A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! It's been such a long time since I've posted anything, so it feels good to get back into it. This is my 12 Days of Christmas countdown fic. I've worked really hard on this, and I hope you all like it. How this will work is that I will post on a new chapter each day, and they will be each titled with a Christmas song.

This chapter features Magnus teaching Alec about mundane Christmas traditions, Magnus interacts with an old friend, and min and Alec pick out a Christmas tree. And yes, I added in an a-spec Warlock. Don't judge, lol!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, ev'rywhere you go; take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again with candy canes a silver lanes aglow…

- It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Magnus's POV

Magnus and Alec were walking down the street, hand in hand, to a shop that sold pre-cut Christmas trees. They would have gone to an actual tree farm, but there weren't very many places like that in the city. Magnus was looking at his phone, reading over some emails from clients about special potions and whatnot.

"Hey, Magnus?" Alec asked, pulling Magnus away from his email.

"Yes, love?" Magnus responded.

"So, uh, mundanes really do things like this? Pick out pine trees, and decorate them?"

Magnus chuckled, despite himself. "They sure do, Alexander! Don't Shadowhunters celebrate Christmas?"

"Hmm, not really. Some big Institutes throw Christmas parties; mostly, small Institutes have winter celebrations, and in Idris they throw big winter festivals," Alec said, a smile blooming on his face.

"Oh yeah? What's that like?" Magnus asked, intrigued.

"Well, I haven't been to one since I was little, but what I do remember of it was really nice. The streets would be decorated with lights, and families would give each other small gifts."

"The gift giving aspect of Christmas would be very familiar to you, then. What the mundanes do is wrap up gifts in colorful wrapping paper, and they place them under the Christmas tree," Magnus explained.

"Huh," Alec said, thoughtful. "That actually sounds kind of fun." The beginnings of a cheerful smile were blooming across his features.

Magnus leaned his head up to kiss him on the cheek. "It does, doesn't it? Oh! Do you know what else we could do after we pick out our tree? We can go to the store to pick out some ornaments."

"But...I thought you said that you already had ornaments?" Alec questioned, confused.

"Yes, I do have some, but I want you to pick out some for our tree because it's your first Christmas, and I want you to pick out something that is special to you."

"What about you? Don't you want an ornament that's special to you, too?"

"Oh, well I have many ornaments that I've collected over the centuries that have special meanings to me, Alexander. It's fine, really," Magnus reassured.

"Okay. If you're sure," Alec responded, a small smile on his face.

"I'm sure," Magnus said, pausing his steps to pull Alec in for a short kiss.

After about three more minutes of walking, they finally made it to the shop that sold the Christmas trees. It was a cozy, little shop that smelled strongly of pine; despite the fact that they sold more than just trees there. As well as Christmas trees, they sold wreaths, homemade ornaments, books, and baking supplies.

The shop was owned by an old Warlock friend of Magnus's named Charlotte Throw. She's always been a very crafty women, and she decided to start a shop to make a business out of it with the mundanes.

"Good afternoon, Magnus!" Charlotte exclaimed as he walked by the front desk.

"Good afternoon to you too, Charlotte. I see the shop's holding out well," Magnus observed.

"Oh, yes. Ever since I've decided to sell Christmas trees, my business has been booming, if you can believe it!" Magnus saw Charlotte look around the corner at Alec who was looking at the various trees. "Is that the Shadowhunter boy you've told me so much about?" Charlotte asked him, smirking. "He's quite handsome, I'll give you that."

Magnus hummed in agreement. "Yes, he sure is," he said lovingly. "How about you, Charlotte? Is there anyone special in your life?"

"Magnus, you know that I've never been interested in relationships. It's never gonna change," she said, jokingly punching his arm.

Magnus chuckled, and reached over to pat her arm. "It was great chatting with you, Charlotte. Are there any trees that you recommend?"

"The ones on the side over there are the more fuller ones, and they tend hold up better. And no problem! It's always great catching up with old friends," she said, smiling at him.

"Thank you," Magnus said, then walked off towards Alec. He was in the middle of the store, checking out the more smaller, thinner trees. "Hey there, love. Have you seen anything that catches your eye?"

"Not really. These seem kind of small," Alec responded, pouting a bit.

"Well, here. My friend over there just told me these more full trees in the corner hold up the best out of the rest of the trees. How about we go check those out?" He suggested.

"Sure. Let's go," Alec said.

They walked over to the corner where Charlotte suggested. Those were some big trees. The apartment had tall ceilings, so the height wasn't so bad. It was just that Magnus had never seen one that was so big.

"What do you think of these, Alexander? Do any of them catch your eye?"

"Hmm...I kinda like this one," he said, pointing out a tree that wasn't too tall, or too short. It had a nice shape, but wasn't overly bushy.

"Nice choice. I'm impressed, Alexander! This is your first time picking out a Christmas tree, and you already have a good eye for them," Magnus declared.

Alec laughed at that. "Well, I don't know about that. Maybe I'm just getting better at doing things like this."

Magnus felt his face light up. You're getting so much better at things in your life that you don't even know, he thought to himself. Alec has become so much more confident with himself, and Magnus can't help but feel so proud of him.

"Charlotte! I think we're gonna get this one," Magnus said, smiling at Alec who look so thrilled to be doing this. Charlotte brought over this special covering to bit on the tree so that the branches won't poke out all over the place while they try to transport it.

They paid for the tree, and Magnus made a portal to send them back to the apartment.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think.

You can find me on Tumblr on malecbane-wood (main blog) and gracietheshadowwriter (fanfic blog). You can also find me on Twitter gracie_reader0, but I don't use my Twitter much. Come talk to me about Shadowhunters and Malec!