Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THREATENING FINGER SNAPS

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Adrian pulled his jacket tighter around himself as another gust of wind ruffled his hair and clothes. Scowling into the sleeves of his jacket, he braced a foot on the step below and leaned forward, peering down the sidewalk leading to Magnus's home. There was no sign of Clary, and he let out an impatient sigh, easing back into his sitting position. Alec didn't seem nearly as restless. He just sat on the step beside Adrian in comfortable silence, only glancing up when Adrian shifted, thinking he was moving because Clary had arrived. The longer she took, the more anxious Adrian became. He kept glancing up at the rain clouds darkening the sky. While he was grateful to be away from Jace's complaining for a few minutes, he didn't like the thought of being rained on. It was while he was staring at the sky that Alec finally decided to break the comfortable silence.

"You and Oliver have been hanging out a lot," was all he said. Adrian blinked and turned to look at him. They had been sitting in silence for five minutes. Adrian wondered if he had spent the entirety of that five minutes deciding whether or not to actually say that sentence. Adrian wanted to laugh, but he bit the inside of his cheek to keep it in.

"We're friends," he said, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice. He failed, and Alec's mouth started to pull downward. Grinning, Adrian shifted closer until their legs touched and poked Alec's cheek. "You jealous he's going to replace you as best friend, Alexander?" Alec rolled his eyes, reaching up to grab Adrian's hand and pull it away from his cheek.

"That's not what I—" Alec started, only to press his lips tightly together and look away. Adrian tilted his head to look at his face. He gently nudged Alec's side.

"Alec?" he pressed when Alec remained silent. Alec just ducked his head even more. Adrian could see him chewing on his bottom lip.

"Nothing," he dismissed at last, raising his head. He didn't look at Adrian, but at least he didn't shift away from him. Adrian saw that as progress. "Are Oliver and Magnus dating?"

"You suck at changing the subject," Adrian said bluntly, leaning back on his hands. He didn't believe for a second Alec actually cared enough to ask that question. Still, he answered regardless. "And kind of. They've only been on one date, but I guess that went extremely well." He shot Alec a grin. "Oliver hasn't really been home." He expected Alec to have an amusing reaction: blushing, sputtering, anything. Instead, all he got was a ducked head and complete silence. Frowning, Adrian pushed himself back up and didn't let himself think about it when he reached for Alec's hand, grasping it and running his thumb across the voyance rune drawn on the back of it. At the touch, Alec raised his head and stared at Adrian's hand over his. For a second, Adrian thought he was going to pull his hand away, and prepared himself for the pain that would cause.

Except Alec didn't pull his hand away, and Adrian wasn't prepared for the confusion that came with that.

"Alec?" Adrian whispered. He was still staring at their hands, and Adrian wondered if the reason he didn't pull away was because he was too deep in his own thoughts. "You alright?" Blinking, Alec shook his head and looked at him. He still didn't move his hand. Adrian thought about pulling his hand away, but he found it hard to do. There was always a deep urge inside of him to touch Alec whenever he was close. Just touching his hand was a small thing to some, but to Adrian, it was more than enough.

"I'm fine," Alec reassured. Adrian jumped when Alec twisted his hand up and squeezed Adrian's hand. It was exactly like in the graveyard, when Adrian had squeezed his hand to say that he was okay. Only this time, neither let go. It was Adrian's turn to stare. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and wondered if Alec could hear it. He was certainly close enough. "I just...Oliver being here reminded me of..." It took Adrian a moment to understand, but when he did, a sharp pang of anxiety went through his stomach. His dark eyes flew up to meet Alec's blue ones.