august 19, spencer

[seveninches]

When she'd arrived in this city, Isabelle hadn't expected that things would go the way they have. She's always had Alec, but she never expected that she would end up with a sort of makeshift family, including a mundane. A year ago she would have scoffed, but now Isabelle's not sure what she would do without them.

She gets Spencer's text mid-morning, asking her for coffee and that he has some kind of news. News, it seems, is far from in short supply at the moment. Isabelle has already had her plate full with the mess between Alec and Magnus, and her own relationship with Billy, but she's curious as to what Spencer could have to say. For a moment she considers if it's anything to do with Luke's full moon adventure the other night, but Isabelle is pleased that they'd wrapped that up considerably neatly.

Spencer is family so Isabelle doesn't bother to dress up too fancy, though she does slip into tight jeans and a bright top before she leaves. The coffee shop isn't far from her apartment so she figures she'll walk, enjoying the sun on her face. She sends Reid a quick text to let him know that she's on her way, and it only takes her about ten minutes to reach the place they'd agreed on.

It doesn't look like he's arrived yet, so Isabelle finds a corner table and orders two coffees, anticipating that he won't be far behind her.

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[seveninches]

It's not that she's necessarily preparing herself for the worst, but usually the kind of news that Isabelle gets is bad. People don't ask her to keep happy secrets, generally speaking, and she's become used to having to hide her own feelings about things behind a mask. Reid rushes to correct himself and Isabelle relaxes just a little, though she's still concerned, especially with the way he's shredding napkins into pieces.

All of that goes out the window when he speaks, and Isabelle has to clap her hand over her mouth to keep from squealing. It's probably undignified and not at all Shadowhunter-like and her mother would chastise her if she were here, but Isabelle can't help herself. Beaming wide, she jumps out of her chair to throw her arms around his neck, squeezing him in a hug.

"You did? That's wonderful, that's so, so great! Obviously he said yes," she gushes, feeling like an excited schoolgirl and refusing to care. Her adopted family is becoming more like a family by the minute, and Isabelle couldn't be happier. Her own parents had never been like this, never been so hopelessly in love, and it's nice to have reassurance again that it's real, and can happen.

Sitting back in her own chair, Isabelle bites her lip and tries to force herself to be calmer. "I'm so happy for you, Spencer, I can't wait."

[youfeelluckypunk]

His cheeks are hot, Reid's sure they're an unmistakable shade of pink, but he doesn't care because Isabelle's reaction is so sweet, so genuine, that he can't help but laugh and hug her in return. It's a wonderful thing, to see that kind of joy meant for him, to be on the receiving end of a hug like that without thinking twice about why. This is what he'd wanted, he realizes, it's the reaction he's been hoping to see because up until now, he's been congratulated by strangers who don't know him very well and don't know Luke at all.

Isabelle is family, though, her happiness for them is unmistakably real, and Reid has to swallow down the lump forming in his throat just to get a few words out.

"Thank you," he says, outright beaming now. "I just really needed to tell someone close to us, it's been hard keeping it to ourselves. I mean, it's also been kind of nice, giving ourselves the change to enjoy it privately for a little while. We've already done a few things, cake tasting and talking about venues, things like that, but..." Reid shrugs a shoulder. "It's getting close to being the time to let the cat out of the bag to everyone."

[seveninches]

For a horrifying moment when she sits back down Isabelle realises that she's thrown herself at him without permission. She knows Reid is generally averse to that kind of thing, and Isabelle bites her lip. Still, he hugged her back and he's smiling, so maybe she hasn't totally put her foot in it. She'd just been so excited she'd forgotten herself, which is exactly the kind of thing she's been trained not to do. Darrow continues to change her, make her even less the kind of daughter that Maryse wanted, but the longer it goes, the less Isabelle minds.

"That's wonderful! You have to let me dress you, I promise I'm good at it." Isabelle is still finding her feet, learning everything she can from Kate to try and focus on this new career path, but she loves it. She dresses people by day and fights demons by night; it's all Isabelle could have ever hoped for.

"Sorry," she says afterwards, lowering her tone a little, "about before. I hugged without thinking, I didn't mean to."

[youfeelluckypunk]

It briefly catches him off-guard that she would apologize for the hug, but Reid appreciates that she'd be concerned about his comfort at all. He quickly shakes his head, even reaches out to give her hand a quick squeeze to emphasize the point. "Hey, it's fine. It's more of a germ thing than a people thing, you know? Kissing people is actually safer than shaking hands." He narrows his eyes, his smile fading. "I mean, I don't make a habit of kissing people hello. Jut the one. But it's still true, hands are just a breeding ground for viruses and infection."

This isn't the conversation he'd ended on having after revealing that he's going to be married but nevertheless, here they are. It's to his good fortune Isabelle had brought up the subject of dressing him because that does seem like the best out right now.

"Anyway, yes, I'd actually really love it if you'd help me pick out something to wear to the wedding. Besides, it'd give me a reason to come visit you at the store and see you in action. I'll treat you to lunch afterwards, too, I promise."

[seveninches]

She grins a little at him when he says that it's safer to be kissing people. That's a policy that Isabelle could get behind, but she doesn't think most of the city would be on board with her. "Well, at least you'll get to kiss Luke to seal the deal," she points out, turning back to the subject at hand. It occurs to her suddenly that she doesn't know what kind of wedding it will be. Luke was a Shadowhunter once, but it's been long enough and he can no longer bear the kind of Marks that would be necessary at a Shadowhunter wedding. A mundane wedding seems an odd fit for him, though.

"Of course, I'd love to." Isabelle has never gotten to dress anybody for a wedding before, and she's excited. She's happy just to attend the wedding at all (at least, she hopes, assumes she's invited) but having something extra special to do, to be involved, makes her happy.

"Just don't bring Luke," she instructs, shaking her head firmly. "Bad luck and all that."

[youfeelluckypunk]

"You know, the whole superstition with that actually started because back when arranged marriages were customary, they were more of a business deal than anything else. The couples in those kinds of marriages didn't do it for love, a lot of time they didn't even meet until the day of the wedding, so the brides' fathers would keep them out of sight in case the grooms decided they weren't attractive enough. If the groom never saw the bride, he obviously wouldn't be able to change his mind based on her looks and that significantly reduced the possibility of shame being brought onto the bride's family due to rejection."

It's not a sweet story but then, a lot of traditions aren't rooted in what would be considered very pleasant. Still, he smiles brightly because it's not like Isabelle had asked to learn that today, and he shrugs a shoulder. "But I'll leave him home anyway. I do like the idea of keeping what we wear a surprise from each other."

He shifts in his seat then, drumming his fingers against his cup. "So, um, how are things with you and Billy?" Reid's not particularly skilled at asking much about Alec or Isabelle's respective romantic relationships, but he does care. He does want to know if she's happy because she so very much deserves to be. "Do you think you'd bring him to your wedding? You're allowed the plus-one, by the way, just to be clear."

[seveninches]

If it were anyone else Isabelle might have rolled her eyes, but she finds Spencer's impulse to explain things almost endearing. She hadn't said it to learn the history of it and maybe she doesn't care all that much, but she does like that Spencer knows it at all. He's a perfect match for Luke, she thinks.

"The surprise is the best part," she says excitedly. It's not her wedding but she's already excited to see the look on Luke's face when he sees Spencer. She knows she has good taste, and she's determined to make him look good enough that even Luke falters a little.

She hadn't expected him to ask about Billy, and she's a little surprised. She hasn't really mentioned it too much to Spencer or Luke, but she supposes they've all had bigger things on their mind. The first time Luke had seen her with Billy had been when he was changing back after getting loose, and she's not sure that counts as a good first impression. "Things are good," she says. Things are good, nice and sweet and easy in a way that they never had been back home. Isabelle has always been cautious about relationships and she has no intention of letting herself fall head over heels after only a few months. But it has been longer than anything she'd gotten involved in back home, and she likes it a whole lot more.

"Would that be okay?" she asks. She hadn't thought about asking Billy at first, but now she thinks that's something she would like to do.

[youfeelluckypunk]

It's not a particularly detailed answer but then again, Isabelle is a teenager and a Lightwood. She may not be as reticent as her brother, but she's not exceptionally forthcoming, either, which Reid both understands and can appreciate. Besides that, Reid doubts she wants to discuss the finer points of her relationship with him and frankly, that does seem like something he'd rather not know anyway.

"Of course it's okay," Reid tells her, brows lifting in surprise. "I mean, he helped with what happened with Luke, which was really wonderful of him, but... but he's also your boyfriend, if bringing him will make you happy, of course we'd want you do it. On the other side of things, if he happens to do anything between now and then to upset you, I can throw him in jail for a few hours on a bogus charge. I'd offer to punch him for you, but I'm not sure he wouldn't press charges against me."

At least with Magnus, Reid had known he would've been able to get away with it.