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alecmagnuslwb · 4 years ago

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Rent a Holidate

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Magnus is barely paying attention as his father blathers on about his annual Thanksgiving party. It’s the same as every year, food made by an overpaid chef, schmoosing clients and Magnus being expected to attend and behave.

They don’t even really celebrate Thanksgiving and it’s definitely not about family coming together to be thankful for the things they have and the love they share, it’s a way for his father to impress his clients with the size of his house and the happy little family picture that he, whoever his latest wife is and Magnus make. It’s a fake night, filled with fake rich people that Magnus loathes more and more every single year.

There’s a pause on his fathers end of the line and Magnus scrambles assuming he was asked some sort of question.

“Yes, of course,” he says hoping that’s the right answer. Evidently it’s neutral considering his father’s monotonous response.

“Fine then, I hope that he or she will be an acceptable date for the evening,” his father says. Oh shit, he thinks, did I just agree to bring a date to this thing?

For a moment he considers backtracking saying he won’t be bringing anyone, it’s not like he’s been on so much as a half decent date in over a year, but he knows his father, once you’ve said something you act on it, no turning back. So instead he grits his teeth and accepts he’ll be bullshitting his way through an emergency excuse to why his fake partner couldn’t attend the night of.

“He is very acceptable,” Magnus says faux cheery conjuring up a fake boyfriend in his head. Not that any partner of his could be deemed acceptable by his father, his father even finds his own career path teaching English at NYU to be an underperformance.

“It’s not Columbia,” he always says whenever Magnus talks about his work.

“Well, then I look forward to meeting him,” his father says not at all sounding like he’s looking forward to it. Which is good considering Magnus’ supposed boyfriend is a complete fabrication. “I’ll see you in a week.”

And just like that he hangs up, no goodbye, nothing.

Magnus sighs tossing his phone into the graded paper box on his desk and begins crafting a personality and profession for his fake boyfriend just in case he needs a more solid alibi.

***

Magnus laments his woes to Dot and Catarina later that night, it’s Thursday which means mimosas and movies.

“Part of me just wants to make up an excuse and be done with it, it’s not like he’ll even remember in a week’s time after the fact that I ever even had a supposed boyfriend,” Magnus says pausing to take a sip of his mimosa. “The other part of me just wants to bring the world’s worst date and embarrass him to no end.”

“You mean Camille wasn’t the world’s worst date?” Dot says curling up in the chair beside Cat with her own mimosa in hand.

“Camille was the world’s worst date, but she never was one to make a scene, she was quietly and privately terrible,” Magnus says moving quickly past the topic of his wicked ex. “I mean someone who’s not a bad person, just kind of a mess.”

“Why don’t you hire the guy Dot hired last year for her family reunion?” Cat says not even bothering to look up from her phone as she scrolls reading reviews for the movie they’re about to watch.

“Yeah he was great,” Dot says agreeing with Cat’s suggestion. “His names Alec. He can’t play straight to save his life which made it even better because my whole family was convinced I was not only dating a worthless degenerate, but a worthless degenerate gay man. Hilarious, honestly.”

She pulls up something on her phone and hands it to Magnus. It’s a Craigslist ad titled, Alone on Thanksgiving? Mad at your dad? Tired of your family’s absurd expectations?

He takes the phone reading the post entirely.

My name is Alec Lightwood, I’m a 28 year old almost felon who went to college for three weeks before dropping out. I have a Thunderbird that’s only a year younger than me painted like Eddie Van Halen’s red guitar. It’s hideous and embarrassing and I love it. I can play anywhere between the ages of 23 to 32 depending on if I shave. I’m a bartender and occasional bouncer when the need requires, I haven’t been seen not in a leather jacket with a tear in the back since high school, I’m gay and very bad at hiding it and I’ve even got an eyebrow scar that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows (get it, raise a few eyebrows).

If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for a gathering of some sort, but have me pretend to be in a very serious relationship with you to torment your family, I’m game.

I can do these things at your request:

- Openly hit on other guests while you act like you don’t notice (of any gender, I may be gay but I can embarrassingly hit on anyone even if it’s not convincing).

- Start instigative discussions about politics and/or religion (sports are off the table however unless your family are big into the Rangers or Islanders, then I can talk shit for days.)

- Propose to you in front of everyone and you tearily accept or you turn me down and I proceed to have a breakdown, but we resolve to work on our relationship much to your family’s chagrin.

- Pretend to be increasingly drunk as the evening goes on (sorry, I don’t actually drink anymore, but I used to. A lot. Too much in fact. I know the drill.)

- Start a screaming match with a family member, that could come to blows (but no one will be physically harmed, I promise) either inside or on the front lawn (if there is one) for all the neighbors to see.

I require no pay but the free food I will receive as a guest at any event!

We can meet prior to the event somewhere public and you can ask me any questions. And I mean any questions so that you feel safe.

- Do NOT contact with unsolicited services or offers. Email me at: [email protected]

“Um, he’s a felon?” Magnus says looking up from the phone when he’s done.

“Hey, don’t judge, you’re not exactly rap sheet free,” Dot says scolding him with a smile. Which okay, he does have a few arrests on his record, petty little things and pick-ups at a protest or two, but felonies are a bit above that. He says that aloud. “Also, as it says he’s technically an almost felon.”

“He’s not a murderer or anything, I had Raphael check out his history before I requested his services,” Dot continues on to explain, referring to their friend who’s a prosecutor. “He got picked up for aggravated assault after he caught the guy who got his sister hooked on drugs in her bed shooting her up, it was a bullshit charge from a snake of a man who deserved every hit he got. The charges were ultimately dropped and settled when the piece of shit he beat up got hit with about ten felonies himself. He’s a good guy, like a really good guy I promise.”

“Didn’t Raphael even stress that he never would have convicted Alec in a million years on the charges?” Cat says getting up from her seat and heading to the kitchen to refill her mimosa glass.

Dot nods taking a sip of her drink. “He did, he said any jury would have sided with him over the 30 year old drug pusher preying on an 18 year old girl. And even though we can’t tell him, because we don’t want him to smirk about it all the time and get a big head, we both know Raphael is the best judge of character and lawyer in America.”

It’s true, Raphael always knows what he’s talking about.

“Plus,” Dot continues on. “Alec’s very upfront about it, I didn’t even need to do the background check he told me exactly what went down when we met for coffee before the event, even brought his sister along to corroborate and make me feel comfortable.”

“Wow,” Magnus says genuinely surprised by the decency of a man on the internet.

“Also, he’s very cute,” Dot smirks over the rim of her glass waggling her eyebrows in Magnus’ direction.

Magnus rolls his eyes. “I don’t think it matters if my fake date is cute.”

“So you’re gonna do it?” Catarina says coming back in the room, a pitcher filled to the brim with mimosa mix in her hand.

Magnus bites his lip in thought as he looks down at the phone in his hand again. He does want to cause a ruckus, he’s tired of being the perfect little son when his father needs him to be. And Alec Lightwood might just be able to provide the exact ruckus he’s looking for.

“What the hell,” he mutters before tossing Dot’s phone to her. “Do I need to email him, or do you still have his number?”

Dot smiles in delight as she taps on her phone his own phone buzzing in his pocket a second later with Alec’s number.

***

Alec keeps his text exchanges simple, offering to meet Magnus the following afternoon after Magnus’ noon class for coffee. Alec lets Magnus choose everything, clearly dedicated to making the person contacting him as comfortable as possible. Luckily for Magnus Alec’s had no inquiries for this Thanksgiving, except for one that was definitely unsavory and he turned down immediately.

With such short notice Magnus thought for sure this might not work out.

He walks in scanning the shop looking for Alec and comes up empty based on Dot’s description of him. He gets in line and orders a drink finding a table off to the side where it’s not too crowded to sit and wait. He’s barely settled into his seat when the chime above the door rings and in walks a stunner with long legs and dark hair.

The man pauses scanning the room, then his eyes land on Magnus his lips tilt up just a bit and he walks over his way.

“Magnus Bane?” he says in question when he reaches the table. Magnus is speechless for a moment as the sun catches in the man’s hazel eyes and on the tiny silver hoops in his ears. He shakes himself from the trance he’s in, ignoring the way his eyes shine a little greener when he tilts his head and nods his own head in confirmation.

“Alec Lightwood?”

“That’s me,” the man says with a smile that crinkles at the edges just a bit, he reaches out a hand that Magnus takes shaking it instantly enjoying the contrast of Alec’s cold fingers to his warm ones. Magnus squeezes his hand once before letting go. “I’m just gonna go get a drink and then we can talk,” Alec says stepping back with a tentative, but dazzling smile.

Magnus watches him go enjoying the view of his long legs in motion. He spots the tear in the back of his leather jacket, just like mentioned in his ad, and smiles. Alec comes back moments later a mug of black coffee in hang.

“So you need a bad date for Thanksgiving,” he says tearing open an obscene amount of sugar packets and pouring them into his mug. “I’m guessing before we get into that though, you want to know about the almost felony?”

Magnus shakes his head and Alec looks at him quizzically for a moment, before the puzzle pieces in his mind clearly fall into place.

“Dot,” he says in understanding. “She must have told you everything.”

“She did,” Magnus confirms taking a sip of his drink. “And for the record it sounds like you were in the right.”

Alec smiles a small uncertain smile almost like he’s not sure that’s the truth, but takes the words as a compliment anyways.

“It wasn’t my finest moment, I guess I’m just overprotective when it comes to people I love,” he says running his fingers along the rim of his mug.

“Getting a drug predator away from your sister isn’t just being overprotective, it’s doing the right thing,” he says genuine. He remembers when they were in high school and Raphael had his run with a bad crowd, it never came to it, but he would have done the same thing Alec did if the situation had presented itself.

Alec just shrugs looking off to the side. Magnus sees the uncomfortable set in his shoulders and shifts the conversation.

“You come highly recommended, Dot says you put on one hell of a show at her family reunion,” he says with a bright smile.

Alec’s shoulders ease and he turns back to Magnus with a smile.

“Dot barely needed me, she put on a performance just as stunning, I’ve never seen a woman so small body tackle so many people during what’s supposed to be a friendly game of tag,” he says with a chuckle.

Magnus has heard all about Dot’s deadly game and seen the bruises she proudly displayed from her somewhat violent performance first hand.

“Believe me it’s not the first time she’s tackled down a full-grown man,” Magnus says with a laugh fondly remembering a frat party, an unsuspecting frat boy and a fateful game of beer pong from many years ago.

“Somehow that does not surprise me,” Alec says rubbing a hand across his dark beard. The conversation shifts from there, Magnus giving Alec the full rundown about his father, his current stepmother and the all too haughty evening they’ll be subjected to.

Conversation flows easy between them, Alec seeming to understand a lot of Magnus’ struggles with his family life and Magnus finds himself wondering if there’s more to why he does this bit of charity for people in need.

“So, why exactly is it you do this?” Magnus asks, clarifying quickly when Alec raises his eyebrow in question. They’ve covered the felony yes and it’s clear that Alec just simply cares, but that’s not a full reason why. “I mean I believe that you’re just a genuinely good person who wants to help people, but it’s deeper than that isn’t it?”

Alec pauses for a moment rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Magnus is about to tell him he doesn’t have to explain if it’s an uncomfortable topic just as Alec starts to talk.

“I’m gay,” he says and Magnus smirks, the obviously on the tip of his tongue. Alec picks up on it smiling back. “Obviously, but for a long time I couldn’t be, or at least not at home. My parents are kind of rich, they’d do these big to do holiday parties every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When my siblings and I were little they were just big boring adult parties that we’d steal food from. Then we all got old enough to date and to have plans for the future.”

Magnus hums in understanding. That’s how his father’s parties had been, one day he was a kid just stealing cookies and hating the droll grown ups and the next he was a man expected to present himself in certain ways, ways that weren’t remotely who he was.

“By the time I was 21 I was still in the closet, and already on their shit list for dropping out of college, and I never dated and my parents were just determined to find me a wife. Every year it was so and so’s daughter is lovely and has such a strong education or so and so’s daughter is coming and I can’t wait for you to meet her,” he says twisting the coffee mug between his hands. “I’m pretty sure those holiday parties are how my drinking got so bad, forced heterosexuality and an open bar do not mix well together.”

He chuckles and Magnus takes that as an invitation to do the same. Again he gets it, he’s taken his fair advantage of the open bar at his father’s parties many times.

“And then one year my dad was going on about some girl who was at Thanksgiving dinner, I don’t even remember her name, but she was standing there and the whole time he’s talking about how she’s so pretty and so ready to start a family and I should make a move before someone else did. And I was losing my mind internally and evidently I’d had just enough to drink that I just screamed at the top of my lungs that I was gay.”

He pauses taking the last sip of his coffee.

“And then I just left after my mom was trying to talk to me about causing a scene. Then Christmas rolls around and to my extreme shock I get the invite. I thought for sure I was in for the lecture I’d been avoiding for a month, but instead they just acted like Thanksgiving hadn’t even happened,” he shakes his head. “They invited some other poor girl to try and marry me off to and just went on like I hadn’t had a big, gay outburst. My outburst was a lot bigger that time, after that I didn’t get any more party invites, they just cut me out entirely.”

Magnus reaches out resting his hand on Alec’s that’s drumming on the table. “I’m so sorry, Alexander,” he says trying out the full name for the first time guessing that’s what Alec is short for. He likes the way it rolls off his tongue and judging from the way Alec doesn’t correct him he ventures he got it right.

Alec just shrugs with a sad little smile on his lips. “It’s okay,” he says. “I mean it wasn’t back then, but I’m okay now. I don’t need my parents or their money, my siblings are still in my life and I’ve got a whole life outside of that. I can have my gay outbursts in peace now.”

Magnus laughs squeezing his hand once before pulling back, he’s been resting it there much too long now.

They talk logistics after that, establishing a plan for the holiday dinner. Alec immediately offers to bring his Thunderbird to drive to Magnus’ father’s place upstate.

“I don’t have the car not to be embarrassing about it,” he says and Magnus smiles insisting he pays for the gas then.

He spends almost three hours and four coffees with Alec and eventually finds they’re not even talking about the dinner in question, but they’re just talking instead.

It’s an unexpected development.

***

Coffee with Alec goes all too well and by the end of it they have a carefully cultivated story about how they met and how long they’ve supposedly been together all set in stone. Alec ensures him he’ll be the ultimate, best bad boyfriend for the night, and frankly Magnus is having a hard time believing it.

Alec is sweet, kind without even realizing it and looks like the living embodiment of tall, dark and handsome. If Magnus is being honest he’d love to take him out sometime as a real date more than a bad boyfriend for the night.

He calls Dot after they’ve said their goodbyes, walking to his apartment not far from the coffee shop.

“So how’d it go?” Dot asks immediately upon answering the phone.

“He’s incredibly charming without trying to be and cute is a fucking understatement, Dorothea,” he says looking both ways before crossing to the other side of the street.

Dot chuckles wildly on the other side.

“I’m serious, if I was given the opportunity to craft a man based on looks alone I’m pretty sure he’d be what I’d create, he’s gorgeous,” Magnus says as he reaches his building going inside and heading for the elevator.

“I may have undersold him slightly,” Dot says sounding all too innocent.

“And was there a reason for that, my dear?” he says. He’s starting to feel like he’s being set up.

“Perhaps,” she says and he can hear the gleeful smile in her voice. “You can thank me later, for now just enjoy your bad boyfriend.”

***

Five days later on the last Thursday of the month, Magnus waits outside of his apartment for Alec and at three o’clock on the dot Alec’s truly ridiculous car pulls up. It’s even better in person than he described.

The black, red and white lines are exactly like Eddie Van Halen’s infamous guitar and the ’93 Thunderbird is just on the right side of beat up. The left taillight is busted, covered in see through tape and there’s a sizeable dent in the passenger side door.

Alec steps out of the car, a vision in his signature leather jacket, black jeans with far too many tears and dark eyeliner around his eyes. It’s not neat like Magnus’ though, it’s messy. His whole look from his disheveled, but neat hair, to his trimmed beard to his scuffed boots is just on the right side of acceptable, but screams of a wild side as well.

Magnus isn’t as black tie as he knows his father would like him to be, wearing a deep red shirt and tight pants with a line down the side, his perfectly styled hair, curly and soft with matching red streaks running through it. They make a pretty attractive pair if Magnus does say so himself.

Magnus can’t wait to see how the evening plays out.

Alec smiles at him coming over to open the passenger side door, it takes a couple tugs to get it open.

“It’s a little finicky,” he says playfully bowing and gesturing for Magnus to get inside. “Your chariot awaits.”

Magnus smiles stepping into the car. Alec shuts the door tight rounding the car and falling into his seat.

“Ready to cause a scene?” Alec says with a devilish smile that Magnus finds hard to resist.

“Absolutely,” he says with his own answering smile as Alec turns the key and peels out onto the road.

***

The ride up takes about two hours all told with holiday traffic and every minute of it is delightful. Alec tells him more about himself, outside of the surface stuff they’d covered to make sure Magnus was comfortable with this whole night.

He learns Alec loves archery, has an affinity for trash shows like the Bachelor and has a vicious little cat he adores named Church. Magnus gives his own tidbits in return about his work at the university and his love of bad horror movies, laughing when Alec suggests their fiendish cats might just get along.

Magnus laughs just as they pull up outside of his father’s home, “Chairman doesn’t exactly play well with others.”

Alec shrugs. “Neither does Church, that’s why it’d be fun,” he says with a smile pulling his eyes away from Magnus looking up at the sprawling house before them. He slows the car to a stop pulling into a spot that makes the car perfectly visible from the wall of windows that line the living room where all the guests won’t be able to miss it.

“Damn,” Alec says as he steps out of the car, Magnus joins him where he’s leaning back against the front of his Thunderbird. His car looks amazingly out of place and perfectly hilarious parked between a silver Porsche and a sleek black Lamborghini. “Your father’s in real estate you said?”

“Amongst other things,” Magnus grumbles looking at the house that was always too big, that always felt hollow and empty to Magnus when they moved here after his mother skipped town.

“It’s way too big,” Alec says with a grimace looking it over one last time before offering his arm to Magnus. Magnus takes it guiding him to the front door. “And there’s way too many fucking windows.”

Magnus chuckles as they reach the door opening it automatically and walking in. The space is gaudier than the last time he was there, the walls where once his father and stepmother number four’s portraits used to hang now feature the latest wife and sadly the one of him that his father had commissioned years ago. It’s the last time he’d agreed to sit for one of his gaudy paintings, he’s young, barely 20 wearing a stiff suit and barely any makeup, he doesn’t look like him at all.

“Well that’s a painting,” Alec says looking at it. “I like this you better,” he says eyeing Magnus up and down. Whether he meant to or not there’s a lingering in the look, Magnus likes it. “That looks like somebody trying to be something they’re not.”

And just like that with one look at a painting, Alec nails him right on the head. Like he can read Magnus easily, a thing that just about no one can do.

“Come on,” Magnus says pulling Alec along down the garish hallway that leads to the large expanse of the living room. There’s a new chandelier hanging in the hall, riddled in way too many gems. He bets it’s a feature added by the new wife.

“Maggie!” a woman’s voice yells, speak of the devil, he rolls his eyes at the nickname no matter how many times he’s told her to drop it she just won’t. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

His stepmother comes bouncing over their way, her ridiculously high heels clacking against the hardwood floor. He can hear his father sigh from the other side of the room, more concerned with his precious oak floors than anything else in the world.

Magnus braces himself as she barrels into him hugging him tight, she releases him with a smile before turning to Alec and doing the same.

Alec’s eyes go wide in surprise, no matter how much Magnus described her to him there’s no preparing for hurricane Marissa. She pulls back adjusting her very not appropriate for the setting tight pink and black strapless dress with a smile, her fake tan looks a little lighter than usual and he’s weirdly proud of her for that.

“And who is this?” she asks reaching out to adjust Magnus’ shirt collar that she crumpled when hugging him.

“This is my boyfriend, Alec,” he says gesturing his way. “Alec this is my father’s wife, Marissa.”

Marissa playfully pats Magnus’ cheek, “Stepmother.” She says it pointedly holding out a hand to quickly shake Alec’s. He will never refer to her as his stepmother out loud, much like the past four wives Magnus bets Marissa will be gone in five years’ time tops, his own mother hadn’t even stuck around that long. Also, she’s 25, five years younger than him, and there’s no way he’s referring to her as anything remotely close to a mother.

“It’s lovely to have you in our home,” Marissa says to Alec gesturing to the room at large. Magnus looks around at the room full of people, most of whom he doesn’t remotely recognize. A few seem somewhat familiar in the most unmemorable sense. He’s sure they’re constant clients and rich cohorts of his father’s that have attended before.

“That it is,” his father’s voice says coming up behind his wife. He rests one hand on her shoulder and holds out another Alec’s way. “Asmodeus Bane.”

“Alec Lightwood,” he says a perfect gentleman returning his father’s handshake. They’d agreed to keep it civil for at the least the first introduction and then let the evening escalate from there. Magnus can tell just from looking at it his father’s grip is tight, commanding and borderline threatening, but Alec doesn’t even flinch.

“Lightwood, hm?” his father says eyeing Alec up and down frowning and Magnus can tell he already disapproves of what he sees. “Any relation to the Lightwood Consulting company?”

“Yes,” Alec says and Magnus smiles when he sees his father’s lips uptick in an impressed smile that immediately falls at Alec’s next words. “But they cut me out and off years ago, I’m the black sheep of the family if you will.”

Asmodeus just hums disappointed. “Well, that’s a shame,” he says. “So, how did you meet my son?” he asks not bothering with anymore small talk now that he’s already decided Alec’s no good, just jumping right in to the things he can criticize.

“Prison,” Alec jokes and Marissa titters delightfully. She quickly stops when Asmodeus looks at her disappointedly. “Just kidding,” he says. “I did my time there years ago, no we met at a bar.”

Asmodeus bristles at the prison mention, which is technically a lie, Alec only spent a few hours in a cell back when he was arrested, but his father clearly buys it as more. Magnus can tell he’s tuning out the rest of their crafted meet cute story, all about how three months ago Alec had a few too many drinks and almost got into a fight and Magnus had been his stalwart knight in shining armor.

“Love at first sight,” Marissa sighs clearly enjoying their made up tale. “Isn’t it sweet, Asmody?” she coos tugging on his father’s arm.

“Yes, quite sweet,” Asmodeus grimaces gripping his wife’s arm and pulling her away. “We’ll talk later.” He says looking directly at Magnus, essentially and completely dismissing Alec’s presence all together before stepping away. Marissa grins wide waving at them as she goes her long pink acrylic nails clicking together as she does so. Marissa may not be the brightest or subtlest bulb, but at least unlike many of Asmodeus’ past wives she’s nice enough.

“Well damn, do I even need to do anything else? He seems disappointed enough already,” Alec says shaking his head in disbelief.

“Now, where would the fun in that be,” Magnus says with a smirk, shrugging off his jacket. Alec follows suit and Magnus admires the view of his arms in a short sleeved well-fitting white button up shirt. His love of archery has made for some nicely toned muscle.

***

They mingle for a bit after Magnus deposits their coats in one of the coat closets, Magnus putting on his best son of the year smile while Alec downs glasses of water that everyone thinks is vodka at a fairly speedy rate.

It’d been his first task when they’d rejoined the party walking over to the bar with a smile.

“I need you to fill a bottle or two of vodka with water and keep serving me all night,” he said to the bored and disgruntled looking woman behind the counter. The rest of the hired help for the night must have been sequestered away in the kitchen until dinner judging by her being the first one that Magnus had spotted.

“You planning something weird tonight?” she questioned sliding Magnus a glass of red wine.

“Not weird, just disruptive,” Alec said so kind and so believable that the girl perked up.

“Well I love to see rich people who call me barkeep unironically disrupted, so you got it,” she said with a smile discreetly pouring out a bottle and refilling it with water before handing a glass to Alec as he dumped a sizeable wad of cash into her completely empty tip jar. God, rich people were cheap.

She’s been steadily serving him since.

Now they find themselves with a man who has to be bordering on 200 years old and it seems Alec decides it’s time to truly get to work.

“All that glitters,” the old man says talking about something that they’ve clearly both been tuning out.

“Glitters?” Alec says a little too loud, just enough so that everyone in their vicinity can hear. “You mean the place on 5th? My ex used to dance there, maybe you saw him, man knew how to work a pole if you know what I mean?” he winks at the old man and Magnus just barely stifles his laughter as the old man steps back in shock. He mumbles something unintelligible looking suddenly ill and paler than he had before and slips away.

Alec tosses back his drink and hands it to a passing woman in a truly hideous pantsuit that is definitely not a server, dragging Magnus along to the table of appetizers. He tosses shrimp into his mouth not bothering with a napkin, rubbing his hands on his ripped-up jeans making direct eye contact with a young woman, no doubt another trophy wife, as he does so. She scrunches up her nose and steps away.

Evidently despite his fairly small work so far he’s made just enough of a scene to garner Asmodeus’ attention once again.

“So, Alec, I assume that colorful vehicle outside is yours?” he says walking up beside the two of them. Their bartender and conspirator comes up just then handing Alec a fresh glass.

Alec smiles at her, before turning to Asmodeus. He’s not acting drunk yet, but he’s bordering on behaving tipsy.

He slings an arm over Magnus’ shoulder and brings him in close. Magnus settles a hand at Alec’s waste enjoying the proximity.

“Yes, that is my sweet Cherry,” he says naming the car on the spot. “Won her in a poker game when I was 18, crashed her three days later and have been patching her back together ever since.”

“A poker game?” Asmodeus questions, clearly becoming more disappointed by the minute.

“Yup,” he says cheerfully popping the p in the word. “Well, I wouldn’t say won directly, more cheated a guy and then fought him for it,” he pauses gesturing to the little sliced scar that runs through his left eyebrow. “That’s how I got this.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many tire irons a high school principal is carrying around,” Alec continues with a snort tossing back half of his drink.

Magnus just nods along in agreement to Alec’s concocted tale. He actually bought the car from his sister’s ex-boyfriend when he was nineteen for 200 bucks, but this story shocks far more.

“You mean to say you fought your principal for your car?” Asmodeus says judgement so very clear in his voice.

“High school, am I right?” Alec shrugs with a chuckle smiling down into his drink. Asmodeus looks appalled.

“Oh, come on don’t look like that father,” Magnus says placing his free hand on Alec’s chest and patting there lightly. Magnus can’t help but notice how solid the chest under his hand is. “I got up to some trouble in high school myself, surely you remember.”

Asmodeus just hums, clearly finding Magnus’ occasional wild parties without permission a dull comparison to the tale Alec just told.

“Never forget the time I streaked and jumped from the guest house roof to the trampoline and right into the pool, nearly broke my arm in the process,” Magnus says with a smile. Alec leans over burying his face in Magnus’ hair, careful not to mess it up, whether it’s to play up the PDA or stifle a laugh Magnus isn’t sure.

They’d had a whole conversation about PDA, Alec promising to respect his boundaries, no kissing and never a hand wandering beneath his waist.

“How could I forget,” Asmodeus says sharply embarrassed by his son’s antics. He turns towards the large windows and looks out to where the porch patio lights illuminate Alec’s car.

“It is so sexy that you did that,” Alec says ignoring Asmodeus and turning towards Magnus. He downs the rest of his drink and meet’s Magnus’ eyes, a question and idea brewing clear in them. Magnus smirks tugging at Alec’s shirt.

“You think so?” he says teasingly.

“Mm hmm,” Alec says biting his lip and Magnus knows this is all a part of the show, but god are those lips tempting.

Magnus catches Asmodeus turning his attention back to them looking outright furious. Magnus pulls away from Alec’s eyes and smiles a bright smile like they’re doing absolutely nothing wrong.

“I’m gonna give Alec the tour,” he says leadingly pulling Alec along by both hands and rushing away from the living room and down the hall before Asmodeus can say a word. He can see Alec’s smirk as he notices the stares of the other guests in the room.

Magnus doesn’t even pay attention to where they’re going as he pulls them into a room just off the right side of the hall.

“How’d you actually get that scar?” Magnus asks once they’re inside shutting the door behind him, no doubt convincing everyone they’re about to get down and dirty.

“Took a hockey stick to the face when I was 17,” he says pulling himself to sit up on a desk. A desk that Magnus now recognizes as his fathers. They’ve pulled themselves into his father’s office and if they get caught in here he’ll never hear the end of it, he loves it.

“You played hockey?” Magnus asks lifting himself up to sit beside Alec on the desk ignoring the papers he accidentally topples to the ground.

Alec nods in the affirmative. “I did, that’s why it’s the only sport I can start heckling fights about, everything else is boring.”

Magnus snorts at that, he’s never been partial to any sport himself.

“Did you really do what you said out there?” Alec asks picking up a notepad and flipping through it mindlessly.

“I did,” Magnus smiles and Alec’s eyebrows both go up. “Don’t look so surprised, you’re not the only one capable of mischief.”

“Oh, I see that,” he says with a smile tossing the notepad back to where he found it. “That is kinda sexy you achieved a jump like that and didn’t get hurt.” He says it with his voice low and all sorts of New York around the edges. He freezes his hand stopping over the spot where he’d been about to pick up the ugly green and bronze sphere shaped paper weight beside him.

Magnus freezes too, Alec saying something like that while they’re alone makes it real, not like the fake flirty way he’d said it out in the living room.

“Sorry, that’s not, I’m sorry, I never cross that line when I do these things, we’re alone and,” Alec runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

Magnus shakes his head reaching out and tentatively laying his hand atop Alec’s where it rests on the desk between them.

“It’s okay,” he says and Alec looks at him ready to argue the point. Magnus jumps in stopping him before he can say a word and taking his own leap into making this far more real than fake. “Really, it’s okay. You, uh, you’re not so bad yourself.”

Alec huffs a laugh opening and closing his mouth a few times like he’s looking for the right words to say. The space between them feels a little charged now that they’ve floated out the simple fact there’s a real attraction here. Alec closes his mouth and bites his lip looking determined like he knows what to say finally when the door busts open.

“Oh, my apologies boys,” Marissa says standing in the doorway her hands on her hips and a pleased little smile on her lips. “But dinner is served.”

Magnus and Alec pull away from one another quickly hopping off the desk and stepping towards the door.

“You two are just too cute,” Marissa says when they reach her. She loops each of her arms through one of theirs and tugs them down the hall happily. “Don’t listen to a word your father says.”

Magnus meets Alec’s eyes over her head only to find Alec already looking at him, a soft smile on his lips.

***

Magnus takes his proverbial spot on his father’s right at the head of the table, Marissa doing the same on his left. Despite Asmodeus’ clear attempt to keep Alec as far away from him and Magnus as possible by seating him at the far end of the long table he fails. Luckily one of Marissa’s friends, just as airy and tight dressed as her is seated next to Magnus and happily swaps spots with Alec.

Alec lifts his drink to Asmodeus in a faux toast that Asmodeus doesn’t even feign interest in as he takes his seat.

Dinner is served and it’s to be expected. The sweet potatoes are divine none of that weird marshmallow bullshit in them, the mac and cheese is literally to die for and the homemade bread hits in just the right way. The turkey is terrible, but that’s not at the fault of the overpriced chef that’s just simply because it’s an indisputable fact that turkey tastes like napkins.

Alec eats so much Magnus is concerned, he can tell from the tight fit of his shirt that Alec is in impeccable shape so he doesn’t really know where he puts it all as he goes for his fourth serving of mac and cheese.

But long before his fourth serving of cheesy goodness Alec starts up at least three debates that would be deemed far too impolite for their supposed polite company. Each fresh serving he corners someone new into a debate; first it’s an old lady in a pantsuit pulled into a debate about the existence of god, then a forty something who looks like he’s never seen a rainbow without feeling threatened into a talk on the merits of teaching queer history to children and finally a woman who can’t be much older than them who looks like her name is Tinsley or Ainsleigh or something equally as nauseating into a tense bordering on yelling match about the importance of safe abortion access.

He sounds a little more drunk with every conversation and he’s damn good at faking it. He sounds just the right amount of inebriated not slurring his words too much or fumbling around with his silverware, it’s practiced, a master class in being drunk without being drunk. Most people overplay it acting far more outlandish than a drunk person sitting at a table would, but Alec has it down pact.

Magnus watches him not a care in the world, acting like he doesn’t even notice the disruption Alec is causing. The only person aside from Magnus that doesn’t look increasingly more uncomfortable by the minute is Marissa who looks like she’s having the time of her life watching these stuffy rich people squirm.

Asmodeus of course does not look delighted, he barely eats, just scowls over the rim of his wine glass and attempts to deflect any conversation Alec purposely instigates another way unsuccessfully.

The only time he seems to look like he’s not about to have a coronary is when everyone’s plates are finally collected, Alec still shoveling the last bit of mashed potatoes on his plate into his mouth as one of the waiters lifts the plate away from him, and it’s announced that dinner and coffee will be served in the living room.

Alec stands stretching his arms up over his head and Magnus admires the ripple of his muscles as he does so before standing beside him. Alec reaches over the table picking up yet another glass of water and tossing it back with a loud unnecessary thirst quenched sound before holding out his hand to Magnus. Magnus takes it instantly with a smile following along as they head for the living room once again.

***

A waiter takes their dessert requests, a choice of six different types of pie as they file out of the large dining room.

Magnus selects the pumpkin pie, while Alec chooses the chocolate pecan.

“Pecan, gross,” Magnus says as they work their way over to one side of the room a little bit away from everyone else to have just a moment of reprieve.

“How dare you, pecan pie is delicious,” Alec says sounding outright offended.

Magnus rolls his eyes and crosses his arms making a face that screams Alec is insane to have that opinion.

“It’s all sugar, no substance,” Magnus says. He really shouldn’t be surprised Alec’s favorite pie is one as ridiculously sugar based as pecan considering the amount of sugar he witnessed him dump into his coffee a few days prior. Alec doesn’t even deign him with a response, he just gives him another affronted look like Magnus has insulted his entire being, not a pie.

Moments later a waiter hands them each their requested pies. Alec takes a bite of his pointedly making eye contact with Magnus as he does so and making a pleased obnoxious yum sound. Magnus just rolls his eyes again, amused as he takes a bite of his own pie.

“So, are you enjoying yourself so far this evening?” Magnus asks after a few minutes of companionable silence.

Alec pauses grabbing a coffee from a passing tray and taking a sip, he grimaces a bit at the black coffee before answering Magnus’ question. Out of the corner of his eye Magnus sees his father watching them, almost looking excited to see Alec drinking a coffee, probably hoping it will sober him up.

“Well, your father is kind of terrible, and all these people are exhausting,” he says gesturing with his fork to the room at large after he sits his coffee on the floor next to him. “But despite the fact she may be a little air headed Marissa is lovely and I get a kick out of making rich people as uncomfortable as possible, so it’s been a pretty good night thus far.”

He pauses taking a bite of his pie and looking at Magnus from underneath his thick dark lashes. “Plus, you know, you’re pretty good company as well,” he says tapping his fork to his lips.

Magnus slow blinks at him and smiles.

“You’re pretty good company as well, especially when you’re just being you, like right now, not the overstated bad boy, even if he is a good time,” Magnus says. He reaches out his empty fork and boops Alec on the nose with it, just because. Alec scrunches up his face adorably at the action.

“Well I like you being you too, though it’s kind of fun you’re playing into my whole act, most people just play the none the wiser partner,” Alec says before leaning down and drinking another glug of his coffee. He makes the same cute displeased face again as he swallows.

“Really? No one’s made it seem like you’ve turned them into a crazy bad boy too?” Magnus says surprised. He’s been having a pretty good time being a little more instigative around his father than he usually would be.

Alec shakes his head. “Not really, Dot tackling her family members was a bit of an outlier, and honestly they’re almost never guys.”

“So I’m your first fake boyfriend then, huh?” Magnus says oddly flattered about the possibility.

“Second actually, but still most of the time I get hired by women, there’s a comfort in knowing that your fake date won’t try to make a move,” Alec says taking the last bite of his sickeningly sweet pecan pie.

“I guess I didn’t have a problem with that prospect,” Magnus says smiling around his fork looking right into Alec’s pretty hazel eyes, all dark rimmed and intent on him.

“I guess you didn’t,” he says with a smile putting his empty plate and mug on a passing tray and leaning back comfortably.

Magnus joins him leaning over by one of the sprawling windows casually finishing off his pie looking up to see one of his father’s political friends, a 30 something councilman of some sort, staring at them nearby. Alec, the little devil, winks at him slow and seductive. The councilman bristles and his wife beside him gives Alec an evil stare.

Magnus laughs a little, thinking that’s it for that interaction when suddenly the click of heels approaches them.

“Did you just wink at my husband?” the woman all but screams at Alec causing him to jump up from his slouch against the windows. Her head shakes as she speaks, her clip-on earrings wobbling.

“I,” Alec starts, but she doesn’t let him get in a word before she’s tossing her glass of white wine right at him.

“Oh, shit,” he says surprised and laughing a bit as he scrubs at his face his already messy eyeliner getting even messier in the process.

“Listen, lady I had no intention, your husband was the one staring,” he shouts back sounding a little more drunk than he did at the dinner table, they weren’t planning on Alec picking a fight tonight, but it seems he’s rolling with the one presented to him.

“Why you little, you little-“ she basically shrieks her husband pulling at her arm trying to stop her from taking this any further. Magnus steps in in front of Alec, a stern look of shutting shit down that he learned from his father on his face.

“You will want to watch your next words very carefully, wouldn’t want your husband’s constituents hearing any bigoted language coming from his already,” Magnus pauses surveying her bejeweled dress that looks like she’s going to a bad 80’s themed prom. “Tacky wife.”

She looks angrier at that, but Magnus’ stern look seems to usher her away, allowing her husband to pull her from the room.

The room is dead silent all eyes on them.

“Alright,” Asmodeus’ voice booms, everyone turning his way. “Show’s over, nightcaps will be served by the barkeep in the library shortly why don’t you all head in there,” he says gesturing to the way of the library. He steps over to Magnus and Alec as does Marissa who instantly hands Alec a towel.

“She’s always been a stick in the mud with bad taste,” Marissa says showing her own dislike for the councilman’s wife. “You didn’t do a thing wrong.” She smiles at them both apologetically before linking her arm in Alec’s and pulling him the way of everyone else. Magnus moves to follow, but is stopped by a hand on his chest from Asmodeus.

“We need to talk,” he says leaving no room for argument. Alec looks back at him from where Marissa is still chattering happily to him, a clear question of if he needs to cause a scene to stay with Magnus in his eyes. Magnus waves him on, watching as they go.

He barely waits until Alec and Marissa are out of ear shot to start in on Magnus.

“I know he’s faking it,” Asmodeus says and that is not what Magnus was expecting. He plays dumb though raising his eyebrows in question.

“Don’t act like you don’t what I’m talking about, I’d venture to say from the looks you two share you know all about it as well. You just brought him here and put on this whole show to embarrass me,” Asmodeus continues with a disappointed sigh. “That man hasn’t had a drop of liquor tonight, every action he’s taken hasn’t been some alcohol fueled mistake it’s been purposeful. He’s probably the most sober person here tonight. As far as I’d guess aside from truly being the black sheep of his family name and that truly atrocious car nothing that’s happened here tonight has been real.”

And alright, yeah Magnus definitely wasn’t expecting this. He expected his father to rail on his choice of partner, to knock Alec’s character and behavior and maybe Magnus’ to boot as well. He didn’t expect him to know exactly what’s been going on all night.

“And before you ask how I figured it out, you really should have made sure your date kept better track of his finished glasses, after dinner he left one behind and it didn’t smell of the vodka we’ve all been convinced he’s been downing all night,” Asmodeus explains. “From there a quick search told me the name was at least true. His family really did cut him out judging from his complete disappearance from all events, not that I can blame them, anyone who behaves this atrociously without influence of alcohol just to play a game probably deserves to be cut off.”

Magnus huffs out an unamused laugh at the underlying implications of his statement.

“Is that a threat?” Magnus says steely eyed.

“It could be, if you don’t get him out of here right this instant and promise to never try anything even close to similar to this charade again,” Asmodeus says just as steely eyed and Magnus hates that he learned the look from him.

For a moment he considers just leaving, hightailing it out of there with Alec and not saying a single other word to his father, but he’s tired. He’s 30 and he’s been putting up with his father’s vague threats if he doesn’t play the good little son role since before he could talk practically and he’s just done.

“No, we won’t be leaving,” Magnus says holding his ground. “And as for this charade well I guess I can promise you nothing like this will ever happen again, because I’m done. I’m done playing some perfectly crafted son that I’m not, I’m done acting like we’re a happy little family, like you won’t get bored of poor, sweet Marissa in no time and there’ll be a new wife on your arm who you’ll pay just as little attention to.”

“You’re right, I did do this to embarrass you, to show those fucking fakes in there that you are the fakest amongst them, even more so than all of them combined. Alec may have been playing a role tonight, but he’s ten times more real than you could ever dream to be. Don’t worry about having to cut me off and making a whole big show of it, I haven’t needed you or your money in years,” Magnus says. He straightens out his shirt and stands with his head held high turning on his heel to join Alec in the library.

***

Magnus is frankly riding high on truly stepping up to his father for the first and likely last time in his life when he saunters into the library scanning around to find Alec. He spots him in the corner chatting with Marissa.

“There you are,” Alec says sounding genuinely concerned. Magnus just smiles at him hoping it looks more assuring than it feels.

Marissa reaches out patting him on the cheek lightly. “Don’t listen to whatever he said, he’s just jealous he’s not as outstanding as you,” she says with a smile.

Magnus is struck in that moment with how much his father doesn’t deserve her, she might be a lot to take sometimes, but she is a genuinely kind woman.

“Nor as outstanding as you,” Magnus says with a smile and she blushes at the compliment. He’s ready to follow that up by telling her that she should leave his father’s ass immediately before he gets the chance to toss her to the side, but someone calls out her name and she’s pulled away smiling at them as she goes.

“Ready for the grand finale?” Alec says as soon as Marissa steps away. The grand finale, right, Magnus and Alec had discussed giving one last show before they left for the night if they managed to make it all the way through dessert. And they have, everyone’s nursing nightcaps ready to exit for the evening, but clearly all lingering around to see if Alec does anything else embarrassing or outlandish before they go.

Mere moments ago Magnus was ready to just storm out of here with Alec at his side and maybe ask Alec if he fancied going on a real date for a late-night drink somewhere.

But now with his father storming into the room after him, glaring and judging, looking quite possibly the most upset he’s ever been with Magnus he can’t seem to find a reason to go just yet.

“Let’s do it,” he says and Alec smiles tossing back his water and acting as if there’s a nice vodka burn to it. He grabs a discarded fork from a table nearby and taps it on his now empty glass so hard that it chips just a bit earning everyone’s attention.

“Could I have everyone’s attention please,” he says sounding a little bit like he’s sobered up after the near fight with the councilman’s wife. Most of the room looks their way eagerly like they can’t wait to see what happens next, while a few others apprehensively turn their attention.

“I met this stunning man not all that long ago,” he says laying his hands lightly on Magnus’ shoulders. “But in that short time, I have realized that undisputedly there will never be another for me. From the moment we hooked up in the back of Cherry the night we met,” he says not elaborating at all on that sentence, earning the shocked gasps and confused looks of many. Marissa giggles, Asmodeus seethes not loving this new addition to their fake meet cute story even if he knows it’s all a ruse now. “I knew you were the one, so, Magnus Bane,” he continues on getting down on one knee he pulls the plain silver ring he’s been wearing all night on his middle finger off and presents it to Magnus. “Will you marry me?”

Magnus pretends to be shocked covering his mouth with a gasp. His eyes flit up to where his father stands, looking like he’s about to make some move to physically stop Magnus from answering Alec’s question, like he won’t survive the embarrassment of this room full of people knowing his sons engaged to a degenerate in messed up jeans even if he knows it’s not real. Magnus doesn’t give him the chance immediately looking down at Alec with glassy eyes.

“Yes, Alexander, yes,” he says no longer hiding his amused grin as Alec slips the ring on his finger and lifts up from the ground pulling Magnus into a crushing hug. The room claps tentatively, enthusiastically in Marissa’s case who it seems does not care how insane something is she just loves love. How she ever ended up married to his father, who only truly loves himself, his hardwood floors and his hair is a continual mystery.

“Wanna get the fuck out of here?” Magnus mumbles into Alec’s ear. Alec pulls back from their hug and nods enthusiastically.

“Do I have your permission to bridal carry you out of here?” Alec says lowly ensuring no one can hear him.

“Oh, hell yes,” Magnus says delightedly as Alec lifts him up and makes for the door.

“We’re gonna go celebrate in the back of Cherry again,” Alec announces proudly to the room as he goes. Magnus pats him on the shoulder guiding him to the coat closet where he quickly grabs their jackets, Alec never losing his grip on him.

Asmodeus shouts after them as they head out the door, Alec pausing at his car and planting Magnus down on the ground gently. He tugs at the door three times before it opens gesturing for Magnus to get in as he ignores his father’s bellowing shouts. Alec playfully salutes Asmodeus and slides over the hood of his car bumping into the Porsche beside him setting off it’s car alarm as he lands and slips into the driver’s seat quickly.

He starts the engine peeling out of the space just as Asmodeus reaches the front of the car. Magnus just blatantly ignores him only catching sight of Marissa standing in the door waving their way as they drive off.

***

The ride back is quiet for the first twenty minutes or so, music playing softly as Alec drives drumming his fingers along the steering wheel to the beat.

“My dad figured out you were faking it,” Magnus says with no preamble looking out the window as they go. The roads are mostly empty now people celebrating the holiday into the late hours with their families before waking up at 5 a.m. to Black Friday shop.

“Shit, there goes my Oscar,” Alec says eyes flashing to Magnus quickly with a laugh before focusing back on the road. Magnus chuckles in response.

“Well, it’s an honor just to be nominated,” Magnus smiles tilting his head towards Alec.

Alec snorts a little laugh then turns his head quickly to Magnus once again.

“Did your dad give you a lot of trouble about it?”

“He did, I don’t think I’ll be getting a Christmas invite after I railed back at him,” Magnus says. “But it’s okay. I think it was just a long time coming, bound to happen. Better to get it over with now before I wasted more years trying to seem like I’m something I’m not just to please him.”

Alec comes to a stop at a red light and turns his attention fully to Magnus.

“Are you okay? I mean shitty or not, having a parent cut ties isn’t easy, trust me I know,” he says. Magnus watches him enjoying the way the red of the stoplight cuts through his dark hair.

Magnus takes a deep breath and gives Alec a small assuring smile.

“I will be,” he says, truly meaning it. The fallout with his father is a lot, but he will be okay. He’s lived without his father being truly present in any form since the day his mother walked out on them, this new world where he’s likely all cut off isn’t anything new really. He’ll manage, hell he might even thrive without the chains of his father’s expectations weighing on him now.

The light turns green and they lapse back into comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, Magnus completely endeared as he listens to Alec mumbling the lyrics to every other song that comes on the radio under his breath.

When they pull up to the curb outside of Magnus’ house Alec steps out first ever the gentleman helping Magnus with the finicky passenger side door.

He holds out a hand helping Magnus out and smiles when he drops it shutting the door tight.

“Well, thank you for the free meal and the fun night of mischief,” Alec says leaning back against his Thunderbird. His eyeliner is a mess and there’s a faint dried spot along his white shirt stained from the wine incident, he looks beautiful under this streetlight and Magnus wants more night like this. Well maybe not exactly like this one, it’s been a bit of rollercoaster for him emotionally, but nights with Alec all the same.

“Go out with me,” he says not even framing it as a question. He knows Alec is interested too has seen it in the moments where he was just being himself and the appreciative glances he’s given Magnus all night that clearly weren’t just a part of the show he was putting on. And that doesn’t even cover their coffee the other day, the easy way they’d talked and just clicked right off the bat.

“For real, not a fake date or a bad boyfriend show, a real date,” Magnus clarifies when he notices Alec’s surprise.

“I’d like that a lot,” Alec says pushing off the car. He steps a little closer to Magnus leaving just a bit of distance for Magnus to clear if he wants. Magnus does want so he steps up not quite touching Alec, but close enough all he’d have to do is raise a hand. It feels almost like when they were in his father’s office tonight, but even better because they’re alone for real now, there’s no show and no chance of interruptions.

“I need the record to show that I literally never do this, not once, I haven’t even been interested, let alone made any sort of action to make something real out of one of these fake dates,” Alec says low and sincere keeping his eyes on Magnus’ the entire time making sure the words are clear. “You are entirely the exception.”

“Entirely exceptional, actually,” he adds on with a smile. Magnus smiles reaching out his hands to rest on Alec’s chest.

“So are you,” he says patting his hands twice where they rest. “And I believe you aren’t just doing this to pick up hot guys, no worries.” He says with a chuckle and Alec rolls his eyes.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Alec asks.

“Nothing, no classes until next Tuesday and most of my friends are out of town for family dinners and what not. I’m as free as a bird,” he says blinking his eyes just a bit flirtatiously at Alec.

“Good, we should get dinner, no family, no bullshit, just us,” Alec says tentatively resting his hands on Magnus’ waist.

“I like the sound of that,” Magnus says lifting up to kiss Alec on the cheek softly just once before pulling back.

“I’ll text you with a time and place in the morning,” he says slowly stepping backwards holding Alec’s steady gaze as he goes. He turns just for a moment putting his key’s in the door and pushing it open before turning back. “Goodnight, Alexander.” He says and watches as Alec smiles a dazzling smile before rounding the car and opening the driver’s side door.

“Goodnight, Magnus,” he says before slipping into his car. Magnus watches with a smile as he pulls away from the curb, his bright red ridiculous Thunderbird speeding away. The smile doesn’t leave his face as he makes his way all the way up to his apartment, so much so that he’s pretty sure his cat is judging him all the way to bed.

***

One Year Later

Magnus’ phone buzzes insistently his ringtone blaring on the nightstand.

“Stop that,” he says weakly reaching out an arm to silence it, his hand falling to the nightstand and coming up empty once, twice, three times while it continues to ring. It’s far too loud and far too early on a holiday with no responsibilities for this.

A chuckle comes from above him and warmth reaches over brushing his fingers before gripping the phone and pulling back.

“Magnus Bane’s phone,” Alec answers his voice a little lower and rougher than usual from sleep. It’s a very nice sound. Magnus can’t hear who’s on the other end of the line, but when he flips over he sees Alec smile and perk up a bit leaning back against the headboard.

“Yeah it is Alec, it’s good to know you remember me, Marissa,” he says and Magnus raises an eyebrow he’s only heard from his father’s wife once since last Thanksgiving, an apologetic text on his father’s behalf. His father on the other hand hasn’t so much as sent a sternly worded email in that time.

“Yeah, he’s here, hold on sec,” Alec says, he lowers the phone offering it to Magnus who grumbles a bit lifting himself up and leaning against the headboard next to Alec.

“Hi, Marissa,” he says clearing his throat a bit.

“Magnus!” she shouts into his ear and he jumps back a bit, from the both the volume and from shock hearing that she’s finally dropped her terrible nickname for him. “I was glad to hear Alec answer the phone, I knew you two were a good match, even if it was all a show that night.”

“Ah,” Magnus says. “So father told you.”

“He did, but it doesn’t change that you two are the cutest,” she says. “Which speaking of your father,” she starts and Magnus is ready to shoot down any attempt at reuniting she’s trying to pull here. Marissa is a nice woman, but his father’s silence in the past year has spoken volumes, he’s not playing into a reconciliation he can’t even make the call for.

“I left him,” she says finishing her sentence. Magnus huffs out a little surprised laugh that Alec raises an eyebrow at, well good for her. “About a month ago and I know it’s incredibly short notice and you might have other plans, but I’m having a little Thanksgiving dinner of my own with a few friends this year and I’d love to see you. And Alec too, of course!”

Magnus smiles, they’d had a Friendsgiving slash one year anniversary celebration over the weekend with Raphael, Cat, Dot, Ragnor and Alec’s siblings, tonight’s plans were likely going to consist of Chinese takeout on the couch and making out. And while Marissa can be a lot she was always kind, and he can’t help but recall how supportive she’d been that night a year ago. He can’t find it in himself to turn down her offer because of it.

“We’d love to,” he says and Alec looks at him again in question. Magnus just waves a hand signaling he wait a moment for explanation. On the other end of the line Marissa claps excitedly.

“Yay!” she says. “I’ll text you my address, I’m in the city now so Alec might have to leave Cherry at home.”

Magnus laughs. “Oh, he might bring her anyways.”

He chats idly with Marissa for a few more minutes before disconnecting and promising they’ll be on much better behavior this year for dinner.

“Marissa left my father,” Magnus says as soon as he’s hung up and tossed his phone back on the nightstand. Alec smiles looking just as oddly proud for her as Magnus feels. “And we’re having Thanksgiving with her and some friends tonight.”

“Good for her,” he says flipping back the covers and getting out of bed. “Should I get out the eyeliner and torn up jeans for tonight just for old times’ sake, or no?”

He smirks standing gloriously naked in front of the dresser rustling through one of his drawers. His drawers. Magnus isn’t quite used to the lovely novelty of the fact that Alec lives with him now. It’s been about two months since they made it official and just seeing one of Alec’s crappy romance novels on the coffee table or his shitty leather jacket hanging in its permanent space in their closest still makes him feel all sorts of tingly.

Magnus hums in thought rising up from bed and moving to lean against the dresser beside Alec. He’d pay good money to get Alec to wear eyeliner more often frankly.

“I think you should bring both of those things out as often as you’d like,” he says reaching out a hand and cupping Alec’s cheek turning it towards him. The feel of Alec’s soft, shaven skin is something he also isn’t quite used to. For the first time in their year together he’d shaved off his beard entirely, completely out of the blue and for no other reason than he’d had a day off and was bored. He’s as handsome as ever, but Magnus had quite literally had to do a double take when he came home and saw Alec sitting on the couch.

“Do try and leave the illustrious tales of our sexual escapades at home this time though, darling,” he says with a smile. He’s mostly joking, but now that their sexual escapades are real and not fictionalized he’d like to keep them just between them.

“Damn, well there goes all my dinner conversation topics,” Alec says with a wicked little smile.

“Menace,” Magnus says as he slides his hand down from Alec’s face to his chest with a shake of his head.

Magnus runs his fingers lightly through the hair on Alec’s chest stopping to rest on the stark black tattoo on his lower abdomen. And boy hadn’t it been a blissful discovery to see that ink when he finally got Alec’s shirt off for the first time. He trails his fingers over the shape of it lightly, knowing exactly what he’s doing.

“If you keep doing that we’ll never leave this room,” Alec says his lips tilting up in a little pleased smirk.

“Doing what?” Magnus says innocently still moving his fingers over the shape of the tattoo lightly.

“And you say I’m the menace,” Alec says leaning in to kiss him on the lips once hard and bruising. “We need to shower.” He says stepping away from Magnus. Magnus’s hand falls and he pouts laying it on a bit thick. Alec pointedly attempts to ignore it.

“Together?” Magnus says with a hopeful smile.

Alec rolls his eyes. “I feel like despite having literal hours to get ready we’ll end up late somehow if we do,” he says eyeing Magnus’ bare form appreciatively. “But there’s no way I can say no to that.”

Magnus smirks pushing himself off the dresser and right up against Alec.

“Damn straight,” he says before leaning in to lay a teasing, promising kiss on his lips.

“There is absolutely nothing straight about this,” Alec says with a toothy smile once he’s pulled back already tugging Magnus into the bathroom for their shower. Magnus laughs loud and bright as he’s dragged along.

***

Impossibly despite literal hours, Alec’s right, showering together does prolong the entire process of getting out of the apartment when showering becomes shower sex, which becomes another round on the bathroom counter which results in needing to shower again, separately this time much to both their dismays.

Eventually though, they’re dressed and ready. Magnus finishes up the last touches on his hair, adjusting the bright almost golden streak at the front of it which compliments the golden chained pattern of his shirt. He picks up the ring Alec fake proposed to him with last year and twists it onto his right-hand ringer finger with a smile. They obviously aren’t actually engaged, but increasingly lately Magnus finds himself thinking about making it real.

He gives himself one last once over in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom to find Alec sitting cross legged on their bed and Magnus is nearly sent back in time to a year ago.

He’s wearing the jeans and boots just like he had that night, his eyeliner is in place a little less messy but still unpracticed and his hair is its usual tussled self. The shirt is almost the same, this time it’s one Magnus gave him with subtle lines of shiny black at the collar and cuffs, the little black loops in his ears are a gift from Magnus as well.

It’s a perfect combination of that first night when they were a fake couple out to cause mayhem and the couple they are now, a royal we couple that are so deep in love Magnus has to just take a few breaths in sometimes to remember this is all real.

“Ready to go?” Alec asks looking up at Magnus with a smile. Magnus nods as Alec stands throwing on his leather jacket with the hole in it he refuses to fix. Magnus follows suit grabbing his own jacket and following Alec out as he grabs his keys and wallet scratching the heads of both cats curled up on the back of the couch as he goes.

“We could take the subway you know?” Magnus says once they’re in the elevator, Alec twirling the keys to his Thunderbird around his finger.

Alec scrunches up his face adorably. “No way,” he says gesturing for Magnus to step out first when they reach the lobby. “Cherry helping us fight through Thanksgiving traffic is gonna be a lifelong tradition for us.”

Lifelong Magnus likes the sound of that, but he is dubious that Alec’s precious car will last anywhere near that long.

Alec rushes to the car parked proudly and loudly right in front of their building unlocking it and pulling four times on the passenger door before getting it open.

He smiles at Magnus gesturing with an overstated bow for him to get in and Magnus rolls his eyes but can’t seem to hide his smile and Alec knows it. He shuts the door once Magnus is in and in a move reminiscent of their escape from his father’s last year slides over the hood before slipping into his own seat and starting the car driving off to a much better Thanksgiving than the year before.

#my fic #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #malec fic

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warninggraphiccontent · 3 years ago

Text

16 July 2021

Food for thought

At last week's Data Bites, I noted how 'Wales' is a standard unit of area. This week, along comes a map which shows that all the built-up land in the UK is equivalent to one Wales:

The map is from the National Food Strategy, published yesterday (and the man has a point).

It has divided opinion, judging by the responses to this tweet. I understand where the sceptics are coming from - at first glance, it may be confusing, given Wales isn't actually entirely built up, Cornwall made of peat, or Shetland that close to the mainland (or home to all the UK's golf courses). And I'm often critical of people using maps just because the data is geographical in some way, when a different, non-map visualisation would be better.

But I actually think this one works. Using a familiar geography to represent areas given over to particular land use might help us grasp it more readily (urban areas = size of Wales, beef and lamb pastures = more of the country than anything else). It's also clear that a huge amount of overseas land is needed to feed the UK, too.

The map has grabbed people's attention and got them talking, which is no bad thing. And it tells the main stories I suspect its creators wanted to. In other words, it's made those messages... land.

Trash talk

Happy Take Out The Trash Day!

Yesterday saw A LOT of things published by Cabinet Office - data on special advisers, correspondence with parliamentarians, public bodies and major projects to name but a few, and the small matter of the new plans outlining departmental priorities and how their performance will be measured.

It's great that government is publishing this stuff. It's less great that too much of it still involves data being published in PDFs not spreadsheets. And it's even less great that the ignoble tradition of Take Out The Trash Day continues, for all the reasons here (written yesterday) and here (written in 2017).

I know this isn't (necessarily) deliberate, and it's a lot of good people working very hard to get things finished before the summer (as my 2017 piece acknowledges). And it's good to see government being transparent.

But it's 2021, for crying out loud. The data collection should be easier. The use of this data in government should be more widespread to begin with.

We should expect better.

In other news:

I was really pleased to have helped the excellent team at Transparency International UK (by way of some comments on a draft) with their new report exploring access and influence in UK housing policy, House of Cards. Read it here.

One of our recent Data Bites speakers, Doug Gurr, is apparently in the running to run the NHS. More here.

Any excuse to plug my Audrey Tang interview.

The good folk at ODI Leeds/The Data City/the ODI have picked up and run with my (and others') attempt to map the UK government data ecosystem. Do help them out.

Five years ago this week...

Regarding last week's headline of Three Lines on a Chart: obviously I was going to.

Have a great weekend

Gavin

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Today's links:

Graphic content

Vax populi

Why vaccine-shy French are suddenly rushing to get jabbed* (The Economist)

Morning update on Macron demolishing French anti-vax feeling (or at least vax-hesitant) (Sophie Pedder via Nicolas Berrod)

How Emmanuel Macron’s “health passes” have led to a surge in vaccine bookings in France* (New Statesman)

How effective are coronavirus vaccines against the Delta variant?* (FT)

England faces the sternest test of its vaccination strategy* (The Economist)

Where Are The Newest COVID Hot Spots? Mostly Places With Low Vaccination Rates (NPR)

There's A Stark Red-Blue Divide When It Comes To States' Vaccination Rates (NPR)

All talk, no jabs: the reality of global vaccine diplomacy* (Telegraph)

Vaccination burnout? (Reuters)

Viral content

COVID-19: Will the data allow the government to lift restrictions on 19 July? (Sky News)

UK Covid-19 rates are the highest of any European country after Cyprus* (New Statesman)

COVID-19: Cautionary tale from the Netherlands' coronavirus unlocking - what lessons can the UK learn? (Sky News)

‘Inadequate’: Covid breaches on the rise in Australia’s hotel quarantine (The Guardian)

Side effects

COVID-19: Why is there a surge in winter viruses at the moment? (Sky News)

London Beats New York Back to Office, by a Latte* (Bloomberg)

Outdoor dining reopened restaurants for all — but added to barriers for disabled* (Washington Post)

NYC Needs the Commuting Crowds That Have Yet to Fully Return* (Bloomberg)

Politics and government

Who will succeed Angela Merkel?* (The Economist)

Special advisers in government (Tim for IfG)

How stingy are the UK’s benefits? (Jamie Thunder)

A decade of change for children's services funding (Pro Bono Economics)

National Food Strategy (independent review for UK Government)

National Food Strategy: Tax sugar and salt and prescribe veg, report says (BBC News)

Air, space

Can Wizz challenge Ryanair as king of Europe’s skies?* (FT)

Air passengers have become much more confrontational during the pandemic* (The Economist)

Branson and Bezos in space: how their rocket ships compare* (FT)

Sport

Euro 2020: England expects — the long road back to a Wembley final* (FT)

Most football fans – and most voters – support the England team taking the knee* (New Statesman)

Domestic violence surges after a football match ends* (The Economist)

The Most Valuable Soccer Player In America Is A Goalkeeper (FiveThirtyEight)

Sport is still rife with doping* (The Economist)

Wimbledon wild card success does not disguise financial challenge* (FT)

Can The U.S. Women’s Swim Team Make A Gold Medal Sweep? (FiveThirtyEight)

Everything else

Smoking: How large of a global problem is it? And how can we make progress against it? (Our World in Data)

Record June heat in North America and Europe linked to climate change* (FT)

Here’s a list of open, non-code tools that I use for #dataviz, #dataforgood, charity data, maps, infographics... (Lisa Hornung)

Meta data

Identity crisis

A single sign-on and digital identity solution for government (GDS)

UK government set to unveil next steps in digital identity market plan (Computer Weekly)

BCS calls for social media platforms to verify users to curb abuse (IT Pro)

ID verification for social media as a solution to online abuse is a terrible idea (diginomica)

Who is behind the online abuse of black England players and how can we stop it?* (New Statesman)

Euro 2020: Why abuse remains rife on social media (BBC News)

UK government

Online Media Literacy Strategy (DCMS)

Privacy enhancing technologies: Adoption guide (CDEI)

The Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is now available in the ONS Secure Research Service (ADR UK)

Our Home Office 2024 DDaT Strategy is published (Home Office)

The UK’s Digital Regulation Plan makes few concrete commitments (Tech Monitor)

OSR statement on data transparency and the role of Heads of Profession for Statistics (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Good data from any source can help us report on the global goals to the UN (ONS)

The state of the UK’s statistical system 2020/21 (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Far from average: How COVID-19 has impacted the Average Weekly Earnings data (ONS)

Health

Shock treatment: can the pandemic turn the NHS digital? (E&T)

Can Vaccine Passports Actually Work? (Slate)

UK supercomputer Cambridge-1 to hunt for medical breakthroughs (The Guardian)

AI got 'rithm

An Applied Research Agenda for Data Governance for AI (GPAI)

Taoiseach and Minister Troy launch Government Roadmap for AI in Ireland (Irish Government)

Tech

“I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Go Back”: Return-to-Office Agita Is Sweeping Silicon Valley (Vanity Fair)

Google boss Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom (BBC News)

The class of 2021: Welcome to POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s tech revolution (Politico)

Inside Facebook’s Data Wars* (New York Times)

Concern trolls and power grabs: Inside Big Tech’s angry, geeky, often petty war for your privacy (Protocol)

Exclusive extract: how Facebook's engineers spied on women* (Telegraph)

Face off

Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet? (The Observer)

#Identity, #OnlineSafety & #AgeVerification – notes on “Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet?” (Alec Muffett)

Europe makes the case to ban biometric surveillance* (Wired)

Open government

From open data to joined-up government: driving efficiency with BA Obras (Open Contracting Partnership)

AVAILABLE NOW! DEMOCRACY IN A PANDEMIC: PARTICIPATION IN RESPONSE TO CRISIS (Involve)

Designing digital services for equitable access (Brookings)

Data

Trusting the Data: How do we reach a public settlement on the future of tech? (Demos)

"Why do we use R rather than Excel?" (Terence Eden)

Everything else

The world’s biggest ransomware gang just disappeared from the internet (MIT Technology Review)

Our Statistical Excellence Awards Ceremony has just kicked off! (Royal Statistical Society)

Pin resets wipe all data from over 100 Treasury mobile phones (The Guardian)

Data officers raid two properties over Matt Hancock CCTV footage leak (The Guardian)

How did my phone number end up for sale on a US database? (BBC News)

Gendered disinformation: 6 reasons why liberal democracies need to respond to this threat (Demos, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung)

Opportunities

EVENT: Justice data in the digital age: Balancing risks and opportunities (The LEF)

JOBS: Senior Data Strategy - Data Innovation & Business Analysis Hub (MoJ)

JOB: Director of Evidence and Analytics (Natural England)

JOB: Policy and Research Associate (Open Ownership)

JOB: Research Officer in Data Science (LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science)

JOB: Chief operating officer (Democracy Club, via Jukesie)

And finally...

me: can’t believe we didn’t date sooner... (@MNateShyamalan)

Are you closer to Georgia, or to Georgia? (@incunabula)

A masterpiece in FOIA (Chris Cook)

How K-Pop conquered the universe* (Washington Post)

Does everything really cost more? Find out with our inflation quiz.* (Washington Post)

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bewareofchris · 5 years ago

Text

Public Relations 20/??

R atm | Alec Hardy/Dr. Bill Masters | Broadchurch, Masters of Sex | Strong language, eventual sexual situations

“The fact that Alec Hardy was not currently, had not ever, and did not want to date the American sex research did not seem very important at all to the town of Broadchurch. They did what they had always done with a little bit of juicy gossip: they made a spectacle of it.”

<< prev | Part 1

Bill was not ready to sit across a table from Virginia Johnson. It didn’t seem like the sort of thing that he would ever be ready for again. In fact, given an infinite time to prepare himself, Bill was certain that he would never have reached a point at which he felt capable of this moment. Some things were best when they were beyond your own control.

Virginia was now, as she had always been, a beautiful woman. He could not look at her without remembering how desperately he had longed to rest his cheek on her warm skin. At how quickly, and how deeply, he had started to crave her. Maybe, when they were brand new to the affair, he had really believed it was all a matter of work. Maybe he’d really convinced himself that they’d attached electrodes to themselves and called it science and that it really had been about the science. (Maybe it had been for her.) But that first taste of her had ruined him; every moment after he had lived with an insatiable desire to touch her again.

And he had.

(Oh, hell, he had touched her over and over and in every way a man possibly could.)

Those things were in the past now. Bill looked at Virginia and he remembered the warmth of her skin, and the softness of her touch, and the way her breath caught on the edge of his name.

Virginia looked at him with polite detachment. If she remembered the intimate details of their past; she didn’t remember them with any urgency or fondness. Her hands were folded over a pad of paper she’d brought to the meeting. Her back was straight. Her hair was falling around her face in soft waves, framing the slight pinkness of her cheeks. Her smile was patient, but her voice was crisp. “I think we can both agree that it is our best interest, and in the best interest of the work that we find suitable replacements for one another. In a work capacity of course.”

“Yes,” Bill said. He agreed by rote, without vigor. He was as aware as she was that his opinion didn’t matter anymore. “Yes, that is what’s best for the-- For the work.”

“I would expect you would want to hire your own new assistant. I would like the authority to hire my own as well.”

“Of course.”

Virginia’s smile was strained. There was the faintest worry at the edge of her lips, but she brushed it away. Her attention refocused on the list in front of her; her finger ran down the line of demands to be sure that she’d covered everything she’d intended.

“In fact,” Bill said before any more points could be raised, “I--uh, I have been needing someone that I could trust to run things here. Betty’s been doing a good deal of the work and that’s-- She’s been doing a very good job, but it’s not really her job to do. So, as soon as you’re settled, I need to take some time away from the office.” He cleared his throat. (He thought to himself, this pain in his chest was a part of healing. Nothing broken ever healed without hurting first.) “I need to sort out some personal things.”

“I’ll be settled by the end of the week, I’m sure,” Virginia said. “Take all the time you need, Bill.” The meeting was brought to a close with those words. She gathered up the few things she’d brought, tucked them against her chest and turned to leave the conference room. She wasn’t retreating, but off to return as her rightful place as the most well-liked and hardest-working person in the building. She was off to secure her place with the other staff, to reassure them that things would be put right again, and to clear away the dust that had settled in her untouched office.

Virginia stopped just at the doorway, with her fingers resting against the door jamb and her confident smile turning soft, and uncertain. “Thank you for making this an easy transition, Bill. I am confident that we will get past this initial uneasiness. We both believe in what we’re doing here. We both know it’s more important than either of us.”

Bill smiled; he nodded. He tried to squeeze words out of his aching throat. He meant to say he agreed with her. He thought this work was important. He always had. But just then, looking at the table top because he couldn’t bear to look at her, he thought he might have been wrong about everything he’d ever believed.

As much as enjoy your vague details about a case you’re not at liberty to discuss in detail, I have no idea how to help you.

There must be someone that you can review the case with that understands better.

Hardy didn’t mind honesty; he didn’t even mind being told no. He wasn’t frustrated at Bill for stating obvious things. What little information he’d been able to explain through time-consuming texting had been riddled with holes because Hardy really wasn’t supposed to be sharing any details.

What limited responses he got back were hindered by the fact that Bill was an American and a doctor and neither of those things qualified him to be any good at solving the crimes that needed solving.

Hardy did have someone much closer in terms of geography and ability. He’d been eyeing her number in his phone off and on for days. He’d thought about how she must have been getting along in her new job while he sat out on his front stoop watching the water rolling toward him. The gathering cold nipped at his fingers and the tip of his nose and he thought of how annoying it might have been to suffer through the holidays with Ellie Miller.

She seemed like the sort that would start preparing for Christmas in November. The one that would hum Christmas carols under her breath, and insist on greeting every person with cheerfulness. She would have invited him for dinner again. She would have forced him to drink eggnog. She might even have harangued him into some appreciation for the whole season.

Yes, Christmas with Ellie Miller would have been hell.

But at least it would have been a busy, colorful sort of hell. Not the hell that was stretching out before him, as an endless gray nothing. If he were lucky, he might convince his daughter to call him back on the holiday. (He’d already started in on it too. That’s who he was, barely November and he was already dropping hints in his usual phone calls about how nice it would be to hear from her in real time. At how he missed her. At how the holidays were coming.)

Hardy was working up his courage to ask Miller to meet him somewhere. He was preparing a speech about how he wanted her help to solve this crime--unofficially of course--and why it was a decent use of their time. He was still reviewing the fine points of his argument, and that had to be the reason he hadn’t called her yet.

Bill interrupted his brooding, with another text announcing itself with a pert chirp of his phone. Across an ocean and God-only knew how many miles, Bill Masters was thinking of him. He said:

I can’t help you with the detective aspects, but I can listen if there’s things you need to get off your chest.

Hardy smiled at the phone, with the sensation of his heart breaking just a little more. What I’ve got to say isn’t going to fit in this little text box.

Time passed by breaths and heartbeats. Hardy was sitting on his front stoop, feeling like a fool, wondering what Bill must have thought of him. It was a dangerous game to feel so at ease with someone you couldn’t even see.

The response took less than a minute, and it sat there for at least ten:

You could call.

A man should never be ruled by impulse. Decisions like these required the proper amount of thought. (But why did they? Why should he take time to decide if it were a good idea to call a friend? Why should he linger over it with worry, with his heart beating loud in his chest? Why should he worry at all? Bill was only a friend. This was only a phone call.) Hardy had been the one to press the call button, but the sound of the ringing in his ear still startled him. The first plucked strings of panic swelled in his throat. He might have even ended the call before it could go through but--

“You called,” Bill said.

“Oh,” Hardy answered with his thumb pushing into his eye socket, “was I not meant to? I can hang up if I’m--”

“No,” Bill said with a rush. The noise behind him turned off, and his voice evened as he continued, “no, I’m glad you called. You hadn’t answered my text, I was afraid that I’d overstepped.”

“It’s just a phone call,” Hardy said, “between friends.”

Bill’s words were a polite smile, “of course. That’s what I thought exactly. You need a friend and I need a friend, and this is only a phone call.”

It was too cold, and too open, and too public to be outside now. Phone calls like this one were meant for inside spaces so Hardy picked himself up to go back into his little cottage. He locked his door and found a nice place on the couch to relax into. “How did things go with Virginia?”

“I sat there like an idiot, nodding my head, agreeing with everything she said.”

Hardy grimaced at that. “Did she ask you for anything outrageous?”

“No,” Bill sighed, “I don’t want to talk about Virginia. We could talk about your case, or anything else. Not Virginia, not right now.”

“I don’t want to talk about the case yet,” Hardy said. He was searching for a reason to make this phone call worth the effort, grasping at anything that he could think of to make a conversation out of. “You could explain Thanksgiving to me. That’s a thing that’s happening soon, isn’t it?”

Bill snorted, “what do you want to know about Thanksgiving?”

“I don’t know, tell me about it.”

Bill had a voice meant to be heard, and a mind that had spent years soaking up every detail that it happened across. He was a terribly intelligent man wrapped up in awkward man’s skin, but he eased into explaining the mundane details of the holiday like he was explaining something of great importance.

“Are you still listening?”

“Of course I am,” Hardy answered, “keep talking.”

@it-is-ineffable, @marvelmisha, @e3105eb, @may-darling, @bigleosis, @jiffry6969, @stardust-andwine, @echelongaga

#illogical husbands #public relations: the fic #grouchy bastards in love #Alec Hardy #Bill Masters

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1dffchallenges · 5 years ago

Photo

Not a Throwback

Written By: @fireawaynjh

Characters: Sophie Kemper (OFC)/Niall Horan

Summary: Parenting is hard, anyone will tell you. But being a single parent is even harder. Niall loves his son more than the world and he would do anything to make him happy. But he soon discovers the sacrifices he will have to make. Dating his son’s teacher isn’t always the easiest. But can he make it work? Or will he have to sacrifice his own happiness this time?

Author’s note: pls excuse my terrible graphics also I changed my banner because i like to think I got better at photoshop; i did not

Warnings: mentions of drugs, alcohol, mild swearing

2012

Niall closed his laptop as the text from his girlfriend popped into the corner. He walked down the stairs to let her in with his usual smile. The smile faded upon seeing her dismayed look.

“Something wrong love?” he asked, stepping aside to let her in. Her arms sat folded across her chest as she walked in quickly. Niall grew increasingly more worried with every second she stayed silent.

“Babe what’s-”

“I’m pregnant.”

Niall stood in shock for a moment. His mind immediately thought about the fact that in a month he was supposed to leave for uni. He couldn’t work and study and be a father, that would be insane. He could see in her eyes that she was just as worried as he was. With a soft sigh he opened his arms and drew her close to him.

“How do you feel?” he asked as she pressed her nose to his chest. He could feel her shoulders shrug up.

“Alright I guess. I know I want to keep it.” Trying to keep the shock off his face, Niall nodded. She’d never wanted children before. It surprised him that she’d want to keep it.

“How long have you known?” he asked.

“Three days,” she whispered. He nodded gently as he rubbed soothing circles over her back.

“You have my support no matter what Carls,” he assured her. He felt guilty for secretly hoping she wouldn’t keep it. He wasn’t ready to be a father and she never wanted to be a mother. It was stupid of them to think that this was a good idea. Of course Niall would never say any of that to her. He meant it when he said he’d support her. He loved her, he knew that for sure, and if she were to keep this baby, he knew he’d love it too.

The months went by and in early March of the next year the couple welcomed their son Killian. Niall found a job working at the tech shop, selling smartphones and tablets while he attended his first year of Uni. He switched his studies from music theory to applied business and began putting money away so he could support his new family.

The nine months had been hard and they’d battled their fair share of arguments. But Niall truthfully was happier than he ever could have imagined. He didn’t know why Carlie was so worried about having kids, already she was an incredible mum. He’d soon find that he didn’t know her well at all.

2017

Niall gripped the edge of the podium, refraining from chewing at his nails, as he stood in front of the judge.

“Mr. Horan you had no idea about the drugs?”

“No Your Honor.” he stated plainly. The past two months had been a haze. Carlie, his now fiance had been arrested for using and selling heroin as well as selling every other drug under the sun.

“You didn’t notice the change in your fiance?”

“I did Your Honor, I thought it was her new job and stress from taking care of a toddler.” She had lost her job a year earlier, the store she worked in went out of business. She told Niall she’d found a new one, in reality she’d started selling drugs for his best mate.

“And where were you during the days if she was the only one watching your son?”

“Working Your Honor, or at Uni. Our arrangement was I would work and get my degree so I could support the family better.” The judge nodded.

“Well Mr. Horan, Miss Aldon attests that your son was never around the contraband and that you played no part. I’ll review your testimony and we will resume next week with a verdict of custody.” He smacked the gavel on the podium, the crack echoing through the room. Niall sighed as he gathered his belongings and walked out of the courtroom.

“Mr. Horan!” Niall turned as he walked out the doors to see the lawyer Carlie had hired approaching him. Niall turned to him and raised a brow. “Miss Aldon is allowed visitors now. She would like to see you.”

“Does she now?” he snapped coldly. He knew he was just the messenger but he still resented the guy for representing Carlie at all.

“I’m sorry Mr. Horan, for everything this has put you through.” Niall thanked him before walking to the elevator and heading to his car. The jail wasn’t far from the courthouse, Niall knew he should get this over with.

Carlie looked exhausted as she sat on the other side of the glass. But it looked like exhaustion from worry about herself. It was different than the exhaustion he’d seen rising in her since Killian was born. He knew she was relieved to be away from the responsibility and that sparked the anger in him further. He gripped the phone and scowled as he held it to his ear.

“Niall I’m so sorry-”

“Shut the fuck up Carlie no you’re not.” he growled. She flinched. He’d never spoken to her with anything less than respect. Even through fights she could always tell that he loved her and that he respected her. Now she wasn’t sure what he felt.

“Niall I never wanted this to happen,” she insisted.

“I believe that, I know you didn’t want to get caught. Why in the hell did you even start the drugs if you didn't want to get caught?”

“Niall it was a moment of weakness. I’d just lost my job, no one would hire me only three days a week.. I was desperate, I went to the pub and Alec was there. He listened.. He understood how I felt.” Carlie sighed and shook her head. Niall knew by the fondness in her voice that it was more than just drugs with Alec.

“You fucking slept with him.. You fucking slept with my best mate.” Niall let out an exasperated laugh. “Unbelievable. I fucking propose to you and what do you do? You turn around and sleep with my best mate and start dealing.”

“I didn’t think it would go this far-”

“Of course you didn’t think! If you fucking thought about it you wouldnt have done any of it and we wouldn’t fucking be here right now!” Other visitors were beginning to stare at the arguing couple.

“Stop yelling at me!” Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

“Stop yelling?!” Niall laughed again. “I could fucking lose Killian because this shit and you want me to stop yelling at you?!” Carlie’s jaw dropped. “Oh so you do care about him.”

“What? Of course I care about our son Niall.” She looked hurt at the accusation.

“But you didn’t want to parent him right? That’s why you kept taking the drugs, so you wouldn’t have to feel the stress of a toddler?” She scrambled for an excuse and Niall knew that look too well. She hated to be called out on her shit and she always fumbled for excuses. “Yeah I fucking thought so. So thanks for everything Carlie.” He moved to hang up the phone but she stopped him.

“Niall wait! You’re right okay? It was too much, but I love Killian and I’m so sorry I’ve done this to you. If you see him will you please tell him I love him?”

“Goodbye Carlie.” Niall hung up the phone and walked back out the door. His heart ached as he got back in his car. All he wanted right now was to hold his son. Fear of losing him only worsened the ache and he thought about going to his mother’s house to see him but the social worker warned that it was best for his case that he not see Killian until the verdict was given. Instead he drove to the pub, in desperate need of a drink.

He ordered his double vodka soda and stared at the carbonated bubbles rising in the glass.

“Tough day mate?”

Niall set his jaw, not looking away from the glass. “Get the fuck out of here Alec before I beat the shit out of you.”

“Niall mate-” Niall turned to look at him.

“Don’t you try to explain yourself to me. I was gonna ask you to be me best man y’know that?” Alec swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing. Niall wanted nothing more than to punch it right now. “I don’t want to speak to you again, please go.” Alec didn’t argue and turned to walk out the door. Niall tossed back the entire drink and set the glass back down.

“Another please.”

2025

“Killian mate it’s time to get up!” Niall called from the opposite end of the apartment. The 12 year old groaned and shoved his head further into the pillow.

“Oi! I know you’re not up yet! C’mon i’ve pressed your uniform so you could sleep more now y’gotta get up so we can go.” Niall called again. Killian threw back the covers in annoyance and got up off the bed.

“I’m standin Da!”

“Good lad.” Niall finished wrapping the ham sandwich he’d thrown together, one for Killian and one for himself, putting Killian’s into the paper bag with a packet of crisps and some biscuits for his lunch. He put back the bread and mayo as his son came down the stairs in his uniform. The spoon Niall had laid next to a full cereal bowl quickly made its way to Killian’s mouth as he shoveled coco pops down.

“How’d y’sleep mate?” Niall asked as he poured coffee into his thermos. Killian shrugged and kept shoveling food into his mouth. Niall nodded knowing that was all he was going to get out of his son this early, finishing up his coffee before screwing on the lid and handing the brown lunch bag to Killian.

“Y’got your list of classes for today?” Niall asked. Killian rinsed out his bowl in the sink and nodded.

“It’s in me sack Da’ stop naggin me”

“I’m just checkin, not gonna be able to bring y’stuff if you forget this year.” Niall had just gotten a promotion at the firm he worked for. Before he’d worked from home settling all the accounts for the company but now he was on site working with the payroll side of the company. The pay was much better, even if the hours were complicated.

With in a few minutes Killian managed to finish off his breakfast and the two headed out to the car. Niall quickly pulled out of the drive and made his way down the street.

“Right what’s your plan for after school? Are you gonna go to Nan’s or what?” Niall asked.

Killian shrugged. “Dunno, James might be havin a few of us over or somethin.”

Niall nodded. “Just text me what time and where I need to pick you up yeah?” Killian nodded and the drive continued in silence. Niall pulled up out front of the school and Killian hopped out.

“Thanks Da! See you tonight.” Niall waved as his son jogged up the front steps. He couldn’t believe he was already a year eight. The time was flying by and Niall wasn’t sure how to feel.

The weeks continued with the same routine. Breakfast, work and school, home for dinner and whatever sporting match was on that night. On the Thursday of the fourth week Niall sat in the kitchen, looking at his calendar while he ate his breakfast. That night was parent teacher information night. He hadn’t called for a sitter and he wasn’t sure what he should do. Did Killian even need a sitter? He could always ask his mum to watch him. He glanced up at Killian as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl for some cereal.

“Y’alright?” Niall asked. Killian nodded as he poured the milk. “I’ve got your teacher night thing, d’you want to stay here or go to Nan’s?” Niall figured giving him the choice might help his decision process. Killian had never stayed on his own, but it was only a few hours and he was definitely old enough to take care of himself.

“Don’t matter to me,” Killian shrugged. Niall nodded.

“Right then I’ll just let Nan know you’ll be here and you can call her if y’need anything.” Killian nodded again and sat down to eat.

That night Niall anxiously searched for his keys while Killian finished his homework.

“Da I’ll be fine, the pizza is coming, you left me money just go.” It amazed him how perceptive he’d become. Niall nodded to his son and grabbed his keys off the table where they had been sitting in plain sight.

“Alright, alright. Call your nan if y’need anythin.” Niall grabbed his coat and darted out of the small apartment. He arrived at the school 20 minutes early but after an incident getting lost last year he knew he should allow for extra time. Fortunately, Killian’s registration room was across the hall from the room he had in year seven and Niall had no troubles finding it. He gingerly pushed the door open, not sure if anyone was in there, and a small brunette popped her head up.

“Oh hello! Are you hear for parent night?” she asked, rising from her chair. Niall was surprised to see such a young woman seated at the front of the room. She couldn’t have been more the 26. As he nodded she walked around to the front of the desk with a bright smile, her dark hair bouncing softly as she stepped. Niall wasn’t used to seeing such a vibrant teacher, let alone a beautiful one. He returned her smile as he stepped forward as well.

“I’m Niall, I’m sorry I’m a bit early, last year I got turned around.” A bashful chuckle pushed past his lips and he glanced at the ground shyly.

“That’s quite alright. I’m Sophie Kemper. I’m guessing you’re Killian’s dad?” Niall raised a brow, worrying about how she was so familiar with his son already. “He looks just like you.” He let out a breathy chuckle as she explained.

“Yeah we do get that a lot, I hope he isn’t given y’trouble in class,” he replied easily, folding his arms over his chest anxiously. He hadn’t spoken to a woman his age in a decade. Not one he wasn’t related to at least. He wasn’t sure what to do.

“Oh no he’s great,” she smiled. “He’s a really lovely kid.” Sophie couldn’t deny the fluttering in the pit of her stomach as she spoke to Niall. He was much younger than the other dads she was used to talking to and he was far more attractive. She tucked her hair back shyly as she looked over at him. “Is anyone else joining you tonight?” She felt another flutter as Niall shook his head.

“No, it’s just me.” Niall wondered if she was asking because she was the teacher or if she might possibly fancy him. “His uh.. his mum isn’t involved.”

“I see well you’ve done a lovely job raising him, he’s truly a gem.” Niall smiled proudly at her compliment, figuring she was asking as the teacher. Niall was about to ask her another question when more parents walked in. Sophie walked up to them and shook their hands, introducing herself as Miss Kemper. Niall didn’t miss that part. Had he just caught her off guard and she forgot that she was a teacher? Or had she done it on purpose? He was pulled from his mental debate as one of the dads walked over to him.

“Niall mate! Y’alright?” he smiled shaking Niall’s hand. His son and Killian were mates and he’s been more than welcoming to Niall.

“Yeah doin’ well, yourself?” Niall replied.

“Bloody brilliant mate, got all four kids in school full time now.”

“Bet the missus is lovin that.” The two men smirked at each other.

“That she is… speakin of, have you caught a look at Miss Kemper? Bloody well fit she is.”

Niall chuckled. “Yeah she’s lovely, had a bit of a chat when I got here.”

“Oi oi! Good on y’mate, get on that.”

“She’s our kids teacher mate that’s fuckin’ weird,” Niall laughed.

“Oh for fuck’s sake its only registration, go after ‘er mate she’s the fittest bird in this town.”

Niall was grateful for Sophie calling for all the parents to sit. He wasn’t wrong, Sophie was definitely the most beautiful woman he’d seen around the town. But she was his son’s teacher and that added all sorts of complications. Sophie gave a great presentation about how she would help the students be successful. It was clear she loved teaching and she was passionate about her students. Niall loved that about her.

He made his way to all the other classes before heading to the caf for the final discussion of the night. As usual the headmaster explains how parent volunteering works and why it’s so important for the kids. He knew the drill, sign up for the least time committing one before all the other parents get there. He grabbed a cup of coffee and wandered up and down the stalls of sign up sheets. He walked past a bright red poster advertising the pasta feed auction. He could help with that. It was coming up in a few months and he wouldn’t have to help much.

“You helping with the auction then?” Niall jumped as he heard Sophie’s voice.

“Oh um.. yeah I figured that would mostly be nights right?” Sophie nodded.

“Yeah, I’m on the committee for it too, thought maybe my marketing degree my come in handy for once.” She giggled as Niall finished signing his name.

“Y’studied marketing then? How’d you get into teaching?”

She shrugged. “None of the big firms were hiring so I got my teaching certification.” Niall nodded.

“Well that’s brilliant. If y’need any help with it let me know.” Sophie smiled and nodded shyly. “I um.. I was going to grab another coffee, do you want one?” he offered. She nodded and the two headed to the refreshment table. Niall Poured a cup for both of them, Sophie adding both cream and sugar to hers. A grimace flashed across her lips as she took the first sip.

“I can’t believe I thought they’d actually get good coffee for this.” She shook her head but continued to drink in the caffeine.

“Honestly, they could have at least gotten a Costa or something,” Niall agreed.

“Exactly! Maybe sometime we could just go get a Costa.” She quickly realized what she’d just said. “Or not whatever, that’s probably weird-“

“No I’d love to, maybe next week?” Niall smiled as he pulled out his phone. “Put in your mobile and we can set something up?” Sophie beamed and took the device, quickly typing in her number.

Niall returned home with the biggest smile. Killian was still awake not to his surprise.

“Oi, y’didn’t tell me about all the ruckus you’ve causin at school.”

Killian rolled his eyes at his dad’s joke knowing that he was just joking. He clicked off the iPad and turned to his dad.

“Can we watch the football?”

“Yeah course we can mate, why d’y’think I’m here and not down the pub with Uncle Willie?”

“Cause Uncle Willie never invites y’anywhere.”

Niall chuckled. The kid had wit about him that was for sure. He sat down on the sofa and draped his arm over the back of it, clicking over to sky sports. Normally he watched every second of the match but tonight all he could think about was how heavy his phone felt in his pocket. He knew he was mere sentences away from getting to go out with a girl he fancied, he just had to grab the device and text her. But he thought about Killian. He had never dated since he was born, he didn’t know how Killian would react. But if he kept it to himself then it wouldn’t have to be an issue yet.

Once he was all tucked away into bed Niall hastily reached for his phone. He pulled up Sophie’s contact and quickly typed the message he’d been formulating for the last hour.

Hey it’s Niall… thought maybe next Saturday we could go for that Costa ?

He tapped his foot nervously as he stood in the kitchen, awaiting the response. In a minute nothing had come through and his anxiety was rising. With a sigh he tossed down the phone and walked to the fridge to grab himself a beer. The standard chime sent him diving for the device and scrolling to read the message.

Yeah that’s perfect, meet at 10 ?

Yeah that’s perfect see you then !

He breathed out a sigh of relief as he set down his phone again and took a long sip of his beer.

That Saturday came faster than he expected and with Killian staying at a friend’s house for the weekend he had the whole apartment to absorb his nerves. He tossed on about ten different shirts before settling on a black polo and some grey slacks. He knew he was a tad overdressed but he’d rather look nice for Sophie.

Once he arrived he got in the queue and looked around for Sophie. He was four minutes early, hoping that she arrived soon so he wouldn’t be awkwardly waiting for her. AS he took a step forward in line the door behind him opened and he turned to see who was there. He smiled as Sophie stepped through the door in a beautiful green dress that Niall couldn’t take his eyes off. He stepped toward her and gave her a polite hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Hiya love how are ya?” he greeted easily.

“I’m good! I’m glad we get to do this.” Her smile was radiant, and Niall couldn’t stop himself from smiling more. They stood together as the line moved forward and as they reached the till Niall looked over at her.

“What would you like?” he asked with a smile.

“I’ll take a latte please,” Sophie smiled. She reached for her purse but Niall shook his head, ordering himself a latte before paying for both drinks.

“Thank you for buying,” she smiled. Niall shrugged easily.

“S’nothin, so how was your week? School not drivin y’mad?”

“No it never does, not yet at least.”

“How long have you been teaching?”

“This is my third year.” She smiled up at him as the barista handed over their drinks. “What do you do?”

“Nothin exciting really, I’m in the pay roll side of accounting at a firm down town.”

“Well that’s interesting,” she giggled. Niall chuckled knowing full well she just wanted to be polite.

“We both know it’s not.”

Sophie smiled kindly. “So what do you want to be doing?”

“I wanted to do music, I was set in a program at Uni for music technology but when I found out Killian was on the way I had to do something more practical y’know?” Sophie nodded.

“Do you play instruments?”

“Piano and guitar mostly,” Niall replied easily.

“My mum would have loved for me to be a musician, she had me in cello lessons as a kid but I was honestly horrible at it.” Niall laughed happily.

“I doubt you were horrible.”

“No I was, y’know in the films when the kid gets their first violin and it sounds like a dying animal?” Niall laughed harder knowing that she played like that.

“I’ll have to tech ya something easier and less horrible sounding,” he chuckled. Sophie flushed at the implication of further dates in the future.

“I’d like that,” she smiled. They spent the rest of the morning chatting about jobs and getting to know each other. Niall desperately wanted to kiss her as they walked back to her car, but the moment didn’t feel right, so he simply hugged her and walked to his own car.

Killian texted as Niall pulled into the apartment parking lot, saying he was headed home. He had just kicked off his shoes and tossed down his keys when he heard Killian bounding up the stairs, having walked across the complex from his friend’s house. Niall walked into the kitchen to grab some water as the door opened.

“Hey mate how was it?” he asked, sipping the water easily.

“Good, Collin has the new xbox.”

“Sick, did y’like it?” Killian nodded and grabbed juice from the fridge.

“Yeah it was cool, why are y’dressed up?”

“What?” Niall frowned as he set the water glass down.

“‘Y’never wear your work clothes on Saturday and y’ve got on the good cologne.”

Niall shrugged. “I met a friend for a coffee, that a problem?”

Killian sipped his juice. “Was it a date?” Niall mentally cursed the child’s intuition.

“So what if it was?” He cocked one brow testing to see how he handled the news.

“That’s weird da you’re too old to date.”

“Oi I’m younger than any of the other parents thank y’very much.”

“It’s not a mum from the school is it? I don’t want a sibling.” Killian continued. Niall shook his head with a chuckle.

“It’s not another mum mate, and it wasn’t really a date it was just a coffee.”

“What’s her name?”

“Sophie.” Niall folded his arms and leaned back against the counter.

“Are you gonna see her again?” Killian looked up with a tint of anxiety in his eyes. Niall knew the look well, he got like this any time there was a doctor’s appointment that could involve a vaccine or blood test.

“I was thinking about it… but if it bothers you that I date I don’t have to ask her out again.”

Killian shrugged and put his empty juice cup into the sink. “I guess it would be alright.” Niall could tell he was on the fence.

“Mate we talked about this, you can talk about how y’really feel I’m not gonna be mad.” Killian nodded but didn’t offer up any further discussion. “Let’s go sit yeah? Have a little chat.” The pair made their way to the sofa and sat down next to each other.

“What’s on your mind then mate?”

“I just don’t know why you’re dating… you always said you loved mum.” He looked down at his lap. “I just thought you two would work it out one day and she could come home.” Niall’s heart ached at the confession. He’d kept the real reason why Carlie left a secret, wanting to wait until he was old enough to understand what had happened.

“It’s not that simple mate I-“

“But why not? Why can’t you fix things with her?”

“Because…” Niall was at a loss for words. Should he tell him? Should he lie? Should he tell him because he said so? He took a deep breath. “Mate y’have to understand there are circumstances to why she can’t come back. I do love your mum but she can’t come home.” He took another deep breath. “If you want the details I will tell you but it’s not something simple like a disagreement. And I don’t want to scare you.”

“I’m 13 da I can handle it.” Niall smiled softly and wrapped an arm around him.

“I know you can,” Niall pressed a soft protective kiss to the top of his head, mentally preparing himself. “You know that your mum and I were eighteen when you were born. We were so excited to bring you home and to have you in our little family. I finished Uni and worked while your mum took care of you at home. As you got older she’d leave you with nan so she could work too but when you were 3 her business shut down and she had no job.” Killian nodded softly as his father told the story. Niall paused to gauge his reactions before continuing.

“She was devastated and rightfully so, soon she was back to work with a new job but she was constantly on edge and a little more irritable. I thought it was the stress of the job and taking care of a wild three year old. I got a job at the firm and it allowed me to work half days at home, half at the office. I wanted to take some pressure off of her and for a few months it did, and then one day I came home from work and there were police cars out front. It turns out that her new job was selling illegal drugs.” He noticed Killian’s eyes go wide in shock. “She loved you so much but she made mistake and because of that she lost you. She had to serve a jail sentence and when she got out she wanted to see you, but I could tell she had gotten back into when I went to go meet her. After that I told her she wouldn’t get to see you again. Last I heard she’s serving another sentence.”

Killian sat silently, thinking about all the times he had imagined how happy they could be if she came home. He’d spent hours pouring over photos of their family and he had always wished to have that back.

“Did you mean it when you said I couldn’t see her?” he asked after a long pause.

“I meant it yes, that I would never choose for you to see her. But you’re close to being an adult, you can make your own choices now. And if you wanted to see her I can look into it.” Niall replied easily. He hated the idea of ever seeing Carlie again, but he had no right to stop his son from meeting her if it’s what he wanted.

“Okay… so you don’t love her anymore?”

“Mate I will always love her, but I can’t rely on her anymore or trust her.” Killian nodded. “So can I ask you again, is it weird if I date?”

His son shrugged but the sadness in his eyes told Niall his answer. “I guess it’s not weird.” But he knew better, he knew Killian only wanted him to be happy, he nodded with a soft smile.

“Come here,” he said softly as he held his arms open to hug him. “I love you, always will, and I’m always here for ya.”

“I know Da, I love you too.” Niall released him from the embrace and Killian made his way to his bedroom. Once he’d cleaned up the kitchen and stuff Niall started on dinner, reaching for his phone to put on some music. He smiled to himself when he saw a new text from Sophie.

I had such a great time today, what are the chances I get to see you again?

Niall sighed deeply. He knew he could try harder and be secretive about his dating, but that wouldn’t be fair to Killian.

I had an amazing time too, truly . I would love to see you again but things are really complicated right now with Killian I don’t think it’s a good time for me to be dating.

She was quick to reply, the two letters sending his heart into his stomach.

Sophie I’m so sorry, I hope you can understand I have to do what’s best for him

No I get it, maybe some other time then

I’d really like that ☺

Truthfully Sophie’s heart was in pieces. It had been years since she’d met someone she liked as much as Niall. Part of her feared the worst, that he didn’t have a good time and this was his way of not seeing her again. She didn’t think Niall was the type to do that, but then again she didn’t really know Niall.

Weeks went by before Niall saw her again. He went to the school to help plan the auction and a smile crossed his lips the minute he saw her. She stood by the window waiting for everyone to find a seat, smiling as a few others bid her hello. Niall immediately walked over to her.

“Hey…How are you?” he asked politely.

“I’m fine.” Her tone was cold and unfeeling, something Niall hadn’t expected.

“Look I’m really sorry Sophie, you have to understand I wish we could go out again-“

“We could Niall we very easily could but you’re making it complicated.”

“It is complicated, you don’t understand the situation.”

Sophie opened her mouth to reply but the meeting chair called for everyone’s attention. “Just forget it Niall, I’m not interested.” She stalked off to her seat and Niall stood in shock for a moment before grabbing a seat himself. He barely paid attention the whole time, not until he heard his name called.

“Niall are you in?” He looked up to see the co-chair of the auctions staring right at him.

“Uh yeah sure, whatever you need I’ll help,” he replied.

“Great, that puts us at 10 bachelors for the date auction,” she replied writing down his name on a clipboard. Niall swallowed hard not realizing what he’d just signed up for. He glanced a look across the room at Sophie. She couldn’t hide her smirk knowing he had no idea what he was saying yes to.

Niall continued to zone out for the rest of the meeting. A smaller committee had formed but because he was an “auction item” now – the chair’s words not his – he didn’t have to attend any further meetings, which he was happy about. As everyone stood to leave Niall pushed through to find Sophie. He wanted to clear things up but she had already slipped out the door. Niall sighed softly. He let himself out and made his way to the car to drive home.

The day of the auction came faster than he expected. He soon found himself slipping on his one nice jacket and a tie, spending a few extra minutes on his mop of hair trying desperately to calm the gentle curls it formed when he let it get this long. A few drops of gel and a comb usually helped. He told himself he wanted to look nice for the auction but he knew it was all for Sophie. He’d thought about what happened between them and he realized that she deserved to know the truth and why things were complicated.

He arrived at the auction a few minutes early, after dropping Killian at a friend’s house, hoping to pull Sophie aside. But when he got there she was on the top of a ladder reaching to grab a stray balloon that had floated away. He strode across the room to help her and talk to her, but the co-chair caught sight of him and scurried over.

“Niall I am so glad you’re here. There was a mix up with the form and I need you to fill out these new questions for your catwalk.” She shoved a paper and a pen at him, leading him behind the stage.

Niall reluctantly answered the questions, talking about all his favorite romantic moments. He wanted to tear the paper to shreds for reminding him that the one person he wanted wouldn’t speak to him. He turned in the paper and waited with the other bachelors like he was told. Some of them were teachers at the school, some were former students who’d moved on to uni but come back to help, and some were other parents just trying to raise money. He had a chat with a few of them, asking about their answers to the questions and if they had any one they knew would bet on them. He grew more and more anxious as the auction began. They had a few pints for the bachelors to sip on but Niall knew if he had one it would only make him more nervous. Niall wasn’t an arrogant guy but it wasn’t a secret that he was the most conventionally attractive of the group.

Soon they were lining up and the music blared in their ears as they got closer to the stage. A few of the other dads went before him and were getting bids of 50 or 60 pounds. One of the uni students went for 75, Niall didn’t want to think about how wrong that was. As he neared the edge of the stage one of the chairs came shuffling up to him. Holding out a guitar.

“You said you love music I thought you could play! The music teacher assured me that it was already tuned and everything!” She beamed as Niall awkwardly took the instrument. He thought the idea was ridiculous but guitar playing was something he knew and it would give him something to focus on while he was up there. When his turn came he strummed at the guitar, the music lowering so he could be heard and he tuned it slightly as he walked across the stage. The headmaster read off his form, advertising him as a handsome sinlge man with endless talent and charm. Niall held back a laugh as he started strumming a tune he’d written as a teenager. The women in the audience were eyeing him up and down so he changed up his tune and began to play something everyone would know.

“I found a love, for me. Darling just dive right in, follow my lead.” His voice floated over the crowd and soft gasps sounded in return. Niall scanned the room for Sophie, wondering if she was still there. He saw her at the back of the crowd, organizing a few of the silent auction items, but she’d stopped and was looking right at him.

Truthfully Sophie was doing everything she could to not throw up from the wave of affection that coursed through her body as Niall started singing. That song had been her favorite when she was younger. Not that he knew that, but it definitely made it harder to not like him. She wanted to forget him and to move on from this little crush she had, but his smooth and rich voice overwhelmed her, and she found herself wanting nothing more than to be wrapped in his embrace, to smell him, kiss him, love him. As he finished the song the bidding began. She could see a group of moms definitely old enough to be his mother getting ready to bid. She knew he would die of embarrassment if he had to spend an evening with any of them. The amount grew higher and higher, passing 100 pounds in a matter of minutes. The bids began to slow at 125, 15 pounds higher than what the gym coach went for, a she could see the primal desire in the highest bidder’s eyes and she threw up her hand on going twice.

“145.” Everyone turned to look at her. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but the headmaster yelled sold and everyone began clapping.

Niall couldn’t hide his smile as he saw Sophie’s hand go up. This was his chance to apologize. Once the auction finished the men were released out into the mis to introduce themselves to the women who bid for them. Niall made a beeline for Sophie who stood by the refreshment table. She had a glass of wine in her hand and what Niall didn’t know is that it was her third since she’d bid on him. She wanted to drink away those feelings that arose.

“Don’t worry about the date, you’re off the hook.” Her eyes moved slowly due to the alcohol and Niall swallowed.

‘Sophie you did nearly 150 quid on me, I’m gonna take you out,” he countered.

“Don’t want you to,” she replied as she took another sip. Niall steadied her had she sloshed the cup a little too much.

“Then why did you bid?”

“Cause Mrs. Wannabe-Cougar was gonna rip you to pieces if she won.” Niall smiled softly to himself. He could hear the slight hint of jealousy that carried in her voice but he didn’t acknowledge it.

“Well then let me thank you for saving me from my impending doom,” he chuckled. “And so I can apologize for what happened the last time we went out.”

“So you can just get up my hopes and bring them back down again?” She was being nasty and a part of her knew that but she’d had too much wine to stop herself. “I really liked you Niall and you just shut it down because it was too complicated for you. It’s not complicated, you like me or you don’t so just be honest.”

“I do like you, I like you so much Sophie. Please just let me have a chance to make it up to you, what are you doing next Saturday?”

“Chaperoning the school dance.”

“Great I’ll take you to dinner beforehand.”

“No.”

“Sophie please just one chance.”

She regretted all the wine she had. If she were sober she would have held fast, but here, looking at him and his charming smile, she couldn’t say no.

“Fine. But you have to meet me at the dance and chaperone with me. No dinner no flowers no nothing.”

“Great, I’ll see you there.” Niall wanted to stay and talk to her more, but he’d just won a small victory, he wasn’t going to risk it now. He stayed long enough to help clean up before he went home.

When he walked in the door he saw his mother sitting on the sofa.

“Is everything okay? Where’s Killian?” he asked looking down the hall immediately. She got up and put her hands on his arms to calm him.

“Shhh, he’s fine. One of the boys at the party got sick so they had everyone go home, he called me to come get him cause he knew you’d be having a good time tonight and I’d be sitting at home watching the telly,” she assured him. Niall breathed out a sigh of relief. “I swear Niall James you need to worry less. You’ll be going grey before you’re 35.”

“Like you didn’t worry about me and Greg,” he chuckled.

“Yeah well you lot were worth worrying about, that little boy is an angel.”

“I know… that’s why I worry, I don’t want anything to happen to him or for him to stop liking me.”

“Niall he’s a teenager there is going to come a time when he doesn’t like you.” She paused for a moment. “He said you went on a date.”

“It was sort of a date yeah.”

“Is she nice?”

“She’s brilliant mum, absolutely brilliant… but she’s one of his teachers, and I don’t think he’s ready for me to date yet.”

“Oh bollocks he’s a boy he thinks anyone dating is weird! You remember how you and Greg were when I started dating again.” He couldn’t argue with that

“That’s true I guess. I told him about Carlie….”

“He told me, he seems to be handling it well.” She smiled. “So when are you seeing this girl again.

“Saturday, but it’s not a date. She’s not happy with me for not asking her out again.” His mother let out a sigh already knowing how the situation must have arose.

“Niall stop letting Killian get in the way of your happiness. Being a parent doesn’t mean you give up your own life, it means you just have theirs to consider too. If you like this girl then you apologize to her and you make it bloody work.”

“But what about-“

“Nope, this is about you Niall. Not Carlie, not Killian, not anyone but you.” Niall hated when his mother was right. It amazed him how she could still make him feel like a kid in trouble even now at 32. He sighed and nodded.

“Alright... I’ll talk to her. Are y’gonna stay here tonight? I can sleep on the sofa.”

“No I’ve got to head home. I love you sweetheart, take care of you too okay?”

“I promise mum. I love you.” He hugged her goodbye before walking her to the front door. He sighed as he closed the door, leaning back against it. As his eyes closed his mind wandered to Sophie and how cute she looked when she was drunk. He stood up thinking about how drunk she was and quickly reached for his phone to text her.

Hey, I know you had a few tonight just wanted to check that you had a way home tonight

Thank you I did make it home .

Glad to hear . I’ll see you Saturday then .

He slid his phone away and made his way to his room. Within minutes he was asleep in his clothes but he truthfully didn’t care.

The following Saturday came too fast for Niall’s liking. But he dressed in his same jacket, different shirt, and headed out the door at 7:30. It took him a minute to find Sophie But once he caught sight of her navy dress he knew there would be no way he’d lose sight of her again that night. He walked over to her with a soft smile and he was surprised when she returned it.

“Hi,” he said softly.

“Hi,” she replied. “You look nice.”

“You look absolutely beautiful.” A soft flush rose to her cheeks. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

“I can’t leave the room,” she replied softly. “But we can talk here.” Niall nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well I wanted to explain why-“

“Ms. Kemper I think some of the boys are making fun of Elizabeth,” a small girl stated, looking up at Sophie with big round eyes. Sophie nodded and turned to Niall.

“I’ll be right back.” She followed the girl across the dance floor to settle the issue. Niall didn’t mind, she was doing her job. But the pattern continued He’d get two sentences out and someone would interrupt. He was starting to get frustrated. He was grateful when more chaperones showed up so Sophie wasn’t the only one being turned to. He chuckled in annoyance when the DJ slowed the music to talk, interrupting him yet again.

“Alright you guys we’re going to slow things down with a throwback song. Lads pick a girl y’fancy and ask her to dance.”

Niall smirked and held out his hand. “Shall we?” Sophie blushed but she took his hand and walked with him to the edge of the dance floor.

“Maybe you’ll finally get to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Neither of them knew what to expect for the throwback, but it wasn’t Ariana Grande.

“Dear god is this what they’re calling a throwback?” she asked in shock. “I remember when this song came out that wasn’t that long ago!”

“Which one is this?” Niall asked trying to recall the title before the lyrics started.

“Tattooed Heart.”

“Oh that’s right! Bloody hell this song isn’t even fifteen years old yet how is it a throwback?”

“I have no idea,” Sophie laughed. “I bet you can’t hit the high notes.”

“Oh really? Cause I sing this song in the shower everyday.” Sophie laughed as he chuckled, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder as they swayed. “No it doesn’t have to be forever just as long as I’m the name on your tattooed heart.” Niall scrunched his face as he tried to hit the high notes and Sophie laughed even more.

Silence fell over them after a moment and Sophie took a deep breath.

“So what have you been trying to tell me?” she asked after the pause.

“Right… well I’ve been beating around the bush… I just need to come out with it. Killian’s mum is the reason why things are complicated.” He saw the hurt flash across her face. “She’s not involved I promise, but she is a huge part of why I need to be careful with dating. When Killian was three she got into drugs, and when he was four she got arrested for dealing. I almost lost custody of Killian at first. Since then she’s been in and out of rehab facilities and prison. And before this year I never told Killian, I didn’t want him thinking of his mum horribly you know?” Sophie nodded, her expression full of compassion. “But because of that he always thought there was a chance of us getting back together. So me starting to date was rough for him and I talked to him and I was worried he wasn’t ready so that’s why I told you things were complicated.”

“Niall I’m so sorry for being cold to you, I should have trusted your judgment-“

“No Soph, this is on me, I should have given you a better explanation and I also shouldn’t have just pushed you away. I forget sometimes that I’m allowed to do things for me, they don’t all have to be centered around Killian.”

“We can take things as slow as you need to. I want Killian to be comfortable too.”

“I hope you know I really do like you Soph.”

“I like it when you call me that,” she smiled. The music slowed but they didn’t stop dancing. Niall’s head dipped down slightly just as hers tipped up. He Felt anxiety bubble inside him, he hadn’t kissed a woman in 8 years but everything about this felt right. His lips gently pressed against hers as the music came to a stop, their swaying doing the same. He knew it would be a long road dating Sophie but he knew it would all be for the best.

#1dff #cliche challenge #niall

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carmenlire · 6 years ago

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Higher than the Big Trees Ch. 44

read chapter one

read on ao3

Taking a picture from the window of the private jet, Alec leans back in his seat as he starts fiddling with filters.

Their flight took off less than an hour ago and as Magnus reads a journal-- one of seven he’d brought along to Alec’s amusement-- Alec posts the picture to Instagram.

It’s obviously taken from a plane with a view overlooking the sunset above the clouds. It’s a pretty cool picture even if it is pedestrian. The caption is unforgivably sentimental but Alec shrugs. He’s entitled, he thinks with a little laugh.

Leaving his phone in his cup holder, Alec leans down and digs out the book he’d thrown into his bag right before leaving. It’s a thriller and from the synopsis, he knows that he’s in for a treat.

Before he can do more than reread the back page, though, the flight attendant is coming over and asking for drinks.

“Just water for me, thanks.” Alec smiles at Selina as she hands him a glass of ice water. She’s flown with him before and is exceedingly good at her job.

Magnus looks up from his journal, raising a brow as he asks, “What are the chances I could get a martini?”

Selina raises a brow right back as she offers, “Vodka or gin?”

Chuckling, Magnus asks for vodka and she returns just a moment later with his glass.

Settling back in his seat, Magnus nudges him with his shoulder. When Alec looks over, Magnus’s eyes are dancing over the rim of his martini as he takes a lingering sip.

“I’ve got to admit, this is nice,” he says. “No security lines, no crying babies or crowded rows of travelers. Be careful, darling, or I’ll get used to this.”

Linking their hands, Alec brings them to rest on his thigh as he sends his boyfriend a droll look. “Traveling is a nightmare under the best of circumstances. Flying internationally? I can’t remember the last time I flew commercial.”

It’s quiet for a moment before Magnus speaks again. “Thanks for taking me on this trip, Alexander. Knowing that I had a few days alone with you after midterms is what kept me sane.”

“It’s as much for me as you,” Alec says with a little grin. “I love travelling but I’m usually by myself or with the crew during tour. Plus, I’ve been working on my album so much that I could use a break, too.”

Magnus laughs. “Well, you certainly weren’t too busy to plan this trip. I’m still afraid that I don’t quite know what I’ve gotten myself into.”

“I was shocked that you let me have carte blanche.”

Leaning into his side, Magnus burrows deeper as Alec lifts an arm to wrap around his shoulders. “You seemed excited at the prospect of planning everything. I was pleasantly surprised when you chose Florence, though. I’ve always enjoyed Italy but I’ve never been to Tuscany.”

“I thought it might be nice to go someplace neither of us had been yet. You know, getting to explore the same city for the first time together? That sounds pretty damn nice.”

Magnus’s voice is soft as he lifts their joined hands up to his lips for a quick kiss across Alec’s knuckles. “You know what? It really does, darling.”

The two of them spend the next couple of hours reading and listening to music through their respective headphones. Magnus scours the latest issue of The Public Historian and Alec has to gently yet insistently pull the magazine away from him halfway through the flight.

Magnus glares at him with little heat and Alec just laughs as he urges him to stand up.

“C’mon,” he says. “We’re landing early in the morning, Florence time, and we need to sleep now if we want to beat jet lag.”

Sighing heavily, Magnus stands and follows Alec to the back room. “I was in the middle of a particularly engrossing article about Australian Aboriginal picture archives.”

“It’ll still be there tomorrow,” Alec says easily as he closes the door that separates the bed from the rest of the cabin.

Their bags are on luggage racks and while Alec just falls into bed, Magnus changes out of his day clothes into a tank and sweatpants. They’d left right after Magnus’s last class this afternoon and Magnus moans a little as he slides in between the sheets.

“God, this feels good.”

Moving over until he can kiss the back of Magnus’s neck, until he can through an arm around his waist and pull him closer, Alec just replies, “You did have a busy day. Get some sleep while you can, babe.”

It seems like no time at all before the stewardess is knocking on the door, calling out that they’ll start their descent in thirty minutes.

Alec groans a little. He hears Magnus laugh and when he opens his eyes a few minutes later it’s to see Magnus studying him with warm eyes.

“Time to get up, Alexander. We do want to hit the ground running, after all.”

They’re back in their seats twenty five minutes later, seat belts fastened, dressed and ready for the day. Their landing is uneventful and as they disembark, Alec throws an arm over Magnus’s shoulders.

“What about our luggage,” Magnus asks as they walk through the gate and right towards the taxi lane.

“Someone from the hotel will pick them up and send them over,” Alec explains and the two of them wait in line for the next cab.

Magnus sends Alec an arch look but doesn’t say anything else and then the two of them are climbing into the back of a taxi.

They’re taken to the city center and dropped off near the Duomo. Paying the driver, Alec is the last one out and as they gain their bearings on the sidewalk-- not too busy since it’s so early-- Alec takes a moment to just breathe.

He really does love Italy and he’s looking forward to the next few days where his biggest worry will be where to eat dinner or how much gelato is too much gelato.

While Magnus had put everything into his hands, he’d told Magnus almost two weeks ago where he was booking, just in case his boyfriend had a secret, passionate hatred for the city and to give them both a chance to decide on absolute musts for the trip.

When Alec traveled, he like to wander around and get lost. He usually only had one or two things he wanted to see or do and everything else was just a matter of getting a feel for the city. By contrast, Magnus liked to sightsee and check things off a list. There were a few museums and sights that Magnus had put on their list in between aimless wandering and Alec was excited. This trip was a representation of the both of them-- likes and dislikes, everything a perfect mix.

He thinks that he heard once that if you were serious about someone, then a good test was travelling with them. Alec can’t help but think that so far-- and yeah, they did just land but still-- that everything was going smoothly and held the promise of continuing to do so.

Friday goes by quickly. They grab breakfast at a little crêperie called La Milkeria. Magnus goes for a savory option while Alec enthusiastically dives into his nutella and strawberry crepes. It’s a great start to the day and the spend the morning walking around the near the Duomo. They stop wherever their eye catches and take an embarrassing number of pictures. They linger at street vendors and wander around an outside market where Alec picks up a few souvenirs for his family and Magnus does the same for his.

They stop and have lunch, lingering over glasses of wine and a charcuterie board. Magnus, the frustrating man, tries to pay and Alec just scowls as he grabs for the receipt.

“I don’t know why you insist on paying for shit,” he says as he reaches for his wallet. “I invited you on this trip. I pay.”

Magnus just stares at him, unimpressed. “I’m perfectly capable of paying for my own wine, Alexander. I wouldn't want you to think I was only after your money after all,” he teases and Alec rolls his eyes even as his mouth tilts up.

“I’d have to be a fucking idiot to think that,” he scoffs and tosses a few euro onto the table as they stand up.

Walking towards the river, it’s much more of a slow stroll. They linger on the river side for awhile, people watching and taking in the scenery.

“It’s beautiful here,” Magnus says as they watch a rowing team go by below.

“I love Italy but I think Florence might just be my favorite city after today.”

Crossing the river, Alec and Magnus pop into shops and stop by a gelateria. They take a selfie with their cups and miniature spoons and this time, it’s Magnus who posts the picture.

The company’s sweeter.

There are a line of emojis after the scant words and Alec rolls his eyes as he likes the picture on his own phone.

“You’re such a nerd,” he mutters under his breath with a grin and Magnus takes a bite of gelato before replying, “You know you l-like it.”

Magnus’s voice falters a little on the latter half of the sentence and Alec frowns a little, though he doesn’t wait a second before sighing and nudging Magnus’s foot with his own.

“Unfortunately, I do,” he teases and watches as Magnus’s face eases into amusement.

In the late afternoon, Alec starts leading them towards their hotel. Arms linked, they stroll along the river and Alec can’t remember ever feeling so relaxed.

They come to the entrance of the hotel and Magnus pauses, a little incredulous. “We’re staying here?”

Tilting his head a little, Alec starts toward where the doorman is waiting. “Yup,” he says. He looks back with laughter in his gaze. “That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Is it alright-- my God, Alexander, this place looks amazing.”

“They had good reviews on Google,” is all Alec says and Magnus glares at him before shaking his head.

Making their way to the reception desk, it’s only a few minutes before they’re being shown to their room.

Looking around the suite, Alec nods, pleased. “Not bad,” he says absently and reaches for a bottle of water in the mini fridge.

Magnus snorts. “It’s taken a little while,” he says as he takes the bottle Alec holds out with his free hand, “But I do believe I’m finally seeing Alec Lightwood, celebrity.”

“What do you mean?”

Opening the doors to the balcony to let in the cool breeze, Magnus leans against the railing as he takes a drink of water. “This is a five star hotel and even my credit card might wince a little at the nightly rate but to you, it’s acceptable.”

He grins over at Alec, winking. “You’re a travel snob, darling.”

Shaking his head, Alec protests. “Just because it looks nice and I said so doesn’t make me a travel snob,” he says defensively. “I like a nice hotel-- especially when I’m trying to impress someone.”

The last bit is said low as he joins Magnus on the balcony, ducking close to lay a kiss below his ear. “I can’t let it be said that I did anything by half measures, now can I?”

Magnus doesn’t take the bait, instead looking at Alec with pity. “Darling, the summer I graduated from Yale, Ragnor, Catarina, and I toured Continental Europe on a shoestring budget. We stayed in hostels-- and for the last week, we managed to sleep in hotel lobbies when our savings ran out. You don’t have to impress me. If you’d taken me to a hostel this afternoon where we would've had to sleep in the same room as twelve other strangers, I’d be just as happy and excited as I am now. I’m just looking forward to spending time with you somewhere new. That’s it, that’s all.”

“Aren’t you a sweet talker,” Alec whispers before he leans in and kisses Magnus. When they break apart a little while later, the sun’s almost set.

Alec yawns and it turns into a laugh when Magnus pokes him in the side. “Is that jet lag I’m seeing?”

He glares. “Shut up,” he says, hiding another yawn behind his hand. “We’ve been on the go all day and I got three hours of sleep last night.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Yours,” Alec says, mockingly scowling. “You act like it wasn’t appallingly obvious what you were doing on your side of the bed.”

Magnus sniffs, turning away to watch the water. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.”

Alec’s voice is wry as he merely says, “Babe, not only was your cell phone flashlight on but I could hear the pages turn as you finished reading that journal.”

Grumbling a little, Magnus just throws up exasperated hands. “I told you it was a fascinating article and I knew we wouldn’t have time today. It’s not my fault you’re a light sleeper.”

“I’m not a light sleeper,” Alec laughs. “I’m over here trying to cuddle my boyfriend and he won’t stop muttering about Australian photography. I think anyone would have trouble falling asleep to that.”

Magnus shrugs before he finally relaxes, smiling. He moves closer to Alec and sweeps a hand through his hair so that it’s off his face before tilting his head.

The kiss is soft with a hint of bite towards the end and when Magnus pulls away, Alec chases his lips. When they break apart the second time, Magnus sweeps a thumb over Alec’s cheek. “Sorry that I kept you up, darling,” he says, eyes amused. “I’m sure you’ll sleep good tonight, though.”

Alec huffs out a laugh. “I’m sure you’re right,” he agrees.

The two of them head back inside and get ready for dinner. They’d seen a little ristorante during the day that they’d agreed to go back to for dinner and as they turn the corner of the hotel, he hears the shutter of a camera as a flash goes off in the night.

Rolling his eyes, Alec keeps his gaze forward, though he doesn’t hasten his pace. To his relief, Magnus does the same and it’s only a minute before the reporter seems to have gotten all he needs and they’re left alone.

The restaurant is small and intimate and they pass a few hours at a little table in front of a window. They drink a little too much wine and enjoy food that just can’t be found in the States. It’s the perfect ending to a wonderful day and as they take their time walking back to the hotel, Magnus pulls him just into a small side street and kisses him until he can’t think straight.

He doesn’t know how long they spend there, kissing while people walk by on the main street just a few feet away but when they finally pull apart, it takes everything Alec has not to dive back in.

Magnus’s expression is warm and open, eyes shining in the low light and mouth bruised and red. He’s damn near irresistible.

When Alec takes his hand a minute later and all but drags him in the direction of their hotel, Magnus’s laughter rings out in the narrow street.

Later, when the moonlight drips over their balcony and his ears are filled with Magnus’s gasps, with the way he says Alexander like it’s both a curse and a prayer, Alec kisses that laughter off his lips and sinks into the feeling squeezing his chest.

Alec wakes slowly, the sun shining into his eyes. Jerking his head away from where they’d left the curtains open, he lifts up onto his elbows and rubs his eyes blearily.

He has no idea what time is is but Magnus is still sleeping soundly under him. Shifting carefully so as not to disturb him, Alec rests on one elbow as he watches Magnus in the morning light.

His eyes trace the steady way his chest rises, the way his hair falls over his forehead. Magnus hadn’t taken his makeup off last night and there’s glitter trailing over his cheek, black smudges under his eyes.

Alec’s breath catches and his heart cracks open for what feels like the hundredth time since he met Magnus all those months ago.

Words come to him, unbidden, and Alec leans forward to plant a soft, barely there kiss on Magnus’s jaw before climbing out of bed.

He rummages around his bag for his songbook and then curses under his breath as he realizes he’s not even wearing underwear. Pulling on a pair of sweats with Magnus’s shirt, he slowly opens the balcony door and breathes a sigh of relief when it doesn’t make a sound.

Settling into a chair that offers a hell of a view-- they’re on the fifth floor and he can see the morning traffic below him and the gold tinted river right there-- Alec opens the book and starts writing.

He pours everything out. He remembers the first time he saw Magnus and the first time they properly talked. Everything from the terrible night where he’d felt like nothing more than a goddamn commodity to just last week when Magnus had surprised him at the studio with food just when he’d been about to tear his fucking hair out in frustration over a recording snag.

It could be ten minutes or an hour later when something breaks his focus. Looking up, Alec sees Magnus watching him with a barely there smile. He still looks mostly asleep and everything rushes through Alec-- the words he’s just written, the way they barely scratch the surface of what he feels for Magnus, the sight that he realizes with a shuddering sigh that he could wake up to for the rest of his life.

Before he quite knows what’s going on he’s tossed his book to the ground and is standing. He strides over to the bed and Magnus doesn’t move, just tilts his head to keep his eyes locked on Alec’s.

Alec climbs onto the bed, crawling up until he’s straddling Magnus and Magnus still doesn’t move. His smile grows imperceptibly as Alec cages him in, as he leans down and catches his mouth in a searing kiss that does nothing to dampen the desire that’s lighting him up from the inside.

His hands go to Magnus’s face and he rests his forehead against his boyfriend’s and works like hell to get his breathing under control. Magnus’s doesn’t say anything, just wraps his hands around Alec’s wrists and breathes in sync.

When Alec pulls back and opens his eyes, he takes another moment and sears it onto his memory.

Magnus studies him, brow arched expectantly.

Alec opens his mouth. He takes a deep, grounding breath. His thumbs stroke over Magnus’s cheeks and he smiles.

It’s small at first but then it grows until he feels his own cheeks aching.

“I love you,” he says hoarsely. “I am so goddamn in love with you.”

He watches the way Magnus’s eyes widen, hears the sharp intake of breath.

It’s funny, Alec has a second to think. He’s never said these words before. They’ve never weighed on his tongue like honeyed gold before. He’s never, ever felt this exhilarating, terrifying mix of love and lust and hope swirling around him fast enough to make him dizzy.

It doesn’t feel strange, though. It’s a good fear because it means that it matters. This matters-- they matter.

He’s waited so long to say them, has fought to keep them in when they wanted to fall from his mouth so desperately. He’s bit them back when Magnus made his head spin with want, when he’d done nothing more than text him a silly picture of an adorable animal.

They feel right. Now that Alec’s said them, now that they’re out there, most of him breathes a sigh of relief.

For better or worse, this is the last piece of him. He’s given everything to Magnus and now that his heart is out there, waiting, Alec finds that he’s not as worried as he always thought he’d be.

For better or worse, he thinks.

He doesn’t have long to think it, though, because almost immediately Magnus is grinning, the corners of his eyes crinkling with delight and happiness and-- dare Alec say it-- love.

Magnus blinks furiously and Alec watches as he closes his eyes and takes a shuddering breath. When he opens them a moment later, they’re full of everything Alec’s always dreamed of.

“I love you too, Alexander.”

The words are simple and said on a whisper and Alec shuts his eyes to savor them.

He feels them wind around his heart before settling. He feels Magnus pull him closer and place the most gentle of kisses on his forehead, his cheeks, the bridge of his nose.

Opening his eyes, he meets Magnus’s gaze and it’s silent in the room as they study each other, sharing the same breath.

And then Alec’s laughing and falling forward to nose along Magnus’s throat. “God,” he says. “I don’t know why I waited so long to say that.”

Humming a little, Magnus sweeps a hand down his back. Alec shivers a little as Magnus’s lips touch his ear. “I could say the same.”

“How long have you known,” Alec asks idly as he settles on top of Magnus, a leg thrown over his.

Magnus doesn’t stop his slow touches and Alec crowds infinitesimally closer. “Honestly? Probably whenever you came over to Catarina and Ragnor’s for Sunday Dinner a couple of months ago. You just fit and I realized that the thought didn’t make me want to run for the hills. I liked that you fit in with my family.”

Raising up a little, Alec just gives Magnus an incredulous look. “That’s what Jace and Izzy said at my birthday party last month-- that you fit. I really liked it, too.”

Reaching for his hand, Magnus laces their fingers together. “We fit together pretty well, wouldn’t you say?”

“Perfectly,” Alec murmurs and smiles before resettling over Magnus.

“What about you,” his boyfriend asks. “When did you know?”

“It’s cliche,” Alec tries to deflect but Magnus doesn’t take that for an answer, instead poking him in the side until he jerks away, scowling.

“Fine,” he mutters. He doesn’t move from where he’s laying on Magnus and the words get caught against his throat. “It was the first time we slept together. That shit with your dad happened and I realized that I believed you and that everyone else could go to hell.” He laughs shortly. “I figured if I was willing to choose you over my career then you meant a lot to me, more than I even realized. And then after-- after we slept together that night, the words were on the tip of my tongue.”

His voice is quiet, as he adds, “You were perfect, everything I could’ve wished for.”

Magnus doesn’t say anything for a minute but then he’s kissing the top of Alec’s head. “I love you so much, darling. I’m glad you finally said something. I’m glad you feel the same.”

Scoffing, Alec just replies, “Of course I feel the same. I never stood a chance, babe.”

The two of them fall quiet after that, dozing in the morning sunshine. A little while later, Magnus wakes Alec up with a kiss and Alec urges him onto his back as the sun warms them.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, baby,” he whispers hoarsely against the hollow of Magnus’s throat. “Let me love you, okay?”

He feels Magnus nod shakily before he sighs, fingers coming up to curl in Alec’s hair. Alec kisses a path down Magnus’s front, mapping a trail of adoration for just the two of them to see.

His efforts are stalled a few minutes later, though, as a knock sounds loudly in the room.

“Housekeeping,” the maid calls out and both Alec and Magnus freeze at the voice.

They look at each other, askance and a little panicked before they both start laughing. It’s nothing delicate, all gasping breaths and deep chuckles.

“Answer her, Alexander,” Magnus pleads as he wipes his eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Alec doesn’t immediately reply only for his eyes to widen as they hear a key in the lock. Clearing his throat hurriedly, Alec all but shouts, “Busy!”

There’s a pause on the other side of the door before they hear the key being taken out. “So sorry,” she replies. “I’ll be back this evening or I can put the do not disturb card on your door?”

Magnus actually fucking giggles at Alec’s exasperated expression but nonetheless replies, “The do not disturb sign works just fine, thank you!”

They hear a rustle at the door-- presumably the maid hanging the sign up-- before there’s silence.

Alec sighs and all but collapses on top of Magnus, hiding his face against Magnus’s hip. “Oh my God,” he whines. “That could’ve been so bad.”

“At least you’re still wearing pants,” Magnus points out reasonably. “She would’ve seen me in all my glory if she’d walked in without warning.”

Humming a little, Alec starts mouthing against Magnus’s hipbone. “At least we’ll be left alone for the rest of the day,” he murmurs and Magnus’s easy agreement is choked off as he takes Magnus in his mouth without warning.

“Give a guy some warning, Alexander,” Magnus wheezes and Alec just hums again as he works him over.

A little while later, sated and happier than he can ever remember being, Alec uses all his residual strength to lean over Magnus and kiss him.

Later that night, when they’ve finally left the bed and gotten ready for the evening-- after an exceptionally long shower-- Alec looks up as Magnus comes out of the bathroom, having just finished putting his makeup on.

“God, I love you,” he blurts out, grinning as he takes in his boyfriend.

Magnus had definitely dressed to impress for an evening out and Alec can’t think of anything he’d like more than to show him off.

Magnus laughs at his reaction but as he walks over and wraps his arms around Alec’s neck, he treats him to a slow once over in return. “Love you too, darling. Though I do hope you’re not just saying that because of my looks.”

His voice is teasing and Alec rolls his eyes. “Trust me, babe, if I’m not only willing but excited to listen to one of your diatribes on medieval Southeast Asian pottery, then you have nothing to worry about.”

His voice lowers a little as he continues, “I fell in love with you because you’re wise and you’re generous and you’re brave. You’re incredible,” he says, ducking a little to catch Magnus’s eyes when he tries to look away, abashed. “When you walk into a room, there’s a spark in you that lights everyone and everything up. I’m just lucky that you let a little of your light warm me up.”

“God, Alec, you can’t just say things like that.” Magnus’s voice is raw, awed and disbelieving.

Shrugging, Alec just asks, “Why not? It’s how I feel and you deserve to know how I feel-- how you make me feel.”

“I never expected this,” Magnus says, studying Alec. “I never expected you. But how lucky I am that we ended up in the same shitty diner one night.”

Alec laughs, shaking his head as he leans close for a quick, smacking kiss. “Who knows? Maybe it’s fate. I guess we’ll have to just wait and see.”

“I guess we will,” Magnus says warmly in a voice that’s almost too low to hear.

With that, they leave their room and head towards the lobby, both of them looking forward the rest of the night.

#two updates within a week #who is she #httbt #my writing #malec fic #malec wip #this chapter is a long time coming:')

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lostinfic · 5 years ago

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1. Indonesia, summer

Summary: She writes for magazines about luxurious resorts in exotic places and five-star hotels in glamorous cities. He’s photographed devastated war zones, refugee camps and child soldiers. For both of them travel is an escape, but he’s had enough of this grim reality, and she’s had enough of this disconnected fantasy. Perhaps together they can find something in between, something real, and stop running from themselves. Each season, a new destination and a chance to grow closer.

Pairing: Alec Hardy x Hannah Baxter Rating: Mature~ish (for now) Word count: 3.9k

A/N: Thank you to @onthedriftinthetardis for sharing her insights on being a photographer. Chapters are named after airport codes.

Prologue | Ao3 | Gifset

The large, multi-level pool stops just short of a rocky cliff that dips into the Indian ocean, but the turquoise shade of the chlorinated water creates a nearly seamless continuity. Only the white froth of the waves breaks the illusion. Soak up the sun and let your mind wander beyond the horizon.

Hannah dotted her sentence and flipped back through her notebook. She placed a check mark next to “pool” in her list of resort services and amenities to review.

Soaking up the sun and letting her mind wander wasn’t something she had time to do. This was actually her first time lounging by the pool and even now she couldn’t let herself go, couldn’t just close her eyes and enjoy the warmth on her skin. Her brain noticed every detail and translated them into sentences for her article.

In her job, she often did in one day what others did in three. In the last four days, she had tested the Aquatonic seawater therapeutic pool, four of the five restaurants, the art gallery and shopping arcade, the yoga class, the Canang Ketupat demonstration, the Balinese dancing course, the cycling tour, the sailboat tour and the Segway tour. All the while looking into the eco-tourism aspect of things, she’d noticed the solar panels and the reusable straws in drink, but she wanted to dig deeper. She still had to check on the botanical garden, the activities for kids, the cooking school, the gym, the martini bar, ballrooms and, worse of all, the golf course. Only three days left to do all that.

Perhaps it was time to check out the rooftop bar as well.

A young man worked under the hut-like awning of the bar. He spoke basic English. As he prepared her cocktail, she chatted with him, asking about the band on his t-shirt and his hobbies. But soon, her gaze drifted away from the bartender and the beautiful beach vista, to the island itself, beyond the resort. Too far off for details, it appeared as a chaotic array of colourful houses under palm trees, quivering in the heat like a mirage. The Mahal Kita resort was nothing short of paradise, but her feet itched to explore the rest of the island.

She asked the bartender for recommendations, but he only mentioned activities offered by the resort. When Hannah insisted she wanted to see the town, he laughed, something she’d learned meant “no” here. She questioned him further and found out he wasn’t even from Pulau Kesuma and neither were his nearest coworkers. The employees lived in a dormitory on the premise and left the island on their days off.

As nicely as possible, Hannah insisted to speak to a local person to answer her questions. At last, a maid was waved over. She drew a crude map of the town with indications to the market and a beach. When she expanded her drawing to the west side of the island, the bartender stopped her with such vehemence that both Hannah and the maid started.

“No, no. No west. Dangerous,” he said.

The two Indonesian exchanged a cold glance Hannah couldn’t decipher.

“Okay, then I’ll be careful. Thank you…” She eyed their name tags. “Budi and Alya.” She tipped them both generously.

The hotel’s main entrance opened directly on the jetty where the ferry from Jakarta docked. With water on either side, there was nowhere else to go, so Hannah spent a good twenty minutes looking for another exit leading to the town.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered to herself.

All the service doors required I.D. cards. Finally, she spotted a kitchen helper and asked him for a light for her cigarette, she offered him one in exchange. She’d found it was always a good way to strike up a conversation with a stranger in a foreign country. Or, in this case, to ask for a favour. The kitchen helper opened a service door and they sneaked out of the hotel.

Hannah felt like Alice stepping through the looking glass. Out of the conditioned and, she now realized, perfumed air of the resort, heat and a hundred scents assailed her: dusty earth, petrol from the old motorbikes used by the locals, and the sweet green fragrance of flowers that gave the island its name, Kesuma. A goat bleated. A bike zoomed past her. And wanderlust stirred butterflies in her stomach.

She donned a large, floppy sun hat and set out to explore new grounds.

“Let me the hell out of here,” Hardy said to a security guard.

Five minutes and he had already run out of patience with this place. Jet lag stretched like a tight rubber band around his head. He had a meeting in town with Ellie and her partner, but couldn’t figure out how to get out of the hotel.

He’d arrived late last night, and the ferry took him straight to the resort. Aware of the scam, he hated giving the resort his money, but he had to be inside to investigate.

The security guard let him out a service door and vaguely indicated the direction of the market.

Hardy walked fast. His previous trips to other parts of Indonesia and Ellie’s instructions helped him navigate the unknown town.

The messenger bag holding his camera equipment bumped against his hip with every step, a sensation he’d grown accustomed to. Camera in hands, he was on the lookout for signs of the tourism industry already affecting the local population. On a street corner, a young woman, barely able to meet his eyes, lowered her dress and bra strap. Anger boiled in his stomach. He averted his eyes.

Along the way, he snapped pictures, almost aimlessly: crumbling houses, drunk men, working children. None of it exactly what he needed.

He knew he’d found what he he’d been looking for when he saw it: fishing gear propped against a wall. The composition was perfect: the sun shone on the shiny reels and the hooks dug into dry, cracked soil. The contrast between the fairly new equipment and the dust and spider webs covering it told a story of wasted potential. He took many pictures from different angles.

Hannah made her way toward the market as best as she could given the lack of street signs. She turned onto an unpaved narrow street. Small wooden houses crouched between tall palm trees and laundry hung to dry above her head. Women squatted in front of small brick fire places, cooking on a grill set directly over the flames. Chicken pecked around them. Bare-feet children, with dry snot under their noses, played with rusty bottle caps.

It reminded her of a trip to Thailand four years ago. She was no less shocked, and yet fascinated, that people still lived like that. But this time, the nearness of a luxurious resort accentuated her discomfort. And Hannah thought she’d rather be in Europe or North America where poverty wasn’t so confronting.

She felt the eyes of every local on her, they weren’t used to tourists yet. She had only seen one other white person, a weird bloke taking multiple pictures of fishing rods. Some children hid behind their mothers, others called her “Bule!” a slang word for white foreigner. But she never felt threatened or shunned, most people she came across smiled at her in the friendliest manner. She returned the greetings but didn’t engage further. There was always that push and pull within her, between keeping her distance from people and yet wanting to know them.

A girl of about nine with fierce dark eyes and braids approached her and touched her arm. Hannah smiled though she was ambivalent. She wasn’t naturally drawn to children but it would make cute pictures and a good story for her blog. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Hannah resented it.

“Where can I eat?” Hannah asked the child, miming the action.

Instantly, other children came to her, five of them, with dimpled cheeks and second-hand superhero t-shirts. They all giggled. The eldest little girl, the one who had approached her first, whistled loudly and they all followed her. Hannah had no idea where they were taking her.

Shrubs lined the street and a little boy picked a fruit and handed it to her. It was a small, pinkish ball with green hair. She scrunched up her nose at it and waited until the children had eaten theirs to make sure it wasn’t a joke. A boy, no more than seven, took a knife out of his pocket and expertly sliced open the fruit for her. Inside was a milky white ball, similar to lychees. As she tasted the fruit, her brain looked for the right words to describe the refreshing, mild sweetness of it to her readers.

The children gave her more fruits, and she thanked them in Indonesian, “Terima kasih.”

“Rambutan,” he said.

“Rambutan?” she repeated.

He pulled on his black hair, “rambut,” he said. Then on the hair of the fruits, “rambutan.”

She snapped some photos of them and the fruits with her mobile phone. They all pressed around her, wanting to see the result on the screen. The photoshoot lasted longer than she’d intended. An adult passing by yelled something along the line of “stop pestering her”, and the kids scampered away. All of them except the little girl that had first approached her. In fact, she looked unimpressed by the adult. Hannah felt she’d found a kindred spirit in this kid.

They reached a sort of town square, with a mosque and a park where a group of men had gathered. A tin roof held up by hand-carved columns housed the market place. Hannah marveled at… everything. Behind makeshift stalls, men shouted prices for rice noodles and fruits. On the ground, large, shallow baskets displayed grains and legumes. An eyeless pig face, hung like a mask above a meat stand. Underneath, a bored woman wearing a headscarf chased flies away with a palm leaf.

The whole place was alive with chatter but a tension brewed underneath. Something was amiss.

Hannah wanted to go inside the market, but the little girl guided her elsewhere.

On a street corner, many local people queued. Before them, an old woman, at least eighty years old, hunched-back and sun-spotted, served food to them. Old, misshapen pans and plastic buckets surrounded her. Her knobbly hands efficiently wielded a string to slice through a green, cylindrical fruit. She then dropped handfuls of shredded coconut, balls of sesame seeds, and what looked like tiny pancakes onto a folded banana leaf. She covered carelessly the whole thing with a ladleful of brown syrup. It looked nothing like the “authentic and locally-sourced” food served at the hotel. And it was certainly less hygienic. But the scents— and her own sense of adventure— were too enticing to resist. She’ll try anything once.

Hardy spotted Ellie across the road, waving at him to come over. Her youngest son was with her.

“Hiya! Sorry for making you walk all the way here, we’re not allowed near the resort anymore.”

She gave him that grin of hers, with her small upper teeth pushing forward.

They’d first worked closely together in Bangladesh, after a sweatshop collapsed and killed over one thousand workers. She was a journalist for BBC World. It was her first time covering such a tragedy. Despite a rocky start, they’d developed something like a friendship, but it was hard to keep in touch when they both worked around the world. Last he’d heard of her, her husband had been arrested for murder

“You look well,” Hardy said.

It was an understatement. Her hair had grown, and her loose white linen shirt accentuated the healthy bronze glow of her skin. She seemed happier than he expected given the circumstances.

Beside Ellie stood a short man with a young, russet face, smooth skin safe for a little patch of hair under his bottom lip. He wore a suit despite the heat. He shook Hardy’s hand with nervous enthusiasm and introduced himself as Kadek Suardika Rahi.

They sat on the terrace of a restaurant. An outsider wouldn’t know this was a place of business: a dozen makeshift stools under an awning made from old vinyl advertising banners. In the heat, a rubber-y scent emanated from it.

Hardy was eager to learn more about the scandalous practices of the Mahal Kita Resort, but cultural norms demanded a beverage and small talk first. He opted for a cold drink made with coconut milk rather than the local variation on Java coffee.

“I met Kadek when I was covering the tsunami,” Ellie explained. “He was a doctor in England, but when he saw what was happening in his country, he decided to come back and help his people.”

“And Ellie helped make sure the natural disaster was not forgotten by the international community.”

They shared a smile and so much seemed to pass between them, reminiscence and adoration. And Hardy was surprised to feel a pinch in his heart, a longing for that kind of intimate language without words.

Hardy cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “So you live here now?”

“Not on Pulau Kesuma, no, not all the time. We live in Jakarta. Tom attends an international school there. Kadek’s whole family is here, though.”

She’d quit her job and now taught journalism at the university on top of helping local newspapers and free speech organizations.

“How’s your daughter?” Ellie asked.

“She’ll start uni next fall.”

He skimmed over the strained relationship with Daisy. He’d taken all the blame for the divorce, and rightly so, he had been away too often. His daughter had once accused him of caring more about children in Africa than about her.

A flash of blond hair and pale skin caught his eye. He scoffed at a young woman in too short shorts and a large hat. She didn’t even notice her selfie stick was in the way of a man and his cow. “Parasite,” he muttered. As far as he was concerned, these tourists were as guilty as the corporation who owned the resort. They should educate themselves and stop encouraging unethical tourism.

Kadek related to him what he’d heard from his family and other local residents. While the people were still struggling with the physical and psychological damage of the tsunami, foreign investors took advantage of the chaos to seize the land. Masked men, armed with machine guns, forcefully evicted the families. They built an electric fence around 400 acres of land. The land acquisition extended into adjoining bodies of water thus denying access to fishing grounds.

“It’s not just about the loss of income,” Kadek insisted, “we are a fishing people. This is our traditional way of life. Now we can be charged with illegal trespassing! On our own land!”

“What about the government?” Hardy asked though he had little illusion as to their role in this.

“The Navy helped the foreign investors,” Ellie answered. “At first we thought it was just a small part of the Navy gone rogue for profit. But when we petitioned the authorities for help we were shut down. They’re bloody shareholders.”

“Ellie received threats after she wrote about it in the Jakarta Post,” Kadek added, putting a protective arm around her shoulders.

The blatant abuse of power made Hardy’s skin crawl.

“Do you have any proof of all this?” he asked.

“Only what people told us. The security guards at the resort know us. We can’t go anywhere near. They don’t like us sniffing around. That’s why we need you.”

Hardy, Ellie and Kadek spent the afternoon touring the island. They talked to evicted families and angry fishermen. Hardy documented the destruction, but the resort people were good at covering their tracks, most of it could be chalked up to the tsunami.

One thing that kept coming back was talk of discolored water that poisoned the mangrove, dead fish drifted to the village like bad omens. No one knew where it was coming from, but a portion of the west side was completely off limits, enclosed by an electric fence and guarded by armed men. Hardy couldn’t risk antagonizing them. Not yet, at least.

He ate supper with Kadek’s parents who welcomed him like a member of the family. He admired how Ellie had adapted and built a new life, a new family, for herself.

When the sun started to set, he left the Rahi family with a promise to help. Wherever he went, he met people who had almost nothing yet demonstrated such generosity. It both soothed him and stoked his drive for justice. And so, he headed back to the hotel to investigate under the cover of darkness.

Hannah stepped out of the shower and grabbed the complimentary bathrobe. She noticed its softness. One look at the tag informed her it was made of organic bamboo fibers. She made a mental note to mention it in her article along with the nice mango shower gel that now perfumed the steamy bathroom. These were important details. Her readers expected to learn everything about a hotel, including the quality of the clientele which is why there was a German man in her bedroom. Presently, she caught him hastily pulling up his trousers to sneak out. Shame passed quickly over his handsome face.

“Maybe we can get a drink tomorrow night?” he said.

“Yeah, maybe.”

She was relieved he was leaving on his own so she wouldn’t have to get rid of him with increasingly unsubtle hints. It occurred to her after that he might be here with his wife and family.

She closed the door behind him and fell back on the bed. The room had a high, peaked ceiling made of dark wood and the dim light didn’t reach all the way up it. It looked like a void opening above her, growing as the evening turned darker.

Hannah reached for her phone. She sent Ben a text message, but doubted he would answer; he was sulking. She turned to social media. She posted a picture of the food bought in the market asking “what is this?”. She added a line about the cooking class she would take tomorrow and tagged the resort. Notifications popped up, but somehow only added to the oppressing emptiness growing in her chest. She dismissed the feeling as nothing more than her unsatisfactory hook up. The man had a nice body that promised more pleasure than it had delivered, leaving her keyed up.

Her hand ventured between her thighs. There was nothing but the sea outside her open windows, so she discarded the bathrobe, let the warm night air caress her body and set out to finish what that man had started.

“Hmm, much better,” she sighed after.

She cleaned up and wrapped a long sarong under her arms. Time to get back to work.

With her trusty Moleskin notebook in hand, she sat on the doorstep. A couple of rooms to her left, people were laughing and splashing around, but the sound of the surf, just a few meters ahead, interested her more.

Her pen moved fluidly across the paper, and she found herself writing about that little girl and the old woman serving food. She wondered about their paths in life, about one’s past and the other’s future. How different they were from her own life. She knew none of it would make it into her article, Elite Travelers wasn’t interested in that, but she felt compelled to put her complex feelings into words.

A flash of light disturbed her focus, followed by shutter sounds. She jerked up and squinted through the darkness.

In the bushes, a man was taking pictures of her. How long had he been there? Had he seen her masturbate?

“What the fuck are you doing?”

The man ignored her and kept taking pictures.

“Oi! Stop that, you perv!”

“Wha’? Get back in your room, ma’am.”

She hadn’t expected to hear a Scottish accent. He stepped closer, into the pool of light from her room. She recognized him from earlier in the village.

“Are you stalking me?” He looked at her like she was nuts. “Go away or I’ll call security.”

“Just get back inside. I’m a photojournalist.”

“What? For Playboy? Go. Away.”

“I can’t, I need—”

“That’s it, I’m calling security.” She turned to head back inside her room.

“For god’s sake. Wait!” He climbed the steps up to her. “The hotel management can’t know about this… I’m investigating the resort. Look.”

He showed her the pictures he’d taken: foundations and more brick work, the beach and swamps, portraits of local people. None of her. It was a relief (although having a stalker would be kind of flattering).

She took a good look at him: with his canvas shirt, sleeves rolled up, and scruffy cheeks, he looked overworked rather like a relaxed tourist. There was something about his stance, the hands on his hips, the unwavering gaze on her, an air of detached authority that made her trust him.

“Alright.”

“Good. So, you get back in there and let me do my work,” he said.

“Hold on, I’m a journalist too.”

He quirked an eyebrow, skeptically.

“I am. What are you investigating?”

With more probing—and threatening— he revealed, in vague terms, he was interested in the environmental impacts of the resort.

“What about what’s going on the west side of the island?” she asked.

He perked up at this— as much as this man could perk up. “You’ve seen something?”

“Well, I went sailboating— ”

He scoffed.

“What’s wrong with sailboats?”

“Local fishermen were banned from their own ancestral fishing grounds so you could go on a bloody sailboat. That’s what’s wrong with it.”

The accusation stung. Hannah took a step back. “And that’s my fault, is it? You know, sharks almost went extinct here because of the fishermen.”

He didn’t reply, though she had the feeling it wasn’t because she’d won the argument. He obviously knew more than he let on. As annoying as he was, she wanted to know more too.

She invited him in her room, to show him something she’d discovered on her photos. During the sailing excursion, Hannah had spotted what seemed like a lovely secluded beach. However, when she asked about it to the captain, he immediately veered the boat away. That beach was on the west side of the island, the one she’d been warned against this morning.

She handed him her phone, but he frowned at the selfie displayed.

“No, look closer, you muppet, in the background.”

She zoomed in. There was a high fence, partly covered with vegetation, and what looked almost like a bunker.

“Maybe there’s another way in,” the photographer mumbled. “There are rumors about— oh...”

He’d swiped too far and reached a picture of Hannah in a rather revealing bikini. She tittered at his blush. He shoved the phone back in her hands with a scowl. He considered her for a moment. His sharp gaze openly scanned her, and Hannah became very aware that she was wearing only a sarong.

“Alright,” he said, having come to some conclusion. “Could you take me there?”

“Yes,” she replied with more confidence than she felt.

Hannah went to the bathroom to put on a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt. She felt like she’d drank too much coffee. She was excited by the secretive nature of the investigation and the shared complicity with this photographer.

She slipped her phone and keycard in her back pockets, and they headed out through the patio door.

“I’m Hannah Baxter, by the way.”

“Hardy.” They shook hands. “C’mon, Baxter, stop withering.”

Chapter 2: Indonesia, summer (cont’d)

A/N: Pulau Kesuma is a fictional place but what happened there after the tsunami is based on real events that took place in Sri Lanka.

#Hardy x Hannah #teninchfic #Broadchurch #secret diary of a call girl #Did I mention this is a slow burn?#lostinfic writes stuff #travelers AU

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thecomicsnexus · 6 years ago

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What Peace There May Be in Silence

SWAMP THING #1 MAY 1982 BY MARTIN PASKO, TOM YEATES AND TATJANA WOOD

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

The Swamp Thing has traveled to Limbo, North Carolina. He fights off a bear that had been preparing to strike down three hunters. But the hunters are equally startled by the Swamp Thing's appearance as much as the bear, and they turn their weapons on him. The weapons are meaningless to Swamp Thing, and he easily disarms the men.

Back in town, a man named Harry Kay rents a motel room and telephones his superior, Mister Grasp of the Sunderland Corporation. He tells him that Alec Holland has been sighted outside the town.

The Swamp Thing wanders on until he finds a man ready to kill his own daughter. He believes the young girl, Casey Clancy to be a witch. Swamp Thing tries to disarm the father, but the gun goes off, killing him.

Swamp Thing befriends Casey and begins walking her back to town. Some of the locals catch sight of him and become agitated. A street racer named Henderson, failing to see Swamp Thing standing in the middle of the road, nearly runs him down. Swampy smashes the car, but Henderson is propelled through the window and dies.

Later, Harry Kay makes another phone call to his employer. He has in his possession, a box containing a dismembered hand of the Swamp Thing. He tells Mister Grasp that Alec Holland is dying.

REVIEW

This new volume feels heavily inspired in the previous one, and smartly ignored the last issues of it. Swamp Thing was supposed to come back during the DC Explosion, but we all know how that ended. So, the next point to come back was after the movie directed by Wes Craven. Did you know there was a movie?... There were two! THERE WAS EVEN A TV SHOW THAT LASTED THREE SEASONS! (and you probably know about the new one, produced by James Wan).

In any case, a big part of this issue is dedicated to the origin (that remained pretty much the same), and the rest is setting up the new adventure that is cut short. Oddly, there was enough room to continue, but they added a Phantom Strange backup story.

I am not sure how many people know that Alec Holland is Swamp Thing, but at least all the bad guys know in this story. Or are they bad guys? They seem interested in him staying alive.

We’ll soon find out.

The art doesn’t look good. I am not sure what they were trying to do here, I am not extremely familiarized with Tom Yeates art. It just looks awful, but it may be that at this point in his career, he wasn’t very experienced (and was probably considered the right fit at the time). It just feels a bit weird after a volume of Wrightson and Redondo, but the book does seem to have a Vertigo look (similar to those first issues of Hellblazer).

I give the story a score of 6

#bronze age #1982 #dc comics #comics #review #swamp thing #tom yeates

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basicshadowhuntersstuff · 6 years ago

Photo

This week in Shadowhunters news, updates, sneak peeks, and behind the scenes. All the stuff you need to stay up to date.

Official Promotion

Key difference. #Shadowhunters

A behind the scenes photo of Isaiah (Luke) and Nicola Correia-Damude (Maryse Lightwood): What's so funny? #Shadowhunters

Clary behind the scenes of #ShadowhuntersSeason3.

Heidi gets that look a lot. #Shadowhunters

Why stop at only six? #Shadowhunters

Shadowhunters In The News

Basic Stuff Magazine (interview): Chatting Dungeons & Dragons with Actor Steve Byers

2GB 873 AM (interview): Hollywood star Dominic Sherwood reveals whether he's a DC or Marvel man

Pez (interview): Matthew Daddario Opens Up On Receiving Heartwarming Letters From LGBTQIA Fans

SyFy Australia (interview): We caught up with #Shadowhunters star Dominic Sherwood to find out what he thinks of the amazing fan support behind the show, whether there’ll be a 4th season and his next role.

E! News Australia (interview): Dominic Sherwood Reacts to "Shadowhunters" PCAs 2018 Nominations

The Televixen (interview): Steve Byers Talks Frankie Drake Mysteries, Shadowhunters, and Goalie

Pez (interview): Dominic Sherwood Has A Sick ‘Shadowhunters’ Spinoff Idea & It Needs To Happen

Digital Fox (interview): Dominic Sherwood Interview: Pick-Up Lines, #SaveShadowhunters, and More!

The AU Review (article): 5 things we learned at the Shadowhunters panel at Oz Comic-Con Sydney

Twitter & Social Media Stuff

Brian Hui (makeup artist) tweeted a photo: Just stumbled across this cute pic of me, ⁦@JMunozActor⁩ and ⁦@alyssa_caps⁩ ! Miss you guys!

MCM Comic Con shared a video of Chai Hansen (Jordan Kyle): The Downworld wouldn't be complete without a werewolf... @ch8i, aka Jordan in Shadowhunters & Ilian in The 100, is joining us at MCM Comic Con London!

Brian Hui (makeup artist) tweeted a photo: Ah, ⁦@Kat_McNamara⁩ remember rosé on the Seine? Miss you!

Matt (Alec) shared photos of a koala and some kangaroos.

Brian Hui (makeup artist) tweeted a photo: Little BTS before the camera rolls!

Brian Hui (makeup artist) tweeted a photo: Feeling like I need a Chai post! ⁦@ch8i⁩

MCM Comic Con tweeted: Alert the downworlders! Our amazing Shadowhunters guests will be taking to the stage at MCM London Comic Con - 26-28 October

The Italian Institute announced Luke Baines (Jonathan Morgenstern) as another guest: Let's welcome @LukeBaines into our Shadow Vibes family! Luke will be a BONUS guest at the next #ITAInstituteCon3! We can't wait for the new episodes! #ITAInstituteCon3

People’s Choice Awards

Shadowhunters is a finalist in three People’s Choice Awards categories, #TheSciFiFantasyShow, #TheBingeworthyShow, and #TheShow. Kat McNamara (Clary) is a finalist for #TheFemaleTVStar and Harry Shum Jr. is a finalist for #TheMaleTVStar.

Voting on the People’s Choice Awards website can be done here.

ShadowhuntersTV posted on Twitter and Instagram:

Action we could watch all day long. RT to vote #Shadowhunters as #TheBingeworthyShow in the #PCAs.

Smile. #Shadowhunters has been nominated as #TheShow in the #PCAs. RT to vote for us.

Raise your glass. #HarryShumJr has been nominated as #TheMaleTVStar. RT to vote for him in the #PCAs.

We think #KatherineMcNamara rocks. Don’t you? RT to vote her as #TheFemaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

We’ve been in awe of this show since day one. RT to cast your vote for #Shadowhunters as #TheSciFiFantasyShow in the #PCAs.

Perfect timing. Help #Shadowhunters win #TheShow in the #PCAs with a retweet.

We could watch Magnus work his magic all day. RT to vote for #Shadowhunters as #TheBingeworthyShow in the #PCAs.

A show that’s never short of sci-fi moments. RT to vote #Shadowhunters as #TheSciFiFantasyShow in the #PCAs.

Clary kicks ass. Literally. RT to vote for #KatherineMcNamara as #TheFemaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

Use your retweeting magic to vote for #HarryShumJr as #TheMaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

We heard #Shadowhunters is a finalist in the @peopleschoice awards. RT to vote for us as #TheShow in the #PCAs.

High five. #Shadowhunters has been nominated as #TheBingeworthyShow in the #PCAs. RT to cast your vote.

And we’re happy for #KatherineMcNamara’s #PCAs nomination as #TheFemaleTVStar. RT to cast your vote for her.

We’re happy to have been gifted with #HarryShumJr. RT to vote for him as #TheMaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

It’s no surprise. #Shadowhunters has been nominated for #TheSciFiFantasyShow in the #PCAs. RT to vote for us.

Cheers to #Shadowhunters being nominated in the #PCAs. RT to vote for us as #TheShow.

A great show to binge with your best friends. RT to vote #Shadowhunters as #TheBingeworthyShow in the #PCAs.

Clary never backs down, and neither will we. RT to vote #KatherineMcNamara as #TheFemaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

On point. Just like #Shadowhunters. RT to vote us as #TheSciFiFantasyShow in the #PCAs.

That's right we're talking about you #HarryShumJr. RT to vote him as #TheMaleTVStar in the #PCAs.

Will you join Lilith? RT to vote #Shadowhunters as #TheSciFiFantasyShow. #PCAs

It’s true. #KatherineMcNamara has been nominated in the #PCAs. RT to vote her as #TheFemaleTVStar.

We’re mesmerized by #HarryShumJr both on and off screen. RT to cast your vote for him as #TheMaleTVStar. #PCAs

If you like Simon, Maia, and #Shadowhunters, RT this to vote us as #TheShow. #PCAs

Winning #TheBingeworthyShow would be legendary, and you know what they say about legends. RT to cast your vote for #Shadowhunters in the #PCAs.

People’s Choice Awards tweeted:

YOU voted and we listened! Here are your write-in nominees for The E! People's Choice Awards! #PCAs

Cast and Crew Reactions:

Kat (Clary) tweeted: Holy moly, angels! Let's keep this going and join together and vote at http://pca.eonline.com for Harry, Shadowhunters, and me :) #KatherineMcNamara #TheFemaleTVStar #PCAs 1 RT = 1 Vote

Kat (Clary) tweeted: Once again - thank you, angels, for the nominations for Shadowhunters, Harry and myself. @peopleschoice #KatherineMcNamara #TheFemaleTVStar #PCAs

Oz Comic Con

Matthew Daddario (Alec) and Dom Sherwood (Jace) spent a weekend in Sydney, Australia at Oz Comic Con.

The entire panel can be seen on the Oz Comic Con Facebook Page.

Clare Kramer shared a number of photos from the weekend’s panels and beyond:

The OG of @ozcomiccon. 🖤@dichenlachman @matthewdaddario @idomknow 📸 @karolinatx

Fan: @MatthewDaddario, I just wanted to ask you about your character… @DomSherwood1: *drops mic, takes out phone* #OzComicCon18 #Shadowhunters @OzComicCon

.@MatthewDaddario: I’ve never seen your brain work so quickly @DomSherwood1: Or at all, really. #Shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

.@DomSherwood1: Jace in 3B. Right. Where did we leave him? Oh right, Clary’s dead. The love of his life is dead. @MatthewDaddario: He’ll be fine after that brutal psychological torture. #ShadowHunters #OzComicCon18

A fan @OzComicCon asked @DomSherwood1 to do his best @MatthewDaddario imitation and this was the result. #Shadowhunters #OzComicCon18 (video)

It’s @MatthewDaddario at the @OzComicCon #Shadowhunters panel in #Sydney. #OzComicCon18

It’s @DomSherwood1 celebrating getting a fan question, and not @MatthewDaddario. #shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

Fan: For the record, I love you both. @DomSherwood1: Well if you all say it like that, I’m not making up any numbers! I’m already behind! #shadowhunters #OzComicCon18 @MatthewDaddario

Fan: If you were a boxer, what would your motivational song be? @DomSherwood1: That’s a good question! @MatthewDaddario: Alternating between Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now and the Indiana Jones theme. @DomSherwood1: I was going to say one of those! #Shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

On 3B @MatthewDaddario: Jace is going to be miserable. You’re going to hate it. @DomSherwood1: Unless you hate Jace, in which case you’ll love it. #Shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

On auditions @DomSherwood1: You know that thing where they turn you down because you’re too good-looking? @MatthewDaddario: No. #shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

Here @MatthewDaddario at the @OzComicCon #shadowhunters panel. #OzComicCon18

Q: If you could design a rune, what would it do? [Lengthy off-topic conversation re: monkey’s paws] @DomSherwood1: Yeah, Brendan Fraser. Just be able to teleport Brendon Fraser whenever you’d want. #shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

And here’s @DomSherwood1, who enjoys wearing “loud, outlandish-colored boxers.” #Shadowhunters #OzComicCon18

Awwwwww… #shadowhunters @MatthewDaddario #OzComicCon18

Photo dump! The #Shadowhunters boys are too fast to keep up with! @MatthewDaddario @DomSherwood1 #OzComicCon18

The nicest ever new friend. @domsherwood @ozcomiccon 📸 @karolinatx

One more photo dump of @MatthewDaddario and @DomSherwood1 at their Sunday @OzComicCon panel for all you #shadowhunters meme maniacs. #OzComicCon18

The AU Review shared a thread of live-tweets from the Shadowhunters panel.

#SaveShadowhunters (continued)

On June 4th, it was announced that Freeform wouldn’t be continuing on with a fourth season of Shadowhunters. Here are a few major highlights. (Our full roundup for #SaveShadowhunters can be found here.)

Clevver (article): Here’s Everything Shadowhunters Fans Have Done to Save the Series

Film Daily (article): #SaveShadowhunters: Here’s how a People’s Choice vote might do just that!

Basic Stuff Magazine (article): Save Shadowhunters Takes Over NYCC 2018

Other News

Matthew Daddario’s birthday was October 1st!

Hollywood Life (article): Happy Birthday, Matthew Daddario: See The ‘Shadowhunters’ Star’s Hottest Pics

Shadowhunters TV tweeted: Happy, happy birthday @MatthewDaddario. 🎂

Famous Birthdays tweeted a video: Happy 31st Birthday to @MatthewDaddario!

Ariana Williams (Madzie) tweeted: Happy birthday Matt love from Ariana #BestWishes #funtimes #memories #Alec&Madzie #SAVESHADOWHUNTERS

Amanda O’Leary (makeup artist) shared a video on Instagram: Been saving this for a special day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY @matthewdaddario you are just the bestest. #thebest

Kat (Clary) tweeted: The happiest of happy birthdays to the master of little known information, honest observant opinions, and overall general wise advice. @matthewdaddario thanks for always treating me like one of the big kids, even though we know we’re children at heart. Enjoy your day, brother!

Harry (Magnus) tweeted: @MatthewDaddario yo, did you know it’s your birthday? Anyone tell you? If not, I’ll be the first. Happy—oh, it’s October 1st now...oops.

#shadowhunters #bss news roundup #saveshadowhunters #oz comic con #peoples choice awards

15 notes · View notes

sian265 · 6 years ago

Text

Whispers

This Shadow World is a little different. Valentine stayed dead. Clary was brought into the ShadowWorld on her 18th Birthday after demons attacked her and Jocelyn. Alec was appointed Head of the Institute and Robert & Maryse did divorce with Maryse staying behind to raise Max and be Alec’s second in command. She has just started dating Luke. And of yes, Magnus hasn’t met Alec…yet.

Whispers

Chapter One

Alec and Jace stood over the bed. The dead wolf was lying there, no visible wounds, blood, or obvious cause of death. The girl/wolf looked eerily similar to the other three dead bodies that had turned up over the past month. This made the second DownWorlder, the first two victims had been mundane.

The scene had Alec shifting uncomfortably. The young female was nude, a sheet only partially covering her, and spread-eagle on the bed. Her eyes, like the other victims, were wide open, a look of shock and horror forever captured on her face.

Alec looked over at Luke. “I am so sorry, Luke. What was her name?”

Luke rubbed a hand across his weary face. “Gretel, she was a pain in my ass, but she didn’t deserve this.”

Alec nodded and looked back down at their victim. He had not been brought in on the first two cases. The normal mundane police were handling them. However, when a dead Seelie had turned up and Luke noticed the similarities he brought in the Shadowhunters. The Seelie had been male, but found just like Gretel, nude, in bed, eyes wide open. Izzy was still stumped on a cause of death. Their four victims had no connections between them, were different sexes, races, and had no obvious cause of foul play. The mystery had Izzy scratching her head, and that more than anything worried Alec. Because if she couldn’t figure this out then no one could.

The only thing she had been able to report was that their internal organs seemed somewhat shrunk, almost drained in some way, but Isabelle wasn’t able to say why or how.

Alec looked once more at Luke. “Can we take her to the institute; let Izzy see what she can find?”

Luke nodded. “I’ll go with you. I managed to acquire a copy of the autopsy reports on the two mundane victims to share with her.”

That Luke would feel confident and comfortable enough to go into the New York Institute and be assured of his admission and welcome, spoke volumes of Alec’s leadership. With his parents’ divorce, Robert staying full time in Idris and Maryse supporting her son, Alec had assumed command when he turned 21. His leadership style was similar to his parents in some ways, but radically different in others.

Alec was strict, stern, he expected everyone to carry his or her weight. However, one of the first moves he made was the establishment of a DownWorlder Council. He sat about meeting and creating a relationship with all the New York leaders. For the most part, it was successful. He could never tell if the head of the local vampires liked him or not. Raphael Santiago was a hard bastard to get to know, hardly ever cracked a smile and could be a huge smartass, but at least he came to the meetings.

Now, Lorenzo Rey, High Warlock of Brooklyn, was another story all-together. Alec didn’t think he had ever met a bigger blow-hard than Rey and that was saying something considering the politicians from Idris he knew! Rey loved to hear himself talk, and had a tale for every situation, but Alec had yet to see him actually accomplish anything. He wasn’t sure why or how Rey became High Warlock, but Alec suspected there was no one else who wanted the job.

Isabelle pulled back the sheet and let out a small gasp. Alec looked at his sister sharply. “You knew her, Izzy?”

Izzy glanced at Luke, apology in her gaze. “Not really, but I had seen her before, several times in fact at some of the same clubs. I am so sorry, Luke.”

Luke gave Izzy a thankful smile and nodded. “At clubs? Do you remember which ones?” He asked her.

Alec watched as Izzy gently covered Gretel’s face back up with the sheet. “One of the places was Pandemonium, another was Whisper’s.” She replied.

Luke nodded. “I have heard of both clubs. Nothing sticks out about them; both are very popular places especially with DownWorlders.” Luke handed Izzy the files he had carried in. “Isabelle, these are the findings on the two mundanes, hopefully you can see something that will help us find this killer.”

Alec didn’t have anything to add on the club scene, wasn’t his cup of tea. He and Luke both watched as Izzy quickly went through the mundane autopsy findings. She closed them after only a few minutes of review.

“Nothing new or surprising in them. I had hoped that maybe they would shock me and come up with something I missed.” Izzy shrugged at them, completely unapologetic in her well-deserved arrogance. Alec’s sister was crazy smart, he knew.

Both Luke and Izzy looked at him, and with a sigh, Alec gave in. “Okay, I will call the High Warlock for consult, but I am warning you both now if he hits on me again, I am slugging him.” For some reason Lorenzo Rey had taken into his head to flirt with Alec whenever their paths crossed. The weird thing was Alec was almost positive Rey was not even gay! Alec had come out of the Shadow closet, if you will, when his father tried to arrange a marriage for him, with a girl. Lydia was a great friend, but Alec wasn’t marrying a woman, not even to please his father and after the divorce he was even more inclined to do the opposite of what Robert Lightwood wanted.

He walked Luke out still bitching about Rey. “You know he is going to charge us an arm and a leg and I bet not tell us anything we don’t already know!” Alec didn’t get any sympathy from Luke, in fact the werewolf just laughed at him.

“Tell Clary to call me, Alec.” Luke called back over his shoulder as Alec left him to depart from the ops enter. Alec waived his acknowledgment and headed for his office, and his phone.

The call to Rey went about as Alec expected. Rey went on and on about how busy he was and how much an imposition the request was. Finally, after naming an outrageous fee and being talked down from that, Rey agreed to come right away and assess their victims. Alec glared at his phone for a good ten minutes after hanging up. Besides his family, Parabatai, and just a few close friends, Alec didn’t really like people, especially pompous asses like Rey. He texted Izzy that Rey agreed and to call him when the Warlock arrived, then Alec began the task of going through the stacks of paperwork that awaited him on his desk.

The ding of his phone pulled Alec away from the files in front of him; he groaned at Izzy’s text, Rey had arrived. Alec was stopped a couple of times with questions and to sign off on various things before finally stepping into the room where Izzy, Rey, and the dead wolf waited. He plastered a fake ass smile on his face and held a hand out in welcome to Lorenzo.

“Mr. Rey, thank you for coming, we appreciate it.” Alec made sure to keep his handshake as brief as possible, he always felt like washing his hands after touching Rey.

Lorenzo’s smile grew as he turned to Alec. “Always a pleasure to assist the New York Institute, Mr. Lightwood.”

Too bad Alec didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth. “Well, we do appreciate it, Mr. Rey. Now, knowing how busy you are, how about we get to the examination?” Alec gestured for Lorenzo to proceed him towards the body.

Izzy rolled her eyes at Alec as Rey turned to view the deceased. Alec shook his head at his sister’s antics before Rey turned back to them both.

“If you don’t mind, I would prefer to conduct my examination alone.” Rey’s smile was condescending. “Don’t want any foreign energies interfering with my magic, I’m sure you both understand?”

Alec looked to Izzy for her okay, since the lab and all forensics were her domain. Izzy nodded. “It’s okay, I have collected any trace evidence that was still on the body,” she assured Alec and they moved past the plastic curtain to give Rey some privacy.

Alec watched as closely as possible through the distorted curtain as Rey examined the body, his light blue magic starting at Gretel’s head and moving down as he tried to determine if magic had anything to do with her death. It did not take long before Lorenzo was calling them back into the room.

“There is magic here, but I cannot tell you more than that.” Rey stated as soon as Alec and Izzy parted the curtain. “I have not seen magic like this for a very long time and there is only a faint trace of it left.”

Alec frowned. “So, you can’t tell us if this magic played any role in her death?” He looked at Isabelle. “The Seelie’s body has been returned to the Fey?” Izzy nodded and Alec sighed with frustration, they were getting nowhere!

“Magic did play a role in her death, Mr. Lightwood.” Rey interjected. “However, its specific actions on the body I cannot say and it is very dark magic, something I do not dabble in.”

“Any ideas on who does, Mr. Rey?” Alec highly doubted most of what Rey claimed but unless he was their killer, he didn’t have a reason to lie or hold back from them.

Lorenzo looked at Alec and Izzy for several moments before speaking. “I might have a name to give you, but I must ask for your word that your source will not be revealed. This person is someone I try to avoid at all costs and he already has a grudge against me; even more ammo could lead to hostilities escalating between us.”

Alec shook his head. “Absolutely, we will keep your name out of it.”

Rey moved towards the door and turned back right before leaving. “Magnus Bane is who you are looking for, Mr. Lightwood.”

TBC…

#malec fanfiction #au #Magnus x Alec

5 notes · View notes

adorealeclightwood · 7 years ago

Text

Alec in 3x07 and 3x08.

Good evening my lovelies.

Let’s jump right into this.

[NOTE: For clarity purposes, I’ll be referring to possessed Jace as “Not-Jace”, and the real Jace as Jace. Does that make sense? I hope so.]

3x07.

Alright, so last week, we reached a climax to what some of us thought was one of the biggest “what the fuck is going to happen” moments thus far.

Clary told Alec about the wish!

Now, I know I said I wanted him to be mad, and give her the silent treatment, and blah blah blah, but guess what? After that episode, I went back to watch some things over again, remember what kind of person Alec is and... *drumroll*

I reevaluated my stance.

Of course Alec wasn’t angry, and the more I think about it, the more I realize how wrong I was to assume that he would be. She used the wish to bring back someone she loved, and he would’ve done the exact same thing if he’d been in her position. There’s been a lot of talk about Magnus specifically, but this includes more than just him, guys.

If Alec had been at that lake with anyone - Magnus, Jace, Izzy, Maryse - he would’ve done the same thing, because Alec will bend and break every rule when it comes to those that he loves.

Now, before I get into the emotional shit, I want to talk about 3x07 some more.

If you weren’t aware (which I doubt), Alec has some serious issues with internalized guilt, meaning he has a tendency to take responsibility/blame himself for things that are out of his control. (The example that comes to mind when I think of this is his conversation with Jace on the roof in 2x05.)

Naturally, when Alec found out Jace was the owl, I was worried, because I knew he’d find a way to blame himself. “I should’ve paid more attention”, “I should’ve pressed harder”, “I should’ve known he was lying about the treatment”. These are all things I’m sure went through his mind at one point, and while it’s normal to feel like you could’ve done more, or caught onto the little things, those thoughts can quickly cause someone to become self-destructive. In Alec’s case, I was concerned he’d want to punish himself more than anything, because again, this is how he functions.

That being said, the relief I felt when he didn’t do any of those things was immeasurable. He let everything sink in, hugged Clary - who I’m beginning to like more and more - and was ready to do whatever it takes to save his parabatai. (I know some of you guys have issues with that, but I said what I said).

Now, onto another pressing matter: Malec.

I basically predicted that entire scene here, and the more I went back and rewatched it, the more content I became. While I’m still waiting for them to have that special talk and iron things out, I’m happy they were able to squash it for the time being. Here’s why.

You guys are never going to believe this, but...when you get into a fight, or have a disagreement with someone you love, life doesn’t come to a halt. Shit doesn’t suddenly cease to hit the fan because you’re having a lovers quarrel. When we see a couple like Malec, we don’t want them to have issues. We don’t want them to argue, or raise their voices, or feel pain, or be insecure, and when they do, we want everyone and everything to shut up and sit down until they can work things out. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way, and you should be glad they don’t. (Can you imagine how boring that would be?)

When you analyze things objectively - like I try to do here - you have to look at the big picture, and it isn’t always pretty. It’s the same way in real life. There are going to be days when your boyfriend makes you so mad, you want to break his kneecaps, but you can’t do that, because you have to hang up the phone and get back to work. You can’t afford to take a minute to breathe. There are going to be times where your wife makes a comment out of anger, and it’s going to echo in the back of your head for a week, but your in-laws are in town, and you don’t want them to see you guys fighting. I could come up with scenarios for days, but my point is, life gets in the way sometimes. Whether it’s work, school, kids, family, or something else, you won’t always be able to sit down and take care of things the way you want, when you want. That goes for everyone, including Malec.

They apologized to one another, and put the entire thing on pause for now. Is it a perfect solution? No. Is it permanent? No. Was it suitable given their current predicament? Yes.

Magnus Bane isn’t petty enough to continue fighting with the man he loves when that man’s parabatai is being controlled by an evil bitch, and Alexander Lightwood isn’t stubborn enough to rehash that same fight when the man he loves is clearly feeling guilty about having played a small part in what’s happening to his parabatai. No one’s pointing any fingers, no one’s bitter, and no one’s adding insult to injury.

Moving on.

Alec, Clary, and Izzy head to Alicante, and two seconds after the Inquisitor learns Jace has been “compromised”, she wanted to know how it happened.

Honestly, I had the urge to tell her to stop being so damn nosy and help them help her grandson, but I digress.

Alec comes through with a quick save, because when in doubt, deny knowing anything and get to the point. In this case, it doesn’t matter what they say, because Imogen is ready to put out a kill order (since that worked out so well when Aldertree did it). Alec is clearly not having that - he’d rather catch Jace like a Pokemon and fix him afterwards, which is totally reasonable, because when has Alec ever been content with anything bad happening to Jace?

Then, we got to see him be a great distraction while Imogen took Izzy and Clary to the armory. Homeboy didn’t stutter or freeze up once. Are you proud? I’m proud.

I was nervous when we got to the scene in the graveyard, because I was under the impression it’d be a lot harder to trap Jace, but thankfully, there was no fight, so I stopped sweating.

Anddd, then they got back to the loft, Not-Jace was talking shit, but it didn’t matter, because at least he was trapped in the configuration and not out ruining lives, right? Right.

3x08.

OKAY. IF YOU HAVEN’T GRABBED A SNACK OR A DRINK BY NOW, GO DO THAT.

This episode. This fucking episode.

If you read my review, you know I was in my feelings about 98% of the time.

Three minutes into the episode, Not-Jace is talking shit again, and Alec is neither fazed nor impressed. The person staring back at him may look and sound like Jace, but he knows it isn’t.

Case in point: “You are not our brother, and don’t get too comfortable, because we’re gonna bring him back.”

Word.

Not-Jace proceeds to talk more shit, but Magnus pops in and confirms what we already know, because Magnus is a smart bean who knows better than to listen to the ramblings of a boy possessed by the queen of Edom. He’s only saying those things to get under their skin - pay him no mind.

Then, a bomb drops.

“I just prefer not to coddle your latest soldier boyfriend.”

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE.

Magnus glances at Alec, and Alec narrows his eyes in suspicion. Why?

He never told Jace about the box, or anything having to do with his relationship with Magnus this season.

As soon as he walked out in the middle of breakfast back in 3x06, who did he go to? Izzy, because she’s the one he talks to about things like that, not Jace. Never Jace, because they don’t talk about those things. (The only time I can remember them discussing relationships was in 1x12 when Jace was felt sick for kissing Clary and acknowledging that he wanted her after finding out they were “siblings”, and again in 2x10 when Alec asked if Jace was going to tell her that they weren’t. Aside from that, they usually avoid the subject.)

A few minutes later, the group moves to another room to come up with a plan, and as soon as they get one, Alec makes sure to let everyone know that Jace’s possession has to stay between them, because if word gets out that a Shadowhunter’s been possessed by a greater demon, they’re going to want to know how and why, like Imogen. Clary’s covering their asses, so the least he can do is cover hers. This is loyalty. This is the man we stan.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the friendship we deserve.

Side note: Matthew was moving his hand while he said that line, and it reminded me of all those times Dom pointed out how much he talks with them. I thought it was cute.

CUT TO THE BALCONY SCENE.

Magnus pulls Alec aside to tell him how they can save Jace, and before he can even finish, Alec says he’s in, because why wouldn’t he be? This is Jace we’re talking about, keep up. He’d never hesitate to save him. Magnus then proceeds to explain how serious this is, and what the stakes are, but it doesn’t change anything. This is something Alec feels he needs to do, and Magnus understands, because he knows how much Jace means to him.

This is important.

When Alec says “without him, I’m nothing”, he’s not disregarding his feelings for Magnus, or somehow insinuating that he loves Jace more. As viewers, it’s easy to forget that our perception is different than that of the characters. Despite the events of this season, and previous seasons, Alec still perceives Jace as his parabatai. A piece of his soul. Saying he’s nothing without Jace isn’t taking away from his self-worth in any way, nor is it demeaning his relationship with Magnus. This is simply Alec stating how he’d feel if he were to lose Jace for good. News flash: he’s allowed to do that. Magnus knows this, and that’s why he doesn’t get upset, or take offense to it. He can see that Alec’s mind is made up, and he’s all in, on one condition: Alec isn’t going in alone.

I loved this scene because it was so...I don’t even know how to describe it, and there’s a thesaurus less than two feet away from me right now. The way Matthew keeps that stern look on his face, because Alec can’t fall apart right now. Alec can’t panic, or think about the fact that he could become one of Lilith’s victims as well - the only thing Alec can do is take initiative and try to save his parabatai because that is what Alec Lightwood does. He has to do this, because if he doesn’t, and something happens to Jace, he will never forgive himself for not trying. Then, they hold hands, and it’s heartwarming because you never know how comforting a simple touch can be until you’re already touching. Magnus is already thinking ahead, and considering the possibility of losing Alec in the process of getting Jace back, and Alec takes his hands, because they can’t think like that - not now.

In the same scene, you could also say this is another way Alec is showing that he trusts Magnus with his life. If it had been any other warlock in this situation telling Alec that Lilith could easily get her hands on him, he may have taken a few seconds to reconsider, or want some time to come up with twelve backup plans just in case, but this isn’t just any warlock he’s talking to. This is Magnus Bane, the love of his life. The man who’d never let anything happen to him.

I’m swooning.

Then, we learn that when Magnus said Alec wasn’t going in alone, he wasn’t talking about going with him. He meant he’d be sending Izzy along for the ride. As expected, he doesn’t want his baby sister in danger, but then, she’s kind enough to remind him of the not-so-light coma he slipped into the last time he tried to save Jace alone. Jace was the only person who was able to bring him back from the brink, but they don’t have him to fall back on this time, and he can’t argue with that logic. Again, shout out to Matthew for the facial expressions. I need someone to turn it into a gif and write “why you bringing up old shit?” as the caption. Then he does that little eye roll/pout thing he always does and I just, ugh. I’m in love.

Fast forward.

They approach Jace to get this shit going, and Alec has no time for any nonsense. Right when they’re getting in position, you’ll notice his right hand twitching, which is something Alec does when he’s anxious. Not-Jace just can’t keep his mouth closed, and decides to antagonize Magnus. He asks who he thinks Alec would choose if it came down to him and Magnus, and Alec shuts that down immediately, for a couple of reasons (I think). One, Not-Jace is only saying that to get a rise out of Magnus, he doesn’t want to hear it anymore, and two, if it did come down to Jace or Magnus, it’d be an impossible decision. Alec could never truly choose between two people that he loves, and he can’t even fathom being in a position where he’d have to make that choice to begin with.

You also have to take into account what it would do to Alec if he were to make that kind of choice. Do you honestly believe he’d ever recover from choosing Jace over Magnus? Do you think he’d be able to live with himself after choosing Magnus over Jace? Don’t let your bias/character preference cloud your judgement - think like Alec for a minute. No matter who he chose, it would tear him apart in one way or another.

The lovely Magnus Bane steps in to remind Alec not to get too worked up, and that he needs to focus, then they get started. For a minute, it looks like they’re going to succeed but of course, of-fucking-course, Not-Jace has some magic of his own, because Lilith was planning ahead, and knew someone would try to get in his head. (I really, really, really hate her.)

Fast forward again.

Not-Jace is chained up like a criminal, and Alec looks like he’s ready to wrap those same chains around his neck. Fortunately, Magnus comes in, and they’re ready to start.

There’s some magical lighting, glowing runes, and very creepy eyes rolling into the backs of heads, and the flashbacks start.

We see young Alec and Jace before Alec blinks, and snaps back into reality with Izzy. Again, this is why it’s important to be objective and think like a character. No matter what’s happened, Jace is still Alec’s parabatai, and he’s always going to love him.

They hear some noise, and walk around a corner to see younger versions of themselves play fighting. Alec smiles at the memory, and it’s sad, because things were so much simpler back then; back when sneaking down to train while their parents were out on mission was something they did for fun. Now, they’ve got demons coming back and possessing people and shit.

After the younger Alec and Izzy disappear, Alec puts two and two together - like the smart cookie he is - and comes to the conclusion that Lilith has been torturing Jace by taking away everything he loves. Let me say that again so you guys can hear me.

Lilith has been torturing Jace by taking away everything he loves.

He looks away for less than a second, and when he turns around again, Izzy is gone.

Alec can’t seem to catch a break.

Fast forward.

Alec is still looking for Izzy, and finds Clary instead. Well, more like dozens of dead Clary’s, because Jace has been trapped in his own mind, killing her over and over again, just like he did in his nightmares. He’s looking around at all the bodies like “what in the fuck did I just walk into”, then he hears someone crying, and looks up.

IT’S JACE!

The real Jace, and he confirms what I’ve known all along. He’s a prisoner in his own mind, and Lilith has been fucking with him since day one.

Alec is treading carefully (which is a good move, since Jace is visibly upset and still holding a knife), and this goddamn scene was perfect.

The way his voice gets all soft when he’s convincing Jace that he’s real, and he knows Jace won’t kill him. The way he wrapped his arms around Jace.

“I’ve got you.”

THAT’S GREAT BUT, WHO HAS ME? WHO’S GOING TO HOLD ME WHILE I CRY OVER MY KEYBOARD, ALEC? W H O?

They hold each other for a bit, and when they pull away, all the dead bodies are gone, and it’s clear that Alec’s presence is working. Izzy comes in with mini-Jace, who also vanishes, and my dumbass thinks “YES! The gang’s all here! We can go home now! It’s a wrap!”.

Narrator: You know damn well...

Fast forward.

As lovely as this little reunion has been, Alec hears Magnus calling out to him, and it’s time to get the fuck out of there. One teensy, weensy problem though.

Jace doesn’t want to go, because he knows Lilith is coming for him.

This is where Alec gives us another example of exactly how his relationship with Jace works.

Now, I’m a huge softie when it comes to my friends, so if my best friend was crying hysterically, then picked up a knife and placed it in my hands before asking me to kill them, I’d probably have a fit. However, Alec doesn’t do that.

He holds himself together and tells Jace no, he isn’t going to kill him. Never. He’s coming with them, and that’s that on that. So, Jace hands the knife to Izzy, and I’m not going to lie, sis had me going for a hot second, but she dropped the knife and everyone exhaled. (By everyone, I mean me and Alec).

Before they all join hands, Jace looks up at Alec and begs him not to let Lilith take me again, and he promises that he won’t.

And of course, my emotional ass gets excited once more, thinking “alright, no bullshit, they’re going home this time”, but when the magical glow fades away, who do we fucking see?

LILITH’S PUNK ASS.

The SH writers @ me:

She comes in, overdramatic as usual, and ends up leaving with Jace. Seconds later, Alec wakes up to see that he’s gone, and he’s pissed.

They were so fucking close. No, scratch that, they weren’t close at all. They had him. They had him in the literal palms of their hands, and it took all of five seconds to lose him again.

Fast forward (a little bit).

Alec starts processing what just happened, and I hate seeing how upset he is. Jace begged the both of them to kill him, and right after Alec promised he wouldn’t let Lilith take him away again, she shows up and does just that. It’s already taking a toll on him, and even though Magnus says he did all he could, it’s not enough in Alec’s eyes, because Jace is still gone.

It doesn’t matter how close he came to getting Jace back. In Alec’s eyes, he failed, and he’s going to be upset with himself until he succeeds, because that’s how he is. He knows it, Magnus knows it, and Izzy knows it.

This episode messed with my head because it just goes to show that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how hard you’re willing to fight, they can still slip through your fingers and leave you right back where you started.

I know there’s been a huge debate about the parabatai bond, and the way it only comes to light when it’s convenient for the plot, or how it’s “bullshit”, etc, but honestly? Fuck all that. If there was ever an episode involving the bond that comes close to Parabatai Lost, it’s 3x08. Alec could’ve fallen apart or gone crazy with all the shit that’s been going on, but he’s remained strong in order to keep going, because Alexander Gideon Lightwood does not crack in the face of adversity.

He perseveres.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I’ll be here all week.

#Shadowhunters #SH 3x07 #Salt In The Wound #SH 3x08 #A Heart of Darkness #Alec Lightwood #Malec #Jalec #Clalec #Platonic #Character Analysis

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