The trick to waiting tables happened to be selling one's soul and sacrificing all human emotion. The restaurant's fancy demeanor had no effect on the childlike manners of the patrons. Napkins absorbed entire glasses of wine and shitty tips gathered moisture under unfinished glasses of water all the same. Alec sighed as he rolled up his sleeves, already functioning on auto-pilot.

The closing shift was never much hassle. Alec worked with an amicable cast and the early drunks rolled in, slipping boozy singles into his apron as he passed. Middle aged men and women seemed to have a weakness for his hazel eyes and the black tattoos peaking up from under the standard white dress shirt. The only downside to working the closing shift was that he wouldn't be home in time to see his brother unless the teen happened to stay up late to cram for a test.

Alec didn't like the days where he and Max barely got to say a word to one another, but between work and school those days were far too often for Alec's liking.

Alec wiped down his tables and pulled the dirtiest of the table cloths off to be washed. Chairs went up, floors were swept, mopped, and swept again. The other two waiters had left with the last of the customers, claiming illness and school work. Cleaning up alone never bothered Alec, being the calmest part of the night and all. He preferred it, even. The silence was welcoming after spending the day catering to the needs and wants of the rich and famous. Picking up trash and detail cleaning was easy enough.

The dishes, however, could go straight to hell. Technically the kitchen staff was in charge of washing dishes, but an elderly couple had stayed well past closing to finish up and Alec felt bad for them.

Alec regretted his sympathy for his coworkers as soon as he stepped into the kitchen. The bright lights and heat were far from the comfort of the cool, darkened dining rooms. The kitchen itself always instilled a feeling of anxiety into Alec. He was overly cautious of how he stepped, wary of tripping up a chef and subsequently sending food, knives, fire, and God knew what else flying.

Alec carried the dishes to the sink and ran the water, throwing on a pair of yellow gloves and avoiding his chatty coworkers. They didn't intentionally exclude him but they made no great fuss when he refused to speak up first. It was better that way, Alec thought. He wasn't trying to make friends.

As Alec worked he couldn't help but overhear snippets of the conversation happening around him.

"Did you hear about the boss' new investment?" asked Raj, a chef and one of the only people Alec remembered anything about. He was a cocky guy and always bringing up his ex-girlfriend who had done him dirty. "She bought out that old diner and then sent the elderly owner packing."

"Raj, you know I don't like to gossip." said Lydia, the night manager and professional hardass.

Alec finished the dishes in time to see Raj lean across the counter and challenge Lydia with a grin. "But?" he asked, drawing out the question.

Lydia sighed. "But I think—and neither of you repeat this—I just think it a little unfair of Camille to not rent the space out to him."

Raj's grin was replaced with a look of distaste. "That's a bit of an understatement."

Alec was content to sit back and listen to the two of them talk, but Raj had other plans. "What do you think of our dear employer, Lightwood?"

"No comment," Alec said, earning him an exasperated sigh and a knowing smile from his coworkers.

In all honestly, Alec didn't think too highly of Camille Belcourt. She was Medusa in a spotted fur coat, gifted with enough power and money to start her own empire. It wasn't surprising that she'd kicked an elderly tenant out of his job and home of fifteen years.

"Blink twice if she's sent you to spy on us and you can't say anything bad about her for fear of losing your job."

Alec blinked twice, much to Raj's amusement.

"All right you two. Help me finish up so we can all go home and sleep."

Finishing up consisted of wiping down the kitchen and throwing the dishes in the dishwasher to be sanitized, as well as cleaning and locking up the bathrooms and office. By the time Lydia locked the door it was already past midnight.

Alec bade his coworkers goodnight and sat on the curb to change into his sneakers for the walk home. Typically Alec would borrow Max's bike or skateboard when he worked so late, but he felt that it was more than a little juvenile for an adult in his twenties to skateboard to and from work. So he walked.

The cool night breeze sifted through Alec's work shirt and tossed his hair in every direction. The streets were blissfully abandoned so late, allowing Alec to enjoy his walk home without any distractions. Much like the empty dining rooms, the walk gave Alec time to breathe without anything being expected of him. No one to talk to, to make awkward eye contact with.

The distance between Alec's apartment and the restaurant would have only taken ten minutes to travel by car if only Alec could gather the courage to renew his driver's license. The apartment complex he lived in was only a short walk from everything he needed, however, so it wasn't like not having a license was a hindrance of any sort.

Max walked to school with his friends and occasionally took the bus and Alec walked, biked, or skated wherever he needed to go. Neither brother commented on the extra work, not even when they lugged groceries in paper bags half a mile from the grocery store and then up four flights of stairs.

The lobby looked the same as it always did, in all of it's gritty glory. Mailboxes, worn suede couches, the perpetually locked superintendent's office. Alec didn't stop to take it in, he just began climbing stairs. Four flights hardly took effort anymore. Seven or eight might make him break a sweat, but four was a cake walk.

Alec and Max's apartment sat in the middle of the hall, with an old cat lady to one side, a drug dealer on the other, and a police officer directly across. Not an ideal set up by any means, but it had been their home for five years. Alec unlocked the top, middle, and second to last locks, and pushed the door open.

In terms of décor, the apartment suffered terribly. Old milk crates served as bookshelves and a small coffee table sat in between the couch and the television. A couple of barstools and framed pictures and drawings made up the rest. The mess only added to the shabby look of the already crappy apartment.

Clothes of various states of cleanliness had been draped over the back of the couch, coffee cups and textbooks and crates were stacked precariously in piles. Papers and files were abandoned in more crates and shoes discarded in another. Neither Alec nor his brother were the neatest members of the family.

Alec kicked off his shoes and picked his way through the living room, reaching the kitchen with only minimal struggle. He turned the coffee pot on, having set it up before he left, and opened the fridge. Pizza and coffee didn't go together by any means but Alec had eaten stranger combinations. Working late left little time for making proper meals. Which was a shame, really. Alec actually enjoyed cooking as well as baking. There was a simple pleasure in knowing how to cook well, but Alec had to put a lot of things on the back burner.

The abrupt sound of music in the hall meant that Max was awake and emerging from his room so Alec pulled down two mugs and sat them next to the pizza box.

Max looked awfully similar to Alec, who in turn looked like their mother. Dark messy hair, warm eyes, and a permanently judgmental face. They even wore the same wire-framed glasses, though Alec only needed his for reading.

"You're home late," Max said. He had a no-nonsense attitude, much like his brother. Straight to the point, no ifs-ands-or-buts.

"Yeah, some couple stayed until after closing and we still had to clean up." Alec bit into his pizza and sighed. Worrying his little brother was the last thing he wanted to do. "I meant to call but I guess things got away from me."

"Oh."

Max looked every bit as tired as Alec felt and his heart twinged. Max's only duty was to keep his grades up, but the circles under his eyes seemed like a permanent bruise that a fourteen year-old shouldn't have to bear.

They sat in silence, drinking coffee and sitting at the bar late into the night. Neither brother slept well, both haunted by the same dreams that neither wanted to face. Three AM rolled around and Alec stretched before pulling Max up with him. The boy had started nodding off against his hand. "I think it's bedtime."

Max pushed his hair back only for it to fall back into his face. Alec noted fondly that he needed a haircut. And that he would also refuse one up until the moment Alec had a pair of scissors in his hands.

"Goodnight, Alec."

"Goodnight."

Over the years Max had become more independent, but to Alec it seemed like yesterday that the boy couldn't sleep without Alec by his side. The two were inseparable for the entire summer after Max came to live with Alec. He was nine and traumatized.

They were still close, but their relationship had changed drastically. Max became more independent and Alec stayed the same. Now that Max was a teenager Alec had a harder time understanding how to be there for the kid. When Max was young all it took was a hug and kind words, but now he kept to himself more. He bottled things up and left them to fester.

Alec hated to admit it, but that was entirely his fault. No matter how much he encouraged his brother to talk about his feelings, Alec couldn't lead by example.

Alec was a private person at heart. He looked after others when they needed it and if he forgot about what he needed, well that just came with the territory of being a big brother.

Alec cleared away the mugs and empty pizza box before he locked the door and made his way to his own bedroom. He left the door ajar and climbed into bed without taking off his clothes. He needed to do laundry anyway. Alec hadn't noticed how tired he was until he closed his eyes. He fumbled around for his charger, limbs heavy. He didn't check to make sure his phone was charging he simply nestled deeper into the bed with a sigh and let sleep wash over him.