So early it's still almost dark out.
I'm near the window with coffee,
and the usual early morning stuff
that passes for thought.

When I see the boy and his friend
walking up the road
to deliver the newspaper.

They wear caps and sweaters,
and one boy has a bag over his shoulder.
They are so happy
they aren't saying anything, these boys.

I think if they could, they would take
each other's arm.
It's early in the morning,
and they are doing this thing together.

They come on, slowly.
The sky is taking on light,
though the moon still hangs pale over the water.

Such beauty that for a minute
death and ambition, even love,
doesn't enter into this.

Happiness. It comes on
unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really,
any early morning talk about it.

-Happiness by Raymond Carver

Back in the Closet

The next morning, Alec awoke cuddled next to Magnus. His body, more well-rested than ever before, was pressed against Magnus's side. His legs were braided with Magnus's and his arms were wrapped around a slender waist.

Honestly, Alec couldn't remember being this happy before. For the first time, he didn't feel the ever looming presence of Death, the third wheel in their relationship. Instead, he felt Magnus's hand, gently tracing the runes on his ribs. He felt forgiven and he felt loved– a powerful internal glow that threatened to break his face into a smile at any moment. Now, Alec knew their relationship's issues weren't fixed, they hadn't even really been addressed, and eventually the worries would haunt them again. At the moment though, they seemed miles away, tormenting another couple.

Alec couldn't help but grin, burying his face in the crook of Magnus's neck before giving a small kiss there. Underneath his hands, Alec felt Magnus's heart speed up, eliciting an even bigger grin from Alec. It was always pleasant knowing he had an affect on the older man. Alec sat up and stretched, enjoying the delightful popping. When Alec looked back down at Magnus, there was a mischievous glint in his eye and Alec knew exactly what he was thinking.

"No," Alec asserted, a small smile on his lips. "I'm hungry."

Magnus eyes flashed with excitement, the mischievous glint transforming into a teasing smirk. "We could always have breakfast in bed."

Alec bit his lip, feeling himself become enraptured at the thought, but he was determined to make Magnus work for this. "But I feel like going out for breakfast," Alec declared, his eyebrows arched defiantly. However, Magnus could read the look in his lover's eye and knew he had won.

"Tell me the place and I'll magic up any meal you could possibly want," Magnus stated, his hands reaching up to caress Alec's shoulders.

Alec shivered, reveling in the physical contact. "That would be stealing," Alec murmured, finding it increasingly difficult to focus on his argument. "And stealing is wrong."

Magnus lit up, knowing he had Alec exactly where he wanted him. With a snap of his fingers, Magnus conjured up fresh baked goods straight from the best bakery in Paris, items he knew Alec loved. "So punish me." Magnus swooped in for the kill, planting his lips on Alec's and dragging him into an embrace. It was everything they wanted and everything they needed. Perfect, Alec thought as he wrapped his hand's in Magnus's hair. That was, until his phone rang.

Alec didn't even pause in the kiss, knowing it was probably his sister. Had show known where he was, the same place she'd spent hours trying to persuade him to visit, she would definitely want him to ignore the phone. Magnus was happy to go along, not even questioning Alec's decision.

When the phone rang again, only moments later, Alec broke away, briefly debating whether to pick it up. As Magnus's lips worked their way down Alec's neck, the younger man turned back to instigate another kiss, having all but forgotten the phone. Izzy would understand, Alec thought, getting lost in the moment.

Then the phone rang again and Magnus was the one to pull away. "Maybe you should answer that," he said.

Alec dropped his head to Magnus's shoulder in defeat. "Fine," Alec decided, reaching onto the floor and digging out the cell phone from his pant's pocket.

However, when he saw Izzy's name flashing on the screen, something inside of him rebelled. He just didn't want to answer. Right now, he was the happiest he'd been in a while and he knew that once he answered her call he'd be reminded of a reality he didn't want to deal with. So instead of answering, he clicked the ignore button and then turned off his phone.

When he turned back to Magnus, he smiled. "Now where were we?"

While they had gotten off to a slow start (they hadn't even left the bed until the crack of noon), both men spent the rest of the day trying to cram in three weeks of activities to make up for the time spent apart. First, they took a walk through Central Park, stopping to look at the objects being sold by the various street vendors. For Alec, it felt surreal. He had never expected to do this again with Magnus. Because of that, he was sappy, bending easily to the will of Magnus, who readily took advantage of it. Usually, Alec wasn't a fan of PDA but for the entire walk, they held hands. Alec even allowed Magnus to steal small kisses from him, something that would have caused him an insane amount of anxiety in a previous life.

After that, they stopped for lunch at a small bistro, taking the time to talk and recount any interesting facts about the past few weeks. Nothing that exciting had happened to Alec, except his one drunken night and somehow he felt Magnus knew more about that then he did. However, Magnus had kept extremely busy. He had clients all day every day which meant hundreds of ludicrous stories, one even involving a goat.

When Alec asked about the clients Magnus had today, Magnus responded, "They can reschedule." Although simple enough, the action showed just how invested Magnus was in the relationship to Alec and caused Alec to have a giddy look on his face for the rest of the conversation. Maybe this could really work, Alec thought. When the food arrived, neither man could pause their conversation long enough to actually eat. By the time they did finish, hours had gone by.

Eventually, the returned to Magnus's apartment, content to play board games. Magnus usually won considering he had about five hundred years experience on Alec. Except for Monopoly. For some reason, Magnus just couldn't win no matter how hard he tried which was a significant reason they never played it. "Capitalism never did suit me," he admitted two months ago after they had played (and Magnus had lost) for the third time in a row.

That night, they played chess, something Alec was decent at on his best days. Against Magnus, well, let's just say it wasn't even really a competition. "Check mate," Magnus declared, blowing a kiss at Alec.

Alec sighed, wondering again why he'd chosen this game. "You know, this isn't fair. I say next game you have to wear a blindfold."

Laughing, Magnus reset the pieces. "Like that would stop me from winning. I taught François-André Danican Philidor everything he knew. That kind of strategy can't be forgotten by a simple blindfold. It would just prolong the inevitable."

For a moment, Alec paused, debating if Magnus was serious or not. As if knowing the internal debate, Magnus looked up and flashed Alec a wink. "I'm kidding, darling. I was in France during the late 18th century, a few decades after François-André became arguably the greatest chess player in the world. Never even met the guy although he would be awfully fun to play with. Definitely better competition than you."

Alec guffawed. "No way your ego would allow you to play that guy knowing you'd probably lose. You prefer picking on the weak."

Practically glowing, Magnus moved his pawn forward. "You really shouldn't insult yourself, sweetheart. Confidence is sexy."

They continued this a while, playing a couple more rounds before Magnus finally got bored. Alec got up, deciding to find another game they could play, perhaps one more evenly matched. "You know," Alec began, walking down the hall, "I'm really feeling like a round of Monopoly right now."

"Burned it," Magnus sweetly replied.

Desperately, Alec searched the hallway closet for any game that wouldn't end with him humiliated. Alec leaned into the closet further, hoping that Monopoly was hidden among the other games. Magnus wouldn't actually burn it right?

After several attempts to locate the game, Alec decided that Magnus really was a poor loser and did in fact destroy the game. Upset, Alec picked Pente, a Greek game that was a lot like connect four. Alec was horrible at it but won once every blue moon. Armed with his choice, Alec wandered back to the living room, surprised that he could hear the voice of his adopted brother.

"Jace?" Alec wondered aloud, shocked when he saw the man in question lecturing Magnus. "What are you doing here?"

As dumbfounded as Alec was, Jace was that times ten. Speechless for the first time in a long time, he opened his mouth like a fish glancing back and forth at Magnus and Alec.

"I wasn't kidding when I told you he was in the closet," Magnus casually remarked.