So I wrote this one like two months ago for the 24 Fics in 24 Days Challenge thing I did and had the sudden realization that it is Christmas today, so I decided to edit and post it now. Happy holidays everyone!
Alec had never been the kind to enjoy social events like these. He'd always preferred to hide away in his room or the most remote corner he could find and avoid any and all interaction with the stuffy aristocrats who seemed to come out of nowhere just to frequent such occasions. Of course, his siblings would drag him out to clubs at each chance they got, silently urging him to dance with every man they thought to be somewhat attractive, and he'd never enjoyed that much either so really it's less social events like these and more any kind of even remotely social situation at all.
As if the guests scattered about the Lightwoods' wide dining hall wasn't bad enough, there was also the matter of his sister constantly trying to force him under the boughs of mistletoe hanging around the entrances to the room with any guy she deemed even mildly good-looking. To say Alec was not amused would be an understatement.
Although, if he was being honest, he wouldn't mind so much if the one he was being shoved up against under the blasphemous plant was the man across the hall who kept staring at him with an infuriatingly enticing smirk toying at the corners of his lips. Alec would be lying if he said he didn't think he was the most gorgeous man he'd ever seen.
"What about that one?" his sister asked completely unsubtly, sidling up beside him with a suggestive glance at a boy over by the table of food and a dark flush high on her cheeks. Great, she was even worse when she was drunk.
Alec sighed in annoyance, making a show of looking the proposed boy up and down and raising his eyes in fake contemplation. "He's okay," he offered mildly, inflicting as much disinterest into his voice as humanly possible. "Not really my type."
"Ugh, what is your type, then? We've already been through half the guys here!" Isabelle exclaimed loudly, looking utterly dejected as she scanned the room half-heartedly for her next target.
"Look, Iz, I know you're trying to help and all but I really don't need you to. I'm not interested in a relationship right now, let alone starting one here or one brought on by you shoving guys at me all night. Just leave it be, okay? I'll get a boyfriend when I want a boyfriend." His sister pouted at that, slouching her shoulders in a show of giving up before leaning against him heavily with a loud sigh against his cheek. Alec tried not to wince; the alcohol on her breath was disgustingly potent.
"I just want you to be happy," she whined, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep herself upright after nearly toppling to the hardwood floor at their feet.
"I am happy," he muttered defensively and then, glancing down at her raised eyebrow and doubtful expression, amended, "When I'm not being forced to attend stupid Christmas parties with a bunch of people I don't even know."
"You know me! And mom and dad and Jace and Max and— Aw, is that Clary? Oh my God she looks adorable! Don't you think so?"
Alec groaned at his sister's inability to stay on a topic for long when she was inebriated beyond what was probably even remotely healthy, but glanced over anyway to where his best friend was greeting his girlfriend with a wide grin. "Yeah," he mumbled half-heartedly. "Adorable. That dress is really short, though. And why is she wearing heels if she doesn't know how to walk in them?"
"Oh, don't be like that, Alec. Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you have to drag everyone else down too."
"Maybe if I make everyone unhappy enough you'll all stop inviting me to these things."
Isabelle frowned, poking at his arm with a disapproving look. "You know that'll never happen, grumpypants."
"Worth a shot," he grumbled back. He could sense his sister rolling her eyes at him from where she was still pressed against his side, clinging to his shoulder for balance but still teetering dangerously in her high heels, and purposely ignored her heavy sigh.
They remained in that position for what felt like an eternity to Alec but was really only a few minutes before Isabelle detached herself from his side after nearly deafening him with a sharp squeal of "Simon? Is that Simon? It is!" directly into his sensitive ear. He watched his sister go with only mild concern when she tripped halfway across the room before catching herself and taking off at a run again.
Glancing sadly down at the empty champagne glass in his hand, Alec resolved himself to go fetch another and set off to complete his mission at a slow pace, feeling utterly drained after having been there for the past five hours. He was in the process of grabbing another glass, having already set down the empty one, when someone brushed up against his side and leaned in to whisper directly into his ear; "Hey, beautiful."
Spinning around so fast he nearly dropped the champagne, Alec felt his face turn an impressive fire engine red as he stared wide eyed at the man in front of him. Or, more specifically, the man who had in turn been staring at Alec all night from across the room. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Alec averted his gaze.
"Oh, don't do that. I want to see those gorgeous blue eyes of yours," the admittedly attractive young man before him said with the same enticing smirk he'd had whenever Alec happened to glance up and catch him staring.
"Um," was all Alec managed in terms of a reply, but he did raise his eyes to fix them on the lapels of the man's jacket. The man who was actually very sparkly now that Alec was looking and also happened to be laughing lightly, the sound airy and musical as it reached his ears.
"You're adorable," the sparkly man said, offering him a much more friendly smile than the smirk had been. "I'm Magnus."
"Alec," he muttered in response, blinking rapidly at the stunning sight before him and wondering if it would be rude to reach out and pinch this Magnus guy, just to make sure he was real. Probably.
"Was that your sister you were just talking to?" Magnus asked conversationally. He appeared to be genuinely curious, Alec noted, as opposed to just trying to be polite.
"Yeah, that was Isabelle." At least he'd moved past the mumbles and stutters by now, he thought absently to himself as he met the taller man's captivating golden green eyes.
"I think," said Magnus with the air of someone quite clearly changing the topic, "you may have noticed my staring throughout the evening."
I'd have to be blind not to have, Alec thought. "A bit, yeah."
"I'm sorry, I know it probably came off as rude. It must have made you uncomfortable, too."
You think? Alec shrugged noncommittally by way of response.
Magnus's smile only widened. "It's just that I've never seen anyone so beautiful before."
Alec didn't think the spluttering he was currently doing was all that beautiful, but Magnus didn't appear at all put off by his inability to function like a normal human being when placed in social environments. In fact, the glittered man was grinning now, looking rather satisfied with himself.
He was also polite enough to wait for Alec to regain some form of composure before completely sending him scrambling with another easy phrase. "Can I get your number?"
Alec stared. And then blinked. And then stared some more.
Meanwhile, Magnus had already reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out his cell phone, flipping through the home screen to get to his contacts. He fiddled with the device for another minute, tapping at the screen while humming tunelessly to something that sounded vaguely like Adam Lambert. Whom Alec only knew anything about because of Isabelle, of course.
Magnus passed him the device with an amused look as he watched Alec fumble with it as though he had no idea what to do. Admittedly, he really didn't. Thank God the phone wouldn't let him put digits in the place for his name or letters in the place for his number. He would have probably messed that up if it hadn't, being that his brain was currently having trouble functioning. It seemed to be stuck on the fact that the most gorgeous man Alec had ever met had just flirted with him and asked for his phone number.
He wondered again if it would be rude to pinch him.
"Thank you, darling," Magnus offered with a wide grin as he took his phone back. "I'll be sure to call you sometime. Most likely tomorrow," he added with a glittery wink.
"Um, right. Okay." His voice shook ever so slightly, his face heating up impossibly more as he watched Magnus turn to strut away, giving Alec a completely different view of his exquisite figure. When he realized he was still standing there awkwardly, and that he was now alone again, Alec glanced desperately around the room for his sister or his best friend or even his parents. Anyone to save him from having to spend the rest of the night shifting uncomfortably in the corner while everyone around him engaged in conversation. He seemed always to be the one left out when it came to things like these; another reason he hated attending.
As if by magic, Magnus's shoes made a loud noise as he spun back around to face Alec, only having made it halfway across the room by then. The expression on his face was contemplative as he scanned the blue-eyed boy considerately.
"You want to get out of here?" he asked after a moment, voice raised just louder than usual to be heard over the distance. Alec's eyes widened, but he found himself nodding regardless and jamming his hands into the pockets of his suit as he made his way towards the other man.
Magnus's smile was impossibly wider when he finally reached his side and the hand he offered was expectant. Alec took it with only slight hesitation, allowing himself to be guided out the door and into the hallway beyond. He noted with mild interest that Magnus very obviously swerved to avoid the holiday plant hanging lowly in the entrance.
"Where are we going?" he couldn't help but ask as they made their way down the hall. He could still hear muffled sounds from the party through the thin walls of his house, but he found himself already breathing more freely being even just a hallway away from it all.
Magnus's expression was thoughtful. "I have no idea."
He couldn't help the nervous laugh he let out in response and tried not to notice the pleasantly surprised look Magnus gave him in exchange. He was feeling much better now; less like everyone was closing in on him.
To be honest, he didn't think he really cared where they went.
He was breathing heavily by the time they made it back to the swooping driveway of the Lightwood manor. Doubling over to rest his hands on his knees and catch his breath, Alec couldn't stop the laughter that was bubbling uncontrollably from his throat as he glanced over at his partner in crime for that evening. Magnus, as it turned out, was laughing just as hard.
"Oh my God, did you see his face? Priceless!" The sparkly young man's grin was wide and unabashed, broken only by the opening of his mouth to let out another bout of heartened laughter.
"And when he— That was perfect. Why have I never tried that before?" Alec asked disbelievingly, grinning right back at his equally dishevelled friend. Said friend's own expression had shifted into something more suggestive, however.
"That would be because you've never hung out with me before, darling."
Alec shook his head, still smiling, and let out a soft snort even as his cheeks heated. The air outside was fresh with the coldest season of the year, though, so thankfully they could cool down relatively fast. "We should go inside."
Magnus looked just as reluctant to do so as Alec felt, but probably knew just as well as he did that the night couldn't last forever, if the weighty sigh he let out and dejected glance up at the doors to the manor were anything to go by. He was the first to mount the stairs up onto the porch, leather heels clicking against the marble floor. Alec only hesitated for half a second before trailing along after him.
The hallway was just as it'd been when they'd left the Christmas party that appeared to still be in full swing on the other side of the wall. Muffled music flowed through with the chatter of hundreds of guests lingering just under it and halfway down Alec could see light from the dining hall pouring out through the entrance. There was a sinking feeling in his gut, quickly tearing at his good mood, and he tried to ignore it as he reached to loop his fingers timidly with Magnus's. The grin his newfound friend offered in response almost did the trick.
Unfortunately, they reached the doors to the dining hall all too quickly and Alec found himself staring a suddenly darker evening in the face as he looked on at the happy guests milling about inside. He didn't want to go in, to go back to that, didn't want to leave Magnus and have the night be ruined for a second time by this stupid Christmas party his parents had decided to throw two weeks before the actual holiday. He felt suddenly bitter and just the slightest bit angry too, but tried to force it down enough to at least say goodbye to Magnus properly. He knew the other wasn't staying; he'd mentioned it earlier when they were both still trying to wade through Alec's awkwardness to get to where they were now.
It was because he was so lost in his own despairing thoughts that Alec missed the mischievous look Magnus sent his way before yanking him through the doorway. Or, more precisely, right under the mistletoe hanging overhead. Damn, he was good.
He had just enough time to give Magnus a wide-eyed look before he was hauled forward with a muttered "Sorry, darling. Can't go against tradition." and surprisingly soft lips were pressed against his own. Letting his eyes slip shut, Alec felt all the breath in his body leave him as the world tilted to center around the man he suddenly found himself kissing. In front of hundreds of people. Oh God, his sister was going to have a field day with this one.
He shifted an eye open enough to skit over the crowd for a brief moment, taking note of the dark-haired teen who stood at the front of the onlookers with a camera phone held in front of her snickering face. He was going to kill her for that, whether she was family or not.
Thoughts of his sister and the murder he would inevitably commit upon her as soon as he had the chance flew right out the window when Magnus wrapped his arms tighter around his waist, fingers brushing just under the hem of Alec's suit jacket at the pale skin underneath, and drew Alec even closer to him. Twisting his own hands into the soft hair at the base of Magnus's neck, Alec found himself once again incredibly tempted to pinch the other man. Or himself.
Rude, he reminded himself sternly, leaning into Magnus further and tilting his head to a different angle. He'd never been kissed like this before; so passionately and yet at the same time so incredibly gentle and considerate in every brush of their lips against each other. It was thrilling, to say the least, and sent his heart ricocheting against his chest like a firecracker.
Eventually, Magnus drew his head back from Alec, effectively ending their kiss. He didn't move the rest of him, though, and Alec found himself acutely aware of the press of Magnus's body against his own.
"You're a good kisser, beautiful," Magnus whispered with a nearly infuriating smirk, winking at him while pointedly looking down at his now wet lips. Alec blushed, ducking his head against the other man's chest as it shook with soft laughter.
Just then, his sister broke out in loud cheers from a few feet away and came barrelling towards them with a distinctly self-satisfied grin stretched widely across her face. She rounded on him with a squeal and a look in her eyes that Alec attributed to the fangirl moments she often had over numerous things in their daily life, while Alec pulled back just enough to face her. Magnus's arms remained firmly planted around his waist, his chest pressed against the dark-haired boy's side.
"Alec! Who's this?" his sister demanded in an excited tone, voice loud and eyes bright as they darted between the two men wildly. Alec groaned, giving Magnus a both pleading and apologetic look.
"Magnus Bane," his partner introduced, offering her a hand to shake and a charming smile that spoke lengths as to just how hard he was trying to humour her. By the looks of it, he'd much rather have gone back to kissing Alec than held a conversation with his sister. Alec would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same.
"Isabelle Lightwood," his sister replied, her tone comically serious as she lowered it to a deep voice before dissolving into giggles, clasping at Magnus's hand. Magnus directed a concerned look at Alec, who groaned again and cursed Isabelle under his breath as he disentangled himself from the other man and reached out to grab her arm.
"Come on, Iz. Why don't we get you some water?" he said, plucking the champagne glass still in her hand out of her grip and setting it on the nearest table. The inebriated girl only giggled again, mumbling incoherently about thoughtful big brothers who kiss steamy hot glitter bombs. Rolling his eyes, Alec shot Magnus an apologetic look over her shoulder before leading her away towards the refreshments table. His— friend only smiled indulgently in response, waving his phone in front of him as if to say 'I'll call you' and blowing a kiss in his direction. Blushing, Alec quickly turned away from him, merging into the group of guests still milling about the room.
Admittedly, he didn't mind the event so much anymore. The man currently watching him from the doorway with an enticing smirk on his lips might have had something to do with it, though.
I think this is the longest one I wrote for this challenge (apart from this one that I won't be posting because it's absolutely horrendous). I love the first section of this one so much, guys. There's like a fifty percent chance I might continue this one, so if you want more be sure to say so, as if enough people are asking I will definitely add at least another chapter or two. Anyway, let me know what you thought?