The meow was coming from somewhere. It sounded so desperate, in need. Alec just knew he had to help the poor creature. He wove in and out of rooms, looking under beds and opening cupboard doors. He found a family of mice behind the blue door and a swarm of dust bunnies under the bed, but nothing that could make a meow. Turning a corner he looked behind a couch and inside a wardrobe. Meow, meow, meow. But where was it coming from? The sound seemed to be right beside him, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. Getting frantic, Alec kept searching, moving through the hall and entering the room at the end. There was the blue door again. This was no good. He'd looked here already. Just then Alec felt something soft rub up against him. Now Alec could hear the animal's purrs but still he couldn't see anything!

It was at that exact moment that Alec realized his eyes were closed. Opening them Alec saw his bedroom ceiling. He knew at once what had inspired his dream. Coming into view from the left was the source of the meow. Chairmen had decided it was time for Alec to get out of bed.

"Meoow," Chairmen Meow stated as he rubbed Alec's face, purring and doing his best to look adorable.

"Pfft," Alec said as he spit cat hair out of his mouth. There were days when he wished Chairmen was a shorthaired cat, like Catsby. Speaking of, Catsby was there too, meowing and rubbing up against Alec's arm.

From the way they were acting you'd think they were both starving, but they were so not starving. Alec knew despite the fact that Magnus always fed them breakfast first thing in the morning byt the time Alec got up, around ten or eleven, the cats believed they deserved snacks. Some days Alec was strong but most days he caved to the adorable meows and snuggles. Once the treats were given however both cats would promptly ditch him to go find a patch of sun to sleep in for the rest of the afternoon.

"Meow, meooow," Chairman said as he rubbed up against Alec's face again.

"Yes, yes, I know, you want treats," Alec told the cat.

"Meeeow," Casby chipped in. His meow's sounded different these days. The vet said it was because Catsby was going deaf in his old age. Thanks to Catsby's losing weight the vet had put him on high calorie food while Chairmen seemed to be getting chubbier by the day. This had resulted in each cat getting a different type of food which meant locking Chairmen up in the bedroom when Catsby ate. Chairman Meow loved Catsby's high calorie food more than anything he was ever served and would push and shove Catsby out of the way to get it.

"Don't look so excited Chairmen," Alec continued talking to the needy feline. "Just because you're getting a snack doesn't mean it's gonna be the one you want."

"Meooow," Chairmen disagreed.

To avoid having to separate them again in the afternoon for snack time, they usually only put out low calorie dental treats. It helped keep their teeth clean and prevented Alec from dealing with annoyed cats all afternoon.

Once Alec was out of bed, he went out to the kitchen in the boxers and t-shirt he'd slept in to feed the needy beasts; then he started the coffee.

Today was one of those lovely days where he didn't have an evening shift and thus could spend the entire day as he pleased. Tomorrow though he'd have to be at work by noon.

Alec decided to start today off with a light breakfast and his laptop. He'd been killing time on youtube binging his favourite let's play channel for a couple hours when his phone went off. It was Jace. He wanted to hang out. Alec texted back saying sure just come over whenever and then got back to his web browser.

Ever since he and Clary had become friends again Jace's mood had improved, but the improvement in Clary's mood was much more obvious. It was like she'd stopped hiding behind the mask of politeness and just started being herself again. Magnus was more than thrilled by this. He'd been quite worried about his oldest friend and Alec too had to admit he'd grown quite fond of Clary while she'd been staying with them these last few months. True, she was no Paige when it came to the kitchen, but there was more to friendship than baked goods.

He's heard from Paige a few times since she'd moved out. From what he could tell she was very happy living with Jon. Paige had even had Magnus and Alec over for dinner once at her new place. That dinner had made Alec understand that Paige had only been content while she'd lived with him. Seeing her with Jon, Alec could tell she was really happy, more so than he'd ever seen her before. In general Paige was such a happy person Alec hadn't realized she'd been so unlike her usual self after her break with Jordan. She'd always smiled but now she hummed and had a skip in her step.

On the subject of keeping in touch with friends, Alec had been trying with his cousin. Aline and her wife were doing well from what he could tell though so far he'd only been communicating with her via text. Aline had graduated last summer with her Psychology degree and was trying to find entry level work in her field. Helen was in a similar position, the position pretty much every graduate he knew was in. Alec on the other hand didn't really care what he did for a living. The only thing he could say he was truly passionate about was his marriage. He was pretty sure he'd end up working for his parents one day but he wasn't in any rush. So long as he had Magnus it just kinda felt like his life would turn out okay.

By the time Jace arrived Alec had gotten so wrapped up in his thoughts and his let's play videos that he kinda forgot he'd told Jace to swing by. Alec jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of the knock on the door.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Jace laughed at him as he walked in.

"Ha ha," Alec replied, dryly.

"Is Clary home?" Jace asked.

"Oh I see," Alec said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You were just pretending you wanted to hang out with me when really you wanted to come over to see her."

"That's not it," Jace counted. "Is she here?"

"She's at work," Alec replied. "Her and Izzy are both at work till the mall closes tonight."

"Oh good," Jace said, letting out a sigh as he moved to collapse onto the couch.

"Why the relief?" Alec asked. "I thought things between you guys were better?"

"They are," Jace said. "It's just that I kinda wanted to talk to you about things with her and it would be really weird if she were here."

"Oh," Alec replied. "What would you have done if I'd said she was here?"

"Suggested we go out for coffee," Jace answered.

"Clever," Alec chuckled sarcastically, as he turned away from the door. He went to sit on the couch beside his best friend and eagerly awaited new details about Jace's love life. "So let's hear it. What's going on with Clace?"

"Well as you know it's been a couple weeks since-"

"Since I listened through the wall as you didn't get back together," Alec summed it up.

"Yeah that," Jace replied. "Anyway I've thought and thought about it and I'm still no closer to an answer."

"This is a major life decision," Alec reminded his friend. "A couple weeks isn't that long to mull over something like this."

"I know," Jace replied quickly. "But still." Alec waited to see if he was gonna finish that thought but it seemed that was the only argument he had.

"Aren't we kinda young to have kids anyway?" Alec asked. "Like why worry about it now?"

"Breaking up with Clary was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Jace replied. "And I just know somehow that I'll never find the strength to do it again which means if we get back together it's for good."

"You sound like you are talking about proposing," Alec replied. "Even if you don't break up with her, it doesn't guarantee you'll always be together." He paused for effect then added. "I think you are making this too complicated. You want to be with Clary right?" Jace nodded. "And she wants to be with you?" Jace nodded again. "Then just be together! Geez! Do I have to think of everything!?"

"I wish it was as simple as you make it sound," Jace sighed.

"It can be," Alec counted. "I mean you were together for ages after you found out she didn't want kids, right? Why is it different now? Is it because of Paris?"

"No, Paris didn't so much cause problems as make them more visible," Jace replied. "I guess we are just really different people who want different things in life. When we were together it was so much easier to ignore those differences. Paris gave us time and distance and lit up our buried problems like a Christmas tree." He sighed.

"But you still love her?" Alec asked.

"More than anything," Jace answered.

"Then that's all that matters," Alec stated with confidence.

Jace gave him a very dubious look. "Oh really?" he said. "What if Magnus wanted like ten kids, and to move to Florida? That would be cool with you so long as you love each other?"

"Ten is a bit much," Alec answered with a grin. "I'd definitely try to negotiate him down to a more reasonable number. Oh and I'd wanna know why Florida? The states are crazy right now. Literally anywhere else might be safer for those ten kids he's after. If he wants warmer weather I could suggest some places in Canada with sunshine." Alec couldn't help but giggle and he finished.

"Very funny," Jace said with great sarcasm. "I'm serious. What would you do if you were me?"

"Honestly, I'd never be you," Alec answered easily. "If Magnus had needed to go to Paris for a year, I would have just gone with him."

"And lost a scholarship?" Jace inquired. Alec simply nodded. "But what about school? Isn't that a stupid thing to do?"

"Practically and financially speaking, yes," Alec answered. "But school's never really been that important to me. If my parents hadn't been willing to pay for it I would never have come." After a moments thought he added, "And then I wouldn't have met Magnus so I guess I should be thankful to school for that at least, but anyway I'm getting off topic." Alec took a breath and continued. "Just get back together with Clary please! This drama is getting to be too much for me!"

"Oh whatever," Jace scoffed. "What else dramatic is going on in your life? You can handle mine."

"I'll have you know things have been quite intense lately," Alec began. He waited till Jace's face began to show worry before adding, "I can't get past level eight on my new video game."

In response Jace threw one of the couch pillows at him. It hit Alec square in the face. Picking up the only other pillow on the couch, Alec returned the favour, though his aim wasn't as good as Jace's he still landed a hit. Soon the couch cushions themselves became missiles and they were both laughing. "You know you are kinda the worst," Jace accused Alec but he was smiling.

"Whatever you love me," Alec laughed, aiming the next projectile at his friend's head. It was at this point that Jace decided to take their roughhousing seriously and Alec found himself in a headlock.

"Yield," Jace ordered. He had Alec's one arm pinned behind his back and his other arm wrapped around Alec's neck. Alec's one free arm was left to flail uselessly at this side.

"Alright fine I yield, I yield," Alec gasped and Jace let him go. Taking a step back Alec lifted his hand up to rub his neck. "Man, sometimes I forget your scholarship was for wrestling." Jace just laughed before turning away to check his phone. Alec followed suit automatically. He didn't have any messages but it seemed Jace did.

"Annika messaged," Jace said. "She got off work early and wants to hang out. Do you wanna join us?"

"Doing what exactly?" Alec asked, his eyes narrowed. He remembered what 'hanging out' often meant for them.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Jace told him. "She and I are just friends these days. We are talking, pizza and video games."

"In that case I'm in," Alec replied. "She can even come here if you like, rather than us all heading back to your place."

"Deal," Jace agreed, getting out his phone and sending another text.

"And I'll order dinner," Alec added, getting out his own phone. He knew what kind of pizza Jace liked but checked if Annika had any preferences before placing the order.

When the doorbell rang, Alec assumed it was the pizza guy but when he opened the door Annika greeted him instead.

"So has he gotten back together with Clary yet?" she asked by way of greeting.

"Nope," Alec answered. "He's dithering."

Without saying a word Annika walked past Alec and toward Jace. Reaching him she promptly punched Jace in the shoulder.

"Ow," Jace whined. "What was that for?"

"You know," Annika said firmly.

"No I don't," Jace replied.

"People who are lucky enough to find real love shouldn't leave them waiting," Annika answered. Then she turned to Alec and added, "I was promised pizza."

"Pizza is coming. Actually, I thought you were the pizza," Alec laughed. "Shouldn't be long now."

"Excellent," Annika said with a grin. "I'm starving."

"Didn't you have lunch at work?" Jace asked.

"That was hours ago," Annika reminded him dramatically. "It's dinner time now."

"Still starving is a bit extreme don't you think," Jace remarked.

She just waved his remark aside and changed the topic to what video game they were gonna play. It had to be multiplayer which ruled out the one Alec had been trying to beat all week. They almost ended up playing an actual board game when Annika got frustrated and picked for the group. The pizza arrived as the game was booting up.

"I think the host of the event should get a bonus," Alec whined after they'd been playing for a while.

"We aren't going to change the rules just because you're a sour loser," Annika remarked.

"We shouldn't have let her pick the game," Jace whispered, leaning closer to Alec who nodded in agreement.

But all thoughts of losing were forgotten when Alec heard the door open. Magnus was home. Getting up, he went to greet his husband with their daily home from work kiss.

From across the room, Alec could just hear Annika lecturing Jace, using Alec as an example of how someone in love was supposed to act.

Magnus just managed to slip out of his summer shoes when Alec threw his arms around his husband. Planting a kiss on Magnus's lips as he pulled out of the hug, Alec asked how his day was.

"Oh you know," Magnus replied. "Same old, enter data, make money. How was your day?"

Alec shrugged. "Slept in, lazed around, ordered pizza and now Jace and Annika are here and I'm losing at Mario Kart."

"It's not about if you win," Magnus said kindly. "It's about if you have fun."

"That's just what losers say to make themselves feel better," Annika called from across the room, clearly holding back laughter.

"Jace," Alec whined, turning around to face the two people on his sofa. "In future when you wanna make new friends, could you make friends who lose at Mario kart?"

"Sorry man," Jace shrugged. "She kicked my butt too."

"I saved you some pizza," Alec told Magnus, changing the topic as they turned to walk towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge Alec handed Magnus his dinner. "Bon Appetit."

Rather than sit down at the table, Magnus carried his plate of pizza into the living room, and sat on the sofa to witness Annika trying to talk Jace into just one more race which ended exactly the same as all the others, with Annika winning. When Magnus finished eating he decided to join in and Alec followed. By the time Clary arrived home a half hour later all three of them were losing to Annika at Mario Kart.

"I vote for a new game," Magnus said. "What are you bad at?" he asked Annika. She just laughed.

"As much fun as that sounds," Annika replied. "I think I'm gonna call it a night. This new job is kicking my ass. Been sleeping like the dead lately."

"At least you have an accounting job," Jace sighed. "Why did I major in sales and marketing? All those jobs want experience which I can't get without a job which I need experience for. The whole thing is rigged! It's like they want me to fail."

"What's wrong with your current job?" Alec asked.

"Manual labour?" Jace inquired. "Yeah, so don't wanna do that for the rest of my life."

"I'm sure you'll find something soon," Clary told him kindly. Alec had a feeling she was determined to be supportive even if Jace had said he wanted to walk on the moon.

"And on that note," Annika said, getting up off the couch. "I'm headed home." She waved and went to collect her purse before heading for the door.

"I like her," Magnus said once the door closed behind her. "She's chill."

"Personal drama wise yes," Jace agreed. "But she is instantly competitive when it comes to games." That they could all agree on.

They switched from video games to a movie after that. The latest Marvel movie on Disney plus was soon chosen. A few hours later as they watched the credits scrolled waiting for the extra scene, Alec noticed people starting to yawn. Magnus mentioned something about getting up for work the next day and Jace had an early shift. Clary just got off work and was up for one more movie. Alec agreed since he didn't have to work till noon tomorrow.

"Okay one more movie but only if you let me sleep on your couch," Jace caved to the group. "If I have to make it all the way home I'll never get enough sleep."

"Deal," Alec agreed.

"Full house tonight," Magnus commented. "If we had another bed I'd offer it to you."

"If you like you can share mine," Clary offered. "It's a double bed and with Paige moved out there's lots of room." There was silence for a long moment then Clary seemed to realize she'd said something wrong and began to back track. "That is if you want, no pressure or anything. I mean not- that is if you're comfortable I thought it would be nicer than the couch so- Why don't I sleep on the couch and you can have the bed-"

"Thanks," Jace said, saving her from the hole she was digging herself. "That would be nice." Jace was looking at her now with a dopey doe eyed expression on his face and Clary was blushing a deep pink.

And just like that Alec decided Annika had the right idea. Maybe he would start greeting Jace with a not-back-with-Clary-yet punch too.

"Our place hasn't been this full since Paige moved out," Magnus commented. "If we don't stop taking in lost sheep we are gonna need a bigger apartment." Magnus chuckled. "Not that that wasn't super adorable but it seems more and more we could use an extra bedroom in this place."

"That's a great idea!" Alec exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "We should buy a house."

"Hold on there," Magnus said. "I was joking."

"Well I'm not," Alec grinned. "Then we would have enough space to take in all the lost sheep and maybe even get more cats! We could have a cat room!"

Alec could picture it already. Carpeted walkways for the kitties all the way up the wall and around the edges of the room. The kitty path would lead outside to the heated outdoor catio so the kitties could get some fresh air even in winter. They'd also have to build some kind of bed way up high so they could look down on their domain. Oh and the kitties would need sun bathing space.

"Are you trying to turn me into a crazy cat lady?" Magnus laughed once Alec started describing his cat room plan.

"I'm thinking more like we could be a crazy cat couple!" Alec exclaimed.

"As fun as that idea is," Magnus answered soberly. "Financially it's not practical or haven't you forgotten that you convinced me to cut back my hours recently."

"Yeah yeah and I only work part time for minimum wage," Alec added, knowing exactly what his husband was gonna say next. "I know. But that doesn't matter in our case. I'm sure mom and dad would help with the down payment. They will be so proud I have such a grown up goal and if that doesn't work I'll agree to work for them. They'd been nagging me about that since I graduated. It's sure to get them on board with my plan."

"You are crazy, you know that," Magnus chuckled.

"Yep!" Alec beamed at him. There was silence after that and Alec couldn't tell if Magnus was on board with the plan or not; he decided to ask directly.

"So can I contact the real estate broker?" Alec asked. "My parents have one they'd used before and we will probably have to make an appointment at the bank."

Magnus blinked once, very slowly. "You really are serious aren't you," he said.

"Yep," Alec exclaimed. "And just think how many lost sheep friends we could house in our five bedroom house!"

"Why on earth would we need five bedrooms!?" Magnus gasped.

"Weren't you listening?" Alec began. "One for us, one for the cats and then lost sheep Clary will need one which leaves only two rooms left for future lost sheep and offices."

"All I need is a laptop at the dining room table," Magnus said. "No office."

"Okay four bedrooms then," Alec amended. "So we have one extra for lost sheep."

"What's with you and lost sheep all of a sudden," Magnus laughed.

"I like being able to house my friends when they need a place to crash," Alec said smiling. "And I know you do too or we wouldn't have had both Paige and Clary living here at one point."

"Three bedrooms," Magnus amended. "We can build the cats high up paths in the living room and hallway. That should leave two rooms for lost sheep." Magnus laughed.

"Deal!" Alec agreed, grinning.

There was silence for a moment then Clary broke it.

"So I take it this means we are moving?" she said with a chuckle.

It was then that the reality of what he'd just agreed to seemed to dawn on Magnus. He stared at Clary for a moment then replied. "Yes, I suppose it does."

Without a word, but with a huge grin on his face, Alec reached for the controller and played the next Marvel movie. He couldn't imagine life got any better than this.

Hello! Long time, no update. Hopefully that hiatus wasn't too long for you guys. I know some writers put their stories on hiatus and never come back. If you've been reading my stories for a while you know I don't do that. ^_^ But I wouldn't be surprised if new readers were worried.

My son arrived safety 8 weeks ago and life has been settling into a new normal. Though I'm not sure if this chapter is up to my usual level because 1) I wrote most of it while a baby slept to loud music. I usually write in silence but my son seems to have decided that he will only sleep during the day to loud music or in mommy's arms. It's hard to type while holding a baby so I end up writing only when the music is playing. And 2) my editor hasn't edited this. She's suddenly gotten very busy and doesn't know when she will have time. This chapter has been done for about a week and a half now so I decided to update unedited and see how it goes. I hope you enjoy it even if it feels different. :D

Sneak Peek Chapter 197

The wedding was so close that Simon had decided to take a break from job hunting until after his wedding. No one wanted to hire a guy who was going to ask for two weeks off before he even started and Izzy would never forgive him if he had to work through their honeymoon. She'd demand he quit which pretty much defeated the purpose of getting a job. It seemed to Simon that all those who marry Lightwoods were destined to be unemployed for months before their wedding. Izzy and Alec were just so rarely concerned with money that they'd rather have unemployed fiancés than time conflicts.

The more Simon saw Izzy working on planning their wedding the more he was glad they didn't elope. She really hadn't wanted to, no matter what she'd said after Simon had proposed. Simon had been consulted on wedding details a few times but usually she already knew what she wanted and was only asking him because she felt bad for cutting him out of something else. Simon didn't mind. The details of his wedding didn't worry him so long as it was Izzy who walked down the aisle towards him. He had however vetoed her outdoor wedding idea. It always rained in May and Simon did not want to take any unplanned showers while he said his vows. Izzy had compromised by picking a hotel with nice gardens so that if the weather decided to be sunny they could at least get outdoor pictures.