#since we just briefly talked about all might and gai's friendship being necessary

[pantodinamos-blog]

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[alecmagnuslwb]

Plus One

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Izzy & Meliorn ~ May 1st, Saratoga Springs, New York

“So?” Alec says tentative and a little nervous. He’s never had to give a wedding speech before and he can guarantee he’ll never give one as important as this. His baby sister will only have one wedding, god willing, and he wants to get it right.

Magnus taps his finger to his lips quietly the setting sun catching in his brown eyes as he leans against the pillar outside of the venue where the reception is being held.

“Pretty good, could be a little shorter though,” he settles on with a serious nod of his head.

“Shorter?” Alec says all nerves gone. “Magnus it’s not even five full minutes, I make it much shorter and it becomes a haiku.”

Magnus perks up with a smirk. “A haiku could be nice!” he says pushing off the pillar and stepping closer to Alec. He reaches out brushing something Alec was unaware of off of his shoulder. “People are here to dance and take advantage of the free bar, not listen to the Gettysburg Address.”

Alec rolls his eyes and brushes Magnus’ hand away. “I’m not making it any shorter, Isabelle will hate it if I keep it too short and if I upset her I’ll get that disappointed head tilt that Meliorn gives when anyone makes her sad, you know how bad that head tilt is.”

“It is very judgmental, makes you feel like you kicked a puppy,” Magnus says before tilting his head towards the entrance. “Come on you better get in there.”

Alec nods shaking out the last of his nerves and following Magnus into the hall beautifully decorated like some sort of magical forest.

The first few hours of the reception are a blur, Alec makes his speech and Magnus raises a glass of champagne at him with a wrap it up gesture that has him barely containing his eye roll while letting out a chuckle that eases any lingering nerves he has about the whole thing. After that he loses track of his friend, being passed around from family member to family member inquiring about his obvious lack of a date and plans for the future.

Eventually he finds himself at the bar finally shaking the grilling of his great aunt about the nice man from church she knows that’ll be perfect for him. Meliorn sidles up next to him flipping their complicated braid over their shoulder.

“Finally shake great aunt Emma’s love connection attempts?” they ask pausing for a moment to order two glasses of wine.

Alec nods taking a sip of his whiskey, “I thought I was going have to physically fight her to leave me alone.”

Meliorn hums in understanding. “Give her till the day after the wedding and she’ll be hounding Isabelle and I about having children, that should lighten the burden on you.”

Alec snorts. “Damn is she going to be more disappointed with that venture than she is with her failed attempts at setting me up with every gay man who so much as smiles at her.”

Meliorn smirks a little as he accepts the two glasses of wine from the bartender and turns out to face the dance floor.

“We’ve been debating whether lying and making her think we might have them or being truthful about our complete lack of ever wanting to procreate is better,” Meliorn says taking a sip from one of the glasses. He looks out at the dance floor watching mesmerized as Isabelle glides across the floor dancing with their little brother Max. Alec smiles, he’ll never stop being so endlessly happy for his little sister finding someone who adores her the way Meliorn does.

“Either way we’ll figure it out together,” Meliorn says finally pulling their gaze away from the dance floor. “Speaking of together,” he says looking over to the right where the singles table sits. “You should go check on your boy.”

Alec looks over and sees Magnus slumped over his head on the table and his fingers gliding along a few too many empty glasses.

Alec turns ready to correct Meliorn on the ‘your boy’ comment, but they’re already gone sliding over to hand the second glass of wine to Isabelle. It’s not the first time since Magnus moved back to New York that Meliorn or a number of others have made such a comment.

He and Magnus aren’t together, not like that. They’re old friends and that’s all. They’d met in college when Magnus had briefly dated Alec’s roommate, in the short tenure of that relationship they became closer than Magnus had with his roommate and from there they’d just stuck, their friends’ groups crossing over and even hooking up like Izzy and Meliorn eventually had.

Their friendship became distant after graduation though Magnus moving to London for work made them more email on your birthday friends than anything else, until nearly six years later he’d made his return to New York. They’ve been pretty tight since then, but more and more lately as all their college friends have paired off and they near thirty people seem to assume he and Magnus are a thing.

He’s not quite sure when the shift occurred for everyone else and why exactly it happened. He’s shaken from his thoughts about it however when he watches Magnus attempt to stand and he practically falls right back into his chair far less graceful than he usually is.

Alec discards his glass and heads for the table arriving just as Magnus attempts to stand again. Magnus stumbles a bit and Alec catches his arm just in time preventing the fall.

“Woah there, maybe it’s time we cut you off,” Alec says as he stabilizes Magnus.

Magnus looks up at Alec confidently. “I’m fine, Alexander,” he says closing his words out with a hiccup at the end.

Alec snorts. “Sure you are,” he says. “Let’s get you to your room.”

Magnus shakes his head furiously and then looks like he instantly regrets it pressing a hand to his forehead.

“Don’t have one,” Magnus says with an overexaggerated sigh.

“You don’t have-,” Alec starts and sighs. He shakes out his arm and looks at his watch. It’s nearing midnight, the reception is already pretty empty, his mom and Luke are some of the only one’s still here dancing with Max to a song he knows for a fact his little brother requested, and he’s fairly certain Isabelle won’t be offended if he takes his leave.

“Just wait here a second,” he says settling Magnus back down into his chair. Magnus salutes him playfully before resting his chin on his hands.

Alec walks over to where Isabelle is tangled together with her partner. Meliorn whispers something in her ear and she giggles into his shoulder. It’s such a beautiful, private moment that he loathes to intrude, but he also knows he’ll never hear the end of it from her if he just leaves without a word.

She waves him off before he can fully explain the situation getting up from her spot on Meliorn’s lap and hugging Alec tightly. He moves back over to the table where he left Magnus, ruffling his little brother’s hair as he passes by him.

Magnus hasn’t moved an inch and for a second Alec wonders if he fell asleep.

“Magnus,” he says startling him upward. He attempts to stand but sways a bit again and Alec puts an arm around his waist stabilizing him. “Come on let’s get you out of here.”

“So handsy,” Magnus says with a chuckle. Alec just huffs out a laugh and tugs him along. The hotel he’s staying in is luckily only next door and aside from stopping Magnus from chasing down a cat they see in the alleyway they make it there without incident.

They’re quiet as they walk into the lobby. Alec looks to the elevator a line of people waiting and sighs pulling Magnus along in the hopes that he can handle the stairs.

“Where are we going?” Magnus asks finally saying something as they start up the steps.

“My room since you didn’t deem to get one,” Alec says moving so Magnus goes up the stairs first that way he can catch him if necessary.

Magnus wiggles his eyebrows with a giggle and Alec just rolls his eyes once again at his drunk friend. 

"And why didn't you get a room?" Alec asks as he helps Magnus up the stairs.

"Because I had intentions of catching the bus back tonight," Magnus says with a confident smile right before he stumbles over a step making his recovery look impossibly elegant despite his state. Alec holds his hands out hovering over him just in case, but Magnus keeps going. “Which I still could you know,” he adds on.

Alec shakes his head even though he knows Magnus can’t see him. “No way. It’s late and I am not letting you get on a bus alone and drunk, I already had to speak at a wedding I’m not speaking at your funeral too.”

Magnus snorts as Alec pulls them to a stop on his floor. “You’re not allowed to speak at my funeral, you’ll talk too long,” he says with a bright smile as Alec tugs him along down the hall to his room.

“Still on that, huh?” Alec says as he checks open the door with his shoulder and guides Magnus inside.

Magnus walks directly over to the bed and falls backwards onto it. He groans as he lays an arm across his eyes. “The singles table sucks, I wouldn’t have drunk so much if I wasn’t so heavily reminded of my terminal singlehood all night,” Magnus says with a sigh.

Alec walks over and sits down on the bed beside Magnus he reaches out a hand to pat Magnus on the shoulder the best he can.

“I get it,” he says sympathetically. He does get it, he’s been to his fair share of weddings solo, tonight he just had the luck of being a part of the wedding party instead of being relegated to a table with a bunch of other rejects he doesn’t really know. The older they get the more he realizes that he seems to be one of the only ones not settling down, each new wedding invitation he receives is a reminder that he hasn’t had a relationship go beyond a few dates in years.

Magnus sits up holding his stomach a bit as he does.

“I’m gonna get you some water,” Alec says heading to the bathroom he returns a moment later with a glass and some Tylenol in hand. He holds both out to Magnus and he takes them gratefully.

“Thank you,” he says before downing the whole glass of water and both pills.

Alec just nods and heads back into the bathroom to change into sweatpants and t-shirt discarding his suit. He grabs an extra t-shirt and some running shorts. He leans out the door and tosses them onto the bed beside Magnus startling him from another micro drunk nap it seems.

“You need to sleep,” he says. “Get changed, I’ll take the floor, you take the bed.” The last thing he sees before giving Magnus his privacy is a pout on his face as he looks down at the clothes beside him. He waits a few minutes before heading back out to find Magnus, clothes changed and sitting cross legged on the bed under the covers on one side.

He lifts his head up and smiles at Alec then immediately puts his head back down with a groan.

“You gonna be okay?” Alec asks as he walks over to the bed. Magnus just waves Alec off with a hand not lifting his head back up.

Magnus takes a moment to compose himself as Alec grabs the second pillow. He moves his bare feet and feels satisfied with the feel of the carpet under him as a sufficient place to sleep.

"Alec. Alexander. Alexander Lightwood," Magnus says after a few more beats his head in his hands.

"Are you just saying my name for fun or," Alec says trying not to laugh at Magnus as he struggles with his words lifting his head successfully this time.

"You can't sleep on the floor. You're 7 billion feet tall, you'll never fit," he says gesturing to the room at large.

Alec laughs at that and Magnus glares.

"One I'm literally only like four inches taller than you and two I think the floor has plenty of space," he says tossing the spare pillow down.

"Nope come on," Magnus says tossing aside the covers on the empty side of the bed.

Alec sighs. He knows he's not winning an argument with a drunk Magnus they may not have been bff’s in college but he's seen that determined blurry look in Magnus eyes before and he's lost the battle every single time be it over which drive through place to hit up or how many games of beer pong is too many games of beer pong.

He sighs picking up the pillow off the floor and throwing it and himself down dramatically next to Magnus.

"If you throw up on me I'll never speak to you again," Alec says as he gets comfortable.

Magnus rolls his eyes and settles down as well. "So dramatic," he says as he snuggles into his pillow. "I'll have you know Mr. Lightwood I haven't thrown up for any reason alcohol or otherwise related since 2003."

He reaches a hand across the bed bopping Alec on the nose. Alec scrunches up his face at the action as Magnus giggles, a cute little titter than Alec can't help but smile in response to.

"Vomit free since '03, my friend," he says proudly before promptly and immediately falling asleep.

***

The next morning Alec wakes up with Magnus impossibly sprawled sideways across the bed his legs strewn across Alec’s chest, his head dangerously close to falling off the side of the bed. Alec just shakes his head and slides out from under him heading downstairs to grab some of the continental breakfast for the both of them.

Magnus is awake by the time he gets back, looking impossibly good for someone who’s hungover and slept in their makeup. They eat quietly in companionable silence before Magnus drags himself into the shower.

Alec gets dressed while he’s in there forgoing a shower of his own in favor of getting on the road early so he can avoid any unnecessary traffic.

Eventually Magnus rolls out of the bathroom in the shirt and now wrinkled pants he’d worn to the wedding the night before and pair of sunglasses so large Alec has to laugh.

Magnus holds up a finger to him in warning and snatches the extra coffee Alec had picked up for him off of the tv stand before heading to the door.

Alec smiles, and only laughs a little bit all the way down to his car.

Magnus is quiet for the first hour or so of the drive sipping his coffee slowly and leaning his head against the window. Eventually he pushes the large sunglasses up on his head settling them in his messy, yet somehow still artfully styled hair.

“Thank you for last night,” Magnus says tilting his head to the side to look at Alec.

Alec shakes his head. “Don’t mention it.” He means it, ensuring the safety of his drunk friend isn’t a burden in any way.

“Well still, I didn’t intend to get so sloppy drunk last night and you saved me a lot of embarrassment and I appreciate it,” Magnus says.

“You may have not planned it, but I understand your reasoning. If it weren’t for the fact that I had to give that speech I would have been drinking right alongside you,” Alec says glancing at Magnus quickly with an understanding smile before looking back at the road. “I’ve got way too many of these things to go to this summer and I’m not looking forward to getting sat at the single’s table every time either.”

“I feel like I have like two dozen weddings to attend this summer alone, sadly you won’t be at every one of them to collect my drunk ass though,” Magnus says with a sigh.

“If you strategically plan out your drunkenness, I will be there for,” he pauses thinking in his head about the ones he knows they’ve both been invited to. “Five of them and I’ll make sure you don’t embarrass yourself too much. Well, at least not in front of anyone except me.”

Magnus laughs. “Ugh, from what I recall I wasn’t too bad, I’ve been worse,” he says in his own defense. “Hell, you’ve seen me worse.”

He has. Alec is to this day not a big drinker, but in college he always found himself dragged to some party with an empty red solo cup in his hand safely collecting his sister and friends at the end of the night.

“Like Omega-Phi senior year?” he says with a smirk referencing a specific evening he’ll never forget. Magnus however he knows doesn’t remember much at all, especially not the pants-less karaoke.

“How dare you?” Magnus says with a smile as he slaps Alec lightly on the chest.

“What was the song again, Spice Girls right? Not even one of their good songs too,” Alec teases, Magnus reaches out again smacking him a little harder this time. Alec playfully winces taking a hand off the wheel to rub at his chest as though it hurt.

“Spice Invaders is an underrated hit,” Magnus defends.

“It is called Spice Invaders it is absolutely not an underrated hit,” Alec says with a chuckle eyes on the road from the corner of his eye he sees Magnus roll his eyes.

They settle in quietly for a while after that Magnus looking brighter than he has since before the reception started the night before. They chat lightly for the rest of the drive on and off before Alec pulls up outside of Magnus’ building.

Alec gets out first, getting Magnus’ door for him. He stands gracefully not even needing the sunglasses anymore to block his eyes from the bright sun.

“So, I guess I’ll see you at Helen and Aline’s wedding in a couple weeks?” Alec says as Magnus stretches out his arms.

“Yeah, see you then,” Magnus says with a smile before turning and heading to his front door. Alec rounds his car once again when Magnus’ voice stops him as he opens the door.

“Alec?” he says turning back around the end of his sunglasses between his teeth clearly in thought. “What if we went together?”

“Went to what together?” Alec questions closing his car door and leaning his arms on the roof.

“Helen and Aline’s wedding, and well, all the other one’s too,” Magnus says stepping closer to the car. Alec raises an eyebrow and Magnus quickly adds on. “I mean as friends obviously, but we can mark the little date box on everything and not get stuck at singles tables.”

Alec takes a breath and thinks it’s not the worst idea. They’re close enough to keep each other company and play offense against any nagging relatives or friends that want to enquire on their singleness. Magnus is pretty much the only person outside of Isabelle he’d want to spend that much time with at events he only kind of wants to be at anyways.

“Plus,” Magnus continues on not realizing he’s basically already sold Alec on this idea. He reaches the car again and leans on the passenger side mirroring Alec. “We could split the cost on everything, rooms, travel all of it. Having a friend to get through it all and saving some money wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

Alec smiles with a shake of his head. “That’s a pretty great idea.”

“Really?” Magnus says a smile of his own forming on his face.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun taking on the hells of married people together,” Alec says. “Especially the straight ones.” He adds on with a laugh.

Magnus responds in kind before he rounds the front of the car, Alec does the same until they’re standing right in front of one another.

“So, be my wedding date for the summer?” he says holding out a hand to Alec with a smile.

“Only if you’ll be mine,” Alec replies taking Magnus’ hand with a soft agreeing grasp. And for the first time since each wedding invitation arrived in his mailbox he feels a little bit excited about attending each and every one.

***

Helen & Aline ~ May 15th, Napa Valley, California

Alec tosses his phone back and forth between his hands sitting on the edge of their hotel room bed. He hadn’t been expecting the news his mother just gave him. She’s getting married. It’s not that she and Luke haven’t been obviously in love for years now, but part of Alec thought she’d never take the full plunge again, not after how terrible her marriage to his father had been.

But she’s doing it and she’s not wasting any time already planning for the ceremony in October. More surprisingly she wants Alec to be her man of honor and to make a speech. It’s a big thing, a big thing that makes him even more nervous than speaking at Isabelle’s wedding did in some ways. For Izzy he had to get it right for what will hopefully be the only time, for his mom though this has to better than anything that was said at her first wedding considering how that turned out. 

Magnus steps out of the bathroom looking damn good in white pants and a light blue shirt. Alec’s wearing a similar outfit just with a light pink shirt instead, as per requested by the dress code, and he feels like he looks ridiculous. Magnus looking as good as he does makes him feel this to be even more true.

“Everything okay?” Magnus asks nodding to the phone in Alec’s hand.

Alec nods. “Yeah, my, uh, my mom’s getting married,” he says and Magnus smiles. “She wants me to be her man of honor and give a speech and everything.”

“Woah, even after that long drudge at Isabelle’s wedding huh?” Magnus says jokingly.

“Ha, ha,” Alec says dryly with a roll of his eyes and Magnus just keeps that teasing smile as he rolls up the cuffs of his shirt.

“Let’s go we have to hike up like ten miles to get to the ceremony,” Alec says standing and pocketing his phone as he heads to the door.

Magnus follows and tugs the door closed behind him. “You’ll do great,” Magnus says more seriously, completely genuine as he reaches out flicking some invisible fuzz off of Alec’s shoulder.

Alec smiles thankful and holds out his arm for Magnus to take. Magnus doesn’t hesitate.

***

Alec and Magnus come to a stop when they reach the bottom of the hill that leads to the ceremony. Magnus slides his sunglasses down at the same time Alec does and admires the sprawling vineyard. Helen and Aline have gone all out or more likely it’s more Aline’s mother has gone all out. If she’s half as controlling now as she was in college, Alec assumes she did everything down to picking what underwear the brides are wearing. 

“Who makes their guests walk a hill?” Magnus questions as a few other guests slip past them making their way up.

Alec shrugs and starts walking, Magnus falling in step right alongside. “You remember how Aline’s mom was in college, I’m sure she thinks this will build character for the guests or something.”

Eventually they make their way to the top of hill and find their seats. With all its sprawling beauty and extravagance the wedding is nothing but classy. Helen and Aline seem more and more in love every time Alec see them and in a way he envies that.

They have to make their way back down the hill for the reception and Alec only half-jokingly suggests that they just roll down. Magnus looks like he almost wants to do it.

For the most part the reception passes by quickly, they drink and catch up with old friends. Magnus even drags Alec out onto the dance floor a few times. It’s the most fun he’s had at a wedding in a while, all because he’s not doing it alone.

Every time the subject of his romantic life comes up Magnus is there to divert the conversation and Alec does the same for him, instead of being constantly reminded they’re single they have each other’s back the whole night.

“What about him?” Magnus says tilting his champagne glass towards the right. Alec’s eyes follow the motion to see a somewhat handsome dark-haired man at the end of the bar.

“I don’t know what about him?” Alec asks taking a sip of his drink. 

“As a potential suitor,” Magnus says turning his attention back to Alec. “I figured being a decent wingman through this whole thing would be good compensation for the fact that I’m a bed hog.”

Alec snorts. There’s nothing in this world that would make up for that, that morning Alec had woken up with Magnus half on him and his own body half on the floor. Bed hog is an understatement to what Magnus somehow manages to do in his sleep.

Alec takes another look at the guy and grimaces a bit. “Pass, I try not to date men that look exactly like me,” he says. “Also, potential suitor, you’re such a nerd.”

Magnus flicks him on the shoulder for the nerd comment before taking another quick glance at the man at the other end of the bar.

“You’re right he’s like a less handsome you,” he says before scanning the room. “I’ll keep my eye out though.”

Alec has no interest in finding a potential suitor tonight, so he surprises himself and holds out a hand asking Magnus to dance just to distract.

***

“You know I’d say this was a complete success,” Magnus says later sitting cross legged on the bed while Alec packs for their departure the next morning. Magnus only teased him slightly for insisting to do this now and not wait till morning.

Alec looks up from his bag and smiles. “Yeah I had a lot of fun,” he says. Fun might even be underselling it.

“So,” Magnus says with a bright smile. “When’s our next wedding?”

***

Lydia & Raj ~ June 5th, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

“The gentlemen at the end of the buffet asked me to give you this,” Magnus says when he returns to their table holding out a pink napkin that smells of peonies to him. Alec takes it looking at a name and a few digits written hastily in black ink.

Lydia and Raj’s wedding has been a blast so far, everything here looks like a tricked out floral cabin and it’s perplexed them both to no end. The wedding itself has been the most heterosexual thing in human history, from the color schemes to the seventeen-tiered cake to the crazy scented napkins.

Alec never could have done this without someone else, specifically someone who’s not straight. Lydia has been a family friend since he was a kid, he’d even call her one of his closest friends if he really thought about it, but sometimes she’s so straight it baffles him.

Alec looks up at the buffet and sees the man in question, he’s tall, dark skinned and doesn’t look like Alec which is an improvement over Magnus’ attempt to get him laid at the last wedding. Alec vaguely remembers making some small talk with the man earlier in the night when Magnus had been engrossed in some conversation about art with Raj’s grandmother.

He gives Alec a bright toothy smile and Alec gives him a light one back pocketing the napkin. The guy seemed nice enough and is definitely good looking enough, but Alec doesn’t think he’ll actually utilize it. He isn’t however cruel enough to blatantly reject the man from across the room.

“I’m killing this wingman thing now,” Magnus says with a smile sitting down with a heavy plate of snacks for them to share. Under the plate is another napkin with the start of a number on it as well. Alec slips it out from under the plate and sees the name Abby written in bright red marker.

 “Seems like you’re doing alright for yourself too,” he says handing the napkin over to Magnus. Magnus takes it from him with a shrug.

“The buffet was busy what can I say,” he says stuffing the napkin into his pocket carelessly. “Now try one of these little sandwich things, they’re to die for.” Magnus holds out one of the said tiny sandwiches for Alec and he leans over, Magnus popping the bite sized thing right onto his tongue with a smile.

They spend the rest of the night like that chairs close together, laughing and making up outlandish backstories for the stuffy rich people that surround them while snacking on every bit of free food that’s available to them.

“I’ve never seen a man look more like he’s the owner of a diamond encrusted toilet in my life,” Magnus says subtly pointing at a man on the dance floor who’s wearing an insane looking purple suit with a matching rhinestone hat. Alec’s not sure, but he thinks it might be Lydia’s uncle that runs a chain of furniture stores.

“Probably has a second one in gold too,” Alec says. Magnus laughs and looks down at their plate that’s been refilled too many times to count. The party is winding down, most of the guests starting to say their goodbyes and make their way back to whatever flowery cabin themed hotels they’re staying in.

It’s weird, but Alec kind of doesn’t want it to end, it’s something he’s never experienced with a night like this. It speaks volumes to the impact Magnus’ company is having on him.

***

The next morning they don’t even ask if the other had fun, it’s clear on their faces, it’s clear in the way Alec doesn’t even complain when he wakes up with Magnus hogging all the covers and his knee in his side.

This deal of theirs works, and it’s going to keep working for the rest of the summer without a doubt.

Magnus tosses a couple bottles of hotel shampoo into an open bag before he heads for the door his backpack slung over one shoulder. Alec looks around the room checking to make sure they haven’t left anything behind when he catches sight of the napkin from the night before on the nightstand and picks it up looking at the digits for a moment.

Magnus is already at the door back turned, his foot holding it open for Alec to follow. Alec looks at Magnus and then back down at the number. He bites his lip in thought for a moment before he crumples the napkin up and tosses it in the small garbage can by the table near the door.

He leans down to pick up their last bag that’s sitting beside it and catches sight of a second napkin next to his crumpled one. This one is barely folded with digits he doesn’t recognize on it and the last letters of the name Abby visible. He pauses with his fingers wrapped around the handle of the bag and looks up at Magnus who’s still standing in the doorway holding it open for Alec.

He thought that Abby was a sure thing, the woman coming around again later in the evening and asking Magnus to dance. Alec had seen them out there and for a moment thought he might be going back to their hotel room alone. He must have read it all wrong, he’s not quite sure why but he’s oddly pleased about that.

“You coming?” Magnus says turning back to look at Alec with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says covering up his surprise at his find with a light cough and grabs the bag following after Magnus.

He allows himself a small smile all the way down the hall wondering if maybe he wasn’t the only one who had more fun with his wingman than anyone else last night. And that, that’s an interesting development.

***

Maia & Raphael ~ June 12th, The Ridge – Marshall, North Carolina

They spend the week between weddings constantly texting. Magnus is more than a little excited about this one it’s clear. Alec doesn’t know Raphael or Maia, but he’s heard a lot about them.

The flight to Asheville, where they’ll be staying and taking a wedding bus into Marshall for the actual ceremony and reception, is filled with Magnus telling Alec a thousand tales about the shenanigans he and Raphael have gotten up to over the years. Each new story, even if Alec doubts the full truth of some of them, makes Alec a little more excited for to meet him. Raphael is part little brother, part mentee to Magnus and it’s not lost on Alec that he’s delighted to see Raphael has found his match, found someone who doesn’t ask him to change anything about himself.

And his match she is, Alec sees it clearly when he meets the pair instantly getting along with the both of them. He and Raphael have similar grumpy demeanors that bonds them fast and Maia is a fiery soul that reminds Alec of his own sister. He gets Magnus’ love for them immediately and isn’t disappointed in the slightest when the four of them end up spending most of their time together.

They attend the rehearsal dinner for this one, while Maia and Raphael have opted for no wedding party Magnus is unofficially the best man. He gives a speech that night that sounds more eloquent than anything Alec could ever come up with. However, he doesn’t have it in him to not tease Magnus just a bit when he sits back down.

“Could’ve been shorter,” he says into his glass of water looking at Magnus playfully from the corner of his eye.

Magnus nudges him in the ribs lightly, “Shut it.”

The wedding the next night is beautiful. Maia and Raphael say I do just as the sun sets in a ceremony that is a perfect combination of Maia’s heathenism as she called it the night before and Raphael’s devout Catholicism.

Nothing is overly flashy or overdone despite the sprawling beauty of their location. The warm summer night drifts by easy and slow, Alec choosing to keep close to Magnus the whole night in favor of any sort of mingling.

“You two are great together,” Maia says smiling at Magnus and Alec as they chat with her under a sparkle of twinkling white lights.

“Oh we’re not together, together,” Magnus corrects her smiling at Alec quickly almost a little nervously before looking back at Maia. “It’s just like a friend thing, you know single people unite situation.”

“Right,” she says like she knows something they don’t know as her eyes pass between them. She doesn’t get to further on whatever it is she does seem to know though because Raphael finds them with a plate of food in his hands that he holds out to her like a precious diamond.

“Mi corazón,” he says looking at her with eyes so filled to the brim with fondness it seems almost impossible.

If he though Helen and Aline were in love-love these two are on another level entirely.

“Food! Real food,” she exclaims making grabby hands for the plate and digging in immediately. “You’re a saint, Raphael Santiago.” She adds on between bites.

Raphael rolls his eyes fondly wrapping an arm around her waist as she continues to eat. “I bring her one plate of rice and tamales and she’s putting me up for sainthood.”

They chat some more in the short time it takes for Maia to finish her plate of food before they re-enter the fray making their rounds to other friends and family. Magnus gets Alec out on the dance floor a lot as the night moves on.

First it’s a few fast songs that he just follows Magnus’ lead for and then a slow number that he can actually keep up with.

“I really like Raphael and Maia,” Alec says as they sway together, bodies close his hands linked together at the small of Magnus’ back.

Magnus smiles looking all too pleased. “Good, I’m glad,” he says slipping his hands down from behind Alec’s neck and to his shoulders. “They’re two of my favorite people in the world.”

Alec smiles, he can see why and says just as much. They fall back into a companionable silence after that just swaying to the sweet romantic song playing around them. He spots Maia and Raphael to their right not really dancing just holding each other and whispering things that makes the other laugh in each other’s ears.

“God they’re cute,” Magnus says looking at them too and then back at Alec. “I mean we’re cuter obviously,” he adds on quickly. “In a platonic adorable way of course.”

“Of course,” Alec says in agreement his eyes on Magnus. They hold each other’s gazes for a while till their swaying becomes more stagnant, more like they’re just holding onto one another.

“Alec,” Magnus starts and the music switches to something far faster paced, the dance floor getting a little more crowded. They pull back from one another and Alec lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, a nervous gesture he rarely does these days.

“I’m gonna go, uh, get another drink,” he says and Magnus opens his mouth to saying something but stops and just nods as Alec walks away.

Alec leans against the bar waiting for the bartender to spot him and runs a hand through his hair. He’s not totally sure what just happened, but he’s pretty sure that had that song gone on a minute longer Alec might have kissed Magnus. A tension has been building between them since Alec saw that crumpled up napkin next to his in the trash in Tennessee.

First the texts got more teasing, then there was the trip here that was filled with such joy and openness. And now, now there’s this lingering between them. They’ve been doing this thing as friends, but this trip has felt different this trip has felt almost like they were a real couple.

It’s a dangerous line to be playing at if Alec’s the only one feeling this way.

“Wanna get out of here for a while?” Magnus says pulling Alec’s head back upright. He raises an eyebrow in question.

“Evidently there’s a pool connected to the little hotel down near where the bus will pick everyone up and some people were gonna head over,” he explains and Alec nods his head. If Magnus wants to get out of here, Alec does too.

The pool is probably the least fabulous thing about this whole space, but that doesn’t deter anyone from jumping in fully clothed. Magnus introduces Alec around to few people that he knows making small talk before he himself hops in. Alec makes camp in a plastic chair at the far end of the pool watching as people slowly pair off one by one drifting down to the bus stop.

His eyes for most of the time stay on Magnus, Magnus who does a few laps and then lifts himself up with strong arms to sit at the edge of the pool chatting with a curly haired woman that Alec can’t remember the name of. She reaches out and brushes her hand across Magnus’ exposed forearm when he says something that makes her laugh and it sparks a twinge of jealousy in Alec’s gut that he’s never experienced before.

Magnus meets his eyes when he slips back down into the water and Alec looks away quickly.

“Alexander,” Magnus says slowly in a way that Alec doesn’t have the ability to ignore. His eyes return to Magnus’ the makeup around them a little smudged from the water and his once spiky hair is completely flat and pushed back away from his face. He looks impossibly good in the artificial lighting around them.

Alec’s always been aware that Magnus was attractive, he has two perfectly functioning eyes after all. But now here in this moment he’s never been more aware of the fact.

“Come on, get in,” he says and Alec shakes his head. A few others are lingering at the other end of the pool, but for the most part it’s just them. Alec’s not even sure what time it is, his phone discarded with Magnus’ dead one behind him.

He stands crouching over beside the edge of the pool with a shake of his head.

“I’m good staying dry,” he says and Magnus lifts up onto his elbows on the edge of the pool pretty brown eyes shining up at Alec.

“Come on, five minutes,” he says with a tilt of his head. “For me,” he adds on sweetly and Alec can’t resist.

“Fine,” he says trying to sound put out, but coming off fonder than intended as he settles down on his butt and takes off his socks and shoes. He slides into the pool next to Magnus and turns to him.

“There, happy?”

Magnus pushes off the wall and swims over till he’s hovering in front of Alec. “Almost,” he says just before he reaches out putting both hands on Alec’s shoulders and pushing him down with all his strength.

He submerges Alec and then swims away with a laugh. Alec pops up from the water shaking his head out like a wet dog and chases after Magnus catching him at the center of the pool by the ankle and pulling him back.

Magnus doesn’t fight it, just lets himself be pulled until they’re face to face again splashing a little more water playfully at Alec’s face.

“Really, Magnus?” he says with a smile splashing back at Magnus a bit.

“Really,” he says with a chuckle swimming around Alec once until he settles back in front of him. Magnus lifts his right hand from the water and pushes back the trusses of wet hair that have fallen in front of Alec’s eyes. His fingers drag through Alec’s dark hair and slowly move down across the shell of his ear and down till it’s settled on Alec’s neck. Magnus’ thumb falls a bit rubbing slowly at his exposed collarbone where Alec’s unbuttoned his shirt, his tie long abandoned.

Alec’s not sure which one of them leans in first or if it’s a simultaneous reaction, but between one heartbeat and the next their lips are a centimeter apart just about to touch when a loud honk breaks them apart.

“The bus,” Alec says as Magnus curses under his breath. They both swim to edge quick grabbing their discarded phones and shoes and making a run for it.

The bus is pulling away just as they reach the sidewalk, just far enough away that no one inside can see them.

Alec holds out his phone and sees the time, it’s just past midnight, he doesn’t know where the time went or how he lost such track of it. Magnus puts a hand on his arm and he is reminded of just why he lost track of it in an instant.

“That was the last one wasn’t it?” he says and Alec nods. Magnus sits down on the curb and slips his shoes back on. “Guess we’re walking.”

Alec sits next to him and does the same before pulling his phone back out and pulling up his GPS. As soon as he gets it connected to their coordinates his phone screen goes black.

He curses and pockets the dead device looking around.

“Follow the lights that’ll take us back into the city,” Magnus says pointing in the direction Alec agrees might be their best bet. “Once we get back to street signs we can figure it out.”

“Yeah, okay,” Alec nods and starts walking. They’re quite all the way till they reach the city limits just walking and enjoying each other’s presence. Or at least he hopes that’s what they’re doing, he hopes this isn’t actually an awkward silence after what had almost happened in the pool and on the dance floor.

The area starts to get a little more familiar as they walk, but Magnus starts to slow down his feet clearly getting tired. Alec can understand why with the heel on his boots being what they are.

“Hey, let’s cut through this graveyard, I’m pretty sure it’ll get us to the hotel faster,” he says coming to a stop in front of the large stone wall of the graveyard. The gate is cracked open and while technically they’re not supposed to enter after hours he’s willing to take the shortcut for Magnus’ feet sake.

“Through a graveyard?” Magnus says a little hesitantly peeking into the gates.

Alec smiles stepping up to Magnus’ side. “What, you scared?” he teases.

Magnus turns his head giving him an offended look. “I’m not scared,” he says assuredly. “Just a little superstitious.”

He leans down using one hand to stabilize himself on Alec’s arm and slips off his first shoe then switches and does the same on the other side.

“Magnus what are you doing?” he asks as Magnus holds his shoes in his hand.

“If we’re cutting through a graveyard, we’re running and holding our breath,” he says holding out his free hand for Alec to take.

“Seriously?”

“Most seriously,” Magnus says wiggling his fingers for Alec to take. Alec huffs out a little laugh and twines their fingers together. They step up to the gate hand in hand pushing it open enough so they can both fit through side by side. Magnus takes a deep breath in, holds it and then they’re off.

The warm summer wind whips around them as they rush through the graveyard, bobbing and weaving around gravestones as they go. Alec has to take a breath when they narrowly dodged a large epitaph and laughs.

Magnus joins in with him just as Alec trips himself up over a small epitaph just barely sticking up from the ground and lands face first into the grass.

“Alexander!” Magnus startles as their hands separate. He falls to his knees at Alec’s side as Alec turns over looking up at the stars and then at something much brighter.

“Ow,” he says when he meets Magnus’ eyes. Magnus giggles falling down into the grass beside him.

“Well so much for getting through quickly huh?” he says between giggles and Alec can’t help but join in. Magnus rolls to his side, pushing up close against Alec. He lifts himself up on an elbow and looks down at Alec still giggling just a bit. He moves one leg to tangle with Alec’s.

It’s not the first time they’ve been this close, they’ve woken up in the same bed numerous times now and they were even closer than this not but an hour ago in the pool. But something about this, about this carefree laughter and silly superstitions feels even more intimate.

Alec lifts himself up just enough for their lips to meet. There’s no hesitation on Magnus’ end, their lips slide together slow and easy until Magnus’ tongue trails along the seam of Alec’s lips. He opens his mouth to Magnus easy and falls back bringing Magnus along with him.

Magnus moves with him like it’s as natural as breathing resituating himself until he’s straddling one of Alec’s thighs. He can feel Magnus growing hard against his leg as they kiss making Alec rut his own hardness up against him.

Alec lets his hands drift to Magnus’ waist untucking his shirt and letting his hands drift up to naked skin. Magnus moves his hands down as well unfastening Alec’s belt. Alec gets with the program working at the buttons on Magnus’ pants as well.

They pull back before either of them go any further a question in both their eyes.

“Can I?” they say at the same time and start laughing. Magnus presses his forehead to Alec’s as they laugh hands still lingering at the edge of his briefs.

“Yes,” Alec says enthusiastically when his laughter settles down. He leans in kissing Magnus fast and hard once before he pulls back again. “Yes.”

***

Alec wakes to the whirring sound of a lawnmower. He peels opens his eyes to see the blinding rising sun. Magnus is cuddled up against his side, his head on Alec’s chest. Alec lifts a hand smiling as he runs a hand through Magnus’ hair. For a moment he forgets where they are until the lawnmower gets far too close to his head.

Alec watches as a graveyard groundskeeper cuts around them like they’re just a part of the grounds and Magnus grumbles.

“Magnus,” Alec says shaking his shoulder gently. “We gotta go Magnus.”

He moves slowly lifting his head up from Alec’s chest and squinting at the sun. He looks beautiful in the morning light, all bleary eyed and sleep warm. Alec doesn’t remember falling asleep here, doesn’t remember much after his mind-blowing orgasm and the look on Magnus’ face as he followed close behind. Evidently though they fell fast asleep not long after that.

He smiles despite the grass stains no doubt on his clothes and the ache in his back from laying half on the corner of hard stone. Magnus sits up, Alec following along as they help each other stand. Magnus reaches out with a chuckle redoing Alec’s belt, thankfully they’d had enough energy the night before to tuck themselves back into their underwear at least not giving the graveyard groundskeeper an eyeful.

They cut the rest of the way through the graveyard, which yes it turns out actually would have been a shortcut to the hotel if they had made it all the way through, hand in hand giving a passing wave to the groundskeeper who barely chances them a glance. It makes Alec wonder just how many times he’s found living people fast asleep here. 

They’re in a rush once they get back to the hotel cutting their checkout time close, so close that they don’t have any time to talk. By the time they get on the plane to head back home they’re both still so tired they fall asleep almost instantly.

They share a cab once they land back in New York and Alec helps Magnus gather his bags from the trunk as they both linger outside of his building.

“So,” he says handing Magnus his bag their fingers lingering a touch as he does.

“So,” Magnus says in reply an almost shy smile on his lips.

“We should probably talk,” Alec says with a huff. “Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow?”

“I’d love to, but I have to leave for that business trip,” Magnus says sounding disappointed.

“Right, London and you won’t be back until the day before Hawaii,” Alec says sadly. He’d forgotten about the two-week business trip that will keep Magnus away, it’s why they won’t be flying to Hawaii together for Simon’s wedding.

Magnus nods his head. “We can talk then though right?” he says.

“Of course,” Alec says. Two weeks is a long time for Alec to think about this nonstop, but he can handle it.

Alec hesitates for a moment not sure what to do next, Magnus makes the decision for him leaning up and pressing a light kiss to his lips before turning away with a wave and a goodbye over his shoulder. He gives Alec one last look over his shoulder as he enters his building winking as he goes.

Yeah, it’s gonna be a long two weeks.

***

Simon & Maureen ~ June 26th, Oahu, Hawaii

Alec lands in Hawaii and just like the past two weeks his mind is instantly on Magnus. It should probably be on their old college buddy and his pending nuptials, but frankly he couldn’t care less about Simon right now.

They’ve talked here and there over the past two weeks a few passing texts and funny photos, but they still haven’t really talked about what happened, about what exactly they are now.

They fucked in a graveyard and it’s fine, it’s not weird, it’s not consuming Alec’s every waking moment or anything. It’s not. It’s just consuming about half of his waking moments and yeah, his wet dreams have gotten a lot more specific and star the same gorgeous man now, but whatever it’s still totally not a big deal.

He's totally cool with however this goes down once Magnus arrives in Hawaii and they see each other face to face.

***

He’s too jittery and eager to see Magnus to hang out in their hotel room once he’s settled in. He sits outside of the hotel at one of the little tables for far longer than he should head perking up every time a cab pulls through and being disappointed each time it’s not Magnus.

Eventually at least for a little while he distracts himself with the book he brought down to at least create the illusion of doing something other than eagerly awaiting his dates arrival like a dog waiting for their owner to come home from work.

“Oh my god, Alec Lightwood is that you?” a familiar voice says. Alec looks up pushing his sunglass back up the bridge of his nose to find Magnus hanging halfway out of a cab window.

“Oh my god it really is you,” he says far louder than he needs to pushing open the door. Alec huffs a little laugh and stands making his way over to the cab as Magnus hands a tip to the cabbie who’s pulling his suitcase from the trunk.

Magnus turns his attention. “It’s been what ten years, Cabo right?” Magnus says exaggeratedly as he bounds up to Alec tossing his arms around him in a tight hug.

He pulls back with a smile. “You look so different, the doctors finally figured out what to do about that face huh?” A few other hotel guests eye them questionably at that, but Alec’s focus stays on Magnus.

Alec smiles playing along, “Just like they figured out what to do about that hairline of yours it seems.”

Magnus shimmies his shoulders playfully thanking the cabbie as he sits his bag down beside him.

“It’s a miracle the things they can do with horse manes these days,” he says and the cabbie startles giving them both an odd look before he’s backing away and retreating to the driver’s seat.

“Hi,” Alec says with a smile amused by Magnus’ antics.

“Hi,” he parrots back finally speaking at a socially acceptable level. He looks down at Alec’s hands and snatches the book he’s still holding onto. “Did you bring a book to a Hawaiian vacation?”

Alec shrugs. “I was bored,” he says in his own defense.

“Aww couldn’t have any fun without me?” Magnus says using his free hand to tangle his fingers with Alec’s.

Alec pushes up his sunglasses and smiles. “Something like that.” They stand there for probably longer than two people should smiling at each other and swinging their joined hands between them.

“Be a dear and get my bag,” he says squeezing Alec’s hand once. “You have to show me this beach view we’re paying for.”

Magnus doesn’t drop his hand all the way up to the room only separating himself from him when he catches sight of the big fluffy bed that Alec has yet to touch.

Magnus flops back onto it bouncing a bit as he lands. He spread eagles out moving his arms back and forth like he’s making a snow angel.

“Well this is fancy,” he says smiling as he lifts himself up from the bed. He takes a moment to look out at the view as Alec looks at him before he catches sight of the bouquet of roses and chilled champagne sitting on the table.

“Was this you?” he asks turning back to Alec.

“Complimentary for all the wedding guests, but I’ll happily take credit if it scores me some romantic points,” Alec says just putting it out there. He’s been thinking about this, about Magnus nonstop for two weeks now and even though he’s not sure why it’s happening now he’s okay with this happening. He wants to try this with Magnus, something about them has always clicked and now it just clicks a little more.

Magnus runs his fingers over the petals of one of the roses before stepping over to Alec wrapping his arms around his waist.

“The way you’ve been looking at me since I hung my head out of that cab is earning you more romantic points than this would anyway,” he says. Alec leans down just a little hesitant to place a light kiss to Magnus’ lips.

“About what happened in North Carolina,” Alec starts as he rests his hands on Magnus’ shoulders.

“I don’t regret it,” Magnus says quickly.

“Neither do I.”

“Good, so should we maybe do it again some time? Preferably not in a graveyard,” Magnus says his finger unlinking behind Alec’s back to rub up and down slowly. Alec tenses at that, if Magnus just wants to keep having sex Alec’s not sure he could handle that. As much as he wants Magnus he’s never been good at separating sex and feelings and there’s no way in hell he could do that with Magnus. They’ve become too tangled up in one another lately for that.

Magnus must sense his tension though because he quickly continues on. “And other stuff too, you know like hand holding, cuddling, double date brunches with people we really don’t like and low-lit dinners.”

“So, like a relationship?” Alec says lifting his hands to cup Magnus’ neck.

“Yeah, one of those,” Magnus says leaning in to Alec’s touch. “If you want to try.”

Alec nods his head maybe a little too enthusiastically and Magnus chuckles. “I want to try,” he says before leaning in to kiss Magnus again.

***

They wander around the hotel for a while after they talk Alec’s arm slung over Magnus’ shoulder and Magnus’ hand in one of his back pockets like they’re some sort of teen rom com couple. It’d be cheesy if Alec didn’t like it so much.

Magnus tells him all about being back in London and how it felt odd that it didn’t feel like home anymore, which makes Alec a little sad for Magnus, but happy knowing that it means Magnus is staying put in New York.

Eventually they head down to the hotel bar meeting up with one of Alec’s lacrosse buddies that Magnus had never met when they were all at college together and his fiancé.

“Say what you will about us as people, but a queer couple would never make you travel this damn much for a wedding,” Victor says resting his hand on Elias’ thigh.

“Clearly you weren’t invited to Lorenzo and Andrew’s Canadian dream then,” Alec says with a disgruntled sigh, he’s not looking forward to that one at the summer’s end.

Victor chuckles, “Matter of fact I was not invited to that one, Lorenzo still hasn’t gotten over the fact I shagged his fiancé three full years before they even met.”

“Well, then how’d Alec get invited to that one, he did the same thing?” Elias says twisting the umbrella from his drink between his teeth.

Magnus turns to Alec with glee. “You did what now?”

Alec shakes his head furiously. “I did not! Fuck you very much Elias, I have better taste than your fiancé does, I turned blondie down after he fairly aggressively hit on me ten seconds after Vic dumped him.”

“Damn,” Magnus says with a sigh leaning a little closer to Alec. “We could have caused a real scandal at that one if you had.”

“Okay Alec what the hell? Why did you never bring Magnus around to hang with us in college, he’s my new favorite person,” Victor says with a laugh. Magnus raises his glass in his direction in thanks.

“That’s exactly why. I needed you to be my friend so I could cheat off your math homework to stay on the team and you’d have ditched me to hang out with him without thought,” Alec says pointedly and Victor concedes with a ‘you got me there’ shrug of his shoulders.

They stay at the bar till late drinking out of coconuts and trading stories with Victor and Elias until the other couple decides to call it a night. They head back to their room and get into their pajamas falling into bed together. For a moment they stay on their own sides of the bed just like they always have when sharing a bed, or at least have when they first go to bed how they wake up is between their sleeping selves, until Alec reaches out for Magnus because he can.

Magnus shuffles up close to him until they’re chest to chest and they fall asleep tangled together purposefully for the first time.

***

"How tacky would it be to steal all of these towels?" Alec asks from the bathroom as he ties one around his waist. He’s happy, hasn’t been able to take the smile off his face since he woke up in the morning with his head on Magnus’ chest and his strong arms around him. "Cause they're like heaven sewn into a towel."

"It's only tacky if we get caught,” Magnus says turning away from the mirror where he'd been fixing his hair to face Alec as he steps out of the bathroom still in nothing but the towel.

"Cool, we're definitely stealing them all then," he says and stops when he notices Magnus’ eyes dropping down, lingering, ogling really. That's when it hits him Magnus has never actually seen him without a shirt on. He's had his hands on Alec's dick, but they're graveyard tryst hadn't exactly given them time to get naked anywhere above the waist.

"Sorry, I'm back," Magnus says after a moment shaking his head, pulling his eyes away from the dusting of hair on Alec’s chest and the stark black tattoo over his heart to force himself to look Alec in the eyes. "I support you in all your towel thieving endeavors" he says taking one last look at Alec's chest before turning and walking over to his suitcase rummaging through nothing. Under his breath Alec swears he hears Magnus say a quiet emphatic "damn," and maybe just a little Alec privately gloats about it.

He gets dressed quickly, he and Magnus moving in each other’s space easily with lingering touches and quick kisses. The wedding is a lovely affair, Simon stumbles over his vows and Maureen doesn’t mind, she just laughs when a particularly hard wind comes through and nearly blows Simon’s yarmulka off his head catching it and pinning it back into his hair softly. 

They spend the ceremony like a real couple, which ironically isn’t all that different from the way they were at the last wedding. They do shots with Victor and Elias and Alec gets to taste the tang of lime on Magnus’ lips when they’re done.

They slow dance a little slower and kiss this time though which is nice and when Magnus feeds him hors d'oeuvres he playfully bites at Magnus’ fingertips.

They don’t linger long at the reception both equally as eager to get back to their room and be alone. They don’t waste any time when they get there the door shut firmly behind them without pause. Alec pushes Magnus up against the closed door without hesitation kissing him for all he’s worth and pushing at his jacket.

It doesn’t take long for them to fall into bed both completely naked.

Magnus' reaction to Alec's bare chest pales in comparison to the no doubt slack jawed look Alec is sporting now. Alec's never seen anyone who looks like they were actually cut from marble before, Magnus' chest is like a damn Greek god. He always knew Magnus was fit could tell from the teases of skin he's seen over the years when Magnus would sport something particularly low cut, but the glimpses never could have prepared him for the full view. Alec dated a literal male model for a brief time a few years ago and even he couldn’t hold a candle to every bit of downright gorgeous that Magnus is. If Alec ever had any doubts that he was gay the vision of a naked Magnus straddling his lap makes him 1000% certain.

It's intense, but in the best possible ways. If they're graveyard quickie hadn't left Alec's mind for weeks this, this is going to be imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life. It's just him and Magnus and endless hours on soft sheets. He put his lips on every inch of Magnus' skin committing every pleased sound to memory, runs his hands over every dip and curve making a pathway he hopes to memorize as he goes. He gives it all, puts his whole self into making Magnus feel good. And Magnus, goddamn does Magnus give right back.

All it takes is one full night together and he's pretty sure Magnus has ruined him wholly and completely for any other man.

***

The glow of them being together doesn’t fade away when they get back from Hawaii like Alec feared it might. Dating Magnus in the city is just as good.

They get takeout and watch bad tv together on his couch, they even manage to get drinks with Izzy and Meliorn one night. It’s an easy thing almost like they’ve been double dating for years.

It’s all so easy the transition from friends to couple and for a good long while Alec doesn’t even get in his own head about how easy it’s been.

***

Lorenzo & Andrew ~ July 3rd, The Royal Conservatory of Music – Toronto, Canada

“I’d bet Andrew cheats on him before they hit their second year,” Alec says idly watching the couple as Lorenzo snips at something Andrew says.

“Alexander,” Magnus says chidingly stealing away his glass of champagne and sipping from it. “You can’t say that at their wedding, it’s so cynical.”

“Oh I can and I just did,” he says with a smile stealing his drink back from Magnus.

“Just because they’re,” Magnus pauses looking at them as Lorenzo straightens out Andrew’s tie, Andrew looking increasingly annoyed at Lorenzo’s micromanaging. “Unconventionally happy, doesn’t mean it’s doomed.”

“True,” Alec says sliding his glass back over to Magnus after he takes a drink of his own. “It’s doomed because Andrew has the ability to commit to monogamy the way a shark can commit to giving up living underwater, just ask Victor, and Lorenzo is an overbearing windbag.”

Magnus snorts covering his mouth to hide his obvious laughter. Alec smiles wrapping an arm around Magnus’ waist and pulling him closer to his side. This wedding has been ridiculous, a tacky nightmare of two personalities that clash so much Alec can’t fathom how they lasted this long. If it weren’t for the open bar, the giant complimentary gift basket back at their hotel room and the way Magnus looks in his auburn suit Alec would be questioning why they even made this trip all the way out here.

“You wanna get out of here soon?” Magnus asks discarding their shared glass on a passing ornate tray with a smile.

“Definitely, but I’m gonna steal some more of those shrimps before we go though,” Alec says already heading for the buffet with full intentions to stack a plate as high as he can and feed them to Magnus in bed.

***

Ragnor & Catarina ~ July 17th, San Francisco, California

Alec doesn’t realize he’s nervous about the San Francisco trip until he lands in San Francisco. This isn’t just some wedding of a college friend; this is meeting Magnus’ family. This is Magnus’ hometown; his sister is getting married to one of the friends he met in London that made London feel like home right in his mother’s backyard.

This is more than a wedding; this is Magnus bringing Alec home to meet his family like real boyfriend’s do. This is five days of Magnus showing Alec the places he liked to go to when he was younger, telling him stories about the streets where he used to ride his bike. This is what Alec does every day they spend together in New York when they pass by some place he has a memory, but packed into just five days. Even more so it’s Magnus really showing Alec a piece of him he’s never gotten to see. This is a man who despite his outward life of the party vibe is actually quite closed off saying to Alec here I am please still like what you see.

This is serious, because they are serious now Alec realizes, with each passing day Alec becomes more and more infatuated with his boyfriend. He won’t say he’s in love just yet, but that’s what this is.

“They’re gonna love you,” Magnus says reassuringly as they stand on the front steps of his childhood home.

Alec looks at him and lets out a deep breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“Mom’s gonna love you instantly it’s in her nature and Rag and Cat will hound you but I promise it’s only because they’re tired of hearing me talk about you,” Magnus says squeezing his hand once. “You got this.”

Alec nods his head and takes another deep breath before putting on his best win the boyfriends family over smile. Magnus smiles a happy little smile at him before pushing the front door open and pulling Alec inside.

In an instant there’s a woman turning the corner with a big, bright smile on her face rushing towards Magnus.

“My baby!” she shouts barreling into him and holding him tight. A little too tight it seems judging from struggling, but fond look on Magnus’ face.

“Hi mama,” Magnus says when she finally pulls back. She lifts up a hand and pats him on the face once before running her fingers along his goatee.

“This is new,” she says observing the look. “It suits you.” Magnus smiles pleased.

His mother turns from him and sets her eyes on Alec seriously looking him up and down once, twice before turning back to her son. Magnus looks so much like her and it’s especially clear in the way she looks when she’s in deep thought, sizing up something or someone and forming an opinion. He’s seen that exact look on Magnus’ face a number of times, even on himself when they met for the first-time years ago.

“So tall, and quite handsome,” she says turning back to Magnus with another big smile. She turns away from him and puts her arms around Alec pulling him into a hug. She’s about the same height and build as his mother when she doesn’t wear those sensible heels she’s prone to so Alec’s reaction to hug her back is immediate.

“I’m Nadira. It’s nice to meet you Alec,” she says pulling back from him. “Well I guess meet you again. Drop your bags, come along I’ll get you some tea.”

She grabs Magnus’ hand and gestures for them both to follow her along into the kitchen.

“You remember the first time?” Alec says as he trails along after them. She pulls out two chairs for them to sit in and gently pushes them forward to take a seat as she flits about the kitchen fetching them some tea.

“Of course,” she says as she turns around attempting to juggle three mugs. Alec jumps up to help her and she smiles at him in thanks when he takes two of the mugs, keeping one for himself and handing Magnus the other.

“So, polite,” she says with a smile towards Magnus before she takes her seat. “Anyways, yes I remember you. You were still growing into that handsome face, but just as polite that parent’s weekend at NYU. All of Magnus’ other friends were hooligans, but you called me ma’am and held doors open for me.”

Alec smiles putting his hands around his mug. “I was just doing what any decent person would.”

“Exactly, it made you stand out,” she says. She reaches out laying a hand on one of Magnus’. “Plus you two were so cute together, I’m surprised this,” she says gesturing between them. “Didn’t happen sooner.”

Alec looks at Magnus unsure of what to say. People here and there have been saying as such since they officially got together in Hawaii and Alec to started to wonder about it himself.

Magnus just shrugs. “I guess we happened when we happened,” he says and then the conversation shifts. Magnus and his mom catch up while she asks questions here and there of Alec wanting to get to know him better.

***

“So, do my west coast ways live up to your east coast snobbery?” Magnus teases as he kicks his legs out swinging them back and forth.

They’re sitting on the edge of his and Catarina’s childhood “treehouse” it’s more of a cabin than a treehouse really, but any argument about the semantics of its design died on Alec’s lips when he saw his boyfriend and Cat jump inside both really too tall to fit now but squeezing in anyways. Magnus had just looked so damn carefree and happy that Alec couldn’t stop smiling.

From there they’ve spent two days just exploring the city, Magnus taking Alec to all his favorite spots, showing him the little corners that tourists don’t get to see that he and Cat would spend hours just wasting time away in.

Of course there’s been wedding duties and huge family dinners as well that have felt so easy. Cat and Ragnor have welcomed him in like family just as Magnus’ mother had from moment one.

Alec laughs. “With the food your mother has been feeding me alone, and you can never tell my born and bred New York family this, I would happily convert into a California guy.”

Magnus smiles one of those private bright little smiles he does and wraps his arm around Alec’s leaning his head on his shoulder.

Alec places a kiss on his hair and smiles. Things with Magnus are just so easy, sometimes he wonders if it’s almost too easy.

***

The night before the wedding is a frenzy of decorating the backyard and attempting to the cover it all with tarps in the hopes no raccoons will wreak havoc on their hard work. Magnus is moving nonstop, Alec isn’t even sure what he’s doing half the time, but he watches from the sidelines fondly lending a hand whenever his height is needed.

“Well you’re in love-love with him then aren’t you?” Ragnor says coming up behind Alec and startling him from his post happily just watching Magnus flit about the backyard. He turns to Ragnor stumbling over his words a bit.

“It’s not like, we’re not,” he says and Ragnor just waves him off with a chuckle and an amused shake of his head.

“Sure you’re not,” he says. Alec starts to try and explain, it’s not that he’s not very fond of Magnus and it’s not that maybe he’s there already, but it’s too soon. It’s way too soon to be showing his hand like that, things have gone so smoothly so far he’s certain dropping the L word so quickly would not be the right move.

But he doesn’t really get the chance to say any of that, which is probably for the better, because Catarina calls out for her husband to be across the lawn.

Alec leans back against the railing of the back porch again and finds Magnus once more. He’s crouched down talking to one of the daughters of an old childhood friend of theirs. Magnus says something that makes the little girl giggle before handing her a twisty little bouquet of flowers that he has in hands.

The scene makes Alec smile and just like that he realizes Ragnor is right, but it can’t be that easy can it? Nothing is ever this easy.

He knows he’s distracted the rest of the night thinking about Ragnor’s words and his own realization.

It’s not until they’re alone in Magnus’ room that he finally snaps out of it his attention solely on Magnus when he crawls onto the bed and straddles Alec’s waist. He trails his hands slowly up under Alec’s shirt and leans down placing a light kiss in just the right spot on Alec’s neck.

“Magnus,” Alec says trying to sound put out while turning his head to give Magnus more access to the long line of his neck.

“Alexander,” Magnus says breathy and warm against his neck before pressing another slow sweet kiss there.

“Magnus we can’t have sex in your childhood bedroom,” Alec says looking around the space, he makes eye contact with Magnus’ plush llama and shakes his head. Magnus lifts up his hands still on Alec’s chest.

“Why not?” Magnus pouts and oh, boy Alec is going to have a hard time standing his ground here.

“Because your llama is watching me and your mom is down the hall,” he says sitting up so that he and Magnus are nose to nose. It’s a bad idea because now his resolve is crumbling even more with Magnus’ lips so close to his.

Magnus leans over for a second knocking the llama to the floor.

“One problem solved,” he says with a smile. “As for my mom wells she’s a heavy sleeper, don’t worry I used to sneak out all the time and she never knew. As long as you can stay quiet we can do this, baby.”

Alec scoffs. “Me stay quiet?” he says incredulously. “As if I’m the loud one, I thought for sure you’d end up waking the dead in the graveyard that night.”

Magnus chuckles resting his forearms on Alec’s shoulders. “Okay so we’re both a little rowdy, it’ll be a fun game to play see if we can both stay quiet.”

Alec sighs and feels his resolve completely crumble when Magnus leans in and brushes their noses together.

“Fine, but one loud noise and I’ll leave you wanting,” Alec says flipping them over so that he’s hovering over Magnus.

Magnus hums pleased. “Keep talking like that and this won’t last long.”

Alec rolls his eyes fondly then kisses Magnus all messy tongue and teeth letting himself get lost in it, letting himself drown out the little voice in the back of his head that’s saying he can’t be this happy by accident, that somethings gotta give.

***

Alec promises himself that he’s not going to overthink for the day and somehow he manages to keep that promise. He ties Magnus’ tie for him in the morning and just basks in the closeness of it, he helps Nadira set out food for the reception and sings along when she starts her own little karaoke party.

He lives in the moment for the day, just like he had when things with him and Magnus first started, when he wasn’t overthinking how this happened and what could go wrong.  

The wedding is by far the nicest one he’s been too of late because of its simplicity. There’s no flash or fanfare, Cat wears a dress she borrowed from her adoptive mother and looks more beautiful than any bride ever has. Ragnor dresses like a librarian and says vows that Alec can’t believe aren’t prepared. They’re incredibly in love and happy in the backyard where Cat and Magnus used to play and it’s perfect.

“Thanks for coming,” Magnus says while they sway on the deck of the treehouse, some slow 90’s song Alec doesn’t recognize but Magnus had gotten insanely excited about playing in the background. The lights in the yard twinkle in Magnus’ eyes and here in this moment it kind of feels like they’re the only ones here despite being surrounded by dozens of people.

“I know this was probably a lot with the whole family and everything, so thank you,” he says quietly tightening his arms around Alec’s waist.

Alec shakes his head. “You don’t have to thank me, I wanted to be here. With you. This wasn’t a lot, you’re not a lot,” Alec says truthful. Whatever the hell has sparked his sudden brain melt about this being so good and thinking it can’t be this good has nothing to do with Magnus or his family being too much for him to handle.

Magnus smiles at him pleased and a little surprised which makes Alec want to fight anyone that ever told him he was too much to handle.

“Good, that’s good,” Magnus says before laying his head on Alec’s chest. They stay like that for a long while, well after the song has switched to something more upbeat.

***

The five days in San Francisco move by almost too quickly. Before Alec knows it he’s getting another massive bear hug from Nadira and being handed a massive bag of leftovers that he has to load into the car. Leftovers that he knows they will absolutely confiscate at the airport, but he appreciates the thought nonetheless.

He shuts the trunk and leans back on it watching as Magnus says goodbye to his mother and now in this moment he’s back to slipping into his own head.

Alec looks at Magnus and he realizes he’s doing that thing he does. That thing where he questions something good that happened without any rhyme or reason, without him having to put any work in to make it happen. He’s the happiest he’s probably ever been and he’s questioning it, he’s questioning why it’s happened when it’s happened and what will inevitably go wrong.

He doesn’t want to do that with this, but he can’t seem to stop it creeping in.

***

Victor & Elias ~ July 31st, Brooklyn, New York City

“Earth to Alexander,” Magnus says waving his hand in front of Alec’s face. Alec shakes his head, once again overthinking just like he has been on and off since San Francisco. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Alec says smiling so that Magnus doesn’t worry. Again this is all Alec’s dumb head, Magnus doesn’t need to worry about it. “Of course, ready to go?”

Magnus nods and holds out his hand for Alec to take. Tonight’s not technically a wedding Victor and Elias just didn’t care about the fanfare of it and plan to at some point get down to the courthouse, tonight is just for bringing them presents and drinking on a rooftop.

Magnus talks all the subway ride to the party telling Alec about a guy he works with who made a fool of himself earlier in the day. Alec listens like he always does, but he finds himself drifting.

He continues to drift when they hit the party only halfheartedly putting his energy into conversation with Victor and playful photobooth pictures with his boyfriend. Magnus notices of course giving Alec all these concerned looks as the night goes on.

“Or at least that’s what I heard,” Victor says finishing up on the rumor he’s heard about Lorenzo and Andrew already having problems.

“Well damn, looks like your cynicism was not misplaced,” Magnus says nudging Alec’s shoulder. Alec just hums into his glass in agreement. He doesn’t want his cynicism to be right, because if his cynicism about that was right then what if it’s right about how they’re relationship has been too easy so far. He wants to be wrong about that.

“Okay, what’s up with you?” Magnus asks turning his body to Alec. Alec looks up from where he’d been gazing off into his empty glass to find Victor and Elias gone.

“Nothing,” Alec says pushing back from the table. “You wanna dance?”

Magnus gives him a somewhat incredulous look. “Now I know it’s not nothing you never dance unless I make you, so what’s going on. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been having these moments where you’re so distracted ever since Cat and Ragnor’s wedding, so tell me what’s going on.”

He takes one of Alec’s hands in a tender hold and Alec says the wrong thing.

“Do you think we happened too easily?” he asks and instantly wants to put the question back inside his mouth.

“What?” Magnus says dropping Alec’s hand.

“I just, fuck,” he says running a hand through his hair. Now that he’s opened his mouth he can’t seem to stop. “Everyone seems to think we should have gotten together ages ago and I just can’t help but wonder why now and then it’s been so easy, so goddamn easy being with you.”

“And that’s a problem?” Magnus says. He sounds angry, not that Alec can blame him for that, but he’s keeping his tone controlled making sure to not draw attention to them.

“Yes, no, I don’t know,” Alec says his hands moving as he talks. “I mean good things don’t just happen and if they do I mean somethings bound to give right.”

Magnus laughs humorlessly stepping back a bit from Alec. “So what we’re doomed because we’re happy?”

Alec shuts his eyes in frustration for a moment trying to collect his thoughts to actually say something right.

“No, that’s not what I mean, I guess I just wonder if this is too good to be true,” he says dropping his arms to his side feeling a little defeated. That’s not what he wanted to say, that’s not how he should have worded it. He’s in love with Magnus and he’s scared that something is going to go wrong because it’s all gone so right so far and he didn’t even have to try to make it that way, that’s what he should say but he can’t seem to get any of that out.

“No I don’t think that, god Alec where is this coming from? All this time you’ve been here with me you haven’t questioned it, you haven’t second guessed it, so why now huh?”

Alec opens his mouth and nothing comes out so Magnus soldiers on.

“I mean do you want this to end is that what you’re saying?” Magnus asks a sad look in his eyes that Alec hates he’s the one responsible for putting there.

“No, that’s not-“ he starts and stutters out uncertain of what to say to fix this. Of course he doesn’t want this to end, that’s the last thing he wants that’s why he can’t stop thinking about losing it. He’s not lost on the irony that he was in his head about this falling apart because it’s been so easy and here he is the one making it fall apart because he can’t get out of his own head.

“Why are you suddenly questioning this Alec?” Magnus almost shouts.

“I-” Alec stutters out frustrated with this argument and with himself for starting it, for not being able to turn off his damn brain just once. Just for this one thing, this one good thing. “I don’t know,” he settles on running a hand through his hair tugging a little too hard at the ends of it.

Magnus huffs and just shakes his head. “Okay, well when you figure it out, give me call,” he says turning to leave. “But don’t wait too long, I know I won’t.” He moves fast turning for the exit before Alec can even get out another word. Before he gets the chance to say something to maybe convince him to stay.

Not that Alec has the words, he’s doing what he always does. He’s blowing up a good thing because he can’t figure out quite how he earned it.  

***

Sebastian & Kaelie ~ August 7th, Lakeville, Connecticut

He doesn’t want to be here. He doesn’t want to be anywhere, really. He wants to sit at home and wallow in his sadness and think about all the things he should have said to Magnus and didn’t, about the fact that he hasn’t mustered up the courage to call him because he’s now worried he’ll just keep saying all the wrong things but Isabelle won’t let him. So now he’s watching two people he only kind of knows through family connections get married and he’s doing it all alone.

Despite the fact she quite literally dragged him from bed to be here Alec doesn’t talk to Isabelle the whole day. Every question she asks about Magnus or what happened he brushes off. He huffs his way through the ceremony his arms crossed and a no doubt upset look on his face. When Kaelie’s vows talk about timing and how it’s random sometimes it hits a little too close to home and he just barely refrains from getting up and jumping into the nearby lake.

Everything at this wedding sucks without Magnus so to make up for it the second vows are exchanged Alec is at the bar. It becomes his go to spot ignoring the concerned looks from his sister and ordering drink after drink. He orders a few more when they find their way to their table and he sees the little place setting beside his with Magnus’ name. He crumples up the paper and shoves it into the bottom of a glass of whiskey and still drinks it anyways.

The sun is still high in the sky and Alec is well and truly wasted sipping on his he doesn’t even know what number drink of the day at their little table.

He looks down at his glass determined to refill it and stumbles as he gets up from the table. Izzy is at his side instantly gripping his arm.

“Okay, that’s enough of that for you big brother,” she says taking the half empty glass from his hand. “Let’s get you some water.”

Meliorn stands at his other side and takes his other arm. “Let me take him.”

Alec watches as they have some sort of silent married people conversation with each other, he tries to open his mouth to defend himself, he’s not their child he doesn’t need them to take care of him but the second he starts to Isabelle is covering his mouth with her hand.

He sighs behind her hand and evidently their silent conversation is over. Izzy lets his arm go and nods at her partner.

“Get him some damn mints,” she says before sitting back down at the table. “His breath smells terrible.” Meliorn chuckles dragging Alec off to the side and through the little pathway that leads to a series of benches.

They sit Alec down and sternly tell him not to go anywhere. Alec waits till Meliorn is out of sight and tries to stand an action he regrets instantly when he feels everything start to spin. He barely manages to fall back onto the bench his head in his hands

“Drink this,” Meliorn says holding out a glass of something that smells of vinegar to him. Alec takes a sip and instantly grimaces regretting the day he met Meliorn.

“All of it,” Meliorn chides giving Alec a look that’s very akin to the ones he’s received from Isabelle since childhood when she means business. Alec grumbles a bit but complies downing the whole disgusting glass.

When he’s finished it down to the last drop he must admit he feels better, clearer, even if there’s a putrid taste lingering in his mouth.

“What was that?” he asks wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“A mix of kombucha and some other things, a guaranteed instant sober cocktail I invented,” Meliorn explains taking the empty glass and sitting it on the ground beside them.

“Does it make people instantly sober because they want to be clear headed enough to punch you in face for making them drink something so disgusting?” Alec says still attempting to wipe the taste away.

Meliorn chuckles and gives him that I know more than you do look he gives sometimes. “Sometimes,” he says before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a water bottle and handing it to Alec. He takes it gratefully chugging it down and swishing some around for good measure in the hopes that it can wash the taste away.

“So, shall we talk about what’s going on with you and Magnus?”

Alec shakes his head. “There’s nothing going on with me and Magnus.”

“Yes, that seems to be the exact problem,” Meliorn says brushing their hair over their shoulder. It’s blue now a change from the last time he saw them. “So, what happened? Isabelle and I are very concerned, especially after that little display.

“How did you choose to marry my sister so easily?” he asks evading Meliorn’s question. They hadn’t hesitated when Isabelle had proposed on a whim after six months of dating. Alec can’t even get out of his head enough to make a relationship that could be the most important one he’ll ever have last a whole summer.

“I just did,” Meliorn says magnanimously.

“You just did?” Alec says laughing a little hysterically. “That’s it? God, I wish it was that easy, I wish I could just make a choice and not question it. In my head something doesn’t just happen, you don’t just do it. There’s work and there’s planning and if there’s not then the other shoe is always going to drop eventually.”

He runs a frustrated hand through his hair wishing Meliorn hadn’t sobered him up so easily.

“Alec loving someone sometimes just is, it’s not that there isn’t work you have to put in because there is, but sometimes things just happen and maybe the other shoe, as you say, will drop, but when it does you’re not alone,” Meliorn says. He reaches out a comforting hand resting it on Alec’s shoulder, it’s a rare moment of touch for them aside from when they first met and shook hands.

“And what do you do if you’re the one who dropped the damn shoe?” he says.

Meliorn drops his hand and stands up from the bench. “I hate the metaphor, but you pick it up and tell the person you love you’re a cynical asshole who is very sorry.”

He walks away at that leaving Alec alone on the bench with his lips turned up just a bit in a smile. He thinks about what Meliorn said in his own unique way and with a bottle of water in his hand and the lingering taste of vinegar hell in his mouth he decides to take their advice.

He might not be able to stop being a cynical asshole but at the very least he can tell Magnus what’s been running through his head, how he got scared and questioning because he’s a little messed up when it comes to these things. He doesn’t know if he stands a chance, it’s been a long week of radio silence that Alec himself has caused, but he’s determined to at least try to explain. To find the words that he couldn’t that night when Magnus walked away.

***

Bat & Gretel ~ August 14th, Queens, New York City

Alec technically wasn’t invited to this wedding, he knows that. He was just supposed to be Magnus’ date and that’s it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hang around outside in a suit with a bouquet of Magnus’ favorite flowers hoping to catch the other man.

He thought about doing this some other way, but calling or texting seemed empty. Showing up without warning at Magnus’ apartment felt like a thing he just wasn’t allowed to do right now, so he decided to be here. Maybe in its own little way it’ll be romantic showing up at a wedding with some flowers since this has become their thing now, since weddings are what got them started in the first place.

Thanks to the fact that all of Magnus’ friends follow him on social media now he knows the wedding is still on and Magnus is still very much going, it’s just a matter of catching him at the door.

He’s spent a week planning what to say, planning exactly how to tell Magnus why he got so in his head and why he blew it all up and vow to do better. He also really needs to tell Magnus he loves him because it feels so stupid that he never did.

He wrings his hands as he waits leaning up against the wall outside of the church he smiles politely at guests who pass him by twisting around every time he hears a car door to see who’s getting out of the next cab.

What seems like hours pass as he waits until finally a cab door opens and Magnus steps out. He looks gorgeous and Alec’s never been so certain of the fact that absence makes the heart grow fonder because god he has never felt so much from just looking at person before. He stands up straightening out his jacket and double checking that the flowers are still intact and that’s when Imasu rounds the cab from the other side.

He doesn’t hold Magnus’ hand or offer his arm, but it’s clear they came here together. Off all the fucking people in the world it had to be Imasu. Magnus could have showed up with the ghost of Stalin and Alec would have been less annoyed.

Alec watches as Imasu looks Magnus up and down, a borderline predatory smirk on his lips. Alec wants to scream, to run and to punch Imasu for this and about a million little things over the years all at the same time. Magnus smiles at something Imasu says and he knows it’s not physically possible, but he feels his heart fall right from his chest.

“Shit,” he says to himself; this was clearly a mistake. He tries to move fast, turning around to find a place to discard the flowers and get lost before Magnus can spot him.

“Alec?” Magnus says and Alec hears his footsteps getting nearer, there’s no making a run for it now.

“Shit,” he whispers to himself again before putting on a brave face and turning. He does his best to keep the flowers behind his back out of sight and out of mind, but Magnus notices them his eyes trailing across the tulips.

“Hey, Magnus,” he says trying to come off casual and missing by a few thousand miles.

“Alec, what are you doing here?” Magnus asks and Alec for the life of him can’t read him. He’s more closed off than even when they first met in college. Alec can’t blame him for that, he’s the reason he’s put back up the wall, but it makes his heart clench.

“I am here to give these flowers to,” he pauses looking around and catching sight of a little girl who’s just about to walk past them. “You, here you go kiddo.”

The little girl smiles up at Alec and takes off with bouquet calling out to her mother excitedly.

“You’re here to give Gretel’s little sister flowers?” Magnus says his arms falling to the side.

“Yup and that’s done so, I should go,” he says with a nod trying desperately to ignore Imasu.

He starts to move, but Magnus shifts just enough blocking his path. “That can’t be the only reason you’re here.” The walls fall a bit at that, Magnus’ eyes looking a little softer at him.

Alec sighs sadly. “It’s not, but the other reason doesn’t matter now I guess.”

“Of course it still-” Magnus starts, but he’s cut off by Alec’s phone ringing. Alec curses under his breath once again and pulls it from his jacket pocket.

“Hey, mom,” he says as he answers it his eyes still locked onto Magnus’ like it’s the last time he’ll get to see them. On the other end his mom is talking fast, way faster than she usually does. So fast that he has to have her repeat what she says three times before he believes it.

He hangs up a few beats later his mom giggling away on the other end.

"I gotta go. My mom is high at a mini golf course and needs me to pick her up," Alec says running a hand through his hair.

"Alexander," Magnus says his arm reaching upward. For moment it’s almost like he was contemplating reaching out to touch.

"I know it sounds like a fake made up excuse to avoid talking but I promise it's real," Alec says with a disappointed chuckle. "All I've wanted to do is talk to you for the past two weeks, to tell you how I felt." He adds on more somberly.

Magnus says his name again, so much emotion that Alec doesn't deserve in the one word. Alec waves him off stepping back just as he spots Imasu hovering just off to the side clearly listening in.

"It's okay you've got a date," he says nodding his head in Imasu's direction. Magnus barely spares his date a glance. "And I've got a high mother. I blew it I get it, it's okay."

He says it quickly not even hiding in his tone of voice how not okay it is for him before he brushes past Magnus and heads for his car parked down the street. For a moment he wonders if he should take one last look back, but he just doesn’t have it in him.  

***

Alec slows down outside of the mini golf course double checking the address to be certain he’s got the right spot when he spots his mother running towards his car a few of her friend trailing behind. She pulls open the door before he even has the chance to stop the car fully.

“Hi sweetheart!” she says as she ushers in her friends all giggling their asses off before she rounds to the front hopping in the passenger seat. “Drive!”

“Mom,” he starts and she cuts him off.

“No seriously drive, the manager was not happy with our shenanigans, we are banned and we stole these,” she says with a big bright smile holding up a bag of multicolored golf balls. His eyes go wide before he focuses back on the road. He’s questions her, but his mother is clearly too high to care already rattling off addresses of her friends so that Alec can take them home.

It takes nearly two hours to get everyone settled in which is time his mother uses to finally explain that for a little early bachelorette party she bought some weed from the neighbor kid and decided mini golf was the best way to utilize it.

Soon enough after dropping off the last of her friends and making said friend take all the golf ball contraband but one it’s just him and his mother driving slow as the sun goes down.

“Where is the lovely Magnus tonight?” Maryse asks tossing the bright pink golf ball she kept back and forth between her hands. She’s always asking after him even though she’s only met him once before at Izzy’s wedding. She was smitten with him immediately; a reaction Alec understands wholeheartedly.

“We, uh, we broke up I guess,” Alec says trying not to think about the image of Magnus walking into that wedding with Imasu, fucking Imasu.

“Oh, Alec,” she says sounding sad and pitying.

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” he says quickly squeezing the steering wheel a little too tight. “I overthought it and ruined it, business as usual.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” she says sounding even sadder than she did before. She tosses her golf ball into the backseat accidentally and undoes her seat belt crawling over the middle console to follow it.

“Mom!” Alec shouts as she stumbles her way into the back very narrowly missing kicking him in the face.

“I’m good,” she says triumphantly as she lands in the backseat making a little aha sound when she finds her golf ball.

Alec rolls his eyes focusing on the road as she settles in and leans forward her hand on Alec’s shoulder.

“It’s my fault,” she says with a sigh.

Alec squints looking back at her briefly with a raised eyebrow in question.

“Your father and I, we never taught you to accept good things when they come,” she sighs again squeezing Alec’s shoulder in comfort. “We always told you the only way to have good was to earn it, that there was always a catch when something just happened and to question it from every angle.”

“We made you doubt every accomplishment, every win, every little thing that made you happy. We made you skeptical,” she drops her hand from his shoulder in favor of leaning forward to rest her chin on his seat just over his shoulder. “We made you think everything through so much you over thought to the point of distraction; we made you bottle up all your feelings thinking it was for the best. I wish I could undo it; I wish I was a better mother to you all growing up.”

From the corner of his eye he sees her looking out the window a sad look in her eyes.

He doesn’t say anything though, because deep down he knows she’s right and he’s gotten a lot better in recent years at not giving her an out for the way she used to be, for the number that her and his father did on all four of them, him as the oldest in particular.

“I know it’s a hard habit to break, but sometimes things are just good. Sometimes things happen and you don’t have to work hard for them. All that cynicism and overthinking will only lead to a life filled with loneliness and you deserve to never feel lonely.” she says pausing to give him a moment to respond. He stays quiet and she carries on. “I know you’ve been thinking about why now when it comes to you and Magnus after all these years, that you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Alec freezes at the red light and looks at her a little wide eyed. Damn if he isn’t his mother’s son and she can read him like a book when she’s paying attention.

“But sometimes the shoe doesn’t drop, sometimes good things happen without having to sacrifice, sometimes things take their time and happen at just the right time and you can’t overthink it,” her face transforms and she smiles at him. “Like me and Luke, all these years later and now it happens if it’d overthought it, if I’d questioned every little thing, I wouldn’t be here right now. A few months shy of marrying my dream guy.”

“Yeah, well I think I already blew it with mine,” he says finally responding to her.

“Oh, honey, you’ve only blown it if you don’t fight for it. Don’t think just speak from the heart it’s a lot better than bottling it all up and waiting for a fall,” she kisses Alec on the cheek making him feel like he’s five years old again just as the light turns green and he drives forward. She falls into the backseat laying down.

“Can we get taco bell?” she says suddenly like she hadn’t just poured out some shockingly coherent wisdom for a stoned woman who was just forcefully removed from a mini-golf course.

Alec huffs out a little laugh with a nod of his head, “Yeah, we can get taco bell.”

In the rearview mirror he sees his mother’s fist rise up triumphantly.

***

After their trip to Taco Bell his mother seems satisfied and a little bit more sober so he takes her home leaving her in the capable arms of her fiancé. Luke chuckles at his high wife to be when she offers him one of her quesadillas and salutes Alec in thanks.

He smiles as he watches Luke usher her and her bags of Taco Bell inside carefully before he turns around and heads to his car. He drives home quietly in thought thinking of how happy his mom looked with Luke or how happy he probably looked with Magnus before he obliterated it all.

But he wants to take his mother’s advice, take Meliorn’s advice once again. He wants to fight for it.

Alec parks outside of his lonely little brownstone wondering if it’s too late to call Magnus. To take his mom’s words to heart and just throw it all out there, no overthinking just him with his heart on the line and the hope Magnus would listen.

He gets out his phone as he gets out of his car thumb hovering over Magnus’ name when he hears someone clear their throat. He startles, his phone leaping out of his hand he just barely catches it before it hits the concrete when he finally looks up and there in the dim light of his brownstones stoop is Magnus sitting with his elbows resting on his knees looking far more beautiful than any person has the right to be. He’s still wearing his clothes from the wedding sans the jacket; it highlights his arms even more and Alec can’t help but look them over intently for a beat.

“Magnus?” he questions as he rises back to his full height, phone in hand as he meets Magnus’ eyes.

“Is your mom okay?” Magnus asks as he stretches out his legs.

Alec nods a little numbly, still trying to rattle his brain with the reality that Magnus is here.

“Yeah, got her a Doritos crunch wrap and you would have thought I handed her a bar of gold,” he says with a small smile, chuckling fondly at the memory of the child like glee she’d exhibited when he handed her the bag of food.

Magnus laughs a little, that small beautiful smile he does when he’s happy coming to his lips.

“Good,” he says with a nod. He pauses for a moment chewing on his bottom lip a little nervously. “So what was it you wanted to say to me? Because you didn’t play off bringing flowers to a little girl you’ve never met as being your sole reason for showing up today very well.”

Alec opens his mouth and nothing comes out, of course.

“Come on Alec, I’m not sitting on your doorstep for another mouth gaping silent treatment. You said if you just wanted to tell me how you felt, so tell me,” Magnus says a surety and forcefulness that’s oddly gentle in his voice.

Alec takes a deep breath and finally pockets his phone. He wrings his hands together nervously pinching the skin to ground himself.

“I have this tendency to overthink things,” he says. Magnus snorts at that, the ‘tell me something I don’t know’ clear in the sound. Alec just playfully glares at him before soldiering on. “And that’s exactly what I did that night. How we happened, when, if something could go wrong someday, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is we did happen, that if something did go wrong someday maybe we could face it together and then I just blew it up.”

He takes a step closer to Magnus, comforted when Magnus doesn’t even break eye contact.

“The short of it is that sometimes I’m a cynical mess, and I can’t promise I won’t be that sometimes, but I want to try so damn hard to not be for you, for us. And the long of it is I’m in love with you and it scares the hell out of me, not that that’s an excuse for how I acted or how long it took me to say all this to you, but it’s the truth and I just, I get it if I don’t stand a chance here, but considering you’re sitting on my doorstep I’m hoping I’ve got a little bit of one left.”

He runs out of steam at that and waits. The silence is excruciating in a way it’s never been between them as he waits and watches as Magnus twirls the rings on his fingers and thinks. Alec’s not sure if it’s minutes or hours, but eventually Magnus stands straightening out his vest. Slowly he gets closer and closer to Alec until he’s standing right in front of him.

Alec holds his breath.

“You do realize that if I give you another chance you absolutely don’t deserve it right?” he says reaching out a hand to smooth the collar of Alec’s jacket.

Alec nods with a little laugh.

“And you do realize that for at least the next two weddings you’re paying for the hotel all by yourself to make up for your jackassery, right?” he says this time curling his fingers into Alec’s lapels.

Alec nods again.

“Well, in that case you’re forgiven I suppose.”

Alec finally breathes and it’s a good thing too, because before he can even nod again Magnus is pulling him in connecting their lips. As their lips slide together, for the first time in weeks Alec feels happy, just purely happy.

It takes a while, but eventually they part needing to breathe, that silly living human requirement.

Alec’s hands move from Magnus’ hips where they’d landed during the kiss and slide around him pulling him in even closer into his embrace. Magnus tilts his forehead to Alec’s and smiles that small beautiful smile again.

“I’m in love with you too, for the record,” Magnus says after a beat his hands moving up and twining around Alec’s neck.

Alec smiles.

“Also I just brought Imasu to the wedding to make you jealous cause I had an inkling from some vague weirdness Meliorn texted me that you’d show up, he wasn’t actually my date or anything in case you were overthinking that too,” Magnus adds on kissing Alec lightly on the lips once.

He wasn’t actually overthinking that, he’s weirdly proud of the fact, frankly he’d forgotten entirely about Imasu the second he saw Magnus sitting on his front steps.

“Well it worked,” he says honest, even though he hadn’t thought it about since he saw Magnus here, that doesn’t mean he hadn’t seethed all through the drive to get his mother about seeing the two of them together.

“You always did hate him,” Magnus muses twisting his fingers in the hairs at Alec’s nape.

“He’s pretentious,” Alec says defending his dislike of the man, it goes far beyond his attachment to Magnus and all the way back to college. The second Imasu had played three different instruments in front of him just to show off and called a bowl of party snacks charcuterie Alec had not an ounce of patience for the man.

“He’s cultured,” Magnus defends with smirk, absolutely just teasing Alec at this point. It’s nice, it’s a thing he’d missed and craved desperately these last few weeks without him.

“That’s just a polite way of saying pretentious,” Alec with a roll of his eyes. Magnus laughs scrunching up his nose and getting impossibly closer to Alec holding him in a proper hug.

***

Luke & Maryse ~ October 2nd, Atlanta, Georgia

“So?” Alec says with a bright questioning smile turning his head to look Magnus in the eyes.

Magnus runs his fingers along Alec’s shoulder in thought as Alec’s grip on his waist gets a little tighter.

“Bringing up your mother’s ex-husband, your deadbeat father, might not be the best course of action,” Magnus says lifting his other hand up to brush Alec’s bangs to the side. “This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “It’s a metaphor Magnus, you know about things not always happening the first time around,” he says pointedly making it clear it’s not only about his mother, but about them, about how they ended up here in the right spot close together where they were always meant to be.

“And while I appreciate that, love, I mean isn’t it a bad omen or something bringing it up?” Magnus questions hand now fiddling with the collar of Alec’s shirt.  

“If I take out the part where I mention my dad, I have to rework the whole thing, babe,” Alec says reaching up to take Magnus’ hand in his. “The reception starts in like ten minutes I can’t commit a new one to memory in that time.”

“Fine, but if they don’t like it don’t complain to me,” he says squeezing Alec’s fingers once softly.

“Mom loves a metaphor she’ll get it, and Luke owns a bookstore, words, metaphors he’s all about that stuff,” Alec says with a smile, maybe it’s a bit of a risk, but he’s 99 percent certain they’ll like it. “Also, you’re my boyfriend I’m absolutely going to complain to you if they don’t like it whether you want me to or not.”

Magnus huffs out a laugh giving Alec a quick kiss before pulling away.

“Shall we?” he says holding out a hand that Alec immediately takes happily being pulled through the archway to the reception hall.

***

One Year Later

Magnus & Alec ~ City Clerk’s Office, New York City

“Are you sure?” Alec asks once more because he needs to hear it.

“Of course I’m sure,” Magnus says with a smile eyes locked to his. “You’re sure, right? Not doing that thing where you’re going down cynicism lane again?”

“Of course not,” Alec says a little defensively. He’s been working on that little voice on ignoring it and just thinking about the good, about the future they can build together. Not the what ifs or the how’s. “I just figured you’d want to do a whole party or at the minimum make everyone travel a million miles to our wedding since we had to for all of theirs.”

“Oh don’t worry my dear, we’ll have a big party somewhere down the line and make every single one of them attend somewhere far, far away,” Magnus says, he drops one of Alec’s hands and taps his chin in thought. “Like Greece or Aruba.”

“I like the sound of that,” Alec says pulling Magnus’ other hand back to him. He squeezes both of his hands with a bright smile. “So, we’re doing this?”

“We’re doing this,” Magnus says leaning up quickly once for a kiss before turning to the Justice of the Peace. “I know I’m supposed to wait till the end for that, but look at him, it’s hard to resist.”

The Justice of the Peace chuckles as Alec rolls his eyes.

“Magnus,” he says chiding and teasing. Magnus just smiles at him unbothered.  

“Shall we proceed?” the Justice of the Peace asks. He’s been very patient since they showed up here with a marriage license and two freshly bought rings cracking jokes the entire time.

They both nod in unison stepping a little closer to one another. It all started at a wedding a year ago, a wedding that he thought might be the most important one he’d ever attend, but he was so, so wrong. This wedding right here, this spur of the moment thing in a courthouse is the most important wedding he’ll ever attend. And just like how Magnus made that one a year ago a little more special, he’s doing the same here when he says I do.

[tiedyetravels]

I've been thinking a lot about the properties and qualities of love lately, how it changes as we expereience more in our lives, and what I want for love. When I was younger, it was a bit of a crapshoot, romantic love. I'd find someone attractive, watch them a while, try to gauge interest and then finally, possibly, approach them, But I was a girl, so usually that approach was hanging around them until it became obvious that either they wanted to date and asked me, or weren't interested. Maybe dating was different in the 90s, I don't really know. These days television shows might show courting but so many of the individuals I've met recently meet, hook up and then, maybe, fall in love. Maybe the threat of AIDS and the prominence of Nancy Reagan and her Just Say No campaign had some effect on me. Perhaps I was odd. Conversations with the others in my life as they go through progressions of transitions - divorce and marriage, settling, dating, matching up with internet-linked folks and the like - has got me to thinking about the scene and what I might want out of it, were I to find myself in that place. And while the 21st century ideals that have banished the "walkof shame" and brought out the idea of "try before you buy" to the bedroom, these aren't the ideas that intrigue me. I really wonder these days, what happened? What happened to falling in love? The two most meaningful relationships I've had in my life didn't start with a hook-up. They started with talk, pulling the strings of shared interest towards each other and reading them, learning the whys of those interests, the whats of discovery, the whens of experience and the hows of immersion in the life of the the other. They developed through proximity, and they evolved over time. Those two individuals are still extraordinarily close. Those relationships - both which go far past friendship and one that's become the intense, slow burning love of my life - weren't hasty. There was no bright, sudden moment where I decided they needed to be in my bed. They were protracted over years, and they were valuable. It's been nearly five years since my divorce. I've been shocked by the propositions that have arisen... perhaps because I became entangled with my ex when I was still a teenager, which may have put me off-limits to this sort of thing, I don't know. Or this could be a situation where cultural ideas of the Gay Divorcee (the older meaning, the footloose formerly married woman) have come to light. These weren't signs of interest or courting. They were blunt and sometimes profane, some handled more delicately than others. They ranged from quiet inquiries of interest in a hotel liaison from business clients to "nice tits, wanna fuck?" from old friends who I'd never known to have an interest in cultivating a relationship. And while some were flattering, overall they were offputting. I wonder if our post-modern society, with its loosening of religions mores, has managed to divorce the very essense of love and sex. Our marriage rates are coming down a bit but our birthrates aren't, and while I know of many relationships of permanence not tied by a marriage license, I do wonder if we're leaving love behind. Which comes to my musings. I've been thinking about love a lot lately, and what I want from it. I've finally come to a point in my life where I'm not afraid of it - not afraid of telling the people I love that I love them, whatever degree that fits. I've lost a lot of folks out of my life permanently thanks to death, and maybe I should have made sure they knew at some point before. That was the reserved nature I grew up with, a response to my childhood world. Now? Love? Spread that stuff all around. What do I want? I want an ember that lasts a lifetime, not a flame that dies out. I want to build a warmth that settles in the bones rather than a bonfire that illuminates briefly then falls to ashes. I want love to grow - not as a euphemism but as an organic part of my very being. We may joke about long walks in the park but those amblings in nature don't always lead to the bedroom, at least, not right away, and maybe not at all. Maybe it leads to mutual bitching about the world, or exchanging keys to watch each other's pets. Or a shoulder to talk into when hugs are necessary - and, in some ways, they're always necessary. If it were to be more, why burn through it so quick? Are we so attention-addled that we insist on burning through a binge-watch of our favorite TV series that we can't unfold the petals of love slowly? What happened to anticipation? What happened to getting to know the stranger we might invite home before seeing them naked? Why is it so OK to be physically naked before being emotionally so? I guess what I truly want is permission to love, without the insistence that everything happen right this moment. I want to learn to savor the attraction, learn the sensation of the pattern on my face when I blush when someone who draws my interest enters a room. Learn how someone smells before I taste their lips. Commit to memory the touch of their hand before the touch of their bare chest on mine. Maybe it takes a month to go on, maybe ten. Maybe things unfold over decades or even a lifetime. Love does not have to wait for the flesh to catch up.