This is a piece I've had finished for a while, and it's been posted to my blog for quite some time too. I'm just now getting it published. This was a tumblr prompt asking for a Malec first meeting scene. I hope you guys enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mortal Instruments
Just One Date
Alec didn't typically go out to eat, but when he did, pretty spectacularly embarrassing things occurred. It generally did not, however, end up with him being given a gorgeous man's number. Not that he was interested, that was.
Alec Lightwood typically did not do the whole deal of 'go out to a restaurant with family/friends'. From his experience, the sort of occasions that restaurant meals dictated were ones in which bad things happened. Embarrassing things happened. Bad and embarrassing things happened.
Case number one: after his little brother, Max, died, his parents insisted on going out to eat 'as a family' in order to 'get over the ordeal' (their words, not his). The debacle ended with Izzy in tears, Jace punching a hole in the wall, and Alec accidentally dropping and breaking a glass. They were politely asked to never go back to that particular establishment. (Alec was fairly certain that they were blacklisted for all of the other restaurants in the chain as well.)
Case number two: when Alec officially came out to his family. Well, more of his parents, than his siblings. Izzy and Jace had already known, and Izzy was the one who convinced him to come out to his parents in the first place. Needless to say, it hadn't gone well. The dinner ended with Alec in tears this time, his parents wanting to send him to a 'straight camp', and Jace punching yet another hole in a restaurant wall. (They really needed to stop getting tables by the wall.) Isabelle had really laid into their parents, and it was silently decided that Alec should stay a few days away from home to let everyone cool down. (Luke, Jace's girlfriend's step-father, graciously let Alec sleep on the couch in the break room of his bookstore for those nights. Alec was exceptionally grateful. Isabelle stayed with Jace's girlfriend in protest.) (Surprisingly, they weren't asked to not go back to that establishment.)
Case number three: his parents' divorce. That was a particularly nasty one. Instead of the wall, Jace had punched his hand through an ornamental mirror on the wall, Izzy had stormed out of the restaurant after screaming herself hoarse at their parents, and Alec was left awkwardly sitting across the table from his parents. He hadn't been on that good of terms with them since he had told them he was gay. Alec was also the only one out of his siblings who wasn't surprised that their parents were getting a divorce. Still, it was fairly embarrassing considering his siblings reactions, not to mention when the manager came over and politely told them to get out, because they were disturbing the other patrons.
Long story short, restaurants and Alec never really mixed. The only reason he was going out to one tonight was because it was a special occasion. Jace had just gotten engaged to his long-term girlfriend, Clary Fray, and they all were going out to celebrate. Just the five of them– Jace and Clary, Isabelle and her boyfriend Simon, and Alec. Alec had been given the open invitation of a 'plus one' in case he had a 'super-secret significant other' that he wasn't telling anyone about. There wasn't a 'super-secret significant other', but there seemed to be nothing to convince his siblings of that. That being said, Alec was pretty sure that he was one birthday away from being gifted a cat. Or three.
"Alec, glad you could make it!" Jace waved him over to the table as he entered the restaurant. The table was one toward the center of the establishment, and it looked as if Alec were the last to arrive.
"Still no boyfriend?" Izzy teased, standing and hugging him as soon as he was close to the table.
"Not yet," Alec replied, hugging her back. "Though it is beyond my comprehension as to why you care so much."
"I want to see you happy, of course!" Isabelle declared as she released him. "I worry about you, spending so much time by yourself!"
"She wanted to set you up on some blind dates," Simon chimed from his seat across from Clary. "It took a lot to convince her not to."
"Uh, thanks," Alec said as Isabelle glared darkly at her boyfriend, sliding back into her seat. Isabelle and Simon had been dating for about a year- that Alec had known, anyway –and Alec still wasn't quite sure to think about his sister's boyfriend. Simon and Alec didn't really talk much, aside from the unnecessary big brother shovel talk Alec gave Simon, seeing as not only was Isabelle capable of handling herself, but Jace had probably already done so.
Simon was Clary's best friend, and he and Jace didn't get off on the right foot, so to speak, when he and Clary started dating. Then again, Alec didn't exactly get off on the right foot with Clary when they started dating either, so he didn't have much room to talk.
"She wanted to surprise you with a blind date tonight," Clary added from over her water glass. "We convinced her that you wouldn't be too appreciative of it."
"Plus," Jace added lazily, leaning back in his chair next to his fiancée, "I think a part of us were still clinging to the belief that you might show up with someone."
"Well, I hate to disappoint," Alec sat in the chair that was left on the end by Jace. He tried to keep his tone light and teasing like his sibling's, but it was difficult.
Before anything more could be said on the topic, the waitress whisked by, taking everyone's orders. After that, conversation moved on to other topics. How Simon's band was doing, why Simon was still in the band, how did Clary's parents take the engagement, how their parents took the engagement, how classes were for everyone– typical questions and conversation topics for a group of friends/family who had seen each other in person in almost a month.
"C'mon," Isabelle was saying after their food had arrived, leaning over her dinner to Alec. "Just one date, please Alec, you won't regret it–"
"No, Isabelle," Alec shook his head. "I am not letting you set me up on a blind date! How many times do I have to say no before you understand?"
"I don't know," Clary hummed, waving her fork. "Have you ever thought that it might not be that bad Alec? I mean, it's just one date."
"Yes, but letting Izzy set up 'just one date'," Yes, he used actual finger quotes, "leads to letting Izzy set up 'just one more date' which leads to 'I promise, this one will work, trust me'. Next thing you know, she's set me up with a serial killer and my death is plastered all over the five o'clock news. Besides, I'm not interested in dating anyone right now."
"You know," Jace interjected, humming thoughtfully, "The actual likelihood of actually being set up with a serial killer–"
"The answer is still no," Alec spoke over Jace. "I don't want to be set up on a blind date." His tone was final, and to fully convey the message that he was done speaking on the subject he busied himself with his water glass.
To further his point, Alec had turned away from his siblings, and was unfortunately mid-drink when it happened. Alec performed a rather spectacular spit-take all over the man who had been passing their table. He then proceeded to upend what was left in his glass all over himself.
Embarrassment set in nigh instantaneously.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry," Alec banged his kneecap against the table in his hurry to stand up, nearly upsetting the glasses on the table. He fumbled for his napkin, and held it out to his unfortunate victim. "Here. Again, I– I am so sorry."
"It's fine," Alec's victim assured him. Actually looking at him, Alec could see that the man had nice green eyes, and, probably more importantly than Alec's opinion of his eyes, what looked to be a very expensive suit. Which Alec had ruined.
"I'll, um, pay for that." Alec said, gesturing to his suit. "I mean, I'll pay for it to be dry-cleaned. I'm really sorry for that. Did I say that? I'm really sorry." He was rambling. It was a rather unfortunate habit that occurred whenever Alec was nervous.
It didn't really help that he had just spit all over an exceedingly gorgeous man. Not that he was interested. Alec definitely was not interested.
"Don't worry about it," The man brushed it off. Alec wanted to melt to the floor in a puddle of embarrassment.
"No, really," Alec insisted, "I am sorry, please, let me make it up to you."
"Well, if you really insist on making it up to me, why don't you give me your name cutie?" He winked at Alec, and he felt his brain short circuit.
"It's Alexander Lightwood," Alec faintly heard his sister chirp gleefully from the other end of the table. "I think he's considering changing his name to Embarrassing Idiot, though. If you give him your phone number, he'll let you call him Alec though."
He wondered if any of the servers would judge him for crawling under the table and dying.
Even worse, the man looked as if he was considering it.
"Done!" He said brightly, beaming, and Alec's stomach did flips, because all right, he looked pretty hot grinning like that, and he hated his sister and he hated Jace for getting engaged and he hated himself for agreeing to come to this stupid dinner at a stupid restaurant in the first place. He pulled a card out of his pocket, and scribbled something on it with a pen, and handed it to Isabelle.
"Now," The man leaned on the free space on the table, staring directly at Alec. Alec did his best to look anywhere but him. "What would it take for me to get a date with Mister Alexander Lightwood?"
"I don't know," Jace interrupted before Isabelle or Clary could say anything. "Alec was pretty firm earlier with his whole 'not interested in dating' spiel." Alec could kiss his brother, for taking his side like that. "What do you think, Clary?"
That jackass.
"I'm not interested!" Alec spoke before anyone else could give any more personal information in exchange for setting him up with a, albeit hot, stranger. It probably came out shriller than he intended, and less firm, because barely a glance was sent his way before everyone continued talking about him like he wasn't there. Green Eyes was still staring at him like he was the most fascinating thing in the world. Alec wasn't too sure how he should feel about that.
"I think you should give Alec a break," Clary defended him. "Look at him– I don't think I've ever seen him turn that shade of red before." Jace and Isabelle shared a look before shrugging. Clary was officially his new favorite.
"Or a kiss," Green Eyes said nonchalantly, shrugging. "I'm not picky." Alec sputtered.
"I don't think you guys should be selling your brother like this…" Simon was another voice of reason but, like all voices of reason with Alec's family, he went ignored. Izzy and Jace leaned across the table and had a very quick hushed conversation.
"If you want a kiss, you'll have to give him your name," They finally determined at the end of their deliberations. Isabelle mimed a hand motion of 'What're you gonna do?'. "You can't kiss someone without knowing their name– especially if you want a first date."
"And," Jace added, in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "If you want that first date, we agreed that you'll have to let Alec pay for your dry cleaning." He glared at Green Eyes, as if wanting him to challenge their terms.
Green Eyes shrugged, grin still on his face.
"I'm all right with those terms." He said amicably, and held out his hand. "You can call me Magnus, Alec." There was a sensual tone to the way Green Eyes– to the way Magnus said his name that set a shiver shaking down his spine. It wasn't all that unpleasant, Alec found. He wouldn't mind Magnus saying his name that way again.
Alec was mildly horrified at himself.
Magnus didn't seem all that offended when Alec just stared at his hand (covered in rings, all sorts of different rings) until he just retracted it. He was quite speechless with Magnus. It was all a frighteningly new experience.
"Well then, Alec," Magnus moved until he had eye-contact with Alec, and maintained it. "How do you feel about a date this Friday evening at seven?"
"That," Alec found his throat extremely dry. He wished he had a drink, but he had upended what was left of his water onto his lap earlier. Magnus waited patiently for Alec to speak. "That would be nice. Fine. That would be fine. I am fine Friday– I mean, free Friday." Oh, he was screwing this up.
"Friday works!" He squeaked before hiding his face in his hands. Alec pretended not to hear when Magnus said,
"Oh, you are fine," In a tone of voice that suggested a more sexual connotation than Alec was used to hearing.
Magnus stood up, and Alec pretended not to watch through his fingers.
"I will see you Friday then, Mister Alec Lightwood." Alec couldn't help the shiver that rocked his body with the sensual tone Magnus put to his name.
Alec would also later deny that he stared at Magnus' ass as he left their table. That was his business, whether he stared at anyone's ass. Not that he stared at Magnus' ass.
"I can't believe you two just did that to Alec!" Clary started tittering as soon as Magnus was out of earshot.
"Yeah," Simon agreed. "He didn't give a last name– you could have literally just set your brother up with a serial killer, for all you know."
"A hot serial killer," Isabelle snorted. "Besides, Alec was totally checking out his assets. Not to mention, he has that look in his eyes like- oh my god." She had just flipped over the card that Magnus had written his phone number on.
"What is it?" Jace asked, leaning over to look at the card. Seeing the front, he let out a low whistle.
"What?" Alec was terrified; what was wrong? Did his siblings actually just set him up with a serial killer?
Could you know if someone was a serial killer from a card?
Jace just shook his head, and clapped his hand on Alec's shoulder solemnly.
"You," He said slowly. "Are one lucky bastard, Alec."
"What?" Alec was thoroughly confused at this point. "What do you guys know that I don't know?" He leaned over to look at the card, but his sister snatched it out of his line of sight before Alec could catch a glimpse.
"Don't worry about it, brother of mine," Isabelle said, in a tone that was not very reassuring. "Just worry about what you will be wearing for your date on Friday."
"You guys aren't making any sense!"
"Trust me," Clary spoke up, shaking her head in disbelief. "You don't want to look at that before your date. Trust me."
MAGNUS BANE
PANDEMONIUM FASHION
(XXX)XXX-XXXX