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Alec feels his jaw unhinge.
Through the crowd and soft firefly like lights strung through branches overhead, weaving in and out of the groups of Seelie’s and Vampires with effortless and graceful ease is the most beautiful and exotic man Alec has ever laid eyes on. There’s something mesmerising and fluid about him that completely captivates Alec. He watches as the gorgeous man twirls and dances around the groups, making small talk and offering distant cheek kisses with a sharp smile.
Alec can’t tear his gaze away.
Everybody else at the gathering fades into a blur of bland colours compared to the exotic specimen making his way through the crowd. The air around Alec feels suddenly too hot and heavy in his chest, the field too quiet considering the noise level mere moments ago. Alec has the insane urge to run home and change out of his dark jeans and equally dark shirt and find something that would impress the man.
It only gets worse when his cool eyes connect with Alec’s across the field.
The world stops, jerking to a halt around him like a sudden brake has been stamped on. Alec can’t breathe. He knows that he might look a little stupid, mouth agape and no breath in his lungs as he just stares at the man but he can’t find a reason to care.
Seconds or maybe minutes pass with the slow tick of a clock before the man moves. He strolls over to Alec and settles on the stool next to him, never breaking eye contact as he leans elegantly against the twisted roots that the Seelie’s had encouraged into the shape of a bar.
They sit together in silence, the rest of the gathering mere white noise around them. Alec is so focused on the man before him, everything else just seems washed out. He’s shorter than Alec, rich tanned skin adorned with glittering dark rings and necklaces that glint in the twinkling lights. There’s a hint of thick powerful muscles under the dark skinny jeans and fluttering embroidered teal silk shirt that stretches across the man’s chest as he rests against the bar. Everything about the mysterious man captivates Alec and he finds his eyes roving, taking in every detail.
“I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced?” He says, eyes watching Alec from under smoky eyelids. Alec’s gaze shoots back up as his cheeks heat.
“Alec.” He replies. Alec can feel a wide, goofy grin split his face.
“Magnus Bane.”
A drink appears at Magnus’ elbow, two in fact and Magnus hands one of the cocktail glasses to Alec. Their fingers brush and Alec feels a spark snap up his hand, like a static shock.
“I haven’t seen you here before.” Magnus says, leaning back against the bar.
“I haven’t really- that is..uh...it’s not really…”
“Your thing.” Magnus finishes for him with an amused tilt to his lips.
“Yeah.”
“So why now?”
“Umm…” Alec’s gaze flicks away from Magnus’ for the first time since he saw him. He finds Meliorn the crowd, the Seelie Knight looks well, though he does seem to be milking his recent incarceration if the small gathering of beautiful fairie folk fawning over him is anything to go by. For a brief moment the world seems to focus again, the noise of the crowd seems louder, sharper than before and Alec wonders why he hasn’t gone over to talk to Meliorn yet. He’s supposed to, it’s the whole point of his presence at the Seelie gathering. He frowns to himself.
Magnus swirls the tip of his pinky slowly in the lilac coloured mixture of his drink. “I’m surprised to see a Lightwood attempting to keep the peace with us, Downworlders.” He mutters, drawing Alec’s gaze back to him.
“The accords are important.” Alec’s forehead crinkles, he’s sure he hasn’t had as much to drink as he feels, he shouldn’t feel like the world is a little off kilter, a little foggy around the edges.
“Hmm. Sure…” Magnus says, his face twisting in an ugly sneer that confuses Alec for a moment before Magnus’ face clears again. “Enough shop talk, let’s talk about you.”
Magnus smiles, leaning forward as he fingers curl around Alec’s wrist and suddenly he doesn’t care about...whatever they were discussing.
Magnus draws Alec into conversations, his chin in hand as he lets Alec ramble on about archery and training. His eyes growing softer and warmer the longer they talk as the rest of the world goes ignored by them and ignores them in return. It’s like they’re in their own cosy bubble seated at the bar, undisturbed by everything else. Alec talks, mostly about his hobbies and siblings. He tells Magnus about Izzy’s ability to burn water and Max’s latest Manga series obsession and Jace’s attempts to woo a fiery headed and spirited transfer to the institute. Magnus doesn’t say much, he hums and laughs along to what clever little anecdote Alec offers up. He does slide forward as Alec talks, slowly and barely noticeable over the minutes, hours that Alec has been regaling Magnus with his life.
A loud splash followed by ruckus cheers and laughter draw Alec’s gaze away from Magnus sharply for the second time that evening but this time it’s less jarring and confusing than before, more natural and less sharp. Alec tenses, his body automatically preparing for a fight after such a loud noise.
“What’s that about?” He demands, more than a little put out that his relaxing evening just took an unexpected jolt.
The warmth in Magnus’ eyes is gone when he turns round, a strained smile tugging at his lips. “Just some fun in the Loch, nothing to worry about.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Alec mutters, mildly embarrassed but more than a little concerned over the cool demeanour that’s settled over Magnus. He’s still lounging against the bar, unmoved by the commotion but Alec still feels as though he’s distant. All the warmth and softness seems pulled back, hidden away again and Magnus looks, upset. Not with Alec but himself. The look is gone in a blink, a thin smile in its place.
“Why don’t we go make our own fun in the water?”
“Okay.” Alec finds himself saying and there’s a part of himself that feels...unsettled. Like a voice yelling a warning through water, he can’t quite make out the words. Magnus’ fingers curl around his wrist again and the warning both grows and weakens within him, like it’s being smothered by a thick blanket.
Before he has a moment to think, Magnus is moving quickly through the crowd, Alec trailing behind him. His feet feel heavy and his arm is limp in Magnus’ grasp, almost like he doesn’t want to go with Magnus. Alec can feel his heart thundering in his chest as Magnus weaves in and out of the gathering, though try as he might, Alec can’t focus on any of their faces. They must pass dozens of Downworlders but all Alec can see clearly is Magnus.
They reach the Loch edge with surprising swiftness and the journey from the bar melts into nothingness as Alec tries to focus on a detail, any detail.
The Loch is peaceful, not quite still, more a mumble of natural night time activity. The soft current creates a small tide that laps at the pebbles and sand beneath Alec’s boots. He watches the soft ebb and flow of the water, feeling himself swaying with the natural rhythm of the Loch.
“Come on darling...” Magnus purrs, backing into the water, his fingers tight around Alec’s wrist.
Alec’s feet stumble forward, heavy and dragging against the pebbles as he jerks towards Magnus.
“Magnus...” Alec whispers, his voice an exhale swallowed by the passing breeze. Water soaks through his boots, weighing him down further as he continues on, like a march he can’t stop.
“Shh, darling, it’s alright...” Magnus says, his words like honey, sticky and cloying they clog his thoughts. Alec continues on, struggling to think, to put something together. It’s frustrating, a part of him wants to keep going but another part is screeching about danger, his Shadowhunter instincts jabbing against the film coating his mind.
The water laps around his thighs now, his legs feel like ice. Cold and brittle but still marching on like a million hands are tugging him forward, pulling at his clothes like impatient children.
“Do you trust me?” Magnus asks, swaying back through the current, too gentle to be completely human.
Alec frowns, he can hear the whisper temptation, oily and smoky pulling at him to say yes while another part of him rages from behind a wall. Magnus keeps drawing him further into the Loch, the cold water lapping at Alec’s waist, sinking into his trousers and climbing up his top.
He looks a Magnus, bathed in moonlight that reflects off the Loch painting Magnus’ skin in ever changing patterns of blue and green light. He should say no, he knows it, even if the idea and logic seem so far away and hardly important at all, he should say no. But his mind drifts back to sitting at the bar, Magnus’ attentively listening to him with a soft smile and warm eyes.
“Yes.”
Magnus jerks, shocked. The world seems to slam back into focus and Alec blinks as his mind clears. “What?”
“I trust you.” Alec says again, the realisation that he’d been spelled rising to the forefront of his thoughts, like a roar catapulting to the surface. Alec looks around for the enemy, the coast of the Loch coming into focus too slowly for Alec’s liking. He twists his hands to grab Magnus’ and draw him closer, to keep him sheltered from the danger against Alec’s chest.
“Oh...this is not how this was supposed to go...” Magnus mumbles weakly and Alec stops scanning the coastline and horizon for a moment, he turns his attention to Magnus and something freezes in his chest. Magnus looks stricken...guilty even.
“What?”
“I’m sorry...” Magnus says before Alec is pushed away with a strength he hadn’t expected.
Magnus stares at him, just for a moment, before turning and diving into the Loch. A wave of white froth and weeds launches in his wake and almost barrels Alec over with the force of it.
He rights himself as the water settles around him. Alec looks around but see’s no sign of Magnus in the Loch, only the faint party sounds echo across the night.
“What the hell...?” Alec whispers into the empty night.
----
The days pass uneventful and oddly empty after Alec meets Magnus. His energy for his work is lacklustre at best, his mind inevitably drawn back to the memory of Magnus at the bar and then in the Loch. At first he was angry, at Magnus and himself. After all he let his guard down, wound up spelled and almost drowned by a Downworlder. It’s a rookie mistake and one he winds up kicking himself for in the small hours of the night.
And then there’s Magnus.
Beautiful, attentive and a bold faced lie.
Except, if it had been a lie, why hadn’t he gone through with drowning Alec. It’s not like Alec was fighting him.
What changed? Why did he try to begin with?
Why Alec?
Alec hates all the unanswered questions as much as he hates the miserable ache in his chest. He actually misses Magnus...a little. Only a little. He doesn’t let himself think on it anymore but his mind constantly betrays him. Jace lands a lucky punch during training because Alec is distracted by the questions and the image of Magnus smiling softly at him.
Jace gloats for days and Alec decides enough is enough.
Alec takes a day, he leaves the Institute at daybreak and heads for the Downworlder communities. Urban and rural. He starts with the city, the bars and marketplaces that Mundane eyes slide over without seeing. He asks around and learns quickly that Magnus is regular at Downworlder parties and throws a few fantastical shindigs himself. He finds out Magnus is a Kelpie, a shape-shifter with a fondness for drowning their victims. Go figure.
But as the day wears on, Alec discovers that the more he asks the quieter the community get. He’s politely but often coldly brushed off or distracted or even just outright ignored. It seems that Magnus has apparently discovered his recent interest and has enough influence and trust within the Downworlder community that everybody clams up after a while. Leaving Alec at a dead end by the sunset and no closer to the answers he wants to put this whole thing to bed.
“The Sea Hag, Camille, might know more...” The owner of the most recent shop Alec has canvassed mutters. He doesn’t meet Alec’s eyes as he talks. “And you didn’t hear nothing from me.”
Alec nods swiftly and leaves; grateful for any leads after a day marching around the city and nearby parks, wandering through every shop and bar that entertains Downworlders for anything that might lead him to Magnus. True, he could have asked for Izzy and Jace’s assistance but that would have meant admitting how close things had been...also how distracted he was by Magnus that he couldn’t even tell when he was under a spell.
No. Alec prefers to limit his humiliation.
He doesn’t waste any more time, heading for the harbour, he makes a quick call for a last minute appointment with the Sea Hag. He only slightly abuses his position within the Institute to push for the meeting.
By the time he reaches the ocean front, the sun has well and truly sunk beneath the rolling waves. There’s barely anyone, Mundane or otherwise, meandering around the docks and a blanket of mist coats the boats and warehouses.
The Sea Hag’s lair is certainly not what Alec expected.
The building itself is modern and minimalist in its design. A block of solid dark concrete compared to the metal waves of the surrounding warehouses. Inside there’s a black bar illuminated underneath by sickly green light and a near empty reception room with a single occupant manning the desk. He looks up at Alec with empty eyes.
“Shadowhunter Lightwood?” The man asks, voice low and empty.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Please follow me.”
The aide slides out from behind the desk in an unnatural flowing movement that reminds Alec of a puppet tugged along by strings. He silently leads Alec down a shadowy hallway and to a set of solid double doors, the material so dark it’s almost like a void and damned near impossible to tell if its metal or wood or something else entirely. The creepy aide reaches for the golden intricately carved handles and flings the doors open with practiced ease. Beyond is another waiting room.
The room is sparsely decorated and cold, it’s smooth walls are made of light teal marble, the smoky pattern reminding Alec of the ocean in an unyielding storm as he stares around the room. The aide bows his head as he quickly and quietly abandons Alec, almost sinking into the void like doors. The echoing thump as they shut tight rolls like thunder around the room and despite it not being an overly large space it feels as vast and endless as the sea itself.
Alec looks at one of the two golden chaises flanking the glass coffee table in the middle of the room, unwrinkled and oddly intimidating for a piece of tacky furniture. He chooses to stand instead.
Minutes tick by without any sign of the aide or his master. Alec doesn’t shuffle or fidget, worried that even the slightest hint of weakness might draw a predator from the intimidating decor.
He’s contemplating the uncomfortable looking chaise when a voice welcomes him, directly behind him.
“Why hello there.”
Alec spins round sharply, a seraph blade in hand. The woman before him both embodies and defies the Sea Hag cliche. She’s beautiful, in a cold way. Untouchable and dressed to kill with a smile as sharp as a shark’s and eyes as cold and dark as the Mariana Trench. She looks him up and down and Alec feels something cold and empty settle in chest. Alec hadn’t head the doors open, she took him by surprise and that’s the second time in less than a week.
“It’s not often I’m visited by such a fine specimen of the Shadowhunter community…” Camille smiles. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need information.” Alec says, bluntly, sheathing the blade in his hand with a tight control.
Camille snorts and her heels snap against cold floor as she walks around Alec. She slides onto the chaise with a cool grace. “What information would that be?”
“What do you know about Kelpies?”
Camille’s bored look melts away, replaced by a predatory smile. “What would you like to know?” She asks almost playfully.
Alec purses his lips and breathes sharply through his nose.
----
Camille is worryingly delighted to assist him and Alec makes sure not to give her too much information, alarmed at what she might do with a name or details about Magnus or even himself. She’s disappointed with lack of particulars, her movements a little sharper and grin a little thinner as she circles him but she tells him what he wants to know.
Which is why Alec has returned to the scene of the crime.
The conch in his hands is almost armoured, spiky spines jabbing outwards from its mottled blue and silver shell. The tips are as dark as the inside of the shell itself, a shadow that seems to wither and curl inwards as he stares at it. The damned thing had cost him three months worth of pay and Alec wants nothing more than to toss it into the Loch and leave it there. It’s unnatural and wrong.
But he’s here now and his questions are stubborn and persistent.
With a steadying breath, he raises the tip to his mouth and blows.
If the shell itself looks unnatural than the sound it conjures is just as bad. Like a trumpet it thunders across the clearing but there’s a rolling screech like a thousand seagulls underneath and something wet, slapping between.
For a moment there’s nothing but the fading echo of the conch’s call.
And then the Loch revolts, swirling and raging in a heap of white froth that looks hot to the touch, bubbling into a growing bulbous mass. Alec stumbles back, away from the angry growth of rolling water. It’s far more aggressive than he suspected it would be. The Loch water looks to be tearing itself apart, destroying and remaking the mass in broken and uneven waves.
He spies something dark near the surface of it, pushed and shoved upwards. And as he squints, out of the head of froth, struggling against the magic’s force, comes Magnus.
The magic bows before Alec, slowly bending down, clutching Magnus tightly and dangling him over Alec. Magnus doesn’t seem aware of him, too busy fighting against the vice of water, a panicked thrashing against his cage.
Alec pauses, unsure of if he wants to proceed. Camille’s words echo in his ear but Magnus looks terrified, completely unaware of his surroundings as he struggles more, almost mindless of any damage he’s doing to himself. Alec looks down at the conch in his hand and thinks about dropping it, crushing it beneath his foot and freeing Magnus from the spell. He looks back up and almost flinches back. Magnus has stopped fighting the mass, has finally seen who his captor is and his eyes are golden and slitted, the rage visible in the molten yellow.
The glare is both searing and ice cold and it’s the shiver that runs down Alec’s spine, the memory of Magnus’ cool demeanour it brings, that solidifies his decision.
Alec’s hand snaps out and around the necklace dangling from Magnus’ neck. He yanks it away from Magnus’ neck, snapping the weaving threads of silver that make the chain.
The mass of water collapses, dropping Magnus against the beach with a ton of water in a heavy thump.
Alec ignores how he’s mostly soaked, he drops the conch and stares at the crystal in his hand. The thin, unpolished sliver is a few inches long and the colours change like an ocean wave as he twists it around in the light of the moon. He watches, fascinated as the chain reaches for itself like an octopus probing its limbs out. The broken pieces mending and tangling together once more, leaving nothing but an unbroken necklace held in his hand. This is the one thing in the world that can control a Kelpie and it’s so small and delicate looking in Alec’s palm.
Alec wants to study it, he has a million and one questions and his mouth opens ready to ask about the delicate piece of jewellery when Magnus stands and Alec remembers quite abruptly, his whole purpose for being here.
Without the magic of the necklace Magnus’ skin becomes mottled with teals and silvers rolling across the visible skin like a slightly murky stream. His eyes remain golden, sharp slits narrowed at Alec, solid and cold and there’s the illusion of a tail flick, just a few feet behind Magnus almost like if he turned just right Alec would see the silhouette of a horse instead of a man. He’s a mirage of the ocean but still beautiful despite the clear devastating power he controls. The Loch is silent and still around them, like it’s holding its breath in anticipation.
Magnus stutters forward, hand already reaching for the necklace but Alec’s fist clenches around the crystal tight and Magnus winces, falling back a step and almost folding in on himself. For a brief moment Alec wants to relinquish the crystal, give it back to Magnus because he looks so broken without it, a flicker and a shadow of himself.
But the moment is passes with the breeze, Magnus seeming to pull strength from somewhere, maybe the waters around him. His back straightens, his eyes darken, losing the gold and becoming endless voids, and he stands unmoving on the edge of the Loch. The waters curling around his bare feet in comfort.
Alec stares him down. For minutes. Not sure how to start, where to start. He imagines a few scenarios. Each where he demands an answer and wills his voice to follow through. It doesn’t.
“Why me?” Alec asks. No order in his tone, no confidence, just the quiet broken betrayal.
Magnus holds his ground, back straight and eyes cold. “You’re a Lightwood.”
“So?”
“So I’ve met your parents before...in battle.” Magnus sighs.
Alec remains silent. A fist of ice closes around his heart. He doesn’t need Magnus to elaborate. Alec is fully aware of his parent’s pasts, their history with the Circle. The lenient sentence they served, on top of their continued freedom and perceived power within Idris is like a slap in the face for many Downworlders who had witnessed firsthand the deadly force of the Lightwood Matriarch and Patriarch.
They’d had their fair share of death threats and dirty looks. It’s not such a stretch for Alec, to imagine that there were a few revenge plots contemplated over the years. It’s just surprising for him that’s he’s the one targeted.
“Why me? Why not them?”
A shimmer of something painful ripples in Magnus’ eyes. “My friend Ragnor Fell died at their hands...I wanted them to know my pain.”
Alec feels a brief stab of pity before a horrific thought curls in his gut like a lead weight. “If it had been Izzy or Jace...or Max...” He swallows thickly, his throat dry.
“I wouldn’t hurt a child.” Magnus denies angrily and that only fuels Alec’s own rage.
“But you would have killed Izzy and Jace? How does that make you any better than them?” Alec demands.
Magnus wilts. “I wasn’t in my right mind...Yes, I thought about it over the years but I never intended to go through with it.”
“Then why now? Why me?” Alec questions, his fingers tighten around the crystal in his grasp.
“I heard about Meliorn’s incarceration, how he was to be handed over to the Silent Brother’s for torture.”
“At the time he was believed to be harbouring information about a -.” Alec starts but Magnus laughs, high and bitter.
“Dress it up as you will darling, we both know had it been a Shadowhunter things would have been different.”
Alec sighs, his free hand coming up to rub away the growing headache. “So...what? That was the last straw for you?”
“I came to see Meliorn. I drank...a lot. And then I saw...you.” Magnus says, his voice fading by the end of his explanation.
“And figured you’d drown me from my parent’s crimes?”
“Yes.”
There’s no hesitation, no denial. Just a single wrecked word. Alec looks away, stares at the pebbles, his eyes stinging. “What changed then?”
It’s a long time before he gets his answer and when it comes, it’s not the lengthy explanation he’d imagined. “You.”
Alec’s gaze snaps away from the shore line and straight to Magnus.
“Me.” Alec says disbelievingly.
Magnus actually shrugs, like he doesn’t have a care in the world and there isn’t an angry Shadowhunter in possession of the one thing that can control him. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re not like them.”
“Obviously.”
Magnus chuckles warmly. “It’s obvious now...it was obvious when we talked and in the Loch.”
Alec doesn’t know what to do with that. He knows he’s not his parents but he’s never thought of himself as good before, somebody worth saving or sparing in this case. But apparently simply being himself stopped Magnus from making a mistake.
“Will you take me before the Clave?” Magnus asks after minutes of silence. Alec blushes at the image his mind conjures at the words. Magnus watches him confused for a moment before he catches on and smirks.
“No.” Alec says, eyes scolding them both for such thoughts.
Magnus’ smirk fades away slowly. “Will you perform your own justice then?”
“No.”
“Then what? What will you do with me?”
“Nothing...” Alec answers. He steps into the Loch, the water soaking through his shoes slowly. He untangles the necklace in his hand and gently places it over Magnus’ head, holding it loosely as he rests it once again around Magnus’ neck. Magnus holds his breath, frozen to the spot as Alec smoothes his hands over the crinkles of Magnus’ shirt before pulling away and stepping backwards, out of Magnus’ domain. “For what it’s worth...I’m sorry about your friend.”
“You continue to surprise me Alexander.” Magnus says, a warm smile growing across his face. He twists and leaps back into the Loch, the move not unlike a dolphin. Leaving Alec once again feeling a little lost on the shore.
----
Alec swirls the whiskey around the glass, it’s his first and only and he still hasn’t taken a sip. Kind of defeats the purpose of drowning his sorrows and troubles but Alec couldn’t bring himself to take the first sip. It’s been weeks since he last saw Magnus, weeks since he released someone who potentially has it in for his family. Alec’s grappled with decision he made on the Loch side. He should have arrested Magnus, taken him to the Clave to stand trial, protected his family from a threat.
But Magnus doesn’t seem like a threat.
Alec can’t even argue his case, there’s no evidence except a gut feeling that Magnus won’t go after another Lightwood.
And he certainly couldn’t explain why he’s attending another Seelie gathering. He shouldn’t be here, there’s no reason too. Their story has ended and yet...Alec wants to see Magnus again. Even if it’s just a glimpse.
“You’d think this was a funeral instead of celebration with that face.”
Alec freezes, whiskey splashing his fingers. Magnus slots in beside him, bypassing the stool to stand in Alec’s personal space. He plucks the glass from Alec’s loose fingers and moves it out of Alec’s range, leaning almost completely over him to do so. He’s wearing a tiger’s eye coloured shimmering top tonight, the vee is a deep slit down his chest that hints at his smooth skin beneath as he moves and there’s a matching warm gold and brown streaked through the fringe of his hair and glimmering around his eyes. Again Alec feels underdressed and bland in comparison with his dark t-shirt and jeans.
“You’re here?” Alec asks, quietly shocked.
Magnus’ smile is a touch shy as he remains close, tucked against Alec’s side despite the almost empty length of the bar available. “I find I’m uniquely motivated to attend these events.”
“Why?” Alec says and he winces, kicking himself mentally for asking when he should just be happy that Magnus is there.
“Perhaps to have a chance to glance a rare creature.”
“Huh?”
“A Shadowhunter with a heart.” Magnus’ smile turns playful but no less sincere.
Alec feels his face burn as he ducks his gaze to the knotted bar top. “Oh...I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“I can leave-.” Magnus offers, already slipping away and Alec’s hand snaps out, grabbing Magnus’ wrist tight.
“No!” His shout draws the attention of a few groups gossiping nearby and Alec twists back the bar, releasing Magnus like he’s been burned. His cheeks feel ridiculously hot and he wouldn’t blame Magnus for leaving now.
“I’ll stay then.”
Alec blinks at the bar top before looking up at Magnus again. “Umm...”
“I’m surprised you want me to stay.” Magnus says and Alec fumbles for the words to argue why he’s here in the first place. He comes up empty and winds up stuttering.
“I – uh...I...”
Magnus seems unperturbed. He smiles warmly at Alec. “I enjoyed our talk...even if it was overshadowed by later events.” He winces and Alec mirrors the gesture.
Alec fingers fidget against the bar. “You didn’t really talk much...sorry if I didn’t let you.” He says instead because the less said about the almost drowning, the better.
“Nonsense, I enjoyed listening to you. Trust me darling I have no trouble being heard when I want to be.” Magnus chuckles and Alec finds his own grin returning full force. “Besides there’s nothing better than listening to someone passionate about what they’re talking about.”
He ducks his head again, rubbing a hand across the back of his head. “Oh...thanks...”
Magnus makes a small noise. “I wouldn’t be opposed to another chat...if you’d like?” He suggests, a forced nonchalance in his tone as a finger trails a pattern a random pattern in the woodwork.
“Yeah...Yeah that sounds good.”
Magnus brightens, his eyes sparkling. “Excellent. Then perhaps we could meet for -.”
“Why not now?” Alec interrupts and Magnus stares at him, momentarily stunned. The silence is long enough for Alec’s gut to start rolling.
Magnus’ smile is slow but wide and warm. “I believe I’m free.”
“But I want to hear about you this time...if that’s okay?” Alec asks nervously.
Magnus blinks, shocked for a moment. His smile returns full force though. “It’s surprising but not unwelcome.”
Alec lets out a quiet breath of relief as Magnus steps out of his orbit but only to settle on the next stool. He waves at the bar tender and gets a nod in return. Magnus turns back to Alec, looking not unlike the first time they sat at the bar and talked and Alec feels himself relax.
“So...What do you want to know?”
---
Izzy eyes him warily as Alec shucks on his jacket, checking his hair in the hall mirror one last time. She leans heavily against the hall wall, narrowing her gaze as Alec shoves and pokes his hair into a semblance of artfully tousled.
“Soooo when do I get to meet him?” Izzy asks, her voice song like and playful.
“What?”
“You’ve been going out every weekend for three months, mi hermano. You’ve traded missions and patrols. Either its illicit narcotics or love...It’s not drugs is it?” She asks, worry colouring her tone.
Alec snorts and rolls his eyes. “No Izzy, I’m not hooked on something.” He straightens up and tugs at the tails of his jacket once again.
“But someone has their hooks in you.” She says, tilting her head to the side.
“Izzy.”
Izzy makes a frustrated nose as her arms flap against her side. “Fine, keep your secret affair.”
“It’s not like that.” Alec says, finally turning to look at her.
She pauses and really takes in her brother. The actual effort he’s taken with appearance, how quick he is with a smile lately and even when he doesn’t think anybody can see him, the warm look that will come over him when he’s staring into nothing. “No it isn’t, is it...Are you happy?” Izzy asks and two warm spots appear high on Alec’s cheeks as he ducks his head.
“Yes, very.”
“Then that’s all I need to know.” Izzy says, feeling something thick settle in the back of her throat but refusing to show it. She twirls round and sashays down the hall, sparing him a momentary backwards glance. “For now at least.” She winks and Alec rolls his eyes, ducking out of the Lightwood manor with Izzy’s laugh echoing behind him.
----
Alec falls onto Magnus’ couch, shuffling down with a groan. He toes off his boots and kicks his feet up onto the coffee table, shutting his eyes and relaxing his muscles.
Magnus chuckles. “Long day darling?”
Alec hums sleepily before cracking open an eye. “Patrols mostly.”
“How boring...”
“This one was.”
“Better now?” Magnus asks as he gracefully sits down beside Alec on the sofa. He pulls his legs up onto the couch as he snuggles into Alec’s side.
“Much.” Alec grins as he watches Magnus get settled.
It had been three months since Magnus sat at the bar and told him the story of his friend, Catrina’s brief attempt to be a proper Siren – which given her desire to heal and protect people, ended abruptly when she saved the occupants of the ship and then proceeded to give them a lecture about safety. They’d talked until the dawn crept up on them and only separated to return to their homes once a promise of another meeting had been sealed.
For weeks, night after night, they laid claim to the two stools at the end of the bar and talked and talked. Alec had never felt so at ease with someone before. With Magnus, he felt completely safe, though their environment kept him from fully relaxing.
Something that was made abundantly clear on one of their evening rendezvous. Alec had just come off a hard mission that left him exhausted and running purely on adrenaline but he refused to miss their date, he didn’t have Magnus’ number at the time to reschedule. So he showed rather than stand Magnus up for some shut eye. Things had been going well, they laughed and chatted and then a nearby warlock unleashed a few surprise fireworks and Alec dived behind the bar, dragging Magnus with him, on pure instinct. It had caused a little bit of a scene and Alec was completely mortified but Magnus had seemed oddly charmed by his daring rescue attempt.
Though they both agreed to avoid future incidents of dramatic bar hopping a new venue was needed.
Which led to Magnus welcoming Alec into his own humble abode.
Magnus’ home isn’t what Alec had imagined. Instead of the oceanic lair his mind had conjured, Magnus’ Brooklyn loft is trendy without being minimalist and warm and inviting in equal measures. It’s all warm colours and rich fabrics with sturdy furniture meant to stand not only the path of literal time but of changing phases of fashion too.
Plus it’s significantly more comfortable than a bar stool.
So for the last two weeks Alec’s been arriving at Magnus’ door in the evening, sometimes with take out in hand, or even in the morning for coffee. No wonder his sister is worried about him.
“My sister thought I was doing drugs.” Alec says out of the blue and Magnus starts just a little, having almost fallen asleep in the silence and comfort of the two of them on the sofa.
“Hmm?”
“Because I’m always out now-a-days.” Alec elaborates. Magnus stiffens beside him.
“Didn’t you tell her where you’re going?” He asks and Alec gnaws on his bottom lip.
“Not at first...I didn’t want to have to explain how we met.”
Magnus relaxes again, nodding. “Understandable. And now?”
“I like having you to myself.” Alec mumbles, embarrassed by the omission. “She’ll want to meet you soon enough but...”
“For now it’s just us.” Magnus finishes with a soft smile.
“Yeah.” Alec exhales.
Magnus hums in a contented manner as he rests against Alec’s side, their fingers loosely tangled against his thigh.
“Have you eaten?” Magnus asks quietly against Alec’s shoulder. Alec twists his head to rest on top of Magnus’.
“Not yet.”
Magnus untangles their fingers and pats Alec’s thigh before getting up. “What do you fancy?”
And with that they slip back into their usual routine. Magnus ordering in for them, Tai tonight, while Alec sorts plates and cutlery. The move around each other with ease that shouldn’t exist in such a short time of knowing one another but it does. Magnus, Alec’s found, fits into his life like there was a Magnus shaped gap just waiting for him.
They make small talk over dinner, often slipping into a comfortable silence.
After the plates have been dumped in the sink to soak for a few hours, Magnus pulls Alec lightly into the centre of the living room.
“Stay here a moment darling.” Magnus instructs.
“Okay.”
Magnus pauses, a fond look on his face like he still can’t believe how much Alec trusts him. He shakes his head and walks over to the bookshelf, tapping a panel to lower a hidden record player. Magnus gently pulls a vinyl out of its sleeve and delicately places it on the player, setting it up with practiced ease.
The crackle gives way to a slow jazz tune that softly echoes around the loft. Alec smiles as Magnus offers his hand.
Alec slides his fingers across Magnus’ palm and tugs him into his orbit. Magnus goes easily, wrapping his free arm around Alec’s waist as Alec does the same. It’s Magnus he leads, just a soft push into small steps as he tangles their fingers together. Alec rests his forehead against Magnus, following him through the small circle Magnus decided on.
Magnus’ nose bumps his own, a soft brush as he nuzzles against Alec. Alec sighs, his eyes shut as he rests his forehead against Magnus, just relishing in the closeness and easy intimacy of having Magnus in his arms as they dance.
Eventually they slow into a swaying hug and Alec just allows the crackle of a fading saxophone to lull him into an almost standing sleep. He almost misses the shadow of Magnus moving.
He doesn’t miss the cool, damp, weight of silver around his neck.
“I think this will be a touch safer with you.” Magnus whispers and Alec’s eyes shot open. His gaze finding the aquamarine twinkling crystal dangling against his own chest, the weight of the deceptively heavy gemstone pulls the tangled thin chain down. There’s no way for Alec to misinterpret the importance of Magnus’ choice. The level of trust Magnus is showing him is almost too much for Alec to comprehend.
“Magnus.” Alec says around a thick lump in his throat.
Magnus has a small, barely-there smile on his face as he gently undoes a few buttons of Alec’s shirt, he runs a finger down the bared skin and Alec shivers. Magnus folds the shirt around the precious pendant, hiding it from prying eyes before he redoes the buttons. He fixes Alec’s collar before meeting his eyes.
Alec gapes at Magnus for a moment. “A-Are you sure?”
Magnus ducks his head, taking a shaky breath. When he looks back up at Alec, his smile is warm and beautiful, just like his eyes and it steals the breath from Alec’s lungs.
“I’m sure.”