6. Fallen

Isabelle pushed a few strands of hair out of the little boy's face and placed his head to lie in her lap.
Max was exhausted and he had every right to. They had been wandering the streets for days, weeks even and still they hadn't really figured out what had happened or what they were supposed to do.

Sighing Isabelle proceeded in gently stroking Max's cheek soothingly. He had been a young Angel but as a human being he looked so incredibly fragile that she was scared of breaking him with just a single touch. She only hoped they would find some decent food soon because Max was obviously starving. They had lived of left overs and some things strangers who had had pity on the homeless kids for weeks now and it didn't do anything to help restore their energy.

As an Angel you didn't need things like food or drinks and being hungry and thirsty was a curious sensation to both of them. Everything about being human was a curious sensation. The need for sleep and for social contact, all of those emotions flooding through one's body… It was something they had to get used to.

Max yawned and blinked up at Isabelle through thick long eyelashes. He opened his mouth as if to say something but the only sound that escaped his throat was a quiet screech. Communication had died out between them as soon as they awoke on earth for the first time. For Angels it had been more like telepathy than an actual language but here this connection had vanished.
Sometimes Isabelle thought she could still hear the voices of the Angels that had been closest to her but she knew that she was only imagining things. She had fallen now and that meant that contact to the Heavens was forbidden now.

The small boy sat up slowly, eyes wide and concerned. Max had always been the closest thing to family Isabelle had ever had. Along with Alexander of course who appeared to have fallen on his own. He had to be so scared. Isabelle knew that she would have lost her mind by now had she not had Max with her.

Maybe, Isabelle thought, Alexander had not managed human life and maybe they would never see him again. Even though he had been the oldest Angel out of the three of them, he had still been the most reluctant, the one who hated being confronted with new situations. When the war had first begun it had been Isabelle who convinced him to fight for The Dragon. She had been the one who had told him that rebelling against the Heavens was something that would turn out to be for the Greater Good.
Had it not been for her, Alexander would never have fallen. He had always been obedient and law abiding, never made any problems. He could have become a Guardian or a Watcher in a few hundred years, could have stopped fighting and actually enjoyed the eternity that lay ahead of him.
She looked down at Max and let her fingers run through his hair. The young Angel would have had the same bright future as Alexander had she not taken him along into the war. He had been too young to fight for the Heaven's side so if she just hadn't proposed the idea of rebellion… Neither of the two would have fallen and Max would not even have been part of the war.

"You poor children, where are your parents?"
Isabelle looked up into the kind eyes of an elderly woman. Her face was wrinkly and her lips dry and split but her smile still gave off warmth that made Isabelle feel better instantly. As a form of response she only shook her head and pointed to her throat, indicating that she was unable to talk.
"You must be so hungry, you both look starved, let me get you something good to eat" The woman held her hand out and Isabelle eyed it suspiciously before she took it in her own and let the stranger drag her up. One of Isabelle's arms stayed around Max's shoulders as they followed the woman down a street.
"Did you run away from home?" she asked curiously and frowned a little as Isabelle shook her head again. "Your parents did not throw you out, did they?" Isabelle refrained from answering with a nod and simply kept her eyes on the ground. The woman seemed to take the hint because she dropped the topic and instead lead them through a door and into a strange room, filled with silly wooden furniture and a lot of people.
"Sit down, you two, I'll get you something," the woman said kindly and led Isabelle and Max towards a round thing surrounded by two wooden boards on which they had to sit down. Those humans and their inventions.

Isabelle shrugged her shoulders lightly as she looked at Max's confused face and she offered him a comforting smile that he answered with one of his own, revealing the gap between his front teeth. He was an adorable human being, small and pale, a few light freckles around his nose, dark messy hair and bright childlike eyes. As an Angel he had been nothing more than a faint silver energy as all of them had been but here everyone had their own personal appearance.

"Here you go, kids, dig in, you must be so hungry"
The old lady had returned, carrying a tray of various sorts of bread, covered with thin meat and other things that Isabelle didn't recognize but they smelled fantastic nonetheless.
She watched as Max eagerly reached for one of the breads and smiled at the content look on his face as he had swallowed his first bite. After she was sure that Max would be alright with the amount of bread to eat, she took one of her own, sighing as the curious tastes filled her mouth and her body relaxed in satisfaction as her stomach was finally filled again after such a long period of time. She smiled and draped an arm around Max, looking at the elderly woman gratefully.

"You poor kids, it's been a while since you last got some food, hasn't it? Eat however much you can, you need your energy"
Isabelle and Max both nodded enthusiastically as they continued to dig in. It didn't take them all too long to finish the last of the breads and their eyes grew heavy. The strange woman smiled fondly at them and called out for a person, telling them that she wanted to pay.
A boy with blonde hair and amber eyes walked up to them and took a few coins from the woman before nodding curtly and returning to wherever he came from.
Isabelle thought him rude. Beautiful but very rude.

"Now, do you kids have anywhere to go? Should I take you somewhere?"
Isabelle smiled thankfully at the woman and shook her head. The woman couldn't really take them anywhere since they had no place to go but they would do alright. They would just find some quiet corner somewhere to sleep and make it through.
They didn't have any other choice.

"""""

Soft lips connected with Alexander's and he sighed quietly as he remembered the feeling of when he had done this to Jace. It hadn't quite felt the same though because, while the blonde boy had pushed him away, Magnus had his hands curled in the front of his shirt to pull him closer.

The temperature in the cave seemed to have risen by multiple degrees and Alexander's eyes fluttered shut when a slick, wet tongue pushed against his lips, forcing them to open slightly. The sensation was foreign and Alexander struggled with the thought of pulling back but, then again, it was not an unpleasant feeling and so he parted his lips further to grant Magnus entrance.
The other boy seemed experienced with this; His tongue swirled around Alexander's own and engaged it into the same kind of dance the two boys had shared when they first met in that club.

Whimpering softly Alexander clawed the fabric of Magnus' Shirt at his shoulders and pressed himself closer. The sudden need to connect every part of his body to the taller boy's was overwhelming and sent his mind reeling. What exactly was he doing? Would Magnus be scared or repulsed by his behavior?

But Magnus didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Instead he wrapped his arms around Alexander's waist and held him possessively close while he kept ravishing his mouth with that slick, talented muscle. Hands roamed over his skin and Alexander pulled away to gasp for air.

So this was what humans called kissing?

If so, he might just have found a new favorite activity as a human being.

"You… haven't done this before, have you?" Magnus was grinning a bit and Alexander was unsure whether he was making fun of him or it had just been a simple observation. He shook his head in response and touched two fingers to his bottom lip curiously. That slight tingling right there wouldn't go away.
Magnus scooted a little closer again, taking Alexander's head between his hands, and leaned down to peck his lips again, softly this time, just a short brush of skin on skin but it still made Alexander a little dizzy. A sigh escaped him against Magnus' lips and he smiled fondly and contently when the taller boy's arms wrapped around him again, keeping him safe and warm.
"Alec?" Magnus asked quietly as he broke the soft kiss again. "Why are you here?"
Alexander frowned a little bit, not quite knowing what kind of reply Magnus expected from him.

"I mean, your friend, he told you I'm bad news, didn't he? Why weren't you listening?"
Tilting his head to the side Alexander bit his lower lip. He just hadn't seen a lot of truth in Jace's words; they had all been very subjective and judgmental and Alexander simply hadn't found it fair. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as Magnus let go of him, making Alexander feel like someone had left him standing on two broken legs.

"Like you," Alexander forced out and smiled weakly before shaking his head. "I like you," he repeated, staring at the ground awkwardly until he felt Magnus fingers under his chin, tilting his head up again. "You don't know me," the other boy said with a bitter tone in his voice and slid his fingers from Alexander's chin across his jawline. "You have no idea"

"Tell me?" A smile crossed Alexander's face as he asked the question. He wanted to know more about Magnus, more about where all of those nasty rumors came from, more about what he did and who he was.

But Magnus shook his head violently. "Look, I don't know what got into me when I took you here. Or when I asked you out, I…" he sighed in frustration and let his fingers trail into Alexander's hair, massaging his scalp carefully. "Would you stay here with me tonight?"

Alexander's face lit up in a smile. For a moment he had thought Magnus would tell him that it were better for them to part and not to see each other again. He had seen dozens of these conversations in Luke's magical television box and as far as he could tell they were always incredibly dreaded.

He nodded smiling but his face fell when he remembered that he had to be at Luke's place by midnight. Sighing he looked at the ceiling for a few seconds before he decided that he could afford to stay out for a night this time. He would explain to Luke somehow that he hadn't had a possibility to get there in time.

"To sleep with you?" Alexander asked curiously, remembering all the things Jace had told him and he immediately regretted repeating those words when he saw Magnus' astonished face.

"I…" the other boy started weakly and something in his eyes welled up, some kind of longing that he tried to force down and mask with an amused twinkle. "Yeah. Yes, I mean… So we can sleep here. Together." He paused a second to look around the cave insecurely. "Only if you want to, I mean. I can understand if you don't want to, I'm a stranger to you and you wouldn't – "
Alexander stopped Magnus' rambling by leaning forward and pressing their bodies close together, his arms wrapped tightly around the other boy's middle, his head leaning against the rapidly rising and falling chest.

"So," Magnus started quietly. "That's a yes, then?"

Alexander smiled contently as he nuzzled his nose into Magnus' shirt.

"Yes"

A/N: This is short, I'm sorry! But I really wanted to make up for taking ages to upload the last chapter so, tadaaa! Isabelle and Max are finally here and from now on I'll possibly use more POVs than only Alec's because it's going to be crucial to bring the story across. It's taking me longer to get the plot rolling than I thought it would. I had planned out 10 chapters for this story but at the moment it looks like it's going to be about 30 :o

BUT I have the most wonderful reviewers and I'd gladly write you guys 100 of chapters :D

Just so you guys know, I rated this story M for reasons but bear with me because that's going to take a few more chapters ^^

ANYWAYS:

Disclaimer: I own nothing because if I did then City of Lost Souls would NOT have ended the way it did. Oh, actually I do own grammar mistakes. I would much rather blame my English Teacher for grammar mistakes, actually. Yup. My English teacher owns my grammar mistakes! :D

xxx
Nicky