Archive of Our Own ^beta

Magnus is Re, the deity of Sun, in Alexander’s words, Magnus is his personal sunshine, the beam of light that brightens his otherwise Grey day. No matter how many times Magnus tries to prove the fact that Alexander is the brightest star he has ever encountered, that Magnus doesn’t hold a candle to him, Alexander doesn’t budge.

Magnus is an American history professor at Oxford, has been for the past six months. His PHD thesis on the topic 'Nineteenth-century American literature' is part of the syllabus for grad students. He is proud of what he has become, he had left Indonesia, his home country, at the age seven, with his mother and when she succumbed to illness, she had left him with uncle Ragnor, her close confidant. Living in London hadn’t been easy, he had solely relied on scholarships, part-time jobs that ran till the wee hours of the morning and finally made it and is a proud owner of an apartment in Reading, a 40-minute drive to Oxford.

He first met Alexander in professor of management, Lorenzo Ray’s office. He was told that Alexander is an Oxonian, a business major at that and had requested to join Magnus’s American literature class midterm for his MSt in foreign affairs and American Studies. Alexander had graduated top of his class at the young age of 18. Magnus wasn’t much impressed by the deed though, he is a professor at the same university at 31, give him some credit. What surprised Magnus was why the now 22-year-old who graduated in business suddenly decided to pursue MSt in American studies.

Alexander had once joked saying he chose American literature as the selective course because Magnus was the only professor who dressed similar to the subject he taught, classic, elegant and outstanding, he said.

Alexander had always sat in front row, been attentive in class, and was always seen with the Red head called Clarissa. Magnus adored the girl. And had re-considered all the office hours he spent helping her with assignments when a painting of what is undeniably Magnus’s hands, clasped together, all his favorite ten rings adoring his fingers fell off from inside one of Clary’s assignments. Magnus had tried to reject her gently; he was not a monster. Clay had a full belly laugh and said,

“Oh no Professor Bane, this was not meant for you to see. It was for someone else's request. I must have accidently slipped it inside.”

“Meant to be or not to be, they’re still my hands.” Magnus said with a stern look.

“Look closely.” Clary had pointed to one of the fingers on the painting and had hastily left.

Magnus looked at it carefully. It is one of his favorite rings, currently on top of his list. What did she…oh, oh and a big oh.

It is not Magnus’s, although he would very much like it to be his. It’s Alexander’s, a golden band with a perfect A mark in the center. Magnus would recognize it anywhere and distantly realizes his brain has categorized it as Magnus’s.

The incident that caused them to become much closer than just acquaintances was by pure coincidence. It had been a few weeks since they were first introduced. Surely, they had few one-to-one study sessions in his office hours, Magnus had been surprised by the sheer knowledge Alexander had of literature and had learnt he has picture perfect memory. The conversations were very enlightening, he looked forward to them every week. When he asked why Alexander needed the extra study sessions, Alexander answered with a,

“I told you this once Professor Bane, you are an outstanding man in this field. You are fascinating. I am very much obsessed with the way you define the meaning of a single sentence like it’s an elegant piece of poetry.”

Magnus had stared open mouthed at him for a few minutes, at a loss for words. People call him over the top, judge him for his shiny and glittery choices of clothing, but never once anyone called him fascinating because of the way he teaches. Not even his dear friend Catarina.

“Did I finally render the fine professor speechless?” Alexander had a smirk playing on his lips and Magnus had the greatest realization mankind had after the discovery of edible glitter.

Magnus is Alec-sexual, he is not fabulously bi as he believed. Magnus is one hundred percent Alec-sexual.

He has always been a one soul at a time guy, and he realizes his soul’s calling is one Alexander Gideon Lightwood.

When Magnus still didn’t answer, he had a very valid excuse, he just found his soulmate, he is allowed to be speechless, Alexander had bid him goodbye with a wave of his hand and ran to the class he was already very late to. Magnus had stared at the broad shoulders, the never-ending legs and raven hair dancing in the wind until Alexander had disappeared from his sight.

The encounter that brought them much closer, this is in Magnus’s opinion, for all scrambled thoughts, Alexander may only have an admiration for the subject, though Catarina had voiced against that strongly.

‘Whoever chose that boring subject of yours as a selective and brings you coffee in the exact way you like for every study session must have the hots for his gorgeous professor.’ Catarina had said. ‘Didn’t you tell me he is like, crazy bright? Why would he need extra sessions?” his reporter friend had asked.

The nail in the coffin accident, as Magnus’s stupid brain calls it, happened at his office. He was working late; it was around midnight and Magnus stood up from his chair to make a cup of coffee. He had seen the pet toy beside his empty mug and, oh. He was supposed to pick up Chairman meow from pet groomer’s that evening and had forgotten. In his haste to get away, he spilled the whole kettle of hot water all over the papers he was marking, Catarina had reminded him many times to fix the lid of his electric kettle, but Magnus had forgotten. Now Chairman Meow is all alone, his students’ hard work ruined, his thoughts kept spiraling. He started to look for his phone and it was nowhere in sight, Magnus began searching through his drawer cabinet, and one harsh pull had unbalanced his footing, Magnus fell to the floor along with the cabinet, he luckily managed avoid trapping his legs under the fallen cabinet, the loud sound of it resonated in otherwise quiet night. He heard footsteps, getting closer to his office.

Good, now the campus security will also see him in this distraught state.

“Professor Bane, are you in there? Heard something crashing. I’m coming in.”

Magnus lifted his head to see Alexander entering his office, his breathing uneven like he had come running to Magnus’s aid. Bathed in moonlight, he looked like an angel, exactly how Magnus envisioned his guardian angel, though he looked much more better than he had imagined.

“I’m going to help you off the floor. Hold on tight, Magnus” Alexander’s hands circled his shoulders and waist and slowly lifted him off the floor, like he was fragile and should be handled with care.

“You should be Magnus. You deserve all the care and love the world can offer.” Oh, he had said that out loud. And when did he become Magnus, anyway, he loved the sound of it. Something to focus on while a thousand thoughts ran wild in his mind.

And Magnus saw the disaster on his desk and,

“Alexander, I forgot… Chairman and the papers are ruined, and he is all alone. I don’t know what to do. My phone is… My poor Chairman.”

“Slow down darling, focus on my breathing. We are going to get you comfortable on the sofa there while I clean up a little. Then you can tell me what happened. Sounds good?”
Magnus let Alexander guide him to the sofa. And he straightened the fallen cabinet, it may be only three foot tall, but in normal circumstances Magnus would have swooned with the sheer strength he showed. Alexander then carefully cleaned his desk, arranging the already soaked papers on a neat pile, and found his phone as he sorted through the materials on the desk.

“Professor Bane, it’s our last week class’s assignment, all of them are printed papers. Since we can’t save them, how about you ask your TA, Raphael to get a printout from the emailed submissions. I’m sure all the students did since it is a must. None of the other materials or your phone is damaged with water. It’s just out of battery, I think. Do you have a charger here?”

But all Magnus could focus on was,

“Darling! You called me darling!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? The word sort of slipped, you looked upset, and I wanted to make you feel better.” Alexander looked like a kicked puppy and Magnus would not have it.

“No! I mean why are you calling me by my surname instead of darling? Magnus pouted.

“You want me to?” Alexander asked, mischief dancing in his eyes.

“I would like you to call me that but given our status…” Magnus’s words cut off when Alexander closed the distance between them so fast that he had a near whiplash.
“Firstly, American literature is my second selective subject; you have no power over my final mark. There’s no rule against a student dating an instructor who has no power over their final academic result. Secondly, I’m a guest student here. Trust me when I say this. I have thoroughly studied the student conduct just after I met you that first time at Professor Ray’s.” Alexander said smiling.

“Second selective?”

“It is, my first selective is monetary economics. I told you darling, I chose this subject purely because of how the professor looked. Then I couldn’t leave when I got to know how precious the professor is.”

Magnus is blushing, how a 22-year-old kelinci managed to do that is a mystery to Magnus, actually it is not. He is quite biased when it comes to that hazel eyed kelinci.

“Why are you here this late?” And it’s Alexander’s turn to blush.

“I heard you talking with Professor Ray earlier, that your car is at the repair. I stayed late today to finish a paper and decided to wait in case you wanted a ride. Reading is a long taxi ride and nighttime is not safe for travelers.”

“I could have called a friend. You would have been waiting for nothing Alexander!” Magnus exclaimed.

“You wouldn’t. You hate to bother others when people consider spending time with you a blessing. I do.”

For the sake of his sanity, Magnus stood and gestured Alexander to follow him outside. He put his phone in his leather messenger bag and walked with Alexander to the gates.

“You don’t happen to have a mobile charger, do you? My phone is extremely low on battery.” Magnus asked waving his phone in Alexander’s rather lovely face.
Alexander opened the door to his Audi Q8 and plugged Magnus’s phone into his mobile charger. Magnus noticed the blonde who followed Alexander around standing next to an Audi A8 along with his usual entourage, rich people and their bodyguards, Magnus thought.

“You said something about Chairman?”

“I went to the pet groomer’s today morning with him. With my battery dead and a total pile of unmarked papers on my table, I totally forgot to pick him up. They must have called Cat to pick him.”

Magnus said with a sulking face, his baby had never spent a night apart from home until now. He must be thinking that he was abandoned by his father.

“Cat lives near you, right? We can pick him on the way?” Alexander asked, looking rather adorable with the irresistible puppy eyes he was giving Magnus.

“Who said I am going with you?” And the pout was at full force and a minute later, Magnus was seated in a rather comfy leather seat, on his way to pick Chairman. He had called Cat from Alexander’s phone and asked her to ready his son to go home from the sleepover he was forced to have.

Cat answered the door quickly, holding chairman in her arms.

“Look who is here Chairman! Didn’t I tell you your father would abandon you for the adonis he is obsessed with these days!”

And Chairman the utter traitor, looked back-to-back from Magnus to Alexander and decided this new guy is trustworthy than the father who he stayed with for four long years.
Chairman jumped into Alexander arms, his fast reflexes catching the feline, and hugging him close to his chest. Now Magnus is jealous of his own cat.
Alexander refused to take the wheel saying,

“I cannot let go of him! Imagine how he feels when both of his foster fathers abandon him in one night. That would be so cruel.” And Magnus had no choice but to drive to his apartment and invite Alexander over. It was close to one in the morning. He had offered Alexander his couch and he shyly accepted.

Next morning Magnus walked into his living room to two of his utmost favorite people cuddled cozily under a blanket.

Magnus made coffee and a light breakfast for both of them and waited for Alexander to wake up. And he shouldn’t have, definitely shouldn’t have.

Alexander woke up half an hour later. He was sitting up on the couch, one hand holding Chairman close to his chest, other running through his gorgeous raven locks, blanket pooling in his lap.

And he was shirtless and wearing one of Magnus’s sweatpants, the waist band riding low on his hips and Magnus’s brain stopped functioning.
He stared at Alexander when he walked closer, kept staring when Alexander placed a light kiss on his forehead. He emerged from the dreamland when he heard the bathroom door open. When did Alexander leave!

“Chairman! We need to get adoption papers! We need to lock this man down.”

“You should.” And Magnus shouldn’t have looked up. If Alexander in his sweatpants was a wet dream, droplets of water travelling from his tantalizing throat to his navel, his waist now framed in the jeans he wore to classes yesterday was Magnus’s every dirty fantasy come true.

“That must be the fastest shower in history baby.” Magnus heard the small gasp and saw the light blush appearing on his face. Good, he deserved that.

“It was. It was because I was too eager to do this, baby!” And soft lips enveloped his and Magnus’s whole closet of wet dreams rearranged around the shape of Alexander’s mouth. The kiss was short and sweet and breathtaking, and Magnus’s brain stopped working for the second time in the same hour.

“I’m late to class, and I really really need to take you out on a date. Text me?”

Alexander was out of the door with a kiss to his cheek and a pat to Chairman’s head.

The following week was nothing but blissful. Every Saturday from then on was their date night. Magnus had a new shade of Lilac every other week residing in the flower vase on his kitchen island. They visited high-end restaurants; Alexander being concerned about privacy. It was mostly Magnus talking and Alexander listening. Magnus learned that Alexander actually was a charity founder and had wanted to do something equally valuable with his spare time, hence the MSt. Said he wanted to teach the youngsters to win over the world.

The last few date nights were spent at Magnus’s home. Alexander lounging around and Magnus adding finishing touches to his novel, he already had a publisher. Alexander didn’t know what it was about, he wanted to surprise him with a first copy. Early in their relationship, Magnus accidentally discovered that Alexander has a good understanding of monarchy and their traditions. Alexander has been a great source since then.

When Magnus finished mailing the final edition to his publisher, it was close to midnight. He was surprised to hear the first lines of ‘War of hearts’ playing.

“Would you honor me with a dance, baby?” And who was Magnus to deny such a request.

When the song ended, he felt an unfamiliar wait on his pinky and noticed the exact ring on that painting, the same one, his Alexander’s, glistening on his finger.

“It’s a promise love. A promise that I will treasure you for eternity, to follow you till death tear us apart, to love you unconditionally and with all I have. I love you Magnus Bane and I would like it nothing more than to call you mine.”
By the end of Alexander’s carefully crafted vow, they were both are in tears.

“Both ways…” Magnus felt words stuck in his throat.

“What my love?”

“It should go both ways. The promise should go both ways. I love you. I have loved you since Chairman chose you as his other daddy.” Alexander smiled through his tears and it was the most beautiful sight Magnus ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

That night, he made sweet love to his Alexander, tested his limits until Alexander was nothing but a blabbering mess under him. He kissed every mole and tasted every gasp he let out from the kiss bitten mouth when Magnus aimed just right at his sweet spot. The sight when Alexander came, took his breath away, the many times they have made love, he never failed to render Magnus speechless. His chest was going to burst from the amount of affection he felt for this man. Even then he didn’t stop. The tight grip Alexander had on his cock, the warmth he was surrounded with, and the slow drag of his rim made Magnus go mad. And when Alexander breathed an ‘I love you’ into their kiss, it was Magnus’s undoing. He came so hard that it took a few seconds to come back to his senses.

He breathed an ‘I love you too darling’ into Alexander’s sweat drenched hair.

Magnus didn’t sleep that night. He watched over his angel. Even his love’s quiet breathing didn’t manage to lull him to sleep. He felt the need to watch over, drinking in every detail, the breathtaking sight laid before him, just for him, only for him. He tangled his fingers with Alexander’s. Pressed a kiss to his ring finger, imagining how the silver band hiding in his closet would look on that finger. And he imagined pressing a kiss to the same band at their wedding, one day, one day Magnus would make it happen.

He was sure of it cause Alexander had promised forever to him.

Month later, it’s the launch day. Magnus sits at a small bookstore for his first ever signing event. He had given the first copy of his book to Alexander one week prior; Magnus heard nothing but praises since then. It’s a queer romance story, between a prince and a commoner, the prince is from the Spain monarchy and his characteristics are so very similar to Alexander.

Of course, it should be. Because,
He hasn’t told this to Alexander yet. But Alexander is his muse. Each romantic scene, every explicit sexual scene is described with Alexander in mind. The commoner is Magnus, and it is about his hope for a comforting pair of arms to hold him through cold Winter nights, his wish to have a love that would bring tears of joy to his eyes, someone to call his. The angst is a result of all the suffering he went through as a child and a teenager, all the heartbreaks he had, and a result of too many people calling him too much.

If Magnus is Re, Alexander’s sun god, he is Magnus’s Thoth, his moon deity, his muse. His one and only.

He is feeling nervous. Alexander is attending to the guests, and his sister, mother, brother, father and the whole family is here. They look far too familiar and have bought a lot of security, Magnus wonders why and figures rich people are like that sometimes. Magnus is happy that they are here, but he wishes Alexander to sit beside him. Feels like he cannot do it alone.

But the event waits for no one. Suddenly, there are cameras flashing and next he feels his wrist hurting from signing hundreds of books. It’s a success. But the water bottle Alexander places next to him, the comforting touch on his shoulder, the hot coffee appearing next to him is appreciation enough.
Magnus twirls the golden band around his pinky, feels warmth spreading through his whole being.

Catarina slides next to his chair.

“Congratulations Mags! I’m soooo proud of you!” She hugs him and Magnus smiles in gratitude.

“Soooooo?” She says.

“What?”

“I remember you telling me a few months back that you found your muse in Alexander. And the main character is a prince. Can’t be a coincidence, can it? And that ring on your finger, care to explain Magnus?”

“It’s nothing.” He says quietly as he covers his pinky with his other hand. There are reporters in hearing distance, and he doesn’t want them to showcase his private life on the news.

He hears a gasp and sees Isabelle who was happily chatting with Professor Ray staring draggers at him.

But it looks like Cat hadn’t got the message clear.

“You are wearing the royal ring and saying it’s nothing, did you honestly start dating the son of duke of Sussex just because he is a prince, just to gather information? Magnus, I love you but that’s so low of you!” Magnus doesn’t understand what she is saying and when he looks up, he sees Isabelle’s face, fuming.

And then the familiar face gets clearer, standing less than a metre away from him is the princess of Sussex.

He is dating the prince of Sussex, eldest of duke Trueblood. He has heard of the introvert prince of Sussex, the one who makes zero attendance at royal gatherings.

“But it’s Alexander Lightwood” he says half-heartedly.

“It’s Alexander Lightwood Trueblood. Fuck Magnus, did you honestly not know?” Catarina asks and on que Alexander is walking towards him, Isabelle stops him midway and is murmuring in his ear.

For all the proud declarations he made saying he can read Alexander like his favorite book, for the love of God, Magnus doesn’t know the meaning behind the expression Alexander is spotting right now.

Once Isabelle turns to face Magnus, actually they are both facing him. Alexander points to his pinky and runs out of the bookstore.

Magnus feels like dying.

He feels frozen and distantly hears Cat’s constant apologies.

But it doesn’t matter. None of this will matter if he has hurt his Alexander. What would he be thinking right now? That it all was a lie, Magnus’s promises were a lie. That all the times they made love was under pretense.

He feels like dying. Has the sudden urge to vomit, bile rising in his throat. What he is feeling doesn’t matter, what matters is finding Alexander, he will beg on his knees if he has to. But will Alexander believe him? He has called him ‘his royal highness’, ‘my prince’ countless times. It was because of the vast knowledge he had of monarchy. Will he believe it when Magnus says he didn’t know!
Why couldn’t he write about a British prince, he would have easily stumbled upon a picture of his Alexander. Instead, he had to go and write about a Spanish prince.

He needs to get out of here.

Magnus runs out of the venue and hails a cab home. They recently moved into Alexander’s spacious apartment near Oxford, so it doesn’t take more than a few minutes. But Alexander is nowhere in sight.
He checks for his phone in his pockets and realizes he has left it at the venue. And he has no way to contact Alexander. Chairman is with a sitter and Magnus has no comfort to lean on, not like he deserves it when he has hurt Alexander like that.

It’s getting darker outside, and Magnus is still sitting on the balcony.

He hears the front door opening and wishes Cat would leave him alone.

“Magnus! Darling, are you home? I tried your mobile and Isabelle said you left in a hurry and forgot it there.”

Magnus forgets everything except Alexander and runs into his arms.

“Aww darling, were you worried about Chairman? I’m sorry we are late, vet had to force out all the Chocolate he ate before confirming it was safe to send him home.” Chairman whimpers in Alexander’s cozy arms and Magnus’s whimper is louder.

Alexander immediately sets Chairman on the ground and gathers Magnus into his arms.

“Love?” he questions.

“You left.” Magnus makes his case; the tears don’t stop.

“I’m sorry, I had to, love. Didn’t you see my message? I pointed to my phone before leaving and asked Izzy to tell you. Chairman accidentally ate some Chocolates at the sitter’s. I had to take him to the vet, you know how allergic he is to Chocolate.”

And Magnus whimpers again.

“Is there something else going on, my heart?” Alexander asks so softly that it makes Magnus cry harder.

“I thought you left because of what I said. I seriously didn’t know. Whatever Izzy said, it is not the truth. Alexander, I would never play with your feelings.” Magnus is still hiding his face in Alexander’s shoulder, getting snot and spit all over the nice dress shirt.

“Oh, I know love. I know. Isabelle said that you might not know, she had overheard your conversation with Cat. I thought you did baby. That was the first thing Ray said when he introduced us, and you constantly called me ‘his royal highness’. I had to leave without explaining or else our child would have been in danger. Didn’t Izzy tell you, she only told me you left in a hurry.”

“She didn’t and I’m sorry for assuming. And I’m glad Chairman has such an attentive dad.” Magnus says.

“You don’t have to apologize love. Just admit that you were distracted by my fabulous self from the moment we met.” Alexander plants a kiss on each of his eyelids. He does that whenever Magnus cries for whatever reason, usually it’s soap operas. It’s his way of offering comfort.

“Actually, I was. But who can blame me. I have just met my muse.”

And he proceeds to kiss the said muse. His moon deity, Thoth to his Re.