It's here! The 'someday' I promised ;)
I already thanked y'all for reading the story, so I won't do that again, but know that I've read each and every one of your comments and that they made me smile, cry and scream all, at the same time, so THANK YOU. You're the best readers in the world!
Anyway, I hope you like this little glimpse into the future of our favorite duo. It's cheesy, consider yourselves warned, but I think they deserved a little bit of happiness after all I made them go through. Also, just as a PSA, I want you to know that at some point there's a little something that happens in a very famous NYC landmark and well, I just wanted y'all to be aware that doing that (leaving those things there) is no longer possible (there's a fine now), but in the NY of this fic it is, so don't worry about it. Sorry if this is vague, I don't want to spoil what happens, but I thought it was something I had to make clear just in case ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But enough with the rambling, enjoy! Don't forget to leave reviews and/or fave/follow the story!
Epilogue
Alec was waiting for Magnus outside Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. After his trial where not only Alec but Jace too had testified in his favor, Magnus, with a little bit of help from some of the best lawyers in the country had only obtained a four-year prison sentence for the crimes of illegally obtaining classified information and trespassing on federal property.
It had been a difficult trial with weeks and weeks of a lot of stress and uncertainty, but just as Jace had told them, thanks to what Valentine and his son had done for months—using his same MO—Magnus and his lawyers had managed to get all the charges for his past crimes dropped and in the end, he had only been sentenced for breaking into the Library of Congress and having illegally obtained the blueprints of the Federal Reserve Banks. So today, after 1,469 days locked in that place, Magnus was going to walk out of prison being a free man.
It was 11:40 in the morning and although Alec had been there since very early, this last hour had felt like a lifetime. Since Magnus had entered that place Alec had been counting down the days, the hours and the minutes, eagerly waiting for this day to arrive, and now that the time for him to be with Magnus again was only a few seconds away, he did not know what to do with himself.
He was nervous, anxious, unsure of what was going to happen. He had kept his word, and as he had promised Magnus all those years ago when the latter had decided to go to prison, he had visited him every week without fail for four years; and although technically they were still together, Alec wasn't quite sure what Magnus wanted to do with his life once he was out of prison.
Since he had entered that place his boyfriend had flatly refused to talk about the future. Every time Alec had tried to bring to the table what they would do once he was free, Magnus had changed the subject, avoiding making any kind of plan, refusing to talk about his life after he had served his sentence.
Alec understood and respected the reasons that Magnus had to avoid the subject, it was clear that he didn't want to tie Alec with plans of a future that they could never have, but the fact that he understood it didn't make the situation any easier. The uncertainty of not knowing what was in store for them in the now near future was killing him. The moment Alec had given Magnus his heart he had only pictured one future for himself and that future was with him in it, so now that he wasn't sure if Magnus was going to want him in his life once he was free, he didn't know what to do with the tornado of emotions he had inside.
The uncertainty was killing him. Of course he knew that Magnus loved him, he had never doubted it, but he also knew that after being locked up for four years in that place, there was a chance that his boyfriend wanted to do something different when he was a free man, something that didn't include Alec in the picture and-
Alec's phone rang, snapping him out of those thoughts.
"Hi, Iz." He answered immediately.
"How's it going, big bro?" She asked.
"Still waiting...the guard said he would come out until after noon."
"Well, it's almost noon, so it's only a matter of minutes. How are you?"
"Nervous." Alec admitted, although saying that he was just nervous was a big understatement, he was dying on the inside.
"That's normal, but try not to be, everything will be fine."
Alec didn't reply because little did his sister know that that was easier said than done. He had enough reasons to be worried sick and extremely nervous about what would happen today. He had tried to remain positive and stop thinking nonsense, but his mind had been playing games with him all week long.
"You've spent all morning worrying about what we talked about last night, haven't you?"
"No…" He said. He hated that his sister knew him so well.
"Yeah, right...don't lie to me, Alec, I can hear it in your voice."
"Well, maybe a little." He admitted.
"Alec..." She said, exhaling a bit exasperated. In her defense, they had been talking about this for months, and last night, they had had a very long and deep conversation about the matter after Alec had confessed all his fears and doubts, so he knew that by now his sister must be tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. "Magnus loves you, everything will be fine."
"Yes, Alec, Magnus loves you, listen to Izzy." Jace said.
"Am I on speaker?" Alec asked a bit alarmed, he had thought he was just talking to his sister, but apparently he had been wrong.
"Yes?"
"Who else is listening to this conversation?"
"Everybody?"
"Who's everybody?" Alec asked fearfully that that 'everybody' included his parents.
Robert and Maryse Lightwood hadn't been the happiest when Alec had told them all about his relationship with the renowned criminal Magnus Bane. They hadn't been able to scold him since Alec was an adult and could do with his life whatever he wanted, but they also hadn't jumped up and down with happiness when they had learned that their eldest son had been romantically involved with a criminal for months and that their relationship was so serious that even now that Magnus was in jail they were still together. In these four years they had asked him very little about his boyfriend, limiting themselves to ask only if he was okay and still 'visiting that man,' but he supposed that that could change now that Magnus was free and that they could have the chance to know him better...or at least, that was what he hoped for.
"Jace, Simon, Clary and me." Izzy said.
"Double date?"
"Yes, the last one."
"The last one?"
"Well, dah! Starting tomorrow all our dates will be triple dates. Jace and Clary, you and Magnus, and Simon and me."
Alec smiled, he liked how that sounded—a lot. He had always wanted to experience that with his siblings, going out together with their respective partners on double or triple dates. Maybe it was stupid, but even so, it was something he wanted to have the chance to do someday. But before making any plans, he had to wait a bit to see if Magnus still wanted to be with him. "I have to go, Iz, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Well, if everything goes as planned."
"We'll see you tomorrow, send us a text when you both are safe and sound at home and give Magnus a big hug from us. Oh, and tell him that Simon and Clary are dying to meet him. "
"I will, bye."
"Bye."
Alec ended the call and couldn't help glancing at his watch again. He had felt that the call with his sister had lasted for hours, but apparently it had been very short—only ten minutes had passed since the last time he had checked the time. For some reason he couldn't understand, time seemed to be going unusually slow, the second hand was barely moving, it was as if it was going slower on purpose to make his agony even more distressing during these last few minutes.
"I cannot be here." Alec said to no one, getting out of his car and approaching the door of that familiar building.
For four years in a row coming to this place had caused him immense happiness since it was when he had the opportunity to see Magnus, but now that he was standing there, waiting for his boyfriend to finally get out of there, he was hoping that after today he would never have to come back here—not even for work. He hoped that after they left this place for good, everything that had happened years ago could finally be left in the past and that he and Magnus could start a life together. That life full of happiness and good things that they both had dreamed of.
To kill the time, Alec began to pace back and forth in front of the door while he checked his last text messages. Almost all of them were of their friends asking Alec to give Magnus a hug once he was free or wishing them both a sweet and happy reunion. Alec was now a very good friend of all of Magnus's friends and so were his siblings. What they all had gone through and the strong bond between Alec and Magnus had turned them into a big, big family.
Alec had never had many friends, he had always been a solitary person, he didn't hang out with many people, just his siblings, some people from work, and sometimes with his siblings' friends, but now, thanks to his relationship with Magnus, he had his own group of friends and he loved them with every fiber of his being—even Ragnor, who always made fun of him.
The clock struck 11:55 a.m. and Alec's heart picked up a beat. He glanced toward the front door of the building from which Magnus would come out in just a moment and tried to take deep breaths to calm his nerves. He had been waiting for this moment for years and yet, it was a little hard to believe that now it was only a matter of minutes before he could be with the man he loved again.
11:56 a.m. Alec's hands began to sweat.
11:57 a.m. The air began to thicken and he had to gasp for breath.
11:58 a.m. His stomach knotted—it was almost time.
11:59 a.m. Alec's heart did a somersault.
When the clock struck 12:00, a guard opened the door and Magnus, wearing the clothes Alec had brought for him that morning, walked out the front door of the prison. He had a big smile on his face and looked radiant, as Alec hadn't seen him in a very long time. Maybe since they had spent those romantic days together after their New Year's getaway more than four years ago.
"Magnus..." Alec said, letting out a sigh that was half relief half happiness, but not moving from where he was standing. He didn't know what to do, he had no idea if he should run to Magnus or wait for the latter to come to where he was instead. Alec really didn't want to overwhelm him, he knew how difficult this moment could be for him, but it had been so long since they had seen each other out in the open that for a second, Alec allowed himself not to think and instead just ran towards him, hugging him so tightly that he was almost certain Magnus couldn't breathe properly.
"I love you." Alec whispered in Magnus's ear just in case his embrace hadn't been clear enough, and when Magnus hugged him back and whispered that he loved him more, Alec realized that all that fear and uncertainty he'd been feeling for months had been stupid. They loved each other and that hadn't changed over the years, on the contrary, it had only grown stronger.
"You smell so good," Magnus said, inhaling Alec's cologne heavily, "I almost forgot that smell."
"No you didn't." Alec smiled, kissing him softly as if Magnus were made out of paper, but Magnus had other plans because without warning, he grabbed his face and deepened the kiss.
Alec felt how with that romantic exchange his knees went weak and his heart beat faster, almost jumping out of his chest. They were standing there outside Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, but it was as if they were in Alec's old apartment where they had kissed for the first time; or in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge where they had sealed with a passionate kiss the decision to start a relationship; or on the balcony of Magnus's loft with the city skyline behind them; or-
"You have no idea how much I've missed you." Magnus said.
"You saw me last week." Alec replied with a smile as he tried to catch his breath. That kiss and the smile that had been lighting Magnus's face since they had reunited had completely disarmed him. He couldn't help it, this man always took his breath away.
"No," Magnus said, shaking his head to emphasize what he was saying, "the old Magnus saw you last week, this Magnus, the Magnus I should have always been has never seen you."
"Silly." Alec said, smiling and hugging him again just to make sure he was really there with him. He had been imagining this moment for so long that he had to make sure it wasn't yet another of his very vivid dreams—luckily for him, it wasn't.
"Let me take you home." Alec said.
"I'm already home, Alexander." Magnus answered with such sincerity that Alec almost started crying right there on the spot.
"Are you ever going to stop being so ridiculous when you fall in love? Not even four years locked up in that place took that away from you." Ragnor said.
Magnus turned around abruptly and when he noticed that both Ragnor and Raphael were there, he ran up to them to hug them. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that some things had changed since the last time he had seen them and that his dear friends, besides having aged a bit over the years, were now holding hands.
Alec knew about them, he had known that they were a couple for some time now, but he hadn't said anything; they had asked him not to tell Magnus the good news because they wanted to surprise him once he was free.
"I knew it!" Magnus exclaimed loudly. "I knew it! I knew it! "He said again and again, pointing at their entwined hands.
"Oh, por Dios, Bane, cut it out, it's nothing out of the extraordinary." Raphael said, rolling his eyes in a dramatic and exaggerated way.
"Since when?" Magnus asked curiously.
Alec knew it had been years, they had been together almost since Magnus had been convicted.
"Does it matter?" Raphael questioned.
"No." Magnus said, smiling broadly and hugging them both.
Alec took a few steps back to give them some space. He knew how much Magnus had missed his friends. He hadn't seen them in the four years he had been in prison, not because his friends didn't want to visit him, no, but because they couldn't. Alec had helped them to stay out of trouble and had cleared their files from the FBI database, but they were still suspects in some minor crimes and couldn't risk coming to visit Magnus to a high-security prison no matter how much they wanted to see him. It had been hard for all of them and although they had stayed in touch through some letters they had been sending to each other through Alec, it hadn't been the same. He knew that Magnus had missed them terribly...they were his family.
"How have you been? You two look so old!" Magnus said.
"Look who's talking!" Ragnor exclaimed, offended.
"He doesn't look old." Alec intervened, trying to defend the flawless appearance of his boyfriend, who despite having spent four years locked up in a prison, looked as handsome, young and radiant as ever—if not more.
"Your opinion doesn't count, Alec, you're biased." Ragnor pointed out.
"I'm not," he said, "well, maybe a bit, but still, look at him! He's perfect."
Magnus turned around to look at him and smiled—there was a slight blush on his cheeks and Alec couldn't resist the temptation to kiss him.
"You two are so ridiculous." Ragnor said, rolling his eyes as if disgusted by the display of affection he had just witnessed.
They all laughed and Magnus hugged his friends again. "You have no idea how much I missed your beautiful faces, but seriously, how have you been?"
"We've been okay, staying out of trouble for once."
"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Magnus joked, and Alec chuckled.
"Well, you shouldn't find it hard to believe, we've been good, really, your boyfriend here can attest to that, he's been keeping an eye on us."
"Really?" Magnus asked intrigued.
"Well," Alec said, shrugging, "someone had to reform these two, don't you think?"
Magnus laughed. "You have a strange effect on people, Alexander."
Alec smiled. "Not all merit is mine, Tessa also helped."
"How?"
"She gave us jobs." Ragnor said.
"You work for Tessa now?" Magnus asked surprised.
"Yes, I am her sommelier and Raphe here is her manager."
"You two have jobs." Magnus said still in surprise.
"Yes."
"Real jobs."
"Yes, real jobs, Bane." Raphael said exasperatedly.
"How do you manage to keep that expensive lifestyle you were used to?" Magnus asked curiously.
"Our salaries are pretty good, besides," Ragnor lowered his voice, as if to prevent Alec from listening, though he knew he could hear him perfectly, "we have some savings...from before, you know?" He said with a wink, and Alec just rolled his eyes.
He knew perfectly well that Ragnor and Raphael had kept the money and other things they had stolen in their time as criminals. Alec had donated and returned what Magnus had left for him, but these two hadn't gotten rid of anything.
"That explains everything." Magnus said with a laugh.
"Well," Raphael said, "we'd better go, we're happy to see you and all, but this place isn't the safest for us, we're outside a high-security prison and although technically we all here are free men, it's better not to risk it."
"Always the careful one." Magnus said.
"Someone has to save your sorry asses, you and this one," he said, pointing at Ragnor, "have a knack for getting into trouble that sometimes I find hard to believe. I've already lost count of how many problems I've had to solve since we first met. Let's be honest, if I weren't here taking care of you all the time, you two would be locked up in there for life," he pointed to the prison building, "or worse...dead."
"You give yourself a lot of credit, Santiago." Magnus said.
"Do I? Anyway, see you later, Bane...Alec. "
"Wait, you guys aren't coming with us?" Magnus asked confused.
"Hmmm, not today. We'll be there tomorrow, though," Ragnor said, "Alec organized a welcome home party for you and of course we'll be there to drink all your wine."
"You organized a party for me, Alexander?" Magnus asked surprised.
"Yes, I-" Alec was saying when Ragnor interrupted him.
"He didn't organize it, his sister did, but he's pretending that he did to score some points with you."
"First of all, I don't need to score points with him, he's my boyfriend, and second, I did organize it!" Alec protested in self-defense.
"Alexander, dear, you're not a party person." Magnus said, and well, Alec really couldn't deny that statement. He wasn't a party person, he had never been and probably never would be.
"Okay, I didn't organize it," Alec said, giving up; it was hard to argue when the person you were arguing with knew you better than you knew yourself, "but I did suggest it, plus, I'll be hosting it, so that should count for something."
"I love you so much." Magnus said with a smile.
"I love you too."
"Okay, let's go before they start making out." Raphael hurried to say.
"See you tomorrow!" Ragnor exclaimed, hugging them both goodbye.
Alec and Magnus waited until Ragnor and Raphael disappeared from view to move.
"Are you ready to go and never come back here again?" Alec asked his boyfriend.
Magnus looked at the building where he had spent the last four years of his life and then at Alec. "More than ready, my love."
o-o-o-o-o
Magnus was so happy that he felt like crying, screaming and jumping, all at the same time. He had been dreaming so much about this day and picturing how the beginning of his life with Alec would be that now that it had finally arrived and that he had Alec by his side, he felt as if he were about to explode with happiness.
For four years he had refused to talk about what would happen once he was free, not because he didn't want to, no, but because he had known that life was uncertain and that a lot of things could happen while he was locked up serving his sentence. It had been true that Alec had continued visiting him every week without fail, but Magnus had not wanted to tie him up with plans and dreams about a future together when he still wasn't the man Alec deserved to have by his side—a free man. He had wanted Alec to feel free to love someone else if he wanted to and not feel the need to wait for Magnus to continue living his life. But, well, week after week after week, the agent had surprised him not only by being there on time to visit him and spend time with him, but by showing him with small details how much he wanted to be with him, and how, despite the complexity of their situation, his love for him hadn't changed.
In all the years that Magnus had been in prison, Alec had never made him feel bad for all the time they hadn't been able to be together, on the contrary, the agent had found the way to make the most of their situation by writing him letters every day not only to keep him abreast of his life despite what separated them, but to make sure he had something to read during the week. Magnus's only motivation to endure the days of confinement in that horrible place and not go insane as time went by had been those letters. Alec's words had made him feel alive in ways the agent could never imagine and-
"Are you okay?" Alec asked him.
The agent was driving them home, to Magnus's old loft, the one he had left for Alec and that Alec hadn't been able to get rid of and instead, had turned into his new home, moving there three weeks after Magnus had been convicted.
Magnus nodded. "It's just that I still can't believe this is really true, you know?"
Alec smiled and took Magnus's hand in his. "It's true, Magnus, you're free...for good."
Magnus took a deep breath. That was something he had never thought would be possible, but Alec was right, it was true. He was free, not only from his father who had died all those years ago when he had tried to kill Alec and Isabelle had intervened just in time, but he was also free from his past life—from all his mistakes. There was a life ahead for him, a life full of opportunities, of new experiences and he was going to spend it with the man he loved by his side...forever, or like people said, until death do them part.
"Can you make a detour?" Magnus asked out loud. His thoughts had reminded him of something, something that was waiting for them in a place not so far away from there.
"Don't you want to go home?"
Magnus nodded. "Of course I want to go, but first I want to go somewhere else."
"Okay...where do you want us to go?" Alec asked.
"The Brooklyn Bridge."
Alec smiled. "I was already planning on taking you there tomorrow for a lunch date before the party. We have to leave the loft free so my sister can go and organize everything, so I thought it would be nice to go there and take a walk down memory lane."
"We can go again tomorrow if you want, but I really want to go there right now."
"Why?"
"There's something there that I need today." Magnus confessed, feeling very excited for a moment.
Alec looked at him with those questioning eyes that Magnus loved so much and frowned. It was clear that he wanted to know what was that that Magnus suddenly needed and that was on that iconic bridge.
"Eyes on the road, mister." Magnus told him.
Alec rolled his eyes and Magnus just laughed. "Roll your eyes as many times as you want, my love, you won't get a word from me, you'll have to wait until we get there to know why I want us to go today."
"Sometimes I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"No, I don't." Alec admitted with a smile.
Alec parked the car near the McLaughlin Park in Brooklyn and turned off the engine, looking at Magnus with wondering eyes. "Do we have to get out of the car? It's very hot out there."
"Yes," Magnus said, opening his door, "come on, Alexander! There's no time to waste!"
Alec chuckled, but got out of the car, immediately approaching Magnus and taking him by the hand, interlacing their fingers together. That little thing made Magnus's heart beat even faster than it already was. He looked at their now entwined hands and an overwhelming feeling of happiness hit him. This would be their lives from now on, they would be free to walk the streets like any other couple, holding hands, sharing sweet nothings in public and letting the world see their love.
"You okay?" Alec asked again.
"More than okay." He said, squeezing Alec's hand to emphasize his point. "Come on!"
"Are you going to tell me what's in here?" Alec questioned.
Magnus shook his head and just kept walking, slowly making his way to the center of the bridge while enjoying the stroll. The sun was at its highest point and as Alec had said back in the car, it was very hot, but it wasn't that bad. There weren't many people walking around, so that was letting them appreciate the view of the city and its surrounding areas in all its glory. Besides, Magnus was just happy to be able to walk with Alec through this place like they had never done before—as a free couple.
"Did you know that sixteen workers died during the construction of this bridge?" Magnus said out of the blue.
"No, but thanks for the invaluable information." Alec laughed.
"You want more? In 1884, twenty-one elephants walked the bridge to show people that it was safe."
"You're joking, right?"
"No, this is New York, Alexander, anything can happen here. So, how do you convince a bunch of fearful New Yorkers that their newest bridge can offer safe transport to the commuters? With elephants, of course! Since the most common haven for trained elephants in the 1880s was a circus tent, the city called upon entrepreneurial showman P.T. Barnum to march twenty-one elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge to show people just how sturdy the span was."
"You're messing with me, I can't believe that."
"Google it."
Alec laughed and Magnus joined him, it was good for a little change to be able to just be together and enjoy a walk while talking nonsense.
They reached the middle of the bridge and Magnus immediately got closer to where people attached padlocks or 'love locks' to the bridge's pedestrian promenade and began to look for his. He had left one there many years ago on one of those crazy nights when he had allowed himself to hope for a better future.
"What are you doing?" Alec asked intrigued.
"Isn't it obvious? Stealing one of these locks." Magnus joked.
"Ha, ha very funny. Seriously, what are you doing?"
Magnus ignored him and just kept looking, exclaiming with happiness when he finally found the one he was looking for. There were a lot more padlocks than when he had been there to put his, so it had taken him some time to find the small metal object. "I knew you were still here." He said with a smile.
"You put that one in there?" Alec asked, looking at the padlock with confused eyes.
"Yes." Magnus smiled. "Now, could you give me the key?"
"The key?" Alec asked even more confused. "I don't have it."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
Magnus smiled. "It's the key to the loft," he explained, "only one person besides myself had it and that person gave it to you at my request."
"Oh." Alec exclaimed, putting two and two together.
"I had this lock made so that it would only open with that key for that very reason."
"That's very sweet, but why do you want to take it off, it looks good in there." Alec said. "It's like a little piece of you in this big old city."
Magnus rolled his eyes. "You'll see in just a second why I want to take it off, now, can I have the key or not?"
Alec frowned, but handed Magnus the key. Magnus's eyes fixed on Alec's key-chain. It was a very elegant yet abstract design of a silver heart with both their initials engraved on it. "How appropriate." He whispered more to himself.
"Why?"
Magnus didn't reply and instead just took off the lock, immediately showing it to Alec—it had an «A» and an «M» engraved on it too.
"Aww, see? Leave it there with the others, it's a nice touch and-" Alec was saying, but Magnus didn't let him finish and instead just turned the key over a second time and opened the lock in two.
Like everything with Magnus, nothing was what it seemed and this padlock was no exception. It wasn't just an ordinary padlock that he had decided to put in there for the sake of cramming the bridge with yet another declaration of love, it was a locket and he had put something inside a little over four years ago.
"Magnus..." Alec breathed out when he realized what was about to happen.
"I put this here as a promise to us." Magnus said before he lost the courage he had managed to muster since he had been released from prison. His heart was beating hard as he watched the white gold ring he had bought for Alec shimmer in the sunlight. "I knew that our time together was limited, but that didn't stop me from dreaming about having a life with you or being able to find a way for us to be together...forever."
"Magnus, I..."
"Shhh, let me finish. Catarina is the only one who knows about the existence of this ring, she helped me plan this as she did with everything else. I asked her to tell you about it only if something bad happened to me, but since I didn't die and we're still together, I guess I can finally ask you what I've been wanting to ask you for four years now." Magnus said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "This ring represents my heart, Alexander, and I want you to have because it's been yours all this time. I knew it the first time we were in this same bridge and we kissed. I knew it the first time we made love and you fell asleep whispering my name. There's no one else for me and now that I can finally allow myself to think about the future, I want you to know that I want to be with you forever. I was never allowed to think about tomorrow, I was never allowed to think about having a different life, a better life, but then you came into my life and showed me that despite all the bad things I'd done, I could think about tomorrow and have that life I'd always dreamed of. You gave me a second chance in life, Alec, and I really, really want to spend the rest of that new life with you. So...Alexander Gideon Lightwood, my one true love, my better half, would you do me the greatest honor of becoming my husband?" He asked.
Alec was speechless, he looked surprised, there were tears in his eyes and he seemed to be holding his breath.
"I know I have nothing left to offer you, I am an ex-convict without a job, money or any plan for the future, but I love you. I love you with every fiber of my being and that's never going to change. Maybe I'm four years too late, maybe this isn't what you want. I know that a lot of things have happened since this started but-"
"Yes!" Alec exclaimed, kissing him repeatedly. "Yes, yes and a thousand times yes!"
Magnus smiled, feeling his heart doing thousands of somersaults inside his chest. "Risks and all?" He asked.
"Risks and all!"
Magnus slipped the ring on Alec's finger and kissed his hand when it fit perfectly. The few New Yorkers who had witnessed what had happened began to clap, but neither Magnus nor Alec could hear them. They were in their own little bubble where only the two of them existed and the rest of the world didn't matter.
"I love you." Magnus whispered.
"And I love you too."
This bridge had witnessed the first chapter of their story together and now, four years later, was witnessing what promised to be the beginning of their happily ever after.
o-o-o-o-o
Alec felt like he was dreaming. When he had planned this day he had never imagined that by the time they got home he would not only be with the man he loved again, but he would be engaged to him as well.
He had thought that today was going to be a difficult day for them, not only as a couple but as individuals, he had thought that adjusting to their new reality was going to take them some time and that was why he had organized the welcome home party for the next day. Alec had not wanted to overwhelm Magnus with unexpected and annoying visits on his very first day back home. After all, today was going to be the first time in four years that he was going to eat a proper meal, take a nice hot bath and go to sleep in his own bed, but as per usual, the former criminal—his fiance—had surprised him and had managed to give him the surprise of his life, making this day even more special than it already was.
"You're thinking too loud." Magnus pointed out.
They were in the elevator of their building, hoping to finally get home together after these years of separation.
"I'm sorry." Alec smiled at him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," Alec said, "I was just thinking how you managed to surprise me with this." He raised the hand where he now wore that white gold ring that Magnus had given him less than an hour ago. "I'm so happy to have you back."
Magnus smiled at him and took him by the hand just as the elevator stopped on the top floor of the building. They quickly stepped out of it and hand in hand, headed toward their home.
Alec was a bit nervous, so he took a deep breath before opening the door. "Welcome home!" He told Magnus, motioning him to step inside first.
In the last four years, Alec had made some changes in their home and he wasn't sure if Magnus was going to like them or not. For starters, he had gotten rid of all the stolen art pieces Magnus had had scattered around and had replaced them with his boyfriend's originals, which he had found in the storage room that Magnus kept in the basement of the building. The furniture was practically the same although he had made some additions here and there, bringing some old things from his own apartment and combining their styles. There were a lot more books on the shelves, of course, and the Chairman had a brand new bed, courtesy of his Aunt Izzy.
"I like the way it looks." Magnus said, looking around and taking it all in. "It's beautiful, it's very...us."
"Do you really think that?" Alec asked, still a bit iffy. There was a big smile on Magnus's face, but he had been smiling since he'd walked out of prison, so there was no way of knowing if the smile was because he really liked how the place looked or because he was just happy to be free.
"Of course!" Magnus said, pacing around the living room and examining everything in detail.
There was something else Alec had added to their home that Magnus had never had before: picture frames. Now there were pictures of Alec's family, of Magnus's friends, and of course of them together all around the loft. Alec had filled the place with all the photos they had taken together that weekend when Magnus had stayed in Alec's old apartment and during their New Year's getaway. Magnus had had those photos stored in his personal safe to which Alec had had access after Catarina had given him everything Magnus had left for him.
"I..." Alec started to say, but Magnus didn't seem to be listening. He was walking toward the coffee table with his eyes fixed on a picture. It was Alec's favorite, he had a copy of it on the desk in his office—they both were laughing out loud, Magnus had tried to say some romantic quote from a book but had failed and they had just burst out laughing until their stomachs had hurt. It had been an unplanned picture and their smiles were so genuine that it was hard not to notice how happy they had been at that time.
"I...hmmm, we can take them away if you don't want them. I just thought it would be nice to have them in the house and-" Alec started to say, but Magnus cut him off.
"Are you kidding? I love them, each and every one of them." Magnus said.
Alec smiled and exhaled relieved. That was good to know since there were too many pictures scattered throughout the loft and taking them all away would have taken them some time.
"Do you want to know why I'd never had picture frames before?" Magnus asked.
Alec nodded. He had always been curious as to why Magnus didn't have pictures of the people he loved at home, but he had never dared to ask out of respect for the privacy of his now fiance.
"Because I never really had a home before, Alexander." Magnus said, and Alec's heart began to beat faster...again. At this point Alec was a bit worried about its condition, it had been a day full of so many emotions that he feared that his heart couldn't resist them anymore and ended up jumping out of his chest.
"These little things," Magnus continued, pointing to the picture frames, "are what make a place become a home. I love pictures, I think of them as frozen memories that people want to keep alive forever, but I could never afford to have them in any of the places I lived. First, because I hadn't found someone with whom I wanted to start a home, and second, because with my old profession having this," he pointed to the picture of them both, "was extremely dangerous."
"But now it's not and you can have a home with me. We can freeze as many memories as you want." Alec said, getting closer to Magnus.
"Yeah, I know…" Magnus said, "and that's all I want to do, I want to be with you forever and-"
Alec leaned over to kiss Magnus and keep him from talking. He knew that if he let his fiance continue, he would end up crying again and he didn't want that. He had cried a lot already and today was supposed to be a day of celebration. Up until now, all his tears had been of happiness, but even so, he really didn't want to start crying again.
"I've missed this," Magnus whispered, "I've missed us and-" he was saying when the Chairman finally decided to come into the living room to investigate who was visiting them, or rather who had returned home.
"Look who's home, Chairman!" Alec exclaimed excitedly. "Your other dad!"
The cat looked at Magnus with some hesitation, as if he didn't recognize him after all these years, but as soon as Magnus knelt on the floor and spoke to him, the cat came up to him, purring and letting Magnus pet him.
"He missed you," Alec said, "we both missed you."
Magnus picked up the cat and got closer to Alec. "Well, we're together again."
"We are." Alec smiled. "Do you want to eat something? You must be starving! I have everything ready, all the food you like." He said, already making his way to the kitchen. He had ordered everything Magnus liked so that he could eat whatever he wanted today. "Tessa sent all your favorite dishes and Cat baked you a cake, she said it was your favorite when you were younger. I can go heat the food and set the table and-"
Magnus stopped him by the arm. "I'm not that hungry...yet."
"Oh, okay, then what do you want to do? Tell me, I want to spoil you!"
Magnus put the cat down on the couch and just looked at Alec. Alec didn't know what to do or say, but just as he was about to ask Magnus what he wanted, Magnus surprised him by giving him a bone-crushing hug. His fiance wasn't saying anything, he was just hugging him tightly as if he were his anchor.
"Are you okay?" Alec asked after the first five minutes. He didn't mind hugging Magnus, on the contrary, he could spend the rest of his life doing just that and he would be more than happy. If he was honest, he just wanted to be as close to Magnus as possible, but, well, Magnus had gone through a lot in the last few years and he wanted to make sure that he was okay—physically and mentally.
"Better than ever, it's just that..." Magnus trailed off, his voice cracking a bit.
"Hey, it's fine, it's fine..." Alec said, looking into Magnus's eyes, "…take your time."
"It's just that, it's just that I find this hard to believe," Magnus said, "all of this. We are at home, together, and this time is forever and-"
"It's real, Magnus, this is your life now, this is our life."
"Our life." Magnus repeated Alec's words as if he were barely registering the concept.
Alec nodded and gave him a tender kiss, but with all the emotions that had been going back and forth between them since they had reunited, the kiss quickly escalated and soon they were panting for air, barely separating to take some deep breaths.
"Let's go to our room." Magnus said.
"Okay..." Alec replied, feeling that familiar swarm of butterflies that he'd missed so much in the pit of his stomach. It had been so, so long since the last time they had been like this, together, in the privacy of their home and with all the time in the world to love each other that even though Alec knew it was real he still felt as though he was dreaming. They had nothing to worry about, their time together, unlike four years ago, was no longer limited and-
"Have I told you how well you look when you wear colors?" Magnus said, unceremoniously removing the cobalt blue shirt that Izzy had helped him choose for today.
"I thought you liked it better when I wore leather."
"Well, I can't argue with that," Magnus said, smiling, "leather looks good on you, really good and it's my weakness, but I also like a bit of color."
They walked to their room, still kissing and stumbling over their own clothes, giggles were erupting from both of them and filling the atmosphere with pure bliss. Alec was so happy that he felt he could practically fly.
"Bath first?" Alec suggested.
"Join me?"
"Of course."
Alec pushed Magnus into their room and closed the door behind them, but just as he turned around to continue with what they had been doing, he realized that Magnus had stopped abruptly when he had seen the interior of the room. As with the rest of the loft, Alec had made some changes there as well, he had added an extra wardrobe, changed the bedding and added a reading table, but Magnus wasn't looking at any of that, he had his eyes fixed on the painting Alec had put just above the bed. It was the same one Magnus had given him all those years ago when Alec had visited this place for the first time and stayed to spend the night.
"You kept it..." Magnus said.
"It's probably my favorite of all your paintings." Alec confessed.
Magnus smiled. He was looking at the painting as if he were seeing it for the first time. Alec knew what was going through his mind—the same thing that had gone through Alec's the first time he had seen it.
"You really were my light out of the woods." Magnus said.
Alec hugged him from behind and left a soft kiss on his neck. "I love you."
Magnus smiled and turned around so he could see Alec in the face. "We're getting married!" He said as if it was just dawning on him that they were really going to spend the rest of their lives together.
"Yes." Alec smiled.
"You're going to be stuck with me forever."
"I was already stuck with you forever," Alec admitted, "from the moment we met, actually."
"On that rooftop?"
"Yeah, I think it started there. We didn't know, but I'm convinced that our story started to write itself there."
"Well, I think you're right. You didn't catch me back then, but you did have my full attention from that moment on. You got under my skin and now, look at us, ten years later and here we are, starting a life together, Alexander."
"Agent Lightwood for you." Alec said, remembering that first encounter.
"That sounds a bit formal, don't you think, dear? It doesn't suit you. What about Agent Pretty Boy, huh? That's better."
Alec smiled. "Hmmm, I kind of don't hate it as much as I used to, but no, I think I'll go with Agent Lightwood-Bane if you don't mind, I like that one better."
"Oh, well, I..." Magnus smiled, "that does sound better."
"Right?"
"Although I'm not sure if taking my last name is the best option for a respected and successful agent like yourself, I'm flattered, but we can't forget who I am...was and-"
Alec put a finger in front of Magnus's lips to silence him. "Hey, I'm the captain of the New York White-Collar division and like you said, I'm a very respected and successful agent, I think that gives me the right to do whatever the hell I want with my personal life. And do you know what I want to do with it? I want to marry you and use your last name. I want everyone to know who I'm with and who I love. I don't care what people think, I'm proud of you and that includes everything you've done, good and bad. And besides, Lightwood-Bane sounds pretty badass, I like it."
Magnus chuckled. "I like it too."
Alec smiled and kissed him. "So...bath?"
"I scored big in life with you," Magnus said, "better than breaking into the best casino in the world."
"You flatter me." Alec joked.
"No, I'm serious, for years, I wanted to make the perfect score, more than once I thought I'd done it—the casino in Vegas, Versailles, the Spanish bonds, the Federal Reserve—but you know what? I was very, very wrong, you were my perfect score, Alexander."
Alec smiled, feeling the blood rushing to his cheeks, he didn't know what to say.
"I'm going to be the man you deserve, my love," Magnus continued, "maybe right now I have nothing to offer you since I'm unemployed, with a criminal record and no idea what I'm going to do with my life, but I can promise you that I'll be the man you deserve and-"
"Shhhh," Alec silenced him, "you've always been the man I deserve, never doubt that, and don't worry about what you're going to do with your life, you need time and now we have forever, so relax, there's no hurry. Your husband-to-be has a bank account with some zeros in it, so don't worry, we'll be just fine."
Magnus smiled. "You're right."
"I'm always right."
"Debatable."
Alec laughed again. That seemed to be the only thing they were going to be doing for the rest of their lives, laughing, smiling, being happy together.
"Who's coming tomorrow?" Magnus asked.
"All our friends and family, oh, and Simon and Clary...Izzy and Jace's respective boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Am I going to meet Valentine's famous daughter?"
"Yes."
"Interesting..." Magnus said, "at what time do we have to leave so that Isabelle can organize everything?"
"She said she would be here at noon, the rest will arrive later."
Magnus counted down the hours with his fingers—it was barely 3 p.m. "Then we have twenty-one hours to make up for four years." He said, already unfastening Alec's pants.
Alec shook his head. "We have a lifetime, Magnus."
Magnus smiled. "A lifetime...I really like the sound of that."
"Me too." Alec admitted and kissed him, taking his time to feel him, to touch him, to enjoy the moment.
Because it was true what he had just said, they had a lifetime together and Alec was planning on enjoying every second of it to the fullest. The future was uncertain and as they had already seen, a lot of things could happen, but now more than ever, he was sure that no matter what happened or the obstacles that life decided to put in their ways, they were always going to come out victorious of them; because what they had, that immense love they felt for each other, was stronger than everything, and now that they were together, there was nothing and no one who could tear them apart.
The End.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it, it's been quite the adventure, but I'm really happy with the result. If you want to help me promote it, please be my guest, in my blog you can find a post with all the info about the story (word count, status, etc), but feel free to tell your friends about it and where to find it. Also remember that all my stories are posted on AO3 as well (I'm more active there) ;)
Anyway, I'll see you soon for some brand new malec stories! Come yell at me on tumblr or twitter, I'm nice, I promise :) (links in my bio)