The 21st Century

This prompt was requested by frostedgoddess over on Archive of Our Own.

An outsider's perspective (a Downworlder) of Magnus and Alec

As he stepped out of the portal, Briar glared up at the old church that the Shadowhunters of New York used as their Institute. He rarely agreed to help out with Nephilim affairs, never in the last century, but his old friend had practically begged for his help, so here he was. He would be sure that the returned favor would be something just as unpleasant in kind.

With a scowl on his face, Briar pushed open the heavy door to the building, letting it slam shut behind him. To his surprise, the Shadowhunter that was stationed at the desk in the lobby simply glanced up at the noise before returning to his work.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the relaxed guard. An unknown warlock had just stepped foot inside their sacred asylum. At the very least, he would have expected to be questioned upon his arrival. Maybe there was some kind of silent alarm to notify the other Shadowhunters to the intruder. But after waiting a few moments, and sensing no commotion from the Ops Center down the hallway, he became even more confused.

"Can I help you with something?"

Briar turned back to find that the Shadowhunter behind the desk was looking at him again.

"Um, I'm supposed to have a meeting with the Head." The statement came out sounding more like a question, but Briar was too bewildered by the strange interaction to feel ashamed by the lack of authority in his voice.

Before the man at the desk could respond, a blond Nephilim stepped out of a room halfway down the hallway. Closing the door softly to what Briar assumed must have been his office, the man then approached him.

"Briar Cox?" he asked, holding out his hand to him.

Briar raised an eyebrow at the offered hand before clasping it with his, giving a sharp nod of confirmation.

"I'm Andrew Underhill," the man said before gesturing for him to follow. "Alec is waiting in one of our meeting rooms with the other Downworlders."

The surprises only continued when Briar followed the Shadowhunter through the Ops Center with no one batting an eye. The man, who had identified himself as Andrew, kept up a steady stream of mostly small talk, to which the warlock just nodded occasionally at.

Stepping out of the elevator and walking down the hallway was much the same; most of the Shadowhunters either completely ignored him or gave them a wide berth. Briar wasn't accustomed to this kind of treatment from Nephilims and the strangeness of it was making him antsy. He didn't like it one bit.

Andrew eventually came to a stop at one of the closed doors and let himself in, holding it open for him. Compared to the relatively quiet hallway, walking into the meeting room was slightly disorienting. The room was huge, with a long oval shaped table placed in the center. Most of the chairs were already filled with people talking amongst themselves as they waited for the meeting to start.

Briar was shocked to find that only three of the people gathered around the table appeared to be Nephilim. A young man with black hair sat at the head of the table, who he assumed must be the one in charge. A big flat screen TV was mounted on the wall behind him. To his right sat another blond man, this one with longer hair than Andrew's. Next to him was a woman with long black hair, all three displaying the familiar marks on their skin that identified them as Shadowhunters.

Beside the Nephilim woman was a vampire and a werewolf, while across from them sat a seelie. Being as they were the only members of their clans in the room, Briar assumed they must be the New York pack leaders and the Seelie spokesperson. Everyone else in the room were clearly warlocks, including the man that was sitting directly to the left of the man in charge, who also happened to be the old friend that had begged him to come . . . and he was caressing the forearm of the Head of the Institute.

"Briar!" Magnus greeted. Briar's eyebrows raised in alarm as he watched Magnus give the Shadowhunter's arm a light squeeze before standing up to greet him properly. "I really appreciate you coming on such short notice."

Out of the corner of his eye, Briar noticed Andrew stop to say something to the Head before the leader nodded, sending him away.

"What is going on?" Briar asked in a low voice as the door shut softly behind him.

Magnus frowned at him, tilting his head to one side. "What do you mean? I told you on the phone. Several Greater Demons have found their way out of their dimensions of hell. We need as many reinforcements as we can get right now to-"

"No, no." Briar waved his hand to banish his friend's train of thought and gestured towards the Shadowhunter he had been sitting next to. "I'm talking about that."

Magnus' eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he glanced behind him at the person his old friend was referring to.

"Oh!" he cried, and turned back to Briar. "You mean me and Alec?"

"Is that his name?"

A small smile grew on Magnus' face. "Yes, that's Alexander Lightwood-Bane. The Head of the New York Institute and-"

"Wait, what?" Briar gaped at him. He waited a moment, hoping to receive some kind of sign from his friend that he was joking. "Lightwood-Bane?"

"Well, yes." Magnus' grin widened as he nodded. "We got married a little over a year ago."

"You married a Shadowhunter?" Briar's voice had grown louder at the revelation, drawing the attention of those around them, including the three Shadowhunters.

Lightly placing a hand on his arm, Magnus glanced over his shoulder long enough to tell his husband that they would be back in a few minutes before stirring Briar in the direction of the door.

"What were you thinking, Magnus? Marrying a Shadowhunter?" Briar continued as Magnus closed the door behind them. "You know how their kind are when it comes to Downworlders."

"Alec is different," Magnus tried to explain, crossing his arms across his chest.

"They all say that," Briar said, rolling his eyes. "It doesn't truly mean anything."

"When was the last time you were around Nephilim?"

The question caught Briar off guard for a moment. "What does that matter?"

"I know you have become somewhat of a loner for the last century; possibly longer." Magnus let out a small sigh before going on. "A lot has changed since the first Accords were signed, Briar. And things have only been improving here in New York since Alec took over as Head. He really is different."

"And his parents?" Briar pushed. "I can't imagine the Maryse Lightwood that I've heard about would be accepting of this."

"I'll admit, she wasn't too happy about the idea at first, but she has grown to really like me and has accepted me completely into the family."

Briar floundered for his next response, but came up blank. Nothing since he first stepped foot inside this Institute had gone the way he had thought it would. He couldn't deny that the behavior of the Shadowhunters was a lot more welcoming here than he had ever experienced anywhere else in his long life.

He had become accustomed to the brutal hostility and disgusted looks that he would always receive when amongst the Nephilim. In fact, that treatment had a lot to do with why he had purchased a french-style, manor home in the secluded countryside of London. He had rarely left his property in . . . he didn't know how long. It was hard to believe that the wicked behavior that he had been forced to endure his whole life was finally beginning to truly change, and all because of how apparently respectful the Head of Institute was of the Downworlders that lived in New York.

"Things haven't improved this much elsewhere, of course," Magnus added. He had obviously taken note of the look of awe on Briar's face at the news of such changes and wanted to bring him back down to reality. "But it's a start. And Alec is even being considered for the job opening of Inquisitor in Idris."

Briar shook his head, trying to clear it from the shock of the new world that Magnus was describing to me. "Really?"

Magnus nodded, a smile growing on his face as he thought about his husband. "He has done so much good here already. I can't imagine what else he could accomplish as Inquisitor." It was his turn to shake his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "But one thing at a time. We still have the Greater Demons that we need to deal with. Are you ready to go back in for the meeting?"

Briar swallowed nervously, thinking of his previous behavior, before nodding sheepishly. With a smirk, Magnus turned to hold the door open for him and Briar stepped back in to find an empty seat.