Clary couldn't believe Valentine had taken Jocelyn. Of all the people she'd thought he would take, Jocelyn was not on the top of her list. Even after what happened the last time, she didn't think he had it in him.
"Why didn't we remember my mother?!" Clary shrieked, running her hands through her hair frantically. "I know she was in Idris, but there was no way I thought Valentine would make a move!"
"Calm down," Magnus told Clary, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How do you know that Valentine took Jocelyn?"
"He sent me a fire message! Look at it! It's right here, see?"
"Calm down," Magnus told her again. "I see it. There's a about a ninety percent chance it actually was from Valentine. Clary, we have to keep a calm head and figure this out."
"I know. But it's my mother. And after what happened last time . . . "
"Oh, you poor thing," Magnus said, giving Clary a hug. "Don't worry, we can figure this out. All of us-Jace, Isabelle, me, Alec, and you. Speaking of which, is Alec back yet?"
"Where did he go?"
"Oh, I sent him out to get some stuff for me. Nothing too big, just a few things I needed from my apartment. Mostly warlock stuff."
"Okay," Clary said, nodding. "I need to talk to the rest of the people here. JACE! ISABELLE! ANYONE ELSE WHO'S HERE!"
"YES?!" what sounded like Jace yelled back.
"GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW! VALENTINE KIDNAPPED JOCELYN!"
Clary heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Two sets. And then the sound of someone walking in the front door.
"I heard you from outside," Alec said from the doorframe. He'd literally just walked in.
"Alexander!" Magnus said. "I have three things to say to you. One, thank you for getting my stuff. Two, Valentine's kidnapped Jocelyn in Idris."
Alec gasped. "Oh, we have to get her back." He thought for a second, running one hand through his hair. "What's the third thing?"
"I love you," Magnus said, staring into Alec's eyes.
"That's sweet, but we have to get everyone in this room to find a way to rescue her!" Clary shrieked.
"We're here," Jace and Isabelle said in unison from the other side of the doorframe. Clary burst into tears.
"Here, hold the cat," Alec suggested, pulling Magnus's cat, Chairman Meow, out of his bag. "Cats have the power to calm people down."
"Okay, Clary said, still sobbing. At that moment, the fact that Jocelyn had been taken ahd really kicked in. Her mother, the person who had raised her and loved her, was as locked away as her real father, Luke, was. Oh, why did Valentine have to take the people she loved most away from her?
"I feel so sorry for you," Izzy said, patting Clary on the back.
"Clary, we'll figure this out," Jace said, kissing her on the head.
"I'm not touching you, but I'll help you however I can!" Alec pointed out.
"The floor is now open to any suggestions on how we should recover Jocelyn," Magnus said.
"We should send a few people to Idris, with Clary, to get her back," Alec suggested. "Jace, Izzy, Clary, you can go-but I want to stay here with Magnus. He can't go, I don't want him to be arrested again. And we have demon research. I doubt we can take down Valentine and two Greater Demons."
"That's a good idea," Jace noted. "Magnus, could-"
"Portal?" Clary asked. "On it." She took her stele, and began drawing the Portal rune she created. She handed off Chairman Meow to Magnus, her tears gone. "Let's go to Idris and save my mother." The Portal opened in a blaze of swirling colors, and it was time to go.
Magnus waited only a few seconds after the Portal closed to say, "They're gone. We have the entire place to ourselves. You know what this means."
"Yes," Alec said, and blushed. "Um . . . what are we going to do with the cat?"
"Oh, just let him roam free," Magnus said, setting Chairman Meow down. "He can spend some time getting acquainted with Church."
Alec stared at Magnus for s few seconds before he spoke again. "Do you think we could . . . go to the bedroom?" he asked in a low voice.
"Yes," Magnus replied sexily. "I wouldn't mind that."
He leaned over and kissed Alec gently on the cheek. Magnus took his hand and slowly began to guide Alec back to their bedroom. It felt so nice to think of it as "theirs" now.
Magnus was glad Alec had left his backpack on. Some of the stuff he'd told him to fetch from the apartment was just for this purpose. Oh, the stuff he planned to do with Alec . . . it'd been so long since Magnus had felt like this. Sure, there'd been casual hookups and one-night-stands, but nothing like this with someone he loved, who wanted to do this with him out of love. Magnus felt like he was opening up a new window in his mind, or just an old squeaky one he'd never realized he needed open.
"Magnus," Alec said, tapping him on the shoulder. "We're here."
"Oh," Magnus replied. "Well, here goes nothing." He opened the door, and then grabbed a hold of Alec and kissed him. Alec slowly began to kiss him back, hands smoothing up and down Magnus's sides. Magnus eased the straps of the backpack off of Alec's shoulders, flinging it off in a certain direction to make sure it was in easy reach from the bed if the need arised.
Alec tumbled down onto the bed, taking Magnus with him, still kissing. His nails dug into Magnus's back; their bodies tangled together almost artfully. The heat of passion and desire was heavy in the room as Alec tried to take Magnus's shirt off without breaking the kiss. Giving up, he just tore it off him. Magnus didn't mind, technically, it was Alec's shirt he'd just ruined.
His hands skimmed Magnus's chest, gently tracing all the lines and curves. His hand kept going lower and lower, until Alec was almost at the waistband of Magnus's pants.
"Wait," Magnus said, breaking the kiss. "Let me see you take your shirt off."
"Oh, really?" Alec asked, face breaking out into a rare smile. "You would like that?"
"I would love that. Just like I love you."
Alec slowly began to peel his shirt off, moving in a way that illuminated every finely tuned muscle. Twisting scars of old runes were all over him. His normally pale skin was turned gold by the light of the sun shining through the window. Magnus wanted to kiss every inch of his boyfriend. He found himself constantly shocked by Alec's beauty, and he couldn't figure out why.
Magnus leaned down and kissed Alec everywhere he could. Alec just dug his fingers into Magnus's back, which might have been uncomfortable if it was someone else, but was pure pleasure with Alec.
"Magnus," Alec murmured. "Oh, Magnus. Don't stop."
"Don't worry, Alexander," Magnus said. "I don't want to, either."
Magnus stared into Alec's blue eyes. That was his favorite color and always had been. Well, since he'd met Alec. But staring into his beautiful boyfriend's eyes, he realized there was no way he could hurt him.
"Alexander," Magnus said, finding Alec's hand, letting their fingers intertwine. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to do something you'll regret."
"I can't regret this," Alec replied. "Magnus, I really love you. You couldn't do anything to hurt me . . . Except for breaking up with me. I want this. I feel like I've wanted this for a very long time."
"I want this, too," Magnus agreed. He stared into Alec's eyes, partly expecting to see fear, but he only saw them alight with desire.
Alec leaned back on the bed, showing off all his muscles. "Then fuck me."
I almost feel sorry for that cliffhanger. Well, let's see what I come up with next.