[Night]

"I will try to keep it in mind." Magnus said, with not a small amount of amusement. "I'll try and be more subtle. What do you think of, say, a large banner over the Manhattan Bridge? Or maybe a message in a bottle?" His tone was light and playful, eyes alight with mischief. It did well to hide the crashing of the ocean in his chest, his heart beating a rapid drum against his ribcage as he anticipated Alec's answer.

It came in a largely unexpected, though not unappreciated way. Magnus returned the kiss with one of his own, an ebb and flow of give and take. He chuckled, the sound a low rumble in his chest when the press of lips took on a tinge of something more. How could he have forgotten the easy sway of lust that accompanied youth? This may turn out to be a very entertaining venture indeed.

Magnus rolled to his side, facing Alec more fully. With any luck, no one would come looking for his friend turned lover any time in the near future. Magnus had plans, big ones, and there was no way he was going to allow Alec to slip out of his bed now that he'd gotten him there. He gave himself over, and allowed the night to take him where it may.

[Mojave]

Alec had had to pause the new bout of activity before it got too far. He stood up from bed with a groan and looked about the room for a few moments as if trying to find something. He'd ducked down finally and stood back up with his weapons belt in hand withdrawing his stele. He quickly placed a stamina rune over his hip, the lines swirling out from where the metal rod touched him. He'd let his belt fall back to the floor and returned to bed, kissing Magnus passionately and picking up where they'd left off.

The next day, sunlight poured through Magnus's bedroom window directly onto his face. Alec stretched, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of well used muscles and sleep leaving his body. Memories of the night before played out behind his closed lids and he couldn't help the smile that played at his mouth. He opened his eyes to a view of New York noonday sky. The curtains were hanging askew from the window.

He sat up, and instantly his body told him the story of all the things he and Magnus had done to each other. His eyes showed him the story of what they'd done to the furniture in the room. With a pleased smile, he looked toward the side of the bed Magnus had been sleeping in to see if he was still there.

[Night]

Magnus was sprawled against the sheets, face down and mouth slack against his pillows despite that it was fast approaching midday. His normally well managed hair was a halo of unruly strands curtaining the white of the pillowcase. He drifted awake at a leisurely pace, holding the edges of the waking world away from himself for as long as possible. He was, at first, inclined to believe the previous evening had been a rather vivid and detailed dream. A very hot one. Before he could become mired in the cliché, he became at once aware of the pleasant ache in his muscles and the warmth radiating from the opposite side of the mattress. Not a dream, then - which was itself a nice surprise, magnified tenfold by the simple fact that Alec hadn't snuck out during in the early hours of the morning.

He cracked one eye open, still drowsy. Alec was awake already, a gorgeously rumpled mess that he thought he may like to just keep in bed for the morning. His stomach, and well used body, protested that idea. He rolled over and stretched out before sitting up to press a chaste kiss to the corner of Alec's mouth. "Well what do we have here? It appears there's a handsome fellow in my bed." He grinned. "Did you sleep well?"

He slid, languid and vaguely feline from the bed, slinking towards his closet and opening it to inspect the inside. "You hungry?" He asked as he pulled a rather alarmingly pink and elaborately cut sarong from somewhere within its depths, yanking it on like a bathrobe.

[Mojave]

Something.. changed.. somewhere in Alec's chest as he watched Magnus sleeping. It felt like something cracking and a warmness spreading through him. It was... happiness. His expression as he gazed on the wonderful man beside him changed to surprise. Happiness was something he'd told himself he'd never have- after all, wasn't he supposed to be satisfied protecting those he loved, making sure they were happy and safe so that nobody ever knew his dark secret? Either way, it wasn't something he was mentally prepared to deal with right now, especially since the feeling also brought new fears with it. He didn't know much about Magnus, past the fact he was mysterious, a warlock, was interested in an eighteen year old shadowhunter, a very thorough lover, and had questionable fashion sense. And he knew quite a lot less about dating. Weren't you supposed to share your darkest fears and most ardent desires with your significant other? But Alec wasn't good about opening up to talk about his fears or even himself. And he wasn't sure how open Magnus would be either.

He was aware when Magnus woke up, having still been admiring the sleeping warlock and resisting the urge to touch him, misgivings and uncertainty aside. God, he really needed to think, he realized as he became less groggy. How was it possible he felt physically satisfied, happy to be next to Magnus and reluctant to leave, and yet filled with so much uncertainty?

With that uncanny ability that so unnerved him, Magnus was able to blot out Alec's uncertainties with a chaste kiss. He raised his hand to pull Magnus down into the sheets next to him, but the warlock had already pulled away and was grinning at him, asking if he slept well. He couldn't help the smile that came to him, and nodded, unable to express with words just how well he had slept and not trusting his voice to hide his newfound uncertainties.

"Starving." He admitted- he was an eighteen year old boy after all. He gave the garment Magnus had selected a look that said he was glad it hadn't been offered to him and slid out of bed to find his own clothes. As it turned out, he had to look for a few moments, the items having been tossed carelessly aside when originally discarded and then lost further in the destruction that had resulted after he'd put that stamina rune on. He was back in his jeans and shirt, the shirt having been discovered under pillows with some interesting new holes in it, and on his knees looking under the bed. "How the hell did my weapons belt end up under here?" He asked, dropping to one side so he could keep from knocking his head against the bed with the arm he wasn't lying on and reaching for the belt that was smack in the middle of Under The Bed Land.

He'd been so engrossed in finding his clothes, he hadn't noticed if Magnus was still in the room. He looked now, laying on his back and side, one arm groping under the bed for his belt. His jeans had just been pulled over his hips, the button undone and the zipper only half closed and his shirt was rucked up exposing his abdomen, treasure trail of hair extending from his navel and disappearing into his half opened jeans.

[Night]

Magnus was blissfully unaware of any inner turmoil that may have stolen into Alec's mind. He grinned, wide and happy in the teen's direction. "Well, if you have time to stay for breakfast, I can probably whip something up." He carded mentally through the contents of his fridge, considering the possibilities. He was distracted by the lean curve of the shadowhunter's body as Alec began searching out his clothing, strewn haphazardly through the room as evidence of the previous evening's activities.

"I have no earthly idea." He replied distantly, following the other man's movements and then shaking himself. He didn't want to get caught up again now. After breakfast, perhaps, if Alec had the time. So long as there weren't going to be shadowhunters knocking down his door in a wild panic searching for their friend. It had been less than a month since he had first crossed paths with them and already he was growing bored of the way they had begun asking for his aid for every little thing. If it weren't for Alec he would have started charging them.

"How do omelets sound?" Magnus tied the sarong closed and padded towards the door, shooting a wave over his shoulder to indicate that Alec should follow. The downstairs was a carnage of empty cups, knocked over plants, and spilled booze, though thankfully devoid of other life. He cleared away the wreckage with a wave of his hand as he pattered towards the coffee maker, turning it on and waiting for the percolator to serve its purpose.

[Mojave]

He finally managed to grab his belt right as Magnus turned, indicating that Alec should follow. He quickly threaded the belt through his jeans and followed Magnus downstairs, buttoning and zipping his pants. "An omelette sounds fine." He said, not really caring what he ate so long as it was actual food and wasn't Isabelle's cooking. He was also trying to get all his gear balanced around his hips, which required he stop walking. He stood on the bottom most stair, sliding his stele and his current seraph blade back into easy reach before looking up.

He was instantly sorry he'd come downstairs barefoot and was in the process of returning upstairs for his socks and boots when Magnus waved the mess away. Well that's convenient, he thought. Relieved, he quickly caught up with the other man but stopped by the coffee maker to wait by the gurgling machine. Once the pot was full he located a mug and poured until it was full, settling down on a stool nearby with the sugar. With his drink sufficiently sweetened, he leaned back, letting the warmth seep into his hands and breathing in the rich smell. He carefully sipped, enjoying the sting of the hot drink and the resulting warmth that blossomed through him as he swallowed.

[Night]

Magnus poured his own cup of coffee, filling it with more sugar than was likely acceptable and a dash of cream. He sipped at it occasionally while he began to cook, humming something melodic quietly as he did. It was fairly quiet, for a moment, but not the sort of silence that he had expected. It was comfortable, and he could easily imagine how this might be something he could get used to. Centuries had taught him that it was quite difficult to find someone with whom you could sit without speaking with and it not create awkward fissures. He couldn't say if Alec felt the same, of course.

The stove, like the majority of household appliances in the apartment, didn't appear to run on electricity. The end of the cord was peaking out from behind it, not even plugged into the wall. Instead, an odd blue/green flame rose up beneath the pan as he cracked eggs into it, mixing odd vegetables in and adding spices. Even magic, it seemed, became a boring and every day commodity to those to which it was gifted.

"Do you have anything going on today?" He asked, producing a spatula from midair and flipping the omelet over. Far be it for the High Warlock of Brooklyn to simply own cooking utensils. "Borrowing" them from the restaurant down town cut down on the use of storage space. "Any demons needing slaying? Friends inexplicably turned into a swordfish?" His tone was casually playful, gold eyes alight at his own joke. On the surface, it almost wouldn't appear as though he were fishing to see if Alec were considering sticking around for the afternoon.

The first of the omelets done, Magnus flipped it onto a plate - also summoned, who even had time to shop for matching dishes? - and placed it on the bar in front of the shadowhunter before setting to work on his own.

[Mojave]

In the silence, Alec struggled to find something to say. True, Magnus was humming to himself and seemed content to not talk, but Alec felt he should be saying something though he hadn't a clue what. As the silence stretched out, Alec realized several things. Magnus, who usually just "summoned" (aka stole) what he wanted from nearby stores, suddenly had a coffee machine instead of two cups of their preferred drinks waiting for them. He was cooking breakfast, instead of just conjuring it from the restaurant of his choice. And he was asking what Alec had planned for the day.

"God I hope none of the above." he said, genuinely hoping for just a quiet day where he could relax. He couldn't even remember the last quiet day any of them had been given since before Clary and her mundane had shown up out of nowhere. He pulled the offered plate to him, and stood up to refill both of their mugs of coffee. At that moment, his phone buzzed.

With an apprehensive curse, he pulled the device out of his pants pocket, balancing both mugs in his other hand. "I was going to stop by the Institute for a shower and fresh clothes. But apparently Izzy wants me to patrol with her tonight."

He sighed, knowing Izzy wouldn't summon him unless she actually needed him. Possibly Jace had suggested something dangerous and Izzy wanted Alec there to make sure their friend didn't get himself killed. His parabatai had been like this ever since Valentine had revealed Jace and Clary, who were undeniably, disgustingly attracted to each other, were siblings.

He flipped the phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket. He looked wistfully at the omelette Magnus had taken the time to actually make him and thought about all the new uncertainties last night brought with it. He refilled their mugs of coffee before returning to his stool. He pulled the omelette to him and made quick work of it, downing his coffee as fast as the hot liquid allowed without scalding his throat.

He set the mug down and looked up at Magnus, an apology in his eyes. "I'm sorry to leave like this, and thanks for everything." He blushed as he worked up his nerve. "Can... can I see you again?"

[Night]

Turned away, it was easy for Magnus to hide his disappointment. There had been a slight hope that he may be able to squirrel Alec away for the remainder of the day, perhaps have a repeat performance of the previous evening's activities. But Alec was downing his breakfast in that quick manor of which only teenage boys were capable, making short work of his coffee, and working to excuse himself. There would be other days, he thought wistfully.

"Of course you can!" Magnus smiled, something soft around the edges and entirely unlike his rather Cheshire grin the night previous. "In fact, I would be upset if you didn't." He wasn't exactly holding his breath over whether their next encounter would come at the price of a favor for he and his strange group of friends, but some things were worth the sacrifice. He slid his own omelet onto a place and turned, finally, to face Alec across the kitchen island.

He had other things he ought to be doing with his time, regardless. There were no small number of requests for his services. He felt oddly put out knowing that he was using them more as a distraction from a dark haired boy than for any real want to perform his duties. He held his coffee cup in two hands, clasped around the porcelain over his chest.

"Call me, Alexander Lightwood." And, in true form for the warlock, he winked.

[Mojave]

He couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face when Magnus agreed to see him again. "Yeah, o-of course!" He agreed, backing out of the apartment. He tripped over the door frame as he fumbled for the door in response to Magnus's wink.

He made his way to the Institute, and was relieved that nobody accosted him on the way to his room. Once the door was bolted behind him, he stripped his clothes off and headed for the shower. Even though the warm water and soap washed the sweat (and residual left overs of other bodily fluids) from his skin, it couldn't rid him of memories of Magnus's touch; thus he stayed in there for longer than was strictly necessary to get clean.

When he emerged from the bathroom, a cloud of steam erupted into his cooler room. He took his time selecting clean clothes, in part to delay going to see his sister and in part to let his body cool down from the too hot shower. By the time he was dressed again and on the way to his sister's room, the sun was setting. His sister opened her door when he knocked, a knowing smile on her face. Oh... shit. He thought.

The patrol that night was eventful, to say the least. They had found a Mantid demon accompanied by a few Oni demons and, as Alec had suspected, Jace had been reckless. Izzy had been the only one uninjured. Jace had a broken arm and myriad lacerations. Alec himself had been scored by an Oni demon's tusks, had fallen off a fire escape and hit his head, and thus was limping when he showed up on Magnus's doorstep. Izzy had seen Jace back to the Institute, but Alec was understandably pissed at his parabatai and needed space. They'd put iratzes on Jace and Alec, and he wasn't as injured as he had been when he'd grabbed a pair of clothes and left the Institute.

And here he was, on Magnus's doorstep, and debating if this was actually a good idea. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the warlock's number.

[Night]

Magnus was bored. The entirety of Brooklyn at his beck and call, the whole of New York at his feet, and he could think of nothing better to do than sulk and cast moody glances at his cell phone, propped up between his fingers as though it held the answers to the world's problems. The last few times he had checked, spaced a scant few minutes apart from each before it, it most certainly did not. He'd received his fair number of calls for the day in the admittedly short time he had been awake enough to deal with them, and none of them had held his attention in the slightest. He began each one with the flutter of nervous hope at an unknown number, rushing to answer only to find it wasn't who he'd wished. When the phone began to ring yet again, he didn't even bother getting excited over it.

"Mother Maggie's Unicorn Emporium, if it doesn't sparkle it ain't Mother Maggie's. How may I direct your call?" He drawled, voice grave. He sprawled himself back on the couch dramatically, propping his feet up against the arm of it. The setting had shifted slightly, since Alec had left that afternoon. Gone was the filthy remains of a Downworlder party, the space instead adorned with cushy armchairs in various shades of blue. A furry white carpet spanned the length of the living room, stopping shortly before the fireplace where a brilliant blue-green flame lit the room. He had, thankfully, rid himself of his ridiculous dress. Not that many people would consider women's yoga pants a significant difference.

[Mojave]

When someone answered, Alec pulled the phone from his face and examined the number. It was the number Izzy had given him, so why the hell was some... Mother Maggie... answering the phone? "Um.. I might have the wrong number. Sorry." He hung up the phone before the other person could answer and buzzed Magnus's apartment. He'd deal with Izzy giving him the wrong number later. His head was pounding and he needed to sit down for a minute.

As he waited for Magnus to answer, he tried to formulate a casual 'hey I was in the neighborhood' kind of greeting, intending to show that he tried to call but had gotten some unicorn emporium instead. As the door opened, he raised his hand to greet Magnus, but his legs gave way under him. He managed to catch himself on the doorframe as the world tilted crazily beneath him. "I think I have a concussion." He grumbled in a surprised tone that said he only just realized this and was not very thrilled with the knowledge.

[Night]

Wrong number indeed. He hadn't intended for the being on the other end of the line to actually take his greeting at face value. It must not have been someone that had ever had dealings with him, he figured, considering the vast majority of people who had spent any amount of time with the warlock would be able to sense his dry humor over the phone. Although, the voice on the other end of the line had sounded suspiciously like Alec...

No matter. He turned off his phone and drew a hand over his face, a bone deep wariness settling over him. If Alec wasn't going to call, then he supposed he may as well head to bed. All this waiting was surprisingly draining. He was in the process of willing himself to his feet when the buzzer for the door sounded.

There was no small amount of grumbling involved as stumbled over to the entryway, throwing the door open in an imperious manor. Whatever snarky greeting he may have had, it died on his tongue at the sight of the man on the other side. Alexander Lightwood, in all of his gorgeous glory, was tilting against his door frame. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised, relieved, or worried. He settled somewhere in the middle of the triangle.

"Hello to you, as well." Magnus did something complicated with his eyebrows that would doubtless be impossible to replicate. "I take it your day was rather eventful." He moved out of the way of the door, allowing Alec access into the apartment. The warlock hovered there, strategically placing himself just far enough away from him that he would be able to catch him if he tried to do something silly like make friends with the floorboards.

[Mojave]

"I tried calling." He said, his words slurring a little as the pounding in his head intensified. He held up his phone weakly as he stumbled into the apartment. His vision was blurring so he missed the complicated eyebrow maneuver. Not wanting to test the warlock's physical strength, he leaned against the wall once he was in the apartment. He let himself slide down to sit on the white fuzzy carpet, reaching for his stele. "I'm going to kill Jace." He growled in answer to Magnus's sarcastic comment. "Where's my stele?" he said, hand groping along his hip and coming up empty. He really needed an iratze right about now. He looked up at Magnus to ask if he'd seen the delicate metal instrument.

[Night]

Magnus shut the door, leaning back against it with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited to see what Alec may do. "That was you?" It thawed his somewhat icy demeanor - enough for him to move forward to catch Alec under the elbow and coax him further into the apartment. He shoved him down on the couch, deciding that he most certainly didn't want him to pass out in his foyer. He did not need an irate Isabelle Lightwood showing up on his doorstep and finding her brother unconscious and drooling on his living room rug.

He began the arduous process of trying to pat down the teen's pockets, trying to prevent his mind from straying towards any unsavory thoughts. They could hardly come to any fruition in the shadowhunter's current state. He finally found it, tucked in the back pocket of the man's jeans. He held it aloft triumphantly, passing it over to Alec. "Here it is."

He could, of course, offer to heal the man himself. If Alec were like any of his kin, however, he was sure that the guy was pretty independent, and wouldn't take kindly to the offer. He waited patiently for the rune to take effect, holding his breath and counting the seconds.

"What did you even do today?" The question was casual. He wasn't prying. Except, he sort of was. Despite his previous experience in the category, he hadn't paused to think of the constant worrying that came with having feelings for a shadowhunter.