Malec Moments

Training

Alec picked up his bow and quiver of arrows from the corner of his bedroom. He paused. Something was wrong. A careful inspection showed him that the feathers were missing from the end of one of the arrows. Perplexed, he scanned the bedroom, looking for evidence.

It didn't take long to find the source of the misdeed. Chairman Meow was half-hidden under the bed, thumping his tail wildly and tossing pieces of Shadowhunter black feathers into the air, then pouncing on them as a cat possessed.

Alec narrowed his eyes at the little cat and stalked across the room. With one hand on his hip, he snatched the feather pieces out of the cat's mouth.

"Those are not yours," he scolded.

The cat looked up at him lazily, completely indifferent to Alec's reproach. Alec, shaking his head, scooped up his bow, and felt several small indentations in the wood frame under his fingers. The indentations were very clearly teeth marks, punctures that could only have been made by the little feline.

"Magnus!" Alec shouted angrily.

Magnus skidded into the room, shirtless but wearing pajama pants and socks, looking alarmed. Alec rounded on him, shoving the feathers under his nose and shaking the bow in his direction.

"Your damn cat is destroying my weapons!"

Magnus's lips twitched. He tried to school his expression into one of humility, but Alec's look of anger and betrayal, directed at the cat, was just too much. A broad grin spread across his face.

"It's not funny!" Alec exclaimed as Magnus scooped up the cat, chuckling. "It's not!" he repeated, but his tone was less convincing. Alec could never stay mad at Chairman Meow. The two had a special bond; the Chairman preferred Alec to most humans. Alec scratched the little cat behind his ears and said, "Leave my weapons and gear alone, will you?"

The situation diffused, Magnus dropped the cat onto the bed and reclaimed his place on the couch. Alec followed him into the living room, dropped his bow, and quiver beside the couch and stood in front of Magnus. He placed his hands on the back of the couch on either side of Magnus and leaned over to give his boyfriend a quick kiss.

Magnus pouted. "I wish you didn't have to go training," he whined.

"Well, I do," Alec said, matter-of-factly.

"Can't Jace and Clary and Izzy train Simon without you?" he tried.

"As a matter of fact, they can't. We are training Simon on the bow today, and I'm the best we have."

Magnus could not disagree with that. He remembered the battle on the Burren and Sebastian's Endarkened Shadowhunters dropping like flies under Alec's rain of arrows. He recalled Luke's sister, Amatis, stabbing him, drawing back for the killing blow, and the loud 'thump' of Alec's arrow embedding in her shoulder. Alec was skilled at the bow, and it would be very selfish of Magnus to complain about him leaving to train Simon. Unfortunately, he felt like being selfish right now.

Magnus stuck out his bottom lip in a mock pout. Alec leaned in, took his bottom lip in his mouth, and kissed him. Magnus's arms snaked around Alec's waist and pulled him close. Caught off guard, Alec overbalanced and toppled onto Magnus's lap, straddling him. Magnus's arms immediately tightened around his Shadowhunter, pinning Alec against him.

"That's not fair," Alec protested, but only half-heartedly.

"Oh, come on. If you stayed here, we would have so much more fun than they can offer you in training." Magnus's voice was seductive, and, given Alec's vantage point on top of Magnus's lap, he had no trouble determining, feeling, what Magnus had in mind.

"You could always come with me, you know."

"What, and watch you draped all over Simon showing him how to hold a bow? No thanks. I would rather you were draped all over me."

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus's neck and kissed him. It was a long, languorous kiss. It was comfortable and familiar and sweet, but it still caused Alec to stir. Magnus aided this as his long, slender hands roamed up and down Alec's spine, running over his shoulders and pulling Alec firmly onto his lap.

Alec eventually forced himself to break free of Magnus's grip, kissed the warlock on his forehead, and said, "I'll see you in two hours. We can pick up here then." He scooped up his gear and left the apartment, feeling like he deserved some sort of medal for having the self-discipline to walk away from that.

He was meeting the others in Central Park, in the area designated for members of the Shadow World and glamoured from mundanes. He'd given Jace specific instructions for setting up an obstacle course of sorts for Simon. Simon had been training for over a year now, and though much of his training was still academic and strength training, he had progressed to learning to handle weapons. Since Simon had shown an affinity to the bow when Alec had first met him and saved them all from the Greater Demon Abbadon in the process, they had agreed to further his training in that regard.

When Alec arrived at the park, he was pleased to see Jace had followed his instructions to the letter. There were a dozen targets set up at varying distances, ranging from 20 meters to 100 meters. Attackers that got closer than that were usually best fought with seraph blades, swords, or daggers. For targets farther away, there were too many variables to make the shot accurate, at least for a beginner like Simon.

"This looks great," Alec said, by way of greeting, to Jace.

Jace flashed a smile and said, "Of course it does." Alec rolled his eyes.

Alec turned as Simon and Isabelle strolled up the slope and joined their group. He greeted them and immediately launched into an explanation of the day's goals. Kissing Magnus was still tickling the edges of his mind, and he wasn't wasting any time getting back to him.

He demonstrated the proper way to hold a bow, arm extended and steady, arrow aligned with his eyesight. Simon's bow had less pull weight than Alec's, being a beginner's bow, but that wasn't important. The proper technique could be transferred to any bow once the user knew how to adjust for pull weight, target distance, and wind speed.

Alec drew back the bowstring and let the arrow fly into the first target. The arrow landed with a resounding thud, right in the heart of the target. Simon nodded his comprehension and copied Alec using his bow. His shot was decent, hitting the target solidly in the shoulder area. Alec had Simon empty his quiver on the first target before moving on to the next, which was set a little farther away.

The farther the distance, the less accurate Simon's shots became, which was to be expected. Alec demonstrated how to adjust his aim to more accurately hit the targets at greater distances, and how to account for wind speed and direction. He even adjusted the way Simon pulled a new arrow from his quiver and loaded the bow, which would help him shave precious seconds between firing, precious seconds that could be the difference between life and death in a battle. These were all things that would take a lot of practice if he were to become proficient.

However, Simon seemed frustrated at the decline in his accuracy, and Alec wasn't sure how to combat that. Alec glanced behind him at Jace and Clary, who had their heads together, whispering and giggling. Jace was playing with Clary's fingers. They would be of no use to him.

Isabelle, not having any real knowledge of archery, simply shrugged and gave Simon an encouraging smile. Simon's face darkened a little as he blushed. This was also not going to be helpful. There was nothing for it but to continue practicing and encouraging Simon as much as he could.

When they finally reached the 100-meter target, Simon's aim was terrible. It took a lot of upper body strength to repeatedly fire a bow, and even with Simon's lightweight bow, his strength was weakening. Alec slid his arm around Simon's back, helping him adjust to the right height for firing an arrow at this distance.

Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, just as he released, and the arrow flew in a wildly errant course. Jace snorted loudly. Of course, Jace paid attention to that, Alec thought. Alec glared at Jace momentarily before turning to see what had sidetracked him.

Magnus was walking up the slope, a lopsided grin on his face. He paused and clapped his hands in appreciation of the terrible shot, Alec, assisting Simon, had just taken.

"I see you're teaching him well," Magnus teased.

"Keep practicing," Alec said over his shoulder to Simon as he strode toward Magnus.

"Nice shot," Magnus said, as Alec drew near.

"You distracted me," Alec said, indignantly.

Magnus shrugged. "I guess we can't go to battle together anymore. I'd hate to distract you and get hit by the resulting shot." A smile was playing at the corners of Magnus's mouth, threatening to breakthrough.

"Shut up," Alec said, rolling his eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Came to see you. You did invite me," Magnus said.

Alec glanced back at the others. Simon was still trying to shoot the hundred-meter target, but was clearly exhausted and missing badly. He turned back to Magnus. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Alec jogged up the slope and called a halt to the training. He instructed Simon to practice for at least an hour every day and they would reconvene next week to assess his progress. Then he said a quick good-bye and returned to Magnus. He heard Jace say something about breaking off the training session for a 'booty-call,' but Alec ignored this.

Magnus, he noticed, was dressed casually in dark jeans, a white t-shirt and a vest made of shiny metallic material. His hair was spiked but he hadn't done anything fancy to it. He did not plan to go out tonight.

"Why are you here?" Alec asked again. "I thought we were going to pick up where we left off when I got home."

"Plans change," said Magnus evasively. He caught Alec's hand and led him to a copse of trees surrounding a small clearing. The trees and undergrowth were so thick it was impossible to see anything past the clearing. This gave the illusion, at least, of privacy.

Magnus stood at the opening of the clearing, his hands outstretched, muttering something Alec couldn't hear.

"What are you doing?" Alec inquired.

Magnus called over his shoulder, "Sealing the clearing."

A moment later, he turned and strode to where Alec stood. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing toward the ground.

Alec looked down and saw a multicolored checkered blanket, fanned out on the ground, and a picnic basket that he knew had not been there when they had entered the clearing. His lip quirked up in the corners. He wondered if Magnus would ever stop surprising him with his magic. He sincerely hoped not.

Alec dropped onto the blanket, and started sorting through the basket, Magnus stretched out lazily beside him. Inside the basket sat two generic containers of take-out food, a large piece of chocolate cake, and a bottle of wine. Alec rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Very creative, Magnus," he said with a laugh.

"I always heard it was the thought that counts," Magnus replied.

"Was your thought to get me drunk and take advantage of me?"

Magnus sat up abruptly, looking intently at Alec, and said, "Actually, yes, it was."

Alec's mouth dropped open. He gestured around the clearing. "Here? We're in the middle of a public park!"

Magnus leaned back on his elbows, examining his flaking fingernail polish. "That's why I sealed the clearing," he said, matter-of-factly, as if that made it perfectly alright to get drunk and have s*x in a city park.

"Magnus," Alec said sternly.

"What? Where's your sense of adventure?"

Alec narrowed his eyes. "I'm a Shadowhunter. My sense of adventure is met on the battlefield and in slaying demons. Are you telling me this is a battlefield?"

Magnus smiled wickedly. "It can be."

Alec threw his head back and laughed. A second later, Magnus sprang. He was on top of Alec in an instant, pinning him down. Alec's look of astonishment quickly faded as he felt Magnus's body press against his. Alec's nerves were tingling and his veins were alive with adrenaline. His heart raced as his body responded to Magnus, arching until it curved against Magnus's and they fit together perfectly.

"Hmmm, we may not even need the wine," Magnus said with a smirk. And Alec kissed him.

Gone was the languorous kiss from earlier, replaced by a more frenzied, heated kiss. Alec's lips parted to allow Magnus access. The brush of Magnus's tongue on his sent a thrill through his body. Alec suddenly realized Magnus had released his hold on him and his arms wound around Magnus's waist, his hands sliding up his spine. One of Magnus's hands was on Alec's hip, his long, slender fingers dipping below the waistband of his jeans.

Alec's hands slid Magnus's vest off his shoulders as his lips trailed kisses along the warlock's neck.

"Magnus?" Alec barely managed a breathless whisper. "Are we going to do this here?"

Magnus's lips found Alec's mouth again, and smiled against it as he breathed, "Yes."

Alec's heart leaped with excitement. He'd never done anything like this before. Even when he and Magnus had been sneaking around, hiding their relationship from his friends and family, they had always been in private, indoors. 

"I-I think I'm going to need that wine." Alec reached for the bottle and Magnus snapped his fingers, popping the cork. Alec took a deep swig of the red liquid, and then another. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"I can't believe you're making such a fuss," Magnus said, relieving Alec of his t-shirt and kissing his neck, shoulder, collarbone. "We're in Make-out Point. The place expects s*x. You wouldn't want to disappoint it would you?" he added, with a smile, as his lips reclaimed Alec's.

"Make-out Point?" Alec said between kisses, and slipping Magnus's shirt over his head.

"Mmm-hmm." Magnus was kissing him so thoroughly, Alec felt dizzy, barely able to breathe, barely able to think.

"So, you've done this before?" Alec said, not entirely knowing why he said it, or even being fully aware that he had said it.

Magnus's hands stilled and he pulled away, just enough to look at Alec. He searched Alec's face, for what Alec wasn't sure. Then he tentatively said, "Maybe."

Alec looked at him curiously. "Who've you been here with, Magnus? Camille?

Magnus snorted. "What about Camille makes you think she was the outdoorsy type?"

The flush on Alec's cheeks was more than just the kissing and the wine. Magnus's long slender fingers stroked Alec's cheek. "God you're adorable when you blush," he said, kissing Alec gently. "And to answer your question, yes I've been here before. But no, it wasn't with anyone who mattered. And no, I've never actually done what I'm hoping we are about to do here."

Alec grinned, took another swig of wine, and ran his fingers along Magnus's ribs, over his shoulders, tangling in his hair as he kissing him deeply.

---------

Their clothes were piled haphazardly on the ground next to them. Magnus produced another checkered blanket and wrapped their warm bodies in it, protecting them against the cool breeze infiltrating the clearing. The bottled wine lay empty, discarded, next to the picnic basket. Magnus magically produced another one. Alec searched the basket, rejecting the take-out containers and selecting the chocolate cake instead.

He pinched off a piece of cake and popped it into his mouth. It was delicious, adding just the right about of sweetness to offset the sweet-sour flavor of the wine. The second bite he fed to Magnus, his fingers hovering over Magnus's lips, gently brushing crumbs from the corners of his mouth.

He loved touching Magnus, the feel of the warlock's soft skin grazing his, the resulting thrill that always seized him. He loved the way his heart fluttered when he heard Magnus's voice, felt his breath stir his hair, or felt the brush of his lips. He loved the way his body responded to Magnus, even when already spent. He kissed Magnus again, wrapping his body around the warlock's and holding him tightly.