"I've got to go," Magnus says, holding his phone up in explanation.

Alec stops cutting into a piece of broccoli for the soup Maryse is teaching him to make, his back tense. He nods.

"I love you," Magnus says, walking over to the counter to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. "I don't want to make any promises about being back in time to eat dinner. I know you were looking forward to making this for me, but another time, okay?"

Alec nods again, and Magnus ignores the hard look in his eyes.

"Yeah. Don't wait up, right?" Alec asks, like it's more a fact than a question.

"Mhm," Magnus agrees, glad that Alec knows the drill. "I'm sorry."

Alec just sighs, turning to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. "I love you too."

Magnus doesn't think twice about it.

Alec doesn't bring up making the soup again, but Magnus warms some up from the fridge and it's a lot better than some of Alec's earlier cooking endeavors. He's starting to like it when Alec cooks. Though not gourmet by any standards, it's much better than the rumors of Isabelle's disasters.

Alec is just taking a pan-cooked macaroni and cheese dish out of the oven when he gets the call. It's the vampires, something about a kidnapped lycanthrope that was so conveniently found in one of their hideouts. Honestly, they call him for the most exasperating of things.

"It looks like it turned out really well!" Alec exclaims, looking at the gooey top of his dish. "Brown on the edges, it should be cooked all the way through…"

"Hey," Magnus says, tentatively making his way to the kitchen. "There's this kidnapping thing I've got to go take a look at."

He kind of expects Alec to be angry, or upset. But his boyfriend's face just drops a little, then pulls back up into a smile.

"Okay," Alec says, placing the macaroni on the tiled counter. "Have a good time."

Magnus huffs a laugh. "Like that'll happen. Love you."

Alec receives a kiss on his cheek, and mutters "You too."

Magnus almost hesitates to leave. He knows he'd rather spend time with Alec, trying out his new cooking skills, but he's got to go. The particular vampire is a long time client of his; he can't just skip out on her.

It happens again. It's almost like the universe is conspiring to make sure he never gets to taste Alec's cooking while it's still fresh. Bummer, too, watching Alec star intently at boiling water is actually insanely cute.

"You know, if you stare at it, it'll never boil." Magnus says, pulling on his jacket as walks over to the stove.

Alec looks up at him, his face faltering when he sees Magnus's jacket. "Again?"

"Yeah, sorry. Silly werewolf kid broke his arm."

"Oh," Alec says. "They couldn't ask someone else?"

"They're good customers," Magnus explains, shrugging. "I've been helping them out for over twenty years. They wouldn't know who else to call."

"Oh," Alec repeats. "Okay."

Magnus kisses his boyfriend on the cheek. "I really shouldn't be gone too long this time."

"Sure," Alec says, then mutters something under his breath.

"I didn't quite catch that," Magnus says, though his brain is already calculating the travel path to his client.

"I just said I would put some soup in the oven for you, then. To stay warm." Alec explains.

"That would be lovely," Magnus says, kissing his boyfriend again, then heading for the door.

When he gets home that night, much later than expected due to a complication in the wound (demon poisoning, who leaves that out when requesting help?), Alec's curled up on their couch, fast asleep. The soup is cold in the oven.

Magnus puts a bowl of soup in the microwave, putting the rest in Tupperware, and then pulls a blanket over his boyfriend. He watches Alec sleep, dead tired, until he hears the faint beep of the microwave from the kitchen.

The soup is better than it was the last time, as if Alec's been working on it. He eats it from the chair in the living room, his mind wandering as he fills his stomach.

When he finishes, he sits next to Alec, stroking the Shadowhunter's hair. Alec wakes up slowly. His eyes flutter, and then he shifts his head and his back arches, a yawn escaping his lips.

"Magnus?" He asks. "Are you back?"

"That I am, love," Magnus says, kissing Alec's temple. "Let's get you to bed, okay?"

"Mmm, okay," Alec says, slowly peeling himself off the couch. "You got home late. 'Was worried."

Magnus felt guilty for not calling ahead, but he'd been busy extracting demon poisoning. "I'm sorry. There was a complication, but everything's okay now."

"No, s'not." Alec protests, sluggishly moving past Magnus to the bedroom.

They didn't speak again until the next morning, Alec falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The very next day, before Alec'd even pulled out the noodles, the apartment buzzer went off with such ferocity that Magnus half expected that the person on the other end must be exploding.

Sighing, Magnus answers the buzzer. "High Warlock of Brooklyn," he announces tiredly.

"You've got to help me! I did a summoning and now there're tentacles growing out of my apartment."

Magnus rubs the bridge of his nose. "One minute."

He walks into the kitchen, where Alec is sitting at their dinner table with a book about the history of mundane interpretations of demonic activity.

Alec looks up at him, and the look on his face must say it all, because his expression drops. "Another client?"

It doesn't feel like a question.

Magnus nods. "Yeah. Tentacles in his apartment, all the usual mumbo jumbo."

"Yeah. It's definitely become the usual." Alec says, and Magnus gets the feeling he's not talking about having tentacles in the apartment. If he is, Magnus has missed a lot.

"I really should take this," Magnus says, though it feels weak. He should take this. It's his job.

The way Alec's gripping the table like a lifeline tells him that he really shouldn't be giving priority to his job at the moment. His knuckles are nearly white with the pressure he's putting on them. He won't look at Magnus—his eyes fixed on the lamp next to him.

"Hey," Magnus says softly, leaning over and cupping his boyfriend's chin in his palm. "Look at me."

When Alec finally turns his head, it's like Magnus expected. His eyes are wet with tears that haven't yet fallen, and his cheeks are blotching pink.

"Oh, darling, why didn't you tell me?" Magnus asks, feeling guilt and concern run through him like debilitating venom.

"I'm sorry, "Alec says, his voice catching as it involuntarily turns into a sob. "Oh, Angel, I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't mean to get in the way of important things."

"Hey, hey," Magnus says, using his thumb to wipe a tear of his boyfriend's cheek. "It's okay. You're not interrupting anything. You're going to have to tell me what's wrong."

Alec fights back the hiccup of blubbering water works. "B-but you have a client. I'm sorry I'm such a mess, I mean, I know I shouldn't expect you to have the time to deal with this and…" Alec's words stop as he takes a deep breath, his face red from suppressing himself. "I, I think I'm fine now. You've got a client to deal with."

"I think I'd rather talk to you first," Magnus says, voice soft.

Alec shakes his head as the buzzer goes off again. "No, you go. You've got better things to do."

Magnus hesitates, then pulls himself up and to the door. He can't hear anything from the kitchen, but he knows Alec's in there severely upset.

"Find someone else," Magnus says into the intercom. "Don't you know it's illegal to summon demons?"

He returns to the kitchen to see Alec biting the side of his thumb, his eyes shut as tears roll down them.

He puts his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.

Alec looks up, his face filled with surprise. "You didn't leave."

"Not a chance I'd leave you in a state like that," Magnus says, stroking Alec's hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Alec says immediately, then frowns. "Maybe. Yes."

"I'm sorry I keep missing your dinners." Magnus apologizes. "I keep skipping out on you."

"It's fine," Alec says, as a sob wracks his body. "It is. I get it. I don't have time to eat with you, Alec. No time to teach you how to survive a demon hunt. Sorry, I'm too busy with work to deal with you." Alec laughs, his voice sounding hysterical as he breaks into another round of sob-induced body palpitations.

Magnus hesitates. "It doesn't sound like you're speaking about me."

"I'm sorry," Alec apologizes, tears staining his face. "I know I shouldn't be so upset about it. It's nothing like what you've been through with your dad."

"Alec, an issue doesn't have to be the most terrible thing imaginable for it to affect you. If it hurt you, then you're feelings are valid. It's not a competition." Magnus affirms, murder for Robert in his mind.

"I just, he used to do that to me all the time. Something would come up and I'd always be second. And now you're doing the exact same thing and mom always said it wasn't me, but now you're doing the same thing and I can't help but feel like she lied to me. I know, I know I'm overreacting. But it just. It makes me feel awful." Alec says, his voice running through the words like a car without suspension over a gravel road.

Magnus pulls his boyfriend into his arms. "I am so sorry. It's not you, I promise. I shouldn't have just run out on you all those times…"
"Three in the last two weeks," Alec says.

"I know. I've been a bad boyfriend. I promise it's not your fault, I just… forget, sometimes, that you can't hold up a relationship if you're always running out with some excuse. It's been a long time since I was serious with someone, and I want to be serious with you. I will make an effort for it to not happen so often, if at all." Magnus pets Alec's hair, his voice soft.

"Promise?" Alec says, his tears seeming to subside.

Magnus bends down to look Alec in the eyes. "I promise," he says, then kisses his boyfriend. He will put an effort into making sure this relationship works, and if that means enforcing his hours more regularly than he's used to, so be it. Alec is worth it.