Months had passed, yet the world still turned after that fateful night.
How could it? As far as Alec was concerned, his world hadn't spun the same way ever since. But, that didn't mean it didn't turn at all.
He learned to adapt to what a life without Magnus entailed, again. Only this time, he had hawks shadowing his every move. Their names happened to be Jace, and oddly enough, Clary.
Apparently, Izzy and Simon were "big deals" in New York - Simon's words, obviously - so they couldn't leave their jobs, while his parabatai and said parabatai's girlfriend had no such qualms.
It wasn't that they followed him to and from his daily trip to work, but he now had two non-paying roommates who just so happened to be receiving very real and very prestigious training in Alicante. For months.
It would've been stifling, if Jace hadn't learned how to be a much better roommate since the last time, and Alec had missed his family - yes, even the little miss carrot. The nickname more so came about from a place of affection than any sort of derision. If only Alec from four years ago could see himself now, he might have rolled his eyes so hard he could glimpse into the high heavens. Even if it took him being lectured for hours by his sister after sneaking out of the infirmary, he didn't regret any of it.
Despite all that, things had still undeniably changed. For example, Alec became more observant recently.
He could see the times when Jace would wildly look around before relaxing once he caught sight of his girlfriend. Alec knew too well of the nightmares often plaguing his brother at night, of losing her all over again.
Alec had also noticed how Jace turned to look at her sappily as if she was the only woman to ever be created in this world - which was not too out of the norm for his brother - but what's new, was how Jace absentmindedly patted the box-like shape in his pocket every time.
Jace didn't have to tell him about his intention, Alec gave him an understanding nod one day before he could and that was it.
Oddly, his brother looked a touch apologetic. Just because Alec lost his love didn't mean he wouldn't want others to keep theirs, which he explicitly told Jace one night when he came into his room after a particularly bad nightmare. No matter how old you are, siblings are forever. They would also forever hog the blanket, to Alec's freezing toes' dismay.
Other than a front row seat to the "Will they? Won't they?" show starring Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild, his life had thankfully been uneventful. Just the way he wanted it to be.
Sure, demon reports still came flowing in, as well as monthly reports of various institutes. But overall, nothing catastrophic happened or anything that warranted too much of his energy beyond attending tedious meetings and signing papers.
Alec really should've known not to jinx himself.
An intern for the Clave, specifically working under his purview, hesitantly entered the room after Alec answered her knock. He rather liked her, actually. Genevieve was sharp and clever, if a bit shy. She wasn't afraid to call out people's prejudiced bullshit, but she was also willing to accept any criticism of her capabilities with grace. She would be a wonderful addition to his office if she accepted the offer he was planning to give.
However, it also meant that she wouldn't dare ask for his time unless it was truly important. "Mr Inquisitor, sorry to bother you, but I think I have information that you would want to know."
Alec thought he could guess what she was about to say - maybe Jace had set fire to an entire building because of a duck or something along those lines. He inclined his head to her. "Lay it on me, Genevieve."
"It's about your husband, sir."
Well shit, he certainly hadn't expected that.
It was bright. Where am I?
The brightness shone behind his eyelids, but the dull light was kind and merciful in a way - he knew deep in his soul that it would never blind him.
Now, it was dark. Who am I?
Unmalicious but stifling darkness, his soul felt smothered with it.
Then, it too passed. The murk chased away by light, one almost as suffocating as the dark. It made his body tremble.
"Magnus Lightwood-Bane, would you accept my gift?"
"Gladly."
The man gasped awake. The words swam through his mind like a river current and eluded him just as quickly as he returned to the realm of consciousness.
Somewhere in New York city, Magnus Bane just opened his eyes again.
"I found that there has been a discrepancy in the logs. A recent one, sir," She stated.
"I am sure you are aware of how we kept records of the names of every mundane alive along with the bare minimum of their identity information such as their age and birthdays." Alec nodded to her, it was indeed a common knowledge that such records exist, but he had only recently been made aware of how an abundance of people were needed to manage the entire system. All interns, Genevieve included, were all assigned to that department, which stood as a testament to how little other nephilims viewed the job's worth.
She continued her explanation, "Well, exactly 3 days ago, a new name popped up in the logs. Now, it's normal if it's a new baby being born, but this man is 27 years of age. As far as the mundanes' government's records are concerned, the man had been living in New York since the day he was born, December 8th 1993. With files of his education, job, and family to support it. But, to us, he just appeared from thin air."
"The standard protocol would be to bring this matter to the Head of the New York Institute, but-" Her voice grew quieter, hesitancy shining through.
"But it's Magnus, isn't it?" Alec guessed. "Hence why you came to me first."
Genevieve nodded to confirm. "Yes, sir."
"Thank you for your information, Miss Pyladen." The girl had enough sensibilities to notice when her presence was no longer needed, and she left the room and closed the door with a soft click.
It felt like an outright mockery to him that it only took months before the cycle repeated itself; bringing him back to this very office, holding a file pertaining to Magnus' wellbeing. Only this time, he only felt joy and untamed hope gazing at his husband's name spelled out in the same glaring black font.
Biographical Information, the title read. Followed by his name - which Alec already knew, his birthday - which he didn't, and-
Alec's heart stopped upon reading the next words.
Kind: mundane.
His mind immediately remembered the time Magnus fell apart in his arms all those years ago, his breath smelling vividly of alcohol and his tears soaking the back of his blazer; Alec's engagement plans going up in flames.
Mundane. No magic.
Mortal.
Oh, for Raziel's sake.
Meanwhile, all the way in New York, Magnus Bane had been having an awful day.
His hand was patting the coffee stain on his shirt as he walked; it was due to a stranger who had spilled their drink all over him. Magnus sighed to himself, knowing that the stain would never disappear. It was tragic, really. He just bought this shirt last week.
As if his day couldn't get any worse, the clouds parted and rain came down on him like a sack of bricks, soaking his already stained clothes and undoing the hours of work that went into making his mohawk.
Magnus knew he currently had two options, to try to find shelter or to run a further distance to the nearest subway station - he chose the former. Which was how he found himself in an empty church, of all places. The floor was damp from Magnus' drenched outfit.
He swiped the damp strands of hair away from his eyes, a futile attempt to look less like something a wet cat dragged in. Magnus was still panting from his short jog to escape the rain, so he went to sit in one of the pews.
As he had just flopped down onto the seat, a voice called out disbelievingly to him, "Magnus?"
"Do I know you?" He had never met the young man, who was either a priest or was training to be one, but there was something about him that was familiar. He almost expected him to look younger than he was, to look like he was carrying the weight of the world by himself.
The stranger's gaze felt intrusive, like he knew Magnus more than he himself did. It was unnerving. "No, I suppose you don't," He answered clippedly. "I'm Raphael." The man - Raphael - offered him a hand to shake, his lips twisting to form a smile, but Magnus could tell it didn't grace his face often.
"My name's Magnus." He caught the minute widening of Raphael's eyes at that, like that wasn't a name he expected to hear. "Sorry for barging in like that."
"It's alright. Do you want a change of outfit?" It was a kind offer from the priest, but Magnus couldn't trouble him further. He cringed inside thinking of the mess he inadvertently made by the doors.
"If it's the same colorless robe as the one you are wearing, then it's a pass from me, Father." Magnus laughed upon seeing Raphael immediately scrunch his nose. A flicker of an image appeared in his mind's eye for a moment, of a much younger version of the man in front of him doing the same facial movement.
"No, please don't call me that. I'm way too young for that and still far away from finishing my studies." Raphael laughed with him, but something about it made Magnus feel like there was an inner joke he wasn't privy to. "But, I do mostly own black colors."
"Black is a color," Magnus corrected, huffing dramatically.
"Yes, yes. I have heard enough of it from my father, thank you very much." His eyes were still twinkling with the earlier mirth, but the way he stumbled upon saying the word 'father' spoke volumes.
"Daddy issues?" Magnus guessed in a light tone, making it clear to Raphael that he could just brush it off as a joke.
Raphael's mouth curved down, "Sort of. He died recently." It was clear to Magnus that he must've loved his father dearly.
Magnus didn't know what to say, settling for a "I'm sorry for your loss."
Raphael tried to smile at him, "Don't be. Sometimes it feels like he's still with me." Magnus didn't know what to make of the side glances from Raphael when he said the last part.
Magnus felt bad for how much he pried earlier, "I don't know how hard it must've been, I never knew my parents. But, if he loves you, then I'm sure he's currently watching over you as we speak."
Magnus was afraid that he had breached a boundary, after all they had only known each other for less than an hour even if he felt otherwise, but the worry was for naught as Raphael simply replied with, "Thanks, Magnus." This time, Raphael's smile was genuine. Magnus felt a sense of pride seeing it. "What about you? What brings you here? You don't seem to be the religious type." He could see the aborted laugh Raphael tried to hide.
Magnus cocked an eyebrow, as if to say 'really, what gave it away?', causing Raphael to actually let out a chuckle. "Well, I just got fired. Shitty, I know. On top of that, somebody spilled coffee on me, and then it started raining out of nowhere. So, now I'm here, sitting in a church next to a stranger I would willingly spill my entire life story to." He spoke a mile a minute, Magnus doubted Raphael even understood all of it.
He didn't, but "You got fired?" was apparently the part he was stuck on.
"Yeah, they had no spot for me anymore, so I was kindly," he tacked on air quotes to the word, "laid off." There was a lack of despair in Magnus' voice, he already knew that it wasn't the correct job for him. He had pictured a much more flashy, altruistic, and interesting job for himself, definitely not something like a lawyer.
"It was odd actually, it was like I've never worked there. My colleagues knew me, I knew them, but I can't remember anything beyond it." He was quiet for a moment, and his companion also looked deep in thought. Magnus contemplated, "How is it that I feel like every other day of my life I've been asleep and I just took my first breath today?"
"And you want your life to go back to the way it was?" Raphael implored; he clearly didn't know what to make of it. Magnus didn't even know what to make of it at all and he was the one living through it.
"No, I don't. I feel like I don't fit in anymore, I can't." Magnus knew that he wasn't referring to his past as a lawyer, but something that was just on the edge of his knowledge. He was desperate to figure out what it was.
"Magnus, I've been there, suddenly feeling like your entire way of life just upended on itself and you're left floundering for something to keep yourself afloat. But, sometimes all we can do is move forward, and try to make the best with what we do have."
"You're great at giving advice." He really was, as much as his dour exterior would suggest otherwise.
"I learned from the best." Magnus twisted the ring on his pinkie, his ring finger feeling too light today. There it was again, the odd feeling that Raphael was actually referring to him.
On pure coincidence, the rain outside had stopped its relentless torrent. Magnus was rather sad having to part ways with his new friend, but it was time for him to go home and change into something dry before he caught a cold.
"I'd rather get going now, nice meeting you Raphael." He walked away from the priest-in-training, wet boots announcing his every step.
He had only taken three steps when Raphael called out, "Magnus, can I have your phone number?"
Magnus felt his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. He really thought that he hadn't given him that impression, and he cringed trying to think of a way to let him down gently. He stammered, "I'm so sorry, it's been nice but I'm not interested in you that way."
It was hilarious to see Raphael immediately crinkle his nose upon hearing that. Magnus thought he might even be going slightly green around the gills, and he didn't know if he should be offended or not. "No, no, no, no. Very much no," Raphael shuddered. "I was just asking in case you want to meet up again, as friends."
Magnus felt guilty that he had jumped to conclusions. "Oh, sure. Sorry for-"
"No, it's fine." He waved off his apology. "I see how that might've come off as..." Raphael trailed off, looking as awkward as Magnus himself felt.
They both finished swapping numbers, then Magnus clapped his hands, "Right, I'm just gonna go now before we dig ourselves a bigger hole." They both laughed. "Nice meeting you, Raphael."
"Nice to see you too," were the last words Magnus heard before he left the church.
What an odd fellow, Magnus thought to himself.
Little did Magnus know, right after he was out of sight, Raphael immediately dialled someone on his phone. Someone who Magnus' very soul was dying to meet.
"Lightwood, I just had the most interesting evening." Raphael tried to ease into the conversation; it was not with due manners to just blurt out to someone that he saw their dead spouse. He was thought better of than that.
Of course, it wasn't necessary, as Alec only replied with, "Let me guess, you met Magnus?"
Raphael took his phone away from his ear to blink at it, then held it close to his ear again. "How did you-"
"I have my ways." Like that wasn't cryptic at all.
As if he could feel Raphael's raised eyebrow from another continent, he explained himself. "Entirely legal ways." Raphael only hummed to himself.
"Right, anyway, how was he?" Alec sounded worried, which was unnecessary for how chipper Magnus had been the entire time, which he directly told him. Raphael heard the immediate poorly-hidden sigh of relief from the shadowhunter.
Raphael felt bad for the bad news he was about to drop. "It seems that he couldn't remember anything from his previous life." If it wasn't for the sound of Lightwood's breathing, Raphael would've thought that he had hung up. He knew how hard that must've been for him, so he softened his tone further, "I know you want your husband back. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it was too good to be true." Raphael sympathized with him. He didn't know which was worse, losing someone you love or having them be right in front of you without knowing who you are.
"Wait, the rain has just stopped. He must've already left if you're calling me about him, did you give him an umbrella? He must've been soaking wet to be desperate enough to take shelter in a church, did he catch a cold?" He tuned out all the questions from Lightwood. It was sweet how much he cared about Magnus, really, almost nauseatingly cute; but Raphael needed to get off the phone soon.
He could already see the head priest looming around the corner; he had been skipping work by talking to Magnus. "Look, Lightwood. I'll give you his number and you can decide whether or not you want to know more about him. Deal?" Raphael sent the digits directly via text and hung up on him. He knew he was being slightly rude, but Alec would just have to live with it. It was not like he had another choice.