A/N: WHEN is the last time I typed genuine, honest fluff…? Have I ever…? Well, Christmas is the perfect excuse, if any! (grins)

DISCLAIMER: BUAH-HAH-HAA! YEEEAH… Seeing my bank account is believing. I… own… nothing (but an overactive imagination…).

WARNINGS: Some language… So much fluff towards the end that it rots teeth… Malec IS NOT something I'll EVER warn anyone about.

TAKES PLACE: In a hopefully near future, where Magnus has his magic back and things are roughly as they should be.

Okay, everyone… Here we go! I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

All I Need (for Christmas)

Sometimes the life of Magnus Bane could get a little… chaotic. At any time of the year. Apparently including Christmas Eve.

While Christmas wasn't exactly important to Magnus he did enjoy celebrating it. (Because it was no secret that he enjoyed any excuse to party.) And Alec was barely aware that such an allegedly special time of the year existed. But they were together. For the first time in roughly a century Magnus had opened his heart to someone. Alec had done the same thing for the first and quite possibly last time in his life. It would've been nice to have some relaxing… quality time together.

Saying that things didn't go the way Magnus had hoped would've been an understatement.

A few former Circle members who'd been running loose decided to carry on in Valentine's legacy and kidnapped three Downworlder children. Three little warlocks, to be exact. Saving them was a total bedlam. Portals… Spells… And eventually three little ones in need of healing. It was a Christmas miracle of sorts that they'd be able to take them all home to their families.

Magnus was incredibly relieved that things ended the way they did. But he was also completely and utterly spent. While he was a very powerful warlock even he didn't have an unlimited reserve of magic. By the time he'd healed the last of the children he was dizzy and felt like his head was about to explode. His legs weren't as steady as he would've liked when he slipped out of the building where the children had been brought after the rescue. He was convinced that no one would notice if he stepped outside for some fresh air.

Someone noticed. "Magnus?" As lovely as it always was to hear Alec's voice, now it echoed painfully in his throbbing skull. "Are you okay?"

Magnus nodded, although he didn't exactly feel alright. Surely this wasn't anything a good meal and a few hours of sleep wouldn't fix. "I'm fine", he reassured his boyfriend and hoped dearly that he sounded convincing enough. "Just… a little headache."

Alec frowned and nodded, then pulled him close with a protective arm. "Jace, Izzy and Clary can wrap up here. How about I take you home?"

Magnus was touched and surprised by his boyfriend's care. It was so long from the last time he had a partner who genuinely wanted to look after him. (Too long.) He wanted to nod and say 'yes', but there was a stubborn, infuriating voice nagging in the back of his head… ('He'll never forgive you if you become a burden. A distraction. He'll start to resent you. It's happened with others, remember?') "I'm fine, Alexander", he insisted, trying not to sound exasperated. "It's far more important to…" He trailed off at the look on his boyfriend's face. His stomach lurched and his head spun. "Alec?" Did he succeed in saying something wrong?

But… Alec wasn't resentful, or annoyed. That… was worry. "You've got a nosebleed", the younger man announced, already looking for something that'd help Magnus handle the mentioned problem.

Magnus blinked once, slowly. A nosebleed? It was a while since he last had one. Too out of it to feel alarmed instead of curious, he brushed the skin under his nose with his fingers. They came back stained with red. "Oh…" That was all he managed to produce.

The dizziness from before escalated rapidly. Black spots began to dance in his line of vision. Darkness took over entirely at the same second his knees gave out.

It took a lot to scare Alec. Magnus collapsing to his arms with a bleeding nose… It had him terrified. His phenomenal reflexes came to good use and he managed to break his boyfriend's fall before the other would've hit the ground hard. Slowly and gently, determined to not cause any further harm, he lowered them both to the ground and pulled the unresponsive warlock close.

His throat and stomach constricting from fright, Alec gave as light of a shake as he could manage. "Magnus?" There was no reaction from the limp form held against him. "Magnus!"

With a ridiculous amount of difficulty Alec forced the practical, clinical part of him to take over. For just long enough to check a few important things. Magnus' pulse was faster than usual, a little thready but strong. His breaths were deep and steady enough, as was the heart that beat almost comically slowly in comparison to Alec's frantic one. Those solid facts failed to reassure the shadowhunter.

With all his protective instincts on high alert, Alec shuddered and moved instinctively to shield Magnus with his body when steps approached. He didn't manage to relax upon discovering that it was just Jace, who'd been alarmed either by their bond or his scream. The blonde took a visible sigh of relief upon concluding that he was physically unharmed, but tensed up again at the sight of Magnus. "What happened?"

Alec shook his head and tightened his hold on his boyfriend subconsciously. "I'm not sure", he admitted through his teeth. "I…" He cleared his throat when his voice threatened to crack. "I think he overexerted himself." From early on he'd seen hints of how taxing using magic could be and it scared him sometimes. Never like this, though. "He just… collapsed, and… Now he won't wake up."

Jace nodded slowly. Then noticed something that made his nose wrinkle momentarily while worry furrowed his brows. "He's bleeding."

Alec, to his frustration, had forgotten about that when he had more pressing concerns than a few drops of blood on his mind. Thankfully it looked like the trickle had nearly stopped. He was just wiping it away with a gentle hand when his ministrations caused a shiver. The usually emotionally reserved shadowhunter emitted a choked breath of relief. "Magnus?" He lowered his voice to a whisper when he noticed that anything louder sparked a momentary grimace. "Do you think you can open your eyes?"

Magnus tried and regretted it instantly. Golden eyes were visible for a fraction of a second before they were squeezed closed. The warlock emitted a hissing sound, one that reminded Alec irrationally of an angry cat, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "… head …"

Alec tried to squash a fresh bout of panic by reasoning with himself that at least Magnus was awake. (Sort of…) "You'll be home soon", he murmured. Getting his boyfriend to their warm, safe bed sounded like the best idea he'd had all day. "But right now you've gotta stay awake."

Magnus frowned, finally succeeding in opening his eyes slightly. They were still golden as they roamed around, taking in the current situation with clearly visible displeasure. "Did I…?"

"… pass out and scare me? Yeah." Whenever Alec began to feel… overwhelmed anger was his first response. Which was one of his greatest flaws. He fought mightily to smother the unhelpful irritation. For now. "We'll talk about that. Later." Once they both felt steadier, and once Alec was a hundred percent sure that his boyfriend was going to be alright.

Magnus squeezed his hand lightly. The warlock either leaned his head on his shoulder on purpose or it just happened to fall there. "… sorry … usually know my limits better …"

Alec kissed his boyfriend's forehead, giving in to the need and temptation once Jace had disappeared to the building beside them. The skin his lips brushed was entirely too cold, like Magnus had given most of his body heat along with magic. Which might explain why the man held protectively against him had started to tremble. "You know your limits. You just keep pushing and pushing them. Sometimes it…" Sometimes it scares me to death, wondering how far you'd go. He didn't say that, though. Instead he pulled the exhausted warlock closer. Which shouldn't have been possible. "You may be immortal, but… You have to stop pushing yourself." It sounded like a plea. "And I have to get better at noticing when you're doing it."

Magnus gave his hand another squeeze and he returned it without wasting a second.

That was when Jace came back. Usually Alec would've broken the physical contact, uncomfortable with someone witnessing a private moment of intimacy. But at that moment letting go was impossible. Especially when the hand in his was miserably cold. If Jace noticed anything his parabatai didn't mention it, instead offered a moistened paper towel. "You should… clean yourself up a bit, before the ride home." Jace put visible effort into keeping his voice quiet.

Magnus appreciated both the offering and the low volume with a barely visible nod. "Thank you." The warlock grimaced from disgust upon cleaning the blood from his face. "… hate this …"

When Magnus was done Alec took the paper towel and continued wiping. There wasn't any blood left but he needed the touch. The silly, pointless gesture helped him regain some composure. "You're shaking and sitting out here isn't going to make it any better", he pointed out. "So let's go."

Unfortunately 'going' entailed getting up. Alec helped Magnus to a pair of unsteady feet as carefully as he would handle the most fragile glass. In seconds the warlock's balance broke entirely and the shadowhunter moved swiftly to support him. Magnus rewarded the support with a pair of ghostly light lips brushing his cheek. Alec felt his skin color immediately as a response to the affection and one corner of his lips twitched upwards.

Jace seemed to feel like he was intruding and cleared his throat. "Get him home. I'll let Izzy and Clary know that Magnus needed rest and you had to leave." A hand was raised at a disapproving frown from the mentioned warlock. "Don't worry, I won't tell them about the… swooning."

There was a flicker of amusement on Magnus' face. "I appreciate your consideration." And that, was a touch of sarcasm. Hearing it made everything feel slightly more alright in the world.

Jace's small but very genuine smile to Magnus revealed that he shared Alec's opinion.

Catching a cab took far longer than it should've. The driver gave Alec a very understandably suspicious look when he maneuvered a barely conscious Magnus to the backseat. "Drank a bit too much, huh?"

Alec's left eyebrow twitched. Of course he got that the whole situation looked… bad. But he didn't feel like dealing with anyone's questions at the moment. "Long day." When Magnus' head fell against his shoulder again he decided that he wasn't going to waste any more time on this guy. "Just… get us home." Perhaps he sounded more hostile than he'd intended. But it was impossible to not get all defensive and protective when he had a very unwell loved one to look after.

The driver showed both hands in a pacifying gesture that might've been comical under different circumstances. "Fine, fine. But I'd better not end up on 'Cops' for this."

Alec frowned. "'Cops'?"

The driver joined the traffic. Muttering to himself the entire time. Alec was almost sure that he caught "… always get the weirdest ones on Christmas …".

The driver's suspicion only seemed to escalate during the journey. (Despite the tender words Alec murmured to Magnus and the one adorable, tiny smile he got as a response.) When the man sped away Alec spent a second on hoping that he wouldn't call the police. Then he focused his entire attention on far more deserving things.

If he imagined that getting Magnus to the cab was a challenge, keeping him upright until they reached the warlock's apartment was far harder. His boyfriend was thin but still a grown man, one with quite a bit of muscle mass. But whatever trouble the journey caused him, it was ten times more taxing on Magnus. By the time he got his boyfriend to bed the man practically collapsed all over again. After that Alec did the only reasonable thing he could think of. He called Catarina.

Her sigh revealed immediately that this wasn't the first time something like this occurred. And a warning that this highly like wouldn't be the last time. "The best you can do is make sure that he gets as much rest as he needs. It sounds like his vitals are stable so I wouldn't worry too much." (Easy for her to say…!) "Call me if the nosebleed starts again."

Alec nodded slowly. Then figured that he should offer something vocal, since he was on a phone. "I will."

Catarina clearly heard something that caught her attention. There was a pause. "Are you alright?"

Alec gritted his teeth. "No", he admitted reluctantly. He couldn't look away from his boyfriend's sleeping face out of fear that if he did… "I hate it when he does this to himself." Especially when I'm too distracted by other things to notice. He didn't quite know how to forgive himself for that but vowed that from here on out, he'd try his hardest to do better.

Catarina's huff was almost affectionate. "I know the feeling. But he's been like that for as long as I've known him. He'd give every last drop of himself for those he considers worth it. I don't think it's possible to change him. But we can try to look after him when he crosses his limit. And maybe you're stubborn enough to remind him to look after himself, too, every once in a while."

It wasn't enough, as far as Alec was concerned. But he'd take it. "I won't let him leave the bed tomorrow." Realizing his own words, he blushed radiantly. "I mean… He needs rest."

Catarina laughed. "And here I imagined that you're the innocent one", she teased gently. Then went on before he got the chance to respond. "Just look after him, and love him. It's all he needs. And tell him to call me as soon as he can stay awake long enough for it, so I can scold him." She quite clearly needed to hear her friend's voice.

Despite the hectic day he'd had Alec smiled. It widened when Magnus curled up and snuggled closer to him in sleep. "That's all?"

"That's all." A familiar little girl's voice could be heard before Catarina went on. "Merry Christmas, Alec. Despite all this chaos."

"Merry Christmas." Alec caressed Magnus' cheek tenderly and earned a sound he didn't quite recognize but adored immediately. "I'm… actually getting used to chaos." Honestly? He didn't really mind, if insanity was the price for having Magnus in his life. He could definitely do without the kind of near-heart-attacks he got today, though…

The night was long and sleepless. But at least there were no new medical emergencies. Magnus groaned and muttered something a few times, sounding pained, but didn't wake up. Alec enjoyed the feeling of having the warlock in his arms and dozed off lightly whenever his beloved stilled to a peaceful slumber.

It started snowing lightly during the night. Morning's first sunrays cast an unearthly hue on the room when Magnus sighed and began to wake up properly. The dark eyes blinking open were bleary but free of pain. The immediate small smile when their gazes met was an even bigger comfort. "Merry Christmas", the warlock murmured hoarsely.

"It is now." Alec leaned his head against Magnus and enjoyed how healthily warm his boyfriend felt again. "How's the head?"

"Nothing but a dull throb left." Magnus shifted and appeared… remorseful, almost. "I'm… sorry."

Alec sighed. Perhaps he should've been angry, or at least annoyed, but he couldn't manage that at the moment. Not when they were both happy, warm, safe and comfortable. "You will be soon. Catarina's expecting a phone call." When Magnus grimaced from dread Alec made a spontaneous decision to kiss it away. (And seriously, he needed the kiss after having to fret that he might lose Magnus.)

"Thank you", Magnus whispered in his ear after the kiss was over. "For giving me the best Christmas present I've had in centuries." The warlock went on at an incredulous look from him, appearing so young, in love and vulnerable that it would've melted anyone's heart. "It's… been a long time from when I last woke up on a Christmas morning with someone who loves me by my side. I… didn't expect to get that gift again."

Alec did the only thing he possibly could. He kissed Magnus again and poured absolutely all his love into the gesture. And swore to himself that however many Christmases they'd get to have together, he'd make sure that every year Magnus would wake up beside him.

His rather sappy trail of thought was cut when Magnus moved to leave the bed. He was quick to pull the warlock back. "Where do you think you're going?"

Magnus shrugged as much as he could in his current position, with a shadowhunter wrapped around him like an octopus. "I… know what we agreed on, but… I ended up getting you a gift, after all."

"Later", Alec insisted. Because he definitely didn't feel ready to let go just yet. "I've got all I need for Christmas right here." If it'd been a long, long time for Magnus, this was the first time he ever got to wake up next to someone he loved to face the Christmas morning. And he was determined to make the most of it.

(There'd be actual Christmas presents later, of course. One of them being a ring Alec had miraculously managed to keep hidden for over a month, while he waited for the perfect moment. But that's a story for some other time.)

End

A/N: (sighs) Those two…! Magnus, start looking after yourself! And Alec, make an honest man out of your warlock already! (shakes head) Those wo are IMPOSSIBLE sometimes…

SOOOO… How's that for Christmas fluff? Any good, at all? PLEASE, do let me know! Your reviews ALWAYS make my day.

THANK YOU, so much, for reading! Who knows. Maybe I'll see you around again…?

Take care – and HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!