Drink by Drink | bowstrung

Alec

“If she wasn’t interested in you from the beginning then she should have said so,” Alec said. “It doesn’t matter that they were friends, it wasn’t right of her to cheat on you.” He felt very strongly about this subject because a few months ago he’d found out that his dad had been cheating on his mom. It had felt like a slap in the face, though he couldn’t imagine what his mom was feeling. “Sure, I guess.” He shrugged a little. Alec shook his head and said, “No, not at all. I just know that you’ll regret drinking that much tomorrow. I know it all hurts, but you can’t hurt yourself like that.”

“I’m not, but I’m glad that you’re not far from here. If you’d like, I can drive you home once my shift is finished.” He probably shouldn’t do that, but he felt protective of the blonde. He understood the taking care of himself thing. “You can let other people take care of you, you know. It’s not so bad. Trust me. It took ages for my sister to open me up again once I’d moved out. Now most of my family is back in my life and I’m glad that she did. You’ll get there eventually.” Alec hoped that he had given him some sort of comfort, but could tell that he was still sad. “Listen, I’ve got to make a couple of more drinks for some guys over there. Though how about you look at the menu again and get yourself something to eat, on the house. I’ll take care of it.” He pushed the full menu toward Jace and hoped that he’d take him up on his offer. “And then I’ll take you home in an hour if you want to leave. Though you don’t have to, I’ll stay here and chat with you all night if you’d like.”

Jace shrugged. “I mean, she was for a while? I thought we were great.” He mumbled, looking at his hands. He chuckled drunkenly, looking up at the other and tilting his head. “I’d rather hurt from this,” he lifted his half empty glass. “Than from my heart.” he replied, finishing the drink and setting it down, staring at the glass for a long minute. He was never, ever going to let himself get close enough to love someone ever again. Fuck love.

Two toned eyes looked up and he tilted his head the other way. “Sure, a ride home won’t be so bad.” he agreed with a shrug. “I don’t really have anyone to take care of me, pal.” he said bitterly. “My parents were killed when I was little. My grandmother took me in, but after losing my dad, she kind of became a workaholic.” He opened his mouth to say he was fine, but he decided free food would be worth it, so he looked over the menu quietly, trying to find something that sounded appealing. He usually loved pizza, but it would only trigger more memories of his ex, so he debated between chili cheese fries and nachos for a long moment while he waited for Alec to return.

Alec

Alec felt himself relax at those words. He should have known that Jace would say something to make him feel better and he was glad of it. He closed his eyes as he leaned into Jace’s touch. “You know the right things to say, don’t you?” He opened his eyes to look at him as a smile curled up his lips. One of his hands reached out to curl around Jace’s shirt and pull him just the tiniest bit closer, or at least he felt like he’d done that. “No, never. I’m here with you, for you; always.” Alec kissed him back tenderly as his other hand reached up to caress Jace’s face. “You’ve already said enough, Jace. And I’m sorry I’m being so insecure. It’s just…I’ve never really had anything this good, something that I truly wanted and I don’t want it all to slip away.” And if anyone found out, then he would fight. He wouldn’t let the Clave or their parents or anyone pull them away. “I will fight for you, Jace. I will always be by your side. You don’t have to fear losing me either. I’m here to stay and I love you.” Alec leaned in again, mouth just barely kissing at the corner of Jace’s. “You are my sun and moon,” he whispered. “My sky and stars.” And his whole world, Alec thought. His thumb brushed over a cheek and he kissed him fully on the mouth then. He hoped to convey all the feelings that he felt for Jace in that one kiss.

Jace smiled as he felt Alec relax, leaning to steal another kiss. “I try to. You know I’m not the best with words and feelings.” He laughed softly and adjusted closer as Alec tugged at his shirt, tilting his head to kiss at Alec’s jaw. Sometimes he wished things had been different, maybe if they were mundane it would be easier, but he didn’t regret choosing Alec for a moment. “Always us.” he promised, nodding as he leaned into the hand on his cheek. He wished he could just take away every doubt his boyfriend had, but in their line of work it was hard. “No one is taking me anywhere without a fight, anyway.” The confident grin on Jace’s lips was also loving and he moved to lay on his side so he could lay an arm over Alec’s waist. “We’ll fight anything that ever happens, together. Okay? No matter what, we’re gonna fight for each other.” he promised, hand brushing up Alec’s chest so he could run his hand through dark hair. “I love you, too.” Bicolored eyes closed as he was kissed, tugging Alec closer and nipping at his lower lip gently. “I love you so much.”

Fresh Start | bowstrung

Alec [ @bowstrung ]

“You don’t have to,” Alec replied. “I have already forgiven you.” And he could put it past him. There was no need to dwell on such a past when they would have a much brighter future together. “You should’ve said so sooner. I was so worried about ruining our friendship, but if I’d known it would lead to this…,” well, he might have been the one to say something sooner too. He chuckled and nodded and he pulled out his phone from his pocket and sent Izzy a quick text. He got a reply back saying, ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ and there was a winking face that made him roll his eyes. “Izzy approve,” he told him with a slight grin. He tucked the phone safely away, but knew the pants would likely end up tossed to the floor.

“It’s about time you noticed,” he told him, not at all shying away from his beauty. Alec knew that he was handsome enough, but he didn’t often flaunt it. Now, with someone that he cared about like he did Jace, he had no problem with doing that. “We have all the time in the world right now to do that,” Alec encouraged. “I want to be with you in every way possible.” He gently guided Jace toward the bed and pushed him down on it as he’d pried away from him. “You don’t know how many times I’ve dreamt about doing that.” He moved to straddle Jace and wrapped his legs around his waist. “Is this okay?” He asked as he lifted a hand to caress the blonde’s face. Jace was beautiful and he could hardly believe that they were actually going to do this.

Jace knew Alec was going to say something like that. “I know you have, but it doesn’t make me not regret it.” He’d been an idiot in younger days, trying to be what everyone around him thought he should be. “I was a terrible high school kid.” he laughed, leaning to kiss Alec softly. He bit his lower lip as Alec spoke, a blush on his cheeks. “I didn’t want you to think you had to do anything.” he replied. “I know I didn’t act like it back then, and I know I was the worst, but I loved you then and I loved you when we talked at the party and every single day since.” he explained. “I wanted you to take the step that put us here, Alec.” He watched as Alec messaged his sister, hands wandering over the other’s sides as they waited for a response. Hearing the words, he smiled and leaned in to kiss Alec again, laughing at the comment.

“I noticed a long time ago, baby.” he assured, hands sliding beneath the top of his now boyfriend’s pants, teasing along his hips. As Alec pulled away, he followed helplessly, not wanting to lose the contact. “You’ll have me until the day you tell me to go.” he assured, letting himself fall back onto his bed with a laugh. He propped himself up with one arm as Alec straddled him, free hand lifting to rest at the back of Alec’s neck. “It’s perfect, I promise. I’m not going anywhere.” he swore, pulling Alec down for a heated kiss. “I love you.”

Drink by Drink | bowstrung

Alec [ @bowstrung ]

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alec asked as he leaned his elbows on the counter. Part of the job was getting to know people and he’d found that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. He was generally a very caring person over being reclusive and it was easy to get lost in someone else’s problems. “I’m sorry, that sucks. No one deserves to go through that.” The guy had been cheated on and he felt terrible for him. Alec made a mental note to not give that redhead anything should she come back there. He didn’t approve of cheaters, that was for sure.

Good looking, huh? He was used to the compliments by now. This job led to them all the time. If someone wasn’t trying to get a free drink out of him, they were trying to get into his pants and he didn’t give into either of those thanks. “I didn’t want to take over the family business, so I let my sister have it. My parents also don’t approve of well…me, so I was kicked out and have to make a living somehow. This was the first place that hired me and it’s not so bad. You meet some decent people here.” And pretty ones, he noted as he looked the blonde over. If he wasn’t a customer and wasn’t hurting over being cheated on, he may have asked him out. Though Alec wasn’t always so brave. “You might want to slow down after that one,” Alec suggested with a gesture toward his glass. “You didn’t drive here, did you?”

Jace glanced up. “I guess I should have expected it. They grew up super close and they spent a ton of time together anyway, more than I spend with her.” He shrugged sluggishly, not caring much about anything but getting rid of the ache in his chest. He listened and gave a smile. “Rebel in ya, huh?” he asked, setting his glass down as the other finished. He glanced at his now empty cup and frowned. “Why? Am I somehow causing trouble?” the blonde asked, confused.

He laughed a little as the other asked if he drove. “No, my apartment is like a block from here. I can get home fine if you’re throwing me out.” he said, slouching forward a little. “I’ve always taken care of myself.” his tone was sad and hurt, but he was too drunk by then to care.