This scene takes place somewhere in City of Lost Souls/ City of Heavenly Fire when Alec and Magnus break up for a bit. There are no spoilers, apart from the fact that they are broken up. Enjoy : )
*****
“- leave and don’t come back!”
Stupid Shadowhunters. Always expecting him to do whatever they wanted, free of charge or with a sizeable discount. Worse, they kept pushing him to make up with Alec, though Magnus didn’t have a clue in Edom why – half of them didn’t even approve of the relationship while it was in full swing.
Magnus Bane shut the door pathetically with a sigh, without any of his usual flamboyance. He was rather down – his hair flopped without gel or any of his trademark glitter, and he was wearing one of Alec’s old navy sweaters over his bright pink skinny jeans. The Clave probably wanted him back with Alec because they needed something expensive done for free again. It wasn’t like any of them had hearts, or even cared. They were all about money and how they required everything to ‘save the world’, but half the time, the Downworlders had to step in at the last moments to save their sorry asses.
Well. Magnus supposed Alec had saved him more than a few times but – God, I have to stop thinking about that boy! Their chance was over, even if Alec’s cute, blushing face still swam in front of his eyes every night before he went to sleep, only to dream about him then.
The dreams meant something, Magnus knew that, but for all his three hundred years, he didn’t know quite what. It was torture – every night he had to watch Alec kiss him, in the third person, but then the other Magnus pushed Alec away, just like the real Magnus had done, only this time the warlock showed not even a hint of emotion, not even a hint of remorse. Then Alec would sink to the floor in pain, and Magnus would see the tears of heartbreak rolling down his face like a melancholy wave. Real Magnus would reach out to comfort him, but there was an invisible barrier around him so that even with all his fancy lightning bolts and spells, he couldn’t reach his hurting boyfriend as he withered and crumbled away. Other Magnus just watched, laughing. There was a cruel glint in his eyes as if he enjoyed hurting his boyfriend, when really it had been the single hardest thing that he had ever done, including all the horrible business tasks that he had had to perform to reach his current status. High Warlock of Brooklyn; did that really mean anything if no one ever appreciated or respected him anymore?
Despite his semi-humanity and flamboyant power, Magnus was still a person, albeit a loose definition of one according to the Clave. He still needed to be appreciated, to be loved, and Alec had fulfilled both of those needs for him. But now Alec was gone, so…
Alexander Gideon Lightwood. What have you done to my heart?
The High Warlock of Brooklyn sank backwards onto his sofa, but then stood up, because it only reminded him of the good times that he’d shared with his boyfriend – ex-boyfriend. He dragged his feet to the bed, hoping that he could lie there in peace, but the memories were even worse. They were like a drug that he couldn’t come off without dying – slowly being destroyed by them was better than the excruciating pain of the space where they used to be. If he concentrated hard enough, Magnus could almost taste Alec’s sweet mouth on his, feel Alec’s warmth, see his blush, visualise everything the warlock missed about the Shadowhunter.
And it was killing him anyway, so what harm could a few more drops of sweet poison do? Magnus waved a hand, and holographic images appeared. It was the only way that Magnus could live their relationship again, short of restarting it, which his pride forbid him to do.
Magnus smiled and welcomed the group of Shadowhunters into yet another party. The hologram didn’t have any sound, but Magnus had replayed the lines in his head enough times to know them off by heart, so he spoke for them.
“-But I’ll let you stay because of the cute one.” He smiled sadly and with longing as Alec looked from Jace to Izzy as they both claimed the title. He never expected to be noticed – Alec always looked slightly surprised when you met his eyes, as if he couldn’t quite believe you were looking at him and not through him, not when there were so many other people one could choose to gaze at instead.
He watched Alec blush and look away, before sneaking his eyes up to meet Magnus’s when he thought no one else was looking. They stared at each other, and for thirty seconds or so, Magnus was lost in those bright electric-blue eyes, before he realised the blond one was speaking and shook himself off.
More moments flashed across Magnus’s bedroom, getting brighter and more vivid to match how Magnus was feeling. He’d forgotten that all of these things had happened in such detail. Their first date, their first kiss, their times spent together, their holidays, and most vivid and most bright of all, when Alec had come out, not only to his parents and friends,, but to the entire Clave; and it was all for Magnus, every single bit of it.
It changed to a scene of them in Shri Lanka. Hologram Magnus was still dressed in the sari he’d bought in India, much to Alec’s amusement. They were by the coast, on a pier that stuck out into the warm, turquoise ocean. Magnus refused to come into the water, or even dip his feet in – he was too worried that his sari might get wet, and that the sparkles and sequins would come off. Alec was sitting on the edge of the pier with his jeans rolled up and his feet dangling into the water, trying to convince his boyfriend to-
“Just try it Magnus, please, for me?” Alec made a funny pouty baby face and real Magnus laughed. He’d forgotten how cute Alec’s baby face was.
“I’m not doing it just for you Alec. You think you can make me do anything with that voice and that cute little face, but this time, I swear on these sparkles, I will not surrender!
“Fine.” Alec stood up, walking back to Magnus to kiss his softly on the cheek before sauntering back to the ocean once again. Magnus growled quietly in frustration – Alec was always doing that. Leaving him hanging even though he wanted more. He wasn’t really one for PDA, Alec was still too shy, although he had become much more confident since they’d left New York.
SPLASH. Water covered Magnus and he turned in surprise towards the sea, where, after a few seconds, Alec’s black hair popped up, his face hosting the biggest smile that Magnus had ever seen.
“Alec,” Magnus hissed, gesturing to his soaked outfit, “What is this?”
Alec chuckled, and Magnus instantly forgave him – it was a very sexy chuckle after all. “When you can’t bring Magnus to the water… you have to bring the water to Magnus!” He reached up and swiftly pulled Magnus in on top of him, giving Magnus the wettest kiss of his life.
The hologram faded away, and Magnus was surprised to find that the surface of his face was wet. Was the hologram 4D? Was he that good at projections now that water could come out of them? But no. He’d just been crying with lust and longing and sadness, and he hadn’t even realised.
On the side of the bed, a photo lay. Alec in his sweater (the one that Magnus was now wearing) and Magnus in a beret atop the Eiffel Tower. Magnus held the photo to his chest and cried himself to sleep.
