Notes: A Mundane/Human AU based on the characters and settings of the Shadowhunters TV show, with a few extra character traits borrowed from the Season 1 episode This World, Inverted, along with a couple of references to the Star Wars movies.

Featuring cop Alec (who's secretly shy, uncertain and romantic beneath the tough exterior), nervous Magnus Bane, plenty of misunderstandings and miscommunication, established Simon/Izzy (Sizzy) and eventual Malec.


Everything


Alec Lightwood wasn't sure what he meant to Magnus Bane.

It wasn't like Alec was any kind of expert at reading people's emotions, but when it came to Magnus Bane, it was pretty easy for anyone, even Alec, to work out just how much the people that Magnus really cared about meant to him.

It was especially easy for Alec to work out just how much Magnus cared about both Izzy and Simon.

Alec's sister Izzy had first met Magnus one Saturday night a few months ago at a club she liked to hang out at called Pandemonium. Apparently the two of them had hit it off after they shared a couple drinks and commiserated over their not-so-great exes.

From then on, Magnus and Izzy had pretty much become best friends, which is what had brought Magnus Bane into Alec's life in the first place.

It was obvious to Alec that Magnus adored Izzy, as he lavished her with attention and expensive gifts like jewelry and perfume, and the two of them spent a lot of their free time hanging out at Magnus's loft in Brooklyn, gossiping, hosting 'movie nights' and drinking cocktails, or heading out to bars and clubs at weekends.

Alec had kind of hoped that after Izzy found a friend like Magnus who shared her passion for music and fashion and dancing, it would mean that he would be exempt from these nights at places like Pandemonium. He'd always felt kind of shy and insecure anyway, preferring to stay in the background, so getting drunk and 'busting moves' on the dance floor (as Simon always annoyingly called it) had never really been his thing.

His job as a cop only added to this desire to not attract too much attention on the party scene in Brooklyn. Not to mention that Pandemonium always made him feel kind of uneasy. He wasn't sure if it was just the extra sense of paranoia that had been ingrained in him through his work, but some of the people at Pandemonium always made Alec feel a little suspicious, and he always felt like he couldn't really switch off from 'cop duty' when he was there; he usually spent most of the night watching people from a distance, his stance defensive, his muscles tense, almost like he would have to intervene in some kind of trouble at any moment.

However, Alec had had no such luck in avoiding nights of partying with Izzy and Magnus, as his sister always insisted that he should go with the two of them, almost like they both actually wanted him to be there, for some reason.

It was on one of these nights when Alec had been dragged to Pandemonium with Izzy and Magnus yet again that Simon Lewis wandered into their lives.

The guy had literally been wandering around the club looking lost, until he caught sight of Izzy dancing enthusiastically on the dance floor and he'd quickly stopped in his tracks so he could stare at her, mouthing words that Alec worked out were, "Wow!" and, "She's so awesome!"

Alec had felt a little protective of Izzy at first as he watched the scene from a distance, leaning against a wall in a dark corner of the club with his arms folded, trying to stay out of the way to avoid any trouble (Alec had already had more than one run in with guys at Pandemonium who hadn't treated his sister with respect, along with a couple of arguments with his sister's exes), but after a little while, he'd decided that Simon was no threat, as he seemed to be looking at Izzy with an almost innocent admiration, his expression kind of shy or nervous as he watched her.

It turned out that Simon really had been lost, as all of the guys who Simon arrived with had mysteriously disappeared not long after they walked in the club (Alec suspected that Simon's so-called buddies might have just ditched him, but he didn't want to say this out loud and hurt anybody's feelings, especially when sensitivity still wasn't his strong point, according to Izzy).

Magnus seemed to take pity on the guy, inviting Simon to hang out with them for the evening instead. And from that night on, both Izzy and Magnus just seemed to 'adopt' Simon into their group.

Simon seemed to take to Magnus right away, because he listened with rapt attention whenever Magnus told stories about his past relationships, often begging Magnus to tell him more about the beautiful women he'd dated. They even seemed to share a couple favorite songs and bands, and a passion for books and movies.

It wasn't exactly clear to Alec if Simon had really meant a lot to Magnus right from the start, but even he could see that it didn't take long for Simon and all his quirky ways to grow on him.

Soon, Magnus was sharing long conversations with Simon, offering sympathy whenever Simon argued with his mom or sister, and offering him advice on how to get into a relationship, rolling his eyes affectionately whenever Simon attempted to refer to Magnus as his 'wing man' and telling him that he preferred the term 'mentor'.

After a little while, when it became clear that Simon was way more interested in trying to get into a relationship with Izzy than attempting to be a 'player' and hook up with all the pretty women in Brooklyn (well, clear to Magnus anyway, who seemed to understand that sort of stuff), Magnus was also the one who stepped up and helped get the two of them together, even advising Simon on what to wear for their dates, and allowing the two of them to use his apartment for romantic evenings and candle lit dinners, while Alec used his time more wisely (in his opinion, anyway), by going into full protective-older-brother-mode and insisting that he would be there for his sister if Simon ever did anything to upset her.

It wasn't that Alec minded too much about Simon dating Izzy. He'd never really pictured a guy like Simon as Izzy's type, but he had to admit that Simon was way better than any of the jerks his sister had dated in the past, and he really seemed to care about Izzy. It was more that the bond that developed between Magnus, Izzy and Simon as a result of Simon and Izzy's dates had only served to make Alec feel even more at a distance from Magnus and the friendship group.


Alec had always been close to Izzy, with the two of them often relying on each other as they grew up together, and he now considered Simon as one of his friends, too (more by default of Simon being Izzy's boyfriend than anything else, but still), and Magnus definitely had a close friendship with Izzy and Simon, yet when it came to Alec, Magnus seemed to treat him completely differently to how he treated his two closest friends.

When he was around Simon and Izzy, Alec could pick up on the happy smiles on his face, the genuine laughter, the light in his eyes when he was talking to them, or the looks of real sympathy and concern whenever Izzy or Simon were confiding in him. But there were no easy smiles or long, heartfelt conversations between Alec and Magnus the way that there always were between Magnus, Izzy and Simon. Instead, there were awkward silences and serious expressions.

Alec wasn't even sure that Magnus liked him very much, as it seemed like everything about his body language and facial expressions was totally closed off whenever Alec was over at his apartment; he would go silent for what felt like hours at a time, or look away sometimes when Alec was talking to the group, or look down at the floor, or he would just look into the distance, usually keeping his arms folded the whole time.

Alec wasn't very good at reading emotions, but a couple of years' experience as a cop had taught him to pick up on defensive, closed-off body language when he saw it.

At other times, Magnus would just keep a physical distance in general, always positioning himself pretty far away from Alec when the four of them were sitting on the couch in Magnus's living room.

All of this led Alec to suspect that Magnus maybe only tolerated him because he was Izzy's older brother, and he probably meant nothing to him.

Yet every time Alec tried to distance himself from the trio that was Magnus, Izzy and Simon, Izzy would always look panic-stricken and insist that he couldn't do that, telling him that Magnus wanted him to be there, really, and that Magnus would be upset if Alec stopped hanging out at his loft.

Alec wasn't in any way convinced by Izzy's insistence that Magnus really wanted Alec at his apartment whenever Izzy went to hang out there, but in the end, he usually ended up going with her anyway, more to keep his sister happy than anything else.

Then, just when Alec would convince himself that Magnus disliked him and didn't want to talk to him, Magnus would surprise him by asking Alec the strangest questions-questions about his favorite color or his favorite books, or he would start talking to Alec about random topics like his favorite type of flower, or Alec's interest in working out at the gym, or a couple of the movies that Alec and Izzy used to watch as kids, sometimes with a smirk on his face as he talked, which would only confuse Alec even more, and would inevitably lead to him responding with one-word answers while he frowned at Magnus the whole time.

There were even times when Magnus would look a little out of breath whenever Alec was around him, his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily, almost like Alec somehow stressed him out; or he would look a little flushed, his hands shaking as he made a big deal out of checking if Alec wanted something else to drink, or something more to eat, asking Alec over and over if he was comfortable, before going silent again when Alec responded sharply that he was fine.

All of this would usually be coupled with strange gestures, like Magnus running a hand over his own ear while he talked to Alec, or a hand through his hair.

Sometimes, Alec was sure that he caught Magnus smiling in his direction when they were all watching movies together at Magnus's place with the lights dimmed in the living room, but then he would quickly look away when Alec glanced in his direction, his expression serious again, and Alec would seriously start to wonder if he'd only imagined his smiles.

Every time Magnus gave him one of his mysterious smiles, it was almost like Magnus knew something that Alec didn't, or like he was in on some sort of secret that Alec just couldn't work out.

To make things even more confusing, Magnus would always ask Alec if he wanted to stay longer whenever Alec tried to leave the apartment, usually saying something like, "Alexander, stay, please…" just after Simon and Izzy left. He would offer Alec another drink, or a cup of tea, or he'd simply tell him that he didn't have to rush off, if he didn't want to.

Yet Alec always politely declined these mysterious offers to stay a little longer at the apartment-after evenings of awkward silences between the two of them when Simon and Izzy were around, Alec could think of nothing worse than a night of awkward silences when the two of them were alone together.


Alec knew that objectively, he really shouldn't let Magnus's apparent indifference and his weird behavior around him get to him so much. Alec had always been proudly independent, and he'd never really cared about being liked by everyone, or having groups of friends hanging onto his every word. Even as a kid, he'd only ever really needed his close bond with his sister to get him through everything, and that hadn't changed now that they were adults.

Yet Alec also knew that this time, things were very different, and his feelings were very different… because secretly, Alec Lightwood was totally in love with Magnus Bane.

Alec had known for years that he was attracted to guys, but he hadn't exactly realized that he was falling in love with Magnus at first, as he'd always been pretty clueless when it came to romantic love and relationships; he'd never had a relationship of his own, as much as he really wanted to be in one, secretly, and he could barely even get through a conversation with an attractive guy without blushing or stumbling over his words.

But, even from the moment he first met Magnus on a night with Izzy at Pandemonium, Alec had been totally mesmerized by Magnus's good looks.

He'd stared at Magnus's handsome face, his beautiful eyes, his designer clothes, his jewelry and the streaks of purple in his perfect hair in stunned silence for what felt like several minutes before he finally realized he was staring and he'd blushed and looked away, feeling embarrassed. He'd barely been able to put two words together that night, or lift a hand to wave or shake Magnus's hand.

Alec had quickly decided that Magnus was the most beautiful man he'd ever met. He had this strange desire to own a photo of Magnus so that he could carry it around in his pocket, just so he could take it out and look at it on tough days at work, or upload it as the background on his phone, the way that Izzy did with pictures of Simon. Although Alec was sure that Izzy's decision to also get a key ring made containing a picture of Simon, along with her putting up a display of photo booth pictures of the two of them on her bedroom wall, and what seemed like almost daily uploads of 'cute' pictures of Simon on her social media accounts, was maybe a little over the top.

Then there was the undeniable fact that whenever Magnus was standing close to him, Alec's heart always started beating fast, and he felt a little breathless, and he always had to fight to cover up his blushes.

Alec wasn't just attracted to Magnus's good looks though; he was also completely enchanted by Magnus's personality, too-well, Magnus's personality when he was around his friends, anyway. Alec loved the way that Magnus would smile or laugh or tell really funny jokes when he was with Izzy and Simon, and he told the most fascinating stories that Alec really wanted to hear over and over again.

Sometimes, Magnus would also sing softly or dance around the apartment when he was in a good mood, and Alec kind of wanted to dance with him, even though he'd always insisted that he hated dancing.

Alec also noticed the times when Magnus looked kind of vulnerable, or kind of sad: every now and again, a darker look seemed to cross his face, like he was thinking about something in his past, or the not-so-great moments in his life, and Alec really wanted to wrap Magnus up in his arms and take care of him; he wanted to make all of his sad expressions go away.

Alec also saw the kind and loving side to Magnus, and the way that people seemed to go to him for advice or for help. He noticed how Magnus listened so patiently to people, and how he tried to solve all their problems for them, or simply offer them a shoulder to cry on.

This love and care seemed to extend to the animals in Magnus's life, too, and he seemed to adore his two pet cats, often carrying them protectively in his arms as he wandered around his apartment, or the cats sat close to him when he was relaxing on the couch.

Although Alec would never admit it out loud to anyone, deep down, he wished that he could hold Magnus's hand the way that Izzy and Magnus held hands when they walked around Pandemonium together.

He wished that he could sit with Magnus late into the night while Magnus told him long, detailed stories as he smiled at him, opening up about his life.

He wished that he and Magnus could watch romantic movies together and kiss in the darkened room as the scenes played out in front of them.

Every time he watched from a distance as Magnus got comfortable on the couch, Alec kind of wished that he could just lay his head on Magnus's lap like his cats always did, even though this image always made Alec blush bright red whenever he thought about it.

And, every time he heard Magnus tell Simon yet another story about one of his ex-girlfriends, Alec would feel a painful pang of jealousy at each word. It felt like his heart was actually breaking a little every time a woman's name was mentioned, as each story further convinced Alec all over again that Magnus would never even be attracted to guys, let alone shy, inexperienced Alec.

It was this kind of jealousy, and his constant daydreams about being in romantic situations with Magnus, that had confirmed to Alec that his feelings for Magnus ran much deeper than just physical attraction.


Alec had told himself over and over that Magnus wasn't even attracted to men, but still, Alec really wanted to mean as much to Magnus Bane as Simon and Izzy did; or at the very least, he wanted to mean something to him.

And so, Alec had attempted, in what he knew was his own shy, awkward way, to be a little more friendly with Magnus, in order to get to know him a little better.

First, he tried following Magnus into the kitchen one Friday night when Magnus went to make dinner, leaving Simon and Izzy cuddling on the couch together. He attempted to lean casually on the kitchen counter and make polite conversation, but Magnus only seemed to drop stuff on the floor as a result, even burning the food in the oven at one point, and so Alec gave up and headed back to the living room, deciding that he was probably just getting in Magnus's way.

Then, he tried sitting a little closer than usual to Magnus on the couch during one of the movie nights at Magnus's loft, but this sudden movement as he got closer somehow resulted in Magnus spilling his drink all over the coffee table, almost like Alec's change in seating position had startled him or something. Even the cats ran out of the room at the sound of the glass hitting the table. Feeling embarrassed, Alec helped clean up the spilled drink and then quickly moved back to his original position before Izzy could ask what was going on.

A week after that, Alec was sitting at Magnus's kitchen table with Magnus, Simon and Izzy, the four of them sharing a takeout while Alec talked about a couple of issues at work.

Simon had a bunch of ideas about how Alec could solve his latest case (Simon pretty much had a load of ideas and opinions about everything, even the stuff he didn't know very much about), and even Izzy seemed to nod along sympathetically.

"Magnus, what do you think?" Alec suddenly asked in a moment of inspiration, deciding to take this as an opportunity to get Magnus to talk to him.

"Huh?" Magnus asked as he blinked rapidly, like he hadn't even been listening to a word that Alec just said, or like he'd zoned out of the conversation as soon as Alec started talking, which led to Alec letting out another sigh of disappointment as he wondered if he really bored Magnus that much that he couldn't even concentrate when Alec was talking.

This went on for weeks, with Alec trying his limited methods of getting Magnus to talk to him more, before he eventually decided that nothing had changed between them, and the situation was looking increasingly hopeless.

Anyway, the war in his head and his heart between his secret love for Magnus, and a lack of understanding about what he meant to Magnus in return, always served to leave Alec feeling increasingly frustrated every time he visited Magnus's Brooklyn loft.


Everything came to a head one Friday night when Alec headed to Magnus's Brooklyn loft for what was apparently going to be a 'Star Wars movie marathon'.

It wasn't like Alec was totally opposed to the idea of staying in on a Friday night to watch Star Wars. He and Izzy had both loved the movies as kids, and they'd often watched them late into the night in each other's rooms with the volume turned down so their parents wouldn't hear. Yet tonight, Alec was really struggling to feel enthusiastic about Star Wars and an evening at Magnus's.

If he was being totally honest, Alec knew that he'd already been in a bad mood long before he heaved a sigh and lifted a hand to knock on Magnus's front door. This was because all in all, it had been a pretty crappy week.

He'd already endured an evening with Izzy and Simon at a bar they liked to drink at on their 'quieter' nights, where Izzy had spent most of the night sipping cocktails and pointing at Simon and saying, "I'm his girlfriend!" to anyone who would listen, like this was some amazing news that she needed to share with the world, before Alec firmly insisted that Izzy wasn't allowed to have any more to drink. He and Simon had ended up leaving early with Izzy and walking her home, the two of them making awkward conversation along the way while they both kept a close eye on Izzy.

The next night, he and Izzy had felt obliged to attend a family dinner with their mom, and because Izzy had been a little too hungover and way too distracted texting Simon to really focus on the 'family' aspect of the dinner, Alec had been the one who'd had to deal with their mom's awkward questions about his long-term career plans and his non-existent relationship status, as always.

The fact that his mom always looked so upset every time Alec mentioned that he was still single was only made even worse by the sad truth that he was the one who'd always dreamed of finding the perfect partner, even back when he was a teenager. He'd always believed in the idea of true love and soulmates (even though the guys he worked with would probably laugh if he ever said this out loud), and he'd always thought that he'd eventually overcome his shyness around men and meet the right guy, maybe even settle down pretty early and have a family, while Izzy had always been so insistent that she was never getting married whenever their mom used to ask her about it.

Alec felt like it was a little strange that it had worked out that Izzy was the one in a serious relationship now with her 'perfect guy', while Alec was still too shy to even strike up a conversation with guys at bars.

Then there was the fact that he'd been receiving a couple of deliveries of flowers to his apartment over the past week, with no note or card attached. Alec was convinced that they were being sent to the wrong address, because there were plenty of actual couples who lived in his apartment block who would probably buy flowers for each other, but the mailman always refused to take them back. The constant deliveries of beautiful flowers only served to remind Alec over and over again of his single status.

Add in a couple of really busy days at work and a lot of paperwork, and Alec really felt like he could snap at any moment by the time he knocked on Magnus's front door on Friday night, the knock maybe a little louder than he'd planned.

The door was answered by Izzy, who was wearing a blue T-shirt with the 'Star Wars' logo emblazoned on the front.

Ever since she'd got together with Simon, Izzy seemed to have embraced her 'inner geek', or whatever it was that Simon usually called it, and she often wore T-shirts like this one, celebrating her and Simon's love for certain book series or movie franchises, as well as the two of them wearing various matching band T-shirts whenever Simon had a gig with his band.

A few of their mutual friends seemed to assume that Izzy had changed since she became Simon's girlfriend, but Alec knew that this is who Izzy had always been, just underneath the surface. She hadn't cared about anyone seeing her walking around wearing Star Wars T-shirts as a kid, but as a teenager she'd kind of gotten in with a bad crowd and started to change a little, caring more about sneaking out and wearing the latest designer labels.

Although Izzy still loved designer clothes and expensive cocktails and partying, since she met Simon, she also seemed more comfortable to show her more geeky side again.

"Nice T-shirt," Alec mumbled with a raised eyebrow, unable to resist a little brotherly mockery.

"Alec…" Izzy warned him with a stern expression, but then she walked over to him to give him a hug.

As she pulled away from the hug, Alec noticed that the braid he'd put in her hair earlier when she'd been at his apartment was still intact, hanging loosely over her left shoulder.

Alec had kind of taught himself how to help Izzy style her hair back when they were kids, when their parents worked long hours and didn't always have much time, and Izzy had had no clue how to braid her own hair.

When she was a teenager, Alec had also started helping Izzy apply her makeup, and his sister always insisted that he was pretty good at the whole hair and makeup thing, so it had kind of continued when they were adults, even though Izzy no longer really needed her brother's help with stuff like that.

When Izzy had shown up at his apartment a couple hours ago, they'd fallen into their usual routine where Alec had braided her hair and attempted to come up with excuses not to go to Magnus's tonight, while Izzy had sat still and argued back, telling Alec that Magnus wanted him to be there.

Not that Alec minded too much; he found the whole process kind of therapeutic, in a weird way. Something about the whole thing just seemed to work for the two of them; it was like the routine of it and the reminder of their dynamic back when they were kids helped them both relax.

As much as Alec was dedicated to his job as a cop, and everything that went with it, like chasing bad guys and working out at the gym with his colleagues, and competing against them in physical tasks or sharing friendly banter with the guys on his team, he also enjoyed his evenings spent with his sister, helping her with her hair and makeup.

He suppressed a smile as he couldn't help wondering what the guys he worked with like Jace and Luke would think if they knew that he spent a lot of his free time braiding his sister's hair, helping her apply eyeliner and daydreaming about being Magnus Bane's boyfriend.

Alec was distracted from his thoughts when Izzy suddenly looked in the direction of the apartment front door and a soft smile crossed her face.

"Simon," she said as she placed her hand over her heart, "you brought me flowers!"

Alec turned to look at Simon, who really was standing in the doorway holding a huge bunch of flowers in his arms, wearing a Star Wars T-shirt that matched Izzy's and a goofy grin on his face.

Alec was happy for Izzy, happy that this romantic gesture was making her look so thrilled, but at the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for himself; he'd always dreamed of having someone in his life who he could buy flowers for.

Alec had a feeling that maybe the current expression on his face wasn't so pleasant, because Izzy muttered, "Alec, be nice," before she walked over to greet Simon with a kiss.

"Hey, baby," Simon greeted Izzy while Alec rolled his eyes.

Then Simon turned to Alec and greeted him with a nod and a serious expression and a, "S'up," like they were both the two 'macho dudes' of the group or something.

"Hey," Alec replied to him, really making an effort not to roll his eyes all over again.

He was distracted from Simon when Magnus emerged from his kitchen, where he'd apparently been making popcorn for the four of them.

Alec tried his best to ignore the sudden increase in his heart rate that was pretty common whenever he was around Magnus Bane. He also tried to ignore the familiar pang of jealousy when Magnus greeted Izzy and Simon with a hug before he told them that they could go find a vase for the flowers in the kitchen.

"Alexander," he greeted Alec with little more than a nod and a polite smile as Simon placed his free arm over Izzy's shoulder and the two of them headed towards the kitchen.

"Magnus," Alec greeted him in response, his heart still beating fast as he folded his arms and took a step away, like he was trying to protect himself from any more heartache.

"Did you like the flowers?" Magnus asked him in barely more than a whisper as Alec took a step past him to head towards the living room. Magnus's tone of voice sounded a little nervous, for some reason.

Alec frowned at him, confused by the question. "They're Izzy's flowers, not mine," he answered with a shrug. "So, what does it matter?"

Instantly, Alec felt a little guilty for his abrupt answer to the question, especially when Magnus looked a little hurt by his response. But he was already feeling pretty irritated, and he definitely wasn't in the mood for Magnus's cryptic questions tonight, and it was making him feel kind of nervous, standing so close to Magnus when Magnus was looking so hot this evening wearing a black shirt and ripped jeans.

When Izzy and Simon finally walked out of the kitchen, the four of them settled in the living room to watch the movie. As Magnus dimmed the lights, Alec noticed that Izzy was wearing her glasses now. His sister had needed to wear reading glasses for years, but it was only recently that she seemed to be more comfortable actually wearing them.

Simon and Izzy sat down next to each other on the couch, while Alec and Magnus sat on separate chairs on either end of the room.

A couple of minutes into the movie, Izzy went to lean her head on Simon's shoulder, but she stopped what she was doing when Alec gave her a stern glance; he didn't want her to mess up her hair after he'd spent so long trying to get it to look right.

"Switch with me," Alec heard Izzy whisper to Simon, indicating that Simon should lean his head on her shoulder instead, while she glared at Alec the whole time.

She then looked from Alec to Magnus and glared at Alec again, almost like it was Alec's fault that Magnus was sitting so far away from him. Alec simply shrugged back at her in response.

He had to admit though that as Izzy ran her hands slowly through Simon's hair, Alec couldn't help feeling kind of… lonely. He really wished that he had someone to sit next to on the couch while he watched his favorite movies.

After that, Alec tried to concentrate on the movie, but it was pretty difficult, because his eyes were always drawn to Magnus; and, whenever he looked over at him, Magnus seemed to quickly look in the opposite direction, almost like he'd been looking over at Alec at the same time, too, which made Alec feel strangely tense.

As the movie continued, and Magnus continued to look away every time Alec glanced at him, Alec felt the sense of tension in the air, and his own inner anger seemed to increase with every passing minute.


They'd only got through one movie when Izzy and Simon started frantically whispering to one another, like they were talking about something pretty urgent.

"We have to go," Izzy suddenly announced to the room as she stood up, reaching for Simon's hand to help him up, too.

"Uh…yeah, some place to be," Simon mumbled, nodding along with Izzy. "Totally forgot…"

Alec frowned at the two of them, feeling a little confused. It almost seemed like they'd planned in advance to leave early.

"Maybe we can all watch the next movie another night?" Izzy suggested as she went to kiss Magnus on the cheek to say goodbye.

As they started to leave, Alec felt a sudden rush of anxiety. Quickly, he reached for his own leather jacket before he stood up from his seat on the couch.

"I…uh…I have to go, too," he mumbled in Magnus's direction the second Simon and Izzy headed out the door, not even bothering to think up an excuse or some place he needed to be. He just felt way too nervous to be alone with Magnus right now.

"Oh, there's no need to rush off on my account, Alexander," he heard Magnus reply to him, his tone of voice sounding almost pleading, for some reason. "You're very welcome to stay…"

At those words, Alec knew that he couldn't take it anymore.

"Why?" he heard himself ask as he turned back to face Magnus, his tone of voice sounding a lot harsher than he'd intended.

He was met by a confused frown from Magnus, like Alec's question was the most bizarre thing he'd ever been asked.

"What do I even mean to you?" Alec snapped at Magnus in response to his frown. It was like he couldn't stop now that he'd got started. "You've made it pretty clear that you're Izzy and Simon's friend, not mine…"

Alec knew that he sounded petty, and childish, but right now, he didn't care. He needed Magnus to hear this, needed Magnus to know just how much it hurt him that he meant nothing to him.

"Sometimes, it feels like you go out of your way to talk to everyone else, except me," he continued to accuse Magnus. "You act so distant and uncomfortable when I'm around you, or you act like I'm not even here. It's pretty clear that I mean nothing to you!"

For a couple seconds, Alec felt kind of relieved to get all that off his chest, but then he felt sad as he played over the words he'd just said over again in his head while Magnus stared at him in what looked like wide-eyed shock.

He also felt a little guilty, knowing that he was probably taking out his workplace related stress on Magnus, along with his sadness at his unrequited crush.

After a couple more seconds, Magnus seemed to snap out of his sense of shock, and a strange expression crossed his face-it was almost like an expression of sympathy, or understanding.

As Alec took a few deep breaths, Magnus took a few steps closer to him and ran his hand softly, gently up and down Alec's arm. Alec tried to ignore the fact that his skin was tingling at the contact, even under the fabric of his shirt.

"My darling Alexander…" said Magnus, while Alec frowned at his words. He'd never been called anyone's 'darling' before. It was kind of nice, in a weird way, in spite of the circumstances. "How can you not know what you mean to me?"

Alec continued to frown at him, still feeling confused, and a little irritated by his own inability to grasp what Magnus was telling him.

"Ever since I met you," Magnus continued, still running a hand up and down Alec's arm, like he was trying to soothe him, "I can't do anything without…thinking of you."

Magnus said this like it was the most obvious thing ever, but still, Alec didn't get it. "Huh?" he asked Magnus, knowing that it wasn't exactly an eloquent way to respond.

Instead of replying to Alec's question, Magnus suddenly moved away from him and started walking towards a table in his hallway.

Alec still had no clue what was going on, but he watched in silence as Magnus picked up his phone and a notepad from the table, before he walked back towards him.

With a shaking hand, Magnus turned to the middle page of the notepad and handed it to Alec.

Alec saw that there was a list written out on the page in Magnus's handwriting. Alec read the words at the top of the list, noticing that Magnus seemed to have elaborated on some of the written words with either extra punctuation marks, or notes in brackets:

Romantic movies

Star Wars (?)

Working out (sometimes to the point of obsession!)

Work

Flowers (?)

Blue (color)

Gold (color)

Alec continued to read down the list, taking in the names of a couple of his favourite TV shows and book series.

"What's all this?" he asked Magnus as he finished reading the list.

"A list…a list of all the things I think you might be interested in….potential topics of conversation to help make it easier to talk to you…"

Alec couldn't help noticing that Magnus was blushing now. "Why would you find it difficult to talk to me?" he asked Magnus, resisting a strong urge to protest that he wasn't obsessed with working out, as Magnus's list seemed to suggest, and was instead just passionate about it. He had other stuff he needed the answers to right now, especially when he knew that he was the one who struggled to talk to people, not Magnus.

"Whenever I'm around you," Magnus mumbled, as he ran a hand over his ear, "I often find that I'm rendered speechless…"

"Why?" Alec asked him, hoping that he didn't sound too pushy with his questions, but also really needing to clear this up.

In response, Magnus handed Alec his phone, which he'd been holding in his hand. In other circumstances, Alec might have smiled at how the phone cover was decorated with sequins and glitter, but he didn't really feel amused right now. All he felt was confusion.

He noticed that Magnus looked totally embarrassed as he placed the phone in Alec's hand, and he even looked away when Alec looked down at the screen. Alec was reminded of all the times he had to interview witnesses at work and they had to reveal really personal information to him in order to help solve a case. Information that they'd definitely prefer not to reveal.

Magnus had already opened up a thread of conversation on his phone, with the word 'Isabelle' at the top, which let Alec know who Magnus was communicating with in this particular conversation.

Alec read the first few speech bubbles of the conversation, which were apparently sent a few months ago, in which Izzy seemed to be reassuring Magnus that Alec definitely was gay and interested in men.

Thanks for that, Iz... Alec thought to himself with a sigh of exasperation. He wasn't sure what part of 'I prefer to keep my private life private' his sister had never been able to understand. It was a little weird, though-he didn't get why Magnus would be asking Izzy about his sexuality.

Alec found the answer to his question in the next parts of the conversation on Magnus's phone, where Magnus was telling Izzy about how handsome, how hot, how beautiful he thought Alec was. Alec looked up from the screen, his eyes wide as he took in the blush on Magnus's face.

Then, the next part of the text conversation focused on all the things he apparently admired about Alec, such as his protectiveness of his sister, his devotion to his family, his dedication to his job, the way he sometimes covered for Simon when he said the wrong thing or got them all into awkward situations. The list went on and on, mixed in with comments about how Magnus found it difficult to concentrate when Alec was talking to him sometimes, because Alec was so attractive...

"But, you're straight…," said Alec, knowing that he probably could have come up with a more sensitive statement after reading all that stuff, but he was now feeling so confused as to what this whole conversation with Izzy was all about that he didn't know what else to say. "You always talk to Simon about your ex-girlfriends…"

"I'm bisexual," Magnus replied. His cheeks were still flushed, but his tone of voice sounded sure, certain, almost calm. "Simon has always been a little more interested in hearing about the women I've dated than the men…" he shrugged, managing a half-grin and a wink.

Alec was still trying to process this brand new information, but he returned to the conversation, now feeling a little eager to read more of it. It was like a whole new world of possibilities had suddenly opened up to him.

He read on and on, reading all of Izzy's advice to Magnus on how he could go about flirting with Alec, how he could let him know that he was interested in him like that.

Then he read Magnus's complaints that he didn't know what to say to Alec sometimes, how Alec made him feel nervous.

After that there were suggestions about making lists of Alec's interests in order to find possible topics of conversation, and promises from Izzy that she would help find ways for the two of them to spend time alone together to get to know each other better, along with more suggestions that Magnus should ask Alec to stay for drinks after every movie night, in the hope that it would be easier for Magnus to talk to Alec when they were alone together.

Finally, there was a whole thread of conversation about how Magnus had been secretly sending flowers to Alec's apartment lately, after Izzy told him about how much Alec loved flowers, ever since they were kids, with Magnus telling Izzy that he hoped Alec would somehow work out that the flowers were from him.

So that's what all those flower deliveries were about… Alec thought to himself with another sigh.

It also explained Magnus's question earlier about whether he liked the flowers-he hadn't actually been referring to the flowers that Simon got for Izzy. It was all making a little more sense to Alec now. Well, the part about the flowers, anyway.

Alec read on and on, still in a state of shock. It had never even occurred to him that Magnus always acted so differently around him because he made Magnus Bane nervous, and because Magnus was attracted to him. He'd never even thought that he had the ability to make a guy feel that way, or the ability to render a guy speechless, especially a guy who was as beautiful and as experienced as Magnus.

In a weird way, Alec kind of wanted to smirk smugly at discovering all this, at the knowledge that Magnus thought he was hot, but he knew that wouldn't be a very sensitive thing to do.

Anyway, it was also a little overwhelming to even think that Magnus cared about him enough to dedicate so much time and energy to talking about him, to thinking up ways to get to know him better. It was even stranger to think that his sister had known about Magnus's feelings all along.

"Magnus, why didn't you just tell me all this?" Alec asked with frown, trying at the same time to keep his voice soft and gentle.

Magnus looked down at the floor and ran a hand over his ear again.

Alec wondered now if all of these gestures of Magnus's had always been more out of nerves than out of an attempt to annoy Alec by being cryptic.

"Alexander," said Magnus, now looking a little upset, "it's been a long time since I was in a relationship with a man-my most recent relationships have been with women; I feel a little…out of practice with guys, shall we say…"

Alec shook his head in confusion. He'd never really been 'in practice' with guys, so he couldn't relate to the feeling of being out of practice. He couldn't help wondering if Magnus's past relationships with guys had somehow ended badly, or if certain guys hadn't loved him back, or loved him enough, and maybe that was why he was wary around Alec now.

"Anyway," Magnus continued, "look at you…"

Alec actually looked down towards his shoes, like this would provide him with the answers.

"You always seem so…sure of yourself every time we're at Pandemonium. You're so comfortable flirting with other men, and you even look a little... intimidating, sometimes, when you're leaning up against the walls and glaring at people. Just striking up a conversation with you can be pretty terrifying at times, Alexander. And of course, how could I ever compete with all the stunningly handsome exes you no doubt have?"

Alec's eyes widened again at that statement. "Magnus, I…uh..." he rushed to explain, practically tripping over his words, "I don't uh…I don't have any exes…I haven't, I've never…" Alec knew that he was blushing, and his words quickly faded. He didn't know how to admit to any of this stuff out loud.

"That's impossible," Magnus countered in a stunned-sounding whisper, like he genuinely couldn't believe that Alec had never dated anyone before.

"It's not so impossible, Magnus," Alec shrugged, still feeling embarrassed. He wasn't feeling as nervous around Magnus anymore now though. It was like both of their confessions had somehow leveled the playing field between the two of them.

It was kind of unbelieveable though, to think that Magnus had always seen him this way, that Magnus genuinely believed that he was confident and experienced and attractive-that he could actually be seen as intimidating.

He thought of all the times when Izzy had told him that he could come across as a little moody or distant or standoffish to people who didn't know him. Alec knew that he only seemed that way to people because really, he was just shy, but apparently Magnus didn't know that yet.

He also thought of all the times when he'd threatened his sister's exes at Pandemonium, the ones who'd left her heartbroken, letting them know exactly what would happen if they ever came near her again. Magnus had been right there, all those times, watching Alec confront those guys. He wondered if that's what he meant by the whole intimidating thing.

Then there'd been the times at Pandemonium when Izzy had been teaching him how to flirt with guys so he could get a little practice. He'd usually resorted to lame pickup lines like, "Do you come here often?" in those situations, trying to act cool and confident and not like he was internally panicking. Maybe Magnus had seen all that, too, and misinterpreted his bad flirting as actual experience with men.

How could Magnus not have seen that all of it was an act, just a front he put on in his day to day life to fit in at work, to protect himself from being hurt, to avoid showing his vulnerability and his lack of confidence to the world?

Had the two of them been misreading each other this whole time? Had they both been uncertain and nervous and secretly in love with the other, while believing that the other was indifferent, or unattainable, or way more experienced?

"So you see, Alexander," Magnus broke into Alec's private thoughts as Alec finished reading the conversation on his phone, "you think you mean nothing to me, when in reality, I want you to be the person who means everything to me."

The two of them stared at one another, with Magnus looking at Alec with an almost expectant expression on his face, like he was waiting for some sort of reaction to all of these revelations, some sort of confirmation or denial.

Alec decided that now was probably the time to let Magnus know how he felt, too; he could put an end to months of awkward tension and uncertainty, if he could just be brave enough to act, if he could just get over his disbelief that this is how Magnus felt about him.

"Magnus," Alec told him, putting on a pretend sympathetic smile. "All of this-" he gestured from the phone to the notepad, "it's not going to work…"

"It's not?" Magnus asked him, before he sighed and looked down at the floor, and Alec felt a twist of sympathy as he took in the obvious look of total disappointment on Magnus's face; it was almost like Magnus believed that Alec was telling him he didn't feel the same way. Which totally wasn't true.

"No," Alec replied with a shake of his head, deciding to play along with this for a couple more seconds. "You see," he continued as he placed the phone and the notepad down on the nearest table, "if I wanted someone to mean everything to me, I'd probably just do this…"

Magnus quickly looked up from the floor, looking nervous but curious at Alec's words.

Slowly, Alec took a couple steps closer to Magnus, trying to ignore the fact that his face felt flushed and his heart was pounding against his chest, not to mention the fact that he was feeling totally terrified that he was actually going to attempt to do this.

As he wrapped an arm around Magnus's waist, his hand shaking the whole time, Alec reminded himself that he could do this, that Magnus felt the same way about him, that this whole time, Magnus had really believed that Alec was confident and experienced with guys, so maybe he could be that kind of guy now, if only for a moment.

Then, he leaned in, pressing his lips to Magnus's, hesitantly at first, giving Magnus the opportunity to move away, if that's what he wanted to do.

Alec liked it better this way. He'd always kind of seen things in black and white, and he'd never been one for hints or suggestions or ambiguity. He'd rather just try to kiss Magnus right now than spend the next few months dancing around each other all over again.

Luckily, after he'd gasped and widened his eyes in apparent surprise at what Alec was doing, Magnus responded eagerly to the kiss, pulling Alec in even closer and pressing his lips even more firmly against Alec's.

Even though Alec had no other kisses to compare this one with, he knew that this kiss with Magnus was perfect. For all the hot guys he'd daydreamed about when he first started to realize that he was attracted to men, right now, Alec didn't think that he could ever kiss any man but Magnus Bane ever again.

Magnus's lips just felt so right against his, and Alec's heart was beating even faster, but in a good way, and his lips practically tingled as their kissing became even more heated, and he was pretty sure his skin was tingling too as Magnus ran his hands over Alec's neck and then up and down his back.

It was like everything between them had been leading up to this, like the weird tension between them since they first met suddenly made sense, like this was why Magnus had never been able to treat Alec the same way he treated Izzy and Simon, or why he'd never been as comfortable around Alec as he was with his two best friends.

Alec almost couldn't believe that this was actually happening. He could only hope that he was doing this right, and that Magnus was enjoying this as much as he was.

Alec placed his hand more firmly on Magnus's back, running his other hand through Magnus's hair, enjoying the feeling of getting to touch and kiss Magnus like this. He definitely liked it, this feeling that he was taking the lead, setting the pace for their kiss. It made him feel a little more confident, and he decided he could get used to this.

All too soon, Magnus stopped kissing Alec and they stood still for a while, their breathing heavy as they continued to hold each other close. It was like they were both scared to break this moment, or to say the wrong thing. It was like they both needed this to last a little longer to be certain that it had really happened.

"I like your way better, Alexander," Magnus eventually told him with a smile, looking like he was trying not to laugh, but also looking a little nervous, too, at being this close to Alec after their kiss.

Alec almost laughed as well. It was so amazing, after months of believing that Magnus was pretty much indifferent to him, to see that Magnus was smiling at him now, to know that they were sharing a joke together, and to enjoy the feeling of holding Magnus in his arms.

All of this meant so much to Alec, and he hoped Magnus understood just how much he meant to him, how much more he wanted Magnus to mean to him from now on.

He also hoped that Magnus would learn just how nervous and inexperienced he really was with all this; how shy and vulnerable he was under the 'intimidating' act he'd put on for the world to see ever since he became a cop, and he hoped that Magnus wouldn't judge him for it.

Trying to prove a point that he had a softer side, Alec pulled Magnus in for a hug, and Magnus went willingly. Alec had never been good at the whole hugging thing (in spite of Simon's best efforts to get Alec to hug him more), but Magnus didn't seem to be complaining right now.

"Sorry for yelling at you," Alec whispered in Magnus's ear. He'd never been good at apologies, either, but he really wanted Magnus to know that he was sorry for his outburst a few minutes ago.

"It's in the past," Magnus whispered back, holding him tighter.

"Stay?" Magnus asked him, the second Alec pulled back from the hug. Up close, Alec could see now just how nervous Magnus was as he asked the question.

Suddenly, Alec felt anxious again. "I…uh…I haven't ever…I…uh…I don't do the whole one-night thing-"

It had been terrifying enough, just kissing Magnus for the first time. He wasn't sure he was ready for anything else just yet. Besides, he realized now that he wanted to make sure that when he finally got into Magnus's bed, they'd be in a situation where he could end up in Magnus's bed again, every night after that first time. As irrational as he knew his worry was, he was sure it would break his heart, if this only ended up being some kind of one night stand after everything Magnus had just confessed to him.

"Just for drinks, Alexander," Magnus cut in, like he could sense Alec's nerves. "I could make you tea, if you want, and we could just hang out in the living room and watch another movie…nothing too stressful…"

Alec nodded, feeling a little reassured by Magnus's words, and no longer feeling as uncertain about spending more time with Magnus, now that he knew how Magnus felt about him.

Magnus held out a hand to him, and Alec took it, secretly feeling really happy at getting to hold Magnus's hand as the two of them walked towards the living room.

They both sat down on the couch together this time, putting their arms around each other, the way that Izzy and Simon had done when they watched the movie earlier, while Magnus's two cats settled on the arms of the chair.

Alec still felt a little nervous, and he could tell that Magnus was nervous, too, but it was like the invisible wall between the two of them was slowly starting to collapse now that they both knew how the other felt.

With a grin, Magnus found a romantic movie for them to watch, and Alec tried not to blush as the movie started playing. He had no idea how Magnus had worked out that he liked movies like this. He'd always pretty much kept his preference for love stories quiet, especially when he was around all the guys at work who loved action movies. He was sure that Izzy was somehow to blame somewhere in this.

After a few minutes, Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec's lips again, almost like he hadn't been able to resist.

Alec kissed him back, and he noticed that Magnus blushed as soon as the kiss was over. Alec almost couldn't believe that he hadn't picked up on Magnus's nerves around him before now, couldn't believe that he'd missed Magnus blatantly looking him up and down and checking him out, the way he seemed to be doing now. Alec decided not to be so hard on himself this time-it wasn't like he had any basis for comparison with all this.

As the next couple scenes of the movie played on the TV, Alec continued to lean in to kiss Magnus every few minutes, determined to get his lips on Magnus's again and again now he'd had a taste of what it was like.

He decided that it didn't matter so much anymore about trying to be one of Magnus's friends-Izzy and Simon could keep that role; Alec was more interested in trying to be Magnus's boyfriend from now on.

After about half an hour of watching the movie together, Alec started to yawn. It was like the exhaustion from a week at work, and the shock and exhilaration of everything that had happened tonight, was finally catching up with him.

Nervously, uncertainly, he shifted a little in his seat, trying to decide if he was brave enough to do this, even though he'd secretly wanted to do it for so long.

In the end, he decided that if he was really going to open up and show Magnus his 'softer side', he'd have to start as he meant to go on, so, after a few more seconds of careful consideration, Alec moved to lie down on the couch, resting his head on Magnus's lap. He tried not to blush or breathe too heavily as he settled into this new position.

Thankfully, after a few seconds of staring down at Alec in apparent confusion, Magnus just seemed to go with it. He grinned softly and started running his fingers gently through Alec's hair.

Alec sighed in contentment at the gentle touches; no one had ever played with his hair like that before, and it felt amazing. He turned his head a little so that he could look up at Magnus with a smile. Before tonight, he couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled like this.

Magnus smiled back at him, his cheeks a little flushed as he ran his fingers over Alec's face, and over his lips.

Alec kept smiling as he closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep. He could get used to meaning everything to Magnus Bane.