"And by the angel, her hair… how is it so perfect?"

Alec sat in the corner of the training room, tugging moodily at a loose thread on the cuff of his sweater.

Jace had been standing in the centre of the room training and chattering incessantly about 'Clary' for hours, barely breaking a sweat and completely oblivious to his parbartai's sulking.

"How can someone be so perfect? Alec, how can she be so perfect?" Jace threw a heavy-handled dagger into the wall, the 15cm blade sinking in at least half-way.

"I don't know." Alec said, piercing blue eyes watching Jace's lean, golden-toned back. "Maybe the same way you can be." He breathed.

"Do you think she'd let me take her out sometime?" Jace took up a position in front of a practice dummy, hitting it and ducking under its swinging limbs.

Alec couldn't believe his ears. Was this a self-doubting Jace?

"How could you think she wouldn't?" He asked incredulously, his dark hair falling into his eyes.

"Look at her, look at me. Do you really think she'd ever consider being with me?"

Alec stood, making his way to the weapons wall.

"I don't see any reason why she shouldn't want to." He said, pulling out a long-bladed katana.

"Not even the fact that I was a humongous twat today?"

"My God Jace," shouted Alec, levelling the sword at his throat. "How can you talk about someone, who might as well not exist, for all the good it'll do, for two hours straight and yet be so blind as to not see what's right in front of you, and what has been for years? I'm sick of it!" He thrust the sword into the padded ground and stalked out of the room, leaving Jace to stare at the closed door with wide golden eyes.

Alec collapsed against, the corridor wall, his eyes brimming with tears. How could she? That stupid bitch, what right did she have to suddenly be the center of Jace's attention, a position he'd had to fight for and still didn't have, even after years of training and fighting together, back to back? He hated her.

"Alec, wait!" Jace pushed through the door, still only wearing loose training pants. "Alec!" he called, looking left, straight over Alec's head, and right before heading down the hall then 'round the next corner.

Alec's vision blurred as tears began to fall down his face. He'd been over looked again, forgotten for some stupid red-head.

He heard footsteps echoing off the walls and scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. The footsteps became more defined as they got closer and he soon identified them as bare feet padding on the stone. He looked up and saw Jace striding purposefully towards him and began throwing together a small glamour up around his eyes, hiding the redness of crying from them. He knew it wouldn't last long, but he hoped it would last long enough for him to get away.

"Alec, there you are." Jace was only a few steps from him as he stood, leaning on the wall. "I should have known you were here from the start."

Alec stepped forwards, his mouth opening to give an excuse to leave, and found himself flush against Jace's toned body, him having stepped forwards too.

Without making a conscious decision to, he grabbed Jace's upper arms and kissed him.

The kiss was inexpert but passionate on Alec's end, on Jace's it was clumsy, his shock showing.

Alec guided Jace's arms around his waist before reaching up to wind his own around Jace's neck.

The kiss ended, both halves separating, flushed and breathing heavily.

"I…. well…. Uh…" Jace ran several sentences through his head, none of them quite saying what he wanted them to. "That…uh… that sure was… something." Jace finally said, lost for words for the first time in recent memory.

Alec flushed, horrified that he'd done that. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… sorry." He stammered, pulling away.

Instead of letting go, ass would be expected, Jace pulled Alec closer, surprising even himself, though Alec couldn't tell.

"You don't have to apologise. Not now, not ever." He said, cradling Alec's head against his chest. He angled Alec's head up to his and kissed him gently. "Why would you apologise for something as beautiful as a kiss?" he whispered, squeezing Alec slightly.

"Because… it's against the Law. We're parbartai."

"Who cares? I don't." Jace grabbed Alec's hand. "Come on." He began walking, pulling Alec along behind him.

"What? Where are we going?" Alec protested.

"Back to my room. I don't know about you, but doing this in the hallway doesn't exactly scream 'incognito' to me."

Alec blushed, connecting the dots and realising what Jace was suggesting.

"I… we're not going to…. You know… are we?"

Jace jerked to a stop, turning to face him.

"Not if you don't want to. We'll go as slowly as you like." After a quick check down the hall either way, Jace kissed him gently, and then resumed his path to his room.

They reached Jace's room, and he opened the door, stepping inside. He barely had time to close the door before Alec was, uncharacteristically, all over him and everything was about the kissing, touching, clothes off, ohgodohgodohgod and getting on the bed before they had sex in the middle of the floor.

They woke many hours later to Isabelle pounding on the door, calling Jace for dinner.

When she didn't get a response, she shouldered the door open, clapping a hand to her mouth in surprise when she saw them in bed.

"Isabelle!" Alec shrieked,

She giggled. "About time you two shacked up." At the look of horror on Alec's face she laughed. "Don't worry. I won't dob on you. Just get your asses dressed and down to dinner, 'kay?"

She turned, her black ponytail swinging, and walked out, pulling the door shut behind her.

Jace and Alec shared a look before laughing in hysterical relief.

"Well, I guess we better get dressed." Jace tossed Alec his clothes.

When they were dressed they stood in front of the door. They shared a kiss and broke apart, stepping out of their little world together.