Leon was generally an intractable human being, the type to beat a subject into the ground, particularly with her. So when he grew quieter as soon as they were safely inside the wards of the institute, Lennon assumed it was to protect the sensitive nature of their conversation. Instead he began babbling about her aunt-in-law. Len had never met the woman, so the name was merely another token of reminder for the things that Valentine had done to her and the entire world. “Don’t you start bringing up names like Jocelyn Fairchild, things didn’t exactly end well for her.” The brunette rolled her eyes, a smile peaking through on her lips, and she admitted to herself that this was comfortable.
At least it had been getting there until Alyssa emerged from the end of the hall. The woman looked like all Herondale’s, including Leon. Tall, powerful, exuding a demand for respect from the plebeian masses below them. There’d never been a shred of respect in their relationship and Len did not hide the scowl that crossed her features. Her generalised disrespect for authority had created pitfalls for her her entire life, though the disaster of her relationship with Alyssa Emberdown lay in another Herondale. Lennon’s eyes rolled over to her parabatai, he’d grown much stiffer, adopting the formality trained into him by previous generations. This was his worst look, she fervently believed, one that belied everything about the man he genuinely was. The man she loved.
“Hi, Alyssa.” Lennon spoke softly, her voice brimming with sagacity. There were a great many things more that she wished to say, yet the younger shadowhunter held her tongue. In a display designed to piss the other off, she reached out and laced Leon’s fingers in her own. He was the source of their disgruntled nature, after all. They both loved him too much. and almost in a way she couldn’t control, Len giggled at the thought. Immediately she hid her features, knowing that Leon would be both annoyed and amused by her right then.
Leon stiffened a little more as Lennon’s hand enclosed his, then forced himself to relax. His mother hadn’t been happy when he and Lennon had taken their parabatai vows — Alyssa was one of many who disapproved of non-sibling male-female parabatai pairings, given the Clave’s stance on parabatai who fell in love. Leon had found that most of their generation found this viewpoint to be outdated, partly for it’s assumption that men and women couldn’t be ‘just friends’ and partly for it’s assumption of heterosexuality. For his part, Leon had always dismissed his mother’s concerns as foolish.
Well, he had. Until he had come to acknowledge his feelings for Lennon. Now, when he saw the way his mother looked at them, he felt something akin to guilt — even though he felt in his soul that there was nothing wrong with their love.
His mother eyed their clasped hands, arching an eyebrow. “You two are far too old to be carrying on like that. It was one thing when you were children, but now ...” She sighed. “People talk.”
Leon rolled his eyes. “Okay, Mom. The minute someone appears who might get the wrong idea, I promise to let go.” It was common for parabatai to touch — their bond made them stronger when they did, enhancing many of their powers. It was less common for parabatai to hold hands when not actively using those powers, but ... Fuck it.
Alyssa sighed like the weight of the world was resting on her chest. “There’s a briefing in fifteen minutes. Attendance is mandatory.” She sniffed, pulling a face. “And by the Angel, please clean that disgusting muck off first.”
She gave them one last look and walked back the way she came, leaving them alone once more in the corridor. Leon turned to look at Lennon, his eyebrow raised, one corner of his mouth turned up. “You little shit,” he said fondly. “I swear you wind her up on purpose.”
