Take Me Back to the Basics - Berch (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

It all started when one day he remarked at how gray the band his father gave him was. He told Jace that the ring was nice, but not the most flattering color. Jace looked at Alec like he was crazy, holding the band up to his own hair and comparing the colors. Alec just shook his head, saying that Jace shouldn't be so co*cky about his hair, and that gray was not the best color. Jace laughed at this, remembering what their first grade teacher had told them earlier in the year.
You couldn't see a certain color because you hadn't met your soulmate yet. At that young age, love was a vague concept, so children weren't informed much about it in school until later on. Alec had only thought that that had meant your soulmate had a color that represented them, not that his soulmate needed to have *gold* eyes. When he was about thirteen, he noticed that Jace's eyes were gray as well, which meant that Jace's eyes must be gold. Though Alec hadn't realized it at the time, but he had had the biggest crush on Jace, but realizing that he couldn't see the color of even Jace's eyes, he knew that Jace was not his soulmate, so he tried to move on.
It was hard. Jace kept saying that he couldn't see what color the grass was, or the leaves on the trees. Isabelle would remark that she couldn't see the color of the dirt and that when she looked in the mirror, all she would see was the deepest shade of gray. Alec felt that he was lucky that he was blessed with a soulmate with such a rare, yet beautiful eye color. He was sure that Jace's soulmate felt the same way.
He did feel left out in some ways, though, like when the girls in school would gawk over Jace's beautiful hair and his magical eyes, or when his seventh grade class threw a "Dripping With Gold" themed dance. H tried not to let it bother him.
Gold was described to him as "yellow with a shine," so at least he had some idea of what it looked like. Green was an indescribable color, just like brown. Alec tried to show his siblings what the colors were by slowly mixing primary colors together, but as soon as the colors began to merge, they would go gray.
But then, when Alec was seventeen and Jace and Isabelle were sixteen, their parents decided to move. Maryse and Robert had been talking about moving away from Chicago for the longest time, but now Robert had gotten a job in another city. Alec's stomach dropped when he heard that they were moving to New York City, but he was soon excited. Isabelle was the most disappointed. She and Jace were rather popular at their school, but out of the three of them, Isabelle for sure had the most true friends. Jace didn't mind that much, claiming that Alec was his best friend. This was promptly followed by Isabelle telling them what nerds they were.
After a day of packing, the trio were sitting and catching up on the show they had recently started. Alec found The X-Files fascinating, and Isabelle claimed that she tolerated it, but he knew that she secretly loved it.
"Mulder is my role model," Jace stated after the agent delivered one of his cheesy one-liners.
"You sarcastic bastard." Isabelle retorted, looking at something on her phone. "Hey," she said, looking up. She shot her eyes over to Jace, who was sitting in the recliner, then to her brother who was sat next to her on the couch. "Do you guys that think that you could see your soul mates eyes through pictures? Like, would that trigger you to be able to see that color?"
"Hmm," Jace said, pressing pause on the show. "I'm not sure. I'm sure people have tried it before."
"It would be helpful, don't you think?" She scrolled through a few images on her phone. "Because like, what if my soul mate was Taylor Launter and I never knew or contacted him and then I die just thinking that brown wasn't even a real color?"
"I doubt that any of us are betrothed to famous people," Alec cut in, sitting up. He shrugged. "Maybe we'll all meet our soul mates once we move to New York next month." He nodded to Jace. "I can't wait to meet yours. I bet we're the only two unlucky ones who were paired up with the only people in the entire country with gold eyes. Who has gold eyes?"
Isabelle laughed at this, knowing full well that she had a better chance at finding he soul mate before Alec. Alec hoped that he would find his soon, but then again, didn't everybody?

The summer air snuck into every crack of the house, making it almost impossible to work for more than an hour at a time without a break. The Lightwood's would only be in New York a few days before school started if things were to go to plan, and the fact that it was late August and Alec still hadn't packed his room was stressing him out. He liked his room. He didn't really want to leave, especially since he had no idea what the new apartment looked like. Robert made enough money that they would be able to afford one on the nicer end of town, but Alec was still extremely worried.
He decided to take a break from stressing out and go see what Isabelle was doing. Sure enough, she was spread across the recliner on her phone as ads played on the TV. Alec sat on the floor, the couch already having been placed in the moving van. It wasn't the most comfortable spot, but at least he had back support against the leg of the recliner.
"You excited for New York next week?" Alec asked his sister.
"Eh," she replied, not looking up from her phone. "I wish we were going to a private school like we are now. Apparently the only ones where we're moving are gender orientated, and I refuse to go to an all girls school where we learn about being ladies or some sh*t."
"Plus you'd be expected to cook," Alec laughed, slapping Isabelle's foot. "And we all know you can't do that."
She smacked the side of his head in annoyance. "Shhhh it's on."
Alec glanced up at the TV, and sure enough, Glee was on. He sighed, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his tumblr feed. Isabelle said something, so he nodded, until she kicked his head with her foot.
"God, what?"
"He's cute, isn't he?" Alec looked up to see an Asian guy, probably around the age of 19 on the screen.
The truth was, he was extremely attractive. Alec had just recently come out to his siblings, and it still felt a bit weird gossiping with his sister about boys.
So he just shrugged. "He's alright."
Isabelle sighed. "Magnus Bane is so attractive. It sucks that he's gay." Isabelle stuttered before correcting herself by saying "I mean- like because I don't have a shot with him now."
Alec chuckled, rolling his eyes and continuing to scroll, interested on which team this guy played for.
Turns out he played for both.
"Uh, Iz?" He said, looking up at her. "He's not gay," he showed her the post with a gif set from the episode that they were watching and a caption underneath.
"Oh!" The brown eyed girl exclaimed. "He's bi! That's different. I've seen so many posts about him being gay." She grabbed Alec's phone, tapping something and looking at it intently. "Ohmigosh look!" She shoved the phone in Alec's face.
"Gosh, what is it?"
"He had gold eyes!" Alec squinted that the picture, but could only see gray spheres.
"Well, if he is my soul mate, your theory about seeing eye colors through pictures in definitely true."
Alec smiled a little, pulling his phone away from Izzy so she could enjoy the show.
And so that he could look at this guys face a little longer.

With Robert driving the moving truck, it was decided that Isabelle, Alec, and Maryse would be driving the other cars to New York. Jace was going to drive, but Isabelle insisted that she should drive because it would be sexist to not let her drive just because she was a woman. Robert tried to point out that Maryse was a woman, but Isabelle wouldn't have any of it. She sat in the drivers side, not willing to budge, until Jace begrudgingly handed her the keys through a small gap in the window.
Alec didn't mind having Jace in the car with him, though. Both of the were quite excited about moving to New York City. There were over eight million people who lived there. That's Montana times eight. Plus, a lot of famous people lived there. Alec knew that Izzy would be happy about that.
He might've been too. Just a little.
Isabelle called them halfway through the trip, obviously bored out of her mind from driving through the country side.
"So guys," she said before either of the boys could greet her. "I've been doing some math over here, and I've come to the conclusion that your soul mates have to be in New York *somewhere.*"
"Oh yeah?" Jace retorted. "How do you figure that?"
"Well," she started. "Three percent of the American population has golden or yellow eyes, and only two percent has green eyes. Three percent of 318.9 million is 9.567 million and two percent of 318.9 million is 6.378 million. Now since no one in Chicago was either of your soul mates, go ahead and subtract two million people off of those statistics. Now there are 8.4 million people who live in New York City, now this is where it gets a bit sticky. So-"
"I get it, Izzy." Alec interrupted, his head already hurting. "Did you do all that math in your head?"
"Siri."
"Of course."
Jace said, "Now Iz, what about you?"
She sighed. "Now, my soul mate could be anywhere. 55 percent of the US has brown eyes. God damn genes."
"I'm sure you'll find him."
To this Alec said, "I wish him luck."
"If I could smack you right now I would." Isabelle replied in an annoyed tone. A horn beeped in front of them. "What is up with this truck driver?"
"Iz," Alec started.
Jace finished, "That's dad."
"One second, moms calling."
Jace chuckled as he hung up the phone.
"So," he said, looking over at Alec. "You think you'll find your soulmate?"
Alec shrugged at this. "There's just so many people. Even if he is in New York, I'm not sure I would even meet him within the first year." He realized the second after he finished his sentence that he specified that his soulmate would be a 'he.' Cringing internally, he glanced over at Jace.
"Well, that's also a good thing." Jace said. "I'm sure that there are plenty of...non-strait guys at the new school. Plus, there's gotta be at least, like, 10 people in New York with gold eyes."
Shrugging again, Alec said, "I'm not sure I even want to meet my soul mate right away. We are still really young and all."
"Who cares?" Jace asked, pressing his hands to the roof above his head. "If they're your soul mate, you could get married right away, even if you were under age."
Alec shook his head. "Who gets married to someone who isn't their soulmate?"
Jace let his hands fall in his lap. He fidgeted for a few seconds before saying, "I think mom and dad did."
At this Alec had a strong urge to slam on the brake like people do in movies, but decided against it. "Why would you say that?"
Jace gave a defeated shrug. "Mom acts like she can't see certain colors sometimes. Same with dad."
"They could just be color blind. It's common for both members of a marriage to be if they're really soul mates."
Jace just shrugged again.
"Hey," Alec said a few minutes later, turning down the radio. "Could I talk to you?"
"Always," Jace said cheerily yet sarcastically.
"Could you...not tell anyone that I'm, you know."
Jace furrowed his eyebrows. "No one at the new school?"
"Just anyone in general."
"Are you not going to tell mom and dad?"
"Eventually, just...not right now. Plus I don't think it's a good way to start at a new school. And I mean, I haven't really told anyone besides you and Izzy."
Jace clapped a hand on Alec's shoulder. "Bro, I'd never do that. I know it must've been hard even coming out to us. Don't feel pushed into coming out to anyone you don't feel comfortable with."
Offering a lazy smile, Alec focused back on the road. He hoped that New York would bring his soul mate to him. He hoped everything would work out alright.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The apartment building seemed nice enough from the lobby. The elevator looked a little run down, but then again, it was an elevator in a 30 year old building. The apartment itself was nice though. The ceiling was incredibly high. The living room was nice and big with a door leading to the kitchen and there was a hallway on the far right. There were three skylights in the main room alone.
Isabelle's heels clicked on the floor behind him. "This place creaks a lot." Out of the three of them, she was the one who snuck out the most, so of course that was the first thing she noticed about the house.
Alec sighed, looking around the apartment, the extremely nice apartment, he noticed.
Maryse and Robert walked in a few seconds after Isabelle.
"So do you like it?" Maryse asked the three, looking around the room.
"It's perfect mom." Alec said, giving her a tight hug.
"Oh, I knew you would!" She pushed Alec back, smiling a little. "Come on, I'll show you guys your rooms.
It was amazing how many rooms the, what looked like a small apartment, had. There were three average size bedrooms, one bath, and a master bedroom with a bath. The master bedroom was at the end of the hall. Isabelle immediately chose the one farthest from it and closest to the bathroom.
Jace and Alec looked at each other, laughing a bit. Alec put his hand on the shining gray doorknob, which he assumed was actually gold or bronze, and opened the door to one of the bedrooms. All of the rooms looked the same. They were all extremely large, all with a window and all with a closet in the same place. Alec turned to look at Jace, his eyes pleading. Jace smiled, clapping Alec on the back.
"Go ahead," Jace said, walking to the bedroom next to it. "I'll take this one."
Alec was finished unpacking when Isabelle and Jace were barely starting. Instead of helping them, Alec decided to organize his supplies for school. He didn't have much, being a senior and all, but he did have the basics. Pencils, pens, paper, folders, and a binder. And of course an extra phone charger, gum, and a set of earbuds. And his laptop. And iPod. Okay, maybe he had a lot of school supplies. But that wasn't the point. After his old school, Alec couldn't wait for a fresh start. No one would know who he was, no one would think of his as the older brother of Jace and Isabelle, and most importantly, no one would know he was gay. Unless his soulmate went to Alec's school. He would probably know that Alec was gay.
Alec sighed, thinking about what Isabelle had said in the car. Well, in the car on the phone. Or was it on the phone in the car? She had said that his soulmate had to be in New York. Alec wanted to believe her, but he couldn't believe that he even had a soulmate out there. Well, he knew that he had one but he didn't think he was ever going to...meet him. It was hard to think about.
With school starting in two days, Alec decided to regulate his sleep schedule. That could wait until tomorrow. Instead of sleeping, Alec browsed tumblr for three hours before finally falling asleep at 1 am. Maybe this year would be different.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Alec had three classes with Jace and two with Isabelle. He sighed when the compared schedule. He was fine with Jace being in his classes, and yes, he loved his sister, but she was not the best for his academic career. She talked all the time, didn't listen, and tried to distract her brothers from actually learning.
So there they stood in the bustling hallway of their new school, and they had no idea where they were going.
"Why am I in art?" Jace asked, scanning his schedule again. "I don't like art."
"Maybe it was fate," Isabelle said dreamily. "I do hope that I meet my soulmate." She draped herself on Alec's arm theatrically. "I hope he's handsome and I hope he has blue eyes."
"Iz," Alec said, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her in front of him. "Your soulmate has brown eyes."
"Yeah I know, but what if he actually had blue eyes. Then I could laugh in Fates face."
"So are you saying," Jace said, looking sadly at his schedule again. "That fate's wrong?"
"No."
Jace looked at Alec, who looked as confused as Jace did. "I'm confused."
"Me too."
The bell rang and the three of them went running off in different directions. Alec prayed that the school day would go by quickly.

The school day went by as fast as a snail in snow boots. All day, classes like American History and AP psychology were filled with syllabuses and paperwork. His college career class was the only class that had actual homework. On the first day too.
After school, Alec met Jace and Isabelle in a little corner that they found during lunch while Jace was complaining about having to go to art next period. He was surprised to find not only Jace, but a small red-headed girl along with him. Jace was looking at her with a dreamy look in his eyes and she was looking back at him with the same look, occasionally glancing at her phone.
"Uh, Jace?" Alec asked as he approached the couple. "Uh, who's this?" As he approached the girl, Alec noticed that her eyes were an unusual combination of green and gray. Wait. They were green. Could this be-
"Clary," Jace said, placing a hand on the small of the girls back. "This is my brother, Alec." He looked at Alec, a huge smile on his face. "Alec, this is my soulmate, Clary."
Alec raised his eyebrows, smiling wide and looking at the girl, Clary. "Oh my gosh," he said, taking a step towards her. "It's so nice to meet you." Finally, someone who didn't know what gold looked like. As he was thinking this, Clary embraced Alec into a tight hug. "Oh," he said, looking at Jace for help, who shrugged. Alec put his arms around Clary, pulling away after a few seconds.
"It's nice to meet you, Alec!" Clary said. Was she crying? "I've heard a lot about you!" Okay maybe she wast crying. "You can't see gold like I couldn't?" Oh yeah. She could see what he couldn't now.
He exhaled, puffing his cheeks. "Yeah, that's right." He took her hands in his. "You have to explain it to me."
She smiled widely. "Of course I will! It's amazing actually. It'll take me a long time to explain it."
"I'm all ears."
She looked at Jace, still smiling.
"But first," Alec added. "Tell me how you guys met."
"Well," Jace said, putting his arm around his soulmates waist. "We met in art class, actually."
Alec raised his eyebrows. "So Izzy was right?"
Jace shrugged. "Apparently."
"Yeah, Jace sat next to me because for some reason that's the only class we had a seating chart in?" She said questioningly, looking up at Jace. "Anyway, he sat down and was being an absolute ass to me," Alec laughed. He kind of liked this girl. "And I was just kind of like, 'excuse me could you stop grumbling and deal with it?' And then he started to say something, but then he looked up at me." She sighed. "He had this angry expression on his face at first, but then I just remember the color just slowly leaking into my vision when I made eye contact with him. It was so strange."
"Then I kissed her and we got yelled at." Jace said as he smirked, pulling Clary closer to him so he could smell her hair or something.
"I almost slapped him, but I was too happy to care."
"Then we compared schedules and found out that we had the rest of the day together. Then we exchanged names."
Alec chuckled, sitting down on the small staircase that led to nowhere. They literally led into a wall. Not kidding.
"Well I'm glad you've found each other."
Jace looked at Clary. "He's mad because he wants to find his soulmate."
Alec three his hands up, leaning against the wall. "Hey, I'm not ready to settle down yet."
Jace laughed, sitting down next to his brother, pulling Clary into his lap.
"Clary I came as soon as I got your text are you-" A boy said, turning the corner. He looked at Jace then at Clary then at Jace again. Alec chuckled a bit to himself. "Oh, you actually found him?"
"That's what I said isn't it?" Clary asked in her cheerful voice, jumping up to hug the boy. He had brown hair, and black rimmed glasses were covering his dark brown eyes. He wore a t-shirt that said "Dungeons and Dragons" and black skinny jeans with a pair of gray vans.
"Let me see your watch," Clary said, pulling away from her friend. She pulled his arm out and stared at the gray band around his wrist. "Oh my god it's so pretty!" She moved his wrist, making the light shine on it in all different directions.
Jace cleared his throat. "Oh," Clary said, laughing. "Jace, this is my best friend simon. Simon, this is my soulmate," She smiled once again at Jace. "Jace."
Alec himself was getting a bit tired of smiling. He was sure that this Simon was too.
"So you're simon," Jace said shaking the boys hand. "You know," he said, looking at Alec. "It sure would be funny if Simon was Isabelle's soulmate."
Alec laughed at this, thinking of how ironic it would truly be. Some nerd being Isabelle's soulmate. Isabelle!
"Well with a name like Isabelle I'm sure she's not my soulmate. She probably has like, lavender eyes or something."
"No," Alec said, leaning back on his elbows. "Her eyes are brown."
Simon raised his eye brows. "Really."
Speak of the devil and the devil will appear. Isabelle rounded the corner at the moment, her eyes glued to her phone. "So mom and dad are going to be home by five so we should probably get going at about four thirty-" She looked up, noticing all the extra people. "Hi." She looked at Jace, who was still holding Clary next to him, then to Alec. "Have we found some soulmates?"
"Well," Jace said smugly. "I have."
"I haven't," Alec mumbled, standing up. Jace glared at Alec.
"Isabelle, this is Clary."
Clary held out her hand. "It's wonderful to meet you."
Isabelle still looked shocked. "Thanks. Uh, you too I guess."
"And this is my best friend Simon," Clary said, motioning to Simon. Alec watched silently from behind, noticing how Isabelle froze when she locked eyes with Simon.
"Oh no," she whispered, looking past Simon at Alec. "What. Is. Going. On."
"Wow," Simon said. "You have really pretty eyes."
"No I don't." Isabelle denied hastily. Was it possible that... "I don't have pretty eyes and neither do you. Because your eyes are still gray. They're still gray." She stamped her foot. "They're still gray do you hear me?"
"Uh," Simon said, unsure of what was happening. That's right, Alec remembered. They were just soulmates. That didn't mean that they knew each other. "Are you my soulmate?"
Alec almost cringed at his wording.
"No," Isabelle said hastily. "Not I'm not. I only see gray. That's all I see. Your hair isn't what so many people have described as chocolatey. You-" she pointed her finger accusingly. "You are not going to replace the gray color that I have seen for the past 16 years of my life!" She huffed then spun on her heel, stomping away.
Alec chuckled at her behavior, knowing she would've reacted this way. He felt bad for the kid. Simon wasn't a bad guy, he could tell. Just not Isabelle's type. He knew she wanted some tall, broodingly handsome guy with deep brown eyes like her own. But that's not how it worked out sometimes. Alec stared at Simon, who looked like he had tears in his eyes. Alec couldn't really blame him.
Clary slapped Simons chest. "What did you do?"
"Me?" Simon spat, digging his fingers into his hair. "How could I have done something?"
"I don't know! You could've said something earlier and messed it up."
"Trust me," Simon said. "I have never seen her before in my life! If I had, this whole thing would've happened earlier, now wouldn't it have?"
"Damn," Clary said. She looked at Jace. "Do you know her?"
Alec choked down a laugh. Jace glared at him.
"Uh, yeah. She's actually my sister."
"Your sister?" Clary asked, stunned.
"I thought you had three periods with her." Alec said questioningly, wondering why Isabelle hadn't come up.
"Yeah," Jace said turning to look at his older brother. "But we weren't, uh, talking the whole time."
Oh. Alrighty then. "Alright then." Alec said, repeating his thoughts. "I should go find Izzy and make her come to her senses."
"Izzy?" Simon asked, looking hopeful.
"Her full names Isabelle." Jace clarified.
"Isabelle..." Simon repeated rather dreamily.
Alec rolled his eyes as he brushed past his sisters soulmate, walking into the hallway. He could barely see his younger sister at the end of the hallway, where once she reached the end, she kicked the locker. Alec jogged to catch up with her, grabbing her by the shoulders. She squirmed under his finger tip, lashing her arms out at him.
"Let me go!" She screamed. Alec did, and Isabelle backed up a few steps. She sighed. "Why are you wearing that hideous sweater?"
Alec, a bit hurt, looked down at his fuzzy sweater. "I thought you liked this sweater!"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well that was before I met my stupid soulmate."
"Come on, Iz," Alec said, not understanding why she was so upset. "You don't even know the guy."
"Yes I do." Isabelle said sharply, sliding down the wall she was leaning against. Alec opened his mouth to object, but his sister cut him off. "All he cares about is his stupid video games and his stupid dungeons and dragons and his stupid bands. Maybe his other nerdy friends."
To Alec, and judging on Simon looks, that was just about right. But he knew he shouldn't judge someone based on their style. He slid down next to Isabelle. He grabbed her hand, placing it in his lap. "You don't know him, Isabelle."
"Why was he even there anyway?"
"You know that redhead that was there?" Alec asked, a smile creeping across his face. Isabelle nodded. "That was Jace's soulmate. And Simon is her best friend." Isabelle's eyes widened.
"What?" She pulled her hand away from Alec, burying her face in it. "Oh god. I made such a bad impression on her. And my own soulmate!" She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "What have I done?"
Alec rubbed her back comfortingly. His sister leaned into him, and they just stayed like that for a while.
Alec lifted his head to the sound of footsteps. Sure enough, Simon was walking down the hallway towards them.
When he was within talking distance, Alec asked, "You okay? Where's Jace?"
Simon shrugged as he rolled his eyes. "I talked to him a bit but then he started making out with Clary so..." He mouthed something, pointing to Isabelle who was curled up against his chest. Alec couldn't make it out.
Isabelle stood up then, facing Simon, her eyes bigger and browner than ever. "I'm sorry I acted so harshly." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She was different than normal, Alec noted.
Simon smirked. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm used to it."
Then Isabelle smiled. "Let's start over." She extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Isabelle Lightwood. It looks like we're soulmates."

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

"How was school today?" Maryse asked as she set out dinner. Since it was both her and Roberts first day at their new jobs, she picked up some Kentucky Fired Chicken on the way home. Everyone was sat down now, filling their warm plates with fattening chicken. It was weird eaten fast food. Alec couldn't get his hands on that very much.
"It was okay." Alec said. That was the truth. Well, part truth. It was actually horrible. His classes were sh*t and both of his siblings had met their soulmates while Alec was stuck watching them make out all afternoon. "I have some stuff for you guys to sign."
"My day was great," Jace said, a smile still plastered on his face. "I was put into art class for some reason."
"Really?" Maryse asked before taking a bite of her chicken. "I told them no on art."
"Well, it's a good thing they didn't listen." Jace's smile grew. "I met my soulmate in that class." Robert laughed and Maryse almost choked on her food.
"That's amazing, Jace." Robert said, setting his piece of chicken down. "What's her name? What does she look like?"
Jace pulled out his phone, opening his pictures. He held the phone out so his parents could see. Alec rolled his eyes. Of course Jace would take pictures. They were probably kissing in all of them. "Her name is Clary, she's a sophom*ore, and she's super nice. You guys will totally like her."
Maryse clapped. "I'm so happy one of my kids have found their partner."
"Two actually." Isabelle said quietly.
Maryse practically screamers as she bounced up and down in her chair. Robert's face went ashen. Alec chuckled as he took a bite of his meal.
"What! Who is he? What does he look like? What's his name?" Alec's mother bombarded Isabelle with questions. Isabelle smiled a little.
"He's actually Clary's best friend." Jace said, turning his phone off and taking a bite of his food. "Man, when Isabelle met him she sure was-"
"Extremely happy!" Isabelle interrupted, shooting an icy glare at Jace. She pulled her phone out and showed her mother pictures of Simon. "His name is Simon. He's a sophom*ore as well."
"He's cute," Maryse exclaimed, grabbing her daughters phone out of her hand. That couldn't be a good idea, Alec thought. "Aw look at how you're smiling at each other! Isn't that- oh, oh, *oh*." There it was. Alec knew, he just knew that Isabelle had taken pictures of her and her new boyfriend sucking face. Why was she so much like Jace? They weren't even related.
Isabelle snatched her phone back, hiding it under the table. Robert cleared his throat, looking at Alec. "What about you, son?" He asked, finishing his meal. "Did you meet anyone today?"
Alec shook his head. "Nope. My heart is still cold and Jace's hair is still gray."
"Quite a shame really," Jace said. "You've been deprived of my striking good looks your whole life."
"How sad," Alec said sarcastically, pushing his plate away. While they were growing up, Alec always wondered why the girls were so crazy about Jace. Sure, he had nice facial features and super soft skin and his lips looked like they were super...pink, but, Alec thought, his hair was gray. His eyes were gray. Even his skin was tinted gray. Before 6th grade, where they learned more about soulmates, Alec hardly knew why Jace was pretty much just a gray figure.
"Well I hope you find her soon," Maryse added, picking up the plates and setting them in the sink. Alec's heart painfully contracted. Her. "You said you had some papers for me to sign?"

Clary, as it turns out, was extremely sassy. She had quick whit to match Jace's, and along with that she was extremely funny and nice. Alec was still surprised that the universe matched his brother up with someone so perfectly. He hoped his soulmate was as good a match as Jace's.
The day was bright and clear, the gray sun shimmering down upon their table. Alec sat next to Jace, who sat next to Clary, who sat across from Simon, who sat next to Isabelle. Both of the couples were holding hands. It made Alec sick.
"Why can't I have friends that can actually go off campus with me?" Alec complained, resting his head on the wooden table.
"We could sneak off, you know," Clary said, leaning forward to look at her boyfriends brother. "Simon and I did it all the time last year."
"Really?" Alec asked, surprised at how sneaky two innocent freshmen could be.
"Well not all the time," Simon corrected. "We did it three times and we only went to my house which is like three blocks from here."
"Wow," Isabelle said, laughing. She leaned her head against Simon's shoulder. Alec exhaled loudly.
Clary brushed off her hands, getting out of her seat. Jace began to follow, but she put a hand on his shoulder telling him to stay. "Alec," She said instead. "Come with me?"
Alec, surprised, got up and followed the underclassmen. They rounded a corner of the school and were faced with the surprisingly well kept baseball fields.
"I know that's its hard not having a soulmate," She said. "But you'll find your. I know you will. Most people find theirs before they're 20."
Alec sighed, rubbing the fabric of his sweater together. "I know. It's just kind of hard seeing Jace and Izzy with people. And my parents got so excited last night, and when my mom said her I just-"
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just hard I guess."
"I know. Last year my friend Maia found her soulmate. I was so jealous. He was really attractive too."
"Jace isn't attractive?" Alec smirked, raising an eyebrow and Clary.
"What? No! I mean yes!" She groaned. "Jace is extremely attractive? But that's not the point." She took a deep breath before starting another sentence. "The point is that I never thought I would find anyone, but I did. And so will you. You just have to know where to look."
Alec sighed. "There are 8.4 million people in this city alone. How am I supposed to meet every single one of them?"
"Alec," Clary placed a hand on his arm. "Life will find a way." She looked off into the distance for a while as they walked. "Maybe you'll be less salty about it if you know a bit about what you're missing out on."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really want to know about you and Jace making out," He thought about what she said. "And I am not salty."
"Well that's not really what I had in mind..." Clary drifted off, turning around to look at Jace. "How about I tell you about gold?"
Alec froze up a little. Gold. Someone who knew almost exactly what he went through. He had almost forgotten that Clary couldn't see the same color he couldn't. He nodded as they walks on.
"Well," she started, her voice sounding sweet and tentative. "It's a bit hard to explain. So many people described it to me as a shiny yellow or yellowy brown," Alec could relate to that. "But it is so much more." Clary's face filled with wonder and amazement as she explained the color to him. "It has so many dimensions and colors in it it's almost unbelievable the first time you see it. I couldn't even imagine a color as wonderful as gold. It's kinda like yellow but it's so much prettier and shinier and just so much more amazing. There are so many different shades and types of gold that it's hardly fathomable, and the sunset? The sunset is my favorite. The gold rays trickle down the horizon and blast across the air as the sun makes its decent. I didn't realize how much I had missed out on until I saw my first sunset. I couldn't even think of something so beautiful." Alec tried to think of a sunset with such dimension as Clary described it. All the sunsets he had ever seen were filled with red and yellow and orange and blue. He wished he could see gold. "Fire is even better." Clary said. "The small slivers of gold that lace their way through the flame make the entire thing. It's so beautiful Alec."
Alec nodded, his mind feeling numb. He hadn't realized how much he was missing out on before Clary told him so much about the missing color from his life.
His face seemed to show his thoughts, because Clary rested he hand on Alec's again. "You'll find him soon."
Then she walked back to their table.
She said him. She knew.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Days past, and Alec still hadn't found his soulmate. His life felt utterly pointless by this point, but Isabelle did point out that he might not even meet his soulmate until he graduated. And graduation was a long way off.
He was extremely depressed the night of his parents meeting Simon and Clary. They had been bugging Alec's siblings for ages, so Jace finally gave up and asked Clary to meet his parents. She agreed, only if Jace would meet hers, which he was reluctant to. Isabelle threw such a fit that she left the house for six hours before coming back, agreeing to have a dinner with her parents and soulmate. She probably went and made out with Simon, Alec thought when she returned.
He sighed as he sat down at the table. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Sighing that is, not siting down at tables. He did do that quite a bit, though. Maryse walked into the room, all dressed up to meet her future in-laws. He found it pointless that she dressed up. It wasn't even a big deal.
"Are you excited, Alec?" His mother asked as she checked the oven.
"Why would I be excited?" He asked in a completely monotone voice.
"Well because your parents are meeting your brother and sister in-law! It's like welcoming new people into our family."
"Since when were you so cheery about this?"
She frowned at this, walking behind Alec and placing her hands on his shoulders. "A mothers got to look forward to something, doesn't she?"
'So are you not looking forward to meeting my soulmate?' He wanted to ask. But he couldn't ruin the night. And he knew that if he ruined Maryse's night, he would ruin everyone's night.
The doorbell rung. Maryse perked up at the sound and walked around the counter, to open the door. Jace and Isabelle came running out of their rooms and colliding into each other in the hallway, both of them screaming "I got it!" Maryse chuckled to herself, stepping aside, letting her kids strangle each other.
In the end, it was Jace who opened the door. He smiled brightly when he did so. "Hey! Come on in," he stepped aside, motioning for his guests to step inside. He kissed Clary on the cheek before letting her get to far into the apartment. Ugh, couples. Isabelle then quickly kissed Simon full on the mouth. He looked surprised when she pulled away, blushing as he looked at Maryse. Again- ugh, couples.
Maryse had he hands pressed together against her mouth. She actually looked excited.
"Oh," Jace said, placing his hand on Clary's back. "Mom, this is my girlfriend-soulmate-person, Clary. Clary, this is my mom."
Clary smiled, holding her hand out to shake Maryse's, who took Clary's hand lightly in her own. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lightwood." Clary said, pulling her hand away.
"Oh please, call me Maryse." Alec's mom said, waving her hand. Why was she like this? Alec noticed that she tried so hard to be the cool mom that she just made everyone uncomfortable in the end.
Maryse looked back at Simon. "You must be Simon," she said, smiling at the boy next to Isabelle.
"Oh, u-uh," Simon stuttered. "Yeah." Maryse laughed, taking his hand in hers. "It's an honor to meet you Maryse."
She smiled. "You can call me Mrs. Lightwood."
Isabelle gawked at her mother while Jace and Clary snickered. Maryse broke out into laughter. "I'm just kidding, call me Maryse."
Simon's face flooded with relief. He was so obviously nervous about this. Why could he be more like Clary? Then again, Alec was sure he'd be the same way while he would be meeting his soulmates parents, whoever that may be.
"Well," Maryse broke the silence. "Dinner is almost ready so I'll go get Robert and you guys can take a seat. I'll be right back with food."

Why was tumblr mobile so slow.
Alec ended up on his phone during dinner. All anyone was talking about was "Oh, Clary are you planning on going to art school?" Or "Oh, Simon I didn't know you were in a band!" It was all too mundane for Alec, and it didn't really concern him. He had been friends with these people for weeks. Well, ten days, but who's counting? So tumblr it was.
A gif set from that weeks episode of Glee finally loaded on Alec's dashboard. Magnus Bane was in one of the gifs. Alec, attention grabbed, looked in the tags, found Magnus's name, and searched tumblr. Alec seriously needed some eye candy right now. He gaped at the Asians attractive features that made him want to lie down and die right on the salmon that Maryse had made. The more Alec scrolled, the more he wanted to take this guy, shove him against a wall and make out with him. His gray eyes pierced Alec's brain with an undeniable heat hidden within them. Alec couldn't figure out what was happening. He didn't feel this way about people. None the less, he didn't feel this way about celebrities. Damn, he was in deep.
He decided to google Magnus's name, cause that was always a good idea. He was about to go to images when a news article cause Alec's eye.
"Paparazzi catches Magnus Bane talking to..." The name of the article was to long to be displayed on his phones small screen. He clicked the article, curious about what it said.
"Magnus Bane was caught walking on the roads of New York City on Friday afternoon, but there is a twist. When a small girl approached him, asking him if he was the guy on Glee, he bent down and started talking to her. Before they departed, he gave the small girl a kiss on the cheek." A picture of Magnus squatting down next to a little girl who couldn't have been older than five. He was smiling as he was talking. The next picture was of his lips pressed to the girls cheek, this time she was smiling. So this guy had a heart. Interesting.
"...Alec?"
"Mmhm" Alec responded, still looking at the article.
"Alexander!"
"Sorry," he muttered, clicking his phone off. "What did you ask, mother?"
"I asked," Maryse answered, rolling her eyes. "If you were excited about your birthday next week."
"Oh, yeah," Alec responded, nodding his head vigorously. "Becoming an adult was my goal all threw my teen years."
Clary snickered at his comment.
"I was thinking we could go to that nice place down on Broad?" Maryse asked, looking at her husband, who nodded.
"I've heard good things about that place."
Alec nodded. "Yeah that sounds nice."
"Can Clary come?" Jace a asked from the other side of the table.
"What?" Isabelle hissed. "If Jace gets to bring Clary then I get to bring Simon!"
"Everyone calm down," Robert said in a stern voice. "I don't know if Alec would want his siblings soulmates at his eighteenth birthday party, especially because he hasn't, you know."
"No, no," Alec said. "I want them to come. They're my friends."
Clary beamed at this statement while Simon only blushed and ducked his head. But there was a hint of a smile on his face.
Dinner ended shortly after that.
"I'm going to get into my PJs and watch the newest episode of Glee. Anyone who wants to join me can." Isabelle declared, walking back to her room. Simon started to follow before Alec grabbed his shirt to keep him back.
"Oh!" Clary said, jumping up and following Isabelle. "I haven't seen the new episode yet!"
Alec, Jace, and Simon were stuck washing the dishes.
Clary and Isabelle came out a few minutes later, Clary wrapped in one of Isabelles blankets.
"Remember that you have to be back by 10, Clary." Simon called, walking with Jace to him room.
"Alright it's only 8:40!"
Alec sighed- again- as he walked to him room and plopped down on his bed. The day had been long, and all Alec wanted to do was sleep. But sleep never came. So he lied in bed, wondering if he would ever see the color gold.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Alec's birthday was on a Friday. He had spent the whole week thinking about how much freedom he would have as a legal adult. He couldn't drink yet, but he could get his drivers license without going through drivers trained- but he already had his drivers license. He could but drugs- but he didn't want to do drugs. He could get married without parental consent- but he hadn't found his soulmate. Well turning 18 was a bust.
Alec pulled into the restaurant parking lot a few minutes after everyone was supposed to meet there. It was 7:37 when he walked in.
His family- plus Clary and Simon- were all seated at a table near the middle of the restaurant. They greeted him by standing up, hugging him, and wishing him a happy birthday.
"So Alec," Maryse said. "You're 18 today. Feel any different?"
Alec shook his head. "Not really. I mean it's not like I'm a whole new person."
Maryse smiled. "Of course not, but you are older. You know what that means..."
"I do?" Alec asked, completely not knowing what that meant.
"New rules!" A collective groan washed across the table. "Oh, be quiet." Maryse looked at Alec. "So first is that now you're an adult you're expected to do things for yourself. Wash your own clothes,"
"You don't wash your own clothes?" Clary asked. Alec ignored her.
"Buy things for yourself, get a job, stuff like that. But you're also of your own free will, so you don't really have curfew."
"He doesn't have curfew?" Jace and Isabelle whisper shouted simultaneously.
"Hey," Alec hushed. "I'm two years older than you guys. And I'm a senior."
"We can't enforce curfew on an adult, Jace. And Isabelle, we know that you don't care about curfew anyway. We stopped enforcing that rule months ago. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't break the rules."
"What?"
"So," Maryse said, drawing her attention back to Alec. "Any plans for this year."
Alec noticed that Robert had been silently looking over the menu the whole time they were talking.
"Soulmate plans?" Isabelle wagged her eyebrows at her older brother, who rolled his eyes.
"You know what?" Alec asked rhetorically. "I don't even care about my soulmate anymore. H...they can come anytime they want, but I'll probably push them away because I don't even want a relationship." Alec lied confidently.
"Wow, so confident all of a sudden." Dammit Jace. "Where'd this come from?"
"It came from my cold heart."
Jace laughed, shoving his adoptive brothers shoulder.
"Well, Alec," Maryse said. "I bet she'll be thrilled to have such a good guy like you."
She. Ugh.
"Yeah well I don't know..."
Maryse had a confused look on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Well I'm," Gay. hom*osexual. Queer as f*ck. "Not really ready for a relationship right now."
"I didn't think I was until I met your father," His mother said, glancing at her husband. "But it's different once you meet them. You'll see. You'll never want to leave her side."
Alec nodded, and the conversation shifted. Alec zoned out, thinking about how amazing the color gold will be like. He would be able to see all of the little things that he could now, like the color of the decor in the restaurant they were in, or the threads in Isabelle's favorite sweater. The color of Jace's hair and the sunshine on leaves. He was more excited about gaining his full color vision than he was about meeting the "love of his life." And he figured that was a bad thing. Jace and Isabelle looked so much happier with their soulmates. Alec couldn't blame them. They had been paired up so well. Isabelle with a great guy who wasn't nearly as confident as his significant other, but toned her obnoxiousness and call for attention down so it wasn't bursting in your face. Jace was with this beautiful girl who matched his wittiness but knew when to cut the joke off so it wouldn't offend someone. Jace would learn from her and improve himself over time.
And Alec was left alone in his gray corner of the Earth.

He didn't meet his soulmate that night. Alec couldn't really he was disappointed. He had almost given up on finding him. He remembered what Clary had said.
"My friend Maia found her soulmate last year..."
Stupid freshman, finding her soulmate before Alec found his. It might've been a sign though. Alec certainly wasn't ready to come out to his parents yet, and he didn't know what he would've done if he found his soulmate freshmen year. Maybe it was a good thing that the universe was making him wait. It was a good thing.
He just felt like such a fifth wheel now. He was that senior that hung out with juniors and sophom*ores. He was that person that only hung out with his siblings. He was that guy.
He sighed as Alec dropped his keys on his desk and grabbed his laptop, hoping to drown his sorrow in sh*tposts on tumblr until 4 am. He plopped down on his bed, resting his head against the pillows and opened his laptop. Six percent battery. That was weird, he had just taken his laptop off its charger that morning and hadn't even used it that day. Whatever. He just brought his charger over to his bed and charged his laptop while he scrolled.
Ah tumblr, the perfect place to go to completely numb every last thought in your brain. Dogs dressed like people, funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Alec woke up at noon the next day. The sun shined through his curtains as it reached its highest point. Damn the sun.
Alec felt like he had a hangover as he lifted his head off of his soft pillows. His headache was probably just from staying up until two-thirty on the internet looking at pictures of Magnus f*cking Bane, that gorgeous bastard.
Alec was eighteen years old an he hadn't found his soulmate.
He tried to forget about the fact and drown his feelings in chocolate and X-Files like a normal human being.
He opened and unplugged his laptop to go out to the living room and watch an episode with one of his siblings. A notification popped up.
"7% battery. Connect laptop to charger."
Alec groaned, plugging it back in. It had 100% batter. Unplug. 4%. Plug. 100%. Great. Just great. Either his battery was messed up or his charger was, and he didn't have an extra of either.
Taking an ibuprofen, Alec grabbed his keys and walked to the door with his back pack on.
"Iz!" He called, knowing that she never got out of bed until 1. "I'm going to buy a new laptop battery! I'll be back in like an hour!"
"Alright!" She called back, obviously not caring about his whereabouts an a Saturday afternoon.
When Alec stepped out of the building he realized that the sun was now shrouded by clouds and it almost looked as if it were going to rain. Great.
Alec looked up the nearest electronics store to him. 16 blocks away. Alec groaned as he walked in the direction that his phone was pointing his, putting the hood to his jacket up. The sky turned gray around him, and not the gray he saw in place of gold. Five blocks into his walk, it started to rain. 10 blocks in, Alec was soaked to the bone. What luck he had. First he doesn't have a soulmate- well that couldn't really be blamed on that particular day- his laptop needed a new battery and now he was drenched in rain. The worst thing that could happen would be like, his credit card being rejected or something.
This was officially the worst day ever. Alec swiped his credit card, entered the pin and waited.
"Try it again," the bored cashier said. Alec did.
"It looks like your card is being rejected. Do you have cash?"
Why was Alec's credit card being declined? He pulled out another one.
"Nope. Still declined."
Alec groaned, finally taking his debit card out. That worked. He probably only had five dollars left in his account now, though.
"Have a nice day."
Yeah you too, jackass.
A guy pushed past him as he tied to exit the store.
"Watch where you're going," the guy muttered, finding his way to the tablet section of the store. Alec rolled his eyes, making his way out of the store with his laptop battery and phone in a bag.
The rain had stopped by then, and Alex decided to walk around the city a bit. It had been almost three weeks since they moved to New York, and Alec barely knew his way to school.
Remembering his declined credit cards, he pulled out his phone and texted him mom.
Alec: hey mom, why are my credit cards all declined?
Birth giver: You're old enough to have your own credit cards.
Alec: uh I don't have a job.
Birth giver: get one then. I got to go- busy.
Alec's credit cards have all been cancelled? Just because he was eighteen? His parents said nothing about that last night.
Alec huffed as people pushed past him to get to their destinations. Still drenched but not wanting to go home, Alec kept walking. He pushed his hood down, shaking his damp hair. He ran his fingers through the ink black strands, smoothing them out so he looked at least semi presentable.
The bright gray sun peaked out from behind the rain clouds only to be covered up again two seconds later. Alec sighed as he walked, thinking about his life.
He had fallen into a depression, he had noticed, ever since Isabelle and Jace found their soulmates. He was always the odd one out, but now he was even odder. Being gay, not as attractive as your siblings, and having practically no friends wasn't the best for your reputation. Now he was alone, too. The universe certainly did hate him. Alec often thought about why he had been paired up with someone of the same gender. He was certain that's why he was gay. The universe couldn't find any girls to match him up with so it gave him the next best thing. But it wasn't so good for Alec. He was so afraid that someone would find out and he would be an outcast for the rest of his life, never finding anyone that fit with him. He was afraid that no one would love him.
Alec eyes everyone on the sidewalk as they passed him. He noticed their hair color, their eye color, the color of the smallest threads that were torn in the sleeves of their shirts. He noticed the dull gray zippers on a mans hoodie but couldn't tell if it was gold or silver.
He noticed how a man with capped shoes had golden buckles. He notice how the man wore at least three rings on every finger, but Alec couldn't see his thumbs since they were rested on the inside of his pockets. Alec noticed how the man kept his face tilted down so no one could see his face. But then he looked up.
Was that-
The mans eyes shot over to Alec, an unrecognizable expression on the mans face. The gray of his iris's flooded with color, turning them a brownish gold.
Gold.
The world became so much brighter, but Alec hardly noticed. His eyes were rested on the man, who was approaching his quickly. Was this actually who Alec thought it was? Did his vision just burst with color like Alec's just had? What this-
A gust of wind came from behind Alec, shoving him forward a bit. The mans hood fell off, revealing his face. Alec's face went slack. There was no way that-
"Magnus Bane?" A high pitched voice called from behind Alec. The man reacted to his name, looking around for the voice.
No. f*cking. Way.
"It's Magnus Bane!" Another voice called. Magnus looked back at Alec, who hadn't stopped looking at Magnus. But he did just then. Alec kept walking, not wanting to get caught up in Magnus's fanbase. But he did turn around when he was a good ten feet away. Magnus was dazed, surrounded by five or six girls all wanting to take a picture with him.
Alec's heart fluttered. His soulmate was Magnus Bane. Magnus mother f*cking Bane. Alec could see gold.
Then Alec's heart twisted. This was the day he met his soulmate. This sh*t excuse for a day. He looked up to the hopefully gray sun for comfort, as he always had done, but it shone through the clouds as a white-gold. His entire world looked different. The lamp posts had small lined of gold painted on the, the streets were reflecting the golden light of the street lamps that were now luminous. Had Alec really been walking for three hours? How was he going to get home?
"Wait!" A voice called from behind Alec. He walked faster. Footsteps splashed in the puddles of rain that littered the street. "Wait!"
A hand grabbed Alec's shoulder, spinning him around. Alec then stared directly into the eyes of Magnus Bane. Magnus smiled, his face brightening.
"Hi," he said. "I think you're my soulmate."

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

"Soulmates?" Alec asked, though he wasn't sure why he was avoiding the topic. Magnus nodded.
"You have beautiful eyes you know."
Wow. Alec seriously never realized how big of a flirt this guy was. He rolled his eyes. "You've probably used that line a hundred times. Now if you'll excuse me-" Alec tried to push past the actor, failing miserably.
"No, hey come on." Magnus said, pushing Alec back to where he could see his face. "I never thought I'd find you, uh..."
"Alec."
Magnus smiled. "Alec. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee, Alec? I know a great place just around the corner."
Alec's heart fluttered again. "Um..."
Magnus grabbed his hand, pulling Alec behind him. "Come on darling. Your hands are freezing."

The coffee house was an average size, but Magnus decided it was best to sit in the corner by the window.
"Don't worry," he said with a wink. "I've got a special deal with the paparazzi about this place."
Alec blushed, taking a sip of his coffee.
"So Alec," Magnus said, resting his chin in his hands. "Is that short for anything?"
"Uh," Alec cleared his throat. "Alexander, but no one calls me that."
"Alexander," Magnus repeated, his golden eyes glazing over. "Alexander, I like that."
Alec smiled. "Um, is uh, Magnus short for anything?" Great move. Just perfect. That was the stupidest question Alec has literally ever asked.
Magnus chuckled, dipping a biscotti into his latte. "Sadly no, darling."
"Sorry I've just never really done this before-"
"No no," Magnus cooed, grabbing Alec's hand. "It's fine, Alexander. Most people don't before they meet that special someone."
Alec didn't think he could blush any harder, but today was full of surprises.
"You're adorable when you blush." Magnus noted, a smirk plastered on his face. Now, Alec thought, now he was at his full blushing potential. Hopefully. "You really do have beautiful eyes you know."
Alec flicked his eyes up to look at Magnus, his brown skin almost glowing in the dim lighting.
"So do you."
Magnus's smile softened as he pulled his hand back to clasp his mug. "So, Alexander, how old are you?"
Alec cleared his throat again. "I'm, ah, I just turned eighteen yesterday."
"Really? Well now you're legal I suppose. It's a shame I didn't meet you before your birthday though." Magnus winked. What was that supposed to- what the f*ck. He had just met this guy.
Alec seriously had to stop blushing. He was going to burst a blood vessel or something.
"You know," Magnus said, leaning back in his chair. "You've caused me a lot of trouble."
"I met you like five minutes ago-"
"Not directly of course, but I couldn't wear blue for nineteen years of my life." Alec's soulmate was a real tease. "But the sky really is beautiful, you know."
The color of the sky was such a mundane thing to think about and Alec could barely comprehend how people have gone their whole lives not seeing the color.
"It's weird to think that the most common eye colors are the most used colors in nature." Alec mused, spouting out whatever came to his mind. "My brother Jace couldn't see green, and my sister couldn't see brown. I guess I was blessed with having a soulmate with golden eyes."
"Couldn't."
"What?"
Magnus had a mischievous glint in his eye. "You said couldn't. Past tense."
Alec looked down, stirring his coffee with a spoon. "Oh, uh, yeah. They both met their soulmates a few days after we moved here."
"Oh," Magnus said. "How long have you lived here?"
"Just a few weeks."
"So I haven't kept you waiting too long?" Alec looked up to see Magnus's piercing golden eyes staring back at him.
"No," Alec said, leaning forward. Maybe he could try this whole flirting thing. "But I have been lonely." He winked. It was Magnus's turn to blush.
"Well maybe we can fix that," he said, leaning closer to Alec.
That's when Alec's phone rang. Isabelle's face showed up on the screen next to him. Alec groaned, slumping down in his chair and picking up his phone. He held up a finger to Magnus, motioning that he'll only be a minute.
"Alec! Where are you?" Isabelle asked before he could even say hello.
"I'm great Isabelle. How are you?"
"Yeah yeah, listen, I need you to help me out here."
"What do you need?"
She paused. "I need you to distract mom and dad tonight."
"Why couldn't you have waited for me to get home for this?"
"Because I need you to get back here right now! You've been gone for like a year. What happened to you anyway?"
Alec's eyes flicked to Magnus, who was obviously eavesdropping as he innocently sipped his coffee. "I, uh, I got a little caught up."
"Well get back here!" She sounded frantic. "I'll explain when you get back." Movies were wrong. A dial tone didn't sound in your ear when someone hung up the phone. The line just goes silent.
Alec sighed as he sipped the rest of his coffee. "Apparently my sister needs me to divert my parents tonight." Alec said as he stood up, grabbing his bag. "She's probably going to have sex with her stupid boyfriend."
Magnus stood up. "Leaving me so soon?" He grabbed Alec's free hand. "I'm going to miss those beautiful eyes of yours."
Alec once again blushed, his hand tightening around Magnus's. "Here, give me your phone and I'll-"
And then Magnus was kissing him. His lips were soft again Alec's, moving slowly and softly. Alec froze for a second before moving his hand up his soulmates arm, deepening the kiss. Magnus pulled Alec closer, their bodies pressed against one another. When they released each other, even Magnus's cheeks were pink.
Magnus grabbed Alec phone, typing in his number. Alec, still dazed, did the same.
"When can I see you again?" Magnus asked breathily.
"I, uh," Alec stammered, his mouth not working properly. "I'm free tomorrow."
"What about tonight?" Magnus asked. "I have-"
"Magnus Bane!" A voice called. Both soulmates turned to the voice. A girl with striking blue hair waltzed into the coffee house, her hair dripping with rain. "I haven't seen you in forever!" She looked at Alec, who was still caressed in Magnus's arms. "Oops, I seem to have interrupted something." The girl giggled. "Well I've done it before." She held her hand out. "Hi, I'm Catarina."
Alec smiled, taking her hand. "Alec." He turned to Magnus. "So uh, I'll text you." Magnus smiled.
"Not if I text you first." Before Alec could respond Magnus crushed his lips against Alec's for a good three seconds before letting him go. "Bye Alexander."
Alec took a deep breath, smiling. He began walking away. Looking at Catarina he said, "Nice to meet you."
"You as well," She said suggestively. Alec turned to look at Magnus once more before walking out of the coffee house, the bell chiming as the door closed.
As Alec walked, waiting for a cab to drive by, he couldn't help but smile. Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

"Let me get this strait," Alec asked as he leaned against the table. As soon as he had gotten home (he took a cab), Isabelle had bombarded him with questions. 'Where were you? What were you doing? Why'd it take so long?' Alec successfully changed the subject without answering any of his sisters questions. And he wished he could go back and answer them. "You want me to stay here and distract mom and dad while you go to a party?"
"Pleeeeeease Alec?" Isabelle whined, grabbing his arm. He shook her off.
"And, where exactly is this party?"
"It's in Brooklyn," Isabelle trailed off, avoiding eye contact with her brother.
"What's the name of the club?" Alec was probably going to do his sister this small favor, but he was rather annoyed that she pulled him away from his...soulmate. He had always liked interrogated her a little before she left.
She was acting odd, though. "Isabelle?"
She looked at him, her eyes pleading. "It's at Magnus Bane's, alright?" Alec's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, but Clary's mom used to babysit him so she knows him personally!"
"Oh, so I'm guessing Jace is going too?"
"Why do you care so much about this? You hate parties!"
Alec's phone buzzed on the table next to him.
"Yes, I do, but maybe I'd like to meet Marcus Blain." His phone buzzed again.
"It's Magnus Bane- you don't even know his name!" If only you knew, Alec thought. His phone buzzed a third time. "Who is texting you?" Isabelle asked, reaching forward to grab his phone. He snatched it up, sliding it in his pocket after looking at who had texted him. Magnus. He smiled as his phone rested against his thigh, but continued frowning as he looked up at Isabelle again. "Alec? Who is it?" Isabelle asked again. "Did you meet someone?" She gasped. "Is it your soulmate?"
"What? No," Alec lied. He thought the entire way back to his apartment how to tell his siblings that his soulmate was Magnus Bane. Jace wouldn't make a big deal of it, but Alec knew that his sister would probably scream, hug him, scream again, call everyone she knew, and spill the beans to their parents while screaming. So he decided not to tell anyone yet. "Am I not allowed to have friends?"
"Alec," Isabelle said, resting a hand on her brothers arm. "I love you, but you talk to three people."
"So," Alec said, his heart rate picking up speed. "What if it one of them?"
"Well, mom is at work, Jace is at Clary's and I'm right here. So."
Alec huffed. "Can Jace not text me now because he found his soulmate?"
Isabelle laughed. "I'm pretty sure they're doing something other than talking, if you know what I mean."
Alec did. His cheeks tinted. Time to change the subject. "Fine, I'll cover for you guys tonight. But you own me," he sighed. "Again."
"I promise I'll make it up to you," Isabelle squealed as she lurched forward to kiss his cheek as shuffle off to her bedroom.
Alec rolled his eyes as he took his phone out of his pocket. He opened Magnus's messages- all three of them.

Magnus: had a great time with you this afternoon
Magnus: speaking of, i'm having a party tonight and i'd love to see your beautiful face there
Magnus: text me if you'll be there

Alec smiled as he read his soulmates texts. Magnus personally invited him to his party. Then again, he was his soulmate.

Alec: I'd love to go, but my sister is making me cover for her so she can go.

Magnus: is that why she called you away from me?

Alec: Apparently. She's insane.

Magnus: well it doesn't start until 9, if you want to stop by.

Alec: Maybe I will ;)

Magnus: see you tonight, darling

Alec couldn't help but grin as he clicked off his phone and slumped down on the couch. Now that his sister was gone, he could truly appreciate the golden tone of their living room. The small traces of gold on the buttons that lined the arm of the matching recliner and couch. The lines of golden paint in the creases of the dark brown picture frames that lined the walls. Jace's golden hair in pictures that were just waiting for Maryse to frame and hang up. Clary had explained the color so well, but it was so much more than what she described. It was truly beautiful.

Isabelle and Jace left the apartment at 9:45 when Maryse and Robert still hadn't returned home. It wasn't strange for the Lightwood children to think that their parents were working late, even on a weekend. Alec bid his siblings a bitter goodbye before he shut the door and picked down his laptop to scroll through tumblr. Alec wasn't sure if it was the charger or battery that was broken, but he honestly didn't care.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.

Magnus: i bought enough cheese and crackers for eight people, do you think that'll be enough?

Alec: No...

Magnus: come on! mean girls?

Alec: I've never watched it

Magnus: you have a sister and you've never watched mean girls

Alec: No...is that bad?

Magnus: yes. anyway, should I expect you tonight?

Alec: You might see me there... I have to wait for my parents to get home so Jace and Izzy don't get in trouble.

Magnus: will i be introduced to your siblings tonight, Alexander?

Alec: That would be a no. I'll explain later.

Magnus: a shame really. i'm sure they'll love me

Alec: Not a doubt about it. I'll see you later, Magnus.

Magnus: you too beautiful

The door opened just as Alec clicked off his phone. He turned to face his parents, a fake smile plastered on his face.
"Hello, parents," he said, shutting his laptop and standing up. "How was work?" He walked over to his mother, kissing her cheek. Maryse groaned. Robert stayed silent.
"Extremely long. We're off to bed. Anything planned for tonight?"
Alec shrugged. "Not much. Maybe a movie."
Maryse patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "Don't stay up too late, honey. Good night."
Alecs parents disappeared into the hallway. Alec was frozen until he heard the master bedrooms door shut, when he almost sprinted back to his room, trying to make himself look presentable. He looked down at his outfit, thinking back to all the times Isabelle had dragged him to parties and had tried to force him to wear an outfit that she had picked out. He had never worn them of course. It was a miracle he had even agreed to go any party or club she wanted him to go to, so he was going to be comfortable with what he was wearing. Now he wasn't so comfortable. He tried to remember the outfits she picked out. Obviously nothing in his closet fit the description of "party clothes." Sweaters and classic cut jeans weren't exactly what you wore to your soulmates party. Alec wondered to Jace's room, hoping to find something suitable there. He actually let Isabelle shop for him, where Alec would never trust his sister to do something like that. But Isabelle's fashion sense had paid off it, seemed, fore Jace's closet was full of perfectly suitable party clothes. Alec decided to go dark, so he grabbed a gray t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He put on a pair of his own combat boots, ruffling his hair a bit. There was just one thing missing... Alec found himself back in Jaces room, reaching into his closet to find one of Jaces many leather jackets.
Feeling like fire, Alec grabbed his phone and left the apartment.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

This was a huge mistake.
Alexander Lightwood stood in the doorway of Magnus's penthouse, gazing upon all of the people dancing together and pressed against one another. All of the sweaty people. Alec thought about leaving, but realized he couldn't do that. Once he got in the cab he realized he didn't know Magnus's address and had to text him. Alec could lie and tell him he got into a car accident. What were the chances Alec would see Magnus again. Oh yeah, f*cking 100%. Fate was a bitch.
Taking a deep breath, Alec made his way into the party scene. He had a hard time getting through the mass of people taking up the entirety of the living room. He spotted Jace and Clary grinding somewhere in the mix of people, and Simon and Isabelle making out against a wall. Steer clear of that side of the room.
Someone was going around with a tray of drinks, so Alec grabbed one and downed it, slamming the empty shot glass down on the tray. The guy holding the drinks gave him a strange look before continuing on his path through the party. Alec groaned to himself, making his way to the edge of the activity. He leaned against the far wall, crossing his arms and watching people dance and grind against one another whilst he stood alone in the corner.
Then a hand rested on his wrist.
"Alexander," a voice whispered in his ear. Alec turned and looked up at those those piercing golden brown eyes that belonged to his soulmate. Magnus was only about an inch and a half taller than him, but Alec felt about three inches tall under Magnus' gaze. "It's nice to see a pretty face in this crowd." Magnus smirked, his hand slipping down Alec's arm. He slid their fingers together.
"So tell me," Magnus said, leaning closer so they could hear each other better. "Which one is your sister?"
Alec looked around for Isabelle, spotting her, still kissing Simon, on the dance floor. He pointed to her. "That one." Magnus laughed beside him.
"My, she's a feisty one isn't she. The girl knows what she wants. That's her soulmate, I presume?"
"You presume correctly."
Alec thought Magnus whistled, but it was hard to tell over the music. "Not my type, but damn." It was weird that Alec's soulmate thought that about his sisters. "Is that brother of yours here?"
"Of course," Alec said, scanning the room for Clary's fiery red hair. He found her along with Jace, still on the dance floor, but now she was hoisted up on his waist, her legs around his hips, and they were making out passionately. Alec hesitantly pointed to them.
Magnus let out a cackle. "Man, I can only hope you're as vigorous as your siblings."
Alec stomach twisted. "Wouldn't count on it."
Magnus smiled. He tugged on Alec's hand. "How about we go and dance."
Alec didn't agree, but Magnus pulled him out onto the dance floor anyway. He moved his hips close to Alec's who just kind of stood there awkwardly. Magnus laughed as he pulled Alec's arm up, spinning himself.
"You don't do this much, Alexander." Magnus noticed, pulling Alec close to him. Alec shook his head. Magnus smirked. "Just follow my lead." He pulled Alec closer to him, close than they already were, and ground his hips against Alec's. Alec squeezed Magnus' arms as he inhaled deeply through his nose. Magnus chuckled, wrapping his arm around Alecs, his face next to Alec's as well. They moved against each other like cogs in a clock, fitting perfectly together, moving when the other moved. Magnus spun Alec so his back was against his soulmates chest. He wrapped his arms around Alec's waist while spelling his hair. He ground his hips against Alec's backside, his hands running over the line of definition that Magnus could feel through Alec's shirt.
He moaned in Alec's ear. "Alexander," he breathed, spinning Alec once again to face him. Alecs heartbeat beat rapidly in his chest, an he hoped Magnus would just think it was the beat of the music that was blaring. Magnus rested his head against Alec's, who nuzzled his nose against his soulmates. Magnus surged forward, sealing the space between them. His hands slipped around Alecs waist under the jacket, moving up and down his back as their lips moved together as one. Alec hesitated before lifting his arms and tangling his fingers in Magnus' perfectly styled hair. Alec lost himself in the kiss, moving with his soulmate and Magnus tasted of alcohol and cherry blossom perfume and sweat but Alec could hardly bring himself to notice. The music blared in his ears and sweat rolled down his spine but Alec kept on kissing Magnus like nothing else mattered in the world.
And at that moment, nothing else did.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

"Good morning, Alexander." A voice whispered against Alec's ear, waking him up the next morning. When Alec sat up, he immediately fell back down, which was a huge mistake. His head throbbed with pain and his body ached with regret. He looked up, seeing Magnus' face hovering above his own.
"What happened last night?" Alec groaned, covering his face with his hand.
"What do you remember?" He could almost hear the smirk in Magnus' voice.
"Well I came here, pointed out my siblings, me and you danced and...did some other stuff, we took a few shots and then the rest is just kinda...blurry."
Magnus chuckled. "I don't remember much either." He admitted, brushing Alec's hair out of his eyes.
Alec moved his hand away from his face and attempted to sit up again. Then he stopped. He was in a bed. He was at Magnus Bane's house last night. Magnus Bane was sitting on the bed next to him. Alec had slept in Magnus Bane's bed. He shot a panicked look at Magnus, who smiled, playing with bits of Alec's hair.
"Don't worry. We didn't do anything without consent. I remember that we came in here, made out a bit, then we both fell asleep around 2 am after I kicked everyone out." Magnus held out a pill. "Aspirin?"
Alec took the aspirin, washing it down with a glass of water. "Why do people drink so much if they always feel this way the next day?"
"First time drinking?"
"No," Alec said. "I've just never been drunk."
Magnus laughed again. "Well I guess that explains why you got drunk after two shots."
"I had another one before I ran into you," Alec added.
"I know."
"Oh."
Magnus smiled. "Let's get some breakfast."

Magnus led him to a place near his apartment building. It was a small little place, but Alec was sure that the food would taste great. He would have to find out another time though, because both Alec and Magnus were too hungover to order anything but coffee (which was delicious).
"So," Magnus said, resting his elbows on the table. "You're my soulmate, and all that I know about you is that you're 18, you have two attractive siblings, and that you're a great kisser. Tell me a bit about yourself."
Alec blushed at Magnus' comments as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Oh," Magnus added. "And you are absolutely gorgeous."
"Well," Alec said after clearing his throat. "I have two siblings, as you know, my parents work too hard, and we just moved here at the beginning of September from Chicago."
"Oo, Chicago," Magnus purred. "I love that city."
"Eh," Alec shrugged. "You get used to it after a while.
"You get used to everything after a while," Magnus said, a sad tone in his voice. "I got used to the color gray long before I can remember, and I'm sure I'll get used to blue eventually as well."
"Jace said almost the same thing about the color green," Alec mused. "Clary didn't though, and she's the philosophical one."
"Clary is Jace's soulmate right?" Magnus asked. "The red head. Wait, Clary, redhead..." Magnus thought for a moment before his face lit up in recognition. "Clarissa Fray is my soulmates brothers soulmate?"
Alec smiled. "So you do know her. Izzy mentioned that her mom used to babysit you."
"Wow," Magnus said, leaning back in his chair. "Clary is going to be my sister in-law."
"Well," Alec cut in. "Not quite. Jace isn't my actual brother. His parents died when he was nine and we were his god family." Alec thought about his childhood. He was only ten when Jace came to live with them, almost eleven. Isabelle had just turned nine and was excited to have someone to play with. Too bad Jace favored being with Alec. Now it felt almost the opposite. "The whole thing was really ironic, actually. My parents only agreed to be Jace's god parents because they were told that after me, they probably wouldn't have another. Two kids later, Jace's parents died and my parents had four kids."
Magnus smiled. "Four? Do you have another sibling you're not telling me about?"
Alec looked down into his coffee cup. "Uh, no. My youngest brother Max died when he was seven."
"Oh." Magnus reached his hand across the table to rest it on Alec's. "I'm sorry."
Alec shrugged. "It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault really."
Magnus retracted his hand. "Well, at least you have siblings. I was born and raised a lonely child. Maybe that was for the best though. My parents..." Magnus shook his head, downing the rest of his coffee. "It's too early to be talking about our family lives."
"Agreed."
"So you're still in high school?"
"Let's not talk about my school career first thing."
The two laughed, looking at each other with an unfamiliar feeling in both of their chests. They were so familiar with one another so early on in their relationship. It was almost unreal.
Then Alec's phone made a noise from his pocket.

Isabelle: where are you?

Alec sighed. "I'm sorry to cut this short again," he said standing up. "But I should probably be heading home before my family asks too many questions."
"Wait," Magnus said, pulling Alec back down. "You have to explain to me why you don't want your siblings to know about me yet."
"Oh," Alec said, getting comfortable in his chair. "Right. So my parents are super republican, and they don't really know I'm, you know, yet, and I'm not exactly ready to tell them so there's that."
"So your siblings don't know that you're gay either?" Magnus inquired.
"Oh no, they know. But I know that if I told Isabelle that I found my soulmate she would completely flip out, and if she knew that my soulmate was Magnus Bane she'd spill it to my parents somehow and it would turn into this huge thing and it just wouldn't be good."
Magnus' face stayed blank with shock as he stared at Alec. And he stared, and he stared. "Well Alexander," Magnus finally said as he stood up. "We better get you home."

Isabelle was practically waiting at the door when Alec walked in.
"Hey Alec, so uh, what'd you do last night?" She asked, a huge smirk growing across her face.
"Hey big brother," Jace said as he strolled into the living room. "So Alec finally decided to go to a party, huh?"
f*ck.
"Yeah yeah, big deal," Alec said and he walked back to the hallway. "So I wanted to go to a celebrities party."
He pealed off the leather jacket, looking through his closet for something baggy to wear. Baggy clothes were the best thing to wore when you felt like sh*t. "A lot of people want to go and actually go to Magnus Bane's parties, believe it or not."
"Yes," Isabelle said, sitting down on Alec's bed next to Jace. "But not everyone makes out with him."
f*ckity f*ck f*ck f*ck.
"You saw that?"
Jace choked. "Everyone saw it."
"Okay, so I made out with someone. You guys were making out with your soulmates, and I'm pretty sure everyone saw that." Alec pulled his shirt over his head.
"Damn Alec," Jace said, looking his brother over, laughing. "Did you fall on your chest or something?" Isabelle cackled. Alec looked down to see his chest covered in hickeys. He spun to look in the mirror, and noticed a few on his neck as well.
"f*ck..." He muttered, picking a sweater up and pulling it over his bare chest.
"So you finally lost your gay-ass virginity, huh Alec?" Jace giggled. Yep, that's right. Jace giggled. "You could say that with and without a hyphen." Isabelle giggled with him.
"No," Alec said, ignoring his brothers crude comment. "I didn't. We didn't even do anything."
"Still," Isabelle said. "It's unlike you to get drunk and make out with some guy."
"Yeah," Alec said. "Well watching you and Simon play tonsil tennis really makes me just want to sit back and read a book."
"Sorry if our soulmates make you feel lonely, Alec," Isabelle spat. "But you'll never meet your soulmate if you don't get out there and find him." She stomped out of the room. Alec stared after her. Isabelle's nails had cut him a hundred times, but her words hurt a thousand times worse.
"I hate to agree with her," Jace said, standing up and resting a hand on Alec's shoulder. "But she's right. If you don't do something you'll never meet him."
Alec pulled away. "What do you know? You met your soulmate by being put in the same class by mistake. You had nothing to do with it." He pointed to the door. "Now get out of my room."
Jace glared at his adoptive brother as he made his way to the door. "That's my jacket!" He called as the door slammed shut in his face.
It wasn't that his siblings didn't think that Alec had already found his soulmate, which he had, but he was mad at them because they were so dense that they didn't think that Alec was exotic enough to meet someone. Now Alec wasn't exactly Nicki Minaj, but he did leave the house. Why did they think he was at that part last night? Why did they think he went to any parties at all? They were just so dense that they couldn't even realize when they were insulting Alec.
Alec's phone buzzed in his pocket.

Magnus: takis at 6 tomorrow?

Alec: Of course.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Alec had no idea where Takis was, which might've been a problem if google maps didn't exist. He left school after the bell indicating that sixth period was over rang, hoping to avoid his siblings and get some homework done. He had seen Isabelle and Jace at lunch along with Clary and Simon, and Alec couldn't say he was entirely find of their conversation.

"So," Clary had said. "You and Magnus Bane?" She wagged her eyebrows at him.
Alec groaned. "Nothing even happened, besides, it's not even a big deal. You guys have all made out with strangers at parties." Magnus was kind of a stranger, so he wasn't exactly lying.
"Yes," Simon said. Simon? Simon made out with strangers at parties? Alec definitely wasn't expecting that. "But we didn't make out with famous people like you did."
"Or stay the night at their house," Isabelle said as she slid down in the seat next to Clary.
"Or get hickeys from them," Jace interjected from the other side of Simon. Clary whipped her head to the side to look at Alec.
"What?!"
"Oh my god," Alec said as he dug his fingers in his hair. "It's not a big deal. Just drop it already."
"It's just," Isabelle said, making her voice choke up like she was crying. Isabelle never cried. "My big brothers going up."
"I've always been grown up," He muttered. Had she completely forgot what she said to him last night? Had she forgotten how she had insulted him, and didn't even apologize?
His phone buzzed in front of him.
"Is that Magnus?" Clary asked.
It buzzed again.
"No," Alec spat as he picked his phone up. "It's mom. Dad and she won't be home until late. She wants Jace to make dinner."
"Hey do you guys want to go to a movie tonight?" Jace asked Clary.
"Why don't we go on a double date?" Isabelle suggested.
"That sounds fun!" Clary exclaimed, lacing her fingers with Jace's. She glanced at Alec. "You can come too if you want."
"No," he said, standing up and looking at his siblings. "Maybe I'll get out and find my soulmate. Would that make you two happy, hmm?"
"Alec we didn't mean it that way-"
"Well you meant it someway, so how about instead of going to a movie I go out and do something I'm not comfortable with, like joining an art class, because that was entirely your doing, wasn't it Jace?" Alec practically yelled, smiling at his brother. He turned his head to Isabelle. "Or maybe I'll meet him, but yell at him to get the hell away from me because he want my type, that sure would be nice, right Isabelle? Is that what you want me to do to find my soulmate so I don't annoy you guys anymore by tagging along on your movie dates or sitting with you at lunch? Cause that's so inconvenient?"
The four underclassmen stared up at Alec, dumbstruck at his sudden breakout.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Alec sighed as he put his textbooks in his backpack as he thought about this afternoon. He had figured out that Takis was the coffee place where he and Magnus had their first date, so he went there early to catch up on some homework.
It was 5:55 when Magnus walked in. The girl with the blue hair walked in with him and they went up to the counter where she put on an apron and started making a coffee. She laughed as she handed it to Magnus. He turned around after kissing the girl on the cheek, walking over to his usual seat. Alec waved when he saw Magnus' face, which lit up when he saw Alec.
"Hey darling," Magnus said as he kissed Alec's cheek.
"Hi."
"I missed you." Magnus smiled a bit before he groaned. "Ugh, I had this photo shoot today and the photographer was super pushy and she wanted me to do all these weird poses and I just," he laced his fingers with Alec's. "I'm glad you're here."
Alec smiled. "I'm glad I'm here too."
"So Alexander," Magnus said as he leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his coffee. "How was your day?"
Alec groaned. "Not the best."
"Aw, darling what happened?"
"Well I got in this fight with Isabelle and Jace yesterday because they saw me kissing you on Saturday and-"
"Wait, do they know that you're my soulmate?" Magnus looked almost hopeful. It made Alec's heart melt.
"No... But they kept poking fun at me just because I kissed you because apparently that's not something I usually do and I got mad at them and they told me I had to get out there more to find my soulmate and it turned into this whole thing so I yelled at them at lunch today and, ugh, it's just a huge thing now."
"Well, Alexander, what exactly happened, if you don't mind me asking."
Alec explained how his siblings had insulted him then didn't even apologize. He explained how he yelled at them and probably insulted them as much as they insulted him. He told Magnus how he didn't even feel sorry.
"Alexander," Magnus said when he finished his story. "That's awful. Alright, now I've fought with my friend Ragnor a hell of a lot, and he's fought with his friend Raphael- I actually met Raphael first but now him and Ragnor are better friend than Raphael and I and I think that's just weird, oh, and Ragnor's soulmate is Catarina up there with the hair, oh right you've met already-"
Alec laughed at his soulmates rambling.
"Anyway," Magnus continued. "I've found that it's easiest to kiss and makeup."
"What?"
"Well, I don't mean literally of course. I mean just be the bigger man. Apologize for yelling at them and tell them how you feel afterwards. They'll realize what they did wrong and apologize to you and then everything will be alright."
Alec nodded. "That makes sense I guess. But I really don't want to apologize to them."
"Everyone does things that they don't want to do, Alexander."
"I guess."
"Hey," Magnus said, getting up and sitting next to Alec, resting his arm on the back of Alec's chair and massaging his scalp with his fingers. "It's going to be okay."
Alec turned his head to look at Magnus, rubbing their noses together. "Yeah?"
"Hmm, of course."
Alec's breath caught as he looked down at Magnus' lips, his mouth going dry.
"Will you..." Alec said, his voice cracking. "Show me?"
Magnus smirked. "Again, of course." He leaned forward, caressing Alec's lips with his own. Alec melted into it, exhaling heavily against Magnus' cheek. Magnus' fingers twisted the strands of his soulmates hair, slightly tugging as he moved their lips together. Alec's stomach jumped as Magnus tugged, and he leaned forward a bit more, almost pushing Magnus off his chair.
"Whoa there, tiger," Magnus laughed as he pushed Alec up. Alec blushed as Magnus stood up, pulled at Alec's arm. "Come on," he said. "Let's go back to my place."

A bubble of anxiety bubbled in Alec's chest as he entered Magnus' penthouse. The place was absolutely spotted.
"Wow," Alec mused. "This place is absolutely spotless. How did you get it so clean?"
"Honey, I'm famous. And rich." Magnus didn't add anything to his statement. The door shut behind him as he entered his home. "Do you want a drink or something?"
"Uh," Alec said. "No I'm fine."
Magnus spun around, grabbing Alec's hands. "Hi."
Alec looked up at his soulmate. "Hi."
"So," Magnus said, that mischievous glint in his eye. "Where were we?" He pressed his lips against Alec's lightly, lifting his hands up against Alec's chest. Alec breathed him in, his eyes closing as Magnus kissed his lips.
Magnus backed up and leaned against the arm of the couch, sliding his hands down Alec's stomach and stringing them around his waist. He took a deep breath, gripping Alec's waist and deepening their kiss. Alec moaned against his soulmates lips, causing Magnus so smile. He stood up, turning Alec and pressing his against the couch. He kept pushing, making Alec fall down into the soft couch. They both laughed between kisses. Alec pushed on the arm so he could comfortably lie on the couch. Well, and kiss his boyfriend. Well, kind of boyfriend.
Alec pulled back, gasping for breath. Magnus moved down, kissing and sucking on Alec's neck. He moaned as Magnus bit his neck, he moaned as Magnus squeezed his hip so hard he was sure he would bruise.
Alec's chest was about to burst with the happiness he was feeling at that moment. September 26, 2015, 7:39 pm. He forgot all about Jace and Isabelle and his parents and his AP psychology pop quiz. He forgot about how it felt to be alone and what it was like not seeing the color gold. He forgot how Magnus' lips felt for that half a second they were gasping for breath. Alec forgot everything. He was glad. Magnus was the best thing that had ever happened to him and they'd known each other for three days. They really were soulmates.
Magnus slipped his hand under Alec's sweater, pulling his head up to make sure his soulmate was okay with it. Alec nodded, sealing the gap between them. Magnus' hand explored Alec's bare chest, his fingers tracing each rib, each muscle, each inch of skin. Alec's heart thumped against his soulmates hand.
"Are you alright Alexander?" Magnus asked, bringing his other hand up to Alec's mouth, his thumb brushing his lips.
Alec nodded. "Yeah," his voice was rough. "Yeah," he repeated. "I've just never done this."
Magnus sat up so he was straddling Alec, who propped himself up on his elbows.
"You're comfortable with all of this?" Magnus asked, worry in his voice. Alec nodded after a moment. Magnus gave him a knowing look. "Alexander, I won't push you into anything you don't want to do." He slid to the side, sitting on the couch now, his legs resting on Alec's torso. Alec sat up. He leaned forward, kissing Magnus softly.
"Well I should probably go them," Alec said as he stood up, stretching his arms. Magnus grabbed his arm.
"No, stay," he pleaded. "We can watch Project Runway and fall asleep on the couch."
Alec chuckled. "If I stay another night Isabelle will literally hire a detective." Magnus smiled, tugging on Alec's arm. Alec gave up, sitting down next to his soulmate. "Alright. One episode."
They ended up watching three episodes that night, cuddled up on the couch, Magnus' arms tangled around Alec's waist, both of them caressing one another as if the other were a previous gem. At 11:00 after a quick make out session, Alec finally decided he had to leave.
"Magnus," he said against the others lips. "I really- have- to go- this time."
"No you don't," Magnus mumbled, wrapping his arms around Alec's as he kissed him deeply. Alec's mind went blank for a moment, but after that moment ended, he pushed Magnus away, standing up.
"I really have to get home before midnight. It takes a while for the train to get back to New York and, sh*t I have to get my car from Takis and-" Magnus sat up, kissing Alec right on the mouth.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Alec smiled, kissing Magnus quickly. Or, it was supposed to be quick, but they ended up kissing for another thirty seconds. "We have to stop!" Alec laughed as he stepped away, picking up his back pack and walking toward the door.
"Do you have to go?" Magnus asked as he followed him.
"Yes, I'm sorry." Alec whispered, kissing Magnus once more before opening the door. "When can I see you again?"
Magnus smiled, his eyes half shut. "I'm free when you are."
Alec kissed his soulmate again, his foot out the door. "I'll call you."
"You better." Magnus' lips brushed against Alec's, who pulled away, resting his back against the hallway wall.
"I'll see you later then."
"Good night Alexander."

Alec was still smiling as he opened the door to his apartment. He had expected that he would have to be quiet around his siblings doors, but he didn't expect the light in the living room to be on with Jace and Isabelle worriedly hovering over their phones. When the door shut the shot their heads up, their faces flooding with relief. Isabelle practically flew into her brothers arms as she hugged him.
"Where were you?" She asked, her fingers digging into his arms. "Why didn't you answer my texts?"
"I, uh, I was busy." Alec answered, his smile reappearing. Was Isabelle actually worried about him? Jace too?
"We thought you'd be here when we got back," Jace said as he walked over. "We thought you had died, Alec."
"I'm sorry I worried you guys," Alec said, meaning what he said. "I didn't think you'd even notice I wasn't back."
"Of course we noticed," Isabelle said, playfully punching his arm. "We're sorry for being such bitches yesterday, Alec."
"Yeah," Jace agreed. "We didn't mean to come across so...heartless."
Alec shrugged. "I'm sorry I yelled at you guys at lunch. I didn't mean to be such a dick head but I explained it to...myself today," He said. "And I realized that we were all in the wrong. So come here," he opened his arms, and his siblings both hugged him. He hugged them back. "Now," he said, pushing the younger teens back. "It's late and we have school tomorrow. Let's get to bed."
Isabelle nodded.
"We'll talk about that hell of a hickey tomorrow."
Alec hoped tomorrow would never come.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

September 27
10:17 AM
Magnus: good morning darling

10:19 AM
Alec: Did you just wake up

10:19
Magnus: do you have a problem with my sleeping schedule alexander?

10:21
Alec: Well, I woke up at 6:15

10:22
Magnus: that's insane. is that how early you have to get up to go to public school?

10:24
Alec: Yep. I forgot you're a famous person

10:25
Magnus: im THE famous person

10:25
Alec: shhhh class is starting

10:26
Magnus: you don't text during class?

10:30
Magnus: alexanderrrr

10:32
Magnus: ill take your silence as a no

11:10
Alec: No I don't text in class I'm a good student

11:11
Magnus: you're a senior

11:13
Alec: So that doesn't mean I can text in class

11:14
Magnus: yes it does

11:15
Alec: gtg

11:16
Magnus: look around you. how many other kids are texting

11:18
Alec: ...most of them

11:18
Magnus: so does this mean you'll text me all day ;)

11: 23
Alec: No I still have to pay attention

11:24
Magnus: aw come on. i bet i could tell you all the answers.

11:27
Alec: I'm in AP Psychology, Magnus

11:28
Magnus: oh never mind

11:31
Alec: That's what I thought. I'll text you later

11:32
Magnus: you better

11:43
Magnus: what time does your school start

11:45
Alec: Well it starts at 8:20 but I don't have to be there until 10. Why?

11:46
Magnus: no reason. why don't you have to be there until 10?

11:49
Alec: I have two free periods in the morning

11:50
Magnus: then why do you get up so early?

11:52
Alec: I drive Jace and Izzy and then work on homework since I usually don't do it at home

11:52
Magnus: how much hw do you usually have?

11:55
Alec: Like and hour

11:56
Magnus: what do you do with the other 45 minutes

12:00
Alec: Think about you ;)

12:01
Magnus: i do that the whole day, darling

12:01
Alec: wow

12:02
Magnus: speaking of, when can I see you next?

12:03
Alec: Not sure... Jace and Izzy are already on my case.

12:03
Alec: Maybe Thursday?

12:04
Magnus: that's so far away

12:05
Alec: I know, it sucks. But my parents are working late all week so they won't notice if I come back. Not that they'd care, but Jace and Izzy would so maybe I could disappear after school for a project?

12:06
Magnus: tell me more about this project

12:07
Alec: Well it involves you

12:08
Magnus: does it now

12:09
Alec: Maybe your apartment

12:09
Magnus: now i like where this is going

12:10
Alec: Sos

12:11
Magnus: are you alright Alexander?

12:12
Alec: yeah mom sure

12:13
Magnus: what is happening

12:15
Alec: Sorry, Jace was looking over my shoulder

12:16
Magnus: hes in your class?

12:17
Alec: No we're at lunch

12:18
Magnus: do you have open campus?

12:19
Alec: Yes...

12:20
Magnus: Alexander I might have to come kidnap you

12:21
Alec: But everyone would see

12:22
Magnus: my point exactly

12:26
Magnus: Alexander?

12:27
Alec: Who is this???

12:28
Magnus: uhm, Alexander?

12:28
Alec: No this is Isabelle. Who are you??

12:29
Magnus: am i not named in your brothers phone?

12:30
Alec: no you are. It just a bunch of the blushy and kiddy emoji

12:31
Magnus: oh, that's right

12:31
Alec: So who is this???

12:32
Magnus: that, my dear, is up to your brother to tell you.

12:34
Alec: Oh my god I'm sorry I went to the bathroom and Izzy found my phone in my bag apparently

12:35
Magnus: not a problem, darling. just to be sure, what's my name?

12:36
Alec: Magnus. Your name is Magnus.

12:37
Magnus: wonderful. ill text you later.

3:17
Magnus: are you out of school yet, Alexander?

3:17
Alec: I am

3:18
Magnus: wonderful. are you sure that I can't see you tonight?

3:20
Alec: I wish. I have to go to dinner with the siblings and in-laws. Or, almost in-laws

3:22
Magnus: what if I coincidentally ran into you

3:23
Alec: Isabelle would know something's up. First I make out with you, spend the night, disappear for 12 hours then come back with a giant hickey on my neck, which I had to put a bandaid on this morning btw. She'll know you're someone special to me

3:24
Magnus: so i am special to you

3:25
Alec: Oh shut up

3:27
Magnus: so you're sure i can't see you tonight?

3:28
Alec: I'm sure. I have to go do my psychology paper. Text you when I'm done

3:29
Magnus: all right, darling.

4:17
Alec: All right I have ten minutes before Clary and Simon come over and I'll have to go socialize

4:18
Magnus: does this mean i can see you, Alexander?

4:18
Alec: No, I have ten minutes.

4:20
Magnus: i can work with that

4:21
Alec: It'll take me ten minutes to get to my street let alone to your apartment

4:22
Magnus: i could fire up my jet

4:23
Alec: You have a jet?

4:24
Magnus: no darling. i was making a joke

4:24
Alec: Oh

4:25
Magnus: don't be so upset about it

4:26
Alec: I'm not! I thought you were serious though. sh*t I just heard them come in.

4:27
Magnus: is it the police

4:27
Alec: No, Simon and Clary.

4:27
Magnus: so you're leaving me again?

4:28
Alec: I'm sorry

4:29
Magnus: it's perfectly fine, darling. but really? thursday? I can't see you any sooner?

4:30
Alec: Maybe I could sneak out tomorrow...

4:31
Magnus: please do

4:32
Alec: I really have to go

4:32
Magnus: goodbye Alexander

8:34
Magnus: are you back from dinner yet?

8:35
Alec: Yes it's not like I live there

8:36
Magnus: i was just checking. what are you doing now?

8:36
Alec: Watching a show with Clary and Isabelle

8:37
Magnus: is that so. What show?

8:38
Alec: I don't want to say...

8:39
Magnus: come one, im on glee. even if I wanted to judge you I couldn't.

8:39
Alec: Yeah...

8:40
Magnus: oh my god are you watching glee?

8:41
Alec: Maybe...

8:42
Alec: Isabelle sucked me into it

8:43
Magnus: you're such a nerd. how much is left

8:45
Alec: 10 minutes. Why?

8:46
Magnus: no reason, i just wanted to talk to you

8:47
Alec: You're talking to me right now

8:48
Magnus: no i mean like on the phone

8:50
Alec: Oh

8:50
Alec: I'll text you when it's over.

9:07
Alec: You wanted to call me?

Magnus' name flashed across the screen of Alec's phone as he walked into his room. He smiled, locking the door behind him.
"Hello?"
"I wanna sleep next to you," Magnus sang into the phone. "But that all I want to do right now."
Troye Sivan. All of tumblr was obsessed with Troye Sivan, how could Alec not know who he was? It's a good thing he was addicted to the internet, or he wouldn't know what song his soulmate was singing to him at that moment.
"And I wanna come home to you, but home is just a room full of my safest sounds." Magnus really had a beautiful voice. It was smooth and sweet and every word he sang seemed to just flow off his tongue so nicely. "Cause you know that I can't trust myself with my 3AM shadow, I'd rather fuel a fantasy than deal with this alone." Magnus paused for a second, taking a breath. "I wanna sleep next to you, but that all I wanna do right now, so come over now and talk me down."
Alec smiled into the phone, not caring is Magnus couldn't see him. "I didn't know you had such a beautiful voice."
"I'm on Glee. I have to have a good voice."
"Yeah, but that's different. They can change it and make it sound better than it actually is."
"Are you insulting me, Alexander?"
"What?" Alec almost screamed. Realizing where he was, he lowered his voice. "No! You're voice is so much better in person. Or, over the phone."
Magnus chuckled. "I knew what you meant. And thank you."
"So," Alec said, leaning again the headboard of his bed. "Why that song?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I guess that's just how I feel right now."
Alec was glad Magnus couldn't see him blushing. "Me too."
The subject changed quickly after that. The two talk about their day and school and acting and their daily lives. Alec was telling Magnus a story about dinner that night when Isabelle came pounding on his door, asking who he was talking to.
"No one!" Alec yelled. "Screw off, Isabelle!"
"Alec if you found your soulmate and you haven't told me I swear..."
"What'll you do? Tell mom?"
Isabelle's huff was muffled by the door. "You'll tell me sooner or later."
After he was sure she was gone, Alec whispered into the phone. "Hey, so I should probably go. Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Of course, Alexander."

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

"Alexander," the velvet voice on the other side of the phone hummed.
"Magnus?"
"Hello. So yesterday you mentions that you didn't have to be at school until 10, right?"
"Magnus it's 5:30 in the morning. Why are you even up so early?"
"I was just thinking. So anyway, you said you don't have to be at school until 10?"
Alec sat up, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "Yeah, why?"
"Well, I don't have anything to do until tomorrow evening, when I'm on a date with you, but why don't we do something this morning?"
"I have to drop Isabelle and Jace off."
"Aren't they old enough to drive?"
"Yeah, but I'm the only one with a car."
"Alright, drop them off and come see me."
"Magnus..."
"Alexander," Magnus' voice was smooth and persausive. "I haven't seen you in two days."
"One day," Alec corrected, a smile making its way across his face.
"Two." Magnus insisted. "Pleeeeease."
Alec rolled his eyes, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "All right. I'll meet you outside your apartment at 8:40. I'm going back to bed."

Alec pulled up to the high school, not bothering to find a parking space.
"What are you doing?" Isabelle asked as he pulled up the the front curb.
"I'm dropping you off." Alec said, his foot itching to let up off the break.
"But you usually come in with us," Jace said, though he was already out of the door.
"Mom asked me to run an errand. I'll be back."
He drove off without looking back.

"Something is definitely going on with Alec," Isabelle said as she and Jace watched their brother drive away from the school.
Jace sighed as he turned to walk into the school. "Agreed. He's been randomly disappearing a lot. You've noticed that right?" Isabelle nodded.
"It's like he's dating someone or something."
"If that's the case," Jace mused as they walked down the hallway. "Then I guess it's not a big deal. I mean, we've dated people and not told each other."
Clary came running up to Jace, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Whatcha guys talking about?" She asked as she interlocked their fingers.
"Just how weird Alec's been," Isabelle answered.
"Oh," Clary chuckled. "You figured out that he found his soulmate?"
"What?" Both Jace and Isabelle practically yelled.
"You didn't know?" Clary seemed thoroughly surprised.
"No!" Jace exclaimed. "I mean we figured he was dating someone but not something so...not someone so important!" He looked more closely at his girlfriend. "How did you know? Did he tell you and not tell me?"
Clary laughed. "No. I figured it out. We're a lot in common, Alec and I."
Isabelle huffed. "But how did you figure out that he had found his soulmate?"
"Well," Clary said. "I know what it's like to not see such a beautiful color as gold. The sun was dull, my eyes were dull, even some strands of my hair were dull. I mean, I guess my world was lit up like everyone else's, but some things were just so sad looking. But when I could finally see those colors that I could never see before, my world was just so much brighter. I could appreciate the smallest details in my mothers paintings, I could see why gold was such a beautiful thing and why it was so expensive. I finally understood why girls would spend hundreds of dollars to dye their hair what I used to see as a dull gray." She shrugged. "I guess I just saw how Alec appreciated things. Plus he commented on the color of Magnus' eyes when we were watching Glee."
"Wow," Isabelle said, dumbstruck. How could Clary notice these things about Alec? She'd only met him a month ago. "But why hasn't he told us?"
Clary shrugged again. "Not sure. Maybe he was afraid that if he told anyone your parents would find out."
Jace nodded. "That's probably it, with Isabelle and her loud mouth."
Isabelle responded my promptly slapping Jace's chest. "Ow."
"I don't have a loud mouth!" She retorted. He gave her a look.
"Last year you told everyone that I lost my virginity to Kaelie after I specifically told you not too."
"What?" Clary asked, shocked that her boyfriend would say something like that. "You've had sex before?"
Jace had that "oh sh*t" look on his face as he turned to stare at his soulmate. Isabelle laughed.
"Who has a loud mouth now?"
Clary tugged on her soulmates arm. "You said you'd never had sex before."
"Well I was kind of lying..."
Clary huffed, pulling him the opposite way they were walking. "I can't believe you!" She screamed, dragging him down the hallway.
Isabelle stared after them, knowing that Jace was going to get it. Now where was Simon?

"Why couldn't we just have driven?" Alec asked Magnus as they walked to Takis that morning.
"Because," Magnus said, taking Alec's hand in his own. "This way we get to know each other better. Plus I only live ten blocks from the place."
Alec smiled, squeezing his soulmates hand.
"So," Magnus said. "Tell me what classes you're taking."
"Oh," Alec groaned. "Do we have to talk about school?"
"Yes."
Alec moaned. "Well I have AP psych, Spanish, calculus, and American history."
"Of course you'd take Spanish as your foreign language."
"Well I actually already speak Spanish."
"What?" Magnus asked, giving Alec a questioning look. "Why are you taking a language you already speak?"
Alec shrugged. "Well I'm not fluent and I can get an easy A this way."
"What year is it?"
"Fifth."
"How are you in fifth year Spanish?"
"They offer a middle school class here apparently." Alec shrugged. "They didn't offer me that class in eighth grade."
"So how do you already know Spanish?" Magnus asked.
"Well I have family members who are from Spain and Mexico. It's rather weird actually. I stayed with my aunt a lot, who's Asian and is married to a Latino, so I kind of learned because I was around them so much."
"Ah so," Magnus said, clearing his throat. "Usted no estaba en casa mucho?"
"Um," Alec grumbled, searching his brain for the right words. "Realmente no. Los padres de distancia mucho."
Magnus laughed. "Obviously not fluent, but that's pretty good!"
"So how do you know Spanish?" Alec question, looking at his soulmate who smirked.
"You're not the only one who grew up in a diverse household, Alexander."
"Well I assumed that but-"
Someone collided into him mid-sentence. Hot coffee spilled down the front of his sweater, scorching his skin. He gasped, putting distance between himself and the sweater. He pulled it out from his chest, giving it a chance to cool down.
"Watch where you're going." A monotone female voice said. "I almost got coffee on my bag- Magnus Bane?"
Alec glanced over at Magnus, who had his strong jaw locked and his eyes set on the girl in front of them. Alec looked forward, seeing a familiar looking girl with regal blonde hair, blue eyes, and the palest skin he had ever seen. She was wearing a sequined white top and leather pants that clung to her skinny legs.
"Camille," Magnus growled through his teeth. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing much, Magnus Bane," She enunciated the first letters of his name. Magnus and the girl, Camille, were about the same height, Alec noted, but then again Camille was wearing tall heels. She eyes Alec. "So are you his new boy toy?"
"What?"
She turned back to Magnus. "I have to say Magnus, he doesn't really seem like your type." He voice never changed pitch.
"You don't seem like my type." Magnus retorted, crossing his arms.
"Magnus Bane, I am exactly your type."
Magnus glared at the woman before him and Alec could almost see the hatred in his eyes. "Why are you here?"
"I have to film down the block and decided to grab some coffee." She looked at Alec's now drenched sweater. "I guess that's down the drain."
"Quite literally," Magnus interjected. "Well, I'd say it was a pleasure running into you, but it wasn't. I'll see you never, Camille."
Camille scoffed, looking at Alec. "You don't actually let him boss you around like that, do you? I realized far too late that I should stand up for myself." She leaned in close. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. I'd leave and find your real soulmate while you still can. He'll chew you up and spit you out before you can even say 'I love you.' Trust me, I know." She backed away again. What was that supposed to mean? "Magnus Bane, you might want to stay low on the radar. Rumors are you have a new boyfriend and the press is not happy that you haven't shared him with the public."
"What do you mean, 'real soulmate?'" Alec asked, his mind still going over what Camille had said to him.
"Come on," Camille said knowingly. "You don't actually think he's your soulmate, right? The world didn't gain it's missing color when you met him. You don't feel entirely out of control when you're with him. Go find your actual soulmate before you get too hurt."
"Camille," Magnus said, but she held out her hand. Her pointed nails were painted a dark red. Magnus backed up.
"Why don't you just go find your soulmate and stop messing with mine?" Alec said, almost sizing up the intimidating woman that stood in front of him.
"Because my soulmate's dead." She threw her coffee cup on the ground. She pushed past Alec, not nothing to pick up her trash. "Sorry about your sweater."

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Alec stood dumbstruck for a moment, unable to move, unable to think, unable to breath. Who was this Camille? Why was she targeting him? Why was she so familiar with Magnus?
"-xander," a voice said, pulling Alec from his thoughts. His eyes flicked up to Magnus', their golden iris' glimmering in the morning light.
"What," Alec began, his throat locking up. "was that?" Magnus cringed, grabbing at Alec's hands. He pulled away. "What was she talking about?"
"Alexander it doesn't matter anymore because now-"
"'Go find your real soulmate'?" Alec whispered, looking away from Magnus. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Magnus groaned, running his painted fingers through his hair. "It's too early in the morning for this."
"Magnus what did you do to her?"
Magnus stared at his soulmate, his eyes pleading and scared. "Tell me!"
Magnus sighed, grabbing Alec's hand and walking back toward his apartment.
"Let's get you a clean shirt and me some coffee. I'll explain then."

Clary stared at Jace as she leaned against the brooms in the janitors closet. She shook her head, her voice tired of all of the yelling she had just done.
"I cannot believe you lied to me."
Jace sighed, reaching for his soulmate, who pulled away.
"Clary will you please just-"
"No!" She yelled, standing up strait. "You lied to me and didn't even think twice about it?" Her eyes stung with tears. "Is your name even Jace Lightwood?"
Jace cringed. "Ah- no actually."
"WHAT?"
"Please don't freak out."
Clary gawked. "How can I NOT freak out? You lie to me, your destined soulmate, about your sex life- which you know I wouldn't have cared about- then you tell me that your name isn't really your name? I cannot believe you!"
"Clary it's really complicated and I was just waiting for the right time to tell you-"
"No, you're going to tell me now." She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows. "Well?"
Jace sighed, closing his eyes. "Alright. Um, so my dad was really close with Robert and uh, so when my parents died when I was seven I went to live with the Lightwoods."
"Jace I'm sorry your parents died, but that doesn't mean you can lie to me." She reached across the closet to grab Jace's hands. "But why didn't you tell me her real name?"
"It's complicated..."
"I have time."
Jace sighed again, looking up at his soulmate. "Alright, well me real name is...it's Jace Wayland."
"See?" Clary said sweetly. "That wasn't so complicated."
"Well," Jace said. "It's Jace Wayland-Herondale."
"Okay...what does that mean?"
"Uh..." Jace mumbled, fidgeting with Clary's hand. "My parents names we Michael and Stephen."
"Oh..."
"Yeah."
"Well what's so bad about that?"
"I actually don't think that Robert and Maryse knew about them..."
Clary made a face. "Um, how, exactly?"
"Well I think that they thought that my segregate was my like, mom or something cause she always hung around with us."
"Oh..."
Jace stood up. "Clary?" He said, grabbing her hand.
"Yes?"
"Is it true what you said? About not being mad if I had told you the truth?"
Clary sadly smiled up at Jace, resting her head on his chest. "Yes. You should've just told me."
"Clary I'm so sorry. I guess...I guess I was just scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared of you looking at me differently. Scared of myself. You're just so-" Jace sighed, his heart rate picking up. "You're just so pure and I'm-"
"The pureness of your heart has nothing to do with how many people you've slept with, Jace." Clary's arms tightened around his waist.
"Really?" She nodded against him.
"Let's get to class now."
They stepped out of the janitors closet, expecting the halls to be quiet and empty, but they were filled with teenagers laughing and eating chips out of bags and kissing against walls.
"Is it already lunch?" Clary asked, looking up at Jace. He laughed.
"Apparently."
"There you guys are!" Isabelle said as she walked down the hallway, Simon's hand in hers. "Where's Alec?"
Jace's eyebrows furrowed. "He's not back yet?"
"Where'd he go in the first place?" Clary asked, looking at Isabelle.
"He said he had to 'run and errand.'" Simon let out a short laugh before getting a look from Isabelle.
"Sorry," he said, laughs still escaping his lips. "It's just no guy would willingly run an errand."
Clary laughed along with him. "He's so going to see his soulmate."
"No way..."

"I met Camille three years ago while shooting a movie with her in the summer of that year." Alec listened to Magnus' story, looking at his reflection on the coffee in the mug he was spinning, not drinking. He wore one of Magnus' t-shirts with the words "BLINK IF YOU WANT ME" spelled out in rhinestones. He had taken a short shower after Camille spilled her latte all over him, and his clothes were in the dryer at the moment. "I was an ignorant sixteen year old, craving affection and love. She was there. She was seventeen at the time. We played love interests in the movie, so we obviously had chemistry if we were cast in those roles."
"Magnus I don't want to hear about your chemistry with your ex-girlfriend. Tell me why she said the things she said." Alec was still upset with Magnus. He was also mad at Camille, but he could yell at her on the way back to Magnus' apartment.
"I'm getting there, Alexander." Magnus sighed, his fingers curling around locks of his hair. "She came to me upset one night. She was in hysterics and she couldn't and wouldn't tell me why. She didn't show up for two weeks, and the director threatened to fire her until one day, she showed up all bright-eyed and cheery. It was strange. She wouldn't answer my texts or talk to me, but she just showed up one day like it had never happened.
"We started dating after the film wrapped up. It was just an innocent fling at first, but somehow it turned into something serious. She opened up to me and I did the same. We bonded over our horrid parents and acting jobs, then the real stuff came out in the middle of one of those nights where you spend twelve hours talking and you find out every dark and disgusting secret about one another. She told me that while we were filming she found her soulmate. She saw the world differently, everything was clear and beautiful. She told me they locked eyes while he was crossing the street. They both froze where they were, smiles creeping across their faces. Then a bus hit him. She said his green eyes were filled with panic and fear, then they went lifeless. She said she screamed as she ran to him, the bus stopped and people crowding around his body. After they took him away, she came to me, crying over the love that she hadn't even lost. She'd never known him and now he was gone. She spent those two weeks drinking and doing drugs trying to forget her loveless life. Then she came back, looking for a rebound. That's where I come in.
"I thought I could help her. We had fun and made each other happy those first few months. Then things got hard. I thought I could pretend that I was still in love with her. I thought I could force myself to me in love with her. I wanted to be in love with her. That sounds bad, but she wasn't such a horrible person back then. She was softer and younger a sweeter. She was still a helpless teenager who had lost her soulmate before she'd even knew him. We were perfect together. It made sense. Then it didn't.
"I wasn't happy with her anymore. After a few months of pretending and convincing Camille of my love, I told her how I really felt. She was broken hearted, and it hurt me to see her that way. She lashed out, claiming that I never loved her, that I just wanted to hurt her. I didn't. I wanted to be happy as much as she did, but when I looked into her eyes they were a light gray, almost white and I couldn't stand feeling as if she were icing me over each time she looked at me. I never meant to hurt her.
"She kicked me out, leaving me free and broken hearted. She was a big part of my life, and I went and ruined it. I spent the next year trying to forget her. Sometimes I thought that maybe I never fell out of love, but somewhere along the line I convinced myself. I slept with anyone who would take me, which was pretty much everyone. I gave myself a bad name, making people think I was easy, which I guess I was. Things were different after that. One day, though, after waking up next to an unfamiliar face in an unfamiliar place I realized that I need to change something in my life. I wasn't happy. I was eighteen and depressed and wanted to die, thinking no one cared for me and no one was out there for me. So I tried to change. I stopped sleeping around and letting my career slip through my fingers. I grasped at it, hoping I could still save it.
"I tried out for a part in a movie that Camille had already accepted a role in. I was rejected. My agent, well, Catarina's soulmate- haven't I talked about him before? Anyway, he told me that I was rejected for the role because Camille refused to work with me. I called her, demanding to talk to her in person. She refused. I yelled at her over the phone instead. She yelled at me. Ever since then we've hated each other, not being able to spend more than ten minutes in the same room. Now she's the monotone girl you met today, not wanting anything but liquor and pot."
Alec stared at Magnus, soaking in the story he was just told.
"Magnus I'm so sorry." He reached a hand across the counter, brushing his fingers against Magnus'. "I didn't know you guys had been through that. I just thought-"
A tear fell on the counter top. Magnus wiped it away. "It's alright. I just don't want to lose you."
"Oh Magnus," Alec said, walking around to the other side of the counter. He walked up to his soulmate, clasping his hips in his hands. Alec rested his head on Magnus' chest, just below his chin. "I'll never leave you."
Magnus pressed his chin to the top of Alec's head, breathing in his scent. "So," he said, pulling back, that mischievous look back in his eyes. "Does this mean you're my official boyfriend now?"
Alec chuckled, bending his head back to look at his soulmate. "I guess it does." Magnus smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips to Alec's. It was meant to be a short kiss, but ended up with them making out for twenty minutes.
"Damn," Alec said, pulling away when he saw the time on the clock. "Is that the time?"
"No," Magnus said, pressing kisses to Alec's neck. "It's only-" he looked at his phone. He frowned. "2:45."
"I really missed an entire day of school?"
"Hmm," Magnus hummed. "It was worth it, wasn't it?"
Alec smiled. "I guess." He kissed Magnus once, pulling back after a few seconds. "But I do have to go."
"No you don't."
"I do. I have to pick up Jace and Izzy and get all my homework that I missed today."
Magnus groaned, a small smile on his face. "Fine."
Alec smiled, grabbing his keys off the counter. Magnus pushed him against the door, kissing his lips one last time before Alec left.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Alexander."
"See you tomorrow.

"So," Isabelle said as she hopping in the front seat of the car. "You weren't at school today."
"That errand sure did take a long time." Jace interjected from the back.
"And a change of clothes apparently." Isabelle chuckled. "Blink if you want me? Not even I have a shirt that bold. Where'd you even get that?"
"No where," Alec said as he blushed, pulling out of the school parking lot. "Did you get your pre-calc homework turned in Isabelle? I know you skipped class yesterday to go make out with Simon."
She rolled her eyes. "Just like you skipped class to make out with your boyfriend?"
"What?" Alec yelled. "I mean, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not dating Magnus."
"I didn't say you were dating Magnus," Isabelle said, shock and mischief on her face. "But I will now. You're dating Magnus Bane?"
"No!" Alec said, turning the corner a few blocks from their apartment. "I just assumed that you thought I would be dating him because I made out with him that one time."
Isabelle laughed. "If you say you're not seeing Magnus then you're not seeing Magnus, but you are seeing someone and I will find out who it is."
"Have fun finding my imaginary boyfriend, Iz."
Well, he wasn't so imaginary anymore.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

"Why do you look so fancy?" Isabelle said as Alec walked out into the living room. She was writing something on her laptop, her glasses pressed against her nose.
Alec looked down at his black t-shirt and sport coat along with gray jeans. "What?" He asked, looking through the letters on the table beside the couch.
"You are totally going on a date." Isabelle sprawled herself across the couch, looking at her brother. "Will you at least tell me his name?"
"I'm not going on a date."
"Yes you are! You totally are."
Alec rolled his eyes, slapping the mail back on the table and sitting down next to his sister. "Tell me how you 'know' then."
Isabelle smiled. "Well, you only wear that gold band dad gave you when you want to look nice, and you're wearing that now." Alec looked down at his wrist where the golden band gleamed in the lighting of the living room. "You only ever wear sweaters and baggy jeans, but you're wearing a nice t-sh*t, the one nice coat you own and a pair of nice jeans. Your hair is styled nice and you're wearing lipgloss."
"I'm wearing lip balm," Alec corrected.
"Whatever, you've so going on a date."
"I am not!" His phone buzzed in his pocket. Isabelle leaned over to look at who was texting.
"Who is it? Is it your date? Is he downstairs?" She jumped up.
"No," Alec said, standing up alongside his sister. "Finish your homework, Izzy. I have to go, uh, meet someone for a school project."
"Uh huh," Isabelle said with a smile. She picked up her laptop, siting back down. Alec rolled his eyes and walked out the door. "Have fun on your date!"
Magnus was waiting downstairs for Alec. Well, he was waiting in a car outside. Alec got into the passengers side, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend before buckling his seat belt.
"No chauffeur tonight?" Alec asked as Magnus pulled away from his apartment building.
Magnus smiled. "I decided it would be better if I picked you up."
"You decided right."

They ended up pulling up to what looked like a fancy restaurant entitled 'Vos Sens'. Alec's palms began to sweat, thinking about how this was their first formal date. Sure they'd been to Taki's plenty of times, but that was just a coffee house.
The host eyed Magnus over, recognizing him from some movie, before he lead them to a table in the corner of the restaurant. Alec picked up his menu, his eyes flicking up to Magnus, who was looking carefully at his menu. Alec's eyes lingered, admiring the way Magnus' brow furrowed and how the lighting highlighted his golden eyes and high cheekbones.
"You're staring Alexander."
Alec opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind, so he ducked his head and pretended to read the menu. Magnus chuckled as he went back to his menu.
"There's no shame. We're all drawn to beautiful people." Alec huffed. "Maybe that's why I'm so entranced by you." Alec blushed. He looked back up at Magnus, who had folded his menu and had his hands folded over it. He was giving Alec that mischievous look, along with something else that Alec couldn't place.
Alec decided what he wanted, folding his menu and placing it in front of him.
"So tell me, Alexander," Magnus said as he took a sip of his water. "How did your nosy sibling react to your attire this evening?"
Alec laughed. "Well Isabelle sure does know that I'm seeing someone."
"Really?" Magnus asked, intrigued by the statement.
"She's insane. Her and Jace both. They both insist that because I dress a certain way I'm, in love or something."
"Well, you have met your soulmate," Magnus said. "So they're not entirely wrong."
Alec rolled his eyes. "Like yesterday they were all 'Why weren't you at school? I bet you were on a date? Why are you wearing this shirt?' And Isabelle was like Sherlock freaking Holmes tonight. It was psychotic."
"They care about you, Alexander." Magnus said, reaching across the table to grab Alec's hand. "I'm sure they wouldn't tell your parents if you told your siblings."
Alec shrugged, rubbing his thumb over Magnus'. "I don't know. I'm just not ready yet."
Magnus nodded. "Well I'm ready whenever you are." He smiled. "I'm also ready to order. Where is that waiter?"
The waiter appeared about three seconds after Magnus said the word 'waiter.'
"Would you like any drinks to start you off?" He asked as he took their menus.
"Ah, yes," Magnus said. "We'll have the Roederer Cristal Rose 2006 champaign please."
"Uh," the waiter said, the pen he held pausing in its course. "Can I see some ID please?"
"Of course." Magnus took out his wallet, clasping something in his hand. He held his hand out to the waiter. "I'm the right age." Magnus winked. The waiter slipped what Magnus had slipped to him in the pocket of his apron, writing down the champaign he had ordered.
"Can I start you off with some appetizers?" The waiter asked.
"No thank you, we'll go to the main course."
"Of course, Sir."
Magnus ordered his dish, looking at Alec. Alec ordered. The waiter had to ask him to speak up three times. Alec blushed as he walked away.
"A little nervous, are we?" Magnus asked. Alec shrugged.
"Just a little uncomfortable. I'm not used to all this." He motioned around him. "A little fancy for my taste."
"You literally live in the nicest apartment building in New York City."
"What? No I don't. Your building is way nicer than mine."
"This is true, but I live in Brooklyn. Two different places."
"Okay, but my place is defiantly not the nicest in New York."
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "You think so? How many rooms does it have."
Alec counted in his head. There was the master bedroom, the three other bedrooms, the bathroom, the living room, the dining room (which was pretty much part of the living room), and the kitchen.
"Eight." Alec answered.
"You have eight rooms? Damn, that's almost as many as me."
"It's not that many. Technically there's only seven."
"Alexander, most apartments only have four rooms."
"Nuh uh."
"Yuh huh."
The two engaged in playful banter for a few minutes until their champaign came, where the young waiter uncomfortably poured it into their glasses. Magnus took a swig of his, but Alec hesitantly picked the glass up.
"Never had champaign before?" Alec shook his head.
"I don't drink much."
Magnus gave him a look. "You had like six shots the day I met you."
"Yeah," Alec said, trying to think of a good reason. "But I was really riled up that day. So I mean..."
"Don't tell me that's the first time you've drank." Alec looked up at Magnus through his eyelashes. Magnus' face flooded with shock. "No way."
"I mean I've drank a little, maybe a beer or two, but that's the first time I've actually drank."
"Well," Magnus said, setting his glass down. "I'll try not to get you too drunk this time."
The food that was served to them was absolutely delicious. It was perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned, nothing burnt and nothing soggy or dry. Maybe Isabelle should come here and see what real food is supposed to taste like.
"I'm supposed to be on a diet, you know," Magnus said as he took a bite of the piece of chocolate cake they were sharing as dessert. "We're starting filming again in two month."
"Two months? That's a long way away." Even the cake was award worthy.
"Yes, but diets take time, Alexander. They're rather annoying as well."
Alec smiled, taking a bite of the cake. Damn, this place was amazing.
Their bill came and Magnus picked it up, taking out a black credit card and setting it on top of the total.
"Hey let me pay for my half," Alec insisted, pawing at the receipt.
Magnus picked it up, tilting it so that Alec couldn't see it. "No. It was my idea to come here so I'm paying."
Alec snatched the receipt away from his soulmate, smiling at Magnus before looking at the total. His face went slack.
"Almost $500 just for champaign?" He asked, looking at the cheapest thing on the bill. Paying for his meal wouldn't have been a problem, but his mother cancelled his credit cards. Damn, he needed to get a job. "On second though..." Alec handed the receipt back to Magnus, who chuckled, standing up from his seat.
"Let's go back to my place for some whine."
"We've already had champaign though-"
"Shhh," Magnus hissed, pressing two fingers to Alec's mouth. "Let's go."

"So you walked in on them making out in your room?" Magnus asked, taking a sip of his whine. They sat in his candle lit apartment, telling stories about their friends and family.
"Yes!" Alec laughed. His mind was at ease, his speech a bit sluggish. "It was horrible. Apparently they thought my parents wouldn't look in there if they came home early."
"And early for your parents is...?"
Alec shrugged. "Eight?" Magnus' eyebrows shot up.
"They work until 8 pm everyday of the week?"
"If we're lucky." Alec sighed, finishing off his whine. He held the glass out, wanting Magnus to pour him more. He smiled, pushing Alec's glass down.
"That's enough for one night. You have school tomorrow."
Alec murmured something that he can't recall, burying his head into Magnus' shoulder. Magnus laughed. "Alexander, are you alright?"
Alec lifted his head, resting his chin on Magnus' shoulder. "Better than ever." He kissed the crook on Magnus' neck once, then again, then again. He shifted himself so he was then straddling his soulmate, bending his head to press kisses to Magnus' underside of his jaw. Magnus rested his hand on Alec's waist, letting a gleeful sigh escape his lips.
Their lips finally met, the two of them anticipating it with a hot passion. Magnus tasted of whine and chocolate and cinnamon lip balm. Alec kissed him firmly and deeply, breathing in Magnus' scent as if he would never smell him again. He memorized the shape of his arms, his chest, his mouth. He ran his hands over every curve and kissed every inch of hot skin. When his mouth was against Magnus', he forgot everything that ever was. He forgot his doubts and fears and his family and his nagging siblings. He forgot the gray color that used to shroud his vision, he forgot the icy blue color of his own eyes. He forgot his own name while he was kissing Magnus. He almost forgot Magnus' name, but that was near impossible now.
Magnus pushed the sport coat down Alec's arms, tearing it off and throwing it on the floor, kissing Alec once again. Alec's fingers fumbled on the buttons of Magnus' purple shirt, not separating their lips. Alec pulled back to gaze upon his soulmates bare chest, his fingers absently tracing the outlines of the muscles on his chest. He bent down and kissed the smooth, caramel colored skin that was plastered across Magnus' chest, feeling the flawless surface. Magnus let out a small moan, bunching up the back of Alec's shirt, pulling it over his head. Alec sat up, looking down at himself, embarrassed at his pale skin and flat stomach. Magnus' fingers traced over his skin, a trace of a smile outlining his lips. He kissed just above Alec's stomach, whispering against his skin, "You're beautiful."
"Really?" Magnus smiled, pulling Alec down to kiss him once then moved his mouth to Alec's ear.
"Of course." He took Alec's earlobe into his mouth, sucking on it, pulling Alec down on top of him.
They lay there for a while more, in their jeans and dress pants, kissing each other's mouths and skin as if the rest of the world had disappeared entirely. After that, when they were tired and exhausted from their make out session, they lay peacefully, cuddling one another, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. Alec lie on top of Magnus, his arms looped around his waist.
Alec groaned as he sat up after a few minutes, glancing at the black sky outside. "I better get going," he said, his voice quiet and hoarse.
"No," Magnus whined, twisting his arms around Alec's neck. "Stay here. Your presence is relaxing." Alec smiled, leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to Magnus' lips. He then sat upright again, pulling his shirt over his head, getting up to pick up his sport jacket.
"You have to drive me home you know."
Magnus smirked, picking up his shirt and buttoning the buttons, leaving three undone. "Wouldn't want your siblings to worry, now would we?"

The car ride was full of playful banter and small talk and comfortable silences. It was truly peaceful. Alec was still a bit tipsy, but Magnus seemed as if he had barely anything to drink that night.
When Magnus pulled up to the apartment building, he looked over at Alec, his gleaming eyes loving and warm. "I'll call you?"
Alec smiled, leaning over to kiss Magnus' mouth. "Of course."
Isabelle was still on the couch when he walked in, the lights in the living room dim. Her laptop was sitting next to her, her legs curled around it. Isabelle's arms were under her head, her eyes delicately shut. Alec smiled down at his sister, reaching over her to save what she was working on then shut her laptop, setting in in Isabelle's lap. He picked her up, his arms curling around her legs. She moaned, her arms reaching up to grasp his neck. "Alec?" She asked, her speech sluggish, her eyes still shut. "How was your date?"
He smiled, kissing the top of her head as he carried her to her room. "It was fine," he admitted, though it was so much more.
"I'm-" She yawned. "I'm glad." Then she was asleep again. Alec set her down, pulling a blanket up over her, plugging her laptop into its charger on her nightstand.
"Good night Isabelle."

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

"So Alec," Isabelle said as she poured a cup of coffee the next morning. "You didn't come home last night."
Jace choked, pulling the hot coffee away from his face. "What?"
"Yes I did," Alec said, looking between his siblings. "I carried you to bed last night, Izzy."
"No you didn't- oh wait," she pointed her finger. "Yes. You. Did."
Alec nodded slowly. "Uh huh, I said that."
She waved her hand, dismissing the matter. "Whatever, I didn't fall asleep until at least eleven, and you left at like eight." Alec crinkled his eyebrows.
"So I was out for three hours? Jace didn't come home until way later than I did."
Jace huffed, taking another sip of coffee. "Can't believe mom and dad didn't bust me."
"Did they ever come home last night, Iz?" Alec asked, taking a bite of toast.
"No I don't think so."
Jace sighed. "They never come home anymore. We don't even see them."
"Did they even tell us what their new jobs were when we moved here?" Isabelle asked angrily.
"Now that I think about it," Alec said. "They didn't."
"Weird," Jace mumbled. "Maybe they just forgot. Or thought we wouldn't understand what they did."
"Maybe..." Alec checked his watch. "sh*t! Okay you guys have to go if you want to get to school on time." He ushered his siblings up at over to the door.
"I can't leave yet," Isabelle said, backing away and heading back to her room. "I haven't put my makeup on yet."
"You look great Isabelle," Alec said, grabbing at Isabelle's wrist. "But we're leaving right now or so help me-"
"Hey," Isabelle shot a hand out, making a sassy movement. "Contour can fix this," she motioned to her face. "But it can't fix your attitude."
Five minutes later she emerged from her room, her hair now in a high pony tail and her makeup on, not a bit out of place.
"We can go now," she said, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

The morning was uneventful. The day was uneventful. Hell, the next two weeks were uneventful. Robert and Maryse working until late every day. Alec only saw Magnus once or twice a week briefly to saw hi and maybe chat over a cup of coffee before he had to go to a photo shoot or go to and interview or be on the tonight show or have lunch with the Kardashians. Magnus claimed that if Alec let him out their relationship, Alec would be able to do all those things wit him. But Alec, claiming that his parents would flip the f*ck out, refused. Isabelle and Jace went out with Clary and Simon almost every night, so Alec was usually stuck by himself watching the X-Files on his computer. Maybe Magnus would call and they'd talk until Alec's siblings got home, and they would talk for a while. They became less suspicious of Alec over the weeks. He wasn't sneaking off so much anymore. He wasn't texting his soulmate constantly during lunch. Things went back to normal. Well, normal for the Lightwoods. Isabelle and Jace went out and had lives while Alec sat at home alone.
He wasn't exactly surprised that his life went back to this. It was like that before he met Magnus, and now with him busy all the time, Alec thought that maybe it was better if he hadn't met Magnus at the time he did. They both had a lot on their plates. Magnus' career was beginning to take off, and Alec had to finish school and come out to his parents. Alec shook his doubts off, realizing that Magnus was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. He just wished that they could spend more time together.
"Alec?" Jace asked from across the table. "You okay man?"
"Yeah," Alec said after a pause. "Yeah I'm fine."
"Okay..."
"Alec this is the first time I've been home for dinner all week and you don't even talk to me?" Maryse came home along that night, claiming that Robert had to work late again. She didn't seem to realize how much he worked.
"Sorry I was just thinking."
"You do a lot of that lately," Isabelle said, dropping her fork and lacing her fingers together, resting her chin on them. "Anything in particular?"
He glared at her. "Well, Isabelle, a few things do come to mind."
She giggled, picking up her fork again and picking at her sautéed onions.
"Well, Alec," Maryse said tensely. "How is school?"
"It's alright," Alec said. "I got an A on my psych test."
"That's wonderful, Alexander." Well bitch, tell your voice.
"It is. I'm hoping to major in psychology."
"Alexander," his mother said, her fork clanking down on her plate. "That will get you absolutely no where in life."
"What?" What the hell was she talking about? "Psychiatrists make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year."
"Alexander, you are going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition. You'll have to work for years to pay off all of that school."
"I just figured that you and dad would pay for it," Alec said, confused. "I mean, you are working late so much for a reason, right? Or are you not paying for college anymore because I'm and adult now? Was my college fund cancelled as well as my credit cards?"
"Alexander Lightwood don't you dare talk to me like that."
"Why not?" He asked, his voice raising. "Because now that I'm an adult I can do anything I want right?"
"Alec," Isabelle said, warning her in voice.
"No," Alec said, standing up. "You're not even here anymore, mother. I don't need to listen to this!"
Maryse stood up abruptly, across from her son. "I'm sorry I'm trying to put food on this table, Alexander." She choked. "I'm sorry I cancelled your credit cards and I'm sorry I'm not here!" She hit the glass of water in front of her, splashing water across the room and shattering to glass against the floor. "And I'm sorry I spent an hour cooking tonight making my children dinner! And I'm sorry-" She lifted her plate above her head. "That I just did-" She slammed the plate down on the table. "THIS!" Isabelle screamed, standing quickly, knocking her chair over.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Maryse screamed, stamping her feet as she cried.
"Maryse," Jace said, grabbing her arms and pulling her to his chest. She cried against his chest, her arms pressed against him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's alright," Jace shushed, running a hand over her hair. "It's alright." He looked at Alec. "What the hell man?"
Tears rose in his eyes as he pressed the palms of hand to his face, his fingers grasping at his hair. "I didn't mean to-"
"Yeah," Isabelle said, wiping the food up off the floor. "But you did."
A tear fell off Alec's jaw, making a stain on the tablecloth. He huffed, grabbing his jacket an slamming the door shut behind him. He didn't know where he was going, but he just had to get away. Away from everything.

He ended up at some unknown coffee house in the middle on New York. It was a small place that smelled of roasted coffee and toasted scones. He was sitting in the corner of the place, his hands shaking over a hot mug of coffee. He thought about the scene with his mother, his heart hurting and eyes aching. Maybe he was too hard on her. He yelled at her even though she was trying her hardest. That's why she was staying so late at work. She was just trying to pay for the expensive apartment and for her three kids to go to college. He was horrible. Maryse had snapped when she was already out of strings.
Alec walked up to the counter, ready to pay with his debit card. He got behind the dark skinned man who was talking to the intimidated barista behind the counter.
"Just get your boss out here and we won't have a problem." The girl nodded, walking to the left behind the wall. The man sighed, tapping on the counter until a man with a large gut walked out of the back room, the girl behind him.
"Can I help you sir?" The man asked, setting his hand on the counter top and leaning in towards the man, who stood up strait, towering at least a foot over the man who Alec assumed was the manage. Alec stepped back, sitting back down in his seat.
"Yes," the man said. "Listen, I want to offer you an issuance policy guaranteed half of what you pay now."
"No thank you sir, I'm happy with my insurance company." The man raised his eyebrows. "Is that all?"
"Come on," the dark skinned man said. "You're in a dangerous place, and I'm sure you want guaranteed safety."
The manager shook his head. "No sir, we've never had anything happen and I doubt we ever will."
"Are you sure?" The man said, leaning in closer to the manager. "It would be a shame if, oh I don't know, a robbery were to happen."
The managers face went ashen, and the girl had run out of the store. "Reconsidered?" The dark skinned man asked. The manager nodded, leading the dark skinned man back to his office. The man turned around to watch the barista run around the corner, a smirk plastered on his face. The muscles in Alec's face went slack as he saw the mans face. His asian features were striking, his golden eyes glinting in the mood lighting of the coffee house.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

What. The. f*ck.
Alec was frozen, his heart beating double time. That man, who quite frankly sounded like he was part of the mafia, looked almost exactly like Magnus with a few years added. Again, what the f*ck.
He pulled his phone out, leaving a ten at the counter, and called his soulmate as he walked out the door.
"Hello, you've reached the voice mail box of Magnus Bane. I'd say that I'll call you back, but I don't know that I will. Leave a message."
Alec slammed the end button, clicking his phone off and storming off. He wasn't sure where he was going yet, but he was sure he'd figure it out on the way.

He ended up in a bar three blocks from the coffee house, and better yet, it was a gay bar called "Wings." Alec thought it would be a good idea when he entered (there wasn't a bouncer for some reason), but he ended up feeling really uncomfortable, and strangely didn't want to leave. He went up to the bar and sat himself down, ordering a shot of tequila. He had two more before his vision began to blur and his mind couldn't process the simplest things.
A man walked up to him, he was many twenty five. He was short, maybe 5'3, but he was intimidating. He had an eyebrow and a lip piercing, his raven hair styled with an undercut, and he was dressed in all black. He turned to look at Alec, his eyes scanning his body. "Tough night?" His voice was deep, but it was soft as well. Alec shrugged, holding his fourth shot in his hand.
"Well, not the best."
The man smirked under the flashing lights. "I've had those nights too." He held a hand out. "I'm Levi."
Alec loosely grabbed the mans hand, thinking about an answer to that...answer?
"I'm uh, Allexl." Levi made a face.
"Alexle?" Alec shook his head.
"Alec." Levi made on 'o'shape with his mouth, looking forward.
"So how did you end up here, Alec?"
Realization hit Alec like a bullet. Well, a painfully slow bullet. He had watched Jace pull this routine almost every time they went out together. It could probably recite it by heart. "Look dude I've already found my, uh, soul person so like-"
"Oh," Levi murmured. "Uh, so have I actually-"
Alec's phone rang. Magnus' face showed up on the screen. Alec held up a finger to Levi, who blew a breath through his lips before turning his head back to the crowd.
"Hello darling, I'm sorry I missed your call I was stuck in a meeting with my agent-"
"I had somethin re'lly imp'rtant to tell you," Alec interrupted, his drunken speech sluggish. "And you di'nt evern take my call!"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Alexander are you drunk?"
"Pffft," Alec huffed into the phone. "No. I'm just here with my new friend uh," He looked over at Levi, not remembering his name in the moment.
"Oh," Levi said, motioning between the two of them. "No, we're not friends."
"What's your name?" Alec hissed, holding the phone away from his mouth. Levi sighed.
"It's Levi."
"My new friend Levi who was just flirting with me!" Alec yelled into the phone.
"Alec I can't hear anything you're saying-"
"What a surprise!" Alec yelled. "You don't ever hear what I have to say!"
"Alexander where are you?"
"I'm at this real classy place called like Bird or something."
Another pause. "Are you at Wings?"
"No!" Alec snapped. "Maybe."
"Alright, Alexander, I'm going to get you."
"No!" Alec snapped again. "I'm a big boy! I can handle myself!" He pressed the end button then, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
"Hey babe, who's this-"
"I'm horrible." Alec moaned, burying his head in his folded arms that rested on the bar.
"Eren, meet Alec." Levi motioned to the collapsed mess on the counter. "Alec, meet- ah hell, this brat won't remember any of this tomorrow anyway." Levi waved his hand in front of Alec's face, who giggled, grabbing for his wrist. "Wow this kid's drink," he said to the guy standing next to him- Eren. "Alec? Is your soulmate coming to pick you up?"
Alec shook his head. "He said he was going to but I told it nah to. He's famous you know."
Eren giggled. "Yep, I know." Levi said, grabbing onto Alec's arm so he didn't fall to the floor.
"He doesn't have time for me though." Levi hoisted Alec back into his stool.
"Sorry kid, but sometimes things come up."
Levi and Eren talked for a whole while Alec sat dazed at the bar. His head spinning and his mind racing. He hadn't ruined anything! He had only stated the truth. He was the only one in the right. Everyone else was in the wrong. His mother, his father, Jace and Isabelle, and Magnus. They were all wrong. He wasn't sure what they were wrong about, but he knew that they were wrong about something.
Magnus called him again, but Alec didn't answer. Why would he answer? Magnus was wrong.
Everything else that happened that night was just a bit hazy.
Magnus hated Wings. He had spent endless nights in there trying to pick up guys and girls who we're clinging to their "gay best friends" in hopes of looking cool, but we're soon tossed to the side in favor of the beautiful and sweaty boys dancing around in the club.
Magnus spotted his soulmate up at the bar next to some hot raven haired man and a fairly attractive brunet boy who looked to be about Magnus' age. The boy flitted off into the crowd, leaving the raven-haired man alone with Alec.
"Who are you?" Magnus asked as he walked up to Alec and the raven-haired man. "Why are you with my boyfriend?"
"Oh," The man said, eyeing Magnus up and down. "You are famous."
"Yes, I'm quite aware." Magnus grasped at Alec's arm. "Who are you, and why are you flirting with my boyfriend?"
"What?" The man gripped the bar. "I am not flirting with him! My boyfriend just left like five minutes ago."
"Don't be mean to Levi, Mags," Alec whined, grabbing at Magnus' shirt.
"Oh," Magnus said, turning his attention back to Levi. "You're Levi."
"Yes," Levi scoffed. "I'm quite aware." Magnus rolled his eyes, pulling Alec up out of his chair only for him to collapse on the floor. Alec giggled, sitting up but not standing. Magnus sighed, picking Alec up like a bride.
"He's upset with you, you know," Levi interjected before Magnus walked away.
"And how would you know?"
"He said you don't have time for him."
Magnus rolled his eyes. "Of course I have time for him-"
"Then why did he come here?" Levi asked, coming closer to Magnus and Alec. "Why weren't you with him?"
"I was busy."
"Too busy for that one person that you're destined to spend your life with?"
Magnus paused for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching upward. His expression was almost unreadable under the flashing lights of the club, but Alec knew in his drunken mind that Magnus was realizing his actions of the past two weeks. He looked down at Alec, whose face was blank and whose eyes were hollow. "Whatever. We're leaving."
"You need to pay for those drinks!" The bartender yelled, shuffling over to Magnus, who handed him a one hundred dollar bill.
"Keep the change."

That Levi character had no idea what he was talking about. Of course Magnus had time for his soulmate. Of course he did. He had just been unusually busy these past few weeks. Sure, he could've spared some time to get to know Alec better, but he didn't. He was exhausted and his schedule was full until next week when he had a few weeks off until Glee started filming again.
Magnus sighed as he opened the door to his apartment, setting an unconscious Alec down on the couch. Why had he gotten so drunk? Maybe what Levi had said was true. Alec was lonely. Why didn't Magnus see that before? He was lonely and seeking companionship. That's probably why he called Magnus earlier that night. Alec just wanted to talk. Isabelle and Jace had probably gone out with Clary and Sherwin. He was alone and Magnus couldn't even answer his phone. How easy it would have been to ask Ragnor to wait a minute to finish his story and answer his phone. But he didn't. He saw Alec's face and sent the call to voicemail, telling Ragnor to go on. He had been so stupid. That call could've been important. Even if it wasn't, Magnus could spare five minutes to talk.
"Magnus..." Alec mumbled, his eyes opening a fraction.
"Alexander," Magnus said softly, putting a hand on Alec's hair. "Are you feeling alright?"
Alec shook his head. "You didn't answer my call."
"I know, darling, and I am so incredibly sorry."
"You are?"
"Yes darling." Alec smiled, his hand going up to rest on Magnus'.
"Me too."
Then he was asleep again. Magnus sighed, standing up and walking to his kitchen to make himself some tea. His head was aching, and though he was used to clubs, it didn't help his throbbing head.
He hadn't told Alec that he had and audition that afternoon. He knew his soulmate had a history test that day, so he decided to not weigh him down with more to worry about as he said goodnight on Thursday. The audition was for a lead role in a Netflix series that was supposed to be a big hit. Ragnor had got him the audition weeks before he met Alec, and apparently it was extremely hard to get. Magnus was excited at first, but that week he had become extremely stressed about it. He didn't want to tell Alec because if Magnus got the part, he'd have to go around the world for months and shoot, having basically no time for his soulmate, especially since they were still closeted. He auditioned anyway, though he knew he would probably turn the part down if he got the role. Life would be a lot easier if he had met Alec the following year.
He shook his doubtful thoughts away, pouring the water into a mug and placing a tea bag inside. His phone rang in his pocket then, so he set his tea down on the counter and sat down on a stool, pulling out his phone. Camille Belcourt.
Why the hell was she calling?
Magnus' thumb tapped the green button on the screen, hesitantly bringing the phone to his ear. "What an unpleasant surprise."
"Magnus Bane," her monotone voice crackled from the other line. "We have to talk about a few things."
"I don't actually think that we do, now if you'll excuse me-"
"I won't excuse you. You're going to talk to me, Bane, and you're going to do it now." Magnus' face contorted as she continued. "You tried out for Sense8, didn't you?"
"I did. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I do. I tried out as well, Bane, and I don't think I can work with you."
"Camille," Magnus said. He felt like her mother sometimes. "Get over yourself. If we work together it would be strictly professional this time."
"But-"
"No 'buts' Camille. There's so guarantee either of us will even get the part, let alone both of us."
"No, Magnus, you don't understand." She sounded mischievous. "I've already been offered the part," f*ck. "So if it's offered to you, you're going to turn it down. Understood?"
"I can do what I want," Magnus said, though he knew he would turn it down. He didn't need Camille telling him what to do. "You're not my mother Camille."
"No, but even if I were, you wouldn't listen to me. We both know that."
It was annoying how much Magnus had told his ex-lover about his past. "Fine. You're not my soulmate. I don't need to listen to this." He pulled the phone away from his ear, planning on ending the call.
"Of course you don't need to listen to me," Camille's faint voice said. Magnus lifted the phone to his ear again. "But you will if you know what's good for you."
It was her who ended the call.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

Alec woke up to the sound of cars honking their horns and the coffee machine in the kitchen. He groaned, rolling over on his stomach, hugging one of the pillows he was lying on. Sleep was grasping at the back of his eyelids when he realized that something was off. His room was at least three walls away from the kitchen where his coffee maker was. His head shot up, his legs flailing from underneath him, causing him to fall off the couch he had slept on. When did he get to Magnus' apartment? Why couldn't Alec remember nearly anything from the night before? Moaning, Alec sat up, his head pounding and his limbs weak.
"Good morning, Alexander." Alec whipped his head to the side too quickly, a sharp pain shooting the center of his forehead. "Whoa," Magnus said, a laugh hitched in his throat. "How'd you get there?" He bent down, holding out a mug of coffee.
"How'd I get here?" Alec took the mug, motioning to the space around him.
"Wow," Magnus said, sitting down on the ground next to his soulmate. "You were really drunk."
"Uh," Alec mumbled. "I guess?"
Magnus paused, looking at Alec but not saying anything. Alec couldn't even distinguish the look on his face. Was he upset? Was he mad? Was he happy? Well, that last one probably wasn't right. Magnus' breath was shattered when he inhaled, placing a hand on Alec's. "I'm sorry I haven't had much time for you lately," he started, not looking Alec in the eye. "I've just been..."
Alec took Magnus' hand, lacing their fingers together. "I know. It's just...I need you to at least spend the day with me sometimes. There are," tears welled up in Alec's eyes as he thought about last nights dinner. "There are just some thing that I like t-to talk to you about sometimes."
Magnus smiled sadly. "Of course. I'll try to make more time." They sat in a comfortable silence, sipping their coffee, both feeling as if something was still unresolved. "I'm not doing anything today," Magnus said slowly, his eyes making their way up to Alec's. "Why don't we do something?"
Alec smiled. "I'd like that."
"But before that," Magnus said, leaning against the arm of the couch. "Why don't you tell me what you called for last night."
"Oh," Alec said, his heart and body feeling dejected. The coffee had helped his hangover a little, but he needed something else. "Yeah. Well..." Alec explained everything that happened with his mother and how she had smashed the plate on the table after she had yelled at him about his academic choices. He explained about the man in the unknown coffee house who sounded as if he was in the mob. Alec told Magnus about how the man looked almost exactly like Magnus. Magnus flinched when Alec told him about the man. It was odd. Magnus was almost never flustered. He was always cool and collected, even under pressure. Alec assumed that's how you had to be when you were in show biz. Now he wasn't so sure.
"Do you know him?" Alec asked.
"No," Magnus said after a pause. "A lot of people look like me." Alec examined Magnus' face. He didn't appear to be upset or flustered anymore, but his features were twisted in a way Alec couldn't recognize.
"If you say so..."
"Alec?" Magnus asked, squeezing Alec's hand. "Are you sure you're not mad? About the whole...I don't know. You're not mad, though, right?"
Alec opened his mouth to agree. To say "No, I'm not mad! You apologized, what is there to be mad about?" Then he closed his mouth. He had been practically ignored for the past two weeks. He could slip away for ten minutes and see Magnus before he had to go have dinner with Jennifer Lawrence or Ansel Elgort. Love drained from his chest and the word 'abandoned' filled his brain over and over, ticking his anxiety so it stood on end, Alec's old nervous ticks resurfacing. The sun had set on a perfect day, but came up red the next morning.
"I can't say I'm entirely over it..." Alec said, his voice rough from the alcohol he had drank the previous night.
"I'm really sorry, Alec," Magnus said, his voice smooth and collected. Alec almost flinched when Magnus said his nickname. "I realize I've been neglecting you a bit, but I can't really help it. But I'll try to."
Annoyance grabbed at Alec's chest, tearing and gripping. "You've said that these past two weeks and you haven't done anything about it!" He yelled, standing up. He paced the room, thinking about what he was getting himself into. Magnus stood up next to him, grabbing at Alec's shoulder.
"Hey," he said in a calming voice. "I'm sorry. I know I should've been more lenient in my schedule and," he inhaled a shattered breath, tears welling up in his eyes. "I shouldn't have cast you aside. It's just..." He paused, pressing his forehead against Alec's collarbone and breathing heavily. Alec's heart lightened as he hesitantly brought his hand up to Magnus' back, resting it there. A wet spot form on Alec's chest. "That's what I've done with my other relationships. But this is different," he pulled up, looking Alec in the eye. "This is real."
"Gah," Alec said, smiling a sad smile, wiping tears away before they fell. "I'm sorry for getting mad."
"No, I'm sorry for being such a dick lately." The corner of Magnus' mouth twitched upward as he looked Alec in the eye.
"So," Alec brought his thumb up to wipe a tear off of Magnus' jaw. "We're cool?" He smiled.
"We're cool."
Alec sighed, wrapping his arms under Magnus', caressing his back and nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. His soulmates arms tangled around his neck, Magnus breathing in his scent. They stayed like that, breathing in the sweet debris of each other that they've missed so dearly.

"Isabelle has texted me like, 700 times." Alec scrolled through his phone as Magnus and he are breakfast. "Actually, just 73, but that's still a lot."
Magnus chuckled, taking a bite out of his waffle. "What's she saying?"
"'Where are you?' Oh, that was from one this morning. Um... oh here's a good one, 'Are you getting bizay w/ your sm?!!!' Uh, no." He blushed at some of the messages he had received from his sister, deciding to not read those aloud.
"What're you going to tell her?" Magnus asked after he took a sip of his coffee.
"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll tell her I just rented a hotel room."
Isabelle had a real habit of showing up when she was being talked about. Her face appeared on the screen of Alec's phone just as he decided on a good lie to tell her. He answered, bracing himself for the incoming sh*t-storm.
"So you're in Brooklyn?" Isabelle inquired, her voice as mischievous as ever.
"What?" Alec asked, baffled at how she knew where he was. "How do you know that?"
Isabelle chuckled wickedly. "I installed a tracking app when you were asleep."
"Wha- why?"
"Because you kept sneaking off and I didn't know where you were going." She sighed. "No where super interesting lately, though. Some coffee shops but that's about it."
"Yeah, well there nothing you have to worry about then-"
"But you went to a bar last night," Isabelle said quickly. "A gay one."
"Uh huh, cause guess what Isabelle? I'm gay!" Magnus choked on his coffee, setting his mug down and trying to hold in his laughter.
"Who was that?" Isabelle asked, her voice inquisitive and excited.
"No one. The TV. I stayed at a hotel last night."
"Yeah right."
"Yeah," Alec repeated. "Right."
"I don't believe that for one second." She sighed. "Anyway, the four of us are going to a party tonight. You in?"
Alec hesitated, looking at Magnus out of the corner of his eye. "No I'm good. I think I'm going to stay out a while longer, though. Is mom home?"
Isabelle snorted. "No. She left early this morning and left a note saying that she wouldn't be back until 11."
Alec groaned, sliding down in his stool. "I really need to apologize."
"Yeah, but she does to. She was being a real dick last night."
"I guess, but that was still sh*tty for me to do."
"True. Hey, so the party starts at 7 if you change your mind."
"I don't think I will, but thanks for the invite. I'll talk to you later, Iz."
"Byeeee Aleeeec," She sung into the phone. "Have fun with your soulmate!" She added quickly before hanging up the phone. Alec shook his head as he turned off his phone, looking back at Magnus.
"So darling," he said. "What would you like to do today?"

Once they left the apartment, walking closely, but not too close, Magnus got fed up, slipping his hand into Alec's back pocket. Alec gave him a panicked look, but silently enjoyed Magnus' hand so close to him. After a few minutes, Alec hesitantly lifted his arm and placed it over Magnus' shoulder. They walked like that to where Magnus was leading them. He said it was a surprise.
They ended up at a small place on the pier after a silent but cuddly subway ride. It was almost one by the time they got to the pizza parlor on the bay.
"So, Alexander," Magnus said as the waiter walked away after taking their order. "I believe you mentioned that you had a diverse family. Tell me more about that."
"Well that's a complex one," Alec said, chucking a little. "Well my mothers half sister is half white half Japanese, and she married her soulmate who's brother is married to my dad's cousin."
"Oh," Magnus said, playing with Alec's fingers from across the table. "That's interesting. Fate really knows what it's doing."
Alec smiled as he nodded. "It sure does. Anyway, my cousin Aline, the only person I've actually told about us, lives in Europe right now because she's enrolled in this exchange program thing, but next semester she's coming back here to New York."
"Will I be meeting your family in the near future then?" Magnus asked, the mischievous glint back in his eyes.
"We'll see." Alec smiled brightly at his soulmate, the sun shining through the window and glimmering in his eyes. "What about you though? You mentioned a diverse family as well."
Magnus shrugged, his face falling. "Not much to tell there."
"Come on," Alec pleaded, lacing his fingers with Magnus'. "You can tell me."
"Well if you really want to know..." Magnus blew out his cheeks, taking a sip of water before he started. "Well, my mother had an affair with someone when she was unhappily married to my abusive father. Hence how I was made. My father was Indonesian, by mother wasn't. So obviously my mothers husband knew I wasn't his son. He left my mother on her own when I was seven, and she killed herself later that year. I was crushed. I mean, I was f*cking seven." He closed his eyes, shaking his head a little. "Anyway, child services found my father and I went to live with him. He was absolutely horrid. He wouldn't be home in the mornings and would come home until late at night. He wouldn't feed me or parent me or anything. Most kids would kill if their parents held the leash so loosely, but I missed my mother. I resented her for leaving me and I hated my step-father for making her go. I hated my real father for making me and not caring about me after he did so. I was dragged through life and school, in what felt like an inescapable depression.
"When I was fourteen I got into acting. It was a small gig on Disney channel, and it turned into so much more. I got a lead roll in the movie of that summer, and then my career sky rocketed from there. And here I am."
Alec sat there for a moment, soaking in both the literal and figurative sunlight. "Wow," he said, squeezing Magnus' hand, looking him deeply in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Magnus."
He shrugged. "It's not your fault, darling." He shot Alec a small smile, lifting his hand to his lips and kissing Alec's fingertips.
They are they're food, sharing lighthearted stories and endlessly flirting. After they ate, Magnus led them to a small boat where an older man smiled at them, offering them a ride. They shared stories about their sibling and friends, laughing and holding hands and kissing. The man smiled at them, telling them how he admired their young love.
"He was sweet," Alec noted as he grabbed Magnus' hand and they walked down the docs. "Nice to know not everyone is against, uh, ya know..."
"Gay people?" Magnus asked. Alec nodded.
"Uh, yeah. That."
Magnus shook his head before saying, "I have known him for quite a while. I mean, it's not as if we know each other's names or anything, but when I'm upset he'll give me a ride of him little boat, not asking questions. We'll just sail for the longest time until he says he needs to get back or I ask him to take me. I payed him until he told me not to bother. He said it was a pleasure."
Alec gazed upon his boyfriend, admiring the way the setting sun fell off his face. He admired the small bits of glitter that trailed along Magnus' cheeks and neck. He admired the way his boyfriends hair was perfectly styled yet still looked sexy and beautiful and charming all at once.
Magnus chuckled. "You're staring Alexander."
"I find myself drawn to beautiful people." Magnus smiled, slowing his pace before stopping entirely. He grabbed Alec's other hand, looking deeply and intently into his eyes. Alec felt his heart flutter as Magnus leaned forward, kissing Alec's lips lightly as first, then deeply, opening Alec's mouth with his own. When he pulled back, the mischievous glimmer that seemed to reside in Magnus' eyes was gone, something else taking its place. "I lo-"
At that moment, Alec's phone rang. Why did it always do that? He groaned as he pulled it from his pocket, loathing Isabelle's face at that moment. "What is it?"
"Whoa there Mr. Grumpy Pants," Isabelle said. "I just wanted to make sure you don't want to come to the party. We're leaving right now. We could come pick you up if you want."
"I'm fine," Alec said hastily. "Now if you'll excuse me-"
"By the docks now, are we?" Isabelle sounded amused from the other side of the line. Alec still couldn't believe she had installed a tracking device on his phone.
"Stop tracking my phone you witch!" On that note, Alec ended the call. He turned back to Magnus, sympathy in his eyes. "Sorry about that. Where were we?"
Magnus smiled, taking Alec's hand and starting to walk again. "I was about to tell you that you are absolutely gorgeous." Alec hoped his blush could've been blamed on the sun. "Want to go back to my place?"
Alec nodded. "I'd love that. Actually," he thought about what Isabelle had just said on the phone. "I could stay the night if I wanted. I'd just like to stop by my place to grab a few things first."
Magnus smirked, gently squeezing Alec's hand. "Let's go to New York then."

The sun had set entirely by the time they reached Alec's apartment. They had to stop by the coffee house where Alec had seen the man who resembled Magnus the night before to pick up his car.
The lobby was almost empty besides a man and a woman cuddled up against each other on the couch facing away from the door. The woman was wearing a large sunhat though it wasn't hot that day, and the man was wearing what looked like a fedora. Alec shook off the couples strange attire, leading Magnus to the creaky elevator and pressed the number of the floor their apartment was on.
"Your place is nice," Magnus noted as they walked into the Lightwood apartment.
"Isabelle said it creaks a lot."
"True, but this is real wood. It's bound to creak a little."
A small shock ran up Alec arm when Magnus grabbed his hand. He smiled to himself, ducking his head as he led Magnus back to his room. It was rather plain, he noticed as they walked into Alec's bedroom. He hadn't painted the walls, so they stayed the dull cream color they were when they moved it. His bed sheets and comforter were gray, his desk parallel from his bed with brown dressers on either side.
"I haven't done much with it yet," Alec defended as Magnus looked around. "I haven't had much time. Or money."
Magnus walked forward, looking at the pictures of Alec, Jace, and Isabelle that were taped up on Alec's dresser. "You guys are adorable," he commented, his fingers going up to touch the pictures surface. "You look almost the same as when you were nine, Alexander." He looked up, smiling at Alec. "Except you're much hotter now."
Alec blushed, a smile creeping its way across his face. Magnus leaned forward, grabbing Alec's hand and kissing is tenderly. He pressed himself against Alec, kissing lines from him neck to his jaw, slowly making his way to Alec's cheeks and forehead. He pushed Alec back onto the bed, where the two giggled as they fell upon one another. Alec's heart pumped double time in his chest, blood flowing rapidly through his veins. He smile as he lifted his head up to touch Magnus' forehead, inhaling deeply and slowly. Time seemed to stop in that moment. Alec's heart rate slowed, his head spinning and the tips of his fingers going numb. And when Magnus dipped his head, finally connecting their lips, a ringing resonated within his ears, telling him not to think and not to act. He melted into the kiss, stands of Magnus' hair twirling around Alec's fingers.
The door opened. Alec shot up, knocking Magnus onto the floor.
"Well," He said, rubbing the back of his head. "That's not what you want to happen while kissing."
Someone gasped from the door, an Alec whipped his head forward to stare directly into Isabelle's dark brown eyes. She was holding an unreasonably large sunhat in her hand.
"No. f*cking. Way."

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Alec was sure that his heart literally stopped in that moment. He was dead. He was dead. This was the end and guess what? He was dead. 'Goodbye world,' Alec thought. 'I'll miss you." Isabelle stood in the doorway of his room, staring open mouthed between Magnus, who was still sitting on the floor rubbing his head, and Alec, who was actually dead. Then, when Alec thought things couldn't get worse when a smiling Jace appeared beside Isabelle, then after spotting Magnus mirrored the face Isabelle wore, the fedora in his hand falling to the ground.
It was Magnus who broke the silence in the end. "Well, this has been sufficiently awkward so I think I might just-"
"YOUR SOULMATE IS MAGNUS BANE?" Isabelle screamed, jumping up and down.
"Now I didn't say that-" Alec started, Isabelle cutting him off.
"I should've known!" Isabelle said, dropping the sunhat. "I mean, first it's totally obvious that you can see gold, and right after Magnus' party too! And then you sneaking off everywhere and Brooklyn! Oh I should've known!"
Magnus got up, straitening his clothes out and looking towards Alec. "Well I should go before things get- never mind this has already been quite awkward." He placed a hand on Alec's shoulder, smiling down at him. "I'll see you later?" He bent down, kissing Alec quickly. Or it was supposed to be quickly. The kiss ended up lasting about six seconds, Alec's hand massaging the muscles in Magnus' arm. Isabelle squealed, jumping up and down again.
"You," She said when Magnus broke the kiss off. "Are not going anywhere."

They all ended up in the living room, Alec sitting next to Magnus on the couch, Isabelle on the floor though there was plenty of room on the couch, and Jace situated in the chair to Alec's left.
"Magnus Bane is in my apartment," Isabelle kept saying. "Magnus Bane is in my apartment!"
Alec cringed, putting a hand on Magnus' thigh. "Isabelle-"
"No!" She shot her hand out to silence him. "Let me enjoy this."
"It's been ten minutes," Magnus commented.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Jace asked, leaning forward to rest him elbows on his knees. Magnus raised his eyebrows.
"Well I didn't think it was that important-"
"No," Jace interrupted. He looked at Alec. "Why didn't you tell us that you met your soulmate?"
Alec shrugged. "I- I don't know." He thought about his reasons for a moment. "Actually? Yes I do. If I had told you, Jace, it would've been fine. But now that you have your second half or whatever, you tell her everything. And she's a girl so she definitely would've told Isabelle and-"
"Are you stereotyping women?" Isabelle asked defensively. "Because not all girls do that, Alec."
"Does Clary not tell you everything?"
"She does," Isabelle admitted hesitantly. "But-"
"No 'buts' Isabelle!" Alec said. "If I had told either of you it would've gotten to mom and dad someway. If I told Jace he would've told Clary who would've told you, Isabelle, and you would've let it slip with your loud mouth."
"I do not have a loud mouth!" Isabelle defended.
"Haven't we already gone over this?" Jace asked, his gaze directed at Isabelle. She rolled her eyes, looking back at Alec.
"If you don't want me to tell them then I won't tell them."
"Thank you." Alec leaned back, his shoulder bumping against Magnus, who adjusted himself and grabbed at Alec's hand, interlacing their fingers.
"You guys are literally the cutest," Isabelle squealed. "So how long have you known each other? Did you meet at the party?" She gasped. "You did, didn't you?"
"Uh," Magnus said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked at Alec. "We actually met a few hours before that."
"Yeah," Alec said, shooting Isabelle a look. "We were in the middle of our first date when you called me, Isabelle."
She gasped again. "Are you serious? Oh my god, that's what you were doing that whole time?" She shook her head. "Don't answer that. So how did you guys meet?"
"Well I had gone out to get a laptop battery, but I got soaked in the rain and mom had cancelled my credit cards so the day wasn't turning out good already, but after hours of walking," Alec looked lovingly into Magnus' eyes. "I saw him and the world just burst with color."
"He thought I was lying at first when I told him he was my soulmate." Magnus smirked at Alec, squeezing his hand quickly.
"Okay, I just didn't think it was a good day to meet my soulmate."
"Yeah right. You just didn't want to be my soulmate."
"Not true!" Alec playfully hit Magnus' arm.
"Yeah, not true," Isabelle giggled. "He was so obsessed with you for a while there-" Alec kicked her stomach before she could finish her sentence.
"I was not." She held out her free hand (the other was holding her stomach where her brother had kicked her).
"Give me your phone."
"No!" Isabelle rolled her eyes.
"He has a bunch of screenshots of you on there-" She gasped once again. "Were those real pictures?!"
"So," Jace interrupted. "Have you guys done it yet?"
Alec made a strangled sound, his cheeks heating up to unreal temperatures while Magnus chuckled, maintaining eye contact with Jace.
"Jace what the f*ck?" Alec asked quickly.
"Yeah Jace," Isabelle defended. "What the f*ck?" She looked at Alec again. "But have you?"
"What is wrong with my family?" Magnus laughed.
"Nothing, darling. You can't even imagine how many time Catarina has asked me that question."
"I take that as a no," Jace said. "Really, though? I mean, Clary and I did it within the first week."
Magnus closed his eyes as if he were in pain. "Okay, not an image I want to see."
"Strait people," Alec mumbled, ducking his head.
"Oh yeah I forgot that you know her!" Isabelle exclaimed, referring to Clary, clapping her hands together.
"Yes, Clarissa Fray was my first playmate as a child. Then I moved away and we kind of lost touch, me being seven and all."
"I keep forgetting to ask you," Alec said, shifting his body so he was facing Magnus. "But how do you know Catarina? I mean, she works as a barista as a small coffee house and you're, well, you."
"Oh, we were in the same foster house for a while before they found my dad, and she lived near where my dad used to so we went to the same school. We've always been really close and never really lost touch. And for the record, she's going to medical school and is only working that job to pay for it."
"Isn't her soulmate, like, your manager though?"
Magnus smiled. "Ah, yes. Ragnor Fell. He's my agent, and yes, he is her soulmate but she refuses to take any money from me or him. It's rather annoying sometimes."
"It's understandable though," Alec commented. "She wants to have control over something in her life."
"I didn't know you were a foster child," Isabelle said quietly.
"Yes, well that's a small part of my life that I'd rather not remember, so I don't talk about it much." Magnus sighed, his head falling on Alec's shoulder, his eyes drooping.
"How late did I keep you up last night?" Alec asked, his thumb rubbing against the back on Magnus' hand.
"What?" Jace asked, leaning forward.
"Yeah, what?" Isabelle repeated, her eyes intuitive and excited.
Magnus chuckled while Alec stuttered for a response. "It's not what it sounds like!" Alec said hastily. "I wasn't even conscious."
"The f*ck, man?" Jace said after a moment, his eyes wandering to Magnus.
"Oh, by the Angel," Magnus said with a sigh. "He got drunk so I had to drag his ass back to my place."
"Oh," Isabelle said, looking off in the distance. "Brooklyn."
"Wait," Alec said, thinking about what Isabelle said earlier. "You said there was a party tonight, but you were both camping out in the lobby."
Isabelle shot a guilty look at Jace, who remained calm.
"Yes," he said. "We wanted to know who your soulmate was."
"How'd you know I would even come back to the apartment?" Annoyance laced its way through Alec's voice as he interrogated his siblings. "Also why the f*ck were you tracking my phone?!"
"We know you, Alec." Jace answered, ignoring the last question.
"You can't consciously stay the night somewhere without your PJs or toothbrush or phone charger," Isabelle added. "Remember when it snowed when we were at Aline's when you were thirteen and you hyperventilated all night?"
"What?" Magnus asked with a laugh. "Is that why you've had to go home every time you stay late?"
Alec adjusted himself uncomfortably in his place. "Why does the conversation always come back to me?"
"Because," Magnus said, cuddling back into Alec. "You're very interesting to talk about, darling."
Isabelle squealed once again. "This is great! Now we all have our soulmates and we can be honest with each other."
"Except," Alec countered. "We can't go out in public together because of paparazzi."
"So?" Jace asked. "I mean it has to come out sometime, right?"
Alec made a noise that resembled the words "I guess." Magnus looked over at Jace.
"Yes, but Alec isn't ready to come out yet. Your parents are awfully conservative."
"I'm sure they'd understand," Isabelle said wit a wave of her hand. "I mean, Jace's dads were gay."
Magnus looked at Jace again. "Really."
Jace shrugged. "I don't think Robert and Maryse knew about them."
"Oh yeah," Alec said, thinking about his parents past words. "They thought Stephen was married to Amatis."
Jace waved it off. "It's all too complicated to get into now."
Magnus moaned, burying his head against Alec's shoulder. "What time is it?" Alec checked his phone.
"9:15."
Magnus sat up, running his fingers through his long raven hair. "Well it was wonderful to meet you, but we have to get going."
Isabelle's back straitened. "Why?"
"Uh," Alec said, looking down at his fidgeting hands. "We had plans."
"Really?" Jace asked with a smirk. "What kind of plans?"
"Oh get your mind out of the gutter you sex crazed teenager," Magnus said as he stood up. "Not everything revolves around sex."
Isabelle rolled her eyes and mumbled, "That's coming from you..."
Alec gasped. "Isabelle!"
"Sorry." She said quickly, turning her head away. Alec rolled his eyes at her, grabbing Magnus' hand and pulling him to the door.
"Alec," Jace said cooly, holding something up. "You forgot your stuff."
"Don't care!" Alec shouted as he slammed the door behind him.
Maybe Alec was just sexually frustrated and what Isabelle had said had just...triggered those feelings. But he'd never felt super sexually inclined to, you know, have sex. Sure, he watched p*rn and jerked off from time to time, but all guys did that. A lot of girls too. Well, they couldn't jerk off but you get the picture. The point was, Alec didn't feel like he was ready for that to happen yet. Yes, he'd met his soulmate, but they'd only just met a few weeks ago. He was sure Magnus would be willing to wait until Alec was ready, and even if he wasn't exactly satisfied, you could say, Alec could still...find ways to help his boyfriend out without losing it.
Magnus pulled on his arm, a smile on his face and that mischievous glint back in his eye. Alec stopped, confusion drawn across his face. Magnus' fingers touched Alec's, slowly lacing themselves together. He breathed Alec in, his eyes running themselves over Alec's facial features. His eyes, his nose, his cheeks, finally landing on his lips. Alec's heart sped up, a bubble of laughter forming in his chest. Magnus kissed him there in the middle of the hallway of Alec's apartment building. The thought of the old woman who lived down the hall walking out their door and seeing them was enough for the bubble in Alec's chest cavity to pop. He burst into giggles, his lips shaking against Magnus' who after a second started laughing with him. They stayed there, kissing and giggling against each other, barely giving a damn about who could see them. Magnus kissed him deeply after about 30 seconds, pulling away quickly and leading Alec to the creaky elevator.
Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

Nothing special happened that night that Isabelle and Jace found out about Magnus. Alec went back to his apartment-penthouse-thing, where he and Magnus watched a movie and kissed some more before falling asleep in each other's arms on the couch. His siblings teased him the next day, but Alec barely cared. Maryse and Robert came home later that day, when Maryse apologized to Alec for her behavior on Friday evening and he returned her apology.
About a week later whilst Alec was scrolling through his tumblr dash, a FaceTime call came up on his screen.
"Izzy! Jace!" Alec called from the living room, sitting up straiter. "Aline's calling!"
There was a bang from Isabelle's room, then the door opened and she practically fell out of it, scrambling over to where Alec sat on the chair beside the couch.
"Answer it!" She almost screamed, a smile making its way across her face. Simon appeared next to her.
"Who's Aline?"
"Our cousin," Jace said, sitting down next to Simon, Clary on his lap (Jace's, not Simon's).
Alec answered the call, shifting his laptop so Isabelle and Jace would be on camera as well.
"Hiya guys!" Aline said when the her face appeared on the screen. She was in a white room on a bed with white sheets and pillows. There were colorful pictures on her night stand, but that's the only color that was in the room, besides Aline of course. Her eyes shifted between the two extra people in the frame. She smiled. "Are these the soulmates?"
"Hi!" Clary said, waving a hand. "I'm Clary, Jace's girlfriend."
"Aline. I'd hug you, but I'm in France." The girls giggled, then Aline's eyes shifted to Simon.
"Oh, uh," he said. "I'm Simon."
"Izzy's soulmate, huh?" Aline asked, resting her chin on her fist. She looked to Alec. "I'm not the only one who pictured him different, right?"
"Nah, we all did," Jace said with a smile, shoving Simon's shoulder.
"I feel so loved," Simon said, fake tears welling up in his eyes.
"So how's France?" Alec asked, changing the subject. Aline shrugged.
"Eh, I though it'd be different. They have a really weird grading scale here, but it's really nice. Everything's a lot different than in the States."
"Really?" Isabelle asked. "I didn't thin it'd be much different."
"Me either!" Aline exclaimed, her dark hair gleaming in the sunlight. "They don't have sports teams or anything! There's no cliques or drama or anything. I mean, that's a good thing I guess, but it's really weird."
"How long are school days there?" Clary asked, her green and golden eyes glinting in the dark lighting of the living room.
"It depends. Some days they're really long, like 8 am to 6 pm. But other days they start later and end earlier or vis versa. Plus you don't have the same classes everyday."
"That sounds cool!" Alec said. "I hate it here. Being a senior is different than I imagined it."
"Me too. I mean, I'm in a different country but I thought it would at least be a little like how it is over there." She shrugged. "There's the option to switch out at the program at the semester, so I think I'm going to do that."
"But that's the chance of a lifetime," Clary interjected.
Aline looked at Alec. "I like her." Her smile faded. "I don't know. Mom said she were moving to Albany in February, and I think I should be there to help her and stuff. Especially because of my dad..." She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't know. Plus I'd be closer to you guys."
Isabelle smiled cheekily. "We miss you! Haven't seen you since before we moved, right?" Aline groaned.
"Has it been that long? Ugh, let's change the subject. I'll just get homesick." Her face perked up and she turned her head to Alec. "So where's your soulmate?"
Alec smiled. "He's not here. He's...at a photo-shoot I think."
"I still can't believe that you have a famous soulmate," Isabelle said, a disgusted look on her face. She pouted her lip. "I want a famous soulmate." Simons jaw dropped, turning his head to her.
"Again, so loved."
Aline giggled. "Simon?"
"Yeah," he said, crossing his arms.
"Don't take it personally. She's always wanted to be soulmates with Taylor Lautner."
He smiled, rolling his eyes.
"Anyway, back to you, Alec." Aline wagged her eyebrows. "Isabelle told me that she caught you two in the middle of something last week."
"Yeah," Alec said with a chuckle. "That's how they found out about him."
"I can't believe you didn't tell them," Aline said with a sigh.
Isabelle's head whipped to look at her brother. "Did you tell Aline?"
"Yes?" Alec said reluctantly.
"Why? She's a girllll," Isabelle said, annoyance laced in her voice as she referenced Alec's statement about girls spreading gossip quickly.
"She's also in France and gay."
"Alec!" Aline said, a laugh escaping her lips. "Just cause I'm gay doesn't mean I'm not a girl."
"You're a lesbian?" Simon asked, astonishment painted across his face.
"Yep."
"That's still weird," Jace said, looking off into the distance. Clary slapped his chest.
"Your brother is literally gay."
"No!" Jace exclaimed. He looked back at the camera. "You remember that one time when you were 14 and I was 13?"
Aline groaned, throwing her head back. "Don't remind me."
"What happened when you were 14?" Alec asked, looking between Jace and Aline.
"It was 2011," Jace said, earning another groan from his cousin. "We were at that family reunion we had that year. Aline and I walked off into the woods cause we were bored-"
"You were hanging out with me before that!" Alec yelled.
"Yeah," Aline said. "You were boring when you were 14."
"Anyway," Jace started again. "We were off in the woods when it got really quiet, then Aline kissed me."
"WHAT?" The other four of them shouted at the same time, turning their heads to Jace.
"You're cousins!" Clary gasped, slapping Jace's chest again.
"Not biologically!" Jace defended.
"That's when I knew," Aline said, a cringe still on her face. "That I totally played for the other team."
"It was like that one scene in Mean Girls," Jace said, distaste on his face. "When Janice and Damien kiss when they're dancing and then just walk away from each other."
"Has everyone seen this movie but me?" Alec asked no one in particularly.
"You haven't seen Mean Girls?" Aline asked in disbelief. "I thought everyone had seen that movie!"
"That's what Magnus said."
"Speaking of being gay," Aline said. "Have you guys heard of, um, Helen Blackthorn?"
"Blackthorn?" Clary asked, sliding off of Jace's lap.
"Yeah, my host family asked me if I knew who she was. They showed me a picture and stuff, and she's pretty cute. Apparently she lives in New York. You guys know her?"
Alec shook his head. He looked to Isabelle and Simon, who both shook their heads.
"No," Clary said. "But my cousin's soulmate is named Blackthorn."
"Really?" Aline asked, hope on her face. She called something out in French, looking to her left. She said something else that Alec couldn't understand. Another voice said something, then the sound of a door closing was heard. "What's their name?"
"Uh, Julian I think," Clary said. "And they live in Troy though."
"Hmm..."
"Why do you ask?" Alec asked. "Cause she's cute?"
"That and I couldn't see her eyes."
"Oooooo..." The Lightwood siblings cooed.
"And I kind of got her phone number and have been texting her for a week and a half."
"Oooooo...."
Aline rolled her eyes. "Hey, so I gotta go. Early day tomorrow and I can't watch American Horror Story past 10 pm or I have nightmares. I'll call you later though." She looked at Clary and Simon. "It was nice meeting you guys!"
"You too!" Clary said.
"Yeah," Simon said awkwardly.
"Alright," Alec said, turning his laptop so only his face is in the picture. "I'll see you later. You're coming home for Christmas right?"
Aline nodded. "Three weeks. I might come stay with you guys for a week or two."
"That'd be nice. But hey, I'll leave you to American Horror Story. What season are you on now?"
"Four."
"Ugh, it's trash. You could skip it if you want."
"No, I need to watch all of them."
Alec smiled. "Alright, your funeral. Anyway, I'll talk to you later."
"Bye cousinnnn!"
"Bye Aline. Love you."
"Love you too."

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Magnus," Clary groaned from across the table inside where they had sat for lunch since it had gotten to cold to eat outside. "I'm your color buddy!"
Alec gave her a look. "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"It means that you should've told me."
Alec sighed. Clary had gave him this same scolding everyday since Isabelle had told her, which happened to be on the same day she found out. Isabelle not Clary. Well, Alec supposed both Isabelle and Clary. The matter was far too confusing to read into. The point was that Clary had become extremely offended that Alec hadn't told her about his soulmate and had proceeded to ignore him for an entire five minutes before whining about being the last to know everything. Then Alec remembered why he had waited to long to tell his siblings and friends that he had met his soulmate.
Then, his phone rang on the table in front of his, startling him and the rest of hi tablemates. Magnus making a goofy face appeared on his screen, and Alec smiled as her picked up his phone and answered it.
"Hey babe, finished with your shoot?"
"Not exactly," The voice on the other end of the line said. "I may or may not have ditched it. I expect a call from Ragnor any minute which I'm sure I will ignore."
"Why'd you skip?" Alec asked, feeling like he was asking Jace or Isabelle why they had skipped school, not his famous boyfriend why he had skipped a photo shoot.
"Because I had something else to do," Magnus put simply before saying, "Darling would you mind stepping outside for a moment? I have something personal I'd like to tell you."
"Well it's not like I'm on speaker phone," Alec mumbled as he stood up and started to walk to the schools exit. "But alright."
He stepped outside, the golden sun shining down upon the copious amounts of cars in the parking lot, ricocheting off the smooth metal and glass surfaces. Alec looked around before saying into his phone, "Alright, I'm outside. What did you want to tell me?"
"Only to look directly in front of you," Magnus said sensually. Alec did as he said. "Not slightly to the left." Alec couldn't see anything unusual. "No, the right. Sorry." There, to Alec's right and Magnus left, sat his wonderful soulmate in the drivers seat of his black sports car. Alec felt a smile tugging at his lips as he hung up the phone and walked over to the car, sliding into the passengers seat.
"What brings you here?" He asked as he leant over to kiss Magnus' mouth. He kissed back with vigor and force before he pulled back, answering.
"Oh I was just in the neighborhood." Alec gave him a pointed look. Magnus smiled. "Okay, I came because I wanted to see you. We haven't gone on a proper date in a while and I decided that today," He gave Alec a smug look before starting the engine. "We would."

They ended up in a small ice cream parlor in the middle of New York City, Alec's guilty feeling of skipping school diminished as he caught sight of the place.
"This reminds me of a place my mom used to take me and Izzy in Chicago," Alec mused as he and Magnus walked into the shop with their hands laced together.
"No Jace?" Magnus asked, opening the door for his boyfriend.
"No, he wasn't living with us yet."
"So this was when you were extremely young if I am not mistaken." Damn he was observant.
"Yeah," Alec said, an awkward tone to his voice. "We stopped going after a while. Parents worked too much."
"Ah," Magnus said shortly as they sat down at a corner table near the window. "Let's steer clear of those subjects today. Every time we go on a date some dark secret comes spilling out. Let's keep today light." Alec smiled and nodded in response as the waitress walked up to them.
"Hey guys! My name is Vanessa and I'll be your server today! What can I get for ya today?" The perky brunette girl, about 20 years of age, said, holding out her notepad.
"I'll have two scoops of salted caramel," Magnus said with a smile. He looked at Alec. "You?"
"Um, do you have mint-chocolate chip?" He asked. Vanessa nodded, writing his request down. "Is that all for you boys today?"
"Yes, thank you."
"I'll have that right up."
The shop was nearly deserted at this time of day. Correction; the shop was deserted other than Vanessa, Magnus, and Alec.
Magnus leaned forward on his elbows. "Do you want to play a game?" He asked, that mischievous glint that Alec had come to love in his eye.
"Whoa there," he said with a chuckle. "Don't go all Saw on me."
Magnus smirked. "Not like that. But seriously."
"Uh, sure."
"Alright," Magnus said as he sat up. "So here's how it works- you tell me five things about yourself, I tell you five things about myself. We do this three times. Neither of us can say anything until the other is finished speaking and no talking about our lists until after we're finished with the game. Go!"
"Oh, wha- um," Alec stuttered as he thought about what he was going to say. "I love Taylor Swift," he managed to say, cringing nearly the moment after he did. "I wear my slippers without socks. Um, my favorite meal is sushi, and I take about three minutes picking out what I'm going to wear on a normal day."
"Well," Magnus said with a smile. "That last one was obvious." He cleared his throat. "I never take sugar in my coffee, when I first started out as an actor I went by Warlock until Ragnor pointed out that it dehumanized me. My real name isn't Magnus Bane, it is-"
"Here you are!" Vanessa said, placing their bowls of ice cream in from the them. "Enjoy!"
Alec looked at Magnus once Vanessa went back to her place behind the counter, interested in what his real name was.
"Anyway," Magnus said. "I don't go in half the rooms of my penthouse and I always sleep with the window open."
"What's your real name?" Alec asked frantically.
"Ah, darling," Magnus only replied.
"Fine. I never sleep with the window open, my cousin is a gay nerd who loves Star Wars, I am also a gay nerd who loves Star Wars, my favorite book is '1984' and my I take three sugars in my coffee, two in tea."
"I have never seen Star Wars," Magnus said and Alec's jaw dropped. Literally. He felt it touch the table. Alright maybe not literally but you get the point. Magnus continued with a smirk. "I grew up in a small town in Illinois before I went into the foster system, I was in about six foster homes before my father was found, my oldest and dearest friend is names Tessa Gray, though I haven't spoken to her in years and Catarina constantly makes fun of the fact that I have never in my life tried sushi."
"I really wish I could say something right now," Alec muttered as he thought of something to say. "My favorite show is The X-Files. I wasn't the fondest of Jace when my parents told us he was living with us. I didn't even know him. He gave me my nickname, Alec. Before him I went my Alex, but Jace misheard me and I never corrected him. I thought sex was the bird that brought a baby to a man and a women until I was eight, so every time I saw a stork I would yell, 'Look! Sex!'"
Magnus choked down a laughed as he ate a spoonful of his ice cream. "I once walked in on my dad jerking off to Oprah. My favorite show is Downton Abbey, Tessa was the one who started calling me Bane, and Ragnor called me Badnus the first three months of our friendship," his eyes shot down the the ice cream Alec hadn't taken a bite of. "And I think chocolate-chip mint is absolutely disgusting."
"What?" Alec asked as he took his first bite. "No it's not."
"Yes is it, it's too artificial," Magnus argued with a smirk.
"Is not! Also, how the living f*ck have you never seen Star Wars? I thought everyone had seen them!"
Magnus shrugged. "Don't know. Never got around to it."
They talked about the 15 random facts they had shared with each other, exchanging playful banter until Alec's phone buzzed in his pocket.

3:06
Isabelle: where r u

Had they really been talking for almost three hours?

3:07
Alec: Keys are in my locker. You know the combo.

3:09
Isabelle: you're so mean

3:09
Alec: I know

"We should probably get going," Alec said, standing up and throwing his cup in the garbage. "We've been taking up this table for far too long."
Magnus paid at the front desk, taking a five dollar bill out. "Where your tip jar, oh dear Vanessa?" He asked.
"Oh," she said. "We don't have one."
"So I just give this to you?" He held the bill out to her.
She shook her head. "No, we're not allowed to take tips."
Magnus face distorted with a mixture of disgust and confusion. "But what if I want to tip you because you did a good job?"
She shrugged. "I'm not supposed to take tips."
Magnus looked at the money, then at Vanessa, then at the money again, finally dropping it on the counter. "Oh no," he said over dramatically. "I seem to have dropped my money and forgot to pick it up before I left bye!" He grabbed Alec's hand and ran out of the store before the waitress could refuse the tip once again. Alec smiled lovingly at his boyfriend, lacing their fingers together as they walked to Magnus' car.
"Let's go home." And by home, Alec meant Magnus' apartment.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

"Please," Isabelle whispered, looking up at Alec with tears in her eyes. "Alec, don't." His hand shook against the gun he was holding against her head, tears streaming down him face. He didn't know why he was doing this. He didn't want to. Anxiety built up in his chest as he tightened his grip, pressing the barrel harder to Isabelle's head. She cried out, closing her eyes tightly, sobs escaping her lips. Alec let out a scream as he shook himself, readjusting his grip on the gun, the cold metal pressing against the tender skin of his palm. His fingers shaking, his finger tightened around the trigger. The shard sound of the gun shooting off echoed in the emptiness.

Alec gasped as he shot up in bed, his chest tight and full of anguish. He checked the clock immediately, hoping for a reassurance that this place he thought was reality wasn't actually a dream. The digital clock clicked to 6:37 as Alec looked at it. The knot in his chest loosened, still there but not at noticeable.
He looked down at Magnus who was still fast asleep, face pressed against his pillow. Alec smiled at him, reaching a hand out to brush some of the stray hairs from his face before standing up and walking out to the kitchen, planning on getting ready for school but remembering it was a weekend. Reaching up to get a mug and make some coffee, Alec tried to repress the dream he had just had. He failed.
It had been months since he had a nightmare like that. A dream where he had to shoot either Isabelle or Jace or Max, and sometimes Maryse or Robert. Alec cringed at the thought of his deceased brother. He wasn't sure why he was in the situation or why he was so determined to literally kill his siblings, but he was. He sat down at the counter, mindlessly sipping his coffee as he thought about his night terrors. He wasn't even sure why he had them.
They started after the shock that Max was gone set in. Those few weeks that the young boy was away from their lives was a blur for the entire Lightwood family, including Jace, but there was one day where Alec could recall everything clearly. Exactly how he felt, all dread and sorrow. The next day, however, Alec realized that Max was never coming back. It was hard, but he cried into his pillow for the entire day, his eyes swollen and dry by the time he was finally exhausted enough to get some sleep. He thought about what he had seen the day before. Actually, it wasn't so much he saw as what he heard. He was just passing by his parents study when he noticed a small whimper from the door. Hoping to comfort his mother, he backtracked and began opening the study door when-
"Why are you up so early?" Magnus asked as he walked into the kitchen rubbing his neck. He went strait to the coffee machine, pouring it and not adding cream or sugar.
Alec shrugged. "Bad dream." Magnus sat down next to him, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry babe. Do you want to talk about it?" Alec shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"Alright..." Magnus replied, sounding unsure. "What do you want to do today?"
Alec shrugged. "Be lazy. Let's watch movies all day and make out."
Magnus smiled into his coffee. "I'm fine with that."

They ended up switching between Star Wars and Downton Abbey, lying in bed with their feet tangled together. Alec's shoulder was overlapping with Magnus', Magnus playing with Alec's right hand with his left, his other hand wrapped around Alec's waist, his finger tracing the inside of his waistband. Alec felt a strong sense of euphoria as they sat like this, watching their favorite movies and tv shows. It all seems to domestic.
Then Alec's laptop began chirping, and he couldn't help with grab it and look at who was calling him. He felt a certain giddiness when he saw Aline's name flash across the now open screen. He paused the episode of Downton Abbey, looking over at Magnus, who groaning saying, "It's too early for this," though it was 8:30 pm.
"Uh," he said. "It's my cousin. Do you want to meet her?"
"Oh," Magnus said, alarmed that he was meeting another member of Alec's family so soon. "Of course I do!"
Alec smiled as he clicked the answer button, adjusting himself so he could look into the camera better. Magnus did the same.
"Hey Al- what the f*ck? Where are you?" She asked as she looked at the décor of the room. Alec chuckled.
"So Aline," he said. "I'm here with Magnus." He tilted the laptop to his boyfriend, who smiled at the camera. "I would shake your hand but you're actually not in the country. Hi, I'm Magnus. I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh my god your soulmate is actually Magnus Bane," Aline said, he face completely free of expression.
"Yeah," Alec said. "Did you think I was lying?"
"Well," Aline said, rubbing the back of her neck. Alec's eyes widened.
"You thought I was lying!"
"No!" Aline declined, waving her hands. "I just didn't believe it until I saw it."
"That's what Alec said too," Magnus said with a smirk.
"What?" Aline whipped her head to look at Alec.
"Nothing," he said through his teeth, shooting a look at Magnus who was still smirking at his own bad joke. Alec turned his head back to Aline, who was giggling a little, noticing the boxes behind her. "What's up with the boxes?"
Aline's face dropped as she looked behind her. "Oh, uh," She said, rubbing the back of her neck. "That's kind of what I called you for."
"Are you alright?" Alec asked as he sat up farther in bed.
"Yeah kind of. It's just I uh...I kind of got kicked out of the exchange program."
"What?"
"Please don't be mad!" She said, clapping her hands together.
"What did you do?"
"I kind of slept with the assistant principal." Aline winced as she said it, looking at Alec through her squinted eyes.
"What the f*ck?" Magnus mumbled with a smile.
"Yeah what the f*ck?" Alec asked, echoing his boyfriend. "How old was she?"
"Like," Aline replied as she thought. "22 I think."
"Isn't that illegal?" Magnus asked.
"No, I turned 18 three weeks ago."
"Besides the point," Alec dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Why'd that get you kicked out?"
"Well it's kind of against the rules to have sex with the assistant principal."
"Why exactly?"
"Because it's kind of unethical and wrong," She pointed out. "But then she played dumb and said I like seduced her or something, which I totally did a great job of but that's not the point, anyway then she didn't get removed from her internship but I get sent back home."
"It's not exactly a surprise. I mean, they're French." Alec sighed with a smile. "What'd your mom say when you told her?"
Aline averted her eyes and started rubbing her neck again.
"Have you not told her yet?"
"Kind of..."
"Are you asking me to tell her for you?"
"Kind of..."
Alec chuckled sarcastically. "You're 'kind of' a lot of things aren't you? What are you not going to tell your mom next? That you're 'kind of' gay? That you're 'kind of' pining for some girl you haven't even met?"
"What's this about a girl?" Magnus asked.
"It's not like I'm never going to tell her, Alec!" Aline shouted. "I just, ugh things are complicated. She's just as conservative as your parents are."
Alec groaned. "Yeah, I'm sorry for aiming low."
"Oh," Magnus said with realization in his voice. "Right, your mom is Alec's moms sister."
"Speaking of," Aline said, turning her eyes back to Alec. "Do your parents know about you two?"
"Ah," Alec said, avoiding Magnus' gaze. "No. No one except you and well, Jace, Clary, Isabelle, and Simon."
"Simon!" Magnus said with a snap of his fingers. "That's the one."
"Damn," Aline sighed. "I thought maybe it would soften the blow."
"Sorry."
Magnus' stomach growled from under the sheets, which earned a growl from him in return. "We've barely had anything to eat all day. I'm going to make some food."
"Alright," Alec said, his voice breathy. He followed Magnus with his eyes as he walked out of the room in his boxers.
"So," Aline said, leaning closer to the monitor. "You guys have had sex?"
Alec made a startled noise as he turned the volume down, his mind racing. "No," he hissed, leaning into his computer as well. "We haven't."
"Why'd he make that joke then-"
"Because he's Magnus."
"Oh thank you," his cousin said in a monotone, unamused voice. "That gives me so much insight."
Alec rolled his eyes. "The point is, no, we haven't had sex."
"Why not? You've been together for what, a month and a half?"
Shrugging, Alec said, "We haven't really talked about it. I'm just not ready yet."
"So you haven't said the 'L' word yet?"
"The 'L' word?"
Aline rolled her eyes. "Love, you idiot."
"Love?" Alec's eyes shot to the door.
"You obviously haven't said it yet," Aline sighed, sitting back. "Of course you haven't. When are you planning on doing it?"
"Oh, um, I'm not sure. I guess I haven't really thought about it."
"What?" Aline yelled. "You've met your soulmate and have been dating him for six weeks and haven't thought about saying 'I love you'?"
"I mean," Alec said as he thought about the past weeks with Magnus. "It's not like I don't, but...I'm not sure-"
"Wait wait wait," Aline said as she waved her hands. "You do?"
"You do what?" A voice said as he walked back into the bedroom. He smiled at Alec as he got back under the covers, a bag of popcorn in his hand. He leaned forward, turning Alec's face towards him and his him tenderly.
"We were just talking about how Star Wars comes out next month."
"Ugh," Magnus said as he opened the bag. "I'm still pissed at Anakin."
"Who isn't?" Aline asked, looking cautiously at Alec. "He was such a whiny-ass ho."
"Agreed. Damn, now I really want to finish Star Wars."
"What episode?" Inquired Aline.
"We were going to start episode 4 after Downton Abbey since someone," Alec looked pointedly at Magnus. "has never seen them before."
"What? How have you not seen Star Wars? You're literally an actor!"
"Yeah," Magnus said, pouting his lip at Alec. "Well I'm busy."
"Oh," Alec said as he thought of yesterday. "Did Ragnor ever call you about skipping that shoot?"
Magnus shrugged. "Not sure. I haven't checked my phone since I picked you up."
"Why?"
"Because," Magnus said, nuzzling his nose into Alec's neck. "I wanted to spend time with you." Alec made a noise before turning his head to kiss his boyfriend, Aline groaning from the screen.
"Yeah yeah," she said trying to break them apart. "It's rude to make out in front of your cousin, Alec."
Scrunching his nose up, Alec turned back to the camera. "Sorry. But I mean," he added. "It's not like you totally wouldn't do the same thing if you had your soulmate. Or just someone to make out with."
"Oh yeah," Magnus said, giving Aline a suggestive look. "Tell us more about this girl you're talking to."
Aline smiled, opening her mouth to talk.
"Wait," Alec said before she could say anything. "If you like this girl so much, why did you have sex with the 22 year old assistant principal?"
Aline groaned, slumping her shoulders forward. "She was hot! And I was sad I hadn't found anyone."
"This Helen girl could be your soulmate."
"Helen..." Magnus said. "I think I know a Helen."
"You know everyone," Alec said, turning his attention back to his cousin.
"Maybe," Aline said. "But I haven't talked to her in like three days."
"So? Text her."
"But it'd be so awkward after..."
"This is why we don't have sex with the assistant principal, Aline."
She scrunched up her nose as she flipped Alec off. "Shut up. At least I got some."
"Excuse me?" Magnus said with a chuckle. "I still want to know about her."
"Fine," Aline said as she glared at Alec. "Her name is Helen Blackthorn and she lives in Troy-"
"Blackthorn!" Magnus shouted in Alec's ear. "I do know her!"
"Calm down," Alec chuckled.
"You do?" Aline asked hopefully. Magnus nodded.
"Of course. An actor friend of mine, Malcolm Fade is his name, he has known them since he was a child. He said that they have this big estate and that he stays there when he's not working."
"You literally know everyone," Alec repeated.
"You're just jealous."
"Am not."
"Are too!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"Guys!" Aline yelled, breaking up their playful banter.
"Oh hey," Alec said as turned his head back to the screen. "You said she lives in Troy?" Aline nodded. "That's really close to Albany, right?"
"Yeah what's your-" she gasped. "We're moving to Albany at the beginning of next year."
"So like a month?" Magnus asked.
"More like two, but whatever." She looked back at Alec. "That's actually what I called you about."
"I thought you called me because you-"
"'Had sex with the assistant principal,'" Aline said as she tried to mimic Alec's voice. "That was just leading to what I was going to ask."
"Ask?" Alec repeated, anxiety twisting in his stomach. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's just..." She hesitated. "I don't want to go home to my mom. She's under a lot of stress because of her job and my dad and moving and-" Aline shook her head. "I don't want to worry her anymore. I'm just going to wait until I was supposed to get off for break and just tell her I'm quitting after the semester. That's believable, right?"
Alec shrugged. "Sounds like a solid plan. But where were you going to stay until...oh."
"Please!" She pleaded, clapping her hands together. "Please please please, Alec!"
"Well I mean," he said reluctantly. "We don't have an extra room, but you could sleep in my room I guess." Alec puffed out his cheeks. "I don't know what to do about my parents though."
"I could just tell them that I came home early or something and didn't want to bother my mom. Aunt Maryse will know not to call her too."
"Alright," Alec said. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises."
"She can stay with me if she wants," Magnus said, looking fondly at his soulmate. Aline's face lit up.
"Really? You'd do that?"
"Yeah," Alec said, looking over at Magnus. "She could be an axe murderer." He gasped. "Is that why you're being sent back? Because you're an axe murderer?"
"I'm not an axe murderer, Alec!"
"Yeah," Magnus said. "She could stay here if she wanted. I have more rooms here than I could ever possibly use. Plus I wouldn't mind some company."
"What about me?" Alec said with a pout of his lip.
"You have to go to school."
Alec gasped, turning his head back to Aline. "What are you going to do about school?"
Aline shrugged. "They have an online program set up for me until I start at the Albany school next semester."
Magnus laughed. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"How about," Alec said, realizing a few things at once. "Aline stays with me for a week and gets to know you, we tell my parents she got a job or something and found a hotel to stay at until break and then she can go help her mom move before Christmas."
"That sounds good!" Aline exclaimed. "Honestly, I cannot thank you enough. Seriously, both of you."
"No problem," Magnus said with a smile.
"Anything for family."
"Aline, tu ferais mieux!" A fierce voice yelled from downstairs.
"Ah," Aline cringed. "I have to go. Thank you again, but I'll call you when I leave, okay?"
"Alright, have fun packing. Talk to you later?"
"Yep!" Aline turned to look at Magnus. "I'm excited to get to know you!"
"Me too! We're going to have so much fun."
Aline smiled smugly as she turned back to her cousin. "Alright, well I'll see you later. I love you!" She then winked.
"I love you too," Alec said. Then he understood her implication. "Alright bye." He shut the laptop quickly, not dating to look at Magnus.
"Downton Abbey?" Magnus suggested after a few moments of silence. Alec nodded, settling down after talking to his cousin, resting his back against Magnus' chest, who wrapped his arm around Alec's waist. They sat like that as Magnus pressed play on the episode, and didn't move for a long time.

Honestly, Alec had no idea what was going on. He had spaced off a few times, thinking about his conversation with Aline, and when he came back to he realized he had no clue what was happening in the show. After a few failed attempts to figure out what was going on, Alec decided not to worry about it. Even if he had figured out the complicated plot of the horribly boring show, Alec knew that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it. His mind was other places. Was it weird that Alec and Magnus hadn't exchanged "I love you's?" They had only been together a month and a half. Then again, Alec supposed, they were soulmates. They should fall in love quickly. He knew Jace and Clary had said it quickly, and Isabelle and Simon had just recently said it. His stomach twisted as he thought about the possibility that maybe he was behind? Could you fail at being a soulmate? Was that a thing that happened? Alec wasn't even sure that Magnus was in the same place as him, so even if Alec did say it, what if Magnus didn't say it back? Alec didn't know if he could handle that type of rejection so early on in his first and last relationship. They had only just gotten past that first rough part in their relationship and Alec didn't know if he was ready for another fight.
Alec squirmed uncomfortably against his boyfriend. Magnus' arm rose up to rest on Alec's chest, rubbing the surface of his shirt soothingly. Suddenly, Alec wasn't so sure that he wanted his shirt on anymore. He wanted Magnus on top of him, kissing him and rubbing his hands against his bare chest as he-
Alec squeezed his eyes shut as he lulled the thoughts away and tried to listen to the voices coming from the television.
He felt Magnus' breath against his neck, his face pressed against Alec's ear. "Do you want to know a secret?" Magnus whispered, his voice raspy and sexy.
"Hmm?" Alec said, turning his nose up to brush against Magnus' cheek, his eyes still shut.
"I am completely and utterly in all senses in love with you."
Alec wasn't sure if his heart sped up or completely stopped when he heard the words flow off Magnus' lips. His breath hitched as he opened his eyes, sitting up to face Magnus whose face had a regretful look on it.
"You don't have to say it back if you're not ready," Magnus started. "I just wanted to let you-"
"Really?" Alec asked, his eyes wide. He was sure his heart was pounding now. "How are you sure?"
Magnus seemed surprised by this question. "Well," he started. "I've known that I loved you since the moment you spoke to me. I loved the way you tried to play it off like we weren't totally meant to be, and can I say that I love the color of your eyes." Alec blushed as Magnus continued. "And when I went shopping with your sister the other day-"
"You went shopping with Isabe-" Magnus pressed a finger to Alec's lips.
"Shh sh sh. When I went shopping with your sister I learned so many cute new things about you and it made me realize how in love with you I actually am. Why else would I offer for your cousin, whom I barely know, to come and stay with me? It's because I would do anything for you Alexander. Because I love you so, so much. And I get it if you're not ready to say-"
"Of course I'm ready," Alec said with a small smile. Magnus' face perked up. "I've been waiting to say it for a while now."
Magnus' golden eyes were soft as he reached out to lightly grab Alec's arm and pull him forward. "Why don't you tell me then?"
Alec reached out, cupping his boyfriends face in his hands. "Magnus," he whispered, rubbing their noses together. "I am so in love with you."
Magnus pulled Alec forward once again, pressing their lips together with such a force that Alec was sure they would bruise.
"Alexander," he moaned against Alec's lips, kissing them against with more force.
Alec's eyes drooped shut as he let himself dissolve into Magnus, his arms lacing around his neck and Alec's legs tangling with Magnus'. Magnus' hands, which were originally stationed at Alec's hips, slid down his back, caressing the small of his boyfriends back before lowering his hands to Alec's ass and squeezing, earning a small moan out of Alec. Magnus pulled back with a huff, his hand reaching for something on the left side if the bed where Alec was lying just minutes before.
"One second," he muttered, raising the remote his his hand and turned off the tv. "That was not sexy." He pointed to the other side of the room and clicked a button. Lana Del Ray's soothing voice filled the room, and Magnus threw the remote on the ground, his hand flying back up to Alec's waist. "Better," he whispered before kissing Alec again.
Magnus pulled at Alec's shirt, tugging it upward and pushing it up his chest until it was over Alec's head. They laughed as the collar got stuck on Alec's ear as he tried pulling it off, and again when they finally did get it off and Alec's hair was completely disshelved. They went back to kissed, and now it was Alec tearing at Magnus' shirt, who easily took it off and threw it across the room. Both of them now only in their underwear, Alec moaned against Magnus as he ran his fingers along the backs of Alec's thighs. Magnus pressed his palm to the front of Alec's underwear, massaging his member whilst passionately kissing his lips. He flipped Alec expertly so he was now lying on Alec's stomach. Alec moaned, pulling away from Magnus' mouth as he was unable to catch his breath, his hips bucking upward and grinding against Magnus'. He moaned, kissing Alec harder. Magnus' hands glided up Alec's legs to palm Alec through his underwear. Groaning, he bit down on Magnus' lip, pulling at it.
Magnus broke away, his hand pausing a moment before he said, "Are you okay?"
Confused at first, Alec almost nodded his head yes before he realized what his boyfriend was asking. Was Alec okay with, well, sex? He thought back on his rather new...fantasies that he had begun to have over that past few days. He thought he wasn't ready for sex, but when he realized he loved Magnus maybe that had changed.
He nodded, looking up at Magnus through his eyelashes.
"You are too damn cute," Magnus said as he kissed Alec quickly but passionately as he moved to his chest, kissing his muted muscles and pale skin. Alec gripped Magnus' shoulders as he kissed him, Alec's fingers digging into his shoulders.
Magnus pulled at the waistband of Alec's underwear, looking up wearily at his boyfriend. "Is this okay?"
Alec's heart-rate picked up as he nodded his head yes, trying to hold Magnus' gaze as he tugged on his undergarments. Alec's erect member sprung from its harness as Magnus pulled it away, and Alec bit his lip as he watched Magnus stare at it.
"I know it's not huge but-" Magnus' head shot up.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, his hands grabbing Alec's. "You're huge! Have you measured?"
"Uh," Alec said as he blushed. "I think it was like eight and a half."
Magnus huffed with a smile as he looked back down. "That's easily nine."
"This is so weird to talk about," Alec mumbled as he ruffled his hair.
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "We're literally about to have sex and talking about your size is weird?"
"Well if you put it that way..."
"It's stupid if you put it anyway," Magnus chuckled as he slid of the side of the bed and onto his knees. "Now get up so I can blow you."
"Wh-what?"
He laughed as he pulled at Alec's legs, pulling his closer to the edge. "What'd you think was going to happen? I have to build you up before you ride me."
"This is so gay."
"We are literally two boys in a relationship," Magnus said, lightly touching his fingers to the outside of Alec's naked thighs. "A gay relationship. We're gay for each other."
"I know but," Alec said. "Don't you ever think-"
"Don't think," Magnus said, moving closet to Alec's crotch. "Just act." He leaned in again before resisting, looking back up at Alec. "Are you sure this is okay?"
"Yes," Alec confirmed. "I want to do this."
Magnus nodded before kissing up the inside of his thighs, and every muscle in Alec's body clenched as he moaned, Magnus' wet lips tailing up his legs to his member. Gasping, Alec grabbed at Alec's shoulders before ducking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He cracked one open, looking at the smug look on his boyfriends face. Magnus smiled, licking up the side of Alec's shaft, causing him to buck his hips, almost hitting Magnus in the face. He laughed, pushing Alec back down. "Calm down there, big boy," He said before kissing Alec's thigh again.
"Don't stop," Alec gasped, clutching at Magnus' forearms as he kissed the tip. Magnus kissed down the shaft and back up again, before taking Alec into his mouth, sucking quickly before letting him go, his hands rubbing up Alec's legs. "Please," Alec whispered, his voice hoarse and rough.
"You don't know how sexy you sound right now."
Magnus took Alec in again, his tongue gliding over the surface of Alec's member. Moaning, Alec subconsciously lifted his hand, hovering over Magnus' head. Half of Alec's shaft was concealed by his soulmates mouth, and Alec could barely contain his groans. Why had he been so afraid of this?
"You can pull it you know," Magnus said as he reached the tip of Alec's member.
"What?" Alec managed, looking down at Magnus.
"My hair," he whispered with a smirk. "You can pull it. I don't mind."
"O-oh."
After chuckling, Magnus went back to Alec, taking him into his mouth again and dipping his head so Alec's entire shaft was in his mouth. Alec immediately gripped Magnus' hair, a gasp escaping from his mouth as he arched his back and pulled at the think strands of hair between his fingers. Magnus didn't stop, though. He bobbed his head, his tongue licking Alec's tip. He kept at this until Alec felt an unreasonable pressure deep in his abdomen.
"M-Magnus," he groaned, tugging at Magnus' hair. "I'm gonna come-" and he did. It was rather embarrassing, Alec giving Magnus such a short warning, but he didn't seem to mind. Alec didn't hardly notice at first as he came, ecstasy releasing itself and making his feel as light as a feather. Once he was finished, though, Alec looked down at Magnus whose mouth was still, but just barely, covering the tip of Alec's co*ck. Looking Alec right in the eye, his cheeks deflated and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Di-" Alec said, sitting up straiter. "Did you just swallow?" Magnus smiled, his teeth covered in the substance.
"That's gross."
"It's your come!" Magnus countered as he stood up and sat back down on the bed. He scooted behind Alec, wrapping his legs around his lovers waist. "Was that alright?"
Alec nodded, turning his head to the side and trying to kiss Magnus. "That was amazing," he breathed out, Magnus' hot skin against his own. He kissed Alec's sweaty neck, sucking slightly on the crook of his neck. Alec moaned in response, falling against Magnus who slid over his soulmate, coving Alec's body with his own. Magnus kissed up and down Alec's neck and chest, his mouth covering Alec's collar bone and haunch of his shoulder. Alec felt his skin against Magnus' hot mouth and tried to hold in his moan until he was finished.
"You know," Magnus said between labored breaths as he kissed the skin beneath his lips. "The good thing about having a penthouse is that you have no neighbors."
"Oh ye-eaaah," Alec started but ended up groaning as Magnus sucked on his neck again. He rested his hands on Magnus' hips, slipping beneath his underwear.
"Alec," Magnus whispered, grinding his covered hips against Alec's bare ones. Magnus slid his hand down, his finger brushing against Alec's entrance, which caused Alec the convulse upward, his head almost knocking into Magnus'. "Shhh." His finger slid into Alec and he whimpered, biting his lip and squeezing Magnus' ass. They both moaned as Magnus placed a second finger into Alec.
"Is this okay?" Magnus asked, pausing a moment to look at his boyfriend. Alec nodded, lifting his head and kissing Magnus' lips. "Oh," Magnus added, pulling away and reaching over to his dresser and pulling something that Alec couldn't see. "Safety first."
Alec, now getting impatient, tugged at Magnus' underwear, pulling them off in one swipe. "Eager, are we?" Magnus smirked. "Maybe you are as vigorous as your siblings."
"Why are we talking about my siblings in bed?"
"We're not." He slid another finger into Alec's entrance.
"Hmmm," Alec moaned, arching his back and pressing his forehead against Magnus' chest. Magnus pulled the condom up to his mouth, ripping the wrapping off with his teeth.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Magnus asked once again as he slid the condom on. Alec, shaking, nodded his head, his fingers digging into Magnus' back with nervousness. He closed his eyes and waiting, expecting something painful and uncomfortable.
But then Magnus was inside him and Alec was moaning and Magnus was kissing the sweat off Alec's brow. Magnus gently grabbed Alec's shaft, pumping it slowing as he moved farther into Alec. Biting his lip, Alec arched his back as he fell down against the twisted sheets as Magnus hit his prostate and groaned, his fingers grabbing the the material beneath him. He reached up, grabbed Magnus' arms and pulled him down against him, kissing Magnus' neck as he moved slowly within him.
"Alec I'm going to come," Magnus moaned between kisses as he pumped Alec harder. Alec barely managed a nod as he moaned, gripped Magnus' shoulders as he contracted for a second time that night, feeling such a release he didn't know was possible.
When the were finished and lying in silence minus their labored breaths, Magnus sat up, kissing Alec quickly before standing up and sauntering into the bathroom. He came back with a towel and wiped the sticky mess off his and Alec's chest, discarding the sheets in favor of fresh, clean ones. Then he lie back down, wrapping his strong arms around Alec and kissing his shoulder.
"Magnus," Alec whispered as he dosed off.
"Yes Alexander."
"Thank," he started with a sigh. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me darling," Magnus whispered.
"I feel like I should though."
"Well, you're very welcome, my love."
"I love you."
"And I love you."
And Alec felt that in that moment, everything would be okay.

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

"Please," Aline whispered, looking up at Alec with tears in her eyes. "Alec, don't." His hand shook against the gun he was holding against her head, tears streaming down him face. He didn't know why he was doing this. He didn't want to. Anxiety built up in his chest as he tightened his grip, pressing the barrel harder to Aline's head. She cried out, closing her eyes tightly, sobs escaping her lips. Alec let out a scream as he shook himself, readjusting his grip on the gun, the cold metal pressing against the tender skin of his palm. His fingers shaking, his finger tightened around the trigger. The sharp sound of the gun shooting off echoed in the emptiness.

He gasped for breath, shooting up in an unfamiliar bed, looking around him for any indication of where he was. The room was completely dark, and until he heard Magnus say his name he was panicking. But Magnus was here. It was okay. He was with Magnus. His breathing slowed down as he dug the heel of his palm into his eyes, a bright light filling his vision.
"Alexander?" Magnus asked groggily, sitting up in bed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Alec lied as he pushed away the tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks.
"Are you sure?" Magnus rubbed Alec's bare back. Alec nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Alec said softly, lying back down and rolling over, facing away from Magnus. Magnus grumbled something before lying down and falling back asleep. Alec waited until Magnus' breaths were even before taking out his phone, something he hadn't looked at since Friday afternoon. The screen nearly blinded him when he turned it on and Alec prayed he wouldn't wake up Magnus.
It was 3:17 AM. Alec had 47 texts and 16 calls from Isabelle and 23 texts and 4 calls from Jace. Maybe he should've been checking his phone. Then he remember what Magnus and he had done just hours before and decided that checking his phone would've been a bad idea.

Saturday, 9:16 AM
Isabelle: So you stayed the night with magnus

9:18 AM
Isabelle: Did you lose it yet?

12:26 PM
Isabelle: Are you coming home today

12:27 PM
Isabelle: Mom's here

12:27 PM
Isabelle: I told her you were at a friends house

12:28 PM
Isabelle: She wants you home

12:46 PM
Jace: Dude it's cool you got laid and stuff but you need to come home

12:48 PM
Jace: Maryse and Robert are looking for you.

Alec decided to not read the other 62 texts, and turned his phone off and rolled over to face Magnus, who was fast asleep and facing away from him. Hesitating a little, Alec wrapped his arm around Magnus' smooth stomach, his other arm sliding underneath him. He pressed himself against Magnus' back, breathing in his soothing scent.
He hoped that these nightmares would stop soon. They only usually last a week or so at a time before they would go away for a while. It had been so many months since he had to watch himself shoot someone he loved right through the brain. It was so painful. It hurt him so much as he pulled himself from his horror dreams and shake himself back into reality. His chest would contract and his mind would race and anxiety would build up in his chest until something would make him realize that he hadn't actually just killed his cousin or his sibling or his parents. Alec hoped that Magnus wouldn't appear in his dreams anytime soon.
"Alexander?" A raspy voice whispered.
"Yes?" Alec answered, pulling Magnus near him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Magnus shifted so he could look at Alec out of the corner of his eye. Alec nodded against his back.
"Yeah, it was just a bad dream. Sorry I woke you."
"It's perfectly alright, darling." He paused. "I love you, you know."
"And I love you."

"Do you want to stay here for the day?" Magnus asked as he wrapped his arms around Alec who was drinking coffee against the counter the next morning.
"sh*t," Alec mumbled, setting down his coffee.
"Well I didn't think it was that bad of an offer," Magnus chuckled, following Alec back to his bedroom. "I mean, we kind of made-love last night."
"No," Alec said with a smile as he picked up his laptop. "That part was amazing."
"Yeah it was," Magnus said smugly, pulling Alec close to him and kissing him lightly on the corner of his mouth.
"But," Alec said reluctantly. "I think I got some texts from Izzy..." He checked his phone, seeing Isabelle's 47 texts and internally groaning.
"That bad?" Magnus asked. Maybe he didn't only grown internally.
"Apparently my mom's freaking out or something. Could you drive me home?"
"Only if you give me a kiss?" Magnus teased, lacing his fingers through the loops of Alec's belt. Alec smiled, pressing a light kiss to his boyfriends mouth.
"Alright," Alec said as he placed a hand on Magnus' chest. "I really have to go."

Magnus dropped Alec off a block away from the building even though his apartment was not facing the street. Wishing he could stay with Magnus longer, Alec made his way into the lobby of his apartment building.
"Hi Gabriel," Alec said to the doorman sitting at the desk whom he had spoken with a few times.
"Sup Alec." From what he'd gathered, Gabriel was working this job to put himself through college, though he was also in a band that played local venue. He was a nice guy. Maybe Alec could find a friend in him. Plus he wasn't related to him or soul mates of his siblings, so that was a plus.
The elevator creaked on the way up to floor 23. Alec's stomach twisted with anxiety as he realized how urgent Isabelle and Jace's texts were. He took out his phone to text them, but the elevator came to a stop and the door opened, revealing a dead quiet hallway. Alec stepped out cautiously, as if the floor were made of glass and if he moved to fast it would shatter beneath his feet. He found himself walking carefully in the hallway almost as much as he actually went into the hallway. It was subconscious, but it was there. Tiptoeing to his door, he slowly turned the doorknob like he used to when he would (rarely) stay out past curfew with Jace and Isabelle. But he didn't have curfew anymore. He was eighteen years old and could do whatever the hell he wanted. That includes having sex, which he had done. His insides jumped at the memory and he wished he was with Magnus again.
The apartment was as silent as death, not a thread out of place. No one was pacing in the living room, talking in the hallway. Isabelle's room, which was usually filled with giggles and squeals, was quiet as night, as if it were in the middle of an extremely long breath after a long sentence. Maryse and Robert didn't seem to have come home at all. There were no papers from work or left over plates from breakfast, no bibles out for the Sunday morning study Maryse would conduct and sometimes make her kids participate. No cigar in the ash trash that Robert had smoked half of then forgot about. The normal mundane things that Alec took for granted were missing, and Alec didn't know why he was so unsettled.
He walked lightly back to his room, opening the door with such precaution that he couldn't break a hair if he tried. He set his laptop an coat down, stretching his arms out before venturing back into the apartment, hoping to find where everyone was. He walked past Jace's room and toward his parents, where he heard the muffled sounds of voices behind the door. He pressed his ear to the door, wanting to hear what the were saying.
"I don't know how we're going to tell them," He heard Maryse say with great distress. "What are we even going to tell them?"
Was that why Robert and Maryse wanted Alec home so urgently? Because they were going somewhere?
"Calm down, Maryse," Robert said soothingly. Alec had almost forgotten the sound of his fathers voice. "We'll think of something."
"But," Maryse started again. "What about Alec? He's missing. What if he was taken? What if he hooked up with some girl and then she ended up working for Valentine? Or worse."
Valentine? Why did that name sound familiar...
"Alec's not like that," Robert countered. Alec chuckled to himself. You're in for a real treat, dad. "He wouldn't have sex with some girl he barely knows."
"But what if someone lured him in or something. What if-"
"It wasn't him."
"What if-"
"No," Robert reassured. "He wouldn't blackmail us like that the days before we go see him. Plus we wouldn't have received a ransom letter by now, right?"
"I guess you're right." Maryse sighed. "I don't like this. I don't want to get involved with this again."
"It's the only way to keep Valentine from ruining our lives again." When had the Lightwoods lives been ruined? Alec couldn't recall anything. "They work together, and if we just work for-"
Alec's phone chirped in his hand. 'Dammit,' he thought to himself as he put in on vibrate, backtracking down the hall to his doorway. His parents door opened and Maryse steeped out, looking down the hallway.
"Alec!" Maryse exclaimed, running towards her son and throwing her arms around his neck. "I was so worried!"
"Hello to you too," Alec said, hesitantly placing a hand on his mothers back.
"You need to tell me where you are next time," She said as she pulled away. Alec's stomach twisted. "You still live under my roof."
"You said there weren't as many rules now."
"Well," Maryse contemplated. "There aren't, but as long as you're in high school you have to tell me where you're going to be and what you are doing."
'Well mom,' Alec thought. 'Last night I was with a celebrity who happens to be my soulmate and we had sex. Oh yeah, he's a guy.'
"I'll try and remember next time," Alec replied.
"Alec?" A feminine voice said from behind him. He turned around to see Isabelle standing in her doorway at the end of the hallway, an look of exasperation on her face. "Where the hell-" she looked past him at Maryse, remembering the lie Isabelle told her. "...hell...helLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE! I MUSTVE CALLED-"
"DAMMIT ISABELLE!" Jace called from his bedroom as he swung the door open. "YOU CAN'T JUST RANDOMLY START SINGING ADELE WHEN ALEC IS OFF ANGEL KNOWS WHERE WI-" Isabelle jerked her head toward Alec and Maryse and Robert, interrupting Jace's rant. Jace winced, lifting an arm up to scratch the back of his head. "Oh, uh, hi Alec!" He chuckled nervously, shooting Alec a tight smile with an annoyed look in his eye. "Thanks for telling us you're back from your uh..."
"Yeah uh huh!" Isabelle said, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her right leg. "Thanks for texting me back! My, oh yeah, 47 TEXT MESSAGES."
"Sorry I was...uh..."
"Busy," Jace said with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah, we know."
"Alright!" Maryse said, clapping her hands together. "That is quite enough of that. Now," she turned to look back at Robert for a second. "Your, uh, father and I have something to tell you guys, so if we could gather in the living room say, right now?" She pushed past them toward the living room, her aura tense and dark. The kids looked back at Robert, who only shrugged and sauntered down the hallway after his wife.

"So kids," Maryse said as she leaned forward on her knees from her place on the couch. "Your father and I have something to tell you."
"Oh my god," Isabelle said, sitting up straighter and placing a hand on her chest. "You're both dying. Wait no! We're moving to Paris!"
"No," Jace spat. "They're obviously telling us that they're getting me a car," he turned his head to Robert and Maryse. "Right?"
"Uh," Maryse said, looking cautiously at her husband. "Not exactly."
"A motorcycle?" Jace asked excitedly.
"What?!" Alec shouted, standing up from his chair. "He gets a motorcycle and I only get a 2007 Honda?"
"So Alec has a car, Jace is getting a motorcycle and I get nothing?" Isabelle shouted as she stood up from the floor. "I am your only daughter!"
"No one's getting a car!" Robert interrupted.
"Motorcycle," Jace corrected.
"No one is getting any transportation!" Maryse yelled.
"Well I should be!" Isabelle exclaimed. "And we're not even moving to Paris! God," she said, sitting back down. "This day sucks."
"None of those things were ever going to happen." Maryse sighed. "Anyway, what we really wanted to tell you was that we need to go on a business trip for...business."
"Oh okay..." Isabelle perked up. "Are you going to Paris? Oh my god are you taking us with you?"
"No," Maryse said. "We're only going to Chicago."
"Oh!" Isabelle exclaimed. "I've been wanting to go visit my old friends!"
"I mean Seattle!" Maryse corrected.
"You just said Chicago."
"Yeah well I meant Seattle. Plus you have school."
"So?" Isabelle asked. "I skip that all the-" she shook her head once she saw Maryse's curious face. "Never I never skip that." She shook her head.
"Uh huh," Maryse said as she crossed her arms.
Isabelle pointed to Alec. "He skipped half the day on Friday!"
"He also aced his psychology mid-term," Alec's mother said. "I'm not that upset about him missing three hour of school." She turned her head to him. "You skipped half a day of school?"
"So when are you leaving?" Alec asked.
"The day after tomorrow."
"Oh," Alec said. "That's pretty soon. How long will you be gone?"
"About three weeks. You kids will be okay, right?" Maryse turned to Isabelle. "I've taught you how to cook some, can I put you in charge on meals?"
"Maybe we'll just eat at Clary's?" Jace suggested.
"I couldn't let poor Jocelyn feed what, five kids?"
"Four," Alec corrected.
"Well there's Simon," Maryse countered.
"Hold on," Jace said. "How did you know Clary's moms name?"
"Uh," Robert said.
"C-come on Jace," Maryse stuttered. "You meet your soulmate and don't think that I won't find her mother somehow? I've talked to both of your soulmates parents."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Isabelle mused.
"Because I didn't need to."
Roberts phone rang just then, and when he glanced at the screen and gave Maryse a knowing look, he stood up and said, "I should take this," and walked behind the couch and through the kitchen door.
"I should really go see what that's about." Maryse excused herself.
"Can you believe that?" Isabelle whispered once Maryse had left. "First she tells us we're not moving to Paris then Jace doesn't get a motorcycle and now they're leaving for Seattle for three weeks?"
"No no this is great!" Alec exclaimed. "Aline called me yesterday and told me that she totally had sex with the principal and got expelled from the exchange program so she's going to come live with us until the semester ends!"
"The semester ends after winter break," Isabelle pointed out. "Which is in like, a month and a half."
"Oh yeah well she's going to live with Magnus until she 'gets off' for break which is only like a week or two away from break."
"Okay a whole lot just happened in a really short time," Jace said, blinking a few times. "Aline had sex with the principal of her French school?"
"Well assistant principal."
"I thought Aline was gay."
"God, Jace," Isabelle groaned. "Women can be assistant principals too!"
"Oh yeah."
"You're so sexist."
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"I'm dating a woman."
"Yeah so?" Isabelle mumbled, defeated.
"Guys?" Alec asked. "Aline?"

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

"Exactly why are we all here again?" Simon asked as they stood at the gate of the flight returning from France.
"Simone how many times do I have to tell you that we're going to pick up Aline Penhallow, Alec and Isabelle's cousin." Magnus huffed, turning away from Simon and laying an arm across Alec's shoulders.
Simon grimaced. "It's Simon. And I know that we're here to pick up Aline. I'm not stupid."
"Well," Magnus mumbled. "You sure do act like it."
Simon, ignoring his technical brother in-law, well, brother in-nature, well...the point is Simon said "I just don't understand why we're all here. Can't Alec just do it?"
Isabelle made a strangled sound as she slapped Simon's chest with the back of her hand. "We are all picking her up because she wants to meet everyone!"
"I've already met her!"
"We have all met her," Clary replied like it was the most obvious thing ever. "Just not in person. Plus she is family now."
Alec choked down a laugh. Magnus looked at Simon with his jaw dropped. "So," he said, moving his finger around in the air. "You and I are," Magnus sputtered. "B-brothers?"
"Oh," Simon said with a smile. "I guess we are."
Putting a hand on his head Magnus turned to Alec. "Oh dear god," he whispered.
"He's not so bad once you get used to him," Jace said from a few seats away.
"Does everyone hate me?" Simon asked Isabelle.
"No not everyone," she said as she patted his leg.
"Didn't," Alec interjected. "Didn't you hate him at first Iz?"
"You did oh my god!" Simon exclaimed. "Do I come off that bad?"
"No!" Clary assured at the same time Magnus vigorously yelled "YES." Clary winced. "Maybe a little."
"Why?" Simon asked, throwing his hands up.
"You come off a little strong," Alec chuckled. Simon looked back to Isabelle.
"You hadn't even talked to me before you hated me."
"You just weren't what I expected," Isabelle said.
"Flight AIC 416 is now landing. Flight AIC 416."
"Oh thank god," Jace sighed as he stood up. Alec and Magnus stood up, interlacing their hands.
Aline emerged from the gate looking around the boarding lounge anxiously.
"Aline!" Isabelle shouted as she ran over to her cousin, jumping into her arms. Aline cackled, dropping her luggage and wrapping her arms around Isabelle.
"Oh my god it's been forever!" Aline exclaimed.
"Well, four months isn't that long," her cousin said as she let Aline go. She grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the others. "Come on come on meet the fam!"
Clary held out her hand for Aline to shake, and Aline reached for the red-head, but Isabelle averted her path. "This is my soulmate Simon," She said.
"Uh," Simon said, holding his hand out. "Hi. I'm Simon."
"Isabelle!" Clary scoffed. Aline jumped.
"Jesus Christ," she said, chuckling as she put a hand on her chest.
"No," Simon said with a smirk. "But the resemblance is striking."
"Oh yeah, uh huh," Aline huffed with a tight smile. She turned back to Clary. "It's so nice to meet you!" She grabbed Clary's hand, giving it a quick shake before she turned to Jace.
"Jace." She put a hand on her chest. "I love her already."
"Yeah," Jace said with a breathy chuckle. "Me too."
"Aww," Clary hummed, tilting her head up so Jace could kiss her.
"Oh," Aline said as she turned back to Isabelle and Simon.
"No not everyone hates you," Isabelle said as she rubbed Simon's back. "See, watch." She titled his head up and pressed their lips together.
"Ugh," Aline said as she collapsed in one of the chairs. "Straight people."
"Right?" Alec agreed as he sat down next to her.
"We haven't been able to make fun of them since I left," She observed.
"Also I came out to you-"
"I figured it out when you were fourteen."
"Oh yeah."
"Where are my manners," Magnus said as he backed up. "I'll just go over here with the straight people."
"Oh my god I am so sorry!" Aline said as she jumped up. "You should've been the first I met!"
"Oh no problem," Magnus brushed off as he hugged Alec's cousin. "Straight people are demanding. Trust me, I dated one once."
"You wanna know something?" Aline said as she pulled back. "So did I."
Magnus smiled. "We are going to have so much fun."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Alec said. "You're not going off with a bunch of straight people, right?"
"Maybe a few straight people," Magnus said with a shrug. "You know, Ragnor, Catarina."
"Right."
"Oh are they other famous people you know?!" Aline asked excitedly.
"Not exactly."
"Oo oo oo!" She squealed. "Am I going to go with lunches and photo shoots and stuff with you?"
"Of course," Magnus said, linking their arms. "Do you know my friend Malcolm Fade?"
"I FORGOT YOU KNEW HIM OH MY GOD!"
"You didn't know who he was until I mentioned him, right?"
"No no," Aline reassured. "He was in Love Actually and The Maze Runner and I heard he's in the new Star Wars movie!"
"Yes, you'd think that because my friend is in the sequel I would've seen them before."
"You have finished them, right?" Aline asked.
"No actually," Magnus said, wrapping an arm around Alec's waist. "We got a bit busy after that."
"Oh yeah," Aline said with a shake of her head. "I forgot about that sorry."
Alec cleared his throat. "I didn't tell her," he said to Magnus.
"I wouldn't care if you did," he whispered back.
"Oh thank god."
Magnus' phone rang just then, so he pulled it out of his back pocket, his face dropping as he saw who was calling. "I uh," he stuttered. "I have to take this. Probably Ragnor getting on me about blowing off that photo shoot." He stepped away, smiling at Aline before he turned around an answered the phone.
"Is he okay?" Aline asked, now linking arms with Alec.
"I don't know," he said, watching his boyfriend with his eyes. "He's not usually that upset when Ragnor calls. And defiantly not Catarina."
Aline shrugged. "Probably just an audition or something that he's getting a callback on."
"Audition?" Alec pondered. "He hasn't mentioned any audition..."

Magnus tried to keep his heartbeat steady as he answered his phone, dreading the conversation he was about to have.
"What do you want?" He asked the caller in a bitter tone. He was not up for this this morning.
"Nice to see you too, Magnus Bane," Camille said, he voice gravely and monotone.
"Why did you call me?"
"Oh," She said, innocence in her voice. "I just wanted to see you."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Keep saying what Magnus?"
Magnus huffed. "That you want to 'see' me. Camille, phone calls are audible, not visual."
"But Magnus," she mused. "I can see you."
"Wha-" he turned around, looking for his bitch of an ex-girlfriend. Then he saw her, sitting there like an angel who had fell from heaven. Her bleached hair was curled softly to flounce up, making her look softer than she actually was. She was wearing baby-pink rimmed sunglasses and a white, flowy cardigan that covered about half of her black jeans. Her lips were stained blood red, contrasting against her white, powdered skin. "What are you doing here," Magnus demanded. Camille leaned forward on her knees, her phone pressed against her ear.
"Magnus," she whispered. "How long have we known each other."
"What does that have to do with anything?" He watched
"Just answer the damn question."
Magnus shrugged. "I don't know, 3 years?"
"How many main parts have you had in that time?" She twirled her white hair with her long fingers.
"Four."
"Hmm." A pink bubble emerged from her mouth. She sat up and leaned back. The bubble popped. "I've had two."
"Good for you," Magnus said sarcastically. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," she said, a smile forming on her face. "I am not letting you ruin this part for me."
"Is this about that stupid Netflix show?" Magnus nearly shouted. "Because-"
"It's not stupid."
"Fine."
"Have you been offered the part yet?"
"I have a callback," Magnus answered through his gritted teeth.
"I'm going to be there," Camille sighed. "You better not be."
"Yeah?" Magnus asked. "What would you have the audacity to do if I showed up?"
"Don't test me, Bane." Magnus could hear her laugh pierce through the room. "You don't have a clue as to the power I hold."
"I am sure I have some idea."
"No," she said as she stood up and walked to the exit. "You don't." She didn't look back at Magnus as she left.

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

"Please," Jace whispered, looking up at Alec with tears in her eyes. "Alec, don't." His hand shook against the gun he was holding against his head, tears streaming down Alec's face. He didn't know why he was doing this. He didn't want to. Anxiety built up in his chest as he tightened his grip, pressing the barrel harder to Jace's head. He cried out, closing his eyes tightly, sobs escaping his lips. Alec let out a scream as he shook himself, readjusting his grip on the gun, the cold metal pressing against the tender skin of his palm. His fingers shaking, his finger tightened around the trigger. The sharp sound of the gun shooting off echoed in the emptiness.

Alec's eyes opened. He found himself sitting upright, his fingers in his sweaty cold hair. His shirt was stuck to his chest, plastered there with cold sweat. His breaths were labored and Alec found his chest hurting just moments after he had awoke. His eyes slid over to where Aline was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly. Alec fell back down on his bed. His hand covered his eyes as silent tears slipped down his cheeks. The dreams that had been haunting him for the past two weeks used to be worse. Alec knew this. He told himself not to get so upset over such small, censored dreams. They used to be so much more gruesome. Isabelle or Jace or Max would be sitting in from of him, begging for mercy. Alec would pull the trigger, a bullet burrowing inside his siblings skull. They'd cry out, covering their faces and falling forward, exposing the back of their blown out heads. They'd look back up at him, the life drained from their eyes and blood running down their chins. They'd look up at Alec who was praying that the present was a dream, and they'd beg him to kill them. To shoot them again. And then he'd do it. He'd lift their heads up and jam the gun he was holding in their mouth, clicking off the safety and pulling the trigger for a second time. Then he'd do it again. And again. He'd wake up screaming from these dreams. No one had once come to check on him.
Alec reached over and grabbed his phone, the bright light half blinding him. His fingers hovered over the keyboard before he decided to just call Magnus instead of text him.
"Alexander?" Magnus said from the other line after three rings.
"Hi," Alec whispered, his throat locked.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm," Alec said, on the verge of tears. "Not really."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Alec could hear the shuffling of sheets in the background.
Alec shook his head before realizing that Magnus couldn't see him. "No."
"Okay."
"Can you just," Alec whispered, pausing to take a breath. "Talk to me?"
"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"
"I'm not sure."
"What about," Magnus thought aloud. "This crazy story Catarina told me yesterday."
"Alright."
Magnus dove into the story. It included a peppermint mocha, a man who seemed to be high on weed, a girl with a needle full of heroin, and a self-aware llama. Magnus had earned a chuckle out of Alec by the end of the story but not much more than that.
"Magnus?" Alec asked when his soulmate was finished.
"Yes darling."
"Would you sing to me?"
"Of course. Let's see..." Magnus thought for a minute before singing, "There's no sunshine, this impossible year. Only black days and sky gray, and clouds full of fear." Magnus kept on singing, soothing Alec back to sleep with his soft voice.
"Alexander?"
Alec could barely hear his boyfriend by this point. "Hmm?"
"Are you going back to sleep."
"Yes."
Magnus chuckled. "Alright. I'll pray the nightmares away."
"Thank you," Alec whispered.
"Not a problem. I love you, Alexander."
"I love you too."
Alec shut his eyes.

Magnus hung his phone up with a sigh, walking back out into the living room to be greeted by Ragnor's dark hair and green eyes staring at him. He looked at Magnus expectantly, sipping his coffee.
"Did you tell him?" He asked as he set his cup down. Magnus sighed as he sat down at the counter next to Ragnor.
"No," he sighed. "He called me because he had a nightmare."
"Well," Ragnor said with a clap of his hands. "Isn't that cute."
"Shut up," Magnus defended. "They're not like monsters chasing him around in the dark or something."
"Did he tell you this?"
Magnus paused. "No." He shrugged. "Not really. But he was really shaken up."
"Do you think..." Ragnor said suggestively.
"They're like mine?" Magnus asked. Ragnor nodded. "Relatively." He huffed. "Listen to me, using words like 'relatively' to describe my boyfriends unknown nightmares."
"Hey," Ragnor soothed, rubbing Magnus' thigh. "It's alright. You get proper when you're stressed."
"Which," Magnus chuckled. "happens to be always." He ran his fingers through his hair. "What am I going to do about this audition?"
"Well," Ragnor said. "As your manager, I would say go to the audition. I would say that Alec's parents would find out sooner or later and you both should just out yourselves before Camille can."
Magnus nodded. "Maybe you're right. I mean, it's the part of a lifetime! Filming doesn't start for a while, maybe I could get Alec to come with me or something."
"But," Ragnor continued. "As your friend," he rubbed Magnus' back. "I would tell you to consider Alec's feelings. I haven't met him, so I can't say much about his character, but you seem to really love him. It's just an audition. You have three weeks to decide. I could even get them to reschedule so you have more time to think about it."
"But Camille will have a say in that!" Magnus countered, stepping off of his stool. "She ruins everything! God, I hate her so much! I cannot believe that I ever loved her!"
"You can't blame yourself, Magnus-"
"No," Magnus said as he pointed a finger. "I have to. You're right. I can't let her get in the way of this."
Ragnor stood up, opened his mouth to say something then stopped, placing a hand on his mouth. "Now," he said against his fingers. "that is a confusing statement. Are you talking about my manager opinion or my friend opinion?"
"Ragnor."
"Yes?"
"Tell them I'm going to the audition."

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

The week that Aline was staying with the Lightwoods, Alec noticed that she was probably spending more time with his boyfriend that he was. He had to admit he was a little jealous, though he had no real reason to be. Magnus was his soulmate, plus Aline was gay. Even still, Alec felt something pull at his chest every time they'd laugh at something together or talk about something he had no interest in. It felt almost as if it were September again and he was watching Isabelle and Jace with their soulmates while Alec sat alone in the corner.

It was Friday now and Alec tapped his pencil against his desk as he watched the clock, waiting for the minute had to land on the 12 so he could leave for the weekend. Winter break wasn't for another two weeks after this one, but Alec was practically counting the seconds. There were ten minutes left in class, and Alec knew he should be finishing his homework assignment but he couldn't find it in him to concentrate.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. With a bit too much enthusiasm, Alec pulled his phone out and checked his messages. Alec almost choked as he saw the picture Magnus had sent. He had taken it in Alec's bathroom mirror. His dark jeans were riding low on his hips and his stomach was exposed. His deep blue shirt was being held up above his chest and next to his chin. A smirk was plastered in Magnus' face.

'Miss you,' was all that the caption said.

"Damn," The girl next to him said. "That's one hell of a body."

Alec quickly turned his phone off, sputtering as he tried to come up with an excuse as to why there was shirtless boy on his phone.

"Heart heart kiss kiss sparkle sparkle, huh?" The girl wagged her eyebrows.

"What?" Alec asked before realizing that the girl meant Magnus' contact name. "Oh."

"So," she said with a smirk. "Is that your soulmate?"
"Oh," Alec repeated. "Um, sure."

"You know Alec," she said quietly, looking up at the teacher quickly. "I had no idea you'd found your soulmate."

"Yeah..." He said. "Speaking of, um, how do you know my name?"

"Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've sat next to each other for three months and you don't know who I am?"

"I'm not that observant."

"Ha ha ha," she laughed sarcastically, turning her head. "It's Lily. Lily Cheng."

"I'm Alec," he said. She shot him a look. "But you already know that."

"Whatever," she said turned back to him. "Let's talk soulmates." She smiled. "So I'm guessing he doesn't go to our school because," she chuckled. "I've seen how Isabelle and Jace are with Simon and Clary."
"You know them?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes," she said obviously. "I'm a junior."

"Oh." Alec really wasn't that observant if he thought about it. "Sorry I honestly don't have much connection to this school."

Lily shrugged. "No problem," she said. "You're new here too, plus you're a senior so I won't blame you for not knowing people's names."

"Thanks." His phone buzzed in his hands.

Friday 2:57 PM
Magnus: too straight forward?

Friday 2:57 PM
Alec: You look great ;) (I was talking to this girl in my class sorry)

Friday 2:58 PM
Magnus: not exactly the reply you want to a sext, but I'll take it.

Lily giggled next to him.

"Hey!" Alec exclaimed as he brought his phone closer to his chest. "I don't even know you."

"Yeah well," she shrugged.

Then bell rang (thank god) and everyone gathered their things to leave. Alec did the same, his face regaining its normal color as he walked to the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. His phone buzzed again.

3:01 PM
Magnus: talk dirty to me ;)

Alec stopped in his tracks. Someone ran into him. His face heat up to temperatures Alec didn't even know were imaginable. Not knowing what to say, typed something in, then deleted it, then repeated the process six more times.

"You okay?" Jace asked as he approached, Isabelle by his side.

"Uh," Alec said, his arm dropping to his side. "Yeah. Where are Clary and Simon?"

Isabelle motioned behind her. "They're off getting ready for Simon's band thing tonight."
"Band thing?"

Isabelle gave Alec a blank stare. "Please tell me you're joking." Alec shook his head. "Oh my god! I texted you like ten times about it!" She grabbed Alec's phone from his hand, frustration clear across her face. Her face went blank when she saw what was on the screen. Alec reached for his phone, but she kept dodging his arm. A smile broke across her face. "Oh my god!" She laughed, reading farther into their messages. Alec's face heat up even more. "This is gold."

"What's gold?" Clary asked, coming up between Isabelle and Jace, resting a hand on her soulmates waist.

"Look at this," Isabelle replied as she leaned over to show Clary Alec's phone. Jace bent down to read them as well.

"Guys," Alec groaned, annoyed and a bit embarrassed.

Clary giggled, turning Alec's phone off and handing it back to him. "You might want to reply to that."

"Yeah," Jace said with a chuckled. "I know that when Clary doesn't reply to my sexts-"

"To munch information, Jace," Alec sighed as he put his phone away.
"I just read yours!"

"Yeah well that was your choice." He looked at Clary. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Simon with his...thing?"

Clary shrugged. "He said he didn't need help." She turned to Isabelle. "Is he okay? He's been acting weird all day."

Isabelle groaned as she stamped her feet. "Yeah yeah, it's just that last night-" She eyes Alec out of the corner of her eye. "I'll tell you later." Clary giggled at that.

Alec felt his phone buzz repeatedly in his pocket, meaning someone was calling him. "Hello?" He answered when he picked up the phone.

"Alexander," Magnus said, his voice sounding a bit breathless. "I know I was quite literally just at your house, but something sudden has come up and I won't be able to see you for a few more hours, but I will be at Seth's show tonight so if I don't see you before then..."

"Alright that's fine. What happened, though?" Alec asked, a bit deflated knowing that he wouldn't be able to make out with his boyfriend when he got home.

"Oh nothing much." Alec heard Aline laugh sharply in the background. She didn't sound humorous. "Alright, I was going through your lovely cousins wardrobe and decided that she needed to go shopping."

"I don't see why," Aline grumbled.

"Nothing too extreme," Alec scolded as he stifled a laugh. "alright babe?"

"If you insist," Magnus replied. "I'll see you later, darling."

"Alright," Alec responded, a smile creeping across his face.

"Also," Magnus added, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I would rather appreciate a reply to that text." Alec stuttered at this before Magnus chuckled and said goodbye once again and ended the call.

"You alright there?" Clary asked with a laugh as she laced her arm through Alec's. They walked to the exit and made their way to Alec's car, Jace and Isabelle not far behind.

"Yeah," Alec lied as he slid behind the steering wheel and unlocked the doors of his car. Clary got into the passengers seat.

"Really?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. Alec pursed his lips and nodded. "So are you going to answer Magnus' last text?"

"He called me. I don't need to answer it now." Or Alec didn't exactly want to answer it.

"No," Clary said with a mischievous grin. "I think you don't want to answer it."

'Damn,' Alec thought. 'This girl knows me.' "It's fine," he assured as he turned his key in the ignition. The car started. "I'll see him tonight anyway."

"Or maybe," Clary said as she looked out the windshield. "You don't know how to answer."

"Oh come on," Alec said obviously. "I'm actually older than you. And it's not like I haven't had-"

"What haven't you had?" Isabelle asked excitedly as she got in the backseat.

"Nothing," Clary and Alec answered simultaneously.

"Haven't had to dirty talk your boyfriend yet?" Isabelle interjected, a smug grin on her face.

"What?" Alec asked, exasperated.
"It's so obvious you guys haven't done anything yet!" answered his sister as she flopped back in her seat.

"And how do you come to that conclusion?"

Isabelle cackled. "He sent you a picture of him shirtless and you said he looked nice then apologized because you were talking to some chick in your history class." She blew a hair out of her face. "Frankly, I'm not sure how he's lasted this long."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It's Magnus Bane." She leaned forward on her knees. "He had a knew boy toy every week until he met you."

"Look who's talking," Alec muttered as he turned around.

"Oh, well Simon and I had sex-"

"Oh my god I don't care!" Alec shouted as he covered his ears.

"Where's Jace?" Clary asked. Isabelle gestured to the window.
"Talking to some guy in Alec's class."

"Oh yeah," Clary sighed. "I forgot he's friends with Jordan."

"Tell him to get his ass in here," Alec said as he fiddled with the heating knobs. "I want to get home."

"Eager to dirty talk Mr. Bane?" Isabelle asked suggestively. Alec rolled his eyes.

"Number one, don't ever call him that. Ever. Number two, he's out getting Aline new clothes or something so we probably won't see him until the show tonight."

"Good," the raven-haired girl responded. "That girl needed new clothes."

"Really?" Clary said. "I liked Aline's outfits."

"I didn't see anything wrong with them either," agreed Alec.

"Nothing matched," Isabelle informed. "None of her clothes were in the same color pallet."

"Do you guys want to have a movie night tonight?" Jace asked as soon as he opened the door.

"Oh yeah!" Clary exclaimed. "We were wondering if you guys wanted to do that!"

"I actually just said that," Jace said.

"Yeah and I repeated it," Clary said with a nod of her head.

"Why did you do that when I had just asked the question then?"

"Why shouldn't I have?" Clary asked, her expression stark.

"Because I had just said it." Jace crossed his arms.

"So what?" Alec gave Isabelle a wary expression. Clary continued, "Couples have to agree on things. I was showing that we talked about having a movie night together."

"I was just about to say that we had," Jace responded, a snappy tone to his voice.

"Ah, young love," Isbabelle said dreamily. She looked at Alec. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Alec blinked at her a few times before turning around and pulling out of his parking space. "Straight people."

"Don't give me that," Clary scolded. "I'm sure you and Magnus fight about things as well."

"Yeah," Alec said as he drove onto the road. "About what movie we're going to watch or what we're having for dinner, not about repeating each other or some stupid sh*t like that."

"She does this all the time!" Jace examined as he gestured to his girlfriend.

"I do not!" Clary defended, raising her voice. Jace made an exasperated expression.

"You did it in math, I was telling a story at lunch then you repeated pretty much every word I said, yesterday at..." He named off multiple times where Clary had upstaged him and Clary made an argument for each one. Alec tried tuning it out until they got home, but somehow got sucked into their bickering.

"Alec," Jace said sternly. "Tell Clary to stop interrupting me-"

"No," the red-head interrupted. "Tell Jace to stop blaming me for everything."

"You literally just interrupted me as I was telling you not to interrupt me!" Jace shouted, throwing up his arms.

"Don't yell at me!"

"Stop yelling at me then!"

Alec groaned. "By the Angel, both of you shut the hell up!" He jerked the steering wheel to the left and stopped the car at the end side of the road. He shifted in his seat so he could look at his brother and Clary. He noticed Isabelle on her phone, probably snap chatting Simon the whole ordeal. Alec looked between his brother and his sister pretty-much-sister-in-law. "What are you two even fighting about anymore?"
They both started rapidly spewing words at him, then turned to each other and continued to yell and point fingers. Alec watched Isabelle cover her laugh with her hand as Clary slapped Jace's hand away. Jace quieted and then huffed, getting out of the car and then slamming the door and walked over to the other side of the car. Clary did the same, and they started yelling at each other again with wild arm gestures and angry expressions. Alec looked at Isabelle again. "I still don't know what they're fighting about."

"They have a weird relationship," Isabelle mused. "Nothing in common. It's strange, really."

"Says you," Alec countered with a smirk.

"Simon and I actually have more in common than I once thought."

Alec thought back to when Isabelle broke down in tears when she met Simon, and they weren't happy tears. Had he really been so absorbed in Magnus that he hadn't realized that Isabelle had changed so much? He had known that Isabelle and Simon had a healthy relationship after his sister realized that her soulmate wasn't actually what she thought he was, but six months ago Isabelle wouldn't have admitted to have anything in common with anyone minus having used the same hair products or cosmetics or having screwed the same guy.

"So things are good with you guys?" He asked simply. Isabelle nodded with a smile.

"I honestly couldn't imagine being with anyone else at this point." Alec reflected his sisters smile.

"Me either."

Clary shouted an obscenity at Jace, and Alec decided he should do something about their lovers spat. He sluggishly got out of the car and walked over to them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. They stilled but still shouted at one another.

"Both of you quiet down!" They silenced. "God, you two are impossible."

"She's the impossible one," Jace said with a head nod to Clary, who gaped at her soulmate, her eyebrows arched at and unreasonable angle.

"You're both absolutely insane and unappreciative."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The two asked before glaring at one another.

"Yes, everyone fights," Alec started. "But this is just stupid. Bickering is normal, but when something so small turns into something so huge..." He shook his head. "It's not right."

"What do you mean we're unappreciative?" Clary spat.

Alec let out a humorless laugh. "You guys are so lucky! You both have parents who are supportive of your relationship, you don't have to hide everything you do, you're both rather infamous- it's just, you guys are lucky. That's all."

"For the record," Clary snapped with a glare towards Jace. Her tone became soft. "My mom is supportive of your relationship with Magnus."

"That's why you're lucky," Alec responding, removing his hands. "You're mom would love you if your soulmate was a f*cking porcupine! That makes no difference. You're not the way I am. My parents would disown me if they found out."

"No they wouldn't Alec-" Jace tried to say, but Alec cut him off.

"Don't give me that sh*t!" His voice locked as he tried to breath. "I've heard him talk to you, I've heard him talk to mom! 'Just be lucky we don't have fa*g kids.' 'Women are hard, but at least you're not a fa*ggot.' 'Things could be worse. Our kids could all be fa*gs and dykes.' 'I'm glad we moved away from that fa*ggot filled city. It was disgusting, the way they just acted like it was normal.'"

Jace's expression went blank. "Where did you-"

"I have ears, Jace." Alec shook his head. "Whatever, just stop sh*tting yourselves over stupid things." He spun on his heel and went back to his car.

Jace and Clary made up (and made out) after Alec's intervention. The four drove home in silence. Alec slammed the door to his car and stormed into the building, not holding the elevator for his siblings. He stomped into the kitchen when he got inside, the door swinging shut behind him. He leaned against the small round table that was placed next to the left wall, staring into space and wondering why he had blown up the way he did. The front door opened, but no one bothered Alec in the kitchen for a long time. After a while, Clary poked her head in.

"Hi," was all she said as she slid through the door. He nodded his head at her before looking back at the wall. "Hey I'm sorry we upset you earlier." She chuckled. "You were right. We were fighting about nothing." Alec felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Is that from Magnus?" Alec shrugged. "Are you still mad at me?" Another shrug.

"No."

"Then stop acting like it." She leaned on the table next to him. "So, did you ever answer that text to Magnus?"

Alec chuckled humorlessly with a shake of his head. "No."

"Do yo want me to help you?"

Alec whipped his head to look at Clary. "What?"

"I can help you with your sexy talk."

"How would you- oh," he said. "Right. Your soulmate is Jace."

Clary huffed, then smiled. "So do you want help?" Blowing his cheeks out, Alec nodded reluctantly. "Okay," she said, standing up straight and facing Alec. "So you guys have had sex, right?"

"Um that's a little forward," Alec said with a skeptical look on his face.

"I'm actually teaching you how to dirty talk. Nothing is too forward." She poked his side, making him squirm. "So? Sex?"

"Oh my god stop," he said as he batted at her hands. A giggle escaped his lips as she wiggled her fingers against his ticklish stomach. "Oh my- yes! Yes we've had sex."

"Really?" Clary let her hands drop to her sides.

"Yeah why would I lie about that?" She shook her head.

"No reason. Alright, so what...what exactly did you guys do?"

"Holy sh*t," Alec said as he looked around at nothing in particular. "Never mind. This is too weird."

Clary waved her hands in front of he saying, "Alright alright that was too personal." She puffed her cheeks. "So when you dirty talk, you just kind of want to, I don't know, just tell him what you want to do to him."

"Well right now," Alec mused. "I kind of want to beat him with a sock for putting me in this situation."

Clary giggled and shoved his arm. "Shut up, you know what I mean."
Alec held his hands out. "So that's it? Just tell him what I want to do to him?"

She shrugged. "Well I mean," she held onto his arm and turned him toward the counter and away from the door. "You have to give it a sexy feel." She tapped his arm. "Let's practice."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Practice? With you? No way."

"Come on, just pretend I'm Magnus."

"No, no way. That's too weird."

"Hey," Clary said as she gave him a look. "You want to get better at this or what?"

Alec stood for a moment, Clary looking at him expectantly as he thought about dirty talking his brothers f*cking soulmate. Well, he wouldn't be dirty talking her, per-say, more like she was just there to help him. She was just a place holder until Magnus got there. Still thinking it was weird, Alec said, "Yeah, fine. Just turn around so this is less weird and...straight."

She laughed and turned her back toward him so they were only about five inches apart. He shook out his hands and rolled his neck before looking at Clary's bright red hair. He thought about Magnus and their first time last week and the quick things they've done since then. "I," Alec started, his voice hoarse. "I want to hold you close to me. I want to kiss your neck and shoulder and collar bone, and I want to leave marks on your body in places where everyone can see, but some just for me."

"Try giving your voice a sexier tone," Clary said as she motioned with her hands. "And try not to say 'I want' so much. Say more...say more things like 'I'm going to' or 'I would.' That really gets people going."

"Um, okay." Alec tried again. "I would slide those tight jeans off you and kiss the inside of your thighs, leaving bruises there that only I can see. Then I'd make my way up to your chest, and where I would suck on your collar bones and taste the saltiness of your sweat. I'm going to kiss down your chest and lick-"

"What the mother f*ck is going on in here?" A voice asked from the door way. Alec spun around to see Jace and Isabelle standing in the doorway of the kitchen, astounded looks on their faces.

"Oh," Alec said, pointing between him and Clary. "No. Oh god no." Clary chuckled. "Why are you laughing?" Alec said to her.

"I was teaching him how to dirty talk," she informed as she walked over to her soulmate. "Purely platonic. Plus Alec is gay."

"Well I hope he is," Jace said as he wrapped his arms around Clary. He looked up at Alec. "That was too sweet. You gotta be rough, especially with someone like Magnus."

Alec scoffed. "You don't even know him."

"He's right," Isabelle put it. "Magnus is actually oddly sweet."

Jace looked down at Clary. "It's the sweet ones you gotta look out for." She nudged him with her shoulder, an embarrassed smile playing across her lips.

Looking at Alec, the red-head said, "Oh, are you ready to go?"

Isabelle laughed. "He is not leaving the house in that!"

Alec looked down at his clothes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"We're going to a trashy, ill lit restaurant with a trashy, ill lit bar in the back. A sweater and classic cut jeans won't do."

"Why are we going to a trashy restaurant, anyway?"

"Simon's band is playing there in 45 minutes," Clary told him. Alec looked at his siblings, who were quite dressed up if they were going to a 'trashy, ill lit restaurant.' Isabelle was wearing leather shorts and a deep red corset top, and Jace was wearing ripped, designer jeans, a white t-shirt along with a leather jacket with silver threading. Alec then noticed Clary's outfit which consisted of cropped black leggings and an oversized blue-gray shirt that fell to her mid-thighs and had sleeves that cut off at her elbows. Had everyone changed while he was sat in here moping?

Clary giggled. "Come on. We'll find you something to wear." She moved forward and grabbed his hand, leading his back into his room. Four years ago, this would've been a dream come true. A pretty girl leading him back to his bedroom. Boy was he glad that he wasn't straight.

Alec sat down on the bed while Clary went over to his closet, looking at each piece of clothing carefully before passing over it.

"I can't believe that just happened," Alec said as he buried his head in his hands.

"Don't worry about it," Clary said absently. "I mean, it's not like I was cheating on Jace. And with you? That's cute."

"Hey!" Alec defended. "What's wrong with me?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"What the hell?" Alec asked with a chuckle. "You do know I'm gay, right?"

"Oh my god," Clary said as she turned around. She threw something at him. "Just try this on, okay?"

What she threw at him turned out to be a black tank top with small, white print on it that Alec didn't care to read. Alec was about to argue that it was almost winter and that he shouldn't be wearing a tank top, but then he realized that the fight would be fruitless and that it would be easier to just put the shirt on. As soon as he finished, Clary threw a pair of black jeans at him which, when he had on, she rolled up to just above his ankles.

"Thanks mom," Alec said when she stood up and headed back to his closet.

"Oh my god don't say that," Clary laughed out as she pulled something off a hanger. "Normally I wouldn't mind, but considering you were dirty talking me five minutes ago doesn't really help." She then tossed a flannel at his chest. "Tie that around your waist. Or you can wear it. And put these on-" A pair of loafers knocked against Alec's upper arms as he tried to slide the flannel around his waist. He rolled his eyes as he tied the flannel and picked up the shoes to put them on. When he was finished, he stood up and showed Clary. She smiled. "There. You look perfect."

"If this is perfect," Alec said as he looked at the closed door. "Aren't Isabelle and Jace just a little over dressed?"

Clary smiled maniacally. "Yep."

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

The restaurant was indeed trashy and ill lit. Considering the fact that Alec's three months in New York consisted of school, his apartment, Magnus' apartment, fast food diners, coffee houses, and one gay bar, Alec wasn't exactly sure what to expect when Isabelle instructed him to turn the corner then park wherever he found a spot. Realizing that this was the first time he had really gone out since he met Magnus, his insides started the flutter and anxiety bubbles in his stomach. It was dark by the time they had parked and began walking to the restaurant which was about a block away. It was chilly out, considering it was almost December already. Alec untied his flannel from his waist and slid into it, noticing how everyone else had some type of jacket. Jace obvious had his leather one, Clary was wearing a dark wash denim jacket that fell just below her shirt did, and Isabelle was wearing a tight, black leather jacket to match her jeans.

The restaurant was a small place. It had neon lined signs and posters and trinkets from the 90s all over the place. There was a stage in the front, which was the place with the most lighting in the diner, with about 10 tables scattered about, then a bar in the back. It was extremely tumblr, to say the least. The four of them took a seat at the biggest table in the room which sat 6 that was placed in the center of the room.

"What time does he go on?" Jace asked Clary.

"Um, 6:30 I think?" she answered, looking at her phone. "Yeah, 6:30."

"It's already 6:15," Alec stated. "Magnus is coming, right?"

Clary shrugged. "I invited him."

Alec, his eyebrows knit together, pulled out his phone and texted his soulmate, asking where he was.

Friday, 6:16
Magnus: almost there alexander ;*

Alec smiled at the text and hoped Magnus would be there soon. Which he was. Three minutes later he and Aline walked in, both of their outfits suiting the atmosphere perfectly. Alec stood up and leaned against the table, waiting for his boyfriend to make his way over to him.

"Wow," Magnus said, slipping an arm around Alec's waist. "You look nice."

"Yeah," Alec said, playing with the collar of Magnus' navy shirt. "So do you."

"Well," Magnus chuckled. "That is not much of a surprise. But then again," he nuzzled his nose into Alec's cheek. "you always look great as we'll."

Alec hummed, and Magnus lifted his head to kissed Alec tenderly on the mouth. Alec slid his arms over Magnus' neck and deepened the kiss, not caring that the room was half filled with people they didn't know. Well, he hoped that he didn't know them.

"Ahem," Jace coughed from two feet away. Alec pulled back to glare at his brother before taking Magnus' hand and sitting down at the table.

"So, when is Stuart's band going on?" Magnus asked as he slung an arm around Alec's shoulder.

Isabelle chuckled. "It's Simon, and he should be going on in ten minutes." Magnus smirked.

"Ten minutes, you say?" He looked at Alec greedily before kissing his lips softly, causing the rest of the table to groan.

"You guys," Aline started. "Are not going to make out for ten minutes."

"Fine," Magnus said with a playful smiled as he pulled away. He turned back to the group. "So tell me about your day."

Jace opened his mouth, a mischievous grin on his face, but Alec cut him off, knowing he was going to talk about Clary assisting him with a certain matter. "Jace and Clary had the stupidest fight."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?" Clary rolled her eyes.

"Jace got all upset because I repeated what he said." She looked at him pointedly. "It wasn't even a big deal."

"Oh my god," Isabelle moaned, putting her hand to her face. "If you guys start fighting again I'm going to literally kill both of you."

"That," Alec said. "Was the story of my life for an entire month."

Aline whipped her head around to look at them. "You had to deal with that for a whole month?!" He nodded, eyebrows raised. "Damn," she looked back at her cousins. "You guys need to gain some chill."

"It wasn't always like that," Jace defended.

Aline started saying something but Alec corrected her. "No he's right. It wasn't always like THAT. Sometimes," Alec added, adjusting himself so he was facing Magnus. "sometimes it was like this," he rested his head on Magnus shoulder and draped his arms around his boyfriends neck. "or like this," he kissed the skin between his shoulder and collar bone. "or this," Alec nuzzled his nose into the crook of Magnus' neck, tickling the sensitive spot and making Magnus squirm. Alec pulled back, keeping his arm around Magnus' neck.

"You cannot deny that!" Isabelle told her brother and sister in-law. "Even I admit that that's how we were a lot of the time." She looked over at Alec and Magnus. "But I mean, that's not really fair. We didn't know Magnus when you had first found each other, and I bet you two were all touchy-feely as well."

Magnus looked at Alec. "She's right, we were."

"You still are," Aline mumbled.

"Oh shush," Clary giggled. "I think it's cute."

Magnus huffed. "Cute. Oh Fray."

"'Oh Fray' what?" Clary asked, eyebrows raised.

"Nothing."
"No!" She exclaimed, A smile on her face. "You have to tell me."

"I'm serious, it's nothing."

She give him a skeptical look. "Alright..." She turned to Aline. "So you guys got clothes?"

Aline, blushing, looked down at her outfit. "Oh, yeah." She glared at Magnus. "He insisted that it was part of the 'Magnus Experience.'"

Isabelle and Clary both nodded vigorously. "Oh," Isabelle said. "It is. He's an amazing shopper. Plus he insists on buying everything."

Alec hits Magnus playfully. "You haven't taken me shopping." Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to take you shopping?" The corner of Alec's lip turned up.

"You have a point there."

Magnus chuckled and Alec noticed the look of mischief in his eyes. "That is what I thought. Besides, darling," he winked. "You get to enjoy a different part of the Magnus Experience."

Jace and Aline both groaned at his remark while Alec blushed furiously and Clary and Isabelle cackled.

"I have to go the the bathroom," Alec muttered, not actually having to go to the bathroom.

"I'll go with you," Clary said as he started standing up.

"You do," Jace started, pointing between Clary and Alec. "you do realize that you're not going to the same bathroom, right?" The red-head smacket her boyfriend over the head lightly before walking away. Alec followed, smirking smugly at his brother who shot him the bird. Clary grabbed Alec's arm once he caught up to her and pulled him into the deserted girls bathroom.

"Wha-"

"Shhhhh," Clary hissed as she poked her head out the door.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked exhaustedly.

"Giving Magnus time with your family."

"That's not a good idea," he groaned, grabbing the side of the door and trying to pull it open. It turns out Clary is surprisingly strong.

"Yes it is." Alec raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on, Alec. You knew it was going to happen sometime."

"But Isabelle already loves him!" Alec pointed out.

"She loved me too!" Clary gave Alec a look. "We've all had the talk. You and Isabelle gave it to me, Simon gave it to Jace, you and Jace gave it to Simon, now Isabelle, Jace, and Aline get to give it to Magnus. It's a natural cycle. I bet you're going to get it from Catarina and Ragnor at some point, too."

Alec groaned. "We're soulmates. It's not like we can break up or something."

"You guys can still hurt each other." Alec's heart stopped. He didn't think about that. He didn't realize all of the horrible things that could go wrong during a relationship like this. His heart started pounding in his chest, anxiety curling up in the pit of his stomach. He should've remembered his parents. He should've remembered the little he knew about Magnus' parents. He should've...he should've...

"Hey," Clary cooed, rubbing a hand on his arm. "It's not a big deal. They're just making sure he's not going to hurt you, that's all. They love you and don't want you getting hurt."

Alec nodded as he leaned back against the door, his eyes sliding shut. Isabelle's desperate eyes stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. Bam. Blood splattered across Alec's vision as he opened his eyes, his breath shattering. He started panting, his fingers running rapidly through his hair. He was dangerous. He had dangerous thoughts. He's seen dangerous things. He'd...he'd...

"Alec?" He heard Clary's muffled voice say as he opened the bathroom door and staggered out into the dark restaurant. He was dangerous to people he loved. He was dangerous. Alec's vision was was sluggish, almost as if he were drunk or high on LSD. Magnus' laugh echoed sharply in his ears as he came closer the the table, his head spinning.

"Alexander?" He heard a light voice say. A hand grabbed his arm. "Alexander?" He felt himself being pulled back at rapid speeds, then lurching forward again, then backwards. "Alexander, are you alright?" Magnus' face was in front of Alec now, his eyes searching Alec's. Then everything was normal. It was almost as if Alec was submerged underwater and his head had just risen above the surface. His breathing picked up again, his head racing in his chest. A sob racked his body as he collapsed into Magnus, who held him tightly against his chest. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay to cry." Alec nodded, tears streaming down his face. "I'm here now, I'm here." He didn't say Alec was fine. He didn't say everything was going to be okay. Magnus didn't know these things, so he didn't say them.

Alec breathed in his soulmates scent, the familiarity of it soothing him a bit. The 90s alternative rock music that was blaring from the crappy speakers crackled loudly in his ears as his breathing slowed and his heart rate decreased. Magnus ran his fingers through his boyfriends hair as Alec calmed down, not needing to ask Alec what he was upset about.

"Are you alright?" Magnus asked after a few minutes of silence. Alec nodded against his chest, wrapping his arms around Magnus' waist and closing his eyes. "I believe that Sid's band is about to go on. Would you like to go sit back down?" Alec shook his head 'no.' "Do you want to talk about it?" Alec shook his head again. Magnus' tightened his grip around Alec, pressing him closer. They didn't talk, but they stayed like that, for a long time.

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Isabelle came by a few minutes later to bug Alec about not listening to Simon's band, and thankfully by that time he had calmed down a bit. Magnus hesitated before letting him go, but Alec gave him a reassuring look as they walked back to the table hand in hand. Magnus was still questioning why Alec had broken down because he went to the restroom. Maybe it was those nightmares the boy had been having.
Magnus did hate to pry, but Alec had been waking up in fits ever since the night before their first time. He knew he shouldn't be impatient with his soulmate - Magnus didn't know what he would do if his nightmares woke him up and Alec made him tell what they were about - but Magnus was beginning to become extremely curious and a bit upset that Alec didn't trust him enough to tell him what was wrong. He tried not to take it personally. Magnus knew that Alec probably had not even told Jace, the person he was closest to, about his nightmares. Hell, Alec trusted Aline as much as he trusted Jace and he probably hadn't told her. But Magnus couldn't help but feel envious of his new family and their closeness to Alec. He guessed if Alec spent as much time with Magnus and his friends he might feel the same was Magnus was feeling.
Except they didn't hang out with Catarina and Ragnor. Alec was too afraid someone would see and take pictures and post it online for the whole world to see. He didn't want to get upset with Alec, and he understood what it was like being outed, but they had been dating for over a month and a half. Most celebrities came out the first two weeks after they found their soulmates. He understood why Alec didn't want to tell his parents. Hell, he was horrified of his father when he started publicly dating a boy, but nothing happened. Plus Robert and Maryse actually loved Alec, which was something Magnus' father was lacking. He was sure they wouldn't mind, especially since the blond had said that he had two fathers. To be honest, Magnus wasn't quite sure how anyone these days hated people like Alec. Sure, being a man being bound to another man from birth used to be rare in the olden days, but now people of the same sex were chosen as soulmates all the time. Magnus didn't understand why Alec's parents had such a hatred for it. It was natural.

"Is he alright?" Aline whispered in Magnus' ear a few minutes after he had sat down. He pulled back, looking at her with amusem*nt. It wasn't what Aline said that surprised him, but the language in which she spoke. Japanese was Magnus' third language, right about English and Spanish.

"I think he is," Magnus replied, almost forgetting how to form the words. He eyed his soulmate of of the corner of his eye. "He didn't want to talk about it."

Aline sunk back in her chair as she let out a huff of air. "He doesn't want to talk about anything lately." She turned her head back to Magnus. "Has he talked to you about those nightmares he's been having?"

Magnus, now interested, said, "Has he talked to you?"

She shook her head. "He keeps saying he's fine then gets really quiet. I'd assume he was asleep, but I know that he can't sleep on his back." Magnus nodded in agreement. "I'm really worried."

So he hadn't told Aline about his dreams either. "I can't blame him for not wanting to talk about them. Nightmares are a hard thing to deal with."

Aline puffed her cheeks. Her eyebrows knit together signified her thinking (over the sound of Simon's mediocre band). "I wonder if they're about his brother."

"Jace?"

She shook her head. "No, Max. He died of cancer when Alec and I were 14." Her eyes became hollow as she stated at the flashing lights coming from the stage. "He was only six years old."

Alec watched Simon's band quietly from his table as some of the others got up and danced. Magnus asked Alec if he was up to it, but Alec just shook his head and watched his soulmate lead his cousin to the dance floor along with Jace and Clary. Isabelle was back at the bar getting drunk while practically screaming the lyrics to Simon's songs. Alec smiled a sad smile at her that he knew she wouldn't see. He really hadn't been paying attention to his siblings in the past few weeks. Isabelle was really close to Simon, he knew that, but he didn't realize exactly how close. Now here he was, watching her drunkenly sing along to his songs that he was performing live at a gig Alec didn't even know existed four hours ago, Aline was practically in love with some girl halfway across the state, and Alec was so absorbed in his own relationship he barely knew any of these things. Something was so obviously going on with his parents that he didn't know anything about and now they had gone all the way across the country on a "business trip." Who even knew if they were actually in Seattle? Who knew where they were most of the time? Alec sure as hell didn't.

His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, which cause him to flinch before spinning around to see who had been touching him. The short man pulled back, his mouth in an "o." Alec knew he looked familiar but could hardly place where he knew the raven-haired man.

"I thought it was you," the man said, a smile lacing his lips. As soon as he spoke hazy memories surfaces in Alec's brain. They were full of flashing lights and aches and shots and phone calls.

"Oh, hey," Alec said. "It's you. Levi right?" The last time Alec has seen him was the night he had seen the man who wore Magnus' face in the coffee shop. Magnus had ignored Alec when he called.

"That's right. And you're Alec if I'm correct."

"You are." The corner of Alec's mouth lifted just a touch. "So what are you doing here?"

"I actually bartend here," Levi said, pointing to the back of the restaurant. "But my shift just ended, thank god. Between this sh*t band and that underaged bitch with a bad fake ID, I can't wait to get out of here."

Alec smiled, pointing a finger to where Levi just was. "Underaged girl is my sister, and the band is her soulmates."

Levi put a hand on his hip. "She is so pretty, do people say that enough?" Alec let out a loose laugh. "But I can't say much about the band. What kind of a name is 'Rock Solid Panda' anyway?"

"People probably said that about Panic! at the Disco too." Levi gave his a snarky look before cracking a smile. "But his band does suck."

"Well," Levi said. "This has been rather awkward and I'd like to get home to my boyfriend. See you around?"

Alec nodded. "Sure."

"Before I go," Levi added. "Did everything work out with you and your soulmate?"
"Oh," Alec answered, remember the conversation he had with this near-stranger a few weeks ago. "yeah, uh, we're cool. He's right over there actually." Alec pointed to where Magnus was dancing with Aline.

"Who's that slu*t he's dancing with?"

"My gay cousin."

"I cannot catch a break," Levi mumbled. Alec cackled. "Well, I've made matters worse so I think I'll just," he pointed to the door. "leave. It was nice seeing you."

"You too."

"Who might that have been?" Magnus' voice asked after Alec had watched Levi exit the building.

"Oh, uh," Alec stuttered. "Just a guy I met a few weeks ago."

Magnus' mouth curled into a sly smirk. "Not thinking about cheating on me, are you, darling?"

"What?" Alec asked frantically, his cheeks tinting pink. "No, I don't - what?"

Magnus chuckled at his frazzled soulmate before sliding into Alec's lap, his arms wrapped around the others neck. "You're adorable when you blush, have I told you that recently?"

"I hope I haven't been blushing that much, so let's go with no."

Magnus leaned down, his lips hot against Alec's ear as he whispered, "Maybe we should change that." Feeling his face heat up, Alec buried his head in Magnus' shoulder, which was shaking with laughter. "I'm only half-kidding."

"Maybe we could skip movie night," Alec suggested, not looking his soulmate in the eye.

"Was a movie night planned?" Magnus inquired, his fingers massaging the knots in Alec's shoulder muscles.

"Yeah, Clary and Jace planned it," replied Alec, his arms slithering around the older's waist.

"Right, Aline is coming to live with me on Monday," Magnus mused. "I can't steal you away from her on one of her lasts nights with you."

"No, no, no, it's fine. I'll be over at your place all the time anyway."

"Darling," Magnus said as he raised his hand to brush away a stray stand of Alec's hair. "I can suck you off anytime. You need to spend time with your cousin."

"Alright," Alec grumbled, feeling defeated. "or we could go in the bathroom and make out."

Magnus smiled a devious grin. "That looks like the only solution to this horrible predicament."

Jace made a startled sound as he opened the bathroom door only to see his brother being pressed against the countertop with his face being sucked off by Magnus Bane. "Could you guys get a room?"

"Well we did have one," Magnus said, pulling away from Alec just slightly. "but then you came in."

"This is not a room."

"It's a bathroom," Magnus replied. "which if I'm not mistaken has the word 'room' in it."

"By the angel- never mind." Jace went over the the mirror as Alec entangled himself from Magnus. He looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair and admiring his own features.

"Narcissist much?" Alec chuckled from beside him.

"I do have an perfectly symmetrical face."

"No you don't," Alec scoffed.

"Now now, you both have attractive faces," Magnus soothed, setting a hand on Alec's hips. "Though I prefer yours over anyone's," Jace barely heard the southeast Asian whisper. He looked back up at Jace, who rolled his eyes. "but there's no need to fight about it."

Jace rolled his eyes a second time, brushing his hair in place then turning toward his brother. "Alright, I'm going to go back out there. Please don't go back to canoodling once I leave."

"Cannot guarantee that," Magnus said seductively against Alec's ear.

"Don't pretend you didn't make out with Clary every chance you got, Jace," Alec said, having witnessed some of these instances.

"You do have that," Jace said. "but you two," he pointed between Alec and Magnus. "Will be just like Clary and I are now in a few weeks."

"Pft," Magnus huffed. "I highly doubt that. First of all, Alec and I don't fight over repeating each other."

"That's right," added Alec. "We don't fight over repeating each other."

"See?" Magnus asked, a smile lacing his lips. "Second of all, we are not two heterosexual people in a heterosexual relationship." Alec chuckled.

"No," Jace said, leaning up against the doorway. "but think about it. I've been with Clary three months. You met two met what, three weeks after we moved here, Alec?"

"No it was four, four four four."

"Alright, a month. I bet that in one month, you two will be out of your honeymoon phase before the new year."

"Oh yeah?" Alec tried. "How much?"

"50 bucks."

"You're on."

"Good, now you guys can't have a serious fight over anything petty until January 1st, deal?" He held his hand out to Alec.

Alec smiled, reaching out to grab it. "Deal."

"This will be so incredibly easy," Magnus sighed, pulling Alec closer to him by the hip.

"That's what you think," Jace scoffed. "I never thought I could get into a fight with Clary. But Alec witnessed us fighting today." He pointed at Magnus. "Which I totally won by the way."

"You did not," Alec said with a shake of his head. "I broke it up by making you guys pity me."

"That is also very true, you sad bastard."
"Don't call my boyfriend a bastard, you bastard." Magnus said defensively, rubbing a hand on Alec's chest.

"Just because you're dating him doesn't mean I'm going to treat my brother any differently."

Alec looked at Magnus. "He's right."

"Alright, I will take a cheque for that bet when I win," was Jace's last remark before he walked back out into the restaurant. No way they could last a month without having a fight. Jace needed a new pair of cargo boots, anyway.

After Simon's set, he came and sat down with Isabelle and the group. Clary was just in the middle of telling a story which had everyone dying with laughter when she said, "So then I jump on Jordan's motorcycle and scream, 'Remember the Alamo!'"

"She literally screaming 'Remember the Alamo,'" Jace reassured. Clary shot him a look.

"Then Jace ran out from behind the school as I was driving off while carrying this huge American flag-"

"It was huge," Jace said with a nod of his head.

"Excuse me," Clary said, an exasperated expression on her face.

"Oh, sorry."

"So anyway," Clary continued. "Jace ran at this, well," she glared at her soulmate. "it was once described as lightning quick but now I think about it, he was just moderately fast." She crossed her arms. "And thinking about a few other things, sometimes moderately fast in SOME situations is lightning quick."

Aline screamed with laughter, recognizing he innuendo immediately. Jace, whom Alec thought was unable to blush, turned bright red. "That is really immature."

"Wait a minute," Magnus said, speaking before Clary had the chance. "When Clary repeats you, you can yell at her all you want, but when she does the exact same thing it's immature?"

"That's not what happened," Jace retorted.

"Yes it is," Alec confirmed as he sipped his Pepsi.

"You know," Isabelle said, crossing her arms and leaning back against Simon. "Magnus has a point."

"Are we sure that Magnus is talking about this issue?"

"He used names, Jace," Aline said blatantly.

"Just accept that I'm undeniably right," Magnus sneered. Alec noticed that glint of mischief in Magnus' golden eyes. "and you're inexplicably wrong."

"Accepting things is not my strong suit," Jace said back.

"Jace stop being such a pain in the ass," Aline groaned as she got up to refill her drink.

"Guys," Simon cut in. He glared at the group before giving Jace a pointed look. "Apologize to Clary."

"What?" Jace asked, exasperated. "Simon!"

"Even I can realize that Magnus is right," Simon dead panned. "and I don't think Magnus is right about anything."

"I am so touched," Magnus said without emotion.

"Fine," Jace said, taking Clary's hand in his. "Darling Clary, I am so incredibly sorry for yelling at you then being a hypocrite about it. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"And?" Clary asked, her hand laying limp in Jace's two.

"And I am a huge asshole."

"That's better," Clary said with a smile before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"That was easier than expected," Magnus mumbled as Jace and Clary separated.

"So," Clary said as she stood up. "If we want to have a movie night we should get going."

"Okay one second," Aline said quickly before downing her newly refilled drink. She slammed it down on the table before standing up hastily. "Alright let's do this bitch!"

Alec sighed. This was going to be a long night.

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

Alec got in Magnus' car after throwing Jace his keys to the car. Aline got into the seat behind Magnus, who had started the ignition and began to drive away before Jace pulled out in front of him, causing Magnus to violently honk his horn.

"Sometimes it's hard to be around straight people for more than a few hours," he sighed as he waited for Alec's obnoxious brother finish sloppily pulling out onto the road. "Does your brother even know how to drive?"

Alec smiled shyly. "Yeah, he's not the best though. Isabelle wasn't a much better option, though."

"Simon sure can burn some tires though," Aline reassured, leaning forward from the back seat.

"What language did you just speak in?" Magnus asked with a chuckle.

"That's lesbian for 'Simon can drive,' Magnus."

"Sometimes it's hard to be around queer people too," Magnus added to his previous comment. Aline slapped his arm lightly. "Shut up."

"Aren't you around Catarina and Ragnor all the time?" Alec asked about Magnus' comment.

"Yes, but that's different." Magnus thought for a moment before saying, "Do you ever feel like there's different kinds of straight people?"

"Of course," Aline agreed.

"Yeah, like, Clary, for instance, is like a mild straight while Jace on the other hand is a flagrant heterosexual."

"That is one of the most accurate sentences I have ever heard," Aline said as Magnus drove behind Jace back to the apartment.

When they arrived, Clary and Isabelle announced that before they started any movie, the two of them would have to get ready for bed. Aline agreed, starting to head off to Isabelle's room with the girls.

"Well," Jace said, looking over at Simon. "It seems we have about an hour to finish the level we left off on." He looked to Alec and Magnus. "You guys want to play?"

Magnus wrapped his fingers around Alec's. "Nah, I'm not exactly in the mood for video games right now."

"Alright, your loss man," Simon said before walking down the hallway to Jace's room.

Magnus smiled mischievously down at Alec as he pulled him down the hallway to Alec's room. "I am, however, in the mood for a different kind of game." He winked at Alec before flopping down on the bed, his arms outstretched. Alec smiled, walking over to the side of the bed before falling directly on Magnus, who then released a strained fit of laugher. Alec smiled down at his boyfriend before kissing him tenderly, adjusting himself so his elbows rested on either side of Magnus. Magnus, now free of pressure, slid his hands up Alec's back, feeling the defined muscles that were visible through his shirt.
Alec pulled back after a few seconds, rolling onto his side and looking Magnus in the eye. "You think Jace was right?"

"I would rather not talk about your brother as we makeout," Magnus mumbled against Alec's neck before tenderly kissing the skin just below his jaw.

"No," Alec said with a giggle before pushing Magnus back a fraction of an inch. "I mean do you think we'll have a serious fight?"

"Hmm, I want to say no," Magnus sung. "But I mean, all couples fight. It's not a big deal if we do."

"Yeah but," Alec sighed. His hands fumbled with the material of Magnus' shirt. "I want this to last forever."

"I do too, darling," Magnus whispered. "But it's not like we haven't gotten in fights. We fought the first few weeks we knew each other, remember?"

"Yeah," Alec groaned, not wanting to think about those weeks. "But that was different."

"I know how you feel," Magnus sighed. "It's hard not to fight, though. Even if you think you are the most perfect people for each other, which we obviously are, you will find something to fight about."

"I don't like fighting, though."

"Well I'll try my best not to start them then," Magnus said with a smile as he kissed Alec's lips. "But that might be hard if we don't start making out again soon."

Alec laughed as he pulled Magnus close to him, kissing him softly before moving down his cheek and to his neck. Alec pressed his lips to Magnus' smooth skin, sucking the tender spots that he knew made Magnus moan. Magnus unsurprisingly did moan, digging his fingers into the fabric of his boyfriends shirt.

The buttons on Magnus' button down had somehow become undone, and Magnus' fingers ran through Alec's hair as he kissed down Magnus' chest. Alec couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine as his soulmates cold fingers slid down the collar of his shirt and raked the top half of his back. "Alexander," he moaned, turning his head back into the sheets.
Alec hummed against Magnus' navel before sucking on the skin sculpted around his defined muscles. He slid off the bed and onto his knees, pulling Magnus toward him by the hips. Magnus sat up, a huge grin on his face. "Looks like I won't have to do all the work this time," he said.
Alec almost bit his leg to make him shut up. "Be quiet."

"I can't promise that."

Alec shot his boyfriend a small smile before reaching up to grab his belt, almost tearing it off. "I hope you're always this eager to get my pants off."

Alec blushed, tugged at Magnus' jeans until they were around his ankles. His heart thundered in his chest as he yanked the pants out from beneath Magnus' feet, throwing them across the room. Magnus laughed at this, his fingers digging into Alec's hair. Alec kissed the inside of Magnus' thighs, sucking on the tender spots he had found in previous attempts. Alec looked up hazily at Magnus, who was glimmering with sweat as he bit his lip, trying to hold in his moans. He bunched up the fabric of Alec's shirt, yanking it over his head in one quick motion and threw his it in the same direction Alec had thrown Magnus' pant. A half naked Alec nipped at the inside of Magnus' legs, his tongue moving smoothly against his skin.
Alec jerked back when he heard the door open, cursing his lockless bedroom.

"Alec do you have another controller because this one-" Jace stopped mid-sentence as he looked between Magnus and Alec, a smirk making its way across his face. "Well," he said.

"Jace!" Alec hissed, covering his naked torso with his arms. He looked behind his brother to see Simon blushing furiously, trying to advert his eyes.

"Well, Jace," Magnus said. "We can't keep meeting like this."

"Oh my god," Alec groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"Do you want me to leave or are you out of the mood?" Jace asked, leaning against the door frame. "Because I really could use that controller-"

"Get out!" Alec yelled, throwing a pillow at the door which Jace avoided by slamming the door rather forcefully. He heard the blond snickering to an embarrassed Simon through the wall. Alec cringed, looking up at a smirking Magnus. "I'm so sorry Magnus. Honestly he needs to learn how to f*cking knock before he comes in-"

"Alexander," Magnus said as he cupped Alec's face. "It's fine. Now this hard-on is getting painful, so if you would, not to be forward, suck me as hard as you could that would be marvelous."

"Wh-what?" Alec stammered. "You still want to...you know, after what just happened?"

"Of course," Magnus sighed. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because now they know what we're doing."

"How many times have you heard him having sex when you were in the next room?" Alec quieted at this. "Exactly."

"Alright," Alec agreed quietly. It wasn't that he didn't want to blow Magnus. He totally did. He just wasn't sure Magnus still wanted one. Who cared what Jace thought anyway?

Alec pulled off Magnus' boxers and watched his erection spring up. He gawked at it for a moment, gazing upon Magnus' long shafted.

"I know it's glorious, but it's more fun when you're sucking it than just staring."

"You're very forward today," Alec commented before running his tongue up from the bottom of the shaft to the tip. Magnus gasped before he could say anything, his back arching. He tangled Alec's hair in his fingers, Magnus' other hand clenching the bed sheets at his side. Alec smirked and sucked the tip of Magnus' co*ck into his mouth.

"f*ck," Magnus whispered, pulling on the strands of his boyfriends hair. "Keep going."

Having only received blow j*bs three or four times, never giving them, Alec wasn't exactly sure what to do next. His heart was in his throat and the pleasurable pain coming from his scalp was catching him off guard. He looked down at Magnus' member, not thinking before putting it into his mouth. Magnus moaned loudly, pulling harder on Alec's hair. Alec bobbed his head up and down, slowly taking more of Magnus into his mouth as he did so.

"f*ck, Alexander," Magnus moaned as he massaged Alec's scalp before yanking on it sharply as Alec moved his tongue against him. "f*ck."

"Damn," Alec said as he came up for air, his voice hoarse. "it takes a lot to get you off."

Magnus gave a half-hearted laugh. "What can I say?"

Alec took Magnus in again, earning a sharp groan from his soulmate. Alec sucked on it harder this time, mouth mouth moving up and down Magnus' shaft. The tip of it touched the back of Alec's throat, but he was determined to make Magnus come. His hand reached up and stroked the tender skin on the inside of Magnus' leg. Alec could feel the shiver reverberate off him as he ran his fingers Magnus' skin.

"Alec," the Indonesian man shuttered, his breath catching as he did so. "Alec I'm going to come."
Alec tried to help his smile as he took Magnus' co*ck out of his mouth as the white substance emerged from the tip, squirting onto Alec's chest. Magnus fell back onto the bed when Alec was finished, his barely covered chest moving up and down at a rapid pace. Alec grinned smugly, happy he was able to make Magnus so exhausted. After wiping Magnus' come from his chest, he climbed onto the bed next to Magnus, a hand resting on his boyfriends chest.

"I was kind of hoping you'd swallow," Magnus said as he turned to face Alec.

"No way I was going to go out and rinse my mouth out after Jace came in here. I've walking in on Clary doing just that so many times it's embarrassing."

"Not Isabelle?"

Alec choked. "No way. I doubt she does that with Simon. Plus they're at his house a lot of the time anyway. Why are we talking about this?"

"I don't have a clue," Magnus said, grabbing Alec's wrists and pinning them down at his sides. "But we still need to find something for you." He sat on Alec's hips so he was straddling him, feeling Alec's erection grow bigger as he did so.

"So I'm fine," Alec lied. "We should probably go see if they already started a movie anyway-"

"Shhh," Magnus hushed, letting one of Alec's wrists go in favor of resting a finger on his lips. "No time for talking." Magnus untied the flannel around Alec's waist that was miraculously still there before unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down to Alec's knees. "Now," Magnus whispered. "You never answered my text from earlier."

'Oh sh*t,' Alec thought.

"Maybe you can make it up to me now." Magnus smirked at Alec as he stroked his leg, awaiting Alec's voice.

"Okay," Alec said with a cracked voice. Clary hadn't told him what to do in the situation. Then again, he assumed that she had never been given a hand job either. Now knowing what to say, he just went with what she told him to say. "I want to kiss you really hard right now. I want to make you hot. I need your, uh, co*ck-"

"What are you doing?" Magnus asked, feigning a laugh. Alec's cheeks heat up.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Who taught you how to dirty talk?" Magnus asked gleefully.

"Clary."

"Wait," Magnus' face went serious. "Really?"
"Yeah?"

"She's literally like 10 though."

"But she's had more experience than me," Alec said, ducking his head from embarrassment. His first time trying to do something like this and he messed it up. He shouldn't have expected anything else.

"Hey," Magnus said softly. A hand reached up and clasped Alec's chin and tipped his head so he was looking Magnus in the eye. "It's alright to ask for advice," he smiled sweetly. "just not from the girl who has only been dirty-talked to. I bet 20 bucks she has never smut-talked Jace."

"Really?"

"Really," Magnus said before kissing the side of Alec's neck. "When your submitting, you want to tell me what you want me to do to you. Not the other way around."

"Um, okay," Alec said tediously. Magnus slid down to the end of the bed, still on his stomach, as he pulled down Alec's boxers.

"There he is," Magnus said gleefully as he watched Alec's erection grow. "Now tell me, what do you want me to do to you. Be specific."

"Uh," Alec blanked. "I want you to, I want you to put your hands all over me like you can't get enough. I want you to, um, I want you to rub me in between your hands and make me beg for release."

"Damn, darling," Magnus said with a smirk before licking his hand. "You get down to business."

"Oh," Alec said, remembering what was in the top drawer of his nightstand. He leaned over and pulled the lube out of the drawer before slamming it shut. He held the bottle out to Magnus. "Here."

"Damn," Magnus repeated as he took to lube. "this is the good stuff." He opened the cap before squeezing a good amount of it onto his fingers before strategically shutting the bottle and throwing it across the room.

"Magnus," Alec huffed, feeling the pain Magnus was talking about earlier. Magnus just smirked at him, the look of mischief present in his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his hands together before reaching for Alec. The lube had warmed up Magnus' cold hands, and Alec could feel the heat against his co*ck as Magnus grasped it in his slippery hand. Alec moaned as Magnus slowly started pumping his member, getting faster with each quick movement. His fingers dug into the bed sheets beside him as Alec struggled to hold in his noises of pleasure. In place of moaning, Alec gasped with pleasure as he enjoyed the sensation of Magnus' hands on him.

"You can make noise you know," Magnus breathed as he worked. Alec shook his head, his eyes squeezing shut.

"N-no I cahhhh- no I- no I can't." He bit his lip in attempt to cut off his sex noises.

Magnus pumped harder, the slick feel of the expensive lube against his member. Alec was glad he bought it.
"Magnus I-" he got out before letting out a loud groan. He couldn't bring himself to care about his siblings caring. "I'm going to-"

"Okay," Magnus answered, assuring Alec he understood what he meant so he wouldn't have to talk anymore.
Magnus pumped a final time before Alec arched his back as he come, biting his lip so hard he was sure a mark would be left. His vision was slashed with white as he org*smed, his breath picking up speed so he was panting by the time he was finished.

When he was done, he lifted his head just enough to look at Magnus, who was looking his straight in the eye from between Alec's legs. Magnus then opened his mouth and ran his tongue along Alec's stomach, licking the come off of it. Alec gasped at this but couldn't exert enough energy to do much else. Magnus smiled at Alec with a closed mouth as he swallowed, mopping the rest of it up with Alec's sheets.
"Wow," was all Alec managed as Magnus crawled up to lie on top of him. Alec's arms wrapped around Magnus' bare shoulders as they lay there together, both exhausted and so incredibly happy. "You're amazing."

"You're not so bad yourself, Alexander," Magnus said with a smirk before planting a kiss on Alec's chest. "I'm so glad we've finally done this."

"What?"

Magnus smiled up at his boyfriend. "I mean, I would not have minded in the least if you wanted to wait, I would've been glad to, but doing stuff like this is so much fun, you know? I love I can just suck you off in a bathroom and it not be to scary."

"Well that's a little weird," Alec mumbled as he feigned a smile. "But I'm glad we can do this too. Especially with someone I love."

"I love you ever so much, Alexander," Magnus said as he rested his cheek on Alec's naked chest. "You are truly the light of my life. I honestly could not imagine my life without you in the moment or any."

"I love you, Magnus."

"And I you."

"This is fun," Alec started. "But we should get out there in case they started the movie."

"Are you sure you want to leave?" Magnus pouted as he laced their fingers together. "We could lie here naked all night and make out?"

"Come on," Alec said with a giggle as he sat up and swung his legs over the bedside.

He dressed in his pajamas and gave Magnus a pair of sweatpants and a big sweater to wear in favor of his outfit from the restaurant. The two walked into the living room, hands barely brushing. Alec took a seat on the chair on the right side of the TV and Magnus sat in his lap, wrapping his arms around Alec's neck. None of the rest of the group said anything before Clary picked up the remote.

"So," she said. "Mean Girls?"

Chapter 31

Chapter Text

Alec sat alone in a white room. The weight of the gun in his hand was almost nonexistent, but Alec felt like he would drown from the pressure of it pressing against his skin. He looked at the gun with a blank expression, not wanting to think of who he would have to use it on. Then he wondered how many bullets it had stocked in its shaft. As he was about to lift the gun to eye level to check, a glimmer in the corner of the room caught his eye. His head shot up but his heart dropped, like a canon sinking into the ocean. Magnus smiled at him from across the blindingly bright room. He was standing completely still.

"Alexander," his distorted voice said with delight. "Come with me, darling." His arm lifted mechanically as he slowly made his way to Alec, who's eyes filled with hot tears as he lifted the gun to point at Magnus who was now only a few feet away. The smile fell from Magnus' face as his arm dropped to his side.

"Alexander?" Magnus asked, his voice full of worry and dread instead of robotic lust.

Alec clicked the safety off.

"Alexander," Magnus said sternly this time, moving towards Alec hastily. Alec cried out as he heard the sound of the gun crack in the empty room. Blood splattered on the floor behind Magnus, who just looked at Alec, the fear draining from his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but blood dripped from his lips and patterned down to the floor beneath him instead. Magnus' eyes slid down to stare at the deep red liquid before looking back up at Alec. "Why did you do this?" Magnus asked, his voice gurgling in his throat. Alec clasped his free hand over his own mouth, a silent sob racking his body.

Magnus jerked forward onto his knees, exposing the back of his jagged, blood covered head. His black hair was matted together in a deep red clot near the edges. Alec felt his heart rate speed up as he backed away from the scene before a cold hand grabbed his ankle. Magnus looked up at Alec, his once beautifully golden eyes now black and empty. "Kill me, Alexander."

"No," Alec managed before another sob broke free of his lips. "I can't."

"Please." Pain laced Magnus' strained voice as he pleaded.

"No," Alec cried, tears now streaming down his face. "No, no, no."

"You have to Alexander," Magnus sobbed, pulling himself closer to Alec. "I'm begging you." Alec's felt his arm lift and watched Magnus fit the barrel of the gun inside his mouth. "Please."

Alec choked on his tears as he violently shoved the gun farther into Magnus' mouth. "No," he whispered as the gun went off a second time. "No, no, no!" Every time he spoke another sharp crack sounded throughout the room.

Alec went numb as he dropped the gun and fell to his knees beside Magnus' corpse. "No," he whispered one last time before everything went dark.

"No, no no!" Alec screamed as he shot upright in bed, his arms flailing about as if he were still in his dream. But he wasn't in his dream. He was in his bedroom lying on his bare mattress with Magnus by his side, their dirty shirt discarded to the floor in favor of a clean comforter which Alec had flung across the room in his fit.

A sob forced it's way out of Alec's lips as he crouched forward and pressed his palms into the sockets of his eyes. His nightmare felt so incredibly real Alec was amazed a gun wasn't still pressed into the palm of his hand. He inhaled a shattered breath before releasing an involuntary sob as he watched himself shoot Magnus in the head again.

"Alexander?" Magnus asked frantically as he sat up. "Are you alright-" His hand rested on Alec's shoulder, who immediately jerked away from the warm touch.

"I'm fine, don't touch me."

"Hey," Magnus hummed, scooting forward so he could look Alec in the eye. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Alec said coldly, his arms crossing to hug his body as he looked down at the mattress. Magnus' fingers touched his chin lightly, trying to tilt his head up to look Magnus in the eye. Alec jerked his head back and slammed it into the wall behind him, causing a bright flash to obscure his vision.

"Alec!" Magnus hissed. "What is the matter with you?"

"Nothing!" Alec yelled, stepping off the bed with his head cradled in his hand. "I said I was fine."

"You're obviously not," Magnus started, standing up next to him. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"I don't need to talk, Magnus!" Alec said forcefully as he shrugged a jacket on. "If I did I would."

"There's obviously something wrong," Magnus said again. "You need to talk about it if it's this bad. You woke up screaming, Alec!"

"I'm fine! I told you!"

"You're not fine!" Magnus screamed. "You're not! You've been having these nightmares for weeks now, and I didn't want to pry. I really didn't. I was fine with standing by and comforting you when they were mild, but this is horrible! Why won't you just talk to me?"

"I don't need to talk-"

"Do you not trust me?" Magnus asked, hurt laced in his voice.

Alec's heart dropped. "Of course I trust you! I just-"

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

Alec smiled humorlessly as he rolled his eyes. "It's not like you talk to me about everything either!"

Magnus' expression fell. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Alec scoffed. "Bullsh*t. You walk out of the room every time you talk a phone call with your tail between your legs. Why don't you tell me what that's about, hmm?"

"That's different, Alec-"

"Don't you trust me?" Alec mocked.

"Alec that's completely different and your know it."

"It's Camille isn't it?" Alec asked as he pieced together the puzzle. "You still talk to her."

"What?"

"Answer the question."

"You didn't ask one," Magnus growled as he pulled his shirt on. "You just shot me a misguided accusation."

"So you are talking to her."

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't deny is either."

"This is such bullsh*t, Alec," Magnus retorted. "This isn't about me anyway."

"Yes it is!" Alec shouted. "You brought it up!"

"Alright, maybe it has something to do with me! But you're my business, Alec."

"This isn't," Alec lied. Magnus was in the dream. Alec shot him. And he shot him again. And again. Alec shuttered. "This is my problem that I have to deal with."

"Just talk to me, then!" Magnus shouted back. "I'm your soulmate! You don't have to hide anything from me."

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Yes you are!"

"I don't want to talk about my dreams," Alec said as he tried to keep himself together. "Boo f*cking hoo."

"God- Alec!"

"You're the one hiding things!"

"This again?" Magnus huffed as he swung open Alec's bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Alec yelled as he stormed out after Magnus.

"Home."

"So you're just going to leave?" Alec dead panned, anxiety mixed with rage building in his chest.

"Looks like it."

"Fine, be immature about this."

"I will be," Magnus shouted, opening the front door. "Thanks."

The sound of the door slammed echoed through the quiet apartment.
Alec felt the tears picking at the back of his eyes as he slid down into on of the dining room chairs, his head sinking down into his hands as he let the tears fall silently. What had he done?

"Alec?" Jace's voice said from the hallway.

Alec sniffed. "Now's really not the time, Jace."

"I know," the blond said as he walked up to his brother. "I know." He sat down in the chair next to Alec, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, though. Just know that."

Alec nodded against his hands though he wasn't sure he believed it.

Nothing was ever okay.

Chapter 32

Chapter Text

Alec sat in the living room as the X-Files theme played for the seventh time that day. He check his phone. No new messages. He sighed, slouching down farther into the couch. It had been less that 48 hours since he and Magnus had fought and Alec's anxiety was worse than ever. Jace hadn't asked for his money yet, which was good because Alec wouldn't give it even if he did ask. He had been so sure that he and Magnus wouldn't have a serious fight. Maybe it was just irony.
Isabelle's heels clacked onto the wood floor as she entered from the hallway. Alec shifted his eyes for a millisecond to look at her before diverting his attention back to the television.

"Alec," she said as she crossed her arms. He ignored her. "Alec." He turned a shoulder toward her. "You know you have to talk to Magnus sometime." Alec stayed silent. Isabelle sighed and walked over to the counter by the front door. "We have to go help Aline take her stuff over there today. Why don't you come?"

"I'd rather not."

"Alec it was just a fight."

"I know."

"You have to talk to him."

"I know."

"You're going to burst if you just let it simmer inside of you."

"I know."

"Procrastinating talking to him isn't going to make it easier."

"I know."

"Come on," she pleaded, walking up behind the couch and placing a hand on his shoulder. "At least come to the store with me. You have to get out of this house."

Alec sighed as he stood up, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Just the store?"

Isabelle smiled. "Just the store."

Alec had almost forgotten what it was like shopping with Isabelle. He missed the way he used to push her around in shopping carts as she grabbed the items off of the shelves. He missed her. They laughed as they walked around, shoving each other every once and a while. Isabelle would point at things and tell Alec how they could be used as sex toys and Alec would throw a bottle of water at her telling her she needed Jesus. He missed this.

"So," Isabelle said as they waited in line. "Who's idea was it for Aline to move in with Magnus?"

Alec's stomach clenched. "Magnus'. And she's just staying with him for a few weeks."

Isabelle waved a hand of dismissal. "Whatever."

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you ask?"

"Oh," she giggled. "No reason. It just seemed like it would give you a valid excuse to go make out with him."

Alec rolled his eyes. "I don't need an excuse to make out with my soulmate."

"Or to give him a blowj*b apparently," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." She smirked up at him.

"How'd you know about that?"

"Come on, Alec," Isabelle said with a smile. "Jace couldn't keep his mouth hit for three seconds."

Alec groaned. "By the Angel..."

"There's no shame tho, bruh," Isabelle reassured. "I mean, one time Simon's sister was visiting and we were just kind fooling around in his room when-"

"Oh my god," Alec said as he placed his face in his hands. "Isabelle."

"Oh," she said with a giggle. "Sorry, I forgot that sex talk makes you squeamish."

"It's not sex talk," Alec lied. "It's sex talk with my little sister."

"Come on, we're all adults."

"No," Alec said as they took a step forward. "I'm the only adult."

"Yet, you're the only one who doesn't like talking about sex."

"And, topic change!"

"Will you please talk to Magnus?"

Alec groaned. "Why are you so persistent?"

"Cause he hasn't updated his snapchat story all day."

"So?"

"So," Isabelle continued. "he usually updates at least three times in the morning, either pictures of your hands, pictures of his cat, or pictures of his coffee. Then he'll post pictures in the after noon of the weather of the inside if his car. Then at night he'll post about the movies you two are watching."

"What the f*ck, how do you know so much about his story?"

"Just observation, dear brother." She placed a hand on his arm. "The point is is that you need to talk to him. He's obviously upset."

"I'm upset too."

"It was just one fight."

"For big reasons."

"They can't be that bad."

"They are to me, Izzy." Alec pulled his arm away. "I'll talk to him when I'm ready, okay? Stop nagging me about it."

She gave him a sad look. "Alright, Alec."

"You sure you don't want to come?" Aline asked as she rolled her suitcases across the floor. Alec nodded from his place on the couch that he hadn't left since he got back front the store with Isabelle. They drove in an awkward silence.

"Alec," Clary said as she zipped up her boots, or, Isabelle's boots. "It's better if you talk to him sooner. You won't want to do it during the week."

"I'll talk to him, alright? Why do you guys care so much, anyway?"

"You're our brother," Jace said, pulling on his leather jacket. "Of course we care."

An unamused Alec hummed to himself as the group left. Maybe they were right. He shouldn't be so guarded.

He couldn't help it, though. He was so afraid that if people knew about his feelings that they'd see him differently. He didn't want to talk about his dreams. Right now they were just his unconscious hallucinations, but as soon as he would open his mouth they'd be real. There was no going to say that they wouldn't come true. Talking about something so traumatic was out of the question, at least for right now.
But that wasn't Magnus' fault. It wasn't Magnus' fault that Alec didn't want to talk. Alec had definitely overreacted and now they only thing he had to show for it was a pounding headache.

Still, Alec felt like Magnus was hiding something from him. Everytime he would answer his phone he'd say it was for work, but Alec knew that couldn't be the whole truth. But he couldn't just ask Magnus about it now that he'd so recklessly defended his privacy.

The two of them were both at fault for the argument but they were too prideful to admit it. Alec, knowing Magnus, didn't expect him to b the bigger man about this. Though he was older and had probably endured a lot, Magnus could be extremely petty when he wanted to. Alec almost hated that about him, but Alec couldn't bring himself to hate anything about Magnus.

Chapter 33

Chapter Text

Isabelle and Jace came back to the apartment later that night after they helped Aline get settled at Magnus' place. Clary and Simon had to be back to their houses by 10 since it was a school night, so Alec wasn't surprised when they didn't come home with his siblings. Alec hadn't moved from his place on the couch since they left and didn't plan to anytime soon.

"You literally haven't moved," Isabelle said, walking over to her brother and crossing her arms.

"How'd you figure that one out, Iz?" Alec asked sarcastically, not sparing her a glance.

"He didn't look so good either."

This got Alec's attention, but he still wouldn't look at his sister. "I don't believe that."

"No, it's true," Jace seconded. "He look...different. Less glittery."

"In other words," Isabelle translated. "he wasn't wearing make up. Plus his hair wasn't all jelled up so it was all lose and hanging around his ears. I never realized that his hair was so long."

"Yeah," said Alec. "He started growing it out because-" he cut himself off, knowing what he was going to say would be held against him for all eternity. "he has a part he has to grow his hair out for."

"Ah," Isabelle hummed. "right." Her smirk showed that she didn't believe him.

"I'm tired," Jace said as he hung up his jacket. "I'm going to bed early."

"Me too," Isabelle agreed, following Jace back to the bedrooms. "Try not to hold a grudge, Alec. I'll see you tomorrow." Her door shut behind her.

Alec sighed as he stood up, looking down at his half-assed outfit of lose jeans and a flannel. He knew that Clary was right; he wouldn't want to talk to Magnus during the week. He had to talk to him tonight or wait until next weekend, and an entire week without seeing either his cousin or his soulmate seemed almost unbearable.

Alec prayed his siblings didn't hear him shut the front door.

The drive to Magnus' was oddly quiet, the streets lined with scattered amounts of people and cars. Alec heart races in his chest, anxiety twisting in his gut as he parked a block away from Magnus' apartment. He barely knew how he was going to get up to the apartment let alone what he was going to say to Magnus. Maybe he should've thought this through.

But then he was at the front door, his eyes skimming the apartment numbers for Magnus'. He pressed the top button, waiting for a response.

"What is it?" Magnus' exhausted voice replied.

"Um," Alec said, then the buzzer sounded. Alec raised his eyebrows as he tugged at the door, a little surprised when it opened for him. He decided to take the stairs up to Magnus' penthouse, thinking that he needed all the time he could get to think of an apology. After six flights of stairs, Alec caught his breath and stared at Magnus' bright red door. He mentioned that he was going to repaint the door deep blue, to match Alec's eyes of course. Alec blushed at the memory.

He knocked on the door three times, his heart rate picking up speed as his knuckles rapped against the wood. The apartment stayed silent as Alec waiting awkwardly outside the door. Maybe Magnus didn't mean to let him in. The door suddenly opened revealing a clean-faced Magnus. His hair was styled nicely on top of his head but his face was free of any makeup.

"Hi," Alec said.

"Hello," Magnus answered coldly. He stood in the doorway, blocking any path Alec had to get inside.

"Um," he said, his voice cracking. "Can I come in?"

Magnus looked at him blankly for a few seconds before turning away from the door, leaving the entryway empty for Alec to enter. He paused for a moment, not sure if he was welcome or not. He decided against running back down to his car and driving home and stepped inside the apartment, shutting the door behind him. Magnus was putting away dishes when Alec came in view of the kitchen.

"Where's Aline?" Alec asked, not wanting to fight with her in the ear-shot.

"She went down to the gym in the basem*nt." Magnus continued stacking dishes, ignoring the fact that Alec was there for several minutes.

"Magnus," Alec started, standing awkwardly by the peninsula.

"Alexander," Magnus snapped, his voice dry.

Anger bubbled up in Alec's chest. He came here to apologize, not to start a fight, but he couldn't stand when Magnus got like this. "God- okay, I don't know why you're mad at me but-

Magnus groaned violently, slamming the cabinet shut. "You don't know why I'm mad at you?" He said calmly though Alec could hear the anger in his voice. "Look back at the past two f*cking days and tell me you don't know why I'm mad at you."

"I didn't even do anything, Magnus," Alec said, his eyes narrowing. "You're the one who pried at my personal life."

Magnus threw his arms up. "I am your personal life!"

"I told you I didn't want to f*cking talk about my dreams!" Alec shouted back. "You couldn't respect that!"

"I did respect that!" Magnus answered. "For almost three weeks! You'd wake up in a cold sweat and I'd try to comfort you, but you woke up screaming, Alec. You were screaming! Your nightmares have never been that bad."

"You've known me for two months," Alec said. "You don't know that."

"God, Alec-" Magnus said before he spun on his heal, his fingers digging into his hair. "Why can't you just tell me anything?"

"What do you want me to tell you?" Alec yelled. Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but Alec cut him off. "Don't you dare ask me about my dreams."

"Fine," Magnus snapped. "What about Max? Why haven't I heard about him?"

"I told you about Max!" Alec yelled, rage building up in his gut.

"When." It wasn't quite a question.

"After the party at your house! Our second date at that breakfast place. Plus I don't see what my dead brother has to do with this. How about I ask about your dead mom? Or your asshole dad?" Magnus flinched noticeably. "That's how I feel about you practically forcing me to share things with you, Magnus."

"This is nothing like that."

"Yes it is!" Alec insisted. "There are some things you don't want to share with me right now and some things I don't want to share with you right now. You need to f*cking realize that."

Magnus looked angry as he stepped toward Alec so they were only a few inches apart, nose to nose. Alec's breath caught as Magnus breathed onto his neck. "Make me," he whispered. Alec paused for a moment, his eyebrows knit together in anger as he drug his eyes down Magnus' face, stopping on his lips. Alec grabbed Magnus' face and crashed their lips together faster than his anxiety could tell him not to. Magnus' hands wrapped around Alec's back, his fingers digging to the material of his flannel. Their lips moved heavily against each other, pressing together again and again. Their kisses were violent and thick and wet, almost sending a shiver down Alec's spine. His hands moved from Magnus face down to his ass, gripping it firmly before lifting Magnus onto the counter top, Alec's feet still rooted in the ground.
Somehow Magnus' shirt had come off and thrown across the room. Alec was in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt when Magnus become impatient and ripped it open. Alec could hear the individual buttons clattering against the floor, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He shrugged the shirt off and let it drop to the floor as he hoisted himself onto the counter. He straddled Magnus as he grabbed his face again and pulled him in to kiss him. Magnus' fingers dug into his arms as they kissed, the space in Alec's pants becoming tight. Alec moved his hands from Magnus' face down to the zipper of his pants. Alec pulled down both Magnus' pants and boxers in the same motion and Magnus kicked them off. Alec didn't hear them hit the floor. Soon Alec's pants had disappeared as well, and three of Alec's fingers had ended up inside of Magnus.

"Do you have any..." Alec said breathily, trying not to draw his attention away from what he was doing.

Magnus grunted as he blindly reached down to grab something and pressed the cold glass against Alec's free hand. Alec looked down at what Magnus had handed him, then back up at Magnus. "This is vegetable oil."

"It'll work," Magnus said and pulled Alec against him against, kissing his lips harshly. "Just shut up and f*ck me."

"I meant," Alec pulled back, annoyed. "Do you have a condom?"

"We don't need one," Magnus snapped, pulling Alec in to kiss him again. Alec stopped him.

"Yes we do."

"I don't have anything, if that's what you're getting at." Magnus' head fell against the countertop. "Do you seriously not f*cking trust me enough to tell you if I had-" Alec's lips smashed against his before Magnus had a chance to finish. Alec decided to trust Magnus with the vegetable oil, and coated his hand in it, then pushed his fingers back inside Magnus. He moaned sharply when Alec thrust into him, spilled oil pooling underneath him. Alec dropped the oil back onto the counter, but it didn't land correctly and fell onto the floor, shattering the container.

"You're cleaning that up," Magnus told him before Alec thrust into him again. Magnus practically screamed at this, his fingernails raking down Alec's back. Alec thrust in him harder, letting out all of his anger towards Magnus' pettiness and his rage towards parents neglect and his siblings nosiness. He thrust into Magnus, making him moan, then again, making him scream. Alec thrust in harder and deeper, and instead of forgetting about the rest of the world like he usually did, he thought about it more.

'f*ck this,' Alec thought as he bit his lip. 'f*ck Isabelle, f*ck Jace, f*ck Clary, f*ck Simon. f*ck mom, f*ck dad. f*ck Lily Cheng and Jordan Kyle and Maia Roberts. f*ck Levi from the bar. f*ck mom and dad's new job and this stupid f*cking city. f*ck my school. f*ck Camille Belcourt and her grainy, monotone f*cking voice. f*ck this.'

The ecstasy of his release convulsed throughout his body, blinding him for half a second before he went soft. Alec, still mad, noticed that Magnus hadn't gotten off yet, and Alec wasn't that selfish to leave him hanging. Alec grabbed Magnus' co*ck, immediately pumping it fairly fast. Olive oil still clung to his hands making it easy to do what he was doing. Magnus moaned again, and Alec pumped faster, squeezing harder. Magnus came after about a minute.

Alec lied there on top of Magnus, who was laying on the cramped space of the kitchen counter for a few minutes, still out of breath and beginning to ache. Then he got up, put his jeans on, and buttoned up the remaining buttons on his shirt. After cleaning up that shattered glass and mopping up the vegetable oil, Alec left without a word.

Chapter 34

Chapter Text

The next day drug on as slow as the last week had. Isabelle had to pull Alec out of bed on Monday and shot his buttonless shirt a questioning look before smirking and walking out of the room. Because he had a paper due the next day and hadn't started on it, he didn't see Magnus that day. He was secretly glad. Alec didn't check his phone, Magnus didn't text. It was almost weird not having his phone buzz every few minutes just like it had a few months ago. Though Alec tried, he couldn't help but connect the two events.

It wasn't like Magnus and him could break up; they were soulmates. They had been bound together since the beginning of eternity, destined to spend their lives together. They had a fight -- a fight that would have a solution.

Alec didn't like fighting. It was hard to concentrate with a constant knot of anxiety parked in his gut. Lily Cheng from APUSH had noticed that he was off (how, Alec wasn't sure), and had offered a listening ear. Alec politely refused, though he wanted to slam her face into the desk.

On Tuesday, Aline showed up at the Lightwood's apartment, claiming she needed help with her pre-calc though she hadn't brought her laptop. Her and Alec ended up watching four episodes of The X-Files instead. Jace and Isabelle joined them around episode 2.

"Where are Clary and Simon?" Aline asked, her attention broken for the show.

Isabelle waved her hand, her eyes trained on the television. "School project."

"Guys," Alec said as he pressed pause on the remote. A collective groan sounded throughout the room. "We should do something."

"You should press play," Isabelle snapped.

"No," Alec said sternly. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Shut up," Alec laughed. "I mean we should do something before Aline goes home for break. Just the four of us, like old times."

"I miss old times," Isabelle sighed. "You know, before we moved. We lived in different cities, but we always seemed so close." She gestured to Aline. "Your dad was always willing to drive you down for the day. Our mom was always willing to drive up to your place. We would have so much fun, running around and playing Castle."

Jace wheezed a laugh. "Aline and I were the only ones not related by blood, so I was always the prince and she was always the princess."

"I always wanted Isabelle to be the prince for some reason," Aline giggled.

"Yeah, you gay piece of sh*t," Alec laughed as he nudged his cousin with his shoulder. She shoved back.

"Shut up."

"How are you and Helen doing, by the way?" Alec asked.

Aline immediately perked up, sitting up straighter. "She is so sweet. I think that I might actually love her."

"Really?" Jace asked.

Aline shook her head. "No. But there's something there."

"How long have you been talking to her?" Isabelle inquired, her legs curling upward.

Aline shrugged. "Maybe two months? Two and a half?"

"Why haven't you gone and met her?" asked Alec as he shifted his weight so he was facing his dark-haired cousin.

Aline groaned, her head hanging against the back on the couch. "Because she's on vacation in Rome until next week."

"Why the hell is she in Rome?" Jace asked questioningly.

"Malcolm took them there for some type of early Christmas since he won't be spending it with them."

"I keep forgetting that you indirectly know a celebrity," Isabelle sighed.

"My soulmate is a celebrity," Alec reminded his sister.

"Magnus doesn't count. He's family." Alec's stomach fluttered both with happiness and anxiety and Isabelle's words. Magnus hadn't spoken two words to him since Sunday, their sparse texts not counting.

"He's still a celebrity."

"Oh," Aline said, her mind switching gears. "That reminds me: if we are going to do something before I leave, I can't go anywhere tomorrow or next Thursday."

"Why?" Alec asked.

"Because Magnus is taking me to his lunch with f*cking Ryan Reynolds and on Thursday I'm going to a photo shoot with him."

"I want to go to a photo shoot with Magnus!" Isabelle exclaimed. She shot a look at Alec. "Why hasn't your boyfriend offered to take me to a photo shoot?"

"Because he respects the fact that I don't want to go public yet," Alec said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he stood up and walked over to the sink installed in the countertop.

Jace cleared his throat. "So how about we do something on Friday?"

Alec poured himself a glass of water and pressed his back to the cool stone counter. "What should we do?" He asked as he brought the glass to his lips.

"Jace," Isabelle said sharply. "We were going to check out that training arena over by Westbury, remember?"

"I haven't been to the gym in so long," Aline sighed, flopping back against the couch.

Isabelle clapped her hands together. "Ooh! This is going to be so much fun. We can fence and climb the rock wall and throw knives- oh this is going to be amazing."

Alec grinned at his little sisters giddiness. He missed this. He missed her. Everything that was causing his anxiety seemed to slip away as he watched Isabelle and Aline and Jace laugh together, and in that moment he knew that everything would be okay.

His laptop screen lit up, snapping him from his daze. His mothers face appeared on the screen.

"sh*t," Alec said, setting the glass down hastily and running to the couch, his hands hovering above the keyboard. His eyes shot to Aline, and he shoved her off the couch.

"Ow- hey!"

"Go into one of the bedrooms," Alec whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Aline hissed back as she stood. Alec waved a hand at her and she chuckled silently as she strode off. Alec motioned for his siblings to join him on the couch as he accepted his mothers call.

"Hey mom!" He said as he pulled the laptop onto his knees.

"Hi baby!" Maryse greeted. "How are my children doing?"

"Wonderfully," Jace answered, a blinding grin plastered on his face. "What about you, Maryse?"

Maryse puffed her cheeks, rolled her eyes a bit. "Been better."

"Is the business trip really that bad?" Isabelle asked, a small but confident smile pulling at her lips.

"It was really...sudden," Maryse said thoughtfully. "But, you got to do what you got to do." She shook her head melancholically before a fake look of excitement crossed her features. "But how are the soulmates?"

Alec almost opened his mouth to answer before he realized that she probably wasn't talking to him.
Jace scoffed but Isabelle started talking before he had the chance. "Simon and his band played at this indie restaurant a few nights ago and it was really cool. In other news," she added, smirking at Jace. "Clary and blondie over here have exited the honey-moon train and are now driving to grandmas with only a paper map."

Maryse laughed at the analogy. "I thought it would never end."

"Tell me about it," Alec mumbled to himself. Maryse chuckled.

"So I take it that you haven't found your soulmate yet, Alec?" asked his mother in a mocking way.

The knot in his stomach reformed as he thought about all the possible answers. He had to physically stop himself from stammering over his words. He just shrugged. "Nope."

"That's a bit of a sore subject for Alec," Isabelle defended as she rubbed her brothers chest. "He just needs a cute b- girl to make out with to ease his bitterness."

"Well," Maryse said. "That's a bit to much information."

"So, mom," Alec said, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "Was there a reason you called on a Tuesday night? Our skype calls are usually on Thursdays."

"Oh," Maryse said softly. "right. Alright, now I don't want you guys to be mad."

"What is it?" Isabelle asked at the same time Jace said, "Our reactions are based solely on what you tell us." Alec just stared wide-eyes at the screen.

"It seems that your father and I will need to stay in Ch- Seattle for a bit longer than expected."

After a moment of silence Isabelle let out a sharp laugh that lacked humor. "What did we expect?"

"Isabelle," Maryse said with an exhausted tone to her voice.

"You're never here," Isabelle said sternly, sounding like a typical teenage girl. "You're always at work, always out, always gone. It's hard to miss you when you're literally never here."

"Isabelle," Alec warned. His warning wasn't so much for Maryse's sake as it was for Isabelle's. He knew Maryse wasn't one to let back talk slide and did not want Isabelle getting grounded for two months for her loud mouth.

Jace stayed silent.

"No," Isabelle retorted. "There's been literally no one here for two weeks. I'm tired of eating out of a box."

"Well if you learned to cook, then-"

"I don't need to learn how to f*cking cook, mom!" She shouted. "I don't see you telling Jace or Alec to cook! No, I'm the one who needs to. I'm the youngest, or I am now." Alec flinched. "I shouldn't be forced to learn something I hate doing."

"Isabelle, you know I didn't mean it like that-"

"How did you mean it then?" Maryse opened her mouth but Isabelle held her hand out. "You know what? I don't want to know." She stood abruptly and stormed to her room. The sound of her door slamming sounded throughout the apartment. Jace had his eyebrows raised as he turned to look back at Maryse. Alec tried to keep a neutral expression. Maryse's fingers were covering her mouth as she looked below the camera as if she were thinking.

"That could have gone better," Jace mused. Alec back-handed his chest.

"Yes," Maryse replied, her voice strained. "It could have." She sat up straighter, shaking her arms out as she blew a breath from her lungs. "We might be gone for two more weeks, maybe three. I have to go. I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

"Alright mom."

"Bye boys."

"Bye."

Alec shot Jace a pained look. "Isabelle really flipped."

"She needs to control herself," Jace replied as he stood up and walked to his room. "I'll see you tomorrow. After that I'm suddenly exhausted."

"Alright. Goodnight."

"But daddy-" Alec heard Isabelle say from her bedroom. "No, daddy I can't stand being here-" Alec turned his ear toward his sisters room. "Dad! No I can't- yeah. Yes. Okay. Bye, daddy, I'll see you in a few weeks."

Isabelle's relationship with her father was strange. She had been extremely close with Robert for as long as Alec could remember, which was weird to him for some reason. Yes, children should be close with their parents, but if Isabelle was going to be close to anyone, if he didn't know her, Alec would assume that it would be Maryse. His sister resembled his mother greatly; they had the same dark hair and white teeth, and the two of them could not shut up. That's why it was so strange for Isabelle to be closer with Robert than with Maryse. Robert was very quiet and very reserved, but Isabelle was extremely comfortable with herself and liked talking - a lot. Alec was somewhat envious of her. Since Isabelle was close to Robert, it would be easy assume that Alec would be close with Maryse, but that assumption would be wrong. Maryse was closer with Jace than she was with Alec. Of course Maryse and Robert both loved their son, but Alec had often felt that people always loved someone else more than they loved him. He'd gotten used to it. Maybe soon Magnus would love someone more that him.

Aline emerged from Alec's bedroom. "I'm tired too. Could you drive me to Magnus'?"

"Sure," he said. They made their way to the entryway. "How'd you get here, anyway?"

"Oh," she said, a smile tracing her lips. "Magnus drove me. He had to go to a meeting with his agent and offered to drive me here."

"He didn't want you in his apartment?" Alec asked. It was weird not knowing about everything that was going on in Magnus' life.

"Nah, I don't think it was that," Aline said as she thought back. "I don't think he wanted me to be alone. Maybe he didn't want you to be alone." Alec's heart wrenched at this.

Alec padded his way down the hallways while Aline's clunky combat boots banged against the floor with each step. Gabriel smiled at them on their way out as Aline gushed about Helen to Alec, who gladly listened.
By the time they had reached Magnus' it was already 9:30. Alec was nervous about seeing Magnus again, especially since they've barely spoken since their fight. Aline had a key to the apartment building, a luxury Alec and Magnus hadn't yet exchanged. Jealousy bubbled in Alec's chest as he watched his cousin slip the key into the lock.
Their conversation was minimal on the way up to elevator. Aline hadn't questioned why Alec was coming with her nor should she have. Alec rubbed the thinning material of his sweater between his thumb and index finger as they waited for the lift to chime.

Aline walked into the apartment after unlocking the door nonchalantly, but Alec hesitated. Would Magnus appreciate him being there? He felt almost as if he were violating some type of silent treaty he and Magnus had both signed. He stepped into the apartment warily, not wanting to disturb anything. Aline kept her boots on as she stomped around the apartment.

"Magnus!" She yelled down the hallway where his room was. Magnus' bedroom was in a short hallway accompanied by a store room, which Magnus mainly used for clothes, and a shallow closet at the end. Behind the wall of the kitchen was where the second hallway was, which held three guest rooms and a bathroom, and led to a larger recreation room that was barely used. Alec sometimes wondered why it was there.

"Hello darling," Magnus called as he exited his room. The jealousy in Alec's chest turned red-hot. That was his pet name. Magnus' expression changed when he caught sight of Alec; it was an expression that Alec couldn't read. "Hello Alexander." His voice was soft and tentative as he said Alec's name, confusion laced in the tone of his voice.

"Magnus," Aline said harshly. "When you're finished here, I need you to help me pick out what to wear tomorrow."

"Right," Magnus said, the strange expression gone. "You haven't met Ryan before."

"No sh*t!" Aline shouted as she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "You're the first celebrity I've met."

"That seems to be the case for a lot of people," Magnus mused.

"Okay, I need to exfoliate," Aline sighed as she walked to the hallway. "I'll see you later, Alec."

"Night, cuz."

Magnus and Alec looked at each other in silence for a moment before
Magnus looked away. "I don't suppose you want to meet Mr. Reynolds as well?"

"Magnus," Alec sighed, his shoulders dropping.

"I'm kidding, Alec."

"Funny."

Magnus leant against the counter, his eyes focused on Alec's face as if he were analyzing every detail. It made Alec uneasy. "Why are you staring?"

Magnus didn't say anything for a moment before he looked away. "I'm just trying to figure this out."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Alec asked as he took a few steps toward his soulmate.

"Nothing, darling."

"A lot of things are nothing, apparently." Alec thought back to the times Magnus had been asked a question - about anything really - and had replied that it was nothing.

"Nothing is all that I want," Magnus replied vaguely. "Everything I have, it's just stuff. It's just a distraction to keep me from my problems and fears and doubts." Magnus watched Alec for a moment. "You're different."

"What do you mean?"

Magnus leaned forward as he hummed, his hands pressed behind his back. "You don't give me a distraction. All these things," he gestured around him. "just distract me from you." Alec blushed. "I can't figure out what you are, though. All my life I've had to endure things, horrible things, and after that, I just focused on my career. Everything revolved around it, even when I was dating Camille." Magnus co*cked his head, his eyes curious and innocent looking. "It's different with you."

"It shouldn't be," Alec replied, not sure he meant it. "I shouldn't change anything, really. I'm nothing."

"All I've ever wanted was nothing."

Alec bent forward and pressed his lips to Magnus', Alec's right hand reaching up to clasp the back of Magnus' neck. Alec felt his soulmates hands resting on his hips as they kissed, their mouths moving together with ease. Soon their smooth kisses turned rough and sloppy and wet. Alec remembered all of his anxiety and anger and fear and it all filled his abdomen with pressure, a physical pain begging for release. Magnus felt this and smirked up at Alec, pulling away from their kiss. His glimmer of mischief was back in his eyes as he pulled Alec to the hallway.

"My cousin is in the house," Alec whispered as Magnus shut his bedroom door behind them.

"She's exfoliating."

"Okay," Alec replied before Magnus had their lips pressed together again. He pushed Alec down onto the foot of the bed, his hand going to Alec's belt buckle.

"Is this alright?" Magnus asked as he undid the buckle. Alec nodded, his eyes closing and his mind wandering. Magnus continued. He pulled Alec's pants down halfway down his thighs before licking his hand and grabbing the base of Alec's shaft. Gasping, Alec squeezed the sheets beside him. Magnus smirked, his mouth moving to cover the tip of Alec's co*ck. He sucked gently, the more vigilantly as he pumped Alec's shaft. Alec came easily, and Magnus swallowed before kissing up and down Alec's thighs. Sighing, Alec fell back onto the bed with his arms outstretched. Magnus stood up, wiping his mouth and kicking at Alec's foot.
"Oh," Alec said, lifting his head. "Do you want me to-"
"No," Magnus interrupted. "I have to go help your cousin with her wardrobe. Plus it's late."

"Okay," Alec said, sitting up and trying to pull up his pants.

"I'll see you later." And then he was gone.

Chapter 35

Chapter Text

White walls blinded Alec's vision as he squinted his eyes, trying to see where he was. Minus the black, cheap, foldable chair that Alec was sitting in, the room was empty. Alec looked down, noticing the gun in his hand for the first time since he arrived. It was small and heavy - it made Alec wonder how something so minuscule could cause so much damage. Alec examined the gun, feeling each groove and crevice in the metal.

"Alec?" A small voice said from across the room. Alec's head shot up, his fingers clasping around the fire-arm. His eyes softened at the sight of his little brother standing there in a striped shirt and overalls. "Is that you?"

Alec opened his mouth to speak but it were as if someone had stuffed a sock down his throat. Max moved closer, his black hair shining in the fluorescent lights of the room. His skin looked almost translucent.

'Shoot him,' a small voice in Alec's head said. 'You know you want to.'

Alec's arm lifted, the gun pointed directly at his brother. Alec's throat locked up as Max stopped, a curiously frightened expression playing across his face.

"Alec?" Max asked, his foot moving forward to take another step.

Alec let out a cry as the gun went off. Max's deep crimson blood splattered across the floor, a small bullet hole in the center of his forehead. His big blue eyes were wide open now, his mouth just barely open. Blood drizzled down his chin as he took a staggered step forward before collapsing face first on the ground. A small sob racked Alec's body as he watched Max fall. Alec fell with him, the chair materializing into dust once he and Max crumpled to the floor. Alec tried to advert his eyes from Max's exploded head - the sharp edges of his broken skull dripping with fresh blood - but it was as if some invisible force was keeping his eyes trained on his hollow-headed brother.

Blood stained the pure white floor where Max's hand was trailing, trying to pull his near-dead body forward. Alec cried silently as Max lifted his head, his once ice blue eyes now the color of black ichor, the white lights of the dream room shining dreadfully upon them.

"Alec," Max's sweet voice sang, his melody filled with pain. "Make it stop." His small cries torn a hole in Alec heart. "Make it stop."

Alec choked on his own sobs, his shoulders folding forward, his body collapsing in on itself. His grip on the gun tightened.

"Please," Max whispered. "please, Alec, make it stop."

Alec screamed a cry as he brought the gun up and pulled the trigger, the bullet disappearing in the middle of Max's forehead. The crack of the room sounded in the room again and again and again, the sound it made almost covering Alec's sobs. Alec lowered the gun, his eyes blurring and his voice hoarse, and gazed upon Max's dead body, the thick blood oozing from his jagged skull.

Alec woke up screaming in small fits. He jerked forward only to have a restriction yank him backwards into a soft seat. Alec blinked, his breath labored, and realized that he was in a car. He panicked for a second, his breathing picking up speed and his heart rate increasing. After a quick scan on the car, Alec came to the conclusion that no one but him was inside. He looked outside and remembered what had happened before he fell asleep.

It was Friday. Alec, Isabelle, and Jace had skipped school with Aline to come to the recreation center near Westbury that Isabelle and Jace had found online. Alec's Honda was parked in the parking lot along with a few other cars. He sighed, his breathing normalizing and his heart rate slowing down. His head fell against the headrest as he tried not to close his eyes, afraid of the images that would appear behind his eyelids.

The crack of knuckles against glass tore Alec from his daze, jolting his conscious. Aline stood by the window, a smile playing across her lips.

"Come on," her muffled voice urged. Alec could hear the giddiness in her voice. Alec ruffled his hair and took one last breath before stepping out of the car and followed Aline into the rec center.

The place was huge. The glass ceiling hung a good 60 feet above Alec's head. The walls were lined with sports gear and advertisem*nts for sports gear and models wearing the sports gear and, just a lot of sports gear. Aline, having been there for a good half hour, gave Alec a brief tour of all of the different rooms and training areas. Alec gawked at all of the equipment that the center carried; from the weights to the swimming pool to the basket ball courts to the climbing wall to the knife throwing.

"Izzy and Jace went to box," Aline informed Alec as she pointed to a room to her right. "I stayed out here because I didn't want my cuz to wander around like a lost puppy." Alec shoved her with his shoulder, a smile on his face. She pushed him back as they continued walking in silence. She nudged his shoulder after a few moments. "You okay?"
Max's blood splattered on the white surface of the dream room flashed across Alec's vision. Alec smiled tightly and nodded.

"Is it about Magnus?" his cousin asked.

Was this about Magnus? These dreams started to resurface when Alec realized that he was in love with him. Maybe it did have something to do with Magnus. Alec shrugged.

"A little."

Aline shot him a puzzled look. "I thought you guys made up?"

"It's...complicated."

"Wait," she said, holding an arm out to stop Alec. "you guys didn't just fight then f*ck, did you?"

"Wha- I mean-" Alec cleared his throat, straightening his posture. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Aline have him a disbelieving look. "So you two didn't f*ck on Sunday night?"

"What- n-no."

"So Magnus just sleeps in the kitchen naked and has trouble walking for two days?"

Alec's face heated up hotter than a furnace. "How do you know that?" he asked hastily.

"I live with him," Aline reminded. "it's not like I was in," she sighed. "Troy."

"I thought you were gay."

Aline slapped Alec's chest. "Troy the city."

"Oh yeah, Helen lives there, right?" Alec was incredibly grateful for the subject chance.

"Yeah," Aline sighed. She didn't elaborate.

"Do you think she's, you know..."

"My soulmate?" Alec nodded. Aline shrugged. "I don't know. To be honest, I hope she's not. I mean, it would be f*cking amazing to meet my soulmate, and Helen is really amazing, but, I don't know, things just seem..."

"Seem...?"

"Cramped," Aline finished.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, things with you and Magnus." Alec gave her a look. "Don't get me wrong," she corrected quickly. "what you two have is beautiful, but it just seems like you guys need your own space. Jace and Clary bicker nonstop, Isabelle and Simon - well there's nothing wrong with them - but I think meeting your soulmate young is just kind of...rushed."

Alec disagreed. He was anticipating meeting his soulmate for years. Ever since they first had a serious about it in school he had been wanting to meet his soulmate. At that time, of course, Alec had still thought that his soulmate would turn out to be a girl. He would look at the girls in his school with passion, wondering if any of them were the person he was destined to be with. He would stare at them and try to convince himself that he found them attractive, that he wanted to have a future with any of them, but when he was 15 he realized that he would never look at a woman that way. After hearing his fathers hom*ophobic comments he tried to force himself to be attracted to girls even more so. He gawked at them with Jace, stared at their chests and legs, he even tried kissing a girl once, but that had set him off. When he was 17 Alec finally came up with enough nerve to tell Jace and Isabelle. He knew Isabelle would be okay with it (despite her close relationship with Robert, Isabelle still got defensive when he made offensive comments), but he wasn't sure about Jace. He had always stayed quiet when Isabelle and Robert had their arguments about hom*osexuality, but he had never joined in on either sides. But Jace had been totally accepting, save a few "This isn't too gay, right?" and "Are you gay for him?" comments.

Then again, Alec had wished on multiple occasions that he had met Magnus after high school. Things would've been a lot calmer for both of them, but those thoughts had long since left him.

"It's nice knowing your soulmate," was all Alec said. Aline stayed silent.

"Hey guys!" Isabelle cheered as she walked down the hallway, a towel in her hand. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Jace was quick to follow. "Good morning, sleepy-head," Isabelle cooed at Alec, who rolled his eye promptly, trying not to think about his nightmare. Isabelle lowered the towel. "So, do you guys want to climb the rock wall?"

Alec did not want to climb the rock wall, but somehow he was now hoisted 20 feet in the air with nothing but a tether and Aline holding him up. Aline and Isabelle had offered to stay on the ground and spot while Jace and Alec climbed. Alec, being slightly afraid of heights, agreed to this only because he had barely had a real conversation with his brother in weeks. After a few steps, Alec realized that climbing a 100 foot wall was not the best place to talk. Jace made a joke or two, and Alec made a point to laugh, but they didn't have much conversation. After climbing the wall though, Jace and Alec spotted for Isabelle and Aline, on solid ground, not climbing a 100 foot tall wall.

"So," Alec said, not sure how to start a conversation. He shouldn't feel awkward around his brother, his best friend. "are you and Clary still..."

"Fighting nonstop?" Jace filled in. "Pretty much."

Alec wasn't sure how to continue the conversation. "You think it's just a phase?"

Jace shrugged, pulling on the tethers holding Isabelle up. "I'm sure it is, just like the honeymoon phase is, you know, a phase." Jace smirked at Alec. "You still owe me $50 by the way."

"I oppose that," Alec said, grunting as he pulled Aline upward as she lost her footing. "The bet was not to fight over anything petty. Our fight wasn't petty."

"The bet was that you and Magnus would be out of the honeymoon phase by January," Jace smiled smugly. "Which I'm guessing you are."

"Fine, I'll give you 50 bucks," Alec sighed, his grip on the chords loosening.

"But really," Jace said, his tone suddenly serious. "You guys are okay, right?"

Alec shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't really...talked since our fight."

"What do you mean? You've gone over there a bunch of- ohhhh." Alec breathed out a sigh. "So you guys have just...f*cked without talking?"

"No, Jace," Alec replied, sarcasm heavy in his tone. "We talk while we f*ck!"

"Don't get sassy with me," Jace replied light-heartedly. "But really, that's not a good thing to do."

"Have sex?"

"Before you make up." Jace sighed, pulling on the chords. "Trust me. Before you f*ck next time, just make sure you've at least talked a few things out."

"Yeah, I know," Alec answered glumly. "He's just really damn stubborn."

"Don't get me started on stubborn," Jace huffed. "One time, Clary refused to talk to me for three days because I didn't invite her to a movie."

"I wasn't invited to this movie either," Alec said, fake hurt in his voice.

"I wasn't even going to a movie!" Jace exclaimed. "Isabelle was trying to drag me along to spy on you."

"Why was Isabelle spying on me?"
Jace waved a hand before realizing he couldn't hold Isabelle up with only one. "It was during your weird 'Hide My Relationship From Jace and Isabelle' phase."

"I hid it from everyone," Alec laughed his his defense.

"You told Aline!"

"What?" Aline shouted.

"Nothing!" Alec and Jace replied simultaneously.

"She was the only one I told," Alec said to Jace. "And she had no way of telling mom and dad."

"She could've told Isabelle," Jace countered.

"But she didn't."

Jace changed the subject, and he and Alec laughed over stories about their classmates and other things that their thoughts lead into. By the time Aline and Isabelle finished climbing, everyone was reasonable hungry. By no surprise, there was a SubWay right next door. After eating and chatting about Aline's exchange school, the four of them headed back to the gym to throw knives.

Alec picked up three butterfly knives, thinking that since he hadn't thrown in a while, he might need to warm up. Aline picked up a few butcher-knife sized blades, Isabelle picked up some a little smaller, and Jace picked up four rather large knives. Alec chuckled at his brother's arrogance as he threw his first knife. The targets they were aiming at were in the shape of a persons silhouette, and Alec's first knife hit right above the shoulder. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, his lungs filling with air as he cleared his thoughts. When all the noise around him, the air conditioning, the sound of Jace's knives hitting the board, one of Aline's clanging to the ground, Alec threw again. It stuck between two fingers. When Alec threw again, the knife landed a centimeter above the targets head.

"Getting a bit sloppy, huh Alec?" Jace said smugly as he threw his last knife, which landed in the center of his targets head. The other three of his knives had landed in random spots, but still within the silhouette. Isabelle had thrown five knives, all of which she had thrown to precisely outline the shape of the targets head. Aline threw four, all of which stuck in a circle around the target printed on the dummy's chest. Alec smirked at Jace, picking up another knife, taking a deep breath. He felt his arm move forward, felt the knife leave his finger tips. Then he opened his eyes. The knife landed directly in the center of the targets chest. Jace laughed. "I stand corrected."

Isabelle smiled proudly at her dark-haired brother. "Remember when we used to do this all the time?" she asked the three of them.

Aline smiled back. "Yeah, when we were fifteen and hadn't a care in the world."

"Things were a lot simpler back then," Isabelle commented a she picked up another knife. "No soulmates, no college prep, no..."

"No parents acting insane," Jace filled in.

"Right." Isabelle threw her knife. It landed just above the left shoulder. "What do you think made them stay in Seattle for an additional two weeks?"

"Who knows, anymore," Alec replied, picking up another few knives.

"They've been acting so strangely ever since we moved here," added Jace as he stuck another knife in the center of the targets head. "like they don't want us to know what they do."

"Remember how weird they got when I asked to go to Chicago with them?" Isabelle asked as she threw another knife.

"I thought they were in Seattle?" Aline's knife left her fingers.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'Seattle.'" She scoffed. "Mom stuttered so much when we had Skyped her on Tuesday. It was almost like she had a speech impediment."

"What did Uncle Robert tell you?" Aline asked. "You called him, right?"

Sighing, Isabelle threw one of her knives. "Yeah. He told he to bare through it until they got back. I asked why they needed to stay there and he said," she laughed humorlessly. "he said it was for 'business.' Yeah, bullsh*t."

"You know," Aline put in. "My mom has been acting weird lately as well..."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked.

"Like," Aline scrunched her nose up. "I'm not even sure. She told me that she was moving us to Albany while I was in France. Shouldn't I have a say in that?"

"Well," Alec reasoned. "If she though you were going to be in France for the rest of high school, I'm going to say no?"

"But all of my friends are back in Illinois," Aline said, sadness lacing her voice. "And Albany is so far away from you guys and," she huffed. "I don't know."

"You don't have to move with your mom, you know," Alec told his cousin.

"Yes," she sighed. "I do. My dad died barely a year ago, and I don't think I can stand to leave her living alone."

"What about France?" Jace asked.

"France was different. Mom wanted me to go. She was the one who suggested it, actually, which is another weird thing. She ships me off to France then decides to move halfway through the semester."

"Did she say why you were moving?" asked Isabelle.

Aline shook her head. "Work. But that's hardly an explanation."

"What's weird to me," Jace said. "is that she decided to move about the same time that we moved. It can hardly be a coincidence that we both move from the same state to another state in the same six month period."

Aline looked at him, puzzled. "Are you saying that this was planned?"

"I'm not saying anything," Jace shrugged. "I just think it's a bit odd."

Alec sighed. "Everything is odd if you think about it enough."

The rest of the day was filled with laughs and playful banter. When the day was over, the four of them piled into Alec's Honda and headed home. Alec sat in the back again, Aline to his right, Jace driving and Isabelle riding shotgun. It reminded Alec of old times, besides Jace driving. Alec and Aline would always sit in the middle of Jia's minivan while Jace and Isabelle would sit in the very back, Jia driving and Maryse in the passengers seat. Things were so sweetly simple back then. Now Alec was fighting with his boyfriend about keeping Alec's horrific nightmares of him murdering his loved ones from his soulmate. It was nice to get away for a day, but peace hardly ever lasted.

Alec sighed as he picked up his AP psych book, which he had brought along with him so he could finish the reading that was due today, but since he, Isabelle, and Jace had planned on skipping, Alec saw no point in doing it on Thursday.

'After copious amount of research,' the text read. 'leading scientists have come to the conclusion that the missing color in ones vision (or the color of ones soulmates eyes) is replaced with the dullest of grays. Though one may not notice the "missing color" in earlier stages in life, studies show that once puberty is hit, children from the age of 11-15 start to notice the gray area in their vision much more than when they were younger.

'It is impossible to tell, but researchers say that in the first few years of life, toddlers have access to full color vision (have your teacher show you a video on www.eyescience.org about this). This may be because the toddlers soulmate has not been born yet or because the match has not been made. There is no scientific explanation to how or why soulmates are chosen, and Dr. Parker, leading scientist in the study, doubts that there will be any time soon.'

Chapter 36

Chapter Text

Alec fell back on Magnus' sheets, his face flushed and his hair sticky with sweat.

"Wow," Magnus sighed, turning on his side to look at his soulmate. "That was amazing."

Alec's smile was crooked as he felt Magnus' soft fingers trace the lines on his chest. After trying to talk calmly about their fight, they ended up falling into bed once again. Alec had actually wanted to resolve their problems, but Magnus always seemed to distract him somehow. Things were fine between them, Alec told himself. There was tension, yes, but they could talk and laugh together, just like they did before they had fought. Plus Alec was getting laid, so he couldn't exactly complain.

But something still tugged at the back of his mind.

He turned on his side toward Magnus, his hand propping his head up. "Can we talk?"

"Talking is boring," Magnus hummed, his mouth brushing Alec's neck. Alec's free hand wrapped around Magnus' shoulder, his fingers digging into Magnus' back.

"Magnus," Alec said pleadingly. "Magnus, come on."

"Fine," Magnus said playfully. "But you owe me some neck time."

Alec smiled shyly, adjusting his hand under his head. "So...we fought last week." Alec's stomach clenched as he said the words.

"Yes," Magnus said softly.

"We both probably said things we didn't mean," Alec continued.

"Yes," Magnus repeated.

"We both probably don't want to talk about it."

"Bingo."

"So..." Alec knew that he had done some things wrong, but he had not started the fight, so he definitely would not apologize first. He had made up his mind about that last weekend. "I don't want to get into another fight."

"I know," Magnus replied as he massaged Alec's palm. "Alexander, I was so upset. I thought you didn't trust me. I shouldn't have brought up your dreams. I just wish that you would talk to me-"

"Magnus-"

"Let me finish." Alec closed his mouth. "I just wish that you would talk to be so I would know you're okay or not."

"I tell you that I'm fine-"

"I know you're not."

"I am, Magnus," Alec snapped. Magnus dropped Alec's hand.

"Fine."

"Fine." Alec flipped back on his back, his arms crossing over his chest. He felt bad about not resolving their issue after an entire week, but he felt like they had made enough progress for one night. Well, they hadn't made much progress, but that's just how things went sometimes.

Alec thought about his dreams, hoping he wouldn't have to fall asleep and actually have them. He thought about why he had them and what they represented. His parents had mentioned Valentine before they left. They talked about him in hushed tones and behind closed doors where they thought Alec couldn't hear. He found out so many of their secrets that way. Alec remembered that name being whispered throughout his house after Max had died. 'Valentine.' Even months after, Alec would hear Robert whisper something about him or watch Maryse mouth his name to her spouse. After Alec heard what he did when he started to develop his nightmares, Alec tried to shut out the name. He would skip school on Valentine's day, when the name would be shouted cheerily from across classrooms. He would block out his mother whispering the name to his father when she excused herself from dinner. He tried not to think about it in fear of his nightmares returning. Sometimes things happen even if they are not provoked.

Alec turned over, his thoughts bothering him, and hoped to try and at least make a peace offering for the night, but Magnus was already fast asleep. Alec watched his soulmate through dropped eyelids and wondered how Magnus could fall asleep so quickly after having a fight. Alec wondered how Magnus could fall asleep so quickly in general. The dim light of the bedroom caught on the curves of Magnus' high-rising cheek bones and he lie there, his breaths even. Alec watched his lover sleep, hoping one day he could fall asleep that quickly and that peacefully.

Blue sky surrounded Alec. He gazed upon it, the grass and flowers at his feet tickling his bare legs. Alec looked around him, not feeling self conscious about his naked skin, and tried to recognize the place he was in. Nothing came to mind. The meadow stretched for miles, seeming endless from where Alec was standing. He stood there, the flowers somehow growing at an unnatural speed until they reached his waist, brushing the skin of his navel.

A hand slipped around his stomach, causing Alec to jump and spin around. Magnus stood there, a soft smile on his face. Magnus' hand lingered at Alec's hip before Magnus kissed him without warning. It felt normal for something like this to happen. Alec wasn't sure why. Magnus' bare, caramel skin was soft against Alec's pale complexion as they kissed. Magnus lowered Alec to the ground, keeping himself a few inches above of his lover. Things in Alec's head was flatlined, as if nothing were happening at all though he felt himself engaging in the things him and Magnus were doing. Magnus kissed up and down Alec's stomach, yet Alec felt nothing at all.

His eyes opened gently as Alec awoke, darkness filling his vision. The first thing Alec noticed was that he was not comfortable -- and that had nothing to do with the position he was laying in. He wasn't entirely sure why he had an extremely painful hard-on from such a mild dream, but he wanted it gone. Alec shuffled to position himself on his side, an arm sliding around Magnus' waist. He kissed Magnus' neck, hoping to wake him up and have some late night sexy times.

Magnus was awakened by an arm wrapping around his midsection. He tried not to remember the many times this had happened before when he was so much younger and smaller, but his memory deceived him. A flash of his fathers face crossed his vision, though his eyes were still closed.

"Stop," Magnus whimpered. The lips on his neck froze for a moment before beginning to move again, their warm feeling feeling sticky against Magnus' skin. "Please, dad."

The hand was removed from his waist and the body pressed to his back moved, letting the cold air fill the space between them.

"Magnus?"

"Don't touch me," his restricted voice managed. Thoughts of his childhood clawed their way to his consciousness, causing him to shutter as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Are you that mad at me?"

The voice speaking then registered in Magnus' brain, causing his eyes to shoot open. He sat up, turning around to see Alec sitting up in bed, staring at him in disbelief. Both hurt and shock were clear on his soulmates face. Magnus' eyes filled with tears as he registered Alec's face for a reason unknown even to him. Maybe happiness? Sadness? Relief?

"What- oh, Magnus," Alec whispered as he scooted closer to his soulmate. He was unsure of why Magnus was crying, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask after making such a big deal of Magnus asking about him. He pulled his soulmate closer to him, and Magnus rested his head against Alec's chest, his hands reaching up to press themselves against Alec's skin.

'Please, dad.'

Magnus' voice echoed in his ears as he comforted his distressed boyfriend. "Alexander," he choked out.

"I'm here," Alec whispered. "I'm here."

Chapter 37

Chapter Text

"Do we have to?" Alec groaned as Isabelle pulled up to the club Magnus had sent her directions to earlier that Thursday morning. The week was almost over - winter break was starting. Alec dreaded this time of year, yet having two weeks off from school was nothing to complain about.

"Yes," Isabelle replied as she got of the car. He followed. "Besides," she said from over the car. "We don't have much time left with out dear cousin."

"We have another week before she goes to Aunt Jia's, right?" Alec asked as they walked up to the building. It was a place Alec had passed before. While it looked dingy in the sunlight, at night the broken corners of the cement looked menacing. Music thumped beneath Alec's feet.

"She's going to see Helen next week, remember?"

"Right." Helen Blackthorn was believed to be Aline Penhallow's soulmate, but it was impossible to be sure until they met in person. Helen had been on vacation for several weeks even before Aline came back to New York, and Alec's cousin was extremely anxious to meet her, though she claimed she didn't want to find her soulmate right now.

"By the Angel," Isabelle sighed. "This line is long as hell." Alec looked up, noticing the ridiculously long line of people waiting to get into the club. The bouncer stood by the door, his face expressionless as people nagged at him, begging him to let them in. Isabelle looked at Alec as they approached the end of the line. "Magnus can get us in quick, right?"

Alec shrugged. Alec would be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about Magnus since their most recent rendezvous. After watching his soulmate cry for an unknown reason, Alec wasn't sure what to feel. Still, the two of them hadn't exactly gotten closure from the fight they had almost two weeks ago, and Alec wasn't sure when they would talk thoroughly about it. He wasn't even sure he wanted to. "Probably."

Isabelle sighed as she looked her brother up and down. "You should have dressed slu*ttier."

Alec looked down at his outfit (which included his favorite gray sweater, a pair of classic cut jeans and combat boots), then up at the light dusting of snow that was falling. He could only imagine how cold Isabelle was in her cropped, maroon halter top and leather pants. Her hair was tied up as well, which only exposed more of her skin. "It's freezing."

Isabelle jerked her head toward the club. "It won't be in there."

Alec huffed. "Why are we here anyway?"

"Magnus and Clary wanted us to all chill together or something."

"Magnus knows that I hate clubs."

"Does he?" Isabelle inquired, examining her acrylic nails.
Alec thought on this for a moment. He had thought that it was obvious that he liked quieter environments, but then again, Alec did make out with Magnus for the first time at a party. A rather wild party at that. "Yes."

Isabelle hummed before checking her phone. "Where the f*ck are they?" 'They', referring to Jace, Clary, and Simon, who had gone out with Maia and Jordan earlier that day. Alec wasn't sure why Isabelle hadn't gone with them.

"They'll be here soon," Alec reassured. He couldn't help but wonder where his own soulmate was. He knew that Magnus had a photo shoot that day, and that Aline was joining him. She, of course, wasn't getting her picture taken, but was only there to see what it was like and to accompany her cousins soulmate. Alec felt a pang of envy for her. He wished that he was able to go with Magnus to things such as photo-shoots and friendly lunches, but there was too much risk. The risk of being caught. The risk of people hating him for it. The risk of his parents...

"Hello darlings," an approaching voice said. Alec saw Isabelle's face light up, so he turned around to see his soulmate and cousin walking up to the line that now extended past the building. Alec looked in awe at Magnus, feeling a sharp feeling of longing. He was wearing an extremely thin black tank top and a blazer, accompanied by a think, deep gray scarf that covered his throat. His violet pants were tight against his legs, and he wore black, thick-soled boots on his feet. Aline was dressed in a deep purple, matching Magnus' pants, cropped tank top and leather pants that hung low on her slim hips. Alec's chest contracted slightly as he looked at the two of them. That should be him and Magnus, not Magnus and Alec's cousin.

"Thank god," Isabelle muttered. "Can you get us in, Magnus?"

"I'm sure if I tried hard enough, I could," Magnus said as he examined his nails. They were usually painted, but Alec assumed that the stylists at the shoot decided it wasn't manly or professional enough, so for tonight, they were bare. "Don't stare, Alexander," Magnus said with a smirk, his eyes still cast downward. "I charge for that."

Isabelle giggled before looking down at her phone. Her smile vanished. "Where the f*ck are they?!"

"I'm sure they'll be here soon, Isabelle," Magnus reassured as the line moved up.

Aline laughed uncomfortably. "I bet Clary and Jace are holding them up."

Isabelle huffed. "If they're making my boyfriend wait for them while they have sex, I swear I'm going to f*cking-"

"Don't worry, sister," Jace said as he walked up behind Isabelle, Clary's hand in his. "I wouldn't dare."

Isabelle smacked his chest. "Where have you been?"

Simon walked up next to her, his hand slipping around her hip. "There wasn't any parking, so Captain America decided we should walk fifteen blocks." He kissed Isabelle on the mouth. "Hi."

"Hi," she smiled up at him before turning back to Jace. "Fifteen blocks? Are you crazy?"

Clary smiled mischievously. "You don't know the half of it."

"Trust me," Isabelle scoffed. "I do."

Magnus choked from where he was standing next to Aline, who seemed to be holding in her giggles. Simon was looking at Isabelle like she was some sort of demon, while Jace just stared at her in amusem*nt. Alec just shook his head, a small smile playing out on his lips. As Isabelle realized what Clary meant, she immediately started stuttering. "Oh- f*ck I meant, you know what? There's no coming back from that."

The line began moving up again, and now the seven of them were the third group in line.

"No," the bouncer said, eyeing the obviously underage group. He flipped through their IDs, laughing as a few of them. "These are obviously fake." He gave the stack of cards to a red-headed girl. "Get out of here."

"You sure you can get us in?" Aline whispered to Magnus.

"You two," he pointed to Alec and Aline. "don't have a problem. It's an 18+ club." Magnus glanced at Simon. "Take those off," he pointed to Simon's glasses. "They make you look three years younger."

Simon sighed, knowing that it would be fruitless to fight with Magnus -- about anything really, but especially about fashion, and took his glasses off, shoving them into Isabelle's bag.

"I'm not your mom," Isabelle said defensively. She didn't take the glasses out.

The group in front of them filed inside, leaving Alec to wait by the bouncer, who had his hand to his ear as if he were listening to something. Alec noticed the black ear-piece wedged inside his ear, and tried to think of what a bouncer could possibly need an ear-piece for. He glanced up at Alec, then to Magnus.

"Yeah, he's here." Alec's eyebrows furrowed. Who was he talking to? The bouncer nodded before letting his hand fall from his ear, and turned back to the line.

"Magnus Bane," the bouncer said, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Good to see you."

"You as well, Wesley," Magnus said, shoving past Isabelle and Simon to stand next to Alec. "Any space in there?"

"There may be..." The man's eyes glossed over Aline and Alec, lingered slightly on Jace and Isabelle, but halted when they landed on Clary. "How old are you?" He asked gruffly.

Clary swallowed and gave him a shaky smile. "Eighteen."

Wesley chuckled. "And I'm Ryan Reynolds. Nice try."

Aline's hand shot in the air. "I met him!"

"Wesley darling," Magnus said, ignoring Aline. Alec had the sudden urge to punch Wesley in the face for stealing his pet name. "Come on. You let me in when I was under 18." His eyes glimmered with innocence.

Wesley smirked. "That was different."

Magnus smiled broadly. "However much you enjoyed our previous arrangement," he cleared his throat, his eyes flicking to Alec. "I am unable to do that anymore." Alec's insides churned as he thought about his soulmates previous life style. He glowered down at his shoes.

Wesley kept smirking. "What, it's not like you've met your soulmate. Is Ragnor Fell trying to knock some sense into you? I have to say, I haven't been the fondest of him."

"I have actually."

Wesley raised an eyebrow. "Gotten some sense knocked into you?"

"Found my soulmate."

The bouncers smile faltered. "Oh." His eyes flicked to Clary. "It's not the red-head, right?"

Magnus choked. "God no." His eyes glimmered with mischief. "But, on the note, you can let them in, can't you?" Magnus pleaded.

Wesley looked between Clary and Simon then sighed. "Alright," he said reluctantly. He pointed his clipboard at Magnus. "But if I get fired, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough." Magnus grabbed Alec's hand hand pulled him into the booming atmosphere of the club. Alec pulled his hand back sharply once they reached a table that Magnus found suitable.

"What?" He asked, leaned against the side.

Alec glared at his soulmate. "'Our arrangement?'"

Magnus rolled his eyes. "It's not like you didn't know I slept around before I met you. I told you that I did! Don't act as if this is new information."

The words barely hit Alec's ears over the pounding music. "God, I can't deal with this right now."

Anger seared through Alec's chest as he walked to the bar, the stool spinning as he slumped down into it. His fingers gripped at his dark hair and tugged, as if somehow hoping to pull the horrible thoughts about Magnus with other people out of his head. He failed.

"Can I have a shot or something?" He asked the bartender, who was standing off to the side waiting for customers. The club was filled with people, but there were at least three other people tending the bar, so customers per employee were a small ratio.

The bar tender pulled out an amber bottle after slamming a shot-glass onto the countertop, the clack of glass against stone being swallowed up by the music before it reached Alec's ears.

"You're not going to ask for an ID?" Alec asked.

The bar-tender raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to?" She slid Alec the shot. Instead of answering, Alec flung back the drink. His eyes immediately scrunched together as his throat burned from the alcohol. The bar-tender handed him a slice of a lime. He bit it. "Maybe I should have."

"Another."

The girl raised both her eyebrows this time. "Are you sure, kid?" She didn't wait for an answer before pouring another drink. Alec nodded anyway. "Here," she said, sliding Alec a salt shaker. "It'll help."

Alec licked his hand, poured the salt onto it, licked it, downed the drink, then bit into the slice of lime. His throat still burned, but the pain was getting less. The sound of the music began to dull and Alec's destructive thoughts about Magnus lulled to the bottom of his thoughts as a beautiful girl walked up to him and leaned over the counter, ordering a drink. A girl he could only assume was he friend walked up beside her.

"Aren't you something?" The first girl said seductively, her eyes glossing over a now standing Alec. She had dark, shiny, perfectly straight hair that reflected the flashing lights that revolved around the club. Her skin was tanned a nice golden and was too even to be a fake. Alec wondered where she had gone this time of year to get such a tan.

"I could eat you right up," her friend said. This one was blonde and was wearing a dress so skimpy Alec wondered if it could actually be considered clothing. It was hardly a dress, at that.

"Tell me," the dark-haired girl said as she rested her elbows against the bar, her chest facing outward. She was wearing a low-cut black dress that cut off at about mid-thigh, showing an unreasonable amount of cleavage. "are you here with anyone?"

Alec opened his mouth to reply, but words didn't come. He wasn't sure why. He wasn't flustered, he wasn't anxious. Well, he was always anxious, but that wasn't the point.
"Just friends?" The blonde asked.

Alec nodded. He wasn't sure why. "Wouldn't exactly call them friends," he chuckled. "They left me here to drink myself to death."

The girls burst out laughing. Alec wasn't sure why -- his joke wasn't even that funny. He laughed cautiously along with them, not knowing when it was appropriate to stop.

"It's a shame," the dark-haired girl said. Her manicured nails ran their way up Alec's clothed arm. "Such a pretty face shouldn't be left alone."
Alec felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

"Alright, boys," Aline said as she reached the table. "You guys have got to help me find someone to hook up with."

"What about Helen?" Clary asked, sitting down next to Simon. "Is that not happening anymore?"

Aline waved a hand. "It's not like we're dating or anything. She won't care, anyway. Now," Aline grabbed both Jace and Magnus by their coats. "you boys have to help me."

"Wait a minute," Clary said. "My boyfriend is going to be checking out chicks with you?"

"No," Aline dismissed. "Well, he'll be looking, he just can't order."

"Alright," Magnus said with a smile as he followed Aline out to the edge of the dance floor. He could use a distraction from his quarrel with Alec. He doubted that their conversation could even be called a quarrel.

Jace spotted a girl right away. She had beautifully curled blonde hair the fell to the middle of her bare back. "She is hot," he said as he pointed to her.

"Nah," Aline sighed. "She's straight."

"How do you know?" Jace asked without taking his eyes off of the blonde.

"I just do."

"How about her?" Magnus pointed out a beautiful girl with pale skin and beautiful, deep red hair the fell past the girls waist.

"Maybe," Aline said as she shuffled a bit closer. "I get a few gay vibes from her." As soon as the words left her mouth, an attractive man with black, curly hair came up behind the red-headed girl and started kissing her next, swaying their hips to the music. Aline's nose crinkled as she turned away. She spotted a cute girl with dark skin and pointed her out to Magnus. "What about her?"

Magnus, taken aback, looked at Aline like she was crazy. "Is your gaydar broken?"

"I don't know!" Aline cried, shouting over the music. "I don't do this that much."

"Let's find Alexander," Magnus said as he looked around the dark club for his soulmate.

"How would Alec help Aline find someone to hook up with?" Jace asked as he tried to find his brother.

"Though Alec is very, very, very gay," Magnus yelled with a chuckle. "He still can tell when a girl is 1) attractive and 2) gay. And since your cousins gaydar sense seems to be inconveniently unavailable at the moment, she is not much help, plus this club atmosphere is dampening my vibes."

"That was an extremely in depth explanation," Jace observed. "I found him."

Magnus turned to see where the golden boy was looking and spotted his boyfriend at the bar. It wasn't the empty shot-glass in Alec's hand that confused Magnus, but the two sparsely dressed girls talking to him. An amused expression came across Magnus' face as a brunette girl laughed and placed a hand on Alec's upper arm. He smiled with confusion as the two girls laughed. Magnus rolled his eyes as he made his way over to them. This would be...interesting.

"So," the dark-haired girl said after her laughter died out. "What's your color?"

"What?" Alec asked.

"Eye color," the blonde clarified. "Like, soulmates?"

"Oh!" Alec exclaimed. He hadn't been asked that question in a long time. "Um, gold."

"Gold!" Both girls exclaimed.

"I've never met someone with golden eyes before," the brunette girl said. "I'm Elane, by the way."

"Tina," the blonde put in.

"Uh, I'm Alec."

"Alec," Elane said, articulating each letter. "Is that short for something?"

"Alexander!" A voice shouted, making the three of them jump. Alec turned to the familiar voice and watched Magnus walk up to him. He smirked at the two girls, who seemed to be in shock, before turning to Alec. "We need your gaydar; Aline is trying to pick up girls and hers is broken apparently."

"Y-you're Magnus Bane!" Tina gasped when Magnus finished.

Magnus let out an exasperated noise. "Am I?"

"This is insane," Elane said as she pulled out her phone. "Can I get a picture?"

"Of course," Magnus said with a laugh, pulling himself closer the the dark-haired girl. Tina popped her head into their selfie at the last second.

"This is the best night of my life," she squealed as the two of them walked away. Magnus clicked his tongue.

"Not even a thank you."

Alec felt a pang of jealousy in his gut as he watched the two girls walk away. They were talking to him, not Magnus. The attention was on him, not anyone else. Anger filled his chest as he watched Magnus' smug face under the flashing lights.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

"I'm not in the mood," Alec growled as he walked away.

"Alexander!"

Alec said nothing.

After a dejected Magnus walked back to where he had left Aline and Jace, Aline was talking to some girl on the dance floor and Jace was dancing far too sensually with Clary. Simon and Isabelle had disappeared, so Magnus leaned against their table, not quite knowing what to do. He wasn't usually the one sitting out. He was alway with someone when he went out, whether it be Catarina or Ragnor, a date he had found earlier that day, or a boy or a girl he had found there. Never had his date ditched him or had his friends left his friends left him to make-out. Well, Catarina and Ragnor did sometimes, but he rarely took both of them out together.
Magnus wondered what had gotten Alec so upset. Was it the conversation with Wesley? Was it the gaydar comment? Magnus couldn't tell. The two of them already had their problems, Magnus shouldn't be adding the the pile.

But it wasn't exactly his fault. Alec was aware Magnus' previous lifestyle and shouldn't be jealous of other people because Magnus was monogamously with Alec now. Maybe they should talk about that. Except those two girls had totally been flirting with Alec, especially the brunette one. Magnus knew that Alec had been oblivious to that fact, but Magnus assumed that Alec would thank him for scaring the girls off, not get upset with him.
Yes, the two of them needed to talk - about a lot of things.

Isabelle had driven home with Clary, Jace and Simon, and Aline had left in Magnus' car with some girl, so that left Alec to Magnus back to his penthouse. The car ride was filled with tension and deafening silence that Alec could hardly bare. He parked his car, taking the keys out of the engine before crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the edge of his dashboard, waiting for Magnus to either get out or say something. He did neither. So Alec did nothing as well.

"Alec," Magnus said at last with an exhausted hint to his voice. "Why are you so upset?"

Alec scoffed. "Why am I so upset? Because Magnus!" He gestured to the door of the apartment building. "Why wouldn't I be? We're already fighting, then you talk about how you sucked some random guys dick while I'm standing right f*cking there, then you try to make everything about you! Not to mention how my damn cousin got a key to your apartment before I did!"

"She's staying with me!" Magnus exclaimed. "What am I supposed to do, just leave my f*cking audit- meeting to let her in?"

"That's not the point!" Alec slumped down in his chair.

"If you want a key, fine, I'll get you a damn key. I don't see you jumping to get me a key to your apartment."

Alec whipped his head around to stare at Magnus. "You know I can't do that."

"Did I say that I didn't?"

"Don't f*cking play that game with me," Alec said as he opened his door slammed it shut behind him. He knew he wouldn't be able to go home without Isabelle using her strange psychic powers to notice that something was wrong. Magnus followed him.

"Play what game, Alec?" Magnus shouted as he shut his door and followed Alec to the entrance of his building. "Honesty?"

"'Honesty?'" Alec laughed. "Don't talk to me about honesty."

"You can't say anything either!" Magnus yelled as he jammed the key into the lock as opened the door.

"Don't you dare bring up the dream thing."

Magnus ignored him. "You were having panic attacks in your sleep!"

"It's something that I have to deal with!" Alec defended. "You can barely say anything either, Magnus." He spit it out like venom. "You and your sneaking off and secretive phone calls."

"I'm sorry I don't want to get you involved in my work life," Magnus huffed as he jammed his thumb into the "up" button for the elevator. "It was only your wish to not tell people."

"That is not what it's about and you know it." The elevator doors opened and the two of them walked in. There was another girl in there, maybe 24, who stood in the corner on her phone. She gave Alec and Magnus a look out of the side of her eye when she saw the angry looks on their faces and the enormous amount of space between them, but decided not to say anything. She got off on floor before they did, but as soon as the door closed again, the two men started bickering.

"I'm secretive?" Magnus asked as the elevator dinged and opened. They walked into the hallway. "You're the one who has barely said two words about your little brother to me. We've known each other for months! We've said that we love each other, and you don't trust me enough to tell me about your brother?"

Alec visibly flinched. "None of us like talking about Max, and it's not like you've told me every single detail about your parents."

"You want me to tell you about my parents, hm, Alexander?" Magnus didn't wait for a reply. "My mom had an affair with my abusive biological father and tada! I was born. My mom then killed herself and left me with our amazing government." The door swung open. Slow music was playing loudly from Aline's room where she was obviously getting laid. Alec and Magnus didn't acknowledge it. "I then went to a bunch of different foster homes until they found my real dad, where he barely even noticed I was there and when he did, he beat me half to death! Is that what you wanted to know?" Magnus said. He was panting by the time he was finished, tears in his eyes as he set his keys down on the kitchen counter.

Alec wasn't sure how to react. "Magnus I-"

"Just shut up," Magnus mumbled as he pulled Alec's face to his. They pushed against each other as they kissed harshly, moving out of sync and sloppily as they made their way to Magnus' room.

The night was filled with rough kisses and torn skin and sweat as they did the only thing they knew how to make things better between them. Temporarily.

Alec groaned as he walked out to the kitchen, the lower half of his body aching like he were hit by a train. He paused as he saw an unfamiliar face in the kitchen, but then remembered that Aline had brought someone home last night. She was cute, Alec thought, with short brown hair and tanned skin. She was small, Alec noticed, so small that one of Aline's flannels fell to about her knees when she stood up straight.

"Oh," the girl said with a jump when she noticed Alec, the spoon in her coffee mug rattling against the rim. "Sorry, I was about to go back-"

"No, it's fine," Alec cut it with a smile. He sat down at the counter.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds before the girl cleared her throat and said, "So do you live here?"

A laugh built up in Alec's throat, remembering him and Magnus' fight from the night before, and shoved it back down before answering. "Uh, no."

"Oh," the girl said suggestively, leaning her elbows on the counter top. "Did he pick you up last night?"

"What?"

"Magnus Bane." She jerked her head in the direction of Magnus' hallway. She wiggled her eyebrows at Alec. "Yeah, I heard you two last night. Things got pretty steamy, eh?"

"Uh, I- um- I don't-" Alec stuttered out before the girls interrupted.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," she apologized. "But," God woman, if you don't mean to pry then stop prying. "you do look awfully young. How old are you?"

Alec gulped. "Eighteen."

"Oh, I had assumed you were older."

"Why?"

"Well, you Aline said that you," the girl stopped, putting the pieces together. "that you were older than her...how do you know her?"

"She's my cousin..." Alec said slowly and carefully.

The girl stood there for a moment, opening her mouth several times but never saying anything. "I'll be right back," she said before she walked to the hallway behind the kitchen.

Alec chuckled nervously to himself as he watched her go. His eyes wondered aimlessly around the room before landing on the stove. The clock said 9:45. "sh*t," he whispered as he sped back to Magnus' room.
Magnus was awake and sitting near the edge of his bed, head in his hands. Alec paused near the doorway, not knowing what to say. He walked over to Magnus, placing a hand on his boyfriends shoulder. Magnus instantly jerked up, his big, golden eyes staring at Alec widely.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked, not knowing what else to say.

Magnus smiled sadly. "Not exactly."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alec sat down next to Magnus, who shrugged.

"Not exactly." He leaned his head on Alec's shoulder, inhaling a shattered breath. Alec longed to reach out to his boyfriend and comfort him before he realized that there was nothing stopping him. He wrapped his arm around Magnus' shoulder, his head falling on top of his soulmates, and they sat there like that, for a long time.

After six missed called and 23 text messages, it turns out that Simon drove Jace and Isabelle to school that Friday morning.

Chapter 38

Chapter Text

"I'm going to miss you," Isabelle said against Aline's shoulder as they embraced at the bus stop. Alec watched a few feet from where Isabelle had her arms wound tightly around Aline's neck, her face nuzzled in her neck. The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon that Sunday morning, the cool chill of winter creeping up Alec's spine. "You're sure you have everything?" Isabelle asked when she pulled away. "Phone, money, passport?"

Aline made a face. "Why would I need my passport?"

"What if you have to fly to Rome in case she's not back?"

Aline was on her way to see Helen Blackthorn who had just arrived home from Rome, the vacation that Malcolm Fade - an actor and one of Magnus' friends - had taken them on as an early Christmas present. Since Aline's mom, Jia Penhallow, thought that her daughter was still in France as an exchange student, Aline decided to visit her cousins, then see go meet Helen in person, then help her mother move into their new house in Albany.

Aline laughed. "She's back, don't worry. We skyped last night." She turned to Magnus. "You have my things, right?"

Magnus took her hand and pulled it to his chest. "Of course I do, and I promise to send them to your new address on Friday."

Aline smiled melancholically as she pulled herself closer to Magnus, wrapping her arms around his midsection. "I'm going to miss you."

"Darling," Magnus sighed as he stroked Aline's hair. "We'll see each other soon, okay?"

She pulled back, nodding her head as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She said bye to everyone eventually. As she pulled back from Clary she laughed sadly as she rubbed her face. "I didn't realize how much I would miss you guys." She then turned to Alec. She said nothing as she walked to him, lifting her arms over his neck.

"Don't tell the others," she whispered in his ear. "but I'm going to miss you the most."

Alec hugged her tighter, his nose nuzzling into the crook of her neck. He inhaled a shattered breath as he held her against himself, dreading the time that he would have to watch her bus disappear into the distance.

Then the bus pulled up to the curb, forcing the two of them to part.
Aline snuffed her nose, grabbed her bags and walked to the bus after giving them all another hug. She looked back at them before she stepped into the vehicle. She looked out the widow once she found a seat, and Alec felt an pang of sorrow linger in his chest as he watched the bus pull away from the curb. He stayed and watched it get smaller and smaller on the horizon, until it finally disappeared.

Alec dug the heals of his palms into his eyes, hoping to keep his years from falling. He felt arms around him, then a chest pressed against his. Magnus' scent wafted into Alec's nose as he inhaled, piecing himself back together.

The bus stop was only a few blocks from Magnus' building, so the six of them walked back to his penthouse in silence. Alec knew he shouldn't be so upset about his cousin leaving - she wasn't that far after all, and if Helen were her soulmate, he would regret keeping her in New York City. But still, he couldn't help but miss the thought of her.

They were now in Magnus' living room, sleepily drinking coffee and talking about plans for winter break while watching reruns of Friends. Simon and Clary supposedly had a science project to work on, so they took a couple rain check days in the two weeks that the five of them had off from school. Magnus said that he had to go to a few meetings with Ragnor during that upcoming week and took Thursday off of the list of days that were available.

"You know what we should do," Isabelle said, sitting up straighter in her chair.

"Feed the ducks in Central Park human flesh," Jace interjected with a shiver.

"There aren't ducks there this time of year, Jace," Clary said with a laugh.

"We should totally spend New Years in Time Square," Isabelle finished, pretending as if Jace and Clary hadn't said anything.

"Time Square sounds fun," Simon said with a nod. "Mom said I wasn't allowed until I was 16, which I am now." Magnus looked at him with an unimpressed expression before turning back to Isabelle.

"That reminds me, what do you guys usually do for Christmas?"

Alec exchanged tense glances with Jace and Isabelle. Christmas was a dreaded time in the Lightwood household for many, many reasons. The word wasn't muttered, the lights not appreciated, presents not exchanged. Alec was sure that the lack of decorations in the apartment could have told his soulmate that something was off about the holiday season, but it could have also been blamed on the recent move and/or the absent Lightwood parents.

"Uh," Isabelle said, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "We don't celebrate Christmas."

"Oh," Clary said. "Is it a religious thing? Because when Simon said that he didn't want me to get him Christmas presents because he's Jewish-"

"It's not a religious thing," Jace said simply. Alec looked at the confused expressions on Simon and Clary's faces as they looked at each other, them their soulmates. It seems that Alec wasn't the only one to not tell his soulmate about their family's issues. Isabelle sighed, her hands now playing with her hair. Jace sat up straighter.

"I guess it's about time you all knew," he said, looking cautiously at Alec and Isabelle, who both shrugged in agreement. Jace cleared his throat. "When Izzy and I were 13 and Alec was 14, our little brother died. Hit by a car, they said. His name was Max." He inhaled, his voice wavering as he went on. "He was walking home from school one day, and Alec and I had decided that he could walk home by himself because we wanted to go to this ice cream shop that two girls in our school had invited us to. I don't know why we were eating ice cream in the middle of winter, but we thought it was the best idea since sliced bread. But when we got home, Max wasn't there. We called him - he only had a phone in case of an emergency - and he didn't answer. We were about to go looking for him when Maryse called, crying. That's when I knew something was more that just a little off." He took another few deep breaths before Isabelle took over. Alec stared blankly at the edge of the coffee table.

"He was taking a short cut home," Isabelle said, her voice slightly strained. "through an alley way. The car came right at him at full speed, or at least that's what they told us. He snapped his neck and died instantly. It was three days before Christmas." A tear rolled down her cheek, and Alec took that as a sign for him to continue the story.

"We never saw his body. He was cremated the next day."

"That's so terrible," Clary whispered, her big eyes looking widely up at Jace.

"There's more," Alec continued. Clary, Simon, and Magnus all waited patiently as Alec took a deep breath. "About this time last year, my uncle died. Jia, Aline, and he lived close to Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois. Our uncle was in Chicago on business, hoping to get paid so he could buy some extra Christmas presents and was shot in the head as he was walking to his meeting."

"Oh my god," Clary whispered. Simon said nothing. Magnus squeezed Alec's hand.

"They never caught the guy," Isabelle said wetly.

The room was deafeningly silent for a good thirty seconds before Magnus spoke. "Alexander, I'm so sorry."

Alec shrugged, still staring at the table. "It's not your fault."

"No," Magnus confirmed. "but I shouldn't have pried so much. I should have known that it's a hard thing to talk about, and I pushed you. I don't know how you could ever forgive me. I certainly wouldn't forgive myself."

Alec's eyes flicked to Magnus'. His thumb brushed against Magnus' long, thin fingers. The corner of his mouth lifted, failing to attempt a smile. "I forgive you." He sighed, resting his head on Magnus' shoulder. Magnus kissed his forehead, enveloping Alec in his arms.

The six of them sat in silence, their attention slowly returning to the sitcom playing on TV.

"We should go," Isabelle said with a laugh as she pulled her coat on. The mood had lifted since earlier that morning, and after a few games of twister (Jace hadn't played, claiming that his hair was more important than a game), the group settled down with a game of Never Have I Ever and a bottle of wine. Simon hadn't drank - neither had Alec.

"I think you should," Magnus hummed, an amused expression on his face. He grabbed Alec's hand when he tried to follow Simon out the door. "Simon took his van here, right?"

Alec's breath hitched in his throat as he watched his siblings walk down the hallway, laughing and staggering about. When they disappeared in the elevator, Alec turned back to Magnus, grabbing his other hand.

"Magnus, I really appreciate that you apologized and everything," his head dipped, almost under Magnus' chin. "but right now, I don't- I think that I should- and I need to get my car, and I just-"

"Hey," Magnus whispered, his fingers tracing under Alec's chin so he could look Alec in the eye. "It's okay." They stood there, watching each other for a few moments.

"I love you," Alec said suddenly. It had been weeks since he'd said those words to Magnus, who smiled.

"And I love you, my darling." His fingers traced the lines of Alec's cheekbones as he dipped his head to kiss Alec softly on the mouth. It was a kiss that lingered, but it wasn't passionate or hungry or eager. It was just a kiss to say "You're safe."

Alec's shoes scraped the ground as he walked to his car, his eyes trained on the ground. The thought of his brother ever lingered in his brain, but after that mornings discussion, the thought was more prevalent than ever. Alec's chest ached for his brother, and thinking that it was somehow his fault by letting Max walk home on his own - plus what he had over heard Maryse talking about in the next few days following Max's death - he couldn't help but blame himself. Isabelle, Jace, and even Robert had always told Alec that it wasn't his fault, it wasn't any of their faults, really. Just a sh*t person in a sh*t town. Robert insisted that it had nothing to do with Alec and Jace letting Max walk home alone - if it wasn't Max it would've been one of them. Alec envied Isabelle for not being able to blame herself. Isabelle had gone to an all girls Christian middle school that was all the way across the city. Because she had to ride the bus home, it was Alec and Jace's job to pick up their younger brother from the elementary school. How hard would it have been to walk a few extra blocks and take Max home? He hadn't even liked the girls that had asked him and Jace to hang out with them.

A pebble found its way in front of Alec's foot as he continued to drag his feet along the concrete. His car was parked only a couple of blocks from Taki's, which was only about ten blocks from Magnus' building. Alec usually appreciated the time to himself, but now he was dreading the rest of the walk and the lonesome car ride home
.
There was a cough behind him, pulling Alec out of his trance and causing him to look over his shoulder. There were only a few people on the sidewalk that night, but only one stood out to Alec. He was a tall man, dressed all in black with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. Strands of white hair hung out of the hood he was wearing, which would normally suggest that the man was older, but by the way he was walking, Alec couldn't help but think that the man was barely older than he was. There was nothing particularly suspicious about this individual, but Alec felt like something was off. It made him uncomfortable. He walked a few more blocks, and while the other pedestrians who were on the sidewalk either turned the corner or had become distracted by their phones, the man in black kept his head down and began to get closer and closer to Alec. His heart beat sped up the closer the man got to him, and was relieved when he noticed Taki's only a few blocks away. Alec's pace quickened as he approached the building, his feet lifting fully off the ground. A car honked at him as he ran across the street, hurrying to open the door to the coffee house and slam it shut before anyone had a chance to follow him inside. He watched through the glass as the white-haired man passed Taki's and turned the corner without a second glance. Alec turned around, his eyes closing, and slumped against the door as he tried to catch his breath.

"That may repel customers," a feminine voice said. Alec's eyes opened slightly, just enough to see the interior of the small shop. The girl behind the counter smiled. "Alec Lightwood."

A small smiled played across Alec's face as he closed his eyes again. After a second he stood up straight, turning around to check out the window again.

"Seriously," the girl said with a laugh. "You're going to get me fired."

Alec smiled, turning around again. Catarina curled her finger at him, gesturing for him to come up to the front. Her hair was different than it was the last time he saw her, when the bright blue strands were pulled tightly into a ponytail on the top of her head. Now an uncountable number of braids lined her head, weaved from the tip of her hairline to the end of her hair where dark blue beads cut them off. Catarina's roots were an inky black that bled into a sky blue, which melted into a deep midnight bluish-purple. One braid was shorter than the rest, hanging around her face. The white beads that decorated the singular braid contrasted against her dark complexion. He moved toward the counter, to which she said, "So why were you literally sprinting to get in here?"

Alec let out a breath. "There was...a guy following...following me." He took another deep breath. "Maybe paparazzi?" Of course it was paparazzi. "Magnus said that this place was safe from them or something."

Catarina smiled broadly. "You're not entirely wrong." She flipped the colorful braids that were resting against her arm over her shoulder. "They're all scared of me."

Alec raised his eyebrows. "What did you do?"

She cackled. "Let's just say that I took a few to the hospital that I work at, and I wasn't giving them a tour." Alec laughed lightly, the weight on his chest still sitting there. Catalina's smile faded as she looked down at her hands, her around the small room. "Okay," she said firmly, placing her hands in front of her so they were flat on the counter. "I promised not to do this without Ragnor, but you're already here, so I might as well."

Alec's eyebrows twisted at the center of his forehead. Catarina chuckled at his expression, the breads on her braids rattling. "Nothing too bad, honey." She looked down at her white-coated finger nails. "But I know that, you know, you and Magnus have been fighting." Alec made a noise and looked down at his shoes. "I know what it's like - Ragnor and I went through the same thing - and I'm not choosing sides or anything because Magnus will barely tell me anything about it," Alec smiled a little at that. Catarina waved her perfectly manicured hand. "Just to clarify, no matter how much I grow to like you, I will always be on Magnus' side - nothing personal. Anyway, I know that you're Magnus' soulmate and all, but just because you're meant to end up together doesn't mean that you can't hurt each other." Alec nodded, having given this talk before. He'd forgotten that he would need to have this talk one day as well; he just didn't think that it would happen today. Catarina laughed. "And I know that Ragnor is going to want to have this conversation with you as well, but I just need to tell you that if you ever hurt Magnus, I will personally shove your head so far up your ass it'll come right back out of your throat; again, nothing personal."

Alec's eyes widened as he nodded, the weight on his chest growing. Catatina smiled brightly as she reached out to pinch his cheek. "You are adorable. I could eat you up."

Alec's mouth twitched into something he thought was meant to be a smile.

"How come we haven't seen you around a lot?" She asked, resting her head onto her fist. "I mean, I don't think that Ragnor has even met you."

Alec shrugged. "I mean, I'm still in school, and my parents are really..." Alec rolled his eyes as he waved his hand. "Ugh. Plus my cousin was just staying for a few weeks, but she left for Troy today."

"Troy her soulmate?" Catarina asked, running her fingers through her braids.

Alec chuckled. "Troy the city, right near Albany." He shook his head playfully. "Does no one know where Troy is?"

Catarina shrugged, a smug look on her face. "Apparently."

"Is it okay for you to be talking?" Alec asked cautiously. "I don't want to get you into trouble.

She waved him off. "My shift is over at 7:50 anyway."

The bell on the door rang and a small girl with black, curly hair walked in and sat down in the left corner by a window.

"So," Catarina said, her hand sinking farther into her hand. "Are you doing anything over break? I mean, I have to work in the mornings but since I've spent barely no time with my best friends soulmate whom he has known for almost three months I was thinking that we could-"

"Catarina!" A booming voice yelled from the back office. "We have a customer! Get back to work."

She groaned, her hand falling from underneath her face, letting herself fall over the counter, the beads in her hair clanking on the hard surface. Alec chuckled as he looked at her as she got up, flipped her hair behind her shoulder and moaned once again. "Duty calls," she mumbled as she grabbed her notepad and straightened her apron. She paused once she was face to face with Alec, then reached her hand out and patted his cheek. "You look exhausted. Go home and get some sleep." Alec smiled and nodded before moving to walk out of the door. "Try to get eight hours!"

The sky was completely dark now and small drops of icy rain fell from the clouded heavens. Alec turned left, his car being parked only a few blocks away, as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. His fingers reached into his jeans as he passed the alleyway, his phone shining brightly in the dim lighting of the city.

Sunday 7:38 PM
Magnus: did you get home alright?

Alec smiled down at his phone, his hands reaching up to type his reply.

Sunday 7:39 PM
Alec: Someone was tailing me so I ducked into Taki's and talked to Catarina for a few minutes. Omw to my car rn

Alec held his phone in his hand as he turned it off and looked ahead. His smile still lingered on his face as his car came into view as he approached the next alley. The sky darkened as thunder clapped in the distance for a good twenty seconds. His phone buzzed again, but he barely caught a glimpse at the screen before strong force slammed him onto the hard floor of the alleyway.

His brain barely had time to comprehend what had just happened before a fist slammed into his cheek bones and caused his head to ricochet off of the asphalt. His vision was blurry for a second before he was lifted off of the ground and slammed into the wall. The crack of Alec's skull against the brick wall sharpened his vision somehow, causing his eyes to focus on the face in front of him.

The man's face was angry, all sharp edges, rough lines, high rising cheekbones and arching eyebrows. His hood had fallen off, leaving his fair hair to fall in strings around his face. He looked no older than 20.
His face gained a furious expression as he saw Alec's confused expression. He slammed Alec against the wall again. The impact forced the remaining air out of Alec's lungs. His head spun as he tried to think of someone who would want to target him. Maybe it was just a mugger. But muggers didn't usually stalk their victims for 45 minutes. He had plenty of chances to attack before.

"fa*ggot," the blond man hissed at Alec. Oh. The man smiled, his hands digging deeper into Alec's shoulders. "You're such a disgusting thing. It's unnatural, what you are. You're mutated." The man's breath was hot against Alec's skin as he let out a humorless laugh. "It's f*cking disgusting. I wish that I could kill you now, but I was told to wait. Just teach you," the man's fingers trailed up Alec's neck lightly before taking hold of his jaw, his fingers squeezing just below Alec's bone. "and your cute little parents, a lesson." The man's knee jerked up and sunk into Alec's stomach, causing him to cough. He would've doubled over if it weren't for the ragged hands holding him against the cold stone building.

"You think that hurts?" The man asked, a hint of amusem*nt in his voice. Alec's chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath before he was brought forward, only to be shoved right back into the wall. "I expect an answer, fa*ggot." The fair-haired mans sharp knee dug farther into Alec's gut.

"No," Alec whimpered, his voice harsh. His hair was soaked against his forehead now; Alec huffed, not knowing the difference between blood and rain anymore.

"You don't?" A flat palm smacked against Alec's ear. He was dizzier than before now. If he was flat on the ground, Alec was sure that he would've lost his balance and fallen. "How about I show you something that hurts then?"

Alec's eyes slid shut for a second, and they opened again only to see a closed fist coming straight at him. He barely dodged it, the man's fist hitting the side of his face instead of his nose.

"Sneaky, are we?" The man sneered as she shook out his hand. His grip on Alec's shoulder tightened. "Just like your parents?"

"You don't..." Alec wheezed. He shook his head. "You don't know my parents."

"Oh?" The man said sweetly. "You think that I'm bluffing?" He shoved Alec farther into the wall. "You think that I don't know Mommy and Daddy Lightwood? You think that I don't know that you moved here from Chicago in September, that your brother met his soulmate," he scoffed. "Clary Fray, parents Jocelyn Fray and Luke Garroway?" The man choked out a laugh. "Well, her parents are now Jocelyn Fray and Luke Garroway. Of course, Garroway couldn't possibly be little Clarissa's father, now could he?"

Alec struggled against the man's grip. "How do you know that?"

"I know a lot of things, Alec Lightwood," the man's face was inches from Alec's now, his lips curling upward. "Your little sister has calmed down since she met her little soulmate, hasn't she?" Alec jerked against the mans grip but was only rewarded with a sharp pain in his side. "That makes you happy doesn't it? That your baby sister is growing up? Or are you sad because you're such a fa*ggot," he spit the word like venom, slamming Alec into the wall again. "that you haven't noticed her changes? Is that why you're so melancholic today?" Alec looked angrily up at the man, his heart rate accelerating. The man smiled saddistically. "Maybe it's because your little brother died almost exactly four years ago. Is that why, flamer boy?"

A growl rumbled in Alec throat only for him to be pinched harder underneath his jaw. His lung burned.

"Don't growl," the man laughed. "I'll have to treat you like a dog if you growl." He shrugged. "I might just do that anyway, though." Alec's face burned from the slap laid across his face. The mans hips ground against Alec's. "You like that, fa*g?" The man laughed. "You better. You know what I should do? I should make you suck my thick co-"

"MORGENSTERN!" A voice boomed from the other end of the alley. The grip on Alec loosened, letting him slouch against the wet building.

"Father," the man said, his voice wavering.

"What did we talk about, Sebastian?" The voice was cool and collected, yet oddly eery. Alec watched the man's, Sebastian's, Adam's apple bob as he gulped.
"Sebastian!" The voice shouted. "What had we talked about?"

"Not acting too impulsively, sir!" Sebastian chanted as if he were a soldier.

"Remember what we talk about, Morgenstern. I'm not wasting my time talking to you, am I?"

"No sir."

"What?"

"Sir, no sir!"

"Good. Come on, leave the Lightwood boy."

"Yes sir."

Alec's hand gripped his side as he listened to the scrap of boots against the wet ground.

"Take this as a reminder," Sebastian sneered in Alec's ear as he walked away.

When he was sure they were gone, Alec stood up, hoping to make it to his car or back to Taki's before he passed out. His head was spinning, his vision going in and out of focus as he staggered a few misplaced steps before collapsing to the ground once again. He lie there, watching the headlights of cars approach and then get smaller, over and over again.

He felt a buzz against his leg as he lie there, sprawled against the soggy concrete. He focused all of his energy into his arm, forcing himself to pick up the phone that had fallen from his hand as he was attacked. The screen was shattered despite it's protective case. There were two texts awaiting him when he turned the screen on.

"Alec?" A concerned voice asked from the street.

His head spun as he entered his password.

"Alec!" Catarina screamed. Alec heard her shoes splashing in the puddles leading up to him.

Sunday 7:40 PM
Magnus: stay safe, darling

Alec's world went dark.

Chapter 39

Chapter Text

The wind echoed in Alec's ears when he opened his eyes. White light blinded him until his eyes focused on the rolling fields of white flowers before him. The tips of their pure petals brushed against the long, thin white shirt that was draped over Alec's shoulders and cut off at his knees. The air smelled like fresh cut grass and expensive perfume.
Alec turned around, expecting immense pain, but to his surprise, he bent with ease. There was nothing but flowers surrounding him - all white and all the same length. The sky was blue in contrast, the sun shining brightly directly over head.

"Alec?" a small voice from a distance. Alec jerked back around, needing to see the familiar face before believing his ears. Max stood there, a broad smile on his face. He wore bright white pajamas accompanied by pants, unlike Alec.

"Max?" His voice trembled as he said the name. He'd forgotten how the sound of his little brothers name sounded coming from his mouth after not saying it for so many years, even in dreams.

"Alec!" Max's voice was giddily as he jumped in the air and began to run the distance from where we was to where Alec stood. They were about 100 feet away, but that short distance felt like 1,000 miles. Alec picked up his feet and sprinted to his brother, his arms open and his smile wide. Max laughed as they became closer, now no more than 20 feet away.

Then a gun sounded; Alec froze. The shot echoed in the empty field, the crack lasting far longer than it should have. Alec heard it over and over in his head as he watched his brothers forehead slit open, pieces of his skull detaching from his head. The once pure, white flowers were now coated in slick, maroon blood. Max stood there motionless for a second before blood started dripping from his mouth. His eyes, full of tears, went empty as he fell. Alec screamed.

"No!" He barely recognized his own voice as it rang in the distance. As he watched his brothers lifeless body fall, he looked off into the distance where the culprit should be.

He saw himself, dressed it dark red on the other side of the meadow. The leather contrasted against the white of the remaining flowers, and Alec found himself quivering as he looked at himself. He watched the other-him lower the gun, an evil grin plastered on his face.

"Next time," the other Alec shouted. His voice sounded like he had swallowed gravel. The flowers began to change color starting from where the evil Alec stood, as if someone was turning over a card that was two different colors. The other Alec cackled. "It will be you holding the gun!"

The flowers started turning around Alec as his gaze watched the other him from 100 feet away. The blood on the white petals smeared against Alec's paper white shirt. He felt slimy, unclean-

"Disgusting."

Air filled Alec's lungs as he gasped. His body immediately convulsed upward, pain shooting throughout his limbs. His head pounded and his throat locked. He looked down at his arms, confused by the white bed sheets, and noticed the thin IV attached to his bruised arm. Memories from the previous night came crashing in, and Alec's face went blank. His heart rate sped up as the words from the night before echoed in his ears.

"Oh? You think I'm bluffing?"

Alec shivered, sending a wave of pain down his spine. The door to his white room opened.

"Oh!" Catarina exclaimed, rushing over to the bed. "I didn't know you were awake." Her hand rested on her forehead for a brief second before she picked up a thermometer and stuck it in his mouth. "Lie back down." Alec did as he was told, not wanting to sit up any longer anyway. The thermometer beeped.

Catarina sighed. "Your fever isn't that high, thank god, but there are a few things I need to tell you about." Alec nodded. She puffed out her cheeks. "Let's start with your injuries. We haven't done a brain scan yet, but you have symptoms of a concussion. We'll probably have x-rays done later today. There's internal bleeding in your right side along with three cracked rids. There are minor abrasions over your body, but those are the least of your worries."

Alec nodded again. He was expecting a lot worse.

"Magnus is in the sitting room and your siblings are on the way."

Alec nodded once more. "Can I see him?"

The sound of Magnus' foot continuously thumping against the tile was the only noise disrupting the irritating silence in the waiting room of the hospital. Catarina had called him the previous night saying that she had found Alec passed out in an alley way and was taking him to the hospital. Magnus had then proceeded to rush to the hospital only to be told that no one could see Alec until he had woken up, so Magnus had taken up a seat in the waiting room and tried to call Jace and Isabelle. Neither of them had picked up until earlier that afternoon and were now trying to make their way to Brooklyn, though traffic and the sizable amount of snow that fell last night wouldn't make it easy for them.

Magnus' phone buzzed in his hand.

Monday 2:34 PM
Camille: I've given you plenty of warnings, Bane, but since your name is on the final casting call for the auditions next month, I'm guessing you don't plan on dropping out. Maybe I'll give you an incentive to do so.

Magnus cleared his messages before turning his phone off. He tried not to take Camille's threats seriously, and now really wasn't the time for her to threaten him. She had been sending him the same text in variation all week, and Magnus was frankly sick of it.

Catarina emerged from the hallway of the hospital and Magnus rose his head to greet her. She sat down in the chair next to him, holding Alec's file close to her chest. Magnus swallowed. "Is he alright?"

Catarina nodded. "Just woke up. He should be fine in a few weeks. Just some scrapes and bruises plus a couple of cracked ribs. We haven't done brain scans yet, but we're almost positive that he has a concussion." Magnus looked forward as he nodded, relief filling his chest. He felt a hand grip his arm. "But we have noticed something of some concern." Magnus turned his attention back to Catarina. She bit her lip before continuing. "His heart rate stayed pretty steady during the night - not perfect but that is not unusual for traumatized patients - but in his last few hours of rest, Alec's heart rate rose incredibly high incredibly fast. Just before he woke up was the worst. I was monitoring his machines as I watched the security tapes from his room, and he was thrashing extremely violently- it looked almost as if he were about to scream." Magnus' chest tightened. Alec was still having nightmares. Alec had just been attacked. Catarina squeezed his arm. "I have no idea if he has had trauma in his life before this or if these nightmares are a regular thing or if his attack triggered or worsened them, but I was thinking about bringing in a psychiatrist -- it's all covered by his insurance, don't worry, but I just thought that I should let you know."

"Do you think that the attack added to his nightmares?" Magnus asked quietly.

"I can't say," Catarina told him. "There is a possibility, but I'm not exactly a psychologist."

"I think you should do it," Magnus stated simply.

"Do what?"

"Call the psych."

Catarina's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" Magnus nodded.

"He needs one. He won't let his feelings out."

Catarina watched him after he spoke, the fluorescent lights of the hospital glinting off of her dark skin as she co*cked her head. "Is that what you've been fighting about?"

Magnus waved a dismissive hand. "Something like that."

"Oh," Catarina said, standing up. "I almost forgot. He wanted to see you."

Snow had begun to fall on that
gloomy afternoon in December. The sun had begun to sink from its place in the sky and had disappeared from Alec's line of sight as it dipped below the rooftops of buildings.
The door to Alec's room swung open and he scrambled to sit upright, knowing that he would be seeing Magnus. He hated that Magnus would see him like this - weak and pathetic and vulnerable. A gasp sounded from the doorway where Catarina stood, Magnus close behind her with his hand covering his mouth. Alec froze when his eyes connected with Magnus'. The golden gleam that always seemed to be shining in them was gone, replaced with a hollow emptiness. The edges of Magnus' eyes were sharp, aware, worried-

Scared.

"Alexander oh my god," Magnus muttered hastily as he shoved past Catarina. His arms were caressing Alec's head before Alec could make a sound. "I was so worried," he mumbled into Alec's hair.

"Magnus," he said, breathing in Magnus's comforting scent. The pain in his ribs only allowed him to raise his arms so that his hands brushed Magnus' hips, but Alec rested them there anyway. They stayed like that for a few moments, breathing each other in, completely forgetting about the past couple weeks of fighting.

"I hate to interrupt," Catarina said, leaning forward on her white nurses shoes. "But the police do need to come by and collect a report."

"What?" Alec asked, his heart rate speeding up. The monitor beeped faster.

Catarina watched the monitor, her expression confused. Magnus, noticing that something about Alec was off, turned back to Catarina. "Cat," he said, his tone understanding. "It seems that Alexander is in a bit of shock, you could say. Do you think that it is entirely wise to force him to relive the events of last night so soon?"

Catarina raised her eyebrows. "What, you think I called the police? Magnus, I'm not stupid. It looked like..." She eyed Magnus carefully before glancing at Alec. "It looked like something I had encountered before, and I decided that it wouldn't be the best to call the PoPo. One of the other nurses did; it's policy." She looked over Alec once again. "You don't have to press charges." He nodded, looking down at the blindingly white sheets that covered his legs.

"I'll leave you two alone," Catarina said before exiting the room. As soon as the door clicked shut Magnus turned to Alec and started gushing.

"My Alexander," he said, getting down to his knees and clasping one of Alec's hand between his two. "I was so incredibly worried about you. I was here all night -- I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I could barely think about anything but what I would do if you weren't okay."

"Magnus-"

"Let me finish," he said, rubbing the back of Alec's hand with his thumb. "I realized that I did not know what I would do. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that we had been fighting for a full two weeks, then you would be gone." Magnus took a deep breath, then looked directly into Alec's eyes. He began to feel self-conscious under Magnus' heavy gaze. "I just have to say that I'm so, so sincerely sorry. For everything. I'm sure that what you went through with Max was extremely traumatic for you, and I really shouldn't have pried. And you are right -- your dreams are your business, not mine." His hand cupped Alec's cheek. "All that I need to know is that you are truly alright after waking from them until you're ready to talk about it."

Alec stared at Magnus for a moment, truly taking in what he was saying. He knew for a fact that both he and Magnus were very stubborn when it came to fighting. They fought over what to eat for dinner and what movie to watch and whether their in interpretations of certain characters in television shows were correct, but at the end of the day, when it really mattered, Magnus' apology showed that there was nothing better than agreement.

"I'm sorry too," Alec croaked, placing his hand over Magnus'. "I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have. Things about you and your past and...I was so inconsiderate of anyone but myself."

A tear ran down Magnus' cheek as he smiled. When Alec was younger, he would go to the park with Isabelle and Maryse and there was a merry go round there. It wasn't actually a merry go round, more like a wheel that about ten kids could sit on. Maryse would spin Alec and Isabelle around until their heads would spin and laughter erupted from their lips. That's what it felt like to kiss Magnus just them. After weeks of rough, desperate kisses, this one made Alec feel light and happy and like he could fly through the air.

When Magnus pulled back, he sat there for a moment, his eyes closed with his forehead pressed against Alec's. "I love you so much," he whispered at last.

The corner of Alec's mouth almost lifted. "I love you too. More than I've ever loved anyone. I love you."

Jace and Isabelle arrived shortly, both complete frantic. Catarina led them to Alec's room only to find Magnus asleep in the small space on the hospital bed next to Alec, his head nuzzled in Alec's neck.

"Aw," Isabelle said quickly. "They made up."

"Finally," Jace mumbled. "I can't believe they were fighting for two weeks or something as stupid as a nightmare." Isabelle watched at Catarina pursed her lips at Jace's comment, a look of anger in her blue eyes.

"Did I mention," Isabelle said, trying to break the tension. "how much I love your hair?"

Catarina smiled broadly as her hand went up to the dark braids cascading from her head. "Thanks, I just had them done last week."

"They're totally adorable," replied Isabelle, smiling. "Love the blue."

Catarina elegantly brushed the braids over her shoulder. "Blue is my color." She looked down at Magnus, smacking his head to wake him up. "Get up. This bed is not for you, you f*cking weeb."

Magnus groaned, rubbing his head. "Excuse you," he mumbled, his speech sluggish from sleep. "I am Asian. I cannot be a weeb if I am Asian."

"Yes you can," Catarina put simply as she looked down at her clipboard. "Hurry up, I have to get a doctor in here to do brain scans before my shift ends."

"Why do you have to?" Magnus asked, emphasizing the word 'you.'

Catarina looked at him through her eyelashes. "Would you rather some other nurse in here, probably one who hasn't found her soulmate, watching Alec's beautiful sleeping face until he wakes up?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "What in gods name does that have to do with brain scans, Catarina?"

"Just get out of the damn bed."

Alec stirred after Magnus had reluctantly left his side. "Magnus?" He asked, his voice thick with drowsiness. His eyes opened a sliver, revealing the deep blue eyes that Isabelle had always envied. How had she been stuck with brown eyes, of all colors? For the longest time she had thought that her eyes were always going to be gray, but sometimes she would daydream about the color. It wasn't a very appealing name. Brown. Even when she met her soulmate, her eyes were colorless, the deepest of chestnuts. If she had known that her eyes were almost black, she wouldn't have been so desperate to find her soulmate. Not that Isabelle wasn't glad that Simon was in her life. If fact, things with them were almost perfect. But looking back, she didn't think that she would have anticipated being able to see in full color if she had known what the color brown looked like. The whole ordeal seemed very anticlimactic.
"Magnus where are you?" Magnus' hand fell to Alec's cheek.

"I'm here, darling."

Alec sighed as his hand reached up to brush Magnus'. Isabelle looked fondly upon her brother, suddenly remembering that he probably had emotional and physical trauma from his attack. "Alec?" She asked, getting on her knees so she could look her brother in the eye. His eyes fluttered open.

"Iz?"

Isabelle smiled sadly. "Yeah, it's me. Jace is here too." She ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry we weren't here sooner."

Alec made a dismissive noise, his eyes drooping shut again. "Hmm 'tis fine."

"Are you alright?"

"Iz," Jace said. "If he were alright he wouldn't be here."

"Right." She shook her head. "What happened to you?"

Alec stared at Isabelle who was crouched at his side, her fingers brushing his as her looked upon him worriedly.

"What happened to you?"

The words echoed in his ears as he thought about the previous night. He thought about how the Morgenstern boy had beaten him and how Alec had been too stunned - by everything - to fight back. He thought about how Sebastian had said that it was a warning for him and his parents. Did that mean Isabelle and Jace as well? What about Clary and Simon? Sebastian spat out Clary's name like he was cleaning venom from the bite of a lethal snake, so he must know her from somewhere. If Sebastian knew who Jace's soulmate was, did that mean he also knew who Alec's soulmate was? If Alec's anxiety were water, it would've drowned him.

"This guy was tailing me," Alec started, and explained everything to Isabelle, Jace, Magnus, and Catarina, who was lurking by the machines that Alec was attached to. He told them about how Sebastian threatened him and his parents, told them about how he knew about Clary, how he knew about Isabelle and Alec's anxieties about growing apart from his siblings, about the man calling him a Morgenstern.
The four of them sat in the thick silence of the room for a moment before Catarina was called to the front, and had to leave abruptly.

"There is definitely something going on with mom and dad that they aren't telling us about," Isabelle said slowly after another moment of dreadful silence.

"Tell me about it," Alec mumbled as he looked down at the IV attached to his arm.

"Should we confront them about it?" Jace asked, the back of his finger tips running across the stumble growing on his jaw.

"We'll have to at some point." Alec looked at Magnus. He stayed quiet. Turning his attention back to his siblings, Alec said, "Before mom and dad left, I heard them talking. Mom was so paranoid about someone kidnapping me because they worked for..." Alec shuttered at the name, repressing the memories that came along with it. "Valentine." The name was like the bitter taste of snakes venom on Alec's lips, promising to bring him horrible images in his dreams. He hadn't spoken the name since he was 14, and hadn't ever expected to utter it again. Yet here he was. "They started talking about having to leave to talk to some other person, not Valentine."

"sh*t," Jace breathed out, his head falling into his hand. "What have they gotten themselves into?"

"I know that name from somewhere," Magnus whispered. They three siblings turned their heads to him. "Valentine Morgenstern. I don't know where, but I have heard it."