Chapter 17 – Home
Magnus couldn't believe what was happening. He was standing in Alec Lightwood's bedroom. This was such an unexpected turn of events. But then again, the last two weeks had only presented him with unexpected events. Mostly unpleasant ones though, so Magnus was relieved for a change and a new wave of excitement rushed over his body.
He was so astonished by this event, it took him a couple of seconds to actually start looking around. His eyes wandered from the cream walls to the small wooden night stand that had a picture of Alec, Isabelle and a young boy who looked like he could be Alec's brother. The three of them looked so happy and Magnus had never seen such a genuine smile on Alec's face before. He decided he really liked that picture. Then his eyes continued to explore the white sheeted double bed, where they lingered for almost a minute, and then moved on to Alec's closet. Magnus was glad the sliding door was closed; that way none of Alec's unfashionable clothes would ruin his view, and also because it had a nice crayon drawing pinned on it. It was clumsily drawn, and for some reason Alec's hair was blue, obviously drawn by a toddler. It showed Alec holding up a bow, an arrow nocked, with a small child, Alec's little brother Magnus assumed, standing next to him with a tiny bow and arrow of his own, copying his pose. Magnus smiled at that drawing; he thought it was really sweet of Alec to keep it at his closet door, so every time he would change his clothes his eyes would meet it with fondness.
And that was basically all to see in Alec's room. There were no clothes lying around where they didn't belong; everything was at its rightful place. The room in general lacked personality; it was very simple and tidy, too neat for Magnus's taste.
Hmm, this place could use a little magic, Magnus thought tilting the top of his fingers together imagining the things he could improve in the room. If he had any magic, he would have conjured some brightly colored pillows and piled them on Alec's bed, and some flowers on his night stand to add a little color to the room. And that would have just been the start. But his makeover plans were interrupted when he noticed Alec had been watching him this whole time.
"Sorry," Magnus said and turned to Alec, who was almost leaning on the wall. "I'm all ears." He smiled at Alec and waited.
And eyes and lips and hands and arms and entire body, if that's what you want, Magnus thought as he looked into Alec's mesmerizing eyes. They just stared at each other for a while. Magnus didn't know what to expect from this mysterious call, but it surely was important if it made Alec so tense.
"I'm sorry about your magic." Alec broke the silence finally. His voice was deep but soft in a way that showed he meant those words.
Magnus's smile shrunk a little. He didn't know what to say to that. Now that his anger had been swept away, he felt this hole inside him, this empty feeling like when you compliment a friend and they completely ignore you. Magnus didn't like being ignored. He didn't like that his eternal friend, his magic, was giving him the coldest of shoulders. It felt like a crucial part of him was gone, like he was missing not only a friend, but a part of his soul. He looked down and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Has this ever happened to you before?" Alec asked curiously.
"No," Magnus admitted and looked up at him. "But I've never used so much magic at once either."
Alec gave him such a concerned look that Magnus was afraid his bitterness was showing in his voice. He shook his head and attempted a smile.
"Don't worry about it. It's only a matter of time before it comes back," Magnus answered wondering when that would happen. Sooner rather than later, hopefully.
"Is this why you asked me to come here?" He asked Alec, hoping to change the subject.
"No," Alec said and turned his head away shyly. Magnus waited patiently for him to take his time. He found Alec's struggle to express himself quite adorable. He was blushing even before speaking.
"You… you saved me," Alec finally said so quietly it was like he didn't want to be heard. But Magnus heard him just fine.
"Well, I couldn't just let New York's best looking Shadowhunter die, could I?" He said playfully and smiled at the way the redness spread from Alec's cheeks up to his forehead and down on his neck.
"Magnus, I…" Magnus has never seen Alec struggling like this before and he took pity on him. He was about to tell him there was no need to thank him for what he did and that he would do it again if it came to that, when Alec spoke again.
"Can we go out on our date? I've been really looking forward to it," He said and looked up into Magnus's eyes with determination, despite his fluster.
Magnus was caught completely off guard by Alec's bluntness. His lips parted as a small gasp escaped his throat and suddenly his face felt hot. Was he blushing? How could he be blushing? He was the one struggling with the right words now and he was utterly amazed at how Alec managed to turn the tables on him. He tried to think of a decent answer, but his mind was suddenly overcome with flashes of himself in that dark chamber taking people's lives; all the anguish he had suffered to go through that, all the malice he never imagined he had inside him but in reality was only dormant. He remembered the look of fear on that child's face when he killed that rude Shadowhunter and tortured his friend; and the poisonous vengeance that took ahold of him when he destroyed Valentine's army.
Magnus felt dizzy for a moment; he couldn't breathe and Alec went out of focus. He had to blink a few times and take a deep breath to recompose himself.
"Alec… I would love to," He said with a shaky voice. "But maybe it would be best to wait."
Alec looked at him with a mix of confusion and concern.
"Wait for what?" He asked softly.
"For… this war to be over. Maybe we should… concentrate our forces on capturing Valentine for now," Magnus said and he had to admit he didn't sound half as convincing as he intended to be. He found it ironic that before Valentine kidnapped Alec, Alec had used that same excuse to avoid Magnus. Magnus really disliked this role reversal. But he disliked pretty much everything about himself at the moment, so he didn't know what else to say to make this sound less painful.
Alec felt his insides freeze. He felt so desperate and helpless as if he was facing an entire army of demons all alone. This was even worse than that. If he was facing an army of demons alone he would know it was a hopeless fight. He would accept the defeat, because there wouldn't be any other way around it. But this… Just when he started to get his hopes up, just when he thought things would finally get better… Magnus rejected him. And Alec didn't blame him. Why would Magnus want to be with him after all the trouble he had caused him? Alec felt like such a fool, he should have known better. Magnus wouldn't want him after all this; Alec managed to screw everything up. He just didn't know it would hurt this much. He didn't know it could hurt more than a demon's extinguishing strike. It was even worse than the pain he had felt as his bond with Jace had grown weaker.
"I understand. I should have known you wouldn't want me… after all this," Alec said, clearly upset and avoided Magnus's eyes. Magnus raised his eyebrow at Alec and felt an outbreak of panic rise inside him. How could Alec even assume something like that? This wasn't right. Magnus had to fix it. But before he had a chance to say anything Alec spoke again.
"I have something that's yours," Alec said and took a tie out of his pocket. It was wrinkled, but Magnus recognized it as one of his own. He stared at the shiny silver tie as Alec went on.
"I didn't mean to steal it and I didn't go through your stuff or anything… it was just there." Alec felt very unstable at this point. He felt like he could burst into tears any second.
Magnus fixed his gaze on that tie thinking 'You were in my bedroom… and I wasn't there for it?' Magnus silently cursed Valentine for that occurrence and tried desperately to think of a solution to the awful situation he was stuck in with Alec.
"Put it on me," He said suddenly with confidence.
"What?" Alec sounded stunned and tired.
Magnus nodded to encourage him and Alec shook his head to express "this is stupid, but whatever", but then he worked on putting the tie on Magnus without any results. His hands were shaking, his eyes were filling up with tears and he couldn't focus on the simple task at all.
Magnus knew Alec could tie a tie, you couldn't be a Shadowhunter without mastering this basic ability; and Alec's shaky hands told him everything he needed to know. He couldn't help himself anymore. He took the tie out of Alec's hands and threw it on the floor between them. He looked up at Alec with hungry eyes, but Alec didn't even have time to breathe, because Magnus pinned him against the wall, pulled him down by his shirt and crashed their lips together.
Alec was completely shocked from Magnus's action. He was left breathless as Magnus devoured his lips. Alec shivered from the sensation of Magnus's tongue sliding over his lower lip. Then he shivered even more when Magnus's tongue was sliding against his own, and he eagerly moved his own tongue to meet Magnus's. He let out a sigh into Magnus's mouth which made him kiss Alec even more vigorously.
Alec tasted so delicious Magnus couldn't stop himself. He took a step forward and placed himself between Alec's legs and cupped Alec's burning cheeks with his hands. From lack of room, Alec placed his hands on Magnus's waist and did the best he could to return the passion into Magnus's kisses, which led to Magnus letting out a moan. Magnus broke the kiss to catch his breath for a moment, but then decided that nibbling on Alec's lower lip was far more interesting than breathing, and he felt Alec's knees giving up instantly. But he didn't stop; he leaned his body onto Alec's to fix him on the wall and continued the rough kiss. He kissed him as if it was the last thing he would ever do. He wanted to express all his desperate need for Alec, he wanted to compensate for all the lost moments when he wanted to kiss him, but couldn't. He wanted to make sure Alec knew how much he was desired.
And Alec finally knew. His heart was at a million beats a minute and his chest was burning up from the recognition that Magnus still cared about him. He slowly slid his hands up on Magnus's sides until reaching his cheeks and caressed him with his fingers, drawing smooth lines along his jaw. He desperately needed some air, so he slowed the kiss down gradually and Magnus followed his pace until their lips were only touching. They leaned on each other's foreheads with closed eyes and listened to their heavy breaths and heartbeats fill the silence for a couple of minutes.
"This is how much I want you, Alexander," Magnus whispered and his hot breath brushed Alec's face.
Alec, eyes still closed, hummed softly before wrapping his hands behind Magnus's neck and shoulder, and pulling him in for another kiss. This time the kiss was slow and gentle; Alec wanted to share the happy bubble that formed around him and Magnus and he wished they could stay in this magical moment forever. Alec explored Magnus's mouth with his tongue until he had memorized every inch of it, then pulled away slowly to catch his breath.
Alec opened his eyes and the sight of Magnus just taking in the moment with his eyes still closed made him smile.
"That was something… for a second kiss," Alec said hoarsely, surprised at his swollen lips. He didn't know kissing like that was even possible and he knew it was an experience he would never forget.
"More like a third or fourth kiss," Magnus said and opened his eyes. "Or fifth kiss? I lost count, I'm afraid."
"What are you talking about?" Alec looked at him confused, which made Magnus remember that Alec didn't believe the dream had been real and felt a lump in his stomach. He was worried Alec wouldn't take learning the truth so well. But he had to tell him, nonetheless.
"Do you remember that dream you had a few days ago… when you were at my loft? I was there too," Magnus admitted carefully and watched Alec's face intensely.
"What?" Alec blinked at Magnus a few times to process that information. "Wait, so that was… that was real?" Alec asked with wide eyes and Magnus didn't know what to expect.
"Yes. I visited you in your dream... Is that a bad thing?" Magnus asked apprehensively and held his breath.
Alec didn't know what to say for a moment. He had wished that dream had been real so badly, he never imagined it truly could have happened. Good stuff like that just didn't tend to happen to him. But now that he knew it was indeed real… he felt the bubble of happiness grow stronger around him and he couldn't help but smile from the satisfaction.
"No. No, actually it's… nice." He finally admitted.
Magnus smiled in relief and allowed himself to breathe again.
"Can I take you home?" Alec asked so earnestly that all Magnus could do was nod and let Alec pull him in for a hug.
"I'm so happy you're here," Alec whispered into Magnus's ear and Magnus was relieved that Alec was holding him, because he might have just fainted right there from the hot wave of joy that was drowning him. He didn't feel like he deserved such nice treatment, but he relished in it anyway.
Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec and held him tight. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Alec's shoulder, burying his face in Alec's runed neck and inhaled his sweet and comforting scent. There wasn't any other place in the world he would rather be. As he felt Alec's hands slowly caressing his back, careful enough not to put any pressure on his stab wound, Magnus realized that he was already home. Alec's gentle arms felt like the safest place for him and he never wanted to leave.
"Me too, pumpkin," Magnus said weakly and he felt Alec's muscles on his upper back and shoulders tense up.
Alec pulled away to face Magnus, but Magnus didn't let go of him, he just slid his hands down to Alec's waist. He loved being able to hold him like that that.
"Pumpkin?" Alec asked and flinched disapprovingly.
"You're right," Magnus admitted with a small nod. "You are too pale for a pumpkin." Magnus got excited at the idea of giving Alec cute nicknames.
"How about cherry pie?" He suggested. "Because you're pale on the surface, but you blush very nicely when someone gets under your skin," Magnus talked faster now as he got carried away a little. "And you know, it's delicious and sweet and…"
"Magnus…" Alec interrupted him dreadfully and he could put all the cherries in the world to shame with the red color his face acquired. He put so much emphasis on his next word it made Magnus chuckle. "….no."
A/N: YAY finally! Right!? Hope you guys are happy. ^.^ Now the bad news: this is my last update probably until August. I'm traveling this weekend and won't be back for 2 weeks and I won't be able to update or write anything from where I'm staying. I really wanted to put this up before my trip, so hope you enjoyed it! (And while you guys are waiting maybe you could visit my tumblr, I post some Malec snippets there, things I have in my head but don't really fit in this story: welcometoadaydreamersworld. tumblr. com) There are still 2 or maybe 3 more chapters left of this story, so definitely stay tuned. Thank you for the love *to Mrcultrera: I also had a ridiculously Simon-sized smile on my face when I read your review, I have it on my face when I read all the reviews really, you guys are awesome! ^.^ HUGE THANKS to my precious betas Sabiduria and soccergurl382, they help me make the chapters more magical.