seveninches | May 6, Alec

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May 6, Alec

They're planning a June wedding, which is starting to become very real, and very soon. Isabelle isn't the one getting married but she's still starting to feel the stress of it, hoping that everything is done in time to pull the day off perfectly. She's helped out as much as she can but she doesn't want to be overbearing, and she knows Alec will get easily overwhelmed. Which is why she's decided that today is shopping day.

It's not in Alec's nature to ask for gifts from anyone, so Isabelle is assuming that he hasn't done anything about a gift registry yet. She knows technically Magnus could just conjure anything they might ever need, but that takes all the fun out of wedding presents. She's seen it in mundane movies and read about it, and she's decided that Magnus and Alec will have a gift registry, even if she has to force one on them. There are heaps of people in Darrow who are going to want to shower them with love and affection and presents, and Isabelle wants to make sure they don't end up with anything terrible or seven of the same toaster or something ridiculous.

She's dragged Alec to the mall under protest, and with a scan gun in her hand Isabelle feels in her element. She's already scanned a dozen things that she thinks would make excellent gifts, moving determinedly through the aisles.

"Magnus would love that," she calls out, pointing to a throw rug with a silver trim that sparkles against the light. It's opulent and probably expensive but Isabelle scans it with a flourish anyway, glancing over at Alec with red lips curved into a grin. "Just don't let the cats shed all over it."

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Alec is not a fan of shopping. When he went, he was in and out within minutes and typically grabbed the first thing he saw that was what he needed. He didn't tend to window shop or compare prices or anything like that.

Yet, here he was, watching his sister flit from item to item and following along dutifully. He listened to her talk about the various pieces she checked with her weird scan gun and nodded when it seemed like the right time.

"I don't know if the cats would listen to me," Alec told her, tilting his head and eyeing the rug up and down. "Do we need another rug? There's carpeting."

Alec is being particularly listless with his own scanning gun, but Isabelle doesn't mind all that much because it means she gets to pick out more things herself. He hasn't complained, but she knows he's not enjoying himself all that much, so she makes a note to do something to cheer him up as soon as this is finished with. As much fun as she's having, it really is something they need to get done, so for the moment he'll just have to suck it up.

"This one goes on your bed," she says, rolling her eyes like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "It's a throw rug, not a rug."

Magnus would know the difference, which is why Isabelle is confident in adding it to the list. At the very least she can count on her future brother-in-law to have good taste. It's a title she hasn't really tried out very much yet, but she finds she likes it a lot. She and Magnus might have had a few ups and downs in Darrow, but she loves him and she's more than happy to be welcoming him into the family. Especially if it means she has someone else on her side against Alec's refusal to try and understand shopping.

"How are things coming?" she asks, gently as Isabelle ever does. It's down to the final weeks and she doesn't want to stress him out, but it is getting close.

"Did you know there's a color called mayonnaise?" Alec asked her, using his question as an answer to the question she'd asked. They'd been making progress here and there but the colors thing was still throwing him.

"And one called aged pink salmon," he shared, holding his scan gun up at what looked like a very, very plush pillow. It actually looked pretty soft, like something that would be nice for naps but Alec couldn't bring himself to do anything more than look.

"We've been working on colors lately," he stated in case she couldn't tell.

The question is a little out of the blue, and these are words Isabelle has never heard coming out of Alec's mouth. She casts him a cursory glance, bemused, before she turns back to the job of scanning everything within reach. "Lots of colours are named after food," she points out. She supposes it's because it's a generic thing that most people understand. There are a hundred different versions of off white and yellow-white, but everybody knows what colour mayonnaise is.

He pauses in front of a pillow, his gun poised but without pressing anything. Isabelle stops, watching him for a moment before she rolls her eyes and walks back towards him. "You just press the button," she tells him, pointing to where his index finger is resting. It's a nice pillow, she'd buy it herself if she wasn't at Tris's more often than her own place these days.

For a moment she can't work out whether the we is supposed to be Alec and Magnus or Alec and Jack. Working on colours sounds more like a Jack activity, but she hardly thinks they'd be working with aged pink salmon, which is way more up Magnus's alley. "Has Magnus decided on a colour scheme, then?" She suspects he's probably changed his mind half a dozen times and she fully expects the actual wedding to be full of all sorts of colours, but she does kind of hope they pick two or three.

"Mayonnaise is not going to be anywhere in our wedding," Alec said, pushing the button on the gun as Isabelle instructed. He really didn't need that pillow but the corner of his mouth lifted in a brief smile anyway before he turned away and looked around for other things.

"Magnus' declaration," he added, shrugging his shoulders, "but I agree with him. I don't know if I want something at a wedding that makes people think of sandwiches. The consistency of mayonnaise is gross."

He'd eaten mayonnaise before and he even liked it but he'd be thinking of a curdled, clumpy white condiment if he saw it outside of a sandwich. "I think black and gold. It was just black for a few days but I decided that I'll wear gold as Shadowhunters do. I wasn't sure if I should or not."

"That's probably a good thing." She never said mayonnaise was a good colour, just that it existed. And now that Alec has put the thought in her head, all she can think about is a wedding reception menu of sandwiches too. She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "Keep out the aged pink salmon, too."

She laughs a little at Alec's determination that the consistency of mayonnaise is apparently wrong. He's always had a tendency to focus on odd things that might not even occur to Isabelle, and she can't say she's ever really thought one way or another about the consistency of mayonnaise. Maybe if she'd had packed school lunches growing up like a mundane child she might have understood.

He mentions wearing gold and Isabelle glances back to smile at him fondly. They've made a lot of concessions since arriving in Darrow, changing tradition and trying to make an effort to live among mundanes. Isabelle even has a mundane job, but there are things about them that are never going to change and she doesn't want them to. No matter what their lives have become since arriving in this city, they're both still Shadowhunters, and maybe no one else in this place really understands that, but Isabelle does and she knows Alec does, too.

"You should," she answers firmly. It's not going to be a normal Shadowhunter wedding for more than one reason, but there's nothing to say that Alec can't still adhere to some traditions.

"I will," he said, tugging at his sleeves like he would if he were wearing a suit jacket. "I don't know exactly in what form the gold will come but I'd rather not wear something that's shiny gold where I sparkle in the sun."

If their wedding really needed something like that, he'd leave to Isabelle or Magnus. They'd wear it better and draw the eyes of everyone around them effortlessly. Alec would spend the entire time trying not to squint.

"I haven't really looked at clothing yet," he admitted with a grimace. He twirled the scan gun around on one finger and shook his head. "I could put some gold glitter on my gear and wear that, right?"

He knew that wasn't right and no one would let him wear that even into the venue beforehand. He made a face at Isabelle just in case she actually thought he was serious.

"What do you think you'll wear?" he asked curiously. "Gold? Black? Mayonnaise?"

She grins a little at that, looking him over. As fun as it would be to convince him to go in head-to-toe shining gold, she's not sure it's appropriate to mess with Alec on his wedding day. Besides which, if anyone's going to sparkle in the sun, it's sure to be Magnus.

He makes a face and Isabelle knows he's only joking, but she still reaches out to swat at his arm in warning. "No gear," she says, pointing her finger. "No gear or I'll be forced to take your fashion choices into my own hands."

He hasn't asked her for help with his clothes and she trusts that Magnus isn't going to let him go in something ridiculous, but she's not opposed to intervening if she needs to. As for what she's going to wear, she hasn't entirely decided yet. Isabelle is used to dressing to stand out, but this is Alec and Magnus's day and she doesn't intend to be the centre of attention. "Mayonnaise, if only because now I know how much you love it."

"I'm not going to wear my gear," Alec promised, shaking his head. He doubted he'd even be allowed out of the apartment if he only had that in hand and not a suit or something that look fairly formal.

Though, he thought Magnus would marry him if he wore a ratty sweater and jeans that were barely holding together, he was trying to be flexible with the wedding. He wanted it to be part him and part Magnus since they were going to be spending the remainder of Alec's life together and making it all about one person seemed like a bad start.

"If you wear mayonnaise, you're going to have to deal with Magnus," Alec joked, pointing his scan gun at Alec and shaking his head. "He's already outlawed the color. Now, I'd love to see that confrontation but only if there's no bloodshed and you don't make him cry."

Isabelle is about to say she can more than deal with Magnus when Alec continues and she grins. He might be a warlock, but Isabelle knows she could give Magnus a run for his money if she ever had reason to. Now though, he's going to be her brother in law, so Isabelle's pretty confident that's never going to happen.

"Trust Magnus to pick a colour to outlaw," she retorts, though it's probably a fair call. Mayonnaise has no place in a wedding.

She will need to go shopping soon for something to wear, though she'll be kind enough not to make Alec go with her. Maybe she'll ask Tris, or Kate. It's kind of nice knowing she has girl friends she can ask to go shopping with her these days; back home she never had that. Before The Mortal War she spent all of her time with Alec and Jace, and even when Clary arrived on the scene there were always more important things going on.

"If you don't wear your gear, I'll promise not to wear mayonnaise. Can't be any bloodshed at a wedding, right?"

"Not at my wedding, at least. I only plan to do this once in my life so hopefully it goes okay," Alec said, an undercurrent of nerves present in his tone. While he knew that the people coming to the wedding would be fine, he didn't trust Darrow and its ability to behave for at least one day.

He didn't want to be dealing with some sort of weird demon invasion on his wedding day nor did he want people who looked like him or Magnus or his sister showing up to cause trouble. He just wanted this to be a normal day. Or as normal as he could get when it came to getting married, something he never thought he'd do.

"I won't wear my gear. I'll be wearing a suit, I promise," he told her with a quiet snicker. "Is Billy going to come with you? He's invited."

There's a hint of nervousness to his voice and Isabelle shakes her head. "It's going to go great," she corrects. Darrow has a tendency to throw something crazy into the mix the minute things start to look a little normal, but Isabelle isn't going to let that happen. She doesn't know how exactly, but nothing is going to ruin this day for her brother.

He's worked hard to get to a place where he's actually getting married, and Isabelle wants to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. He deserves to be happy more than anyone she's ever met.

"He'll be there," she says, nodding. They haven't talked a lot about it but he'd come to Luke and Reid's wedding with her and she's sure he won't want to miss this. She thinks of the suit she'd gotten him to try on, how good he looked in it, and makes a mental note to go back and buy it. "In a suit. Dark blue, I promise."

"I'm so surprised that Billy hasn't chosen to wear a light purple suit. Really," Alec said dryly, making a face at her. Then, just because he could, just because he was the oldest, he reached over and tugged the ends of her hair lightly.

"How are things with you and Billy?" Alec asked idly. He normally stayed out of his sister's relationships, not wanting to hear something that he could never un-hear but he knew Billy was different for her. He'd been around a long time and it had seemingly turned into a serious relationship. He just wanted to make sure she was happy with it.

She doesn't mention that she plans on asking Magnus to use his particular method of acquiring things to get Billy's suit. She knows Billy would never spend that much money on clothes and in truth Isabelle doesn't have that kind of cash to splash around, either. Especially not when she still needs to find herself an outfit, too.

She shoves Alec away in mock annoyance when he tugs at her hair, swatting at him with her scan gun. He doesn't normally ask about Billy, but they're out wedding shopping, so she guesses relationships are probably an appropriate topic of conversation.

"It was our anniversary the other day," Isabelle tells him, smiling fondly. She hadn't seen her surprise coming, and she's still a little impressed with how much effort Billy went to. "He took me out to dinner and then scared the hell out of me by getting down on one knee." She tosses Alec a wry smile, shaking her head. He'd been quick to correct and apologise, but Isabelle's heart had jumped into her throat for a moment, there.

"Anniversary. Congratulations," Alec said and though his tone was mild, the sentiment was sincere. He couldn't be sure if this was Isabelle's longest relationship but he knew it had to be close and he was happy that she was happy. He was glad that she was happy with someone who was as good a guy as Billy was. Some of the Downworlders she'd dated back home were...less than reputable.

"Why was he down on one knee in the first place?" Alec asked her, amused. "I hope it wasn't intentional and that he wasn't actually trying to pull some prank on you to make you think that he was gonna...?"

He didn't think Billy was that kind of person but, if that was what he'd done, Alec was going to have to find him and glare at him angrily before threatening him with a punch in the head if he played with his sister's emotions like that again.

Anyone else might think he didn't care, or was dismissing her, but Isabelle has lived with Alec long enough to sense his tone. Maybe he doesn't say a lot, but she knows he's genuinely sincere in the congratulations. He's watched her go through a string of relationships so she suspects he was waiting to see if this one was going to be anything worth remembering before he got too invested in it. Isabelle knows Alec and Billy are friends, but for the most part Alec has stayed out of their business.

"He was tying his shoelace," she says dryly, rolling her eyes. He'd scared the hell out of her for a shoelace, and Isabelle would have hit him if she hadn't been so relieved to see him stand up again. She loves Billy, she's even said that aloud now, but she definitely doesn't want to be proposed to right now. She doesn't think Billy does, either.

She shakes her head, cutting Alec off before he can continue down that line of thought. "He's not some jerk," she tells him with a laugh. That kind of prank wouldn't even occur to Billy. "I don't think that would ever even cross his mind, don't worry."

"Tying his shoelace?" Alec sounded incredulous for a second before snickering and shaking his head. "I can see why that would have freaked you out. I'm glad there was a reasonable explanation."

He was also curious as to what Isabelle might have said if Billy had been proposing. Alec wondered if that was something she wanted. He'd told her before that he thought she and Jace would be the ones to get married out of all of them and she'd never shown disdain to the idea so it made him curious.

"And I'm not worried," he said, reaching over to tug on the ends of her hair again and smiling slyly as he did. "I know you can handle yourself if he were to pull something like that but I also believe he wouldn't do that. You found yourself a genuinely nice guy."

Isabelle definitely does know how to handle herself, and it's not the first time Alec has said it. When they first got together she seems to remember they had a similar conversation, about how Billy was a good guy but that if he ever hurt her, he'd need to be more afraid of Isabelle herself than Alec. It's a year later now and they've come a long way, but Isabelle knows Alec would still stand up for her in a heartbeat if it came to that.

"Funny that," she muses, shaking her head. "And here I was thinking I'd never find one." She pauses for a moment, considering. "Or be interested in one, come to think of it."

Genuinely nice guys weren't typically Isabelle's type, back home. Maybe that's more to do with the presence of her parents, having something to rebel against. Without them here to shock and annoy, she's ended up with the sweetest guy around. If they were here, she knows they'd still find room to be disappointed. Billy could be the nicest guy they've ever met, he's still not a Shadowhunter and they'd still say she was letting the family down.

"Funny that," Alec echoed because he'd thought the same thing and couldn't stop slanting her a look that said as much. She could handle herself and handle her business but that didn't mean Alec wouldn't worry about her feelings and how they could be hurt if someone took her for granted.

"Do you think you'd ever consider it, though?" Alec asked after wandering around for a little while longer. "Marriage? I'm not saying right now or even in a year. Just...did you see that as your future when we were younger and still in New York?"

He asks the question without any trace of humour and Isabelle knows he's seriously asking, even if it's in a hypothetical. She doesn't know the answer to it, exactly. She never thought about marriage being on the cards before, back home. Isabelle always wanted to be the best Shadowhunter around and that meant dedicating her entire life to it. The job came first, protecting mundanes came first, and she doesn't know that she'd be able to do her job as effectively otherwise.

She thinks about what that's like now. It helps that Billy is a superhero who can look after himself, but if push came to shove, she knows she'd put his life before a stranger in the street. There are people who'd say that makes her a bad Shadowhunter, and that's never been what she wanted. She tells herself it's because things are different in Darrow, but maybe she just never met someone that changed the game back home.

"I don't know," she answers truthfully after a moment, giving him a look. "I didn't think so back then." She was supposed to be the best fighter she could be, and then probably die young, in some kind of battle. Instead she's here. "But a bunch of stuff is different here. So maybe."

"That's the truth," Alec huffed, looking around and then down at the scan gun in his hands. This sort of thing would never happen back home. He would never go shopping with Isabelle instead sending Jace or maybe even Clary with her. His time to bond with his sister came during training sessions and missions.

Now, here they were, trying to shop for his wedding while she'd just celebrated an anniversary. He wanted to think that his parents would be proud of them for adapting and adjusting but he knew that wasn't the truth. He'd be chastised for being gay and marrying a Downworlder and she'd be chastised for not being a duplicate of their mother, for being too caught up in a relationship instead of her duty.

"I didn't think so back then either," he noted with a shake of his head. "About me, not you. I knew I wouldn't. But, I also thought the person I wanted was Jace."

He made a face at that, shaking his head at himself. "You won't hear me admit this again but I really didn't know what I was doing a lot back then."

She laughs at that, covering her mouth with a hand when another shopper turns to look at her. At the time, she'd been supportive, because it was the first time Alec had expressed any interest in anyone. Maybe it had been a little weird that the subject of his affections was Jace, and Isabelle is admittedly glad that he saw sense, but she never would have said anything like that to him back then.

"You don't need to tell me," she teases, giving him a nudge with her shoulder. Alec had always prided himself on being the older one, being the one in charge, and Isabelle hadn't wanted to take that away from him. She'd trusted him to make the right decisions and for the most part he did, but Jace was another matter entirely.

There's not a lot she thanks Clary for, in truth, but at least she was the kicker to setting Alec straight on that one, so to speak.

"Well, both Magnus and I are very glad you saw sense," she says, smiling fondly. Jace isn't her blood, but she still counts him as her brother, and watching her two brothers get married would have been a little much.

"What, you wouldn't have wanted me to be with Jace?" Alec asked, not speaking seriously. Besides the fact that they were brothers, they were also parabatai which meant a relationship was forbidden. He would have suffered in silence because he was both gay and the man he wanted he couldn't have. He would have done that and never left on to anyone but Isabelle what it was doing to him.

"Don't worry, thinking about it now, I know we couldn't have worked either even if it hadn't been forbidden and our parents didn't hate that I was gay," he said wryly. "I think I would have ended up killing Jace. He needs someone like..."

He realized what he'd been about to say and grimaced, shaking his head and refusing to go further. He was not going to give Clary credit for anything.

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May 6, Alec

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