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The time away from the city is Simon’s idea - he and Alec both need a break, and getting to know someone in the constant chaos of their lives is nearly impossible. Their relationship is new and Alec has to admit that a little time away from the city to get to know each other better sounds like heaven.
It’s early December with a chance of snow, and the remote cabin located by a beautiful lake in the woods a few hours outside of the city seems perfect.
And it is perfect - right up until Alce misjudges how thick the ice on the lake is and falls through, struggling in the icy water until Simon comes to his rescue.
“Are you alright?” Simon asks, his eyes wide with panic as he looks Alec up and down quickly. They’re both soaked, but Simon, being a vampire, doesn’t seem bothered at all by the cold.
Alec nods - or does the best he can to try and nod, not that he’s certain Simon will be able to tell because his entire body is shaking along with his head. He’s so cold, the chill going straight down to his bones, and the next thing Alec knows he’s in Simon’s arms being carried back to the cabin.
When they get back Alec feels in his pocket for his stele, but it isn’t there. He must’ve lost it in the lake.
“Shit,” he curses, speaking through chattering teeth. “I could really use a heat rune right now.” He’s about to suggest they cut their losses and go back to the city when Simon turns to him with a concerned, but fond, expression.
“Guess I’ll just have to take care of you the mundane way,” Simon tells him. “First, you need to get out of those wet clothes.” Alec’s fingers, too numb from the cold, struggle with removing the wet clothes that cling stubbornly to his skin.
“Can I-?” Simon asks, reaching out to Alec. Alec hesitates, then nods. Having the first time Simon sees him naked being to almost surgically remove his cold, wet clothing to prevent hypothermia was not the way Alec imagined this trip going.
“You know, there are much better excuses for getting naked than falling into the lake,” Simon jokes. Alec laughs and appreciates Simon’s use of humor to offset Alec’s embarrassment.
Simon goes to get one of the oversized, impossibly soft towels from the bathroom, but instead of handing it to Alec he begins to quickly, but gently, start from Alec’s dripping hair and work his way down. Each time he finishes drying an area Simon places a kiss there - on Alec’s neck, on each shoulder blade, just below Alec’s bellybutton, on each of his thighs. It’s an action so soft and full of care that Alec’s heart feels fit to burst over it, but he remains silent until Simon’s done, finally handing him the towel to wrap around himself.
“I’ll start a fire and grab some blankets, you change into the warmest thing you brought,” Simon suggests. Alec’s stopped shaking enough that he manages to go to the bathroom to change into the red flannel pajamas he brought and dry his hair a little more. While Alec knows putting on a few layers is the practical thing to do he can’t help but miss the feeling of Simon’s touch against his skin.
“I didn’t know you could start a fire,” Alec says upon leaving the bathroom, basking in the heat that already fills the small living area of the cabin now that flames are roaring to life in the fireplace. Alec had been using his stele for pretty much everything before, fire included.
“We did some survival stuff at summer camp,” Simon says, drawing Alec’s attention to where Simon emerges from the kitchen. Alec notices he’s also changed into dry clothes.
“Here,” Simon says, handing Alec a large mug of rich hot cocoa. He then reaches out to take Alec’s hand not holding the mug and guides Alec toward the sofa. “I moved it a bit closer to the fire, and there’s a blanket for you.”
Alec sits on the sofa expecting Simon to join him, only to find Simon tucking the blanket over him and moving to the other side of the sofa entirely. That’s when Alec realizes Simon meant just for him, not for them, and frowns.
“Why are you over there?” Alec almost doesn’t want to ask, doesn’t want to hear Simon say he’s annoyed Alec ruined their afternoon but he’s always been the sort of person who would rather know something than stew in unknowns.
Simon looks visibly upset when he replies, and Alec’s surprised to hear the bitterness in Simon’s tone isn’t aimed at him. “I’m not exactly warm and comforting, am I?”
It takes Alec a moment to realize Simons means how cold his body is, being a vampire and all. Simon is keeping his distance so Alec can properly warm up faster, which makes sense, but isn’t at all what Alec wants just then, rational or not.
“...and what if you’re exactly the comfort I want most?” Alec says hopefully.
“Are you sure?” Simon doubts.
“Quit being ridiculous and get over here,” Alec says, flipping the blanket up for Simon to get under beside him, which Simon does.
It is a bit colder with Simon pressed against him but Alec doesn’t mind at all, shifting to curl up against Simon’s side while staying just upright enough to keep drinking his cocoa without spilling it.
“Much better,” Alec observes. “So, tell me more about that summer camp?”
Simon brings a hand up to run through Alec’s hair as they talk, comparing mundane camp to some of the training Shadowhunters get in the Brocelind forest in Idris, with Alec promising to take Simon there sometime.
“Maybe we can go camping there for our next vacation,” Alec suggests.
“Only if you promise to stay far, far away from Lake Lyn,” Simon counters, smirking. Alec hits him lightly in the arm, almost spilling some of his cocoa in the process.
They go on like this for a while before they’re both starting to nod off, lulled to sleep by the warmth of the fire and the comfort of each other. One of the last thoughts Alec has, before he falls asleep, is that if this is how much he enjoys being with Simon when things go wrong he can’t even imagine how nice it’ll be when everything goes right, and he can’t wait to find out.