When the Ball Drops
by ariviand

Chapter Eighteen: With

"Can I kiss you?" Magnus asked, the abrupt sound of his voice startling Alec.

"No."

"No?" The warlock straightened up, looking down his nose at Alec, one dark brow raised.

"I'm not sure you deserve it."

"Well. Tell me how I can change that," Magnus inquired after a pause, hooking his thumb through the belt loop of Alec's jeans.

"Stop that."

"Ohhh. Pushy," Magnus tsked, but didn't release Alec's pants. Instead he gave a slight tug, bringing him closer.

"No," Alec said, with more authority this time. He encircled the warlock's wrist, wrenching his hand free. When he glanced up with a scowl, he was surprised to see Magnus smiling.

"You're so cute when you're trying to be tough."

"Shut up."

"See what I mean?" Magnus purred, curling the fingers of his free hand beneath Alec's chin, tilting it upward and stroking the soft skin underneath. With his right hand, Alec slapped the offending hand away.

"Stop playing around," Alec hissed.

"Who's playing? I'm just trying to touch my boyfriend."

The breath left Alec's lungs in a loud exhale. Alec looked back up at Magnus, his eyes uncertain. Magnus continued to caress the top of Alec's throat, returning the glance.

"Is that OK?" Magnus asked, his voice softer now. He wasn't goofing off. Alec noticed and appreciated the difference. He responded better to this Magnus, Magnus without the teasing or the sarcasm or the button-pushing.

Alec nodded a little, letting Magnus touch him now without grumbling or trying to fight him off.

"Good," Magnus murmured, lip twitching. Alec's eyes were closing, mouth unconsciously relaxing as if he anticipated a kiss. Magnus leaned forward, lowering his chin as if that was exactly what he intended to do. Alec felt the warmth of the warlock's breath again, tickling his lips, the edges of his teeth.

But then, rather than feel the pressure of his mouth, Alec heard as well as felt the soft chuckle against his lips.

"Do you ever feel weird kissing a man nearly forty times your age?"

Alec's eyes flew open and he shoved his hand flat against Magnus's chest, pushing him away. "Ugh. Why do you say have something like that right now? Can't you stop kidding for one second and just kiss me?"

"Are you sure? Think about it. I'm nearly 800--"

Alec grabbed hold of Magnus's chin and dragged his mouth back down, effectively cutting off these words with a kiss. There was a low, vibrating sound trapped between them, likely the sound of Magnus's laughter, caught in his throat and stifled by the kiss. But the warlock was hardly complaining about being cut off mid sentence. And Alec didn't seem to mind kissing a man, a Downworlder even, who happened to be forty times his age.

As long as said Downworlder was only kissing him, Alec didn't have a problem with the rest.

Alec had one hand fisted around Magnus's shirt; Magnus had his fingers curled around Alec's waistband again, nails gently scratching the sensitive skin of Alec's belly. Together they moved backwards at a slow, unhurried pace, kissing and gasping, grabbing, pulling hair, kissing, and gasping again as they made their way back to Magnus's building. Magnus had one hand out to steady them against the wall. Alec felt the brick digging into his back, and he arched against it before fumbling for the doorknob. Magnus finally opened the door with the wave of his wrist since Alec seemed to be having serious difficulty with the simple task.

The shadowhunter led them back inside the dark, stale entryway, the dying lightbulb still blinking overhead. Magnus got the side door again and together, they stumbled and laughed and kissed their way back upstairs until the door at the top of the landing creaked open and shut again, locking them securely inside the flat.

THE END

Sorry about the long hiatus. I took a break from FF and I probably should have said something. But I am trying to get back into updating all my old stories. I'm also thinking of writing a kind of epilogue for this story. Since Magic Moment is finished, I wouldn't mind working on another M-rated fic if anyone is interested in reading it. If not, then it'll just be chapter updates for Between Burroughs and CCHS. Is that all I'm working on now? Oh, Inspiration. But I usually only update that now when someone sends me a link to a Malec pic they love (or made). If you want a little ficlet to go with your image, shoot it my way! PM is fine.

Thank you for reading. And I hope this short chap made up for all the angst.

-ariviand