Chapter Text
Magnus didn’t follow many rules in life, but if there was one he lived by, it would be this: Don’t date coworkers.
When Camille had come to teach French at Idris High three years prior, he thought that rule could be bent and twisted, just a bit. It shattered instead. Then Camille transferred to the middle school and Magnus forged his resolve to be iron and didn’t so much as look at the new teachers fluttering in and out of the building in droves.
Today’s staff meeting shouldn’t have been any different. It should have been nothing more than listening to Lorenzo droning on about what he’s been told by the board and sharing knowing looks with Ragnor while Raphael tried to get them to pay attention. His ear should not have perked up at the mention of a new math teacher, his eyes should not have traveled away from Ragnor’s.
He should have never looked over when he heard the name Alexander Lightwood because it would ruin him all the same.
Magnus was not flirting with Alexander. He was simply being friendly. That’s what you did when a new coworker started two months into the school year after replacing the corrupt asshole who held his place before him. And if Ragnor and Cat thought something more was going on, then shame on them.
Could Magnus not be friendly to a new employee? Was it so wrong to be welcoming? If said new coworker happened to have the bluest eyes, hair that was just messy enough that it looked charming instead of sloppy, and have a hidden layer of lithe muscle under his button up that was exposed when he rolled his sleeves up… then that was a mere coincidence.
The unfortunate reality, though, was that the extent of Magnus’ interactions with Alec were few and far between. Magnus was an art teacher, one of two in the school, the other being a young fiery red head named Clary who he had found himself growing quite attached to over the years. The art wing was on the first floor and the opposite side of the school from the math classes, which were held on the second floor, in the farthest corner of the building. Meaning, Magnus was living off of passing glances in the break room and polite small talk on the stairwell.
Which was why when he saw Alec’s name on the chaperone sign up sheet for the Homecoming Dance, Magnus’ heart nearly did a backflip.
Nearly.
He managed to keep his excitement to a slightly manic grin, for which Ragnor gave him an odd look while making a fresh cup of coffee during his planning period.
Every year, Magnus chaperoned the Homecoming dance. Too many of the kids wanted and trusted him to be there for him not to. It was one of the few perks in teaching the arts, students made real and deep connections with him— they relied on him, they felt safe with him. It was the same reason Magnus spent many of his lunch breaks sitting with students who had nowhere else to eat or who needed a trusted adult to talk things out with.
Given his moral obligation— and at this point expectancy— to chaperone, Mangus attempted to make the most of it, year after year trying to rope Ragnor into doing it with him. Ragnor was not a social creature. In fact, Magnus was quite sure that Ragnor would rather live away in a mountain cave for the rest of his life than continue teaching. He always gave a good fight, one he usually lost because apparently Magnus’ “nagging” was “annoying” and “he needed to say yes before he bludgeoned him in the head with the AP History textbook.”
This year, however, Ragnor had made plans, ones that required leaving town for the weekend and thus being unable to take his usual spot. Magnus had been planning on moping, but with Alec there he would mope no more. He had been daydreaming about matching ties when a voice startled him.
“You chaperoning, too?”
Magnus, pointedly, did not jump. Standing behind him was Alec, one hand in the pocket of his slacks, the other holding a hot cup of coffee. He had a stack of papers under one arm and was looking at Magnus expectantly.
“Yeah,” he managed, “I am. I do it every year, the kids always ask me to.” Alec seemed to cock a brow at that.
“The kids request you?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious. Magnus shrugged in reply.
“Perk of being an art teacher, you get to be the ‘fun class,’” he air quoted. “The kids my first year thought that I’d be a fun chaperone and asked me to come. Been doing it ever since.” Magnus tried to keep his voice as nonchalant as he could, but the small smile breaking across Alec’s face was making it difficult.
“Downside of being a math teacher, no one thinks you’re fun,” he said, somewhat self-deprecatingly. There was a shyness to his voice, as if he was unsure if Magnus would even care about his job or whether he thought he had been oversharing, and that would simply not do.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced. I’m Magnus,” he said, offering his hand to the other man. Alec accepted it gratefully, his hand calloused and strong in Magnus’ grip.
“Alec.”
“Well then, Alec, I have to disagree with this idea you have of no one thinking math is fun,” Magnus tried to which Alec gave him an expression that said “Really?”
“Did you think your high school math teacher was fun?” Alec challenged.
“My high school math teacher was an ancient woman who thought I had stumbled into the wrong room and shouldn’t have sat too close to her ‘gifted kids’. She was also extraordinarily racist,” Magnus added, leaning back against the counter top behind him. “So no, she was not fun.” Alec gaped at him for a moment, and Magnus couldn’t help but think he looked a bit like a fish.
“I’m so sorry—” Magnus held out a hand to cut him off. He did not need this beautiful man apologizing to him for the misdeeds of the past, one he had no say in.
“There’s no need to apologize for the history of math teachers. Somehow, I can’t exactly see you being like her.” Alec seemed a little hesitant, but also relieved that the heavy subject had been changed.
“Is it because I’m not ancient?” he asked lightly.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that…” Magnus tried to hide his coy smile but failed as Alec gasped offendedly before laughing. It was a bright thing, a sound that made Magnus want to laugh with him, something Magnus never wanted to end, something Magnus wanted to be the cause of.
“Alright, well, what should this slightly ancient, not fun teacher wear to chaperone?” Magnus found his smile growing into a full on grin. This was banter. This was easy. This was what Magnus had been craving.
“I would say just go with a dress shirt and a tie, nothing crazy.”
“No offense, but that’s what I wear every day,” Alec said motioning to himself. He had ditched the tie that day in particular, the top two buttons of his black collared shirt popped, sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up to his forearms, gray dress slacks clinging nicely to his thighs. If Magnus was a betting man, he would have bet that if Alec turned around, the material would be hugging his ass just as nicely. “Don’t I need something a bit more formal?” Magnus looked down at his own outfit for a moment and pondered.
Idris High’s dress code was practically nonexistent for both students and teachers, yet Alec came in dressed formally every morning since he started. Magnus, on the other hand, took the opportunity to show off his interest in fashion, showing up in the latest and greatest, or what he could get second hand or on sale. He was shopping on a teacher’s budget after all.
“Then maybe try adding some color.”
“Gray is a color,” Alec added defensively, but dropped it immediately when he saw the look Magnus was giving him. No one argued with an art teacher about color and won. “I will see what I can do.” Magnus smiled at that.
“I look forward to seeing what you can come up with,” Magnus said playfully.
…
Magnus was absolutely not panicking. Half of his closet was on the floor, which was saying a lot because Magnus had an exceptionally large closet, and yet he still had nothing to wear and he was not panicking .
Okay, maybe he was panicking a little.
He had to be at the school in less than an hour to supervise set up and he still wasn’t anywhere close to being ready, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was going to be standing with Alec all night. It was on his fourth pass through his hangers that his phone began to buzz. It took Magnus a moment to find it, buried underneath the clothes he had haphazardly thrown on his bed, but when he did he was glad to see the caller ID.
“Theresa Gray, you have no clue how happy I am to hear your voice.”
“And why might that be Magnus?” she asked, grin palpable across the line.
Tessa was one of Magnus’ oldest friends, and she also happened to teach English at Idris. It was something that had happened by accident but it had been one of the best coincidences in Magnus’ life. Tessa was busy, between her job as a teacher and her volunteer position at the local library, Magnus didn’t see her as much as he wanted to. So they turned to their phones, calling often and texting when they could, although Tessa had a tendency to be overly formal that Magnus, despite his best efforts, just couldn’t break.
“I’m having a fashion crisis.” Tessa’s laughter was only met with a huff.
“This would have nothing to do with that new teacher chaperoning with you tonight, would it?” She sounded way too pleased with herself for Magnus’ liking.
“What did you call for?” Magnus asked flatly.
“Oh nothing, just wanted to catch up.” A beat. “And Clary might have let it slip that you were going to be spending tonight monitoring the kids with the new school hunk, so I figured I’d step in and interrupt whatever internal monologue you had going.” Magnus wanted to be furious with how right she was, but instead he sighed, flopping himself onto the bed.
“Tell me what to do.”
“Be yourself,” she said immediately.
“Okay, correction. Tell me exactly what to wear and say so I don’t make a fool of myself.”
“ Magnus ,” Tessa scolded.
“Okay, okay, fine,” Magnus relented. “Just help me find something to wear.”
…
A shower and an hour phone call later, Magnus was finally standing in Idris’ gym, hair done, makeup finished, outfit flawless, and only fifteen minutes late. Which was outstanding by his standards. He took in the gymnasium as he entered, eyes scanning the surroundings of what the students had done so far, mentally noting the absence of a certain math teacher.
“Mr. Bane!” One of the students setting up, (Caroline, if he remembered right, one of his sophomores) called out to him, hand waving. He nodded as he made his way over to where she was finishing stringing streamers across the folded up bleachers.
“How’s it looking?” he asked.
“You tell me. Too much?” Magnus let his eyes roam for a moment, taking in the decor. They were nowhere near finished, but fairy lights had been strung by maintenance earlier in the day, leaving the ceiling twinkly. The streamers Caroline had just finished with had been all different shades of blue, the dark and light creating depth, a sea of crepe paper creating the illusion of night on the horizon. There was a small photo area near the entrance set up, makeshift trees framing the doors, leading the students into the night in the enchanted forest that the Student Government had promised. Magnus was impressed.
“Not at all, kid. You’ve done well.” Caroline smiled at the praise.
“Well, we aren’t finished. There’s still the punch bowl and the DJ still isn’t here with his booth and we only have half of the tables ready—” she was rambling, the panic that had been lurking under the surface clearly starting to get the better of the girl.
“Woah, hold it there. Breathe Caroline, breathe.” Magnus took a deep inhale and motioned for her to do the same. As she exhaled he saw her shoulders drop, just a fraction. “We still have plenty of time to get everything done. Alright?” She nodded and Magnus smiled at her. “Now, let’s go get those tables…” Magnus trailed off as he saw a few other students coming through the entrance holding the folding tables, on one each end, flanked by Alec, who was carrying two of the things, one on his shoulder, the other tucked under his arm.
Magnus was going to pass out. So it appeared Alec wasn’t late, simply busy helping already.
Magnus strode across the gym, leaving Caroline to follow briskly behind, as he walked up to Alec. He stopped and cocked both his brow and a hip, eyes glancing between the hunk of wood currently resting on Alec’s shoulder and the man himself.
“Showing off are we?” Alec’s brows furrowed as he shifted the weight with ease, gently setting each down beside him. There was commotion behind them, the three students making quick work of setting up the seating arrangements.
“What? No, I was just helping.”
“By taking two tables at a time? I’ve done this before Alexander,” Magnus pointedly ignored how flushed Alec’s face got at the name. “I know how heavy those things are.”
“And I know my limits. It was just a way to make less trips, honestly.” Alec held his hands up in mock surrender.
“Sure.” Magnus took a moment to actually look at Alec, not just his display of strength. His gray slacks had been traded in for navy ones, and his black dress shirt was nowhere to be seen. In its place stood a baby blue shirt, covered with a navy jacket. The ensemble was finished off with a patterned tie that almost looked like a Van Gogh, a swirl of different blues creating an unsteady pattern, something that was just random enough to be interesting but arranged just enough to be cohesive. Magnus was impressed. “I see you took my advice.” Alec looked down for a moment bashfully, before meeting Magnus’ gaze, a hand coming to scratch the back of his neck, messing up his hair in the process.
“Clary helped me pick it out,” Magnus tried to hide his shocking, brain working overtime to think of if his coworker had ever mentioned knowing Alec. He didn't know they had been close.
“You know Biscuit?” Alec looked amused at the name. Clary was going to kill him.
“Biscuit?”
“It’s a long story,” Magnus said, waving it off quickly. Alec gave him a lopsided smile and something in Magnus’ chest went sideways.
“Yes, I know Clary. She’s dating my brother.” Alec’s tone was matter of factly, crossing his arms in the process. Magnus filed away that piece of information for later. When he saw Clary on Monday, he had some questions.
“I see.” Alec said nothing in response, instead simply looking Magnus up and down.
“I like your outfit. I can see why you’re the ‘fun teacher,’” Alec said, mimicking Magnus’ air quotes. The art teacher wasn’t sure whether or not it was an insult, but he took it like a compliment.
Tessa had helped him pick it out of the piles that had formed across every surface of his room in his panic. The silk shirt was comfortable yet formal, the deep burgundy complimenting his skin tone. He had left the top few buttons undone, instead opting to cover the area with an array of necklaces hanging at different points of his throat and chest. The shirt was contrasted with a patterned waistcoat, whose accents played with the wine color of the layer beneath it, all while clinching in the loose fabric. He paired the top with dark, tight fitting pants that left very little of his legs to the imagination. His fingers were adorned by the many rings he wore on the regular, hair swept up into its usual coff, makeup a bit more smokey than usual but fitting all the same.
“I try,” he said with a shrug. Alec looked like he was about to say something else when one of the students, Magnus was fairly sure his name was Trent, came over.
“Sorry to interrupt, but the DJ just arrived.”
…
The night as a whole went surprisingly smooth. There had only been one girl crying in a corner that Magnus had to console, no one had tried to spike the punch bowl, and only three couples had to be reminded that this was a school, not a club, and if they were going to grind they needed to do it on their own time.
Alec, however, had turned out to be the biggest surprise of the night. The man who Magnus met in the breakroom and the man the students knew as Mr. Lightwood were two juxtaposing figures that Magnus’ mind was trying to reconcile as one. When it was just the pair, Alec was soft spoken, often letting Magnus take the lead on the conversation. There was still that slight special brand of sarcasm Magnus had gotten the week prior, but it was only when Magnus initiated it or later into the night when Alec was feeling more comfortable around the other man.
However, as soon as a student came up to them with a question or in need of help, Alec turned into a completely different person. He was confident and self assured, nodding and interacting with them, making sure that they saw he was paying attention and taking their concern seriously. It was something about the way he held himself, something about his posture changing, standing up a little straighter, head a little taller, as if he could will himself to look like the responsible adult the kids thought him to be.
There was one instance when it all seemed to click for Magnus. A girl had been crying in one of the corners of the gymnasium, desperately trying to hide her running mascara and sobs in the flashing lights and pounding music. Magnus had originally been the one to go to her, but despite his fairly adept comforting skills, he couldn’t seem to soothe the girl. Alec had come over a few moments later when Magnus shot him a look that he hoped read help . The math teacher approached slowly, as if the girl were a scared animal and he didn’t want to startle her. He knelt next to Magnus, but made sure not to corner her against the wall, leaving enough space between themselves and the rest of the room so that she could leave at any time.
“What’s your name?” he asked, voice kind and as soft as it could get under the blaring music. The girl looked at him skeptically, but answered him regardless.
“Isabelle,” she said, stuttering through it. She hadn’t stopped crying, sobs choking her throat, but Alec stayed and listened all the same. He offered her a small smile.
“I’ve always liked that name. It’s my little sister's name too.” Isabelle seemed to perk up a bit at this information.
“You have a sister?” Alec smiled fondly.
“Yup. Two years younger and would still kick my ass.” Isabelle laughed a bit, untucking herself from the ball he had created, instead sitting crisscrossed, her dress pooling out around her. Alec watched her for a moment before beginning carefully. “So Isabelle, what happened to make you upset?” The girl took a shuddering breath, but the tears had seemed to stop.
“I just found out that my boyfriend has been seeing someone else,” she glanced aside for a minute, as if debating whether she wanted to share the rest of the information he had. Isabelle glanced at Alec once before continuing. “My best friend.” Magnus felt his own eyebrows rise in surprise but Alec said nothing, simply nodding.
“I see,” he said thoughtfully, glancing out to the dance floor before looking back at the girl in front of him. “What would you like to do about it?” Isabelle looked confused.
“What can I do about it?”
“Well, the way I see it is you have two options,” Alec listed very calmly. “One: You can go home. No one is going to make you stay and watch a dance that you won’t have fun at. I certainly wouldn’t want to. I could wait with you while someone comes to pick you up, if you’d like.” He paused, making sure he met Isabelle’s eyes. “Or two: You can go back out there and take back your night. I know that you’ve got a few friends waiting for you on the dance floor.” Alec stood, holding a hand out to the girl, helping her up and steadying her while she found her balance in her heels again. “No one would blame you for either option.” Isabelle took a moment, glancing between Alec and Magnus and the thrum of bodies jumping along to some pop song Magnus didn’t know before nodding to herself.
“I think,” she said, “I’m gonna get back out there.” Alec smiled and patted her shoulder as she smiled at him.
“Before you go, one question,” he said. “What’s your boyfriend’s name?”
“Kyle Jordan,” she said before walking over to a table where a few girls stood up at her arrival, offering her hugs and glaring in the direction of the crowd.
“You handled that extremely well,” Magnus told Alec once they were alone again. Alec simply shrugged.
“I tried. She reminds me a lot of Izzy,” he said off handedly.
“I bet you’re a great big brother.” Alec turned crimson but Magnus couldn’t tell if it was the compliment or simply the lights. He paused for a beat before asking, “Do you know her boyfriend?”
“Second period, Algebra II.” There was a smirk on Alec’s face and Magnus wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“You’re gonna make that kid’s life a living hell, aren’t you?” Magnus was grinning now. He hated the idea of cheaters, and to make yourself so young was beyond him. Especially when Isabelle seemed like she could stab someone with her stiletto.
“As a teacher it would be against my morals. But what happens with my seating chart is a complete accident,” Alec said with a shrug, running a hand through his hair. He glanced at Magnus and the older man couldn’t help the laugh that rang out of him.
Alec was fun, he thought, even for a math teacher.