October 16, 2060 (Alec, 71; Ellie, 44)
"Happy anniversary," Magnus whispered against Alec's ear, just before taking his hand and spinning him away from Magnus. Alec was not very graceful at this, considering he was now in his seventies and had a bum right leg, but he tried. He let his arm fly out beside him dramatically, and he laughed with Magnus as Magnus reeled him back into his embrace.
"Don't hurt me," Alec teased.
"Never, my love," Magnus replied, as he kissed Alec's cheek, just in front of his ear.
Magnus swept him around the dance floor again, and Alec caught the grins and applause and watchful glances of their guests. Ellie had taken it upon herself to throw them a fiftieth anniversary party at the New York Institute. She had coordinated with Will, the current head of the Institute since Clary retired, and had planned a spectacular bash for Alec and Magnus. She had even convinced them, well Alec was the only one that really needed convincing, to wear formal attire for the occasion. Magnus was dressed in a stunning tuxedo that was a little too frumpy for Alec's taste. Alec wore a plain black and white tuxedo, and Magnus had not stopped complimenting him all night.
Alec recognized so many faces in the gathered crowd, many that he had not seen in years. Helen Blackthorn and Aline Penhallow, who had married a few years after Magnus and Alec. Other Blackthorns and their significant others were in attendance as well, huddled together in a group, chatting merrily.
Tessa and Jem Carstairs stood near the punch bowl. Jem's hair was now silver-gray as it had been when he was young and ill. Tessa was still as stunning as always. Catarina Loss, with her bright blue skin and flowing white hair, sat in animated conversation with Clary, whose flaming auburn hair was now faded to gray.
Isabelle and Simon chatted with Will and Sami and Max and their spouses. Their grandchildren sat in a corner talking and texting and comparing video games. Alec caught Will's daughter exchanging glances with a good-looking young Shadowhunter boy, and grinned.
As he looked around the room, he couldn't help noticing the people who were missing. With a pang in his heart, he thought of Jace, his parents, Clary's parents, even his little brother, Max, who had been gone for so long now. Alec shook his head to clear his thoughts. He would not forget the people he loved that were no longer with them, but he would also not allow himself to sink into sadness when he was here to celebrate fifty years with the love of his life.
As Magnus continued to spin him around the room (they had practice this to perfection since his injury more than twenty years ago), he caught a glimpse of Ellie and Antonio making sure the food table was full. Ellie pointed to a server, who immediately moved to replenish the champagne glasses on an adjacent table. Then his eyes fell on the cake. Ellie had spared no expense in that regard. The cake was several tiers high, inlaid with golden icing and flowers.
When the song ended, Ellie called them all together. Magnus handed Alec a glass of champagne to cool him from the dancing as they took their places behind the cake table. Ellie raised her glass and said, "To my dads, the best dads a girl could ask for. I hope you have many more years of happiness together."
Words of assent filled the air. Several others made small speeches to the happy couple, and Alec finished his glass as he drank to each toast. He was touched by the love he felt from the people gathered in that room, the people here to celebrate his love and marriage to a male warlock. The world had come so far since he had been forced to worry about being accepted in the Shadowhunter community, about his marriage being accepted.
He and Magnus held onto a large, ornate golden knife and cut into the cake, together. Magnus fed him a piece of cake, which he knew was a mundane wedding tradition, and one he happened to think was silly, before Ellie shooed them away from the table and began handing out pieces to the guests.
After the cake, Alec and Magnus mingled a little longer with their guests. There were only a few that they hadn't had a chance to talk before they started dancing earlier, and they wanted to make sure they saw everyone before they left. As the evening wound down, Alec began to feel the anticipation of what they had planned next.
Today was their anniversary, and not just any anniversary, but their fiftieth, a very special one that not many couples were lucky enough to reach. They were thankful that Ellie wanted to throw them a party, but they had never missed an anniversary on the beach, and they would not miss this one either.
Alec smiled at Magnus, and stepped through the Portal. He landed, as he had fifty years ago, on the soft sandy beach of the same private island where they were married. Magnus landed beside him and helped him to his feet, brushing the sand off his pants.
Precious little had changed about the island in fifty years, though the sun had already set so visibility was severely reduced. Alec could just make out the looming shapes of the bamboo and palm huts set in the tree line at the edge of the beach. He could hear the lapping of the waves against the sand. There was a cool night breeze drifting in off the ocean, and Alec was glad he was not wearing the shorts he wore the first time he was on this island.
Magnus assisted him through the sandy terrain and tossed their luggage into the cabin where they spent their wedding night. Alec's heart fluttered at the sight of that cabin, at the memories that flooded his mind, especially the wedding spell coming to life between them as they made love for the first time as a married couple. He could feel the glow of that flame in his chest, flaring up stronger now as he remembered that night.
"Do you want to stay in or spend some time on the beach first?" Magnus said.
"Beach," Alec replied automatically.
They left their shoes and coats in the hut and strolled in the direction of a clump of palm trees. Alec dug his toes into the sand, relishing the feel of the soft grains against his skin. Magnus fluttered to the ground, disregarding his formalwear. He unbuttoned the top of his shirt, letting his bow-tie dangle loosely at his neck. Alec loosened his own tie and a few buttons on his shirt, thankful to finally relieve the constricting feeling around his throat.
Magnus tugged on Alec's hand, and Alec eased himself to the ground, situating his body between Magnus's outstretched, tented legs. Magnus leaned back against a palm tree, which Alec strongly suspected was magically doctored to be more comfortable against Magnus's spine, and wrapped his arms around Alec, pulling him back against his body. Magnus nestled his head on Alec's shoulder, puffing Alec's gray hair out of his face.
Alec leaned back into Magnus's embrace, enjoying the feel of Magnus's body wrapped around his. Magnus snapped his fingers and a soft blue flame appeared a few feet away from them, producing just enough light and warmth to make them comfortable.
"I love you," Magnus whispered into Alec's ear, and Alec's body shivered.
"I love you," he said in turn. Alec nuzzled his head against Magnus's where it rested on his shoulder, and felt Magnus kiss his neck. Alec's eyes fluttered closed.
Alec's mind drifted back to their honeymoon suite, to the night of their wedding. He remembered how the spell Magnus performed had made him feel. He remembered the mixing of their love, the healing of their old wounds, the removal of any lingering doubts he may have harbored, the union of their souls. He remembered feeling that there was no way that two people could ever be closer to one another than he and Magnus were at that moment. And he still felt that way about Magnus.
Somehow, over the years, he had let some doubt creep back into his mind. Not a doubt about their love or their relationship or anything important, really. His biggest doubt was that now, when Alec was old and wrinkled and gray, that Magnus would no longer find him attractive. He worried that Magnus would not want him sexually anymore, and that he would not be able to perform if Magnus did want that. He knew how human bodies broke down as they aged, and he feared that would happen to him.
His fears were unfounded. He didn't know if it was his angel blood that kept his body as strong and whole as he was, or if he was just one of the lucky ones, but he found that his libido had not been seriously damaged by old age, and that he was still capable of doing the things he and Magnus had always done together. The frequency of such acts was seriously decreased from when he was eighteen, but he still enjoyed being with Magnus as much as he always had. And Magnus still enjoyed being with him.
Alec turned and kissed Magnus's cheek. The fiery passion that they once had had also diminished with age, but Alec wasn't sure if that was truly the fault of age or if that had more to do with familiarity. Either way, their kisses were not the scorching ones they had shared the first time they made love in Paris. Their kisses were now soft and sweet and still so full of love, but that was all they needed.
"Do you remember me singing 'Crazy For You' to you at our wedding?" Magnus said. His soft hair tickled Alec's cheek as he spoke. Alec nodded. He could never forget that. "I'm still crazy for you, Alec."
Alec turned, sliding his damaged leg beneath his body so that he could get closer in Magnus's arms. He brought a thin hand up to Magnus's face and gently stroke his cheek. Then he kissed Magnus, and within moments, he felt himself stir, a deep thrumming in his pelvic region. And Magnus kissed him, twining his hand in Alec's hair and holding him in place. He kissed him roughly, leaving no doubt as to what he wanted. Perhaps Alec had been too quick in thinking they weren't as passionate as they used to be.
Alec's fingers unbuttoned the rest of Magnus's shirt as deftly as a young man. He was still one of the Nephilim, and though his body may have aged and his reflexes may have slowed, he was still fairly strong and agile. More so than any mundane of his age would be, at least.
Alec let Magnus's shirt fall open to reveal the same body he had married fifty years ago, the same soft, smooth, tanned skin that was dark now in the partial light of the moon and the magical fire. He stared at that bare chest, remembering so many times he had kissed it and left marks upon it. And he leaned in to leave yet another mark. Magnus's head fell back and he moaned as Alec's lips made contact with his skin, as his teeth bit down on him. Little had changed for Magnus over the years, but he accepted that Alec was aging and not able to do the things they used to do as often as they used to do them. But Alec knew that if Magnus were with a young man, or woman, again, he would be just as sexually active as he had been fifty years ago. For this reason, when they were together, Magnus overreacted to the abundance of sensations coursing through his body.
"I want to make love to you," Magnus said, his voice rough and heady.
"I want that, too," Alec said, his voice just as heated.
Magnus slid out from under Alec and helped him to his feet. They kissed, their bodies tangled around each other, all the way back to their cabin. Magnus kicked the door closed behind them as they stumbled toward the bedroom. Alec dimly registered the island motif inside the cabin, which was mostly the same as it had been fifty years ago, and the updated furnishings, as they left a trail of clothing leading into the bedroom.
Alec's heart skipped as he entered the bedroom, transported back fifty years. The room seemed alive with the ghost of that night. He could almost see the blue flames of the wedding spell, the magic that had filled the air that night. Alec felt that magic stronger here than anywhere else. He wondered if it was just the memory, or if the island had its own magic to add to the mix.
Alec looked up at Magnus as he hovered above him and saw the shimmering love in his husband's eyes. The one thing that had not changed about Alec throughout the years was the deep, shining blue of his eyes, and he knew Magnus was focusing on that, and remembering this night fifty years ago, as he lowered his body against Alec's and kissed him again.
