Home for the Holidays (Closed)

[angelic_archer]

who: Alec, Magnus, Izzy, Jace, and Clary
what: Celebrating Christmas
when: December 24th and 25th
where: The Lux building
warnings: Will update as needed

Merry Christmas at the Lightwood-Bane-Whatever home.  Starters in the comments.

Comments

[angelic_archer]

[Smirking when he realizes that he really had caught Jace off-guard and his parabatai isn't just pretending to make Alec feel better he settles the box in his lap. The comment about testing it and strength surprises him. Arching an eyebrow at his parabatai, he wonders what Jace's gift could be that would make him so nervous.

Slowly he begins working at the tape, not wanting to ruin the effort that Jace had put into the gift.]

It'll be perfect because you gave it to me. Just like all those silly things I gave you when we were kids.

[wayfaring_stranger]

Nothing you've given me is silly.

[ Even as he says the words he knows knows he's failing keep the emotion behind them under control. ]

I may have acted like I didn't appreciate them as much as I should have, but I've loved everything you've given me. Not just gifts.

[ Friendship. A safe place. Understanding. Patience. Even tough love when he was being an idiot and a jerk. Alec had given him so much and in return he'd probably been the worst parabatai in history. Even Valentine had lectured him about the way he'd treated Alec. ]

So this...just open it.

[ Jace laced his fingers together and squeezed, nudging Alec with his elbow. ]

[angelic_archer]

[Alec begins to protest, thinking of some of the more ridiculous things he'd given Jace in the past. Mostly when he'd been a boy trying to fix a situation that he knew was impossible to change. He hadn't had much back then that wasn't related to training, but he'd tried to give whatever he thought might help an orphan boy who had nothing.

I gave you ratty books and almost as ratty clothes.

[Both had been silly gestures but it'd been the only think he could think of doing back then. There'd been bigger, grander, gestures and he knew his parabatai meant those as well but he isn't sure what to say about those.]

We've both given each other things that were important. Things we needed even when we didn't realize that we did.

[Friendship and acceptance. Seeing the potential no one else had until Magnus noticed him. There were so many times that it would have been easy to give up if he hadn't had Jace believing in him and needing him.

Looking over at Jace, he can't quite hide his amusement at how impatient his parabatai is before starting to rip off the paper. Pausing when he uncovers the box]

Are you sure you don't want me to wait until tomorrow?

[wayfaring_stranger]

You were a child.

[ And Jace had loved them all despite behaving more like a feral animal at the time. Alec never gave up on him no matter how horrible he'd behaved. ]

Still are sometimes. [ He teased, trying not to look guilty for having been such a jerk most of their lives.

And then Alec proved his point by refusing to simply open his present.]

I'm sure!

[angelic_archer]

I had better things I could have given you. [Except the best things Alec had owned then were weapons. Which hadn't been something Jace needed back then. He'd needed things to help him forget seeing his father die and the abuse that Michael had inflicted.

Pretending to glare at Jace, he makes sure to pause from opening the box just to annoy his parabatai. Once he made sure he's proven his point, he pulls the lid off the box, staring at what is inside.]

How did you find one so... [Even the bows in Idris or the ones the Iron Sisters made weren't as beautiful as Jace's gift.]

[wayfaring_stranger]

No. They were perfect. [ The words were spoken so softly, but he knew Alec would hear them.

And then he would be distracted by the gift so maybe he wouldn't notice how deeply affectionate they sounded.

FINALLY!

Jace's heart felt like it stuttered in anticipation. Did he like it?]

It's not perfect. I made a few mistakes. Broke a few strings getting the tension just right.

[angelic_archer]

[Alec doesn't really want to protest that his silly presents hadn't been perfect. Maybe for Jace they really had been since before Alec had given him whatever toys or books he had, no one had ever given him anything because of kindness.

Carefully pulling the bow out of the box, he holds it balanced between his hands, shocked at the beauty of the wood. The grain of it reminds him of some of the antiques he'd seen during his trip with Magnus. The bow itself could have easily been in a shop in Idris.

Occasionally I break a few strings. That doesn't mean it isn't perfect. It's stunning. I've never had a bow that was meant to be something beautiful.

[wayfaring_stranger]

[ Jace couldn't help smiling like he was the happiest person in this world, or any world. Alec liked his gift. Now he felt a little silly for being nervous about it to begin with. ]

It's strong, too. [ It reminded him of Alec in so many ways, but he couldn't explain what he meant without giving himself away. ] I didn't have time to make arrows.

[angelic_archer]

I can tell. [His voice has a hint of awe to it as he begins running his hands over the polished would. Maybe one of those shops in Idris would have something similar, but nowhere in New York. Even the shops he'd visited on his tour around the world hadn't had anything as elegant as this.] How did you learn how to make a bow?

[Even without testing it, Alec knows that it would hold up in most fights. Maybe not against Greater Demons or the kinds of beings Sebastian had called up, but it'd be perfect for regular missions.] You don't have to make arrows. I go through too many of them to have ones that match.