Alec was worried about Izzy. Not only had she seemed different on the phone, but she'd actually hung up on him. It was very unlike her. Sure, she could be a bit of a brat at times, and yes his sister did love shopping to the point of insanity, but she usually wasn't simply dismissive. In fact, Izzy usually liked to have the last word. Alec had waited a few hours to see if she'd call back, but now with the day approaching its end, he was starting to think he would have to call her.
Alec's mind was miles away, while his eyes gazed at foe brick. It was quite something, how very brick-like the laminate looked, with indentations for the grout work and a texture to the bricks Alec could see even from here. He knew that voice almost better than his own. Was Izzy foe-brick? Was she not quite as she appeared, or was Alec reading too much into their strange conversation yesterday? His sister was very passionate, Alec knew that much, though she hid it well when she wanted to. Was it just thanks to her excellent poker face that he'd never heard that pain in her voice before, or was there something wrong?
"I know that look."
Slowly, as if coming out of a daze, Alec turned from the stone design to look into the eyes of the one he loved most.
"There's no look," Alec said.
"Oh yes there is," Magnus replied firmly. "And that's it. So what's wrong?"
Alec sighed, leaning over to kiss his fiance, then laying back on the couch to gaze at the ceiling.
"Nothing," Alec replied with a sigh, and it was true. After all, he didn't actually know if anything was wrong. "Just worried about Izzy. She sounded strange on the phone today."
"You worry too much," Magnus offered as Alec felt his fiance's gentle touch on his cheek. Closing his eyes, Alec smiled.
"That isn't news," Alec whispered.
"Indeed," Magnus's voice was soft and loving. "Always thinking of others. It's one of your more annoying qualities actually."
"Pfft," Alec scoffed, lifting his head to face Magnus. "Is not."
"Is so," Magnus countered. "I'm selfish you know."
"Come again?" Alec asked with a shake of his head. "What does that have to do with me worrying?"
"I wish you'd worry a little less about everyone else, and a little more about yourself," Magnus explained.
"I have you," Alec said with a shrug. "I don't need anything else."
Smiling, Magnus leaned forward to kiss him deeply before pulling back and sighing. "See, and then you go and say things like that, and somehow all your annoying habits melt away," Magnus chuckled. "Love is a funny thing, isn't it."
"Isn't it just," Alec smiled. He closed his eyes and letting Magnus wrap his arms around Alec, closing his eyes.
"Izzy isn't going anywhere," Magnus whispered after a moment. "It's late. Call her tomorrow."
"Okay, but only if you take that tone out of your voice," Alec replied.
"What tone," Magnus scoffed. "There's no tone."
"Oh yes there is," Alec argued. "That 'oh silly Alec is fretting about nothing' tone."
"There is no such tone," Magnus countered.
"You're using it now!" Alec exclaimed.
"You aren't even worrying at the moment," Magnus argued.
"Then it's the Alec is being silly tone," Alec said, almost laughing. "Either way, it's a thing."
With a smile and slight chuckle, Magnus leaned in and kissed Alec, who melted at his touch like always. Alec couldn't help but wonder if Magnus would always affect him this way, even decades from now, when they were old and withered together.
"Let's finish this squabble in the morning shall we?" Magnus asked. Alec couldn't stifle his yawn so he followed Magnus to bed. Safe and loved in Magnus's arms, Alec fell asleep easily.
Alec woke before Magnus, which didn't surprise him at all. Though Alec and Magnus often went to bed at the same time, Magnus seemed to sleep in more, almost as if Alec functioned fine on seven hours, while Magnus's body wanted at least nine. Alec quite liked it though. It was nice to have a little 'me time' in the morning before people woke up. Lately that had been his only respite, between classes, homework, exams, and his parents trying to plan their wedding, Alec's life had become far too busy for his liking.
Distraught cries were coming from beyond the door, but this also didn't surprise Alec. Getting up quickly so as not to wake Magnus, Alec followed the sounds of distress. Upon opening the door, Alec was instantly assaulted by two desperate creatures. The hungry cats greet Alec with great love and attention, rubbing up against his legs and vocalizing their needs.
"Mew, meow, meoow," they whined together getting underfoot as he tried to move past them, and into the kitchen.
"Boys if I can't get to the food, you can't eat it," Alec told them, very seriously, as if they could actually understand what he was saying, though of course they couldn't. All the felines knew was that when Alec woke up, breakfast was served.
Eventually reaching the kitchen, despite the two cats running interference, Alec poured food into their empty dishes. Instantly neither one wanted him anymore, and went right to their breakfast.
"Typical cat affection," Alec sighed, though he was still smiling.
Noticing Chairmen dive in and start stealing The Great Catsby's food, Alec leaned over to scoop Chairmen into his arms.
"Catsby's old," Alec told Chairmen. "You have to be nice."
"Meow," Chairmen grumbled.
"Yes, I know your life is so very hard," Alec told the unhappy cat. "You only get to eat your own breakfast." Chairmen wiggled and whined, but Alec didn't let him go.
"You're getting fat," Alec told Chairmen cruelly, though the animal took no care of the insult. "Which might explain why Catsby's getting so skinny."
"Meoooow," was Chairmen's only defense.
"I see," Alec told the cat thoughtfully. "Well, let's wait and see how that argument holds out in court." Alec chuckled, glad no one was here to listen to him talk to a cat.
Alec didn't have class today as he'd structured his schedule to have Fridays free. It was one of the nice things about third year classes, many of them were once a week for three hours, instead of three times a week for one hour. Alec liked having less days where he was required to be on campus.
"Catsby's bowl isn't empty," Alec told the squirming cat in his arms. "But it seemed he's given up on breakfast so down you go." It was true, the older grey cat had walked off, leaving his bowl half full. Alec put Chairman down, and wasn't surprised when the striped tabby started scarfing down everything left in both bowls.
"At this rate, we'll have to put you on a diet," Alec told Chairman with a shake of his head. He turned to face the thin senior citizen absently walking away from his half eaten breakfast. "And Catsby on a high calorie weight gain supplement." Chairman turned his face up to look at Alec, licking his lips, clearly pleased with himself.
Well, at least the cats were fed. That was one thing done. Heading towards the kitchen, Alec got himself something to eat. He knew for a fact that no matter where Izzy was, she wouldn't be awake at this hour. His sister was definitely not the early riser he was, so he would call Izzy later. Surely everything was fine. Maybe Izzy had just been in a bad mood, or busy with something else. Slicing a tomato, Alec placed a few slices on toast, sprinkled salt on them, then picked up his coffee cup and walked back into the living room. Just because he didn't have any homework that needed to be done today didn't mean he had the day free.
Walking over to the dining table, Alec begrudgingly began his task. There had been a time when the tedious aspects of his life could all be blamed on his teachers, but thanks to recent events, he could blame his current boredom solely on his mother. Alec couldn't fathom why these save the date cards had to all be hand addressed, but as far as his wedding was concerned, his mother had become a force to be reckoned with. Addressing 500 cards by hand seemed easier than trying to contradict her, and besides, despite the repetitive nature of the task, Alec was enjoying the quiet of it.
It was well over an hour later when Alec next checked the time. Setting his cards aside, Alec went back into his bedroom and gently shook Magnus awake.
"Magnus," Alec began. "Magnus. Time to wake up."
"No," Magnus mumbled, trying to roll over.
"Yes," Alec said. "Remember you told me to wake you at nine."
"Right, yes," Magnus said groggily. "I should get up." Alec smiled, knowing full well that if he left the room Magnus would fall asleep again in seconds. Alec gently shook Magnus again, but suddenly found himself stuck. Magnus had reached up to wrap his arms around Alec, pulling him down. With his eyes closed, Magnus was clearly starting to drift off again as he held Alec on the bed.
Part of Alec was actually very comfortable and content to remain where he was, but the rest of him knew there were things to be done and he couldn't just waste time in bed, even if he was only here through the will of his unconscious fiance. Giving in for a few minutes and enjoying the warm bed and company, Alec closed his eyes. Then after a few moments, he tried again to wake Magnus, and this time he had more success.
"You have plans with Clary today, my love," Alec said softly. "At ten."
"Not ten yet," Magnus mumbled.
"It's nine thirty," Alec said. "And you still need to get up, get ready, and get all the way across campus."
Magnus groaned in that way he did when he hated the idea of getting out of bed. Alec had come to know most of Magnus's non-verbal sounds and their meanings since moving in with the man, though he'd spent so much time here before they'd officially lived together there hadn't been much to learn once they shared a roof.
"I'll skip breakfast," Magnus said, trying to get comfy again, and in the process getting a firmer grip on Alec.
"You have to wake up," Alec said chuckling. Magnus wasn't always this against waking up, though it did happen from time to time, most so recently than ever before.
"No, need to sleep," Magnus said adding an extra 'shh' sound to the end of his sentence, as if to get Alec to stop talking.
"No, you need to wake up," Alec said, trying to hold back a grin. "You're going to be late. It's already ten."
"What!" Magnus snapped, sitting bolt upright. "But you said it was nine thirty."
"You fell asleep again silly," Alec lied. "I bet Clary is sitting there alone waiting for you." Unfortunately, Alec's little plan only worked until Magnus saw the clock on the wall. He took one look at it, and laid back down.
"It's only nine thirty," Magnus corrected. "And you are evil."
"It got you out of bed though, didn't it," Alec chuckled. "Even if only for a few moments."
"Go away," Magnus grumbled. Alec chuckled, kissed his fiance's forehead, and returned to the dining room. It wasn't like he hadn't tried. If Magnus was late, it was his own fault. However, Alec had only addressed four more cards before Magnus appeared, looking grumpy.
"Rise and shine," Alec told him.
"Rise, but no shine," Magnus grumbled. "Stupid Clary. Why couldn't she want to hang out at a better time."
"She has class later," Alec said. "You're the one with a free schedulable, remember? You're the one who should be making your time work with hers."
"Stop making sense," Magnus whined as he started getting ready, beginning with a trip to the bathroom. Since they'd gotten back from visiting Alec's parents, the museum hadn't needed Magnus quite as much, and he'd been enjoying a rather part time schedule.
"I feel so unemployed right now," Magnus sighed as he reappeared dressed in black skinny jeans and a t-shirt.
"You're working two days at week at the museum," Alec reminded him.
"As I said," Magnus replied. "Unemployed. And that job doesn't pay, remember. So I don't work two days a week at the museum, I volunteer two days a week at the museum."
"There's no point getting a job right now though," Alec reminded him. "Otherwise, how will you ask for two months off for our honeymoon."
"Urg," Magnus roamed, covering his face with his hands. "I'm such a slacker."
"Then you can finish these cards for mom," Alec offered. "After you go see Clary."
"Oh crap," Magnus said jumping up and scrambling to get his coat. "Bye. Love you."
"Love you too," Alec called back, still chuckling at the crazed look in Magnus's face. Alec heard the door open and close behind him.
With a sigh, Alec pulled away from the table. Deciding to stick to his decision and make Magnus finish addressing the cards, Alec got out his phone and called his sister. It rang, once, then twice. Three times and went to voicemail. Izzy always answered her phone when she was awake. Marveling at how Izzy could still be asleep at ten o'clock. He was about to give up and move on when his phone rang. Izzy had called him back.
"What's up, brother?" Izzy asked. Alec couldn't reply for a moment. He was in shock. Her tone was so changed from yesterday. She sounds happier than he could ever remember her being, lighter.
"Umm hello?" Izzy continued. "This is my brother calling right?"
"Um, yeah," Alec managed. "Sorry."
"No, I'm Sorry," Izzy replied. "I shouldn't have hung up on you yesterday."
"Why did you then?" Alec asked.
"Was having a bad day," Izzy explained. Then added very cheerfully. "But everything's good now."
"I can tell," Alec chuckled, feeling so much better having heard the joy in her voice.
"Guess what?" Izzy said, her tone fiendishly gleeful.
"What?" Alec replied grinning, though she wouldn't know that through the phone.
"I've been awake for hours," Izzy exclaimed. "With my boyfriend."
"I've never heard you use that word for anyone before," Alec spoke softly, a little stunned.
"That's because I haven't," Izzy said. "Simon is different."
"So you're at the hospital then?" Alec inquired.
"Yes," Izzy said. "There's a super nice nurse here named Holly who let me stay the night."
"It's wonderful to hear you so happy," Alec said, smiling and making a mental note to send Simon flowers. Alec barely knew the guy, but in this very moment, he thought Simon might be his favourite person in the world, apart from Magnus that is.
"I know right!" Izzy giggled. "Oh gotta go. Simon's awake." And once again the line went dead, but this time Alec wasn't worried as to why. In fact, Alec couldn't help but think how last night while he'd been asleep in Magnus's arms, Izzy had been safe and warm in Simon's arms. Maybe there was hope for his sister's happiness after all.
I've been talking with SailingSeas1999 recently and I have realized that all of you probably think that I have attended a university. So I thought I'd set the record straight and tell you all that I've never taken classes at a university. I did go to college for a few years, but I've never lived in dorms or listened to a university lecture. I choose a university setting for this story just for plot convenience since it was an easy way to get all the characters into one place and have them meet spontaneously. Also I think I choose uni because so many all human AU's on this site were uni and my last all human AU had been high school so... I wanted a new setting.
Sneak Peek Chapter 106
A flurry of snow swirled around him as Magnus opened the door to the cafe. Turning his head, searching for that familiar red colour, Magnus spotted Clary sitting in the corner.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," Magnus gasped as he got close enough to her table. "I have no brilliant excuse except that sleep is amazing."
Clary chuckled, gesturing for him to sit down. Magnus did so. "I must say I've surprised," Clary said smiling. "You've never been one to waste time in bed before."
"I never had time to waste time in bed before," Magnus argued. "For as long as I can remember I've been either working two jobs, in school with one job or taking 6 courses to make up for not taking 5 while working in a previous semester."
"Sounds to me like you could use the break," Clary replied.
"You sound like Alec," Magnus chuckled.
"Great minds," Clary smiled. After that Magnus got up to order his own latte.
TIMELINE UPDATES
As you have all probably guessed due to the length and structure of this story, I have a HUGE timeline for R&S to keep it all organized because it's getting/gotten freaking complicated. It's a whole separate document that I use to make sure I don't forget when it is for the characters while writing R&S. I have done timelines for most of my stories and usually I upload them at the end of the story. For example Innocence Corrupts had a huge timeline and book reference section as the last chapter. The problem is that I have no idea when this story is going to end and it's SO FREAKIN long already that it feels pointless to have a timeline starting with chapter one be uploaded at chapter who knows what way down the line. So my solution to this is to upload the timeline in pieces. At the start of every September chapter there will be a timeline of the previous year. That is why when this chapter went online it seemed like I uploaded 4 of them. Just one new chapter and three timelines. Sorry for the confusion. I was going to upload the timelines before this chapter went up but I thought you guys wouldn't want a bunch of notifications for something that isn't a chapter. At least this way you get the crazy notifications and a chapter even if not 4 chapters. I hope you like the timelines!