Alec blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the feeling that was burning painfully in his chest. He knew, logically, that Magnus was very, very old, and he must have had… others, but.

But it was a whole other thing to hear him talk about them so fondly.

Oh, he probably could have dealt with hearing about the flings. However, once Magnus got started talking about Camille…

Magnus was a storyteller. He told a story with everything he could, his facial expressions, his tone of voice, his movements, and of course, at times, his magic. If there was one thing Alec knew, it was Magnus's emotions. And he had felt many things for Camille.

It's my own fault, Alec unsuccessfully attempted to convince himself. I was the one who asked him to tell me about them.

He looked away from the photograph that Magnus was tracing with his deft fingers, letting out a deep breath and imagining all of his emotions leaving with it. It didn't work much.

Oh, why did you ask about this Alec Lightwood? Alec scolded himself, despite knowing very well why he did. He had to know about Magnus's past at some point, after all. He just wasn't as ready to hear it as he thought himself to be.

"...and she being completely awful too, after all the time we spent together," Magnus said with a flourish of his hands. He turned to Alec, only to see the younger man glaring at the wall. Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Alec? Were you even listening?"

Alec jumped and gave his boyfriend a guilty look.

Magnus examined his eyes for a moment, before saying, "Wait a minute, Alec. Are you jealous?"

Alec immediately scowled. "No," he said resolutely, leaving no room for any doubt that he was telling anything but the truth.

Magnus sighed. "Of course you are, with me going on like that," he said, shaking his head at himself.

He held out his hand, and reluctantly, Alec placed his in it. Magnus stared into Alec's eyes. "You have no need to be jealous, you know," he said quietly. "I love you."

Alec felt his lips start twitching up in a smile. He pressed his lips against Magnus's and whispered, "I love you too."