Work Text:
While Alec had always prided himself on how thorough he was in filing all of his reports, down to the last detail, it certainly had a tendency to equalize in the negative in another facets of his life. Usually his sleep schedule.
He hadn’t intended to be awake until four in the morning, looking back through pages of notes he’d taken on the Bay Street murder scene to then meticulously organize. He had come home from work hungry and smelling to high heaven with barely enough energy to order pizza from around the corner while he poured over his notes from the day.
He’d forgotten to take a shower, though.
Rolling out of bed, Alec stretched slowly, rolling his body through popping joints and flexing muscles.
Breakfast would have to be picked up on the way to work again, he decided, when he saw just how bare his refrigerator had become. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to do a proper grocery run, and it looked like he was out of basically everything.
At half past seven, he was fresh out of the shower and dressed with his coat in hand and his bag over his shoulder. He had more than enough time to catch the subway, so he allowed himself the simple joy of walking at a leisurely pace, enjoying the cool autumn weather.
He loved New York in the fall. It had always been his favorite season, with the crisp, chilly air and the crunch of drying leaves and all the hues of orange and red that offset the more dull color palette of the concrete jungle he called home. The stale, thick air of the subway was an unpleasant contrast, and Alec was eager to reach his stop.
The warm smells of Java Jones welcomed Alec in to order coffee for him and Isabelle, plus a few pastries.
He could get by on just one coffee today, he told himself—a familiar lie. By early afternoon he would be craving another cup or three, just like always. His only excuse was that he had become a coffee fiend after starting college, and things only got worse when he was hired by the Brooklyn police department as a CSI. The hours were long, and when he was on call erratic, and the work itself required the focus and precision of a sharp mind.
The lobby of the precinct was still sparse when he made his way through the front doors, so he took a moment to send Isabelle a text that he had coffee and pastries for her. She replied immediately, telling him to come meet her at the lab, so he took the elevator down and instantly felt the minute the temperature began to drop. The labs and morgue were always noticeably colder than the rest of the building, and Alec couldn’t understand how Izzy had gotten so used to it so fast.
As soon as the double doors parted, Alec spotted her leaning against the wall and inspecting her nails. “I come bearing gifts,” he greeted, holding up the drinks’ carrier and paper bag.
“You’re my favorite brother,” Isabelle replied with a smile, snatching her coffee and taking a deep inhale through the tiny opening in the lid.
Alec snorted playfully, handing over a cheese Danish wrapped in a few napkins. “I think I’ve earned it, but it’s nice to hear.”
“Mmhmm,” she managed to get out between bites. With her shoulder, she pushed open the lab doors after artfully pressing her badge clipped to the waistband of her pants into the sensor with her hip. “Oh, Magnus. Hey.”
Snapping to attention in the doorway, Alec realized he must have looked rather like a deer in the headlights as he stared wide eyed at the man standing at one of the lab counters, flipping through a book.
Alec had been working for the CSI program at this station for a little over a year and his very first day he had literally bumped into Magnus like the cliché he was, spilling his coffee all down the front of his extremely expensive looking shirt. Magnus had been so kind about it, though, offering Alec the kindest smile he’d ever been the recipient of, and he was struck by how utterly beautiful the man was.
Ever since, he’d been undoubtedly besotted—pining was the word Izzy liked to use; Alec found it overdramatic. But in his defense, liking Magnus couldn’t be helped. He was stunningly attractive, from the soft spikes of his onyx hair to the tips of his designer boots, he was unendingly warm and kind to everyone he encountered with a unique way of making you feel special for no reason at all, and he was exceedingly smart not only as one of the most valuable and sought after CSIs in New York with his arsenal of skills but also having honed tremendous wit and humor.
Their friendship had blossomed easily, even though they were an unlikely pair from the outside looking in. Magnus was vibrant and demonstrative, while Alec was ordinary and reticent, and yet despite all their differences they still gravitated towards one another. It didn’t take long for Alec to realize that trying to resist his feelings was completely futile, so he resigned himself to the inevitability of spending his years working with Magnus being unrequitedly hung up.
“Izzy, just who I was hoping to see,” Magnus remarked, standing up straight and offering a warm smile. His hair hung over his forehead in soft strands, the tips of them a beautiful caramel color to match the sheer button up shirt he wore tucked neatly into his tight black pants. His gold necklaces matched the detailing on his leather boots and nails painted nondescript black were offset by the rings on his fingers. “And you brought company. Pretty boy.” His words filled Alec with warmth like the sun was tucked away behind his ribs, and he ducked his head in hopes of smothering the smile that would give him away.
“What’s up?” Isabelle replied, tucking her coat and purse away in the closet and making her way over to him with her coffee still in hand.
“I’ve been working on brushing up on my lab skills so I had a sample from Maia that I ran some secondary tests on. I wondered if I could get your expertise to verify my results.”
Isabelle nodded, tying her hair up in a neat pile on her head to keep it out of her face. “Sure, I’d be happy to.”
“I’d better go,” Alec blurted out, immediately regretting having opened his mouth at all instead of just turning around and leaving. Why did he always seem to lose his head any time he was around Magnus? Why did his brain have to short circuit and his knees feel like jelly and his palms sweat and his heart bang against his chest like it was about to leap into Magnus’ arms itself?
By the grace of some divine being, all three of their phones began buzzing with a text to the team to meet in the briefing room immediately, thereby saving him from some other monstrosity slipping out.
“Duty calls,” Isabelle sighed, setting her coffee down forlornly as they left for the briefing room.
They were the last ones to arrive; Simon and Maia were already sitting at the table, feet up in a reclining position as they chatted, and Jace was pacing the length of the wall, ready to get to work and restless without a case. At the front of the room, thumbing through the contents of a manila folder was Lieutenant Garroway.
He looked up as soon as he heard them enter, gesturing for them to have a seat. “We’ve got a crime scene likely linked to that of the Bay Street murder,” he began, eyebrows drawn in consternation. “The call came in a few minutes ago that a body was found this morning on Canarsie Pier by a jogger. The radius of the crime scene is less than a mile away from Bay.” Setting the folder down on the table and sliding it over to Alec, Luke nodded at him. “Alec, I want you to lead the investigation. Get the team down there.”
“Yes sir,” Alec replied immediately. Looking at the others, he stood. “Gear up.”
The drive wasn’t long, especially with Alec and Izzy driving each of the Suburbans, and as soon as the fluorescent crime scene tape came into view, they pulled the cars over and made their way under to get to work.
“Izzy, Magnus, get the rundown from the police. Jace, Maia, set up the equipment and get started photographing the scene. Simon and I will get started here.”
Alec knelt down beside the body, observing the blood soaked clothes. “Looks to be eight stab wounds, centralized to the chest,” he relayed to Simon, pointing at the spots on the man’s shirt that had the densest crust of blood.
“Just like Bay,” Simon pointed out, circling around to the other side of the body. “The posing is similar too.”
“There isn’t much of a trail of blood, meaning he was killed here. The body wasn’t brought to be posed, and he bled out on this spot—no time to try to make an escape after the first blow.”
“Is it too much to hope the killer left the weapon nearby?” Simon asked, offering a small grin.
“Hey, Alec!” Izzy called, making her way over to them with Magnus close behind. “The police think the murder weapon might have been tossed over the pier into the water, according to a witness.”
Looking at Magnus, Alec raised his eyebrows in a silent question. One of Magnus’ additional specialties was underwater recovery.
“I can get suited up,” he replied. “If this is the same killer, there likely won’t be fingerprints—they seem a bit too crafty for that if last time is any indication—but there might be something we can pull.” His nimble fingers went to his hair, carding through and gathering the strands to tie back with the hair tie around his wrist. Just as he went to make the first loop, the elastic snapped sharply, splitting in half. “Oh, fuck me. Darling, have you got an extra hair tie?” He looked at Isabelle hopefully, hair still held together in one hand.
She gave him an apologetic look, shaking her head.
Alec had been so momentarily stunned by the way Magnus’ hair moved through his fingers, imagining how it might feel gliding between his own rough and calloused hands that he nearly forgot the hair tie he kept on his own wrist for just such an occasion. “Oh, hey, I have one,” he managed to say, rolling it off his wrist and holding it out.
The shock on Magnus’ face was very evident, but there was a smile blooming on his lips. It sent Alec’s heartbeat rabbiting in his chest. “Thank you, Alexander.” They held each other’s gaze for a moment more before Magnus went to get changed.
The clamor of Jace and Maia returning to take the crime scene photos pulled Alec’s thoughts away and back to the case. They easily worked around one another, having been a team for long enough to weave in and out of one another’s space almost seamlessly.
Alec couldn’t help but watch when he could spare the occasional glance as Magnus waded out into the water, securing his mask on his face, and lowering himself down beneath the surface, leaving behind a smooth ripple. It was seamless and beautiful, just as he was.
After finishing his observations and noting them, Alec backed off to watch the team as they worked until Izzy came to stand at his side. “Magnus should be up soon,” he murmured to her, leaning against the railing and looking down into the water.
“Does he know you keep hair ties on your wrist for him?” she questioned, looking out at the horizon line to give him the privacy of avoiding eye contact.
He considered lying, saying he kept it for the girls on the team were they to need one, but she would know better. “No,” he said instead.
“Don’t you think he’ll wonder?”
“I don’t know.” Did he hope Magnus would ask, so he would have a reason to speak his mind? Or did he hope he wouldn’t say a word so that there would be no reason to rock the boat?
Magnus broke through the surface of the water, and pulled back his mask to take a deep breath. He nodded up at them, signifying his success, and Alec was trapped in his gaze. All the water droplets that had accumulated on his skin and hair glittered like a thousand diamonds, declaring his brilliance. Oh fuck , Alec thought to himself.
“Wow,” slipped out softly and he heard Isabelle giggle at his side, hiding it behind her hand, though he didn’t miss the way her eyebrows had drawn up in an amused expression.
“Good luck,” was her parting advice, clapping him on the shoulder before going to collect the evidence from Magnus to seal up and take to the lab.
When they returned to the precinct, everyone parted ways to begin filing the evidence and conducting lab tests, leaving Alec to begin the report. He threw himself into his work headfirst to keep from getting lost in self-indulgent thoughts.
Eventually the tightness in his neck became a big enough distraction that he had to pull himself away from his work, leaning back in his chair with his neck stretched to try to ease some of the tension.With a soft groan, he massaged his fingers into the tight muscles, probing carefully as he glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was much later than he thought, and upon taking in his surroundings, he realized he was the only one still seated behind his desk.
Coffee was the priority, Alec decided. The building appeared to be nearly empty as he made his way through the halls to the lounge for coffee. As he rounded the corner, he came to an abrupt stop in the doorway—Magnus was just pouring himself a cup.
He was wearing department sweatpants and a tight gray t-shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled to rest above the line of his bicep. His hair was still slightly damp and hanging over his forehead, some with slight curl. Even dressed plainly he was astonishing.
Having heard Alec’s footsteps, he looked up. “Oh, Alexander. I just made a fresh pot, would you like some?”
“Yeah, thanks.” He took the proffered drink and took a generous sip. “Mm, that’s a great cup of coffee.”
Magnus laughed, pushing his hair off his forehead. “I bet you say that to all the boys.”
Alec smiled shyly. He wasn’t sure what to say, frankly, unprepared to have to make the decision now about whether to admit his feelings or stick to the status quo. “What are you still doing here?” he asked instead.
“After I finished helping out in the lab, I had to shower off. The smell of the pier is not something I want on my new shirt,” Magnus explained. “I take it you’re burning the candle at both ends again?”
“You know me.”
“Oh,” Magnus said suddenly, reaching into his pocket. “I have your hair tie for you.”
Alec waved him off. “It’s yours. I don’t need it.”
“What about Izzy?”
“It’s not for her,” Alec heard himself saying, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he wished he could stuff them back in. Instead, he took another sip of his drink to forcibly quiet himself, singeing his taste buds in the process.
Magnus tilted his head slightly, his expression curiously playful. “Oh?” He sounded highly amused.
“I keep those hair ties with me for you. I’ve noticed that they can snap pretty easy sometimes and you use them a lot, so I thought it would be smart to keep some on hand.” Alec attempted to shrug with an air of nonchalance.
“That’s very sweet of you, Alexander, I’m surprised you noticed.”
“I always notice.” He could feel his face growing hot as he realized he felt tremendously exposed, like Magnus was looking straight through him—every thought, every look… But as such, there was nothing left to lose. “I...care about you, Magnus.”
A look of understanding passed across Magnus’ face. “Oh. Alec.”
For a moment, that was all he said, and it sent Alec into a panic, furiously backtracking. “It’s okay,” he said a bit too loudly, setting his mug down. “You don’t owe me anything, we can just forget and—”
Magnus’ fingers pressed lightly against Alec’s mouth to quiet him, brushing the arch of his cupid’s bow. “I didn’t say I wanted to forget.”
“What are you saying?” Alec whispered, all the air seeming to have escaped from his lungs between one breath and another.
“I like you, Alexander,” Magnus explained, laughing fondly on a soft exhale.
“Oh,” was all he could manage. And then something came over him, and his hands were on either side of Magnus’ face, bringing him close and kissing him. It was a kiss that tasted of coffee and spearmint, and was exceptionally warm and slick in the best way. Whatever he’d expected it could be to kiss him, this was more and better.
When they pulled apart, Magnus gently caressed Alec’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “How about you call it a night here? If you like my coffee, I think you’ll like my cocktails even better.”
Finally finding his stride, Alec nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I’d like that.” His left hand twitched at his side, bumping against Magnus’ knuckles questioningly. When Magnus pressed back, he took the bait, slotting their fingers together.