They unspokenly agreed that they were going to eat in to avoid Alec being admitted to the psych ward; Magnus had shared that only Alec, as his unfinished business, could see him.
The walk to the location was quiet; both their minds were stuck comparing this with every other date they'd had. The lack of portals created was already a glaring distinction; they had to rely on the permanent portal set up as a bridge between Alicante and the New York Institute just to fulfill his sudden craving for a certain East Village delicacy; not to mention how Alec's palm tingled with the desire to touch any part of Magnus. He was far too accustomed to holding hands with his husband whenever they went out together, and the world felt dull and lackluster without it.
He barely managed a smile at the flirty look Magnus shot at his haphazard work suit. Alec did often wonder why Magnus was willing to settle with him, but eventually he gave up pondering it too much and was just grateful that he did. Although, both Magnus and Izzy had been on his case to get him to dress in more fashion-forward outfits since forever. Yet even his ratty sweatshirt currently sitting in his bottom drawer never failed to make Magnus' pupils dilate.
As he opened the door, the sweet aroma of burgers wafted to his nose, and Alec's mouth watered as he could almost taste the crunch of bacon against the soft texture of the bun. Magnus had to poke - more like dip - his fingers in Alec's shoulder to release him from his daydream. As Alec placed his order, Magnus shifted away from him, making him whisper, "Magnus, what are you doing?"
Unsurprisingly, he whispered back, "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Probably something very stupid." Which was more or less the default setting whenever Magnus had that glint in his eyes. As his husband, it was Alec's duty to - at least - make sure that the entire building didn't end up burning to the ground.
"Ye of little faith, darling." Alec bit back the urge to recount every single incident where even his faith wasn't enough to save them. It really was no wonder that Magnus got himself banned from Peru. Although, Alec was self-aware enough to admit that he would have gotten himself banned alongside Magnus if he had been there.
As Alec was keeping an eye on Magnus' antics, he caught someone staring at him in his peripheral vision. The man licked his lips when he saw that Alec had noticed his stare.
It made Alec feel uncomfortable, the audacity of that man to flirt with him when it was obvious he was there with his husband. But, his mind reminded him, you're not really with him, because Magnus is dead. Truly, we are our own worst enemy.
Engrossed in his self-torment, Alec inadvertently averted his gaze from the stranger. He didn't notice the downturn of the corners of his mouth and how he slightly slouched with disappointment.
Alec walked to where he saw the familiar spiked hair and hastened his pace when he heard a crash. The burger joint was not that big of a place, but it had enough nooks and crannies to hide an altercation - like a theft, for example. An attempted theft, simply because Magnus was having the time of his life tripping down the thief whenever he tried to escape. The result was a very comical scene. The thief was face-planted on the floor while the would-be victim simultaneously looked relieved and confused. Magnus himself was cackling soundlessly, even more so when he caught sight of Alec.
After his fifth attempt at getting up and the subsequent acquaintance between his face and the dirty tiles, the thief spat out, "Here, take this shit back," and then threw the bag back to its owner.
He made to stand up, only to hear an ominous voice ring out, "Apologize to her."
The thief was so scared out of his mind that he only stammered, "Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry, ma'am," before he fled like the devil was on his heels.
To Alec and Magnus' surprise, the lady politely murmured a "thank you" in Magnus' direction before grabbing her bag and leaving the premises as well - right after she sent an inquisitive look towards Alec as she saw him half-hiding behind a pillar.
After she was out of sight, Alec immediately teased him, "Even now, you can't help yourself from being a hero." It was interesting to see a ghost blush, a rush of silver flooding his cheeks making him almost corporeal. Beautiful - the one word Alec would always use to describe the irreplaceable appearance of Magnus Bane.
They kept their eyes locked to each other, unwilling and unable to escape the pull that was always there between them. They could be standing miles or inches apart and it still wouldn't change a thing. The sharp call of Alec's order number eventually broke the sweet moment. "Shall we?" Magnus said.
Alec thought he replied with something affirmative as he went to the pick-up station for his food and drinks. Mission "acquire burgers" completed, he was about to open the exit door when he saw that Magnus was no longer following him.
His head swivelled every which way trying to catch a glimpse of Magnus in the busy place. In Alec's opinion, his own body language didn't exactly say "come hither", but someone still took it as an invitation to sidle close to him. It was the man from earlier - the one who had stared at him like he himself used to stare at runes - with utmost intrigue and fascination. He found it slightly off-putting but resolved to remain polite.
"Hi," the unnamed man greeted.
"Hello," was all Alec could say, inwardly kicking himself for his eternal awkwardness in any normal conversation, especially one with a total stranger.
"You come here often?" Alec had an instant flashback to his own failed attempt at flirting. He sighed to himself. It really was a miracle that he had managed to get himself a boyfriend at all, let alone a husband.
To his credit, the man wasn't deterred by Alec's sigh. On the contrary, he seemed even more charmed. How odd.
"We might have gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm Tyler." He looked like he was about to offer his hand to shake, but decided against it. A good call, seeing as both of Alec's were full with the bags of food he had just retrieved.
"I'm Alec." The man - Tyler, who had to be a mundane, smiled at him a touch too widely. Alec wondered if it was because he had something stuck between his teeth. In return, Alec studiously examined a spot between his eyes, not wanting to embarrass the poor man.
"I swear that I'm not usually this forward, but can I have your number?" His eyebrows bunched together in nervousness, looking rather earnest.
"My number?" What in Raziel's name would he need Alec's number for? It was unlikely to be for Clave business, seeing as the man was not even a shadowhunter.
"So I can use it to call you? If you want to go out some time. Grabbing coffee or dinner? With me, of course. Or, not with me? I'm also okay with that, I don't want to force myself on you or anything." The words just tumbled out of Tyler's mouth, at such a fast pace that it all sort of blurred together.
"I'm basically asking you out on a date." Well, that escalated quickly.
Tyler fidgeted, seeing Alec's sudden intense stare fixed on him. Meanwhile, Alec's mind was working in overdrive to churn out an appropriate response. He imagined the tiny people in his head were running around like headless chickens, trying to put out fires left and right. Yes, he had watched the movie. It had made for a fun (and teary) babysitting activity with Madzie.
Just say no, Alec, it's very simple. You can do that, right? His own mind challenged.
"Yes," Alec blurted out. Did he say that out loud? Oh shit. Alec wanted to correct his answer, but Tyler already looked so happy with his cute, toothy grin that it would be like taking a lollipop from a baby. Guilt took shape as a lump in his throat. Alec patted his pants' pockets for his phone, only to remember that he had left it back at the loft.
"Let me guess, you forgot your phone?" Tyler chuckled, eyes lighting up in genuine humour. If Alec had paid attention, he would have noticed that Tyler was quite good-looking. Medium length light brown hair framed piercing blue eyes, and a defined jawline peppered with a thin stubble; the man did make an attractive picture.
Although, phones were not exactly a necessity if one happened to be travelling with a warlock, never needing to call for a pick-up or an Uber, though, in retrospect, not bringing one would look very strange to a mundane.
Alec was relieved at the chance to let him down gently. Unfortunately, Tyler thought of a charming, if a bit outdated, solution.
He dashed to one of the tables. Alec couldn't see anything, but he could recognise the sound of a pen clicking from afar. A white cloth in hand, Tyler returned. Alec moved his purchases to his left hand as he was handed a tissue with his numbers written on it. It was even finished with a winky face emoji. The lump in his throat grew.
After one last grin at Alec, Tyler walked to the pick-up station for his own orders - just in time for Magnus to show, sashaying as he emerged from the bathroom.
"Sorry, someone spilled their apple juice on my jacket. I had to go to the toilet to clean it up," he offered as an explanation, yet it only provided Alec with more questions.
Alec opened the door slowly to let Magnus through, but the tissue slipped from his palm and fell to the ground, unnoticed. "You're a ghost, no one can see you. Who are you trying to impress anyway?" Magnus stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of an answer, before coming up with none and quickly changing the subject.
From then on, only their footsteps filled the silence, but then Magnus suddenly stood on the balls of his feet; he had always liked how it made him able to see eye-to-eye with Alec. "So, I saw the cutie giving you his number." He winked exaggeratedly, while "bumping" his shoulder with Alec's.
Magnus' expectant expression implied that he was expecting that to elicit some kind of reaction from Alec. He found himself disappointed when Alec only flatly replied with, "Yeah, he did."
"And-?" He fished for more.
"And nothing. I lost it anyway," Alec said calmly as they walked back to the loft, shrugging his shoulders.
"You lost it?" A proverbial vein popped in Magnus' head; it was evident that he had forgotten how much of a disaster Alec could be.
"I think it fell when I left the restaurant." Slight sadness leaked into his tone, to Alec's shock.
Magnus declared all of a sudden, "Stay here."
Alec was about to protest, but Magnus had already ran back the two miles they just traversed. He could do nothing except follow his order, standing there not unlike a modern scarecrow with plastic bags in both hands. His hands were itching to grab his stele and glamour himself invisible, but there would be a chance of a mundane seeing him disappear into thin air. That would definitely raise far too many unanswerable questions.
Thankfully, Magnus returned after only a few minutes had passed, holding a familiar sheet of tissue. Alec held his fingers out to take it, but Magnus pulled back just in time. "Promise me that you will call him."
"Magnus-" Why is he okay with this? A part of Alec wanted Magnus to be angry about this, aside from the fact that he would've been angry right back at him. He wanted him to be jealous on his behalf, not encouraging him. Alec quenched the niggling worry that Magnus no longer cared about him, bar for being his loose end in the land of living.
"Two weeks, remember? Give him a call then. I'm not asking for it to be right now."
Alec huffed and made a grab for it anyway. Magnus tutted. "Nuh uh."
"You know what? Fine, I would've burned it. Keep it then." Alec did not cross his arms like a 5 year old who just got banned from the playground. Okay, maybe he did.
Here's the thing about Alec Lightwood, which even he loathed to admit. Everyone who didn't know him well would say that he had a glare capable of striking a man down. His close friends and family would say that he was just a big softie underneath the spiky exterior. However, a little unknown fact to most was that he tended to shut himself down whenever he felt cornered. Like now, for example.
Sadly, Magnus was well-aware of this particular trait of his, meaning he saw right through his bullshit and wasn't afraid to call him out on it.
"I'll keep it, but I'll give it to you in two weeks." Magnus raised a hand when he saw Alec was about to protest, "That was the deal, remember?"
When Alec only gave a quiet harrumph, Magnus prompted, "You hold up your end of the deal and I'll do mine. You will still have the final choice, Alexander. I just want you to try."
His intended answer was stuck in the recesses of his mind, while his mouth formed, "Let's go home, the food is getting cold." But he thought Magnus understood what he was trying to say, anyway.
At the loft, Alec and Magnus sat opposite each other at the dining table. While chewing into his burger, he asked the question that had been burning in his mind for a while, "So you can sit on chairs, but you can't touch me. How does this work?"
"I can touch items, with notable exceptions. I am unable to touch living things." Magnus finished with a shrug, as if his own current state of being hadn't been a constant source of debate for both warlock and mundane scholars. Even Magnus when he was alive would have wanted to capitalise on this knowledge as well.
"Wait, that's not entirely correct. I am just unable to touch conscious things." Alec's mind immediately wandered to a few hours ago when he suddenly awoke in his room with no memories of going home from his office. The question was right there on the tips of his lips. But then he had a lightbulb moment, and suddenly he came up with another question he deemed more pressing.
Alec paused in his eating and raised his hand like a student in a class. Magnus humoured him and said, "Yes, to the one in the back."
Alec snorted. "How about plants? Can you touch them?"
Magnus hummed in thought, "Actually, I haven't tried. Hang on a second."
Magnus walked out and onto the balcony to touch the sparse plants he had growing there. Alec was as shocked as him when he could grasp the leaf with no issue. "I think that answered the question. Yes to the plants."
Then he settled back inside and finished the dinner - well, Alec finished his while Magnus was twirling the unused utensils on his side of the table.
The rest of the day went by in much of the same vein; so did the upcoming weeks for that matter. Two weeks which consisted of pleasant conversation with much more pleasant company, Project Runway marathons, brownie baking sessions, and everything one could possibly do indoors. Magnus even played a couple of pranks on Alec's staff, which ranged from funny to downright hilarious; they often brought a smile to Alec's lips. Everyone was confused by the sudden turn in their boss' mood, but they just collectively exhaled a relieved sigh; anything was better than the absolute taskmaster that was the Alec Lightwood they had to contend with.
Before they knew it, the two weeks had come to an end. The honeymoon-esque vibe had dissipated as if blown away by billowing winds. Alec desperately tried to make it last, just one more day- one more hour. Yet, it absconded him nonetheless.
One look at Magnus' heavy eyes reminded him that it was all never meant to be permanent, anyway.