I was listening to Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg last night and I was like, 'Ahmigosh. Malec FanFic needed.' So, aha, enjoy?

Magnus sighed, setting his mug of hot cocoa (the disgusting overly-chocolately kind from Starbucks) on the kitchen counter. He turned and stalked out of the kitchen and plopped himself on the couch. It was Christmas eve, and he was lonely. But that was what Christmas was about for him; lonliness. And that was okay, he supposed. He had been the one to ruin everything, what, ten, fifteen years ago? Had it really been that long already? Magnus counted the years in his head. Over a decade had passed since he'd seen Alec. He'd been lonely for over a decade. Sure, he had had small doses of company in the last 10 years, but those had mainly consisted of one night stands and drunken sex at the back of bars. But Magnus didn't know if those even counted as company, seeing as more often than not one or both of them was dead wasted. And wasted company was hardly company at all.

Magnus raked his hands through his hair. The Chairman meowed pitifully at his feet, and pawed at his pants. "Hmm?" he asked his cat. "You already had dinner, little pest. You already ate."

Magnus hadn't eaten though, and now that he thought about it he was hungry. He had received multiple invites to high-profile Downworlder Christmas Eve dinners, but he'd politely declined them all. And now he was beginning to regret not going, as his stomach rumbled under his glittery Christmas moose sweater. Magnus dragged himself to the fridge and pulled its diamind-studded doors open. It was all but empty, only containing a few tupperware tins of half-eaten miscellaneous meals.

Magnus groaned. "To the grocery store it is!" he announced.

The snow was pouring down, and Magnus hurried inside the Walmart. He didn't like mundie stores, but this one was close and reaching it didn't require walking past the Institute. Magnus shivered and dusted his jacket of snow, looking up afterward. Walmart was surprisingly busy for it being Christmas Eve—a woman walked past him balancing a sleeping child in one arm, and a few grocery bags in the other; a young boy wrapped in a red scarf tugged at his father's coat sleeves. Magnus subconsciously smiled and continued past the boy toward the frozen foods. Mac N' Cheese wasnt exactly an ideal Christmas Eve dinner, but it was quick and easy and good.

Magnus turned, and froze.

Alec stood in the aisle, anxiously looking through the boxed meals. He was taller, and thinner. Alec had abandoned his oversize sweatshirt for a dark grey pea coat, but he still donned his tigh black skinny jeans.

Magnus hovered for a moment before slowly walking over to Alec. He hesitated another few seconds before reaching out and touching Alec's shoulder. Alec whirled around, and his eyes widened. He looked...older. More mature. And...exhausted, like life had taken everything out of him. His chin was stubbled, and his hair was messy from the wind. He was still beautiful, still handsome, and Magnus felt another pang of regret.

"Hey," Magnus managed to whisper. He cleared his throat and looked at his hands. He could feel Alec's eyes on him, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey, Magnus."

Magnus looked up and Alec smiled at him. Mangus took a cautious step forward. "Fuck this," he decided, and pulled Alec into a hug. He smelled the same, of faint ichor and cinnamon and parchment. Alec's arms came up and wrapped around Magnus. When he pulled away at last he looked surprised.

"You're crying." Alec looked concerned.

"Am I?" Magnus mused. His voice cracked. "Alexander. I'm so sorry."

Alec's expression dampened. "I'm sorry...too. Want to, um...get a drink or something?"

Magnus took a moment to compose himself, but nodded, his dinner forgotten. "I think all the bars around here are closed," he said fimally. Alec shrugged, and pulled Magnus toward the liquor section. He grabbed a six-pack of beer and led Magnus to the check-out lane. Magnus insisted on paying. Alec protested, but Magnus waved him away.

Alec's truck was pristine, except for a few spare weapons that littered the backseat.

"So," Alex said, cracking open a beer. "How've you been?"

Magnus shrugged and took a sip of his drink. Mundie beer was weak, but Magnus was hungry and he didn't mind the taste. "Things have been rough, dear, but such is life."

"Boyfriend?"

Magnus shook his head. "Not since you. How about you?"

"I'm...I'm married."

Magnus's stomach dropped, but he faked a smile for Alec. "Really? Thats awesome, Alec, I...I'm so h-happy for you. Who's the lucky man?"

Alec shook his head. "Her name is Nelle."

"Oh, Alec."

"Yeah. She's beautiful and she's a great fighter but...I can't love her how she loves me. The Clave threatened to strip me of my marks, so I really didn't have a choice. I didn't have you, and no one else was worth losing my family over." Alec looked up. "You're crying again."

"So are you. How's the family? Has Izzy learned to cook yet?"

Alec chuckled and shook his head. "Magnus, you know as well as I do that Izzy will never be able to cook. She's engaged to Simon-"

"Ah, the beauty and the rat."

"-and Clary and Jace got married about seven years ago. Clary's pregnant. I'm going to be an uncle."

"Do they have names picked out?"

"A girl would be named Maia-"

"How is she, by the way?"

"Maia? She killed herself. But let's not...talk about that."

Magnus nodded. He didn't know what to say anyway. "And a boy?"

"Max. How've you been?"

"Didn't you already ask that? I've been lonely and drunk and miserable."

"Hm." Alec crooked his head. "Here." He leaned closer to Magnus and pressed their lips together. Magnus smiled and ran his fingers through Alec's hair. And then he was sobbing, his head against Alec's chest and Alec's arms around him.

"I'm, so, sorr y, Alec, I'm, so, so, sorry," he cried.

"Shhh, Maggie, honey, it's okay. It's all okay."

It was getting late. The sky was dark and the beer was empty, and they were running out of things to talk about. Alec pulled Magnus in for one last lingering kiss as Magnus stepped from the car. He watched Alec pull away, and started on home. It was raining now, but Magnus was glad. He was sobbing, and as he tilted his head toward the sky the rain washed all his tears away.