Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing.
I just basically liked the idea of Alec helping Magnus remove his make-up and I wanted some Magnus+Alec+Izzy trio action as well, thus this fic spawned in my brain.
To say that this mission had gone sideways was an understatement to say the least.
Word had come in during the early evening about a demon sighting in central park, no sign of mundane injuries or death but there was no doubt it would escalate to that if left alone.
Izzy had volunteered for the job and Alec decided to go with her, partly to keep an eye on his little sister, and also because it had been a while since he'd been out in the field, he was getting a little restless. They had even gained help in the form of Magnus this evening as the other man had come over to visit Alec during his shift, offering up his help after he had heard about the suspected type of demon: a water-based kind that loved to hide in ponds and lakes to ambush their victims.
Alec had agreed due to the practical nature of Magnus' request, but he could admit that a large part of him had also wanted the excuse to spend some time with his boyfriend.
With that the three of them had headed out.
It was only supposed to be a few rogue demons, a simple and quick job that would invigorate them all before retiring for the night.
But what had started out as two demons turned into ten, a few of them already having managed to breed in the waters of the lake, and these demons grew, fast.
Alec grunted as he rolled to the side, an arrow flying from his bow and he cursed as it just narrowly missed it's target. They had all thought that these demons would be slower on land, that water would be their better-suited environment, something that was unfortunately not the case. Their bodies moved just as fast through the bushes and trees as they did submerged.
The crack of a whip sounded to his left and a garbled shriek followed it, a demon hissing out into a plume of smoke and ash. One more down at least.
A flicker of movement to his right caught his eye and on instinct he notched another arrow and fired, feeling a swell of satisfaction thrum through him as his arrow hit it's mark. Another plume of smoke rising into the cold air.
Those along with the five they had already taken down meant that only three were left, but while Alec could see two flitting through the trees the last was unaccounted for, it made Alec nervous and he didn't like it.
A ball of fire and another demon was gone, Magnus' cat-eyes blazing in the dark and at any other time Alec would be stuck dumb by the sight. Now however it just made him smile, at how powerful Magnus was and at how well they worked together. The other man wasn't born to fight like he and Isabelle were, but he fit into the role like he was always meant to be by Alec's side.
Another crack followed by a garbled hiss and everything went quiet, unnervingly so.
No one relaxed however, the three of them looking around for the last demon and Alec's breath fogged out into the air before him as he slowly surveyed the area. For all intents and purposes there was nothing left, something that didn't fill Alec with confidence.
Magnus stepped up a little closer to the lake, his fingers flicking magic out across the water, most likely in an effort to search the area and a huff sounded next to him as Isabelle gave him a puzzled look.
"Where's?-" She didn't get to finish her question, the water of the lake bursting upwards as a demon, larger than the other ones, flung itself out onto the shore, right where Magnus was standing.
Alec's breath caught in his throat and his legs were moving before he even registered it as the demon wrapped it's long limbs around Magnus and dragged him down into the water.
He barely heard the accompanying thuds of Isabelle's feet as she ran with him to the lake, dropping his bow and quiver to the ground as he went. He couldn't say what his plan was exactly, jumping into freezing water in the middle of winter was not a sound idea, but all he knew was that he had to get Magnus away from that thing. Regardless of what happened to him.
He barely made it to the shoreline however when a large crackle of lighting shot out from the water, making him pull up short at the lake's edge. A beat passed and just as he was preparing to dive in Magnus' head breached the surface, the other man splashing about as he righted himself and swam towards them.
Alec rushed to Magnus when he got to the shallows, getting his calves and feet wet as he helped the other man to stand. He was shivering and coughing as they walked up to Isabelle and Alec refused to let go of him, even when Magnus protested that he was fine.
Isabelle gave them both a once-over, looking for obvious signs of injury. "Is it gone?" She asked, nodding to the lake.
"Yes, they don't take well to lighting to the face apparently." Magnus had stopped coughing and even smiled as he spoke but he was still shivering fiercely, Alec wanted to give him his jacket but considering the large winter coat Magnus was wearing he wasn't sure how effective that would be, or if it would look stupid. Still the urge was there.
He settled for wrapping an arm around Magnus' shoulders as they all agreed to report back to the institute, they needed to send out a clean-up crew as soon as possible.
"Honestly Alexander I'm fine." He just about avoided rolling his eyes at that but it was hard to resist, especially given how much Magnus was shaking. He bustled them both into the loft, pulling at Magnus' clothes as they moved.
They hadn't been delayed that long, Isabelle had told Alec that she'd fill out the report since technically it had been her mission and had practically ordered Alec to take Magnus home and warm him up. Something that Alec was more than on board with, despite the other man's protests.
"Tell me that when you aren't practically blue from the cold." Magnus gave him a look and held his hands up to show two very clearly not-blue hands and Alec only huffed at him as he continued to try and get the man out of his soaked and freezing cold clothes.
"You're just trying to get me naked." Magnus' flirting was ruined somewhat by the full-body shiver he gave as Alec pulled his coat and shirt off, the warm air of the loft was probably a little uncomfortable against his cold skin.
"Always." He replied as he steered Magnus towards the bathroom, tackling Magnus' belt along the way.
He dropped the wet clothes he'd been carrying into the hamper by the door and nudged Magnus to sit on the poofy chair next to the rather ornate, and large, mirror. Magnus made a face at the idea of getting the chair wet but otherwise complied and Alec kneeled down to untie his shoes and take off his socks. Unlike his hands Magnus' feet were tinged a little blue around the edges and he brought each one into his lap for a few moments to rub some warmth back into them, frowning a little at just how cold the appendages were.
A low sigh issued from Magnus as his body sank back in the chair.
"I didn't know you had a thing for feet." Alec snorted at that, glad at least that Magnus was feeling okay enough to crack jokes.
"I really don't." He placed the foot he'd been holding onto the floor and leaned up to tug at the zipper on Magnus' pants, motioning for the other man to stand up so he could pull his jeans and underwear down. He helped Magnus to balance as he stepped out of the soaked clothes and threw them into the same hamper as he stood up. " Get in the shower and I'll find you some warm clothes." Magnus' shoulders dropped a little at that, his face falling ever so slightly.
"You're not going to join me?" Magnus was trying to make his words sound salacious but it didn't quite land. Alec smiled warmly at him, leaning in to place a gentle kiss to Magnus' cheek and giving his shoulder a light squeeze of reassurance.
"I will, I'm just going to grab some clothes." Magnus relaxed at that and went towards the shower stall with little protest. "Don't turn it up too high." He warned as he walked into their bedroom to find some clothes.
He returned after a few minuets with the softest pyjama bottoms Magnus owned and a pair of outrageously fuzzy slippers that the other man would deny ever possessing, he dumped those along with his own change of clothes on the chair and quickly stripped himself before stepping into the shower.
Magnus was stood half under the spray, and while he had clearly given his hair a quick rinse he was situated so that it mostly washed over his body, he turned around as Alec entered and gave him a small smile as he nestled up against him, letting out a small hum as Alec wrapped his arms around his back.
The water was barely above luke-warm but from the way Magnus had stopped shivering it had clearly done the job and Alec was more than content to let them both stand there as he smoothed his hands over Magnus' back, feeling the tension slip from his body as the minutes wore on.
Eventually Alec nudged Magnus and prodded him to leave the shower, turning off the water once he was gone. He grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist as he stepped out, keeping one eye on Magnus the whole time as the other man dried his hair with his own and pulled his pyjama pants on before stepping up to the bathroom counter. A small click sounded in the room, a blue shimmer of magic surrounding Magnus as it's healing affects took hold, making him look far less drowsy and putting some colour back into his skin.
Alec leaned in and pressed a small kiss against Magnus' shoulder, earning himself a smile as Magnus rooted through his things on the counter before grabbing a make-up wipe and dragging it over one eye.
Alec watched him for a moment as he contemplated the eye-shadow running down Magnus' face, it wasn't as if he'd never seen Magnus without make-up before, but he'd never really been present while Magnus had been taking it off. Hardly something deliberate between them, but as he stood there next to Magnus something in his heart settled into place at seeing this ritual first hand, another aspect of their lives mixing together.
Alec smiled to himself and before he even fully registered it he was turning Magnus to face him and reaching for the make-up wipe himself, intent on doing more than just watching. Magnus froze a little when he took the wipe from him and Alec paused for a moment before shooting Magnus a reassuring smile, for all that Magnus was confident in a lot of ways his insecurities also had a habit of cropping up at the oddest times.
It just meant that Alec had been steadily figuring out how to navigate them. "Hey." Tipping Magnus's face to look at him. "It's just me, let me take care of you huh?" He waited until he saw Magnus relax, only moving when he got a nod of assent and Magnus sighed as Alec began wiping what make-up he could from his skin.
He tried to avoid pressing too hard or pulling too much and eventually deemed himself done, though there was still some residue left, Magnus would most likely have serious panda-eyes in the morning but the image just made him smile. He loved being able to see the less than perfect side of Magnus, it made him more real, less like a dream that could disappear at a moments notice.
Alec pulled Magnus with him when he was finished, the both of them shuffling into the bedroom and Alec left Magnus to get into bed as he walked around the other side to remove his towel and pull on his own pyjamas.
"You know..." Alec turned at Magnus' voice, the other man reclined back in the bed as his cat-eyes raked over him. "They say that skin-to-skin contact is best in cases of exposure to extreme cold." Alec felt his face tug into a grin, an answering one spreading across Magnus'.
"Is that so huh?" He dropped the towel and pyjamas on the floor, crawling into the bed as Magnus hummed at him in answer and reached out to tug him into his arms, warm skin pressed up against his front and Alec's eyebrows rose as he became distinctly aware of the fact that Magnus had shucked his pyjamas somewhere along the way.
Magnus only grinned up at him and Alec laughed softly before leaning down to slot their mouths together.
He did need to keep Magnus warm after all.