#it's even clearer in resurrection when he starts panicking

[svtellify]

i personally think the reason why so many people struggle to like guren is bc he’s v representative of humanity. of us. how many of us could honestly say we wouldn’t sacrifice everything for our family of choice? what makes guren hard to like is that he forces to confront this “less moral” side of all of us because he does. he sacrifices the world, the entire human race, to get his squad, his family back.

it’s cute when yuu says it for mika bc we’ve seen their characters as children, but we’re first introduced to guren as an adult. he’s 24 in vampire reign, and since that’s how he’s first introduced, he sticks in our heads best at this age. we forget that he was 16 when he lost shinya, sayuri, mito, goshi, and shigure⎯the same age yuu was when he chose mika over the world (kind of. they’re working on a plan, but it’s pretty obvious that if it comes down to it, he absolutely would choose mika over everyone.) but because we’re used to seeing guren as an adult and a high ranking military officer, there’s this expectation that he’s responsible enough to not make that kind of decision.

and yet, we watch him continue to make those decisions to bring back humanity without losing his family, because that’s his modus operandi. at the end of the day, there’s is no one more important to him than his family.

and honestly, how many of us can truly say we wouldn’t have done the same thing in his place?

(i’d also like to point out that i was around 14 when i first found the series and caught up on everything⎯i didn’t like guren v much the first time around and thought he was honestly, quite annoying. at 19, and a whole pandemic later, i think i understand where he’s coming from. he’s quite brilliantly written in that way, the definition of “you’ll understand when you’re older.”)

[yadds]

Tony Reappears, Part 4: Tony is Iron Man. Plus, Tony gets to go home.

Part 1 - what would happen if Tony appeared out of nowhere to be found by Peter, who’s still haunted by Beck’s reality bending?

Part 2 - Tony is in bad shape and Peter helps, Strange snarks, and Pepper gives him the kick in the pants he needs.

Part 3 - Tony has come back with more than he bargained for.

__________________________________________

Two weeks later, Tony’s body had recovered enough that he was cleared to leave the hospital wing, finally able to reclaim his lab. It was almost like coming home. 

The first thing he did was resurrect Friday - if he could come back from the dead, why couldn’t she? It settled something in his chest when he heard her lilting voice welcoming him back. Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind sharing her space with Karen, since Peter had partially integrated her into the systems in Friday’s absence. 

With Peter’s semi-permanent, mediating presence for the following two weeks and full access to his lab, Tony now had hope that he might make it out of here, in control of himself, sometime before the next Ice Age. 

Now that they had a better idea of what to test for, the goal of the tests was geared more towards testing Tony’s shielding abilities rather than purposely inflicting wounds. 

Peter’s initial hypothesis was proven correct - the shield was created by his skin utilizing the iron, carbon, and other trace metals in his blood to create a steel alloy of sorts. The testing process was much slower than anyone hoped for since, while the excess blood in his body helped with the supply, creating the shield too often led to extreme iron deficiency, leaving Tony too weak to do anything more. It was also as unreliable as his strength, responding mostly to fight-or-flight levels of adrenaline. 

Speaking of, Tony wasn’t exactly a stranger to stresses on his heart and he could tell that between the constant flood of adrenaline and the increased blood pressure that came with the increased blood volume, his heart was working some major overtime. Strange assured him that his heart was in good condition overall and his body would adjust, but it certainly wasn’t helping in the whole recovery process. 

As soon as they had a better handle on the anomaly that was his body, you could be sure Tony would be engineering a way to control this bullshit better. 

.

Two months later, Tony was swallowing noisily and tugging self-consciously at his shirt as he stared at the front door of his old cabin. He took a deep breath to try to calm his racing heart, darting a glance at Strange, who was being uncharacteristically respectful by standing back and watching quietly, without judgment, as Tony wiped his suddenly clammy hands on his pants.  

He and Strange were cautiously optimistic about his control and had convinced Pepper to allow a supervised visit with Morgan. He wasn’t about to fuck it up by being so nervous that his hard-earned control snapped before he even got to see her. 

He waffled for another minute, debating whether he should knock or not, reaching out for the knob three different times before hesitating and withdrawing. It cracked open slowly before he could make his decision. Pepper stood on the other side, smiling softly. “Are you ready?” She whispered. 

Tony cleared his throat, fixing his hair, like she’d care. “Yeah, of course,” he bluffed.  Why was he so nervous?  Pepper had already explained to her that he was back and had told him that she was excited to see him.

Pepper swung the door open and stepped aside. She grasped his hand and squeezed it briefly as he stepped into the entryway. He met her gaze with a flash of a grateful smile before he shook out the tension in his shoulders and entered the living room, heart about to beat out of his chest when he saw Morgan on the couch watching TV, one leg curled up into her chest as the other swung lightly over the edge of the couch. 

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He tried again. “Hey, monkey,” he called. 

She looked up, dark hair swinging gently around her face. The following few seconds of silence were probably the most agonizing he’d ever experienced. He couldn’t tell if he was breathing too fast or not at all. Was she happy to see him? Nervous? Scared? Was she mad at him for leaving? For coming back? Or, worst of all, did she just not care at all?

“Daddy?” she questioned, lip trembling. 

“Yeah, sweetie. I’m back,” he said, pasting on a grin and, in what felt like the bravest, most terrifying moment of his life (past and present), held out his arms for her. 

It felt like an eternity before she vaulted off the couch and into his arms, throwing herself against his chest so hard that he stumbled backwards, sitting hard on the step behind him. She scrambled into his lap, curling into his embrace as she sobbed. 

Tony had never been more conscious of his grip as he was when he folded her into his embrace, so, so careful. He glanced up at Pepper and Strange, comforted by their presence, knowing they wouldn’t let anything happen to her. With his emotions throwing his whole body into turmoil, he was taking no chances. But he also couldn’t resist holding her as tightly as he dared, gritting his teeth against the tears welling in his eyes as he buried his face in her hair. 

“Shh, shh sweetheart, Morgan, baby girl,” he crooned around the lump in his throat, rocking back and forth. “It’s okay, I’m here baby, I’m so sorry.”

It was a long time before they both felt comfortable enough to release their death grip on each other. Tony pushed Morgan back slightly, touching her face, her hair, eyes darting back and forth, cataloguing every detail. “Look at you, the most beautiful damn thing in the world,” he breathed. 

Morgan let out a wet laugh, cheeks flushing a delighted pink. “Uncle Peter is gonna make you put a dollar in the swear jar,” she said with a shaky grin. 

Tony huffed. “Worth it,” he promised before showering her face with kisses. 

“Ugh, Daddy! Stooooop!” she shrieked, squealing with laughter. 

Tony was absolutely, 100% certain that he’d never been happier in his life. 

.

It was near midnight before Morgan finally fell asleep. Tony had to work some magic to extricate himself from her tight grip, tempted to just stay and sleep in bed with her. But he knew his control was shaky at best when he was sleeping. So as much as it killed him to leave her, even just to the next room, he had to do it. 

He flopped onto the bed next to Pepper, who was sitting cross-legged against the headboard. 

“That went well,�� she said lightly. 

“Well?” Tony asked incredulously, twisting around to look up at her. “It was fucking fantastic! Did you see how happy she was to see me? I mean, I know, I’m Tony Stark, anyone should be happy to see me, but it was like I was the center of her universe!” 

Pepper laughed. “Did you really think it’d be any different?” 

“I wasn’t sure, to be honest,” Tony said casually, playing off the gravity of that statement. 

Pepper’s hands threaded through his hair, stroking gently. “Tony. She’s always loved you best. If anything, you being gone has just made her love you more since she only remembers the good things and none of the obnoxious ways you annoy her,” she teased. 

Tony released a sigh, exhausted but so fucking happy. 

He leaned up to press a soft kiss to Pepper’s lips.  She smiled against him before pulling away slightly. “Hi,” she said softly. 

“Hey, yourself,” he murmured back, pushing forward and pulling her down onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, pushing her shirt up slightly to press his hands to the strip of bared skin above her waistline.

Tony felt high, from the happiness of the day, from the feeling of skin on skin after months of dealing with the bone-deep ache of touch starvation, ever-present after his jarring return to life. He nuzzled his face against her neck, breathing in her soft feminine scent. 

Pepper pushed him back gently. “Tony. We talked about this,” she chastised softly. 

Tony’s brows furrowed, his muddled mind having a hard time following. “About what?” he asked, hand skimming up her back absently. 

“About this,” she said, reaching behind her to pull Tony’s hand out of her shirt. “We said we’d take it slow.”

“Oh. No, Pep, that’s not…” he started, trying to find the words to explain what he needed. 

“I don’t want sex,” Tony insisted. At Pepper’s raised brow, he amended. “Well, okay, I wouldn’t exactly say no to sex, but that’s honestly not what I’m after. I just...want to touch you,” he said, trying to not sound as desperate as he felt. He may not have remembered being dead, but his body sure as hell did. He craved the physical affection, a connection. Just warm skin on skin, a loving human touch. Was that really too much to ask?

Based on Pepper’s uncomfortable, apologetic expression, it was. 

“But, if that’s not what you want, I’ll stop, of course. I’m sorry,” he rushed to say, hands in the air like he was being held at gunpoint, panicked that he might scare her away. 

“I’m not saying you can’t touch me at all, Tony,” she said, grabbing his hands and pulling them down onto the bed between them. “Just...slow down.”

Tony nodded like he understood. But he didn’t. 

Where was the line? What was too fast? Obviously, this should have been something he already knew. Maybe in the morning, when his head was clearer, this would make more sense. Suddenly, the idea of touching Pepper just heightened his stress, unsure of what was allowed and was not.

For now, he gripped her soft hands tightly, taking comfort in whatever he could get. 

Maybe this would be enough. Probably not. But he’d dealt with worse. This was fine. 

.

Things didn’t make more sense in the morning.  

Pepper was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when he woke up.  He squeezed past her to get to the other sink, hand coming up to brush her hip as he passed.  He startled when she jumped at his light touch.  “Sorry,” he apologized, shuffling past as quickly as he could, feeling off-balance.

Pepper finished rinsing her mouth  before shaking her head.  “No, I’m sorry.  It’s just been a long time for me.  I know this is weird - it’s only been a few weeks for you and you’re a much more...tactile person than I am, but it’s going to take a little while for me to get used to this again.”

Tony glanced sidelong at her through the mirror, nodding.  I didn’t realize my touch was something you had to ‘get used to’ he thought bitterly, shoving his own toothbrush into his mouth to keep the words from coming out.  But that wasn’t fair, he knew.  He understood where she was coming from. 

She smiled at him and told him she was going down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He took his time getting ready, giving himself a moment to collect his bearings. 

As he padded into the kitchen, he couldn’t stop the grin that took over his face as he was hit with the nostalgia of seeing Pepper at the stove, the countertops a mess as she fumbled her way through making pancakes and eggs.  

“I see your cooking skills haven’t changed,” he called out teasingly, leaning back against the counter next to her.  She sent him a mock glare as she smacked him on the arm with her spatula.

He laughed and went to grab her around the waist before he remembered his recent warnings and aborted abruptly, changing course midway to end up with an awkward pat on the back.  

The silence that followed was tense and awkward.

“We’ll figure this out,” Pepper said quietly.

“Will we?” Tony asked skeptically, feeling frustrated and morose.  “Can you at least give me some guidelines or something?  I feel like I’m walking on eggshells here.”

Pepper clicked her tongue, glancing to the side as her lips pulled into a tight line.  “Don’t be an ass, Tony.  It’s not like that.”

“It’s not even a sexual thing, if that’s what you’re worried about Pep,” he tried to explain again.  “I just feel...empty.  It helps to have contact with someone I love, you know?”

Pepper’s face softened.  “I know, I get it, Tony,” she said pulling him into a hug.  He clung back tightly, grateful beyond belief.  

“I’m trying.  But it’s hard for me, too,” she whispered.

Tony stiffened and pulled back.  “Why?  Why is it so hard for you to love me like you used to?”

“Because it’s been three years!  Things are different now.  I’m different.  I still love you, of course I do.  But I can’t just jump back into this like nothing has happened.  You died.  Excuse me for having a little difficulty trying to act like that never happened,” Pepper rebuked, crossing her arms defensively.

“I’m not asking you to pretend like it never happened.  I’m just not sure what to do with the fact that it’s apparently so difficult for you to love me,” he muttered lowly, eyes focusing intently on the stove burners.

Sighing deeply, Pepper brought a hand up to cover her eyes.  “I’m sorry Tony.  I didn’t mean it that way.”  

She stepped back up to him, pulling his face toward her to make him meet her gaze before taking his hands in hers.  “Let’s work on it.  Together.  It’ll be hard, but...be patient with me and I know we can figure it out.  I love you, Tony.”

Tony’s shoulders dropped and his lips quirked up in a strained, but genuine, smile.  “Yeah, I love you too.”

They turned at the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs, seeing Morgan skid sideways into the doorway.  “Daddy!” she squealed, delighted, as if she was surprised to see him still there.  

Tony barely had time to brace himself before she was barreling into him.  “Oof!  Hey baby bird!”

“Can we go down to the lake?  Uncle Happy showed me how to skip rocks last week!”

Tony scoffed.  “Don’t you know that I’m the rock-skipping champion?”

Morgan peered at him suspiciously.  “I don’t believe you.”

“My own daughter doesn’t even believe in me,” he lamented, holding a hand to his chest dramatically.

“No, she doesn’t,” she agreed, crossing her arms.

“Fine,” he huffed before grabbing her hand and tugging her to the door.  “To the lake!”

“Hey!  Be back in half an hour for breakfast,” Pepper called behind them.

.

By the time they came back an hour later, breakfast was cold and Tony was sulking.  Turns out, according to Morgan, Happy was far better at rock skipping than he was.

.

He was surrounded by darkness. And a silence so complete, it was smothering. 

He threw his arms out to the side but contacted nothing. Fumbling forward, he tried to find something to orient himself. But there was nothing. 

His whole body seized as he heard a scratching noise behind him, jolting through him like a gunshot in its suddenness. Whirling around, he widened his eyes, desperate to find any scant particles of light. It didn’t work. 

He crouched, body trembling, as he strained his ears for any hint of what might be out there. 

After what felt like hours but was probably just a few minutes, Tony was already weary from the constant tension in his body. There’d been no other evidence of anything malicious, so he cautiously allowed his muscles to relax, sitting heavily on the ground beneath him as he rubbed his aching knees and quads. 

Of course, that was when he heard a booming thud to his left. Leaping back to his feet, he whirled in that direction, cursing his continued inability to see a damn thing. He backed up slowly, one arm stretched behind him to look for any obstructions and the other guarding his face. 

Again, nothing happened. Until he started to relax. Cue awful, spine-chilling noises. Rinse and repeat. 

Frustrated and emotionally exhausted to the point of tears, Tony found he didn’t care when this process was repeated for the seventh time. Sure, the screech made his heart leap into his throat, but he was done. Nothing had happened so far, and even if it did, it would be a relief to finally actually have something real to deal with. So he continued sitting where he was, staring unseeingly at the ground beneath him. 

Suddenly, there was a hand with a vice-like grip around his bicep, the points of claws digging into his bare flesh. Tony yelped, skin crawling, yanking his arm back. It didn’t budge. Another hand brushed against the back of his neck. He turned abruptly and threw his free fist blindly behind him, throwing all his enhanced strength behind it. 

It was all to no avail. He contacted nothing and his hand was immobilized. Not by another’s grip this time, just...stuck. 

A sob tore out of his throat as he felt more hands on his body, now completely unable to move. 

“Tony!” he heard, right in his ear. He snapped his eyes open, somewhat shocked by the realization that he could actually see. 

When his eyes focused, he noticed he was staring at the ceiling of his bedroom in the cabin. A dream. Of course it was. He breathed out a sigh. 

Until he realized he was still immobilized, then his heart kicked right back up. He pulled and strained ineffectually. “What the fuck?” he gritted. 

“Stark. Are you awake now?” 

Tony turned his head toward the voice, more relieved than he ever thought he’d be to see Strange standing next to him. “Yeah, Doc,” he rasped, too overwhelmed to generate his usual sarcastic greeting, brain too occupied by putting together the pieces that were slowly falling into place. 

“Alright. I’m going to let you go now, okay?” Strange said cautiously. Tony nodded, gasping in relief when he felt the alleviation of pressure he hadn’t realized had been present.  

Catching his breath, he sat up and turned his head.  He felt his stomach drop as he saw Pepper standing as far away as possible, hands clutching her arms and face pale.  “Fuck,” he growled, gripping his hair tightly as he ground his forehead into his folded knees, haunted by the familiar scene.  

Was this really happening again?  And this time, it wasn’t just a matter of sensitive suit programming.  This wouldn’t be as easy to fix.

“Mom?  Dad?” a trembling voice questioned from the doorway.  Pepper hurried to Morgan, shushing her, assuring her everything was alright.  Luckily, Morgan didn’t seem to notice how shaky her mother was herself.

.

It was both a blessing and a curse that his visitation time had already been planned to end that afternoon.

A curse because, obviously, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with Morgan.  Luckily, she’d quickly shaken off the incident the night before and was quick to drag Tony out of bed to snuggle on the couch and watch old Disney movies, which did more to soothe Tony’s shredded nerves and wounded soul than anything else could.

And a blessing because a control mechanism could no longer wait.  He needed to get back in the lab ASAP.

Also because the tension between him and Pepper was mounting at an alarming rate, each unbearably cautious around the other.

Tony spent most of the drive back to the compound staring out the window in sullen silence.  

“Last night wasn’t exactly ideal,” Strange said.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Tony snapped, turning a withering glare on him.

“But,” Strange continued pointedly.  “Our monitoring system worked.  Friday was able to warn me about your adrenaline spike and I was able to subdue you.  So overall, I would call that a success.”

“Yes, wonderful,” Tony drawled.  “As long as I have special wizard supervision 24/7, I can safely be around my family.”

“I would call it a success because that’s an important step to creating your own control system.”

Tony grudgingly acknowledged that truth but was unable to stop brooding, caught up in the bleakness that had been choking him all day. Tomorrow, that would be a beacon of hope.  But today...today, there was no such thing.

__________________________________________

Part 5: Tony gains a new confidant in the form of one Peter Parker, Pepper tries to understand.

Ok y’all. Truth time. I didn’t even initially intend to go into as much detail about Tony’s ‘powers’ as I did here, as little as there is. So I’ll admit to being lazy about it and the whole rest of this part. And my medical knowledge is just slightly above level zero, soooooo don’t judge me lol. The flimsy explanation is flimsy. And that’s that 👌🏻

This backstory has completely gotten away from me - it was originally intended to be a few paragraphs and has morphed into its own 10,000+ word prologue.  Also, sorry that Peter is hardly even in this part.  Whoops. The slow burn is glacial.  But the starker interactions are going to really start in the next part - nothing romantic yet, but at least they’ll be interacting regularly.  I’m so excited!! I’m finally getting to what was my original idea to start with lololol.

P.S. I think every single post I write includes the word y’all in it 😂🤠

Taglist: @starkerstories @t1of3 @consciencecoward @peachbabytarte am I missing somebody?  I hope not!

[sian265]

Legio autem Arcarius Legion of Archer Chapter 10

Alec had no idea how appealing he was all rumpled and sleepy-eyed as he stumbled out of the guest room in search of coffee. Magnus hid his smile at the soft fluffiness of Alec’s bed head and the adorableness of his half-closed eyes. The Commander only grunted when greeted with ‘good mornings’ by his archers. They seemed well use to their Commander’s lack of coherent language first thing in the mornings. Magnus took pity and poured Alec a large mug of coffee, saying nothing as he placed it in front of Alec. Several moments and sips passed before clearer hazel eyes lifted from the mug to observe everyone gathered at the table.

 Clearing his throat, Alec thanked Magnus first before turning to his second. “Underhill, send a fire message to Alicante, tell Theo to send us reinforcements. I hate to leave the Legion so short in Alicante, but tell him if the Consul has any new missions to message us and we can send some archers back.”

 Andrew nodded and laying aside his napkin, rose. “Right away Commander.”

 Alec then turned his attention to Magnus, somewhat shyly meeting the Warlock’s gaze after their kiss the night before. “Good morning,” he whispered intimately.

 Magnus smiled softly and patted Alec’s hand. “Good morning indeed, Alexander. Did you sleep well?”

Feeling brave, and past caring what others thought of him, Alec reached over and took Magnus’ hand, holding it firmly atop the table for all to see if they cared to. “I did thank you, and you?”

 “I did, wonderfully, and with the most pleasant of dreams.” Magnus’ smile grew at the sight of their entwined hands. “What’s on the agenda for today, Alexander?” Alec let out a sigh and Magnus regretted bringing up their mission and spoiling the moment.

 Reluctantly Alec pulled his hand free, but not before giving Magnus’ fingers a gentle squeeze. He spent the next several minutes filling Magnus in on his meeting with the Seelie Queen and what she had told him about the cult’s activities. “Once reinforcements arrive I need to debrief them. I am assuming I cannot talk you out of this party?” At Magnus’ nod, Alec continued. “Then we need to plan.”

 Magnus reluctantly agreed. “I am sorry Alexander for all the additional security concerns but this is the best plan for drawing out our cult leaders. Especially given that, they have been seeking information about me all over town. Given the opportunity to come face to face with the object of their inquires will prove too great a temptation. They will take the bait.”

 “Perhaps so, but you know that neither I nor the Consul approve of you using yourself as bait!” Alec could not help that his voice rose; he had a gut feeling that this party was a bad idea. However, he was also quickly coming to realize that Magnus was extremely stubborn. Alec could feel his frustration level climb; Magnus was making it almost impossible for Alec to protect him! He threw his napkin down in disgust and started to rise from his chair, but was halted as Magnus grabbed both of Alec’s hands in a tight grip.

 “I am sorry, Alexander.” Magnus squeezed Alec’s hands roughly. “But I cannot sit back while more mundane and Seelie’s are murdered. I will not hide behind the Legion! These fools think to resurrect some nonsense cult that was begun as a joke! All to what? Summon my father so he can reward them? They are fools and if they were not murdering innocents then I would let the idiots raise my father and then they would truly learn about pain!” Magnus took a deep breath and lightened his hold on Alec.

 Alec sat silent for several minutes; he did not pull his hands away again from Magnus. To allow their target to deliberately place themselves in harm’s way went against every code of the Legion. That it was also Magnus… this left Alec panicking, something he was definitely not used to doing! He knew what his only option was. “Then we plan, since you are set on this course, we plan until there are absolutely no holes anywhere!”

 Perhaps it was because their emotions were running high, or maybe because Alec had been so bold as to first take Magnus’ hands, for whatever reason, when Magnus leaned over, lips posed, Alec met him. Their kiss so out in the open was too brief for anyone to get used to, and if his archers hadn’t been looking at them, they would have missed it. Underhill say it, and with a smile, he quickly turned away, waving away those few gawking Legion who stared open-mouths at their usually stern Commander. Both Alec and Magnus paid them no mind at all, completely caught up in each other.

 Magnus magically cleaned up after their breakfast, then retreated to his study to send out his fire message invites, fully expecting to receive 100% RSVP’s. Alec returned to his guest room to shower and dress for the day. He wanted to do something, but the more logical part of his brain kept preventing him from even considering it. Alec really wanted to ask Magnus out on a real date. But he couldn’t, could he? This was a mission. Magnus was in real deadly danger! Right? All through his shower and the redundant task of dressing, Alec’s mind wrestled with his desires and his duty. He wanted to sit down with Magnus, just the two of them. Sit in some restaurant with candles, that sounded romantic to him. He wanted to eat a meal, just the two of them. He wanted to ask Magnus if they could date, exclusively. And he knew he could easily and smartly wait until all this was over, but Alec was tired of waiting for his life to start. For the first time, he wanted to put his wishes first, not his duty or responsibilities. However as he finished dressing and tried to settle his hair somewhat, Alec sadly admitted to himself, he wouldn’t give in. His mission was to important and would have to come first, for now.

 Since Magnus occupied his study, Alec and Underhill took over the dining room table. A quick internet search got them the whole buildings plans and they poured over every corner, leaving no area unscrutinized. The apartment layout got broken down and personal assigned to their stations for the party. As they went over their plans repeatedly, Alec had the nagging thought that they were forgetting something vital. As they began clearing away their plans, Alec was hit with what they had missed and his eyes widened in horror as he turned to Underhill. “The wards will be down,” he whispered in shock.

 Andrew’s own eyes grew big and his face paled. Alec coughed to clear his throat before calling out. “Magnus,” when the High Warlock stuck his head out of his study door, Alec asked. “Are the wards going to be down for the party?”

 Magnus frowned and nodded. “Of course, Alexander. How else are my guest to get in?”

 Alec weakly waved a hand for Magnus to return to what he was doing. Once the study door was closed, he ran a hand aggressively through his hair and turned to look at his second. “Of course he says!” Alec mocked, rolling his eyes as Underhill coughed to cover his laughter. That laugh quickly turned to a groan as Alec began putting their papers and plans back out all over the table. Alec grinned a little evilly and waved a hand for Andrew to rejoin him. “Let’s start over,” he said and matched Underhill’s groan with one of his own.

 Finally, after several more hours of rehashing the same points over and over, they agreed, there was simply no way for the Legion to cover every square inch of the building. Alec knew what he was going to have to do. “I’ll get with the New York Institute and get their Shadowhunters assigned to the party.”

 Andrew nodded. “Then if they can cover the perimeter, the Legion can remain inside for the party.”

 “I hope Magnus realizes the level of security his guests are going to be subject to.” Alec leaned back as he spoke and stretched his arms above his head, working out the kinks that came from sitting to long hunched over. “Because the wards will be down, the Legion are going to have to sweep a room every time someone goes in and out.”

 Underhill tossed the papers he was reading aside. “It’s going to be a logistical nightmare.”

 They both were tired of looking at floor plans and list of Legion personal. Alec finally reached over and started gathering the plans. “Let’s call it a night for now, it’s almost dinner time and you need to gather the Legion and go over what we have decided.”

 Underhill agreed and they both went their separate ways. Andrew to debrief the archers and Alec to check in on Magnus. When Alec entered Magnus’ study, he found it empty of the High Warlock. Looking around at all, the collections of books and bottles of only the Angel’s knew what, Alec spied a note with his name scrolled across the top. ‘Alexander,’ it read, “I hope this is not presumptuous but I was hoping that you would join me for dinner? Tonight, seven sharp on the balcony. Magnus.’  Seems he and Magnus had the same thought, though Alec did wish it were some fancy restaurant away from all the danger and missions. Looked like he had a date to get ready for, Alec smiled.

 He did not have much in the way of date clothes, having nothing more than his normal tac pants to wear, though he did pair them with a soft looking grey sweater. Alec tugged at the hem of that sweater as he stepped out onto the balcony. The table was set beautifully with a white tablecloth and candles already lit. Magnus though, he took Alec’s breath away. He wore slim black pants and a crimson silk shirt; open halfway down Magnus’ chest. All that honey colored skin firmly on display. He would always swear it was the food that had Alec salivating, not the glimpses of Magnus’ skin. Alec accepted the glass of champagne Magnus handed him.

 “I wanted to take you to the coast for lobster, but well, this will have to do for now.” Magnus waved a hand across the table, blue sparks trailing off his fingertips. The spread that appeared had Alec’s stomach releasing an embarrassing grumble. The lobster had steam rising from it, and Alec could smell the fresh drawn-butter. Before he could sit, Magnus waved another hand around them and out of the corner of his eye; Alec could see a waver in the air around them. “Privacy bubble,” Magnus explained.

 Alec smiled and sat his glass down before moving around the table to pull out a chair for Magnus. Unable to resist, as Magnus sat, Alec leaned down and pressed a kiss atop the Warlock’s spiked hair. “Thank you, Magnus.” Alec whispered before moving around to his own seat. “This looks delicious.” He picked up his glass for a small sip, wrinkling his nose at the tickling the bubbles provided. “Our minds must have been in sync today.” Alec stated, laying his napkin in his lap and looking over at his dining companion.

 Magnus took a sip of his own glass before with a pleased smile started filling up their plates. “How so, Alexander?” he asked, placing a lobster tail on Alec’s plate and adding a small glass boat of butter.

 Alec tore off a piece of the lobster, and mindful of Magnus’ reminder to don’t forget the butter, moaned as he popped the succulent seafood into his mouth. Swallowing and already reaching for more, Alec answered. “I was just thinking this morning that I wanted to ask you out on a real date, but did not know how to manage that with the mission we are on.” He stared to say more, but Alec became suddenly distracted with the sight of Magnus’ lips. The butter giving them a sheen that proved too much temptation for Alec to resist. Surprising them both, Alec quickly leaned across the table and took Magnus’ lips in a hungry, possessive, kiss. The flavor of champagne and lobster only added to the addictive nature of Magnus’ lips.

 Magnus pulled back reluctantly with a gasp, Alexander literally and figuratively stealing the very air from Magnus’ lungs. He could not believe it of himself, but Magnus’ felt himself flush at such a display of raw passion and want from his archer. He kept his face close to Alec’s, not moving back. “You continue to surprise me Alexander.” Magnus whispered.

 The smile that spread across Alec’s lips was that of a man confident in his ability to stir the man across from him. All in all, Alec looked quite pleased with himself. “In good ways, I hope?” he asked, grin firmly in place at the flush that appeared across Magnus’ cheeks.

 Magnus could not do anything but laugh. He leaned back in his chair and looked upon Alec with a depth of emotion in his eyes that stirred Alec’s own heart. “Most assuredly, Alexander.”

 The smile Magnus gave Alec was one the archer had never seen before. Alec’s nerves settled and he sat back to bask in the magically man across from him, a man he was completely falling for…

 TBC…