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Magnus looks confused at the card in his hands, drags a finger over the soft high quality surface, just like he has for the past week, realizing that it’s time to accept that he’s only kidding himself by thinking he’ll be able to ignore this. In his defense, at the beginning it wasn’t such a farfetched idea to just pretend this invitation never reached him, after all it’s not like it would be the first time he ignores seeing something… unusual. By now he’s used to seeing strange things, especially after learning about the Shadow World. Although maybe learning it’s too passive and willing a word for how it happened. It was more that the existence of the Shadow World was shoved into in front of him unavoidable; all because he has something called “the sight”. A cheesy name he would have laughed at, if its very definition wouldn’t explain so many things from his life so perfectly. But he has made it his mission to stay as far away from the people that know that term to even try his hand at rebranding it.
If he’s being honest with himself, even though he doesn’t regret that decision, he does miss a few kind people he met along the way. But for all that he feels their absence, he feels completely justified in his decision, especially since any positive feelings that “ability” might have given him, was destroyed by Camille some time ago. Mostly when they were still in the foster system and her possessiveness over his talent and himself threatened to drown him. To this day he doesn’t know what became of her, but her obsession with that world she couldn’t see, and all the powers she couldn’t acquire on her own… well, it wouldn’t surprise Magnus if she ended up being the architect of her own destruction. Nowadays he’s just content to have his own tarot reading business, utilizing his innate talent to see people’s truths, and pretending he doesn’t notice anything when things flicker and flash, or when he’s clearly the only one seeing things as they actually are, even if that is much less mundane than most can see.
He has even taken care of perfecting his poker face, so much so that even his Downworlder clients have no idea that he can see right through their glamours, no matter how powerful they’re supposed to be. It also helps that he makes himself look as unremarkable as he can, leaving his passion for fashion and love for make-up and jewelry in the past. Nowadays the only thing he keeps on that isn’t gray or tan is an amulet that Ragnor gifted to him, when they said their final goodbyes. The warlock promised it would protect him and begged Magnus to never take it off. And being that saying goodbye to the man that practically raised him, always orbiting his life since he could remember, was already breaking his heart in uncountable pieces, he couldn't deny him this request. And he hasn’t taken it off since. So there it lies, being kept safe and warm against his chest and buried under layers upon layers of dull colored fabric.
But overcoming all the pain, and all his hard accomplished calm and safety is now being threated by this stupid invitation. This card that somehow managed to find him out of nowhere, and has his name and that of an Alexander Gideon Lightwood on it. And for all of the strange things he has seen thanks to his gifts, this is definitely one of the strangest. It’s so clearly intertwined to him, that this time he can’t ignore it. Not when someone apparently knows where he lives, his name, and he has no idea who this Alexander is. But since he has no idea who sent it, the only other option he has of figuring this out is to find this mysterious Alexander.
So he dusts off his colorful clothes, and adds his long unused make-up, thinking that once this is over, this way he can go back “undercover” in his carefully crafted invisibility. He tries to ignore with everything he has how good it feels to dress as himself again, because even if many of his clothes don’t fit anymore and some of his makeup is ridiculously expired, he can feel himself standing taller and feeling how his long unused confidence tentatively surges again. But he can’t let himself get carried away, he needs to remind himself that this is only temporary, there are too many risks to being completely himself again.
So he composes himself as much as he can, detaches from his well-earned fears, and for the first time in years, he approaches the not so regular people. He wishes he could just ask Ragnor and Catarina. It would probably be easy to find them, especially if they're still running their orphanage, but as much as he yearns to see them, saying goodbye once was painful enough, and he’s not sure he’s strong enough to do it all over again. He can’t risk getting them in Camille’s path once more, or all the dangerous people that always seem to find him, wanting to use him. No, he just goes to a well-known Dornworlder bar, and asks where he can find this Alexander Gideon Lightwood.
Once in the Hunter’s Moon, it’s easy enough to learn that Alexander Gideon Lightwood, more known as Alec, is a shadowhunter. And while Magnus has never had much interaction with them, he barely remembers some fuzzy memories from his childhood of a few tattooed people, he has to be completely oblivious to not know about them, The Clave, and all the power they have over the Shadow World. At least the Head of the New York Institute seems to be progressing things for the better. Opening new channels of communication, and since recovering the Mortal Cup, make things more accepting for all the different sexualities, since breeding new Shadowhunters is not the only way to make Shadowhunters anymore. Although how a cup can make more Shadowhunters, is not something Magnus is sure he wants to find out.
The more Magnus hears, it doesn’t sound like such an awful idea to actually contact the man, and see if they can solve this mystery together. But it’s as he’s finally accomplishing a little semblance of actual calm, that he overhears Camille’s name. Maybe it’s something like fate, or just that he’s always constantly attentive to Camille’s name to avoid any kind of encounter, but he overhears that she is now part of the Downworld. So even if this gives him the hope that Camille’s obsession with his gift is over, now that she got the power she wanted, he can’t take the risk of overlooking her pride and vindictiveness, and putting Ragnor in the middle of this mess once again. Especially not now that she wasn’t just a bloodsucking harpy in the figurative sense, but decided to literally be one too.
So he resolves to stick to going out only during the day, to lower the risk of crossing paths with her as much as possible. And thinking it was a good thing his self-imposed secluded life never included any kind of nightly activities.
He decides to take a couple of days before approaching the Institute where Alexander supposedly is, trying to center himself, and not becoming completely paranoid that Camille, or someone like her, would find him. So it’s actually a regular Monday when he finally approaches what should be a decrepit looking Church, but to him looks like a perfectly maintained high tech establishment.
The baffled tattooed blond man that answers only looks more confused when he asks for Alexander Lightwood, looking uncertain between him not having a set meeting with the Head of the Institute, and him not being one of them. Actually, according to him, Magnus doesn’t show up as anything, in any of the very shiny high tech looking machines they have.
Magnus would have no problem admitting to himself that he thinks of just turning back, and never solving this mystery, many times along the way. But when he’s led to an office and finally sets eyes on Alexander, he feels a pull of attraction, and something else he has no words to explain, that he has never felt for anyone before. Maybe that’s why when they’re left alone in his office, he feels weirdly safe, which is not something he’s used to feeling. And not something he expected feeling, considering … everything.
When the silence starts stretching and the man doesn’t say a word, Magnus starts feeling self-conscious. Maybe there’s a procedure on how to greet Shadowhunters, and he’s already making a huge mistake? Or all the good things he heard about him, only applied if you were actually part of the Shadow World?
“Hi!”, starts Magnus with a small shy wave, internally berating himself. He used to be so much better at social interactions. But then again, the unexplained peace this gorgeous man evokes in him has him unsettled, “I have this mystery I was hoping you would help me solve?” He slowly approaches the man’s desks and places the card on top of it, “This appeared out of nowhere about a week ago, and since your name is in it too, I was hoping you knew more about this?”
After a few slow blinks, the man seems to wake himself up, reads the card without even lifting it from the desk, and says, “Well, this is certainly the most interesting, and elaborate, pick up line I’ve ever gotten.” He gives Magnus a blindingly beautiful smile, that only manages to fluster Magnus as he tries to explain that he honestly didn’t plan this.
“I swear it showed up out of nowhere!”, exclaims Magnus, half offended at being thought of as a liar, and half desperate to not make a bad impression on this man. Which doesn’t make sense, since he doesn’t even know him.
“No worries sweetheart, I’m completely flattered. And if I could figure out what you are, I probably would have given you an invitation of my own already”, says Alec with a flirty smile, but with a slight frown, he adds pointing at the card on the desk, “Although something much less formal than that.”
“What do you mean what I am?” asks Magnus, and the whole situation, having to expose himself to a world he has spent years hiding from, and now this man that had this undeniable effect on him trying to figure out if he is part of his world, or something foreign, has his anxiety levels steadily rising.
“I mean, I’m not blind. I can see that you’re gorgeous, and if you’re willing, I would love to check if you feel gorgeous too”, says Alec adding a wink, but in a slightly more serious tone, he adds, “But depending what species you are, is how we proceed with this little invitation problem we're having, sweetheart.”
And for all that Magnus is willing to admit that he’s stupidly atracted to this man, he’s not willing to let his worries be dismissed like this. This whole situation was bad enough that he got out of hiding, so painting this as a simple little problem, and feeling condescended with flirty remarks, hits him in many of his insecurities. So, placing his hands on the desk and leaning towards Alec, looking more serious and angry than he’s let himself be in a very long time, he says “Look, I get that being in a position of power probably gave you a huge ego boost, or you’re just insecure and posturing, whatever. But right now, I couldn’t care less, because after years of sacrifices and isolation to keep me myself safe, this fucking invitation appears out of nowere. It found me, it has my real name and the way it glitters is obviously fucking magical. So if you could kindly remove your head out of your ass, and start using it to actually think, I would really appreciate it.”
From one second to the next, the relaxed flirty posture of the man in front of him vanished. And that extra confidence his outfit and makeup granted him seemed to evaporate too. Oh God! Why did I do that? So long keeping myself safe, and I fucked it all up because of false confidence and that weird aura of safety a stranger gave me. Why didn’t I just keep trying to burn that stupid invitation!
And while Magnus is too busy panicking, trying to breath at the same time, he doesn’t notice Alec approaching him. But the second he does, any accomplishment in trying to use his lungs disappears.
Alec moves slowly, keeping all his movements fluid, and raising his hands, palms forward, shows Magnus he’s not going to do anything to harm him.
Softening his voice, Alec starts talking as soothingly as his baritone allows, “I’m sorry for upsetting you. It’s been a while since I’ve had to convince a Downworlder that in my Institute we help and protect everyone, and I shouldn’t have forgotten that sadly that’s not the way everywhere else yet.” Alec looks confused when his words don’t help in calming Magnus, quite the opposite even. Taking a few more seconds to think over everything Magnus said, Alec tries again, “If you’re in hiding, we also have the means to keep you hidden. We protect all Downworlders in need”
Magnus can’t stop flinching when Alec once again mentions that his offers for protection are only for those belonging to the Shadow World, which doesn’t include him. But at Alec’s look of realization, when he clearly figures out what’s triggering the now recognized as Mundane, Magnus’ fight or flight instinct finally kicks in, and he runs away before anyone can even think of stopping him.
As he’s completely focused on escaping, he berates himself once more for taking the bait that invitation clearly was. He knows that the Shadow World sees Mundanes as meals, toys or at best belligerent children, except for Ragnor that met him as a belligerent child. But it’s ok, he reminds himself, because soon enough he’ll be his invisible persona once again, and he’ll be safe once more.
Alec is a Shadowunter, one of the best, but it still takes him too long to react after watching baffled as the man suddenly runs off. So, by the time he goes after him, he’s already gone. He then hurries to check every security recording with him in it, but static cloaks his figure in each and every one. And even though he feels strangely hurt at Magnus having so little trust in him, he does understand. Mundanes with the Sight are very rare, usually only one every century, give or take. Which would make Magnus’ presence even stranger, since Simon has been under the Institute's protection for a decade already.
The thing is, that Mundanes with the Sight are extremely coveted, and while there’s always some people that help them and keep them safe, more times than not, they’re basically used as tools. Because while members of the Shadow World can see through glamorous and wards designed to keep Mundanes out, Mundanes with the Sight can see through anything, the most powerful glamors, the most unbreakable ward and easily find the most hidden of treasures.
There are legends that say that Nature doesn’t like for their secrets to be lost forever. They like mysteries, giving tantalizing glimpses of bigger truths, but completely lost knowledge is not something they enjoy. So, a person is sent, every once in a while, to stir the pot and reveal some hidden truths. And that’s exactly the way they like it.
Now, if Magnus doesn’t show up in any footage, and according to Andrew none of the scans worked on him, that means that at least someone is protecting him. And though Seelie magic could be a possibility, his instincts tell him it’s probably a Warlock. And since the last known warlock on record to protect a Mundane with the Sight was Ragnor in Batavia 400 years ago, that’s the first person he should ask.
Usually he would fill the necessary forms, and follow normal procedure, but with the frightened face of Magnus burned in his mind, he leaves all of his pending reports for later, and hurries to Ragnor’s Orphanage, hoping to find him, and praying that he’ll help him.
Magnus realizes he has gotten way too comfortable in his anonymity, when he returns home to pack. That glint of realization in Alexander’s eyes made Magnus realize how reckless he has been lately. Ragnor always told him to hide the gift he had, how important it was. And being an in love foolish teen he had ignored him once before, with awful consequences. And now stupid him let it happen again. Because the second Alexander found out he was Mundane, and that he was able to see him inside a warded Institute, it was undeniable what that meant.
There’s so much he needs to pack, and so much he needs to burn to erase he was ever here. He carefully packs the only images he has of his parents, some family drawings, some really old coins and a couple books in an almost forgotten dialect. And since that time Ragnor reacted weirdly when he asked him if his parents were antique collectors, he knew his upbringing was never normal, not even the parts he was too young to remember.
After hours of rushing, he can’t beat the setting sun. So now he’s left wondering if he should risk escaping into the night, or if he can allow himself the hours until the sun rises again. But true to the unlucky hand fate has handed him, he doesn’t have the time to decide, since none other than Camille in all her inmortal glory shows up.
“Oh my love! What happened to you? You got all dull-looking without my love, didn’t you?”, says Camille, in what Magnus is sure she thinks is a seductive voice. But he only sees greed and elation at finally finding her favorite tool. Greed and possessiveness that he once thought was love.
“I’m not yours”, answers Magnus, trying to hide his fear, because if he felt Camille’s possessiveness was unhinged before, it’s nothing compared to how deranged her new inmortal form has made her.
“My silly little pet, you’ve always been mine, and always will be”, she says trying to be soft and sweet, at least until she sees that stupid invitation on the table right next to her.
Even if Magnus knows he has no chance, he runs as fast as he can, but he only manages to reach his small backyard, with its still closed escape door. In his shock at being grabbed by razor-sharp nails, he almost doesn’t feel the wetness of the blood soaking his sweater.
“Puppet”, she says in a purr, clearly restraining herself from ripping him apart in her rage, “Did you think you could marry yourself into some extra protection? And you went straight to the Head of the New York Institute? So what, you just whore out your gift, knowing that’s the only valuable thing about you?”
“I swear I don’t know where that wedding invitation came from. I’m not marrying anybody. I swear I haven’t used my sight, for anything”, says Magnus, trying to calm the vampire, hoping she can hear the truth of his words.
“Am I supposed to believe that there is another Magnus Bane that’s inviting people to Magnus Bane and Alexander Gideon Lightwood's wedding celebrations?”, she says, gripping his arm tighter, but dragging the sharp nails of her other hand against Magnus’s neck, rhythmically, back and forth, ignoring the shaking man, she calms her rage to say, “Did my pet get tangled in a silly little mess, and got himself engaged? No worries, I’ll save you. You can return to your rightful place, right here by my side.”
Not too far from Magnus’ house, Ragnor and Alec are running on the dark streets, following the glowing orb showing them the right path.
“So you what?”, says Alec into the darkness, “Warlocks can time travel now? And you kidnapped a Mundane kid with the Sight?”
“It’s not time travel per se, we can’t go back. But we can glide forward, and only those powerful enough can take someone with them”, answers Ragnor, and taking a few moments to regain his breath, adds fast, “And it wasn’t kidnapping. Magnus’ parents wanted him to be safe, and the poor kid was hunted since he was born, before there were any laws to protect him”
Alec is about to ask for more, to at least know if Magnus knew of this, and if not demand that he be told, when an angry scream leads them to a small house’s backyard.
“You’re mine! You don’t even get to think about marrying anyone!”, they hear, and at Ragnor’s whispered “Camille”, he waits no more and simply jumps over the fence to land right in front of a deathly pale Magnus and a maniacal looking Camille.
“Oh look! Your betrothed is here, right on time for me to rip him apart in front of you. Before bonding us together forever”, says a suddenly gleeful Camile, calmly liking her bloodied fingers.
“You don’t want to do that”, says Ragnor, standing now next to Alec, “the moment you bond yourself to him, he’ll lose his sight”
“Ragnor! I thought Warlocks aged slower, but it seems you’re the exception”, says Camille, and looking at her old caretaker, she becomes more alert, “And he’ll lose it only if he’s bonded to a random stranger. His sight becomes stronger if he’s bonded to his true love, and that’s obviously me. The only one to love him, kiss him and… well, you know the rest”
“I haven’t loved you in a long time. And that wasn’t even love in the first place”, slurred Magnus, clearly weakened by the continued blood loss, but managing to remain resistant as much as he can.
“Puppet, I’m your one true love, you’ve just forgotten while I was away tending to things, but your soul knows the truth. Knows that your sight is mine or no-ones”, she growls the last part threateningly to an unimpressed Alec.
Even more, Alec rolls his eyes and says, “Well, that’s a lot of stupid bound to a bunch of crazy. It’s his sight, that means it belongs to him. And if he wants to use it to win in a Casino or foretell the end of a show, that’s up to him.”
“Oh! You liar! As if you would marry him if it wasn't for his gift”, replies Camille, looking Magnus up and down in disgust, making the man flinch.
“It’s a bit soon for marriage yet, but I would be honored if he wanted to date me, be that in his technicolor version, his sepia one, or anything in between”, and while Alec is totally aware that now is not the time, he still feels a little proud of the small blush he gets from the man, even in spite of his blood lose.
As Camille is about to reply in anger, a soft whistle cuts through the night, to which Alec’s whole posture changes from relaxed to atack ready in the blink of an eye.
“Finally!” says Alec, and in an official tone, he continues, “Camille Belacourt, you’re under arrest for multiple violations of the Accords and the Protection Agreements for Sighted Beings. If you surrender now, it would be taken into consideration for your trial, if not there will be nothing to protect you from the full extent of my wrath. And I warn you, it won’t be quick.”
It only takes one second for Camille to throw Magnus in front of her, as a distraction tactic, and try to run away. Only to be stopped a few meters away by Alec’s team.
Knowing that his team is fully capable of handling the situation, Alec takes his time and cradles Magnus softly in his arms, confirming that his pulse is still beating, and that other than some shallow cuts in his neck and arms, he’s otherwise physically unharmed.
And while Alec’s self-restraint is legendary, he can’t keep the words from escaping him, “I’m sorry I scared you earlier. I’m sorry I made you think I wouldn’t protect you, and that you had to deal with this on your own. And I’m sorry for letting my attraction to you blind me from what you needed from me, implying that your concerns weren’t valid or important, and I’m sorry…”
He gets cut off by shaky fingers being placed on top of his moving lips, and even if Magnus’ voice is soft and tired, he clearly heard him say, “It’s ok. I’m stupidly atracted to you too, and it made my nervs over all of this worse. And now that I can actually have a life, I want to explore all of it. So if you’re ok with me stumbling through being a normal person, I wouldn’t mind exploring if this thing between us could lead to what that invitation implies.”
Alec can feel himself grinning like a besotted fool already, and he hasn’t even gotten one date with this man. So, the second Magnus lowers his fingers, he says, “I fully agree to everything, except you being normal. You’re extraordinary, and it’ll be my pleasure to stumble through life with you”
It’s some days later, after Camille is sentenced to eternal imprisonment, and Magnus is completely healed that they go on their first date. And with the passing of time, their relationship keeps growing, stumbling through ups and downs, but always solid in its foundation. And while they never solve the mystery of their wedding invitation, they never regret it finding Magnus and changing their lives for the better.
In another time, in another place, Alec approaches Magnus, as he’s busy sending invitations with flicks of his hands and flashes of magic.
“Love, I thought we finished sending off wedding invitations last week. Did we miss someone?”, asks Alec.
“We did send all the ones we had planned, darling, don’t worry. This is just to make sure we have all the happy endings we deserve”, answers Magnus, deciding he can send the rest tomorrow. Now he has a freshly out of patrol Shadowhunter he wants to take care of. And he also deserves some cuddles and kisses from his fiancé, for all his brilliance and interdimensional portal mastery.