#alec is 'area man trying to get his adult step son to like him'

[maiaisbia]

for the drama of it all

Raphael dresses as a shadowhunter for Halloween. Magnus is amused, Alec is not so sure.

My first fill for @shadowhunterbingo! The prompt was: Shadowhunter!Raphael

Gen | Words: 1018 | ao3

Magnus was very excited to host a (little) Halloween party in the loft, the first since he married Alec four years ago. There was a lot to celebrate this year, and what better way than to bring his friends and family together for some spooky fun? Ragnor was back from his (apparently) faked death, Catarina had decided to get a new doctorate so that she had the most current medical knowledge, Dot has taken on the role of High Warlock of Brooklyn, and Alec had cleared and pardoned a whole slew of old downworlder crimes.

Oh, and Magnus had successfully petitioned for downworlder representation in all Clave political matters in Alicante. He had to admit he was rather proud of that one.

Madzie was still young enough that Halloween was one of her favorite holidays. Because of this, Raphael had agreed to come by early and help with the cooking so Magnus could decorate the loft. Ever since Raphael had become a daylighter after receiving an incomplete dose of Heavenly Fire, he’d thrown himself into family life. With all his living family going to be at Magnus’ party, he was very insistent on helping make food. After, Magnus would help him remember those who had passed.

Raphael knocked on the door at noon on the dot, and Magnus welcomed him in and enveloped him in a hug. Raphael didn’t reciprocate, because he was holding a lot of bags. “Thank you for coming!” Pulling back, Magnus looked him over. “Any trouble getting into Alicante?”

“None, no need to send Inquisitor Lightwood-Bane after anyone,” Raphael assured and rolled his eyes at Magnus’ smile and preening at the mention of Alec.

So sue him, he loved his husband. He stepped further back, taking some of the bags from Raphael and leading them into the house. “No costume I see...”

“Don’t worry, it’s in one of the bags,” Raphael put his on the kitchen table and started to unload fresh ingredients. Magnus wasn’t sure what he was making, but knowing Raphael it was going to be amazing. “I couldn’t forget one and have you whip something up last minute. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“But isn’t that much more fun,” Magnus smiled, and set about helping. He’d cleaned the kitchen, made it spotless so that Raphael could do whatever he needed.

Magnus found the bag with the costume in it. Pulling out the contents, Magnus found dark clothes, a leather jacket, and some toy swords. Laying them over a chair, Magnus tried to put together what Raphael was going to be. Once it was all out Magnus had a very good idea what Raphael was going for.

Turned to Raphael, trying to control his laughter, Magnus managed, “You’re not.”

“I am, I’ll need some help with the makeup,” Raphael’s face was carefully neutral, though his lip tipped up to one side.

Magnus gave up and doubled over laughing. When he got control of himself, carefully wiping his eyes to try and not smudge his eyeliner, he looked at Raphael’s small smile. “I can’t wait to see this.”

“I can’t wait until Alec does,” Raphael said, looking down as he lined up the spices he’d need.

Magnus couldn’t disagree with that.

-.-.-.-

Alec came home earlier than he usually did, and Magnus hurried to greet him. Giving him a quick peck on the lips, Magnus led him into the living room, gesturing to the decorations he’d done. “What do you think?”

“Very spooky, I think Madzie will have fun,” Alec had followed after hanging up his coat, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ waist.

“Do you think trick or treating will ever take off in Alicante?” Magnus mused, leaning back against Alec’s strong chest. He was feeling ridiculously warm and happy, though part of him, even now, couldn’t believe that this was real. That he got to be here and do this, to have this family.

“I’d give it a decade or two, we’ll find out,” Alec said with a chuckle.

Magnus turned in Alec’s arms, staying close, resting a hand on the back of his neck. But before Magnus took the opportunity to kiss his husband again, he heard Raphael call, “Magnus, if the guests are starting to arrive I’ll need your help in here.” This was accompanied by footsteps.

Because Magnus was facing Alec, he got to see just what Alec’s reaction was. Feeling Alec tense, his brows drawn down and his eyes turning to a glare, it was almost too comical. Especially when Alec had for the last several years been trying his absolute hardest to befriend Raphael. Right now, he had changed so quickly from happy to viscerally grumpy Magnus started laughing again, resting his head on Alec’s shoulder. One of Alec’s big hands slid up his back, resting between his shoulder blades, keeping Magnus steady as he laughed.

“You like my costume, Lightwood?” Raphael said, his voice teasing.

“Lightwood-Bane,” Alec corrected automatically, and Magnus peaked up at him, before deciding he liked staying cuddled against Alec. He knew what Raphael looked like anyway, they had finished his costume only fifteen minutes before Alec had arrived.

“I helped with the runes,” Magnus said, muffled against Alec’s shoulder. “After all-”

“Don’t say it,” Raphael tried to interrupt.

“-I’ve made a detailed study of them.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Alec’s rumbling laughter followed. He pressed a kiss to Magnus forehead and then released him. Stepping towards Raphael, he pointed to a rune. “Why is the silencing rune on your forehead?”

“For the drama,” Raphael said, the tone of his voice completely flat as he stared back up at Alec.

Alec shook his head and chuckled. Patting Raphael’s shoulder, he headed towards the kitchen. “It smells amazing in here...”

“Don’t you dare try and sample, that’s Madzie’s job,” Raphael followed Alec. Magnus wondered if he’d pick up a wooden spoon to use as a weapon or if he’d make use of one of the plastic swords.

Deciding they could sort themselves out, Magnus went to put on his costume. Maybe, just maybe, he’d get Alec to wear something this year too.

[invaderdoom78]

Fright of Life and Death part 2

About forty minutes later Charley came home and found his mom and Aro sitting together in the living room having a seemingly pleasant conversation together and he felt terror run through his veins. He knew the vampire didn’t like him and he even had a moment where he thought Aro was here to kill him, but considering that his mom was still alive he figured he was here for something else, but he couldn’t come up with any type of reasoning as to why.

“Hey Char” Mrs. Brewster said noticing her son

“Hi, mom” Charley said setting his backpack down by the door

“Come and sit with us” Mrs. Brewster said waving for her son to come over

Reluctantly Charley did what his mother told him and sat next to her.

“How was class?”

“Fine” Charley said, doing his best to make it look like he wasn’t purposefully trying to avoid looking at Aro

“Good. Well Aro came over to talk to you” Mrs. Brewster said getting to her feet “so I’ll leave you to it”

Please don’t go, mom. Charley thought as he watched his mom go upstairs

Aro sighed “I know this is rather awkward, but I can assure you that I am not here for malicious reasons”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m afraid that there is something wrong with Peter”

“What?”

“I simply wish to know what happened on your last hunt”

“Uh... it went fine but the guy must’ve been paranoid because his lair was covered in crosses and he had this box, that we somehow picked up, and for some reason, he’d nailed it shut”

“The inside of the lid was all scratched up, correct?”

“Yeah”

“Was there anything else odd about the house?”

“It was next to a cemetery, which Peter thought was a problem, aaannnd there were a bunch of crosses on the wall. Why does it matter?”

“I’m afraid that something was attached to the box and has latched itself onto Vincent”

“How?” Charley asked “ghosts aren’t real”

“It’s not a ghost, but a non-corporeal demon”

“Why. Did you. Phrase it like that?”

“Did you think that vampires were the only beings of legend or myth that exist do you?”

“Yeah kinda” Charley said, sounding like he was having a lot of trouble believing what he was told but also being very aware of the fact that Aro was much older than him and if anyone knew what did and didn’t exist it would be him “so Peter was right? Shit! What do we do?”

“I need some evidence” Aro said quietly

“What kind?” Charley asked “do you mean like video because I bought some spy cameras and audio recorders a while back for a reason I forget, maybe if you get him out of the house I can hide them and we can look over what they catch”

“How long should it take you to set them up?” Aro asked only receiving a shrug from the young man “hm, how long will it take you to gather the equipment together?”

“A few minutes” Charley said standing up

“Are you able to set them up tonight?” Aro asked, getting up making a move that looked like he was going to touch Charlie

“No!” Charley almost shrieked, scrambling away from Aro’s range of reach “I’ll help but don’t touch me. Peter told me what you can do and I don’t want you reading my thoughts”

“Fair enough” Aro said clasping his hands together

Aro waited for Charley to gather up all of the equipment he needed before they both got in their cars and drove back to Peter's house, Charley parking about a block away and walking the rest of the distance to the house. Opening the front door Aro saw Peter sitting on the couch, in a much more comfortable looking positioning, watching T.V.

“Where’d you go?” Peter asked, looking back at him from the couch

“Do you not remember?” Aro asked, furrowing his eyebrows

“Remember what?” Peter asked, looking frustratedly confused “last I saw you we were talking about thinking I was sick and then you just up and fucked off”

Aro realized what was happening “I’m sorry, dear, I thought I told you I needed to step out for a bit and take care of some business”

“Oh, ok”

“...You know” Aro said walking over to the couch “I was thinking we should go out and do something nice tonight”

“Like what?” Peter asked, muting the T.V.

“We could go out for a nice diner, or a drive, or maybe see a film”

“...Alright”

About a half an hour later, the two stepped out of the house Peter and Aro walking out to the car, with only the vampire being aware of the fact that Charley was creeping around the side of the house slipping inside through the door the vampire had left unlocked for him. 

The two rarely went out around other people, normally they’d go out for a drive or Aro would force Peter to go on a walk with him so he could get some exercise. Thankfully since Peter lived in Vegas it didn’t really matter what time of day they went out together on the Strip because no one paid any attention to them, too distracted by the street performers, the shops, and the woman walking the streets in nothing more than pasties and thongs to notice anything odd about Aro. So that’s where they went, Peter parking in the cheapest parking garage he could find before they walked to the Strip and walked into the first restaurant they could find that wasn’t busy. After about ten minutes they were seated on the restaurant's balcony, so they had a perfect view of the fountain show across the street.

“We should take Jane and Alec out to a show some time” Aro said as he watched the water dancing

“What did you have in mind?” Peter asked, slouching back into his seat

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“The Blue Man Group” Peter shrugged “it may not be the classiest thing out there but it’s something children enjoy”

There was a pause in the conversation when the waitress came to take their orders; Peter getting a burger and beer as Aro got a small appetizer and water so as to not appear suspicious. Restarting their conversation Aro noticed that a nearby table of women kept looking at Peter and he could hear them talking about his human and how they were, he was hoping, joking about trying to steal him from the vampire. Peter seemed to pick up on his anger boiling up inside him and Aro felt his foot rubbing against his ankle getting his attention off of the woman and onto him.

“What do you wanna do after this?” Peter asked after he’d finished his food

“How about we see a film”

“There’s not really anything playing that I wanna see” Peter shrugged

“Come now” Aro said “there must be something you want to see”

“We can check out the RedBox down the street if you really want to watch something”

Aro wasn’t able to talk Peter out of wanting to rent something from a Redbox instead of going out to a movie theater. Fearing that this would not give Charley enough time to finish their plan Aro sent him a text letting him know about the change in plans thankfully he’d already finished setting up all of the cameras and audio recorders and was on his way out the door. Slipping his phone back into his pocket joined Peter back at the machine looking over the board of posters as the other looked through the Red Boxes library.

“When the fuck did they make a Banana Splits movie?” Peter asked aloud as he touched the movie's image

“Oh, Vincent” Aro said looking at the screen “that’s just mindless bloody garb. What about...”

“Too late” Peter said as the RedBox started whirling “the movie’s already coming out”

When they got back to Peter’s house Aro still wasn’t happy about the movie choice but held his tongue as they sat on the couch together to watch the movie.

“I don’t like the fact that both adult and kid me are in this movie” Peter said, right after (spoiler) Stevie's death

“Really?” Aro asked, quirking an eyebrow “how so?”

“I was a fan of this show for way longer than I should’ve been. Probably ‘cause it was the only thing I could watch growing up before, you know”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Nope”

“Come on”

“Not a chance in hell”

“If I tell you which one is my favorite so far will you tell me yours?”

“...Maybe”

“Snorky”

“Really?” Peter asked, looking genuinely surprised

“Yes”

“No way!”

“Your turn” Aro said, gently nudging Peter with his shoulder

“Don’t make me say it” Peter groaned

“Fair is fair, dear”

“Alright! It’s Bingo”

There was a crash behind them that was loud enough to cause both of them to visibly jump, Aro, reaching out to place a hand on Peters's thigh.

“The fuck was that?” Peter asked, straining to look down the hall the crash had come from

“I’m not sure” Aro said

Getting up the pair went to investigate the sound, slowly walking back to where the bang came from and found that one of the windows had a small crack in it. Stepping in front of Aro Peter walked up to the window, opening it up so he could see if what had hit it was still out there.

“That was an owl” Peter said sticking his head out the window “there’s a fucking dead owl out here”

“Oh, dear” Aro said, looking out the window with Peter at the dead animal

Aro waited for a few days before going back to see Charlie, wanting to make sure there was time for something to get caught on the cameras, and during this time he was trying to be extra attentive to Peter in an attempt to try and rein in his mood swings and help him deal with his night terrors, that had not only turned into a nightly occurrence but seemed to happen almost every time he closed his eyes. As much as he tried there wasn’t really anything he could do about them outside of trying to comfort Peter when he awoke and it was only made worse by the fact that he could see everything that happened in them. They were always the same, Peter alone in an empty field surrounded by hooded figures and he would always wake up in pain afterward.

Peter hissed in pain as he sat up in bed “Shit!”

“Are you alright, darling?” Aro asked

“My neck is really stiff" Peter said rolling his head

“Turn around”

Peter did as he was told and turned so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet placed on the ground. Walking on his knees over to his human Aro gently placed his hands on the back of his neck, watching carefully for any signs of pain as he mapped out the areas that needed the most attention before firmly massaging the pads of his thumbs into the back of Peters's neck, slowly working his way up from his shoulders to the base of his skull. When he reached the base of his human’s skull felt a small bump directly above his spine. Applying some more pressure to the bump Aro felt it twitching whenever it was touched like it was trying to get away from him and, despite his best efforts, that bump didn’t go away, but Peter seemed to relax a bit nonetheless.

“Do you feel better?” Aro whispered, wrapping his arms around Peter

“Yeah” Peter sighed grabbing the arms that were wrapped around him relaxing back into the embrace “thanks”

A few hours later Aro reluctantly left the house and drove down to  Chraley’s so he could look at the recordings.

“Where did you get those scratches on your neck from?” Aro asked, when he entered the house, furrowing his brows

“What scratch marks?” Charley asked walking over to the mirror in the hall so he could look at the three bright red claw marks that were on the side of his neck “I was wondering why my neck burned”

“It’s been almost three days since you were at Vincent's and they look like they just happened” Aro mussed to himself

“Is that bad?”

Aro didn’t respond, he only gave a small hum before walking over to where Charley had set up his laptop. Despite the fact that he really wanted an answer Charley could tell by the look on the vampire's face that he wasn’t going to get one out of him. Glancing one more time at his scratches in the mirror he walked over to the couch and booted up his laptop, opening up the program that had all of the recordings on it, clicking open the videos for each room, arranging the screen so that they were all visible before pressing play. A majority of the recordings had nothing going on them as it seemed like the only places Peter spent his time was at the bar in his house or in the living room, and in the bedroom but there were no cameras back there. Though it didn’t really matter because Aro was always back there with him so he already knew what happened in that room. At first, it didn’t seem like anything had been caught, that was until Peters first temper tantrum, they could hear a deep scratchy voice telling him what to yell at Aro as the vampire tried to calm him down and what appeared to be shadows sliding over his arms so they could control his movements, shoving the other away from him. After that, there seemed to be a shadow-like figure that was constantly following right behind him as more and more floating white orbs began surrounding him.

“Well, what do we do?” Charley asked shutting down the laptop

“I do know someone who can help” Aro said softly “unfortunately I only know the general area that they live in not her addresses”

“Where do we start?” Charley asked

“North Carolina, I believe I know where her sister works”

As Charley packed up his laptop into an overnight bag along with some clothes, Aro called Peter giving him an explanation for his disappearance, the young man picking up on the worry in that vampire's voice.

“So?” Charley asked after about half an hour on the road, still trying to get comfortable with the situation at hand, wanting to come up with something to say to break up the tension in the car “uh, how-how did you meet them?”

“Well” Aro said pulling onto the highway “we met back in about 1856 when it became known to us that Elenor’s oldest son got married” he took his hands off the wheel to air quote the word married “to a vampire so we had investigated into it to assess whether the relationship was a threat or not but once we learned that she was a witch there wasn’t much we could do”

“If she lived back in 1856 how is she alive?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say alive”

“So she’s a ghost then?”

“Her spirit is kept in this plane of existence by her magic yes”

“Was she at least human when she was alive?”

“That depends solely on whether or not you consider a witch human or not”

“Yes” Charley said drawing out the word “what about her sister”

“They share the same mother so half of her is human” 

Charley didn’t want to know what that meant.

Aro had essentially floored it all the way to North Carolina and had made it in a little over twenty-four hour instead of thirty-six it should’ve taken, the car only stopping so they could gas up, get Charley some food, and let him use the restroom; it also helped that he’d fallen asleep about halfway through the drive and they were able to pull into the parking lot of a small shopping plaza a little after seven in the morning.

“We’re here” Aro said shaking Charley awake

“Wha-?” Charley asked waking up looking around “oh”

Getting out of the car the two walked into the grocery store and saw that it was empty, save for the woman standing at one of the registers.

“Excuse me” Aro said, walking over to the woman “is Elizabeth working today?”

“Yeah” the woman, Sandy, said, turning to look back at the wall behind her “she should be back there” she pointed at the door in the wall

“Thank you” Aro said

The door Sandy had pointed at opened and Lizzy stepped out, looking like a man on a mission, she stood at about 5’3” and her eyes a pale steely blue with her vein-like scars being more contained towards the stab mark on her chest, the longest vein barely reaching up past her jawline onto her cheek.

“I’m gonna stab your wife!” Lizzy said, pointing at Aro

“And why is that?” Aro chuckled, walking over to Lizzy

“Because she’s a bitch that’s why” Lizzy said unlocking the door that was separating them “come back into the office with me. I have things to do so it’ll be easier to talk back here”

The room that Lizzy had brought the two into was small with two large safes pressed into the back corner, a computer sitting on the counter that ran along the left wall, a thing that would count out money, and a stand to separate it out into. With a wave of her hand the two safes opened.

“So what brings you down here?” Lizzy asked pulling out the tills for the registers out of the safe, setting them in a row on the counter

“Peter….” Aro said as he and Charley shuffled around so they were standing by the safe, Charley leaning back against the counter opposite of the one Lizzy was at

“Oh” Lizzy interjected before the vampire could say anything else

“You know?”

"Of course I know" Lizzy said, putting the bills from one of the tills into the money counter "you told Sulpicia about it and she tells Eleanor everything and I always end up in the loop, somehow"

“Ah” Aro said “what exactly has she told you?"

"Only that he's been acting weird" Lizzy shrugged, jabbing at one of the buttons on the counter to keep the money going through it “but why would you come here instead of going to her house?”

“I don’t know Eleanor's address?” Aro sighed

“... Shit!” Lizzy exclaimed, separating out the bills and setting them in their labeled slots “I don’t know what her address is, either” she grabbed the notebook that was sitting on the counter “we live off the same dirt road, but on different streets and I have no idea what her’s is called” she tore a sheet of paper out of her notebook writing something on it with one of the pens from her pocket “here this is my address. Her house is the first turn off the dirt road but if you somehow miss it just go to my house and walk straight back into the woods and it’s maybe a five-minute walk, but she’s probably not awake yet since Sulpicia is visiting”

“Isn’t she a ghost?” Charley asked looking confused

“Yeah but she still has like a psychosomatic need to sleep, eat, and all that biological stuff”

“One more thing before we go. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure”  

“In my history class when we were learning about the revolutionary war the teacher talked about a creature that was responsible for killing a large amount of people when America was being colonized and after everything that’s happened today I’m starting to think that, if it was true, it wasn’t human so I was wondering if that was true or not”

“Really?” Lizzy asked looking like she didn’t believe him

Charley nodded his head in response.

“Yeah, that was me”

“How old are you?”

“Well, my mom was the one responsible for the colony of Roanoke’s disappearance and I think I was born not that long after they move inland so I’d say I’m somewhere around 400”

“You look like you’re barely older than me”

“I have a case of extreme babyface”

“You must’ve been pretty angry when you were younger” Charley said 

“No” Lizzy said sounding a bit like she was trying to suppress a chuckle as Aro smiled a bit “there was just nobody to stop me”

“What about your parents?”

“No idea who my dad is” Lizzy said putting the money back through the counter “and my mom and I got separated when I was around ten so I spent the majority of my younger years on my own” 

“It’s really a miracle she know anything at all” Aro chimed in 

“Exactly!” Lizzy said pointing at the vampire

[bytheangell]

something to be proud of

(Read on AO3)

New York - 2016

‘I’m married,’ Alec reminds himself as he walks hand-in-hand with Magnus down the city street toward the sounds of a crowd not too far away. ‘I’m literally married. To a man. Why am I so nervous about this?’

He’s never been one for crowds or large public declarations. And this certainly is a crowd making a large, public declaration. Perhaps that’s why being present at Pride for the first time is such an intimidating idea for him. When Izzy first suggested they all go he’d been entirely against the idea. It’s just some ridiculous mundane event anyway - after spending his entire life feeling shame over his sexuality he isn’t sure he can just flip the switch from guilt to pride, no matter how confident he is in his own relationship with Magnus. He still feels a little self-conscious within the walls of the Institute from time to time, or in Alicante for meetings with the Clave… he hates that he is, but a few decades of concealing his true self and conditioned oppression don’t undo themselves overnight, not even with the love he now has working against them.  

It isn’t that he’s embarrassed, because he isn’t. He’s just not sure he’s ready for rainbow flags and parades. At least, that’s what Alec thinks as his small group of friends (Izzy, Simon, Magnus, and Underhill) finally reach their destination.

He couldn’t have been more wrong. The moment they enter the area blocked off for the day’s events Alec can’t keep his eyes in one place. There’s so much to do, so much to look at. His gaze is drawn to booths selling clothing and jewelry, another with flyers for awareness of groups or events or causes, others set up with food and drinks, and even stages for performances. That’s on top of the entire miles of street which are sectioned off for a parade later in the day.

It isn’t until his eyes drift from the things around them to the people that it hits him. Everyone is smiling. Everyone is laughing. Even in the middle of the sweltering mid-day summer sun there isn’t a single person who looks like there’s anywhere else they’d rather be than decked out in colorful face paint or wearing flags around them as a badge of honor.

Magnus gives Alec’s hand a squeeze. There was no denying Alec’s previous apprehension over going to the event and Alec’s thankful that Magnus made it very clear he wouldn’t judge him in the slightest if he’d rather not go for any reason or leave early once they got there, no questions asked.

“You alright?” Magnus asks, catching Alec’s wide-eyed gaze.

“More than alright,” Alec confirms. He’s never been in a space so open to who he is, one that’s not only tolerant of his identity but entirely welcoming to the differences of the people surrounding him. It strikes him that, aside from his own wedding when he stood among the support of family and friends, this might be the first time he’s felt a sense of total acceptance of everything he’s ever thought or felt or wished for himself.

Alec lets go of Magnus’ hand to allow that arm to reach around his husband’s waist, easing into the movement with a smile on his face. “I’ve seen it on the news before, you know, but actually being here…” Alec trails off, not quite sure how to put what he’s feeling into words.

“It is nice, isn’t it? Even if it’s just for a day, to have a space where you don’t feel like you have to defend your existence… where you can just be yourself without having anything to prove.” Magnus fills in.

And that’s it, Alec realizes. He feels relaxed here. He isn’t putting on a show. He isn’t trying to be the perfect balance of Shadowhunter and Husband. He isn’t on guard to make sure he doesn’t slip up because every little mistake he makes will be used in sly comments against him by those who would rather see him fail for everything he currently represents in the Shadow World.

“Yeah, it is,” Alec agrees, feeling without a single doubt or reservation a sense of belonging he didn’t realize he was missing and embracing it the rest of the day.

---

Idris, 2021

It’s a long time coming, Alec thinks, but it’s an event that so many in his own generation of Shadowhunters never would’ve imagined seeing. The first Alicante Pride, organized by none other than Inquisitor Lightwood-Bane and High Warlock of Alicante Lightwood-Bane - which is far from a surprise once word starts to spread. .

At first he’s a little worried. After all, despite the fact that he’s done everything within his power to make the Nephilim’s world as open and tolerant as possible there’s only so much one person can do. He can change all of the official stances he wants, he can create and plan new events such as this festival, but he can’t change public opinion and he certainly can’t singlehandedly undo centuries of inherited biases. He’s seen more LGBTQ+ Nephilim making themselves known the past few years than he had his entire life prior to his own marriage to Magnus, and the same goes for relationships between Nephilim and Downworlders. The stigma is fading, yes, but far from eradicated. He hears the whispers that follow him even to this day, even with as far as he’s come and the work he put into getting here.

“What if nobody comes?” Alec asks the night before the festival, wringing his hands together anxiously. He petitioned for the opportunity to hold an event like this for years, and if it flops it’d be giving everyone who told him no total justification for their bigoted decisions time and time again.

Magnus crosses the living room with a glass in his hand, grabbing one of Alec’s from it’s nervous fidgeting to place the drink in it instead.

“Relax, darling. It’s going to be a wonderful event whether two people show up, or twenty, or two-hundred.”  Magnus has every reason to be confident that the event itself is going to be fun: Alec did his research, hours upon hours of it, before even proposing the idea. He’s looked into (and talked with) the organizers of some of the best Pride festivals around the world, and pulled elements from all of them that would not only draw in guests but also provide a safe, comfortable environment.

He wants this to be a positive experience. He wants to show acceptance, and tolerance, and hopefully encourage more people who may still be hiding their true selves away that maybe they don’t have to keep hiding forever - that the world really is changing, or at least attempting to. But all of that hope will be wiped out in an instant if there’s any visible or vocal push-back. Security, as it stands, is a very select group of trusted Shadowhunters and Warlocks ready to remove any sign of trouble.

‘Raziel, please’ Alec thinks desperately as he forces himself to stop pacing and relax for a drink with Magnus before bed. ‘Don’t let there be any trouble.’

The next morning Alec is too excited to even think about eating breakfast, instead anxiously waiting for Magnus to finish his waffles and get ready so they can leave. When Magnus finally emerges from the bathroom with pink, purple, and blue streaks in his hair, Alec beams. This is it, they’re really doing this.  

As they step through the portal Alec braces himself for the worst. However, he finds himself pleasantly surprised (on the verge of totally shocked) at the sight that ends up greeting them.

It’s packed.

Mostly with younger Shadowhunters and Downworlders- some people his own age but predominantly early twenties and below. There are some familiar faces and many he never saw before, a mixed group that Alec couldn’t be more pleased to see mingling together as one while they  wander around some booths set up by volunteers. He even spots a couple of families walking the grounds with their children. Some are clearly part of the community while others look slightly more uncomfortable, a few clearly the parents of eager young adults who very obviously dragged them out here.

But they’re here and they’re trying, and Alec offers each and every one of them a reassuring smile and a few kind words of thanks for stopping out to make them feel more at ease.

“Excuse me,” a soft female voice from behind him speaks. “Mr. Lightwood-Bane?”

Alec and Magnus both stop to turn and then pause with an amused look between them, unsure which of them the woman is addressing. This isn’t the first time this has happened and Alec is certain it could happen a thousand more and he’d never get tired of it.

“Sorry,” the woman says with a quiet laugh. “Inquisitor Lightwood-Bane, I suppose I should specify.”

“Please, just Alec is fine,” Alec tells her. As he looks her over quickly, a woman only a handful of years older than himself if he had to guess, but while he looks at her he sees that her gaze isn’t on him - it’s on a young boy over by a table full of multicolored ribbons and flags.

“I just…” she starts again, her attention back on him. “I wanted to thank you.”

Alec steadies himself for whatever is going to come next. He’s had this sort of conversation before, the first time with Underhill and then dozens, maybe hundreds since then. He’s a little more used to them now but he still never knows exactly what to say (he still doesn't feel like he deserves any extra praise for simply being himself), so he waits for her to continue.

“My son is… well, he’s gay. Or at least he thinks he might be. And a few years ago I would’ve reacted a lot differently than I did when he told me yesterday because he wanted to come here today.” Alec remembers himself at that age, easily recalling how confusing those first inklings were that he wasn’t quiet like the other boys his age, the feelings that were more confusing than not at the start. What he can’t imagine is being able to talk to anyone about it at that age, what that might feel like to a child trying to understand themselves and how important that moment was for the mother .

The woman continues. “A few years ago I would’ve worried about his future and what kind of life he might have in our world... But I don’t have those fears as much anymore, and it’s in no small part to you. And your husband.” She adds, smiling over at Magnus.

Alec also chances a glance over at Magnus to see the warlock’s expression full of barely restrained pride.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to hear that,” Alec says, meaning every word. “And how glad I am that he has you to support him.” The risks he took - and continues to take - are because they were the right thing to do. He never meant to blaze a trail - he’s just a guy who fell in love and followed his dreams. Sometimes he forgets that every time he speaks out for himself it makes it a little easier for the next voice to follow.

“I’m going to do my best,” she promises, and though she’s still talking to Alec her eyes are once more locked on her son and Alec knows it isn’t really him that she’s promising. “Anyway, I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you. I just wanted to thank you, again, for doing things like this. I hope you know how much of a difference it’s making.”

Alec swallows thickly, only daring to nod at first until he can be certain he’d reply with a steady tone. “Thank you,” he finally manages just as she goes back over to join her family.

“Wow,” Magnus breaths out. “That sure was something.”

It was more than something, though - it was everything. All Alec ever wanted when he started putting these movements into motion, starting small with a talk at an Institute here or a small social event there, was to get to this point - to make the sort of grand gesture he would’ve ran the other way from half a decade ago because he understands the difference it can make. He knows nothing will ever be perfect in his lifetime but he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to make as much progress as he can while he’s here. He always said if he managed to make just one life better it would be worth it, and one look around tells him that the influence he holds now reaches far beyond just one life.

“This is the legacy you’re building, Alexander. And I want you to know how proud I am of it - and of you.” Magnus says at his side, turning to lean in for a quick kiss.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Alec says once they break away again. It’s almost too much for Alec to take in all at once so he allows himself a few minutes to simply stand with Magnus and process.

It isn’t often Alec allows himself to step back and admire his own handiwork. So often what he does is a matter of duty or expectation, nothing worth any special note. But this? This is different. A few years ago he couldn’t imagine a point in time where Nephilim like him might simply live a comfortable, honest existence... let alone one where they could openly thrive in a community of their own. And now, watching countless others experience that sense of belonging he strove to recreate today, embracing that initial moment of hope that maybe there’s a place for them in the life they were born into after all?

This is truly something to be proud of.