Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
GOING TO IDRIS

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     A few days later found Adrian and Alec walking down a busy street, hand in hand. They were glamoured, so the mundanes around them couldn't even see them, but Adrian still felt it was important regardless. Maryse hadn't let them leave the Institute unless they were carrying weapons, which was precisely why they were invisible to human eyes in the first place. A sword was strapped across Adrian's back, while Alec had his usual bow-and-arrows. Adrian had been sad to learn that his staff had been permanently lost, but then he had realized it hadn't lasted long in the fight regardless. It was prettier to look at than it was reliable. He had requested a new one—a better one—and Maryse had said she would get on it. Until then, he was stuck with a sword. He loved swords, but it would have been nice to have a staff as his go-to weapon for more than a few hours.

"So where are we going?" Alec asked, breaking their comfortable silence. He hadn't asked where Adrian was going when they were leaving. He had just gotten up to follow after Adrian had asked if he wanted to tag along. Now he was glancing around with a frown on his face.

"To Luke's bookstore," Adrian said cheerfully, swinging their hands back and forth between them. He had woken up in a very good mood. The Institute was finally emptying of injured Shadowhunters, and Adrian was finally able to move around without drawing an iratze every hour. "I promised him I'd visit."

"I still think we should have taken a cab," Alec said. Adrian rolled his eyes.

"It's too nice of a day to take a cab. Besides, I'm perfectly fine." Smiling, Adrian nudged Alec's side. "You worry too much."

"I'm the oldest," Alec argued. "I'm supposed to worry."

"Yeah, but not so much that you forget to have fun. I always said I'd fix that." Alec grimaced. Adrian's idea of fun was late-night parties. Since he and Magnus were growing closer, Adrian was excited about what kinds of parties the both of them could create together. Alec, on the other hand, dreaded the idea. He had always hated parties. He was too much of an introvert to enjoy them.

"Even though I never let you," Alec pointed out. Adrian shrugged.

"Well, now that we're dating, I'm hoping it'll give me a bit of an edge." Alec smiled at that, ducking his head. Adrian nudged him again. "I can finally convince you to do things." Alec laughed in disbelief.

"Dri, you didn't really have a problem convincing me to do things before," Alec pointed out. Adrian just shrugged, then stopped abruptly and tugged on Alec's hand, bringing him to the side of the sidewalk and leaning against the brick building.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Adrian said as mundanes passed by them, none the wiser that they were even there. "I didn't want to bring it up at first, because it would...I don't know, freak you out or something." Alec waited, taking Adrian's other hand and linking their fingers together. Adrian watched him do it with a soft smile, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. He wanted to kiss him so badly, but he pushed that thought away to focus on what he wanted to ask. He would have plenty of time to kiss Alec later. "Did you like me before I told you I loved you, or after?" The thought had been nagging him ever since he had kissed Alec in that greenhouse. He wasn't sure what answer he wanted to hear, wasn't sure how he would react if Alec said after. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to know.

"Well, I know it started before," Alec said after a moment of thought, eyes on their linked fingers. "I didn't realize until after, though. It had never clicked for me, what the feeling was. Not until I finally accepted that I'm gay. I think I fixated on Jace because it was easier. I had a reason not to act on it, to hide it. The situation was so messed up it helped...distract me from it." Alec gave a sheepish smile. "Probably not the healthiest thing I could have done."