blacksurlsofacynic: Thanks for the review. I think Magnus will be figuring things out here soon...

Guest: Thanks for the review. Yeah Jace is my hero! And, by all means, slap Magnus. Just don't mess up his pretty face.

I don't own TMI

I stumbled out of the portal in the wee small hours of the morning on Friday. Actually, I wasn't sure of the exact time. My phone was dead and I had been so desperate to get away from Idris and the incessantly endless and useless meetings that I rudely woke up a warlock that I had met earlier and demanded a portal be made.

After I spent a moment gathering my bearings I walked laboriously down the street to my apartment. I was very lucky that no one was around to see me appearing out of nowhere. Why hadn't that stupid warlock just portaled me inside of my apartment?. Hmm. What had I even said to the guy? I guess I was too tired to remember.

Apparently I was too tired to do much of anything that required even a minimal amount of brain power. It took me a few tries to unlock the door once I finally got to it, and that was after a three minute self-inflicted pat down for my keys that were hanging out in my jacket pocket, exactly where they were supposed to be. I finally got in there, though.

All I wanted to do was go to bed. I had been running back and forth to so many meetings since Wednesday that I hadn't slept longer than two hours at a time at any one point. I couldn't recall ever being this drained of energy before. I needed to eat something first, though. Having not eaten anything in more than 12 hours was probably another reason for the lack of energy, after all.

I crept into the kitchen, trying hard to be quiet, but every step I took made me more and more tired. As a result, I became more and more clumsy. The more clumsy I got, the more noise I made. I was tripping over chair legs and my own feet so much that I paused twice to check to see that my rune for equilibrium was still in place.

Somehow, I eventually found myself standing over the stove, just looking at it. After about a minute of that, I shuffled over to the cabinets and pulled out some pans to cook with. I ended up knocking a bunch of them out and onto the floor. Luckily, nothing landed on my bare feet.

I stood still, and listened for a few moments, hoping that I hadn't woken up Magnus. He did not need to see me like this.

I didn't hear anyone rushing into the kitchen so I went to the fridge to find something to fry up. I was standing there with the door open and my head and shoulders leaning up against the freezer, starting to doze off, when I heard Magnus say my name sharply. I crouched down a little too fast and immediately started looking through and grabbing things out of the fridge, pretending to be a normal, healthy person.

"What the hell? What are you even doing?"

Ohhh. Even when he yelled at me, his voice sounded like silk. I got up, sat the things I was holding down, and turned to face him. He was wearing a black silk robe and probably nothing under it.

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?" I felt delirious. Even the thoughts running through my head felt weird.

Magnus was looking at me all squinty eyed. He looked tired, but also curious.

"Its 5:30 and you look like hell. Did you just get in?"

"Yes, mother." I snorted at my own stupid joke. What the hell was wrong with me?

Magnus' beautiful eyebrows raised up a bit. "Are you drunk, Alexander?"

Uh oh. His voice was all silky again and he was using my full name and it was doing things to me. Nice things that made me feel uncomfortable and squirmy. Which is probably why I was uncomfortably squirming under his steadfast gaze.

"I'm not drunk." I tried to sound indignant but only managed to sound weak. I cleared my throat in order to manage a more manly tone. "I'm exhausted. I need food. I could make us some food."

"Let me do it. You're going to destroy your kitchen." Magnus looked around pointedly to the mess I had already made, but his voice was softer.

"I got it." I huffed. I bent to pick up one of the pans from the floor.

Magnus snapped his fingers and two plates of eggs, sausages, and French toast appeared on the kitchen table, along with two paper cups of coffee.

"Sit down and eat. I want you to take a shower after you're done and then go to bed." He said, sternly, to me. "If you want, I can wake you before the meeting later."

Magnus grabbed his plate and coffee and made a move to leave the kitchen.

"Join me?" I asked him. My mouth was full from having already been on my second bite of breakfast.

He hesitated for about a second before coming back to the little table and sitting down.

We ate in silence, with me sneaking glances at him when he wasn't paying attention.

If I had to guess, I would say that it was my very tired, near exhausted state that morning that rendered my ability to resist Magnus almost nonexistent. I just wanted to go over and sit in his lap and feed him the rest of the food on his plate straight from my fingers. And maybe straddle him and caress his yummy face. And explore exactly what was under that robe. And stick my tongue down his throat. And run my hands all over his-

"Are you aware that you are staring at me?" Magnus asked me with a little frown, interrupting my train of thought. "Very intensely, too."

"I-I. Sorry." I finally finished with my food and avoided his gaze by throwing back the rest of my coffee.

"I'm not exactly complaining. I just want to know what's up with you today. I thought we weren't supposed to talk to each other. Why are we breakfasting and gazing into each other's eyes?" Magnus shrugged and sighed. "I'm just very perplexed, I guess?"

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks for the food, by the way. I guess I feel a little better now." I said. And I did feel a bit saner after eating. "I just haven't had anything to eat in a while and I've been in nearly nonstop meetings for the past two days."

"Ok, I get it. You should go for your shower now. I'll clean up in here.

"Ok, thanks." I tried to resist the urge to go over and hug him. I ran out of the kitchen and into my bedroom before I did any other stupid things.

In the shower, I started to feel really tired again. I was having urges again. As crazy as it sounded- even to me- I really wanted to ask Magnus to come to bed with me. I knew I would sleep better if I could just cuddle up with him.

It had been complete torture to go to bed almost every night since Magnus had been here, knowing that he was in the other room, all alone. What would really be so wrong with the two of us sleeping in the same bed? Nothing, right?

On that note I finished my shower, slung a towel around my hips and walked out to the living room. I could see Magnus in the kitchen, finishing his cup of coffee or latte, or whatever. I slinked over to his nice bed with the sexy red curtains and pulled them apart.

One side of the bed was rumpled, obviously the side that Magnus had slept on. That's the side I climbed in on. I closed the curtains again and buried my head into his pillow. I just kind of rolled around a bit, trying to get his scent all over my body, still warm from the shower. Yes, this felt really nice.

I was just about to float away to sleepy land when I heard Magnus pull back the lacy curtains and start to climb in. He gave a little yelp. I guess he'd spotted my lying there.

"Alec! What are you doing in here and why are you naked?"

I shielded my eyes as the early rays of sunlight were beaming in and glancing off of Magnus' skin, giving him the illusion of a saintly glow. I giggled "But I'm wearing a towel." I said as I looked down at myself. "Well, I was at first."

"Alexander, you can't do this to me. I didn't think you were this cruel. I can't stay here like this."

"No! I'm not, I swear!" I shouted, desperately. "I just wanted to sleep with you."

Magnus' eyes widened. "I-I. You… What? I don't understand."

I reached my hand out to him. "Come here." I said, softly.

His wide eyes only got wider. His breathing became a little wild. "Are you sure? I don't know if this is a good idea."

I was so tired at this point and my eyes kept dipping low, but I had to explain this to him.

"I just want you to hold me. I want to touch you and fall asleep with you."

Magnus seemed to be conflicted and he hesitated for so long that I thought he was going to turn away from me.

"Ok." He said, his eyes still questioning, but he looked hopeful.

He removed the robe he was wearing so that he only had on a very tight, very small orange briefs. He climbed in next to me.

Before he even had the chance to settle himself properly, I attacked his lips. His proximity to me must have given me an energy burst. In no time at all he was kissing me back, pushing me on to my back to hover over me. I felt his hands as they softly slid all over my face, neck, chest, abs, and anywhere else he could reach.

I moan into his mouth and ran my hands over his arms, his back, and then up the back of his thighs and his clothed ass. He ground his hips down onto me. I could feel that we were both becoming hard.

I really wanted to flip us over so I could grind my cock down on to his and kiss him silly and dominate him just like he was doing to me, but I was much too tired for that. As it was, my mind was already starting to slip away every minute or so. I fought it, though. I didn't want to stop kissing this sexy man.

Especially when I could taste his sweet lips and tongue. I could hear his helpless moans. I could feel his body shiver wherever I touched him. Whenever I opened my eyes I saw his sexy caramel skin, his full, pouty lips, and those yummy green and gold slit eyes that had me hooked since day one.

And he looked like pure melted honey, his body was hot and dripping all over mine. So sweet and heavy. I was drowning in him and you couldn't pay me to try to escape.

I felt like an innocent maiden about to be corrupted. I felt like Eve in the garden of Eden, getting ready to pluck the forbidden fruit and sink my teeth in. One word played in my head over and over like a scratched record: Magnus, Magnus, Magnus.

I was moaning shamelessly, my breathing fast and erratic. I didn't have enough energy to reach the short distance to grip his body anymore, so my arms just laid there, sprawled and bent at the elbow, my hands and fingers splayed out by my head. And Magnus filled my sight, looking too good to true as he rubbed his sweet, sexy body over mine. As he sucked on my neck and nibbled my ear. As he dragged his fingers down my sides, torturously slow.

Eventually, though, Magnus must have notice how tired I was. He suddenly moved off of me. I parted my lips to protest, but he put a finger up to my lips, effectively shushing me.

"You need to sleep, darling." His voice sounded lustful and husky. " I'll stay with you, at least until you fall asleep."

I scooted over into his arms, snuggling up to him and it felt so right, there. I breathed a deep breath in and sighed it out slowly, resting my head on his chest and hearing his heartbeat. Home.

Before sleep took me, I tilted my head back and looked up into Magnus' eyes. "I love you." I said and promptly fell asleep.

I woke up feeling much, much better and much more like myself. I knew immediately that I had made a fool of myself in front of Magnus.

I groaned remembering my sleep-high induced attempt to seduce him. I wondered what was going through his head during all of that.

"Are you awake?" I heard his voice ask.

For a moment I thought he was still in the bed with me. Then I noticed the spot he had occupied earlier was empty.

"Uhh, yeah."

"Great. You should probably get some clothes on. Then would you please call your brother? He wont stop bothering me since you're not answering your phone."

"Oh yeah. My phone is dead."

"I charged it for you."

This whole time we were speaking through the curtains since neither of us opened them. I don't know if it was just on my end or not, but the awkwardness hung thickly in the air.

"I'll be in the kitchen…" Magnus was saying. "So you can get ready." I heard his light footsteps retreating from the living room.

I slowly got up from the ridiculously comfortable bed. I slipped one of the sheets around my body and went into my room to find something to wear. I came out a few minutes later and found Magnus leaning with his back against the counter in the kitchen.

"Um…so, about earlier… I was basically running on fumes and not in my right mind." I began.

"Let me guess. You want me to forget about every thing that you said to me? You want me to just carry on like you didn't kiss me. Again."

I felt my cheeks turning red, as I thought back to what happened a few hours ago. "I think we did more than just kiss."

Magnus looked up quickly. His eyes intense and questioning.

I sighed. "I don't want you to forget it. I was just trying to point out that I would have never had to courage to do that if not for being so out of it. But, I didn't say anything that I didn't mean. Or do anything that I didn't want to do."

Magnus shook his head looking confused. "What are you saying to me, Alexander?"

I took a deep breath. "I don't think I would say no to a physical relationship…"

Magnus shot straight up from the counter. "Are you proposing being fuck buddies with me?" The look on his face was pure disbelief. "Maybe you need to go back in there and get some more rest."

I felt my skin get hot so I knew I was blushing everywhere. "Never mind."

"You know as well as I do that you would never be satisfied with just having sex with no strings attached."

I just shrugged my shoulders. He was probably right, but I was in need of some type of relief. And I couldn't fathom having sex with anyone other than Magnus.

"Have you ever been in a purely physical relationship before, Alexander?" He asked me. It seemed to pain him to do so.

"No." I said so softly I wasn't sure he could hear me even though we were standing quite close to each other. I must have been inching closer to him since I came into the kitchen. "I have only ever been with you, Magnus. You know that"

He took a deep breath. His eyes were soft. "I didn't know if things had changed." He paused. "I haven't been with anyone since you, Alexander, but I don't think I can just have casual sex with you."

I take a step closer to him. "It doesn't have to be casual, then."

Magnus slid sideways along the counter and further away from me. "Alec, as stupid as I feel for saying this, I can't let you do it. You have been denying me all this time because I don't want to tell you things about my past. You might be ok with this in the beginning, but you will be curious again at some point. Will you not?"

I ran my hand through my hair, probably making it an even bigger mess than before. "Probably." I felt a sharp pressure around my eyes. I knew if I kept talking to him I would be in danger of crying.

Magnus suddenly grabbed my hand in his. "I know what it is to want someone so overwhelmingly and desperately. And to know that you can't have him. We are in the same boat, so to speak." He pulled me closer so that we were inches apart. "Maybe we can make a compromise."

I sucked in a quick breath. Was he finally ready to let me in? To tell me things about his past? Or was he just going to lead me on?

I took a good look at his face. He was looking at me with the look of resolve. I was just about to ask him to tell me what he was thinking when we were both startled by a pounding on the front door.

I looked at the clock above the stove and saw that it was half past 2. I turned to get the door that was still taking a beating by whoever was on the other side.

Magnus put a hand on my hip and gripped it tightly for a moment before letting go. "Let's continue this conversation later," He whispered directly in my ear.

I made to look into his eyes, but I couldn't get past his sexy lips. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but I just nodded mutely and finally went to the door.

"Fuck, man! What took you so damn long?" Jace barged right in after I opened the door.

Clary was with him, but she hesitated before entering. "He's was worried about you." She said apologetically. She finally stepped through the door after I waved her in. "Jace, calm down. Clearly, Alec is fine."

"He could have answered his phone then, Clary."

"Jace. Why don't you stop yapping and hear what he has to say?"

Although Clary and I had gotten off to a rough start in the beginning, I couldn't help but admire the girl. I don't know anyone who can handle Jace the way she does. And its good for him, too.

"Magnus told me you were trying to get in touch, I just got distracted once I woke up." I told him.

"Oh yeah? What distracted you." Jace looked between Magnus and I and a lazy smile began to spread across his face.

Magnus just starred back at him without any discernable expression. I, on the other hand, couldn't meet his eyes or answer without stuttering, making Jace laugh. Even Clary giggled a bit into her palm.

"It's not like that!" I practically shouted. I tried to sneak a look at Magnus. He caught my eyes and just smiled a little bit, raising his eyebrows.

Jace just shook his head. "Whatever. You two are weird."

I ignored his comment. I was sure he was already bored with the subject, anyway. "Are Izzy and Simon on their way over?"

"Yeah, Simon just texted to say they were 20 minutes away." Clary answered.

"Great. You all can help me set up for the meeting. I'll tell you all the stupid shit I learned from the Clave over the past couple of days.

Magnus ended up doing most of the set up by summoning a huge table and a lot of chairs to accommodate the 20 plus people expected at the meeting. Jace spent most of his time obsessively cleaning first the living room area where the meeting was going to take place, and second, the kitchen. I drew the line when I saw him trying to sneak into my bedroom with some bleach and a rag.

For some reason Izzy and Simon were late and showed up only a few minutes before all the rest of the guests did. Izzy looked pissed off, but when I tried to question her about it she blew me off.

"Screw you Alec. Its not like you care why I'm upset."

"Of course I care."

"I've been ignoring you and you haven't even noticed, have you?"

I guess she kind of had a point there. But only a very small point.

"I haven't even been in New York, Izzy. Are you still mad at me about Magnus?" I asked, trying to keep my patience in tact.

"Whatever, Alec." She said, walking away and sitting down away from everyone else.

I looked over to Simon, wondering if I should go talk to him. He was deep in conversation with Clary. The poor boy looked like he was barely holding himself together. Maybe he and Izzy were having a little spat. I looked back to Izzy to see that she was alternating between throwing daggers (figurative ones, thank the angel) at Simon and me.

Great. Another crisis for me to fix. It was going to have to wait until later, though. The room had began to fill.

I'm going to cut it off here folks. Next chapter will be the actual meeting and a bit of action.

Thanks for reading!