"I hope you told him you were bitten by a gay spider," said Simon.
Magnus snorted; Isabelle looked confused. "I've read Magnus's stash of comics," said Alec, "so I actually know what you're talking about." A small smile played around his mouth.
-City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
A little ansty tidbit revolving around when Alec first found Magnus's comic books.
Comic Books.
It couldn't be called snooping if your boyfriend told you to go digging in his desk, right?
After nearly getting his fingers bitten off by some sort of toothed notepad, Alec poked around Magnus' drawers cautiously with the tip of his dagger, knocking around clouded vials and scraps of paper and various other things that probably weren't dulse.
What even was dulse? Alec had no idea, but Magnus had been busy with his nose deep in a book when he'd asked Alec to get him some. The warlock had looked so ridiculously attractive with his glasses on that Alec had mindlessly agreed. So he was back in the warlock's study, searching for something he'd never seen before.
Great.
The Nephilim closed the top drawer of Magnus' desk, kneeling down to tug open the next. Upon opening it, he saw that the entirety of the drawer was full of brightly colored stacks of paper. Alec set down his dagger on top of the desk, and pulling out the first page of the stack. Apparently the stack was actually a collection of small booklets, the pages as thin as parchment, but with a sturdy, plastic feel to them. Alec pulled out the first of the pile, turning it over so that he could read the title.
Captain America was printed across the top of the page in bold letters, with what looked like a man dressed in a bright blue outfit, complete with stripes and stars and a shield on his arm. Alec couldn't help but smile. The book, with it's outrageous font and bright colors, suited Magnus perfectly. He opened to the first page, pausing when he saw that instead of rows of text, the book had a series of boxes, small pictures printed into them, each showing a different part of the story.
The weird format reminded Alec of the manga Max had shown him back at the Institute when they were younger. His brother had been so excited about the books their parents had gotten for him that he had gone around telling everyone several times over the course of the next few days. Alec had snapped and told him it was stupid that the books were read right to left, and Max had never bothered him about it again. The teen's fingers dug into the rubbery paper, crinkling it as guilt swarmed him.
He wasn't like Isabelle. In Idris, he never had the sweet luxury to lock himself away and mourn for the death of his little brother. He'd been an adult by the Law, and so he'd been busy, always busy, either helping to defend or rebuild Alicante until they'd finally returned to Manhattan. Even then things had been hectic, and often times on the rare occasions that Alec found himself in bed alone in the Institute, he'd pass out into a dreamless sleep brought on by exhaustion. Now that he'd found a moment of peace, he was sitting here and remembering the little brother he'd lost.
"Alec? Did you find it?" The Nephilim looked over his shoulder to see Magnus in the doorway of his study. The warlock's shirt was a bright purple, his silk pajama pants a strange hue of what could be considered green. It was casual clothing in comparison to Magnus' usual style. The warlock's hair was devoid of glitter, no makeup save a ring of eyeliner around his eyes. The gold in them seemed to flicker when he noticed the expression on Alec's face. "What's wrong?" Alec turned his attention to the bundle of paper in his hand. There was a pain in his chest that didn't belong there.
He didn't want to mourn Max. He wanted to teach Max how to fight. He wanted to read the hundreds of manga Max had surrounded himself in at home. He wanted to spend time with him.
He wanted his little brother back.
Alec felt Magnus crouch down next to him, the warlock's hand a steady pressure on his shoulder.
"Alec?" The Shadowhunter blinked away tears, looking up at his boyfriend. Magnus watched him with sad eyes.
"I..." Alec's voice wavered for a moment, he dropped his gaze back to the paper in his hand. "Magnus, can I...borrow this?" He asked, studying the book carefully. Magnus shifted forward, sliding his arm around Alec's body in comfort.
"Of course." He answered, turning to press a kiss to the Nephilim's temple.
A/N: Enjoy your bit of angst for the day! There's not much else to say about this other than the fact that I wish this was longer, but it seemed like a good place to end things.
Reviews are loved~