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English
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Published:
2016-04-22
Completed:
2019-07-14
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281,940
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26/26
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Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things

Summary:

In which Alec Lightwood confronts a lifetime of issues about his appearance, and slowly, with a lot of help, learns that he’s allowed to be pretty.

A Prompt Fill continuation of the "Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things" series.

Notes:

Welcome back to the ALDNT 'verse!

Some basic notes about this fic:

1. Though it's not listed as part of the ALDNT series, I would recommend reading the series first, since a lot of the events and overall characterizations specific to those fics will feature heavily in these stories.

2. Unlike the original ALDNT series, this story is not going to be presented in chronological order. I'll be sure to make it very clear when each story takes place.

3. As always, thank you so, so much for reading! I keep receiving the most incredible responses to the original series, and I am constantly honored and humbled by the things you've been saying. It means so much to me to see the continuing support for this story, and the support for Alec Lightwood having nice things.

4. Update! I've started posting bonus content for this series. The collection of ALDNT Extras can be found on tumblr or ao3, and any new content will be added to both of those links.

(See the end of the work for other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter Text

“May I?”

Magnus’s fingers brush lightly across the top button of Alec’s shirt.

Alec’s mouth dries up. Blood rushes to his face. Blood also rushes somewhere else. It’s like all of Alec’s bodily fluids decided to simultaneously stop doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

Alec’s lungs must have gotten the memo too, because suddenly he can’t catch his breath.

Magnus has seen Alec without a shirt before. He’s seen his bare chest. He knows what it looks like. That’s nothing new.

But it’s one thing for Magnus to see him shirtless when Alec is training. It’s a very different thing to have Magnus see him shirtless while Magnus is - by the Angel - while he’s straddling Alec’s lap, pressing him into the couch that is not even slightly big enough for two grown men to be sprawled across it like this.

Magnus’s finger just keeps circling the little button, making his intention pretty fucking clear, without actually going through with it. He’s waiting for Alec. He’s waiting for Alec to give him permission.

Alec looks up at him. Where he’s hovering over him, knees on either side of Alec’s hips, supporting his weight on one hand that’s right next to Alec’s head. He looks… fuck. Alec gets hit with a sharp pang of awareness that this is Magnus Bane, this is an unbelievably sexy and elegant and beautiful man, this is a man with more experience than Alec could possibly fathom.

His hair is mussed. His lipstick is smudged all the way down to his chin. His shirt is rucked up and wrinkled. He’s panting, out of breath. His eyes are bright, and eager, and almost… sort of… hungry.

Because he’s been kissing Alec.

And somehow, that’s still not enough for him. He wants to get Alec’s shirt off. He wants to have more of Alec available to him. So he can make himself even more breathless, more desperate, more wrecked…

Because of Alec.

If they hadn’t already made it this far, Alec would probably be asking Magnus if he’d mistaken him for someone else.

It’s only their second date. Alec can’t… he can’t even process that. That someone like Magnus actually wanted to have a first date with him, much less a second. And then, that someone like Magnus only needs two dates - only a few precious hours of interaction - to want to do this, to want to pin Alec to the couch and kiss him stupid and ask so nicely if he can take off his shirt. That he… that he likes Alec. That he… yeah. That he wants Alec.

It doesn’t make any sense.

And now he’s not even saying anything. Even though Alec still hasn’t answered him and has just been staring stupidly up at him with his mouth gaping open like a fish. He just keeps touching that top button, so gently.

Part of Alec wants to say yes, rip the shirt off, shred it into tiny pieces if that’s what Magnus wants. Because part of him wants to give Magnus anything he shows even the slightest interest in. Part of him can’t imagine ever saying no to this man, not when he wants Alec like this. How could he? How could Alec possibly see someone wanting him like this, and decide he’s not interested? This is Magnus, and Alec has wanted him since the first time he saw him, even if it took him way too long to understand that. This is Magnus, and he wants Magnus, and Magnus wants him, and how can Alec possibly deny him that?

But there’s another part of him, one that’s much bigger and deeper and too permanent for him to question. The part of him that realizes that this isn’t just about Magnus wanting Alec in a vague, directionless sort of way. This is about Alec’s body. Magnus wants Alec’s body. And Alec can’t… can’t deal with that. If Alec can’t even stand the sight of his bare chest, how can he possibly let Magnus see it? Not only that, but be so close to it, to touch it, to give it the type of affection that Alec knows he can’t stomach seeing someone so beautiful give to something so awful.

He wasn’t prepared for this. He didn’t think… even with how much Magnus has teased and flirted, and even with how much kissing had happened at the end of their previous date, Alec still didn’t think Magnus would want this. Want him like this. He hadn’t even considered it. And now, here he is, with a gorgeous man straddling him and asking to take his clothes off, and if Alec says yes to this, how many more questions will there be tonight? Is it just his shirt, right now, or is it his shirt, then his pants, and then is he having sex with Magnus before the night is over?

Just the thought makes Alec’s whole body shudder. It’s not that he doesn’t want… that. He does. He thinks he does. But that’s- for now, that’s too much. He can’t handle that yet. The thought of getting naked in front of anyone is enough to make him feel queasy. If he had to get naked in front of Magnus tonight he thinks he might actually vomit, and that’s not exactly the ‘first time’ story he wants to be stuck with. And that’s just the start of it. Being naked, being with Magnus, naked, with Alec having no idea what the fuck he’s supposed to do and probably doing everything wrong- and sure he knows the basics of what happens, but he doesn’t think he’s prepared for it, for Magnus to do any of that to him, and just his stupid luck he probably wouldn’t even be able to get hard or he’d come before they even started and he can’t let that happen it’s too much and he just can’t handle it he can’t he can’t-

“I don’t want to have sex tonight.”

Alec’s barely finished blurting it out before his eyes go wide. And his throat closes up. And his whole body freezes.

He said that.

He actually fucking said that.

He said those words to Magnus Bane.

Magnus Bane asked if he could take off Alec’s shirt, in the middle of a make-out session that was easily one of the top three best experiences of Alec’s entire life, and Alec stared at him in silence for a solid minute and a half-

And then he’d said that.

Maybe he won’t have to deal with this. Maybe he’ll die from embarrassment before Magnus can respond.

Magnus definitely looks… something. Startled, maybe? Probably horrifically offended? Wondering why the fuck he’s subjected himself to two entire dates with Alec Lightwood when he could have literally anyone else in the fucking universe (preferably someone who doesn’t blurt out stupid shit like ‘I don’t want to have sex with you’ for no fucking reason right in the middle of high-quality kissing)?

Alec’s not really sure what he was expecting Magnus’s reaction to be, but Magnus starts moving away from him, righting himself and shifting back so he’s sitting on Alec’s thighs instead of straddled over him. And even though Alec is the one who just said he wasn’t interested, it still feels like a rejection, like he’s ruined something, and fuck, how horrible does Alec have to be to ruin something that was so good?

“I-I’m sorry-” he stammers, desperate to fix the expression on Magnus’s face because it looks dangerously close to disappointment and Alec can’t handle being responsible for that. “I just… I wasn’t expecting to- wasn’t expecting th- that, and I know-”

“Alexander.”

“I know I should have said something… something sooner, I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner I should have said-”

“Alec.”

“I just- just- I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know how to do any of this I’m sorry-”

“Alexander.”

Magnus leans over him again, with one hand on the back of the couch, and the other on the arm of it, next to where Alec’s head has been awkwardly propped up for a good twenty minutes. But this time, Magnus raises himself up onto his knees, so he’s hovering over Alec, but not… not actually touching him (and fucking hell, how did Alec fuck this up so bad that he doesn’t even want to touch him now?).

Magnus just… waits there, like that, for several seconds. Like he’s waiting to see if Alec’s going to keep going. But now that Alec has finally managed to shut himself up, he’s not planning on speaking again until he gets back to the Institute - and even then, he might wait a few days.

Once he seems satisfied that Alec is done, Magnus…

Smiles. He smiles, just a little bit. Just a small, calm smile. Alec wasn’t expecting that. “Alexander, you don’t have to apologize.”

Alec’s first instinct is to apologize for apologizing, but he manages to stop himself in time.

Magnus keeps smiling, but somehow, he also looks serious. “We don’t have to have sex tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or ever, if you don’t want to. And that’s nothing to apologize for-”

“No, that’s not-!” Alec sputters, awkwardly pushing himself up onto his elbows. “It’s not… that. I do… I am… interested. In that. It’s just… not right now. Not yet.”

Magnus takes a moment before responding. “Were you uncomfortable?”

Alec’s just about to explain the crick in his neck when he realizes what Magnus actually means. “Oh. No. Not at all.” He can feel his face heating up, and he’s profoundly grateful that the only light in the loft right now is whatever’s coming in from the windows. “I… uh, I was… I liked it.” The corner of his mouth quirks up into something he hopes looks like a smile. “That part was… nice.”

Magnus just smiles again. Smiles, like he’s happy to hear that. Like he’s happy to know that Alec ‘liked’ getting to kiss him. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.

“But there was… um,” Alec fumbles for the right words. “When you asked, I… I thought it might mean… more.” He glances away, because he’s not capable of having Magnus look at him like that while he’s trying to talk. “And I… panicked.” Alec actually laughs at that, because he can hear exactly how pathetic it sounds.

But Magnus doesn’t laugh. He tilts his head, like he’s thinking. “Alright.” He waits until Alec nervously meets his gaze again. “Let’s make a rule. When I ask if you want something, I’m asking for exactly that. Nothing else. So if I ask to unbutton your shirt, that’s all it is. And if I mean that I want things to go further, then I’ll ask for that.” He reaches down to gently brush the hair off of Alec’s forehead. “And the same goes for you. We ask for what we want, and we know that it doesn’t imply anything more.” He smiles again. “Deal?”

Alec feels, he feels like everything has just… shifted a bit. But not in a bad way. It’s like the ground had been tilted and now it’s finally been righted.

And Magnus is smiling at him, like it’s nothing. Like it’s easy.

Alec’s mouth moves, but his throat hasn’t caught up with his brain yet. “Th-that sounds… good. Yeah.”

Magnus’s smile splits open, and it’s unbearably beautiful, and Alec doesn’t understand how lying here and agreeing not to have sex with him tonight could make Magnus look so… happy.

Magnus starts to lean back down, which - oh - Alec hadn’t realized how much he’s been wanting Magnus’s weight and heat pressed down on top of him again. “Alexander, can I unbutton your shirt?”

Alec grins, and it feels open and a little stupid and so very excited. “Please, yes.”

This time, Magnus laughs. But not at Alec. He laughs like he’s excited too.

And then he keeps leaning in, and yes, yes, he’s kissing Alec again. And… damn. Alec doesn’t know how he’s survived all these minutes without it. Magnus’s mouth is so ridiculously soft, and he’s so gentle with it. His lips are barely parted. And he’s just barely brushing them against Alec’s. And after a moment, he’s just barely touching his tongue to Alec’s lower lip.

It’s so little. So soft. So delicate.

But Alec feels like he’s dying. His whole body is lit up, like a fire sparked somewhere deep in his gut and it’s spreading all the way through to his fingers and toes. He gasps against Magnus’s lips, which would be embarrassing, but it gives Magnus the chance to get his tongue a little further into Alec’s mouth and Alec can’t give a fuck about anything else.

Magnus’s teeth catch Alec’s lip and Alec makes a sound he’s never made before. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, he’s still aware of that - but by the Angel it’s a lot harder to care about his lack of technique when he’s pushing his hand up the back of Magnus’s shirt. Alec knows he needs more, so he parts his lips and makes his best effort to taste the inside of Magnus’s mouth. It feels clumsy and uncoordinated and-

Oh, shit. Shit.

Magnus moans.

Alec’s gonna die. He’s gonna die or melt into goo or come in his pants or something else horrible and he’s starting to think this is probably just some fantastic dream.

Magnus moves away from Alec’s mouth, and he immediately wants to beg him to come back, but then Magnus is kissing his cheek, his jaw, down onto his neck. And each kiss is longer and wetter and sometimes there’s teeth-

“Ah! Yeah,” Alec gasps, because he needs to let some of this out or he’s going to suffocate.

Magnus makes a sound against Alec’s neck, a sound that Alec can’t quite define but definitely sounds like he’s enjoying himself. Fuck, it’s almost like he’s trying to kill Alec.

As Magnus’s tongue traces along the shape of the rune on Alec’s neck, his fingers go back to that top button. And this time, he doesn’t hesitate. He unbuttons it.

Alec sucks in a sharp breath. Because yes, he may have been given closure on the whole ‘not emotionally ready to have sex tonight’ thing, but he’s still very much dealing with the ‘not emotionally ready to subject Magnus Bane to his awful torso’ thing.

It’s just the top button. Barely anything. A bit of his collarbone. A sliver of chest hair. It’s not much. It’s fine. He’s fine. He’s not gonna ruin this. He’s fine.

Magnus’s mouth trails down to the base of Alec’s throat, with wet, scraping kisses that make Alec’s bones feel like jello. Without pausing, Magnus undoes the next button.

Alec keeps breathing. He has to. It's all he can do. And he can barely do it. In, and out, and in… and in…

There’s muscle now. Harsh muscle. Covered in coarse, dark hair. Everything about him is rough and Magnus’s hands are so soft and Alec doesn’t want him to have to feel so much roughness against his soft skin-

Magnus keeps going. Undoing each button easily, never fumbling, keeping his lips against Alec’s neck the whole time. Before Alec can regain enough clarity to panic and call the whole thing off and slink back to the Institute, Magnus is undoing the last button. He smooths his hand across Alec’s stomach, and the shirt falls open to his sides.

Alec isn’t breathing. Not as much as he knows he needs to. He gasps in little gulps of air and holds them too long, like he’s afraid he won’t be able to get another. His heart is pounding so fucking hard that he wouldn’t be surprised if it was loud enough to give Magnus a headache. And Magnus… no…

Magnus is pulling away from him again. Pushing up on the arm of the couch so he can sit up. Sit back, right on Alec’s lap, and look at him. Look at him, like this.

Alec’s been seen in less than this. He wears less than this when he trains. It’s not like that's a public display, but people see him. People see him wearing less than this every damn day of his life. His shirt isn’t even gone. It’s falling off of his shoulders, but it’s still on him. It’s just hanging open in the front.

But it’s the most exposed he’s ever felt in his life. And it’s in front of Magnus.

Alec can’t see this. He doesn’t know what Magnus is going to think, but he knows he doesn’t want to watch.

He almost flinches when he feels Magnus’s fingers brush the hollow at the base of this throat. It’s unexpected. It’s part of him that’s been exposed all night, and he’d thought Magnus would…

The fingers trail off along his collarbone, a feather-light touch that almost tickles against how tightly Alec’s nerves are wound. And it’s… it’s almost nice. Just a gentle point of contact heading toward his shoulder.

But then Magnus’s hand changes direction, centering back and slowly, slowly slipping down to Alec’s chest. He feels the the delicate pads of Magnus’s fingers slip through the hair that seems to cover him so horribly thickly all the way down his stomach. The touch is too soft. Magnus is too soft. He shouldn’t be doing this.

Magnus exhales, slow and even. Alec can’t look. He doesn’t want to know. He can’t know-

“Beautiful.”

Alec chokes in a breath. His eyes snap open and look up at Magnus, to try and figure out what that was…

And Magnus is looking at him. Looking at him. His hand is resting lightly on the center of Alec’s chest. He brings up his other hand and cradles it against Alec’s cheek. He’s looking right at him. Looking him right in the eye. And he’s smiling. The same small smile he’d had earlier.

“Alexander, you’re so beautiful.”

No, that-

That can’t…

He’s… not.

Alec’s face feels hot, especially under Magnus’s hand. His eyes sting. And he doesn’t get it.

Magnus just keeps smiling at him like that, that tiny little smile that makes it look like it’s all so easy, like everything makes sense, like he didn’t just make a dent, a crack in Alec’s world. Because he’s never… he’s never heard that...

Magnus keeps looking him over. Keeps smiling. The hand on Alec’s chest starts moving again, tracing around the shapes of his runes. Brushing carefully against his scars. Running through his hair. Across his muscles. The harshness. The ugliness.

And calling it…

Calling him…

Alec can’t get enough air. He can’t think. He can’t focus on anything but that little smile on Magnus’s face. The way his voice had sounded. The spark of heat when he dips his finger into Alec’s bellybutton before moving back up toward Alec’s chest again.

It’s like everything is kinda… fading out. Everything except Magnus’s touch, and his voice, and his small smile. And Alec just feels… need. By the Angel, he needs  this.

He’s raised himself up on his elbows before he realizes he’s moving. And he gets one hand on the back of Magnus’s neck and pulls him down because he needs to kiss him right now, he needs it, he needs it more than he’s ever needed anything.

It’s not like when Magnus is in control. Those kisses are soft and smooth and somehow practiced, like they’ve been kissing their whole lives instead of a handful of times over a week and a half. This isn’t like that at all. This is sloppy, and inelegant, and it’s embarrassingly clear that the one with no experience is the one taking the lead.

But… fuck. Alec doesn’t care. Because his tongue is lost in Magnus’s mouth and his teeth are scraping Magnus’s lips and Magnus is groaning into Alec’s kisses and… damn… he just keeps groaning like that.

How can Alec be doing this? How is Alec able to affect him this much?

Magnus’s touch on Alec’s chest suddenly burns, a sweet, desperate sort of burn that matches the heat building in his gut. It’s like Magnus is-

Sparks.

It’s sparks of heat.

Alec cracks an eye open… and there’s blue, flickering across his torso, trailing from Magnus’s fingertips onto his skin. The sparks burst and disappear with a pulse of heat that makes Alec feel like his blood is on fire.

One of Alec’s hands loops around Magnus’s back, trying to pull him closer. Alec’s kissing him as deep as he can, as deep as he knows how, until they’re both making a constant stream of obscene sounds that never make it out of each other’s mouths. And it’s still not enough. Alec wants to feel Magnus’s weight over him again, wants to feel Magnus pressed down against him, wants to be completely smothered by him. The arm supporting Alec gives out, so he can fall and lie on his back again-

The back of his head slams into the barely-padded arm of the couch. Hard. With a deafening thud.

“Fuck- ow!” Alec practically shouts.

But he’s laughing.

His head hurts like a fuck but for some reason that’s fucking hilarious and he’s giggling. He’s actually giggling. Like an idiot.

Magnus is lying on top of him, arms resting on Alec’s bared chest, and he-

Shit. He’s laughing too.

He looks worried, like he’s reasonably concerned that Alec just injured himself on a damn couch, but he’s definitely laughing too.

They’re laughing.

They were kissing. Passionately. Frantically. There was actual, literal magic sparking between them.

And now, they’re laughing.

Alec wasn’t expecting this.

He thought it’d be stoic. Breathy and sexy and silent. He thought being with someone like this would be so… serious.

He didn’t know it could be fun.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” Magnus asks, completely out of breath (for multiple reasons). The words broken by truly adorable little giggles.

Alec can feel himself blush like a moron at the word ‘sweetheart’, but for some reason, that only makes him laugh harder. He nods, since he can’t talk yet. He realizes that both his hands are wrapped around Magnus’s waist, and he’s rubbing them back and forth along the shape of his spine. Magnus’s shirt feels impossibly soft under Alec’s hands. He still can’t catch his breath. They’re both still laughing.

It’s so… nice.

It takes a few more seconds for Alec to be able to speak. “It’s just-” His stomach hurts. He’s literally tired himself out by laughing. “It’s just this damn couch,” he chokes out. “It’s not big enough for actual-sized people.” He wiggles his bare feet where they’ve been awkwardly hanging off the other end this whole time.

Magnus pushes himself up, his hands pressed down on Alec’s shoulders. He glances them both over, seeing how they’re crammed together and pretty close to falling off onto the rug.

“Hm.” He raises an eyebrow. “It is rather crowded.” He smiles down at Alec, wide and warm enough that Alec feels something constrict in his chest. “Should we move this to the bedroom?”

Alec’s pretty sure he’s never turned this red this fast before. And of course, it’s when his shirt is open, so he can see that his blush is covering his whole damn body.

He didn’t think people actually said that. He thought that was just a fake thing, a convention in movies and tv and possibly porn? He didn’t think it was a real question people asked. He didn’t think that he would ever actually be asked if he wants to move to the bedroom. Certainly not by a beautiful, breathless man sitting in his lap.

Except… even though they’ve already had this discussion (barely even five minutes ago), Alec can’t quite wrap his mind around being in Magnus’s bed. It’s so… it carries so much expectation. There are so many extra connotations when the word ‘bedroom’ is used in this situation. And while the conversation is still fresh in his mind, he can’t squash the hint of worry nagging at him-

Magnus is one step ahead of him. Alec wonders if that means his worry was already showing  plainly on his face, or if Magnus just… gets him. Understands what he must be thinking without having to ask. Either way, he smiles, and sits back a little further, giving Alec a bit more space. “My bed is not a contract, Alexander,” he says calmly. “Being in bed with me doesn’t mean that we’ve agreed to do anything more than we’ve been doing out here. If you wanted, we could lie on opposite sides and not even acknowledge each other. We’d just be a lot more comfortable than we are now.”

Alec opens his mouth. And closes it again. Because…

Shit. It’s so obvious. Why didn’t he realize? Why did Magnus have to explain something that simple to him? Why is everything…

Why is everything with Magnus so… easy?

Alec tries to smile, but it’s like his entire fucking face gets shy, because he can tell that it doesn’t quite work. “Yeah. The bed sounds nice.”

It turns out that it’s just as difficult for two grown men to get off of this couch as it was for them to stay on it. It takes them a moment to really disentangle from each other, and Magnus very nearly loses his balance as they get to their feet. He holds onto Alec’s arm for support, and isn’t that something? Magnus, awkwardly hanging onto Alec to steady himself. It’s… it’s not something Alec expected to see.

Magnus’s hand slips down Alec’s arm, twining their fingers together. And Alec feels something that he assumes must be what people mean when they say their heart skips a beat.

Once they’re both securely on their feet, Magnus leads Alec to the bedroom. It’s just enough distance, just enough time for Alec to lose his nerve, to really think about where they’re going, and what’s happening. But Magnus’s hand is so warm, and so steady, and so certain. It’s so easy to follow him. To trust him.

Magnus flicks his wrist when they enter the bedroom, and a lamp on the nightstand slowly turns on. It’s not really brighter than the city-lit living room, but the light is warmer. It makes everything… glow a bit. The rich purple bed covers, the gold throw pillows, even Magnus himself. Everything is softened in the amber light.

Before Alec has a chance to wonder what he’s supposed to do now, Magnus uses their joined hands to pull Alec against him. He kisses him right away. Gentle, but deep, deep enough that it actually makes Alec’s knees go weak, like he’s in a goddamn romance novel.

Magnus’s hands slip into Alec’s open shirt, splaying out on the small of his back. And his hands feel so damn good against Alec’s bare skin. So good, that without a second thought, Alec tips back his shoulders and lets his shirt fall to the floor. There’s a brief moment where the air feels cold on his back, but then Magnus whimpers into the kiss and Alec doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to feel cold again.

They’re right next to the bed. But breaking a kiss, breaking this kiss to lie down sounds like absolute agony. So Alec just… falls back onto the bed, gracelessly pulling Magnus down with him. They collapse in a haphazard jumble of limbs, a jumble that’s all knees and odd angles and nothing lining up the way Alec wants it to.

Magnus just laughs, and pulls back far enough to let Alec sort of… shimmy backwards, so he’s laid out against the pillows with a bit more dignity.

He expects Magnus to pick up right where they left off on the couch, and climb into Alec’s lap again. But instead he reaches out and gently nudges Alec’s knees apart, so when he scoots in close, he’s between Alec’s legs.

It’s not that different, conceptually. The position is very similar. Alec realizes that. But it feels… oh.

He wraps his legs around Magnus’s hips, and pulls him in closer. It feels incredible. Being able to reel Magnus into him with his legs, to wrap him up and hold him as tight as he wants. Having such a clear way to let Magnus know that this is exactly where he wants to be, where he wants them both to be. Alec doesn’t have words to describe how good it feels.

But Magnus must get the idea anyway, because he gives Alec what he wants, and kisses him again. Those same deep, bruising kisses that burn in Alec’s gut.

Alec had been well aware of how uncomfortable the couch was, but he starts to truly appreciate the advantages of the incredibly spacious bed when Magnus grabs both of Alec’s wrists and pins them up over his head, pressing their joined hands into the pillows. Alec feels even more exposed like this, helplessly held in place, still on display even though Magnus is blanketing him with his body. It should feel undignified, but the only thing Alec’s capable of feeling right now is pleasure. Bright, shocking pleasure. By the Angel, it's enough to make him whine into Magnus’s mouth.

He’s not sure how long they stay like that, kissing frantically, pushing and rocking against each other, with Magnus making the most beautiful noises Alec has ever heard. It’s probably not more than a few minutes, but to Alec, they could stay here for weeks, and he wouldn’t even notice. Or care. He’s pretty sure he’d be happy staying like this forever.

Which makes it almost devastating when Magnus finally breaks the kiss. He doesn’t go far, just shifting to kiss Alec’s neck with the same amount of enthusiasm (and tongue). But he has to let go of Alec’s hands, and Alec realizes instantly that he misses being held down. Magnus gets his hands on Alec’s shoulders, pressing them into the mattress, but it’s not quite the same.

Then he pushes himself back, putting actual distance between them for the first time in however many minutes. Alec’s gasping, like a little bit of kissing is somehow more tiring than his morning workout. He would be embarrassed, but…

Magnus is panting too. He’s out of breath, same as Alec. Somehow, it’s like that… puts them on equal terms. That little proof that Magnus is reacting to this the same way Alec is. It’s confusing. It’s practically incomprehensible. That kissing Alec could possibly take Magnus’s breath away. But here it is. Magnus is panting over him, hands gripping his shoulders way too tight, mouth hanging open and kiss-swollen, and eyes-

Shit. His eyes.

They’re flickering. His dark brown irises… flash. Every few seconds, there’s a hint of gold. Glittering, and somehow unfocused.

Alec has seen Magnus’s real eyes before. Not frequently, and not for long, but seeing them isn’t quite a surprise anymore.

But seeing them like this, seeing them up close, seeing the glamour that Magnus always keeps start to slip away… because of him…

Alec doesn’t get to see for long, because Magnus ducks down and immediately attaches his lips to Alec’s neck again. His hands stroke slowly down Alec’s sides, just shy of being light enough to tickle. Magnus’s tongue traces sloppy lines across Alec’s throat, which distracts him long enough that it surprises him when he realizes Magnus’s hands are on his chest now.

Magnus lifts his head, and golden cat eyes rake down Alec’s torso. Bright, and sparkling, and… wanting. His fingers graze over Alec’s chest, slow, like he’s savoring it. He presses down harder, like he’s actually trying to feel Alec’s chest hair through his fingers. Over, and over, and over… until Alec honestly doesn’t remember how to breathe. Then Magnus drags the tip of one finger down, following the hair on his chest, down to his stomach-

And when he gets to the patch of hair trailing from Alec’s bellybutton into the waistband of his jeans, Magnus parts his lips with a sigh. A deep, long, agonizing sigh.

Alec doesn’t know what to do with himself. Magnus just keeps touching him, hands and fingers roaming over his skin, running through all of that coarse, awful hair like it isn’t coarse or awful at all. Like it’s… nice. Like he… enjoys it. His amber eyes never waver, they just lock onto Alec’s body with that same hungry expression that makes Alec’s hips jerk up when he holds his gaze too long.

Right when Alec thinks all this attention is going to make him burst into flames, Magnus finally moves. He leans down even further, and plants an open, wet kiss right below Alec’s collarbone. It catches Alec so far off guard that he lets out a much louder groan than he really should. He assumes Magnus’ll come back up to his face soon-

He’s wrong about that. Magnus stays there, lying between Alec’s legs, lavishing his chest and stomach with kisses. Minute after minute. It’s unrelenting, an actual onslaught of affection, with his mouth constantly kissing and licking and biting and his fingers still running through Alec’s chest hair like he’s desperate for it.

And the whole time, he’s making these little noises. Alec is the one essentially being attacked with pleasure, but for some reason, Magnus is the one whimpering and sighing like something out of a really good wet dream.

Alec’s been successfully ignoring the erection straining the front of his jeans for what feels like most of the evening, but it’s suddenly getting har- Alec grits his teeth - it’s getting more difficult to keep his dick out of his mind, since every sound from Magnus’s throat is making it twitch in his boxers. He’d said he doesn’t want to have sex tonight. And he doesn’t. He knows he doesn’t. But he’s never been this turned on in his entire life, not by a long shot. Even if he and Magnus have agreed to take things slow and not go any further tonight, it doesn’t look like Alec’s dick is going to cooperate.

It still feels strange enough just for Alec to be hard like this when there’s actually someone else here with him, someone else who’s aware of it.

(It had happened on their first date too, and Alec had been so goddamn embarrassed that he’d apologized when he’d pressed a little too close to Magnus’s hip, close enough for him to feel it. Magnus had just given a breathless laugh, and brought his lips to Alec’s ear. “Darling, you’re not the only one.” And he’d rocked forward, let Alec feel the hardness tucked in his leather pants, and it had shattered him.)

But just like last time, Magnus isn’t doing anything about it. Yes, with how close their bodies have been pressed, they’ve both gotten a decent amount of friction, but Magnus isn’t actually giving either of their dicks any attention. Because Alec hasn’t asked him to. Hasn’t said he’s alright with that. And while Alec feels more than a little pathetic for his hang-ups, he feels so unspeakably grateful that Magnus is leaving them be.

Right when Alec thinks he might be able to get himself relatively under control, Magnus brings his finger up to Alec’s nipple. He circles it, soft and slow, and it’s such a small touch…

But it’s a touch Alec’s never felt before. A shiver runs down his spine, shooting into his limbs. He opens his mouth, hoping to choke in an adequate breath, but instead his throat decides to let out a loud, high-pitched whine. By the Angel, Mangus is barely touching him. He shouldn’t be making noises like this.

Magnus shifts on the bed, almost like he’s, he can’t be… is he grinding down against the mattress? Alec hooks his legs higher around Magnus’s waist, instinctively trying to pull him in closer. He’s trying, he wants to ask for more, but he doesn’t know how…

Magnus must understand, because he moves his lips over to Alec’s other nipple, and- shit… shit… he licks right over it, again, and again, before sucking it into his mouth.

Alec’s toes curl, which- he didn’t realize that was actually a thing that happened and not just an expression. But his toes are actually curling. It’s too much. He’s never felt anything like this, he didn’t think he could feel pleasure like this and Magnus’s mouth is just so wet and hot and he must be dying this must be what dying feels like-

“Oh- oh fuck! Ah… Magnus!”

Magnus makes a noise like nothing Alec’s ever heard. A loud, moaning cry and-

The lamp on the nightstand explodes.

It shocks Alec out of whatever the fuck was just happening to him, because obviously the lamp didn’t really explode, so he turns far enough to see-

The lamp didn’t explode.

Just the bulb did.

Shattered glass is littering the nightstand, and the pieces are giving off these little…

Blue sparks.

Magnus laughs (at least, Alec thinks it was supposed to be a laugh. It sounded more like a groan). “Whoops,” he murmurs, not sounding sorry at all.

So he just…

He just accidentally made a lightbulb blow up because… because of Alec?

“Magnus-”

Nothing detonates this time, but Alec can see a faint blue glow pulse from Magnus’s fingertips. Alec’s never seen his magic this… loose. It’s like he’s completely lost control. The glamour hasn’t returned to his eyes, sparks are starting to drip from his hands, shit has literally exploded.

And… Alec had something to do with that.

Apparently satisfied that he’s not in danger of damaging any more light fixtures, Magnus returns his attention to Alec. He keeps his mouth against Alec’s nipple, circling it with his tongue and exhaling hot breath and then teasing it lightly with his teeth…

Ah! Yeah, Magnus…”

A jolt of magic shoots right into his chest, right where Magnus’s hand is still running through his hair. Alec can feel it sink into his veins and pool in his gut, where heat has already been building.

So, it’s…?

“Magnus?”

Magnus whimpers, and literally everything in Alec’s vision gets a faint tint of blue, just for a moment. Like there’s a filter of magic over his eyes.

That’s… huh. It’s his name. Hearing Alec say his name.

Alec can make Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, lose control over his magic. Just by saying his name.

It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s… knowing he has… knowing he can do something like that, to Magnus… so easily. Knowing that Magnus is feeling exactly what he’s feeling right now, the same desperation, and heat, and need. It’s…

Alec smiles. A cracked, breathless, crooked smile. And because he can’t help himself from exploiting a newfound power like this, he moans. It’s not insincere (since Magnus is still ravishing him with kisses), but he definitely makes it a little louder than it would have been.

“Mmm, yeah, Maaagnus.”

It feels ridiculous, and he’s sure it sounds ridiculous, playing up his pleasure for show when he’s still very much learning how to express his pleasure in the first place. It’s silly enough that he can’t quite suppress a little laugh at the end of it.

Magnus looks up at him. His eyes are narrowed, and something about them makes it very clear that he knows what Alec’s doing.

For some reason, that just makes Alec choke on another laugh.

Magnus rolls his eyes. “‘Angelic Blood’ my ass.” He scoots up, so he’s hovering right over Alec’s face again. “You, my dear, are obviously a little devil.”

Alec laughs, and Magnus leans in to kiss him. While he’s still laughing. Laughing right into their kisses. He didn’t know he could do that.

These kisses are soft, sometimes lingering, sometimes just little pecks against his lips. It’s slower. Calmer. These kisses certainly aren’t going to make any lamps blow up. But somehow, that’s nice. Magnus shifts, nudging against Alec’s legs until he gets the idea and finally releases Magnus’s waist from the vice-grip of his thighs. Still kissing him, kissing him so gentle and sweet, Magnus settles down against Alec’s side. Alec turns his head to follow his mouth. Their legs slot together. Magnus’s hand stays on Alec’s chest, splayed out right over his heart.

It feels like… winding down. Pulling back from where they’d been so hectic. The pauses between kisses get longer, until it’s just an occasional brush of lips. Until Magnus stops altogether, and waits for Alec to initiate instead.

And he does, a few times. Presses forward just far enough to catch Magnus’s lower lip between his own. Breathes out, touches his tongue to Magnus’s, just enough to taste him.

Then, they’re just breathing. Foreheads touching, noses bumping lightly when they shift to get more comfortable. Magnus’s hand never stops moving, still trailing gently through Alec’s chest hair.

Alec didn’t know this could happen. Five minutes ago, he’d been practically sobbing under Magnus’s mouth and a heartbeat away from coming in his pants. He’d assumed that was what it needed to be. He’d thought that if they’d gotten that far, they didn’t have any option but to go further. Even if he didn’t want to have sex, it had seemed like that wasn’t actually a choice he got to make.

But then things just… calmed down. Quieted. Naturally slowed to a peaceful, wonderful finish. He’s not hard anymore, but he doesn’t feel unsatisfied. He feels more satisfied than he’s ever felt in his damn life. And it was his choice.

Laid out on Magnus’s bed, legs intertwined, breathing together. Cuddling. Alec smiles to himself at that thought. Cuddling with Magnus Bane.

He could fall asleep like this. He could easily fall asleep like this, and sleep through the night, and the morning, and wake up just like this, and never leave. Never leave this bed. Never leave Magnus.

But that’s not how this works.

And, as if on cue, Magnus breaks the long minutes of silence. “Do you have to get going?”

Alec sighs through his nose. “Probably.”

The Institute is waiting. A looming threat that had been in the distance all night but is suddenly very much in the foreground. He’s already been gone longer than he planned. He’s already been gone long enough that he just knows how much shit he’s going to have to put up with from Isabelle and Jace. They know exactly where he is. And he bets they think they know exactly what he’s doing. And he doesn’t want to hear it.

Magnus tilts his face, pressing his lips to the corner of Alec’s mouth. Something about it feels final. Like it’s over now. Like Magnus is getting ready to say goodbye. His hand finally stops moving across Alec’s chest.

And Alec can’t have that. Not yet. “But, um… not… not right now.” He opens his eyes, and shifts his head back so he can really see Magnus. “I can stay. For a little bit longer. If that’s… alright?”

Magnus looks at him. And he smiles. That same little smile that's starting to look familiar. “I think that would be just fine, darling.”

Alec smiles back at him, but he can feel his face heat up at the endearment. He’s still not used to hearing those. “Could you- uh… could you…” he doesn’t know how to say it. Or, doesn’t know if he can say it. So he touches Magnus’s hand, the one resting on his chest, and gives it a little nudge.

Magnus takes the hint with a smirk. “My pleasure.” And Alec thinks he might actually mean that. He starts moving again, his fingers tracing along the shapes of Alec’s runes.

Alec closes his eyes and hums, deep in his throat. It just feels so nice. He didn’t think he could feel this nice.

“Magnus…”

He sees blue sparks behind his closed eyelids.