Alec spends the rest of his Saturday cleaning, doing laundry, and cooking dinner for himself and Clary. With Clary working overnight shifts for the next ninety days, it's hard for her to keep a routine, therefore Alec has been trying to pick up more of the household responsibilities. He feels like it's the least he can do, considering everything that Clary has done for him over the years.

"What did you make tonight?" Clary asks as she sits down. Alec hands her a bowl of his homemade chili, along with sides of shredded cheese and sour cream. Clary, not having the forethought to wait for Alec, digs in. They sit in companionable silence for most of the meal.

"So, do you want to watch movies tonight, or are you going to abandon me in order to maintain some semblance of a sleep schedule?" Clary asks with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah I'm gonna go with the option of sleep. You're not the only one getting used to a new schedule. I can't stand having to get up at the ass crack of dawn. I much prefer the evening shifts." Alec replies as he's finishing up his first bowl of chili. The morning shift has always been hard on Alec. Not only is it the most boring shift, and it always seems like his days just drag on forever, but he's never been a morning person.

Once he scoops up his second bowl of chili, Clary finally speaks.

"Oh my god! Are you ever going to tell me how your date went?" Clary yells as she slams her fist on the counter, causing Alec to laugh.

"It went perfect," Alec responds vaguely.

"Care to share with the class, Mr. Lightworm?" Clary continues to glare, while Alec feigns contemplation.

"Nope," Alec gets up, puts his bowl in the sink, goes to the pot of chili and gestures to Clary to see if she wants more, then proceeds in pouring the leftovers in a container and puts it away. The bowls are rinsed and put into the dishwasher.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Alec glances towards Clary - who is still glaring daggers at him - and walks to his room.

"I hate you!" Clary yells at his retreating form.

"I love you too!" Alec yells back. "Goodnight!" he says in a sing-song voice. He chuckles as he hears her frustrated stomps towards their living room, then shuts his door.

Lying down on his bed, he's not exactly tired enough to go to sleep. After a few minutes, he turns around and grabs his phone, chewing on his lip as the dial tone sounds. The phone call is answered after the third ring.

"My, my, Alexander. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Magnus' rich, smooth voice comes through the phone. Alec laughs nervously. He's definitely starting to second guess making the phone call, worried that he may seem clingy.

"I was just calling to say hi and ask how your day went. I remember you telling me that you were going to have dinner with your parents tonight. Did you thank your dad for me?" Alec starts, silently cursing himself out for sounding too creepy, but it appears that Magnus doesn't mind.

"Oh yes I did! My dad was elated by the compliment, and my mother is ready to... meet you..." Magnus' voice trails off with a sound of uncertainty. This causes Alec to relax a bit. Magnus seems to be nervous as well.

"Well, maybe after a few more dates. Tell her that I'm looking forward to meeting them." Alec mentally punches himself in the balls for that comment. It is way too early to meet the parents! Thinking of a way to change the subject, Alec continues, "Speaking of dates, what are your plans for Monday? I'd love to cook dinner for you. I know you said that you want to take this slow - and I'm completely on board with that - but I was thinking maybe I can cook dinner for you, and we could have a picnic at the park near my house?"

"I would love to have a picnic with you, Alexander," Magnus says, to which Alec relaxes. He now feels like he hasn't completely screwed things up by sounding too eager. "Would you like me to bring anything?"

"Nope, just bring yourself and your appetite. Leave everything else to me," Alec responds enthusiastically. "How does seven sound to you?"

"Seven works wonderfully. It will give me plenty of time to accomplish some things that I've been putting off all weekend," Magnus laughs.

The rest of the evening is spent with them discussing their days, the things they plan to do for the rest of the weekend, then they say their goodbyes. Alec goes to sleep with a smile on his face.

~oOo~

As Monday comes, Alec is doing everything he can to make sure this date goes the way he's planned. He wakes up early to make his homemade strawberry cheesecake. While the cheesecake is cooling in the refrigerator, he goes to the market to buy chicken breasts and vegetables to make his stir fry. He figures that would be the easiest to eat on a picnic - as opposed to the usual, boring sandwiches - and then heads home to prep all of the food so when the time comes for him to cook everything, all he needs to do it throw it in the pan as needed. Once he finishes preparing dinner, he gets the blanket, mason jars, and the battery operated tea lights, and puts them in Clary's car for later. He's enlisted his best friend's help to set everything up for him on her way to work this evening.

Now that Alec's had time to breathe, he realizes that his morning coffee has completely left his system. He goes into the kitchen and starts another pot. As soon as it finishes brewing, he hears Clary open her bedroom door. He grabs two mugs, fills them, then greets his best friend as she walks into the kitchen.

"Ugh, you've read my mind! Bless your sweet sweet soul for having the coffee ready." Alec chuckles at her little morning dramatics.

"Yeah, I was starting to crash myself. I just finished all of the prep work for tonight. Thank you again for setting everything up for me. Everything you'll need is already in the backseat of your car." Clary nods in acknowledgment as she sips her coffee.

They finish their coffee in silence, but as soon as the mugs are empty, Alec pounces on Clary. "Are you up for a walk? I'll show you where I want everything?" Alec questions. Clary slips on her shoes and they're on their way.

~oOo~

After receiving a text from Magnus letting him know that he's downstairs, Alec heads out to meet him. As Alec is walking to the main doors in the lobby, he has a clear view of Magnus. They are both dressed casually - both wearing sweaters and jeans - but Magnus is wearing a fitted emerald green sweater, fitted dark denim jeans, and nice shoes. Alec is starting to second guess his attire. He's dressed in a very faded, black sweater that has a few holes and fraying threads, and a pair of loose fitting, faded blue jeans. Alec stops walking for a moment, wondering if he can run back up to his apartment to change his clothes, but at that moment, Magnus turns and spots him. 'Well, too late now,' Alec thinks as he continues to walk.

Magnus is smiling as Alec walks up to him. He's starting to feel even more self conscious as Magnus eyes him up and down. Magnus pulls Alec towards him and gives him a sweet, chaste kiss.

"How is it possible for you to look absolutely beautiful in a sweater that should have been thrown out years ago, Alexander?" Magnus asks, with a slight teasing note to his voice.

"I may or may not have wanted to run back upstairs and change when I saw you. We agreed last night on the phone that we were just going to have a casual night tonight. You're the one who decided to look like sex on legs, even in casual wear," Alec responds, causing a smug look to cross over Magnus' face. Alec can't help but to think that even while looking smug, Magnus looks adorable. "Shall we head over to the park?" Alec grabs Magnus' hand and leads the way.

They arrive at the area that Clary set up earlier, and Alec chances a glance at Magnus. He's nervous about his reaction because he doesn't want to come off as too cliché, but Magnus' reaction is one of awe. Alec lets out a relieved breath and guides him over to the blanket. The blanket is set up in a small wooded area that Alec found on one of his morning jogs years ago. He also comes here to think or just read every once in awhile. The mason jars with the tea lights are placed all around the blanket for a more romantic feel.

As the two men sit down, Magnus speaks up. "Alexander, this is so beautiful. I've never had anyone do something like this before."

"It's not too much, is it? I didn't want to make it seem like I was expecting anything out of this date, other than your company of course." Alec has been worrying over the setting ever since he thought of the idea. Magnus has made it perfectly clear that he wants to take their relationship slow, and the last thing Alec just wants is to give any mixed signals with the picnic set up. He respects Magnus' boundaries, but, at the same time, Alec has never had a relationship what wasn't solely based on sex. This whole dating thing is new territory for him and he agrees with Magnus' desire to do things in the right order.

"Not at all, Alexander. This is perfect. It's romantic without being too private, but at the same time, it's private enough to give us the illusion that we're completely alone." Alec lets out a sigh of relief and proceeds to take out the wine and food. He sets the food down, then pulls out the plates, silverware, and the wine glasses.

"I hope you like chicken stir fry. I figured this would be the easiest to eat while sitting on the ground," Alec tells as he plates the food. "I've even pulled out the fine Chinet for you this evening." Alec hands Magnus a plastic plate with a herringbone design to it, and chuckles at his little joke while Magnus also laughs. He plates himself some of the stir fry, then moves on to open the bottle of wine, pouring it into plastic wine flutes. "And let's not forget the expensive crystal wine glasses." He winks when Magnus looks up at him with laughter in his eyes.

"You really do know how to romance a guy," Magnus says while trying, and failing, to contain his laughter as Alec starts to blush.

"Yeah well...I just didn't want to bring anything breakable." Alec lifts his glass up to toast, "to a nice relaxing dinner." Magnus echoes his toast, tapping his plastic wine flute against Alec's.

Magnus takes a sip of wine, then grabs a fork to start eating. Alec nervously waits to see his reaction. He's used to wining and dining guys with home cooked meals, but being that Magnus grew up with a professional chef as a father, Alec is a little anxious about Magnus eating his food. Magnus' eyes widen when he finally takes his first bite. "Alexander, this is amazing! Dare I say this is better than my father's. The vegetables are cooked to perfection, and the chicken is so moist. How did you manage that with how thinly sliced they are?" Magnus continues to eat without waiting for Alec to respond. Alec gives a nervous laugh as he picks up his own plate of food.

"Honestly, I love the compliment, but I know your dad's must taste better than this. And I did marinate the chicken for a few hours before I cooked it. I didn't want it to dry out in the pan." Alec takes another bite before he continues, "I just looked the recipe up one afternoon back in college. Clary and I just finished a few cooking courses, considering neither of us could make anything that didn't involve a microwave, but we had chicken, rice, and vegetables in the fridge so I pulled up YouTube and watched a video. It's been trial and error ever since. Besides, stir fry is probably one of the easiest dishes to make."

"So how did you and Clary meet? I feel that on our date Friday night, I was the one doing all of the talking, while you just patiently sat and listened."

"Oh we met in college our freshman year. She and I had a few intro courses together, and she kind of hit on me one day. I told her that I was flattered, but she was definitely not my type. When she still didn't get the hint, I told her that I played for the same team, but she was still clueless. I had to bluntly tell her that I'm gay, then after her embarrassment wore off, we became instant best friends," Alec remembers fondly, "shortly after, she and I started working together at JJ's, then she needed a roommate, and I needed a place to live, so when she asked, I accepted." Alec knows that's not the full truth, but he really isn't ready to talk about his past just yet.

Magnus just laughs, "That poor girl! Did you at least feel a little sorry for her when you rejected her?" Alec laughs when he thinks about Clary's reaction to him being gay.

"Actually yes, I did. But her response was, 'Oh well. I promised myself that I would be more bold when I went to college, and you're still hot regardless so own it dude.' Then we started talking about our classwork. It was great that she didn't dwell on it, but even if she had, it still doesn't change the fact that I am 100% gay and not attracted to her in that way." Alec finishes. "But even her brother tells us that we have a very domesticated relationship. Our friendship just works, you know."

Alec thinks for a moment before he continues, "She and Jon are like siblings to me. When Jon found out that Clary's roommate was a guy, he drove back down from Harvard to beat the crap out of me. He assumed that because she was living with a guy, I automatically wanted to get in her pants. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that I was more attracted to him than I was to her. I swear I think his brain stopped working. It took him a good five minutes to realize what I was saying to him. Not that I was hitting on him, but I was doing it to make a point." Alec realises that he's going off on a tangent and abruptly stops speaking, then blushes fifty shades of red. He never talks this much, or this openly. It's a strange concept for him.

Magnus pulls Alec's chin up with his index finger so he can look him in the eye.

"Why did you stop talking? I was enjoying listening to you speak so animatedly about your friends." This causes Alec to blush even more.

"I can honestly say, you are the first person I've spoken so openly to, other than my family of course." Alec then curses himself for bringing up the dreaded F word. He knows what Magnus is going to ask next, and waits with bated breath.

"Well tell me about your family." 'And there it is!' Alec thinks. He blows out an irritated sigh, then looks at Magnus. "Lets just say that the people who raised me weren't the nicest people in the world. For all intents and purposes, the Morgensterns are my family now." Alec really doesn't want to get into that conversation.

"Of course, I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories." Magnus looks a little disappointed when Alec decides to give a vague answer about his parents. Alec feels a pang of guilt, not only for not telling Magnus the story, but also for not bringing up his siblings.

"It's fine Magnus, it's just a very touchy subject for me. I will tell you about it eventually, but I'm just not ready yet, okay." Magnus clears his throat and nods. "Thank you." Alec manages to breath out. He then goes back to the basket and pulls out the two slices of cheesecake, which causes Magnus' eyes to widen in delight. Before Alec can even get the lids off the containers, Magnus lunges at him, giving Alec a searing kiss. Alec reciprocates automatically. The kiss quickly escalates when Magnus pushes Alec down, ending up lying mostly on top of him. He runs his fingers through Alec's hair and pulls lightly, causing Alec to moan into the kiss.

The kiss seems to last for hours, or only minutes, Alec can't be sure. When the need for air becomes too much, Magnus moves to kiss the back of Alec's ear, then nips at his earlobe, causing another moan to escape Alec's lips. When the sensation becomes too much, Alec grinds his straining erection against Magnus' leg. Magnus continues his exploration to Alec's Adam's apple, nipping and sucking hard. Alec is too lost in the moment to care that there is going to be a huge mark on his neck tomorrow. Soon, Magnus' hands travel further down, cupping Alec's erection over his jeans. This brings Alec back to reality and he instantly grabs Magnus' wrist, pulling it back to safer territory. Magnus gives him a look of confusion.

"Magnus, as much as I would love to continue this, there are two things stopping me. One, we both agreed to take this slow, and two, I'm not sure about you, but I'm not much of an exhibitionist." This causes Magnus to spring up quickly while looking around to make sure no one witnessed their impromptu makeout session, which in turn, causes Alec to chuckle and sit up.

Alec opens the containers and hands one to Magnus, then he pulls Magnus to sit in between his legs and the two men feed each other cheesecake, while sharing light kisses in between bites. They finish up, pack the basket and throw away their trash, then head back towards Alec's apartment building. Once back at the apartment, they say their goodbyes, kiss, and part ways. The only thought on Alec's mind as he's walking up the stairs to his door is, Magnus Bane truly will be the death of me!