A/N: The High Warlock of Glitter: Every relationship has issues. I think these two already do, pretty big ones too. Alec wants an open gay lifestyle. Magnus isn't ready for that. Who knows when/if he will be, and what will happen if he does take that risk? The best part about relationship problems is watching them work through them.

A/N from Alec: Hey everyone! Just wanted to say yeah, I had a fantastic birthday! *blushes* Glad you guys enjoyed it, too.

The first semester of Alec's sophomore year flew by in a blur of football games, basketball games, date nights with Will and Jem or Austin and Cammie, and the occasional bit of studying. Yeah, right. Sophomore year was a bitch! Alec grumbled about the amount of homework he had. It seemed that taking just one night off from studying made the homework pile even higher. He felt like it was crushing him. And he didn't have much say in whether or not he took a night off. Away football games required his presence on the field, and there was traveling to do then. Even home games took up a good part of the day. Once basketball season started, and there were games 2-3 times a week, Alec struggled to keep his head above water.

His saving grace was the fact that he was actually smart. The downside of that was that he actually had difficult classes. Idris was not a university known for its athletic accomplishments, not a professional athlete production machine, so most of the student athletes actually went to class for reasons other than just to keep their scholarships. They would nearly all eventually have a career other than sports, but there was still a discrepancy in majors. Not many of the athletes were on a career path that led to something in the medical field. Not many had to learn the differences between regular chemistry and organic chemistry, and why the fuck was organic chemistry so much harder? Not many had to memorize the fucking Krebs Cycle for the umpteenth time in their life. But Alec did. Of course Alec did. And that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg that his classes were torturing him with this semester.

By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, Alec was feeling more than a little stressed. He was, in fact, ready to blow. He had four tests in three days, all of which were the last test before finals started in a couple weeks. He also had three basketball games to cheer for, and since they had half the week off, his coach scheduled extra practices. He had two papers due when he came back from the short break and he hadn't started either one. This was the excuse he gave when he accidentally bit Cammie's head off.

He was sitting in the gymnasium simultaneously studying and watching Magnus practice. Okay, he was doing a lot more watching Magnus practice than actual studying, which only increased his irritation with himself. He knew how much work he had to do. He needed to get it done. There was only about thirty minutes left of basketball practice, then he would have a two hour cheer practice, and he wasn't feeling very cheery.

When Cammie flopped onto the bench beside him, and attempted to drag his attention away from Magnus, he snapped at her. Her green eyes grew wide as she stared at him, completely shocked that he would be so pissy. Guilt overwhelmed him and he hung his head.

"I'm sorry, Cam. That wasn't directed at you. You know that, right?"

She patted his shoulder and her face softened. "I know, sweetie. What are you working on?"

"This stupid paper for my Psychology class, the same one I just bombed a test in earlier this week," he grumbled.

"I'm sure you didn't bomb the test, Alec," she said sympathetically.

"I might have…"

"But you didn't. You know your shit, Alec."

"Yeah, but…why is sophomore year so damn hard?" he complained.

Cammie giggled. "Because, they have to get all the stupid Gen. Ed. classes finished so you can start the classes you actually want when you're a junior."

"Psychology isn't really a stupid class…"

"No," Cammie agreed, "but is it necessary for your major?"

"It's an elective, but I think it's one that will help me in Sports Med. Maybe help me read people better…"

Cammie smirked, and Alec realized she had managed to not only defuse his bad mood, but make him admit that the class that was currently tormenting him might actually help him in the future. She's good. Really good. Damn it. He grinned in defeat and she planted a victory kiss on his cheek.

His mood lightened, he returned to his studies with renewed enthusiasm. He really did enjoy psychology, and really did think it could help him deal with the top-notch athletes he hoped to work with one day. Unfortunately, his good mood was about to be tested.

He heard the coach blow his whistle and the basketball team huddled up at center court. The sight of so many tall, thin, sweaty guys in one spot was enough to make any gay boy flustered, and Alec watched with more than mild interest. He focused more on Magnus, of course, than anyone else, but he let his eye wander around the whole group. He knew most of the team from last year, and now knew the two new guys. Magnus had been spot-on in his evaluation of Devin and Jojo. They were decent ball players and added depth to the team. So far, Coach had experimented with playing both Blake and Devin, giving Magnus several long-range shooters as options.

The huddle nearly writhed with nervous energy. Idris had its first game against a Top 25 opponent tomorrow, and the whole team seemed to be feeling the strain. The team had performed well so far this season, and currently sported a record of 5-1, their only loss against a good, but young, St. John's team that could end up challenging for a spot in the NCAA tournament. Not a bad loss, but one that certainly left the team hungry.

As the team broke apart, collecting their belongings before heading into the locker room, Magnus caught Alec's eye, and started in his direction. Alec couldn't stop the smile that split his face as Magnus got closer. Unfortunately, he was followed by a couple of his teammates.

"Hey, Magnus, wait up," Tyler called.

Magnus turned on the spot, several feet away from Alec, to face Tyler and Patrick. "What's up, guys?" he said casually, his basketball star persona in place, as usual.

"We were thinking about going to a bar tonight," Patrick said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"A bar? The night before a game?" Magnus replied.

"Well, we want to go to a frat party, but it seems that too many people went home for the holiday for there to be any," Tyler said.

"We aren't planning on drinking…much," said Patrick. "We just want to find some girls, if you know what I mean."

Magnus crossed his arms, his jovial mood slipping. "It doesn't take a decoder to figure out what you mean, Pat." He cocked an eyebrow at Patrick.

"Anyway," said Tyler, "you should come with us."

"Me? Why?"

"Because," Patrick said, dropping his voice, which still managed to carry to Alec, "it's been awhile since we seen you hook up with a chick."

Alec knew he was glaring daggers at Patrick, but was powerless to stop. Magnus, for his part, laughed. "Just because you don't know what I'm doing, doesn't mean I'm not getting any."

"So…who you been fuckin'?" Patrick said, leaning in closer to Magnus, not wanting to miss whatever his reply would be. Alec found himself leaning in as well. His hands were shaking. He just didn't know how Magnus would handle this development.

Magnus simply smirked. "Now, Pat, I don't kiss and tell. You know that."

"Maybe not, but you usually have girls draped all over you," said Tyler. "And we haven't seen you with anyone in a long time."

Damn, Tyler wasn't dumb. This could be a problem. Alec held his breath.

"Look, guys, I'm not going out looking for a piece of ass with the two of you. Besides, if I did, you two would end up going home to just your hand anyway," Magnus bit out. "I don't need to find a girl, so just back off."

Tyler and Patrick exchanged surprised looks.

"Sounds like someone needs to get laid," said Patrick, and Tyler nodded in agreement.

"I don't need to get laid!" Magnus shouted. Fortunately, most of the basketball team was already in the locker room. Unfortunately, the entire cheer squad was in the gym, and now, because of his outburst, were staring at Magnus. Alec could feel the irritation coming off his boyfriend in waves. He wanted to jump in, to defend him, to tell them Magnus would most certainly not be going out looking for some girl to fuck, not when he had a perfectly good boyfriend at home he could do anytime he wanted. But those words were unlikely to be of any help to Magnus, and would likely just get Alec sent to the doghouse where it's cold and lonely and completely sex-free. No thanks. All he could do was sit back and watch the scene unfold, like it didn't effect him in any way. Being in the closet sucked.

Patrick and Tyler held up their hands and took a few steps back. "Just trying to help, Magnus," Tyler said. "No need to bite our heads off."

Alec distinctly heard Patrick say, "He definitely needs to get laid," under his breath as they turned and walked away. He ignored them, and turned his attention to Magnus. The way he looked in that moment, Alec had to agree that Magnus looked stressed enough that sex might just help chill him out. His heart went out to Magnus, but there was really nothing Alec could do to comfort him, not until Magnus was ready to go public with their relationship.

"You alright?" he asked softly, and Magnus lifted his eyes to meet Alec's. He offered a small, brief smile, which Alec returned. They knew each other so well now, they could sometimes communicate without words. This was one of those times. They spoke with their eyes, Alec apologizing that he had to get to practice and promising they could talk, or whatever, when he got home, while Magnus's said he understood and was looking forward to…whatever. They smiled again, this one reaching their eyes, and Alec hoped his silent "I love you" was heard loud and clear.

Practice turned out to be utterly useless. Alec kept thinking about Magnus and couldn't concentrate on what he was doing. On more than one occasion, Cammie had to punch his arm to get his attention. She somehow managed to keep him from getting in trouble with Coach Reiners, and keep herself from getting injured through Alec's negligence. He had to sit through a ten minute irritated tirade from Cammie at the end of practice, before she finally felt sorry for him and let him go home to Magnus. He promised to make it up to her in the form of ice cream later in the week. That brought a smile to her face and she let him go, with the promise of rocky road in a cone with sprinkles from the little homemade ice cream shop at the other end of campus.

Alec walked through the door of the dormitory and found Magnus lying face down in basketball shorts on his bed. He toed off his shoes and climbed in next to him. Magnus rolled over and Alec pulled him into his arms and kissed him.

"You okay?" he asked again, now that they could talk.

Magnus nodded. "When did Tyler become so observant?" he said, outline Alec's cheek with his long, slender finger.

Alec laughed. "I think Patrick is probably the observant one. Tyler just wanted you to go out with them." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, Magnus. When I told you 'no girls' I didn't think about how that would look to your teammates." He paused again, thinking. "No, that's not true. I didn't care how it would look. I didn't think about it possibly hurting you or causing trouble for you."

"I know you didn't. I understand why you wanted me to stay away from the girls. Honestly, I think using girls as a cover while I'm dating you and not fucking them would have been more disastrous."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Think about it. If I kept hanging all over girls, but never actually did anything with them, people would start to wonder why. This way, at least we got away with it this long before someone thought it was weird."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Alec's brows crinkled up in the middle in concern. Magnus reached up and smoothed them out.

"Nothing. What can we do? I'm just going to go on like nothing happened, until next time they ask me about it. Hopefully I was bitchy enough today that they will think twice about asking for awhile."

Alec wasn't sure this course of action was going to work, but he couldn't think of a better plan, so he let the subject drop. Instead, he nuzzled Magnus, convinced him that a quickie was the best way to relieve stress, then set about finishing his homework so maybe, just maybe, he would actually pass this damn semester.

The atmosphere at the game the next day was electric. The game was sold out, even though it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and most of the student body was still at home with their families. It wasn't every day that a big name school like UConn agreed to play at a little school like Idris. UConn was ranked 25th at the time of the game, giving everyone that extra bit of anticipation and excitement. If Idris managed to pull off the upset, it would be a great win for their team, and if they finished the season well, it could given them that one win that made the NCAA Selection Committee look twice at Idris come tournament time. That's a lot of 'ifs' but everyone was aware of the potential plusses of this game.

From tip-off to the final buzzer, the game was a fight. UConn's guards were small and quick and skilled. Magnus struggled with guarding a guy that was easily six inches shorter than him, and possibly even faster. He faced shorter guards on a regular basis. How could he not? He was six-foot-five, for god's sake. But the speed and athleticism of those guards were not something he faced regularly. Alec could see the determination on his face as he fought to keep the little guys in front of him, as he stretched his arms wide to block the path of their shots. This was one area that being so tall certainly benefited Magnus, as long as the other guy couldn't sneak under his outstretched arm and get around him, which actually happened once or twice.

As for the rest of the team, the forwards were pretty evenly matched in size and skill level, and UConn didn't have a true center. That was not necessarily a bad thing for them, as Tyler, Idris's center, was kind of big and slow, so UConn's forwards blew past him pretty easily. Tyler's one redeeming quality was his shot-blocking ability. He did manage to save several baskets with a well-timed block.

The saving grace for Idris was their shooting. Magnus was on fire, going four-of-five from three point range and hitting several two point shots as well. Alec knew he would rise to the challenge, would be on when they played a televised game against a ranked opponent, and he was not disappointed.

Magnus also managed to find his teammates for open shots, to the tune of twelve assists! Coach tried Blake and Devin on the court together several times, and after they each hit a couple of three's, Idris was able to spread the defense pretty wide. Since the UConn guards were smaller than Magnus, he was able to find his teammates pretty easily, and every time UConn left Magnus, Blake or Devin open, they made them pay.

Alec was so into the game, he nearly missed the cheerleaders' cue to entertain the crowd. There was only a few minutes left of the game when Idris called a time-out and Alec and the other cheerleaders went onto the court to lead the crowd in a "Green-White" cheer. With Cammie on his shoulders and unable to see Magnus buried deep within the huddle of his teammates and coaches, Alec focused on the cheer. But his blood was pumping way faster than cheering could make it. Under two minutes of game time, Idris up by three, and doing their best to hold on to that lead. That's what had his blood flowing right now.

The ref's whistle blew and the cheerleaders cleared the floor. UConn inbounded the ball at mid-court and Idris fell into a zone defense. Alec hated zone. Man-to-man was so much more interesting, and thrilling for the players as well. But zone was harder to shoot over. Idris was basically challenging UConn to beat them from the three point line. Alec thought it was a dangerous strategy, considering the UConn guards had been hitting three's at a decent clip tonight, but they were a young team, and the pressure was on them with being down as the game drew to a close, so maybe Coach knew what he was doing after all.

Alec saw the stutter-step of the UConn guard and knew he was trying to fake out Magnus. He held his breath, waiting to see if Magnus would take the bait. He didn't, and the guard passed the ball to someone else, who hit a short jump shot from the elbow for two points. Idris up by one.

Magnus narrowed his eyes, and awaited the inbounds pass. Alec could see him reading the defense, looking for holes. He'd studied Magnus's game enough at this point, he could almost anticipate what he would do. He thought he saw the opening about the same time as Magnus did, and he tensed up, waiting, waiting. Magnus fired, and Alec knew the shot was off. He shouted 'rebound' at the same time that Magnus took a few steps toward the basket. The ball landed in his hands and he slammed it through the hoop. The effect was like Magnus had passed the ball to himself off the backboard. It looked cool as fuck!

Down three again, UConn called a time-out to talk things over. Alec was bristling with excited energy now. He could nearly taste victory, and he wanted it so badly for Magnus, for the team, for the school.

After the time-out, Idris was guarding them closely, trying not to leave any openings for the quick UConn guards to get through. UConn passed the ball rapidly, trying to get someone out of position so they'd have an open shot. And it worked. The freshman, Devin, bit on a ball fake and was burned on a three point shot. The score was tied, with only about thirty seconds left in regulation.

Idris used its final time-out to set up a play. Alec wished he could be in that huddle, to know what Coach was saying to them, to know the plan. He assumed it would be to run the clock down as low as possible before taking the shot so they wouldn't give UConn much opportunity to score. If they missed the shot, they would go into overtime and have five more minutes to duke it out. He exchanged nervous grins with Cammie, and realized his hands were shaking.

Alec's strategy turned out to be Coach's strategy as well. The team played cat-and-mouse, running down the game clock until there was only about five seconds left. Magnus had the ball in his hands and that gleam in his eyes that told Alec he was ready for this moment. He pulled up, over his significantly shorter defender, and fired from just past the free-throw line, a shot he could practically make in his sleep. The ball soared through the air, in what felt like slow motion, and dropped through the hoop, barely even grazing the rim.

Alec screamed and punched the air. He was ready to jump up and cheer, but remembered there was still four-point-three seconds on the clock. He sat on his hands, trying to calm his racing heart and watched as UConn took it's finally time-out. Magnus's teammates were slapping his back, chest-bumping him. His coach smacked his ass and shook his hand.

When the whistle blew again, both teams lined up for the final showdown. Four-point-three seconds was still a long damn time in basketball, enough time to go from one end of the court to the other and get a shot off. Idris tightened the defense, especially around the three point line. They would risk a two to tie the game, but were not given UConn the chance to win if they could help it.

UConn inbounded the ball, let it roll to nearly half-court until an Idris defender made them pick it up, starting the game clock. The guard dribbled once, pulled up, and had Magnus's big hand in his face as he released the ball. The tips of Magnus's fingers brushed the ball, just enough to make the shot fall short. The final buzzer sounded. Idris won!

Alec lost Magnus in the melee as his team tackled him at center court. The stands erupted with cheers and the noise level was so high he couldn't hear Cammie shouting at him until she pulled on his arm and he bent down so she could shout into his ear. What a fucking game! What a fucking night!

The team left the court to a standing ovation, and the cheerleaders did their end-of-game thing. Once the arena was nearly empty, Alec, Cammie, and Austin made their way toward the locker rooms. They started this tradition of all three of them waiting for Magnus to emerge so they wouldn't raise any suspicions about Alec waiting alone for Magnus. They leaned against the wall recounting the final minutes of the game as they waited.

When Magnus finally appeared he was flanked by Tyler and Patrick. "Magnus, come on! There's going to be a kickin' party on frat row tonight. All the houses are involved. They came back early to celebrate the win," Tyler said, almost begging Magnus to join them.

"There will be plenty of sorority girls," Patrick added. "You know how you love sorority girls…"

"Look guys," Magnus said, rounding on them, "I said I wasn't interested. I don't want to have a cheap fuck with a sorority girl, okay?"

"Since when?" Tyler sounded flabbergasted at this statement.

"Since…" Magnus was floundering. Alec didn't know what to do, how to help. He was slightly alarmed that the guys were already giving Magnus a hard time about finding a girl. He'd thought his outburst yesterday would have bought him a little more time.

Alec saw a sudden change in Patrick's eyes, like he suddenly understood something. His blood ran cold.

"I get it," Patrick said, nodding his head as a sly smile crept across his face.

"Get what?" Magnus and Tyler said at the same time. Alec froze.

"Get why he's avoiding girls," Patrick replied, dragging it out. Magnus's posture stiffened. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Tyler didn't have that problem. "Well, don't keep us in suspense," he demanded.

"You old dog," Patrick said, playfully punching Magnus's arm. Magnus flinched, but still didn't speak. "What's her name?"

"Wh-…wh-" Magnus stammered.

"What are you talking about?" said Tyler.

"Isn't it obvious? He's got a girl back home. That's why he won't go out hunting with us. You dog," Patrick said again.

Alec released a silent breath of relief. Patrick didn't know anything. But he wondered what Magnus would say to this statement.

Magnus tossed his head and chuckled. "Yep, you caught me. I have someone already and I'm not looking for anyone else, so please stop asking me to."

Alec smiled to himself. Magnus confirmed he was seeing someone, without lying and saying that someone was a girl. He thought that was about as good as he could ask for. He had a sudden vision of Magnus turning around, striding up to him and kissing him passionately in front of everyone, claiming him as that someone he already has, but that wasn't going to happen and dwelling on wanting it was not going to help matters.

"Well, you can still come party with us," Patrick suggested. "Surely you can have fun and keep your dick in your pants, right?"

Magnus laughed outright this time. "Yeah, I can, but I kinda want to just relax with these guys tonight." He jerked his head toward Alec, Austin and Cammie as he said this. "Maybe next time?"

Patrick slapped Tyler's arm. "Alright. Come on, man. More ladies for us."

And with that, they were gone. Alec could see the stress drain from Magnus, leaving him looking very tired. "Come on. Let's get out of here," he said. He cast one last look at Magnus's retreating teammates, then leaned in and whispered, "You did good, babe." Magnus turned an appreciative smile on him.

A/N (sidenote really, just because): UConn is the abbreviation for the University of Connecticut. Clearly I made up the rankings, since it is not currently November 2015 and they are not in the Top 25 preseason rankings (which are pretty meaningless anyway). The rest of the UConn part is actually fairly typical for them of late. They tend to have quick guards that give opponents problems. They also tend to beat teams they shouldn't, get themselves in the Top 25, lose to a team they shouldn't have, then climb their way back up later in the season. They also tend to shock the shit out of people in the NCAA tournament, so if you're ever looking for a 'sleeper' team, they might be one to consider.

Funny story: In 2014, I won my online bracket challenge, in part because of UConn...well, I filled out my "real" bracket, probably picking Florida since I'd seen them play live and they were legit, and then I filled out my "what the fuck IF" bracket. In the latter, I picked #7 seed UConn and #8 seed Kentucky in the championship game, and they both made it, behind some pretty amazing last second shots by Aaron 'Ice' Harrison, cementing him forever in UK lore (if you'd like to see the video, go to youtube and look for Aaron Harrison vs. Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin. That shit NEVER gets old. As a sidenote on the sidenote, those three teams UK beat were all in the Final Four the previous year)...In the end, the championship game did not turn out the way I wanted it to, but...anyway, just thought I'd give a little fun-fact ;)

**Oh, btw, for those that don't know, when the Selection Committee chooses the teams for the tournament, they are given a 'seed' number. This is a ranking of sorts. There are 4 of each seed 1-16. So being a #7 seed means the committee believes there are 24-27 teams in the tournament that are better than you, being a #8 seed means there are 28-31 better teams. You see how funny it is that a #7 and #8 ended up in the championship game? And even funnier that I was crazy enough to pick that...lol**