New York Institute New Year Party, December 31st 2011

Magnus snaked an arm around his waist and pulled him in close and Alec could smell the alcohol on his boyfriend's breath as the Warlock buried his face into the crook of his neck. It had been a pretty crazy evening so far and had involved a lot of drinks, but everyone seemed to have had a great time: there had been a lot of laughing.

Magnus began to kiss his neck lightly but was apparently quite drunk because he was wobbling a little bit.

"Hey gorgeous," Alec greeted him with a small smile as he spun around to meet his lover's gaze. He grabbed Magnus by his slim, defined hips to steady him and caused the Warlock to laugh heartily at the contact.

"Are you drunk Alexander?" Magnus slurred at him and cupped his cheek with an elegant hand that was currently bejewelled with a multitude of sparking and brightly coloured rings, including the Lightwood family ring, which sat by itself on one of his long digits.

"Not at all, but I think you may be," he laughed. Magnus raised one of his eyebrows, which usually Alec found very sexy, but in his inebriated state it was just hilariously funny and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Nope," Magnus announced cheerfully and pressed his hips against Alec's in an attempt to be sexy. The Warlock licked his lips and Alec couldn't resist capturing those lips with his own.

"Ok, maybe a little tipsy," he told Magnus as they broke apart.

"Maybe we should… adjourn," Magnus suggested with a wink of his glittered eye and a crooked smirk.

"We can't disappear before midnight Magnus, we're the hosts."

"Exactly – the perks of hosting a party!"

"Don't you want to see the New Year in?"

"Of course I do… with your legs wrapped around me and crying out my name," he explained matter-of-factly. Alec could feel his cheeks betray him with a heated flush. Even after all these years with Magnus he still couldn't control his blushing and he knew the Warlock often said and did things to deliberately turn his skin the colour of tomatoes because he thought it was 'cute'. He honestly believed that Magnus would have eventually tired of this but if there was one thing his boyfriend was it was persistent.

"You of all people should know that, as hosts, we are obligated to stay for the main part of the party," Alec told him, trying to sound nonchalant, but the hitch in his breathing gave him and his desire away. Magnus grinned wickedly at him.

"My darling Alexander, being the host of the party means having no obligation to remain whatsoever. My party, my rules."

The Warlock pressed his hips towards him again and murmured in pleasure at the contact. Alec leant in and kissed Magnus passionately on his jaw, eliciting a gasp; he even whined a little when Alec determinedly pulled himself away and stood at arm's length.

"Exactly," he informed Magnus with a wry smile. "My party, so my rules. You will just have to behave yourself."

Magnus laughed loudly as he pulled the Shadowhunter close to him once more. Alec inhaled deeply, revelling in the scent and warmth of his lover as he buried his face into his bright orange silk shirt.

"I love you," Alec whispered.

"Alec! Magnus!" the familiar voice of Paul Hawkswood called out to them from back inside the hall. "Come on! It's almost midnight!"

They pulled apart from each other grudgingly and Magnus gave a small, conciliatory shrug of his shoulders that said, 'it really can't be helped' and they both walked over to the entrance of the hall hand in hand. Paul waited for them rather impatiently, checking over his shoulder to the bustling party behind him every couple of moments as if all the people were suddenly going to vanish in a puff of smoke.

Alec was very fond of Paul, whom he had known since they had taken in the small, skinny, waif of an orphan almost three years ago along with his older brother Peter. Back then Paul had a lot of problems, mostly caused by the trauma of watching both of his parents be brutally murdered in the Dark War, and he hadn't spoken to a soul for at least three months. Now you couldn't shut him up. He had turned thirteen in July and was growing up fast; suddenly shooting up so that he was about the same height as Izzy now and his voice had deepened.

He was still very much a kid though and probably always would be to Alec. Gone was the shy, terrified and very weird little boy from when they first met; replaced by an enthusiastic, outgoing young man who didn't seem to grasp the concept of being reserved or humble or indeed the concept of volume control. He had verve and an eagerness for life and fun that brightened the lives of everyone he knew. And Alec was proud; because somewhere along the line he had managed to provide Paul with the necessary materials to rebuild his trust of others and allow his sunny personality to shine.

"What time is it?" Alec asked him out of curiosity. Paul beamed a dazzling smile back at him and Alec had to wonder whether he had sneaked a drink of some of the (very) alcoholic punch that he had been expressly forbidden from drinking.

"Half eleven," he told Alec excitedly. He jumped about on the spot for a moment or two, his dark curly hair bouncing wildly around his pale, small face, before deciding they were walking too slowly for his liking and he launched himself at both of them, grabbed their arms and yanked them into the main hall with no small amount of force, all the time laughing manically. Alec often thought Paul had picked up Magnus' crazy enjoyment of parties and celebration. The Warlock could be a bad influence when he set his mind to it.

As they entered the room, Alec heard his name being yelled once more – it was Aline Penhallow, who was dragging Helen Blackthorn excitedly behind her.

"So happy you guys could make it," he told them sincerely. Aline hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek before going up to Magnus and hugging him too. It was then Helen's turn and she hugged him at the same time as pushing a crisp white envelope into his hands.

"What's this?" he asked her sceptically.

"Open it!" she squealed excitedly.

Alec pulled out a beautifully decorated card, inlaid with gold and swirls of deep burgundy red.

"Oh my god! You guys set a date!" Alec gushed and folded Helen into another hug, congratulating her. Magnus hurried over and started cooing over the invite and excitedly asking them hundreds of questions about their big day.

They had set the date for March 3rd – finally – after three years of being engaged they were going to go through with it. Something pulled at the pit of Alec's stomach, but he gulped it back down quickly, not wanting to spoil a special moment for his friends.

When Aline and Helen had got engaged three years ago he and Magnus had talked about marriage themselves. Alec's insides always knotted when he thought about it: he had been so scared of his feelings and his actions, and absolutely sickened by what he did. He had wanted to marry Magnus, he had realised, but being the complete idiot he was he had not thought it through and had got down on one knee like a moron and proposed there and then. And then Magnus had said yes.

It had been wonderful at the time, but then he had stepped back and looked objectively at the situation and had concluded that although he did want to marry Magnus in the future, he didn't want to go through with it quite at that time. He realised he wanted to wait a while and had had to take his proposal back. Not because he didn't ever want to marry the Warlock, but because he didn't like the idea of a long engagement. He had seen no point in doing what Aline and Helen had done and getting engaged and then sort of floating around in a limbo-like world of being fiancés and not actually doing anything about it. The waiting and the not knowing when they would actually be getting married would have driven Alec crazy. Luckily, Magnus had been understanding. He had been upset too, but he had understood.

Alec had given Magnus the Lightwood family ring to wear. It wasn't an engagement, but it was a promise of an engagement. Both of them had brought up the idea of marriage a lot over the past few years, commenting on how nice it would be, how they would do the ceremony. But Alec had a feeling that both of them had arrived in a place where it was just something they spoke about now and didn't really have a lot of meaning. They were happy as they were and, even though Alec now felt like he would be ready to marry Magnus, he was afraid to bring it up again because he was scared Magnus no longer felt the same way, especially after the disaster that was his last proposal. But he still hoped – he had been hoping for a few weeks actually – that he would build up the courage to ask the question once again. Soon.

Suddenly there was the chime of a crystal glass being hit and the crowd of the party grew silent and turned towards the noise. Clary stood over at the drinks table with Jace, tapping her champagne flute with the blade of a dagger. Jace had his arms wrapped about her waist – his parabatai still couldn't keep his hands off the red-head – and he spoke loudly and clearly, addressing the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure your glasses are topped up and then come and congregate beneath the clock – we have ten minutes until midnight!"

There was a murmur of approval from the crowd and people began bustling about, trying to get their drinks filled. Alec was pretty sure he was meant to do the announcements, but he was also especially glad that Jace had decided to do it instead, because he really didn't want to draw attention to himself after he had already drunk half a bottle of champagne.

Alec looked over to Magnus, who was now deep in conversation with Helen and Aline. They were talking in hushed voices and both Helen and Aline were grinning widely; Magnus looked ill.

"What are you three whispering about?" he asked as he went over to the group. Magnus almost jumped out of his skin, but Helen and Aline just smiled innocently at him. Something was going on…

"Are you alright?" he asked the Warlock, concerned that he wasn't feeling well. Alec had been the very lucky person to witness what happens when a previous immortal individual who has become mortal gets sick for literally the first time in their entire life. Thankfully, Magnus was quite resilient and had never got really sick. Magnus' healing powers didn't really work that well on viruses they had discovered, but they did alleviate symptoms effectively.

Magnus smiled at him affectionately and said, "I'm fine – think I'm getting a bit of a headache though. Maybe I should slow down on the champagne."
"Not a bad idea," Alec smirked.
"Maybe you should slow down too - keep a clear head for midnight," Magnus suggested. He was trying to sound unconcerned, but Alec didn't buy it and he suddenly felt very guilty about the amount of alcohol he had drunk already...

As the clock's seconds hand struck down from ten everyone chorused each number together.

Ten, nine, eight…

Magnus draped his long arm over Alec's shoulder and smiled lovingly at him. Alec thought he caught a slight glint in his gold-green cat eyes that he couldn't quite explain. It was almost as if Magnus looked worried or nervous about something, but that couldn't be right.

Seven, six, five…

He saw Isabelle moving hurriedly through the crowd towards them. She was smiling but she looked a little unwell; her pale face a lot whiter than usual. Alec smiled at her encouragingly as she stood next to him and raised her glass.

Four…

He put his arm around Magnus' waist and squeezed him close, the action making Magnus smile even more widely.

Three…

Jace catches his eye but he notices that his parabatai is looking at Magnus and not him in a rather conspiring way. Alec felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up – something was going on. Being a Shadowhunter he could often sense things before they were going to happen, though he wondered whether that kind of thing still applies when it looked like your best friend and your boyfriend were planning something.

Two…

Alec took a deep breath and tried to gulp down some air, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he was sure something embarrassing was about to befall him. With Jace and Magnus in cahoots it could only end in disaster for him.

One…

Magnus pulled him closer.

They all chorused a 'Happy New Year!' together as the clock chimed midnight in a tinny series of 'bongs'. Magnus spun him inwards and kissed him passionately, but when Alec pulled away he could see the slight panic that was clouding his lover's eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked again, deeply concerned.

Magnus forced a smile – Alec could always tell when it was a genuine or a faked smile with the Warlock. "Nothing," Magnus told him forcibly. Something was definitely wrong.

"Happy New Year!" Izzy yelled at him and pulled him away from his boyfriend into a big hug.

"Happy New Year Iz," he told her warmly. "Hey, are you alright?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. She looked a little upset, but only for the briefest of moments. "I'm fine," she smiled. "A little bit tipsy," she muttered to him under her breath and giggled a little bit.

Magnus had now been pulled off into various hugs and New Year greetings by other guests, leaving Alec to fend for himself. "Do you know if there is anything wrong with Magnus?" he asked his sister timidly.

"What do you mean?"

"He's acting a little strangely…"

"You're being paranoid," she told him matter-of-factly and took a sip of her champagne. Alec sighed in resignation. He probably was just being paranoid and he shouldn't let his own over-active imagination stop him from enjoying the party.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to find Peter there, wishing him a Happy New Year. He had grown up so much recently, shrugging off a lot of his boyish features he suddenly looked like a man. His sandy hair had got longer lately, his shoulders and chest had broadened and he now stood only a fraction under Alec's height; he was even taller than Jace now. But his big powder-blue eyes had an ageless quality and had always been hard and serious, even when he was younger. He looked serious now, rather than happy and enjoying the party.

"Are you looking forward to your birthday?" Alec asked him, trying to sound unconcerned. Peter would turn eighteen in a few weeks, at the beginning of February. They seriously had a lot of work ahead of them – Jace was turning twenty one soon too. Both would be requiring big celebrations.

"I guess so," Peter told him with a small smile. Was he seriously the only person here who was even trying (though he was also failing, he reminded himself glumly) enjoying this party? Everyone else looked miserable or worried.

"You guess so? You'll be eighteen! We will throw you a huge party. Well, Magnus probably will," he returned, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes I wanted to talk to you about my birthday actually."

Alec nodded, and as he did he caught Izzy's expression out of the corner of his eye. She looked downcast and was staring wistfully into her half-drunk champagne.

"Well I don't think I would enjoy a big party – something low-key would be better I think. But I know that telling Magnus you want a small party is like trying to stop Chairman Meow from climbing on the bed – he understands the concept but won't comply, so I thought you could help?"

"Sure," Alec reassured him. Izzy shuffled her feet glumly.

"And I wanted to talk to you about what I need to do afterwards. I have been thinking of going to train at another Institute – perhaps London? But I think I will have to move back to Idris for a time to make a start on sorting out my parents' estate."

"Wait – what?" Alec piped up. "I thought you wanted to stay on here with us?" Alec knew he hadn't hidden the hurt in his voice very well and Peter flinched a little when he saw that he had upset him.

"I – um – I've been thinking about it and I think I just need a change of scenery for a while," he whispered sheepishly. Alec saw Peter steal a glance over at Isabelle briefly, but it was only fleeting. Had they been talking about this already? He had been sure Peter would want to stay in New York because he had spoken about it before. He had always told Alec that even when he came of age he would want to stay here because it had become his home. Alec supposed that however sentimental Peter felt about himself, Magnus, Izzy, Jace and Clary it didn't actually mean the Institute was Peter's home in the same way it was his home. Peter had only lived here a little over three years after all. And it really wasn't unusual for Shadowhunters to train at another Institute for a while.

"Well, we can talk about this tomorrow," Alec said calmly, noticing that both Peter and Isabelle were starting to look increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation. "Whatever you decide to do you know you will have my support." Peter smiled nervously at him.

Suddenly, Izzy pushed past him brusquely.

"I'm sorry," was all she said as she stalked off and into the crowd of people. Alec turned back to Peter, but he just looked like he had been slapped in the face.

It was true that Peter and Isabelle hadn't gotten on when Peter first moved here, but over the years they had become firm friends. Isabelle, although she didn't train Peter anymore, sort of took him under her wing and she was responsible for a lot of Peter's current fighting style. Jace had been officially appointed both Peter and Paul's tutor two years ago, but Izzy still helped out when she was around. She had travelled a lot and Alec was slightly envious of that, especially her time spent in Beijing. In fact, she had only returned from visiting Aline and Helen at the Beijing Institute just before Christmas. They hadn't expected her back until Boxing Day, so when she had shown up on Christmas Eve it had been a wonderful surprise. Peter had been particularly overjoyed to see her.

"Have you two had a fight?" Alec asked Peter suspiciously.

"Yeah I guess so… But it's fine now. Just think she's still being a bit prickly and I don't know why," he told Alec whilst looking at his shoes.

"Maybe it's because you want to move away. Maybe she's upset?" Alec suggested.

"It's not that," Peter told him mysteriously. Alec was about to press him further, but Peter walked off. He began looking around the room for him, but couldn't see him. It was just way too busy and crowded. In fact, it had been a while since he had seen Magnus and he couldn't spot his boyfriend either. Suddenly, Paul and Jace appeared wanting to wish him a Happy New Year. He really hoped Peter and Izzy hadn't had a falling out though. He could well understand she may be upset that Peter had changed his plans and now didn't want to stay at the Institute, but Isabelle travelled so much herself that Alec thought she was being a tad hypocritical.

"Did you get your invite yet?" Jace asked him.

"Oh yeah, to the Wedding of the century. Wouldn't miss that!"

"Well I thought I should warn you that Aline has already cornered Magnus and they have gone off somewhere to be all girly and conspiring."

"Magnus isn't girly," Alec told Jace firmly, defending his boyfriend.

Jace arched a golden eyebrow at him. "He's quite girly," Jace observed.

"Look just because he wears makeup and has a bit of an unhealthy obsession with glitter…" Paul snorted. "OK, he is a bit girly," Alec finally conceded and Jace smiled triumphantly. "Speaking of my very girly boyfriend… Any idea where he and Aline have snuck off to?"

Jace shifted about in an uncharacteristically nervous fashion for a second. "No idea," Jace told him with a flick of his hair. Alec could tell he was trying to look innocent and it made him instantly suspicious. "You want another drink?"

Alec looked down and saw his almost-empty flute. "Yeah I guess so…"

"Well come on then!" Jace yelled enthusiastically, startling Alec a little. His parabatai grabbed him by the arm and pulled him rather roughly towards the drinks table, as if they were in a hurry to get there.

"What the – " Alec began.

"Here you go!" Jace exclaimed as he thrust a full glass of champagne into Alec's hand. Alec was about to ask what the hell Jace was playing at when Clary appeared. She smirked at Alec in a way that told him she knew something he didn't. He was getting angry now – everyone was acting way too weirdly and there was definitely something fishy going on.

"Magnus is looking for you," Clary told him before he could actually get any words out.

"He's in the garden," Jace told him hurriedly.

Alec looked at them both, puzzled. "Um… ok…"

"You should probably go and see what he wants," suggested Clary.

This was all very confusing.

"You don't want to keep him waiting" Jace beamed at him and then pushed him towards the door, causing him to spill a little bit of his drink onto the hardwood floor.

"Jace," Clary bit out in an angry whisper.

"Run along! I'll clean that up, you butterfingers!" Jace told him. Clary elbowed him in the ribs, but he barely seemed to notice.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?!" Alec finally exploded.

Jace looked like he was going to combust with panic, but Clary intervened. "Look – you had better get into that garden now and find your boyfriend. He will be able to tell you what is going on," she explained, a slight smirk pulling on her soft pink lips.

So there is something going on – I knew it!

"Well are you going to tell me what all this is about?" Alec demanded impatiently.

"Alec – just go… please?" Jace pleaded. Jace very rarely begged like that. With a huff and a dramatic roll of his eyes Alec walked out into the corridor. "It better not be anything embarrassing!" he called back to Jace and Clary over his shoulder, suddenly remembering that Jace had lied to him about not knowing where Magnus was because he had then told him his boyfriend was in the garden. He grumbled darkly to himself and hoped it was nothing bad.

Outside it was cold. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground and grey feather flakes blew around in gusts of air. Alec wished he had grabbed a jacket before coming out into the garden. Down the steps, just at the edge of the lawn was a shimmering oblong, seemingly suspended in the air. It looked like a floating pool of water – a portal.

What on earth is a portal doing here.

And then he began to worry. Had something happened to Magnus? Had Magnus been waiting for him and somebody – or something – had pulled him through this portal?

Alec drew a seraph blade and whispered, "Remiel" The blade burst into light, it's silvery glow reflecting off the frozen ground and causing the icy grass at his feet to shimmer. Alec walked through the portal carefully, shutting his eyes against the whirling feeling as he stepped out onto the other side. He tried to remain calm, attempting to gather his senses and ready himself for battle.

Instead, he found himself in a familiar space: the hallway outside Magnus' old loft in Greenpoint. Magnus still kept the loft and sometimes, on occasion, would meet clients there, but neither of them had lived here for some time and Alec couldn't even remember the last time he had been over here. Alec clutched his seraph blade tightly in his hand, flexing his fingers around the grip in anticipation. The portal faded away and left him alone in the hallway. His mind flooded with horrible thoughts about his boyfriend. Who could have taken him? Why? Is he hurt? But he pushed those questions aside and tried to focus on the task at hand: locate Magnus, make sure he is alright.

He noticed that the door to the apartment was slightly ajar and a faint orange glow was spilling from the cracks out onto the hallway floor. He wouldn't have time to draw any runes, so he crept as silently and as swiftly as he could, pushing the door open and slipping inside, keeping his back to the wall to avoid anyone attacking him from behind.

The first thing he noticed was Magnus, standing in the middle of the room, looking perfectly normal and alright. Alec dropped his seraph blade down to his side in confusion and the Warlock chuckled at the apparent hilarity of his boyfriend armed and ready to pounce on imaginary kidnappers. Alec searched Magnus' face for a clue – he had thought his boyfriend looked normal at first, but on closer inspection Magnus looked worried. His golden skin was slightly paler than usual and his eyes were wide as if he were about to run away really fast.

"Magnus, what's going on?" Alec asked him softly, kindly, but with a good deal of urgency.

Magnus stared back at him and smiled – a real smile that touched his eyes. "Alec, it's ok, you can relax," he purred.

"But – " Alec started, stumbling over his own inability to form anything coherent.

"Alec, please just… I need to say a few things. Will you listen to me for a moment?"

Alec nodded, feeling unable to reply verbally. His head was spinning a little from this rather puzzling and bizarre situation.

"Alexander –" Magnus began and then paused to clear his throat. He was clearly nervous about what he was about to say and suddenly Alec got that horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. What Magnus had to say – if he was this worried – couldn't be good.

"I love you," Magnus announced, the words as he said them, although he had said them to Alec thousands of times before, seemed to clear the Warlock's mind because his face suddenly lit up like a beacon. "I only have a mortal life now, but there is only one person that I have ever known that I want to share it with. You. Everything in my past has led me here to you and I want to spend my present and future showing you how much you mean to me." Magnus shuffled his feet anxiously, but Alec smiled at him, reassuring him and encouraging him to continue. That empty feeling in his stomach was still eating away though. Magnus was stood there, telling him how much he loved him, as if it were the most difficult goodbye in the world. He suddenly felt sick.

"I suppose I thought this would be easier, but seeing you in front of me now I am afraid. I'm afraid of what you will think and what you will say."

Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god…

Magnus took a deep breath. "I made this long list and I wrote a speech, but for some reason I can't remember any of that right now. I'm sorry I can't convey to you exactly how I wanted to say all these things – my mind has gone blank. So please excuse me clumsily winging this."

Oh my god he's breaking up with me. This is it. He will be gone forever and I will just die and never understand what I did wrong…

"So here goes nothing," Magnus told him with a sigh and a short chuckle. Alec tried to steel himself for what he was sure was coming. He would try to be brave as Magnus explained where they had gone wrong and what was going to happen now. Maybe the Warlock wouldn't leave. Maybe there was hope that they could work something out. Alec was prepared to fight.

"Maukah kamu menikah denganku?" Magnus asked him timidly, his eyebrows raising in question.

Alec had been learning Indonesian from Magnus for a while. He loved languages and prided himself on being able to pick them up quickly. However, Magnus was an awful teacher and didn't concentrate properly in their 'lessons', often infuriating Alec. It meant that any Indonesian Alec had learned had been mostly stuff he had picked up from his own study. He didn't have all the time in the world to dedicate to learning a new language so he still didn't know an extensive amount of vocabulary.

Alec stopped, took a deep breath and tried to decipher Magnus' question. He knew Magnus was asking him if he wanted to do something, but the other words seemed to prickle on the edge of his mind, teasing him. He felt he should know what they meant but he couldn't fathom it out, probably because he was feeling a little distressed by the whole situation. He looked at Magnus sternly. "I'm sorry," he whispered, trying to hold back tears and keep his emotions in check. "You may need to translate."

Magnus grinned at him, obviously quite pleased that Alec hadn't managed to translate the question. The Warlock took a deep breath, as if he were readying himself for the fallout from what he was about to say. Alec felt his legs go weak, but he tensed his muscles and tried to bear the weight of the situation as stoically as he could.

Magnus locked his gaze on Alec's and took another deep breath. Alec watched, not breaking the eye contact, as his boyfriend sunk to the floor.

"Magnus –"

Magnus coughed, clearing his throat and cutting Alec off.

"Alexander – Alec," Magnus whispered. Alec had always loved how Magnus pronounced his name, taking such care over the vowels and consonants and savouring their sound each time he said it aloud. The Warlock reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled something out – a small black box that fit easily into his palm. Alec could see that Magnus was physically shaking and, despite being almost certain that his boyfriend was about to break his heart he couldn't help wanting to rush over to him and hold him and tell him everything would be ok. The past four years they had spent together had been amazing and, even if Magnus didn't want to be with him anymore, Alec decided that he regretted none of it and that he would give anything to persuade Magnus to stay.

Alec looked fiercely into his boyfriend's – soon to be ex-boyfriend's – eyes. "Go on," he urged. It seemed to brace Magnus' nerves and his cat-eyes shone for a brief moment in the dim light of the loft.

"Alexander Gideon Lightwood," Magnus began, more confidently this time. He opened the small black box to revel its contents: a small hoop of shining silver, decorated with intricate engraving.

"Will you marry me?"

Magnus smiled at him, holding the box with the ring in it proudly aloft towards Alec, but he was still shaking a little and his eyes were pale and fixed with concern.

Alec felt hot and cold all at the same time. It was like a tidal wave of relief had crashed into him, but it hurt too. All he could feel was the tension leaving his body: Magnus wasn't going to break up with him, or say anything horrible, or give him any bad news. He couldn't help it, but he began to laugh as the worry left his body. Magnus was looking at him like he had gone insane.

He laughed, unable to stop himself, and then he felt the sting of tears too that he had been holding back. He didn't even know it was possible to laugh and cry at the same time, but he was doing it.

"Sayang what's wrong?" Magnus asked him. He looked like he wanted to come over to Alec but he remained where he was, like he was frozen there, down on one knee. Alec attempted to go to him instead and took a few paces before realising he really couldn't stand and sunk to the floor in front of Magnus so they were eye-level.

"I thought you were going to break up with me!" Alec sobbed. Magnus looked utterly flabbergasted and went to lower his outstretched hand and hug him, but Alec cut him off.

"Wait," he said suddenly, taking Magnus' hand that held the box and the ring and pulling it towards him to get a better look. It was a solid silvery band of metal with the Lightwood Family ring design of flames engraved carefully around the outside. However, it also contained three very small stones in between the flames at the front. One was orange, one purple and one was green and they looked darker in the middle, resembling cat eyes.

He plucked the ring from its cushioned black satin bed. It was light and warm and felt familiar and strange at the same time.

"I modified it," Magnus admitted in a low whisper, sounding almost too terrified to actually speak.

"I can see that," Alec told him as he turned it around. He went to slip it on his middle finger, where he had always worn his family ring but then paused and slid it instead over his ring finger. Confusingly, it seemed to fit perfectly there, as if the metal had moulded to his finger. He raised a questioning eyebrow to the Warlock.

"I may have enchanted it a bit…"

Alec chuckled and admired the ring. It was beautiful now, not just his family ring but something more. Magnus had managed to enhance the ring in much the same way as he had enhanced Alec's life. He grasped Magnus' hands firmly in his own.

"Yes," he said simply, as if there could never have been any other answer. Magnus let out a big breath that Alec hadn't noticed the Warlock had been holding in and relief and happiness spread across his beautiful golden features.

They kissed then, out of relief, out of happiness and out of love. And as Alec got lost in their embrace and passion he felt his heart flutter and the blood in his veins sing. He was ready for this now. Ready to marry the person he loved most in the world and he was so glad that Magnus had asked him and he was spared the embarrassment of having to rely on himself again. He remembered the ring in his own pocket – the one intended for Magnus, and resolved that he would give it to him later.

NOTE: Maukah kamu menikah denganku? means 'Will you marry me?' in Indonesian

A/N: Well that was overdue! I had a change of heart a couple of chapters in and decided I wanted the two of them older if they were to marry - hence why we have skipped three years into the future!
Let me know what you think - did you love it? Did you hate it? Got another random opinion? I want to hear it all!
Please leave me a review and don't forget to follow/ favourite so you know when I update. I promise it will be more frequent going forward!
You may also have noticed I have amended the title of this slightly - this was originally conceived as two separate stories, with the second part being a sequel. But after planning it out I wanted to keep them very much together in one place; but who knows, maybe they will get split in the future.