Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cute boys. Cute boys everywhere. Magnus felt like he was in heaven. This year really was something else.

Magnus was a senior in college and it was his last year. The freshmen were all so cute and he was so sad it was his last year. He wouldn't get to see these many cute college boys everyday.

So, he decided to turn his charm on. A little flirting can't harm anyone. Besides, who wouldn't be charmed by Magnus Bane?

Magnus was on his way to the cafeteria to meet up with his friends for lunch. The new students were all running around excitedly because it was their first day of college.

Magnus just internally scoffed at them. They had no idea what was waiting for them. Well, they might, but it was much worse.

Among all the energetic buzz of people was a guy who was the opposite of all that. He was walking towards Magnus, a bunch of books in his hands, a bag slung over his shoulder, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else than there.

Suddenly, the excited people didn't seem so bad to Magnus. Because he'd rather see that boy be excited than miserable. Huh. That was...odd.

The stranger — apparently a freshman — was now only a few feet away from him in the hallway. He was gorgeous. Anyone could see that except maybe the guy himself. It was clear in the way he held himself. He was tall, but his shoulders were hunched as if something was weighing him down. He had the most perfect hair, black like Magnus’ crazy ex-girlfriend Camille Belcourt’s cold heart.

Magnus decided that this boy would be the first he'd try to charm.

When the boy was close enough, Magnus just raised his hand, palm front and said, “Hey, gimme a high five!” to the boy.

The boy startled, and looked extremely confused at Magnus. His eyebrows danced in absolute horror and he looked at Magnus like he'd just slapped him. But he was quick to recover. After a few seconds of staring at Magnus in disbelief, the boy schooled his expressions and gave him a tight lipped smile. He raised his hand hesitantly, his books in his other hand, and high five’d Magnus’ waiting palm. His hands were soft and firm at the same time.

Magnus quickly grabbed the boy's hand and intertwined their fingers and brought their joined hands down. The boy gaped at Magnus with utter panic and horror.

“We’re dating now. Love you, bae,” Magnus said in a sultry voice.

If it was even possible, the boy gaped at him even more. His jaw was hanging open, his eyes were wide open, almost popping out and he started stuttering. Magnus found him absolutely adorable. His face was so comical and flushed that Magnus couldn't help but chuckle.

Magnus unlaced their fingers and stepped back from the frightened yet adorable boy. He winked at him and started walking past him.

‘This is so exciting and fun,’ Magnus thought as he walked away from the boy like he hadn't just dropped a major bomb at him.

When he was a bit out of the boy's eyeshot, he turned around. He saw him looking around and then walking away, scratching his head.

Magnus continued walking towards the cafeteria. He had an interesting story to tell.

-------

“You did what ?”

“Relax, Cat. It's not like I proposed to some random dude,” Magnus reassured her.

“You might as well have done that,” Catarina deadpanned.

“C'mon, it was fun. You should've seen his face. It was priceless. He looked so adorable and lost,” Magnus giggled. “Besides, it's not like I'm gonna see him again. There's like thousands of people here and the chances of running into him again is slim,” he added.

“Well, you're right. But what if you run into him again? Hypothetically, I mean.”

“Hmm, I guess I'll just pretend like I don't know him? Or tell him that he must've mistaken me for someone else. I don't know, Cat, I'll find my escape. You know me,” Magnus said, giving her a knowing look.

“Well, that's the problem. I know you will get away with it but think about that poor guy,” Cat said, suddenly finding it amusing.

Magnus was about to say something to her when they were both joined by Ragnor and a dark haired beauty. Cat and Magnus were sitting in their usual place in the cafeteria, waiting for Ragnor who was always late to lunch break because he would lose himself among the books in the library. Today was no exception.

“Hey guys. Meet Isabelle. I met her in the library. She's a freshman and I thought that she could join us,” Ragnor introduced her to his friends while pulling up chairs for him and Isabelle.

“It's nice to meet you guys. Ragnor has told me so much about you both,” Isabelle smiled.

“Already?” Magnus questioned.

“Oh, don't get too excited. Its all bad things,” Ragnor shut him off.

Magnus pouted. “You should know that Ragnor is a liar, dear. Don't listen to him.”

Isabelle laughed along with Cat and Ragnor glared at Magnus.

“Anyways, I'm Magnus and it's lovely to meet you, Isabelle.”

“You too, Magnus,” Isabelle smiled. “And you can call me Izzy.”

“Nice to meet you, Izzy. I'm Catarina.”

After introducing each other and getting to know Izzy and making fun of Ragnor for a while, they all finished their lunch.

“So, what were you both talking about before Izzy and I got here?” Ragnor asked, trying to change the subject to get them to stop teasing him.

“Ah! Magnus here was telling me an interesting story,” Cat exclaimed.

“Do tell,” Ragnor prompted him to share the story again.

Magnus excitedly jumped in to retell what he'd done an hour or so ago.

He explained to them that he saw an unhappy looking boy and that he wanted to charm him. But instead he told the boy that they were dating and then walked away leaving behind a confused and frightened boy.

After he finished telling the story, Ragnor was caught between wanting to laugh at how hilarious it was and pitying the poor boy for how he must be feeling.

Isabelle looked slightly amused and the not-so-genuine grin that she gave didn't go unnoticed by Magnus.

They all exchanged some more hilarious stories and after the occasional teasing of Ragnor and Magnus by Cat, Isabelle stood up to leave, saying that she had to meet up with her brother who would be waiting for her. The others also decided to leave for their respective classes.

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Magnus was late. He was over 15 minutes late to his second class because he forgot that it was Wednesday. He had chemistry three times a week (including Wednesdays) and he absolutely hated that subject. And that was also why he'd forgotten about the class. He was just a few feet away from his class when the boy he'd called as his bae came out of another class.

It had been nearly two weeks since Magnus saw him for the first time in the hallway during lunch. He'd never seen him again until now.

The boy still hadn't noticed Magnus walking towards him. When the boy was just about to pass him, Magnus waved at him and said, “Hello there, Bae,” and walked away just like how he'd done the first time.

Magnus didn't have time to look back to see the shocked expression on his face as he had to get to his chemistry class.

-------

It turned out that fate wanted Magnus to run into his bae – as Magnus liked to call him – often. After his second encounter with his bae while running to his chemistry class, Magnus had met him again ten times or so over the course of 5 to 6 weeks.

One time he saw him at the cafeteria. After getting his lunch, Magnus was on his way to join his friends and he saw his bae in the queue to get lunch. He waved at him to get his attention and said, “Bon appétit, Bae!” with a wink and walked away. After joining his friends, he looked for the boy but couldn't find him anywhere in the cafeteria.

The next time was in the restroom of all places. Magnus was just getting out of his cubicle when he saw his bae reaching to open the next cubicle. He beamed at him and said, “My Bae!” and then walked away chuckling.

One time he saw him in the library. Just like Magnus had guessed, he was a total nerd. There was nothing to guess actually, it was obvious by the number of books he carried with him when Magnus first met him. His bae was standing in the math section, looking through various books. Magnus didn't want anything to do with math apart from his math class. He just went to the library so he could go through the fiction section to find some interesting books to read. And also to drag Ragnor to have lunch. Magnus walked past him and whispered, “My intelligent bae!” and scurried off.

He saw him with a blond boy once, a redhead girl the next time, and then with a blonde girl. When his bae had company, he didn't say anything to him, he just winked at him.

One time, he saw him with a camera in his hands, clicking pictures of random things outside their college building. Then he saw him when Magnus was on his way to his German quiz. Every time he saw his bae, he shouted something at him and called him “Bae” and walked away. Ever single time, the boy would look at him shocked but he'd never responded or even waved back at him.

But there was no denying that Magnus was developing a bit of a crush on his bae. A bit would be an understatement. It was true that he knew nothing about the boy, not even his name, but there was something about him that Magnus really liked. Of course, he was very, very attractive. The most gorgeous guy he'd ever seen, to be precise. But that was not all. He could tell that his bae was also a really great guy. Not an asshole, or a jock, or an arrogant bastard. Oh, and he was exactly Magnus’ type.

Tall, dark and handsome. Just the perfect combination.

And Magnus couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to find a guy who was all of the above.

But there was something that was holding him back from asking him out. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe because he didn't want to ruin whatever it is that was going on between them? Or because he didn't want to scare the boy away. Or maybe he was afraid he wouldn't be interested since he'd been unresponsive the whole time.

Whatever it was, Magnus wouldn't ask him out.

Chapter Text

“Wow, check this out, Magnus!” Cat pointed at a photo of a beautiful dragonfly.

Magnus made his way over to the photo and stood beside Cat, and admired the picture hanging on the wall.

“That’s... wow. It's simply breathtaking. All those tiny details.. Amazing,” Magnus said.

“I know. Whoever captured this must be hella talented,” Cat said and moved on to see the next photo in the art gallery.

Magnus and Catarina were at the new art gallery near their college that had just opened up which specialized in Wildlife, Landscape and Candid photography. The gallery provided opportunities to young and upcoming photographers to showcase their talent and gain recognition for their incredible works. Magnus didn't expect it to be this incredible. He didn't know any of the photographers, but their works were all mind blowing. Especially the one he was currently looking at.

It was a picture of a dragonfly on a leaf. Magnus felt like he could get lost in its vibrant colours. The head of the dragonfly was green, its body was yellow and its tail was a beautiful blue colour. The wings could be seen crystal clearly. The intricate patterns in them was mesmerizing. It was the most beautiful photo Magnus had ever seen. He just wanted to steal that photo and take it —

Magnus was startled out of his heist planning by someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned his head in the direction of the intruder only to have his breath stolen from his lungs.

Standing in front of him wearing a navy suit with a shy expression on his face, was his bae.

“Do you like it?” his bae asked.

“Oh, I love it,” Magnus said in a daze, eyeing him from head to toe.

“Really?” his bae asked, a slight disbelief in his tone.

Magnus snapped out of his daze and said, “Um, I'm sorry, what did you ask?”

“The photo. Do you like it?” he asked again, pointing at the photo of the dragonfly behind him.

“Oh, yes! I absolutely love it. It's beautiful,” Magnus beamed.

“Thank you... Bae,” the boy said with a crooked smile.

Oh.

Oh.

So, the photo was his bae's –

Wait, what ?

Did he just call Magnus “Bae”?

Yes, he did.

Magnus let out a theatrical gasp and said, “What did you just call me?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, am I not supposed to call you that? Last time I checked, you and I were dating,” his bae teased, trying to hide the beginnings of a lopsided grin from forming and failing terribly.

Magnus was dumbfounded. A witty comeback was on his tongue but it died right there. His shy, adorable bae was making fun of him. And that did things to Magnus.

“I think you broke him, big brother,” came a voice from behind them.

Magnus recovered from his short trip to dreamland to see Isabelle standing next to his bae.

“Isabelle? What are you doing here?” Magnus asked.

“What? Do you think I'm gonna miss my brother's photography display?” Isabelle raised an eyebrow.

Wait, what now?

“Izzy, that's enough. We've broken him enough for one night,” his bae said, laughing.

“Okay, someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on here! Right now,” Magnus demanded.

“I'm your bae's sister and he has seven of his photos on display tonight including the one we've been barricading for the past few minutes,” Isabelle explained.

“Wait, does that mean you already knew I was calling your brother as bae?” Magnus was still very much confused.

“Yeah, I'm sorry about that. My brother told me on the first day that some random guy called him bae and told him that they were dating. Just minutes ago on lunch you told me and Ragnor what you had done. So, I put two and two together and I've known the whole time that you were the one who was teasing my brother. And that the one you were teasing was none other than my brother. I know, its messed up but I didn't want to reveal anything to anyone. It'd ruin the fun. And it really was so fun watching you both these past two months,” Isabelle said in one breath.

“Whoa,” Magnus breathed.

“Wait, you're telling me you knew everything and you still didn't tell me?” bae asked, outraged.

Magnus and Isabelle started laughing despite all the confusion.

“That's not funny! You told me you were friends with a senior guy but you never told me it was him.”

“Where's the fun in that?” Izzy smirked.

“You know what? You should go. Go and make sure Jace is not getting himself into trouble,” bae ordered.

Izzy wiggled here eyebrows between Magnus and her brother and walked away shouting, “Have fun, baes!”

“Well, I guess everything's out in the open now,” Magnus said, rubbing his fingers together.

“Yeah, I guess,” bae said, not looking at Magnus.

There was an awkward silence where neither knew what to say.

“So, I'm just gonna head home. My friend must be waiting for me,” Magnus said. “I'm, uh, yeah.. I'm gonna go. Bye,” he added, and turned away from his bae.

There was silence and then, “Wait!”

“That–that's it? Is this how you leave someone you're dating?” the boy asked.

Magnus turned around to face him, smirking.

What was that about not asking his bae out? Scratch that. This was much more fun.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot my manners. We should end our date night with dinner. Are you hungry?” Magnus asked.

“Starving,” bae answered.

The boy joined Magnus and they made their way to exit the art gallery.

Magnus caught Cat looking at him from a corner and he just winked at her. Cat chuckled and Magnus was glad that she got the message.

They met Isabelle and said their goodbyes and were now outside the gallery in the chill night. A cool breeze made a chill run down their spines and they shivered. Magnus pointed in the direction of the restaurant he was taking them to, and they started walking towards it.

This time, the silence was not awkward but rather comfortable.

Magnus broke it by saying, “The whole bae thing aside, we should at least know each other's names.”

“I quite like “Bae” more,” the boy teased.

“Believe me, I love Bae,” Magnus chuckled. “But I'm Magnus Bane.”

“I'm Alexander Lightwood. You can call me Alec.”

Alexander Lightwood. Now, that was much, much better than Bae, Magnus thought.

“Your photo was really beautiful. I'm sad I didn't get to see all your other photos as well,” Magnus pouted.

“Maybe I can show them all to you sometime. Personally,” Alec said.

Magnus beamed up at Alec. “Really? Thank you,” he smiled.

“Anything for my boyfriend,” Alec teased.

“Boyfriend?”

Alec started panicking and stuttering.

“Boyfriend is a better nickname than Bae,” Magnus smiled brightly.

Alec smiled back at him and intertwined their fingers.

And that was how Alexander officially became Magnus’ Bae/Boyfriend.

-------

~9 years later~

“This story never gets old,” Isabelle squeals. Magnus and Alec grin at each other.

“You guys have the most hilarious yet romantic story ever,” Underhill laughs.

“Hey, you told me that Clary and I had the best story!” Jace says, offended.

The whole gang erupts in raucous laughter.

They were all having drinks at their favourite club, Hunter's Moon. Underhill was a new addition to their gang and he was fitting in just perfectly. And it was mandatory that the new members hear the story of Magnus and Alec, Izzy and Simon, and Jace and Clary. Or commonly called as the “Lightwood siblings’ love stories.”

Alec and Magnus never get tired of recalling their love story. Nine years later and it still feels like yesterday. Sure, they faced their ups and downs along the way. But at the end of the day, they will always be each other's baes.

Magnus places his hands on Alec's thighs under the table and smiles up at him. Everyone has jumped into talking about Underhill and his new boyfriend. Alec scoots closer to Magnus and they get lost in their own little bubble.

“Mhm, I love you, Bae,” Magnus whispers into Alec's ear.

“I love you more, Bae,” Alec whispers back.

“Here we go. Alec and Magnus being sappy baes. Again,” Izzy chimed in as everyone starts cooing and laughing.

M♡A