Chapter Text
The flame jumped out, licking at Alec’s sleeve for a second before he moved the skillet off the stove. He cursed himself internally as he waited for the alcohol to burn out completely before putting the skillet back in its place. It was a rookie mistake, one that Alec hadn’t made since his early days in the academy.
“When you flambé, you need to focus on the skillet, on the fire, and for God’s sake, keep your faces and your aprons away from the fire”, his mentor’s voice echoed in his ears, his bushy eyebrows knotted in consternation as he watched a class of newbies light pans on fire for the sake of haute cuisine. He would have smacked Alec’s neck for the incompetence, urging him to focus on his task and not on the heat emanating from his left.
Luckily for Alec’s ego, nobody caught the mishap. He finished cooking the chicken breast, the soft glaze from the Marsala wine making the chicken look glossy and juicy and perfect. He set up the plate and yelled for service, before moving to the next skillet.
“Alec, how much longer for the salmon?”, Luke’s gruff voice intoned, his calm demeanor so very different from most chefs Alec knew, but no less intimidating.
“Three minutes, Chef”, he replied, making sure that his entire focus was on the filet in front of him. It was a hard task, especially when he could feel the searing gaze boring into the side of his head. Somehow, it burned more than the actual flames in front of him.
Alec wiped the sweat on his forehead absentmindedly, dimly aware of the bustle and clack of the people around him as they entered the final phase of the dinner rush. He didn’t need to see a clock in order to know that it was around ten thirty at night. He could feel it in the heightened pace of the kitchen, as everyone took a collective breath before diving into the frenzy of the work, the promise of a stellar dinner service pushing them hard. Just this one more plate and it’s over, he could imagine everyone mumbling under their breath. Just one more plate before they could clean up and go home, fall into deep exhausted sleep before they got up and did it all over again.
Some people thought that the lifestyle was torture. His brother often rued the lack of social life, telling Alec that he would wither and die in the kitchen as his best years passed him by, but Jace didn’t understand that for Alec, these were his best years, the years where he got to put his sweat and tears into every plate he served a satisfied customer.
Well, maybe not literally, he thought ruefully, plating the decadent looking salmon and putting it on the counter to be finished. He could have passed the plate to the vegetable section himself, but he was afraid his hand would get chopped off. Luke just looked at the plate and shook his head in resignation, pushing the plate the few feet it took for the savory teriyaki-glazed greens to be artfully decorated around it.
“Ready to go, Chef”, a roughened voice intoned on his left, the searing gaze once again boring into his head. Wonderful!
The plate was whisked away to another satisfied customer and Alec focused on the last chicken breast basting in the skillet, telling himself to ignore him.
“He wants to kill you”, his best friend and fellow chef Maia Roberts sing-songed as she passed by him on her way to the pasta station, her hands laden with washed colanders.
“Must be a day that ends with y, then”, he mumbled back, knowing full well she was talking about the bane of his existence. Alec stole a glance at his left, where his co-sous-chef stood, sautéing vegetables in a cloud of doom and fury.
For someone who had been working his ass off for the past twelve hours, Magnus Bane looked extremely put together, his black chef’s jacket clean and tidy, his hat still standing tall. He didn’t look exhausted or overworked. In fact, if it weren’t for the sheen of sweat adorning his forehead and leaving it glistening, Alec would be pressed to believe that he was winded at all. He worked robotically, his hands carrying out tasks that were ingrained into him by practice and habit, his hand gently swirling the butter and garlic in a deep skillet as he lifted a colander of blanched broccoli and swiftly poured it into the pan. The motion of his hand was soothing, a consummate professional conducting everyday chores with ease. Alec knew that half the line cooks looked up to him immensely, awed by his skill and his calm approach to cooking. Magnus never shouted, never cursed, never showed irritation or frustration with his subordinates. Alec knew better, because he knew that Magnus wasn’t an ice pillar, all cool and unaffected like he claimed to be, but actually a volcano that was always two minutes away from erupting, generally when Alec was around.
Even then, as he poked at the vegetables and determined that they were quite to his liking, gently serving them on the clean white plate, his pretty face was marred by the prominent scowl he wore on his face, warning anyone from crossing him. He once heard Simon reverently call it “the focus face”. Maia, who knew better, called it the “thinking up ways to bury Alec’s body” face.
It wasn’t really that Alec did anything to get in Magnus’ way. He seemed to incense the guy simply by breathing, and every day, Magnus seemed to find some grievance he had with Alec, be it a wayward comment, a drop of sauce that was set two degrees to the right of where Magnus preferred it to be, or a general disdain for Alec’s entire existence. It made absolutely no sense and left Alec bewildered more often than not, but he had no wish to understand the inner workings of Magnus Bane’s brain. It was probably filled with indignant self-importance, an unhealthy dose of ego and a giant sack of horse shit.
Today’s grievance of choice had been the station assignment. Never mind that it was Luke who assigned Alec to the protein station and Magnus to the sautéing station. In Magnus’ mind, it was Alec’s fault for taking the coveted spot, and by God, he’d spend the entire evening paying for it in dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks. If Alec had been a lesser man, he would have confronted him about his biased and highly unreasonable behavior months ago, but Alec knew better than to start a fight with a senior colleague. It didn’t matter that it was his family’s restaurant, that his stepfather was the head chef or that he’d been running around in this kitchen since he could walk. At the end of the day, there was a code of honor to the work they did, and mouthing off at your senior, regardless of them having the same rank, would be seen as petty and childish. And if he were being completely honest, his pride wouldn’t let him show such vulnerability. So, Alec took out his frustration at Magnus in the only way he knew how: by being the best damn cook he could be. And if Magnus had a problem with that…Well, he was welcome to find real fault with his food. By the dirty looks that had carved a hole into his head all night, Magnus hadn’t found any. It shouldn’t make Alec so darn giddy, but he’d take what he could get.
The last remnants of the dinner service flew by in a flash, and soon a server came in to let them know that service was done for the night. No one let their exhaustion show however, because their night was far from over.
Luke turned to them with a clap and a slow grin on his face. He always told them to treat every dinner service like it had been their most crucial. He looked around at the crew and gave his instructions “Alright. Good work everyone. Clean your stations. I don’t want to see a single utensil out of place before you leave for the night. Alec, Magnus, after you finish your stations, do a final inspection of everyone’s work then come into my office, please”
“yes, Chef!”, Alec and Magnus echoed, not sparing each other a single look. The entire kitchen fell into the usual routine, laughter and jokes being thrown around now that the urgency was over with and they were one step closer to being done for the day. Alec could hear Simon singing as he washed the dishes, his raspy voice making the cooks around him dance as they did their duties. By mutual and implicit agreement, he and Magnus never berated them for turning the kitchen into a jam session. Although it did strike him as odd that Bane, the stickler for perfection and rules would be so quiet about this, Alec didn’t argue. Maybe if he joined them himself sometimes, Magnus would put an end to the chill atmosphere. He only seemed to find a problem with Alec after all.
Alec would never admit it, but in the first few months after being hired as sous-chef in Alicante, Magnus’ attitude had chafed. He understood that it may have been jarring for him to have to share rank with someone who was years younger, but Alec had at the very least expected a fighting chance. He had come prepared to prove his worth, show Magnus and the entire kitchen that he wasn’t just the new guy who’d gotten the spot because of family connections, but because he was genuinely good at what he did.
Ten months later, he had managed to convince everyone but the guy whose opinion actually mattered. He had quit his previous workplace to leave behind a toxic and stressful work environment, but somehow fell right into another one. At least back then he’d known exactly why he was being treated like a leper. Here, he just stewed in frustrated ignorance.
For all of Magnus’ faults, he was a good chef, and an even better boss, which meant that clean up went as smoothly as ever, the two of them going through stations and checking that nothing was left in the kitchen that would invite rodents or insects. Every person whose station was checked was free to leave, and soon, the only people left in the kitchen were Alec, Magnus and Maia, who was getting Magnus’ stamp of approval.
While Magnus counted her colanders and ticked off the checkboard in his hand, Maia tried her best to have a silent conversation with Alec. He had never been particularly good at charades, but if he understood correctly, Maia wanted him to talk to Magnus and try to relieve the tensions between them. He wanted to tell her that it would be akin to trying to set a lake on fire, absolutely pointless, but even he recognized that they needed to solve their problems, especially with the deadline of next week looming in his head.
He rolled his eyes at his best friend and made a dismissive gesture, telling her that he’d think about it, but the stubborn woman huffed and stomped her foot angrily, drawing Magnus’ attention from the stove he was inspecting. He turned partly sideways and looked between the two of them, and Alec felt a flush rise on his cheeks. He hadn’t done anything but still felt like a child being scolded. He hated that he cared about Magnus’ opinion of him as much as he did. It brought him nothing but headaches.
Magnus cleared his throat and, sounding extremely reluctant, said to Maia “Is something the matter?”
Maia, who Alec noticed didn’t look the least bit concerned about being caught, just smiled cordially at Magnus and waved her hand ambiguously “Oh, don’t worry about it. I just wanted Alec to give me a ride home. It looks like it’s about to start raining any minute”
Always quick on her feet, that one!
Magnus hummed mysteriously and turned back to the stove, throwing casually over his shoulder “I hope that doesn’t mean that you’re trying to leave early, Chef. Tonight is your turn to go over tomorrow’s menu with Luke”
Alec didn’t even blink at the condescending way Magnus said the word “Chef”. He’d gotten used to that somewhere between month three and four. In fact, he wasn’t even surprised that Magnus’ prejudiced brain had jumped straight to the conclusion that he would ditch his duties, as if Alec wasn’t every inch as diligent as him.
Alec simply looked at Maia out of the corner of his eye, pining her with an accusatory stare that silently said “See who you want me to make peace with?” and replied evenly, his gaze settling on Magnus’ broad shoulders “Don’t worry, Chef. I always pull my weight”
“Huh”, his pig-headed coworker muttered, as if the thought amused him. One of these days, Alec was going to kill him. He could see it happening in front of his eyes.
Before his thoughts could get any more morbid, Luke appeared in the doorway to his office and looked at them expectantly “You guys almost done?”
“Right on time”, Magnus smiled gently, his face containing none of the blank coldness he usually reserved for Alec. If he didn’t know that Luke and Magnus had been friends for a long time, he would think that Magnus’ smile was nothing but fake pleasantry, because it seemed impossible for the same person to have completely different personalities depending on who he was dealing with.
Maia slipped by them, waving goodbye to him and making a sign for him to call her when he got home. He nodded and watched her head to the locker room to change out of her uniform and into street clothes.
Luke knocked on the doorframe to his office and walked back in, leaving him and Magnus to follow. They did their usual receipt count and books in relative silence, that was only broken once Luke asked them whose turn it was to deposit today’s money in the bank. Magnus confirmed that it was his task and they went back to their work.
Luke waited until they were both done before addressing them “So about next week”, he started hesitantly, and Alec barely kept from groaning out loud in misery.
“I am aware that a month is a long time, especially in a professional kitchen, but I have faith in both of you to keep from burning it to the ground while I’m gone”
Magnus just smirked at his friend and said sarcastically “The only reason you’re taking a month off is because you trust us? Really, old man?”
“Who are you calling old, you punk?”, Luke chuckled, throwing a pen at Magnus, who caught it on instinct, his smile widening.
Alec looked away, discomfited. Two personalities. It had to be!
Luke continued, his hand reaching to scratch at his beard “It’s not every day a man finally marries the love of his life. Maryse wants to travel across Europe for a while, and frankly, I’m tired of getting all you rascals to stay in line. I need a vacation too”
Alec couldn’t help the smile on his face as he heard Luke call Maryse the love of his life. If there were ever two people who deserved to be happy and in love, it was his mom and Luke. It had taken them a while to finally get here, and he couldn’t be happier for them. He just wished it didn’t have to mean he’d get stuck with a co-chef that hated him.
He cleared his throat and jumped in, keen to get this discussion settled so he could go home and dive into his bed, leaving Magnus and his angry stares and weird smiles behind. “Don’t worry about the kitchen. We can handle it”
He ignored the way Magnus shifted in his seat at the “we” statement and watched his stepdad nod his head, looking satisfied “I know you can. We’ll hammer out the details next week. I know you’re both exhausted. Magnus, you can take the money to the bank and head home. Alec and I will finish up here”
Magnus needed no further incentive, swiftly bidding them goodbye and leaving, the door clicking closed behind him.
Alec watched the closed door blankly for a few seconds, trying to make sense of the guy. He would be six feet under before he managed to understand what Magnus was thinking.
“I see you guys are still not getting along”, Luke started carefully and Alec let out a humorless laugh “You could say that, yeah”
Luke sighed and scratched his beard, the telltale sign that he was deep in thought “I’m not going to lie, Alec. I don’t like this situation at all, and before you say anything”, he continued when Alec opened his mouth to defend himself “I know it’s not your fault. I’ve spoken to Magnus and he insists that he has nothing against you. He’s my friend and I know that he’s a good man who doesn’t go out of his way to cause trouble for people. Has he actually sad anything or done anything aggressive towards you?”
Alec didn’t have to think on it “Outright? Never. He’s just ice cold to me, and as you just witnessed, it shows”
Luke nodded absently and argued “I can’t go away for a whole month feeling reassured while you two are still locked in this cold war. A ship with two captains is already in deep shit. One with two captains who hate each other is bound to sink”
Alec had come to the same conclusion himself. After all, he couldn’t be left in charge knowing full well that Magnus would argue his every decision, if not reject it entirely. No kitchen had time for inner struggles between head chefs. It made for a poor work environment and would just cause unnecessary stress for everyone. Their cooks would go nuts trying to stay neutral, so he’d come prepared for this talk.
“Give him the head chef position for the month. I’ll be his sous-chef”, Alec suggested.
Luke’s eyes widened a bit in surprise “You’re serious? You’d step down from leading the kitchen? You guys both deserve the spot”
“I know”, Alec agreed and it wasn’t out of ego that he said so. He knew that he could efficiently lead the kitchen. He also knew that despite his words to Luke earlier, Magnus didn’t trust him with a butter knife, let alone leadership. This month would be his final attempt at making that stubborn man understand what he was capable of.
“You know what working at The Institute taught me, Luke? To pick my battles”, he continued, knowing his stepfather knew exactly which battles he’d embarked on and lost at his previous job.
“I know that despite sharing rank, Magnus has at least five years of experience on me, not only in the field but in this kitchen. He’s more than capable of leading this place for a month. In fact, he would probably do a better job at it than I would, for now”, he couldn’t help but add with a smirk. “As for me, it would mean I get to stay in my job, one that I know inside and out and am very comfortable with. You know that us butting heads every other day over every decision would be a nightmare”.
He shrugged with a carelessness he didn’t entirely feel “I care about the restaurant more than about being in charge for a hot minute. When I do take that head chef spot, it won’t be because my parents went away on their honeymoon, it will be because it mine to take”
Luke threw his head back and hooted with laughter “Son, you just solved a huge issue. And don’t think I can’t see through you. I know that you’re making a big sacrifice here. All I can say is thank you”
“Don’t mention it”, Alec smirked and picked up the menu for tomorrow, knowing that he still had the grueling task of checking every meal’s ingredients to make tomorrow’s inventory easier.
Forty minutes later, Alec finally got off the couch and stretched his body, feeling every joint and bone ache with a hard day’s work. He waved goodbye to Luke who was tidying up his ever-growing mess of paperwork and walked through the door. He remembered something and poked his head back in “Luke, I meant what I said earlier. Don’t mention it”
Luke just blinked at him in confusion and Alec huffed and elaborated “Don’t tell anyone I stepped down from the head chef position, especially not Magnus”
Luke looked like he wanted to argue but Alec shook his head “He won’t see it as an olive branch. Knowing him, he’ll probably think that I’m leaving him scraps or something. Just give him the valid reasons we both know are true. He has more experience and a kitchen under one chef works better than two”
Luke just stared at him for a moment, as if trying to see his actual motivation and Alec wanted to laugh and tell him that he didn’t even understand why he was doing this himself; It certainly wouldn’t do him nor his career any favors, and yet, he waited until Luke gave him his word and walked out, changing into his clothes at the speed of light and stepping out the back door of Alicante into the humid drizzle of rain. A glance at his phone told him that it was three o’clock in the morning and that he had three missed calls from Isabelle and two messages from Maia.
He ignored both notifications and pocketed his phone, walking toward the parking lot and already imagining the moment he would fall into bed. He couldn’t wait for this day to end.
One of the perks of sharing an apartment in Tribeca was that Alec could comfortably make the trek to the restaurant in the East village on foot if he chose to. There was nothing more nerve wracking than having to take traffic into consideration every time he had to go to work. Another even more important perk was that the excruciating price of rent in such a pretty neighborhood was significantly more bearable, and yet, as Alec listened to his brother putter around in their tiny shoebox kitchen, he considered the merits of spending his entre salary on rent and thought that it might not be such a bad deal after all.
The clock on his phone told him that it was barely eight o’clock in the morning. He didn’t have to be at the restaurant until ten and he would have appreciated another hour of sleep, but listening to Jace actually start to sing as he made breakfast, Alec knew that he would be getting no such thing. He rolled his eyes to the heaven, feeling his headache flair up at the action. With his chaotic sleep schedule, he walked around with perpetual migraines, to the point that he didn’t notice them anymore, unless he was rolling his eyes at his siblings’ antics, and knowing his siblings, that was not a rare occurrence.
He walked out into their bright living room, his mouth still open in a yawn to find his little brother singing to Doris Day’s Que sera, sera as he flipped blueberry pancakes in the pan; he looked over his shoulder at Alec, his golden mane of hair all over the place. He needed a haircut like yesterday.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty. I didn’t hear you come in yesterday”, Jace smirked at the glare Alec was throwing him, turning back to his pancakes.
Alec ignored the sleeping beauty comment. His brother was the only morning person in their family and it made sharing a living space with him utterly unbearable at times like these.
“I came in at around Three”, Alec mumbled, his feet carrying him to the pot of liquid gold that was done percolating on their counter.
“Jeez, why are you up already then?”, Jace said absentmindedly and Alec delivered a well-deserved smack to the back of his head.
“Ow, what?”, Jace rubbed his head before noticing his brother’s pointed stare and smiling sheepishly.
“Sorry. I forget that you lead the lifestyle of a vampire sometimes. At least I made pancakes”, he said hopefully and Alec just sipped his coffee, slightly burning his tongue on the hot liquid and not caring.
He held up a container of white creamy goodness in his hand and continued trying to lure Alec into forgiveness “I also made honey ricotta to slather on the pancakes” and Alec gave in with a sigh and settled on one of the barstools of their breakfast nook. Jace made the best pancakes Alec had ever had and they had yet to fail as an apology.
“Knew you were a sucker for it”, Jace smiled in triumph and put the warm pancakes on the counter.
They ate in silence, Alec savoring the fluffy goodness and the burst of warm tangy blueberries on his tongue. The honey ricotta balanced out the sweetness and brought a distinct saltiness that went perfectly with the fruit and pancake. It elevated the whole dish from a regular breakfast treat to a savory feast of deliciousness and he couldn’t help his chuckle. It always amused him that the one person in their family who’d wanted nothing to do with culinary arts was actually the most naturally talented one. When they had been children, Alec, Jace and Isabelle had spent most of their free time running around industrial kitchens. They had learnt how to make the perfect scrambled eggs long before they had learnt how to ride a bike. That was what you got when you were the offspring of a very busy surgeon and an ambitious chef. Between their mom’s shifts at the hospital and their father’s up and rising restaurant, they’d had to choose between being raised by nannies and housekeepers, or dallying all their free time at the restaurant. Naturally, their choice had been the latter.
Alec didn’t regret it. He wouldn’t exchange his childhood memories for anything. On nights when missing their father became a physical ache in his chest, scrolling through those memories in his mind was the only thing that soothed the pain.
“Any plans for the morning?”, Jace asked, shaking Alec out of his thoughts. He focused back on his food and told his brother “I have to be at the restaurant for inventory around ten”
“Riveting stuff”, Jace mumbled sarcastically. Alec knew that Jace hated how much time he and Isabelle spent at the restaurant. As the manager, Izzy spent significantly less time there than Alec did, but he couldn’t deny that it hindered their social life immensely.
“Yeah? You think so?”, Alec couldn’t help but poke at his brother, “How about you come help me out if you think so? I know you have a secret kink for pantries and storage rooms”
Jace snorted and drained the last of his coffee, arching a brow at Alec and dishing his usual sass “My kinks are usually related to living people, thank you very much”
“Gross”, Alec threw back, dipping his finger into the jar of ricotta and getting a blob. Jace just looked at him in disgust “Really? And you’re calling me gross? Use a spoon, you savage. How are you employed at a restaurant?”
“I have an in with the owners”, Alec replied, wagging his eyebrows and the two of them cracked up at the joke. They both knew how absurd the statement was. Alec had had to deal with a lot of crap to get his current job, but that was a tale too bitter to get into at breakfast.
As if sensing where his thoughts were headed, Jace cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable and asked “Have you heard from him lately?”
Alec made a conscious effort not to screw up his face in a frown. Acting nonchalant had become a habit to stop his family from worrying needlessly “No, I blocked his number a while ago. Why do you ask?”
Jace fidgeted in his seat and kept his gaze on his empty plate “He called me a couple of days ago, asking about you. He said he had something to talk about”
Alec could feel his headache get sharper, his ears ringing ominously. Why couldn’t he just disappear? Why did Alec have to deal with the fallback from one lousy decision for the rest of his goddamn life?
Jace looked up and accurately gauging his mood quickly reassured him “I told him to fuck off, obviously, and made it clear that you had no urge to get in contact with him. I just thought you should know”
“I appreciate it, but like I said, I have him blocked. Unless he has the balls to come up to me in public, which we both know he doesn’t, nothing will come of it”. Alec tried to convince himself of the words as he spoke them; Jace nodded in agreement and they lapsed into a loud sort of silence, one that was awkward and filled with the memories of a time that Alec would rather forget. Determined to stop his day from being ruined, he tried to focus back on their original conversation.
“How about you? Any gigs tonight?”, he asked, getting up to clear the table by silent convention. Jace had cooked, so Alec cleaned.
“They’re called concerts, not gigs. I’m not in an indie band”, Jace said haughtily and Alec smiled gratefully at him. You could always count on Jace to take the hint and lighten the mood.
“What’s wrong with indie bands? Our new kitchen porter is the vocalist in a band, and he keeps serenading the crew when at cleaning time. It’s nice”
“Good for him, man, but it’s not really my scene. And to answer your question, yes. It’s going to be my last concert before the wedding next week”
“Oh? Do your dainty fingers need the rest to play the wedding march?” Alec kept on teasing. In reality, he was so proud of his brother for pursuing his dreams. He had wanted to be a pianist since he could remember and every time Alec got to watch him play in front of hundreds of people, confident and happy, it made his heart burst with joy.
“Ass”, Jace muttered, delivering a well-deserved smack to Alec’s head as payback for earlier. “Anyway, I don’t have to be at the concert Hall until Three, so if you were serious about needing help with inventory, I can swing it”
Alec really didn’t deserve his brother. “Sure, man. You don’t need to help me, just keep me company until people start coming in around midday”
Jace nodded in agreement and moved towards his bedroom “Okay, let me get a quick shower in and we can go. I want to stop by Mom’s on the way”
After getting fussed over by their mother for half an hour, Alec and Jace finally managed to make their way to the restaurant, having been roped into no less than three wedding tasks they hadn’t had before.
Alec gave Jace the stink eye and his brother had the audacity to grin at him mischievously “Oh come on. Relax! How many times does our mother get married?”
“Twice”, Alec muttered sullenly and Jace made a sound of dismissal “Yeah, but you weren’t born for the first time around. You can’t count it”
Alec just huffed and unlocked the back door that led straight to Alicante’s gigantic kitchen. The scent of the cleanser assaulted his nostrils and he knew that in a few hours, that smell would be replaced by a barrage of competing spices and odors, all highlighted by the heat of flames. That unique mixture was home for Alec, the only thing that remained stable in his life, no matter where he went. The bustle of the kitchen would always soothe his nerves.
Jace made little comments about new gadgets he hadn’t seen the last time he was in the restaurant, as they walked through the space, passing by stainless steel countertops and black iron griddles that gleamed in the light. They reached the pantry and Alec handed Jace a face mask, gloves and a hair net, as well as little plastic sheets he could wear over his shoes. Jace didn’t argue. He knew that they didn’t mess around with health and safety regulations.
Alec took a quick trip to the locker room to get changed into his uniform before joining his brother in their huge pantry. The work he and Luke had done the night before meant that it was easier for him to check off the ingredients he needed and make note of what amenities were running out, in order to place deliveries. They had daily and weekly deliveries for things they always needed, such as root vegetables and varieties of protein that were always on their menus, but there were certain ingredients that needed special orders, like shellfish and fresh Asian greens that they used only occasionally.
His brother started telling him about an opportunity he was considering for a collaboration with one of his favorite artists, and Alec half-listened as he ticked through his list, when an incredulous voice snapped his attention to the pantry door.
“What are you doing here?”, Magnus asked as he crossed his impressive arms in a defensive pose, his silhouette barring some of the sunlight from the room.
Alec couldn’t help the ball of resentment that lodged into his throat. He was sick of the micromanagement. What? Did Magnus come to supervise him? He’d been doing inventory for months for fuck’s sake.
“I have inventory”, Alec uttered slowly, like he was talking to a dimwitted child, and by the narrowing of Magnus’ eyes, he didn’t miss the tone.
“I don’t mean you, I mean him”, he lifted his chin at Jace, who was looking between them with something akin to interest. Alec usually kept his tumultuous relationship with his co-chef out of his personal life. Something about telling his siblings or his mother about Magnus’ aversion to him felt like acknowledging that there really was something wrong with him that Magnus was picking up on. He couldn’t help it with Maia and Luke and the rest of the crew, who got to witness their interactions firsthand. He had no plans for his brother to pick up on how uncomfortable work had been for him. Jace had a protective streak a mile wide.
“He has protective gear on and isn’t touching any of the produce”, Alec replied evenly, hoping to keep the irritation from his voice.
Jace chuckled, his eyes still jumping between the two of them before settling on Magnus and hitting him with a signature Jace smirk, the one that usually made guys fall at his feet and made Alec want to smack it off his face.
“Come on, Magnus. I’ve been in the kitchen enough times to know how to be safe. I had a couple of hours to kill and thought it’d be cool to keep Alec company”
Alec was struck mute by the familiarity in his voice, especially as Magnus looked back at his brother and his expression lightened significantly. Something ugly rose in Alec’s chest before he remembered that Magnus had been working at Alicante for at least five years while Alec was away at school and then later working at The Institute. It made sense that Jace would be familiar with him as he came by the restaurant.
“As long as he doesn’t make you do the work for him”, Magnus said teasingly and Alec couldn’t help his reaction. Two pairs of eyes flew up to him as he set a can of pineapple a little too loudly on the shelf. Magnus’ brand of passive aggressiveness was like a noose that was slowly tightening on Alec’s neck. He was so fucking sick of waiting for Magnus to get a personality transplant or get tired of picking on him. Enough!
“When have I ever delegated my work to someone, Magnus?”, he ground out in a growl and Magnus’ eyes widened. It seemed as if he was just as surprised as Alec by the outburst. A few moments ticked by in awkward silence before Magnus cleared his throat and laughed under his breath, as if he was reminiscing on an inside joke.
“Whatever you say, Chef. Just finish up before the kitchen crew starts coming in”, he threw out and left the pantry, his tall frame disappearing back into the kitchen.
One of these days, Alec was going to deck him and deal with whatever headache came from it. Every day, he became more certain of this fact.
“Soooo”, started Jace, raising his hands peacefully when Alec turned his still furious glare on him, “Mind telling me why the temperature dropped a few degrees in this room just now?”
“It’s nothing”, Alec muttered, picking up the check list and trying to shake off the remnants of his anger. He refused to spend an entire dinner service in this cloud of negativity Magnus put him in.
“It didn’t look like nothing. I have never seen Magnus act snarky to anyone before. Did you piss in his food or something?”
“Why do you assume it’s my fault that he has a stick up his ass?”, Alec said and Jace snorted.
“Okay, I don’t want to fight. You already look strung out. Let’s just get this done and get out of here”
Alec wanted to point out that Jace wasn’t doing anything to start with, but his brain was still stuck on his brother’s comment. What did Alec do to deserve Magnus’ treatment of him? Some days, it felt like he would be dead and buried before he got a real answer.
The tinkle of champagne glasses and joyous laughter drifted in the night air and Magnus took a deep breath and let himself absorb all the good vibes around him. The crisscrossing lightbulbs adorned the scene around him in soft whimsical light. Grass rustled under his black oxfords as he walked on the outskirts of the makeshift dance floor, where the newlyweds were softly swaying to Leon Bridges’ Beyond, their heads close together, emanating so much love and contentment. Luke raised his head slowly and looked at his bride, his face splitting in a wide grin. Magnus had known the man for years. While his smile was always a fixed ornament on his face, it always looked extra bright when he looked at Maryse. Magnus was glad that his friend had found the kind of love that made him soar in happiness, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight melancholy as he gazed at the couple. This feeling was new. Usually, Magnus loved weddings, fed on their chaotic energy and adored the feel of absolute madness that stirred in their air, but lately, every celebration just drove home how lonely he felt. The stab of envy he felt as all his close friends and acquaintances found their life partners wasn’t all that awful, but it was still there.
He sidestepped a gaggle of children who were shrieking as one of them picked up a tiny bug from the grass and started using it to freak the rest out, chuckling as a woman ran after them, threatening them with TV times and video games destruction. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives, drinking, enjoying the good food that Luke had insisted would not be cooked by his staff, despite Magnus’ arguments that their food would be better. He had been right! Not that he would tell him that. He wasn’t tactless enough for that grave faux-pas, not to mention that Luke had had a point. Magnus would have missed out on the fun had he actually catered the wedding feast.
He drifted around, silently cursing Catarina for her double shift at the hospital. He could have used her companionship today. It wasn’t that he wasn’t close with his staff. In fact, he was fairly sure that if he approached any of their tables, they would be more than happy to hang out with him, but it looked like everyone had brought their significant others and Magnus hated to bother people. It just further drove home the fact that he was utterly and completely lonely.
His best friend Victor always told Magnus that he was too sensitive to people. “People are rarely ever as bothered as you think they are, Magnus. Not everyone overthinks life the way you do”, was Victor’s usual mantra when Magnus refused to be the odd man out. But his best friend didn’t have Magnus’ reservations. He bulldozed through relationships with a zeal for life that was unparalleled. It had been that tenacity that had put him on the map as one of the most promising rising chefs in the country. Magnus sometimes wondered if the reason he was stuck where he was professionally, was due to his more careful approach to life. Maybe that was what he needed. A little boldness. Hell, maybe he needed some boldness in his personal life as well. After all, Victor was getting married in a month because he went for what he wanted, and Magnus… Well, Magnus was still standing on the sidelines, quite literally.
Right then, the song that had been playing faded into nothing and the voice of Alicante’s kitchen porter sounded over the loud speaker “Thank you everyone. I hear that it’s time for a special dance”
Simon looked at home on the stage, his guitar hanging around his neck as he and his band serenaded the wedding party. He had no idea how the part-time rocker, part-time porter had gotten hired for the ceremony, but he guessed Luke’s big heart had something to do with it. He had to admit that Simon and his band weren’t doing too bad a job. Simon’s voice carried romantic classics well, his raspy vocals make the song covers seem both vintage and completely authentic.
The musician continued, smiling at the crowd, knowing he had their unabashed attention. “Now, can we get Alec Lightwood and Clary Fairchild on the dance floor please? It’s time for a parent/child dance”. The crowd started clapping and cheering as Clary and Alec stepped into the dance floor.
From his vantage point, Magnus could see Clary smiling lovingly at her father, her red hair framing her face in beautiful waves, her forest green gown looking stunning on her slender frame. Luke kissed her forehead, eliciting a few “awws” from the crowd, before leading her into the gentle melody that had started playing.
Magnus told himself not to look even as his gaze jumped a few feet away to where Alec had equally started leading his mother, the cut of his black tux exquisitely framing his broad shoulders, his hair looking a complete mess that shouldn’t appear as appealing as it did. It just went to show that the outside rarely matched the inside when it came to beauty, or Alec Lightwood had somehow been missed by that particular curse. Alec was smiling down at his mother, telling her something that made her throw her head back and laugh loudly. For all his faults, he seemed to be a good son, not that Magnus knew enough about Alec’s relationship with his family. It didn’t stop Magnus from disliking the man. After all, Alec’s affection toward his family didn’t distract from the fact that he was entitled and spoiled.
Even as Magnus thought of the words, they sounded wrong in his head, causing him to frown a bit into the glass of chardonnay that he’d been nursing for the past half hour.
“So, the singer. Alec said that he’s the kitchen porter at the restaurant. Simon, right?”
Magnus turned his head from Alec’s back to his right, to find Jace and Isabelle sitting side by side at their table, their chairs tilted enough to give them full view of the dance floor where their brother twirled their mother to the crowd’s ooohs and ahhhs and who was Magnus kidding, a few sighs as well. Alec was a highly sought-after bachelor, and he’d already heard no less than three grandmothers ask if he was single. Either they had granddaughters they were planning to throw at him, or Alec was high commodity in the granny circles. Magnus was still undecided.
“Yeah, he’s working part-time to cover some of the band expenses. Why do you ask?”, Isabelle asked and Magnus really didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their conversation. He just happened to be standing nearby in a strategically dark spot where no one could see him, and they just happened to be talking loud enough for him to hear. He could move, he supposed sullenly, but he could see Ryan, the pastry chef at Alicante a few feet away, stumbling about, massively sloshed, and Magnus knew that if the man spotted him, he would have to listen to him cry about his divorce for an hour. He felt for the guy, he really did, but Magnus already had enough woes to keep him company for the evening.
“Is he single? Can you hook me up?”, Jace asked his sister, his smile mischievous as Magnus had ever seen it. He suppressed a chuckle, grateful for the somewhat darkened spot he’d taken up, as Isabelle rolled her eyes and turned away from him.
“No”
“No, he’s not single, or no you won’t hook me up?”
“No, I won’t hook you up”, Isabelle rebutted and Jace slapped a hand on his chest, offended.
“Why ever not? I’m a catch, and as my sister, you have family obligation to be my wing-woman”, he argued passionately and Isabelle flicked his forehead without looking back at him.
“You’re also a heartbreaker. Simon is Clary’s best friend since childhood, and if you break his heart, which you will, my girlfriend will be upset and I will have to chop off your nuts, which I will”
Isabelle turned her head to give her brother a saccharine smile that contrasted with her statement, making Jace cross his eyes at her like a five-year-old. Magnus felt amusement curl his lips. He should have been hanging out with these two clowns all night. Maybe his sour mood would have lifted.
“That’s such bullshit, Iz. I don’t break hearts. I’m upfront with people about my intentions. It’s not my fault some guys get attached. Not that I can blame them. I mean, have you seen all this?”, he motioned to his body that was currently sprawled in a fit black tux similar to his brother’s.
Isabelle rolled her eyes and turned back to watch the dance floor “I don’t know how your ego fits in that pea sized brain of yours. I’m not helping you hook up with Simon, and if you do end up making a move on him, I reserve the right to chop off your nuts”
“Stop talking about my nuts, woman. Fine, forget I asked you for help. I’ll see if Alec is any more helpful”
Isabelle snorted “As if Alec would get into your messes. You forget that’s the guy who banned your hook ups from the apartment”
Jace flinched, rubbing his neck adorably. “After shower gate, I can’t say I blame him”, he muttered and Isabelle hooted with laughter “You guys gave it a name?”
The pair looked at the direction where their brother was still dancing and both cracked up, falling into each other as they shook from laughing too hard.
“Oh, man. I thought he was going to kill me”, Jace wheezed in between gasps and Isabelle snorted, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes “He had bright platinum hair. I’m surprised he didn’t kill you”
“I look like fucking Matt Pokora, Jace”, Jace narrated in a growl that Magnus thought was supposed to be an imitation of an irritated Alec, and the siblings lost it once again, Isabelle letting out a noise that sounded like a dying animal. People couldn’t help but look back at them in amused confusion.
Magnus couldn’t keep his lips from stretching into a grin as he imagined the ever-stoic Alec Lightwood sporting blond hair. It was the most absurd thing to imagine. Alec was what one would call the definition of tall, dark and handsome. In Magnus’ opinion, the dark was the most interesting feature about him. He had dark, strong brows, long black lashes that gave him an air of beguiling innocence and pale skin that sharpened those features immensely. Platinum blond was decidedly not his color.
“It’s not my fault that Michael turned out to be crazy. How was I supposed to know he would fill the shampoo bottle with hair bleach? Fucking psycho”, Jace argued, his body still twitching with vestibules of his laughter.
“They’re all psychos, Jace. That’s the issue”, Isabelle answered with a smile as she clutched her stomach, trying to calm down.
Jace, who was still chortling, looked back in the direction of the dance floor and chuckled “He looks so fucking uncomfortable”
Magnus looked back in the same direction as if in trance, even as a part of himself warred with it. From his perch in the dark corner, Magnus could see Alec and his mother dance, their movements telling of rehearsed fluidity and innate grace. Somehow, he couldn’t imagine the same guy who worked alongside him every single day for the past ten months, taking time off his day to rehearse a waltz with his mother. But then again, Magnus hadn’t made an effort to get to know what Alec would and wouldn’t be amenable to do.
“Don’t mock. You know he’s bad with crowds. He’s probably itching to get back to his seat”, Isabelle said, her tone sounding sympathetic and now that she’d mentioned it, Magnus could detect a slight tightness to Alec’s smile, his blank mask twitching with discomfort.
So, Lightwood didn’t like crowds. Huh.
“I told him not to do it. Mom would’ve understood if he’d rejected the idea”, Jace argued.
“She would’ve been upset nonetheless. Alec would never”, Isabelle countered, and that was the crux of Magnus’ problem. That was precisely why his head was a giant mess of confusion half the time when he thought of Alec Lightwood. It was like Alec just didn’t fit anywhere in the landscape of his mind.
He was supposed to. From the moment Magnus had been notified that his new partner as sous-chef would be none other than the restaurant owner’s son, he’d known exactly where to slot him. In the same lane as all the entitled assholes he’d spent his entire career dealing with, chefs with little skill and less talent, who’d scaled the ranks of an already vicious industry on the shoulders of nepotism and friends in high places. For Magnus who’d grown up having to fight tooth and nail for every achievement in his life, being equated to a guy five years his junior had been an insult that his ego still hadn’t recovered from.
Moreover, Magnus was aware of the horror stories of what had went down at The Institute. He knew that Alec was the living example of everything he hated about entitled jerks. Lazy, disrespectful and determined to slide through life relying on his family’s good standing and the legacy of his father’s work. The fact that he got to get away with it and walk away to a sous-chef position at a prestigious kitchen like Alicante was the last nail in the coffin of Magnus’ respect for the man.
And yet…And Yet, Magnus sometimes found it hard to reconcile that same man to the guy that worked alongside him for more than twelve hours a day. He still had that arrogant je ne sais quoi about him, still thought himself to be the best thing to happen to the Alicante kitchen, which managed to set Magnus’ teeth on edge… But in the ten months since Alec had set foot in their kitchen, Magnus kept waiting for the infamous tantrums, the volatile temper, the utter disregard for authority and rank, but nothing seemed to give. Alec kept his head down and did his work. Could it be because he’d already messed up so badly at his first job? Possibly. Could it have to do with Alicante being his family legacy that he wanted to protect? Surely. Magnus had thought of all these different scenarios why his perception of Alec didn’t match everything he knew of him, and frankly, lately it was getting harder and harder to write Alec off as a lazy good-for-nothing. There were still moments where he wanted to wring the guy’s neck, but he usually had to remind himself of the vile things he knew about Alec in order to keep the animosity intact. It didn’t make any kind of sense. It was like Alec had received a personality transplant before he’d been hired at Alicante.
It didn’t help that Alec never complained about Magnus’ standoffish behavior. After all, Magnus hadn’t made it a secret that he disliked having him around, and from the way Alec had snapped at him last time after their argument in the pantry, he was well aware of the fact.
The memory of that day ignited in Magnus a fire that he was becoming accustomed to.
“When have I ever delegated my work to someone, Magnus?” Alec had asked, his eyes blazing with an unnamed emotion that Magnus had never seen on his face. He was right. Magnus had never seen Alec ask anyone to do his work for him. Hell, he didn’t know what had compelled him to say the words in the first place; An inherent superpower to put his foot in his mouth and some remnant reflex from the first few months of Alec’s employment when he’d spent half the day looking over his shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Alec to show his true colors and prove him right; Yet, that day had never come and Magnus had grown to reluctantly trust Alec to do his work at the very least.
The thing was, he wished it was guilt over his unwarranted comment that had kept Magnus up for three nights in a row over the past week. No, his dilemma had more to do with the way his name had sounded coming out of Alec’s mouth. The fact that it had been the first time Alec had called him by name let him know just how distant and apprehensive Alec was to him. Thinking back, they both only referred to each other as Chef, always injecting a heap of snark into the word. Magnus hadn’t realized just how affected he would be, hearing Alec utter his name in a snarl, the tone of his voice making Magnus’ heart go off at a gallop, skipping a beat in a way it had no business doing.
God, it was all so fucking stupid! Magnus was not lusting after a man he disliked. He wasn’t. He wasn’t.
He looked back at the dance floor as polite applaud broke out, to see Alec smile down at his mother and kiss her cheek, delivering her to her groom before leading Clary off the dance floor. The pair walked in his direction, clearly approaching the table where Isabelle and Jace were sitting; Alec swept a hand through his hair, somehow managing to make it even messier, soft strands gently framing his head. He smiled more genuinely now that he was free from his duty, chuckling at whatever anecdote Clary was sharing with him.
His head lifted and his gaze zeroed in on Magnus immediately and he nodded in greeting, the shadows from the hanging lights casting a hood over eyes Magnus knew to be captivatingly bright. He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until he felt himself deflate as Alec and Clary took their seats at the table, dismissing him as quickly as that. Magnus took another long swig of his glass and forced himself to swallow in one go. Luckily, he had tomorrow off to get his shit together and clear his head of whatever crazy ideas he was entertaining, because come Monday, he was going to be Alec’s boss and he couldn’t afford to think of anything besides keeping their kitchen running perfectly. Alec laughed heartily at something his brother said, his husky voice carrying on the night breeze and Magnus fought off a goddamn shiver.
Christ, it was going to be a long month.