Magnus is describing some habits Alec has. There will be another chapter in this fic, with Alec describing Magnus' habits.
Alec's habits by Magnus
There are many habits that Alec has that infuriate me, or confuse me, or irritate me, or just astound me. One of those extraordinarily endearing habits is when he bites his lip. When we first met, he had extremely chapped lips and I had just thought he had something against chapstick. But when I got to know him better, I started to see the little things he did that made him more human, and less like an untouchable angel. Like the lip-biting. When Alec is thinking deeply, he bites his lips. Not just one, but both. Mostly at the same time. Usually he doesn't even realize he's doing it, which explains the chronic chapped lips. He gets that faraway look in his eyes and he pulls his lips into his mouth and bites it. It's so attractive, I have trouble keeping control over myself. As much as I wish that he was biting my lips, I always watch him with fascination. Actions like that make me realize that he is still just a teenager with problems of his own. Too many times I've had to see Alec be the adult in the situation, either because he has to take care of Jace and Izzy, or because he's the only one who knows what to do. And sometimes I forget that he's still a child. When he bites his lips, I remember that he has issues he has no idea how to solve, and that he's only 18. I don't know if it's a bad thing or a good thing that I treat him like an adult, even though he's barely out of his childhood. And even though I look 19, there is an uncrossable ocean of time between us that will always be there. And that makes me incredibly sad.
Another cute habit Alec has is his urge to write in that absurd journal thing he always carries around with him. I see his eyes widen and know that I probably won't see him for the rest of the day. Most of the time he retreats to the bedroom where he knows I won't bother him. It's one of the few times he voluntarily goes in there without being insanely embarrassed. But there are times when he stays with me in the living room and although he just ignores me, it's fascinating to watch him write down his thoughts. I see him get writer's block, or have huge flashes of inspiration when his pencil just flies across the paper, never stopping or stuttering like his voice is prone to. I think the appeal is that he never has to be embarrassed, or get stuck on voicing his opinions when all he has to do is put the pencil to the paper. But, the downside is that you are subject to fits of writer's block, where no matter how hard you try, the words just don't come. When Alec is hit with one of these road blocks, he twirls his pencil in his finger. After all my time on this earth, I have never figured out how people twirl pencils without even thinking about it. Sure, I could use magic, but Alec has the actual talent and skill to do it without magic. His fingers twist and turn and any moment I think the pencil will fly right out of his hand, but it never does. I'm amazed. He has no idea what that pencil does to my pulse. I've always found hidden talents that I don't possess to be attractive, and pencil twirling is no different. Inevitably, when Alec is stuck with a bad case of writer's block, and flips and turns his pencil around in his hand, I have no control over myself, and decide to take matters into my own hands. Preferably by kissing the living daylights out of my little writer. After that, he doesn't really give a damn about the writer's block.
Alec's habits aren't always mindless things he does when he's not thinking about it. I'm certain he knows when he sings in the shower. While I'm not an expert on singing, I know Alec's voice is almost angelic. But then again, what isn't? Also, I think I'm a bit biased on the subject. His voice rings out in the shower, over the running water, and through the door to where I normally sit on the couch. It's a bit gravelly and very deep, deeper than his speaking voice, which I wasn't surprised about, because Alec's voice is already low. Taking this into account, I was very surprised to hear Alec's deep voice ringing out in a high soprano, singing the lyrics to a popular pop song, but taking the melody into his own hands. Almost like he was trying to sing opera, with the lyrics of a hip hop song. While it sounds crazy, it's actually quite adorable. He has a very extensive range, and can really get up there. He can just squeak out Adam Lambert. Which is extremely hot. I personally have a hideous singing voice (although Alec will tell you otherwise) and can't sing to save my life. That doesn't mean I don't do it; trust me I do. I sing almost as much as Alec does. And not just in the shower. But, sadly, Alec's talents don't like to be displayed out of the bathroom. I have tried many times to get him to sing to me, face to face, but he turns a deep shade of red, his voice comes out an octave higher than normal, and his stutter is even more pronounced than usual. Which is a shame because I find it very sexy that he can sing, and I wish he would let me look at him while he does it.
While Alec has some super adorable habits, he also has the incredibly annoying ones as well. Like waking up at six in the morning. Every morning. Without fail. And no amount of pleading, begging, kissing, touching, can get him to stay in bed for more than an hour. But on the lucky days when even he is too lazy to get out of bed, I don't waste it. We spend the whole day in bed, not even getting up for food, just snapping it into the bed. I love those days. We just laze around in bed, not doing anything but the occasional chaste kiss that might turn into something else if either of us where energetic enough. But, usually we just doze on and off. Unfortunately, these days do not happen very often, because Alec is very punctual about his morning schedule. While he wakes up at six, and is ready to leave at 6:30, I spend an hour or two lying in bed, procrastinating the inevitable. I then drag myself out of bed with a lot of moaning and groaning, and spend another hour on my appearance. From there, I waste another couple of minutes trying to persuade Alec to come back to bed, asking him if we really need to leave now, and do we really have to do this now, and can't we just wait until tomorrow? Of course, he always says no, tells me I need to live my life to the fullest, we are wasting daylight, and calls me a lazy bum who needs to get out and not be a hermit. His words, not mine.
I've also noticed that a lot of Alec's habits are nervous ones, and he always does them without realizing it. For example, he mutters to himself when he's thinking. He will be writing in his little journal, pencil twirling, and words just float out of his mouth in random order, never quite making sentences. I once heard him mutter, "trees and birds and leaves blowing in the wind…hair everywhere, face and hands…shrieking wind and screaming voices," and that was it. I don't know what it meant, if it was a part of his day, or if he even wrote it down. All I know is that he said it under his breath, almost whispering it, and if it weren't for my heightened senses as a warlock, I would have missed it altogether. I actually have a little notebook full of the little tidbits I hear Alec saying to himself, and I record each and every one of them in it to look back on and laugh at the strange things that occupy his mind. Of course, Alec never knows that I can hear him, and he never will. I love hearing the weird and abstract things he says, wondering about where they came from, why he thought about those specific words and in that specific order. But I will never find out what they mean. I have thought about stealing his little book, I mean, can you imagine the kinds of things that are in there? But I wouldn't do something that would betray his trust in me. Hopefully someday he will open up enough to let me take a peek inside his busy brain. I doubt I would be able to make much sense of it though. I barely keep up with him when he does talk to me. The combination of the lip-biting, pencil twirling and muttering and insane morning schedule should have made me go insane with the little noises and faint murmurs and interruptions, but it doesn't. All of these together make up who Alec is, and I wouldn't change him for the world.
