Because I Love You

Church, The Eavesdropper

"Jace? Izzy?" Alec called out, but no reply came. Jumping down from his window seat, Alec crouched low to the ground, scanning the entire library in one quick glance. On high alert, Alec slowly stood up. Walking around the entire library twice was more than enough to convince him that no-one was there and he started to relax, until a loud meow made him jump and grab at his dagger. It took him a second to realise that it was Church, who was comfortably stretched out under one of the chairs.
"Church, you scared the life out of me." Alec said whilst putting his dagger away. Church looked uninterested. He couldn't have cared less whether he'd scared him or not. Alec went over to Church, moved the chair and picked him up. Church complained about being moved, he'd been comfy. Tucking him under his arm, Alec took Church to his room.
"Oh Church stop whinging." Alec complained when they were about half way back to his room. Alec moved Church so he would be more comfortable, cradling him in his arms like a baby but Church was even less impressed. He swiped his paw up at Alec, hitting his face, but Alec didn't let him go. He didn't even flinch.

Once he got back to his room, Alec dumped the still complaining Church on his bed and then went to check what damage Church had done to his face in the mirror. There were three gashes down the left side on his face, each one bleeding. The highest gash only just missed his eye.
"Damnit Church." Alec sighed. Taking his stele from his pocket, he started carving an Iratze into his arm. Before his eyes, his flesh started knitting back together. The bleeding slowing and eventually coming to a complete stop. Looking over at Church, Alec saw that the cat was stretched out on his bed.
"See, you didn't have to be mean to me." Alec said whilst getting a damp cloth to clean the blood. Church was yet again uninterested but he looked much more comfortable stretched out on Alec's bed, rather than under a chair on a hard floor in the cold library. Once he'd cleaned his face he sat on the edge of his bed, gently stroking Church. Alec loved the sound of him purring. Suddenly remembering the call he had with Magnus, Alec decided to check his phone.
"Seriously Magnus, eight missed calls?" Alec said to himself. He knew that they needed to carry on the conversation they had been having, but he didn't want to do it by phone. He wanted to do it in person. Quickly typing in a line of text, Alec sent the message to Magnus saying 'Can we talk when I get home?' It was weird to think that Magnus' apartment was now his home but it felt right to say it. Laying down on his bed, Alec buried his face into the pillow and within a minute he was fast asleep. After having sleepless nights, and daily training sessions, he just couldn't stay awake any longer.

After about two hours, Alec woke up to his phone vibrating on his bedside table. He looked at it through tired eyes, let it continue ringing and went back to sleep. As abruptly as it had started, the vibrating stopped. Alec sighed.
"If that's you Magnus, I swear I'll kill you." Alec mumbled in his sleep. No more than five minutes later, the vibrating started again. Grabbing his phone, Alec saw that it was indeed Magnus calling. Answering the phone, he curled up into the foetal position.
"You know, it's amazing how annoying someone you love so much can be." He said, his voice showing how tired he was.
"Alec, why aren't you home yet? It's almost midnight." Magnus said, ignoring Alec's previous statement.
"I'm at the institute."
"But why aren't you home?" Alec could hear that Magnus was pouting.
"I'm tired Magnus. I was asleep when you called." Alec knew he wasn't being fair to Magnus, but he needed to rest. His tired body wouldn't do him any good with putting up with Magnus, or if a demon was sighted.
"But..." Alec didn't let him finish.
"I know Magnus and I'm sorry. I'm just so tired. I haven't been sleeping well and I've been training every day. Please, it's just for one night." Alec was begging for him to understand.
"Fine." Was all that Magnus said and he really didn't sound happy. In fact, he sounded close to tears.
"Magnus..."
"No, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to be with you. You get some sleep."
"Magnus please, please don't cry. You know I don't like it when you cry." Alec could feel himself tearing up just by thinking about Magnus crying. The last time Alec had heard Magnus cry was because Alec had gotten badly hurt after an unanticipated demon attack. After a few minutes of silence over the phone, Alec finally sighed and said. "I'll be home soon."
"No Alec, it's okay. If you're tired, stay there. I'll just see you tomorrow."
"Magnus, I'm coming home."
"Okay, I'll see you soon." Alec could hear that Magnus was smiling. A happy smile that he wished he could see.

Less than an hour later, Alec was back home with Magnus and Chairman Meow. He was laid on the couch with his head comfortably in Magnus' lap. Magnus sat, gently running his fingers through Alec's hair. Magnus had de-glittered himself for the day, and he'd taken his contact lenses out. Slowly, Alec was drifting off to sleep. Completely relaxed and happy. Magnus was giving him the quiet that he needed. The apartment was completely silent. He was glad he'd gone home. Magnus had the most delicate touch when he wanted to. Alec couldn't help but relax under his touch. All his worries went away when he was with Magnus. Magnus kissed Alec's cheek softly and with a smile on his face Alec finally went to sleep. Magnus loved watching Alec sleep. He always looked so peaceful. Magnus looked down the couch. Chairman Meow was curled up, fast asleep, at Alec's feet. Magnus was the only one still awake and it gave him a chance to think. Think about what Alec wanted. A child. Magnus had never even thought about raising a child, but now his boyfriend who he loved more than anything (except maybe for Chairman Meow) had said that he wanted a baby. He knew it would be hard and that there would be a lot of sleepless nights, but he was sure that they could do it. He'd never felt more sure of anything in his entire life. Over the day he hadn't been able to think properly, his mind had been preoccupied with worry about Alec, rather than thinking about their conversation earlier that day. Now that Alec was safely home with him, he could think properly. His head was clear; he had nothing to worry about. So he thought. And thought. And thought a little bit more. Until finally he fell asleep. That night Magnus dreamt of what it would be like to raise a child with Alec. It was a very good dream and on more than one occasion, Magnus smiled in his sleep.