Alec could smell the spicy scent of magic in the air as soon as he entered Magnus' apartment. That was not too uncommon here but it was much stronger now and he could tell from the mess of used cups and magical lighting everywhere that the high warlock had indeed held one of his famous (or infamous, depending on how you viewed it) parties. No revellers could be seen now though and Alec realised with a small stab of happiness that Magnus must have cleared them out early, anticipating Alec's arrival.
At first he could not see the warlock but then a plaintive mewling sound alerted him to Chairman Meow. He leant down to stroke the cat behind the ears.
"Come on, where's your master, huh?"
The cat with tail head straight, stalked over to where a hunched form was curled asleep in his favourite armchair. A light blanket was pulled over him but it had slipped revealing the dusky tan of his arms. For a second, Alec contemplated not waking him at all; he looked so peaceful. Peace wasn't really a common theme when it came to Magnus Bane. He was on the verge of turning back and leaving the apartment when the cat yowled louder and Magnus' eyelids fluttered, caked in glitter as they were. He blinked, feline pupils widening at the lights. Seeing Alec, he yawned and stretched, his long body elongated even further by the motion.
"Mm, you're late tonight, Alec. I didn't think you were coming."
"Night patrol," Alec explained though they both knew he hadn't been anywhere else. He didn't move forward, not yet. Sometimes simply being around Magnus felt too much for him and he was still a little in awe of the warlock's presence. "You shouldn't sleep out here. You'll catch cold. Were you waiting for me?"
Magnus grinned. "I really don't think I could fall prey to a simple common cold... but who knows? And I was waiting for you. But I had to perform a rather powerful summoning earlier today, so it appears I was more tired than I'd thought."
Indeed, he looked tired, Alec noticed. There were dark shadows under Magnus' eyes which he suspected were not the marks left by makeup for once. Still, as always his beauty was little flawed by it. Immortality it seemed had its uses. It always made him feel so inadequate sometimes that Magnus would stay like, so perfect while Alec...
He pushed the though away. No, he didn't want to think of such things now. Magnus had moved, fussing in the kitchen over his cat's food, talking nonsense to it as was his custom. Alec tried not to roll his eyes... he wondered if Magnus actually expected the cat to reply to him one day.
"I saw that," Magnus said dryly, having finished dishing out the meal to the purring cat. He moved closer to Alec now, fixing him with the eyes which never failed to make Alec uncomfortable. "You're not jealous now, are you Alec?" He raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Me? Jealous of a cat!?" Alec spluttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's ridiculous."
Magnus blinked and with a smile, he raised Alec's chin a little so they were eye to eye. "Is it now? Come then, won't you show me exactly how ridiculous it is?"