The restaurant was unexpectedly quiet for this time of the day. It was early evening and Magnus thought that this was an extraordinary day, mostly because seated across from him was a good-looking dark-haired guy, Alexander. The last time he had taken anyone out on a date had been a really long time ago.
He eyed Alec over his menu and was surprised at how attracted he was to the other man; Alec's hair was not quite black, his eyes were so very blue and his cheeks were slightly rosy now. His eyes were scanning the menu, his hands slightly shaking; maybe he is as nervous as I am, Magnus thought. This was their first date, of course they had seen each other before, had even been hanging out some times at Magnus's apartment in Brooklyn, but it wasn't until last week that Magnus had finally asked Alec out on an official date. Thinking about it now, Alec had seemed a little shocked and nervous. Magnus had realised many times that Alec was not as open as he was, but he thought that he could at least try to ask him out, and here they were.
Blue eyes met his and Magnus realised he had been staring at Alec for quite a while.
"Why are you looking at me like that? You do that a lot, you know," said Alec.
Magnus chuckled, something he didn't do too often, maybe because he rarely met people around which he felt this relaxed.
"Alexander, that is because I like looking at you," he said. Alec blushed and lowered his eyes, embarrassed.
"What would you like to eat?" asked Magnus. Alec looked up from the menu again.
"I'm not sure. Everything sounds so fancy," he answered Magnus's question. Magnus tried to suppress a smile, but it didn't work and Alec blushed again. Well, at least I haven't lost my touch completely, Magnus thought to himself.
"You look like I'm amusing you," Alec snapped. "What are you getting?"
"I'm not very hungry," the warlock admitted, lost in thought again.
"Why did you bring me to a restaurant if you're not going to eat anything?" Alec seemed puzzled.
"I thought that dinner was a good setting for a first date, to talk, you know," Magnus explained. Now it was Alec, who was smiling.
"I don't know if you noticed, but we did quite some talking at your place the last times we met," he said. "You didn't need to bring me to an expensive restaurant to make me talk to you."
"And yet I did," Magnus sounded amused. "Come on then, let's go and walk."
They left the restaurant and the trouble of the city surrounded them again. Alec relaxed seemingly, Magnus noticed; he wanted nothing more than to take Alec's hand, but he held himself back, knowing that Alec wasn't quite as comfortable with this whole situation as he himself was. Still, it was one of the things he liked so much about Alec, the fact that so many things were new to him, other than for Magnus because he had basically experienced everything before, being four hundred years old. They walked toward Central Park now, the streets were full of people hurrying home or elsewhere, who knew, when Alec suddenly took Magnus's hand. Magnus turned his head to look at Alec, a smile tugging at his lips. It wasn't like they hadn't held hands before, but never in public because Magnus respected Alec's wishes more than anything else.
"I just— I really like the feel of your hand against mine," said Alec shyly, almost apologetically.
"Don't worry, I'm fine with it, you know that," Magnus responded, stroking the back of Alec's hand with his thumb.
They were quietly walking side by side for a while, when they sat down on a bench in the park, their hands still interlinked. Magnus was content, a warm sensation spreading through his chest; he was looking up at Alec's face, being a few inches shorter. Alec seemed deep in thought, his lips slightly apart; Magnus craved to close his own over Alec's lips, but he knew that would be a step too far. He felt like this needed to be something over which Alec had the control; he wanted to give Alec the time he needed to be sure if this was what he wanted.
"Magnus, I— I'm sorry if I— I like being with you like this, but you know what the Shadowhunters think about these kinds of relationships," Alec murmured, he was looking at their hands.
"Alec, hey," Magnus responded, and lifted his free hand to Alec's face to tilt it up so he could look him in the eyes. "Look at me, will you? You don't have to apologise for who you are to me. I'm the last person you should apologise to. I know you don't want anyone to know about what has been going on between us and I said I wouldn't push you. Take your time, Alexander. Take all the time you need. I'll be just here waiting for you."
Alec looked stunned by the amount of words Magnus had just said to him. Magnus draped his leg over both of Alec's and Alec leaned into him, his head resting against Magnus's shoulder. They just sat there like this for a few minutes and Magnus realised how much he had missed the proximity of someone in his life.
Alec had closed his eyes and was breathing in Magnus's smell. A smell that was slowly becoming so familiar and comforting. His fingers were intertwined with Magnus's and this innocent touch sent tingles through his whole body. He wanted to sit here forever, with Magnus against his side, but he knew he had to go home eventually and face his parents and siblings. And they would ask him where he had been, again. Alec thought about spending the night at Magnus's again, as he had done quite often during the past few weeks, but he knew that this would cause even more questions.
"What are you thinking about?" Magnus's soft voice took him out of his reverie.
"Nothing. It's nothing. I just want to go home," Alec answered.
"Come on then, I'll walk you home," Magnus offered, and Alec felt his hand on his hair, gently stroking it. Alec lifted his head off Magnus's shoulder and looked into his green cat-eyes. He felt himself blush.
"Can I spend tonight at your place?" Magnus's eyes widened with surprise.
"Of course you can, I'd love to have you there."
He let go of Alec's hand and took his face between both his own hands. Alec thought Magnus was going to kiss him and one part of him wanted it, really wanted it. The other part was scared; what would happen if Magnus kissed him? What would it feel like? But Magnus didn't kiss him, he rested his forehead against Alec's, so that Alec could feel their breath mingle, could smell the oh-so-familiar smell of Magnus and now he wanted to kiss Magnus. But it was too late because Magnus had already leaned back and was untangling their legs. Alec stood up, held his hand out to Magnus and pulled him to his feet. He saw Magnus smile and it made him blush, again. What is wrong with me, he asked himself.
They were quietly walking out of the park to hail a taxi; during the drive back to Brooklyn neither of them said anything. Magnus seemed lost in thought and Alec looked out of the window wondering if he should let at least Isabelle know that he would be staying with Magnus tonight. Isabelle was the only one who knew about this thing he had going on with Magnus and he wasn't sure if he wanted anyone else to know right now.
Magnus suddenly placed his hand on Alec's leg.
"Thank you for spending the evening with me," he whispered. Alec picked the warlock's hand up from his leg and intertwined their fingers, causing him to feel a warm sensation run through his chest.
They had reached the apartment and were on their way inside. Magnus's place was on the top floor of the building and Alec had gotten a key, which made him feel kind of proud. Two floors below Magnus's floor there was a mess of clothes lying around on the landing.
"This is getting out of hand. You go ahead, I'll have a word with them," Magnus sounded annoyed.
His neighbours were weird people, Alec thought, as he made his way up the stairs. When he was standing outside the door he realised that he didn't have his key with him. He leaned against the wall and waited for Magnus.
A few moments later, Magnus mounted the steps and came to a halt in front of Alec. Magnus was breathing with his mouth slightly open and Alec couldn't take his eyes off the soft looking lips. He closed the distance between himself and Magnus.
"I really want to kiss you," he murmured. Magnus looked stunned, his eyes wide.
"Are you sure, Alec? You know I wouldn't force you to do anything you didn't want to."
"Just kiss me, Magnus."
The warlock took a step forward and grabbed the lapels of Alec's jacket. Alec closed his eyes and simply waited for it. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the soft touch of Magnus's lips against his was extraordinary. Oh, right, this is what it's supposed to be like. I get it now, he thought. He opened his lips and put his hands on Magnus's upper arms. Magnus tasted exquisite and Alec's bones felt like they were going to melt. Magnus moved forward, so that Alec was forced to step back against the wall. He moved his hands to Magnus's black hair, which was soft at the nape of the neck were he grabbed it and pulled the warlock closer. Alec felt Magnus's hands exploring his chest, his sides, his back. The pressure against Alec's lips was just right and even though there was pressure, the kiss was still soft and slow. He never wanted to let Magnus go. Alec had thought about this moment so many times, had pictured it in so many different ways, but nothing came close to the real thing. Their hearts almost beat as one and Alec could feel the heat radiating of the other man's body and he thought that this was the most enjoyable thing he had ever done.
When Magnus pulled away, they were both breathless and Alec could see the rosy shimmer on Magnus's cheeks.
"Alec…," breathed the warlock. "You're exquisite, you know." He briefly closed his eyes and smiled. "Come on, let's get you inside," he said as he pulled Alec inside the apartment.
Magnus felt on top of the world when he pulled Alec inside his apartment. His last kiss had been many, many years ago and kissing Alec felt like he was woken out of a very long sleep. The fact that Alec had asked him to kiss him felt even better because that was something he never thought would happen, and so soon. He was still breathless when they were standing in his big living room, Alec looked like he felt out of place, even though there was no reason for that, at least not anymore. Magnus didn't know what to do, which was rather unusual because he would normally be the person knowing everything, at least everyone seemed to think that.
"What do you feel like doing?" he asked, looking at Alec expectantly.
"Uhh… I don't know," Alec answered, his cheeks were still rosy and he was breathing through his mouth, just as breathless as Magnus.
"I'll make some tea," Magnus said, Alec nodded and gestured toward the big, plushy sofa indicating he was going to sit down and wait there.
The warlock made his way to the kitchen to brew some tea and his thoughts were wandering again. He was thinking of Alec and how he was a Shadowhunter. Shadowhunters didn't like gays very much, he knew as much even though he had never been with one. He felt as if their future looked kind of hopeless, but he tried hard to fight the thought off. He just wanted to have a good time with Alec right now and not to sour the mood and the electricity he felt crackling between them.
When he entered the living room with a tray loaded with tea, cups and some crackers his eyes immediately flicked to Alec, who had taken his jacket off and was lounging on the couch, very unlike him. Alec looked more comfortable now and the sight of him lifted Magnus's mood. He made his way over to the couch and set the tray down on the table. Alec leaned forward to pour tea into the matching cups and it made Magnus smile, he sat down beside Alec and waited for him to hand over a cup.
Alec gave Magnus one of the cups and looked him in the eyes.
"To us," he said, and they clinked cups. Magnus smiled and he realised that Alec was smiling as well, not blushing this time. The tea was delicious and strong, just the way he liked it. We shouldn't be toasting with tea, but with champagne, he thought, but it really didn't matter as long as it was Alec he toasted with.
Magnus looked up at his date and he wondered what Alec was thinking about. He had always thought he was good at reading people, but he certainly couldn't read Alec.
"Should we go to bed?" he suddenly asked and Alec looked up.
"Magnus… I— I thought we could talk," he said, shyly. Magnus nodded, this was what he was threading all along, he did not want to talk about his past and somehow he knew that it was exactly his past that Alec wanted to talk about.
"Alec, I should tell you something first, before things start to really get real between us. I don't like to talk about my past and if you want to be with me you're going to have to take me as I come, no questions. I just want you to know this so you can decide if you want to get real," Magnus said.
He wasn't sure if he had done the right thing. He knew that humans were all about talking and knowing everything about each other, but he just wasn't like that. But there was still a little part of him that wanted to tell Alec everything because it was the right thing to do and deep down he knew that it really couldn't work between them if he kept things to himself.
"I guess that's okay with me if it's what you want," Alec said, but he didn't sound convinced of his own words. Magnus felt a tinge of shame because it was rather obvious that Alec was not okay with his keeping things back at all.
"Alec, I'm really sorry, but —," Magnus started.
"I said it was fine," snapped Alec. Magnus looked at him in surprise, but he decided to let it go and not say anything because he felt like it wouldn't do them any good.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Whatever you want is fine with me, Magnus," Alec apologised.
"Alec… I just want you to understand."
"Magnus, just let it go. I get that you don't want to talk about your past and I can live with it," Alec clarified.
"Do you want to get back to the Institute? I can call a taxi or walk you home if you'd like," Magnus offered now. Alec looked puzzled.
"Why would you think I wanted to leave?"
"I— just thought that, you know, maybe… don't you?"
"Magnus, no. I said I wanted to spend the night and still want to," Alec said.
"Well…," Magnus wasn't sure what else to say, he just wanted to lean over and kiss Alec and feel his body against his own. He risked a glance in Alec's direction and found a pair of blue eyes scanning his face.
Their eyes locked and Magnus noticed that Alec's breathing quickened; he felt his own heart starting to beat faster, when he leaned over and touched his lips to Alec's; they were oh-so soft and when Alec leaned into him, Magnus moved his hands to Alec's neck and around it to grab his hair and pull him closer. Alec moaned softly into his mouth and he rested his hands on Magnus's upper arms.
Magnus felt his insides warm up, a feeling he had missed so much over the past twenty or so years and he moved up to his knees and softly pushed Alec into the plushy pillows. He wanted to be as close to Alec as he possibly could and he sincerely hoped that Alec wanted just the same. Magnus was reassured when Alec moved his hands to his back and under his shirt. Magnus heard himself moan softly, just as Alec had before and he was lost in their kiss.
Alec felt like he had lost control over his hands which were pressed against the soft skin on Magnus's lower back. His eyes were closed and his lips moved against Magnus's; not as gentle as before, but with more pressure and passion and he felt the tips of Magnus's hair against his cheeks, tickling him. Magnus felt so good against him and so right and suddenly he was overcome by everything he had bottled up over the past months and for a moment he felt like he was going to cry.
Alec broke free and Magnus's head dropped onto Alec's shoulder.
"Magnus…" Alec whispered, breathless.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Magnus sounded concerned.
"No, no everything is just perfect."
Magnus raised his head and Alec felt like those green eyes saw right through him and for a second he wished he could hide away from that gaze, but he knew that Magnus was the last person he needed to hide from.
"You just make me very happy," he whispered, shyly. Magnus's eyes softened as he sat up and pulled Alec upright with him.
"You know, you make me very happy as well," said the warlock and Alec felt oddly satisfied. He raised his hand to wipe some stray hair out of Magnus's eyes and then rested his hand against his cheek. Magnus closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. They sat like this for a few seconds until Magnus opened his eyes and clicked his fingers: classical music started to fill the room and the warlock rose to his feet, taking Alec with him and pulling him close.
"Dance with me," Magnus said, and Alec was surprised, but lifted his hands to put them on Magnus's shoulders, while Magnus put his hands on the small of Alec's back, causing him to suck in his breath. Magnus smirked and started to move slowly in a small circle. Alec wasn't the best dancer, but he felt as light as a feather encircled in Magnus's arms.
They had been dancing for quite a while when Magnus came to a stop and looked up at Alec. Once again, Alec felt himself blush and lowered his gaze, he heard Magnus chuckle.
"Come on, let's go to bed," Magnus said now and grabbed Alec's hand to pull him towards the bedroom. Alec wasn't sure what Magnus was up to, he just followed him until he was standing in the warlock's bedroom.
It was a simple room with a big bed, which stood in the middle of one of the walls and was full of pillows. On the opposite wall stood what he thought was the biggest wardrobe he had ever seen, even bigger than Izzy's. Alec had been in Magnus's bedroom before, but he felt suddenly insecure when Magnus took off his own shirt and pants and looked at Alec expectantly.
Alec felt silly for being this insecure, they had shared this bed a few times already and they had also been naked except for underwear, but right now it felt really intimate, more than it had been the last times.
Magnus moved closer, put his hands on the hem of Alec's plain black sweatshirt and lifted it
up and over Alec's head. Alec took off his pants and locked his eyes with Magnus's. Magnus smiled, turned around and made his way over to the bed. He climbed in and Alec followed suit, getting into the bed beside Magnus where he leaned his head on his elbow and watched Magnus, who was lying on his back looking up at the ceiling.
Alec wasn't sure what to do so he leaned down and kissed Magnus lightly on the mouth; he felt Magnus smile and heard his soft chuckle.
"It seems like you can't get enough of this, huh?" the warlock teased. Alec wanted to roll his eyes, but held himself back and settled for a casual remark.
"Well, I could get dressed again and go back to the Institute after all," he said with raised brows.
Magnus laughed. "Alec… would you please stay?" he said, mocking Alec and lifted his right hand to caress Alec's cheek. Alec rolled his eyes.
"Okay then," he said and leaned down to kiss Magnus again; this time Magnus responded and kissed him back, his hand moving around Alec's neck and in his hair. With the other hand Magnus stroked Alec's back, which made Alec shiver and he moaned softly against Magnus's mouth and Magnus smiled against his lips.
They kissed like this for a while, until Alec broke free and looked down at Magnus. He finally dropped his head onto Magnus's chest, just above his steady heartbeat and he felt Magnus's hand gently stroking his back.
Alec closed his eyes and heard Magnus humming softly until he fell asleep.
A/N: so this was my first try at writing fan-fiction. If you made it until here, then I wanna thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoyed the story :)