Will sighed contentedly and thought he could stay like this forever. Jem, who had been talking excitedly about the score of a movie they'd just seen, had fallen asleep with his head in Will's lap, and they were both snuggled under a thick blanket on their worn couch. The apartment was cozy and warm despite the wind and rain outside. They'd ordered takeout since it was Friday (and neither wanted to cook), and Will felt full and lazy and content.

That is, until Magnus decided to ruin the domestic moment by calling him.

Will picked up quickly, shifting so his back was against the arm of the couch with Jem between his legs and pillowed on his chest.

"Hey, Mags, what's up?"

"I just wondered what the plan was for tomorrow!" Magnus exclaimed. "What are we doing?"

Will was at a loss. "Um... Tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow!"

There was a long pause, and then Magnus gasped dramatically.

"William Herondale. Tell me you did not forget what tomorrow is."

Thoroughly confused, Will shrugged before remembering Magnus couldn't see him. "What's tomorrow?"

"It's Jem's twenty-fourth birthday, you dolt!"

Will swore under his breath, suddenly very aware of the warm weight against his chest. "Shit. Is it tomorrow? Damn, I thought it was next month."

"He's been your boyfriend since high school, asshole."

"I know! And I've always remembered before, I don't why it snuck up on me this year." Will shook his head with a sigh. He had approximately two hours before it was technically Jem's birthday.

God bless the fact that James Carstairs was not a morning person.

"Well, you can't ignore this one. It's a big deal!"

"What's a big deal about being twenty-four?" Will was getting more and more confused every time Magnus opened his mouth.

Magnus sighed, and Will could practically see him raking ring-studded fingers through his hair in disappointment. "Think back to when we went to the doctor with Jem a couple years ago. When he was rediagnosed? Remember what they told us?"

Will felt his heart sink. "They told us he probably would never make it to his twenty-fourth birthday."

"See, you do have a brain behind that pretty face of yours. Yes, Herondale. Your boyfriend is kicking the ass of a disease that doctors don't even fully understand and looking fine as hell while doing it, so we are damn well gonna celebrate him tomorrow! We need a plan! And you need to get a gift!"

It was no use arguing when Magnus spoke in exclamation points.

"What can I do this late? He's asleep on me on the couch, and everything is closed."

Will could hear the smirk in Magnus's voice. "Not if you know where to look. New York never sleeps."

"We live in London!"

"Irrelevant!"

"I don't understand you."

"Well, come misunderstand me at my apartment so we can make a last minute plan since I'm apparently a better boyfriend to your boyfriend than you are."

"Hands off, Bane."

"Then up your game, Herondale," Magnus fired back with a laugh. "You better be here in ten minutes."

And with that, Magnus (ever the dramatic one) hung up.

Will tosses his phone onto the side table and sighed, running a hand through his hair. How could he have forgotten Jem's birthday? He never forgot birthdays or holidays or anniversaries. Especially this one, of all birthdays...

Sighing, he managed to extract himself from the sofa without waking Jem and scrawled a hasty note on a Post-It, sticking it on Jem's forehead with a light kiss to his hair.

Grabbing his keys and coat, checking the pockets for wallet and phone, Will made his way to the door, shivering as he descended the staircase down to the street. He signaled for a cab and gave the address that was almost as familiar as his own.

When he arrived at Magnus's building seven minutes later, he paid the cabbie and bolted into the lobby, desperate to stay out of the rain.

Magnus's building was far more expensive than Will and Jem's was. The decorations and kind of people you saw in the lobby only served to underline this fact. Magnus had moved here after landing a solid modeling contract.

Will and Jem, on the other hand, had recurring hospital bills and student loans to pay off. Enough said.

Will was jolted out of his thoughts when the penthouse door swung open to reveal a very impatient looking Magnus.

"Come in, come in, we haven't got much time."

"This whole thing seems very cliché," Will remarked with a smirk as he entered and slipped out of his coat. "You know, late night phone calls, inviting me to leave my sleeping boyfriend at home and come over, the rain, your unnecessarily fancy silk robe, my dashing good looks..."

Magnus cuffed him upside the back of the head delicately. "If you ever cheat on Jem with an older, wealthier man, I will castrate you."

Will laughed. "I know. So what's the plan?"

Magnus sat on the couch, and Will sat down beside him, propping his chin on a hand.

"Dinner?"

"That's what we did last year."

"Bar?"

"Jem doesn't drink."

"Club?"

"Again, Jem doesn't drink."

"You don't need to be drunk to dance."

"No, but we will be, and he shouldn't have to be the designated driver on his birthday."

They fell into silence for a moment.

"Strippers?"

"Do you know my boyfriend at all? He'd blush from hairline to collarbones."

Magnus frowned. "I was really hoping you had a plan, Will."

"I know, I know. I never forget his birthday, I don't know what's wrong with me."

Magnus put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, don't beat yourself up, love. He's fine with something small."

Will opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock on the penthouse door.

"You expecting company, Mags?"

"Nobody but you," he replied, standing and walking to the door.

He opened the door, and a storm-tossed Tessa crossed the threshold. "Hello, boys. Procrastinating the birthday plans?"

Will looked down sheepishly.

Tessa sighed. "Honestly, I am always cleaning up your mess. Luckily for you, I came prepared." Opening her purse, she pulled out a bottle of red wine and a white envelope.

"Wine for us..." she said, yanking the cork out with her teeth and handing it to Magnus, "And the envelope for Jem's birthday." She tossed the envelope to Will and swept into the kitchen to get glasses.

Will and Magnus stared after her in amazement.

"She's a goddess," Will managed finally.

"She really is," Magnus agreed. "What's in the envelope?"

Will peered inside and felt a grin creep across his face.

There were four tickets to go see The Phantom of the Opera, which was Jem's favorite production ever. He could play nothing but that score for weeks and be content.

"Theater tickets?"

"Theater tickets," Will affirmed. "Matinee show."

"Just you and Jem?"

"All four of us, actually," Will grinned. "Let's see if we can make an online reservation at that Italian place downtown for afterward."

Magnus motioned toward his laptop as Tessa came back into the room with three glasses. "Have at it."

"So, do we have a plan now?" Tessa asked as she poured herself a glass of wine and left the bottle on the coffee table for the boys to treat themselves.

"Yeah," Will said as he sat back on the sofa. "The show at two o'clock, then an early dinner at the nice Italian place downtown afterward. We can meet at our place beforehand to do gifts, if you want."

"And after dinner?"

Will gave a wicked grin. "You are not invited to the after dinner plans. It's not exactly conducive to company."

Tessa smiled as Magnus nodded. "Sounds good to us."

"Do you have a gift for him yet?" Tessa inquired, raising an eyebrow over the rim of her glass.

"Um... Maybe." Will shrugged. "I've been writing something for him. It's not quite done, but..."

"Will, give it to him anyway. He loves your writing," Tessa prodded softly. "It's thoughtful and sweet and it'll make his day."

"Also, you don't have time to go out. It's almost midnight, and you should get home eventually," Magnus pointed out.

"I think I'll stop by that music store he likes on the way back. It's open twenty-four seven," Will said with a sigh, stretching out on the couch.

"Ass off my couch, Herondale. Go get your boyfriend a birthday gift and get home to him so he doesn't wake up alone on his big day," Magnus said, rolling Will off the couch with a smirk.

"And what are you two going to do?" Will said, standing and brushing himself off with mock indignation.

Tessa giggled and raised her wine glass. "Enjoy life to the fullest, darling, of course."

"Don't show up hungover to our apartment tomorrow," Will warned as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love! Adieu!" Magnus made a shooing motion with his hands as Will rolled his eyes and stepped into the elevator.

As the elevator doors slid closed, Will allowed himself a smile. Contrary to popular belief, he really did love his idiots. Even if they did make life unpredictable at best. He was fairly sure most families were like that. So what if their family didn't follow the usual recipe?

The quiet ding of the elevator drew Will's attention back to the situation at hand, and he pulled his coat tighter around himself before exiting the lobby into the chill of London at night.

A quick purchase at the music store and a cab ride later, Will was standing on their floor, digging through jacket pockets in search of his keys. As he let himself in, he looked around the apartment, wondering if Jem had woken at any point.

The note he'd left on Jem's forehead was stuck to the coffee table with something else neatly written beneath his own scrawling script.

'I have no idea why you went to Magnus's in the middle of the night, but thank you for not waking me. I hope you took a jacket.'

Will smiled to himself, and went to the kitchen and turned on a light.

He had a lot of preparations to make for the big day.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The first thing Jem was aware of when he woke up was that he was alone in their bed. Rolling over slowly and grabbing his phone off the nightstand, he dimmed the brightness with eyes still closed before opening them with a yawn.

The notifications for several messages surprised him. Quickly swiping and entering Will's birthday as a habit, he wondered what all the messages could be about.

It didn't hit him until halfway through Tessa's unnecessarily long emoji sequence that it was his birthday.

Smiling now, he read through birthday wishes and excited messages from Magnus, Tessa, Jessamine (which was a bit of a surprise), Charlotte and Henry, and a few of his colleagues from the orchestra.

After reading them all, he tossed his phone gently back onto the bedside table and smiled up at the ceiling, stretching with a sigh. It was nice to be remembered by so many people.

Twenty-four...

Twenty-four. Jem sat up rather suddenly, trying to clear the sleep from his mind enough to think.

He was never expected to live past twenty-three, and here he was, feeling reasonably well and very loved on the morning of his twenty-fourth birthday. He smiled and ran fingers through his hair.

'Not bad, Carstairs,' he thought to himself as he stood and felt his joints pop. 'You may live into your thirties with Will yet.'

Speaking of Will... Where was he? Was he still with Magnus?

Curious now, he ventured out into their living room and smiled fondly at the scene before him.

Will was standing in the kitchen with his back turned, presumably making breakfast, judging by the smell of the apartment, and humming the piece Jem had been rehearsing all week under his breath.

"Well, aren't you a pretty sight," Jem sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

Will turned around, spatula in hand, and grinned widely. "Happy birthday, babe!"

"Thanks." Jem walked over and kissed Will's cheek softly. "Where'd you end up last night?"

"Mm. Kiss me now. Talk later."

Jem grinned and obliged, sitting on the countertop and yanking Will closer by the collar of his shirt. Will allowed himself to be pulled close, gathering Jem in his arms and standing against the counter between Jem's legs.

Will let his hands rest lazily on Jem's thighs and Jem instinctively wrapped his arms around Will's neck in response.

Sighing happily, Jem melted into Will's arms and let himself be carried away until-

"Shit, breakfast," Will mumbled when the timer went off, shrilly piercing their little bubble.

Laughing, Jem slid off the counter and stood on tiptoe, kissing Will's jawline and heading towards their bedroom. "I'll be right back. I'm going to put some real clothes on, as I'm almost certain you're plotting something."

Will looked him up and down, sending a flush creeping up Jem's face. "Feel free to come back without the clothes."

"And do your job for you? I don't think so," Jem replied innocently.

Will snorted a laugh, turning back to ensure the kitchen didn't catch fire again.

Jem returned to the kitchen moments later, looking much more awake. "So? Why exactly did you leave the apartment so late and go over to Magnus's place?"

"Oh, just finalizing plans for today," Will said with a smile.

"Mind sharing those plans?" Jem asked softly, standing behind Will and wrapping arms around his waist. Standing on tiptoe, he tucked his chin onto Will's shoulder and placed a teasing kiss just beneath his ear.

Sighing contentedly, Will turned and leaned back against the countertop, keeping Jem flush against him. "Hmmm... Maybe they should be a surprise," he teased.

"Will, you know I don't like surprises," Jem chided, smiling and standing on tiptoe to steal a kiss.

Just as Will wrapped his arms around Jem's waist and kissed him again, the door flung open and Magnus swept in enthusiastically with Tessa close behind. Surprised, Will jumped back and turned his attention back towards breakfast with a sheepish grin. Jem, who had a practically nonexistent embarrassment threshold, simply laughed.

"Happy birthday, darling!" Magnus exclaimed, sweeping Jem up in a tight hug that quite literally knocked him off his feet.

"Thanks, Mags," he gasped, laughing. "But put me down!"

Magnus ruffled his hair fondly after setting him back on his feet. Tessa was next, though it was- thankfully- a much more demure hug.

Jem really didn't want to push his luck today. His lungs had a past history of randomly deciding to not work as lungs at the slightest provocation.

Tessa pulled back and looked at Jem searchingly for a moment. Leaning in to kiss his cheek, she whispered, "How are you feeling?"

Jem smiled softly at her concern and gave his standard reply. "I'm fine, Tess, don't worry about me."

She smiled widely. "Good, because we have celebrating to do!"

Raising an eyebrow, Jem looked between the three of them curiously. "Anyone want to share those celebrating plans with me?"

"First, pancakes," Will said, pushing a plate into everyone's hands and ushering them towards the sitting area. "Then presents. Then plans."

Jem rolled his eyes, but kissed Will's cheek. "You are far too good to me," he murmured softly, feeling a rush of affection for the three people in the apartment. It was quite a lovely feeling, to be celebrated.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

They had arrived at the theater after exchanging gifts, and Will was trying to memorize the look of happiness on Jem's face. His pale eyes were lighting up with excitement, smiling as he talked energetically with Magnus and Tessa. Magnus, true to form, was gorgeously but eccentrically dressed, drawing more than a few looks, and Tessa looked stunning with brown curls falling down her back and a blue dress hugging her hips and falling to her knees.

Will knew he looked rather dashing at the moment as well. A jacket and tie look had always served him well, and Jem had told him before that he filled this particular suit jacket out very well.

Despite the beautiful company, Will could not keep his eyes off Jem. Dressed very simply, and having forgone a tie in favor of a more relaxed appearance, he was a study in contrasts, dark fabric against pale skin and one slender hand wrapped in Will's larger one.

Leaning over just slightly as they took their seats, Will whispered, "You look good enough to eat today."

Jem gave his shoulder a playful shove. "All good things to those who wait."

"That's a lot of waiting."

"We'll be home eventually, and then I am yours."

Satisfied with this, Will straightened up into his own seat and smiled when Jem's fingers once again wound through his own as the lights began to dim and the orchestra began to play.

The show, naturally, was phenomenal, and Jem was riveted throughout the entire performance. Will knew his fingers would be just itching for his violin to play with some of these melodies and orchestral movements.

The lights came up at intermission, and Will stood up to stretch. He offered a hand down to Jem.

"We've got fifteen minutes. Want to take a walk with me?" Privately, Will was really hoping he'd say yes so he could give him the rest of the birthday present... the story he'd written. He'd almost given it to Jem that morning, but had chickened out at the last second since Tessa and Magnus had both been there.

Accepting the hand, Jem smiled. "Sounds wonderful."

They cautiously made their way out of the row of seats, Jem more gracefully than Will (broad shoulders and narrow aisles are not the best of companions), and finally emerged into the fresh air.

"I.... I have another gift for you," Will said without preamble.

Jem arched an eyebrow. "You already gave me a gift, darling."

"Hence the word 'another'."

Jem rolled his eyes, smiling. "Fair enough."

Wordlessly, Will drew the small book out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Jem, who accepted it with wondering eyes.

Will was absolutely wracked with nerves while Jem looked through the short collection of poems and stories, smiling at some points and brow furrowing at others.

Jem closed the book, hands trembling a little, and said nothing for a long moment. Finally, Will couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"I know it's not much, but-"

"I love it," Jem interrupted, looking up at him with bright eyes. "The way you write, it just... it captures my heart within three sentences and I'm hooked for good. It's perfect, thank you." Jem wrapped his arms around Will's neck and kissed him, surprising Will a little.

After a moment or two, the lights inside flashed twice, signaling for everyone to take their seats. They reluctantly broke apart and made their way back inside hand in hand.

When they sat down, Tessa and Magnus could see the book still in Jem's other hand and smiled.

Will leaned in close as the music began to swell.

"Happy birthday, James."

Magnus caught his eye and winked, Tessa quickly shielding her laugh with a cough. Will could feel heat creeping into his cheeks.

He was never going to hear the end of planning this day the night before, was he?

A/N: Hello! Straight away, I'd like to apologize for the ridiculously long gap between updates. You guys have been so encouraging and sweet and deserve so much better than that. Sorry a hundred times over, I will attempt to be better about that.

Second thing, holy smokes guys. The stats on this story are beyond anything I ever could've hoped for. We just broke 11K reads! That's insane to me, but I'm grateful that so many enjoy my writing. It means the world to me.

Third, promo time!! Go check out acarstairsthing 's story called "I Love You, Will". It's super cute and I commented like twelve times per chapter. Anyways, it's really nicely written and I recommend you guys check it out.

Alright, you all know the drill from here. Want me to check out and/or promote a work of yours? Give me the title and I'll get to it when I can. Vote, comment, tell your friends, and tell me what you want to see! Until next time, my lovelies, stay wonderful!