bakerstreet | More than arranged

More than arranged

Arranged Marriage Turned More

To have and to hold, you said, till death do us part, all while the sharp, swinging pendulum of obligation hung overhead. But how could you have truly meant those words? This union has been tainted from the start, forever bearing the chains of an arranged marriage. It would be understandable if you couldn't bear to look at your new life partner, eternal reminder of your stolen future that they are, much less like them.
Much less love them...

Still, things can change.

You could realize that they are in the same boat as you or, that when compared to others around you,
they are the lesser of evils. Perhaps you even open up to the idea of a friendship; at the very least,
an alliance may be in order to become a power couple in a perilous world. From that innocent decision or sense of self-preservation, a new feelings sparks. Something like affection.

Something, you realize in the wake of speeding heartbeats, like love.

Will you acknowledge this? Can the two of you have a happily ever after - happier than if you'd met in another fashion - or will you hold firm in your distaste?

how to play.

- Everybody loves "couples forged by less-than-ideal circumstances" tropes!
- Comment with your character, prefs, all that good stuff.
- Reply to others.
- IDEC where you set your threads, it's wide open. Fantasy world with hairy hobbits, old-timey lands, future AUs, do a space marriage for all I care. I'm sure they're still getting married in Star Wars or whatever.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

"I don't think it would offend anyone from the Downworlder side. They would all be happy to see the Accords sealed permanently with our union. Regardless of how fast we did it." He raised an eyebrow, grasping his hand again.

"Alexander, we could decide to have another ceremony later. Something larger, grander, where more people from both our worlds can attend if that is what we wish." He said softly, just staring at the other. "I have to admit though, I wished we could do this tonight or tomorrow. Then I could take you home with me..." He teased, winking at him.

"It might offend some Nephilim." But Alec didn't sound too worried about it. If the right officials were there, the union would be binding. If they rushed, then maybe he wouldn't have to deal with his parents and their attempts at grabbing whatever favor might be earned because of the wedding. "But we can smooth over any problems afterward." It probably wouldn't be that easy but Alec didn't want to wait and have everything fall apart.

"Another ceremony or a reception might be better. We could invite more people. Follow all the traditions everyone will be arguing over." If they waited for that to be sorted out, it would take them a year to get married. His strategies for dealing with annoyed politicians halted when Magnus mentioned Alec going home with him. For a moment, he stared at his fiancee, knowing he looked foolish but he had spent days avoiding thoughts about what happened after the wedding. "You want me to stay with you?"

"Well, we will be married. Isn't that what you expected? To live together?" He asked softly, tilting his head a bit. "Surely you don't think I would just leave you here once we've been married. I would never. If we want this to work, the way we have discussed, we would need to live together."

After another moment he smiled. "Obviously though, it is your choice. I would never ask you to do something you don't want to." He looked towards the door, stopping the conversation before his voice lowered. "Someone is listening. Perhaps we should have them come in." He knew there was a chance he could get in trouble for using his magic in the institute but he didn't let that stop him. His eyes changed, shifting to glowing golden cat eyes as he waved a hand and the door opened suddenly.

On the other side there was a young man with blond hair and a girl who looked strikingly similar to Alec, the both of them standing close together to listen before jumping back when the door flew open.

"I kind of did." He knew that Magnus couldn't live at the Institute and wouldn't want to. The idea of moving really hadn't occurred to him since he hadn't been sure if Magnus would want a Shadowhunter in his private space. "When I agreed to this, I assumed you wouldn't want it to be a real marriage."

Relieved that he was given a choice, he was about to say that he wanted to stay at the Institute, but realized that wasn't true. He wanted to be near his siblings, but he didn't want to be in the middle of the petty games that were a constant at the Institute, especially when those games would multiply once the treaty was official. "I want to work on making it a real marriage. If we go slow, I want to try living together."

Catching a glimpse of gold, Alec's breath caught when he saw Magnus' eyes. Then he quickly focused on the door, not wanting his fiancee to realize he'd seen his warlock mark by accident. Shaking his head, he stood, giving his parabatai a 'really, Jace?' look. "Magnus, this is my sister and my parabatai. Stalking over to the door, he whispered for them that he was fine, they needed to leave, and he'd tell them about the meeting later. When he had the door firmly shut behind him, he gave Magnus an apologetic look. "Sorry. They're just worried about me."

"We'll take it as slow as you want" He said quietly, watching him and smiling as he spoke to his sister and the other young man. "You didn't have to send them away, you know. I know many of my kind do not like shadowhunters, but I have never had a reason to have issues myself. You could have let them stay. They are important to you."

He looked down, brushing his fingers through his hair. "My home is only a few blocks away. It wouldn't take long to go back and forth anytime you wish to visit and I will never stop you from doing so. They can visit you anytime they wish as well."

Giving the door a heavy thump just in case his siblings were still listening, he returned to Magnus' side, hoping that Jace and Izzy would take the not so subtle hint he'd given them. "Thank you for being open minded about them. They're the most important beings in my life. Eventually I'd like you to meet my little brother." Maybe his parents would let him return to the Institute for the more formal wedding. "But I don't want them interrogating you when we're trying to get to know each other. They mean well..." But they would take over the conversation or Magnus might find them more interesting than Alec.

"I'd like to have them visit. I can't promise that they won't drive you crazy but it'll be because they care about me not because they're like other Shadowhunters." Reaching out, he took Magnus' hand again, thinking about the hint of gold he'd seen. "I - uh - think I saw through your glamour. I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to but your eyes are beautiful."

He looked surprised at the mention of his eyes, almost releasing the shadowhunter's hand, though he managed to work through it. "Oh. My glamour doesn't...when I use magic its hard to hide it." He was curious though, especially when Alec tol him his eyes were beautiful. "My mark doesn't...it doesn't bother you at all? Most shadowhunters find our marks unnerving. Though some are worse than others I suppose." He said quietly, bring Alec's hand up once more so he could press his lips against his knuckles.

He sighed, just slowly kissing over and over. "Would you like to see them without the glamour?" He asked, obviously hesitant about it. He tilted his head, thinking for a moment before getting up and pulling Alec up as well. He smiled, keeping hold of his hand. "Well, nothing exploded and no alarms sounded when I did that. So maybe I can get away with a little bit." He teased, once more waving his hands and turning the chairs into a single couch.

"I only saw it for a few seconds," Alec admitted, hoping that his words wouldn't bother Magnus. It was obvious that his reaction to the warlock mark wasn't expected, but he hadn't seen a reason to be afraid or repulsed by it. "When I was little, some of them bothered me, but I've seen enough of the Downworlder now that I'm not unnerved by a warlock mark." Although he was curious about Magnus' if he was so worried about it. He'd seen the gold color, reminding him of sunsets and fire, but he didn't know if there was something that would make others afraid if they saw the mark.

He must not have said something wrong or reacted poorly if Magnus was kissing his hand. Leaning in, he kissed his fiancee's cheek, wanting to prove that he wasn't afraid and that he had meant the compliment. "Only if you're comfortable with showing me. You never have to intentionally let the glamour drop if you don't want to." It wasn't right to ask that of Magnus even if they would be married soon.

Following Magnus' lead, he arched an eyebrow at Magnus' expectation of doom because of a little magic. "A little magic isn't going to set them off, especially since you're the one who set our wards." His expression turned from teasing to awe when the chairs became something much more comfortable to sit on. If he guessed correctly, the new couch was even long enough for Alec to stretch out comfortably later... If Magnus didn't change it back before he left. "I'll vouch for you if the alarms go off."

Once the couch was formed and he'd made sure it was much plusher than the chairs it had once been, he settled down, patting the spot next to himself and waiting for the man to sit beside him.

Once Alec was seating, he settled closer to him, taking his hand once more before slowly taking a breath and letting it out. He closed his eyes during this and once he opened them again he knew what Alec would see.

Magnus' eyes were a fiery gold color, glowing dispite the light of the room. The pupils were slit, like a cat's eyes as well. He studied Alec again then, waiting for his reaction.

Sitting down on the couch, he couldn't help thinking of how comfortable living with Magnus might be. Most of the furniture at the Institute was too short for him or built for strict discipline. It was something he was used to, except when he came home sore or injured after a mission. The idea of having somewhere to relax after those long days was incredibly tempting.

Almost as tempting as the being sitting beside him that seemed so nervous about his warlock mark.

Turning so that he could easily see Magnus' eyes, he tried not to react when the glamour slipped away. There was a faint, barely hidden exhale of surprise but Alec knew that at least the color of Magnus' eyes would change. The slit pupils like a cat's were different. Strange at first, unnerving if Alec had been a mundane, but not frightening. "They're beautiful, Magnus." To prove those words, he kissed his lightly on the lips, more surprised at how easily he offered affection than by Magnus' warlock mark. "Are they your only mark?"

He actually blushed slightly at the compliment, chuckling softly. "Hmm? Oh, no. I..well, I have no belly button, actually." He said, leaning back a bit and unbuttoning a few of the buttons at the bottom of his shirt. The he held his shirt open to show the smooth skin where a belly button should be.

"These are my only marks, thankfully. No strangely colored skin or scales or anything of the like for me." He said, smiling softly before he released his shirt. A few moments later he took the chance to lean in once more now that he had easier access, pressing his lips softly to Alec's.

He hadn't brought his glamour back up, staying the way he was a bit since Alec actually did seem to enjoy it.

"No belly button?" That was one he hadn't heard of before and hadn't been in the files he'd been given. He would have assumed that Magnus would have to have that feature... He almost lifted his hand, curiosity almost getting the better of him before he remembered that touching would be rude. So would staring, which he belatedly realized that he was doing.

Flushing slightly, he forced his gaze back up to Magnus' face. "The marks don't bother me but it might take a few days to get used to your eyes glowing late at night." It was a terrible attempt at teasing but it was all Alec could think of when he was completely distracted by both Magnus' eyes and the brief glimpse of skin.

Making a surprised, pleased sound when Magnus kissed him, Alec wondered if Magnus could feel how much he was blushing. "If you keep doing that, you're going to prove Izzy and Jace wrong."

"No belly button." He did notice the staring, though it didn't bother him. Not when it seemed more out of curiosity than anything else. "Never be afraid to touch me if you want, Alexander. I won't bite. Well, not unless you ask me to." He teased before laughing softly.

The teasing from the other had him raising an eyebrow, smirking and shaking his head. "Well, I keep my glamour well in place most of the time. I prefer to look as normal as I can." He explained, though his head tilted curiously.

"Going to prove them wrong how, exactly?"

No, he would not ask how that worked or why no one had noticed it before. It was rude. Magnus would think that the marks bothered him. "I'm not afraid to. It's not right to touch without permission. I - uh - don't know if I'll want to try biting." But eventually he'd want to try other things with Magnus.

"Your unglamoured eyes are normal, Magnus. They're part of you and you don't have to hide yourself from me." He paused a beat, giving himself permission to joke since Magnus didn't seem to mind his attempts at humor. "I'll just have to remember that if you're awake when I come home from missions there could be gold glowing eyes in the apartment."

Looking down at their joined hands, he knew that what he'd said was true. Magnus would make those comments Jace and Izzy had thrown at him for years invalid. "They used to say I didn't like anyone and I never would relax around anyone who wasn't my sibling." There had been a few times that Izzy had commented that he needed to quit hiding and go find a boy to kiss, but Magnus didn't need to know that.

[OOC: Sorry so late. Once more, holiday season is killing me haha.]

Magnus stared at him for a long moment, obviously shocked that Alec had said his marks were normal. "You truly believe that." He said quietly, smiling before once more pulling Alec close and pressing their lips together once more. He sighed into the kiss, closing his eyes before he ended up just wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Then he raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly. "You should think about the biting. I promise it can be very...erotic." He whispered in Alec's ear before giving a very gentle nip to his earlobe, then he pulled back. His eyes continued to glow as he stared at his future husband.

[OOC: No problem. Things have been really busy for me too.]

"Yeah, I - " The rest of the words were forgotten as Magnus kissed him gain. Automatically, he put his arms around his fiancee. It should have felt strange. He wasn't affectionate, at least not according to his siblings. He was closed off, guarded, but with Magnus he didn't want to be that way. He wanted to be open with the person he would promise to spend his life with. He wanted to keep surprising Magnus and to make him sigh like that when they kissed.

He started to stutter out something about knowing it was supposed to be erotic. He wasn't as sheltered or closeted as Izzy assumed. They did have the internet and he lived in New York. He knew a few things about sex even if he had never tried them.

Until now. Shivering at the feeling of teeth against his ear, Alec made a sound that immediately made him blush. Worse, he was sure that Magnus could see how color was spilling across his skin thanks to his mark. "Is this normal?" he blurted out before he realized that it was a terrible question to ask, but it'd be worse if he didn't explain. "I've never really been drawn to someone before."

He let the tips of his fingers brush gently over his cheeks when he saw the blush, smiling indulgently before he seemed to consider the question. "I would say no, but...well I think I would have been drawn to you even if this arrangement had never been made. You are stationed at the New York Institute. I'm sure we would have met eventually." He murmured softly.

"I know the feeling though. I have...well, as I've said, I've been alive a long time. I've had lovers, but never have I been so drawn to someone from the moment of meeting them." He watched as he let his thumb brush over Alec's lower lip.

"I have a very good feeling that you and I will be very happily married." He said, chuckling softly. "Seeing as I am already looking forward to our wedding...and the wedding night." He teased playfully.

"Technically, I'm supposed to be the Head of the Institute. Someday." But that might not be true now. Would the Clave allow someone who was married to a Downworlder become the head of an Institute? "I would have been drawn to you if we met in other circumstances but I wouldn't have acted on it." Alec would have ignored his interests, content with watching his siblings be happy and never trying to find his own.

He knew that he wasn't Magnus' first anything, or assumed he wasn't until his fiancee admitted that whatever it was that was bringing them together was new to both of them. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on their conversation, not the unexpected fantasies that kept tempting him whenever Magnus touched him. By the Angel, he had better control than this...

But for the first time he really didn't have to hide from someone. There were still things he wasn't ready to share with someone who was basically a stranger, but he didn't have to hide his sexuality or pretend he didn't want the kind of life that Izzy had been pushing him to find. "There's more to marriage than attraction, Magnus. And I don't know if I'll want that wedding night with someone I've basically just met." He probably would but that didn't mean he'd give in to that impulse. He'd seen too many broken marriages among the Nephilim not to be cautious about a relationship that would last a lifetime.

"You wouldn't have acted on it, but I would have. And I can assure you I am very persuasive. I would have at least gotten a date out of you. Hopefully more." He said with a soft, teasing smile. "I'm sure eventually you would have seen that this was meant to be."

He hummed as he listened, nodding. "Of course. Even with the time we will spend together before, we will both still be little more than strangers to one another." He said, settling a bit as he moved and just took Alec's hand in his, resting them on his leg. "Alexander, I promise you I will not pressure you into anything. I might say I look forward to it...and I do, but only when we have both decided we are ready." He said softly, brushing his thumb over the back of the man's hand.

"Even I can feel that this is very special. This isn't something that I want to rush into either. I want to do things right. With you." He smiled.

"You would have chased after me?" he teased, not sure if he liked that idea or not. He shouldn't. Normally he was direct too direct to really understand the games of flirting that Izzy and Jace played with whoever caught their interest. But the idea of Magnus wanting to persuade him had a certain allure to it. "Eventually, but I probably wouldn't have made it easy for you."

Maybe that was why Alec was letting this happen without fighting it. He wanted to protect his siblings and the Downworlders. No matter the circumstances of their engagement, there was no going back. Fighting it and denying his attraction would only make them both miserable. If there was a possibility that they could be happy, why not act on it?

"Thank you for giving me - us - time." Relaxing as Magnus reassured him that they wouldn't rush, he smiled at the simple show of the affection that Alec was certain would grow between them. "I look forward to it too. I just don't want you to be disappointed if it takes awhile for me to be ready." Looking down at their hands, he smiled wryly. "I never thought I'd be able to come out so all of this is new." Wanting and wishing to be with someone didn't really prepare him for the reality of being married in a few days.

"I would have. And even if it took years, I believe it definitely would have been worth it." He smiled, still just holding his hands. "Even now, I suppose in a way this would be the same. I won't have to chase you necissarily, but it will take time for us. For both of us."

He continued stroking his thumb along the man's skin slowly. "We will take our time with this. With one another. I want to get to know you and everything about you. The things you love, the things that drive you." He pulled his hand up, kissing his knuckles.

"And lets start now. I know we've talked a little bit, but I want you to tell me something about you. Tell me some of the things you enjoy."

"It would be worth waiting for years for you." It might have taken years for Alec to accept himself and to quit being concerned about living up to his parents standards, but once he had accepted himself... He was lucky that the arranged marriage was forcing him to move past that at a quicker pace than he would have before.

"I'll take my time with you, Magnus. Tell me if I'm rushing anything or if I'm making mistakes. I don't really have an idea how healthy relationships work." His parents' marriage was a disaster and most Shadowhunter relationships seemed to be based on politics, not affection. Alec wasn't sure what people did in normal relationship.

"Things like how much PDA is okay." Since he rarely saw it except when he was out among Mundanes, he didn't know if Magnus' signs of affection were normal or meant to reassure him that the marriage wasn't going to be terrible.

He almost began with describing his archery, but decided that he should share something about himself that wasn't based on being a Shadowhunter. "I used to read fantasy novels when I was a boy, but I haven't read one in a long time." Training and learning to run the Institute had taken away all his free time. "I love music. Jace used to give me piano lessons whenever my parents weren't around. We used to sneak around the Institute, hoping our tutor never noticed. I think he did but he never told anyone."

"PDA? Oh. So long as we aren't just openly groping one another or anything inappropriate then I am alright with whatever you are comfortable with." He answered, shifting around before pulling Alec closer and resting his arm around his shoulders though still holding his hand.

He smiled when the man started telling him things, looking fond. "Well, I happen to have an extensive library at my home if you'd like to go through it." He said, thinking about it. "I could help you continue those lessons if you wish. I have a piano at my loft." He loved hearing that though.

"I adore music. Perhaps for our honeymoon I could take you around the world to different music events happening." He smiled.

"I wouldn't grope you in the middle of the Institute!" He'd probably be put on ichor duty if he did. What Alec was comfortable with... he wasn't sure. That was probably something else that they'd learn over time as they got to know each other.

"I would, but I didn't think you'd be the type to read about wizards and elves." Wouldn't it be difficult to not be critical at the differences between real magic and the magic described in books? "I'd like to continue. I always was a little envious of Jace being able to play." Not because Jace was better. Alec had accepted his parabatai's ability to excel in most things years ago but he wished he could create beautiful music. "Do you play?"

Honeymoon? "You were planning a honeymoon?"

"I would hope not. My luck someone would think I was casting some sort of spell on you and try to cut my hand off." He said teasingly, winking at him and then leaning in and kissing him once more, soft and lingering.

"Just because I'm a Warlock and can actually use magic doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading the way the mundanes write about it. The fantastical stories they come up with." He shook his head, his smile going bright. He thought a bit before nodding. "I do play. I actually enjoy the piano quite a lot and I would love to teach you. I can also play guitar."

He looked at Alec, watching him for a moment before nodding. "I thought it would be nice. As I said before, this doesn't have to be strictly political. I want both of us to be happy."

More than arranged

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