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malecsecretsanta · 8 years ago

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Merry Christmas, @lolguess!

Read on AO3

The Other 10%

Snow flurries and ice chunks, some as big as table tennis balls, are whipping against their faces and bodies as they’re rushing through the dark streets, sure-footed despite the snow storm and sleet raining down on them, a few wolves that joined them leading the way, their eyesight best.

The call came sudden, out of nowhere after weeks of calm and quiet and some of them having become a little complacent, others, like Jace, downright antsy with not enough to do.

He meets his sister’s determined eyes, a tiny smile grazing her lips as she’s running at his left side. He looks to his right where Clary’s keeping up, a fierceness in her eyes that makes his chest swell a little with pride, the three of them having been training exceedingly in those quiet weeks.

His eyes focus on the two tall figures joining them next to Clary, unsurprising to him as he felt his parabatai’s proximity before he could lay eyes on him.

“Nice of you to join us!” Jace shouts towards Alec and Magnus, wiping an icy strand of hair from his eye, feeling just a little regretful in their place as he knows the call disrupted their date night, yet they lost no time and from the way they look, clad in all dark and warm clothes, an outsider would think they were expecting it. Magic sure is a wonderful thing, Jace thinks as he smirks at them and fastens his pace, inciting the others to follow.

Alec nods at Jace and Izzy before meeting Magnus’ golden cat orbs, his body already brimming with pent-up magic, craving to be released. It’s a sight Alec won’t ever forget - or grow tired of witnessing - as he feels his own body charging with energy, his senses sharp and lethal, and the excitement of fighting side by side with his parabatai and the most powerful man he’s ever known, who he adores and admires, filling him with a special kind of heat incomparable to any other.

Magnus shows a wicked, little smirk eliciting Alec to smile - this certainly wasn’t the plan tonight, but they will make the best of it, and there is always time after the fight.

A couple of shadowhunters out on patrol were attacked by half a dozen Kuri demons that appeared suddenly, attacking viciously. They managed to kill them but were wounded, calling for backup as more demons scattered the streets.

Maybe they’re curious about Christmas, was Izzy’s answer as they quickly gathered their weapons, informing Luke and Raphael about the demon sightings.

No matter the reason, they need to reign them in before they can do serious damage.

As they reach the outskirts where werewolves and vampires are already fighting, having pushed the demons back for now, they waste not a second.

There are Kuri, Moloch, Kappa and Shax demons, a few shapeshifters completing the mix, and the five of them march right in.

Clary takes up the left flank where she spotted Luke and Jocelyn, her seraph blade glowing as she strikes down a demon without hesitation, but with strength and accuracy. Isabelle joins the middle where Simon, Raphael, and other vampires and wolves are fighting, her whip cracking, her blade glowing, promising danger as she runs, jumps, slices her blade through one demon while her whip traps another who turns into sparkling ashes a moment later.

Jace, Alec and Magnus needn’t communicate. The parabatai’s movements mirror each other as they stride forward, Jace’s blade glowing like the rest of them, his expression fierce, yet calm, joy and sureness sparking in his eyes, made for sending the creatures back to hell.

Alec stands back a little, his face a mask of concentration, arrows flying, exceeding speeds no normal eyes could see. His eyes, sharper than an eagle’s, scanning the area, spotting possible threats and terminating them at once, knowing where and how Jace is without having to try, aware of Magnus in a different way, his aura prickling under Alec’s skin, the power radiating through him without being next to him, he’s become so very aware of him, trusts him unconditionally and just knowing he’s there gives him a sense of security and invincibility he’s not known before.

Magnus stands at the edge of the fighting area, eyes blazing gold and black, his arms moving, stretching, blue flames streaming from his hands, enveloping his friends and allies fast, protecting them, as well as glamouring the area to shield them from mundane eyes. A snap of his fingers and Alec’s arrows are spitting fire as they slice through more demons, Alec turning his head a fraction to shoot him a smile as Magnus takes up fighting beside him, making sure no demon could attack from behind, as well as supporting the right flank where Maia and others are fighting.

Many minutes pass and they’re slaying demons left, right and center, with more shadowhunters arriving and joining them, and usually they would have killed them all by now, yet more keep coming and as strength slowly leaves some, concentration wavers, injuries occur and Luke sends members of his pack away before they get killed or become a risk for others.

Raphael shares a look with Magnus who leaves Alec’s side, five demons next to them bursting into ashes as a fireball from Magnus’ hand hits them. His lips brush Alec’s cold, wet cheek before he’s gone to help his friend out, knowing Alec doesn’t need an explanation.

The shadowhunter steps back further, arrows flying in a half circle in breathtaking succession, hitting their targets perfectly every time. He feels Jace in distress, his body leaping around to fire three arrows at once, hitting three demons, giving Jace space to fight off the other two on his own.

Alec’s eyes are running over everyone, worry coiling in the pit of his stomach as he needn’t count to know that they’re outnumbered and the demon count seems to still increase. Where are you bastards coming from? They’ll have to find out later.

His head whips around to where Magnus is rounding up rows of demons, pushing them together, Alec’s arrow slicing through one row, while Magnus’ magic blast takes out the others.

They share a fond look and Alec would have loved to spend a moment longer watching Magnus’ stunning battle form, but more demons approaching the area draw both their attention away from each other.

Magnus’ mind is reeling, trying to simultaneously figure out where all these demons are coming from exactly, and who may have helped them, and determining the most efficient solution to get rid of them.

They’re all still standing strong. His eyes brush over Clary, Luke and Jocelyn, fighting side by side, not far Izzy, Jace and Raj are picking off demon after demon, he spots Alaric with other wolves, shadowhunters and vampires and Simon, Maia and Raphael on his other side, making up an efficient and lethal trio. And Alec’s arrows keep seering through the wind and snow as if through a clear blue sky.

But he knows their reserves are dwindling, time coming up to an hour now, and he can feel his own magic quieten down. But he has enough left, enough to… he suddenly focuses on one movement, one distorted figure in the distance behind them, his eyes sharpening, zooming in. Vermithrall.

His pupils blow wide with surprise and concern, flames dancing along his fingers unnerved as he spins around, taking everyone in once more in a split second, coming quickly to a conclusion. This needs to end now.

He’s faster than Alec can see when he appears by his boyfriend’s side, whispering into his ear. Alec is surprised, yet reacts immediately, locates the worm demon and finishes it off with two fire arrows while Magnus takes post behind everyone again, his voice bellowing in their minds through every noise and distraction. EVERYONE GET DOWN NOW!

Most of his friends and allies get the hint immediately and hit the ground, while Alec’s shooting more demons to make sure they won’t get to anyone, shouting at a few others to follow suit before he drops into the icy mud himself.

Magnus summons all of his remaining power into one ferocious attack, his eyes flaring, the air around him moving, charging up and sizzling, the weather unable to even touch him now.

His movements are lightning fast and meticulous, and the ground quivers as he releases the mighty torrent of magic, watching as it floods the area, wafting just above people on the ground without touching a hair on their heads, demolishing every last demon in its path.

Almost every last. One worm had already left its host when Alec shot it, crawling its way undetected to the warlock, sharp teeth slicing through clothes and skin, biting on to his lower back just next to his hip.

Alec hears Magnus’ outcry and forgets to even check whether it’s safe to get up as he jumps to his feet and runs to where Magnus fell to his knees, his back and neck unnaturally strained, his hand trying to grasp the worm that’s boring itself into his body with fatal speed. He rips off part of it but the worm’s other half lives on as if nothing happened, goring further into his flesh.

“Magnus?!” Alec’s staring in shock, feeling numb with white-hot panic, unable to figure out what to do, how he should help.

“Cut it out!” Magnus huffs in agony, his teeth clenched, liquid pooling in his eyes, blood dripping from the wound and his eyes meet Alec’s terrified hazel ones, terror and disbelief mixing as he wants to shake his head and scream that he can’t do that but something takes over, something in Magnus’ eyes making him realize that this is the only thing he can do for him and that he may lose him if he doesn’t.

Panic subsides in an instant making room for calculated, precise action as he grips his blade and cuts deep into the wound, ignoring the way Magnus screams and falls onto his hands as Alec finally finds the worm, pulls and cuts through its head immediately, shaking away the ashes, but then he spots it. Demon ichor is black, but there’s green inside Magnus’ wound and on Alec’s hand. His mind is catapulted back to a memory of Magnus telling him more about demons and what makes them dangerous to warlocks. This Vermithrall was poisonous and it’s spreading inside Magnus now.

Alec’s paralyzed as he watches Luke grab Magnus and hoist him up while saying something to him but not understanding a word. He doesn’t hear a thing but Magnus’ words. It wouldn’t be wise to get bitten by one, their poison is no joke and would lead to certain death at least 90% of the time for anyone regardless of species.

He watches as Luke carries him away, others following quickly and he wants to speak, shout, but there’s no sound. His face is suddenly turned, his eyes locking on blue, mixed with brown and he recognizes the hands on his cheeks as Jace’s.

“Alec, breathe, just breathe, buddy, alright? Breathe!”

Alec hears the sharp sound of his gasp for air while Jace murmurs soothingly. He breathes deeply a few times before he can speak. “Poison, Magnus is poisoned!” Panic flares up again and he stands, Jace before him instantly, not having let go of his face yet.

“Alec! We know! They’re taking him to Catarina, she’ll heal him for sure, alright? He’ll be okay!”

Alec shakes his head distraught, 90% is all he can think about. Magnus has a chance of 10% to survive. TEN. Almost none.

Alec starts to shake, or maybe he’s been shaking all along but only notices himself now. His legs are barely keeping him upright, a coldness icier and more dangerous than the weather gripping, threatening to overpower him.

“Alec!” Alec feels a sting on his cheek now and realizes that Jace slapped him, making him focus again on his parabatai.

“Get it together, Alec! What use are you to Magnus when you end up on a hospital bed? He needs you to be strong now! He needs you to get him through this!”

Alec stares into those eyes he’d never forget and find again in a billion and finally a sort of calmness takes a hold of him and he breathes again slowly, nods and hugs Jace quickly before running after the others.

It’s been four days but to Alec, and the others who keep coming to check on Magnus, it feels like half an eternity.

When Catarina learned what happened and saw an unconscious Magnus she called for Ragnor and sent everyone else away sternly, locking Magnus, herself and Ragnor up for a whole day.

Of course Alec has been staying the whole time, unable to function anyway, hanging on by a thread. Everyone else left now and then, Jace and Izzy checking up on him regularly, keeping their parents and any kind of stress away from him.

When Catarina finally appeared again, Alec felt like passing out. She looked drained and not very hopeful and he could barely stand it. Ragnor left before Alec could even speak to him, probably feeling as bad or maybe worse than him.

Catarina told him to sit by Magnus and his legs somehow moved to where he is still lying on his front, his back bandaged, the wound filled with - something he already forgot because most things anyone tells him or asks him go over his head, but it’s something to drain out the poison, that much he remembers.

He’s been holding Magnus’ hand, caressing or kissing the knuckles, his face and hair, speaking to him without knowing what to say. He just keeps on talking to have something to focus on, it’s all he can do. He hasn’t cried, though he felt like it almost constantly. He hardly slept, and if, sitting in the same chair he is now, because he wouldn’t leave Magnus’ side.

At first he jumped at every tiny stir Magnus made, panicking, hoping it was a sign, but nothing happened and now when Magnus’ eyelids flicker, all Alec can do is hope he can’t feel any pain.

Magnus has been feeling excruciating pain for a very long time, though he doesn’t recall in what way time even passes by. It doesn’t feel like the usual way, and time for him feels distorted and often out of place already. All he knows is that he’s not felt this kind of pain before, and that’s a curious thing, also highly inconvenient. He’s sure he’s losing his wits, all he sees is fire or darkness and all he’s aware of his something unnatural - sometimes coursing, sometimes creeping - through his body and he wonders why no one is getting rid of it, why no one is there to take it out of him, why he can’t do it himself.

And then he falls back into darkness, depths he doesn’t want to revisit, having spent too many years of his life there already, but he’s too weak to stir his mind on another path and so he struggles through the memories, wounds getting ripped open, his mind screaming and succumbing to the terrors without a way out, until real darkness, the kind he doesn’t feel or think in, takes him over.

But sometimes, through all the noise and sorrow and pain, there’s a voice, a whisper floating through his mind, carrying comfort and warmth, making him feel cared for and loved. And when darkness grips him, he remembers the whisper.

He doesn’t see anything, he’s not even sure his eyes are open. But there’s light… real light, not that of pieces of images in his mind, there’s light where he is, and though he doesn’t know where that is, he’s glad it’s not dark.

There’s also pain, but it’s dulled, a dimmed throbbing in his lower back. Nothing to worry about. What worries him is this heaviness pressing down on him. Is there something atop his body? He can’t see, he can’t move, what’s wrong with his body? What’s wrong with him?

He closes his eyes again, rests them while calming himself, telling himself that the worst thing he could do is panic. When he opens his eyelids once more, things are a little clearer, blurry, but he can make out something… black… a black… fabric… he blinks a few times and then he gets it. He’s lying on something, a bed most likely, and next to him, at eye level, someone is sitting on a chair… his eyes flicker upwards, straining as he can’t move his head, and his heart makes a joyful leap when he recognizes the person.

No matter why he’s here, as long as Alexander is here too, it must be alright. He pries his lips apart, amazed at how hard the simple movement is, pressing his tongue out to run along the chipped skin. He still feels very strange, and he wishes he could remember… Alec, he was with Alec, they were on a date, he wanted to spend some kind of Christmas with him, give him a special present… but then… demons. Many demons and… pain, that fucking worm! He remembers now. Poison. He got poisoned and… he’s alive, obviously. Of course he wouldn’t die from poison! That would be a death befitting a lesser being, not the son of a prince of hell!

But he thinks he must have been rather close to dying as abysmal as he feels. And Alec… he’s asleep..? He looks dreadful but beautiful and Magnus gets lost in staring at his face for a few moments.

His limbs, now awake, need to move again, though, and his neck is killing him - he wants to laugh but that seems inappropriate just now. All he wants is just to move his finger, or a toe. And he is very thirsty.

“Al…”

His tongue feels too big for his mouth, as if made of cotton. Damnit! Surely he can manage to say one word!

“Alexa...nnn”

He’s getting frustrated now and his body is twitching uncomfortably, the pain increasing.

“Alexander!” Finally!

Alec jumps, almost falling off the chair, his eyes bloodshot and wide, his body surging forward immediately. “Magnus? Magnus! Oh my god, oh my god, you’re awake! You’re alive! Magnus, you’re alive!”

His calloused fingers are running over Magnus’ face frantically, tears suddenly pooling in his eyes, a smile on his lips but his eyes unsure if to fully believe what they’re seeing.

“I… water.” Magnus is glad Alec’s happy to see him and he wants to tell him that he’s fine, but talking is still a nuisance and the pain is piercing his skull now, making it harder to think clearly.

Alec stares, a million thoughts rushing through his mind, shoved away by just one. “Fuck, yes, of course!” He stands and turns half before turning back abruptly. “No, wait, Catarina left a potion I’m to give you once you wake up!” He remembers now and grabs the small vial, opens it and places the throat of the small bottle in between Magnus’ lips, waiting for him to swallow.

Magnus is rather glad he remembers how to and hearing his friend’s name eases his mind. He’s at Catarina’s. That explains a lot. Of course. It doesn’t take long until the pain almost fully subsides, again a mere dull throbbing and he feels a little stronger.

“Thank you.” Talking also works better now and he smiles slightly at Alec, his expression softening as he spots the tears running down his boyfriend’s face. He wishes he could touch him, hold him, but he’ll have to wait a little longer…

“Alexander, darling, everything’s going to be alright, I promise.” He hurts now, but it’s the kind of ache he would take any day to be with the man who is now crying into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Magnus, I’m so sorry, I should’ve been there to have your back, you saved us all and I wasn’t there.” Alec’s trying to compose himself, reprimanding himself for losing it like this when Magnus is the one who almost died and needs him and his comfort and strength, but somehow he can’t control these fucking tears or sobs shaking his body.

“Shhh, love, it’s alright, I’m good and you did exactly what I wanted you to do, it all worked out.” But he must have been closer to not waking up than he cares to think about, but now he just wants Alec to stop being sad.

Alec sits up, dragging his fingers over his face, smearing the tears, wiping his eyes, running a hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know what I… you were just... “ He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, licking his lips, before looking at Magnus again, taking in his face. “I just… I really don’t want to be without you, Magnus, I really don’t, and I know it’s selfish, and-”

“Alexander, stop it. You’re not, and even if - that’s the kind of selfishness I want you to be, because I feel the same about you. And you needn’t worry anymore. Not about the poison, and not about being without me.” Magnus tries and succeeds after pushing all of his little strength into his hand that is reaching out, meeting Alec’s halfway, his fingers curling around Alec’s. “You got me.”

Alec could sob as he sees the genuine fond smile on Magnus’ face, the adoring glimmer in his eyes he’s noticed every time Magnus has looked at him like this. Words fail him and he does the only thing he can do; his lips press against Magnus’, letting them speak for him.

One thought is pushing forward, forcing him to pull back a little. “Next time, I will have your back.” He looks adorable to Magnus, sheer determination in his puffy eyes, but also genuity and Magnus sighs softly, his hand coming up to trace Alec's cheekbone. “Next time... let's have each other's backs.”

Alec blinks and a small smile spreads his mouth and sparks in his eyes, he nods firmly before he turns his head to kiss the palm of Magnus' hand, his fingers caressing the back of it. “Promise.”

#lolguess #malecsanta16 #*fic16 #*gifts16

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malecsecretsanta · 8 years ago

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Merry Christmas, @shumbane!

“This is disgusting.” Alec set the highball glass gingerly onto the end table, his mouth drawn into a thin line. “I don’t understand mundanes and their traditions.”

“Hey, I haven’t added the rum yet.”

“It’s eleven o’clock in the morning.”

“Eggnog, babe,” Magnus turned, eyeing Alec over his shoulder. “It’s basically breakfast food.”

“That doesn’t explain the rum,” Alec felt his lips lift into a smile. He was doing that a lot lately. It had been two months. Two months since he stood before Clave representatives and almost married Lydia. Two months since he threw away all pretense and grabbed Magnus by the lapels, kissing him in front of everyone. He smiled again, head tipped back over the black leather couch, and closed his eyes.

He was happy, but he was exhausted. Demon activity in New York was as fresh and frequent as the falling snow. And Jace was still missing. Alec’s routine was running on an infinite loop: Fight, sleep, repeat. Isabelle had demanded he take a break, so he went to the one place where he found comfort, Magnus.

“Falling asleep on me?”

Goosebumps prickled Alec’s skin. He opened one eye cautiously. Magnus had lopped one leg over the side of the blue armchair and was stirring his eggnog with a cinnamon stick. Even slouched he was a sight. Broad shoulders and bare feet. Smooth chest and strong muscles. Alec smiled again.

“Ragnor loved cinnamon.” Magnus straightened his shoulders and focused on the Shadowhunter laying on his couch. Alec met his gaze and paused. The subject of Ragnor was a tricky one for him to navigate. He hadn’t met the warlock. Ragnor had been killed the day before Alec’s almost wedding on a mission with Magnus, Clary, and Jace. He felt a pang in his side. His parabatai rune ached at the thought of his missing brother.

“Did you—”

“I should get dressed.” Magnus rose to his feet, heading toward the bedroom. “There’s some pastries on the counter and,” he snapped his fingers with a flourish, “coffee for you.” The cup materialized on the end table; Alec grasped the cup and inhaled, savouring the scent.

“Much better.” He took a sip. “Can’t fight demons without caffeine.”

“Be careful out there,” Magnus’ voice echoed down the hall. “I swear, this time of year brings out the worst.”

“Demons?”

“Everything.”

***

Alec wiped the ichor from his blade. It had been a long night. His shoulders ached from the weight of his bow, and his muscles were growing stiff from the cold. The ichor hissed against the snow and stained the ground. Alec shivered.

“You should get some sleep … Alec… Alec.” Luke touched his forearm.

“What, sorry.” Alec focused on the man to his right.

“You’re tired, you need rest.” Luke eyed him up and down. “We all do.”

Demon activity was at a peak. Alec didn’t understand how mundane traditions celebrating joy and family brought out anger, jealousy, and strife. But Magnus was right. It brought out the worst.

“I vote Chinese food.”

Alec rolled his eyes and felt his body tense. Simon had that effect on him.

“A little food would do us good, how about teriyaki?” Luke clapped Alec on the shoulder. “Come on.”

The journey back to the Jade Wolf was a trial in patience for Alec. On a regular day Simon was raw energy, but after a hunt, it was like what little spark of life remained surfaced in adrenaline. He just would not shut up.

“So Luke, what are you and Jocelyn doing for the holidays?” Simon stuck his hands into his jacket — more out of habit than necessity. “It’s your first Christmas together, since… since…”

“A long time.” Luke finished for him.

“Wow, pressure.”

Alec inhaled, counting to three, and tried to tune the vampire out. He was tense and cold, and the vampire was doing nothing to calm his irritation.

“I think the plan is the restaurant, we’re trying to keep it light, Clary is …”

They fell silent. Jocelyn and Clary weren’t on the best of terms. And Jace, still missing was a pain point.

“I guess that’s tough. But you know, the Jade Wolf would be awesome for Chrismukkah.”

Luke smiled.

“What?” Alec regretted the word the moment it left his mouth. Simon’s eyes lit up.

“Chrismukkah, aka the best of both worlds — Christmas,” Simon gestured with his left hand, “and Hanukkah.” He looked to his right hand and sucked in a breath. Alec bit down on the inside of his cheek to stop from grating his teeth. This was going to take a while.

“It started with this awesome show called The O.C. Well I’m sure people did it before that, but it was really the catalyst that brought it into the mainstream and.” Simon was rambling as only Simon could.

Alec frowned and picked up the pace. He didn’t need a pop culture lesson right now. He pulled out his phone to text Magnus.

A: Hey.

M: How goes the hunt?

A: Cold.

A: And the vampire won’t stop talking.

M: He’s impervious

A: To common sense?

M: lol

A: They’re talking about Charlemagne

A: Sorry I meant Christmas bokeh

M:?

A: Autocorrect … Simon is talking about some mundane holiday tradition. It sounds made up.

M: Some of the best ones are. ;)

A: Do you want to go?

M: Sorry darling, but I’ve got warlock business

A: Ok.

“And anyways, the point is everyone gets together. Hey Alec, you should invite Magnus … Alec.”

“He has his own plans.”

“Ah, Magnus always did throw some great parties,” Luke opened the door to the Jade Wolf. “He and Ragnor used to go all out.” Luke paused in the door, palms up. The clatter of plates still came to a standstill when a Shadowhunter walked in. Luke motioned them into the back.

“Well maybe you guys could show up after,” Simon looked up at Alec.

“Maybe.”

***

“What do you think would look better? The blue or the green?” Isabelle held the garments out in front of her.

“Aren’t those a bit,” Alec chose his words carefully, “modest-looking for you?” He smiled knowingly at his sister.

“Not for me, for Clary.”

“Why does the little girl need a dress?”

Isabelle spun on her heel and gave him the look.

“She’s having a hard time too you know,” Izzy placed the blue dress back on the rack. “She’s been training hard, trying to keep busy. I want to cheer her up.” Isabelle held the green dress against her body and looked into the mirror. “I think the green one?”

“Ya.”

“What are you getting Magnus?”

“For what?”

“Dios, for Christmas Alec.”

“I hadn’t really …” Alec pursed his lips. “I don’t know if we’re going that? Should I?” Alec peered through his lashes, suddenly unsure. He hadn’t seen Magnus in a week. They were trading texts and playing phone tag.

“I think he celebrates it right?”

“We haven’t really talked about it.”

“Too busy … not talking?” Isabelle teased.

“Actually we haven’t really talked in a while, we’ve both been busy with work.” Alec looked down and crossed his arms.

“Hey,” Isabelle crossed the floor and took Alec’s hand. “I’m sure whatever you guys decide to do will be great.” She smiled at him. “Now, we need to figure out what you’re going to wear to the Jade Wolf.”

***

“Alec are you coming?” Clary paused by the doorway.

“Ya, just a sec, I’m texting Magnus.” Alec lied and stuck his hands in his pockets to find his phone.

“Good idea, he should be here,” Clary looked away and clutched idly at the crystal around her neck.

“Hey —” Alec cleared his throat. He knew calling Clary little girl riled her. It was juvenile, but it was satisfying. He couldn’t bring himself to call her that right now, though. He could see the worry on her face as surely as he felt the ache of his parabatai rune whenever he thought of Jace.

Clary turned her head and looked up at him. She forced a smile. “I’ll give your privacy, see you out there.”

“Ya.”

Alec absently entered his passcode and looked at his text messages, thumb hovering over Magnus’ name. It had been three days since they’d last spoken. He’d come into the storeroom to escape the party. The mood in the Jade Wolf was light, airy even — like supernatural and mundane alike had found a space to breathe. There was warmth and laughter, but Alec couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it.

“I think you’re supposed to dial first.”

“Luke, sorry I think I … I think I should …” Alec put his phone back in his pocket. “I have to go.”

Alec brushed past Luke. “Tell them I,” Alec paused.

“I got you covered, have fun.” Luke waved him off. “We’ll be here.”

***

Alec scuffed his boots on the doormat, kicking off the snow crusted to the bottom. He’d left the Jade Wolf in a hurry, his mind racing. The point is everyone gets together. He and Ragnor used to throw great parties. He should be here. Whatever you guys decide to do will be great. Ragnor loved cinnamon. He raised his hand to knock just as the door opened.

“Alec,” his voice sounded puzzled, strained even. But the faintest spark lit in his eyes and Alec knew he’d made the right decision.

“Hey.” Alec stood staring. Magnus was in sweats, a black t-shirt hung loosely over his frame. No makeup. No nail polish. His hair gel-free. Alec pushed past him into the apartment and looked around.

“Alec is everything ok?” He could feel Magnus’ eyes on his back.

“No.”

“Is it Jace?”

“No.”

“Then what —”

“It’s you.” Alec turned to face him. Magnus flinched, and reached to tug at his ear, watching him carefully.

“I don’t —”

“Are you ok?” The words spilled from Alec’s lips in a rush.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Magnus walked over to the bar and grabbed a martini shaker.

“You told me not to push you away.” Alec saw him straighten, a ring-clad hand hovering over liquor bottles. “I just thought that…” He took a tentative step to close the distance between them.

Magnus set the shaker down, waiting.

“I’m not very good at this, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really know what this,” Magnus gestured at the space between them, “is.”

Alec looked around the apartment. It was immaculate but for the martini glasses stacked on the end table. An old album balanced precariously on the arm of the chair.

“Alec?”

“You miss him?” Alec took another step. “You miss Ragnor.” It was a fact. He saw the effects ripple across Magnus’ face. His eyes widened just a fraction, his shoulders hitched and then he slouched. If it were anyone other than Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, that slouch would mean nothing.

“You’d think I’d be used to it by now, I’ve lived a through hundreds of seasons, seen them come and go.”

Alec shook his head and pulled the other man’s hands into his.

“He was immortal.” Another fact. “And he was your friend.”

Magnus dipped his head against Alec’s chest. Alec unlinked their hands and circled his arms around his waist, pulling him closer. A steady and calming force as tears came unbidden, relentless.

It wasn’t until Alec was at the Jade Wolf, observing the people around him that he’d felt the ache of the parabatai rune — a physical manifestation of what was missing. Alec wanted to hit something. He channelled his frustration into his fists, and his routine came back to him: Fight, sleep, repeat. But when he needed to recharge, to heal, he came to Magnus. And he would be there now for him.

Magnus looked up, drying his eyes with a sleeve.

“Sorry, I’m sure you have somewhere else to be.”

“No,” Alec’s voice was soft. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

#shumbane #malecsanta16 #*fic16 #*gifts16

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malecsecretsanta · 8 years ago

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Merry Christmas, @onefootintheboilinghotlava!

Title:My Heart Smiles. Rating: M Pairing: Magnus/Alec POV: 3rd Summary:Magnus is an interior designer who is dreading going to his yearly Christmas party and Alec a waiter who has dealt with more than enough Christmas cheer to last a lifetime. But when the two set eyes on the other across a crowded restaurant are they going to be destined for more when the festive season is over? Disclaimer: The whole concept of Shadowhunters © the satan that is CC, don’t sue because the contents of my bank account is only worth next to nothing in US$. Also and I can't stress this enough I don't give permission for this or any other of my stuff to be reposted on Goodreads or anywhere else. If I find out it is I'll be pissed. Plot mostly based on fiction…i.e not real….but a girl can wish<3 Author Notes: Hope that my prompter likes it!! Currently unbeta'd. Comments and Kudos = pwp and cookies :D

Read on AO3

*****

Pandemonium Interior design was known as one of the best-known firms in the business if not in the city for bringing the dreams of your décor to life no matter how difficult or impossible that it may seem. It was something Magnus was proud of. He loved his job and owning his own firm seemed to make it that much better, helping Clients to make their dream home that much more unique or personal no matter what it entailed. His staff were also known as the best in the business, but the other three lead designers were also his best friends that he had met at different points in his life but together they seemed to be his rock in the crazy world that their business was only a speck of.

Still, all his friends had managed to elevate themselves into the business long before he considered making his own firm. Back when he was just a graphic interior designer for a construction company and it had seemed like much more his kind of thing. Whether it was through various magazines or internships at other well-known firms, when he had made sure to mention it to them one particularly drunken night they had all jumped at the chance to work with him as long as he went through with it. All the incentive that he had needed.

Aside from when Camille, his supposed girlfriend and Junior designer at the time, had had to be fired for sleeping with three clients and a supplier, which had been the only hiccup on their way to notoriety, the firm was gathering more and more success each and every year. Growing in popularity to the point that they got applications for internships almost every semester from different universities around the city which made Magnus happy that he was helping someone to gain experience in the industry.

The only thing he really hated about his job, aside from his friends constantly prying into his none existent love life at each staff meeting and the late nights, was the forced socialising with the rest of the big shots in the industry. At least once a month without fail he’d get the forwarded email from his PA Elias marked important with an invitation to a big dinner at any number of the five-star hotels or three Michelin star restaurants dotted around the city. They were really networking events disguised as occasions to brag about the next big trend they had set, their big editorial pictured in vogue, their most famous client that had signed on the dotted line or their partnership with a brand name furniture store.

Honestly, Magnus knew how important it was to go to that kind of event to maintain those ties in an industry when it really was about who you knew but it never stopped him trying to talk his way out of it every chance he got. Deleting reminders from Elias, making appointments with clients out of town on the exact date of the dinner, even having the odd vacation just so he didn’t have to subject himself to the narcissism of it all. Most of the time Catarina or Ragnor would thankfully cover for him, with even Raphael making the odd appearance to make his name better known. Though the young Latino would be reluctant the whole time and always walk out before the main course could be even served. Not that Magnus could blame him.

But there was an unspoken rule in the Office that when it came to the annual Christmas party that he couldn’t squirm his way out of it since they were all expected to attend, so he had to share the pain with them. His PA Elias would always make sure his schedule was clear that time, no matter how Magnus tried to find people to make dinner dates or even in the worst case medical appointments to go to, the next time he looked at his calendar they would be rescheduled leaving him reluctantly accepting his fate.

This year, the night before the dreaded event found him, unfortunately, staying late working through the pile of paperwork he needed to fill out for suppliers that Elias had set in front of him before he left, a glass of scotch sat beside his laptop and a half eaten box of sushi acting as his dinner for the night. It was a task that he and the others often took in turns, renewing supplier orders and paying deposits for the whole office’s projects, but of course, he would end up drawing the short straw this time.

He groaned as he added a few invoices to the pile slowly accumulating at the other side of his desk to be filed by Elias in the morning before reaching for his scotch, the only thing that made this tediousness seem bearable. He was just about to take a sip when he heard a knock at the open glass door into his office, causing him to look up wearily a little surprised to see Raphael’s figure in the doorway holding a glass tumbler in his hand.

“Well, looks like I’m not the only one burning the midnight oil. You might as well come in.” Magnus said, putting both his pen and scotch down as he reached for the bottle in the bottom drawer of his desk while his friend came into the office with a smile that only just hid the bone-deep tiredness he must be feeling.

Raphael was the youngest lead designer in the firm, but his reputation definitely proceeded him with each project he put his mind to, due to the fact that he fixated on every little detail to make sure it was perfect. Something his clients seemed to love him for. Magnus had known him since high school when the other had moved from Mexico to New York and Magnus had been helping Raphael look after his brothers. A kind of bond had grown between them and a kind of friendship that no-one really understood when you looked at the two of them since they really were the exact opposite of the other. Still, Raphael had managed to whizz through school quicker than Magnus had expected and ended up with an internship at Catarina’s firm at the time so it had made it easier for him to move to Magnus’ when the time was right.

Raphael set his glass down on the desk, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows and rubbing his tired eyes as he sunk down into the chair on the other side of Magnus’ desk, the other topping up his own glass before pulling Raphael’s towards him with a bejewelled finger.

“Yes well I needed to double check some details of a shipment urgent enough that I can’t rely on email but given the supplier is in Stockholm I need to hang around until their opening time which because of the time differences won’t be until at least two am.” Raphael sighed, taking a glance at his watch to double check the time before giving Magnus a smile of thanks as his glass was set in front of him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t manage to wrangle Sherman into staying behind to do it for you. I’m sure he would have done had you asked and maybe fluttered those pretty eyelashes at him.” Magnus said, raising an eyebrow at the other while replacing the bottle in his drawer as Raphael flushed at the insinuation over his glass.

Raphael’s latest PA Simon had only started a couple of months ago after his old one Lily had quit, but already the younger was making a good impression. He was a ball of enthusiasm and optimism in an ill-fitting suit which was a breath of fresh air among all the workaholics and grumps like Ragnor on a bad day when Dot forgot to make his tea the right way. But it had gradually become clear to everyone, well their group of friends anyway, that Raphael was less his usual snarky self around the other, there had even been rumours curtsey of the other PAs that they were sure they had seen Mr Anti-Social attempting to flirt with the other. Unfortunately, they had been caught before they could see Simon’s response but from the flush on his cheeks and rumoured smile when Raphael started ranting at them to leave had made it clear he’d left quite an impression on the other.

“He needed to leave for his night job besides I let him leave early…” Raphael said, avoiding Magnus’ gaze as he downed a mouthful of scotch, making him splutter since he wasn’t much of a drinker like Magnus was.

“Will you be dragging him along tomorrow night? Because honestly watching the two of you toing and froing with your smiles and bad attempts at flirting might just be entertaining enough to make this thing bearable.” Magnus smirked behind his own glass as Raphael narrowed his eyes at him.

“Like you would invite Elias to come with you mean? No, I didn’t think so. Besides he’ll be working his other job then too and even if he wasn’t I still wouldn’t invite him along so he can be intimidated by you, Ragnor and Cat watching us like we are a walking soap opera.” Raphael snarked.

“Fine, then I won’t go. I don’t get why you don’t just ask him out already….” Magnus said, gaze on his scotch as he downed a heavenly mouthful.

“Because it’s not your business. But don’t be fooled into thinking you aren’t going, because you will be. Even if Cat has to drag you there like she did last year.” Raphael smirked, catching a glimpse at the shudder that ran through Magnus’ body at the memory.

He had been stubborn and hadn’t wanted to go at all, he’d ended up in bed with the door locked and a pillow over his ears as his friends had rung him constantly. He’d only gone to answer the banging at the door to get it to stop but had got tackled by Ragnor and dragged back into his apartment. He’d been made to change and then Catarina had dragged him viciously by the sleeve of a twenty thousand dollar Armani suit into the venue. Needless to say, the sleeve still wasn’t the right length again.

“Ugh don’t remind me.” Magnus sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, poor you never mind we have to put up with these people every month when you play hooky.” Raphael sniffed, swirling his drink.

“And I always make up for it by buying the first round every time we go out,” Magnus said indignantly.

“Uh huh. Anyway, as much fun as being teased and teasing you is I should probably get back to my office to hopefully call the Stockholm supplier. Maybe if I’m lucky someone will be there early enough for me to leave a message so I can get home before midnight.” Raphael said, wrinkling his nose as he downed the last mouthful of scotch from his glass and got to his feet.

“Goodnight Raphael,” Magnus called after him as the other disappeared down the darkened corridor, leaving him sighing as he pushed a piece of sushi between his lips with one hand and rubbed his tired eye with the other before reaching for the next piece of paperwork that needed his attention.

The Clave Restaurant was like one of those posh restaurants that you could walk past without giving it a second glance but was well known by every foodie and critic in the city as one of the best places to get high-class food. Mostly curtsey of Chefs Jocelyn and Luke Garroway, their daughter Clary and their sous chef Lydia Branwell, the latter of whom had as much of a reputation as the restaurant itself because of her soufflé that had won some award in Europe at a competition from years ago. But this was the place that acted as Alec’s workplace though he had never seen himself working in a place like that to get him through school let alone him even needing to juggle work and studying in the first place.

Usually, he loved his job when his mind wasn’t fixated on the essay he needed to write, the practicals he needed to take or the theory tests that seemed to be the bane of his very existence no matter how much he studied, but then again Medical school wasn’t exactly supposed to be easy. Unfortunately when it came to any of the three big popular seasons in the industry, Valentine's day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, was when he began to question his sanity and why he hadn’t stuck to just being a barista instead.

So to be standing at the bar staring at the restaurant lit up with Christmas lights in every corner, tinsel along the edges of the shelves and the bar itself while a couple of Christmas trees sat in the window near one of their bigger tables trying to entice people to book yet another last minute Christmas parties that thankfully drowned out the indie covers of carols had him groaning. Though that was in no small part down to the sounds of drunken patrons singing very off-key Christmas carols at the top of their lungs, leaving him wishing they’d gone to the karaoke bar down the street like he’d heard them trying to coax him into to save his ears.

But when it came to the Christmas season this wasn’t the only such party he’d had to deal with since the beginning of December and he highly doubted for a second that it would be the last, but for some reason there always seemed to be more bookings for the week leading up to Christmas. As though they wanted to enjoy their last night together before the break. Which was all well and good if you were enjoying yourself, but not so much if you have to be the one to serve them.

“That one of your tables?” His sister Isabelle asked from beside him, pulling him from his thoughts about how he could give them shots of water instead of vodka in the hopes of sobering them up to normalcy, to look at where she was playing the bartender on the other side of the bar for the night. He couldn’t help but envy her for it, at least she didn’t have to deal with the customers.

“Yup…” Alec sighed miserably, tapping his fingers against his tray as he slid it off the bar when Lydia called out for service from the kitchen.

“Got groped yet?” Isabelle grinned, giving him her innocent eyes at the look that he gave her at enjoying his pain.

“Twice. I’ve also had five phone numbers thrust at me and a proposition of marriage from a woman old enough to be Mom’s mom. I really hate working during the Christmas party season.” Alec said, brushing past her through the doors at the back as Lydia called out for service again only this time with a whole lot less patience.

When he arrived Simon was already there putting a table's worth of desserts on two trays and offered him a smile as he passed him on the way out. Back into the ensuing chaos of loud chatting, clattering utensils against plates and his rather festive table now singing a dirty version of ‘Jingle bell Rock’ loud enough to cause Alec to flush. He only hoped Alaric or Hodge would be able to handle them until he was done with his current table.

“Which table?” Alec asked once he’d pushed five festive looking sundaes on one tray and three portions of Christmas cake on the other.

“Table 16. You think you’ll be able to handle Table 3’s starters too?” Clary asked from the other side of the hatch now that Lydia seemed to have gone to tackle some of the specials, practically barrelling Raj over.

“Sure, just to put them on real quick,” Alec said, Clary handing over two plates of scallops which he added to the less full tray before he picked the trays up with steady hands and used his back to push the double doors open. He turned around slowly to make his way through the restaurant towards the right tables.

He then dropped off the starters in Jace’s section but was stopped from leaving by the next table over who wanted repeat orders of their Martinis even if they seemed like they had had more than enough. Still, they retained enough sobriety to not be cut off yet so he made a note of them on the in-house computer system for Isabelle to get on as soon as she had the chance while he walked back towards the loud table to start piling up dirty plates and glasses.

“Not gonna join us hot stuff?” The woman who had proposed to him before asked as he added her plate to the pile, stilling when her fingers curled around his index finger in a suggestive manner that caused her fellow partiers to cackle with glee. Alec slowly extracted his finger from hers and tried to keep his composure as he turned to her.

“I’m sorry miss, I’m going to be working for the rest of the night. Not that it should stop you enjoying yourself.” Alec said, flashing the bright customer friendly smile that Isabelle always said made hearts melt while he added another couple of empty cocktail glasses to the tray.

He heard a few of them crooning about how lovely he was as he picked up both trays and retreated to the back to hand over the dirty plates to Raj so he had a chance to breathe. When he reappeared all his other tables had full plates and glasses for the time being giving him an extended breather as he moved behind the bar to help Isabelle with some of the increasing orders.

“Jace back from his break yet? Because I could really do with mine before I collapse from hunger.” Alec asked making the house cocktail of the night on auto pilot while Izzy practically coated the top of a Christmas special cocktail in edible glitter.

“Check for yourself.” Izzy quipped as she jerked her head in the direction of a table which he knew was another Christmas party only in Jace’s section. His brother seemed to be sat in one of the younger women’s lap letting her feed him her cocktail and giving him doe eyes while the rest of the gushed over him.

“Student teachers, honestly,” Izzy said, rolling her eyes causing Alec to sigh as Hodge appeared to distribute some of the cocktails while Will disappeared into the back with another pile of dirty dishes.

“Does Clary know?” Alec asked, pouring a beer into a glass while Izzy opened a bottle of champagne and put it on a tray with two glasses to be taken to the right table.

“They are on a break again. I’m surprised you didn’t figure that out from all his moaning and complaining. Still, I doubt that will stop her from giving him a piece of her mind if she finds out.” Izzy shrugged, as though it was no big deal with her big brother and best friend had fallen out yet again. Though with how many times they had done the dance of breaking up, getting back together and breaking again Alec could understand her nonchalance.

“You mean when she finds out because I doubt Simon will be able to keep his mouth shut,” Alec said, putting a beer on another tray and sliding the tray towards Izzy as she finished up some champagne cocktails.

“Maybe, still I’m sure Simon could always cover you while you take your break. I mean don’t you need to study?” Izzy asked as Luke appeared from the kitchen to grab another couple of bottles of red wine for what was turning out to be one of their best-selling dishes of the season.

“I’ll go ask him in a minute after I’ve dropped off these drinks but I’m not holding my breath,” Alec said, picking up the tray of champagne cocktails for the table that Jace and his fan club were at from the look of the receipt.

“Well hello there…”A blonde woman flirted while Alec started to give out their drinks and gather empty glasses.

“Oh I wouldn’t bother Beth, he’s as straight as a bendy straw.” Jace grinned causing Alec to narrow his eyes at him and hit him pointedly on the back of the head. Immediately Jace seemed to realise what he’d said and what trouble he was in as he jumped off his girl of the night’s lap with an apologetic look at Alec.

“Sorry, Polly duty calls. I’ll see you later.” Jace flirted, pecking a kiss to the owner of the lap he’d been reclining in while picking up the few remaining empty glasses before following Alec back towards the bar.

“And for that, you’re covering my break that I’m taking now. Good luck with the table of bastardised carol singers.” Alec said, setting his own tray down before brushing past Jace in the direction of the double doors that led to the staffroom as well as the kitchen.

He let out a breath of relief in the otherwise empty staff room, stretching his aching arms over his head while his fingers curled into fists to ease the twinge of cramp. This was always the part that he looked forward to on nights like this, being able to have half an hour of silence where no-one was trying to hit on him and his ears weren’t assaulted by Christmas carols. There was only so many times he could hear Rocking around the Christmas tree before he wanted to kill someone.

With his arms now bent so his hands were behind his head he made his way towards his locker to grab his dinner and the books he needed to study. True he could have easily got a meal from the kitchen, something that Jace and Isabelle exploited every night they were working, but he knew Lydia wouldn’t thank him for interrupting her so he’d always make something himself during the busy months. He held his books close to him and the container complete with a fork in his other hand as he settled at his usual table with his back to the vending machines after taking a glance at his watch to work out how long he had before he needed to get back. But after Jace had been slacking his brother would just have to deal. He opened his book to where he’d left his notes as a bookmark and opened his container, a fork full of pasta quickly finding its way behind his lips as his gaze rested on the textbook.

When he had first accepted his place at Cornell instead of going to Harvard to be a lawyer like his mother wanted she hadn’t been able to accept that he was veering off the path that she had always visualised him following. Though admittedly he hadn’t really helped things by coming out to her not long after his graduation ceremony, but it had been freeing to know that no matter what her feelings about his sexuality or his life choices he would finally be out of her control. But he hadn’t expected her to be so vindictive about it either.

From his first semester in his Freshmen year, he’d been cut off financially from his parents and the trust fund they had been setting aside for him. It had left him looking frantically for a job, any job, while his savings slowly began to dwindle away. At one point he was working every other day at a bookshop, every morning at a café and his current job as a waiter/bartender every night between all his lectures and tutorials. In honesty, he was surprised that he hadn’t burned out much sooner than he had done. The end of his second year had been when it became too much; when he’d called Isabelle in a panic since he had two clashing shifts and a paper with no idea what to do.

Isabelle had been the one to tell him to pick a job and just one job to stop it happening again, but at the same time, she and Jace had moved in with him to help elevate the stress from his finances which had really helped.

Since then he’d had the day to worry about his classes and studying and the nights to work in the insanity of the restaurant outside, using his couple of breaks to refresh his mind with studying for the next day. Even if his bedtime was so much later than his body craved, the money was enough to justify his exhaustion, making him grateful for those few rare nights that he managed to get off. But it was often around the time of midterms and early mornings after working spent finishing papers that he began to hate working himself into the ground just to survive.

It didn’t take him long to finish his pasta and downing a cola from the vending machine to keep his energy levels up while familiarising himself with as much of his Advanced Biomedical Sciences research the next day as he could absorb. Once he had enough he pushed the books and container into his locker, threw the can away and again paused to catch his breath before going back out into the insanity.

Thankfully it seemed like while he was studying the shift was coming to an end as Hodge and Alaric were escorting out the last few drunken stragglers from the two Christmas parties out the otherwise empty restaurant. Isabelle was moving dirty glasses from the bar where they’d been left into the dishwasher as Alec helped Jace pile up the remaining dirty plates to take back to the kitchen before putting chairs up on the tables, the tablecloths of which would be changed the next day before the restaurant opened. Simon started the sweep up of loose bits of food while Will followed him with a mop for spills and stains, making Alec relieved for the late night well deserved drink that Isabelle handed him.

“So before you guys start to leave just a reminder about tomorrow night,” Hodge said from behind his own shot of apple vodka that he never drunk otherwise.

“What about tomorrow night?” Isabelle frowned from behind her tumbler of Baileys that she was swirling hard enough to make the ice clink against the glass.

“I did send everyone an email but fine. We’ve been booked up for a private function so we’re going to need all staff on deck no matter what time off you may have planned. The crowd is going to be very exclusive and it could mean big business for us in the future if they agree to make it a yearly or even a possible monthly arrangement.” Hodge said, grabbing the bottle of apple vodka to pour himself another, it had definitely been one of those kinds of nights.

“So we’ll definitely be working double time tomorrow then.” Alec murmured around his shot of peach schnapps.

“So we’d better go home and sleep…” Isabelle agreed, downing the contents of her glass and leading the way to the staffroom.

Isabelle pulled her hair out its bun once her jacket was over her uniform and her bag over her shoulder, stifling a yawn as she leant against Alec’s shoulder when he closed his own locker. The pair heard Clary and Jace arguing, again, about being on a break so it looked like Simon had definitely said something the table of student teachers. Great one, Simon.

Alec rubbed his eyes as he just steered Izzy past the drama and out the back door of the restaurant, the two of them wanting their beds more than the need to let Jace try and drag them onto his side. The blonde could easily handle himself anyway no matter what happened.

After a long night, Magnus woke to the loud clink of a coffee mug on his glass desk as he rubbed his eyes and pushed himself back upright into his chair as his fingers curled around the cup. It definitely looked like yet again he had fallen asleep at his desk, not really surprising when he had continued to push himself in the hopes of getting everything done so he could have the day off to prepare himself for that night. Looks like that wasn’t going to happen after all.

He tilted his head back against the back of his chair as he guided the mug to his lips and downed a big mouthful of coffee, glad when the liquefied caffeine burned his tongue as it helped to wake him up faster. Even if his taste buds were going to be dead when it came to his meal that night it was definitely worth it.

“How much did you have left to do? I might be able to tie up loose ends while you change.” Elias offered from where he was hovering at the other side of his desk, obviously knowing better than the engage with Magnus until he’d had his first sip of coffee. Smart man.

“It all just needs filing, to be honest. But you do need to check in with the Carstairs-Herondale’s for me about the progress of their attic before you do anything else. But whatever you’re doing I’m not moving an inch until I’ve finished this coffee.” Magnus said, taking another sip of his coffee as he fished a post it with Jem’s number on it from the several on his monitor to hold out to Elias.

“No problem Mr Bane,” Elias said, gathering the pile of paperwork to him and taking the post it from Magnus before leaving the office.

Magnus pulled a pack of makeup wipes from the top drawer of his desk as he set his coffee down for a minute to rid his skin of all yesterday’s makeup before he even considered changing after his coffee. The last thing he needed was walking trough the office building looking a mess, he did have a reputation to uphold after all.

A couple of wipes and the remainder of his coffee later, he reluctantly pushed himself out his chair, pausing to stretch his back before going to grab his spare suit and the few bits of make up and underwear he kept at the office in case of such a thing, before going to the showers in the gym downstairs.

He had done this more times than he would like to admit, sleeping at his desk, but it always left him way too exhausted to go across town to change only to come back. Though sleeping at his desk left him exhausted period compared to a night in his comfy bed that he honestly can’t remember the last time that he used. Definitely a sign that he needed to reacquaint himself with it that night. He managed to stifle a yawn as he pushed himself into the changing rooms which were otherwise empty to hang up his fresh suit before stripping off the day before’s as the shower heated up.

He made a note to himself to make Elias take his dirty suit to the dry cleaners on his break as he walked under the jets of hot water which seemed to ease and soothe his aching muscles from the awkward position he had been sleeping in. With a squirt of shampoo/conditioner and another of body wash he already felt ten times better, more like his self and less like the walking dead formerly known as Magnus anyway. Once he turned the water off he wrapped a towel around his waist and went to dress, taking a while to style his hair and reapply his makeup before feeling satisfied enough to be seen by staff and his friends at their lunch meeting.

He gathered yesterday’s clothes into a bag and made his way towards the elevator, checking his phone for texts and flashing the odd smile at everyone who entered or passed as he walked back towards his office. He set the bag holding the dirty suit on Elias’ desk as he passed it on the way into his office, sinking back into his chair and relieved to see a fresh coffee waiting for him and last night’s sushi packaging and used glass tumbler were gone. It made it so much easier for him to make his way through his emails and reply to those missed calls and voicemails of which as always there were many.

The morning flashed by in a flurry of yet more calls, emails and Elias appearing and disappearing with people he had appointments scheduled with. His friends then spent their supposed lunch meeting teasing Raphael about how Simon had brought him his favourite lunch and all issuing deadly threats to Magnus if he didn’t turn up that night. All of which he didn’t doubt that they would follow through with to make a point if nothing else.

But Ragnor’s PA Dot appeared, while Magnus was trying to arrange their yearly Christmas get together at his since there were fewer and fewer days that all of them would be around, to tell Ragnor his client was waiting. They parted to their own offices where they sorted out their get together via email and reminded Magnus of the arrangements to meet at the restaurant that night half an hour before the dinner was due to start.

Sooner than Magnus had been expecting the sun was setting over the horizon out his window and Elias was practically herding him out the office to make sure he got ready at home. His PA even tagged along to keep an eye on him like Catarina had threatened him within an inch of his life to keep Magnus on a short leash until they got the restaurant. She really did know him so well.

“Yes, yes I’m going! No need to push Elias, It’s not like I can climb out a window to escape is it?!” Magnus huffed once they walked into his apartment, throwing his briefcase onto the couch on the way towards his bedroom.

“Not that I wouldn’t put it past you.” Elias murmured under his breath though it was still loud enough for Magnus to hear and cast him a warning glare before closing the door to his room behind him with a swift pointed thud.

Fortunately, he had already decided what he was going to wear having decided at the weekend while putting off sourcing a particular shade of purple paint for a rather demanding client. At least he didn’t have to waste time looking through his closet umming and ahhing but it did leave him with enough time to shower and fixate on every other detail of his outfit. While there was always someone who made a point of staring at him for wearing makeup or the amount of jewellery that he wore, he’d made it a kind of game for himself to make things more interested.

Instead of the smart suit that he usually wore around the office he had decided to do something else, something more out there and probably destined to have Catarina trying to throw him out. Either that or frog-march him back to his apartment to make sure that he changed into something decent for the occasion, whatever happened at least it would mean he didn’t have to be there.

He’d settled on an outfit more suited for going out on the town, a crimson red shirt with the buttons open from his abs and a black leather blazer over the top, a pair of skin tight black jeans held up with a belt and boots that definitely put another couple of inches on his height. His hair and make-up were done to perfection and he’d added enough jewellery to bring people’s attention to him, especially his torso that was being caressed by the extra long necklaces he was wearing. Add to that the fact he hadn’t shaved for a couple of days and it was perfect, he looked less a high and mighty senior interior designer and more like the real him.

Elias was banging on the door and yelling about the time once he’d finished doing his eye makeup again to make sure it was his best causing him to only just restrain a smirk. His PA had no idea what he was going to see when he opened that door, best put him out of his misery.

“Elias, stop worrying! I’m ready.” Magnus said, opening the door and brushing past his PA to grab his wallet, phone and keys from the kitchen counter while his PA stood there wide eyed.

“Are…..are you sure you want to wear that sir? Shouldn’t you maybe…go change into something else?” Elias rambled from behind him causing Magnus to flash him a sly smirk as he made his way towards the door with the other now on his heels.

“Oh believe me I am more than sure that I want to wear this. Now let’s go before Catarina starts threatening to castrate me via text for being late again. Be a love and lock up for me will you?” Magnus grinned, throwing his keys at the other man who only just managed to catch them as he sashayed out the door without a backwards glance. Oh, tonight was going to be fun alright.

Alec had thankfully managed to catch up on his studying after a few more hours than he would usually have got of sleep before his shift started that night. Thankfully Izzy had had classes all day and Jace had slept straight through after coming home at 3 am probably after making up things with Clary, either way, it had given Alec some much-needed silence only just kept at bay by the acoustic covers he’d been playing through his earphones on a loop.

Even though he’d been reluctant in case Clary had spent the night without him being told, which wouldn’t be the first time, he had woken Jace before dinner so he had time to get ready and sort out his routine of calling Clary as soon as he was awake. Izzy had come back from her last class of the day not long after Alec had finished making dinner, kissing him on the cheek as she passed him on the way to her room with her bowl of Bolognese.

They’d eaten quickly as they always did every night they were working, Jace washing up since he was ready while Alec kept banging on the door to hurry Izzy up from hogging the shower. It took a while but soon all three of them were ready and on their way via subway towards the restaurant with Alec’s ears filled with his study playlist in the hope that things would stick while his siblings leant against the poles talking amongst themselves. Well more likely Izzy was lecturing Jace about messing Clary around and that she wouldn’t help him again, even though they all knew she would because she only ever wanted to see the pair happy.

They made it to the restaurant a half hour before opening, the three helping Simon, Tessa and Will set up while Lydia seemed to be lecturing everyone in the Kitchen about the importance of the night which Alec really didn’t envy them of. Hodge was pointing out things that needed changing, tables to be moved and champagne glasses to be filled before the customers started showing up.

Thankfully Izzy and Alec had been put on bar duty which made Alec relieved; after the night before he wasn’t sure he’d had enough politeness left in him to go through that again. Everything looked about as ready as it was going to get and Alaric was soon opening the doors as Alec and Izzy were pouring the last couples of glasses of champagne.

The customers began to come in small groups, with the odd person appearing alone before merging into a group, each one taking a glass of champagne from the bar before they moved towards those they knew. Izzy seemed to be in her element flashing the odd flirtatious wink and pushing the few glasses with strawberries to those people she was interested in getting to know better, almost like her version of beacons so she could keep a close eye on them.

Alec rolled his eyes and kept his customer friendly smile on his lips certain that like every event before that they would be seen as the hired help that they were too high and mighty to be interacted with if food or drink wasn’t involved. Not surprised by the odd flirtatious smile that was cast Izzy’s way.

“Would you stop that!” Alec murmured under his breath as another group left the bar.

“Oh relax Alec! It’s just a bit of fun, I’m not planning on luring them into the alley for an orgy or anything.” Izzy huffed, smirking at the way Alec flushed red at her words.

“You sure about that?” Alec asked, casting her a look in retaliation.

Izzy glared at him and smacked him in the ribs when no-one was watching, causing him to curse and offer an apologetic look that she seemed determined to ignore.

Alec kept his gaze on the crowd which was now starting to slow down to a trickle though found his eyes immediately resting on one figure that had his heart racing. He was walking with someone who dressed like a university professor, a blonde woman dressed in a conservative black Stella McCartney Suit and a Latino man whose smile seemed to fall a little as his gaze rested on Simon who nearly tripped when their gazes met.

Compared to everyone else in the room who was dressed in expensive suits and dresses that seemed to make them blur so they became mere faces in the crowd they all paled in comparison to that man. He looked like he didn’t care about what people thought, about him dressing less than traditionally or about the looks he was getting. He looked like sin personified with all the skin of his chest and abs open to everyone who wanted to look, his jeans looked like they had to be painted on and the only bit that even resembled a suit was the black leather blazer over his shirt. But from one glance at that caramel skin Alec knew he was going to be next to useless for the rest of the night, he wasn’t going to be able to stop himself looking he just knew it.

“…Alec?” Izzy asked, her voice seeming to cut through his thoughts of his tongue on that man’s torso and bring him back to reality, though she could obviously see that he was reacting to seeing someone from his body language alone.

“What?” Alec asked, softly swallowing as his mouth seemed to get dry the closer the man got as he kept his gaze on him.

Izzy tilted her head at him before following his gaze out into the crowd of partygoers to the four figures approaching the bar all chatting among themselves as they picked up a glass of champagne each. A smile appeared on her lips as she made sure to push one of the few remaining glasses with a strawberry bobbing among the fizzy wine towards the man that her brother couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from. She got a wink of thanks while Alec flushed beside her and let his gaze move to his feet.

She watched the way the other man paused at the bar with his glass up to his lips frozen as his gaze lingered on her blushing brother’s form with interest. It only lasted a minute before he was being pulled away by the woman in his group who seemed to be hissing at him about what he wasn’t wearing.

“Looks like you’ve found yourself an admirer Alec…” Izzy teased as Alec seemed to blush even deeper at her calling attention to the fact while rubbing his thumb at the palm of his hand, his nervous tic that made her grin just a little bit more.

“Shut up…” Alec said weakly as he left her to overlook the bar while he grabbed some more glasses and a couple more bottles of champagne in shaking hands as he let out a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

He’d never felt that fluttering in his heart before, that bone-deep craving to get to know someone or that aching in his lips that wanted to know what the other’s tasted like. Let alone ever be so flustered to the point that he couldn’t even make himself look the other man in the eye while blushing like a school boy. Since he had come out he’d only dated a couple of times and that was more because they never got passed the first date not to mention they had been picked out by his mother who’d tried to be accepting but her taste and his were so different that there had been no point.

There was definitely no denying that that man, the one who seemed to demand attention by the way that he stood out in the crowd of suits, was definitely his type though how he knew without the two of them so much as exchanging a word he honestly had no idea. He let out another steadying breath in the hope of calming his racing heart as he brought the tray of empty glasses complete with two bottles of champagne to the main section of the bar to distract himself from Izzy’s knowing look.

Thankfully his sister didn’t push anymore as she helped him fill up the glasses, though he didn’t doubt for a second that that would be the last time he hears of it for the rest of the night.

His gaze kept flicking to rest on the man’s leather clad back like a moth to a flame in the crowd and he knew that he was definitely without a doubt going to have embarrassed himself to a complete stranger by the time the night was over.

Magnus sipped at his champagne, the sweetness of the strawberry tingling his taste buds as he tried to make himself pay attention to what his friends were saying to the Californian big shot who seemed to think that next season’s colours were going to be black and white. Oh please talk about the most boring colour scheme known to man! But his mind kept wandering to rest at the bar where the rather attractive bartender was pouring champagne into more glasses with the woman beside him that had given him his champagne, who was pretty obviously his sister helping him.

She was definitely the more extrovert of the two by the way she had boldly interacted by pushing a glass in his direction, compared to the rather angelic man that had flushed under his gaze and barely said a word.

There was something mysteriously attractive about the man that wasn’t just to do with his impeccable awe-inspiring looks not that he would deny that that was definitely that made him stand out. His hazel eyes seemed to have been fixated shyly on Magnus like he had never experienced that kind of reaction to someone before, almost afraid of what would have happened if he had been caught. Though he was definitely the taller of the two siblings and probably the more muscular as was obvious by the way his white work shirt and black waistcoat seemed to be pulled tight against his form, especially around his arms. His hair was an artful mess held in place by gel but the curve of his neck, those cheekbones and jawline made Magnus sure that if he had any interest in following through with it, he would make a breathtaking model.

But he didn’t seem to see how attractive he really was no matter how much he had been told as much when he looked in the mirror like he had been worn down by someone else’s opinions to the point that what he saw staring back at him was less than perfect. Made all the more obvious by the way he seemed to try and make himself as small as possible that had Magnus wanting to hit whoever had dared to tell him he was less than perfect in the face.

“Magnus?” A voice interrupted his thoughts of what that man would look like on his bed minus a stitch of clothing as his lips worshipped him the way he deserved. He looked back at his friends and just knew that he’d missed out on the entire conversation which he was sure was tedious anyway.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I wasn’t listening…” Magnus said around another mouthful of champagne which he was hoping to down as quickly as possible so he had the chance to actually speak to that beautiful angel this time.

“You’ll have to excuse him, Cecil, he was up late working the last few nights and he must be still feeling the exhaustion. Why don’t you email the details to me and I’ll pass them on to him to consider?” Ragnor said with that ever present democratic yet calming persona he often used when he knew Magnus was away with the faeries. Ah, his dear cabbage was always a life saver.

Cecil nodded stiffly, taking Ragnor’s card when it was offered him to before disappearing into the crowd surrounding them. Magnus’ gaze immediately rested back on the bartender who was making a complicated looking cocktail, only pulled back to reality when Catarina snapped his name in that warning tone that he knew meant he was in trouble.

“Hm?” Magnus asked, reluctantly looking at his friends again that were giving him incredulous looks.

“What is it with you? I know you find him pretentious on any given day but at least you usually pretend to pay attention to what he’s saying.” Ragnor said casting him a look to match Catarina’s tone while Raphael seemed to be looking in the direction of the bar with a knowing look.

“I think Magnus has a bit of eye candy on the brain.” Raphael quipped, jerking his head in the direction of the bar before Magnus could defend himself. The bartender in question had his back to the room showing the tight black silk of his waistcoat against his muscular back and his ass looking amazing in that pair of black dress pants that had Magnus so close to drooling it was ridiculous.

“Really Magnus?! We’re here for business, not pleasure” Catarina hissed, glaring at him over her champagne flute.

“And if I play my cards right, I might just manage to have both.” Magnus shrugged, not that he had any intention of cutting straight to the part where he asked the man into the bathroom for a quickie which was about as cliché as it got at a Christmas party it was embarrassing.

“I thought after what happened Camille you said you were officially off the dating market,” Raphael said, his gaze moving from the bar towards where Simon was weaving among the crowd taking empty glasses from other people on a tray.

“And I thought you said you weren’t ever going to date period. But I guess we’re both bound to go back on our word huh Raphael?” Magnus said, clearing his throat and tilting his head in Simon’s direction knowingly causing his friend to narrow his eyes at him. “Now if you’ll all excuse me I feel like I need something stronger before the speeches start.”

He made sure to leave them before any of them tried to dissuade him from going towards the man. They knew his disaster of a love life as closely as he did any of theirs and he was sure they weren’t looking forward to having to pick up the pieces, not that he could foresee anything like that happened but he was renown for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

He managed to weave through the crowd with most of the people around him parting like the red sea to get away from him, leaving him a clear path towards the bar. The bartender was now on his own, making cosmos for a couple of wives that were wittering among themselves about the long hours, the flirtatious PAs and the personal trainers they were fucking causing Magnus to roll his eyes.

“I’ll have a Raspberry Daiquiri when you have a moment darling.” Magnus said, setting his empty champagne glass on the bar causing the bartender to freeze when he spotted him but swallow and nod as he murmured “Coming right up sir.”

Magnus toyed with his rings as he watched the wives take their cosmos and disappear into the crowd to find the group of other wives hiding a table in the corner, leaving Magnus alone with the angel in disguise.

“So, what’s a pretty face like yours doing at such a tedious event like this?” Magnus asked, leaning against the bar while the bartender grabbed the right ingredients for his cocktail.

“That is most definitely the worst pick-up line I have ever heard.” The bartender said, though his complexion was flushing a little and he was fighting a losing battle with the smile on his lips. A smile that seemed destined to make his features look even more breathtaking.

“Perhaps but It brought a smile to that beautiful face so I’d say it was worth it.” Magnus smiled, causing the bartender to bite his lip as he shook his head in disagreement. “I’m Magnus by the way.”

“Alec.” The bartender replied, pouring all the ingredients into the shaker.

“Hm, short for Alexander?” Magnus asked, watching mesmerised as Alec’s nimble fingers screwed the shaker closed.

“Yeah, but the only person who calls me that is my Mom.” Alec sighed, shaking the shaker between his hands leaving Magnus’ admiration moving to those arms.

“Hm, well I prefer Alexander personally, I’ve never been one for shortening a given name especially if it’s a particularly beautiful name. It seems like such a waste.” Magnus shrugged as Alec put the shaker aside to prepare his glass.

“So Magnus isn’t short for anything then?” Alec fished, causing Magnus to grin but shake his head.

“Oh no, It’s just Magnus. Well unless you speak to one of my friends anyway and even those names aren’t particularly flattering depending on what mood they are in.” Magnus sighed as Alec poured the concoction into his glass.

“Um hm, well I think you’re needed at your table now before the meal starts,” Alec said, sliding his glass towards him as the head of a London firm seemed to be getting ready to start the opening speech of the night.

“I’ll be seeing you later then Alexander, don’t go anywhere,” Magnus said with a flirtatious wink and graze of his fingertips against the back of Alec’s hand before picking up his drink and making his way towards the table that his friends had picked. Not that it stopped him from feeling the burning sensation of Alec’s gaze on his back or his fingertips tingling from touching Alec’s skin.

Alec let out a deep breath that he hadn’t even known he had been holding as he followed Magnus’ path amongst the various tables towards one in Simon’s section, his fingers were practically shaking at Magnus’ touch against his skin. He bit his lip as he tuned out the monotonous speech filled with cheesy jokes to start preparing the gathering list of drink orders on the computer system.

Anything to keep his mind of Magnus. After all, he seemed like the kind of guy that flirted with every bartender. Still he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention which he usually saw being lavished on Jace and Izzy. He could understand why they liked it so much and why it seemed to have an addictive kind of tinge to it.

Izzy reappeared from making the rounds with the few remaining glasses of champagne and taking orders, setting the tray of empty glasses aside to start helping Alec with the orders though he could feel her gaze rested on him as if she had been watching what had happened between him and Magnus.

“So I miss anything? Any sordid meet ups? Gossip? A certain man in leather that you’ve been drooling over, coming over here and flirting with you?” Izzy asked pouring a few shots that Alec was sure it was a bit too early for. But whatever the customer wanted they got.

“His name is Magnus.” Alec blurted out before he could stop himself, flushing as he set a tray of cocktails down for Jace to take to the right table.

“Oh really? So there was some flirting going on then?” Izzy teased, though Alec didn’t miss the slight knowing smirk on her lips.

“Izzy, don’t!” Alec hissed as Jace came to grab the tray but not low enough for their brother miss

“Don’t what? What have I missed?” Jace asked, causing Alec to curse under his breath as he made a Gin and Tonic in the hopes that both his siblings would let it go. Not that they would, they were like a dog with a bone when it came to his love life.

“Alec has himself an admirer which I’m beginning to think is mutual…” Izzy sing-songed as Alec put the Gin and Tonic on the tray pointedly.

“Oh really? And who’s the lucky guy?” Jace asked with a smirk that made Alec want to slam his face into the bar top.

“The guy in the leather,” Izzy said, pointing their brother in the direction of where Magnus was sat with his colleagues.

“Wow Alec, he’s definitely your type I’ll give you that.” Jace grinned, letting his gaze move over Magnus as he sized him up.

“Aren’t you supposed to be delivering drinks?” Alec hissed with a deadly glare.

“And I will after you’ve told me what you’re going to do next,” Jace said, completely ignoring the tray for the moment.

“There’s nothing to do. He probably flirts with anyone that serves him alcohol...” Alec huffed which earned him looks from both his siblings that always appeared when he diminished his self-worth around them.

“Or maybe he wants to get to know the hot bartender. Come on, Alec you’ve spent enough time single and you aren’t exactly an ogre, it’s impossible with our gene pool. Just flirt or even ask him out before the night is out. You won’t regret it.” Izzy said poking Alec in the chest with her finger.

“Izzy’s right and you know it Alec. You are a looker that he would be lucky to have. If you haven’t asked him out or got a number by the end of the night we will step in.” Jace said, finally picking the tray him before leaving the bar to deliver his drinks.

“So no pressure then.” Alec sighed under his breath.

“You know we only do it because we care and we want you to be happy Hermano. So if I were you I’d be coming up with a plan.” Izzy said, passing him to grab some more olives for garnishes from the kitchen leaving Alec wondering what he did in a former life to warrant having two such pushy siblings.

Magnus spent most of the various speeches and a fair bit of the meal with his gaze on Alec trying to figure out a way to get a number of maybe even a date from the other man. His friends had long since realised that he was a lost cause when it came to conversations related to actual work, leaving him to his ponderings of Alec while they took over. Yet he wasn’t the only one at the table with his attention elsewhere if the way that Raphael’s gaze seemed to be following Simon’s figure as he wove between tables with plates was anything to go by.

Usually, Magnus would be encouraging Raphael to actually do something about this building thing with his PA while they were out of the office, but with his attention rested on Alec, he didn’t really pay much attention. It would probably only be another wasted effort like the past twenty times but once things were on track with him and Alec maybe he might be able to play matchmaker.

He was about to sip his second Raspberry Daiquiri curtsey of Alec’s sister when he spotted Simon making his way around the bar while Alec cast one last longing look in Magnus’s direction before disappearing through a set of double doors behind the bar causing him to frown.

“What is it, Magnus?” Catarina asked as he straightened up his chair as the loss of Alec in his eye line seemed to bring him back to reality.

“Alec’s gone….” Magnus sighed.

“Alec?” Rangor asked.

“The bartender dear, pay attention. He’s probably just gone on his break Magnus. I don’t blame him after all the drinks he’s been making.” Catarina soothed.

“Then I might just be able to talk to him while he’s on his break,” Magnus said downing the remainder of his Daiquiri and setting the glass down as he got to his feet.

“Oh come on Magnus why are you acting like some kind of Casanova like when you were with Camille. You’re acting desperate my friend and it isn’t a good look on you.” Ragnor said, rolling his eyes behind his old-fashioned cocktail.

“Do not talk to me about that woman. Alec is nothing like her.” Magnus glowered leaving the table before he said something he regretted and making his way towards the bar where Simon was making a rather large order of Appletini cocktails for the table of Wives probably but he stopped when he spotted Magnus stood there.

“Mr Bane, you wanting another Daiquiri?” Simon asked, pouring some vodka into a glass.

“Call me Magnus when we’re out the office Sion you’re making me feel old. But no, I was actually hoping you might be able to let me out back so I could speak with Alexander.” Magnus asked as he leant against the bar.

“Only employees are allowed back there sorry. Why do you want to speak to Alec anyway?” Simon asked, putting the finished cocktails on a tray and pushing them forward for the next available waiter to take.

“Well, I suppose a similar question in response to that could be why are you making heart eyes at Raphael? The answer is kind of just as obvious.” Magnus said, watching Simon stutter as he tried to come up with the words to deny it. “Oh, Shannon there’s no need for that, how about a trade?”

“What kind of trade?” Simon asked suspiciously as he started pouring some glasses of white wine.

“You let me through the back to speak to Alexander and I’ll help you with Raphael. I’d say that’s a fair enough trade don’t you?” Magnus asked, examining his nails for chips.

Simon bit his lip in thought but nodded as he led Magnus through the double doors after making sure someone else was covering the bar.

“First room on the left is the staff room, he’ll probably be in there,” Simon said, leaning against the doorframe as Magnus looked at him for directions.

“Thank you, Shawn. Come see me at the office during your break on Monday and I’ll help you come up with a plan for Raphael.” Magnus said with a smile before following the corridor towards the room that Simon had mentioned.

He hovered in the doorway as he took in the room before him. It definitely looked bigger than the staff room at the office, only the décor was drabber as if the designer had been more fixated on the restaurant itself and the kitchen instead of the spaces for the staff. The walls were a plain magnolia paint and the floor vinyl with a tile print. There were several sets of tables and chairs dotted around and a wall made up of lockers near the kitchenette. From his professional opinion, it was appalling but it seemed to brighten up when he spotted Alec sat at a table in the corner near the three vending machines.

The black haired beauty was eating chicken salad from a plastic container with a fork; his gaze rested on the rather thick textbook on the table in front of him and earphones sprouting from his pocket to his ears. Aside from the uniform he could have easily looked like just another student in a library and Magnus wished he had met him when he was at school. He moved towards Alec’s table and rested a hand on the page Alec was reading causing him to look up with his fork halfway to his lips, setting the fork back in the container and remove the earphones when he met Magnus’ gaze.

“I never thought a staff room could look so drab even with your alluring presence in it Alexander but I was definitely proved wrong.” Magnus flirted as Alec bit his lip.

“Magnus. Erm…what are you going back here?” Alec asked, toying with his salad with his fork nervously.

“Just thought I could chat with you while you’re on your break darling. Unless you would prefer that I leave you alone to your studying?” Magnus asked, with a smile.

“What? No, no of course not. I just….won’t you be missed by your party?” Alec asked while Magnus pulled a chair up to his table and sat down.

“Not nearly as much as you would think. Besides I’d much rather get to know you instead of speculation about next season’s colour schemes, if that’s ok?” Magnus asked, gesturing for Alec to keep eating which the younger did eagerly.

“Sure, I mean not that there is really that much to tell,” Alec said through a mouthful of salad.

“Now I’m fairly sure that’s not true. For instances, what is it that you are studying?” Magnus asked, watching Alec blush as he closed his textbook to show the title ‘Gray’s Anatomy’.

“I’m at medical school. But trying to study for my midterms while working wasn’t exactly my brightest idea in the world.” Alec said with a soft smile.

“You thought about your speciality?” Magnus asked curiously as Alec stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork.

“I haven’t fixed on one yet but I am thinking paediatrics. I’ve always been good with kids.” Alec admitted, spearing a few pieces of lettuce and a cherry tomato on his fork.

“Well, no matter what department you choose I’m sure you’ll be a great doctor.” Magnus smiled, trying to push thoughts of Alec holding children in those muscular arms away. Nothing was destined to make him melt more.

Alec flushed at the compliment and looked at him from under his eyelashes causing Magnus to amend that thought. No, that look definitely seemed to be doing the trick alright.

“What about you? What is that you do?” Alec asked, pulling the tomato off his fork with his teeth.

“I run my own interior design firm with my friends that I came with tonight. I’m surprised you didn’t pick that up from all the conversation that was going on.” Magnus teased with a smile.

“Well to be honest aside from my work I wasn’t really paying attention,” Alec admitted as he pulled the rest of the food from his fork into his mouth before setting the fork down.

“That is understandable since it can get tedious, though I do have to wonder if there is maybe another reason as to why you weren’t paying attention,” Magnus asked.

“Well I couldn’t stop looking at you, so there’s that,” Alec said shyly.

“Well, I couldn’t stop looking at you either. I mean I’ll probably get into trouble with my friends for not paying attention but when I have your beautiful self in front of me who can resist looking at a bartender in front of me?” Magnus flirted.

“I should probably be getting back so Simon can have his break, as much as I would love to stay here all night talking to you,” Alec said, getting up from his chair to push his empty container and book back into his locker.

“Well, why don’t we exchange numbers and maybe sometime soon meet for a drink when you have a free night? If you have no objections I mean.” Magnus asked, offering Alec his phone as he got up too,

“No, no objections at all. It’s a date.” Alec smiled, bowling Magnus over with the pure beauty that lit up his face when he smiled.

Magnus kept his gaze fixated on Alec’s face as the other added his number to his contacts and texted himself so he had Magnus’ number.

“I’ll call you later then Alexander and we can work out the details for that date,” Magnus said, taking his phone back and pecking a kiss on Alec’s cheek once the phone was back in his pocket.

Alec seemed to flush even more as he led the way out the room and down the corridor towards the doors that led back into the restaurant. But before they could even reach the door Alec’s hand was around Magnus’ wrist stilling him and causing Magnus to turn and look at him.

Alec licked his lips as he rested a hesitant hand on Magnus’ cheek almost waiting for the other to tell him to stop before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. It was a kiss filled with the sweetness and innocent that Magnus had always imagined a first kiss from Alec would have.

He returned it gently, afraid that if he tried to deepen it that they would quickly lose all semblance of control. But before he could stop himself his hands were rested on Alec’s waist pulling him close into his personal space. It didn’t take much to steer Alec towards the wall beside him until his back was rested against it; for the kiss to quickly lose that sweetness and turn into something deeper and filled with a craving for more that had been fizzling under the surface since their gazes had first met. Alec’s fingers were now curled tightly in his hair the deeper the kiss got, their lips now parted and Magnus’ tongue teasing against Alec’s. The taller was practically panting into Magnus’ mouth when Magnus slid a thigh between Alec’s legs and Alec’s head rested back against the wall in pleasure and ecstasy.

Magnus pulled away to press a chaste kiss to Alec’s red swollen lips and flash him a wicked smile as Alec’s fingers continued to slide through his now messed up hair.

“Well well Alexander, I’ll definitely be looking forwards to that date now if I can expect more of those kinds of kisses.” Magnus murmured, pecking another kiss to Alec’s lips because he really couldn’t help himself before taking a step back to part them.

“Me too.” Alec breathed as he pushed himself away from the wall to straighten his clothing and appearance so he didn’t look so completely debauched. He offered Magnus another of those blinding smiles before leading Magnus through the doors.

Magnus couldn’t stop the smile on his lips as he made his way back towards his table, winking at Alec who bit his lip to restrain his smile as he took over from Simon. Yet when their gazes met again Alec was letting that smile shine before he was hit by the girl, who was most definitely his sister who brought Alec back to reality causing the elder to flush from whatever she was saying to him.

It left Magnus watching the two wistfully as Simon brought over their next round of drinks that had obviously been ordered when Magnus was getting to know the rather beautiful Alexander.

“So?” Catarina asked, around her mouthful of tiramisu as she offered Simon a smile when he put a glass of Pinot Gris down in front of her.

“So what my dear Catarina?” Magnus asked, winking at Simon when he set a double Gin and tonic down in front of him.

“How did it go with Alec the bartender?” Catarina asked, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, you mean the delightful Alexander? You should know me well enough to know that I don’t kiss and tell my dear.” Magnus said over his glass.

“Since when?” Ragnor scoffed with a smirk that showed just how much he had had to drink. Though it was justified considering how much detail he had gone into when he and Camille had been together.

“Since now Cabbage. So what did I miss while I was gone?” Magnus asked, keeping his attention on Catarina as Raphael’s gaze rested over his shoulder on Simon’s departure in the direction of the bar to have his break and Ragnor sipped his merlot like he was a man dying of thirst.

“Fine, I’ll tell if only to distract me from those two.” Catarina sighed, sipping her wine after setting her spoon down into her empty bowl.

“And that is definitely why you are my favourite darling.” Magnus smiled as he toasted her with his glass.

For the rest of the night, Alec struggled to keep his concentration on his work and his gaze off Magnus as his lips continued to buzz with the feel of Magnus’ kiss against his own. Thankfully Izzy was picking up his slack after he’d told her that not only did he have Magnus’ number but had also been asked out.

But by the time it was closing time most of the crowd from the party had moved elsewhere to continue the festivities at other bars while a few lingered at their tables drinking something stronger as a night cap and catching up with those they hadn’t had the chance to speak to before. Thankfully Magnus and his group were still one of the groups at their table, though two were drinking coffees in an effort to try and sober them up a little before they left while Magnus and the woman opposite were nursing the last of their drinks while deep in conversation. Probably about what Magnus had missed while he was talking with Alec out back.

Alec had been left alone at the bar supervising those remaining as he emptied the dishwasher of the fifth load of the night, putting clean glasses back on their respective shelves and pausing every so often to wipe excess water away with a rag. Hodge had started to herd those remaining to the till to pay what they owed before they left while Jace, Simon and Will began the overall clear up.

Alec set the glass he was holding on the right shelf before moving toward the till thankfully most of the meal had been prepaid with the booking leaving just the extra drinks and any other extras needing to be paid up for. The whole time he kept his customer friendly smile on to ignore the way his body seemed to be aching with exhaustion at still being awake at this time not to mention his feet were killing him and a headache was building.

“Ah, Alexander…”

Magnus’ voice pulled his thoughts from the pain and misery to where Magnus was stood at the bar in front of him while his friends were pulling on coats and the woman trying to call a cab while keeping an eye on the other two.

“Magnus, hi again. You paying up the last of your bill?” Alec asked as Magnus pulled an expensive looking leather wallet out his jacket pocket and leant his elbows on the bar.

“Yes, my punishment curtsey of Catarina for not paying attention though I’d say that is fair if it means I get to be in your presence again before I leave.” Magnus sighed, resting his chin on one hand and twirling his credit card between his index and middle finger.

“So you were at table ten, which comes to thirty dollars for extras,” Alec said after bringing the information up on the touch screen till before entering the right code into the credit card machine and offering it to Magnus.

“The others must have drunk a lot while my mind was otherwise engaged, either way, it was worth it,” Magnus said, flashing him a flirtatious smile as Alec took the card from him and swiped the card before offering him the handset for the pin.

“Definitely worth it,” Alec said loud enough for only Magnus to hear and flash him another flirtatious smile as he handed the handset back and replaced his credit card in his wallet. He took the receipt Alec offered him and put his wallet back into his pocket.

“Well, I best be off. Being the second relatively sober of the group I need to help Catarina get Ragnor and Raphael home.” Magnus said, his eyes flicking longingly on Alec’s lips as though wanting to kiss him goodbye before settling on guiding Alec’s hand to his lips instead. “Goodnight Alexander, see you soon.”

“’bye Magnus,” Alec said softly as Magnus let his hand go and watched Magnus’ leather clad back retreat towards the door pushing the Latino man who looked like he was going to wax poetically about someone out into the street.

But once the door was closed behind them and Alec was going to return to emptying the dishwasher, he felt his phone buzz from where he’d been keeping it in his pocket all night. He unlocked it to see the text he’d sent himself from Magnus’ number and another more recent text from that same number waiting for him. He quickly added the number to his contacts before opening the message.

From: Magnus <3 ’And I’m definitely hoping that date is sooner than later Alexander. Sleep well x’

Alec only just restrained the urge to blush as he sent a quick reply,

To: Magnus <3 ’Missing you already x’

He then pushed the phone back into his pocket and turned his remaining energy to the few tasks that he needed to do before he could finally go home to his bed and dream of just what his and Magnus’ first date would be.

Fin.

#onefootintheboilinghotlava #malecsanta16 #*fic16 #*gifts16

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malecsecretsanta · 8 years ago

Text

Merry Christmas, @bellahexlestrange!

Read on AO3

Possibly, Maybe

The first box shows up three days after the charity bake off. It is shiny and golden and a dozen phallic cookies in all shapes and sizes line the inside. There’s a phone number taped to the lid and Alec is pretty sure he knows exactly who it belongs to.

“Wow,” Jace says. “The attention to detail is amazing. I never got the hang of royal icing.”

“The sprinkles are a nice touch,” Isabelle agrees. She reaches for the biggest, veiniest one and bites off the head. Moaning softly, she says, “oh my god, they’re almond shortbread. And the royal icing definitely has honey in it.”

“Really?” Jace sounds intrigued, though Alec is sure he’s hesitant to eat a dick.

Isabelle takes another bite of her cookie and makes another borderline inappropriate noise. “If you don’t want them, Alec, I will gladly eat them all.”

“Bane did technically beat us at the bake off,” Alec says. “It shouldn’t surprise you he knows how to bake.”

“He tied us,” Jace corrects. “A tie is not beating us.”

Alec shrugs his shoulders, but doesn’t argue it. He picks up a golden cookie with a detailed foreskin and stares at it. He’s not sure if Magnus is coming onto him or taunting him, but he figures it would be rude to let the cookies go to waste.

It is every bit as delicious as Isabelle made it out to be.

Alec doesn’t call, though he thinks about it all night and all weekend.

Will takes pity on Alec and lets him into Cardale’s Coffee even though the shop isn’t set to open for another ten minutes. The snow is starting to build up, seemingly out of nowhere, but Alec has waited in far worse weather to get far worse coffee. He tries to keep it local when he can. It only seems fair since he’s struggling to make ends meet in his own hometown bakery.

The lights stay off in the front of the shop, though the machines start to hum to life as Will flips switches down the line and finishes filling up the small pastry display. They’re all homemade with love, from Sophie’s Sweetie Pies and Alec stares at them a little resentfully.

“The regular?” Will asks.

Alec nods. He clears his throat and asks, “how well do you know Magnus Bane?”

“He kissed me at a party once to make his ex jealous,” Will says. He looks at Alec with amusement, briefly, before turning his attention to the espresso machine. “We go back. He’s a decent guy. Makes the best pâte à choux I’ve ever had. Profiteroles, eclairs, beignets, you name it.”

“I tried his eclairs at the bake off,” Alec says. “I’m surprised he didn’t win.”

Will finishes making the Americano and snaps the lid on the togo cup. “You clearly didn’t make it in time to taste any of Sophie’s scones,” Will says, amused. He hands the cup over and asks, “What did he do to you?”

Alec’s fingers tighten around the cup. “Nothing,” he lies. “I was just curious.”

Will looks at Alec like he doesn’t quite believe him, but doesn’t push. “It’s on the house,” he says, nodding towards the coffee. “We both know you’ll be back before the end of the day, anyway.”

Despite himself, Alec smiles sheepishly.

There’s another golden box waiting for Alec when he gets back from his burger run and he has to balance his burger and drink in one hand as he reads the note taped to the lid. It has an address and a time written in an elegant scrawl followed by a simple question mark.

Alec’s throat goes dry and his stomach feels like it’s tying itself in knots. He crumples the note up in his pocket and drops into his desk chair hard to shove his face full before he has to get back in the shop to give Isabelle a break. He tries to avoid the box sitting in front of him, but even Alec can’t ignore the call of iced lemon bread forever.

He’s pretty sure he’s going to have to give in and go on a date with Magnus, or at the very least give him a call explaining why all of this is a terrible idea. He’s just not sure he’s ready to do either of those things.

It’s kind of nice to be pursued romantically, even if it is with baked goods and the knowledge he owns his own bakery.

“You should go out with him,” Isabelle says casually. She’s watching him wash the last of the dishes of the day, but she doesn’t move to help because she got her nails done this morning, Alec, you know this .

Alec wishes he could pretend he didn’t know what she meant, but he knows it would be a useless venture. “You could ask him out if you’re so fascinated with him.”

“I’m not the one who got caught making out with him at the charity bake off after party,” Isabelle says with a wicked grin. “Don’t you think you’re sending him kind of mixed signals?”

“I’m eating his baked goods, even though I literally eat nothing but baked goods all day, every day,” Alec says. “What more could he possibly want from me?”

Isabelle holds her hand up in a loose fist and pushes her tongue against the inside of her cheek, pushing it out.

Alec throws a dish towel at her and glares. “I’m not that easy. I can’t be bought with dick shaped cookies.”

“Jace said the lemon bread looked like it had jizz drizzle,” Isabelle says. She sounds ecstatic and Alec hates her a little bit.

“And that is exactly why Jace isn’t allowed near any of the icing tips or the icing, because he makes everything sexual,” Alec snaps. His cheeks flush and he washes the dishes more aggressively than he needs to. “You can go home. I can finish up here.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to tease you, big brother,” Isabelle says sweetly.

There’s a box of conchas from Pan de Molde sitting on the kitchen counter and Jace swears loudly. “How many people did you almost hook up with at the bake off, Alec, and why is that asshole Santiago sending you baked goods?”

Clary stifles a laugh behind her hand, but not before Alec can shoot her a dark look. “That was actually my fault,” she says. “Simon gave them to me at a discount because they’re three days old.”

“This is a house that bakes, Clary,” Jace says, though it doesn’t stop him from taking a concha and waving it at her. “We don’t need more baked goods coming through those doors unless they’re Little Debbies.”

“Jace has a thing for Zebra Cakes,” Alec explains when Clary just looks confused. He touches Jace’s back, nudging him gently, before getting stuff ready for spaghetti. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Sure,” Clary says. She climbs onto a barstool and takes a concha. “I’m not good at being subtle, so I’m just going to ask: are you going to call Magnus or can he just expect you at Cardale’s Coffee tomorrow for your date?”

“You have a date with Magnus?” Jace asks, sounding scandalized.

“How do you know about that?” Alec asks. It’s hard not to sound panicked when his heart is pounding in his chest and he nearly drops the pots and pans. “And I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Magnus and I go way back,” Clary says, shrugging her shoulders. “He was getting worried you’d changed your mind about being interested.”

“Alec is interested,” Jace says. He folds his arms over his chest and stares at Alec. “You’re going on that date. You know how I know that? Because it’s at Cardale’s and you have coffee flowing in your veins instead of blood.”

Alec opens his mouth and closes it again. “I just don’t think it’s - maybe it’s not - I really don’t - “

“The fact you can’t come up with a single argument is proof enough,” Jace says. He looks at Clary. “Tell Magnus he’ll be there.”

“I don’t have anything to wear?” Alec tries quietly, but Jace just laughs at him and hollers for Isabelle.

Alec loads the dishwasher while Clary lounges on his bed and Isabelle goes through his closet. He knows he should yell at them both but he doesn’t have it in him. Really, the stress of of it all is making him want to crawl into a hole and die but he doesn’t think either of his siblings would let him get away with that.

“Your sister is a terrible influence on my girlfriend,” Jace comments idly as he puts the last of the leftovers in the fridge.

“She’s your sister, too,” Alec says. He turns on the dishwasher and leans against the counter. “I thought you liked the confidence Clary has been showing since Izzy introduced her into the wonderful world of hooker boots and adult toys?”

“They’re just going through your stuff like you’re not even here,” Jace says, frowning. “A few months ago, Clary was terrified of you and now she’s laying on your bed.”

“I am aware of the violation of my privacy,” Alec says.

“You have Izzy and me as siblings,” Jace says, crossing the small kitchen to clap his hand on Alec’s back. “Any privacy you thought you had was just an illusion.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Alec mutters darkly. He checks his watch and sighs. “They need to hurry up so I can go to bed. It’s my turn to open the shop and I have to go on a stupid date.”

“A fun date,” Jace says. “You could have fun. You could get coffee and fall in love. Like that song. Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop. ”

“I am so not related to you,” Alec says with a heavy sigh.

Jace just laughs.

Alec gets to Max’s Magnificent Creations at exactly four in the morning. It gives him time to turn on the lights and start the first batch of doughnuts and pastries. He doesn’t mind being at work this early in the morning. The city is quiet around him and there’s no traffic, though even Cardale’s doesn’t open until six in the morning so Alec is left to use Jace’s Keurig for a quick fix until then.

It’s easy to get lost in the work, but Alec has been doing this for so long now. Doughnuts and pastries and muffins in the morning, fresh baked bread by ten and closed by four in the afternoon. They do good business, though they could certainly do better. It’s hard to run the shop with just three people most of the time. Alec wouldn’t change any of it.

Jace yawns loudly when he makes his way in fifteen minutes late, but he’s got two togo cups from Cardale’s Coffee and it’s not like Alec would consider firing him even if he didn’t.

“Shoulda bought a sports bar,” Jace says as he pulls his apron off the rack and pulls it on. “Wouldn’t have to open until noon at the earliest, close by two in the morning…”

“Never have time to take your girlfriend on dates,” Alec replies. “Have to learn how to make bar food and mix drinks…”

“Mixing drinks sounds like a fun skill to have,” Jace says. “None of this premade in a bottle crap for twice the price.”

Alec shakes his head and takes a sip of his coffee. It’s still hot and exactly the way Alec likes it. The door chimes in the front of the shop and Alec sighs heavily. “Go work the counter, I’ll finish up in here.”

“Jerk,” Jace mutters, but he takes one last drag of his coffee before acquiescing.

Eleven o’clock comes quickly, but the day always moves fast when there are things to pull from the oven and decorate or customers to help. The last stretch to eleven thirty drags though, and Alec can’t stop looking at his reflection in the oven and trying to smooth his hair down and brush the flour off his jeans.

“I should have brought a change of clothes,” Alec says when Jace pokes his head back into the kitchen.

“You should move your ass with those French loaves,” Jace says. “You look fine. Don’t be such a girl.”

“I’ll telling Izzy you said that,” Alec huffs. “And Clary.” He does bring the fresh loaves out to go in the display, but it only takes three minutes and Alec is staring at his watch again in the kitchen. He walks back into the front of the shop. “Can I be half an hour early?”

“No, you freak,” Jace sighs. He itches his forehead with the back of his wrist and sighs harder. “Your fretting is going to drive me insane, Alec, I swear to god.”

“I’m not fretting,” Alec says. He stops playing with his watch and looks at Jace almost guiltily. “I feel sick. I should cancel. I’m going to cancel.”

Jace throws his hands up in the air. “Go! Just go! Go get a coffee and wait. Don’t put out on the first date!”

“Jace!” Alec says, cheeks flushing. “We’re not going to have sex in Cardale’s of all places!”

“Don’t do it in the alley, either!” Jace reprimands. He shoves Alec’s back gently. “I can run the shop by myself until Izzy gets here. Get gone.”

Tugging his apron off and smoothing his hair down again, Alec looks at Jace anxiously. He opens his mouth to second guess this again, but Jace silences him with a glare. “Don’t burn the shop down. There’s more banana nut muffins in the kitchen, but we’re out of pistachio.”

“Go!” Jace snaps.

Alec does.

It’s a five minute walk to Cardale’s from Max’s on a good day, but when the wind is biting and there is slush on the ground, Alec can make it there in half that time. It’s the best part of having the shop on the street they do: there is always fresh, hot coffee around the corner. Alec lives for fresh, hot coffee.

“Hey, Jem,” Alec says when the doorbell chimes, signaling his arrival. “Usual, for here.”

“Alright,” Jem says. He doesn’t bat an eyelash or ask why Alec is hanging out in the middle of the work day, because he’s not nosy like other folk at Cardale’s Coffee . He hums along with the music as he works on the Americano and Alec flops down in an armchair in the back corner.

Alec’s stomach doesn’t settle down, even after Jem delivers him the mug. The shop is quiet, just some middle aged women gossiping in front of the window and the low thrum of classic rock on the radio. He feels like he’s going to throw up.

Jem brings Alec another cup before Magnus shows up, and all the extra espresso is making his heart pump like mad in his chest and his fingers tap an irregular beat on the table.

Magnus just looks amused. “Am I late?”

“I’m bad at waiting,” Alec says. He gestures at the armchair in front of him vaguely. “They’re more comfortable than the tables.”

“Let me get something to drink and I’ll be right back,” Magnus says, smiling fondly. He touches Alec’s shoulder lightly before moving past him to go to the counter.

Alec knocks back the last of his coffee and slumps down into the armchair. This was a terrible idea.

Magnus, it turns out, likes frou frou coffee. There’s caramel and whip and chocolate shavings on the top and Alec looks at Magnus incredulously as he takes a sip.

“How do you look like you do when you drink that ?” Alec asks.

“How do you look like you do when you eat baked goods all day?” Magnus counters.

“I run a lot,” Alec says. “And punch things. Jace and I went halfsies on one of those couple’s gym memberships.”

Magnus quirks an eyebrow, but looks amused. “Whatever works.”

Alec pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “I’m sorry. I’m bad at dates. I haven’t been on a real one since…” He wants to say high school, but that was with Lydia to keep his parents happy, but then there was the guy with the goatee that Isabelle tried to set him up with. “It’s been a while.”

“You’re doing fine, darling,” Magnus says. “The coffee is probably just getting to your nerves.”

Taking a sip of his third cup, Alec hums. “There’s two extra espresso shots in each one. My heart is going to explode out of my chest at this rate.”

“Well, I promise to be devilishly handsome at your funeral,” Magnus says. “Maybe I’ll make some petit fours.”

“Don’t let Izzy hear you say that,” Alec says with a laugh. It helps, he thinks. He’s starting to feel more relaxed, even if he can’t stop drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair.

Magnus had this affect on Alec the night of the bake off, too. Even after putting his heart into it and losing, there was just something calming about being around Magnus. Though, they really shouldn’t have gotten as far as they did in the guest bathroom at Gideon and Sophie’s.

“I rather like having you all to myself,” Magnus says, “though I’m open to the idea of meeting your family in the future.”

Alec nearly chokes. “You’ve met Jace and Iz,” he says, setting his mug down carefully. “There’s no rush to meet my parents, believe me.”

“And your brother, Max? Your shop is named for him, is it not?” Magnus asks.

The air rushes out of Alec’s lungs, and he’s glad he set his mug down because he’s sure he would have dropped it otherwise. It never gets easier, no matter how many times someone asks. “That’s,” Alec starts, but he can’t find the words.

“Oh,” Magnus says. He looks stricken, almost ashamed for not realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry, Clary didn’t tell me - “

Alec doesn’t know what to do with his hands, so he digs his nails into his palms. He doesn’t trust himself to hold his cup right now, not without spilling it all over himself. “It’s fine, you didn’t know.”

Magnus reaches out and takes Alec’s hand in his own, squeezing gently. “It’s okay if you want to talk about it. It’s okay if you don’t.”

“I have to go,” Alec says, quietly. He rubs his hands over his face, and ignores Magnus’ sounds of objection. “I’m sorry, it’s not you, I swear.” He shoves a twenty dollar bill in Magnus’ outstretched hand for Jem, please and he’s out the door before he even finishes pulling his coat on.

Alec is pretty sure there isn’t going to be a second date.

When he gets home, Alec texts Jace I’m fine, not feeling well, going home to lay down and finishes off the too sweet moscato Clary had left after her and Jace’s last date night in the apartment.

Get some , Jace texts back, and Alec laughs bitterly as he pulls the blankets over his head and prays for death.

Alec is waking up from his unintended nap when Jace and Isabelle get home. He wants to pull the covers up over his head, but instead he rolls out of bed and makes his way to the living room to ask how the day went.

Jace narrows his eyes, scrutinizing Alec’s naked chest for signs of hickies, before nodding his head. “Okay, so, you guys didn’t hook up. Do I need to go murder him?”

“No,” Alec says. He sits on the couch and sighs heavily. “I think I had too much caffeine on top of already being anxious and I’m pretty sure I freaked out and scared him off.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Isabelle says, soothingly. She sits on the couch by Alec and pats his knee gently. “You’re very cute, even when you are being a freak.”

“He asked about the name of the shop and I ran away,” Alec says, defeated. He hides his face in his hands, and the silence in the room is deafening. “I’m a goddamn idiot.”

“You’re not,” Isabelle says softly, squeezing Alec’s knee. “Jace got shitfaced and cried into Clary’s bosom and she still kept him after that.”

Alec shakes his head, but there’s nothing for him to say. He’s ruined his chances with Magnus and he knows it. The least he can do is apologize.

Smart Tarts is long since closed by the time Alec finishes baking and boxing up his muffins, though it only takes a quick text to Clary to get the address he needs. He’s never texted her outside of a group chat discussing dinner and movie plans, though if she’s surprised, she doesn’t let it show.

He calls an Uber because it’s too cold to walk, and the driver side eyes the box in Alec’s lap almost the entire drive. Alec hands him a business card with a friends and family sticker, promises him a discount if he comes by the shop sometime this week, and then he’s out the door as soon as they roll up in front of Magnus’ building.

It’s probably the second biggest mistake Alec’s made in his life, but he presses the buzzer and asks Magnus to let him in anyways.

Magnus is wearing grumpy cat pajama bottoms and there’s no make up on his face, but he looks just as stunning as he always does. “Chairman Meow and I were just about to watch a Bridezillas marathon,” Magnus says, opening the door and letting Alec in.

“I’m sorry,” Alec says. He’d prepared a speech on his way over, but somehow he’s forgotten every single word. “For earlier. For this entire week. For the bake off. I’m sorry. I am so bad at being a person with emotions and I don’t always respond the way I should and I get defensive at the worst times or I do beyond inappropriate things with strange men in my cousin’s bathroom - “

“Shhh,” Magnus says. He taps one elegant finger to Alec’s lips to silence him, and waits until Alec relaxes to move it. “Hi, I’m Magnus, I own a bakery and live alone with my cat because I have a love affair with glitter and when I can’t sleep because of insomnia, I bake at three o’clock in the morning.”

Alec smiles softly and offers the box of muffins to Magnus as a lame offering. “I’m Alec, I too own a bakery, though I don’t have glitter and I live with my brother and sister.”

“This sounds like an excellent start,” Magnus says. He takes the box from Alec, and leads him to the couch slowly. “These smell amazing, by the way. What are they?”

“Caramel macchiato,” Alec says. “Izzy has been begging me to make them for weeks, and you seemed like the kind of guy to like it. All I know about you is that you like sweet things.”

“That’s why I like you,” Magnus says with a wink. He sits on the couch and pats the spot next to him, which Alec sits in eagerly. He kicks his feet up on the coffee table and grabs a muffin. “Can you stay for a while?”

“If you don’t mind,” Alec says. He grabs a muffin and leans back on the couch, shoulder to shoulder with Magnus. It’s surprisingly warm, despite the little contact between them.

Magnus moans when he takes a bite of his muffin, and his head hits the back of the couch overdramatically. “Oh my god, these are amazing. I’m keeping you around for as long as possible.”

Alec flushes and relaxes into Magnus’ side. He takes a bite of his own muffin and thinks, yeah, he’d be okay with that.

“Look who is doing a walk of shame,” Isabelle says gleefully, in the morning. She’s awfully alert for someone who hates mornings and Alec’s cheeks flush.

“It’s not like that,” Alec says. His hair is still wet from his power shower and nothing Alec does to it will smooth it down. He gives up and pulls on his apron. “I feel asleep on his couch.”

“Right,” Isabelle says with a lascivious wink.

“Okay, he made some cocktails,” Alec says. He wants to scowl, but he he can’t fight the dumb smile on his face. “We watched Bridezillas and we might have made out a little . But I fell asleep on the couch and he put a blanket on me and that’s it. I mean it.”

“So I don’t have to hide a body?” Jace asks.

Alec stops in his tracks and stares at the snow shovel in Jace’s hands. “Please tell me you were using that for the intended purpose.”

Jace winks, too, a bad habit he’d picked up from Isabelle. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Please just get back to work,” Alec groans. “I’m sorry I’m late, you can heckle me at home when there aren’t baked goods to sell.”

Jace claps Alec’s back and Isabelle’s laugh carries through the small shop. As much as they drive him crazy, Alec can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.

By lunchtime, a golden box filled with cherry turnovers shows up by the shop with a note taped to the lid. The only word is Dinner?

Alec’s heart flutters in his chest in a way he’s pretty sure isn’t healthy and he smiles.

#bellahexlestrange #malecsanta16 #*fic16 #*gifts16

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