Feeling Inspired
(Read on AO3) (Flufftober Day 30: Pumpkin)
Luke is at the bookshop with Maryse, spending some of his day off there while he helps put together a few new sets of shelves she got for her ever-expanding collection. The store is taking off in a big way, and because the majority of the books are used she welcomes donations of any kind. This past week some generous person gave her several boxes full of horror novels just in time for the Halloween rush of October, and she’s eager to give them a proper display area to draw attention.
Luke’s about halfway done, kneeling on the floor to hammer the backing on, when Magnus and Alec swing by for just a few minutes to drop off something for Maryse. They’re dressed for more time outside than a quick trip from the loft to the bookstore, both wearing hats and scarves and even gloves, though Alec’s are fingerless as usual.
“Going somewhere?” Maryse asks.
“We’re going to pick pumpkins,” Magnus informs her proudly. “And then we’re going to carve them, because apparently you deprived your son of the joys of pumpkin carving as a child.”
Maryse rolls her eyes good-naturedly at that statement. “Well I can’t be entirely to blame, it isn’t as if I”ve ever carved a pumpkin either,” she points out.
Luke stops mid-hammer to stare up at her with an expression of shock that mirrors Magnus’.
“What?” Luke asks, putting the tool on the ground before pushing himself up off the floor.
“Oh come now, Lucian. You were raised a Shadowhunter, too. Don’t act so surprised,” Maryse defends.
“Can you believe the both of them?” Magnus says, speaking to Luke this time. “That settles it. Alexander and I will each pick out an extra pumpkin and the two of you can come over for dinner and some pumpkin carving later.”
Maryse looks like she’s about to argue, or give some reason why they can’t, but Luke speaks before she can.
“We’ll be there,” Luke agrees. “It’s definitely time to right this very tragic Lightwood family wrong.”
---
Alec can’t imagine his mother wrist-deep in pumpkin goo and seeds, but then again he couldn’t imagine himself doing that, either. Yet here they both are, standing next to one another and sharing occasional looks of mutual confusion over exactly why they’re doing this.
“Keep that!” Magnus says quickly, before Alec can get rid of the pile of seeds he just dug out of his own pumpkin. “We can clean the seeds and roast them later.”
“...we can what?” Alec repeats, eyebrow raised.
“That actually sounds delicious,” Maryse admits, eyeing her own pile of seeds. “Can I borrow a container for mine, Magnus?”
Magnus beams. “That’s the spirit! Of course you may.” He gives a quick wave of his hand and summons a spare Tupperware container onto the table.
“Why can’t we just clean the pumpkins out with magic?” Alec asks.
“Because that’d be cheating,” Magnus points out. “Cleaning them out is half the fun!”
“If you say so,” Alec says, but between the banter that follows with his mother and Luke and the easy laughter that bursts out of him when he looks up to see his mother with pumpkin seeds in her hair, it looks like Alec is having plenty of fun.
They all are, in fact. Luke chases Maryse around the room with hands full of goo, Maryse counters trying to upend her entire cut-open pumpkin over him, and Magnus takes to flinging individual pumpkin seeds with his magic at the lot of them whenever they aren’t looking.
Maryse turns out to be a natural at the actual carving of the pumpkin, deciding to outline a ghost silhouette rather than make a traditional face. Luke opts for something a bit more intricate - the shape of a cliff, with a wolf on it, and a moon carved out a little higher.
Magnus goes the route of a more typical jack-o-lantern face with slanted eyes and jagged teeth that remind them more of a demon than a pumpkin face. And finally, having kept his own pumpkin turned towards himself as he worked diligently, Alec is the final one to finish.
“Well?” Magnus says, moving to walk behind Alec. “Let’s see it!”
“It isn’t much,” Alec says quietly, but he smiles softly at Magnus as he turns it around for them to see. “But you definitely inspired me.”
The design is simple, but there’s one detail in particular that makes Magnus’ lips turn up in an immediate grin because on Alec’s pumpkin is a face, but that face has a very distinct set of cat eyes which Magnus knows, once the candle is lit inside the pumpkin, will have an endearing golden glow to them not unlike his own.
“Inspired, eh?” Magnus says with a half-smile and cocked an eyebrow.
“Do you like it?” Alec asks.
Magnus walks over and wraps his arms around Alec’s waist, pulling him close with his unglamoured eyes shining bright before giving Alec a quick kiss. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
“Much like it’s inspiration,” Alec adds, leaning in for another quick kiss, which elicits simultaneous groans from Maryse and Luke. Magnus and Alec can only laugh. They have no idea when they became that couple, but they find neither of them particularly mind… and judging by the fond smiles on Maryse and Luke’s faces, they don’t think that anyone else does, either.
