ALEC.

The family members had already left after finishing their voluntary tasks. Some had helped bring all the used dishes into the kitchen, while others had made them into resourceful piles for somebody else to wash. Once the living room and dining rooms were cleared, the ones with the younger children began to filter away. The games that had been used were placed back where they belonged, and then someone helpfully cleaned all the surfaces. The older relatives began to leave soon after.

When everybody had wished us all well and returned to their own homes, I – as the eldest – was charged with the task of washing up the dishes whilst mother and father relaxed in the living room, relieved of their successful evening. I had heavily underestimated the amount of cooking a woman could do – and the mess she could make in the kitchen. Though I'd never tell my mother this directly, or my grandmother, who seemed adamant that the more mess made produced better results. Magnus appeared to my right, on the other side of a spare counter, hands resting lightly on its surface. He still wore his hat, a grin on his face.

"How very unlike you" He motioned to the dishes with a flick of his finger, his head tipping a little. "Very domestic"

"Don't be mean" I scolded him, plunging my hands into the dishwater and scrubbing another pan. "Shadowhunter or not – I'm capable of doing chores"

"And for more with those brilliant hands, I suppose" I paused, giving him a warning with a simple raise of my eyebrow. "Oh don't look at me like that" He waved his right hand and looked outside into the garden, the doors still open.

"You said you'd behave" I murmured, unable to keep the grin from my face.

"I don't remember specifically saying that" Magnus said quietly. "Something about best behaviour-" Max raced into the kitchen, grinning, Jace hot on his heels. Then ran through the kitchen and into the garden, laughing. Magnus was smiling. "How long will this take?" He asked quietly, impatience on his face. I glanced at the pile I'd yet to do, and the pile that Izzy was supposed to be drying – but of course she was somewhere with Simon.

"A bit longer" I admitted. He shrugged, looking thoughtful. "Why?"

"Why else would I want you to finish?" He rolled his eyes at me and I detected a hint of annoyance.

"You're getting tired" I almost laughed. "Did today wear you out?" I glanced at him; he didn't look any different.

"It was ... good"

"Good?" I spluttered, almost dropping the wet pan as I placed it on the draining board.

"Hm" He murmured, but his eyes were lost elsewhere – somewhere outside, or in another world for all I knew. It seemed odd that he thought today had been good when he'd happily engaged with my relatives with ease. He seemed awe-struck with his present and I was sure he loved the desserts we'd dished up. It had been far more than just good to have Magnus here. I placed the cutting board on the draining board, aiming to prop it up next to the pan – but it wasn't there. I was momentarily alarmed to find it mid-air, being dried to a sparkle with the equally air-borne pan.

I spun to Magnus, almost accusingly. He'd moved, distracting himself with the bookshelf by the back door, fingers tracing the old texts there. I turned back, eyeing the pan, watching as it joined the others in an ordered pile on a spare counter. The drying towel came back and the board I'd put down rose to meet it. I hurried with the cleaning, the pile dissipating a lot quicker now I had more space. Magnus didn't acknowledge he was doing it, and I didn't say anything to him in case it stopped. It was easy to get into a rhythm and it was helping. Though, I supposed I was taking advantage of it.

"You have Rilke" Magnus noted.

"What?" I asked, finishing the final pan and leaving it on the draining board. It stayed there for a second until it was up in the air with the towel, and then placed on the counter next to the pile that had accumulated. I moved over to them.

"Rilke" Magnus murmured, turning to me. "Poet. Doesn't matter" I shrugged noncommittally and he eyed me carefully before walking around the counter. He picked up the pile of plates and I indicated to their cupboard. He swished a finger and it opened.

"Are you ok?" I asked, putting the pans away with a clatter. He closed the plate's cupboard and looked at me thoughtfully. "What?" I asked, unable to keep my composure when he was looking at me like that.

"Are we staying here tonight?" He asked.

"I..." I hadn't thought about it. I'd been living with Magnus long enough to think of there as home; it felt natural to go back to his apartment. But it also felt just as natural to stay with my family. I'd assumed we'd go back. I hadn't counted on the nostalgia pulling me back to my bedroom upstairs. "I don't know" I admitted. My mother chose that moment to come and refill her wine glass, breezing into the kitchen with a smile.

"Dishes are done" I told her and she nodded, swaying a little. Tipsy? Mother!

"Are you and Magnus staying?" I raised my eyebrows, watching carefully as she pulled out the wine bottle and set it onto the counter next to her empty glass. "Your room's made up, if you want it" She told me. "But none of that stuff" I went red and turned away. "Don't think this has anything to do with you being ...you" She gestured to me with the wine bottle before putting it back in the fridge. "I told Jace and Clary the same thing, and Isabel and Simon too" She sipped the red liquid.

"Magnus?" I looked over, hoping for an expression I could use. A defiant one, he'd want to go home. A happy one, he'd want to stay. A curious one, he might find it interesting. But nothing. He was blank. I turned back to my mother, her eyebrows raised expectantly, a small smile on her lips. "We'll let you know" She raised her glass just a little and went back into the living room, but as soon as she'd left the kitchen, I stalked over to Magnus and gripped his hands. "What's wrong?" I demanded. "Do I need to go and fetch Chairman?" That got a smile, but it faded quickly. "Are you sick? Did you eat those cookies – cause Izzy made those" I checked his head but he batted me away. "You can still talk, right?" He smirked, but said nothing. So I boldly leant in and kissed him right on the lips, my mouth working against his, tongue pushing in until he moaned. I pulled back. "Well your vocal cords still work" I grinned. I touched his top hat, all gold and black and glitter, and his eyes followed my movements, calculating. "Ok, seriously. You have to tell me what you're thinking because I can't read you at all"

"It's almost midnight" He whispered. "Christmas is almost over"

"Until next year" I nodded. "And we do the same thing again" I smiled and his lips twitched in response.

"But today is almost over" I nodded blankly and he looked stubborn, even more so when he folded his arms over his chest. "I do believe that gives you..." He checked his watch. "...Ten minutes to qualify your supposed, though apparently nonexistent, Christmas present as an actual Christmas present. Any later, and it'll be tomorrow, making it a boxing day present, and those are just late"

"Your present!" I gaped, eyes wide. I stepped back. "I haven't given-" I'd completely forgotten. And he looked so childlike! "I. Am. So. Sorry!" My eyes darted everywhere. "This was not how this was supposed to happen" I was burning with embarrassment; the cool air from the still-open back doors wasn't doing anything. I strode over to them, hands tugging at my hair. "Ok, rationalise thoughts" I told myself. I heard a tap and turned back to Magnus, who'd placed his hat on the counter looking every bit like a child awaiting a present he wasn't sure he was going to get.

"There is a present" I assured him, nodding. "There is"

"I have a lifetime, Alec" He said quietly. "But there's only ten minutes of Christmas left" I bit my lip. "Though...a lot can get done in ten minutes" He added thoughtfully.

"Hey, none of that, you heard my mother" I shook my head and he grinned.

"Unless we leave?" He hinted, undoing the top few buttons of his shirt casually. Though, my mind automatically wanted to shut him in the bedroom. "But I think you want to st-"

"Bedroom" I declared, grabbing his wrist and hauling him up the stairs and into my bedroom. He didn't say anything at first, looking over my desk and my shelves before eventually sitting on my bed. Meanwhile, I was frantically trying to remember where I had left his present. It wasn't at the apartment, I knew he'd find it if I left it there. It was somewhere in my room because it was the last place I intended to bring him – as I initially thought we'd be going back home. My plan to give it him earlier in the evening had been aborted after Max had topped the 'best present to Magnus' award. "Got it!" My hands touched the bag, nestled between my wardrobe and the desk. I joined Magnus – now cross legged and patient – on my bed, putting the bag between us.

"Ok" I began, hand plunging into the bag, mouth opening to explain – when Magnus's hand gripped my arm.

"Me first" He said.

"We have less than ten minutes! And unless you have the power to stop time" I eyed him suspiciously but he shook his head. "Ok, fine! Go" He put his other hand into his jacket pocket which held an envelope, sealed with wax and a stamp I didn't recognise. It hadn't been broken.

"This was given to me by someone dear to me. Someone who's opinion I valued over all others, whose words I rarely ever doubted. He gave me this, telling me something that I didn't believe, or care for at the time. He said; 'When your storms are whispers, your tempests are ripples and your heart slows with them, the earth will halt at your feet and your future will appear." He pulled a face. "I associated it with death" He passed me the envelope. "I was wrong" My finger traced the red, bulky seal on the back. "Open it" He encouraged. "The storms are my mind. The tempests, my soul. Life is one thing after another, therefore the heart slowing, the calm... it was death" He smiled a little, watching me pick at the seal. "But it wasn't. I think it's you" I paused and he took the letter back, opening it and handing it back. "When I realised I loved you, the earth really did seem to halt at my feet. And I saw you, as my future, as my life. I had been arrogant, easily led by the allure of immortality, why on earth would I ever think about the prospect of death? An end? – but then you appeared, and I couldn't imagine it any other way. You will be my end, Alexander"

"This is sounding very suspicious and worrying" I tugged at the paper inside the envelope, unfolding it carefully. The paper felt old, the writing looked old. But I could read it. Magnus peered over at me nervously. "It's..." It dawned on me. It was a spell. The page number at the bottom was evidence of it being torn from a book – its jagged left side confirming it – but it had no title. I handed it to him and he read it over, a small smile appearing. "It'll make you mortal?" He nodded, surely, and handed it back to me. "Why am I getting this?" My eyes widened. "You've had it all this time"

"It feels right that you own it" He said quietly. "Like you're holding my life in your hands. There's something so utterly vulnerable and human about that" I set the piece of paper aside, worried that even reading it would do damage. "My cards are laid" He leant forwards, capturing my chin in his fingers. "Deal them as you wish, love" He kissed me carefully, but I didn't miss the shake his hand gave.

"I don't know, I like your magic. Comes in handy when drying up the dishes" I murmured, and he pulled back, unimpressed. "Moment ruined" I decided, plunging my hand into the bag and pulling out the first one. He unwrapped it, finding a generous sum of money for a ridiculously priced shop that I know he very much loved. He beamed.

"Is this permission to dress you up?" He managed to twist it, again. I rolled my eyes and nudged him, drawing my legs up.

"No! It's enough for you to get another outfit and more"

"More' being something for you" He grinned.

"Magnus!" I protested.

"Alec it's my gift. I'll do with it as I please, thank you very much" He leaned over and kissed my cheek for good measure, so I pulled out another one of his wrapped gifts. "More than one?"

"You're very hard to shop for" I murmured. "Not one thing seemed enough" His eyes sparkled as he accepted the box-like-Christmas-wrapped present. The paper was gone in seconds.

"Snow-globe?" He looked closer. "Is that us?" He was millimetres away from the thing, eyes almost pressed to it as he looked inside. "It's us!" He exclaimed. "How did we get in there – Chairman too?!" He pointed, but I already knew. He flipped it upside down, I thought to shake it up, but he observed the branding on the bottom with scrutiny. "Custom made" He flipped it back, watching the blue snowflakes fall down. "It's perfect" I'd taken the opportunity of his excitement to produce another gift for him from the bag, this one a little bigger, and a bit more rectangular. His eyes showed me his unease.

"I can spoil you" I told him. "Isn't that what couples do?" He accepted the next gift and began taking off the paper, fingers dusting over the closed box. It was navy blue, a gold trim surrounding it. He popped it open, revealing a set of hand cuffs and a tie pin. "That was an impulse buy" I admitted, watching his eyes grow. Did he like them? "They looked like they'd look good on you"

"They're perfect! Look at the detail, did you see the detail?" He twisted one in my direction and I nodded, even though I'd only noted it as a Patten, not much of a detail. But Magnus liked these things and his face was more than enough. He looked down apologetically for his lack of a tie, but he did take out the cuff links and put them on expertly. As he was distracted, I took out the final two of his presents, hoping that I'd get them the right way around. They were different in size, but still quite box-like. And I'd wrapped them in the same wrapping paper, so I could only hope that I'd remembered which one to give him last. I took the slightly smaller box and placed it in my lap, extending the other one to Magnus.

"This is feeling more like bribery" He admitted, gingerly taking the next gift.

"I told you" I grinned. "You're a very hard person to buy things for"

"I have no problem buying things for myself, it's easy!" He quipped.

"Yes, but you know exactly what you want. It's a yes or no decision"

"You're doing well so far" He encouraged, his nails scraping against the tape as he unwrapped it carefully. A red box with silver linings. His eyebrows rose as he opened it, his face lighting up. He settled the box on his knee and took out the pair of black leather gloves. "There are a million things this could mean, you realise" His eyes twinkled and I caught his meaning. My face burnt.

"It's winter! January will be cold" I explained quickly. He didn't seem persuaded. He put the gloves on his spare knee and pulled out the next pair from underneath. The red ones.

"So why do I have two pairs?" He questioned. "Not that I'm not grateful" He quickly amended. But it was a fair point. He rarely lost things, and he deemed them outdated before they became simply over used and worn.

"One for a different outfit?" He shook his head at my pathetic reasoning. "I couldn't decide" I admitted. "I liked the red; it'd go well with your black winter coat. But you wear black a lot and black's a safe bet because it goes with everything. So I got the black too" I paused. "And then there are the colour connotations – black for hunting, red for calling enchantment down..."

"I see something of my wardrobe is rubbing off on you..." He slipped on the left black glove and the right red one, flexing his fingers to test them. He held his hands out, palms facing me. "How do they feel?" I grinned, slipping my hands into his, fingers slotted in-between.

"Like leather?" He shook his head and laughed, removing his hands and fingers from mine and peering in my lap at his last gift. "Ah...This, I will warn you, was Izzy's idea"

"Izzy?!" He'd plucked it from in between my legs before I could hold it back in thought, probably knowing that any gift idea that belonged to Izzy would no doubt be a playful one. My face burnt up and I curled myself into a ball, my chin resting on my knees as he opened the gift with chuckles. "Ah" He flipped the box, inspecting its colours and then opening it to inspect its contents. Condoms. I wonder if Simon knows what he's getting into? "Flavoured" Magnus murmured, putting them aside and crawling over the bed towards me. I tried not to shimmy back, but he was prowling closer like a cat and eventually I had to shift. He licked his lips suggestively and I held my hand up, hoping he'd remember what my mother had said. He pulled back, showing me that he did.

"If I remember correctly" He whispered, his fingers tugging at my legs until they were flat; he crawled over them and sat on my thighs, his fingers now at my hip bones. "There is a soundless rune"

"We can't!" I shook my head. "Not for this" Magnus looked disappointed, but his hands reached for the rim of my jeans regardless. I bit my lip.

"Then can we portal home?" I shook my head. "Home" He demanded, his face getting closer and closer to mine until he tempted me with a simple kiss to my lips. "We can come back when we're done; they'll never know" He whispered, his hair tickling my nose.

"If you can get me out of here before I change my mind in five seconds then I'm game" Magnus gripped my waist with ease and whirled me to the plain wall opposite the bed. While I was still gaining my footing, he was creating a portal, shimmering it into life as I quickly registered to take off my socks. Horrible things to fidget off in bed. Magnus, on the other hand, had already quickly stripped off his jacket, then his shirt – taking swift care to put the cufflinks on the desk – before grabbing my waist again. Having only managed to get off my socks, he was awfully tempting shirtless. He grinned and pulled me in for another sweet kiss. As usual, my eyes flickered shut – and when I opened them, I was pressed against the edge of the bed in our apartment, the portal dimming behind Magnus.

"We forgot the condoms" I breathed, seeing as that was what had started this in the first place. Magnus shrugged and poked me backwards onto the bed, crawling onto my lap again.

He ducked me down for another kiss in which he skilfully managed to remove my shirt. I caught the clock out of the corner or my eye, noting sadly that Christmas day had been and gone, and we were already fifteen minutes into Boxing Day. Magnus noticed my distraction, using his fingers to steer my chin back to face him.

"We have nothing but time" He whispered. "And time can stand still when I'm with you" He smiled, his eyes endlessly promising eternity, despite only having a lifetime.

Hey! I wanted to quickly thank you all for your positive feedback and I hope I did you proud with this chapter! :)