Chapter Text
Alec Lightwood was tapping his foot in the living room of a penthouse, looking through his cards one more time as the lighting crew and a cameraman did the last adjustments. He was nervous for two reasons. Number one, it’s been a while since he did an interview face to face. He got used to the comfort of his home and simple zoom calls. Number two, he never interviewed someone this famous.
He looked out of the window, seeing other journalists and paparazzi, trying to get in. Those types of people sometimes made him ashamed to call himself a journalist. It was one thing to have a scheduled interview where the person on the other end who had seen all the questions and agreed on them beforehand. It was a whole other thing to try to breach someone’s privacy for the sake of a clickbait title.
A man with white hair in a green suit, a man who greeted him on the front door earlier, peeked his head through the door. “He will be ready in two minutes,” he informed both Alec and the crew.
“Thank you,” he said. He checked the microphone on his shirt. His sister made him wear something more professional as she said. It was a pair of simple black pants and a white shirt that started to feel a little too tight. He undid the first button and fixed his hair one more time.
The door opened again and Magnus Bane entered the room, wearing what Alec assumed was a costume for his new music video, which consisted of an electric blue faux-fur coat, blue leather pants and a black shirt with blue glitter all over his face. He approached Alec and gave him a bright smile, showing his dimples, as he stuck out his hand with black nail-polish and several silver rings on it.
“Magnus, nice to meet you,” he said when Alec shook his hand.
“Alec Lightwood, nice to meet you too,” he simply said back. He never had much trouble talking to famous people. At first it was weird, but after a year of many interviews, he got accustomed to it. But seeing Magnus Bane, a famous musician slash model, in front of him was kind of hard to comprehend.
Magnus was quite tall, all defined cheekbones, warm, almost puppy dog, brown eyes and bronze skin. His hair was jet-black with a nice blue sheen in the light and it currently looked messy, but in an intentional way. Alec couldn’t deny that he found him very attractive.
Magnus sat down in an armchair opposite to him, attaching his microphone onto his shirt, checking himself in the viewfinder, crossing his legs, one hand on each armrest.
“Before we start, I just want to apologize that I am not the one who greeted you at the door, I am not usually that impolite or busy,” Magnus said. “I hope my manager didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”
“Oh, it’s completely fine,” he brushed it off, already feeling himself blush. They were in Magnus’s apartment, which was very much crowded with film crew and extras, working on his new music video. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, we can roll,” Magnus said, smiling again. Alec had to look down, just so he wouldn’t blush again.
“Action!” cameraman said, making Alec sit straight and pick up the cards with questions.
“Hello everyone, you are watching All Manhattan, my name is Alec Lightwood and today I am here with a very special guest, Magnus Bane,” he announced in his hosting voice, tapping his foot under the table to keep the rhythm of his voice acceptable. He pointed to Magnus across himself who nodded his head and smiled.
“Thank you for having me,” he said.
“Thank you for having us, because we are actually on the set of Magnus’s upcoming music video, which also happens to be his apartment. So, first, can you explain to us why have you chosen your apartment as the set?” Ha, I can be professional no matter how attractive the person across from me is, Alec thought to himself.
“Well, my upcoming seventh album, Dark Reflections, is my most personal one yet,” Magnus started explaining. “And the music video we are currently filming for the lead single, All the Colors, is going to be full of metaphors and analogies for dealing with yourself and being your own worst enemy and what better place to film than where I both live and write most of my songs?”
“Excellent point,” Alec said, looking down at his cards again. “You’ve been on a hiatus for almost three years now, since your last tour. What made you want to come back, especially after the controversy between you and Camille Belcourt?”
“I wasn’t really just laying around during my break. I have been writing and producing the entire time, making this album and I just think it’s finally ready.”
“So, your break didn’t come just from needing to take a step back, but also perfectionism?”
“Yes. I mean, all artists are perfectionists. We are very critical of ourselves and our work, to the point that we sometimes make up flaws that don’t even exist,” he chuckled mid sentence, making Alec let one out himself. “Are you a perfectionist, mr. Lightwood?”
Alec felt slightly startled, not just because Magnus asked him something, but also because of the tone of his voice and the look on his face. “Uhm, yeah. I take almost everything I do very seriously and I like doing things right,” he cleared his throat and looked at his cards again before speaking. “What do you mean when you say that this album is the most personal one yet?”
“When you get out of a spotlight for a little while, especially after what happened between my ex and me, you have a lot of time for introspection. I did a lot of that, I did a lot of thinking, about myself, my relationships, my past, my life, etcetera. And one of the only ways I know how to express and deal with my emotions and thoughts is by writing songs about them. I don’t think that this album and the singles from it will be played at clubs and stuff, like my previous work, but I hope people see themselves in it.”
Alec looked around and noticed that everyone’s eyes were on Magnus, intently listening to him, completely enchanted by him.
“You wrote a lot of love songs about your ex. Do you regret writing them now, after what happened between you two?”
“Not in the slightest,” Magnus said. “After I release an album, songs, music videos, all of that, that is no longer just mine or just about me. It also belongs to anyone who stumbles across it, anyone who resonates with it. When people listen to any of my songs, I don’t want them to think about me, I want them to think about themselves, their experiences, their current and past partners. A dream of every artist is for their art to make someone’s hard times easier and their good times even better. And from everything fans have told me over the years, I am positive I’ve achieved that.”
“That is quite altruistic,” Alec noted. He did many interviews and learned to pick up on when people are phoning and trying to make themselves sound better, saying things they don’t actually believe just for good PR. But there was a spark in Magnus’s eyes while he was talking, making Alec think that he did believe what he was saying. That he would probably say it even if there wasn’t a journalist and a camera in front of him. “This is also the first music video you are directing yourself. What made you try yourself out in directing?”
“Like I said, a very personal album, a very personal song. I’ve been writing my music videos for years at this point and I am a bit of a control freak. I always at least co-produce my music, I choose the actors and dancers and people to collaborate with. I make the setlists for tours, I am my stylist and so on. And since this album is so important to me, I just think that I am the best person to direct it.”
“Do you also choose who you do interviews with?” That question was not planned at all. Alec just blurted it out and started contemplating jumping out of the window and letting paparazzis crush him.
“Maybe,” Magnus said with a coy smile on his face. “Do you choose who you interview?”
“Maybe,” he replied in the same tone. He shook his head a little and went back to his notes. “Are there already talks about a potential tour?”
“Yes. It’s probably what I missed the most during my break. I’ve missed traveling around, standing in front of crowds who are scream-singing my lyrics back to me. It truly never gets old.”
“What are other things you did during your break, besides making music? What kept you company?” Alec realized that he was talking in a lower tone than before. He really needed to keep looking down, because Magnus’s face seemed to be making his head foggy.
“Wine. Many bottles of wine,” he said, making both of them laugh. “A little whiskey here and there. My cats, my friends of course and endless marathons of sitcoms.”
“Which sitcom is your favorite?” Another non-scripted question, but Alec felt good about this one, considering that fans did like these types of questions. They like the fun facts.
“New Girl, definitely,” he said. “Yours?”
“Good Place,” he said without thinking. The cameraman pointed out that they are supposed to be wrapping it up. “We don’t have much time left, so I would like to ask you what is your personal favorite from the upcoming album?”
“You can’t ask me that, mr. Lightwood, it’s like asking me to choose between my children!” he said playfully, shifting in his seat. “But I think it’s Last Glass, Last Call. And when it comes out, I would like to know what’s yours.”
“I will make sure to notify you about it,” Alec said. “Now you have to do the goodbye to the camera.”
“Oh, okay.” Magnus shifted in his seat and looked to the camera opposite him, making Alec realize that he was looking at him the entire time. “Thank you for tuning in for this interview and don’t forget to stream Dark Reflections on all streaming platforms on September 22nd. See you all soon!” He blew a kiss into the camera.
“Cut!” Cameraman said. They quickly did a thumbnail shot, which was both of them sitting cross legged and looking at the camera. Alec then threw himself back in the armchair, breathing out. He took off the microphone and stood up from the armchair.
“Thank you again for taking out the time,” Alec said, him and Magnus shaking hands again. “It’s truly been my pleasure.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Magnus said. “Do you want to stay for a drink maybe?”
“Uhm, thank you for the offer, but I have to go back to the office and I’m sure you’re very busy,” he said.
“I hope that we get to do that another time,” he said, still holding Alec’s hand.
“Me too,” he found himself saying, not really believing him that he actually said that, taking his bag and putting his cards into it. “Have a nice day.”
He practically ran outside, falling face first down the stairs.