A/N: This is my first TMI fanfic, so please no flames.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the amazing Cassandra Clare. Unfortunately, I am not her. Yet. ^_^
"Are you sure your father is willing to eat dinner in the same room as me?"
"Magnus, my parents just got divorced. I highly doubt that either of them are going to give a damn that you're there." Alec crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, waiting impatiently for his partner.
"Thanks, darling. Love you, too," Magnus called dryly from the bedroom, where he had spent the past half hour trying to find something that Robert and Maryse Lightwood would approve of. Well, at the very least something they wouldn't disapprove of.
"Oh, by the Angel," Alec muttered. "Magnus, you know what I meant," he called. "It is just a meal."
"Right, because the thought of having dinner with your entire family is so very calming," Magnus said as he finally emerged from their room.
Alec made a noise that was somewhere between choking and snorting. "Magnus, you... you look like..."
"You?" Magnus asked, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops on his pants. "Yeah, that's kinda what I was going for."
The ordinarily flashy warlock was wearing a black sport coat, unbuttoned to reveal a navy blue shirt, over black jeans and...
"Doc Martens?" Alec asked. "Silver Doc Martins? I don't recall ever wearing those."
Magnus grinned. "I said I look like you. I didn't say I am you."
Alec shook his head. "Whatever. Can we go now?" he asked.
"Getting a little impatient, are we, darling?"
"Dinner is at six, and it's 5:04 now!"
"Relax, Alec," Magnus said, wrapping the infamous blue Gap scarf around his partner's neck. "Manhattan is only, what, forty minutes away? We'll be fine. We may be cutting it a little close-"
"Gee, you think?"
"But we will be fine." Magnus insisted. He reached up to brushed Alec's hair out of his eyes. A small smile danced across his lips. "Now who's comforting who?"
"Whom," Alec corrected, opening the door.
"Screw you."
Alec grinned and started down the stairs. The handrail was a little low for him-they usually were-so he ran his hand along the wall instead. Ever since a certain incident following his first date with Magnus in which Alec had fallen backwards down the stairs, he tended to be a bit more careful around this particular staircase.
The couple made their way to the train station without incident, and had only just boarded when Alec's phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. "Jace," he said to Magnus in explanation before answering, "What's up?"
"We have a problem." Of course.
"What?" Alec asked, dreading the answer.
"Isabelle's lost her shit," Jace said plainly.
"Um, Jace? Gonna need a little more information than that."
Alec heard Jace sigh. "Well, you know how she and Simon have been having... issues?"
"Well, that's an understatement." Ever since Isabelle had bared her soul to Simon in front of his entire class at the Shadowhunter Academy and Simon had completely rejected her, the mere mention of the ex-vampire's name had been enough to send her off on an emotional roller coaster. These past few months had not been pleasant for the New York Shadowhunters, to say the least.
"Yeah, well, we just checked the mail and there was a letter from him addressed to Izzy. I think you can imagine how that went down."
Alec nodded, then realized that Jace couldn't see him and said, "Yeah, I can. How is she?"
"Crying in her room. Well, we think she's crying. Or at least she was. These past few minutes there've mostly just been a lot of crashing noises. We think she may have broken the windows. Clary's trying to talk her into opening the door, but I think she may need to use that unlocking rune. Maryse ran out to get something for dinner tonight, so it's just us right now, and I'm really not used to dealing with an emotional Isabelle."
Of course he wasn't. None of them were. Up until this year, Alec had seen his little sister cry maybe twice. Then she met some boy and finally gave her heart away, and the idiot had the nerve to break it. The thought made Alec want to strangle Simon. Still, the rational part of him knew that the guy was honestly trying to do the right thing. Alec had not known Simon very well, but the few times they had talked, the vampire had seemed like the kind of guy Alec might actually want his little sister dating. The whole situation was unbelievably complicated, and Alec was not exactly known for his skill and experience when it came to dating. "Look, Jace, just... try to hold things together 'til we get there."
"Um, I'll try..." Jace said, but he didn't sound hopeful.
Just then there was a crashing noise, and Alec could hear Clary shouting, "Jace! Get off the damn phone and help!"
"Got to go," Jace said quickly, and then hung up.
Alec put his phone back in his pocket and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"What's wrong, darling?" Magnus asked, laying a hand on Alec's shoulder.
"More Izzy-Simon stuff," said Alec.
Magnus shook his head. "It's just sad to see those two like that. Especially after what Simon did in Edom."
"That's not you fault, Magnus. It was Simon's decision."
"It was my decision, too."
"Magnus-"
"I'm not saying I wish I had died in Edom, Alec. I just wish there was more I could have done to fix Simon's memory."
"I know, Magnus. I know." Alec laid his head on Magnus's shoulder, and Magnus leaned into his partner. The two stayed like that, comfortable in each other's arms, for the remainder of the train ride.
