Author's Note: I was rummaging through my old journals and found this fanfiction lying there in one of them. I think I wrote it back in high school during one of my classes; I hated my teacher and decided to just write instead of listen to him drone on and on. This is my first real fanfiction, so go easy on me, guys. Malec is my OTP, and I love them so much. I hope I do them justice.

This will be in three parts, all taking place during City of Bones and between City of Bones and City of Ashes. I do not own anything; all credit for the characters and world go to Cassandra Clare.

Part One

Alec lay in bed, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. His mind whirled, preventing any form of sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about him. He tried to picture Jace instead, tried to imagine Jace as he was happiest – a seraph blade in hand, his gold hair and eyes ablaze with heavenly vengeance, staring down a demon with ferocious determination. But even that only worked for a short time before a different face rose behind his eyelids. With a frustrated sigh, Alec rolled out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and headed for the elevator.

He had hoped to sneak out unnoticed. All he needed was a nice, brisk walk to clear his head.

No such luck.

Alec's hand was on the elevator call button when a voice behind him said, "And where do you think you're going at this time of night?"

Cursing under his breath, Alec turned to see Isabelle leaning against the doorway. She even looked formidable in her pajamas. "For a walk."

Isabelle snorted. "It's one o' clock in the morning and you're going for a walk?"

Alec nodded. "Pretty much."

"I don't believe you. You're sneaking out. You don't sneak out to go for a walk." Izzy's eyes widened. "Are you going to meet someone? You are, aren't you?" she said when Alec didn't immediately respond. "Is it that warlock?"

"Iz," Alec said, desperate to prevent that train of thought. "Seriously, I can't sleep, so I'm going for a walk. Okay?"

Izzy looked doubtful, but shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Just try to be back from your booty call before morning. I'm not covering for you with Hodge." And, with a little wave over her shoulder, she went back to her room.

Alec threw his hands up in exasperation. Breathing a secretly relieved sigh, he called the elevator.

He didn't have a destination in mind when he set out. Lost in thought, Alec wandered aimlessly, paying very little attention to where he was going. At one point he became bored with walking, so he hopped a train, not caring to where. Somehow he found himself standing outside the apartment building of the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

"How'd I get here?" he muttered, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Looking at his watch, Alec saw it was now 2:30 a.m. He glanced up at the apartment building, then down at the door. "Screw it," he said. Resolutely, he marched up the steps and rang the bell. He waited for a minute, then rang again. Just as he was starting to think that no one was going to answer, that maybe he should just leave, a sleepy, disgruntled voice emanated from the speaker.

"Who is mad enough to wake me up in the middle of the night and what could you possibly want that just couldn't wait until morning?"

Alec swallowed hard, struggling to maintain this brief courage. "Um, hi. Uh, this is Alec. From…from the night before? At your party?"

"I throw a lot of parties. To which are you referring?" The silky voice had a slight edge to it, as if the speaker was losing what little patience he had.

"The party you threw for your cat. The one where Shadowhunters showed up?" Alec replied nervously. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Oh," the voice replied, sounding slightly more awake, though it had gained a cautious touch. "And which one are you? Not the arrogant one with the gold hair, right? Because if so…"

"No, no," Alec said quickly. "Not Jace. The other one. With the blue eyes. Alec?" he supplied helpfully.

"Ah." He sounded positively delighted. Alec could almost swear he purred. "Well come on up then."

There was a buzz as the door unlocked. Alec reached out to the doorknob…and froze, his hand hovering over the handle. What was he doing? Why was he here? Did he really want to go up those stairs? What would happen if he did?

With the last of his courage, Alec wrapped his hand around the doorknob, opened the door, and began walking up the stairs, the door swinging closed behind him. He jumped when it slammed. He took a deep breath and continued. He'd find out when he got up there.

When he reached the apartment door, it was already open, so he simply pushed and walked in. He was surprised to see how large and empty it appeared without the masses of Downworlders filling it. The floors seemed to be caked in a thin layer of glitter and the sparse furniture he could see also seemed to be shimmering with the stuff. Alec found his mouth curling up slightly in a smirk. He briefly wondered if all warlocks were this flashy.

"I don't often have Shadowhunters in my home once, let alone twice."

Alec spun, hand reaching reflexively to his belt for a weapon that wasn't there. Standing a little ways away, as tall and slim as Alec remembered him, was Magnus Bane. He was barefoot (understandably, since he'd been asleep), but he had pajama bottoms on, silky and smooth and a bright blue. The same color as Alec's eyes. Alec wondered briefly if this was a coincidence. He felt a small blush rise up his neck. On top, the warlock wore a gold bathrobe open onto his bare, surprisingly sculpted chest. Alec quickly moved his eyes upward. The blush got worse, and he desperately tried to keep it from his cheeks. He was surprised to see that Magnus's hair was not in glimmering spikes but instead hung loose and clean, tickling his chin.

Magnus's gold green cat eyes flashed in amusement at Alec's involuntary movement, but he kept his distance. "Jumpy, aren't you?" He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the doorway. Despite his lack of glitter and glamour, Magnus still managed to not look plain. Alec still felt that Magnus emanated a presence that made him feel exposed, as if the warlock could see right through him. He shivered slightly under the gaze of those alien eyes. "You didn't have a weapon there to wield, so at least you aren't here to kill me. There are only two other reasons why you would be here," Magnus said, snapping Alec out of his reverie.

Alec moved out of his automatic fighting stance and, having nothing else to do with them, placed his hands in his pockets. "And what would those be?" He was surprised at how calm his voice sounded.

"You are either here to ask for another favor, or," Magnus said, leaning forward slightly, "you are here to ask for another favor." A smile played on the warlock's lips.

Alec felt a blush rise to his cheeks and not for the first time cursed his overly pale skin. He did not miss the innuendo in Magnus's words. But he wasn't here for that.

So…what was he here for?

"No…no favors," Alec stammered out, all courage gone.

"Oh." Magnus slumped back against the wall, visibly disappointed. "Then why are you here? Alec, wasn't it?" His eyes searched Alec's gold green locking with blue, the warlock's curiosity tinged with annoyance. Alec somehow knew Magnus remembered his name, but was upset that Alec had turned down his offer. Alec's curiosity peaked. He'd met the warlock only yesterday; what cause did he have to be upset at Alec's response?

He didn't know why, but he wanted to cheer Magnus up. He scrambled for something to say. "Your number," he blurted out. Magnus started a bit at Alec's sudden explosion. Alec hunched his shoulders self-consciously.

"What?" Magnus asked, confused.

"Your…your number," Alec mumbled. "You said to call you, but you didn't give me your number." He cleared his throat, unsure where that came from, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. A smile rose to Magnus's lips as he chuckled and stepped toward Alec.

"I suppose I didn't give you a means of contacting me, did I?" he said, leaning close to Alec, who was blushing furiously. The warlock had a mischievous gleam in his cat eyes, a gleam that made Alec's heart race. "And since you did not know any other means to speak with me, you insisted on traveling all the way from the Institute in Manhattan to my humble Brooklyn walk-up at two in the morning." Though his words implied an accusation, his tone was teasing.

"I wouldn't exactly call this humble," Alec murmured nervously.

Magnus grinned his Chesire Cat grin. He backed up a bit from Alec, giving Alec room to catch his breath. "So, Alexander, since you are already here, what did you need to tell me?" He crossed the room and grabbed a bottle and two glasses from behind the bar. Alec's eyes followed him as he moved around the apartment. He couldn't help it; Magnus drew his eyes like a magnet. Shaking his head, Alec tried to gather himself up enough to say something, anything. There hadn't really been anything he needed to tell Magnus, nor did he really come for his number. He didn't have any reason to be here.

Magnus turned back to Alec, two full glasses of some brightly colored alcohol in his hands, when Alec's silence persisted. Magnus raised an eyebrow, a look of amused confusion on his face. "You didn't really come for my number, did you Alexander?" Magnus asked.

Alec opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he closed it again and simply shook his head.

"I see," Magnus said, carrying the glasses with him to sit on a nearby couch. Setting the glasses down on the coffee table, Magnus lounged back on the couch, propped his feet up, and patted the cushion next to him. "Then why don't we just sit and talk? I did ask you to call me so we could."

Alec hesitated. "I'm not sure it's the best thing if I stay. I…"

"That's fine," Magnus said, still smiling strangely. Alec blinked as Magnus got up and took Alec's hand. "If you do fine something to talk about, just fire-message me." He kissed the back of Alec's hand, sending a wave of electricity up his spine. This close, Alec could smell the warlock scent of burnt sugar. "Or you could just come over again." Smiling and bowing slightly, Alec's hand still in his, Magnus said, "Until next time, Alec."

After Magnus had let Alec out, he closed the door and leaned against it, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Did that really just happen? Did Magnus really just flirt with a Shadowhunter?

Did the Shadowhunter really flirt back?

Sure, it was awkward and unsure, but it was still flirting nonetheless. And not only had they flirted, but they flirted because the Shadowhunter – Alec – had actually come to find him. In the middle of the night.

Magnus had to wonder why.

Chariman Meow, annoyed at having been woken up, rubbed his head against Magnus's ankle, demanding attention since Magnus was up anyway. Magnus reached down to rub Chairman Meow's head, then walked back to the couch where the two drinks still sat on the coffee table. He picked one up and downed it in one go. It was nice and smooth on the way down. Special drink he made himself. He put the glass down, then put his head in his hands.

What in the world was he thinking? Sure, he was cute…okay, more than cute…but this was still a bad idea. It never worked well, flirting with Shadowhunters. They always let him down, always chose their precious Clave over their feelings.

Magnus reached out, grabbed the second glass, and downed that, too. This time it burned, and he grimaced. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Then he stood and went back to his room. As he laid back down on his bed, he made a decision. He wouldn't have anything more to do with Alec. Absolutely nothing.