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English
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Published:
2022-01-17
Completed:
2022-02-02
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18,246
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9/9
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The Big L.

Summary:

It took a few seconds before Simon cleared his throat. “So, Alec Lightwood, huh? What’s our status?”

Magnus shrugged, tried his best to steady his racing, deceitful heart and swallowed hard before answering. “Same as it has always been; we hate him.”

---

OR that time Magnus got more than he bargained for - in the best possible way.

Notes:

I celebrate going back to work after a long leave of absence with posting my new fic. This will become explicit eventually, but it will be skippable.

This fic is completed, it only needs final editing, so updates are to be expected every second or third day.

The title is a song by Roxette, to honor the heritage of the fic.

A huge shout out to Ariandis, for your support and 'legal advice' among other things. Without you, I would never have been able to get this one together.

NoMansLand_2020, my lovely beta, who makes sure I stay somewhat within the lines of the English grammar. I'll be forever grateful for all the time you invest in me.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

 

 

“Have you lost your fucking mind!?“ Magnus stared wide-eyed at the senior partner and friend. “In what universe would I ever agree to this?“

Ragnor snorted. “You're talking as if you have a choice. This case is extremely important to this firm, and we need to win it.“

“I could work with anyone in this city except him. He's an uptight, smug, privileged-“

“And the only one who could give you a run for your money,“ Ragnor cut him off. “You want to make senior; this is the way. You and Alec Lightwood will work this case – together.“ Ragnor pointed a finger at him, punctuating every word. 

Magnus crossed his arms across his chest and huffed. He stared a long while at his friend and boss before he defiantly tilted his chin up. “Fine. But only because I do love a challenge.“

Walking back to his office, Magnus went through what he already knew about his, what now seemed to be, new partner. To be honest, he didn't really know him and yet Magnus considered him to be his archnemesis. Magnus himself had met Alec Lightwood several times in the past; in court passing by, argued with him at parties, and had stolen clients from and had them stolen by him. Not to mention that people, even Magnus’ co-workers, loved to talk about the man, praising him for every little thing he did at that blood-sucking company. Why Alec wanted to leave the Institute and join their firm was a mystery Magnus wasn’t interested in solving. Alec Lightwood hadn't even said one nice word to Magnus other than the usual greetings. Those were, however, often delivered with such indifference, as if the man would rather eat his own jacket than talk to Magnus. Magnus snorted at the thought. Alec Lightwood thought he was better than everyone. All this combined made Magnus come down to one conclusion - Alec Lightwood was an ass.

Much to Magnus’ surprise, his office wasn’t empty as he opened the door. Magnus glared at the intruder. Well maybe not really an intruder, but unwanted. Magnus stopped on the threshold, narrowing his eyes as he took in the scene before him. As if it wasn't enough that this man had entered Magnus' office uninvited, he had sat himself behind his desk. Magnus felt the anger rise in his chest but he wasn’t at all surprised by the audacity of this man. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Magnus snarled. 

The man didn't even flinch, and that just fueled the rage coursing through Magnus’ veins. He watched as the intruder leaned back in Magnus’ chair, clutching his hands behind the head. “A simple hello would have sufficed,” he smirked. He smirked . At this point, Magnus was seething, and in his mind, this man was already incinerated.  

“That was not an answer to my question,” Magnus spat, still vibrating with anger. “Why are you in my office, in my chair?”

The man stared at him for a while before he cocked an eyebrow. “Possessive much? Hope that’s not gonna be a problem since we’re supposed to work together.” Magnus watched him as he stood up,  walked around the desk, and stepped in too close, right into Magnus’ personal space. “Should we perhaps start over? I’m Alec Lightwood, your new partner,” he said as he stretched out his hand. 

Magnus huffed loudly, but he still let his guard down the tiniest bit. “This is ridiculous! We know who we are.” Alec didn’t respond. He just tilted his head a little to the side, raised that ridiculously perfect eyebrow once more, and looked challenging down on his hand. 

Magnus let his eyes follow Alec’s, now also staring at his hand. Magnus had never really studied the man up close before, but of course his hand was as perfect as everything else so far. Those long fingers set Magnus’ imagination on fire, how they would feel, how they would easily wrap around- No, no, NO! There would be no thinking of Alec’s hand and its possibilities. Nor the ridiculously toned forearm it was attached to. Before he could stop himself, he let his eyes trail higher over what seemed to be an unfairly well-defined bicep underneath layers of fabric, over an absurdly broad shoulder up to Alec’s neck. Something caught his attention; black ink was visible above the collar on the left side of his neck. It almost looked like a giant Z, and it stood out stark against his skin, enticingly calling out to Magnus. 

How had he not seen that before? Maybe it was new.  It had been a few weeks since their paths crossed. Magnus swallowed hard at the sight, and he realized that he was staring when he heard the other man chuckle. Magnus snorted loudly and took the stretched out hand. “I’m Magnus Bane.” Their eyes locked and to Magnus’ surprise, there was a tingling feeling that spread from his hand up through his arm at the touch of the other man’s hand. The unfamiliar feeling made his breath hitch, and Magnus jerked his hand back, letting go of Alec’s. The smug grin on Alec’s face told Magnus that his reactions weren’t unnoticed.

“I just dropped by to get a copy of our case file,” Alec stated. 

“Talk to my PA, Simon, and he'll help you,” Magnus snapped. 

“You know we’ll have to cooperate for this to actually work out?” Magnus didn’t miss the amused, almost condescending tone.

Despite the way that tone set Magnus' blood on fire once more, Magnus didn’t dignify that question with an answer. He had no intention whatsoever to spend more time with Alec Lightwood than necessary. Alec gave him another chance to answer before he continued with a grin. “I, for one, am looking forward to working with The Warlock.” 

Magnus rolled his eyes at the mention of his nickname. Media was a pain. Magnus was an expert at winning the cases everyone else deemed lost, and the media said he was quite magical to achieve such wins. The rest was history. “Let me know when you’re done reading it. The date is set two weeks from now. Should be enough for you to get up to speed on my case,” Magnus sneered. 

“This isn’t my first rodeo, Bane.” Alec narrowed his eyes, locking them with Magnus’. There was a silent challenge in them, and Magnus wasn’t one to stand down.

“I’m simply trying to make sure that you’ll enjoy the ride,” Magnus smirked.

A smile tugged at the corner of Alec’s lips, and he cocked one of his eyebrows and let his eyes slowly trail down Magnus’ body and then up again as he darted his tongue out, wetting his bottom lip before he sucked it in between his teeth. Magnus couldn’t help but stare, his mouth falling slightly open. His treacherous body reacted to the attention; his heart raced and there was some twitching in his pants. “I most certainly will enjoy this ride.” Alec drawled. 

They stood there, locking eyes. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to break the contact, to give up. Magnus successfully shut out all the thoughts that were trying to determine the reason why his body was on fire. Alec Lightwood was not a road he was ever going down, no matter what his body was trying to tell him.

They were interrupted by a tentative knock on the open door. “Mr. Lightwood, I’m glad I caught you. I have a copy for you-” Simon said as he entered the office but trailed off as he noticed the two men glaring at each other. “Wow, the tension in here is,” he blurted out. Magnus, with his back against his PA, could only guess he had made a wide gesture with his hands, and probably nervously pushed up his glasses as always when words failed him. 

Alec chuckled. “Alec is fine; Mr. Lightwood is my father. And thank you.” Alec seemed to relax a bit, now looking at Simon with a friendly gaze and took the folder offered by the PA. Then he turned his attention back to Magnus, leaning in and whispering in his ear, “I’m looking forward to seeing you again. And trust me, I will come.” Alec’s breath was so warm on his ear and the words that were coming out of his mouth sent a shiver down Magnus’ spine and his heart rate sped up. Then suddenly Alec was gone, and Magnus let out a small, inaudible gasp.

It took a few seconds before Simon cleared his throat. “So, Alec Lightwood, huh? What’s our status?”

Magnus shrugged, tried his best to steady his racing, deceitful heart and swallowed hard before answering. “Same as it has always been; we hate him.”