Gamer

by Litztomania

Magnus was not happy.

As a person who was generally in good spirits, the term 'not happy' was seldom applied to Magnus. No matter how grave the situation he always seemed to find some sort of spark to lighten the mood. Of course, it was usually tragedy that wanted to rain on the warlock's parade. Wars and murder and hopeless longing... He'd been there, done that, and gritted his teeth through the worst of it. This, however, was different. This was not tragedy - this was rage.

He leaned against his kitchen counter, listening to the dial tone echo through the empty flat. Usually he abused the speaker phone function because of his love of multitasking. Now he used it because he didn't trust himself not to crack his phone into a million little pieces once his stupid boyfriend's voicemail flicked on. "This is Alec Lightwood's phone. Either I'm busy or Magnus put my ringer to silent again. If it's the first, I'll call you back later. If it's the second, I'll call you back much later."

BEEP.

"It's Tuesday. We had a date three hours ago. Don't try to make excuses. I know where you are and you're going to pay dearly, my dear boy."

o-O-o

Alec registered that his phone was ringing, but couldn't be bothered to look for it. Chances were that it was Magnus calling to complain about them not spending enough time together or something of the like. It wasn't that big of a deal, though. Magnus always forgave him. All he had to do was buy some flowers and brush his hair and all would be kosher between the two of them. Besides, Magnus would understand what was taking up all of Alec's time if he'd just given it a try.

"Hey hey hey!" shouted Jace. "Quit grabbing me!"

Alec was flung backwards into a spray of lava. His button eyes turned to little X's and he was knocked out of existence, reappearing a little ahead of Jace. "I didn't grab you," Alec said dully, his eyebrows furrowed. "Stop that. I need to get the cupcakes." Jace ran out in front of Alec just as he deployed his grappling hook. It wrapped around Jace's torso and held him in place as a giant frosting monster sprayed them with toxic cake icing. The last of their lives ran out at the same time and everything went dark.

"NO!" Jace screamed and threw his controller at the screen. It bounced off the little TV hidden in the corner of Alec's bedroom and clunked to the floor.

"Hey, that was expensive," Alec complained as he fought the urge to do the same. "Don't break it."

Jace slowly turned to glare at Alec. "You," he said, "are nothing but a crutch."

Alec looked down at his knees before he expertly flicked his thumbs over the controller and restarted the game. "One more time," he said. "Then I'll call Magnus back."

"You haven't called him yet?" Jace gasped.

They both grabbed cupcakes and started over once again, Alec frowning. "I meant to... I've just been busy."

"We haven't gone hunting in three days," Jace noted. "I thought you'd be over at lover boy's."

"Focus on the game," was all Alec said.

He didn't want to talk about Magnus. It made him feel guilty in a way he didn't even understand. Alec wanted to call him back, he really did. But something about the video games had him all wrapped up. There was a tidy stack next to the little TV, all the ones he'd finished marked with a piece of masking tape. Besides, it was Magnus who'd bought him the Playstation to begin with. The warlock had been frustrated over Alec's lack of imagination. It was impossible for Alec to understand the appeal of fantasy movies and books. He was a hands-on kind of person. If he couldn't feel the experience, it didn't classify as an experience. Video games were different. He controlled the character. He had straight-forward goals and had to work to achieve them. The best part was that death was a non-issue. If his character bit the big one he just started over again, all the wiser from his previous experience.

Why couldn't real life be like that?

The alarm on Jace's phone went off and he paused the game. "And that's my time," he said, standing up. "I've got a hot date with Clary." He waggled his eyebrows, but Alec was already a thousand miles away. Player Two had left the game and he was on his own, continuing to the end of the level. Jace frowned at his brother. "Alec, are you alright?"

Alec nodded without tearing his glassy eyes from the screen. "Yeah, yeah. Go. Have fun."

Jace opened his mouth to say something and then shook it away. Alec was a big boy. He could take care of himself. "See you later," he mumbled and slipped out into the hallway.

The sun set outside Alec's window, but he barely noticed it. The longer he played Little Big Planet 2, the easier it got. Time slipped away and reality went with it. The ringing of his phone burst in periodically and then subsided. The Institute fell completely silent, all of its occupants out and about, interacting with the real world. Finally nature managed to pry the Shadowhunter off the floor. His legs asleep and eyes blurry, Alec stumbled into his bathroom and peed with the lights off. He rushed back to the video game, his hands dripping wet, when he finally noticed the orange flashing screen.

You have SEVEN missed phone calls.

"Uh oh," Alec mumbled.

He opened his messages and put the phone up to his ear. His eyes went wide. Tuesday. It was Tuesday. Magnus had insisted on them going to some sort of garden thing. He'd said it was important - vital - for them to go. And what had Alec done? He'd spent the night playing video games, alone. He'd squandered precious hours that could have been spent with his magnificent boyfriend. Alec flipped through to Magnus's number and sat down on the edge of his bed.

It went straight to voicemail.

"Hello, fabulous clients! I'm busy right now, but I'll get back to you as soon as possible!" Alec waited for the beep, but it didn't come. Instead all of the cheer drained from Magnus's voice. "And if this is Alec, don't bother sucking up. Mene mene tekel upharsin, babe. Hell hath no fury like a Magnus scorned." BEEP. Alec tried to speak, but his phone buzzed and fell out of his hand. He watched the blue lightening slip over the screen and grimaced.

Uh oh.

Magnus wasn't just ticked. He was furious. Alec knew not to underestimate his boyfriend's powers. He was a warlock, not a magician. If he wanted life to be hell for someone he could actually make it happen. Alec bit his lip and stared at his video game. Magnus was already mad, right? It wouldn't matter if he finished his level... No! Alec snapped himself out of it and grabbed the black buckle-covered jacket he'd borrowed from Magnus. Flowers and candy and puppy dog eyes. That would fix the situation.

Alec hopped a subway and stopped off in a 24/7 bodega three blocks from Magnus's place. The only flowers they had were limp and ugly, but it was the thought that counted, right? He grabbed a comb while he was at it and ran it through his hair on the walk over. It was windy, so his hair kept scattering all over the place and his baggy jeans were flapping like a flag. All of the windows at Magnus's were dark. That was not a good sign. He knocked on the door and waited. No answer. He pressed the buzzer.

Zip.

Finally he took out his key and let himself in, creeping up the rickety stairs and then knocked. There was no sign of life on the other side of the door. Alec sighed and opened it. Just as he thought, the air inside was stagnant. Magnus probably hadn't been home for hours. Chairman Meow was curled up on the couch and Magnus's keys were missing from the bowl beside the door. Alec pulled his shoes off and shoved them in the closet, then padded into Magnus's bedroom. The sheets were all messed up, but only one of the bed stand's showed recent use. Alec felt guilty again. He should have come over days earlier. Stupid video games.

Alec sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at his wilted flowers. Hours passed and slowly Alec found his head getting closer and closer to the mattress. His eyes were so heavy... Magnus wasn't exactly the quietest and Alec could shake off sleep with extreme speed. It would be alright if he closed his eyes for just a moment...

o-O-o

Magnus waited until Alec's breathing was even and slow before he slid out of the closet. He hopped up onto the bed and stared at Alec with detached interest. Of course his boyfriend didn't notice him. He wasn't exactly himself at that moment. Chairman Meow crept into the bedroom and spotted the black and gold cat with the familiar wide, green-gold eyes hovering over Alec and then darted back out. It wasn't often that Magnus glamoured himself into Cathood, but it was difficult to be stealthy when you were nearly seven feet tall.

He slowly morphed back into himself, resting gently on the mattress. Alec didn't even flinch.

His eyes burning, he traced his fingers over Alec's face, smiling sadly at the pitiful flowers littering his lap. "Oh, Alec," he whispered. "I almost don't want to do this."

Almost.

Magnus chuckled to himself and took a hold of Alec's temples. His eyes rolled back in his head as the circle etched lightly in pink chalk underneath the bed flared to life. Alec's eyes flew open and he took in Magnus for a fleeting moment. "No fury..." he mumbled drunkenly before his head slammed back against the bed and his back arched. Magnus gritted his teeth and slumped forward moments later.

To anyone else it would appear they were both asleep, Magnus gently resting his hands on Alec's face. Of course the inside of Magnus and Alec's heads would state otherwise. Dream magic. It was a tricky skill, and one that Magnus had mastered a long, long time ago with no real idea of when it would come in handy.

It seemed that Alec was that long awaited occasion.

Oh ho ho! Review and I'll do this one some more. M'Kay? I'm sorry for my prolonged absense. I have two reasons:

1) I've had way too much work to do at school.

2) I've been writing my own stuff because my writers block went away. It's still gone and I'm only doing this because it's fun. Updates will be slow, though. Just so you know.

-Cara