Alec rolled over in the middle of the night, his arms unconsciously searching for Magnus. When his arms found nothing but the bed beside of him, it woke him, the unexpected cold and space hitting him hard. At first, Alec considered rolling back over and going to sleep once more, seeing as this was only one of the first few times he had stayed the night, he didn't want to overstep himself.

But as he closed his eyes again, he knew that Magnus was up for a reason, and a reason other than the bathroom or a drink, so he rolled over once more, sitting up and stretching. He smiled as the Chairman gave an indignant snort, obviously not appreciative of being woken up.

He thought of pulling on a shirt, but then shrugged it off and simply picked up the Chairman and padded into the living room, leaving his "outfit" as his boxers alone. Magnus was sitting on the couch, uncharacteristically curled up in a blanket, knees pulled close to his chest. He looked up as Alec walked in, the ghost of a smile playing across his lips as he saw Alec holding the Chairman. His expression was unreadable, something that slightly set Alec off.

"What are you doing up, Magnus?" Alec knew his voice was terribly soft, he knew that Magnus often didn't care for his gentle tone, found that it often grated on his nerves, but it was something that Alec could rarely keep himself from using, especially with people he loved.

As Alec sat down beside of him, Magnus tried to force more of a smile, something else that began to worry at Alec's mind. He could see just how fake the smile was, could read past the smile to the emotions he was trying so desperately to mask. The only problem was that Alec couldn't tell exactly what emotions those were, he could see the urgency, but he couldn't tell just how Magnus was feeling, and it was enough to drive him mad.

"No reason really, Alexander. I've just been doing a bit of thinking, that's all." Alec could easily sense that Magnus had put up his guard, was trying to keep any emotion out of his voice. He placed the Chairman on his lap and reached over to take hold of one of Magnus's hands, giving it a gentle squeeze as Magnus looked away from him once more.

"I'm not going back to bed, Magnus, you should know that." Magnus continued to look pointedly away from him. He reached over to run his fingers through Magnus's hair before continuing. "There's something troubling you, so please don't shut down, please don't turn me away. I'm here and I love you, so talk to me."

At that, Magnus sighed, but he still didn't turn to look at Alec. "You're always so gentle, Alexander. Sometimes it's startling that a Shadowhunter could ever be so gentle." Alec smiled slightly, appreciating what Magnus was saying, but knowing that he was attempting to distract Alec from the conversation at hand.

Instead of asking Magnus another question, Alec simply remained silent. Somehow, he had come to understand Magnus better than he had ever expected, to understand him in a way that startled him, in a way that was very foreign to him. He knew that Magnus needed time, that if he simply waited, Magnus would continue speaking eventually. "You know what, Alexander?" His voice was filled with emotion when he did finally speak again.

"You know me so well it scares me sometimes," he said, echoing Alec's own thoughts. "If you were anyone else, I could very easily hide this. But with you, it's so," he paused for a moment, obviously searching for the perfect word. "Different," he finished, settling on a word that seemed less than perfect.

"How so?" Alec asked, feeling as though he already knew what Magnus was going to say but wanting to hear it from him nonetheless.

Magnus sighed, looking as though he was assessing the situation. "I could never hide anything from you, especially if I tried. You see through that kind of trying faster than anyone I've ever met." He finally turned to look Alec directly in the eyes, and Alec could see how tired he was. "But the biggest difference with you is that I don't want to hide it. I don't want to hide anything from you. You make me feel so safe, Alexander."

For a moment, Magnus turned away, his eyes closing for several seconds. When he turned back, he took a deep breath, as though the conversation was painful, but he realized he needed to continue. "You make me feel comfortable in a way that I've never felt before. And sometimes I simply don't know how to react to that."

This time, Alec smiled wider, a genuine smile, the type that Magnus always seemed to make so easy for him. "Don't try so hard at figuring it out, Magnus," his voice was still terribly gentle, but he knew it was something he couldn't help. "Just be yourself. Just be the man I love, that's all I ask."

It was Magnus's turn to smile this time, but his troubled look was still anchored beneath it. "I come with a lot of baggage, Alexander, 400 years of it makes a lot. That's the problem here." Alec worked on autopilot for a moment, not really registering what he was doing until it was done. He took Magnus's hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Looking up at Magnus, Alec watched as his expression turned from one of apprehension to one consumed by love.

"I know you have a lot of baggage, Magnus. But you don't always have to carry it alone. Not any more, that is." As soon as Alec had finished speaking, Magnus reached over to kiss him. The kiss was so passionate, yet so gentle, that it overwhelmed Alec at first.

When Magnus pulled away, he surprised Alec by talking once more. "I woke up because I had a dream. And not one of those that my father sends me. Just a dream. But it was a horrid dream nonetheless. About you." Alec simply waited, an eyebrow raised, not wanting to scare Magnus into stopping.

"If I'm being totally honest, I'm scared of losing you." Magnus turned away from him then, a slight hitch in his voice. "And it's not even about your mortality any longer. That's something I've come to terms with." He paused then, his face overcome with the pain of what he was saying. "I'm afraid you'll leave me willingly."

At that, he got up from the couch, obviously wishing that he could erase everything that he had just said. He headed toward the kitchen, his head and shoulders slumped in a way that made Alec's heart ache.

Alec waited for a few moments, trying to give Magnus a bit of space. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Magnus fumbling over coffee, his hands shaking visibly. Alec strode over in only a few swift movements, taking the cup Magnus was holding from his hands and placing it on the counter, turning Magnus around while placing his arms around Magnus as well. Magnus seemed startled at the fluidity of it all, at how forceful Alec was being with him, but he didn't protest.

"I want you to listen to me, Magnus, and I want you to listen to me very well." Magnus's eyebrows raised slightly, but he remained silent. "You're worried, and I understand that. I'm young, I haven't seen much of this world, or of love. But what I do know is that I am in love with you. I've never felt anything like this, anything at all. And trust me, I'm not going to give that up any time soon."

Pausing, Alec studied Magnus's expression, an expression so open that it startled even him. "Magnus, I'm not going to leave you. I'd be an idiot to leave you. And I've been told that I'm a pretty smart man, so I can't contradict that, now can I?"

Magnus laughed then, a laugh that was clothed in every emotion imaginable. He leaned in, and Alec could sense from the way Magnus moved that he wasn't going to get much more sleep that night. He watched as Magnus closed his eyes, but before their lips found each other, Magnus spoke once more. "Thank you, Alexander. I won't ever be able to thank you for all that you've done for me. But I'm going to attempt to thank you every day of my life."

Haley here! let me know what you thought of this chapter, and feel free to submit the word you think I should use for C!