What's this? An update a day from Laci? Gasp! This is what NaNo does to me. And look how long this one is! I'm spoiling you guys.
Winter
If there was anything that Magnus Bane was going to hate, it had to be winter. Sure, winter clothes could be cute, but hell if they weren't mostly bulky and horrendously unflattering on nearly all people. Especially up in New York where it was cold andit snowed. Magnus hated snow with a fiery passion as well. He was more of an autumn and spring person if anything. Much more moderate.
Now, there were some perks of winter, but none of them ever outweighed the parts of it that were just plain awful.
So, from about November to near April, Magnus Bane was not a pleasant person to be around at all. He was cranky and snappish throughout the coldest months of the year. Many had tried to change his mind about winter, but so far none had succeeded. That is, none succeeded until Alec Lightwood and his love of winter showed up in Magnus's life.
See, Alec simply adored winter. He loved everything about it from the bite of the cold wind across his nose to the numbness of his fingers when he forgot his gloves back at the Institute. Granted, winter made it harder to fight demons because of the ice and snow that littered the ground, but that didn't stop Alec from loving it. Jace and Isabelle on the other hand would be more inclined to agree with Magnus about the season. They were summer people.
In the winter, it was very rare for Alec to have a frown or any sort of displeasure on his face. He was all happiness and smiles. Not loud boisterous smiles though, they were more like his simple, small smiles and soft laughter that typically showed he was happy or pleased with something. Alec was never loud or boisterous about things.
And so, when he stepped into Magnus's life with his love and adoration of anything wintery, Magnus was forced to rethink his decision about hating winter. He didn't want to ruin Alec's great mood by being a sourpuss and sniping for several months. And maybe, just maybe he could grow to tolerate winter or even like it a little, if it made Alec happy. He liked it when Alec was happy.
It was a particularly biting winter day when Magnus finally changed his mind about the dreadful season. Alec had come over early that morning, not having anything much to do and having more freetime than he knew to do with. Demons were scarce in the winter, since they much preferred the warm weather and that put Shadowhunters with almost no pressing work and a lot of time to enjoy themselves. Alec elected to spend it with Magnus.
They were curled up on Magnus's couch with Chairman Meow nestled safely on Alec's lap, although he wouldn't be staying there for very long. Alec had other plans in mind, such as making his boyfriend and the love of his life enjoy winter, even if just for a day. He wasn't sure if it would work out in his favor or not, but he very much hoped that it would. Making Magnus happier in the dreary, snowy months would be an accomplishment that Alec allowed himself to be proud of instead of shoving the victory towards another person. But, first Alec had to actually succeed.
And Magnus knew that when the young Shadowhunter turned his attention away from their intertwined hands he was in for a wild ride that wasn't necessarily going to end happily for him.
"Hey, Magnus…." alec started softly, looking up at the gold-green eyes.
"Yes, love?" Magnus asked neutrally, ignoring the pit of dread building in his stomach. It was winter and he knew that Alec enjoyed the season and he was fearful about what was about to happen.
"Can we go outside? It's snowing and I just love the snow," Alec asked with an innocent smile on his face. "Please?"
Of course Alec would want to go outside in the snow….Magnus sighed quietly to himself. He really did not want to do this but he really had no other choice. If he said no, then Alec would frown and look back down and be all sad for a while and Magnus was hoping to avoid making Alec upset at all costs. It happened enough without him adding to it.
"Sure, we can go outside in the snow," he finally replied forcing a smile onto his face and nodding.
Alec's face lit up in a bright, almost childish grin. His plan was working out already; he had been banking on Magnus not wanting to upset him by turning down the request. Now the rest of it just had to fall into place as well. It shouldn't be too hard. He had been planning this for over a week. Get Magnus outside, have fun times in the snow, go back in and cuddle while contently sipping on hot chocolate. If the cuddling went half as well as Alec hoped then maybe Magnus would see that winter really wasn't so bad. It was great cuddling weather after all and Magnus was a cuddle monster.
Moving Chairman Meow gently from where he was curled, Alec hopped up eagerly and grabbed his heavy winter coat and scarf and gloves from where they rested after he entered the flat. Then he looked at Magnus expectantly, waiting for him to either snap something on or do it manually. Now, Magnus was slower at getting ready and did so with less enthusiasm than Alec had.
When they were both clad in their winter gear, Alec marched them outside, keeping Magnus's hand firmly in his as they stepped carefully down the slippery, icy stairs that led to the street. The destination he had in mind was the park. That would be an ideal location for fun in the snow and also it was far enough away from the flat that Magnus couldn't simply retreat back to home if he got annoyed enough with the weather.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," Alec said sounding like a small child on Christmas morning. Magnus grumbled under his breath, not that he didn't love seeing Alec so energetic. It was rare.
Their steps crunched as they traipsed through the snow ridden sidewalk and Alec was practically glowing with excitement. But, this time it wasn't for the season or being out in the snow; it was because his plan was working and he'd gotten Magnus outside with absolutely no fight about it.
"Alec," Magnus said after watching Alec bounce around for a while, "where exactly are you leading us?"
Alec turned to the slightly taller male and smiled widely. "The park of course! There's not enough snow around here to do much of anything. Too much city and not any nature. I want to build a snowman!"
Magnus sighed. Of course Alec wanted to build a snowman. Oh well, he supposed. He would just have to tough it out for the sake of his love and hopefully not have to do it again for the rest of winter.
The two reached the park rather quickly, due to the pace Alec had set and as soon as they were passed the entrance, Alec took off to a clear spot that was unmarred by footprints from other people. "Let's build it here!" he called back to Magnus, who had slowed down as soon as his hand had been released when Alec took off.
Crossing the distance, Magnus just stood there watching as Alec scoped out the area. Once he was satisfied that it would be good enough for his snowman he stooped down in the snow. Scooping a nice amount of snow into his gloved hand, Alec began to work it into the shape of a snowball so that he could roll it around and make it bigger for the snowman in a moment. Having made many snowmen growing up with his siblings, he considered himself somewhat a pro at building them. It had always been his goal to make one that was over six feet tall and now that he was basically that tall himself it could happen quite easily. And he had Magnus to help him this year. Isabelle and Jace had refused to help him build snowmen in the Institute's yard sometime after they were thirteen, so Alec had spent the last few years building them alone.
After making the beginning snowball, he looked at Magnus expectantly. Sighing to himself, Magnus strolled a little closer and raised an eyebrow. He'd never actually made a snowman before, so he wasn't sure of the exact process. He just knew they were usually like three giant snowballs high and had faces made of stuff. He also predicted that Alec would have him summon the stuff for the face with his magic, since they hadn't brought any of it along with them to the park.
"Can you start the second snowball?" Alec asked him with a smile as he began to make the first one larger by rolling it around on the ground.
Magnus nodded even though he wasn't fond of making snowballs or familiar with it. Crouching in a way that prevented the snow from touching any part of him but his shoes, Magnus scooped up his own handful of snow and began to mold it like he'd just watched Alec do with the first one. It was harder than it looked and he frowned when the small snowball shattered from him pressing it together too roughly and incorrectly. So much for learning by watching.
By the time he'd finally gotten the snowball to make and had it nicely rounded, Alec was already working on the third snowball to use for the snowman's head. Magnus spotted the large body snowball a few feet away. And when he said large, he meant it was huge and it made him very glad that it wasn't the middle one or that would have been a pain in the ass to pick up. Granted, he had magic but Magnus was unsure of how magic and snow cooperated, especially since his magic looked like fire when it was visible and that definitely didn't get along with snow in any way.
Rolling his now formed snowball around, Magnus finally got it to a size that was reasonable for the middle part of a snowman and pondered testing the magic thing on it to get it on top of the other one. But, since he'd worked sohard to get it made in the first place he wasn't going to risk it. "Hey, Alec," he called over his shoulder to the Shadowhunter that was rolling around a head-sized snowball, "help me get this one on top of the other one?"
Nodding and abandoning his work, Alec walked over and soon the second snowball was in place. Then he finished up making the snowman's head and that was easy enough for him to get on alone. Standing back once all three snowballs were in place, Alec smiled. It was well over six feet tall this time. It was only then that he realized that they hadn't brought along the necessities to make the face for the snowman. Frowning Alec looked over at Magnus and was about to open his mouth to ask the warlock to magic some up when a carrot and several large buttons (Magnus thought actual coal was too messy to use for the eyes and mouth) showed up in front of him. "You're wonderful," Alec complimented as he literally bounded over to the supplies and started arranging them on the top snowball.
Once he had them all firmly in place, he stood back again and admired the couple's handiwork. Sure, the snowman didn't have arms, but Alec didn't care. He'd reached his life's goal of a six foot tall snowman. He'd finally been tall enough and had enough help to accomplish it. Filled with joy, he hugged Magnus tightly which ultimately threw the two of them off balance. Magnus hadn't been expected the sudden affection and so hadn't had time to brace himself.
They fell into the snow Magnus on bottom and Alec on top of him. And the only thing on Magnus's mind was, Holyshitthat'scold!
With wide eyes, Alec scrambled up and hoped Magnus wasn't angry or upset. He knew the warlock didn't like the cold or snow and here he had gone and practically shoved him down into it. Falling back on his bottom, he looked at Magnus sheepishly and innocently offering an apology with his eyes for what had just happened. "Sorry…" he mumbled, all the previous joy on his face gone.
Magnus pushed himself up and nearly slipped back down. The ground was very frozen under the snow and he'd fallen through practically all of it. Apparently there was ice at the bottom. Shivering, he stood and frowned at the snow clinging to his clothes. "It's fine," he said and his voice sounded clipped and annoyed no matter how he tried to keep the annoyance out of it. "Let's just…go."
Looking down ashamed, Alec stood up as well and nodded. "Okay."
Pushing Magnus down in the snow hadn't been part of his plan and Alec really hoped it didn't ruin or hinder it. Working it over quickly in his mind again, he thought that maybe it hadn't. The extra cold that had been a result of the fall had to help with the need for cuddling and such later. So if anything, it helped his plan? Alec was just going to hope that was the case.
With Alec's affirmation that they should go, Magnus turned on his heel and headed back to his apartment with Alec falling into step beside him as they walked. He felt bad for making Alec upset, but there was snow clinging to his jacket and he couldn't reach it to brush it off and Alec had snow on his gloves so he wouldn't be of any help.
The walk back seemed to be longer than the journey to the park and that was probably attributed to the fact that Alec was in a downtrodden mood now, instead of a jumpy, bouncy bundle of pure joyous energy. It really did put a damper on things.
As soon as they were back inside, Magnus shed his snowy jacket in the doorway and kicked off his snow-covered boots before padding over to the couch and grabbing a thick, fleece blanket off the back of it to wrap around himself. Alec followed suit once his own snowy clothes were discarded. Sitting on the couch next to Magnus, he finally spoke, breaking the silence that had engulfed the journey home. "Erm, Magnus…" he muttered not looking at his second half. "I really am sorry for making you fall. I was just so happy about the snowman and that I got you to help with it..."
Looking at Alec and feeling dreadfully guilty for how he was acting, Magnus opened up his arms for Alec to crawl between and hug him. "It's fine, love, really."
Alec crawled into Magnus's open arms and snuggled close to him wrapping his arms around Magnus's torso, just now noticing that he was shivering. "If you're sure…" he mumbled into Magnus's shirt.
"Positive, darling," Magnus said with a smile and placed a kiss on top of Alec's head. Then he frowned. "You're shivering."
"I'm just a little cold," Alec replied quickly so Magnus wouldn't worry. "You're really warm…"
Magnus had to chuckle. He might have been making his magic heat him up from the adventure out in the snow. He was also happy that he could warm Alec up again. "Well, I do have the blanket," he said to mask the fact that he was using magic.
"Now I do too," Alec pointed out since it had also wrapped around him when Magnus hugged him close.
Magnus nodded and pulled Alec even closer so as to warm him up quicker. His mind supplied him with the fact that he'd get Alec warmed up and not shivering quicker if they were both naked, but he didn't let that thought take over. Now was really not the time. Nor was he a fan of being naked in the middle of winter, even if hewasinside with a heater.
Gradually, Alec stopped shivering as his body temperature rose to a normal level again and he looked up at Magnus. "I'm still sorry about the snow incident."
Magnus almost rolled his eyes. "Just let it go, love. I'm not upset about it anymore." Alec frowned and looked down again. "Anymore…" he muttered. "Which means you were upset about it at the time…"
Magnus sighed this time. "It's not a big deal. I just don't like the snow so I was a little miffed. I'm over it not, though, so you should stop worrying about it."
Alec pouted and opened his mouth to reveal his plan to Magnus so that the warlock would understand why he was so upset. "But, I just wanted to show you that the snow wasn't bad or that winter wasn't bad. And I just made it worse," he complained. "Because you fell in the snow and got all covered in it and it made your spikes droop."
The only part of the explanation that registered to Magnus, though, was that his spikes were drooping and he freed one hand from around Alec to reach up to his hair, eyes widening. That treacherous snow had ruined his hair! He grumbled under his breath for a second before Alec's voice brought him back to reality again.
"Magnus…?" Alec ventured carefully. "Did you hear what I said?"
"Yes, that the snow ruined my precious hair!" Magnus was still rather indignant.
"I meant about trying to make you see that winter wasn't so bad..." Alec stated trying not to roll his eyes at Magnus's behavior.
"Oh." Magnus was quiet for a second. "Well, I don't hate it with a fiery, burning passion anymore."
"You don't?" Alec asked. "And why is that?"
Magnus smiled lovingly at Alec who was looking up at him again. "Because, Alexander, I could never hate something that makes you so happy," he explained. "Yes, I still dislike it, but it makes you so happy that I can't hate it. I love seeing that smile spread across your face when you see snow or how you practically bounce with energy when you go outside in it. I have yet to find anything else that makes you so happy, and for that I can't hate winter anymore."
Alec looked at him open-mouth for a second. His plan had…partially worked! "You don't hate it anymore…because I love it?" he asked slowly just to clarify.
Magnus nodded. "Exactly," he replied with a grin. "I don't hate it because you love it. And I love you."
Alec grinned with him. "I love you too."
And with that, Alec decided that today had been a success. He had built his six foot tall snowman finally and had made Magnus dislike winter a little less. Definitely a good day by anyone's standards.
And so there's that. I wrote this in a day. I'm proud of myself. Especially since I don't know anything about snow and my friend who does said I did a good job at writing about it. Screw living in Texas, bro. Anyway, until next time, review dearies.