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Magnus has never really been one for weddings. They’re a wonderful institution, a celebration of love, blah blah blah. He can think of several things more interesting to do with his weekend than drive out to a picturesque tiny town far enough to give a far off rural feel, but close enough to the city to not be too much of an inconvenience for the guests. He could have sent a gift and his well wishes and been done with it. Isabelle is his employee after all. He could have done, except she was marrying Simon, who looked at him like an unofficial favored uncle – even though Magnus is far too young for that title, thank you very much— and standing as his “best man” is Clary, who he’s known since she was ten. Magnus knows far too many people attending this wedding all around to be allowed to skip out. Luke would track him down if he missed it. That was enough of a deterrent to bite the bullet, put on a nice suit and go.
The ceremony is an elegant affair – he expects nothing less from Isabelle – on a beautiful sunny day in a tent that is set up on a sweeping grassy field. He sits with Luke and Jocelyn, behind Simon’s tearful mother. The colors are deep burgundy and gold, and it’s lovely. Clary walks down the aisle, in a burgundy dress with a plunging neckline and a mermaid cut, her gold jewelry glinting in the soft glow of the fairy lights, on the arm of her boyfriend Jace, who is also Isabelle’s adopted brother. Jace cleans up well, in a tasteful black suit and gold cummerbund. They split off and Clary takes her spot beside Simon, and to Magnus’ surprise, Jace stands to the other side of where Isabelle will stand once she makes her entrance.
And what an entrance it is.
Isabelle’s dress is also mermaid cut, all ivory lace, with a short train, her black hair piled high with a few stray curls falling around her face and down her shoulder. A gold and pearl choker rings her throat and her sheer veil is dotted with tiny pearls and hemmed in lace. She’s resplendent as any young bride could be.
But Magnus’ attention hooks on the man guiding her down the aisle. He’s much too young to be her father, and the resemblance between them leads Magnus to assume he is her brother. His black hair is styled in a carelessly tousled way that is very becoming, he wears his suit like it was made for him, and the gold accents flatter him. He walks with straight backed surety, his expression solemn, but his deep hazel eyes are filled with happiness. He’s gorgeous.
When he puts Isabelle’s hand in Simon’s, the long, warning look he gives him makes Simon gulp and smile shakily. Magnus expects that he will sit next to the austere woman he knows is Isabelle’s mother, but instead, he takes a spot in the gap between Jace and where Isabelle stands before the officiant.
The ceremony is lovely, Magnus is sure, but he notices almost none of it. His attention is for the tall, mysterious assumed brother of Isabelle’s, who is watching his sister with such affection, it softens his whole face. Magnus is suddenly very glad he decided to come to this wedding.
At the reception, Magnus is put at a table with Luke and Jocelyn, just down from the wedding party’s table. It allows him the luxury of observing the tall, handsome possible brother of Isabelle’s. He and Jace appear to be in a middle of a good natured argument, at which Clary laughs and Isabelle smiles teasingly and Simon looks a second away from falling out of his chair in his amusement. The whole tableau is one of youthful joy, and it makes Magnus feel lighter looking at it.
A champagne flute and a microphone are shoved into possible brother’s hands and he stands. Around, glasses clink.
“Uh, hi,” the black haired man says, his voice unsure, but lovely and deep. “I’m Alec, for anyone who doesn’t know, Izzy’s older brother and her… I guess we decided on ‘man of honor’ since Jace is the maid of honor.” The comment and Jace’s indignant ‘hey’ prompt a smattering of laughter. “Thank you everyone for coming. As some of you know, I’m not around as much as I’d like to be, so I didn’t get to meet Simon until he and Izzy had been dating for almost a year. It took about two Star Wars references for me to decide he wasn’t good enough for my baby sister.” That gets him a little more laughter, since it is said with gentle teasing. “But seeing how happy he made Izzy, how he treated her like the queen she deserves to be treated like, I’ve revised my opinion of him since, not the Star Wars references, but him… kind of.”
Simon stands and pulls the microphone in Alec’s hand down to speak into. “In case anyone didn’t know Alec is dead inside, he doesn’t like Star Wars.”
Alec takes the microphone back and glares halfheartedly at him. “Since Izzy made me promise I wouldn’t remind Simon that I could kill him with my pinkie, I’ll just say congratulations to my baby sister and the guy she settled for. Watch your back, Lewis.”
Simon makes a show of hiding behind Isabelle, much to everyone’s amusement. Everyone raises their glasses with a chorus of ‘Cheers!’ and the speeches continue.
Magnus is just glad he now has a name to go along with the lovely man, though his speech raises more questions along with the knowledge that apparently public speaking makes him a little uncomfortable and he has a charmingly dry sense of humor.
Luke’s hand falls on Magnus’ shoulder and jolts him from his musings. “If you keep staring a hole through Alec, eventually he’s going to notice.”
Magnus shakes his head, “Isabelle has mentioned her brothers, but I’d only ever met Jace.”
“Alec was overseas,” Luke replies. “Marines. But I think Clary mentioned he’s back for good now.” He looks over at Jocelyn for confirmation.
Jocelyn nods, “Apparently he’s come back to help with his family’s company. Since Robert and Maryse got the divorce, Maryse is overwhelmed.”
Magnus manages something akin to a sympathetic look. The few times he’d met Maryse, they had not gotten along. There are only so many times he could stand being regarded like he was something tracked in on her designer shoe, before it wore on his forgiving nature.
“Are we dishing on the Lightwoods,” Clary’s voice sounds from behind Magnus, and she leans on his shoulder. “Anything I can help with?” She slides into the seat next to Magnus. “They’re going to be serving dinner soon, but Izzy wanted to do the first dances first. So I thought I’d see how you were doing.”
As she speaks, the DJ announces the mother-son dance, and bucking convention yet again, a sister-brother dance between Isabelle and Alec. Simon goes to collect his mother, while Alec leads Isabelle to the dancefloor. They start a simple waltz, their movements practiced and graceful. Though it is simple, they look like something out of golden age of classic Hollywood.
When it ends, Alec leads Isabelle over to Simon and then offers a gentlemanly arm to Simon’s mother, leading her back to her seat while Isabelle and Simon prepare for their first dance.
Magnus realizes that he never responded to Clary’s question, distracted at he was by Alec and Isabelle’s dance, more specifically Alec’s part in their dance. Clary gives him a knowing smirk, and before Magnus can question that, she’s calling to Alec as he walks past their table. Alec changes his path, coming to a stop beside their table, his body easily settling into parade rest, stance shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind his back.
“Captain Lightwood,” Luke says with a fond twist to his mouth.
Alec smiles a tiny bit and relaxes his stance. “I’ve resigned my commission, Luke. It’s just Alec now.” His gaze flits over them and settles on Magnus, and Magnus wonders when something as simple as eye contact has been that electric. “Hi,” he says, holding out a hand. “I’m Alec.”
Magnus stands, taking Alec’s hand, “Magnus Bane,” he replies. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alec. Your dance was lovely.”
Alec glances away with a huffed laugh, “I hope so. Izzy had us taking classes for three weeks to make sure of it.”
Magnus chuckles, “Effort well spent, then.”
“Good,” Alec wets his lips and gives Magnus a small crooked grin that is as lovely as the rest of him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Magnus. Izzy has told me a lot about you.”
“Only good things I hope,” Magnus replies, teasingly.
An inexplicable, but utterly charming flush crawls up Alec’s neck and he nods, “Yeah, I…Yeah. They were.”
Magnus realizes he and Alec haven’t stopped holding hands, so he gives his warm, slightly calloused hand a tiny squeeze and releases him before it can get awkward.
The music wraps and clapping surrounds them. Alec blinks and looks toward the dancefloor. “I should get back, they’re serving dinner now.”
“I hope you’ll save a dance for me,” Magnus says as Alec turns away.
Alec blinks at him and blushes prettily before retreating back to the wedding party’s table. Magnus watches him go with absolutely no shame. Someone that handsome with so much potential to be imposing has no right being that adorable. Clary leans on his shoulder.
“He’s single, twenty-seven, and Izzy has been talking you up to him since he came back,” she says lowly, grinning when Magnus blinks at her in surprise. “You’re welcome.”
She flits back to her table, where the happy couple has already settled. Isabelle catches Magnus’ eye and winks. Magnus has already decided he’s giving Isabelle a raise the second she gets back from her honeymoon.
___
Alec had been disappointed, honestly, to come home. Not for Izzy’s wedding, he wouldn’t have missed that for anything, but because he knew once he got home, he wasn’t leaving again. The military had been his life for close to ten years, from his enlistment the second he turned eighteen, to becoming a Marine, to the two tours he did in Afghanistan, to his promotion to Captain, to his stationing in Germany. He’d been content there, running special weapons training. But his mother needed his help, and what could he do but go help her? Resigning his commission had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He’d only been home a few months and he already felt out of place and lost.
He played the role of VP of Institute Security, and it wasn’t so different from commanding troops. He knew some of his employees didn’t like him, but he wasn’t content like his mother to let the company run itself. If he was going to run it, he is going to run it well.
Seeing Isabelle so happy, though, that was worth being home. He’d missed her and Jace while he was gone. Now he will be home for the important things. Izzy’s children, when Jace finally grows up enough to ask Clary to marry him, their eventual children. He’ll be here for his mother too. She seemed more fragile than he remembers, and that worries him.
He hasn’t spoken to his father since he moved to California with his mistress. Alec notes his absence, but he isn’t surprised by it. He wasn’t surprised when Isabelle asked him to give her away instead of their father. No one is happy about the situation, and neither he nor Isabelle can easily forgive their father for betraying and humiliating their mother like this.
All that family drama gets put aside for the moment to enjoy the wedding. His mother is solemn but gracious, and though he knows she’s not all that approving of Simon, she at least doesn’t make it obvious. Alec suspects at this point no one is going to be good enough in their mother’s eyes.
The dinner gives way to an open bar and dancing. Simon and Izzy head immediately to the dancefloor, and Alec assumes Clary will drag Jace off. She does, but apparently she’s not content to let Alec play the wallflower.
“C’mon, Lightwood,” she says, grabbing Jace’s hand and then Alec’s and dragging them both to the dancefloor with her. “No sitting out on your sister’s wedding day.”
“Damn it, Fray,” Alec complains, pulling against her surprisingly strong grip. He was a Marine for godsake. She’s ninety-eight pounds of nothing. He should not have to put up with this. He manages to stop short of portable floor set up on the grass.
Clary whirls on him with a glare, “Come on Alec. Don’t be such a stick in the mud.”
Alec is about to respond, when her gaze fixes on some point behind him, and her expression morphs into glee a second before Alec feels a presence at his back.
“Need a partner?”
Alec’s body goes hot and cold and he turns to face Magnus, his mouth suddenly like a desert. He has to clear his throat before he can speak. “Yes?” He has no idea why his voice tips up at the end. He can bark orders at a dozen battle hardened Marines, but one second with this man and he’s suddenly a mess.
It might be that Magnus is absolutely stunning and it’s really unfair. He’s especially stunning when he smiles. It lights up his warm brown eyes in a way that makes Alec think he could look at his eyes for the rest of his life and not ever be able to quite describe the exact shade of brown they are. All he knows is that they are beautiful.
Magnus takes his hand and leads him to the dancefloor, settling his hand on his waist, and Alec immediately clasps his other hand and settles his free hand on Magnus’s arm. The limb beneath his hand is surprisingly firm and if Alec grips him a little tighter, no one needs to know. No one but Magnus, who smirks and slides his hand to Alec’s lower back, so he has to step closer.
The song that starts up is upbeat and a little bit fast for how close they are to each other, but Magnus doesn’t seem to care. Alec knows exactly one dance step, but Magnus doesn’t seem to care about that either. He leads Alec along with the hand on his back, with the movements of his own body that Alec tries to copy as best he can. Magnus makes him forget the people around them, makes dancing, something Alec considered a chore, fun, and Alec finds himself laughing quietly when Magnus swings him around. His movements are strong and graceful, and Alec relaxes into it and lets him guide him. Neither of them speaks of anything but the occasional teasing comment, and as the song winds down, they settle against each other again, both grinning and a little out of breath.
Magnus sways them to a tempo that doesn’t quite fit the song that fades into the last, but neither of them are listening to it anyway. “You’re very graceful, Alexander,” he says.
Alec wonders why Magnus calling him by his full name sounds so intimate. He wants him to do it again. He also wonders when both his hands had settled on Magnus’ shoulders, and Magnus’ hands found a place on his hips.
He clears his throat. “That’s a compliment coming from you. Are you a dancer?”
“In another life maybe,” Magnus replies with a laugh.
Alec had forgotten all about anyone else in the few minutes that song played. That doesn’t last, because he hears Isabelle call his name.
“You’ve got some moves, big brother,” she says with a grin. “Come on. I want to dance with my big brother.”
Alec isn’t going to deny her that, so he reluctantly lets her pull him a step away from Magnus. The song playing is fast enough for him to grip Izzy’s hands and sort of sway with her and spin her around like they did when they were kids. It leaves Simon and Magnus looking at each other for a beat before Simon grins.
“Why the hell not?” He grabs Magnus’ hand and pulls him laughing to Izzy and Alec and Clary and Jace and it’s the six of them in the center of the dancefloor, laughing and dancing. Alec can’t remember the last time he had more fun. For the first time in months, he doesn’t feel so out of place.
Alec loses track of the length of how many songs he spends with Magnus’ hand on his back or his waist or his hip, and he ignores the teasing he gets from his family for not trying to escape once he’d obliged them two songs.
Too soon, it’s time for cake and coffee and they part ways to go back to their respective tables. Simon feeds Isabelle her piece of cake delicately, so as not to ruin her makeup, and Izzy shoves cake into Simon’s face without a hint of remorse. In all, it really is a perfect night. Alec is happy for his sister, happy that despite everything, he has his family.
The disappointment comes later, when Magnus comes up to say his goodbyes. He accepts hugs from Isabelle and Clary, shakes hands with Simon, and then Jace, but he pauses at Alec.
“Walk me to my car,” he asks with a tip of his head.
Alec is all too happy to oblige him. It’s dark, despite the lights set up around, and the stars are bright, and fireflies dance in the grass around them. Alec wipes his suddenly clammy hands on the black pants of his suit and the silence stretches out between them.
“Do you have your phone?” he asks suddenly, and Magnus quirks an amused smile at him.
“I do,” he replies, pulling it out of the pocket of his expensive looking dark blue suit.
“Can I see it?” Alec asks, feeling awkward and nervous and trying so hard not to show it.
Magnus surrenders his phone without that amused smile ever leaving his face, and watches as Alec puts his number in Magnus’ contacts, and sends himself a text so he has his number as well.
“So,” Alec says as he hands it back. “You have my number now. Would you like to grab dinner, sometime?”
Magnus smiles and it lights up the whole world. “I’d love that.”
Alec sighs out his anxiety and grins back, “Good. Great, um call me…when you want to…you know, go out.”
They stop next to what must be his car, and Alec feels disappointment settle in his gut that now they are going to have to officially part ways. Magnus turns a little, smiling again, his lips parted like he’s going to speak, and the light catches on his bronze skin, his warm brown eyes, he’s so lovely Alec leans forward without thought. Their mouths bump and brush and Alec gets an inhale of whatever spicy, woodsy cologne Magnus is wearing. What the hell is he doing? Alec pulls back to stare at Magnus in horror.
“I’m so sorry,” Alec flusters, stepping away, “I have no idea why I did that. That was really forward, wow, I’m so not that person. I’m—”
Magnus presses a finger to his lips, his expression amused and maybe a little pleased. “Alexander, it’s fine. What are you doing tomorrow?”
Alec couldn’t hide how pleased that makes him if he tried. “We’re staying at an inn in town tonight. I’m driving my mother back to the city tomorrow morning. After that, I’m free.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow, then,” Magnus says, sliding his hand up the back of Alec’s arm and the touch is enough to make him hyper aware of how close they are.
“Okay,” Alec says, nodding. “Good.”
Magnus smiles indulgently, “Have a good night, Alexander.”
“Drive safe,” Alec replies and steps away from Magnus. He watches him get into his car before he walks back to the reception. He knows he’s going to have to weather his siblings teasing, but right at this moment, with the phantom pressure of Magnus’ lips against his, Alec can’t even bring himself to care about that.