Work Text:
“Are you always that stupid or is today a special occasion?”
Alec froze for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing, before he looked up from his tablet to see Isabelle standing in the doorway to his office. She had her hands on her hips and was glaring at him fiercely, no hint of humor in her gaze. He opened his mouth to reply, but she shook her head and held her hand up, silencing him before he even began speaking.
“You know, you’re allowed to take a break sometimes. I know you feel like you have something to prove, but you’re a great leader and anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t looking hard enough. You have a boyfriend who loves and wants to spend time with you, and you blew him off to sit in here and stare at your tablet all night?"
So that’s what this was about.
“Magnus is just as busy as I am, Iz. He understands that sometimes I have to stay here later than I want to. He has clients and responsibilities of his own.” He set his tablet down on his desk and leaned back in his chair, letting out a long breath. Magnus had come in earlier and forced him to take a lunch break, which Alec now suspected was because Isabelle had called him. He had invited Alec to go back home with him afterwards, but Alec had declined.
“There’s such thing as delegating, Alec. Ever since Valentine was defeated you’ve been so focused on being perfect that you’re forgetting that this job is not the only thing in your life anymore.” Alec wanted to argue with her, to convince her that all of the extra hours he was putting in were necessary, but all he could hear were Magnus’ words from the beginning of their relationship playing over and over in his head.
“If you fail to grant time for the things you care about, you’ll forget why you’re even fighting at all.”
“Go home,” Isabelle said softly, aware that she had gotten through to him, and he nodded, locking his tablet and shutting it into the top drawer of his desk.
He made sure to give his sister a hug and a sincere, “Thank you,” before stepping out of his office and closing the door behind him.
He found Magnus out on the balcony, a wine glass in his hand as he lounged on the couch and stared up at the night sky. Usually the stars weren’t very visible in the city due to light pollution, but Magnus must’ve used a spell to eradicate that fact, and Alec held back a gasp as his eyes shifted up to see what his boyfriend was looking at. The entire expanse of the sky was lit up with tiny, shining dots. He could think of few things that were more beautiful, but one of them was right in front of him, a small smile on his lips. Magnus hadn’t noticed his presence yet, so Alec took the liberty of staring for a moment, taking in his bright eyes, wide with appreciation as he swirled the wine glass around in his hand.
“Enjoying the view?” he asked suddenly, and Alec jumped slightly before letting out a quiet chuckle. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that his boyfriend had caught him staring.
“Can you blame me?” He stepped forward and sat down beside Magnus. “I don’t think there are many people who wouldn’t stare if they had the opportunity.”
Magnus turned to look at him, his smile shifting into a smirk as mirth filled his eyes. “You’re the biggest sap that I know. What brings you home so early?”
Alec grinned, his eyes flitting down to Magnus’ lips. “A wise man once told me that I need to grant time to kiss my boyfriend as much as humanly possible,” he replied in a horrible impression of Magnus’ voice, and Magnus fell back against the couch, his head thrown back as he laughed.
“First of all, I never said that- but I wholeheartedly agree. Second, I do not sound like that.”
Alec’s eyes roamed over Magnus’ perfectly styled hair, the black that lined his eyes, the necklaces that fell over his chest, and his heart settled into a familiar, steady beat.
“I guess you’ll just have to give me lessons, then.”
“Oh my god, you’re the worst."
The night went on like that, with loud laughs and fond expressions passed back and forth between the two, and Alec felt happier than he had in weeks.
He loved being home.