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Magnus isn't new to the feeling of instant fascination―it's something that probably happens to him too often to be a good thing, especially for an immortal, the way he so easily becomes enchanted with rare, pretty things. But he can't help himself. It's just something that happens, and he secretly loves it every time it does―it makes him feel alive, for lack of a better word, something which has rarely occurred in the past several decades.
So when he sees Alec Lightwood for the first time, it hits him hard. The boy―no, man, albeit young―shines like a beacon as he smoothly makes his way past Magnus to take a closer look at the threat he just expertly put an arrow in, Magnus's eyes involuntarily following his swift movements and appreciating his tall, lean frame.
Who are you? It's the only thought Magnus can form in his mind, and he's half-certain he accidentally says it out loud. Not that it matters. The handsome stranger doesn't seem to notice, oblivious to Magnus's staring, or the fact that he's even there. It's a pity, Magnus thinks, as he slips through the portal to safety, leaving the club behind. He would have liked to get to know him better.
So when a second chance so luckily presents itself, Magnus isn't about to turn it down. He must admit he enjoys the way the young man―Alec―loses his collected demeanor as Magnus introduces himself, how he stutters and fumbles in a way that Magnus can already tell is out-of-character. He enjoys it even more when he seems oblivious to Magnus's hints and flirting innuendos. Well, oblivious, or just playing hard to get. Either way, it piques Magnus's interest, and he finds it amusing―up until that memory demon reveals something Alec clearly doesn't want it to, and Magnus realizes that oblivious might just be the right word, after all.
He eases up a little, after that. Well, as much as Magnus knows how to, anyway. He's still curious, and he still calls Alec and invites him for a drink, an invitation which, to his genuine surprise, the young shadowhunter accepts. It doesn't matter that Magnus basically has to trick the Wayland boy into bringing Alec to his loft; it's worth it, just to see him again, and while he realizes that his confession of the impression Alec has made on him may be premature and too risky, Alec's reaction makes it worth it as well. Because underneath the obvious confusion and almost-fear, there is tentative intrigue, interest, and it barely takes any persuasion whatsoever to get him to stay for another drink.
The fact that he eventually ends up asleep on Magnus's couch and doesn't leave until late the next morning, isn't something Magnus objects to. It's also something he's scared to admit affects him more than he'd like, more than he expected―a sleeping Alexander Lightwood is a beautiful thing, he learns, and the moment Alec leaves, Magnus finds the image of that fixed in his mind.
It's all downhill from there, Magnus too quickly throwing himself into this crackling, warm, shining feeling he thought he'd never have again, and even when Alec somehow breaks his heart with just a few words―before Magnus even realized he already had that power―the feeling stays. It's broken, but not dimmed, painful, but not diminished, and when Magnus finds himself standing there in the middle of a crowded room, eyes trained on the man who has enchanted him more than he ever thought possible, he can't help but wonder how he ended up there. He didn't mean for this happen, didn't mean to become the center of attention (for once), but as Alec watches him, he knows he has to be here. It's his last shot, his only chance, and he can't just let it slip away. It's too important.
Magnus is still not quite sure how he ended up here, even as Alec's lips press against his, clumsy but determined, grip firm as he pulls Magnus against his chest. Everything is spinning, loud and bright even with his eyes closed, and that crackling, shining feeling is suddenly back with full force, obliterating any ounce of doubt Magnus may have had.
He doesn't understand how he got here, but he doesn't need to. All he needs to understand is that he is here, and that Alexander is choosing him, and that nothing in his hundreds of years has ever tasted quite this sweet.