For the first time in his life, Alec woke up to see someone beside him in bed. His fingers were curled around this stranger's hand and as he stretched them out, they were cramped and sore from being in the same position all night.
Alec froze when he saw it was Magnus. The man was sound asleep in a very uncomfortable looking position; head turned to one side and his body at an odd angle. Carefully and quietly, Alec adjusted Magnus so that his body was more comfortable, disregarding his aching and throbbing body. His face didn't feel so bad though. It probably looked worse than it felt. Even if he couldn't really see out of his left eye, the pain wasn't as bad as it was last night. Magnus did a wonderful job tending to his injuries.
Chairman was perched on the end of the bed, licking his paws and rubbing them on his head. When Alec moved to sit up, he averted his attention to the movement of Alec's legs under the blanket. He meowed and pounced on them. He was playful this morning.
"Ouch, Chair. That hurt. Quit digging your claws into me!" Alec hissed as he tried to avoid waking up Magnus. Chairman continued to paw at his legs before he picked the cat up and put it on the floor. Chairman shot him a glare before trotting off offended.
"You know if you're trying to not wake me up, you're doing a terrible job," Magnus whispered in his sleep.
Alec winced. "Sorry. Chairman was being annoying. I was going to go use the bathroom. Tried not to wake you up."
"Well you failed. Miserably, might I add." Magnus sat up and stretched his shoulders. "Looks like we slept through the entire night. You didn't make any moves on me, did you?"
Alec grumbled. "Gotta take a leak. Be right back."
In the kitchen, Magnus made oatmeal (which seemed like an appropriate meal for someone with a swollen face) and set the bowls down on the island. He heard the toilet flush and looked up to see Alec gently touching his face. "How are you feeling this morning? You look better."
"I don't feel better. My face looks like it got into a fight with a helium balloon and the balloon won," he scowled as Magnus howled with laughter. "It's not funny! It really fucking hurts!"
Magnus pulled out a chair for Alec and set a bowl of oatmeal in his spot. "Here. Eat this. I doubt you'll be able to chew solid foods with a face like that-I don't mean it in a harsh way. I meant it more in a concerned way."
Alec sat down and picked up his spoon. "We have to go to the Hotel Dumort today."
Magnus paused chewing. "And we have to go there.....because?"
Alec swallowed his mouthful before answering. "When Camille's goons dumped me in the alley, I overheard them say they had to check in with someone at the Dumort. Didn't get a name. I was unconscious by the time they dumped me."
Magnus was quiet for a moment. He stared at his bowl with a furrowed brow and it wasn't hard for Alec to tell that something was on his mind. "I am so sorry this happened to you. It should've been me. I should've went with you."
"Magnus, it's fine-"
"No, Alec. It's not fine. I pussied out on you and look what happened. You got the shit beat out of you. Like I said. It should've been me." Magnus frowned. Alec looked so in pain that it tore at his heart. "If you want to go to the Dumort, then I'll go with you. You'll need backup."
"My backup is usually Jace-"
"Then bring him along too. The more, the merrier. In fact, I'll text him right now," Magnus took out his phone and tapped away. "When's your shift?"
"Not until 10. It's 8 there now. I don't even feel like going, to be honest," Alec groaned. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm in too much pain to be at work today. Plus I have a lead I want to chase."
Magnus snorted. "Chasing a lead is technically still work. Just not in the office kind. You just don't want to face everyone at the precinct. No pun intended."
"I don't need a million questions thrown in my direction, Magnus. My dad would have me off the case as soon as he found out what really happened. What my dad doesn't know, won't kill him."
"So....in the event that someone asks what happened to your pretty face....what's the story going to be?"
Alec shrugged. "I don't know? Fell down some stairs? Bar fight?"
"Alec, you don't even drink."
"I don't know!" Alec threw his hands up in exasperation. "What do you think the story should be?"
Magnus stroked his chin thoughtfully. "The stairs one is good. It's believable. A big guy with legs like yours tripping down stairs? I'd believe it-don't give me that look. It's true."
"Yeah, well....you're probably right. Wouldn't be the first time I fell down the stairs. Jace would have a hundred stories for you. Isabelle too."
Magnus followed him to the bathroom. "Speaking of Isabelle....when do I get to meet your lovely family?"
Alec winced as he opened his mouth to brush his teeth. "Seriously? We're not even dating yet. And my family doesn't exactly know I'm...you know."
"Gay. Just say it."
Alec shook his head. "Like I said. They don't know. Introducing you would be a little awkward for all of us."
"How so? Introduce me as your coworker. They won't suspect a thing." Magnus leaned up against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "Tell them it's just a friendly dinner to help ease the stress of the case. I'm sure they won't accuse you of anything if you say that."
Alec spit and laughed. "Why do you think my dad is the commissioner? He's good at getting the truth and sniffing out lies. He's going to know something is up eventually."
"Which is why I'm prepared to focus let soley on something else," Magnus winked. "Your sister."
"Excuse me?! What-my sister? Why?!"
"Um, because I can? I'm bisexual, Alec. I can flirt with girls just as well as I can with guys. Plus your sister enjoys the attention. They'll think I'm straight."
Alec leaned over the sink and moaned. "This isn't a good idea. Not at all."
"Oh, pffft. Don't be silly. I'd love to meet the Lightwood bunch! You said you had a little brother, right? How old is he?"
"Eleven."
"Perfect! I love kids! I'm great with them. They love my magic tricks."
Alec ignored Magnus as went on and on while gently washing his face. "I look like shit. I can't go out looking like this." He turned to look at Magnus. "Can your makeup artist skills fix a mess like this?"
Magnus' eyes widened. "You...you heard my story?"
Alec nodded. "Of course I did. I wasn't dead last night, you know. I could still hear you."
Magnus nodded. "Right. Right, uh...." He cleared his throat. "I can try but I don't think it'll work out too well...."
Alec threw his towel in the washer. "Fuck it. Just leave it. I'll just learn to deal with whatever people think of me when we're out in public."
Magnus took Alec's hand and squeezed it. "It shouldn't matter what other people think. It should only matter what you think."
Alec's hazel eyes looked down into Magnus', a sadness in them. "I wish it was that easy, Magnus. But it's not."
**********
The Hotel Dumort was famously known for its modern interior design and its elaborate attention to detail. According to Magnus it was, anyway. He stayed at the hotel once or twice (strictly business) and its services were impeccable. Even the food was top notch.
Alec, on the other hand, had never stepped foot in the hotel building before. He'd heard it was pretty nice from Isabelle, who took a tour there when she was in high school and the business was just starting up. A friend of hers actually ran the hotel, which was pretty impressive for such a young person.
"Hotel Dumort truly is a 21st century hotel. The interior is incredible. It even has a mix of rich history into it as well. Beautiful place. Gorgeous architecture. I highly recommend staying a night or two there," Magnus said as they made their way up the hotel front steps. "Business or pleasure, Dumort is there for good measure."
Alec laughed. "Is that their actual slogan?"
Magnus grinned. "No. But they should hire me to make slogans. That's another one of my many talents. Creating catchy slogans."
"Sure it is. Now listen. We need to keep things professional. Try not to draw attention-"
"Raphael Santiago!" Magnus cried out, yelling something in Spanish. "How are you, you son of a gun?!"
The young man standing by the front desk looked up and beamed. "Magnus! Long time no see!" This must've been Raphael. Alec knew that the young man was dating Simon, the guy in archives, but he never actually met him before. He was a good looking guy. Dark hair, tanned skin, chocolate brown eyes that were wide like a puppy's. He was broad and muscular but he was nowhere near the same height as Alec. "What brings you to Hotel Dumort? It's not often I see you here anymore."
Magnus chuckled. "I'm on vacation, if you want to call it that. My friend Alec and I decided to drop in. Show him around."
Raphael smiled at Alec. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Raphael."
"Alec," he shook Raphael's hand and smiled. "You're dating a friend of mine from the precinct. Simon."
"Simon! Ah yes. He mentioned you once or twice. Said you helped with the anniversary gift?" He reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was golden, shaped like a cross. "He knows I was raised a good Catholic. Plus I like anything that glitters." He stared at Alec for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking....what happened to your face? You look like you've seen better days."
Alec had completely forgotten about his swollen face up until now. "Uh....fell down some stairs. Got banged up pretty bad."
Raphael clicked his tongue. "Have to be careful on stairs. Simple as they may seem, they're deadly too."
A customer came up to him and he politely excused himself away from Alec and Magnus.
"We need to check out the name I heard in the alley....see if it's someone who's staying here," Alec whispered.
"Agreed. I'll distract Raphael and you check the hotel database."
"Isn't that illegal?"
Magnus shot him a look. "Aren't you a cop? What are you going to do, arrest yourself?" He scoffed at Alec's hesitancy. "Just go. I'll distract him. The computer is behind the counter. Password is warcraftlewis. Unless they changed it. Override it with lewiswarcraft."
Alec blinked. "I take it this isn't the first time you've done this."
"No. It really isn't. But don't tell anyone. I'd be in deep trouble with the law," Magnus winked and made his way over to Raphael, beginning a conversation and then walking away from the front desk.
It was Alec's turn to play his part. Once Magnus had disappeared around around the corner, he slipped behind the counter. The computer was right where Magnus said it would be. All he had to do was type in the password.
"This better work," he grumbled. He typed in the password and the screen flashed green. Success.
He scrolled through what he assumed to be the list of guests that were currently staying there. It was listed alphabetically so he went through them just to be sure.
A name grabbed his attention as soon as he saw. Jotting it down quickly on a notepad next to him, he logged out as soon as he heard Magnus laughing loudly at something that probably wasn't even funny and made his way to the front of the desk again, pretending to look through the pamphlets on the desk.
"Yeah, the artwork is really something. The lady we purchased it from is very talented. She's a friend of Simon's, I think. Longtime friend," Raphael said as he and Magnus approached Alec.
"I've never met Simon before. Not that I can recall, anyway. So! Alec! What are you doing there? You're very interested in that pamphlet," Magnus winked and rest an elbow on Raphael's shoulder.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm just interested in this.....water aerobics flyer?" Alec flipped through it and forced a small laugh. "Yup....water aerobics. My secret passion."
Raphael raised an eyebrow. "Right. Well feel free to take a look around the place. Magnus can show you the ballroom and the pool area when you're ready. You have free reign of the place," a pager on his hip beeped. "Ah, dios mio. Trouble in the bar area again. The fountains haven't been working properly lately. Excuse me."
Alec let Raphael pass and waited until he was out of earshot before speaking. "I got the name. Room 237."
Magnus beamed. "You'd make a good criminal, Alexander. If the law enforcement doesn't work out-"
"I'm good, thanks. Let's just get this overwith."
On the sixth floor, they looked for room 237 which was the third last door on the right. They stopped in front of it, listening carefully outside in the hall.
"I don't hear anything," Magnus whispered. "What if it's the wrong room?"
Alec shook his head. "It's not. The name and number are both right. I'm hardly ever wrong."
Magnus snorted. "Cocky. I like it."
Alec rolled his eyes as he knocked on the door. After a moment or two it opened, revealing a man in his late 30's with scruffy blonde hair and beard. His eyes were blue and wide with surprise as he saw Alec and Magnus standing in front of his door.
Alec shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. "Hodge Starkweather. We have some questions we'd like to ask you."