Chapter Text
The moment Alec first saw Magnus' eyes, he knew he was absolutely fucked.
Not his glamoured ones, Alec had managed to hold onto at least a slimmer of his self control when he'd first met the man thankfully, but it was after a particularly long day of patrols that Alec had returned to the Institute only for his mother to send him back into Brooklyn to meet with it's High Warlock.
It wasn't the first time that Alec had been to Magnus' loft, it seemed that recently he'd been sent to fetch Magnus for one Institute related crisis or another much more often than he had before Clary showed up. With Valentine's influence growing every day it seemed that Maryse had managed to put aside her distain for Downworlders long enough to at least see their worth during these times, constantly asking for wards around the institute to be repaired, or to ask more questions about whatever new lead they had on Valentine's next move or the location of the Mortal Cup.
And while Alec would never admit to anyone, least of all himself, that he enjoyed the frequent albeit brief moments he encountered Magnus, he couldn't help but notice the increasingly tired look in Magnus' eyes each time he was summoned to the Institute.
Which is why he really shouldn't have been surprised at what happened next, when he showed up at Magnus' loft at nearly one in the morning because Maryse had "urgent news that couldn't wait til the morning". Alec suspected that his mother would overexaggerate the truth as much as she needed to to convince Magnus to heed her call but Alec was hardly in a place to refuse her, so he ran her errands anyways.
After knocking softly three times against the elaborate wood grain that made up Magnus' front door and the stab of guilt that shot through Alec when he realized just how late it actually was, the last thing he was expecting was for Magnus to actually open the door for him.
"Alexander?" Magnus asked, his voice deeper than it normally was, presumably because he had just woken up. He rubbed at his eyes, revealing yellow cat ones instead of the soft brown glamoured ones he was used to seeing.
Ah, Alec thought to himself, desperately trying to ignore how this new development made his insides dissolve into butterflies. His warlock mark, I must've woken him up, it only makes sense that he'd be too tired to put the glamour back on right away.
Alec must have been staring for longer than he'd realized since Magnus shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking mildly sheepish as he blinked and his eyes returned to their glamoured state. "Sorry, I hadn't realized..." he trailed off, as if second guessing how to end his sentence and being too tired to come up with a better way to end it.
"No, I'm sorry, you don't have to do that, I just... I hadn't seen your eyes before," Alec protested, just a little bit too quickly at the sudden change. "You don't have to cover them up because of me, I think they're... Nice."
Nice? Nice?? Did I really just say Magnus's eyes are nice? Out of all the other adjectives there are out there, nice was the best one to go with?
Gorgeous would've been a better word for it, a small traitorous part of Alec's mind piped up, a part he had worked very hard to suppress and was could now no longer deny.
The side of Magnus's mouth quirked up in a half smile at Alec's comment. "Well, if it's all the same to you, I'll take the glamour off then, without a cup of coffee in my system I'm afraid even a simple glamour takes up far too much concentration these days."
And with another blink, Magnus's eyes returned to the soft yellow that would be burned into Alec's memory forever now.
Magnus leaned against the doorframe and Alec took in his outfit for the first time, a very sheer dark purple robe covered him, doing little to hide the black boxers he was wearing underneath.
Alec quickly forced his eyes back up to meet Magnus', but he was unsure if that was any better with the way Magnus was looking at him.
"So to what do I owe this pleasure Alexander?" Magnus asked, the half smile still tugging on the edge of his lip as he took in Alec's reaction. "Your bed at the Institute too cold? I'm more than happy to help keep you warm if that's the issue," he teased.
Alec felt his whole face flush despite his best efforts to school his expression. He'd worked so hard to keep his emotions under control every time he was around Magnus and he'd almost gotten the hang of it, but somehow, the combination of the eyes, the voice and the pajamas all added onto Magnus' normal teasing was too much to handle.
He's like this with everyone, Alec tried to tell himself. It doesn't mean anything to him, this is just how Magnus talks, there's no reason to get all worked up over it, because even if he wasn't like this with everyone it wouldn't matter that I'm falling for him because there's no way he'd ever see me like that.
Alec took a deep breath, opening his mouth to explain the situation to Magnus only for the rest of his brain to catch up to his thoughts. Wait, falling for him? Since when am I falling for him?
And that's when Alec knew he was completely and royally fucked. Magnus and those damn cat eyes of his were going to be the death of him and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
***
Magnus Bane was no stranger to love. One could hardly have lived for as long as he had without having some sort of experience with the emotion, but yet, Magnus could still say without an ounce of hesitation that he'd never met anyone that had made him feel anything close to what Alec did to his emotions. There was something... Different about the Shadowhunter that Magnus couldn't quite name.
He was no stranger to forbidden love. Magnus always counted himself lucky that the mundane world had started recently becoming more accepting towards couples of the same gender, as that alone had been the cause of a fair number of love affairs gone wrong in his life time. So it wasn't that that set Alec apart from the rest.
It wasn't the fact that Alec seemed to be so hesitant to accept himself either. Or how long it was taking Alec to realize that marriage with a woman like his parents wanted was never going to happen for him, Magnus had dealt with that before too.
And while Magnus had certainly never gotten close enough to any Shadowhunter to ever even consider catching feelings for them, Magnus didn't exactly think that that was it either.
There was something about Alec that made Magnus's breath quicken ever so slightly every time he laid eyes on him. It didn't matter that there was no chance of his feelings being returned, Magnus was no stranger to unrequited love either, he could make do. And if he couldn't, well, there were much worse ways to go than by being entranced by a man like Alec.
So when Magnus awoke from dreams of what could be between him and Alec, he hadn't thought much of it. The feeling of someone passing through his wards had managed to gently shake him awake from his dreams, but he was confident enough in his abilities that he knew no one that was truly a danger to him would be able to pass through. Even in his overworked state, it had never gotten to the point where Magnus had messed up his own warding that badly. Still, the last thing he needed at the moment was to deal with was an unexpected guest in the middle of the night trying to wake him up to get his attention for some reason or another, so he'd half thought and half hoped he'd made the whole thing up as another element of his dream.
But yet, Magnus had checked to see who passed through his wards anyways as though some unseen force compelled him and all the tired energy in his body evaporating when he realized just who was up on his way to come and see him. Well. Maybe not all the tired energy, that would have been a miracle. But he managed to muddle up enough energy to realize that if he started a pot of coffee now then it would beep just in time to convince Alec to come in and sit for a while at least. Magnus never understood Alec's hesitation with portalling food into the loft, but he was more than happy to oblige by getting the coffee maker in the first place if it meant keeping Alec around for longer..
And then, after the three, so soft they were barely audible, knocks sounded at the door, Magnus went to answer it, painting the most surprised look he could muster with his current level of tiredness.
"Alexander?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. And if he let his voice remain dropped down low for the sake of seeing the faint blush that would spread across Alec's cheeks, well then, no one had to know did they?
Magnus grinned internally, glad to see he still had quite the effect on the Shadowhunter, and even more glad that the timer on the coffee pot went off at the exact right moment, giving him the perfect excuse to invite Alec in for coffee before he could tell Magnus all about whatever Shadowhunter related business he'd been sent to recruit Magnus for.
Alec perched on one of the barstools in Magnus' kitchen, and it struck Magnus that there was something... Different about the way Alec was sitting.
It wasn't until he was pouring them each a mug of coffee that he realized what it was. Alec was no longer sitting on the edge of his seat.
Every time he'd had Shadowhunters in his loft - which was far too often these days it seemed - they'd all sit on the edge of their seat, looking around the room every now and then as if to continuously survey their exits, ready to fight or flee if necessary the second any trouble arrived, an instinct that Alec possessed too, or at least he had. But something had changed, Alec actually looked... Comfortable in his apartment.
Magnus allowed himself a small smile as he set a mug of coffee in front of Alec before sitting across from him, indulging himself as he took in the appearance of the gorgeous man in front of him.
"Magnus?" Alec asked, his tone indicating it wasn't the first time he'd said his name in an attempt to get Magnus' attention.
"Hm? I'm so sorry darling I'm afraid I didn't catch any of that," Magnus apologized as he realized he'd been so caught up in staring at the beauty of the man before him that he hadn't managed to comprehend a single word that other man had been saying.
Alec let out a small sigh, taking a sip of the coffee Magnus had set in front of him. "I'm sorry, I know you must be tired, I didn't mean to wake you up, but my mother-"
Ah. Right. Alec's mother. The current head of the New York Institute and the bane - no pun intended - of Magnus' existence. While he knew logically, he stood no chance with Alec, it still hurt to be reminded of all the reasons why they could never work as a couple. Reason number one of course, being none other than Maryse Lightwood herself.
If Alec wanted any hope of inheriting the Institute it was better for him to stay on his mother's good side, which meant avoiding actions she wouldn't approve of, and dating a gay warlock of all things was probably at the top of the list of things Maryse wouldn't approve of.
The last thing Magnus ever wanted to do was get in the way of Alec and what he wanted, and so while it hurt to be reminded of the fact that he stood no chance with Alec, Magnus tried to look on the bright side. Maybe it was a good thing that he be reminded of why staring was a bad idea.
"Surely whatever crisis your mother has discovered at the Institute can wait for a few more hours until both of us have gotten a little more sleep, no?" Magnus questioned.
Alec opened his mouth to form an argument, and then closed it, taking a long blink as the time and weight of his exhaustion seemed to finally set in for him. "I... Yeah, that's, if it was a real emergency she would've came herself instead of sending me."
"Then get some rest Alexander, you can spend the night here in my loft, or I can portal you back," Magnus hesitated. "Although with how tired I am I make no guarantees that I could get you back to the Institute on the first try."
Which was total bullshit, Magnus could - and had - portal in his sleep if need arise, it would've been no trouble at all to send Alec back to the Institute, but Magnus was a selfish man sometimes, and wanted tonight for himself.
Just one night, Magnus told himself. Just for tonight, and tomorrow I'll start to work on putting this whole feelings thing behind me, the last thing either of us needs right now is my feelings getting in the way.
"... Alright," Alec agreed hesitantly, standing from the barstool and internally Magnus celebrated the fact that he wouldn't have to say goodbye to Alec just yet. "Where should I-?"
"Take the bed darling," Magnus insisted, maybe a little bit too pleased with himself when Alec choked.
"The bed? I couldn't- But that's- You want to-?"
Magnus chuckled, though not unkindly. "I'll take the couch Alexander, you just look like you need the rest more than I do."
Alec's cheeks flushed the most beautiful shade of pink Magnus had ever seen. "Magnus, I- I can't just- I'm not just going to kick you out of your bed! I'm the one that showed up to your house in the middle of the night."
Magnus couldn't help himself. "Would you prefer we shared the bed instead then my dear?"
Alec flushed even redder. "Yes, I mean no, I mean-" he sighed. "I can take the couch."
"Nonsense Alexander, you're a guest, I can't possibly let you take the couch."
"Then," Alec sighed. "... I suppose we could... Share the bed then."
Magnus smiled. "I promise there will be no funny business, I'll be the perfect gentleman."
Alec rolled his eyes at that one and Magnus even got the hint of a smile twitching at the edge of Alec's lips, which Magnus definitely counted as a win. "Magnus."
"Yes Alexander?"
Alec just rolled his eyes again, and the two of them headed back to Magnus' room for the night,
Magnus let Alec climb underneath the covers first, picking which side of the bed he wanted before getting in on the other side, laying on top of the covers so as to not fluster Alec anymore than he already was.
"Goodnight Alexander," Magnus said softly, using magic with a wave of his hand to turn off the lights in the room.
There was a long pause, so long in fact that Magnus was sure that Alec had fallen asleep already when the other man piped up.
"You're the only one that calls me that you know."
"Oh," Magnus couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "... Do you want me to stop?"
"No, I... I like it," Alec said, and despite the darkness and the fact that Alec was facing away from him, Magnus could sense the blush spreading across Alec's cheeks.
"Well then Alexander," he said, sure to put an emphasis on the other man's name. "I suppose I'll keep calling you that then."
"That... That would be nice," Alec said, and after another minute or so, Magnus felt Alec's breath even out as he fell asleep.
Before long Magnus felt himself drifting off to sleep as well, one final thought on his mind before he fell back into sleep's gentle hold. Don't you dare make me fall in love with you Alexander.