It was a recent joy to be able to tease Alec and know he would not hurt him, to see Alec standing in a different way than he used to, easy and casual and confident in his own skin, with none of his parabatai's swagger but with a quiet assurance all his own. The dimly lit stone dining room, the clatter of students eating and gossiping , faded away, nothing but background to Alec's smile.
It was a recent joy to be able to tease Alec and know he would not hurt him, to see Alec standing in a different way than he used to, easy and casual and confident in his own skin, with none of his parabatai's swagger but with a quiet assurance all his own. The dimly lit stone dining room, the clatter of students eating and gossiping , faded away, nothing but background to Alec's smile.