One for the HIstory Books
Magnus is no stranger to the Shadowhunters using his apartment as a ‘hangout’ spot. It always starts with Jace showing up to see Alec, then Clary tends to follow Jace. Once the two of them are here, it’s only a matter of time before Simon or Isabelle (or sometimes both) wind up here as well. It’s fine. He’d prefer it if they didn’t, of course, but he will tolerate it because he can tell that Alexander likes having them around. Magnus kind of enjoys the way they liven the place up as well, no matter how often he insists that they’re an inconvenience.
It’s on one of these days that Clary, reading through her history book, utters an excited little “oh!” that certainly doesn’t fit her previous boredom over the task.
“Magnus! Look!” Clary stands from the sofa abruptly, rushing over to him with such enthusiasm that it draws the attention of everyone else in the room.
“Isn’t that Catarina?” Clary asks, practically shoving the book in his face for him to confirm. He takes a look at the photo from the Second World War showing two nurses, one of whom is absolutely Cat.
Magnus frowns. He doesn’t answer her question. Instead, he grabs the book from her to read the title and author. Handing it back to Clary, Magnus moves swiftly to his bottom desk drawer, rifling through its contents before pulling out an old, tattered leather journal. Using magic to flip through the pages, he lands on the page where the author’s last name - Mortimer - would be, only to find it not there.
“No,” Magnus says, a bit too forcefully. “I don’t think it’s her.”
Alec wanders over to where Clary stands, squinting down at the image as if that may make it different.
“…Magnus?” Alec asks slowly, eyebrow raised. He’s looking at the picture over Clary’s shoulder then back over at Magnus. “That’s absolutely Cat.”
Magnus sighs. “Fine. It is. But you can’t let her know. In fact, if I could just tear this page out, and-“ Magnus reaches over to rip the page from the top seam when Clary pulls it away to stop him.
“Hey! Stop that, it’s a rental! Textbooks are expensive!” Clary huffs, clutching the textbook to her chest protectively. “Why are you being so weird about this?”
Magnus holds up the journal from his desk.
“Catarina, Ragnor, and I have a long-running competition, of sorts, to see who can be the most photographed throughout the years. Newspaper articles, documentaries, nonfiction literature… You get the picture.”
“Literally,” says Jace, making his way over to the group to check out the book for himself, which Clary offers him while keeping one eye warily on Magnus, as if afraid he’ll try to steal it from Jace next. Jace smirks at his ‘joke’, but Magnus and Alec roll their eyes. Only Clary humors Jace with a smile.
“My dear Catarina and I are currently tied,” Magnus admits. “And this book isn’t on our records.” “Which means Cat is ahead now,” Clary says with a wide grin, as if it’s her personal victory.
“Only if she knows about this book. Which she doesn’t. And it’s going to stay that way, isn’t it?” Magnus asks pointedly, narrowed eyes resting on each of the three Shadowhunters in turn.
“Or what?” Clary challenges when Magnus’ eyes meet hers.
Magnus considers. “Or,” he begins, making his tone as cold and threatening as possible. “I’ll stop letting my home be your after-school hangout. That includes the food,” he adds when Jace begins to shrug in response. Magnus knows that’ll get him - the amount of foreign snacks Magnus portals back for everyone here is honestly impressive, even for him.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Jace says. “But I think we can keep your secret.”
“Of course,” Alec agrees easily. Not that Magnus is surprised; he knows that he has Alec on his side no matter what.
Clary remains suspiciously quiet, but nods, which Magnus accepts as a reluctant agreement to protect her boyfriend’s snack supply.
“Wonderful. Now who wants some Korean street food for dinner?”
Magnus forgot all about the history book until nearly a week later when Cat shows up at his door with a six-pack of beers in hand.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Magnus asks, gesturing her inside.
“What, a girl can’t drop in on one of her best friends for a drink and a bit of light reading?” Cat asks, placing the beers down on the counter and pulling a book out of her bag.
“Clary,” Magnus mutters, not-quite-under-his-breath. He should’ve known she couldn’t be trusted.
“I couldn’t say,” Cat admits. “It just showed up as a package for me at the hospital.”
“So much for ‘textbooks are expensive’.” Magnus mocks in his best exaggerated Clary tone of voice. “Traitors, the lot of them.” “Never can trust a Shadowhunter, can you?” Ragnor agrees, following Cat in from the hallway.
“What are you so happy about?” Magnus asks, frowning. “You’re so far behind you aren’t even in the race anymore.”
“Exactly. So I have to throw my support to Cat to make sure she knocks that ego of yours down a peg or two. I’ll celebrate her win any day.”
“Her temporary win,” Magnus points out. “She’s fallen behind before, and she’ll fall behind again.”
“But tonight, we celebrate! Where’s the journal?” Cat demands, opening a can for herself and taking a sip.
Magnus sighs and grudgingly brings out the journal with The List inside. He hands it to Catarina, who writes in the title and author as well as an updated tally for herself, before using a bit of her magic to re-alphabetize the list with the newest addition included.
Catarina: 151 Magnus: 150 Ragnor: 73
“Enjoy your temporary lead,” Magnus grumbles. “I’m spending tomorrow in the library archives.”
yousharknotpass
tangentwithtanner
baratheonpilled
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
dailybridgerton
