Magnus and Alec

  This is a relationship that has been written about but I would like to explore it in the context of healing from trauma, as both characters have a massive amount of trauma and this relationship isn't trauma bonding it is healing from trauma, both Magnus and Alec have massive amounts of trauma. 

Magnus a lot stems from the way that the shadow hunters have treated him over the years and this is why he has a mistrust of the current generation of Shadowhunter he admits to Alec that he closed his heart off for a lot of years.  What isn't explored in the show but is in the books is stated that Alec is the spitting image of Will Herondale a  Shadowhunter that he had a complex relationship with and this is why he does a double take in the show when Alec sees him at his club for the first time. 

Shadowhunters Reduced BGMusic 01x04 - Magnus sees Alec for the first time. - YouTube

As I have stated before the book Magnus and show Magnus are very different characters, however, both have very interesting back stories and seem to be well connected in the Down world and the "mundane world,"  

He admits that he has closed his heart off to Alec and I saw a comment that said "Magnus saw the way that Alec was treated and by the other Shadowhunter and it wasn't great and found it disarming when Alec was willing to share his strength with Magnus, but also simply was responding to a need in Alec to have positive attention in his life." This plot line really does vary from the book as Magnus pushes Alec to explore his feelings for Jace and does kiss Jace yet in the show it is portrayed as a very real coming out and coming of age story.  

Shadowhunters Reduced BGMusic 01x06 - Alec shares his strength with Magnus - YouTube

This clip in the context of the show does show that Alec is being essentially pushed into an arranged marriage and he isn't happy about it at all as the main character of the show and books Clary causes his family and his world to be put at risk and he then pushes it down and essentially buries who he is, he finds that he can exist with this however people have observed that Alec in the show has a tendency to self-harm.

This is how he copes with the internal struggle, of not being able to accept himself for who he is and this does take a toll on people pushing who they are down to fit into a group it is actually called masking and is common in people with ADHD, Autism and other forms of neurodiversity. 

It has been pointed out that early in the show Alec seems to care for Magnus in very respectful ways, like cleaning up Magnus's belongings after healing Luke after an Alpha bite, and seeing that Magnus might be tired and not want to use his magic ( Luke is a werewolf) and this isn't something that he is used to and it shows that Alec even in the beginning of there relationship seems to respect Magnus in ways that even he hasn't been used to for a very long time, and he has essentially hidden and even gotten used to being used.   

 This is why when his relationship with Alec is defined as a real relationship, so referring to each other as boyfriends seem to be a shock to Magnus's system about being given a gift.   He admits to the bartender that he is used to being used and can't remember when someone gave him a gift without expecting anything in return. 

Shadowhunters 2x07 | SneakPeek #3: Alec gives Magnus a present - YouTube

He seems to understand Alec but is disappointed when Alec doesn't tell him about a relic (the soul sword)  that can wipe out those of demon blood and the Down worlders all do have demon blood. 

Shadowhunters 1x06/2x18 | Malec drink scene + flashback - YouTube

In this clip, you see that Magnus's relationship with Alec develops and the trust was there from the beginning, yet you see that in the beginning because Alec was so repressed and Magnus was differently, Alec was so clueless about the fact that Magnus was flirting with him and blatantly interested in him, in very different ways they grew each other, in trust in the relationships with each other. 

Shadowhunters 1x04 | Magnus flirting with Alec - YouTube. 

The way that Alec treats Magnus with respect is the first step towards disarming his mistrust of Shadowhunters, and understanding that they are essentially soldiers and are brought up to repress their emotions and understand what Alec is going through, he doesn't push Alec when he aggress to be in the relationship and open about it as in the books this relationship is hidden and this is common for people to have to hide, and this clip explores it well as it shows that Alec wants to be true to himself but is so used to putting others first and knows what he would lose, and this sadly is very common in the LGBT community. 

Shadowhunters | Season 1, Episode 12: Magnus Gives Alec Love Advice | Freeform - YouTube

Magnus is hiding behind parties and flirting with the pain he has suffered for centuries and when the relationship settles out we see him essentially "grow up," we see him go from owning the nightclub to working with clients, using his arts more productively. This is indicative of him being more productive and overcoming his trauma, yet he demands respect when it isn't given to him and cut's Alec no slack because this is his first romantic relationship, it shows that he respects Alec's innocence in the relationship but knows that he needs boundaries even when Alec is the head of the "New York institute"  this becomes difficult for them to manage in the first series due to Alec's inexperience with balancing romantic and personal relationship's and this is difficult for everyone to do. 

However, Magnus knows that he needs to put his people first and this shows where Alec's heart is and it takes losing Magnus to see that and see that he is worth taking risks for, in taking risks around relationships vs political alliances that don't really work out for the best.  Yet there has been a considerable amount written about Magnus projecting his past hurt's onto Alec as there are times when it isn't appropriate to tell your romantic partner about very confidential information in reality.  

The thing that isn't explored in the show but in the books, it is that Magnus has seen how the Shadowhunters treat worlders and how they treat their own as well and how the Lightwoods and the Herondales are related and treat each other.