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“Did you know the only place you can actually tickle yourself is the roof of your mouth?” Simon asked from where he was hanging upside down off the side of his bed as Alec walked into the room, still half asleep despite sitting in his 8 am class for an hour and listening to his professor talk passionately about poetry. “I’ve been trying it all morning and it never stops surprising me.”
As much as Alec usually loved discussing these sorts of things with his best friend, he opted to flop down face first onto his own bed in lieu of an answer, letting out a muffled groan into the pillow. He had been kept up all night by the sounds of whoever lived on the floor above him apparently having a very good time, and he was exhausted. He just wanted to take a nap, but he had another class in an hour and he needed to speed read the assigned chapter of the book so that he could be the only one to even attempt to participate in order to break the extremely uncomfortable silence that always formed when the professor asked a question.
“Well good morning to you, too, sunshine!” Simon exclaimed, a smile clear in the tone of his voice, and Alec was tempted to smack him on the head, but that would require moving, and that just wasn’t on his agenda at the moment. “Rough night? I slept really good, actually, which I’m happy about because there’s this big party tonight that Clary is dragging me to and I can’t have dark circles when I see Maia again. You should come! You guys have classes together and you’ve talked to her before, right? You can be my wingman.”
Alec took in a deep breath, bracing himself, and then sat up, immediately shooting a glare at Simon. “I hate to break it to you, Si, but she already has her eyes on someone else, and it’s definitely not you.” His friend stopped smiling, then, his expression twisting into a mix between disappointment and curiosity. Alec could already predict the next words that were going to come out of his mouth, and he held up his hand before Simon could continue. “It’s not my place to tell you. Ask her yourself.”
Simon’s eyes narrowed at that, and he crossed his arms over his chest mockingly. “She just hasn’t experienced my charm yet. I’ll turn things around.” Alec laughed at that and shook his head, leaning until he fell onto his back on the mattress. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, trying to build up the willpower to move, until Simon threw his stuffed bb8 at him and held chewbacca and a porg at the ready if Alec didn’t start his homework, so he got got up with a huff, moving to his desk.
“You should still come, you know. To the party. It’ll be fun,” Simon said a little bit later, once Alec was done speed reading and getting ready to leave for his next class. “I know you usually don’t like going to these things but I’ve heard good things about the guy who’s hosting it. He never lets things get too out of control.”
Alec rolled his eyes, very skeptical of where exactly Simon heard that from, but he didn’t bother voicing his suspicions. “I’ll think about it,” he replied instead, pulling his jacket on and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “But if I agree to go and end up having to carry you home again because you involve yourself in a drinking contest to impress someone I’m never coming out with you again.”
“Hey, you came out before I did, remember?” Simon joked as Alec walked out of their room, and while he was once again tempted to smack his best friend, he decided to save it for later.
“I already regret this,” Alec muttered under his breath as the booming music slammed into his eardrums. They had only been inside for about two minutes, but he could already feel himself sweating due to the overwhelming amount of body heat that was being generated. Everywhere he looked there were people dancing and grinding, their limbs loose due to the drinks in their hands, and he let out a sigh. He was not in his element in these situations. He always had trouble letting himself go with the flow and joining in on the fun, but that never stopped him from wanting to. He rarely ended up being part of the crowd, but his friends always made sure he had fun.
That was why he appreciated Simon so much. He guided him out of his comfort zone, but he never forced him to do anything. They met their senior year of high school when Alec transferred in, and while they hadn’t become friends immediately, they grew closer over time, and rooming together in college just seemed like a logical choice. They got to avoid the chance of getting homophobic or just downright creepy roommates, and neither of them minded the other’s nerdiness. It worked out well.
“Want to get a drink?” Simon yelled over the music, and Alec nodded, following close behind him as he pushed through the crowd. He usually only had a drink or two at these things, seeing as Simon always ended up getting plastered and someone had to get them back to their dorm safely, but he was considering switching things up tonight. It was Friday, after all, and he had nowhere to be the next day. Just for one night, he wanted to let himself be a little bit reckless.
So he got himself a drink, and then another, and then another, and another after that, and it seemed to hit him all at once. Everything was amplified and dulled at the same time and he was looking everywhere but comprehending nothing and then Simon disappeared and he was leaning against a wall and just smiling for absolutely no reason other than that he wanted to, and it felt good . He felt uncoordinated and strange and happy. He never wanted it to end.
He was so distracted by everything that was happening around him that he jumped when someone staggered into him, their hands landing on his chest and staying there as they tried to stay standing. It took a few blinks and a little shake of his head, but Alec’s eyes finally focused in on the person, and he nearly stopped breathing. The stranger was shining in the dim lighting, his face lit up with both makeup and a wide smile and bright eyes, and Alec was half convinced that he was hallucinating. No one could be that heart stoppingly beautiful and be real at the same time.
“You’re glowing,” Alec blurted out stupidly, his skin suddenly burning where the guy’s hands were pressed to his chest. The stranger’s smile widened, and he nodded slowly, like what Alec said hadn’t really sunk in but he wanted to agree anyway. He looked a little bit dazed, the same way Alec was feeling, but he had an aura of confidence that Alec couldn’t quite match. Not yet, at least.
“My name is actually Magnus, but that was a good guess,” he slurred. His voice was tinged with sarcasm, which only made Alec’s grin broaden until his cheeks actually began to ache. Magnus stepped back, then, creating a little bit of distance between them, and Alec immediately missed the warmth.
“You might have to write that on my hand or something so I don’t forget. I can barely remember my own name right now,” Alec replied, drawing a laugh out of Magnus. His stomach was tingling with pleasure at the sound, and he made it his goal to hear it as much as possible for the rest of the night.
“I would, but unfortunately don’t have the marker that I usually keep with me to sign autographs at the moment, so it looks like you’re out of luck.” Alec raised his eyebrows at that, his eyes narrowing in mock suspicion.
“I didn’t know I was in the presence of a celebrity.”
Magnus tilted his head and swayed his shoulders, a smirk playing across his lips, which suddenly had all of Alec’s attention, and his pulse began to speed up at the sight. He could already feel himself being reeled in by this guy, and he wasn’t even trying to resist. Why should he? He had spent years of his life crammed inside of the closet, and here he could be anybody he wanted to be. He was no longer caged in, forced to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, and he was planning on taking full advantage of that fact.
“I am known for throwing good parties,” Magnus agreed, leaning just a little bit closer. He smelled like fruit and his voice was so smooth and it was all almost too much for Alec’s intoxicated brain, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t all due to the alcohol that was surging through his veins.
It took a few moments, but Magnus’ words eventually clicked in his head, and Alec’s eyes widened. “This is your house?”
Magnus nodded, his expression almost daring as he offered, “I can give you the grand tour if you’d like.” Alec knew exactly what that was implying, and his body was already getting with the program. He reached forward, his movements somewhat jerky, and grasped Magnus’ hand.
“Lead the way.”
He caught Simon’s eye as Magnus guided him through the crowd, and held back a laugh at the enthusiastic thumbs up that he received. He was standing with Maia and Clary, who seemed to be having a very intense staring contest, and Alec wondered how Simon could be so oblivious to the evidence right in front of him. He didn’t really have time to dwell on it, though, considering he nearly tripped when Magnus began to ascend the stairs with their fingers still intertwined. He focused on making it up without face planting, and then he tuned in to the rooms that Magnus was pointing out as they walked.
The tour was short, the second floor only consisting of a few bedrooms, a bathroom, and a linen closet, and soon enough they were in Magnus’ room, the music reduced to a dull thud from the floor below as he shut the door behind them. Alec’s eyes roamed around the space for a moment, taking in the extravagant red silk sheets and the various paintings that were hung on the walls, but then Magnus’ hands were on his chest again and he was being backed up into the door and he found that he couldn’t care less about the decor.
There was a beat of silence, full of heavy tension and racing pulses, and then they moved together. It was not smooth whatsoever, their noses colliding and lips thinning as they smiled against each other, and yet it still felt so inexplicably right. Magnus let out a quiet giggle, a sound that seemed so foreign coming out of his mouth, but then again Alec supposed he didn’t really know him all that well.
He wanted to change that.
He leaned back in, slower this time, and brushed his lips against Magnus’ tentatively, testing the waters before jumping in. Magnus, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any intention of being hesitant. He lifted his hand to rest on Alec’s neck and stepped forward so that there wasn’t an inch of space between them, his soft lips pressing to Alec’s firmly. And god, despite the fact that it was the equivalent of diving head first into hectic waves, it sure as hell felt like coming up for fresh air. Every cell in Alec’s body felt alive, and he wanted to be closer, to swim deeper, to be intimately familiar with every single drop of water that surrounded them.
He had kissed boys before, felt the exhilaration that accompanied the taste of someone else’s lips, but it had never been quite like this. Magnus tasted like vodka and strawberries and his hair was silky between Alec’s fingertips and maybe it was just because he was drunk or touch starved or lonely, but every breath that they shared and every noise that escaped from their throats felt significant.
His head was spinning and it was all too much and not enough and he was seconds away from exploding when someone attempted to open the door from the outside, causing Alec to lose his balance and lean too much of his weight onto Magnus. They fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs that was not comfortable in the least, and they both groaned as the door opened all the way. Alec pushed himself up as soon as possible, rolling until he was laying beside Magnus on the floor. He looked up to see an apologetic Simon standing in the doorway, and closed his eyes for a moment. He was never going to hear the end of this.
“I’m so sorry, guys. Alec, your sister is downstairs and she’s pretty drunk. She wants you to walk her to Maia’s dorm. I tried to tell her I could but she insisted that it be you.” Just like that morning, Alec stared at the ceiling for a moment, even more reluctant to get up than before, but he knew he had to move before Simon started throwing things at him again, so he pushed himself off of the floor and then offered Magnus his hand and pulled him up as well.
“I’ll be down in a minute, Si,” Alec said, not looking away from Magnus’ gaze, and he waited until he heard his friend’s retreating footsteps to speak. “Well, it was nice while it lasted.”
Magnus laughed, his eyes flitting over Alec’s face for a moment before he seemed to remember something. He smiled brightly and held up a finger, signaling for Alec to wait before he turned around and walked across the room to a desk that was set up in the corner. He opened up a drawer and rummaged through it for a moment before spotting what he was looking for and grabbing it quickly. He didn’t bother to shut the drawer, instead walking back over and taking one of Alec’s hands in his. He uncapped a sharpie with his teeth- which was much hotter than should have been allowed- and wrote his name and number across Alec’s palm. “Just to make sure you don’t forget about me.”
Alec couldn’t hold back a laugh, shaking his head as what he said earlier came back to him. There was no way he was going to forget Magnus’ name at this point, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. He hesitated for a few seconds, debating, then leaned forward and kissed Magnus one more time.
“For the road,” he reasoned when he pulled back, and he winked before he turned around and walked through the doorway.
He woke up the next morning to a cheek covered in smears of marker and a text from a newly saved contact.