"Shadowhunter," said an amused voice next to Alec. He whipped around.

"O-oh," he stuttered. "Eh, um, hi."

Magnus Bane raised a dark eyebrow. "I thought I told you to call me."

Alec became rather flushed. "Oh, yeah, the uh… the ink smudged." He rolled up his sleeve to indicate the telephone number scrawled there. "Is that a seven or a four?"

"That's a one, Alexander."

Alec laughed nervously. "So, see? I, uh… it… sorry."

Magnus shrugged. "It's okay. I mean, I only saved your life, right? No, no, it's alright. You don't need to call me."

Alec was a little ashamed. "I… I meant to call you. I even… I even picked up the phone couple of times and dialed the first few numbers, but… I don't know… what would I even say to you once you picked up? I just felt… awkward. Sorry."

Magnus waved an impatient hand. "No need to be. I was just wondering why you hadn't. Anyway. You want to come back to my place?"

Alec turned his head so fast his neck cracked. "What?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come back to my apartment with me. Hang out. Watch Project Runway. Something."

Alec shrugged. "I… I should really be back at the Institute. I just went for a walk to… to…" but those eyes could not be denied. "I… okay, okay, fine. I'll come. Just stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Magnus smirked.

Alec shuddered. "I don't know. The way you were just looking at me."

Magnus simply laughed. "Come along, then, Nephilim. We can't just stand here all day—what would people think?" And with that, he grabbed Alec by the wrist that didn't contain the warlock's telephone number, and dragged him up the street to his apartment building.

Once they were inside, Magnus pushed Alec into a dining room chair, and moved to the refrigerator. Alec cleared his throat.

"Are you thirsty?" Magnus asked.

"I'm fine."

"Alec," he said, a warning tone in his voice.

"Fine, I'll have water, thank you."

Magnus beamed. "Good, then." He handed Alec a glass of water moments later, joining the Shadowhunter at the table. "So," Magnus said idly, sipping his own drink, "why were you out on the street in the first place?"

"I was just talking a walk," Alec said. "Thinking about stuff. You know. It's not too easy to think when Isabelle's around."

Magnus blinked. "No. You know, it really isn't. You ought to try performing magic with that girl at your elbow. Anyhow. What were you trying to think about?"

"Things," Alec said unhelpfully, his pale cheeks flushing lightly.

Magnus smirked. "Oh. Things. Okay."

Alec scowled. "Well, maybe I don't want to tell you."

"If you didn't want to talk to me, you wouldn't have come here."

Alec opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, shut it again, and then spoke. "You dragged me here."

"Ah. The little baby Shadowhunter can't pull his arm away from the big bad Downworlder. That's going to look good on your résumé."

"Shut up."

"Ooh. Yes. You should definitely put that down, too. Snappy comebacks."

Alec winced. "Fine. It's just… you don't know what's going on. It's all so… I don't know. Insane. I mean, the murders. And my mom's being a supreme bitch because the Clave thinks Jace has something to do with them, and she just… I hate her sometimes. She's such a fucking hypocrite. Mothers."

"Ho hum," Magnus said in a bored tone. "At least yours likes you."

Alec felt slightly abashed. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"It's okay," Magnus said in a clipped voice. "It was a very long time ago. Anyway. I know all about what's going on, if you really care to know. I'm apparently the one to call now when someone falls and scrapes their knees." Alec gave him a strange look, and he amended, "Okay, so the kid was completely cut up. It was weird. Not the weirdest I've seen, but pretty strange, for sure. You want more?" he asked, indicating Alec's water glass.

"I'm fine," Alec said.

Magnus took the Shadowhunter's glass and filled it with more water. "Here."

"Thanks." He took a long drink. Magnus watched the boy, noting his shimmering blue eyes and silky hair that looked to be the same color as dark chocolate. The boy's long, thin fingers tapped the sides of his cup nervously, color rising in his pale cheeks as his eyes rose to meet Magnus's. "What?" Alec asked in a small voice.

"Nothing. You're just so cute."

The color in the Shadowhunter's cheeks deepened. "I, uh, thanks, I guess."

Magnus laughed. "So why'd you let me drag you here?"

Alec shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yes you do," Magnus told him, leaning on the table next to where the boy sat. "I bet you think I'm cute, too, don't you, Nephilim?"

Alec swallowed. "Um."

"Articulate," Magnus said with a little nod. "Make sure to write that one down, as well."

Alec scowled.

"Oh, he likes me," Magnus said, smirking. "I know the signs, Shadowhuter."

"I have a name," Alec said angrily.

"Yeah?" Magnus said teasingly, leaning close to Alec's ear and whispering, "So do I."

Alec shivered at the warlock's new proximity. "I… It's Alec."

"Magnus," he breathed. "Nice to meet you."

Alec's stomach jumped and his hear beat faster with every breath the warlock exhaled against his cheek. "I… what are you…?"

"I think," Magnus said airily, pulling himself away from Alec and instead standing behind the boy's chair with his hands on Alec's shoulders, "That since I think you're cute…" he moved so that he was on the other side of the Shadowhunter and breathed in his other ear, "and you think… I'm cute." He trailed a single, ring-laden finger from the back of Alec's neck down his spine until he hit the top of the chair back with a light clink. Alec shivered. "We should just… channel all this cuteness… into something more."

Alec's face was redder than ever before. "I-I, uh, I…" he stuttered.

"Hmm. Unless you have…" Magnus moved barely a centimeter closer, so that when he next spoke, his lips brushed against the boy's earlobe. "Objections."

Alec's bottom lip was being crushed between his teeth and his eyebrows were drawn together, his blue eyes staring anxiously ahead. "I-I-I… y-yeah, I-I mean, n-no. I mean…"

"No objections?" Magnus breathed. "Brilliant."

He grazed his fingers along the side of Alec's face that he couldn't see, forcing the boy to turn his head and look at him. Alec's lip quivered and his eyes were wide. He tilted his head up to meet Magnus's eyes. "What… what are you…?"

Magnus gave him a little smirk and leaned forward, pressing his lips against Alec's softly. Magnus pulled back. Alec blinked. Then he moved his face closer to the warlock's and shyly returned the kiss. Magnus took this as a green light. His hand found the back of the Shadowhunter's neck, and he pulled the boy forward, forcing him up from the chair. Pushing off the boy's jacket, beginning to attack his lips, Magnus pushed him through a doorway into the living room, where he pressed Alec down onto the couch. Alec's fingers clutched at Magnus's clothing, as the boy hungrily kissed the warlock. Magnus's hands ran through Alec's dark, wonderfully soft hair, holding his head steady so that he could control the kiss.

Eventually, both boys' shirts had mysteriously disappeared, and Magnus was—for lack of a better word—straddling Alec's lap as the boy lied propped against a sofa arm. Alec was smiling, breathing heavily. His eyes flickered to meet Magnus's, and when they did, his smile softened.

"That was entertaining," Magnus said, tracing both sides of Alec's collar bone from each of his shoulders to the base of his throat and back up, lightly and calmly.

"Mmhmm," Alec mumbled, feeling his face heat as Magnus shifted slightly on top of him.

"Why so quiet, Alexander?"

"I don't know. Don't you think this is… weird?"

Magnus grinned. "No. I think…" he leaned down and lightly pressed his lips to the hollow of Alec's throat, "that it's nice. Don't you think it's nice?"

"I think it's nice," Alec agreed softly. "It's just…"

"What?"

He looked away from Magnus. "I don't know."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "This isn't about that blond one, is it?"

Alec shrugged self-consciously.

"He cares about you," Magnus said softly. "But he'll never love you like that. I heard him say it. You're like his brother."

"Things change," Alec whispered. "Things can always change."

Magnus pursed his lips before saying quietly, "If he decided to love you back, would you still love him? Or are you just going through the motions? Because I'll tell you something, Shadowhunter. When you really love someone, you don't go making out with other guys. You really don't. Unless you like them. You like me, don't you?"

Slowly, but surely, Alec nodded.

"So how can your heart belong to Jace Wayland when a part of it wants someone else?"

Alec said nothing. He just stared at what seemed to be Magnus's chest, but what was really a universe in space known only to Alec. Finally, he said, "I just need… time. I… time."

Magnus nodded. "Alright. You're going to go back to the Institute in a few moments, am I right? And when you get there, you'll see him again. But when you see him, you won't be thinking about how much you love him. You'll be thinking about me. Doing this." And with that, the warlock leaned down and pressed his lips to Alec's neck, biting and sucking on the skin there, listening to Alec's tiny, almost indiscernible whimpers. Magnus's hand held one side of Alec's face when he pulled his mouth away. "Now. Go have fun with blondie. I imagine that you'll have a lot to think about."

With that statement, Magnus stood, collected his shirt, and flounced away into his bedroom.

Alec stared at the closed door. He brought his hand to his neck, feeling the mark Magnus had made. Well, Alec thought, he's right about one thing. He's not going to be easy to forget.

XOXOX

A/N: This takes place in the beginning of City of Ashes. If you'll recall the conversation:

"You have something on your neck," he observed.

Alec's hand flew to his throat. "What?"

"Looks like a bite mark," said Jace. "What have you been doing all day, anyway?"

"Nothing." Beet red, his hand still clamped to his neck, Alec started down the corridor. Jace followed him. "I went walking in the park. Tried to clear my head."

"And ran into a vampire?"

"What? No! I fell."

"On your neck?"

Haha. I love those boys. All those boys. Even Jace. Anyway. That was my interpretation of Alec's "vampire" bite. Hope you liked it :) Review?