Archive of Our Own ^beta

The past six months have been a whirlwind for Magnus. That’s for sure. His Grandmother, and the closest thing to a mother he’s ever had died. His siblings moved back into their family house. And all that without even mentioning the newfound magical powers.

Of all the major life shifts that he had to deal with, finding out that his mother was a descendant of a famous and influential magical line known for producing extraordinarily powerful witches was one thing.

Finding out that he, his half-brother Ragnor and his half-sister Catarina were prophesied to be the most powerful witches on earth, with a duty to protect innocents from the encroaching danger of evil was… Another.

Still- all that had come with one benefit. He met Alec Lightwood.

He quite literally ran into him as he was sprinting away from one of his first would-be-killer demons. Alec was a breath of fresh air from the moment Magnus met him, beautiful, tall, outrageously kind, and thoughtful. The fact that he had, unknowingly, saved Magnus’s life that same night when he offered him a ride home, was a bonus.

Now, as he’s coming home from his third date with him, Magnus lets himself fill with happiness. Everything else in his life may be a shit show, and he still hasn’t figured out how to get demon goo out of his clothes, but at least he has a stunning man leaning over him right now.

It’s all about living in the moment.

“It was great seeing you again,” Alec says, leaning in for a kiss on the front porch of Magnus’s Brownstone in Brooklyn. “I had a great time.”

Magnus can’t quite help himself, he flushes a little, and he thinks for a moment that if he still had long hair, he would probably be twisting it around his fingers. “Me too.”

Alec leans in a little more, and Magnus can feel it in his bones. He’s been staring at Alec’s soft lips all night, and now they’re right there, and it’s been such a beautiful night, and--

There is a loud clatter from inside the house, and they both look up to see the windows being hastily drawn over the window to cover up the evidence of snooping. Magnus forces himself to take several deep breaths and twitches his left hand. Instantly, Alec freezes in motion in front of him, as does a fly that had been circling them in the warm evening weather.

Magnus opens the door, “What the fuck you guys.”

Ragnor and Cat run down the stairs with identical expressions of amused curiosity. They take a cautious glance outside where Alec is still half leaned over in preparation for their kiss.

“Is he frozen?” Cat asks.

Magnus rolls his eyes, “Of course he’s frozen. Now you two, go away so that I can enjoy my date without my annoying supernatural siblings.”

“Try saying that five times fast,” Ragnor said, bone dry.“Goodbye.”

“Hey!” Ragnor started before Magnus closed the door again, and replaced himself the way he had been standing before his siblings decided to get involved for the night. He twitches his hands and the air around them immediately starts moving again.

“Fratricide is still…?” Magnus asks.

Alec looks at him with this dangerous mixture of desire, amusement, and fondness, “Illegal. Yes, it remains illegal.”

Magnus sighs, “Whoever made that law was an only child.” Alec chuckles, and Magnus feels the sound warm him.

Alec looks like he’s about to call it a night, accepting that the mood has been ruined, but Magnus is not the type to allow his siblings to rob him of the honor of climbing the tall handyman like a tree.

“Alec?” Magnus asks, his hands reaching up to twist into the other man’s jacket. “What do you think of guys who make the first move?”

Alec’s eyes gleam with confusion for a moment, before they light up with recognition. “Love them.”

Magnus lets his lips curl up even more as he gently pulls Alec down into a kiss. They both pointedly ignore the raucous cheers from inside the house.

“Call me?”

Alec smiles at him, “Of course. And do you want to get lunch this week? I know there is that place on 14th that you’ve been eyeing.”

Magnus nearly breaks his neck nodding, “Yes. I would love to, when?”

“Hmm,” Alec says playfully, “why don’t we play it by ear. Since, whenever we have a plan, you inevitably cancel it.”

Magnus winces because that is the worst part of this newfound witchy part-time job. Aside from distracting him from his club, it also meant that his social life was slowly dwindling. There was always some random innocent to save right when he wants to live his life, always some annoying demon trying to rid the world of all good.

“I swear,” Magnus says, “I will do everything in my considerable power to make sure I am there.”

And Magnus sends a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening to please, please, give him a break from demons for one day.

“I hate you,” Magnus yells as he runs away, frantically trying to freeze the demon chasing behind them. “I hate you! Why would you purposefully follow a lead on the one day I asked for no demonic activity.”

Ragnor, who dragged Magnus along to ‘search for the innocent who was in danger’ flings his hand haphazardly at the demon, which didn’t respond to Magnus’s attempt to freeze it.

“How was I supposed to know this would happen?” Ragnor huffs. “I just wanted to check it out on our way.”

“I hate you so much,” Magnus repeats instead of responding. “And now, I’m not only going to be late for my date, but I’m going to be covered in sweat and demonic slime.”

“I wouldn’t worry about your date,” a cold voice interrupts. It’s the demon from the abandoned antique store. He had been trapping innocent women into clay figurines and absorbing their life force, which was a particularly grisly way to murder.

“And why is that?” Magnus asks. He’s still working on his battle banter, and this is a good a time to start as any.

The demon looks briefly confused, “Because… I’m going to kill you?”

“Oh!” Magnus says, pulling Ragnor back towards the street. “That’s so crazy! I wish you had mentioned that. I’m just simply not dressed. We’ll come back at a better time.”

With that Magnus pushes Ragnor slightly in front of him. They’re almost at the end of the alley, and while that may not spell safety, Magnus knows demons are unlikely to attack in broad daylight and risk exposing magic.

The demon creeps ever closer to them, and Magnus is getting worried that they won’t make it when a car he recognizes pulls up in front of the alley.

It’s Alec, lightly tapping his steering wheel with his palm while presumably driving to their date. Magnus spares a moment of confusion because Alec doesn’t work on this side of town, but he pushes past it to rush to the front door of Alec’s car.

“You can’t just get into a stranger’s car Magnus!” Ragnor yells at him.

Magnus ignores him and flings him into the back seat while he throws himself in the front. Ragnor and Magnus both pause to catch their breath for a moment when Alec’s stunned silence becomes more pronounced.

“Um,” Alec says staring at Magnus and his brother. “It’s… Good to see you?”

“Alexander,” Magnus says in a hopefully winning manner. “I just wanted to catch you! Since, of course, you’re probably driving to lunch to meet me, I figured I would catch a ride with you while I saw you.”

In the back seat, Ragnor makes a pained wheezing sound which Magnus recognizes as him holding back laughter when Magnus does something stupid.

“Your brother is here,” Alec helpfully points out.

“Yes,” Magnus replies, keeping his voice even. “Family is so significant to me, so I thought it would be nice if you could meet my incredibly supportive older brother, Ragnor.”

“Adopted?” Alec asks idly, pressing the gas as traffic starts to move.

Magnus and Ragnor gasp in coordinated glee.

“How dare you,” Ragnor starts.

Magnus tuts, “How very racist of you, Alexander. Do you not trust my light-skinned brother?”  

“I- No, I, I mean- it’s just…”

Magnus lets him sweat for another second, before cutting him off with an easygoing laugh and a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t hurt yourself, Alexander. That is a really common question, but the answer is no. Ragnor and I have the same mother and were raised together, but we have different fathers.”

“We have a black sister,” Ragnor interjects helpfully.

Alec spares a glance backward and shrugs his shoulders. “Can’t wait to meet her.”

“Hey,” Ragnor says slyly. Magnus already wants to shoot him. “That is a great idea. You should invite her to lunch too, that way Alec can meet all of us.”

Magnus laughs that off, “oh Rags, you know we can’t do that. She’s behind on her column, remember? She should really focus on that.”

Caterina, his younger sister, had been a nurse before they all got a supernatural side job. She was a damn good nurse too, but the constant cutting shifts, and needing to vanish for hours on end on random days made it pretty impossible for her to maintain a job with strict office hours.

Luckily she was able to find a job for a very popular health column in the city, Ask Caterina. A much more flexible position, even though Magnus could tell she misses the hospital.

“Oh hush now,” Ragnor says pulling out his phone. “She needs to eat too, and I hate the idea that she’s working through her lunch break.”

Magnus entertains a vivid fantasy of strangling Ragnor with his fancy professorial bow-tie.

“That’s a great idea,” Alec says easily as if having a full family lunch wasn’t an absurd concept. (And honestly, a lunch? What the fuck? If this was going to be a big thing, he would have suggested dinner. Much more acceptable to drink.)

Magnus manfully restrained the urge to stick his tongue out at his older brother. They were two grown men, with two adult jobs, and a guy he really likes is sitting next to him, he’s better than that.

At least, until Alec’s attention is focused on making a tricky left turn, then Magnus gives Ragnor the finger.

“So,” Caterina asks when they’re all nestled into a booth. “What is it that you do again, Alex?”

“I prefer Alec,” Alec responds. “And I’m a handyman.”

“And he certainly is handy,” Magnus adds, with a small smirk.

“Boo,” Caterina says, throwing a roll of bread at him. “Three out of ten.”

“Generous,” Ragnor says with a snort. “I’d say one out of ten.”

Alec gives Magnus a confused glance, and Magnus explains, “my deluded siblings and I have a joke rating system we came up with when we were kids. One out of ten, and if the joke is truly terrible and the joke teller realizes it, they are allowed to rescind the joke until the joke has been officially rated.”

Alec’s lips twitch up, “In that case, I’d say that it was more of a -1. I’m deducting points for lack of originality.”

Magnus gasps at him for a moment, before he lets a smile spread across his lips. “Oh darn, and now I can’t even rescind it.”

“More’s the pity,” Alec teases back, letting his hand rest gently on Magnus’s above the table.

Lunch was shockingly painless. Magnus should have had more faith in his siblings. Caterina is a supremely reasonable person, and Ragnor, despite his tendency for drama, is a smart and fun guy. However, the real star is Alec, who handles the sibling dynamic like a duck to water. He manages to keep up with their banter and step back when he should.

Magnus would very much like to have a little alone time though.

“Do you have any appointments for the rest of the day?” Magnus asks. Alec shakes his head, and Magnus beams. “I don’t have to be at the club to set up until around seven. Do you want to come back to my place? I can fix us a drink.”

Alec glances at his siblings, who prove that they are ride or die when the moment suits them.

“I’m heading back to the office to finish up my column,” Caterina says with a shrug.

Ragnor also grabs his coat. “I’ve got a class to teach in about a half-hour. I better get there.”

Magnus mouths a subtle ‘thank you' to them, as they stand to leave.

“Although,” Ragnor says, his voice apprehensive as he steals a glance at Alec. “Remember that... um… gym we were at together, earlier?”

“Gym…?”

“You know,” Ragnor says with his voice laden with implication. “Where we got some running done?”

“Oh,” Magnus responds, his eyes lighting with recognition. Ragnor is talking about the demon that chased them this morning. “Yes. We should go back to that gym, maybe tomorrow? With… More preparation next time? Maybe we’ll even bring Cat.”

“You guys found a good gym?” Alec asks casually. “I’ve been looking for one.”

“Oh no,” Magnus answers frantically. “It’s not that good. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“But you’re taking your sister?”

“Because,” Magnus starts, his brain whirling. “Because, uh, Cat loves bad gyms. The worse they are, and they less well-stocked, the more she likes them. We think it’s because we always stole her toys when she was a kid.”

“I knew it was you who stole my Malibu Barbie in 1997,” Cat says.

Magnus smiles winningly at her, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. That was my Malibu Barbie and, if anything, you stole it from me.”

Cat rolls her eyes. “I’m leaving; we can talk about tomorrow’s gym plan tonight at Pandemonium .”

Magnus nods, “Sounds good. We’re leaving now.”

He practically drags Alec out of the restaurant and presses his forehead into his hands the second he lands in Alec’s plush seats. “I am so sorry about that. I did not mean to spring a family meeting on you like that.”

Alec laughs and gently pries Magnus’s fingers off his face. “It’s fine, your siblings are really nice.”

There is a wistful tone in his voice that Magnus recognizes immediately. “Do you have siblings?”

Alec tenses for a moment, before the lines of his body, relax. “I did. Two, a younger sister and brother.”

Did.

Magnus’s breath caught in his throat. He can’t imagine how horrifying that would be. Already, the thought of losing his siblings is the one that haunts him the most, the one that keeps him up at night.

Two weeks ago, they had been fighting a demon, and he sent Cat flying into the wall of their townhouse. That was the first moment that Magnus really realized that there was a possibility his siblings could die doing this job. They could never be safe, and no matter how hard Magnus tries, he isn’t sure that he’ll be able to protect them from everything.

To see someone on the other side, someone who has lost siblings and is still standing… Well, Alec is a stronger man than he is apparently.

“Oh,” Magnus says, reaching to place his hand gently on Alec’s which is resting on the gear-shift. “I… Do you… Do you want to talk about it?”

Alec shook his head, his jaw tight. “I don’t think I can, right now.”

Magnus nods, and they spend the rest of the drive in silence while Magnus absently pets Alec’s hand.

When they make it to the Brownstone, Magnus immediately lets Alec in and presses a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. “Thank you, Alexander. Thank you so much for coming today. I am so glad you met my siblings.”

“I’m really glad I met them, too,” Alec says with a smile.

Magnus lets his head rest on the nook of Alec’s shoulders as they stand, comfortably together.

At least, until Magnus heard slow clapping from behind them. He quickly turned around and the demon from yesterday was in his house. Now that he has a moment, he can tell that the demon is upper-level. It has a human face, first of all, and second, he’s holding a fireball in his hands.

“Isn’t this cute,” the demon says with a mocking smile on his face.

“Oh god,” Magnus says, putting himself between Alec and the demon. “Alec, you need to run. Now.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Alec argues.

The demon laughs, chilling. “What a brave boy you have there, Charmed One. I wonder what he’ll look like medium-well.”

Magnus feels his heart in his throat, and the second the demon throws the fireball he freezes it, the ball of demonic energy hovering harmlessly away from Alec. The problem was, Magnus was still pretty new with his magic, and when he froze the fireball, he also froze Alec.

But he didn’t freeze the demon.

“Nice try, witch,” the demon says and throws another fireball before Magnus can even react.

This one hits its target perfectly, and Magnus screams. Alec flies back as time restarts and the fireball blasts into their antique clock.

No.

No.

No.

His brain can’t process what is happening. Alec is laying on the floor, his shirt is burned, and Magnus can’t fucking think, because Alec, who is helpful and kind and just had lunch with his siblings, is dead in his fucking house because he was too much of an overconfident goddamn--

Then, miraculously, Alec stands up. His shirt is signed and burned where it was hit, but the skin under it is otherwise healthy and whole.

“What--” Magnus starts, his voice is dazed, and he knows it, but he thinks it's valid because he saw a man get hit with a fireball and walk it off.

Then his brain chimes in.

Alec isn’t human. There is no way a normal human could survive a blow like that, which means… Which means…

Oh god. What if Alec is here to kill him too. Fatten him up like a lamb for slaughter and lure him into a false sense of security.

He spares a moment of thought for Ragnor and Cat because suddenly it all seems very clear that he is about to die. Taken down by two upper-level demons in his own home. He’ll have weakened his siblings by dying, making them easier targets and he’s just so--

“Magnus!” He hears Alec call, “Behind you.”

The demon is holding a dagger in his hands, and he’s seconds away from plunging it into Magnus’s chest, and he doesn’t know what to do, because his magic doesn’t work on this demon.

Then, just as Magnus was coming to terms with the newly horrific way the day was going to go, he felt himself evaporate into a pool of light.

For a moment he thinks maybe Alec killed him, but evil magic doesn’t feel like this. This feels… Pure, and gentle, and sweet. Magnus feels put back together.

Then, as soon as it starts it stops, and he’s no longer in his house, but in a strange, almost empty apartment.

With Alec.

“If you’re going to kill me,” Magnus says, his voice low with fury, “I’m not going to make it easy for you.”

Alec dares to roll his eyes. “I’m not going to kill you, Magnus.”

“Oh? Well you’re not going to turn me evil either, and I’m not giving you the Book of Shadows so, you might as well give up on that.”

Alec sighs, “I’m not a demon.”

“Warlock then? I should have known. Is Alexander even your real name or is it something more demonic like Balthazar?”

“Magnus,” Alec says running his fingers through his hair. “I’m not a demon, or a warlock, or anything evil. I’m on your side. And I don’t want your Book of Shadows.”

Magnus felt his body tighten at the thought. The Book of Shadows was the most potent magical object they kept in the house.  It dates back centuries and carries all of the knowledge their family had accumulated over that time, information about different demons, and magical creatures, and spells… If evil got their hands on that book, there is no telling the damage they could do.

“Oh yeah?” Magnus asks, still maintaining a healthy distance between him and Alec. “If that’s true, then why did you lie to me about what you are? Because you know what I am.”

Alec places his hands up in surrender. “You’re right; I do know who you are. And I’m sorry I lied, but I had to. Telling you who I am and what I am is against the rules.”

“Rules? What rules?”

Alec sits down on a dilapidated lawn chair that is in the middle of the barren apartment. “I’m a whitelighter.”

“What the fuck is a whitelighter?”

Alec pauses, “We’re like… Think of us like guardian angels. I’m here to guide you and your siblings on your journey to becoming good witches.”

“Guardian…” Magnus starts, and then all of a sudden their first meeting came into sharp focus.

Magnus had just gotten his powers and had no idea how to control them when a warlock came after him. He would have been dead in a second if Alec hadn’t magically shown up at the exact right time.

And again, just earlier today, with Alec on the complete other side of town the moment Magnus was in danger.

“Prove it.”

Alec’s head shot up, “what?”

“Prove it. If you’re a good guy, prove it.”

“How?” Alec asks, perplexed.

Magnus thinks, “Okay if you’re an angel or something, you’d have special angel powers. Do something that an evil magical being couldn’t do.”

Alec looks at him thoughtfully, before he walks to the kitchen if something so barren can even be called one. He pulls out a dying potted plant, a wilting fern if Magnus isn’t mistaken. And then, Alec places his hand over the plant, and his hand starts to glow, within seconds the plant is vibrant and alive again.

“Holy shit.”

Alec laughed slightly, before turning serious. “Here’s the situation though, Magnus. You can’t know, it’s against the rules, and I don’t want to get in trouble with them.”

“Who are… They?”

“The Elders,” Alec says softly, glancing up towards the ceiling as if they were being listened to. “Think of them as they… Guardian Angel bosses. They assigned me to you and your siblings, and if they find out that you know… And that we’re dating, I am going to be seriously screwed.”

“Wait,” Magnus says raising his hands. “The dating is also against the rules? I thought… Maybe…”

Magnus thought maybe Alec was dating him to stay close to his marks; maybe everything was a lie, maybe their intense instant connection, the way Magnus feels like he tripped and fell so hard the first day… Maybe that was all manufactured.

Alec’s face softens, “no. No, it’s very, very not allowed. But… I… There is something about you, Magnus. I- You, you’re special. Special to me.”

Magnus feels his whole being soften, and he reaches forward to grab Alec’s hands and pull him in. “So, I’m dating a literal, actual angel, huh?”

Alec’s lips twitch into a dangerous smirk, “Don’t worry. There are some places where I’m quite the sinner.”

Magnus laughed, a little hysterical, but mostly delighted. “Wow, my life just keeps getting weirder.”

“Well, the more immediate problem,” Alec says switching to work mode immediately, “is the demon in your house. Text your siblings and tell them not to go straight home and stay in public as much as possible until we figure out how to attack.”

Magnus immediately sent the text and received worried responses.

“But… Alec, the Book… The Book of Shadows… It’s in the house. It’s with the demon.”

Alec shook his head, “Don’t worry. The book has its magical defenses against evil intentions and magic. The demon we met earlier was a mid-level demon, and will probably require a Power of Three spells.”

Magnus nods, “Can they come here then? We can strategize. I’ll text them the address… Speaking of, where are we? In some type of squatters den?”

Alec actually blushed at that and shook his head, “No. This is… Uh, my apartment. Kinda. Since I’m technically dead--”

“Wait,” Magnus said, “You’re technically what?”

Alec rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I’m… Uh, dead. Whitelighters are typically humans who were extraordinarily good in life when they die they can become whitelighters and guide good witches and future whitelighters down the path of good.”

Magnus looked at him for a long moment, before asking, “this explains your weird apartment because….”

“Well, I don’t really need sleep, so I don’t have a bed. And I’m traveling all around the world all the time to help different charges, so I don’t really think it’s worth it to put that much energy into an apartment I only have so I don’t look like an actual creep.”

“Yeah,” Magnus says sarcastically, before clicking the ‘share my location’ button in his iPhone chat. “This heroin chic apartment definitely doesn’t make you look like a creep.”

Alec ignores him in favor of stepping closer into Magnus’s personal space. He licks his lips nervously before starting, “Listen, I know this is… A lot. And I wouldn’t blame you at all if you don’t want to do this anymore. But I just, I just wanted to check. How do you feel about all this?”

Magnus tips his head slightly back and rolls it to crack the tension building in his neck. “I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on, and I’m sure there is a lot more about this whole magic thing that I don’t know. But… I like you, Alec. I’m pretty sure about that.”

The smile that blooms across Alec’s face is worth all the bullshit the day has brought him so far. He feels Alec place one of his gigantic hands on his lower back and pull him even closer. Then, he hesitates for a second, “Can I kiss you?”

Magnus smiles, and wraps his arms around Alec’s neck, “I would be offended if you didn't.”

They stand like that, trading gentle kisses for longer than either of them notice before they are interrupted again by a knock at the door.

“That must be your siblings,” Alec mutters against his lips.

Magnus pouts, “Do we have to answer? What if we just run away?”

Alec gently extracts himself, “your job as the Charmed Ones is one of the most important on earth, and maintaining the balance of good and evil is--”

“Ugh,” Magnus says, rolling his eyes. “Please don’t remind me of my big universal balance duty or whatever.”

Alec just chuckles, presses a kiss to his forehead, and opens the door.

“So,” Alec says. “How much did Magnus tell you?”

Ragnor pulls out his phone, and reads, “Evil demon in our house, big clock destroyed, also part of the wall- make sure to call someone to fix that. Also, meet me at this location, and then a link to this apartment. P.S. turns out my boyfriend is an actual literal angel. Magic is weird.”

Alec glances back at Magnus with a raised eyebrow, Magnus responds with a shrug. “Everything I said was accurate.”

“Why does Alec know about the evil demon in our house anyway?” Cat asks wearily. “Please tell me you did not already crack and tell him. Looking like hot shit while you’re juggling or whatever the fuck is not worth the exposure of magic.”

Magnus smirks back at her and walks up to Alec, resting his arm on Alec’s shoulder and leaning, “I didn’t have to tell him, because Alec is a, hold the applause, real-life angel. And my boyfriend, and hot as hell. Or is that hot as heaven? Am I being offensive?”

“What is he trying to communicate right now?” Ragnor asks.

“I’m a whitelighter,” Alec says, his tone is fond, “which is a type of guardian angel. I was assigned to the Charmed Ones to make sure you don’t fall off the path of goodness, and that you can locate and help the innocent people who need your help.”

Cat raised her eyebrows at Magnus who raised his arms in mock surrender. “I already checked. He has some pretty crazy healing magic. And is also apparently, technically dead.”

“Not technically dead,” Alec corrects slightly flustered. “More like… Legally dead.”

“And when did you… legally die?” Ragnor asks wearily.

Alec stares pointedly at the wall when he says, “1949.”

“That isn’t why we’re here,” Magnus cuts in to diminish the tension. Although knowing his current boyfriend is actually ninety-eight years old. “We’re here because we are gonna need a power of three spells to defeat this demon.”

Cat and Magnus both turn pointedly to Ragnor, who turns away whistling.

“Oh come on,” Cat says. “We all know you’re the best at it.”

“I can’t write a spell on a demon we don’t know,” Ragnor says flatly. “And we can’t go back to the house until we know what we’re fighting. Can’t we just use the normal power of three spell?”

Magnus turns to Alec, who looks thoughtfully at Ragnor before nodding, “I think that should work. As I said, that was a mid-level demon; it shouldn’t need a vanquishing potion or a specific naming spell.”

“Great,” Cat says cheerfully. “Let’s go kick some demon ass.”

“Oh don’t worry,” a voice cuts in. “I came right to you.”

“It’s not delivery,” Ragnor started, with faux cheer, “It’s a demon!”

“I’d rescind that one if I were you,” Cat replies, her eyes still fixed on the demon. Then she moved to her rightful place, between her two brothers.

“Are you guys ready?”

They nod, before they begin to chant, “The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of three will--”

As they chanted, the demon began to scream and burn, and soon he was nothing but a pile of ash in the barren apartment.

“Well,” Ragnor says, “That was anticlimactic.”

Magnus opens his mouth to respond when his phone beeps. “Oh shit, I need to go. I’ve got a band playing at the club tonight. I gotta help set up.”

Magnus leans up slightly to press a kiss to Alec’s lips, “Meet me there later?”

“Sounds perfect,” Alec says with a smile on his face.

Much later, back in Magnus’s cozy Brownstone, laying in bed, naked and relaxed, Magnus chances bringing it up.

“So, your… Your siblings….”

“They’re dead,” Alec says blankly. “They both died of old age, and lived long, healthy lives surrounded by loved ones.”

“Except you,” Magnus says, pained.

Alec nods, “Yes. I wasn’t allowed to communicate with them.”

Magnus buries his face in Alec’s chest, “That is terrible, I am so sorry.”

“At least they were happy,” Alec says, his voice tight.

Magnus doesn’t say anything for a long time before he asks, “are you happy, Alexander?”

He feels Alec continue to rub continuous slow circles on Magnus’s bare skin. “Yes, Magnus. Right now, with you, I can truly say I’ve never been happier.”