He never expected to see him—in fact, Alec Lightwood thought he had done a pretty good job at avoiding him, but it seemed as though the universe had other plans in mind. He had never imagined Magnus would seek him out.

"I want to talk," Magnus had said, reaching out to stop Alec from walking away before the man had never moved.

Alec shook his hand loose, rubbing his arm because Magnus' touch burned. "And what if I don't want to?" He replied bitterly, looking up at the warlock through long, dark eyelashes.

Magnus shifted under his gaze, his gaze flicking away for a moment before meeting Alec's again. "Five minutes, Alexander, please. That's all I'm asking for," he replied, his voice surprisingly soft, almost pleading.

It's what made Alec consider sticking around to see what he had to say. Alec worried his lower lip for a moment, frowning in thought before he finally nodded. "Alright," he said. "Five minutes."

His ex didn't start speaking immediately. It surprised Alec, to be honest. He expected Magnus to show up with this grand gesture to win him back. Because if Magnus was anything at all, it was grand, but right now, he was mostly silent.

"Magnus?" He prompted, breaking the silence and Magnus reacted accordingly.

He looked at Alec and, in that moment, he saw a vulnerability in Magnus that he had not seen before. It made his heart twinge and Alec found himself struggling with the urge to comfort, to reach out to Magnus and tell him that everything was going to be alright even though it really, really wasn't. Alec forced himself to look away, he had to because Magnus wasn't supposed to look at him like that.

"It was a mistake," Magnus said, and Alec didn't have to ask what he meant. It was painfully obvious. It was the reason Alec had been avoiding Magnus in the first place and, surely it was the reason Magnus had sought him out now.

Alec let out a sigh and pushed a hand through his hair. "I can't do this," he said softly, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke. "I just don't have it in me to love you anymore. I can't put myself through this. I'm sorry, Magnus, but I can't."

He turned around with the intent to leave, but Magnus reached for him again, grasping his upper arm to stop him from leaving again. "But you do love me," Magnus countered, barely above a whisper, but Alec heard him crystal clear and he didn't deny it.

He couldn't deny it. It was true. It would always be true. He would always love Magnus.

And, maybe, that was why he came when Magnus tugged him closer—why he fell into his ex's arms like a bad habit and you know what they say about those. Maybe, just maybe, it was also why Alec allowed Magnus to top his chin up and press their lips together.

Being in love with Magnus, Alec would later realize, was also the reason he agreed to go back to Magnus' apartment.

Since this is my first time writing Malec, I wanted to give it a little test-run. I've got more for this story planned out and ready to write, I just want to see how well this one does before I get into any serious writing~