Learning You (Malec)

4~ God, I Feel So Frustrated Lately

Looking at Alec's smiling face, devoid of any of the sadness and reservation he normally had, the world melted away. For a moment Magnus didn't care that he was hiding in some random room, in danger of being caught by his boyfriend's Mother -who didn't exactly approve of him in the first place- and technically trespassing, all he cared about was ingraining that expression of complete and utter innocence in his mind. He moved forward, stiffening when a low creak sounded from beneath his feet, eyes flicking to the door before letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Magnus studied the boards beneath his feet with a new light, eyeing the distance between him and the picture. If he continued there was a chance that he would get caught... Was it really worth it? He eyed the picture again, eyes narrowing in determination. Absolutely.

Magnus' eyes flicked back to the door. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do before striding forwards, closing the distance in three large strides, the wood beneath his feet thankfully only letting out one low creak before he stood before the large framed picture. The way it was hung -and the factor of his height- made it so he was almost directly face to face with the photo.

He stretched a hand out, gingerly placing long fingers on the glass by Alec's face. From the looks of the picture it seemed that he was nine or ten years old, his face still slightly rounded with baby fat giving him a soft look and increasing the look of innocence. Even captured in a photo years ago, Alec's eyes shone like liquid pools of water, the different shades of blue weaving into each other like the lapping of waves. Magnus could get lost in those eyes.

The Warlock leaned closer, resting his forehead against the glass as he stared at the small form of his love. Even at a young age Magnus could see the beauty that would soon shine through. His face, slightly rounded and child-like, would give way to a sculpted nose and soft jaw. His eye lashes would grow longer still then they already were and his lips would grow fuller, the bottom just slightly bigger than the top. His body would change, pale, unmarked flesh becoming marked with scars and runes; the rounded softness fading into strong muscle. Magnus traced the pale skin of Alec's arm, circling the place where a silver scar would one day lay. Over time Magnus had acquainted himself with the Shadowhunter's body, mapping every scar and rune, every muscle and dip into his mind until he could remember it perfectly. He made it a point to ingrain even the littlest of details into his mind, especially since every moment they saw each other could be their last. But that was besides the point. This boy in the photo was completely different from the Alexander Lightwood he knew. This child was free and open, he seemed to show emotion without hesitation. So what he really wanted to know was...

"What happened to you, love?" He murmured, breath fogging the glass. Magnus backed away, looking along the walls and moving around the room when he saw more pictures. There were photos of Isabelle, smiling up from her place at the table, a bowl of something unnameable sitting in front of her. There were pictures of who he assumed to be Max as a child, solemn faced with his nose stuck in a book. And there were images of Jace, smirks and all. But what stood out to the Warlock the most were the ones of his love. There were photos of him painting something or another on the walls, nose scrunched up in concentration. There were pictures of him sprawled on the floor, stacks and stacks of books surrounding him. And there were images of him in Shadowhunter gear, for what Magnus assumed, were the first time. But through it all, the thing that caught Magnus' eye the most were his expressions. The images seemed to go year by year and as the years continued on, Alec's eyes seemed to get more distant, his face showing less and less emotion until he was the boy Magnus had met at Chairman Meow's party. Solemn faced and sticking to the shadows. He went from trimmed hair and nicely fitted clothes to holey sweaters and ratty jeans. It didn't make any sense to the Warlock. Sure he knew that when his love had realized he was gay he had secluded himself from everyone else but... Surly there was more? It couldn't have just been that one thing that sent him so far into seclusion... Right? Magnus was going to find out.

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He needed to get out of here before Maryse came back and found him skulking in the shadows, not only would she hate him even more, but he was sure she'd probably do something drastic seeing as Warlocks weren't even supposed to be allowed into the Institute in the first place. He cast one last look around before reaching a hand out to grab a picture, that he couldn't help but stare at, off of one of the many shelfs in the room. With the frame clasped tightly in his hand he strode across the room, pausing to press his ear to the wooden door, listening for any sound that might mean Maryse was near by and in hearing none opened the door and slipping through, closing the door gently behind him.

Now. If only the trip to the front door is this easy. Magnus mused to himself, moving down the hall.

~OxoXoxO~

Dammit! He just had to go and invite what ever god there was to screw with him didn't he?

Alright, you can do this. He mentally encouraged himself, taking a deep breath as he glanced at the light beaming out from underneath the kitchen door. Magnus listened once more for any movements aimed towards the door and when hearing none he darted forwards, pressing himself to the other side of the hallway once he had passed. He silently thanked Lilith that he and Alec had marked each other with the alliance rune, otherwise he would have been screwed by now. The Warlock moved to head towards the door only to still when he heard a familiar name.

Magnus blinked owilishly, eyes darting from the way to the front door back to the kitchen and back. Don't do it. He warned himself. Don't do it-

"...Alec..."

He moved forwards, getting as close as he dared before pressing his ear against the wall.

You know that saying? Curiosity killed the cat? Well I think this applies to you. A mocking voice hissed before he shooed it away, trying his best to not crush the picture frame in his hands when he zero-ed in on the conversation.

~OxoXoxO~

Maryse Lightwood paced around the kitchen, a phone in her hands as she tried not to burst into tears. "I don't know! I mean-"

She paused, listening to something a feminine sounding voice said before answering back, running a hand through her hair. "No! Alec isn't like that! He would never do something like that!"

A sceptic question answered her in return and she bit her lip. "Have you seen him? He would never let someone use him like that! He's not some common whore!"

Somethig along the lines of, 'Are you sure?' answered back at her and she slammed her fist into the counter, not even cringing at the pain as she shouted angrily at the phone. "Why? WHY? Because he thinks he's in love with him!"

The voice took on a gentler tone, and she sobbed, sliding down onto the floor. "I don't know. He's always been... Reclusive but I never thought that - Well I mean - I never even considered that -" She swallowed. "I never thought that he would believe himself to be gay."

~OxoXoxO~

Magnus snarled. Now Magnus could understand why Alec hated going to the Institute so much. He had said that Marsye was much more accepting of his sexuality than Robert and from what he was hearing, if that were true, well then Magnus felt a fresh wave of sorrow and anger wash over him on his love's behalf. Hearing this, Magnus silently vowed that if Robert or Maryse made any move or said a single thing to alienate Alec when Magnus was around, there would be hell to pay. Hell, the only reason he wasn't storming through that door and giving Maryse a good tongue-lashing was because he wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place.

Marsye, you better thank your lucky stars that the case of 'trespassing' just saved your sorry excuse of a hide. Magnus seethed silently.

He needed to get out of here before he really lost control, it was hard enough holding back the angry sparks of mgic that threatened to excape. He gave the door one last dark glance before turning away, struggling to get the horrified tone of voice Maryse had used when discussing Alec's sexuality out of his head as he moved towards the door. It wasn't fair that someone as sweet and loving as Alec had to go through so much. Couldn't his parents see how much he was hurting inside? Evidently not. He thought darkly, slipping out into the cool city air.

Magnus walked home, a whirlwind of thoughts clouding his mind.