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"The answer is no, Alec." Jace stalks out the back door of the Hunter's moon and Alec stumbles out into the alley after him, deciding that he is, possibly, somewhat drunk."Why not? You have all that experience," the emphasis he puts on that word is just this side of insulting and Jace's face is darkening with every word that comes out of Alec's mouth while Alec watches himself as if he's outside of his own body, slightly horrified, "I mean, who better than someone who'll never be--never--who doesn't want--you don't even like boys. And you talked to Simon.""I gave Simon advice, I didn't take him on a 'practice date,' whatever the fuck that even means," Jace holds him up from falling with a hand on his chest, tipping Alec back towards the bricks behind him for support, "And I'm seriously concerned that you actually know his name and used it."Alec looks wistfully down at the blunt ends of Jace's fingers spread out over Alec's sternum, the veins cording up his wrist to his runed forearm--so gorgeous Alec aches with it. Thinks about pressing his mouth to the tips of those fingers one at a time, biting--sucking them in to show Jace he knows how, knows what he wants--that he could--"Go sleep it off, Alec. We'll pretend this conversation never happened." Jace is turning away, face closing off and blocking his feelings from their bond along with it as he turns to leave down the alley."Am I so repulsive? After all the downworlders you've been with?" He asks the wet asphalt at their feet miserably. "Some of them don't even have fully human parts." At that, Jace whirls back to face him, raising his voice for the first time, "You know what, you've always been an asshole about who I date, but this really takes the cake. You think I owe it to you?" so angry Alec feels it like a physical shove."It wouldn't even mean anything!" Alec says, defensive and confused. Jace flinches and his shoulders slump, hunching up his jacket as he keeps walking, and Alec doesn't know if it's the light drizzle or if there's something else wetting Jace's face, watching him go, shocked for a second at the high level of distress coming from their bond, even after everything Jace is blocking.Then the shadowhunter under the alcohol kicks in and he runs to catch up with him. "Jace, Jace I'm sorry, ok?"Jace won't look at him, but doesn't fight him off when Alec pulls him into a hug."I don't know--I don't know why it upset you so much," he tells the hair at Jace's temple softly, "It was a stupid idea. I've just been nervous about--when it finally happens with Magnus--and I think I'm drunk. A little. A lot. I'm so sorry I made you feel--I'm sorry Jace, I'll never bring it up again. I promise.""It's fine." Jace moves one shoulder up into a shrug, and his voice is rough, so it's clearly not fine, but he's never able to resist Alec for long. "Anyway it's not like I've ever really been on a date.""You...what?" Alec frowns at him, but feels the uncertainty and knows that Jace is still blocking a lot of something he doesn't want to share with Alec. "Is that--you're self-conscious? That's why you don't wanna do it? It's just hanging out, right? Dinner and a movie and like, holding hands?""I wouldn't know.""Maybe we should do it so you can practice for Clary, too. You don't want to put her off before you've even started," Alec teases.Jace narrows his eyes at him, "You were doing well for like five seconds there."He feels a smile taking over his mouth and shakes his head, knowing he's the only one who can get Jace riled up like this. "You think she'll be so charmed by your kissing skills that she'll forget all the normal stuff girls want?""What do you even know about what girls want," Jace is starting to smirk back, shaking his head slightly and making a face at him."I figure it's the same thing everyone wants. The nice, happy things.""So what you're saying is, you wanna hold hands and get dinner and a movie and a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night?"Alec rolls his eyes. "That's a yes," Jace's smirk gets bigger, and something in his eyes shifts. Softens.And Alec's insides soften with it. This. This is the face Jace makes that makes all his caustic, trouble magnet, infuriating smugness worth it--the part where when he stops to look at Alec, his eyes brighten like Alec is his whole entire world, and he'd give him anything. If only the one thing Alec wants most wasn't something he could never admit to wanting or ask for. Something Jace couldn't give him even if he knew, and wanted to--"Fine." Jace's voice pulls him back to reality, "We'll do it. You'll find the place since you asked me, and you have to come get me from my room because I think you're supposed to pick your date up from their house."Alec opens his mouth but closes it, not sure what's happening now that he's sobered up a bit, pretty sure he's walked himself into a potentially terrible idea. But Jace is running off in the direction of the Institute."And Alec?"Alec looks up."Wear something nice."Alec frowns, starting to retort, but Jace holds a finger up."No hunting gear. It's not a mission." He's gone before Alec can ask him if they're still keeping weapons on them that are glamored out of sight. He decides yes.
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"Nice enough for you?" Alec had Izzy pick out his clothes. Told her it was for a possible future date, but of course she's Izzy and she knows he's hiding something, just has the good sense not to push. It's worth it though, from the way Jace looks over him, eyes going down Alec's body, then back up, then down again. Making Alec roll his eyes nervously, adjusting his collar."You'll do." Jace steps out shrugging his jacket on, not wearing anything different other than jeans instead of leather hunting gear."How come you get to dress the same?""Because I always dress nice," Jace pats his cheek and breezes past as Alec mutters asshole under his breath."I can hear you, that's not very nice, Alec."Alec catches up, "Oh, I'm sorry, should I offer you my arm and open doors for you?"Jace actually pauses like he's thinking about it, then shrugs. "Nah, you're not going to be dating girls, and I'm not sure gay guys are into that." "Could you be any louder?" Alec looks around and hurries them out of the Institute with a hand on Jace's back.
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"I dunno if I'm," Jace stumbles into him a little and stays resting against him instead of moving away when Alec catches him, "Dunno if I'm sober enough to be let into a movie."They got Italian. Izzy told him it's a classic and they all know Jace's inexplicable fascination with spaghetti, so Alec figured it'd be safe. The problem turned out to be that neither of them know much about wine so they ended up trying too many, and are now shamefully wobbly on their way out."Yeah I didn't really understand what any of the movies I looked up are about," Alec admits, glad they left the restaurant before they were told to leave."Ok so," Jace stays leaning against him, "Walking.""What?""We're supposed to walk I think. It's romantic. There's the moon and it looks pretty big. It might have to be full but I'm not sure about that part. Maybe that's a werewolf thing.""Angel. You're worse at this than I am." Alec jostles him to settle his weight better, trying not to focus on the heat of Jace's hands, one arm wrapped behind Alec to land his fingers on Alec's left hip, spread over his parabatai rune, which seems to be happily responding to Jace's touch even through Alec's shirt, and the other on Alec's stomach, firm and proprietary and making Alec just a little dizzy. Then there's the part where his breath is warm at Alec's neck when he talks. He swallows tightly, knowing this whole thing is his own fault, but not sure he can regret any of it. "You're only upright because I'm holding you up.""Sitting, then," Jace glares up at him mulishly. "We have to find a bench. It's New York. We have benches.""Fine, fine," Alec looks around. They are close to the waterfront and there are some paths and--oh a park. Yes. "Come on," he tugs them forward. "There better be a date where it's your turn to do all the planning and carrying me around when I'm drunk.""You're t'tall, d'you even know how heavy you are?" Jace's nose brushes into Alec's collarbone where the top button to his shirt somehow came undone and it's pulled open enough that Jace's nose is directly on his skin, cold where his breath had been warm. "You're like, a thousand pounds.""You have strength runes." Alec shudders slightly away, trying to focus on one foot forward after the other and not the frisson of heat down his spine. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to call your date fat." He curses as he bangs his knee into the gate to the park while trying to make sure Jace didn't hit the other side."Aw," Jace croons at him, "I'd kiss it better but I think that's like a third date kinda thing."It's mocking but it just makes Alec want to kiss him even more than usual. So he compensates by threatening to drop Jace by letting him go for a second. Catches him back right away before Jace can even finish squawking indignantly, but Jace still wraps both arms around his waist and clings dramatically as Alec laughs at him, satisfied."Ok, here we go, I found a bench," He's feeling more than a little proud of himself, "And we're looking at water and there's the moon, like you said.""Perfect," Jace settles under his arm as they sit, head tucking into Alec's neck. "It is, right?""It is pretty nice," Alec concedes, taking out his stele to activate both of their heat runes against the breeze, not commenting on Jace's cuddling. The air will sober them up. He could use their iratzes but he kind of likes this soft Jace, warm and solid against his side, the hands on his hip, both of them over Alec's parabatai rune now. Especially the hands on his hip. Angel help him. He shakes his head at himself ruefully, looking out at the night time skyline across the water.There's a part of him that thinks maybe this is when a real date would involve kissing. At least a small one. He turns his head, letting his lips brush along Jace's hair without the pressure that would turn it into a kiss, make it significant, and the ache in his chest that he's been ignoring ratchets up so high he almost doesn't block it in time. But Jace isn't moving away, not even a little. Maybe--he swallows and curls his hand around Jace's wrist, taking a breath and opening his mouth--"No.""I wasn't--" Alec frowns. "No what?""No, I'm not going to--to teach you how kissing works.""I know you didn't pick that up through our bond.""You think I have to depend on our bond to know what you want?" Jace whispers.Alec snorts. Yeah, right, as if Jace isn't the most oblivious--Jace straightens up, alarmingly steady and sober, and looks right at him, "You think I don't know what you want?"Alec's stomach twists in knots, the safe, happy warmth of the night fading abruptly, and it makes him resentful. "I'm sure you'll tell me."
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Jace moves to get up and Alec's heartbeat accelerates out of control, but Jace only turns to face him, coming to put one knee on the bench to loom over Alec's lap, arms braced on either side, caging him in."Alec," Jace's voice is low and dangerous, "Look at me," hair falling to the side as he tilts his head and Alec can't look anywhere else.This is going to get really embarrassing really fast. Alec retreats but there's nowhere to go with the back of the bench right there.And then it doesn't matter because Jace's hands are on his face and he's--Angel, his lips, so unbelievably soft, moving so achingly sweet over Alec's, barely touching, almost not. He moans, bringing up a hand to touch Jace's face, light and hesitant, afraid it's not real, that he'll move away. But he isn't. And Alec fists the front of Jace's shirt just in case, cradles the side of Jace's head, finds the edges of one ear with wide-stretched fingers as Jace tilts into it, his lips changing angle against Alec's, gusting warm air against his cheek and Alec opens his mouth hopefully, artless in his yearning, hungry with his devotion.And when Jace's lips press to touch Alec's fully, Alec closes his mouth on one lush bottom lip and sucks daringly, stomach dropping when Jace's breath hitches, a small sound, but enough to tell Alec that he likes it, likes something Alec did, to his mouth, with Alec's mouth--kissing. It makes Alec press recklessly closer, dare more, dip his tongue inside, lick the edges of his upper lip, a hand coming up to press into Jace's lower back, find that his jacket and shirt have lifted so he's touching bare, intoxicating skin.Jace sighs into his mouth and shivers in his arms, sensitive like Alec knew he'd be, echoing the inchoate longing in him that began as soon as they met, to be closer, to belong, repressed so deep no one but Alec would recognize it, only to realize helplessly that it wasn't something he could get from Alec, not something Alec could give him--but maybe--Alec presses forward, beseeching, and Jace groans outright, both knees on the bench now, rolling his hips in the air, and finally, finally delving inside Alec's mouth like waves crashing ashore--surrendering? Overpowering--Alec moans up at him, hand on the back of Jace's head stroking yes.Jace breathes shuddery and overwhelmed as if he doesn't know what he's doing either, and it makes Alec brave. Makes him put both his arms around Jace and pull him down to press their hips together, shocked completely breathless at how it feels, letting Jace swallow the strangled, desperate noise right from his mouth. He opens wide and draws Jace's tongue in deeper because he doesn't really know how to do any of this back yet except the biting and pressing part, but Jace doesn't seem to mind, holding Alec's face to keep him in place, voice wrecked when he says, "Tighten your lips," cursing when Alec purses his mouth on Jace's lower lip obediently, "Yeah, like that," strokes his tongue against Alec's, rasping, "Swallow," and Alec is shivering as much from his voice as his thumbs stroking Alec's cheek, one of them dipping down into the corner of his mouth.Alec sucks it in instinctively, eyes closing at the salty taste of his skin, dizzy with want."Angel forgive me, fuck, Alec." Jace's voice breaks as he pulls away to watch.And when Alec opens his eyes, Jace doesn't look happy.He looks destroyed.