Chapter Text
"I'm so excited!" Clary grinned, grabbing Magnus' hand and pulling him towards the entrance to the building where the convention was to be held. "Can you believe we got all access passes?"
"No, Biscuit...you got all access passes for you and Simon, yet somehow I'm the one being dragged along." Magnus shrugged, his eyes glinting but his mouth turned down in a frown. "I should be working on next weeks case load this weekend..."
"Magnus! You can't work alllllll the time!" Clary protested, as she stared up at her glittery friend, "You know Simon's sick! I just wanted my bestest friend with me to look after me, make sure I don't go all gooey eyed when we get to meet Jace Wayland! Oh my god! We're going to meet Jace! What if I cry?!" she asked, hand covering her mouth.
"Oh Clary, I'll be there with you. I promise to stop you when you start to gush all over him! But really, I have no idea about this guy, I mean what is it he's in? You know I haven't seen any of your and Simon's sci-fi..." Magnus protested as he smiled down at her.
"He's the sexiest man in the world, is all!" Clary exclaimed, "You've seen an episode or two of 'Captain Shadow', remember it's the one with the that dark haired, brooding man with all the tattoos - you said you thought he was hot?"
"Oh! Him...yes he was definitely well presented on that show. Now, if he was here I'd be happily joining you!" Magnus smirked as they entered the building and moved towards the 'All Access' table.
Clary swapped their tickets for their lanyards and they both had to put on a special wristband which granted them access to almost every part of the con.
"Oh my god! I can't wait for those doors to open!" Clary laughed as they joined a small queue of people who also had All-access passes.
"Me neither," Said a tall girl who was standing in front of them, "Getting my hands on Alexander Lightwood will be worth every penny of this pass!" She laughed.
"I thought he wasn't going to be here?" Clary asked, surprised.
"I know! No-one thought he would be, but Jace put a new pic on his insta about 5 minutes ago that said he was bringing a friend for support, and the arm around his neck has one of Alec's distinctive tattoos!" The girl exclaimed, excitement colouring her cheeks.
"Magnus! Tall, dark and brooding is going to be here...bet you're happy Simon's sick now!"
"I guess if it's actually him I may be persuaded to smile, Biscuit," he said with a solemn expression. "Not that I know much about him so it would be awfully embarrassing were I to actually have to engage him in conversation!"
"You don't know anything about Alexander Lightwood?!" The girl in front asked, a horrified expression crossing her face. At Magnus' swift nod, she opened her mouth again, "Right, well I'm Maia, his absolute biggest fan, and I can tell you everything!"
-------
Twenty minutes later, Maia finally stopped talking. Magnus' head was full of random, absolutely useless facts about the brooding man from Clary's favourite show. While he admitted that the guy had looked incredibly handsome, and Maia had made him sound like an absolute god, Magnus' experiences of meeting famous people had never been that impressive. He was pretty certain that at a Con as busy as this one, even the people with All-access passes were going to find themselves shoved down the line pretty quickly so that others could have their turn. But he smiled at Maia kindly and thanked her for all her excellent information.
Suddenly, it was time to go in and Clary consulted the schedule she had made so that she and Magnus would not miss out on anything important. First up was a talk about another of her favourite shows, Han and the Bang, which was being led by the lead actor. She dragged him over to the correct door so they would have their pick of the seats and they ended up in the front row.
Although Magnus did not watch the show, he was really impressed with the enthusiasm from the cast and crew and the way they were responding to their fans and their questions. When Clary had her chance to ask hers, she fell happily back into his arms as the lead actor gave her a thorough reply that left her ecstatic!
Leaving the first talk, Clary rushed him over to check the bulletin board to see if Alec's name had been added to the autograph or meet and greet sessions, but it wasn't there so they continued on with her plan to attend every possible session they could. They posed together with actors from 3 of her favourite shows and she had several of them autograph things for poor Simon. Magnus tried to get out of being in the pictures, but Clary insisted that he would appreciate them later, so he kept up a cheerful smile for her, even though his legs were hurting from all the rushing around.
At one point Clary left him with all her merchandise and autographs and rushed off to buy some new, exclusive Funko Pop Jace that was only available at the convention, so Magnus settled himself on the edge of bench, hidden slightly around a corner from the main crowd. As he sat down, his elbow knocked into the arm of the person beside him and he swiftly apologised.
The man didn't look up, but murmured a quiet thanks, pulling the peak of a baseball cap low over his eyes.
Magnus found the gesture a little weird, but decided not to dwell on it, perhaps the guy was a very shy fan, he had heard that lots of these sci-fi show fans could be a little quiet. Or maybe he was also a reluctant participant like Magnus and had been dragged along by a friend.
Pulling out a bottle of water, he twisted the cap and then leaned back to take a long drink, re-hydrating after all the rushing around. As he drank, he felt eyes on him, and turned to look at the man beside him, who was suddenly studiously studying a map of the venue which looked well used.
Deciding that it couldn't harm, he turned slightly towards him, but didn't try to engage him in eye contact, and spoke, "Have you been dragged here by an enthusiastic friend too?" Magnus asked, voice low so as not to startle him.
The man was startled. His hand reached up for the cap again and he tugged it a little lower and then he wrapped his arms around himself and began worrying at one of his sleeves.
A beautiful, deep voice with a hint of an Italian..no Spanish...accent replied, "Not really. Just letting it all soak in,"
"Ah, I see." Magnus said, looking at the crowds around the corner from where their bench was hidden. "I understand, this is my first one of these and my lovely friend, Biscuit, said she would make sure I was okay, but she's run off to buy yet more stuff and I am left here with all the bags!"
The man chuckled quietly, a rich sound which sent a shiver down Magnus' spine. Was it possible to fall in love with a laugh? He asked himself, eyes turning back to where his companion continued to hide under the cap.
"What..." there was hesitation as he spoke, "What, show are you here for?" The man asked him, head still ducked down beneath the worn, blue, New York Yankees cap.
"Oh, well...I'm not really here for any of them. Not really a fan of TV in general, or famous people. I'm just supporting Biscuit since her other best friend couldn't make it. She was too afraid to come alone, she's so desperate to meet Jace Wayland that she's pretty certain she will feint in his presence so I'm going to have to be the one to rescue her if that happens!" Magnus admitted, hoping the man wasn't a Convention purist who only thought true fans should be there.
Laughing again, and making Magnus feel even more delighted, the man held out a hand. Unsure of what he was expecting, he was surprised when his own was plucked from his lap in a handshake. "I applaud you," The man said, "I'm not sure I would be so helpful to even my sister, you're a good friend. But I have heard that Jace...Jace Wayland is pretty nice to his fans, so if she did feint in his presence, I'm sure he would not hesitate to look after her,"
Magnus didn't reply. His hand was tingling from where the man had touched him. He had never felt such instant attraction from a voice and a touch. His stomach was twisting slightly and he felt the beginnings of a flush on his cheeks.
"Are you going to meet him too?" The man continued, sounding interested in Magnus' response.
"Oh," Magnus replied, regaining some of his sense, "I'm sure I'll be dragged along. You sound like you know who he is? Are you a fan?"
"Not exactly," The man replied, laughing again, "My friends like him though,"
"Ah, I see," Magnus replied, turning back to take another drink from his bottle and feeling the man's eyes trailing over him. He resisted the urge to turn and catch him watching, finishing his water instead.
"I like your hair," the man suddenly said and then raised a hand to his mouth as though he had surprised himself with his comment.
"Oh," Magnus smiled, "Thank you. I like your cap. Do you support them?"
"I do," the man said, a smile in his voice and the Spanish accent wobbling into something more New York, "I love them. Have a season ticket. Never miss a game if I can help it."
"Me too!" Magnus said, "My ticket is my life! It's been such a great season so far!" Here was his chance to draw the man out of his shell. It was not a surprise in a city of millions to meet another season ticket holder for the Yankees, but it was a lovely coincidence. The conversation about the con has not really worked out as neither of them seemed to be into it, so talking baseball should do the trick. "Look," he continued, "My name's Magnus, could I ask for yours?"
But as he spoke, he saw Clary bouncing towards him, red hair flying around her like a whirlwind, a huge smile on her face and a bag clutched in her hands.
The stranger stood suddenly as he noticed her approaching and dropped a hand to Magnus' shoulder, squeezing gently, "Nice meeting you Magnus," he drawled, pure New Yorker, no trace of the Spanish accent from before. And then he was gone.
"Damn, Biscuit!" Magnus exclaimed as Clary reached him, "Two minutes more and I might have cracked him. His voice was so sexy! Even when he was pretending to be Spanish!"
"Oh," Clary's hand went to her mouth and her face dropped, "I'm so sorry Magnus. I didn't realise. I didn't see that you were talking to someone."
"It's okay, it was just a random chat with a stranger whose face I never even saw, but his voice was delicious and you know I'm a sucker for a sexy voice! Not to mention his gorgeous long fingers. Ooo...think what those could do!"
"Magnus! PG-13!" Clary hissed! It was their code for 'tone it down' when they were in public and Magnus blushed a little, still thinking about the man.
"Sorry I interrupted, maybe we can find him around here somewhere? Or go to Lost and Found and get an announcement put out? What do you think?" she asked.
"No, it was just a bit of harmless flirting, if that. I never even saw his face." Magnus frowned, then tipped his lips up into a smile for his best friend, "Anyway, he had some vital information about Jace for you!" he laughed and pulled Clary away with him towards their next destination, arms full of her bags.