Author's Note: Sorry for the sudden, sporadic update. I will explain more at the end of this chapter (which is shorter than usual). As for now, thank you for the reviews, please enjoy!

Chapter 7

After leaving Woolsey at the symphony, Magnus ended up across town, standing on someone else's front steps, knocking on the door of someone else's house, the same way he had when he walked out on Camille. This time it was Ragnor Fell who opened the door and invited Magnus in, taking in his watery eyes and drunk and disheveled state. As High Warlock of London, Ragnor was required to shelter warlocks who needed a place to stay, but Magnus would have gone to him anyway. Magnus hadn't sought Ragnor out for sex or love or even a shoulder to cry on. He went to Ragnor specifically because he knew he wouldn't get sex or love, but simple companionship. Magnus needed a friend, and Ragnor was his most faithful.

Ragnor brewed a potion for sobriety while Magnus warmed himself by the fireplace. He was staring into the flames when Ragnor carried in a mug, which he handed to Magnus, along with a lavender scented handkerchief. They sat together on a sofa and Magnus sipped his potion as he clutched the handkerchief like a security blanket. After a few minutes, Ragnor ran his fingers over Magnus's knuckles, forcing the joints to relax.

"You can tell me, or, you don't have to," Ragnor said. Magnus looked down at the green skin touching his own, offering a bit of comfort and expecting nothing in return. His eyes blurred with tears and then he was sobbing again, holding the handkerchief to his mouth to muffle his gasps. Ragnor rubbed Magnus's upper back slowly and whispered quiet, soothing words to him, until Magnus stopped crying again. "It's just those damn mortals, isn't it? Willing to throw love away because they don't know how rare it is. They won't promise you forever because they don't know how long forever can be. They'll break your heart every time, Magnus. Every single time."

Magnus couldn't bear to tell Ragnor that he was crying not because he was heartbroken, but because it had been so very long since he had been properly loved by anyone.

It was midmorning the next day before Magnus left Ragnor's house and walked back to Cheyne Walk, dressed in borrowed clothes and carrying the tuxedo Woolsey had given to him. He let himself in the front door and walked through the house, pausing to find Woolsey sitting at the kitchen table, a cloud of clove scented smoke around his head coming from the cigarette burning between his fingers. He looked as if he had barely slept, with black circles under his eyes and two day's worth of stubble across his jaw.

"Magnus," Woolsey said, his voice strained, "you came back." He started to stand up, but Magnus walked down the hallway, down to the sitting room he had redecorated during the last time he and Woolsey had a fight. No, actually, the last time they had a fight, Magnus had been with Will in a coat closet and when Woolsey found out, he'd pinned Magnus against a wall, slapped him, then made a fist, planning to hurt him even worse. The time before that was when Magnus had been thinking about Will while he was in bed with Woolsey, and Woolsey, being a territorial alpha male, had figured it out.

Magnus slammed the door shut, hung the tuxedo on a closet door, and sat down on the sofa. He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself for coming back here. He could have gone anywhere else in the world, and yet, he was here.

There was the sound of footsteps in the hallway, followed by the quiet thud of Woolsey resting his head and hands against the door.

"Magnus, please, let me in. I want to talk," Woolsey said.

"It's your house," Magnus said.

"I'm not coming in unless you want me to come in," Woolsey said. Magnus frowned as he took in his surroundings. He could do anything he wanted to do with the room, but he couldn't imagine staying there for any length of time, which a very immature part of him wanted to do. He wanted to barricade himself in the room and leave Woolsey sitting outside, contemplating their relationship, for days, weeks even. Anything Magnus wanted or needed was at his beck and call. There was no telling how long Magnus could leave a door between he and Woolsey. Forever was entirely possible.

Magnus doubted he would last more than an hour. Even now, just knowing Woolsey was standing right outside the door, waiting for Magnus to invite him in, was causing every bit of stubborn anger and resentment that had built inside of Magnus to melt away, slowly and surely. If Woolsey was outside the room now, he must not have meant to slap Magnus and nearly punch him. He must want to forgive Magnus, and what kind of man would Magnus be if he didn't accept that forgiveness? They had both done wrong, but that didn't mean they couldn't move past their wrong doings.

"Come in," Magnus said. The door opened and Woolsey walked in. He sat beside Magnus on the sofa and reached over, slowly, carefully, to caress his cheek. When Magnus allowed that, Woolsey cupped Magnus's jaw in his hand and kissed his face gently.

"I'm so sorry," Woolsey whispered. He kissed Magnus again as his other hand moved around Magnus's waist, pulling him close. "I was wrong, with everything. The whole night was wrong. I was hurtful to you, and I let my friends disrespect you, and you had no choice but to go looking for someone who treated you far better than I did. I'm not angry with you, Magnus. I forgive you for being with him."

"You forgive me now," Magnus said, his voice hollow. "You didn't seem to want to forgive me last night. In fact, it would seem that you wanted to hurt me."

"You hurt me," Woolsey said. "The thought of you being with him… why, it turns my stomach, and more than that, it angers me. You were willing to throw away everything you and I had on a simple fuck with a simple boy. Everything, Magnus."

"There is nothing between you and I," Magnus said, his voice holding quiet rage. "You lost the rights to everything we could have had the moment you raised your hand and cracked it across my face. I'll allow myself to be used and treated like dirt, but you hurt me, Woolsey. You hit me in the face once and you wanted to do it twice and that, Woolsey, that is unforgiveable."

Magnus pulled away from Woolsey then, stood up, and crossed the room. He heard the strangled cry fall from Woolsey's lips the same time the werewolf went down on his knees in front of the sofa. He wailed in anguish and nearly pulled his hair out and it was several long seconds before Woolsey looked up at Magnus, tears pouring out of his dark eyes. His chest heaved, as if every breath hurt.

"Do you like your boys broken, is that it, Magnus? Do you like them so broken, it is only you who can make them right again? If so, then I am broken, Magnus," Woolsey said, his voice on the edge of hysteria, "I am broken. I am nothing without you. Nothing. Is this what you want? To break me? If so, you have succeeded. I am broken."

"Get off the floor," Magnus snapped. Woolsey just covered his eyes and sobbed. "Woolsey."

"I love you so much," Woolsey said. "I wanted us to go to Rome. I wanted to give you the world. I wanted to be with you, until I got old and gray and you held my hand as I prepared to welcome death. I would give up… everything… for you and I would give you forever. Just forgive me for what I did last night. I know I did wrong. Do you think I haven't been over it a hundred times, hating myself for letting my emotions get out of check for just a moment? Do you think I wanted to hurt you? No. But I love you so much, and I was angry, and I snapped, but I love you so much, Magnus. Do you love that boy, Will? If so, then love him. Be with him, and be with me as well. Just never leave me, Magnus. I love you, and I need you. I'm nothing without you."

Magnus head spun as he tried to catch up with Woolsey's mad ramblings. Woolsey was willing to give up Magnus's fidelity, just as long as Magnus never left him. It was a pitiful idea, and yet Magnus hated himself for considering it.

"I love you," Woolsey crawled on his hands and knees over to Magnus. "I love you so much. I want to be with you…" Woolsey's hand went to his pocket, where he fumbled with something. Magnus stepped back, his eyes wide, as Woolsey held up a gold ring with a large, cloudy white center stone. "Please, Magnus, forgive me, and just be with me, forever."

Author's Note: Every once in a while, in writing, I will come across a story line that makes me question everything I ever believed. It is always a disagreement between what I would do, given the situation, and what the fictional character should do, and this is one of those times. So, because I never had a chance to do this before, I have cut this chapter short and have posted it WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. I know there will be more chapters to this story. I have an ending in mind, but I just don't know what Magnus's answer to Woolsey is going to be. I apologize for the cliffhanger. Feel free to review/give your opinion. Thanks for reading!