Chapter Text
There's only so much Alec can endure without freaking out. And that amount has just been reached and surpassed. Far and away. So, Alec has freaked out, badly and he is wandering in the streets, trying to calm down. Suddenly, he knows where he wants to go, so he accelerates and heads confidently to the only place where he can find some comfort.
And only God knows how much comfort he needs. Okay, okay; there needs to be an explanation, right?
Well, it all started a few months earlier when two events happened all at once, one evening that Alec had thought would be quiet and uneventful. Instead, those occurrences irreversibly turned Alec's life upside down. The simple, unpretentious life of a 29-year-old writer, who has just accomplished moderate success and a good economic income. And with only two books under his belt. Anyway, his placid plan for the evening was upset firstly by something as unpredictable as it was shocking. A true turning around of the natural order of things. In fact, his brother Jace, with whom Alec has lived since he was in his junior year and Jace just a fresh freshman, introduced him to Clary, his new girlfriend, the "one", the "love" of his life, whatever that meant for a guy like Jace who usually had trouble keeping it in his pants. His blond and undoubtedly attractive brother was used to spending his nights out with his random hookups at least a few times a week. And now he had a girlfriend, whom he brought home to proudly introduce her to his older brother. But, hey, Alec was happy for him. Jace seemed really smitten with the petite red-haired girl and sported an adorable smile plastered on his face.
That same evening, however, just after Clary left and Alec was getting ready for his solitary and well-deserved movie night, Isabelle showed up at their door, asking to crush on their sofa for a couple of days. Tops. Apparently, she had a heated argument with her roommate and stormed out of her place, livid and trembling in rage. She simply couldn’t stand her inappropriate, bigoted jokes anymore and left the place in a hurry, with no real plan of what to do next. Not wanting to go and stay with her boyfriend, she headed to the one place where she would feel safe and loved; and where she would receive a generous dose of brotherly cuddles. And again, Alec was happy that his little sister had come to them when she needed help. He also allowed her to sleep in what was initially the guest room, but which then effectively became his home office. Alec gladly took his laptop and notebooks back to his bedroom, handing the room over to his sister.
Isabelle was in her senior year at Med School and had been in an open relationship with Raphael for four years. Her roommate didn't appreciate her libertine lifestyle, but instead of keeping her ideas to herself, the self-righteous bitch shared them in a decidedly unpleasant way. Alec’s sister was tired of being slut-shamed all the time and understandably so, if you were to ask Alec and Jace, the two boys ever overprotective with their lil’ sis.
So, starting from that evening, the three siblings were reunited under the same roof, with the addition of Clary who seemed to have earned a permanent residence in Jace's room and of course who also hit it off immediately and wonderfully with Isabelle. Isabelle herself was thrilled with the new arrangement and her supposed two-day-long stay suddenly became an unspecified-amount-of-time-long one. Maybe forever. Meanwhile, the girl has moved all her things out of her old apartment and has taken full and complete possession of Alec's former home office.
But Alec adapted. He was adaptable, right? For Isabelle? Of course, he was. Or he thought so.
Living all together went well... for ten whole days. Wow. What a great accomplishment, right?
Soon enough, Alec began to glimpse what his life would be like from then on and started to realize what mess he had put himself into with growing terror. As said, Clary was always there, night and day, even when Jace was at work and she was always lively, cheerful, and overly chatty. Moreover, she and Jace indulged in loud, wild straight sex, but thanks to his noise-canceling headphones, Alec was able to put up with that annoying aspect of their relationship. A relationship that was having devastating effects on his brother's personality. Jace had become unbearably... docile and accommodating. "Yes, Clary," "Of course, Clary," "Anything you want, Clary ". Gosh, Alec couldn't stand seeing his brother practically reduced to a doormat. And there was more.
Clary's package apparently also included her best friend, Simon, even chattier and merrier than her, if that's even possible. Said Simon spent most of his evenings at their apartment as well, bantering with Jace or forcing everyone to see a movie full of spaceships and space monsters. And, Good Lord, Alec was a Ph.D. in English Literature and an author of historical novels! This insensate, ludicrous stuff wasn't for him. Isabelle on her part, came into the picture with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend Raphael. If Jace and Clary were practically always smooching each other around the place, against every thinkable surface, when Simon wasn't there too at least, Isabelle and Raphael never did it. Like never, never. Raphael didn't like being touched and that was fine with Alec. Raphael didn't even like to be spoken to. Alec quite liked him for that. The problem was that since he was in an open relationship with Izzie, she herself often brought a different guy home. Alec didn't care about how many guys Isabelle fucked, honestly, but his tranquil, restful evenings had been reduced to two types. Either he would be squeezed onto the couch between Jace and Simon watching surreal films or locked up in his room with noise-canceling headphones while his siblings did their best in their respective rooms. Loudly. Unacceptably loudly.
Another thing that had started to bother Alec, and it was quite a bit, was the order and cleanliness in the apartment. Or rather the lack of them. When it was just him and Jace, it was easy to keep the place tidy. Alec used to do almost all the chores, but, admittedly Jace was hardly ever at home and when he was, he sort of… cooperated. To his credit Jace washed the dishes when Alec cooked for him too, for instance, and he left the common areas in a decent state and never intruded on Alec’s personal space. Jace had also learned not to leave wet towels on the bathroom floor or dirty clothes strewn around the living room. Alec was so proud of him. But... Since the average occupancy level of the apartment had tripled, it turned out, quickly and to Alec's utter dismay, that it was not easy to maintain the same standard of order and cleanliness anymore. And Alec couldn't go on like this. He hated chaos. The fact that everything had its specific place and that there were never crumbs on the sofa or hair in the shower? It was the minimum standard for a decent life, in his opinion. But his siblings didn’t seem to agree. Also, living with two girls was... disconcerting, in some ways. Alec saw things he would have preferred not to see ever in his life. This already unsustainable situation had irrecoverably degenerated a few hours earlier.
Alec had returned home, tired and a little irritated. And also, a smidge depressed. Okay, he was feeling like shit, actually. The meeting with his editor hadn't gone very well. He was late on his deadline, but his writing schedule had gone to Hell lately, and all because of Jace and Isabelle and the crazy way they led their lives. Okay, Alec hates being judgmental, but now his job was being affected by their forced cohabitation and Alec was pissed off. He needed to calm down and think of a way to address the issue with his siblings. He just wanted to warm up the asparagus and tofu lasagna that he had prepared the day before (a balanced, protein-rich meal, suitable for his healthy diet) and relax on the sofa with his herbal tea - his favorite with lemon balm, hawthorn leaves, star anise, lavender flowers, and a hint of peppermint, totally organic and handmade which Alec had delivered from some remote place in the middle of Bumblefuck - and watch a movie, one of the old classic ones whose charm never runs out.
But...
As soon as he returned home and walked through the door, his body screeched to a sudden halt as if he had hit an invisible wall. The situation before his incredulous eyes was the following:
- Simon was lying on "his" sofa, occupying the entirety of it and eating "his" fucking protein lasagna straight out of the Tupperware with evident satisfaction and voracity.
- Raphael was sitting in one of the two armchairs and was glaring at Simon with eyes shot red and ill-concealed distaste, a feeling Alec was currently sharing.
- Yet another Star Wars film was playing on television (but how many are there of them? 42? Surely too many…) and no one was actively watching it.
- In the air, Alec could easily smell a distinctive scent of marijuana.
- Clary and Jace were shamelessly making out in the armchair on the other side of the sofa. The girl was brazenly straddling his brother, whose hands were roaming along her back under her loose T-shirt.
- Isabelle, instead, was in the kitchen, presumably trying to cook something for herself, her grouchy boyfriend, Jace, Clary, and… the boy in the kitchen with her, who was messing up with Alec’s religious pans&pots order. Alec knew how his siblings get when they smoke a couple of joints and had already learned to deal with their chemical-induced hunger. They could eat literally anything.
- As said in the precedent point, his sister wasn't alone. Next to her, there was this other boy Alec's never seen before; he was handsome, with long hair and a fucking flowery tattoo on his face. The two were openly flirting leaning against the counter overlooking the living room for all to see. Not that anybody, except Alec, was paying them attention.
Moreover, the living room was a mess. Bottles of beer everywhere, together with unidentified pieces of clothing piled on the floor - Is that my hoodie? Why on Earth is it on the floor? Alec thought aghast - and Alec could see the chaos that reigned in his kitchen even from where he was still standing, frozen in bewilderment near the main door. Alec entered their living room further on, his face a mask of annoyance and disbelief. Mostly annoyance. Before he could say anything, or express his discomfort, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. There was something on the lamp next to the sofa; more specifically something hanging over the lampshade. It was a... bra. A fucking black bra made of lace, all laid down on his lamp, in his living room. Suddenly it was all too much. Alec wanted to scream.
"Hey, dude? Welcome back, are you okay? You seem a little tense."
Jace had finally noticed him.
"What is that?"
"That... what?" Was the eloquent answer Jace gave him.
Alec took the bra between his thumb and forefinger as if he were touching something radioactive and lifted it to show it to his brother.
“Isaaabelleeee?” He called loudly without breaking eye contact with a very confused Jace, "is this yours?"
Simon snorted at him, then, from the sofa and burst out laughing.
"Dude, okay, I get it; you don't like boobs, but your sister is way better endowed than that... that's a 30AA and your sister is at least a 40D or even E. So… I mean… That one… it is Clary’s.” He concluded wriggling his eyebrows as if he had just said something very smart or clever. Alec, remaining impassive, opened his fingers, and the piece of underwear fell to the floor at his feet.
He heard Clary giggle and turned his head toward the armchair just to glare at her, with his distinctive murder look.
"Oh, I am sorry Alec; I was smoking on the sofa with Simon, and the hooks on the back were bothering me, so I took it off."
Then the girl, clearly still high and pretty horny, resumed devouring Alec’s brother’s face as if the whole matter was not of her interest anymore and Alec hadn’t touched his brother’s girlfriend’s fucking bra!
Okay, Alec couldn't take it anymore; his beloved apartment had become a commune full of hippies addicted to sex, drugs, and alcohol, so he did the only thing his brain deemed possible in order to preserve his own sanity. He turned on his heel and walked away.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As it happened more and more frequently over the past few months, Alec's chosen place of comfort was the Hunter's Moon. The bar is not exactly a gay bar, but it is frequented by many members of the LGBT community. The owner, an English man in his late 30s, is rarely seen there but is an interesting fellow with whom Alec has more than once indulged in passionate discussions about English literature. Anyway, Alec's source of comfort was his good friend Maia, one of the bartenders working there.
He met her through her girlfriend Lydia, one of the dearest friends of Alec. In fact, he and Lydia went to college together and became buddies pretty fast. Well, actually they had been in a relationship with each other for the first two years at NYU. Not really a relationship. Lydia was Alec’s beard, as they say. And it had been a convenient solution for both for a while. At the time, Alec was fucking terrified of coming out. When he landed at college, he was alone, without his younger siblings watching his back and it was kind of scary. He knew he liked boys, but hadn't found the courage to address the issue for too long. At the end of his sophomore year though, when Jace and Isabelle had enrolled in college and Jace had moved in with him, everything had seemed easier. Jace with his open and uninhibited bisexuality, and Isabelle with her adventurous and dynamic love and sexual life pushed Alec to come out of the closet. But his friendship with Lydia remained a cornerstone in his life and then she met Maia and the rest is history.
"Alec... God, man… you look like shit... what happened to you this time? Were Clary and Jace doing it on the kitchen counter again? Or did Simon eat all of your fig almond cookies, or did Raphael scare the shit out of you again hidden in a dark corner in creepy silence as usual?”
"Ah... yes! Yes to all of that. Everything you said had happened in the last few days at some time. Add to that another hippie lover of my sister's, the lingering smell of marijuana all over the apartment, and a bra..."
"A bra?"
"Clary's bra." Alec deadpans.
"I see." Maia nods solemnly while drying a glass with a white towel. She understands the trauma Alec went through. She is his friend.
“I'm so done."
He rests his elbows on the counter and puts his head in his hands. He is the impersonation of the being-so-done attitude.
"Okay. I can see this is an emergency. I'll bring you your usual right away. And then I'll take a 15-minute break so you can vent about your shitty life as much as you want."
"That would be amazing. Thank you, Maia, you're an Angel."
“Not quite.” She retorts with a smile before fleeing away. Fifteen minutes later, Maia is staring at Alec with her eyes narrowed down to a slit and gnawing at her lower lip, as if she were thinking of something very ingenious... or very stupid. Alec, however, is too heartbroken to notice his friend's zoned-out expression.
"You know what?" She exclaims excitedly after a while making him jump in surprise.
"What ?"
“I may have the solution for you.”
"Huh?"
"Wait here, I'll be back soon."
"Okay..."
Alec is not really interested in Maia’s idea; he only wants to sulk in peace at the bar, thinking about the wonderful life of only children. Ah, what lucky people those! He finishes drinking his raspberry kombucha when Maia returns as promised with Ragnor in tow.
"Good evening, Alec..."
"Hey, Ragnor... I didn't know you were here."
"I was in the back doing some administrative work... You know, someone's gotta keep this place going."
"Sure..."
"Look, Maia explained your situation to me and you know how susceptible I am to the drama of a young writer like you. I am a philanthropist, after all, and the idea that it has been made impossible for you to put down on paper those beautiful words that seem to flow from your brain makes me furious."
"Oh... I didn't know you appreciated my books so much. I am… flattered."
"Well, you know I don't gush around with praise. But you’re talented, and I look forward to reading your next novel. So, to help your creativity, I'm offering you a room in one of my apartments."
Alec frowns. He must have misheard.
"What?"
Ragnor sighs and gives him a patient look, one you would give to a child.
"Look, I happen to own several apartments here in New York and I am offering you the opportunity to move into one of my properties. And just to be clear, I don't want anything in return, or maybe you may just pay your bills. It's a nice apartment in Brooklyn, airy, spacious, with a great view of the bridge…"
"Ragnor…” Alec interrupts him, “Thank you, it’s incredibly kind of you but I cannot accept your offer."
Maia punches him on his arm.
”Ouch!! What the Hell?” Alec hisses at the young woman, who looks back at him unimpressed.
"Bollocks! Why not? It's a temporary thing, right? I imagine that with your impending deadline, you won't have time to start looking for a new apartment for yourself now..."
"But I have an apartment... It's mine... But it was taken away from me."
"Ah, I see. Well, you’ll forgive me if I tell you this, but your siblings are the worst..."
"Yeah... But I don't have the heart to kick them out."
“And that's why I won't take a no for an answer... When is the deadline for your new novel?”
"In 3 months."
"It is settled then. You’ll stay at my loft for three months. Show up at this address tomorrow morning so you can take possession of the room."
Ragnor hands him what seems to be a business card with an address on it and a keychain with two keys. Alec grabs them with shaking hands.
He’d want to hug Ragnor, and also to cry a little bit, but he holds back. Maia is smiling at him now and she seems very pleased with herself.
"Thanks, I don't know what to say."
"You're a good man Alec. And I'm glad I could do something for you."
Alec smiles at the man, feeling a little better than before. Ragnor is right. He needs silence and tranquility to finish his novel and spending a few months away from the chaos of his apartment can only do him good. This is probably the best thing that could have happened to him.
Alec doesn't know that within 24 hours he will drastically change his mind.