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Alec knew how to breathe, he swore he did. Yet, opening his front door to find Magnus standing in front of him, dance bag slung over his shoulder, still in practice clothes was making it quite difficult for Alec to trust his own knowledge.
“Alexander?”
“Yeah, hi, sorry.” Magnus just gave him a soft smile, quirking a brow as he looked past Alec’s shoulder into the empty foyer.
“Can I?”
“Right, yeah, come on in.” He opened the door wider and stepped aside, allowing Magnus to enter with ease. The taller boy stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. Earlier in the week, the two had been partnered up to work on a project for their AP English Literature class. Magnus had suggested that they go over to one of their houses to do so and Alec had offered up his own, seeing as it would be empty of his siblings and parents for a while. The other boy had immediately agreed.
Alec hadn’t factored into the equation just how intimate it all would feel.
Magnus had never been to Alec’s before and the sudden examination of the place in which Alec grew up made him self conscious. He was suddenly hyper aware of the baby photos of him and his siblings that hung on the walls, the way that his mom still displayed childhood artwork in the kitchen, and how his and Jace’s middle school graduation photos sat proud in the living room, much to Alec’s embarrassment.
Apparently those particular pictures had caught Magnus’ eye as he wandered slightly from the foyer towards the lounge. It took most of Alec’s strength not to run in front of his boyfriend and block the images. “We’re the only ones home, so we can work wherever. But I was thinking my room?” Magnus turned to face Alec and offered him a soft smile, feet light as he made his way over to him.
“Lead the way.” They walked up the stairs in near silence, Alec attempting to get them behind the closed door of his bedroom and away from his mortal embarrassment as quickly as possible. Behind him, Magnus seemed intent on taking in as many details as he could. It was only once they were up the stairs and inside Alec’s room that he realized it might have been better to do their work downstairs.
Magnus had seen Alec’s room before from their video calls, but there was something distinctly different about seeing his room in the pixelated box of a phone screen and in the flesh. The blue paint that Alec had always found soothing suddenly seemed childish, and the posters of lacrosse teams that he had gotten when he was younger from the local sports store seemed obsessive. There were small knick knacks littering his desk, seashells and figurines that Max had given him over the years. In the corner of the mirror that rested against one of his walls were two photos: one of him and his siblings after a tournament a few years ago, all of them burnt red from the sun, and one of him and Magnus. It was recent, one that Alec had taken on his phone after one of their dates. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to print it out, but he was glad he did. Magnus smirked a bit when he had caught sight of it and Alec felt his cheeks flush red.
“Right. So, English,” Alec started, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Actually,” Magnus readjusted the bag still on his shoulder, kicking his shoes off into the corner of Alec’s room where the boy’s own sneakers rested. “I was wondering if I could take a quick shower? I kind of stink after that class.” Alec blinked, once, twice, before processing the words that had come out of his boyfriend’s mouth.
“Oh, yeah, of course.” He pointed to the door lining one of the walls of his room. “It’s just in there. Um, there’s another door that leads to Jace’s room, so try to avoid that.” Magnus just gave him a grateful smile as he made his way over.
“I promise to be quick.” Magnus winked before closing the door, leaving Alec by himself. It took Alec’s brain another minute to catch up with the fact that his boyfriend was currently naked in his bathroom.
Magnus was naked .
The thought should have not sent Alec into the spiral that it did. He and Magnus had been dating for a few months, but nothing ever went farther than chaste kisses or cuddles, mainly at Alec’s request. Dating was still a very new thing for him, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want Magnus, it was that he wasn’t sure he’d be good enough for the other boy.
Alec wasn’t blind. He knew what Magnus looked like, had seen the way his muscles moved when he was doing those wild hand motions he loved, or when he posed for photos. Alec knew his boyfriend was attractive, and yet he had never felt his abs, or the way that his tan skin felt under Alec’s calloused hands or…Alec had to get his mind out of the gutter. In an attempt to distract himself, Alec grabbed his laptop and pulled up his notes on Macbeth , reviewing Lady Macbeth’s speech in an attempt to stop thinking about his insanely hot and very nude boyfriend in the next room. Apparently the thought of blood and psychosis did nothing to quell his thoughts.
He tried to focus on the cadence of the lines as he heard the water shut off and made sure to keep his eyes glued to the screen when the door opened a few minutes later.
“Alexander?” Alec took a deep breath and steeled himself as he looked over at his boyfriend. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw though. Magnus was leaning against the door frame, bathroom light casting a glow over his features as he held his dance bag loosely in one of his hands. He was topless, tan skin still glistening with moisture. Alec’s eyes trailed down almost sinfully until they came to rest on the loose pair of joggers that rested low on Magnus’ hips. When he came up to meet Magnus’ eyes, he noticed that the other boy’s hair was loose and damp, hanging in his eyes. Alec found the urge to cross the room and push it out of his face.
“Yeah?” He ignored the way his voice cracked.
“I must have forgotten to pack a shirt earlier, would you mind…” Magnus trailed off, free hand coming to rub his bicep as he looked away, clearly slightly embarrassed. Alec was up in a second, wordlessly crossing the room to his dresser, pulling out the first hoodie he found before offering it to Magnus. The other boy took it graciously and silently slid it over his head.
“This is quite comfy. I might have to keep this one.” Alec ignored the way he heart stuttered at the words, instead mumbling an incoherent “you’re welcome” before taking a seat on the bed. Magnus watched him for a moment, allowing Alec to take in the way that the hoodie, despite their size difference, still seemed to dwarf the other boy. Magnus might have been taller, but Alec was definitely the broader of the pair. Belatedly, Alec also realized that it was one of his lacrosse hoodies, one he had gotten years ago for some warm up kit or another, complete with his number and last name on the back.
“Just don’t take my whole wardrobe. I don’t have as many options as you do.” Magnus laughed as he sat himself down next to Alec, leaning into the other boy and looking at the screen.
“So,” he drawled, “ Macbeth ?”
“Macbeth,” Alec replied, tearing his eyes away from his boyfriend to scroll back through his notes.
“I was originally thinking that we could talk about Lady Macbeth’s speech about the blood and connect it back to the guilty hallucinations that Macbeth was having about Banquo, but I thought it would be too basic. I mean,” Magnus moved himself off of Alec’s shoulder for a moment, motioning wildly with his hands, “her speech is one of the most famous Shakespearian monologues.” Alec nodded along, opening up a new document, rapidly typing notes as Magnus continued, sparing glances at the other boy between bullet points. “What if, instead, we talked about the impact of the witches?”
“The witches?” Magnus bit his lip and nodded. Alec practically had to pry his eyes away from the soft flesh.
“We’re supposed to talk about the female characters' impact on the emotional outcome of the play, why not go back to the beginning?”
“That actually might work.” Alec’s fingers scattered across the keyboard quickly typing out points as Magnus began to add finer details. The pair fell into a natural rhythm, Magnus offering up details and potential arguments while Alec wrote everything down, adding some of his own ideas as he went. They were starting to create a decent skeleton for their presentation when Magnus settled himself up against Alec’s shoulder again, tucking his head right into the crook between Alec’s shoulder and neck. He couldn’t help but tense.
“Alexander?” Magnus had stopped mid sentence, titling his head up ever so slightly to try and look Alec in the eyes. The blue-eyed boy had to force himself to release the tension that had worked its way into his posture.
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mags.” Alec expected Magnus to argue but he opted to reposition his head again and continue on about which acts they could pull quotes from.
The comfort lasted approximately five minutes before they finished their outline and Magnus called for a break. Alec set aside his laptop as his boyfriend stood and stretched, watching a bit too intently the way his sweats hugged the swell of his ass and thighs as he bent over to touch his toes. He definitely did not choke on his spit when a strip of tan skin was exposed as Magnus pulled his arms above his head and leaned to one side. Alec wasn’t even sure why he was getting so flustered about it. Magnus wore more revealing clothes on the daily. Maybe it was the fact that they were home, alone, in Alec’s bedroom. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Magnus was wearing one of Alec’s hoodies. Maybe it was the idea of Magnus wearing nothing but Alec’s hoodie.
“Darling?” Magnus had turned around and was looking at him expectantly. Belatedly, Alec realized he was still sitting on his bed. “Are you coming?”
“Right, yeah, of course.” He pushed himself up off of the bed and joined Magnus, leading the way back downstairs and to the kitchen. Absent-mindedly, he picked out snacks and grabbed drinks while Magnus made himself comfortable at one of the island stools, taking in the room as Alec worked. When he finally sat down next to his boyfriend with a tray of sliced fruit, Magnus was shooting him a small smile that both confused and flustered Alec in the same breath. “What?”
“Nothing, you just seem really comfortable in the kitchen.”
“Uh, a bit, I suppose?” Alec popped a grape in his mouth before continuing. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No, no, of course not, Alexander.” Magnus reached over and placed a hand on Alec’s bicep. The warmth leaked through the thin cotton of his t-shirt and sent an involuntary shiver through his body. “It’s just nice to see you relaxed.” Magnus reached for his free hand, using the other to grab a slice of apple, finishing it in a quick two bites. Alec ignored the way the juice trailed down his lips, instead trying not to choke on another grape.
“I mean, I used to help my mom with cooking a bit as a kid.” He shrugged. “And there were nights when both my parents had to stay late at the firm, so I’d make sandwiches for Jace, Izzy, and I. Maybe that’s why Izzy is a nightmare in the kitchen.” Magnus cocked a brow.
“I know Isabelle isn’t an amazing chef, but I didn’t realize she was that bad.”
“She messed up soup, Magnus.
Soup
.” Magnus laughed, something full and hardy, and Alec relished in the sound.
“I didn’t even know that was possible.”
“Neither did we.”
…
It was easier after that. Alec couldn’t quite tell why, but when they returned back upstairs, he stopped tensing every time Magnus touched him and allowed the other boy to drape himself over Alec however he pleased. Alec did not, however, figure out how to stop being so distracted. It wasn’t anything Magnus was doing in particular, either. It was simply Magnus as a whole. From the way certain words sounded coming out of his mouth to the way his face crinkled at certain details from the play, to how his tongue kept darting out to wet his lips. Part of Alec felt dirty for thinking about his boyfriend like that, the other part kept kindly reminding him that Magnus was his boyfriend. Apparently his absentmindedness hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Alexander, are you okay?” Alec wasn’t sure what they had been talking about, but when he shifted his gaze back to his screen, there was a trail of “f”s scattered next to the cursor. Evidently, he had been holding down the key.
“Yeah, fine, sorry.” Magnus huffed and sat up, removing himself from Alec’s side, taking the laptop away from Alec and placing it on the nightstand before setting himself down in front of his boyfriend.
“Okay, what is going on?”
“Honestly, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You keep getting distracted and staring off. If something is going on, if you’re uncomfortable or something, I need you to tell me.”
“No, Mags, it’s not like that—”
“Then what is it like?” He crossed his arms, lips set in a point, eyebrows drawn tight. “Because I won’t know unless you talk to me—” Alec lunged across the small gap, slotting his lips between Magnus’, basking in the softness of the skin. His hand came up instinctually, cupping the side of his face as he deepened the kiss, letting the warmth sing through his skin. Alec lost himself in the motion of Magnus’ mouth against his, letting the heady thoughts that had been swimming just underneath the surface all afternoon finally break. When they parted, they were both breathless.
“That.” He panted. “Magnus you are so fucking hot. Do you know how distracting that is?”
Magnus responded by attacking Alec’s lips again, something Alec heavily encouraged. There was a push and pull, each one battling for who would break first, who would push the other over the edge. One of Alec’s hands was framing Magnus’ face, the other holding the boy close by the back of his neck all the while Magnus’ delicately manicured fingers were making a mess of Alec’s black strands. Somewhere in between the heat Magnus had climbed onto Alec’s lap, and sometime after that Alec had flipped them over, bracketing Magnus in with his arms as the other boy latched his legs around Alec’s hips. His head had never felt so light, hazy with heat and the scent of cedar wood and Magnus who was doing things with his tongue that Alec didn’t even know were possible. His hands had found their way under Alec’s shirt, scratching thin lines along his back as Alec’s hands fumbled over his front. Somehow he had managed to get his hands to the hem of the borrowed hoodie, breaking the kiss only for a moment to look Magnus in the eyes. He didn’t even need to ask for permission before Magnus nodded, immediately connecting their lips again as Alec’s hands danced across Magnus’ torso under the fabric. Every twinge of muscle, slope of abdomen, suggestion of something more made Alec’s head swim.
He wanted and wanted and wanted. Alec thought the need for Magnus might kill him. He had never felt this way about anyone before and the idea that this was normal, that he was allowed to want Magnus in this way nearly toppled him over the same way Magnus had. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be allowed to have a relationship in the first place. He knew that most people didn’t think being gay was a big deal and that he would be far from the first male athlete to have a boyfriend. Yet, the disappointed looks his father sent him every time Magnus was brought up, or the way Sebastian had spoken about him and his queer teammates like they were lesser, it made Alec want to shrink, just a little, to hide the part of him that had his first crush on a boy on the middle school lacrosse team. To forget about the nights he begged and pleaded with himself to be normal, to have crushes on girls in their grade like Jace. To accept the shame that burned when his gaze had lingered a little too long on male action star’s posters for upcoming movies. And yet, with Magnus squirming underneath him, kissing him in earnest, he was finding it hard to ignore that part. And was finding it even more difficult to find the shame, the self-disgust. No, he wanted Magnus more than he had ever wanted anything, and the want had never felt more right.
Alec pulled his hands away from the warmth of Magnus’ skin begrudgingly, instead opting to tug at the fabric lining the hoodie’s hem. Magnus arched his back to reply, temporarily unlatching his arms from Alec’s torso to allow his boyfriend to remove the offending article of clothing. He tossed the hoodie behind them, hearing it land somewhere around the room, not quite caring as he took in the sudden expanse of tan skin at his disposal. Magnus looked at him through hooded lids, lips kiss-swollen as arousal pooled in Alec’s gut. His breath was ragged as he exhaled, not sure where to look but not quite wanting to look away. Magnus apparently had had enough of the separation as he tugged on the back of Alec’s neck, lowering his boyfriend back on top, tugging his t-shirt off as he went. Then decided he was done being underneath and in one smooth motion flipped the pair, Alec writhing underneath him at the sudden contact of the bedsheets beneath his bare back. The kiss only lasted for a moment, but before Alec could protest, Magnus’ teeth grazed the tender skin of his neck and Alec saw stars.
“ Fuck Magnus.” The other boy didn’t reply, instead opting to suck the spot, Alec’s back arching in response, blunt nails digging into the tender skin of the dancer’s back, starting low in his spine running all the way to the other boy’s messy hair and back down. Magnus’ thighs squeezed Alec’s hips at the motion and Alec had to stop himself from grinding into his boyfriend’s crotch from the stimulation. Magnus paid no mind as he worked his way down Alec’s neck, sucking and biting one spot before unlatching himself with a satisfying pop and marking a new spot before going back and licking at the old one. Alec was well aware that the sounds coming out of his mouth were nonsense but he couldn’t stop it, especially when Magnus’ crotch began to move against his own, causing him to buck.
“Holy shit, Mags, Mags, Magnus, fuck, shit.” Magnus shut him up by kissing him again. Alec lost track of where they were relishing in the feeling of skin against skin, the scent of Magnus settling against him like a blanket as something distinctively possessive rumbled in his chest. A moan escaped Magnus' mouth as Alec’s tongue returned in earnest and Alec got drunk on it. Magnus’ hands were traveling downwards and Alec was all too ready to oblige when the sound of the door opening knocked him out of his reverie.
“What the fuck?” Alec sat up so fast he almost threw Magnus off of his lap, eyes wide and cheeks flushed as his gaze landed on the figure in the doorway. Magnus, on the other hand, rose a bit slower, managing to bypass the mortified look and opt for one of boredom. Isabelle stood, half perched in the room, hand still on the handle, grinning like a maniac.
“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking, Izzy?!”
“I didn’t know you were having Magnus over,” she said with a shrug.
“It’s common courtesy!” Alec protested. Isabelle chose to ignore him, instead letting her eyes drift over the scene in front of her, clearly enjoying the fact that she had new dirt on her eldest brother a bit too much.
“Isabelle dear, did you need something?” Isabelle finally acknowledged Magnus who was still very much on Alec’s lap looking completely debauched.
“I think it can wait,” she said with a smirk, moving to close the door. “Oh, Alec? Jace keeps condoms under the sink if you need them.” Alec threw a pillow at her as she cackled, shutting the door behind her. He buried his head in his hands, too mortified to face Magnus.
“Well that was a first.”
“I am so, so, so sorry,” Alec said, although it was muffled by his skin. Magnus slowly pried his fingers away, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.
“No need to apologize, Alexander. These things happen.” Alec offered him a small smile as he sat up.
“So…”
“So?”
“Macbeth?” Magnus laughed and Alec couldn’t help but kiss him all over again.