Piano Days and Other Malec One-Shots

Accidentally Childish

Alec was in the middle of a high-stakes poker game when his phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Jace warned him. "Answer it and you forfeit."

Alec hesitated.

"I fold," he said, putting his cards down.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, not bothering to look at the face on the screen.

"Hello?"

"I need your help," a distressed little boy said, on the other end.

"Um, what?" Alec pulled the phone away and it lit up with Magnus smiling cheekily while sitting on the top of the Eiffel tower. The very top. "How did you get Magnus' phone?"

"No, Alec, it's me and I need your help," the little boy insisted.

Jace was looking at Alec suspiciously. Alec shrugged.

"Look, put the phone back where you found it," Alec said. "And don't call me again."

"I need help!" the little boy cried.

Jace reached across the table, snatching the phone out of Alec's hand.

"I'm sorry but Alec is in the middle of a poker game for his life. He'll have to call you back," Jace said. He hung up and dropped the phone to the floor, twenty feet below them. "Back to the game, Lightwood."

"I folded," Alec said, gesturing to the table that was balanced on the beam. His phone was probably shattered after it's fall.

"Fine," Jace said, showing his cards. Alec would have won if he hadn't folded. "Who was that anyways?"

Alec started dealing a new hand.

"Some little kid," Alec said. "I have no idea."

"A little kid called you?"

"From Magnus' phone," Alec added.

"Heh, weird," Jace said, snatching up the cards. "Alright I'll bet 40."

Alec rolled his eyes and his focus slipped. He almost slipped.

Jace held his "tree" pose with ease. This beam was the widest in the training room but it wasn't enough to stop you if you fell.

Balance poker consisted of holding a position that tested your balance while playing poker.

The one who lasted the longest kept the entire pot.

"Careful there," Jace said.

Alec glared at him.

His phone, somehow still intact down below, started ringing again.

Alec looked down.

"Does this mean I win?" Jace asked.

"I should figure out why a little boy is calling me," Alec said.

"Whatever, man," Jace said. "But—-" He looked down at that table. There was an awful lot of quarters, "—-it's up to you."

Alec looked back at his cards.

"100," Alec said.

"You're bluffing," Jace said.

"Test me," Alec dared.

"Fine," Jace said. Sliding his quarters into the center. Alec did the same.

They laid out their cards.

Alec had won, his three kings beating Jace's three queens.

Jace was out of money.

"Jump," Alec ordered with a smirk on his face. Jace wasn't a sore loser; he was an extravagant one.