Chapter Text
To say that Alec Lightwood’s life has gone to shit over the last three months would a massive understatement. Of course, Alec never expected it go smoothly nor did he believe in a Disney ending for himself. But never did he ever imagine that he would lose everything he cared for in the span of three months. It all started when his youngest (and favorite – though Alec would never let the others find out) sibling passed away in a car accident. Alec might have been the eldest and heir to the family business, but Max Lightwood was the golden child. He was the kind of sibling who got away with breaking mom’s favorite Ming Vase and stealing drawers from Dad’s cabinet so he can stash his ‘secret’ comic books. Although he got away with everything, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was the youngest in the family. It’s just who Max was. You can’t help but love him and regardless of how hard you try, you can never hate him – even when he hides toy spiders under the covers to watch you freak out.
But now, Max was gone.
Alec never realized how important Max was in holding their family together. Without his presence, the ugly truths about their family began to slip out. His parents dropped the facade that they were ‘trying’ to make their marriage work and only spoke to each other when they absolutely had to. It became obvious that Alec’s father was never going to be proud of him. It was almost as if he knew. As if he knew who Alec really was. Their mother, on the other hand, began criticizing and disapproving Izzy’s life choices more openly. His sister always pretended like it didn’t get to her, but Alec knows. He knows all about the self-doubt and self-hatred that builds from years of desperately trying to please your parents by denying who you really are. Of course, Jace did whatever Jace wanted and his parents let him. But after Max’s passing, Alec started to feel like it wasn’t because they love him more but rather because they didn’t actually care. They didn’t care enough about Jace – who was not a Lightwood and therefore was not held responsible according to the Lightwood standards. The only thing that was worse than being constantly policed by your own parents was being completely ignored as if you didn’t matter.
It all happened during one of the mandatory Friday family dinners. The bereavement counselor had recommended they spend more time as a family to get through the ‘incident’. Dr. Blackwell believed that associating negativity with Max’s passing will not help them move on. So, he had asked them to refer to it as the ‘incident’. Three months after the ‘incident’, during the dinner that would change his life forever, Alec’s mother casually asked him if he was seeing anyone.
“No. Not at the moment,” Alec replied. Over the years, he had come to realize that saying as little as possible was for the best. When people tried to get elaborate with their lies, they get caught. Not that Alec was lying. Technically, he was just omitting.
“I ran into your boss Jia last weekend in court. Her daughter is studying in L.A. Apparently, she has taken a liking to the city it seems. Good for her. She’d make an excellent lawyer. Jia must be so proud. Not that I can relate.” Alec ignored the obvious dis at Izzy and continued to focus on his Brussels sprouts. He was not going to comment on it. He was not going to tell his mom that Izzy was the best in her class. He was not going to tell her that Izzy was the smartest in the family and clearly had a bright future in medicine. He was definitely not going to tell her that the only reason Aline is sticking around in L.A is because of a certain blonde law student.
“Anyways. Aline is back in New York for vacation. Why don’t you take her out and show her around?” His mom was a lot of things, but she not subtle. “Aline is from New York, mom. I’m pretty sure she knows the city better than I do.”
A mandatory part of the mandatory dinner was where either he or Izzy got interrogated about their personal lives instead of focusing on more important concerns, such as where the hell was Jace? This was the third time he missed dinner this month, not that his parents seemed to care. “Well then, how about her friend? I heard she brought back a friend from L.A. Hannah or something. She is new to town. Take her out. Show her a good time” She clearly was not going to give up any time soon.
“I’m pretty sure Aline has got that part covered”, Izzy snorted. Alec threw her an admonishing glare. “I am not interested in hanging out with Aline or Helen, mom.” Alec knew where his mom was headed and he had to try and shut that shit down. It was the same lecture they got every week. That Alec wasn’t dating enough and Izzy was dating way too much. He wondered what they would have told Max if he had lived longer. It was as if his father read his thoughts at that exact moment. “It’s a good thing your brother isn’t here. Or else, he might have picked up your misogynistic attitude.”
“I don’t hate women, dad. I just happen to love men.”
Over the last few years, Alec had thought a lot about coming out. About how to say it. When to say it. Where to say it. He wanted to, he really did. He even went so far as to write a personalized letter to each member in his family. Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to give them out because of Max’s…‘incident’. But he never imagined that he would come out to his family over dinner with a mouth full of Brussels sprouts.
Alec had also extensively thought about how his family would react. But for some reason, every time it was the same. Izzy was holding a banner which said ‘Con-gay-tulations’. Jace gave him a gift, which he knew was definitely a box of condoms and a bottle of lube. Max was confused as to what all the fuss was about. His mom wiped a single tear off her cheek and whipped out what seemed like a photo album called ‘Eligible Bachelors for Alec’. His father hugged him tightly and whispered ‘Oh, my darling boy! I always knew.’ In his fantasies, they would always react the exact same way. No wonder Dr. Blackwell thinks Alec has an obsessive need to be accepted.
But like Alec had always believed, no reaction was always worse than an overreaction. As it turned out, no one said anything at all. Alec wasn’t sure whether they didn’t know what to say or they didn’t hear him clearly because of the goddamn Brussels sprouts. His father abruptly stopped eating, got up and departed to his room. His mom was uncharacteristically quiet too, although her eyes conveyed ‘Dr. Blackwell will hear about this!’ before she followed suit. Izzy didn’t say anything either. She just hugged him tightly as if to silently promise that she would never let go.
He wasn’t really sure what his parents thought about his sexuality. But he definitely got the message when he came home from work the next day to find two suitcases outside his room. Well, at least someone packed his things for him. His father had told him he will be allowed to come back home when he remembers his duty to the Lightwood family and abandons his ‘degenerate lifestyle’. Alec wanted to tell him that there was no lifestyle considering that he has never really explored his sexuality. Fuck, he hasn’t even kissed another man. But he knew revealing that piece of information isn’t going to do any good. Jace was there, which was a big surprise in itself, and had tried to support him but was firmly shut down with a sharp ‘This is a family matter, Jonathan. Please stay out of it.’ Izzy on the other hand had protested loudly and made a whole scene. It was Alec who calmed her down since he knew that she might get punished too. Alec didn’t want that. He didn’t want his siblings to get hurt – especially not after what happened to Max.
So, that’s how Alec ended up becoming Simon’s temporary flatmate. He had been crashing on his couch for the last three weeks since Simon lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment. They have been working together at The Institute for the last two years and know each other fairly well. Alec thinks he knows Simon a little too well for his liking since the other man never shuts up. But he still loves him (not that he would ever admit that out loud) and was genuinely surprised when Simon invited Alec to crash at his place when he had heard what happened. Alec was actually satisfied with his current living arrangement but decided to move out to his own place for the sake of his back – crashing on someone’s couch for weeks, especially when you are 6’2 is not fun. But he hasn’t had any luck finding a good place with an affordable rent and a decent roommate. Izzy said he was just being picky and Jace believed Alec had fallen in love with Simon over the last three weeks. In reality, it was neither. Alec just wanted to find a roommate who believed in plates or didn’t have a pet tarantula. He was wondering whether he was going to live the rest of his life on a couch listening to Star Wars fan theories when Simon walked into the apartment with a triumphant look shouting “I have found you the perfect roommate!”
Alec knew better than to get his hopes up. “That’s what you said about the guy who ate off Frisbees and the girl who had a pet tarantula.” He wondered whether everyone in New York had a quirk these days. “I already apologized for the Frisbee Guy. But I don’t see what was wrong with Emma. She is great and Cortana was kinda cute to be honest”, Simon was already on his way to the kitchen, unpacking their dinner. Neither of them cooked and mostly ordered takeout from unhealthy fast food joints since someone had to reinforce stereotypes about bachelors living on their own in New York.
“That thing has eight legs, Simon! That’s six more than I have!! Can you imagine how fast it could move with eight legs??” Izzy was wrong. Alec wasn’t being picky. He just didn’t want to die tragically in a spider-related incident. Simon looked like he was doing his best not to laugh while trying to swallow a giant bite from his veg shawarma. “All spiders have eight legs, man! Anyway, that ship has sailed. Her boyfriend just moved in with her.” Thank god, Alec thought. At least now he wouldn’t have to sleep with a baseball bat under his bed. The thought of sleeping on a bed reminded Alec their initial topic of conversation. “So, what kind of weirdo did you find now? Does this person like to wear clown wigs or speak in John Mulaney’s voice?”
Simon looked at him curiously. “First of all, I am impressed you know who John Mulaney is and am glad you are putting my Netflix account to good use. Second of all, it’s a friend. Well, a friend of a friend. You know Clary, right? She works for this guy. Man, have I told you about her designs? She once made me this outfit for Comic-Con. It was a combo of Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. It was glor- OUCH!” Alec has found that Simon, quite similar to their TV remote, had to be occasionally whacked a couple of times in order to function properly.
“Sorry, I got sidetracked. Anyways, it’s this guy. Magnus. He is super cool and totally chill. Apparently, he is looking for a roommate too. Here, I got you a flyer!” he took out a crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket. What kind of a person makes flyers to find a roommate these days? Has this man never heard of the internet? He took the flyer from Simon praying it wasn’t another weirdo.
Are You My Next Roommate?
I am currently on a quest looking for the perfect roommate as my friends are under the impression that I need to surround myself with more humans and fewer cats.
I live in Brooklyn with my cat – That is all you need to know. All further questions will be answered during the interview. Yes, there is an interview – which you need to pass in order to win the quest.
If interested please respond to [email protected]
P.S. Ragnor, if you are reading this, you are the WORST.
Possibly your future roommate,
Magnus Bane.
Alec didn’t know what to think. If the message on the flyer wasn’t odd enough, the exuberant use of glitter was definitely concerning. “So, what do you think? He has a cat, which has two more legs than you do. Sure you can handle that?” Simon asked which earned him another whack on the head with Alec’s pillow. He thought about it for a while. Maybe there aren’t any quirk-less people in New York. Maybe he is just being picky. Maybe if he keeps rejecting everyone he would have no choice but to move in with the Frisbee Guy. So he decided to email Magnus Bane asking for a time for the interview. Simon seemed to be bubbling with excitement and said they should prep for the interview. Alec asked him to kindly fuck off. He was getting ready for bed - and by bed he meant the couch - when Simon came out of his room to say good night. He awkwardly lingered for a while which usually meant he was going to say something dumb. “Hey, Alec? The reason you are rejecting all these apartments is not because you are in love with me, right?” he asks before sprinting to his room to avoid getting whacked by Alec’s pillow again. Alec quickly logs into his Amazon account through his phone, orders 20 rubber ducks, and goes to sleep praying this Magnus Bane person is not another weirdo.