Jace wasn't crying, but there was a grief in his eyes somehow more profound than tears. Alec could see disbelief and shock about the shape of his friends mouth, and he wondered if Jace had ever really accepted that this day was coming. Alec tried to give his best friend some space, but after a while he couldn't take it anymore. He moved closer and put a hand on Jace's shoulder.
"It's time to go home," Alec said gently.
"I can't go home," Jace whispered. Alec knew somehow that Jace wasn't talking about never returning to his apartment. His home had just flown away.
Everyone piled back into Will's truck, and they drove together into town. Alec tried to keep up a conversation, but Jace never joined in. Instead Alec talked to his sister, or rather listed to Izzy talk about her new shoes. Simon pitched in on Izzy's side which was fine with Alec. Jordan and Paige were discussing next week's classes. Will and Magnus somehow got onto the topic of Lucie's newest word. The drive passed swifty, but Alec was concerned by Jace's silence. Will dropped Izzy and Simon off first. Then they arrived at Jace's apartment. Jace got out first, as if automatically. Paige followed, with Jordan trailing behind.
"Keep an eye on him for me, would you?" Alec asked Jordan, leaning forward to speak to him.
"Yeah, sure thing," Jordan replied, before following his girlfriend out of the truck and into the building
"You can just drop us at the bus station," Magnus told Will as they were the only two left in the car.
"Nah," Will replied, with a smile. "I'll get you home."
"Thanks," Magnus said. It wasn't a long road, and soon Alec was watching Will drive his blue truck away from their building. When Alec re-entered his apartment, he collapsed on the couch and covered his face with his hands. He sensed more than saw his husband join him. When Magnus put a gentle hand on Alec's shoulder, he knew he wanted to know if Alec was alright, even though Magnus didn't say anything.
"I'm just feeling sorry for Jace," Alec explained. "If you had to leave me for ten months, I don't know what I'd do."
"Oh, but I do," Magnus chuckled. "You'd get on a plane and come find me."
Alec couldn't help but laugh lightly with him. "I suppose you're right," he said, pulling his hands away from his face to turn and look at his husband.
"Oh, I know I'm right," Magnus chuckled. Leaning forward, Alec kissed him. After so many months of delight and adventure, Alec was quite happy to spend the evening in front of the tv with his husbands arm around his shoulders.
Yawning, they finally called it a night and went to sleep in their own bed. Alec had missed his bed, even if it was technically Magnus's bed, he'd come to think of it his as his own long ago. He could only presume that when you merge your life with another's, these things tended to happen. Beds, cats, lives that were separate, become one.
Alec had been sleeping. He'd been deep in a now blurry dream about planes flying over head, but no longer could he boast blissful unconsciousness. His phone was ringing.
"Make it stop," Magnus whined, covering his face with his pillow.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
With a groan, Alec reached for his phone, quietly berating his past self for not turning it to silent last night before he'd gone to bed. The moment he saw the caller ID he knew it couldn't be good.
"Do you know what time it is?" Alec spoke into the phone. He was still laying in bed, all the lights off and the room in total darkness.
"Alllic," Jace's voice spoke slowly with almost a hiccup in it.
"More of less," Alec replied.
"No less," Jace mumbled. "Is this Allic?"
"How drunk are you?" Alec asked with a sigh.
"They asked for my keys," Jace giggled. "But I don't have keys."
"Where's Jordan?" Alec asked.
"Home," Jace replied. "Sleeping. I snuck out." He giggled like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"Do you need me to come get you?" Alec asked. Jordan was so fired.
"No shhh," Jace mumbled. "Just want to talk to Alllic."
"About?" Alec whispered. He was keenly aware of Magnus beside him, who was clearly unhappy with both the light and noise from his phone.
"Life," Jace said groggily. "How life treating you? You're haaappy right?" Alec was very tempted to reply that he'd been happy until Jace's phone call, but he didn't have the heart to. His friend was having a rough day.
"Yes," Alec said instead.
"Good," Jace mumbled, as if this solved something.
"But we aren't talking about me," Alec tried to change the topic. "We are talking about you."
"Shhhh," Jace argued. Magnus groaned loudly. He was obviously far more awake than he'd like to be at this hour.
"Love of my life, do please go away," Magnus whined, turning away from Alec to try and avoid the light. With a sigh Alec got out of bed, closing his bedroom door behind him.
"Where are you Jace?" Alec asked once he was blinking at the low light of his living room.
"Bar," Jace replied. Then added thoughtfully, "Some redheads, but no frumpy purses."
"Clary's not in this country anymore," Alec reminded his friend. "You won't be able to find her at a bar."
"I know," Jace sulked. "Wasn't looking for Clary. I was looking for nothing."
"Nothing?" Alec inquired, confused.
"Yep," Jce hicked. "Better than sad. Nooothing."
"You aren't making a whole lot of sense," Alec sighed. "Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."
"No," Jace disagreed. "No. Don't want to bother you."
"Too late," Alec replied. "Location now." And then the line went dead.
With a deep sigh of frustration, Alec went to get his coat. He suspected Jace would be at the bar near campus as it was the only one within walking distance.
Even if it wasn't a long walk, it was still a walk in the middle of the night. Alec had great plans to make Jace pay for this later, and amused himself on the way thinking them up. The moment Alec entered the bar he spotted Jace, the blonde guy swaying slightly at the bar.
"S'what trying say," Jace mumbled to the bartender, his hand in the air, pointer finger out. "Nothing. Is good. Feelings suck."
"Do you want me to call you a cab?" the bartender asked. He was a young guy, hair gelled up in spikes, and just enough bulk in his arms to be obvious under a tight shirt. His hair wasn't as blonde as Jace's, but still not that dark either and he had an attractive square jaw.
"No!" Jace called suddenly flinging himself at Alec. "No checking out bartenders. No. Bad. You happy."
"I'm married," Alec laughed. "Not dead."
Then to his great surprise, Jace gave Alec a hug and not just a normal hug, but a full on half snuggle.
"Loves you Allic," Jace mumbled. "Best friend eeeever."
"Yep, love you platonically too bubby," Alec said patting Jace awkwardly on the back. "Oh, and boy am I going to tease you about this till the end of time!"
"Time sucks," Jace objected, making a face to show his disgust.
"You tell it," Alec chuckled. "Now come on. It's bed for you."
"Bed," Jace said slowly as if considering it. "Wait why you here? Go home."
"Until you can string together a full sentence you have lost your vote," Alec informed his friend. "Now let's try this again. It's time for bed, now."
This time Jace mumbled fine and played along, even if he was sulking the whole time. Alec took this as a good sign and began guilding Jace out of the bar. They walked back to Alec's apartment as it was closer than Jace's. He was also sure that Jordan was not to be trusted as a best friend minder.
"Thank you," Jace mumbled as Alec tucked him into the bed which had once been Tessa and Clary's rooms, but was now just a spare.
"You're welcome," Alec replied, smiling.
Throwing his coat on the couch, Alec gratefully returned to his own bed. He laid down next to Magnus, enjoying the warmth of his husband's arms. Magnus didn't wake up but he moved slightly closer, putting an arm around Alec who fell asleep almost at once.
Alec woke feeling unrested, and rolled over to find his bed empty. Those who hadn't been walking to and from bars in the middle of the night, had clearly gotten a better nights sleep. After spending an uncharacteristic amount of time laying in bed, Alec got up and went to find his husband. Magnus was in the kitchen making coffee.
"Do we have a house guest?" Magnus asked.
"Good morning to you do," Alec replied, kissing him briefly, before accepting his coffee. "I have a best friend to torture. What are you up to today?"
"Not much," Magnus admitted.
"Have you called the museum since you've been back?" Alec asked.
"Yeah," Magnus said. "And I could do some more volunteer work there I suppose, but-" he shrugged.
"You're still gonna be bored aren't you?" Alec chuckled.
"Probably," Magnus sighed. "But maybe one more day of totally and completely slacking off, eh?"
"Sounds good to me," Alec smiled. With a quick peck goodbye, Alec left the kitchen on his way to commence his days work.
Throwing the spare room door wide open, and yelling good morning with great energy, Alec went to the window and opened the curtains.
"Ahh," Jace cried. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Rise and shine my drunken friend," Alec chirped.
"Is that coffee at least for me?" Jace asked, sitting up in bed and shielding his eyes from the sun.
"Oh no," Alec mocked. "This is all mine."
"I hate you," Jace grumbled.
"Oh, but I thought you looved me," Alec teased. "You love your Allic, yes you do."
"Shut up," Jace yelled, with a hint of pleading in his voice.
"Oh no," Alec sniggered, sitting down beside Jace on the bed. "You aren't getting out of this that easily."
"Urg," Jace groaned, holding his head as if it was pounding, which is probably was. "Why did I do that?"
"Because," Alec said seriously, but without mercy. "You don't want to think about how the love of your life just flow away, and you won't see her for ten months. You'd rather feel nothing than that."
"Urg," Jace groaned, covering his face with a pillow and falling back down on the bed.
Taking pity on him, Alec walked over to the window and pulled the drapes to block the light. Then leaving the room, Alec gently closed the door behind him.
"Will the patient live?" Magnus asked as Alec returned to the kitchen.
"Results aren't in," Alec replied. "My bets 50/50."
Jace didn't get out of bed, not even for coffee. But Alec doubted Jace had managed to get back to sleep; he had a feeling that Jace wanted to hide from the world right now. Magnus started looking at job postings online, while Alec tried to tell him he could do anything he wanted without worrying about the job thing.
"I want the job thing," Magnus explained, every time Alec said this.
"Well, they say opposites attract," Alec replied as he returned to watching youtube videos on his laptop. He'd planned to watch just one, but somehow had spent over an hour with them.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
For a moment Alec had thought the sound had come from his computer, but then it happened again.
"You expecting someone?" Alec called to his husband who'd just gotten out of the shower.
"No," Magnus called back, through the closed bathroom door.
Curious, Alec got up and answered the door. There was a woman on his doorstep. Alec knew her at once as he'd seen her many times before, but he couldn't remember her name.
"Hey," the woman said, walking in as if she owned the place. She wasn't particularly tall, though he wouldn't describe her as short either. Her skin was darker than his, and her hair black and curly.
"Um hi," Alec replied, a little confused. What was his sister's roommate doing walking into his apartment like they knew each other?
"I just couldn't stand it one moment longer," she explained, throwing her arms in the air.
"Stand what?" Alec asked.
"All that lovey dovey crap!" she burst out. Then she continued in a mocking sing song voice. "Oh, I love my boyfriend, and he loves me. Urg. Makes me want to gag."
"So let me get this straight," Alec said slowly. "My sister's new relationship is so, what was it you said, 'lovey dovey' that you decided to come here and hang out with the newlyweds instead?"
"I may not have thought this through," she mused. "But basically yeah." She paused then seemed to come to her senses. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Maia, and Sizzy is getting on my nerves. How are you?"
"Oh boy," Alec whispered under his breath.
"And, I was wondering if your husband was home," Maia continued. "Apart from Jordan, who for obvious reasons I don't want to ask, Magnus is the only one I know who might be able to make sense of it."
"Of what?" Alec asked.
"My computer," Maia explained.
"I fear you have gravely exaggerated my husbands computer skills," Alec replied. "But I could have a look at it if you want."
"Thanks," Maia said, reaching into her purse to pull out a laptop. "Where is he anyway?"
"Probably gelling his hair," Alec chuckled. "He might be a while."
Together they sat at his dining room table, as Maia logged into her computer and then turned it to Alec. She explained that small things had been off with it for a while.
"Like icons on the desktop have just vanished," Maia continued. "Little glitching stuff, you know."
"I can't find anything wrong with it as far as I can tell," Alec explained after a moment's investigation. "But I will admit that doesn't mean much."
Maia sighed. "Thanks anyway."
"Sorry I couldn't help," Alec replied.
"It's okay," Maia smiled. "Might be nothing anyway. Hey, do you mind if I hang out here for a little while?"
"My sister's really that annoying, huh?"
"It's gotten worse since Simon moved in," Maia groaned. Alec couldn't help but laugh.
"Stay as long as you like," Alec said once he'd stopped chuckling.
Alec was in the kitchen a few minutes later making him and Maia something to drink, when his phone rang. Alec grinned as he saw the caller ID.
"Do you know where Jace is?" Jordan's panicked voice came over the phone the moment Alec picked up. "I can't find him anywhere. He went to bed early, so when he slept in a little, I thought I'd check on him and the bed's empty! It was never slept in."
"Good morning to you too," Alec laughed.
"You don't sound worried," Jordan said slowly. "That means you know something."
"Indeed," Alec said, grinning. "I know many things."
"Cut he torture and just tell me," Jordan replied.
"Jace lied about going to bed early to sneak out and go to a bar where he proceeded to get ridiculously wasted, before drunk dialling me in the middle of the night."
"Oh," Jordan said sheepishly.
"He's in our guest room," Alec said. "And you're fired."
"Fair enough," Jordan replied with a slight laugh.
"We could watch The Vampire Diaries," Maia's voice called out from the living room. Before going to get drinks, Alec had tasked her with looking through netflix for something to do.
"Is that's Maia?" Jordan asked, his voice full of awe.
"Yeah," Alec replied. "She's getting sick of my sister it seems."
"Oh," Jordan said. "Well, I should probably go. I'm glad Jace isn't dead in a ditch."
"Me too," Alec laughed before they hung up.
"Who was that?" Maia asked, as Alec reappeared holding two mugs of warm liquid.
"Jordan," Alec said. "He was suppose to be babysitting Jace last night, but Jace gave him the slip."
"Are you and Jordan friends too?" Maia whined.
"Nah," Alec replied. "Acquaintances more like. We mostly have Jace in common. He just lives with my best friend is all."
"Good," Maia said firmly.
"So you were saying something about The Vampire Diaries?" Alec inquired, passing Maia her drink and sitting on the couch with her.
"Yeah the summery looks like lots of blood and violence which is just what I need," Maia smiled.
"So, I take it you haven't seen the show before," Alec said and Maia shook her head.
"Then we should start at the beginning," Magnus's voice interrupted them. Alec turned to see his husband standing there, dressed in black skinny jeans and a silver and purple bedazzled shirt, with his hair perfectly gelled, with and a hint of glitter in it.
"Going out?" Maia asked.
"No," Magnus replied, confused.
"So you got that fancy just to stay in and sit on the couch?"
"Don't ask," Alec laughed rolling his eyes.
"I take it this isn't new?" Maia laughed.
"Nope," Alec and Magnus said together.
"Oh great," Maia groaned. "More couples in perfect sync. Can we please just watch vampires kill people now?"
"About that, um, Maia while there is quite a bit of murder in the show," Alec explained. "It's more about love triangles and romance than anything."
"Urg!" Maia groaned, leaning her head back. "I can't catch a break."
"At least you aren't hung over," Jace's voice joined in. They turned to see the blonde man standing in the hallway, blinking at the lights as he approached.
"Oh yeah," Maia snapped. "Well at least Clary loves you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jace asked, now standing feet from them.
"I messed everything up," Maia whined. "So instead of being with the guy I want, I'm stringing along some poor sap who doesn't deserve this, while I watch the guy I love with someone else." She turned to face Jace. "So forgive me if I can't feel sorry for you. Oh bo who, the love of my life is gonna be gone for a little while, and when she's back, we will go back to being blissfully happy."
"Oh yeah, you want Jordan so badly!" Jace yelled. "Don't yell at me. Go get him."
"He's happy!" Maia yelled. "What kind of selfish monster would I be to take that away from him after rejecting him so many times."
"Whoa now," Magnus said standing up. "Where'd this hostility come from?"
"If you miss Clary call her," Maia ordered Jace. "You have that option." And then without warning she grabbed her bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Look at me.. still updating... even if it feels like I haven't written this slowly in over two years. Not sure what's wrong with me but I don't like it...
The next chapter will be a timeline as we are back once again to September. Then chapter 126 will follow after that. :)
Sneak Peek Chapter 126
September. Tessa couldn't remember how long it had been since that month had meant the start of the school year for her. Well, how old was Lucie? A year and nine months or twenty one months old.
Tessa knew that between Will and Jem she could had enough childcare to attend a few classes a week and yet she hadn't applied. She was starting to wonder if she was the problem. If she really cared about finishing her degree surely she would have put more effort into it than this. A dedicated student wouldn't have just dropped out because she could, right?
Tessa rolled the sock up with it's pair, sighing deeply as she collected all the clean laundry to put away. And even if she did finish her degree, what was the point? Had she any plans to do something with it? What jobs could you get with an English Literature degree anyway? She loved learning about literature, but that didn't mean she'd like working in the field, if indeed should could get a job in like publishing or something. Or was the only thing an English Literature degree was good for was going all the way to her Master's so you could teach the pointless subject to others.
At least Tessa could be useful here. At least she could be a mother and lover. Then again the lover part had been a long time. When Lucie was younger she hadn't had the energy. Then the depression had killed any desire she had apart from misery. After that Tessa had started to notice the changes to her body. There were great white lines across her stomach and similar stretch marks around her breasts. Before Lucie they'd been small and firm, and now they felt saggy and too big. It had been a long time since Tessa had felt beautiful.