Magnus stood in the hallway of the house that was once his. People in suits were bustling all around him, as if he wasn't even there. A mere ghost, not a man. He looked about him, and was flooded with memories.
The first day he moved in, how he'd left the door open and his cat ran away. He had been distraught! The first days— over the summer—he had spent them surfing with Simon and Alec. He had had his first kiss here, also with Alec. He had first said he loved him in the kitchen, now but a wall away. And just upstairs, he had broken up with the first person he'd ever truly loved.
He sighed loudly, and one of the housing agents gave him a dirty look. He needed to get out. His breath was becoming laboured, and the heat was unbearable. There were some things he missed about this place—the beach, the surf, Valentine's ice-coffees. But there were more things he didn't miss. The merciless sun was one of them.
He hurried out into his old back yard. It used to be trimmed and neat, but four years of neglect had taken its toll. The grass was overgrown, the swing-set had rusted from the little rain California received, and the shed at the bottom of the garden had ivy sprawling across it like a maze.
It was full of lawn-mowers that had long since ceased working and surfboards he hadn't used in years. A doll house he had made with his father, a scrapbook of his time in France, most likely some old action man dolls he had been too old to play with for years. All worthless now.
"What do you want us to do about that?" Sebastian, the real estate agent Magnus had hired, asked appearing at his side.
"Throw it out." Magnus replied heartlessly.
The house hurt, the heat hurt, and being back hurt the most. Magnus could only imagine his apartment back in New York. The modern decor, the air-con, the view of the concrete jungle below. There, he felt powerful. Here, he felt uncomfortable. Like an adult at a children's party.
"Anything you find, throw it out." Magnus added, turning away from the morbid sight of the garden he used to run around in.
"Of course. Uh, even this?" Sebastion said, holding out a white envelope.
Magnus growled and snatched the letter out of his hands. He shoved it into his pocket without really looking at it. Everything from his old life was meaningless. He didn't need any of it now.
"You all know what to do, I'll be at Valentine's. That's a cafe on the beach. Call if you need anything." Magnus explained, walking away.
He vaguely heard, "Yes, Mr. Bane." behind him, but he didn't turn to see. He just walked straight through his kitchen—which somehow still smelled of cinnamon despite the four years it had been empty—and down the hallway, out the front door, and then into his
BMW. He turned on the engine and slid his air-con to the max. It still smelled of the company he had hired it from, and Magnus frowned before driving off.
Nothing had changed, even in the years he'd been gone. He still knew his way to his favourite coffee shop. Sure, Valentine's wasn't the most high-end place, but it did a damn good cup of ice-coffee.
Magnus climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him. The salty sea air hit him like a wall, and all of a sudden he felt at home. He shook off the comfortable feeling, reminding himself that New York was his home.
But, looking out on the crystal blue waves broken only by white waves crashing loudly onto themselves, Magnus could imagine himself living there. Back again, with surfboards and Simon and Alec...
He pulled himself out of his daydream and walked through the heavy door into the shop. He looked about, and his eyes were instantly drawn to the booth that they used to sit in. It took a lot of willpower for him to instead walk in the opposite direction, and sit down there.
"Well, I'll be." Valentine Morgernstern said, standing at the end of the booth a mere two minutes later. He looked older than Magnus remembered, but still the same Valentine, "Not seen you in a while son. Last I heard, you were in the big city."
"Yeah, I am. Well, you know what I mean." Magnus replied standing and extending his hand.
Valentine used it to pull Magnus into a friendly hug. Magnus couldn't help but laugh. There were a lot of things he was glad to be back for, and this was one of the most prominent. Valentine even still smelled of the Hugo Boss the boys had all put money towards buying him.
"I'll get you your usual, then we'll talk properly." Valentine promised, before walking into the kitchen.
Magnus watched him go before turning to look out of the wall length window to his right. He had a perfect view of the beach. He could see people of all ages lounging around. He could almost pretend he was nineteen again, and in his last year at his programme school. He soon realised that this was a mistake. That was the year he broke up with Alec, a year before he left. That was the year he broke his own heart.
Valentine returned soon, and Magnus silently thanked him. He was on the verge of a meltdown just thinking about Alec. He smiled and gladly took the ice-coffee being offered to him. The cool glass was calming, especially on his burning skin.
"So, have you got a girlfriend, boyfriend?" Valentine asked, sliding into the booth opposite Magnus.
"Valentine, I'm sorry, you're just not my type!" Magnus joked. Valentine laughed and Magnus continued, "Nah. It's all about the career for me. Don't need the drama."
This was a strict rule of his. Relationships meant having to think about, care about someone else. It meant having another person to look after, and Magnus could barely take care of himself. He just didn't need someone to be tied to.
At least, that's what he told himself. Deep down, buried under his hostile exterior and lack of emotion, he knew it was because he had never really let Alec go. Four years is a long time to carry around someone who's forgotten about you.
"No, you'll feel differently one day." Valentine sighed, gazing off to look at a framed picture of his late wife Jocelyn. She had died the week before Magnus left. He didn't go to the funeral. "How come you're back?" Valentine asked, seemingly drawing himself from a trance.
"I'm selling the house." Magnus explained. At Valentine's shocked expression he added,"I don't need it. My life is in New York now."
Valentine looked around to see if there was anyone who needed to be served. Satisfied his services weren't needed, he turned back to Magnus and asked, "Have you seen anyone else lately?"
"I get the occasional postcard from Simon. He's touring at the minute, with his band. Clary and Jace just had a kid, they're living in Colorado, but we don't talk often. Isabelle, she's still here I think. I haven't seen her for years." Magnus replied.
"And Alec?" Valentine asked. Magnus shrugged in reply, though he knew exactly where he was.
Alec was in Florida. He had recently Graduated from Idris University, had gotten his law degree, and had started a firm up there. He was successful. He had gotten his wish. Robert Lightwood had been right. If you love something, let it go.
At that moment, Magnus' phone rang. One of The Faeries greatest hits rang through the speaker, and he swiped decline quickly. Valentine grinned, and Magnus knew it was because even after four years, he still had the same ring tone.
"Better go see who that was." Magnus mumbled mostly to himself, frowning at his phone's blank screen. "Nice seeing you, Valentine." He added over his shoulder as he hurried out of the restaurant. He didn't catch Valentine's nod as he walked through the door.
Magnus quickly tapped in his password and checked who it was. Simon flashed on his screen and Magnus' heart dropped. They hadn't talked in months, a year really. What did he want?
"Magnus Bane!" Simon said, excitedly.
"Simon Lewis." Magnus said in reply, sitting down on one of the stairs leading up to the deck.
"How the devil are you?" Simon asked in a terrible English accent, making Magnus laugh
despite its stupidity.
"I'm good. How's Manchester?" Magnus replied.
"Great. I just wanted to invite you over here, actually. The bands going to London next, and there are a lot of empty nights. I haven't seen the gang in a while. I thought we could maybe spend a week together. Like the good old days." Simon explained and Magnus could hear the smile in his voice.
"I don't know. Me and London have a bit of a dodgy history. And I don't know if I'll be able to get any time off work." Magnus lied.
"Try, goddamn it! You'll be the only one not there!" Simon ordered, his voice rising.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Magnus promised half heartedly.
"You better. Simon out." Simon replied, hanging up.
Magnus sighed and looked out onto the beach. Did he want to go back to London, after six years of living in America? Did he even want to see anyone? He had left them without any notice. Would he really be able to face them? He honestly didn't know.
Hello. Some of you-who am I kidding, none of you-may recognise this. Well, this is a sequel to my one-shot The things we would do for love and I have posted this before. However, I never finished it, and I think every story deserves and ending so I decided now was the time. I have made a 'few' changes *cough cough*, so I'm posting this again. Just FYI, this was Beta'd by the wonderful Arianna Koz, so go check her out and say hi (she's lovely!). Anyway, please review and enjoy the entire story! Oh, one more thing. I had no idea when I originally started writing this but there's this incredible song called Heaven sent, it's by a bend called Front Porch Step, and it fits in with the story perfectly. Anyway...Yeah! As you were.