Chapter Text
/ As a dancer Magnus was well used to attention and being watched. One particular evening someone’s gaze on him... felt different. Curious, he followed his instincts as much as he could without losing his concentration. A pair of warm, kind eyes stared at him, curious and mesmerized. Magnus knew that he was taking a risk, that he might be encouraging someone potentially dangerous. But before he could stop himself, he grinned and winked, then refocused fully on the show.
Despite the tingle it left under his skin Magnus had almost forgotten the moment until he emerged from the building two hours later. He froze upon finding the stranger waiting, leaning against the wall and smoking. Magnus blinked once, trying to figure out the situation and choose a course of action.
Did the guy actually wait for him? It was either very sweet. Or very, very troubling.
Before he could decide the man finally noticed him and apparently read his mind. (Or his arched eyebrow and tension.) “I’m not... some pervert, or a stalker. I just... I wanted to tell you that you’re an amazing dancer. And ask if you’d let me buy you a cup of coffee someday.”
Magnus pursed his lips. “Bold of you to assume that I’d accept coffee from someone whose name I don’t know.” Perhaps he should’ve been running the other way but...
“George.” The man tugged at his own ear in what seemed to be a nervous gesture. He was slightly older and taller than Magnus, with a haircut that suggested he was military. Nothing about him oozed threat. (The man’s entire presence radiated safety and comfort.) “My name is George.”
They ended up deciding that ‘someday’ was that day and headed to a café across the street. Magnus couldn’t remember hot chocolate and cappuccino ever tasting so good. They ended up being there until closing time. By the time they left Magnus had learned that George was a soldier, loved cats and was quite possibly the kindest man he’d ever met.
George walked him home like a proper gentleman and leaned in for a kiss outside his apartment building. Gently but firmly Magnus shifted his head so that he kissed the other’s cheek instead and winked to hide how vulnerable he was. This was his first... something like a date in over a year, since Camille, and everything in him screamed against letting someone close. “Quit smoking and I may kiss your lips next time.”
The way George’s eyes lit up made him hopeful that perhaps his heart would be safe this time. Magnus felt the other’s gaze following him as he entered the building. He couldn’t quite keep a small, giddy smile from appearing to his lips.
His heart, which had been broken too many times, fluttered with hope. /
/
Magnus woke up with a shiver and blinked confusedly. George? He hadn’t dreamed of George... in a very long time.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Alec kissed his cheek and despite still being dazed he leaned eagerly to the touch. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Like a rock.” Magnus stretched like cat, then hesitated for a second. “I... had a strange dream.”
He noticed Alec watching him finishing stretching. After the years they’d been together the man no longer blushed upon realizing he’d gotten caught. “Oh? What was it about?”
Before Magnus could answer their son Max burst into the room with the kind of energy only a four-year-old could possess. “Morning!” the boy chirped while embracing them both. “Can we have pancakes?”
Magnus smiled and ruffled his son’s hair. “You know what? Today feels perfect for pancakes.”
With just the two of them in the room Magnus found himself watching Alec, his gaze appreciating the flawless upper body and the tattoos decorating it. The man’s hair was still a wild, curly mess from their... fun the night before. Alec grumbled darkly under his breath while hopping on one foot to get a pair of pants on but contentment shone from him.
Magnus would never get tired of hearing the small, happy sound that left Alec when he got up and kissed the man. The physical therapist grinned half smugly, half giddily. “What happened to refusing to kiss while I still have my morning breath?”
Magnus shrugged. “You deserved an exception.” He was a wreck, emotionally and physically, when they first met. Alec helped fix first his body, then his shattered heart. Perhaps in a few decades he’d manage to show how much he loved and cherished his husband. “No more kisses, though. You know how we get and we have to hurry before Max takes matters to his own hands. And we need to wake up Rafe. He’s worse than you when it comes to starting mornings.”
They left the room hand in hand, which left one of Alec’s free. Magnus giggled joyously a step away from the doorway, all strange dreams and the ensuing conflicted feelings forgotten. “Did you just pinch my ass?”
“It’s a great ass”, Alec pointed out matter-of-factly. “And it was entirely your fault. You know what that golden dressing gown does to me.”
Brushing teeth with Max to teach him how, preparing breakfast and dragging Rafael out of the bed was all a wonderful chaos. Eventually everyone was fed, a grumpy seventeen-year-old, a hyperactive four-year-old and parents who had difficult time keeping their hands to themselves included. Once everyone else had left Magnus decided that there was something he needed to do before heading to the dance studio. Because he figured out what might’ve caused his bizarre dream.
Magnus made his way to the penthouse apartment’s balcony, lit a candle and lifted his gaze towards the gray sky. “Happy Birthday, George”, he whispered. “I hope you’re happy and at peace, wherever you are. I love you.” A part of him always would. George helped put him back together after Camille, taught him to believe in love again, made a papa out of him when they adopted Rafael. Magnus moved on years ago – it’d been a decade, after all – but George was still special to him. Someone whose memory he cherished.
Magnus sat there deep in thought until he realized that he really needed to get going. He moved to blow out the candle. Only to freeze out of surprise when a sudden gush of wind smothered the flame instead.
It was a strange coincidence. One Magnus forgot about for many hours. He was taking a break from an intense dance practice and sipped water when he noticed his phone vibrating on a silent mode. A frown furrowed his brows at the sight of Catarina’s name on the screen. Wasn’t she supposed to have a morning shift? “Hey. Is something wrong?”
Catarina’s deep inhale shuddered. “Magnus, I... Are you sitting down?”
Magnus was definitely starting to freak out. His friend was a nurse at a hospital. Had something happened to Alec or the boys? “What the hell is going on?” he demanded in a loud, panicked and slightly aggressive tone that caught the attention of those around him. (Not that he would’ve noticed.)
Catarina hesitated for a couple of very, very long moments before finally dropping a bomb that turned his world upside down. “I got a new patient, flown here this morning, and... Magnus, it’s George. He’s still alive.”
/
Alec was immensely glad that he had a slow day at work. Because he was on the move as soon as he got a call from Lorenzo, a dancer with whom his husband had a friendship-hate relationship. Magnus was having an intense panic attack after getting a phone call and no one managed to calm him down.
By the time Alec reached the dance studio Magnus was sitting on the floor, hyperventilating and trembling miserably with cold sweat shining on his forehead. Tears shimmered in the man’s eyes but didn’t spill. Dot, a friend of Magnus’ who was once briefly something more, sat beside the conscious but unresponsive man but quickly gave up her spot upon seeing him. Blind and deaf to anyone else, Alec knelt in front of his husband. “Baby, I need you to focus on my voice and breathe properly, alright? Come back to me.”
It took several agonizing moments before Magnus finally seemed to become aware of him. The words that came were barely audible but froze the blood in Alec’s veins. “George... He’s alive. At Catarina’s hospital.”
It was like someone had poured ice-water on Alec. He did his best to breathe, to absorb what he just heard. Was this really happening? He did his best to talk although he could barely breathe. “Are you okay?”
Magnus shook his head and wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I need to... I have to see him, to believe this. Before I can tell Rafael...” The man gagged but nothing came up, and rubbed his face with a trembling hand, oblivious to how it smudged his makeup. “Oh, god, he’s alive.” There, shining through a wave of shock and disbelief, was joy, along with guilt over experiencing it.
Alec was in a shock, too. Unable to detach himself emotionally, he worked his hardest to concentrate on practical things. “I’ll call Izzy, she’ll be happy to babysit Max for a few more hours. And I’ll send Rafe a message that he can hang out with friends after school, after all. Then I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Magnus nodded faintly and gave him a smile that was closer to pained than relieved. It broke Alec’s heart how lost and vulnerable the strongest person he’d ever met appeared. He couldn’t even imagine the emotional hurricane Magnus was going through.
“Hey.” Alec kissed Magnus’ forehead, pushing his own emotions to the back of his mind. “This is a good thing, a miracle. Everything’s going to be alright.” He wished he would’ve sounded more convincing. “You’ll be okay.” He’d do everything he could to ensure that, no matter how much it’d hurt.
Magnus didn’t seem sure whether to believe him. The man looked at him pleadingly. “Before we go... Can you hold me? Please?”
Alec wasn’t going to make his beloved beg for that. He wrapped his arms around Magnus with almost desperate force. The man latched onto him the exact same way and finally broke down to sobs. Alec held on and used every shred of his willpower to not cry, too.
Those insecurities his years with Magnus had banished... They stirred to life once more, whispered viciously. He found himself wondering what his role in Magnus’ life would be once the full reality of the current situation sunk in. And how long he’d get to hold Magnus like this. He’d never been anyone’s first choice.
A single tear rolled down Alec’s cheek as the tightened his embrace still.
/
The call Magnus got from Catarina... It was one he dreamed of getting for months after George was declared dead. Caring for a grieving child and feeling like a piece of him died, too, he spent his sleepless nights silently begging someone to tell him that it was all a mistake. That he’d have his husband back in his arms.
Walking through the hospital that day, clutching at Alec’s hand convulsively, Magnus felt so much that he feared his throbbing head and racing heart would explode.
He came back from the haze when Alec’s finger brushed his softly. Caressed the wedding ring the physical therapist slipped into place four years earlier. “Are you sure you want to keep that on?” George would notice it, would know what it meant.
Magnus nodded firmly. “I don’t want to lead him on and he deserves to know.” He met his beloved’s eyes. “And you’re not some dirty secret.”
He hadn’t realized how tense Alec was until a fraction of it melted away with a nod. They needed to talk, Magnus understood as much despite how overwhelmed he was. But just then Catarina was walking towards them with an expression of deep sympathy on her face. “Are you ready?”
Magnus snorted. “No. But let’s go, anyway.” Letting go of Alec’s hand when they both felt so vulnerable hurt physically. After taking seven steps Magnus twirled around, rushed back and kissed the taller man. “I love you, Alexander”, he murmured with the same intensity he did on their wedding day. “So much.”
Alec caressed his cheek and looked at him like someone aching to memorize every last detail. “I love you, too.” Magnus hated how pained the man he loved sounded.
Unfortunately there was no magic wand to take away all that hurt. After inhaling a steadying breath, along with Alec’s scent, Magnus turned sharply and started following Catarina. He felt Alec’s gaze on him with every single step.
It seemed to take ages before they reached the correct door. Catarina stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Before you go in... George isn’t the same, emotionally or physically. I need you to be ready for that.”
Magnus nodded slowly. He’d anticipated as much. Ten years... He didn’t want to even imagine what George had gone through. And it wasn’t like he would’ve been the same, either. Like anything would’ve been the same.
After a hug from Catarina and a deep, shuddering breath Magnus entered the room and braced himself for the second first meeting with George.