Howdy! I actually finished this fic earlier than expected since I'm having trouble (already) with making a new chapter for Polaroids and Memories. This one is a continuation of one of the many snapshots in that series, (if you haven't read it go and check it out) I had a few people support that notion, so here it is, enjoy!
Magnus broke through the haze of sleep much earlier than he normally would – it appeared that Alec's early bird habits were beginning to rub off onto him, and this time Magnus couldn't really decide if that was something he liked or not. Alec had moved into his apartment a little under two months ago and things were going quite smoothly, like any couple they would have their arguments and upsets, but they tended to be about trivial things, such as why wasn't Chairman Meow fed, who was meant to ring Isabelle or how did spaghetti end up on the ceiling. Along with these minor issues they had shared many heated moments and special memories. Magnus unconsciously smiled at the thought – eyes still closed and wrapped up in his warm blankets.
The thought of his Shadowhunter made him in the mood for some early morning snuggling. Magnus disentangled himself from his cocoon of sheets to reach over to Alec's side of the bed. When he came into contact with nothing but cold, messed sheets he snapped his eyes open. Alec usually stayed in bed for a little while before getting up and going for a run. On the days he would accidentally wake Magnus; the warlock would lie in bed until Alec came back and would get up immediately at the sight of his hot, sweaty boyfriend. A quick look at the purple digital clock on the bedside table warned him that it was almost too early for Alec to be awake. Then again, Alec never ceases to amaze me with how early he is capable of getting up, seriously, 7:30am should be illegal, the warlock thought while turning back to the warmth of his sheets. If Alec were there he would have argued that it was Magnus who had gotten him used to waking up so late, since before moving in he would have been up at 6:00am, no later.
Magnus – hoping that Alec might be in the kitchen – decided to get himself out of his wonderfully soft and comfortable bed and face another day. Firstly he did his mandatory stretch –much like a feline, with his arms extending behind and above his head, arching his neck and back, as well as curling his toes. He really did look like a cat writhing on top of his bed. Magnus' lithe body would twist and turn into impossible shapes; his exposed tanned skin would extend over his flexed muscles and reveal the hidden surprises of his lightly muscled body that Alec had become quite familiar with. After feeling a few pops of bones and probably stretching himself enough to add more length to his height, Magnus sat up, his hair falling limply, just shy of his bare shoulders.
The maroon curtains that hung heavily from their rod, whose sole purpose was to block out all forms of sunlight to keep Magnus asleep for as long as possible, were still sealed shut. With an unceremonious wave of his hand the curtains threw themselves open, flooding the entire room with soft morning light. He examined the bedroom, taking in a set of Alec's Shadowhunting gear that he had dropped haphazardly to the floor after a particularly rough night of demon slaying, the stack of books off to the right that were a mix of Magnus' spell books and Alec's own personal collection and the little piece of paper that was sitting on Alec's pillow.
Hold on.
Magnus took the folded note in between two of his long, slender fingers, silently hoping that it did not say that Alec had gone on an early morning demon hunt. He hated whenever Alec had to go off and Magnus didn't know he had left and what were the circumstances, it wasn't very easy all the time having a boyfriend who threw himself in the line of danger readily, dismissing it as 'his job'. Alec never understand how worried Magnus could get some nights, occasionally he would find himself wondering if Alec would come back with a broken leg or bloody gash in his stomach – all of which were mendable in Magnus' capable hands, but seeing him in pain was always Magnus' vice.
Cautiously, he lifted up the fold. He was surprised with what he found written in Alec's handwriting.
Go and have a long, relaxing shower.
Magnus' concern evaporated instantly, but now he wanted to know why his absent boyfriend was giving him orders to do things. It was a suspicious request – at least Magnus found suspicion in the request. Silently, Magnus hoped that there would be some benefit for him by the end of it, like Alec came in and surprised him while he showered, but Magnus had to accept that Alec was probably too shy to do such things.
He strode over to the bathroom, his emerald green boxers shimmering when the sunlight hit them as he moved. During his shower he had to admit he was still expecting Alec to appear suddenly and add more spice to his shower routine, however, he was disappointed and was left to lather, massage and rinse all by himself, enjoying the wafting steam that ghosted past his skin.
Stepping out of the shower onto the mat and grabbing one of his fluffy indigo towels, Magnus found another message for him, this time written on the mirror. It was only visible with the excessive amounts of steam produced during his long, hot shower.
Put on your dressing gown.
Magnus had no objection to that, as this coincided with his usual routine. With another pair of boxers – this time burgundy – he slipped his new green dressing gown with gold trim on. He deposited his hands into the large, soft pockets and his right hand came in contact with another folded paper. It seems like Alec had noticed Magnus' habit of sliding his hands into the pockets of just about every dressing gown he owned.
Put on your slippers.
Right beside the bed, where he left before he went to sleep last night, were his favourite slippers, they were little green aliens with antennas on springs. Magnus had spent the day walking all over the apartment just watching them sway and bounce back and forth with each step when he first bought them. Before Magnus even put his feet into the soft encasement he noticed third piece of paper for the morning.
Find another in the kitchen
Magnus was really intrigued with all these notes. He had no idea why Alec was playing such a game with him; at least he hoped it was Alec doing this, not some stranger with freakishly similar handwriting to Alec's. He was excited to find out what will come of all these notes and to find Alec and question the hell out of him. He guessed it was really sweet that he boyfriend went to so much effort for a reason he figured he'd learn about sooner or later. They'd been together for seven months now and this was pretty out of character for Alec, usually he would blurt what he was thinking immediately without adding up the repercussions, it was one of the many endearing qualities that the boy possessed and was a factor that caused Magnus to fall madly in love with the Shadowhunter. He fondly recalled the other times Alec's seemingly innate behaviour to be straightforward had stunned Magnus, like the Accord's Hall kiss and the time Alec told him that Isabelle said he 'liked liked' him.
Nevertheless, Magnus drifted through the corridor, past the spare bedrooms and coming face to face with Chairman Meow, who sat in the way of Magnus' passage to the kitchen, looking up at him expectantly. With a sigh, Magnus dipped down to collect the ball of fur into his hands, lifting it up to his face.
"Do you know what Alec is planning?" he asked the cat with a suspicious glare. Meow's eyes pierced his own, with what Magnus could only describe as mockery. "So you do know, and you're just being selfish and not telling me. That is hardly fair. I feed you and give you cuddles." He scratched underneath the cat's chin "maybe this will cause you to reveal what you know.' Meow relaxed in his hands and began purring. "Fine then, be like that" he cradled Meow in his arms and walked the rest of the way to the kitchen.
The table was set up for one, a large plate of steaming pancakes and a glass of orange juice was positioned to the right of the plate. A small vase with a rose sat in front, sticky taped to the vase was a small card. Enjoy breakfast it read. Magnus plopped Chairman Meow to the floor, not believing the meal, consisting of his favourite food, was waiting to be eaten by him. Quickly, he sat down and took his first bite.
The pancakes were heavenly.
Once the meal was finished and Magnus felt a little greedy for actually eating eight pancakes he got up and took the dishes to the sink. Inside the sink was yet another note.
Don't bother cleaning up, have a look in the hallway cupboard instead.
Really had this boy thought of everything? Magnus, feeling bad, half-heartedly placed the dishes in the sink and picked up Chairman Meow again, who was circling Magnus' legs throughout his entire breakfast, hoping to get some of the pancakes.
It had been roughly an hour and a half since Magnus had found the first note and he began to worry again. There had been no sight of Alec all morning and Magnus was beginning to really miss his blue eyed wonder. Maybe Alec was getting creative in distracting Magnus while he was actually out Shadowhunting so they didn't have to get into a discussion about why he should slow down on the demon slaying? Nothing really refuted the idea, since Alec could have prepared this for when he ever got an emergency call from Jace or Isabelle. It just wasn't like Alec to act so mysterious.
Magnus cut through the living area to get back to the hallway and meet Alec's request. The lounge had been changed last week to a simple black and white theme. Two of the three couches positioned in a 'U' shape were black suede while the other was white. The entire space had no other variation of colour and looked ultra-modern. The week before was inspired by the medieval times, Alec seemed to enjoy that one.
Now confronted with the hallway closet door Magnus felt a little apprehensive. He figured he'd approach it like a band aid and pull it open. His fingers curled around the silver door knob and slowly began to twist, yanking the door forward when he could.
A burst of colour assaulted him, which was ironic since Magnus tended to be the burst of colour in everyone else's lives.
Balloons – a bunch of about twenty of a variety of colours swayed in front of him, all printed with the same white letters. "Happy Birthday".
Magnus had to stop himself from smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead.
Of course.
Everything started to fit together rapidly. Alec had plan this complete morning in order to celebrate his birthday. Magnus' heart swelled at Alec's sweet gesture, perhaps he had the best boyfriend of all time, who remembered his birthday even when Magnus did not.
After all his long years' birthdays lost their meaning and Magnus didn't really see the point. It had been many years since he celebrated his real birthday, instead each year he chose a day in in October, claiming it was for his birthday, but it really was an excuse to throw an extravagant party. During said parties he would have to deal with strangers wishing him a great day, but it didn't matter anymore, since birthdays were meant to celebrate getting older – and that was one thing Magnus was not doing. Sure, there was another digit to add to his eight hundred years, but it was all useless when there were no physical signs of aging. Magnus was one of the few that, deep down, hoped for wrinkles, that way he could live his life with Alec without that particular elephant in the room.
Accepting the fact that that was not true for the moment, he grasped the weight holding the balloons altogether and sat them on the bedside table in their room, taking the note that was attached to it.
What about the fridge?
The fridge? Now Alec had really begun to ask strange things of Magnus, but since he found out the reason behind the strangeness of the morning he couldn't help but feel all giddy. Maybe Alec had bought him a life time's supply of his favourite ice cream – double choc fudge. He – not that he would admit it ever again – ran excitedly back to the kitchen, ripping open the freezer door. He's hopes were shattered by another note sitting in the relatively empty space.
No, I did not get you an unlimited amount of double choc fudge. I said the fridge not the freezer.
"That cheeky bastard" Magnus laughed to himself, Alec really knew Magnus well, that became quite evident. He shut the door with a thud and peaked through a small gap he created for the fridge door. Magnus nearly squealed of happiness. A lovely round cake took up most of the top shelf. It had blue and green piped icing along the circumference of it, hundreds and thousands completely covering the sides of the cake and M&Ms scattered across the top where it didn't say in icing "Happy Birthday Magnus". What Magnus didn't know was that the inside was layered separately with every colour of the rainbow.
Beside the magnificent piece of edible artwork was another folded note.
Gee, your boyfriend is horrible; maybe you should check the front door.
Magnus turned around as he could see the front door from the kitchen and saw something stuck to the centre of it that he had not noticed throughout his journey within the apartment. Stuffing the note into his pocket with the rest, Magnus advanced forward.
This time it was a small yellow envelope, with a small heart drawn on the front, sticky taped to the dark wood. Magnus carefully peeled it off and slid his finger across to open it. This time there was no white note paper with Alec's script on it. Instead, a photo that just fit inside the envelope was tucked away, hiding the image. Magnus drew it out and smiled.
It was a recent picture of Alec, with his long legs crossed, sitting on the floor, his blue eyes looking up at the camera and – Magnus' favourite part – a big red bow attached to his chest. A sticky-note on the back simply said:
You get me. Happy Birthday!
Swiftly and expectantly, Magnus spun around to face the room, his eyes darting around looking for Alec. All he had found was Chairman Meow swiping at dust motes, visible through the streaming light in the window, with his paw.
He sighed dejectedly, missing his boyfriend tremendously all of a sudden. Where the hell was he?
"Happy Birthday baby, did you like the gift?"
"ALEXANDER!" Magnus' face changed to full blown elation when he heard Alec's voice behind him. Curse his ability to walk through the front door without making a sound. He took the Shadowhunter's face in his hands and pulled him in for a kiss with no further explanation.
"You. Evil. Shadowhunter." With each word Magnus fiercely pressed his lips to Alec's, effectively stunning the boy still.
"Did I–" Alec began, thorough confusion etched all over his face, but Magnus, still in the moment, did not want to spend time talking. He covered his boyfriend's lips with his own and allowed their tongues to touch for the briefest of instants, running a hand down the side of his waist and hips. For the split second they broke apart Alec's eyes were glazed over with longing and his whole demeanour changed. His hands fell to Magnus backside, grasping it through the dressing gown, lifting Magnus up in the process, who wrapped his legs around Alec's narrow waist. Magnus continued to ravage his neck, nipping at the delicate skin there as Alec walked over to one of the black couches.
Alec sat down while Magnus was positioned in his lap – his knees on either side of Alec's. He pulled back the Shadowhunters hair, exposing his bobbing Adam's apple, biting down on his pulse point, releasing a low groan from Alec. They reconnected their lips and Alec trailed his hand down Magnus' bare chest, all the way down to his boxers.
Somewhere in the back of his mind Magnus thought that Alec probably should not have had the build up with all the notes because it just made him yearn for Alec more and more and now that he had him underneath him Magnus was not inclined to let him go any time soon. He needed to express to Alec how much he appreciated the thought that went into this. It was as if each note was a droplet that leads to the bursting of a dam and at the sight of Alec, Magnus had to release all of his desire.
They paused momentarily and pressed their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes, breath mingling. "Oh my God, Alec. Could you be any more perfect? You're so amazing, and sweet, and gorgeous, and loving, and thoughtful." Alec was too distracted at that moment to actually give a decent reply; he originally intended for them to go out for the day and maybe have dinner at a nice restaurant, but now, he simply tugged harder on Magnus' hair and tried leaning forward to kiss Magnus again, but Magnus had other plans and pulled them both off the couch, dragging Alec into their bedroom.
Magnus certainly did not treat Alec as innocently as the picture in the yellow envelope suggested – which was temporarily forgotten on the floor as the bedroom door clicked shut.
Hee hee, they're both so cute. Please tell me what you thought! Reviews are awesome.
If you guys wanted to have a look at what I pictured Magnus' cake to look like you can through this link, just take out the spaces, with any luck the link will work :)
blog . craftzine archive / 2011/03/how-to_rainbow_layer_cake . html
Just imagine the M&M's and the inscription on it.
