Chapter Text
“Alec... When’s Magnus coming back?”
Alec looks up from his meal to regard his little brother, who’s half-heartedly picking at a piece of pasta with his fork. Max and Izzy are leaning back against the headboard of Izzy’s bed, with Alec perched close by at the edge. Max is tucked within Izzy’s side, her arm wrapped loosely around his shoulders, despite having to now eat her own pasta one-handed.
“It’s barely been a week, Max,” Alec points out with a smile that’s hopefully more comforting than it feels. Max has been sulking around the Institute since Magnus left; there’s no other word for it. Their brother is constantly asking when he’ll come back and actually pouts when Alec honestly doesn't know the answer to that. Alec has no idea when he'll even be able to see the man again, let alone Max. And while Alec’s heart melts to know how attached Max is to Magnus already, it also makes his chest ache to be so acutely reminded of how long it’s been. Which, really, is ridiculous when Alec thinks about it because surely, it’s hardly enough time for Alec to actually miss him.
Especially since they’ve been texting each other every day. They're just little things back and forth throughout the day, sure, but it’s consistent enough where Alec really shouldn’t be missing him.
So why does it feel like Alec is pointing out something so obvious not only to Max, but also to himself when he points out how it’s 'barely been a week'?
“I’m sure he’ll stop by once the lockdown is lifted,” Izzy tells their brother again patiently, shooting Alec a smirk that Alec pointedly ignores before she pulls Max closer to her side and into a hug.
Max goes with the movement without resistance, slouching into her side and letting out a loud huff.
“But how do you know? W-What if Magnus never comes back!” Max complains, his tone barely hiding his insecurity. “We never even found out what happened to Maloon!”
“Mulan,” Alec corrects without missing a beat. Izzy tosses Alec an all-too-amused smirk and the tips of his ears burn. His sister is smirking like it’s supposed to mean something that Alec remembers the name of the loyal Chinese warrior. Which is ridiculous. She’s ridiculous. It’s not like it’s a hard name to remember.
By the Angel, will she stop looking at him like that already?
Max doesn’t seem to notice their silent exchange and is now pouting down at his bowl, letting a pasta noodle fall back down with an unappealing ‘schloop’.
“Trust me, Max: we’ll see Magnus again real soon. Besides… I doubt he’ll be able to resist staying away for too long,” Izzy says in a final attempt to reassure Max, unable to help herself from also throwing Alec an exaggerated wink. Alec rolls his eyes at such a ridiculous gesture, but resists the way his lips try to twitch into a smile regardless.
“This lockdown is so stupid…,” Max mutters, and Alec can’t help but sigh in agreement. The extended lockdown did seem a bit excessive but—
Alec’s phone starts ringing from his back pocket and Alec shifts around, placing his fork into his bowl so that he can free a hand to pull his phone out. It’s nearing its last ring, so Alec doesn’t glance to see who it is before answering the call.
“Hello, who is this?”
Alec hears a familiar laugh on the other end and his heart stutters.
“I would think that’s rather obvious. You do have caller ID, don’t you?”
“Magnus…,” Alec breathes, unable to stop himself from grinning ear to ear, everything around him fading out until all of his senses focus in on the man at the other end of the line. Magnus laughs again and Alec’s chest feels so warm at such an affectionate sound.
“The one and only, darling.”
Alec’s heart stutters at the endearment, and Alec briefly wonders if he’ll ever get used to Magnus calling him that, or if that’s something that’ll always make Alec feel this way.
“You’re talking to Magnus?” Max asks, perking up in an instant and Alec snaps out of his daze, suddenly realizing where he is. Alec wipes the grin from his face, feeling the tips of his ears burn at having been caught grinning like a complete idiot. What’s worse, Alec knows this is too good for his sister to let slide. Alec got lucky before when she hadn't noticed him and Magnus being alone in his room for so long, so she hadn't commented. But this...this is too obvious. It’s the perfect opportunity to poke fun at him, and his sister always did like to take the opportunity to tease him when she could.
But Izzy doesn’t tease him; she doesn’t say a word. In fact, she looks downright delighted to find out who exactly Alec is on the phone with. And when she locks eyes with Alec, her smile is instead so fond and proud that Alec can’t help but return it with a small smile of his own.
There's nothing wrong with letting yourself have this, Alexander.
Magnus’s words come into Alec’s mind completely unbidden, but for maybe the first time, Alec feels like he can actually start to believe them himself.
“Yeah, Max. It’s Magnus,” Alec says, still smiling when he turns to face his brother. “He’s—”
“I wanna talk to him!” Max interrupts, and when Max lurches forward from underneath Izzy’s arm, Alec acts instinctively, barely having time to hastily set down his own bowl in his lap so that he can grab Max’s just in time. With Alec distracted, his brother takes his chance and snatches the phone right out of Alec’s hand, quickly wiggling back into Izzy’s side and clutching his prize close to his ear with both hands, cradling it in an almost protective gesture. As if Alec would have the heart to actually take it back from him. How can he? Alec can’t even find it in himself to be even a little annoyed when he sees the huge grin that now lights up Max’s whole face.
“Magnus-you-need-to-come-visit-us-soon! We-miss-you!” Max exclaims in a rush, and both Izzy and Alec laugh when their brother finally takes a huge gulp of air to properly breathe. Max’s face suddenly becomes more serious, listening to whatever Magnus is saying on the other line. “That’s okay, Magnus. Alec already told me that you tried to find me and say good-bye, but mom made you go before you could. I understand.”
Even though Alec can’t hear Magnus, the sight of his brother interacting with him, even if it’s just on the phone, warms something in Alec’s chest. Perhaps it’s only a small, insignificant thing but to Alec, it feels like proof that maybe he’s done something right for once.
Alec watches as Max’s jaw drops, his eyes going comically wide, and Alec can’t help but snort out a laugh at that. He isn’t the only one though. Alec glances over to see how Izzy is struggling to hold back her own laughter within the palm of her hand.
“Are you serious?” Max gapes, and Alec wonders what Magnus’s responds with to that because it seems to please Max so much that he actually squeals in pure joy. Izzy can’t contain it any longer and bursts out into a fit of giggles at such a ridiculous, happy sound and Alec can’t stop grinning even if he tried. Max doesn’t pay any attention to either of them.
But then, Max’s goes silent. His entire body freezes, Max concentrating hard on whatever Magnus is saying on the other end. It’s with such an intense, sharp focus, that Alec’s grin fades at such a dramatic change in demeanor.
Whatever Magnus called about originally must’ve been important because Max is frowning, giving Magnus a very serious nod to whatever he must be saying (like Magnus is there and able to see it) before Max reaches out to hand the phone back to Alec.
“Magnus has something really really important he needs to tell you,” Max informs Alec, his tone just as serious as his expression. Alec doesn’t say a word and trades Max back his bowl for Alec’s phone and Alec slides off the bed, silently excusing himself from Izzy’s room and into the hallway for some privacy. Alec doesn’t understand the smirk that Izzy sends his way and doesn’t even try to, shutting the door behind him with a soft ‘click.’ Only then does Alec finally bring the phone up to his ear.
“What’s going on, Magnus?” Alec asks with a frown. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know about ‘okay’—” Alec’s frown deepens, his mind instantly coming up with a dozen different scenarios of what could’ve possibly happened. Magnus did have that important meeting with that warlock from San Francisco this morning. Did something happen? Maybe she—? “I just haven’t heard your lovely voice in quite some time. So, I thought it was about time I changed that.”
Alec slumps back against his sister’s door with a relieved laugh that’s probably a bit too loud.
“Max said that you had to tell me something ‘really really’ important,” Alec chastises, keeping his tone light enough that hopefully Magnus knows he’s only teasing and isn’t actually bothered. Alec smiles when he hears an answering laugh and Alec thinks Magnus understands.
“But it is! Didn’t you hear me, Alexander? I haven’t heard your voice in days. That, in itself, is a tragedy that needed to be fixed. Don’t you agree?”
Alec laughs again and leans back more comfortably against Izzy’s door, resting his head against the wood.
“I think you and I have very different views on what’s considered ‘really really’ important, Magnus,” Alec muses. Magnus lets out a long-suffering sigh and Alec barks out a laugh at that. Alec wonders if Magnus is smiling despite that. It’s hard to tell on the phone, but Alec likes to think he’s smiling alongside him.
“Truly, your cruelty knows no bounds.” A brief pause, then— “Is now a bad time, darling? I can always call back later.”
Alec’s heart stutters again at the ‘darling’ but he ignores it in favor of glancing around the hallway to check and make sure that he’s indeed alone.
“No…now’s fine,” Alec says, before thinking better of it. “Actually, just hold on a sec.”
Magnus hums his assent and waits patiently as Alec pushes himself off Izzy’s door to walk towards his room. Alec doesn’t say anything else until he closes his bedroom door behind him, unable to fully relax until he locks it.
“S-So…,” Alec says, finding himself suddenly nervous. He’s wracking his brain, trying to think of something, anything, to say before blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. “How’s, uh…how’s your day been?”
Alec has to fight the childish urge to groan aloud at such a lame, unoriginal question, but Magnus doesn’t seem to mind at all.
“Oh, the usual. Although I did have a werewolf come by after my meeting with Amanita. Very urgent matter, apparently. He insisted I create a smaller version of a portal for— get this: his cat. He wanted a portal cat-door, of all things.”
Alec can’t help but bark out a rather loud, incredulous laugh.
“You’re joking,” Alec laughs, settling himself back against his door and bending down enough to reach down and unlace his boots. Alec places the first one to the side of the door and grins when he hears Magnus chuckle as well. But Alec finds himself curious nonetheless. “So? Did you do it?”
“Of course, I did,” Magnus replies, like the answer should be obvious to Alec, and Alec has barely gotten his other boot off and place next to the first one before he throws a hand over his mouth to smother another bark of laughter that tries to escape. By the Angel, this man—“He offered me payment in diamonds, Alexander. I was hardly going to say ‘no’ to that.” Magnus pauses, as if in consideration. “No matter how ludicrous the whole thing admittedly was. Why he wanted his cat to have full access to the Netherlands whenever they saw fit is beyond me.”
“You’re so…—” Alec struggles to catch his breath and find the right word so of course, Magnus jumps right in to ‘help’.
“Charming? All-powerful? Irresistible?”
“Ridiculous,” Alec supplies instead with a laugh, standing back upright to lean against the door again with a fond smile. Alec knows he’s unable to keep all of the affection out of his tone, doesn’t even try to, and Magnus must pick up on that because he doesn’t sound at all bothered by Alec’s word choice.
“But I am all of those things too, you do realize.”
Alec takes a moment to lick at his lips, his heart pounding wildly against his chest. He can’t believe he’s actually considering saying something like this out loud, but by the Angel he fights demons for a living, and if he can do it on a text then surely he can do this too.
“I-I, uh…may’ve noticed those things too, yeah,” Alec admits rather awkwardly, forcing the words past his lips despite how they make the tips of his ears burn hotter than Alec can remember. Alec makes sure to keep his breathing under control, especially when Magnus doesn’t respond right away. But in reality, Magnus is only silent for a mere beat or two before he hums a low, pleased sound.
“I must say, Alexander, I cannot wait to find out what other surprises you have in store for me.”
Alec huffs out a laugh that comes out shakier than he would’ve liked, but really, what’s Alec supposed to say to that? While it’s one thing to reply on a text where Alec doesn’t have to hear Magnus say these kinds of things, on the phone it’s…well, it certainly doesn’t do anything to help Alec’s rapidly beating heart, that’s for sure. In fact, it seems to be making Alec’s heart beat faster.
“I-I’m hardly that interesting,” Alec says, voicing the obvious out loud because it’s true. Now that Alec thinks about it, Magnus has been around for…what? Four hundred years? Give or take? There’s nothing about Alec that Magnus hasn’t seen or experienced before.
Magnus’s chuckle this time is deeper, huskier, the sound sending a pleasant heat throughout Alec’s gut and Alec licks his lips again. Alec tells himself that he and Magnus aren’t in the same room together, let alone the same building, but it feels like they are. Just the two of them. The air between them feels charged in a way that Alec can’t quite explain.
“Oh, believe me, darling—” Unlike before, Alec shivers at the endearment, unable to focus on anything but the way Magnus draws each word out, speaking with a sort of drawl that barely hides a certain heat right below the surface. “You are very interesting.”
And just like that, the moment is broken and Alec snorts because now that is ridiculous.
“Clearly,” Alec deadpans with a roll of his eyes. Alec expects Magnus to continue flirting, to quip back with something else smart, or even tease Alec (since Magnus seems to enjoy that almost as much as the flirting. Sometimes at the same time). Anything along those lines. But what Alec doesn’t expect is the intensity in how serious Magnus sounds all of a sudden.
“You…honestly have no idea. Do you?”
The air suddenly feels thick, and it’s harder for Alec to breathe and he can’t figure out why. But before Alec has a chance to even respond (with what, Alec isn’t sure he’s quite figured that out either because to be honest, Alec isn’t sure what Magnus is talking about. But it somehow feels like a lot is riding on whatever Alec's answer is), there’s a quick succession of sharp knocks on the door behind Alec’s back and it’s easier for Alec to breathe again.
“Hold on, someone’s at the door…,” Alec mutters to Magnus, moving his back from the door so that he can turn to open it properly. Today seems to be full of surprises for Alec because there, on the other side, is none other than Lydia.
Alec has hardly spoken to Lydia since he told her the other day that there’s been a change of plans: that while he originally thought that the two of them getting married was the right thing to do, it isn’t, and Alec can’t go through with it. He couldn’t give her an honest explanation of why, but Lydia hadn’t needed one. Instead, she had interrupted (though not unkindly) and gave Alec a small, almost cryptic smile and told Alec that he didn’t have to explain before she quickly excused herself, saying she had to attend to a matter of high importance and walked off, all before Alec could get another word in.
Alec still doesn’t know what to make of such a calm acceptance, but he’s not about to question his luck about it either.
“Alec, hey, sorry to interrupt but I have a possible lead on the daphne odora poison. Think you can spare a moment to talk in my office?” Lydia asks, and instantly she has Alec’s complete attention.
“Hey,” Alec says to Magnus somewhat distractedly. “Sorry, I gotta—”
“Go,” Magnus says, somehow inflecting both a permission and an instruction in his tone. His voice had gentled as well, although it was no less serious than before. “I heard what Miss Branwell said. If there’s anything I can do to help, you know where to find me.”
Magnus ends the call without another word but Alec hardly notices, returning his phone to his back pocket. When Alec finally has his boots back on, Lydia backs up so that Alec can exit his room. He closes the door behind him, his expression grim as he gestures for Lydia to lead the way.
“So what did you find?”