Malec Oneshots

~The Christmas Countdown~

22 Days

It was the beginning of December, and the Christmas holidays were starting. As the weather grew colder, demons were becoming more rare, so the shadowhunters didn't have a lot to do. No hunting was having very different effects on people. The girls, Izzy and Clary, were even more hyper than usual and on the morning of December the 3rd, they were congregated in the living room, already planning their elaborate decorating. Jace, however, was skulking in the kitchen, slamming cabinet doors and grumbling about there being no demons to kill. Normally, Alec would agree with him. He loved hunting and hated not having anything to do, but this year was different. Not having a lot to do around the institution meant that he got to spend more time with his incredibly sparkly boyfriend.

When he reached Magnus's flat, he was expecting to see Magnus sprawled out on the couch watching Christmas reruns of Project Runway, What Not to Wear, or Glee as usual. What he did not expect to see was an irate Magnus chasing around a fluffy red object, holding a Santa hat and screaming at it at the top of his lungs. Alec stood in the doorway, staring and after a few seconds Magnus noticed him. Standing up, he straightened his shirt and smiled at the shadowhunter. "Alexander darling! I didn't know you were coming!"

"I...sent you a text and….Magnus what are you doing? Why is there a furry devil in your apartment?"

Magnus looked around, bewildered. "Fury….devil..? Oh! Thats just Chairman Meow dear." He suddenly frowned and looked down at his hand. "I was trying to put a Santa hat on him, but he got away and knocked one of my potions over. It seems to have turned him red."

Alec sighed. When they first started dating, he had found these accidents rather nerve-wracking, and refused to drink anything out of Magnus's fridge. But now, after a year, these occurrences have become part of everyday life. "Why were you trying to put a Santa hat on him?" Magnus looked stunned. "Why, because its Christmas!"

"No its not. It's the 3rd."

"Darling everybody knows that Christmas actually starts on the 1st!"

Alec sighed and walked over to his boyfriend, laying his coat on the couch. "Personally, I've never seen the big attraction. You give people gifts, they give you some, you pretend to like them then you move on."

Magnus gasped like Alec had just said the worst thing in the world. 'But…..but...but its Christmas! Everybody loves Christmas!"

Alec shrugged. "Alexander Lightwood, it has now become my personal job to make you excited for Christmas, and that starts with,...da da DA Christmas Countdown!" Magnus bowed as though he were presenting to an audience.

"What?"

"Haven't you heard of a Christmas chain dear?" He asked, regarding the boy with an intrigued glare.

"Is that like….chains…..that are used to...chain things…..during christmas?" Alec asked. He was beginning to worry about his well being.

"No silly Nephilim. It's a way mundanes get ready for Christmas! They tore off one chain for each day until Christmas! Grab your coat darling! We're headed to the stores! For Christmas! And Aslan!"

"What?" Alec cried as he was dragged from the flat.

"Its from the Chronicles of Narnia, another mundane thing I find quite interesting." Magnus called over his shoulder.

3 hours, 5 stores, 2 tubs of glitter, and an extremely irate salesman later, Magnus and Alec arrived back at the flat and positioned on the floor, with copious amounts of Christmas-y paper and other supplies. The floor around Alec was very neatly organized, a pair of scissors, a bottle of glue and a stack of paper lay next to him as he carefully cut and lined up the rings. The floor around Magnus was another story. Glitter was everywhere and sequence had been flung about. Approximately 3 pairs of scissors and 5 bottles of glue lay near a tower pile of glitter paper. And there the two stayed, for an hour busily working on their chains. Alec finished first, and he was about to get up to hang his, when he felt a slight tickling sensation on the bottom of his foot. "Magnus!" he cried, jumping up and stumbling away.

Magnus looked up at him, innocently, a bottle of magenta glitter glue in his hand. He had actually finished his chain earlier, and had gotten bored watching Alec and decided to glitterfy his foot. "Yes dear?"

"Were you just putting glitter on me?"

"Oh course not darling! But what a splendiferous idea…."

"No!" Alec yelped, leaping over the couch to put distance between them. "We have been over this. You can use as much glitter as you want, but not on me."

"But Alexander, you would look so fabulous with it! Pleeeeeeaaaseee?"

"No!"

Magnus pouted, then suddenly leaped up and launched himself at Alec, glitter glue in hand. Alec jumped and attempted to race around the couch to the kitchen, but Magnus caught him and pinned him down. With a snap of his fingers, Magnus stopped Alec from squirming and lowered his hand. The magenta glitter poured out as he squeezed the tube, tracing it over Alec's extremely angry face. When he was satisfied with his glitterafying job, he sat back and snapped his fingers, allowing the young shadowhunter to move again. As soon as he could move, Alec leaped up and raced to the bathroom to examine the damage. As he stared in horror at his reflection, Magnus appeared around the corner. "Do you like it, dear?"

"Like it? Like it?! MAGNUS MY FACE IS PURPLE!" AND GLITTERY!" He shouted, whirling around to face his boyfriend.

"Exactly Alec, I think it looks ravishing."

Alec crossed his arms and glared at him. "You think I need glitter to make me look good?" he asked quietly.

Magnus blinked, then suddenly attacked him in a hug, burying his face in Alec's shoulder. Then he pulled away and planted a kiss on the boy's forehead. "Of course not love, I just thought you would look very festive." He murmured, peppering Alec with kisses.

Alec smiled and wrapped his arms around Magnus's neck. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you to Alexander."

"Alec." He corrected.

"Darling."

The sun had already sunk below the New York horizon by the time Alec got back into the Institution. There were no lights on when he walked in the door, so he walked towards his room as quietly as he could. Suddenly a light flicked on and there stood Jace and Izzy, arms crossed looking very serious. "Where on earth were you?" Izzy asked.

"And more importantly," Jace said with a smirk, "Why do you have glitter in your hair?"