#Fraywood
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
neilandtodd · 1 year ago
Text
new recruit, pointing at clary: who is that
alec: that is my parabatai's girlfriend, my sister's parabatai, my sister's boyfriend's best friend, my immortal boyfriend's quasi-niece and my uh... friend or something
new recruit: i just wanted to know her name, man
51 notes · View notes
steampunkedemon · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
a gen fraywood thing i wrote just now before going to bed <3
17 notes · View notes
roamingbadger · 2 years ago
Text
WIP Wriday (tagged by @naps4bats and getting around to it belatedly because I needed to write more words, lol. THANK YOU! <3)
Excerpt from the next chapter of Who Made the Snow, a Christmas Declan/Alison Modern AU:
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” said Declan, and Alison blinked up at him, a slight frown of worry between her brows. His heart turned over. “Did it not work?”
“Oh, it worked…”
Those words gave him a presentiment of dread, but then Mags said, “We’re going to have a wander down to the other end of the market. Someone���s brought farm animals. Care to join?”
Declan was about to decline, but then he caught sight of Alison’s expression. Her eyes lit, and her frown smoothed away. “Oh. Er. Why not?” he said.
He was rewarded by that joy spreading out from her eyes into her tentative smile. “Really?”
“Really, Number Three. But if a farm animal is all it takes to make you smile, I know a place.”​
2 notes · View notes
buffyspeak · 2 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
shadowhunters rewatch 2023:
2.01 vs 3.10
318 notes · View notes
correctshadowhunters · 11 months ago
Text
Maia: It’s funny how well you and Alec get along. Didn’t he hate you at first? Clary: Alec hates everybody at first. It’s his way of reaching out to people.
54 notes · View notes
malec-ao3feed · 6 months ago
Text
Shared Heartstrings
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/BlatYK8 by autisticalec (sunanimoon) Clary was sitting on the edge of the roof’s railing, her feet swinging and dangling into the air. She looked out towards the skyline with a crease in her brow. Alec took a couple of steps towards her, trying to step louder with his feet so he didn’t startle her. He came up right next to her before she said anything. “Hi Alec,” she said, the hands in her lap suddenly very interesting. “I activated my equilibrium rune. Don’t worry.” “I wasn’t worried. You know your runes better than a lot of us,” Alec replied, taking out his stele and running it over his own equilibrium rune behind his right shoulder.  Words: 3624, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Clary Fray, Alec Lightwood Relationships: Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland Additional Tags: Episode: s03e07 Salt in the Wound, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Friendship, Background Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Background Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Parabatai, Parabatai Bond, Clary Fray-centric, Alec Lightwood-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Shame, Found Family, Missing Scene, Coda, Big Brother Alec Lightwood, Autistic Alec Lightwood, and it's not even subtle this time, Protective Alec Lightwood, fraywood brotp my dearly beloved, overuse of em dashes and semicolons, i can't help myself im afraid, clary walked away from that car after breaking all her bones a little too easily read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/BlatYK8
3 notes · View notes
couragehopelovefaith · 3 years ago
Video
youtube
clary & alec [passenger] Despite their ups and downs, I love how Fraywood’s friendship developed during the series (and often imagine how it would’ve deepened even more during season 4 when they would’ve tried to find the way to save Magnus) - and  Ирина Лазирко portrayed it perfectly. I had never heard this song before, but now it is one of my favorites. I’m also glad that Matt and Kat seem to be so good friends in real life. 
12 notes · View notes
matt-mercer-wannabe · 4 years ago
Text
Clary and Alec’s friendship is criminally underrated and it makes me sad
48 notes · View notes
half-bakedboy · 4 years ago
Text
You’re a Shadowhunter Now (read on ao3)
Pairing: Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Rated: Gen Summary: “If she decides to go on her own, we’ve lost Valentine’s daughter to the downworld, and who knows what that means for the Circle,” Jace added even though Alec had already made up his mind. Alec shook his head and let out a frustrated breath through his nose as he walked away from his siblings.
“She’s not gonna listen to me,” Alec yelled as he walked in the direction the redhead had stormed off.
“Make her, Alec, you’re good at that,” Jace supplied.
Alec muttered to himself, “Apparently not good enough.”
For 5 Years of Shadowhunters presented by the @malecdiscordserver​!
The redhead was feisty when she was pissed off and there was something about that aspect of her that both surprised and intrigued Alec. It also had Alec sympathizing with her for the first time in the few hours he had known her. They had gone back to the Institute to figure out how to deal with the nerdy mundane being taken by the New York Vampire Clan in the most diplomatic manner - Alec briefly reminded himself that he was the only one that wanted to deal with it with thought and not action - and the redhead was pissed, to say the least. 
“Someone has got to talk to her,” Izzy said as she inspected her nails, pointedly ignoring any responsibility that she might have been given. Jace sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head at whatever thoughts were running through it. 
“I think Alec should do it,” Jace offered and Alec just gaped at him. 
“You want me to deal with her?” Alec said with a scoff as both Izzy and Jace stared up at him. 
“C’mon, you’re the one who couldn’t bother to be around the mundane and accused Clary of being some Circle spy all within a few hours of meeting her. Maybe if you just apologize--”
Alec held up a hand and argued, “Apologize?! You want me to say I’m sorry for being the only one pointing out scenarios in which this-- this little girl is much more than just a damsel in distress that you can save? I think I’m the only one who is thinking with my head here!” It seemed like his words did nothing to focus Izzy and Jace away from whatever they felt for the redhead and he relented, as he always did, with a heavy sigh. 
“Just go talk to her. Explain why we can’t just go after him and maybe she’ll understand that you want to get Simon back just as much as she does,” Izzy said softly, resting a hand on Alec’s arm comfortingly. He shrugged her off but he couldn’t argue with her words. Shadowhunters were sworn protectors and as much as Alec wanted to just let the vampires get away with the kidnapping, he held duty above all else, and it was his responsibility to get the mundane out of their grasp. 
“If she decides to go on her own, we’ve lost Valentine’s daughter to the downworld, and who knows what that means for the Circle,” Jace added even though Alec had already made up his mind. Alec shook his head and let out a frustrated breath through his nose as he walked away from his siblings. 
“She’s not gonna listen to me,” Alec yelled as he walked in the direction the redhead had stormed off. 
“Make her, Alec, you’re good at that,” Jace supplied. 
Alec muttered to himself, “Apparently not good enough.” He had tried to get Jace to listen to him on many occasions, to stop being so reckless and stop taking in strays as if they were prizes he competed for, to follow the guidelines sent down to him from his parents and the Clave, but it was useless because Jace did what Jace wanted. His bad decisions were rubbing off on Izzy and Alec silently thanked his parents for taking Max away before he could go down the path of resistance with the rest of his siblings. 
He stopped walking when he heard soft sobs coming from one of the residential rooms. His heart tightened in his chest as he remembered the times he had waited outside Izzy’s door while she cried herself to sleep after their mother had berated her. It happened far too often and Alec was always afraid of knocking on the door and offering his support. Izzy had to be strong in order to be who she needed to be and who Alec knew she could be and he wasn’t going to interfere with that. So he would sit outside her door until he was sure she was finally getting some rest and spend the rest of the night staring at his ceiling, wondering if he was doing the right thing. 
With a steady inhale, Alec let his knuckles rap against the door softly, calling out a gentle, “Clary?” He heard some shuffling and sniffling as if she was trying to hide the fact she was crying and Alec respected that more than he thought he would. The door opened slowly and the glare the redhead had on her face was almost as deadly as the one Alec had perfected. 
“What?” She spat, her hair whipping into Alec’s face as she turned quickly and sat on the bed with a huff. 
“I just wanted to-- Are you okay?” He asked and the question seemed to surprise Clary. She nodded at first, quick and sure, but then her bottom lip started to tremble and she shook her head.
“It was my birthday yesterday,” she began as a tear fell down her cheek. Alec stayed silent from where he stood, unsure of how to comfort this girl he had barely just met. “It was supposed to be the best day of my life. I turned 18 - a real adult by human standards - and was accepted into my dream school. I had a mom who-- who was-- is my best friend and a stepdad who I trusted with my life. And I had my best friend, the one person who has been there for me since I was little, celebrating with me.” Her voice shook with each passing confession and Alec resisted the urge to sit beside her and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. 
“And now?” He asked because if he knew anything, it was that hiding feelings and emotions from those that just wanted to help was the most detrimental thing a person could do to themselves. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to know Clary, but it was too late to change his mind as Clary looked up at him with wide eyes and shook her head again. 
“My mother pushed me into a swirling hole of magic that her best friend created and now I might never see her again. I showed up at my step dad’s work only to overhear him admit that I meant nothing to him, that my mother meant nothing to him. I almost died and was only saved because some guy I just met gave me some mystical tattoo of healing, and now?” Clary took a deep breath and the tears that threatened to fall seemed to disappear as she tried to compose herself. “My best friend has been kidnapped by a guy that had fangs for teeth and the ability to disappear before I could even register what I was seeing.” 
“He’s a vampire,” Alec said ignoring the glare that Clary shot in his direction, “a very powerful one that is using the mund-- Simon,” Alec corrected, “against you.” He sighed heavily, taking a few steps closer to Clary to sit beside her on the bed before continuing, “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a shadowhunter now. That means you have to follow the rules that have been created to keep all of us safe and protected.” 
“But what about Simon?” Clary questioned, turning toward Alec to grip his thigh in her hands, her nails digging into the flesh there like a desperate plea for answers that Alec couldn’t really give her. Alec rested his hand over hers to urge her to relax. She didn’t know it yet, but he was the one with the mind to make a plan and the good sense to make sure they took the correct next steps in order to keep everyone safe. There was a small part of him that hoped he could prove it to her. 
“They won’t hurt him,” Alec began and at Clary’s look of disbelief, he added, “They won’t. They want something they think you have and I’m starting to believe that you know less than everyone thinks you do.” Clary nodded quickly and sniffed as an escaped tear fell down her cheek. Alec reached up before he could stop himself and swiped it away with his thumb before resting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing reassuringly. “But we can’t just barge into a nest of vampires without a plan, Clary. You know Simon better than the rest of us and you trust him to stay alive, yeah?” 
Clary agreed, “He’s probably torn between fear and excitement that vampires actually exist and he gets to see one in person.” Her watery laugh had Alec relaxing enough to stand and peer down at her. He admitted to himself that he had - still held - reservations about the redhead, but her ability to be thrown into the Shadow World with barely any fear crossing her features was something Alec admired. 
“Then we’ll figure out how to get him back, but we’re going to need your help. I need you to calm yourself down and clear your head,” Alec commanded. Clary stood up and wiped at her face, fixing the leather skirt Izzy had lent her before nodding at Alec again as if ready for action. Alec shook his head and nudged her back to sitting with a gentle hand. 
“Take a second. Mourn the loss of the mundane life you knew because from now on,” Alec said as he walked toward the door, “you’re a shadowhunter first. You’re the responsibility of the Clave which means you’re my responsibility and I take that very seriously.” Clary stared over at him and Alec had to avert his eyes before he became uncomfortable with the trust he saw forming in them. 
“Thank you, Alec,” Clary whispered. Alec nodded but said nothing else as he walked out the door. He shut it behind him and when he heard Clary’s sobs start up again, he slid down the wall outside of the room just to make sure that she was going to be okay. 
34 notes · View notes
izzymalec · 4 years ago
Note
when alec hugs clary 🥺 gay/lesbian solidarity
oof i love those elgeebeetees 😔✌🏻
26 notes · View notes
neilandtodd · 6 months ago
Text
Shared Heartstrings
summary
Clary was sitting on the edge of the roof’s railing, her feet swinging and dangling into the air. She looked out towards the skyline with a crease in her brow. Alec took a couple of steps towards her, trying to step louder with his feet so he didn’t startle her. He came up right next to her before she said anything. “Hi Alec,” she said, the hands in her lap suddenly very interesting. “I activated my equilibrium rune. Don’t worry.” “I wasn’t worried. You know your runes better than a lot of us,” Alec replied, taking out his stele and running it over his own equilibrium rune behind his right shoulder. 
Alec was quick to catch Magnus before he left the Institute. The context of their fight was important, and something they would need to talk about eventually, but with everything going on with Jace, he couldn’t handle fighting with Magnus, too. 
He had known, with every fiber of his being, that Jace had died at Lake Lyn. There was only one explanation for his rune disappearing. But actually hearing it from Clary was like losing him all over again. He had felt that familiar sting in his side that he did that night. It was still there, like a rock stuck in his shoe. Whether that was from the trauma of reliving the memory of Jace’s death or something going on with Jace right now, wherever he was, he couldn’t tell.
He couldn’t possibly be mad at Clary for using the wish. If it were Magnus, Izzy, or Max lying dead at his feet, he wouldn’t hesitate. But if it was Jace, Alec would offer that Raziel kill him instead. Being without him, even for only the few hours before his rune reappeared, were the worst moments of his life. He would do anything, anything, to never feel that way again. 
He wasn’t even upset that Clary hadn’t told him, at least not after a few moments to sit with it. Of course, Jace would tell her to keep this a secret. Clary had broken the Clave’s most fundamental law, had used the one wish from the Angel, all to bring Jace back. Jace couldn’t let the Clave execute Clary for something she did to save him. Clary also understood the horrible position this news would put Alec in with the Clave, and would never ask him to keep a secret like that. And it did. This put him in a horrific position, challenging his loyalty to his family and the importance of his job. The decision was simple, however; Alec owed it to Clary to keep a hold on this secret as long as possible. He would let the Clave continue to believe Clary preserved the wish for her safety. 
(Though, if he was honest, he was kind of glad the wish was gone. Its power to destroy anything and everything was too great a power for the Clave to have. Especially when it had almost been used to kill all Downworlders.)
After Magnus left, Alec had instructed all available personnel to watch the scanners for signs of Jace. He had also sent fire messages to those on patrol, asking them to keep an eye out in the field. Isabelle was researching demonic possessions to see if they would give us a clue on how to free Jace from Lilith’s influence. Scanning the Ops center, he didn’t see the flash of red hair he expected to.
He walked over to where Isabelle was pouring through the archives. “Where’s Clary?”
“Not sure. I saw Magnus give her another once over with his magic and then she disappeared after that. Do you want me to find her?” She said, not looking up from the screen.
“No, it’s fine. I have a pretty good idea of where she is,” Alec said.
The roof of the Institute was a popular spot for quiet contemplation, or, for Alec, secluded enough where he could send arrow after arrow exploding into Brooklyn’s skyline. It was also where Shadowhunters always seemed to go when they thought they had done something so irredeemable that only the call of the void could settle their screaming soul. He knew Clary would be there.
Alec wasn’t angry at Clary, nor blamed her, nor hated her, but she didn’t know that. She didn’t believe that. Pushing the bar on the door to the stairs, Alec was right.
Clary was sitting on the edge of the roof’s railing, her feet swinging and dangling into the air. She looked out towards the skyline with a crease in her brow. Alec took a couple of steps towards her, trying to step louder with his feet so he didn’t startle her. He came up right next to her before she said anything.
“Hi Alec,” she said, the hands in her lap suddenly very interesting. “I activated my equilibrium rune. Don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried. You know your runes better than a lot of us,” Alec replied, taking out his stele and running it over his own equilibrium rune behind his right shoulder. 
He had placed a lot of his runes under the assumption that Jace would always be there to activate them, thus making them more effective. That was fine; Jace normally was there. Now, his stomach hurt with that thought while trying to reach around blind. He felt the angelic energy imbue his veins with power. The little unconscious adjustments the muscles in his ankles and thighs made to keep himself upright stopped, and he moved with ease as he threw his legs over the railing to match Clary’s position. 
“Well, when you can draw new runes, it’s kind of important to know all the others,” she said, moving the hand that was on the railing closer to her body to accommodate Alec. 
“How are you?” Alec asked, mentally kicking himself. It was a stupid, bland question to ask, but every conversational script he had started with it. He was editing as he went.
“What? You mean sitting on the edge of the Institute’s roof hours after Jace threw me off one?” Clary said, wincing slightly when she moved. 
“Something like that.”
“I thought I’d be afraid of heights or of falling, but I’m mostly just angry. And I’m still sore, even with Magnus’ healing magic,” she said. Her voice had this uncharacteristic cynicism in it, which, while understandable, was extremely disheartening to hear.
“It wasn’t him,” Alec said simply. Clary already knew that, Alec was sure, but a reminder couldn’t hurt.
She inhaled sharply while shaking her head. “Yeah, but it looked like him. It sounded like him. As far as my nervous system is concerned, it was him. Laying on that car, my entire body screaming, I really thought that was it. And I was fine with it. I killed Jace, it was only fair that he killed me, right?” 
This took Alec by surprise. He had never heard Clary talk like this. Misplaced guilt was normally Alec and Jace’s thing, or maybe just a Shadowhunter thing in general. Hearing how little her life mattered to her, if only for a moment, was also uncharacteristic. 
“You killed him? What do you mean?” Alec asked. 
“I should have known Valentine would be there. He’s my father, of course he would have a plan like that. And now Jace is…what he is because of me. Because I’m selfish.”
“You’re not selfish,” Alec started, seeing Clary’s face shift in disbelief. “You’re not. I can’t live without him. I’ve already tried.”
“The only reason you know how that feels is because of me. I’ve caused nothing but trouble since I got here. Maybe my mom was right to keep me away.”
Had it been a few months ago, Alec would have agreed with her—he said as much to her face once. Now, though, hearing her say this actually hurt him. Clary was misattributing the chaos of the last few months to her arrival. It was true that all of them had been through a lot since she arrived, but that wasn’t directly Clary’s fault. It was Valentine’s and now Lilith’s. But more importantly, all of them were better since she arrived. Jace wasn’t living exclusively for the hunt anymore. Izzy had the best friend she had always wanted. Magnus had the girl he watched grow up in his life now. Alec himself likely wouldn’t have had the courage to accept his feelings for Magnus without her open-minded nature. Things were different since she arrived, but they were better. 
“Your mom wasn’t right. We’re Shadowhunters, trouble would have found us with or without you. Jace, too. Danger finds him easily. One of the major drawbacks to being his Parabatai.” Alec gave her a noncommittal shrug. Shadowhunters died young; Jace had always seemed intent on proving it. Alec had accepted that a long time ago.
“Why do it?” Clary asked. Alec gave her a puzzled look. “If being a Shadowhunter is so dangerous, why choose to tie yourself that close to someone?”
Finding a Parabatai was actually a rare thing for Shadowhunters; something easy to forget when Alec’s own father used to have one before the Uprising. Parabatai were a tough concept for people to grasp, even for those raised as Shadowhunters from birth. It made sense why Clary would be confused.
Alec, like always, saw fit to answer with a story. “It’s based on the biblical tale of Johnathan and David, two warriors whose souls were knit together by heaven. They loved each other as their own souls. The first Parabatai, Johnathan Shadowhunter and his companion David, took this idea and made the ritual. It made them stronger, much stronger than Raziel’s blood in their veins alone. Their bond was broken after David became the first Silent Brother, a pain so keenly felt by Johnathan that his screams were reportedly heard over miles.” Alec paused, the sharp pain in his hip making him wince. “We do it because it makes us better. Because finding someone whose soul is knit with yours is magic in itself.”
“Why did you do it?” Clary interjected.
“He makes me whole,” Alec said simply.
“What was it like? When he died, I mean,” Clary asked.
“Do you remember that blizzard that hit the city a few years ago?” A freak weather event that had turned out to be entirely mundane. She nodded. “After the excruciating pain of his actual death passed, it was like I was in the middle of that blizzard. The snow swirling in every direction, causing the landscape to look completely white. I was so unbelievably lost. Not being able to feel him anymore was even worse. A part of me was gone. Jace took it when he went. I have never felt that empty.”
He had thought about following Jace to wherever Nephlim went when they died in battle. If Magnus and Izzy hadn’t been there, he probably would have. Other people needed him and he vowed to be there for them in that moment, even if it meant living as a hollowed out version of himself.
“Alec, I am so unbelievably sorry. For not protecting him. For not noticing that something was wrong until it was too late. For not telling you about the wish. For causing you to know what losing a Parabatai feels like. For everything since I got here. I’m so sorry,” Clary said, eyes shining.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. I meant what I said. I would have done this same thing,” Alec said.
Clary didn’t respond, nodding and looking out towards the skyline instead. He saw a few tears escape the corner of her eyes that she hastily wiped away with the back of her hand. 
Glancing down at Clary’s hands in her lap, Alec saw her picking at the skin on her thumb. Without giving himself time to overthink it, he grabbed her hand and wrapped it in both of his. He stroked the side of her thumb with his. She was receptive to the gesture despite her thinking herself undeserving of it, Alec knew. Alec’s mind began to wander.
He didn’t know what to think of Clary when she had first arrived. His feelings towards her were so intertwined with his feelings for Jace that once he had let go of those, he wasn’t left with much to work with. She was a girl who wasn’t Izzy—he didn’t have a script for that. Things got even more complicated after he killed Jocelyn. 
(Or, after the demon killed her, as everyone kept telling him.)
Clary was inhumanly forgiving towards Alec. It had made him feel guilty to the point of nausea. A part of him was relieved when Iris Rouse’s spell made him hallucinate Clary being furious with him. He needed that. He needed Clary to call him a monster. He needed someone to tell him it was his fault. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness. Then the ruse was revealed and Alec felt even worse, if that was somehow possible. Again, Clary expressed her forgiveness, absolving him of blame. It made him want to tear at his chest like he, the demon, tore at Jocelyn’s, but it also helped him form some conceptualization of how he felt about her. She was kind, genuine, compassionate, unboundedly forgiving, and generous. He began seeing her as an ally and a friend; the sting of his guilt around Jocelyn lessened through her grace. It was still there, and likely always would be, but it was easier to manage every time Clary looked at him with a light in her green eyes instead of contempt.
Their relationship was like that for a while. They had each other’s backs. The script changed when Clary told him about the wish—about what she did for Jace. He realized Clary was the only other person in the world who understood the lengths he would go to for Jace, because she would go to them too; she did go to them. His family was the most important thing in Alec’s life, and Clary protected his family. She was family now, too. That was the only thing she could be to Alec after what she did. She was his little sister with the same ties that made Jace his brother; by something much stronger than blood.
The new realization hadn’t hit him until he was looking down at their hands, his eclipsing hers. The scene looked identical to his memories of doing the same with Izzy. He was a big brother before he was little else. 
Alec lost track of how long they sat like this while he was lost in thought, but it was apparently long enough for Clary to grow uncomfortable because she yanked her hand out of Alec’s grasp and swung her legs around to start pacing the roof with her hands on her hips, agitation clearly building.
“Yell at me,” she blurted, turning towards him as Alec got up. Her expression was tense.
“What?” Alec asked. He approached her slowly, like she was a bomb that needed defusing. 
“Scream at me. Tell me it’s my fault.” Her hands curled into fists at her sides as her chest heaved.
Alec knew what she was after—he had once sought the same thing from her. “I can’t, Clary.”
“Please. Please,” she begged.
Alec hated seeing her like this, but he couldn’t give in. Her forgiveness set him free; now he had a chance to do the same for her. She was beginning to collapse in on herself, her guilt and grief threatening to overwhelm.
Alec placed his hands on each of her shoulders gently, dipping his head down to meet her eyes. “It’s not your fault.”
She started beating against his chest, trying to push him off of her, but there was no energy in it. “Alec!” She shouted, trying to make him listen.
“It is not your fault,” he said, emphasizing each word.
With one final punch, she collapsed into his arms. Alec adjusted his arms to wrap around her shoulders. He rested his chin on top of her head while she grabbed onto him like a life-saving device, sobbing into his chest.
“Alec…” she muttered between hitched breaths.
“It’s okay. Just breathe,” he said comfortingly. “I know what you’re asking me, and that’s why I can’t do it. You forgave me once. Let me do the same for you. Let me be your big brother.”
She didn’t say anything for a few minutes; her sobs likely made it too hard to speak even if she wanted to. When her breathing had returned to a near normal speed, she started shifting in Alec’s hold, clearly uncomfortable. Alec let her go somewhat reluctantly. It was obvious from the pained look still on her face that she needed the comfort.
“You don’t need to do this,” she said after a while.
“Do what?” 
“Lie to me. I know we’re friendlier now than when we first met, but you don’t have to pretend that I belong here.”
This legitimately hurt Alec to hear. Alec knew he had been unfairly cold towards Clary initially, but he hadn’t known Clary thought he still felt that way. Their interactions with each other had defrosted lately and Alec thought that would’ve been enough for Clary to know he felt different now, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
Even worse, Clary’s belief that she didn’t belong was Alec’s fault. He said that to her once. Jace had been missing, of course, and it was easier to blame Clary than blame himself. He wasn’t proud of it, especially because he never actually apologized. Jace came back, and they moved on—or, at least Alec thought they did.
He looked at Clary then, really looked at her. There were dark purple bags under her eyes that weren’t there a few weeks ago. Her hair was tangled from the earlier wind. He looked for any remaining marks from her counter with the Owl but there were none. His attention was drawn instead to the Iratze on her neck—the first mark she ever received. Drawn to save her life when she encountered her first demon without a single mark. The one drawn by the very person who caused its most recent use.
He saw in her eyes a defeatedness that he couldn’t recall ever seeing, and it tore at his heart.
“Clary,” Alec started, closing his eyes for a beat. “I’m so sorry for the way I treated you when we first met. There was a lot I needed to work through and I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve that.” He meant what he had said to Magnus; he really was working on his apologies. He just hoped he was a little better at them by now.
 Clary shrugged. “It’s okay. I could tell you were hurting.”
“I didn’t know how to love somebody outside of my family until Magnus showed me how. Something that never would have happened if not for you. Everyone I love loves you and considers you family. It’s about time I do, too,” Alec said. 
“You mean that?” Clary asked in a small voice.
“Of course I do. I’m sure after today.”
“Today?” She asked, tilting her head.
“You understand how far I would go to protect Jace. You’ve lived it. The rest of our family would do anything for him, too, but they don’t feel it the way you and I do. My instinct to protect him is as strong as my instinct to breathe. You understand that. No one else ever has,” Alec said.
Clary exhaled in a kind of laugh. “You know what Jace said to me after I made the wish?” Alec shook his head. “He said ‘you could have had anything else in the world, and you asked for me.’”
“You didn’t want anything else in the world,” Alec finished for her.
Raziel could have given Clary anything. World peace, the end of hunger and thirst—even her mother. But she didn’t. She asked for Jace. Anyone else would have judged Clary for that, even hated her, but Alec didn’t. Alec couldn’t. He understood what she must have felt that night, better than anyone else ever could. 
“You know, I never realized you’re the only other person who knows how it feels to love Jace like this. In the way that feels…”
“All consuming?” Alec finished again. Being tied to Jace felt like it could engulf him if he wasn’t careful. Like Jace was a star always moments away from supernova and Alec was a planet tied to his orbit.
They stared at each other for a moment. In all the jumbled mess that were his feelings for Clary, he never realized how similar they actually were; both exceedingly stubborn, protective and maybe even a bit excessively self-flagellating.
“I really do mean it, Clary. If you’ll have me, I’d love to be the big brother you deserve,” Alec said once their staring contest seemed to end.
After a few moments, Clary opened her mouth a few times, trying to collect her thoughts. “I think I—” Her breath hitched as she swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think I really need that.”
Alec’s own throat started to pang sympathetically. He met her eyes for silent permission before wrapping her in another tight hug. Clary’s family wasn’t like Alec’s; both of her parents and her brother were gone. Her father and brother were irredeemable monsters, and her mother died before they ever really had a chance to reconcile Jocelyn’s decision to hide Clary from the Shadow World. All she had left were the people she chose to let in, a circle that had gotten progressively smaller lately. He was beyond grateful to be granted this kind of trust.
“Then you’ll have it. You’ll have me.” And it really was that simple.
Alec tightened his hold and placed his chin on her head again. Clary sighed wearily as her body relaxed.
“We’re going to fix him, Clary.”
“We have to.”
There was an unspoken implication in her words, but Alec knew it. Neither of them had any other choice. They had to save Jace, or that was it; there was nothing else. Alec felt better knowing neither he nor Clary had to do it alone. As long as they did this together, Jace would come home safe.
10 notes · View notes
lightwormsiblings · 5 years ago
Text
I’ve got the headcanon (mostly because of 1x05) that Alec is in charge of Clary’s Shadowhunter training. He’s insanely proud of her when she finally manages to knock Jace onto his ass
67 notes · View notes
roamingbadger · 2 years ago
Photo
Chapter 6: Mark My Footsteps is up!
Tumblr media
Who Made the Snow by roamingbadger (rated T, no archive warnings apply)
“Who made the snow waits where love is.” - Kenneth Patchen
Alison Heywood has been looking forward to her first Christmas as Declan Fraser’s fiancee. But what she doesn’t expect is the stress of her first exam season, the worry of whether she’ll get into graduate school, and the biggest problem of all: the fear that Declan’s moving on. After all, he seems preoccupied with something. Something rather important…
This is a Modern AU Christmas story set in the Moon Yew-verse.
Read it here!
16 notes · View notes
bisexual-rebekah · 5 years ago
Conversation
clary & alec sparring in 1x05
alec: [to clary] i hate you so much. i hate you so much. i hate you so much, i don't even have the words.
also alec, who can't let go of being a teacher for one second: wait, don't forget to plant your feet, you need to work on your defense.
alec again: also, you're the fuckin' worst.
68 notes · View notes
buffyspeak · 2 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media
shadowhunters rewatch 2023
361 notes · View notes
correctshadowhunters · 11 months ago
Text
clary: you need to react when people cry! alec: i did, i rolled my eyes.
25 notes · View notes