Magnus was floating on cloud nine; there was just no other way to describe it. Seeing Alexander the night of the Fell's party had been the start of his whole euphoria. Alexander was in his element, and Magnus couldn't help but brag about him to anyone at the party that would listen. Magnus had many guests' ask why he didn't come with a date, and when Magnus proudly explained that his date was working the very event they were attending, the comments about how delightful the food was - and how personable Alexander was - came pouring in. Needless to say, Magnus had no problem playing the roll of the doting boyfriend all night.

Magnus also couldn't get over how pleasant their nightly phone conversations were. He and Alexander spoke candidly. Alec always thanking Magnus for what he called 'his cheesy gifts', and while they may seem too cheesy, Magnus could always hear the smile on Alexander's face just by the tone of his voice. That's exactly why Magnus wasn't planning on stopping the gifts anytime soon. Alexander was also sending Magnus daily gifts of his own, in the form of lunch being delivered to his office everyday. All made by Alexander, of course. And Magnus savoured every morsel. He could eat Alec's cooking everyday for the rest of his life and die a happy man.

They've also been on two dates this week. Magnus had taken Alexander to the Brooklyn Zoo yesterday, and completely fell in love with him all over again when Alec cooed as the red pandas as they chased each other around.

The other date that happened earlier that week, was dinner at this new Asian Fusion restaurant that had opened up earlier that year. Magnus was excited to finally try the place out, but unfortunately the food itself was a bust. Alexander kept him quite entertained all evening, acting like a food critic, resulting in Magnus laughing almost nonstop. Alexander even threw in a horrible British accent half way through the night, which resulted in Magnus letting out a very undignified snort.

Even though the food was rather terrible, it was honestly the best date Magnus had ever been on. It almost reminded him of one of his first nights out with Alexander. The night he'd taken Alec to that restaurant opening, listening to Alec speak his mind about the restaurant, and the critics they requested on the opening night. Magnus always thought back to that night fondly, especially since that was the night he'd realized he'd fallen in love with Alexander Lightwood. That night all those months ago hadn't even been called a date, but Magnus had wished it was even then. Listening to Alexander speak so candidly, and with such passion, Magnus had known right then and there that he had hopelessly fallen.

Tonight however, was Friday night. And while most people sent their Friday nights going out, Magnus was spending the night in with Ragnor, Catarina, and Raphael. The menu for the evening was International Cuisine. Cat's cravings were so all over the place that Magnus decided to get take-out from the best restaurants in the area. They were going to have Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indonesian, Etheopian, and Hamburgers. He knew it was a lot, but most of it would keep for lunches later in the week, and with Cat's cravings the way they were Magnus wanted to be prepared for anything. He was just setting the dining room table when there was a sound of chatter and footsteps making their way into his home.

"Magnus, where are you?" Cat yelled out, causing Magnus to shake his head with a sigh.

"Dining room," Magnus put the rest of the take-out in the middle of the table, ready to greet his friends.

"Dios mio, Magnus!" Raphael exclaimed upon seeing the miniature feast in front of them. "Are you feeding an Army? And that better be from Chavela's!" he said, pointing towards the Mexican food.

Chavela's made the best mexican food in all of Brooklyn, and Magnus was slightly appalled at the idea that Raphael would think it could come from somewhere else.

"I'm insulted, darling Raph," Magnus decided to play around with him. "This came from that taco stand outside my office. How could you possibly forget the smell of their food?"

His plan worked a little too well seeing as all of their faces scrunched up in disgust, with Cat's complexion going slightly green. The taco stand outside his building should be closed down for health code violations. It was absolutely horrendous!

"Kidding," Magnus chuckled. "It is from Chavela's. Don't look so distraught."

"Someone's all smiles tonight," Ragnor laughed as they all sat and started serving themselves. "It looks good on you. Does it happen to have anything to do with a certain black haired, blue eyed beauty?"

"It does," Magnus said wistfully. "I'm just so happy he's willing to give me a second chance. The therapy is also helping," Magnus pointed out while he filled his own plate. He'd also - with the help of his therapist - finally told his friends his biggest secret and what caused his irrational behavior. "I'm just happier all around. My therapist is helping me work on letting go of all of my insecurities with healthy coping mechanisms instead of, well… all the shit I used to do."

"I'm so glad to hear that Magnus," Cat reached over and grabbed his hand, giving a gentle squeeze. "Is Alec joining us tonight?"

"Oh no," Magnus said with a flourishing hand. "Friday nights are now reserved for just him and his siblings. He's going to Jace's tonight for dinner and board games."

"No he isn't," Raphael spoke up, giving Magnus a confused look. "After dealing with one shit storm after another at work all week he decided to skip out on 'family fun night.'"

"What are you talking about?" Magnus asked, lost. Alexander never once said anything that would indicate he was having a bad week.

"Well, you know," Raph replied, with a wild hand gesture. "First it was the stupid dishwashers, then the stupid delivery people not accepting anyone but Alec's signiture, and now the dish incident."

Magnus felt like he'd just been slapped in the face. All week Alexander's been nothing but smiles, and never once mentioned the stress that he seemed to be dealing with. Why on earth would he not tell Magnus? Even if there was nothing he could do about it, surely just talking would've helped? Someone to vent to even.

"It seems that we're all lost here Raphael," Ragnor spoke up. "Including Magnus, please fill in the gaps?"

"He really didn't tell you?" Raphael asked, his question aimed at Magnus. Magnus just shook his head, feeling a bit disheartened that his - once and now almost again - boyfriend wouldn't tell him what was going on.

"Okay," Raphael said, letting out an exasperated breath. "So the day Alec left for LA all of the dishwashers we hired decided to stop showing up for work. After calling all six of them, only one answered. They all said that washing dishes was beneath them. So instead of worrying Alec over it, Lydia and I decided to post an ad with the hopes that we'd at least have a few applicants ready to schedule interviews by the time Alec got back.

"The next big issue was that all three stoves we ordered showed up the day after Alec came back to work. We were at Lydia's kitchen when they came by. Luke called Alec trying to get him to the bistro as fast as he could, because for whatever reason the delivery guy wouldn't accept the contractors signatures. He claimed that he had to reject the delivery because the purchaser's name needs to be the one to sign and approve the delivery. They left the bistro five minutes before Alec and I could get there. Five minutes! I mean, who even does that!? Luke told the guy we were on our way. He just said that 'it's not his problem' and left! Now the company we ordered the stoves from said that they can't get another delivery to us for a month!"

Raphael voice was rising in volume as he talked. Magnus knew he was just as invested in the bistro as Alexander, and felt sure Raphael was taking all of this to heart.

"Then this afternoon the sample plates arrived. They apparently were the right patterns, but Alec ordered different shades of white, and these are all multicolored," Raphael paused, as if to give himself a breather. "I'm pretty sure that was Alec's breaking point. He double checked the model numbers of everything he ordered, which all matched up, so he still couldn't figure out why they would send all these pastel colors. Then all of a sudden he just got up and said 'I'll deal with this shit tomorrow', then called his sister to cancel his plans and went home."

There was a chorus of 'Good God' and 'poor Alec' around the table. Magnus felt as if he was in a daze - his own personal fog if you will - still not sure why Alec wouldn't tell him about his ridiculously stressful week. Before the breakup, Alec would've had no problem venting out his stress to Magnus.

"I'm really surprised he didn't tell you, Magnus," Raphael pointed out. "You two talk every day. How did you not know about this?"

"I-I don't know," Magnus stuttered. "Whenever I asked about work he would just tell me what he taught his chefs for the day, and he would tell me whether or not you guys would add or take away a dish on the menu, but he never once indicated that things were getting stressful."

"I think I know why," Cat replied meekly. Magnus just raised an eyebrow at her. "It might have to do with your breakup. Did you ever once criticize him about his work? If so, he might refuse to discuss the bad things that are going on with his work, hell, he might refuse to tell you about anything negative going on even in his personal life too."

"My god, that makes so much sense," Magnus exclaimed, feeling as though he were drowning as he tried to suck in a breath. "I honestly don't remember everything I've said to him, but the possibility is there."

"Well, I think you need to have a conversation with Alec," Ragnor said, unhelpfully of course. "And if he yells at you, you take it. He has every right to lash out at you. You did the same to him after all."

"Y-yeah, I'm gonna do just that," Magnus said, finally able to pull himself out of his daze and stand up. "I'm not sure how late I'll be, but feel free to stay."

"We'll clean up," Ragnor pat Magnus' shoulder. "Go, talk to Alec and finally work out all of your shit. I like seeing you happy Magnus." He smiled.

Magnus just nodded his head, swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in the pit of his throat as he left the room, and headed for his car.

When he got to Alec's building, Magnus just threw a cursory wave towards the concierge and made his way to the private elevators that would take him to Raphael and Alec's floor. Taking a deep sigh, Magnus knocked on the door. As he stood there waiting, Magnus was starting to second guess himself. Maybe he should've just called Alexander instead of showing up out of the blue? Maybe Alec decided that he didn't want to be alone and went to Jace's house anyway? Or maybe he was asleep and didn't hear the knock?

But then the door opened, cutting off Magnus' thoughts and there stood Alexander, bleary eyed and sleep rumpled.

"Magnus, what are you doing here?" Alec asked, his voice husky from sleep.

"How come you didn't tell me work was so crazy stressful this week?" Magnus knew he shouldn't have started the conversation like that, especially when he got a dark look in return. Magnus gulped.

"Because I didn't want to 'weigh you down with my baggage,'" was Alexander's response, thoroughly confusing Magnus even more.

"Um… what?" Magnus replied. He had no idea what Alexander was talking about.

"Oh, you know," Alexander seemed agitated. "Remember how you told me that I needed to stop bitching about everything that goes wrong in my life, and just fix it? Well, I'm not bitching, and I'm fixing it."

"When did I say that?" Magnus asked.

"Max's graduation party," Alexander tilted his head to the side. "How can you not remember verbally cutting me down? Let me remind you Magnus. First I burdened you with my personal baggage, then I burdened you with my work baggage and you could see what my ex was talking about how I complain too much. With that being said, this is me not being a pain in your ass."

"Oh, Alexander," Magnus spoke softly, moving closer to shorten the distance between him and Alec standing in the doorway. He reached forward and cupped Alexander's jaw with both his hands. "I also told you that I didn't mean a word of what I said to you out of anger. You could never burden me, and you should always feel comfortable talking to me about anything."

Alexander took a step back out of Magnus's reach, lowering his gaze to the floor. He then said something so low that Magnus couldn't understand.

"What was that, darling? I didn't hear you," Magnus said, his voice soft and his heart beating frantically.

"You shouldn't be here, Magnus," Alexander refused to make eye contact. "It's against the rules we agreed on."

"And as I recall, we also agreed that open communication is important to a relationship, also letting your partner know when things aren't okay is key to maintaining a successful arrangement," Magnus emphasised. "You were the one who stated that, by the way. Now, you didn't live up to your end of the bargain, now it's my turn to break the rules. I just want us to talk to each other, and I know you need that just as much as I need you to tell me when things aren't okay with you."

"Yeah, okay," Alexander huffed after a moment, stepping aside to allow Magnus entrance. "Would you like something to drink? I think I have soda and wine."

Magnus sniggered at his two options, looking around the room noticing the newest 'cheesy gift' he sent Alexander today. It was a framed picture with the phrase 'I feel so ashamed that I showed my worst side to the best thing that has ever happened to me, I'm sorry…', then Magnus wrote 'I will always love you' in red dry erase marker on the glass.

"I'll take some wine," Magnus responded, eyes roaming around the loft. He hadn't been here since the night he screwed everything up.

Alec had a huge Christmas tree up with twinkling white lights. Ornaments covered the tree with red, green, gold and silver. Garland was placed on the mantel with a stocking hanging in the center. Then there were candles placed in every window of the apartment. Magnus just realized that there wasn't a single lamp turned on in the house. Between the fire going in the fireplace and the Christmas lights, he didn't really need any more lighting. Magnus also took note that it was very romantic, as well as festive.

"Okay, so what did Raph tell you?" Alexander asked as he handed Magnus a glass of wine.

"Something about dishwashers quitting, a stove not being delivered, and dishes being the wrong color," Magnus gave his brief description as Alexander nodded along.

"Yeah, well I have interviews set up for Monday, so hopefully that issue will be fixed by that evening. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do about the stoves. They said they can't resend them for a little over a month. It scares me knowing that my opening date may very well be pushed back again. And how in the hell the dishware order got mixed up, I'll never know," Alexander said without taking a breath.

Magnus studied Alexander. He truly looked exhausted, and Magnus couldn't understand how he didn't notice the dark bags under Alec's eyes, or the fact that he seemed to have lost weight. Maybe because he was so happy to have the chance to be with Alexander again that he didn't notice. A very selfish answer he reminded himself. Hopefully he wasn't as self-absorbed as it seemed, and all this was just something that'd happened within the last week. Whatever the case, Magnus promised himself that he would pay more attention to Alexander's wellbeing from now on.

"The stoves, did they give you an ETA for delivery time?" Magnus asked, his mind already going into problem solving mode.

"Yeah, it was supposed to be the fifteenth between the hours of one and four in the afternoon," Alexander responded, his expression was clearly wondering where Magnus was going with this.

"And what time did they show up?" Magnus asked, hoping Alec would see where he was going with this.

"I got the call from Luke around ten that morning," Alec shrugged.

"So they gave you the wrong information. If we can prove that with the paperwork for the delivery confirmation I'll call them in the morning and talk to them. If I had it my way, you'll have your stoves this week and without having to pay an additional delivery fee," Magnus smiled, proud of himself that he was able to come up with that solution as quickly as he did.

"Thanks," Alexander sighed, his hands scrubbing his face. "The paperwork is at my office, if you're up for it we can stop by tomorrow."

"That'll be perfect. That way I can take a look at those disastrous dishes," Magnus joked, nugged Alexander with his shoulder. "Now, I think it's time for you to go to bed. How in the world did I miss those dark circles yesterday?" Magnus said that last part mostly to himself as he traced the dark circles in question with his thumb.

"Um…" Alec mumbled. Magnus immediately saw Alexander's face reddening and the sheepish smile forming. "I may have used makeup to cover them up. That's kinda what I've been doing since we broke up so people wouldn't say anything about me not sleeping enough."

Once again, Magnus' heart dropped at Alexander's words. Magnus always assumed Alec was handling the breakup better than him with how great he looked in pictures, but it's quickly becoming clear that it was an act.

"Oh hatiku, let's get you to bed," Magnus cooed lovingly as he motioned towards the bedroom. "I'll get you tucked in, and lock up before I leave."

"You can stay," Alexander said so softly that Magnus wasn't sure if he heard him right.

"No, darling. We've both broken our newly instated rules tonight. I respect you too much to break another," Magnus softly brushed his lips against Alexander's, and helped him to bed. "Goodnight my love. I'll be over in the morning to pick you up."

"Okay," Alexander murmured, snuggling into his pillows. "G'night Magnus."

"Goodnight my love," Magnus whispered back, already hearing the slight snores from his beloved.

Magnus carefully locked up and left the loft. On his way home a smile grew on his face as he thought of the perfect 'cheesy gift' for his Alexander tomorrow. It appears that his thoughtless words did a lot of damage, and it was his responsibility - no, his duty - to make sure Alexander's self esteem was restored. He'd make damn sure of it, and that was going to start tomorrow morning.

~oOo~

Magnus finally got to see exactly how bad his words in the past affected Alec. How do you guys like the 'cheesy apology' gifts? What do you think Magnus is going to come up with in the next chapter? That chapter is mostly done by the way… ;-)

As always, let me know what you guys thought of the chapter.