#established relationship raphaeliorn

[shadowhunterspolycule]

polycule dancing headcanons: raphael

raphael can dance. it's almost a secret but he absolutely can, and it brings him great memories too, especially because as a kid he used to dance all the time. you know that scene with pedro dancing as he vacuums the floor? he was totally that kid. of course there were no vacuums at the time (at least i don't think so. and if there were they were definitely not popularized/affordable in méxico especially since at the time technological development took many many years to start being exported to latin america) but you get the idea. sweeping the house and shaking his butt, doing a few shakes as he waits for the food in the oven to be ready, or just when he gets bored, you get the idea. especially because it was a socially acceptable way to stim, and also, rosa loved dancing with him

over time he lost the whole "dancing whenever his body is bored" thing, especially because once he became a vampire that was not really... acceptable as he was expected to be all poised and still all the time. but also, him and magnus totally had fun dancing together in his loft, both during and after raphael's time living with him. throwing stuff at each other, jumping around, twirling, doing stupid little robot dances.... there were more than a few accidents when he was still a fledgeling and couldn't control his strength/speed well, but it made him feel human, and it did him good

and maybe he's even hesitant to go back to dancing when someone suggests it because you know... it's been a while, and maybe he's unlearnt how to do it, and it feels almost weird to let go again after so long of playing the always still, always poised, always in control vampire with pretty much everyone but magnus. so he's.... nervous

but it's almost inevitable when him and meliorn have a date, still in the early days of their relationship, in the seelie realm, and meliorn puts on some soft music and asks him if he likes dancing and he could lie, but he's bad at it, so he says, yes. and meliorn extends her hand to him and he stops, going "but it's been a while". and meliorn goes, "good. it'll be easier to show you how seelies dance if you don't have that mundane nonsense in your head". and raphael goes

and it's just... soft and slow and meliorn quickly realizes that he's nervous so she takes a bit more control than usual, holding him steady and swaying and twirling. the first time she twirls him, he almost freezes because he wasn't expecting it, but in a good way, you know? he's just not used to feel like he's being... courted. and when he lands back in meliorn's arms he has the hugest grin on his face, eyes shining with happiness, and it's just the best thing? aaaa 

and while slow dances are soft and all, i'd love to see meliorn teaching him their folk dances as well! that would probably be later but still, i bet they would have a lot of fun with that. especially because raphael is used to folk dances as méxico has quite a lot of them (and guadalajara in particular) and god it feels so good to go to seelie parties and have everyone spinning and hand in hand and clapping and stomping their feet?? 

he feels a little out of place as magic is of course a part of seelie dances as it is a part of their bodies and ingrained in their culture, plus they dance not only with other seelies but also with the trees, the wind and stuff like that, and he can't quite do that. but they're also used to having visitors so it's still fun and besides, meliorn can help :) it really makes raphael feel at home and think of his sister and his family and it's just... incredible

i also like to imagine raphael with simon and maia pre-relationship, and he's watching them do some silly dances from the musicals they like, which he doesn't recognize, and he's kind of sitting and watching, feeling a little out of place, and they're like "come on, raphael, dance with us! i bet you can" and simon is like "i already look stupid anyway, so why would you care about that?" and raphael goes "you don't look stupid" so sincerely... but simon doesn't miss a beat and he's all "well, then neither won't you. come on" and he almost goes but he's still hesitant, you know, it's been so long... he's pretty much only danced with meliorn and magnus ever since he became a vampire, and this is... improvising and it's with simon and maia and it's different, somehow

so they don't pressure him and just do their thing but raphael soon starts shaking his head to the tune of the song and Yearning to dance you know lmao and eventually maia all but drops on his side and gives him that pursed lip smile, all teasing and happy and she's like "come on. i can see you wanna dance. come with us" and extends her hand and this time he takes it. and he dances with them and soon he's really letting go and simon is like "dude, i thought you hadn't danced in a while? that's really good!" and raphael flashes him a smile so... happy and carefree that simon almost stops for a second

and for the rest of the night they have fun dancing together and falling in each other's arms. and then eventually when raphael leaves simon looks at maia and he's like... "i can see what meliorn meant when they said that his smile is like sunshine". and maia looks at him knowingly, but with the same softness in her eyes, and is like "i know"

[shadowhunterspolycule]

has simon written a song for each member for the polycule y/n? even platonic ones for clary and izzy? -maiaisbia

what can i say except yes. he absolutely does. he even has a few songs that are about the polycule in general and just that feeling of found family and stuff and it's nice

and can i just say............ simon is at Peak Writing Talent when he's pining. like all his best most heartfelt songs are written when he's in pining mode and i just picture him playing those songs at Taki's you know

cuz like why not have simon have a show there? they could do with some live music, they want the place to feel like home after all. and simon deserves the attention and space to show his talent you know cuz he really is a great singer and composer. maia knows this, raphael knows this, everyone knows this

so they have a special night at taki's and simon will be singing his originals and Man Is He Pining For Simon And Meliorn. him and maia are already together and stuff but him and raphael have basically just gotten reacquainted and he's getting to meet meliorn for real now, and he's in love. with them and with their love cuz like, raphaeliorn is a power couple and also goals

and of course raphael is in the kitchen while simon is playing but he can still hear it and he has that soft smile on his face the whole time, sometimes having to blink to concentrate back on what he's doing (listen i know kitchens are messy and noisy but what if i didnt care about that. also im thinking maybe this is some special kinda night where everyone is just sitting together and they juat keep the food coming by the tons, no specific orders? so that would be easier to make without the usual screaming mess idk)

and simon sings a You're My Best Friend style song for clary and some stuff clearly inspired by clizzy, some stuff about loving his girlfriend's girlfriends and how much they appreciate her that's cute. then he gets to some songs about maia that just have raphael holding back a grin because maia deserves to be appreciated and the way he sings and writes about her is so beautiful. maia is also smiling the whole time he sings for her, so concentrated on him no one dares make a drink order, cuz look, no one's ever written a song for her before

and just ugh not to be on my maiaphael bullshit but raphael just being so happy that simon has such beautiful things to say about maia and how he makes her so happy? and relating a lot to the songs about her and the soft way simon sings about how caring and fierce she is, how she's gonna change the world like she already changed his, and raphael's dead little heart is so full of love and joy and he doesn't even realize why yet

and then he gets to the songs he wrote for meliorn and raphael and they are. so beautiful. and like simon doesn't say they're about them of course but he's an open book and even if raphael is on his "not realizing people appreciate me" bullshit he still feels touched by the vibes, the way simon sings about trust and companionship and flowers, and how nothing is as meaningful as the truth

and the songs are just so beautiful and some are about raphael, some about meliorn, some about their relationship in general and simon makes such beautiful homages and captures their relationship so perfectly it takes raphael's breath away, and not for the first time he realizes that he feels so seen with simon

and then simon gets to a song that's sung entirely in spanish because this one is really just for them both. (yes the rest of the polycule minus clary understands spanish, but still, this song is for raphael only) and raphael feels like he's gonna burst because it just sounds so soothing and beautiful. Raphael's Song�� is all about sunlight and the calm after the storm, about rebuildings and reconnecting and second chances. it's about love and family and soft mornings and the little details that matter the most. it's about support and growth. and it's wonderful

even when simon's spanish gets awkward at times because he's not used to writing in that language, it just leaves raphael breathless and makes it even more endearing to him. and meliorn and maia are just listening to it with knowing smiles because anyone who knows and loves raphael knows who that song is about. and maia of course knows about simon's crush on raphael and meliorn and she knows that raphael doesn't see himself like that at all and how happy and emotional he must be feeling, and she's so happy to see him being appreciated, too

as soon as the restaurant is closed raphael just makes for him like "simon" and he sounds so emotional and breathless and the rest of the polycule who had been congratulating him kind of disappears (minus meliorn of course because they also have things to say) and meliorn looks at him all softly and is like "i think simon sees you very appropriately, don't you?" and moves to kiss simon's hand all like "thank you, simon" and simon is super overwhelmed because yes he knew he was exposing himself but he wasnt expecting them two to just like corner him all emotional about it djdndidndi but basically that's how simon gets together with meliorn and raphael now