B – BEANBAGS

Alec had just about had enough. Ever since Valentine's attack on the New York Institute, the paperwork and duties just kept piling up. Alec had finally finished all of his paperwork and settled all the matters that mattered.

His head was pounding and his wrist hurt from all the writing. He wanted nothing more than to go home and cuddle with Magnus. But then he remembered. Magnus was out in a Downworlder meeting. He forgot that his boyfriend had his own problems too, what with trying to calm down a very chaotic Downworld and all.

But he decided to go to the loft anyway, a small part of him hoping Magnus was surprisingly home early. There was something warm and comforting about Magnus's loft that Alec quite liked. It felt like 'home'.

So, he grabbed his coat and made his way to his boyfriend's loft. It was a pleasant evening and a cool breeze blew against Alec's face. It was welcoming after being cooped up in the heated atmosphere of the Institute.

Fifteen minutes later, he reached the towering brown building and made his way up the stairs. The wards were set to let Alec in whenever he wanted. He considered it a privilege that Magnus trusted him so much.

The loft looked as decorated as always. His boyfriend's loft never looked the same. Magnus was always changing the theme and décor every day. Alec had chided him for wasting his magic on something as trivial as redecorating, to which Magnus had smoothly called him 'sexy'. It was enough to make Alec flustered and drop the subject. He gave up after that and let the warlock have his way, knowing it was of no use trying to convince him.

Today's theme wasn't anything fancy. Just simple yet colourful furniture surrounding the loft. There wasn't much décor. It was a sign that Magnus was still recovering from the extreme loss of magic he had suffered after the attack.

Not really feeling like doing anything, Alec settled on lounging on one of Magnus's fancy couches and reading a book. Alec knew Magnus had a huge collection of books. It was one of the many things he loved about his boyfriend.

He walked over to one of Magnus's many bookshelves and chose a random book. He then turned to look at the variety of….couches? They really couldn't be called 'couches' or 'sofas' because they didn't look like it. All the seats looked like shapeless blobs of different colours. One in particular caught his eye. This one was a long, transparent blob and it was filled with small tiny white pellets. It was big enough to fit two people. Alec was curious as to what these blobs were. So he chose the transparent one to sit on.

But as soon as he sat down, the blob seemed to dip. Alec got up in a flash and glared at the piece of furniture as if it had offended him on a very personal level. Concluding that it wasn't safe to sit on this…thing(he still didn't know what to call it), he slid down to the floor and leaned his back against the wall. It was no comfy couch, but it would have to do. He opened the book he had chosen and started reading it.

Surprisingly, not even five minutes into the book and Alec was asleep.

The meeting went very badly.

Magnus was exhausted. He had sat for seven hours straight trying to calm down the whole of the Downworld living in New York, but to no avail. Tired and fed up, he had asked them all to convene again in two days to discuss the issues at hand further. For now, they had to focus on mourning the dead and treating to the fallen.

Right now, all he wanted was to go home and cuddle with his boyfriend.

But no, he couldn't, because Alec was going to be busy handling the damage at the Institute. Even more so, because he was Head. But a part of him hoped he was free.

Nevertheless, he made his way through the brightly lit streets of New York to his loft. He could've just made a Portal, but he needed to clear his head. So he decided to travel by foot.

It was night by the time he got home. His feet were hurting, but at least he felt slightly refreshed.

He entered the loft and switched on the lights. He almost did a double take when he saw Alec curled up and asleep on the floor. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, the hard lines that covered his forehead eased and smoothened out. Magnus's heart melted at the sight of his boyfriend. But it didn't get the chance to melt further because Magnus suddenly realized that Alec would be very vulnerable to catching a cold if he slept like that.

But there was one thing he didn't understand. Why had Alec taken to sleeping on the floor when he had the most comfortable beanbags in all of New York to sit on?

As quietly as he could, Magnus bent down and gently pressed a kiss to the Shadowhunter's forehead to wake him up. Alec's eyes slowly fluttered open and when he saw his Warlock, jerked up immediately.

"Magnus?! Oh, by the Angel! I'm so sorry! I should've—" Alec rambled.

"Shhh…It's alright, Alexander," Magnus said and wrapped his arms around his lover, pulling him close and against his chest. Alec welcomed it and snuggled closer. They sat like that for a few minutes in silence before Magnus broke it.

"Alexander?"

"Hm?"

"Why were you sleeping on the floor?"

Alec stiffened ever so slightly. "Well, I tried to sit on one of those weird blobs but it immediately sunk down. I didn't really trust such an unsteady piece of furniture after that."

"Blobs? You mean—Oh…" he seemed to catch on, because he started laughing.

"Magnus!" Alec whined. "It's not funny! What even are those 'blobs'?"

It took Magnus a while to steady himself. His Nephilim could be so adorable when he was confused. Especially when he didn't understand mundane things.

"Oh, darling! They're called 'beanbags'," Magnus informed him. Alec seemed to understand. "But why?"

Magnus seemed to think for a moment before answering him. "Well…I'm not really sure. But I think it's because they're stuffed with bean-shaped pellets."

Alec nodded in understanding. "Babe? What's the time?"

Magnus took a look at his watch. "It's a little past 8. Why?"

But Alec didn't respond. When Magnus looked down, he saw his Nephilim sleeping peacefully, a small smile playing on his lips.

Magnus sighed fondly and slowly carried the blue-eyed Shadowhunter bridal style to the bedroom.