AN: It's in shadow-hunter world and Magnus is a warlock, like usual.
He couldn't figure out whose idea it was. He was leaning towards Alec, but his boyfriend surely must've had the insight to know that this was not a good idea. Magnus was excited on the way there; Alec was promising that it'd be a nice day out and the weather was certainly backing him up. And that was all it took. A good day out with Alec surely was a good idea and nothing could ruin it. They had never been out together on an outing or date or anything where it had been utterly terrible. So Magnus had no reason to suspect this was going to be any different – but when they arrived and The Usual Suspects were there, arm in arm, hand in hand – he couldn't help but feel slightly irked. Alec had told him that it'd be a good day out for the two of them, so maybe he didn't plan on the others showing up. But that wasn't the point. The point was the place. Thus began Magnus' process of elimination. Isabelle wouldn't be seen buying anything unless it was genuine, which wasn't likely. Simon looked too out of place for himself to be the culprit. Jace had probably never even heard of the place – let alone know what to do in one. Clary was all smiles, and Magnus knew she liked her trinkets – so maybe it was her idea. But the idea of her suggesting it to Alec made no sense to him.
"Was this your idea? Or theirs?" Magnus asked, frowning a little. Alec smiled lightly.
"Why?" He asked cautiously.
"Because it's a very bad idea" Magnus nodded for emphasis, but Alec took it as Magnus being Magnus and laughed it off. Alec seemed strangely well acquainted with the auction house, having an eye for the small, pretty things and the smaller unfortunate items that were damaged. That in itself worried Magnus when he thought about it, but he could barely leave the corner.
He was watching them move about, Izzy and Simon looking at the old jewellery in the cabinets, Jace and Clary spying some angelic glass figurines. Why the hell had they brought him here? This, was not a good day. But Alec's face… he was clearly enjoying the displays, the items, the history. Magnus shuddered and made a bee-line for his boyfriend, looking at nothing else until he reached him. He had to try and make an effort.
"Look" Alec raised something up on his hand with care.
"Fake" Magnus murmured, flipping the tea-cup upside down and checking the bottom for a watermark or signature. With a scoff, he set the cup down and walked off. Alec was hot on his heels, slipping his hand into Magnus'.
"I thought you might find something you like" Alec confessed. So it was his idea. "Something we both like – to put in the apartment or something" Alec steered him through the aisles, attention flitting here and there and everywhere. They slowed at the paintings and Alec's face went bright. Magnus bit his lip as he watched his boyfriend's eyes roam the canvasses, the frames and the colours and the detail. His gaze eventually fell on one near the bottom and Alec found the price tag. He stood looking thoughtful, turning dubiously to Magnus.
"Any thoughts?" He asked. Magnus wasn't going to tell him it was a copy, that the frame-work was machine-made and not hand-made. But he supposed that was more of a preference than anything else.
"It won't match the carpet" He settled with, walking off before Alec could try and make a play for it. They continued down the aisles, Alec finding some dark and bright objects that set each other off. Alec had then found the book corner, with many bookshelves and twice as many books, all old and new. His fingers picked out an ancient edition of a novel, handling it with care. Its cover was leather, it's pages yellow and frayed. But it looked loved. He turned to find Magnus eyeing the bookshelf, a tall, dark-wood object with uncanny engravings and intricate patterns on the sides. The feet were golden animal heads, but Alec couldn't make it out. He took Magnus' attention to the bookcase as a good sign, but approached him carefully.
"We can always use more bookshelves" Alec reasoned, seeing the scrutinising expression on Magnus' face. Suddenly, he was close, their arms linked together, their bodies inches apart. Alec didn't have time to back away or even scold Magnus for being very public.
"The wood has been repainted, the detail is all machine made and those feet – they're brass. Painted gold. Painted!" Alec bit his lip. "Why do people modify things like that?" Magnus whipped himself away and Alec sighed,accepting Magnus' evaluation. Bye bye bookshelf.
The afternoon continued just like that. Alec would find a few things, but Magnus would shoot them down and ruin it. Alec had found a few items that he genuinely quite liked – but Magnus was quick to inform him that the art-deco period was not brilliant and that if he bought it, it wouldn't not be going in their flat. Alec put it down sternly and began giving Magnus his Countdown. Alec would tolerate his behaviour for no more than three times more, before he was sure he'd either make the warlock go home, or simply abandon him somewhere. It really wasn't Alec's idea to come here, but the idea interested him and the place – once he was there – had certainly caught his attention. Magnus wasn't being helpful, but then again, perhaps Alec hadn't thought he'd be this irritable.
Alec didn't even ask for Magnus' opinion on the mirror – but he must've caught him looking at the ornately decorated piece. Magnus scowled at it, muttering 'Piece of shit' under his breath before walking away. Alec caught up to Magnus, not bothering to ask what was wrong with the mirror, but Magnus explained anyway that it was 'hollow' and 'simply visually aesthetic'. Alec didn't know what else a mirror could be if not to be looked at and in.
Two lives. He sighed and debated walking somewhere else to simply avoid Magnus and his irritability, but the warlock kept to his side adamantly. Alec didn't dare touch anything in fear of Magnus damaging its impression in Alec's mind. He really liked the look of the cufflinks in the cabinet – but Magnus hadn't caught onto them yet and they were still a growing interest in Alec's head. The warlock turned to look at something else and Alec stole his chance, looking at the detailing on the cuffs. Then, the hairs rose on the back of his neck and he knew Magnus had spotted him. With a flick of glance, he saw Magnus pull an amused expression before walking away shaking his head. Alec left them alone and followed.
One more life.
Magnus' last life wasn't wasted on Alec. He'd managed to find Jace and Clary in a section with old watches, Clary taking a liking to a silver one in particular. Alec was close behind, and he heard the beginnings of a debate when Magnus began questioning the seller on the watch like an interrogation officer. The seller obviously couldn't tell Magnus what he wanted to know and made them all leave much to Clary's annoyance when Magnus took it upon himself to inspect the item. Magnus told her that the watch was not real silver and was probably machine made anyway, and it most definitely wasn't genuine like 'most of this crap'. Alec stopped dead in fury before grabbing Magnus' arm and steering him outside.
He found somewhere with hardly any people and shoved Magnus against the wall – sure enough, any remaining people soon left. The warlock straightened himself immediately, his face set.
"You're going to blame me" Magnus said, tonelessly.
"Why are you being difficult?" Alec frowned, irritated. "I don't want to blame you – I just don't understand why you're being like this"
"Like what? Like me?" Magnus prompted. Alec shook his head and stepped back. He wouldn't hit the warlock, never in his life did he think he ever could, but the wall was very close and it could be a possibility. He didn't want to cause a scene, though.
"I thought you liked this sort of thing" Something made Magnus tingle all over and the hairs raise on his nape. He wondered if it was because Alec seemed sure of something that was totally wrong.
"You thought that a warlock as old as me would enjoy being taken to a warehouse full of memorabilia from decades and centuries – lifetimes ago?"
"I thought you'd take it better" Alec snapped. "I thought you'd pick things up and….say what they were for or who might've owned them – be a bit more interested than … arrogant"
"You wanted a history lesson?" Magnus all but laughed. His head turned to the side and Alec saw a flicker of…dare he think, vulnerability. "You wouldn't like it if I took you to a graveyard that held every person, relic or memory that you had ever encountered" He said quietly. "But if I did, would you want to explain to me its history?" Wasn't that a bit of an exaggeration? In truth, Alec had wondered if Magnus would react like this. The thought had crossed his mind that the warlock would be uncomfortable in that type of environment, but Magnus was Magnus. And Alec was sure that it wouldn't have phased him. It hurt knowing that he'd got it wrong. But it hurt even more that Magnus wasn't going to share his past like Alec wanted him to.
"Half of the items in that warehouse would do better at a car-boot sale" Magnus said harshly. "The other half that deserve to be noted, they're being marvelled as – as vintage. They're memories. People owned them, used them. And now they're being sold because they're pretty, or they'll do as …. As ornaments" Magnus pulled a face. "Those porcelain dolls – did you see them?" Alec hadn't – he wasn't sure why Magnus had, but he nodded. "They were played with by Victorian children" Alec's heart skipped as he saw the lost look in Magnus' eyes, like they were travelling back in time and caught there with those dolls. "They set them up at tables, had tea parties with them, compared them, dressed them – cared for them like real newborns" He blinked rapidly. "Now they're in glass cabinets for fear of being tossed into a wall, because people don't appreciate them how they used to" Alec didn't know what to say, he could hardly launch into a debate about how 'times are a'changin' but he watched sympathetically as Magnus wrapped his arms around himself. "Some of the things in there need to be checked over by specialists" He murmured quietly. "They'd do well in a museum" Alec saw how utterly lost Magnus was, his eyes swimming in times gone by with his arms trying to hold his body in the present. He reached a hand out and placed it on Magnus' hand, but he waved it off a little too violently for Alec to think he was forgiven. "Every object in there has a story – a novels worth of life. And I can see it all as plain as I see you" He began chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully, his eyes boring into Alec's. "Ok" He murmured, sighing. "Ok" He said again, for encouragement. He started pacing, murmuring about novels, stories, history and relics. Then, he took Alec's hand in his and they re-entered the auction house.
Magnus flitted from one table to the other, eyes surveying everything, everywhere, but Alec wasn't sure what for. He didn't dare speak. Magnus only released his hand once or twice to move past a few things, survey a few more paintings. But then their hands were back together. The way Magnus was moving reminded Alec strangely of a fire fighter, who'd gone back inside a burning house full of flames to find something in particular. His face had that urgency pinned to it, a determination, a desperation that Alec hadn't seen before. Finally, Magnus stopped, eyes wide and alert. He'd found something. Alec peered over his shoulder as he touched a cane, stacked with some more in an ugly looking pot. He pulled it out, slipping the cane from its sheath and smiling. He waved the seller over and began questioning it. Alec watched with his fingers balled up at his sides, nervously waiting as the seller managed to determine that the cane was probably Victorian. Magnus waved the man off and turned to Alec, cane in hand.
"It's actually Edwardian" He said, sadly. He ran his hand over it, and to Alec, it transformed itself from a battered wooden stick to a piece of Magnus' past. "Terribly ill used" Magnus said quietly. "So…the top is worn" He tipped it for Alec to see, a circular smooth-shaped sphere looking comforting. But it was damaged and chipped and the colour was faded. "Indicates a weight, it's been used but not properly. That is not the mark of a worn-in cane" With a swift motion, Magnus had it precisely balanced on the back of his wrist, the cane's damaged body exposed. Alec could practically see the hurt reflecting in Magnus' eyes. "It's been used as a prop – to hold something up. See how it bows like this?" A finger tickled the length with care. "It's probably been used as a weapon" Alec's eyes widened. "By a child mind you – see the chips and dents?" Magnus continued. "A sword, or a stick…once, it was probably loved" Magnus bit his lip and put it back, linking his arm through Alec's. "Did you know that King Louis the….the fourteenth, of France, his cane was decorated with jewels and diamonds" Alec daren't say anything so he settled for an encouraging nod. "He thought them prestigious. Icons of wealth. Icons of his wealth" He amended. "So he didn't allow his subjects to have canes in his presence" Magnus then frowned. "The Dandies often had them…eventually it came over to Britain somewhere over the eighteenth century"
"Dandies?" Alec echoed, trying not to laugh.
"They were like bohemians. They rejected bourgeois values, liked a carefree lifestyle, didn't really belong anywhere in society"
"Like you, I'd imagine" Alec braved a smile and Magnus caught it – but he turned away unaffected.
"I had my place" Magnus said quietly. "But the Dandies emulated the aristocracy, not like the bohemians who'd rather live like peasants"
"Ooooo" Alec said. "Peasants?" Magnus smiled a little.
"Dandies appreciated appearance. They indulged in elegance – white gloves were adored – they spent most of their day prepping themselves to look just right. They were mostly French, mind you"
"Are you sure you weren't a Dandy?" Alec asked, cheekily. Magnus neither confirmed nor denied it, but something in his eyes made Alec leave the topic alone. "So…these Dandies …made canes popular?"
"I guess. It was at it's prime all over Europe during the nineteenth century. People with money topped them with silver – real silver. Often an animal head. Jem had a...a dragon, I think" Alec's breath hitched at the mention of the historic name and he bit his lips closed. "You know canes were also used for hiding things? Liquor, powders- drugs" He amended. "Weapons were common too, Jem hid his blade inside his" Alec nodded, glancing to Magnus and watching as his eye found something else and he paused. It was the watch seller again, putting out a few more things on his table.