*-*-*-*-*-*-*- MagnusBane:PsychicDetective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Chapter 6- Divide And Conquer

Summary:

The group decides to split up to speed up the investigation (That, or Alec needs a break from Jace before he says or does something he'll regret).

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"I don't know, it just doesn't make sense…" Jace started again.

Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes…once again regretting agreeing to stay with the moron…

Okay, he got that he was Alec's brother and at the moment about the last person Alec wanted to see, yet they still needed to find out if he had any info that might be helpful …

It could help them recover their memories… could solve the mystery of what happened the night before…It was a favor for Alec, who had somehow became one of his best friends when he wasn't paying attention…

It would help Magnus…

Simon would stop worrying what happened to them…

Crap…he had to put up with the jackass…

At least for the time being…

"What does not make sense?" He snapped through gritted teeth.

"Magnus and Alec! I thought for sure they'd been sleeping together for months…

I mean, it was SO obvious…"

Kevin shrugged slightly

"Well…maybe they're just taking it slow…what's wrong with that?"

"Yeah, okay, fine, but slow is like, a month…Magnus and Alec have known each other for almost a year! That's not slow…that-that's just ridiculous…

Who would wait THAT long?"

Kevin quirked his eyebrow at that, shaking his head faintly

"Wow…" he muttered

"What?"

"Nothing…" he said quickly, turning back to the task at hand.

Raphael chuckled faintly…

Jace was just batting a thousand with this guy…

He really was quite glad the kid wasn't too disappointed learning Magnus and Alec weren't actually together (As of yet)…he knew how much the guy admired them as well as their relationship….

Damnit...what the hell happened? He never used to be this soft…concerned with 'emotions' and 'empathy' and all that crap…

He blamed Simon…Being all adorable and making him fall stupidly in love without even trying…

Making him actually care…

Ugh…

He shook his head slightly before turning back to the search.

They were currently trying to go through the disaster that Jace called a living room.

Jace hadn't been able to remember what exactly this Meliorn guy said he had gave them, but after much prodding (and glaring and threats) he remembered the dude actually tried to explain it once more to Jace after he got back from driving them home.

Tried being the operative word…

Finally he gave up on just words...He'd actually wrote out on a napkin everything he used and what it was for…(Clearly he knew Jace well).

He remembered Meliorn saying it almost never had side-effects but just in case he wanted Jce to know what it all was…he'd told Jace to put it up in a safe place since he was catching a redeye out at 2am and would be out of the country for the next month…some kind of holistic, spiritual retreat kind of thing, so he would be completely out of contact till he got back.

Raphael didn't know about this Meliorn guy…though it was probably for the best that he was out of town till they got this all sorted out.

"I just don't get it…" Jace muttered again,

Raphael stifled a groan, raising his eyebrow instead…

"What? Just because they flirt quite often? So what? People flirt…doesn't necessarily mean anything"

Yeah okay, so Magnus and Alec were totally together, they just didn't realize it…however, since regardless of how angry Alec and Izzy were with Jace they probably wouldn't condone actual physical violence against the jackass,

Confusing, baiting, and tormenting him was the next best thing…

Hey, if he had to be stuck with the imbecile he may as well be entertained…

Jace rolled his eyes slightly at that, scoffing.

"Oh, come on…it does too…you know it just as well as I do. Really, who flirts if they're not trying to get someone in bed?"

Both Raphael and Simon burst out laughing.

"Raphael" Simon says between laughs

Jace glanced at him in confusion

"Huh?"

Raphael chuckled again

"I flirt with people all the time; doesn't mean I 'want' them…the only thing it means is I 'want' something from them, I 'want' them distracted, or I 'want' them out of my way."

He looks from Raphael back to Simon in shock

"What? And that doesn't bother you, your boyfriend flirting with people?"

Simon shook his head

"Not at all. I love him, I trust him, that's kinda just part of who he is…besides, it's not like I have to worry about him cheating on me." He said quirking a smile at Raphael.

He laughed loudly, nodding

Jace looked totally confused, even more so than usual.

"And you're so sure of that because?"

Raphael raised his eyebrow…

"Because I'm a good boyfriend, because I love him, and I'd never hurt him like that…

Also, I'm Asexual…"

Kevin looked at him in surprise

"You are?" he asked curiously, brightening somewhat.

Raphael nodded

"Uhh…isn't that, like, a plant or something?" Jace asked baffled,

All three of the others groaned loudly.

"Oh my god…" Kevin muttered, covering his eyes, shaking his head.

"No…I am not now, nor have I ever been, a plant." Raphael said deadpan.

"But wh-"

"Asexual means you don't feel sexual attraction…that's it.

Beyond that it can mean different things to different people…it is a spectrum.

Being Ace doesn't necessarily mean you don't want a relationship, or that you don't find people aesthetically attractive, or pretty much anything else,

It just means none of that translates to 'I really want to sleep with that person'.

Sex just isn't a need."

Simon cut him off, giving the standard explanation.

Raphael gave him a grateful smile…explaining really did get old.

"I…but…what? You're dating Simon…you two sle-"

"Our relationship is none of your business" Simon said sharply, effectively stopping Jace's line of questioning cold.

He started at the tone, clamping his jaw shut with an audible click.

Raphael chuckled, raising his eyebrow slightly, quite impressed.

Simon just shrugged, flashing him a bit of a smile and wink.

Raphaels heartbeat picked up a tic.

He loved seeing the sassy side of Simon…this…this was kind of a newer one…he'd seen it at the school and a few other times…

The protective, strong, authoritative thing…

It was different…

Exciting…

Once again he wondered just how he got so lucky. Simon really was everything he could ever want.

He shook his head, kind of coming out of his thoughts; he started slightly, seeing Kevin giving them a bright, somewhat awestruck grin, kind of like he did with Alec.

"Umm…wh-" he started, before it clicked

Raphael's eyes widened, he tilted his head curiously

"Wait…You?"

"Kinda" Kevin shrugged, blushing faintly

Simon gasped slightly, eyes bright,

"Seriously?"

He nodded faintly, giving a slight laugh.

"Huh?" Jace asked, totally bewildered looking between the three, before settling back on Kevin, tilting his head curiously.

"You what?" he asked with a somewhat flirty smile

Simon and Raphael burst out laughing uncontrollably.

Jace startled, totally lost by the sudden change in their mood.

He looked over at Kevin for a clue, trying to figure it out, only to see he was just barely keeping in a laugh himself.

"What did I miss?"

"A lot, clearly" Raphael said, still trying to get his laughter under control, before turning back to Kevin with a smile.

"So, you're Ace, too?"

He gave a bit of a nod, bouncing slightly on his heels.

"Well, technically demisexual, but pretty much, yeah…"

Jace felt like he was on a different planet…he wasn't following any of this…maybe he got slipped something…

"Uhh…What's that mean?"

Raphael gave a short surprised laugh, shaking his head

"It means you don't have a chance in hell with him…"

Kevin chuckled slightly, shaking his head

"Demisexual means I'm only attracted to someone after I get to know them and have formed a strong emotional connection…"

Raphael nodded

"So in other words you have to win him over with your personality first…like I said, no chance in hell" he shook his head faintly, turning from Jace's dumbstruck look, refocusing on the search.

Kevin and Simon followed suit.

Jace just stood there in confusion, feeling that the entire world was suddenly on its head and wondering, once again, if he was actually slipped something and this was, in fact, all a bizarre hallucination…

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"I just really can't believe that…my own brother! What the hell?"

Alec shook his head, yet again…he knew he should be more focused on the task at hand, or relieved that it wasn't some nefarious plan or the like…that they didn't get drugged by someone planning on doing them harm…

But still…

His own damn brother?!

Clary shook her head

"Man, I am so sorry guys…I can't believe he'd do something like that…what a total as-umm

I mean…" she trailed off blushing guiltily.

Izzy gave a surprised laugh,

"No, you're right, he's a jackass…he's our Jackass…and by the end of this he will be a VERY sorry jackass…

But still…he is our family…for better or worse…"

Clary gave a slight laugh

Izzy casually slipped her arm around her shoulders,

"Pretty sure this would be the 'worse'."

"GOD I hope so!" Alec blurted, aghast,

The other three burst out laughing…

Alec tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't quite keep in a faint chuckle. He shook his head, somewhat bewildered…

"Why am I laughing? I'm still pissed! My own brother drugged me, my sister and my three best friends just because he thought we were bringing down his party! We have a brother who is a freaking teenager; he wouldn't do anything that stupid! Neither would any of his friends…and one of them think their school janitor is a Bigfoot!

Do you know how stupid and ridicules something has to be for teenagers to find it too insane!?" he shook his head again, running out of steam.

Magnus laughed brightly, slipping his arm around Alec's waist, leaning up slightly, kissing him on the cheek.

He slid his other hand up Alec's arm, resting it on his bicep, squeezing slightly.

"Sweetheart…I think you may just be relieved it wasn't something worse...

I know how you are: you always focus on the worst case scenario, you have been going round all the reasons someone would drug a person…none of them are good.

Honestly, this is probably the best possible outcome.

I am not saying you need to forgive him right now or in any way making light of what he did…It was stupid, and selfish, and, really just a jackass move all around…

But there was no malicious intent…just stupidity and a bit of selfishness.

At least now we know…

It is the first solid fact we have had, as of late, that is something.

We know who did it, as well as where and what time it happened. We also know approximately what time Jace dropped us off back at the apartment.

We are starting to get a timeline established

The first place we know for sure is here…we arrived at 12:30…talked to Clary about the symbols.

You signed into the cold case room at 2:27…which means we more than likely made at least one stop between the two.

You signed out at 3:34…

I had sent a few texts after that…nothing significant, a birthday greeting to Rangor, a few texts to Cat, and other random things…but that means I had my phone still at that time.

That means we went back to the precinct sometime later, after we were dosed…which… as none of us had any messages from the chief, likely means we rather went unnoticed…which is probably for the best.

The last text I sent was at 9:24 and was just a series of emojis to the pizza place on 12th…

Once again, not important, save for the timeline…

…we were back at the apartment right around 8…we went to three clothing stores…one we left at 10:07, the next at 10:44 and the receipt said 11:22…they are fairly close to the apartment…we could have walked as it is only a few blocks, it's about a 12-15 minute walk…at least when you are sober.

Four people, rather out of it and probably not in any particular hurry, maybe 30-40 minutes tops…

Pandemonium is a 20 minute drive in the opposite direction…though it was a Saturday night, traffic was probably pretty busy, so we could round that up to 30…

That would put us getting there probably no earlier than midnight.

None of us had our keys, or the faculties to drive…and in the state we were in it walking would have taken hours…therefore we must have called for a car. I checked my account but haven't had any charges for one…we should check yours as well…

Though we could have paid in cash…Raph does that when possible…less of a trail"

He rolled his eyes faintly, pausing, glancing at the others…

Izzy looked slightly dumbstruck by the torrent of information…she wasn't really used to being around Magnus when he was actually working a case, not this part at least.

Alec just shook his head, relieved. He slipped his arm around Magnus, tugging him a bit closer, against his side, hugging him for just a moment. He took a deep breath…feeling like he was on solid ground for the first time today.

Magnus was good…he was back…They'd figure this out.

"I really love it when you do that" he murmured

Magnus gave a soft laugh, leaning into his side, nestling closer…

"Oh, you do?" he teased lightly

Alec smiled, nodding

The moment was broken when Magnus phone buzzed with a text, startling them both

The jumped apart, both faintly blushing, glancing away from each other…

"Yeah, well, Alec may like it, I think it's creepy as hell…I may need to get something to block 'psychic...whatever'" Izzy muttered, still blinking at the torrent of words.

Clary brightened

"Oh! I have something for that!" she chirped cheerfully, moving across the store

Izzy raised her eyebrow, following along curiously

"And it works?"

Clary turned facing her walking backwards a bit, shrugging, giving a slightly impish smile…

"Well…it is supposed to…it has amethyst, crimson quartz, and black tourmaline, which are for protection. Plus, it's one of my favorites, I just finished it a few days ago, I haven't even put it out yet." she stopped at one of the jewelry counters…stooping down, opening a small storage area under it, pulling out a pretty, shimmering necklace on a simple black leather chord.

It had an assortment of smooth black and violet pearl like beads strung on it, in the center was a red crystal that looked like it was cut to resemble a rose.

"Wow" Izzy gasped breathlessly

She reached forward, lightly brushing her finger against the crystal rose…

"It's beautiful" she said softly

Clary blushed faintly

"Thank you"

She glanced up hopefully

"You can have it"

Izzy shook her head

"Oh, no…I-I couldn't do that" she said, regretfully

Clary shrugged

"I would really like you to…like I said, it is one of my favorites…I wouldn't sell it…I would like someone special to have it"

Izzy blushed faintly

"I'm special?" she asked, almost teasingly

"Yes…very"

Izzy blushed more, nodding faintly, tugging her hair to the side.

"O-Okay…can you put it on me?"

Clary beamed, nodding, reaching up, slipping her arms around Izzy's neck to fasten it.

At this point Izzy's blush was about as red as Clary's hair…

Alec shook his head…

He'd never seen Izzy that caught up so quickly. He hoped he never looked so completely besotted over someone…

He glanced away, catching sight of Magnus, and felt his breath catch…

He had a wonderfully warm, soft expression.

Alec felt his cheeks heat, and barely managed to keep in a sigh…

Ah, hell…

"Ahem" he cleared his throat, shaking his head,

"S-so, uh…Magnus…What'd your text say?"

"Wha-Oh! I completely forgot…thank you darling" Magnus grinned, pulling out his phone, glancing down…

He froze, eyes widening…

Alec tilted his head

"What?"

"I-I believe I know where your suit from yesterday ended up…" he said with a slight laugh

He turned the screen so Alec could see…

Dot: Magnus? Why is there a crossbow wrapped in a men's suit in the office at the club?

Flashback:

They are at the club…it's dark, the music is loud, the lights flashing, it's jarring and disorienting, there are people everywhere, way too close, usually he would hate this, but he really doesn't care, right now they barely even register.

He reaches over, slipping his arm around Magnus, pulling him in closer, until he is flush against his body, his hands resting low on his hips, grasping him tightly.

Magnus gives a pleased hum, Alec nuzzles close, nips lightly at his earlobe, before kissing just a bit lower, sucking lightly…it probably left a mark… he hoped it did. Magnus presses back against him, groaning slightly, he reaches up, resting his hand at the back of his neck, tugging him in closer, eagerly.

He turns in Alec's arms, slides his hands up Alec's body, over his chest, winding around his neck, burying one hand in his hair, pulling him down for a hot, frantic kiss.

Alec startles, gasping, blinking a few times in shock.

The others are staring at him in concern.

"What is it darling?" Magnus asks gently, resting his hand on his arm again.

Alec flushes brightly, shaking his head

"Uh, n-nothing…I, umm…I think Clary's tea is starting to work. I kind of remember us at the club"

Magnus gasped slightly

"Oh! That's wonderful news! Maybe now we will begin to make progress…

Was it anything interesting?"

Alec blushes brighter, glancing away, scratching at his neck…

"Umm…wel-uhh…I-I mean, n-no…nothing useful anyways. I-it was kind of fuzzy, I think we were dancing, so like I said not really anything useful…but it's a start…maybe the others will be" he stammers out quickly.

Magnus tilted his head curiously, but shrugged, nodding

"Perhaps it will…in the meantime maybe it is time we head over there and see what we can find out, as well as retrieve your phone…

And apparently find out how we ended up stashing a crossbow wrapped in your old suit in the office at the club"

"Wait, what!?" Izzy asked, rushing closer, Clary close behind, looking on inquisitively.

Magnus shrugged, showing them the text from dot.

Izzy read it, eyes widening faintly

"Oookay…well…good news we solved the case and found the crossbow…or we stole a random crossbow from somewhere thinking it was the one for the case…"

"Well, let's go find out, shall we?" MAgnus asked grinning excitedly.

Izzy and Clary nodded eagerly

"I'll text the others to meet us there" Izzy said, already getting out her phone.

"And I'll get my shoes on and lock up…no way am I sitting this out" Clary interjected, already rushing around grabbing a satchel type bag and a pair of black sandals with little silver stars decorating them.

Izzy, Magnus and Clary hurried for the door,

Alec trailed behind; still lost in the vivid realness of the memory…

Damn, if that's what a memory of them just dancing felt like, he really didn't know if he could handle more 'memories'…

At least none when he was surrounded by people…

And Magnus…

And his SISTER…

Oh hell…

_End Of Chapter Notes_

I know a good chunk of this turned into a lecture on Asexuality, but it kind of occurred to me that not everyone reading these may know what that means so I thought a bit of an explanation couldn't hurt (so long as it fit into the storyline).

Might be a bit late, as I already have two established Ace characters, but better late than never…

Okay, okay, I know we're picking on Jace a lot, but it's not like his ego can't take it…as of yet he's kinda a shallow, self absorbed shmuk… I'd like to give him a chance to grow…but in order to do that he needs to actually see his own actions, as perceived by others.

He has a lot of growing up to do…

Has to start somewhere…

Hey! I did it! whole chapter in one day (Okay so it's a few minutes past midnight, but it still counts damnit!)

Anyways, what do you guys think so far?

O27O

*-*-*-*-*-*-*- MagnusBane:PsychicDetective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-