This is the last chapter before Christmas, I hope I'll get a chance to write another chapter before New Year's, but I'm not sure. I hope you're all enjoying the holidays!
Draw Something
Izzy usually worked evenings and nights, so Alec had lots of time with his sister now that she was in New York. He could work any hours of the day, so today he'd decided to work on his next book later and spent the morning with his sister drinking coffee in the park. He had something important to tell her.
"I need to show you something," Alec said and reached into his computer bag.
"Oh god, you're not pregnant, are you?" she teased.
"Funny," he replied flatly and handed her the first edition of his book.
"OMG! That says Alec Lightwood! That is so cool! Is that Clary's drawing?" Izzy looked through it with astonishment. Alec had asked Clary to make her version of a cover, and he'd convinced Charlotte to go with it. "Can I have it?"
"No, I need that one. I'll get you another one, okay?" he said, and she looked at him suspiciously, but then she gave it back to him. He put it back in his bag, where it was safe.
"You know, Magnus has been nagging me about something," Izzy began, once she'd recovered from her brother having an actual book to show for himself. They were now watching a few young people playing ball, from where they sat.
"What did he do now?" Alec wondered.
"He's gotten this idea into his head that you want to propose to him?" she said it like a question.
"I might have given him that idea," Alec shrugged.
"Alec, you've not even been together for a year?" she exclaimed.
"I love him and I don't want anyone other than him. You didn't see him when I first met him," Alec sighed.
"Enlighten me?"
"He was lonely. He didn't think he could really love someone. He spent his days partying and drinking and working. That's it."
"You feel protective of him because you got him out of that routine, I get it," Izzy said.
"It's more than that."
"I know. I just wanted to make sure you thought it through."
"It's all I ever think about," Alec admitted.
"Good. Then we need to do something about the fact that he told me he wanted to surprise you with a proposal first," Izzy said.
"What?!"
"You heard me. We need to do something about it," she said. They were both thinking for a while, sitting in silence. "Maybe we should go look at rings? That's a good way to start?"
"Right. Of course," Alec chuckled nervously.
…
"Izzy, I'm not sure I can afford any of these," Alec said. It felt shitty to look at rings in a jewellery store that specialized in engagement rings, when he didn't exactly get paid much in advance for his book. Although he was looking at a few rings that Magnus would definitely love. Magnus already had a lot of rings, so he needed something a little extra than that, except all of Magnus' rings were expensive designer rings. He was looking at one called 'The Dauntless Ruler' and it would be perfect, but it was white gold and way too expensive.
Izzy then dragged Alec to Tiffany's to look at rings. It didn't do much difference price-wise, and it seemed that suddenly Izzy was browsing for rings for herself. She found one that looked like a snake.
"This looks so gorgeous," she said as she stared at it through the glass. Something popped into Alec's mind, and he took out his smartphone and began browsing. He'd seen a similar ring once, it was the ouroboros. It would be perfect for Magnus, and a bit out of the ordinary for an engagement ring. He then found a vintage version of a snake embracing a blue stone, it wasn't real sapphire, but it looked real in the picture.
"How about this?" Alec held the phone up in front of Izzy, and she studied it.
"It's gorgeous, but not really a typical engagement ring, is it?"
"Since when is anything about Magnus typical?" Alec replied.
"You're right," she smiled at him with a knowing sort of smile. "Luckily, the shop is in New York."
Alec knew that, because he'd narrowed the search. They went to the shop at the other end of the city, and the ring turned out to be even more beautiful in real life.
"It's still a bit expensive," Alec was suddenly nervous. It wasn't the kind of ring you could just return again, if Magnus didn't like it.
"But Magnus is worth it, right?" Izzy helped.
"Yeah, but I'll be completely broke, do you think he wants to marry a poor man?"
"I think if he didn't he would have dumped your ass months ago," Izzy grinned.
"Thanks a lot," Alec sniggered.
"I'm sorry. Look, he doesn't care about money, he cares that you spent time finding just the right ring. Does it feel like you've found the right ring?"
"Do you know what 'ouroboros' represents?" Alec asked. He knew, but he could sense that Izzy didn't. The shop owner then interrupted the two of them.
"It is said that the mathematical infinity symbol derives from the ouroboros. It represents eternal renewal, eternity, immortality. It can also represent the idea of something existing before anything else, and has such force that it cannot be extinguished," the man explained. Izzy looked back at Alec.
"You should get it. If you don't get it, I'll get it for Simon," she said.
"It's not really his style though, is it?" Alec frowned. She hit him on the arm, and he agreed to buy it. "I'll take it," he smiled. He knew it was just perfect, that's why he'd brought Izzy all the way to the other side of the city.
…
The next day, Izzy called. She'd talked to Magnus.
"He's going to propose to you with a game called 'draw something'? I don't know, he saw it on the internet, and he thought it would be romantic. He'll suggest you play the game, and then write 'marry me' on you. You have to propose before he suggests the game," Izzy said in a rushed voice, as if she was running out of time and her life depended on her giving this piece of information.
"Okay. Wow. Thanks, Izzy," Alec replied and hung up. He needed to be quick on his feet. Magnus was going to be home soon. Alec quickly cleaned the entire apartment, because somehow the stress of knowing Magnus' plan made him nervous, and the only thing easing the nerves was to busy himself. He'd already prepared the ring, and it was ready in his night stand, where Magnus never looked. While he was cleaning, he also thought of how he would handle it if Magnus had planned to ask tonight. And once the frontdoor opened, and Magnus came into the apartment with an adorable smile on his face, despite his long day at work, Alec had made a nearly fool proof plan.
"Aww, you cleaned the apartment?" Magnus noticed. He said the same thing every time Alec cleaned. He could be a neat freak sometimes when under stress, but Magnus never realized that was the reason, and Alec always felt appreciated when Magnus noticed.
"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. His palms were sweating, and luckily, if Magnus noticed he could tell it was from the cleaning. "Wine?"
"Sure," Magnus said and threw his bag down, before settling on the couch.
"Long day?"
"Long enough to miss you," Magnus replied. Alec walked over to the couch with two glasses of red wine. He leaned over and gave Magnus a 'welcome home' kiss.
"Did you have dinner?"
"Yeah, Camille got us some thai food. You?"
"Yeah," Alec said. He hadn't really had dinner, but he knew if he ate something while this nervous he would just throw it back up. "What do you want to do tonight?"
"We can watch a movie? Or play a game?" Magnus suggested, but Alec could sense he was hiding something, and he knew exactly what it was now.
"Scrabble?"
"You know, I used to love scrabble, but then I met you. You're the only one who's ever defeated me," Magnus said flirtatiously, leaning closer to Alec.
"It would probably be disappointing if a writer couldn't defeat a fashion photographer at scrabble?" Alec flirted back. Magnus closed the distance, and kissed Alec's neck. To distract himself, Alec sipped the wine, hoping Magnus wouldn't notice his pulse racing.
"I have an idea. I've been watching a lot of youtubers at work, while on breaks, and I saw these guys playing a game called 'draw something on me'," Magnus said, and leaned back to explain. "Basically one person gets blindfolded, while the other one draws something on them and then they have to guess what it is," Magnus said.
"Do we have markers that will get off? It sounds messy," Alec replied.
"I'm sure I have something, somewhere." Magnus got up and searched the drawers in the kitchen. He came back with three different colors, that Alec knew hadn't been there for more than a few days, because he'd never seen them in the kitchen.
"Should we go to the bed?" Alec suggested.
"Okay," Magnus grinned. "Who goes first?"
"Rock paper scissors?" Alec suggested.
"Great." Magnus always chose rock, so naturally Alec chose paper. "I always lose," he sulked.
"You always choose rock," Alec grinned. Magnus took a scarf and covered his eyes with it. Alec held up his hand to make sure Magnus couldn't see anything. "So how do I do this?"
"Maybe I should start?"
"No, I won. I'll just draw something on you?" Alec asked, and ran his hand over Magnus' smooth chest.
"Yes," Magnus sighed. Alec took the black marker and began to write on Magnus' chest, all the while Magnus appeared to concentrate on what it was. He didn't seem to have a clue. "Is it a snake?"
"No," Alec chuckled.
"Is it a bed?"
"No." Alec leaned over and kissed Magnus' shoulder. It was less nerve-racking when Magnus couldn't see him sweating heavily.
"Chairman Meow?"
"No, that would have been a good idea to draw though," Alec said.
"I don't know what it is. Can I look?" he asked. Alec took the scarf off his boyfriend's face, and Magnus looked down at himself and read the words.
"'Say yes'?" Magnus inquired.
"I got you something," Alec reached over to his night stand and found the first edition of his book, which he handed to Magnus.
"Your first book?" Magnus smiled.
"The very first printed edition," Alec said. Magnus opened it and froze. Alec had cut out a small room between the pages to place the ring under the note "Will you marry me?"
Tears started to well up in Magnus' eyes and Alec began to panic. Had he done something wrong? Maybe Magnus had honestly wanted to propose first?
"You ruined the first edition?" Magnus replied. Alec laughed wholeheartedly. "This is perfect Alec. Just perfect."
"I'll get you one that's not ruined," Alec smiled, and pulled Magnus in for a kiss. He could taste Magnus' tears, and softly wiped them away. His boyfriend – no, his fiancé – put on the ring and it was miraculously a perfect fit.
"Ouroboros?" Magnus asked.
"Yeah. It represents…"
"Something persisting from the beginning with such force it cannot be extinguished," Magnus interrupted. "I was a bit of a nerd myself once, and I knew everything about mythological symbolism, especially if it originated in Asia," he shrugged.
"Well, then you know why I chose it," Alec smiled. "I know you didn't really feel the same way in the beginning…"
"I did. Remember? I was just too afraid to admit it," Magnus gave a nervous laugh.
"I love you so much, and I want you to marry me," Alec said. Magnus took the green marker, and wrote 'yes' on Alec's chest. "You're such a dork," he chuckled, and kissed Magnus with all of his love. Magnus looked at his ring.
"Mr. Lightwood," he tried it out.
"Mr. Lightwood-Bane," Alec corrected, and Magnus flashed a brilliant smile.
"Wait a minute," Magnus leaned back. "I was going to propose to you just now."
"Did you get me a ring?" Alec asked sweetly.
"You knew?"
"I knew. Izzy sort of told me," he shrugged.
"That sneaky little bitch," Magnus said with amazement. Magnus reached into his pocket and gave Alec a simple white gold ring with a small pattern. It wasn't flashy like Magnus', but it was very much Alec. And all it told Alec was that they knew each other perfectly well. They'd practically lived together since they met, and most people nowadays waited years before making such a commitment, but Alec knew it was the right decision, because every time he looked at Magnus he just wanted to declare his love for him to the entire world.
…
Alec was in such good mood the next couple of days, because he'd finished the outline for his next book, and he was busy rereading it to make sure there were no plot holes. But there was one distraction at the moment – he and Magnus hadn't really left the house since the proposal, and at the moment Magnus was dancing through the living room once in a while, and each time he came back in front of Alec he was wearing one less piece of clothing, while flashing his engagement ring. Alec couldn't help but look up at his fiancé each time he danced in front of him. Magnus had put on some music, and was now only wearing jeans. He walked back behind the walls to the bed, and the song ended before he came out again, now only wearing a pair of boxer briefs.
"Why did the music stop?" he wondered, and looked at the stereo.
"You didn't start the playlist," Alec grinned. Magnus found a new playlist, Alec thought he'd heard it before, Magnus usually had different phases with music. At the moment he was listening to music Alec didn't know how else to describe but with the simple word "now". The song he'd put on was very seductive and in the likes of Lana Del Rey and Lorde, but it was a male singer.
"Is Troye Sivan okay?" Magnus asked sweetly.
"I can't say, because I don't know what you have in mind?" Alec closed his laptop. Magnus walked over to him and sat down on Alec's lap with one leg on each side of Alec. When the music sped up, Magnus rolled his hips, careful not to touch Alec. Magnus was giving him a lapdance!
"I bet you've never had a lapdance before?" Magnus bit his lip, looking down at Alec. Alec let go of a single chuckle.
"No I haven't. And I didn't think it was part of a married man's life?"
"It isn't, that's why I'm giving you one now, before you get married."
"Come on, that's not fair. What if I enjoy it?" Alec asked.
"I can tell you're enjoying it already," Magnus looked down. Alec was already getting hard.
"You're half-naked on top of me. Of course I enjoy it." Alec moved to put his hands to Magnus' face, but Magnus caught his hands and held them down on each side of him, so he couldn't touch Magnus. "What…?"
"You don't touch someone when they're giving you a lapdance," Magnus whispered.
"What is this song called?" Alec smirked, because he caught on to some of the words in the background.
"Touch," Magnus grinned. "That doesn't mean you can though."
The song in the background would have been perfect for a female dancer to do a seductive lapdance, but Magnus somehow managed to make it less feminine and at points even a bit masculine. Alec couldn't touch, but he couldn't refrain from studying Magnus' lean muscles as his eyes ran over his fiancé's stomach. He was so beautiful, and Alec couldn't believe how lucky he was that he was all his. No one else would ever get a lapdance from Magnus Bane again. It was all for him.
"Have you been studying Magic Mike?" Alec teased.
"Shut up," Magnus breathed and rubbed his crotch against Alec's growing hard-on, making Alec gasp with surprise and painful pleasure.
"Shit," Alec leaned his head back, as Magnus continued to grind making it nearly unbearable not to flip him over on the couch and take him. Magnus turned around, and sat back on his lap, still rocking his hips in a way that made Alec go crazy. "Fuck…" he breathed. Magnus continued dancing and grinding throughout two songs, and it felt like an eternity for Alec. The seductive tone of the music only made the entire situation hotter. Alec recognized the third song, because it was the best one he'd heard Magnus' listening to from the playlist – Wild. By the chorus Alec couldn't contain himself anymore, Magnus was straddling him, still only wearing his boxer briefs, and Alec flipped him over on his back and pressed him down into the cushions. He kissed him with all the desire he had built up during the lapdance.
"I didn't say…" Magnus tried, but Alec pinned Magnus' hands over his head against the arm of the couch.
"Shut up," Alec breathed, mimicking Magnus' tone from before. "You're driving me wild."
"You're quoting the song," Magnus chuckled.
"It's not wrong though," Alec said and kissed him hard again. No more talking. Alec pulled his own shirt over his head, and Magnus began unbuttoning Alec's pants. Alec kicked his pants off, and quickly removed Magnus' briefs as well. He could feel Magnus' pulse racing under his touch, and it turned him on even more. "Gosh, what did I ever do…" Alec breathed, while half kissing and half licking Magnus' neck below his ear.
"You didn't do anything, Alec, you're fine. It's fine," Magnus assured him. Alec leaned up on his hands and looked down at Magnus with a wry smile.
"Did I say that out loud? Shit, I didn't finish the sentence –" He had to catch his breath before continuing. "I was thinking about what I ever did to deserve you."
Magnus looked nervous suddenly and swallowed hard. He pulled Alec back down to kiss him on his lips in a long sloppy collision of tongues and teeth and saliva. Magnus wrapped his legs around Alec's waist, inviting him to continue where they both knew this was heading. Alec reached around his lover and pressed his fingers against Magnus' entrance, making Magnus shiver under him.
"God, Alec…" Magnus breathed.
"I love you," Alec whispered against his ear. Magnus' nails dug into Alec's back as he pressed inside him. They both groaned with pleasure. Magnus arched his entire body to get a better position for both of them, it didn't look like a comfortable position for Magnus though, but Alec could now push deeper.
"Fuck," his fiancé breathed, and gripped the couch. From the reaction under him, Alec figured he'd hit the right spot right away.
"What, already?" Alec smirked.
"Do it again," Magnus moaned. Alec obeyed and did the exact same motion, and Magnus seemed to suck him in even deeper if possible. Magnus continued to tremble and whimper under him, and it nearly sent Alec over the edge, but before he could come, Magnus' body tensed and he came first. Then Alec climaxed and held on to Magnus, while his entire body tensed and then released. "Tell me why I've never tried that position before?" Magnus chuckled against the base of Alec's throat, and it tickled his skin.
"I don't know. Why haven't you?" Alec gave him a smirk. "I can't wait to be married to you, if this is what I get for an engagement ring."
"We're practically married anyway," Magnus shrugged. "At least as close to being married as I've ever been."
"We're practically a couple of lesbians is that it?"
"Enough with the stereotypes," Magnus grinned, and kissed Alec again, this time it was a sweet and controlled kiss. No more urgency, no more roughness, just pure sweetness.
"Do you think we should maybe talk about a wedding date? We've been locked up in the apartment for three days, we should announce it to someone," Alec said.
"I already told Izzy," Magnus replied.
"You told Izzy?"
"Of course she already knew. Did you think she thought I would say 'no'?"
"I guess not," Alec shrugged. "Oh gosh, I have to tell Jace."
"Why do you say it like that? Do you think it'll crush his dreams that you're getting married?"
"Magnus that's not…"
"I was kidding. But now I'm getting a bit worried. Should I worry?"
"God no. Magnus," Alec sat up in the couch. "He's my brother, why would you even ask that?"
"I don't know. I just get insecure sometimes, it's hard to believe, I know. I've never been scared like this before you. I've never had someone that I didn't want to share with anyone," Magnus admitted and leaned up on his elbows.
"You've never had a monogamous relationship?" Alec asked. He knew Magnus hadn't been very monogamous before him, he just thought maybe he'd had someone before. He'd always been sort of mysterious about his past relationships, and the only one Alec really knew about was Will, and maybe Woolsey too, but he wasn't entirely sure about that one.
"Of course I've been in relationships, I just haven't been afraid of seeing them with someone else."
"Who have you had relationships with?" Alec tried to sound casual. Magnus frowned at him. "Come on, maybe it would be a good thing to tell each other these things before we get married? Maybe I should know about your exes?"
"I know about your exes, you don't have any. You only have people you dated," Magnus replied.
"So? Mine was easy. It'll be a short conversation, unless of course…"
"There's not a lot. Relationships that is." Magnus sat up and reached for his underwear. Alec waited patiently. "Seven years ago there was a woman named Etta. We had fun, she came around whenever she pleased, and I didn't mind. But when we weren't together, I never worried about what she was doing."
"You worry about me when I'm out?"
"Not really, you're only out with Izzy and Simon," Magnus teased.
"Thanks." Alec knew he didn't have a lot of friends here in New York, he didn't need his fiancé to point it out.
"I worry when we're out together, and I see the way others look at you. I worry that you notice and you realize you haven't tried anything other than being with me," Magnus admitted.
"I do notice, and I don't care. At all," Alec assured him. "Has there been others?"
"I'm not done. Etta was someone I once thought would be the one I would spent the rest of my life with. She fell in love with me instantly, it took me a bit longer, but I did love her. I was just never really in love with her," Magnus explained.
"What happened?" Alec couldn't believe Magnus had never told him the story.
"She realized I didn't love her the same way, and I didn't want to have a family with her, which was what she wanted," Magnus said.
"Do you think… you want a family now?" Alec wasn't sure what he wanted, but he was certain that if he wanted a family it would be with Magnus. Still, he thought it was important to at least ask Magnus what he wanted. He looked at Alec with an odd expression.
"Alec, I admit I haven't thought much about it. And I'm sorry if I've made jokes about…" Magnus stopped himself. Alec knew why – he'd made fun of them being "mommy and daddy", but he'd never thought that was actually what Alec wanted some day.
"It's fine. I don't care. All I want is you," Alec shrugged.
"Alec, I'm not saying I don't want more, I just never thought it would be a possibility for us, not because we're gay, but because I've been busy thinking about our future together, the two of us."
"You thought of our future?"
"Of course. I've even thought about travelling the world with you," Magnus said. "I've thought about us as the gay uncles, who our nieces and nephews will visit every summer, just like you visited Aunt Sophie every summer."
Alec had to wipe away the tears of joy that now filled his eyes.
"I like the sound of that," Alec replied, when he'd composed himself.
"Good," Magnus smiled triumphantly. "Now, can we stop talking about exes?"
"I don't know. I kinda liked how this conversation turned out," Alec said.
"Now about those wedding plans," Magnus started. "I want Chairman Meow to be our ring bearer."
"That's not going to happen, unless we're having the wedding here at the loft just the three of us?"
"That's not a bad idea…" Magnus mused, and Alec punched him softly. "Ouch, okay, that's probably not a good idea."
"My mom would never forgive us."
"What about Izzy?"
"She would find a way to be here no matter what," Alec shrugged, very sure of his sister's stubbornness.
"I was thinking, Clary and Jace's wedding was beautiful with the winter theme and all, but what if we had a summer themed wedding at the same place? The barn was perfect," Magnus suggested.
"Yeah?" Alec couldn't contain his happiness, and he was sure he was smiling across his entire face.
"We could have our wedding on the day we met," he continued.
"You remember which day we met?"
"It was a Friday, it's perfect, because that means it will be a Saturday," Magnus said. He really sounded like he'd thought this through, but he also sounded very casual about it and like he honestly only wanted it if Alec was okay with it.
"I'm not sure I want a big wedding like Jace and Clary's though," Alec shrugged. The thought of everybody staring at him for an entire day was a bit nerve-racking. The thought of getting married to a man in front of everyone he loved was just as nerve-racking, because despite the support he had in his life, he knew that some people were still judging.
"We'll invite whoever you want to," Magnus said.
"Just our closest friends maybe? And of course we have to invite Aunt Sophie, we sort of promised her, didn't we?" he smirked.
"That sounds perfect. Speaking of closest friends…" Magnus hesitated, "and speaking of exes…"
"You mean Woolsey?" Alec asked, and Magnus gave him an apologetic shrug. "I sort of knew something might have been between you two."
"I'm sorry I never told you. It was always casual between us, nothing more and definitely nothing like Etta," Magnus assured him.
"I know." Alec leaned over to kiss Magnus, but his fiancé shied away from him. Alec gave him a frown, but Magnus looked down at his hands. "What?"
"I'm a terrible person," he said in a low voice. Alec felt his veins turn to ice. He feared the worst, and the turn of this conversation wasn't something he liked very much. He was nearly certain from the guilty look on Magnus' face that he'd cheated on him. Alec reached for his clothes, got to his feet and quickly put it on. "Alec…"
"You slept with him?"
"No! It's not that. I kissed him," Magnus admitted. Alec couldn't help but feel a tinge of relief, but still, frustration was starting to take over and he wiped his face with his palm to calm himself.
"You kissed Woolsey?"
"On Christmas Eve. I was upset, and somehow… I didn't plan to tell you, I just…"
"What kind of kiss?" Alec cursed himself for asking, but he had to know, because now he felt a bit sick in his stomach – a feeling of jealousy.
"A small one?" Magnus tried, but Alec gave him a tired glare. "We were talking, and then next thing I kissed him, and he broke it off."
"He broke it off?"
"I would have broken it off if he hadn't. Please, I was mad and upset, and it was Christmas Eve," Magnus begged.
"What if I upset you some other time?"
"Don't upset me?" he offered.
"It wasn't exactly my intention. Are you seriously making this my fault?" Alec raised his voice. Magnus stood up and stepped closer.
"Please, it was just a kiss. It wasn't something I wanted, it just happened."
"That doesn't make me feel any better!" Alec explained.
"It doesn't mean anything like it will ever happen again," Magnus said.
"How will you prevent something that 'just happens'?"
"That's not fair, Alec, I think you know that," Magnus answered calmly.
"I'm sorry if I'm not all that rational right now, I just found out my boyfriend cheated on me not even a month before I proposed to him," Alec sighed.
"And I had just found out my boyfriend betrayed me, doesn't that make up for my irrational action?"
"I hear what you're saying, but it's not really helping the pain I feel right now," Alec said and went to get his covers from the bed, before he settled down on the couch.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll take the couch tonight," he replied.
"Come on. Alec?"
Alec just looked up at Magnus with a stern expression, and Magnus left the living room area.
I don't know what happened, suddenly Magnus confessed his minor incident with Woolsey and they were fighting again, and I'm very sorry. It's a small fight though, and they'll make up very soon!
But, yay, they got engaged! I hope you enjoyed the proposal and the lapdance. I searched for some music that Magnus might have on his playlist, and I ended up getting obsessed with Troye Sivan's music.