Alec is the kind of muse that artists spend their entire lives dreaming of finding, and here he is, standing in front of Magnus, not even a foot away. Alec, who has loved Magnus both unwaveringly and unconditionally. Who wanted to be Magnus’ family, and brought home to them two incredible sons. Alec, who took Magnus’ hand and didn’t once let go as the two of them fought tirelessly to make this unforgiving world into something a shade kinder, a shade more beautiful, even if he stumbled a few times along the way. He is all of Magnus’ deepest, most secret desires come true, the very foundation of Magnus’ world. Centuries of ups and downs, of making himself cold in an effort to stop himself from drowning in grief – somehow it’s led to this perfect moment right now, preluded by so many others before it. Worth it, Magnus thinks, trying to sear every detail of Alec’s face into his mind. Completely worth it. He would go through much worse for four more centuries if at the end of it he got to have another handful of years with Alec.

Because I love you, and I don’t want there to be any uncertainty as to what that means. I know you know that I care for you, that I would move heaven and earth for you – but you’re also a part of me. You know things about me that I had left buried for centuries, rekindled parts of my heart I thought had been burned to ashes. There’s no page in my life that doesn’t have your fingerprints on it, no hidden corners that you haven’t brightened with your presence. It took me four hundred years to find you and I’m not – it’s not going to happen again.