Magnus was pretty sure he could actually feel his heart breaking. The worst part, however, was the fact that he wasn't in pain because of himself. Looking down at Alec's face, hearing the desperation in his voice, that was what hurt the most. He was hardly scared of death; he had become accustomed to the thought of death for almost a century now. Being immortal sort of took that anxiety away.

Yet here he was, staring death in the face, looking down at Alec's clear blue eyes that were full of so much pain he could hardly stand it, and suddenly, the thought of death began haunting him once more. Not for himself, but for Alexander.

"Hurry up, please, Magnus," he heard his father say, causing a chill to run down his spine. "You're boring me, and the longer you bore me, the more time you give me to come up with other things I want." Magnus didn't have to turn around to see that Asmodeus was smiling. "Like, maybe, your little boyfriend here, for instance," he finished, the mischief clear in his voice.

Magnus whirled on his father then, keeping hold of one of Alec's hands as he did so. "You will not touch him. In any way." He felt Alec's hand stiffen in his, a sign that Alec was trying to hold onto him for as long as possible. "We have a deal already, you take me, just me. And you let them go. End of story. Take it or leave it, but you won't get what you want if you don't take it." Magnus felt as though he could hold himself together until the end, as long as he was the only one being hurt.

Asmodeus rolled his eyes at that, but he remained silent, knowing that Magnus was right. Magnus took this as a sign that he could continue saying goodbye to Alec, but when he turned back, it suddenly felt as though he would never be able to properly say goodbye, no matter how long he was given to do so.

Reaching up, Magnus brushed his thumb across Alec's cheek, watching the emotion behind Alec's eyes. He bent down to gently give Alec a kiss before turning away and all but wrenching his hand out of Alec's. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to let his father kill him right then, but he had to get things done, he had to say goodbye to everyone before he could do that.

"Lightwoods," he began, trying to keep his voice even. "And Clary and Simon," he added, looking away from Simon as a look of surprise at the thought that Magnus actually knew his name. "Although I might have joked far too much about how much I have disliked helping you over these past few months. But since I won't be going back with you," Magnus paused trying to steady himself. "I figure it's time to tell you the truth, but I hope you all know it already."

Magnus didn't turn back around when he felt Alec's hand on his arm, just above his elbow. He knew that looking back at Alec very nearly might cause him to lose all of his resolve. "The truth," he continued, forcing himself onward, knowing it would all be over in a few short minutes. "Is that each of you standing here has somehow, impossibly, become part of the family I never had. You've somehow helped me forge a family out of the most unlikely of people, and I can never thank you enough for that."

Holding up a hand, Magnus cut Isabelle off before she had even begun speaking. "No, I am not done." With that, he finally turned back to Alec, shutting out the world around them, focusing on nothing other than Alec and his embrace. He had leaned into Magnus as soon as they were facing each other once more, almost desperately clinging to Magnus.

"Alexander," he said softly, his voice catching in his throat. Magnus closed his eyes for a few short moments, trying to simply tell Alec how he felt because he needed to, not because of what was coming. "My sweet Alexander. You took me by surprise and I fell in love with you; it's as simple as that. I love you. But somehow, it's more than that." He paused then, suddenly barely able to breathe.

Looking down into Alec's eyes in that moment was the single most painful thing Magnus had ever done in his entire life. "You, Alexander Lightwood, you are the love of my life. I never thought I would be able to say that to anyone. But you have completely taken my heart, and I do not want it back. I can easily say without any hesitation that you are the single person I have ever loved most in this world." Without thinking about what he was doing, Magnus reached down and plucked his ring, the one he always wore, off of his finger, gently placing it in Alec's hand and wrapping Alec's fingers around it.

It nearly broke all of Magnus's resolve when Alec slowly looked down at his hand then looked back up at Magnus, shaking his head with tears in his eyes. "I need you to keep that, Alexander. It's yours," Magnus tried his hardest to keep the emotion out of his voice. "I want you to do a couple of things for me, if you can, that is."

All Alec could do was raise an eyebrow in question, and Magnus knew it was all he could do to keep from letting everything go. It was exactly how Magnus was feeling as well. "Find love again. If you can. You deserve that much. You're so kind, so loving; just make sure he treats you right, or I may roll over in my grave." What Magnus had intended to lighten the mood seemed to do the exact opposite. "But if you cannot find love, promise me, swear to me, that you'll have a family regardless. The very day I was taken here, we were talking about starting a family, and I need you to do that, no matter what."

It was then that Alec finally spoke up, his voice much stronger than Magnus had imagined it would be. "No." His tone was final, but Magnus knew that it was likely for show. "I do not want to have a family without you in it." The way he said it, the sorrow behind his voice, the hurt and pain and love, it was almost too much for Magnus to bear.

"Alexander," he began softly, trying to keep from sounding harsh. "You told me that you have always wanted to be a father. I do not want you to give that up because of me. If you want a family with me in it, if you cannot find love elsewhere, then make me the father of your children as well. Let them know that there was someone else who would have loved them more than life itself, that is fine with me. But, Alexander, please do not allow yourself to live your life without a family just because you lost me."

For a moment, Magnus thought Alec was going to be angry, he thought Alec was going throw a fit, but when Alec spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, quiet with desperation. "I don't want to live a life without you in it, Magnus." The way Alec said his name made Magnus pause for a moment. No one had ever said his name as though they loved him more than anything, no one had ever seemed to feel this way about him before. And that very thought was enough to drive him mad.

Deep down, however, Magnus knew that there was no way he was getting out of Edom alive. He knew his father too well, he knew there was no loophole for him to jump through. In one final act of desperation, Magnus kissed Alec for what he knew would be the last time. Alec seemed to know this, too, because he immediately wrapped his arms around Magnus, holding on with everything that he had.

They had shared a lot of kisses, but Magnus knew that this one was the one that topped them all. The passion and love behind it was enough to make Magnus's knees buckle in a way he had never felt before. Alec held onto him so tightly, melted into him with such a mixture of passion and grief that it was hard for Magnus to remain standing.

When they eventually separated, Magnus wasn't entirely startled to find that tears were now streaming down both of their faces. He leaned over to gently kiss Alec's away, only succeeding in causing them to flow faster. "My darling Alexander, I love you," Magnus said softly before turning to face his father once more.

He didn't say another word, he simply nodded his head, wanting his words to Alec to be his last. Magnus closed his eyes, the image of Alec's face imprinted in his mind. A warm sort of numbness settled over him then, the thought of Alec somehow comforting him in his last few seconds. He smiled softly for a moment, thinking of the melodic sound of Alec's laughter, of the sparkle in his eyes when he made Magnus himself laugh, of the way in which his gentle touch had made Magnus melt like nothing else could.

Then it was all gone.

This was originally going to be a one-shot, but while writing this part, I had several more ideas that I figured I should simply write after this one instead of placing them by themselves as well!

So please, don't be scared off by this chapter, I promise you things will look up and the unexpected will happen!

Let me know what you thought!