Sometimes, Alec looks at Jace and thinks about when everything changed.
He knows, really, that it is not a what, but a who. A person, a colourful whirlwind, a warlock. Magnus is all of those things, Alec knows, but to him he is one thing. He is change.
A change Alec does not want at first. He is organised, he writes lists and everything has to be familiar. Change is not something he has ever had to deal with (until a red head and her mundane friend come into his life so suddenly he barely has time to ask what is going on). Magnus is messy and disorderedly and unfamiliar. He did not write lists, not even for shopping, and when life gets a little too familiar he changes everything just because.
But somewhere between the annoyance and the friendship, things do change. Jace blurs around the edges and Magnus becomes sharper. Alec stops thinking Jace Jace Jace and unwillingly, like someone has flicked a switch, the words jumble and change to Magnus.
Change is meant to be bad – so Alec doesn't really know how to deal with such sudden bursts of it. But, slowly, he finds himself changing along with the change. This time, when he finds himself standing outside Magnus' house without really remembering ever deciding to go there, he walks up to the door. This time, he knocks and does not make excuses when the warlock opens it.
And this time he isn't unwilling. He welcomes the change without question.
This change, he knows, is a good one.