Malec Moments

Shameless

A series of beeps woke Alec from his deep slumber. He reached a hand toward the bedside table, wincing as pain seared through his head like it had been cleaved by a seraph blade. He gasped, barely opening his eyes against the bright light streaming in around the curtain.

"New text" was displayed on the screen of his phone. He hit a button and the message appeared. It was from Isabelle, and it read, "Are you alright? Jace says you are not answering his texts."

Alec closed his eyes, shielding them against the bright light, and groaned. He couldn't recall what had happened last night, but judging by the pain in his head, he most certainly was not alright. He quickly typed the word "no" and hit send, discarding his phone on the detritus covering the surface of the bedside table.

He groped blindly along the tabletop, scattering its contents. He heard something big hit the floor with a thud and roll. Opening one eye slightly, he saw the object was an empty wine bottle. That explains a lot, he thought. Finally, his hand grasped the cylindrical object it was hunting for, his stele, and he quickly drew an iratze on his arm. Relief flooded him, and the pain in his head dulled to a manageable level.

Now that he was able to think without feeling like he was going to vomit, he took in his surroundings. Magnus's arm was draped over his body and he was sleeping soundly. He doubted Magnus would wake with a hangover, he never did. He frequently doubted if alcohol affected Magnus the way it did other people. Maybe it didn't affect warlocks at all, he thought wryly.

Alec noted that his mouth was parched. He slipped out of bed and into a pair of boxers, dimly noting that he had slept naked, before padding across the room and into the kitchen for a glass of water. He quickly abandoned the water idea in favor of a steaming cup of strong, black coffee.

The coffee seemed to clear his mind more than anything else had. Memories of the previous evening came to him in a rush. He sank onto the couch, noticing the four or five empty wine bottles scattered near the fireplace, and the pallet of fluffy blankets on the floor.

He remembered his mother's phones, and the answer had been "no." Magnus didn't even have to ask, he could see it in the hurt in Alec's blue eyes. Magnus had wrapped his arms around Alec and crooned in-ear soothingly. But it hadn't helped. Alec was devastated.

"How could they say no?" he had asked to no one in particular, but Magnus had answered anyway, in that knowledgeable way that spoke of the centuries he had lived through

"We always knew it was a possibility, Alec. The Clave has it's laws."

"The Clave's laws are stupid," Alec spat. "Stupid, and cruel, and just plain wrong!"

Magnus patted Alec's hair, trying to ease his pain. "I know. Even with the Accord's, they barely grant marriage certificates between Nephilim and Downworlders. And, unfortunately, same-s*x marriages are still against their laws. We knew this could happen."

"I just thought that with my dad being the Inquisitor and the Consul, Jia Penhallow's, daughter being in a same-s*x relationship, that maybe something would have changed by now," Alec looked at Magnus, clearly fighting back tears.

"I know," Magnus cooed.

"What do we do now?" Alec asked, sounding defeated.

Magnus tilted his head, looking at Alec incredulously. He cupped Alec's face in his hands and held his gaze, firmly. "We get married anyway!" he said as if stating the obvious as if Alec were being too thick to recognize the solution right in front of his face. "Who cares what the Clave thinks? Those bigots can't stop me from marrying you. No one can…except you, of course."

Alec gave a weak smile. "Of course I want to marry you."

"That's what I want to hear," Magnus said, more cheerfully than he felt. In truth, he was pretty upset by the news as well. But he was determined to be strong for Alec.

Magnus lit a fire in the fireplace, then conjured an Italian meal, and two bottles of wine. He uncorked them both, not even bothering with glasses. They simply drank straight from the bottles. Alec was feeling marginally better after the meal, and even more so midway through the second bottle of wine.

Alec took his bottle and leaned back on the couch. Magnus smiled, an idea forming in his mind.

"I'm going to sing to you, Alec," he stated baldly.

"You are?" Alec had heard Magnus sing before. His voice was pleasant and sexy and deeper than his speaking voice, even though it was usually slightly off-key. He smiled a little at the thought.

"Mmm-hmm." Magnus snapped his fingers and a twangy tune started up.

"You're going to sing a country song?" Alec asked, a little surprised. Magnus's taste in music was very diverse, as were his tastes in many areas, fashion, décor, partners.

"Country music happens to have the best love songs," he said. "And this song happens to sum up how I feel about you very nicely." Magnus flashed him a dazzling smile and Alec's heart melted, a slight blush creeping across his face.

Magnus held his empty hand up to his mouth, pretending he held a microphone and started to sing.

                "Well I'm shameless

                When it comes to loving you,

                I'll do anything you want me to,

                I'll do anything at all."

Alec smiled as Magnus danced around the living room, making a production of the song. The firelight in the background illuminated his silhouette, and even though he was only wearing a thin t-shirt and pajama pants, Alec thought he looked sexy.

            "And I'm standing

            Here for all the world to see,

            Oh, baby, that's what's left of me,

            I don't have very far to fall.

            You know how I'm not a man who's ever been

Insecure about the world I've been living in.

            I don't break easy, I have my pride

            But if you need to be satisfied

            I'm shameless."

Magnus crossed the room to Alec, standing in front of him, grinning. There was a fire in his eyes that seemed to light up his whole face.

            "Honey, I don't have a prayer.

            Every time I see you standing there

            I go down upon my knees."

Magnus dropped to his knees and took Alec's hand in his, pressing the back of it to his lips. Alec bit his lip, his worries and sadness gradually slipping away.

            "And I'm changing,

            Swore I'd never compromise,

            Oh, but you convinced me otherwise.

            I'll do anything you please."

Alec thought about the journals that Magnus had given him over the last few years, the journals depicting the major events of his life, and he smiled.

            You see in all my life I've never found

            What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down.

            I could walk away from anyone I ever knew,

            But I can't walk away from you."

He was back on his feet, a blue scarf in his hand. He wrapped the scarf around Alec's neck seductively.

            "I have never let anything have this much control over me.

            I've worked too hard to call my life my own.

            And I've made myself a world, and it's worked so perfectly,

            But it's your world now, I can't refuse,

            I've never had so much to lose."

Magnus straddled Alec's lap, pulling him close with the scarf.

"I'm shameless…"

"Indeed, you are," said Alec, smiling as Magnus drew him close and kissed him. Music continued to play in the background. Then Magnus broke away and put his invisible microphone back to his lips.

            "You know it should be easy for a strong man

            To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong.

            I've never lost anything I ever missed,

            But I've never been in love like this.

            It's out of my hands.

            I'm shameless."

And the rest of the song was lost. Alec kissed him, a kiss that was full of love and desire, a kiss that released the pain and cruelty of the world. Magnus ran his hands up Alec's back, taking his t-shirt with him, in one fluid motion, and discarding it beside the couch. Alec did the same in turn.

Magnus trailed his index finger down Alec's neck, between his stony pectoral muscles, along the crease between his abs, and followed the soft, narrow strip of hair that started at Alec's navel until it disappeared into the waistband of his pants. That little strip of hair that always made Magnus go weak and lose all ability to concentrate.

And their lips clashed again. The kiss was heated, a frenzy of lips and tongues, their hands touching each other frantically.

Magnus backed off the couch, pulling Alec with him. Alec didn't know how Magnus had the presence of mind to conjure a pallet of soft, fluffy blankets in front of the fireplace. Alec, himself, certainly couldn't think past the feel of Magnus's lips and hands-on him. They sank to their knees on the blankets, their hands on each other's waistbands, poised to rid the other of the annoying barrier of fabric that remained between them.

Alec finished his bottle of wine in one gulp, discarded the bottle with the remainder of their clothes, and laid down on the blankets, still wrapped in Magnus's arms. Magnus tossed the covers over their bodies as they forgot, completely, about the Clave and their outdated rules, about the pain they had felt earlier, about the music that was still playing. They focused only on each other, their love, their happiness, their pleasure.

And now, Alec rinsed his coffee cup and sat it in the dishwasher, wondering how they had ended up in bed with another empty wine bottle. He found that he couldn't quite remember anything after they had made love, and wasn't sure that anything after that mattered. He poured Magnus a cup of coffee, adding cream and sugar, and padded off toward the bedroom. Magnus was just waking when he entered the bedroom. His hair was mussed, and he was rubbing his sleepy eyes with his fingers. His face lit up when he saw Alec.

The bed dipped down as it accommodated Alec's weight. Alec handed the coffee cup to Magnus and kissed him briefly.

"Thank you," Magnus said, accepting the cup. He eyed Alec critically for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Alec nodded. Abruptly, he turned to face Magnus full-on, worrying his bottom lip. "What is it?" Magnus said, distractedly setting the coffee on his bedside table.

"I don't want to wait any longer," he said purposefully. "I want to marry you as soon as possible."

Magnus took a sharp breath. "Alec-" he began, but Alec cut him off.

"This has nothing to do with the Clave," he said, guessing what Magnus's protest would be. "Well, maybe it does have a little to do with that, but only because it made me realize we have no reason to wait. If the Clave is not going to accept our marriage, then I see no reason to wait. I want to marry you. I'd marry you tomorrow if I could."

"Alec, honey, these things take time. We have a lot of planning to do," Magnus said, placatingly.

"Fine. So let's plan. We were going to do this next summer, but I don't want to wait that long. Can you finish the plans by October?"

Magnus choked on a sip of his coffee. "Two months? You want me to have our wedding planned in two months?"

"Yes," Alec said firmly.

"Do you have vows ready?" Magnus countered. Alec looked taken aback.

"Vows?" Alec spluttered.

"Yes, vows. We have to write our vows, make our clothes, find a venue, get rings. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding." Alec looked crestfallen. Magnus quickly amended his statement. "I'll make it happen, Alec. For you, I'd do anything."

"Because you're shameless?" Alec said with a smirk. Then he kissed Magnus before Magnus had time to react to that statement.