Chapter Text
The whole reason Alec had become an archeologist five years ago was to make grand discoveries. But this, he thinks, staring at the man in front of him, who'd come out of nothing at all, wasn't what he'd expected.
Alec had been alone one moment, digging around in the hot Egyptian sand, and then, suddenly, the gorgeous man had appeared. And the thought feels absurd, because Alec should be focussing on where the man came from instead of his looks, but he'd have to be blind to miss it.
The man's skin is light brown, highlighted by ornate gold chains draped over his strong chest and arms, matching the gold sandals on his feet. He’s wearing an old-fashioned shendyt around his waist, the folding creating an uneven hem tapering off around his, rather muscular, left thigh and right knee.
Alec’s gaze lingers on the man’s sparkly makeup, gold, of course, and styled hair. The undercut, and the mohawk threaded with gold, is the only part of the man that makes him look not quite like the Egyptian gods Alec read about in school.
Graceful palms brush over the cloth of his shendyt, the mid-day sunlight glinting off his metal rings. “It’s been ages since I’ve had the power to appear like this—it’s about time.”
Alec can only stare up at the man. And it's the odd angle that reminds Alec he's still kneeling in warm sand. Before the man's had joined him, he'd been digging, searching for any sign of ruins or the people to inhabit the desert in earlier times. Now, Alec shifts and sits back on his feet, not bothering to stand. He feels faint, something he's sure has less to do with the scorching heat and more to do with the mysterious figure in front of him.
“Who… who are you?” Alec manages after clearing his throat. He can't help but wonder if the heat has gotten to him and he’s imagining all of this. It feels real, but maybe he should’ve taken a break with his fellow archeologists. He hadn’t been hungry for lunch, but rest and shade would surely do him some good.
“You’re telling me you summoned me without knowing any of my names?” The man asks, raising a perfect eyebrow at Alec.
“I didn’t summon you.”
“Of course you did, that’s my token in your hand.”
Alec uncurls his stiff fingers and peers down at the coin, too aged and dirty to be decipherable. He’d been ecstatic to find something, only to completely forget about it when the man appeared in the same minute. He stares down at the coin, trying to see past the grime coating the surface. He’ll be able to clean and polish it later, but he worries the details may be lost to the ages.
“To answer your question, I go by many names. Sol, Ra, Kinich. But I’ve always been partial to Magnus.” Magnus steps down from the small hill he’d been standing on, only a few feet from Alec. “And who are you, if not one of my worshippers?”
And sure the man is good looking, but worshippers seems a little far-fetched. “Alec. My name is Alec.”
“Short for Alexander, I presume.” Alec nods, mutely. Magnus looks away, casting his gaze across the desert around them, and sighs. “My temple is gone.”
He's staring mournfully at the sand in front of him, eyebrows creased like he's never seen the desert before.
“A temple…” Alec’s brain is still lagging as he tries to decide if this is real or a hallucination. Magnus seems more complex than anything Alec, whose never been particularly imaginative, could conjure up. But his logic is trying to scream for attention, telling him that this can't be real. “There was a temple here?”
“The last time I was here it towered over the other buildings. It was all gorgeous architecture; it’s a pity it’s gone. But I suppose everything fades with time, well, almost everything.” He smirks, like he's telling a joke that Alec can't understand the punchline of.
Putting that aside, Alec focuses on Magnus' earlier words. They must have chosen the right spot, a little more digging and there would have to be remains of the temple Magnus is describing. If this is real.
He wants to get back to work right away, to find the temple's remnants and assure himself that this is happening. But Magnus, sparkly and nearly divine, holds his attention.
Alec regretfully turns away from the potential buried treasure, pushing to his feet. The coin is still clutched tight in his hand. Part of him is worried if he sets it down, Magnus will disappear as quickly as he appeared.
There's only limited time until Alec's coworkers return so Alec makes the first truly impulsive decision of his life. He thinks Jace would be proud. “Do you want to get food?”
“I would kill for a good bread. It’s amazing how floating unconscious in a void for decades will make you absolutely starving.”
“Right…” Alec focusses on packing up his equipment, leaving the coin in a little baggie for its own protection. He can’t believe full-heartedly Magnus’ account without any evidence, but he also can’t quite find any scientific reason for Magnus’ sudden emergence.
At least, Alec reasons, going into public to get food is the good way to determine if Magnus is actually a figment of his imagination, or something far more interesting.
“I’m sorry, you think you’re a god?” Alec is left dumbstruck yet again less than an hour later. His surroundings are different, he's in the back of a small restaurant with a heavenly amount of fans, but the feelings of shock are the same.
Magnus is sitting across the table from him, still shining despite the dim glow of the crappy lights. It’s like the light from the few windows pours in and clings to him—no, it's more than that. It’s like he radiates his own light. It gives his skin a golden tint, and makes his eyes burn brighter against his dark kohl eyeliner.
Though their waitress had given his clothing an odd look, she had obviously seen him, and talked to him. The short exchange had left Alec relieved that his sanity was still intact. There was no logical explanation for Magnus, but he was undoubtedly real.
Magnus lowers his half-eaten shawarma, a type of wrap that Alec had helped him pick out, since Magnus hadn't recognized much from the menu aside from some breads and cheeses. “I thought you would’ve figured that out by now.”
Alec pauses. Because as ridiculous as the words are… he has to concede that Magnus has a point. The coin, the summoning, the suddenness of his presence, his odd wardrobe, his unearthly appearance. “Wha—who—whe—huh?”
“Articulate,” Magnus remarks, a soft smile on his lips.
“It’s not every day I meet a god,” Alec mutters in response, too stunned to get angry at Magnus' amusement. “I don’t know what to say, to ask.”
Alec’s life had been dedicated to searching for clues about the civilizations that used to decorate the earth in times long-since passed. Now he has a god sitting in front of him, a deity that has probably seen countries rise and fall. Alec doesn’t know where to start. He takes another sip of his water, finding the cold temperature of the liquid to be grounding.
Magnus hums around another large bite of food. He certainly eats like he’s been in a coma for years. Perhaps that’s where Alec should start. He’s still trying to get a handle on this bizarre situation, but maybe understanding Magnus better would help him come to terms with the dramatic turn his life has taken.
“How come you were, uh, I think the words you used were ‘unconscious in a void’? How long were you like that?”
Magnus’ lips quirk, but he finally sets down what's left of the food he's been devouring. “My power comes from my believers. The more worshippers, sacrifices, and offerings a deity has, the stronger we become. But when people stop believing, when they forget our existence… well, we cease to exist. At least until someone brings us back by believing again.”
Alec's face scrunches up as he considers this. He knows his food is probably getting cold, but he’s too invested in the conversation to care. He drums his fingers against the smooth wooden table. “Who brought you back? Was it me? You said I summoned you, but—I’d never heard of you before.”
He’s almost proud when Magnus looks a bit stumped by the question. The god fiddles with the golden chain around his chest and Alec tries not to stare at the way his long, slender fingers dance across the smooth, hard surface of his chest. He can't help wondering if all gods dress so provocatively, or if that's unique to Magnus.
“You were in my temple. Or on the ruins of it, at least. You held my token in your hand. It seems that was enough of an offering to bring me back. And now your belief in me keeps me here.”
Alec’s stomach clenches, a bitter taste filling his mouth. “So if I stopped believing in you, you’d just disappear?”
Magnus’ eyebrows furrow before his face goes suspiciously calm. He takes another bite and chews slowly before finally answering, “Quite a morbid question. I suppose the waitress, and the other patrons have seen me enough to give me some sustanance, but I would likely lose much of my ability to appear like this. I would… fade away again.”
The thought of that makes Alec feel queasy. Magnus' existence, or ability to exist in the world in any real way, hinges on Alec's belief in him. That's... a lot of pressure. He manages to quell his anxieties by reasoning that he couldn’t stop believing in Magnus even if he tried. And why would he want to?
“But now that I’m back, I can re-create my temple!” Magnus announces, his voice pitched oddly high.
“The one that I was digging up?” Alec asks, managing to nibble at a bite of food though he's still not very hungry.
At the same time, Magnus swallows the last of his shawarma and lets out a happy sound. “Precisely. What better way to find new believers?”
“But it’s destroyed, you can't just... bring it back."
“Sure I can, A bit of magic and it’ll be back to new.”
As much as Alec wants to see what the temple looks like in all its glory—“You can’t just magic it back together, people will notice.”
Magnus nods. “That’s rather the point, darling.”
Ignoring the nickname, and the way it makes his insides feel all warm and gooey, Alec focuses on the issue at hand. “How long were you gone? You can’t just do stuff like that anymore, people will want to know how you did it, they’ll want to study you.”
Magnus frowns, the corners of his eyes pinching together, some of his sunshiny demeanor being concealed by clouds of upset. “I’m not sure. What year is it?”
“2021.”
Magnus’ lips move as he does mental calculations before announcing, rather vaguely, “A very long time.”
For the first time since they met, Alec is unsurprised. The way Magnus dresses, the way he talks, and his awe of the mundane suggests he’s older than he looks. Alec sets down his fork and fixes his best big brother stare at Magnus. “You might be a god, but it’s clear you’re out of touch with modern times. Just, follow my lead, okay? No magically recreating centuries-old temples. We can find you believers some other way.”
“And sacrifices,” Magnus barters, leaning forward. There’s a gleam in his eye that Alec doesn’t know what to make of.
He agrees, only to keep Magnus from going rogue and causing a major news story. “Sure, fine.”
“Virgin sacrifices.”
Alec steadfastly ignores the blush rising to his cheeks. “Really?”
Magnus grins and his whole face lights up. Alec wants to tear his eyes away before he’s caught staring, but he can’t manage it. Like this, Magnus’ divinity is unavoidable, and Alec wonders how he’d ever thought Magnus could be anything less than a god.
“No. I just wanted to see you blush.”
Alec lowers his chin, cursing his pale skin and pink cheeks.
His gaze is drawn back up when Magnus snaps his fingers. In an instant, Magnus’ plate is filled with food again.
Magic.
Magnus had said he could do it, but Alec is still awed by the display. As Magnus dives into his second serving, Alec wonders what he’s gotten himself into.
Thankfully Magnus agrees to stay in Alec's hotel room after they eat, incentivized by TV and snack food, while Alec goes back to the dig site. He isn’t surprised in the least when, later that day, Lydia discovers old bricks made of mud, or when Simon unearths a long slab of stone. Clary also finds a few more coins like the one Alec had dug up, but no gods appear as a this time.
Everyone is in a good mood by the time they retire for the night, and though Alec isn't upset in the least, he can’t help thinking that all their findings pale in comparison to the sun god.
He half-expects Magnus to have disappeared by the time he gets back to the hotel, but Magnus is there, sound asleep on the big, white bed.
Alec pauses just inside the doorway, taking a moment to study the deity.
Even in his sleep, Magnus seems to glow. He’s still in his jewelry and shendyt, only his shoes missing. Alec’s fingers itch to remove the body chain and makeup, an instinct honed by years of putting younger siblings to bed. But he doesn’t want to cross any lines, especially when there's a potential risk of being smote.
He toes off his own shoes and crosses the room, footsteps quiet on the carpeted floor. He'll just remove the chain on Magnus' chest so it doesn't strangle him in his sleep. Alec isn’t sure if gods can die from that, but he imagines it’d be uncomfortable at least.
With steady hands, he undoes the clip near Magnus’ hip, very carefully avoiding touching the tempting bronze skin beside it. It's hard to ignore how heat radiates off Magnus, warming Alec's fingers.
It takes a bit of extra maneuvering, but he's able to extract the chain with minimal touching, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when he finally manages it. He sets the body chain on the side table just as Magnus’ eyes pop open.
“That was very skilled,” Magnus remarks, his voice husky with sleep.
Alec fights down the urge to blush, and, when he fails, turns to hide it. He crosses to the closet near the bathroom to grab his pajamas. “Did I wake you?”
“I’m glad you did.”
Clothes in hand, Alec moves to the bathroom door. But he can't resist peeking at Magnus once more, and finds the sun god's eyes are already shut again. “You should take off your makeup, and the rest of your jewelry.”
Magnus’ lips quirk, like he’s amused by Alec’s concern. He doesn't make any move to get up, but waves a hand nonchalantly. Instantly, his outfit changes—or, more precisely, vanishes entirely. The jewelry and shendyt are gone, leaving him sprawled buck-naked across the sheets.
Alec whips his gaze away before he can stare. He knows if he's allows himself to look, he's never going to get the image out of his head. “What are you doing?”
“This is how I sleep!”
Alec isn’t going to survive this. He was already hesitant about his chances of being able to sleep beside Magnus, but he’ll never manage it if Magnus is nude. “Haven’t you heard of pajamas?”
Magic crackles across the room again and now that Alec isn't distracted by Magnus' looks, he can truly appreciate the feel of it. All warm and crisp, reminiscent of the fall leaves back in New York, but sweeter somehow.
“Is this better?”
Alec risks a glance back at Magnus, trepidatious of what he’s going to find.
Magnus is still bare from the chest up, but at lease he’s summoned a long, soft-looking teal skirt. And now that Alec is allowing himself to look at the sun god again, he notices Magnus’ makeup has been wiped away, the gel gone from his hair. The dark strands fall softly across his forehead.
Alec is left breathless at the sudden transformation. Magnus had gone from looking like a powerful, put-together deity to appearing soft, comfortable… and, well, still a deity but looking exponentially more touchable. Alec swallows hard, and shoves down the uncomfortable urge to reach for Magnus.
“Better?” Magnus asks again, eyes flickering shut, dark lashes fanning out over his defined cheekbones.
“Yeah,” Alec manages. His voice comes out a bit strained and, before Magnus can ask him anything more incriminating, he flees to the bathroom to change.
Though Alec had worried that he'd be unable to fall asleep beside Magnus, his fears were put to rest when he dozed off only moments after laying down. He sleeps well, despite Magnus' presence, and wakes to the smell of coffee and the feel of sunlight warming his skin.
He cracks open his eyes and finds the blinds are still shut, and that the warm light he'd mistaken for sunshine is emanating from Magnus. Magnus, dressed in an ankle-length skirt, all shimmery red fabric and almost transparent, who is placing a takeout bag and coffee on the little hotel table.
Alec doesn’t let himself stare long enough to find out just how much he can see through Magnus' skirt, forcing his eyes up to the meal instead. “Where did you get that?”
“Down the street,” Magnus answers vaguely, doing little to assuage Alec’s concerns. Because, as far as Alec knows, Magnus doesn’t even know what modern money looks like, much less possess any.
He decides he’s probably better off not knowing and lets the conversation drop. After tossing off the comforter, Alec crosses the room to pick up one of the coffee cups. He sips at it, luxuriating in the familiar spicy tones of typical Egyptian coffee.“Thanks.”
There’s no answer, and when Alec looks up, Magnus’ eyes are locked on his shirtless torso. Alec finds the idea of Magnus ogling him insane; there's nothing about him that could possibly appeal to this radiant god. But the lust in Magnus' wandering eyes is unmistakable. Alec feels a blush rising from his chest and turns to search for a shirt before Magnus can notice.
He pulls the first one he finds, a plain black T-shirt, over his head and hears Magnus sigh. “Don’t get dressed up on my account.”
Not sure what else to do, Alec turns and levels his best unimpressed look at Magnus. He doesn't know what to make of the flirting. It can’t possibly be sincere… right? Maybe this is just how Magnus is, with everyone.
“Fine, but I liked what I saw,” Magnus murmurs, sitting at the table. There's only one seat but a wave of Magnus' hand fixes the problem, another identical chair appearing between the table and bed.
Because he doesn’t know how to respond to Magnus' flirting, Alec changes the subject as he sits. “What are you going to do now that you’re… back from the void. What do gods do all day?”
Magnus, focussed mostly on pulling out the food and dividing it between them, hums. “A myriad of activities, mostly hedonistic, some benevolent. Drink, party, nap, sex...” Alec is pretty sure Magnus only brings up the last one to make him blush, and he very stubbornly refuses to give Magnus the satisfaction. “Sometimes we perform blessings or build temples, to ensure we aren’t forgotten.”
“You can’t magically build things anymore,” Alec reminds him, unwrapping the egg sandwich that Magnus hands him. It's still warm, and the smell of bacon has Alec's mouthwatering.
Magnus just winks. “There’s very little I can’t do, darling.”
“Right. So today you’re going to…?"
“I was thinking of accompanying you to work, I’m rather interested in finding what remains of my temple, some of it may be rather sentimental.”
Alec shakes his head, but finishes chewing before arguing, “You can’t. It’s off limits to everyone not on the dig.”
“So all I have to do is—" Magnus uses his free hand to snap his fingers, and his outfit changes to resemble the fairly-typical archeologist getup Alec was sporting when they met. “Now I’ll fit right in.”
Alec focuses on his sandwich so he won’t stare. He’s never found cargo pants attractive before, on anyone, and finds it a little concerning that he does now. “No. We all know each other already.”
“Nothing a small glamour can’t fix.”
“You’re not brainwashing my coworkers, Magnus.” Alec risks a glance up and sees Magnus pouting. Alec sighs and offers a compromise, “We can go to a museum when I get done tonight. They’ll have lots of historical stuff for you to look at, maybe even information about you.”
Magnus pauses to consider before giving a slow nod. His outfit changes back to his skirt and jewelry. “Fine, but if I get bored waiting, I’m coming to explore.”
Alec rubs his temples and prays for the strength to make it through the day.
The museum is beautiful. The architecture alone is stunning, but the true gems are the items kept in heavily secured cases inside.
Alec has always loved museums, unearthing the little pieces of history—though he prefers actually finding them in the ground himself—and learning what they reveal about specific cultures and humanity at large. It’s impossibly better with Magnus there.
The sun god is dressed somewhat normally for once, at Alec’s insistence that he try to blend in lest they alarm the security guards. Alec misses Magnus' skirts and body chains, but Magnus could make even a trash bag look fashionable. He's stunning in dark trousers, a light blue button down, a gold waistcoat, and a sparkly jacket. Gold liner is drawn under his eyes, and his hair has blue and gold highlights running through it. He still stands out, but at least he looks like he’s from the current century.
Alec, who has visited the museum several times since arriving in Egypt, waits patiently while Magnus pauses to admire every display they pass. There's not a plaque that Magnus skips, like he’s trying to catch up on everything he missed while he was… unconscious, Alec supposes that's the best word for it.
Normally Alec would be studying the exhibits as well, but he finds it hard to tear his eyes away from Magnus. What appeal do old paintings have when compared with Magnus’ pure radiance?
Magnus suddenly glances up and Alec’s eyes dart away, over to the case of old coins Magnus had been looking at. None of them look like the one he'd dug up yesterday.
They move to the next display, and Alec sucks in a sharp breath as he realizes what he’s looking at. It’s a sketch of Magnus, etched onto a large piece of flat rock. It’s done in prehistoric Egyptian style, but there’s no one else it could be. Jewelry is carved around him, his hair styled up in its mohawk, and he seems to be standing in the center of a sun.
“Your eyes,” Alec says slowly, confusion setting in. The artistic rendering has given Magnus big eyes, as light as the sun behind him. But in the short time Alec has known him, he's memorized Magnus’ dark brown eyes perfectly. They that hold the same warmth as Alec’s beloved cappuccinos. “They didn’t get your eyes right.”
“Of course they did.” Magnus’ voice is as light and careless as always, but when Alec glances over, he sees vulnerability in the way Magnus fiddles with his ear cuff.
“What do you mean?”
With a small smile that looks suspiciously forced, Magnus raises his right hand and snaps. The darkness of his eyes is burnt out by gold, too bright to look human. His pupils are smaller, thin black circles entrenched in liquid gold.
“So you see why I hide them,” Magnus continues, mistaking Alec’s awe for something less flattering. A spark of magic and the gold is replaced by brown.
“I don’t,” Alec states. He steps forward, unthinking as he reaches for Magnus. Magnus is beautiful with brown or gold eyes, of course, and Alec could lose himself in either, but there’s something about Magnus being utterly himself, not hiding behind glamours, that Alec is already addicted to. He cups Magnus' warm cheeks in his palms. “Let me see them again? Please.”
Magnus’ mouth drops open in a little ‘o’. Alec can’t understand his reaction, can't fathom why anyone wouldn’t want to see Magnus' eyes. As unnatural as they looked, their uniqueness made them all the more beautiful.
Magic flickers in the air, warm and light, and Magnus’ eyes return to shades of molten gold.
“They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.” So beautiful that for a moment Alec forgets that he’s a mere mortal and Magnus is a god, because all he can think is how badly he wants to kiss Magnus.
He leans forward and presses their lips together the way he’s wanted to since he first laid eyes on Magnus.
Magnus’ lips are warm and smooth under his, and moving with the same desperate fervor that makes Alec believe his crush might actually be reciprocated.
Alec leans back when he remembers they’re still in a museum and it’s probably not the best place to make out, regardless of how much he wants to. He’s delighted to see Magnus’ eyes are still golden, and wide with surprise. Alec forces himself to step away. “Was that okay?”
Magnus blinks and a small smile turns his lips up, “Darling, you can kiss me like that any time you like.”