"You've never been to Japan before?" Magnus had asked when they stepped through the Portal into Tokyo.

Alec craned his neck up to look at the skyscrapers that towered over their heads. The bright lights of the city gave off a euphoric yet overwhelming sense of the city life unlike anything that Alec's ever felt before, and he lives in New York. That's the city. "No. No, I haven't. Parents never got around to bringing us kids there."

Magnus smiled at the gaped open mouth of Alec as an ad in Japanese passed overhead on a billboard. "Well? What do you think? Do you like it?"

Alec nodded but said nothing. He was distracted by everything around him; the people, the food, the smells, the sounds. It felt like his senses were in overload as he tried to grasp what was going on around him-

"Hey." A warm hand slipped into his. Looking down, he saw that Magnus had entwined their fingers together and was gently running Alec's hand with his thumb. "You okay? We can leave if you're feeling uncomfortable-"

"No. I'm fine. It's just...what's it called? Culture shock? I think I may be experiencing that...."

Magnus smiled. "Take your time. We don't have to go shopping right away. It can wait."

Alec shook his head. "I'm good. Let's do this," he said with a smile. "Where to first?"

They visited a few stores, where Magnus bought some new outfits for both himself and for Alec. They were very expensive clothes and Alec felt a twinge of guilt in his gut as Magnus paid for it at the register.

"Magnus....I can't let you pay for all this," he whispered.

"Nonsense. Consider it an early Christmas gift," Magnus slipped his wallet back into his pocket.

"Christmas isn't until 7 months time."

"I did say early, didn't I? Alec, don't worry about it. Money isn't an issue. I've lived for a very long time. My net worth is a lot."

Shrugging, Alec tagged along behind him through a small street where vendors were lined up on either side of the road. They passed by a few, admiring the wares that were being sold. Someone yelled "fatty tuna!" which made Alec look back over his shoulder with a crooked smile on his face.

"Oh! Look at these paintings! Oh, they're original pieces too-I'm going to haggle with the seller. See if I can lower the price a little bit. Are you okay here for a few minutes?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah. I'm just going to wander down the street a bit. See what else is here. You do what you have to do," Alec nodded. He watched Magnus jump right into action, speaking fluent Japanese as he gestured towards a painting.

Wandering down the street a little bit, Alec looked at the small shops that were lined up along the sidewalk. One of them caught his eye: it had these small yet odd decorative pieces on display. As he neared them, he saw that each piece were rectangular in shape with intricate designs on it, along with Japanese symbols that he couldn't read.

"Omamori," came a creaky voice from behind the vendor. Alec looked down to see a short old woman with graying hair sitting on a stool with a book in her hands. She said something else in Japanese but Alec had no clue what she said. He wished Magnus were here to translate.

"I'm sorry. I don't speak Japanese," Alec frowned.

The old woman smiled. "Omamori. Luck or protection. You buy?"

"Oh! Uh....yeah. How much are they?" Alec began to fish out his wallet when the woman stopped him. He looked up at her in surprise as she shook her head.

"For you? Free. For handsome lover," she pointed towards Magnus, who was just a little ways up the street still admiring everything on display.

"Are you sure? I feel like I'm stealing from you....." Alec watched as the old woman moved with such speed as she did up a small gift bag for one of the Omamori and handed it to Alec. "I really should pay for it though-"

"No. Not pay. Free. I know your kind," she tapped the side of her neck as her gaze roamed over Alec's neck rune. "Give to lover for protection. Bring good luck."

Alec bowed his head. "Thank you. I really appreciate this." As the woman bowed, he gave a smile as he walked back up the street towards Magnus, peering into the small gift bag before placing it into one of his bigger ones.

"Well! I'm pretty much done here. Is there anyplace else you needed to go while we're here?" Magnus asked. "I didn't get my painting. They wouldn't haggle."

"They wouldn't haggle or they wouldn't fall victim to your charm?" Alec grinned as Magnus rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding. Sorry you didn't get that painting. It meant a lot to you."

"Ah, it's fine. It's just a painting. I probably would've just threw it to the side and forgot about it anyway," the warlock smiled. "So are you ready to head back home? You don't need to go anywhere else?"

Alec shook his head. "Nope. I'm good."

Magnus slipped into an alleyway and opened a Portal. "Excellent. Then let's head home. By the way, what did you buy at that vendor? I saw you taking out your wallet...."

"Oh," Alec scoffed. "Nothing. I was just thinking about getting some of that fatty tuna....why is it called that anyway?"

Magnus laughed. "Funny you should ask that....I have no idea. But I heard a story once years ago about a man who didn't know what a certain dish was called so he called it fatty tuna instead."

The Portal hummed as they both stepped through it, and it closed behind them with a whoosh as they went back home together.