A good nap was all Magnus needed.

He hadn't slept the night before and the morning had been more eventful than planned.

Naps— they could fix almost anything, if done properly.

Magnus had been studying napology his entire life and he would be damned if it wasn't an official field of study at Harvard before he died.

It couldn't be too short or too long. There couldn't be too much light in the room but, too dark and you wouldn't wake up in time. Too comfortable and you wouldn't get up when it was done and too uncomfortable and you wouldn't reach peak restfulness.

45 minutes was Magnus' magic number and if he had to set a timer, then he'd set a timer.

The timer went off around two in the afternoon.

45 minutes wasn't enough. The alarm kept screeching and no matter how much Magnus fumbled with the screen of his iPhone, he couldn't get it to shut off.

Flustered and tired, he chucked the phone against the wall and with one final cry, it shattered into a million made-in-China pieces.

In the relative silence, sleep was coming back to him.

Until he heard the plink-plinking of the piano.

So Alec was finally home?

Faced with the choice of dream-Alec or real-Alec, Magnus went with the latter, pulling all of the covers off the bed as he staggered out into the sun.

It was an unfortunate fact that his apartment had a lot of windows and reflective surfaces. He thought the shiny and bright interior was a great idea when he bought the place.

Now he wanted the privacy of a life behind blinds and a lot less sunlight.

Alec's back was to Magnus, who was covered from head to toe with piles of blankets.

Magnus collapsed onto the couch, laying on his side so he could watch Alec.

Alec was in a sort of trance.

He could get that way sometimes if something was bothering or if he simply wanted to be alone.

Magnus never minded the occasionally silent Alexander, as long as it didn't last longer than a few hours.

"What are you playing?" Magnus finally asked. He had been listening long enough to know it wasn't an actual piece, but rather a sloppy arrangement of chords that occasionally managed to sound harmonic.

"Nothing," Alec said, his hands flattening on the keys, creating dissonance.

"Is something wrong?"

Alec looked over at Magnus.

"What's wrong with you?" Alec asked, staring at the pile of blankets that resembled the shape of his boyfriend.

"I've decided to become a blanket burrito," Magnus said.

"You know, I actually made the bed this morning."

"Life is easier as a burrito," Magnus said.

"Until someone bites you," Alec said.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind if you—"

Alec put up a hand to stop Magnus.

"I'm really tired," Magnus said. "My nap wasn't enough."

"Then go back to sleep," Alec said.

"It's not that simple," Magnus sighed.

Alec raised an eyebrow and played an E minor.

"Napology," Magnus explained.

"The study of—?"

"Naps," Magnus finished.

"That's not a real thing," Alec said.

"And you would know?" Magnus scoffed. "You didn't even know what a selfie was up until a week ago."

"And I still think it's stupid," Alec said.

"Napology is a serious field," Magnus said. "Researchers—"

"You?"

"—have concluded that the perfect nap is no more than 45 minutes long. Anything more and you'll be too tired to function for the rest of the day."

"Magnus, we're not doing anything the rest of the day. If you're tired, go back to sleep," Alec said.

"Then I'll be up at three in the morning!"

"How is that different from usual?" Alec asked, running his fingers in a A minor scale— up and down, up and down, up and—

"I can't go back to sleep," Magnus said. "Besides, we've got a hot date with Chinese takeout and Netflix."

Alec smiled and looked back at the keys.

"I'll wake you up before then," Alec said, resuming playing.

"Well, I certainly can't sleep when you're playing," Magnus said.

"Does napology research support that claim?" Alec said.

"As the founding father of napology, yes," Magnus said.

"You are so full of it."

"If 'it' is awesome, classiness, and a dash of absolute swag, then yes, Alexander, I am full of 'it,'" Magnus said.

"Go to sleep."

"If you insist on playing, then play something I know," Magnus snapped.

Alec's fingers landed on F.

"God knows what is hiding in those weak and drunken hearts,

Guess he kissed the girls and made them cry,

Those hard-faced queens of misadventure,

God knows what is hiding in those weak and sunken lives,

Fiery throngs of muted angels,

Giving love but getting nothing back, oh,

People help the people,

And if you're homesick,

give me your hand and I'll hold it,

People help the people,

And nothing will drag you down,

Oh and if I had a brain,

Oh and if I had a brain,

I'd be cold as a stone and rich as a fool,

That turned all those good hearts away."

Alec's fingers explored the chord progressions, arpeggiating and growing in volume.

"God knows what is hiding in this world of little consequence,

Behind the tears, inside the lies,

A thousand slowly dying sunsets,

God knows what is hiding in those weak and drunken hearts,

Guess the loneliness came knocking,

No one needs to be alone, oh singin',

People help the people,

And if you're homesick,

give me your hand and I'll hold it,

People help the people,

Nothing will drag you down,

Oh and if I had a brain,

Oh and if I had a brain

I'd be cold as a stone and rich as a fool,

That turned all those good hearts away,

That turned all those good hearts away."

In Alec's little world of music, Magnus did not exist (unfortunately).

So he was surprised to come out of his reverie and find Magnus sitting right beside him on the piano bench, leaning on his shoulder.

A good number of blankets were still wrapped around Magnus, but some had been lost in the distance between the couch and the piano.

"Mag—"

"You're amazing, Alexander. Absolutely amazing," Magnus said, leaning a heavy head against Magnus. Alec could almost hear the melatonin pulling Magnus deep into the land of dreams.

"You should go to sleep," Alec said.

"Napology," Magnus said. "What sort of scientist doesn't heed his own advice?"

"You're not a scientist. You're a warlock. And you happen to be a sleep-deprived one."

Alec wrapped around an arm Magnus and shut the piano lid with his other.

"Don't make me carry you," Alec threatened. Magnus stood up, pulling the blankets tighter around him.

They shuffled into their room, Magnus collapsing on the bare bed.

"Stay," he whispered to Alec.

"Then stop hogging all of the blankets," Alec said, peeling off a few layers from his burrito of a boyfriend.

It wasn't their normal sleeping positions but it sure was comfortable and soon, Magnus' thoughts of napology were replaced with tree-frogs taking over the world using thermo-nuclear weaponry.

Alec was thinking about Magnus and how steady his chest rose and fell when he finally drifted off into his dreams.

His dreams weren't much different from reality.

And that was a very good sign.

Another song fic but I'm not sorry. Song is "People Help the People" covered by Leroy Sanchez who is just an amazing singer. You can also download the song for free I believe; the link is in the description on YouTube. Thank you for the likes, comments, and support! ~A