"You look like you're about to be executed," Sebastian said as he watched Alec grimace as they walked into the shopping center.
"This is truly my idea of hell," Alec said as he watched all of the mundanes rush around them, oblivious that they were walking past two men who dedicated their lives to protecting them from demons.
"We'll be in and out before you know it," Sebastian said, also starting to look a little overwhelmed by the crowds.
"You don't like shopping?" Alec asked curiously, following Sebastian as he made his way into the first store.
Sebastian shrugged his shoulders, picking up a pair of jeans and inspecting them carefully.
"Clothes are a necessity, and I'm not opposed to wearing nice clothes…I just don't understand why people spend so much time and money on them," Sebastian said casually, confused when he saw how Alec grinned at his response.
"You have no idea how nice it is to be with someone who isn't obsessed with clothes," Alec said, "My sister is insane about hair, makeup, accessorizing…and my ex, he was always trying to make me wear colourful and sparkly stuff."
Alec felt relieved as he simply referred to Magnus as his 'ex' and his heart no longer had any reaction to the thought of the warlock.
"Seriously? Glitter? Isn't that a bit, I don't know, tacky?" Sebastian asked, and Alec chuckled in response.
"You have no idea."
"Didn't you sister say you had to buy clothes too?" Sebastian asked as he seemed to find a top he liked.
"Yeah, but I usually just ignore her," Alec said with a smirk.
"Here, close your eyes," Sebastian said as he placed his hands over Alec's face, "and point at five things. We'll let fate decide what clothes you should wear."
Alec wanted to laugh at the ridiculous idea, but he was suddenly acutely aware of how close Sebastian was, and he could feel the other boy's body pressed up against his, and his breath against his neck as Sebastian spoke. The only thing Alec could think to do was nod and follow Sebastian's instructions, missing his presence once he felt the younger man move off and collect the items Alec had pointed out. When he opened his eyes Alec saw that Sebastian was holding a dark blue singlet, a plaid shirt, two pairs of skinny blue jeans and a pair of grey boots that Alec figured were purposefully made to look worn as some kind of fashion statement.
"Not bad choices, of course I had to fiddle with the sizes a little, but aside from that, chance hasn't got bad taste" Sebastian said as he went back to picking out some clothes for himself.
"What about you, you're not going to let the universe decide?" Alec said with a hint of sarcasm.
"I have been letting you and Jace dress me in clothes that don't fit, I think I deserve to pick out some stuff I actually like," Sebastian said as he casually slung his arm around Alec's shoulder, smirking as he saw that Alec didn't resist the action, but rather subconsciously lent into him more.
"I'm just going to try some of these on," Sebastian said after a moment, and he quickly ran off to the change rooms, leaving Alec to wander around the store.
As he did so he wasn't really paying attention, his thoughts still lingering on Sebastian, and he accidentally walked into someone.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking," Alec muttered as he picked up the clothes he'd dropped.
"That's quite alright gorgeous, anyone as dashing as you can knock me off my feet any day," the man that Alec had bumped into said with a wink.
"Uhhh…" was the only sound that escaped Alec's lips as he was taken back by the obvious flirting, which not even Alec could miss.
"Come on babe, let me get your number," the guy said persistently, and Alec suddenly felt cornered.
"Ummm…thanks…but I'm not…interested," Alec said as he turned from the man, however the stranger did not give up easily, and he blocked Alec's exit by standing in front of him again.
"Didn't you hear him, he's not interested," Sebastian said as he appeared behind Alec.
"Oh sorry, didn't realize there was something going on between you, should have known someone so handsome would already be taken," the man said, and with a final glance at Alec he walked off, leaving the older shadow hunter very confused.
"I leave you alone for five minutes," Sebastian said jokingly, although he looked a little tense.
"Oh sorry," Alec said, "I should have corrected him."
"What? Oh when he said we were together?" Sebastian asked, looking more somber as Alec seemed offended by the idea.
"Yeah, you probably don't want people to think that you're, you know…"
"Yes, of course, I get it, there's no reason you'd want people to think we're dating," Sebastian said quickly.
"Wait, what? I thought you wouldn't want people to think you're gay," Alec said in a puzzled tone.
"Why would I care about that? I know the Clave's still touchy on the topic, but he was obviously okay with being open about sexuality."
"I thought…" Alec said, not sure what Sebastian was saying about himself.
"Oh shit, you thought I was straight?" Sebastian said in alarm, realising that all of his attempts at flirting and trying to capture Alec's attention would have been a lost cause if the other boy didn't know he was interested in his gender.
"You're not?" Alec asked. "Sorry, I'm not very good at telling these things," he quickly mumbled as he became embarrassed, and as usual his face started to heat up.
Sebastian just shook his head and chuckled, feeling himself swoon as he saw Alec's adorable blush appear.
"To be fair I did hear about you from gossip in Idris before I even came to New York."
"Then what did you mean, about me not wanting people to think we're dating?" Alec asked remembering Sebastian's earlier words.
Sebastian looked like a dear caught in headlights for a moment, and he quickly debated whether to tell Alec the truth or just shrug the situation off. Now or never, Sebastian decided.
"I kind of have a confession to make," the younger Nephilim said, looking up at Alec with his usual cheeky expression again, "I am interested in you, which is why I didn't correct that guy."
"Oh," Alec said, cringing at his own useless reaction.
"I understand of course if it's a one sided thing," Sebastian quickly added, some of his playfulness slipping away as he awaited a proper response from Alec.
Alec didn't know what to say, as all of the strange excitement and happiness he felt around Sebastian started to make sense in his mind, and he understood that it definitely was reciprocal. Still, no actual appropriate words came to Alec's mind, as yet again his brain failed to offer him with anything useful, aside from the fact that his attention was now drawn towards Sebastian's lips as the younger boy licked them subconsciously. Alec didn't remember having another logical thought after that, just that his lips were suddenly connected with Sebastian's in a gentle kiss that the other man immediately responded to.
A/N Hope you liked the first romantic moment between the two shadow hunter boys, please review if you want more, as I love the feedback and it will make me update sooner!