A/N: Here we go: my summer holiday AU for Malec Week. At this point, I only have the ancient Rome AU left, and it's coming...eventually. I'm actively working on it, but as I've probably said a million times by now, it's taking a lot more work than expected. I'll get it up as quick as I can.

Word count: 2,641

What Do You Like Then?

Alec was not cut out for the beach. You could rant about how dirty New York City was day and night, but it didn't lessen Alec's hatred for sand. Why would he spend time somewhere that would leave him with uncomfortable minuscule rocks absolutely everywhere?

Needless to say, he was not happy about their family vacation to the Outer Banks, and he'd made that very clear since his parents had announced where they were going months earlier.

Of all the interesting places in the world, they were in some tourist trap where the only things to do were lay on the sand, swim (which Alec wasn't good at thanks to his lifetime avoidance of beaches), or buy brightly-colored goods from one of a multitude of overpriced shops.

He was underwhelmed by the place to say the least, and the first three days of their weeklong vacation had consisted of Alec sitting around in their rented beach house trying to occupy himself with the TV or his phone or one of the books he'd brought along.

He'd just begun a third episode of Law and Order when Isabelle came to stand in front of the TV, hands on her hips. Alec groaned.

"No, Izzy. I've already told you, I'm not going to the beach."

Izzy threw up her hands.

"We're on the Outer Banks! You have to go to the beach at least once."

"Watch me," he shot back, crossing his arms against his chest.

Izzy rolled her eyes and glanced at Jace, who was leaning against the wall and watching the scene with an amused smirk across his lips.

"You can't tell me you're that interested in watching more of this," Jace said, motioning towards the TV.

With a groan, Alec switched off the TV—unwilling to admit that he was thankful for the distraction as his brain felt like mush—and stood.

"Fine. But only for half an hour, and I'm not taking my shoes off. The last thing I need is a seashell stuck in my foot."

Boys were typically shirtless on the beach. Alec had somehow forgotten that small but crucial detail. Once the shirtless boys were surrounding him, he couldn't quite figure out how he'd forgotten. It was suddenly the only thing he could think about.

Though he had been out of the closet for more than a year, he didn't allow himself to look at guys much, too worried about negative reactions he might receive if they noticed him looking. If he allowed himself to dwell on someone's appearance, it was usually through photos, most commonly celebrities, where he could look without any worry about a reaction.

But there were so many guys on the beach, and a number of them were attractive, and it was all very distracting.

Jace and Izzy were quick to catch onto Alec's reaction to the guys they walked past and began teasing him until they found a spot on the sand to claim as their own for the day.

"You have a nice vantage point here, Alec," Izzy quipped as she leaned back, her elbows pressing into the beach towel beneath her.

Her massive sunglasses hid her eyes, but her smirk was on full display as she tilted her head back to absorb the sun. Alec rolled his eyes as he tugged the book he'd brought from their tote bag, thankful that he'd thrown it in at the last minute. It was the only hope he had of not gawking.

Jace scoffed and tugged the book from Alec's hands.

"What's the point of going to the beach if you don't go in the water?"

Izzy beat Alec to a response.

"I think he's already discovered an excellent use of his time actually."

Jace and Izzy shared a smirk, and Alec desperately hoped that any redness in his face would be attributed to the sun by onlookers.

"Lots of people read on the beach," he grumbled.

He glanced around for evidence to back up his assertion, but to his annoyance, he didn't see anyone with a book out.

"Oh, Alec, look at him."

For a second, Alec thought he might succeed at ignoring Izzy's demand, but his curiosity got the better of him. His eyes quickly found the target of Izzy's appreciation, and his cheeks burned brighter.

"I knew it!" Izzy cheered. "He's totally your type."

"Shut up."

His anger had the opposite of its intended effect as Izzy giggled into her hand.

"He's handsome, Alec. Go for it."

She shoved at his shoulder.

"We're far away from home. Here's your chance to have a whirlwind summer romance. Maybe it doesn't turn into anything more. Fine. But you'll finally have gotten to kiss someone, and I think it would loosen you up."

"It's not a bad idea," Jace said, his attention half on a group of girls down the beach. "It would be a nice confidence boost if nothing else, and what have you got to lose? You never have to see the guy again."

Alec didn't provide them with a proper response, just grumbled and went back to his book. Izzy and Jace shared exasperated looks, but Alec had grown good at ignoring those. If he was disappointed when the handsome guy left with his friends, he refused to let on.

Their beach excursion didn't end with the beach because of course it didn't.

Alec was itching to get back to their beach house by the time Izzy and Jace could be bothered to pack up and leave the ocean behind, but they had other plans. Or, at least, Izzy did. Jace was willing to go along with them.

Brightly colored t-shirts, hats, mugs, and every other random piece of merchandise imaginable was packed into the small tourist trap that Izzy dragged them into. Alec scowled at one particular shirt that declared its love for the Outer Banks in bold neon letters. Surely no one actually bought shirts like that. He cringed at the thought of putting it on.

Though he couldn't imagine his sister donning any of the items in this particular shop, she bounced around the shelves, picking up a shot glass here or a figurine there. Even Jace became distracted by a display of sunglasses. Alec crossed his arms against his chest and tried not to look as irritated as he felt as he leaned against a shelf of t-shirts.

There was no way he was spending money on anything. He sent a particularly dark look towards the tank full of hermit crabs with painted shells.

"I thought the beach was supposed to make people happy. You look like you're vacationing in Antarctica."

Alec jumped and nearly knocked over a display of watches as he turned to face the very boy whom Izzy had pointed out to him on the beach. His heart hammered in his chest as he stuttered through a response.

"It's just—It's not my thing?"

His voice went up at the end to turn the statement into a question, and the other boy smirked.

"Surely you can find something in here that's 'your thing,'" the boy said. "They've got a ton of stuff."

Alec shrugged uncomfortably.

It was harder to pretend he wasn't interested in the boy when he was up close and speaking to him. The last thing he wanted was to say something that would make the boy stop smiling at him, but when he hardly knew him, he didn't know what was a good thing to say. What if he accidentally insulted something the boy had considered buying?

Despite his lack of dating experience, he knew that the way to boy was different from how the straight boys back home looked at him, and it had every inch of his body on high alert as he fumbled through speech.

"Maybe," he said. "It's just…"

The boy cut him off.

"It's fine. Maybe it's just not your thing. What do you like then? Coffee? Ice cream?"

Alec stopped and started several times before almost whispering, "Ice cream is nice."

The other boy chuckled and held out a hand for him to shake. Alec took it, hoping his wasn't clammy from his nerves.

"My name's Magnus."

"Alec."

"Nice to meet you, Alec. If you like ice cream, have you been to that shop down the road?"

Alec frowned as he tried to picture the shop that Magnus was talking about. He came up blank. For the most part, he'd ignored the buildings around them whenever he'd let himself be dragged around. They all looked the same to him.

"No, I haven't been to any ice cream shop since we've been here."

Magnus shook his head, and Alec really hoped that his disappointment was exaggerated.

"That's a tragedy. We should fix that. What do you say to you and me getting some ice cream together tomorrow? Maybe at three?"

Alec sucked in a breath. His panic had to be showing in his eyes, but his careful control was failing him in a way it never had before.

"That sounds a lot like a date."

Magnus' smile widened.

"Maybe that's because I'm hoping it will be one."

There was a whisper in Alec's mind that wondered how he'd managed to show Magnus that he was interested in guys, and he blushed at the idea that his interest could be so obvious.

"Okay." He swallowed. "That sounds good."

"Great. I'll see you then. Want to meet here?"

Alec nodded and stood frozen to the spot as Magnus waved goodbye and disappeared out of the shop. He had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.

Alec's hands shook as he stood outside the godawful souvenir shop the next day at ten minutes to three. He couldn't believe he'd worked up the courage to show up.

Once, in middle school, he'd gone on a date with a girl in his science class. She'd been nice and fun to talk to, but the whole thing had been the most awkward experience of Alec's life, which was saying a lot. It had been helpful in that it had helped him accept that he didn't want to date girls, but it hadn't been enjoyable.

A date with Magnus had the potential to be very different, and that was as terrifying as it was exciting.

Although Alec's sexuality wasn't a secret at school, he hadn't dated anyone. Being the only gay kid he knew of in the entire stuffy private school his parents made him attend hadn't given him many opportunities for dating.

He noticed Magnus approaching, and his heart began to race. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he hurried forward to meet the other boy.

Magnus was all smiles and looked entirely at ease. Alec wished he could have looked so sure of himself, but he wouldn't have been surprised to know that his nausea was showing on his face.

By the time they were settling into a booth in the ice cream shop, cups of ice cream in front of them, Alec was still working to quell his nerves.

"Where are you from?" Magnus asked, scooping up a large spoonful of rocky road. "I'm guessing it's not North Carolina."

Alec frowned.

"Why's that?"

He definitely wasn't dressed like most of the tourists around them, with their visors and fanny packs, so he wasn't sure what had given him away.

"You don't seem like you go to the beach very often."

Alec suddenly felt self-conscious, though he wasn't sure what had clued Magnus in, and hunched over.

"I didn't mean that as a bad thing," Magnus hastened to add. "It's not like I go to the beach much either in New York."

"New York?" Alec repeated, his stomach fluttering. "You're from New York?"

Magnus hummed in acknowledgment, raising a questioning eyebrow at Alec's interest.

"City or state?"

"City," Magnus said with a slight laugh. "Why?"

"I am too," Alec breathed.

For a beat, they stared at each other. Magnus' surprise turned into a smirk, and Alec felt his stomach twist.

"What a lovely coincidence." Magnus gestured at him with his spoon. "Perhaps we have the workings of fate afoot."

Alec wasn't sure that he was ready to go on about fate yet, but the suggestion had his palms sweating much like they had the day before.

He'd been so close to chickening out of the date, and it had largely been Izzy's assurances that he'd never have to see Magnus again if it went badly that had gotten him to come. Sure, New York City was a large place. He knew, logically, that he would still never have to see Magnus again if he didn't want to, but it didn't quite feel that way.

Magnus dropped his spoon into his ice cream and leaned against the table.

"So, Alexander, if you don't like the beach, what do you like to do?"

"Um." He poked at his vanilla and chocolate swirl. "I compete in archery."

When he glanced back up, Magnus looked impressed, and Alec felt butterflies in his stomach. He suddenly wanted Magnus to see him compete—to see that he was good at it—but he had a feeling he wouldn't perform well with Magnus' eyes on him.

"You?" he asked in return.

Magnus shrugged.

"This and that," he said. "I like makeup, if you can't tell. And parties."

Not able to hide his instinctual grimace at the mention of parties, Alec took a large bite of his ice cream.

"It's not like I need everyone else around me to like parties, just so we're clear. My friend, Ragnor, he hates parties."

Alec nodded as if this made complete sense to him, but he felt more unsure of himself than he had even at the beginning of the date. Parties didn't bode well for him. They'd always filled him with anxiety. After he'd come out, he'd expected it to change, but it never had.

"Alec."

He forced himself to look Magnus in the eyes again.

"Really," Magnus said. "I don't plan to drag you off to any raves."

Alec couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Parties aren't my thing," he admitted. "I'm too...awkward for parties. I've, uh, never been to one."

Some of Magnus' self assurance had returned.

"Then how do you know that you're too awkward for them? What if you're just missing out?"

Alec pretended to consider it for a second before shaking his head.

"I don't think I have the right personality for parties."

Magnus looked like he was going to argue for a second, but he nodded instead.

"What about bowling?"

This time, he really did take the time to consider the proposal.

"Bowling sounds like fun."

"Come on," Alec whined, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for Izzy to get the last of her things in the car. "We were supposed to leave half an hour ago."

Izzy deliberately froze for a moment before taking her time arranging and rearranging her luggage in the trunk of the car. When she turned back around to meet Alec's glare, it was with a smirk.

"You know," she commented as she shut the trunk, "I was annoyed at your inability to enjoy this place when we got here, but I guess I can't even be mad at your for wanting to get back to New York now. Have you and Magnus made plans to see each other then?"

"We're meeting at a coffee shop in Brooklyn. At least, we are if we actually make it back in time."

Izzy shrugged and climbed into the backseat of the van.

"You'll be fine," she said. "I have a feeling he'll wait for you."

Alec's stomach fluttered at the thought of it, and he couldn't help but grin as he followed Izzy into the car.

It was going to be a long ride to New York.