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Alec sighed as he looked up at the sign for Pandemonium. He shouldn’t be here, he should be in the institute, doing his job, his duty, which is exactly what brought him to Pandemonium in the first place. He knew sooner or later he was going to have to marry a woman, probably someone of his parents choosing to help restore the name they tarnished. So Alec decided that he would go out, find a handsome stranger and to have sex with, to get it out of his system before going back to the life that was inevitably waiting for him. With a deep breath, he entered the club.
***
Magnus was sitting on his throne in the VIP section, surrounded by the usual downworlders who desperately wanted to get on his good side, or rather, on the other side of his bed. He would often take one or two home with him to blow off some steam, but tonight something seemed off, something had him on edge, something that he couldn’t place.
Magnus scanned the crowd, slowly sipping on his martini. As his eyes raked over the dance floor, he spotted a figure. Magnus stared for a moment, the man was incredibly handsome, tall, and … a shadowhunter? Magnus sighed as he placed his drink down and made his way towards the man who, now that he was looking closer, looked slightly scared.
***
Alec’s nerves flared up the moment he entered the club. The number of people, as well as the noise, was more than he was expecting. Sure he’d passed through the club before, but that had been while on a mission with his siblings close by and a specific goal in mind. This was different, this was Alec alone, hoping to meet someone. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the bright lights, Alec headed for the bar.
As he made his way through the crowd, a movement off to the side caught his eye. His gaze fell on the VIP section. The elevated platform was bustling with people, an incredibly good looking man sat on a sofa/throne thing. Various downworlders surrounded him and Alec couldn’t help but feel a rush of jealousy pass through him. Just as Alec went to turn away and continue heading to the bar, the gorgeous man, who now that Alec thought about it was probably Magnus Bane, the owner of the place, looked over at him. Their eyes looked for a second, and Alec suddenly felt frozen in place. He stood still as he watched the man gracefully rise to his feet and head towards him, his heart beating faster with every step the man took.
“Can I help you, shadowhunter?” Magnus asked as he came to a stop in front of Alec.
Alec swallowed, looking down at his shoes. “I don’t know.”
Magnus frowned at the man’s behaviour. This wasn’t the body language of a shadowhunter on a mission, this was different. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes locked on Alec’s face.
“Are you here on business or for a personal matter?” Magnus inquired.
Alec met his eyes briefly, a small flush forming on his cheeks. “Personal.”
“In that case, would you like to grab a drink?”
Alec was slightly taken aback by the question but nodded anyway. He followed Magnus to the bar, where the warlock ordered two drinks, before turning to face him.
“So, what brings you here…”
“Alec,”
“What brings you here then, Alec?”
Alec shifted nervously, not sure if he should actually tell the man why he was there.
“I just… erm… I wanted to … have some fun.”
Magnus watched Alec’s face, reading between the lines. Magnus smiled softly at him, gently resting his hand on Alec’s arm.
“Tell me about yourself, Alec.”
Alec blinked before doing as the warlock requested. He talked about his siblings, how he was the eldest and that meant he had a duty, responsibilities. For some reason, he even told Magnus he was gay, and that he knew he was going to have to marry a woman someday, it was his duty as a shadowhunter, as the eldest Lightwood and for once, Alec just wanted to be Alec, not a shadowhunter bound to the Clave, not the eldest Lightwood who had to what was right for his family, but Alec. Simple and plain Alexander.
Magnus listened and despite everything that he had experienced with the Lightwoods, his heart went out to the younger man. When Alec came to a stop in his story, he seemed shocked by what he had shared. The moment the shadowhunter opened his mouth, Magnus cut him off sensing what was he was going to say.
“You don’t need to apologise, Alec. Keeping things bottled up is never a good idea, trust me I know. So, how about you come and dance with me.”
Alec looked at Magnus shocked. “You want to dance with me?”
“Yes?”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
Alec motioned to the VIP section where several people seemed to be watching them. “You’re Magnus Bane, you could dance with pretty much anyone, there’s a load of people watching us, waiting for you and you want to dance with me?”
Magnus cupped Alec’s cheek before he even realised what he was doing. “There is a gorgeous man in front of me, so yes, I want to dance with him.”
Alec flushed but nodded, letting Magnus lead them to the dance floor. Magnus turned Alec to face him, settling his hands on the shadowhunter’s hips. Alec’s looped his arms around Magnus’ neck and followed the warlock’s movements.
Alec began to loosen up, becoming a bit more daring and moving on his own. They talked a little while they dance but Alec couldn’t stop staring at the glitter that shimmered on Magnus’ skin. It took him much longer than it should have to realise that he was staring at Magnus’ lips. He flushed deep red, turning his eyes to his shoes as he tried to pull away. Magnus tightened his grip, stopping Alec from going too far. He moved a hand to cup Alec’s face, making the younger man look at him.
“Did you want to kiss me, Alexander?”
Alec shivered at the sound of his full name and his blush deepened. He nodded, a small “yes” escaping his lips in a whisper. Before he had time to react, Magnus leaned forward, their lips almost touching. Alec’s heart beat faster as he realised that Magnus was leaving the choice up to him. He was giving Alec an out if he didn’t want this. With that thought in mind, Alec closed the gap, pressing his lips to Magnus’.
The moment their lips met it felt like electricity was flooding Alec’s veins. Magnus deepened the kiss, licking carefully into Alec’s mouth making the shadowhunter moan. They stayed close, swaying their hips to the music, all the while continuing to kiss. If this was what kissing felt like, Alec wondered how good other things might feel.
It didn’t take long before they started grinding on each other. Alec had broken the kiss to bury his face in Magnus’ neck, panting against the skin. Magnus shifted so that he could press soft kissing on Alec’s neck, little barely-there touches that made Alec’s skin feel like it was on fire.
Alec whined when Magnus pulled away. The feeling was too good and he wanted more. Magnus pulled them over to the bar, handing Alec a bottle of water.
“Drink. We need a moment to cool down.”
“Why?” Alec asked. Things had been going well, and he wanted more. He wanted Magnus. It was like his entire body was screaming for man.
Magnus ran a hand through his hair, ignoring the tingle of his magic under his skin. He cupped Alec’s face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Alec, I know you came here looking to have some fun to get things out of your system as it were, but I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh,” Alec replied, the disappointment evident in his voice.
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to,” Magnus reassured quickly, “I just don’t want you to do something you might come to regret. I don’t want you to settle for one good fuck and then be miserable for the rest of your life while wondering about what could have been.”
Alec smiled, placing a hand on Magnus’. “Okay.”
They stared at each other for a moment longer before Alec spoke again. “It’s late, I should go.”
Magnus nodded, “Would you like me to portal you back?”
“Thanks, but I can walk.”
Magnus pulled Alec against him, giving him one last kiss before letting him go. Alec moaned into the kiss, whining softly when Magnus pulled away. He moved quickly, placing a chaste peck to Magnus’ cheek before more or less fleeing the club. The entire walk back to the Institute, Alec was replaying the evening in his head. He’d gone in with the hope of hooking up with some mundane but instead, he’d got to kiss the most beautiful man in the room. He sighed happily as he walked up the stairs to the Institute and headed inside, looking forward to getting some sleep and hopefully dreaming of Magnus.
***
When Alec woke the next morning, he couldn’t help but smile as he remembered Magnus. The man had been so kind and patient and Alec was pretty sure that the kiss they shared would be the best kiss he would ever have. He sighed as he got out of bed and headed for the shower, his heart suddenly feeling heavy. He’d had such a great time but now it was back to reality.
Alec jumped into the shower, planning to be quick so he could start his day and avoid thinking of Magnus. Just as his mind began to wonder, something caught Alec’s eye. Glancing down at his side, Alec froze. The flames on his left side, which went from just above his hips to just under his ribs and were normally a shade lighter than his skin tone were cerulean blue and seemed to shimmer and flicker like actual flames. Oh. Alec thought back to his night at Pandemonium, knowing that there was really only one person who could have made them come to life.
“Shit,” Alec whispered, running his fingers over his soul mark.
Alec sighed and finished his shower. He never thought he’d ever get to meet his soulmate, and now that he had he wanted nothing more than to go back to Magnus and stay curled up in his arms. Alec shook the thought out of his head. It wasn’t going to be possible, he had a duty and job to do. He quickly dressed before heading to the training room to let off some steam.
***
Magnus watched the Shadowhunter leave. There was something about the man that he found intriguing, especially for a Lightwood. Magnus returned to the VIP area, dismissing those who tried to get his attention. Something felt strange and he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. His magic seemed to be tingling just beneath his skin like it wanted out. Magnus sighed, signalling to one of his staff that he was leaving and headed to his office. He grabbed a few documents that needed his attention before opening a portal and heading home. He hoped that a good sleep would calm his magic and bring things back to normal.
When Magnus woke the next morning, the tingling of his magic was still present. He sighed as he headed for the bathroom. He considered calling Catarina just to make sure that he wasn’t going down with some sort of warlock flu. As he changed out of his clothes, a movement on his left side caught his attention. Magnus’ eyes widened at the sight. His soul mark, the faint flames rising from his hips were suddenly blue and shimmering. Magnus swallowed and ran his fingers carefully over the mark, images of Alec flashing through his mind.
“Shit.”
***
Alec was thankful that his soul mark was on his side and therefore he could keep it hidden. Jace had looked at him strangely while he was training since Alec refused to take his top off, despite being covered in sweat. Jace frowned at him and Alec could feel his brother’s concern coming through their bond. Alec waved off his brother’s worry, dragging him into a sparing session.
As much as Alec tried, he couldn’t ignore the constant tingling of his mark. It was like an electrical current was running through it. Strange things had also started to happen since his evening at Pandemonium. Alec had found Magnus number programmed into his phone, which had left him kind of surprised since neither he nor Magnus had handled the phone, in fact, the more Alec thought about it, the stranger it became since he hadn’t taken his phone with him that night.
Alec tried to push the thoughts out of his head. The Clave envoy, Lydia was slowly taking over the Institute and his parents were breathing down his neck about getting married and restoring the name that they ruined. Magnus had been at the Institute a few times since their night at Pandemonium almost a week earlier and although Alec tried to avoid him like the plague, he always somehow ended up in the same place as the warlock.
Alec shook all thoughts from his head and headed to the office. He had gone over all of his options and decided that this was the only way to keep everyone happy. He was going to marry Lydia, it would restore his family name and their position with the Clave. Lydia could have her dream of running an Institute and Alec could fulfil his duty and protect his siblings. He knew that Lydia wouldn’t love him back, she had met her soulmate. A single-stemmed rose was located on her collarbone and was a dark grey colour. Alec’s heart had ached at the sight. Soul marks were normally slightly lighter than one’s normal skin tone. They gained colour when you met your mate and when one died, the mark would become a faded grey. Knowing that Lydia wouldn’t love him, just like he wouldn’t love her, made Alec’s decision slightly easier.
***
Alec had assumed that asking Lydia to marry him would be quick and simple. He planned to ask her in the office, list all the reasons why it was a good idea and hope she would say yes. However, it turns out he couldn’t have been more wrong. On two occasions Alec had met with Lydia in the office, only to forget the reason he was there in the first place. The third time he’d tried, he’d somehow ended up on the other side of the Institute. Alec went to sleep that night with the distinct feeling that he was missing something.
Alec was sure that today was going to be better. He’d slept better than he had since his evening with Magnus and he hoped that the fact that he wasn’t so tired would allow him to actually do what he needed to. He really shouldn’t have been surprised when he ended up in a supply closet rather than the head’s office. Alec sighed, turning to leave only to stand frozen in place when Magnus walked in, the door closing behind him.
“Oh,” Magnus stated, suddenly taking in his new location.
Alec watched as Magnus tried the door handle, only to find that the door wouldn’t budge.
“Oh,” Magnus said again, his eyes drifting to Alec.
“Let me try,” Alec said, moving forward to grab the handle. He flushed slightly as his hand brushed Magnus’. He jiggled the doorknob and sighed in defeat when it wouldn’t move.
Alec grabbed his stele and began tracing runes on the door. He frowned when nothing would work and turned to face Magnus, who had a rather sheepish look on his face.
“What?” Alec asked.
“I think my magic trapped us in here, which is why your stele won’t work.”
Alec blinked at him for a moment, shoving his stele back into his holster. “Why?”
“Because it’s meddling where it doesn’t belong,” Magnus muttered.
Alec jumped slightly when Magnus suddenly yelped as a faint red shimmer slapped him across the back of the head.
“Okay, fine,” Magnus hissed, glaring at the shimmer that flash a slightly darker shade of red. “It wants us to talk about us…. About this.”
Magnus pulled up his shirt to reveal his soul mark and before Alec had a chance to react, his shirt was being shoved up to display his own.
“Hey!” he said indignantly, trying to push his shirt back down.
Magnus’ magic seemed to take pity on him and let the shirt go, gently patting the mark. Alec’s face was flushed and he’s never been so thankful for the fact that the Institute had supply closets that could hold four shadowhunters comfortably. He wasn’t sure how he would cope if he was pressed against Magnus.
“So...erm…” Alec began, twisting his fingers nervously.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Magnus asked, leaning back against one of the shelves.
Alec looked up at Magnus with such a vulnerable expression that it made the warlock’s heart ache.
“I couldn’t… I can’t! I have a duty. I have to do what’s best for my family.”
“What about doing what’s best for you?” Magnus inquired, his voice soft.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, Alexander. Of course, it matters.”
Alec stared at Magnus for a moment. He wanted nothing more than to throw himself into the warlock’s arms and pull him close. He wanted Magnus to push him against the door and kiss him senseless.
Alec half-shrugged, looking everywhere but at Magnus. “It doesn’t. I have to restore the family name and I was planning on asking Lydia to marry me. It would work out well, neither of us would love the other that way, and she’d get to run an institute and I’d restore the name, it’s a win-win.”
“Alexander, you’d both be miserable,” Magnus said softly.
Alec huffed through his nose, crossing his arms over his chest. “I haven’t been able to yet, anyway. Every time I’ve tried it’s gone wrong. I either end up forgetting what I was going to ask the moment I enter the office or I end up on the other side of the Institute.”
Magnus looked like he was going to say something when a mix of blue and red shimmer flashed in the corner. Alec could have sworn that it giggled.
“I’m sorry,” Magnus stated, staring at the shimmer. “It seems my magic was interfering.”
“Wait, are you saying that your magic is the reason behind all that?” Alec asked, slightly confused.
Magnus nodded, “Yes, and possibly any other strange things.”
“But why?”
Magnus sighed and glared at the shimmer which seemed to be pulsing red like it was offended by Alec’s question.
“It seems that that night at Pandemonium, my magic latched onto you. It likes you, Alec. And it decided to try and push us together.”
Alec blinked at Magnus before glancing at the magic. “So, your number appearing in my phone and the fact that I kept bumping into you while trying to avoid you whenever you were here was because of your magic?”
Magnus nodded. “Yes.”
Alec smiled slightly and held a hand out towards the shimmer. Magnus watched in amazement as his magic changed from its slightly red colour to its normal blue and swirled around Alec’s arm like it was trying to hug him.
“Is that why it shimmers?” Alec suddenly asked, looking up at Magnus.
“Huh?”
“The soul mark. It shimmers like the flames are alive. I’ve never heard of one moving before, and I wondered if it was because of your magic.”
Magnus watched as his magic made its way around Alec’s body. “Yes, it is.”
Alec smiled and Magnus’ heart thumped in his chest. Before either could speak, a fire message floated through the air close to Alec’s head. Alec grabbed it reading it quickly before looking up at Magnus wide-eyed.
“What is it?” Magnus asked.
Alec didn’t reply, he just grabbed Magnus hand and lead them through the now suddenly unlocked door and to the Head of the Institute’s office.
“What did you do?” Magnus hissed at his magic which seemed to be shimmering with pride.
When they got near the office, Alec dropped Magnus’ hand. The pair entered, and Alec stopped in his tracks at the scene in front of them. His parents were standing by the desk, confused expressions on their faces. Lydia was standing by the fireplace, her arms wrapped tightly around a man Alec had never seen before.
“Alec,” Lydia said when she noticed him by the door. “You remember my fiancé I told you about?”
Alec nodded, “John, right?”
Lydia smiled. “Yes, well, this is John.”
Alec looked from Lydia to the man and then to his parents.
“Nice to meet you,” Magnus said from where he was standing behind Alec.
Lydia turned back to look at John, her eyes filled with so much love Alec’s heart ached with longing for the same.
“Turns out he wasn’t killed that day. He was badly injured and lost, but he’s finally found his way home.”
Alec watched as Lydia and John shared a soft intimate kiss.
Alec jumped when a sensation ran across the back of his neck. It felt like a gust of wind but without the actual wind. It sounded suspiciously like whatever it was, was whispering you’re welcome. It was then that Alec realised that it was Magnus’ magic. The magic in question was shimmering by the desk. Alec stared at it for a moment before a realisation dawned on him. If the magic had gone to all the trouble of keeping him away from Lydia and to even bring back the man Lydia was in love with, it was clearly going to sabotage any relationship Alec tried to have. All except one, the one Alec wanted the most.
Alec turned to face Magnus, his heart racing. Before he could overthink anything he moved closer and grabbed the lapels of the man’s jacket. Magnus looked at him with wide eyes, and he must have understood because he gave a small nod and Alec closed the gap, pressing his lips to Magnus.
The kiss felt like coming home. Alec’s whole body tingled, radiating from the soul mark. He heard a faint gasp but chose to ignore it in favour of pulling Magnus closer. He moaned as Magnus licked at the seam of his lips, pressing his tongue inside and twisting it with Alec’s.
When they pulled apart, Alec leaned his forehead against Magnus’. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the warlock’s magic was shimmering the same vibrant blue as his soul mark. He nuzzled their noses together for a moment, savouring the feeling of having the person he wanted close to him.
“I chose what’s best for me,” Alec whispered into the small space between them. “I chose you if you’ll have me.”
“Gladly,” Magnus whispered back, pulling Alec into another kiss.
Off to the side, Magnus’ magic shimmered brightly and contently, pride and happiness radiating from it.