A/N: After a major hiatus on this story, it's back and hopefully with regular updates. And I hope to have the sequel to Learning to Be up soon too. Let me know what you think.
Warning: Some violence; sensitive topic (description of a hate crime); foul language; homophobia; mild sexual content (I'll increase the rating if I have to courage to drop the "midl")
Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns the characters.
Stronger
Chapter 2
Magnus's head was throbbing. It was like there was this pounding sound on the inside of his skull. An insistent beating that wouldn't subside.
Suddenly the pounding was accompanied by a voice. "Magnus, let me know that you're awake."
His eyes instantly flung open and he sat up in bed abruptly. The pounding wasn't just in his mind. Whoever owned the voice was actually banging on his bedroom door.
"Uh...if you don't respond...um...I'll have to come in." The voice quickly became hesitant and nervous.
Magnus closed his eyes, memories flooding into his mind, like a horrible photo reel.
Walking in the park.
Cornered by two men.
Fists and feet pounding into his body.
Nasty words strewn about.
Stunning blue eyes.
Following him to the hospital and then home.
"Fuck!" he cursed, flinging the covers to the side exposing his nude body.
He walked to the door. "I'm up," he said through the wood, irritation in his voice. "I don't know why you're still here."
"Oh good!" replied the teenager.
Magnus rolled his eyes and padded into the bathroom adjoining his bedroom. Didn't the boy get the hint? He didn't need a damned savior and he definitely didn't need to be reminded of his own weaknesses, regardless of how gorgeous said reminder was. Magnus groaned. He definitely remembered the other man being exceptionally beautiful, with his startling blue eyes, unkept black hair, defined features and long, lean body.
By the time he made it to the mirror in the bathroom, he had to hold back his visceral reaction. Large dark bruises had formed around his left eye and the corner of his jaw. He had a small cut along his cheek, probably from a ring, and his entire torso was painted black, blue and purple. He touched his stomach gingerly and cringed.
He looked like a fucking piƱata after Christmas.
Or a flaming fairy after a fun game of beat the fag, he thought bitterly.
All he wanted to do was scream. Scream and scream until his throat was raw.
Instead, he brushed his teeth, washed his face and tackled the almost impossible task of covering up all the blemishes on his face.
xxxxxx
Alec sat nervously on the edge of the sofa, wringing his hands absently. His back and neck ached from sleeping on the couch. All he wanted was a long shower and his bed. Even his dorm mattress was better than sleeping on a couch in jeans. But he wasn't going to leave until he saw the other man and made sure he was okay. Besides, he'd already stuck it out this long.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the door to Magnus's bedroom opened.
The older man stepped out, a haughty expression plastered on his face. He looked like he was ready for a bizarre fashion show. His hair was perfectly spiked with glitter shimmering through the strands. He must have covered up his bruises with makeup, because his face was blemish free. He had thick eyeliner that also seemed to shimmer. He wore a purple silk button-up shirt tucked into fitted white pants with multicolored pinstripes and a large black belt with a studded silver M buckle. Over his shirt he had on a leather vest and fingerless gloves.
Alec found himself staring as the man leisurely strode over to the kitchen and started putting on a pot of coffee. "I don't know why you're still here," Magnus said, almost dismissively.
Alec blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to draw his mind away from the way the man's lean muscles rippled under the fitted vest as he moved or the curve of his ass in the impossibly tight pants.
The younger man felt his cheeks heating up and he cursed internally. He shouldn't be fantasying about a stranger he just met, especially someone who just had a horrifying experience.
Not that the man acted like something traumatic had happened. He sauntered around the kitchen, making coffee and putting waffles in the toaster, humming a tune softly under his breath.
Magnus was obviously putting on a show. The teenager wondered if the act was for Alec or if he was trying to convince himself that he was fine.
"Do you not speak if you are not yelling through the door?"
"Well, it's not like you asked me a question. Sounded more like an observation," Alec found himself saying. Magnus turned around and looked at him quizzically.
"Are you being smart or honest."
Alec shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know how else to be except honest."
"Except about your sexuality," Magnus replied. "How do you like your coffee?"
Alec gaped at the older man, speechless.
"Now I asked you a question," Magnus pointed out, a smirk on his face.
"How would you know if I'm not honest about my sexuality?" Alec muttered.
"Oh come on. You're a classic closet case. You know I'm unbelievably attractive and you want to jump my bones but every fiber in your body is terrified of being exposed as different from the supposed norm. You want to blend in, go unnoticed. Look at you, your clothes, your posture, the way your hair falls into your face. Like you want to disappear into the background."
"You're an egoistical asshole," Alec snapped, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door to the apartment.
"Just being honest. Isn't that what you like?" Magnus said nonchalantly.
"Fuck you," Alec retorted as he grabbed the door knob.
The younger man stumbled back as soon as he opened the door. A man stood in the doorway, his hand in midair.
"Oh, well, no need to knock then. Morning Magnus," the man said. He had a full head of white hair even though he couldn't be over 25.
"What are you doing here, Ragnor?"
He closed the door and leaned against it as he looked Alec up and down.
"Did you already forget your appointment with the new client in half an hour?"
"Shit, it completely slipped my mind."
"I can see that," he muttered, his eyes still trained on the teenager. "Found yourself another boy toy and all responsibilities fly from your mind."
Alec started to protest and Magnus smirked at his discomfort.
"I mean, you seriously have a type, Magnus."
"You know me all too well," Magnus said, an eyebrow raised at Alec suggestively.
"We are not...I am not..." Alec started.
"Well, no time for formal introductions," Ragnor said, interrupting the younger man. He opened the door and gestured towards it. Alec stepped into the doorway, bewildered.
"Given your looks, I'm sure I'll see you again. Magnus, is he coming to your party night?"
"Oh right, I forgot to give you the invitation, isn't that right sweet cheeks?" he said, his mocking tone barely hidden.
He strode over to Alec with a piece of paper in his hand. Alec took the flyer reluctantly, knowing Magnus was just putting on a show to humiliate him in front of his friend. This is what he gets for trying to be a good person, Alec thought fleetingly.
He looked down at the invitation. "A party for your cat's birthday? Do you even have one?" he said absently.
"He's around here, somewhere."
"The Chairman does like to make himself scarce when you're engaged in physical activity," Ragnor said, rolling his eyes.
Alec's face flushed. Why the hell was he embarrassed? He hadn't actually done anything that the white-haired man insinuated.
Magnus took a hold of the door, blocking Alec's view of the apartment and the other man.
"If you're actually honest, as you say you are, I guess I'll be seeing you tonight," Magus said, his voice soft enough that only Alec could hear him.
Alec blinked dumbly at the older man as the door shut in his face. He looked down at the invitation. The letters shimmered back at him, mockingly. He quickly folded up the flyer and shoved it into his back pocket.
He didn't have anything to prove.
xxxxxx
Ragnor propped his feet up on the coffee table as he bit into the waffle that had popped out of Magnus's toaster as Magnus rushed around the room, collecting his things and shoving them into his Hugo Boss briefcase.
"So where did you find this one?" the white-haired man asked. "I thought you were having an early night last night. The only reason I came by was because you weren't answering your texts. You've been talking about this client for weeks. Needed to make sure you weren't passed out drunk or something."
Magnus felt frantic. He needed to compose himself before he met with Katerina Chamberland. She was the daughter of the CEO of a fortune 500 company who was getting married next summer. She had seen some of his items during fashion week and had selected him to design all the clothes for her wedding, including her dress.
"Hello, Magnus," Ragnor said, standing up and waving his hand in front of Magnus. "Did you even hear me?" he asked, placing his hand on the taller man's shoulder.
Magnus instantly flinched. He cursed silently at the reaction. He needed to get it together.
"No time to talk. Got to run. Let yourself out," he said in a rush as he left the apartment.
He had no time to dwell on the events from yesterday. Besides, he had thick skin.
He was perfectly fine.
xxxxxx
Alec groaned loudly when he arrived outside his dorm room door. On the knob was a red sweatband which only meant one thing, his roommate Jordan was having sex with his girlfriend, Maia, last night and left a warning for Alec.
He was almost glad he didn't come home last night. He would have been stranded yet again and stuck on the couch in the common room. He pulled the sweatband off the knob as he unlocked the door. At this point in the morning, the two were probably just passed out under Jordan's sheets.
He fleetingly wondered what Jordan would do if he had placed a sweatband on the knob and found Alec with a man in his bed in the morning. Alec frowned, sadness washing over him. Jordan would be disgusted and probably request a room change. His eyes wandered to the couple, fast asleep, not afraid to display their intimacy. He felt a pang of jealously. Why was it so easy for them? Why couldn't if be easy for him?
He dropped his messenger bag on his bed and grabbed his shower caddy and towel. It was early on a Saturday morning, so the bathrooms were empty. He stepped into his favorite shower stall in the far corner. As the hot water washed over his body, he couldn't help but think about last night.
He clenched his fists angrily as he thought about those men attacking Magnus just because he didn't fit their expectations.
He thought about Jordan, not worried that his roommate would judge him while Alec was terrified to even think about holding a man's hand.
He thought about the golden flecks in Magnus's eyes. The arch of his cheekbone and the curve of his ass. He felt his cheeks flush as he tried to push the feelings away or he'd have to switch to a cold shower. He couldn't encourage the thoughts. He was never going to see the man again.
A/N: Let me know what you think. I might possible up the rating to M if I have the courage to drop the "mild" in mild sexual content. Alec might not think he's going to this party right now but we all know he'll end up going ;).
