Alec shifted his weight nervously as he fussed over his bow tie. He was just so useless at clothes. He growled in frustration and pulled the knot loose once again.

"Ok chill!" Magnus told him as he walked through the door and just happened to catch Alec mid-strop. The Warlock rushed over to him and immediately tied up the silk around his throat with expert precision.

"How do you get it to do that?!" Alec whined, prodding the thing lightly, scared he would mess it up.

"Years of practice Alexander," Magnus told him with a wink as he collapsed on the bed.

They were staying at the Herondale manor at Jace's request and Magnus and Alec had a very large and very comfortable bedroom to themselves. The décor was dated and he was sure there was an infestation of mice in the walls, but they had brought their own bed linens and the mattress was acceptably clean and soft. Jace hadn't spent hardly any time here since he inherited the place and it was good for him to get a feel for it with his friends and family around so he didn't freak out too much.

Speaking of freaking out…

"And where on earth have you been?! It's two o'clock!"

"Were you freaking out Alec?" Magnus asked him with a purr and a knowing smirk. Alec folded his arms around his chest in defiance.

"No," he said sulkily.

"You really do need to work on your anxieties my love. You'll give yourself a heart attack."

"I don't have 'anxieties'," Alec countered bitterly as he attempted to fasten a cufflink without much success, clearly in denial.

"Oh yes you do," Magnus told him as he swept up off the bed and approached him. The Warlock took Alec's hand in his and did up his cufflink without another word. Alec didn't struggle because he hated doing up stupid cufflinks. He murmured under his breath about Magnus treating him like a dress-up doll or an inept child but his fiancé remained focussed on the task at hand and did not rise for an argument.

Magnus looked into his eyes when he was finished with the other cuff, his gaze gentle and loving but also hard and authoritative. "We are not going to be late, Alexander. You look absolutely gorgeous, as always. And the party consists mainly of your own close friends and family, so no need to get nervous about that."

Alec sputtered in protest, but Magnus silenced him with a kiss. It was like the Warlock sucked out all of the jitters and helpless worry and left in Alec the calm, happy lightness that he had been craving.

"Now stop being so tense and serious – you know I find that irresistible and I want us to actually make the ceremony," Magnus told him while squeezing him slightly.

"You are ready though, right?" Alec asked him with some trepidation. He never really knew when Magnus was ready to go out in public because his clothing style could be so varied. Sometimes he rushed out of the front door in little more than a dressing gown and other times it took him eight hours – no, really, eight hours – to choose an outfit, painstakingly apply makeup and glitter and swap around accessories. He usually had a break or two if he was taking all day, but that wasn't the point. Not that Alec was complaining: he liked how much of an effort Magnus put in to getting ready and he always loved how he looked. But Alec was pretty sure his fiancé had already wasted a good amount of his new, mortal life in front of a mirror and Alec had often sat for a very long time just waiting. He had made it his promise to himself to do something productive while he waited, his most recent exploit being to learn a little of the Welsh language after Magnus had told him his ancestors were Welsh. He was getting along well with it he thought, but was still not sure if he was getting the pronunciation right.

Right now Magnus looked suspiciously sombre for such a big occasion. He was wearing only a little eyeliner and a dark grey morning suit (Alec had had to sit through hours of Magnus complaining that Americans didn't dress 'appropriately' for weddings when they wore tuxedos) with accented items such as his shirt and tie in gold and pink. Alec had suspected he would want to 'dress up' for the occasion so had been surprised to see him dressed in a rather understated way.

"I might put a bit of glitter on my eyes," Magnus told him whilst trying to nuzzle his neck.

"Magnus!" Alec exclaimed and he broke away. Magnus pouted. "The ceremony starts at three!"

"I know. And it's only two and I am practically ready," the Warlock explained slowly, obviously attempting to calm Alec down.

"It's ten past!" Alec almost screamed when he checked his wristwatch.

"Do you need me to do a spell to calm you down?" Magnus asked him, now clearly irritated. Alec shot him an angry glare. "Oh Alec," he sighed. "Please just take a deep breath?"

Alec did and already felt a little better as his racing heart began to slow.

"I was just joking about the glitter too…"

Alec folded his arms petulantly and tightened his jaw. He really wasn't in the mood for Magnus' 'jokes' at the moment.

"Do you not think I look ok like this?" The Warlock gestured to his body in a sweeping hand movement and when Alec saw his forlorn, nervous expression his heart melted. Magnus never really asked for approval for anything, let alone his appearance. And Alec realised suddenly that Magnus was doing everything for him.

"I think you look wonderful," Alec told him sincerely and made his fiancé smile broadly.

"Thank you," he said and caught the Shadowhunter in another embrace. "You know what I love most about you?"

"It changes – yesterday it was my eyes," Alec teased, earning him a peck on the cheek. He really did feel much calmer when Magnus maintained contact with him. Perhaps he should just not let go of the Warlock for the rest of the day and he would be fine.

"I love how I never ever have to doubt your sincerity. Every word that leaves your lips is wrapped up in honesty and carries a little piece of your heart with it."

"Well I just love you," Alec told him, not really knowing what else he should say, and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"Let's go find the others," Magnus suggested. They did need to leave pretty soon as it took a good fifteen minutes to get to the Penhallow estate by foot. He and Magnus and the rest of the boys had offered to walk so that the girls could ride in the one carriage they had at their disposal; there wouldn't have been enough room for all of them. Although on closer inspection Alec was tempted to suggest that Magnus go in the carriage with the girls – those shoes definitely weren't appropriate for walking and he was sure the Warlock would slow them down.

There was a loud clattering sound coming from the hall at the bottom of the main staircase. Alec descended about two paces ahead of Magnus who was now deliberately taking his time to emphasise his point and saw Jace and Paul fighting with two-handed long swords. Neither looked particularly ready to leave for a wedding.

"What are you doing?!" Alec exclaimed. The two of them halted their fight and shot him almost identical, practiced puzzled looks.

"What does it look like?" Jace answered with a question, which he knew perfectly well Alec hated.

"It has gone two now and the ceremony starts at three! You're not ready!"

"Am too," Jace told him whilst swinging the sword through the air away from Peter. Peter, on the other hand, had the grace to look a little sorry and he rested the tip of the blade on the floor.

"We are ready, honestly. We just need to do our ties," Peter told him calmly.

Magnus put his hand on the small of Alec's back in a protective gesture that also silently conveyed that he would like Alec to calm down sooner rather than later.

"Well you are going to get all sweaty and gross swinging long swords around like that. And then you will smell and… no one will want to talk to you or dance with you," Alec explained. He could sense Magnus giggling beside him but he didn't turn to look at him. He would have liked his fiancé's support.

"Sorry, how old are you?" Jace asked him with a smirk. At least he had now desisted from showing off with the sword.

At that moment, Paul ran in and skidded deliberately on the marble. Magnus had to catch Alec by his shoulder and anchor him to the spot to stop him from rushing forward in a panic. At least Paul looked ready. Alec took a deep breath and tried to calm down but then he noticed the mud around Paul's knees.

"Am I seriously the only one that cares if we arrive on time and in a presentable manner?!" he squealed. His fiancé spun him round to face him, averting his gaze from the messy scene of Jace and the Hawkswood brothers before him in an 'out of sight out of mind' train of thought.

"I will sort it," Magnus told him seriously, his face hard and unmoving. "And you are not the only one who cares. Stop being such a mother hen and for goodness sake calm down before you have an aneurism."

With that he went off and quickly cleaned up Paul with a whirl of blue sparks. Paul protested loudly.

"Oh boys!" he heard cooed from the top of the staircase and turned to find Izzy and Clary 'making an entrance'.

Clary had not been allowed to stay with them since they had all been in Idris, Jocelyn even more on edge now about her daughter's relationship with Jace since her pregnancy. Alec put it down to 'hormones' but mostly that was because Clary kept going on about it – he actually had no idea about pregnancy and wasn't sure he ever wanted to. Either way it had meant Clary had been staying with her mother and Luke, but she had arrived earlier on so that she and Isabelle could get ready together.

To be fair, both Isabelle and Clary looked lovely. His sister was wearing a very tight turquoise dress that had a floaty, billowy layer of sheer material in the same colour draped over it, no doubt to make it seem less provocative. Clary was dressed in a mint green number with a big skirt, emphasising her tiny waist. Jace had stopped being annoying and was now transfixed on the red head.

It then only took about thirty seconds to get everyone out of the door and on their way and Alec sighed loudly in relief. It took a further five minutes to persuade first Paul and then Magnus to go in the carriage with Izzy and Clary. Paul had tried to resist on account of the fact that he was a thirteen year old boy, though everyone else agreed that he would definitely arrive at the wedding less dirty if he went in the carriage. Alec wanted Magnus to go in the carriage because he didn't want him to ruin his shoes (at least, that is what he told Magnus) as well as the necessity to help the girls subdue Paul who, being a thirteen year old boy, did not do well in confined spaces for longer than a couple of seconds. Really, it was because Alec knew the Warlock would complain the entire walk there about his feet hurting, his outfit getting creased and a myriad of other things. He felt a little guilty about jilting his fiancé but this way they would definitely arrive in time and in a slightly calmer fashion.

They kept a good pace and Alec only noticed that no one was speaking when they were almost at the Penhallow's estate.

"So… um… Is Clary staying with Jocelyn tonight or coming back with us?" he asked his parabatai. For some reason Jace had been particularly distant towards him recently and Alec couldn't really figure out why. It was like there was a thick tension between them for some reason and over the past few months and they had had quite a few arguments. Mostly over very trivial things.

"She has to go back. Can't leave her innocent daughter in the hands of such a deviant like me."

Alec snorted at the idea of Clary being 'innocent' but then thought better of making that particular joke and recovered himself quickly. Jace then sped up and pulled ahead of them. "Hurry up you two or we'll be late," he called back as he rushed ahead.

"He's been acting so weirdly recently," Peter told him with concern. Had Alec not even noticed that Jace had been a little 'off'? The horrible reality of it was that Alec had been aware but just hadn't approached him about it because he had been so busy running the Institute and listening to Magnus' ridiculous ideas about wedding planning. He felt the shame wash over him as he stared at Jace and his determined half-jog.

"Are you ok?" he asked Peter. "You and Isabelle seem to be talking again."

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "As long as I don't mention feelings and just pretend that everything is normal and how it used to be then she seems a little bit friendlier. But she still leaves a room when I walk in so she won't be alone with me."

That made Alec deeply sad. "You know you can talk to me about it right?"

Peter stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "No, I can't," he told Alec with a sad, conciliatory half-smile. "You're her brother."

Alec was just about to open his mouth to say something when Peter turned on his heel and sprinted away, calling out to Jace to "Hold up!" as he attempted to catch up with him. Alec couldn't help thinking what a mess he had made of his relationships with everyone recently, just because he hadn't been attentive enough. He had been so wrapped up in himself and Magnus and their wedding and their future that he hadn't bothered to help his family, the people he loved. With a self-pitying sigh he ran to catch up with the other two, determined to try and sort everything out.

The ceremony had been beautiful and moving and simply wonderful. As Aline and Helen's union had been a little unconventional they had chosen not to have the affair in Alicante in the traditional spot. Instead, they had been married underneath the beautiful willow trees in the gardens of the Penhallow's extensive private estate. Both of them had worn golden dresses and their bridesmaids, a cohort made up from Helen's sisters and including Emma Carstairs, had worn a deep burgundy. They had marked each other with the traditional runes and had said all of the same words a usual Shadowhunter Wedding Ceremony would comprise of; except of course, they had been two women getting married. Alec thought it was wonderful. They were both so happy and looked so serene and beautiful and they had said the words and marked each other.

Alec wondered what his and Magnus' wedding would be like: they wouldn't be able to have as traditional a wedding as Aline and Helen because Magnus was not Nephilim and he couldn't be marked. It had made Alec sad for a brief time, but then Magnus had held his hand and he remembered that it wasn't that important in the great scheme of things. He and Magnus were going to get married and devote themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. How they performed some symbolism to demonstrate that this promise had been made seemed like a rather inconsequential part when he really thought about it.

The best bit about any wedding, of course, is the party afterwards. Magnus had now managed to pull Alec up onto the dance floor and was trying to get him to move his feet more.

"I don't get it. You are an excellent dancer usually. What's wrong? Have you gone deaf? Suffered a stroke?"

Magnus had had quite a bit of champagne by this point so he was being quite loud and forceful. Alec was starting to feel a little tipsy too, but had clearly not consumed enough to banish his embarrassment of dancing in front of a crowd. It was true, he was a good dancer, which he had proven (sometimes under duress) to Magnus a few times. He didn't mind dancing in front of strangers, but Alec knew these people and for some reason that terrified him. He could only manage a strained shuffle as he tried to keep his head down and his eyes on the floor.

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed Alexander?" Magnus smirked at him. Alec swallowed hard, praying that Magnus would just sit down with him when this particular song ended. He should be so lucky.

The music changed into a more upbeat number and Magnus proceeded to fling him around the dance floor with a maniacal enthusiasm. Many of the other guests gawked at them and Alec felt his face flush with heat. This may be a lesbian wedding, but he was pretty sure a lot of the other guests were not expecting everything to be this homosexual and it made him feel like he was once again the most awkward teenager in the world, even though he had convinced himself that he had grown out of that stage of his life. He was not a teenager anymore, he reminded himself. He was a responsible adult, a Nephilim and the Head of the New York Institute. But he was definitely finding it difficult to shake that feeling of helplessness.

And then Clary and Isabelle joined them, dancing with each other. The mood seemed to lift magically as the two of them whirled around Alec and Magnus. The whole room began to relax as other couples in various same sex and mixed sex pairings took to the floor and Alec exhaled with relief and risked a look around. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and letting their hair down now and he even found himself moving his feet a little bit more, gaining encouraging smiles from his fiancé. The next thing he knew his sister had 'cut in' and he was dancing with her. Izzy beamed when he spun her around so he decided to really go for it. He could feel the room looking at him now, but it felt different. When the song ended and he finished by dipping her they even got an applause, which set off Alec's obvious blush once more.

He didn't have time to be embarrassed though because then Clary claimed him for a dance too. The red head was light on her feet and it felt easy to dance with her despite the awkward height difference. This song was a little slower than the last so he didn't feel the need to fling her around as exuberantly as he had done with Izzy.

"So what has he done now?" she asked him with a suspicious glint in her eye. Alec looked down at her, suddenly perplexed. He shot a glance over at Magnus who was twirling his sister and obviously trying to knock a fair few people off the floor.

"Sorry?" he asked her confusedly.

"What has Jace done to piss you off?"

"Hang on what?" Alec stopped moving and scrunched up his eyebrows.

"Keep dancing – he's looking," Clary whispered urgently as she started to pull him back into a rhythmic shuffle, trying to take the lead. As if he was going to let her. "Clearly you have no idea what this is about… I really wish you guys would actually talk to each other sometimes."

"We do talk to each other," Alec defended. Although he had to admit that this hadn't been the case recently. He had noticed, but felt a little embarrassed about it. "What has he said?"

"Can you honestly not guess?" she asked him, an incredulous expression on her face. She didn't look angry exactly, if anything she looked to be rather amused by the whole thing so it couldn't be that serious. "You are getting married." She looked up at him expectantly.

"Ummm, pretty sure Jace isn't jealous because he wanted to marry me."

"No," she huffed a little impatiently and Alec twirled her under his arm, mostly so he wouldn't have to fall under her scrutinising gaze for a brief moment or two. "But he is upset that you haven't involved him."

Alec sighed in exasperation. "I really don't see why me not allowing Jace to stick his oar in when it comes to planning mine and Magnus' wedding would upset him. He's not like Izzy who we have had to practically physically restrain. I didn't even think he was that interested in the whole planning a party thing. Jace is the type who just shows up…"

"Oh my god, you really are dim when it comes to social conventions," she giggled. Alec took offence briefly before admitting to himself it was true.

"Fine, maybe I am," he confessed. "So why don't you just tell me exactly what I have to do to stop him from sulking and I will do it." The music they had been dancing to was drawing to an end so they stopped whirling around. "Within reason," he added quickly and just caught sight of her evil smirk.

"You need to ask him to be your best man," she told him simply with a half-pitying smile.

Oh.

Realisation had dawned. The symbolic meta-physical light bulb had been switched on and it suddenly all made sense.

"This was what it was all about? Months of him behaving like a prat?" Alec couldn't quite believe Jace would have acted like that over something so trivial.

"Yup," she told him breezily before she walked off in the direction of the bar, presumably to go and find some other dance partner whose life she could meddle with. At least this was easy to fix, though why Jace had not just announced he was going to be Alec's Best Man (which was without a doubt his usual style) was beyond him. He saw his parabatai lurking in one of the corners of the room looking all dark and broody. There was a time when all Alec would have wanted was to join him there and just stare at him, absorbing his presence. Now he just looked a little pathetic and a bit silly.

"I see you are enjoying yourself dancing with my girlfriend," Jace told him weakly as he approached. Alec slumped against the wall beside the blond.

"Jealously does not become you," he told him with an encouraging smile, but Jace just shrugged apathetically. "Maybe you should dance with her. Then I wouldn't have to. Trust me, I like Clary but she really isn't my type."

"I am mortally offended that you do not find the love of my life attractive you know," Jace told him, sounding almost bored, as if the banter were beneath him and he was just going through the motions for the sake of it.

"Too short and squishy."

That got a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile. "Squishy?" his parabatai asked him.

"Yes. Girls are squishy."

"Are you referring to my girlfriend's breasts?"

Alec briefly lost his composure and stammered a little, earning a smug look of superiority from his friend.

"You're the one that brought it up so don't blame me," Jace said as he slumped next to Alec, visibly a little more relaxed now. "Not my fault you only like people who are hard."

He practically jumped at that one. Jace was full-on sniggering now and he could feel the skin on his cheeks turn molten. It took a moment for him to recover but he managed it and only slightly seething he leant back against the wall once more so he was side to side with his parabatai.

"Hard isn't the opposite of squishy, firm is." Jace opened his mouth to speak – probably with some other wittily rude innuendo as a retort – but Alec was ready for it and cut him off. "I need to ask you something."

Jace turned his head lazily to face him. "Look Alec, I think Clary and Magnus may be a little cross if we eloped. Plus, it's really inappropriate to propose at someone's wedding."

"So inappropriate," Alec agreed.

"I would be totally pissed off it that happened at my wedding."

"Me too, so don't you dare get any ideas and propose to Clary at mine ok?"

They were both smiling now and it felt good to break the ice with him. Alec had to admit that he hadn't even realised that a layer of ice had grown between them. And apparently for no reason at all except that Alec was a little bit dim.

"And speaking of my wedding," Alec began and saw Jace's face soften. "Will you do me the honour of being my Best Man?"

His parabatai seemed to spark with happiness for a moment before his typical, and practiced bored expression returned. "Yeah, sure, whatever," Jace told him, trying to sound nonchalant but not able to hide a grin.

"And just for the record, the reason I didn't ask you before is because – stupidly – I assumed that you were automatically my Best Man and that you knew and that there was no need to ask you. I didn't have anyone else in mind."

"Anyone else? Who on earth would you have asked?"

"I know other people," Alec tried to reason.

"Who?"

Alec chewed on his lip for a moment and he really couldn't think of anyone else. He beamed at Jace and said, "Exactly. You really were my only choice."

"I am touched and honoured that I am the only guy you know other than the one you are marrying."

"Don't mention it."

"I have something to ask you too," Jace said suddenly. Alec raised an eyebrow to urge him to continue. "I need to know if you and Magnus have set a date yet."

"Why? Are you busy and worried you won't be able to make it?"

"You know I would be there, whatever happens," Jace told him, his eyes becoming serious and intense and making Alec's heart melt a little.

"We have, but you aren't allowed to tell anyone yet because Magnus wants to send out stupid 'save the date' cards. I don't see the point in them personally – why can't we just tell everyone?"

"I promise I won't say a word to anyone else – I swear on my honour," Jace told him and held his hand to his heart in a mock gesture of his oath.

Alec snorted.

"Such as it is," Jace added.

"October 1st," Alec said. Finally admitting the date aloud felt a little weird, as if the actual date had some great supernatural pull. Jace's face contorted a little at that and made Alec instantly worry. "Oh bloody hell you are busy that day aren't you?"

"Calm down," Jace told him. "I'm not busy – I promise I will be there and do all of my Best Man duties." He smirked wickedly and made Alec shudder at the prospect of what Jace would consider his 'Best Man duties'. "And kudos to you for planning it in so soon – 6 months is not long to plan a wedding. Though I am sure the girls are more than happy to help out."

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I wanted to know because I have something really important I have to do this summer, but I wanted to check it was ok with you first."

"Just tell me," Alec implored.

Jace took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was extremely difficult. "I want to ask Clary to marry me."

There was a stunned silence for a moment and Alec just gawked at him.

"Say something?" Jace asked him timidly. He was sure that he had never seen his parabatai so unsure. Like, ever.

"Wow – congratulations," Alec told him sincerely and swept him into a hug.

"And you're ok with it?"

"Of course I am!" he told him excitedly.

"It's just I don't want to steal your thunder or anything," Jace told him hastily. "And we have already established that you hate the idea of people getting engaged on your wedding day…"

"That is totally different!" he argued. "When are you planning on asking her?" Alec felt excited now, though he knew he wouldn't be able to tell anyone about it. Jace looked a bit ill.

"I was going to ask her on her birthday. I though, that way, she wouldn't be surprised if I planned something special but then she won't be expecting it." He looked worried. Really worried.

"It sounds great," Alec reassured him and earned a nervous smile from the other man. "Why would it be stealing our thunder?"

"Because you guys are getting married in October and I am asking Clary in August… Just thought me asking her before you got hitched would shift the focus a bit."

"So you think me and Magnus' wedding won't be as interesting as your engagement? You are so arrogant, you know that?" Alec wasn't angry with him. If anything, he was a little shocked that Jace, of all people, had thought to consult Alec first because he thought it would detract attention away from his wedding.

"So you think it will be ok?"

"Well you certainly have my blessing," Alec told him and squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. "But Jocelyn will kill you."

Jace gulped. "Yeah, I know," he told Alec seriously and looking a little green.

Magnus twirled his long fingers through Alec's hair.

"I need to get it cut," Alec told him with a sigh as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Magnus' fingers working on his scalp. It had been a long day and an even longer evening. The wedding had been beautiful and fun but it had exhausted all of them. Alec was glad he was now lazing in bed with the Warlock. His feet hurt from all the dancing but he was still buzzing from the champagne and all the excitement so desperately needed to wind down before he attempted to sleep. He had a feeling everyone would be having a long lie-in tomorrow because it was not coming up to four in the morning.

"I like it like this," Magnus told him softly and planted a small kiss on his temple. "I hear you asked Jace to be your Best Man."

"Yeah."

Magnus' fingers stopped what they were doing and it caused Alec to snap his eyes open in confusion over the loss of the contact. And then he realised. "Oh, um, I hope that is ok?" he asked timidly.

"You really should have told me first you know." Magnus looked a little upset, despite his smile, and it made Alec's heart feel like it was going to explode. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Magnus in any way.

"Sorry – it's just that I guess I had just assumed he would be and that everyone knew he would be… Clary said he had been upset that I hadn't asked him so I did it there and then. I was wondering why he had been behaving like a dick these past couple of weeks."

"It's ok," Magnus said smoothing his hand across Alec's cheekbone and burying into his hair once more. Alec began to relax again at his lover's touch and leant back into Magnus' warmth.

"And Jace is going to ask Clary to marry him."

He kind of blurted it out. As if Magnus' hands were somehow hypnotising him. He really shouldn't have told anybody, but this was Magnus after all. The Warlock gave a start and laughed loudly.

"Don't tell anyone," Alec told him in a panic.

"You are definitely the most rubbish person at keeping secrets ever," Magnus said with a loving look in his eyes. "Did he tell you when he was planning it for?"

"Her birthday. But seriously, not a word to anyone, including Izzy – trust me, she won't be able to keep something like this to herself."

"I promise I won't tell anyone."

Alec smiled and rewarded him with a kiss.

"What I really want to know is when Jace is planning on asking Jocelyn and Luke," Magnus said and Alec could detect the amusement and fascination that was bordering on being morbid in his tone.

"I don't think he's planned that yet…"

"I would pay good money to see those fireworks," Magnus sniggered.

Alec batted him lightly on his arm, but this just caused him to laugh more. "Stop wishing death upon my parabatai," he joked.

With that, Magnus grabbed him by his shoulders and in a move that the Warlock had most definitely been practicing, quickly pinned Alec onto the bed beneath him. Alec didn't attempt to get himself free, even though he could have easily. He had learned never to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"By the way," Magnus told him as he peppered kisses along Alec's jaw and down his throat. "I had a few words with Jia. She didn't want to worry you until you were back in New York, but the Council has a case file it has just finished putting together about Camille and apparently a lot of female vampires from the city have gone missing lately."

Alec stopped his fiancé. "What? Is it serious?"
Magnus shrugged, looking a little dejected. "We don't really know anything yet. Just thought I would give you a heads up because it will mean a lot of work when we get home."

"Thanks," Alec told him sarcastically, believing the mood had totally been killed.

Magnus shrugged at him. "I didn't want to forget she had told me."

Then the Warlock practically dove downwards and tried to rip off Alec's shorts. The Shadowhunter gave a surprised yelp and tried to resist for a moment before realising what was happening. He giggled and lay backwards and Magnus reminded him how amazing he could make him feel.

AN: Hi everyone! Hope you are not too disappointed with this installment - I very deliberately did not want to go into detail about Aline and Helen's wedding as we have THE big day coming up soon. you know what they say: too many weddings spoil the broth. Or something like that. Am also aware I haven't written anything lemon-y in a while. But never fear, you will be getting a dose of that in the next chapter :-)
As always, I love to know what you think! Remember the three F's - Favourite, Follow and Feedback!
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