*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Multiverse Mysteries-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
-*-*-*-*-*-*-40'sDetectiveNoir-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Chapter 7:
Requires A Soft Touch
Summary:
{*~********~*~********~*} *-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-* {*~********~*~********~*}Alec blinked, shaking his head, glancing from Izzy over to Raphael, Magnus and Simon before shifting back to Izzy…
Well…at least Simon looked as lost as he did.
Magnus and Raphael looked surprised and vaguely concerned but like they had a pretty good idea what was going on. Raphael's dark, unsettling eyes flickered from Alec to Izzy, setting taught and tense, all traces of the Simon humor gone. Izzy's gaze flickered from Alec's over to Raphael's, giving a barely perceivable shake.
Alec heard Simon's breath catch, the younger detective swallowing nervously. Izzy's gaze slipped from Raphael over to Simon, eyebrow quirking, a slight smirk slipping over her lips. Simon makes a faintly squeaking sound. The sound seemed to catch Izzy's attention. She blinked in surprise, dark, oddly bright gaze shifting curiously over the younger detective before flickering back to Raphael questioningly. Raphael shrugged, giving a slight wave, apparently an entire conversation going on between them without so much as a word.
Umm… Oookay… that's weird.
Alec shook his head, giving a faint sigh, swallowing, trying to get some idea what exactly was going on here, gaze shifting back to Izzy.
"Izzy w-what are you doing here?"
She seemed to almost startle, looking back at Alec. She shrugged, slipping around the bar, leaning back casually, giving a slight nod towards the crates beside her,
"Apparently covering for a jackass on my day off… how about you?"
Alec froze, blinking in surprise,
"Day off? Wha…you work here? H-how long?"
She shrugged, brushing her hair back.
"Uh…about… five years now."
Alec startled.
"F-five years… I b-but… no. You… you left town. Right after you broke off the engagement with Edward Ivey; you moved clear across country to try to find yourself. Said it was a mistake and you wanted to clear your head.
W-we got letters and cards from New York."
She nodded.
"Yeah that's where Lydia and her family moved junior year, we still kept in touch. She agreed to help me out. I send the letters in a package to her and she and Mia send them back to you guys."
Alec swallowed, totally stunned.
"W-wait so… but… we haven't seen you in five years. You're telling me we've been living in the same city for five years and have not seen each other once?
Why? Why would you do that?"
She scoffed, eyes flashing, giving a sharp wave.
"Alec; I ran the day before I was supposed to get married, had my childhood best friend and her girlfriend send letters and packages making it look like I lived clear on the other side of the country and I am working in a gay club.
You're a detective… put the pieces together."
"W…oh…"
She shrugged, pushing off the bar, moving over towards the group, stopping at the table next to them, giving a slight wave.
"Yeah… oh." She folded her arms, stance deceptively casual, quirking her eyebrow challengingly, meeting his eyes dead on, gaze sharp and full of fire.
"Is that gonna be an issue?"
Alec gulped, blinking.
Woah…okay, apparently a lot has changed in five years. She's definitely been working with Raphael for a while. Who knew his little sister could be that intimidating?
She shifted, eyes sparking brighter.
"Well… is it?"
"If it is then he is one hell of a hypocritic jackass." Raphael growled.
Alec startled, shaking his head, shaking himself out of the stupor, looking between the others, faltering at that sharp, arresting look in Raphael's eyes. He's once again glaring holes in Alec, only this is worse…way worse. Impossibly dark eyes flashing bright and dangerous. It reminds him of a cat watching a startled mouse, poised, ready to strike.
Oookay…that was terrifying…N-nice crime boss….no sudden movements…
Alec gulped again, breaking the hypnotic, deer in the headlights thing shifting over to his sister. Izzy blinked, stance relaxing a bit, looking Alec over in surprise.
"Is that true?"
Alec shook his head.
"No!"
D-did Raphael actually just growl?
Crap…
Alec swallowed.
"I-I mean yes I- I mean I am so I'm not but if it was I would be and I…" he trailed off, glancing questioningly over at Simon, the only other person seemingly as confused here as him at the moment.
He gave a sheepish shrug.
"Uh y-you should probably try that again. I'm usually pretty fluent in babble but even I can't make sense out of that."
Alec sighed, taking a deep breath, glancing around at the others…at least right now Raphael wasn't giving him that terrifying death glare. Still looked like Alec should avoid sudden movements but it was an improvement in any case.
He took a deep breath, swallowing, holding his hands up placatingly,
"Okay, yeah that was bad… let me start again?"
Izzy tilted her head, waiting. Alec gave a slight, gentle smile, shaking his head,
"No Izzy, it's not an issue, not at all. What I meant by no is that I'm not a hypocrite, but if I did have a problem with it than that would mean I was a hypocrite because yes I am gay too…" He paused, going over the words,
"That came out better, right?"
Simon nodded, flashing a nervous smile, and a quick thumbs up. Alec breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing a bit, glancing back over to Izzy,
She tilted her head looking between them, bright brown eyes sparking curiously, glimmer of a knowing smirk appearing,
"Oh… I see s-"
Simon flailed, eyes wide, waving animatedly,
"Oh no you don't! You SO don't see. You are NOT seeing what you think you're seeing. That is not what's happening here. Like not at all. I don't even like Alec!" He paused, swallowing, shaking his head,
"Wait no! Not like that! I mean I don't like Alec like that! I like him just fine… I mean I think I do. I don't think I know him well enough to really know that I do, but I think I do. We haven't really worked together before and I've just been at the station for a couple weeks and we've only talked a couple times but he seems to be a likable person…kinda uptight but a good guy…hell of a lot better than a lot of humans-shaped jackasses down at the station...at…umm…a-at least I think so. I mean I guess he could actually be a total jackass and just hide it really well…
But like, I don't see why he'd bother hiding it when none of the other jackasses down at the station do-
Like at all.
Hell, it'd probably even help him fit in more and get ahead. Well…he's already head detective so there's not much more 'ahead' to get but you know what I mean…
Umm…
M-maybe…" he trailed off, clamping his mouth shut, clearly trying to forcibly stop the torrent of words.
The other four blinked, staring at him, Simon fidgeting nervously. Finally Izzy chuckled, slipping closer, flashing a near playful smirk.
"Well…you're definitely fluent in babble alright…There a name buried in all that? I don't think it was but I could've easily missed it."
He shook his head.
"I d-"
Raphael leaned over, slipping his arm around Simon's shoulders, squeezing, flashing a playful smile.
"This is Detective Simon Lewis…we are working a case together."
Simon huffed, shaking his head, gesturing towards Alec and Magnus.
"No…WE are working a case...YOU are tagging along to allegedly keep Magnus out of trouble but so far have only managed to screw with me incessantly and torment a witness…and Alec a couple times…but mainly me."
Izzy blinked, quirking her eyebrow, glancing questioningly at Raphael. He smirked, flashing a playful wink.
"He's very feisty…not gonna lie, I kinda like it."
Simon huffed, rolling not only his eyes but his whole head.
"Lucky me…" He groaned shaking his head,
Izzy chuckled, eyes sparkling bright.
"Well Simon, gotta admit it is VERY interesting to meet you…" She moved a bit closer, flashing an odd, playfully mischievous smile, leaning in, extending her hand, quirking her eyebrow expectantly.
Simon gulped, hesitating a moment before taking a deep breath, meeting her gaze head on, shifting forward, clasping her hand, shaking firmly. Izzy's eyes sparked in surprise, flashing a bright, kinda dangerous grin and a faintly impressed nod.
"Hmm…very interesting…"
Simon huffed, shaking his head, animatedly gesturing around the table.
"Okay seriously- NOT interesting! Not even the most interesting thing at this table. We have a murder case, you have a brother you haven't seen in five years, a really great suit and hat AND new boots, Raphael has some political thing that I totally missed and apparently a new handcart to buy, and Magnus has a…w-well…I don't know but it's Magnus there has to be something there more interesting than me.
See? We have murder, family, fashion, politics AND Magnus.
FAR more interesting.
Pick a topic…
Any topic…"
Raphael tilted his head, eyes flickering playfully.
"Well t-"
Magnus huffed, giving a flippant wave Raphael's way, reaching over, patting Simon's hand reassuringly, glancing between Raphael and Izzy.
"Now Raph, what did I tell you? Play nice. Remember, Lana Turner."
Raphael huffed, rolling his eyes. Izzy smirked, nodding towards Magnus.
"Threatening to do the peroxide thing again?"
Raphael nodded, Izzy laughed, shrugging.
"Yeah that was pretty bad, probably shouldn't chance it. Think I still have some of the photos somewhere if you need a reminder."
Magnus quirked his eyebrow.
"Hey don't think you're left out of this."
Izzy laughed, quirking her eyebrow.
"That threat doesn't really work for me…I'd be a freaking bombshell as a blonde."
Magnus chuckled, nodding quickly.
"Fair point, you'd be a total knock out- though it's you; that's true of anything. I wouldn't do that…
However I would sneak in and swipe all your fedoras and vests."
She froze, glaring.
"You wouldn't."
He gave a slight shrug, quirking his eyebrow, leaning forward.,
"Try me."
Alec coughed, leaning forward,trying to cover a slightly nervous laugh (He was like 90% sure they were kidding…still best not to chance it.)
"Okay guys we're getting sidetracked here. We have a murder case to solve and we're on a clock…we really don't have time for all these games and distractions." he paused, standing up, moving over beside Izzy.
Yeah they didn't have time for the games or distractions but hell if he wasn't gonna make time for this.
"Iz-"
She swallowed, quickly shaking her head, glancing away, kinda drawing back, beginning to turn,
"You guys have work to do, it's f-"
He shook his head, catching her arm, tugging her to a stop,
"No it's not fine…It's REALLY not. Izzy I…I really don't know what to say. I have no idea where to even start with this. I know there's a lot for us to talk about...we missed five years. I..." He trailed off, moving closer shrugging.
"W-was it just you? I mean did you just need space to be able to be comfortable with yourself? The thing with Edward was pretty quick, you guys were barely engaged a month. But I thought you just got caught up in it and then ended up getting cold feet…I-I had no idea. Was that it? When you realized?
Did you just want some time alone to sort it all out?"
She swallowed, shaking her head.
"No…there was nothing to sort out. I've known for as long as I can remember. I've been dating girls since I was thirteen and me and Lydia snuck our first kiss out underneath the pier. It wasn't ever a question to me…I-I just never knew how to tell everyone else. I have no interest in guys. None whatsoever.
I never have.
I wasn't in love with Edward…I could barely stand him. He knew dad from his country club, they golfed together a lot- He's always ask him about me. He hit on me desperately every chance he got. Guy absolutely made my skin crawl.
Edward wasn't my plan…that was mom and dad's. It was how they thought they could fix me…make me 'normal'. It was the only way they'd let me stay."
Alec felt his stomach drop, going rigid.
"What."
She shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself, kind of slumping against the table, sighing, brushing her hair behind her ear, tugging her midnight blue fedora down like a shield.
"Yeah…Like I said I'd been dating girls for years- hell, over a decade by then; I had it down. Was always careful, always covered my tracks. Always. But I tripped up. Just once…but that's all it took.
I had this keepsake chest. I always kept it hidden halfway under my bed beneath this loose floorboard. I was always so careful but I'd been in a hurry that morning. I had a ticket stub from the ballet the night before- I'd ended up getting a date with one of the dancers, a real knockout. We were gonna go out that evening and I didn't want to lose the ticket stub so I got into it to put it in there… but I didn't get the board replaced quite right.
Mom went in to get a pair of earrings I'd borrowed for the show and she noticed it…called dad. T-they went through the entire thing. Every last piece. It had everything in it; love letters, pictures, little keepsakes, everything.
When I got home they were waiting, they had the stuff scattered out on the bed and my suitcase packed.
Mom was crying, she barely even looked at me. Dad had already called Edward, told him I'd asked him to invite him to dinner the next evening. They told me flat out either I stopped that 'disgusting deviant behavior ' got my head on straight and made a go of it with Edward or leave the house right then.
They said if I left they never wanted to see me again. That I was no longer a part of the family.
T-they wouldn't even have let me say goodbye. Said if I was like this I couldn't be around you guys- they didn't want me to corrupt you..."
She trailed off, giving a wet little almost laugh.
"Guess they were a bit late to the party on that one, huh?"
Alec swallowed, shaking his head.
"Iz…I…god…I had no idea. None, I swear. I-if I did i-"
She shook her head.
"Alec you couldn't have…like I said I hid it well. I hid it well BEFORE that…after? After I was a fortress. I tried to make myself change, tried to get myself to just accept the idea of being with Edward…I really did…
I hated it…but if it was what I had to do to keep my family- to still get to see you and Jace and Max? I-it was worth it.
A-at least I tried to tell myself it was. B-but I just couldn't. I couldn't. We'd just got back from the last bridal fitting and I was looking at myself in the mirror in my wedding dress and…and I felt like I was gonna be sick. I would not have survived that…I know I wouldn't have…
I wrote the letters and I ran…
I-I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance to talk to you guys again but I just couldn't go through with it.
I couldn't.
So I ran…I ran and I ended up meeting Raphael and he sat with me and listened and gave me this job and a safe place to stay and a way to actually breathe, to be myself and have a life.
S-so I called Lyds and explained everything and that I really didn't want my parents to know I was still in town because I didn't know what their next plan would be but I didn't want any part of it. She agreed to send the letters and…and I don't know.
Time passed; I got on my feet, got my life together. Got friends- friends who really knew me, the real me, and a surrogate family of loonies like Mags and Raph and all the rest. Met an amazing girl, fell in love. Got an apartment together and a car and two cats- Chairman Meow and Miss CleoCatra- Clary and Magnus named them. I had NO say in it; neither did Raphael and there was absolutely no copious amount of alcohol involved –
Raph and I were out all night clear across town- he's my alibi, I'm his…
And…well…and now here we are."
She swallowed, shrugging, leaning back against the other table, glancing up at Alec.
"I…Alec…I know this isn't what you expected for me b-"
She's cut off by Alec moving forward, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tight. She sniffed faintly, wrapping her arms around him, squeezing so tight it almost hurt.
Alec didn't care. After five years he didn't care if it broke a rib. She was his little sister. She could hug him as tightly as she wanted, as tightly as she needed, for as long as she needed. Everything else can just wait damnit.
"Iz…I am so sor-"
She shook her head.
"You didn't know."
"Yeah but if I'd of just told y-"
"If they'd of found out they'd of done the same thing…"
"If I'd known they'd do that I'd of left on my own."
She shook her head.
"Y-you couldn't do that…abandon Jace and Max like that."
Alec gave a slight almost laugh shaking his head…
"Actually, pretty sure they're on our side of this."
She pulled back slightly from the embrace, tilting her head.
"Umm…d-do you mean they'd be on our sides because they're our brothers or…?"
He shrugged.
"Or…"
"Oh…"
He gave a slight laugh.
"Yeah…oh…well, with Max I'm not sure but I do know his two best friends are a couple and it doesn't bother him at all. I know Jace is bi, but he doesn't know that I know. He never shuts up about girls but I know at least four guys he's dated…He tries to be stealthy but…well…it's Jace.
I try to cover what I can and I kind of think Dad's image is so tied up in his sons that unless the evidence was totally undeniable he wouldn't see it.
Even so I try not to chance it. I don't think he's ever suspected with me. But I swear Iz; If I had any idea this is what happened I'd of told him myself, stood with you in a heartbeat…I w-"
She shook her head.
"Alec…it's okay. I don't want to keep rehashing it. We lost five years…I really don't want to waste more time lamenting about what could have been.
A-and don't do anything reckless. Don't go torpedoing your relationship with them for me…
Please?
That's the last thing I want. I don't want to be responsible for-"
"You're not res-"
She shook her head.
"I know I wouldn't be…but that's how they'd see it. I was the first one they knew about. You tell them I'm still in town, that you're talking to me, they're gonna blame me. Please Alec? You just found out…don't do anything we'll both regret…
Please?"
He swallowed, taking a deep breath, nodding faintly.
"O-okay, I won't, I promise."
She breathed a sigh of relief, nodding.
"Thank you."
He nodded back.
"Of course Iz…I have your back…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
"Gotta say, between this and me trying to hide working a case against direct orders this is gonna be one very quiet, very awkward family dinner tonight."
She tilted her head.
"You guys have a family dinner tonight?"
He faltered, swallowing.
"Umm…yeah…like once every other week. Helps to give Max some breathing room- he's the only one living with them still…" he trailed off.
"Hey, maybe another night the four o-"
Izzy shook her head.
"Alec…l-let's wait on that, kay? I'd love to see them but I really don't want mom and dad to know I'm in town…I don't.
Max is a teenager and Jace is…well…Jace.
"I really don't want to put them in the position of lying…and I…right now I really can't deal with explaining all of this to them…
I can't.
At least not right now.
I need some time on this, okay?"
He nodded.
"Yeah Iz, of course…but umm…since I know w-"
"We are having dinner at me and Clary's apartment this weekend, no excuses. I've put the 'meet the family' thing off far too long." She cut him off.
He gave a soft laugh, nodding, hugging her.
"Can't wait…I really can't."
She sighed, hugging him tight again, squeezing his shoulder, before moving back, giving a slight wave towards the others, flashing an affectionate smile at the three pointedly looking anywhere else but at them.
She rolled her eyes, chuckling.
"Seriously you guys are SO bad at that. May as well just be whistling nonchalantly."
Magnus shrugged slipping off his seat, hurrying over to the siblings, hugging Izzy tightly, lightly kissing her cheek.
"True but it's harder to hear like that…
Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me? I talk about the station all the time! If I'd of known-"
"You would have walked on eggshells around me and I'd know nothing about how my big brother's been doing the last two years."
Alec glanced over, tilting his head curiously, quirking his eyebrow at Magnus.
"You talk about me?"
Magnus flushed, shrugging.
"Uh…not much…all good."
Alec laughed.
"Meaning you grumble incessantly about me?"
Raphael chuckled.
"Hmm…apparently you do know Mags pretty well."
Alec shrugged.
"Nearly two years'll do that…he's definitely something else. What that 'something else' IS depends on the day, hour, moon phase, weather, planet alignments and about a dozen other factors…
But he's definitely something else."
Magnus gave a bright laugh, nudging Alec's shoulder, rolling his eyes, glancing from him to Izzy, shaking his head.
"I don't know how I never saw it…there really is quite the family resemblance. Guess I just never placed it."
Alec tilted his head, glancing over at Magnus, quirking his eyebrow.
"The last name never tipped you off? You're a reporter."
Magnus shook his head.
"I've only ever knew her as Isabelle or Izzy. And I am a reporter, but that stops at the door. You don't push the people here for personal information they don't offer freely, even something as commonplace as a last name. If they don't bring it up neither do you. It's a common courtesy. She never brought up her family; I assumed there was a reason…
Now I know why."
"Because her dad's a miserable bastard." Simon muttered.
Izzy gave a surprised laugh, quirking her eyebrow at the younger detective. He startled faintly, blinking in confusion before pausing, rolling his eyes, groaning, cheeks flushing bright, glancing around at the others.
"Crap… said that out loud, didn't I?"
Raphael chuckled, nodding, flashing an amused smile.
"Yes you did…summed it up quite well in fact."
He blushed brighter, shrugging, glancing apologetically between Alec and Izzy.
"Sorry, I tend to do that…no disrespect meant…well, none to you guys in any case. Every bit of disrespect towards chief Lightwood was totally meant." He scoffed, shaking his head, eyes flashing.
"I knew the guy was kinda backwards and bigoted and homophobic but that's like a whole other level of wretched. It's absolutely repulsive that someone would put something as inconsequential as sexuality above their own child.
There is no excuse for that. Absolutely none." He swallowed, hesitantly stepping forward.
"I know I just met you and I'm sure it doesn't mean much coming from me, but I really am sorry you had to go through all that…
You deserved so much better."
She blinked, swallowing, eyes softening, seemingly just really seeing the younger detective for the first time…
"I…thank you Simon. And it does. It means a lot."
Magnus smiled, flashing a soft, impressed look at the younger man, moving over beside him, slipping his arm around his shoulders, squeezing.
"Very well said sweetheart. I couldn't of put it better myself. Wonderful to have you as part of the team."
Raphael smiled, nodding, settling on the other side of the younger detective, resting his hand on his shoulder.
"It really is…I am definitely glad you didn't hurl yourself out of the back of the car on the drive over here like you were contemplating."
Alec gave a surprised laugh, quirking his eyebrow, Magnus and Izzy chuckling. Simon huffed, glaring sarcastically.
"Yeah…pretty sure I'm gonna regret that. Actually, I'm still keeping it as a viable option for the remainder of the case. If the first hour with you is any indicator by the time we reach hour four tucking and rolling at thirty miles an hour's gonna seem pretty damn appealing."
Raphael chuckled, eyes sparking bright, turning to the younger detective.
Ugh….they can't get started again.
Alec sighed, shaking his head…he really didn't want to chance getting that predator type look from Raphael again but they needed to refocus on the case…
He took a deep breath, steeling himself.
"W-"
"Hey Alec, I never caught it, what's this 'case' you're all working on? You said you were going against orders…guessing that means you're all under a hell of a time crunch." Izzy cut in loudly, tilting her head curiously.
Oh…thank you Iz…
Alec breathed a sigh of relief, flashing a grateful smile, nodding.
"Right…we really do need to focus. It's a murder investigation; he was one of your regulars. Eugene?"
She blinked.
"Eugene? Damn…he was a good one, real sweet guy, never had any issues with him. And Ruth's a doll- we actually had a bit of a thing for a while there but it kinda fizzled…I'll have to call her and see how she's holding up.
How'd it happen?"
Alec sighed.
"He was shot. We found him up at the Foundry. He was the son of Albert Dawson, the former mayor. He's office is trying to quash the case pretty quickly, not wanting to pull the family name into the press and everything…it's a lot of political pressure."
Raphael nodded, moving forward.
"Even more so since Dawson's announcing his candidacy for governor later this week."
"Wait, what?" Simon startled, blinking, looking over at him.
Raphael shrugged.
"As I said; the other political motive. It's being kept pretty well under wraps but my sources say Dawson's making the official announcement to the press Friday. He'll be a shoe in…
At least so long as nothing comes up that could damage his image."
Alec swallowed.
"Like…for example his kinda obviously gay son. Who he was meeting with the night he died."
Raphael sighed, nodding.
"So it would seem."
Izzy gave a low whistle, shaking her head.
"Damn." She glanced over at Raphael, eyes flickering curiously.
"Do you need m-"
He shook his head, waving her off.
"Not at the moment. It's your day off, you should enjoy it."
She shrugged.
"I can cancel…if you need my help j-"
Raphael chuckled, giving a flippant wave and reassuring smile.
"No, you haven't had one in far too long. If you cancel another I'm gonna have a very pissed off Clarissa hounding me relentlessly."
She chuckled, tilting her head.
"Yeah; it takes a lot but get Sunshine worked up and she's an absolute spitfire."
Raphael nodded.
"And I'm pretty sure being the reason her girlfriend cancels plans three weeks in a row would put me square in her crosshairs. Really don't want to chance that unless it's absolutely necessary."
She shrugged.
"Alright, if you're sure. But if you change your mind you know where to find me. I know she wouldn't like the interruption but the girls got a heart bigger than anyone I've ever met.
I'm sure solving an innocent's murder would mean more to her than having to postpone date night."
He gave a slight shrug.
"Still probably best not to chance it…we'll get this sorted."
Simon gave a slightly disbelieving scoff.
"How?"
Alec shrugged.
"Same as any other investigation; one step at a time. We need to look at the evidence, follow the clues and see where we end up."
Simon swallowed.
"And if we 'end up' at the victim's father/ former mayor/Gubernatorial candidate?"
Alec sighed, giving a slight shrug.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it…IF we come to it…but I really hope we don't."
Magnus nodded, leaning against Alec's shoulder, reaching up, squeezing his arm comfortingly, glancing over the others.
"Well, one thing is certain; If this is in any way connected to former mayor Dawson we need all the evidence we can possibly get. Everything, no exception, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential."
Raphael nodded, tilting his head, sharp gaze shifting over the others.
"Quite true. Simon said you guys got what you could from the records room but that and Kyle's word is about all we have as of yet, yes?"
Alec nodded.
Raphael nodded back.
"Okay…it's a start but it's nowhere near enough. Especially if it's this big of a target. Politics are a bitch to deal with in general. Tossing in murder, badly closeted individuals, likely a few better closeted individuals, political allies, political enemies, random homophobic jackasses and the rest? This is gonna be a hornets' nest."
Simon glanced over at Raphael, quirking his eyebrow.
"Sounds like you have a lot of experience with this?"
Raphael tilted his head in acknowledgement, flashing a slight, mysterious smirk.
"I do…kinda interesting being on this side of an investigation. Rather nice change of pace really."
Simon gave a slight laugh.
"You're back to screwing with me, aren't you?"
Raphael chuckled, giving a playfully flirtatious wink, voice slipping a bit soft and warm.
"I'm not admitting to anything Detective Lewis."
Simon's cheeks flushed brightly, he huffed, rolling his eyes. Raphael's eyes brightened, eyebrow quirking curiously. Simon caught the look, flushing more, clear to his ears, glaring.
"You are such an ass."
Magnus gave a bright, surprised laugh, nodding.
"Oh sweetheart you have no idea."
Simon huffed.
"Yeah I do…"
Magnus grinned, shrugging.
"It's actually a good sign- means he likes you. He only really teases those he likes."
"Or those he gets reactions out of…" Simon grumbled.
Izzy laughed.
"Kid, its Raphael; he gets reactions out of everyone."
Raphael shrugged, smirking, squeezing Simon's shoulder again.
"Isabelle is quite right…though your 'reactions' are far more interesting than most."
Simon gave an impressively sarcastic look.
"Oh joy…lucky me."
Raphael's eyes sparked excitedly, nodding eagerly.
"Aren't you?"
Simon's eyes sparked brighter, giving a slight growling groan. Izzy chuckled, shaking her head.
"Alright boss, think you need to lay off a bit. Pretty sure the kids about ready to bite you."
Raphael quirked his eyebrow, eyes flickering consideringly over Simon, shrugging.
"Hmm…Tempting…but pretty sure we need to wait till at least the second date for that…don't want to come off as too easy."
Magnus and Izzy burst out in surprised laughter. Simon groaned loudly, dropping his head into his hands, blushing clear to his ears.
"Oh my god, I SO should've just tucked and rolled and ran like hell when I had the chance."
Raphael gave an unconcerned shrug, patting Simon's shoulder companionably.
"Should of, didn't, too late now, moving on…we have a case to work."
Simon's eyes flickered, eyebrow quirking.
Alec nodded quickly, stepping forward, jumping on it before they started the next round.
"You're absolutely right…and that's a good catch with Dawson…the political side is a definite consideration but we don't want to get caught up on it. So far all we have that leads to Albert Dawson is the word of on uncooperative guy who'd had a few. I'm not saying Kyle is untrustworthy b-"
Raphael scoffed,
"I am; Idiota's got about as much integrity as Izzy has ball gowns."
Izzy laughed, quirking her eyebrow.
"Ah, talking about Kyle Weston huh?"
Raphael shrugged, nodding,
"Yup…"
Simon shrugged, glancing between the others,
"I don't know, seemed pretty trustworthy in the moment. I mean maybe not in general but Alec seemed to be connecting with him, Magnus had him so twisted he didn't know which way was up and then he tossed you in the mix just for the hell of it.
The guy may not be the most trustworthy or the brightest or most helpful, but he also didn't strike me as suicidal…
Which he'd have to be to lie directly to your face."
Raphael quirked his eyebrow, giving a faintly impressed nod,
"True…Hmm…
Still the word of a cowardly jackass in a bar at two pm isn't exactly unequivocal proof, which is what we need here. And we need all of it we can get.
We'll have to look everywhere possible for leads…especially physical proof, things that cannot just be waved off as hearsay or conjecture. Actual physical evidence can make or break this." He paused, glancing between the others curiously,
"Have you guys been down to the M.E.'s office yet?"
Alec shook his head,
"No, not yet."
Simon shrugged, glancing around at the others,
"Well…looks like we have our next stop."
{*~********~*~********~*} *-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-* {*~********~*~********~*}Damnit she's late! Stupid traffic, why the hell did they have to be working on the damn lines today? It's a total madhouse out there….
And the only way back to the theater is right back through the same damn street.
Ugh.
She was SO not looking forward to this. Normally she really did enjoy the theater quite a bit. It was always fun and elegant and Clary always looked so very beautiful all decked out for the show…well It's Clary, she's the most beautiful girl Izzy has ever seen but even so. She always was so happy having something to really dress up for- she'd go all out…Izzy can't say the effort wasn't totally worth it. The girls a total knockout without even trying…when she actually IS? Woah…
Yeah Izzy is a VERY lucky woman. It was always a magical evening and A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of both her and Clary's favorites. Plus the Actress playing the lead really was spectacular. She easily had the second best singing voice Izzy'd ever heard- First was and always will be Clary no contest. Girl sings like an angel…
Well…okay technically siren, but still…
There was no comparison with that voice. She fell in love with her voice before she ever even laid eyes on her. Then she actually saw the girl, talked to her. Saw that pretty smile and those gorgeous flickering emerald eyes, heard that bright warm, oh so sweet laugh and…yeah, she was a goner. Never stood a chance.
She's more than okay with that.
Meeting Raphael may have saved her life but meeting Clary was what made her life worth living. It gave her hope, made her think she could do this, she could make it…
She could be happy.
That she deserved to be happy.
Clarissa Primrose was without a doubt the light of her life…
Her sunshine…
There really was nothing she wouldn't do for the beautiful, amazing, impossibly sweet girl.
Even brave the madhouse that was Main Street two times in a row only to end up in a busy over crowded theater, feigning politeness and small talk with all the random other patrons there for the show.
Normally this isn't an issue. She's usually fine with crowds and she'd actually been looking forward to this date night for weeks. But after all this with Alec she just wasn't feeling the social thing tonight.
Still, it was for Clary, she'd power through….
Once she apologized for being late…
Again…
Crap.
She took a deep breath, reaching down, quickly unlocking the door, already beginning her apology the second the door opened.
"Hey Sunshine, sorry I know I'm late, I swear it wasn't Raph's fault this time- traffic on Main's crazy, some kind of road work, backed up for miles, but it's fine. Give me five minutes to freshen up and grab my jacket and we can b-…
Umm…" She trailed off, blinking rapidly, mouth going dry, pointing faintly,
"Uh…t-umm…wow…" Izzy gulped, eyes flickering over the gorgeous redhead,
Wow…
"Umm…Y-you're not wearing that to the theater…right?"
Clary gave a soft, tinkling laugh that reminded Izzy of windchimes and summer, quirking her eyebrow in playful challenge, shrugging,
"What? You don't like it?"
Izzy swallowed, eyes starting at Clary's soft, brilliant red hair, falling in shimmering waves down past her shoulders, eyes trailing over the delicate black lace straps and trim along the neckline of the deep violet satin negligee that seemed to flow over her, perfectly accentuating her soft curves.
Izzy shook her head faintly,
"Umm…n-no…I do…but I'm pretty sure if you wear that out somewhere I am gonna end up decking someone…
Probably a lot of someone's…"
Clary laughed, slipping closer, pretty eyes sparkling bright,
"And of course you'd absolutely hate that." she teased lightly, leaning in pressing a soft kiss to Izzy's lips.
Izzy chuckled, slipping her arm around Clary's waist, other hand slipping up, brushing a few soft red curls back, tucking them behind her ear,
"Of course…" she leaned in, kissing her once more, lingering a bit, deepening the kiss, losing herself in the moment, feeling the tension of the day melt away, seemingly really able to breathe again.
She finally pulled back, sighing contentedly, pressing one more gentle kiss to Clary's cheek before smiling softly, glancing around the apartment, freezing, blinking in surprise. She turned, trailing her hand down Clary's arm, catching her hand, tugging her towards the dining area, glancing over, flashing a curious smile,
"And what's all this? Thought we we're going out tonight?"
Clary shrugged,
"That was the plan…and if you really want to we absolutely can, but with you seeing Alec today I-"
Izzy blinked, looking over in surprise,
"How did you-?" She trailed off, shaking her head,
"Okay I know you have the whole aura reading/healing/hypnotic siren song thing going, and that over time the abilities can grow, change and fluctuate and you've been dealing with the whole devotee thing for quite a bit longer than me but even so if my girlfriend is developing actual psychic type abilities I really need to know. If my girlfriend can read my mind that is something I need to know."
Clary chuckled, quirking her eyebrow,
"Iz, I don't need 'psychic powers' to read your mind; we've been together for the last four years, I pay attention, and I love you…
Besides you're generally a pretty easy read."
Izzy gave a surprised laugh, tugging her closer, shaking her head,
"Hey! I am n-"
"Oh please! It generally boils down to 'wow, you look hot,' 'wow she's hot,' 'oh my god that guys an idiot,' 'why is this moron hitting on me,' 'why has that idiot not left yet,' and 'how suspicious would it be if I 'accidently' knocked this idiot through the window…'"
Izzy chuckled, shrugging tilting her head in acknowledgement,
"Okay so I can be a bit easy to read sometimes…"
Clary shrugged, slipping closer, catching her hand squeezing,
"Only for people who are paying really close attention."
Izzy glanced over,
"Like you?"
Clary nodded, squeezing her hand tighter, leaning over kissing her cheek softly,
"Exactly…"
Izzy smiled, tugging her closer,
"So…how did you know about Alec?"
Clary shrugged,
"While you were out dealing with the idiot at the pier I ran over to the club, forgot some of my sheet music there and I wanted to pick it up. I was sat up at one of the tables going over it when they got there. Recognized him right off, the family resemblance is uncanny, and you can tell the guy's a cop from a mile away- he has that whole 'hardnosed detective' vibe. Soon as they went up to talk to Raph I headed out to find you and give you a heads up but I guess I missed you. Figured if Magnus is bringing a detective by the club it's something pretty big and probably not cleared up before you got there.
I had no clue how it'd go but however it did I didn't think you'd really be up for crowds and more traffic.
I called the theater, got us tickets for tomorrow evening- and Raph can just suck it up and deal- he owes us a couple extra date nights.
Figured tonight we could just stay in, have a nice romantic evening just the two of us. It's been a while since I've had an entire evening having you all to myself. I made some lemon pepper chicken and mushrooms and stopped by Diana's for those éclairs you love for dessert." she faltered slightly, glancing up meeting Izzy's gaze, kind of unsure, shrugging,
"I mean…if that's good with you…
If you really wanted to go out we can…but this sounded pretty perfect to me."
Izzy shook her head faintly, slipping her arms around Clary, reaching up, gently cupping her cheek, leaning in, giving her a soft, lingering kiss before pulling back, bumping her nose against Clary's pulling away just enough to look into those mesmerizing emerald green eyes.
"I think that is perfect…and I have no idea how I got so lucky."
Clary reached up, tucking a couple rich chocolate brown curls behind Izzy's ear, trailing down her cheek, giving a soft, dreamy sigh,
"I'm the lucky one."
Izzy hummed softly, gaze shifting from those beautiful green eyes, taking in her pretty features and down to her soft pink lips. Izzy sighed, blinking, eyes shifting, slipping to black, a soft scarlet aura glimmering about the edges,
"I love you Sunshine."
Clary smiled, pretty green eyes flickering softly like candlelight,
"I love you too belladonna."
Izzy smiled gently, pressing one more soft kiss to her lips before pulling back, looking around, taking in the dimmed lights, table set for two with her favorite dinner, candles flickering in the center, the wine bucket beside it. In the wine bucket there was a very nice bottle of red, an even nicer bottle of Whisky and a bottle of absinthe. Izzy glanced pointedly from the bottles up to Clary, quirking her eyebrow in amusement,
Clary shifted, brushing her hair back, shrugging, cheeks flushing a pretty bright pink,
"Well…I really didn't know how the meeting would go- I was hoping for good but I figured it'd be best to cover all bases."
Izzy chuckled, nodding,
"You're always a few steps ahead aren't you sunshine?"
Clary shrugged, flashing a slight smile,
"I do try…" She stepped over to the ice bucket, glancing up at Izzy curiously,
"So…where are we starting?"
Izzy chuckled, slipping over next to her, reaching in pulling out the wine, waving her hand over the top, cork glimmering crimson, dematerializing.
"Oh thank goodness…I was hoping it wasn't gonna be a whisky or absinthe kinda night…"Clary breathed a sigh of relief, turning to the credenza in the corner, retrieving two crystal wine glasses, moving close again, placing them on the table, slipping into her seat, tilting her head,
"So I take it the conversation went okay?"
Izzy smiled, nodding quickly, flashing a soft, warm smile, filling the glasses before setting the bottle aside, taking a seat as well.
"Far better than I could've imagined. Alec is actually coming over to dinner this weekend."
Clary gasped excitedly, eyes dancing bright,
"Really? I'm gonna get to meet him?"
Izzy nodded,
"Yeah…I-I really want you to…I can't wait." She paused, taking a bite of her food, giving a happy, appreciative hum, smiling, Clary tucking into her food as well.
Izzy shrugged,
"Though I guess as I have my girlfriend for the dinner I should've asked if he had a boyfriend he wanted to bring."
Clary coughed, looking up in surprise, eyes wide,
"W-what? He-"
Izzy nodded eagerly, leaning forward faintly,
"Yup, apparently so. He's pretty sure Jace and Max are too."
"W-oh my god…t-h…"
Izzy laughed, shrugging,
"I know! That's how I've been most of the day today. I did tell Alec I wanted to hold off a bit longer on letting Jace and Max in on it…that was just too much right now…
B-but…I think it's gonna happen. I'm gonna get to see them again- all of them! I really will. I still don't know how to really process it all…it's just so out of the blue, you know?
I mean it was really hard telling him about that night, about why I ran, but…oh my god…I-It was so amazing getting to see him, getting to talk to him again. Getting to see my big brother…
It was amazing.
I really can't wait for this weekend."
Clary bounced faintly, giving a quick, excited nod,
"Me neither. You should double check see if he wants to bring a date though- the last thing we want is for him to feel like a third wheel…
Did he say if he was seeing anyone?"
Izzy shook her head, taking another sip of her wine,
"No he didn't, though we didn't really get a chance to get into all that. I did for a second think he was dating the cute, nervous little warlock guy but as when I brought it up kid flailed so much I thought he was gonna knock the table over and babbled more than I've ever heard one person babble in one breath I'm gonna go ahead and say it's not him…"
Clary blinked in surprise,
"Warlock? Oh crap! There was a warlock! I completely forgot. I was kinda tied up with trying to find you for a heads up.
What was a warlock doing at Chaos?"
Izzy huffed out a disbelieving laugh-
"Apparently working a murder case, along with Magnus and Raphael if you can believe it."
Clary laughed, tilting her head,
"Wait…l-let me get this straight…Your straight-laced, uptight, totally by the book and apparently also totally gay older brother, an over the top, flamboyant reporter, a warlock detective and a demon crime boss are working a murder case?"
Izzy chuckled, shrugging,
"Yup…"
Clary gave a soft, near giggle of a laugh,
"Oh my god…this cannot end well. Your poor brother! Oh, that poor warlock! I could barely even sense his powers- has to be just starting out on his own. Poor kid's probably scared out of his mind! Raph is gonna be merciless…
I love the guy to death but he can be a real jackass when you first meet… and a lot of the time after."
Izzy laughed, nodding quickly. Clary shook her head faintly in concern,
"Well I hope Raph goes easy on the kid. I know the whole warlock/demon thing is complicated as hell and there's all kinds of animosity on both sides but we're not talking about the entirety of warlock society, just one twenty-something probably the first time away from his coven and one of the most powerful demons in existence…
Raph has to cut the kid a little slack."
Izzy tilted her head, eyes glimmering in humor,
"Actually the kid seemed to be handling it surprisingly well. He was snarking right back at Raph- feisty little thing, that's for damn sure."
Clary blinked in surprise,
"Really?"
Izzy nodded, eyes sparking bright,
"Oh yeah…though…"
Clary tilted her head,
"'Though'…what?"
Izzy shrugged,
"Well, Raph…huh…he wasn't exactly going 'easy' on the guy but he wasn't tormenting him like usual."
Clary blinked, leaning forward,
"How do you mean?"
Izzy shrugged again, taking another sip of her wine,
"Well it seemed less tormenting to intimidate and show who's in charge and more like pulling pigtails-
Actually? I'm pretty sure he was like, near blatantly flirting…pretty much the entire time."
Clary snorted, shrugging,
"What else is new? It's Raph. Guy flirts easy as breathing- or in his case intimidating. And he does enjoy screwing with people, sometimes just for the hell of it- especially if they react a lot…which gotta think warlock randomly roped into a case with two totally-in-the-dark humans and one of the most feared demons in existence? Yeah, that's gonna be a lot of reacting."
Izzy tilted her head in acknowledgment,
"Kay, all true…but that's not the feel I was getting. I mean I know I can't do the aura reading like you but I know sparks between people when I see them. The kid knows he SHOULD be afraid of Raph- but he's not…well…not to the level he should be in any case.
Every time Raph would get close- which was like every time you turned around- his heart rate would pick up, breath would catch all of that-"
"Yeah…demon/warlock, that's a lot of anamo-"
Izzy shook her head
"Uh…no…it wasn't THAT kinda 'pulse racing, breath catching'…"
Clary's eyes widened,
"Oh…so h-"
Izzy nodded quickly,
"Oh yeah…like big time. And I know a lot of people react to Raph like that, because of his looks, his power, whatever, but usually he just ignores it, unless they're a total homophobic jackass and he just wants to screw with them…
But with this Simon guy? Man, I've never seen Raph so-like playful…
He was blatantly teasing the guy…and the thing of it was- Simon? He wasn't backing down- he'd react, blush, glare, call Raph an ass and just go right back at him or get back to work, he never let it phase him.
He'd get flustered but he'd just roll his eyes, wave it off and move on…
I've never seen someone so comfortable around him so quickly.
It was weird…Kinda good weird- and pretty funny…
But weird…" She shook her head, giving a slight wave, flashing a gentle smile, shifting forward,
"And it is our date night and we are spending it talking about Raph and my family drama…
That's gonna stop now.
I'm glad I got to see Alec and I can't wait for this weekend and I really am curious how the hell this whole pulling the warlocks pigtails thing is gonna work out for Raph but both of those can wait.
Right now I have an entire evening off, a great bottle of wine, and the most beautiful, amazing, magical girl I have ever met." She sighed, taking in the beautiful vision across the table. She hummed softly,
"That's more than enough to keep my attention for the evening." She smiled gently, reaching across the table squeezing her hand, entangling their fingers, looking up, eyes flickering black, reflecting the candlelight, sighing contentedly,
Clary smiled, soft candlelight playing across her pretty features, eyes shimmering warm and brilliant,
Izzy felt her breath catch, heart rate picking up at that soft, breathtakingly beautiful, loving smile,
She really had no idea how she got so lucky…
How she ever got this amazing girl to fall in love with her…
She had no idea how she'd actually managed to enchant an enchantress…
But god was she glad she did.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* *-*-*End Of Chapter Notes*-*-* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Yeesh…Hey remember when I had SHORT chapters?
Yeah me neither lol.
I know we kept jumping between the fun Jlijah flirting/snarking and joking and the emotional stuff but I just couldn't help it…
Besides to me that's how it's most effective-
(FYI Izzy and Raphael Totally named the cats themselves when they were drunk…they just tell everyone it was the other two to protect their reps lol…)
FYI I swear this verse WILL have a lot of Xanic but in this one it's gonna be pretty Jlijah heavy…
We have SO much in this verse, you guys really have no idea-
Speaking of which we're starting to get more into the warlock/demon stuff…yeah my minds kinda ran rampant with that- I have ALL kinds of background and society stuff and a lot more…
It might be a bit confusing at first but I promise it'll all make sense eventually.
So in my other verses I've had Sunshine picked out for Izzy's nickname for Clary but I don't have a reverse and it felt like I needed one here.
I thought 'Belladonna' works because it means 'beautiful lady' but it's actually a deadly plant (Deadly nightshade to be precise) Isabelle's beautiful, but also can be dangerous…(plus you know it has 'bell' like right there)
I think it works…
Anyways what did you guys think?
-*-*-*-*-*-*-40'sDetectiveNoir-*-*-*-*-*-*-
* 30 *