Magnus considered himself a good judge of character. He made the occasional slip, usually with people like Camille, who were wrapped in especially attractive packaging and put on a good show. Actually though, he hadn't so much seen Camille as better than she was, they'd just both been lonely and decided there was no harm in enjoying a little companionship with someone who wasn't the person of their dreams while they waited for the person who was.

To this day he felt the best thing to come out of that relationship was his friendship with Clary. There was still a lot about her life she kept to herself, but Magnus cared about her very much, and he hadn't been exaggerating when he told her she'd become like a little sister to him. Seeing her so happy this week was truly refreshing. Not that she wasn't usually a happy person. Clary probably smiled more in one shift than most people did in an entire week. It was just that her smiles lately had been different. More radiant. She seemed more rested lately too. More relaxed.

Magnus knew her well enough to know it wasn't because she was getting enough sleep. She never slept enough. The only thing he could find to credit for the change in her demeanor was her new friend. Seeing them together tonight confirmed what Magnus had already suspected. Those two wanted to remain "just friends" about as much as a wild animal wants to be kept in a cage.

It was true that the majority of Magnus' attention tonight had been on the absolutely gorgeous blue eyed man that had come with Clary's new friend to the bar, but as someone who was used to keeping an eye on his surroundings at all times to be sure no ones drinks got spiked, he had also been keeping an eye on Jace. Magnus doubted anyone else would have noticed the way he kept making excuses to leave the table and subtly slip extra tips on Clary's tables when she wasn't looking. He had to give the guy credit. Simon had been trying to get Clary to accept good tips from him for months, but he'd never gone to those lengths. When Jace started leaving tips on another server's tables just to throw her off Magnus did wonder though. Who went to that much trouble to give someone else money? What was the story there? He decided to be sure Jace knew he'd have someone other than Simon to worry about if anything happened to Clary. Simon had the best of intentions, but he wasn't exactly intimidating.

Jace would never have been kicked out of the bar for defending its owner, but Magnus saw it as the perfect opportunity to force Clary and Jace to face each other and hopefully admit the feelings they both had. Judging by the blush Clary was wearing when they returned and the fact that she tried not to meet Magnus' eyes, he was pretty sure it had worked.

Magnus kept his eyes on the pair as they left the bar, noting that it was Clary who moved to kiss Jace on the way to the car and not the other way around. Good for her. It was about time she went after something for herself. Once they were safely in the car Magnus turned his attention back to his companions at the table.

It seemed Simon and his girlfriend were having some kind of disagreement, and Alec was looking uncomfortable at the prospect of being stuck in an Uber with them back to their apartment. At least this was one situation where Magnus could come to the rescue. He suggested that if Alec was enjoying himself he was more than welcome to remain at the bar and Magnus would be happy to drive him home after he closed the place down and cleaned up. His sister seemed more pleased about this than anybody, reminding Alec that he had a key and could let himself in whenever. She also made a point to call back over her shoulder on the way out that he should text her if he wasn't going to be home by noon so that she wouldn't worry. Poor Alec looked mortified at that comment. Magnus assured him that he wouldn't judge him by his sister's words, but Alec still looked like he'd be happier if the ground would open and swallow him whole.

Magnus excused himself to check on Clary's tables. He could have assigned them to another server, but he didn't want her to miss out on any of the tips and the only fair way to keep them for her was to serve the tables himself. Most of them were ready to close out anyway and the bar was getting less crowded by the minute, so it didn't take him long.

On his way back to the table, Magnus took a moment to really admire the man he'd been sitting next to. Physically he was absolutely magnificent, there was no question about that. The more Magnus got to know him though, the more attracted he was to the man behind the perfectly sculpted body and beautiful face. For one thing, Alec had a quiet unassuming grace about him that Magnus found breathtaking. Then there was the matter of his career. Who in their right mind didn't find firefighters hot? It took a special kind of person to voluntarily run into a burning building while everyone else was running out.

Alec looked nervous. Magnus didn't like that. He wondered what he could do to reassure him that he didn't need to do anything he wasn't comfortable with.

"Hello darling," he purred, sliding into the booth next to Alec, but leaving a little bit more space than he had previously in case his proximity was contributing to Alec's unease. "Are you having a good time?"

"Yes." There was a long pause, and Magnus thought maybe that was all Alec was going to say. Finally he added, "I'm sorry I'm not very interesting."

"What?" Magnus asked, truly baffled. "Who on earth told you that?"

Alec looked at him with surprise. "Nobody had to tell me. I just know. Jace and Izzy have all the exciting stories. Simon's great with the jokes. I just sit and listen." Alec shrugged. "Boring."

"I don't find you boring at all," Magnus assured him. "I think you listen because you know your siblings enjoy telling stories and you like making them happy. There's no way somebody who saves lives for a living doesn't have some exciting stories to tell if he wants to tell them." Alec blushed and Magnus enjoyed the sight. "Is Alec short for Alexander?"

"Yes, but nobody calls me that,"

"That's a shame," said Magnus. "Alexander is such a sexy and elegant name… I like the way Alexander feels on my tongue too," Magnus finished with a wink.

"Well, uh, you're welcome to call me that if you'd like," Alec said, blushing again.

"Thank you, Alexander. How long will you be in Kentucky?"

"I have to be back to New York the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but I haven't booked my flight yet. I hadn't actually decided."

"Will you be joining us all at Clary's for Thanksgiving, then?"

"I'm not sure," Alec said. "I know I'm invited to Simon's best friend's. I guess that would be Clary, huh? You'll be there?"

"Yep. One of the few days of the year we're closed besides Sundays. I don't think I've ever celebrated Thanksgiving, but when Clary heard that she insisted I come to her house. It seems she and Gran take in all the strays."

"You don't know her well, then?" Alec asked.

"About as well as anybody knows her besides maybe Simon. She's become like the little sister I never had. What would make you think I didn't know her well?" Magnus wondered.

"I thought if you two were close you wouldn't really think of yourself as a stray. I don't really know what to make of her and my brother. Usually if my friends have sisters I warn them away from him. He's not really a relationship kinda guy, but he seems different around her. I think he might really like her."

"I got the same impression," Magnus agreed. "So am I your friend now then?"

Alec looked flustered. He didn't seem to know how to respond. "It's okay Alexander," Magnus finally said, gently. "We can be friends if that's what you want."

"But it's not," Alec said shyly. "Not really. I mean… I kinda thought, maybe…" Alec obviously wasn't used to talking about his feelings. Magnus decided to end his suffering. He leaned toward him to give him a gentle kiss and let him know they were on the same page. Much to his surprise, Alec responded enthusiastically. He reached to embrace Magnus and pull him closer.

When they finally pulled apart, Alec looked more surprised by his own boldness than Magnus was. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I don't usually go around kissing people I just met. I just really like you," he finally gathered the courage to say, looking Magnus straight in the eyes as he said it.

"I like you too, Alexander," Magnus chuckled, "and I find your honesty quite refreshing."

They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying being close to one another. It was Magnus who spoke first. "Your sister seemed pretty excited to see Clary and Jace holding hands."

"Yeah. Iz has been telling both of us for a while now that we need to find somebody. I guess since she's so happy with Simon, she just wants to see us happy the same way."

"How long has it been?" Magnus asked. "Since you were… happy with somebody?"

Alec shrugged. "I had a boyfriend toward the end of high school. Then a few years back I dated somebody I knew from college. Neither of them ever looked at me the way Simon looks at Izzy though. In high school I think it was just convenient. The guy was my friend. We were the only guys in our friend group who liked guys, and it made everyone more comfortable if we were all paired up. They didn't have to leave us out of stuff. We said we were dating, but we never really did more than kiss and even that was nothing like what we just did." Alec blushed again at the last part. Magnus was really finding this combination of complete honesty and undeniable shyness quite appealing. He may have ended up liking Alexander even if it weren't for the incredibly sexy blue eyed black hair combination he had going for him.

"The guy from college didn't make you happy either?" Magnus asked.

Alec was quiet for a minute and Magnus wasn't sure he was going to answer. Finally he shook his head. "He turned out not to be who I thought he was at all. I've never really talked about it before. It's kind of embarrassing," he mumbled.

"You don't need to talk about anything you don't want to," Magnus assured him.

"It's strange, but I kind of do want to talk to you about it. If that's okay?" Alec waited until Magnus nodded for him to go on. "He may have gotten a little rough with me a couple of times. I was always doing things that pissed him off. One day Iz came by the station to find out why I hadn't been home to visit. She saw a couple of the bruises. She didn't say anything to me about it, but when I got back to my apartment all his stuff was gone and he'd left a note saying to tell my crazy ass sister if she ever came after him again he'd press charges. To this day I'm not sure what she did to him. Neither of us ever brought it up."

Alec had been staring at his lap and fiddling with his hands while he told the story. "You know that's not your fault, right?" Magnus asked him. Alec just shrugged. Magnus reached over and tilted Alec's chin up so he could look him in the eye. "No, Alexander. I'm serious! There's no excuse for violence in a relationship no matter how mad someone gets. It's not your fault!"

Alec shrugged again. "Even if that's true the first time, I had to be pretty weak to stay, right?" He tried to look away again, but Magnus gently held his face steady.

"Nothing gave him the right to keep hurting you. It's probably better you never told me his name, because I'd like to look him up and finish what your sister started. Speaking of which," Magnus continued, "remind me to buy Izzy a drink next time I see her."

"She is pretty great, huh?" Alec asked.

"She is… but I find I'm partial to her older brother," Magnus said smoothly.

"Jace is okay," Alec joked, "but I think he may be taken."

"Well then," Magnus teased back, eyes twinkling. "I guess I'll just have to settle for her other brother." He leaned forward and kissed Alec again before admitting, "I must admit, I prefer blue eyes anyway."