Chapter Text
Magnus always felt a little melancholic whenever he caught himself watching the sunset.
It was not a tradition of his, not even a habit. In over four hundred years of existence, sometimes in between the chaotic events that composed his life, he would just stop whatever he was doing for a few minutes and watch the colors dancing in the sky as the big yellow light sunk into the depths of the Earth.
The sunset had a lot of meanings, some a bit more cheerful than others. Magnus had encountered many cultures in his travels and a lot of them saw the phenomenon as a rite of passage; the end of a day or the beginning of the night. It was the opposite of the sunrise, the end of a journey. It was change.
Other cultures saw romance in it. Couples hugging tight as they watched the pretty colors, a celebration of love. The shadow of hands holding, black against red, and orange, and yellow. It made for a pretty picture and an even prettier happy ending story.
There were even some who mixed the two and saw a sad love story between the Sun and the Moon. Magnus enjoyed that little tale a lot, of two lovers who could never meet but were eternally chasing after each other.
To him, though, the sunset meant companionship. It was something that would always be there, no matter where Magnus was and what he was doing. No matter if he was running from some danger, or meeting new people, or fighting for his life. No matter if he was heading to a night of partying, or staying home to watch a movie. He could be in love or heartbroken, the sunset would always be there.
Just like him.
Contrary to Ragnor’s belief, Magnus didn’t think the planet orbited around his bellybutton. Not only because he did not, in fact, have one, but also because after a couple centuries, one can’t help but feel a part of something and not its center. He’d been through a lot, but so much more had happened without him that Magnus was sure he wasn’t alive for a reason or because someone up there, or down there, had plans for him. He was just alive.
Watching the sunset somehow made that okay. Just like him, the sun didn’t have a reason to hide every night. It just did. It was very humbling, to see a star bowing down every day.
And so, in those sporadic times, Magnus caught himself watching the sunset.
This time, however, he had meant to watch it. He was sitting on the floor of his loft in Brooklyn, an ancient book spread over his crossed legs, an invocation candle dripping warm wax on his fingers, and a demon to summon. His client wanted a spell to destroy a rival’s company and, despite Magnus’ warnings, she was willing to get it from a demon, curse or not. So he searched for the right demon and found one that would grant her wish if it was summoned at the verge of the sunset.
That greedy woman would be back in the morning with her skeptical looks and a shit ton of money, so Magnus had better get it over with.
Especially since it was date night, and Alec would be there at any moment. He had already called, to apologize for his lateness and to let Magnus know that the demon hunting with Jace and Izzy had gone fine. It was always endearing, how Alec would always make time for him in the midst of his busy life as Head of the New York Institute.
If only demons would be half as courteous. They had to agree to have a night in, since the last date they went on ended with both of them covered in demon blood after a fight to death. Magnus only wanted some ice cream, jeez.
This time, Magnus was determined to cover his boyfriend with other sticky substances that had nothing to do with demons, thank you very much. He had even promised Alexander he would cook for them.
Before that, however, he had a curse to acquire. The sun was almost entirely sunk behind the New York skyline and the red lights were turning dark, so it was time. Chanting the words, Magnus felt the power jolting around him as the demon appeared inside the invocation circle. It was an ugly little thing, with claws and a twisted evil smile.
And eager to curse. It was delighted when Magnus explained what he wanted and only requested for tears of hate once the it had done its deed. That should be easy to get, Magnus pondered, even from the rival company’s owner or from his client, when she had to face her part of the deal.
Not his problem, though. The entire negotiation was over just a couple of minutes after the sky had gone completely dark. The demon turned to watch the city’s lights, his pitch black eyes glimmering with satisfaction as Magnus worked out the contract. Its pure glee when signing was disgusting, but Magnus supposed it was an occupational hazard.
When the whole affair was done, the demon’s happiness diminished considerably as it felt angel blood approaching. Magnus, on the other hand, was quite pleased to send it back from whatever hell it came from. He would have thanked Alexander for the unintentional help in getting rid of evil thing, but since summoning demons was still very much prohibited by the Accords, Magnus figured it was best not to put his boyfriend in the uncomfortable position of knowing of his illicit activities.
Instead, he greeted Alec with a surprise kiss when he crossed the door, looking dashing in his usual dark attire.
“Hey,” Magnus said with a smirk playing on his lips.
Alec smiled brightly, lighting up his whole face in the process. “Hey you.” He stepped in the loft, holding Magnus close with one arm. “How was your day?”
“A little bit of that, a little bit of this.” Magnus shrugged and crossed his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “I had time to watch the sunset today.”
“That’s nice,” Alec said. “I wish I had come sooner, to do that with you. It’s very pretty.”
Magnus giggled and threw his boyfriend a sly smile. “I can think of a number of other things I can do to make you come sooner.”
In the first years of their relationship, a comment like that would have Alec blushing or rolling his eyes, depending on his mood. Now, Alec just shrugged. “Am I one of those things?”
“What a dirty mind you have,” Magnus said with a chuckle. “I meant dinner. You’re never late if there’s food.”
“By the Angel, I’m starving.” Alec kissed his boyfriend and motioned to the kitchen, but his eyes stopped on the slightly burned floor. The invocation circle was still visible. “Do I even want to know?”
Magnus arched his eyebrows at him. “I don’t think so.”
“Alright,” Alec said with a nod. “I’m going to change into something more comfortable and then we can start making dinner. How about that?”
“As long as something more comfortable means shirtless.” Magnus winked at him, chuckling when his boyfriend rolled his eyes at him. There it was. “Go get rid of these hideous clothes, darling.”
Alec laughed and nodded without protest. He greeted the Chairman in his way to their bedroom, but stopped at the door. “Hey,” he said with an excited smile on his lips. “What if we watch the sunset tomorrow?”
Magnus didn’t want to crush that beautiful image, but there was no way around it. “I’m sorry, my love. I have a meeting tomorrow with the High Warlock of Washington. It should take the whole day and the better part of the evening.”
Just like the adult that he was, Alec pouted. He soon shrugged his disappointment off, though. “Well, it’s not like it’s a one-time event. We can watch it some other day.”
Magnus nodded as he watched his boyfriend vanishing through the door. Alec was right, the sun would keep setting everyday, for the rest of his life and way after that. And there was nothing he could do to change that. One day, it would come back to being just Magnus and the sunset, two certainties for eternity.
Right now, however, Magnus was thankful to have someone else as a companion for a change. And not just someone, but Alexander Lightwood, who was kind, and brave, and good. Who he loved and loved him in return.
And who was currently very naked in their bedroom. So, if the sun excused him, he had another star to admire, every day and every night, for as long as he would have him.