Author's Note: It would be nice to hear some feedback from the rest of the readers who are faithfully reading. Otherwise, I offer thanks to everyone who already reads and reviews. When I feel like I don't have an audience, I'm reminded by you all that I still do. Thanks to everyone who is reading this story. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Early the next morning, Will felt Magnus climb carefully out of the bed, as not to wake Will up, but that would have been impossible. Magnus had spent the night with his arms around Will's body and his hips pressed firmly to Will's backside. Will's lower back felt sweaty from the warmth of Magnus's body against his. Magnus didn't want to wake Will up, but the moment he moved, Will felt his absence.

Will's eyes opened as Magnus walked around the bed. He was completely naked and in the light coming in from the one bedroom window, his body was a deep tan color. His skin was smooth, with a light dusting of dark hair on his jaw line. He was always clean shaven and Will realized he had never seen Magnus looking this way. It was like he had been taken apart last night, or some protective enchantment had been stripped away, allowing Will to see everything Magnus kept hidden.

Magnus's hair hung in his eyes as he bent over with a groan to lift a pair of pants from the floor. He straightened, put his back to the bed, and rubbed the back of his neck, then moved his hand to reveal the bite marks and bruises Will had left behind.

Magnus pulled the pants up, slowly, then walked back over to the bed to kiss Will gently on the cheek. Magnus whispered something Will didn't hear, then pulled the covers up over Will's arms, nestling Will in the quilts, and left the room.

The moment he was gone, Will rolled onto his back. He was naked as well. The warm, soft fabric of the covers caressed places he hadn't known were sensitive. The sheets brushed against his lower stomach the same way Magnus was able to touch him so lightly, he barely felt anything. Will remembered last night, how they had been together roughly in the fire light of the parlor. He wanted to make love the way they had before, when one of them would lay on their back while the other thrust carefully and lazily. Orgasm was an afterthought. The act of making love would take center stage.

Magnus moved about the house, stopping first in the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He continued to the kitchen after that, presumably to start a pot of tea. The clock struck ten as Magnus walked down the hallway to the front door. He pulled the door open and screamed.

Will leapt out of bed, jerked on a pair of pants, and hurried from the room. Cold air blew down the hallway, bringing with it a cloud of snowflakes. Magnus stood at the door, one hand on the door, his back to Will.

"What are you…?" Will began. He stopped at Magnus's side to see a five foot tall snow drift which had arrived sometime during the night and had, for lack of better words, snowed them in.

"It snowed," Magnus remarked. "It hasn't snowed like this in years. Not since you were born, anyway."

"We should go out and make a castle!" Will exclaimed. "Jem and I made a fort once… then it melted. It and a roof and everything!"

"But you're my prisoner," Magnus said. "You're not allowed outside." Will turned to Magnus to see several lip sized bruises across Magnus's shoulder blades. He shivered as the cold air outside chilled his chest.

"But I need fresh air," Will said.

"We'll open a window," Magnus said. Will folded his arms and pouted. He heard an odd creaking noise and they both turned to the door just as the snow drift collapsed. Thick, white powdery snow began to rush in the door. It took both Will and Magnus to get the door closed and keep the snow out. Will stepped in puddles the snow made on the floor and cursed profusely as he latched the door. "That could have gone poorly."

Magnus was leaning against the door, breathing heavily as he recovered from his surprise. Will was beside him, their shoulders nearly touching. It occurred to Will that they were both shirtless but dressed in pajama pants, with nothing beneath them. They were alone together, with no danger of being interrupted given the five feet of snow outside the door.

"You saved me," Magnus said dreamily.

"You're still drunk," Will replied. Magnus turned to Will and rested his hands on Will's shoulders.

"Good morning," he whispered, and kissed Will on the lips.

Will mumbled a reply and placed his hands on Magnus's waist. Magnus brushed his lips against Will's cheek, and then kissed a spot on Will's neck that felt bruised. He moved his hands down Will's chest and held him by the hips as he kissed Will's collarbones, chest and stomach.

"Let's go back to bed," Will mumbled, "I'm not ready to wake up yet."

Magnus pulled Will back to the bedroom. They each paused to remove their pants before slipping back into the warm, soft bed. Magnus pushed Will onto his back and spread his knees as he knelt between them.

"I want this morning to be the opposite of last night," Magnus said. Will closed his eyes as Magnus rubbed his stomach with his fingertips and began to gently lick the inside of Will's thighs. He didn't feel the need to mention that he had wanted the same thing Magnus did.

In time, Magnus took Will's cock in his mouth and began to suck with his eyes closed, his face relaxed and blissful. Will spread his knees more and Magnus knew, without Will even asking, what Will wanted from him. He rubbed his first three fingers together and dipped them low. Magnus touched Will carefully and intimately, warming him up with no pain or pressure, before he moved up between Will's legs and kissed Will on the lips. Will nodded and licked his lips, so Magnus carefully pressed himself inside.

The first time Magnus moved into him, Will's eyes closed with pain and he wondered to himself why anyone would have sex this way. Then Magnus kissed Will's lips and whispered more wonderful things Will heard, that time. His lower body relaxed and welcomed Magnus into him. Magnus thrust slowly and controlled. Will's eyes closed as his hands rested on Magnus's hips. Everything felt perfect.

The first time they had been together, Will had been drunk and heartbroken. Magnus had been reckless and unstoppable. They had rushed into it because Will wanted to hurt and Magnus just wanted Will. Magnus had pushed inside of Will, unprotected, in this very bed. Will had tangled his hands in the covers as his knees shook and he was certain he was being ripped in half. Magnus had stopped thrusting, insisting on not hurting Will. Besides kissing Camille, Magnus never had hurt Will. He had kept his promise.

When Magnus had finally come inside of him that first time, burning pain filled his lower stomach, as if his body was rejecting Magnus. Will had become sick from it, but that had been a blessing in and of itself. They could have been only sex between them, but instead, Will's illness and Magnus need to nurse Will back to health caused indefinable feelings to develop between them. Magnus had somehow slipped himself inside of Will, into a place usually reserved only for Jem, and was still there, even now. Six months later, after everything that happened between them, they had come back to the bed and the first place they had ever felt something for one another.

Now, Magnus thrusted lazily and caused pressure to build slowly in Will's stomach. Will didn't feel the need to orgasm, not yet, anyway. Magnus kissed Will and ran hot lips down the side of Will's neck. A little voice in the back of Will's head told him that he didn't deserve this; didn't deserve to have a man like Magnus making love to him in this manner. Jem had died and Will wasn't supposed to move on, but he had. There was only one way to move on from the mark Jem's death had left on his life, and that was by loving again. Will's mind told him that six months wasn't enough time to fall in love again. He should have waited a few years. He should have waited until there wasn't a baby due to arrive in two months and vast choices to be made about the future. Will's mind told him he wasn't ready for this, and wasn't ready for all Magnus had to offer, but his heart and body wanted to be.

"I love you," Will whispered.

"I love you to," Magnus said.

Will felt the exact moment his body told him to stop holding back, and to let nature take its course. He pulled his knees further apart and allowed Magnus to thrust deeply until his body finally released with a throbbing, hot and breathless orgasm. Magnus followed a second later, pulled out, and quickly went to clean up before crawling back into bed beside Will. They lay together for long moments.

"What was that about?" Will finally asked.

"I wanted to pleasure you and so I did," Magnus said. Will shivered at the word "pleasure" and rolled onto his side. If Magnus used what transpired between them as the definition for pleasure, Will shuddered to think of how Magnus might define bliss. He looked back at Magnus, inviting Magnus to move close, so Magnus did, drawing his body against Will's and resting a hand on Will's back. "So strawberry waffles for breakfast?"

"Later," Will mumbled. He could get used to a life like this, where the only pressing concern of the day was what to eat for each meal.

"Equilibrium." Magnus touched the rune on the side of Will's neck. Will didn't ask how Magnus knew the names of his runes. He just appreciated that Magnus did. "Speech…" That rune was located on the back of Will's neck. "Soundless…"

"I'd leave the Clave for you," Will said. Magnus took a breath, his hand on the middle of Will's back.

"Agility…" Magnus said. "Mark of the Angel…" Magnus had his hand on the lowest part of Will's back. He ran his fingers over the star within Will's skin. "Please don't say things like that. Not yet."

"It's true. If I had to choose between you and the Clave, I would choose you," Will said. "If you asked me to, I would walk away from everything."

"You shouldn't have to change something about yourself just to be better suited to another person," Magnus said.

"I wouldn't change. I just wouldn't be a member of the Clave anymore," Will said. "I love you enough to walk away from the only thing I have ever really know. You're the only person, alive, who ever gave me anything. I would give you this in return."

"Sophie isn't giving you a son?" Magnus asked. "Charlotte and Henry didn't give you a roof over your head? Tessa didn't search every shop in town until she found you a first edition copy of Great Expectations?"

"Those are material things. You know what I mean," Will said. "You're the only one who's never expected anything in return. Magnus, I-"

"This scar, right here," Magnus said. He ran his fingers over a bumping and uneven scar across Will's back. It was a long, thin slice that went deep into Will's skin and was accompanied by two shallower scars on either side. "Where did this come from?"

Will closed his eyes and thought back. He had fought many demons, both at the Academy and in the London streets. His body was a tapestry of scars, but the deep ones were the easiest to remember.

"Jem and I came across this nasty Laika demon on one of our first dispatches without an instructor. They have claws, and this one came after Jem. It was hot that night, in the middle of summer, and I hadn't worn my armor. I shoved Jem out of the way because the thing was going for his face and took three claws across my back," Will said. "We killed it right after but the poison made me sick. Jem summoned back up and I must have fainted in his arms. I woke up the next morning in the Infirmary."

"But you protected him," Magnus said.

"It was what I was supposed to do," Will said. "We had each other's backs. I guess the scar should serve as a reminder." Magnus traced his fingers over the scar again.

"When you had Jem's back, who had yours?" Magnus asked.

Will didn't respond. He instead remembered his consciousness flickering before his eyes as he lay in Jem's arms. Jem had been upset, nearly crying. He had always been afraid of losing Will, despite all of the times Will had nearly died but survived. Jem had been the one to die protecting Will. Jem had been the one to sacrifice his life so that Will could live, and love, again.

"I'm going to move in with you," Will said. "If you want to be with me, I want to be with you."

"Oh, Will…" Magnus began. "You can't just…."

"I am," Will said. "I'm never leaving, Magnus. We can be together, if you'll have me." Will's eyes started to feel heavy and he closed them.

"But what about Sophie? What about Charlie?" Magnus asked. "I thought you would talk with Sophie, and…"

"I want to be with you," Will said. "Haven't you always wanted to hear those words?" Magnus took a deep breath. "I want to be with you. I'll do anything as long as you're still in my life. I'll do anything."

Magnus remained silent behind him, and held Will close until they both fell asleep, lost in their own thoughts.

Will woke up later on to find the bed empty. He dressed in his pajama tops and bottoms and followed quiet noises down to the kitchen, where he found Magnus preparing breakfast. He was completely dressed as he stood in front of the stove and stirred something. Will couldn't have touched a bit of Magnus's skin even if he had wanted to. Magnus moved with clipped precision. Will had been around Magnus enough to know when something was weighing on the warlock's mind.

"Good morning," Will said.

"Afternoon," Magnus corrected. He gestured with a spatula to a clock above the stove which claimed it was half past noon. Will nodded and kissed Magnus on the back of the neck, breathing in his heady scent of sweat and perfume.

"Who's counting?" Will asked. Magnus shrugged and looked out of the kitchen window. Will followed his gaze to see the snow drifted against the window as well, sealing them in with diffused, white light.

"Fancy some tea?" Magnus asked. Will shrugged and sat at the table. Magnus poured him a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry I slept so late," Will said.

"You need your rest," Magnus said. "That's why you're here, to rest, relax, and… decide what you want to do next." He tossed a waffle onto a plate and snapped his fingers at a jar of strawberries, which flipped over and dumped at a substantial amount of berries onto the waffles. Magnus picked up the plate and set it in front of Will. "Syrup?" Will nodded, so Magnus set a cup of maple syrup on the table.

"Are we still snowed in?" Will asked. He stood up and went to get a fork from a drawer beside Magnus. Magnus stepped aside, giving Will space. It felt wrong. This was the warlock who had spent over an hour just this morning with his body between Will's legs. They should have been closer than they were now. Will should have felt Magnus climb out of bed.

"I can't see five feet of snow melting in four hours, if that's what you're asking," Magnus said.

"I just wanted to know-"

"The snow is still outside, yes." Magnus tossed a waffle onto his plate and sat at the table across from Will. "After we eat, I have work to do in the parlor. Can I trust you to occupy your time?"

"Right, of course, I can occupy my time," Will said. Magnus gave him a fleeting smile and a quick nod before turning to his meal.

After they ate, Will insisted on doing the dishes. Magnus stood beside him and dried them, and then Magnus went to the parlor and Will went upstairs. He sat at the piano and fiddled with the keys, playing various notes as he stared at the black and white keys, trying to make his eyes see gray. Brilliant light flooded into the windows and cast itself all over the room Will had accepted as his own.

"I didn't know you knew how to play the piano," Will heard. He looked up to see Magnus standing at the door.

"My mother taught me how," Will said. "I forgot about it." Magnus crossed the room and sat beside Will on the piano bench. "I've done something terrible, haven't I? I've upset you in some way. Now you don't want me here."

"I love you, Will," Magnus said. He pressed a few of the keys on the piano and stared down at them. Long, bold notes filled the room. "I can't resist you. You make me feel like doing stupid things. Stupid things, like, asking you to move in with me."

"You don't want me to move in?" Will asked.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. I want you to move in with me. I want you to never leave," Magnus said. "Loving you has made me selfish. Before, I asked you to come to Paris with me. You were bound to Jem. I should have known better than to come between you and he." Will shook his head. Six months ago, he had wanted Magnus to come between he and Jem. "Now, I've asked you to move in with me. You've told me that you would, that you would walk away from everything, for me."

"You wouldn't do the same?" Will asked.

"Of course I would." Magnus said. "That's not my point. You would walk away from everything for me. You would be with me, instead of being with the person you should be with." Will started to speak but Magnus put a hand up. "I'm not talking about Jem. I'm talking about Sophie."

Sophie. The last time Will had seen her, she had been crying over what Will had done. Things had finally been right with them, and then Will messed everything up. It wasn't possible to make Sophie happy and be with Magnus. It was the same as Will wanting to be with Magnus while bound to Jem. Some things would never work without hurting someone.

"I love you, and I love being intimate with you. I love being your lover, but I want more than just sex with you. If it's more than just sex between us, if you really do love me, it means that you're giving me the love you should be giving to Sophie. I'm afraid that me, being in your life, means that I'll be taking you away from Charlie. Charlie and Sophie will need you more than I ever will," Magnus said.

"You won't take me from them," Will said. "Sophie knows I'll never marry her. I don't want to. She's… nothing to me."

"She's pregnant with Jem's son. She's your only tie to Jem, now. She isn't nothing to you," Magnus said. "She's going to give birth to your child. You're supposed to feel things for her, no matter what. Do you?"

Sophie was still pregnant with the only thing she and Will had in common. When Will thought of the good times he had shared with Sophie, they always related back to the baby in her stomach. Will tried to picture himself married to Sophie and coming home to her every night as her husband and could not see it. He only saw a life full of a shared goal in raising Charlie together, and empty of any passion, romance, or love.

"Sophie loved Jem and Jem… he liked Sophie. I can't be with her the way she would need me to be," Will said. "When I imagine it, I only see us always wanting to be with someone else."

"What would Jem have wanted?" Magnus asked. Will almost replied that he would have never wanted a child to begin with, but that was wrong. Jem would have wanted to have a child. If he had been unable to raise the child, he would have still picked Will for the task.

"I don't know what he would have wanted," Will said. Jem wouldn't have wanted Will to be with Magnus. He had insisted that Will love again. Now, Will didn't know how to love again. Magnus was right. There was only so much love Will could give to everyone.

"I want you to talk to Sophie and find out what she wants," Magnus said. "If she wants to be with you, and to raise your child together… I'm going to have to walk away, Will. I won't take you from the person you love again."

"You want me to choose between you and Sophie?" Will asked.

"No," Magnus said. "You shouldn't have to choose."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review? No teaser. I've been really busy lately and I haven't been finishing chapters as far in advance as I want them to be. Bear with me!