The moment Alec woke up, he already knew that he wasn't alone.
He pulled himself together soon enough to remember where he was and what had happened yesterday, but not soon enough for Jace not to notice that he was suddenly tense. Because it definitely was Jace in his arms - when Alec looked down, the first thing he could see was his parabatai's dishevelled hair from where he'd fallen asleep with his head on Alec's chest.
"Don't worry," Jace said and his voice was still heavy with sleep. "Everyone's out already."
'Everyone' must have included Max too, if Jace's relaxed state was anything to go by, and Alec allowed himself to relax too.
"Where did they go?"
"Didn't ask," Jace shrugged and sat up, throwing the covers off of them. "I told them to be quiet because you were still asleep and Robert didn't want to wake you up."
They'd arrived in Idris the night before and Alec still wasn't sure why exactly their parents had decided that they wanted them all to come this time around; all he knew was that there would be official meeting tonight and an equally official dinner afterwards. It would look better in front of the Clave if the entire Lightwood package was present, even if the Institute was left to its own devises for a few days.
His mother's parents had been a wealthy family, Alec knew, and that showed in the house they'd arrived in. It was big, but not big enough for everyone to get their own room and if someone had to share, who would be better than the parabatai pair? Alec and Jace had agreed quickly, trying to protest just enough to not seem like they'd given in too easily and had joined the bed together as soon as the door was locked. They couldn't even think of doing anything risqué, of course - this room wasn't anything like the Institute's living quarters and Alec suspected that if he'd bothered to activate his enhanced hearing rune, he'd be able to hear every word said in the house - but they'd got used to sleeping together in the last few months and neither of them wanted to break that arrangement.
"What have we got to do today?" Alec asked, carding his fingers through Jace's hair.
"Nothing until tonight, I think," Jace said. "So we could as well go to the training room. Later," he added when Alec made to stand up. "Let's go have breakfast."
o.O.o
Alec didn't know what to do with this much free time - or with this much free space. Back in the Institute, he had a regimen that he followed almost religiously, just like all of its residents. It was completely different here - the house was completely quiet save for him and Jace and there was no one who could sudden jump from behind the corner; no security cameras, no glass walls meant specifically for keeping track on everyone's every movement.
It didn't feel completely real and it should have been unnerving - sudden changes always were, Alec had found - but it didn't really bother him and he suspected that the reason for that was sitting on the kitchen counter, rummaging through the cooking supplies.
Jace made a small sound of surprise when Alec kissed him, but it didn't last long; he leant closer, his fingers tracing the contours of Alec's face. Alec stepped closer to him, settling between Jace's legs until they were pressed impossibly close against each other; until he could feel Jace's warmth even through their shirts.
Jace pulled away, his eyes already alight with the smile that followed. "Stay put," he said. "I'm going to make pancakes."
"You can't make pancakes," Alec pointed out. Even if this house technically belonged to a branch of their family, he didn't think that burning it down would be easily forgiven.
"Whatever I make will still be better than anything you can cook," Jace said and jumped down from the counter. "Sit down; I'll improvise."
"When has that ever ended well?" Despite the quip, Alec did as he was told and tried to imagine, if just for a while, a world where Jace trying to cook breakfast was the biggest concern they could have.