Demon blood on skin hurt like hell.

It wasn't the first time Alec had experienced it, but it hurt just as much as it had the first time, when he was thirteen. He tried to suppress his pain, but he couldn't hold back a small hiss as Jace drew a stinging rune over the puckered red flesh. His parabatai gripped the stele hard, and Alec's arm harder. But if anything, that made the damn injury hurt less. Alec tried to lose himself in the sight of Jace, as he had so many times before – and it worked. Jace's blond hair caught in the sunlight; the silky strands looked so soft that Alec almost reached out to touch him. But he stopped himself – Jace didn't want him, and to delude himself was pointless.

"I'm sorry, Jace," Alec said softly.

"Sorry about what?" Jace arched his eyebrow delicately, the way he always did when he tried to suppress his curiosity; the way Alec loved. He leaned backwards onto his heels – Alec sat on a park bench – stele in hand. Alec's arm tingled where Jace had touched him.

"I … I know that to you, we're only friends, but," he choked on his words, hands clenching as he cast his gaze down, unwilling to meet Jace's golden, penetrating eyes, "I can't stay quiet any longer. It's killing me inside, seeing you with Clary, as if you've forgotten me. As if you've forgotten everything else in this world." He hesitated, "I love you, Jace. I have for years."

He tried to wait for Jace to speak first, to let him speak before Alec studied him again, but he couldn't. Jace was silent, and Alec couldn't help but to sneak a glance at him.

He didn't see what he expected.

Jace's face held an expression of rapture; his lips were slightly parted and his eyes shone with emotion withheld by strong will. It was a look at Alec had only seen on Jace's face when he gazed at Clary; it was an expression of love, of absolute bliss.

His eyes smoldered, and Alec felt as if he might melt under his gaze.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jace said in a groan. "By the Angel, Alec, why didn't you tell me? I would have … I wouldn't have done what I'm doing now."

Alec inhaled sharply. "What are you talking about, Jace?" His heart hammered with hope, but he didn't want to let his hopes up too high, only to have them crash down again, as they had with Magnus. "You love Clary, don't you?" he said, enunciating every word clearly. He felt as if he were about to faint.

Jace looked away. "Alec, I … " He stood, with that unfathomable grace, then sat down beside Alec silently, only a few inches and scant layers of clothing away. He could feel the Jace's body heat from where he was – but perhaps that was merely his suddenly-sensitive nerve endings.

"Aren't you seeing Magnus?"

Alec flinched. Though he was the one who had ended the relationship with Magnus, it still hurt to think back. "I broke up with him. He's with Camille now."

Jace's eyes darkened until they were the color of burnt gold, charred by the very fires of desire. He leaned towards Alec, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder and pushing him back as he parted his lips.

Barely able to think straight, Alec almost succumbed – after all, wasn't this what he had wanted all along?

"Wait," he gasped, just as Jace's lips brushed his – the feeling was electric; desire shot through him, and he cringed in surprise – how could a simple kiss feel so good? But he had to know something before they went any further. "Jace, tell me the truth. Do you love Clary?"

Jace recoiled, eyes hurt, as if Alec's words had stung him physically. "Alec … I thought you knew. I've always loved you, and … I only pretended to be with Clary to make you jealous. By the Angel, I'd almost given up when you barely showed any reaction … but Alec," his voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

He couldn't help himself – he leaned forward, Jace's name on his lips, and soon the taste that accompanied the name. Sweat and sunshine, the most delicious combination that had ever been invented.

He shouldn't have expected that Jace would let him dominate; as soon as Jace came to his senses, he grabbed Alec's wrists, pinning them to the back of the bench forcefully. Alec gasped in surprise – Jace knew exactly how to arouse his desire ….

They kissed and kissed until they were both breathless – even then, they didn't stop until a young couple passing by shrieked in surprise.

Alec drew back, embarrassed, but Jace caught his arm and pulled him close once more. "Are you a mundie or what?" he grinned, drawing out his stele. Alec shook his head in amazement as Jace cast a glamour that hid them from the others in the park.

"Now we have all the privacy we need," Jace smiled, a dark glint in his eyes as he slid the stele back into his belt, eyes on Alec. The kind that appeared when he was planning on finishing off a rogue Downworlder. Slowly and purposefully.

Alec couldn't wait to be punished.