Hello and Happy Holidays! Today is December 2nd so that means 23 days until Christmas! Today, we have a MCGA story. Written by Fae. Disclaimer: we own nothing. Enjoy!

CRASH!

"Oh my good gods Alex, would you stop dropping the ornaments?" I turn and face the green haired nightmare. "I can see you purposely dropping them, you know."

"I swear Magnus, that one was an accident." She picks up another glass ball. I snatch it and hang it up before she can break it. "Hmph." She pouts but reaches for a plastic one.

Alex and I are decorating my Christmas tree in my room on Floor 19. TJ should be coming over with the rest of the gang sometime later.

"Pass me the orange one." Alex holds out her hand.

"Please be careful." I plead. Then I pass the ornament to her. She turns it in her hands, admiring it. She hangs it on the tree. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Whoops!" She pretend drops one of the breakables but catches it at the last second.

I clutch my chest, my heart rate spiking then decreasing in a split second. "Gods! Would you stop it already?" I take the ornament from her. "You practically gave me a heart attack."

She gives me a innocent smile, hopping over the decoration boxes to reach me.

"I'm not doing anything." She slings an arm over my shoulder, almost making me fall over.

"I'm going to ban you from decorating if you're going to break everything." I gesture to the trash can full of shards. I had to put my shoes back on to protect my feet. "And I was really feeling the fuzzy sock vibe!" I complain.

"Shut up before I garrote you." Alex's mismatched eyes gleam with mischief, contrasting her sweet smile.

"Please don't." I hand back the ornament as a peace offering.

She smiles, hopping back over the boxes. She hangs the ornament on the very edge of the branch. I watch it in horror as it slowly slips off the branch and shatters on the floor.

"Alex!" I grab the dust pan and start cleaning up the shards. "I'm serious! Please, stop breaking the ornaments. Some of these are from my mom."

She doesn't say anything, blank faced.

As I finish sweeping the floor, I hear another crash.

I curse under my breath, and turn around. I catch my breath. "My mom got me that ornament! Stop breaking them!" I cry, pointing at the broken pieces of my ice cream cone snowman ornament lying on the floor.

"It's not like I'm trying to break them!" Alex protests, picking up the plastic pieces with her bare hands.

I try and say something but nothing comes out. I walk away and flop on the couch, leaving Alex to pick up her mess.

"We're here!" TJ announces, coming in with Mallory, Halfborn and Sam. Sam is holding a plate covered in tin foil.

"Are those cookies?" Alex bounds over to her sister, pointing at the plate.

Sam turns, keeping the plate out of Alex's reach. "Not for you." She slaps Alex's hand away. Alex pouts and goes back to cleaning up.

"What happened in here?" TJ looks around, eyeing the trash can.

I look up and over the back of the couch. "Alex happened. She's breaking all my ornaments." I lie back down.

"Alex," Sam sets down the plate and goes over to her sister. "Stop dropping the ornaments."

"It's no use." I say, getting up. "I've told her just about ten times and I've also threatened to ban her from decorating but then she threatened me by saying she'd decapitate me again." I complain to my friends.

"Shut up, Beantown." Mallory rolls her eyes. "I don't want to hear your complaining."

"Anyways, are those cookies?" I walk over to the plate on the coffee table. I pick it up, lifting the foil. A warm and buttery scent comes from inside. "Mmm." I rip the tin foil off the plate, grabbing for a delicious cookie.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Sam grabs the plate away before I can indulge. "Guys! This is not for you!"

"Then why'd you bring it?" Halfborn, looking over Sam's shoulder at the cookies.

"I think I should be allowed to eat cookies." I say, swiping one and shoving it in my face. It's still warm, the chocolate chips all melty. "Oh my gods, Sam! Why didn't you tell me how good of a baker you are?" I say, mouth full. "Mmm."

Halfborn laughs, taking a cookie for himself. While Sam is distracted, Mallory takes one as well. Alex just watches this chaos.

"Guys! I was going to-" Sam starts to explain, but when she looks down at the plate, it's empty, no crumbs or anything. She looks up at us, but none of us have any more.

"Alex!" Sam puts the plate down forcefully. "Alex I swear to all the gods, if you-" she starts to curse when Alex pops up behind the tree.

"What? I'm just trying to bre- decorate the tree." She catches herself on her slip up.

"Alex! Would you stop destroying my ornaments? I swear," I start over to my annoying significant other.

Sam keeps going on her rant, pointing a finger at Mallory and Halfborn accusingly. She's yelling at them, while I'm yelling at Alex, and TJ is just chilling with ten cookies piled in his hand.

Wait-

I stop lecturing Alex and pull Sam away from the on again, off again couple. She starts yelling at me until I turn her to face TJ.

She looks like she wants to let her jaw drop, eyes fiery. "Thomas Jefferson Junior. You, you took the cookies you little no good-" she starts ranting at him. He quickly shoves a cookie in his mouth and puts the rest in his coat.

"Oh my gods, everyone just CALM DOWN!" I shout, catching everyone's attention. "Can we just finish decorating my tree?"

"I didn't volunteer for this." Mallory crosses her arms. "But fine. Fine."

"Ugh." Sam groans then glares at everyone. "I will kill you all one day."

"Good to know. Now someone play the Xmas vibes!" I shout the last part excitedly, pointing at the sky, eyes closed.

Silence.

I open my eyes to see all my friends looking at me weirdly.

"Ookay. So this totally isn't awkward." I shuffle to my stereo, snapping on the Christmas station.

"Last Christmas" by Wham! Plays. I silently say a prayer of thanks that "Jingle Bells" didn't play so I wouldn't have to listen to Jack's cringe worthy edit. I've been keeping him in pendant form because I honestly don't want another disaster bringing being in my presence. Alex is more than enough.

We all grab ornaments, hanging them up.

Halfborn hangs a few, then goes to pestering Mallory. Those two end up just annoying each other instead of really helping.

TJ is such a great guy. He hangs the ornaments with care, singing along to some of the songs. He talks and jokes in good manner.

"Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer" comes on the radio.

We all smile, not being able to help ourselves, and start singing along. Even Jack comes out of pendant form-though I didn't take him out-and sings along. Thank the gods he sings the actual lyrics.

"Such a morbid song. Not unlike practically all nursery rhymes or lullabies." Alex points out. "I love it."

"Only you would, only you." I shake my head, putting Jack back in pendant form.

Rude. He buzzes in my head. I roll my eyes.

"Hey!" Alex slaps me. "I will break all your ornaments." She threatens.

"Ha! You admit it! You're purposely breaking my-" I start to get excited, when Alex does something very evil.

She takes an ornament, holding by the hanger, then slowly lets it slip, a mischievous grin on her face.

SHATTER.

I stare at the broken ornament, absolutely defeated. "Alex, why?" I moan quietly, sinking to the floor.

Sam grabs Alex and talks to her in a separate section of the suite. TJ frowns, cleaning up the shards for me. Mallory and Halfborn just stand around awkwardly.

Sam comes back with Alex.

"Well, this got real awkward so I'm gonna head out. Bye losers." Mallory grabs Halfborn by the arm and leaves my room.

"Party pooper." TJ mumbles. Then he goes back to merrily decorating.

"Alex, do you have something to say to Magnus?" Sam asks.

"Geez, Mom." Alex crosses her arms. "Sorry for breaking your ornaments. Ok I'm done now." Alex rushes out, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and leaving.

The door slams shut. "Uhhh," I turn in slow motion to Sam. "She just left."

"Way to go Captain Obvious." She smacks me lightly, hanging up a candy cane ornament. "Now let's finish this tree, yeah?"

Sam, TJ and I finish the tree, laughing, talking and singing along to Christmas music.

Later that night, after everyone has left, I lie down on the green grass of my atrium.

Looking up at the dark sky, I find myself lost in thought. Today was fun, except for the part where Alex broke my favorite childhood ornaments. I'm still upset about that. I knew that Alex could be cruel, but I also know that she still has a heart. Would she feel any remorse?

"Ugh," I sit up, too much on my mind. I bite my lip, looking at the door. "Should I?" I wonder aloud.

I get up, walking to the door. I peek my head out into the hallway. Everyone's light is off... except for Alex's. I walk out into the hallway, closing my door. I take slow steps towards Alex's door. I don't even know what I'm going to do when I get there. Demand an apology? Rant? Accuse her?

Too late. I'm at her door.

Reluctantly, I knock on her door. I wait for a minute, maybe two. She doesn't answer.

"Okay Magnus, you've got this. It's just Alex." I mumble under my breath. I open her door (which is surprisingly unlocked).

I prepare to get pottery thrown at me. But when nothing violent happens, I walk in.

"Alex?" I call semi-quietly. "Alex?"

"What?" She startles me. I spin around to see her standing behind me, arms crossed.

"Seriously?" I spread my arms in exasperation. "When are you going to stop scaring me like that?"

"Hopefully never. Why are you here?" She walks around me, back to her pottery wheel.

I follow her, sitting on a spare stool. "Uh, well, I was thinking about earlier today," I stop and stare at what Alex is making. "Alex," I try and keep my voice even. "Alex is that-is that..."

She looks up at me, then back at what she's making. She blushes, which is unusual for her. "Well, after breaking your ornaments, I kinda felt bad so I tried to make you a new one." She holds out a half shaped ice cream snow man. "I'm no good with making anything other than pottery so it may look a little funny."

"Alex," tears actually come to my eyes. "Alex, you-you do care. I thought that you were just being mean,"

"Well, yeah, I was dropping some of them to annoy you but I swear I didn't know the ice cream snowman was from your mom." She goes back to carving and shaping the face.

I sit there, watching her make me my new ornament. I start to get sleepy, watching her hands work with the clay, her face slightly scrunched up in concentration.

"Thank you," I say quietly, half asleep.

Alex just smiles. She sets down the clay and brings me over to her couch. I smile softly as she covers me in a blanket.

"Goodnight, Magnus." She says, still smiling. She kisses my forehead and then goes back to making me my ornament.