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When you are born, you have two separate eye colors. One that is yours and one that is of your soulmate. Your eyes will stay that way until you meet your soulmate and your eyes return to their natural color. You don’t know what eye is your true color which makes the moment you meet your soulmate even more exciting.
Alec stares at his reflection in his bathroom at the Institute. His hair is neatly styled and he’s wearing one of his better formal attire.
Alec sighs as he looks at his one cat eye in the mirror. Twenty-four years of living with his soulmate’s eye and he still has a difficult time seeing his reflection. It’s not his soulmate’s fault, Alec would never blame him for what he was naturally born with. It’s the Clave’s fault that downworlder’s are viewed in such a harsh light. If this is how Alec is treated as a Shadowhunter for having a cat eye, he can hardly imagine the discrimination that his soulmate has to go through. That’s why he’s started the Downworld Cabinet, to let the downworlder’s of New York know that the Institute has their back.
He adjusts the collar of his button-up for the tenth time. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous about this first meeting. He’s been in correspondence with the leaders of the New York Downworld for weeks now making sure that everything is ready to go for this gathering.
He’s known Maia for as long as he can remember. She’s been his friend ever since his siblings have been dragging him to Hunter’s Moon to “let loose” and he sat at the bar chatting her up every night. Her saying yes to this was a given, knowing how much he wants to make the downworld feel safe in this city they call home.
Raphael was a bit more difficult getting him to agree to come to the meeting. Of course, Alec mentioned that the meeting would take place after dark or if Raphael had requested it, in a windowless room and hire a warlock to portal him there. He didn’t know why the vampire had such issues with him.
At first, he thought it was because of his eye from the few times they worked together taking down illegal dens. Alec would sometimes catch him staring at the eye with a blank expression. He eventually agreed because of Izzy. The vampire had taken a liking to his sister more than him but he wasn’t going to look too closely into why that was.
The seelies were a struggle to get an answer out of. Their queen loved to create trouble and inconveniences out of nothing so getting them to agree was tiring and took longer than necessary. He will forever thank Raziel that they are sending Meliorn to be their representative for this meeting. He and Alec have a respectable relationship if you could call it that.
Last but not least the mysterious High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. Since becoming Head a year ago, Alec has not once interacted with the man. All of their correspondence has been through either fire message, texting, or calling. Alec tried to suggest email once and Magnus had gagged on the line over the phone. Alec thought it was a tad dramatic but the noise had gotten a laugh out of him. Alec also saw this as the perfect reason to have Magnus look over the Institute’s wards. Two birds, one stone kind of situation. Thankfully Magnus agreed.
He’s taken out of his thoughts but a loud knock on his door.
“Hurry up, Hermano!” Izzy’s muffled voice says. “They’re going to be here any minute!”
“I’ll be right out.” One last look in the mirror, a slight adjustment to the cuffs on his suit and he opens the door. Izzy looks him up and down, clearly judging his appearance as if she wasn’t the one to pick the outfit.
“You look great, Alec,” she settles on. She steps forward to adjust his lapels before making her way out of the room with Alec in tow.
“Thanks,” he mutters, easily catching up to her strides. “Has the room been prepared?”
“Yes, for the millionth time, everything is ready.” Izzy rolls of her eyes. “You didn’t spend the last week locked away in your office planning out everything just for it to go wrong.”
“I know, I know,” he sighs. “I just want this to go right.”
“And it will. Alec, they wouldn’t have shown up if they didn’t believe this cabinet meeting could lead to something better,” she reasons as they turn the corner leading to the meeting room.
“There’s no one else who could pull this off but you, Alec,” Izzy praises. “I guarantee that none of these leaders would be here if it was our mother.”
That picture gets a laugh out of him. He can barely imagine any of them being in the same room as their mother. Though he does know that Magnus would gladly go toe to toe with Maryse. He’s witnessed that first hand when Magnus came by the institute when he was younger. He wasn’t able to see the man, but his words were loud enough that a ten-year-old Alec heard them from his room late one night. It’s how he’s been able to stand up to his mother now.
Of course, he hasn’t told Magnus that. The High Warlock would never let him hear the end of it if it was discovered that it was thanks to him that Alec was able to take the Institute from his parents and create this cabinet.
Alec steps into the meeting room and is blown away by the decor. Banners of each faction hang on the wall behind the round table. Each chair looks the same, no difference in material or texture. It looks equal.
“Izzy this is beautiful,” he compliments, wrapping his sister in a hug. “This is really happening.”
“It is,” she laughs.
Footsteps approach behind them. Jace is standing at the entryway with a big grin on his face.
“They’ve arrived,” he announces.
“Thank you, Jace.” Alec nods his head towards his brother. Izzy helps adjust his suit for one last time before they both approach the door.
Maia is the first one to enter. Her matched eyes widen at the sight of the room.
“Ms. Roberts,” Alec announces. “Thank you for coming.”
Maia snorts at the introduction. “I bet you rehearsed that in your bathroom.”
“Of course not,” Alec denies, he nods towards his sister. “I rehearsed it with Izzy.”
Maia and Izzy laugh at the joke. Izzy loops her arm around her soulmate’s, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She leads Maia to the table while Alec remains at the door. He might as well let the two have a few minutes alone before this meeting begins.
Meliorn is the next to arrive. He is escorted by a single guard which strikes him odd since Meliorn is the leader of the Seelie Queen’s Royal Guardsmen. His confusion must be visible by the smirk he receives.
“Meliorn,” Alec greets. “Thank you for agreeing to come and represent your people.”
“Of course, Mr. Lightwood,” Meliorn bows his head, “and apologies for the plus one. They will be staying out in the hall while the meeting is going on, but my Queen requested that I bring company in case this was a rouse.”
“That’s alright, though I would have hoped the queen had more confidence in me.”
“Oh she most certainly does,” Meliorn says cryptically. “She’s very interested in the Nephilim who’s fighting against his own people.”
“Of course, she is,” Alec chuckles. “Always the curious one.”
That gets a real smile out of the Seelie, both knowing what Alec truly meant by the words. The Seelie Queen always liked to shove her nose where it didn’t belong and this was only the start. Alec wonders, as time passes, if the Queen herself will show up to one of these meetings. The thought along makes his body shiver with dread at the thought of her mind games and cryptic answer during a meeting that not only has Maia and Raphael but Magnus as well.
Meliorn nods to his guard and they go to stand against the wall opposite of the double doors leading to the meeting room.
“If there is anything you would like while you wait for the meeting to adjourn, please let my sister, Isabelle know,” he says. The guard looks at him with curious eyes before a smile appears, acknowledging his words.
“I will keep that in mind,” they say. “Thank you, Mr. Lightwood.”
Alec smiles back and turns towards the next guest to arrive.
Raphael has a scowl on his face as he approaches Alec. It took a while for Alec not to be offended by that look as it seemed to be the man’s permanent expression, but it is looking particularly more loathsome tonight.
“Raphael,” Alec greets, holding out his hand. “It’s good to see you. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting.”
“It’s not like I had a choice,” Raphael states, rolling his eyes. “Our mutual friend was very adamant that I go to this and show appreciation for the effort you are putting forth.”
“I see,” Alec says, there’s a smirk on his face. “Magnus must have some good dirt on you to get you to come then.”
Raphael’s scowl turns into a small smile, the kind of smile that Alec knows will make his life hell during this meeting. He’s only seen that smile twice before in the times that he’s interacted with the vampire. Once when they were about to go into an illegal den and the second time when he asked Alec about Izzy.
Though as much as they give each other flak, Alec likes to think there is a mutual respect between them and the people they lead. Since Camille was taken out of the picture, meaning arrested and locked away in the Gard, the tension between the werewolves and vampires has decreased immensely.
“I’d be careful what you say at this meeting, Lightwood,” Raphael warns. “We wouldn’t want anyone to think the Head of the Institute has favorites.”
Alec feels his cheeks red but keeps his face neutral. While it is not well known that Alec has developed a small crush on the High Warlock. It’s kind of hard to keep it a secret from the man Magnus practically raised like a son. Especially when Alec has not so subtly asked about the man when he visited the DuMort not too long ago.
Raphael gives him a once over and heads towards the table. Three down, one more to go.
Alec looks down at his watch and sees that the meeting is supposed to start in five minutes and the High Warlock has yet to arrive. He taps his foot on the tiled floor deciding if he should wait for Magnus or get the meeting started. He looks back at the table and sees that everyone is already seated and looking at him. He lets out a sigh and makes his way towards the round table.
“Magnus running late?” Maia snickers as Alec sits down.
“It would seem so,” Alec sighs. “I would wait for him, but knowing him. He’s probably going to be as he states ‘fashionably late’.”
Maia snorts at the comment while Raphael rolls is eyes. Meliorn just smiles at them for their reactions. It warms his soul that they all feel comfortable inside the Institute. It took a lot of work this past year to get the Institute to get used to seeing downworlder’s inside its walls and make sure that everyone felt welcome.
It was a mess of people requesting transfers and patrol changes, but Alec took it all. What surprised him was the number of people requesting to come here. Alec was sure that he would lose a lot of shadowhunters with the changes he was making, that it would be a while before those numbers rose again. At first, a few people requested a transfer to New York and by the end of the first month, he had more people coming in than out. Jace and Izzy made fun of him because of the smug look he had that entire week.
Alec starts the meeting with a discussion about any issues the others were having in the past months. Any issues with shadowhunters or downworlders alike. Though Alec doesn’t want to intervene in downworld issues, he still wants them to know that if its a situation the shadowhunters could help with, he was willing to send his best people to assist.
About 20 minutes later the doors to the room burst open and a man wearing the most beautiful outfit storms in. Alec pauses mid-sentence to take in the man.
“Dios mio,” sighs Raphael.
“Sorry I’m late everyone or should I say I’m not late you are all early?” Magnus jokes as he approaches the table. His head is still down looking at his outfit, fixing it up where he can.
“You do know how to make an entrance, Magnus,” Meliorn comments, looking back and forth between Alec and Magnus like he’s waiting for something. Raphael does the same but more subtly.
“Yes, well what can I say? I love being fashionably late,” Magnus trails off as he lifts his head and makes eye contact with Alec.
Alec feels his voice gets stuck in his throat as he takes in Magnus’ eyes.
One cat eye and one hazel.
Alec feels the change and sees it at the same time. His left eye shifts to a normal pupil shape while he watches Magnus’ hazel eye disappear into another cat eye. Something in Alec’s chest fills and he finally feels whole. Like the missing piece of a puzzle was found and locked into place.
Silence fills the room, everyone holding their breaths as they watch the Head of the New York Institute and the High Warlock of Brooklyn stare at each other in wonder.
“Oh.”