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Magnus woke up early. Too early for his liking but it couldn’t be helped, as proven when, as soon as he opened his eyes, his stomach growled loudly quickly answering any questions he had had about what woke him up. Alec was lying on his stomach next to Magnus, his head on the pillow turned away from Magnus. The shadowhunter’s dark hair sticking up wildly and the covers were wrapped around his shoulders; Magnus could just about make out the other man’s hands holding the blankets in place. The warlock smiled to himself and reached a hand out to run his fingers through Alec’s hair when he noticed the silver ring still on his boyfriend’s hand.
It was a simple enough design, two thin bands of silver metal intertwined around each other in an everlasting ring with an engraved pattern of swirls on one band and vines on the other. Magnus had bought it on a whim, it had a matching pair in his jewellery box on the other side of the room. It had looked pretty at the time and had quickly became one of the rings he would put on in a morning just because it went with everything and fit every occasion.
Then the night before, Alec had been drunk for what Magnus expected was the first time and he had simply tried it on but in that moment Magnus had seen what he could have. Him and Alec. What they could have. He hadn’t wanted the shadowhunter to give it back and had told him as such; Alec had admired it for a while after before becoming sidetracked with asking Magnus where he stood on cats. Magnus wondered if Alec would want to get a cat just as the man in question stirred in his sleep and turned over so he was facing Magnus with his eyes still closed. However his lips were pulled up in a drowsy smile and Magnus knew he was awake.
“You’re staring at me, Mags.” Alec’s voice was deeper than normal and Magnus loved it.
“How can I not? How are you feeling by the way?” Magnus placed a gentle hand on his boyfriend’s cheek and Alec covered it with one of his own.
“Awful. I can’t believe I actually got drunk last night.”
“I can help with that.” Magnus crossed the small space between them and kissed Alec gently, slowly and letting Alec lead so that Magnus himself could also send a small bit of his magic to ease the shadowhunter’s headache. When they pulled away Alec opened his eyes.
“Better?” Magnus moved back a little to look Alec in the eye.
“Mmm, much. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, darling. Just so you know, you are downright adorable when you’re drunk.” Magnus teased, infinitely pleased with the instant blush flowering on Alec’s cheeks.
The shadowhunter groaned and covered his face in his hands. Magnus knew the second when Alec noticed the ring. He tensed up and stopped breathing for so long that Magnus began to worry and nudged him with his knee under the covers to get his attention.
“Magnus.” Alec held his hand in between them, the metal reflecting the low light breaking through the curtains; his eyes were focused solely on the ring and his brow was furrowed in confusion then worry.
“Yes, Alexander?”
“Did- um… is this-” Alec swallowed heavily, “are we...did you? Did I? We aren’t...engaged are we?” Alec’s voice was a little squeaky now and if it wasn’t such a serious topic Magnus would have teased his boyfriend endlessly but he knew Alec’s insecurities well and damage repair was needed not jokes.
“No, darling. We are not.” Magnus watched as Alec turned his hand this way and that, captivated by the piece of jewellry. “You wanted to try it on last night and I told you to keep it, that’s all. Don’t worry.”
Alec’s attention snapped from the ring to Magnus in a split second at those last words and it surprised the warlock. He hadn’t thought they would be anything awful, he’d said it plenty of times over the centuries. ‘Don’t worry’.
He wasn’t ignorant or ridiculously optimistic. Magnus knew that for one reason or another, no one he had ever been with wanted to marry him and he naturally expected no more from Alec. No matter how much more it hurt when he thought about it when it came to his shadowhunter, how much he wished more than anything that it would happen but he knew not to get his hopes up. Not to hope at all. Especially not with the Clave’s rules on marriage, Magnus wouldn’t have Alec get married in any ceremony other than the one he deserved, in gold with his family there too.
“Magnus, that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t-”
“Alexander, you don’t have to explain anything. I know-” Magnus froze momentarily as Alec held a finger in front of the warlock’s lips to shut him up, the shadowhunter looked frustrated which was surprising.
“Just let me talk, I want to explain. Please.”
Magnus nodded and Alec dropped his hand to intertwine it with Magnus’s, who was trying desperately to stay open minded which was rather difficult.
“I’m not against it. Being engaged I mean. I- I just don’t want to rush things, you know? I want to-” Alec took a deep breath as Magnus felt the surge of hope in his chest. “I want to marry you, one day but I think it would be too...fast...do you- do you know what I mean?”
Alec’s anger had disappeared and he was looking at Magnus with wide eyes, imploring him to understand.
“You want to marry me.” Magnus breathed the words out in a whisper, like they were the holiest words he had ever heard.
“Well yeah. Unless you don’t want to! By the Angel, I’m so stupid- I’m sorry. I-”
“Alec, Alec stop. Alexander!” Alec snapped his mouth shut with a click. “I want to marry you too. I do, I really really do. But I understand what you mean, I don’t want to rush this either.”
“You’re crying.”
Magnus laughed despite himself when that was all Alec had to say.
“So are you.” He retorted, wiping his own tears away then Alec’s.
“Izzy uh...she told me once about these- these rings mundanes have. Um I don’t remember what they’re called. They’re like engagement rings but not...faith rings or something?” Alec was twirling the ring on his finger as he spoke but he was smiling shyly down at Magnus who was still grinning softly.
“Promise rings. You exchange them with a promise. Most of the time it’s a promise to get engaged at a later point. Do you...Alexander…” Magnus trailed off at the pure hope and unabashed openness of Alec’s expression.
“I do if you do.”
“Of course I do.” Magnus laughed again and pressed a sweet kiss to Alec’s smiling lips.
“Wait, where are we going to get another one of these?” Alec held up his hand, showing off the ring to indicate what he meant.
“That’s okay, I bought two.” Magnus smirked and pulled Alec in for a deeper kiss.