6 years later…

RE: Estate of the late Asmodeus Bane

Dear Mr. Bane,

I regret to inform you of the death of your father, Asmodeus Bane. May I offer you my deepest condolences at this difficult time.

As your father's solicitor, it is my responsibility to carry out his wishes as described in his last will & testament. As the sole benefactor of your father's estate, could I please ask you to contact my office at your earliest convenience to arrange an appointment to discuss this.

Kind regards,

Jia Penhallow

Magnus sighed, folding the letter and placing it back in the envelope. So that was it, his father was finally out of his life for good. If he was honest, he was surprised that he had been left with anything at all. He had been estranged from his father for most of his life. His father was a bad person and while nothing had ever been pinned on him with any certainty, Magnus had known from an early age that he hadn't gained his considerable fortune by being one of the good guys.

Pouring himself a whisky he sat back in his chair. Did he want his father's blood money? He wasn't well off by any stretch of the imagination. Working as a museum curator wasn't exactly the most lucrative career in the world, but he enjoyed what he did and made enough to get by. Did he want to cash in his morals for a bigger flat and a healthier savings balance? Probably not.

Knowing that he probably shouldn't bottle all this up, he picked up the phone and called the one person guaranteed to help him muddle through his thoughts about his actual father - his surrogate father.

"Ragnor, hi. Are you free to talk?"

"For you Magnus, of course. Is everything ok?"

"It's Asmodeus. His lawyer has written to me regarding his estate."

"He's dead? Well, I can't say many people will miss the son of a bitch… Are you ok though?"

Magnus smiled at Ragnor's response. His family in all but blood, Ragnor had always looked upon Asmodeus with disdain. At 10 years old Magnus had stubbornly refused to go home 'ever again' declaring that he wanted nothing more to do with his father. Ragnor had kindly taken him in and given him a much better upbringing than Asmodeus could have offered. In fact, it was Ragnor who had first sparked Magnus' interest in history and encouraged him to pursue his studies. He owed Ragnor for everything good in his life.

"I'm fine. Honestly. This means I never have to think about him again. Though I don't know what to do with the money. I don't want anything to do with it, I just want to give it all away."

"While I can completely understand that, I wouldn't be so hasty to reject it."

"But I wanted nothing from him in life, I can't take from him in death."

"But you could do a lot of good with that money? Or at least, have some fun with it?"

"I don't know," Magnus spoke slowly, pondering Ragnor's words.

"Look, I have to go. But promise me you'll think about it before you do anything stupid with your inheritance. And call me if you need anything. Anything at all."

"Thanks, Ragnor. Speak soon."

"Take care of yourself Magnus."

Hanging up, Magnus swirled the whisky around his glass, thinking about what Ragnor had said. That money could open a lot of doors. But money could also corrupt, especially money from ill-gotten means.

It was raining out because of course it was. Magnus hadn't remembered his umbrella when he'd jumped on the train that morning. Now Magnus found himself shivering slightly in his damp clothes, his hair undoubtedly ruined, making his way through an imposing corridor. Magnus wasn't easily intimidated, especially not in academic surroundings but something about the dark brown wood cladding on the lower half of the walls and the mustard paint on the top half just screamed, 'You don't belong here'. He reached the third door on the left, as directed by the kind porter who had greeted him in the lobby, and paused, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves he knocked twice on the door.

"Come in."

His heart stopped for a brief moment. Though it had been close to six years since they'd last seen each other just hearing those two little words had taken him back. Magnus entered the office and looked around. Everything about it was so very Alec. From the neatly arranged bookcases to the spider plant spilling out over the window sill, and the tidy desk. He resisted the urge to 'aww' at the pens sticking out of the top of a giant mug proclaiming 'World's Best Brother'.

As he stepped towards the desk, Alec looked up from his paperwork and finally noticed who was in his office.

"Magnus? What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Alexander. What a way to greet a guest."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please take a seat," Alec gestured at the chair across from him. "I just, well I was expecting you to be a second year making excuses for why they wouldn't hand an essay in on time. This is quite a surprise. A good surprise of course. Seeing you out of the blue? Who wouldn't be happy," he stopped suddenly. Clearly realising he was rambling and looking down at his desk, with a slight flush on his cheeks.

Magnus' insides squirmed. The last few years had only served to make Alec more handsome. His dark hair was still unruly and his physique still as drool-worthy and toned as ever but the way he carried himself now had more confidence to it. And instead of the ever-present dark circles under the eyes that are the staple accessory of a PhD, he had delicious crinkles at the corners that spoke of a life full of joy and laughter.

"Actually, if you aren't too busy, can we go somewhere and grab a coffee? This feels a bit too much like old Professor Herondale's office and it's bringing back haunting memories."

Alec clicked a few buttons on his mouse, his eyes tracking over the computer screen in front of him, before replying, "Sure, looks like I have a bit of free time before my next appointment. Though for comparing my decorative choices to Herondale's, the coffee is on you."

Magnus chuckled and stood again, trying not to ogle too much as Alec made his way around the desk. The light blue sweater Alec was wearing was fitted against his broad shoulders and the knit of the sleeves only highlighted how muscular his arms were.

'Get it together Bane, you're here to proposition him for a project, not a date!' he scolded himself. Though as soon as the thought entered his mind, he regretted his choice of words. Thinking of propositioning Alec in any circumstance would not be good for his concentration levels!

"There's a great little coffee shop just a couple of blocks down if you're ok with overly cocky baristas. The coffee more than makes up for him though," Alec said with a slight smirk.

He made his way over to the coat hook by the door, shrugging on a dark blue blazer. His cream slacks almost indecently tight in the way they clung to his thighs. Magnus gulped slightly at how the overall ensemble came together.

Ever the gentlemen, Alec held the door open for him before leading the way back out of the building and into the drizzly courtyard. They caught up as they walked, exchanging pleasantries about how they'd been and complaining about the weather. All the while Magnus kept looking at Alec out of the corner of his eye, revelling in his appearance. Ok, Alec still rambled a little but otherwise, his stutter seemed to have mostly disappeared in the intervening years and he had grown into himself in many ways.

Less than 10 minutes later they were sitting opposite each other in the slouchy armchairs at Java Jace. Between the coffee served in glasses (seriously, how were you even meant to pick it up? There was a reason ceramic has been used for literally thousands of years) and the quirky decoration, the place couldn't get more hipster if it tried. They were surrounded by people in thick-framed glasses and checked shirts hunched over laptops or reading paperbacks.

"So the blonde behind the counter… you used to live with him didn't you?" Magnus said, glancing around the shop, trying to maintain his composure.

"Jace? Still do. It's been over a decade now and we haven't killed each other so… I just consider him family at this point," Alec shrugged nonchalantly.

"If it works, it works," Magnus smiled over at him.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of the coffee shop after the cold, grey of outside. Magnus marvelled that even after all these years, Alec's mere presence bought him such a sense of calm. Well, as long as he didn't think too much about what he was going to attempt to do.

The intrigue was clearly too much for Alec and he would no longer let Magnus avoid the topic though. "So, as I said, this is a very nice surprise but I guess you're here for a reason Magnus?"

Magnus sighed, looking out the steamed window and watching people scurry through the drizzle. How to even start? He took a deep breath and decided to jump right in at the obvious starting point.

"My father died."

"Ohhh," Alec looked taken aback. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, it was a few months ago now," Magnus continued, shrugging off Alec's sympathy. It wasn't like it was a sad occasion really, not in his mind. "Anyway, he left his entire estate to me. At first I resolutely did not want anything from him, in fact, I was going to give every penny to charity. But then Ragnor suggested that I should keep the money and do something for me."

"Okay," Alec said slowly, "that sounds like a good idea for your inheritance. Doesn't necessarily explain why you're here. Though now I'm very glad I made you buy the coffee," he smirked.

Magnus pondered this for a minute or two, picking up his coffee from the table and blowing gently over the surface to cool it slightly.

"My father always wanted me to go into finance you know? Told me history was a waste of my time. What's done is done and can't impact on my future etc etc. You know, all that idiocy people spout when they're too narrow-minded to see that the world doesn't learn from mistakes unless people are there to research our past and put it out there in an accessible way. No, as far as my father was concerned I should have been studying business or economics. Something that would get me a job in one of those big banking firms - running investment funds or whatever. 'Go where the money is' he used to say. Imagine his disappointment when he found out I was going to be a historian!"

Wrapping his hands around the glass as if the warmth could erase the cold memories of his family,he took a long drink before continuing, "Anyway, I decided that if I was going to do something for me, I would make it something to really piss dear old dad off. You know, one final dig at the old man. So I've decided I'm going to finally get to the bottom of that bet we made all those years ago…"

Alec's brows furrowed in confusion, "What bet?"

Magnus laughed, of course he wouldn't remember. It hadn't even been a real wager, just a passing conversation at the time. "You know, what Raziel's treasure really is? I'm going to find it and prove what his 'gifts' were once and for all."

Alec's eyes widened in surprise, "Are you serious? You're serious, aren't you?" he sat back, crossing one long leg over the other and causing Magnus' heart rate to briefly lift at the way the simple movement accentuated every line of his body.

"100% serious Alexander. I'm going to find the treasure," Magnus confirmed, meeting Alec's hazel eyes dead-on. "And I want you to come with me."

At that Alec snorted. Actually, literally snorted. It may have been the most inelegant thing Magnus had ever witnessed him do, but it was also the most adorable. The intervening years had definitely done nothing to dampen his attraction for this man. He was smitten. And yet he was still inviting him to come on a trip around the world with him on what basically amounted to a whim. He was nothing if not fully committed to making this adventure as complicated, insane and fun as possible. In fact, inviting a devilishly handsome man along and flirting with him the entire time would just be another way to continue to annoy his father's memory. This plan was perfect, even if the entire trip could turn out to be a slow torturous death.

"Look, with my inheritance I can afford to fully finance this project. All expenses will be covered, you will have a full salary. It's like having a grant to go out and do your own research, completely in your own way, except the salary will be more competitive. And you'll have no-one breathing down your neck at all, well except maybe me occasionally but I'd like to think I'd be a benevolent leader," Magnus tried his best to look demure.

"Magnus, I'm an academic, not an adventurer."

"C'mon, you can't pretend that you enjoy droning on at hungover undergrads, live a little Alexander. Get out from behind that desk," Magnus continued to look at Alec over the brim of his cup as he finished his coffee. He could see the cogs turning as Alec mulled over the invitation.

"I do not drone on. I'll have you know my students love me."

"Hmmm," Magnus arched an eyebrow at him. Sure his students probably loved looking at him, maybe even enjoyed the deep timbre of his voice but there were probably only a couple who truly enjoyed the subject. No matter how you dressed it up, for many people history was just dull.

"I have responsibilities, Magnus. It's midway through the semester, I can't just up and leave."

Magnus smiled to himself. The arguments were getting weaker, he had this in the bag!

"And no one is asking you to, Alexander. After all, if we're to do this, I'll need to hire a team to support us. I'll need to research the correct permits and visa requirements, it's going to be an organisational nightmare. I'm still very much in the early days of planning, I just wanted to get the most important team member on board early. But that works in your favour, it gives you time to wrap up your commitments here and sort out time off to come on this adventure."

"Do you even know where the treasure is? How to find it? No one has found it before which means, even if it's not the most desirable collection of artefacts to search for, it's not going to be easy."

"I have a few ideas," Magnus winked at him.

"Like what?" Alec leaned forward in his chair again, clearly eager to hear what information Magnus may have.

"Well, I can hardly tell you that. Not unless you agree to join my team. I can't risk this information getting into the wrong hands and someone unscrupulously going after the treasure in some sort of historical race to uncover the truth."

"I doubt anyone cares about this to quite the same level we do Magnus, I think you're safe on that. After all, it hasn't been found in 200 years!"

"Still, I'm going to need a commitment from you before I tell you all my deep, dark secrets," Magnus suggested with a wink, enjoying the way this caused Alec to flush. He'd forgotten how adorably the other man responded to even the most basic flirting and how fun it was to be the cause of such a response.

Alec glared at him across the table but despite the effort, he was clearly putting in, the look carried very little weight. In fact, it only caused Magnus to feel even more enamoured.

"C'mon, what do you say? Join me on an expedition into the unknown? Let's find Raziel's gifts and see what all the fuss was about?"

"This is possibly the most hair-brained scheme I've ever heard you come up with. And that includes the time you tried to convince us all to break into the hotel pool to go swimming in our underwear at 5 am," Alec grouched. "But, you have my attention."

"Your attention, or your word?"

"Fine. You have my word. I'll come on your ridiculous trip with you," Alec grinned. "But I reserve the right to say I told you so if we fail to find the treasure!"

"Trust me, Alexander, we'll find it. I have a good feeling about this."