It was odd how quickly things changed. Just weeks ago, Molly had been the one to lose people he cared about, and Alec had been the one to comfort him. Now, Alec had lost everyone important to him and Molly was the one trying to offer comfort as best he could. Comfort and a place to stay. The latter of which might not have been the best idea.
Because there was something between him and Alec. Yes, he’d flirted, almost from the moment he’d met the Shadowhunter. And Alec had been, in turn, receptive and reserved. But never dismissive or offended. He’d certainly never been asked to stop. However flirting was one thing. What they were dancing around now was something bigger than that. It was clear Alec wanted him, and he found that he wanted him too. But, more than that, he cared about Alec. He wanted something more serious than the flings he’d always engaged in. And Molly could admit - if only to himself - that the thought intimidated him.
Still, right now, all he wanted to do was support Alec as he struggled with his loss and make sure he was alright. Molly tried to rein his feelings in as best he could, not wanting to put too much pressure on Alec when he had so much on his plate.
Making his way to the second bedroom where Alec was unpacking his things, Molly leaned in the doorway so he could watch him. “How are you holding up, darling?”
Alec had been absolutely lost at first. Without Jace and Clary there, he had nothing tethering himself to home anymore. The thought was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. But mostly, he just knew he was going to miss them.
He'd almost moved in with Squall, at least for a little while, but hearing that Seifer looked so much like Jace, he didn't think he could handle it. Seeing his face but not feeling his parabatai bond would've hurt too deeply. And he could've stayed alone but maybe it was better to stay with someone else. Maybe he shouldn't be alone.
It was complicated, staying with Molly, because Alec liked him. He more than liked him: he wanted him. Liking, he was used to. He'd spent years pining over Jace. He'd nursed a quiet crush on Magnus until he'd been backed into a corner about it. If he just liked Molly from afar, he could've kept that up forever. But Molly wasn't afar. Molly was close and Alec wasn't sure he could trust himself, in a place where he didn't have his parents or the Clave, not to try to take what he wanted. He could. Like Molly told him - it was okay to want things for himself.
He didn't have much to unpack, really. There were clothes, his bow and quiver full of arrows, and a few things he'd acquired since getting here. He was standing and contemplating the dresser when he heard Molly's voice behind him.
"Hey," he greeted him, only slightly awkward since everything he'd said to him. "I'm okay," he told him. And maybe he was. "I promise."
Molly knew this was a complicated situation. He had feelings - a new and somewhat unsettling reality - and so did Alec. But Alec didn’t seem ready to act on said feelings, so they were at something of an impasse for the moment. It wasn’t that Molly didn’t want to act, but he didn’t want to make Alec uncomfortable. It was all too clear this was new for the Shadowhunter. And, in some ways, it was new for Molly too. He’d had flings and trysts and whatnot, but he’d never really dealt with feelings. Not serious ones.
Maybe it had been stupid to invite Alec to stay with him, knowing all of this, but he didn’t like the idea of him being alone. Alec seemed to internalize so much, and he didn’t want to leave him alone with his feelings. Besides, he liked to be there for the people he cared about, and Alec was most certainly on the list. It would be silly to not help him just because of some pesky feelings.
So he would just ignore his feelings until he was sure that Alec was in a place to deal with them. Which was hard when Alec was so handsome and intriguing and unintentionally charming. But it was fine. It would be fine.
He continued watching from the doorway, floundering for anything else to say and hoping he wasn’t bothering Alec. Maybe he wanted to be alone. It would be understandable, all things considered, if he did. But Molly just wanted to be around him. “I’m glad,” he said. “If you...need anything...you only have to ask, you know.”
Alec wasn't good at, well, any of this. At people. At dealing with things out loud or in writing, even. So if he was making Molly feel like he was floundering - beautiful, extroverted, flirtatious Molly - then Alec was absolutely drowning. All he wanted to do was to be near him, to talk to him. And there were other things that he wanted, of course, but those came with a lot of fear and baggage.
He closed his sock drawer and moved toward the doorway, reaching out to take one of Molly's hands, leading him into the room. There was a gentle way he had, quiet and thoughtful, like he'd formulated this plan and visualized it a few times before he'd executed it.
"Let's talk about this," he told Molly, as he laced their fingers together, trying to pretend that it didn't send a shiver of excitement and nerves right up his back. "About… us, about everything."
Moonweaver, this was stupid. All Alec had done was take hold of his hand and he could feel his stomach fluttering wildly and his heart beating faster. He wasn’t used to it and he had no idea what to do. He was so used to being able to bullshit his way through the things he didn’t understand, but this was something entirely different. If Beau could see him right now, she would never let him live it down.
He let himself be led - as much because he didn’t know how to react as because he was happy to follow Alec - curious where this was going. He’d agreed to take his time, but this didn’t really feel like it was following that plan. Not that he minded. Whatever pace Alec wanted, he was more than willing to adapt.
“Alright,” he said, looking up at Alec and feeling an overwhelming fondness. Forget Beau, even Jester would give him shit for being this sappy. “Let’s talk. Where do you want to start.” Gods, but Alec was so pretty and his eyes were lovely and Molly was completely gone for him.
If anyone thought that Alec had a plan for what he was going to say, they didn't know him. He went quiet as he thought about it; sitting, holding Molly's hand, looking down at the contrast between their skin colors. Molly was so beautiful and different from anyone he'd ever met. He couldn't help but be fascinated and attracted to all of those differences. The tail, the horns, the gorgeous purple skin. Those teeth.
"I like you," Alec started. It felt woefully inadequate. "I more than like you. I think about you all the time. It's like my thoughts are all Molly-shaped and even when I'm not actually thinking about you, you're in the background."
It was important for him to say those things to Molly. He went so long thinking and not saying things when he wanted to, and he always did things when it was almost too late. Not this time.
"And I don't think I want to see another day come where I haven't kissed you yet."
I like you.
Three simple words, but they made Molly’s heart skip a beat in his chest. Wow. Was this what it was like for everyone? Was this why Beau turned into an absolute moron around Yasha - and, if he was being honest, any attractive, competent woman? He’d never really understood it. He had his fun and he flirted, but he’d never wanted more than that. Not until he’d met Alec and suddenly found himself struggling with the idea that he maybe did want more.
And then Alec was saying more. That he ‘more than liked him’, which was unbearably endearing, and that he thought about him all the time. It was sweet and charming and Molly felt that same overwhelming fondness that was so common when he was around Alec.
He wasn’t expecting Alec to come out and say that he wanted to kiss him. He’d expected they might have to ease around Alec’s insecurities for a while longer. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a welcome surprise.
“Well then,” he said, his throat suddenly dry with anticipation, “I think perhaps you should go ahead and kiss me, Alexander. I wouldn’t want you to suffer any longer.” When Alec had his mind made up, he acted with certainty. He was going to kiss Molly; he was pretty sure he wouldn't decline the suggestion and when he agreed, it brought a smile to Alec's face. A slow quirk of the corner of his mouth.
"Put me out of my misery," he agreed with a glimmer of amusement in his eye, and he lifted his hand to cup Molly's cheek, looking down at him with affection and interest and attraction all plainly written over his face.
His thumb touched over Molly's lower lip. It was so soft and plush. Alec took care, bending and giving him the most tender of kisses, sweet and gentle but with something kindling underneath it, heat there where he was shoving it down.
Molly laughed as Alec spoke, the sound warm and fond. “Not for a good long while, darling,” he said. “I rather wanted to keep you around.” He could feel himself flushing slightly under the Shadowhunter’s gaze and cursed himself for being so ridiculous. He didn’t get flustered.
Molly had expected Alec to be more hesitant. He’d been so cautious with all of this. So halting in his affections. But it appeared that when Alec committed to something, he did so wholeheartedly. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, given how he was about most things, but Molly still found himself startled by it.
The kiss itself was unlike anything Molly had experienced, and he melted into it. This was entirely different than the flings he’d had and he felt overwhelmed by it. He forced himself not to push, to just let the kiss happen without giving in to the desire for more. Not just yet.
“That was,” he said, pulling away only just enough to speak, “very good. Very nice. But maybe...just in case...we should try that again.”
Alec felt like he was pouring his feelings into that kiss, trying to show Molly everything he felt that he couldn't put into words. How his hands curled around Molly's cheeks like he was something precious and delicate, because he'd died before he came here and Alec wanted to protect him from anything.
How he sucked on Molly's lower lip when he kissed him again, just for a few seconds, before he kissed him fully, deeper, because he wanted him and there were needs he had that he'd denied for so long, ones that Molly brought bubbling to the surface.
And he pulled back, fingers smoothing up Molly's cheek to one of his horns, tracing over it with curious fingertips. He wondered if Molly felt them but he was too nervous to ask.
He wasn't too nervous to take a third kiss, unbidden, though.
Alec might not have had much in the way of experience, but he certainly had good instincts. Molly’s hands had settled on Alec’s waist, just holding on as he lost himself in the experience of kissing him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t kissed people before. He’d never been the sort to treat sex as something to be rushed and he was a big proponent of everyone involved having a good time. But kissing Alec was just different.
Maybe it was just that he’d never had anyone treat him so gently before. Like he was important. People liked him, of course, but there were definitely certain opinions about tieflings that fed into how people treated him even in intimate settings. That and he’d always engaged in casual things.
It was good that Alec was letting go, letting himself take what he wanted. It was obvious to Molly that Alec struggled with that, so when Alec kissed him a third time without needing to be asked first, it was encouraging. Molly let himself focus on the kiss, letting go of his own concerns about pushing too hard to taking too much. If Alec thought he was taking things too far, he was sure he would let him know.
So he stopped holding back quite so much. Let his claws dig just slightly into Alec’s hips as he pulled him closer. Nipped at Alec’s lower lip with his fangs for just a moment - not enough to make the Shadowhunter bleed but enough to catch his attention. Made a pleased sound against the Shadowhunter’s mouth as Alec’s fingers brushed along one of his horns. Alec had assured him he liked the things about him that gave some people pause. He saw no reason to hold that back.
That third kiss got him going. Alec had been doing a fairly good job of holding himself back and keeping the strongest of his urges in check until he felt claws digging into his hips and fangs, sharp, against his lower lip. His heart raced, going wild in his chest like a wild caged bird.
Fingers slid through Molly's hair and to the back of his neck to pull him closer, hard, body pressing firm against his. The sound he made after that touch of teeth was a low growl, swelling in his throat.
The response was obvious and immediate. He liked those parts of Molly, to feel them and liked the bite of claws and the scrape of fangs. And Alec wanted more of that, even if he didn't know how to ask for it out loud. But, reacting like that, he probably didn't need to.
He ended the kiss, pulling back to look down at Molly, his eyes darkened because his pupils were so blown. And Alec reached around his back, fingers touching to Molly's tail.
Molly had every intention of being responsible about this. Of slowing things down and making sure that they didn’t get too caught up in the moment. The last thing he wanted to do was rush Alec. He knew this was new for him and he didn’t want him to regret anything that happened between them.
But there was something about Alec taking initiative that did something to him. He liked the forceful side of the Shadowhunter and wanted to see where it would lead. And he certainly didn’t want to discourage Alec from going after what he wanted or make him feel like there was anything wrong with any of this. Because there wasn’t.
But it left him between a proverbial rock and a...well...it was certainly a hard place. He was so glad that nobody was around to know he’d had that thought. Beau might actually kill him again for how terrible that pun was.
Alec pulled back and Molly was fully prepared to suggest they slow down. But then Alec’s fingers were on his tail and he felt a jolt. His eyes slipped closed with a low moan and he dragged Alec down into another kiss. He could be sensible later.
Alec had been thinking about Molly's tail a lot. It felt like the perfect intersection of his fascination with everything that made Molly different and the needs that Alec tried to dampen down. It was vaguely demonic and objectively sexy, and he'd found his mind drawn back to it over and over. He'd even mentioned it to Molly, when they were talking before.
And now he had his chance. He could touch, could feel the texture of the skin covering it and whether it was the same as the rest of Molly. He could trace the shape with his fingers. He could stroke his hand as far down it as he could reach.
He hadn't expected the moan. It caught him by surprise, lips parting and meeting that next kiss, groaning faintly in answer and he let his hand rest, fingers splayed around where the tail connected to his body, holding him close by the grip.
There was a little voice in the back of his head that was telling him that he should stop, that *they were supposed to be talking and this wasn't talking* but he could barely hear it over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.
Alec eased back from the kiss, looking down at Molly for a quiet few seconds, catching his breath while he thought about what to say. "I'm glad we're having this chat," he said at last.
Molly’s tail was sensitive. Not all of it. That would have been wildly inconvenient for his daily life. But the base of it, the part that Alec was touching, was very sensitive. And Alec’s touch felt good. Embarrassingly good. It wasn’t like nobody had touched it before, but most of the time people avoided the less human aspects of his body. But Alec embraced those parts of him and it made Molly feel a kind of way.
He knew he was being reckless here. That he should slow things down and actually talk to Alec and not let them get carried away. He was the experienced one here and he needed to be sure he wasn’t pushing Alec. That he wasn’t taking things too far, too fast. That Alec wouldn’t regret this. He was pretty sure he couldn’t take it if Alec regretted this. If Alec regretted him. He was already so terribly fond of the Shadowhunter, and he didn’t want to ruin things by rushing.
And then Alec was pulling back to talk and Molly couldn’t stop the helplessly fond laugh that spilled out at his words. “It’s a very nice chat,” he agreed. Fuck, but he was absolutely smitten, wasn’t he?
“We should talk though,” he said, forcing himself to be serious. “Is this...is it okay. I don’t want to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I don’t want to do anything you would regret, Alexander.”
Alec had a similarly fond smile on his face when Molly spoke. It made him feel warm and soft (on the inside) that he was so concerned with making sure that Alec was sure. He let his arms relax around Molly slightly, his hand smoothing back up to that dip of his lower back.
"Sometimes it seems like I'm slow to make a decision, like I spend way too much time thinking and deciding," Alec told him. "That's because I always want to be sure, when I act. You don't need to wonder if I'm sure when I'm doing something, because by the time I'm doing it, I've thought about it for longer than most people would."
Alec didn't generally say that many words but it was important to him that Molly know what he meant, fully.
"Remember when I was super embarrassing and said I was a big boy? I meant it. I'm not going to regret anything with you, Molly. I promise you that."
Molly could acknowledge that he had - if not necessarily intentionally - been coddling Alec. He’d let himself worry too much and ignored the fact that Alec was a grown man who could make his own decisions. He was a bit embarrassed by that fact, but reassured himself that it wasn’t that he didn’t trust or respect Alec. He simply wanted to be careful with something and someone very important to him.
“There is nothing wrong with being deliberate, dear,” he assured Alec. “I like that you think things through. I like that you consider everything and weigh things carefully. Because that means that when you choose to be with me...it means something. Which is good...because this means something to me too. You mean something to me...you mean a lot to me.”
He laughed, shaking his head as Alec reminded him of that. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll trust you to know what you want. And I won’t hold back out of some misguided sense of concern.”
He smiled, more mischievous than before, and pushed Alec gently back onto the bed before settling on his lap. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got, big boy?”
A smile quirked at the corner of Alec's mouth as Molly spoke. He understood him, truly, and that was something that had always felt rare. "It means a lot," Alec agreed. "You mean a lot."
He let himself be pushed back onto the bed, bouncing slightly as he settled, hands drawn to Molly's hips like it was magnetic.
"I've got a thing or two I can show you," Alec promised, smirk pressed up into Molly's mouth with that kiss, slow and deep, and he pulled him down more firmly against him. Something told him Molly was going to show him more, all kinds of things he'd been missing.