Invictus

Interest

It turned out being friends with Alec wasn’t really that hard.

Magnus slowed it down with the flowers, because his mother’s apartment was starting to look like a greenhouse, but he still visited Alec’s shop often enough, if only for a quick chat.

Alec had seemed cautious at first when Magnus had shown genuine interest in his life rather than flowers. He had pursed his lips, his eyebrows had been drawn downwards in wariness, but Magnus had assured him he didn’t have to tell him anything he wasn’t comfortable with and he had seemed to relax after that.

For all his unwillingness to talk about himself, Alec could go on for hours about his siblings. Magnus didn’t truly mind. When he talked about them, Alec’s whole face seemed to soften, and even his scowl when he mentioned Jace’s recklessness or Izzy’s seemingly disastrous dating history didn’t manage to hide the fondness beneath it. When he talked about Max, it was always to praise him, his intelligence, his kindness, his sense of humor - although too brazen at times, according to their mother - and his bravery. There was always an edge of nostalgia to his tone when he talked about his younger brother, a hint of regrets that Magnus didn’t comprehend but never tried to dive deeper into.

Sometimes, Lily joined them, and Magnus learned to like her too. She was sassy but caring in ways that were invisible to the eye.

When she came back from her lunch break knowing Magnus would be there, she always brought back a pastry from Wanda’s bakery and a coffee for him too with the exact amount of sugar he liked.

She never made Magnus feel unwelcome no matter how many times he burst into the shop without a warning, but always greeted him with a smile, one that turned devilish whenever he arrived when Alec was carrying around heavy pots, skin glistening slightly with sweat and hair even more disheveled than usual.

She never spent much time in the shop when Magnus was there, though, choosing to flee out of the door instead. Alec had told Magnus he suspected she had a crush on Maia, and after studying Maia after he had come back to the shop, Magnus was inclined to think Lily’s crush was very much reciprocated, if her flushed cheeks and small subconscious beam were anything to go by.

When it wasn’t his siblings or Lily, Alec talked about his parents. About his father, who had passed on to him his passion for flowers, who still took his children hiking for a week every summer despite them not being children anymore. He talked less about his mother because he clearly didn’t get along so well with her, but Magnus didn’t ask either.

He found that when Alec wanted to talk, he talked freely, and that there was no point in asking questions, because he was thorough enough to fill the blanks he wanted to fill on his own. Alec did ask, though, about Magnus’ family, about his shop, about his life.

It was on a quiet day of August when Magnus finally dared to ask the question that had been burning his lips. They had grown closer by then. Alec knew all about Magnus’ friends and his cat, which was already a lot and Magnus had heard all about Jace’s goth period.

So he only hesitated barely before he asked, “What’s with the dreamcatchers?”

Alec, who was slouched on the chair, long limbs stretched out, his feet resting on the counter, froze from where he had been signing some papers on his lap, glancing up at Magnus with a curved eyebrow.

His eyes drifted to his shop. Dreamcatchers was scattered a bit everywhere, adding a sense of peaceful harmony to the flowers. The biggest one was behind the counter, right next to the back door, big brown feathers hanging from an intricate willow hoop.

Alec chewed on his bottom lip. “It’s a thing between Max and I,” he said simply.

By then, Magnus had learned to know that Max wasn’t always Alec’s favorite topic of conversation. There were things about their relationship that Magnus ignored, because Alec purposely avoided talking about them. His eyes seemed distant in those moments, much like it did then.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said at once, gripping the edge of the wooden table he was sitting on, for lack of anything better to do with his hands.

Alec shrugged and his hand jolted up to rub his right side. “Let’s just say we both had nightmares for a while,” he muttered absently. “The legends say they filter out the bad dreams and only allow good thoughts to enter your mind. I guess we found some kind of comfort in them.”

Magnus smiled, and it was softer than he had expected it to be.

“What about those nightmares now?”

Alec’s eyes were haunted for a second, but it was too quick for Magnus to truly dwell on it. When Alec looked up to him again, it was gone, and only remained a contrite smile, small but nonetheless breathtaking.

“They never truly go away,” he said, and his eyes bore wisdom beyond his years. “But they become less… burdening with time.”

He ducked his head, but Magnus didn’t think he knew he had done it. His eyes were lost in space and for a while, it was like he had forgotten Magnus was even there. His hand was still rubbing at his ribs and Magnus was tempted to mimic the way he had once witnessed Jace stop him, but he didn’t dare to.

Instead, he hopped down the counter, effectively snapping Alec out of his daze, and tilted his head to meet his eyes.

“I hope you find that peace of mind soon,” he said with a soft smile. “Sometimes, it’s just a matter of letting go and moving on.”

Alec frowned. “Why do you sound like you know exactly what you’re talking about?”

Magnus inhaled deeply through his nose, sliding his hands in his pockets in a vain attempt at appearing nonchalant. “I could have used one of those once,” he said, pointing with his chin at the dreamcatcher on the wall. “I’m pretty sure my ex-girlfriend is the reason why they were invented.”

Alec snorted and his eyes were clear now, his lips tipping up with the beginning of a smirk.

“That bad, uh?”

“Worse,” Magnus assured him with a dismissing flourish.

The bell at the entrance chimed to signal a new arrival and Magnus whirled around just in time to see Isabelle in all her glory, navigating in Alec’s environment like she knew it by heart, her high heels clicking on the floor with dramatic gravity.

“Magnus!” she exclaimed, beaming. “Just the man I was looking for!”

“Wow, thanks Iz,” Alec grumbled, but it was too tainted with fondness to be anything but bemused.

Isabelle rolled her eyes, walking around the counter to plant a kiss on her brother’s cheek, before turning to face Magnus. “It’s Jace’s birthday and we’re going out tonight,” she said. “He hasn’t invited Clary because he’s too much of a whim and she scares him. It must be a thing that runs in the blood of the Lightwood men.”

“Izzy,” Alec growled, but she ignored him royally.

“I’m inviting your magnificent self because he’s not going to do it,” she told Magnus instead, jerking her chin towards her brother. “If you could bring Clary along, that would be fantastic.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Magnus replied, smirking. “Text me the details.”

He winked at her, waved at Alec, and made his way out of the shop with all the glory he could muster.

He just had the time to hear Alec exclaim, “Since when do you have his number?” and Isabelle’s cheeky, “Why that, dear brother? Jealous?” before the door closed behind him.