Chapter Text
Magnus didn't do mornings. He wasn't that kind of person. He'd be able to stay up until god knows what hour in the morning, no problem, yet faced with the simple task of waking up early seemed like an impossibility for him. In his old age, although he would refuse to admit it, Magnus Bane had gotten stubborn. He had said he'd stay young, never grow up, keep his youth and not grow stale, yet he sat up in bed and looked out at the great city of New York, the not so busy streets of four am, the calm before the storm. He sighed. He used to love it, but now it felt like more of an annoyance than beauty. It was, of course, the city that never sleeps.
If he could wake up any later, he would've done it one hundred percent, yet his client that morning required a ritual to be performed before dawn. He wouldn't have agreed to it, of course, if he didn't receive substantial pay for his work, which he had been paid already in advance. So there he was, getting ready for a morning of work. Keeping up an appearance was still in line and after a moment of contemplation, he chose a emerald green mesh shirt, suede trousers and dark brown boots; suitable for simple demon summoning. Flicking his wrist, Magnus opened a portal to the warehouse where he'd perform the ritual, stepping through, the portal closed swiftly behind him.
The doors to the training room banged open as Jace burst into the room. Ever since the war against Valentine started up once again and he'd returned from being his prisoner, Jace acted as if he was invincible; like nothing could touch him. As if he was indispensable.
He wasn't.
Alec sat off to the side of the room, minding his own business, only looking back to see his brother enter. He hated drawing attention to himself. He was already odd, choosing a bow and quiver as his main weapon instead of a seraph blade. Being in the center of the training room meant people looked at you, judged you, gossiped about you. He didn't need that, not like anyone would care. He was acting head of the New York Institute, not a true warrior. Not like Izzy or Jace. Especially not like Jace. He didn't need any more things to worry about.
Which is why he was going to have a little meeting with the High Warlock of Brooklyn that night. Alec didn't have an appointment at all but he wouldn't think Magnus Bane of all people would say no to the acting head of the NYI, let alone a Lightwood. At least that's what his mother had said to him,
"Demand, Alec. He has to listen to you. We are his superiors" She had said. Alec didn't agree with her. He believed downworlders should be treated as equal. The same way he treated mundanes and other shadowhunters, although he'd never say it out loud. Maryse Lightwood was a very traditional woman; she and his father, Robert, were the reason Alec was going to talk to Magnus in the first place.
Alec liked boys.
He'd known for a long time, far before he realized it was wrong for not only a boy to like other boys but especially that male shadowhunters shouldn't like other boys. It was known fact that there were two main factors in shunned relationships. The first was relationships between downworlders and shadowhunters and the second was relationships between same-sex couples. God knows what would happen if someone was in the unfortunate situation where they fell into both of those categories, and Alec didn't want to find out.
He first realized he was gay when Jace arrived at the institute. He wasn't technically his brother but they were raised together. Alec convinced himself it was brotherly love, nothing more, nothing less. They trained to be parabatai, the feeling of love and adoration was 'supposedly normal' between them, he said to himself. He liked Jace because he was safe. He would always be there for him.
When he was 12, he heard the word 'gay' for the first time. He'd heard it from his father's mouth.
"Alexander, Bows are for Gays and you're not one of them so learn how to use it or pick up a blade instead."
He had grown up with gay used as an insult and by the time he was 14, he knew what it really meant and associated the word with disappointment and negativity. Which when he realized that he wasn't attracted to girls, left his head in a war zone. It fought itself from the inside out, and although he tried to keep it internalized, people sometimes noticed. He passed it off as stress from running the Institute while his parents were off in Idris.
Alec was 99% sure Izzy knew about it. She somehow always knew, even if he hadn't even spoken a word about it. She just picked up on things silently, not judging but always making sure that she was there to talk to if he needed to. He didn't. He was going to see Magnus Bane, he was going to be the one who would fix everything. He's the High Warlock of Brooklyn. He has magic. Alec was sure it'd all be okay.
Magnus returned to his loft that morning at quarter-past nine. It was a pleasant and sunny Friday morning in mid June. He had no more clients until Sunday evening and he was unbelievably tired. The demon summoning took more energy than he had expected and he had to wait for some of it to replenish before he could make a portal back home. He opened the curtains in his bedroom and sunlight quickly shone through his window onto his satin bed sheets where his cat, Chairman Meow lay sleeping.
Magnus shooed the chairman off his bed and crawled atop the covers, letting the warmth of the sun put him to sleep after a stressful morning of magic.
He seemed to have slept through nearly the entire day as when he woke up, it was almost 1 am that night. Magnus was rudely awakened by the sound of his intercom buzzer sounding noisily by the front door. He didn't often get visitors this early in the day, especially on Saturday mornings when it was pretty well known that he normally spent the majority of his evenings and mornings at Pandemonium, the nightclub he owned. Making himself presentable as he walked towards the buzzing box on his wall, he eventually had enough of the awful noise and finally replied to the relentless visitor standing downstairs.
"Magnus Bane speaking. Do not waste my time, what is it? What do you want?" Magnus spoke loudly into the microphone.
He heard a gasp in response and chuckled. He could still intimidate people. Good. The person on the other side stayed silent.
"I don't have all day here and I said don't waste my time. Why are you here?"
If Magnus didn't get an answer, he'd tell whoever who was at the door to go away. If he got an answer, if it was compelling enough, he just might let the person in. Of course, he'd also need an incentive.
After a few seconds of silence, a man's voice came through the intercom.
"Uh-um, hi... Magnus Bane, I'm Alec Lightwood, acting head of the New York Institute... I-I was wondering if I could talk to you? If it's no bother?"
'Alec Lightwood' Magnus thought to himself. He knew of the Lightwood family, he'd seen their ancestors live and die over a couple centuries. They were complete and utter assholes to him, and now one of them stood on his doorstep asking if he'd talk to him. What a joke. He should've stopped listening once the word 'Lightwood' left the boy's mouth. Serves them right for treating him badly for years. He'd finally get to hurt their family back.
"Lightwood, I do not help Shadowhunters, especially those of your family. Do not disturb me again." He bellows through the speaker.
"This is not a family matter, Bane." Alec's voice says, even less confident than the first time he spoke.
Magnus sighed. He despised shadowhunters but at the same time, they were also part human, as was he. It was his soft area. That little part of humanity that not only kept him sane but also stopped him from being a complete dick to people, although it did take a while to learn how to harness the humanity inside of him. If Alec wasn't lying about it not being a family matter, then although his family had harmed him, Alec hadn't. Yet.
Tiredly Magnus spoke again. "Lightwood. I'm sure whatever you require from me didn't have to wait until 2 am. If you could come back at another time, I'm sure I could attempt to listen too whatever's going on in that little head of yours."
"Warlock Bane, I-"
Magnus hated the title 'Warlock Bane'.
"Call me Bane if you must, my title degrades me" He cut in before Alec started talking again.
"Um, sorry, Bane... I'm not sure if I can do this another time... See, I sneaked out of the Institute just to come talk to you. I wasn't sure what I was expecting exactly but I really do need the help. Please"
Magnus pinched the bridge of his nose. Nobody had asked him for help like that in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time someone had asked him for help by using the word 'please' so why was Alec Lightwood, child of the unpleasant Maryse and Robert Lightwood, asking for his help at this time of night?
He made up his mind. A last minute decision. In the morning, he would most likely regret it but the boy needed his help and Magnus wasn't the High Warlock of Brooklyn for nothing.
"Very well, Lightwood, I'll let you up but this doesn't guarantee that I'll help you. I'm simply assessing your situation" He said before buzzing Alec into the building.
Magnus had never met Alec. Of the few times he was invited to the institute to strengthen the protective wards, he tried to avoid any interaction with any shadowhunters. He knew Maryse had a son and daughter and that they had adopted a child however he never cared about their lives and didn't think it was important to keep the information relevant. He stayed out of the war against Valentine as it was well known that he was hunting warlocks. He hadn't exactly been in hiding but he did put up more protection around him and in the back of his head, he couldn't help but think that Alexander Lightwood was a trap.
Alec had slipped past the guards at midnight. He hadn't wanted to leave it as late as he left it but he was called on a last minute demon hunt with Jace and his apparent girlfriend-turned-sister, Clary. The hunt took longer than they had all thought because for some reason, the tension between Clary and Jace slowed them both down.
He took the subway to where he was told was Magnus' apartment building and stood quietly on the porch of the building, contemplating what he could possibly say to a high warlock, someone with such a large reputation. Alec was just Alec. Acting head, nothing else. He stood in the shadows, why did he expect Magnus Bane to help him?
Because he was the only answer. He was the only person who could fix everything.
Fix him.
Alec found his name and pressed the buzzer. Once, twice, three times. He got no reply. Like a madman, he pressed the intercom button over and over, not frantically but enough to let whoever upstairs know that he was still waiting in the chilly June breeze outside.
"Magnus Bane speaking. Do not waste my time, what is it? What do you want?" He heard through the speaker. Alec gasped. He sounded a lot different than what he expected him to sound like. More graceful but also powerful. He was almost scary. Alec didn't know what to say.
"I don't have all day here and I said don't waste my time. Why are you here?" Magnus spoke again, sounding slightly annoyed. Alec realized he probably woke him up from sleeping. 'Way to piss off the High Warlock' He thought to himself. So much for first impressions.
Yet the first impression he gave hadn't fazed Magnus and after a few moments of conversation, he seemed to reconsider Alec's offer and buzzed him into the building. Grateful, Alec took up the stairs two at a time, reaching Magnus' front door in a couple minutes. As if on cue, the door opened and inside he saw Magnus standing at his minibar, making a drink.
"Ah, Alec. Drink?" Magnus asked almost normally, his back turned away from him.
"Uh, no thanks... I don't drink." Alec replied
"Shame." Magnus flatly said before turning around, glass in hand.
Alec froze. He was pretty sure his jaw fell open because the man stood in front of him was unlike any man he'd seen before. This was a problem. He couldn't like a man just for his looks, hell, he couldn't like a man. At all. It was out of the question. He was here for help, not to make the problem worse.
As soon as Magnus felt a presence intrude his wards, he immediately checked to see if they were a threat of any kind. He was surprised to see that Alec Lightwood posed no threat at all. He stood to make him and his guest a drink, clicking his fingers to open his front door.
He heard tentative footsteps enter the room, shuffling over the doormat and carpet. Certainly not a move of confidence that was for sure.
"Ah, Alec. Drink?" He spoke almost too happily. Magnus spoke nearly as kindly as he would if he was having tea with his best friend, Catarina Loss. Yet he had never met Alec and had greeted him with kindness anyway. He was stupid. Magnus made a mental note to work on not being soft. He blamed it on old age.
"Uh, no thanks... I don't drink." Alec awkwardly replied, shuffling his feet on the carpet again.
"Shame." Magnus replied, taking all sincerity and emotion from his voice. He needed to be professional. This was a shadowhunter. They meant business, not friendliness.
He turned around to get his first look at the shadowhunter standing in his entrance hall.
He was breathtaking.
He wore his hunting gear that wrapped around his body like wet clothing. His cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, his hair, black as ink contrasted by his cream skin. His eyes were wide, brown and nervous. Alec looked like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. He looked too attractive. Probably a perk of being part angel.
Magnus had to remind himself that Alec, no matter how pretty, was a shadowhunter. A shadowhunter with bitten lips and a delightful deflect rune covering the side of his neck that would be wonderful to bite- no. He wouldn't get involved with the shadowhunters again. He was here for business.
Shaking the feeling of curiousness and infatuation from his head, Magnus gestured for Alec to sit in the closest armchair available. Alec visibly looked out of place and awkward. His head looked down at the floor once he sat and his shoulders hunched over. Not what he envisioned the newest generation of shadowhunter warriors to look like. Magnus cleared his throat and Alec looked up at him.
"Alec. Assume that's short for Alexander?" Magnus asked.
Alec nodded. "Yes but only my parents call me tha-"
"Alexander. I am here to hear your request, not know information about Maryse and Robert."
Alec looked taken aback for a few seconds before a mask fell back onto his face, blocking any form of strong emotion from showing on his facial features. He was odd. Different than any other shadowhunter he'd met in a while. Saying please, thank you, actually being respectful to a downworlder. To Magnus Bane. Odd.
"Now, darling, why are you requesting my presence at a time like this?" Magnus asked, putting an emphasis on 'darling'.
It took a moment for Alec to look at Magnus completely. He was blushing from being called darling. When he first spoke, Magnus hadn't heard what he had said.
"You know, Alexander, I can't help you if you don't say things loud enough for me to hear." Magnus chuckled lightly. Alec was something different. Magnus could feel himself growing to like the man and it slightly concerned him.
The next time Alec spoke, it was forced and loud. He choked out the sentence like he was a robot running low on fuel, words twisted and choppy. Magnus could feel his emotion through the way he spoke them. The sentence itself left Magnus speechless but also made him feel sympathy for Alec. He knew how shadowhunters were traditional people. He knew it shouldn't have affected him as much as it did; he had only known Alec for 5 minutes but he felt for him. He could understand.
That's why when Alec said "Magnus Bane, can you make me not be gay anymore?", Magnus told him there was nothing wrong with him and ushered him out his font door, telling him to go home.
He couldn't involve himself, Magnus thought. Alexander Lightwood was something new and the realization itself scared him. He knew that just saying nothing was wrong with him wouldn't help Alec but even if he could stop him from being gay, he wouldn't. Magnus knew how it felt to grow up wanting to hide a sexuality and although he didn't want to integrate himself into the life of a shadowhunter, he didn't want someone to feel the same way he had.
The problem was, he just made Alec feel those feelings he didn't want him to experience. The way Magnus made it sound, sounded like he was invalidating Alec and his problems. Magnus had just became the reason why Alec hid his sexuality. He had just given Alec the incentive he needed to bottle up all of his feelings inside.