Chapter 6

All of these reviews, favorites and follows mean so much to me!

"That's the infamous Magnus Bane?" asked Phil, a twenty-three year old computer hacker who was probably the closest thing Alec had to a friend outside of his siblings, Clary, and Simon. The Lightwood siblings along with Clary were meeting with Phil and Hodge to discuss the shooting and the identity of the man Jace had killed.

"Yeah, something else isn't he?" Jace snorted, though Phil had been directing his question to Alec.

Phil, not a fan of Jace in the least bit ignored him and continued to speak to Alec.

"Isn't he supposed to be like under protection? It seems kind of hard when he looks like a glittery . . . ball of glitter."

Isabelle snickered. "Glittery ball of glitter? Really Phillip?"

Phil's hazel eyes narrowed and he folded his arms across his chest.

"It's Phil, and how else should I describe him?"

Alec, who was also terrible with words, sympathized with the man.

"There's really not an accurate way to describe him," Alec added, not wanting this to turn into a fight as it usually did.

It was a never ending battle really. Either Jace or Isabelle would taunt the man and a ridiculous argument would ensue. Clary had once even slapped the guy, though even Alec admitted Phil deserved that one.

Phil smiled appreciatively while Isabelle and Jace rolled their eyes. Magnus, who had been speaking with Clary and Hodge, slowly made his way over to the foursome, apparently having heard his name.

"Au contraire Alexander, I think there are many ways to describe me."

Phil gave Magnus a hard look but looked back to Alec.

"Alexander?"

"It's Alec," Alec said, sounding weary as he looked back up to Magnus who was standing right behind him.

Magnus shrugged, unbothered by the correction.

"As I was saying though, I believe there are many ways to describe me. The word magnificent comes to mind."

Jace, who was usually annoyed by Magnus, seemed to find this amusing or maybe it was of the fact that Magnus was annoying Phil as effectively as he and Isabelle usually did.

Phil looked from Alec to Magnus and back to Alec again.

"Well good luck then, Alec," Phil emphasized his preferred name, "It seems you are going to need it."

With those words, Phil clapped Alec on the shoulder and went back to his desk, still searching for any way to identify the man.

"So what was Hodge saying?" Jace asked, unbothered by Phil's rather rude departure.

Magnus, who had been staring at Phil with amusement, turned to him.

"He was simply asking questions about what occurred that night and what I saw. He seemed much more interested in your girlfriend, actually."

That caught Jace's attention.

"What do you mean?"

Magnus blinked, clearly not expecting such a reaction.

"He was concerned by how she responded that night I believe, it wasn't a big deal."

Jace, not paying a bit of attention, quickly turned away looking to find Clary and Hodge who had apparently gone to Hodge's office.

"What was that about?" Magnus asked, looking to Alec and Isabelle with raised eyebrows.

"Clary has . . . issues. She's newer to this than we are and in the beginning she . . . witnessed some things that can make having a job like this rather difficult." Isabelle explained, her eyes on Hodge's office door, where Jace had just gone.

"And what was that?" Magnus asked, though he knew he was pushing his luck.

"It was her first mission," Alec answered. "The target was her father and she was with her mother and stepfather. He injured Clary and killed them both right in front of her."

Magnus' jaw dropped. He thought he has a messed up father, this one really took the cake.

"He sounds like a shoe in for father of the year," Magnus muttered, unable to not try and joke about anything.

Isabelle smiled at that. "Can the award be delivered posthumously? Jace killed him."

"Well then I guess Blondie is good for something."

Isabelle was about to respond, likely with a dig about Jace, when a voice interrupted the trio's conversation.

"Alec!" Phil called, "I'm going to need you to come here for a sec."

The panic was evident in his voice and Alec was quick to dart away from the two and walk to his side.

"Is Alec the computer savvy one of you four or what?" Magnus asked, curious as to why Phil only called Alec over there.

Isabelle sniffed. "No, Alec can barely figure out texting. He's just the only one Phil likes."

"Likes as in. . ."

Isabelle nodded, "Alec has no idea even if it's incredibly obvious. We would tell him, but it'd just make him even more awkward and Alec being so oblivious helps us out in a lot of ways."

Magnus raised an eyebrow in question.

"Phil likes to try and impress Alec so anything we need done Phil makes priority. It really is amazing that Alec hasn't caught on yet."

Magnus snorted, "He does seem rather naive."

"Who? Phil or Alec?"

"Your brother, I mean I picked up that Phil had the hots for him the second I saw him. How long has this been going on?"

Isabelle seemed rather amused by this conversation and her smile grew somewhat mischievous.

"It's been happening since Alec was sixteen and Alec isn't entirely naïve. He just is when it comes to socializing and boys."

"Why is that?" Magnus asked, not at all trying to hide his interest in the boy.

"Alec's always been looking out for Jace and me; he's just never really cared or had time to do those things. Regardless of what Jace and I say he just refuses to put himself out there, that and he in incredibly oblivious."

"Seems so," Magnus whispered, watching as Phil and Alec spoke in low voices to one another.

"Don't worry," Isabelle said her smile even more unsettling. "Phil has no chance."

Magnus snickered, finding he actually liked this Isabelle.

"I wasn't."

"Though as straight forward as you are, Alec probably still doesn't get it. You have to spell things out with him. Blunt is the only way he knows how to be."

Magnus looked thoughtful. "That won't be a problem in the least."

"Alright but it would be best to remember what we do for a living. Hurt him in anyway and you'll need protection from me."

Instead of being afraid, like any sane person would be, Magnus simply smiled.

"I'll remember that."

"Good," Isabelle replied and before she could say anything else they were interrupted once again.

"Iz, you're going to need to get over here. You too Magnus," Alec said, his voice authoritative.

Magnus stared between the three people in front of him, their faces all frozen in states of horror as his was frozen in confusion. The simple name Michael Wayland had seemed to paralyze them all and their silence did nothing to help Magnus' confusion.

"So who is this Michael?" Magnus asked, trying to remain as calm as possible. He would not let any of his emotions escape. He would never let them know how much this whole situation made him truly feel.

It was Alec who answered his face stony but his eyes revealed everything he was feeling. It hurt Magnus to look into those eyes for some reason, so he stared at the space in-between them.

"Michael Wayland Jr. is his real name I guess. He was the son of our father's best friend. We haven't seen him in years."

"What does that mean?" Magnus asked, not sure why the name made them seem so afraid.

"He was an ally of Valentine, Clary's father."

Magnus blinked, still not getting it.

"It's not Michael that's scary. It's who he works for now," Isabelle elaborated.

"And that is?"

Alec answered this time, "Sebastian Morgenstern, Valentine's son and Clary's brother and the only person in the world better than Jace at what we do."

Though Magnus didn't hold Jace in any high regard, he was suddenly just as afraid as the Lightwood siblings looked.

"This doesn't make any sense," Jace huffed, arms folded across his broad chest as he sat at desk in Hodge's office.

"What doesn't make sense?" Isabelle asked, twirling her long dark hair around her finger, "The fact that Sebastian is a psychotic killer? That's fairly obvious to everyone involved."

Jace glared at his sister.

"I mean this isn't his style. He'd kill Magnus himself."

Magnus, who was sitting beside Alec, said nothing at the mention of his name.

"And you're sure this information is correct Alec? Wayland Jr. is the one dead?" Hodge asked, rubbing his temples.

Alec nodded. "Yes, Phil confirmed it with a partial fingerprint match."

Hodge nodded, clearly stressed by this information.

"Clarissa, has he tried to contact you in any way?" Hodge questioned.

Clary shook her head slowly, looking to be in a daze. Jace's scowl deepened.

"If you're not going to say or do anything productive then we're leaving Starkweather," Jace spat out vehemently. Hodge only looked slightly taken aback, but everyone knew how on edge Sebastian's name alone made Jace. Without another word Jace stalked out of the room, everyone else but Hodge doing the same soon after.

Hodge let Alec know to be looking for a phone call and they'd discuss all of this once everyone's emotions settled down. Alec silently nodded his understanding.

"Alec!"

Alec turned to see Phil waving him down and he numbly walked towards the boy- too many emotions passing through him at once to truly feel any of them.

"I'm sorry about all of this, I know . . . with your parents," Phil began, putting a hand on Alec's shoulder as a gesture of comfort.

Alec offered a half smile in thanks, unable to show a real one.

"Thanks Phil, we'll be alright. It's Jace I'm worried about and Magnus too."

Phil scrunched his face.

"Magnus?"

Alec nodded. "He is the one Sebastian is trying to kill."

"Oh, oh right. That is a bit worrying."

Alec nodded, turning back to see only Isabelle and Magnus waiting on him. Jace and Clary had already left it seemed, which made sense, they were the two most effected by Sebastian.

"I'd better get going," Alec said as he turned back to Phil, noticing an unpleasant look on his face.

The look didn't seem so much directed at him as behind him but Alec couldn't focus on that, not with everything else going on.

"Thanks again. For everything, Phil. We'll probably be back again soon."

Phil nodded, squeezing Alec's shoulder before dropping his hand to his side and smiling his goodbye. Alec just waved and headed towards his sister and Magnus, confused by how they both could possibly look so amused with the situation they were in.

"Screw waiting on Hodge!" Jace shouted, in the middle of an argument with his brother and sister. Clary who had been sitting on the couch, quickly moved to stand and put a placating hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

The four had been arguing for over an hour now, unsure of what to do. Alec had informed Jace and Clary of the fact that Hodge would call when he came up with a plan. This information sent Jace into a tizzy, as he and Clary were never ones to sit around and wait. Though Clary was much better about this than her boyfriend, she was much more aware of what a psycho her brother truly was and of the danger doing something reckless could result in.

"What are we supposed to do then Jace?" Isabelle yelled, her voice matching Jace's. "We can't go in shooting blind with someone like Sebastian."

"I'm not saying that we go in blind," Jace retorted, lowering his voice a bit. "I just think we can't sit around waiting on Hodge to come up with a plan for us."

"That's his job though," Alec argued, wary of any plan Jace was thinking about.

"Yeah, a job he only has because he's useless in the field."

Alec rolled his eyes, not even bothering to voice his disagreement with that statement. It would just lead to more arguing and he was exhausted with that as it was.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I think we should wait on Hodge," Jace opened his mouth to protest but Alec raised his hand to stop him. "I also think that while we wait we should formulate a plan of our own. In the end we'll decide which is better, but we have to remember this isn't just about killing Sebastian. We have to protect Magnus as well, he is the whole reason we are here after all."

With a huff of annoyance, Jace agreed to those terms and Clary and Isabelle did the same.

"Where is Magnus anyways?" Isabelle asked, looking around the living room, eyes narrowed.

"He said he was going out on the balcony to make a phone call," Clary said, gesturing towards said balcony. "That was about fifteen minutes ago."

"Well someone should go check on him, make sure he's not dead," Jace suggested, looking at Alec.

Alec, catching this look, threw his hands in the air.

"Why me?"

It wasn't as if he minded, but he didn't like what his brother's facial expression implied.

"You're the only one he likes," Jace replied.

"No I'm not, he likes Isabelle and Clary too. He told me so."

Jace smirked, as if Alec's statement in some way proved him right.

"Having a lot of person chit chats with him are you?"

Alec flushed, "No, it was just something in passing. Everyone else can have a conversation with the man except for you."

Jace shrugged, "All the better reason for me not to be the one to go out there then."

"I'm not arguing that, I just don't understand why I was the one volunteered."

"Because he likes you the best," Isabelle interrupted.

Alec glared at her. He knew that wasn't true at all as the man appeared to be glued to his sister's side the majority of the time at the office. He wasn't sure why but an uneasiness settled in his stomach at the thought of Magnus liking his sister, though he knew the two would never work out. It was almost like jealousy. Though he'd never be jealous of his sister and knew he had nothing with Magnus to be jealous of, the odd feeling was still there.

With exasperation, Alec threw his hands in the air and walked down the hallway to where he knew the balcony to be.

Like with Magnus' bedroom, Alec tentatively knocked before sliding the glass door open.

"Magnus" He called in a low voice, though in the tiny space it was easy to spot the man, leaning against the railing, a cigarette in hand.

Magnus turned to Alec, sliding the cigarette into his mouth and taking another long drag. It was odd to Alec, as smoking was usually something of a turn off to the health nut but with Magnus it was almost sensual. The way he held the cigarette easily between his lips made Alec think of other things and he quickly looked away.

"Yes Alec?"

"We just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were alright."

"You mean make sure I hadn't been shot by a sniper or something of the like?"

Alec gulped, while that hadn't been his line of thinking it definitely was a possibility. Sebastian was insane like that.

"Well, err no. I just didn't know how you were . . . feeling is all, about the news.

Magnus sighed, exhaling smoke as he did so. Alec was once again with how the man could make something he considered disgusting look so beautiful.

"The news? You mean that a supposed well trained psychopath wants to kill me and more than likely will? I'm holding up just fine."

Alec blinked, fiddling nervously with his hands. He hadn't meant to offend the man, he just had no idea what to say. This wasn't his forte, it never had been. If anything it was the opposite of his forte because he was horrible with words, new people and attractive men and being thrust into a situation with all three was not good.

"He's not going to kill you Magnus; we'll make sure of that."

"You didn't sound too confident earlier."

"That's not what we were unsure of. We can and will stop him from killing you. Stopping him from doing . . . whatever the hell he's really doing is something else entirely."

"Whatever he's really doing?" Magnus questioned, his cigarette nearing its end.

"Well, Jace was right about one thing, if Sebastian wanted you dead he wouldn't be sending others to do it. He's far too prideful for that and he definitely wouldn't send a Wayland."

Alec didn't bother to hide the vile in his voice when said Wayland's name. He hated Michael Wayland almost as much as hated Sebastian.

"Not a fan of either I see," Magnus pointed out, lighting another cigarette between his lips. Alec tried not to stare.

"No. He was my father's best friend but when . . . a dispute occurred there were two sides and my father and Michael chose the opposite ones."

Alec was now staring openly at Magnus but there was nothing lustful about his gaze. In fact Magnus felt Alec was looking right through him, or looking at him and seeing someone else. A memory of some kind probably, Magnus did the same thing at times.

"Sebastian killed my parents and Michael could have warned my father but he didn't. That's why it's just Iz, Jace and me. Well, Clary now too. His son was just as evil and I'm not sad Jace killed him."

Magnus blinked, his hand going limp and the cigarette falling from it. He certainly hadn't expected that.

"I'm sorry Alexander," Magnus said, sounding heartfelt.

Alec's lip twitched and shrugged. "It's been years. I just wanted you to know this is personal for us now, which for Jace that can be a very good or very bad."

"Here's hoping for very good," Magnus joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked and Alec smiled, his hand going to the handle of the sliding glass door.

"You coming in?" He asked and Magnus nodded, assisting Alec in opening the door when he had difficulty.

"It gets stuck sometimes so you have to push in and pull at the same time," Magnus explained, putting his hand over Alec's. His heartbeat sped up at the contact and Alec sucked in a breath as the door easily slid open with Magnus' help.

"I am trusting you with my life and you can barely open a door?" Magnus teased as they re-entered the loft, immediately warmed by the heat of the apartment.

Alec snorted, shaking his head and unable to fight the smile spreading across his face.

"You're a billionaire and you can't buy a place with a properly functioning door?" Alec challenged and this made Magnus smile. Both of their worries were temporarily forgotten as they began to banter back and forth.

It wasn't until the obvious clearing of another person's throat that either male remembered other people were currently in Magnus' living room.

Alec turned, cheeks burning, to look at his brother.

"What Jace?" He asked, unable to conceal his annoyance with his brother.

Jace, a smirk plastered on his face, folded his hands across his chest knowingly.

"That was an awfully long time to just be checking on somebody Alec," Jace teased.

Alec rolled his eyes but said nothing; he had no comeback for that. Thankfully for him, Magnus did.

"Interesting observation skills there Golden One, you truly are something else."

The amusement left Jace's face and it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Whatever, I was just going to let you know Clary and I are going to bed so you and Iz are on watch. Can you handle that?"

Alec nodded, "Of course I can."

Jace snickered, "Of course you can."

Alec shook his head as his brother appeared incredibly eager to "go to bed" and dashed away. Turning back to look at Magnus, Alec suddenly felt incredibly awkward.

"Um, I think I need to find Isabelle. I don't know where she could have gone off to . . ."

As if on cue, his sister flounced into the room looking, a smile on her face that made Alec uneasy.

"I'm right here dear brother, and as it would have it I was just about to take a shower. If that's alright with you of course Magnus"

Magnus smiled. "It's more than alright, take as long as you'd like darling."

With another flash of her perfect white teeth, Isabelle sauntered away. Alec did his best not to be bothered by the fact that Magnus called his sister darling.

"So," Magnus began, interrupting Alec's thoughts. "How about we watch a movie to pass the time?"

"You're sure you're not tired?" Alec asked, thinking the man would likely want or need sleep by now.

Magnus shook his head. "I'm not tired in the least bit, besides I'd much rather sleep later than be stuck awake and having to interact with the Romeo and Juliet of the group."

Alec laughed as they both took a seat on the couch and Magnus turned to Netflix.

"They're not that bad."

Magnus looked to Alec, his eyes and voice incredibly genuine. "No, but you are much better company."

For the second time that night, Alec couldn't fight the smile that enveloped his whole face.

So I hope this was okay and I tried to include some background information on the Lightwood siblings, though I fear Alec might have been slightly OOC in that moment. (Well I guess this whole fic they're all going to be slightly OOC but I try to keep them as in character as I can, due to my understanding of them). And next chapter there will be a whole lot of Malec.