This was inspired by the song Where You Are, by Mayday Parade.

You to me, are encased in nothing but beauty and gracious love
You'll always be my one good reason to keep on moving 'til I'm in your arms
My favorite place is wherever you are

Favorite Place

*.*.*.*.*

"I think Pandemonium is my favorite place in the world," Magnus said with something of a sigh, seemingly an afterthought to a conversation he and Alec were not currently having.

They were sitting at the bar at the night club in question, the place completely empty, completely still, completely silent in the middle of the morning. It was weird to see the place in the daylight, with fluorescent lights, with pin drop silence, room to breathe, room to walk, room to talk, not a seelie or soul around other than the two of them.

It was nice. Weird, but nice.

They didn't spend much time at Pandemonium these days, much too busy with other business ventures and personal affairs in the form of Shadowhunter and Warlock drama alike to pop by at all, but the night before two of the managers had gotten into an argument and quit, taking half the staff with them when they did and leaving Pandemonium something of a clusterfuck that Magnus had no choice but to deal with ASAP. It was unfortunate that it was such a circumstance that had them coming back to the night club, but it was nice to visit the place again all the same.

And of course, any chance to get away from the Institute and spend time alone with Magnus was one that Alexander Lightwood was going to pounce on, and if that meant reliving the night they first met… well, then so be it.

(They both used the term met very lightly when discussing Pandemonium, as they only first laid eyes on each other that night, rather than actually having met just yet.)

"Out of everywhere that you've been in the world, this place is your favorite?" Alec asked, lips quirking up with a smile as he looked up from the paperwork they had spread out between them.

They had been trying to find people to replace the ones who had quit the night before as soon as they humanly and possibly could so the coming night wouldn't be so hard on the staff who was actually still around. The odds of hiring half a staff by the time they actually opened later, however, were…

Growing slimmer and slimmer by the moment.

"Of course," Magnus replied. "How could I not love where I first laid eyes on you?" he added softly, making Alec's heart skip a beat with the absolute nonchalantness of it all, though the words were weighted all the same.

Alec blushed, shook his head. Of course, the warlock had a point, as the night club would always hold a special place in his own heart as well, but to say it was his favorite place in the entire world? Not even by a long shot.

"That is a good memory," Alec conceded with a thoughtful hum. He reached a hand out to take Magnus' from where it was resting on the paperwork before them, played at his fingers without thought as he continued. "But I think your loft is good competition too. I spend more time there than I do at the Institute, it smells like you, it's always so warm and welcoming but mysterious at the same time, it's where we had our first real make out session, where my mother finally gave us her approval, where you literally pulled me back from the edge, it's where we first made love," he finished softly, smiling at Magnus all the while.

Indeed, many of their memories as a couple were centered around that loft; if one had to pick a favorite place in the world, it was a good one to keep in mind, a good one to name, if all alternatives failed.

Magnus looked at Alec in that adorable lovesick way of his, and reached a free hand to pat at Alec's cheek to let him know the sentiment was returned, of course. Of course.

And they had never had a conversation like this before, Alec thought suddenly; they had so much history together, yet they never really took the time to relive any of their memories together. Not like this, not relaxed and just the two of them; it was so intimate, and almost as good as the memories themselves had been when they were not just memories. They should have done it sooner, Alec thought, and would have to do it much more often.

"We had our first kiss at the Institute," Magnus said then, "We first confessed our love there, too; I'd say it definitely makes the list too."

"God," Alec ran his tongue over his bottom lip, thinking back to their first kiss that had changed everything. He had been so… inexperienced, he couldn't help but think wryly. He had tried his best, of course, but it had been messy, and rushed, and something that he was all too aware was being witnessed by far too many people; the stress of things certainly hadn't helped his performance, and he couldn't help but be thankful that no such audience and pressure had been around for their first time having sex together—that he never would have been able to live down.

"I was so fucking scared," he sighed. "I knew I couldn't marry her, knew I couldn't let you get away, and I knew that was it, you know? My last chance to win you over, prove to you that I wanted you in my life. And that… well, you'd made a romantic gesture by storming in there and interrupting the ceremony, so I thought kissing you was the only romantic gesture that could compare and let you know I was serious about wanting you, about all of it. The problem was…" Alec paused, fingers coming up to stroke his lips absently for a thoughtful moment before he let them fall back to the bar. "... I'd never kissed anyone before. I was afraid you would be able to tell, and that it would make you want me less. I was afraid everyone would be able to tell, and that it would invalidate how I felt for you somehow. But," he paused again, long enough to shrug and give Magnus a smile, "I like to think I've gotten good enough at it now that no one can even begin to question my feelings for you."

Magnus let out a thoughtful hum at that, shot Alec a look that almost seemed to be saying let's test that out shall we, before he leaned close to him and kissed him, slow and sweet and familiar, but strong and stubborn and heavy at the same time. Under it all, he could still taste the fear and uncertainty that had tainted their first kiss all that time ago. Everything was so different now—they were so different, their relationship was so different, their world and lives were so fucking different; but it was the same, really, their love, the magnetism that always brought them back together without a doubt or hesitation in the world, was the same.

It was all different, and it was all the same. But more than that, it was all worth it.

"This," Alec murmured, breathless when he pulled back from a kiss that, if the slight pout on his face was anything to go by, Magnus was absolutely not done with just yet. "This is my favorite place in the world, hands down. In your kiss, in your arms, in your presence. Wherever you are… that's my favorite place," he finished with surety.

Magnus' pout softened, and he leaned back in to kiss Alec much more tenderly this time, which only solidified his answer all the more in his mind.

"Permission to retract my previous statement and tell you wherever you are is my favorite place too?" Magnus mumbled, barely leaving a breath between their lips.

"I don't know…" Alec drawled teasingly, which Magnus rewarded him with a nip to his bottom lip in response for. Alec let out a chuckle then, licked Magnus' bottom lip in apology, though he was sure it was meant to be the other way around here. "I'll have to think about it," he added then.

"Difficult nephilim," Magnus huffed, but he kissed him again anyway, and Alec thought that if Magnus was going to keep kissing him until he granted permission that wasn't actually needed, he might not ever give it, the issue at hand that they were meant to be solving on behalf of Pandemonium be damned.

*.*.*.*.*