A/N- Hello everyone! What's this? An update in less than a month? I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading.

Disclaimer- Sadly I still don't own the characters- they belong to Cassandra Clare.

It was the day after Boxing Day, and Alec and Magnus had decided to meet at a small park about 30 minutes from their homes. It was cold enough outside that no one would willingly come and sit in a park full of freezing metal seats, the lack of snow meaning that even the young children could not be encouraged to come outside to play. That meant it was the perfect opportunity for Alec and Magnus to sit together at the top of the slide/climbing frame construction without anyone seeing them.

"So did you have a nice Christmas?" The two had just settled themselves on a blanket at the top of the structure when Magnus asked Alec. Alec couldn't fight the massive grin that worked its way onto his face as he thought back to the last few days; Will coming round on Christmas Eve, spending Christmas day with his family without his parents having to go to work, while on Boxing day continuing the tradition of meeting up with the Herondales and working through all the latest board games they had received. This year was Monopoly and it didn't take anyone long to remember why their first one had gotten 'lost'. Alec wasn't proud to admit that he wasn't a very good loser, but in his defence none of them were. It was probably why they always ended up fighting and Monopoly always went in the bin. He gave it a month until his parents banned it again.

"Great! You know, I got the best present this year."

"What?"

Alec could see the genuine curiosity in his eyes. This wasn't one of those instances of pretending to care just to be polite, and the fact warmed Alec's heart greatly. "Will came to see me".

Alec could see the surprise on Magnus' face before he replied. "Really! What did he say?"

"Everything. That he was sorry and why he reacted the way he did. Magnus", Alec could feel tears gathering in his eyes, "I have my best friend back". That was all he had time for before Magnus enveloped him in a tight hug, and when they pulled away he could see that even Magnus' eyes were shining just a little too brightly.

"I'm pleased for you Alec, I really am".

"But enough about me", Alec said as he settled down next to Magnus, leaning his head on the other's shoulder. "How was your Christmas?"

"Cosy. Mum made too much food, as always. You'd think by now she would have worked out how much food two people can realistically consume".

"What's your mum like? You've never really told me about her". Alec thought it was an innocent enough question; after all he had told Magnus about his family many times, and in great detail. Alec just couldn't believe that it took him this long to realise that he knew nothing about Magnus' family. Maybe there was a reason for that, Alec thought to himself as he felt Magnus tense slightly next to him. Shifting a little to allow himself a look at the green eyed boy's face, Alec could see that he had lost some of his colour.

"Oh, Magnus I'm sorry, you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to".

"I know", Magnus gave him a weak smile, only meeting his eyes briefly. "It's why I want to. It's just not exactly easy, and I don't want to ruin the lovely Christmas you've had".

Alec shifted so he was sat directly in front of Magnus and slowly lifted his hands up so he was gently cradling his face. "Now you listen to me Magnus Bane". He spoke gently yet without room for argument, his encouraging blue eyes never leaving Magnus' anguished ones. "You could never, ever, ruin anything if you need to talk. I will listen. But only if you want to tell me, don't feel like you have to. But I hope you know you can trust me", he added softly wiping at the tear that had strayed down one of Magnus' cheeks.

"I do", Magnus replied gently, giving Alec's hands a small squeeze as he brought them down from his face, pulling Alec gently so he was sat next to him again. He took a deep breath as he steadied himself, releasing one of Alec's hands as he kept a tight hold on the other.

"Sophia isn't my biological mum. She adopted me when I was five after I had already spent two years in a foster home. I love her more than anything. She's incredible and has always done everything she can to support me. I told you she was fine when I told her I was bisexual, and she has never asked me to be anything I'm not. I don't really remember by biological parents, though that's probably a good thing. What I do know is from what I heard Sophia explaining to a man who wanted her to choose him over me. She had no idea I had gotten out of bed and was on the other side of the door".

Magnus paused here, and Alec didn't know what to say. Magnus seemed reluctant to continue and he didn't want to say anything that might pressurise Magnus into saying something he wanted to keep private. So he just gave his hand a slight squeeze, hoping that Magnus could take whatever he needed from that. It was silent for a few more minutes before Magnus decided to speak again, sill refusing to look Alec in the eyes as he stared at the hands clasped together in his lap.

"She was young when she had me", Alec noticed that Magnus deliberately avoided the word 'mum'. "17 I think Sophia told him. Apparently her parents weren't happy. They didn't like the man she was with; he was 19 at the time. They hated even more that I was born when they weren't married. So they threw her out of the house, cut her off from all the comforts she had grown up enjoying. He wasn't living with his parents either, and was getting minimal pay as a delivery man. So they lived together in a tiny apartment with little money and a baby to look after. It's not hard to realise why they didn't want me."

Alec heard the way Magnus stumbled over the last few words, the way his breath hitched. Even though Magnus had his head bowed he could see the tears that glided down his face. Shifting as close to him as he could he tried to give him all the comfort he had as Magnus started to speak again.

"Mum said I was really underweight when the authorities took me away. That if they had waited another couple of weeks I might have died. The apartment was a mess, and apparently they weren't much better either. Along the way they had gotten mixed up with some bad things, turned to drugs and alcohol. They were violent towards each other, though they must have forgotten I existed most of the time because I apparently only ever suffered a couple of fractures. It could have been worse I guess. But it hurts Alec."

Magnus finally looked into his eyes, his cat like eyes drowning in pain and desperation as he spoke again. "It hurts that I was never enough, not even for the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. And then, when I got older and I fell in love and let them know me, they left as well. And I got to thinking, what is it about me that means I can't be loved. That I'm not wanted? So I stopped letting people in, thinking that if I closed myself off it wouldn't hurt so much when they inevitably left. But it didn't work. I just felt cold and empty, and alone. My clothes and makeup just became an extravagant shell for a mass of emptiness. It didn't work, Alec".

His last sentence was uttered as a broken whisper as the tears poured more strongly down his face. Alec' didn't even think as he pulled the other teenager against his chest, rocking them slightly and letting him cry out his pain. Alec only pushed him away slightly when he believed that Magnus was in a composed enough state to hear what he was going to say.

"Do you really believe you're unlovable?" Alec watched sadly as Magnus nodded his head.

"That there is no one on this planet who could possibly love you?" Alec saw Magnus flinch as he nodded slowly.

"Well that's completely against what you told me at the start of the story. You told me your mum never asked you to change who you are. That's love. You told me she does everything she can to look after you. That's love. You told me she was asked to choose between you and another man, and well, you're still with her aren't you? That is love. Love for the little boy she chose and took in. Love for the man she knew you would become."

Alec paused as he gathered his thoughts, watching as he saw the tears slowly stop and some of the despair leave Magnus' eyes. He wasn't sure if he should say what else was on his mind; after all, they had only been together since the beginning of November. Surely a month and a half wasn't enough time to fall in love with someone? There had to be some sort of rule for how far into a relationship it was okay to say the 'L-word'. But then why should he care about what other people thought? This was him and Magnus, no one else. They may have only gone on a few dates, but they texted or called each other every day. And he missed Magnus when he wasn't with him. Missed his smile, the way he laughed and the way his eyes lit up whenever he saw him. He even missed Magnus' loud clothes and technical make up. He guessed that was a pretty good definition of love; missing someone when they're not with you. And although he was terrified that maybe Magnus might not love him back, right now he wasn't concerned about himself. He was concerned about the boy opposite him who had convinced himself he was unlovable. If some temporary mortification could convince him otherwise, then maybe Alec would be able to convince himself that it was worth it.

"And then... well, there's me too." Alec forced himself to look Magnus in the eyes as he said this, so he didn't miss the way his eyes widened a little, how his mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he found the words which had escaped him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think I might be in love with you". Alec held his breath as he waited for any reaction from Magnus. When it became clear that the other was frozen in shock, Alec ploughed on as his embarrassment slowly increased. "But it's okay if you don't feel the same, I just thought that you should know. Though, if you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to tell me this if you wanted to keep people out?"

Alec watched as Magnus shifted to face him, slowly grabbing hold of both his hands again. "Because I told you it wasn't working. I came here to be different, I promised myself I would. It's why I couldn't date Will. I could see myself in him, and I knew then that our relationship would be as superficial as my previous ones had been. But from the beginning you were different; you were open and honest, and you trusted me when you had no reason to. And eventually, I don't really know when, maybe it was under the willow tree when you told me about your father, I learned to trust you back. And after I learned to trust you, it didn't take long to fall. Because if I'm honest with you Alec, I think I love you too".

There was a still, calm silence after Magnus' confession, both teenagers smiling as they stared at each other in disbelief, their hands held tightly as if they were tethering each other to the earth. Slowly Magnus started to lean in, but it was then that Alec remembered the little gift in his pocket.

"Oh", he exclaimed pulling away abruptly and ignoring the frustrated huff Magnus let out as he searched in the deep pocket of his practical black coat and pulled out a small, colourfully wrapped box. "It reminded me of you", he explained as Magnus raised a questioning eyebrow at the rainbow coloured wrapping paper.

As he handed the gift over, Alec was struck with the sudden fear that Magnus would hate it. "It's, um nothing big", Alec said clearing his throat a little. "I just wanted to get you something".

Magnus gave him a small, genuine smile in return as he held the delicate parcel in his hands. "If it's from you Alec I'll love it."

"You say that now", Alec muttered as Magnus carefully peeled the wrapping paper away from the small box and took the lid off. Inside, nestled on deep purple velvet sat a silver necklace, the design being a simple rainbow. Alec thought Magnus might find it a bit cheesy, but he hoped the other teenager would understand once he explained it a bit more.

"You've brought so much colour into my life Magnus. You brought a happiness I thought I would never have, an energy I seemed to be missing. But most importantly you brought hope. Hope that I wouldn't be alone. So this is why I chose a rainbow. I wanted you to be able to look at it and see the hope your colour brought me so that maybe, if you ever feel sad or alone, or doubt yourself you could look at it and see hope. Hope that, like me, you wouldn't be alone".

"Freedom was splashes of colour", was all Magnus said as he carefully took the necklace out of the box and put it on, looking at Alec with a gentle smile.

Alec felt his mouth drop open. "You remember the poem I wrote you?"

"Of course I do, you wrote it for me", Magnus shrugged as if it wasn't the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to Alec before. "And I love the necklace; it most certainly isn't cheesy". He paused as he dug something out of his tartan coat pocket. "I got you something too, by the way".

Alec smiled at Magnus as a small box wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper was placed in his hands. He wasn't quite as careful as Magnus was when he ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box inside. He wasn't always the most patient person and growing up with younger siblings meant that if he didn't open his presents fast someone would be doing it for him. He felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw what was waiting for him.

Inside the box sat a necklace, silver like the one he gave Magnus. But instead of holding a rainbow, it was decorated with two hands joined together, reaching out to each other. It was beautiful. He was so entranced with it that he almost missed Magnus' explanation.

"You inspire me Alec, you really do. You may not believe me, but you're so brave. It took courage for you to tell me you were gay. It took courage for you to agree to go on a date with me, even though you were terrified of people finding out about us. In fact, you show courage every time you decide to come out with me. You told me in the poem you gave me that I set you free, but you did the same for me. You've helped me as much as I helped you; that's what the hands mean. That you are not alone, that you have the strength and courage to help others. And when the time comes and you decide to tell people about us, though please don't think I'm pushing you to do so I can wait as long as you need me to, I want you to think of this necklace and know that I believe you have the courage in you to do it. And I want you to remember that you will have me by your side."

Alec didn't know what to say in response to Magnus' explanation so he put the necklace on and said the only thing that was fitting.

"I love you, Magnus".

"I love you too."

And this time, when Magnus leant in for a kiss he didn't pull away. His body moved forwards without being told to, one of his hands wrapping around Magnus' waist as another buried itself in his hair. Alec didn't know if it was his imagination, or whether it was a product of how emotionally vulnerable they had made themselves today, but the kiss felt different to the other times they had kissed in the car when they thought no one could see. This time it felt like Alec was weightless. Every taste of Magnus' cherry lip gloss, every move of their lips and swipe of Magnus' tongue made Alec feel as if nothing could bother him. That all that existed in the world was Magnus and how happy he made him. Alec promised himself then, as Magnus kissed him slowly and softly, that he would tell his parents.

He wouldn't hide anymore.