AN: So hi guys! It's been a while since I've written anything Malecy, so I decided to do this little one shot. It's just a cute little story that popped into my mind. I guess it'll make more sense if you've read my story Hiding In Plain Sight, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it even if you haven't read it.
I hope you enjoy!
Dysfunctional happiness
All characters belong to the amazing Cassandra Clare, but I wouldn't mind having them all to myself.
It was a rainy day one of those eerie days when it seemed like Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind so the weather just ended up changing every hour. Sunny, cloudy, misty, hot and sprinkled with rain; it was a rather typical day for Mooncross Bay. The summer brought heat and humidity with it and Alec didn't mind it a bit. He was just finishing up his shift at work. He had the closing shift at The Garroway Bookstore. It was an ideal place for him to work; he loved reading and dealing with books. The mere smell of paper with ink on it made him feel cozy and warm. And the thing about Garroway's was that most of the books were old and precious, it was special. He could spend hours looking through thick dust covered novels and everything that Luke managed to get his hands on. Luke was a collector/ bookstore owner. Alec had always thought of this as something outrageously funny. As a collector Luke didn't want to let his precious treasures fall in the hands of others, but as an entrepreneur he had to think of profit. It was rather contradicting.
Just as the rain began to gently tap against the windows Alec locked the door and made his way out into the small side street Garroway's was located on. He pulled his jacket tightly to his chest and tried to quickly run to his car without getting soaked. He opened the door to his blue Volvo and started the engine up. He was in a hurry to get home. Today was a special day. It was his nieces sixth birthday and Magnus and he had agreed to host the special event. He was rather nervous and excited. He had never hosted a birthday party for a six-year-old girl with a queen among the divas for a mother. He really had no idea what Sophia was expecting and most of all, he had no idea what Izzy was expecting. Luckily, Magnus had agreed to take a day off work and arrange things to the best of his capability, which also made Alec very nervous. He hoped that Magnus hadn't turned their loft into a bejeweled pink princess castle. And knowing Magnus, this was a rational fear. He had a tendency to go overboard with things like this. Only to add to Alec's fear of their apartment's possible makeover was the fact that Magnus absolutely adored Sophia. He had taken his duty as a godparent extremely seriously. Alec smiled to himself. Even though sometimes Magnus' antics drove him mad, he loved the man more than life itself.
Alec parked his car on the street in front of an old red brick two story building. Magnus and he owned the top floor. Their friends Clary and Jace lived in the bottom floor. It was a rather good arrangement, they got along well. Jace especially loved Chairman Meow because he thought the cat would keep all the ducks away. Honestly Alec didn't really understand why Jace thought that ducks would suddenly invade their apartment, but sometimes it was better to let Jace be Jace than to confuse the hell out of yourself. Besides, Chairman Meow was getting old. The cat mostly laid on the couch and watched re-runs of America's Top Model with Magnus and Izzy.
Alec quickly ran up the stairs and opened the door. He closed his eyes before he stepped inside. He could smell something sweet, maybe a cake being baked. He opened his eyes slowly. Things didn't seem to be too bad. There were pink and white balloons all over the floor. Banners that said 'Happy Birthday Sophia' hung on the walls. A mountain of presents sat in the living room. Izzy would surely appreciate that. All and all the loft looked presentable, but still respectable…if that made any sense.
"Hello, love," Magnus called out from the middle of the balloon sea. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He looked very much in place; he seemed content with what he had managed to pull off and beckoned for Alec to admire his work. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," Alec said and walked up to Magnus. He leaned down and sat across the green eyed beauty. He gently kissed Magnus' soft lips. "Mmm, I especially like the way you didn't paint our walls pink like you threatened yesterday."
"Hey, I only threatened you because you ate my Doritos. You know how I feel about my food," Magnus said with a sly smirk taking over his features. God, Alec loved that smirk. That smirk could do wonderful things to him.
"I know, I understand." Alec picked up a pink balloon and threw it at Magnus. Magnus let out a little laugh and threw his head back. Alec watched as tiny wrinkles appeared around his green eyes that were a great contrast to his dark hair framing his face. "Did you blow up all of these balloons?" Alec asked.
"Yup," Magnus said. "I couldn't find the machine thingy."
"You mean the pump?" Alec asked.
"Yeah, the thingy," Magnus confirmed.
"Aren't you out of breath?" Alec asked in all innocence. "There are like thousands of these balloons, how'd you manage not to pass out."
Magnus just looked at Alec for a while and then cocked his eyebrow in a suggestive manner. "You of all people should know."
"Oh stop it," Alec exclaimed and threw another balloon at Magnus. He could feel a slight blush creep its way up his cheeks. He loved the fact that after years Magnus could still make him blush like a teenager.
"Never," Magnus said and placed a kiss on Alec's forehead. The blue-eyed man shook his head and smiled contently.
"Did you bake a cake?" He asked.
"No, I made cupcakes. Your mother said she'd bring a strawberry cake," Magnus said. "You know, this whole process of planning Sophia's birthday party has been delightful and all, but ya know, I'm kinda looking forward to having the place all to ourselves again."
"What do you mean? We have the place all to ourselves right now." Alec leaned back and gave Magnus a funny look. Sometimes the way Magnus' mind worked made him think that perhaps the man himself was from another universe.
"Yeah, but it would just feel wrong to…express our love, under a pink 'Happy Birthday' banner," Magnus stated sounding extremely serious. "It just wouldn't seem proper."
"Uh huh," Alec mused. "So, you suddenly care about proper behavior."
"I know right? It's so strange," Magnus said letting out a relaxed laugh. "Let's hope these new found morals aren't permanent."
"But what if the 'Happy Birthday' Banner was for me?" Alec asked, feeling like he needed to know where Magus stood on this subject.
"Hmm," Magnus sighed and placed his index finger on his lower lip. "You know, I think that that would be an entirely different situation."
"Well I'm glad we cleared that up," Alec said. He got up in one swift movement and offered his hand to Magnus. Magnus took it and followed Alec to the kitchen. Alec moved towards the oven and carefully opened it. He picked up the mint colored oven mitts from the counter and pulled the hot tray of cupcakes out of the hot oven.
"Did you make icing?" Alec asked and placed the tray on the counter. He relished in the scent of freshly baked pastries.
"Did I make icing?" Magnus replied in a tone that implied that Alec's question was beyond ridiculous. "Of course I made icing."
"What flavors did you make?" Alec completely ignored the sarcastic tone and moved the cupcakes on a red plate and pushed the tray back into the oven.
"I made cherry flavored icing, but notice how it looks like gold. Also I made mint flavored icing for Simon. You know he loves his mint," Magnus smiled and dipped his finger into the gold icing, licking his lips.
"Stop that," Alec mumbled and slapped Magnus' arm. "Save it for the cupcakes."
"Why, Alexander, you're being so bossy," Magnus chided.
"Oh yeah, ok, could we just focus on the task at hand." Alec rummaged the left side drawer for a spoon. He finally found it and slapped a pile of gold icing on top of the reddish cupcakes displayed on the plate.
"Alexander Lightwood…Mr. Bossy pants." Magnus didn't pay attention to Alec's orders. He leaned against the counter and smiled, tracing his fingers across Alec's back. He let his lean fingers run across Alec's defined muscles, all the way from the back of his neck to the curve of his hips. He pressed his head on Alec's shoulder and breathed in his lavender scent. He sighed deeply, happily, into Alec's neck. "I like it when you tell me what to do…it's exhilarating."
"Magnus," Alec sighed. "What are you trying to do?"
Magnus hummed contently into Alec's ear. "Whatever do you mean Alexander?"
Alec turned around, he tried to look defiant and stern, but as he saw Magnus' cheery smirk and deep emotion filled eyes, he felt the corners of his mouth tugging up. He tried his best to put his foot down and make Magnus concentrate on making the cupcakes, but he knew that no matter how hard he tried to be responsible and what not, Magnus could always have his way with him. It was simple and clean, but so, oh God, so messy at the same time. Nevertheless, Alec loved it just the way they were.
Magnus laughed and traced his fingers across Alec's cheek. "Honey, you look like you're about to have a breakdown."
Alec huffed. "Listen to me Magnus, Izzy will be here in…" Alec looked at his watch. "…About an hour and a half. We will have a bunch of six year old kids running around the place and potentially destroying everything, not to mention Izzy, who expects this party to be spectacular and…"
Magnus cut Alec off with a feverish kiss. "I love it when you're all responsible." Magnus pulled away and smiled gently. "Now, let's decorate some cupcakes and make them fabulous."
Alec eyed Magnus suspiciously, but Magnus just raised his hands as if he was surrendering. He pointed towards a bag of freshly picked cherries. "See, Clary even brought those sweeties. I promise the cupcakes will look amazing. Like, Master Chef amazing."
"How you manage to get away with everything Bane…is incomprehensible," Alec said and shook his head. He felt a bubbling laugh rising in his throat; he fought to keep it in. He had to act like he was serious.
"Oh, well, that's a secret I'll never tell." Magnus picked up a spoon and started working on a cupcake. He swirled the icing on top and placed a sweet and sour cherry on top.
"So it's top secret, eh," Alec inquired.
"Oh yeah, it has 007 written all over it," Magnus replied with a smirk. He held his completed cupcake in the air as if it was the Holy Grail. "Oh yeah, this is it. Look honey, it's miraculous."
Alec inspected the cupcake and he had to admit that it was pretty sweet, but he wasn't going to say that to Magnus, of course, he'd never hear the end of it. "It's nice."
"Nice!" Magnus exclaimed. "It's sublime and you know it, you're just too goddamn stubborn to admit it!"
"Calm down Magnus, no one is trying to put down your artistic talents. We're making the cupcakes for six-year-olds, not Picasso or Gordon Ramsey." Alec finished making his fourth cupcake.
"Your sister is worse than Gordon Ramsey and you know it."
Alec swallowed back a laugh, but eventually it bubbled up. It was exciting, it was like all the pent up energy, worry, and stress was leaving his body. Really, he couldn't even remember why he'd been so worried about this party in the first place. "I think by the end of the night, we'll be too tired to care what Izzy thinks."
"Also," Magnus added. "Simon will be pleased by the mint icing."
"Yeah," Alec said, continuing his work.
They worked in comfortable silence for a while. No words needed to pass between them. They had each other's backs and both of them knew it. Whatever they had to face, whether it was the end of the world or Sophia's birthday party, they would make it. Yes sir they would.
"I love you," Alec said. "Even if you drive me mad."
"I drive you mad?" Magnus asked with a shocked voice.
"A little bit, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way," Alec stated and got on his tiptoes placing a soft kiss on Magnus' cheek. He felt warm, cozy and like home.
"Then I'll try my best to drive you mad," Magnus stated and replied to the kiss with a purr.
"And?" Alec asked, feeling a slight blush rise to his pale skin.
"And…I love you too, but I think that's above obvious," Magnus said with a shaky laugh.
"Well, it better be." Alec placed the last finished cupcake on the plate with the rest of them and admired their work. "They do look pretty sublime."
"Oh you better believe it," Magnus said and bit into a cherry. He smiled sweetly and swallowed.
"What time are the guests arriving at?" Alec asked, grabbing a carton of orange juice from the fridge.
"In an hour and a half," Magnus answered.
"That's when Izzy's coming," Alec stated.
"Yeah, I told her to come with the guests. That way, if she doesn't like what we've arranged, she can't have a meltdown in front of all the little kiddies." The look on Magnus' face was pure gold, a wicked smile and green eyes.
"Good thinking," Alec said and took a sip from his very own orange juice carton. He didn't share his orange juice. Perhaps with Magnus, but Magnus was a complete different issue.
"What are we doing for entertainment? Somehow I don't think watching Erin Brockovich will satisfy a bunch of six-year olds," Alec said.
"Yeah, that's what I figured, even though the prospect of watching Erin Brockovich with your mother is simply delighting, I figured we should probably go with something else." Magnus smiled brightly and grabbed Alec's arm. He guided Alec to the living room and sat him down on the bright red couch they had bought a year ago. Alec hadn't liked it at first, saying that it was too flashy, but Magnus had managed to compromise by deciding to get the glass coffee table Alec liked, instead of the grand mahogany table Magnus had originally planned on getting.
Magnus waved his hand across the table. Alec looked at the glass table, covered with bright colored bottles of nail polish, nail stickers, clippers, files and everything one could possibly need for the perfect manicure. There was even some cuticle cream. Alec looked at the bottles; there must have been at least fifty, probably even more of them. Alec gaped in awe and clapped his hands together. "This is amazing."
"I know, you should see the other things I have put together," Manus said and leaped up from the couch, dragging Alec with him. He led Alec in front of the big window draped with turquoise curtains and pointed at a clothing rack filled with dresses, scarves, high heels, far too big for six-year olds, but still high heels. "Now this…" Magnus smiled and bit his lip. "…Would have been my dream as a six-year old. Notice the pink fedora," Magnus said.
"This is amazing," Alec said, feeling like he was repeating himself, but hey, what could he say.
"You really think so?" Magnus asked, a slight tinge of worry crossed his face.
"I really, really think so. It's spectacular," Alec said and wrapped his arms around Magnus' lean body. "I think Sophia is going to love her party. She'll feel like a real princess."
"Yep, she's only missing her prince…or princess," Magnus sighed and leaned against Alec. "She's growing up so fast. It makes me feel old."
Alec laughed and felt Magnus' body shake a bit. "You're not old."
"I feel a bit old," Magnus said, a frown replacing his trade mark smile. Alec didn't like that frown. He wanted to turn it upside down.
"Hey, be as old as you like, but you still look pretty damn good," Alec said and squeezed Magnus tight. "I'm so jealous of your abs," Alec murmured into Magnus' shoulder.
"You have nothing to be jealous about," Magnus said, kissing Alec's nose.
"Really, because I'm pretty sure I can't eat three tubs of Ben & Jerry's without gaining a pound." Alec gently tapped Magnus' abdomen making the emerald eyed man chuckle.
"I do love my ice cream."
"Speaking of which, we need to go change," Alec said and pulled on Magnus' arm, leading him to the bedroom.
"How does ice cream have anything to do with us changing our clothes into party mode?"
"Um, nothing, we just need to go change," Alec said and tapped his watch.
"Okay mister, you are slowly but very surely losing it," Magnus said and gladly followed Alec into the bedroom.
The décor very much reminded Alec of Magnus' old bedroom. It was very dark, but colorful at the same time. Most of the space was taken up by Magnus' old dark wood four post bed, it was draped with blankets and duvets and a lot of those horrible decorative pillows. Horrible or not, there they were every morning. Magnus and his stubborn little habits were adorable.
"So what are you wearing?" Alec asked. Magnus hadn't enlightened Alec regarding to the dress code. "Is there a dress code?"
"A dress code? The dress code is to look fabulous," Magnus said and pulled his T-shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He walked into the closet and started going though the racks and racks of clothes.
Alec picked up Magnus' T-shirt and neatly folded it and placed it in the dresser. He made his way into the closet and looked through some shirts, all in the shade of blue. "And what are you wearing?" Magnus asked while examining a dark red dress shirt with blue plastic diamonds on the sleeves.
"I'm not really sure," Alec muttered. "I was just thinking of wearing one of these shirts," Alec said and pointed to the shirts he was looking at.
"You know what, I don't think so," Magnus said and gently guided Alec towards a completely other pile of clothes. "I'm sure I saw it somewhere here," he mumbled and started throwing clothes around.
"What are you looking for?" Alec asked, peeking over Magnus' shoulder to get a better view.
"For the green shirt," Magnus answered. "The one we got you on our first date."
Alec creased his eyebrows. Hard as he tried he couldn't remember a date on which they had bought him a green shirt. "Which date was that?"
Magnus turned around in a blurry movement and held out a dark green button up shirt. "You telling me you can't remember this, Lightwood."
Alec smiled. "That wasn't a date," he insisted.
"Oh it was a date, you just didn't know it back then," Magnus said and dismissed Alec's objections with a wave of his hand.
"How was I supposed to know anything back then," Alec muttered. "With you and my sister always scheming behind my back," Alec sighed. "I'm surprised I'm still sane."
"Oh hush Alexander, you can complain all you want, but deep down you're glad Izzy and I schemed as much as we did."
Alec considered this for a while and then nodded in agreement. "Yes. I would have probably never had the guts to ask you out. If it hadn't been for all the very not subtle hints Izzy and you left me."
"Hints? I basically had to wave an 'I'm into you Alec' flag in front of your face before you believed I liked you."
Now it was Alec's turn to wave his hand at Magnus' rant. He calmly took the green shirt, slipped out of his currents plain white T-shirt and pulled the green shirt on. He buttoned it all the way up. "How does it look?"
"Better than it used to, and let me tell you, it used to look good, now it looks exquisite." Magnus walked over to Alec and ran his hand down Alec's chest all the way to his lower abdomen, sending tiny electric shocks through Alec's skin.
"E-Exquisite?" Alec stuttered.
"Magnificent…almost godly," Magnus sighed and leaned in to kiss Alec's lips. Their lips crashed and the sensation of that was what was magnificent. Alec felt his entire body, being, and soul come alive. In one second everything changed. Casual turned into exhilarating and everyday turned into once in a life time. Magnus' talented hands pulled at Alec's hair and pulled him closer. "Jesus," Alec gasped. "This shirt really does it for you, huh?"
"Yes," Magnus mumbled in between kisses. He pushed Alec against the closet and feverishly begged for another kiss. Alec all but gave in. The two of them were caught up in the moment. It had always been like this for the two of them. They were extremely grateful for this. People always talked about losing the spark in their relationship, but for the two of them that was an absurd concept. Maybe it was because the two of them were the spark.
Just as Magnus' hands slipped under the hem of Alec's shirt the ring of the doorbell made both of them stop in their tracks. "Shit," Magnus whispered under his breath.
"We gotta go get the door," Alec stated with a disappointed voice.
"Ok," Magnus said and pulled back. "Do I look decent?"
"You mean do you look like you were just about to do it in a closet?" Alec asked.
"In a walk-in-closet," Magnus corrected and patted down his chest.
"Well, you're not wearing a shirt, but other than that you look good. If I were you I'd go with the white dress shirt and the brown vest," Alec said, not knowing where his sudden burst of fashion sense came from.
"Good point," Magnus agreed and started rummaging for a white dress shirt. "Could you get the door?"
"Sure," Alec said. "Don't take too long."
Alec walked out of their bedroom, across the kitchen and living room and ran to the door as another series of rapid knocks came from the door. He yanked the door open and was faced by a wickedly grinning Jace and Clary who was holding a plate with a strawberry cake on it. Their five-year-old son Gabriel stood in front of them with a frown on his angelic face. He had Jace's golden curly hair and Clary's green eyes and pale complexion. Yep, he'd be a heartbreaker.
"What took you so long to answer the door?" Jace asked. The corner of his mouth tugged up. "We didn't interrupt anything did we?"
Alec felt a blush rise to his cheeks again. Jace grinned until Clary's elbow connected with his rib cage.
"Ouch!" Jace exclaimed. "What was that for?"
Clary rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what it was for, come on Gabriel, let's move." She gently ushered Gabriel into the apartment. "Here's the cake," Clary said and put the plate down next to the cupcakes.
"Thank you so much," Alec said and hugged Clary. "What would I do without you?"
"Well, you would do just fine," Clary said and tapped Alec's shoulder. "You look good, I like the shirt."
"Yeah, Magnus picked it out," Alec said and smiled. Jace stood by the counter with a still brooding Gabriel holding on to his leg.
"How was work?" Alec asked. He knew Jace didn't especially like his job at Morgenstern enterprises, but he did it for Clary.
"It was pretty good. I went through a lot of paperwork today. Got a few paper cuts, it's really a never ending thrill ride." Jace smiled and walked Gabriel to the couch and sat him down.
Gabriel looked up at his father. "Why is there so much nail polish?"
"I don't know, you're gonna have to ask Alec about that."
Gabriel's green eyes shot to Alec, he has a questioning look on his face. He was expecting an answer.
"Well Magnus…I mean we thought it would be a nice idea to maybe paint our nails when Sophia's party begins." Alec smiled; he knew that Gabriel was probably looking for something a bit more exciting to do, maybe a treasure hunt or something like that.
"Can I paint my nails blue?" Gabriel asked and turned to look at his father, looking for permission.
Jace let out a seemingly relieved laugh. "Sure, sure son, whatever you want."
At that very moment Magnus sauntered into the living room and gave Jace a dark look. "Are you insane? He you can't let your son paint his nails blue. He'd be the laughing stock in town."
Jace's eyebrows furrowed. Clary was about to give Magnus a hug, but stopped on her tracks.
"What?" Alec asked, feeling rather dumbstruck.
"Well, hello, anyone can see that blue is so not his color. I'd go with mint green or red."
Clary was the first to react. She slapped Magnus's chest and laughed. The sound of her laugh was warm, just as Alec remembered it. He himself felt his confusion melt away as Magnus kept talking.
"You almost gave me a heart attack there," Alec said and sat down on the armrest of the red couch.
"What do you mean?" Magnus asked as he led Clary to the kitchen and poured her a glass of fizzy lemonade.
Alec stared at Magnus for a second and waited for him to analyze his own words. He saw Magnus' eyes widen a bit and then a lazy smile take its place on his lips. "You're insane Lightwood. I could very well be an advocate for men wearing nail polish."
"Uh huh," Alec mumbled. "Could you get me a glass of that lemonade too?" he asked politely.
"Yes, of course, dear." Magnus got another glass from the cupboard and started filling it up with sparkly lemonade.
Alec felt Gabriel shift on the couch and soon the boy was leaning his head against Alec's leg. His golden locks were sprawled across his face and his dressy clothes seemed to bother the boy.
"Alec," Gabriel started seriously.
"Yes," Alec answered with an equally concerned tone.
"What color am I supposed to paint my nails?"
Alec felt a light laugh travel through his body. "Honey, you paint them whatever color you like."
"Even blue?" Gabriel asked.
"Well yes, and if I may recommend, you might want to add some glitter on the edges as well." Alec tapped Gabriel's shoulder and the boy slid down on the couch and smiled.
XXX
An hour later the doorbell rang again. Magnus and Clary were setting up the table, seated for twelve of Sophia's closest friends. Jace and Gabriel were going over the rack of princess clothes that Magnus had managed to find.
"I'll get it!" Alec informed.
He opened the door. "Hey guys!" He exclaimed.
"Hey Alec!" Izzy exclaimed and practically jumped into Alec's arms. "I'm so excited," she chimed. She was wearing a red, elegant sundress. It had an open back which showed off her long dark hair flowing down her pale back. She was wearing beige colored heels and turquoise jewelry. Needless to say, she looked beyond smashing.
"Yeah, honestly speaking, I'd say she's more excited than Sophia," Simon said, smiling. He wore a black dress shirt and plain jeans and a huge smile on his face. The thing about Simon was that no matter how old he got, he still looked like that seventeen-year-old boy from math class, with a huge crush on their math teacher that Alec remembered, because he never lost the spark in his eyes.
"Why does that not surprise me at all?" Alec asked, shaking his head.
"Shush, brother."Izzy walked into the loft and waved at Clary and Jace.
Sophia stood in front of her father, patiently waiting for Alec to invite her in. She had inherited Izzy's looks, long dark hair, curly though, and dark chocolate eyes, framed with the darkest lashes Alec had ever seen. When it came to her personality, she seemed to take more after Simon. She was patient and there was barely a hint of a Diva in her. "Hey Uncle Alec," she said and waved her tiny hand.
"Hello, darling," Alec said and grabbed Sophia into a hug. "How's your birthday been so far?"
"Good, I got pancakes for breakfast. And mom gave me this new dress." Sophia laughed and twirled around, holding Simon's hand. Her dress was lavender colored with a dark violet lace trim to it.
"You look gorgeous," Alec said. "Why don't you guys come in."
"Maggie!" Sophia exclaimed as she saw Magnus sorting napkins out.
"Sophia, sweetie!" Magnus returned every bit of her enthusiasm. He walked over to her and lifted her up from the ground. "You look magnificent."
"Thank you," Sophia said, looking rather modest.
"I like your vest," Sophia said and picked at the edge of the brown fabric.
"Thank you. Your Uncle Alec picked it out for me." Magnus put Sophia down. "Well, what do you think?"
"I like it," Sophia said, looking around.
"I made cupcakes too," Magnus said.
Alec cleared his throat and gave Magnus a pointed look.
"Fine, we made cupcakes."
Sophia laughed.
"But I made the icing, Alec just helped with the decorating." Magnus went to the kitchen and brought one cupcake over to Simon. "See, I even made mint icing, especially for you."
"Oh, bless your sweet heart," Simon said and took the cupcake from Magnus. "Izzy, come see what Magnus has made for me!"
Izzy walked over wearing a bright smile. "What is it?"
"It's a mint flavored cupcake," Simon stated. Izzy giggled. It was nice to see that Simon could still make her giggle.
"He still thinks you like mint?" Izzy asked making sure Magnus didn't hear him.
"I guess so," Simon said and examined the dessert in his hands.
"I swear, ever since we did those mint jelly shots…" Izzy mumbled and shook her head.
"Yeah, well he means well," Alec stated. "There's strawberry cake and cherry flavored cupcakes too."
"Yeah, I noticed," Izzy said. "This place looks amazing by the way. I'm so happy you guys did this. Work has been crazy for me this month. I was so worried I wouldn't have time to give Sophia a party she deserves."
"No worries, Izzy. You know Magnus likes organizing parties anyway."
"Hence the mint jelly shots," Simon stated.
"None of those today," Alec confirmed.
There was a knock at the door. "Oh goodie!" Izzy exclaimed. "Guests."
Magnus walked up to Alec as Izzy and Sophia went over to open the door. He offered Alec a glass of lemon fizz that smelled suspiciously like it contained alcohol.
"Does this have alcohol?" Alec asked as Magnus offered one to Simon as well.
"Yes, I mixed a bit of Champaign in it," Magnus said with a wicked smirk spread across his face.
"Are you insane?" Alec asked.
"No," Simon said and raised his glass. "Twelve six-year-olds are about to take over your apartment. You're allowed to have one drink."
"Exactly," Magnus stated and took a sip of his glass. "Actually you'd be insane not to."
Alec creased his eyebrows and put the drink down.
"Alec…" Simon began, but Magnus shushed him with a wave of his ring covered hand.
"He'll see," Magnus whispered to Simon.
Simon laughed clinked his glass with Magnus'. "Indeed he will."
XXX
Several hours later, after twelve kids on sugar high had trampled all over Magnus and Alec's fancy loft, after music, yelling, horrifying amounts of glitter, candy and nail polish. After Clary had ruined her dress by spilling soda on it, after Gabriel had indeed gotten his nails painted blue (with extra glitter), after a hell of a lot patience spent, Alec found himself dragging his thoroughly exhausted body into the washroom. He saw Magnus leaning against the sink, washing his face.
"You look…tired, baby," Magnus said tentatively.
"I should have had that drink," Alec whispered and ran his hands through his dark hair. "I mean, who knew kids could be so…so…," Alec sighed and sat down on the edge of the bath tub. "I mean, no wonder Izzy seemed so thankful that we agreed to arrange this thing."
"Well, kids will be kids," Magnus sighed cheerfully as he turned around to face Alec. He was standing barefoot on the brownish tile floor, wearing nothing but pajama pants. "At least your sister, Simon and Sophia seemed happy."
"Yeah, they did," Alec agreed.
"But you know, Simon didn't eat the cupcakes I made for him," Magnus stated out loud while grabbing his watermelon skin cream. He opened the lid and started rubbing the lotion on to his skin. He did that every night after taking a shower. Something about the importance of keeping your skin well moisturized.
"He doesn't like mint," Alec said and unbuttoned his shirt. It eventually dropped into the bathtub. Alec was too tired to care or pick it up.
"Don't be ridiculous Alec, of course he does. He had so many of those mint shots at my last birthday party."
"Mhm…I think it was the alcohol he liked, not so much the mint," Alec said. He felt so tired. He could barely keep his eyes open. His eyelids felt so heavy and his body very numb. When he did open his eyes, he watched Magnus spread the watermelon lotion along his abs and chest. "You're staring," Magnus stated.
"Yes," Alec yawned. "You're awfully distracting." Alec leaned back and almost fell into the bath tub.
Magnus frowned and walked up to Alec. He placed his hands on Alec's shoulders and let the blue-eyed man lean his heavy head on his shoulder. "Maybe it's time for you to go to bed."
"No…I can't," Alec sighed. "I need to take a shower. I've got glitter all over the place."
Alec felt Magnus laugh. "Yeah, boy, that Gabriel sure went nuts with the glitter."
"I know…It was like glitter massacre." Alec yawned again.
"You can take a shower in the morning," Magnus said, kissing Alec's neck. Alec tried very hard to protest, but just let his whole body lean against Magnus'. He could fall asleep right there. He could feel Magnus' chest rising and falling, he could smell…well watermelon lotion and he was happy. Tired, but happy.
"Okay," Alec mumbled. Magnus gently helped him up onto his feet. He guided Alec to their bed and crawled in after him. Magnus pulled the covers on them and pulled Alec close to his chest. "I wouldn't mind joining you on that shower, gives me something to look forward to."
"Mhm…" Alec took a deep breath and snuggled up to Magnus.
"I'll take that as a yes," Magnus sighed into Alec's hair.
"Watermelon…" Alec mumbled.
Magnus felt his body shake as a laugh ran through him. He let his hand rest on Alec's cheek. "Yeah…watermelon."
AN: Thank you for reading! I really do hope you enjoyed the story. I myself had a lot of fun writing it. Malec is just...well amazing. If you want to make me happy, you could leave a review! All feedback is appreciated!
Love Always, Alexandra!
'Who has yet not read City Of Heavenly Fire and is hopeful'