Soft Nights
The second the door scraped open against the floorboards Magnus jumped up and hurried towards the entrance, only just remembering to drop his wine glass on the edge of the coffee table, before Alec slouched through the door with the dented in bags under his eyes, carved there after days of sleeplessness and extra patrols, hued the same angry purple of the bruises on his knuckles.
Alec spoke dully, preempting Magnus' question, "There's no sign. He's just…gone." "I'm sorry." They faced each other. Alec kicked the door shut and leant against its closed frame, while Magnus watched with attentive eyes and loose arms, checking over for open wounds or blood while patiently waiting for Alec to summon the energy to come closer. He had learnt that, with Alec, it was much easier to wait for him to decide when to touch, to meet, to kiss, than take charge himself.
The light overhead flickered, the dying bulb straining for electricity, and Magnus took a moment to curse whatever shoddy electrician wired this building. He could of course use magic to fix it in an instant but it was the principle; he shouldn't have to use magic for such a mundane mistake. That excuse had been used many times over the years, he thought fondly, with varying degrees of success; one drunken night in the late December of 2003, he took a stand that he shouldn't have to wear a coat just because of this, quite frankly, ridiculous weather and proceeded to drag Catarina bar-hopping with him wearing just a pair of boxers and dress shoes. Even his magic couldn't shake off the cold that prickled him for two weeks after the incident, much to Catarina's mirth.
The light bulb flickered again and Magnus was pulled back to the present with Alec slumped and gazing with half lidded eyes. He was so tall that if Magnus could convince him to gell his hair upwards, it would brush the underside of the light just standing normally. Being with someone at least three inches taller than him was certainly a new experience for Magnus. Then again, dating someone like Alec was a totally new experience. Having Alec - this 6 foot 4, awkward, black clad Shadowhunter with muddy boots and mussed up hair - stand in his loft among the provocatively dimmed lights and velvet chaise lounge, strains of Tchaikovsky and pricey mahogany floors, taking up almost as much space as the rip off Michelangelo's David he bought a few months back from a dealer friend who promised, falsely, it was big enough to make a statement without taking up half of his apartment, should have been akin to a fire engine in the middle of an ice hockey arena; obviously not meant to be there. However Alec possessed an uncanny ability to melt into the shadows, watching eyes in a half visible silhouette, like prey always on the lookout and drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. It bothered Magnus - not that he would bring it up of course, he could just imagine how that conversation would go if he critiqued Alec's shying manner - that someone so light, so good with veins thick of angel blood, spend so much time in the dark.
"You look exhausted. Sit down."
Alec shuffled forward, pulling off his jacket and each boot as he moved and leaving them in a pile of string and leather next to the door, with an automatic air that reeked of familiarity and lit a small blushing fire in Magnus' chest, before plopping down on the couch and leaning back, eyes closed. Magnus curled up in the armchair opposite.
"How was your day?" Alec spoke, eyes still shut with a hoarse voice. Magnus ran his nails up and down the fringed cushion beside him, eyeing his wineglass and wished he'd had the vision to place it a little closer to his seat.
"Oh, not that interesting darling. A client payed me a 14th century spell book if I gave her a potion to grow a fish tail."
"Instead of legs?"
"Yeah, but only temporarily. She wanted to experience her childhood dream of being Ariel for the day. I even helped her put a red wig on."
"I don't even know who Ariel is."
At this point Alec's eyes had cracked open, and with a great rolling sigh he pulled himself upright, leaning his arms on his knees and looking at Magnus though drooping eyes.
"I'm guessing she's a mermaid?"
"A+. She is indeed."
Alec murmured a noise as a response, the gravelly tone sounding so much more pleasant to Magnus' ears than the faint blur of violin strings from his wall stereo. He snapped his fingers and the music vanished.
"Can you pass me my glass?"
Alec's eyes, thick with exhaustion, scanned the table and reached for Magnus's wine glass, half full with only the finest cabaret Sauvignon, leaning across to hand Magnus the glass. Magnus admired the juxtaposition; Alec's long fingers cracking with mud, nail bed's black and ragged, callouses rising a rough mountain range where his fingers met his palm, wrapped around the crystal stem of the wine glass; glinting, shaped and sleek and expensively flimsy. The rim as thin as a sheet of sugar paper - Magnus noticed Alec held it gingerly as if he was afraid it would shatter if he gripped it too tight.
Like the duality of their relationship, Magnus pondered. Alec - roughed and work weary, dirty and damaged from cleaning up everyone else's messes, embracing the filth that was hunting demons so others could stay squeaky clean, with Magnus carefully honed and precise to feed the allure of luxe and power his reputation was built on. This new thing between them, tender and fragile, with both of them scared to touch it in case it broke.
"That's one of my favourite glasses," Magnus spoke randomly as he wrapped his fingers around the base, the thought ejecting itself out his mouth before his brain even registered it, and frowned mentally. Being around Alec meant that facades weren't necessary or even possible but he'd grown so used to putting on an act, it was unnerving peeking behind his own curtain.
Alec gave him a strange look.
"Sentimental value?"
Magnus snorted,"No, I bought it three months ago at some Boston auction. It actually reminds me of myself. I mean, for one, it's gorgeous."
Magnus winked. Alec rolled his eyes.
"You're not a wine glass, Magnus."
"Aren't we all glasses of some sort in this cupboard of life?" Magnus waved his arm out grandly, knees curled under him. Alec bit back a smile. Magnus considered that a personal achievement.
"Yeah, okay." Alec scoffed, under his breath enough to be classed as a mutter but not low enough to be inaudible. Magnus found himself biting back his own smile.
"Anyway why did you come if you're so tired? I mean no offence sweetheart but you're bearing a startling resemblance to a zombie right now and I would have thought the institute would be holding you practically prisoner in this time of great chaos."
"It's fine, I'm used to working late." Alec looked up at Magnus with dark eyes, and Magnus slipped off the armchair, padding over to where Alec was and sat cross-legged, facing him. Alec raised an eyebrow.
"The distance between us was too far."
Magnus spoke seriously. Alec huffed out a chuckle, before turning round and leaning his back against Magnus, legs hanging off the edge of the sofa with his head nestled in the crook of Magnus's neck. Winding his arms around the warm expanse of Alec's chest, Magnus pressed a kiss to his thick mop of dark hair and leant back himself, resting his head flat so Alec was lying on top of him.
"I really wanted to see you."
Alec's breath tickled the side of Magnus's neck, his lips barely grazing the skin as he spoke soft as a whisper, and something in Magnus's stomach jumped.
"Well, I'm really glad you came. With everything going on, Jace and all, I'm not expecting to be top priority."
"Everything that's going on just makes me want to see you more really."
Magnus grinned at that, shifting under Alec so they were lying side by side, a hair's breath between their lips. He shimmied a little closer, one arm snaking under Alec's waist, covered by the thin t-shirt still leaking nighttime cold and Magnus considered offering to remove it himself but decided against it. Alec curled one leg under Magnus, a knee trapped between two others, one arm used as a pillow for another's head, one hand resting against the others chest, so entwined you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. Magnus imagined if Alec blinked, he would feel his eyelashes tickle his cheek.
"I'm really glad about that too."
A corner of Alec's mouth pulled up like he was too tired to smile fully, and his eyes slipped closed, and Magnus wrapped his arms tighter around him, wishing he could absorb some of what Alec was dealing with, wishing he could lighten the burden even a little bit, but instead let Alec drift off within the protective circle of Magnus's body and pressed a soft kiss to Alec's forehead, lying patiently for sleep to overtake himself and they could both dream for a little while in peace.
Soo, first venture into these guys. If y'all want a continuation, tell me what you want! I'll write your dreams (to the best of my ability so be forgiving)
Reviews inspire updates! Also thanks for reading my sweet sweet viewers, it's appreciated :* xxx