A/N: GUYS! The fic turns one today! Happy anniversary! *throws confetti* Can you believe it's already been a year?! Because I hardly can. A year ago I posted the first chapter of 'Butterflies' and since then, so many people have read it, loved it... It feels so surreal to me. Thank you so much for sticking for so long (for those of you who are here, with us, from the very beginning) and for those of you who only just joined - hope you enjoy the rest of the ride! I love you all!

I would also like to thank my wonderful beta, ChaseThisLightWithMe - I hope you all know that this story wouldn't continue without her. I love you, munchkin :3

I have a few more announcements to make, but about that later. For now, enjoy the chapter! (Important: it's up to you how you read the last line of the chapter. Whether it belongs to Alec or Magnus - feel free to interpret as you wish.)

The snow melted completely by the end of February. The winter left the roads muddy and mostly impassable, whereas the smallest creeks turned into brave, silvery rivulets. Spring was being a little shy – she swirled with the droplets of rain, danced with the mists in the chilly mornings and equally cold evenings, as though not certain if she wanted to settle in just yet. Everything was slowly waking up – small animals, trees and flowers, and butterflies. The Institute, too, seemed a bit more louder, busier, with all the maids and valets running vigorously from room to room, in order to air the dusty interiors and let in the winds of spring; with Hodge, whose strength and enthusiasm for work seemed to renew itself over the past months; with the Lightwoods strolling across the halls, and smiling, and laughing. Something was in the air, something new, exciting, a harbinger of bright future.

With an almost-there-spring came a letter from Robert Lightwood, informing that he won't make it home for the Season. They all expected that, yet having it confirmed calmed Alec, made him feel relief. Then, there was guilt, raising a raw ball of shame in Alec's throat. He was ashamed of feeling those things – of being grateful that his father would stay away for longer. After all, he was not ashamed of his feelings for Magnus. Yet knowing that he could keep them away from Robert a little longer was a reassurance that Alec still needed.

With that information, and the oncoming spring, came more duties. Alec, in the absence of lord Lightwood, had to go on his usual round of the village and its surroundings. Jace offered to accompany him, and they took Church with them. The breeze was fresh, nearly harsh on their faces, and it made their cheeks turn red. In a surge of strange nostalgia, Alec remembered the times when he used to do these rounds alone, when they were his one and only form of escape. He did not need them now. He watched Jace, as he was interacting with the villagers, or as he was checking the fences, or patting his horse's ankles and complaining about them being too slender; and thought that Jace was good, and that it felt nice to work with him, but Alec didn't require it anymore to live. It wasn't part of him – it was what he did, it was his job, but he could picture himself doing something else.

Thoughts like those tended to appear accompanied by guilt and were quickly chased by 'be reasonable, Alexander'. This time though, Alec just shook his head and smiled. Jace beamed at him from across the field, thinking that the smile was directed at him. Perhaps it was.

It turned out everything was in good order – some buildings required mending, and the window in the small church had been broken by one of the heaviest gales – but it wasn't anything new, and Jace said he would report to Hodge about damage. On their way back, they let the horses pick their own path, trusting their instincts. They knew that Isabelle was waiting for them with tea, and that Magnus was there to keep her company. Alec would have normally dared Jace to race, if he wasn't perfectly aware of the bad condition of the roads. He chose being reasonable, because sometimes it was for the best.

Before joining Isabelle and Magnus, they changed from their travel clothes and knee-high boots into something more appropriate. Alec knew that Izzy would appreciate that.

The Lightwood brothers entered the room together, and Jace didn't omit to playfully elbow Alec in the ribs when they collided at the door.

Isabelle, who was sitting across Magnus in her beautiful, burgundy dress, visibly brightened when they appeared. It wasn't that she was unhappy with Magnus' company, it just had been her usual state lately: she'd been in a pensive mood, as if – and Alec did not like the sound of it – she was thinking about doing something stupid. He had noticed his sister growing distant, somewhat careless, over the matter of the past few days – or was it weeks? – and he thought many times about approaching her about it, but it never seemed to be a good time. And now, when she was looking up at him with that beautiful smile of hers, it definitely wasn't the time to bring it up, especially if it would cause her to slip into that mood again.

"Oh, you're finally here!" Isabelle exclaimed. "We were just talking about the Season. There is so much more that needs to be done!"

"Like what?" Alec asked suspiciously, then sent Magnus a glare when the man stifled a snort behind his hand. Despite the lack of solidarity from Magnus' side, Alec still seated himself next to him. Isabelle noticed, of course, and waggled her brows mischievously at their visible closeness.

She picked up, "Going to the milliner? Buying new gowns and you – new vests and tailcoats and cravats? What do you think?" She rolled her eyes at her brother.

Jace moaned. "I'm not looking forward to this." Alec nodded solemnly and added, "Still, we won't be going to London until after Easter."

"And that's in a little more than a month!"

"Exactly. Why are you worrying about it now?"

Isabelle's lips thinned. "Because I'm excited," she said in a flat tone and the contrast between that and her words made them all laugh. "Everyone is excited. Clarissa Morgenstern is going to debut this year. And there is this mysterious Indonesian-Dutch prince that everyone's talking about. Rumours are spreading—"

At the word 'rumours' Alec stopped listening to Isabelle. He fought down the urge to roll his eyes, and instead, he glanced at Magnus, having had no chance to talk to him yet. What met his eyes surprised him, and scared him a little, too: Magnus had blenched, and now he was sitting with his eyes wide, as if startled, with a white-knuckled grip around the delicate, porcelain teacup.

Alec placed his hand on Magnus' forearm, and felt how tense the man was under his touch. "Are you alright?" he asked in a hushed voice, without disturbing Isabelle's tirade. He distantly heard Jace laugh at something with Isabelle, and he wondered, irrationally, if they were laughing at the foreign prince.

Magnus flinched, and then his grip loosened as he looked at Alec. "Ah, yes." He tried to smile weakly, and the poor, albeit well-meant attempt, caused Alec to worriedly flex his fingers against Magnus' sleeve. "I apologize." He lifted the teacup to his lips and took a small sip of tea, and Alec realized now was probably a good time to remove his hand.

Soon after that, Simon came in to take care of refills, and to take away the dirty dishes. Alec saw Isabelle making a move, as if she wanted to help him. She did manage to move her feet a little, and bumped it against Simon's ankle. The valet gasped, nearly lost the content of his tray, then disappeared, having bowed with his eyes firmly stuck on the floor.

They resumed their conversation, but it wasn't going very smoothly. Something had changed: Jace was dozing off in his chair; Magnus seemed to be caught up in his thoughts; Isabelle's face, at some point, turned sombre again. Alec tried to remember what could have caused the change of mood, yet he came up with nothing. He sent her a silent question instead, and she responded immediately with a short, easy smile. Maybe it was just Alec being paranoid, she had seemed happy just minutes ago.

However, they all felt like there was no purpose to carry on with the meeting. They parted, and Alec offered Magnus to walk him home. Magnus accepted the offer with a wide smile that did not reach his eyes.

They were silent on their way to Idris House. At some point, Magnus casually took Alec's hand in his, but when Alec looked at him questioningly – after all, they weren't used to displaying their affection when they weren't alone, and even though just seconds ago Alec had been pondering if he should hold Magnus' hand, he had come to conclusion that Magnus didn't look like he would like that – he discovered that Magnus' eyes were set ahead of them, he wasn't even looking at Alec.

"I'll be moving to my house in London for the Season," Magnus said abruptly.

Alec gulped. "You have a house in London?"

"Don't you?"

"Well, yes, but…" With his free hand, he found a loose strand inside one of his pockets and started fiddling with it. "I guess I didn't think you were that long-sighted. I mean, you obviously must have thought about that some time ago—and I haven't, yet. You just surprised me, that's all."

"In fact, I've owned a house in London long before I bought Idris House. I needed a place to stay when I have business to attend there."

"Oh. Do you visit London frequently, then?"

"Alec," Magnus sighed. Ah, yes, Alec stepped into a sticky subject of Magnus' other life.

And finally, Magnus looked at him. He seemed troubled, desperate, and Alec realized that he felt the same. Their relationship stood on fragile ground – it was built on strong, pure feelings, but the world around them was hostile.

Magnus started drawing small circles on the back of Alec's hand with his thumb, and he seemed to be doing it absentmindedly, a gesture to comfort himself as much as it was meant to comfort Alec, and it made Alec's heart ache.

Alec sighed. "Magnus, what are we going to do?" Where is this going? What happens next? So many questions, and Magnus was silent. "Until now, I wasn't even certain that you will be in London for the Season. We didn't talk about it. You only said to my sister that you would be there, but it could be because you wanted to please her." He swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Are we going to have to pretend that we don't know each other?"

Magnus clenched his jaw. He clearly hated the idea, and yet his answer was, "That would be for the best. Only at the beginning, though." He looked at Alec pleadingly, as though he was asking his forgiveness. "First, I need to be introduced to your family. Remember that officially we don't know each other. A presentation must take place. "

Alec nodded, twice, for good measure. "I understand."

"Then we will be allowed to meet freely. Talk freely. I will dance with your sister, and I'll dance with you, and I'll even dance with Jace if he wishes so."

Alec knew that the last two options wouldn't be possible, at least not in public, but it made him smile nonetheless – a small, delicate smile. "Don't worry, Jace would never ask you to dance with him," he said, and it made Magnus chuckle. He added, softly, "I might, though."

Magnus glanced at him with his head cocked, and he stopped walking, and brought their lips together. It was a short kiss – they were alone, however still in the middle of the fields where anyone could see them – but it was sweet and it made Alec's lips tingle when it was over.

Magnus tugged at his hand. "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

It turned out that the surprise waited in the room that Alec had never visited before.

The clavichord was ready. It stood in the middle of the room, and the sun shined directly over it, making the dark wood gleam wonderfully. Magnus approached the instrument and lifted the lid, and Alec couldn't help but think that it suited him, for it was dark, and slim and graceful. There was a painting under the lid, something Alec didn't recognize – he'd heard of people doing that sometimes, knew that having that made was expensive, but had never actually seen one. He also had a feeling that this one was different and more beautiful than anything he could have possibly seen – it wasn't a landscape, or a portrait, it was a harmony of colours, emotions, and Magnus' memoires, and it must have represented something very dear to him. There were swivels of golds, greens, dark reds and blue. It also looked like the blue was added later, yet it still combined gracefully with the rest.

"It's beautiful," Alec said, meaning it with his whole heart.

"Isn't it? It is worth its price. The artisan will not be in need of money for a while, now."

"He did a wonderful job."

"She. Miss Catarina." Alec lifted his brows in amazement. A woman, working such job? Then again, it sounded like something Magnus would do: hire someone incredible. "Don't look at me like that. That's why I was reluctant to tell you. You would think it was inappropriate."

"No, I wouldn't," Alec said quickly.

"You're thinking it now."

"No, I'm not." Alec smiled. "I was thinking that it's amazing that she does what she loves. And she's good at it, too. I think it's brave. And remarkable."

Magnus blinked at Alec, and then leaned down to kiss his nose. "Now, for the surprise."

"I thought that was it?" Alec was lost.

Magnus snorted. "Come on, I prepared something that would actually, hopefully, make you happy."

"This makes me happy," Alec protested. "If you're happy, then I'm happy, too."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "That's sweet, but hush now. Let me have this." He sat down on the bench, and patted the place next to him. Alec followed obediently, and then Magnus turned to him and said, "I wrote you a song." Alec opened his mouth to say something, but Magnus didn't let him, "I have been writing bits and pieces since we met, so it's a little long and chaotic and I had to write it without the instrument, obviously, so it may come out a little clumsy…"

"Magnus." Alec placed his hand on Magnus' mouth. "Can you play my song, please?"

Magnus' eyes lit up, and he nodded, still under Alec's palm. At that, Alec moved his hand away, but not before taking Magnus' chin between his fingers to steal one kiss. Then he moved away, seated himself more comfortably and focused his eyes completely on Magnus.

The song started, surprisingly, in amazed, startled tones, a little unsure, a little unreal – that was, Alec realized, how they met. Then it was slow, full of wonderment, quiet feelings, blossoming love. Feather-like touches of Magnus' fingers on the keys – feather-like touches between them. Then there was laughter, and peace, and some confusion – or maybe Magnus' finger just slipped, he was playing the song for the first time, after all. In the next part, Alec thought that was how falling in love must sound like, and then his heart broke, because he was hearing hurt in those notes, and fear – and curious thing was, the fear undertone never really left the song, not even in the end.

Alec was torn between looking at Magnus' face and looking at his fingers – how they moved, smoothly, swiftly, sometimes slowly. He was caught looking at Magnus' hands when the song ended, and without thinking, he reached for them and brought them to his lips. He kissed every fingertip, worshipped those wonderful hands, hands capable of creating something as beautiful as that song.

"Thank you," he whispered against Magnus' skin. His throat was tight, and he thought he felt tears prickle at the corners of his eyes, and Magnus' skin was warm on his lips.

Magnus was looking at him closely, perhaps trying to read his mind. "Alec," he breathed. And then he said something that Alec was not expecting, "Would you go with me, on another trip? I have a matter that needs taking care of, but I do not want to leave you behind again. Please, come with me?"

Why did he sound as if he was scared?

Alec found himself nodding. "Of course. Anywhere."

He opened his arms and Magnus immediately fitted in them, sliding his own arms around Alec's waist. He tucked his head under Alec's chin and breathed in his scent.

"I love you," Alec said quietly into the crown of his head. Magnus didn't respond.

(He thought himself unworthy.)

Okay, now. In response to your lovely reviews: you asked about 1) Izzy and her "secret crush" - it's going to be resolved in the end, don't you worry. Until then, there will be little mentions and stuff, but eventually we'll find out who he is and what happenes with them; 2) is Clary going to appear later in the story - of course! I wouldn't leave her out. Same for some other characters, for example Aline, Sebastian etc... Remember that there is the Season ahead of us, and we'll meet some new people there. Although, we have to remember that it is a Malec-centred story - none of the new people or new (potential) relationships will become a main focus of the story; 3) and about Robert Lightwood - I don't want to reveal just yet if he's going to make an appearance or not. There are little mentions of him here and there, to keep you on your toes, but for now, let's just wait and see. 4) you expressed your worries about the future of our boys - hahaha you're all so precious, you got over 80k words of slow-burn and then fluff, you just know that something is going to crash eventually ;) I'll just say - the "drama" in the fic description is there for a reason.

Now something about the timeline: next two (?) chapters will be a little longer, and they will cover 'the trip' - the boys are going to have some time alone, and STUFF is going to happen, I can assure you. Then there is the Season, and that will take some time. After that, we'll be nearing the end. But do not fear, there's still much to write about.

The sad thing is, another exam session is close. The rough part starts mid-June, but I already have a few essays to write etc... My update-frequency is crappy as it is, and it's gonna get worse. Ugh. But only till the end of June! Then I have three-months long break. And you know what the means - non-stop writing ;)

One last thing: THERE ARE ONLY 13 DAYS TILL CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE! GUYS, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! BECAUSE I CAN'T. LET'S PRAY THAT WE'LL SURVIVE IT. *HEAVY BREATHING*

Okay, sorry about the rant, just wanted to give you heads-up. Now, did you enjoy the chapter? Do you think we can reach 300 reviews? That would make me very happy! xx