Chapter Text
The tick-tock of the clock seems to echo louder than usual, asserting itself over the monotone voices that fill the room. Alec checks the time for the fifth time in just as many minutes. The meeting he sits in (which some smartass decided to schedule for the last thing on Friday) seems to crawl on; it’s already been well over two hours, and they don’t seem to be making any notable progress.
“Alec, are we boring you?”
A sharp voice cuts through the endless droning, and Alec is straightening his back with a start.
“No, mother, I was just…” he tries to make an excuse for himself, but his traitorous mind comes up blank, “checking the time...” His voice trails off, he knows that he has no excuse that will satisfy his mother.
Maryse Lightwood looks at him silently with a disapproving arch of an eyebrow. She’s known to be a hardass - and Alec understands why. She had to make her own way in this cutthroat world when Robert left the firm after a scandalous affair with his secretary. Since then, Robert has been on an indefinite hiatus from the family law firm, and Maryse has been running Lightwood & Associates on her own. The firm mainly deals with white collar crimes, defending wealthy assholes and helping them get away with embezzlement, corruption, and other questionable practices.
Needless to say, Alec has never been big on the family business.
But as the eldest son of the Lightwood family, a name well-known in the Tri-State Area (although Alec is certain their family has been anything but “reputable” for several generations at this point), he grew up knowing that his path was set. He went to the best private schools, graduated from Harvard Law, and entered the family firm, no questions asked. The biggest roadblock in Robert and Maryse’s plan was probably when Alec came out to his family as gay during his final year of law school. It was unexpected for his parents, notoriously known for some of their more “conservative” (read: bigoted) views and workplace policies, and Alec would be lying if he says he didn’t hope that it may change his parent’s minds about grooming him to take over the family firm. Still, while it took a few months for them to wrap their minds around the fact (and even longer to fully accept it), they finally got to a point where Alec’s sexual orientation was no longer considered a taboo topic. Alec had long left the house he grew up in and was barely on speaking terms with his parents by then, but he and Maryse eventually made amends, with the mother now (much to Alec’s dismay) occasionally trying to set her eldest son up with other single gay men in her socialite circles. He and his mother have been slowly mending their relationship since, and Maryse is now back on track with training Alec to take over for the role his father had abandoned.
His adopted brother Jace took a different path - working at the firm but as head of security. Jace left the Lightwood house when Alec did, standing in solidarity with his brother. They now live together in a condo in Manhattan, Jace living up the bachelor lifestyle away from the scrutinizing eyes of their parents. Their younger sister Izzy, while adamant that she wanted to leave with her elder siblings, was too young to go with Alec and Jace. She is still in school, finishing up her first year studying molecular biology at Columbia University. Max, the youngest of the siblings is still in high school and has shown a lot of potential; Alec wonders if he may also come to work at the firm. At times, Alec can’t help the pang of envy he feels toward his siblings; none of them ever feeling the oppressive pressure to take over the family business, to live up to the family name. Still, usually he’s relieved that they were spared that crippling feeling. He’s glad that they can live their lives in ways that make them happy, rather than ways that they feel is expected of them.
“We’ve clearly lost my son, so why don’t we follow up on some of the action items and touch base again tomorrow.”
Alec is startled out of his daze once more by the clear disappointment in his mother’s voice. He winces at the direct call-out, but knows that everyone in the room is secretly glad to be out of this never-ending meeting. As their colleagues walk out the room, Maryse pins Alec in place with a disapproving scowl.
“Alexander Gideon Lightwood,” her tone is clipped and cold, and Alec can’t stifle the exhausted sigh that escapes him. His mother raises an eyebrow, “do you have something better to be doing?”
Literally anything else, he thinks, as his mouth replies, “no, Mother.” How he manages not to roll his eyes at his mother is a mystery.
“I need you to pay attention. I want you to take the lead on the Baybrook case coming up, and the research for this case should be useful for Baybrook,” his mother powers on, unknowing of (or maybe just disinterested in) Alec’s frustration. He nods quietly, to which Maryse narrows her eyes, lips pursed.
“Very well. I will see you Sunday night for dinner, Alec.”
She turns on her heels and walks out of the conference room. Alec stands in the heavy silence, feeling hollowed by the thought of leading the upcoming Baybrook case - a client being sued for disability discrimination in the workplace. He thinks of all the work he put in to get to where he is now; while he doesn’t hold any illusion that the status he’s achieved so quickly isn’t solely due to his family, he still worked hard in law school. He enjoys studying the law, even now, just not what he applies it to. What he applies his knowledge to makes him want to cave into himself, to pull his hair out, to scream in frustration, to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness.
But he’s a Lightwood. His mother needs him - the only Lightwood who studied to take over the family practice.
So Alec silently packs up his briefcase in a room quickly being engulfed by darkness, the sun setting low behind the tall buildings of Manhattan. The ticking of the clock in the wall gratingly denoting the passing of time; a slow but sure indicator of Alec’s life passing him by. His shoulders slump low along with a deep exhale. He flicks off the light and readies to head home.
*****************
“Alec, you’re home!”
Izzy bounces up from the sofa, the thick textbook that was nestled on her lap is haphazardly dropped to the floor, and her ruby red lips stretched into a wide smile. She walks up to Alec and wraps him in a quick hug.
She has a spare key to Alec and Jace’s condo and makes herself at home when she feels unsettled in the large house that’s lost most of its occupants - which happens to be often. She has a brilliant mind and head-turning looks. She’s also stubborn as hell, causing her to butt heads with their mother regularly. Alec worries slightly that their mother’s overbearing nature has the opposite effect on Izzy. He’s noticed she’s starting to show more interest in the socialite party scene. Originally introduced to the circles by their mother, she’s latched more onto the crowd that Alec tends to avoid.
“Hey Izzy,” Alec greets his sister with warmth. No matter how exhausted or weighed down he may feel, his siblings will always be a source of joy and comfort. Izzy, however, hears his voice and her brows knit together. When she speaks again, her voice is laced with concern.
“You look tired, hermano,” she looks up at him with worried eyes, and Alec responds with a soft smile. He knows it’s weary, but it’s sincere and Izzy seems to see that.
She takes a step back and walks over to their kitchen.
“I made dinner,” she starts, and Alec can’t help the grimace that surfaces on his face (he’s grateful his sister was looking away), “well, actually, I burned dinner. So I ordered a pizza.”
She flips her raven black hair, sheening under the fluorescent lights, and looks back at Alec with a grin.
“Ah, pizza’s fine.” The relief is evident in his voice, and his sister laughs airily while muttering under her breath (something along the lines of “don’t sound too happy about it”).
“Is Jace coming home soon?”
“Should be back within the hour.”
“Hm,” she seems disinterested in the answer to the question she asked, and Alec notes for the first time today that she seems nervous. Her shoulders are tense and she’s been playing with her hair a little more than usual. She’s busying herself in the kitchen, pulling out plates and napkins, cheese and pepper flakes, but there’s an anxious energy underlying her movements.
“Is everything okay?” He ventures carefully. Izzy pauses and glances over at Alec; the action almost looks casual, if Alec didn’t know his sister so well, he may think he misinterpreted the situation completely. But he knows that something’s up as soon as Izzy apprehensively curls her lips in between her teeth, the red disappearing into a thin line.
“Mom walked in on me making out with Meliorn,” she says matter-of-factly, but her voice sounds tight and higher than her usual melodic tone.
“Oh,” is all Alec can think of saying. He thinks he may be out of his depths in this one, that Jace may be the better to offer any advice on romantic relationships, but he stammers out a response, “and she, uh… didn’t approve, I gather?”
Since the scandal with Robert, Maryse has been obsessed with “reviving” what’s left of the Lightwood name. She began monitoring who her children were associated with, looking for connections in every relationship they held. Alec knows she means well - that she thinks she’s doing it to ensure a comfortable future for their family, but Jace and Izzy haven’t been as forgiving with Maryse gatekeeping every social commitment they make.
Izzy pushes the plates toward Alec, obviously frustrated. While Alec is wary of anyone dating his sister, Meliorn wasn’t a horrible guy from what he could tell; he studies Psychology at Columbia where he met Izzy, and she seems to like him well enough. But a few weeks after they started dating, Izzy had told him in confidence that Meliorn is the son of Lebanese immigrants, attending Columbia on a scholarship, and they both knew that Maryse would never approve of their budding relationship.
Izzy dramatically rolls her eyes, “what do you think, Alec? As soon as she saw us she was in hysterics. She kicked him out and started yelling at me,” she bites out, words seething with agitation, “and now Meliorn won’t even answer my texts.”
“How did she even know who he was?” Alec asks, curious.
“Apparently Jia saw us getting coffee together and told Mom. She figured out who I was with and had him looked up,” Izzy says, dejected. Her voice is a lot less angry, but now rings empty and sad. Her eyes are shiny with tears that she desperately holds back and her shoulders are hunched, trembling slightly with every shaky exhale.
Alec circles the kitchen island and pulls her in for a hug. He squeezes her tight, and Izzy melts into the hold. She doesn’t hold her tears back anymore, and Alec can feel her sobbing against his shoulder.
They stand like that for a while, Alec gently rubbing Izzy’s back as she releases the emotions she let fester within her. Alec thinks with detached clarity that he’ll have to drop his suit off at the drycleaners tomorrow; Izzy’s makeup has no doubt made its way onto his shirt and suit jacket. Around the same moment, his sister pushes herself away from his grip.
“Thank you,” she mumbles. Nose bright red and eyes puffy. Alec ruffles her hair, and she glares up at him unconvincingly.
“Go wash your face, Izzy. Let’s eat dinner.” He sends his sister a small smile, which she returns. Almost as soon as Izzy steps out of the kitchen, Alec hears the front door swing open.
“Do I smell pizza?” Jace flashes a crooked grin as he saunters into the kitchen, tiredly carding his fingers through his hair.
“Izzy got us dinner - she’s in the bathroom now,” he falters, unsure of what exactly to tell Jace, but his brother just hums distractedly.
“Dude,” he starts, “do you remember Kaelie?”
Alec squints and digs through his memories - while the name sounds familiar, he comes up short and shrugs as he slides a slice of pepperoni onto a plate and hands it over to Jace.
“The girl I hooked up with a few times? Three months ago, maybe?” His brother takes the plate with a quick thanks.
“Jace, that doesn’t really narrow it down,” Alec huffs indignantly, but Jace only laughs at that response.
“Well she kind of ambushed me at work today. She was yelling at me the whole time so I only got bits and pieces of it, but I think I may have slept with another friend of hers?” He at least has the decency to grimace at that, cocking his head to the side as he recalls the events of the day.
“You reap what you sow, Jace,” Izzy chides as she reenters the room. Her eyes are still slightly red, but she’s freshened up and looking a little more like herself.
“Fair, fair, but how do I know which chick knows who?” There’s challenge in Jace’s voice but it’s teasing, and Izzy laughs in lieu of a response. Alec finally relaxes a bit, leaning back against the counter with his slice of pizza.
“One of these days,” she smirks as she gets herself a slice, “a girl’s going to catch you by surprise and you won’t even know what got you.”
Jace scoffs, “I’ll believe it when I see it, Iz.”
Alec glances at the clock on the wall - the second hand ticks away, but he can’t hear it over the bright laughter of Jace and Izzy. He sees his siblings banter back and forth about Jace’s escapades and huffs a laugh. His family can be a complicated mess, but he would never trade them for the world.