1. Sex baby, let's talk about you and me.

"No."

"But darling, I insist."

"No."

"Just to make the house livelier I think-"

Alec suppressed a sigh before he immediately – but gently – pressed his lips on to Magnus' so that his boyfriend would finally stop talking. The High Warlock of Brooklyn's eyes had fluttered shut while his hands quickly wrapped around the shadowhunter's waist. It was a pleasant surprise, he must admit. A diversion nonetheless, but a pleasant surprise it was.

It had been two months since they had both returned from Luke and Jocelyn Garroway's wedding and since then things had been peaceful to say the least. Time has passed and so the warlock and shadowhunter had taken the next step further into their relationship; moving in together – permanently. It wasn't as if they hadn't stayed in the same place before, but it had never been a solid arrangement. During the midst of the Mortal War against Jonathan Morgenstern, Alec and Magnus had lived in an agreeable situation (before their… separation) where Alec had spent most of his nights at Magnus' place. Yet even then his home had still been the New York Institute and Magnus' apartment was simply a blissful little escape. This time it was going to be just the two of them with as little interruption as possible. Of course Magnus would still continue his business as the High Warlock of Brooklyn and Alec would still venture out to the Institute every single day to carry on his shadowhunter duties, that was a given. But in retrospect it was as if Alec would leave for 'work' at his 'office' everyday and come back by the time dinner was ready while Magnus was to 'work from home'. The situation would be so normal and planned out, nothing out of the ordinary. It was going to be so… so mundane.

It was a unique version of perfection in their eyes. Perfection in the norm and stability.

Perfection in each other.

Magnus' hand had slowly sneaked its way beneath Alec's shirt when the kiss deepened. A small smile had graced the shadowhunter's lips and one of his hands had tangled its way into Magnus' soft hair as –

Bang.

Alec instinctively pulled away from Magnus and pushed himself in front of the warlock, simultaneous pulling out a hidden knife from his combat boots while he sheltered his boyfriend behind him. Magnus, although surprised, was mostly annoyed at the interruption but somewhat elated at the notion that Alec's first instinct was to protect him. The warlock's heart began to beat a little faster.

"WE'RE COMING IN!"

"Jace, you're too loud! What if we interrupted them?"

"I think that's already a given Clary."

At the sound of the familiar voices the tension immediately slipped away from Alec and he straightened himself up as Magnus rolled his eyes and swore in Spanish.

"We should've waited longer at the door." Clary continued.

"And do what, freeze to death outside while they do the dirty in the warm and comfortable inside?"

"It would've been the polite thing to do."

"Damn propriety to hell. The cold's not good for morale."

"What?"

"Would the two of you kindly get off our property?" Magnus seethed when the two well acquainted figures had finally made their appearance into the room.

"Two and a half," Jace Lightwood (or Herondale or whatever the hell he was, Magnus didn't give a damn) smirked and lifted a very disgruntled fur ball in his arms. "We brought Chairman Meow."

The cat glared at everyone and everything before finally wriggling its way out of Jace's grip and sauntered away to a different room.

"Barely five minutes here and he thinks he owns the place. Typical." The warlock huffed.

Alec stood there awkwardly in embarrassment, still not used to the topic of sex being brought up so casually. "I wasn't… we weren't… I mean-"

Clary Fray began to say something apologetically before Jace waved her off and smirked at his parabatai's direction. "Don't worry, Alec, we're used to it."

Alec's blush deepened and his eyes widened. "What?"

"You and Magnus have been together for a while and so sex is just something that happens," he shrugged. "Besides, we saw the two of you through the window."

"What?"

Clary gently hit Jace's arm and glared at him. "You didn't need to mention that."

Magnus, now leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, had finally sighed in relief. "The blond one gets it."

Jace raised an eyebrow but said nothing else.

"Sex I mean," Magnus drawled out. "You said it was just something that happens. So get out."

Clary's large green eyes looked at the warlock inquisitively with innocence. "Sorry?"

"Your boyfriend said that sex was something that happens with couples and so I need you to get out."

"Why?"

Jace looked at her with pitiful eyes. "Oh, Clary no don't say that it's a trap."

Magnus grinned at the two of them before finally laying his eyes on a flustered but otherwise silent Alec. "I need you two to get out so that sex can happen. Immediately."

"You didn't need to say that."

Magnus lounged back in bed and leisurely flipped through a book while occasionally motioning his hands to move boxes around with magic. Alec on the other hand, had decided to move some boxes himself and was currently unpacking his old sweaters into a drawer.

"Hm?"

Alec cleared his throat once more and mumbled more quietly this time, "You didn't have to say that."

The warlock's yellow cat eyes flickered briefly to Alec's figure and a thin smile formed at his lips. "I beg to differ."

"I just… did you see how scandalized Clary's eyes was?"

Magnus scoffed. "Did you see how taken back Jace was? What a sight it was. That boy is rarely off guard but ah well, his fault for walking into it."

Alec sighed and stopped what he was doing. He turned to Magnus and met his gaze. "I just… they don't need to know about us. About what we… do."

The other man was about to chime back a suggestive comeback when suddenly he had realized what Alec had meant. Magnus closed his book and sat up, rigid and stony faced. "Are you embarrassed about us? I thought we had gotten pass this, Alexander."

Alec looked away and his hand subconsciously covered the part of his neck where Magnus had left a very visible mark from earlier on. "I'm not embarrassed but it's just that they don't need to know about us that way. I want it to keep it between us. Our little thing."

"It's not as if we're actually including them in-"

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh no, I didn't mean that. No no no no-"

The warlock cut him off by sharply placing a finger on to his lips. "Hush sweetcheeks and let me finish. I was about to say that it wasn't as if they were involved with us. All there is to it is just knowledge. Knowledge of intimacy that every couple of every kind is allowed to be assumed of. They know a lot of couples bang each other; it's just common assumption. So what if they think we're doing it? It's just a common perception that all couples have. But in return we also think that they're doing it."

"Magnus, please don't go there-"

"I mean can't you tell how much of a thirsty hoe Jace is? Like seriously."

Alec winced. "Now you've said it."

"And don't get me started on Isabelle and Simon. Do you seriously think that they don't-"

The shadowhunter swiftly jumped up and covered his ears as he left the room with childish attempts of blocking off Magnus' words. The warlock grinned with satisfaction at how much he could wind him up. It was one of the aspects that he had found endearing to begin with.

Yet on the inside hurt still lingered in his heart. How could Alec still be embarrassed of their relationship after all this time? Had he not passed that phase where he could be openly comfortable with the two of them? In contrast, all Magnus wanted to do was to climb up the Empire State and yell out "I'M IN LOVE WITH ALEXANDER GIDEON LIGHTWOOD AND EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH THIS CAN KISS MY ASS AND GO AND SPEND ENTERNITY WITH MY DEMON FATHER YOU FREAKING SONS OF BI-"

Magnus snapped out of his train of thought and returned to his side of the bed where he picked up Anna Karenina from the side table. As he flipped back to the page he was on, the warlock called out to his lover downstairs. "But it was good though wasn't it?"

"What?" came the distant reply.

"The thing we did today? The SEX?"

Silence was the only thing that met him, but Magnus' heart took a leap of joy when Alec's hesitant and very quiet reply of "Yes" echoed through the hallways.