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Magnus took a slow breath as he looked out at the city skyline, trying to empty his mind. After a long day full of demanding clients, all he wanted was a strong drink and some time with his boyfriend, but he knew that some meditation would help him refresh his energy. He was just beginning to relax when the apartment door slammed shut, causing the windows to shudder. Magnus turned his head to look through the french doors and observed his boyfriend kick off his boots and throw his jacket on the floor. A frown creased the warlock's forehead. Alec never left his things out of order. And he also never drank, which meant the excessive amount of whisky the shadowhunter had just poured into his glass was a massive red flag.
"Hey there, darling. Whats wrong?" Magnus stepped into the living space, sliding the glass shut behind him.
Alec barely glanced up from his glass, taking a rather large sip before responding. "Nothing."
The warlock rolled his eyes. "Alexander, I know you. I know when something's wrong."
"Not now, please, Magnus. Can we just...do something else."
Sighing, Magnus swung himself onto the couch, conjuring another glass and pouring half of the content of Alec's into his own.
"Hey!"
"You need to pace yourself, darling."
Alec huffed and slumped against his boyfriend.
"So. Should we put on a movie? Something fluffy?" Magnus tangled his fingers though the shadowhunter's hair, idly fiddling with the dark locks.
"Whatever. I don't care." Lifting the drink to his lips, Alec swallowed down another mouthful of whisky, suppressing a grimace.
"Alexander, I-"
"Actually," the shadowhunter pushed himself off the couch and downed the rest of his drink. "I'm going to take a shower." With that he exited the room, shutting the door aggressively and leaving Magnus in stunned silence.
~
Softly opening the door, Magnus stepped into the couple's shared bedroom. He could hear the sound of the shower pattering down from the connected bathroom. Alec's showers weren't usually more than five minutes, so he had to hurry. Grabbing Alec's phone, he unlocked it (12-08-MB, his boyfriend was so predictable) and began flicking through the day's messages. There were a couple joking texts to Izzy, a check in from Maryse, and a conversation with himself that he would very much like to revisit at a later date. Finally he found what he wanted. Jase and Alec had sent over two hundred texts today alone. This had to be it.
"What are you doing with my phone?"
Magnus' head shot up, and he made eye contact with his boyfriend, fresh out of the shower. He had a towel lazily wrapped around his hips and was rubbing another over his damp hair. A frown was creasing his brow as he stared at the warlock.
"Alexander, I can explain."
"Explain what, exactly?" Grabbing the device, Alec looked down at the open series of messages. "No, you know what? I'd love to hear this." He tilted his head and plastered on an empty smile. "Go ahead."
The warlock stood up and took a step forward, stopping when Alec moved away. "Darling, you-"
"Don't."
Magnus took a deep breath, trying to steady himself and his swirling thoughts. "Alexander. You obviously had a bad day. And you wouldn't talk to me. So I thought..."
"You thought you'd go through my personal things." A forced laugh. "Great plan, Magnus, truly marvellous. Ever consider that maybe, just maybe, I wanted this apartment to be a singular escape from the hell that my world is turning into right now? That I wanted somewhere to go to forget everything and just feel happy for a change? Or is the fact that I actually have emotions just so shocking that you don't know how else to cope?"
The room was silent for a moment, Magnus standing with a stunned look on his face, Alec's chest heaving with emotion and eyes brimming with tears. Neither of them was quite sure what to do. Alec never yelled. Sure, they had fought before, but not like that. He hadn't ever...
Finally, Magnus took a step towards the young shadowhunter. "Alexander, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to help." He held up a finger when he saw Alec move to contradict him. "And I know I should have gone about it some other way. But relationships are built on communication, darling. And I can't help if you won't talk to me. Even if that talking is just asking me to be a distraction." Another step, and he was right in front of his boyfriend. "Because I can't imagine not helping you when you're in pain. That's what I'm here for. Now you need to let me in."
The shadowhunter visibly struggled for a moment to keep the tears at bay, but they quickly won the battle, spilling down his cheeks as he fell into Magnus' arms. "It was the worst day, Magnus. Everything went wrong. There was an attack on the Institute, people got hurt on my watch. I don't-" His voice broke with raw emotion and he buried his face in the warlock's shoulder.
Magnus combed his fingers through Alec's hair, quietly reassuring him that everything would be alright. They stood together for what felt like an eternity before Alec reluctantly pulled away.
"You should go get dressed." The warlock smiled and gently brushed a few tears away with the pad of his thumb. "The coziest clothes in the closet."
Alec nodded. He took another deep breath and moved towards the closet, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and stepping into the bathroom to change. Magnus took the moment to clear off their bed, turning down the sheets on Alec's side and settling down in his. When Alec returned and sat on the bed, Magnus wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders and rested their foreheads together.
"I'm sorry you had a bad day. And I'm sorry I didn't handle it well. And I love you."
"I love you too." A faint smile had worked it's way onto the shadowhunter's worried face. "I'm..."
"Exhausted?" Magnus laughed softly when Alec nodded, scooting down so that they were lying side by side, entwined in eachother's arms. "You're wonderful, you know that?"
"I'm n-"
"Yes. You are." The warlock pressed a tender kiss to his boyfriend's lips before settling back down. "Get some rest, Alexander. The sun will shine brighter in the morning."