Alec had been to Times Square on New Year's Eve many times. Every single time, he had been working. The scene was always ruckus and energetic with thousands upon thousands of people ready to ring in the new year, and it was a haven for demons with ill intent. Many of those demons were camouflaged as humans, making it that much harder to detect them.
This year was different. He and Magnus were there together, still celebrating their new marriage, still in what the older generations called the 'honeymoon period.' They were happy, so incredibly happy that Alec sometimes pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But all he ever got was a sensation of pain and a nasty bruise, so he assumed that meant it was all real.
Alec looked, again, at Magnus. Magnus was dressed in his customary tight black pants and his favorite leather boots. He wore several layers of clothes to protect against the mid-winter chill. His outermost shirt was a long-sleeved tee that read 'Happy New Year' in rainbow glitter. There was a glittery firework and an image of the crystal ball that dropped at midnight to signify the new year depicted on the shirt as well. Magnus had tried, very hard, to get Alec to wear a matching shirt, but Alec had refused, and went with his usual all-black attire. Magnus wore a sleek, leather trench coat over the ensemble and his hair was spiked with glitter, as usual.
The part of Magnus's wardrobe that was not at all usual was the glittery purple party hat and the fake glasses with 2011 written out in the frames. When they had left the apartment, Alec thought the hat and fake glasses looked foolish. He had long since grown accustomed to the glitter and flamboyant outfits Magnus frequently wore, and secretly loved to see Magnus doused in glitter. He loved the way the warlock's face lit up when he was sparkly, loved the mischievous gleam in his eyes. He loved it even more now that Magnus had finally given up trying to get Alec to wear glitter as well.
But the glasses were just ridiculous. At least, that is what he thought before they actually arrived in Times Square. It seemed that everyone, except for Alec, was wearing a similar pair of silly glasses. This was one area that Alec didn't mind being excluded, he thought decidedly.
Alec and Magnus were meandering through the gathering crowd with no particular destination in mind. There was music coming from all directions. Magnus, being Magnus, wanted to see every band that was playing, and consequently, dragged Alec from one street to the next, chasing the sounds of music.
Magnus pointed a ringed finger at every celebrity he recognized, which happened to be many. He leaned in to whisper the celebrities' names in Alec's ear. This amused Alec tremendously. Alec could likely identify the current US President, only because it was required of him as a Shadowhunter to know political leaders, but Magnus kept pointing out bands or music artists he had never heard of. He did recognize some of the songs from going to clubs with Magnus, Jace and Izzy over the years, or from when Magnus played music around the apartment when he was bored. But the artists? No way.
They watched a wild looking woman, who could probably give Magnus tips on glitter application, dance and strut around a stage, singing a loud hip-hop music that Alec was sure would have Isabelle dancing if she were there. Alec thought it was a good thing the girl was jumping around so enthusiastically or she would likely have been freezing given how scantily clad she was in New York City on December 31st.
Magnus grabbed his hand and, before he could protest, dragged him to a large group of people dancing and thrashing to the music. Alec had learned by now not to argue about dancing with Magnus; it usually went much smoother and he looked less foolish if he just cooperated with the warlock. Alec threw his hands up, his body gyrating against Magnus's, and laughed. Even though he still wasn't completely comfortable dancing, he had never once regretted dancing in public with Magnus, always managing to enjoy himself more than he had thought he would.
After dancing to several of the wild woman's songs, they moved down the street to a band playing rap music. Alec was not fond of this genre and had no idea how to dance to it. Magnus cleared out a space in the crowd and started weaving his arms around, pretending to rap along with the artist. Alec covered his mouth with his hand to hide his grin and backed away, giving Magnus room and encouraging him with a gesture. Magnus received several cheers from the crowd for his effort. Alec sometimes envied Magnus's fearlessness, and his willingness to try anything in an attempt to have fun.
As the night progressed, the temperature dropped. There had been a recent snowfall, and the roads, though cleared of snow, were slushy. Alec zipped up his coat to shield against the light breeze that was blowing, as they continued to walk, taking in the sights and sounds of the New Year's Eve street party.
Magnus caught Alec's hand and pointed toward the giant crystal ball atop one of the buildings. The ball was alight with thousands of lights, shimmering and glowing against the dark sky. Alec knew that as midnight approached the ball would drop down the pole it rested on and illuminate an enormous 2011 sign.
Magnus grinned at him, that grin he reserved for occasions when he had an idea he was about to enact. A split second later, Magnus snapped his fingers and the couple disappeared. They reappeared high in the sky, standing on the giant ball that Alec had just been admiring.
"What the hell?" Alec said as he got his bearings and realized they were hundreds of feet in the air.
"Relax, Alec," Magnus said dismissively, as if he had just magicked them onto a table instead of a twenty-five story building.
"Magnus! We can't be up here!" Alec said, gesturing around him. "No one can be up here!"
"Well, we are up here, Alec," Magnus said in that infuriating way of his.
Alec turned, gingerly, toward Magnus and placed his hands on his hips. "You don't think someone will notice that we are up here?"
Magnus sat down on top of the ball, leaned back slightly, and said, "Nope." He was picking at a piece of fingernail polish that had chipped off as if that were his only care in the world.
Alec sat next to him, mostly to decrease his fear of fall off the damn ball. He narrowed his eyes at his husband. "You put a glamour on us, didn't you?"
Magnus's only reply was a wide, guilt-free grin.
Alec shook his head. Now that he was seated and felt more secure, and also knew that no one could see them, his disbelief started to ebb. "They have no idea we are up here, do they?" he said, gesturing toward the hordes of people below them on the street.
"Nope," Magnus replied again.
"And we don't have to worry about these lights breaking or burning us, right?"
Magnus's grin widened as he wiggled his fingers. "Warlock" was all he said.
Feeling slightly more at ease, Alec took in his surroundings. He had seen the Times Square celebration from the ground many times, but it was easy to get lost in the shuffling crowd down below. From this vantage point, the scene was even more spectacular.
There appeared to be hundreds of thousands of tiny little ants crawling all over the ground, all decked out in festive colors, coats, hats, and the like. Many of the ant-people were wearing luminescent or glowing accessories, which made them look even stranger from Alec's height advantage.
He could easily see the stages set up for the various bands to play, as well as the areas for the multitude of television crews covering the event. Then there were the lighted signs and billboards lining the streets, and the many storefronts all aglow. The scene looked like some kind of cosmic board game, and Alec was in awe.
"Pretty cool, huh," Magnus said, nonchalantly, as if this were something he did on a daily basis.
"It's amazing! You're amazing," Alec said. Magnus's eyes darted to Alec and he smiled crookedly.
"Just wait," Magnus said. "Oh, and hang on tight."
"What?" Alec began, but he quickly realized what Magnus was saying. As a large clock started counting down to midnight, the collective voices of hundreds of thousands of people rose, counting down with it. With a jolt that nearly unseated Alec, the gigantic ball slowly started it's descent.
When the ball finally stopped, and the year 2011 lit up on a giant screen, Magnus leaned around the pole supporting the ball and said, "Happy New Year!" He hooked his hand around the back of Alec's neck, drawing him in for a kiss. Alec closed his eyes, letting the dizzying height and noise of the celebration fade away, easily getting lost in the kiss, in Magnus.
Alec distantly registered a snapping sound, but dismissed it as he continued kissing Magnus on top of the giant New Year's ball, celebrating their first New Year as a married couple. When the kiss finally ended, he opened his eyes and received a shock. They were no longer on top of the ball. Instead, they were precariously perched on the edge of an empty rooftop of a building, many stories up in the sky. The lights and commotion of the New Year's party-goers still reached them, but the sound was diminished.
Magnus pulled Alec between his legs and snaked his arms around Alec's waist. Alec leaned back against the warlock, and Magnus rested his head on Alec's shoulder. The sound of music reached them in their lofty perch. The song was the traditional New Year's song, 'Auld Lang Syne.'
Alec knew the song, but like most people, did not know the words. Magnus, however, knew every one. He began softly singing into Alec's ear, ruffling Alec's hair with his breath. Alec sighed happily and pressed himself further into Magnus's embrace. He couldn't think of a more perfect way to ring in the new year than with his husband singing to him, high above the world.
Their vantage point was perfect for observing the colorful explosions of the fireworks that accompanied the dawn of the new year. Each bomb bursting and raining fiery debris onto the crowd below brought a smile to Alec's face, mingled with 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the mass of people so far beneath them.
Alec turned slightly, not wanting to risk unseating them, just enough to kiss Magnus on the cheek. Magnus smiled at him as he looked at Alec with love in his eyes.
"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, Magnus Bane, but thank you, once again."
"I just like surprising you, and making you smile."
Alec turned back toward the fireworks, still wrapped in Magnus's arms. He laced his fingers with Magnus's. As Magnus whispered, "I love you," in Alec's ear, Alec leaned back against him, hoping the night would not be ending anytime soon.