Whatever idiotic creature Alec looks like, it’s worth it for the laugh that spills out of Magnus. Bright and carefree and joyous, as he throws his head back and laughs, chest vibrating and shoulders shaking, a smile that could fuel the world stretched across his face, eyes sparkling with mirth. Alec can’t find it in himself to be ashamed of his staring. Right now, he doesn’t give a shit about the Taj Mahal or Stone Henge or the fucking Great Pyramid of Giza, because the only wonder of the world he ever needs to see is Magnus Bane laughing like that.

It’s too easy to judge a book by its cover, to judge a person by their past, without asking why. And even the most atrocious people and the most horrific actions must be understood, if a repeat is to be prevented.

‘I can’t even remember the last thing I said to him.’ ‘Neither can I. […] But it’s okay. I don’t really remember the first thing I said to him, either. But I remember lots of things I said to him in between, and those were the important bits. Those were what defined our relationship. Beginnings and endings aren’t always as important as people make them out to be.’

He’d want you to remember him as something warm and light when the world gets dark, because in the end, we’re all made of memories, and memories are all we’ve got.