders, entire stalls being dedicated to it in several Shadow Markets around the world.

King Kieran himself had bought several to add to his collection which included kitten and mundane firefighters calendars.

“So, of course we have Jace for the month of January. That one - and Mark Blackthorn’s - were the easiest pictures to obtain,” Lily explained as she enthralled her audience by flipping through the pages of the calendar.

On the front page, Jace was almost entirely naked, a well positioned sword covering his most intimate parts. Mark was just as barely dressed, poetically covered in roses and thorns.

“I had to negotiate with Magnus for Alec’s picture but as it turns out, I am quite happy with what he provided.” Magnus winked. In the picture, Alec was half naked, his muscles flexed as he was pulling an arrow to his bow. His skin was covered with black marks which stood in stark contrast with his white skin.

“Here we have Jem. Although he is officially retired from the Clave, we couldn’t do this without him. He is much too popular with the Shadow Markets’ crowd. He is only half naked of course, but compared to what people used to see of him when he was a Silent Brother, this looks like porn.” Most of the girls giggled.

“This is Simon, it was easy enough to obtain a picture of him. I just had to offer him a limited edition of a light-saver…”

“A lightsaber,” Isabelle corrected.

“Whatever. The most difficult one to obtain was Julian Blackthorn’s, of course,” Lily continued. “I had to hire a professional photographer…”

“You mean a paparazzi,” Emma interrupted.

“Emma almost broke his arm…”

“He was lurking behind a rock, taking pictures of Julian while he was surfing…”

“But apparently you both found an arrangement.”

Emma stared off into space. “He does have talent. He took amazing pictures of Julian on his surfboard… I made an album of them. He’s going to be our wedding’s photographer. Free of charge.”

“That’s my girl,” Julian said, raising his hand for a high five, though not moving his gaze from Tavvy.

Lily turned to Kit and Ty, then, pointing two fingers at her eyes and at them. “Now that you have come of age, I have got my eyes on you boys.”

Ty looked terrified but Kit only shrugged.

****

Kit danced with a lot of people. Mina, mostly, but also Clary, Isabelle, Emma, Dru, Aline and even Lily, who kept giving him a variety of nicknames. Mostly food-related. When he waltzed with Tessa, everyone stopped to observe their graceful twirls, and they were given a round of applause. Kit had to admit he was quite smug about it. Not a single dance with Ty though, who had mostly been hiding in a corner with his headphones on, his arms crossed, though a friend of Dru’s kept talking animatedly to him. He didn’t seem to notice.

After a dozen dances, Kit was exhausted and parched. As he moved towards the buffet to get something to drink, Emma and Cristina appeared out of nowhere to stand in his path, their faces alight with excitement. Kit had noticed that when Emma was not glued to Julian’s side, she was always running around with Cristina and Mark, like an iconic trio of besties.

“Welcome to the club,” they said in unison. Had they rehearsed that?

“What club?”

“The club of fearless warriors who decided to take the hazardous path of dating Blackthorn men,” Emma replied with an ominous voice.

“One word of advice,” Cristina said. “Get as much sleep as you can, while you can.”

“What?” Kit was puzzled.

“Hmmm, how to explain…” Emma put one finger on her mouth, her expression thoughtful. “Have you ever wondered why there are so many of them?”

“The Blackthorns you mean? Er- because they like kids?” Kit answered.

“True enough,” Emma replied, winking at him.

“What else is there?” Kit asked, as he had the feeling he was missing something.

Emma and Cristina burst into fits of laughter, clutching each other for support.

Kit shrugged and considered it as his cue to leave. Ty had already left the party an hour ago and Kit was wondering whether he should stop by his room to watch him sleep. Just a little peek. Ok, no, that was creepy.

As he was heading towards the door to leave the party inconspicuously, Kit was stopped mid-flight by a hand grasping his shoulder.

“Not so fast, Kit Herondale.”

Kit turned to meet Julian’s blue-green eyes. He was a different version of the Julian he had known.

The shape of his face was sharper, his features more chiseled and his luscious Blackthorn waves longer. There were no longer circles under his eyes and Kit had noticed that he had stopped biting his fingernails. He seemed happier, more rested. Almost… glowing.

Kit had to admit he was stunning. But I am already head over heels in love with his brother, Kit was reminded.

According to Jace, Julian had been a close and trusted advisor of Alec for the past few years, the Consul relying on him for war strategy and delicate political matters.

During the time he had spent in Los Angeles, Kit had witnessed how dangerous Julian’s sharp mind could be when he decided to use it. How deadly. And that was tired, restless Julian. Glowing Julian… their enemies would never know what had hit them.

Julian’s gaze moved to Kit’s chest, where the Blackthorn locket was resting.

“I see that Ty has given you his and Livvy’s pendant. I trust that you know what this means.”

His blue-green eyes were now boring into Kit’s, and Kit could not help but feel exposed, as if Julian was not looking into his eyes but straight into his head, accessing his mind.

“I do. This is it, for Ty. I am it . First and last. There won’t ever be anyone else for him.”

“What about you?” Julian’s gaze was still burning holes through Kit’s eyes.

Kit sighed. “You know what they say. Herondales love but once.”

“And you just realized that, where you are concerned, this is true?”

“No, Julian. I had already realized that three years ago.”

Kit turned to move, but Julian caught him by the arm.

“You already know what I am going to say next, don’t you?”

“Julian, I have witnessed what you were capable of in order to protect your family. I’d rather be facing the nine Princes of Hell.”

“Good,” was all Julian said, letting him go.

****

Tagging @darkkitai

[visander]

To The Test | ao3.

That was one good thing about having a difficult teenage son. Magnus knew that Raphael would put any of his romantic partners right to the test, even if Magnus wished he wouldn't.

This is my ‘Single Parent’ square for @shadowhunterbingo. 

Being a single father of two, Magnus found that it was surprisingly not the toddler that turned Magnus’ potential romantic partners away. There were of course those Magnus would go on a stray date with before finding out they didn’t like kids but Magnus didn’t want those people in his life anyway. It was the other pool of romantic partners, the ones that didn’t hate kids or the fact that Magnus had them, that Magnus had trouble with but again, it was not because of his chubby faced rambunctious toddler.

It was because of his teenager. His troubled, grumpy teenager who was exceptionally jealous whenever Magnus would start spending time with someone else but would not admit it. See, apparently some people found it odd that Magnus had adopted a fourteen year old when he’d only been twenty five himself and those few who were willing to give his unconventional family a chance ended up running away the moment that they actually met Raphael and Raphael did everything that he could to chase them away.

It was intimidating to meet your partner's kids. Magnus understood the anxiety but he especially understood it when it came to meeting Raphael because as much as Magnus loved his son, he went out of his way to make the experience as dreadful as possible.

Magnus had hardly been able to date anyone since adopting his kids. Now, Magnus wasn’t really complaining. He loved his kids and he understood that Raphael was scared of him leaving. He was scared of him getting close to anyone else and deciding that he’d rather be there instead of with their family, as if that would ever happen.

It’s why Magnus had gone so long without dating anyone. When he’d first adopted Raphael, he’d wanted to focus on his son anyway. The adoption process had not been smooth sailing for them and after they’d finally settled in a place where they felt like a real family together, Magnus had agreed to foster Max, who’d only been a few days old when he showed up on Magnus’ door step. Fostering turned into adopting and after a few years, that slow process was finally over and Magnus had his two sons and nothing else to worry about.

Except dating. Magnus hadn’t had much time for dating when Max was a baby either and now… well, now Magnus was more than a little deprived and he was finally at a point where he knew Raphael, beyond his fears and anxiety, understood that Magnus loved him even if he went out one night to go on a date.

That didn’t quite mean that Raphael was thrilled when Magnus continued to go out on dates with one man, who he then intended to introduce to his children. Going out to have fun was one thing but inviting a new person into their lives, someone that Raphael was threatened by, was completely different.

Needless to say, the first time Magnus invited Alec over for dinner, he was a little nervous about how it would go. Raphael was already not thrilled about someone coming over, someone who Magnus clearly had deemed important enough to be brought over in general. Magnus hadn’t liked someone that much in a very long time and the weight of that alone he could tell already had Raphael on edge, which didn’t set the night up to go well.

It didn’t help that Alec himself was already nervous to meet Magnus’ kids. Magnus assured Alec that Max would love him but Max loved everyone. Max loved meeting new people, regardless of who they were. The same could not be said about Magnus’ teenager but if they could get through the dinner without Raphael deciding he absolutely hated Alec, Magnus would consider it a success. They’d work on Raphael liking Alec later. Tolerating was the first step and if they could get there, Magnus could sleep easy at night knowing that Alec and his child might someday get along.

Though, Raphael had already seemed to form an opinion on Alec even before he stepped foot in their house. Raphael had asked how old Alec was and frowned when Magnus had informed him that Alec was a couple of years younger than him. Raphael asked if Alec had kids and then frowned even harder when Magnus said no.

“So, why does he want to date an older man with kids?” Raphael had snapped finally, a question that Magnus didn’t really have an answer for. Most weren’t willing to go on a date with Magnus, after they learned he had kids, especially people who were younger than him. Young people were normally looking for fun, not someone already tied down with children, especially an older child who they had to work harder to get along with than they would a baby.

“Alec likes kids,” Magnus had responded finally but Raphael didn’t seem too pleased with that answer.

“So, why doesn’t he go get his own before he tries to date someone?” Raphael had quipped back. When Magnus stammered to respond, his expression shifted into an unamused smirk, “See, he obviously doesn’t like kids that much. He likes you.”

“He likes me and he likes kids, otherwise he wouldn’t like me that much, would he?” Magnus responded.

“Unless he thinks he can just ignore us until he gets you in bed.”

Magnus held back a sigh and then, he looked up at his son mildly. “He doesn’t think he can do that. He’s coming to meet you because I like him and because you and your brother are the most important part of my life. If he thought he could ignore you, he wouldn’t have agreed to come over for dinner.”

At that, Raphael pressed his lips but didn’t say anything more. Magnus could tell he hadn’t quite convinced his son of Alec’s intentions but Magnus didn’t imagine he would no matter what he said.

“You don’t have to like him,” Magnus said at last. “-but I’d appreciate it if you tried not to be rude.”

Raphael’s gaze tightened into a small glare but he said nothing.

“I think you’ll like him, if you give him a chance,” Magnus continued.

Raphael stared at him for another moment before he rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. “We’ll see,” he murmured before he was walking down the hallway to disappear into his room. Max instantly bounded out of his own room as he saw Raphael pass, chasing Raphael to see what his brother was doing.

Magnus sighed and pulled out his phone to send Alec yet another text about how good of a kid Raphael was and how he probably wouldn’t like Alec but it wasn’t Alec’s fault. After he sent it, Magnus sighed and threw his head back.

He didn’t understand how Alec was still willing to come over.

.

Magnus thought cooking would be a bit too much for their first dinner together. There was no need to put more on the table that could go horribly wrong tonight. Magnus decided to order take out instead. That way, Magnus didn’t have to cook and Alec didn’t have to come over and cook. Magnus would already have the food on the way. Alec would come over. They’d do introductions. The food would get there. They’d all eat together and depending on how horrible the evening went, Alec would say his goodbyes and leave, so Magnus could then send him a rambled text about how sorry he was and how he knew he wasn’t exactly an easy person to be dating.

He might do some damage control with Raphael as well and hopefully reassure him that he was an irreplaceable part of Magnus’ life and that even if he was dating someone, that didn’t mean he was leaving Raphael behind.

Then, maybe someday they’d try dinner again or maybe, Magnus would just continue to see Alec outside of the house, never introducing him to his kids again and hoping that Alec never wanted them to deepen their relationship in any way that would involve Alec becoming a big enough part of his life to have to meet his children for a second time.

One option seemed far easier than the other but Magnus didn’t know many people who would be okay not being involved with Magnus’ home life at all. Alec swore up and down that he’d be patient and he understood Magnus’ son was going to have issues with his presence but Magnus didn’t think Alec really understood how strong willed Raphael could be.

Most didn’t, until they met him. Magnus wondered if it was too late to cancel the dinner all together and then, he decided that it was.

.

Magnus had reservations about the entire dinner and that was before Alec showed up late. Now, it wasn’t exactly Alec’s fault. There had been a car accident on the highway and Alec had been stuck in traffic for nearly an hour. Alec felt horrible about it, if the countless text messages he sent Magnus were anything to go by but that also didn’t mean Raphael was that understanding about the whole thing.

With the food already growing cold on the table, Raphael had settled for staring at Magnus, his unamused expression saying everything his words didn’t need to. Then, when he didn’t seem happy with simply glaring and he’d finally spoken. “He seems really dedicated,” Raphael commented mildly.

Magnus held back the eye roll. “It’s not his fault. He can’t control the traffic.”

“Or he’s just busy with something else and he lied,” Raphael snapped back instantly.

“He’s not lying. He’s in traffic and he’s doing his best to get here,” Magnus insisted.

“Max is going to starve to death before he makes it.”

At that, Magnus did roll his eyes. “Max ate dinosaur chicken nuggets not even two hours ago. I don’t think he’s quite famished yet.”

Raphael fell silent for a moment before quietly speaking, suddenly sounding deeply offended, “I didn’t get dinosaur chicken nuggets.”

“You were asleep,” Magnus explained instantly, before his son could go on about how neglectful he was as a father for not asking if he wanted food when his brother ate. “Maybe, if you slept at a reasonable time and woke up in the morning with us, I could offer you dinosaur chicken nuggets with your brother.”

Raphael scoffed. “Why? If I stayed up later last night I’d still be asleep and I wouldn’t have to sit here and wait for your boyfriend to finally decide to show up.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Magnus murmured, pulling out his phone to see another text from Alec, informing him that he was finally turning off the highway.

“Oh, so you introduce us to every man you meet?”

Magnus shoved his phone back into his pocket and looked up to Raphael yet again. “He’s not my boyfriend until you like him,” he said before he could really think through that sentence. It was true. He wouldn’t date someone his son didn’t like but that didn’t quite mean Magnus had to inform him of that.

“Then you’ll never date someone again,” Raphael informed him.

Magnus left out a soft sigh. “We’ll see,” he said, echoing Raphael’s bleak words from before.

.

Alec finally arrived twenty minutes later. When Magnus opened the door, Alec appeared on the other side, out of breath and clearly having sprinted from his car all the way up the steps to Magnus’ loft.

“I’m sorry,” Alec rushed out instantly.

Magnus waved him off, ushering him inside instead. “It’s fine,” Magnus murmured, hoping Alec would leave his apologies at the door before Raphael could hear them and latch onto the weakness. “Come in.”

Magnus closed the door behind Alec, reaching to take his jacket as Alec shrugged it off. Alec turned to look at him as Magnus hung it up. For a moment, they stared at each other, a frantic air hovering between them in a way that had never happened before. Normally when they both met, things were easy between them. Magnus relaxed in Alec’s presence like they were meant to be together but here, Magnus met Alec’s wide eyes with an equally unnerved look of his own.

Magnus wanted this to go well. Alec wanted this to go well and yet, Magnus knew it would not and he was trying to be okay with that. Raphael was going to resist anyone Magnus brought into their lives. It had nothing to do with Alec himself and they’d already had that conversation before Alec had come.

But they both wanted it to go well anyway, even though it wouldn’t. Magnus wished he had managed to be more okay with that fact.

“Let’s go sit,” Magnus said finally.

Alec nodded and turned to follow Magnus as Magnus led him into the dinning room, where Max was happily babbling to Raphael as Raphael sat with his arms crossed. He’d been smiling a second before they walked in. Magnus could tell by the way his face changed. He’d been happily talking to Max but now, his face hardened. He sat stone faced as he watched them both walk in.

Magnus gestured to Alec. From the corner of his eye, Magnus saw Alec raise a hand to wave to them both. “This is Alec,” Magnus said, as if Raphael hadn’t heard Alec’s name a million times by now. Raphael knew who Alec was. That’s why he was glaring in his direction.

“Hi,” Alec rushed out. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Raphael-” Alec’s eyes darted over to Max, who was staring with wide eyed interest at the new stranger. “-and that must be Max.”

Magnus could hear that Alec was nervous. That wasn’t great and when Raphael heard it, his expression only tightened and became a touch angrier. He didn’t seem to appreciate Alec taking an interest in his brother. Raphael had always been protective. “Hi,” Raphael managed to ground out finally.

Magnus shot him a grateful smile. Saying hello was a good first step. “Sit, Alec-” Magnus said as he gestured to the table.

Magnus sat next to Max and Alec came to sit next to Magnus, thankfully leaving the seat next to Raphael empty. Magnus was pretty sure Raphael would have tried to stab Alec with his fork if he dared to sit next to him.

“The food looks good,” Alec said politely as Magnus reached for the dishes and started to plate some for Max and then himself.

“It was better a half an hour ago when it was warm,” Raphael murmured as he reached for the dish in Magnus’ hands.

Alec paled slightly. “I know, it probably was. I got stuck in traffic-”

Raphael cut Alec off before he could go on with his explanation. “I heard.”

Magnus reached for the plate again before he handed it to Alec. Alec seemed thankful to take it and have something to do with his hands.

“Alec’s here now,” Magnus said, smiling tightly across at his son. “That’s all that matters.”

Raphael said nothing to that and he stayed silent as Magnus and Alec started talking about Max and his drawings on the refrigerator. Max babbled happily as he reached for his noodles with his bare hands, chomping as he managed to get one into his hand. Every few minutes, Magnus or Raphael would stick their fork out and offer Max a bite of their own noodles, to make sure he was actually eating and not just playing with the food in his dish.

Raphael seemed more than happy to face away from Alec, focusing on his brother as if he failed to look over to Alec once during the meal, he would just vanish. That was better than being openly antagonistic, so Magnus would take the pointed silence without comment. If Raphael would let them have a few meals where Raphael ignored Alec, at least that was something. Maybe someday, Raphael would look at him and talk but Magnus didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself. The silence was enough for now and it remained for nearly the entire meal.

Magnus tried to engage Raphael a couple of times. He asked Raphael about an essay he was working on for school, prompting him to explain what it was about. When Raphael didn’t, Magnus explained instead.

Almost forty five minutes later, they were done eating and Max was covered in his food. Magnus thought it was good for Max to explore food by himself but that also meant that every single meal ended with his son looking like a disaster.

Magnus rose to his feet, reaching to pull his gooey child into his arms. “I’m going to go clean him up. I’ll be right back. Raphael, could you help clean up a little?”

Raphael nodded simply. He’d always been so polite about doing chores. Once when Max was merely a baby, Magnus had woken up to Raphael almost done cleaning the entire house. Raphael had brushed off Magnus’ thanks as if it was no big deal but Magnus knew it had been. Magnus loved his son. He was such a good kid. Magnus just wished other people could see that as easily as Magnus did.

Magnus left Raphael and Alec in the kitchen as he went to wash Max. He assumed that they’d pick up the dishes and sit in silence until Magnus returned but when Magnus did return twenty minutes later, he heard Alec and Raphael speaking. More specifically, he heard Raphael speaking.

Magnus paused in the hallway, holding Max a little closer as he listened. His toddler was uncharacteristically silent, as if he wanted to let Magnus listen too.

“He doesn’t date a lot of people,” Raphael was saying. “He just stays home with us and if he’s dating you, he must like you quite a lot but Magnus is stupid. He just trusts people and if you don’t actually care about him, then you leave and you don’t call him again. He doesn’t deserve to get strung along.”

There was a still moment in which no one spoke and Magnus did not dare to breathe. Then, Alec said, “Raphael, I really really care about your father. I like him a lot and I’m not going to hurt him. I’m here because I like him so much that I want you and your brother to like me too.”

“Just don’t hurt him,” Raphael repeated. “And we’re fine.”

“I won’t,” Alec promised.

Magnus stood in the hallway for a few more moments until Max started babbling. Magnus straightened up and then, he walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, look at how clean,” Magnus said, as if he hadn’t heard the conversation that had just happened. Magnus moved and pressed a kiss to Raphael’s head, something that made the teenager scrunch his face up and turn away, grimacing. Magnus kissed Raphael’s head sparingly because of that very reason but today, he couldn’t help but indulge himself. “Thank you,” he called as Raphael promptly fled the room, rolling his eyes in response.

Max squirmed as Raphael retreated. Magnus placed his toddler on the ground and he fled the room too, running after his brother as quickly as his little legs would carry him. Magnus met Alec’s eyes and smiled softly. “It went well,” he said.

Alec laughed and he sounded immensely relieved. He nodded. “Yeah. It went better than I expected. I don’t think... Raphael hated me?” He asked, looking anxious for reassurance that Raphael hadn’t informed Magnus that he absolutely despised Alec.

“No, he didn’t,” Magnus assured. Magnus thought about telling Alec that he’d heard what Raphael said but Alec didn’t tell him, so Magnus didn’t mention it. He wasn’t supposed to have heard it. It was a private moment between Alec and his son and Magnus would let them have it. Magnus liked that Alec didn’t tell him too. He liked that Alec didn’t tell him exactly what Raphael said the moment Raphael fled the room.

A lot of people would have but it took someone that respected Raphael to not say anything. Magnus needed someone that respected his children and he needed someone that was willing to put in the effort to get along with them, even when it was not easy.

That was one good thing about having Raphael. He would put Magnus’ partners to the test right away. There was no waiting for their true colors to come out. If they couldn’t handle Raphael from the beginning, then Magnus knew it wasn’t meant to be.

“Thank you, Alec.” Magnus murmured. “For coming and-” Magnus waved his hands vaguely. For trying with him. For caring so much. “For everything.”

Alec nodded. “Of course, Magnus.” Alec swayed towards him, asking hesitantly, “Could I-”

Magnus moved forward instantly, pressing his lips into Alec’s own. It was a blissful moment that Magnus was thankful to have, until Magnus heard Raphael’s voice from the doorway.

“Gross,” he snapped.

Max at his side burst into laughter, probably not understanding what his brother was referring to but finding it all very funny anyway. Max adored Raphael and anything he had to say was the funniest thing Max had ever heard.

Magnus pulled away from Alec, sighing softly.

They said their goodbyes shortly after and then, Alec left. Magnus wanted him to stay but they’d agreed on dinner alone and Magnus didn’t want to push whatever tentative agreement Raphael had made with Alec by asking him to stay. He’d come over again soon and maybe then, he could stay a little longer.

Magnus was surprised when that night Raphael asked when his boyfriend was coming back. Magnus informed Raphael that he wasn’t sure before he stopped and really thought about what Raphael had said. “I told you he wouldn’t be my boyfriend unless you liked him,” Magnus said after a long moment of silence.

Raphael did not respond but that let Magnus know what he needed to know anyway. Raphael had remembered what Magnus said and he’d said what he did on purpose.

Alec had gotten Raphael’s seal of approval, at least for now. One slight slip up and Magnus knew that Alec would lose it but Magnus didn’t think Alec would slip up. If he did, Magnus was sure his teenager was going to have a lot to say about it but for now, Raphael liked him.

That was so much more than Magnus had hoped for.

[gremlin4candles]

Foolish And Desperate

Note : This is an AU from Season 3b Episode 14 when Magnus deals his apartment away to get his magic back, but in this au he has an adopted child that’s a warlock which is the reader in this case. This is gender neutral and where pronouns are involved I will put [Pronouns], I’m re-watching the series and just got this idea and I hope you all like it. Also if someone has already had this idea I am terribly sorry and I am writing this because it popped into my head and I haven’t really seen a lot of stories where there’s an adopted child by either Alec, Magnus or both of them.  y/n = your name Words : 1372 Warnings : Spoilers, Angst, Potential TW, Sad Category : Angst, Sad, Comfort/Support from others

<---------------------------------------------------------------------> Magnus had gone to Lorenzo Rey to get his magic back and of course being a little too eager to get his magic back he didn’t even let Lorenzo state the dangers that might come from this nor let him tell him the price for this. Magnus had desperately said that any object that he owned Lorenzo could have and when Magnus had his powers back was when he got to know the price, a price that struck him by surprise. The new high warlock of brooklyn who owned a mansion and his job was to protect and help every warlock in Brooklyn wanted his apartment out of every possession he had.  Magnus abruptly left as soon as he could and opened a portal to the apartment as fast as possible because he knew he had to tell his [child/daughter/son]. He could already tell that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. When he stepped through the portal and came out at the other end he could hear someone’s voice, his sweet sweet [y/n] was enchanting a necklace for protection. Magnus felt himself smile at the thought of how much his [child/daughter/son] had learnt for the past few years, he was truly proud of [insert pronouns you go by]. But his thoughts were cut off by his mind reminding him that he still had to tell [y/n] the bad news.  He started to walk towards the living room where he had heard [y/n]’s voice come from and as he expected saw [insert pronouns you go by] standing there done with the protection enchantment now wearing the necklace. He wished he could just lie or take the deal back seeing how happy and content his [child/daughter/son] was in this apartment.  “Hi dad!” [y/n] said with excitement and walked up to hug [insert pronouns you go by] adoptive dad. The two hugged one another for a few seconds and when the hug parted both were smiling at each other.  “Hi pumpkin! Have you had fun today?” Magnus asked and lightly chuckled, forgetting about the news he had to spill and just enjoying the moment of happiness.  “Yeah! I just enchanted this necklace for protection!” [y/n] said excited while tugging on the necklace that had been enchanted just now. “Aww, I’m proud of you [y/n]” Magnus said and anyone would have been able to hear how genuine he was being only by hearing his voice.  “Thanks dad, how has your day been?” [y/n] asked. There it was, the question that Magnus’ entire body took as an indicator for it to be time to tell his [child/daughter/son] the news. It felt like the room was spinning for Magnus and he hadn’t even had a martini, maybe this was going to be more difficult than anticipated.  “It’s been great-” Magnus started but got cut off by his voice starting to break a little. He coughed to clear his throat and continued with “I got my magic back” he forced himself to give a small and if [y/n] would look closely it would be evident that it was a stiff and forced smile as if he was holding back the lump forming in his throat.  “That’s great dad! How did you get your magic back?” Magnus felt so bad for the situation he had put both himself and his [child/daughter/son] in without being aware of it until it was too late.  “I went to Lorenzo for help and he only stated his price when the process had already been completed...” Magnus said his voice slowly starting to unwind to his true emotions about the situation as he let his head hang down out of feeling guilty for not asking for the price before going through with it.   “..Well what was the price he wanted for it?” [y/n] asked with uncertainty in [insert pronouns you go by] voice the nerves that were slowly building up from being able to tell how tense Magnus was getting being evident. Magnus took a deep breath and in a low tone as his voice was breaking even more than before he looked up with watery eyes at his [child/daughter/son] looking [insert pronouns you use] in the eyes as he said “The apartment..”. [y/n]’s face went blank with shock as it felt like [insert pronouns you go by] heart was sinking down to [insert pronouns you go by] stomach.  “T-The apartment..?” [y/n] said with a shaky and trembling voice even if [insert pronouns you go by] was trying to hold it back as to not make Magnus feel worse about the situation. All Magnus responded with was a nod as he bit his bottom lip to keep a tiny sob in at the thought of the place where all the memories of teaching, raising and just all the good memories in the apartment with his [child/daughter/son] would soon not be theirs.  “W-where are we going to live now then...?” [y/n] asked still with a shaky voice but knowing that both of them had to figure out what and where to go from here in this situation. Magnus grabbed [y/n]’s hands softly and looked down for a second before looking back up and responding with “I can ask Alec if we could stay at the institute for the time being” he slightly smiled after completing the sentence.  “Okay” [y/n] said with a bit calmer voice then a few seconds ago. Magnus pulled [y/n] in for a hug again and then went away to give Alec a call. He nervously pulled up his favorite shadowhunter’s contact on the screen of his phone and hesitantly pressed call and brought it up to his ear, feeling almost ashamed to tell the man he loved and knew would be there for him in any situation about how he had made a terrible mistake by not hearing the price before going through with getting his magic back.   “Hi babe” Alec’s soft, content and happy voice echoed through Magnus’ mind when he had picked up especially in a moment like this. “Hi pup” Magnus said affected by the lightness in Alec’s voice. “I told you to not try make that a thing” Alec said but his small crooked smile could be heard over the phone which made Magnus chuckle. Then Magnus coughed to clear his throat and to make sure Alec would pay extra close attention to what he was about to say even though he already believed Alec payed attention to everything he said. “I have a situation..” Magnus’ voice was already sounding nervous.   “What situation?” Alec had said matching his boyfriend’s nervousness in his voice over the phone, Magnus knew he had to ask and let him know about the situation one way or the other and he was almost certain he wouldn’t be able to tell him face to face without having to hide how he really felt about the situation.  “I went to Lorenzo for help in getting my magic back, but I didn’t wait to hear the price before it was too late and the price was the apartment..” Magnus said lightly biting at his nail in anticipation to hear his beloved Alexander’s response. “Oh Magnus..” Alec’s voice sounded hurt, full of so much empathy for him and [y/n].  “If it’d be okay could me and [y/n] stay at the institute until we have everything under control and find somewhere else to live?” Magnus asked scared of the possibility of the answer being no meaning they would either have to continue asking people or be homeless for a while which was rather dangerous even if Valentine was gone, his followers weren’t.  “Of course, I’ll come by tomorrow and help you two move your things into my room in the institute and I’ll get a separate bed for [y/n]” Alec responded with. “Thanks Alexander and if we’d start to come in the way then just let us know” Magnus said and Alec didn’t want to start a small argument of how Magnus ever could think he’d be in the way. “Ok, I love you” Alec said and before hanging up the phone Magnus responded with “Love you too”.  <----- The End -----> (P.S If you’d want a part 2 let me know in comments). 

[sugarandspace]

Flowers for you

Written for @malecdiscordserver‘s Alec Lightwood Birthday Surprise event! Summary: Alec is a Shadowhunter, he probably doesn’t care about flowers, Magnus thinks as he's nervously waiting for Alec with a bouquet of red carnations in his hands. 

Slowly, he gets to learn how wrong he was.

Or five times Magnus gave Alec flowers.

AO3

It had been a long time since Magnus had been on a date, even longer since he’d been on a date that meant so much. Despite all the easy flirting he’d showered Alec with, he actually felt really nervous. It is obvious that there is something between them, but so far the time they have been able to spend together has been very limited. 

Magnus looks at the bouquet of red carnations in his hand. Maybe the flowers are a bit too much? Alec is a Shadowhunter, he would probably appreciate a more practical gift. But bringing flowers to your date is a classic, and Magnus really wants to make a good impression.

That’s why he’s standing in front of Hunter’s Moon, dressed in one of his favorite outfits, his eyes glued to the bouquet in his hands. He’s just about to send them back to the loft when he hears footsteps coming closer and a familiar voice brings him back to the moment.

“Hey.” 

Magnus looks up and sees Alec come to a stop before him, and Magnus smiles, hoping his smile looks more confident than he feels. 

“Hey.”

Alec’s eyes fall to the flowers Magnus is holding and Magnus clears his throat, one of his hands coming up to fiddle with his ear cuff when he gives the flowers to Alec.

“These are for you.”

Alec’s shy smile turns wider, and Magnus knows he made the right call with the flowers.

“No one’s given me flowers before,” Alec says, his voice full of wonder. He touches one of the flowers gently before leaning down to breathe their scent in. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Magnus says. He makes a decision right there, that if this thing between them works and he’ll get more dates with the man in front of him, he’s going to get him more flowers if they are going to bring out such reactions.

-.-.-

 Is it a cliche? Yes. Does Magnus know it? Also yes. Has it stopped him from magicing rose petals on top of his high-quality sheets? No, it hasn’t.

The deep red of the petals contrasts beautifully against the golden sheets he’s picked for tonight, and he can’t wait to see how Alec will look like among them later.

He’ll proudly admit that he’s a romantic, and as he’s spent more and more time with Alec, he’s come to see that side of the Shadowhunter as well. And he’s hopeful his gesture will be appreciated. 

This is not the first time they’ve been intimate, the first steps into the more physical side of their relationship having been taken in the heat of a moment, with brief discussions to confirm they were on the same page.

So in that way, this is nothing new. But last night, when they were already cuddled up under the covers and drifting to sleep, Alec had brought up wanting to take it further. Magnus had wholeheartedly agreed, and they had planned for a dinner at the loft tonight. Magnus wants to make sure the night is perfect, and he’s doing some last-minute decorations as he waits for Alec to arrive. He waves his hand to summon some candles that can be lit later when he hears a knock at the door announcing Alec is here.

Magnus takes one more look around the room before he shuts the lights and leaves the room to walk to the front door.

 -.-.-

 Alec sighs as he takes another look at the clock. It’s late but the pile of reports on his desk doesn’t care about that. 

He picks up another report and starts reading it, but he’s easily distracted by the sound of a text notification. He picks his phone up from the desk and sees that it’s from Magnus.

Are we still on for tomorrow?

Alec smiles. He’s been spending more and more time at Magnus’ loft, and tonight will actually be one of the first nights in a while that he’s going to spend at the Institute, since there’s no way he’s going to be done with all the work at a decent time.

Absolutely. If these reports won’t kill me first.

Alec doesn’t even have time to put the phone away before he notices that Magnus is already typing. Realistically Alec knows that the more time he spends texting with Magnus, the later it’ll be before he’s done with the reports, but he needs this little break to be able to stay sane.

You have a lot to do still? I wish I knew a spell that would help you.

Alec feels warm at the text because he knows that Magnus’ words are genuine. 

This is already helping.

This time the answer is immediate and comes in the form of a heart emoji.

Alec puts his phone away and goes back to reading the reports, but the smile on his face doesn’t go away. A second later he sees something in the corner of his eye and looks up to see a vase of sunflowers on his desk that had not been there a second before. The action is followed by the sound of another text message.

To brighten your dull evening.

The flowers work, because every time Alec’s eyes drift to the yellow flowers on his desk, he’s unable to fight a smile.

 -.-.-

 Sleeping in is a luxury Alec is not used to having. When he lived at the Institute, he was always awake early, either to join an early patrol or to train. His job as the Head of the Institute gives him a bit more steady work hours, at least when there’s not an immediate catastrophe looming over their heads, so he’s been pretty good at avoiding the mornings when he has to wake up before dawn, especially since his husband is more than happy to portal him to the Institute every morning, claiming that he’ll gladly do it if it means more time with Alec in the mornings.

Still, nothing feels better than these slow mornings when he has nowhere to be and the whole day to spend with his husband.

The only thing that would make it better would be if Magnus were in bed with him.

Alec sits up slowly, yawning and rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the sleep still clinging to them. He can hear movement from the loft and he’s just about to get out of bed to go search for his husband when Magnus walks into the room, carrying a tray.

“No,” Magnus says quickly. “Don’t get out of bed.”

Alec slides the leg he had been putting on the floor back under the covers and watches as Magnus places the tray on his lap before sitting on his own side of the bed.

“Good morning,” Magnus says and leans in to kiss Alec’s cheek. Alec turns to face him properly and is rewarded with a kiss to his lips this time.

“You made us breakfast?” Alec asks as he looks at the tray. There’s two cups of coffee on the tray and a plate of Belgian waffles with strawberries cut on top of them. There’s definitely enough on it for the both of them, but Alec doesn’t miss the fact that there‘s only one fork. He’s pretty sure it isn’t a coincidence. 

Next to the food, there is a vase with a single light pink peony. Alec knows that the choice of flower isn’t a coincidence either, and Magnus must remember how much Alec had adored the plush flowers earlier that week when Magnus had brought him a bouquet to his office.

"This looks wonderful," Alec says. "Thank you."

 -.-.-

 Sometimes going from the busy day at the Institute to the calmness of the loft wasn’t easy. The excess energy left over from a mission or from a training session made relaxing difficult, and more often than not Alec found himself preferring the cool air at the roof, rather than pacing the loft with nothing to do. 

Sometimes he used the energy to practice archery, but sometimes he wanted a different way to calm his mind, something else that didn’t require much thinking but that would keep his body in movement.

It had started one evening when he had forgotten his bow at the Institute, but he had still made his way to the roof while he waited for Magnus to come home.

When Alec had moved in, the roof had been no different from the rest of the loft - well put together with its furniture and lights and the few plants lining the walls. The plants had been mainly green, different kinds of vines and leafy plants that didn’t really bloom. There’d been one in the corner, a vine with small red flowers, and as Alec had paced the roof he’d stopped at it to pick one of the dead flowers away. After the one he’d noticed another, and another, and another. Magnus had found him with his palm full of wilted flowers, the vine looking much healthier now that the still blooming flowers had more room. 

The next time Alec was at the roof, there’d been two more blooming flowers and a watering can that never ran out of water.

Now Alec is sitting on the floor of the roof, still in his tactical gear from earlier (thankfully without any ichor or other various demon parts this time), making sure that the beautifully blooming blue trumpet vine is well secured to the railing behind it. The air outside is getting colder, but sometime in the past weeks, Magnus had changed his wards in a way that the air at the roof stays comfortably warm even as autumn is starting to creep on them.

Alec’s not entirely sure when it happened, but he assumes it was sometime around the time when the number of flowers on the roof kept growing.

It’s more like a garden than a few separate plants now, and the mix of colors and scents rivals the garden at the Institute. It’s a place that brings Alec calmness like few others, and he can easily get lost in tending the flowers. He never saw himself enjoying something like that, and he’s far from perfect, but he’s learning as he goes. 

He’s so lost in what he’s doing that he doesn’t realize that Magnus has arrived on the roof as well. He’s only alerted of his presence when he feels a hand on his shoulder as Magnus sits down behind him, his legs framing Alec’s where he’s kneeling on the floor, his arms coming around Alec’s waist as he rests his forehead against the space between Alec’s shoulder blades.

Alec takes one of his hands away from the flower and squeezes Magnus’ forearm.

“Long day?” Alec asks, continuing to pick wilted flowers from the vine while he waits for Magnus to talk.

“The longest,” he confirms, hugging Alec a bit closer. “I’m so happy to be home.”

“I’m happy you’re home too,” Alec says. “Do you want dinner?”

“Can we eat here?” Magnus asks.

“Of course.”

Magnus moves so he’s sitting next to Alec, leaning to his side. Alec brings his arm around his husband and pulls him closer, leaving a kiss to the top of his head.

“You know,” Magnus starts, watching as Alec tends the flower. “That’s my favorite out of all the flowers you have in here.”

“Is that so?” Alec asks, genuinely curious. The flower is far from the most colorful or grandiose flowers on the balcony, its blue flowers delicate and light in color.

“Yes,” Magnus answers, his voice quiet, fitting the calmness of the situation. “If I remember right, my mother used to have that growing under our window.”

The words make Alec halt in his movements, and his arm pulls Magnus closer, kissing his head again.

“I didn’t know.”

“As I said, it’s possible that I don’t remember it right but-” Magnus says as he reaches to touch one of the flowers gently. “I think this is the same flower.”

They stay like that for a while until there are no wilted flowers in the vine anymore, and then they have dinner on the roof before they go inside to get ready for bed. Magnus’ words never leave Alec’s mind, and on the next day when things are calmer at the Institute, instead of looking through his emails, Alec uses the tablet to look up the blue trumpet vine, and the perfect care instructions for it.

Alec is determined to make it the most beautifully blooming flower on the whole roof.

[tvandenneagram]

The Mortal Instruments Enneagram Types - Type Descriptions and Tri-types under the cut

Clary Fray: 4w5 - 6w5 - 1w2

Clary is brave, creative and stubborn. She will always try to do what she believes is right and will follow her heart when she makes decisions.

Clary is very artistic and has a talent for creating runes. She expresses herself through her art and and carries her sketchbook with her everywhere she goes, using it like a diary.

Clary will fight for what she believes in and will often put herself in danger if it means protecting those she cares about. She is stubborn and it is difficult to change her mind once she has made a decision

Clary is very romantic and is preoccupied with her relationship with Jace. She has extremely strong feelings for Jace and somewhat idealises their relationship. Type 4s are often very attached to their romantic partners and search for an ideal partner, which I think is what we see Clary doing with Jace.

I considered typing Clary as a 6 because she is very loyal, however I think that she is more preoccupied with finding out who she is in the world than her safety. I also think she does not make her decisions based on fear and that she doesn’t really plan out her actions very much. While this could indicate that she is counterphobic I think it is more likely that she is a type 4.

Clary has a wing 5 because she is more introverted and withdrawn than a wing 3 would be.

Jace Herondale/Wayland/Morgenstern/Lightwood/whatever name he has this week: - 6w7 (cp) - 8w7 - 3w4

Jace is independent, headstrong and sarcastic. He presents himself as haughty and arrogant, but uses this attitude as a defense mechanism for his insecurites.

Despite Jace’s flippant attitude he has a strong moral core and is very dutiful. He is a very skilled fighter and takes his training seriously. Underneath his pompus exterior, Jace is hiding distinct feelings of inferiority. He is extremely self-loathing in the original trilogy and often purports things to be his fault when they are not. Jace believes that he has been fed demon blood and attributes his conflicts with this. He hates the feelings he has for Clary and blames it on being part demon. Even when all this is disproven, Jace still carries his mistakes like a burden and believes that he is defective. Some type 6s (especially counterphobic 6s, like Jace) feel like the world is ‘against’ them and I think this attitude comes across from Jace, especially earlier in the series.

Jace has very complicated feelings towards Valentine. While Valentine was abusive and is known to be evil, he is also the man who raised Jace. Jace holds onto his positive memories of Valentine, despite all the lies and abuse he suffered upon him. 6s often have complex relationships with their parental figures and they seek their support. 

Jace will fight for his issues head on and often runs straight into battle to protect the people he cares about. I think Jace is the counterphobic variant of 6, as he is more likely to show his aggression and put themselves in dangerous situations. Counterphobic 6s are also often rebellious and defiant to authority (because they don’t trust it), which is something we see in Jace. 

I considered typing Jace as an 8 because he is very assertive and values strength. However I believe that Jace is assertive and acerbic because he doesn’t trust easily. He puts walls up because he is scared of letting people in because he doesn’t want his trust to be broken. When Jace lets someone in he is very loyal and will do anything for them. 

Jace has a wing 7 becomes he is more emotionally expressive and more likely to react than a wing 5 would be.

Alec Lightwood: 1w9 - 2w1 - 6w5

Alec is principled, caring and brave. He is straightforward and doesn’t care much for pretenses.

Alec is serious and responsible. As the oldest member of his family, Alec put it upon himself to be the protector of his family. He felt that he had to be the most responsible and as a result became very dependable. Alec is extremely compliant and concerned with the rules of the Clave. 

Alec is very concerned with what others think of him. He is so scared of what his parents and friends would think of him if they found out he were gay so he kept it secret from everyone except Izzy. Alec knew since a young age he was gay, but bottled his feelings up, because the Clave said it was wrong. He was scared to go against the Clave’s laws and was worried of losing his family’s respect. 

Alec can sometimes come across as judgmental, rigid and condescending, which are common flaws of Type 1s. Underneath all that, Alec is the harshest critic on himself and he holds himself to impossible standards. Despite being very accomplished, he never thought he was good enough and would discount his successes. Alec is often afraid to make a mistake, which results in him being very careful and practical when making his decisions. 

Alec initially had a snobbish attitude and prejudice towards Downworlders, but opens up more as he interacts with them. In his relationship with Magnus, Alec becomes more carefree and loosens up a bit. He still shows insecurities within this relationship, but is able to overcome them. 

Alec has a wing 9 as he is more guarded with his emotions than a wing 2 would be. 

Magnus Bane: 7w6 - 4w3 - 9w8

Magnus is eccentric, worldly and kind. He really wants to find love and acceptance in the world.

Magnus is very flamboyant and whimsical. His personality contrasts quite distinctly with Alec’s more serious and reserved demeanour. Magnus is very open and does not compromise himself for anyone. He is inclusive and accepting of all people, having friends of all different walks of life.

Magnus enjoys a good party and seeks out experiences. As an immortal, he has had quite a storied life and has been all over the world. At times, it can seem like he doesn’t take situations very seriously and will make snarky jokes about them.

Deep down, Magnus yearns for the love and acceptance he never got from his parents. He had a difficult childhood and was not accepted by his family because he was a Downworlder. Due to this trauma, Magnus tries to repress his negative feelings and numb them with more ‘fun’ experiences. While he appears to be very open, he is actually deceptively guarded and is very hesitant to share deep and honest experiences with others. Magnus appears lively and jovial but is hiding a jaded and cynical worldview.

In his relationship with Alec, Magnus is initally the much more active party. 7s are assertive types and if they want to do something they will do it. We often see Magnus being the one to act first whereas Alec was too scared to act on his feelings for a long time. However, as time passes and their relationship becomes more public we see issues begin to form and Magnus is the one to pull away. When Magnus hears about Alec’s idea to turn him mortal, Magnus feels betrayed and breaks up with him. After their break up, Magnus is very avoidant of Alec and ignores him. This is quite typical of 7s, who hate to confront feelings. 

Magnus has a wing 6 as he is more relationship focused and personable than a 7w8.

Isabelle Lightwood: 3w2 - 6w7 - 1w2

Izzy is fierce, passionate and confident. She can come across as vain or narcissistic, but is actually very insecure and vulnerable.

Izzy is charming and magnetic. She has a quality about her which draws people in. Izzy is comfortable with her looks and will often use them as a means to get what she wants. Despite her outgoing demeanour, she is actually very distrustful and fragile. Izzy is guarded with her true feelings and is hesitant to let people know the real her. 

Izzy has a bit of an image that she has crafted of being rebellious and promiscuous to protect herself. She dated a lot and many of these dates were people her parents wouldn’t approve of. Izzy would form meaningless relationships so that she wouldn’t have to worry about forming real feelings or being hurt. She also did this in part to detract attention from Alec so her parents wouldn’t be suspicious of him.

Izzy is very protective and loyal to her friends. She loves them very deeply and is devastated whenever something bad happens to them. Izzy always tries to be there for her family and defends them with everything she has. She is particularly depressed when her brother Max dies as she blames herself for the death. She thinks that she failed him because she didn’t listen to him when he tried to tell her something was wrong. Izzy holds onto this guilt and even skipped the funeral because she felt she did not deserve to be there.

Izzy desperately wants love, but is hesitant to trust any man. Her mother confided in her when she was younger about her father’s infidelities and told her never to trust a man. As a result, Izzy is the character who takes the longest to open herself up to love. She is passionate about Simon, but is scared to love him because she thinks it will only bring her pain. 

Izzy has a wing 2 because she is more grandiose and showy than a wing 4 would be. 3w2s are generally more concerned with their outward appearances and appearing desirable compared to 3w4s.

Simon Lewis: 9w1 - 4w5 - 6w5

Simon is calm, nerdy and accepting. He is a great friend and is courageous when he needs to be.

Type 9s look for normalcy and struggle with change, which is something we see in spades with Simon. When we first meet Simon he is the only mundane character. He is the ‘normal’ one surrounded by all the magical creatures in the TMI universe. Later on, Simon is transformed into a vampire (well first he’s a rat, then he’s a Daylighter and then he’s a Shadowhunter) and longs to be normal. He resists his vampiric urges and refuses to drink from humans for an extremely long time. Simon struggled for a long time to accept this change and was worried about how it would affect his relationships with his loved ones. He desperately craved a normal life and once he became a Daylighter he tried as best as he could to lead as normal a life as possible.

Simon is non-confrontational and is afraid to share his true feelings for the fear that it might change his relationships. At the beginning of the series, he had been in love with Clary for years but never mustered up the courage to say so. He is initially very jealous of Jace and tries to get Clary not to like him. When he is dating Clary he realises her true feelings lie with Jace and ends the relationship. At his core, Simon truly cares for his friends and just wants them to be happy.

Simon is a great listener and genuinely cares about his friends feelings. He is something of a sounding board and both Clary and Izzy with both feeling very comfortable talking about their problems with him. When Max died, Izzy was able to find comfort in Simon. He listened to her and was able to give her solace and understanding. 

Simon is a people pleaser and is scared to hurt other’s feelings. Sometimes, this can lead to him making some mistakes. 9s fear conflict and will try to avoid it at all costs. They avoid saying negative things because they don’t want people to react badly or hurt their feelings. We see this in the whole mess with Maia and Izzy. I actually hate this storyline but I feel it is a good example of Simon’s general 9-ness. When Simon was dating both girls he showed the 9s indecisiveness, people-pleasing and fear of conflict. I feel that Simon wasn’t honest with either girl because he was scared of their reaction and scared of hurting their feelings. I also feel like Simon was confused in his feelings and couldn’t decide which girl was actually the one for him. 

Simon has a wing 1 because he is more repressed and uptight than a 9w8 would be. His 1 wing also influences him to want to be a ‘good’ person, which is part of why he is so upset when he becomes a vampire (which he feels is turning him into a ‘monster’). 

_________________________________________________

Images adapted from Google

The Infernal Devices Types (x)

[bytheangell]

You Can’t Keep Safe What Wants to Break - Chapter 2, Alec

(AO3) (Prologue) (Chapter 1 - Magnus) (Chapter 2 - Alec Lightwood)

Alec’s first thought is that Jace came here to talk with him about something, and was killing time with Magnus before Alec got home. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened, with Jace showing up unannounced to discuss the details of a mission or the potential of a new recruit. That thought is gone as immediately as it arrives because Alec knows the look on Jace’s face, it’s the one he has when he breaks a rule or goes against orders and is about to confess to something.

Something’s wrong. Confirmation of that suspicion comes when there’s an immediate tension in their bond the second Magnus is gone and it’s just the two of them. The emotions are strong, stronger than he’s felt from Jace’s end of the bond in a very long time.

The only time Jace opens the bond fully like this is when he thinks he might need his emotions to speak for him. It’s happened a few times in the past when he couldn’t find the words so he let their connection do the talking for him. It works, and it works well, but it’s almost never for anything good. That realization puts Alec on edge, which he’s certain Jace can feel just as clearly.

Neither of them says anything for a long while.

“We need to talk,” Jace says, finally. Alec’s brows knit together, and he can’t help the startled laugh that escapes his lips at the phrasing. He knows it’s just his own nerves clinging to anything to lighten the heavy mood, something to break up the fear and uncertainty over whatever this is, and while he can’t stop the inappropriate reaction, he manages to look apologetic afterward.

“Sorry, it just sounds like you’re about to break up with me,” Alec explains.

Jace looks like Alec slapped him in the face instead of making a bad joke. The forced smile that follows Alec’s awkward laugh fades immediately. Jace, not taking the opportunity for the easy out of a little deflection? Definitely bad.

“Okay, you’re starting to scare me now. What is it?” Alec prompts, aware that they’re both still standing in the middle of the entrance hallway, but unwilling to move a step until he knows what he’s walking into.

“By the Angel, how am I going to do it if I can’t even say the words to you,” Jace mutters to himself, but Alec picks up most of it. There’s another pause, then Jace seems to straighten, steeling himself for whatever it is he came here to say. This is unlike him, Alec notes. Jace rarely has a problem speaking what’s on his mind, not to Alec or to anyone else.

Just another small detail that leaves Alec even more on edge.

“Alec, I need you to know… you have to understand how difficult this is for me to even consider, let alone-” Jace’s words keep breaking off, thoughts jumping haphazardly from one to the other as if he’s so overwhelmed he can’t think straight. Alec notices that Jace is actually shaking a little, the barely-there tremors in his hands and legs something most would be able to overlook, but not Alec.

The observation breaks him from where he stands and he moves forward, wrapping an arm gently around his Parabatai. “Let’s sit down, huh?” Alec suggests, leading Jace towards the sofa in the living room. “Whatever it is, you know you can tell me, and we can figure it out together. We always have before, right?”

Alec can count on one hand the number of times he’s seen Jace this beside himself. Jace is one step away from breaking down entirely and Alec wants to do whatever he can to keep that from happening… which would be a hell of a lot easier if he knew what any of this is about.

Jace allows Alec to guide him over to the sofa and seems to collapse into it rather than simply sitting down. “I knew this would be difficult, but…”

“Should I make us some tea? Coffee?” Alec offers, then pauses. “Whiskey?”

“No,” Jace shakes his head. “I just need to say it and get it over with and… and then probably whiskey, yeah,” Jace decides. Jace takes a steadying breath and Alec watches him gather himself the best he can, not that perfect composure is something either of them can fake at this point. Alec continues to feel that growing fear over whatever’s on Jace’s mind that’s so awful he doesn’t think Alec will understand, when Alec’s done nothing but support and stand by him their entire lives.

“What happened?” Alec asks finally, sitting down across from Jace.

“Nothing,” Jace says. “...yet. I’m going to put in a request to be deruned.”

Alec’s immensely grateful to already be sitting down as the air seems to leave his body all at once like a swift punch to the gut. He isn’t sure how much of it is his own shock and how much is the churning turmoil he feels from Jace through their bond, but combined it leaves him dazed for a few long moments.

“Jace…” Alec starts, but his words fail him, too. Alec searches Jace’s eyes, looks deep into the steely resolution they hold, then he reaches into their bond and finds that the distress isn’t over his decision, but over anticipation of Alec’s reaction to the decision. This isn’t Jace making an impulsive decision in some fit of desperation or despair. “How did I not realize?”

Of course, Jace is sad, upset a little more often than usual, especially around times he’d be with Clary, but it never felt like anything Alec should be worried about. It certainly never felt like the sort of unhappiness that might prompt something this drastic.

“I hid it well,” Jace admits. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, or at least mostly sure.”

Alec can’t even be mad, not when he spent the better part of their youth hiding his own darker emotions. He’s lost track of how many times Jace didn’t realize how upset Alec was over something until he came across him bruised and bleeding in the training room.

“So this is you telling me, then? Your mind is absolutely made up and there’s no chance that I can talk you out of it?” Alec asks, well aware of how close to pleading his tone turns at the question. Because he does want to talk Jace out of it. Of course he does, how could he not?

“I’m not going to stop you from trying,” Jace says. “But I don’t think you can. Alec, you know me better than anyone-”

“I thought I did,” Alec mutters, then immediately winces at the harshness of his own words.

“You do,” Jace insists. “And you know me well enough to know that the option wouldn’t even be on the table if I saw any other way forward.”

Alec can think of a dozen ways forward. Ways where Jace stays with him, by his side the way they’re meant to be. There have to be options where Jace finds someone else and settles down and maybe things aren’t perfect but they’re enough. At least, Alec thought they’d be enough. He thought he’d be enough.

“You really can’t let her go, can you?” Alec can’t help but ask, already knowing the answer.

“Tell me you wouldn’t do the same if the alternative meant losing Magnus forever,” Jace counters.

“That’s not…” Alec tries to argue that it isn’t the same, but it’s close enough. He’s tempted to lie and say he wouldn’t make this exact decision, but he would. He’d been two seconds away from turning himself into a vampire for Magnus, absolutely willing to stay behind in Edom with him, both of which are arguably worse than a de-runing, and which would’ve broken their parabatai bond over a decision Alec was willing to make without any forethought. Could he really stand here and say that was different, that him being willing to do anything for Magnus was somehow more justified than Jace being willing to do anything for Clary after thinking it through and considering all the options first?

“Fuck,” Alec says, shock still coloring his words and evident in his wide, hazel eyes. Alec realizes he was foolish to think that Jace would let this go with the Clave’s final ruling. Of course not allowing Clary into their lives wouldn’t stop Jace from making his way into her life instead. And on some level, Alec knows it’s unfair, but he realizes he expected Jace to choose him over her. To choose all of them, their friends, their family, their entire way of life, over Clary.

“Fuck,” Alec repeats.

“Yeah,” Jace agrees. “Fuck.”

Without saying another word Alec stands and walks over to the drink cart, pouring two very generous portions of whiskey before walking back to the sofa and setting one down on the table in front of Jace.

“If you don’t want it I’ll drink both,” Alec informs him, but Jace is already reaching for the glass.

Alec downs half of his glass in one go, wincing with every bit of liquid that burns its way down his throat. He pauses to glance down at it, then immediately stands back up to fill it again. He’s stalling. He knows he’s stalling, and so does Jace, who holds his own cup but doesn’t drink from it. The silence draws out between them, Jace waiting for Alec to react and Alec not trusting himself to.

This is so much to process, and Alec can sense how anxious Jace is in this moment with him. He doesn’t want to say the wrong thing, but at the same time, he can’t imagine what the right thing is. Nothing feels right to him, not now.

“Say something,” Jace pleads.

“Who else have you told?” Alec asks finally. He knows that isn’t what they should be talking about, but it’s safer to start there while he tries to wrap his head around everything he’s thinking and feeling.

“Just Magnus, right before you got back. I figured if anyone could impart some sagely, ancient wisdom on the idea it’d be him.” Jace grows contemplative. “I was right.”

“And what did he say?” Alec is genuinely curious now.

“That true love is worth the risk,” Jace says, hesitating before looking up at Alec to meet his gaze before continuing. “And that he thinks you’ll want to see me happy enough to come around to the idea in the end.”

“He’s got more faith in me than I do,” Alec says. “I’m sorry, Jace. Of course I want you to be happy. And I think it’s bullshit that they won’t let Clary back into the Institute, or let her train again. But I felt our bond break once before, and it was the single worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I don’t want to go through that ever again… I don’t want to feel that loss for the rest of my life. I can’t.”

“Alec-”

“I don’t know what you want from me here, Jace,” Alec snaps before Jace has a chance to say anything more. “Do you want me to be happy about this? Should I drop everything to go help you draw up the request papers so you can leave us as soon as possible? Maybe I should have Magnus throw you a going-away party when he gets back.”

“That isn’t fair,” Jace says. Alec hates how sad and broken the words sound, he hates that he’s the reason for it.

“You’re right, it isn’t,” Alec agrees, but even as he speaks the words his tone and expression shift from bitter to something closer to remorse. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think you’d do it. I always knew the option was there, that it was a possibility, but I never imagined you’d go through with it. Or maybe I just didn’t want to believe you could because it was easier that way. Maybe I’m just upset that I let it blindside me when I should’ve known. I should’ve seen it coming.”

Now that he says it out loud, Alec knows that’s what upsets him the most at the heart of it. That he allowed himself to believe for even a minute that the Clave’s decision to not allow Clary back into their world would be the end of it. Even with the sadness he’s felt through the bond, the longing that only fades when Jace is around Clary for what short periods of time he manages to steal away for, Alec somehow expected Jace to just live with that sadness for the rest of his life when there was something he could do about it.

“Can I be honest?” Jace asks after another long silence.

The question concerns Alec, given everything else they’ve said so far. They’ve been nothing but honest, and Alec can’t imagine what more Jace could be holding back from him. Alec gives a small nod before Jace continues.

“I’m fucking terrified, Alec. We’ve faced demons, Greater Demons, traveled to Edom… and in all my life, this is the most afraid I’ve ever felt, looking out into this unknown.”

Alec isn’t sure what to say to that, but he hasn’t been sure of what to say to anything else, either, and the silence isn’t cutting it anymore. Praying he doesn’t keep making things worse, Alec decides to allow himself to just speak what’s on his mind and hope for the best. “Then why do it?”

“Because I’ve always been afraid of the way Clary makes me feel. I’ve always been afraid of allowing myself to be honest, to follow my heart instead of that voice in the back of my head reminding me that all love does is destroy. If I held myself back every time I was afraid I wouldn’t have you or Izzy. I wouldn’t have a family with Maryse and Robert and Max, or be friends with Simon and Maia. I can’t let that fear stop me from being with Clary. From a chance at happiness.”

A chance. Alec can’t imagine risking everything, leaving a life he’d never be welcomed back into, just for a chance at happiness as a mundane.

Can he?

‘Tell me you wouldn’t do the same if the alternative meant losing Magnus forever’. Jace’s words come back to him again, filling his thoughts with their undeniable truth.

Of course he would. He could pretend that was different, but it wasn’t. He met Magnus at the same time Jace met Clary. And hadn’t Alec been ready to give up everything for Magnus when he walked down that aisle without knowing how his family and friends would react? Without even knowing if Magnus intended to be anything more than a passing fling?

Alec wishes he could keep his thoughts from spiraling, but they’re all over the place, jumping around from one memory to another, grasping at something solid he can latch onto while everything around him feels so unsteady.

“Remember when I moved in with Magnus?” Alec asks suddenly. “Me not living at the Institute was the farthest apart we’d been since you moved in with us, and you were so worried the distance would drive us apart and you were going to lose me.”

“You won’t lose me, Alec.”

“But I will. You’re part of my soul, Jace. This isn’t just moving away!”

“I’m not going anywhere you won’t be able to call, or visit. I mean, look at Maryse. Laws be damned, we see her all the time. She’s come to the Institute. I don’t plan on changing my name and living some secret life - this is me and Clary we’re talking about. We want you in our lives as much as you want to stay in ours.” Jace hesitates there. “You do, don’t you? I mean, I’d understand if you didn’t.”

“Of course I do,” Alec reassures him without missing a beat.

That’s when it hits him.

That’s when Alec knows that no matter what, he is going to stand by Jace in whatever he chooses to do - because he can’t imagine not being a part of his life, whatever part that might be. It may take him a little while to come to terms with the decision, but he will come to terms with it.

“Okay,” Alec breathes out the word after a deep breath.

“Okay?” Jace’s fingers tap the rim of his glass nervously.

“Okay,” Alec confirms. “For the record, I still hate it. And I wish you wouldn’t. But I get it, too. So if this is what you want - if this is what you need - then I’m not letting you go through it alone.”

Jace’s reaction is immediate as tears begin to stream down his cheeks despite his eyes squinting closed just as quickly. Alec shifts on the sofa to wrap his arms around Jace. He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, with Jace crying into his shoulder and Alec reassuring him that nothing, not even this, can tear them apart. Eventually, Jace’s shaking subsides and he pulls back, eyes red.

“Thank you,” Jace says.

It isn’t Jace’s gratitude or the first hint of a smile that’s crossed Jace’s face all night that tells Alec he’s making the right decision. No, it’s the bone-deep relief he feels now in the aftermath of their conversation. It’s the weight lifted from the back of his mind, the weight he knows is similarly lifted from Jace.

It’s that moment in which Alec knows there are some things you simply aren’t meant to hold onto forever.

[idontknowwhatyoumean]

lbotw countdown day 1

@lbotw-countdown-event

I’m very late but oh well. Thanks for organising this event!

22 August 2020

Prompt: Bromance

Summary: Alec and Lily in a Coffee Shop!AU

—

Quote that this prompt reminded me of:

“Sleep, Lily,” Alec said, gently. “I’ll watch the doors.”

—

It was early in the morning and already the coffee shop was filling with rather quickly with disgruntled businessmen and bleary-eyed college students all waiting in line for their daily shot of caffeine. It was Alec and Lily’s shift, as it was most early mornings and late evenings, and Lily manned the cash register as Alec brewed the drinks.

They were an efficient team, and morning rushes weren’t too much of a problem for them; Lily was a had been working at the cafe for a rather long time and Alec was particularly good with remembering the drinks and making them quickly and accurately. They had the same shifts for a while now, after they had managed to get past the initial awkwardness and frostiness that came with not understanding the other’s particular brand of humour and contrary personalities. Lily was playful and cheeky, but she could also be serious and earnest, and sometimes she was both; Alec hadn’t been able to figure out when she was what for the longest and that threw him for a loop. Alec, on the other hand, had amused Lily to no end with his socially awkward nature the first time they met and it was only after witnessing his blunt tendencies that she began to respect him as well.

And now, well, now they were pretty good friends. Really good friends, if Alec was being honest with himself.

“Hey, Alec!” She called out, and Alec could already hear the mischief in her voice. “One order of pure black with a dollop of annoying blond and on the side!”

Translation: Jace and Clary were here. And probably Izzy and Simon too. Alec suppressed a groan as he completed the last few of his orders and peeked round the counter to see the line. Unfortunately, the early morning horde had thinned out and there were only one or two regulars in the shop. He could spot his siblings crowding up the front of the counter, no one else behind them. Surprisingly, he couldn’t see Simon, his sister’s boyfriend.

After confirming his fears, he dipped back behind the row of large coffee machines, hurrying to escape his siblings. He loved them, truly, and was grateful for their presence in his life. Except during his work shifts. Somehow, his and Izzy’s constant presence and teasing of Jace during his work shifts at the art supply store next to Garroway Books during Alec’s Junior year of high school had backfired on him. Upon Jace’s quitting of his part time job at the art supplies store (thanks in part to him and Clary starting to date and the large number of new workers and customers Jace had managed to attract during his tenure as art supplies salesperson) and Alec’s employment at the coffee shop to pay his share of the bills, Alec and Izzy’s tradition had evolved into Jace and Izzy’s tradition of disrupting another sibling at his place of work.

The payback was not fun.

“Hey Alec!” Jace hooted at him from beyond the counter. “Oh, come on. Izzy, can you believe this guy?”

Alec tuned out his sister’s response as hands even moved quicker than normal to brew Clary’s favourite daily beverage. He could already feel the tips of his ears flushing red and cursed how the empty the coffee shop was at the moment. His siblings, no matter how cheeky and disruptive they could be, normally toned down their teasing and loudness when there were more people. Alec would gladly take on twelve more elaborate six word coffee orders if it meant not dealing with the teasing.

“You’re so dramatic,” Lily laughed at him as she came up to him, eyeing the takeaway cup of coffee in his hands. “And here I thought that was Magnus’ thing.”

Alec wordlessly passed her the cup, only to be dragged by her out to the front.

“Here you go,” Lily smirked down at Clary, who looked a little embarrassed at Jace and Izzy’s antics.

She grinned up at both her and Alec. “Ahhh coffee, my love. Thanks, guys.” She then leaned forward towards Alec in an exaggerated whisper, “I’m sorry about these guys. They overheard Simon apologising about not being able to meet for coffee and decided it was only their duty to accompany me instead.”

“And where is Simon?”

“Oh, he has an early meeting with his band.”

“And how nice of you to join us, big brother,” Izzy said, her arm propped up on the counter and giving Alec the most innocent gaze that Alec definitely didn’t believe.

“Or rather, how nice of Lily to bring you out here,” Jace cut in. “Is your brain getting stale from all the caffein you’ve been inhaling all day?”

Alec rolled his eyes at them. “Why are you the way that you are?”

“Payback, brother mine,” Jace grinned at him and Izzy laughed.

“Just wait til you get a job, Iz,” Alec muttered.

“Oh thanks for the concern, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to get some part time work at an office or somewhere. You might let your guard down in an obscure art supply store, Alec, but I know you wouldn’t do anything if I worked somewhere else. Jace was just unlucky.”

Alec didn’t really have anything to say to that. “Okay, okay, now that you’ve had your share of fun embarrassing me at my place of work, why don’t you go run off now — ”

“No way, don’t make them go! This is too much fun!” Maia, one of the few regulars still in the coffee shop, chimed in. She lifted her large cup to her lips to hide her smile at Alec’s subsequent glare.

“Don’t you guys have school or something?” Alec pleaded, casting a glance at Clary.

“Yes, yes we do,” she said, hooking an arm around Jace’s and leading them out the store. “Come on guys, we can come see him again next week or something.”

—

“Thank the angel,” Alec muttered as he retreated sulkily back behind the coffee machines. Lily followed him and Alec turned an eye on her. “And I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t help much either.”

“Of course,” she said breezily. “Why would I turn down such prime entertainment for no good reason? Oh don’t look at me with those disappointed blue eyes.”

Alec turned away from her just as the front door opened with a ding and Lily left to tend to the order. From what he could hear of her sultry “Well, hello”, he could deduce that the customer was hot. From her next “well of course, we can help you with that, you delicious peanut-butter-and-Jem sandwich”, Alec knew who it was and what his order would be.

Alec took several steps towards the cash register and was right. Jem Carstairs was standing at the counter, waiting patiently for Lily to package up two boxes. Will Herondale (Jem’s best friend? boyfriend? Alec was kind of unclear) was waiting behind him.

“Hello, Alec,” Jem greeted politely. “How have you been? How’s Magnus?”

Alec had heard of Jem and Will, and their friend (girlfriend? Alec was also unclear) Tessa, though he didn’t know any of them them well. They had been in the year above him at school, a close, exclusive group, and Alec wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. And there was also the fact that Alec and Izzy had almost gotten into a fight with Will back at the start of middle school when Jace had been adopted by the Lightwoods instead of moving in with his aunt and uncle and cousin Will. It had been complicated back then.

“Hi, Jem, Will,” Alec greeted back. “I’ve been fine. And Magnus is as magnificent as ever.”

Jem and Will traded secret grins at that, accompanied by a teasing (or at least, Alec hoped it was teasing) eye roll from Will who commented, “Oh, I’m sure he would love to hear that.”

“Ah, here you go with your snacks, Brother Snackariah.” Lily had packaged the two boxes into a bag and was holding it out for Jem. He took it was a smile, thanked her and left the the cafe.

“Ah yes the diamond Jem Come-and-stare never fails to disappointed,” Lily sighed.

“He’s nice,” Alec agreed mildly.

“Oh, I forgot,” Lily complained. “You’re with Monogamous Bane. Boring.”

Alec laughed at her expression. It had been things like this — Lily’s deadpan, serious teasing — that had been difficult for Alec to tell whether she meant it as an insult or a joke that had initially roused so much defensiveness from him. Not to mention that he had met her as a friend of Magnus’ even before they started working together and she and her group of friends had all teased Alec the same way, which Alec had definitely not appreciated.

“Oh,” Lily blinked up at the cafe clock. “It’s almost ten. Well, you have to get going to class. Unless… you want to spend the rest of the day with the amazing me?”

Alec shook his head and suppressed a grin (Lily shouldn’t be encouraged). “See you later, Lily.”

“Oh, boring.”

—

It was raining lightly when Alec came in for his evening shift. He didn’t have an umbrella with him and so had to brave the storm with only his backpack and was incredibly thankful that he hadn’t needed his laptop that day.

Lily gave him and his damp clothes a raised eyebrow as she drawled out a greeting over the counter. “Had a little date with the rain, Lightwood? Tsk tsk, I know a little someone who would be incredibly jealous someone else got to tousle those ‘silky smooth’ locks of yours.” She gestured to the 

“Hello to you too, Lily,” Alec said. “Do we have any spare towels?”

“In the back.”

Alec stepped into the backroom, dumping his bag by the door and grabbing one of the towels to dry off. By the end, his hair was fluffed up by the towel, sticking up and in a general mess. Alec attempted to flatten it down to its usual state, to no avail, and he quietly resigned himself to his fate, reaching over to take his staff apron and putting it on.

When he came out the backroom, he was greeted by Lily’s peals of laughter.

“Oh, Alec,” she grinned. “Your hair.”

“Yes, yes, I get it,” Alec grumbled, taking refuge at his usual spot. “You don’t have to rub it in.”

She shook her head. “Wow, aren’t you lucky your siblings aren’t here right now.”

That thought was just dreadful and he groaned.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t,” she told him. “And get moving. You’re just in time for an order of sugar-free vanilla latte with two shots of expresso.”

And Alec was whisked into the normal bustle of the shop’s evening fans. The coffee shop didn’t serve any heavy food or drinks, only a few cakes and pies, so it wasn’t as popular at that time of day when most people were looking to get dinner. Unless your dinner was cake.

“Don’t look now, Alec,” Lily called. “But there’s a special someone here to see you.”

Alec knew that tone.

He took the few steps that separated him from Lily’s place at the cashier and his heart gave an absolutely embarrassing start at the sight of bright eyes and a loving smile. Unbidden, his own lips lifted into what he was sure was a sappy smile as well.

“Well, Magnus,” Lily grinned. “What would you like to order?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Magnus said flippantly. “Maybe a mocha. Maybe a surprise. Oh, but definitely that hottie standing next to you.” And he dropped Alec is glittery wink.

Alec could definitely feel his face heating up a little — even after two years, he wasn’t quite used to Magnus’ flirtations — and the heat worsened at the sound of Lily’s reply of “oh, we can definitely do that.”

“Lily!” Alec noticed, for the first time, the small group of people standing behind Magnus. Raphael Santiago, Lily’s closest friend, somehow managed to look appalled whilst sporting a grumpy scowl. “We do not encourage Bane’s disasters.”

“Oh, then I suppose we can’t help you, Magnus,” Lily told him serenely. “I suppose you’ll have to find your own way to wooing Alec here.”

“Lily,” Alec chided, exasperated.

“Yeah, let’s move on so the rest of us can get an order,” Ragnor complained from his spot at the back of the group, next to Catarina who just smiled indulgently. 

“Well, why don’t you surprise me with a drink, Alec?” Magnus smiled at him.

“Leave it to me.”

Truth be told, Magnus was a total coffee snob. He could be very picky about his coffee and  usual only drank from the most artisanal of coffee places. He mostly only stepped foot in a regular coffee shop when he was either meeting friends, or wanted to see Alec.

“There’s that sappy smile of yours,” Lily commented, sidling up to him, a sticky note in her hand. “Here are the rest of the orders. I’ll handle Raphael’s.”

Raphael was kind of difficult to please. Alec knew, more or less, how to deal with him in person, but his coffee order was something he didn’t have much confidence in. Ragnor and Catarina, on the other hand, had extremely simple order (plain and strong tea and coffee respectively).

They worked silently together, experienced hands moving quickly through the motions, and Alec felt happy.

[lovemalecforever]

Chapter 14

Parabatai : Wherever we are, we are as one.

After everyone congratulated Luke and Maryse for their engagement, they all seated themselves at the dining table, eating dinner and talking about their marriage when the old couple hushed everyone to not rush it and make it grand as they wanted it to be simple, with taking their time, much to everyone's disappointment, especially Izzy. But everyone understood their point and decided that whatever they wanted everyone was with them. The dinner went great and everyone settled back in with their own work.

_________________________

Alec was settled in his old room, the room in which he literally grew up, and Izzy had kept it the way he liked, which he was thankful for, as this room has its own set of memories, either good or bad, everything, every object had a memory of its own stuck in his mind, and he never wanted them gone.

Izzy was there in his room too, waiting for Jace and Clary to arrive, as he wanted their presence there when he talked to them because he knew that talking to them was not going to be easy, and he needed support.

"Calm down big brother, it's going to be fine." She said softly, concerned for her brother.

Alec sighed. "I don't know, Izzy."

Not long after, there was a knock on the door making him frown. 'Definitely Clary.' he thought And answered it by yelling out a loud 'Come in'.

"Hey Alec! You wanted to talk to us." Clary said while walking in, Jace tugging behind her, much to his dismay.

"Are you finally telling us what's going on?" Jace snapped, irritated.

Alec sighed and looked at both of them. "Yes, and don't ask questions or interrupt me in between, let me say what I have to say first, then only you both can say your part. Agreed?"

Jace and Clary looked at each other, then said 'okay' in unison.

Alec took a deep breath then told them everything, from being in his coma to Magnus' emotional health state, the ups and downs they faced in that one month, Magnus' breakdowns, his nightmares to their failed talks, then he himself finding of a rare immortality spell and his wish to become one, following the procedure of becoming immortal then what part they play in it. Everything. When he was done, he looked at them both having unreadable expressions on their faces.

The room was dead silent, no one was saying anything. It was getting really uncomfortable for everyone, until Clary walked towards Alec and bent down on her knees, looking directly into his eyes and only then did he notice tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe Alec, Magnus is so much in pain, and he's trying to hide it. It's really not fair on him. He's the best person I've ever known, I've ever come across. He doesn't deserve it. If that's the only option left, then I'm more than willing to help."

"A... Are, are you okay with it, Clary? Me becoming immortal?"

"Yes, Alec." She said softly.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Jace yelled on top of his lungs, giving a jump scare to others present in the room.

"That's what I was scared of!" Alec mumbled under his breath and rubbed his temples.

"Jace!?" Clary exclaimed.

"What the hell Jace!? Don't you get it?" Izzy said, clearly frustrated with his response.

"No, I don't! And I don't want to. Alec Lightwood, you are not becoming an immortal, if something's wrong with your husband, talk him out of it. I'm sure it'll work out, but you are not doing anything like that. End of conversation!" He shouted.

Izzy and Clary exchanged a look then looked at Alec, who was completely quiet.

"What is wrong with you, Jace? He just said that he tried, and it failed and there's no other option left." Clary yelled at her boyfriend, trying to put some sense into him.

"And that's his decision to make Jace, not yours. I was shocked at first too, but this is what he wants I'm there for him no matter what, you should be too." Izzy said, her tone flat and stern.

"Oh really, I'm sorry to burst both of your bubbles, but it is. I'm his Parabatai. He's not just deciding for himself. Alec, you put it in your thick brain, you are NOT doing this stupidity. At. All." He yelled.

"JACE!?" Clary snapped.

Izzy looked at him with anger and frustration. "Really Jace? Why are you being so difficult? Why can't you see that it'll make both of them happy?"

"I'm being difficult." He chuckled frustratingly. "You both don't get it, do you? Oh, let me guess because you aren't Parabatai, you can't understand it. Alexander Gideon Lightwood Bane, I have made myself clear to you, you're not doing this to us. End. Of. Conversation." With that he stormed out of the room, leaving both the girls fuming at him.

"What the hell!?" Izzy shouted.

"What is wrong with him?" Clary said in frustration.

"Enough!" Alec yelled, unable to bear the tension present in that room anymore. Both girls looked at him with sympathetic eyes knowing Jace reacting like that had definitely affected him.

"Alec, I... I'll try to talk to him," Clary said, but before she could leave, Alec stopped her.

"No, wait. I'm going to talk to him, alone. And I'm sorry, but he's right. It is about our Parabatai bond. It is about us." Alec sighed heavily.

Both girls looked at him with dumbfounded expressions then at each other and nodded, and he left to search for Jace.

After searching the whole institute he finally found him in the training room, striking the dummies furiously with his seraph dagger.

"Jace, can we talk?" He asked carefully.

"There's nothing to talk about, Alec. You're not doing that stupidity. End of conversation." He said furiously, then threw his dagger on the floor, and left the room completely ignoring him.

"Jace!?" Alec yelled but to no avail, then rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He then walked towards Jace's bedroom, knowing that he would have gone there, and he was right. He walked in, closed the door, and put a locking rune on it so that he can't leave again.

"What the hell, Alec?" He shouted.

"What's going on with you, Jace? I can feel a weird kind of turmoil happening inside you. Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, alright. You're not becoming immortal. That's it. We're done talking."

Jace was about to walk past him when Alec stopped him by gripping his hand tightly and shoving him to his bed, resulting in a loud thud.

"Ow! Alec!" He yelled.

"Talk!" Alec said sternly.

Jace sat on the bed properly, rubbed his face, and sighed heavily. "What do want me to say, huh? Yes, I'm not fine with you becoming immortal, whatever be the reason."

"It's Magnus, Jace. And what do you think, I didn't try talking to him? I did and it didn't work. Do you think I would have ever agreed on doing this, if anything, anything had worked? He's getting worse day by day, Jace. He thinks I'm not able to see it, but I can, and it's killing me too. I'm not going to sit down and watch him get insane when I know this will solve it. That's the only option I'm left with." He said in one breath and almost a yell.

"What about us, Alec? Do you know how it will affect our Parabatai bond? Watching you live lively, young, feeling your lively emotions while I keep growing, aging. You're my brother, my Parabatai, we're supposed to die together, Alec." He said harshly, but a pool of tears was visible in his eyes.

"Then it should concern me and not you, Jace. I don't know how it'll affect our bond, but it's me who will have to watch you die, losing a part of me, you think it's easy. It's not, Jace. But it's Magnus, I love him, he's my world, I can't live without him. And it's killing me seeing him like that every passing second, his smile, it's gone. I can clearly see the pain behind his smile. I want him back, the Magnus I know, I want that Magnus back. And if it costs my mortality, then I'm ready to sacrifice it." He was out of breath when he was done, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Jace was already crying silently. His emotions and the words Alec had spoken were creating a whirlwind of emotions inside him. He was happy for his brother, for Magnus who got lucky to have his brother in his life, but at the same time, he was feeling betrayed that his Parabatai had decided something this big, without even talking to him about it. And also envious of the love these two have for each other.

"Jace, I can feel it, you know that, right?"

Jace looked up at his Parabatai, his eyes were red from crying. "So what, Alec? You decided something this big on your own and didn't say a word to us. Have you ever thought about any of us?"

"That's because I wasn't sure of it myself, Jace!" He yelled, he hated fighting with his Parabatai, but sometimes he gets really difficult to handle. "I didn't want to stress you all when I wasn't sure that I'll do it, but now I am. That's why I'm here, to talk to you all about it. And yes, I thought about all of you, then Magnus. Magnus is my family now too, Jace. As much as it pains, I'm willing to do it, for him, for his happiness."

Jace shook his head at him. "My Parabatai is really stubborn for his own good." He tried to smile, but it failed to reach his red cried-out eyes.

Alec sighed nervously. "Jace, please understand. I know things will change between us, but just put yourself and Clary in our situation. What if it were you both instead of us, what would have you done, Jace? Please think and answer."

The room was filled with dead silence, Jace was still sitting on his bed, head in his palms, while Alec was scared, his heart beating faster than normal, hoping his Parabatai would understand his situation, Magnus' situation. After what felt like forever for Alec, Jace finally spoke.

"I would have done the same. I had lost Clary, not to death, but I did lose her many times, even once I thought that she was actually dead, but she wasn't. I get what he's going through. We all had almost lost you in that battle." he took a deep breath and continued. "I'm sorry for yelling and being a pain, I get it, Magnus needs it. He needs you, by his side, in his case, forever. I'm sorry, buddy. I couldn't understand before, but I do now. I don't know how it'll affect our Parabatai bond, but if this is what's needed to be done, then I'm with you, it's just that...-"

Alec sighed with relief, but he knew and could feel through their bond that Jace needs him right now. He walked towards him, put his hands on his shoulders, and squeezed them gently.

"Jace!" He said softly. Jace looked up at him then stood up and hugged his brother tightly. Both knew how much they meant to each other.

Alec broke their hug but held his right wrist with his right hand. Jace looked him in the eyes, tears forming in the back of his eyes once again, he did the same.

"Entreat me not to leave thee." Alec began knowing his decision to become immortal will definitely affect their bond.

"Or return from following after thee." Jace followed, choking on each word he spoke.

"For whither thou goest, I will go." He tried to hold back his tears.

"And where thou lodgest, I will lodge." They both chuckled at this.

"Thy people shall be my people, and thy god my god." One tear escaped from Alec's eyes and fell on his cheeks.

"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried," Jace said, each word trembling on his lips, knowing that this part is already broken.

"The angel do so to me, and more also." Alec couldn't hold back his tears from falling anymore.

"If aught but death part thee and me." They completed the oath in unison, both of their eyes red from crying.

"Jace, no matter what happens, you're my Parabatai, my brother, and it will never change, immortal or not."

Jace nodded and hugged him once again.

"So, are we okay now? You're okay with it, right?"

This time, Jace chuckled a genuine happy chuckle. "Yes, buddy we are and I am. Don't worry. Now, let's go and find the girls shall we?"

Alec agreed and unlocked the door with an opening rune, and they left the room to find the new pair of soon-to-be Parabatai.