Disclaimer: I own nothing and profit none.

A/N: One day there will be a full chapter. Honest!

Total Word Count: 18,334

Underground had not changed substantially in his absence as far as Will could tell and, while disappointing in the continued lack of navigational stripes, it was a pleasant surprise to feel his shoulders relaxing as he made his way towards the main complex. There was something to be said for an absence of the threat of SCIU.

Equally pleasant, if confusing, was the lack of back-piled files on his Underground Desk. Normally after an absence of a month, he'd be lucky to find his desk at all. After pausing to enjoy the rare sight of a completely cleared desk, he went seeking some answers. Underground, this wasn't a very hard task.

The design of the Underground Sanctuary, while perplexing to Will in some respects, did have its good points. For one thing, Magnus had clearly planned the office space with Will in mind as her Second. Unlike in Old City, their offices were next to each other, easily accessible for questions, comments, and tea breaks. Moreover, they were interconnected by a door, for which they'd established fairly simple rules. Open, more than welcome, closed meant privacy was desired and the only traffic better be essential news via the main hallway. So far, it was working well for them.

It also meant that Will's search for answers was a short jaunt through the open connecting door.

"Will," Magnus looked up with a smile as he poked his head around the frame. "Welcome back."

He returned the smile as he entered the room, but for a brief moment his mind replaced Magnus dressed in her usual classically professional style of skirt, blouse, and ungodly high heels with his dream-Magnus in the height of film noir vamp. Complete with that slit up to, um, high.

Will cleared his throat and studied the draperies above her head intently as he responded. "It's good to be back, although there's still a disturbing lack of stripes in the hallways."

"Imagine that," he looked back down at her droll tone and smiled at the glint in her eyes and the completely normal apparel. This was getting ridiculous. And if he stuffed anything else under that fedora it might explode.

"So, I also noticed that my desk is suspiciously clean," he lowered his eyebrows dramatically and decided to deal with things by completely ignoring anything fedora-related.

"There's a reason for that," she paused dramatically, "but it'll keep. Until tomorrow at the least," she added as he opened his mouth.

"Secrets?" Will frowned half-seriously. "Should I be worried?"

"No," Magnus dropped out of playful mode with a tilt of her head. "It's a potential mission, Will, to the former Sidney Sanctuary. One that you don't have to take and isn't finalized yet. The active time would be soon, however, and given your recent schedule, I thought that taking this time to recharge would be advisable."

"Are you even allowed to talk about vacations to other people?" he mused, entirely failing to suppress a smirk.

It earned him her patented Cheeky-Monkey Look. "You are aware that I could relocate all of your paperwork, correct?"

"A vacation sounds lovely," he said promptly with a disarming grin.

"Thought so," Magnus laughed. "If I could make a suggestion," she added, not even attempting to hide an evil smile, "you might use it to get better acquainted with the layout."

"If there were stripes, I wouldn't need to," he said instantly. "Or maybe just some markers like in the woods? Little crosses or something."

"Or I could let Henry go forward with his microchip idea," Magnus put in drily.

"Still not a pet," he managed with a completely straight face.

"Go," she pointed towards the door. "Before I change my mind and put you to work."

"Fine, fine," he held his hands up in surrender as he moved back towards the door. "I'll send you a report later so you can acquaint yourself with the concept of a 'day off.'"

Will was quite proud that he made it through the door before she could respond. Last word? For once, totally his.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day off once he got over the nagging feeling that he was supposed to be doing something. Rather than get lost on his own yet again, he tagged along with the afternoon feeding, made a brief stop by the library, then successfully made his way to the atrium and blissfully wiled away several hours reading something entirely unconcerned with a file, report, or case.

In the late afternoon, Will was rousted from his comfortable sprawl by hunger and wandered back into the main complex. After a few moments of indecision, he turned towards the offices again, hoping that Magnus would still be at tea. And wouldn't mind sharing.

"Back again? And without so much as a single SOS." From the still-steaming cup of tea on her knee, he decided to congratulate himself on his perfect timing.

"I took flares," he said, seating himself at her nod of approval, "just in case."

"If you light anything on fire," she warned, "I shan't be the only one with no concept of a day off."

Will snuck his hand towards a saucer even as he pasted a slightly worried look on his face. "What about just a small one? Tiny, really."

If he hadn't been scrutinizing her features, he would have missed the split-second of concern that passed over them before she recalled her better senses. He grinned before she could respond, and could tell by the roll of her eyes that Magnus knew she'd been caught out.

"I've a stack of paperwork over there with your name on it," she threatened.

"Did you come here for some reason?" she said around a smile, entirely ruining her stern tone.

"Not really the way to talk me out of pyromania," Will said, delighted beyond measure when he got a small snort out of her.

"Um, would you throw me out if I said lunch?" he tried, pulling his full saucer close to him just in case.

"Only if you don't have tea as well," she challenged.

"Hmm," he pretended to give it serious thought, gazing down at his saucer sadly.

Whatever response Magnus was going to make was lost in the buzz from her computer.

"I need to take this," she set her teacup down apologetically, rising from her chair.

Waving a hand to indicate 'of course,' Will took himself and his saucer towards the door. Before he could decide on a destination for his bounty, though, a thought occurred to him and he walked back to her desk. Writing a note on a loose piece of paper, he slid it across to Magnus who smiled and nodded in response.

With his own smile firmly affixed, he made his way back towards the atrium. Well, that was dinner plans all set then. What should he do in the meantime?