Magic, Memories, and Malec

Strings of Fire

"Cobalt as the midnight sky
when day has gone without a trace
and we lie in each other's arms
eyes shut and fingers open
and all the colours of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire."
-          Colours Passing Through Us, Marge Piercy

The crowd had eventually enveloped the three of them where they stood on the dais, and Toby slipped out from the centre of the crush of people to let Magnus and Alec to receive their congratulations and talk to their guests. He found Zander hugging Alec tight and Magnus with Ava kissing her cheek elatedly. When they retreated to the edge of the fray, they enveloped Toby as he grinned through the tears of happiness flooding his eyes. Ava wiped the tears on his cheekbones away with her thumb; Zander clapped him on the back. He leant into Ava, and her arms went around him, closer to his height now in her heels. With her, he didn't have to say anything. Zander was his best friend, his brother. Ava was the other half of his heart. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and the world righted itself. His chin against her shoulder, he glanced behind her, and watched as Zander looked across at Magnus and Alec and promptly burst into tears. Ava and Toby broke apart, turning to him. Ava had to tilt her chin up to glance him in the eye, her gaze soft on his. Toby took his hand carefully and Zander smiled as Ava slid her hand around his waist. Zander may have been the strongest, the tallest, most placid human there was, but he was fairly (as Ava put it) "emotionally volatile".
"Come on," Toby said. "Let's go and move chairs. We've got to clear this place out for the reception."
The three of them started working, and most of the guests joined in to help. In barely any time at all, the room was cleared and – soon after that – the reception was underway.

Toby looked around, sat atop the table on which – earlier in the evening – drinks had been sat. Glasses of champagne, water, and bottles of soda. Now though, most of these had been taken by guests, leaving the table free for Toby to sit atop. He cradled a glass of champagne in his hand, sipping on the drink contemplatively as he watched the flooded dance floor surge with motion. Some upbeat pop song was playing and some girl came up to Toby, reaching out a hand. He beamed, taking it gratefully, leaving his glass on the table he'd been sat on. The girl's hand curled around his and he smiled as she turned to him when they stopped in the middle of the dance floor.
"Maia!" he exclaimed, and pulled her into a hug. She laughed, clutching him close. "I haven't seen you for ages! Where have you been? I need my Aunt Maia."
She kissed his cheek and his arms tightened around her. When Toby had been little, around ten, Magnus and Alec had begun their pursuit into creating unity between the Nephilim and the Downworlders trying to restore a sense of togetherness after the Cold Peace had been instated. Maia, a werewolf, had spent a lot of time at their apartment, and if Magnus and Alec ever had to go to a meeting, Maia would babysit Toby. She would sit with him, help him with homework, take him to the comic book store and conventions. Like Simon, she was a total nerd; but unlike Simon, she actually had the time to hang out with him, and she was always at the apartment. Maia was always there for him, a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear outside of his immediate family. He held her close now, and she stroked his blonde hair. She pulled back and took his hand, pulling him along with him as they danced. Toby was laughing, feeling welcome, finally. In a big party like this, it was easy to feel lost. Dancing with Maia somehow made him feel like the most important person in the room. He didn't feel quite so lost and alone.

After a few dances, Maia disappeared to get a drink and Toby lost her in the crush of people. The noise was becoming overwhelming as more guests arrived who hadn't been able to attend the ceremony – many of them vampires who couldn't travel to the Institute in broad daylight. Toby began to turn toward the door, needing fresh air and his own space free of other people for a few minutes. However, as his hand touched the knob of the doors out of the sanctuary, the music stopped, shifted, and the room went silent. He spun from where he stood and froze, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of the floor clearing to make way for Alec – who was being pulled into the middle of the empty space by Magnus for their first dance.
Magnus smiled, turning to Alec as Jace's fingers began moving across the keys of the piano in the corner of the dance floor. Jace, as a wedding gift, had composed a piano piece for their first dance, and neither had heard it until now. It had been revised endless times, trialled on Clary until it was perfect – Jace's definition of perfect, which was about a thousand times more flawless than anyone else's definition; he was a perfectionist, especially where his Parabatai was concerned.
Magnus went to take Alec's hand, going to lead and carry Alec through this dance if his characteristic clumsiness put the moment in danger of calamity and broken limbs. But, to Magnus's surprise, Alec's hand met his in midair and the other went confidently around the warlock's waist, and taking the lead. Magnus smiled, bemused but impressed, and acquiesced, placing his hand atop Alec's shoulder. He looked so assured, Magnus thought, and got the distinct feeling that Alec knew what he was doing. Though doing an impeccable job of maintaining a calm and relaxed exterior, Alec's mind raced. Lead with the whole body, not just the hand. Slide the feet, don't place them, or else he'd step on Magnus's foot. Move with the music. By the Angel, there was so much to remember. It was almost mathematical the whole situation was. He looked up to meet Magnus's eyes, remembering Isabelle's warning not to stare at the floor, and saw the gold-green irises he knew so well crinkle in a smile. Alec was so sure that lasted only an instant, felt himself moving in a strange dream within that millisecond of eye contact, then there was the burst of applause and the music wound down. It was over.
"I..."
"That was amazing." Magnus said, dropping a kiss on Alec's lips and tugging him from the dance floor. "Come on, we'll let the others dance for a while. Plus, I think you've far surpassed your quota of expected dancing for today – both in volume and quality."
Alec laughed and let himself be dragged toward Jace to thank him for the music.