It was 10:00 in the morning, and Alec stood in the street outside his and Magnus's apartment, loading bags into Simon's beat-up van when he felt someone press up against his back, warm and solid. He turned his head slightly to see Magnus, who gave him a peck on the lips and then nuzzled his face into Alec's neck. "Mmm, I missed you this morning when I woke up."

"I know," replied Alec, "I just wanted to run over to the Institute to see Lydia one last time before we leave."

"Checking up on her?" Magnus asked, sounding amused. "I bet she loved that."

"Lydia...may have reminded me that she has just as much experience in running the Institute as I do and that they'll be fine without us for a week," he admitted. Finally turning to look at Magnus, Alec continued, "Then she told me to stop being such a control freak and go enjoy my-" 'time off' was what he meant to finish that sentence with, but he trailed off as he took in what Magnus was wearing.

Alec faintly heard Magnus laugh and say, "I love you Alexander, but Lydia's right. She's more than capable and you've needed a vacation for years," but it was hard to pay attention over the white noise in his head as he looked Magnus up and down.

Magnus was wearing bright blue shorts and a white tank top, with what seemed to Alec like miles of tanned skin on display. Alec stood there for a minute just staring, wide-eyed and mouth gaping, heat rushing through his body that had absolutely nothing to do with the blazing sun shining down on them. Alec wasn't even quite sure why he was feeling this way; after all, he saw Magnus wearing much less on a regular basis. In fact, just that morning he'd left Magnus naked in their bed when he went to meet Lydia.

But normally when Alec saw this much of Magnus, it was in the privacy of the loft, or on occasion Alec's old room at the Institute (which Maryse apparently kept intact out of a misguided belief that Alec would eventually come to his senses and stop "living in sin with that warlock", as Magnus put it) when Magnus came to visit him at work and they just couldn't wait until they got home. Or when Alec was having a particularly bad day and wanted to stick it to the Shadowhunters who still had a problem with him being gay. (Though with Jace, Izzy, Clary, and Lydia always around, ready to defend him at a moment's notice, Alec encountered people like that less and less, but it still happened occasionally, especially when representatives from the Clave were visiting New York.)

"My face is up here," Magnus smirked, preening a little at the reaction he was getting from Alec and bringing Alec out of his daze. "It's the middle of July and we're going on a road trip, what did you think I'd be wearing, leather pants?"

"I...uh...no. But this, uh, wow," Alec finally managed blurt out once he'd regained use of his faculties a bit. And really, he didn't know what he'd expected. Izzy and Clary had dragged Alec shopping the other day, claiming that there was no way he wanted to sit in a hot car all day wearing all black, and he'd reluctantly agreed. Alec himself now owned multiple pairs of shorts and more non-black shirts than he ever thought he'd be comfortable with, and was dressed in one such ensemble at the moment, khaki-colored cargo shorts and a green t-shirt that Izzy claimed "brought out his eyes," whatever that meant. But it had never even occurred to Alec that Magnus would be following that same line of thinking.

See, in public, Alec was used to seeing Magnus basically covered up from head to toe. He loved layering, and seemed to have an endless array of pants, shirts, and intricately designed jackets. Even when Magnus would drag Alec clubbing, he'd always at least start fully dressed. So this? With Magnus's legs and chest and arms and fuck, those shoulders, all out there in the open, shimmering in the sun? It was a lot to take in.

Before Alec could say anything else though, Izzy and Clary bounded up to the van, followed by Jace and Simon lugging the rest of the luggage down from the apartment, where Magnus had created a portal straight from the Institute so they wouldn't have to spend money on a cab or have to carry all of their stuff with them on the subway.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Izzy exclaimed, more excited than anyone about the idea of a vacation free from their parents and the stress of their everyday lives.

By the time they needed to get gas, everyone was dying from the lack of air conditioning in the van. Magnus had offered to take care of it, but Izzy refused, insisting, "This is a magic-free, demon-free trip. We deserve a week to just be normal, or as close to normal as we'll ever get."

Magnus volunteered to take the first shift, surprising Alec, who had assumed that Clary and Simon (as the only members of their group with (legitimate) Mundane driver's licenses) would be doing all of the driving. However, Magnus insisted, informing him "actually, darling, I've been driving since automobiles were first invented, I think I can handle this rust-bucket." (A description Simon took issue with, but Magnus just ignored him.)

When Alec questioned Magnus about this, wondering why he'd bothered learning how to drive when he could much more easily portal anywhere, Magnus responded, "Where's the fun in that?" He then reminded Alec, "Just because I have magic doesn't mean I need to use it for everything. Occasionally, I do prefer the hands on approach." And Alec...couldn't disagree.

After immediately calling shotgun, Alec had been able to spend the last few hours in the front passenger seat lazily watching Magnus's hands move, gripping the steering wheel, occasionally tapping his fingers along to one of the apparently obligatory road trip mixes Clary had insisted on, sunshine reflecting off of Magnus's brightly painted sparkly blue nails. It was surprisingly relaxing, considering Alec usually never spent this much time sitting still unless he was sleeping, but he was glad to finally have a chance to get out of the hot car and stretch his legs.

Since Izzy had insisted on the pretense of normality for the duration of their trip, they all had their runes concealed, something Alec wasn't used to doing for long periods of time, especially when they were all showing so much skin. Though Alec didn't want to spend much time dwelling on that, since thinking about skin just brought him back to this whole new Magnus situation.

As they piled out of the van, heading towards the gas station to load up on snacks and drinks, all Alec could pay attention to was his boyfriend. Like the rest of them, Magnus was sweaty from all that time sitting in the hot car. But unlike Alec, who was sure he looked like a hot mess, Magnus seemed to glisten, beads of sweat running down his neck, his white tank almost see-through, clinging to his back, and Alec was thinking that if Magnus just turned around, the front view would be even better when-

"Thirsty there, Alec?"

"Huh?" Izzy tossed a water bottle to Alec and he caught it easily, thanking her but somehow feeling like he was missing something.

"Oh, nothing. But I bet you're glad I suggested this trip now, aren't you?" she asked amusedly. And Alec was. Sure, he'd been skeptical about the idea of any kind of vacation at first, let alone a road trip, but spending time with most of his favorite people (even Clary and Simon, who he never thought he'd say that about a few years ago) with no duties, no responsibilities...it felt nice. And seeing Magnus like this was just icing on the cake.

Once it started getting dark, they decided to stop for the night and checked into a cheap motel, grabbing the last two rooms available before heading to a nearby restaurant to grab dinner.

While they were waiting for their food to arrive, Alec noticed Magnus staring at him from across the table with a dreamy expression on his face. When Magnus realized he'd been discovered, he reached for his phone, and a few seconds later, Alec got a text.

Guess what I'm thinking about?

Alec knew Magnus would tell him no matter what, so he didn't bother responding. Sure enough, after a moment his phone vibrated again.

Beard burn
It's been a while since I've had a lover with facial hair. I've been reminiscing about the feeling of it on my thighs. ;)

Alec flushed and quickly clicked his phone off. Normally he shaved every morning, but he'd gotten lazy the last couple of days and as a result his stubble had already gone past 5 o'clock shadow into the makings of an actual beard. Alec hadn't really looked at himself in a mirror since then, but from past experience he figured he probably was starting to look like a mountain man, so to think that Magnus found it attractive was nice- and then the rest of the text came back to him.

Intellectually, Alec knew he had no right or reason to be jealous of Magnus having slept with people other than him. Much as he didn't like to think about it, Alec did nothing but benefit from Magnus's many years of experience. And after all, the majority of Magnus's former paramours had already been dead before Alec was even born. Still, being reminded of Magnus's history always sent a spark of possessiveness through Alec's body, which Magnus knew, which means he was provoking Alec on purpose and- Alec looked up to see Magnus smirking and decided he had to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Alec flagged down their waiter, ordering a beer. He didn't have much of a taste for the stuff, but it worked best for what he was planning.

Once the waiter brought his drink over, Alec got to work. Maintaining eye contact with Magnus, he wrapped his lips around the top of the beer bottle and took a long drag, hollowing his cheeks and letting his throat work. Setting the bottle down, Alec licked his lips, watching Magnus's eyes dilate. This continued for a few minutes, as Alec alternated between taking sips of his beer and suggestively running his fingers up and down the neck of the bottle and around the rim.

You're such a tease; Alec's phone buzzed eventually.

Takes one to know one

Wanna sneak off and put those lips to better use? ;)

For a minute, Alec seriously considered it, watching as Magnus raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted his head in the general direction of the men's room. But before he could even begin to try and come up with an excuse that wouldn't be immediately obvious to everyone, their food arrived and Alec was saved from making a decision that he might've (okay probably would've) regretted, if only because he'd never live down the teasing he'd receive from Jace and Izzy as a result.

After dinner, they went back to the motel, where Izzy produced a bottle of vodka and they proceeded to get drunk. Some more so than others, like Jace, who had to be dragged back to their room by Magnus and Simon (the most sober members of their group) and deposited into one of the beds after he started getting weepy and rhapsodizing about how much he loved all of them. Alec hadn't drank quite as much, but it was enough that he couldn't do much more than strip down to his boxers and cuddle up next to Magnus in the other bed before falling asleep.

In the middle of the night, Alec woke up from a dream in which he'd followed through on Magnus's suggestion at dinner. He could still feel the phantom sensation of Magnus's hands in his hair, gripping tight while Alec swallowed his cock, and he shivered a bit at the thought. The alcohol had burned away while Alec slept, and blood coursed through his body, skin covered in a sheen of sweat despite only being covered by a thin sheet.

Almost automatically, Alec got out of bed, intending to head to the bathroom and take care of his…situation. However, after looking at the other bed and seeing that Simon and Jace were both sleeping, the latter snoring obnoxiously but not enough to be distracting, he had a better idea. Grabbing the lube from a convenient pocket of Magnus's bag (mentally thanking Magnus for having informed him of its location before they left), Alec crawled back on the bed, situating himself comfortably next to his boyfriend. He started trailing kisses on Magnus's jaw and neck, running his hands up and down the muscles he'd been ogling all day.

After a minute or so of these ministrations, Alec felt Magnus stirring. "Well isn't this a lovely way to wake up," Magnus purred, eyes heavy-lidded and un-glamoured. "What time is it?"

"Late enough for us to be the only ones awake."

"I see. So did you have something in mind?"

In response, Alec simply handed him the bottle of lube and pressed up against his thigh, letting Magnus feel how hard he was. Knowing without words what Alec was asking for, Magnus began slicking up his fingers, and slid his hand inside Alec's boxers. He briefly grazed his nails down the muscles of Alec's ass before carefully pushing one finger inside.

Allowing Alec to adjust to the feeling, Magnus leaned forward and kissed him, a quick peck that quickly turned filthy, with Alec eagerly thrusting his tongue into Magnus's mouth. After making out for a bit, Magnus added another finger, starting to open Alec up.

"Come on, Magnus" Alec demanded a little while later, "just fuck me already!"

"You know, Alexander," Magnus mused, pretending to sound contemplative, "I'm not sure you deserve my cock after that stunt you pulled at dinner."

"Me?!" Alec hissed, attempting to convey outrage, though in his current situation it ended up verging on whiny instead. "You're the one walking around all day showing off all that...skin...and your muscles...and-" his eyes rolling back as Magnus added a third finger.

"Oh, you like that?" asked Magnus, and Alec could hear the smirk on his face.

"God yes," Alec answered, grinding down further on Magnus's fingers.

Cat-eyes flashing once again, Magnus continued, "I bet you could come just like this, hmm? I have half a mind to just lay back and let you ride yourself out on my hand." At this, Magnus stilled his fingers, causing Alec to squirm, trying to get back the rhythm and friction he needed.

"Oh god, I'm gonna come," Alec moaned, forgetting for a moment where they were and who else was in the room, feeling Magnus's fingertips so close to his prostate but not quite there.

"I thought that was rather the point?" Magnus asked smugly.

"Yeah, but I want you in me when it happens," Alec choked out, dragging out a "Please."

"Well, since you're begging so beautifully, I suppose I can oblige you, my love." Alec flushed a bit at the term of endearment, one Magnus saved solely for when they were in bed together. "How would you like it?"

Alec turned onto his left side, facing away from Magnus, and Magnus curled up behind him, kissing him on the neck and shoulder. Magnus carefully pulled out his fingers and Alec ground back against him, feeling empty. Magnus took a moment to push down his own underwear and generously slick up his cock, then started thrusting shallowly, just the tip at first, not doing much more than teasing. Eventually he pushed all the way in, and Alec gasped at the feeling of Magnus deep inside him, still as shocking and thrilling as it was the first time they slept together.

"Careful, Alexander," Magnus murmured into his ear, "I know how hard this is for you to do, but unless you want your friends to wake up and witness you getting fucked, you should probably keep the noise to a minimum. Don't worry, I won't be insulted."

Alec turned his head to glare in mock protest, but he knew Magnus was telling the truth, so he just nodded and kissed Magnus again. "Mmm, I really do love that beard," Magnus added, rubbing his hand across Alec's scruffy jaw. "We'll have to revisit my thoughts on the subject at another time, yes?" Not waiting for an answer, Magnus began fucking Alec in earnest, with long deep strokes that were exactly what he wanted.

Alec reached back to pull Magnus closer, attempting to muffle the sound of his moans with Magnus's mouth on his. He was so keyed up that it only took a few minutes before Alec was coming, groaning and burying his face into his pillow as Magnus hit his prostate dead on. While Alec was still feeling the aftershocks, Magnus came too, panting into Alec's neck. He slowly pulled out, sweat and come mingling between them for a moment before Magnus snapped his fingers, zapping the mess away.

Coming down from his post-orgasmic high, Magnus stroked Alec's sweaty hair back from his forehead and kissed him once more on the temple, whispering, "I really do love you, Alexander. Sweet dreams, my love."

Alec managed to breathe out "love you more," before falling back into an easy, dreamless sleep, satisfied and content.

The next morning, tired but pleasantly sore, Alec blindly made his way to the motel lobby and poured himself a cup of coffee. After gulping it down, Alec turned to notice Simon standing a short distance away, looking at him rather oddly, and twitching more than usual. After a minute of this, Alec got tired of Simon's hovering and let out a harsh "What?" hoping that would be enough to scare him off.

Instead, Simon came a little closer and in an unusually soft voice asked, "So, um, did you and Magnus get a good night's sleep?"

"I…what? I mean, um yeah, of course," Alec stuttered. Surely Simon couldn't have known what happened the night before? Unless…oh shit, vampire hearing. Could he have woken up? And sure enough-

Giving Alec a look, Simon continued, looking somewhat pained, "So you know I love you guys, right? And I'm happy you love each other and that you feel comfortable…expressing that love," he coughed, "But-"

"Okay, that's enough," Alec snapped, knowing what Simon was trying to say and wanting to spare themselves both the embarrassment. Well, the embarrassment was already there, and not going away, as the blush threatening to consume his whole body proved, but any future embarrassment at least.

As Alec stood there, trying to figure out how to respond, Jace walked in, yawning and heading straight for the coffee pot. "What's up, guys?" Jace asked, greeting them both. Glancing between Alec's bright red face and the uncomfortable expression on Simon's, he snorted and clapped Simon on the shoulder. "Let me guess, you heard Alec and Magnus having sex last night? Welcome to the club."

"But…you were asleep," Alec managed to blurt out after a moment. "I heard you snoring!"

"Oh yeah, no, I was out cold, as the hangover I have this morning proves," Jace reassured. "But I walked in on them in the training room once," he directed at Simon, "And I have never been the same. I'm just surprised you were able to avoid this for as long as you have."

"Oh my god, does everyone know about this?" Alec asked, with a dawning sense of horror.

"What," Izzy piped up from behind Alec, "About my formerly repressed big bro turning out to be quite the adventurous one in the sack? Yes, and I'm...so proud," she sniffed, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"I...but...how could you possibly-?"

"I mean, you guys aren't exactly subtle," chimed in Clary, eyeing what Alec had a bad feeling was a massive hickey on his neck.

"Yeah, plus, did you forget that my bedroom at home shares a wall with yours?" Izzy asked with a knowing look. "I've known for a while."

"And you never said anything?!"

"Aww don't be mad Alec, I didn't want to embarrass you or make you feel self-conscious, and since you don't live at the Institute anymore, I figured I could save us both that awkward conversation."

"Well, thanks for that!" Alec shot back sarcastically. Carefully directing his eyes above everyone else's heads, he added, "Now that my humiliation is complete, I'm gonna go drown myself in the shower."

At some point during this conversation, his boyfriend had apparently shown up as well, because Magnus suddenly appeared next to Alec, looping their arms together and declaring, "I'll come with you, Alexander, I think I can find a more productive way for you to let out that frustration."

"Fine," Alec sighed, trying (and ultimately failing) to control the smile threatening to spread across his face. "But tonight we're getting our own hotel room, okay?"

"Of course, dear," Magnus responded soothingly. As they turned to go, Magnus winked at Jace and Simon, adding, "Now don't come back to the room for a few hours, okay?" and he and Alec walked back outside to the sound of groans and cat-calls, which Alec happily tuned out, deciding that if this is what vacations were like, then yeah, he could get used to them.