"Alec? Are you awake?" Magnus asks gently.

He's teasing, holding in a laugh. Alec can tell.

"I'm awake," Alec murmurs. "I'm just… very relaxed. What the hell was in that tea?"

"Chamomile. Valerian. St. John's Wort."

Alec sighs as Magnus's fingers resume their slow, steady movement along his hairline. "Oh. Magic tea."

The laugh Magnus has been holding in gets loose. "Herbal tea."

Alec isn't sure if he's ever been this relaxed in his life, and whether magic or herbal, it's probably not the tea's doing. It could be the fact that he's just full enough with perfectly cooked French food and pistachio gelato. It could be that Magnus's couch, unlike any of the ancient furniture in the Institute, is heavenly soft, like lounging in a cloud.

But it's definitely the way Magnus's fingers are absentmindedly trailing back and forth across Alec's hairline.

There had been a sort of strange… negotiation of touch after Alec had set down his mug. It was an aspect of dating— of having a boyfriend— that he wasn't totally used to yet. He'd settled back against the couch. Magnus had leaned into him. Alec had wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. Magnus had gotten up for something, come back and eventually, after an odd little series of movements and counter movements, Alec had wound up sprawled over the couch, head resting at a point on Magnus's thigh that Alec had carefully calculated as far away enough from Magnus's knee not to be weird, and far away enough from Magnus's groin not be suggestive.

Alec hadn't realized until Magnus started to brush his fingers through Alec's hair that he still wasn't really relaxed against Magnus. He had been holding himself up a little, keeping the full weight of his head and shoulder from sinking down against Magnus's leg.

They've been dating for just barely a month, and Alec still has trouble remembering that this sort of casual intimacy isn't strange to Magnus. And they've had enough non-casual intimacy that Alec has to believe that Magnus wants him here, and doesn't care if Alec is still figuring simple, stupid dating things out.

It's just so much easier when they're kissing. They've had nights together where everything has felt like a tense stop-and-go lead up to kissing, but kissing has felt like the easiest segue into touching. At least to Alec. Because once they're kissing, all of the awkwardness of not knowing what to do next is gone, and getting what he wants is so much simpler. If Magnus tries something Alec doesn't like, or wants him to do differently, all it takes is a gasp of "No," or "slower". If Alec pushes Magnus into a position that's not working, Magnus just pushes back. Something Alec does like doesn't even require words. Magnus seems to understand every nuance of a moan, and Alec is learning the same skill quickly.

Magnus laughs at something that's happened in the movie, and Alec realizes he hasn't been paying attention. He can't even remember what the movie is called. It's in black and white, and it's about two beautiful, soft focus people who, for reasons Alec completely missed, seem to have a pet leopard.

Magnus sighs, and his hand moves down Alec's cheek and behind his ear. His fingers start teasing against the nape of Alec's neck. "Is this too old fashioned for you? Are you bored?"

"No," Alec replied immediately. "I'm not bored. I'm just tired."

"Ah," Magnus replies. A couple weeks ago he might have asked if everything was okay at the Institute, or gently nudged Alec into talking about how things were with this parents, but they both know that nothing has really improved, and it's been too nice a night to talk about it.

Alec sighs, and with sudden inspiration, takes Magnus's hand and puts it back on his forehead.

Magnus laughs again. "Okay, so you like this."

"I like this a lot," Alec confirms. It feels a little weird to say, but not when Magnus starts brushing his fingers over the edge of Alec's face again

They settle back into comfortable silence, watching the movie and the negotiation of touch starts again. Magnus's hands move farther back into Alec's hair, massaging his scalp. Carding through the strands. Sliding down his neck, and straying under the collar of his tee shirt. Magnus's fingers stay tight to Alec's back, while his thumb runs over the back of Alec's neck.

A sliver of heat and awareness creeps into Alec's relaxation. He presses back, just a little, into Magnus's hand, then a little further, until he can feel Magnus's hipbone against his skull. Magnus pulls his hand out of the back of Alec's shirt, and teases his way along Alec's neck, over his chest.

Alec reaches up and sets one hand over Magnus's knee.

For a moment, Alec imagines himself turning around to face Magnus, undoing Magnus's fly, pulling his cock out and taking it into his mouth, all without moving from the spot on the couch he's been melted into for the last hour.

But he doesn't feel like that's something he can just do yet. So instead, he pushes himself up off the couch, turns, and catches Magnus's lips against his own. Magnus pulls him closer and the ease of just kissing takes over.

He'd stopped himself from thinking about kissing Magnus so many times. The fact that he'd been planning to kiss him all day, had come here to kiss him, and was now, climbing into his lap, straddling him and pressing him back against the couch to kiss him harder, was almost unbelievable. But while he may still be a little unsure about the casual touching, and he still sticks his foot in his mouth while they're talking, he knows that Magnus wants to kiss him. He can tell by the way Magnus kisses him back. He knows Magnus want to touch him, he can tell by the way Magnus wraps an arm around the small of Alec's back and drags him forward, pressing their bodies harder together.

"I'm glad you weren't asleep. I would have felt bad waking you up to fool around," Magnus murmurs, slipping his fingers under Alec's shirt and pulling it up.

Alec scoffs as he reaches down and takes the hem between his fingers, pulling the shirt off himself and dropping it behind Magnus's couch. "Right. I bet you would have been totally broken up about it."

Magnus's face drops forward and he kisses his way across Alec's chest. "I would have been. I would have debated and debated with myself."

Alec slides his fingers over the short hair at the back of Magnus's neck as Magnus continues to tease him between kisses. "Do I want to see him well rested, or do I want to see him fall asleep satisfied?" Magnus nips Alec's skin, over a half faded rune. "What's this one for?" he asks, dropping back against the couch and running his hand over the Mark.

Alec glances down. "Soundlessness."

Magnus frowns. "Unfortunate." He leans forward again, kissing another rune. "This one?"

"Ummmm…" It takes Alec a second to remember what he'd drawn in that spot earlier today. Magnus continuing to kiss around it is not helping him remember. "Increased Speed," he finally answers.

Magnus tuts, "Not better." He kisses another. "This one?"

"Surefootedness."

Magnus makes a clearly disappointed noise and Alec's stomach twists a little, but Magnus drops back against the couch again and looks up at Alec with a blissful smile. "I suppose the heavenly host wouldn't have thought to jot down a quick 'Overcome Gag Reflex' or 'Multiple Orgasm' rune."

It's such an outrageous thing to say that Alec is taken aback for a second. A shadowhunter never questions the Gray Book. It takes a moment for Alec to realize that Magnus probably knows that and, just to get him back for all his disappointed noises over runes that Alec had chosen for hunting demons— not fooling around with handsy warlocks— Alec waits until Magnus's grin starts to droop and turn worried before diving down to kiss him again.

Magnus laughs into the kiss, takes Alec by the waist and half pushes, half guides him down onto his back on the couch, immediately pressing kisses to Alec's neck as Alec starts to work Magnus's shirt off. Magnus always wears loose shirts to dates now (ever since an incident with a jacket that Alec couldn't figure out how to take off), and Alec easily peels the loose green linen off of Magnus's torso, and presses up into Magnus's body with a sigh.

He loves this. The warmth of Magnus against him. The soft scent of Magnus up close— the burned sugar smell of magic and the chai tea he drinks all day and whatever the scent of his hair product is on any given day.

It's weird. When Magnus isn't around he's this constant source of terror and comfort at the same time. Worry and relief. When Alec sees a group of chatting colleagues stop talking when he enters a room, he wonders if they were talking about him and Magnus. His mother is still trying to get him to marry some poor, sheltered Idris girl and every time he reminds her— no, I'm with Magnus— she only gets angrier. Even with Isabelle, there's a look she gets on her face sometimes and Alec just knows that she's going to ask something about Magnus that he doesn't want to talk about yet. Does he think he loves Magnus, are they having sex yet, is there such a thing as sex magic. He'd tried to eat a banana with breakfast the other day and made it two bites before the thing Isabelle was doing with her face made him give up.

And it's more than awkwardness and embarrassment. Just because the Clave hasn't come after him yet doesn't mean they won't. There could still be hundreds of consequences in his career that he hasn't thought of yet. Alec sometimes worries that he could call for back up while he's out on patrol and that no one will come for him, because he's with Magnus.

But Magnus is also a touchstone for him during long days at the Institute. Alec will get a text from Magnus, or see a restaurant that Magnus might like to go to some time, or spend a boring meeting sliding into a day dream about something he and Magnus had done the day (or sometimes the night) before— and a lot of those worries seemed less worrisome. They got papered over with more happiness and calmness than Alec had felt in years.

And then he leaves the Institute, and his mother and the other shadowhunters and Isabelle behind. He comes here and Magnus isn't a concept or some far away presence anymore. He's just… Magnus. Magnus talking to Alec about his day, and convincing Alec to order something he can't even begin to pronounce for dinner, and combing his hands through Alec's hair and kissing him and touching him and making Alec feel like all those worries don't matter. Like all those problems are so worth it, just to lay next to Magnus and feel like he actually belongs somewhere.

"Runes are for battle," Alec admonishes. "Not for this."

Magnus makes a sound of vague disinterest, and easily twists open Alec's fly with one hand. Alec pushes his legs further apart and lets his head fall back against the couch as Magnus slips his hand easily into Alec's boxers.

Alec lets loose a deep sigh, luxuriating in the feeling of being touched for a few moments before he even reaches for Magnus's pants. Magnus moans appreciatively then moves away, shucking the rest of his clothes and giving Alec the space to do the same before they fall back together, naked.

"I like watching you Mark yourself," Magnus whispers. "Your brow furrowed in concentration, your grip so firm , but still gentle around your stele."

Alec snorts at the innuendo and lifts his torso up in order to kiss Magnus's neck. "Too bad you don't approve of any of the ones I'm wearing."

"I don't disapprove, I just believe a bright, gorgeous, sexy, inventive shadowhunter like you could think of all sorts ways to use runes for me," Magnus pants, letting their cocks slide against each other before he catches them both his hand.

Alec can't really think of anything other than Magnus touching him for a few moments, but an idea occurs to him. "You do, huh?"

"Of course," Magnus says with a squeeze. Alec gasps.

"What kind of runes?"

"I'm not an expert in Angel magic."

Alec pushes at Magnus's shoulder. Magnus takes the hint and turns, allowing them to move together, so that Alec can be on top.

"There's a rune for Flexibility," Alec says. "And Stamina."

Magnus groans loudly and Alec laughs at him. "That sounds like you have ideas."

"Oh yes. I can think of many, many ways to make that enjoyable for both of us. But…"

"But what?" Alec asked.

"But, currently, everything I can think of involves… us moving forward in our, uh, physical relationship."

It's an invitation. A gentle invitation.

And Alec does consider it for a moment before declining with a whispered, "Not tonight."

Magnus just kisses him with a soft "Okay," in response.

They'd moved from kissing to everything except sex in a handful of dates, and Alec is still a little shocked at himself for it. He's not sure if his resistance to crossing that last boundary is because it's intimidating, or because, having crashed through the others so fast, he feels he needs to really savor the last one. Whatever the reason, it's not something he's ready for yet, and it's nice to have Magnus's unquestioning acceptance of that. The first time Alec had said no, he'd sputtered off into a whole attempt to justify why he didn't want to yet, and Magnus had just kissed him and said "You don't need a reason."

In the moment, it had been surprisingly hot.

In this moment it's all the reassurance Alec needs to suggest another first.

"What about your magic?" Alec asks.

"My magic?"

Alec chuckles and starts kissing his way down Magnus's neck, then his chest, and further down.

"Yeah," Alec replies. "My runes will have to wait a little longer, but I'm sure a bright," he nips Magnus's side for emphasis, "powerful, hedonistic, beautiful—" Alec kisses his way along the crease of Magnus's hip, thrilling at the feeling of Magnus trembling underneath him— "innovative warlock has thought of all sorts of ways to use magic to ah, enhance the experience."

"I don't know how you expect me to think at all while you're doing that."

Alec pats Magnus's side in a completely insincere apology, and brings his mouth to Magnus's other hip, letting the point of his chin skim over Magnus's cock as he moves. Magnus shudders underneath him, and the smell of magic fills the air.

A strange sensation- soft and just a little cool, moves down Alec's back, over his butt and then down his inner thighs.

"If you're going to tease," Magnus declares, pressing his hips up to Alec's face. "Then I'm going to tease."

The magic moving around Alec's body grows more… aggressive as he and Magnus continue to fool around. It's like an extra set of hands and lips touching Alec's skin. The feeling of magic chases down his spine as Magnus kisses his neck and when Magnus slides one had into Alec's hair and wraps the other hand around Alec's cock, the magic is everywhere else, touching Alec, kissing him across every sensitive spot on his body. Overwhelming him so much he crumples down onto Magnus, moaning into the curve of his neck. He's amazed that he stops himself from coming, but he's not ready for this to be over yet.

"Too much?" Magnus whispers.

"Yeah," Alec stutters out, gasping against Magnus's sweat patina'd skin.

The magic brushing over him eases off, but doesn't stop. Alec feels it sweep over his skin, like a wave, subsiding when it reaches his arms, and licking back and forth between the sensitive skin inside his elbows and inside his wrists.

"Oh, wow," Alec manages.

Magnus presses a kiss to Alec's shoulder. "I want to try something."

"Okay."

"Let's go to bed."

"Yeah."

Alec launches himself off the couch and starts toward Magnus's bedroom, his knees already less-than-trustworthy, and the soft tickle of magic still moving back and forth across his forearms. They're actually glowing blue now. He hadn't noticed before, but a faint aura of sparkling blue light encases both of his ams from wrist to elbow.

The sconces in Magnus's room are already dimmed down. The fire place is full of embers. The street noise, an ever present facet of living in New York City, doesn't penetrate a spell Magnus always has operating on his bedroom. It's silent and dark in here. They might as well be the only two people in the world.

Alec throws himself down on Magnus's midnight blue duvet, waiting for Magnus to fall on top of him like he usually does, but Magnus hangs beck for a moment, staring at him.

"What?" Alec asks.

Magnus doesn't answer, he just makes a small, simple gesture with his fingers. One by one, the warm light in the sconces turns to blue. Alec watches the movement of the magic around the room. The embers in the fire change to blue and purple.

And the magic still encasing Alec's forearms starts to swirl outward over his body again, twirling around him like the Northern Lights for a few moments before coming back against his skin and laying out over all of his runes. Each line on his body shines with Magnus's magic.

"You're a constellation," Magnus whispers.

Normally, by the time they make it off the couch and into Magnus's bedroom, they are laughing, kissing, touching. Teasing each other. Fooling Around in the full sense of the term. They've been tender and goofy and careful and patient with each other.

But this is new. The look on Magnus's face is new.

It's like he's in awe.

Alec looks down at himself, Magnus's magic still swirling around him, lit equally brightly along the edges of runes he's had since he was ten as it is over runes he just drew on this morning. He looks back at Magnus, standing naked a few feet away, fingers still moving absentmindedly as he watches Alec.

Maybe he's not just in awe. Maybe he's in… something else.

Maybe Alec is too.

But it's too soon to say anything about it, so Alec holds his hand out to Magnus. "Come here."

Magnus crosses the few feet of stone floor that separate them, fingers still working.

The aura of magic moves across Alec's body again, pooling in his palms as Magnus takes his hand, slotting their fingers together and letting Alec pull Magnus's body to his own.

The kiss is soft and slow and deliberate. The heat is still there, but it's more like the embers in the grate now than like the flame from before. Magnus shudders as Alec sweeps his hands up and down the warlock's back, kissing him harder and harder. He pulls back for breath and immediately sets his lips to Magnus's neck.

Over the swell of Magnus's shoulder, Alec watches his own hand, and the magic it holds, move across Magnus's body.

A trail of magic, that Alec knows is full of light, pleasurable touch, follows every move Alec makes. Like the tail of the comet.

Magnus had handed that magic over to him as he came to bed.

Wow.

Alec moves back into the kiss, and starts to move his hands across every inch of Magnus he can reach. Over his broad shoulders, down his spine, over his muscular ass.

The sensitive places at the back of his thighs, the sides of his hips, the back of his neck.

Kissing him and kissing him and kissing him all the while, until Alec presses at his shoulder again, asking him to turn onto his back. Magnus spins immediately, pulling Alec down into another kiss as they both sink into the mattress. Alec brushes his hand down the center of Magnus's body, following the trail of magic with his lips.

Magnus groans and shudders as Alec runs his hand over the length of Magnus's cock. As he follows the motion with his mouth, he hears the familiar thunk at the head of the bed: Magnus grabbing hold of the headboard like he usually does. Alec places his free hand at Magnus's side and waits, just feeling the way Magnus shivers under his touch until Magnus murmurs, "Alec." He's somewhere between demanding and begging, but it doesn't matter anymore. Alec doesn't want to tease or play, he wants to make Magnus come as hard as he possibly can.

He spits into his hand, and brings his palm to Magnus's cock, quickly slicking his length up enough to make it easy to move his lips over it. Magnus gasps and twitches at the echoes of touch— real and magically enhanced— and Alec bends over to take Magnus into his mouth.

He starts slow as he figures out how to use the magic to make this better. He works his mouth over Magnus's cock while he runs one hand up Magnus's inner thigh, the other over Magnus's side, and brushes both hands over Magnus's stomach a few times.

Finally, he brings one hand down under his mouth. He wants to make it last, wants to eke out every moment of Magnus moaning and writhing that he possibly can, but it's too good, too much, and the desire to make Magnus come wins out over everything else.

Magnus, however, is much better than Alec at making pleasure last. Alec's jaw goes from sore to stinging by the time Magnus's moaning finally turns to words.

"Alec, I'm—"

Alec pulls off, watching Magnus's face while he runs his still glowing hand up and down Magnus's length until Magnus cries out and thrusts up through Alec's fist, pouring over his hand again and again before settling back onto the mattress with a rattling breath.

Alec kisses Magnus's cheeks and forehead while he waits for him to catch his breath.

"This was a brilliant idea," Alec whispers to him.

Magnus laughs breathlessly and tilts his chin upward to catch Alec's lips in a real kiss. "Yes. Yes it was. I'm brilliant and— what was it you said earlier? Innovative?"

"I also said hedonistic," Alec tells him warmly.

"But you didn't say it in a bad way," Magnus retorts, pressing up into another quick kiss.

Alec feels the magic moving out of his palms. This time it moves down his arms, to his chest. He finds himself being turned onto his back, and pushed down into the mattress. The magic moves back to his wrists. It's not full of soft kisses anymore, it's just there. Not tight or really even something he can feel. The magic brings his wrists together and lays them back over his head, against the mattress.

Alec tries to press back against the glow of the magic encasing his wrists, and can't. He pushes again, throwing all of his strength into it this time. He doesn't manage to move his arms at all. The quick burn of excitement in his stomach at that realization, and the way it makes his desperate cock jump, is a surprise.

Magnus's warm fingers press against Alec's cheek. "Is this okay?"

"Um," Alec replies shakily, "As long as you go down on me, this is so, so okay."

Magnus smiles and makes a sort of 'if you insist' gesture, before he settles himself between Alec's thighs, and takes Alec's cock into his mouth with no further preamble.

Alec has learned a lot quickly, but Magnus has perfected his technique over centuries, and Alec is absolutely helpless underneath him. After what feels like hours and only a moment at the same time, Alec is warning Magnus that he's about to come, and watching himself spurt all over his own chest as Magnus coaxes him through an incredible orgasm.

With a snap of Magnus's fingers, the magic is no longer holding Alec immobile and the come cooling on his chest and hands is gone. Alec pulls Magnus down against his chest. Magnus kicks and squirms as he retrieves a blanket from the edge of the bed and pulls it up over them.

"That was amazing," Alec breathes.

"It really was," Magnus replies. "I've actually never…" He clears his throat. "That was a sudden inspiration."

"It was a great one," Alec says. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mhmm?"

"Why the blue light?"

He feels Magnus shrug against him. "Oh I… I just thought of something suddenly and it seemed fitting."

"What did you think of?"

"It's a quote. From an old play. 'Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine, That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun'."

"That's nice," Alec said. He was starting to drift again, happy and relaxed here with Magnus. "What play is it from?"

"Romeo and Juliet," Magnus whispers.

Alec chuckles sleepily. "Okay. That's—" he was about make a joke. Something about capulets and montages and shadowhunters and warlocks. But then he remembers the way Magnus looked at him as the embers of the fire turned blue, and it doesn't seem like something he can joke about. "That's very artistic."

"Mmm," Magnus agrees.

They lay together in sleepy silence. Alec is drifting, but he can feel just the slightest edge of tightness in Magnus.

"I've never done anything like that with anyone," Magnus says finally. "I… I'm glad I did it with you."

Alec pulls Magnus closer. He wants to think of something to say that conveys that he understands, because he's never done anything with anyone but Magnus, and that he's grateful for that too, and he's excited for all of their firsts together.

But he's so relaxed, and he can't win out against sleep for much longer, and he's not quite ready for the simplest answer to what Magnus told him. A three word answer that he knows he's going to give soon, but can't quite yet.

He settles on. "I'm glad too."

It's not the perfect response, but it makes Magnus relax against him, and they drift off together, in the blue light of magic fire.