Chapter Text
The snow had been falling for days, coating the streets of Brooklyn with a thick layer of snow that glistened in the winter sun. Christmas was fast approaching and Magnus and Alec had hardly had any time for themselves with both of them having such demanding and high profile jobs. But tonight they had both put their work to the side and were going out on a date. Magnus hadn’t thought about where he would take Alec tonight and it was only when he was looking out at the snow falling over the Brooklyn Bridge from his window when he thought of the perfect place to take him.
Magnus was currently waiting for Alec to finish getting ready, he, on the other hand, had been ready for at least 20 minutes since he has started getting ready after his last client had finally left a before Alec had even arrived home from the Institute. Magnus turned from the window when he heard Alec walk out of their bedroom and towards the living room. He smiled as he took in what Alec was wearing. They had been shopping together a few weeks ago, at first, it was a trip meant for Magnus to pick up a few new things. Alec had acted like he wasn’t interested but Magnus saw that as they continued moving from shop to shop the interest grew in Alec’s eyes. That was when Magnus had started going to stores that he knew would catch Alec’s interest. They had come home with a few bags each. Alec was currently wearing a black single-breast wool and cashmere coat, that hit right above his knees, under that was a black cashmere sweater, both of which they had purchased on their shopping adventure. Magnus remembered Alec’s smile when he felt how soft the sweater was in the store, Magnus had immediately announced that they were purchasing it after seeing how the simple component of its softness had made Alec smile and if he was being honest, Magnus liked snuggling into Alec while he was wearing it. To end the outfit, Alec was, of course, wearing his signature black jeans. He was toying with a blue checkered scarf in his hand that had his initials monogrammed at one end, a gift from Magnus for the start of Winter.
Alec must have noticed that Magnus was staring at him, as a slight blush appeared on his face, “Do I look ok?” Alec asked, “I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate for date night. You haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“It’s a surprise,” Magnus responded as he walked towards Alec, smiling softly, placing his hands on Alec’s chest, “You look perfect, as always, darling.” Alec’s face lit up at the praise.
Magnus looked at the scarf that was now wrapped around Alec’s neck, “Are you trying to match with me?” he said playfully. The scarf Alec had chosen matched the same shade of blue of the shirt that Magnus was currently wearing.
“Yes, actually,” he chuckled, “I was wondering if you were going to notice.”
“I notice everything about you, Alexander,” Magnus responded, smiling at Alec. He saw the gleam in Alec’s eyes as he took in his words. Magnus moved one hand to his side and snapped his fingers, he looked up, above Alec's head and watched the mistletoe appear.
Alec looked up too. When he saw the mistletoe a grin broke out across his face, “So that’s how mistletoe is suddenly everywhere! You’re conjuring them up as an excuse to kiss me!” Alec broke out into a laugh.
Magnus felt his heart stutter at the sound. He drank it in, wishing he could somehow bottle it up so he could hear it any time he felt down. Alec’s laugh was his favourite sound in the world, better than any song from any century.
Alec squeezing Magnus’ biceps broke his thoughts.
“You caught me,” he smirked, “But can you blame me?”
“No,” Alec replied, “but you definitely don’t need to come up with an excuse to kiss me. You can do that whenever you want, I have no objections.”
Magnus smirked back at him, “If that’s the case then why haven’t you kissed me yet, pretty boy?”
Alec didn’t reply, he just placed a soft gentle kiss on Magnus’ lips.
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They were currently strolling through New York City hand in hand, their fingers intertwined. Snow had started falling the moment they stepped outside, adding to the Christmas spirit as they made their way through the hundreds of people that had also come out tonight. They continued to walk in content silence, just happy with being together, taking in the Christmas lights that had been scattered around the city, adding an aura of happiness along with them. Magnus had told Alec that they were just taking a stroll to look at all the lights, he had no idea about the real plan Magnus had.
Alec noticed the Starbucks ahead of them and pulled Magnus inside. Magnus rolled his eyes but smiled as he followed Alec into the crowded coffee chain.
“Why are we in here?” Magnus questioned, not letting go of Alec’s hand.
A delighted smile worked its way onto Alec’s face, “I want one of those hot chocolates that you gave me last week,” he shrugged, “I kinda liked it.”
“Then let’s get two,” Magnus decided, they both walked up to the counter when it was their turn to order. Magnus ordered them both a hot chocolate with whipped cream and then moved to the side to wait for their order.
Alec let go of Magnus’ hand, choosing to wrap it around his shoulders instead and pulled him close. Magnus smiled, wrapping his arms around Alec as they both waited for their names to be called. Suddenly he felt a kiss on the top of his head and Alec’s hand rubbing his shoulder. It was such a simple gesture but Magnus couldn’t help the warm feeling that was bubbling in his chest. Alec never used to be a fan of PDA, he had told Magnus that he didn’t want to be the target of judgemental stares, but as he began growing more and more confident in himself and finding and accepting who he was, he became more comfortable with showing PDA. In this moment, it seemed like Alec didn’t care who was watching, they were in a room full of people yet it felt like it was only the two of them, together.
Their world was broken when they heard their names being called, “Alec! Magnus! Your drinks are up!”
Magnus reluctantly pulled away from Alec’s body, taking Alec’s hand in his own before walking over to the counter and picking up his drink. He felt Alec intertwine their fingers together as he watched him grab his drink, taking a sip of it immediately, a satisfied smile washing across his face.
They walked out of the toasty store and back into the cold, their hands never once breaking apart. Magnus guided Alec towards Rockefeller Center, they weaved in and out of the hundreds of people until they came to a stop at the ice rink. People were gathered everywhere, waiting in line to skate or just taking all the lights in. Magnus turned towards Alec to find him staring in awe at the giant Christmas tree that was currently light up with thousands of lights.
“It’s magnificent, isn’t it?” Magnus hummed, loving the look of pure happiness on Alec’s face.
Alec tore his eyes away from the tree and brought his attention to Magnus, his smile never leaving his face, “I’ve never seen anything like it. You never fail to show me what beautiful things are out in the world.”
Magnus smiled and placed a soft kiss on Alec’s lips.
Once Alec pulled away, he let go of Magnus’ hand and pulled out his phone from his coat pocket, “Can we take a picture? I want to remember this moment.”
Magnus beamed, “Of course we can, Alexander. I’d love that.”
Alec opened the camera on his phone, flipping it so the camera was facing them. Magnus wrapped his arm around Alec’s back just as Alec wrapped his arm around Magnus, holding the phone up with his other hand. They both smiled into the camera, happiness sparkling in their eyes just like the thousands of Christmas lights twinkling on the tree behind them. Alec took the photo and Magnus watched as Alec quickly made the photo his lock-screen.
“You like it that much?” he questioned, humour evident in his voice.
“Yeah,” Alec smiled, “We look happy and free.”
“I’ve never been happier,” Magnus smiled as he pressed a kiss to Alec’s cheek, “But, as beautiful as the tree is, it’s not why I brought you here. We’re going ice skating.”
“Ice skating?” Alec asked, his smile transforming into a sheepish grin, “I’ve never gone ice skating before, it can’t be that hard right?”
Magnus chuckled, “Tonight is going to be amusing, that’s for sure.”
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They walked towards the entrance to the rink after putting their ice skates on. Magnus stepped onto the ice and moved to the side to give Alec some space.
He held his hand out to Alec, “Give me your hand, I’ll help you,” Magnus offered, although to be completely honest, he just wanted to hold Alec’s hand.
“No…I’ve got this. It’s just walking on ice, that can’t be hard,” Alec started as he stepped onto the ice, “I mean I kill dem-omf!” he was cut off as he fell onto the ice.
Magnus let out a chuckle, holding out his hand again to help Alec up, Alec grabbed it and stood up on his wobbly legs.
“So, it’s harder than it looks,” Alec laughed, grabbing hold of the wall.
Magnus noticed the children’s skating aids that looked like penguins over Alec’s shoulder and he broke out into a laugh, “Oh Alexander, maybe you need to use one of those helpful penguins so you can learn since you don’t want to hold my hand…or if you’ve changed your mind you can hold my hand and I can teach you.”
Alec looked over his shoulder, confusion evident on his face until he saw the skate aids and then a laugh bubbled to the surface.
“I can always make it bigger for you if you’re interested,” Magnus joked, gesturing to the penguin.
Alec turned back to Magnus and rolled his eyes playfully, “As tempting as that offer is, I think I'd prefer you teaching me.”
“As you wish,” Magnus replied, grabbing hold of Alec’s had that wasn’t firmly gripping the wall.
Alec didn’t move, “wait.. how do I know for sure that you can actually skate?”
Magnus smirked, “Are you doubting my abilities, Alexander?” Magnus asked, acting offended.
“Of course not,” Alec chuckled, “You can stop acting offended, I can tell when you’re acting.
Magnus let go of Alec’s hand, he sent Alec a teasing look before he took off. His legs were bent slightly and he was leaning forward as he zoomed around the ice rink, he gave an extra flick of the toe at the end of each of his strokes to gain more power as he skated around the hundred other skaters.
Alec watched Magnus make his way around the ice, Magnus glided past everyone, looking like a professional skater, putting everyone else to shame. He skidded to a stop right in front of Alec, adrenaline pumping through his veins, it had been a while since he was able to fully let go and skate like that if he recalled correctly, the last time he did anything like this was over 100 years ago.
“That was…incredible. Magnus is there anything you aren’t good at?” Alec asked him, a look of admiration on his face.
“Not being able to pull off acid wash jeans?” Magnus offered.
Alec laughed loudly, “I’m sure that’s a lie, you look good in anything,” he noted, his eyes trailing up and down Magnus.
“As much as I love you checking me out, I think it’s time for you to learn how to skate,” Magnus smiled, grabbing Alec’s hand once again.
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They had been skating for twenty minutes and Alec had fallen numerous times, which meant they had both broken out into laughter multiple times. Alec was trying his best but he couldn’t seem to get the hang of it, Magnus wondered if the reason he wasn’t getting the hang of ice skating had something to do with the fact that whenever Magnus found himself skating a little bit in front of Alec, he caught Alec staring at his butt or just looking at him, love evident on his face. Magnus couldn’t blame him really, his butt did look good in the pants he had decided to wear.
Alec stood up from his latest fall, “I’m gonna get the hang of this, I know I will,”
Magnus smiled, he decided that Alec needed a little more help, he clicked his fingers subtly at his side, giving Alec a little more balance.
They started skating again, hand in hand like always, Magnus watched Alec as they skated alongside each other. This time Alec definitely had more balance and seemed to be skating easier.
Alec’s eyes met Magnus’ and a smile broke out on his face, “Finally!” he laughed.
They skated around the rink, laughing and smiling at each other. Magnus hadn’t felt this happy and free for a while, the pressure of being the High Warlock of Brooklyn was always a weight on his shoulders but right now, here with his Alexander, he just felt like a man completely and utterly in love with the gorgeous man beside him. They continued to skate for half an hour, enjoying each others company, the feeling of freedom and the Christmas spirit around them.
They both came to a stop where they could grab onto the wall. Alec’s cheeks and nose had turned red from the cold and he wore a wide smile. Magnus thought Alec looked cute, he grabbed one end of Alec’s scarf and used it to tug him a little closer. Alec leaned down, obviously expecting a kiss, but Magnus placed a kiss on his red nose, surprising him, “Your nose is red from the cold, it’s cute. You’re cute.”
Alec smiled but before he had a chance to reply, Magnus kissed him, Alec kissed back, his arms immediately finding their way around Magnus’ body, bringing him closer.
Once they pulled away from each other, Alec pulled Magnus in front of him and wrapped his arms around him from behind, they stood there for a moment in silence, taking in their surroundings, content.
Magnus felt Alec kiss his head for the second time that night before he whispered, “I know you used your magic to help me with the skating. Thank you for that, I had such a fun night tonight. Thank you for bringing me here. I love you.”
Magnus smiled, tilting his head back to look at Alec, “I’ve had an amazing night too. I’m so happy I could be the one you experience this with for the first time. The world is your oyster Alexander, I can’t wait to be the one to show you. I love you so much.”