Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Letters. Single letters, forming words, forming sentences, forming paragraphs, finally forming stories. This is what Alec Lightwood was so good at; this was what his enthusiastic sister always calls his weapon of choice. And, even though Alec would have never said so out loud, he knew that he was indeed very talented. With only a few words, he could express so many emotions, even the ones he never felt before, like love, for example. He might not be the most experienced in human connections, but he was a good observer and he sure had one hell of an imagination.

For him, writing stories was like breathing – he needed it to live. No wonder he made it into his own form of art. And like this, it is no wonder either that his talent sooner rather than later landed him a small job in the New York Times, a job that he was eager to master.

However, during the last month things hadn’t been going well: One stupid screw – up after another, his ever so clumsy behavior and a mean writer’s block hadn’t left him well off, and now that his boss was mad at him, Alec knew all his talent couldn’t save him now.

Right at this moment, Andrew Underhill, also one of the most important men in the New York Times team and Alec’s boss, was sitting in front of him at his desk and reading through Alec’s latest article, which was, of course, complete rubbish.

Underhill sighed and laid the paper beside before even actually finishing it. “Alec…” he started. “What’s wrong?”

“Excuse me?” Alec perked up, confused by the calm question. He expected nearly everything – screaming, disappointment or even a threat of termination, but not the honestly worried tone in Andrew’s voice.

The latter gave him one long look. “I’m asking what is on your mind. You are one of our most promising authors, Alec. So much talent, you flew your creative writing exams and you started publishing your work at a remarkably young age. And your first few weeks here were glorious, no doubt, I always really enjoyed reading your articles, they just had something… fresh to it, as if you saw the world around you with a unique pair of eyes”.

Alec blushed slightly at the thought that his writing could even make such a famous newspaper editor, a master of words, be at a loss for them, but of course, Underhill wasn’t finished yet.
“So why on earth is your stile so crappy now? I can’t even call this an article, Alec, and you know I’m right”.

With a last, questioning look, he took the piece of work Alec had been working so hard on, and chucked it in the bin, without even breaking eye contact.

Alec took a deep breath. He hated every single thing about this. The pressure he felt on himself already pushed down on his chest like a load of bricks. “I don’t know sir, and I’m very sorry. I know that it is in no way an excuse, but during the last time, I just can’t seem to find the right words anymore. Whatever I try to write, I just can’t feel the spark, this connection that I need with the text to make it work.”
“Can you fix it?” Underhill asked and Alec clenched.
He had been afraid of what he had to say now for such a long time. “I don’t know how to.”

His boss nodded and looked down at his desk, and Alec knew what was probably going to come next. He had only been working there for a few weeks and was already failing, so naturally, the next step would be to fire him. And honestly, he would do the same if he was in Underhill’s position; it was just the most logical-

“I’m giving you one more chance”, Andrew said with a grin that confused poor Alec even more.

“I’m sorry- what?” he asked now for the second time today.

“You heard me. One more chance, you deserve it, and if by then you still couldn’t channel your inner journalist, I will have to fire you. But for that chance, I am leaving you all the freedom I can give to you. You can choose the style, the size and even the format of your article, the only thing I’m giving you is the topic.”

“…Which would be?” Alec just in time managed to closed his surprised mouth to ask the question before he would have made the image of a stuck and dumb writer.

Andrew took a short break to raise the tension and Alec could feel his own breath getting stuck as his grin grew wider and something in his eyes started lighting up – something that left Alec to wonder whether or not he would like what his boss had come up with.

“Love.”

Alec’s eyes widened. “Love?”

He would have loved to laugh it off at that moment, would have loved to see Andrew laugh and make him believe it was just a joke, but Andrew didn’t laugh, so Alec had to come to terms.
“With all due respect, I have no experiences in that topic and I don’t think I can get any soon-“

“You can, and you will. At least you will if you want to keep your job. Again, the closer definition of that topic is up to you, it just has to have some sort of connection with that word. And I mean romantic love, not platonic one, to make that one clear. Get out there and experience something, Alec, the world is not waiting up for you. And love is one of the strongest emotions known to mankind, so it might even be enough to pull you from your writer’s block.”

The look Underhill gave him made Alec uncomfortable, so he shifted his legs in anticipation to get out of this office. “Sir, please don’t think I am ungrateful for this chance, I truly am… grateful, but are you positive that there is no other way for me to prove myself?”

Andrew nodded. “Completely. So here’s the deal: In one month, I expect you back with said article, and when I say article, I mean it, so it better be good. Until then, you will have to work your normal times of course, but let’s say… you’re immune to getting fired until then, however bad you write”, he winked at Alec, who blushed.

Alec stood up hastily, maybe a little bit too hastily, when he understood that he could go now, and nearly pushed over the chair he was sitting on. “Yes, of course, sir, and thank you so much again for this opportunity and your… nice words, I won’t take it for granted”, he murmured fast and quiet before he made a break for the door.

“Alec?”, Underhill’s voice rang before he could push down the handle. “You’re a good man and an even better writer. Don’t miss out on this chance; I would hate to lose you.”
Alec nodded and quickly left the office he had been dreaded to be in.

At the same time, but at a different place in New York City, the young aspiring artist Magnus Bane was in an equal amount of distress, if not higher, even though he wasn’t about to get fired from his boss but just sitting in a café with his friends. But, as Underhill rightfully said, love is one of our strongest emotions, and his problem was all about love, but sadly, the unhealthy type.

“I hate her so much. I’m sorry, Magnus, but she is a real-life demon and a bitch additionally”, Catarina Loss, one of Magnus’ close friends, just said.

“I can only agree with Cat here”, Ragnor, the other guy in the café, joined in. “She’s Satan, just a thousand times worse.”

Magnus sighed and sipped on his coffee. It wasn’t that his friends weren’t right, it was just that it didn’t seem to be possible for him to think that way about her, when not too long ago, he had loved her so much. He still did, if he were to be honest with himself. She cheated on him, and he was still falling for her, still dreaming about her. No wonder he felt pathetic sometimes.

“You are not actually considering to go, are you?” Catarina asked him directly and pulled him out of his train of thoughts.

This brought him back to the initial cause of their emergency meet-up: Camille’s invitation.
She had opened up her own gallery.
With his paintings.
Which she claimed to be hers.
And there was nothing Magnus could do against it.

Magnus pushed himself to smile slightly. “I will have to, as much as I don’t want to. Her gallery and its grand opening have been in the spotlight for some while now, and a lot of important people will be there tonight. It would be stupid not to go, especially since Camille will then find any chance at all to talk about me not attending to all of my hopefully future contacts.” He sighed again. “Call it peer pressure, but I have to go.”

Ragnor laid a sympathetic hand on his back. “When is it?”

“In one week” Magnus answered, desperately trying to look down on the table so his friends wouldn’t be able to spot the desperation in his eyes. “One week, then I’ll have to face her again.”

“Can we not do something?” Catarina exclaimed. “Like, I don’t know, trash her car, slash her dresses, come with you to the opening and steal your paintings…”

Magnus laughed drily. “Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate your offer a lot, but I don’t think that it would necessarily be very helpful. I’ll just have to stick through it.”

“What a bitch”, Ragnor murmured again and took a silent bite from his cake.

And really, that was all that could be said at that moment.
Upon leaving the café and feeling the crisp autumn air around him, Magnus instantly felt a bit better. Lonelier, now without his friends, for sure, but sometimes he just needed to feel a bit lonely to see clearly, and right now, he needed to see clearly so badly.
He walked a few blocks; dusk slowly settling around him, whilst seeing his breath freeze in the air and leave behind traces for his eyes to track. People rushed themselves hastily next to him, eager to get home and out of the cold or not wanting to miss an important appointment, for some might even a date.
Magnus chuckled. Here, staring up into the open sky, feeling like time stopped for him whilst everything else kept on moving, he felt alive.
This was why he had wanted to become an artist in the first place.
He walked around in that way for a while before he noticed how the first stars slowly appeared. The picture out in front of him was purely beautiful, so rich of emotions that he would have struggled to describe it with words. But not in colors.
Magnus had known from an early age that he was talented, and unlike Alec, he wasn’t afraid of saying so out loud. He was a promising artist, with visions seemingly entirely new to this world.
The thing he loved most about art: The mixing of different colors.
When two colors mixed and made way for an entirely new color, with a different character, a different story, but still the same aspects you could have suspected from the first two colors. And those colors mixing, knowing they couldn’t go back to how they were anymore, but still giving everything they had to form that new color, together.
Maybe that’s why he decided to not go home yet on this evening, but instead quickly hopped into a bus heading to the Times Square – one of the most colorful places in New York.
And with dusk and the rising stars painting ever so new and breath-taking colors on the sky, Magnus smiled honestly for the first time today.

And whilst Magnus Bane wondered at the curious patterns the stars left in the sky, Alec Lightwood’s shift was finally over and after he had spent the last few hours worrying about how the hell he was going to write an article about an emotion he hadn’t felt in his whole life, even once. Sure, he loved some people, like his family or his best friend, but never anyone romantically, and even though he could have made up that feeling for the sake of a few sentences, he was sure that Underhill would notice it directly if he just faked it for the entire article.
Especially since his usually so trustworthy skill set seemed to be completely gone now.
Or to say it in short: Alec Lightwood already had a lot on his mind when his phone started ringing and Izzy’s familiar voice spoke from it.

“Hey Alec, how’s it going?” came her cheerful voice from the other side and Alec automatically forced himself to smile, even though she couldn’t see him.

“Everything’s fine Izzy, it’s just… a lot of things to do.”
A bit of silence followed, and Alec actually smiled at the thought of his sister doing her usual pouting face now.

“Alec, I can basically hear you lying to me. We’ve been siblings for 22 years now, so what’s wrong?”

He should have known that he wouldn’t be able to keep it from her. Isabelle Lightwood was his sister and his closest friend, after all, one of the few people on this earth who he would have dropped everything for if needed. Even though she was his little sister, she had always stood by his side and supported him whenever he had needed it, which had been a lot, especially during his coming-out two years ago.
She was the first one to know, and words couldn’t describe how much he trusted her sister. Whatever it was – any good story, any stupid crush, anything at all – she’d always be the first one to know.
So he reluctantly told her even of the events that had happened at work today and what a problem he was facing.

“I’ve never been in love, or even close to it, Izz” he finished off. “How am I supposed to do that in a month?”

She stayed silent for a while before she answered. “Well, you know, there is one instance which you could-“

“No” Alec interrupted her straightforward. “I can’t and I am not going to write about that. It’s in the past, and bringing it back up again could destroy everything Jace and I have now.”

What he said was true only halfway. Yes, he did feel something close to love one time in his life, but it was too painful for Alec to use as his reason to write, not even in private and definitely not for a newspaper that would be read by thousands, if not millions of people.
A few years ago, when Alec was still a teen in Highschool, he had fallen in love with his childhood best friend, Jace Wayland. The boys were so close that they were even considered brothers by their classmates, which was exactly the issue for Alec. He wanted more than just brotherhood, but as he wasn’t out at that time and Jace never showed any interest in guys, Alec never dared to ask him out or make a move. Months later, Jace got a girlfriend, Clary Frey, who turned out to be the love of his life, and then it wouldn’t have made any sense to ask Jace out anymore.
Alec missed his chance, if he ever had one, he knew that, and he actually thought it was stupid he had crushed on Jace in the first place. But that didn’t mean it hurt any less each time Jace’s eyes started glowing with adoration for Clary, and not for him. Because Alec had lied with one statement to his sister: His crush wasn’t in the past.

Not that she didn’t know, of course.
She was just kind enough to not say so.

“Okay, I get that. So, what are you going to do now?”

Alec shook his head while he rushed along the New York streets in a haste. “I don’t know. Not even a single bit.” He looked up at the ever so bright stars before turning his attention back to Izzy. “How are you guys doing? How is Max? And how is the wedding coming along?”

He forced himself to stay concentrated while Izzy told him of the latest news, how everyone was so stressed because of the big wedding in one week, how Max had gotten in trouble again because he stole one of the wedding cakes that had been there for them to try and how much everyone there missed him.

“Really Alec, you are Jace’s best man, when will you finally be getting your ass here? He may appear to be very calm on the outside, but you know him… He probably needs you.”

Alec laughed. “Relax, Izzy, I’ll swing by tomorrow after work, I finish early.”

“You better do that” Izzy laughed now as well. “By the way Alec, short warning: You know how dad’s and mom’s divorce left her in a very… supporting state?”

“Yeah?” Alec wasn’t sure how he could ever forget that.

Initially, after Alec had come out about him being gay, his parents hadn’t been the most… supporting ones. They hadn’t thrown him out of the house, it hadn’t gone that far, but Robert and Maryse did always make it clear to Alec that it would just be a phase he is going through currently – thereby sparking a lot of arguments between them.
However, after his dad had cheated on his mom and they got divorced, a heavy ballast seemed to have fallen from Maryse’s chest and since then, she had been more than supportive. Too supportive, to be exact.

“Well,” Izzy started and Alec already knew that it couldn’t be good news. “She kind of already assembled all of the young, wealthy bachelors of New York Jace knows and spends the whole days here talking you up and promising each of them to dance with you”

“Dear God”, Alec exclaimed and nearly laughed out loud. “How did she even get all of their contacts?”

Izzy chuckled. “That’s our mom for you.”

Alec stopped walking as he reached Times Square. He didn’t even notice he had been going there, there was a more direct route to his apartment he followed more often, but he had always liked to go here for inspiration. Times Square, with all its life, all its buzzing and vibrant qualities, seemed to have a life of itself. Alec didn’t really like being here for too long as he actually hated huge crowds, but just for a minute of soaking in all that life around him, it was wonderful.
He took a deep breath and watched the air in front of him freeze, he now had to hold the phone close to his ear to be able to hear Izzy clearly.

“I don’t think I will survive this, Izz. And I have no one I could bring just as a friend to save me from those… dates.”

Izzy laughed again. “You could always just go into a bar and ask someone. You don’t look too bad, Alec, and it is time after all that you get out there. It could get your mind off of… things.”

Alec took a left turn and steered on to the subway station which was hopefully going to get him home, whilst he listened amused to his sister’s comment but shaking his head.
“Funny, Izzy, but if you haven’t noticed, I’m not really the outgoing type”, he smiled and heard her laughter at the other end.

Izzy probably had some kind of smart response ready on her tongue, but she would never get the chance to say it, or to be more exact, Alec would never get the chance to hear it because, at this very moment, his whole life would change. And he would trip.

Magnus often forgot the time when he was out soaking in the colors of his surroundings like it was the air he breathed, and it happened this time of course as well. So after dusk was long gone and the stars shone brightly on the huge crowd of people so different Magnus could have observed them for much longer, he finally managed to look down onto his watch and realize that it was way too late.
Way too late to do all the housework he had planned (or rather procrastinated) to do this evening, so he just let out a quick curse and started sprinting to the next subway station.
As he rushed through all the people, however, he wasn’t so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the pair of ocean blue eyes that seemed to follow him out of the corner of the room.

Magnus turned – and his breath caught itself inside of his lungs, together with every concept of time. A few meters away from him, those blue eyes stared at him, seemingly in an equal amount of shock. And the owner of those eyes… oh dear god. Magnus usually wasn’t caught off guard by someone’s beauty often as he liked to… spend some time with beautiful people in general, but this man was something else.
He had jet black hair and a faint brown taint, complementing his ever so blue eyes perfectly. Not to begin with the rest of his body… even though Magnus couldn’t see a lot under the baggy clothes the stranger was wearing, he could suspect the tight muscles hiding under there. His own eyes wandered back up to the stranger’s eyes again after having given him a thorough look and again, some part of his brain still seemed to be surprised by how beautiful his eyes were, even more promising than his body, which Magnus found to be rare.
Those were eyes of such a seldom blue color that Magnus could have gotten lost in them easily, and maybe he was already without even having any control over it. He didn’t even notice the number of people pressing themselves against him, all he could do was just to wonder at this beautiful stranger staring back at him. He could see his emotions being mirrored in the other man’s eyes and he blushed as Magnus started to smile slightly.

The blush made him look even prettier, if possible, and Magnus had to restrain himself from falling apart right then and there.

What happened next startled him, however.

The stranger, who seemed to be talking on the phone with someone as he had it up on his ear, tried to take a step forward to him, but as he wasn’t watching where he was going and he didn’t see the step in front of him, he slipped and fell to the ground with a loud thudding sound.

Magnus stood frozen for half a second before he got his sense back and knew what to do again. Quickly, he rushed to the stranger, who was lying on the floor and moaning.
“Excuse me, are you okay?”, Magnus asked worried and knelt down to the man, but his mind was gone again when those blue eyes looked up into his own again.

The man stopped moaning immediately and the heavy blush colored his cheeks before he looked down at his arm, where Magnus had been unconsciously touching him.
He stood up quickly, too quickly, since he still staggered for a few seconds, but he caught himself quickly.
“Yeah, I’m okay, thanks, I just…”
The stranger seemed to be caught off by Magnus’ eyes again.
“Didn’t see… um, the step”, he finished lame and Magnus chuckled slightly.

“I guess you were falling for me then”, Magnus wanted to flirt smoothly, but it came out way more breathless and pitched than he wanted it to. When did words become so hard to pronounce?

The red in the stranger’s cheeks deepened and a confused look covered his face. “Excuse me?” He asked and Magnus really didn’t know what to answer.

If there even any answer needed; their eyes seemed to say it all.
With Alec’s eyes full of wonder and admiration and Magnus’ overflowing with excitement and interest, they both seemed to express more emotions in that second than Alec had done with all his articles and Magnus had done with all his paintings, and both were masters in their category.

But, of course, at that moment, neither one of them knew who the other was, or what those strange expressions in their eyes meant.
They might have had a chance to find out right then and there, if not Izzy’s voice broke the meaningful eye contact between those two.

“Hello? Big brother, are you still there?” Izzy asked, and because Alec was still holding his phone in his hand, he could hear her clearly and, grateful for the excuse, raised the phone up to his ear again.

“Yes, I’m still here, sorry, I… slipped.”

With a last glance at the strange man with the amber eyes in front of him, who looked at him with this expression that made Alec’s stomach do movements he did not anticipate, he waved at him whilst trying to keep his hand steady. “Thanks again for… helping me up, but I have to go!”

And before the other man could do anything, Alec sprinted down the escalator to his line and hopped into the subway, which had just opened up his doors.
He was so glad at first to be gone from the gaze, away from those eyes and their expectations and in safe distance from those new feelings he felt in his chest, that it was only as his blush lessened on his cheeks and the train was deep in the tunnel system that Alec realized what had just happened and what he had done.
“Oh my god Izzy, I am such an idiot!”

Magnus just couldn’t believe it. He just met what might have been the most beautiful man in the world and he… ran away? That was something new. Usually, when people saw Magnus, they moved closer, and not further away, since to be honest, he did look really good, so what was it about this stranger that was different?
And why the hell did it make him even more exciting for Magnus?
The only mood crusher was that the man ran away so fast that he didn’t grip onto it fast enough to get the stranger’s phone number – a thing that never happened to him before as well.
Still a bit breathless and confused, he waited around at the station for a few more minutes, half hoping that the man would appear again, then he finally took his own subway home to his apartment.
His cat, chairman meow, greeted him a bit angrily since he had been away for so long and he let himself fall into one of his armchairs before the full realization hit him.
He just met the most beautiful stranger, and however much intriguing he was, he had no way of contacting him or even finding him on social media.
By the heavens, for all he knew it could have been his significant other on the phone and that’s why he ran away so fast. After all, it had just been eye contact and one, admittedly lame, pick-up line from Magnus’ side, who was to say that he didn’t interpret too much into this?
This outlook left Magnus sitting crushed in his chair and even the purring of his cat couldn’t cheer him up like it usually did.

Right then, his phone started ringing and he nearly jumped as he felt it vibrate in his pocket. He looked down at the display smiled as he recognized the name.
“Isabelle Lightwood, what on earth keeps you awake this late at night?”

Izzy chuckled at the other end of the line. “A lot of things, Magnus, but we’d rather not talk about them. Anyways, I heard about Camille’s grand opening and assume you’re invited, thinking of what a sadistic bitch she is.”

The name cut into Magnus’ chest like a thousand knives, but he gave it his best to not make it noticeable. “Yes, you’re right. What about it, my dear?”

“Well, you see, wouldn’t the opening be much easier to bear if you had a super hot date by your side?”

This made Magnus think about the beautiful stranger again, which hurt even more than Camille’s name, this time it wasn’t a thousand knives stabbing Magnus, it was rather one of those superduper kitchen machines, multifunctional knives, who were supposedly able to cut through potatoes in a whole, which were always advertised in the late night shopping channel.

Magnus took a second to breathe. “Yes, it would be, but I don’t really see where this is going, as I sadly don’t have a hot guy I could borrow for a night” he chuckled.

Isabelle laughed as well, a kind of knowing laugh that made Magnus curious (and a bit worried) as to what she was up to. “See, but here’s the thing. What if you did?”

“I’m all ears”

Chapter Text

“Izzy, no”

“But Alec-“

“No, that would be ridiculous!” Alec exclaimed and looked deep into his sister’s eyes, trying to make it clear to hear that fake-dating a random stranger for two nights was not a thing he’d do.

But Izzy obviously wasn’t going to back down without a fight this time. “And why exactly would that be so ridiculous? Just think about it-“ Alec rolled his eyes sarcastically but Izzy raised her hand and brought him to stop. “No, actually think about it. It would solve both your problems, wouldn’t it? My friend just needs a fake-date to somehow endure an evening with his ex, and you could glide through the wedding without having to dance with someone, which we both know would be really awkward, and you could even use that stuff for your article!”

Alec stopped his frowning for a second as he heard the last part. “What do you mean? It’s not really going to be an experience of love, is it?"

Now it was Izzy’s turn to roll her eyes. “No, it’s not, big brother, but maybe it doesn’t have to be. I mean, you told me that your boss said himself you were free to interpret the topic however you want, so why not turn it around and instead of writing about the << wonderful effects of love>> or something like this, write about your fake date with my friend, Magnus.” His sister gave him a long look, seemingly inspecting him from head to toe again, and then a smirk appeared on her lips.

“Whatever you may experience.”

“Okay, what was that smirk for, Izz?” Alec asked, already regretting all of this conversation and the fact that he had voluntarily stepped into this madhouse, to begin with.

But her smirk just intensified into a grin. “Oh, nothing, you have to stop taking everything so seriously and loosen up a bit, big brother. I’m just saying… maybe you’ll actually like what you see.”

Alec laughed and raised his eyebrow. “I’m not even looking for a relationship at the moment, except to save my job may be, and since I know that some of your… friends can be highly questionable sometimes, I doubt it.”

“But you’ll do it?” She asked in a hopeful tone, but Alec wasn’t having it yet.

He looked at her, and just when she thought he might say yes, he shook his head. “Izzy, no, that’s not the right thing to do. A fake-date with someone sounds almost as horrible to me as a real one does. Not only would I have to lie to everyone on those two days, one of them being the wedding of my best friend, I would also actually have to go somewhere with your friend where I have to take care of him and know no one else. And you know how much I hate to do both, especially lying.”

“But you are insanely good at taking care of people. And yes, you might not like to lie a lot-“

“At all”

“However, I know how much you could use someone there at the wedding to keep you company and save you in case it should get… too awkward. And god damn it, Alec, it could save your career!”

He stared stubbornly to her right, but at least he didn’t attempt on contradicting her anymore, so that gave Izzy a bit of hope. Sympathetically, she patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, big brother. I swear by all of my good looks that you will like my friend enough to at least endure two evenings with him. He’s a good guy. At the very least, you could take it as an exciting new experience, which is coincidentally also exactly what you need for your article! And if it doesn’t go well, nothing binds you to spend more than two evenings with him.”

Alec still looked doubtful. “I don’t like exciting new experiences.”

“Please, Alec?” Izzy begged now and got her puppy eyes ready. “If you’d do it just for me as favour? No strings or feelings attached?”

Alec sighed annoyed, but he knew that once Izzy got her puppy eyes all watered up, he would agree to anything she was saying, it had always been that way since they were young. Isabelle would always come up with some stupid new idea of hers, and he was always getting involved just because he couldn’t say no to her. He sometimes hated himself for that.

But then, even if just for a small millisecond, another thought mixed up with those of Izzy in his mind: The handsome man he had seen in the subway station yesterday. He could still remember those magnificent amber eyes as if he was still seeing them right in front of him, and he could still feel the dread he had experienced after he had finally realized what he’d maybe just literally run away from.

If he had been a bit more open and ready to take risks, would he might now at least know the name of that stranger?

“You know what: Alright. Tell your friend I’ll do it.”

Izzy looked more than confused. “Wait, what?! Are you being serious right now, you’ll actually date him?”

“Fake-date him, yeah. You’re right, it’ll be definitely less awkward than to dance with all those… bachelors and it might as well save my career, so…” Alec finished and just shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I have nothing to lose anyway.”

 His sister needed a good second to process everything he just said, but then she nearly jumped into the air out of joy and a wide grin spread all over her face, seeming nearly comical, and Alec smiled himself. There was nothing more joyful to him than seeing his sister being happy.

 “YES! Oh my god, thank you so much, Alec, I swear that you won’t regret it. Wait here for a second, I am just going to tell Magnus!”

 Alec rolled his eyes again, but in a much happier manner, as Izzy stormed off, already grabbing her cell phone.

He didn’t really know why his thoughts kept slipping back to that man he had seen the day before, not that he would have any chance of getting to know him anyways, he hated small talk and awkward introductions way too much for that, but maybe that was the intriguing thing about him. Alec could logically not explain why he had been so drawn to him, he even fell down, for heavens sake. And he usually didn’t do that.

As he took a deep breath, he finally chased those thoughts away and concentrated on finding Jace in this seemingly giant house, where everyone seemed to be so stressed it coloured off on Alec more than he liked it.

After all, <<Magnus>> might be his only chance to write that damn article he had to, he didn’t have any better ideas in any case, that was for sure.

And whilst Alexander Lightwood so searched for his old flame in the house where said wedding should take place, Magnus Bane worked on a new colour study he had prepared for the newest idea rushing through his head. Or to be more exact: He tried to.

 “Oh my god Chairman could you please stop running through that?” He exclaimed again right now and picked up his today particularly annoying cat, trying to block her out from the scene of his study. “What has gotten into you today?”, he purred while patting her head slightly, simply not being able to stay mad at her for more than a moment, even if she did try to ruin his process all day long now.

 And what a long day it had been.

 Just as Magnus turned around after having dropped off his cat, he took in the full form of this chaos in whole.

There were paint stains, paper and half-finished sketches scattered all over the place, sometimes additionally supported by an empty tube of paint or two. It was true, his apartment was definitely not the biggest, it was just enough room for his cat, an old sofa and him, but in the state it was in now, Magnus wasn’t even able to spot the floor anywhere.

 He scratched his neck in wonder and felt something wet, realizing that he still did have paint on his hands – and all over his clothes as well.

“Oh god, it hasn’t been this bad since a few weeks – wait, what am I saying? It was even worse yesterday.” He chuckled slightly at the thought of it.

Yesterday he had followed a desperate kind of sketching the things in his head and mixing up colours, just because he couldn’t get the things bothering him out of his head right. That was one of Magnus’ biggest problems with the painting process some days: He used it to lighten his head, to realize his dreams and visions on paper, sometimes of just everyday things, sometimes breathtaking worlds, and it helped him see clearer on most days, but there were those rare occasions when even painting couldn’t help him and the emotion taking in his heart just sat too deep.

It had been the same thing yesterday, ultimately caused by his encounter with the mysterious stranger.

Those eyes of him just wouldn’t want to leave his mind afterwards, and he’d try to paint them so many times during the night but still never seemed to be able to do them justice, which drove him nearly insane. It just seemed like something in those eyes was… missing, when he painted them, like they didn’t entirely express the emotions the man had expressed.

But what exactly had he expressed?

Even though the night before Magnus had been so sure that he’d never forget those eyes again, each time he tried to remember tiny details the picture in his mind just got blurrier. It never faded, the overall picture stayed the same, but he just couldn’t clearly pinpoint it any more.

Highly uncommon for Magnus, since he was used to doing very detailed mental sketches for the later use, and this had frustrated him even more.

 Finally, around two o’clock in the night, he had reluctantly given in to the blaming screams of his cat, which hated to have her sleep disrupted, and went to bed, knowing he was way too sleep deprived to make any real progress anyways. And he had been right – a lot of that frustration had indeed been caused by his lack of sleep – and right nutrition – but even on the next morning those eyes hadn’t let go of him completely, and he was still trying to work them out perfectly right now, even though it was early evening again.

 That was another thing that was strange about that man: How could he have Magnus that captivated so quickly?

In general, sure, Magnus was an artist, so he did sometimes have those five-second-crushes on random people who he’d think had an interesting personality or style that struck him with a moment of inspiration, especially with him working in one of the most diverse cities in the USA, but still… usually, that wore off after he had finished the first few rough sketches.

It had never stayed for this long.

Not for longer than a day, completely stealing his sleep and apparently sanity as well, both things very holy to Magnus.

 He just wanted to get back to his paintbrushes as suddenly, his phone started ringing, and seeing that it was Isabelle Lightwood, he picked up happily.

 “Isabelle, my dear, any good news so far?”

 She chuckled at the other end of the line and Magnus could hear her grin as she spoke. “The best ones, actually. He said yes. My brother is actually going to do it!”

 “You sound so surprised,” Magnus purred smilingly, feeling a heavy load falling off of his chest at the thought of not having to go to Camille’s opening of doom alone.

 Izzy laughed. “I actually am. Alec is not really… the outgoing type, exactly.”

 “I can hear your doubtful tone, Izzy. Is there something up with him I should know before we go on those dates together?”

 “Well, no. He’s just… Alec is a very loyal person, close to the few chosen ones he opens up to, but not really the type to go and mix under people. Altogether he is rather…”

 “Hideous? Unbearable? Or is he one of those car salesmen? Those are the worst…”

 “Magnus, no. Don’t worry, you’ll love him.” She giggled a bit before she continued, but Magnus couldn’t actually make out why. “He’s caring, honest and would do anything for those close to him”, she added, “And he’s crazy hot additionally. What more could you want for a date?”

 “Fake-date, right? Just so we’re on the same page.” Magnus sighed. “I mean, of course, I would have no problem dating your superman brother in real life if he can actually pull off the impossible and live up to the whole reputation you just built up for him, but I am actually really thankful to him anyways for doing this. His company will definitely make the whole evening increasingly more exciting, car salesman or not!”

“We’ll see. Oh, right, when exactly is Camille’s opening and what’s the dress code like?”

“Tell your brother to meet me at that little café opposite from the gallery… at around eight o’clock? And, as it will be all artists there, dress to impress, I’d say?”

The evening sunlight fell softly through the window, shining on everything in orange light, as Alec entered the room. Jace was standing in the middle of it all, a rare angel in all of that chaos, with his back turned to the door.

Alec took a sharp breath. First, he wanted to touch him on the shoulder as to not startle him, but then he just took a step back and knocked on the door frame. “Hey Jace, how’s it going?”

 Jace turned around and Alec had to swallow hard again. He was already wearing his wedding suit, probably to try it on for the last time, and was just fiddling with getting one of his cuffs knobbed off. A smile lit his face as he recognized his visitor. “Hey Alec, not too bad, even though everyone is acting like we’re in a madhouse. Have you seen how Luke freaked out and nearly broke down crying just because the catering announced they couldn’t deliver that mini-hotdogs?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen him on the way up. I feel like he really wanted those hotdogs.”

“That’s the thing though. He hates hotdogs.” Jace shook his head and laughed at the memory. “Anyway, what’s going on in your life? It’s been some days since we last talked, anything new at the Times?”

Jace looked at Alec and for a moment, Alec considered telling him everything, like he had done so many times during their time growing up together. He wanted to do it so badly, even more than he’d wanted to share things with his sister. Alec wanted Jace to care for him, to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright, and generally, there was nothing wrong with this request, only that Alec knew that he wanted more, so much more.

He wanted Jace to touch him, but not in the way best friends did, he wanted to be the person Jace cared most about.

And knowing that he could never have that, but still seeing him every day, having to pretend everything was alright, was more painful than even he could’ve described.

It wasn't like Alec had never wanted to get rid of those feelings - he just had no chance. After all, he couldn’t let out his frustration against Jace somehow, he obviously couldn't tell him either and he also couldn’t just take a break from their friendship without explaining why and so simultaneously destroying what they had.

As much as he knew that he needed to heal, he couldn’t, wouldn’t do that.

So he just kept on playing his role.

“Nope, nothing new that would be exciting enough to tell”, he said with a smile on his face, even though he was hurting so much on the inside.

Jace nodded and padded him on the shoulder. “So, are you prepared for the big wedding then? It’s only six days from here now.”

“I think I should be the one asking you this question, you’re the one getting married. I just have to hold some speeches and not spill wine on anything.”

“Well, that’s already hard enough”, Jace laughed, but returned to a serious face quickly, “I don’t know how I feel, Alec, if I’m completely honest. Like, sure, I know that I love Clary and that she’s perfect for me, I could never love anyone more than her, but… am I perfect for her as well? What if I’m just not good enough? What if she wakes up in a few years, realizing what a huge mistake she’s made in marrying me? I don’t want to do this to her.”

Alec sighed. So Izzy had been right, Jace was indeed freaking out. “Hey, it’ll be fine. Everyone has these thoughts before their marriage, but it will be fine. Don’t forget that… Clary is just as eager to marry you as you are to marry her. I mean, did you see her, running around the house and somehow managing to be a mixture of nervousness and complete happiness? She wants this.”

Jace looked at Alec directly now until the latter couldn’t take it anymore and quickly glanced away. “By the way, if she only wakes up years later and then realizes her mistake, she’s more stupid than I thought she was. Should’ve broken up with you the minute she got the chance,” Jace slightly hit his arm at this, “But she didn’t – must not be as clever then – and here we are now”, Alec finished laughing.

“Thanks, Alec.”

“Seriously man, it is going to be alright. If she hasn’t broken up with you so far after everything that’s happened, I don’t think there’s anything that can throw her off now – not even that terrible smell of yours right now, what the hell is that?”

Jace laughed and held his hands up in defence. “My new cologne, I thought Clary might like it.”

“She won’t. I don’t think anyone will. Except for Simon, maybe.”

“Definitely Simon. I should give this to him.”

“Please give this to him.”

The next few days went by without any major occurrences for both of them. In Magnus’ live, the most exciting thing that happened was his run down to the shop to buy new paint, and in Alec’s when his sister had taken him shopping rather forcefully…

( “So big brother, my friend said <<dress to impress>>, and I’ve seen your wardrobe…”

 “What’s wrong with my wardrobe?”

 “Just”, she made a vague hand movement which took its course all over his body, “everything, so I’m sorry, but we have to go shopping urgently.”

 “…Or I could just wear the suit for the wedding.”

 “You look like a lawyer in that one, not a chance”, she chuckled and grabbed her jacket.

 “Come on, we are leaving.”

 "Now?”

 “Now.”)

…but except for that, really nothing happened. So, therefore, on the day of the gallery opening and three days from the wedding, everything happened. At least in Magnus’ life.

 It all started out harmless enough with a simple SMS he got around midday from an unknown number, asking what he was doing right now. At first, Magnus thought that the text might be from Alec, whose number Izzy had given him and he hadn’t saved it yet, but those two numbers didn’t match.

In wonder, he sat down and texted back. “Sorry, you or I might have mixed up some numbers. Who are you again?” It took a few minutes for the number to respond, but when it did, Magnus’ blood froze all over again.

“You know who I am, darling :)”

Camille.

Or, as his friends liked to call her, his psycho-up-to-no-good-ex that always had something in mind to make Magnus’ live a living hell. He should’ve known that it was going to come to this, she had actually liked Lotso best when they were watching Toy Story 3 together, and she did really like to torture people before Magnus and she even got together – but at that time, he just couldn’t resist the temptation.

He wasn’t even sure if he could do so now.

She was like a drug, in that sense, often a symbol in his paintings. After she stole the first round of them, of course.

 Magnus looked down when his phone beeped again. “I heard you were coming tonight… everyone will be so happy to see you xo”

“What do you want from me, Camille?” Seconds later, he already regretted giving off a reaction at all. That was just what she wanted, after all, that was how she worked. And yet again, he had fallen into her trap.

“Nothing at all, my dear. I’ll see you then. Also, I might snatch you up and introduce you to some of my… donors, so wear something nice, for me and for them xo”

Magnus asked himself how on earth she could even make a text sound manipulative.

He wanted to answer badly, wanted to do her just as much harm as she had done to him, but slowly, he managed to press the off button on his phone as no new messages from her side came. She was probably laughing now, knowing that she had already won whatever she had been planning for the night.

 Magnus sat that way in silence for a while, contemplating their complicated relationship, but as the sky turned golden above him, his phone beeped again. The text now was from an unknown number as well, and Magnus was just about to turn his screen off  again, but then his eyes actually slid down to the text to read it.

“Hey Magnus, I’m Alec, Isabelle’s brother. Just to make sure - could you text me the address of the café again? Izzy can’t remember which one you were talking about.”

An instant smile lit up Magnus’ face. Maybe this evening wouldn’t be his downfall after all with his “date” by his side. Hell, maybe he would even be able to get back at Camille that way, at least a bit.

“It’s the one right opposite of the gallery – I think it’s called <<The Lighthouse>>. See you then :)”

With that, Magnus finally got up and started getting ready, which was a long process to go through, and tonight, he wanted to look extra stunning when facing Camille – It would boost his confidence. Now, he could only hope that Alec and he would at least get on slightly with each other so that this evening wouldn’t turn into a bigger mess than it already was.

And oh god, only Isabelle Lightwood may have known at that moment what was to come. Let’s just say this – if Magnus would have known in that exact moment, he would have run, either to the café or to get away from it, but because he didn’t, he also didn’t necessarily hurry on that evening.

In fact, the two subways he had to take were running late, but since he had left his house with enough time to spare, he still arrived at the café in time.

The stars were already up and drew their wondrous paths over the sky and Magnus took a few seconds to stare up at them. Since he was a kid, he’d always loved the stars most from all the celestial bodies – and the lore that was connected to them. He liked to imagine that the stars were guiding him, showing him the right way to go and looking over him, protecting him from too much harm. That is why he had never felt lonely when he went on those late night trips he did all too often to capture the beauty of the New York nightlife right.

The stars were always there with him.

It even felt like a comfort zone for him now: However bad this evening might turn out, he’d always have the stars waiting for him when he left the gallery again. The one constant thing in his all too quickly changing life.

He just hoped that someday, he would be able to rely on something else than hot balls of gas.

With a sigh, he turned to look into the windows of the café. Only then it occurred to him that he actually had no idea what Alec looked like. He just concentrated on finding anyone who’d have a slight resemblance to Isabelle somehow, as he was her brother, but as he saw no one of that sorts sitting in that café at the moment, he realized that this actually could be a problem, as Alec probably had no idea what Magnus looked like either.

With another glance into <<The Lighthouse>> Magnus realized that there were either way only two possible options of someone being “Alec” as the café was actually fairly empty, and both choices did not really impose Magnus.

The first one was a blonde guy, looking like he was in his mid 30s, with a bit of a belly and a too strict formed face, and his second option was a probably (hopefully) eighteen-year-old teen with red hair and freckles, who looked like he’d never seen the sun in his life.

Again, both not actually slightly the definition of what Magnus would call “super hot”, but he knew that any date was better than no date, so he pushed down the door with a final sigh on his side.

 Or at least, he wanted to, because at just that moment, a warm hand touched his shoulder.

“Excuse me, are you Magnus? Magnus Bane?” a rough, strangely familiar voice asked him, and in the split second before Magnus turned to face that person, the whole universe seemed to have come to a standstill.

The stars above them were shining bright, with so many galaxies unexplored above them, so many lives away, symbolising all the freedom Magnus had ever wanted. But now, they didn’t seem to follow their usual routines anymore. Magnus felt as if some sort of tension was about to unload, like the first drops of rain prolonging the thunderstorm on a hot summer’s day. A moment in his life where the guidance of all his stars had come together for.

Even before Magnus had completely turned, he knew that his whole life was about to change.

And after he had turned, there was suddenly nothing shining brighter than Alec’s blue eyes.

“I’m Alec-“ the man started, but those memorizing eyes opened wide in shock and a slight blush coloured his cheeks as he clearly recognized Magnus. “…Alec Lightwood.”

As the galaxies around them slowly started to move again, both of them knew that they were in trouble.

Major trouble.

Chapter Text

Coffee shops at night time are a curious thing which had always inspired Alec.

They seemed to be one of those places where reality was ever so swiftly altered - when in daylight, a cafe was one of the most normal things, as soon as the night fell everything about it just became so much more mysterious. The many empty tables, those yellow static lights, the tired barista, and not to mention the people - those people that, out of all places to go, still hung around the cafe at night time with their own unique reasons for it. Why weren't they at home? What was keeping them awake? All of this was only supported by the large glass windows, darkness creeping in from them, and not being able to see much except for some of the city lights outside.

No wonder a place like this drew Alec in like a light drew in a moth - he often used those night hours, and the spare money he had, to sit down in any random coffee shop with his notebook and let himself get inspired. Sometimes, he would just look at the people and try to analyse them, sometimes he'd also use the atmosphere there for some of his settings. This old habit of his came to show right at this moment too, as he caught himself watching the people at other tables more and more.

Or, to put it simply, actually, he was just looking for any excuse to avoid looking at Magnus, whose amber eyes made his stomach involuntarily flutter, which was frankly just too much for him at the moment.

They hadn't said much since they met up outside at the door, just gotten out their orders and sat down in a small booth, and honestly, Alec already felt like this had been a bad idea. This was the mysterious stranger from the subway, no doubt in that, which made Alec even more nervous. How was that even possible? What were the chances for that to happen? And even though parts of him Alec didn't really understand yet were really happy to see the man again, more reasonable parts of him also told him that the last time he literally fell, was rude and made an entire fool out of himself by running away afterwards, so he was just praying to god that the man opposite from him couldn't remember their little meeting anymore.

After all, it had just been a bit of eye contact, right? No need for the brain to put that into long term memory.

"So," Magnus purred, audibly amused. "You're the guy who fell in the subway a few days ago."

Alec screamed internally and looked up shyly at Magnus, but he relaxed slightly as he saw the honest smile he shot him. "Yes, that I am indeed, and I'm still really sorry for running away like that - I should've at least thanked you adequately."

Magnus chuckled, and Alec involuntarily smiled as well. "It's fine, I could see you were very busy - falling. But I am glad that we do meet again, even though I would've certainly not expected this."

"Welcome to the club."

"So, what do people usually call you if not 'handsome stranger'?" Alec choked nearly on that part, but Magnus moved on quickly whilst laughing. "I'm just kidding; your name is Alec, right? Short for Alexander, I assume?"

"It is, actually, but literally everyone just calls me 'Alec', so feel free to do so as well."

"I like the sound of it though, Alexander."

Alec's skin slightly shivered as Magnus pronounced his full name. He made it sound so extraordinary, even though it was such a normal name. Alec dared to look up after a few moments, only to see that Magnus' gaze was fixed on him. He looked him directly into his eyes, amber meeting blue, with an expression Alec couldn't quite understand. A small silence crept between them as neither of them spoke anymore, but they didn't seem to care, or even to notice. Alec was caught completely in Magnus' gaze now, unable to break free, and if was honest with himself, he didn't even mind. Being here, looking into his eyes, it just felt so... right, as if it was taking a huge amount of pressure off Alec's chest he didn't even know had been there. The other man looked at him in such a sincere way, seemingly trying to get deeper into his heart and read his feelings right away, that Alec couldn't help but let him. At this moment, all the emotions he had felt during their first meeting came back to him in a rush, and all he wanted to do was to find out what they meant - maybe they were buried deep in Magnus' eyes.

But, like the last time, fate didn't seem to be ready for that yet, as again, this moment ended far too soon.

"Here you boys go; A black coffee and a Chai Latte, anything else I can do for you?"

The barista's monotone voice was what finally freed Alec from Magnus' eyes, and all the feelings that had been pouring out of his heart into his eyes vanished in a matter of seconds.

"No, thank you, we're fine," Magnus answered here, shaking his head as if he'd just woken up after a long dream.

Alec himself took his black coffee and drank a huge sip of it, feeling the caffeine rushing through his nerves always had something refreshing to it.

"Alright Alexander, before we actually get into the details, I have one important question for you."

"Go for it," he answered, trying not to stutter. God, he really had to get a grid of himself.

"Are you still in? With the whole fake-dating thing, I mean, because I could totally understand if you changed your mind during those few days, as it is a definite challenge to-"

"Still in", Alec said, his voice only slightly too high this time.

Magnus shot him a long glance. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promised Izzy," he remembered with a smile, "and other than the possibility of her being very likely to kill me if I show up at that wedding single, I actually think this might be a really good idea, as crazy as it sounds."

"It doesn't sound crazy at all, believe me. May I ask why exactly you need a date for the wedding in the first place though?"

Alec shrugged with his shoulders, suddenly rather uncomfortable, but he tried to not let it show. "Just a few guys my mom wants to introduce me to, and I'd rather avoid the spotlight - and the awkward small talk."

"Sounds like a caring mother to me," Magnus smirked.

"Oh, trust me, caring is an understatement," Alec grinned back but concentrated again quickly out of fear to get lost in his amber eyes again. "Your turn. Why do you need a date to a gallery opening? That seems rather random to me."

Magnus also turned down his gaze, leaving Alec with the fear he might have stirred up something he wasn't supposed to. "Oh, but here comes the twist: It's the gallery of my ex that has its opening tonight, and things didn't exactly end well between Camille and me. Not to say that she's cheated on me multiple times when we were still together until... I finally broke up with her, and now she loves rubbing her success into my face."

"Magnus, I am so sorry. But why are you going there than in the first place? Is this some kind of revenge thing?"

"No, as much as that would indeed be a bonus, but it's more the social pressure that keeps me going. She's very influential and sadly, we do work in the same scene, and I am not nearly as successful as she is... So, I kind of have to."

Alec's face lightened up. "You also own a gallery?"

"No, I'm not that boring," Magnus laughed. "I'm an artist, or at least, I'm trying to be one."

"That is so amazing! I would love to see your work sometime, only if I'm allowed to of course."

"I'd be happy to show you", he answered, even though he did make a mental note to not show him the sketches of Alec's eyes he had done the past days, as that could come across as a bit creepy. "I don't have any of my sketchbooks with me right now, but I could bring you something to the wedding."

"Yes please," Alec smiled.

"Are you interested in art?"

"I actually am, I loved taking it in High School and learning about all the theory, but sadly, I don't have the slightest clue what to do when it actually comes to drawing things."

"Oh, come on, you can't be that bad," Magnus laughed, "Everyone who studies art for that long has to have some sort of skill."

Alec full on grinned now. "That's the thing though, I really don't! My parents grew so desperate over my grades. Like seriously, I could tell you all the changes in art during the renaissance but as soon as you even ask me to draw a dog, it's going to look like a duck. It's like my own personal curse. Sometimes, the memory still haunts me; I can feel it consuming me sometimes on those special, rainy days still..."

"I don't believe you," Magnus said, unable to contain himself with laughter now.

"I once tried to draw something for Izzy's birthday, a cover for a CD she made herself, and I swear to god, she didn't stop laughing for days," Alec had trouble breathing, he had to laugh so hard at the memory. "And frankly, neither did I." It bubbled out of Alec just like that, and now both men just sat cramping in their seat, not able to say anything just because they were laughing so hard at Alec's art skills.

Both of them didn't even know why they were laughing so hard, but it was a good kind of laugh, one both had needed bitterly. It was that kind of laugh where anything you added just made it funnier, until even breathing hurt so badly they ultimately had to stop or it probably would have killed them.

"No but seriously, I'm a writer," Alec moved on. "As much as I love drawing-" here he was interrupted by Magnus snorting again "It's words where my real talent lies. At the moment, I work at the New York Times, actually, and even though I only started there a few months ago, I already love it."

Alec thought he saw Magnus' jaw drop slightly, but he could've imagined it.

"New York Times?! And you call me being a poor artist amazing? You have to have some serious talent if they let you work for them."

He shrugged shyly, trying not to think about the fact that he might not even be working there anymore soon because of his giant blockade at the moment. "I'm not that good, really-"

"I doubt that."

"No seriously-"

"How about a deal: I'll show you some of my art if you let me read an article or a story of yours? It doesn't have to be work-related," he winked, and that was everything Alec needed to agree.

"That sounds about fair," Alec said and thought about whether or not he should mention that he might actually need to write an article about their experience to save his job, but decided against it. After all, he didn't want to repulse Magnus now and there would still be more than enough time later to do that, right?

"It's settled then."

Alec downed the remainder of his coffee in one single gulp and got ready to get up again. "Should we get going then? I mean, won't we be late for the opening?"

Magnus only chuckled. "Darling, the opening starts at nine and everyone will be late, so we're fine. Also, before we go in, we should talk about some pressing issues."

"Which would be?"

"Boundaries and some of our 'background stories', of course. In terms of boundaries... how far would you be comfortable to go?"

Alec nearly snorted. "Umm... Boundaries... yeah there might be something about me Isabelle hasn't told you."

Magnus sighed. "Oh god, I knew you were too good to be true. Just tell me you're a car salesman, it's okay."

"What...? No, they're evil... I just never had a boyfriend before-"

"You never had what?" If Magnus' eyes could have fallen out, Alec was sure they would have at that moment.

"Not a real one anyway."

Magnus still looked like he was fighting with himself to believe that new piece of information. "Define 'real' for me please, darling."

"Well, I did have one in middle school, but we only ever held hands. No kissing, if that's what you mean."

"Trust me; kissing was not what I meant. Dear god, this is bad."

Alec turned his gaze towards the table. "Yup, I know. I'm sorry, I told Izzy to tell you before you'd agree to something."

"It's bad, but it's not a deal breaker for me if it isn't for you. We can do this without kissing, don't worry. So, in terms of boundaries... would holding hands be okay?"

"That sounds perfect," Alec smiled. He seriously asked himself why Magnus held onto this, even though he now knew that he wasn't good 'kissing' material to make anyone jealous, but he didn't mind either if that meant he also got to keep his date for the wedding.

"What about pet names, like 'bunny' or 'babe'?", Magnus' gaze lasted on him only a second too long when he pronounced the last thing and Alec noticed how he instantly began to sweat again.

"You're already calling me 'darling', so I don't think I do get much say in it, do I, my dear?", he answered and raised an eyebrow playfully, something he didn't know he had in himself.

Magnus chuckled. "Okay, let's tick off that then."

"What about our backstory? Where did we meet, how did we fall in love, how was our first kiss?"

"To that", Magnus said and grabbed his cup, "I'll raise the rest of my coffee."

Half an hour, and a few laughs, later, they finally had their backstory together and Magnus felt at least halfway confident in actually remembering it. Adoration was written all over his face as he held the door of the cafe open for his 'date', and Alec chuckled.

"Does our first kiss have to involve a head bumper?"

Magnus smiled fondly. Over the course of the evening, he had found out that he really wouldn't mind spending the evening with Alexander at all. "Well, it doesn't have to, of course, but those are the little, funny details that make it believable - you're the writer here, you should be the one to tell me this!"

"Well, I usually don't write anything so cliché."

"Ouch, and I don't care, as long as it is cute, which is it. And, to speak of clichés," he added as he dragged his partner onto the street, "you do know that we are one giant cliché in whole, right? We met in a subway, Alexander, only to be hooked up by your sister days later."

Magnus heard Alec's laugh as he intertwined their arms. "Yeah, but our relationship is only fake, there's the difference."

He came to a halt in the middle of the street and stared up into the stars for a few seconds, sucking in the sound of traffic surrounding them. Magnus knew that he shouldn't make a fool out of himself. Alec didn't like him, not in that sense anyway, and even though he couldn't deny that he did feel a sting at Alec's clarification, it's not like they were here to date in real life. Hell, they were here because they couldn't. And yes, Alexander may or may not look like a Greek god and got more perfect each time he opened his mouth, he was afraid to get lost in his eyes each time he looked and yes, the scene in the subway had been like directly taken from some soapy romance movie, but they were just fake-dating. Somehow, Magnus needed a constant reminder for that. "Yeah, I guess that's it. Anyways, are you ready to go in?"

Alec nodded and Magnus braced himself for a moment before crossing the rest of the street. The gallery was already visible from far, huge lights shining through the glass windows in every direction, and the slight bass of the music that was played let the street vibrate. How typical of Camille to have such a phenomenal boring, stereotypical party. He could even see all the people already there and there were a lot. Upon looking at this phone he saw that it was indeed already 10 o'clock, so late enough that everyone should arrive soon. He even went so far as to wonder whether or not Camille might only be waiting for him now to hold some kind of big speech or make his life miserable in various other ways, which obviously would be included in her entertainment plan for the evening.

"Are you okay?"

Alec's voice freed him from the miserable circle of thoughts he was about to go down, and he blinked slowly as he turned his face to look at him. "Yeah, I'm alright, thanks. And, we're here. So, welcome to hell, darling."

"If that's hell", Alec coughed, "then the music is definitely worse than I thought."

At this moment, Magnus knew it was the right decision to bring Alec along.

He intertwined their fingers with each other and took a deep breath before opening the door - and before the loud chatter and music could consume him fully.

Entering the gallery, Magnus felt like having smoked ten joints which all hit at once, the contrast between the silent, starlit street and this... madhouse was so big. Usually, he wouldn't mind, he even liked loud places full of people, but not when Camille was waiting for him. And the music was so horrible. People stood nearly back to back - it was very tightly packed - and Magnus had some difficulty dragging Alec with him into the middle of the room, where also the main exhibition took place.

Only seconds later, a waiter with a tray full of cocktails passed them, and Magnus didn't miss the opportunity to snatch two for them.

"I don't really drink...” Alec tried to argue but stopped seemingly when he realized that Magnus had already chucked down his own in whole and wasn't actually paying attention to him.

He was far too busy keeping his eye out for Camille or any familiar face at all, not even noticing in the slightest how Alec's hand wandered up to his shoulder and then to his cheek.

"Hey, Magnus", he tried again and turned his face so it had to face him. "I know this might sound lame, but don't be nervous. I'm here with you, and we'll get through this together. And whenever Camille decides to show up, we'll totally rub our fake-relationship in her face, but for now, why don't we go and take a look at the art here? It looks better than the music sounds anyways."

Magnus smiled uncontrollably as he looked up at Alec. "That's a wonderful idea." He pressed Alec's hand tightly again as they went over the exhibition. "Thanks, Alexander."

A blush covered the cheeks of the latter, and even if Magnus didn't know it, this may have been the moment in which Alec decided to do what he later did. Or, also a reasonable possibility, Alec didn't know what he was doing himself until it was too late.

But right now, Alec and Magnus were just looking at the art pieces presented and enjoying themselves.

And honestly, even though he told him before, Magnus didn't expect Alec to know as much about art as he actually did. The artists featured here were maybe only famous to local people, but Alec already knew most of them and could nearly always predict what style had been used. Only in terms of motive they sometimes had a little bit of a debate, as most pieces featured were actually modern art and left a lot of room for interpretation.

"Whatever it is, you're wrong," Alec just said, pretending to be shocked, while they both stared at a canvas covered in all shades of yellow with only a few drops of red.

"How can I be wrong? It's clear to everyone: The yellow represents the happiness society always portrays falsely, as everyone always pretends everything is well, whilst the few red drops represent... blood, the bloodshed because everyone pretends all is well. It's a clear criticism of society nowadays."

Alec nodded, eyes directed towards the ground. "So you don't think it's just ladybugs flying into the sunset, babe?" He asked in a high pitched tone and Magnus laughed.

"No, my dear, I think that's highly unlikely."

"It's so hard to debate with you anyways with you being so smart and all that." Magnus shot him a glance with his eyebrow raised and Alec immediately understood. "You read that in the note beside it didn't you."

For a few seconds, a serious grimace covered their faces before they both broke out laughing.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, you cheater."

Magnus wouldn't have thought it for possible, but he had actually relaxed a lot since they first arrived here. Alec's company seemed to work miracles on Magnus' nerves and he couldn't be any more grateful for that. This evening, just hanging out with Alec, had so far actually been... fun, the thing which Magnus thought to be the last thing he would experience here. And Alec, too, seemed to have let down his walls and shyness a lot since their first talk in the cafe. Serious, nervous Alec could be a lot of fun if Magnus had any judge of character.

Then, suddenly, Alec seemed to spot a row of painting he especially liked, as his eyes widened nearly double the size, and he tried to drag Magnus towards them. "Magnus, look at those! They are so pretty!"

Magnus only nodded and turned his gaze away, for he recognized those paintings only too well. "Yes, they are."

"I think I like them the most so far. What do you think this one means, the one with the water turning red beneath them?"

He didn't even need to turn to see which one he meant. It was the one where two lovers were just taking a romantic boat tour for two across a beautiful lake, but the water where the boat was on turned red like blood and reflected both of the lovers as demonic creatures. "It means that, however much effort you put into a relationship sometimes, no matter how beautiful it is, sometimes it can destroy you; make you into something you are not."

Alec's gaze rested on him for a moment before turning back to the painting. "How do you know that? There isn't even an explanation this time-"

A familiar voice interrupted them in their banter.

"Well, if it isn't Magnus Bane himself..."

Magnus' eyes widened as he saw who came strolling towards them: Camille's father, Paul Belcourt. Also known as an even bigger douchebag than his psycho-daughter and definitely the one she had been taking lessons from.

But only his shoulders stiffened in reaction to this new arrival. After all, he did know that he'd probably run into him. "Mr Belcourt, it is so good to see you!"

The two men shook hands with each other stiffly and Paul laughed. The problem with his laugh was though: It never reached his eyes. "What happened to you calling me Paul, Magnus?"

"What happened to you calling me Mr Bane?"

Paul let out a hearty laugh again and Magnus could feel Alec pressing closer curiously.

"Why the sudden need for formality here, Magnus? I thought we were all friends here." Magnus tightened his jaw but gave no opposition, so he continued, "You know I've always loved your art. It just always looks so... unique, doesn't it?”

As Paul looked to the side and admiringly took in the painting they stood next to, Alec finally seemed to get it as well, at least he could feel the pressure on his arm tighten for a moment.

"Yeah, couldn't be replaced for the world of it." It was hard to speak, as tight as Magnus' jaw was, but he couldn't let out the anger which had been building up inside of him in any different way, and Paul's eyes, which were fixed on him like a lion eyeing up a gazelle didn't really help much.

"Anyways, why haven't you introduced me to your lovely... friend here yet?" There was that smile again.

"Boyfriend," Alec corrected him more confidently than he had sounded all evening long and Magnus managed to break a smile, nearly as predatory as Paul's eyes.

"And I thought you were the one not insisting on formalities?" he added.

"Fair point."

There was a momentary staring contest still going on between them before Paul finally broke it and took another sip of his cocktail. "Anyways, we should get going, if I remember right Camille just wanted to hold a speech."

Magnus froze internally, even though he had suspected that it might all lead into a giant speech in front of all influential people, just to torture him. Great, just great.

"Thanks, we'll be on our way immediately."

"You know, she has connections. She might be able to help you-"

"No," Magnus quickly intervened. "I don't want her help." Hostility was written all over his face now and he didn't even notice that he had made a step towards Paul as Alec's hand was slightly pulling him back.

Paul smirked as he let his gaze wander over Alec again. "Really nice boyfriend, the one you got there. I only hope that this will last longer."

And with those final words of doom, he was gone, and a lot of tension relieved itself from the air around them. Magnus could feel that Alec was searching for his eyes again.

"Well, this was one exceptional kind of a douchebag." Magnus let out a rough laugh and Alec continued. "Magnus... is there anything I need to know about your breakup with Camille?"

For a second, he really did meddle with himself. But up until now, Alec had been the only one not to know, and it had been just so refreshing. Of course, all of his friends loved him dearly, he knew that but they also couldn't stop shooting him pitiful or judging glances sometimes, even though they tried to hide it, and he at least didn't want to be judged by Alec, perfect Alec, if anything. And frankly, he had no power left this evening to tell another person, at least not sober.

So, he just shook his head and grabbed himself another cocktail, even though he knew that wouldn't satisfy Alexander.

"Magnus, I really think you should not drink that much-"

The gruesome music cut out (finally!) and a voice could be heard on the speaker.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentleman and everything in between, to my grand gallery opening!"

It wasn't just anybody's voice, and Alec stiffened just from the way Magnus' eyes widened. It was Camille. Queen of all demonkind.

They were pushed quickly by the mass of people into the middle of the room, right in front of some sort of small platform a few important looking people stood, and suddenly Magnus was only a few metres from Camille, who winked at him as if she's known exactly where he had been all night long.

Magnus immediately started leaning against Alec for support - both physical and mental. Seeing Camille like this, looking better than she had ever before, in her own gallery full of influential people - it was just so much for him. Even though karma should have taken care of her by all the laws of nature, she was still the bad guy, the one who cheated, the one who made Magnus hate himself for so long, and yet, she was still the one who had everything she'd ever dreamt of.

But, there wasn't even any sign of regret when he looked into Camille’s crocodile-like eyes now - he only saw hunger. The hunger to destroy. Which is what she was here for. And so, she continued her speech.

"As all of you may know, this is a really big day for me. In fact, it feels like my entire life has been building up to this point, and I can't even express how thankful I am to everyone who helped me along the road to get here. So, this will be the topic of the first one of my little speeches throughout the evening." Camille chuckled slightly at that and made a small dramatic pause, which obviously worked because she had everyone’s attention. Everyone was just hanging on her lips now." "And in special, there is one important person without whom I wouldn't be standing here tonight. He has done and meant everything to me, he was even the one who gave me enough courage to try and get my work out there. You could say that he's the person we all have to thank tonight: The incredible Magnus Bane!"

Roaring applause came up from all around them and drowned all of Magnus' senses; the noise carried itself like a virus up into his brain and brought everything to a standstill. For a short moment, it actually felt like the world around him had gone silent. Finally, Camille's revenge was taking place, and there was absolutely nothing he could do against it. This feeling of having no power over himself or what was about to happen may have been one of the worst emotions he had ever felt - placed right after when he had caught Camille cheating.

The calm before the storm had been too brief, and he was catapulted into the real world full of noise, light and people far too quickly again. By now, there was a small circle which had cleared around him in respect, and spotlights were directed straight at him, blinding him as he tried to look into the crowd of people still applauding.

Camille was closer now and was walking closer still, a broad smile on her face. To other people, she might have looked nice and as if she was really grateful to Magnus, but Magnus could see the fire burning behind her facade. He knew that look all too good. She'd worn it when she walked out of the door for the last time. And just as the last time, Magnus was still falling for her, falling for it, falling for her whole scheme, unable, or unwilling, to get out for good. The temptation was too sweet.

"Magnus and I go way back," Camille started and took Magnus' breath with her. "We started out being friends in kindergarten, actually, isn't that funny? He always used to have my back - and I always his in return. God, we even made plans to be best friends forever back then. This continued on until Highschool: Whenever there was someone bothering us, they'd usually end up with their books thrown into the toilet or something comparably childish. However, Highschool was also the time he asked me out for the first time. Magnus is a big fan of romance, so he did it all like in the books - invited me to dinner, told me he has had a crush on me since we were about eight and then asked me to finally be his girlfriend. It took a while for me to say yes though, three tries exactly, but after that, we were the luckiest couple anyone could imagine. We had our problems, sure, but we always fought through them. We even attended university together - we both studied art, even though he was always the painter and I was the businesswoman. And we had such an intimate relationship to each other, founded on complete trust. He used to talk to me about everything: The stars and how he believed they could alter our lives, every meaning behind his paintings and of course, his parents. To make it short, we knew everything from each other, and I will be forever thankful for the things I could learn from him. And for our continuing friendship that remained, even though our relationship didn't work out in the end. It was a tragic loss and a bad breakup, definitely, and I didn't think that either of us were going to move on for a long time, but in fact, only a few months after that, I found my special someone, and now, I actually shouldn't say this, but I'm engaged." She held her hand high, showing the massive ring on her finger, and let out a happy shriek.

The whole room exploded with applause and whistles. They all seemed to be so invested in the story. Magnus' story.

And with the room, Magnus' thoughts and emotions seemed to explode as well. He had known that Camille planned some sort of epic plan to get to him, but even in his wildest dreams, he hadn't imagined that it would be that bad. She had just made the perfect speech. To anyone, except for Magnus, it sounded so innocent, yet to him; it was the final thing with which she could hurt him even further. By exploiting all they ever had, all their most personal moments, even how Magnus asked her out - she had made it clear there wasn't anything that she'd ever treasured, or felt that was real to her at all, and this even further destroyed Magnus. He had fought for this relationship, for her, for such a long time, and now it all just didn't matter.

The room calmed down hesitantly as Camille started speaking again, but Magnus couldn't listen, at least not really. All he could do was just to try not to punch someone, not to cry, and to wait it out until it was over. Every second felt like a thousand years of hell for him now and he really would prefer to be anywhere but here.

"...in conclusion: I am so thankful, Magnus. In fact, as a small gift, I would love if you came up the stage now so everyone can share my adoration-"

She couldn't finish, because just at this moment, another voice rang out loudly.

"Magnus!"

Magnus, and admittedly everyone in the room, even Camille, turned to look who had interrupted her.

With a weak smile, Magnus recognized it was Alec who had been calling out, standing across him in the room but now walking towards him at a fast pace. What in heaven's name was he doing...?

"Magnus, darling, there you are, I must've lost you in the crowd."

Again, he was completely consumed by the blueness of his eyes - those eyes that were such an enigma to him, but still, the most endearing thing he had ever seen - as he came toward him. Magnus smiled and expected Alec to come to a stop in front of him, so he stretched his hands out for him, and as he didn't, his face grew confused.

Alec took his hands and hugged him speedily. "Don't worry, I got this," he whispered barely audible, but before Magnus could even ask what exactly he 'got', Alec already moved.

And not even a second later, Magnus could feel the light pressure against his lips, another mouth searching for his own, and the whole room seemed to hold their breath in surprise.

Chapter Text

At this point, there are maybe one or two things you’d need to about Alec.
Firstly, ever since he had been young enough to think for himself, he did not like to act on his intuition. Following his gut resulted in chaos and embarrassment most times, so after a while, he just learned not to do it. He judged mind over heart, always.

Well, he tried to, at least.

Secondly, as he had already mentioned to Magnus a few hours before, Alec had never been in a relationship before. Sure, he did have crushes, but no kisses, no smooches on the cheek, not even words of love had been spoken between him and another at this point. He didn’t even know how a relationship was supposed to work, except for the few bullet points he had picked up while watching the movies.

Thirdly, he was anything but a good actor. He had auditioned for the drama club in his middle school once, and it did not go well at all. In fact, even his own sister teased him with that up to today. Alec wasn’t even a good liar. Not that that was one of his deep desires, but his family had always caught him before he could even try and voice his lie. Body language, they said.

So, after you know all of those things about him, it should be fairly obvious why impulsively running up to his fake-boyfriend and kissing him on the lips in front of everyone when all eyes were on them might not be a thing that was really in character for Alec.

Still, he did it.

To be fair, he didn’t exactly know he was going to do it before he already shouted Magnus’s name. He was far too preoccupied with his growing anger and hate for Camille at that moment to think any clear thought at all. It felt more like a thing your mind subconsciously does, something that just feels natural to your body, like washing the dishes, which you didn’t need to actually think actively about.

However, he wasn’t washing the dishes. Far far from it.

But their lips had already touched before he could think twice about it.

The silence that followed was deafening. He didn’t know how long their kiss lasted, heck, he didn’t even know how to kiss, and Magnus seemed to be way too surprised to lead him on. It was also no help that he regained consciousness about midway through. He supposed it only lasted a few seconds, but really, who could tell.

After Alec then ended the kiss awkwardly, he could barely muster up the strength to keep his face straight to the crowd of faces. Nearly every one of them looked shocked and only some whispers could be heard somewhere in the corners of the room. The music was still turned off for Camille’s speech, making the atmosphere even denser. But no face was as shocked as Camille Belcourt’s own, her devilish eyes looking actually taken aback for a second. Alec blushed heavily at the sight and took a step back from Magnus, but still grabbed his hand.

As much as he wanted to, Alec knew that he couldn’t just clear his throat and vanish back into the crowd. No, after having made this much of a scene, he actually had to stand his ground now, even if just to save Magnus the trouble.

And since Camille, as well as Magnus, seemed to be pretty much on a loss for words at the moment, Alec gave his best to form a smirk on his face.

“Oh, Miss Belcourt, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your lovely speech. How rude of me, I didn’t even notice I was shouting so loudly, but I tend to grow a bit anxious when I lose my boyfriend in a crowd…,” Alec managed to get out without blushing totally and looked at Magnus amorously. “What can I say, I just can’t last a minute without him.”

The crowd lost themselves in adoring noises and Alec used this opportunity to take the deep breath he had desperately needed. He also let his eyes run over Magnus, just to check up on him, who started to blink slowly as if finally awoken out of a long sleep. At least he better be. Alec didn’t know how much longer he could keep that act up. He had already run out of things to say.

As Alec dared to take a closer look at Magnus’s eyes, he froze. There were so many emotions seemingly cramped in them, fighting over which one would be portrayed first and foremost, that Alec simply couldn’t look away. He managed to identify some, like shock, wonder and sadness, but others were still a mystery to him. A mystery he had been only too eager to solve if he had his notebook with him. But even Alec knew that this was neither the time, nor the place, nor the person to do this with.

And of course, as Alec looked up at the stage again, Camille had already caught herself again. At least so much that her eyes were glittering dangerously. Alec immediately felt like he was live prey stalked by a vicious hunter.

“Oh, Magnus, you actually have a boyfriend now? I’m so happy for you two! Only disappointed you didn’t tell me earlier…” She winked, but Alec didn’t buy it.

He hated her.

And he’d only known her for one evening.

Alec squeezed Magnus’s hand again softly before speaking up and he could feel the other man slowly raising his head to look at him. “Actually, my name is Al-“

“Chris Winters,” Magnus jumped in fast. “His name is Chris Winters, Camille, and thank you, I am also very happy I met him.”

Alec side-eyed him carefully and saw that his usual smile had returned to his face. He himself had to grin as Magnus squeezed his hand back, finally, and laid his arm around him as if it were the most casual thing ever.

And even though Alec sure should have known what was coming, his heart – and his lungs – seemed to stop working for a second.

“It’s so good to see you, by the way. I know everyone is always saying that they could never be friends with their ex again, but what can I say? When the feelings are gone, there isn’t much to get angry about,” Magnus laughed and smoothly added, “You were saying you are engaged now?”

Camille’s eyes widened, only a bit, but enough for Alec to notice it. She still held her hand up high, and at that moment, she suddenly seemed to remember that she actually had a speech to give. Even though Alec was sure the crowd didn’t mind. At least judging by all the enraptured noises they had made at the couple’s love declarations.

Quickly, she picked up her microphone again. “Yes, that’s what I had been meaning to tell you, before this… charming couple interrupted me.” Was Camille’s eye twitching? “Because I, too, have found the one: I’ve recently gotten engaged, and to none other than to the amazing Roland Allistair!”

The room cheered loudly, too loudly and too ecstatic for Roland to not be a celebrity, and he felt Magnus’s posture stiffening. Even though Alec had not the slightest clue who that name belonged to, Magnus obviously did.

At that moment, and when Roland then walked with a blinding grin out on the stage to hug Camille, Alec could sympathise with Magnus’s pain so much. This was for the other man like seeing Jace getting married was for Alec. Probably even worse. Camille and Magnus had been together at one point. For them, there actually had been hope in the past, and Alec couldn’t imagine what it was like to see that hope first live and then destroyed and trampled on so many times.

Alec suddenly felt the urge to just hold Magnus close to him, to tell him that everything would be alright again, that he’d take care of it being alright again, and that he was not alone. They both felt the same pain, the same stabbing in the back, even if it happened in different ways, and Alec right now just wanted Magnus to understand that so badly.

But, since he couldn’t just again dramatically show affection for his fake-boyfriend, all he did was to hold him a little closer, trying to make him feel that he was there for him, that Alec was something solid he could lean onto. And, surprisingly, Magnus even did. He also let out an exhausted, desperate sigh escaping his mouth so silently as if it was only meant for Alec.

“Greetings to everyone!” Roland waved into the crowd and looked like a rock star while doing so. And god, Roland did look good. Alec already hated him on account of Magnus. “I know, I know, everyone here basically knows my name-“

“I don’t,” Alec whispered into Magnus’s ear and got a small laugh as a reward.

“But tonight, I’m here for another reason. Even though, if someone were to come up to me after this little speech here and ask for a selfie or an autograph, I, of course, wouldn’t say no.” Yup, now Alec hated him on his own as well. “That besides, tonight I’m here for a very special occasion: A few months ago, I found the love of my life. And tonight, we’re here to celebrate our marriage! Camille,” he said and turned to her in a heartfelt gesture, “my heart has only found real peace since I’ve known you, and every day I can look forward to a tomorrow now because I know that I will get to see your beautiful face when I wake up. For that, thank you, my love.”

He pecked her quickly on the cheek while the room cheered loudly. At least they seemed to have forgotten about Alec and Magnus completely now. Carefully,  Alec glanced over to Magnus, knowing that this proclamation of love had probably felt like a thousand knives turning in his stomach, and he did look paler than usual. As the couple smiled and held their heads against each other for a second, looking like complete happiness, Alec could see Magnus swallow hard.

But as soon as Magnus noticed Alec’s stare, which might have been dragged out a bit too long, he shot him a quick smile. Not that it made Alec worry any less about him.

The cheers from the room slowly died down now and Camille took over the microphone again, not letting go of Roland’s hand, but apparently also searching for a pair of eyes in the crowd. Her crocodile eyes glittered with success as she locked eye contact with Magnus and Alec needed to resist the urge to punch her. He could feel Magnus shiver as she spoke.

“Now that this little first surprise is out of our way, let’s all resume to enjoying this beautiful evening just like we are supposed to. And don’t worry, later on, there’ll be more…” She raised Roland’s and her hand proudly but was still intently staring at Magnus. “Of us together.”

The crowd applauded again but quickly diverted themselves over the whole room as the beat also set in.

But Camille didn’t seem to be done with Magnus yet, as she wasn’t breaking eye contact, even though she had lowered their hands. Her gaze looked so predatory that Alec put himself protectively in front of Magnus without him even noticing.

“Magnus, my dear,” she said without her microphone now and her chuckle made even Alec’s goosebumps rise. “Why don’t you come with me for a second? I actually do need to talk to you. Without Roland.”

She didn’t even regard Alec with any look as she approached closer, so close Alec knew that Magnus would be holding his breath. He glanced over at him again and saw the despair in his eyes, so much despair it even surprised Alec. He had thought he knew what had been going on. Obviously, he was wrong.

Magnus opened his mouth slightly, words dragging themselves over his lips only hesitantly. “Camille, I…”

“Please, Magnus,” she interrupted him carelessly, “Do only this for your best friend. I just want to talk to you, without your… appendage.”

Alec couldn’t imagine a more condescending way to say that and rolled his eyes. He hated the way Camille touched Magnus, it was clear she only wanted to manipulate him. But he was still waiting for a sign from Magnus, anything, that told him that he wanted to be saved. After all, he had only known him for about three hours now and he didn’t want to upset him.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is a… good idea, Camille. I’m happy for you, I really am, but there’s nothing for us to talk about now,” Magnus spit out with at least a bit of poison now and Alec started grinning.

He didn’t care at all for the look Camille gave him.

The latter seemed astonished that anyone had even dared to oppose her. “Magnus, please, I just want to talk to you, and I don’t think you want me to talk about it here in front of your boy toy. After all that we’ve been through…”

Alec saw the conflict coming up again in Magnus’s eyes and decided that this had been going on for long enough now.

“Babe, come on, we really need to get home now, you have an early day tomorrow.”

Camille stared at him as if he just murdered someone. “I’m his best friend, so back off for a second.”

Frustrated much?

Sadly, also Alec was now seriously getting frustrated with this whole situation. She shouldn’t treat anyone like that, not him and definitely not Magnus.

“And I’m his boyfriend,” he answered, eyes rolling. “Also, to me, it sounds more like you’re just a bitch of a friend, so you back off.”

His tone was calm, but it accomplished just the same. Camille’s eyes opened wide and Magnus snorted next to him.

And just as Camille obviously wanted to say something equally poisonous back, Magnus rushed forward to intervene.

“Actually, I think Chris is right. We really should get going. It was lovely to see you, but you know, life doesn’t wait for you!”

He said it with more confidence than Alec would have trusted him to, and without another word, he grabbed Alec’s arm and turned him around with him, leaving Camille behind speechless. And furious.

Alec turned to look at her only one time to see if she was following them, but she wasn’t. She was just standing there, a slight smirk on her face, while the fire was still visible in her eyes.

Nevertheless, she let them walk out the door.

“Alexander Lightwood, that was incredible!” Magnus shouted out laughing as soon as they were outside the door.

“Was it?” Alec rubbed his neck sheepishly as he walked alongside Magnus.

The latter seemed more ecstatic than Alec had ever seen him. But then again, he had only seen him at the party of his ex, so maybe that wasn’t the best material to judge on.

“Of course it was! Did you see her face?! I’ve never seen Camille that speechless, especially not two times in a row…”

“So you’re not mad at me for anything?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know,” Alec shrugged. “I just thought maybe I was too intrusive with the things I said to Camille, or that I kissed you on the mouth without having warned you before could-“

Magnus stopped dead in his tracks now. His amber eyes met Alec’s own and he got a bit lost again in the honest admiration they emanated. “You saved me, Alexander. I’m sorry that I was so distant in there, I underestimated how much influence Camille still had on me. I should be the one sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

Alec started grinning now as a heavy load seemingly fell of his chest. “Don’t be, I think I know what you mean.”

“Any stories of your own to share?” Magnus asked him and Alec held his breath for a second.

“No, just some memories.”

Magnus seemed to understand. At least he didn’t try and get it out of him by force. They walked alongside each other in comfortable silence for a few minutes, in which Alec tried to somehow wrap his head around the things that had happened during this evening.

He had kissed Magnus Bane.

In front of at least a hundred people.

He still blushed slightly at that thought. The things you wouldn’t do for your fake-boyfriend…

“Camille’s and mine relationship… it wasn’t always like that.”

Magnus’s voice tore Alec from his train of thoughts. Not that he minded it much though.

“At the beginning, it was sweet, actually,” Magnus continued, smiling up into the sky as the memories seemed to start surrounding him. “We had been best friends for a long time after all.”

“So the speech was true?”

Magnus's look seemed to darken a bit. “All of it. It only left out a few of the important bits.”

“Her cheating.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Magnus still answered it.

"Yes, in between other things.” He took a deep breath, and Alec braced himself for whatever he was going to tell him. “She stole my art and sells it as hers now.”

“She what?”

Magnus nodded, gaze directed towards the pavement they were walking on. Alec almost couldn’t believe it. That bitch.

“But how…?”

“It was before we broke up. See, I used to paint a lot for her, at that time. She was what inspired me most of the days, whether those were bad or good ones – so naturally most of them I dedicated to her. However, with me being young and naïve, I didn’t sign any of them. So when we broke up after I caught her cheating, she just took them, telling me that they had been a gift after all, and I didn't argue. I just wanted to get out of there. I didn’t have the will to fight. I thought she was the only person I could trust for such a long time – how badly I miscalculated that.” He laughed, but it sounded forced. “A month later, I found the pictures online and in other galleries for sale. It’s what mostly financed her gallery.”

Alec came to a stop now, again a thing he did subconsciously. Some words just seemed to be too important to be said while walking.

Magnus caught on with that but still didn’t raise his head fully. “It wasn’t even the fact that she used me, the person she was supposed to have her happy-ever-after with. I was more broken by the fact that she just sold my paintings like they meant nothing to her. Like they didn’t portray all those emotions, all those stories we shared. I filled these paintings with my soul, never caring for any boundaries, and it didn’t even mean anything to her.”

Magnus’s voice now mirrored pain in such a clear, unhidden way that Alec thought he’d never heard anything easier shatterable. But he didn’t want to shatter it. Never. He just wanted to protect it. Protect Magnus.

“That painting we looked at in the gallery – the one with the bloody water – that was yours, wasn’t it?”

Magnus nodded and finally gazed straight into Alec’s eyes, which still send shivers up and down his spine. “Yes – it’s the one I painted just before we broke up. It’s our relationship.” He made a short pause before he continued. “The pain I used was actually very cheap, but my paintings do seem to sell nicely for what they’re actually worth.”

Alec shook his head. He still couldn’t quite get everything right in his head, especially not the agony Magnus must be feeling. He was a writer himself, and he had no idea how much it would hurt if there would be someone who he’d dedicate all of his works to, someone he’d look forward to and treasure day and night, and then just having his heart he gave to that someone through his stories torn apart all the same. Not even his feelings towards Jace could compare to that.

“Is there nothing you can do against it? Go to the police, report the theft?” Alec’s voice grew a bit more agitated than he wanted it to.

Magnus laughed again dryly. “There’s no point. They were a gift, she was right with that, and I didn’t sign it.”

“She shouldn’t win like that.”

Magnus gave him a long look, one of those deep ones where you couldn’t exactly figure out what it meant until much later. Right then, you just knew that it was important. “Yet, she does…”

For a moment, Alec thought Magnus would be coming closer, one step after the other, but as soon as this tension in the air rose, it was swept away again, and Alec released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Except for tonight, of course. Tonight, she didn’t, and this is entirely thanks to you,” Magnus hummed and left Alec’s head in a befuddled state.

His moods seemed to change as quickly as the wind during a winter’s day but even though Alec usually didn’t like too complex people, it didn’t seem to bother him a bit with Magnus. Quite the opposite, he even liked how this man always left him with another mystery to unravel.

The more he seemed to tell him, the more of an enigma he became, the more curious Alec seemed to become about figuring him out, cracking his code, knowing all the looks his eyes could give and what they meant. There was something about Magnus that was so endearing, even though he couldn’t quite pinpoint it yet.

And honestly, he would love to ask him more questions. Deep questions. Those questions after whose answers you only search for when you lie awake in your bed at 3 am and hear the busy noise of life happening below you. When everything is dark around you, and your secrets seem to be pouring out better.

But he luckily also knew what a so-called “privacy” was, and he wasn’t going to just probe Magnus after he hadn’t done the same to him either.

Additionally, Magnus was, after all, just a stranger, even though to Alec it felt like they’d known each other for so much longer than just a few hours.

“I just hope my acting was alright,” Alec finally confessed with a laugh and let the topic before that slide.

Magnus’s shoulders eased a bit and they started walking again. It would only be a few more blocks from here now until the next subway station.

“Oh, you’re acting was great,” Magnus chuckled. “I especially liked the part when you kissed me and blushed so red right after you probably set some record.”

Thank god it was dark because Alexander Lightwood was blushing again. “Hey! It was my first kiss after all, and I didn’t even know if I was doing it right. In front of a hundred people. Try and top that. Did I mention they threw me out of the drama club?” Now he was just rambling, but Magnus laughed all the same.

“Oh god, they made a terrible mistake. To tell you a secret though: I think you still managed to be somehow less shallow in your dramatic role as about half of the people in there.”

“Wow. I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess.” Alec shrugged but couldn’t hide his smile.

The rest of their journey they travelled in comfortable silence since both of them seemed to be too busy with their thoughts at the moment to talk, and both were too shy to share what would have really mattered.

As they finally stood in front of the rather vacant station, both of them still couldn’t seem to find the right words. Dim lights were shining on them now, illuminating their profiles to the right, and it made this moment seem even more lost in time.

“Magnus, I-“

“Alec-“

A smile appeared on both of their faces.

Lastly, it was Magnus who started out. “Alexander…” and with only one word, Alec could already feel the hairs on his skin rise. “I know it might seem strange to say that, but I really enjoyed tonight. You somehow made it way more fun than going to your ex’s party should be allowed to, and without you, I would’ve been completely lost there. You were literally my lifesaver. I hope to return that favour in two days however,” he finished.

Alec suddenly felt a warm, comfortable feeling wrap around his heart, one he hadn’t felt before, at least not in that way. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” He raised his eyebrow playfully with no clue what he actually wanted to achieve. “Even though I don’t know how you want to top me sacrificing my first kiss to you.”

“How romantic, babe,” Magnus joked. “But I’m sure I’ll be able to think of… something.”

Alec’s blood ran cold as Magnus let his gaze run all over him, seemingly devouring every inch of his body, even though he knew he was just teasing.

Suddenly, he had the urgent need to look up at the stars above them, even if just to escape from the intensity of Magnus’s eyes for a second. The latter followed his gaze.

“They sure are beautiful tonight, aren’t they?”

Alec frowned. “They seem so… different, this time around.”

“Do you often look at the stars?”

“No,” Alec chuckled. “Probably too less. I like them though, I like writing about them. They’re the biggest paradoxes I’ve ever known. They seem to be so close, yet so far away. So lifeless, yet so full of life. So fixed into the sky, yet they never stop moving. So together, yet-“

“So lonely.”

Only as Alec glanced down in astonishment did he notice that Magnus hadn’t been looking at the stars for a long time now but rather into his eyes.

Alec didn’t know what else to say, and honestly, for once in his life, there didn’t seem to be words needed. They would’ve probably stared at each other for a long time, trying to decipher those emotions in their eyes and hearts, if there hadn’t been a quiet voice coming from in the subway station.

“BMT Broadway Line to Fifth Avenue now incoming, please mind the gap.”

Both of them broke eye contact, distracted for a moment, and the magic, that made both of them be so honest and brave with each other, seemed to be gone now.

“Umm, that’s my line,” Alec said awkwardly and broke a tiny smile

Magnus's eyes darted downwards. “Yes, yes, of course.” Was that… disappointment Alec could spot in his eyes? But he caught himself too quickly for Alec to neither confirm nor deny his theory. “Alexander,” he said now and came toward him with spread out arms. “As I said, it has been a pleasure tonight. Thank you for everything, especially for going to such lengths for saving me even though you really didn’t have to.”

“Magnus-“

“No, take the compliment. I’ll be forever thankful for that.”

His smile was so honest that it made Alec’s heart flutter for a second.

“We’ll see each other at the wedding then. Thank you for the evening, Magnus, against my expectations, it was actually nice.”

Both laughed for a moment but then fell back into silence. It felt so wrong, saying goodbye like that. Something just seemed to be missing, but Alec just didn’t know what. For the first time in forever, he seemed to not even be able to find the right words in his head to somehow describe it.

They both just opened their mouth to say something but beneath them, a train was clearly rolling in on the tracks, and Alec suddenly remembered that he had to catch that.

His eyes widened, and whatever he had wanted to say was now lost with the stars. “Goodbye, Magnus!” He shouted and was already running, darting down the steps into the station.

“Wait, Alexander!” Magnus shouted in a, even if Alec didn’t know it, kind of heartbroken sort of way. The way you only shout for someone you are going to miss.

The lights were shining around them as brightly as Alec had never seen them before when he turned his head for a second.

“Yes?”

“You did it the right way!”

“What do you mean?!”

“Your question about the kiss; You said you didn’t know if you did it right or not: Alexander, you did it!”

Alec made a quick jump into the air, wanting to show his happiness before he already started running down the rest of the steps and was gone from Magnus’s sight all too soon.

The latter was just standing there for the next few minutes, not really knowing what to do with himself after everything that had happened that night. He even looked up back at the stars at some point, but even they seemed to have run out of advice.

“So together, yet so lonely,” he murmured before heading down into the station himself.

Camille was furious. Really furious in the first time for so long. But she could calm herself, she always could. She was in control, after all, always. It was not any different now.

“How is it looking, Daddy?” She asked him as she opened the door to his office slightly. “Did you find out anything useful yet?”

Her dad smiled a wide smile, exactly that kind of wolfish smile that he had passed on to his only daughter. “I actually have, sweetie. The name was false, just as you said, there is no Chris Winters matching that description, and honestly, I just wanted to stop looking, when I found this.” Paul held his daughter his edition of the New York Times triumphantly into her face and she took it to inspect it carefully.

She didn’t need very long to find the picture she had been looking for. It was him, definitely, Magnus’s too good 'boyfriend'. Camille scoffed. She only felt contempt for him. But she could clearly recognize all his features in the photo – his jet black hair, those dark blue eyes and the small smile on his face. It had been printed under a rather new article titled 'Working at the New York Times: The Ups and Downs of a Newcomer' and she smirked.

This could turn out to be more interesting than she had anticipated. Originally, she had just planned on torturing Magnus for the last time before she’d get married, but now it actually looked like this could be fun.

At least, Camille saw the look in Magnus’s eyes as he looked at Alec and, different from him, she knew exactly what emotion it had been.

It was never really fun unless real feelings were involved.

They were so… shatterable. Like an empty glass, just waiting to be pushed.

“I found you, Alec Lightwood.”

Chapter Text

Magnus could barely enter his apartment before his phone started ringing already.

“Catarina, it’s nearly midnight, WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME?”

He could hear his friend chuckle through the phone. “Wow, Magnus, since when are you complaining about the time I’m calling? I can remember this one time you called me at three in the morning just to-“

“We don’t talk about that time, Cat.”

“Anyways, you sound exhausted, and quite frankly a bit irritated, so let’s skip the small talk: How was Camille’s opening?”

Magnus let out a deep sigh mixed with a smile. Was that even an emotion? He just didn’t know anymore. "It was surprisingly fine, at least for the circumstances."

"Wait a second... The gallery opening of your ex was fine?! How? Are you drunk?"

"No, I'm not, and I am trying to not be insulted now," he clarified whilst rolling his eyes. "It was thanks to Alexander, actually, my fake date for the evening."

He could hear Catarina snorting at the other end, clearly not taking him a bit seriously. "You got a fake date for the evening? Seriously?"

"What?" Magnus tried to sound insulted, but couldn't. It was Catarina talking after all, and after being friends for as long as they were, it was just law to ridicule each of the other's actions.

"You do know that that's like the plot to every romcom ever, right? And I know you do because you made me watch them all with you last Christmas, for which I still hate you by the way."

"It's not like that, Cat, it's more just like... a favour. I needed a fake date for the opening, he needs one for some wedding tomorrow, it's just like... a business deal."

"Sure it is." Catarina snickered and Magnus rolled his eyes again but smiled as well. "Anyway, to get to the important part, is he good looking?"

Magnus didn't need to think too long about his answer before he already blurted it out. "YES. Hell yes. Alexander is sooo dreamy, like a Greek god with jet black hair, caramel skin and abs-"

"So you've seen his abs? Interesting?"

"No, I haven't seen them, but I do think they would complete his look. The best part about him though is that he doesn't even seem to notice it." Magnus chuckled shortly before he could continue. "He's always acting so shy and reserved like he's afraid someone will notice him and won't like what they see, it's too endearing. Alexander is so different from everyone I've met so far - he just has this mystical atmosphere about him, that makes me want to decipher him completely."

"You've known this man for one day, Magnus," Cat chuckled again, but he didn't pay her much attention.

"And he's so kindhearted, selfless too. He even kissed me in front of Camille to save me, even though we said before that we wouldn't do kissing."

Magnus could hear Catarina struggle with a sip of water she had been about to take. "He what?"

"Oh, Camille was torturing me in front of everyone again-"

"Still the same, I hear."

"And I was so lost I couldn't even say something in my defence," Magnus sighed but smiled at the memory. "I must've looked like the most heartbroken fool up there. However, Alec rushed in and saved the day. He kissed me to show off our relationship in front of Camille, to show her that she couldn't hurt me anymore." Now the smile had grown into a full on laugh. "Cat, you should've seen her face when he did that. It was unbelievable, she was so furious!"

Cat joined in on his laugh now. "I would pay some serious amount of money to see that. Judging by your weirdly detailed description, Alec must be the most amazing guy to have graced the planet."

"You might not be wrong with that. His eyes are amazing as well. I'm really lucky he's the one fake dating me, his company is actually rather enjoyable." A warm feeling spread in his stomach as he thought back to the way Alec laughed and how his eyes always started to light up everything around him when he did. He even almost didn't notice the awful silence that had laid itself over Catarina now.

"Magnus... could it be you might be falling just a bit for your fake date?"

Magnus sighed, thinking of whether or not he should tell her about all those secret moments Alec and he had spent together. About the first time he saw him in the subway, and about the countless tries of Magnus attempting to capture Alec's eyes. But ultimately, he decided against it. It would just mean endless teasing for him.

Instead, he just slightly smiled. "Maybe. But I know him too little to consider it as actually 'falling'. Let's say I'm...smitten. Also, the last time I checked, having a fake-relationship isn't exactly an easy way of building up a real one."

"Are you kidding me? After you made me watch all those movies? It's the best way possible, and the most cliche one as well."

"Yeah, whatever," Magnus said and tried to brush this topic off quickly. There were too many questions Catarina with her never-ending intelligence might ask whose answers Magnus just wasn't prepared for yet. "Let's talk about what's going on in your life at the moment: How's Madzie doing?"





The next morning was one of those days entirely existing out of grey, as Alec recognized as soon as he took a look outside his window. The sky was cloudy and seemingly determined to not let a single ray of sunshine through. In New York City the grey was only more intensified by the also grey buildings and often grey faces running through the crowd, ushering to get to places quickly without giving their lives too much emotion.

Alec sighed as he got out of his bed, his eyes were still tired and would rather shut its lids for a few more hours, and honestly, so did Alec's entire body. But his mind was already up and running, so he knew that it would be of no use lying down anyway.

Quickly, he got dressed and ready for a short morning run, which he always liked best on grey days like these.

He couldn't quite explain it, but the grey atmosphere had somewhat of a calming impression on Alec. On those days, there seemed to be no pressure on him, the mood of the day wasn't already determined by whether it was sunny (happy) or rainy (sad) and left room for interpretation. Left room for Alec to express the mood he really felt, which was often something in between. Not that Alec could've named them most times. Often, he felt something like... apathy towards his life and most parts of his day to day life, and sometimes it became tiring to try and pretend he didn't.
He knew that this was a bad approach to life and that most people liked people more that were ecstatic about different kinds of moods, but Alec just wasn't.

Alec seemed to save all his emotions up for when he was writing. That was the only time when he was a master in expressing emotions, filling whole pages with all that his protagonists felt, and it was beautiful. So it was a rather strange paradox that Alec couldn't seem to find that special interest in his own life often.

The air was refreshing too, much needed after everything that had happened last night. It helped to clear his head a bit. Alec could taste rain as his run slowly came to an end. Now, when he looked back at the city from his front porch, the whole world just seemed to wait for that rain.

Alec hoped that there would be a storm.

After his run, he made himself a quick coffee and checked the clock, before he let out a soft curse.
He was already late for a meeting with Isabelle by ten minutes, who wanted to work out the last detail for the wedding. He chucked his coffee down in one big gulp which burned his mouth and throat directly, but he went on to grab his jacket anyways.
If his sister hated one thing, then it was waiting, and Alec knew that he was basically a dead man already as he rushed out the door.

"Alexander Gideon Lightwood, how grateful of you to grace me with your presence!" She half-shouted at him whilst stalking toward him.

Alec already buried his face in his sleeve. His sister being mad was one thing, but his sister being mad whilst in total stress over a wedding that would be taking place in one day was a whole different category. "Sorry, Iz," he said lamely and rubbed his neck.

Isabelle's eyes were nearly spitting fire when she reached him and Alec braced himself for whatever would be coming next.

"It's fine."

Those were the words he had expected the least. Slowly, he gazed at his sister. She still had her teeth clenched and her whole posture still radiated annoyance, but she also seemed to be terribly exhausted. Her hair was a mess, which usually didn't happen until it was really bad.

"If there was only SOMEONE who could finally get those damn flowers sorted!" She shouted loudly to into the room behind her, and not only Alec flinched.

Alright, maybe she was still a bit mad.

They were standing in the large corridor of the church where the vows were supposed to be spoken tomorrow, and apparently, not everything was set up here yet, as there were maybe ten people working behind Izzy, dragging boxes full of decorations and flowers everywhere.

"Are you still... setting things up?" Alec asked nervously, just hoping to not get Izzy's anger even more centred on him at the moment.

"Yeah, I have to." She clicked her tongue. "Simon was supposed to do it, but he took on a gig last minute for tonight so he asked me to do it in his place instead."

"...and I suppose you're not happy about it?"

At the mention of Simon, Isabelle's posture relaxed a bit and Alec could see how she was giving up the breath she had been holding. "No... yes. It's just... complicated between the two of us right now."

"What do you mean? Do I have to go and threaten someone...?" Alec had never really liked Simon from the start, so it wouldn't be that much of a bother for him to go and make his words true, even if he did say them rather jokingly.

But Izzy shook her head enthusiastically and laughed. "No, please don't. He didn't break my heart at all. That's the problem."

Alec frowned. "I don't think I can follow you at the moment... are you supposed to break each other's heart in a relationship...?"

"No, idiot." Izzy hit him playfully. "But somehow I was expecting that to happen. You know, I never had a relationship that has lasted this long, and now it seems like I'm just waiting for some big fight to break out between us and destroy everything." She gave Alec a desperate look. "I'm just so scared, Alec."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of taking things to the next level. Up until now, we always just held our relationship pretty casual, which was great, but now..."

Alec still couldn't follow and Izzy threw her hands up in the air. "He told me that he loves me. This morning. It was not a big thing or anything, he just said it as we were kissing goodbye, but now I can't stop thinking about it."

"Well, do you love him back?" Alec said whilst shrugging.

"I think I do. That's the point. I really do. But what if, if we take our relationship more serious, he's going to change his mind again and break my heart? I could live with that now, but I wouldn't know what to do if I've already come to terms with him being an irreplaceable part of my heart. I just don't want to get hurt."

Alec took a long look at his sister. This was one of the few times he had ever seen her this worked up about something. Usually, Isabelle was the definition of cool, confident and sure of herself, so it seemed wrong seeing her like this - nearly watering up about something that could be solved so easily.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Izzy, Simon loves you. Completely, unconditionally. He's a bit too idiotic to lie about something like this, and his adoration for you is basically just sipping out of him every time he speaks. Which is like, a lot." Alec and Izzy shared a laugh before he continued. "You know that I had my doubts about Simon when you two first started out, and even though I still can't exactly see what you see in him, he is a kindhearted guy. He wouldn't want to break your heart. He's probably just as scared as you are."

Izzy looked at Alec with an expression of thankfulness in her eyes. He knew that her worst doubts were over.

"Go and talk to him about this stuff. He'll probably have an eternally long response to that. Also, do you really think Simon could ever find a girlfriend that is cooler, more intelligent or better looking than you?"

Izzy laughed. "There's not a lot of option there on this planet."

"None." Alec brushed her shoulder lightly, just to show that he was here for her.

"And if he does, I'll kill him."

"Not if I do it first."

"Help me with those flowers?"

"Always."

"By the way, how was your date the last day?" Izzy asked, conscious that her question had to sound as innocently as possible. Nevertheless, she couldn't resist throwing a short, sly look at her brother, and was immediately rewarded by seeing him blush. Hard.

"It was amaz- um, fine, I guess."

She laughed and raised an eyebrow at her brother. This was getting interesting. "You guess?"

"Yeah," he smirked. "We went to the gallery opening, and it was actually more fun than I thought it would be. I mean, because I love art, of course, but also because spending time with Magnus was actually very nice."

"I think I've heard you say that about maybe four people in our entire lives, including our close family, so this is a huge thing." She couldn't help but grin. Isabelle knew that Magnus and Alec would hit it off just fine, that's why she had set them up after all.

But could her big brother actually have fallen for Magnus...?

Judging by the sheepish grin that he was desperately trying to hide, yes.

"Magnus is...quite magical - I mean his paintings are really magical - He's good at art, is what I'm trying to say, and I admire him a lot for that." Izzy had big trouble not laughing at that part. This was just getting better and better.

She turned to face Alec directly and padded him on the shoulder. "Yeah sure, big brother, you've always loved art."

"Exactly." Alec's grin was so innocent that it made Izzy smirk.

"At least now you'll have someone with you at the wedding with whom pretending to be in a relationship isn't too hard... But you know mom and how pushy she can be, so just prepare that you may need to kiss just to convince our close family." Izzy's smirk took on something devilish now, but to her surprise, her brother didn't flinch.

"Um, that should be alright, I think, we did already kiss last night."

"Seriously? Wow, Alec, you're getting on fast!"

He shot her a glance. "We're in a fake relationship and the situation called for it."

"I'm not complaining, I'm proud of you!" Izzy exclaimed whilst throwing her hands up.

She knew that this was Alec's first kiss, which made it even sweeter. Now, when she looked closely at her brother, she could see that something was different. Not a big difference, of course, only a slight one in the way that he smiled or that his cheeks had been blushing non-stop since the start of this conversation.

Even now, he couldn't hide his smile. "Okay Iz, I have to go now, I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"You better. Jace will probably be freaking out again. Which means that he'll do everything in existence wrong."

"Not that that's anything new."

He went ahead of her with another wave and opened the church door just as Izzy called out to him the last time.

"Alec! Don't forget to pick up your suite tomorrow! And be early! With Magnus!"

Her brother nodded, then the door closed again and took the slight glimpse of light with him that had escaped through the door.

Izzy sighed, but it was a happy one. Her brother had actually fallen in love, even if he didn't know it yet. She had hoped that it would happen for such a long time now. Even if she loved her brother, she knew that there just seemed to be something... missing in his life. Like some place or person he never found. So Izzy could just hope that Magnus might be that missing piece.

After all, this was getting so much better than she had hoped for. This wedding would be spectacular.

Magnus slowly grew frustrated. He had contacted his lawyer again this morning to see if there was really no way of getting his paintings back from Camille and nearly slammed his phone in the ground out of frustration now.
Of course, he knew that he had tried to do exactly the same thing a few months ago, but the opening and his talks with Alexander had given him hope, given him the feeling that maybe he had just given up to quickly. But, as it looked like, his case looked even worse now than it did a few months ago. Partly maybe because he couldn't afford a good lawyer, and partly because there was really no way of proofing that she had stolen them.
They had been a gift, after all, he had even written her cards saying that.

He laid his phone on the ground, slowly, out of fear he might slam it, and picked up his cat to pet him. Petting Chairman Meow always had a calming effect on him.
But even after calming himself down again as far as possible, he knew he couldn't just stay in the apartment today.
Yesterday's meeting with Alec had made him restless; he felt like he needed to do something to not get into a standstill again. Alec had put him through so many emotions, ranging from euphoria to sadness. All of this had made him feel so alive like nothing did for a good while now, and he feared he had already gotten addicted to this kind of drug. And to his eyes, nevertheless.

Magnus argued with himself only for a few moments before he already pulled out his phone and searched for Alec's number. Isabelle had given it to him. A smile crossed his lips at the thought of her. She had definitely tried to get them together, and it seemed like she might have been right.

His fingers flew over the buttons on the phone before he could even stop them.

"Hey, Alec!"

No, too casual.

"Good morning, Alec, hoped you slept well after last night!"

Too personal...?

"Good morning, Alec! I dearly hope I'm not disturbing you, but would you like to meet up and just grab something to eat? Only if you have nothing else to do, of course."

Did that sound a bit too Victorian...? But he pressed 'sent' without altering it again because he knew that he would just keep doing that for the rest of the day then.

After that, he felt strangely exhausted. Then he shook his head, smiling. What did he even think he was doing? Alec was probably working and wouldn't text back for hours-

The buzzing tone emerging from his phone ended his train of thoughts. He didn't think he had ever grabbed his phone faster in his life.

"Hey, Magnus! Yeah, I would be happy to meet up, can't get anything done at the moment anyway, and grabbing food always sounds fun :). Where should we meet up?"

Magnus couldn't hide his wide grin any longer as he read the message. His mind and his body seemed to hyperventilate, and he needed a considerable amount of time to be in a state again where he could think of a good place to meet again.

"How about the Central Park entrance on Fifth Avenue? My friends are always telling me about this amazing pretzel place there..."

Alec's reply came back almost immediately and only fired up Magnus's grin again.

"That sounds wonderful! Meet there in half an hour?"

"I'll be there ;)"





Alec got ready to go within five minutes because really, he wanted to go so badly. At first, he had thought that today would be a good day to work on his 'love' article for work, but as Magnus had texted him, he had already been staring at a blank page for an hour. So the meet-up would be a welcome opportunity to clear his mind. And procrastinate, probably.

But really, was there anything bad in spending time with Magnus? They had to attend a wedding where all his family would be tomorrow, after all, so it couldn't hurt knowing each other as best as they could. Additionally, it would be their relationship he would write the article about, so he could potentially still classify this as research.

Anything to pretend he wasn't so eager to meet Magnus just because he made him feel like nothing else did.

As he stepped outside of his door, the day was even more grey than this morning. The clouds had thickened a lot since then, already proclaiming that it was going to rain in a bit. On other occasions, Alec would have been hesitant in going outside now, as he liked rain only from the inside, but now it didn't seem to bother him a bit. Quite the contrary, it seemed to only brighten his mood further. Rain would mean fewer people in Central Park, which would mean less distraction.

Happily, he locked his door and strode off to the next subway station.





Magnus arrived at their meeting point a bit early. He hadn't wanted Alec to wait on him, but his date was already there, sitting on a bench and scribbling something into a notebook, as Magnus drew closer.

"Hello, Alexander," he tried to say softly whilst gliding next to him, but Alec seemed to get a slight scare nevertheless.

But as he looked up to Magnus, there was nothing but happiness in his eyes.

"Hey, Magnus, you're early!"

"I know. But still, you are even more early... What is that?" Magnus asked while pointing at his notebook.

Alec smiled his sheepish smile and Magnus had to repress the urge to get even closer to him. What was up with him all of a sudden?

"Oh, that's just my way of holding onto my thoughts. Sometimes, when I have a small writer's block or just need to empty out my head, I go to places with a certain atmosphere and just try and take it down in words in here."

Magnus couldn't take his eyes off of Alec while he explained and he could see the slight blush forming on the other man's cheek.

"Sometimes, if the spot is really interesting, I even make up small stories about the things I can see. They usually end up being completely rubbish, but it's fun sometimes."

Alec shrugged and made a point of not looking at Magnus directly as if it was too embarrassing for him to talk about those things.

Magnus had trouble not smiling at him. He was too cute. "That sounds wonderful, Alexander. Can I read something that you wrote?"

Alec looked up at him kind of shocked, which was only when Magnus realized what he had actually just said. He was headpalming himself internally. For god's sake, he was an artist himself, he knew how intimate sharing some work was, not to speak of unfinished work...

"Yeah, go ahead. We did have a deal after all. Just please don't judge my abilities on this," Alec laughed and Magnus breathed out relieved.

Thankful, he took the notebook from Alec's hands, not without his heart skipping a beat as their hands touched though, and took a minute to just admire it.
It was bound in thick leather with small ornaments seemingly worked inside it. The smell was just like old books had to smell; this particular smell of glue and paper that always caught itself inside your nose whenever you entered an old book store.
Magnus wondered immediately how much that smell must probably mean to Alec.

Finally, he let his fingers stroke over the page Alec had been writing on softly and read what he had taken down in a corner of the page. It seemed to be a short story about an impressive squirrel and Magnus couldn't help but smile.

"And in this way, the mighty squirrel came down to the earthy realm to guide us. As a prophet to all of human life, it is the only thing standing between us and total destruction. But it is also one thing: Unseen.
Small and nearly invisible to most New Yorkers, it has made the heart of the city to its new home, where it humbly lives, always protecting visitors and keeping a look out for any danger approaching from out of space."

By the end of it, Magnus was full on laughing and Alec joined in after a few seconds.

"I am so sorry, I'm having a really bad writer's block at the moment and this didn't really pull me out either."

"N-no," he answered, still struggling with catching his breath. "It's actually really good. Please stay on board with this story, I'd love to hear more about the squirrel's fight against the aliens."

Alec hid his face in his hands but laughed.

And just like that, the hours seemed to pass between them like mere seconds. It was so easy for them to keep the conversation going that it astonished both of them. Somehow, it felt like they had known each other far longer than just one day, and even Alec, who's social battery usually ran out pretty quickly, could imagine nothing better than spending time with Magnus.

Sometime between a shared laugh, they even got up from their bench to get the promised pretzels. They could only agree with Magnus's friends here: Those were indeed really awesome. After a while it even started to rain, but not even that could make the two of them go home.

Magnus and Alec just sat there, still in Central Park, and watched the rain take over. First the sky, and then the ground. It made Alec hide his notebook under his jacket and Magnus protect his hair, much to the amusement of Alec, but they actually didn't say much during that time, but it still felt like their posture and stolen looks said more than enough. Both were reluctant to move, even as the rain got heavier and heavier. This moment felt like a fixed moment in time for them, one of those few moments in which you could actually breathe freely. They just knew that this moment was special, even though both didn't know why exactly.

But finally, they had to move, as it grew darker on the horizon and thunder sounded from not too far away.
The rain beat down on the earth in a steady rhythm as they ran through it while laughing, trying to get to the next subway station without getting totally wet in the process.

"Is your notebook gonna be okay?" Magnus shouted in between breaths and Alec laughed.

"Yeah, hopefully, but a few raindrops are just going to make it look even more creati-"

Alec was interrupted midsentence violently as he slipped on one of the rather uneven paving stones. Magnus tried to steady him by grabbing his arm, but it was already too late, so rather than Magnus keeping him up, Alec was taking Magnus now with him as they fell. This ended up in Magnus landing perfectly on top of Alec, who was grunting under his weight."

"Ouch, oh my god, I am so sorry, I-"
Alec interrupted himself again as he stared up and noticed that there were now less than a few centimetres that separated their faces.
Magnus looked at him and his eyes widened as he seemed to undergo the same realisation. His eyes had never seemed more beautiful.
At first, both seemed too shocked to move, too shocked to even say anything, and Alec was thankful that Magnus found the strength to end the silence since he truly couldn't take his eyes off him now.

"Looks like this is already the second time you fell for me," he said with a smirk and Alec blushed immediately.

The memories of that time down in the subway station came back to him in a rush, and Alec almost couldn't believe how less luck he seemed to have in those situations.

"I'm really sorry, your hair must be entirely wet now..."

"Don't be," Magnus exclaimed quickly, which led them both back into that silence between them they had tried to escape from.

Alec didn't even notice the rain falling above him and sipping into his notebook anymore as he gazed up into Magnus's eyes. He knew that, rationally, they had to move, since this really wasn't a position they should be in, but he just couldn't bring himself to. It was like Magnus's eyes had finally managed to hypnotise him.

Then finally, when another roar of thunder sounded, Magnus blinked a few times, then he got up and held out a hand to Alec, which he gratefully took.

"Anyways, we should probably head back now."

"Yeah, we should."

They made the rest of their way back safely accompanied by comfortable chatter, but Alec couldn't quite explain the sting he felt in his stomach as Magnus had said that.

Tomorrow could be an interesting day.

Chapter Text

"Izzy, I need a favour."

"Alec, what you need is to get this suit shortened right now... it's way too tight on your legs!" His sister exclaimed and let her gaze strife over the rest of his body. She had to start laughing as she saw how high up his trouser legs were and failed to hide her smile behind her hands. "You look like a little child... even though I do think Magnus will appreciate how well it does show off your calves..."

"Iz, I'm serious, I actually do need your help with something." Alec took a look at his watch in an annoyed manner. He was already late for picking up Magnus, but he had to talk with his sister about this one thing very urgently before everyone else would be here later.

"Okay, I'm all ears. What is it? Do you need condoms?"

"NO!" Alec sighed. This could take a lot of time with Izzy's teasing, especially when he considered what he was going to ask of her. But, after all, he had to do it, so there was no way around this - and he couldn't really ask Jace in that matter.

So, he just blurted out with it and got Izzy's shocked glance as a response.

"Are you serious?!"





Magnus had been up and running since the early hours of this morning. And when he said early hours, he meant it. Getting up at five o'clock in the morning may not have sounded a big deal to anyone who was used to it from working, but to a guy who loved sleeping in and generally couldn't function without his double dose of coffee, it sure was.

Now, he was already at his fourth cup of coffee, which didn't make him less nervous at all.

He checked himself in the mirror for what felt like the thousandth time today, but really, he wanted to impress Alec and his family so badly. Alec had done so much for him at Camille's opening, and definitely looked the part, so he didn't want to let his fake-date down today, which was harder than Magnus would have thought.

Theoretically, he knew that he did look awesome. He was attractive by nature, no need denying that, and if he did pull all his strings, he could centre all the looks in a room on him without breaking into a sweat. Fashion was a loved hobby of his he had always entertained. He was an artist after all and did have a good eye for colours, so he usually managed to pull off stunning outfits and feel pretty confident about them as well.

Not today though.

Today, all he did was question himself, something he wasn't all that used to. He just never felt like it was perfect enough - whether it was his make-up, his hair or the exact amount of glitter - even though he had spent hours just getting ready, he was still a nervous mess. And he didn't even realise why. Or, to be more exact, he didn't want to.

Magnus knew that Alec was different from everyone he had met before, that he pulled Magnus with such gravitation towards him that he had trouble catching his breath every time he saw him. No one had ever had that effect on him before, making him into the thirteen-year-old school girl with a crush, and he didn't know whether he liked it. Whether he liked not having control. Whether he liked laying his heart involuntarily just out on the line like that, simply having to wait for Alec to either take it - or destroy it for good.

And it would be so easy for Alec to destroy it. Sure, Magnus could feel that Alec had to sense that unspoken connection between them as well, but what if he didn't want to act on it? Or worse, if Magnus was just imagining things now? They were fake-dating after all, a dangerous game to play with blurred lines.

The only other time he had been as powerless as this, where he had to trust a person completely, had been his relationship with Camille. No wonder he was scared of rejection.

Still, his quiet bond with Alec was getting more and more essential to him each day that passed. Magnus knew that it would soon be a lifeline, which was not a more comforting thought. Alec could shatter his heart into pieces- he would shatter his heart to pieces as soon as this wedding was over, and there was nothing Magnus could do. But worst of all: Alec didn't even seem to have any clue about it.

Yesterday, Magnus had even been too scared to just seize the perfect opportunity and kiss him. He had laid on freaking top of him, lips nearly touching, and all those emotions in Alec's eyes, so full of love and happiness, had all screamed out to him to finally kiss Alexander. But then, his brain had mixed things up. What if he misread the sign? What if Alec still thought they were doing the fake-relationship thing then? Under no circumstances he wanted to be hurt, again, so he pulled away.

As Magnus realised he had been literally staring at himself in the mirror for five minutes straight, he quickly ran to the counter and wiped his coffee mug clean. All organs in his body begged him to please not go get another one, but it was the only thing to keep him off his thoughts, even if his hands were already shaking violently.

And of course, Alexander wasn't really helping, since he was already twenty minutes late to pick him up!

Just as he wanted to start the coffee machine again, the doorbell rang and Magnus flinched heavily. If caffeine or nervousness, he couldn't tell.

Quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, he ran to open the door, just to lose all his words of accusation as he looked at Alexander.

"You are late," he had wanted to say. Or maybe "Thanks for being so punctual, by the way," but everything that came out of Magnus now was far from accusing.

"I- uh, you look stunning," Magnus could only stutter and internally cursed himself.

But Alec did look astounding, way better than Magnus could have even imagined. And he definitely did imagine it.

His black hair was still a mess, he doubted that any comb could mend it by now, but unfairly, it made him look hotter. The shirt of his suit was a bit too tight, but that only showed his muscles more, and boy did he not know how right he was when he had been talking to Catarina about his abs. As his gaze wandered down, he realised that his trousers might do things to his body he couldn't even imagine - at least until he got to the cuffs.

"Oh my god..." He held his hands in front of his mouth as to not start to laugh, at least not visibly.

Alec grinned, which also almost nearly took Magnus's breath away again. This was definitely the grin that would save the world from destruction. "I know, they're too short, but they didn't really have time to alter them..."

"No, it's fine," Magnus blurted out, maybe a bit too loud and he tried to compose himself. Which failed. "It shows your calves off pretty nicely."
Alec's eyes had something like amusement in them before they widened quickly. "Uhm, you look... amazing too, of course."

...Was Alec checking him out?

But Alec turned away too quickly for Magnus to test that theory, even though he did thought he saw the man blushing a bit, which made Magnus grin immediately.

"Should we get going, or..."

"Right," Alec stuttered and stepped aside so Magnus could get out of the door.

"I wouldn't mind grabbing a coffee at my place some time though. But if I'm right, today is not the time to be fashionably late."

Alec grinned as he held open the next door for Magnus. "As I am literally the groom's brother, it is probably not."

The drive to the cathedral passed by smoothly. Alec had rented a cab for the two of them today, which was probably a smarter option than the subway. Only a few words broke the silence between them on the way there, and both tried to focus as much as possible on the landscape rushing past them.

Even their taxi driver, Rory, could sense the nervous tension between them and often looked back at them just to assess the current situation.

According to Rory's calculations, they would have made out before the night ended.

As soon as they left the car, he even made bets with his wife about this, a grin on his face as he watched them walk towards the big cathedral.

"I'm telling you, Sandra, it is going to happen. How much that I'll only have to take them to one of their places tonight?"

The silence that Alec had felt itself press so hard against his lungs ended abruptly as soon as he opened the heavy church door. One second in, and he already missed it.

"Oh my god, Alec! There you are! I'm so happy you're here now!"

Alec closed his eyes painfully. Simon. This could take ages. He didn't even get an opportunity to greet him before he opened up his mouth again.

"Everyone's basically going mad in there. And with mad, I mean crazy freaking mad. One of the bridesmaids spilt champagne on her dress already, which is creme, by the way, so now Izzy has run off to fix it and everyone is stressing out since it doesn't come out anymore. Then, the songbooks seem to have vanished since nobody can find them anymore, and some guests pulled out last-"

It was only then that Simon seemed to notice Magnus, who looked as Simon as bewildered as Alec felt.

But Simon seemed to notice nothing of that energy. "Oh, you must be Magnus, Magnus Bane! Izzy has told me so much about you... two. Don't worry," he winked, "I know about your whole deal, just know your secret is safe with me."

Alec groaned. Did Izzy actually tell Simon? As far as he knew her boyfriend, everyone would know that their relationship was fake by the end of the night. Rather by the end of this ceremony.

"No, seriously, I'm such a big fan of what you're doing," Simon continued as if he never needed to breathe. "It's really brave and controversial, which I admire-"

Alec now shushed him quickly with his finger as he thought his head was going to explode if Simon continued chattering for only one more second. "Where are Clary and Jace, Simon?"

He didn't look too deflated. "Oh, Clary's just finishing up getting ready, she'll probably be with Isabelle trying to fix her friend's dress and Jace... I think he made sure the appetizers were in the right place."

Alec grinned and nodded thanks in Simon's direction before he linked his own arm with Magnus's. His skin tingled at just how familiar this gesture was now. "I think that we should go there first then, just to keep Jace from drinking all the champagne before the guests even arrive."

Simon followed them back into the church, not without making short small talk with Magnus of course, but then headed off to help in the search for the songbooks apparently, and Alec and Magnus had a moment to catch their breath.

"He never stops talking, does he?" Magnus asked, almost a desperate tone in his voice, and made Alec chuckle.

"Not that I know of. But he's Isabelle's boyfriend and Clary's best friend, so we kind of just try to avoid his company whenever possible."

Magnus huffed out a laugh. "Okay Alexander, so fill me in on the whole 'who's who' thing, if you'd like. I love the drama."

Alec did that with the most pleasure. "So, Jace, the kind of stupid blonde, is my best friend and his parents are close family friends, he's the one getting married today. Clary, a very... active redhead is the one he is marrying, his girlfriend for four years now. Isabelle and Max are my siblings, and Simon, as you know is her boyfriend. For six months now, to everyone's surprise. Then you'd only need to know the name of my parents: Maryse and Robert. Could you keep up?"

"Of course," Magnus exclaimed, almost insulted. "I watch 'Gossip Girl' on a basis, so memorizing something like this is fairly easy now."

"You'll love my family then. My parent's just got divorced, so watch out for them, they might be a bit... unstable."

Before Magnus could say something witty in return, Izzy's voice could be heard rather loudly behind them.

"Alec! Magnus! I'm so glad you guys are here already!"

Alec closed his eyes for a second as they both turned around, bracing himself for some embarrassing commentary from Izzy, but nothing but a stressed sigh came from her.

"Isabelle Lightwood, it's lovely to see you!" Magnus said happily, but Izzy only gave him a short hug.

"Guys, I need your help. Erin spilt champagne all over her dress and I am just running around, trying to get it out, but now Clary's getting cold feet."

Alec's eyes widened. "What do you mean, she's getting cold feet?"

Izzy shot him an annoyed glance which Alec knew was more bound to the circumstances than to himself. "Exactly what I meant. Clary thinks Erin ruining her dress, the songbooks going missing and all of those problems are omens. She actually thinks the wedding is a bad idea because of that. Alec, she wants to call off the wedding!"

Alec could feel Magnus gripping onto his arm shocked.

"Could Jace not calm her down?" Alec asked, but was immediately shot down by Izzy's glances.

"I'd have to find him first to do that, but I have literally no clue where he is. So, could you please go up and try to get her back to sense again?"

"Me!?" Alec exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

"Yes, you." Izzy slowly seemed to get really annoyed at him. "I have to go and try to clean the dresses and I can't find Simon either at the moment, so you're her best shot."

"More like the only option. Are you sure about this? We don't even get along that well, how am I supposed to calm her down from this then?"

Izzy just shrugged. "Take Magnus with you, he's good with people. Just please help me, Alec."

After a while of pouting, Alec finally gave in. Jace would never forgive him if his bride fled their wedding, after all. "Fine, I'll try my best."
She was gone before either of them could oppose anything. Magnus looked at Alexander with raised eyebrows and a smile.

"Guess it's time to save the day then."





Clary's sobbing could be heard from far out in the hallway, and upon opening the door to the small chamber, the picture didn't exactly get any better.

The little redhead was sitting on the ground in a tight corner of the room and looked up at both men like a wounded animal. It also didn't help to stop the dramatic effect that she was in full bridal attire - with her make-up smearing down her face though.

Alec cleared his throat as he walked through the door and Clary stopped her crying momentarily before she resumed. The only thing keeping Alec from running right out of the room now were Magnus's silent steps behind him and his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Clary... How are you?"

Clary just gave him a confused look as she gesticulated towards her face full of tears while also not stopping the crying. Alec got the hint.

"I know, stupid question, I'm sorry."

A silence crept between them again, and Alec by god didn't know how to break it.

"Izzy said something about omens that kept happening...?" He started, but her sobs only grew louder.

Completely helpless, Alec turned to Magnus, with a look in his face that was more pleading than he had wanted it to.

Magnus raised an amused eyebrow at him, probably meaning to say something like "I see brides-to-be are not your strength," before already walking through the room carefully and kneeling beside Clary, who, surprisingly, didn't move away.

"What's really bothering you, my dear? You surely aren't crying over a few drops of spilt champagne, are you?" Magnus whispered softly into her ear, sounding as sincere as Alec could have never been.

Clary shook her head but needed a few minutes before she could articulate anything understandable. "No... It's about- it's about..."

"Take all the time you need."

"It's about Jace."

"What about him? Did he treat you badly in any way?"

Clary shook her head, more energetically this time, and her sobs grew for a minute before she could speak again. "No, it's just..."

At that moment, Clary looked like the wounded deer at the side of a road again. Distrusting by nature, and looking at Magnus to see if he could be trusted. The final result seemed to mean yes since she even let him touch her shoulder to calm her further. Alec really couldn't blame her when he remembered all the pure sincerity in his eyes.

Finally, she seemed to let him in. "I'm afraid that, if-if I marry Jace now, when we were only together for four years, someday, he's going to wake up and just want... something more than me, than what I could ever give him."

That's when it finally dawned on Alec.

"And I don't think I could bear this pain without going insane!" She started sobbing again as soon as it was out.

Magnus was pulling Clary into a tight hug now, exclaiming the usual 'Shhh' once a while. Still a bit hesitant, Alec moved closer now until he kneeled down beside Magnus.
Even more hesitantly, he even laid a hand on Clary's shoulder.

"Hey, redhead," he said and nudged her cheek a bit, just to show that he had meant it in a friendly way.

She gave him a small smile, a smile which Alec had hated for so long, just because it seemed to mean more to Jace than Alec's own smile ever did, but now he just couldn't find any hate for it anymore. Quite the opposite, he actually found that he liked that smile. It had something honest inside of it, something brave. It gave him the courage to continue on, now that he knew that he had to say.

"I know that this is being tough on you right now, but trust me: Those scenarios playing out inside of your head, those doubts you have - they'll fade away as soon as you'll see Jace standing there in front of the altar, waiting for you... waiting for only you." Alec had to swallow a bit as he said the last part. "Trust me on this. I know Jace since he was little, and when you came along, you... changed something in him. Suddenly, he didn't talk to me about a thousand girls anymore when we were hanging out, he only talked about you. The entire time. God, it was so annoying." Clary and Alec both laughed, for maybe the first time in forever, genuinely together. "Clary, there will never be someone else again for Jace. He loves you, through and through, with every fibre of his being. You should see that guy when he talks about you. His whole face lights up every time." For Alec, this might be the first time he could think, let alone say that out loud, without visibly choking at his own thoughts. Now, as he said it, he felt almost happy. And that fact alone, this knowledge that he finally seemed to be moving on from Jace after years of despair, made him even happier. So happy, in fact, that he forgot to talk for a moment.

Luckily, Magnus came to his rescue. "When you walk down the aisle today, you'll both give each other a promise. A promise of unconditional love, of trust, of having each other's back whenever you need it. And if your love is true, this will not be broken, no matter how harsh times may seem. And Jace knows that, Clary, because that is exactly what every relationship is about." As he said it, he put his hands into Clary's and made a short break for the extra dramatic effect. Alec could only roll his eyes. "Love, trust and catching each other when the other is falling - or at least to soften the fall."

Alec's eye roll got stuck in the middle when Magnus made a point of looking directly into Alec's eyes as he said the last part, and he could feel himself blushing hard again.

Thankfully, Clary seemed to notice none of it. The crooked smile on her face said that the worst was over, and she even raised her hand now to repair some of the run down make-up.

Alec quickly gazed at her, just to avoid looking at Magnus, and she gave him a thankful look in return.

"Thank you, Alec. I knew we didn't have an easy first start-"

"Easy first four years," interrupted Alec her and both chuckled.

"But I hope we can somehow improve on that. You are actually wise than I thought." She pulled him into a tight hug so suddenly that he couldn't say no. But even if he could've, he probably wouldn't.

"And you're not half as annoying as I thought you were, so maybe we can meet in the middle somewhere."

"Sounds perfect to me."

Both grinned at each other, and Alec was content for a second. This actually felt like a new start in his life for him. A new start to end the period of 'hating Clary because Jace loves her and not me' and to begin a new chapter, something like 'Alec Lightwood actually doesn't crush on his best friend any more'. Whatever it was, it sounded like it would be a lot more fun.
Now, he could actually look at the redhead and even see some of the aspects Jace was always going into raptures about.

"I'd love to thank you a lot as well," she continued in Magnus's direction, "but I don't think we've met, have we?"

Magnus chuckled. "No, we haven't. I'm Magnus Bane, Alec's boyfriend."

He had said it so casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, that Alec's eyes widened in wonder before he realised that they were, in fact, still in a fake-relationship and this was not just a dream of his.

Clary shook his hand and laughed. "Well, Alec has made a good catch. Thank you for being my lifesaver, Magnus."

They would've said more, but in this exact moment, a rumbling could be heard outside the door, and only milliseconds later, Jace came stomping into the room like the elephant nobody asked for.

"Oh my god, Clary, are you alright?" He asked and darted for his soon-to-be-wife directly without even shooting Alec or Magnus a single glance, which quickly scooted away.

Alec could clearly see tears in both of the lovers' eyes as they now hugged each other, but they didn't seem to be tears of despair anymore. Clinging to each other as if their life depended on it, they looked much happier now, like a

"I'm sorry I'm crying, I was just so scared that you'd wake up and not want me anymore, that you might regret the wedding." She was still sobbing a bit as she said it, but Jace immediately shook his head.

"I worried about the same thing! I'm scared that you might be disappointed in me in a few years to come and not want me anymore!"

Clary emitted a noise that sounded like a mixture of surprise, laughing and sobbing. "I could never do that!"

"Me neither, Clary. You are my forever."

Jace buried his head in Clary's shoulder now. "We're so stupid, aren't we?"

"Yes," Clary laughed and caressed his cheek. "Jace, I love you so much...!"

"I love you, too, now and forever."

They held their foreheads together and just smiled. Somehow, that was one of the most sincere love proclamations Alec had ever heard, expressed by Jace on top of all, and he couldn't help smiling as well.

"And our starcrossed lovers work it out between themselves just fine, just like I hoped," Izzy said and touched Alec's shoulder softly to make her presence known.

She looked a lot more relaxed now than she had a few minutes ago.

"Did you tell Jace Clary is here?" Alec asked her and enjoyed seeing his sister admiring them so openly.

Her expression only softened more. "Yes, I found him crying by the champagne and already trying to open a bottle, so I just told him that Clary needed him. He ran as fast as I've never seen it in my entire life."

Alec could hear Magnus chuckle next to him. "They seem to be a very devoted couple. It's beautiful."

"I know, right? Their relationship was always a bit dramatic, a lot of pining, but in the end, it did pay off." A kind of devilish smirk reappeared in Izzy's face and Alec sighed internally. It was exactly that kind that he didn't like seeing at all.

"Speaking of pining," she continued and Alec would have spat out his drink if he did have something, "how are you two keeping up? Did you meet Mom, Dad and Max yet?"

"No, not yet," Alec answered and tried to not think about what their meeting with his mom would be like.

It wasn't like she didn't like him being gay, she could just be a bit... overbearing sometimes. Which, in this case, would mean bombarding Magnus and Alec with ever so shameless questions about their relationship. And then there was his dad, really straight forward about everything and a bit more... disapproving of Alec being gay.

Quite honestly, he couldn't blame Magnus if he went running afterwards. What, for some reason or another, he really didn't want.

"Well, you know," Izzy leaned in close to Magnus and him now. Alec really didn't like where this was going. "You'll probably have to be a bit more convincing in front of Mom to actually bring her to get those cute bachelors all back where they came from. I mean, those lingering glances and the high amount of sexual tension in this room aren't bad, to begin with, and how often you blush, big brother, is lovely as well, but you might have to step up your game just a notch."

Still, good that Alec didn't have anything to drink inside his mouth now. Otherwise, it would have been spat metres away. Suddenly, he tried really hard to not break into a sweat and pretended like the ground was the most interesting place to look at.

He would murder his sister one day for sure.

Magnus didn't help thinks as he chuckled and took Alec's hand into his own, sending electric bolts up his arm that Alec tried to ignore so badly. Nevertheless, the look on Izzy's face told him that he was an open book for her.

"That will be no problem Iz, considering how charming Alexander is," Magnus intervened and linked their hands even tighter, making Alec blush even harder.

Izzy was smiling at them widely now. "Let's better get ready then. And find those songbooks. Not much time left until the big event!"

Chapter Text

The ceremony was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen and Izzy couldn't help but feel at least a little proud of herself. She had done most of the decoration, after all.

What had looked like a mess just the last day now looked like some rare form of art, where beauty and meaning found a way to melt with each other.

Clary and Jace had wanted their wedding to be under the topic of 'flowers, the more colourful, the better' since their first kiss also happened while they were surrounded by flowers. At first, Izzy had been sceptical about the idea, but it did really work out well.

Everywhere in the huge church, all different kinds of flowers were sticking up and barely left any space for anything else. Especially the walls were crowded with them and after what had been days of work, the church looked more like a flower meadow now than an actual church. It was breathtaking. Even the coloured stained glass windows did its wonders, they seemed to paint the whole room and made the effect of the flowers even stronger.

And as Clary stepped through the door, her dress white as snow, it was as if some princess from a foreign realm had found back home again. The music picked up, the piano playing some beautiful melody, and it was perfect.

Izzy smirked as the fully packed church seemed to gasp as one. Quickly, she took a glance at Jace, just to see that he was probably the one that had gasped the loudest. He got all red while Clary walked towards him down the aisle, almost tightly gripping on to her mother's arm. If anyone couldn't have told that those two were head over heels for each other already, the shy smile on Jace's face would have been the ultimate clue. It was one of those smiles that Izzy would have never expected to come from Jace, ever. He didn't look like the type to have it. Until Clary came along, of course, and turned his whole world upside down. Since then, Jace had smiled this smile often, and Izzy enjoyed teasing him with it every time.

Lately, with Simon, she really wasn't one to talk though.

And now it looked like Alec was neither.

She observed Magnus and her brother a bit closer while Clary reached the altar and immediately had to grin. Those two idiots were so in love, and they didn't even know. To be fair, Magnus might, because he wasn't stupid and a bit more experienced, but her brother? Clueless.

Their postures said everything, even from the back.

Magnus, barely paying attention to the whole event and instead always shooting glances to Alec, while he fumbled with his hands nervously. He was probably debating whether or not he should take Alec's hand at the moment. It was too adorable.

And then there was Alec, her fiasco in person as her brother. He only stared straight ahead, pretending to be watching attentively, even though there wasn't even anyone standing where he was looking. His posture was tense and Izzy could see how he tried to not move a bit, especially not in Magnus's direction, to not give off the impression that he might actually like Magnus, god beware.

Of course, her brother only did it out of fear to be rejected by Magnus or to not make him uncomfortable, she knew him that well. But it was still ironic that due to this behaviour, he was the one rejecting Magnus, at least in his eyes.

Izzy sighed unhappily and felt Simon squeezing her hand next to her. "Izz, what's wrong?" he whispered and she shook her head.

"I'm just trying to get my head around it. How can they both so clearly fall for each other, so clearly that everyone with eyes can see it, but they can't?" She nudged in their direction to give Simon a clue who she was talking about and he grinned.

"Okay, I hope you mean Alec and Magnus now because beside them there are only my mom and Max, which would be absolutely gross-"

She kicked him against his ankle before he could finish.

"Okay, okay, please stop," Simon laughed quietly. "They only know each other since when... three days ago? Maybe they just need a bit more time."

"Did you feel the sexual tension between them? It's hard to breathe when they are in a room with you, they don't need any more time, they just need a king sized bed," Izzy whined.

"Do you remember how long it took us to get together? And if you now say we had no sexual tension I will actually be offended."

Izzy still pouted but knew that Simon was right.

"Besides," he carried on, "no big love story is complete without angst, and what we can see there is angst roaming free. So just imagine how happy they'll be once they worked it out."

"Lucky that they'll have my help," Izzy smirked again, a small glimpse of fire sparking up in her eyes again.

Simon looked at her from the side, grinning wildly. "I'm really scared but also really attracted to you at the moment and it's honestly confusing."

Izzy laughed and squeezed his hand again. With that, they concentrated back on the ceremony, where Clary just spoke her vows, looking so happy that Isabelle couldn't stop smiling as well. She was so happy for her.

And she got even happier as she remembered her mission for this night: To get Alec and Magnus to admit their feelings for each other.





Alec didn't really notice much of the ceremony, even though he tried his best to pretend like he was listening to every word coming out of Clary's and Jace's mouth. It wasn't like he wasn't interested in the wedding - it was his best friend getting married, after all - but he just couldn't seem to get his thoughts straight.

Standing in this church, surrounded by the sweet smell of those flowers and the colourful light falling in through the window, painting everything inside in every shade imaginable, and standing this close to Magnus, it felt to him like being underwater.

Unable to move or think fast, just watching the world pass by around him, without actually take part in it.

Magnus stood so close to him that Alec could have touched him if he moved only slightly to the right. His smell of sandalwood seemed to be hypnotising for him, drawing Alec close, and he fought so harshly against it. He couldn't get closer to Magnus now. He couldn't let their hands touch. Because he knew, if that happened, he would lose every ability to speak.

So he tried to stare at the ceremony happening in front of him, even though everything he wanted to do was just to turn his head and watch how the colours of the room mixed on Magnus's skin.

"Clarissa Fairchild," Jace started his vows and Alec was momentarily distracted. "Before I met you, my life looked a lot... different," he said and laughter echoed through the room. "But right afterwards, you turned my whole world upside down, because you became my world. There's nothing I love more than you, and even on those days where you hog the covers and kick against my shins and honestly just give me so much physical pain," the laughter continues and even Clary broke a laugh now, not without tears in her eyes, "As soon as I look at your face again, I can't help but love you. Completely, Unconditionally. Clary, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want to wake up to you kicking me every morning. Because I love you, and I always will. Quite honestly, I'm so glad you said yes because I would be so lost without you. You had my heart since I saw you for the first time, and you managed to steal my breath every day since then. Even now, I can't look away. God, I love you so much!" Jace finally exclaimed and laughed happily, tears streaming down his own face now as well.

Clary looked like she had already given up on her make-up before she even started speaking. "Jace Herondale, you are my light in the darkness. You are the one that always gets me up again when times get hard, and you are the reason why I haven't given up on so many things. Because of you, the world seems to be more and more colourful each time I get up, and even when I lose my courage or go totally crazy, you are always there, ready to catch me. Your smile will always be enough to calm me down and get me back to earth again, every time." The crowd let out delighted noises and even Alec couldn't suppress a sigh as he saw this complete happiness. "You have never once given up on me, and even when we fought or when we didn't talk for days, I knew that we would always find our way back to each other. Because I love you, Jace, so much, and I couldn't live without you. I couldn't live without coming home to your grin every day or without catching you watching sappy romances at 2 am whilst crying." Alec huffed out a laugh. That had happened more often than he could count, even as Jace still lived with him and Izzy. "I am so happy that we are getting the chance to celebrate this today, even though I wouldn't need a contract to be at your side all my life. I can't do without it, and if I had the choice again, I would always choose you without any hesitation."

And with that, both the bride and groom were crying and grinning at each other. Crying these tears of happiness that some in the crowd shared with them, even though they didn't even seem to notice this. Clary and Jace only had eyes for each other at that moment, exactly how it was supposed to be.

Alec turned his head sideways now, to see the expression on Magnus's face, without really giving much thought to it until it was too late. Trying not to look at Magnus was like trying not to itch at a mosquito bite after all: You could prevent it all you want, but after a time, it just happened subconsciously. There was nothing you could do against it.

So, as Alec had turned, he couldn't just simply turn away now as well. Magnus looked so caught up in this all, some tears actually building up in the corner of his eye, with a small smile on his lips and gaze full of adoration, that Alec simply got lost in staring at it. Those colours shed by the church windows spread itself all over Magnus, giving each of his features a totally new look and new meaning. For a moment, Magnus actually looked as if he was just made up out of colours. Alec just adored it, until the other man must have caught his gaze, and turned towards him with the same, shy smile still on his face.

"That's the smile," Alec heard the voice of his sister whisper a few rows behind him, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

All he could do was to get lost in Magnus's eyes for what felt like the thousandth time.

"And with those vows you have spoken, I pronounce you as one," the priest said while Magnus and Alec were still looking at each other, a million unspoken words between them.

"May you care, love and catch each other for eternity, even when the other stumbles."





As stunning as the decoration in the church might have been, it was nothing against the actual party location of the wedding, Magnus realized as soon as he stepped into the venue. Where the ceremony had been all flowers and so many colours that the eye had difficulties taking them all in, the actual venue had a tropical feeling to it since it was a greenhouse. Literally, an actual greenhouse.

Alexander had told him, that Jace's and Clary's first kiss had been taking place in a greenhouse, so he guessed it actually made a lot of sense after all. And, to be fair, he was here for how extra everything had been designed.

The New York City greenhouse was big enough, after all, to accommodate so many guests, with a large space directly in the middle where all the tables, the dance floor and the stage were placed, but with many, smaller paths leading deeper into the greenhouse.
There were chains of lights hanging down from the glass ceiling everywhere, illuminating the room and giving it more of a pavilion feeling. Even though dawn still shone lazily through the windows, Magnus could only imagine what this place would feel like tonight, when there would be only the stars shining in.
That the greenhouse was constructed as a large glass cube only made this special feeling more intense - every single wall was see-through.

Without doubt, Magnus could imagine that this was one of the few places where time could stand still after night would have fallen above them.

"Do you like it?" Alec asked next to him, and as much as Magnus had enjoyed looking at the room, his eyes were completely captured by Alec's.

"It's truly breathtaking, Alexander," he said without taking his eyes off of him.

Alec chuckled slightly and darted his eyes towards the ground. "You should have seen the bill afterwards..."

"I can imagine... did they bribe someone to get this place?" Magnus asked, in such a serious tone that it seemed to make Alec laugh again.

"No, Jace's parents are just extremely well off, they paid for this whole ordeal."

"Marrying Jace doesn't sound like a bad idea after all." He chuckled but stopped as he saw a slightly sad glimpse in Alec's eyes.

"No, it doesn't." The nostalgic smile playing around Alec's lips made Magnus swallow hard.

Was something wrong?

But before he could analyze his reaction any further, they had arrived at their table and Alec pushed out the chair for Magnus just like a perfect gentleman. He sat down with a chuckle, Alec next to him, and quickly brushed away these past few seconds.

Alec's whole family was seated around them, and as soon as everyone was there, it seemed like it was time for some needed introductions. Starting, of course, with his mom.

"So, Alec, would you like to introduce us to this lovely young man by your side or why all this suspense?"

Maryse Lightwood, so Alec had told him, apparently was a lovely woman and good mother, even more so after she had divorced herself from her husband and Alec's father, Robert Lightwood. On the first glance, upon seeing the wrinkles around her smile and her kind eyes, Magnus could only agree.

"You're right." Alec laughed and sent shivers up Magnus's arm when he laid his hand over his own. "Mom, everyone, this is Magnus Bane, and he's my boyfriend."

It was stated so confidently, so naturally, that it made Magnus's stomach spin. And his mind. Okay, practically every atom in his body, but he gave it his best to ignore it and glance approvingly around the table. "It's my pleasure to finally meet you, Alexander here has told me so many things about you already."

That wasn't exactly untrue: Alec did fill him in about a lot of things concerning his family on the way from the church to the venue; he just hoped that it would be enough to convince them that they're actually dating. Which would be a hard thing, judging by everyone's grimaces (except for Izzy's and Simon's of course, they were just smirking), Jace even nearly choked on his water.

"You have a... boyfriend?" He asked not unkindly, but with a disbelieving tone in his voice.

"He has had for a while now," Izzy jumped in, clearly trying to help them.

Simon laughed. "Yeah bro, even I knew."

"Even you..." Jace looked legitimately hurt now, but no one here seemed to be able to take him seriously, not even Maryse, who snickered as well as Jace seemingly prepared for a rant.

Alec leaned closer to Magnus. "Oh god, here it comes," he whispered so low that the words barely scraped his ear. Magnus himself had to try hard not to laugh at Alec's resigned sigh.

"Alexandre Gideon Lightwood," Jace started and his face actually got red. "You, the most unromantic person with the least people skills I have ever met, you have a boyfriend? For quite a while? And you told Simon here before you told me? I could have understood if you told only Izzy but that; is disrespectful."

"Hey!" Simon frowned but was quickly dismissed by everyone.

"Not to mention his virgin energy," came a more prominent comment from Max(?) and now Magnus had trouble not to choke.

Alec raised his hands. "To my defence, we wanted to be sure about our relationship before we told anyone, so that's why we haven't told anyone yet." He grabbed Magnus's hand in reassurance and gave him the sweetest smile. "But now, I think we're ready."

Something twitched in Magnus's stomach as Alec said that, gaze locked on him like at their first meeting, and suddenly all he wanted to do was to vanish into the bathroom for a few minutes. Or hours. Why couldn't he bring himself to smile? It's not like he didn't know how to flirt, heavens, he had known from the start that this would involve a lot of fake flirting, and it had never been a problem with anyone else before. Even with those people that he just used to get a free drink. With Alec, however, faking even a simple cheek kiss seemed to be impossible now. Either that, or it would inflict a whole lot of pain - and feeling. Feelings, that Magnus didn't know he wanted to follow just yet.

But why?

'Because it isn't real,' a voice deep in his mind whispered, but Magnus wasn't ready to listen to it and just shook his head.

A few more glasses of that champagne and he would probably be alright.

So, he settled for the last path and decided that he should really get a grip over himself and be a better date. 'Fake' date, goddamnit.

Without overthinking it too much (or at least, trying to) he stared back into Alec's eyes with an honest smile. "Yeah, we are. So, I assume you must be Max then?" He asked and turned to what was supposedly Alec's younger brother. He nodded, still a bit hesitantly, and gave Magnus visibly a full one over, which made him even more adorable. Magnus couldn't help but chuckle as he intertwined his fingers with Alexander's. "And don't worry, the virgin energy is no more."

Next to him, he could hear Alec coughed, but that only made his grin wider - finally, he had been able to catch him off guard. Just small revenge, after all, and Max was now laughing at him too, his approval seemed to be the most important one.

Maryse was clearly trying to hold back a laugh as well. "Soo... how did the two of you meet?"

Magnus's eyes darted a bit in shock. How did they forget to talk about this crucial, important detail before? But indeed, somewhere between establishing their boundaries and his heart skipping beats, they actually forgot to think of any details of their fake-relationship to tell anyone that might ask. And this was Alec's family, heavens. Of course, they would ask. Magnus face palmed himself internally, before glancing over to Alec to see if he could come up with anything on the spot.

The latter just blushed though. "I- umm... We just... you know, met, like how you meet people normally." Alec seemed to try his best at an innocent grin, but he could see that no one was buying it.

Magnus himself raised an eyebrow at him, to which he just shrugged slightly. Even though this man might be an incredible author, he definitely had to work on his improvisation. A lot.

"We met through Izzy, she basically introduced us," Magnus interrupted Alec quickly and nodded over to Izzy, who luckily caught on and raised her glass.

"Guilty and definitely not sorry for this one, however much Alec hated me for dragging him into this social interaction. Which he does for everything before we actually get there, so..."

"Love you too, Izz," Alec grunted and Magnus shot him a quick smile.

Both were now looking around the table, seeing who was going to say something next, but all eyes were still on them.

"That's it?!" Clary finally shrieked, obviously dissatisfied.

Alec shrugged. "...should there be more to tell?"

"'Should there be more...' of course, Alec! You don't tell me about your secret boyfriend for I don't know how many months and then you accept me to be happy with these bread crumbs?" Jace joined in now and Magnus could see why they were the perfect pair. "I want all the juicy details, now. When and how was your first kiss? Where did you go for your first date? Are you thinking about moving together? Marrying? God, maybe you are already married, and you just never told me!" Jace's expression now had a bit of a maniac.

Izzy laughed. "Look, Alec, now you hurt his ego. You know he doesn't like not feeling like the most important person in this room."

"First of all, I'm the groom, and second of all, he told SIMON."

"I can still hear you guys, you know?" Simon mumbled and Izzy gave him a kiss on the cheek, making everyone chuckle at the gesture.

Magnus just hoped that maybe, just maybe, the others were diverted enough from them at the moment to let them go, but he should have known Isabelle better.

"But, I agree with Jace, you two do owe us the whole story. And most importantly: How you two realised you were falling for each other."

Magnus could feel the blood rushing into his cheeks immediately as he looked at Alec like the apocalypse had dawned. This was bad. Bad for them in general, because they hadn't put any thought into their backstory previously, and worse for Magnus personally, because he slowly came to realize that he was actually crushing on his fake date.

This evening just had proved it: The way his arm tingled whenever Alec touched it, even if there was fabric between their skins and the way his head seemed to buzz as soon as Alec so much as looked at him. The way Alec's smile seemed to light up the whole room, and the way Magnus wanted to see that smile over and over again and more, be the cause of that smile because it was his one lifeboat in a whole ocean full of darkness.

He hadn't felt like that for anyone ever so quickly, and sometimes, just in some moments, Magnus thought that Alec might like him back. Not in that power, he didn't expect him to, but maybe, even if there would be only a tiny spark for Alec, it would be enough...

But no. They were fake-dating, Magnus had to remember that. Everything Alec did, the way he looked at him, with this certain adoration in his eyes, to the way his laugh always seemed to widen as soon as he glanced towards Magnus, it was all acted out. Alec was a hell of an actor, Magnus had to give him that, but still. It. Was. Only. An. Act. No reason to get his hopes up, only for them to be crushed again.

Still, when Alec looked at him like he did now, with that tiny bit of fear in his eyes, like he was afraid to say too much as well - wasn't there any part in Alec that might like him back?

He squeezed his hand tighter now, so tight that Magnus couldn't help but lean a bit closer to Alec. Just for comfort, of course.

"How we fell in love... So..." Alec took a deep breath, and Magnus was debating whether or not it was his cue to jump in, but he could see Izzy shaking her head at him slightly, so he waited it out. Confused.

"Well, we met in this bar for the first time, where Izzy somehow managed to drag me to 'have a nice evening with her friends'..."

"You went out without me?" Jace asked and placed a hand upon his heart, seemingly broken.

"Oh, shut up Jace," Clary giggled and Jace couldn't help but soften his expression.

"And despite I definitely didn't want to go, it was endurable. Until Magnus walked in." Alec now looked at him directly, and Magnus quite frankly didn't know if his heart was going to be able to take this. "Then, my whole world just kind of changed." Okay, his heart was definitely not going to be able to take this.

Magnus locked eyes with him again, and noticed that deeply honest look in his eyes, mixed with something else... nervousness? Fear?

"When he walked it, it was like he immediately caught the attention of the whole room. Like there was a certain spark inside of him, that lit up everything and everyone around him. When we talked for the first time... oh god, I was such a mess," he laughed and concentrated his eyes on the table for a moment. "I don't think I brought out even one coherent sentence, I could barely even introduce myself. But still, he seemed to be able to understand me. To understand me in a way that I have never felt before like it didn't matter at all how much I stumbled over my words, he could still feel their true meaning just by looking into my eyes. Basically, I knew then that I was totally gone, but still, I actually ran away that evening."

Magnus perked up at the mention of that detail. Of that single detail, that described how they actually met for the first time.

Alec took another deep breath before he continued and held his head straight now. Magnus started to hold his breath without even realising, unable to take his eyes off of Alexander. "I just got scared, I guess, and left the bar in a rush with some dumb excuse. It was only when I was already on the subway home that I realised what a mistake I had made, not even getting his phone number, or being so distant at all. Now, I was even more hesitant to even ask Izzy for his number, I didn't know if I had already ruined my impression or not. But, luckily, Izzy is a lot smarter than me, and she set us up slyly for lunch with her, only that she never came. Once there, we talked for the first time, really, and I managed to not run away." Alec laughed a bit and Magnus couldn't help but follow his example. "We took a walk through the park on that afternoon, and it started leashing all of a sudden. It was like the skies had opened their doors, literally. I just wanted to run for shelter, as I looked at Magnus. And even though my notebook was getting wet, and every other part of my body as well, in an instant, it didn't matter anymore. I nearly forgot about it, actually. All that I could think about, all that was important to me at that moment, was just standing there, in the open, getting wet, but looking at Magnus. And him looking at me."

Magnus held his breath as silence followed that sentence. This was all so accurate, so exactly tailored along with reality. Was Alec still acting? Or could it be...

"And then, we fell," Alec said and started laughing, realising a bit of the tension that had been building up. The whole table joined in and Jace nudged him fondly.

"Strong game, man."

"That was how I knew I was falling for him though."

"Literally," Magnus concluded with the biggest amount of effort he had needed to say something ever and gave Alec a warm smile before he stroked his thumb over his hand.

"What was it like for you, Magnus?" Izzy asked and he picked up on the death glance that Alec shot her, but it was already too late.

If Alec's family was one thing, they seemed to be persistent, so he just sighed and accepted his fate.

At the very least, if there had been even a bit of truth in Alec's words, he wanted to show him that he felt the same way, so he said the absolute truth as he spoke now.

"I think it was when he talked to me about the stars," he answered, glancing sideways at Alec. "Of course, I was crushing on him ever since he walked into that door of the bar, but one night, we went out for dinner and took a stroll later, and he looked up at the stars. He told me all the reasons why he loved the stars. Alexander had such a beautiful, honest look in his eyes at that time, as he smiled and wondered at the stars, something so... given that only someone special could wonder at them. That's when it finally hit me, after weeks of flirting. I was actually falling for Alexander Lightwood."

The look on Alec's face was priceless, clearly taken aback and searching in Magnus's face for something, maybe a laugh to confirm it was just a joke. But Magnus carried on just looking at him, trying to let all of his adoration for this man glide into it, and a spark seemed to enlight in Alec's eyes before it also sprang over to Magnus's.

They both grinned at each other and the whole table went silent, trying to analyse the tension between the two all of the sudden. Izzy and Simon smirked knowingly, whilst Clary, Jace and Maryse all looked a bit confused, not in a negative way. Max had gotten what was going on long ago, he just knew, but still grinned to himself. To everyone, except for themselves, it was clear that this had just been a love declaration from both sides. A real one.

Even our two idiots slowly dawned it that maybe, just maybe, their feelings were mutual. Magnus, at least, got his hopes up a bit higher than he had wanted to. After this speech... Alec's words had sounded so genuine, so true, so full of love... could he have really faked that?

Now, they were just grinning at each other, slowly trying to work it out whilst also being completely lost in each other's eyes. And they probably would have worked it out, would have found the answers they were looking for in each other's eyes, if it hadn't been exactly then when the waiter came back with their first course, and stood exactly between the Alec and Magnus, breaking their eye contact.

But still, as Magnus now started to eat his soup and the usual, adorable banter between the family set in, he was hopeful. That smile on his face stayed because maybe, he did have a chance with Alexander Lightwood.

Chapter Text

Luckily for Alec, the rest of the dinner went by smoothly and without any incident. His family was simply adorable to listen to, and after Izzy had been seemingly satisfied with what she could get out of Magnus and Alec about their relationship, the table had moved on to other, safe topics, like what manga Max was currently into for example. Jocelyn and Valentine talked about their newly opened newspaper for a short time, then Izzy had been mocking Jace for something embarrassing he had done a few years ago - with even Clary joining into the banter.

Shortly, it was the perfect table conversation, and it seemed like no time had passed at all when the last plates were already carried away, leaving everyone totally full and satisfied.

And, as much as he had laughed, Alec was kind of glad that the dinner was over now - sitting next to Magnus with their legs nearly touching was definitely more distracting than it should be, and he could sense Izzy's glance on him most of the time. Alec knew that his sister had maybe let him off for dinner, but she was sure as hell still plotting on something, which didn't make him any less nervous.

It wasn't like he didn't want to get closer to Magnus, it was just that he didn't want to get his hopes up now just for them to be trampled on as soon as Magnus would announce that their fake-relationship was over, which he would do, in fact, at the end of the night.

As nice as their moment at dinner had been, he just couldn't go through that.

So, instead, he just took another deep gulp of the glass of wine standing in front of him.

"Mom, do you know why Dad didn't come today?" Izzy asked and Alec swallowed another mouthful.

Maryse seemed to freeze in this second, her smile slowly lowering itself until it faded. Her hands nervously began to tap on the glass in front of her, and Jace, Alec and Izzy shared a look with each other. So something was up.

It wasn't like Robert Lightwood had been the best father in the world, far from it, and it wasn't unlike him to darken the mood in every room he walked into, but he had always been there for important family events, no matter how cold his tone. He was a businessman, and his family had always seemed to be just another business for him.

"Well, you see..." Maryse said whilst looking to the ground, evading the looks of her children. "Your father decided to not come because... we thought it was time to... to get a divorce."

"Ah what now?" Izzy and Alec exclaimed in total sync.

"We've been thinking about it for a long time, and with Max being old enough now so that he can understand what's going on," she threw a loving glance at Alec's little brother and he smiled back at her, "we've decided that it's for the best if we separate. As friends, of course."

The whole table stayed quiet, and Alec's mind was a mess. But, looking around, everyone seemed to feel the same way - even Magnus looked shocked out of his mind.

Maryse looked at them with a panicked expression in her eyes, one he hadn't seen too many times on Maryse's face. "But just know please that whatever happens, we will both always stay your parents. I am so sorry that we are doing this to you right now and I know that it does mean a lot of change but it will make us all happier-"

"Finally!" Izzy shouted and grinned widely, clearly catching Alec's mom off guard. "We were rooting for you for such a long time now, and now you've finally done it! I couldn't be any prouder, mom, show that bastard!"

His mom laughed, and he could actually see tears in her eyes. Tears of happiness, that made Alec smile as well. What Izzy said had been true. These past few years, it had been no mystery how unhappy and unrelaxed Robert had made her, just as he had made his whole family, so all of them had kind of been hoping they would divorce soon.

"Yeah, mom, you should be happy," Alec joined in now. "I don't think anyone does miss him here tonight, right?"

Everyone around the table shook their head, even Magnus. "He sounds horrible."

Jace gave Magnus a meaningful glance. "You have no idea, dude. Even I was afraid of him, and I basically grew up there."

Maryse laughed again at Jace's comment. Alec realised that this was maybe the first time in years he had seen his mother laugh like this, so openly. Furthermore, because of a joke his father surely would have deemed 'unfitting'. Izzy had the same realisation, at least judging by the glance she threw his way.

It was a beautiful moment, really. Everyone was just taking in how happy Maryse was. But then, of course, Simon had to happen.

"Wow, Maryse, that is really so great for you. We stan a queen. And the feministic empowerment of course. Robert was a douchebag anyways for thinking he could control you all these years, and it does set a good example for other women in your position which we so direly need in this society-"

"Simon!" Izzy interrupted him, not unkindly. "I love you, but shut up."

"Sorry," he said and everyone around the table just smiled knowingly.

"So, now that your prospects of dating are opened up again, do you think that you will try that again?" Clary asked and Maryse's eyes immediately darted downwards.

"Actually..."

"Yes?"

"I am seeing someone already." A small smile formed on her lips, one that only her kids knew could only mean bad news.

However, Clary didn't catch onto that, since her smile only got brighter. "Oh, you go girl! So Alec's not the only one with a mystery lover! Who is it? Tell us everything!"

Alec just tried to not choke when Clary had called Magnus his lover. Now, their closeness was all too well brought back into his conscience.

"Clary, it's..." Maryse started fiddling with her hands again, clearly not daring to look into her eyes. "It's Luke."

Clary's face turned into a mask of horror in an instant. "You are dating my UNCLE?"

"I'm sorry, I've been meaning to tell you, but-"

"The Luke I grew up with that definitely didn't tell me about any of this?"

"You know what," Jace chimed in, clearly happy about all the drama that was happening around him. "Clary, I think it's time for our first dance. We have to open up the dancing floor, people are getting impatient."

Clary clearly didn't fully understand the meaning of Jace's words, as she was still staring into thin air, seemingly trying to piece together what had just happened, but as Jace took her hand and led her onto the dance floor, all of that seemed to be forgotten.

Her expression smoothed again as soon as their eyes locked, and the DJ was preparing the song while Jace made a short announcement.

Alec could only feel Magnus's hand brushing against his own as he turned to look at the pair.

"I love your family, Alexander," he whispered and Alec chuckled instantly. "They are better than any TV series."

"Oh, you haven't even seen the best yet. Wait till Izzy gets Jace drunk," he snorted, and Magnus gave him a long look.

"That must be hilarious."

And then, the music picked up.

The song played was "Can't help falling in love" by Elvis Presley. A bit cheesy for Alec's taste, but it seemed to be perfect right now, right here.

Maybe it was Clary's and Jace's behaviour that made it so perfect. The way they looked at each other. And the way that the whole world seemed to stop around them as they took their first steps into the dance.

Alec could nearly feel the whole room holding their breath and the way Magnus squeezed his arm in anticipation.

The two of them didn't have eyes for anything else than each other while they were dancing. For a short time, it even looked like they were truly flying over the dance floor, not needing anything else than themselves.

All thoughts and doubts seemed to be long forgotten, just this morning, when Alec and Magnus had found Clary crying and wanting to stop the marriage now seemed so far away.

"Their love is so beautiful," Magnus whispered next to him, and Alec could only nod.

It truly was, because even if Jace had never really known how to dance, and clearly didn't manage to gain that knowledge since the last time Alec had seen him dancing, Clary only laughed each time he messed up the steps. Her look at him never grew frustrated or angry, it just radiated complete happiness, as if him not being able to dance well was part of why she wanted to be with him.

And that was everything Alec had always imagined love must be about.

As the song ended, not just the bride and groom looked kind of disappointed. Regretful 'awws' could be heard from the whole room, but Jace seemed destined to go back to their table for the next dance. Alec knew him well anything to know that his legs must feel like pudding now, and he grinned at the thought.

Instead, he just shouted out: "Alright, the dance floor is officially opened up! Have fun and remember: You can never get too drunk!" which prompted a direct eye roll from Clary.

Everyone applauded them as they sunk back in their chairs, breathless from dancing with the one person they truly loved, and the music set in again to another slow love song. All across the room pairs got on the dance floor now. Before Alec even knew, his sister had already gotten up, dragging Simon along behind her, and made gestures in Alec's direction to follow them with Magnus.

Him...? Dancing... with Magnus...?

It definitely didn't sound like such a bad idea, wouldn't there be that one tiny problem, or more specifically two problems: His left feet.

There had been only one time in his life when Alec had tried to dance, and it had ended in his partner yelping out in pain every few seconds because he had stepped her on her feet again. He ended up being banned from even participating in the course, just because he clearly couldn't be trusted in matters of tact, and Alec had never tried to do it again after that dilemma. One of his friends had even given him the title of "A danger to society" after he had witnessed it and they still laughed about it till today.

In other words, he was not exactly the perfect dancing partner to anyone he didn't want to hurt.

He turned around to see if Magnus had seen Izzy's gesture and would so be disappointed, but he seemingly hadn't taken his eyes off of the dancing floor. A small smile played around his lips and Alec couldn't help but take in the sight for a good few seconds. It was obvious that Magnus was gazing at the dancers, which would be pretty normal for everyone, Alec guessed. But there was something deeper in Magnus's look than in most of the other audience, something Alec had trouble pinpointing.

Maybe longing? The desire to dance as well? Regret?

And then, the penny dropped, and Alec felt like a complete idiot.

"Magnus, would you like to dance?" He asked, and stretched out his hand with a grin.

Magnus looked at him for a few seconds with wide eyes, visibly shocked, but then the smile Alec knew so well by now returned. "I'd love nothing more."

He took Alec's hand, which sent pleasant vibrations all over his body, and both men slowly walked onto the edge of the dance floor.

Alec still didn't know if this was such a good idea from his point of view, but he knew it was what Magnus needed right now. He had seen his gaze, the regret, the longing, and at this moment it had been clear that he must have been thinking about Camille again. Thinking about how they probably used to dance, elegant as nightfall.

And even though he did feel a peck of jealousy at this realisation, he couldn't judge Magnus for that. He and Camille probably shared a history longer than Alec would ever share with anybody, so it was only natural that he still remembered her, surrounded by dancing couples. Dancing himself would be the best remedy or at least a distraction

There was no other explanation for the emotions in his eyes.

Alec breathed in one more time as Magnus came to a standstill just before him. How did this entire thing work again...? Was he supposed to lay his hands on his shoulders, or his hips? With which hand did you grab your partner's again?

The thought that Magnus was only near inches away from him didn't exactly make thinking easier for Alec either, but matters got decided as Magnus just placed his hand on Alec's hip with a laugh and took his other hand in his.

"Do you even know how to dance?"

"I know how to step on people's shoes," Alec answered truthfully, just seconds before he realised that that might not have been a nice introduction into their first dance, but Magnus only laughed and shook his head.

"That's okay, Alexander, I have a good lead."

And with that, they started moving, and it was everything Alec had ever dreamt of and more. He normally didn't listen to the kind of music that was playing right now, some slow love song he didn't know the name of, but at this moment, it seemed like the most beautiful melody in the whole world to him.

Damn it, everything seemed beautiful to him as long as Magnus was so close to him.

Not that he could even really hear the music, far less concentrate on it, anyways.

As he danced with Magnus, the whole world just seemed to come to kind of a standstill. Well, everything, except for them. Their bodies were still moving, together, as smooth as a river flows, and everything else in this world just seemed to have stopped existing for Alec Lightwood.

The only sound he could hear, the only sound that really mattered, was Magnus's warm breath against his skin. The only image that mattered was Magnus's eyes, those perfect, golden eyes, with those rich emotions trapped inside of them like always. Emotions he still would do anything to decipher, not much had changed since their first meeting.

To Alec, it felt like right now, right here, staring into his eyes, he could draw every part of them out if he wanted to. Every tiny little change in colour, every dark spot inside of them - hell, he probably would even be able to draw out Magnus's whole face if he wanted to, it seemed to be burned inside Alec's mind. Not that he complained, of course.

He was so busy staring into his eyes, wondering at all those emotions that flew through his own heart, that he almost didn't even notice them dancing. Were they even moving it all? They had to be, right? Alec honestly couldn't tell, but he also wouldn't look away to confirm or deny his theory. Even if the whole world started burning, he doubted he would be able to look away.

Dancing with Magnus... it was electrifying. Everywhere Magnus touched him, his hands on his hips, legs brushing against each other accidentally, warm jolts shot up his entire body, making him shiver all over again and again. Jolts he could get addicted to so very easily, maybe he even was already. His whole body was mere inches away from his own now, way too close for Alec to have any coherent thought anymore, and he could feel the dizziness taking over his whole mind. Only one thought, one fact could hold onto his consciousness: If Alec would only lean in a little closer, their bodies would touch.

He didn't know if Magnus felt the same as him. If he was also holding his breath in anticipation, but looking into his now dark eyes, who didn't let go of his either, he knew that he had to try.

He had no choice, but to try.

Maybe because Magnus had taken over his whole mind as well.

So, as Magnus stopped moving, presumably because the music had also stopped, he leaned in, closer and closer, crossing the few centimetres that separated them bit by bit...

"Hey man! The table is calling for shots, will you do us the honour and do the first toast of the evening?"

Jace. Of course.

Alec still needed a few seconds to realise what had been happening during the last few minutes, then he turned back at Magnus, who looked as if he had just seen a ghost, before quickly letting go of his partner's hands and hip. The music had stopped long ago. Alec cleared his throat as Jace cocked one of his eyebrows.

God, how could he have been so stupid?

"Of course, we'll be there in just a second," Alec finally smiled and Jace patted him on the shoulder before he set off again.

Looking back at Magnus, who was just fixing up his clothes again, he didn't know whether he should curse Jace or thank him for interrupting them.

What would have happened if he had kissed Magnus? Of course, there was always that small possibility that he wouldn't have pushed him away. That he would have might even enjoyed it.

But, then again, this chance was fairly slim, and the other possibilities way worse. What if Magnus would feel uncomfortable? What if he'd just run away? Or even worse: What if Magnus would agree to do it just because of their 'fake-relationship'? After all, he could never know what part of Magnus's emotions and actions were just acted out.

Maybe it was his fault for reading the signs wrong.

Finally, he decided to thank Jace in his mind for saving him from something incredibly stupid.

"You are a way better dancer than you told me, Alexander," Magnus said with a bitter laugh, but Alec could have imagined that. "You didn't even do any wrong steps."

To be honest, Alec could neither confirm nor deny that, since, in his mind, he didn't even know if they were actually dancing. They could have been just standing there and he wouldn't have noticed.

"Thank you, but I think that was all you. You are a pretty good teacher."

Magnus looked at him for quite some time, as if trying to figure something out or find something in Alec's face, and finally, Alec just turned around in Jace's direction.

"We should probably get going; Jace will get drunk with or without us and I would rather have a record what he drank tonight," he explained apologetically, not saying that he actually just wanted to put as much distance between them and this weird moment as possible. "You know, just to tell the hospital later."

Magnus laughed and linked their arms before they already set off back to the table. Just as it ought to be, Alec thought, the perfect fake-boyfriends.

Where definitely no one had real feelings for the other.

Magnus may have been smiling, but on the inside, he felt like he could cry. Hard.

They had been so close. So close to kissing, but then Jace just had to come and ruin everything. This time, it had just felt right. The way Alec had looked at him, and the way he had definitely looked back at him - it felt so real.

There was no way Alec could have been faking all those emotions that came to show in those pretty eyes of his during the dance. There simply has to be something, a tiny little spark, that wasn't fake.

But, on the other side, shouldn't he maybe be happy that Jace had interrupted them?

If they had kissed now, and if the impossible had happened and Magnus read all the signs wrong, it might have been just a fake-relationship-kiss for Alexander. And like he knew him, he would have probably interpreted it wrong, into meaning nothing to Magnus. Which it absolutely wouldn't have.

And, after all, with so much going for them right now, with so much tension, even when there was no one around and with everything they had said to each other the last days - was Magnus really a fool if he considered that his feelings might be returned?

The dance left him as hopeful as he hadn't been in a long while, and when they finally got back to their table, he was smiling.

"Are you alright?" Alec asked him with a laugh and Magnus nodded happily.

"Better than ever, actually."

Because truly, he could feel that there was something between them, fake-dating or not. And now that he knew that, they weren't under pressure. By god, Alec had nearly kissed him, Magnus was so ready to ask this boy, who had made him crazy for nearly a week now, finally out.

So, next time they were alone together, he would. He promised it to himself.

With that thought in mind, it wasn't so horrible anymore, after all, to sit down next to Alec and accept the small glass of liquor that was given to him, not knowing that a simple speech was about to make him give up any hope with Alec he has ever had.






"Please don't", Izzy whispered to Simon across the table and Alec turned his head curiously to see what the commotion was about. "You know I'll have to cry if he does that. And he probably doesn't even have one."

Simon laughed. "Oh come on Iz, you know he definitely wrote one. Multiple times. He's Alec." Alec's attention was fully there now. "And it's the first toast of the evening. Come on, you've gotta let me do it."

Izzy sighed and waved with her hand exasperated. "Fine. But I'll cry on your shoulder, just so you know."

"That's what I call motivation." And with a grin, he now turned to the rest of the table, where people were still normally chatting, and started his chant. "Speech, speech, speech, speech!" whilst directly looking at Alec.

Soon, other people joined him, first Clary, then Maryse, and finally even Izzy and Magnus, to which Alec whispered a short "Traitors," until the whole table was chanting.

"Alec, do you actually have one?" Jace asked surprised and Alec nodded proudly.

"Of course I do, my best friend only marries once." And it was true, he had indeed prepared a speech just for this moment. He was the writer of the family, after all, so he had thought it only fair to prepare a small speech. Also, those were the days he had thought he was in love with Jace, so of course, he would have done anything for him. Don't misunderstand him, he still would, just without the secret longing.

"Go ahead then," Jace laughed. "But don't you dare tell them about the incident with the ducks."

He felt Magnus's questioning look laying on him and made a mental note to tell him about this piece of comedy gold later before he already took a deep breath and started.

"Jace Wayland. I know you almost longer and better than I know myself, and boy, I should get an award for putting up with you all these years." The table laughed, and Alec could already feel himself getting more confident with each word. "When I got to know you, you were a dork, an asshole, the loudest kid in the class and definitely the one with the biggest ego, and clearly, since then - not much has changed. Oh god, Clary," he said and saw that she was already nearly choking with laughter. "You've made a mistake."

A round of laughter sounded again, even though Jace did look a bit offended, and Alec took another deep breath. Now came the part he had dreaded the most when he wrote that speech - saying how much he loved Jace. A few days ago, his true feelings would have been written all over his face. Now, he clearly did only feel platonic love for him, not romantic anymore, but still...

It felt nostalgic, looking back.

Liking Jace in that way and trying to hide that from him had been such a huge part of his own identity for so long. He had even used it as an anchor sometimes when things got all too rough. He would still bring up those few moments of hope he had with Jace then. It was a part of himself he always had been certain about, even when he had questioned everything else about him.

And now, saying goodbye to that? Saying goodbye to all of those daydreams, to all of those scenarios and hopes that were so important to Alec just days ago? It was hard.

Not because he was desperately in love with Jace. It was hard because falling for Jace had just been part of who he was.

So yeah, maybe he allowed himself to look at Jace a bit sadder and a bit more regretful than usual. For all of those moments he had to let go. For all of those moments that would have been so much better had he known he wasn't actually in love with him.

Even his voice was deeper and a bit more hoarse as he continued speaking, but he figured that all of the people at this table were too drunk or didn't know his history anyways to figure him out correctly.

"However, there are also a lot of other things that you are, despite a big idiot: Caring. Kind. Selfless. Brave. Charming. Empathetic. Understanding. Helping. Relaxed. You always try to do the right thing, Jace, and you are always there for your friends when they need you, even if it means that you have to make some sacrifices yourself. I wouldn't be where I am today without your help, and for this, I will be forever thankful."

He could already hear Izzy sob, but Jace was grinning at him, and that was all that mattered.

"You know, when we met, I actually didn't know if we could ever become friends, just because we have so different personalities. In literally every aspect you look at. But, we did become friends, best friends even, and I soon understood that our personalities worked together more like Ying and Yang. Where you were loud, I was calm. Where you loved to show off and talk, I loved to stay quiet. They complimented each other nearly into perfection when it mattered, even though we sometimes may didn't even feel like they actually do. I'm just saying the incident with the duck there."

Jace started laughing. "Man, you promised me not to!"

"I didn't promise anything!" Alec answered, laughing as well. "Anyways, so when you met Clary, I, of course, also had my doubts. For her sake, of course. Your reputation didn't exactly scream 'loyal and definitely not a one-night-stand' when the two of you met, and with her being so kind and sweet, I sincerely had my doubts you were even playing in her league, no offence."

"He's right," Clary admitted with an eye roll and earned herself a playful punch from Jace.

"But meeting her and being with her changed you, more than anything has changed you before. You grew more open, you seemed to finally find somewhere you belonged, truly. And, the most important thing: You learned how to love someone without boundaries and being there for them every day. Meeting Clary has made you into the best version of yourself. And I don't know if it was because she wasn't as intelligent as she seemed, but she did stick around long enough for you to show her that change."

Clary laughed and Alec concentrated his attention on her for a little while, on the girl he just couldn't seem to hate anymore. "Jokes aside: You are the reason Jace isn't half the asshole he was before you met him, and I think the world will be forever thankful to you for that. With you, he is different. Before you came, he used to think that he could get anything in the world just with a snap of his fingers, especially the attention of girls, so when you came around and didn't take his bullshit for even just a second, it was hilarious and the best thing we have ever witnessed. You should have seen his face when he realised that he was in love with you!"

"Dude!"

"Not sorry. You turned his life around and showed him what love is, and even though I was sceptic at first, your personalities align in the same way as Jace's and mine: Ying and Yang. The way you love each other, the way you even look at each other, is so special and unique, and you truly deserve the world, so go and make it into yours."

The table exploded in applause and Alec could hear more than just one person tearing up, even Jace's eyes seemed to glisten suspiciously. Not that he would ever admit to that, of course.

Words seemed to be rare, as Clary was now openly tearing up, but Jace finally muttered a "Thanks, man. I love you too, so much," before Simon called out: "To the bride and groom!" and everyone downed their shot in one.

It was sweet and didn't taste like alcohol at all, exactly the kind of alcohol that was so dangerous to Alec.

"That was beautiful, Alec," Izzy commented with tears still in her eyes, which she just gallantly wiped off at Simon's coat.

But he didn't seem to mind even the slightest bit, judging by the fond expression he wore on his lips.

Alec nodded, happy at the praise, and turned to look at Magnus. His heart nearly skipped a beat as he realised how much he cared whether or not Magnus had liked his speech. And how much he just simply wanted to see his smile again.

But Magnus, to his confusion, wasn't looking at him as he turned around.

He was sitting very still, eyes directed towards the ground, the shot glass still hovering in his hands.

"Magnus, is everything okay?"

He still wouldn't look at him, he just slowly started shaking his head. Alec turned around to him with his whole body now, trying to figure out whether he should lift his chin or not, but Magnus only leaned slightly backwards as Alec got closer and sniffed.

Was he... crying?

"I'm sorry," he finally said and stood up quickly whilst still covering his face with his hands. "I just have to go to the bathroom."

And with that, Magnus was gone and left a very confused Alec behind.

...Did he say something wrong?

Chapter Text

Magnus couldn't even get to the bathroom before tears had already started falling. Quickly, he checked that no one else was in there at the moment, before he locked himself into the stall at the far back and let his tears go freely.

But then again, it was his fault, really. Why did he have to get his hopes up? He should have known from the start that this would only end in them being shattered. God, he had known, but still choose to ignore it. Hadn't he learned his lesson by now? After everything that had happened with Camille?

How could he even, for the smallest second, think that Alec might be interested in him? They were having a fake-relationship, for heaven's sake, nothing more.

Everything Alec had done was acting.

Magnus knew that now.

But still, when they had danced... and what he had said at dinner, so perfectly tailored around how they actually met for the first time, it had almost sounded like a love-

No. He wasn't going to go there again. He wasn't going to go over all of the little things in his head again that were the cause for his heartbreak now. Magnus had to forget about that.

Alec didn't like him like that, after the speech he had given to Jace, he knew that now.

It may not have been obvious to Jace himself, or anyone else who wasn't paying as close attention to Alec's expression and words as Magnus, but he had seen the look on Alec's face as he talked about Jace.

This certain kind of regret in his eyes. The hoarse voice, full of unspoken emotions. He knew those expressions only too well from himself and so was also totally clear about what they meant.

Love.

Unconditional, pure love.

At least from his part. Alec was in love with Jace, he had always been, and when Magnus thought about it now, everything made so much more sense. That's why Alec had needed a date in the first place. Not to defend himself from those pesky bachelors as he said, but to not freak out about the man he loved marrying someone else.

And, as much as it hurt and as much as he wanted to judge Alec for that, he couldn't. He could understand him.

Hadn't he done the same thing with Camille?

With the only difference being of course that Alec had been a much better date for him than he had for Alec. God, Alec had sacrificed so much as to kiss him in front of Camille, just to get him out of an awkward situation, even though Alec had never kissed anyone.

And what was he doing on the contrary? Hiding in a toilet stall to avoid actually fake-dating Alec at the moment.

Where he reached the beginning again, because oh yeah, why was he avoiding fake-dating Alec? Because he wanted it to be real. Because he was falling for him harder than for anyone else before.

And this was where the crux lied, where the real difference between Alec and Magnus was:

Alec had managed to not fall in love with Magnus like a good fake-date was supposed to, whilst Magnus had. Like the stupid teen he had sworn to never be again after Camille.

And still, he was here, hurting.

Before he could continue sobbing and wallowing in self-pity, the door opened and only for a few seconds, Magnus let himself be fooled that it might be Alec running after him.

Wait, no. He didn't want that. Couldn't.

"Magnus, are you in here?"

But the voice that had called out wasn't Alec's. It was a lot higher than his, almost child-like... Max!

Quickly, Magnus brushed away the remainder of his tears and tried to fix his smudged eyeliner as good as he could without a mirror.

Just because he had been so stupid to fall in love with Alec it didn't mean that he had to blow their cover now.

"Hey, Max," he said and at least tried to sound happy. "Is everything okay?"

Max nodded, but it was clear that he could see Magnus's puffed eyes. "Yeah, I just came to check up on you..." He looked behind Magnus in the stall, as if he tried to find out what exactly Magnus had been doing in there, so he quickly jumped into action.

"Oh, don't worry, I was just... checking my eyeliner." It was the next best thing to 'crying over your brother because I had to get my hopes up'.

"But there isn't a mirror inside," Max assessed with a cocked eyebrow and Magnus's blood ran cold.

Why did he have to run into the smart one in the family? Couldn't he have run into Jace?

"Well, you see... I got sick from that shot we did right now afterwards, so I actually did need the toilet." When did he get so bad at lying?

Max just slowly nodded but seemingly decided to let go of the topic, even though Magnus knew that it was only for his sake.

"Magnus, can I ask you something?"

He smiled. "Sure, always."

"Do you love my brother?"

His smile dropped in an instant. "What?"

"Well, do you love him? Because I have seen the way he looks at you. He has never looked at anyone else in the same way, and I know him pretty well, that's how I know that he loves you. Deeply. And I don't want him to get hurt again."

So he knew about the whole ordeal with Jace. Maybe he had guessed it. "Don't worry, Max. Your brother's heart is in safe hands with me," was all he managed to answer with a crooked smile, but Max seemed to be happy.

"Thank you. He has been lonely now for such a long time, and even though he always says that everything is alright and we are enough for him, I always felt like he was missing something. Someone. Someone he could really tell everything to. I'm just so happy he has found you, then."

Max's statement nearly sucked the air out of Magnus's lungs. "Me, too," he said, but he was wondering how Max could not hear his heart shatter.

The young boy took his hand and lead him out of the toilet back into the venue, where everyone was just smiling at him. For a few seconds, he had to think about why they were all smiling again. How could they all be so happy whilst he was so miserable? Then it came to him again. Right, the wedding. How could he forget?

In a last desperate effort to look something like he hadn't cried out his eyes right now, he raised his hand again to fix his eyeliner.

At least, it was comforting to know that even smart Max had fallen for Alec's acting. He wasn't alone with that.

But he certainly didn't want to think about the irony that lay in the last statement. As they reached the table again and Magnus dodged Alec's worried glances successfully until he sat down, only one thought was on his mind: If this whole thing was still supposed to work, he needed alcohol. A lot of it.

"Okay big brother, what have you done to him?" Izzy glared and pulled Alec aside, who just shrugged defensively.

"I don't know, seriously! I've been asking that myself!"

And it was true, he had, indeed, wondered about that question ever since Magnus had come back from the toilet, led by his brother. At first, Alec thought that maybe Max had told him or asked him something upsetting, but even as Alec asked him, Magnus wouldn't answer.

"I'm fine, Alec," was all he ever said, but without looking at him. "Don't worry about me. Go and enjoy your evening."

The fact that Magnus had even called him 'Alec' and not 'Alexander' only added to that dreading feeling in his stomach.

What had happened between the dance and now? At the dance, he really thought that Magnus might like him, but now...

Maybe he did read the signs wrong. Maybe he did imagine all those silent signs of something more. Maybe Magnus was just acting the whole time.

And what reason had he to believe any different? Magnus had been avoiding him the entire evening now, going where Alec most likely wasn't. Of course, someone from the outside couldn't have guessed because Magnus still linked their arms and kissed his cheek whenever someone from his family might look, but it just didn't feel the same anymore.

It felt cold.

And after everything Alec had told himself, after all the times he had been over this whole it's-just-a-fake-relationship-he-doesn't-like-you thing, at that time he did have no idea how much this coldness actually hurt.

But it was no use thinking about it now. Magnus had every right to just not like him, it had been their whole deal in fact, so what was he supposed to do about it?

He sighed and tried to turn away from his sister, but she only pinned him against the wall.

"Alec, listen, even you can't tell me that he's normally like... this," she said and gestured towards where Magnus stood, currently chucking down another glass of wine.

Because of course, there was also all the alcohol. Alec had known that Magnus did like his usual cocktail and was prone to party, but he never would have pictured that it would get that... bad. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't like Magnus was misbehaving, it was just that he had drunken so much in the last few hours that even an elephant shouldn't be able to walk anymore. And quite frankly, what Magnus did couldn't pass as walking after a while.

"I don't know!" he shouted out again, a bit louder than he wanted to this time. "Didn't you say that he liked to drink?"

Izzy gave him a look as if he was entirely stupid. "Yeah, he does, but that's not 'party' type of drinking anymore. That's the 'straight-up getting drunk to forget about your feelings' type, which is never good, Alec. I mean, look at him, do you seriously think he's happy right now?"

They both watched closely as Magnus made small talk with one of Clary's grandparents, still ogling his glass, before clumsily retreating - whilst they were in the middle of asking him something - and stumbling over a chair. He managed to catch himself in the last second before falling down and some of his wine spilt over, but he just kept laughing to no one in particular.

"Alright, maybe you have a point," Alec confessed and Izzy huffed.

"Of course I do. So you have really no idea what could have caused it?"

"None. I swear. But maybe..."

"What?" Izzy's eyes opened wide in anticipation.

"Did you consider that he maybe just doesn't like me, Izz? I mean sure, we make a great fake-couple, but I don't think that there's anything beyond that..."

"Okay, I know for a fact that you are falling for him, deeply, and that always does seem to make you stupid so: Did he tell you that or did you just assume he felt like that?" Izzy said and cocked her eyebrow.

Alec sighed and gave up trying to tell Izzy that he wasn't in love. It was a lie, he knew that, and Izzy had always known him far too well for those. "He maybe didn't exactly tell me, but..."

"But...?"

"Just look at him now. He's avoiding me all the time and he won't even look me in the eyes when I try to talk with him. That's not really a thing you do to people you are falling for, is it?"

His sister laughed, and Alec almost couldn't believe her. But it was an honest laugh, and she finally eased her grip on him. "Oh my god Alec, you are such an idiot."

"Why?" Alec frowned, but before Isabelle could answer, a heavy something jumped into his arms.

"Alec!"

He laughed, his sorrows momentarily forgotten. "Hey, Max, how are you doing?"

His brother had definitely gotten too old to hold him like that, but not that he would care.

"Did someone give you a bit too much coca-cola?"

Max started to laugh frantically, which didn't lessen his suspicion. But, as it had always been, he was happy as long as his brother was happy.

"Maybe..."

"Typical. Was it Jace again?"

"It was Magnus, actually. He sneaked me some of the sweets out from the kitchen."

"Magnus?" Alec's ears perked up instantly. Welcome back, sorrows.

Max turned his head to one side as if he couldn't understand the sudden mood shift that had been happening.

"Yeah, Magnus, your loving boyfriend, silly. Did you already forget about him?" Max meant it as a joke and he didn't seem to realize how Alec's eyes darted towards the ground. "I actually really like him, you should keep him."

Izzy laughed next to him. "That's what I've been telling him all evening."

Max beamed at them. "Seriously! He is so amazing, and he knows all the mangas that I'm talking about. And, of course, the most important thing: He loves you, Alec."

Alec huffed out a laugh, finding no reason why he shouldn't tell Max the truth now. The evening was nearly coming to an end anyway. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, little one."

"What do you mean?"

Izzy threw him a questioning glance, but Alec was already rolling. He kneeled down next to Max and took his hands into his own. "See, Magnus and I, we're not really in a relationship. We just agreed to date for the evening so I could get out of mom's awkward matchmaking. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"No." Max shook his head and tore his hands free in visible distress. "That's not true. Stop kidding me, Alec."

Izzy and Alec shared a look.

"What do you mean? I wasn't kidding, Izzy set us up, she can testify."

"Very sadly, I can, even though we all thought that there would be more than just a fake-relationship..."

"Izzy, who is 'all'?" Alec asked pressingly before Max brought the whole attention to him again.

"Alec, Magnus LOVES you!" He suddenly screamed out, definitely too loud for a rather quiet venue. "I asked him myself and he said it."

Alec froze at that before he realized something. "Of course he said it, we are pretending, after all, you know. But that's just an act."

"No, it wasn't. The way he said it, Alec - it wasn't a lie, trust me. And I'm the smartest sibling, so you have to trust me."

Alec ran hot and cold all over. He knew that Max was indeed the smartest of them and that he was very good at reading people, but Magnus actually liking him...? That couldn't be.

Could it?

Then, why did he keep his distance?

"Can you please be a real couple now? He's nice and you also like him," Max pushed again, and Alec ran a hand through his hair.

"Max, it's not that easy..."

"It is, big brother. You're the one that's making this hard, probably because you're still scared that he might reject you, even though literally everyone with two eyes can see how he is looking at you. So please, Alec, just go and talk to him now," Izzy pleaded, but Alec still shook his head.

He couldn't turn off the doubts in his head, that little voice that kept telling him "No, Magnus doesn't like you, that's why he's avoiding you, dumbass."

"But guys, what if he just really needs his privacy right now-"

"GO AND TALK TO HIM!" came from both Izzy and Max as if they had planned it. Which, knowing them, wasn't a far off possibility.

"Even if you don't do it for yourself, do it for him," she added. "He is really drunk and as his date, you are kind of obliged to get him some fresh air."

If it hadn't been for the meaningful wink she had sent him afterwards, Alec might have actually fully agreed with her.

With a sigh, he finally accepted his fate, finished what was left of his drink in one gulp and then set off to find his fake-date somewhere. Probably near the cocktail bar.

"Go and get your mans!" Izzy shouted after him and Alec had to laugh against his will.

God, how he loved his siblings.

As Alec was just done talking to his siblings and slowly spreading out so search for Magnus, the latter was just sitting at a table in the back of a room, a half-full glass of something he couldn't remember the name of in front of him. He had asked the bartender to make it stronger than strong, and he trusted him.

Fair enough, by now he was far too drunk to taste a difference to his usual drinks anyways.

Without further thought, he chucked another quarter of it down and looked at the room around him.

The dancing floor was still full, but not as crowded as it had been a few hours ago. It was already well past midnight, and the first guests were now leaving the beautiful venue to return home; well deserved after an evening of drinking and dancing.

It was actually a huge compliment to Clary and Jace that they had managed to keep their guests for such a long time - usually, at the lame weddings Magnus had already been to, the first people started leaving at midnight if they weren't celebrating in a hotel.

Clary and Jace. Right now, Magnus could see them dancing in the middle of the room, foreheads pressed together, with a pure smile on both of their faces. As happy as he was for them, right now, this picture just made him miserable, and he was too drunk to contain that from himself.

If only Alec were here-

No.

No more thoughts about Alec, he had promised it to himself. He had to get a grip over himself, and this man had to get off of his mind as soon as possible. And if he had to drink the whole bar first to get those beautiful eyes of his out of his head.

With that, he took another sip, but he had to contain himself only a few seconds later to not look around for Alec. No, he was Magnus Bane after all. He shouldn't be sitting in the corner of a glamorous party all night just because he was in love with someone who didn't-

Sweet heavens, he had to stop.

And maybe, a bit of talk would get Alec off of his mind just fine. Maybe he could even try and find someone to flirt with? It couldn't be too hard for him on a wedding, especially considering he looked like he always looked and about seventy per cent were just as drunk as he was.

Strongly determined and seeing absolutely nothing wrong in his idea, he stood up from his chair and took his first steps in no particular direction. However, the room seemed to daze a lot more around him than he remembered, and the ground seemed to move around him, ready to throw him off his balance any second.

Was there an earthquake going on?

Magnus made his first few 'steps' whilst heavily swaying, and just as he thought he was sure to fall down now, he regained his balance again. The ground stopped moving around him, and he let out a laugh.

"Ha, take that, stupid earthquake!"

"Magnus, what the hell are you talking about?" sounded a familiar voice from behind him, and it was only then that Magnus realized the only reason why he hadn't fallen was not that the earthquake had suddenly stopped. It was because two very strong arms had caught him and still held him in place behind his back.

With a swirl, he turned around, nearly falling down again if it hadn't been for the fast reaction of his lifesaver.

"Hello, pretty boy-" he started his sentence, ready to flirt with whoever that voice belonged to, but he froze when he finally could see clearly enough to recognize the face.

Alec.

Of course, the universe had to hate him this entire evening and wouldn't even let him drink his sorrows in peace.

"Magnus, Jesus Christ, how much did you drink?" His voice sounded concerned, and he hated how the warmness in it sent butterflies free in his stomach.

He even forgot to answer for the first few seconds. "Much," he finally giggled. "But it's all on the house, so that's a... a chance I couldn't miss!" Magnus knew that he definitely slurred to much to pass off as even slightly sober, but he couldn't care less.

Stupid Alec with his stupid eyes.

"...And how are my eyes stupid exactly? I didn't even know eyes could be such a thing." He heard the amusement in Alec's voice, but his blood froze nevertheless.

Oh shit. Did he say that out loud?

"Yup, you did, just like the last thing right there."

That was a good cause for Magnus to at least breath in deeply once and try to sober up a bit. Needless to say, it didn't work. On one side, he knew that this was Alec standing in front of him, aka the one person he wouldn't- couldn't let his guard down around. Not if he wanted to be hurt more. But on the other side - he was drunk. So drunk. And right now, all he wanted was for Alec to feel his bitterness, even though he knew that it was unfair.

Unfortunately, when he finally got out of his thoughts again, he had missed what Alec had been saying the whole time. Way to go, Bane.

"Did ya say something?"

"I wish I hadn't," Alec grumbled, and it was only then that Magnus realized he was still holding him, making sure he couldn't fall to the ground.

"It's just like when we first met... just now I'm the one falling," he said with a smile before he could stop himself - and tried to break free from Alec's grip right afterwards.

He just couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand being so close to Alec whilst also looking like such an idiot, as drunk as he was. Alec must be so fed up with him by now.

"No, you're not going anywhere," Alec argued and held Magnus even closer now, but he wouldn't have it.

"Let go of me!" He tried again, this time louder, and banged against Alec's chest, but his mind seemed to not be the only thing affected by the alcohol, so only after a few seconds of struggling, he ended up with his face pressed against Alec's chest, sobbing.

Wait... sobbing? Why was he crying? And why was he crying on Alec's shoulder, when that was the last thing he had imagined himself doing?

"Magnus," came Alec's soothing voice again, and Magnus cursed it, but he couldn't fight how much calmer he got hearing that voice. Okay, maybe the tight embrace Alec was holding him in also had something to do with that. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

"But you already did," was everything Magnus managed to bring out between sobs that grew heavier and heavier.

And that was the truth, the whole truth, the one that Magnus had actually promised himself to not tell Alec.

Now that this was gone, there was nothing guarding him anymore. No walls he could hide behind. Now that Alec knew the truth, he could do anything to him, hurt him as Camille had done, and there was nothing Magnus could do to reverse that decision now.

He lost control of his limbs, his legs feeling like pudding, and he would have fallen if Alec hadn't been holding him.

"I think we really need to talk, but not here. People are starting to stare. And you desperately need some fresh air."

It cost Magnus a nearly ridiculous amount of strength to focus on Alec's words and even more to look into his eyes, looking around the room with a serious expression on his face.

His heart skipped a beat as he managed to decipher Alec's words. He wanted to talk to him...? Why? To break his heart even more?

He wanted to disagree with Alec, tell him to leave him alone, but he couldn't.

"That's okay," was all he said, and Alec took him by his hand and led him somewhere what Magnus assumed was the back of the venue, into the darker paths with tropic plants on each side.

Soon, the laughter and music of the party were only distant, and fresh, crisp night air surrounded Magnus's nose. Had they gone to the exit in the back? Probably.

As he took the first few breaths of fresh air, he could already feel himself sobering up a bit. Nightair always had that kind of effect on him, especially if it was as cool as this one was right now. It felt like it was always remembering him that there was so much more in this world - more than just the drinks that he had and the party he had been to. It was a promise. And who couldn't sober up at that thought?

However, sobering up also meant facing Alec. And he didn't know if he was ready for that. Fleeing into the drunken state had been a very good tactic to avoid such a thing. On the other hand, he was standing here now, so he didn't even know if this talk could have been avoided because clearly, he had tried.

Magnus sighed.

If this had to take place, he would like to get over with it pretty fast.

"Alec, I-"

"Magnus, I-", they said at the same time, before Alec gave him a smile that warmed his heart.

"You go first."

"Alexan- Alec," Magnus corrected himself. No more feelings than necessary. "I'm sorry for how I behaved this evening- for how I am behaving, in fact," he laughed to himself, looking at the ground. "And I think you do deserve the reason to know why I have been such a bad fake-date. See, over the last few days, weeks, if you count in the time we met at the subway, I-"

Breathe in, breathe out.

He was really going to do it.

"I fell in love with you. And I know that it should be a much too short time for someone to feel that way about another person, and believe me, I tried to deny it, but here I am, falling for you deeper with every single second. And I know that you don't feel the same way about me, which is okay, you love Jace, and even though he doesn't love you back, I know that love doesn't take that into consideration. It is so unfair in that matter. But I should know best."

Magnus wanted to look into Alec's eyes now so badly, see that enigma of emotions the last time until they ultimately had to say goodbye, but he couldn't. His eyes stayed pinned to the ground.

"Magnus-"

"No, Alec, let me finish this." A sob had nearly come out with that, but Magnus managed to contain it. "Then, after our dance and the way you talked about our 'relationship' at dinner... I thought that you might actually mean it. And yes, I know that that was foolish, I mean you were acting, after all, and I shouldn't have even dared to hope, but I did. So then, when you talked about Jace with all of this... regret in your voice, I knew that you love him."

Finally, he found the strength to look up at Alec's face, still hoping to see some sort of sign. A simple headshake, a laugh, anything that would make Magnus believe he might have been wrong and Alec did really feel something for him as well.

But, as it always seemed to go for Magnus, Alec's face stayed hard, his eyes even more unreadable than usual, and Magnus continued to say what he hoped to never have to say.

"Again, it's okay, Alec. I get it. I, from all people, should now, how you can love someone that doesn't love you back, and I guess all I wanted to say to you now is that..." He looked into Alec's eyes again. But for once, he couldn't get lost in them. He just hoped that his own eyes mirrored the emotions he felt right now, even if his words wouldn't allow him to. "that I'm truly sorry for the way I acted. But it seems like fake-dating you is truly killing me, so... I'll have to say goodbye."

Alec didn't say anything, and Magnus took that as his cue to leave, however hard it was to hold back further tears by now.

Magnus held on one last time. "Still, thank you for..."

'Being everything I've ever dreamt of'? 'Giving me hopes for something I never thought I could have'?

"Everything. I should go home now. It was nice meeting you, Alexander."

Only one last time, he had wanted to pronounce Alec's full first name on his tongue, to connect it to the many memories he had with him. Falling in the subway, painting his eyes, gazing at the stars, getting pretzels in the park - God, the way that he laughed every time he thought he said something embarrassing, or the way this one annoying strand of hair always fell into his eyes - he just wanted to channel all of that one last time before letting go.

For old time's sake, he patted Alec's shoulder with his hand, careful not to touch him for too long. "Goodbye."

Magnus lowered his hand reluctantly but finally found the strength to get his legs moving again, even brushing past Alec with near to no staggering.

But before he could have even come far or realized just what he had left behind, a warm hand gripped his.

"Magnus, wait."

He didn't dare to look at Alec for the fear that if he did, he would be a sobbing mess again. Something he preferred to do behind closed doors in his apartment if he could choose.

"Alec, it's okay, just let me-"

But Magnus couldn't finish that sentence, because, at that exact moment when he turned towards Alec to finish his sentence, soft lips pressed themselves against his own.

Lips he already knew.

Lips he had dreamt of kissing over and over again.

Magnus was lost in an instant, lost in the kiss he shared with Alexander, lost in the fireworks that seemed to go off all around them.

At first, Alec was kissing him unbelievably gentle and careful, as if still unsure if that was the thing Magnus wanted, but as soon as he had overcome his first few seconds and returned the kiss, it became deeper in an instant.

Kissing Alexander was everything Magnus had ever dared himself to dream off, only still better. So many times better. It felt like he could let himself go completely, give up any control over his body and melt together with Alec instead, forming one.

Honestly, breathing or even the thought of air seemed like such an incidental thing to think about now, and when they finally parted to catch their breaths, Magnus hadn't even noticed how direly he had needed it.

"Wait...", Magnus said, hands rumouring restlessly through Alec's hair, desperate to pull him towards him again - but he also knew that he had to get this question answered before he could give in to the feeling with his whole heart. "So you don't like Jace?"

"What? No!", Alec answered still a bit breathlessly, but laughing. "I never did. Not really. And then you came along, and-"

Magnus couldn't restrain himself anymore to hear the end of the sentence and rather pulled Alec into another deep kiss again, which he didn't seem to mind one single bit. The feeling of Alec's nails scraping against Magnus's back nearly made him go insane, but just as he was about to pull the other man's shirt up, he interrupted him hesitantly.

"How about... we get out of here?" Alec gesticulated around at their surroundings, and it was only then Magnus fully realised that in fact, they were still standing in the middle of a giant greenhouse with a wedding happening only a few metres away.

He cleared his throat, trying to ignore how wide Alec's pupils had dilated and almost covered the entire blue iris now. God, he really had to stop staring into his eyes - that never had a good effect on him. "You're right... cab?" was all he managed to choke out, gaze already travelling towards Alec's lips again.

There were still standing so close to each other that their chests nearly touched, still holding onto each other as if it was everything that prevented them from falling.

Alec smiled at him, and Magnus felt as if for the first time in his life, he was complete. Standing here, so close to Alec, knowing that he felt the same way - it wasn't like dancing with him.

It wasn't like the whole world had stopped spinning around them and they were the only ones left on earth again, even though it had felt like this so many times when Magnus had looked into Alec's eyes.

Right now, it felt as if the world had never stopped spinning in the first place - only that now Alec and Magnus were spinning intact with it.

It felt as if everything made sense; as if suddenly everything had become so much clearer with Alec by his side.

And from that moment onwards, after they finally knew how they felt about each other, Magnus realised that he would only need Alec's smile until the end of time, then he would be alright whatever may come.

So, because expressing all that he felt at this exact moment of kissing Alec might have been a bit too much for words, Magnus simply smiled back at Alec and took his hand.

"Let's go," he whispered and pressed close to him as Alec kissed him on the forehead again and took the lead.

And honestly, Magnus was still half expecting to wake up from his dream as they were walking through the by lanterns illuminated flowers back to the party, this time as a couple for real. But this, he had to admit to himself, was more beautiful than anything he could ever dream of.

Even if it was a dream, he wouldn't mind dreaming it for some time longer.

Chapter Text

Sure as hell, when the two lovebirds finally decided to take the cab home for the night, Rory wasn't disappointed.

At first, sure, he was a bit worried, because they both seemed to be rather intoxicated and he didn't want anyone vomiting in his cab again,  but as soon as Rory could see the glances they threw each other, a shit-eating grin spread across his face.

So they had finally made out.

It had been about time, judging by the whole tension they did have this afternoon.

He was so going to tell Susan about this.

Rory had had a good feeling about them from the start, after all. Not that his guts lied to him often, of course. Quite the opposite. As a cab driver, especially if someone has been in the job for as long as he had, you just kind of noticed certain things, and Rory was a master in this field. Of course, it was very useful in the day-to-day-driving to know when your passengers were up for a little chat and when they were definitely not, but most importantly, it was so damn interesting.

And if Rory was one thing, he sure was curious, and those two he was driving right now were the most interesting thing he had seen all week. Not the craziest; you wouldn't believe all the things you saw as a cab driver in New York, but something about them just tugged at Rory's heart more than the usual couple did.

"My boyf- my friend's address is right here," the taller one of them, that one without sparkles, said and held his phone up to Rory with the address written on it.

The latter had to cover up his own laugh with a cough. Those two were just too cute. What was the taller one's name again, the one that had hired him? Alex? He almost couldn't keep his eyes off of the other man long enough to smile brightly at Rory, that kind of dumbfound smile that one can only smile when they're in love.

Deeply in love.

"Sure, no problem," Rory finally answered and pulled out of the parking space, even though he doubted that Alex had even heard him. "We'll be there in just a few minutes. But tell me, how was the wedding, guys?"

As no one answered him for a few seconds, Rory almost wanted to check in the rearview mirror if the two were making out (not that that would have been a problem), but finally, Alex's voice rose up over the noise of traffic again, accompanied by the giggles of the other man.

"Oh yeah, the wedding... It was fine, really. Lovely venue."

"I can imagine so... haven't been to a wedding that fine since my own, and that must tell ya something. So you and your sweetheart there had loads of fun, didn't ya?"

Rory didn't need to check in the rearview mirror twice to see that the Alex-guy was blushing hard, clearly staggering to find the right words.

His sparkly date seemed a bit more open. "You could say it that way," he answered finally and threw Rory a mischevious wink through the mirror which made Alex blush even harder, so hard that he even felt some pity for him, but could feel his heart nearly burst out of sympathy for those guys at the same time.

They were so in love.

And even though he didn't ask them any more questions throughout the ride (they were clearly busy blushing and working through everything that had happened that evening in their heads) he still checked up on them through the rearview mirror from time to time, and the love there would have been clear to everyone. Even if one wasn't a cab-driver.

Alex seemed to be the shy one in the duo - more the insecure, oblivious type, who probably didn't know that the other guy liked him until he literally told him face to face. Maybe he wasn't used to going on dates, maybe he just hadn't been in a lot of relationships, but he sure as hell wasn't good at flirting - that much Rory could tell with only a single glance. The way he blushed every time his date did so much as touched him slightly or leaned in to whisper something in his ear - everything about him just screamed it.

But Sparkly (the nickname Rory decided to give him after a while) didn't seem to mind that at all - quite the opposite. Alex's blushing, the whole deal of him being so obviously nervous, it's what made Sparkly's eyes light up the most. He may have seemed coy and like someone who is very sure of himself to Rory at first, but the way he could barely take his eyes off of Alex and couldn't stop grinning the whole way to his apartment spoke for itself. Sparkly was someone who, despite appearing very self-confident, was surprised that he was loved by someone like Alex. And Alex was, too.

Maybe this was what was so beautiful about them.

Maybe it was also the New York street light shining in around them as they drove through the city slowly, lighting up their faces with a mysterious glow full of promises.

Maybe it was just Rory fangirling too much and having watched too many romantic movies, despite the objections of his wife.

After a while, Rory had to concentrate on the traffic again fully (because driving through New York's streets at about half two am still didn't mean that it would be empty), and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, they had reached the address Alex had given him. He pulled up in front of a rather poor looking apartment complex, the one where he had picked up the two of them so many hours ago, and parked the car carefully.

He waited for a few seconds to hear the familiar sound of car doors opening, but nothing happened.

Curious, and after waiting out the polite ten seconds (or maybe it were only seven? God couldn't judge him, anyway) Rory corrected the rearview mirror so he could see what exactly was going on in his backseat, and he had to keep himself from cheering as soon as he did see it.

Alex and Sparkly were actually making out, right there behind him, and they were so occupied with it that they even completely missed them arriving at their destination.

Rory sighed, more because he was secretly happy than annoyed, and took a last mental picture of just how happy they seemed with each other before he finally decided to break it up before it would get too rough and awkward.

Unable to hide his smile, he cleared his throat to get their attention, but nothing happened. Then, he cleared his throat louder, this time nearly choking because he had to laugh so hard, but still, nothing.

"Guys, I really hate disturbing ya now that you look all cosy there, but we did arrive about two minutes ago."

At this, both men separated from each other quickly, Alex looking like an alarmed guinea pig whilst Sparkly just chuckled fondly.

"Ohh, did- did we?" Alex asked and looked out the window, then laughed. "We actually did."

With a new burst of energy, he jumped out of the car at his side and hurried to open up the door for his date, making even Rory blush.

Sparkly looked at him unbelievingly, which again made Alex nervous, before he took his hand with a grin and stepped out of the car, still so speechless that he could only mutter a short 'Thank you'.

God, those two could win the award for 'most adorable couple of the year' so easily.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm just going to bring him up to his apartment!" Alex claimed and slammed the door, but Rory knew better.

"Sure you will," he muttered to himself as he watched the two of them trying to climb up the stairs - which certainly didn't seem to be easy when you were drunk, but stumbling around only seemed to make them laugh even more.

Being in love was so beautiful.

Rory smiled fondly as he remembered the person that made him feel this way every time he looked at her - Susan. They had met when they were still in high school, and their love hadn't altered a day since. She was the reason he had always liked to drive people in love the best. Not couples, because not all couples were in love.

His smile didn't drop a bit that when he remembered that his love, the one he had been reminiscing about those last few minutes, was probably sitting at home right now practising the lecture she would give him because he had been working so late again.

Frankly, he couldn't wait to hear that lecture.

And to tell her all about those two lovebirds he had driven this evening, and how right he had been about them. And how they reminded him of himself.

Because that is what love was.

Humming in anticipation for what was to come, Rory finally pulled out of the parking spot and set off towards home, fully knowing that Alex definitely wouldn't need that ride home.





Their lips were on each other's again before they had even fully opened the entrance door to the building, but Alec didn't mind that one bit. The stars were shining brightly above them and the air was freezing, but with Magnus tugging at his lower lip, he definitely had more important things to care about.

The freezing air seemed only like an excuse to pull Magnus even closer to himself as he was pressed against the wall next to the half-opened door. Their kiss grew impatient after a while, hungry,  wanting for more, and Alec smiled widely as Magnus played with his hair softly.

"I'm so glad we found each other," he whispered between kisses and Magnus gave him a fond look.

And for the first time, Alec could finally decipher that final emotion in Magnus's eyes he was so struggling to understand before.

It was love.

It had always been love.

How could he have never noticed that before? He was sure his own eyes were full of it as well.

Alec kissed Magnus even more fiercely at that, who drew a quick breath in surprise, which made Alec smile again. Had he really just managed to surprise Magnus Bane? The surprise factor didn't hold long though, and before Alec knew, Magnus was working his way down to his neck impatiently, sucking the skin under his lips and making Alec moan involuntarily, who somehow so wasn't on board with that.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love making out more with you in the freezing cold, but shouldn't we get you inside?" He chuckled caressed Magnus's cheek, but the latter only gave him a mischevious smile.

"Is someone embarrassed?"

"Not in the least, but my fingers are freezing!" Alec said, but he was sure he was blushing whilst he said it, and he couldn't wipe the grin off of his face as he turned to hold the door open for Magnus, who looked up at the sky as his breath turned into crystals above him.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight."

"Yes, they are," he answered and followed Magnus's gaze, but as he looked up, the stars, who were so familiar to him that he could have named them all, who had helped him through so much in his life, somehow couldn't capture his whole attention anymore. It was Magnus his glance slipped down to, again and again. No matter how beautiful the stars may shined, Magnus was shining brighter.

"You said you fell in love with me because of them," Alec stated, and a new wave of gratitude coursed through him as he remembered that moment at dinner, that he knew would stay forever in his heart now.

Magnus turned towards him again and nodded. "It was true. Every word of it. But I know that even if you didn't, I would have fallen for you because of any other thing that you did."

Alec sucked his breath, surprised at just how intimate this moment felt. "What I said was true too."

"I know," Magnus grinned and winked at him. "You were falling for me since the start."

Alec laughed. "You so didn't know that. Should I remind you of just how much you drunk tonight just to forget about me?"

Magnus joined into his laugh and took his hand, which had Alec shiver again at the touch. "Okay, maybe you're right. But let's go inside now, it's really getting cold."

Alec took a last look at the stars above him. Once, they had been everything to him. And now even more so. But now, the thing he liked about them most was that it had been because of them that Magnus had been falling for him, which was so much more to Alec now than 'everything'.

Magnus tugged at his arm impatiently and Alec closed the door behind them with a grin, forgetting about the stars completely for the first time in his life.





Climbing stairs so late into the night that it's nearly early morning is never easy, but especially not if the apartment you have to get to is located on the 6th floor. And the person you're going with is so much sportier than expected. (And you still have a kind of high amount of alcohol in your system.)

"Jesus Christ, do you have to be so fast?" Magnus cried out at Alec, who already was a few steps ahead of him.

The bright smile he gave him, however, made Magnus already forget all of his frustration about his missing condition. And shorter legs.

"Sorry, I just really love stairs."

Magnus hated stairs with a passion, but right now, he found that he actually didn't mind them too much. If that's what it took to see Alec's grin, he was willing to walk stairs for the rest of his life. And, admittedly, hearing Alec breath so heavily wasn't too bad either.

"Who in their right mind loves stairs?" he still murmured though with a grin on his face, joining into the now-familiar banter.

Alec just shrugged and linked their arms with each other. "Come, let me help you."

Their now hot bodies so close together made Magnus shiver, and once again he asked himself with what good deed he had deserved all of this. Alexander actually falling for him, and them being so perfect together. When they had sat in the cab on the way back, Magnus had half feared that Alec already thought he had made a mistake, that he would change his mind again as soon as they arrived, or that, once they were alone, the feelings between them just wouldn't be the same anymore. That it would be just awkward.

But now, being dragged along up the stairs by Alec whilst teasing him about his long legs, he just couldn't imagine a thought being further from the truth.

Being with Alec, talking to him... it was just so easy. The direct opposite of what his relationship with Camille had been like.

With Camille, it had always been about power, a game of dominance and will. All they had ever done had been two things - either making out or fighting, sometimes both at the same time. Sure, there had been a passion, so much passion Magnus could have choked at it, and after a while, he had thought the passion and the fighting would just come hand in hand. But not with Alec. Alec somehow managed to still set off his wildest phantasies, but in such a soft and gentle way that Magnus didn't feel like breaking for the first time in a long while.

"Is that... is that your apartment?" asked Alec finally, completely out of breath, and it was only then Magnus realised he hadn't stopped staring at him now for a few minutes.

At first, he wanted to turn his head quickly as Alec caught his glance, but then he realised that now, there was no reason any more to do so. Alec felt the same.

He felt the same.

"What?" Alec asked with a confused smile as Magnus's grin grew wider and wider.

"Nothing, you just look really beautiful."

"You're drunk," he laughed and took the keys from Magnus's hand, which was clearly too shaky from the cold outside.

"Am not!" Magnus stumbled as soon as the words were out of his mouth and Alec just threw him a judging glance. "Okay, maybe a bit."

Alec scoffed but didn't take his eyes off of him, and before Magnus knew who had even leaned in, their lips met again.

It started out with such a softness that Magnus could have sworn he could hear his heart aching. Their lips barely touched, but the feeling was still there, and Magnus laid his hands around Alec's neck to get him closer.

Was it possible to lay all of your feelings inside just one single kiss?

If so, Alec was a master in this discipline, and Magnus gave his best to make him feel how his own heart was overflowing with emotions as well.

However, as Magnus could feel Alec's tongue pressing against his lips and he opened his mouth, things started to get messier a lot faster. He didn't know if it had been seconds or minutes after their kiss had deepened, but suddenly, he was pinning Alec against the wall next to the door, desperate to hold him even tighter, whilst Alec's fingers were moving restlessly through his hair. Their tongues exploring each other's mouth felt like heaven on earth, and Magnus had to suppress a moan as their chests touched.

"We should take this inside," Magnus quickly uttered as they were breaking apart for some air, but Alec only nodded, gaze fixed on Magnus's lips, so it was up to him to swiftly roll them into the door as they were kissing again.

He didn't even bother to turn on the lights, the street lights shining in through the window were enough to help Magnus's orientation in his own apartment, and Alec just blindly threw the door shut behind them before they dedicated themselves to each other with a grin again completely, still lost in the feeling their closeness had set free.

Alec cupped Magnus's cheeks now as the latter steered them to where he thought where his bed stood (which wasn't an easy thing to do with your eyes shut for the most time) and he trailed his fingers under Alec's shirt impatiently, wanting to get rid of that distracting thing as fast as possible. He could feel Alec shiver under his touch as his fingers met his bare skin and Magnus grinned, amazed at his ability to make this beautiful man shiver so hard, before now Alec let go of his cheek and worked his way down to a sensitive spot behind his ear, making Magnus moan hoarsely and nearly losing his grip.

"Alexander...," he whispered as they had finally reached the bed, ready to finally get rid of their clothing, but just as Alec was hesitantly parting from Magnus to strip out of his shoes before he could stumble, a loud 'meow' sounded through the apartment and made both men stand still in shock.

Magnus needed a good few seconds in which Alec just stared at him, confused, before he actually remembered that he did, in fact, had a cat.

"Oh my god, Chairman!"

"What?" Alec asked, but Magnus already rushed over to the light switch before a little bright lamp illuminated the room, revealing Chairman, who sat in the middle of the room and stared at Magnus displeased.

His blood ran cold when he remembered that one, Chairman did sometimes attack visitors (he hadn't liked Camille, at least) and two, he had forgotten to give him extra food this morning for tonight, and he was even in a worse mood every time he was hungry.

"You have a cat?" Alec asked, still slightly confused, and ruffled his hand through his hair. "He's cute."

Alec kneeled himself down in front of Chairman and inspected him closer before he finally reached out with his hand.

"No, Alexander, don't-"

But Magnus's worries were unfounded because, after a further 'meow' from Chairman and an encouraging finger snap from Alec, Chairman started purring and rubbed his head against Alec's leg, who smiled.

"He's so friendly... What's his name?"

"Chairman Meow," Magnus said and slowly crept closer, still not believing in how easy-going his cat seemed to be around Alec.

"You called your cat 'Chairman Meow'?" Alec asked now with a laugh and Magnus shrugged.

"It fits him and it's pretty unique. He can be a vicious beast though; usually, he isn't that friendly to visitors, especially ones he has never seen before."

And that was right: Magnus was the only one who could touch Chairman without the fear of being scratched, Catarina could do so maybe nine out of ten times, but even Ragnor had his difficulties with his cat. Even though Magnus did believe that to be mutual.

However, with Alec, things seemed to be entirely different, the way he basically through himself at his feet now to get his tummy rubbed.

"You? A vicious beast? But you are such a cutie, aren't you?" Alec had a smile on his face as Chairman purred, probably in agreement, and for a moment, Magnus thought that this was a sight he could definitely get used to. Alec, sitting here, petting his cat, just felt way too good.

"He really likes you, I needed like a month to be allowed to rub his belly," Magnus said with only a tiny bit of jealousy.

Alec grinned and lifted Chairman now, cradling him like a baby. "Well, maybe I just have that effect on cats."

"Oh come on, now you're just showing off!"

"Maybe," chuckled Alec lightly, but let Chairman down again as his eyes seemed to fix on something across the other room.

Magnus followed his glance with curiosity, but as he saw what Alec was staring at, he sincerely just wanted to dig his grave already.

It was the paintings.

The many, countless paintings he had done to try and capture Alec's eyes.

Which were all just hanging and lying around in the main room of his apartment.

Or to be more exact, the room Alec was staggering in right now with an unreadable expression.

Magnus internally face-palmed himself. Of course, out of everything that he thought of, he forgot to take down and hide those dozens of pictures that made him look like a raging maniac. Way to go.

But then again, he would have never expected to bring Alec home this evening and not a bottle of the finest whiskey ten dollars could buy.

"Alexander, I-," Magnus finally exclaimed and jumped up to stand next to Alec, who seemed to take a serious amount of time to take the whole scene in. All those eyes staring back at him, some with a too gentle expression, some with one that was too confident.

But Alec interrupted him mindlessly. "Are those my eyes?" He asked, and Magnus's first hope, that he could simply say he had to draw someone's eyes for a study, was gone.

Of course, Alec would recognize his own eyes, eyes that were so unique and so well captured. For the first time in his life, Magnus wished he would have been a worse artist than he was.

"I'm sorry, Alexander, I can promise you, I'm not a stalker. Please believe me," he finally tried, but Alec still didn't seem to listen to him.

"Those are really good!" He exclaimed and grinned widely again as he walked towards one particular painting that was laying on the ground. "I love it how the colours splash even beyond the borders - and I love the mixture!"

Magnus jaw dropped wide open. "So... you are not going to run away?"

"No, of course, I'm not, why would I?" Alec laughed and came towards Magnus again, hugging him lightly.

"Because I have literally dozens of pictures with your eyes on them hanging across this whole room...?"

"...which is, first of all, really cute, and second of all, you're an artist, so isn't that kind of normal...?"

Magnus let out a laugh and finally gave in to Alec's touch by kissing him on the cheek softly. "You definitely have the wrong picture of an artist, darling. Please promise me that should you ever walk into another room full of pictures of you that are not done by me, you act like a normal human being and run away."

"Oh, so you want me to run away?" Alec chuckled and started kissing Magnus now again, impatient for him to finally stop talking when they had so many better things to do.

"Not in a million years," he answered smilingly and let Alec steer him backwards into the bedroom again.

"Good, because I won't do that in forever," Alec said and grinned into their kiss. "And frankly, I think my taxi is already gone anyway."

And with that, Magnus finally shut the bedroom door behind them, letting only the stars in through the window in the roof.





And whilst our two young lovers were so full of love and happiness, busy with loving each other to the words infinite extent, all the way across New York, a woman was sitting in an office. A woman who was surely no stranger to Alec and Magnus, a woman who was, at this very moment, feeling the most dangerous mix of emotions there was: Boredom and jealousy with a breeze of hate.

Her feelings were as strong as her will and pride were, and right now, she was sadly acting upon them, wanting to destroy what she thought was the cause for her emotions: Alexander Lightwood. And Magnus as well, as sort of a bonus.

Alec had embarrassed her in front of a whole audience of people, and even worse, he had stolen Magnus away from her collection of people she could toy with to stop herself from being bored. And Magnus had been her favourite thing to toy with. He was always so... emotional. Always looking for that 'one true love'. She had actually had to refrain herself from laughing as he told her that he thought he had found it in her.

The dangerous thing about Alec was that he seemed to be that type of guy that believed in such a thing too - and he was clearly in love with Magnus. But, to her advantage, they seemed to know each other only for a short time, and there was nothing quite so breakable like a young, still insecure love. It was like a young flower: One harsh blow of wind, and it would die for good.

For Camille Belcourt, this seemed like an invitation, a welcome little game to play. And she made winning it an art.

To be honest, she had been planning what she was about to do for a few days now, and as it finally took shape, she couldn't help but marvel at her own genius.

"This is perfect," she muttered as she reached for her telephone and dialled the number of Andrew Underhill, a manager of the 'New York Times' and more importantly, Alec's boss.

"Hello, Mr Underhill? This is Camille Belcourt speaking."

A gasp came from the other side, which made her smile in reassurance. "So I get it that you've heard about me?"

"Um, yeah, of course I have, you opened up your gallery only a few days ago and it hasn't stopped being the topic of every art lover's conversation since."

"Why thank you," she answered and whirled the telephone cable around her finger absentmindedly. "You flatter me."

"Oh, where are my manners, there must be a reason why you called... Sorry, I'm Andrew Underhill, welcome at the New York Times! How may I help you?"

She had him in her bag, Camille could tell clearly by his tone, and she loved it.

"Excuse me if I'm being too forward, but I would love if someone of your section might have the time to write a short article about the gallery? I would pay for it, of course."

Andrew chuckled at the other end, definitely nervous. "Oh, don't worry, we were actually thinking the same thing and wanted to call you up first thing tomorrow morning. It would be a pleasure for us to send someone over, seeing as your gallery is definitely trending at the moment. I'll send someone over right tomorrow if that's okay with you."

"That sounds perfect," Camille purred. "If you don't mind, I actually have a request in who you sent. I know it's not my place to decide that, but I've read all the articles written by him, and I must say that I am quite a fan..."

"Just drop the name, and I'm sure we can do something about that. Who do you have in mind?"

"Alec," Camille said, a lot more confident all of the sudden. "Alec Lightwood."

Chapter Text

Waking up next to Magnus was a thing Alec could get used to.

The sun was already shining brightly through the window as Alec finally woke, and in those few first, horrible seconds he thought that everything he remembered from last night could have easily been just a dream. At least until he felt the warm embrace from behind and smiled.

Not a dream.

He turned around slowly, ever so careful not to wake the person holding him, and looked at Magnus's perfect face. Magnus looked peaceful, a smile hiding in the corner's of his mouth, and Alec grinned as he saw his wild hair, sticking out in every possible direction. Magnus was so going to hate this.

Alec stretched out his hand to ruffle through his hair and it felt even softer than he had hoped for. After a few seconds, his hand glid down to Magnus's face and caressed his cheek. Their faces were mere inches apart now, Magnus snoring softly in Alec's direction, and he couldn't help but think that this is how he wanted to wake up for the rest of his life.

Looking at Magnus now, he still couldn't believe how he had deserved someone like him and this indescribable happiness he had placed into his heart. Alec only knew that he was surely never going to let this go.

Alec's thoughts came to hold as Magnus moved next to him and sighed, laying his own hand over Alec's as to press it closer. Alec smiled as he felt the now all too familiar pleasant jolts running up his arm.

Magnus's eyes fluttered open and looked at Alec with such softness that Alec's knees would have probably given in wouldn't he be laying down already.

"Good morning," Magnus said and pressed their foreheads together gently.

"Did I wake you?" Alec whispered but couldn't stop himself from gliding over Magnus's cheekbones with his thumb.

Magnus hummed. He took Alec's hand and placed a kiss on it before entangling it with his own. "No, don't worry. The hangover did."

Alec laughed at that. "Well, you did drink a lot last night. Honestly, I was impressed you could still walk at the wedding."

"I know, everything's kind of a blur," he smiled but Alec shuddered.

"Can you still remember everything?" he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

Magnus only cupped his cheeks and brushed his leg against Alec's. "The important parts, yes."

And that was it.

They both smiled and kissed each other shortly. And somehow, Alec thought, that this kiss was even sweeter than the ones they had shared last night. No haste, no pressure, just the two of them sharing this perfect morning. He didn't ever want this to end.

"So, for how long have you been staring at me?" Magnus finally laughed.

Alec smiled and once again, looked into those beautiful eyes. Yesterday, Magnus had said that Alec's eyes were beautiful and an enigma he was destined to crack (all those paintings in the other room were proof enough), but what Magnus didn't seem to see is that however deep and beautiful Alec's eyes may be, Magnus's could still outdo them by far. With all that kindness, all that generosity laying in those deeply amber eyes, he would choose them over his own any day.

But Alec was determined to make Magnus feel that from now on. With words and with kisses.

"Not long enough," he finally beamed and Magnus pressed their foreheads together again.

"Staying like this for forever would be nice, you know."

Alec didn't answer and only pressed him closer. He generally wasn't someone who slept long or even liked to stay in bed after the first rays of sun have appeared, but with Magnus, it seemed impossible to have the urge to get out of bed.

Not with all the warmth and closeness in here.

"I still can't believe that this worked out," he finally said and pointed at them.

Magnus huffed out a laugh. "We sure had some difficulties, but I would do it all a thousand times again for you."

They kissed again, one of those gentle, tender kisses, before Magnus started smirking. "Even though it is astonishing how you didn't get the hint that I liked you."

Alec laughed and raised his hands in defence. "How was I supposed to interpret them? We were in a fake-relationship!"

"I was flirting with you on literally any occasion I saw you. No wonder I thought you didn't like me back, you didn't exactly jump in on anything."

"We were in a fake-relationship!" Alec tried again, exasperated.

Magnus started laughing again and Alec thought his heart may burst out of pure happiness at the sound. He pulled himself into an upright position and simply watched him fondly until Magnus's expression finally returned to the familiar smile.

Suddenly, Alec couldn't hide what was going on in his head anymore.

"I know that this might be going a bit fast," he started and Magnus threw him a questioning glance. "And I know that we literally only know each other since a week and we've only been on two dates, who weren't even real dates, and I've heard that there have to be more before you ask that-"

"Darling," Magnus chimed in and Alec's heart jumped at the pet name. "You start rambling. What's wrong?"

Alec took a deep breath. "Would you want to, you know... make this relationship real?" He got a bit braver within seconds. "Would you want to be my boyfriend?"

Magnus didn't react for a few seconds and Alec started fearing the worst, but finally, Magnus broke a laugh. "Of course," he answered, taking Alec's hands in his. "There's nothing I would want more for."

Alec pressed Magnus close to him for a few more seconds, but he couldn't help the rush of happiness in his veins that made him more energized and giddy than ever. Those might have been the most beautiful words he had ever heard in his life.

"Great," he said, leaning over to press a quick kiss on Magnus's cheeks. "Then let me get some breakfast for my new boyfriend."

The word "breakfast" must have done something to hungover Magnus because he reluctantly let go of Alec and grinned at him. "But don't be gone for too long."

"I won't, don't worry, I'll be rushing back," Alec answered and jumped over to where his clothes were still laying on the ground.

Magnus held his head as he tried to sit up in bed. "Maybe you have enough time to pick up some aspirin while you're gone? God, I shouldn't have drunken that much."

"Well, you drinking that much was kind of my fault-"

"It was definitely your fault."

"I'll be back in a minute," Alec said, beamed at Magnus and squeezed his hand for the last time before he made his way to the door.

"Alexander?" Magnus called out to him just as he wanted to turn the doorknob.

"Yeah?"

For whatever reason, Magnus's words never came, and as Alec turned around, he found him grinning into the air, opening and closing his mouth, as if those feelings were too much to express in words or to be ever done justice by them. Anything said now would be an understatement, and Alec smiled, because he understood.

"Me, too."





"You mean you've had SEX?" Izzy screamed at the other end of the phone and Alec rolled his eyes.

He was on his way to a nearby bakery right now, he had already gotten the aspirin, and he had used the chance to call back Izzy. Who, for having found ten missed calls by her on his phone, didn't seem as worried as he thought she would be. She was way more interested in his sex life apparently. More than he liked it. But even now, thinking about last night he couldn't hide a smile.

"Jesus Christ Iz, you don't have to scream like that. There are people walking next to me, you know."

"You're not denying it," she stated happily and Alec could imagine easily that she would be dancing her happy-dance now.

"This is not something I am going to talk about with my little sister, and before you ask, no, I also don't want to hear your stories with Simon."

Izzy laughed. "No, but really, I am so happy for you, Alec! I mean you did need one hell of a push and it was quite frankly pathetic watching you two pining for each other, but in the end, you got together, and that's all that matters. But also, just because I have been waiting to say this to you since about a week now: Told you so!"

"Thanks, Iz," Alec smiled and shook his head as a new wave of love for his sister swept over him. "I'll call you back later, okay? I still have to go and buy some breakfast."

"I like your style, big brother, go and spoil your boyfriend as he deserved it after everything you put him through."

He put his phone down once he finished the call and paused for a second, taking in everything around him. It was still late morning in New York, the streets already a bit cleared up after the rush hour was over. The sun shone lazily over the with convenient stores and coffee shops thickly packed street and the blue sky made the promise of a good day.
Even the smell was just like it had been before on any other day, this particular smell of big cities, gasoline mixed with seemingly every human living there. It was what Alec would recognize over and over again, even though he didn't particularly love it.

But that was just the thing: Everything, every little detail he saw and felt right now, was nothing new. He had lived through countless days in New York that had been just like this. But still, somehow, since he had stepped out of Magnus's apartment door this morning, he felt like he saw New York for the first time all over again.

The smell, the coffee shops, the convenient stores - even the warm sun rays - felt so different from before. Like every little thing suddenly meant so much to Alec.

In fact, he couldn't stop himself from smiling just because everything was just like he knew it - but also so much more meaningful.

It was as if, since he had arrived in New York, maybe his whole life, he had lived through sort of an inner window. Seeing the outside world, but unable to let anything have meaning or actually live inside of it. Writing had been his way of compensating this, of saying and doing things, feeling life like he never thought he could through his characters and stories, but somehow, Magnus had done so much more to him in a single night than years of writing had.

He had not only made the symbolic window disappear for a few hours. He had shattered it.

And Alec thought that he could get used to that.

Still with a grin on his face, he got into the next coffee shop and ordered two cups of coffee and some pastry for them to eat. Quickly, he checked his phone while he was waiting in line, only to find that his boss had called him.

Alec's blood froze out of reflex. He knew that he had the day off, so he definitely hadn't missed coming in, but still: Getting a call by Andrew Underhill could never mean anything good, and given Alec's current status at the newspaper, he decided it would be best to phone back directly.

It only rang two times before Underhill picked up.

"Good morning, Alec! I was hoping to reach you, sorry to disturb you on your day off."

"No bother, really. I'm sorry I missed your first call," Alec stated, already practically biting on his nails.

"It's your day off, so really, don't worry." Underhill huffed out a laugh and Alec relaxed a bit.

If Underhill was still laughing, the news couldn't be too bad.

"So, what's up?"

Underhill sighed. "So, here's the thing... I know you aren't working today, and so we all totally understand if you say no, but there is this client that we need to publish an article about as quickly as possible to not fall behind, and she specifically requested that you do the interview."

Alec closed his eyes, as if in pain. He really didn't want to work today, he had been hoping to spend the day with Magnus, but he also knew that he had to do everything possible to better up his reputation with Underhill or he might as well got fired quicker than he wanted to.

"No problem, which time do you want me to be there?"

"You are a lifesaver, Alec, and don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to get ready. She wants to do the interview in the afternoon."

"And who is our client?" Alec laughed nervously. It was rare that Underhill spoke so mysteriously about someone.

He chuckled. "Oh, I know you are very interested in art, so you are going to love this. It's Camille Belcourt!"

Alec could feel his jaw drop at the same pace as his heart.





About ten minutes after Alec had left, Magnus was still laying in his bed, unmotivated to move anything. His hangover felt way worse without Alexander there to distract him. His head felt like a truckdriver had just used it to practise his parking on, and he was pretty sure something had actually died in his mouth.

Nevertheless, even though his body wasn't doing so great, he couldn't stop himself from smiling and daydreaming as he stared up at the ceiling.

Alexander Gideon Lightwood was actually his boyfriend now. They were dating. For real. God, Alec was in love with him! They had spent the night together! And, getting breakfast, he was already everything Magnus had always imagined it to be, just so much better.

The more he kept thinking about it, the better it got, and his smile quickly turned into a wide grin. He had already pinched himself multiple times this morning, just to make sure he wasn't just dreaming, and had been even happier every time he had noticed how awake he was.

And how much he was in love with Alec.

Waking up this morning had been perfect. Everything with Alec was so perfect, and even though they had known each other just for such a short time, Magnus knew that it was like nothing he had ever felt before. Alec was different; he was different when he was with him.

He didn't ever want this to stop, and he laughed every time when he thought that now, with all of their doubts shoved aside, it wouldn't just be this one perfect morning he was going to get. Now that they were dating, there were so many mornings, days, evenings and nights for them to spend together, and Magnus was already looking forward to that.

Magnus finally sat himself up with a grin and took the shower he had so direly needed convinced that afterwards, his hangover wouldn't feel half as bad as before.

Alec entered the apartment again just as Magnus had finished feeding Chairman and apologizing for last night.

"Hey, honey!" He called out, but couldn't keep the mocking tone out of his voice.

Magnus shuddered at the sound. He couldn't wait for when they would be comfortable with each other well enough to actually use pet names.

"Hey sweetheart," he gave back and kissed Alec shortly as he held out the box of aspirin to him.

"You're an actual angel. I'm never going to drink again."

Alec raised his eyebrow and Magnus chuckled. "Okay, that was a lie."

He quickly fetched himself a glass of water to swallow down one pill (or two. Or seven. Who was going to stop him?) and Alec set down the baked goods before he hugged Magnus from behind.

"I'm pretty sure you're not meant to swallow that many."

To be honest, Magnus could barely hold on to those pills that were in his mouth as Alec placed a soft kiss on the base of his neck.

"Trust me, I've taken far more of those and never got knocked over," he finally could bring himself to smile and turned around. "Breakfast smells wonderful, thank you. And oh my god, is that coffee?"

And for a second there was this old getting-lost-in-each-other's-eyes again, an art which they seemed to have brought to perfection. Magnus decided that Alec, standing in his kitchen with ruffled hair and a wide smile, was a sight he wanted to experience as often as he could.

"Do you want to take it into bed?"

"You read my mind. In fact, there are few things I wouldn't like to take to bed," Magnus chuckled and drew Alec closer to kiss him.

And less than five minutes later, Magnus and Alec sat together on the bed, laughing as crumbs got all over the place. That was only topped by Chairman impatiently jumping on the bed to see what all of the noise was about - and immediately settling into Alec's lap, much to Magnus's dismay.

"Traitor," he whispered and Alec started laughing uncontrollably as he pet the now purring cat. "Who feeds you every day? Who was there when you broke your paw and brought you to the doctor six times in a month? Who gets up every night when you want an extra snack, huh? And this is how you thank me?" Magnus exclaimed, but he too had to laugh.

He would have a serious chat with Chairman later.

Right now, it was Alec's worried expression he was more concerned about.

"Is everything alright? You have that look."

Alec nodded, but directed his eyes towards the blanket. Now, Magnus was really on edge.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" He took Alec's hands and run his thumb over their backside, which seemingly gave him the courage to speak after a big gulp of coffee.

"I have to do an interview with Camille."

"You WHAT?" Out of everything Alec could have said, this hadn't been one of the things crossing Magnus's mind.

"It's for work, of course," Alec whispered apologetically. "My boss asked me if I could take an interview on for today - I'm sorry Magnus, I had no idea it was her until I had already said yes."

He nodded, almost like in trance. "You didn't really have a choice, do you?"

"No. I'm on thin ice there already, I can't say no now... Unless you really don't want me to go."

Magnus looked up at him. "What?"

"Well," Alec smiled, "I could be lucky and not get fired if I just told them I suddenly got sick or something like that. It's worth a try, I guess, and I would rather do that than lose you."

Magnus could feel actual tears building up in the corners of his eyes as he said that. No one had ever done that before. No one had ever put Magnus so much in front of their own personal interest, and no one except for his closest friends had ever even wanted to risk so much just to be with him. Definitely not Camille and his parents even less so.

So often, he had doubted that there would be someone who would do this.

And yet, here he was.

Alec, who would rather risk his dream job than losing him.

Suddenly, all Magnus could do was to pull Alec in a tight embrace, much to Chairman's dismay. "Thank you," he whispered and meant every word of it. "But that won't be necessary. Go to Camille and do the interview, it's your job after all. It's fine. There are no hard feelings between us anymore."

He smiled at Alec, and the letter let his thumb run over his cheek. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he grinned, looking at Alec as if there would be nothing else to look at. And maybe for him, there wasn't. "You mean so much to me, Alexander, and Camille doesn't. Go and save your job, seriously."

Alec's smile was already worth everything. Both of them returned to their usual conversation afterwards, Alec visibly relieved, but Magnus still couldn't shake that kind of gut-wrenching feeling he had.

Sure, what he said was true, but he also knew Camille to well at this point. And Alec having to do the interview about her just after they had met? He didn't think that so much coincidence existed in this world. And he would never forgive himself if Alec got hurt by whatever she was planning because there was no way she wasn't planning anything.

Then again, he should stop worrying. Alec was intelligent and knew Camille and their story, so he would know how to look out for himself.

His doubts won finally. "Alexander, when you're doing the interview... don't let anything get to you, okay? Camille has a lot of tricks."

Alec's smile didn't falter. "Don't worry, I won't. I'll just be with her for about an hour anyways, it doesn't take that long."

Magnus nodded, but wasn't entirely convinced yet. As if Alec had sensed Magnus's doubts, he quickly took his hand. "Hey, nothing is going to get between us, okay? Nothing. Trust me."

And this, Magnus knew, he had to do: He had to start trusting Alec.

With that, he decided to forget about that matter in the best way he could, and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend.





In the long and very manipulative life of Camille Belcourt, she had seldom looked forward so much to a day as to this one. Why, you may ask?

Because today there was one very promising thing on her to-do-list: Break up the relationship between Alec Lightwood and Magnus, and then watch Magnus shatter under his broken heart. Again.

She laughed to herself while she finished up with the last touches around the gallery. Camille had done a lot of highly questionable things during her days, but breaking her former boyfriend's heart, someone that once had promised her the world, was always fun. Especially with Magnus. She had never found anyone who's suffering was so amusing as his.

She heard the gallery door open and knew that this was her sign to begin the fun.

Alec Lightwood had arrived. There he stood, in the entrance hall of the gallery, ready with his notepad, his pen and his all too clear eyes, out of which emotions just seemed to send out sparks. He was so easy to read.

His eyes darkened as he saw her walking towards him and she laughed. Someone definitely wasn't fond of her.

"Welcome, Alec," she greeted him and stretched out her hand, but he made a point out of not taking it. This just got better and better. "I do hope the call this morning wasn't too unfortunate."

"Not as unfortunate as being here," Alec replied with a smile. "Can we get the interview behind us, please?"

Camille laughed and got closer to Alec, so close that he could see him flinch. It would be so easy to touch him now. But for the moment, she was satisfied with just slowly walking around him, eyeing him from head to toe. "Careful, Alec. I wouldn't want to call Underhill just to tell him you misbehaved."

She could hear how Alec crunched his teeth, and it filled her with delight.

"But yes, we can start with the interview, of course. Let me just lead you into one of our studios."

It was a pity that Alec seemed to be positively gay, otherwise Camille would have maybe tried to wreak havoc with her own charms, but walking up the stairs, she knew that her plan now was as perfect as one has ever been. And without knowing, Alec's best traits - his selflessness, his kindness, his love for Magnus - would be what destroyed them.

Finally, they came to a hold in front of two big double doors, leading to Camille's own office. She couldn't wait for what was about to come.

"Okay, let's start with a few simple questions," Alec said as soon as they had sat down and Camille had offered him something to drink, which he refused. "Are you ready?"

She watched as he got out his notepad and pen, seemingly ready to take down notes whenever. Looking at him like that, Camille could definitely see what Magnus was so attracted to. This striking honesty in his eyes, for example, would probably manage to capture anyone's attention.

Anyone's, but Camille.

"Here's the problem, Alexander," she said and registered how Alec's eye twitched as she had called him by his full name, "I didn't really want you here to do the interview. Sure, it's flattering to be asked to appear in the 'New York Times', but you and I, we have some more important issues to talk about, don't we?"

Alec let his pen fall down and his eyebrow shot up scornfully. "I don't know what we would have to talk about. You wanted to do this interview, so we should do it, and only this."

"Oh, little naive Alec," Camille purred. "If only things were as easy as this. But believe me, you'll want to listen closely now, because I am making you a deal."

"Whatever it is, I don't want it." He started grabbing his stuff and shoving it back into his bag before standing up. "You are a bad person, Camille - the worst, actually - and I won't ever forget what you did to Magnus. He did everything to you, and you broke his heart. I'm not letting you do this again, ever."

"I know," she intervened quickly before he could rush out the door. "Because this time, it's going to be you who breaks his heart."

She said it with such certainty, such lack of any doubt in her voice, that Alec couldn't help but to hold on and stare at her bewildered, mouth wide open.

This seemed to only give her the last drop of fuel she had needed, this knowledge that the show she was pulling off was, in fact, as compelling as she had thought it to be.

Now, it was time for her to drop the final line, which would destroy Alec's and Magnus's world forever, accompanied by the perfect, innocent smile.

"If you end your relationship with Magnus, I'll give back his paintings."

Chapter Text

"What?"

Camille loved the confusion written in Alec's eyes. "I think you heard me: Break up with Magnus, and I'll give him his paintings back."

His eyes darted downwards, then back up to her, and his jaw dropped. Camille smiled. It was cute to see Alec that way, so desperate. Just now, when he was struggling to understand everything. The deal, the consequences... and the price he would have to pay. But Camille knew that, soon enough, he would understand.

"He- he wouldn't want this...," Alec finally murmured, probably trying to sound confident, but she could see right through him.

He must still be surprised that she had even asked such a thing, and to be fair, she would be too. After all, getting a deal to break up with Magnus had been probably the last thing he had expected when he arrived. But the surprise was exactly what she could use to her advantage.

"Are you so sure about that?" she laughed. "Magnus has loved before, Alec. And trust me in this, because I know him far longer than you do. Even though he's quite the... passionate lover, there's nothing an artist loves more than his work. His paintings are his life. Especially you should understand that."

Alec's eyes darted up to meet her gaze finally, probably hoping that this all was simply a joke, but Camille only widened her cold smile.

Still, she admired him. Even now, he seemed to be searching for ways to get out of this conversation, to give himself enough arguments against doing it. To follow his heart and stay with Magnus. But luckily, Camille was a master in manipulation, and she knew that with a heart as pure as Alec's, it would soon tell him to take the deal.

"You're lying," he said suddenly, in a colder voice than Camille would have thought possible. "You want to destroy Magnus, it's all you've ever done. He wouldn't sacrifice what we have for his paintings."

"Oh, naive Alec. It may be true that I enjoy terrorising people now and then, but however, this time, I really want to help Magnus. And do you know what brought me to this conclusion?"

Alec looked at her in horror as he seemed to guess.

"You, of course," Camille lied perfectly. "Seeing you kiss Magnus out of his dilemma and the way he looked at you as you did that... it moved something deep inside of me. It made me realise how wrong I was about Magnus, and how unfairly I have treated him. He didn't deserve what I did to him, and I know that now, so thank you."

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she spoke and she even brought in a little sob near the end. All of that with success: She could already see Alec's strong gaze falter as she looked at him.

"So I want to give back to him what I took and give him another shot. With the credit for his paintings, he could rise up so fast in the art world. I could make all the connections and give him a place next to me, right here in this gallery. He would be so very successful, Alec. You've seen his art. You know what he can do. But, however," and Camille had to fight very hard to hide her smile at that part, "he can't do that with someone like you by his side."

And at this moment, Camille could see Alec's heart shatter in his eyes.

"An artist needs to be free, Alec, and with you... he's not. See, I'm doing the two of you a favour, actually, if you think about it. Going on like this, your relationships would maybe last a few weeks, a few months at the highest. Magnus gets bored with people easily and as you're not really the most... interesting person, that would be fast. But even if your relationship would survive that: He's an artist on the rise, and sooner or later, he would realise that you are what's dragging him down. He wouldn't have time for a relationship, maybe he would even meet someone new in the art world, someone that can connect to his dreams like you just simply can't."

She knew that she had won as he couldn't keep the eye contact anymore. Smiling, but not too much, she wandered closer and pressed his arm. He didn't flinch away.

"Alec, I'm only sparing you from a broken heart I don't think you could get over. I'm doing this for you, really, for both of you. Magnus has to rise, but he can't do that with you. And he deserves to rise, don't you think?"

Alec didn't answer and hid his eyes by staring down at the ground, but he didn't try and free himself of her grip. After a while, he slowly shook his head. "He wouldn't want this," he whispered, but Camille could even hear that this time, he said it only in a vain try to convince himself.

"Do you really want to be the one stopping Magnus Bane from getting the recognition he deserves? You know that, if you decide to do that, he will grow to resent you. Maybe not tomorrow, but over time, he eventually will. You will forever be the reason why he had to give up his career, and he will not say it, but it will always be your fault."

Silent tears rolled down Alec's cheek and she had a feeling that finally, he came to see that she was right. As horrible as it must be for him. Only one more thing was missing.

So, Camille prepared to push him over the edge.

"I've seen the way you look at him, Alec. I know that you love him, and I know what that feels like."

For a second there, she thought that she might have said something wrong, she might have gone too far, and there, deep in Alec's eyes, she thought she could see lightning. But Camille wouldn't be a master of what she did if she wouldn't know how to carry on.

"You love him, truly, and because you do that, you will let him go. You will let him be happy, even if you are miserable because that's part of what love is. And you know this, you may have even done it before. So Alec, please, if you love Magnus, if you want him to be truly happy, break up with him. I promise to you that he will get over you, that he will be fine, with all my heart. But he wouldn't get over never achieving anything as an artist. If you love him, you need to let him go."

Again, no immediate reaction from Alec, apart from the tears which were now streaming down his face. The lightning was gone. Camille started patting his back and smiled as he didn't try to move further away.

"Do you understand me?" She finally asked after a few seconds.

Alec nodded, very slowly. "Yes. If I break up with him, he's going to be happy. He's going to get everything he has ever wanted."

"It's true, Alec. All you need to do is to end your contact with him. Are you accepting our deal?"

Another small flash in his eyes, which Camille thought to be maybe a sort of final revolt, final try to find any other possibility, but it died down quicker than some people would need to even notice it. His shoulders dropped, back slumped.

And it was this admirable selfless strength in Alec's eyes that was going to destroy them.

Honestly, it was such a pity.

Then again, no.

"You are doing the right thing, Alec. I just need you to do one more thing for me: You need to record your break-up, so I know that you actually did it." She actually had to take control of her voice to not sound too happy about it at this point. "But you are a journalist, it should be an easy thing for you to figure out how to record it unobtrusively."

Alec only nodded, looking at the ground again. He was broken. Camille could have asked anything from him, and he would have done it just in a vain hope that it could end his pain.

Which of course, never worked.

"If you promise me to keep your words and give back what you stole, then yes. I'll do it."

Camille grinned. Seeing Alec like this, completely broken and shattered - it was even better than what she had imagined to calm her down after seeing him save Magnus, and she was ready to take this game to the next level.

"Alexander Lightwood, we officially have a deal."





Izzy had been thinking of nothing bad when Alec had called her at her desk at the police station, but as soon as he had brought out the first sentence, she had nearly let her cup of coffee fall down.

"You WHAT? Alec, please tell me I didn't hear that right."

"I'm afraid you did, Iz. I have to break up with Magnus." His voice sounded hoarse and the words rushed.

"Don't 'Iz' me right now, you have revoked that right for eternity if you actually plan on breaking up with Magnus. What in hell's name did even give you that idea? You both are happy together, how could you ever think of destroying that?"

"Jesus, Izzy, hold your breath, you're almost as bad as Simon. And believe me, I don't want to break up with him, but I have to."

For the first time since she had picked up, Izzy took a deep breath to keep herself from screaming further at her brother. She knew Alec. And she knew Magnus. And she had only known a few things to be as certain as their love for each other. If Alec said that he 'has to' break up with Magnus, something bad must have happened.

"What is wrong?" She asked finally, and Alec told her.

He told her everything. Camille had never said that he couldn't tell someone to gather enough courage before actually doing it. So, he told her all about the 'interview' with Camille, their deal, why he had agreed to it, and finally, what he was about to do.

Izzy sighed. "Are you sure about this? You know that you don't have to do this. There's always another way."

"Not this time," it came back over the phone. "I have to do this. For Magnus. You would do the same thing for Simon."

Izzy didn't say anything for a short while, because she knew that he was right. She would do everything for Simon, even this if she had to.

"Did you do the favour I asked you for yesterday?"

Izzy smiled sadly at that. God, the wedding had only been yesterday. It seemed to her like it was a month ago already. "Yes, I did. Are you planning on doing what I think you are?"

"Exactly."

"Then I'll be there," she said and slammed the phone back down to get back to her latest mugging case.





Calling Izzy had been a nice thing to distract Alec from what was about to come, but now that she was gone, everything that had happened, everything he had thought about during the last few minutes came rushing back to him, colouring what was lying ahead in the blackest of all colours.

Time and time again, he thought everything through, and how exactly he was going to do it. Not that it didn't hurt each time it did. But he knew that he had to do this, and he had to make it seem real, so he would have to speak to Magnus in a way he had never wanted to.

Alec took a deep breath.

Camille had given him a small, nearly invisible camera to hide in a pot of flowers so that he could film everything and give it to her later. They had agreed to meet up right in front of Magnus's apartment afterwards before she would drive away to meet Magnus and give him back his paintings.

That had been Alec's one condition: Magnus had to get his paintings immediately.

Magnus.

Ironically, the thought of him was the thing that still kept him going. He did this for him, and he repeated his name like a mantra in his thoughts. Magnus, Magnus, Magnus.

This was for him.

Even though his nerves were blank just at the thought of it.

To Alec, it seemed like he had reached Magnus's apartment door far too quickly. Even the six sets of stairs, about which they both had complained so much yesterday, Alec hadn't even noticed.

Yesterday. Standing here now, it seemed like a dream.

What words had he practised so often again? He couldn't remember anymore. All he could do, while staring at Magnus's door, was taking a lot of deep, numbing breaths. He closed his eyes for a second.

And then, as if Magnus had sensed his presence, the door opened.

"Oh, Alexander, you're back early!" A warm, happy voice came from the inside before it was mixed with a little bit of nervousness. "Did I miss something really exciting happening right in front of my door? You know you can come in, right?"

Alec couldn't answer. His mouth still opened, but words failed him.

"...And you could open your eyes. Are you okay?"

He had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed that he still had his eyes closed. Now, upon opening them, Magnus's heartstopping beauty came into his thoughts again, and his words had all the more reason to fail him.

Magnus was looking at him as if he tried to figure out whether he was having a stroke or was just very rattled. "Alexander, are you okay?" He asked again and closed the distance between them by taking his hand. "God, you're cold. Do you want me to fix you a cup of coffee or anything?"

The sweet, caring smile Magnus gave him was just too much for Alec, and he couldn't bear it any longer.

"Magnus, we have to talk," he said, in a higher voice than he had wanted to, but nonetheless serious.

"Sure, we can talk about anything. Still going for the all-black coffee?"

Alec ruffled restlessly through his hair. "No, Magnus. We have to talk about us."

Magnus took a long look at Alec, his heart breaking in his eyes already, but he only nodded and took his glance off of Alec. Slowly, he went inside, and Alec followed him only moments afterwards, letting the heavy door fall shut behind them.





A bit after Alec had walked through Magnus's door, resolutions burning heavy in his mind, another person arrived at the scene: Camille had placed herself in one of the partly closed off house entrances, so that she could keep a good eye on the door leading up to Magnus's apartment, but could also not easily be seen out of the window.

The last thing she wanted now was for someone here to recognize her and disrupt her plan.

At least the sun had already gone down now and left room for this particular time when day and night were still fighting with each other about the sky. The latter looked red right now, as if a particularly bloody battle would be taking place today, and Camille couldn't help but think that this was satisfyingly fitting.

The sky bled, with no clouds to brighten up the colour, and soon Magnus's heart would do the same. Even worse than that: She would tear it to pieces.

She had been surprised that he somehow managed to patch it up after the last time she had broken it; but this time, there was no fixing it.

Camille had to laugh at the thought of what was ahead. Her plan was even funnier than she had thought.

She didn't have to wait a long time for action to occur. When the door opened, she half expected Alec to come out and give her the camera, but it wasn't Alec rushing through the door like a bat out of hell:

It was Magnus.

A smirk ran over her lips as she soaked in his whole appearance.

It hadn't been an understatement to say that Magnus was rushing along the street, he seemed to have even left behind some form of jacket upstairs, even though it was a rather cold day. He was just wearing a T-shirt. No wonder he was rubbing his hands against his arm quickly. Even though she doubted that cold was his only reason for doing this. Looking at his face, which was so much more interesting, it was probably more of a grounding method.

His make-up was smudged, something Camille had seen only twice in all of their years together, with eyeliner leaving long streaks across his cheeks. Even now, tears were streaming down his face as he walked along. And were those... sobs?

Magnus looked so much more miserable then she had prepared for. With his hunched figure, crying so hard that his stomach was apparently cramping and had to stop walking multiple times, she could only wonder at this clear picture of heartbreak.

Right now was such a moment, in which Magnus had to stop and sobbed out loud like everything he cared about had seized to exist. His face full of tears, almost kneeling on the pavement out of desperation, he was truly beautiful.

Because pain was one of the few things beautiful to Camille. And Magnus now seemed to carry even more pain inside of him than what she had ever prepared for, even though she knew that Alec had been broken up with him less than five minutes ago.
Even when she had played her painful games with him before, he had never reacted that strongly to anything, she had never even known he was capable of feeling and loving so deeply.

She grinned at that. As it looked like, it had been the right call to trust Alec.

He had truly broken his heart as badly as she had never been able to.

Maybe because Magnus had trusted Alec so deeply? She had seen the way he had laid his trust in him that moment at her party, and honestly, she could understand why. Alec was a kind guy, an honest and righteous person, so Magnus could have never seen it coming.

God, having told by someone like Alec, someone you had already placed all your trust in, that they don't want to have anything to do with you anymore had to hurt even more!

Magnus vanished behind a corner at last. Camille had to restrain herself from jumping up joyfully like a little kid as Alec finally came out of the door. She couldn't wait to see the video after what she had witnessed right now.

Her happiness was only improved by the numb, emotionless face Alec made whilst approaching her, any spark that Magnus might have found so fascinating gone from his eyes.

That was still her favourite thing about her plan: She hadn't only been able to shatter one hard, but two. And both beyond the point of no return.

"Jesus Alec, what did you say to him? He looked more broken than I had thought for possible," she said, wanting to hurt Alec as much as possible before she had to give him away.

And with success: She could see the deep pain reflected in Alec's eyes. "What was necessary."

He gave her the camera in a fast gesture, seemingly wanting to get out of this place as fast as humanly possible. Camille noticed how he avoided looking at her. He was so easy to read, it was almost cute.

"Thank you, Alec. You're doing the right thing," she said and tried to not show how happy she was. She had to remain in her role as a concerned friend, after all.

Alec only nodded and shuffled with his feet, Camille understood that it would be too painful to say anything now.

"Is this enough now? Are you going to give him his paintings?"

"Yes, I promise. You can check up on it online come tomorrow if you still have any doubts, I plan to make our partnership public as soon as possible. The world has been deprived of the genius that is Magnus Bane for too long now."

There seemed to be something almost longing in Alec's gaze. "It has indeed."

And without another word of goodbye, Alec walked away in the direct opposite direction Magnus had taken, perfectly contempt as he always was.

Camille didn't see him shed any tear, but she knew that his fights took place on the inside. And on the inside, he was screaming in pain.

But she didn't take the time to silently observe and analyze until Alec would reach a corner, for she had far more exciting things waiting for her. With almost a little shriek, she jumped back into her car and pulled out her phone to which she connected the camera quickly. She still couldn't believe that Alec had actually gotten the whole heartbreak on camera for her. Now, she would be able to watch Magnus's soul break all over again and again.

Nevertheless, she knew that it would never be as captivating as for the first time, so with a shiver of nervous anticipation, she pressed play.





The scene started with Alec's hand moving away from the camera again, whilst he himself seemed to be standing in the kitchen. Magnus was just pouring coffee, smiling widely - God, he wouldn't have guessed in a dream what was to come.

He chattered on about something unimportant as Alec cleared his throat. It went silent for a few seconds as Magnus turned to face him. She could feel Alec's hesitation as he spoke on.

"Magnus, I- we really have to talk." The words were more choked than spoken, and Magnus's smile faltered a bit.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

Magnus stopped in his very movement now, and she could see him trying to analyse Alec's gaze, searching for something that would tell him all would be well again. As he probably couldn't find anything, a barely audible "Oh," was all that he said, and Camille could see that he already knew what was coming next.

"Our relationship... I'm sorry, Magnus, but we..." A break that seemed like eternity followed in which the only sound was both their hearts tightening. "We have to end it."

"What?"

"I'm- I'm sorry."

Magnus looked down for a few seconds, and at first, Camille thought that he was going to laugh, but then he just shook his head. "No, no no no. You told me that you fell in love with me... that you were in love with me, just hours ago."

"I know, this is why I'm sorry." Alec sucked in his breath as if he was in a lot of pain. "I thought I was in love with you, I really did, but... I'm not."

"But yesterday you-"

"I was drunk yesterday!" Alec shouted suddenly, too loud to be genuine. Camille wondered if Magnus could also here the pure numbness in his voice. "And you were there, looking attractive as always, and I was thinking 'what if'? I wanted to get... Jace out of my head, and then there were you, telling me you were in love with me. It seemed too good to be true."

Whoever Jace was, Camille could see the immediate effect the name had on Magnus, whose hurt expression now changed into pure horror. And Alec wasn't even done yet.

"I won't lie to you, last night was perfect. You were... perfect." She heard how much he had to try to make this sound as condescending as he meant it. "And this morning I must have still had something of that in my system, so I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

Magnus was silent for a long time. So long, that Camille wasn't certain if he would ever have the strength to speak again.

"You asked me if I wanted to be your boyfriend," he finally said, barely a whisper, eyes avoiding Alec's.

"I thought it was a good idea," Alec said in a too dry tone, "that maybe you could get my thoughts off of Jace. But you couldn't. Can't. I've never loved anyone other than him."

"But Jace is married!" Magnus suddenly burst out in a fit of rage and jumped up, voice breaking. "You could never have him, Alec! But you could have me!" Tears started falling now as he moved to cup Alec's cheeks with his hands. "We could have us. Why would you throw that away?"

There was so much desperation in his eyes, and his gaze was only made more tragic by the tiny glimpse of hope that was mixed deep inside of it.

Alec didn't say anything for a few seconds, Camille guessed that words were hard to find if the person you love but have to hurt is cupping your face, and the hope in Magnus's eyes only grew.

"I've never felt for anyone the way I do for you, Alexander, and I know that you must have felt something too. And even if it's just a tiny spark, we could try to make it work."

Magnus smiled and Camille wondered. Wondered at the way he held his bruised heart out to Alec again, where it would so definitely be broken. After everything Alec had already said. After everything Camille had said. He hadn't learned a single thing. Still, he was clinging to the hope that someone would eventually love him. That someone would eventually stay.

Unlucky for him, Camille had made sure that Alec wouldn't.

She treasured the moment before Alec shattered his held out heart into pieces deeply - the pathetic hope on his face, the pleading gesture of running his finger's through Alec's hair over and over again - but Alec had found words quicker than she had expected him to.

"Love doesn't care about whether you can have someone or not," he murmured and Camille asked herself if this was really only directed towards Magnus. "It was you who told me that yesterday about Jace, and now, it's only more ironic. After all, you are in love with me, whilst I'm not with you. I am not in love with you, Magnus."

Words came quicker from him now, but his tone was frozen and his eyes darted away every few seconds. "I... have no feelings for you. I never have. I never will have. So let go of me," he said, sounding less convincing at the last part.

Alec shoved Magnus's hands away from his cheek, but Magnus stayed silent. And as Camille concentrated on his eyes, she could finally see what she had been waiting for: Pure pain. All-consuming, indestructible pain. The sort of raw emotion only a shattered heart could provoke, and as she looked at Magnus, she also knew that there would never be a way again to fix this after what Alec had said.

The way he had broken up with Magnus... He must have become another Camille to her. She remembered fondly that he, too, had thought she loved him for so long before she told him she didn't. And now, Alec had done exactly the same, when Magnus had just thought to be rid of Camille. It made her laugh to think that from now on, she wouldn't be the only one tormenting Magnus's sleep, even if Alec hadn't wanted this.

God, he had probably thought that this would be the most painless way to break-up since Magnus had to understand his reasons after everything he had gone through with her. The thing Alec didn't know: It was the understanding that hurts. Always.

And now, knowing that both Camille and Alec had left him with the same reasons, Magnus would search the mistake by himself. He had done so for a little while after she left, but now after Alec... This could be forever.

Just like she wanted it.

Tears collected themselves in the corners of his eyes now. One last look at Alec, probably to ultimately confirm his decision, and Alec's hard gaze meeting his - then he nodded and looked down. Teardrops fell onto the floor beneath them.

"Goodbye, Alec. I'm going for a walk, show yourself out," Magnus brought out with a strained voice that brought no justice to how much he probably had to force himself to get out a full sentence rather than to start sobbing. But, of course, Magnus was too proud for that.

Without another word or look, Magnus rushed past Alec, and Camille could hear a door slamming only seconds later.

"What have I done," Alec whispered just loud enough so that Camille could understand.

Somehow, these words seemed strangely insufficient.

Chapter Text

Camille hummed happily to herself while she was driving to the coffee shop she had agreed on with Magnus.

She had only called him five minutes ago, about half an hour after his and Alec's breakup, to give him some time to calm down to speaking level again (not all the way down to thinking clearly of course). Just like she had thought, he hadn't been too reluctant to meet with her. Sure, at first he had screamed that he hated her into the phone, broken as he was, but after Camille had played nice and pretended like she actually took interest in his pain, he had finally told her the address of the coffee shop he was in.

A grin spread on her face as the car finally came to a standstill in front of the rather remotely situated cafe. She couldn't wait to see him. And she couldn't wait to break him further.

She didn't see him directly when she entered, however. The coffee shop was rather empty this late into the evening. There was an admittedly beautiful couple sitting and laughing near the front, a few teenagers a bit further into the room - then, finally, her eyes settled on the reason why she was here: Magnus.

Like a pure picture of misery, he was crumped up in one of the booths, his statue looking far too small for such a big table. He didn't look at her and had his eyes fixed on the road outside the window instead, tears still glittering inside of them. The cup of coffee in front of him seemingly didn't get a lot of attention.

How lucky for him that she was here to keep him some company.

"Hey, Magnus," she hummed out with a smile, trying her best not to sound too happy. "Can I sit here?"

It bothered her how he just absently minded nodded instead of actually looking at her, but she didn't show it. "How are you? You sounded a bit unwell on the phone. Is everything alright?"

"Not that you'd care," he spat out immediately with so much spite Camille nearly snapped back.

"Of course I care, Magnus." The sound of his name had him close his eyes. "I will always care. You're my best friend."

"Best friend? Come on, I've always just been a toy for you, just like everyone else. You have no friends. Your only joy comes out of manipulating people."

He still didn't open his eyes.

"That's what I came here to talk about. I'm sorry, Magnus," she started, sounding as sweet as honey. "I really am. I've realized how bad I have treated you, how wrong I was to let out my emotions on you, and do you know how I've realized that?"

Camille couldn't take it any longer. She lunged forward and grabbed his face gently, and finally, Magnus opened his eyes to look at her. The pain in his eyes was something she could have thrived on for months.

"Through Alec and you." She could see his eyes getting darker with shadows of hurt all over again, but she wasn't done yet. Quite the opposite: This was so much fun she thought she might never stop. "When I watched you kissing on that day in the gallery... it was like so much cleared up in my head. Sure, at first I was angry, but then it just... clicked. By seeing how much you loved each other, how you looked at Alec as if he was your world, I could finally see where I have gone wrong all these years. So I have to thank the two of you, really. Your love and relationship are what inspired me to change."
She could see how Magnus's pain turned into anger right in front of her.

"Alec and I are broken up," he said in a tone as cold as ice, "there was no such thing as 'love' between us."

Camille held up her hand in front of her mouth in an effort to look shocked. "Oh my, really? I just can't believe that... I could have sworn you downright glowed each time you looked at him."

There was a moment of silence in which Magnus caught his breath loudly. "I was. But he..."

"Wasn't." Camille completed, smiling far less than she wanted to.

Magnus nodded and turned his eyes away again, seemingly choking on tears.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I would have never spoken of it if I had known."

Magnus didn't say anything but he, too, didn't pull his hand away as she took it. Alec and him were really the same.

"Now, I am even more sorry for what I have done for you. But please, let me share your pain. You can trust me, and if you let me in, we might be able to make it better."

He finally flinched as she put her hand up to his cheek. "Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you? You've manipulated me far too long for that. You destroyed my entire life, Camille, and then didn't even care. Don't think I'm rude now, but I really don't want to share anything with you ever again, and the last thing I want right now is your company. Just leave."

Camille took a deep breath, but didn't give up. She knew him. Five more minutes, than she would have him where she wanted him.

"I get that you're still shaken up because of Alec, and I guess I deserve this."

He huffed out a laugh. "And far worse than that."

"Fair," she chuckled. "But I know how to make up for it, at least for a small bit. And it's something that will definitely bring you onto other thoughts."

Magnus didn't look as intrigued as she wanted him to and only raised his eyebrow, but with four simple words, she wanted to change that.

"I have your paintings."

"You've always had my paintings," Magnus said and rolled his eyes. "That's not news."

Camille smiled and was glad for her patience before she tried again. "But this time, I have your paintings here, in the trunk of my car to be exact, and I want to give them back to you."

Now, Magnus's eyes widened on the spot and his jaw fell open. "You want to give them back to me...? Why? Are you actually serious?"

Camille started grinning. Now, she would win his trust for sure. "Yes, I am. As a peace offering. I will make you my partner for the gallery and you can get all your paintings back, and of course also the credit for them."

"After you stole them from me such a long time ago?"

What a weird thing to ask. Then again, he had just been broken up with.

"Yes, and really, I'm sorry for that. But I've changed."

"After you used the chance that I didn't sign my paintings, just took them and then sold them under your own name? After you even lied to the police when I called them the first time, saying those were your paintings which you created? After you just stole them? Really, after all of that?"

Camille nodded, now slightly confused, but still not willing to give up. "Yes, I know did all of that, but please, believe me, I regret it-"

"If I would say yes and become your partner, what would things be like? Would you just run the whole thing and only let me think that I have some power?" His tone sounded bitter, but not distrusting.

She laughed. "No, of course not," she lied. "You would be responsible for the things you can do best - the expositions, contacts to the artist. While I would be bothered with some of the more... hidden work. I know that was never your strong suit," she grinned, unable to not rub it into his nose.

Magnus smiled for the first time that evening. "Yeah, I remember. I even got scared when we broke into that swimming pool too many years ago. But just for the record and so that I know what I'm going to get myself into... what kind of dubious activities are we talking about?"

"Oh, very dubious," Camille smirked and couldn't help the tiny tone of flirtation swinging into it. The satisfaction to have Magnus on her side again now was just too big. "You know, a bit of tax fraud here and there, some corruption, maybe some thefts." She winked at the last part.

Magnus cocked his eyebrow even higher. "Thefts?"

"You can't climb to success as fast as I do without them, my dear."

And now, Magnus smiled. But it wasn't the kind of smile Camille had expected him too, still sad and shattered. It was a satisfied smile, happy about what he had done. The broken expression inside his eyes vanished, and Camille frowned. Had she judged him so wrongly?

He nodded now, but the nod wasn't directed towards her. It was directed to someone standing only a few metres behind Camille.

"Would that be enough already, Izzy?"

A laugh came from behind her, and Camille turned within the fraction of a second. And there she was: The girl she had seen just minutes ago as she entered the cafe, now standing there and smiling at Magnus. And dangling with handcuffs hanging by her side. Her date, a brown-haired boy, was still sitting at their table but watched them attentively.

"Yes, thank you, Magnus, that was perfect. We've got everything we need."

Magnus smiled, fiddled with his jacket for a second, and then threw something small at her which she caught elegantly. Camille needed a few seconds to figure out what the object was, but as she did, her blood ran cold. She knew that thing, Alec had carried it with him only this morning.

A dictation device.

"By the way, could you text Alec that he can come in now? We don't want him to catch a cold."

"Don't worry, I already-"

As if on cue, the small bell above the entry door started ringing and Alec walked in, a wide grin on his face.

"Did everything go well?" He asked and the woman nodded.

"She said everything we need - even the thing with the tax fraud."

Camille needed more than just a second to realize that it was her they were talking about but even as she did, she still couldn't piece together anything. Confusion spread in her veins and made her brain feel so slow, her thoughts ravelled up without end. Why was Alec smiling like that? And even more important: Why was Magnus smiling back?

"Hey, babe," Alec greeted Magnus as he slid beside him into the booth and kissed him quickly.

What the hell was going on?

Magnus chuckled fondly. There was no pain in his eyes, no heartbreak. Just love. "Are you cold? Sorry for keeping you out there that long."

Alec smiled as Magnus took hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly. "It was worth it, and now that I'm here, I'm okay."

He snuggled himself closer to Magnus but he didn't seem to mind that at all. He even closed his eyes for a second, probably savouring that moment.

"Oh, and I also got you this," he finally said and pulled out a cup of steaming coffee from beside him on the bench, where Camille couldn't see it before.

Alec smiled and nearly spilt the coffee as he took it because he didn't let go of Magnus's eyes. "Thanks, you're an angel."

Magnus only chuckled at that, and for a moment that felt like an eternity even to Camille, who hated this, they seemed to get lost in each other's eyes again. She nearly had to gag. How could this be possible? They were supposed to be heartbroken, but now she couldn't see a single fragment of the pain from before in their eyes. Quite the opposite, they only seemed to glow with love, and it made Camille feel dizzy and nauseated.

Finally, the woman behind her cleared her throat. "Sorry guys, you know that I shipped you from day one and I really don't want to disturb your moment, but we do have work to-"

"AREN'T YOU GUYS BROKEN UP?" Camille shrieked as her nerves couldn't take it anymore. She was only starting to realise what had happened, and her presumptions were nothing good.

Alec raised an eyebrow and, for the first time since he had entered the coffee shop, directed his attention towards her. "Did you actually think I was going to break up with Magnus?"

"Did you actually think I would let him go without a fight?" Magnus asked and squeezed Ale's hand tightly again.

Camille shook her head, which started to pound more and more now. All of this was giving her a headache. "No, but... I have it on video! You recorded it!"

"We were acting," Alec answered and shrugged. "Seems like Drama club was wrong in letting me go."

Magnus beamed at him. "You were incredible, my dear."

"So were you," he gave back and nudged their foreheads together

The way Alec was just so... happy nearly killed Camille. She liked the heartbreak better, and the recent revelations left her even without the ability to form correct sentences. "But... no. No. I've seen you leave the building... you were broken."

"Still acting," Magnus laughed. "You told Alec that you would wait outside for him to be done, and I had to get out to meet with our lovely Isabelle here. She had to tell me what I needed to get you to say, after all."

Camille frowned, still not connecting the dots. "...needed to say?"

Magnus grinned, and Camille thought that the expression in his eyes would maybe stay with her forever, embedded in her soul like a bad nightmare. For the first time since she knew him, he looked victorious. Like he knew that he had finally won. That he had finally beaten her, and could now take his revenge.

She was so stunned she couldn't even hate this feeling.

"Your crimes, Camille. Izzy here, who is also one of the leading young cops in New York, has been onto your case since yesterday, and sadly you didn't seem to care much about cleaning up your tracks." He outright grinned at her as if he had been waiting to say this for a long time. "But now, of course, with you admitting to your crimes on tape, the chances of you seeing a jail cell soon are definitely higher."

She breathed out heavily as she understood what had been going on at last. Frantically, she started to look around her, for some possible way of escaping this maybe, but there was Izzy standing in front of her booth, effectively blocking her way out, and Alec and Magnus sitting at the other end. She was cornered.

In a final, desperate attempt, she turned towards Magnus and tried to make her gaze as soft as she could. "Please don't do this, Magnus. You couldn't. You are my best- you are a good person," she corrected herself smoothly and put on a slight smile. "We could still make this all right, you don't have to do this, you know?"

The stares she got from everyone around her were deathly and her eye twitched, now finally unable to hide the nervousness. It got even worse as Izzy started rattling the handcuffs again, and Camille could have sworn she did it extra.

"Aren't we all civilised people here?" She tried one last time but didn't gain any support.

If anything, Alec raised an eyebrow and Magnus huffed out a cold laugh. "Camille, you lost, and you will go to jail for a probably very long time. You have no power over me anymore, whatever you say."

He smiled at Alec as he said the last part, probably only understanding the meaning of his own words himself as he spoke them.

Alec grinned. "And not over me either. In fact, you never had. And," he added with a wink, "to answer your question: We are all very civilised here, but unfortunately, you are also..."

"Arrested," finished Izzy as on cue and Camille could feel cold metal around her wrists before she could even try and resist. "You have the right to remain silent, and not only because I really can't stand  you and it's a long drive to the police station, but anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

Camille was pulled up by her handcuffs and her legs nearly failed at the sudden movement. The realization of what was happening hit her like cold water, finally jerking her more and more awake.

"No! I want my lawyer here, right now!" She demanded and put her foot down in a desperate try to not be pushed away, but to no avail.

Izzy only rolled her eyes and kept a steady grip on Camille, which made her only more fuming. "You'll get your lawyer once we're at the station, but now come on, or I'll have to take down 'resistance at arrest' into your criminal records as well. And trust me, it already doesn't look good for you."

Camille didn't certainly know if there was even a law like that, but she kept quiet nevertheless with thinly pressed lips. Her eyes were furious however, glaring at Magnus and nailing him down in her mind. "This isn't over yet. I have good lawyers, I'll come free again. And if I do, trust me that hell is going to sound like a nice summer vacation!"

A disturbed look hushed over Magnus's face, and even though it would have been too quick for many people to notice it, she knew that she had at least still hit something. He wasn't completely immune to her, and this was a good thing to hold onto.

His features smoothed down again though as Alec touched his cheek, and Camille could fill her stomach fill with deep, dreadful hate, concentrating her poisonous glances on Alec now instead. But he didn't seem to mind. He held the eye contact with her, cold and impersonal.

Surprisingly even for herself, she began to smirk slightly. She knew that the chances were high that if at all, she wouldn't spend a long time in prison - her dad had good connections. Or maybe she just didn't want to believe that there was a possibility Alec and Magnus had actually won against her, because how on earth would that be correct? How would fit that into her picture of the world, where she was invincible and everyone had to bow to her?

"For you, hell is going to be heaven as soon as you arrive in prison," Izzy murmured and pushed her a little harder towards the door as she had needed to.

But then again, everyone else in the cafe smiled knowingly, and Camille could soon feel those gazes burning into her skin. Those glances came from eyes that were far away from bowing. And to be looked at like this from Magnus, the naive Alec and even Izzy, one she didn't even know, was just becoming too much for her after a while.

It destroyed her that no one seemed to play along.

They didn't follow their script, that Camille had written for them so long ago, anymore, and it confused her, dazed her, until she found herself looking around desperately, trying, but failing, to make sense out of all of this.

"That's my girlfriend!" An obnoxious voice shouted at Izzy from the other side of the restaurant, but she didn't pay attention. She couldn't pay attention, even as Izzy shouted something back and the man started following them.

All that she noticed were those stares digging deep into her skin as she was torn to the door, making her nearly go insane.





The first thing that Magnus noticed after Camille was gone was the soothing silence surrounding them. Seriously, it was crazy just how loud she had screamed as Izzy dragged her out of the door, and he couldn't blame the staff and the rest of the customers for going into temporary hiding.

This sudden silence didn't just concern the room though. Magnus could also feel it in his head.

Allday now, thoughts had been rushing through his mind like on a highway without a speed limit and it had barely left him with enough air to breathe. First the fake-breaking up, then the whole acting in front of Camille... even though Magnus had, of course, known and agreed to everything from the beginning, the nervousness had still been there.

Of course, Alec's presence had made everything a thousand times better, but he still hadn't been able to cross out his doubts completely. 'What if Camille catches on to your plan?' a silent voice in his head always seemed to whisper. 'What will she do with you then?'

Camille had been the tormenter of his life for so long that Magnus almost couldn't believe she was gone now. Finally. After what felt like all his life, his thoughts could stop screaming at him. Stop trying to tell him to do things differently in a thousand ways. And he could stop blaming himself for everything.

Magnus smiled at the thought of that.

He liked the silence.

"Wow, that sure was something. Are you okay?" Alec asked him in a soft voice and laid an arm around him, looking as gentle as ever.

Magus stole a few moments just to let his eyes roam over Alec's now all too familiar features. Those ocean blue eyes he still quite hadn't figured out (but wouldn't mind trying for the rest of his life), that messy, raven hair, the slight cringles around his mouth corners. Everything about him just seemed to fit, and he didn't think he wanted Alec to ever stop looking at him the way he did right now. Or to stop touching him like this.

His relationship with Camille had always been hard. Messy thoughts, rushed feelings, pain.

But with Alec, he felt none of these things. Alexander was so unbelievably soft in everything he did, even if he just held his hand like now. Magnus's thoughts could be quiet with him, and he still felt safe to let go. Even of Camille.

Finally, he broke a smile. "Yes, Alexander, I'm fine now," he said, not leaving Alec's eyes.

"She is such a drama queen," he answered and he knew it was to make him feel stabilized.

But he had a good feeling that he would be fine forever if he could just keep looking at him.





As they left the coffee shop finally in comfortable silence, Alec had to think about everything that happened in just a few hours. The events seemed so rushed, so clumped together, that even Alec couldn't quite get his head around everything, so he had no idea how Magnus was doing it.

He lost himself in his profile as Alec thought of this afternoon, and thought of how easily he could have lost Magnus forever.

It was true that, even before the wedding, he had asked his sister to take a closer look at Camille's activities. He had wanted to get those paintings back for Magnus so badly, and his journalist senses played wild as soon as they had walked into the gallery, so Alec had thought that it couldn't hurt to let Izzy try and find some criminal stuff. Because maybe, after all, this could have helped.

However, he hadn't been expecting Camille's deal, so when he looked down at his own dictation device (which was, of course, turned off) and the idea popped into his head to fake-break up with Magnus so that they could get her to confess to her crimes on tape, it was pure improvisation from thereon.

Alec smiled at the memory of that.

When he had first rushed into Magnus's apartment a few hours ago, so nervous that he couldn't pay any attention to his words anymore, Magnus had seriously thought that he wanted to break up. For real. Okay, probably it had been due to his poor choice of words, but Alec couldn't have thought of something further from reality.

"You want to break up with me, right?" Magnus had asked, unbelievably sad but also contained, which had broken Alec's heart even more.

"Well, no. Yes. Kind of." God, he had been such a disaster. But he was so nervous that Magnus would hate him for what he was about to propose next.

But after a few seconds, he hadn't been able to bear Magnus looking so unsure just because he himself took too much time to think about how to explain it best, so he had gotten over himself and gone up to Magnus to give him a small kiss before he proceeded, taking any tension out of the air.

"I have an idea of how to get back at Camille, but you have to let me finish before you jump to any conclusions."

Magnus had nodded and just held onto Alec as he explained (of course accompanied by many interruptions). As he finished, Magnus was looking down at the ground, and Alec had feared that he might have lost him indeed.

"So, if I understood you right, we have to fake-breakup in front of camera, fool Camille and then she goes to jail?"

Alec had nodded, but Magnus's voice had been so neutral that it didn't make him any less nervous. "Magnus, if you don't want to do this, that's perfectly okay, Izzy already found-"

"No," Magnus interrupted him, and Alec took a sharp breath as he saw the hard resolution playing in his eyes. So much strength, even after everything Camille had done to him. Maybe those things even were his motivation. "I want to do this, please."

A smirk had formed on Magnus's lips, one of those smirks that Alec simply couldn't resist, and he started smiling as well.

"She deserved this. We've had a convincing fake-relationship, so we can do a fake-breakup."

Alec had laughed and didn't feel the necessity to point out that their relationship had just been so convincing because they had actually been in love. "I'm with you, Magnus," he said instead and touched his shoulder for grounding. "Always."

Magnus's smirk had turned into a grin, and Alec could see love and happiness just pouring out of his eyes at the touch. "I am, too. Let's give her one hell of a show, Alexander."

He felt a nudge against his shoulder, pulling him effectively out of his thoughts back into the here and now, where he was still walking along the nighttime streets with Magnus. His boyfriend. Alec grinned. He didn't think he would ever get tired of saying that.

"What are you thinking about?" Magnus just asked and they locked eyes for a bit.

"Just how lucky I am to be here with you," he smiled, and Magnus smiled back at him.

"Even though you ran away the first time."

Alec rolled his eyes, but he didn't mean it. He would never mean it. "Are you still holding that against me? I told you I'm sorry." Magnus chuckled. "And don't act so innocent, you brought on the cheapest pick-up line there is!"

"It seemed to work just fine," he argued and pressed himself even closer to Alec as they walked.

He didn't mind at all. Which didn't mean that he would let him off the hook that easily. "Or do you remember that time in Central Park when we were just about to kiss and you literally pulled away? What was I supposed to think after that?"

"Says the man who used the real story of how we met to explain to his family how much he loved his fake-date."

They both tried to look at each other in a serious tone, but they broke out into laughter after only a few seconds. After all, there is nothing you can do about true happiness. And it was true happiness when Alec and Magnus finally had found each other. And, after a while, true love.

The road that laid before them now might not be an easy one, but right now, walking next to each other while they bantered with the cool night air around them, it felt like nothing would ever be able to touch what they had. Like they were destined to be like this forever.

And maybe they were right.

Alec and Magnus took a last look at the stars before they continued on down the street, and what they saw had never been so beautiful. The stars that had guided them to each other for such a long time now seemed to shine brighter than ever, fired up by their love.

Still, it was each other's eyes their gazes were finally drawn to, because however many stars they could see in the sky, there were even more to find in them.

And because of this, they could walk away by each other's side, leaving the stars behind them, while all those lights around them shone so brightly.

Brighter even than the stars themselves.

Chapter Text

3 weeks later

Alec tried really hard not to be nervous. But, as it often is the case, if you really try something, you mostly end up not being able to do it, and Alec still played with the rim on the jacket under the table. His eye was probably twitching as well.

At least he had a good right to be nervous, the matter in question was the thing he had been working on for multiple weeks now, after all. He tried to take a deep breath. If this didn't work, he was going to get so fired.

It also didn't help at all that Underhill's face was so neutral, so unreadable, as he skimmed through Alec's article. The thoughtful way he turned each page, how he sometimes traced words with his fingers... Alec was sure he just did it to torture him.

He winced at the thought of how much work he had put into that stupid thing. How many words he had rearranged or exchanged, how many times he had even written the same thing over and over again just for it to still turn out unsatisfying, and how many nights he had cut very short for doing that- much to the dismay of Magnus of course.

"So, Alec..." Underhill finally began speaking and Alec caught his breath. "Is this the article you want to turn in?"

For heaven's sake, he really was here just to torture him.

Alec studied his face carefully but still couldn't find a single clue. He sighed. This man would be an excellent poker gamer.

"Yes," he answered and already started packing his things mentally. But he knew that, even if he would say 'no' now and try to buy himself some more time, he couldn't have written it any better.

Underhill nodded and looked down on the paper again, a frown on his face. "Then Congratulations!"

"What?" Alec almost thought he might have misheard his boss.

"It means that you can keep your job," Underhill said, a slight smile on his lips now. "This article is genius - I couldn't have done it any better myself."

Alec's jaw would have dropped to the basement if it physically could have. "Are you being serious?"

"Have I ever not been serious?"

Fair point.

"Alec, this article, your writing..." This was the first time Alec had ever seen Underhill struggling with his words. "It's everything I've wanted to hear and so much more." His grin was infectious, and Alec soon joined in, even though he still couldn't quite believe what was happening right now. And Underhill wasn't even done yet.

"When I gave you this task, I knew you had talent. I knew you had it in you to work here but something always seemed... lacking. As if you missed something, as if there was a void you never quite knew how to fill and words you never quite knew how to reach. And I thought that it had to be love. Selfless, egoistic love, a feeling that is so in contrary with itself that it doesn't let you sleep at night." He looked directly at Alec now and smiled at him. "It seems like I was right. You've found it."

Alec blushed at those words as he thought about the last few weeks. Those beautiful, breathtaking last weeks. With Magnus by his side, it would be a wonder if Alec would ever be able to write about anything else than love again.

"Thank you, sir, for everything. I appreciate it," Alec said, an honest grin on his face.

This had turned out so much better than he could have imagined. He couldn't wait to tell Magnus about this.

"I know you do." Underhill gave him a nod and Alec rose, eager to tell his colleagues that they wouldn't get rid of him that easily, but was stopped on the way to the door once again.

"And Alec?"

"Yeah?"

"Your boyfriend sounds wonderful. Bring him along sometimes." Another wink from him, then Alec laughed and vanished through the door.

1 week later

"Chairman, please don't ruin this for me now," Magnus begged and gave his cat a glance that made clear that if he did, there would be consequences in his future petting time.

It wasn't like he neglected his favourite cat all of a sudden, he just really needed Chairman to stay silent and not wake Alec if this was supposed to work. He had planned everything so carefully.

Only this morning, Magnus had gotten up extra early (to which Alec had grumbled, but had not woken up) and sneaked out of his apartment to the next newspaper outlet, just so that he could get the 'New York Times' edition for today as soon as possible and some breakfast along the way.

Now, all he just had to do was to get into the bedroom without Chairman meowing - or him tripping over Chairman, which is not an easy thing to avoid with both hands full. But, after a few careful steps, he finally managed to reach the door and push it open softly - just to be met with one of the most beautiful sights he could imagine.

Alec was still lying there, in the bed they nearly spend every night in now, and snored lightly. He had shifted a bit though since Magnus had left him, now his right hand was stretched out across the spot where Magnus had laid next to him.

Magnus chuckled as Alec pulled the sheets he had been gripping instead of Magnus closer to him, seemingly getting more awake, and murmured something intelligible.

He had already gotten so used to waking up to this sight, Magnus didn't think he would ever be able to let go again. The first rays of sun softly hitting Alec gave him an angelic glow, and his bed-hair was even messier as they had left it the previous night.

Magnus grew almost so fond of this moment that it took some effort to move again. He would have rather kept this picture forever. But, Alec was getting more and more awake sadly, and he didn't want to sacrifice his plan after he had already gotten past Chairman Meow.

Slowly, he strode over to the bed and sat down carefully before he leaned over. "Good morning, my love," he whispered, barely audible.

But Alec's eyes opened nevertheless. First, he looked around a bit confused (Magnus had learnt that Alec definitely always needed a few seconds to get back to reality) but it turned soft immediately as his gaze settled on Magnus.

"Good morning," he moaned and yawned already.

Magnus couldn't do anything but be caught by his smile for a few seconds. But then he remembered that he did, actually, have an agenda.

"Breakfast?" Magnus asked, grinning sheepishly, as he slid into the covers next to Alec.

Alec immediately pressed himself closer. "Why are you up already?" he murmured, his voice still full of sleep, and Magnus caressed his cheek with a fond expression.

"Because I had to get us this thing here, of course," Magnus answered and pulled out the newspaper next to him with a grin, "The best article that this paper has ever been graced with."

Alec groaned. "Oh God no. I'm lucky I could keep my job, seriously."

"A journalist at the New York Times, who nearly made it onto the front page, and still so unnecessarily modest?" Magnus raised his eyebrow and Alec had to giggle at that.

"You seriously bought that thing? I'm pretty sure I've heard you recite it word for word at one point, which was no surprise as often as you read it from my laptop."

Magnus chuckled. "I know, but this right here is about us, written by you, so of course I want to own it in the official version as well. I want to know it in every version possible, to be exact."

A moment of silence fell over them.

"I could have done better..." Alec was just starting, staring up at the ceiling, but Magnus hit him softly.

"Alexander, it's perfect."

Alec turned to him now and Magnus had to catch his breath again as their faces were mere inches apart. He didn't think he would ever stop needing to do that.

"Do you really think so?"

A gentle smile played around Alec's lips, a smile he couldn't resist kissing softly. "Of course I do." He laid his hand over Alec's again. "Also, just listen to this," Magnus started with a giggle and already began to turn to the next page, ignoring Alec's groans of displeasure.

"Falling in love is so many things at once I would have never expected. It's stubborn, breathtaking, beautiful, unfair, harsh, soft... it's every adjective mixed together to form one noun: Love. And the expression 'falling in love' describes it pretty well: You fall, always without free will, and there's only one person who is able to help you up again. But for me, falling in love were two things most of all: Painful, and terribly literal-" He didn't get any further, because, at that moment, Alec started laughing too hard.

"Oh my god, please stop, that sounds horrible."

Magnus laid the article besides him and shifted over to Alec again, smiling. "But I love it."

A momentarily silence spread between them again, one that maybe made both realise how much more significant and important this moment was about to become. So memorable even, that it would be embedded in their thoughts forever, keeping them company in their coldest nights.

"And I love you, Magnus," Alec said quietly, admiring the man next to him with a hopeful expression in his eyes.

Magnus smiled and took Alec's hand. He didn't need much time to think about what he was going to answer. For his heart, this had been clear since the first time he had fallen for him, and every day after that just made it clearer.

"I love you too, Alexander."