#malecsanta18

“Thanks Iz, I owe you one,” he said as he jabbed the END CALL button on his phone. He hated fussing over clothes, but he wanted to make absolutely sure that he made a good impression tonight. Or, at least, a better impression than what his typical wardrobe of well-worn jackets usually did. Izzy knew style, hence his last-minute panicked call for advice.

Alec raced through the shower and threw the prescribed outfit on, combing his hair before heading downstairs to the kitchen. The invitation clipped to the fridge said the party started at 6pm, and it was already 5:57. He stared at the gift he’d picked up that afternoon on his way home, still wrapped in its plastic bag from the store. “Fuck. Wrapping.”

He ran back upstairs to his guest room, shoving the closet doors open and praying that there’d be something he could use. There. A roll of plain green wrapping paper, most likely left over from his sister from when she had stayed with him over the summer. Perhaps he owed Izzy more than one favor at this point.

Back downstairs, Alec hastily wrapped the gift and grabbed the bottle of Pinot he brought for Luke every year, nearly stumbling on his way out the door. Calm down, he told himself. It’s just a party. He picked his way down the sidewalk and around a stray snowbank or two, thankful that at least he didn’t have to worry about parking; the street was already packed with cars.

Luke’s house was, by far, the most decorated one in the neighborhood. Wreaths topped with red ribbons hung on every window and candles shone from every sill. He must have used something like a mile of string lights because every single edge of the house dripped in softly glowing icicles. The giant tree in the foyer was visible from where Alec stood on the sidewalk, glittering with silver and gold ornaments.

But never mind the decorations – Alec had to remember that tonight, he was on a mission. It was time. It was past time, really. He’d just have to buck up and be brave, and do the thing he came here to do.

Right. Here goes nothing.

He rang the doorbell and was immediately greeted by Luke, fashionably dressed in no less than Saint Nick’s signature red velvet suit, arms held wide open.

“Bro-ho-ho! Alec!”

Alec snorted and shook his head. “Really, Luke?”

“Yes, really. Tonight, I’m Santa. Don’t diss the beard man, and come on in.” Alec handed Luke the bottle of wine and followed him through the kitchen and into the den, where a second tree was set up, cluttered with presents underneath. Alec looked around the room, taking in a few familiar faces that were already paired off in deep conversations.

“Ah, almost forgot. Here,” Luke shoved a stocking toward Alec and gestured inside. Alec drew out a folded post-it note with the number seven on it and shoved it in his pocket.

“Put your gift under the tree and make yourself comfortable, Alec. Mix and mingle, like Ol’ Kris Kringle,” Luke chuckled, already backing toward the kitchen to greet his next guest. “Oh, and Maia insisted on taking over Nog duty this year, so… well, just be careful not to stand next to any open flames, if you get my drift,” Luke said over his shoulder.

Alec smiled. “Gotcha.” He turned toward the makeshift bar set up at the back of the room and raised his hand in hello to Maia.

Internally, though, he was groaning. This was the part of the party he always hated. Not this party specifically, but really, any party. Small talk was much more Izzy’s thing, even their little brother Max was better at it. For god’s sake, he was a thirty-year-old man and he couldn’t even manage to attend a party by himself without feeling awkward and out of place. He busied himself by heading to the kitchen to make a plate of appetizers; at least he’d look normal holding some food.

Before settling down in an empty chair, Alec took a loop through the crowd in each room, pretending to look for someone in particular. Well, perhaps it wasn’t pretend. That didn’t mean he actually intended to talk to the person he was looking for. Not right away, at least. He’d have to come up with a something to say first.

Alec looked down at his plate, trying to identify what was in the pile that had been labeled “Mexican Dip” that he’d generously scooped onto his plate. There wasn’t much “Mexican” about it, and the cheese had re-solidified. Maybe it was best to just leave it be for now.

“Ah, alcohol; helping us survive Christmas one sip at a time. It’s Alexander, right?” Alec nearly choked on the bacon wrapped scallop he’d been chewing on. He turned toward the voice and found he was being handed a festively decorated Solo cup filled to the brim with eggnog. Magnus.

Magnus, who was loud, attractive, and always perfectly— though often unexpectedly— dressed. Alec raised his eyes to meet Magnus’, immediately imagining himself melting into a puddle just like Frosty the Snowman threatened to. Magnus was generally flirtatious with everyone, but Alec hadn’t been able to help but watch him from a safe distance every year. Alec had come here tonight with the express intention of at the very least talking with him, and if he was feeling brave enough, hopefully flirting back.

Alec had attended Luke’s annual Christmas party almost every year he’d lived on the street, but this was the first time he’d be attending as an officially out and proud gay man. Well, out. Proud was still a work in process, no thanks to the ongoing icy relationship with his parents. Logically he knew he had nothing to be ashamed about and that his sexuality was nobody’s business but his own, but his mother’s sharp tongue and father’s disinterested tone still tended to cut at him unexpectedly, even a year after coming out to them. That announcement, or actually the resulting blow up, is what had kept him from missing the party—his annual opportunity to oogle Magnus Bane—last year.

Alec stared at the drink in his hand, trying and failing miserably to come up with something to say that wasn’t ‘finally’ or ‘thank god.’

“You looked like you could use a drink; did I read that wrong?” Magnus asked him.

Alec felt completely too caught off guard to properly respond. He thought he’d have more time to plan this interaction, why is his brain suddenly blank?!

Alec shuffled his feet and was saved from further embarrassment by Luke shouting from the kitchen.

“Come one, come all! Get your asses to my den so we can get this party started!”

Alec snorted. It sounded like Luke had been sampling some of Maya’s eggnog.

Magnus touched Alec’s elbow lightly. “Well, shall we?”

Still terribly confused, Alec followed Magnus. Why on earth was Magnus talking to him? Of all the people at this party, Alec had to look the least sociable. There were far better conversationalists; even Dot, his 80-year-old neighbor, could keep a person interested long enough to tell a story or two.

They made their way through the crowd and took a seat on the stairs in the corner of the room.

“All right, thank you everyone for coming. It’s always nice to end the year with all of your faces and all of this booze.”

“Hurrah!”

“Anyway. Thanks for all the presents, you can all go home now.”

“Fo’ real this time! To those of you who haven’t had the extreme pleasure of participating in our little holiday extravaganza exchange, here are the house rules: each of you has brought a wrapped gift and put it under the tree. When you arrived, you were given a folded piece of paper with a number on it. Whichever of you lucky sonsabitches has the number 1 will pull a gift from under the tree and unwrap it for all to see. Because there were some, uh, shall we say disagreements, last year, I will allow visual inspection of the gifts. You may pick them up and gently shake them, just don’t unwrap them until you’ve made your choice. And, Mr. Bane… apparently you need the reminder that there will be NO CHOOSING OF THE GIFT YOU BROUGHT.”

“But I bring fabulous gifts!” Magnus exclaimed, clearly disappointed that he’d been caught out. Alec stifled a chuckle.

“Anyway, the next guest will choose a gift from under the tree and model it, and then that sucker gets to choose to either keep that gift or choose from one that has already been opened. I am placing NO LIMITS on the number of times a particular gift can be stolen, or the number of times a poor soul can be stolen from.”

“Ah, I see we’ve graduated to the ‘Dirty’ version of the game,” Magnus murmured. Alec turned to look at him and found Magnus smirking, eyes filled with glee. Alec raised an eyebrow in question, but Magnus just responded with a shake of his head.

“We will continue in this manner until all those presents are unwrapped and we swing back around to number 1 again – who has that, by the way?”

*Ragnor raises his hand*

“Ok, Ragnor… at the very end, you get to choose from all the gifts, including the one you unwrap”

“Damn it, that means I’m stuck here.”

“You were stuck here anyway, my friend. No one leaves until we’re done…. With both the presents and the booze!”

Alec looked down at the folded paper in his hand. Hastily scribbled on it was the number seven. So much for lucky number seven… he’d only have a handful of gifts to choose from unless someone stole his gift near the end of the game. Magnus peered over his shoulder to steal a glance at Alec’s paper with a smile and a murmured “Perfect.”

Perfect? Maybe Magnus had been looking at something else. But Alec’s attention was quickly drawn to Ragnor grumpily unwrapping the gift in the pile that had been closest to him. He finally managed to get the box open after struggling with a particularly stubborn tape job and a soft-looking throw blanket slid out of the package, piling at Ragnor’s feet.

“Lovely,” Ragnor muttered with great distaste. He shoved the blanket into the corner of the chair he occupied and crossed his arms. “Next victim!”

“Ah ah ah, Ragnor, you have to model it!” chastised Luke. Ragnor looked at him in horror, but then bucked up and shook the blanket open to drape it around him. Alec tried to stifle a giggle, but seeing the grouchiest man he knew draped in a Snuggie was wonderfully entertaining.

“However this night ends, this moment right here has already surpassed my expectations,” Magnus said beside him, shamelessly clicking off a half a dozen photos of Ragnor pouting in his chair.

Alec nervously stood to choose his gift from the tree. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t have to choose the gift and open it so publicly. Something about being on display like this always made him uncomfortable. He reached for a smaller square box wrapped in purple and silver paper – at least it was practically guaranteed not to be a Snuggie. He turned around to unwrap the gift in view of the rest of the party and was relieved when the paper peeled aside to reveal a Bluetooth speaker. Huh. Something he’d actually enjoy taking home for once. “A Bluetooth speaker!” he called out to the rest of the crowd, holding it up for those who might not be able to see it.

“Nice!”

“Excellent choice, Alexander,” Magnus praised him when he returned to his seat.

“Thanks. Although I guess I should really be thanking whoever brought it. This is a pretty cool gift.”

“You’re very welcome, then.” Alec looked up, immediately caught by Magnus’ happy grin. “I’m glad you like it.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Alec.

“Back there, how did you—know my name?” came tumbling out of Alec’s mouth. Great. Perfect. Smooth, Alec.

“Well, I admit that it did take some detective work on my part. I had to ask Luke weeks ago if the brooding tall tree of a man would be attending this year, as I was remarkably disappointed by his absence last year,” Magnus said with a sly smile. “And there you were, brooding away in your corner.”

Alec ducked his head to try to hide the smile rising to his lips. “Well, you weren’t here yet. I had to wait somewhere.”

That seemed to spark something in Magnus’ eyes, at least.

“So it would seem. How have we gone this long without having a proper introduction? I’m Magnus,” he said, extending his hand. Alec took it in his own, immediately relishing the warmth radiating from Magnus’s palm.

“I know,” Alec said. “And I’m Alec, obviously.” Duh.

“Do you prefer Alec, or may I call you Alexander?”

“Uh…” Max’s sarcastic voice echoed in his head. You can call me anything you want, as long as you call me. “People usually call me Alec, but…” Alec trailed off, shrugging.

“Alexander it is, then.” Magnus smiled. “Something tells me that if I ask you to tell me about yourself, I won’t get the kind of detail I’m looking for. What if I were to ask you about this tattoo, instead?” As he posed the question, Magnus trailed a finger along Alec’s neck down his throat, causing goosebumps to chase after it.

“Ah, um. That’s… I guess you could call it a symbol of protection? It means ‘deflect.’”

“Like a shield?” Magnus asked, an eyebrow raised in interest.

“Exactly. I’ve had a lot of … well, my relationship with my parents has never been great. So when I got this one, it was like this reminder to myself to block out the bad things they said. Plus,” Alec found himself continuing, “having it so large and visible it may have really pissed them off.” He smiled. He can’t say he enjoyed that fight exactly, but he did feel freer afterward.

“I don’t doubt it,” Magnus chuckled. “Is that the only one you have?”

“No, I have quite a few, actually. But the rest aren’t so, well, visible,” Alec mumbled, feeling a blush rise. For a moment there, he’d been ready to take off his sweater and his shirt to show Magnus the tattoos on his torso.

“I see,” Magnus’ eyes glowed. “Or rather, I’d like to; at some point in the future. Perhaps this isn’t the time and place.”

Alec flushed and looked down at his hands. His attention is grabbed by the crowd around him laughing in unison; somehow, the game has moved on while he and Magnus been wrapped in their own little bubble. Someone had unwrapped a towel, half of it labeled “FACE” and the other half “BUTT”.

“Now that’s certainly more of a White Elephant gift than one for a Yankee Swap… can you say ‘regift’? Oh, that poor soul is stuck with that one, I’m afraid.”

“I didn’t realize there was a difference between the two games.”

“Ah, then you must let me enlighten you. Popular theory is that the term ‘white elephant’ came from a story about the King of Siam, who was considered to be quite the evil genius. He had a brilliant way of exacting revenge on any courtier who dared displease him – he would present them with the precious gift of a rare albino elephant. At first, the unlucky courtier would be pleased as punch, thinking that they had impressed the King. But little did they know that caring for one of those elephants was a huge and costly pain in the backside and would likely lead them to financial ruin. As such, it was called a ‘fatal gift.’ I believe the story dates back to at least the 1850’s, but as far as I’m aware, no one has been able to verify that such a king existed. Nonetheless, the term still persists in popular culture.”

“Well I’m not sure that towel will lead anyone to financial ruin, but I guess I can’t say it’s a gift I would have liked to unwrap.”

Finally, Magnus springs to his feet when Luke calls for number twenty. Magnus tiptoes through the remaining gifts and makes his selection. He flings the tissues paper out of the bag until he reaches his prize: a poster-sized world map covered in the same scratch-off material lottery tickets are made of. Before Alec has a chance to realize what’s going on, Magnus has plucked the Bluetooth speaker out of Alec’s hands and replaced it with the map.

“Next number!” Magnus calls out as he reclaims his seat next to Alec, ever so closer than they had been before. Alec smirks. “I guess Luke didn’t forbid stealing your own gift, huh?”

“No, he did not make that distinction, did he?” Magnus asks around a wink.

The game continued around them and Alec is pulled back into his bubble with Magnus. They discover a shared love of tv shows (Magnus considers himself a bit of a pop culture whore) like the Runaways and the 100, and discuss how interests of younger generations typically have a bad reputation with older generations, even though the same values and lessons can be found in them. That topic carries them until Luke asks for number twenty-nine. Magnus, caught mid-sentence, raises a finger to Alec in a request to hold that thought and rises to select another package from the tree. He returns with another gift to plop in Alec’s lap and takes back the world map.

Alec is terribly confused.

“What—” is all he gets out before Magnus interrupts him with a wry smile and a finger to his own lips.

“Shhh, Alexander. You’ll see.”

Magnus takes the opportunity to ask Alec more about his tattoos, and Alec eventually stammers that each of the tattoos he’s chosen have both a deeper personal meaning and a purposeful placement on his body. That, in turn, leads to a rather lively discussion about deriving strength from elements of pop culture like music, shows, and movies, and how fictional characters can be inspirational figures in real life. Before they get too far down that path, they’re interrupted again.

It turns out, that in addition to numbers twenty and twenty nine, Magnus also has numbers thirty three and thirty seven. He steals Alec’s gift every single round. Finally, once he has seemingly completed his turns, he takes a moment to whisper in Alec’s ear.

“Luke never puts a limit on the number of gifts that can be brought to the exchange. If you bring multiple gifts, you get to take multiple gifts home. I see it as a way to increase my odds of taking home something I want. And before you ask, I had this plan to steal your gift every turn before I even walked in the door tonight. Speaking to you before the game and witnessing that adorable blush was just the cherry on top.”

Alec doesn’t even know where to begin.

“May I be presumptuous, Alexander?”

“If you must. I can probably handle it. Maybe.”

“Would you like to find some place a little less rowdy and continue our conversation over a nightcap?”

Alec takes a deep breath. “I know just the place, actually. And it has the benefit of being close by, since I don’t think any of these guys are in shape to move their cars.”

Alec helps Magnus with his coat and gestures down the sidewalk. Magnus takes his hand, and the words “cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy cozy are we” echo in his head.

They continue their discussion of how tattoos have helped Alec unlock his truth (with each one he gets, he feels a little more sure about who he is and what he stands for, what he wants to fight for). Magnus responds that he feels that Alec has unlocked something in him as well.

Alec tugs on Magnus’ hand to pull him to a stop in front of his house. “Well, we’re here,” he stammers. Magnus chuckles, clearly surprised but pleased that Alec has led him here. Fuck, that’s probably the smoothest he’s ever been, and he has no proof for Izzy that he came up with it himself.

“May I ask another question, Alexander?”

“You can ask me anything you want, Magnus.”

“Do you believe in the theory of soulmates?”

“I believe it’s possible.”

Alec didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow with a look of extreme doubt.

Magnus laughed again, “There is a difference between ‘uninspired’ and ‘bad’, darling.” Alec rolled his eyes, but he was smiling again, so Magnus counted it as a win. “Hey, do you-” He cut himself off when his phone started to buzz. He sighed when he saw it was a text from the Institute. “Sorry, love, I’ve got to check this.” Alec gave him a lopsided grin. “There is no such thing as a day off for the Head of the Institute.” Magnus turned around and pointed at him, with a determined look on his face, “This Head of the Institute will be taking several days off, all in a row, this summer when we’re on our honeymoon.” Alec smiled back, wide and bright, happiness shining in his eyes, “I can’t wait for that, fiance of mine.” Magnus grinned, “Imagine how much better it will be when you get to call me hus-” “Hey!” Alec cut him off, but his voice was teasing and playful, “you’re not allowed to say that and you know it. No jinxing of anything.” “Just because the last few times we planned our wedding didn’t work out-” “No!” Alec said, and he was still grinning, but his voice had a serious note in it that was lacking earlier, “we are not talking about those times, and we ware not talking about anything else either!” He paused and walked to Magnus, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead, then on the nose, then on the mouth, soft and sweet. “I want to be married to you so much, Magnus Bane.” Magnus smiled then kissed Alec back, “I think that might be able to be arranged.” “You mean it is currently being arranged?” Alec asked, happiness clear even through his sarcasm. “I might mean that.” Magnus agreed. His phone buzzed again in his hand and he took a step back, “Sorry, Alexander, I really must-” He stopped when heard the distinct crackle of a fire message start. The flaming letter finished burning itself into existence and Alec reached out and grabbed it out of the air. First, Alec’s eyes went wide, then his mouth dropped open a little, and then slowly, he lets the hand holding the letter fall to his side. “Magnus.” Magnus frowned and quickly he swiped open the message from the Institute, needing to make sure it’s nothing urgent so he can ask Alec about whatever the fire message said that has him looking like that. His mouth dropped open when he read the text. He looked up at Alec, looking surprised and maybe just a touch nervous. “Alexander, that was from the Institute. They were saying they just got a fire message from the Seelie Queen.” Alec held up his message, “She’s coming to the party tonight.” Their eyes met for a long moment before they both turned to look at the apartment. “We’re going to need to redecorate.” Magnus said, and Alec just nodded in agreement. It wasn’t that Alec’s decorations were offensive or lacking in any way, but… it was the annual winter mixer that Alec had been hosting for decades. When Alec had lived alone, the decorations had been a bit perfunctory, but after Magnus became part of the picture, it had become something that they enjoyed doing together. They would tour the apartment, deciding on new themes and styles, and having Alec magic it all up until it looked exactly like they wanted it to. Usually the mixer was mostly vampires, werewolves, and a handful of local warlocks. Since Magnus had started coming, the number of Shadowhunters attending had started to climb as well, but there had never, ever been more then a few Seelie knights who would show up simply to make sure the Seelie court had a presence there. It didn’t mean it was anything close to what they would need to pull out in order to impress the Seelie Queen. Magnus held his hand out to Alec, “We don’t have much time, so we should get started.” Alec smiled gratefully and reached out, tangling his fingers with Magnus’. “Start in the living room?” Magnus shook his head, “The living room is the largest and always takes us the most time. Let’s get everything else done first.” Alec nodded, and they walked to the balcony, hand in hand. It only took a few minutes to add the needed touches of glamour to the balcony set-up. The walls were now lined with trellises of flowering vines, the balcony itself was covered in spanish moss that was lit up from tiny multi-coloured lights that Alec had created. The next stop was the banquet table, which simply acquired a few new plates of food. There were suddenly huge trays of roasted vegetables and sugared fruit. (They skipped the library, as they always did, because Alec’s library never needed any improvement. The walls were made of translucent stone slats, there was a massive marble fireplace along one of the walls, and, of course, there was a ladder in a track for moments when a person needed to slide across the library while holding a book.) When all of the easy things were done, they found themselves back in the main room of the apartment, looking the huge, empty space before them. Alec looked over at Magnus, tilting his head, “Ideas?” “Do we want to keep the theme in here?” Magnus asked, looking around. “There...isn’t really a theme in here.” Alec admitted. It was true - it did look nice, but it didn’t particularly have a strong sense of cohesion anywhere. Magnus frowned and started at the walls, considering. “Maybe some purple?” It took a flick of Alec’s hand for the walls to be covered in a deep, rich, royal purple. The trim along the ceiling and floor were both in lavender, and the carpet was a deep forest green. It was nice, but… “This isn’t doing it, is it.” Alec said with a sigh. Magnus shook his head, “I agree, there’s something about it that’s missing.” And so, the trouble started. There was paint, and wallpaper, designs out of films, books, paintings. Nothing seemed to be the perfect mixture of friendly and welcoming, while keeping an air of whimsy but still looking sophisticated. There was wallpaper patterned with metallic peacock feathers (far too busy, Alec took it down after it hadn’t even been up for a second.) The walls were filled with massive paintings of horses (which came down as soon as Magnus pointed out they were having kids around, and no one wanted to have to be constantly watching the walls to make sure no children accidentally knocked anything down.) The tree-patterned wallpaper was shot down by Magnus for being both too boring and too busy. Black and gold was too stark. Red and green was too obvious. It was when Alec spread his fingers to call up a deep brown wallpaper patterned with green felt fleur-de-lis that Magnus halted the proceedings. “Didn’t we already do something like this?” He asked with a frown. “What?” “We’ve already done green patterned wallpaper.” Magnus clarified. “We’ve already done many things.” Alec pointed out, sourly, but then he sighed. “I think I know what you mean though. I’m starting to lose track of where we’ve been.” “When mundanes are repainting, they do test patches on the walls,” Magnus said, “we could do something like that? Just do squares to see what we think, and then maybe we can come back to it.” Alec looked over at Magnus then nodded. Alec raised is hands and then sliced his fingers through the air, and when he pulled his hands back to his chest, the walls were covered with square patches of every design that they had tried that evening. There were patches that were practically pure glitter, patches that were deep, rich matte tones, wallpapers of all colours and textures, there was a patch of rustic wood paneling, a panel of glowing lava-lamp spread across the wall. There were panels of metal, panels of mosaic, panels of murals, one section where Alec had joking turned the wall into a lit-up, moving picture of the Horsehead nebula. The wall was full, simply because they’d tried out so many designs. The last thing either of them was ready for was a knock on the door. Isabelle waited a few seconds before opening the door - enough time for Alec to magic them to rights if she was about to walk in on anything they didn’t want her to see. She made it about three steps into the apartment before she stopped and stared at the wall. “I must admit… that was not what I was expecting.” “Iz, you’re early, please help!” Alec said, looking at her with wide, pleading eyes. Isabelle raised an eyebrow and looked at it, “I think you should keep it like that.” Magnus glanced at the wall then looked at Isabelle, with a look of thoughtful consideration taking over his face. He turned to Alec, “She does have a point, Alexander. It would certainly be a conversation point.” Alec frowned at both of them. “You two are always the ones telling me that the theme is key to a party!” Isabelle shrugged, “Sometimes your theme can be eclectic.” Magnus grinned, “The unexpected is always good.” Alec stared at them, then looked at the wall, then back at Magnus and Izzy. “I will never understand parties.” Magnus and Izzy laughed, but it was kind. “It’s alright Alexander,” Magnus said, walking over to him and kissing him on the cheek, “That’s what we’re here for.” Alec grinned, “For forever, fiance?” Magnus leaned up to whisper into Alec’s ear, “I’m here for you forever, husband.” Alec spun then, catching Magnus around the waist and kissing him soundly - which was, of course, when the entire Seelie contingent walked through the door for the party. The Seelie Queen looked around, taking in the patchwork wall and the myriad of decorations still covering the living room. “I can see why they said these parties have become much more interesting lately.” Alec blushed a bit at the mention of his previous parties. He glanced at Izzy and Magnus, “I’ve been working on it.” The Seelie Queen looks at the three of them and smiles, looking oddly kind, “I would say that you have certainly succeeded Mr. Lightwood.” It was only a few minutes later for the rest of the guests to begin arriving, and everyone would stop when they walked in the door, needing several moments to comprehend all of the many styles that had somehow been combined onto a single wall. It was Madzie who saved the evening, when she’d run in and looked at it, then raced over to Magnus and Alec.

“It’s all mixed up right?” she said gleefully.

Alec opened his eyes and took a deep breath. The other kids had left and he was alone staring up at the tree. He shook his head and went about getting back home.

17 years later. Pandemonium.

Alec ran in behind Jace who of course ran in past Izzy who was on the trail of today’s lead on a nest of Shax demons. As Alec surveyed the room his eyes stopped upon a large crowd in the VIP section. His eyes followed the ruckus until they found what was causing all the hubbub. A man. With spiked hair. Makeup Izzy would drool over. Dressed to the nines. He was leaning back on a couch being served food and drink like he was a Roman king. Alec let his eyes linger longer than he should given why he was there in the first place. But there was something about this man that pulled him in. It felt almost like a force outside himself was controlling him. He took a step closer. He reasoned with himself that this was surveillance. His feet took him to the VIP platform before he realized how close he was.

“Shadowhunter. Can I help you?”

Alec shook his head. He looked for the voice which had spoken to him. It was HIM.

“No. Yes. No. Looking for demons. Sorry.”

“Demons? In my club? How thrilling.”

“Right well I’ll just uh, leave now.”

“Shadowhunter? Do come back after you’ve saved us all from danger!” The man said with a wink.

Alec nodded shakily then retreated. A blush rose to his cheeks.

“Man where have you been? Izzy and I totally found our lead. You ready to get shit done?”

Alec rolled his eyes as Jace’s blasé attitude.

“Yes sorry got side tracked. Let’s go.”

Jace sauntered to where Izzy was stationed. Alec turned his head one last time towards the man on the balcony. So many opportunities at the tip of his fingers but no, he had responsibilities.

Alec wiped the ichor from his dagger before strapping it back onto his thigh.

“Well that was eventful. So glad you dragged us out tonight.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “How was I supposed to know it was an academy drill?”

“Well now that we’ve showed up a bunch of 12 year olds can we go home?”

“ Yeah, yeah. Go on back. Write the report. Do what you do. I’m going back to the club. There was a redhead who I could not stop staring at.”

“Maybe I’ll-“

“What big brother? Come with?” Izzy laughed.

“Yes. I’ll come with. “

“Well fuck. Did you hit your head bro?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just go before that redhead goes home. “

Alec’s deflection worked like a charm. Jace and Izzy turned on their heels and headed back towards Pandemonium. Alec followed.

He had no idea what he was doing but it felt right.

400 years earlier. Batavia, Dutch East Indies.

A child roams the streets. Wandering aimlessly. Listlessly. He looks at his hands and sees his mother’s blood. His eyes glow. Red Magic sparks at his finger tips. He’s in control for the first time in his short life. When he lifts his head he sees a shower of stars above him. His mother would always place him on her lap when they looked at the stars. The boy climbed a nearby building and laid back on the roof to watch the stars, to mourn his mother.

As one particularly large star shot by he closed his eyes and made a wish.

A best friend. Someone to hold his hand when he got scared. Someone strong and stoic. Someone kind with a beautiful smile. Their eyes the color of the soil with trees and oceans reflected in them. They had to defend the weak and save the innocent. They had to love him even when he didn’t love himself.

The boy opened his eyes as the star fizzled out of sight. A single tear rolled down his face. He needed to start a new life. He closed his eyes again and brought forth all of his magic. When he opened his eyes a man stood in front of him. He tilted his head. The mans eyes glowed like his did.

“Come my son. Come home.”

The boy tilted his head. “Who are you?”

“I’m Asmodeus. Prince of Edom.”

“ I’m...”. The boy was silent. He could never go back. “I’m Magnus Bane.”  

“ Magnus. I like that. It suits you.”

“Thank you.”

“ Come to Edom with me. You’ll rule by my side.”

Magnus didn’t know who this man was but he had nowhere else to go. He stood up on shaky legs and took the man’s outstretched hand.

“Why?”

“Because I’m your father.”

Asmodeus grasped Magnus’s hand and snapped them both to Edom. This was the start of something new.

Present day. Pandemonium.

Magnus rolled his eyes as yet another faerie sidled up to him offering favors and promises. He shooed them away. He was looking for the tall Shadowhunter from earlier. There was something so intriguing about him. Something familiar that he couldn’t put his finger on.

He sipped at his drink as he watched the dance floor. As his eyes skimmed over the pulsing crowd he sees a flash of pale skin and dark hair a head above the din.  

He sat up straighter and followed the dark head if hair to the bar.

“Excuse me my dears. I must go tend to my people. You understand?” He addresses the faceless bodies writhing on top of him. He straightened his jacket and walked with purpose towards the bar. The sea of bodies parted for him.

Magnus sidles up to the Shadowhunter at the bar.

“Come here often?”

The man turned to him mid eye roll. When the Shadowhunter realized who had spoken his features softened.

“I’m Alec. And no. I’ve never been here before. “

“Short for Alexander?”

“Yes. “

“Excellent. I’m Magnus. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Magnus, through no volition of his own brought his hand up to stroke Alec’s cheek. Alec tilted his head into the touch. This stranger tugged at his heart strings in a way he didn’t understand.

“It feels like I know you. But I don’t. We’ve never met. But it feels like I’ve known you my whole life.”  

“I know darling. I feel it too.”

Magnus leans in and breathes Alec in. He closes his eyes to try to center himself. When he feels in control he opens his eyes and hears Alec gasp.

“Yours eyes.”

“Shit! I’m sorry. Please don’t leave-“

“Leave? Why would I leave?”

“Everyone leaves when they see this side of me. This terrible ugly side. “

“Magnus, they’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

Magnus looked into Alec’s eyes. Got lost the pools of brown, green and blue.

“Soil, trees and oceans.” Magnus whispered.

“What?”

“Your eyes. I-this is going to sound crazy. But I think, I think I wished for you.”

Alec laughed and leaned in closer. Their lips almost touching. He cupped Magnus’s cheek.

They kissed. It was like all the noise and pulsing lights stood still. Nothing else mattered but this moment. They kissed as if they had been together all their lives. They kissed as if time and space had created them for each other. They kissed as if love never knew it’s purpose until this moment.

Alec pulled away first. Breathing heavily. He trailed his hand down Magnus’s arm and laced their fingers together. He brought their hands to his lips.

“I wished for you too.”