"So, Princes leia and Han Solo are going to get it on, right?" Raphael turned in Simon's arms to look up at him with a self-satisfied smile. Simon found himself beaming at his soulmate as he slipped into a minor rant about the epic love-triangle spanning three movies. Raphael simply shook his head, turning back to the laptop balanced on his knees as Simon continued talking at him.

It had been a full month since that fateful day on a random street in New York, and the two of them were celebrating with a quiet night in. Raphael had somehow conned a recipe out of his chef friend which he had then cooked to great success. While he'd cooked in the sleek, if smallish kitchen area, Simon had set the large glass-topped table separating the living- and kitchen sections of the long room. He had carefully selected the china Raphael had apparently inherited from his grandmother. The crème-white plates with their delicate blue flowers and golden edges hardly fit with the minimalistic aesthetic of Raphael's. However, Simon knew they meant the world to his soulmate, and so he set the heirlooms, carefully, along with the equally miss matching ornate crystal wineglasses which was a graduation present from his mother. Simon had also unearthed a few thick off-white block candles which he'd set at the centre of the table, surrounding them with twigs of Christmas tree and little shapes of thin silver thread. 'Tis the season and all that, he'd thought to himself, humming a Christmassy tune while lighting the candles. Raphael had sent him a raised eyebrow for his efforts.

After a dinner filled with hearty chatter, sparkly eyes and honest smiles, they had settled on the surprisingly large and comfortable couch, Raphael wrapped securely in Simon's arms, his laptop balanced on his legs. Raphael had finally relented, and agreed to watch Star Wars for the first time ever. Simon had expected that Raphael would watch without complaint, because that was the sort of man his soulmate was. He hadn't expected the honest engagement, though, and he couldn't help the wave of excitement and fondness that flowed through him. He blamed his rambling on that.

For a full month, Simon had known his soulmate, and, despite his initial doubts, he now found himself well on the way to falling in love. Under the hard, stone-like surface he had found a man with a heart the size of a small car. Slowly but steadily Simon was starting to be able to interpret his soulmate. By now, for example, he knew that Raphael was not one to easily smile. His eyes, however, gave him away. When he was amused by something, little crow's feet appeared at the corners, and when he felt fondness towards something they would squint slightly. They did both quite often around Simon. At first the whole a-sexual thing had worried Simon. – Not that he was an overtly sexual creature himself. It was more that he wasn't sure how to tread the borders between what Raphael was comfortable with and what Simon felt he needed. So far, though, it hadn't been a problem. Not really. They were learning to communicate where the borders where, and how to compromise so that both of them could rest comfortably in the relationship. It made Simon feel very adult like.

Simon's rant drifted off, and they watched awhile in silence. When they were interrupted again, it was by a knock on the door. Raphael turned his head towards the door to the long hallway, though he made no move to act. When the second round of knocking started up not two seconds later, he sighed in frustration, pausing the movie and getting to his feet. Simon would be lying if he claimed to not be straining his ears as his soulmate opened the door.

"Magnus Bane and crew. Why am I not surprised?" Raphael's voice had taken on a condescending edge Simon hadn't heard before.

"Because we're fabulous?" a cheerful voice suggested.

"What are you doing here?" Raphael already sounded out of patience.

"You, my friend have been bonded for a full 30 days." A third voice chimed in.

"I have," Raphael responded. "Which is why most people would have the curtesy to stay well clear."

"Ah, but we are not most people," the cheerful voice said at the same time as yet another voice butted in with: "But they would if they had not met their close friend's soulmate yet."

"Not to worry though, my dearest grumpy vampire friend, we've brought the party with us." The cheerful voice added and Simon could practically hear Raphael's groan. He'd gotten to his feet, and found himself standing in the middle of the living room, awaiting the party gathered at the front door. Whenever Raphael spoke of his friends it was with a fond exasperation. He clearly loved them all despite his many complaints. Simon knew his time to shine had come, and he'd get little time to prepare.

"You're not going away are you?" Raphael's voice asked.

"Pay these idiots no mind, dear friend. We're all simply happy for you." A new voice cut over the protest of the others.

"The one to pay no mind to is my old-man soulmate. We are happy for you though."

"Enough talking," the cheerful voice cut over what could quite possibly have been a moment. "Let's get this party started." There was the sound of a scuffle, and then four people were pushing through the door, shoving at each other to be the first to enter the room. They were followed by Raphael who was shaking his head at their antics.

"Ah, there he is." The four stopped as one, forming a neat line in front of where Simon had frozen to the spot. The cheerful voice turned out to belong to the tall Asian Simon knew to be Magnus Bane, the enigmatic guy Raphael had lived with for a brief period once. That, Raphael would complain with fondness, apparently warranted friendship for lifetime in Magnus' book, no matter what the other party involved might think on the matter.

"He really is quite cute." Will, a tall man with tousled dark hair and startlingly blue eyes was Raphael's eldest friend. They had bonded, once upon a time, over having foreign accents. – Will was from Wales, and had come to America on an exchange programme to the same high school Raphael had gone to. As he spoke now, he swung his arm around the man next to him. This was the one close friend of Raphael's that Simon'd already met. Though shorter than his friend, James stood out in any crowd with his silver hair and piercing grey eyes. He had forgone his chef's coat for a form fitted pea coat and a deep red scarf wounded around his neck several times. His hands were buried in his pockets as he grinned at Simon almost wickedly.

"Is cute the right word?" kind eyes sparkled towards Simon from the friendly face of Ragnor, Raphael's dearest friend of the bunch. He was the oldest of the group, and looked the part with his greying hair and English-professor dress sense.

"He's adorable, Raphie!" Magnus grabbed Raphael's arms, as he had tried making his way around the group gathered in front of Simon. Raphael rolled his eyes, shrugging of the arm.

"Simon, these invaders believe themselves my friends. Squatters, this is Simon," Raphael waved between them, then walked over to dump down onto the couch, making sure to brush his hand along Simon's on his way. Simon, catching the sly wink of Raphael's, waved shyly at the group.

"You must be Magnus Bane and the Crew. Pleasure to meet you." His words were met with the happy cheer form one, and groans from the many. Raphael's almost silent chuckle had Simon smirk as he stepped forward to greet the unexpected guest with renewed confidence.

(*)

Simon and his friends were actually getting along great. Raphael found himself smiling, as he sank back against the soft cushions of his large couch. He hadn't really doubted that his soulmate would like his friends. But part of him had still feared that it would be in the same sort of way that Raphael himself tolerated the red-haired roommate of Simon's. He should never have doubted though, he thought to himself, as he watched Simon, seated at the edge of the seat next to Raphael, gesticulating excitedly with the drink Magnus had made for him.

Raphael had chosen to invest in one of those large family couches when shopping for his new flat. It fit nicely in front of the shelving units covering one wall, not cluttering the place, and served as a room divider. It also neatly fit his entire friend group, which he was secretly very pleased with. This evening, he and Simon had taken up one corner, with Raphael hidden slightly from view. Next to them, Jem sat lent back, legs stretched out over the floor, as he sipped his beer and joined in the chatter from time to time.

Will and Ragnor had taken up the other corner. Ragnor was sitting sideways in his seat, one socked foot propped up on the cushion. Will was sitting between his legs, back resting against Ragnor's knee, and long legs thrown over that of his partner. If strangers were to hazard a guess as to who was Will's soulmate, nine out of ten would point to Jem. The two of them had been friends for ages, and had that typical close bro-mance type of relationship going on. It was, however, Ragnor, who had completed Will's mark, back in college. Though not overtly touchy-feely, the two of them clearly had a close-knit relationship.

Magnus had settled himself on the little chaislong part of the couch, legs folded under himself as he talked animatedly with Simon.

"Yeah, I actually felt him kick the other day. It was so surreal to feel something moving beneath your girlfriends skin, like. I knew there was something living in there in a kind of hypothetical theoretical way. But now it's all so much more real!" Magnus was gushing about his unborn baby, made all the more eager by a fresh victim to share all the gory details with. Simon was a willing participant, though, with his many questions and encouraging smile.

"Okay, enough with the baby-talk. - Not that I'm not exited about getting to meet my nephew, but we came here with another purpose in mind." Ragnor cut over Magnus' rant, leaning around Will to send Simon an intense look. "Simon. Raphael mentioned you go to NYU. How do you like the new coffee truck by the library?"

"Oh," the confusion was clear in Simon's voice. Raphael couldn't help rolling his eyes, reaching out to slide the tips of his fingers along the small og Simon's back in a sign of unspoken support. "I think it's good. It's a lifesaver, really."

(***)

"Your friends are officially incredible," Simon said as he came back into the kitchen/livingroom. The squatters had only just left, and Raphael was getting a headstart on the cleaning up after an impromptu party.

"Yeah, they're tolerable," He turned around from the sink to smile at his slightly tipsy soulmate. "They seemed to like you, though, so that gives them a bump up the scale."

"Yeah?" Simon snatched the dishtowel from Raphael's shoulder, "You really think so?" Raphael hummed, passing over one of the crystal glasses he'd just washed. "Magnus sounds so exited about his baby. That's so nice. But I thought you said his soulmate is kind of a bitch?"

"Camille?" Raphael raised an eyebrow at Simon, who was carefully and methodically polishing the glass in his hands, "Yeah, she is. Magnus may seem happy and upbeat now, but it's nothing compared to how he used to be. Back then it came from his heart. It wasn't a mask. - The baby is changing that a bit, but. Camille doesn't want children, so. I don't know if it'll last."

"Oh." Simon carefully placed the glass on the counter and used his freed-up hand to brush a few strands of hair off of Raphael's forehead. "That sucks." Raphael nodded, brusquely, keeping his eyes on the sink in front of him.

"Jem's the only one who hasn't found his soulmate, right? That's kind of awesome." Simon aske a while later, clearly trying to break the tension in the room.

"Actually, he has found his soulmate." Raphael kept his eyes on the glasses swimming around in the soppy water. The memories of the night they'd found out was still too raw despite the years that had passed. "She didn't want him, so."

"Seriously? That sucks." Simon, sensing Raphael's distress moved closer, rubbing Raphael's shoulder. Raphael huffed out a laugh leaning in to Simon's touch.

"It really does. He nearly died, too. - Not because of the rejection. His kidneys were damaged. If it wasn't for Cat, Ragnor and Magnus' foster-sister, he wouldn't be here today. She's of in Chicago, that's why you haven't met her." As Raphael spoke, Simon snook his arms around Raphael, pressing himself closer.

"I look forward to meeting her." Simon whispered into Raphael's tempel, "From what I've heard, she's quite the character."

"She really is," Raphael smiled, placing the final glass on the counter and twisting in Simon's arms. "But enough talking about sad things. Tonight was good. Tonight was really good." A bright smile spread over Simon's face, and he tightened his hold on Raphael. "You survived meeting my friends." Raphael trailed his fingers up Simon's chest, withholding a smirk at the shiver that ran through his soulmate at the slight touch. "I'm proud of you," Simon rolled his eyes, pinching Raphael's side.

"Happy anniversary, Jerk." he smirked, a soft smile sweetening the nickname. He leaned in to brush his nose over Raphael's in an eskimo kiss. - Something he'd started doing instead of kissing Raphael on the lips. It took the pressure off of the both of them, and Raphael kind of loved him a little bit for the consideration.

"Happy anniversary, Bebé." Raphael whispered into the tiny bit of air between them, returning Simon's eskimo kiss.

(***)

5 years later

"Bye, guys! See you next week!" Simon called over his shoulders. He had been away for a full month, and that was, in Simon's mind, quite long enough. Not that he didn't love getting to tour with his band, The Yellow Meringues. (Yes, Raphael had laughed his cute little behind of when he'd first heard the name. No, Simon didn't care. It was a great name. Raphael would just have to deal with it.) the tour had been a great opportunity, and Simon had loved every second of it. But he'd also missed his husband and his four-month-old so much it had been a constant physical pain in the tight space just below the ribs. Now they were only a short car ride away, and Simon was not about to waste any time on chit-chat with the people he'd been hanging out with all month. The laughter of the other band members followed his run out of the airport.

Simon took the steps up to Magnus' apartment three at a time. In his haste he nearly missed a step, and for a second he got to sarcastically remind himself that breaking his ankle wouldn't mean getting to see his family any sooner.

Soft music was floating out through the door propped open with a shoe. The flat was milling with people, all there to celebrate the bond between Magnus and one of the Ghosts of Simon's past. For the longest time Simon had held a grudge against Alexander Lightwood. If it hadn't been for him and his insane proposal, then maybe Simon's best friend wouldn't have had to run away. But by the time he and Raphael solved the mystery of Magnus' sudden obsession with a parent from his school, Simon discovered that all malicious feelings towards the Lightwood had evaporated over time. He was more than happy to celebrate the evening with all the other people here. Later. For now he was a man on a mission, and the many faces were only obstacles in the way of him reaching his goal.

"Simon?" The gasped out name didn't come from the man Simon was on the hunt for. Yet it did make him freeze in his tracks. He had known that there would be ghosts here tonight. But that this specific ghost would be one of them, he'd not even dared to dream.

"Max?!" he felt his voice tremble out of his throat, uncertain and confused. 8 years had passed since Simon had stood face to face with the boy he had grown up with. Last time Max had been pale and shaky, his eyes hidden in darkened shadows, as he'd said his goodbyes before disappearing out of a window. Now, he looked better. He looked good. His eyes had regained their brightness and his smile had found it's old cheekiness. The one that had always meant trouble, growing up. His face had filled out, as it was bound to do, as Simon knew his own face had as well. Max wasn't a boy anymore. Yet there was still a hint of the kid he used to be in the dimple in his cheek and gab between his front teeth. His hair was still a disarray, tips now colored blue. Eyeliner framed his dark-brown eyes, and a ring pierced his left eyebrow. He was as slim and gangly as he had been as a teenager. "Holy shit! You're back?!"

"I am." Max, only hesitating for a second, stepped forward to pull Simon in to a hug, pressing a kiss against his cheek in the same way as he had back on that night long ago. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, you too." Simon's voice still hadn't lost its quiver as he tried to take all of it in.

"Can you believe my big brother actually got his head out his arse?" Max kept up his grin, though Simon had known him well enough, once, to see through it to the nervousness hiding behind.

"From what I heard, it needed quite a kick." Simon smirked. Max huffed out a laugh, and nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that, too. God bless Lydia." Max ducked his head to stare at the tip of his designer shoe. "Anyway, I didn't expect to see you here?" He looked back up, an eyebrow raised in question.

"My soulmate is an old friend of Magnus'" Simon smiled, reminded of his quest to find his family.

"Soulmate?" Both Max' eyebrows shut up at that. His eyes skipped to the bare wrist sporting the sun now taking centre stage in the mark. "Well, what do you know. Congrats, man," Max pulled Simon in for another tight hug. "I'd love to meet her, if you'll let me."

"Not a she," Simon silently enjoyed the shocked laughter bursting from Max. "But I'd love for you to meet him, later. Him and my daughter, Maria," Max was shaking his head, a stunned look on his face.

"The things you miss when you go under ground for 8 years," he said. "Seems like you have quiet the story to tell. But now that I have a few more of the puzzle pieces, I think I know who you're talking about. And if I'm right then your, I must add, very hot, soulmate and gorgeous baby-girl are waiting for you over in that corner there." Simon's eyes flickered to where Max nodded his head, to find Raphael already watching him. Simon's heart jolted in his chest as it almost always did when he saw his husband. Being married for three and a half years didn't change that. "Go. I'll catch you later." Max gently pushed Simon forward by the shoulder, and he didn't need more than that to set his feet in motion, carrying him quickly through the masses.

Raphael's eyes didn't leave his face, even as he softly rocked Maria in his arms. When Simon finally reached his family he was met with a soft smile and a sweet eskimo kiss. "Hey, Bebé," Raphael whispered, pressing a proper kiss to Simon's lips. "Welcome home."