My Silver Lining-Malec AU

11- Raphael Santiago

Magnus stood there, in the middle of the park surrounded by strangers, feeling the hurt, the anger and the pain all at once. He knew Alec had a point. He had thought back every single conversation they had had in the week that they've known each other and realised that he had subconsciously avoided talking about him.

It wasn't that Magnus didn't want to trust Alec. But his past has scarred him and it was hard for him to open up. Magnus knew he couldn't blame anyone but him in this situation. He was the one who was letting his past rule his present. He knew Alec was innocent. But Magnus Bane was known to be stubborn and he wanted to blame someone other than him for this mess. So, he blamed Alec.

Magnus started walking. He didn't know where he was going and he honestly couldn't care less. He couldn't even describe how he was feeling. Yes, he was hurt, he was angry with himself and Alec. Alec should have given him a chance to say something (he didn't know what he would've said but he could've figured it out if given a chance). Alec's accusations also hurt, Magnus would never intentionally hurt Alec. Alec was simply overreacting.

Magnus knew he was being irrational. A voice in his head kept saying it wasn't Alec's fault but Magnus refused to listen to it.

Magnus' feet had led him to the shop. He didn't wait to think and entered. Once he was inside he realised Alec could've come here and stiffened.

"Dates get over this early nowadays?"

Raphael's perpetually annoyed voice brought the author back to reality and his question made him relax. The question surely meant that Alec wasn't here.

"No, just the bad ones. You should get your head in the game sometimes."

"No, I'm good. I have to focus on college and anyway it's all about sex nowadays. No one wants a relationship without sex."

Magnus was leaning by the front desk by that time. He waved the boy off, "Yeah yeah, I get it. You don't like sex. Now stop degrading sex in front of me."
[A.N: I really hope this line wasn't offensive to any asexual person or anyone actually. If it was, please inform me and I'll remove it immediately.]

Raphael muttered something under his breath. Magnus guessed that he was being cursed in Spanish but couldn't find it in himself to chastise the boy, he felt like he deserved it.

Seeing the author's sullen expression Raphael sighed and finally asked the question. "So what happened in this date of yours?"

And with that Magnus began explaining everything that happened, starting from Alec's distant behaviour to Alec actually running away from him like his life depended on it.

People often misread Raphael. Yes, the boy was always annoyed with everything and everyone but that didn't mean that he doesn't care. The truth is actually very different. Life wasn't always easy for him. He struggled to stay alive before he met Magnus and Ragnor who flipped his life inside out. Now he had a home to sleep in, bread to eat, clothes to wear and he was getting the education he had always wanted. He owed everything to both of them and he would show no mercy to anyone who intentionally hurt either of them. His life taught him always caring about everything hurts but some people are worth the hurt.

But Raphael was known for one more thing. He was extremely level headed and sided with whoever's right. You can't bribe him for the life of you. Once he got a perspective he would stick to his standpoint till the end of time. That was Raphael Santiago.

So after hearing Magnus' story he sighed. "You know, I've observed you for the past two years and I've observed all your relationships during that time. You've had the same problem in every single one of your relationships since Camille." Magnus' face scrunched up in disgust on hearing the name but Raphael ignored it. "She's gone from your life and yet you let her rule it. You've closed yourself off and that is the reason for the demise of all your relationships."

"What's your point Raphael?" Magnus was frustrated. He didn't like people pointing out his faults no matter how right they were.

"What I'm saying is that you need to stop doing it. Lightwood's different, he's special somehow. I can see it in your eyes. You genuinely like him, it's not a game of pretend. And I can tell you with all the certainty in the world that the boy likes you too."

"You know, you two should stop addressing each other as 'the boy'. You both are the same age after all."

"Not the point Magnus. Listen to me and stop deviating." Raphael was starting to regret trying to give some advice to Magnus. "Lightwood's not wrong. I know for a fact that you've closed yourself off and you were subconsciously avoiding talking about you the whole time. And it does get frustrating when you are forced to talk about yourself all the time knowing nothing about the person in front of you. I really can't blame the guy here. He's not half as bad."

That was a huge compliment when coming from Raphael. So Magnus stared at him dumbfounded. He thought Raphael hated Alec because he was a Lightwood. All this coming from him was not expected to say the least.

Raphael caught Magnus' reaction and quickly changed the topic before Magnus could say anything. "What I'm saying is try and open up. You'll lose him forever if you don't and I know you don't want that. So listen to me for once and get him back."

Magnus knew Raphael was right. He also knew that Raphael's advice was rare but it was the best. But if Raphael was known for his rare advices then Magnus was known for his obstinacy.

"You know Raphael, you were supposed to be my friend."

"I am trying."

"No you're not. You were supposed to defend me not Alec. I'm going."

And Magnus was gone from the shop. He walked all the way to his apartment which was not really a short distance. His legs were aching by the time he reached but it balanced out the hurt he felt in his heart so he welcomed the ache.

Truth be told, Magnus knew Raphael was right. Every word that he spoke was on spot. He also knew that he didn't want to lose Alec so soon. Whatever his feelings are for that boy are real and good and he wants to explore them. He almost wants to fall in love with the blue-eyed stuttering mess who loves his siblings fiercely. He wants to know what it feels like to love Alec. But right now he's going to be pigheaded.

Yeah, he has decided he's going to be stubborn so he goes to the drink cart and pours himself a glass of the strongest whisky that he has and mopes. He is going to come around in a day or two. He is positive that a scolding from Catarina and a few glares from Ragnor would do the work. But for now he is going to be gloomy because of a mess he created and only he can fix.

Hey guys, so I know Raphael may have been a bit OOC in this chapter but I feel like he is the kind of guy who, when feels necessary, would give the best advices. So I had Raphael give Magnus some damn  good advice. Also, MY WORLD MY RULES!

Please vote if you liked it and I welcome all constructive criticism (just be kind please) and all comments are welcome. Thanks for reading it.

PS: It has recently come to my attention that Raphael is aro ace but I didn't know that when I wrote this so I made him just ace. I don't want to change the part so can we just pretend for this chapter that he's just ace, I'll keep in mind that he is aro ace in the future chapters. I'm genuinely sorry for the mistake.