Hello, everyone!

I'm back with the sequel. So, this chapter is to introduce the story and for you to tell me what you think about it, if you'd like for me to continue it etc. The song for it is What Happened To Us by Hoobastank.

Hope you like it as much as the prequels!

Don't forget to check out Intoxic's amazing story Days of War and the Nights of Love. It's truly awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own TMI.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The war had come and gone and life was moving forward almost harmonically. The humans still had no idea what had happened that fateful night, except for the ones with the sight. They had kept it a secret though, and all the rest of them knew was that a test-run of a nuclear power regenerator had gone wrong and that thankfully the mechanical engineers assessed the damage in time and managed to contain the consequences to the outer part of New York.

Things in the Shadow World were different though, especially in one specific apartment in Brooklyn, the home of the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane, and the now famous Shadowhunter, Alec Lightwood.

Most of their evenings lately were spent in silence. Both would do things they were comfortable doing around the other, but they both also knew there was something different going on. Ever since the Great War, their relationship's dynamic has changed. It was as if their passion was gone, or locked away somewhere in their heart. The problem was neither of them was really ready to open it.

This evening Alec was lying on the couch absorbed in his mundane book, and Magnus was waiting for an old friend to pick up a potion he needed for a rare spell. He was currently looking for it when the bell rang. "Alec, can you please get it?" he called out to him. When the bell rang again, he realized Alec hadn't heard him and he went to open the door. Usually he would have opened it with a spell, but now he wasn't in the mood to do so. On his way there, he passed the living room and found Alec in the same position he was in half an hour ago, only now he was biting his lip. Only Lilith knew what Alec did to him when he bit his lip so innocently, yet so suggestively. He still felt that stirring in the pit of his stomach every time Alec looked like that. Nowadays, though, he was afraid to act upon it. He shook his head as the bell rang for the third time, giving up on staring at his boyfriend and opened the door. It revealed a man, quite young, with silk white hair and purple eyes, wearing a purple suit with a light green glistening shirt. "Malcolm, my dear. Long time no see!" As the term of endearment slipped his mouth, Magnus saw from the corner of his eye Alec's head snap up from his book and look at the strange warlock with a frown. He didn't give it much thought. His attention was grabbed by his literally old friend.

"Magnus, darling. I'm so thankful you got my message! I was there, at the war. I saw what happened," Malcolm said, talking animatedly, "what you did, and I have to say, it was like nothing I have ever seen before. Now, I know I'm pretty young-"

"You're anything but," Magnus interrupted, but Malcolm didn't falter.

"-but I've never seen or heard of anything that can even come close to it. So much power eliminated from one person…" He shook his head, "Are you alright?" He finally asked, looking Magnus up and down for any sign of distress.

Magnus had no idea what Malcolm was talking about. There were still gaps in his mind from that night, so he knew only what others had filled him in with. No one had mentioned something so extraordinary. Maybe Malcolm Fade was talking nonsense. He did that a lot. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked confused. He looked at Alec in case he had any idea what Fade was referring to, and he saw his boyfriend looking at his book, but obviously not reading it. His posture was tense and his attention was tuned in the warlocks' conversation.

Malcolm looked at his friend as if an alien was standing in front of him. "Are you kidding me? You-"

Before the warlock could finish his sentence, Alec interrupted, clearing his throat, leaving his book on the coffee table as he got up to greet the stranger that was standing in the middle of their apartment. "I don't think we've met," he said extending his hand, "Alec Lightwood."

Malcolm eagerly took it and said "No, we have definitely not." He looked him up and down as if he were a dessert he wanted to devour "Trust me," he smirked, "I'd surely remember such beauty crossing my line of sight," he added with a wink.

Magnus cleared his throat, uncomfortable with his boyfriend being hit on, especially right in front of him.

Malcolm rolled his eyes and introduced himself. "Malcolm Fade, High Warlock of Los Angeles," he said and let go of the Shadowhunter's hand.

"Welcome," Alec said politely and went back to the couch. He did what he wanted to, he had changed the course of their conversation. Magnus didn't know everything about that night. He had no idea of what he had done, and Alec had decided it was better that way. Now he could go back to his book.

Fade whistled slowly as he watched the Shadowhunter walk away, moving his hips in a manly way that could make anyone go crazy. "Damn, Magnus, you've always picked the best of them."

Magnus clenched his teeth. For some reason, he didn't like people talking about Alec as if he was just a piece of meat. "Just let me get your potion," he said, trying hard to remember that Malcolm Fade was his friend and not some werewolf he could punish due to inappropriate behavior.

Malcolm, though, seemed to think it best to follow him, saying, "So, tell me, where did you find that cutie out there?"

Magnus didn't turn around to answer. He just started looking at the selves in front of him for the potion to get Malcolm out of there. "Something tells me that's not your original question," he said suspiciously.

"You're right." Malcolm answered with his cheerful voice. "It's not. When can I ask him out?" He started looking at the shelves too, not to help the other warlock, of course, just out of sheer curiosity.

"Never."

The emotion behind Magnus's voice made the man freeze in his steps. He couldn't explain it, but Bane's voice did not just hold a warning in it, it held a threat too, and a very dangerous one at that. He whistled lowly, "Wow, it's that serious, huh?"

"It is, Malcolm." Magnus sighed.

"Then tell me," Malcolm started in a light tone, "why do you let him sit alone out there with a damn book in his arms and not your magnificent self?"

His tone didn't fool the cat-eyed warlock. He knew the question was serious, but there were also no words in his mind for him to answer it. He kept on looking for the potion while thinking it over. Really, why was he here and Alec was out there? Why were they living in the same apartment, but it felt like they were in a different world? What changed? Before he could find an answer to those questions, he found the potion he was looking for. "Ah, here it is!" he said, faking a victorious tone in his voice. "There you go," he said as he handed the little bottle to the warlock and led him outside.

"Oh, Lilith! Thank you so much, Magnus! You're a life-saver! Well, not really, but close enough." Malcolm kept bubbling about this and the other, but when they reached the door, it was as if his cheeriness faded, and his stoicism took place. "Don't screw it up, Magnus Bane," he said.

Magnus couldn't figure out what Malcolm was talking about. He had been in here, what, like ten minutes? How could he know what was happening in such a short time? What was he really warning him about? Before he could question him about it, his bubbly lazy self came back onto his features as he bid his cheerful goodbye to the warlock.

Magnus closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment staring once again at his boyfriend. He missed him. That was true, he did. But at the same time he didn't know how to approach him anymore. He didn't know how to communicate with him. Alec had closed himself off for some reason, he had built a wall between them and he had no idea how to break it down.

He sighed. "I'm going to bed," he said, trying to get Alec get closer to him even if that was just physical. "Are you coming?"

"In a minute. I want to finish this chapter." Alec said without even looking up from his book.

Just as Magnus was about to leave, the doorbell rang. "What did he forget?" he muttered under his breath, expecting Malcolm Fade to be standing there once he opened the door, but to his surprise, no one was there. He looked left and right, but there was no sign of anyone having been there seconds before he opened the door. As he moved to close it, he looked down and saw an envelope lying on the doormat with golden writing on it. He carefully picked it up and closed the door behind him. "A letter," he said looking it over with interest, "it's for you." He looked at Alec waiting for him to react, but it didn't happen. All he did was give Magnus permission to open it, which he did. As he read the words written on the old looking paper with the Clave's symbol at the beginning and the Inquisitor's signature at the end, he said out loud "Do they write mail now?"

That got Alec's attention. "What are you talking about?" he asked while getting up, going to see what that letter was all about. He reached Magnus, who gave him the letter, and read it. The Clave was calling for him to testify. Since he had refused so many times to talk to them, they obviously thought he had something to hide, so the whole war operation was going to undergo a trial and Alec's presence was demanded, as he was going to testify with the Mortal Sword. He read that part again. 'You are being called to testify for your action before, during and after the Great War in the next meeting, and if required, the Mortal Sword will be used.' In their language this meant they didn't trust him and they wouldn't hesitate to use it. He couldn't believe it! They had won a war barely surviving it as a race, and now they were questioning their victory? Were they questioning his intentions? If they decided that his intentions as a leader were not clear, what, they would surrender themselves to the demons?! This trial is outrageous! He couldn't believe his father agreed to it! Why couldn't they for once stop sticking to the past and look at their future?!

Frustrated Alec put his hands through his hair and sighed. "Let's go to bed." He said in almost a whisper.

They went to their bedroom, but they didn't talk. Magnus was hesitant to say anything and Alec obviously had no intention of explaining things. They both put on their pajamas, lied on their side of the bed turned off the lights. Magnus knew Alec was awake. He had turned his back on him and he couldn't see his eyes being open, but his breathing wasn't steady. He was still thinking over that letter and Magnus couldn't keep it in anymore, he needed to ask, he needed to know. "Are you going?" He asked, looking at the ceiling. It was barely visible from the light that got in through their balcony doors.

"No." Alec said quietly, without offering any explanation.

Magnus sighed. He felt as if he was forcing Alec to speak to him, but he wanted to know. He wanted to hear his voice. He wanted to have a conversation with him. He just missed him. "Why did you refuse to go?"

Alec turned around to look at Magnus, and balanced his head on his hand. "You were in a coma. I had no intention of leaving you." He said, shocked that Magnus didn't understand that.

Magnus understood that. He knew if he were Alec, he would have done the same thing. But that didn't explain why he didn't want to go now. "But I am awake now, and you're still not going."

"Because I've got nothing to answer to them for!" Alec raised his voice, lying on his back, not looking at Magnus.

Magnus turned on the light on his nightstand, and approached Alec gently. He slipped closer to him and touched his arm in comforting manner. "I know you did nothing wrong." Even though he said that, he still looked at him hesitantly, as if he needed confirmation that he was telling the truth, something that Alec never gave. Nevertheless, Magnus continued. "But they don't."

When Magnus touched him at first, Alec tensed up, but a second later he couldn't help but lean into the touch. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment of tenderness between them, a moment he had come to miss. He kept his eyes closed. He could feel Magnus looking at him, but he didn't dare to look back. He was afraid he would see right through him and would figure out everything Alec was hiding from him. He opened his eyes, and said, "They could if they looked at the aftermath!"

"You know how they are, Alec," Magnus said in a calming voice. He tried to keep a smile from crossing his face when he felt Alec melt right into him. "They're always looking for someone to blame, and this time they're starting with you. Don't let them pin this on you."

Alec sighed. He knew he was being stubborn. He just didn't have anything to apologize to them for. He did what he thought was right at the time and nothing else. He knew that Magnus was right though. If he kept refusing to talk, they would blame him for everything they could find to blame him for. He couldn't let that happen. Not when he was innocent. "Will you come with me?" He asked, looking down at his fingers playing with the sheets.

Magnus touched Alec's face, and pushed it gently towards him, so that he could see into those beautiful blue eyes he could anytime get lost in and said, "Did you really think I'd let you go through this alone?"

Alec gulped. The look Magnus was giving him made his heart skip a beat. The words he said made him feel guilty for pushing him away and they broke his heart because he couldn't let him back in. Even after all of these, even after the pain Alec must have caused him by pulling away, he was still there for him. He couldn't believe how Magnus could do that. "Thank you," he whispered and leaned up to press his lips against the warlock's. It shocked him to feel such yearning for a kiss, it hurt him to feel Magnus's surprise when their lips touched. But they both gave into the kiss, they both wanted to feel the other as close as possible. Alec though pulled away before it could turn into something more. He wasn't ready for that. He looked at Magnus one last time and lied down, turning on the other side of the bed. It killed him to do that. His heart broke every time he turned his back on him, every time he heard the pained sigh of his warlock, every time he felt him look at him longingly. His heart broke into a million pieces, because he was only trying to protect it. He couldn't feel the pain he felt when he almost lost him. He couldn't let his heart be shattered like that ever again. And there was only one person who could rip it out of his chest and break it into a billion pieces, and that was Magnus. Magnus, who even when Alec turned his back on him, he didn't give up. He just got closer to him and gathered him in his arms. Alec's couldn't stop the tears from falling. He wished things were different. He wished he could let his heart love again. Maybe all they needed was time, right? Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe there was still a chance.

Alec will feel again. Right?

So what do you think? Is it good? Will Alec feel again or will his heart stay numb? Will the couple make it?! I don't know! What do you think?

Review, follow, favorite, anything you want! I'd really appreciate if you told me your opinion about this! Even if it's bad, I'd still like to hear it.

Till next time...

Thank you!