Baby, It's Cold Outside
Magnus looked so happy, sitting on the bus watching the snow falling peacefully. Alec discreetly found Magnus' hand with his own, hoping not to offend anyone on the bus, but no one noticed or even cared to look their way. People were busy talking about how they had spent Christmas. Alec had spent it with his mother and Isabelle, and then he'd spent the next couple of days with Magnus and his mother, and Magnus had almost lost his patience waiting to go to the city to see his possibly future apartment. The girl who had the apartment was going to move out when the next term at college was over, and so the landlord wanted her to find a new tenant. Magnus had already started searching for apartments, because he was certain he would get into NYU or that at least he wanted to move to New York no matter what. The girl who currently rented the apartment had been kind enough to let him go and see it, while she was home for the holidays. But they weren't staying in the city anyway, since New Year's Eve was only a day away and Isabelle had made plans for all of them and half the school to celebrate the New Year together.
"I can't believe she's letting a stranger into her apartment," Alec said, and Magnus looked away from the window with a smile.
"We skyped together, so she knows I'm not some psycho," he shrugged.
"Still, I would think it was weird if a stranger was in my home while I wasn't there," Alec said.
"I have noticed that about you. You are very private," Magnus mused.
"Shit, I was trying to keep that to myself," Alec joked, and the other boy laughed.
"Seriously though, I think it might be because you don't mingle with a lot of friendly people."
"You're friendly?"
"I have my moments. But I'm still kind of new in your life," Magnus shrugged at the last part.
"We've been seeing each other for almost six months?"
"Six months seems like no time at all." The other boy's smile was close to what Alec would describe as perfection.
The snow falling was thicker in the city than it had been back home, and it gave a magical edge to the entire scene. They had no problem finding the apartment, and the key was where the girl had said it would be. The hall was narrow and dark, and it seemed deserted for the holidays. Magnus explained that only students lived in this building. The apartment was on the third floor, and they were welcomed inside by a big living room with an open kitchen. The girl had organized her furniture in a simple manner and with simple decorations, making it rather cozy and making the room appear bigger than it actually was. At the corner of the room was a door for what was probably the bedroom. Magnus went to study the kitchen, and Alec understood why – he had learned that Magnus loved to cook. Despite feeling a bit weird about being in a stranger's home without her presence, he went to check out the bedroom. She had a very feminine king size bed, and room for a small drawer and the closet was built in the wall. Alec went to open the closet with trembling hands; he had never snooped around in a girl's bedroom before, and it felt like he was snooping. But what he found when he opened the closet was that it was bigger than expected and he wondered how on earth there was room for a walk-in closet in the wall that seemed to be shared with the living room wall. It wasn't a big walk-in closet, but it was big enough for someone to change his clothes in there. One thing that could be a downside was that you had to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom, but Alec forgot about that downside as soon as he walked into the bathroom. It was just as rustic as the rest of the apartment, and it had a tub. Alec turned around when he heard Magnus enter the bedroom.
"It has a walk-in closet and a tub!" Alec said through his astonishment. "Are you sure you need this much space? I mean, it must be a pretty expensive apartment, everything seems new?"
Magnus stepped into the bathroom and looked around, while approaching Alec.
"It does look really nice, yeah?"
"Very. But is it really necessary?"
"Don't blame a guy for wanting to impress his boyfriend with a fancy apartment, when he comes to visit. And maybe in another year we'll share the rent?" Magnus suggested smoothly. Alec swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. Did Magnus just ask him to move in with him a year and a half in advance?
"You're asking me to move in with you in eighteen months?" Alec wondered, feeling his pulse race and his heart beat faster.
"That's how serious I am about us," Magnus smiled nervously. Alec was still waiting for the moment when Magnus would leave him for the prettiest blonde girl he came across, despite the fact that Magnus on multiple occasions had made Alec aware that his favorite combination was black hair and blue eyes. "That's also why I wanted you to come with me, and not my mother. I wanted your approval before signing the lease," he added with a shrug. Alec couldn't help himself anymore. He had never been more attracted to his boyfriend. Who would have thought getting this serious in a relationship would be so appealing at his age? Alec made a quick move toward Magnus, and kissed him fervently. The other boy seemed taken aback for a short moment, before his hands reached around Alec and pressed his body closer to his own. Alec forgot where he was for a second and pushed Magnus against the sink forcing him to almost sit on the edge.
"It's not gonna hold me," the other boy chuckled through kisses.
"You're not that heavy," Alec breathed.
"There's a really comfy-looking bed just outside that door?" Magnus suggested, running his hands up and down Alec's chest, but Alec stepped back. Now he remembered that he was still in a stranger's apartment. "What's wrong?"
"I really want you right now, but it feels wrong to do this in her apartment," Alec whispered, as if the walls would hear them. Magnus looked at his watch.
"Well, it is between the holidays, and the bus home won't be leaving for another hour."
"I guess we'll have to forget that we're a couple of teenage boys," Alec pulled his shoulders up in a shrug. "Maybe she has a game of scrabble we can play?"
"You don't want to have sex in her apartment, but you want us to search for a board game?"
"That's not the same and you know it," Alec warned.
"I was just testing to see if I could change your mind. Let's go look inside all of her closets instead." Magnus turned on his heel and went out of the bathroom. Alec took a deep breath, before walking after his boyfriend. The girl didn't have scrabble, but she had a box of Jenga, which was even more boring than what Alec remembered from the last time he'd played it. Still, watching Magnus remove the blocks with expertise was entertainment enough, and soon the hour had past. The two of them found their coats and walked downstairs. Magnus opened the door and snow flooded inside; it was knee-high.
"We've only been here for an hour, right?" Magnus turned to look at Alec, who was slowly realizing what this meant. They were snowed in. They could probably go outside, but there was no way they would find a bus going all the way out of the city. Past the mountain of snow only few cars were driving, and a walking man could easily outdistance them.
"We're stuck here, aren't we?" Alec sighed.
"This is starting to remind me a lot of my favorite holiday song –"
"Don't –" Alec tried to object before Magnus started singing out loud Baby, It's Cold Outside. Alec took a deep breath and started to walk back up to the apartment.
"Come on, it doesn't work if you're not singing with me. It's no fun doing a duet with yourself," Magnus said, while following Alec.
"It's no fun, period," Alec sighed and locked them back inside. He felt Magnus' hand around his wrist.
"Hey, it's fine, we'll wait it out."
"Wait out snow? We don't even have food?"
"I saw a convenience store down at the corner," Magnus shrugged.
"Great, so we'll spent New Year's eating chips and candy. Izzy will kill us if we're not home tomorrow night."
"Why are you panicking?" Magnus asked calmly. Alec was panicking because they were stuck in a stranger's home, and maybe they wouldn't find a bus home before after New Year's Eve. And quite frankly, he was panicking because he didn't like to be without control. "Look, I'm sure the girl will understand that we had to stay in her apartment. Would it make you feel better if I called her and asked for her permission?"
Alec thought about it for a minute.
"Yes, that would make me feel better."
Magnus pulled out his phone and called the girl up, keeping it on speaker.
"This is Stacey," a girl said.
"Hi, it's Magnus. Stacey, I'm at your apartment with my boyfriend and it seems…"
"Oh my Gosh, are you in New York? It's chaos there right now. How did you get there?"
"Yes, that's why we're calling. We got here before the snow was this bad, and we were wondering if it is okay for us to stay till morning, and we can find a way home?"
"Yeah, of course. Sure thing. Make yourself at home. I have extra sheets in the drawer in my bedroom."
"Thank you so much, we really appreciate it. You won't even notice we were here." Magnus gave Alec a triumphant smile.
"No problem, guys." Magnus hung up.
"Extra sheets?"
"I did get kind of a fag hag vibe off of her the last time I called her," Magnus tried to hide his grin. Still, it did make Alec feel better now that they were actually allowed to stay the night in her apartment.
"What are we going to eat?" he wondered, suddenly realizing how long it had actually been since they last ate.
"I could go down to the convenience store and find something? Maybe they have soup."
While Magnus went outside with both his jacket and Alec's on, Alec browsed through the TV stations and found some rerun of a Christmas show. He had almost fallen asleep, because it was so boring, when he felt something cold on his neck – Magnus had brought a snowball inside!
"You did not just do that!" Alec couldn't help but laugh, despite the fact that he had no extra clothes with him. He got off the couch, before he could soak that as well and felt the snow melt down his back. It wasn't as much the cold that made him shiver, but the thought that he had to sit shirtless in a stranger's apartment if he wanted his shirt to dry any time soon. "I'm soaked!"
"Too bad," Magnus shrugged smugly.
"You were just trying to get me out of my clothes."
"I admit that was my intention, yes," Magnus smiled, as Alec pulled off his shirt. The other boy took a step closer, and Alec held up his hand.
"No way, you're not getting any closer. That's your punishment," Alec said.
"It seems my plan backfired," Magnus said and went to take off the jackets. Alec sat back down on the couch. "I found soup, if you're still hungry?"
"Yes please," Alec said, and acted as if he was watching the show, while Magnus heated the soup. When he came over with the soup, he too wasn't wearing a shirt. "What are you doing?"
"Only seems fair, don't you think?" Magnus grinned. Alec didn't reply. He only took the soup and about two sips of it, before he put it down. Magnus had very low waist jeans on and it was difficult not to stare at the bare skin just above the hem of his jeans.
"Oh what the hell," he breathed and kissed Magnus so he almost spilled hot soup on the couch. With little effort Alec managed to get the soup out of Magnus' grasp and put it down on the table, before pushing Magnus back against the couch.
"You are so easy," Magnus chuckled.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Not if you ask me," he claimed and pulled Alec down on top of him. Magnus' skin was cold despite him having worn two jackets to go outside. Alec tried to warm his boyfriend with his own body, and eventually he was the cause of them falling off the couch. Fortunately, he was the one to bang his head against the table and not Magnus.
"Ouch!"
"Maybe we should find a more comfortable location?"
"Sheets," Alec mused.
"We'll change the sheets after," Magnus' smile was wicked as he dragged Alec after him.
…
Alec had been asleep when Magnus had gone to the kitchen to find coffee, because he knew Alec liked coffee immediately after he woke up. When he walked back into the bedroom, Alec was slowly waking up and Magnus had to remind himself to keep his hands steady, when the other boy sat up in bed, the covers sliding down and revealing his abs. He had thought of how Alec had probably started improving his looks months ago to impress Magnus, and honestly he felt it completely unnecessary to improve an already perfect boy, yet also flattered. Still, he was shaking now because of last night. Despite Alec's inexperience every time with him was intense, and it never seemed to stop surprising Magnus. With Alec there was only honesty, pure innocent honesty. Maybe it had been even more intense last night because he'd practically asked Alec to move in with him a year and a half in advance. He had wanted to test Alec, but he had also been nervous about mentioning his intentions with the apartment.
"Is that for me?" Alec looked at the mug in Magnus' hand.
"Yes," he held it out for him. Alec's hand lingered around Magnus' before he took the cup. "The busses are running out of the city again," Magnus explained, when he didn't know what else to say. His head was a mess full of images of last night, the excitement of having Alec there with him along with the excitement of being in a stranger's home, though he knew Alec didn't enjoy the last part or at least he didn't led it on if he did. Alec just nodded as an answer. Something in his expression seemed off, as if he was reconsidering something. Magnus felt nervous suddenly, which was an odd feeling to him.
"Last night was…" Alec started, but couldn't seem to find words. They had done it before lots of times, but somehow it had been different between them last night. It had seemed more spontaneous, seeing that none of them had expected to stay in the city over the night and none of them had exactly come prepared. They had had to get creative, and they hadn't exactly gone all the way this time because of it, yet it had somehow been much more intense and different, tender almost.
"Different?" Magnus offered.
"Incredible," Alec said, and both him and Magnus seemed to feel the same surprise by Alec's choice of word. For a moment Magnus was dumbfounded. "I know it must be very vanilla for you, but…" At that Magnus couldn't help himself from breaking out laughing. There were a few people he would expect the use of 'vanilla' from; people as nerdy as Simon or even Isabelle had probably used the word once or twice, but never Alec.
"I'm sorry," Magnus said and went to sit down at the edge of the bed next to his boyfriend. "I'm not making fun of you. I know what you mean –"
"You do?"
"Yes. I've never been with anyone like that and it was…" He was weighing whether or not romantic would be too much to put to it, but decided it wasn't. "…romantic, if I'm being honest." Magnus noticed Alec's cheeks flush a little at that. "I really enjoy who I am around you, and I thoroughly enjoy us being intimate in a vanilla kind of way."
"Good to know."
"And it almost pains me to say this –" Magnus paused to make it dramatic, and from the looks of Alec's nervous expression it worked. "-but you should get dressed, so Isabelle won't kill us for being late to her and my mom's party."
"Right!" Alec almost jumped out of bed.
…
They weren't home late, but it was late enough for Izzy to yell at them.
"I was getting worried! Really, there would be no party without you guys, especially since it's supposed to be here in your house Magnus. It's still going to be here, right?" Izzy asked.
"I think my mom has it under control, and I'm sure you have the guest list under control, so really what do you need us for?" Magnus shrugged.
When they were done being yelled at, and Izzy was assured that Mrs. Bane had everything under control, Izzy hurried them to go get changed, because she just couldn't handle it if the only two gays at the party weren't well-dressed.
"Is she stereotyping us?" Alec frowned.
"Didn't you say half the school was coming?" Magnus wondered.
"Yes, that's why it's so important."
"Yeah, I'm sure we're not the only gays out of forty people."
"Oh my gosh, do you know something?" Izzy leaned in closer to Magnus, as if he was about to tell her a secret.
"Statistic is what I know. A lot of them are just waiting to come out in college," he winked, and she looked disappointed for a short moment, before running off to help Mrs. Bane with the appetizers.
"It's not exactly going to be a quiet New Years Eve, is it?" Alec sighed. He hadn't known Izzy had invited half the school, but it didn't shock him much knowing his sister and Magnus.
"No, but I have a plan," Magnus said and wandered off upstairs. Alec followed him and he realized Izzy had made Magnus the one in charge of getting Alec new clothes, which was more suitable for the occasion than anything he had at home. The two of them matched perfectly; Magnus was wearing a deep purple shirt under his blazer, which matched the color of the tie he had picked out for Alec. He was impressed with how good-looking he felt in a suit, and that was a new feeling for him.
The night went on slowly. Alec had never really understood the fuss about New Year's Eve. But twenty minutes before midnight, Magnus found him and dragged him along outside the house and all the way down to the park. The park was quiet and away from all the people partying inside their houses.
"What are we doing here?" Alec wondered.
"I know you don't like loud crowds, and I just wanted to see the fireworks with my boyfriend this New Year's Eve. It has been the best year of my life so far, and I want to start next year with you and only you, Alexander," Magnus said, and almost as if he had timed it fireworks went off in the background. Alec looked at his watch and it was two minutes past twelve.
"Happy New Year, Magnus." Alec leaned in to kiss his boyfriend softly, and he now understood what the fuss about New Year's Eve was – the first kiss of the year being at midnight made it extra special.