Snippets

Disclaimer: Still not mine, and nobody would pay to read this, so I think we're all set.

Warnings: The usual sporadic references to inexplicit sex, casual bouts of character death.

Notes: This thing contains tense, run-on, and punctuation abuse the likes of which you've probably never seen outside of bad Suefics. And you'll probably hate the word 'and' by the end of this.

Tower and No way out are sort of distant cousins, but that was actually totally unintentional. Also, there are possible implications of Bad Things in I can't, depending on how you read it.


Height

Magnus takes the book he asked Alec to get off the top shelf and makes an off-handed remark about how Alec shouldn't be upset because it's not his fault he's a midget, causing Alec to yell after him, "I'm six feet tall, you're just a freak of nature!"

Deep in thought

Alec decides early on that there's no point in interrupting Magnus while he's lost in his own head, because then questions like, "Do you want lunch?" tend to receive answers of, "I'm not going to Russia again, honey, no matter how many high-class prostitutes you order."

Keeping a secret

"Are you really so ashamed of me that you'll keep us a secret forever?" Magnus asks, Alec flinches and backs out of the apartment, and another day of pretending they mean nothing to one another begins.

Tower

Alec draws on things when he's drunk – which is why Magnus wakes up with a headache and a messy but fairly accurate (and to scale) sketch of the Eiffel Tower on his left arm.

Waiting

He didn't want to admit it (and it went against everything he'd ever learned about love and relationships and closeted teenagers), but even if Alec had never been willing to get over Jace, Magnus still would have waited for him.

Danger ahead

In less than an hour, they'll be going into battle against a demonic army the likes of which the world has never seen, and his chances of survival are fairly low – so, really, what better time to kiss the man he was hopelessly in love with in full view of practically the entire Clave?

Sacrifice

"It's not your fault," Isabelle insists through her tears, but he doesn't believe her, because Magnus knows if he had had any sense at all, he would have stopped Alec from loving him so much that he'd die for him.

Kick in the head

"What kind of depraved sexual act results in someone sustaining a concussion?" Jace asks, hiking an eyebrow; Alec colors brilliantly and starts stuttering something indecipherable before Magnus smoothly cuts in and explains that the very solid, unyielding wall was a lot closer than they'd thought.

No way out

"I wanted to be an architect when I was a kid," Alec says suddenly, while they're sprawled across the bed and too tired to do anything but breathe, "I probably spent more time drawing while Hodge was trying to teach than actually learning, and I always thought there had to be some way of getting out of being a Shadowhunter so I could do what I wanted, but obviously there wasn't," and maybe it's just because he's exhausted, but Magnus thinks that's one of the most depressing things he's heard in a long time.

Rejection

Logically, her argument makes perfect sense – Camille is immortal, she can never die and leave Magnus alone the way Alec will sooner or later, and they've already been in a relationship once anyway – but that doesn't make it hurt any less every time he sees them together and Magnus won't meet his eyes.

Fairy tale

"All right, I know I'm unfamiliar with the story, but I'm pretty certain it isn't 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the Unplanned Pregnancy'."

Magic

Magnus quickly figures out that the Alliance rune could be a thousand times more useful than Clary ever imagined, and he and Alec begin shamelessly abusing it for their own purposes – which, at first, mostly involves teaching Alec how magic is not supposed to be used after he had a little too much fun with sparks and set the couch on fire.

Do not disturb

"Look, I am completely wasted and Magnus isn't wearing a shirt, so be a good little sister and cover for me, okay?" and then the line goes dead and Isabelle laughs for five solid minutes before going to tell her mother that Alec isn't going to be home for dinner.

Multitasking

"How are you doing this all at once?" Alec asks, leaning over the back of the couch to look at the seven separate spells Magnus is working on for three persistent customers; Magnus just grins up at him and says, "Practice, beautiful."

Horror

Grisly, gory, terrifying horror movies don't faze Alec at all (in fact, he usually finds them hilarious), but he refuses to watch the part of Lord of the Rings where Frodo gets attacked by the giant spider, no matter how much he likes the rest of the film.

Bad day

It's one of those dreary, rainy, mopey sort of days, he managed to knock a bowl off the cabinet shelf right onto his head, Chairman Meow ran across his vanity and sent a lot of expensive make-up crashing to the floor, and that nixie he healed on Tuesday skipped town without paying, and yet when Alec climbs into bed next to him, wraps his arms around Magnus' waist, and falls asleep with his nose pressed between the warlock's shoulderblades, Magnus decides that things aren't really so bad after all.

Melody

Magnus likes music but, unfortunately, cannot sing to save his life; conversely, Alec can sing but doesn't know any songs.

Hero

Alec very heroically rescues a catnip mouse from the dark, unexplored land behind the refrigerator, and suddenly Magnus is persona non grata as Alec becomes Chairman Meow's new best friend.

Annoyance

Naturally, there are things about each other they both find unbearably annoying – Alec habitually sleeps in Magnus' bed with his none-too-clean boots on, and Magnus always makes jokes that he knows perfectly well Alec won't understand – but the sex makes up for it, always.

67 percent

"You got a 67 on this math test," Magnus observes, plucking it out of a pile of things that aren't going with Alec when he moves into Magnus' apartment; Alec looks slightly impressed and tells him not to throw it out, that's probably the best grade he'd ever gotten in math.

Obsession

"I am not obsessed with glitter – glitter and I just have a very personal, fulfilling, spiritual relationship that someone unlearned in its pleasures could never understand – stop looking at me like that, I'm kidding."

Mischief managed

When Magnus cheerfully declares, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" and Alec just stares blankly, he shoves a stack of seven books into his arms, directs him towards the door, and tells him he can come back when he's read all of those.

I can't

Their first attempt at having sex is actually an unmitigated disaster – they're both still partially dressed when Alec freezes for a split second, his expression registering some half-forgotten terror, and then he freaks, babbling something about not being able to do this, not again, before bolting, leaving Magnus to stare blankly at the abandoned bed and wonder what he meant by again.

Challenge

He really shouldn't have said anything about a limit on the amount of glitter one can possibly apply per square inch of skin, because Magnus takes that as some sort of challenge, and now Alec finds himself nearly blinded every time Magnus walks into a lit room.

Mirror

Magnus wanders into the bathroom while Alec's brushing his teeth, flicks off the lights, and starts chanting, "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary," into the mirror just for the hell of it – then Alec clamps a hand over his mouth before he can start the second "Bloody Mary" and tells him to shut up before he actually manages to summon something.


Yeah, there was a serious lack of death in these and I bet you're all pretty bummed. I'll kill more often in the last twenty-five, I promise.

Reviews are loved dearly! (there's a certain number I'm trying to reach, but I won't tell you what it is because I don't hold my chapters hostage until I get them, I just hope and pray)