Chapter 1- Back in London
"Can't we just take a portal there?" Alec moaned as he walked behind Magnus through the busy streets of London.
Magnus had been invited to meet the new head of the London Institute and stay for a while so he could see the new sites. Alec really wanted to come along with him which he was most likely regretting after realizing how busy the city was and they decided to leave little Max with Maryse and Robert so he could get to know his grandparents. Autumn had started and as they strode through the streets, the cool breeze hit Magnus's black shirt which separated at the bottom to reveal his stomach that people looked at in confusion, the sun stopped the breeze from being too cold and embraced his cheek and his hand that was pulling along his suitcase. Alec had a point, he had the permission to use a portal to get into the Institute, but he hadn't been to London in so long and he wanted to be reminded of its feature- the crowds, the beautiful architecture and the crazy amount of different types of food on one street. Luckily they were walking down Fleet Street now and the Institute was in sight. It looked as extravagant as ever as if it were a gleaming gothic Cathedral, nothing had changed on the outside and he half expected to see a beautiful golden haired man and brown haired woman to walk out to greet him. Instead it was a chocolate skinned man with his runes not standing out as much as they stood out on Alec and he wore a sharp navy blue suit with a straight black tie. Magnus hadn't put much thought into his attire; he changed into the first things he found in his suitcase when they landed and he was suffering from jetlag- all he wanted was to have a drink, some proper food and sleep. Alec looked scruffier than normal with his hair all over the place and his t-shirt half tucked into his jeans.
"Magnus Bane," the man proclaimed as Magnus walked through the gate,
"Jamal Edwards," Magnus tried to speak with the same enthusiasm and failed.
Jamal was very handsome for a man in his 40's, his build was desirable and his dark brown eyes were almost black, making him hard to read. His jaw line was so sharp that Magnus was tempted to run his finger over it and see if he would get cut, but that was the only striking feature he had.
"This is Alexander Lightwood, my boyfriend," Magnus turned to see Alec sitting on top of two suitcases piled on top of each other and grinned,
"It's nice to finally meet you Alec; your mother raved about you over the phone. Come on in and I'll show you to your room," Jamal smiled and offered to take one of the suitcases before walking into the Institute.
When he walked in, Magnus was happy to see that there had been little changes to the inside of the grand building. There were still many tapestries hanging down showcasing runes, stars and swords and there were images of Raziel regularly shown throughout. The floors looked as if they had been freshly polished so that they showed Magnus's reflection clearly, the walls of the corridors had been painted cream to fit in with the castle feeling and there were portraits of former head's and residents of the institute lining the walls of the great regal dining room.
After a ten minute walk in what felt like a maze, they came to the bedroom. Magnus wondered into a dimly lit room with a restored fireplace, a window that gave him a view of the reasonably sized garden full of ornate statues and a water fountain and a TV on a table next to a burgundy dresser which had candles place exactly in each corner. The king sized bed had deep red bedding with golden pillows and fluffy white towels folded perfectly at the foot of the bed. The deep red and lighting of the room made it all feel so very romantic and Magnus turned to Alec with a smile which translated as "This is perfection."
"The kitchen is down the stairs, turn right and then it's the fourth door on your left, you can help yourself to anything. I shall leave to you to rest and I'd like us to meet in the study at noon tomorrow," Jamal said warmly before placing a key for the room on the dresser and then leaving,
"Can we just sleep?" Alec said as he dumped the suitcase by the TV and then himself on the bed,
"I second that motion," Magnus sighed.
He kicked off his shoes, lay next to Alec and watched him brush his hand through his hair. It was moments like this where Magnus just wanted to grab him and kiss and most definitely more until they had no breath left, but the journey to London had taken all energy out of him and instead he softly kissed his cheek before putting his arm around him and resting his head on his shoulder. Alec kissed his head and smiled as they both closed their eyes and fell asleep.
Magnus had already woken up and Alec was taking a shower when a knock came at the door. Magnus answered it to find a caramel skinned girl with dark brown hair that was purple at the tips and put into two plaits. Her hazel eyes were adorably big, she wore little make up and she looked all snug in an oversized Harry Potter jumper, ripped jeans and fluffy slippers. She carried foil containers and bottles of water and coke as if she could sense how hungry Magnus had become.
"We ordered Chinese and I guessed that you would be hungry," she smiled sweetly and had a soft voice,
"Thanks, you are the definition of a life saver right now," Magnus gestured for her to come in.
She put the food on one of the side tables and adjusted the lamps position so it was perfectly centred before doing the same with the other.
"I'm Silver, Jamal's daughter," she said just as Alec entered the room while drying his hair and with a towel wrapped around his waist,
"Nice to meet you, I'm Alec and this is Magnus," he yawned, "do I smell Chinese?"
Both Magnus and Silver laughed, "It's sweet and sour chicken, egg fried rice and duck pancakes," she said with her eyes gazing at Alec's body.
Magnus couldn't really blame her for admiring the beautiful specimen that was Alec; he had been working out more which meant his abs had become more defined like a delicious Hershey bar and his V line was a heartbreaker. Silver decided that she had seen enough and proceeded with straightening the TV on the table. When she realized they were watching her, she made an innocent look, "I'm a real perfectionist and I can't help it,"
"Must come in handy when looking after this place," Alec chuckled as he searched for his clothes,
"Each bedroom is basically identical thanks to me. Oh and dad wanted me to check if you knew where the study was, since apparently you've been here before,"
"I may not be an elephant, but I think I remember," Magnus tried to recall what he could about the layout of the Institute,
"Cool, see you tomorrow."
Silver left the room merrily and Magnus searched the drawers of the bedside tables to find two white plates in bubble wrap. He plonked them on the bed and served out the Chinese, secretly giving himself a bit more of everything while Alec got changed into shorts and a top.
"Did you notice blood on her jumper?" Alec asked as he sat on the bed and took a spoon,
"No, I was distracted by you all wet and in a towel," Magnus shoved a spoonful of rice and chicken in his mouth,
"Remind me to ring mum to check on Max tomorrow,"
"You've asked me to do that like a million times. He's probably fine,"
"I can't help worrying," Alec sighed, "this is the first time we've left him for this long,"
"I know and you worrying is very much the cutest thing you've done so far."
Magnus kissed his cheek before continuing with his meal. He loved how fatherly Alec had become since they adopted Max; it reminded him that he had grown up and that if he could, Magnus would spend the rest of his life with him and their little family. As he ate a duck pancake, Alec looked from his plate to Magnus's before spooning some of the food from Magnus's plate onto his and kissing his cheek.
