Hey :) it's me again. Did you miss me?
Anyway, this chapter is very Magnus-centric and there is only one part at the end from Alec's POV, but I've marked it, so you don't get confused with those awesome grey lines. xD I was actually a bit insecure with this chapter, but I have been repeatedly told that it is not bad and so I hope you have the same opinion. :3 That would make me very happy. x3

Considering the mentioned death at the end of the last chapter: That is not decided yet :) and I can tell you, that Magnus will not give up his favorite character so very easily. ;) (so, please dear reader, who have been upset with the spoiler, come back Q.Q)

ahin: I made you laugh, awesome. xD That definitely made my day. :D The tickling scenes were fun to write. :3

deviant97: It's not over for him yet ;) and I adore you for your nice reviews. ^^

worldcrabination: I'm glad you liked them :D and I didn't even realize that those flashbacks were attached to the same object till you pointed it out. xD

wingyan1320: And I like every word of your reviews :) Alec really has it planned to kill Will but the discussion about his death is not over yet. ;)

Mads-Hatter-15: I'm always jumping with joy when I can manage to get character development done. :D

Satyana: Stay awesome :D you know you're great and one of the reasons my chapters keep coming. *lots of hugs*

Reader7264: Your wait is over :3

malecanddestiel: Urgh, sorry about that, but I' glad you liked the rest. :)

This chapter has been beta'd by alexa-hallywell. THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT WORK! *hugs*

Disclaimer: Apparently not mine ... like I was told repeatedly.

Chapter 4

The first time they talked to each other they got into a fight. They got thrown out of the cafeteria and for some reason neither of them remembers bursting out laughing outside. People stopped,staring and whispering, pointing at them. Magnus, who had never really cared about other people's opinion simply ignored those looks and slowly managed to calm down. Tears of unexpected joy drying in the corners of his eyes. Then he turned his head to look at Alec, maybe out of pure curiosity how the grumpy emo kid would handle the situation, maybe out of fear that Alec would get scared by the weird looks and wouldn't dare to laugh like that again, maybe to be there to protect him. But when the grumpy kid noticed that other people were staring at him he grinned like a predator and stuck out his tongue at all the gawking idiots and with a final deep breath he pushed himself off the wall, picked up his shoulder bag and started to walk, leaving Magnus behind without another word.

Magnus liked to think of that moment as the one he fell for Alexander Lightwood.

"Rise and shine, grumpy kid." Magnus grinned while leaning against the doorframe of Alec's bedroom.

"Fuck off, sparkles."

"Still not a morning person, sweetheart?" He sent Alec a sugar sweet smile and the writer glared daggers at him from beneath the blanket in return.

"Get the fuck out and close the damn curtains", Alec hissed with a truly menacing tone.

Magnus smirked.

During college there had been one student who had always been late to the morning classes. Of course, he hadn't been the only one, but no other student had gotten away with it. That student's name was Alec Lightwood and it hadn't really helped his sister's everlasting quest to find him friends. Magnus had no idea how Alec had bribed a doctor to actually write him a medical certificate which attested him some kind of sleeping disorder that made it impossible for him to get up early enough to get to the classes on time. Though to Alec's defense Magnus had to say that his favorite grumpy emo really had tried to get up on time. He had always failed because six o'clock simply wasn't Alec's time of the day, but it was the thought that counted, right? He had tried everything; setting an earlier alarm, preparing clothes and the needed books for the next day on the evening before, going to bed early and everything that he could think of. But even if he got out of bed on time for classes he would get lost on campus because he had to skip his morning coffee or would fall asleep during class ... or Magnus wouldn't let him leave the bed. And some things obviously never changed.

"Come on, Alec, it's already past ten. The sun is shining-"

"Even if the sun commited suicide, I still wouldn't get up. So close the fucking curtains and get the hell out of my bedroom."

Magnus let out a silent whistle. If there was a possibility to kill with the mere human voice, he was sure Alec would be the first one to find out about it ... or create the possibility. But in the end it was this aggressiveness among other things that made Magnus long for Alec even more. The writer was far more than nice to look at - very nice to look at. But there was something to hearing an angry voice break into a begging whisper and drowning furious yelling with passionate kisses that never failed to turn him on.

Magnus smiled smugly at the memory of some of the fights they had during college. They had led to the best sex he had ever had. Alec couldn't be described as the most emotional person, but there was nothing that rivaled his eyes in beauty whenever pure unmasked emotions washed over him. It happened mostly with rage and anger because those emotions let him lose control. There also had been one time when Magnus had kissed burning tears from his cheeks and the following night had been the most intimate one they had ever shared. But the memory was blurred. Their last time together before the end of college, before Magnus had moved to France, before he had said what he though would be his final goodbye. How things could change.

He had spent nights lying awake next to Camille thinking of that night, reliving it in his dreams and now his memory was suddenly blurred. Cruel fate. But even if his memory of that night wasn't clear anymore, Magnus could still remember the intense emotions he had experienced that time and his fingers suddenly itched to yank off the blanket and take Alec here and now.

He pursed his lips. "Can I stay if I close the curtains and promise to never try waking you up ... let's say, before noon?", he asked hopefully as he sauntered over to the two big windows. While waiting for the answer he closed one of the curtains halfway. The blanket started moving again and where before only Alec's eyes had been visible, now his whole head was showing. The ink-black strands stood up in every direction and didn't really help the itching in Magnus' fingers. Though the smile playing on Alec's lips sent a shiver down Magnus' spine - not the good kind of shiver. He gulped.

"Dear Magnus", Alec began and his sugar sweet voice made the hairs on the back of Magnus' neck stand up, "either you shut the curtains and leave immediately or I am going to prove you that I am still sleeping with a knife under my pillow."

Magnus found that that was indeed a valid argument, but he wouldn't be his stubborn self if he didn't try one last time. He closed the curtains and the bedroom was bathed in almost complete darkness at the first moment. A few seconds passed till Magnus' eyes had adjusted to the sudden lack of light. Then he carefully tiptoed to the bed and kneeled down next to it, so his eyes were almost at the same height as the mattress.

He knew how the mattress felt against his bare skin and that there was enough space to fit two grown men on the bed.

"So, if you're still sleeping with a knife under your pillow", Magnus whispered to where he suspected Alec's head to be beneath the blanket. The writer had retreated under the fabric again after the curtains of the first window had fallen shut. "Does that mean that you're also still as fond of cuddling in the morning as you used to be?"

He got a muffled, but immediate answer.

"GET OUT!"

Normally, Magnus wouldn't be up that early and usually Alec was already awake whenever he got up. But due to Alec's habit of going to the bathroom early in the morning and slamming the door shut afterwards ... well, at some point Magnus simply gave up. He planned on getting earplugs as soon as possible and then he would let a metal pot fall on the floor in front of the bedroom door. Right now, it was still enough to indulge in the simple fantasy whenever the bathroom door slammed shut. The pot would clatter across the parquet accompanied by the symphony of very annoying 'clang's. They would slowly dissolve into silence only leaving the faint echo of an erratic heartbeat behind, a pulse that had been shocked into speeding up. Magnus smiled smugly to himself, but his thoughts came to a sudden stop when the bedroom door finally opened and Alec stepped out. The spontaneous 'Good morning, sleepy head' died as sudden on Magnus' lips as the train of his thoughts had crushed into an unexpected wall.

On the previous days Alec always had already showered and was dressed when Magnus managed to crack his eyes open and when Magnus had been in his bedroom this morning coming close to getting his head chopped off, Alec had been completely covered by the blanket - except for his head - and for some reason Magnus had always imagined him as the 'Sleeping in a shirt and sweatpants'-kind of guy, not the 'sleeping in (damn low hanging) shorts and nothing else'-kind of guy.

While being aware of the fact that he was gaping with his mouth hanging open, but not really giving a damn right now, Magnus's eyes were glued to Alec's bare upper body as the writer sleepily walked towards the bathroom. Magnus knew that he wasn't working out that much anymore, but back in college there always had been a faint trace of fear in those work outs. Whenever somebody had complimented him on his build or anything like that, strength, speed, whatever there was to compliment on, Alec hadn't blushed and ducked his head like he always reacted on compliments. He had returned a barely there smile and his eyes had turned into dull, blue swamps. Like a clear stream that somebody had thrown a big stone in it and caused the dirt from the ground to rise, caused the little stream to become soiled.

Of course those other guys had never seen that Alec needed the work out because otherwise he wouldn't be able to hold himself in the almost regular fights with annoying idiots. It had taken Magnus some time to understand that part of him, too. Though it didn't change the fact that the writer still had a body to die - or rather kill for. Magnus had always seen himself as an admirer of beauty even in non-sexual ways. Just for the joy of watching something that delighted the eye. Probably that was another reason that had kept him at Camille's side. She had put her undeniable beauty on display, easily to be seen. Alec on the other hand had always tried to hide his appearance and dragging him out of the shadow of a wall or even recognizing him as a person, not some looser that one could bully, was … exhausting. Maybe that was one of the reasons Magnus had gone to France with Camille, it had been easier and even if it hurt to admit it now, he hadn't thought of Alec as being worth the effort.

"I should get up earlier more often", he muttered to himself while thoughtfully rubbing his chin with his index finger.

He was close to go through a very serious discussion with his inner fangirl about what else there was that attracted him to Alec besides the man's looks when the bathroom door opened again. Majorly surprised Magnus noticed that Alec still wasn't wearing a shirt. He had changed into a pair of jeans, but the faded, now light-blue t-shirt he still held in his right hand. Leaving the bathroom door open to not trap the humid air of the hot water inside Alec caught Magnus not really subtle staring. He tilted his head and with an unreadable expression in his deep blue eyes that could be a warm carribean sea and a freezing lake at the same time, he walked over to Magnus who was sitting between his pillow and a bunched up blanket. Alec's shins almost brushed the couch when he leaned down bringing his face impossibly close to Magnus' own. He smirked. Magnus thought he'd loose it. Alec was goddamn close, his hair still damp from the shower and a few forgotten tiny little water drops were painting invisible patterns in his pale skin holding his gaze and whispering:

"So, what do you want for breakfast?"

And he didn't even blush or the blush was hidden by the natural red tinge to his cheeks from the hot water. Magnus swallowed hard. His throat was dry. His thoughts were racing, but never reaching a goal.

"You."

He reached out, but there was no collar to grab because there was no shirt and Alec already took a step back. The smirk turned into a devious grin.

"Sorry, but that's not on the menu."

He turned around and walked over into the kitchen putting on his shirt. Stunned Magnus looked after him, his mouth hanging open once again. That damn, little tease. But then a sudden anger rose inside of him. He hurried over to where Alec was about to open the fridge. Grabbing the writer's wrist he made him turn around and pinned him against the fridge. Magnus knew that he was wearing the kind of look a spoiled child gave its mother when she dared to say 'no', but he didn't care at the moment. There was one thing that Alec had to understand ... or maybe there were two because first of all he had to understand that there was only so much one could tease without the option of sex any time soon. Maybe there were actually three, but important things first.

He leaned forward and with his other hand cupped Alec's face. He felt the familiar heat of a blush rising just beneath his fingertips that caressed the soft skin. Magnus tilted his head a little, Alec's uneven breath brushing his own lips. The surprise disappeared from his blue eyes and Alec's eyelids dropped halfway as Magnus traced his cheekbone with the pad of his thumb carefully following the faint line down to his chin.

"I have to tell you ...", Magnus whispered and for a moment Alec's gaze flickered nervously, but then Magnus' thumb was at the height of his nose and he ... pinched his cheek as strong as he could. "that you are the worst tease I have ever met."

Alec winced at the sudden pain, but Magnus waited for another few heartbeats before he let go. He rubbed his cheek that now was deep red for a completely different reason and bit his bottom lip while he sent Magnus a very miffed look. But Magnus only grinned at the pouting writer. He simply had to learn some things.

"You don't tease a man who has the hots for you like that after you already denied him sex, sweety", he stated matter-of-factly and Alec stuck out his tongue at him.

"Fine, I won't do it again. Sorry", he muttered and rubbed his cheek. Maybe Magnus shouldn't have pinched that hard, but he wanted to make a point. There was only so much one could take with the help of cold showers.

"Oh, I didn't mean that I didn't like it", Magnus replied with a crooked smile on his lips. He raised one hand again and softly traced Alec's cervical artery with the nail of his index finger. "But it's much more fun when I actually have the option of throwing you on the bed and have my way with you."

And the blush was back full force. Alec scowled at him, but he had to know that this never really worked whenever he was blushing.

"Fine", he mumbled and slapped Magnus' hand away which was still lingering on his neck. "But is that really all you're thinking about?"

Confused Magnus raised one eyebrow. "Well, this morning I was only thinking of canoodling with you, but you wouldn't let me."

The blush was fading and now the glare was actually working. It was almost scary how fast Alec could go from 'adorably flustered' to 'seriously pissed'. "We both know what 'canoodling' means in your world."

Magnus rolled his eyes at him and let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I was only thinking of cuddling with you." And this time he put extra emphasis on the 'cuddling'. Well, he had thought about it as a 'start out harmless and let's see where it takes us'-opportunity, but Alec didn't really have to know that.

"Why are looks that important anyway?", the muttered question Alec posed more to himself than to Magnus, but the hacker still heard it. Heard and raised both eyebrows.

"Because it is what meets the eye, the first impression, the start of every hot night-" He stopped when he got a second glare, but this time he didn't understand it. "What?"

"Good looks lead to one-night-stands. A good personality leads to a good relationship. A relationship build on physical attraction can't work."

Magnus knit his brows and observed Alec for a while. He had crossed his arms in front of his chest. His lips were a grim line and he was frowning at a spot on the floor about which Magnus couldn't care less.

"Honey, in every relationship there is physical attraction and I bet that in the beginning of the most 'Happily ever after's there was only that. Something catches the eye and then the personality is what keeps it going", Magnus said with a much softer voice because it was clearly visible that there was something about this topic that really bothered Alec and well, as cheesy as it might sound, Magnus wasn't happy when something was bugging Alec to the point that he was physically fighting with something. "Sweety, what is wrong?"

He really started to get worried because there actually wasn't that many things that could get to Alec like that. He had his sensitive moments and there were things he was more emotional about than otters, but when it came to dealing with problems or difficult topics he had always managed to keep them at a down-low, so they would get the better of him. Now, that he was thinking about it, Magnus had never seen Alec so torn before.

Finally the writer took in a deep breath and while he still refused to meet Magnus' eyes, there was at least some tension leaving his shoulders.

"When ... when I was young, a child in elementary school", he began with a shaky voice. "I was ... overweight."

Magnus' eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. That was an interesting information though imagining Alec as a corpulent child wasn't really working in his mind. A short moment of silence passed and Magnus realized that he was supposed to comment on what he had just learned. "Okay", was all that came to his mind. Where the hell was his eloquence when he needed it ... or whenever he was alone with Alec? What kind of cruel fate-joke was that?

Alec let out another sigh, but when he continued his voice gained strength with every word. "The other kids always made fun of me and when someone got the stupid idea to start a rumor that I'd be in love with one of the girls; they would look disgusted and call out 'why would I like him? He is ugly, he is fat'" And that was the point when his confidence issues had been born, Magnus thought, thank you very much, cruel, little kids, I don't like you. "In middle school I started working out, entering several sport clubs ... oh, and I started growing around seventh grade. That helped as well." A faint, empty smile appeared on his lips and Magnus wanted to punch someone. Preferably one of those cruel bullies. "Later in high school I stared getting compliments on my looks and I liked it" A spark of light in blue depths, but it was gone as soon as it had come. "But then I realized that I got only complimented on my looks. What I said, what I wrote, it just felt ... I felt like a hollow shell."

Two pieces fit together and Magnus had another part of the puzzle that was the man in front of him.

"That's the reason you hide behind those hideous sweaters and the baggy jeans?" Magnus wanted to hug him and never let go. He actually had felt that urge more often during the past week. Alec snorted. Only a faint trace of his usual mischievous smile was back on his lips, but it was the right way. Keep going, the little voice in the back of Magnus' head whispered.

"No, I like those clothes, they are comfortable."

"You're kidding, right?"

Then there it was. A flood of strong, honest laughter and a grin remaining on the writer's lips. "I'm not and the sweaters in my closet are counted, just so you know."

Magnus blew a strand of hair out of his forehead not looking the least bit impressed. Alec chuckled softly and it made the day suddenly so much better. But there were still more serious issues to be discussed.

"So, it's the reason why you use a pseudonym for your books and why there is no picture on your homepage?"

"Yes and no, I simply don't like publik attention and people should read the books because they like the words printed on the paper and not for some other reason."

With pursed lips Magnus lightly put his arms on Alec's shoulders. Alec didn't pull back this time. He only leaned back against the fridge a bit to support the extra weight.

"Then what is the reason?"

Magnus knew that Alec didn't tell dark childhood stories for fun. The writer bit his lip and once again avoided Magnus' gaze by at some point on a wall behind the hacker.

"Well, I never quite ... liked the people that didn't see more of me than the surface. I always thought of them as stupid and superficial. Okay, I hated them, found them to be below me, not worth my anger and-"

"Which ain't that wrong."

"Shut up and let me finish."

"Yes, sir."

Another laughter and even if the sky outside was grey with heavy clouds, there was a certain light to Magnus' little world. The one he had built for himself since his parents had died.

"I don't know, you never complimented me in college and it was fine in some way, I mean we weren't dating anyway."

He had never complimented him in college? Oh, yeah, right, because he had had Camille breathing down his neck. His girlfriend who for some reason was fine with him sleeping with other people. But flirting with somebody else? No way! In retrospect that girl was quite crazy or weird or simply unsympathetic. Magnus nodded to himself acknowledging that surprising fact.

"And after you moved in here and you started complimenting ..." Alec's voice trailed off. He bit his lip when Magnus looked up to meet his gaze.

"You are kind of like ... them, well, not really, but it seems and I don't ..." A long pause during Magnus started piecing parts together. "I don't want you to only see the surface, to only be here because of the surface, to only like me because of it ... because there is more."His voice was only a whisper, but in there could be heard a certain strength. A strength Magnus wanted to get to know. He smiled at the wary look in Alec's eyes, then he took his arms from his shoulders and framed Alec's face with his hands.

"I see your problem now, sweetheart, but there are also some things I have to tell you, so listen up." Alec nodded as good as that was possible while having his face held like this. "Number one: you are not doing anything wrong by being attractive. It'd be okay to look good or in your case to be hot as hell. It's not something you do to cover up your flaws or take attention away from mistakes. It is a part of who you are. Number two: If it hadn't been for Camille I would have showered you with compliments back in college. And finally number three:" Magnus brought his face a bit closer to Alec's and looked him deep in the eyes. Nothing in his life had ever been as important to him as the fact that Alec would believe what he was about to say next.

"I know, that you are more than a pretty face. That is the main reason I am here. I want to find out what there is beneath the surface even if I drown in the process."

Seconds passed agonizingly slow. Magnus felt his bones going cold as ice and a fear grabbed his heart like it had never happened before. Alec had to believe him. Magnus was close to falling to his knees and pleading which would absolutely crash with his ego, but for this man he would do it.

"Okay", Alec finally whispered and a shy smile tugged on his lips. "Tell me what you find."

Alec's POV:

Once Magnus was asleep he normally was out like a light. It was the one thing they had unmistakably in common. Only with the difference that Magnus was able to get up on time when he had to. And unlike Alec he had no problems to fall asleep anywhere.

It was quite fun to watch him sleep because one could do almost anything while he was asleep. On the other hand with Magnus it was like with sleeping cats. Alec could watch them all day long, lazily stretched out across a pillow, a chair, some notebooks. There was a peacefulness to those animals that Alec had always admired. He had always thought that it was something that couldn't be acquired by any human being.

Then he had met Magnus and had gotten proofed wrong. There had been nights when Alec had spent hours just watching Magnus sleep and in the morning he had been too tired to get up on time because he had stayed up late.

Alec smiled to himself when he remembered his stupid excuses for why he had overslept. It was true that he wasn't a morning person, but till high school he had always been up on time. Grumpy as hell, but punctual like no other student. Then he got into college and a lot of things changed.

It had been a long day for him and while Magnus had done the shopping and even prepared every meal. Well, dinner had been chinese take out, but still. Alec had managed to get the second chapter written. It was going good. Now he was sitting on the floor in front of the couch watching Magnus sleep who was sprawled across the furniture. His chest was rising with the rhythm of his steady slow breathing. His face was perfectly relaxed and Alec could have sat there the whole night.

His smile grew wider and he felt a little bit giddy as he reached out and let his finger softly brush across Magnus' cheek.

"Sweet dreams", he whispered.

Then he pulled his hand back, got up and walked over to the bathroom closing the door silently behind himself.

That's it :) please leave a review because they make me happy and tell me what you liked and what not.

Oh, and if you want to, you can also tell me what kind of flashback you might want to read because well, you are my readers and you are awesome and I am thinking about adding whole flashback-chapters, but I don't really know yet what kind of flashbacks there should be. So, feel free to tell me. :)

Who else thinks that this story is missing a cat?

Bye Pumpkin :3