Part One: E Tu Sorridi

New York Institute Christmas Party, December 22nd 2008

The room was filled with golden light and the smell of Christmas: spice, pine and warmth. The Institute looked absolutely beautiful; Magnus had outdone himself. Alec gazed out of the window into the darkness of the city, speckled with electric lights and thrumming with life. And knowing that New York was thriving, alive and celebrating the festive season was, in an odd way, a comfort. Despite all the loss and the pain, they had succeeded. Good had won out over evil and the world was relatively safe now; at least, for the time being and only if you remembered that demons were relentless and still filtered over to this world to wreak havoc.

He let out a long sigh. His own, personal little world would never be the same again, but it was all part of the fate of a Shadowhunter. From a young age it had been drilled into him that those you loved would die, but it still didn't make it easier. Alec had mourned the loss of his little brother Max, who had really been the first casualty of the war against Sebastian. This had really been the greatest injustice if all, because Max had been an innocent, he hadn't fought, he hadn't been armed. It still stung his heart to think of it. And now he dressed in white once more. Despite it being Christmas, everyone here at the Institute Party had chosen to remain in mourning colours in order to commemorate the great loss of life.

Thank the Angel for what I have.

Without Magnus he knew he would have died on the battlefield. But he had had something to fight for and somehow, miraculously, he had survived. They had both survived and they were together. And, of course, Magnus was mortal now. They would be able to spend a lifetime together; they would be able to grow old together and enjoy their life. And he knew that they would meet in the next life too, if the Universe was kind.

His partner's immortality had been the price he had to pay. Magnus fell in the battle and although Alec had no idea what length of time had passed with him holding the Warlock's lifeless pale body in his arms as he shook with grief, Magnus' father had appeared at some point, as the battle still raged around them, and had resuscitated his son: on condition that Magnus yield up his immortality.

Alec knew he shouldn't think any sort of warm or fuzzy feelings about Magnus' father, but he couldn't help it. True, it had cost Magnus his immortality, but in Alec's opinion it had been a favour rather than a payment. Of course, Magnus' father had made some pretty awful threats about the fact that now Magnus was mortal he would be able to 'claim him'. But that was the problem with demons; "all talk , no trousers" as Magnus would say.

The only thing about surviving, though, was that awful feeling of being the one left behind. And right at this moment, in the large room that was filled with Shadowhunters and Downworlders and friends and family, Alec felt that hollow pang of grief rip through him. Had it all been worth it? Absolutely. But that emptiness and grief would always mark him and haunt him for the rest of his life. He knew he had to get used to it, but it was difficult.

Alec's eyes stung with tears in the low light as he remembered his mother's sacrifice. She had shielded him as Sebastian had attacked and then had died in his arms, telling him that she was proud of him and that she loved him and to look after his sister. He would never forget that moment, it was burned into him and the scar would always ache. As for looking after his sister, Isabelle was quite capable of looking after herself. In fact, Isabelle had saved them all. It had been some weird magical power in her whip that had created a shield around them as the towers had shattered and rained down upon the battlefield in large and fatal translucent shards. Izzy's comment at the time had been, "that's the best Birthday present you ever got!" And had to explain to him in the days that followed that when he and Magnus had first got together he had enchanted Isabelle's whip somehow as Alec's eighteenth birthday present – because Magnus knew that his sister's protection meant more to him than anything. Alec had always assumed his eighteenth birthday present form Magnus had been an extra-long makeout session on the Warlock's couch and a trip to Coney Island on their second ever 'real' date.

The recent memory of the battle prickled in his mind, but was quickly washed away when he saw his lover staring at him from across the room as he helped himself to some bright pink punch. This was his happy ending; this is what he had fought for.

Alec began to make his way towards the Warlock, fully intending to ask for a dance, when he heard his name being yelled from the doorway.

"Alec!"

He turned towards the source to find his sister stood there, resplendent in a long white lace gown that clung tightly to her curved figure. Although completely covered by the lace, the sheerness of the fabric left little to the imagination, though she was wearing a short white slip underneath. She looked dazzling; like some enchanted princess with her ink black tumbling locks and her scandalously red lips. Alec smiled warmly and opened his arms to her. With a deep intake of breath she ran at him laughing and bowled into him as he swept her up and hugged her tightly, spinning her around joyously in the air.

"Oh I missed you so much!" he gushed. Isabelle let out a beautiful peel of laughter and stroked the side of his cheek as he placed her carefully back down on the floor.

"Missed you too loser," she said in a soft, affectionate whisper.

She had been gone for the last couple of weeks visiting the Paris Institute, needing to get away for a while. Isabelle had probably fared the worst out of all of them; she had lost not only their parents but also Simon. She had also been the one who had killed their father. Although Sebastian had turned him and she was only acting in self-defence, she had been so broken that he hadn't known if she would ever recover. However, seeing her here this evening looking so radiant and so normal made him feel happy beyond belief.

"Izzy!" Jace yelled as he grasped her in a bear hug.

"Stop it! You'll mess up my hair!" she screamed, though she was smiling.

The family was reunited now. They were the last of the Lightwoods, but at least they were together. Jace grabbed Alec by the shoulder and hugged them both, the three of them locked together and an overwhelming feeling of relief and love passing through them.

Clary joined them, a sad smile clouding her expression as Isabelle wrapped her in her arms. Alec knew Clary blamed herself for a lot of what had happened by not being able to stop Sebastian sooner. Finally, Magnus came over to them, cups floating magically above his head – that was his favourite party trick – a drink for each of them.

"Ho ho ho!" Magnus exclaimed jubilantly, passing them each a glass in turn.

"Magnus," Isabelle said warmly and hugged the Warlock before he was able to pass her drink to her. Though appearing to be a little stunned at first, he returned the hug with affection.

"Thank you," she whispered to Magnus quietly, making Alec wonder what she was thanking his boyfriend for. He looked at them both quizzically though neither acknowledged him before Magnus broke the hug and gave her a knowing nod.

"Let's have a toast!" his lover exclaimed with glee, passing out the remaining glasses and holding the last one up above his glittered head. "To friends!" he finished, pumping the glass of pink liquid in the air triumphantly.

"To family," Jace countered, holding his drink aloft too. Magnus smiled at him in agreement and they all raised their glasses and repeated the sentiment. Magnus then insisted on 'clinking' everybody's glass with his own. Alec suspected his boyfriend might be drunk.

A comfortable silence fell upon the group as they stood there together, bathed in the golden light of hundreds of candles, remembering those they had lost and giving thanks for those they still had. Suddenly, a voice broke their reverie.

"Alec," Jia Penhallow greeted him. Jia had been staying at the New York Institute quite a bit over the past few weeks, along with her daughter Aline and Aline's partner Helen. This was partly because Alicante needed to be extensively re-built and also because the New York Institute technically now had no one running it. The Consul embraced him and Alec had to bend over to hug her back on account of their height difference.

"Merry Christmas," she told him affectionately, planting a very light kiss on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Jia," he told her back. Jia had lost her husband in the battle and Alec suspected that she was deliberately keeping herself busy in order to not have to think about it; she had been splitting her time between her Consul duties and overseeing the re-construction of Alicante, the running of the Beijing Institute and also the running of the New York Institute. He had spoken with her only the night before about it and she had promised him to slow the pace a little.

"Can I have a word a moment please Alec?" she asked him. Alec looked around to the rest of the group, who seemed to have no objection with him going off with Jia for a while. Magnus shot him one of his lovely smiles that warmed him up on the inside and Aline and Helen had suddenly appeared and began chatting to Clary, pulling the group's attention away from him.

They retreated to an alcove and Jia patted down her brocaded white shift dress a little nervously.

"Is something the matter?" Alec asked her, his concern obvious. He immediately regretted his words, however, realising that there was a lot going on with all of them at the moment as they came to terms with their losses. There was something the matter with everyone right now.

"No, no, but I do need to talk to you on official Council business Alec." She looked up at him and gave him a tired-looking smile. Alec's heart skipped a beat.

What have I done wrong now?

"You know, Alec, you have turned out to be a wonderful young man. You are kind and empathetic and you genuinely care about people. You have a selfless streak that is completely genuine and truly admirable. I've known you since you were a little baby and it makes me so proud to see what you have become."

Alec could only stare at her, a little taken aback by her words.

"And, please believe me, your parents would be very proud of you too." Tears began to cloud her dark brown eyes and she had to look away from him for a moment to steady herself. Alec could feel a stinging in the back of his throat, but he managed to hold his emotions back.

"So I have something very important to ask you."

"What?" Alec asked with trepidation.

"The council and I have decided we would like to offer you the position of Head of the New York Institute."
There was a stunned, gaping silence as what the Consul had said filtered through and sunk in.

"What?" he asked again, thinking he was beginning to sound incredibly dim.

"Head of the New York Institute: what do you say Alec?" She was smiling blithely at him, clearly awaiting an answer.

"B-but why me? Are you sure? I mean, this is a big responsibility and…"

"Alec, this is the Council's decision. It was debated, at length, as the New York Institute is very important to the Clave. But we all feel that you would do a wonderful job, despite your youth and relative inexperience. And who would be better for the job? You were raised here Alec, it's a part of you."

Alec nodded in agreement, though his dark blue eyes spoke only of insecurity and un-surety, pushing Jia to carry on.

"And I think it would be wonderful for you to take on this place as your parent's legacy," she added warmly, patting him on his arm in a comforting gesture. Alec shifted his weight nervously.

"So you're sure the Council thinks this is a good idea? You want me to be head of the Institute? There are so many other people who would probably be more suitable…"
"Not so many anymore," she interrupted darkly, her voice dropping with sadness.

"But surely there is someone who would be more appropriate…"
"I shall not hear you self-deprecating yourself in front of me Alec!" she chimed in, suddenly cheerful. "You are the Council's choice. You can, of course, refuse the position, though the Council, especially myself, would be very disappointed if you did." She was looking at him sternly, her lips pressed into a thin hard line; he supposed she wasn't used to people putting up such a fight over being offered prestigious posts amongst the Clave.

"Can I at least think about it?" Alec asked her sheepishly and noticing her expression soften. She looked at him in the same way his mother used to look at him when he was little and he had said something 'cute'.

"Of course, but I will need your answer by Sunday because I am going back to Alicante for a couple of weeks and will need to inform the Council of your decision. It is a shame you can't accept tonight because I would have loved to announce it at the party."

"I haven't said I was going to accept yet…"
Jia shrugged at him. "I suppose you need to go and talk about this with Magnus. You will need to move into the Institute permanently and I know how much he has been pining for his own space over the past couple of weeks."
"Magnus," Alec said aloud, as if he had only just remembered his boyfriend in all this. "Magnus would be allowed to live with me here?" Alec's chest tightened in anticipation.

"Well I can't see why not. Relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders are not prohibited and Downworlders have lived at Institutes with their Nephilim partners before. After all that Magnus has done for the Clave over the past few months I cannot see there being any objections. He will not, of course, have any say in the running of the Institute as that will be your responsibility, Alec." She smiled wickedly at him. "Although, I am sure on a personal level he may have a lot of influence. But, you know, in an official capacity he will just be a resident here."

"Magnus really won't like the idea of living here…" Alec grumbled, remembering some of the rants and tantrums his lover had had recently about their current living situation. Alec knew Magnus missed his loft and missed being able to throw parties. Responsibility for tonight's Christmas Party had been given to Magnus only because he had been complaining very loudly about no longer being the 'hostess with the mostess' and how depressing it was to not be able to throw parties.

"Well I should leave you to get on with telling him!" Jia exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I still haven't said I would accept yet," Alec argued.

"True," she conceded. "But I have a feeling this is the kind of opportunity doesn't come along very often and I can be very persuasive." She waved her hand nonchalantly in the air, a big grin plastered on her face that made her look about twenty years younger. Alec could see why his mother would have liked Jia so much.

"You've obviously not encountered Magnus in an argument before," he mumbled in response before they both headed back into the warmly lit room to re-join the other guests.

"What?!"
"Shhh!" he berated his sister, pulling her to the side as if hiding her behind a large plant pot would mean nobody would take much notice of her barely contained outburst.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed in a whisper, a broad grin spread across her face. "You've been offered the Institute?! Oh my god Alec that is fantastic!" she gushed at him, trying to whisper but seemingly unable to control her excitement. He nodded his head slowly and she flung herself into his arms.

"Ahhhh!" she squealed and Alec had to shush her again.

"What did Magnus say?! Does Jace know yet?!"

"You're the first person I've told…"
She furrowed her brow for a moment, clearly unsure whether he should have told her the news before his boyfriend or parabatai, but then she lit up and squealed again before practically jumping on him and planting a big kiss on his cheek.

"I haven't accepted it yet, Iz!" he protested, trying to wrench her free of his neck. Her bright red nails were as sharp as talons and were now digging into his skin. When he finally managed to pull her away she grasped at his hands, tears clouding her pretty eyes.

"Oh Izzy, don't. You'll set me off," he told her honestly, trying to gulp down his own tears.

She swept her fingers delicately underneath her eyes to avoid smudging her makeup as she wiped away the moisture there.

"You don't think Jace will be angry?" Alec asked her quietly.

"What?! Why on earth would Jace be angry? Jace will be thrilled!"

"It's just… Jace is like the 'saviour' and everything isn't he. And maybe he will feel like I don't deserve the job because it should be him who is honoured and – "

"Ok, firstly, Jace is not a 'saviour'. Jace may have dealt the final blow but it was Clary who defeated Sebastian. Secondly, you know Jace won't want to be 'honoured' or anything like that! He would hate it! And, well, I think you deserve this and Jace will too. He's your parabatai Alec! He will be so happy for you! I mean, come on, can you honestly see Jace running this place? Now, with you running it and having to worry about procedure and admin and protocol and Jace just allowed to continue living here and not be involved in any of that stuff…" she grinned salaciously at him, baring her delicate white teeth. "He'll love it! Really, neither me nor Jace would be able to run this place. But you – you would be fantastic."

He smiled weakly at her and she enfolded him in a tight hug once again.

"Maybe you could do me a favour?" he asked her and she pulled apart from him and looked searchingly into his eyes. "Could you possibly go and tell Jace about Jia's offer? And tell him that I haven't accepted it yet – please make that clear?"

"Why don't you want to tell him yourself?"

"I need to speak with Magnus. If one of them finds out the other heard about it first there will be hell to pay. But if you go tell Jace and let him know that the reason I couldn't tell him was because I needed to have a serious talk with Magnus about it…"

"I get it. Jace will think that you wanted him to know first but you had to go talk to Magnus about it and deal with any 'drama'. And you can tell Magnus that you have only told me and that I then went and told Jace of my own accord."

"Exactly," he said with a small conspirational smile. She gave his hand another squeeze before bouncing off to go and tell Jace and Clary the gossip and Alec began to scan the room for his boyfriend It really wasn't very difficult to pick out Magnus in a crowd: he was currently entertaining a group of children (most of whom looked like they were Blackthorns and Alec briefly wondered whether that meant they would all have to make a trip to Los Angeles for the LA Institute Boxing Day Party) by changing all the colours of the Christmas Tree decorations.

He's so good with kids.

Alec faltered for a second, shocked by that little thought.

Where the hell did that come from?

He shook his head to try and regain his composure before striding over to the Warlock. As he approached, he managed to catch Magnus' eye and his lover became briefly distracted from enchanting straws for the children that would allow them to blow multi-coloured bubbles into their non-alcoholic punch or milkshakes.

"Hey," Magnus greeted him. His boyfriend came over to where he was hovering at the edge of the group of children and planted a light kiss on his lips.

"Ew!" he heard from one of the group, accompanied by a lot of giggling. Children were terrifying.

"Magnus?" a small voice spoke out and they both looked down at a small boy with messy brown hair sat cross-legged on the floor, studying a festive combination of red, green and gold bubbles in what appeared to be chocolate milkshake. Alec couldn't recall which one he was, but he was definitely a Blackthorn.

"Yes?" his boyfriend asked in a sing-song voice.

"Are you and Alec married?"

Such a simple and innocent question for a small child to ask, but it made Alec angry and panicked at the same time and he could feel the blush spreading across his cheeks. He wasn't sure why he reacted like that, but he really didn't think there could have been a more awkward question.

Magnus, thankfully, had chosen to go and crouch next to the young boy rather than look at Alec. He was uncertain how the Warlock would take Alec's reaction to the question.

"No, we're not married," he told the child calmly.

"Why not?" he asked curiously, looking up at Magnus with a confused expression.

"Well, Alec hasn't asked me yet."

Alec almost fainted at that and began to cough loudly with nervousness. Magnus grinned at him sweetly, though Alec could tell his boyfriend was only pretending to be innocent.

"Ask you?" the boy repeated, clearly perplexed by the notion.

"When you want to marry someone you have to ask them nicely, because you wouldn't want them to say no. It's called a 'proposal' when you ask someone to marry you and when you ask you have to get down on one knee and be very soppy and romantic."

The young boy winced at the 'soppy and romantic' part.

"Is it because you are both men?" a young girl who looked remarkably like the little boy piped up, coming over to them as the rest of the group of children began running away in a swarm, shouting and squealing with laughter.

"Eavesdropping is rude," Alec told her flatly. Magnus looked at him shocked, raising one of his finely pruned eyebrows at the outburst. The little girl looked at him blankly for a moment before deciding that it wasn't worth saying sorry or arguing about before turning back around to Magnus. "Well, is that the reason?"

"It's not very traditional for two men to get married, but I can't see any reason why they shouldn't. Can you?"
She smiled at him and shook her head. "What about two women? Helen and Aline should get married too because they love each other."

"But if you love someone then you don't always need to get married. Some people like the idea of it and others don't. The important thing is that you both promise to be faithful to each other and loyal and kind and trusting." Alec noticed that both children looked rather relieved by that statement.

"Magnus, I need to talk to you," Alec blurted out, no longer able to suffer through the awkwardness.

The Warlock looked at the children dramatically before winking and walking over to Alec. As he pulled his boyfriend away to a corner he could hear the Blackthorn kids speculate.

"I wonder if he's going to ask Magnus to marry him?!" the girl asked excitedly.

"Don't be silly. An Institute isn't romantic and soppy."

Alec dragged Magnus all the way into the hall, wanting to be well sure he was out of earshot of those embarrassing children.

"So are you going to get down on one knee?" Magnus asked him, looking serious. Alec's heart almost leapt out of his mouth and he found himself stammering incoherently trying to find what to say to that. Magnus' expression broke into a languid smile, reminding Alec of when the sun appears after a summer storm. He stopped jabbering and gazed lovingly at his boyfriend, suddenly stupified and silent.

"I was only joking Alexander," Magnus told him softly, though Alec thought he detected a hint of sadness in his voice. However, now was not the time to get muddled up with thoughts about Magnus wearing a wedding dress.

"Magnus – Jia Penhallow just offered me the Institute."

Alec had always been blunt. He didn't know how else to be, though he often envied Jace and Izzy when they were able to speak so eloquently and able to put others at ease with a few well-placed phrases. Magnus stared at him blankly, confusion clouding his gold-green eyes. Alec could feel his heart pounding away like a hammer inside his chest.

"I know you don't like living here at the Institute, so I haven't accepted yet. I know it's a big decision for us to make but we only have until Sunday to decide because Jia is going back to Idris."

"We?" Magnus asked him sceptically. "You can't honestly think they would be ok with us running the Institute together? And where would we live? Would we have to live apart?" Magnus looked pale, as if he was about to throw up.

"No – wait – what? They don't want you to run the Institute; they want me to run it. You're a Warlock, you can't run it. But we would both live here, obviously. I don't think I would be able to run the place if we lived in Brooklyn. Why would we have to live apart?"

Magnus' worried expression suddenly broke into a relieved smile.

"Bloody hell Alec, you scared the life out of me! I thought you were about to break up with me or something!"

Alec was so shocked his jaw almost hit the floor. He pulled his Warlock towards him and embraced him fiercely. "I could never part from you Magnus, you know that," he whispered into his lover's ear.

"So what do you think?" he asked after a while.

"About you being the Head of the New York Institute?"

Alec nodded and buried his face into the crook of Magnus' neck.

"I think you were born to do this. You're wasted on just being a demon-killer and a foot soldier. You will make a fantastic leader, Alec. After all, you know your name means 'leader of men'?"

"I do know Ancient Greek, Magnus," Alec reminded him with a sigh. "But a meaning of a name doesn't make it true."

"Ooh I don't know, I've always thought there was some truth in it..." he whispered darkly. "If you don't go and tell Consul Penhallow you accept the position then I will go tell her on your behalf," Magnus told him sternly, breaking their embrace in order to look him square in the face. Alec smiled warmly at his boyfriend. This was really happening to him. He had always wanted to help his parents run the Institute but had never in his wildest dreams imagined he would be offered the job himself.

"Can I tell her in the morning?" Alec asked sweetly. "She threatened something about announcing it at the party and I would quite like to celebrate just the two of us tonight." "Privately," he added in a low voice, full of meaning and promise.