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Alec groaned and banged his head against the desk. He’d been trying to get the Clave to work with the Downworlders for months. There was always something that prevented it, that caused them to go back on their word. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts of what to do that he hadn’t heard Izzy enter the office.
“You okay?” she asked as she flopped into one of the armchairs opposite the desk.
Alec grumbled as he looked up at her.
“The Clave’s being stubborn as usual. They won’t listen to reason. They’re dismissing all of Magnus’s suggestions and concerns for the Downworld. I don’t know how to make them listen and actually do something. They were the ones who agreed that an alliance would be a good idea but they put barriers up at every step.”
Izzy hummed, leaning forward slightly. “Have you spoken to Magnus?”
Alec nodded. “He was understanding, like always but I can tell he’s getting annoyed. How can I protect them when no one takes this whole thing seriously?”
Before Izzy could respond, Jace wandered in and collapsed into the other chair.
“What are we talking about?”
“The Clave is stopping Alec from impressing Magnus.”
Alec choked on air at his sister’s statement. “Izzy!”
Isabelle laughed, moving around to pat Alec’s back.
“What if you dated him?” Jace suggested.
Alec blinked in surprise while Izzy gasped and hit his arm repeatedly.
“That’s it! The Clave will have to take you both seriously if you’re dating.”
“Have you both lost your minds?” Alec exclaimed, looking from one sibling to the other. “I can’t date Magnus!”
“Why not?” Jace asked, leaning back in his chair.
Alec just raised an eyebrow.
“You’ll be fake dating,” Izzy pointed out.
Alec thought about it for a moment. It was worth a try. He liked Magnus and knew he wouldn't be able to properly date him, so if this was all he could have then he'd take it. The Clave would have to be more open to Magnus too, since he would be directly connected to the Head of Institute.
“Fine,” Alec sighed. “It’s worth a try.”
Isabelle patted his arm as she walked away. He was going to do this before he had time to overthink it.
***
Alec took a deep breath before knocking on Magnus’s door.
“Alexander, what a pleasant surprise.”
Alec smiled as he followed Magnus inside. He felt the wards wash over him and his heart skipped a beat. Magnus’s loft always felt safe and a little bit more like home than the Institute did.
“What can I do for you?” Magnus asked, waving a hand and conjuring two coffees.
“So Jace thought of a potential solution to the Clave not taking us seriously.”
“Jason has the ability to think?” Magnus asked, a teasing smile pulling at his lips. At Alec’s raised eyebrow his smile turned sheepish. “Do go on, darling.”
Alec chuckled. “We should fake date.”
Magnus blinked. “Pardon?”
Alec ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling nervous. “If the Clave thinks that we’re dating, they have to be more open to suggestions and will have to acknowledge the alliance.”
Magnus hummed. “And what will happen when the truth comes out?”
“By then it will be too late for the Clave to go back on their word without causing a riot”
“That’s quite a plan, Alexander.”
Alec grinned sheepishly. “What do you think?”
Magnus moved a little closer and Alec ignored the way his heart accelerated.
“I think we have a date to plan.”
***
Alec was surprised at how much easier things seemed to be. Granted the Clave wasn’t exactly thrilled by the news that one of their most liked and respected Head of Institute was dating the High Warlock but they couldn’t object or deny concerns without looking like they were going back on the alliance that was originally their idea.
Alec was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. Spending time with Magnus always helped him feel calm and made his brain go silent for a while.
After one of their dates, where Magnus had taken him to his favourite restaurant in Italy, Alec realised there may be a problem. As Alec was leaving, Magnus pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Alec’s heart began to race and he wanted nothing more than to kiss Magnus properly.
The next day, Alec kept going over things in his head. He was in love with Magnus. His feelings kept swirling through his mind and left him so unfocused that none of the paperwork had been done. He frowned when his office door suddenly opened and his siblings walked in.
“What’s wrong?” Jace asked, standing in front of the desk.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Alec replied, batting Isabelle’s hands away from the unfinished paperwork.
“Then why does the parabatai rune periodically throb?” Jace stated, his hand going to said rune and rubbing softly as if to soothe it.
“And none of the paperwork has been filled in,” Isabelle added.
Alec sighed. “Just… I’m not sure how long I can keep this faking dating thing going.”
“I thought things were working?” Izzy said, sounding confused.
“It is…” Alec replied, his voice trailing off.
“Oh,” Jace gasped, eyes fixed on Alec.
“What?” Izzy exclaimed, eyes flicking between Jace and Alec.
“You’re in love with Magnus.”
Alec sighed and pressed his forehead against the desk.
“Oh Alec,” Isabelle whispered.
“You should tell him,” Jace said, moving around the desk to pat Alec’s shoulder.
“And risk him hating me? No thanks. If this is all of Magnus I can have, I’ll take it.”
“Alec…” Isabelle started but the look her brother gave her stopped her.
She exchanged a look with Jace. Neither wanted to see Alec get hurt but they both knew there wasn’t much they could do other than be there for him.
Alec was resigned to his fate. He was, however, finding it harder and harder. He wanted Magnus in ways he knew he couldn’t have him and it hurt. He wanted it all to be real.
***
A few weeks later, the pair were invited to one of the Clave’s annual balls. Alec knew they were only invited to make the Clave look good and to convince other Downworlder leaders to attend. The Clave never did anything without using it as an opportunity to make themselves look good.
Alec had severely underestimated how hard the evening was going to be. Not only did he have to deal with the Clave and their pointless questions and comments about his choice of partner, but he also had to deal with how incredible said partner looked. Magnus was wearing a deep blue suit with shimmering golden thread. His eyeliner made his eyes shine and he looked like some form of god. Which, Alec supposed, wasn’t too far off considering he’s the son of a fallen angel. Alec was mesmerized by the sight.
“You’re staring, Alexander,” Magnus murmured as he passed Alec a drink. “You’ve been staring most of the night.”
Alec flushed. “I’m sorry.”
Magnus smiled, but there was something about it that put Alec on edge. It seemed off, a little sad.
“Are you okay?” Alec asked, letting his eyes roam over the warlock. “Is being here too much?”
Magnus shook his head. “I’m fine, Alexander.”
Alec didn’t fully believe him but he knew that this wasn’t the time or the place to push the matter. They wandered around for a bit more, chatting to various people and trying to have a good time.
Alec had popped to the bathroom and had been gone for less than ten minutes. When he came back, he scoured the room for Magnus, eyes immediately finding the man. Magnus was talking to one of the higher Clave members. As Alec neared and the topic of conversation reached his ears, he froze.
“You shouldn’t be here, you filthy Downworlder,” the man hissed. “Whatever spell you have put on Mr Lightwood, you need to remove it now or I swear to the angel I’ll destroy you.”
“That sounds like a threat,” Magnus answered, his voice cold and powerful. “And I assure you, I have placed nothing on the dear Mr Lightwood. He is free to do as he pleases, and if this upsets you, well that sounds like your issue and not ours.”
The man grabbed the lapels of Magnus’s jacket and Alec saw red. He strode over and shoved the man off of the warlock.
“Don’t you dare lay your hands on him,” he growled. “Magnus is here as a representative of the Downworlders of New York. He’s here as my boyfriend and no one has the right to insult, or threaten to touch him.”
“Darling,” Magnus whispered, placing a hand on Alec’s back.
Some of the tension left Alec’s shoulders but he knew that although Magnus was more than capable of defending himself, he’d never use his magic like that in a room full of people who would take any excuse to revoke the alliance they’d fought so hard for.
“Listen here, Mr Lightwood…”
“No, you listen. Magnus is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and could very easily burn this whole place to the ground. We’re lucky to have him willing to work with us considering all the Clave have done in the past. You don’t get to treat him like garbage. You don’t get to disrespect him.”
“Mr Lightwood, you need a nice shadowhunter girl, not some half-demon.”
Alec growled and moved closer until the man was trapped against the wall. “I don’t want some shadowhunter girl. I want him. I’m in love with him and nothing and no one is going to change that.”
Alec heard Magnus gasp softly behind him along with Jace and Izzy cheering somewhere in the room. It was only then did he realised that the whole place had fallen silent as was watching them. He turned around, straightened his jacket and grabbed Magnus’s hand.
“If you’ll excuse us, we must be going now. We have more important things to attend to.”
Alec led them away, smiling slightly at the thumbs-up his siblings gave him as they walked past. Neither of them said a word until they entered Magnus’s loft.
“Are you okay?” Alec asked, concern filling his voice.
Magnus cupped his cheek. “Are you? You were rather angry.”
“They disrespected you.”
“I know, darling. Thank you, for standing up for me.”
“I’ll always stand up for you.”
“About what you said, Alexander,” Magnus started.
Alec froze. He’d spoken without thinking and now it was going to come back and bite him.
“Magnus, I…”
“Was it true?”
Alec blinked, startled by the slight hope in the other man’s voice. “Yes.”
Magnus’s smile could have lit up the whole of New York.
“I love you, too, Alexander.”
“You do?” Alec breathed, stepping closer to Magnus.
“I do,” Magnus replied and closed the gap.
The kiss was more than anything Alec could have dreamt of. He moaned quietly and pulled Magnus closer. The feeling of the man he loved being pressed against him made his whole body relax and his heart race. This felt right, it felt like home. Magnus was home.
“I’ve wanted to do that since I first met you,” Magnus whispered. “How about we date properly now?”
Alec laughed softly and stole another kiss. “I’d like that.”
He spent the night at the loft, laughing with Magnus and doing a lot of kissing. And he couldn’t even bring himself to be annoyed with his siblings when he entered his office and found a cake on the desk with congrats on kissing Magnus! written on it.