Magnus was a sucker for parties, Alec knew. And the victory party at the Hunters Moon was definitely grand and to Magnus's taste. But despite all that, Magnus chose to spend time with Alec instead of enjoying the party.
To say he was honoured would be an understatement.
The cold New York night air beat against Alec's face — he welcomed it — as he and Magnus walked down the now deserted streets and back to the warlock's apartment.
A sort of silence hung between them, and it was one that made Alec all restless and uncomfortable.
Finally, not being able to take it any longer, the Shadowhunter broke said uncomfortable silence.
"Magnus?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you, you know that right? No matter what happens between us, I will always love you," he said.
"I know,". Magnus replied quietly.
By now they reached Magnus's place and the two made their way up the stairs.
As soon as they entered and hung up the clothes that kept them warm — Magnus, his eccentric coat and Alec, his black leather jacket — the warlock pulled Alec in for another kiss, catching him by the elbows and sealing their lips together. Alec thought Magnus's lips tasted oddly like cherries — must be the flavoured lipstick. He also smelt of night air and alcohol.
Alec snaked his arm around Magnus's slender waist while his other arm made its way under the warlock's silk shirt to explore his exotic caramel-colored skin. The touch sent shivers of pleasure down Magnus's spine.
The cat-eyed Asian tugged him closer — not too desperately, but just enough — as his hands wrapped around the Shadowhunter's neck.
After what seemed like eons, they pulled apart, seeing that their lungs were annoyingly screaming for oxygen. But they didn't let go of each other. Alec slowly led Magnus to the loveseat and the duo settled down.
Magnus nuzzled into the Shadowhunter's neck, taking in the familiar scent of Nephilim sweat and sandalwood. Alec, in turn, wrapped a lanky, warrior arm around him. He sighed contently.
"I missed this," he said.
"Missed what?" Magnus asked, even though he was fully aware of what Alec was referring to.
"This — us," he said in a distant tone, gesturing to the space between them.
"All the little things that only couples have the luxury of doing. Like, how I can just wrap my arms around your waist whenever I want to, kiss you anytime without having to ask you permission because God I could never have enough of those lips, come over anytime, stay the night at your place, sleep with you on the same bed, cuddling and...all that."
"I missed it too, Alexander. Especially that Deflect rune and giving you my famous hickeys," he cooed with a smug smile and, to prove his point, nipped at the hazel-eyed boy's skin, causing his breath to hitch and him to gasp — part in surprise and part in pleasure.
"So you love me just for my Deflect rune?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I love you for a lot of things, darling. More than I can count." The term of endearment caused Alec's face to turn beet red, the sign that his signature blush was creeping in.
"I also love you for that beautiful blush, in case you didn't know," the warlock teased, making Alec groan and bury his face in his lover's raven hair.
"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need anything, Magnus?" Alec asked with a concerned look in his face. After all, Magnus did spend a lot of magic in closing that rift. But a part of him may have used this question as a subject changer.
The warlock smiled at how caring Alec was. It was one of the privileges he had been bestowed upon — seeing his boyfriend's soft side as well as the cold, hard exterior. "Just my boyfriend" came the muffled reply from Alec's neck.
Alec huffed and smiled. "Boyfriend..." he repeated, his eyes were half-closed, as if the word was music to his ears. "I missed that too."
Magnus pressed a feather-light kiss in reply.
Alec stayed the night at his boyfriend's apartment, though they didn't do anything other than cuddle and fall asleep while being tangled together, for they were too tired after the day's events.
But even as Izzy, Jace and Clary teased the next day for the bright red bulge that was clearly visible given the ink black of his Deflect rune, he couldn't find it in himself to care.
Alec gotten the love of his life back, and to him, that was all that mattered at the moment.