Title: How to Win the Heart of The High Warlock of Brooklyn Who Has Everything (And Who You're Not Officially Dating Anyway)
Alec woke up early in the morning with a spinning headache, someone was knocking—more like banging—his door way too loudly and he felt like slapping whoever it was that had disturbed his perfectly scheduled sleeping time.
Yes, Alec the Grumpy Cat Lightwood, wasn't just a mere nickname. He's grumpy all the time—except when he was with his precious other half, Magnus—but he's grumpier by sevenfold in the morning, especially when he didn't spent the night on the soft silk bed at Magnus' loft, tangled in a warm hug of his boyfriend, at least Alec thought of Magnus as his boyfriend. He wasn't quite sure if Magnus thought the same.
Alec grumbled under his breath and sat himself up, still in a daze from being woken up so suddenly. He rubbed his heavy eyelids and blinked a few time, adjusting his blurry vision toward his bedroom door.
"What?" he exclaimed as he got out of his crumpled bed sheets, having trouble untangling his lanky limbs that had been stuck under the bedcover.
There was no answer and the banging kept going, echoing through his room, the whole institute could probably hear it. Alec's nerve went over the edge, he swore to the Angels if it's not something important; whoever was on the other side of that door would feel the wrath of his saltiness.
Alec walked to his bedroom door in heavy steps, not bothering to fix his tousled bed head that sprawled in every direction possible. He yanked the door open, ready to flip off whoever was disturbing his sleep, but was interrupted with a big cake flying dead-on his face.
He held his breath as whoever was throwing the cake on his face added more pressure so that the cake was smeared all over his whole face.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEC! WOOHOO!" Alec noted that it was Jace's voice as the cake slipped off of his face and onto the floor.
"Jace! What have you done! That wasn't part of the plan!" it's Isabelle's voice, she was standing with two hands on her hips, scolding Jace for spoiling the cake they had put so much effort in baking without actually setting the whole institute on fire.
"What birthday?" Alec said whilst blinking a few times as he wiped the cream off of his face. "And what are you doing here?" he glared at Clary and Simon who were standing next to Isabelle, holding a bunch of small candles which weren't going to be used now since Jace had literally destroyed the whole cake.
Everyone except Alec gasped in unison, "It's your...uh...birthday...?" Simon stated, which sounded like a question as he looked around for someone to back him up.
Jace looked at Alec with his mouth hung open, so did Isabelle and Clary, they couldn't believe that Alec himself had forgotten about his birthday while they have been busy on planning a surprise for him since last week.
Alec himself looked confused for a moment then his eyes widened. "Oh...right." he mumbled quietly. His life had been hectic these past months, not to mention the trouble brought by the red-head to the institute, he didn't have time to think about his own birthday.
"Don't you 'right' me! How could you forgot your own birthday?!" Isabelle said in disbelief while Simon and Clary nodded at her statement.
Jace, who had snapped out of his trance added, "Well, now that you remembered, we gotta take you to celebrate before Mom, Dad, and Max arrived from Idris." he said and stepped forward to pat his parabatai's shoulder.
"Celebrate?" Alec asked more to himself, his thought roamed to a certain someone that had turned his world upside-down for the past months—in every good ways possible—and he couldn't help but feel giddy inside. Did Magnus know that it's his birthday? Did he even remember at all?
Alec's mind was crowded with countless what-ifs that he didn't pay attention to the conversation going on around him.
A gentle tap on his cream-smeared cheek pulled him out of his train of thought. "Go get ready, we'll wait for you." Jace said with a small smile and retreated from Alec's door, followed by Simon, and Clary.
Isabelle stayed and looked her brother up and down, sighing. "You're worried." she stated, folding her hands on her chest.
Alec looked at her with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?" he asked, picking up the sticky pieces of cake and dropped it into its discarded box next to his feet. Someone needed to clean this mess of a floor.
"You know what I mean." said Isabelle, now kneeling down helping Alec cleaning the mess.
Alec paused and looked at her, his blue eyes flickered as realization dawned on him. Isabelle always had the ability to read him like an open book and he should have known better not to be secretive with her. She would have found out about it eventually.
After they have cleaned the mess, Alec stood up, followed by Isabelle as she took the box with busted cake from Alec.
"I'll get rid of this, you go change. We'll be in Jace's room." she said with a smile.
"Okay." Alec muttered, "Thank you, you know, for that." he gestured at the ruined cake in Isabelle's hands.
"You should thank the others too, we worked hard on this." she waggled the boxed cake about to illustrate her point.
"Yeah," Alec mumbled.
Alec watched as Isabelle turned on her heels, the giddy feeling in the back of his mind came all over him. He went into his room and was about to head straight to the bathroom, but paused as he eyed his cell phone, resting on his bedside table.
He tried to fight the urge to check on his phone, but his legs have a mind of their own. Before he knew it, he had walked toward the bedside table and picked his phone up. He unlocked his phone and scrolled through the ever so few messages in his inbox, none of them had Magnus' name.
Alec sighed in disappointment, but tried to push the negative thoughts away, maybe Magnus hadn't woken up yet, it's early in the morning, and he knew Magnus wouldn't wake up this early if he had no important appointment with his clients.
He placed the cell phone back on the bedside table and made his way to the bathroom, today's not going to be easy for him.
-0-0-0-
Alec was so done after Isabelle and the guys had taken him to celebrate his birthday, which was at Jace's room that was decorated in extra birthday equipments. They had bought a second cake and made him blew the candles even after he told them—way too many times whilst rolling his eyes—that he wouldn't do that. So, basically, Alec was dragged here and there and was told to do things that he considered ridiculous and unnecessary. He was relieved the moment Isabelle, Simon, and Clary left Jace's room after wishing him a happy birthday for what could be the hundredth time.
However it didn't last long. Isabelle had come back running and told Alec and Jace that their parents had arrived from Idris with Max, which meant they're going to have a family gathering to celebrate Alec's birthday.
It's not that Alec didn't value his family gathering, he did love his family, but one thing that had been bothering him the most was the fact that Magnus hadn't even texted him once today.
Alec pushed the thought away and hoped that it's because Magnus was busy. He prayed to the Angels that Magnus wouldn't get tired of him for hiding their relationship from everyone. He couldn't help but blame himself for everything, if their relationship went downhill, it'll be his fault for sure.
-0-0-0-
Alec kept fiddling with his phone, unlocking it way too often under the dinner table while his parents were talking to him and his siblings. He played with his food, having no appetite as his mood worsened.
Isabelle noticed Alec's behavior and stepped on his foot under the table, gesturing him to at least pretend that he was having fun with his parents around celebrating his birthday, which rarely happened for they have always been busy with the Clave missions.
Alec offered her an apologetic smile and tried to pay attention to what his parents was talking about, but he couldn't. He secretly wished that this family diner would be over soon, so he could go to Magnus' loft.
But, what if Magnus was busy? What if Magnus didn't want him there at all? What if Magnus got tired of waiting for him to be ready and out, and decided to end everything between them for good? Magnus hadn't contacted him for the whole day, did he even bother to remember his birthday?
The worry and doubts were eating Alec's mind slowly and he sighed for what felt like a thousandth time today. He wanted to see Magnus so badly, but at the same time afraid of bothering him with his existence.
"Uh, I gotta go out for a bit," Isabelle's voice interrupted Alec's self-loathing thoughts and he looked up at her.
Maryse and Robert raised their eyebrows in unison at their daughter. They looked at each other and back at her, "What's so important? You realize this is a family gathering, don't you?" Maryse said in a stern tone.
Isabelle chewed on her full lips, eyeing her brother for a second as Alec looked at her with questioning look.
"Clary forgot her stele in my room, uh..." she trailed off as she raked her brain for a believable excuse. "...she went on a mission not too long ago, and I'd like to give it to her. A Shadowhunter shouldn't go anywhere without their stele." she added and held her breath.
Maryse glared at her then sighed, Robert seemed convinced by his daughter's excuse and shrugged. "Alright, be safe. You may go." he said and nodded.
Maryse looked at him in disbelief but he waved her off. Isabelle mentally laughed and excused herself out of the room, leaving Alec confused.
-0-0-0-
Half an hour later Isabelle came back to the institute, straight to Alec's room. The family gathering was over and Max had fallen asleep. Maryse and Robert were back in the Clave meeting room. Alec's birthday wasn't their only reason to come back to the New York institute after all.
"Hey, Alec." said Isabelle as she peeked inside Alec's unlocked bedroom.
Alec who's currently staring at his cell phone, jumped when he noticed Isabelle entered his room. He quickly hid his phone under a pillow and offered her a small smile, trying to hide the disappointment that had been eating his mind the whole day.
Magnus hadn't contacted him at all, and Alec's afraid he might have gotten tired of him. He's been checking his phone like a maniac, expecting at least a text, any random text would be fine, but none had come through his phone.
"You've got that look on your face, again." said Isabelle as she sat herself on the bed next to her brother.
"What look?" Alec asked her, he's got the look like a deer caught in a headlight.
"That look like the world is going to end," she said and sighed, gesturing to Alec's face.
Alec averted his gaze from hers, he knew what she meant. He couldn't help it. Everything felt so wrong right now, and he felt like he had no right to complain about it. He blamed himself for Magnus ignoring him. He deserved that for hiding their relationship.
It's not like he's ashamed for dating Magnus, he's just not ready to tell the whole world, especially his whole family about him having a relationship with the amazing High Warlock of Brooklyn. That's his only problem; he's not ready to face the backlash from his parents, the Clave, and the world in general.
"Stop it." Isabelle suddenly said, her hand tapping Alec's broad back gently, trying to assure him.
Alec only sighed and stared at his phone that's buried under the pillow.
"You know what," she smirked and Alec looked up to meet her beautiful dark eyes. "The dinner's over, you've got no mission, so..." she stressed the last part of her sentence, causing Alec's blue eyes to widen.
Alec stood up, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. "Really? But, mom and dad are here, what if—"
"I've got you, big bro." said Isabelle with a smirk.
Alec couldn't help but smile, he's been itching to get out of the institute, to go to Magnus' loft, but held himself back for his parents were present in the institute.
He went to his closet, grabbed a ragged hoodie, and had it on in a fast motion. Excitement began to bubble up in the pit of his stomach.
"That's the spirit," Isabelle chuckled and stood up.
Alec walked toward Isabelle, pulling her in a tight hug. "Thank you." he mumbled.
She nodded into his shoulder and pulled away, "Be safe." said Isabelle as she left Alec's room, giving him her thumbs up.
Alec sighed and sneaked his way out of his room, out of the institute.
-0-0-0-
Alec had arrived at Magnus' loft, outside of his loft, to be exact. He couldn't bring himself to ring the buzzer. His doubts came back to him, this time in an amplified mass. All of the worries had him cowering and his mind was roaming around the possibility of Magnus kicking him out. He didn't even dare to step his feet on the front steps.
It was already dark outside and Alec's far from fashionable hoodie didn't exactly comfort him from the chilly weather. He mentally argued with himself whether he should ring the buzzer or not.
While he was busy in his train of thought, a light drizzle began pouring on him, causing him to shiver even more. He pulled up the hoodie to cover his head, and sprinted to Magnus' front steps. The chilly weather didn't help him at all, now that he's doused as well. He's a shivering mess. He considered going back to the institute and wait for Magnus to contact him first, afraid he might bother him by coming over suddenly, but his need to see Magnus win him over.
Alec pulled out his phone from his sloppy jeans and punched his first speed-dial number. His heart raced as the reception tone started to ring, the cold didn't even bother him at this point. All he cared about was Magnus.
He held his breath the moment Magnus picked up the call, the other end was quiet, which made Alec's worries worsen.
"Hey," said Alec quietly, hoping that his voice didn't shake.
"Why are you calling?" Magnus asked, he sounded so nonchalant that Alec was sure Magnus had forgotten about his birthday. Alec held back a disappointed sigh and hung his head.
"Um, I can call another time," he said, worried that he might have interrupted Magnus' work. He began to turn on his heels as his grip on the phone tightened, his hands were trembling and he couldn't tell if it was because of him being nervous or the cold. "I'm sure you have better things to do—"
"Of course I don't, Alexander," said Magnus, interrupting Alec's rambling. "I was just surprised to hear from you. I imagined that you would be with your family on the big day."
Alec was surprised that Magnus hadn't hung up on him, instead prolonged their conversation. His heartbeat raced faster as he clutched the hem of his hoodie nervously. Magnus remembered his birthday, and he couldn't be happier. His damp clothes suddenly had no effect on him, he felt warm all over as a sweet smile grew on his pale face.
"Oh," he said, the smile not leaving his face. "I didn't expect you to remember." he added and tugged on his hoodie harder, trying hard to hide the excitement in his voice.
"It might have crossed my mind once or twice during the day," said Magnus.
Alec was beyond grateful that his birthday could cross Magnus' mind even with his usually busy work schedule. He bit his lower lip, swallowing a pleased chuckle.
"So have you been having a wonderful Shadowhunting time? Did someone give you a giant axe in a cake? Where are you, off to celebrate?" Magnus asked Alec in a fluid tone and he didn't know what to say, too engulfed in the feeling of butterflies fluttering in his stomach to form a coherent answer.
"Er," Alec felt conflicted, should he tell Magnus where he was? Will it made him sounded like a creep for coming over without telling Magnus first?
"I'm kind of...outside your apartment?" Alec decided to tell the truth and held his breath, waiting for Magnus' response. His ragged hoodie might tear from him tugging on it so much.
Magnus didn't say anything in response and Alec was afraid if he seemed like a creep after all, he swallowed a lump in his throat and dared to ring the buzzer.
Alec let out a relieved breath when Magnus let him enter, he waste no time and made his way into the loft, he wanted to see Magnus, he needed to see him so bad, and there he was, standing by the door with a smile on his face.
Alec could smell the familiar magical fragrance of Magnus' loft from the open doorway as they stared at each other. He loved this man, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. Alec couldn't bring himself to utter those three words, he's afraid once he said those words, Magnus would push him away. Little did he know that Magnus felt the same way he did.
"I wanted to see you," Alec said after he finally composed himself, Magnus was too much for him to handle. He couldn't look at Magnus without spacing out, his whole face was lit up with a sweet smile just because he was looking at Magnus.
"Is this okay? I can go away if you're busy or anything." he rambled on, his doubts were lingering back into his mind.
Alec's eyes widened as Magnus took the strings of his dreadful gray hoodie "I think," he paused and pulled Alec closer to him, "that I could be persuaded to clear my schedule." he added with a teasing smirk.
Finally, Alec couldn't hold back anymore. His hands went to cup Magnus' face and pulled him in for a slow kiss. He casted every word in his heart that he had failed to say to Magnus into the kiss, hoping it would go through.
Magnus gave in to Alec's touch and smiled into the kiss as he circled his hands on Alec's broad back, pulling him closer.
Alec's heart flutter as he felt one of Magnus' hands moved to his nape. At this moment, Alec wished for nothing more than to be with Magnus, wish that Magnus would love him back as much as he did, wish that he could always be by his side...forever.
"Happy birthday, Alexander," Magnus whispered after pulling away, the smile not leaving his beautiful face.
"Thanks for remembering," Alec whispered back, leaning his forehead against Magnus', the muscles on his face were hurting from smiling too much, but he couldn't care less. He wished the euphoric effect Magnus had on him would last forever.
AMEN, I mean THE END.
A/N: this was originally posted in wattpad. I had to share this here for my fellow Malec stan who haven't read this, to spread the Malec dose