Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, but I hope this is well worth it for you, my lovely readers. I have to admit, this is my first time writing this sort of thing for a non-heterosexual pairing, so I hope I didn't make anything too awkward. D:

Also, I had a reviewer ask to see a more vulnerable side to Magnus. I hope I got that across for you!

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and favorites. They brighten my day, and they keep me writing. If I could I hug you all, I would, but this is the internet.

Okay, enough cheese. Onward, to the apartment!!

"Here we are."

Magnus wore a grin as he held the door open for Alec, and the boy stepped shyly inside. He shut the door and locked it behind them. Alec just stood there awkwardly, and Magnus gestured toward the living room. He waited, but the Shadowhunter didn't move.

With a roll of his eyes, Magnus walked past Alec and settled onto a couch, patting the cushion beside him. He watched, amused, as the boy fidgeted, different emotions flickering across his face. Finally, he nodded and sat gingerly on the offered seat.

It was quiet.

Not that Magnus disliked silence. He actually found it quite comfortable at times, but this was an edgy, sitting-on-pinecones-uncomfortable sort of silence. His poor friend seemed about ready to crack. He needed something to relax the mood.

With a quick flourish of his fingers, Bane produced two glasses and a bottle. He popped the cork, and filled both cups with a dark amaranthine liquid that swirled long after its contents should have settled. He held a glass out to Alec. "Drink this."

"What is it?"

"You wouldn't be familiar with it even if I told you the name."

"Okay—what'll it do to me?"

Magnus laughed. As if he would drug the boy into submission. That wasn't quite his style. He frowned slightly. Not that it wouldn't be quite entertaining if he did, however…

"Magnus?"

He blinked. "Maybe relax you a bit, but it's nothing to worry about. " He flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smile and Alec shrugged in response.

Magnus took a long, slow sip from his cup to prove his point. "See? Not poisoned, not drugged."

Hesitating, Alec took a tiny sip. His eyes widened as he swallowed. "Wow." He shook his head and tipped his head back, draining the rest in one go.

Magnus's eyebrows raised in shock. "Well, aren't we full of surprises?"

Alec just sighed contentedly and slumped against the back of the couch, closing his eyes. "Alec in Wonderland," he murmured.

Magnus hastily swallowed his laughter. "Beg your pardon?"

Alec opened one eye and fixed it on Bane. "You know. I stumble into some weird enchanted world, meet strange, possibly mad, individuals, and then, stupidly, drink whatever they offer me." Reaching out, he gestured for Magnus to fill his glass, and tossed it back just as quickly as he had the first.

"Stupidly?" Magnus sipped at his drink slowly. One of them needed to have their senses intact, at least.

"Well, look at what happened to Alice."

Magus tapped his chin. "If you're so keen on this analogy, I could conjure up a pretty blue dress for you to wear."

Alec groaned. "Do I look like the kind of guy who would want to wear a dress?"

"Not of your own choice, no. But then again, your wardrobe is so severely lacking in variation that a dress very well could be a step in the right direction."

"Listen, if you want to get me out of my clothes so badly, why don't you just—" Alec clapped his hands over his mouth and turned beet red. Eyes wide, he stared at the bottle on the coffee table. "What the hell is that stuff?"

Magnus smirked and set his glass down, leaning over the boy. "Again, you wouldn't recognize it even if I gave you the name. But you should know that I intended for you only to take a couple sips to ease those nerves of yours."

"Oops."

"Oops may very well be correct." Magnus kissed Alec slowly, drawing him in deeper as he responded shyly. Two full glasses? That was more than enough to turn your average nun into a harlot. It was very tempting to take improper advantage of the situation, but he knew better than that. Besides, the boy was so obviously new at this. It would be so much more fulfilling to break him in gradually.

Magnus realized, with a slight frown, that he was breathing just as heavily as the young Shadowhunter. Alec was finding his feet, so to speak, more quickly than Bane had expected. He moved downward, trailing his lips and tongue over the boy's throat, feeling his racing pulse. Alec gasped as Magnus bit him gently, his body arching up in surprise.

"You enjoy that, Nephilim?"

Alec responded with a soft moan, his hands slipping under the Warlock's shirt. Magnus had to bite back a gasp of his own as his body shivered in anticipation at the boy's touch. He was the experienced one here, wasn't he? He needed to have control.

"Well, aren't we the ever curious explorer?" Quickly, he pulled off Alec's sweater. "Two can play at that game, boy." Magnus bent down to flick his tongue over an exposed nipple, smiling as Alec gasped and dug his fingers into Bane's back. "However," he growled, "I think I may have the upper hand here."

He teased Alec relentlessly, his own arousal fed by his reactions. It was more than tempting to just take him now, fuck him hoarse and senseless. Magnus trembled slightly as he fought to restrain himself. He knew that the boy was much too preoccupied to notice. In the end, he still held the control. He would have Alec overwhelmed. He would have him consumed by his need, and then there would be no question as for whom his affections lay.

"Magnus," Alec pleaded. He was grinding futilely up against Bane, hoping for release.

"Hmm?"

"I thought…I thought you said that—ah!"

"I said what now?"

"You…said…" the words came out in small gasps and Magnus chuckled. The incoherence was quite charming. "You said…relieve…tension…"

"Hmm. And what are you suggesting, exactly?"

"Well, this just seems…to me…quite…tense."

"Does it?"

Alec nodded, whimpering as Magnus licked along his hipbones. "And frustrating. You…" he broke off to groan as Magnus danced his fingers playfully along the front of his jeans. "You said you wanted to…ease my frustration…"

"My dear boy," Magnus laughed. He flicked his tongue over Alec's earlobe and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I do believe you have confused tension and frustration with anticipation." He reached down to unbutton Alec's pants, and heard a sigh of relief. "Lucky for you, the wait is up."

Easy, Bane, he warned himself. Remember that selfless acts will pay off later down the road. He kissed Alec, pleased to find that he responded fiercely. Reaching downward, he wrapped his fingers lightly around Alec's erection. Alec broke away from the kiss with a moan. "Magnus—"

Bane didn't wait for him to find the rest of the words to his sentence, he moved his hands skillfully, watching the boy as his eyes slipped shut, and his head tipped back against the couch cushions. "I take it you don't do this for yourself very often?"

Alec shook his head, his sweat-dampened hair sticking to his forehead and the back of his neck. "N-no, but…you…you—" he cut off with a low cry, his hips rocking upward as he approached his climax.

Magnus grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment." Watching the boy writhe in pleasure beneath him, Magnus felt his self-control slipping slightly. Quickly, almost frantically, he brought him to orgasm, breathing a small sigh of relief as Alec slumped limply against one arm of the couch. Their heartbeats finally slowed to a normal pace, and Magnus tried to force himself to relax.

"Magnus, since you, um…would you like me to, uh…you know?"

Magnus swallowed and looked pointedly across the room at a large clock mounted on the wall. Of course he would 'like him to'. The very thought of the boy disrobing him, touching him, pressing his parted lips against his—

Magnus kicked himself mentally and cleared his throat. "You tempt me, Alexander, but I recall you saying something about returning to the Institute before too late."

Alec sat up, looked at the clock, and swore. Quickly, he pulled on his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tidy it. Jumping up, he darted to the door but hesitated, one hand resting on the handle.

Magnus stepped to his side, bending down to kiss him gently but passionately. When he pulled away, he was pleased to note that Alec was blushing. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I'm sure you'll be back fairly soon."

With a quick nod, Alec left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Absently, Magnus licked one of his fingers and groaned. "Bane," he grumbled to himself, "you need a long, cold, shower."