Lightwood After Dark

by la_muerta, moni26

Summary:

Everyone thinks Alec Lightwood has got it all. He's one of the most sought-after event organisers in New York, and it helps that he was born with a handsome face, natural blonde hair, and the bluest eyes. It's a little odd that he doesn't look like his parents at all and looks more like his adopted brother Jace, but it's probably not a conversation for polite company.

But there's also the strange fact that nobody has ever seen Alec Lightwood after the clock strikes midnight…

Notes:

Art by moni26
Fic by la_muerta

Much thanks to my artist for the lovely art and to the mods for organising this event! ❤️❤️❤️

This fic was created for the Shadowhunters Reverse Bang 2024: Presented by the Malec Discord Server.

 

The party at the Institute is in full swing now, with everything going according to plan — the food and drinks that had been catered presented exactly as he instructed, no tech issues with any of the screens and photobooths, the music list more or less bearable thanks to Simon, and every part of the theme perfectly executed. The guests that were invited have also mostly arrived, and anyway what's important is that the members of the press, the ones that Valentine set out to impress with this whole production, have all been properly seen to.

Alec Lightwood checks the watch on his wrist — half an hour to midnight, so he has some time to spare. If there's one thing that he's been forced to learn, it's to make efficient use of his time.

"Lightwood!"

Alec turns towards the source of the sound, service smile firmly in place. "Mrs Penhallow. Glad you could come," he says, offering her a hand to shake.

Jia Penhallow shakes his hand wryly. She is Valentine's business rival, and Valentine invited her as a clear attempt at intimidation and bragging, but Jia Penhallow isn't the type of person who is easily cowed.

"Aline told me that you're the organiser for this event, and I have to say it's very well done. Would you be interested in organising my research conference in a couple of weeks, or would that be a problem since you're so closely associated with the Morgensterns?" she asks.

"Business is business. It would be my honour," Alec replies with a grin. "I'll call on you to work out the details — Monday morning?"

"Monday morning is good for me," Jia Penhallow agrees. "Nice suit, by the way. It really brings out your eyes."

It takes all of Alec's self-control to keep his smile in place, but he tugs a little self-consciously on the lapel of his blue suit before he catches himself. "Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mrs Penhallow," he tells her politely, then makes an excuse that he needs to check something with his staff at the entrance so that he can take a moment to recalibrate and get his game face back on.

It's not that Alec doesn’t remember what he looks like — it's hard to forget the face that stares back at him every morning when he wakes up. Alec knows that the way he looks now has made a difference in his life, but most of the time, he wishes things had gone differently after all. When he was younger, he thought it was kind of cool that he looked a bit like Jace with his blonde hair and blue eyes, until he realised people were gossiping about his parents behind their backs — and that hasn't gone away even though it's been thirteen years since the incident. Now that he's older, the fact that he's conventionally handsome does make it easier to get things done when he turns on the charm, but…

"Check it again. I told you, I'm on the list," someone at the door says, sounding a little hassled.

"You're not here," Raj replies, and Alec can already hear the annoying smugness in his voice, which probably isn't necessary even when dealing with party crashers.

Then Alec quickens his steps just a little, enough for him to get a better look at the man trying to get in without an invitation. He's handsome but dressed quite plainly and his hair is slicked down in a rather severe hairstyle that makes him look older than he probably is. There's just the faintest hint of a personality in the flowery pattern on his purple shirt, and at least his suit fits well enough that it was probably tailor-made, even though the unflattering cut does nothing to bring out his broad shoulders and slim waist. Normally, Alec wouldn't have taken a second look at someone in such a dull outfit, and Raj should be able to take care of simple things like uninvited guests, but something makes Alec step forward.

"What seems to be the problem?" Alec asks.

"This one wants to crash the party," Raj replies snidely, like it's a great joke.

Alec turns properly to the handsome party crasher, who quickly plasters on a smile that was possibly meant to be charming but just looks a little pained. Alec notices then that he has very pretty brown eyes, but the guy quickly breaks eye contact, coughing awkwardly.

He looks harmless enough though, and in fact seems rather shy. Why would someone like that try to crash a party, and a corporate party at that? Anyway the event is winding down, and Alec can't help feeling curious about him.

"I'll be responsible for this one," Alec says with a smile at the mystery guy. "Come on, then."

 

--

 

While Alec goes to get them drinks, he surreptitiously checks the guy out. He seems to be scanning the room, looking for someone, but he does give Alec a quick once-over as well when he thinks Alec isn't looking.

It's always a little complicated when someone shows an interest in him based purely on physical looks. His body is still his, but his face doesn't look like his, not even his eyes. It's not their fault, but it still stings, because Alec knows they wouldn't be reacting the same way if they ever saw his real face. If it comes down to it, they wouldn't be reacting the same way if they ever knew the real him, not this confident, charming façade that he puts on for business reasons.

That's part of the reason Alec has never been in a relationship before. He doesn't want to start dating someone or even just hook up with someone when they're only attracted to a lie, but he's never let anyone get close enough to really get to know him because it would just be impossible to explain. Magic and curses can't possibly exist, after all — unless you're the one who's cursed.

But if there's one bright side to this mess, it's that Alec is already forced to hide so much of himself that there are some things he just refuses to hide away as well. Even if he has to wear someone else's face and therefore probably will have to remain single forever, he makes sure that everyone around him knows he's absolutely, unmistakably gay.

"To us," Alec says as he hands the mystery guy a flowery porcelain teacup containing non-alcoholic sangria.

The man clinks his cup against Alec's politely and takes a small sip.

"I'm Alec Lightwood. And you are?"

At the mention of his name, the mystery guy seems a little startled. "Did you say you're a Lightwood?"

"Yeah, do you know my parents or something?" Alec asks in surprise.

"Something like that, or maybe I'm mistaken," he replies with an awkward laugh. "I'm Magnus Bane. Thanks for the drink, but I've got to go."

Alec is left feeling a little wrong-footed as he watches the guy he risked his professional reputation to vouch for head straight for his brother's girlfriend. He's usually the one who does the rejecting, and now the guy has gone off to hit on Clary of all people. He's ready to step in when Clary clearly seems confused and a little frightened, but the man does something with his hand and Clary relaxes. That doesn't seem good, but Clary is the one dragging this Magnus Bane guy off now, and that's not any better.

But just as Alec takes a step after them, the alarm on his phone rings — it's five minutes to midnight. Shit. He has to go, he can't risk being here when the clock strikes twelve. He sends a quick message to Jace to warn him to look for Clary right now, and brisk walks to the entrance. Across the room, Izzy catches his eye and gives him a thumbs up — he knows she'll handle anything else that needs handling for the rest of tonight, and it's standard operating procedure by now for anyone who works for him that the boss always leaves before midnight.

"Bye," Raj says blithely as he leaves, but Alec doesn't even bother responding.

He hurries outside to where his car is parked and quickly gets into the driver's seat, not a moment too soon. The transformation caused by the curse doesn't hurt, but Alec closes his eyes and his hands clench on the steering wheel anyway as he feels the tingling sensation spreading all over his face to intensify over the scar.

In a few minutes, it's finally over. Alec takes a deep breath and starts the engine, taking care not to look in the rearview mirror — where a man with hazel eyes, dark hair, and a horrific scar that covers half his face would look back at him.

 

--

 

The Lightwoods had been on holiday in France when it happened, when Alec and Jace were 10 and Izzy was 7 years old. They had been exploring an old castle that hadn't really been part of their travel itinerary, and Jace and Izzy had sneaked off away from their parents, so of course Alec had gone with them. When something jumped out of the shadows to grab Izzy, Alec had pulled her out of the way and it had practically clawed his face off. There had been a lot of blood, and Alec didn't really remember much of what happened afterwards.

From what Jace and Izzy told him, they had tried to rush him to a hospital, but Robert had somehow gotten lost and ended up at a little cottage in the middle of nowhere. There had been a lady in the house who told them that it was a demon that had attacked Alec, and that even though she could heal the wound, there was no way to remove such a scar — but that she could hide it by giving Alec a different face.

Maryse and Robert had already agreed to it when they were told that the spell would stop working at midnight and only start working again when the sun rose, and by then it was too late to undo it. Alec had woken up to a face that wasn't his in the mirror, and it had changed his life.

Alec doesn't blame his parents for agreeing to the spell. It must have been terrifying and confusing being in a foreign country and with their child so badly injured. The scar left by the demon's attack is hard to look at — and not just because it covers so much of his face. Somehow, it seems to change the more you look at it, turning into whatever disgusts you the most. Jace has admitted to him that it appears rotting and maggoty if he looks too long at it, and Izzy says after a while it makes that half of Alec's face look like a monster she used to imagine lived in the closet when she was a kid. It's definitely not something he can go and get cosmetic surgery to remove.

But Alec wishes he wasn't wearing a dead person's face — he'd managed to find the boy whose face was given to him, some kid named Sebastian Verlac who died when he was around the same age as Alec, just a week before Alec himself was attacked. He wishes it didn't change his entire appearance completely so that he can't even see a hint of what he really looks like, not even his real hair colour or eyes, which weren't injured in the attack. The odd thing is that even though his fake face can get dirty or wet in the rain, if anyone touches his face, what they would feel is his real face — scar and all.

He'd gone back to France with Izzy and Jace when they were all grown up, without their parents' permission and pretending they were going somewhere else instead, to try to find the mysterious cottage and the lady with red hair (the witch?) who had done the spell and get her to remove it, but they never managed to find her. In fact, they hadn't found the castle either, and it didn't seem to be on any maps. If Alec didn't have a magical scar and curse on him, he would have thought that they'd all somehow gone through a mass hallucination or traumatic event that had suppressed their memories.

So Alec has had to live his life like some kind of cross between Cinderella and Mr Hyde — always having to run away before the clock strikes twelve and he turns into a frightening-looking person who would be a total stranger to most of the people who think they know Alec Lightwood. After thirteen years, he's resigned himself to it. At least he still has his siblings and his parents who know the truth.

…or at least he thought he'd resigned himself to it, until he meets Magnus Bane again.

 

--

 

For some reason, Alec finds himself thinking of the mysterious guy who crashed the Institute party, telling himself it's just because the guy was acting very oddly. But Jace doesn't seem to remember anything strange happening at the party even though he did receive Alec's message, and that alone wouldn't have been too odd if Alec hadn't then found out that Clarydidn't remember the guy either even though it'd seemed like he knew her, and Raj also didn't remember the party crasher.

Everything about this is extremely weird, and somehow makes Alec think of the disappearing castle and red-haired lady and his cursed scar. But Alec has never seen any other signs of so-called "magic" since the incident, and he won't jump to conclusions like that. There's probably a perfectly logical explanation, like maybe Magnus was just so unassuming that nobody else bothered remembering him.

But Alec bumps into Magnus Bane again almost a week after the party, completely by chance. Alec's meeting ended early, and the weather is pretty good. So he ends up walking down Fifth Avenue since his mom's birthday is coming up and he wants to get her something nice, and nearly walks right into Magnus as he's coming out of a shop… except that he looks really different.

Gone is the dull suit and unfashionable hairstyle. The clothes he's wearing now are tight, and even though most of it is in black, black is a classic colour and there's a nice sheen to the material. He's gelled up his hair to a slightly more spiky look and he's even wearing a touch of eyeliner, like he's just started experimenting with the idea of makeup and isn't very sure that it's his thing yet. But if he asked Alec, Alec would have told him that it's really working for him.

"Hey, this is a nice surprise. It's Magnus, right? You look different. A good kind of different," Alec says with a smile.

Magnus blinks at him. "You remember me?"

"Yeah, of course I do. The guy who wanted to crash the party at The Institute," Alec replies.

"Right, because you left the party early," Magnus mutters, almost to himself.

Alec frowns. "What was that?"

"Nothing. I suppose I didn't thank you properly for letting me into the party that day," Magnus says brightly.

"You can thank me by letting me take you out to lunch," Alec suggests impulsively.

For a moment, Magnus looks like he's going to decline. He looks up at Alec with a contemplative expression and eventually gives in with a winning smile. "Only if you'll let me take you out to lunch," he counters.

It seems like it isn't just Magnus' dress sense that's changed. Alec kind of likes this new confidence too, though. "Sure," he replies with a grin.

There's a great sushi place around the corner, and Magnus somehow manages to get the chef to serve them something that isn't on the menu, ordering in perfect Japanese. He's clearly well-travelled and worldly, with lots of stories to tell even though he still seems a bit shy, and he has Alec hanging on every word.

"Look at me, just talking about myself," Magnus says with a self-depreciating laugh. "How about you? Have you been anywhere interesting?"

He's only been to one other place, and Alec wouldn't have used the word "interesting". Magnus must notice the dip in Alec's mood.

"I really wanted to thank you for letting me into the party that day. Something happened to me some time ago that changed how I saw myself as a person, and for a very, very long time, I've just closed myself off and tried to hide all the things that made me who I am. It's almost like I'd forgotten how to be alive," Magnus admits.

Magnus doesn't have any visible scars, but Alec knows better than anyone that not all scars are. He's not exactly sure how crashing a corporate party helped Magnus, but it's not his business.

"If being at the party helped in any way, I'm glad," Alec says sincerely.

"Well, meeting a kind and generous man who made an exception for me definitely helped," Magnus says with a wink.

Alec grins, lifting his teacup in a toast, and manages not to think about the fact that he's wearing someone else's face for the rest of the afternoon.

 

--

 

It feels only fair for it to be Alec's turn to treat Magnus to lunch some other day, and Alec reasons that there's no harm in making a new friend — especially in Magnus, who admits that he's lost touch with many of his old friends and seems to be in the process of figuring out some things about himself.

They go to the movies next, then shopping, because Magnus had needed a little encouragement to buy some outfits that were a little flashier than what he usually wore. They'd gone to look at makeup as well, and even though Alec has been curious but never dared to try because he doesn't know how to put something on a face that he can't actually see in the mirror, Magnus had coyly asked him to help with his eyeliner. Magnus had been very pleased with the results, but there had been something rather intimate about being trusted to do someone's makeup like that, and then Magnus had invited him to his house for dinner…

"That does sound like a date. I mean, not that friends can't hang out at each other's places, but it sounds like you've been on several dates already," Jace says.

Alec frowns. He hadn't meant for it to go this way, even if his feelings for Magnus have grown a little more than platonic now that he's gotten to know him a little better. It's impossible not to, when Magnus is smart, funny, kind, and generous, and even without the new dress sense, has an indelible spark. Perhaps Alec of all people should really have known not to judge a book by its cover, but he's really happy that he's been fortunate enough to have another chance at getting to know Magnus, and if it really comes down to it, he doesn't really have friends outside of his siblings and their partners and he doesn’t want to lose a budding friendship if things go wrong. He's quite sure Magnus is interested in taking their relationship a little further as well, but he's not sure how interested Magnus would be if he found out about the curse.

"It's not a bad thing to be dating someone, finally. You do like him, right?" Izzy asks. "You're not just going out on dates with him because he's the one person who hasn't complimented you on your face?"

Alec shakes his head. "But it isn't fair to him, is it? I'm not who he thinks I am.”

"You're more than just that face, bro," Jace says.

"Exactly! If he likes you for who you are, I'm sure he'll understand. It's not like you haven't tried to get rid of that curse, so you’re not tricking him on purpose, and it would be better for him to know before things get serious," Izzy says, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "There has to be someone you would be willing to take that chance with and tell them the truth. Just follow your heart."

"I mean, he gives tarot card readings for a living. If there's someone that would believe in all this magic stuff, it would be him, wouldn't it?" Jace points out sagely.

 

--

 

Alec nearly cancels on Magnus the next day out of nerves, but he decides it would be worse to ghost him. He spends ages picking out an outfit, but instead of the shades of blue he usually wears because he knows they bring out the blue eyes of the face he's borrowing, he digs into his cupboard for an olive green turtle-neck sweater that he bought on a whim but never dared to wear, a shade that he knows matches his real eyes.

Magnus greets Alec at the door wearing a red apron with the words "Certified Meat Inspector" to protect his slightly sparkly black button-up and teasingly checks him out from head to toe before ushering him in. Magnus' penthouse apartment is cosy and cluttered with an array of strange things. Alec knows Magnus gives tarot readings for a living — he's seen the ads on TV — so he shouldn't have been surprised about the books on esoteric subjects on the shelves and fat red candles that look more suitable for magic rituals than the sort meant for a romantic candlelit dinner, and odd statues and jars, including one jar labelled "werewolf fangs", which is probably supposed to add to the aesthetic of a mystic.

"I thought of keeping these away, but... I think you should know what you're getting into," Magnus says with a wink. "But, in the interests of full disclosure, I actually have two cats. I just left them with a neighbour tonight so that we wouldn't be disturbed."

"I like cats," Alec assures him, but his throat suddenly feels a little dry at Magnus' comment about not wanting to be disturbed. He takes a big gulp of wine once Magnus goes back to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the food. If he wants to run, now is his last chance.

Except that Alec doesn't want to run. He wants to hope that Magnus is going to be the one who doesn't freak out when he shows him his real face, who is willing to accept him for who he really is.

So Alec squares his shoulders and puts his wine glass down, prepared to help Magnus in the kitchen instead, but Magnus is already walking over with their food — and what a dinner it is, way beyond Alec's expectations. Magnus is apparently hiding Michelin-star-level cooking skills up his sleeve, and Alec can't help but be impressed.

"You could open a restaurant with these skills," he says at the first bite of perfectly cooked steak.

"I could have gotten take-out," Magnus points out, smiling.

"The only Michelin-star restaurants that do take-out are the Mexican places, and the seasoning on this steak is exactly like that Korean fusion place that I went to once and still dream about," Alec insists. "Besides, take-out wouldn't be hot off the grill unless they teleported the food to you or something."

Magnus shrugs. "Maybe it did. Maybe I did it by magic. Do you believe in magic, Alexander?"

He looks so serious that there's a tense moment when Alec thinks that maybe this is the chance to tell Magnus about the curse — then Magnus laughs it off, and the moment passes.

The rest of the dinner passes without incident, but by the end of it, they are both a little too full for the chocolate ice cream that Alec brought for dessert.

"How about we watch a movie while our food digests a bit?" Magnus suggests.

Alec checks his watch instinctively. It's almost 10 p.m., and if they start watching a movie now, it will probably run past midnight. "What movie do you have in mind?" Alec asks, trying to keep his nervousness out of his voice.

To Alec's surprise, Magnus suggests an animated film that Alec has vaguely heard of, titled Howl's Moving Castle. It's a fantasy story so of course magic is involved, as are wizards and curses that change one's appearance. There's a bit about true love's kiss as well, as all fairytales do, and that gives Alec a wild idea — what if the way to break his curse is true love's kiss?

He was a bit too old for fairy tales when he was cursed, and anyway, he's not prone to fanciful ideas like that. But now that he's thought of it, it does seem like true love's kiss is usually the solution to most fairy-tale curses.

The question is, is Magnus the one?

Alec sneaks a peek at Magnus. They've known each other for a few weeks, so he'd be hesitant to suggest that they're in love. But he does like Magnus a lot, and he wouldn't be here on the verge of trusting Magnus with his big secret if he didn't think there was a good chance this could be something more.

The alarm on his phone rings just as the credits roll. It's five minutes to midnight.

"Magnus, I have something to tell you," Alec blurts out before he loses his nerve.

Magnus looks a little startled by how nervous he must seem, but he reaches out for Alec's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I've been lying to you — sort of. This is going to sound really crazy, but the truth is, the face that you're seeing isn't actually my face," Alec says.

Magnus doesn't look surprised at all. "You mean the glamour?"

Alec frowns. The what? He's suddenly aware of how it sounds like maybe he had cosmetic surgery or something, even if he's never heard of it being called that. "I don't mean that I've gone for cosmetic surgery, it's—"

"No, that's what it's called, the spell that hides your real face," Magnus interrupts him gently.

Alec stares at him in shock for a long time, lost for words. This isn't the reaction he was prepared for. "You... you can see my real face?"

Magnus nods. "Glamour spells don't really work on those who know how to look past them, even though those who have that ability are few and far between these days."

"Oh, like some third-eye kind of thing?" Alec asks, relaxing. That makes sense, he supposes — he'd never believed in all this tarot card stuff, but maybe there's something to it, just like those stories about people who can see ghosts. And of course it would make sense that Magnus has this ability.

"Not quite the Sight," Magnus says, and suddenly it's his turn to be nervous now. "Actually, I've been hiding something from you too. And since you've been honest with me, I think I should be honest with you too."

Alec nods, assuming that Magnus is probably going to tell him more about his ability. Instead, Magnus squeezes his eyes shut, then blinks them open and looks him in the eye. It takes Alec a moment to realise what's different in the dim, warm light of Magnus' living room. But Magnus' eyes do seem a little more reflective than usual, and lighter so that they're more golden than brown, and it finally clicks — Magnus' eyes look like a cat's. He was using a glamour to cover it too.

Somewhere in Magnus' apartment, a clock strikes twelve.

Alec can feel the tingling of the spell fading, but for once, it doesn't bother him. "Did you get cursed too?"

Magnus shakes his head, his mouth twisting with a bitter smile that looks out of place on his face. "I was born this way."

Alec reaches out for him immediately, cupping his face so that Magnus looks up at him. "They're beautiful," Alec tells him softly. "You're beautiful."

Magnus puts his hand over Alec's and his smile softens. "Well, I think your real face is very handsome as well. But I have to ask — how did you get not just a demonic scar, but a cursed glamour?"

So Alec tells Magnus everything. He expects that most of it won't make sense to Magnus, but Magnus frowns and nods along. "The woman with red hair was probably Iris Rouse. I've known her for centuries, and she probably keeps a few pet demons for tricks like that, to use against shadowhunters."

"What's a shadowhunter? And what do you mean you've known her for centuries?" Alec asks in bewilderment.

Then it's Magnus' turn to tell him a very strange tale about half-demons called warlocks, and clans of angel-blooded warriors who gave up their angel blood to seal the world from all hell dimensions. It's a bit too much to handle in one go, but oddly enough, Alec finds himself believing all of it.

"I knew you were from a shadowhunter family because of your last name, but you were kind, and I could tell that your scar was of demonic origin. I've only just started to get my magic back again, but one good turn deserves another, and initially, I tried to be friendly so that I could perhaps convince you to let me cure you." Magnus smiles nervously. "I just didn't expect that we would get along so well."

That's probably the understatement of the century, but something else that Magnus said has caught Alec's attention. "You can cure me? You can remove the scar?"

"I can't remove the scar completely, demon venom leaves a mark, and it's been so long. But I can remove the venom so that it's just an ordinary scar, and I can also remove Iris' spell so that you don't have to face the world with someone else's face," Magnus says.

That would be complicated, considering all of Alec's official documents like his passport and driver's license bear Sebastian's face, and all his clients recognise him with Sebastian's face as well. But Magnus assures him that it can be fixed too.

"Memory spells happen to be my forte — that's how I made everyone at the party at The Institute forget I'd been there, and you missed it because you left early. All I need to do is weave a little temporary memory spell so that everyone who meets you forgets that you used to wear Sebastian's face. The spell will wear off in two years, and I think by then you'll probably have met everyone important to you," Magnus says. "Of course, I can also put a new glamour on you so that people won't see your scar at all."

Alec hesitates, then shakes his head. Maybe people will be put off by the scar that remains, and he's hidden his real face for so long that it's a little scary to think of showing it to the world, but he'd rather not hide any part of himself anymore. People who can't deal with it are probably people he doesn't want in his life anyway. "Let's do it."

After thirteen years of living with the scar and the curse, Magnus frees him from them within moments — just a wave of his hands, a flash of bright blue from Magnus' hands and a slightly ticklish warmth that Alec feels settling on his face, and it's over. Alec catches sight of his own reflection in the mirror on a further wall but is distracted by Magnus, who looks like he's going to keel over.

"Magnus! Are you OK?" Alec asks hurriedly.

"I stopped using my magic for a long time. I guess it's like overdoing it at the gym after taking a very long break," Magnus says with a wan smile.

"Do you still have to go to the gym when you have magic?" Alec asks curiously.

"I did not get these biceps by magic, Alexander," Magnus says indignantly, and Alec laughs.

Magnus does seem a little better after finishing the rest of the bottle of red wine from dinner, and Alec takes the opportunity to take a better look at himself in the mirror. There are three thin silvery scars — the longest one from inside his left brow, cutting across his nose bridge to his right cheek; one about an inch long and parallel to that, on his forehead; and a small scratch that wouldn't be noticeable if it didn't cut across the tip of his left eyebrow, resulting in a small break of scar tissue where hair doesn't grow. It looks like he got clawed by a wild animal, and could probably be explained away as such.

"I think it gives you a rakish look — a little dangerous, someone with a very interesting story to tell. Some people are into that," Magnus says from behind him, trying to sound nonchalant.

Alec meets his eyes through their reflections in the mirror. Magnus has hidden his cat eyes again, but now that he knows they're there, Alec can't help wondering if he can see them if he looks hard enough. Maybe he should be afraid — especially since it's a mark of the fact that Magnus is half demon — but all he sees is the shy, kind man who's gradually coming out of his shell, and all the more fascinating for it.

"I like people who have a story to tell," Alec says. "Actually, I was thinking that I should spend the night, to make sure that you're OK."

"Oh, I'm alright. It's just a bit of overexertion. You don't have to stay," Magnus says quickly.

"What if I want to?" Alec replies softly.

Magnus' expression is very serious as he searches Alec's face. "Alexander, I don't want you to feel like you owe it to me."

"Magnus, that's not what this is," Alec says immediately. "I've never told anyone about my scar, but I wanted to take the chance with you even though I didn't know anything about this shadowhunter and demon stuff. And I don't care if you are part demon — because I know you, and you're the furthest thing from a demon."

He reaches out to cup Magnus' face, willing him to understand. "You never have to hide yourself from me."

Magnus blinks, and when he looks up at Alec again, his cat eyes are back, and even if it turns out that he didn't need true love's kiss to break the curse, Alec can't resist leaning in. He goes in slowly, giving Magnus plenty of opportunity to back off. But Magnus tilts his chin up and for the first time in his life, Alec kisses someone — someone who he can imagine having long nights talking about anything and everything, someone whose hand he can hold when they go out shopping or just walking down the street, someone with whom life is probably going to be a little strange and unexpected but still wholly magical. And Magnus kisses him back, tentatively at first, but with surprising skill in the way he nips Alec's bottom lip with just enough pressure to make the heat curl in his gut, and the way his tongue teases Alec's mouth open so Alec's legs are jelly by the time they finally pull away from each other, both of them breathing hard.

Magnus clears his throat. "It's not that I don't want to, but I worry that if we rush into this… You may find it old-fashioned, but I think maybe we should take things a little more slowly. It's been a long time since I've had someone over."

Alec nods reluctantly. He knows Magnus' suggestion probably makes sense, and Magnus is still dealing with magical overexertion, but his libido has other ideas. "I've never stayed over with anyone before," he admits.

Magnus looks a little surprised but his eyes grow soft as he caresses Alec's face. "All the more reason to take things one step at a time. I'll conjure up some pyjamas for you."

"You don't have to. I don't normally wear anything when I sleep," Alec replies with a smirk, which gets a laugh out of Magnus.

 

--

 

The pyjamas fit perfectly of course, and they spend the night holding each other, just talking, until they fall asleep. In the morning, it takes Alec a moment to remember where he is. Magnus is still sound asleep, so Alec sits up carefully, and the first thing he catches sight of is his own reflection in a full-length mirror in the corner of the room — and the golden morning light falling on his real face.

Beside him, Magnus stirs and must notice what he's looking at. He sits up and kisses Alec on the cheek, right at the tip of his longest scar. "Good morning," he says softly.

"Good morning," Alec agrees, turning his head to kiss Magnus properly. "Do you have any plans today? Clients?"

Magnus' expression changes. "Oh dear. What time is it? I have to get to a consultation at The Institute."

"Oh. Then I'd better let you get ready," Alec says in disappointment, already reluctantly letting go of Magnus, when Magnus chuckles.

"I was just kidding. I'm all yours," Magnus says with a smile.

Alec huffs and rolls his eyes. "Then what do you say we spend the rest of the day lazing in bed and getting to know each other a little better?" he asks, arching an eyebrow at Magnus.

"That sounds very tempting, but I do have to go pick up my cats..." Magnus murmurs half-heartedly.

"Just a little longer," Alec says, putting his arms around Magnus' waist.

"Just a little longer," Magnus agrees, and laughs when Alec tackles him back down onto the bed.

 

Notes:

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