Breathless • Malec

x. Alec

I woke up with a start, breathing heavily as I looked around. There were purple satin sheets tangled around my legs and I had a pounding, unbearable headache. Sunlight shone through the curtains and it made my head hurt more as I kept my eyes open. I let out a loud groan as I flopped back down and covered my face with my torso. At the moment, I didn't especially care that I didn't know where I was or that I didn't have a shirt on or even the fact that I couldn't remember anything from last night at the club.

"Bad hangover?" A voice asked from above me. I was too disoriented to tell who was talking to me. I just let out another groan in response. "Just sleep a few more hours," the voice said. "It'll wear off soon."

With my head thudding, I found my way back to a fitful sleep.

I woke up a few hours later, at about ten o'clock. I shot up and looked around. I had absolutely no clue where I was. After getting myself untangled from the sheets, I started scouring the floor for my shirt. After rummaging through a huge pile of glittery clothes, I found my tee and swiftly put it on.

I realized that I only had one shoe on, and set out to find the other one, which wasn't as hard as finding the shirt as it was just next to the large bed. The rest of the room was painted a deep burgundy with an assortment of mirrors and old, vintage posters and paintings.

I tried one door and found a bathroom. I shrugged as I went inside. I wasn't necessarily snooping, just trying to figure out where I was. The bathroom was humongous and a giant bathtub was in the far corner next to another equally large walk in shower. Everything was either gray or black and it was extremely luxurious.

There was a giant shelf next to the sink filled entirely with bottles of glitter. I smiled softly and immediately recognized where I was at. The smile faded as I realized I had absolutely no idea what had happened the previous night with Magnus.

Quickly running my fingers through my hair, pulling out random specks of glitter, I tried desperately to remember something. Anything, really. I did a breath test and was overtaken by the smell of alcohol. I frantically searched through the drawer trying to find some mouthwash and let out a sigh of relief as I uncapped the bottle and swished some around my mouth.

I walked out of the bathroom and approached the next door. I took a deep breath and tried to gather as much courage as possible. I shakily opened the door. "Magnus?" I called.

"In here," I heard him call back from a few feet away. I found myself walking down a small narrow hallway, painted the same color of his room. I saw him standing in the kitchen, mixing something in a big wooden bowl.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, and I tried to process everything. He was wearing a pair of loose plaid pajama pants and an old ragged tee shirt. His hair was a mess, almost as bad as mine.

"Um," I said as I walked into the kitchen to stand next to him. "I'm okay." I wasn't sure if anything had happened and I didn't exactly know how to ask about it. I was almost certain Magnus could hear my heart beating a hole in my chest.

"That's good," he smiled at me as he made his way to the stove and began pouring pancakes onto a skillet. "Do you want eggs, too? They really help with hangovers. You seemed pretty miserable."

"Yeah," I said. "I definitely was." I bit my lip and decided to just get the awkwardness over with. "Magnus, did anything happen last night? I mean, I did wake up in your bed."

Magnus let out a laugh. "We didn't do anything if that's what you're asking, Alexander. I slept on the couch." His lips turned up as he began cracking eggs. "You told me some things, though."

"Oh, God," I said, rubbing my forehead with my hand. "I was drunk, I probably didn't even know what I was talking about." Magnus just looked at me blankly. "Can we just pretend it never happened?"

Magnus shrugged. "It seemed like you were telling the truth," he said. "I mean, I at least hoped you were."

I crossed my arms. "What... what did I say?"

Magnus couldn't help but smirk as he grabbed a spatula and began flipping pancakes. "Well, long story short, you tried to kiss me. I stopped you, and then you told me I was cute." Magnus shrugged. "You were very intoxicated, so I suppose you could use that as an excuse, but it seemed as if you liked me, Alexander."

I bit my lip again. A flash flood was going on in my brain; emotions, thoughts, and feelings seemed to escape the dam that I had spent years building up. In that moment, I felt free.

"I- I do like you." My voice was uncertain, and I felt like I had just free-fallen into an abyss of the unknown.

"You can deny your-" Magnus began, but then stopped. "What?" he asked, shocked. He turned to fully face me. We were only a few inches away from each other.

"Magnus Bane," I said. "I like you."

"Well," Magnus said, stepping closer and cutting off the distance between us. "Alexander Lightwood, I like you too."

"Good," I smiled. "I was worried," I chuckled.

Magnus's thumbs found themselves on the collar of my shirt. "So, can I be your first kiss?" he asked me, a smirk on his face.

"How did you know I haven't-" I blushed as he laughed.

"Last night," he replied, his hazel eyes glinting. He raised his eyebrow, reiterating the question he had just asked. I nodded, still unsure, but I knew I liked him. I knew I didn't want this to end.

As he brought his lips to mine, I finally understood what people meant when they say their first kiss is magical. I could feel sparks of electricity as he brought his hands around the back of my neck and I ran mine down the small of his back.

His lips were soft, and he tasted like spearmint mixed with champagne. He bit my lip one last time before pulling away.

"That was extremely good for a first kiss," Magnus sighed as he rested his forehead against mine, our arms still wrapped around each other.

"Thank you," I grinned. I wanted that moment to last forever. I don't think I'd ever felt so right before. Like everything was working out like it was supposed to.

Magnus sniffed, then jerked away from me. "Pancakes!" he yelled as he scrambled for the stove. The distinct smell of burnt batter began filling the kitchen and black smoke began rising from the stove. He grabbed a cup from the counter and poured it over the now flame filled pancakes.

"Well, shit." Magnus shook his head as he looked at the watery, gross mess.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Eggs?" I asked him.

"Eggs," he replied, and began mixing the other bowl, already filled with eggs he had cracked earlier.

"I'm sorry I distracted you," I said as I took a seat at the table a few feet away from the stove.

"No, no," Magnus waved as he whisked the eggs. "You're not a distraction."

He bit his lip and looked me up and down. "In fact," he spoke. "Compared to you, everything else is the distraction."