Hey to those who have remained ... or came back. You probably already knwo all my apologies, so I won't bore you further. I just wanted to tell you that there was some shit going in private and in the fandom that I wasn't fod of dealing with and I also got sick way too often in these past months. I'm procrastinating my graduation, I'm bak at learning french, and well, sometimes weeks feel like days and I lose track of everything.

I hope this chapter makes up for the wait.

I want to give a special shout-out to the person who send me suggestions of what to write for this chapter when they read on tumblr that I had writer's block and I wanted to thank you again for it. It warmed my heart and made my day that you took the time to do that. I hope you enjoy the chapter. :)

Another shout-out as always to my amazing beta, alexa-hallywell who is simply the best! xx

As promised this chapter is fluffier for those who felt uncomfortable with the steamier stuff from last chapter.

Thank you for all the reviews and again, I am so sorry for taking this long.

Disclaimer: I still don't own shit apart from the frustration, writer's block, the cramping fingers and the plot, I guess.

Chapter 12

Alec stopped a few feet away from the entrance doors of this seriously gigantic bookstore. He looked up at the wall of glass growing into the dimming evening sky it was painted with shy shadows of the oncoming night, just a touch of dawn yet. The sun had almost completely set, but New York was the kind of city that didn't have time for letting sunset wash over the rooftops of the skyscrapers. No city took that time anymore, Alec thought. As soon as the night took as much as one step past the borders the streetlamps were brought to life. Often enough, too, were the heavy orange colors of a sunset obscured by clouds.

They still had about an hour left before the event would begin and Alec was already scared again. He looked back down at the dors of the bookstore and found Magnus patiently waiting there, his head tilted to the right side a bit, just looking at Alec. He asked a silent question and made a silent promise and the buzzing fear in Alec's blood became a little bit more timid. They had talked about this, about Alec being scared after all, about what could go right, what could go wrong. Alec might have gone a bit overboard with ideas for the worst case, but Magnus had kissed the growing panic attack that had loomed over him, right from his lips. Alec had his reasons for never going to a book signing.

But they also had talked about things that were scary in a good way, about things that were worth the risk.

Magnus silently offered his hand when Alec reached the entrance doors. Alec took it and took the offer of a hug that always came with it. "Breath in, breath out", Magnus whispered into Alec's ear while one arm held him close and the other squeezed Alec's hand between them. "And remember, when it doesn't work at all, you give me the secret sign and I'll get you home". Magnus was warm; his hug, his voice, his everything, his worry, his confidence in the world around him. It was an odd experience to have that warmth concentrated on himself so completely and just for a moment Alec let himself think about how he could understand why Camille hadn't wanted to break up with Magnus. Alec's life had become a patchwork of odd experiences and weird moments since Magnus had moved in with him. So many moments, he wanted to take a picture of, put them in an album and keep it close to his heart.

He was a cliché and he wanted to laugh about himself. It was amusing. In a good way.

Alec nodded eventually without removing his head from the crook of Magnus' neck, to show that he had heard and understood, that he agreed and thanked him all at the same time. Alec had never been a person of many words when it was about emotions off the page.
They had decided that when things became too much for Alec, he would move his index finger across his throat like it had been done in so many movies as a threatening gesture already. Magnus had found it fitting for an event that included only crime and thriller writers. It had made Alec laugh, so why not?

"And if I am not in your clear line of sight, you can use the code word to get my attention." There was a smirk and soft, self-ironic laughter among those words and Alec rolled his eyes behind closed lids because he could feel the smirk all over his skin by just hearing the words. This was where he definitely drew the line of 'Nope'.

"I'm not going to yell 'sugar plum' across the room in a full bookstore", he stated matter-of-factly and stepped out of Magnus' embrace, but not too far away.

"What? Why not? ", Magnus called out with mock indignation, still holding onto Alec's hand. "You seemed very enthusiastic when I suggested it".

Alec pushed open one half of the double doors and rolled his eyes at Magnus as he replied over his shoulder: "You had me pinned against the bathroom wall under a steaming hot shower, trust me, the word - or more accurately words, were not what I was enthusiastic about." He stepped inside and held the door open for Magnus to enter the store as well. Magnus gasped dramatically, bringing a hand up to place it upon his heart. "I am hurt", he replied with a perfect imitation of a choked whisper as if he was close to bracing into tears. Alec couldn't resist to roll his eyes again at his boyfriend's antics.

"Just take it as a compliment", he said and walked further into the shop. Behind him he heard Magnus call out "The betrayal!" and he could practically see him throwing his arms into the air. It brought a broad smile to Alec's face and it faintly reminded him of the taste of cinnamon.

Saying that Jocelyn was relieved when she saw them, would have been the understatement of the year and it wasn't even halfway over yet. She almost collapsed when she caught sight of Alec and for a short moment he almost expected her to kiss him.

"You really came", she exclaimed, pure happiness shining in her eyes. "And you're on time, even one of the first to arrive, two others are only here yet, I think". She gave him a quick and very tight hug, then turned towards Magnus. "Did you make him come? "

Magnus smirked at the choice of words. "Always". Jocelyn didn't seem to pick up on the innuendo and just sent him a quick smile as 'Thank you' while Alec gave his boyfriend a 'You're unbelievable'-look behind his agent's back to which Magnus responded by mouthing 'I know'. In the meantime Jocelyn took a deep breath and said with a broad smile and an expression that had Alec worry she would burst into tears the next moment:
"Okay, this is great. I will let the team upstairs know that you are here. The event takes place on the second floor … so, just make sure that you are there maybe fifteen minutes in advance. I'll let you know if anything else come up. You have your phone with you?" Alec nodded and Jocelyn hugged him again before hurrying away.

Magnus let out a low whistle when she was out of earshot and stepped close to Alec. "You must have really tortured this woman before if that's her reaction to you only showing at an event like this". He turned to nuzzle Alec's cheek, pressing a quick kiss on pale skin in the process. "You are a meaner writer than I thought".

"I'm not that bad", Alec muttered, narrowing his eyebrows and trying to look at Magnus as good as it was possible in their current position. Magnus had place his chin on Alec's shoulder and looked up at him with innocent, big eyes.

"You are", he said. "A little bit … I mean, come on, the woman almost had a heart attack when she saw you. I don't want to know how often she has tried and failed to get you to agree to this in the past".

Alec huffed, but his expression softened looking into the direction his agent had hurried off to, maybe there even was a bit of guilt in his expression, but that would stay between the two of them. "Only a couple of times", he eventually confessed with a cautious voice. I will apologize to her later, Alec decided silently, making an agreement with himself. Then he looked back at Magnus, who had taken his chin off Alec's shoulder, but still stood close enough for them to touch.

I want to fall for you, Alec thought and pecked Magnus on the nose. "Come on, let's see if they have something fancy to drink or eat upstairs. Maybe they have orange juice in those fancy tall glasses".

"Oh, I love those!" Magnus grinned and followed Alec towards the staircase leading upstairs. "We can pretend they are filled with super expensive alcohol".

Maybe they were racing each other when they reached the stairs, maybe not. Maybe they made silent bets about who would reach the second floor first, maybe not. And maybe Alec just wanted to stand on a higher step to be - at least once - the taller one. He turned around when they were in the middle of the second staircase effectively stopping Magnus in his tracks because he'd been right behind Alec. Green eyes looked up at him with confusion and that warmth that Alec had gotten so used to. Maybe there was a bit of fondness in those eyes as well or maybe not. There were so many 'maybes' floating around between them that sometimes it made Alec feel drunk on uncertainty in the best way. His heart was pounding wildly, a giddy smile growing on his lips.

"I'm taller than you".

They were surrounded by the screaming silence that was so typical for bookstores and the smell of paper and ink and thousands of tiny little promises that were only kept in check by a hardback cover. On the pages of a book everything was possible and for some reason that was a haven of possibilities for Alec, it had always been that way. His world. His treasure. Alec leaned forward a bit, invading Magnus' personal space with a clear intention of being close to him in a completely new way. His hand was tightly wrapped around the railing, so he wouldn't fall, but maybe he already was falling nonetheless.

"Now you are the short one". Alec's head was spinning and then he felt Magnus smile against his lips and suddenly the world wasn't as scary anymore.

"I would be fine with that".

And the words tasted sweet like honey.

On the second floor, a big area in the middle had been cleared for several tables to be lined up as one big table with only the smallest gaps between each one to slip through. There were two chairs placed behind each table, with simple glasses placed in front of each chair and Alec suspected water bottles being hidden away somewhere beneath the tables. He also noticed black pens next to every glass and his hand automatically went to the ballpoint pen and black fineliner in the inside pocket of his jacket. He never left the apartment without them, just like he always took a notebook with him, which was currently residing in the shoulder bag Magnus carried. He would have to test the pens provided before deciding which he'd choose to sign the books.

"There are already other people here", Alec suddenly realized, his gaze directed at the groups of people already hanging out near the area or among the shelves that had been pushed closer to the walls of the second floor. Some of them watched the employers arranging pyramids of each writer's latest work behind their respected places at the long patchwork table. Quickly Alec had found his own pyramid. The hardcover version of his latest publication. The last time he'd seen the cover this often had been when Jocelyn had sent him a picture of the first printed charge hitting he shelves.

Alec still liked this cover the best from all his books. Just maybe not in this kind of overwhelming numbers. It was a myriad of arrows drenched in blue light on black ground. The letters of the title were written in thin, white lines and to Alec it always looked like lightning.

"Of course there are already people here, darling. The store does have regular opening hours and just like people come early to concerts to get the best spots, it's the same with book signings. You don't want to be the one at the end of the queue, right?" Magnus' arms lay on top of Alec's shoulders light and strong at the same time and this way they could easily look into the same direction. Alec leaned back against his boyfriend.

"Do you think somebody also came early because of me?" His voice was barely there, yet the words weighed heavy on his tongue.
"I'm sure of it". Magnus' breath brushed the shell of Alec's ear and his answer danced on Alec's skin.

And maybe that was what Alec was really scared of. It wasn't a mob of haters or some crazed fan blowing up the bookstore. His real fear was that nobody would come, that nobody actually cared about the person behind the books. Alec had always told himself that this was what he wanted anyway. People should care about the books, about what he wrote. He didn't want anybody to like the books to do him a favor. But was he actually at a level of popularity that people would care about him because they cared about his books? And Alec found himself wondering, what else could he give that he hadn't already given with his books?

"If nobody shows, can we get drunk tonight when we are back home?"

Magnus chuckled and hugged Alec from behind. "Of course we can. Now let's see if that orange juice they have over there is worth anything".

The juice was good and Alec and Magnus amused themselves by acting like they were at a fancy wine testing debating if the aftertaste was earthy or fruity. And it was fun because Magnus was there.

It was just after Magnus had left for the bathroom when Alec noticed the two girls talking on the tall table next to the one he and Magnus had occupied. The orange juice and little crackers were handed out in a smaller corner of the second floor where attentive hostesses paid close attention to the food and orange juice not getting too close to the books. Alec didn't want to be nosy and eavesdrop on the couple's conversation, but he really couldn't help himself the moment the name 'Wayland' was mentioned.

"I don't know why, I just like his writing style better than Garroway's", the woman with light-brown hair explained while her girlfriend listened with a skeptical expression brushing a strand of shining black hair behind her ear.

"Maybe, but for me it's just a tad too creepy and dark at times, you know?" She twisted a simple silver ring around her index finger as she continued. "I mean, I had trouble falling asleep for a whole week after you only told me the plot of the first book. I'm still not sure what to think about the fact that you actually read them before going to bed, Helen".

Helen simply shrugged at that comment and Alec found himself shrugging at it, too. He often wrote until late at night, pretty much before simply passing out on top of the covers on his bed or even in front of the computer. The only nightmares he ever had from his writing was the memory of that one time when he fell asleep on the keyboard and ended up deleting about ten pages. Though since Magnus had taken it as his new duty in their shared household to make sure Alec at least slept in the bed they now shared as well, the loss of words irresponsibly hitting the keyboard didn't occur quite as often anymore. It had been a while since they'd made scrambled eggs as well. They said those things out loud now or simply shared a powerful silence.

"It's just a book, Aline", Helen noted and took a sip of her orange juice. "It's not like the characters would crawl off the pages to haunt you". If Alec closed his eyes, he could detect a smile somewhere in there.

"Yes, but it reminds you of the things that people are able to do. And that's definitely - at least in my opinion - scary as shit". Aline threw her hands into the air to underline the urgency of her words. "Crime writers just are on a completely different level than us, thinking up all those things", she insisted.

At that Alec stared down at his fingertips, pursing his lips and maybe feeling a bit lonely. Only a tiny bit.

"I mean, writers in general are like a species of their own. They are like mad geniuses, but I always had the biggest respect for crime and thriller writers. I mean, they write all these scary and dark things, they have to get through all the research for it and still manage to keep the readers intrigued, get them to sometimes even emphasize with the killers or kidnapers? That's next-level genius work. And they don't run away screaming from their own work."

Alec stood taller again and there was a touch of warmth between his shoulder blades and he told himself, that he could live with being seen this way. Helen chuckled at her girlfriend's monologue and toasted to her with an almost empty glass of orange juice. "Well, thank you for still coming with me tonight, my dearest darling. Despite being a Blackthorn-fan at heart, too."

Aline raised her index finger. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with some quality YA-Fantasy, lady. And that is a genius of his own when it comes to humor, okay?" Helen didn't give an answer to that, simply emptied her glass with a smile on her lips. Aline placed her hands on the table again, going back to twisting the silver ring around her finger. "I still think that you two are secretly related, by the way".

Helen only snorted at that. "I think I would know if I would be related to some hot shot fantasy author, don't you think?"

"And it's probably a pseudonym anyway".

Alec didn't realize he'd said that out loud until the two women turned around to look at him with questioningly raised eyebrows.
"What is a pseudonym?", Aline inquired and Alec felt the well-known heat creep into his cheeks.

"Well, Blackthorn, you know? I mean, a lot of writers use pseudonyms, it wouldn't be very unlikely for this to be one as well", Alec stuttered, twisting the sleeves of his sweater between his fingers. "Yeah …" He wanted to become invisible, he really did. But he swallowed heavily and forced his nerves back into order. He was bad at handling random attention and he hated it when it hit him unexpectedly. He felt guilty for eavesdropping and being caught at it, but because he got pretty much caught red-handed, he couldn't act as if nothing had happened either and while he wanted to apologize, his tongue was heavy behind sealed lips.

"Right", exclaimed Helen though and kind of saved Alec, probably without even realizing what she'd done. "See?" She turned towards her girlfriend with a confident smile. "We don't even know if his real name is Blackthorn".

But Aline didn't look very convinced. "Oh yeah? What are the odds of somebody choosing a pseudonym that is also an actual last name? Blackthorn is not exactly the most common name to find".

"These coincidences happen". Helen crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I once read a book in which the main character's last name was Fairchild and then I found out that there's actually a country singer with that last name".

"Coincidence, huh?" Aline smirked and crossed her arms as well. "So, crazy coincidences happen? So, what about that crazy coincidence that you are actually related to a famous fantasy writer? That could be one of those coincidences as well, wouldn't you agree?" Helen only threw her hands exasperatedly into the air and Alec decided that he liked these two.

When Magnus came back from the bathroom, he found Alec engaged in a lively discussion with two young women of which the one with light-brown curls seemed to be gushing about something quite animatedly. They fell silent when Magnus joined their little group, but not in a rude, more in a curiously polite way.

"Hey there", Magnus greeted them looking at Alec who greeted him with a blinding smile. "It seems you have made some charming company darling". He looked back at the two women. "I'm Magnus".
They introduced themselves as Aline and Helen and Helen turned quickly out to be quite a fan of J. C. Wayland, which easily explained Alec's beaming smile.

"But what about you?" Helen asked eventually. "Are you a fan of Wayland, too, or are you here for another writer?" Suddenly Magnus felt clear tension radiating from Alec who was standing close next to him. Magnus resisted the urge to fondly shake his head at this reaction because he had stated way in the beginning and along the way that he indeed liked Alec's writing quite a bit.

"I am a fan of Wayland", he said simply. "Despite not being the biggest fan of the bloody galore the writer likes to present in his books, I find his depiction of human emotions and the way he conveys them to the reader very fascinating." Magnus had to lie if he'd say he hadn't practiced that line about a hundred times before for moments like this. It was a bit cheesy and maybe a bit over the top considering the simple context surrounding the initial question, but he didn't care.

Helen let out a low whistle while Alec stared down at the table, biting his lower lip, trying to contain the grin growing on his lips. Magnus wanted to taste it, and he would do it later or tomorrow, but he knew it would taste of cinnamon.

"You could be a writer yourself", Helen remarked, but Magnus only shook his head.

"Nah, it takes more to be a writer than that. It's one hell of a job and I respect those who take that challenge, but it's not something for me", he explained and Helen nodded understandingly, sharing an agreeing look with her girlfriend. "I'll stick to dating them", he added quietly and if the two women caught it, they didn't show it. Alec caught it definitely and that was what counted because the words had been meant for him. He meant all of them beneath the core of easy small talk.

"So, where do you work, Magnus?". Aline asked. "If that's not too personal".

Without looking at him, and hidden by the table, Alec slipped his hand into Magnus' entwining their fingers in a slow, careful, cautious, wonderful way.

"It's not, don't worry. I work at a bookstore, though a much smaller one than this".

Magnus softly squeezed Alec's hand and just like that there was the faintest trace of cinnamon on his tongue.

The book signing was set to begin at around 10 pm and about half an hour earlier Alec found himself playing 'Spot the writer'. He had refrained from doing research on the other writers attending. He'd read most of the books on the list of tonight's event, but had never really looked beyond the pages. He immediately felt bad because of it, but shrugged it. Nothing he could do about it now.

He vaguely knew the face of Luke Garroway who could also be spotted easily because he had already attracted a crowd and was one of the older writers who had a bigger fanbase due to more published books. Furthermore Alec knew that behind the name Valentine Morgenstern was a woman, but taken the fact that half the people currently present were female, that didn't quite narrow it down. Then there was George Lovelace, a relative newcomer who had landed a bestseller with his debut. Jocelyn had raved about him when the book hit the shelves and noted that he was around the same age as Alec himself. 'Sophie Collins' was a pair, judging by the two chairs behind one of the tables with only one sign reading 'Sophie Collins' in front of them. At the other end of the table there was a young man with a serious face and platinum blond hair already seating. He seemed to completely ignore the people around him while building a house of cards on the table in front of him. The sign next to him said 'S. Verlac'.

"You're staring, darling".

"Am not", Alec muttered without taking his eyes off the pale man, deciding that 'Snowflake' would probably be an appropriate nickname for him. 'Grumpy Snowflake'.

In front of the long table ropes had been set up to generate a certain space of privacy for the people moving towards the table. So far the rope hadn't been opened yet, so Grumpy Snowflake could make his card house in peace.

"Okay, how are we feeling?"

Alec turned his head to look at Jocelyn who had a great resemblance with an excited child which Alec was glad about and he hoped it would stay this way until the end of the event. He might not easily admit and definitely not yet say it out loud, but seeing how excited his agent got for him only being here and with Magnus' earlier remark in the back of his mind, he felt increasingly guilty for shutting her down so many of Jocelyn's advances before.

"Feeling good and refreshed and only mildly distracted by all the handsome people being present", Magnus replied instead of Alec who only rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. Jocelyn smiled at him and reached across the table to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"Everything will be fine", she said and Alec actually wasn't completely sure if she was talking to him or herself. He nodded, giving a soft smile in return.

Helen and Aline had left just before Jocelyn's arrival to greet a friend they had spotted in the crowd, so it would still take a bit longer for them to realize that Alec wasn't exactly here to see a writer, but more so being one of them. He didn't know if he should feel guilty for not telling them, but then again he hadn't exactly lied about who he was either. The conversation just kind had never gotten to the point of them asking what he did for a living. Then there was the thing that he didn't like that sort of awkward atmosphere which always happened when somewhat popular people didn't get recognized right of the bat and had to 'reveal' themselves. People often tended to feel guilty for not recognizing celebrities and Alec had never understood why that was the case, especially with writers, whose faces really didn't have much to do with selling their books. Or at least that shouldn't be the case. Or people feeling guilty for not having read the books of a writer they meet by chance. Looking at the vast mass of books that could be found on the shelves these days, Alec was actually always surprised when somebody mentioned his books or was reading them on the train for example.
On the other hand some people felt betrayed when you didn't tell them right away that you were a somewhat public figure. And Alec couldn't really agree with that either. He had the right of privacy like everybody else.

Alec had always found fame to be an increasingly confusing concept. It was something that brought him money because people paid money to read violent stuff.

Maybe that was it, though. This was the kind of horror that people could control. Like Helen had said 'the things wouldn't come off the page'. It was safe, in a way. It was just ink and when the book was closed none of it was visible. Books didn't have a voice, didn't have pictures. They existed as a bunch of letters, a form of abstract code consisting of black lines. If the book said 'red coat', the reader could still imagine a blue coat. You could skip lines and focus on specific words. You could ignore characters, make them a blurred image in your head.

All this freedom existed within a book. The writer could pour his fears and joys and memories into it and the reader could pick from it what they wanted. Some things hidden between the lines would maybe never be found, while others got discovered that the writer never realized were hidden there. That was the reason for his fame. Alec knew that code of lines and ink and could string it together to something that made sense to a lot of people.

He grabbed the ballpoint pen in his pocket and held it tight. So much power, he thought, hidden in such a simple form.

"Okay then!" Jocelyn clapped her hands together looking at Alec and Magnus with big green eyes. "Are you ready?"

Alec looked at the crowd behind her, at Helen who gave him a quick wave when he caught her eye, at the long table, at the books on the wall. "Yeah, I'm ready", he said and decided to make this night count as a pleasant memory.

One of the many reasons why Jocelyn was an awesome agent was that she had arranged a second chair next to Alec's place behind the signing table without either Magnus or Alec saying anything. Magnus put the chair back a little bit, so he wouldn't sit right next to Alec or interfere with George Lovelace who was placed next to them. He gave Alec a quick '‚thumbs up' before sitting down himself and nervously twirling one of the prepared pens around his fingers. Alec could relate to that on an emotional level. He might also be forbidden from doing the twirling at home anymore, especially when Chairman Meow was around. For reasons.

"So, Alec, I know, I am here with you and I am one hundred-percent here to support you", Jocelyn began with her hands on Alec's shoulders. She looked nervous, and not the kind of excited-nervous which she had the whole evening so far. "But would it be okay with you if I'd get a book signed by-"She threw a quick glance over her shoulder. "By Luke Garroway? He has illustrated children's books before he got into writing thrillers and my daughter loved them, still does, and I promised her to get her favorite one signed tonight. She's in Europe on an exchange at the moment". Jocelyn looked at Alec expectantly and he was once again hit by how passionately she was about her job and how much loyalty she brought to the table when it came to her clients.

"Of course", he eventually got out. "Magnus and I, we have this. Don't worry, just … just enjoy yourself a bit, too. We can always call you if something is up as well".

"Yes! The code word is 'sugar plum'" Magnus interjected and Alec was close to hitting his boyfriend.

"No, it is not", he ground out towards Magnus who simply mouthed towards a confused Jocelyn 'it is'. "Don't listen to him, I'm afraid he might have some sort of reaction to the orange juice. Just, go, have fun and please don't tell anybody about my lunatic of a boyfriend - I mean, you can tell them about him, just avoid the words sugar plum, maybe".

Jocelyn looked confused for a few more seconds, but then just looked at them fondly, hugging Alec again and this time indeed kissing him. It was only on the cheek though, but Alec was still stunned for a few seconds.

"Agent or girlfriend?", George asked next to him after Jocelyn had left. He grinned as he continued to twirl the pen through his fingers. Alec blinked in confusion, probably looking a lot like his agent had done seconds ago. Jocelyn sure looked younger than she actually was, but Alec had never thought they could get mistaken for a couple. But then he also noticed the mischievous gleam in George's eyes and simply said:

"Agent". Then he pointed towards Magnus who had taken up residence on his extra chair to 'play dismissively candy crush and angry birds to give Alec room of bonding with his glorious queue of fans' as he had called it. "That one is my boyfriend Magnus".

Magnus looked up when his name was mentioned and nodded to George and tipped his invisible had in return before turning back to Alec. "I'm George, by the way, and you are …" He strained to get a good look at the sign on Alec's place, his eyes growing bigger with sudden surprise. "Wayland? Oh, wow, a real myth sitting right next to me at my first big signing".

"Myth?", Alec inquired, narrowing his eyebrows. He would hardly consider himself a myth, more as a mixture of 'weird' and 'overworked', but not really anywhere near 'mysterious' or whatever one would like to associate with the description of 'myth'.

"Sure thing", George insisted. "On social media anyway. Mostly twitter, I think. People always love to speculate about the things in the dark and the fact that you don't have a picture of yourself in your books and only a fairly short Wikipedia entry. That's like the flame to a moth. Irresistible".

Alec didn't like twitter. Only thinking about the limit of 140 characters got him irritated. If he could work with that for one statement, he'd be probably writing short-stories, not three- to four hundred paged books. Or he would at least be better at it. Writing short-stories was a whole different level of skill. Tumblr was more his kind of style. He had a personal blog with maybe 50 Followers, not tied to any of the writing-side of his life. And there Alec shared cute pictures of the Chairman (which was a more current development) and funny quotes by famous people, along with the occasional three pages of rant about whatever TV-show got driven against a wall lately. There of course was an official author-website tied to the agency, but Alec didn't have much to do with that. He had allowed for Fanfictions to be written to his books, but he doubted anybody would go that far and he wasn't allowed to read them for legal reasons anyway.

"Okay …" Alec found that a very intelligent comment. Maybe he had lost track of social media a bit too much over the past few weeks. But in his defense, writing was a very time consuming activity, same went for having a cat and a boyfriend. "What do they speculate about for example?"

George shrugged and leaned back into his chair. "Mostly they debate about whether you are a woman or not". He grinned and Alec found his amusement slightly not okay. Just a tad.

"Sorry to disappoint", he replied dryly, but George only waved his comment away with a quick hand gesture.

"No need to apologize. You seem to be a fine guy just the way you are". Alec couldn't help but fondly shake his head at this.

"Don't judge a book by its cover", he muttered. "I'm so much more messed up inside than you would suspect".

One of the employees announced the beginning of the signing and people began to file into the lines in front of the table behind those that had already taken a place right in the front. The ropes were opened next and Alec felt Magnus pressing a kiss to the back of his head when he turned towards the front. He realized that there were actually people standing in front of his place, some of them clasping different copies of one of his books, some of them where talking to each other and right in the front stood a teenage girl smiling at him excitedly and for the first time that night Alec wondered if maybe, just maybe he should have worn a suit after all.

Being at a book signing as an author that used a pseudonym for their books was quite a stressful matter. The last three days Alec had practiced his signature and by practicing it meant training himself to sign with 'J.C. Wayland' and not with 'Alec Lightwood'. They had ended up with a mass of paper balls carrying varying versions of 'Alec Lightwood'. Magnus had joked that they could sell them on eBay once Alec was comfortable with publicly sharing his real name. Alec had thrown the next balled up sheet of paper at him. Either way, he had ended up successful, but with a cramp in his fingers and now he had sweaty palms as he was given the first book to sign.

The young woman standing in front of him looked nice enough, so Alec hoped she wouldn't jump over the table in case he messed up. But then again Camille had also looked nice back when she'd stood across from him. There had been a table between them as well. Alec had been sitting, Camille had been standing. That hadn't ended well for Alec. He glanced at the water glass, but that was still empty.

"Hey", he tried awkwardly. "What's your name?" That was a good question, right? A lot of people wanted personalized signatures. Alec would probably come of arrogant if he just signed the book with his name, his fake name nonetheless. She still could say no, and explaining to him how asking for her name was too personal. Was he supposed to make small talk before he signed the book? What did Jocelyn say when she briefed him for this? WHY WAS HIS HEAD SO EMPTY?

"I'm Arleen, but I wanted to ask if you could sign it for my brother Finn? He's in the hospital right now and I promised to get him a signed copy for his birthday". She smiled sweetly down at him with the ceiling lamps shining down on her brown hair. He felt a tiny bit like crying, but in a good way and that was probably not the proper reaction either, so he fought back the tears that were brought by overstimulation of his nervous system.

"Sure", he said with determination, taking the provided pen because his brain had a short-circuit situation going on and he had forgotten in which pocket his own pens where hidden. "I can do this".

He remembered in time to ask how Finn was spelled and was very proud of himself. When he was about to add 'Get well soon', he looked up and whispered to the girl: "He's going to be better, right? It's not something fatal?" He didn't want to involve any of the other people standing close by if it was and it felt very personal to talk to a stranger about things like this already.

Arleen chuckled and smiled brightly at him. He began to like her and that was a record for a one-minute-encounter on his part. "Don't worry". She leaned down to him and continued whispering in a conspiratorial way. "He had surgery on his leg and will hopefully be back home next week".

"Oh, car accident?", Alec guessed.

"A skateboard and missing common sense".

In the end Alec wrote: 'For Finn, stay safe and be more careful next time. J. C. Wayland'

Arleen waved at him as she walked away and Alec thought, maybe I can do this.

'For Julian, I'm not mad about you drawing into my books, you're a greta artist. J. C. Wayland'

The next guy in the line, maybe a few years older than him, shoulder-length hair, leather jacket and checkered pants, looked at him critically. He held up a battered paperback copy of Alec's first publication and used it to point at him.

"You're not a woman", he stated matter-of-factly pursing his lips.

"You have keen eyes", Alec replied in the same tone and for whatever reason that brought a broad grin to the guy's face.

"You are cool", he eventually announced and handed Alec the paperback. "And because you are not a woman, a friend of mine now owes me twenty bucks. Good job, my friend".

Alec was stunned for about five seconds, then he collected himself and managed to ask: "What's your name?"

The guy's grin did not fade. He leaned forward, putting his hands on the table. "I'm Luca and if you ever have the chance to go to Europe, try Swiss chocolate. It's the best stuff I have ever eaten. Amazing eyes, by the way".

Alec nodded slowly muttering something like "Thank you, got them from my mother" and wrote down on the inside of the front cover of the book: 'For Luca, thank you for the random advice. J. '.

'For Maureen, Death is not the answer, keep living. J. C. Wayland'

Helen was stunned speechless when she reached the front of the line with Aline and really, Alec found that very understandable as Grumpy Snowflake at the other end of the table had just performed a card trick for a group of excited girls. But then he remembered why Helen's reaction had nothing to do with the card trick.

"You are HIM?" she exclaimed an Alec found it smart to reply with "Well, I'm definitely not her". Aline raised her eyebrow at him and Magnus flicked the back of his head. Helen didn't appear to have noticed the terrible joke. She only clasped her hands in front of her mouth and stared at Alec in silent shock. At some point Alec was afraid she might have turned into a statue. But Aline didn't seem to be too concerned with her girlfriend's constitution, so Alec sat down again.

"Oh my god, I already thought that you were cute and nice before and now it turns out you are also this mad writing genius and you're so down to earth and I thought this whole mystery-thing was simply one big PR-gag and now you're just a very private person with sweaters and everything and - oh, can we please make a picture together later?", she gushed and then suddenly turned serious again and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "If you do, I will forgive you for deceiving us like this". She raised her eyebrows expectantly in the cutest way that Alec had always thought wasn't possible for a real-life, breathing human being. But he also still had some aversions against pictures of himself.

"Well, I didn't necessarily deceive you and-"

"I don't care".

"Okay".

And with that it was settled. Helen handed him the hardcover of his second book and Alec decided that an appropriate signature would include 'I apologize for deceiving you'. When Helen got the book back, she looked at the signature and back at Alec smiling brightly. Alec decided he liked that. He had never thought that signing a book could make people happy like that, but he liked the feeling that bloomed warm and soft across his shoulder blades.

"You know, this is open to a lot of interpretations", Helen noted with a tiny smirk on her lips. Alec nodded smiling himself. He had done that a lot this evening. "I could sell it as a coded love letter to the media".

"I trust you", Alec found himself saying though for a moment there were ice cubes in his stomach. Helen blew him a kiss and then took Aline's offered arm to walk away like a pair of high society ladies.

"Don't worry, darling", sounded suddenly Magnus' voice from behind him and his boyfriend's fingers lay soft on his shoulders for only a second. "I'll take the picture".

And Alec was okay with that.

'For Emma, keep fighting, just maybe not inside or against security. J. C. Wayland'

Scary scenarios often involved a completely masked person, often that involved a robbery and when Alec looked up at the next person in line, every worst-case scenario he had laid out at Magnus' feet in the days leading up this night, came rushing back to him. He couldn't quite say if it was a woman or a man or how old they were, he simply guessed it was a woman because of the hat with the broad rim and the dark sunglasses had flowers printed on them in one corner above the right eye. A thick scarf furthermore covered the lower half of the face and the long, black coat was buttoned up to the top despite the heaters inside creating a very comfortable climate.

At least it's not a ski mask, Alec thought. The masked person - in a book Alec would probably use the placeholder '‚Mrs. Dark' until he decided on a name for the character - stepped forward, in a graceful and fluid motion and Alec had the bad feeling of familiarity. Mrs. Dark produced a new copy of his latest publication which Alec liked to call Arrow-inception for reasons he would never share and put it on the table in front of him. Cautiously Alec took the book and despite the nest of angry wasps in his stomach and veins right now, he swallowed past his nervousness, opening the book and asked:

"For whom shall I sign?" He kept his eyes on the book trying to forget the possibility of being shot or taken hostage the next moment. He heard the ruffling of fabric and an exasperated sigh. Dramatic much, he thought, but didn't say anything out loud.

"For the most adorably gorgeous and yet left in the dark younger sister that has ever graced the face of the earth".

Alec halted in his motions. He knew that voice. He suddenly also remembered the dramatic act and there was a whole different kind of cold pouring over his skin as he slowly, oh so slowly raised his head. Mrs. Dark had removed her sunglasses and took off the hat next. Her long, shining black hair fell down to her shoulders and somehow she managed to arrange the scarf in a fashionable way while Alec was damn sure she just didn't get it off properly at the moment because the end of it had gotten stuck somewhere at the back of her coat.

Dark eyes were staring down at him accusingly and for a moment Alec considered acting as if he didn't know her and call security. Though he was pretty sure Isabelle would burn him for that move until he was sixty.

"Izzy".

"Alec". She crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking more like their mother than it should have been possible. "What do you have to say to your defense?" Isabelle had been part of the drama class since middle school and that included acquiring the skill of drawing the attention of an ungodly amount of people towards her. What a blessing that was. It lead to complete silence and taken how many people were currently present that was one hell of an impressive silence.

"What am I accused of?"

Isabelle had a thing for court shows since she'd been little and next to her passion for acting, her life goal was studying law. Alec felt bad for not remembering if she'd gotten into her preferred college. But either way, this fascination for court shows had led to many improvised court scenes in the Lightwood household. There was butter missing? Judge Izzy would find the culprit and even sentence the cat if she had to because the law was hard, but it was law. Often enough though Alec found himself in the situation of being accused of stuff he hadn't known one could be accused of, but it lead to him having the reflexive reaction of asking for the accusation instead of ignoring Isabelle. His ten-year-old-self had also learned that ignoring Isabelle Lightwood did not end well. At all. Many sweaters had suffered for him to get to that conclusion and yes, Izzy had found a way to make a reasonable case to sentence clothes.

"What are you-?" Isabelle began shocked and then threw up both hands storming the last step to the table. The end of the scarf got loose at the sudden motion and now dangled down on top of said table. Alec had the instant idea of pulling on it, but refrained from giving into that urge. "You, my dearest, sweetest, most ignorant brother. You are accused of finally coming out of that hidey-hole which is your apartment, attending a book signing and not telling me about it ASAP. I had to read it on some mass-book-post on Facebook, Alec, Facebook". He didn't exactly knew when it had started, but at some point Izzy had begun to take everything connected to Facebook as an insult. "And-" Her eyes were drawn towards a motion behind Alec which he imagined was Magnus getting up from his chair to be the ever supportive boyfriend he was. Maybe though this time that was not a good idea because Izzy's eyes grew wide as they flitted back and forth between Alec and Magnus and as much as Alec could see the tidal wave coming he couldn't stop it.

"You got a boyfriend", Isabelle whispered, her eyes wide with shock and the clear of utter betrayal. "And you didn't tell me".

Once again the silence in the room became unbelievably loud. On his right Alec could hear George whisper "Not cool".

Alec sighed. "I'm sorry?" His younger sister looked like she was about to strangle him with her scarf, but before she could actually do that, Magnus' hand shot out towards her and he said with the sunniest expression Alec had ever seen him wear since his yellow nail polish had gotten empty: "Hey, I'm Magnus. Would you like a drink and some crackers? Maybe we can talk over there and get to know each other better, you know? To catch up after your irresponsible brother kept us from meeting each other for so long".

Isabelle looked at him and then shook his hand. "That sounds fun", she said with a completely un-fun undertone, then turned towards Alec. "I still want that signature, by the way. Mom made me promise to get her one".

'For Maryse, I love you, Mum. Please call next time before you send Izzy after me. Your son'.

Aline and Isabelle got along right away and Alec didn't know how to feel about it. After the signing was over his fingers were cramping and Jocelyn had organized an ice pack which helped a bit, Magnus massaging his hand did the rest.

"So this went okay, right?" Alec asked and Magnus nodded.

"Not counting the charming lady who threatened to start throwing pumps if you'd kill off Will any time soon, it went very well", he mentioned just a tad too cheerfully. Alec glared at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You only liked her because she agreed with you that Will should not die in the next book".

"Or the one after that", Magnus added nodding sagely. "Just don't kill him, okay? There are too many main characters dying lately. Break that trend. Smash the system. Oh, make him explore his bisexuality instead! Show the world that bisexuals are indestructible".

It had gotten late and Alec felt like that was influencing his boyfriend quite a bit. Maybe that or the orange juice they'd gotten now was different from the one they'd had before. Alec's musings were interrupted when Helen walked over to them holding up her phone as a reminder of the picture Alec still owed her. He nodded and moved to get up from the chair he'd simply taken from his place behind the signing table. These events were exhausting enough that even after sitting for an hour straight Alec couldn't find the strength to stand up. When they got back home, he would just collapse into his bed and not move until the next morning.

"Hey there, famous writer", Helen greeted him and Alec wasn't sure if she was mocking him or if it was meant as a complement. "Is your middle name really Gideon? Your sister is amazing, by the way".

Alec glared into the direction where Isabelle and Aline were animatedly talking with each other not caring about his feelings or how he disliked his middle name.

"You don't like the name?", Helen asked sympathetically and before Alec could decide if he wanted to shrug it off or say 'yes' outright, she continued: "No, don't worry, it's noted, I'll tell Aline about it and we won't bother you with anymore".

Alec just looked at her thinking about what nice person she was. Then he asked no deity specifically why he couldn't have gotten a sister like Helen. He loved Izzy dearly, but sometimes she was a bit much and this evening had been enough pressure on his nerves without her spectacular appearance already. When Helen, Magnus and he moved away from their group a bit to find a place with better lightning, Alec looked around and found George holding a tray with leftover crackers and telling a story to a group of people through all ages. The pumps-lady was among them. Further on the left Jocelyn stood talking to Luke with a beaming smile on her lips and a children's book pressed to her chest. On the right Grumpy Snowflake stood next to a tall, lean woman with dark, long hair, their faces serious as Grumpy Snowflake listened to the obvious monologue the woman, who Alec remembered to being the one sitting at the place of Valentine Morgenstern, while absent-mindedly shuffling his cards and nodding from time to time. The 'Sophie Collins'-couple stood close together on one of the tall tables, apparently writing down notes for whatever story was about to come.

"Here is perfect", Magnus announced and halted Helen and Alec. They had reached about the middle of the second floor and Alec found himself breathing freely when he moved closer to Helen who shyly put an arm around his shoulders. Magnus held up the phone. "Say cheese!"

And Alec didn't say 'Cheese', he just smiled and it came as naturally as breathing. His boyfriend made a few pictures to be sure and when he walked over to them giving Helen back her phone, Magnus drew Alec close and kissed him square on the mouth. "That's the smile I'll be dreaming about", he whispered and this time Alec leaned in for a second kiss. He had smiled a lot during the evening, a night that was not yet completely over, but his face didn't hurt. There was no strain on his lips, no pain in his cheeks.

Tonight, he thought, his life was spiraling a tiny bit out of control. In a good way.

That was until Isabelle announced that she totally expected to stay at Alec's apartment for the next two weeks she had off from college.

In case anybody got to this point, let me know what you thought. :) I hope it didn't get too OOC because i was kind of lacking the time of going back through the former chapters (shame on me, I know).

You can find me as freakypumpkin on tumblr. I love you and thanks for sticking around. ^^

xox Angrymuffin