Alec banged his head deliberately against the table, earning an irritated look from Magnus and causing his sister and Clary to both sigh in unison.

"Alec, all we are asking you to do is decide on which colour you would prefer. It is not difficult. It is not scary. It is not meant to cause you pain of any kind," Magnus told him as calmly as he could, though Alec could clearly detect how irritated he was. It was very sweet – of all of them – to include him in all of the 'finer' details of the wedding planning. But the point of the matter was that all of this gave Alec a headache.

"Please," he begged pathetically, his voice muffled by his hands that were now placed firmly over his face in despair. "I have no idea. It is so stressful."

"I think you should go for the darker one – it is definitely closer," Clary told Magnus authoritatively after carefully scrutinising the samples and Alec loved her just a little bit more in that second for trying to save him.

Magnus only said, "hmmm" which completely filled Alec with dread. The 'difficulty' they were encountering at the moment was due to that fact that Magnus had chosen a very particular shade of blue as part of the colour scheme. He called it 'Egyptian Blue' and it looked lovely. Well, it looked blue and Alec really couldn't tell the difference between that and most other shades of the colour. The problem now was they could not find anywhere that stocked that shade in bridesmaid dresses. Magnus was having a bit of a panic and had asked Alec to help choose a colour that would either be as close a match as possible or would complement the original colour. But he really couldn't see much of a difference.

Apparently, Isabelle and Clary were going to be bridesmaids. Alec did not see why they needed bridesmaids. Neither of them were brides. Still, the girls had been delighted by this prospect so he didn't really mind. Magnus had also asked his friend Catarina, but she had declined and said that she would of course be there to help them celebrate but she really didn't think it would look good having her dressed in blue.

Magnus' 'Best Man' wasn't a man at all. The Warlock had really struggled when Alec suggested that he should have a Best Man as well, because it didn't seem fair that he should have Jace for moral support and Magnus got no one. Eventually he had asked his friend Tessa, who accepted graciously. Alec had no idea if she was expected to wear blue as well. He was pretty sure Jace would decline.

"I do trust you Clary, being an artist, but I would really like my fiancé's opinion."

Alec couldn't stifle a groan.

"Seriously Alexander, all I want you to do is to just have an opinion about something to do with this wedding!" Magnus yelled. It made Alec jump. Magnus very rarely got this cross about anything.

"I – I'm sorry," he stammered in surprise and saw Magnus almost visibly deflate and have the decency to look sheepish about his outburst. "But all of these colours look pretty much the same to me and it is giving me a headache trying to work out which one is the right one…"

"But it's not about choosing a 'right' one! I just want to know which one you like best!"

"I think Isabelle and Clary will look lovely in whatever colour we dress them in," he announced honestly, as that was literally his only opinion.

"Correct answer," Izzy interjected with a sly smile. Magnus looked somewhat guilty for a moment before his phone started to ring and he hurriedly got up and left the room to take the call. Alec figured it must have been a client.

"You know, for a gay man, you are really bad with colour co-ordination," his sister told him with a sigh, sinking down into the sofa as if she was only paying attention for Magnus' benefit.

"You only just noticed?" he asked her and she giggled in response. "It's definitely a disability for a homosexual – being colour blind."

"I didn't know you were colour blind," Clary said, surprised enough to make her jump very slightly.

"He's not colour blind," Izzy told the red-head patronisingly.

"I may as well be – what the hell is the difference between dark blue and navy blue by the Angel?!"

"Navy is darker," Isabelle told him with a superior air, but upon seeing his puzzled expression Clary grabbed her backpack.

"Here – I'll show you," she told him as she removed a sketchbook and a long oblong steel case. She pulled out a few coloured pencils in search for the right ones. "This," she said as she found the right one and scribbled onto the blank page. "Is dark blue."

Alec looked closely, trying to absorb exactly how the colour looked.

"And this is Navy blue," she told him with a flourish as she made a scribble next to the other one. "You see? Navy is darker. You would almost think it was black from a distance."

Alec peered hard at the paper and squinted his eyes in concentration. "Oh yeah, I see it," he eventually announced, his eyes still affixed to the sheet of paper as if looking away would mean he may lose his grasp of the notion. Izzy gave a sarcastic slow applause and Clary smiled and squeezed his arm triumphantly.

"By Jove he's got it," Magnus said suddenly, peering over Alec's shoulder. Alec started slightly, having not noticed he had been stood there.

"What?" Alec asked him, partly because he was perplexed by his sentiment and partly from being startled.

"It's a quote," the Warlock told him thoughtfully and then draped his arms affectionately around Alec's shoulders. He planted a small kiss on the Shadowhunter's head and asked, "Do you want a coffee? I really need some caffeine."

Alec was delighted that Magnus didn't seem angry at him. "Sure," he told him with a smile and a small peck on his hand. It was a relief to not have to talk about colours, though he suspected they may resume the discussion when Magnus returned with hot drinks.

"I'll help you carry," Clary told Magnus. .She had packed away her pencils in their case and left them on the table as she followed the Warlock out of the room. Alec could hear them chattering as they walked away and he definitely caught the word 'blue' repeated a few times. Hopefully, Clary was in the process of convincing his fiancé to drop the whole, 'let's involve Alec because if the colour we end up with isn't quite right then we can just blame it on his naivety.' It may have been a rather unfair thought, but he suspected this was the real reason for his involvement.

"So how long are you staying?" Alec asked his sister as he twiddled a bit of blue satin between his fingers. It felt nice against his skin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she replied suspiciously.

"It means exactly how it sounds. How long are you staying at the Institute? Are you heading back to Alicante? Somewhere else?"

Izzy narrowed her eyes at him. "Thought I would stay for at least another week or so; I haven't managed to sort out any plans for training in Rome. Jia did ask me a couple of weeks ago about teaching at the Academy in Alicante when it re-opens."

"Wow," Alec said, genuinely taken aback. "Are they close to getting it up and running completely again?" Isabelle shrugged. "Izzy, I don't know what exactly is going on with you right now but I know you can't keep on like this."

He regretted what he said the moment his eyes met hers, glistening with tears. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to hold back their flow as stoically as she could.

"Drifting," he put it. "After the War we all completely understood you needed space and travelling was a great idea and I know it really did help you. But I missed you. We all did. And then when you started training Peter a few years ago you started to come back to us. You were around more. It was nice. Like old times."

Isabelle lowered her head and stared at her shoes. It had been too obvious a flinch at Peter's name for Alec to ignore this as unwanted attention from him. Something else was going on and even an idiot like Alec could tell that.

"But the past few months you have started to… fade away again."

She looked up at him, the tears gone, but a weary sadness clinging to her features still. "What did he tell you?"

Alec attempted to look a little puzzled, but he knew it wouldn't fool her. He sighed in resignation and said, "He told me he had feelings for you, but that you weren't interested." She nodded slowly, processing his words but not denying them.

"Well that is pretty much all there is to it I guess," she said eventually. It felt completely anti-climactic and Alec began to doubt his suspicions.

"So… that isn't why you have been so distant? Why you're so sad?"

She laughed awkwardly. He could tell it wasn't a real laugh. "I don't know why I feel this way. I'm confused right now."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

The question startled her and she shot a surprised look at him. "Alec, he's a kid!" She sounded disgusted.

"He's eighteen, Iz. He's not a kid." It sounded like stating the obvious, but Izzy looked pained, as if she hadn't realised despite already knowing.

"He kissed me," she blurted out. And she looked horrified at her admission. Alec found himself totally unsurprised by it for some reason. "It's too weird," she whined, dropping her head into her hands with a thud.

"Why? Because you are two years older than him?" He was genuinely struggling to see what would be 'weird' exactly about Peter's feelings towards Isabelle. It hadn't been that long since they were eighteen and Alec for one could remember entirely what that felt like. "Magnus is way older than me…"

"That and the fact that I used to train him. I was his teacher."

"Jace used to train Clary," he argued, trying an encouraging smile in hopes she would begin to see that the situation wasn't as 'weird' as she thought it was, but she didn't look up. "All this is beside the point really though. I understand it's awkward if someone tells you he has feelings for you and you don't return them, and if he is really bothering you then either me or Jace or Magnus will have a word with him. But please don't let it push you away from us."

She looked up then, her eyes dewy once more. And then Alec understood. It was like the realisation was that final puzzle piece finally clicking into place. "Oh," he said, trying to process what was going on. "You do have feelings for him."

His sister laughed hollowly and turned away from him to stare at a non-descript part of the room. She didn't deny it. "Well then maybe you should give it a go…"

"Give it a go?!" she exclaimed, cutting him off, suddenly furious and red-cheeked. "How could you say that? What about Simon?!" The tears she had been fighting so determinedly to keep from flowing streamed down her cheeks. Alec felt like he had just taken a sucker-punch to the gut.

"He's dead, Iz," he whispered to her with a deep regret. With that she sprang from the sofa and ran out of the room, leaving Alec in a rather stunned silence to contemplate what had just happened.

He hadn't even imagined that the reason for his sister's anguish could be caused by the memory of Simon. It had been difficult for all of them, especially Isabelle and Clary, but he had been gone for over four years. True, Izzy hadn't had any relationships in that time, but she hadn't really had any relationships before Simon. Alec had just assumed she had gone back to casually dating a lot of guys at the same time, like she used to. He had imagined she had countless lovers and suitors all around the globe from her travels, though none too serious as she hadn't spoken much about them, only hinted. Clearly he had been wrong. Clearly he had misread what he thought were 'hints'. He hadn't expected any of that response, which was why when Magnus and Clary strolled back into the room that they both rushed over to him in a concerned panic when they saw his expression.

"Izzy just got very upset about Simon," he told them, stunned. Clary visibly flinched at the name and the reminder. He had no other choice but to explain the situation after that, which left them all feeling a little glum and not very much in the mood for wedding planning. He and Magnus made their way to bed after discarding the coffee and going back to the kitchen to instead share some cocoa with Clary, and Alec felt a deep regret for mentioning Simon's name around her because she began to lose the colour in her cheeks and start to look distracted. Jace would kill him if she said that Alec had upset her so he really hoped she wouldn't mention it.

He even felt guilty when he climbed into the shower with Magnus. He tried to take his mind off his sister, because thinking about Isabelle really wasn't very conducive to being in a romantic mood, but he just couldn't shake it off.

"Ok what's wrong?" Magnus asked him breathlessly after a long kiss. Alec shrugged but he knew he would have to spill. "Not that I am offended or anything that you don't seem to be in the mood," he said with an exasperated smirk and an eye-roll just to emphasise the point.

"Are you angry with me?" Alec asked him, really hoping that he wasn't. It wasn't Magnus' fault after all.

"I just want to know what's wrong. Is it Isabelle?"

Alec nodded mutely and the Warlock turned off the shower and folded him up into a very wet hug.

"I promise you she will be fine. It's difficult to lose someone you love, but I am the living reminder that a person can not only survive the loss of a loved one but can find love again." Alec hugged him back even more tightly. "Better love. True love," the Warlock added and kissed him on the top of his head. That seemed to do the trick and Alec stroked his lover's lower back, which caused Magnus to sigh contentedly and his muscles relax.

"Let's go to bed," Alec whispered and he noticed the Warlock shiver slightly before he pulled away.

"Now you're talking," Magnus informed him with a wink.

"I'm not sure I could go through what Izzy has gone through," he told Magnus as he lay in his arms. Alec couldn't stop thinking about his sister and worry was not good for Romantic activities. He really wished he could just shut up and enjoy his fiancé's company, but he just couldn't stop fussing over the situation. Magnus sighed mournfully, clearly in a Romantic mood himself.

"Do I have to give the speech about how Isabelle is a strong woman and a first class Shadowhunter and that she will cope with everything that has tragically befallen her?" Magnus asked him. Alec frowned into his shoulder, not really ok with his tone. He was about to admonish his fiancé for his unkind words when he pulled Alec into a tight, almost suffocating embrace. "I'm sorry, my love, I didn't mean to sound harsh. But Isabelle will get through this eventually. Something this significant is going to take a very long time to work through and a few years are nothing in the grand scheme of things." He planted a tender kiss on Alec's forehead and said, "War is never over for those who fight in it, though I know you understand that better than me."

"If I lost you I don't think I could be as strong as Izzy," Alec told him. The issue of Magnus' immortality (and current lack of it) had made Alec think about the idea that he may be the one left behind; he had always assumed that he would not outlive Magnus, with the Warlock being immortal, not to mention the risky business of Shadowhunting. But that had changed now. Magnus was mortal and more vulnerable. True, he still retained his magical abilities and could certainly defend himself, but he was going to age and eventually weaken and then… Alec stopped himself in the middle of that thought. It made him feel cold and hollow. And then Magnus hugged him, right on cue, as if he could read his mind.

"I love you," the Warlock told him simply and held him tight. Alec needed no further persuasion as he kissed Magnus enthusiastically. He ran his fingertips lovingly up his breastbone and over his shoulders, enveloping him in small and feathery touches. His fiancé shuddered beneath him in appreciation.

When they lay together afterwards, sated and sleepy in each other's arms, Alec whispered, "Don't ever leave me. Do you understand? Not ever."

"My dear Alec, I would destroy both Heaven and Hell to bring you home to me if I had to. I am selfish, I know, but that's the truth."

Alec smiled warmly and buried his head into Magnus' chest. Magnus' selfishness was honestly one of the things he loved the most about him.

"I don't want any tea, I am not sick," Clary bit out, venom lacing her usually soft tones. It made everyone turn around and stare. Clary and Jace didn't usually argue in public, they were way too loved up for that sort of thing usually, unlike himself and Magnus who almost constantly bickered. Alec had often thought that he would absolutely hate it if they were soppy in public all the time. Plus, he and the Warlock both had quick tempers. There was something oddly comforting and familiar about arguing with Magnus, and he wouldn't give up their 'way' for anything. They were never hurtful and he had the sneaking suspicion that Magnus would sometimes contradict him precisely to initiate 'make-up sex'. He knew he certainly did it… Alec blushed internally at the thought of the outcome of his and Magnus' argument over the washing up a few nights back, when he was sure that if he hadn't drawn soundless runes onto the walls the entire city, let alone the Institute, would have heard them. Alec hadn't needed to snap quite so horribly at his fiancé, when he thought about it, but the rewards greatly outweighed the unpleasantness.

He recoiled at the sudden sharp pain in his forearm, exclaiming "ouch!" loudly before realising it was his sister who had hit him. "What was that for?" he asked, stroking his arm reflexively.
She rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. "You're doing it again. All spaced out," Izzy mumbled through a mouth full of cereal. She hadn't mentioned their conversation from the night before and she now seemed relatively 'normal' again so he wasn't about to bring it up in a hurry.

"Ummm, I got to go. See you guys later," Clary announced as she swept quickly out of the room, taking advantage of the slight distraction.

"Clary!" Jace called after her, but stopped himself from running after her and turned to glare at Alec.

"Thanks," he said darkly.

"What did I do?!" Alec protested. "Pretty sure she didn't leave on my account…"

"Well you aren't exactly the most fun person to be around right now," Jace argued back, picking up the cereal packet from the table and plunging in his hand. His parabatai pulled out a handful of crushed flakes and noisily and rather rudely stuffed them into his mouth.

"If you are even suggesting it was me that caused that stupid little tiff of yours…"

"Yeah, 'if' what?"

"Ok you two cut it out!" Izzy interrupted. Alec could feel the anger that had been bubbling up dissipating across his cheeks in a quick flush, but he couldn't help notice the downcast look in Jace's eyes and found the anger replaced by concern almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" Alec blurted, and Jace flicked his eyes up at him with a start before shrugging his shoulders in a gesture of helplessness and despair.

"Nothing, she's just acting really tetchy at the moment. It's like I can't do anything right," Jace told them candidly, delving into the cereal box for another handful. He shovelled the food into his face once more before Izzy swiped the box away from him. He only looked mildly annoyed by this though.

Alec was suddenly desperate to ask him if it was anything to do with the impending marriage proposal, but Isabelle was there, and he had promised not to tell anyone, even her. Though he had told Magnus. But he wasn't about to tell Jace that.

"She's not pregnant is she?" Izzy asked with a provocatively sweet smirk as she got up to put the cereal packet away in a cupboard where Jace could not reach them easily.

Both Alec and Jace recoiled at the same time in horror. Izzy laughed at them heartily.

"We use protection thank you very much…" Jace mumbled meekly and took out his phone, no doubt to check if Clary had messaged him.

"And why am I not fun right now? You're the one who is no fun. Moping around all the time and snapping at everyone, anyone would think you were on your period," Alec argued. Jace looked up at him stunned and Isabelle barked a loud laugh. His parabatai turned to face Alec's sister. "And I assume we have you to blame for that outburst?" he asked with a slightly amused expression.

"I was just trying to man him up," she shot back as she took a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator.

"By making him misogynistic?" Jace asked sweetly.

Alec hated being made fun of. "I didn't mean it like that," he mumbled glumly into his mug of coffee.

"Well just don't let Clary hear you saying things like that. With the mood she's been in I will not take responsibility for her flipping out and castrating you," Jace informed him seriously, causing Alec to wince as he made a mental note to not mention 'periods' at all around Clary. He also internally berated himself for repeating Isabelle's slur about Jace, which had clearly been designed intentionally for Alec to repeat and then to catch him out. He couldn't help feeling inadequate at times in front of his witty siblings, when he struggled so much to find the right words. He hated feeling stupid, especially when he knew he was not.

"I need to get some paperwork done," he announced quietly and left quickly, before either of them could laugh at him any more than was necessary. He met Clary on his way to the library. She was standing around and aimlessly gazing out of a window.

"Ummm," he announced his presence awkwardly.

"Oh, hi," she said absently.

"Are you ok?" he asked, suddenly concerned there was actually something wrong, rather than it just being something stupid Jace had said or done.

"I think so. I hope so…"

She looked sad, even when she gave him an encouraging smile. There was a horrible, awkward tension in the air.

"Go on, spill," he urged, folding his arms around himself and trying to ready himself for some kind of horrible news. She heaved a great, exasperated sigh that it seemed like she had been holding in for a long time.
"I just don't know what is wrong with him!"

No prize for guessing who she was talking about.

"None of us do," Alec told her with a snort, trying to lighten the mood. But she just glared at him. "He did tell me he thought something was up with you…" Alec said it and immediately regretted his words as her face turned bright red with anger. "I mean," Alec added hurriedly, "he was concerned about you and didn't know if he could help." It sounded almost like a question, even though he hadn't intended it. Clary looked very sad.

"He's just been so attentive lately and following me around and being super super nice. Too nice, you know? Very un-Jace like. I started to think he was going to break up with me."

She laughed nervously and Alec gaped at her. She couldn't be further from the truth.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, you know, it's like he is treating me really nicely so that he lets me down gently. Damage control, and all that."

She looked pale and frightened.

"I can tell you, for certain, that he does not want to break up with you," Alec told her confidently, wanting to hug her and reassure her but feeling too awkward to do so.

"How do you know?" she asked him quietly, her eyes becoming watery.

Why did he always find himself in the middle of all these problems? He was literally the worst person in the world to help sort out emotional 'stuff'.

"Because I know how much he loves you," he tried to reason. He could not tell her about the proposal. He was starting to believe Jace's odd behaviour had something to do with this and he would definitely be having a word, but if he let on to Clary what his parabatai was planning he could not imagine the wrath that would befall him.

"Magnus loves you, but that didn't stop him breaking up with you."

"That was an entirely different situation," he snapped at her unintentionally. He hadn't meant to sound harsh, but her insecurity about Jace was starting to become ridiculous.

"I'm sorry, Alec. I didn't mean…"

"It's ok," he assured her with a smile and tentatively placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let me have a word with him to see if I can get to the bottom of why he is being so annoyingly lovely."

She smiled at that, finally, and hugged him tightly. He couldn't help feeling a small victory.

A/N: I am so so sorry it has taken me an age to update this story AGAIN! My apologies to those of you who are still keen and are following this one. I feel dreadful for not posting sooner :-(
BUT in good news, Chapter 13 is also done and should be with you tomorrow. The main action isn't really going to happen for another couple of chapters I am afraid, but I am building up to the Big Day at the moment! My apologies if it seems a little slow. I shall try to make it up to you with many lemons ;-)
Keep an eye out for the lemony warning on the next chapter!
Laubie x