Disclaimer: Of course I don't own this, I barely own the laptop I'm writing on...

Amor verus numquam mortuum

True love cannot die

Chapter XI

Alec stared at the punching bag as if the thing personally offended him. He was trying a new move that Magnus showed him, one that he claimed he learned personally from Bruce Lee, which led to Magnus reminiscing and Alec rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't believe his fiancé whenever he talked about meeting famous people it was just that it seemed like Magnus had met every famous person, practically from the dawn of history and Alec was starting to get a little suspicious. At least this time there wasn't a suggestion of Magnus going to bed with anyone...

Anyway, this new move, some sort of elaborate kick while spinning in the air looked so effortless when Magnus showed it to him but he realized was much more complex when he tried it himself. Rolling his shoulders a little he moved to the starting stance again, determined to master the kick even though he doubted he'd use it in actual battle, this was so not his style- it was too showy for him, but he liked that it made him work muscles he didn't normally employ and besides, the element of surprise was always a good thing.

He was wearing soft cotton pants that he inherited from Hodge- after the former martial arts master fell from grace he made a sort of a will from his cell in the city of bones, distributing his meager assets between his former pupils. Alec had inherited most of his clothes since he was the only one who was tall enough to wear them. Coupled with those was a black cotton T-shirt. Soon after he started dating Magnus Alec had opted to stop training shirtless. It wasn't so much a conscious decision as it was just something that happened naturally, he never really enjoyed people looking at him, except when Magnus did it, then it just made him feel hot all over and blushing. The first time Magnus had seen him shirtless he was very much appreciative though Alec was too preoccupied to notice or properly appreciate it at the time. Nowadays whenever he trained shirtless it was usually against Magnus, on the roof of the loft and nearly every time ended with them having sex right there on the roof, so training in the institute shirtless felt very strange to Alec and he just didn't do it anymore.

"Hello, Mr. Lightwood," Alec snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to see the new guy smiling at him. Frowning a little at having his concentration broken he shook his head and tried to focus on the man before him, knowing that even if he shooed the new guy away he wouldn't be able to go back to the state of mind required to work on this kick.

"Please, call me Alec." He said, walking over to the man and extending his hand. Zach shook it and took the opportunity to study his boss closely, yes, he was very much right in his assessment before, pure perfection.

"Only if you call me Zach." He answered in a flirting tone as he shook Alec's hand. Alec nodded once, completely missing Zach's tone or looks and made his way to the corner of the training area to grab his towel off the bench,

"So, are you settling in alright?" He asked, running the towel over his face and arms. Zach repasted his smile after a small frown at Alec's lack of reciprocation,

"Yes, quite well thank you." He said, before taking a small step in Alec's direction, "There was something I wanted to ask you," He said and Alec looked up at him, nodding for him to continue. As head of the institute it was his job to make sure everyone who was working here was happy and taken care of. And it didn't take a genius to realize Alec was the real power behind the throne and not Jace, so he didn't even think twice when Zach came to him asking for things and not Jace- even after being only six hours in the institute. "You're an archer, right?" Zach asked and the question caught Alec a little off balance- he was expecting a complaint about Zach's room or something to do with the infirmary, not a personal question. Catching himself he nodded again,

"Yes, I guess you can say that..." He answered slowly and was rewarded with a bright smile from Zach,

"Your reputation precedes you back in Idris," He told his boss, unknowingly making the poor man feel even more uncomfortable than before- Alec never knew how to react to compliments. The only person who made him feel happy about them was Magnus, well not so much happy as very horny… Alec rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that Zach will get to his point quickly, because if he didn't there was a good chance Alec would just leave, rude or not. "Anyway, I've been known to dabble with the bow," Zach said, his voice playful and his eye-roll too, "Nowhere near your level of course, but I was wondering if you could give me some pointers, show me some moves, that kind of thing." Alec felt the tension leaving his body- teaching, he could handle teaching. It could even be nice, to have a fellow archer around. Angel knows he's been trying to get Jace and Izzy interested in bowing for years but neither was keen on it. Even Max refused to even hear of it and tended to sprint away from the room whenever Alec tried to mention it screaming abuse- it was turning into an institute joke really.

"Sure," He said with a relived smile, "That would be nice. When… When do want to meet?" Zach gave the other man a bright smile, happy that Alec agreed to his request.

"How about now? I have quite a lot of free time, at least until you clear me for action…" He said lightly, throwing a little dig in even though he knew this was not Alec's decision but the Clave's who demanded that all new personnel spent their first week on the job learning the ropes before allowed on the field. Alec let out a small smile,

"I can't right now, I need to take a shower and go home." Zach looked around him meaningfully, spreading his hands as if to say- hello… home… Alec shook his head, "Oh I don't live in the institute, I live with my fiancé in Brooklyn." He tried his best not to let a very pleased smile onto his face but he really liked everything that had to do with letting people know he was engaged to Magnus. A part of him hoped that he'd stop doing this at some point because sometimes it sounded like this was his greatest achievement but mostly he basked in his new relationship status as much as he could.

"Ah, the warlock." Zach said and Alec found himself bristling at once, he didn't know the guy well enough to decide if he meant it as an insult or not but he wasn't taking any chances,

"Is there a problem?" He folded his arms over his chest, pulling himself to his full height. He didn't normally do that, use his very impressive size to intimidate people. Normally Alec preferred to hunch and try to minimize his presence but on occasions like these, when someone was badmouthing someone he cared for he found it usually worked in putting people back in their place. Zach shrugged, not particularly threatened by Alec's stance- though it could be because the guy didn't really know Alec that well yet,

"Well, you know what they're like..."

"No, I don't!" Alec snapped, really fed up with this attitude. He wasn't about to lash out violently at the guy, as Jace or Izzy might do if someone pushed their buttons, but he certainly wasn't about to let this guy walk out of the training area without a piece of Alec's mind, "I know what we've been taught to believe since we were kids about downworlders," He started, his eyes and voice hard and commanding, "And some of them probably do follow stereotype, but I also know that if it wasn't for their help we would never have defeated Valentine, so the next warlock or werewolf or vampire or even seelie I meet I'll make sure to get to know them based on their personality and not their race!" He finished his little speech slightly winded, and he knew his cheeks were flushed but he was glad he said all he said because it was important for him that the new guy knew from day one what he was getting into.

"That's… very noble." Zach said, and from some reason it made Alec even angrier,

"Look," He said, gesturing towards the other man, "We have worked very hard to turn this place around, to stop the prejudice against downworlders and to start building a sustainable and productive relationship between the races. We need them just as much as they need us and it's about time we stop listen to stories written hundreds of years ago and start thinking for ourselves!" It felt good to let this out, to say what was on his mind without fearing repercussions. He wasn't stupid or naive, he knew damn well that the only reason they were allowed to get away with what they were doing was because he was a Lightwood and Jace was a Herondale. But he didn't care, the way Alec saw it he was going to use the power his family name offered for as long as he could, because for centuries all the Clave did was try and keep their worlds separated, by any means they could- be it the accords or children's nighttime stories, and for years Alec believed them. Because he didn't know any different and never saw a reason not to. But then he met Magnus and his whole world tilted on its axis and Alec had to admit he was damn grateful it did. Downworlders were not that different from shadowhunters- it was so simple and therefore so infuriating that it was hard to accept. 'Foolishness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results', that was one of Magnus' favorite quotes (that and bragging to Alec how he used to beat Albert Einstein in chess) and Alec found he was relating to it more and more, the Clave tried the same thing for centuries and Alec knew they did not seek the change, on the contrary. But these were different times and Alec knew that smothering downworlders to keep them down would only bring on another rising or worse, another Valentine and he was determined to fight it in any way he could. So yes, the new guy had to learn as soon as possible what working here meant!

Zach lifted his hands in surrender- he's heard the rumors about the New York institute of course, they were pretty much the talk of the town back in Alicante. The Clave was still unsure how to deal with the developments in one of their chief institutes, but even they couldn't ignore the work that Alec and the rest were doing. But Zach couldn't deny that seeing his boss looking like this- disheveled from his workout, his eyes bright and gleaming and his cheeks slightly pink was getting to him, hard! Besides, he couldn't help but get swept away in what Alec was saying. Building bridges between the races was a good thing, a great thing in fact and only a really rigid and archaic organization like the Clave could be against it.

"You are absolutely right," He said softly, his smile wide, "That's why I asked to come here, the New York institute is the place were things are happening! It's very exciting to be here." Alec felt his body relaxing a little and even managed a small smile. It was nice to know that all their hard work wasn't in vain. He knew they didn't have a hope in hell in influencing the Clave members themselves and they didn't even try- their aim was towards the young generation of shadowhunters, because they were the future Clave members and if they could change their minds then there was hope for their race. "Besides, I wanted to meet you in person. The man who made it possible for the rest of us to stop hiding." Alec frowned a little, not entirely sure what Zach meant when it hit him. Now the blush took over furiously and his hand lifted to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. He was very happy to give credit to anyone who was even remotely involved in the promotion of racial relations- after all it was a joined effort that got them through and made things possible and Alec would never dream of taking all the credit to himself, but this? This was his achievement alone. Coming out, admitting to himself and the world what he was and who he loved was something he couldn't really share credit with anyone. Not to mention the fact that he chose to make a stand in the matter at his own wedding, in front of half the Clave, by kissing a warlock of all people. It seemed his little act of defiance was coming back to taunt him from very unexpected angles, even after all the months that passed.

"Um… I… ah… I think..." Alec stammered, quite adorably in Zach's opinion, before he took a deep breath, deciding to be graceful about it and hopefully let the matter rest, "Thank you."

"I'm very glad to be working here," Zach said, deciding to save Alec from his own embarrassment, "You guys are exactly what the shadow world needs, and I can't wait to be a part of it." A smile bloomed on Alec's face, a big happy one, and Zach couldn't help himself, taking a step towards Alec and lowering his voice and eyelashes, "Besides, the head of this institute is really hot..." Alec gave half a shrug, completely missing the leering tone of the other man,

"I guess, if you're into blonds..." He was mighty glad that the only people who knew for sure about his little crush on Jace were family, and Clary, and there wasn't much of a danger this will spread out- besides, even if it did it won't matter because he had Magnus and that was so much better! "I wouldn't get my hopes too high on Jace though," He advised the new medic and patted his shoulder, bypassing the shocked man on his way to leave the training area, "I'll see you tomorrow."

A/N: I really like the idea that people are trying to hit on Alec and he just doesn't notice, not only don't reciprocate but actually not able to tell they're doing it. It's cute.

That was my little anti-war rant, hope it didn't get too heavy.