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Redemption
Chapter 1
Jace was worried. It was five weeks after the battle at the Burren, the success of which had returned him to his family. He was still having trouble controlling the heavenly fire resulting from the wound he'd received, demon activity was steadily increasing in the city, and Sebastian was still on the loose. Any of those things would have been enough to cause Jace's concern, but he was a warrior, born and bred, and the only thing on his mind this morning was his parabati, his brother… Alec.
Jace knew that Alec's breakup with his boyfriend Magnus had been devastating. Reserved and quiet, Alec didn't let a lot of people get close to him, but once he had let you in, you were there forever. Jace remembered finding Alec the day it happened, huddled in a dark corner of his room at the Institute as if he'd been beaten. Jace had been alarmed and knelt down next to Alec touching his shoulder gently. Alec had seemed to shatter then, sobbing uncontrollably. Slowly, painfully the whole story had emerged, how desperately Alec loved Magnus, how difficult it had been to deal with the mortal/immortal issues. The idea that he would age and die and Magnus would go on forever. Even more painful had been his fear that he was somehow trivial to Magnus. The secretive High Warlock of Brooklyn did not like to talk about himself or his past and that had left Alec feeling vulnerable and alone in the relationship.
Alec confessed to Jace about his meetings with Camille Belcourt, a rogue vampire wanted by the Clave, who had at one time been Magnus's lover. She had enticed him with the promise that she could help him be with Magnus forever, but hearing her solutions had convinced Alec that he should never have listened to her in the first place. Though Alec knew it was wrong, he continued to visit Camille because she could talk to him about Magnus, help him to understand the complex man he loved so very much. It was Camille's betrayal of these secret meetings to Magnus that had resulted in their breakup. Magnus had been very angry, accusing Alec of trying to shorten his life and telling him that even if he had ultimately decided against Camille's plan his lack of trust had irrevocably destroyed the relationship.
Jace had done his best to comfort Alec, suggesting they train or go out hunting to try to take his brother's mind off the overwhelming pain. It didn't take Jace long, however, to realize that while the intense activity succeeded in distracting Alec temporarily, it was perhaps not the best way to help him cope. Jace watched helplessly as Alec threw himself into more and more extreme training and reckless battles. Seeing Alec this way made Jace realize just how much he had relied on Alec to watch his back all those years. Alec was the one that grounded him, kept him safe when he'd been reckless, and now the shoe was on the other foot.
If stepping back and making sure that he watched Alec's back during a battle had been the extent of Jace's concern he might have kept silent and hoped Alec would come round. He owed his brother that and so much more, but Alec wasn't sleeping and his weight loss testified to the fact he wasn't eating much either. Jace hated seeing Alec like this, and he hated even more that he could do nothing to take the pain away. He would dearly have liked to give the High Warlock a piece of his mind, or maybe his fist, but he knew that kind of self indulgence would only cause Alec more pain. So instead he waited in the shadowy light of early dawn to try to talk to Alec before their next training session.