It was three in the morning when Will stepped off the plane into the bustling crowds of London's airport, and he missed his boyfriend with every fiber of his being. Grabbing his suitcase off the luggage carousel, he stepped outside and leaned against the wall, hood up and sunglasses still on despite the night sky above.

He was tired. Three weeks of meet-ups, shows, conventions, and collab video shoots had left him completely drained. YouTube could be life-consuming at times. Jem lovingly called it his "demanding mistress." He'd dismissed that joke with a laugh originally, but now he was starting to feel that way.

It was good to be back in London. The plan was to hail a cab and go home to Jem for a few days before the next unexpected event came up.

Lost in his own head, Will hadn't heard someone come up beside him until they spoke.

"H-Hi. Are... Are you Will Herondale?"

He turned in surprise, forcing his face into a pleasant expression and removing the sunglasses. There was a teenage girl standing there, hands fiddling nervously with the cap of a Sharpie pen, her eyes wide and hopeful.

"That's me," he said, grinning widely. "What can I do for you?"

"W-would you please sign this? And c-could we take a picture together?" She was blushing slightly, hands still fiddling with her pen, flicking her dark hair back over her shoulder.

"Of course, yeah!" He quickly signed her notebook's cover, grinning to himself at the photo of he and Jem taped to the inside. Jem made occasional video appearances, and many of his fans referred to Jem as "their baby" or "sunshine" after he'd (jokingly) called him that in a video. This, naturally, had led to merciless teasing at home.

He posed quickly for a photo with her, smiling and then kissing her cheek. She flushed to the roots of her hair, and mumbled something very quickly. It didn't sound like English to Will, and he hesitated. It sounded familiar, with the quick and quiet mumbling. It suddenly struck him as one of Jem's habits when he didn't think Will was listening, and Will was reminded of how much he had missed him. Shaking his head, he forced himself back to the present.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last bit."

"O-oh! I'm sorry. W-We speak Chinese at home, so sometimes if I'm... Really excited, I-I... Um, I forget the English I'm looking for..." She fumbled so badly putting her phone in her pocket that she nearly dropped it.

Will laughed lightly. "No worries, Jem does it too. Does that mean you know what he's saying in the videos when he won't tell me what he means?"

She grinned and nodded.

"Spill," Will demanded, grateful to see her relax a bit.

She shrugged. "Usually he's telling you he loves you. Although once he threatened to put a duck in your suitcase. But it's usually that he loves you."

Will sighed happily, heart twisting a little with a fresh wave of longing to be home. "Guess he can't keep secrets anymore."

She smiled. From a ways down the street, someone called and beckoned. "Well, I have to go," she said brightly. "Thanks so much! Have a safe trip home!"

"You too," he said cheerfully, waving as she walked away. When she was quite a ways down the street, he relaxed and leaned against the wall. He loved the support and the fans, he really did, but it got exhausting after a while. Every time he and Jem went out, there was always one or two people coming up to Will. Jem, as usual, was patient and kind and forgiving, but Will couldn't help feeling bad. They should be able to go to dinner when Will was home without being reminded of why they hadn't seen each other in weeks or months.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, drawing him from his thoughts.

'If you'd look up from your internal monologue once in a while, you'd realize that your boyfriend is standing across the street waiting for you so we can go home. I'm cold. Hurry up <3' 

He looked up quickly, grinning, to see Jem standing across the wide street, leaning on the sign of the bus stop with an eyebrow raised expectantly. Will jogged across the street and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

"I missed you so much," Will mumbled, burying his face in Jem's shoulder. "God, you're so perfect, you didn't have to come pick me up. I could've taken a cab."

Jem cut off his babbling with a fond kiss and a hand on his cheek. "I missed you too. And I wanted to pick you up because I wanted to see you as soon as I could."

Will reluctantly let Jem out of his arms, but kept one arm wrapped snugly around a slim waist and tucked him close against his side. "I am so glad to be home, baby."

Jem smiled and walked alongside Will down the street, back towards the parking structure. "And I am glad to have you home. It's been too quiet without you."

They approached the car and slowly released their hold on each other's hands, quickly getting in and closing the door against the cold.

"Are you sure you want to drive, Jem?" Will looked at him sideways, worried. Jem did not particularly enjoy driving, especially at night in busy areas. He'd been in a bad car wreck as a young teenager, a collision with a drunk driver, and was quick to relinquish the wheel to his boyfriend at any offer.

Jem smiled softly. "I'm sure. You've had a long flight, just rest. I'll get us home."

Will was too wiped out to argue, and he slouched in the seat, eyes drifting shut.

"Oh, and there's a coffee there if you want it."

Will opened his eyes and grinned lazily.
"Americano?"

Jem gave a quiet snort, backing out of the parking space carefully. "Do you ever order anything else?"

"Mm... Thank heaven for good coffee."

"It almost makes up for your bad timing," Jem retorted. "Always with the red-eye flights, William."

"Cheapest ticket and fastest way home to you, darling," Will grinned, curling in on himself lazily on the seat.

Jem snorted softly. "Yeah, but you aren't the one driving to the airport and back at three in the morning."

"Point taken."

~•~•~•~

Will was vaguely aware that it must be nearly afternoon by this point if the sunlight rudely awakening him was any indication.

He rolled over, reaching to Jem's side of the bed only to find a cold pillow and vacant sheets instead of the warm body he was looking for.

"Jeeeeeeem," he said through a yawn, drawing the sound out until his lungs demanded a breath.

"I'm out here, Will," he responded from their small living area. "You know, most people are awake by one in the afternoon."

"It's a quarter til one, for your information, James," Will shot back through another yawn as he made his way out of their bedroom. "And I'm on the wrong time zone."

"I know. There's probably food in the fridge if you're hungry. And there's coffee."

"Probably?" Will quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "You promised you wouldn't starve if I left you alone, Jem."

"I didn't starve," Jem said, rolling his eyes. "But a trip to the grocery store is probably in order."

"So... Takeout?"

Jem laughed, a sound that made Will smile and drink in the sight of his boyfriend, happy and reasonably healthy in their cozy living room.

"Yeah, takeout's fine," Jem replied. Looking up from his book, he noticed Will's eyes still on him and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I love you," Will said with a smile, "And I missed looking at you. It was hard to be separated from you."

"Tell me about it," Jem agreed, marking his place in the book and setting it aside. "I hate not having you here."

Will sat on the couch beside him and draped an arm over his shoulders. Jem happily snuggled into his side, leaning against his chest and pressing a lazy kiss over his heart.

"I love you."

"I know."

"Do you want to go to dinner tonight? Celebrate you coming home and all," Jem said after a moment. "We could call Tess, and Magnus and Alec have been pestering me for a double date."

"Sounds perfect," Will said, smiling as he kissed the top of his head lightly. "But until then, there's something else I'd rather do."

Jem tipped his face up, a question forming on his lips, but that was quickly hushed by Will grabbing him by the waist and smoothly pulling him onto his lap, as if Jem weighed nothing, and kissing the question away.

Jem hummed softly into the kiss, running slim fingers through Will's hair and seeming quite pleased with the change of position.

"I adore you," Will mumbled fondly, pulling away just long enough to breathe. To his surprise, Jem followed his movement and closed the gap again until the space between them couldn't be measured.

"I've missed you, love," Jem murmured into the kiss. Will responded by sliding his hands down Jem's back, settling at the arch of his spine and gently laying him back against the sofa cushions. Jem flushed lightly, head tipping back with a sigh as Will's mouth remapped the curve of his neck and plane of his collarbones that separation had dulled the memory of.

Will moaned softly against the skin of Jem's throat as clever musician's fingers wound through his curls, tightening in tandem with the lovely noises coming from above his head. Those soft noises of pleasure would be the death of his control, he was sure. Jem kissed and made love the way he played music- with everything he was, all his heart and fire and passion.

Will had just slipped his hands under Jem's shirt, smirking at the breathy moan, when the door flew open with a bang.

"So, a little birdie told me a certain someone is home for a week!" Magnus said in a sing-song voice from the doorway.

Jem stilled beneath him, then swore quietly. "I'm going to kill him," he sighed.  "And you'll be expected to finish what you started."

"I promise," Will whispered back.

Jem leaned up and kissed his nose. "Good." Raising his voice enough to be heard, he called back towards the doorway. "We're in the living room, Mags!" Will then found himself unceremoniously shoved to the other end of the couch as Jem managed to tame his wayward hair with a quick brush of his fingers.

Magnus swept into the room, clapping Will on the shoulder. "Good to see you, Will. How was everything?"

"Oh, you know how it is. Personal questions, lots of stammered compliments, eight versions of 'Why isn't Jem here?', the usual," Will said with an easy smile, looking back up at one of his closest friends.

"One of these days, bring him with you and watch the internet explode," Magnus laughed, claiming the chair beside the couch with long limbs akimbo.

"They always seem to time out with orchestra obligations, unfortunately," Jem said, rolling his eyes at Magnus.  "But one of these days, I may have to mysteriously call in sick to the orchestra."

Will laughed and pulled Jem close, smiling when Jem happily snuggled into his side and rested his head on Will's shoulder.

"You two are almost disgustingly cute, did you know that?"

"You're the one who decided to come over when my boyfriend had just come home," Jem replied. "You're lucky we were still decent."

Barely.

Magnus laughed. "Touché. So, are we finally going to get our double date?"

"Looks like it. Shall we call Tess and see if she and what's-her-name want to come with us as well?"

Magnus, phone already in hand, nodded. "Who is she seeing these days?"

Jem shrugged, not bothering to move from his place against Will's chest. Will rolled his eyes, barely able to keep up with Tessa's life. "Last I knew, it was a girl she met at a protest or something."

"No, I thought it was the music theory student she hit on by forcing me to play the violin in the park until the girl noticed, then swooping in."

Will laughed. "She's a wild one, isn't she?"

Jem hummed in agreement, the sound vibrating through his bones until Will felt it more than heard it.

Magnus grinned lazily and stood, dropping a light kiss to both of their heads and walking towards the door. "Alright, you two," he said, calling in their reservation, "I'll expect you at seven on the dot. Look presentable."

"Don't we always?" Will drawled lazily, looking over the back of the couch.

"No."

Will's indignant response was drowned out by Jem's laughter and Magnus's smug humming as the door shut behind him.

"Magnus is making fun of me and my boyfriend is laughing at me. It's good to be home," Will said in a flat voice.

Jem rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be a drama queen," he said fondly, pulling Will down by the collar and making good on Will's earlier promise.

~•~•~•~

Just as Jem was carefully straightening Will's tie, Will's phone rang in the pocket of his jacket.

One hand still braced on Will's chest, Jem closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment. "That is almost never a good sound."

"Humor me, darling," Will said, bending to kiss him before picking up. "Hello?"

Jem busied himself aimlessly straightening the kitchen countertop, trying not to listen to Will's end of the conversation and trying to remind himself it came with Will's job.

(Trying was the operative word. It was difficult to be gracious when every date for the last two years had been interrupted by some force or another.)

Will walked back into the kitchen, eyes wide and excited. "Yeah, that sounds amazing! Good idea. Yeah, perfect. Okay. I'll see you then." He hung up and gave Jem a sheepish grin.

Jem rolled his eyes, mostly kidding, and leaned back against the counter. "Hmm. Let me guess. Another big YouTuber, maybe an American one, is in London for the week and can't wait to collaborate with my boyfriend on date night?"

"Got it in one," Will replied, grabbing his keys. "Sorry, love, you know how it goes. The shoot might take all night, there's a meet-up of maybe four of us and we want to film something for everyone's channel. Rain check on dinner?"

"I'll make your excuses with Magnus and Alec," Jem sighed. "Though they were excited to see you."

"I know. Maybe breakfast tomorrow?"

Jem shook his head. "Rehearsal starts at 5:30 tomorrow morning and I am not getting up earlier than I already have to. I'll be out most of the day."

"I could meet you for coffee on the way to the tube? I'll walk you." Will looked apologetic, one hand already on the doorknob.

Jem waved a hand at him. "Sure. Go, don't keep them waiting. Send my regards, take the car, drive safely."

"You're the best," Will said softly, pulling Jem into a tight hug.

"Yeah, I know. Get going, Herondale."

Will grinned and stepped out into the night, gone again as if Jem had tried to catch smoke in his fingertips. Sighing, Jem called a cab and leaned against the kitchen counter, pocketing his phone.

This was for Will's job that made him happy. It made Will happy. And if Will was happy and successful, that was all that mattered.

"Bullshit," Jem murmured under his breath as he locked the door, before straightening and taking a deep breath. He had been bailed on before, he was fine. He would not let it ruin his evening with his friends, and he would not let his own insecurities about where he stood in Will's life interfere with his career.

He got into the cab, shaking his head ruefully, and let himself imagine a date night where Will just turned his damn phone off.

He arrived at the restaurant to see Tessa emerging from another cab, long hair pinned up and decidedly alone. Paying the cabbie, Jem smiled a little to himself and waved to her.

"Hey," he called, standing beside her. "No date?"

"No, we broke things off last week," she said, hugging him and giving him a once over. "You look good. Where's Will?"

"God only knows," Jem sighed. "Off making a fool of himself with a couple other YouTubers, no doubt."

"On date night?"

"Welcome to our relationship for the past two years," he said, still smiling fondly. "His schedule is all over the place."

"Well, you're my date tonight, then," Tessa said, tucking her hand on Jem's arm. "Someone has to be."

"Always happy to be of assistance. Magnus and Alec already inside?"

"Probably. They drove their car over together like a functioning pair of adults."

"Ridiculous. Scandalizing a cab driver is half the fun of going out," Jem said lightly, holding the door open.

Tessa laughed, pulling him by the hand over to the table where Magnus and Alec were sitting.

Alec gave them a look over the top of his menu. "Hello. Will parking the car?"

"In someone else's driveway, I'm afraid," Jem said, sitting beside Tessa. "He got a call as we were about to leave, and..."

"And now he's off filming a skit until the sun comes up?" Magnus asked, looking skeptical.

"That's about it, yeah."

"Dick move."

Jem laughed, already feeling lighter about the situation now that he wasn't alone in their apartment.

"He sends his apologies."

"How nice of him to say that through you since he didn't bother calling himself," Alec deadpanned.

Beside him, Tessa laughed and Magnus tried to smother a grin.

"Seriously, Jem," he managed after a moment. "You okay?"

Jem shrugged. "Comes with the territory of his job. I don't begrudge him a career that makes him happy. We just need to work on our timing a bit more, that's all. How's married life treating the two of you?" Jem asked, arching an eyebrow at Magnus and Alec.

"Domestic bliss," Magnus sighed.

Alec laughed. "We have become the couple we used to mock."

"Oh my god, please tell me you have a "Mr. And Mr." set of towels or something," Tessa giggled, leaning forward in her seat.

"I can neither confirm nor deny these accusations," Alec said, poker faced again.

"I'll confirm," Jem interjected. "They were a joke gift from me that they got emotionally attached to."

"Traitor."

"I'll get over it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dinner had been lovely. Arriving home to an empty apartment was less so.

Sighing and pulling out his phone, Jem grimaced a bit. It was already quite late, and Will showed no sign of being home anytime soon.

Home from dinner. Magnus and Alec were That Married Couple again and Tessa mocked them relentlessly. You missed a good time. Drive safely. I'll see you tomorrow for coffee? xxx

He fell asleep before any reply came through, ignoring the cold side of the bed opposite him and hoping that tomorrow, he would actually see Will for more than four hours at a time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jem tucked his feet underneath him, hands wrapping around the coffee cup and looking at Will over the rim.

"So, to clarify a few things," he said finally. "We're going on vacation for the holidays. And it's not for your work. And you're not going to film a proper video, just the daily vlogs. And you're not going to accept any impromptu invitations to film anything or attempt to break the internet?"

Will looked a bit sheepish, cheeks flushing lightly. "Correct. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how much I've been away until I remembered our last full weekend together was for your birthday... in April."

"At least you remembered," Jem said affably, contemplating his coffee cup, lost in thought. "Are you sure you'll be able to keep these promises? I don't want you to neglect your job."

"And I don't want to neglect you," Will said, reaching across the table and wrapping one of Jem's hands in his.

Jem looked up with a bright smile. "Then I think we could both deserve a vacation."

Will smiled and stood, pulling Jem to his feet as well. "Okay. You're going to be late if you don't get going."

"Unfortunately, yes." Jem stepped forward and kissed him chastely, lingering in his arms for a moment. "One day, we won't have such terrible timing."

"At least there's always coffee," Will remarked, downing the rest of his like a lukewarm shot.

Jem grinned, slinging his violin case over one shoulder and taking Will's hand. "Well, thank heaven for small miracles."

The barista smiled and shook her head as the two walked out, bickering.

"Boys," she whispered to herself, wiping down the counter. "Just get married already!"

A/N: In which the barista is all of us. Note: attempting a daily update right before a round of AP finals and several concerts around town is perhaps a little too ambitious. But I'm back with some updates! I had these ones sketched out roughly during the holidays, so here you go! My New Year's resolution was not to leave you guys hanging so much, so we'll see how that goes.

As always, let me know what you think or if you have any requests! Feedback makes for faster writing and happier authors! <3 Until next time...