Malec Moments

Cape May: Part 1

"Wake up." Magnus's voice reached Alec through his sleep-induced haze. Alec felt like he was on a ship in the ocean as he woke, rubbing his bleary eyes. The gentle rocking turned out to be Magnus, lightly bouncing on the bed. Alec rolled onto his side, looking incredulously into the green-gold cat eyes of his husband.

"What the hell are you doing, Magnus," he said, exasperatedly.

Magnus's eyes were shining with excitement. "Oh good, you're awake!" he said delightedly.

"You woke me up," Alec muttered grumpily.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Magnus said, nearly bursting at the seams.

"Tomorrow? Of course, I know what tomorrow is. What does that have to do with you waking me up today?" Alec was fully awake now, and despite himself, was beginning to catch some of Magnus's infectious enthusiasm.

"Well, since tomorrow is the first anniversary of our wedding, I have something special planned for this weekend," Magnus said, all in a rush as if the words were refusing to be held in any longer.

Alec grinned. He remembered a time when he had hated surprises, but now that was a distant memory. Magnus's surprises were almost always fun and were always memorable. Getting into the spirit of things in earnest, he said, "What's the plan?"

Magnus leaned in and kissed him. Then, lightly tapping his index finger on Alec's nose, he said, "Get dressed and I'll show you."

Alec hurriedly showered and dressed in his customary black long-sleeve tee, jeans, and boots, and met Magnus in the living room. Magnus was wearing something Alec had never seen him wear before, and didn't even know that Magnus owned. His pants were black, late-19th century style breeches, his white shirt was frilly at the neck, and was tucked under a black waistcoat and an outer jacket. Magnus completed the ensemble with a black top hat and a cane and heeled black patent leather shoes.

"Where's the glitter?" Alec said, taking in every inch of Magnus's appearance.

"Glitter hadn't been invented in the late 1800s," Magnus replied.

Alec raised an eyebrow at this. "Have you figured out how to time-travel?" he said evenly, not quite sure what was going on yet.

Magnus laughed. "Sort of." He grabbed their overnight bags, handing one to Alec and slinging the other over his shoulder. He held out his arm in a gentlemanly way, and said, "Our chariot awaits."

Alec hesitated for only a moment before taking the proffered arm and letting Magnus lead him out of the apartment.

The 'chariot' turned out to be a modern, convertible rental car, whose top was already down and ready to go. Magnus heaved his bag into the trunk of the car, then took Alec's from him and placed it next to the other bag. He closed the lid, then walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened Alec's door, giving a little bow. Alec nodded his thanks before taking his seat. He knew better than to not play along when Magnus was in a romantic, chivalrous mood; if he didn't, the results were usually a very whiny, moody warlock, which was no fun at all.

Magnus skipped to the driver's seat, stowed his top hat securely behind his seat, flashed Alec a quick grin, and away they went. As they merged onto the Garden State Parkway, Alec quirked a questioning eyebrow at Magnus, who was still not forthcoming with their destination. Alec shrugged, deciding to sit back and enjoy the ride. Alec rested his arm on the center console of the car, his fingers dangling lazily over the edge. Magnus slyly slid his arm next to Alec's, his fingers gently brushing Alec's before finally lacing them together. The sweet gesture sent tingling sensations through Alec. By the Angel, I love it when Magnus is like this, he thought happily.

Magnus drove for hours, leaving behind the big city, passing fading gardens and meadows of flowers gone to seed. Several times they caught glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean and other smaller waterways. The further south they traveled, the more sparse the population seemed to be until finally, Magnus turned the car off the highway and onto smaller side streets.

Alec saw a colorfully painted sign that read, "Welcome to Cape May, New Jersey." As they entered the township, Alec felt he had stepped back in time. The sleepy little beachfront town was lined with Victorian-era homes, painted in various colors, with their grand porches and long, sweeping gables.

Magnus stopped the car at one such building, too large to be a single-family home, with a sign in the yard designating it as a Bed and Breakfast. The pristine gardens lining the sidewalk were still lively with autumn flowers. The building itself was painted a deep green, almost gray, color with white accents and trim. There were several wooden swings suspended from the ceiling on the porch, as well as a line of old rocking chairs and a few tables, each with a small vase and fresh-cut flower on it.

Magnus donned his top hat and, for a moment, in this setting, Alec thought he looked like he belonged. If not for the cars and the flashing blue television sets in some of the windows, Alec could almost believe it was the late 1800's and Magnus was a dapper young gentleman courting his sweetheart.

They checked in and were shown to their room on the third floor of the building. The room was plush and antiqued from top to bottom. A four-poster queen size bed was the focal point of the room, complete with period bed covers, pillowcases, shams, and a lacy bed skirt. In one corner sat a Queen Anne style table with two high-backed chairs. A vintage oil lamp, full of thick red oil, adorned the tabletop. An antique telephone sat upon the bedside table next to a Tiffany lamp. Paintings, with scenes of ancient buildings and streams and horses and ladies in gowns with petticoats, hung from the walls.

The only items dating the place as modern were the flat-screen television attached to the wall, and the en suite bathroom. The bathroom, itself, was decorated in turn-of-the-century style, with a claw-footed bathtub, decorative plumbing fixtures, and curving wall sconces.

Alec let out a low whistle. "This place is amazing," he said exuberantly.

Magnus had a reflective, nostalgic expression on his face when he said, "This is one of my favorite periods in the four hundred years of my life."

"It's when you knew Camille and Will and Tessa, right?" Alec said.

Magnus glanced at Alec. "Yes, but that's not why I loved it so much. It was so different than things are today. Everyone always dressed up. There were fancy parties to attend where women wore beautiful ball gowns and carried parasols, and the men dressed similarly to how I'm dressed now. They wore top hats and long coattails and pocket watches and monocles. Everyone traveled by horse and carriage. And the buildings and architecture and furniture…well, just look at this place!" He gestured around the room to prove his point. "I wanted to show it to you."

After settling in and unpacking, Magnus led Alec to a cobblestone street lined with shops. The street was decorated for fall with bales of hay, pumpkins, dried cornstalks, and chrysanthemums in various colors. Large bay windows in the storefronts displayed the wares with festive fall décor. Even some of the shop owners were dressed in period costumes.

They perused a bookstore, with floor to ceiling shelves exhibiting thousands of new and used books. They ended up buying several books. Magnus was particularly interested in a book full of local ghost stories, having known several ghosts in his lifetime and wanting to see if any of the 'hauntings' were remotely plausible.

Next, they visited a sweet shop. There were copious amounts of candies, blue and green, and purple and white, lining the shelves and bins. A large glass case displayed various types of fudge, including chocolate and peanut butter and peppermint. Alec bought a pound of mint chocolate fudge to satisfy his sweet tooth. Magnus was fascinated watching the clerks create their own pulled taffy in a rainbow of colors, and couldn't resist buying some.

There were clothing stores and antique stores, stores full of baby items, stores selling women's purses. Magnus, being known for liking shiny things, was intrigued by the shop that sold only light fixtures, table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers, and colorful pendant lights. The store seemed to glow with all the lights and Magnus looked like a little kid in a candy shop, all wide eyes, and smiles.

In the evening, they retired to their room. The room had a private balcony overlooking a beautiful English garden. They didn't have a view of the beach but were close enough to hear the waves lapping the beach and taking the detritus of the day back out to sea. They sat on a wooden porch swing, suspended from a metal frame, Magnus playing idly with Alec's fingers.

"I think we should spend every anniversary on the beach," Magnus whispered in Alec's ear, just before kissing the hollow beneath his ear and sending a shiver down his spine.

Alec leaned into Magnus, suddenly forgetting about the beautiful, chilly evening, the balcony, the waves. He brought his hand up to Magnus's cheek, gently caressing the warlock's cheekbone and brushing his hair from his eyes. As he turned to kiss Magnus, Magnus met him halfway, their lips colliding in a heated kiss. Alec's strong arms encircled Magnus's waist, lifting him bodily onto his lap. Magnus seated himself, draping his arms around Alec's neck and kissed him with deep, slow, loving kisses.

After a time, when neither could hold back any longer, Magnus rolled off Alec's lap, bringing his Nephilim with him. On the spur of the moment, Alec scooped Magnus into his arms, which was not easily done given how tall and lanky Magnus's body was, and carried him into their room, gracefully depositing him on the bed. Magnus looked up at him with dreamy, bedroom eyes, his pupils dilated and he reached up, fisting Alec's shirt and pulling him down on top of him.