This is what happens when I can't sleep...

If there was anything at all that Alec didn't like, it was people bothering him when he was trying to study. It reached the point where Alec put headphones in even when he wasn't listening to music, if only to get people to leave him alone. So getting tapped on the shoulder in the middle of his physics problems was not something he wanted.

He looked up, ready to give this stranger his best and most ferocious glare — the nerve to actually reach across a table in the library and jab someone with a pencil could not go un-reprimanded. But then, Alec saw his supposed attacker and all of his anger faded into something else.

The stranger was, well, gorgeous. The kind of effortlessly pretty that made other people stop and stare, because they were captivating. His black hair was falling into his long eyelashes and he'd stopped poking Alec with the pen long enough to tap it against his teeth.

"I have a very serious question for you."

"What?" Alec cleared his throat. "What?"

"I said," the stranger rolled his eyes but smiled, "I have a very serious question for you."

"Alright?" Alec glanced around, hoping that no one was going to get angry with them for talking. There weren't a lot of people in this part of the library — the largest reason that Alec had chosen it — but Alec still didn't want to start any fights. "What's the question?"

"What colour are my eyes?"

"Pardon?"

"What colour are my eyes? Yours are a lovely blue, if you needed an example of how to answer the question."

Alec gaped, but then managed to collect his thoughts and respond. "Do you, um, not know? They're green I guess."

"I guess?"

"They're kind of yellow too."

"There's the problem!" The stranger almost yelled, before noticing the library — perhaps for the first time — where they were sitting and quieting his voice a little. "I'm trying to figure out how to describe my eyes for a creative writing class that I stupidly thought I could ace and I can't figure out if I should say that they're green or yellow."

"Why not both?"

The stranger paused from where he was now attempting to eat the end of his pen, in spite of all its inedible qualities. "That's brilliant," he mumbled softly, before returning to his paper and scribbling frantically.

Mentally trying to imagine the kind of drugs that this attractive stranger must have been on, Alec put his headphones back in and turned his attention back to his own work.

They spent the next two hours in silence, before the stranger across from him stood up. Alec reflexively looked up, but was unable to look away when the stranger beamed at him and thrust his hand in Alec's face.

"I'm Magnus."

"Alec."

"So, same time tomorrow?" Magnus gathered his things and didn't wait for an answer, waving to Alec over his shoulder.

"You weren't here yesterday," Magnus said, the moment that Alec sat down.

"What?"

"I said, "same time tomorrow" and you didn't show up."

"Was it some kind of official meeting?"

"The new Magnus and Alec club. It's going to be a real hit with people whose names are Magnus and Alec."

"Why only Magnus and Alec?"

"Because no one else is allowed in the club. Obviously."

This went on for weeks that dissolved into months. Alec would arrive, intending to tell Magnus that he needed to study, that he wasn't frequenting the library to make friends. But that started to change. He found Magnus thrilling and funny, quickly learning that Magnus was quirky because he was honest and it had nothing to do with the drugs that Alec was convinced that he was taking.

And so, each time, Alec would sit down and then ignore his homework to whisper back and forth with Magnus for hours. It was probably going to kill his grades, but Alec couldn't help it. He was falling for Magnus, and hard.

So, Magnus one day begging Alec to be his fake boyfriend was not only a compelling offer, but one that Alec agreed to before he fully understood the situation.

"I need you to be my boyfriend," Magnus said, before Alec had even sat down. Alec nearly dropped his textbooks. Magnus was slouched in the chair on the other side of the table, looking attractive and also completely off limits. Which is to say, he looked like Alec's friend Magnus.

"What?"

"Don't worry," Magnus waved off his surprise with purple nails that Alec swore had been blue the day before. "I just need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a couple of hours next week, maybe a handful of times after that to be believable. It's not a longterm commitment and there are no strings attached. I mean—"

"Sure."

"Huh?" The look on Magnus' face was not uncommon to Alec, he always seemed to be surprised when Alec interrupted him. It was hard not to, because uninterrupted, Magnus could talk for decades.

"I'll do it," Alec shrugged, opening a history textbook he probably wasn't going to read and trying to act like his face wasn't steadily growing more and more red. He told his heart to calm down, because this was Magnus and yes, Alec was madly in love with him, but Magnus didn't know that. Not to mention Alec was only agreeing to be his fake boyfriend. It wasn't like Magnus had proposed marriage or anything.

"You're amazing," Magnus practically moaned, sending Alec's mind to places it really shouldn't have gone.

"Why do you need a fake boyfriend in the first place?"

Magnus paused. "I may or may not have told my friends that I have a super hot boyfriend who looks exactly like you. It all just kind of spun out of them teasing me for being single for so long and how I was never going to get a boyfriend if I didn't just let someone else talk for once. And then I blurted that I had a boyfriend and I'd just met you and so I guess I just started to describe you without thinking about it, sorry, and so now they want to meet you—"

Alec's face was hotter than the sun. "You think I'm h-hot?" He stuttered.

"Do you own a mirror?" Magnus raised an eyebrow at him. "And that's an honest question, because while your jawline is ethereal and your eyes could pass for coloured contacts, your hair is always kind of a disaster." He smiled at the hand that Alec raised subconsciously. "Don't worry, I find it endearing."

"Oh good."

"For this," Magnus said, switching back from talking about Alec's hotness to the fake boyfriend situation without blinking, "all you have to do it show up and be friendly and boyfriendly. Then you're off the hook. In a few weeks I'll tell them we had a friendly split, introduce you to them as my friend and it will all be forgotten."

"How does one go about being boyfriendly?"

"What?"

"I don't really," Alec waved his arms around a little bit, a habit he was picking up from Magnus that Jace thought made him look dumber than usual, "know how to act like a boyfriend."

"How?"

"I've never been a boyfriend?"

"Have you been a girlfriend?"

"What? No?"

"Have you been a partner?"

"No…"

"A lover?"

"No!"

"A sometimes, kind of not really, friend?"

"I don't even know what that means."

"You're telling me," Magnus sat up and leaned in so that his face was close enough to Alec's for Alec to count his eyelashes, "that you have never been in a relationship."

"No, never."

It was a funny reality, the kinds of things that Alec wasn't really willing to think about himself that he was spilling to Magnus. He'd told Magnus that he was gay after only a handful of 'study' sessions. He'd told Magnus that he didn't want to be his father, he'd told Magnus about Jace, Isabelle and Max. Alec told Magnus everything without thinking and Magnus never judged, he just parroted back his own secrets and offered silly, often impossible advice. Maybe that was why Alec liked him, this notion of instant comfort and common ground. His friendship with Jace had been one of convenience, grown out of years of being sandwiched together. Magnus was effortless but also interesting.

God, Alec had it bad.

"That's impossible," Magnus shook his head and a few strands tickled Alec's cheeks. "You have that face and you don't have a significant other?"

"No?"

Magnus let out a low whistle.

"What?" Alec said, blushing furiously. He wondered it Magnus knew how much he just wanted to lean forward and kiss him. "I'm not exactly interesting. I'm nerdy and quiet and awkward—"

"I don't find you to be any of those things. You never do your homework," Alec snorted, because Magnus didn't understand how impossible it was to do homework when he was right there, "you talk to me all the time and I find myself very comfortable around you."

Alec couldn't say anything, he just nodded. Magnus seemed to take this as a victory.

"As much as I love whispering sweet nothings with you in this library," Magnus sighed, "I'm going to force you to take me for coffee now before I pass out on this table."

"Late night?"

"What do you expect? I spend all my time sitting here and gabbing away with you, I have to do my homework at some point."

"Why are we doing this again?" Alec asked, trailing Magnus through the store. Magnus kept picking up clothing and just holding it out for Alec to take. He was already carrying more clothes than he'd ever owned in his life and Magnus didn't look like he was going to stop any time soon.

"Because," Magnus sighed, "you're hot and I know that, but you can't show up to something like this in your weird sweater collection."

"They're not weird."

"Don't lie to me Alexander."

"I never should have told you my full name," Alec groaned.

"It wasn't a long jump," Magnus shook his head, "I probably could have figured it out by myself, but I did enjoy your imitation of a tomato when I told you it sounded like the name of a prince."

"Because it doesn't," Alec insisted.

"Alexander Gideon Lightwood," Magnus said loudly, "Alexander Gideon Lightwood." There was just enough sultry flourish in Magnus' voice to make Alec turn into a tomato again.

"I get it," Alec muttered, "you like my name."

They finally started to make their way to the fitting rooms, Magnus picking up clothes the entire way there and Alec just trying not to drop them all over the floor. He was fairly certain that he'd never told Magnus his size, but Magnus just seemed to have guessed—and knowing Magnus it was right.

"I don't want to come out," Alec said, staring at himself in the mirror of the fitting room and trying not to flush more. Magnus had picked out clothes that fit, but they were tight. Alec didn't like tight. He liked baggy sweaters and things that let him hide.

"Are you talking about being gay or getting your fine ass out here so that I can see the clothes I've forced you into?" Magnus asked, clearly teasing Alec to try and make him more at ease.

"Shut up."

"C'mon."

Alec threw the door open with as much theatrical annoyance as he could manage, not that it phased Magnus at all, who just nodded approvingly and motioned for Alec to twirl.

"I don't like them," Alec said, even as he complied.

"I do."

"Magnus."

"Alexander."

"Magnus."

"Alexander."

"The two of you make a really cute couple." They spun to see the girl in charge of the fitting rooms smiling at them.

"We're—" Alec started, stuttering and spluttering.

"Thanks!" Magnus said over him, smiling at her brightly and pressing a kiss into Alec's cheek, nearly killing Alec. She grinned, her eyes shining and left them alone again.

Alec went back into the changing room, listening to Magnus tell him what to put on next. He leaned against the door, muttering under his breath. "C'mon Lightwood," he ran his hand through his hair, "get your shit together."

"What?"

"Nothing, Magnus." I'm just seriously falling for you and managing to freak myself out in the process.

"I'm not ready," Alec said nervously, playing with the hem of the blue sweater that he and Magnus had bought. He was standing in Magnus' bedroom of the apartment he shared with an upperclassman. Ragnor seemed nice enough, but he'd merely grunted at Alec and directed him to Magnus' bedroom.

"What do you mean?" Magnus called from the adjoined bathroom where he was applying eyeliner. "I think you look great."

"I mean, I don't think I'm going to be very good at pretending to boyfriend."

"You're going to be fine. We practiced."

They had practiced, extensively. Over the last week, they'd gone on fake dates to the museum, cafés, restaurants. One night they'd walked around the university campus for an hour and a half because Magnus said Alec needed to learn how to hold his hand without looking like he thought it would bite him. The Magnus and Alec club had become almost exclusively field trips.

"What if I mess up?"

"You won't."

Magnus had an unwavering faith in Alec. It was both charming and irritating, because it made Alec fall for him more, when he didn't even seem to notice that Alec was anything other than friendly and apparently attractive. Alec wanted nothing more than to go on real dates, but didn't want to risk having Magnus leave. The thought of losing Magnus was worse than the torture that was the thought of having him.

"How do I look?" Magnus asked, coming out of the bathroom and spreading his arms for judgement.

"Beautiful," Alec said, breathlessly and without thinking.

Magnus didn't seem to notice how Alec blushed, just smiled at him brightly. "Thanks darling."

Lord have mercy, Alec thought, letting Magnus take his hand and lead him out of the apartment to meet the apparently terrifying friends.

The restaurant was nice, small but nice. And Alec felt bad for the almost panic attack he was having under their cute little awning.

"Just be honest," Magnus smiled, "they'll love you."

"Do I want them too?" Alec still wasn't clear on what their mission was. He was feeling a little bit lightheaded and Magnus seemed to think that holding his hand helped—it only made things worse.

"Enough that they think you love me," Magnus told him, "but not enough that they wish we hadn't broken up."

"Gotcha," Alec paused, "I think."

"You'll be great," Magnus insisted, "amazing." Magnus was acting confident, but Alec could tell that he wasn't as relaxed as he was pretending.

Alec hummed and followed Magnus inside, but they only nodded at the hostess before going and sitting down with a small group that was already assembled. It didn't seem to be an overly fancy place, but nice enough to be a date location—Alec couldn't help but imagine bringing Magnus here if they were actually dating.

"Alexander," Magnus smiled, though there was a bit of nervousness to it, "these are my friends: Catarina, Will, Raphael, Tessa, and Jem."

Catarina was pretty, but stared at Alec like she was hoping that the force of her gaze would allow him to burst into flames. She was wearing a soft blue dress and Alec gulped and shifted his gaze to the girl next to her. Tessa was smiling, which made Alec feel a little bit better. She had a softer, rounder face and Alec felt like they were going to get along great, going by the battered paperback that was peaking out of her jacket pocket.

"So this is him then?" Raphael had a slight Spanish accent and didn't address Alec directly. He looked at Alec with undisguised disinterest.

Jem was the only one that offered to shake Alec's hand as they sat down. Will didn't even look up from his menu, but spoke to Magnus as though they'd been sitting the entire time.

"How much did you have to pay to hire him?" Will asked, causing Magnus to bristle.

"I'm not a whore," Alec snipped back, causing Jem to snort into his water. Will looked up then, surprise and delight colouring his features.

"You're not?"

"No."

"Then why the hell would you be going out with Magnus?"

Alec suddenly understood why Magnus had been nervous, it seemed very clear that while they were friends, Magnus' friends and he were not the nice type. Magnus had said that Will was loyal but kind of an asshole—the understatement of the year.

"I'm starting to wonder why Magnus is friends with someone like you," Alec said, picking up his menu.

"So," Tessa interrupted, her voice on edge, "how did the two of you meet?"

"In the library," Alec said, figuring that he might as well stick as close to the truth as possible. "I was attempting to study, but Magnus had other ideas."

Magnus laughed and some of the tension seemed to ease out of his shoulders.

"So," Will sighed, "when are the two of you going to break up."

"What?" Alec didn't even have to fake being startled.

"Clearly," Will laid his menu down, "this isn't going to last."

"Why do you say that?" Alec didn't take his eyes off Will. He could feel the rest of them watching intently, Magnus included, and Alec had never been one to back down easily.

Will folded his hands over the menu, "I can tell you right now that this isn't going to last, if it's real at all. Magnus does this constantly, he's going to be madly in love with you today and then two weeks from now he's going to be heartbroken because people like you convince him that this is some kind of endgame bullshit. You don't know a thing about him—"

"He likes sugar in his coffee but no milk," Alec blurted without thinking about it, "he likes flowers but doesn't know how to keep them alive which just means he spends way too much money at the florist. Magnus wants a cat, he wants to live in an apartment that has a view of something because he likes drawing even though he doesn't think he's any good at it and won't let anyone see his sketches. He thinks people should stop ruining books by turning them into movies. He says that he would be in Slytherin, but I figure he's more a Hufflepuff because he's always so goddamn nice to everyone. He falls asleep with the lights on. He's left-handed. He's bisexual, he doesn't really know what he wants to do so he's taking any class that the university will let him sign up for. He likes spicy food and chocolates that have caramel in the middle." At this point, the entire table was gaping at Alec, even Will seemed to be floored. It was odd, all the little things that Alec had collected about Magnus, all the tiny little facts that slipped into conversation.

"His favourite colour is blue," Alec continued, unable to keep them from slipping out now, "his favourite smells are sandalwood and brown sugar. He likes classical music and has a record collection under his bed. He's way more intelligent than you think and he doesn't like people to think it, but he would give the world to anyone that he loves. Magnus is a really wonderful person and I would really appreciate it if you would stop acting like the guy that I'm in love with is undeserving of that love. I'm not some kind of cheap whore and neither is Magnus, so cut the bullshit."

"Damn," Catarina mumbled, her voice was soft and so were her eyes when Alec looked at her. She was smiling at him and nodded slightly.

"You know," Magnus said, standing. He was rambling and sounding very un-Magnus, "I just realized that there's a thing that we forgot about and we're going to have to leave now and continue this later."

"We are?" Alec looked up at him, worried that he'd said the wrong thing. Magnus had told him to be honest, Alec was just hoping that he hadn't taken it a step too far. He hadn't meant to go off on Will, but the way that Will had talked about Magnus, about the two of them, Alec couldn't take it.

Magnus nodded and grabbed Alec's hand roughly, practically dragging him out of the restaurant. Will just rolled his eyes, Jem and Tessa waved, Catarina went back to reading the menu and Raphael didn't seem to notice they were leaving at all. Magnus started down the street without letting go and Alec let him, not entire sure what was happening but willing to trust him.

"Magnus? What did I do wrong—"

"What did you do wrong?" Magnus turned on his heel to face Alec. Alec almost crashed into him, as it was, they were chest to chest. "What did you do wrong?"

"Yeah, I mean, you told me to be honest—"

"That was you being honest?"

"Yes?"

"Jesus christ, Alexander."

Alec felt like his lungs were collapsing. "What?"

"You love me."

"What?" Alec tried to look surprised, tried to act like this was news to him. Magnus seemed to see the panic in his eyes and changed his direction.

"Did you mean what you said in the restaurant? Every last word?"

Lying to Magnus had never really seemed like an option. Alec had lied by omission for weeks, not telling Magnus that he had feelings for him, but directly lying to his face just seemed too wrong. Alec's options were dwindling and he wasn't entire sure what he was going to do, what he was going to choose. Confessing things to Magnus seemed stupidly commonplace and so Alec nodded.

Magnus, for once, seemed at a complete loss for words.

"How long?" He asked.

"Months."

"Before I asked you to pretend—"

"Yes."

"I can't believe you remembered all of that. I can't believe you were actually listening. Can I kiss you?"

Alec paused. He could feel Magnus' pulse, feel where his fingers still dug into Alec's wrist. He thought of sitting across from Magnus in the library, exchanging secrets over an array of homework that neither of them was going to do. He thought about the look in Magnus' eyes when he was happy, when he was excited. He thought about the way that he wanted to look into those eyes for the rest of his life, how Magnus made him feel like the world was possible in ways that Alec hadn't even considered.

Magnus made him want to live, made him want to kiss in the rain. Magnus made Alec want to love, made him want to hold hands in the dark and kiss the corners of Magnus' mouth when he smiled.

Magnus had changed Alec's definition of want.

"Yes."

The word had barely left Alec's lips when Magnus leaned in and kissed him.

His lips were soft and everything that Alec had imagined. He tasted like cherry candy. His fingers found the back of Alec's neck and Alec's arms were around Magnus' waist, pulling him closer. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, but everything else was about Magnus. The rest of the world melted, faded.

The entire thing could have burned down and Alec wouldn't have given a damn as long as he was allowed to keep kissing Magnus.

He remembered when Jace met Clary and told Alec that he was in love. He'd said that being with Clary was like finding his place in the world.

Being with Magnus wasn't like that at all. Being with Magnus wasn't like finding anything. It was like looking beside him and realizing that maybe there had been a hole there all along. He'd always been in his place in the world, but it had always felt empty.

He'd been on Earth without the sun. With Magnus there, the world was bathed in light, alight with sunshine.

Magnus pulled away and Alec resisted the urge to whine.

"Are we still pretending to be dating?" Alec asked.

"Shut up and kiss me."

Then they were crashing together again, like magnets. Magnus tugged on Alec's hair and Alec actually moaned, causing Magnus to smile. It felt like they'd been kissing for eons, but it felt like they'd only been kissing for seconds when Magnus pulled away again.

"I have a feeling," Magnus said breathlessly, "that the Magnus and Alec Club meetings are about to get a whole hell of a lot more interesting."

Keeping in mind that this was written at about 3AM, I'm rather pleased with it. There may be some things that don't quite make sense, but middle-of-the-night me thought it was alright.

xx