Magnus' fingers slipped on the phone as he struggled to muffle a yawn. He wasn't sure how it'd gotten so late, but he needed to talk to Camille if he was going to get any sleep at all. Punching in her number and listening to it ring, Magnus sat down on the edge of his bed and ran his fingers through his rumpled hair. He stared at his knees and listened to the hollow ringing on the other side of the phone.
The ringing stopped abruptly and Magnus looked up hopefully.
"Cam?"
"Hi, Camille here, sorry I missed your call" He groaned in frustration, "please leave me a message and I will get back to you right away." There was a heartbeat of silence and then the droning beep while Magnus waited to leave a message.
"Hey Cam, I'm seriously thinking about killing you right now. Answer your phone. It's a serious romantic emergency and it might be fatal. Talk soon, miss you all." Magnus hung up, knowing if the message went too long Camille wouldn't be bothered to listen at all.
Tossing the phone onto the bed and leaning back, Magnus stared at the ceiling and sighed. His feet still brushed the floor and he lifted them up to lie on the bed properly. Still in his clothes, makeup still on and thoughts still drifting to the adorable boy who was causing him so many problems, Magnus fell asleep.
He slept restlessly and ended up wandering into the bathroom just past one in the morning. Magnus cleaned up his face, taking off the makeup and giving his face a much needed moisturize. Deciding that sleeping nude in someone else's house might be a tad bit awkward, he slipped on a pair of fresh boxers and crawled back into bed.
Only to get back up again at around eight. It was early for him, but the bustle of noise downstairs made him think that it wasn't so early for the Lightwoods. Dragging himself out of bed and putting on a thin layer of makeup, he went simply dressed for the day. With the knowledge of it being warm, he put on a pair of bright red shorts and a white v-neck. Gently tousling his hair, Magnus shuffled out of his room and made his way down the stairs.
A smattering of the Lightwoods greeted him, Jace and Max both sitting at the counter eating eggs, toast, bacon and an assortment of fruit. Jace glanced over his shoulder, halting whatever conversation he was having with his mother to nod a good morning to Magnus. Max however was so deep into a weird looking comic book that he didn't even seem to notice Magnus come down. Maryse had her back to him, hair in a high ponytail and busy with more eggs and humming along with the faint sounds of the radio.
"Good Morning Maryse." Magnus called and she gave him a smile. She was wearing an apron over meticulously clean clothes. Amazed at her sheer ability to not get dirty whilst living on a farm, Magnus made his way over to the kitchen.
"Morning!" She said cheerfully, "Max sweetie could you go see if Isabelle is awake?" Her youngest looked up and nodded, getting up from his seat and nearly crashing into Magnus. Giving him a startled look that assured Magnus that Max had had no idea Magnus was there, Max, rushed back up from where Magnus had just come.
Jace gave Magnus a weird look and pulled out the chair next to him, patting it slightly. Magnus realizing this was a surprisingly friendly invitation to sit down, took his place next to Jace and was presented with a steaming plate of eggs.
"Thank you." He said, giving Maryse a bright smile and grabbing an offered fork. Magnus dug into the eggs and kept surprisingly quiet as Jace launched back into whatever story he was telling his mother before Magnus came down.
"So," Jace said, pushing his eggs around on his plate, "Because Simon is being super weird and Clary's mum might actually let her do something fun I was thinking I could borrow Alec's truck and take her down to the movies." With very little knowledge of who these people actually were, Magnus could only assume that Clary was a girlfriend or something of the sort.
Maryse nodded from her place in the kitchen, "Sure, as long as it's alright with your brother. It is his truck after all. When did you want to go?" Jace shrugged and shoved another forkful of eggs into his mouth.
"Probably this weekend."
Magnus glanced up at the calendar on the wall, which he noticed was covered in scribbles and abbreviations that meant god knows what, and realized it was Thursday. He'd completely forgotten there were days of the week and found it rather strange that time passed so slowly on the farm. Though, considering the lack of progress he was actually making on any of his endeavours, a slow passing of time was to be expected.
"Mm," Maryse gently plated the last of the eggs and wandered over to lean on the counter opposite the two boys. Max came down at that moment and clambered back onto his seat, giving his mother a wide grin.
Her eyes softened and she returned the smile as her son launched into the story of waking up Isabelle.
"Izzy is awake but very grumpy."
Jace snorted at that and whispered to Magnus, "She's always grumpy in the mornings. Alec and I don't wake her up anymore because she always tries to murder us. She doesn't pull any of that with Max so it's his number one chore." Magnus laughed and nodded, tuning back into Max's story.
The tiny boy gave a massive inhale and rushed through the end of his tale, "And then she got mad again but said she would come down for eggs so I said okay and then she yelled at me to get out so I did and then I came back downstairs and now here I am." Max pushed his glasses up on his nose, rested his head on his hand and waited for his mother to say something.
"Thanks darling," She said, kissing his forehead gently, "You done with your eggs."
Max stared at them for a brief second and then nodded, pushing his plate towards his mum, watching her take it away to the sink. "Where's Alec?" He said and Jace just shrugged.
"Probably off some place with his books or-"
Jace was cut off by Alec running through the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a worn blue shirt. He sprinted through the kitchen and yelled a brief "Morning!" over his shoulder. The whole family watched as he ran across the lawn and towards a big building that Magnus could only assume held livestock of some kind.
"Or he's on his way to see the horses." Jace finished, sighing again and getting up to put his plate in the sink, "He loves those bloody horses almost as much as he loves his stupid books." Smiling rather fondly, Jace stretched. He ruffled Max's hair, nodded again to Magnus and started towards the door. He stopped right before going out and grinned, "The queen has graced us with her presence."
"Shut up." Isabelle said, gently pulling her hair up into a bun and giving Magnus a happy smile. "Morning family."
"You were mad at me earlier." Max said, sounding quite matter-of-fact.
She laughed and ruffled his hair again. Looking rather irritated to have been put through this gesture so many times, Max smoothed his hair and picked up his strange comic again.
Maryse peered at his book, "Hm, you're almost done that one too huh?" He nodded happily, turning the page again and gasping as the action sped up. Maryse smiled at him and nodded, "I'll take you down to the book store later today and we'll see if Luke's got the next one."
Max smiled angelically at his mother and grinned. "I'll go get dressed, then I'll be ready to go as soon as I'm finished this one." She nodded and he dashed up the stairs again, nose still deep into his book and almost tripping about halfway up.
Magnus thanked Maryse again for the breakfast, though she waved him off. He wandered back up to his room but decided he would much rather draw outside in the warm sun than back in his room again. Grabbing his sketchbook and various pens and pencil crayons, Magnus headed down the stairs and set up on the porch. Maryse noticed him there and slid a glass of lemonade next to him, which he accepted gratefully.
Turning back towards the sun, Magnus began to sketch out more dresses in the beautiful colours. He watched the sun rise high in the sky and noticed Jace and Alec leaving the barn. They were laughing and talking, Jace shoving Alec playfully and the two of them bursting into another round of hysterics. Jace held his hand out for something and Alec gently tossed something at him.
Magnus' heart stopped as Alec got closer. Because Alec's shirt was around his neck and his gloriously toned chest was out there for the whole world to see. Resisting the urge to draw the beauty that was Alec's bare torso, Magnus forced himself to look at Alec's face and give him a smile.
"Hey." Alec sounded rather shy, running a hand through his wet hair and giving Magnus a small smile.
"Hey."
They both blushed, the two of them very aware of Alec's current state of undress. "Jace thought it would be funny to douse me with the hose."
Magnus nodded, thanking Jace mentally and wondering how he could have ever thought negative things about the other boy's cockiness. "That sounds… Interesting?"
"It was awful." Alec said, causing the two of them to laugh, "The hose was really fucking cold." Alec swearing did very little to help Magnus' current state of mental panic. He needed to pause the whole world and talk to Camille. And draw those glorious abs. Thanking whatever god was in charge of abdominal muscles, Magnus shifted in his seat and Alec blushed scarlet.
He stammered a little, edging towards the door and looking adorably bashful, "I should probably go get dressed." Alec said, staring at his feet for a moment and then biting his lip.
Magnus jolted out of his daze and nodded, "Uh, yeah right. You do that." He packed up his art supplies carefully, "I'm just going to go call my mum, I've been meaning to talk to her."
Alec nodded, "That's good, uh, just to warn you, Jace is probably going to bring Clary here. She's nice and everything," He said, sounding rather guilty, "I don't mean that she's weird or anything, I just didn't want you to get surprised, or anything." He trailed off, blushing fiercely again.
"Thanks." Magnus said, trying to sound convincing to make Alec less awkward. He gave Alec an easy smile and followed him inside. They walked up the stairs together, the silence slightly awkward but mostly filled with the two of them smiling at each other and Alec blushing like a little girl.
They parted ways at the top, the two of them hurrying to their rooms, but Magnus looking back for a split second long enough to notice Alec watching him as he closed the door.
Dumping his art supplies on the desk and scrambling around the room trying to find his phone, Magnus bit his lip. He finally found the device and knowing he was going to be on the phone with Camille for a while, decided to call his mother first. He punched in her number and slouched in his desk chair waiting for her to pick up.
"Hello?" His mother sounded quite on edge and a little bit confused, probably from the weird number he was calling from.
He smiled sheepishly, "Hey mum." She laughed slightly and he joined her, "Sorry for not calling, I've been sort of caught up in the whirlwind. But I'm fine."
"I know." She said with another breathy laugh, "Maryse called me once you landed so I knew that you were okay. How's Texas so far?"
He shrugged, but remembering she couldn't actually see him decided to go further into his explanation. "It's okay, the Lightwoods are really nice and having the kids around is a lot nicer than I thought it would be."
"Mm, is that so?"
He laughed, hearing the teasing in her voice. "Yes," Magnus sighed, "Having them around is actually pretty fun. It makes me wonder what it would be like to have a sibling."
His mother sighed as well, "We considered it Magnus. I know you always bellyache about wanting a brother or a sister or a puppy but we did consider it." Magnus opened his mouth to ask a question, the fact that they'd considered it being news to him. "But, we also considered the amount of time that other child would take up. How much we'd have to split between you and the other kids."
"You wanted what was best for me."
"We wanted what would be nicest for you. You may not realize it but Maryse is lucky enough to run the farm as a job and Robert works from his home office. Your father and I could never do that. The idea of splitting what little time we had just seemed cruel. You can complain all you like, but we do love you."
Smiling now, feeling a closeness with his mother he probably hadn't felt since he was a little kid, Magnus picked at non-existent lint on his shorts. "I've been taking pictures with the camera you got me." In truth, the camera had been spending a lot more time sitting on his desk than Magnus would have liked, but his mother would be pleased to hear he was using the gift.
"I'm glad."
He let out a sigh, "I really didn't expect to like Texas so much."
Magnus' mum laughed softly, "I know what you mean, I actually spent a summer there once." His eyes widened, his mother? The pristine woman who could barely stand it when a single speck of dirt graced the floors of their home? He tried to imagine her in the bustling Lightwood home, dirtying her shoes with the Texan dust and driving around in old pick-ups.
"You're kidding me right?"
Knowing his mother, there were raised eyebrows involved, "How did you think Maryse and I became such good friends? I went down there once, long before I met your father."
"Wow. How come you never told me?"
"I don't know, I've probably mentioned it once or twice. Now, I know you love talking to your mother for ages but you only have so much time for social calls. Go call Cam, give her my love and take lots of pictures for me."
"I love you." Magnus said with a laugh, saying his goodbyes to his mother before gently ending the call.
He wanted to call Camille right away, knowing that sharing the Alec knowledge he had acquired was of the utmost importance. But something made Magnus pause. He figured it was the fact that in one short phone call he'd gotten to know his mother better than almost eighteen years of living under her roof. Magnus couldn't believe how much he liked his mother when he didn't have to put up with her nagging him. He wondered if this was him growing up or simply a strangely depressing fact he was going to have to get used to. Liking his mother more when she was in an entirely different state was a bit sad, but Magnus decided that he was right in thinking the Alec info was more important.
Quickly dialling Camille's number and tapping out the rhythm of 'Stayin Alive' on the desk with his fingers, Magnus waited for her to pick up.
"Mag?" She clearly recognized the number, not only because she said his name (or at least the despicable shortened version she insisted on using) but because of the hopeful tone in her voice.
"Hello there." He smiled in spite of himself, "I might have to fly home to kill you if you continue to you that atrocious nickname."
She laughed, "I like it."
"You like celery. Your argument is invalid."
Magnus could imagine her pout, right down to the teasing eyes, "Just because you have some sort of battle with celery doesn't mean-" She was cut off by Will yelling at her in the background.
"For fucks sake, put him on speaker."
Jem's "Language Will." was faint and just as bored as always. He was delighted that they were all together but also sort of put out that he was missing all this time they were spending as a group.
Hearing the echoing tone to everyone's voices and knowing he was on speaker, Magnus decided to drop the news that would drive the girls mad.
"Abs."
That was all he had to say, he couldn't hear Will, Jem and Ragnor trying to figure out what the heck was going on because Camille and Jessamine completely drowned them out. Tessa was laughing, probably throwing her head back in that way that made Will distracted and smiling the way she did when the other girls were so silly.
"You lucky bastard!" Camille shouted, clapping her hands together and banging whatever table she was sitting next to. Magnus had no idea where they were but doubted it was Camille's house again.
All the girls were laughing now, Jessamine raving about how Magnus always got lucky and how it just wasn't damn fair. Magnus was laughing too, listening to the utter chaos that was raging on the other side of the phone.
"Shut up!" Will said, causing them all to stop laughing and Magnus knew the girls were throwing him looks now, ones that he would pointedly ignore. "Will someone please tell me what is so amazing?"
Jessamine piped up, "Magnus' hottie has abs."
The boys didn't say anything and Camille and Jessamine started talking over each other, trying to get Magnus to talk.
"Shh," Camille said, "Me first." Imagining Jessamine's death glare Magnus smiled again, awaiting Camille's question, "How serious are we talking? Six pack? Defined?"
"Washboard."
Tessa laughed again, "You're fucking kidding me right? This guy cannot possibly be real. It's too good to be true!"
Magnus grinned broadly, "I know. But here he is and he's sweet as sugar."
"You had better get with this guy Mag," Camille said, "He sounds like a dream boat. Any progress on yanking him out of the closet and into the glorious sunshine that is being with you?"
Will snorted at that, "The sunshine? Magnus is more like the lighting in a rave, bright, obnoxious and makes you feel rather ill."
"Ignoring William's ignorance over fashion and the importance of actually having colours in one's wardrobe, how is this conversion." Jessamine pressed and Magnus could imagine them all leaning towards the phone, waiting to hear what he was going to say.
"Don't say conversion, it's more of an enlightenment."
Camille sighed, "I don't care if it's a surgical operation. The question is very simple Magnus, does he want the d."
"Tsk," Magnus responded to Camille's sigh with one of his own, "calling it the d just makes me not want to respond. Really Camille, we're not on the internet. We are grown-ass people."
"Does he want your dick up his motherfucking-"
"I'd like to imagine so." Magnus said, cutting her off before she could cause outrage and trauma amongst the straight males on the other side. "He continues to flush like a ripe cherry every time I so much as talk to him. This I consider to be progress."
Ragnor spoke up now, "Camille is nodding. I thought you should know."
"Thanks bud." Magnus said smiling, knowing Ragnor he was probably hungover or ridiculously tired. He had a habit of sleeping all the time, whether he needed it or not.
"Magnus." Camille said, "I consider this to be progress also. I think we need to take things to the next level. Spend more time with him, get him alone. Talk to him."
Running fingers through his hair, Magnus leaned on his desk. "I know. I want to, but this is where I'm running into a problem." He kept going, answering their questions right away, "Not getting him alone, he's pretty easy about that and he might blush a lot but he doesn't exactly ignore me. The problem is my morals."
"Your morals?" Will said, "I'm so confused. One minute ago it was okay to say that he 'wanted the d' but now it's a question of morals?"
"More like feelings I suppose."
"Oh." Camille was quiet, "So you're thinking…"
Magnus nodded, even though she couldn't see him, "I think he might be endgame."
Camille gasped and Ragnor groaned, "For god's sake. I know you and Cam have this weird telepathic connection, but the rest of us are left in the dark. Can you briefly explain what this mysterious endgame is?" Seeming to take pity on him, Camille began to explain what endgame was.
"Endgame means that." She paused, tapping her finger nails on some sort of table or something, the clicking continued for a brief second. "The easiest way to explain it is this: Alec might be endgame for Magnus, Magnus might fall in love with him. He might be the end of dating, sort of the be-all end-all of Magnus' love life."
There was complete silence on both sides.
"Jesus."
"I know the resemblance is astonishing," Will said snarkily, "But I'm not actually him Ragnor. However, he is right. Magnus this is crazy."
Biting his lip Magnus glanced out the window onto the backyard. Jace was chasing a tiny redhead around the garden with a hose and she was screaming. Magnus wrinkled his nose at her shrill voice, but smiled after noticing how much fun they seemed to be having. Assuming this was Clary, Magnus turned his mind back to the problem at hand.
"It's not that crazy." Tessa said meekly, "Right?" She was clearly looking to the others for support, but Magnus knew she wasn't going to get any.
"Don't be stupid Tess," Will said, "Magnus this isn't one of those fucking Disney movies you lot love so much. You can't know if you love him, if you're ever going to love him. For Christ's sake you just met the guy."
Magnus sighed, "It's not like that Will. I didn't look at him and then think that he was going to be my husband or something moronic. He's just… amazing." There was no other way to describe it.
"He could be the most amazing guy in the whole world, he really could be." Will said, sounding surprisingly sincere. The others stayed quiet, knowing that Will needed a moment to talk to Magnus. "I know I act like an ass a lot of the time-"
"-All the time." Jessamine coughed, earning her a few giggles and undoubtably one glare from Will.
"But we're friends. And I can tell you right now that this isn't going to be good. You need to be careful. You can't get to attached to the idea of a life with someone you just met. Give it a week, maybe two. Then decide if he's endgame. Then plan your next move. For now? Have fun in Texas, flirt a little, and for the love of all things holy, get to know the guy."
Silence fell over the line once more.
"Wow." Camille said, "That was awe-inspiring young William. You have the wisdom of someone much older than you. Like perhaps, myself?"
"I'm three fucking months younger than you you absolute turd."
Jem laughed, "And the illusion is broken."
Everyone laughed, Magnus included. But he took Will's words to heart, knowing that anything Will was going to say in a non-sarcastic tone was something to make a note of. And he did. He convinced himself to get to know Alec. Maybe spend a full day with him.
"I'm going to go now." He said, "I think I have some drawing to do. Maybe some photos. And a hell of a lot of talking."
"Good." Will said.
Magnus nodded, "I'll check back soon? I'll give you an A.U."
"A.U.?" Ragnor sounded confused again, probably wondering if he'd fallen asleep and missed part of the conversation, Magnus thought fondly.
"Alec update."
"Uh, right." He didn't sound totally sure but had seemed to accept the consistant confusion.
Everyone shouted out some goodbyes, some rather vulgar curses and even a few ancient pronouns that came from god knows where. Jessamine thought it was funny to spring them on the group, coming out of nowhere and having no relevance to the conversation in any way possible.
Camille turned it off speaker and said her own goodbyes, "Talk soon lovely and remember, take it slow and then give us more juicy details. And a picture. Please send me a fucking picture."
Magnus laughed, "Will do. Bye." She signed off and they hung up, Magnus setting the phone down and gathering up his camera. Deciding to explore the house and maybe get some pictures of the wonderful architecture, Magnus set off.
He wandered through the halls, taking pictures of certain arches and angles of the front door. There were massive windows in what looked like a fancy sitting room where he took lots of pictures. He delighted in it, catching the right light on the right room. He considered sending some of them to his mother, giving her a look into where he was staying and all. Making yet another mental note, Magnus left the room and noticed a door at the end of the hall.
It was a thick, heavy-set door that was slightly darker wood than the others, like they'd all been updated and repainted except for this one. Magnus took a picture of it at first, liking the way it looked almost other-worldly and enchanting. He noticed the carvings in the door, leaves and vines that crawled up the wood. They were etched in perfectly, too mismatched and unique to be factory made. Magnus took some pictures of them before running a hand over the wood. He reached for the handle and briefly wondered what might be behind the door. Feeling rather adventurous, Magnus turned the handle and opened the door.
The door didn't creak like he'd expected, it was silent and swift. It opened into a slightly musty smelling room. The dying rays of sunlight filtered in onto a room that took Magnus' breath away.
It was a library.
Not the kind of library one would usually find in a house, not one that simply held the classics and some newer books that had been added to the owner's preference. Not a few shelves here and there with a bunch of couches. This was a two floor library with more books than Magnus had seen in his life. The shelves went floor to ceiling and the books never seemed to stop. The only place the books weren't was where the windows were, beautiful stained glass windows that were either frosted or coloured. There were piles of books sitting on a couple of wooden tables, books that couldn't have come from anywhere and almost seemed to be there because there wasn't any room left. The largest of these tables was surrounded by heavy wooden chairs and situated right in the middle. Magnus noticed emerald green armchairs hidden around corners. He counted at least ten, some looking more used than others and a couple of them were filled with books, making Magnus seriously question the amount of books one family could own.
He pulled out his camera and took some pictures, making sure to catch the dust gently falling on the books' covers and the way the light hit the different stacks. Magnus took some of the open books on the tables and stopped to gaze, open mouthed at the enormous map that blanketed the table that actually had chairs. It looked ancient and fraying, making Magnus scared to touch it. It looked like something out of a movie, a place that was untouched by time and was once the home to some sort of intense war meeting. A brief part of his mind wondered if the Lightwoods knew the room was there. It didn't look used, not like the other rooms that were filled with discarded things, clothes, pieces of paper and anything that seemed to get left behind. This room was almost entirely books and Magnus could hardly imagine Jace, Isabelle or even Maryse truly loving this room.
He raced up the wooden stairs to the second floor, grabbing a birds eye view of the centre table and wandering deeper into the books. Stepping out from between the shelves and over to the railing, Magnus sighed. He applauded whoever built the library, there were matching carvings in each of the shelves and the railings keeping Magnus from plunging to his death. The little leaves seemed to encompass the room, like a tree that was filled with books. Dumbly, Magnus wondered if maybe that was the whole point.
Magnus was walking backwards, trying to get the right angle on the light coming from one of the stained glass windows when he bumped into someone. Naturally his first instinct was to scream. Jumping away from this strange person he had encountered, he turned to find none other than a very wide-eyed Alec.
"Sorry!" He said immediately, looking quite sheepish. "I was just reading and I heard the clicking and when I came to see what it was, you were so focussed and I probably should have said something…" Alec laughed, "Would it sound dumb if I said that I didn't want to scare you?"
Magnus shrugged, "Perhaps a little. But I'll let it slide. How the hell did you move that quietly?"
"Uh," Alec was pretty confused and pretty adorable, Magnus' heart jumped and he felt like yelling at it to calm down and get it together. "I kinda just walked up? I didn't think I was that quiet, you were probably just caught up in your picture taking stuff."
"Right."
Alec watched him carefully, the way that he adjusted the lens and went on his tip-toes to get a better angle. "Do you like taking photos? Do you want to be a photographer?"
Magnus shook his head, meeting Alec's eyes and briefly getting lost in the luminous blue. "I want to be a fashion designer. I love to draw, I love colour and I love the notion that someday people could love my designs the way that I do."
"Ah, so you have an eye for art. Well then, what'd you think of the library?" Alec asked, leaning against the railing calmly. He observed the library happily, with an almost far-off look in his eyes. Magnus couldn't help but take a picture of him standing there. Alec looked surprised but Magnus brushed it off with a smile.
"This is the most amazing room I have ever seen. It's breathtaking." Magnus admitted, looking around and taking a quick picture of the domed ceiling.
Alec grinned wider, "Isn't it? I could live in this room forever. If I didn't keep running out of books."
Eyes wide and jaw practically scrapping the floor, Magnus just stared at Alec, "There are more books in here than I can count. How could you have possibly finished them all?"
"I get bored. There isn't a whole ton to do here and sometimes it's nice to get away from my siblings and just read."
Shaking his head Magnus smiled, "You are impossible."
"How so?" Alec cocked his head, watching Magnus with those bright eyes and making his heart work a little harder than usual. Magnus took a picture of him there and Alec laughed, "Is that going to be your answer to everything?"
Magnus blushed, but quickly regained his confidence, "You're adorable. I can't help myself." Now it was Alec's turn to blush, looking flattered but also completely embarrassed.
"I'm not sure adorable is the right word." Alec said, biting his lip.
Raising an eyebrow, Magnus said, "I'm sure that somewhere in this enormous library is a dictionary and I can look up the definition if you want. I can assure you that it's the right adjective. Thought some might argue that beautiful is a bit more fitting."
Alec could not have blushed brighter, he looked away from Magnus and sighed. "Are you always going to be saying things like that?"
"I say what I'm thinking."
Groaning, Alec laid his head on his hands, "I'll take that as an unfortunate yes that can hopefully be changed into a no."
Magnus gasped, causing Alec to look up. He grinned broadly at the other boy, "You, Alexander are wonderful and I'm not going to not say it." Mentally slapping himself and hearing Will screaming about taking it slow and not rushing into things, Magnus watched Alec bite his lip.
"I'm not really that wonderful. Isabelle says I'm overprotective, Jace says I'm a freak of nature and my dad says I have no friends." Magnus' idea of the Lightwoods being a perfect family was shattered a little, thinking of how horrible it was that Alec had taken these words to heart. They were probably said as advice or in the heat of an argument. But here Alec was, defending his right to the title wonderful with words that someone else had burned into his mind.
Shaking his head, Magnus smiled at him, "I will have to fight you on that one."
"Of course you do." Alec rolled his eyes, blushing slightly but smiling all the same. "You're funny." He stated this plainly, "it's weird that we haven't talked a ton, considering the fact you live here."
"I suppose it is." Magnus was intending to say more, lots more. He wanted to spend the rest of the summer just standing there talking with Alec. Making him blush and forcing his mind away from his own cruel opinion of himself. But the door downstairs opened and Isabelle popped her head in.
"Alec?" Isabelle called and Alec waved, "Oh Magnus too, good. Dinner's ready and if you don't come out soon it's going to get cold and mum's going to flip her shit." Isabelle said it all quickly and seriously, closing the door behind her. Magnus imagined her marching away, ponytail swinging from shoulder to shoulder.
Magnus started to walk towards the stairs when Alec grabbed his hand. Trying to ignore the fact that his heart practically stopped or the fact that Alec's hands were the warm and rough, Magnus gave the other boy a cheeky smile. "You're going to have to take me on a date if you want to go any further." Though he meant it entirely teasingly, Alec gave him an even cheekier grin.
"Maybe I will."
Magnus' jaw dropped. Excuse me? He was going to take Magnus on a? They were going to go on a? Thinking that he was dreaming and cursing his avid imagination, Magnus sighed. Alec's brow furrowed.
"I will think about that sigh later, there's one more thing I want to show you. I just thought of it and you are going to love it. Close your eyes." Magnus obeyed, wondering where this was going and trying to keep his mental Will from heading straight to the gutter. Keeping Magnus' hand in his own and jolting Magnus out of his idea that this was all a very vivid dream, Alec led Magnus deeper into the library. They stopped suddenly and Magnus could hear the smile in Alec's voice when he talked.
"Okay." He said, "Open them."
Magnus did and was briefly confused as to why Alec was showing him more books, seeing as they were everywhere, but then he noticed the titles, the covers and the authors. "You're kidding me." Magnus said, looking at Alec and gaping, "You must be kidding me." His hand left Alec's to come up and rest on his mouth. He ran his fingers over the spines and whispered an "Oh my god."
"I knew you'd like it." Alec said happily, shoving his hands in his pockets and watching Magnus fawn over the books.
Magnus continued to stare at them, "There is a fashion section to your library."
"Isabelle got really into fashion when we were younger. My parents bought her the books because they wanted to encourage her to read. But then she realized she couldn't draw and abandoned the whole thing. Nobody reads them, they're all yours."
Alec nearly fell over when Magnus leapt on him, wrapping his arms around Alec and squealing. "This is amazing!" He cried, "But we really should get to dinner." Sighing wistfully, Magnus turned away from the books and Alec laughed.
"They'll be here tomorrow. Don't worry."
The two of them started down the stairs, Magnus bouncing in excitement of the prospect of reading those new books and Alec watching him, amused. They left the library and wandered out into the hall, walking side by side.
"Magnus," Alec said suddenly, "I was kidding about the whole date thing." Magnus' spirits dropped, "But how about I take you out into town tomorrow. I can show you all around and introduce you to everyone. We can take my pickup." Magnus was amazed at how quickly Alec could crush his hopes and then bring them back to life.
Magnus grinned, "That sounds like fun. You sure you don't mind?"
"I like you." Alec said, looking down at his feet, "I don't have a lot of friends and you haven't gotten to see anything but our house. Why not?"
"Then I'd love to." Magnus said, meeting Alec's eyes and trying not to turn fire engine red.
Alec smiled at him and the two headed to dinner. The only thing on Magnus' mind was the prospect of spending the day with Alec and talking to the boy who had stolen his heart. The Will who was currently taking up residence in his brain cursed him for going to quickly, but Magnus dispelled him easily. They weren't going on a date, they were just going into town and Alec was going to show him around. Magnus could get to know Alec and highly doubted that that much could change in a day.
