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Alec closes his eyes and sighs, leaning his head back to rest against the wall behind him. The emergency room is loud, and he wishes for nothing more than to be able to tune everyone else out as he waits for his turn, but he's had no luck so far in the three hours he's been here.
At least his hand doesn't hurt anymore as long as he keeps it still, so that's something.
Really, he can only blame himself.
If he hadn't agreed to stay at work for an hour longer than planned, he wouldn't have been in a hurry to get to class. If he hadn't been in a hurry to get to class, he wouldn't have been running absent-mindedly across campus. If he hadn't been running absent-mindedly across campus, he wouldn't have collided with the dude on the bike. And if he hadn't collided with the dude on the bike, he wouldn't have ended up in the ER with a hand that felt like it was going to fall off every time he moved it.
“Alexander Gideon Lightwood?”
He opens his eyes to locate the person calling his name, finding a young woman clad in scrubs looking around the room. He reaches down to grab his jacket and bag before getting out of his chair and moving towards the woman.
When he reaches her, she sends him a friendly smile and tells him to follow her. The noises from the waiting room die down, as they walk down a couple of corridors. Neither of them says much and they soon come to a halt in front of a closed door.
She knocks once, before opening the door and stepping aside to let Alec enter. “Your patient, doctor.”
“Thank you, Maia.”
When the doctor turns around in his chair and gets up to greet him, Alec is met with another friendly smile and possibly the most beautiful man he's ever seen.
“Mr Lightwood, come on in,” he says, moving to shake Alec's hand before he seems to realise the problem. Instead, he gestures for Alec to take a seat next to his own. “I'm Dr. Bane.”
“Hi,” is all Alec manages, eyes wide, a dopey smile on his lips. He would be embarrassed by the mesmerised look on his own face, but his brain is current busy short-circuiting because of the man before him.
Dr. Bane chuckles, seemingly amused by Alec's greeting. “So,” he glances down the file on his desk before his eyes find their way back to Alec, “Alexander, what can I do for you?”
Hearing his full name used in a positive context almost made his ability to concentrate even worse, a warmth spreading in his chest.
“I ran into a guy and, uh, I fell,” he replies, “and I think I might have sprained my wrist.”
The doctor reaches out and takes Alec's hand in his, gently turning it and tipping it from one way to another.
When he thinks he can’t possibly be more distracted, Alec notices the dark blue colour of his nails. Combined with the warm touch, Alec is suddenly very happy that he doesn't have to think too much about responding, seeing that the hisses of pain come very naturally.
After a few moments, Dr. Bane nods to himself and releases Alec's hand. “It's definitely sprained,” he confirms, “but I need to do an X-ray before I can tell you exactly how severe it is.”
It takes about another hour to get the examination done, including the wait for the equipment to be available.
“Good news: it's only a mild case, so it should take to long for it to heal,” he tells Alec with a smile, when they get back to his office, “I'd recommend you ice it a few times a day and wear a compression binder the rest of the time. If the pain gets too bad, you can take some of these.”
He writes a prescription, handwriting flowing much more elegantly than any doctor’s Alec has seen before, before turning to Alec and handing him the note.
“Remember to read the instructions,” he says with a glint in his eyes, fingers brushing against the skin of Alec’s hand for a moment. “If your hand doesn’t feel better within two months, you should come back to have a checked again.”
Alec nods, pocketing the prescription before collecting his stuff with his healthy hand.
“Thank you, Dr. Bane, uh, have a nice day.”
“You too, Alexander.”
∞
The next time Alec finds himself at the hospital, it’s not him who’s hurt, but he can’t really be happy about the fact when it’s his little brother’s turn.
Max had called him earlier that day, pleading Alec to take him to the hospital after getting into a skating accident. He hadn’t wanted to involve their parents and Alec had arrived as fast as he could.
Thankfully, his little brother had been sensible enough to wear a helmet, which meant that he had managed to avoid getting a concussion - unlike one of his buddies, who’d crashed a few weeks earlier. What he hadn’t managed to avoid, though, was a broken arm.
Alec had offered to be there with him while he got it bandaged, but Max had just rolled his eyes at him because Alec, I’m 15, not a baby.
So, here he is, sitting in a fairly empty hallway while waiting for his brother to be done. He’s got a copy of Dracula balancing on his leg, determined to get some reading done for class now that he has to spend another afternoon at the hospital.
“Mr. Lightwood, I knew I recognised the name from somewhere,” someone suddenly says, making Alec look up from his book.
He recognises the voice, but that doesn’t mean he’s prepared to see the beautiful man who treated him when he got hurt only a couple of weeks earlier.
“Dr. Bane!”
A smile spreads on his face, just like the last time he saw the man, even though he’s trying to keep the excitement in his voice to a minimum.
“So, what brings you back so soon?” He gestures to chair beside Alec’s as if asking for permission to join him. Alec nods, watching as he takes a seat. “Falling for yet another guy?”
Alec snickers at the double-meaning of his words and shakes his head.
“No, none of that, I’m just here with my brother.” He points towards the room, where Max is currently being treated. “Broke his arm.”
“Right,” Dr. Bane says with a smile, “that’s actually why I’m here.”
Before Alec can do much more than furrow his eyebrows in confusing, he explains.
“Dr. Lewis called me to ask for a second opinion on the X-ray, which I gave him, and then I promised to drop by to discuss a few things when he had finished up. I thought he’d be done by now.”
He glances at the clock on the wall before looking back at Alec, who just hums, an impressed look on his face.
“So, you’re the kind of doctor that the rest of the doctors come to for advice, huh?” It sounded a lot better in his head, like a compliment of some sort, but the smirk the he gets in response makes it worth the slight embarrassment.
“You know what they say: there’s more pleasure in giving than receiving,” he says, then he winks.
The door opens just as Alec is about to reply, a smiling Max followed by an even happier looking doctor coming out of the room.
Alec gets up from his chair, walking towards the two of them. “Everything went as it should?”
Dr. Lewis confirms and spends a few minutes explaining everything to Alec.
As they say turn away to leave, Alec catches the way the other doctor is still looking at him from where they were sitting together a few moments ago, making Alec’s heart beat a little faster.
“Have a lovely evening, Mr. Lightwood,” he says as they pass him, making Max look up at Alec with a raised eyebrow, clearly suspicious of the interaction.
Alec ignores his little brothers look as best as he can.
“You too, Dr. Bane.”
∞
“Mr. Lightwood!”
Alec has been in the hospital cafeteria for less than five minutes when he hears it. He spins around, finding Dr. Bane striding towards him with his own tray of food.
“Please, call me Alec,” he says, when the other man is close enough to hear him without Alec raising his voice.
“Call me Magnus, and we have a deal.” His tone is flirty, coy even, and Alec can’t help but laugh.
“Deal.”
Neither of them says anything for a moment, both simply looking at the other with a fond expression. Alec is about to excuse himself, not wanting to make things awkward, when Magnus speaks.
“Well, Alec, next time, you’re more than welcome to call, if you wanna see me,” His shoulders are swaying as he says it, a teasing tone in his voice. “No need to wait here until lunch comes around.”
“Oh, no, no, I wasn’t,” Alec raises a hand towards him, eyes widening as he rambles on to explain himself, “I’m not stalking you, I promise. I’m- I’m here to have lunch with my sister. She works in the lab.”
Magnus laughs, eyes squinting for a moment. The noise makes Alec heart flutter, making him wish he could spend the rest of his life making the other man laugh.
“I’m only kidding,” Magnus assures him, his eyes shining with affection, “don’t worry.”
Something behind Alec seems to have caught Magnus’ attention. Alec throws a quick glance over his shoulder, only to see Izzy standing a couple of feet behind him with a knowing look on her face.
“Hello, big brother,” she says, coming up to greet him as if she hasn’t just been observing their entire conversation. She gives him a quick hug before turning towards Magnus and smiling. “You must be the infamous Dr. Bane.”
Alec almost chokes on his own spit at her words, staring at her in disbelief. “The what?”
“The hot doctor you spoke to when you went with Max to get his arm done?” she clarifies, raising an eyebrow at him.
“I never said th -” Alec splutters, looking bewildered back and forth between Magnus and his sister while trying to will the flush on his cheeks to go away. Then it hits him. “Max.”
“Yeah, our little brother isn’t dumb, Alec.”
He gives her an unimpressed look. It’s not a lie, Magnus is definitely a hot doctor, but that doesn’t mean Alec’s willing to discuss the fact in front of him
“Well,” Magnus says, drawing both Izzy and Alec’s attention to himself. There’s a self-satisfied smirk on his lips, eyes sparkling as he lets them run up and down Alec’s body once before looking him straight in the eyes. “I better get going before my lunch break is over.”
“Yeah, of course,” Alec manages, eyes falling on the tray in Magnus' hands. Then a thought hits him. He returns the smirk as he looks back up. “We wouldn’t want you to go back to work unsatisfied.”
Magnus looks impressed by his comeback. “I’ll see you around, Alec.”
“I can’t wait.”
∞
The next time Alec finds himself at the hospital, it's late. Last time he’d looked at the clock on the wall, it was a little past three in the morning. And he was drunk.
Not as much as Jace. Definitely not drunk enough to think using a lamp post as a stripper pole would be a good idea, just do fall down and hit his head on the pavement and ending up in the hospital.
So, here he is, sat in another chair in another hallway of the hospital, waiting for his brother to be treated.
It's been a long, even before they arrived at the hospital, and even though he can still feel the alcohol buzzing in his blood, he definitely feels more tired than anything else. Which explains why he's hunched over in his seat, face buried in his hands.
“Well, if it isn't Alec Lightwood.”
Alec looks up from his hands to see Magnus walking down the hallway towards him, and it's possibly the most beautiful sight he's ever seen. The way his hair is styled to fall softly over his forehead, the tired smile on his face, the way his untied tie us hanging around his neck, a few buttons undone at the top.
“Dr. Bane!” Alec exclaims, hands going over his heart in a dramatic gesture. “I need your help!”
Magnus chuckles as he stops in front of Alec, head tilted slightly in confusion. “My help?”
“Yes,” Alec replies, voice dead serious as he looks up at Magnus. “I think I'm sick, my heart starts beating faster whenever you're around.”
There it is again: the sound of Magnus’ laugh, filled with a certain kind of warmth that makes Alec feel completely at ease.
Sitting down in the seat next to Alec, Magnus places a gentle hand on his knee. “I'm sure you'll be just fine, my dear.”
The pet name makes Alec's eyes light up, a fond on his face as he leans back against the wall and turns his head towards Magnus.
“So, why are you here this time?” Magnus inquires after a little while, ring-clad fingers toying with the one end of his tie.
“My brother hurt his head while we were out on the town,” Alec explains, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “It's not like it's the first time something like this has happened.”
They're quiet for a few moments, both of them observing their vacant surroundings.
“Did it hurt?” Alec finally asks, breaking the silence with a hushed voice.
Magnus snorts, giving him a knowing look. “What? When I fell from heaven?
“Yeah, I mean…falling hurts,” Alec reasons, lifting his hand in the air to show it still being wrapped up in the compression binder.
He gets caught up staring at it while mindlessly wiggling his fingers, finding himself to be happy that it doesn't hurt much anymore.
“And, you know, speaking of pain,” he continues absent-mindedly as he lets his hand fall back into his lap, “I'm pretty sure I scraped my knees as well, falling for you.”
When Alec looks up from his hands, there's something in Magnus’ expression. Something warm in his eyes, making it impossible for Alec to look away.
“Do you use that line on all the men you talk to?” Magnus' voice is soft even though he's clearly teasing.
“No,” Alec says, “only the beautiful ones.”
When Magnus opens his mouth to reply, the door to the room Jace had been examined in opens, and Alec wonders why someone is always, always interrupting the little moments he has with the incredible man beside him.
Jace shuffles out of the room, looking exactly like you'd expect him to after a night out and three hours spent at the hospital. He looks at Alec for a moment, silently begging for them to get home, and he quickly gets a nod in return.
As Jace starts to make his way down the corridor, Alec rises from his seat and turns to Magnus, who is about to do the same thing.
“I should get back as well, I think my break has been longer than it should already,” he explains as he starts walking with Alec. “I might as well make sure you guys find the reception without getting lost on the way.”
Alec rolls his eyes at the comment but to be fair, they did seem to have pretty bad luck.
When they reach the swing doors that lead outside, Jace already having gone through, Alec turns to Magnus with a sigh. He blames the alcohol still coursing through his blood for what comes next.
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” he recites, swinging his arms about in a dramatic gesture as he starts walking backwards, away from Magnus. “It seem that we are destined to be but star-crossed lovers, Dr. Bane, but fear not, I am not giving up on you just yet.”
He ends up walking into the wall beside the swing door before getting it right, and while he might have a few regrets in the morning, this is not going to be one of them. Not when he managed to make Magnus laugh one last time before turning around to join his brother.
∞
Alec's mindlessly wandering up and down one of the long, white corridors of the hospital when something catches his eyes.
A dozen photographs - of what can only be a handful of patients - is displayed on one of the walls. It's a series of happier moments in dark times, the sign says, and Alec stops for a moment to look at the pictures.
He's deep in thought when someone interrupts him.
“If I didn't know better, I'd think you were only coming here on the off-chance of running into me.”
Alec turns around, a bright smile on his lips as he sees Magnus coming towards him, hands buried in his white overcoat.
“Who says I'm not here to see you?” he replies, feeling particularly bold today.
Magnus raises an eyebrow, considering the possibility of Alec statement before sending him a wicked smile. “You know, I'd almost believe you if I didn't know for a fact that your little brother has an appointment with Dr. Lewis to get his cast removed today.”
The sigh Alec lets out in response makes the doctor laughs, a fond look in his eyes, crinkling at the edge, as he takes in the defeated look on Alec's face.
It's absolutely ridiculous. They've only met each other a handful of times, shared nothing but brief conversations. But there's something more, something Alec can't put words to just yet, that fills him with a certain kind of happiness every time he stumbles upon the man.
“How about we make a deal?” Magnus asks, a knowing smirk on his face.
There's definitely something Alec is missing but he can't for the life of him remember what it is, so he just ends up with a quizzical look on his face, one eye squinted a tiny bit.
“If I give you my number,” he continues, eyes trained on the floor as he takes a step closer. The smile is still there as he looks up at Alec, amusement shining in his eyes. “You promise that you won't confess your undying love for me in the middle of the reception at three am again.”
Alec groans, finally remembering the end of their last encounter. He runs a hand through his hair while trying not to die of shame because his drunk ass thought it'd be a good idea to quote Shakespeare to the charming doctor in the dead of night.
“I'm sorry, it won't happen again.”
“Don't worry about it.” There's something assuring in his voice, something genuine that convinces Alec that he means it.
Magnus reaches into the chest pocket of his coat, pulling out a pen and little piece of paper. A business card. He quickly scribbles something on the back before handing it to Alec.
“I have to go, but please call me?” His voice is hopeful as he says it, with only a tiny hint of nervousness hidden in there.
Even if he wanted to, there's no way Alec would be able to conceal the pure glee that he feels in this moment. He reaches out to take the card, fingers brushing against Magnus’.
“Yeah, of course, I'll - I'll call you.”
For a few moments, they just stand there, looking like fools, smiling at each other and saying nothing, before Magnus turns to walk away.
“I'll see you later, Alexander.”
“See you later, Magnus.”
∞
Alec can't stop smiling as he navigates the hospital corridors with ease, greeting several members of the hospital staff on his way.
He stops in front of one of the offices, leaning against the frame of the open door as he speaks.
“Is that a reflex hammer in your pocket, Dr. Bane, or are you just happy to see me?”
He knows he sounds absolutely ridiculous, but the grin that spreads across his boyfriend's face as he turns around in his chair makes it worth it.
Magnus rises from his seat and takes a few long step across the room to greet him with a kiss, the goatee scratching lightly against his chin for just a few seconds.
“I'm always happy to see you, my dear,” Magnus replies, running his hands from Alec's shoulders and down his arms.
He glances at his computer for a moment before looking back at Alec.
“I need to finish this file, but after that, I'll be good to go.”
Soon enough they're on their way, hands swinging between then, fingers intertwined as they leave the building.
Alec might have spent a lot of time at the hospital in the past. It's never been anything too serious, but he can't help but be happy about the fact that lately, he's only been coming here to pick up his wonderful boyfriend, taking him home to their apartment.