blackcurlsofacynic: Thank you for your review! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter. I really wanted to show how I thought Alec would be after he got the chance to reflect and grow a bit with all the things he learned from his first heartbreak and the confidence he gains due to his budding career. And yes, Alec can barely control himself around Magnus' sexy ass. Heehee.

This chapter is very dialogue heavy and not very Malecy. I'm sorry.

I don't own TMI

I took a taxi to Taki's. Jace and Izzy show up about 5 minutes after I grabbed a booth and ordered some coffee for me and iced tea for them.

Jace sat down looking annoyed, grabbing his drink like he owned the place. Izzy looked annoyed too, but she seemed to be more mad at Jace for some reason.

"Ok. Somebody better start talking, like now. Why did I need to be dragged away. I was training with Simon." Oh, so that's why she was irritated. Figures.

Jace looked at Izzy with his face scrunched up in disdain. "Can you forget about the former bloodsucker for just a moment. You're the one who keeps insisting that Alec has been hiding things from us." Jace turned his angry golden gaze to me. "Go ahead, Alexander, spill. Now."

I took a moment to look between my sister and brother. I should have known that I couldn't keep things from them for long. Actually, I did know it. It had just been so much easier to hide things now that I didn't live with them and I was too busy to see them as much as I used to. Before, I was never able to keep anything from them.

"I have not been entirely… forthcoming with you guys lately, I guess." I started.

"Really? How's that for an understatement?" Jace deadpanned.

"Jace! Let him talk." Izzy looked at me hopefully. "Maybe he can't tell us everything because the Clave swore him to secrecy or something."

Jace let out a humorless laugh and looked at Izzy incredulously.

I had to start talking before this really went south. I didn't want them to argue because of me.

"I'm not sworn to secrecy. I just didn't want you guys to have to get involved if I could help it. There's some rogue vampires and faeries out there kidnapping and even killing people. We just got out of a crazy war, I just wanted you guys to be able to be relatively normal before you have to go saving the Clave's ass again."

I finish my little speech with a sigh. Jace wasn't having it, though.

"Not good enough, sweet cheeks. I want details. You cannot be going around kicking vampire and faerie ass and seriously think its ok to just leave me out of it."

I smiled at him. He would have a problem with being left out of the action.

"I'm sure you know about Maia and Bat getting kidnapped, right? Well there have been more attempts and each time its someone that is connected to us."

Izzy's head shot up. "What do you mean 'connected to us'? Who?"

"Well, its just a hunch, but it seems like that. There another of Luke's pack got attacked this morning. Someone attempted to either kidnap or kill Magnus last night and then there was something weird that happened with David this earlier today."

"Magnus got attacked?!" Izzy shouted.

"Who is David?" Jace asked.

"Yeah David." I sighed, not wanting to go into it but knowing that I had to. "He is the guy I went to that club with last Saturday. And before you ask, yes he's a mundane, but there something weird going on with him. I'm basically dating him so that I can figure out what he's up to."

"What the hell?" Jace's eyes cut to me sharply. "You're actually ok with that? What exactly could a mundane have to do with vampires and faeries, anyway?"

"Luke and I think he is being used by the vampires, being compelled or something. He's always hanging out around the neighborhood of the Hotel Dumont. I don't know, I feel kind of guilty because I think he actually likes me. Ugh. I have a feeling, though, that he is supposed to be using me for something that the vampires want. Some information, I think. But he probably could have already done that already."

Before he had tried to take advantage of me that night I thought that David might have been a nice guy, outside being my enemy and working with people who didn't have the best interests of the Clave and it's allies at heart.

"I may have slipped up around him and got drunk that night…After I saw Magnus." I finished, feeling very sheepish and more than a little bit stupid.

"Alec! He could have done anything to you. Why didn't you let us come with you?" Izzy almost looked like she was ready to cry and she never cried. Add guilt to the ever-growing list of uncomfortable feelings that were gnawing at me today.

"I know, I know." I looked from Izzy to Jace. "And I want your help. I am officially asking you guys to work with me on this. You will have to get the ok from mom, though. I don't think I will be able to keep it from her. She's watching me like a hawk."

"Yeah, she's still pissed at you for moving out. And for talking to Jia without her consent." Jace grinned his approval at me.

"Well, that's just too bad for her, isn't it? When is she going back to Idris? I feel like she's never going to leave."

Izzy giggled. "I think she's lingering around to stay close to you, Alec, so she can spy on you. She totally ignores us. As usual." She said, rolling her eyes.

Izzy's eyes lit up as if she were remembering something. "So…Magnus… I see you tried to gloss over that. What's the current story about him?"

"He got attacked with illegal faerie smoke, which we learned later could have killed him. He recognized it right away and was able to get away. The end."

Jace narrowed his eyes at me. "And why was he at your apartment just now?"

"What? The end, my ass. I thought you were over him, Alec." Izzy said furiously.

"I have to work with him now. He's is the rep for warlocks, you know."

"Back to the bullshitting, I see." Jace stared into my soul like he was trying to see all of the secrets that I was hiding there. He didn't break contact for more than a minute.

I was beyond uncomfortable because my eyes were starting to water. I needed to blink but since Jace, the robot, wasn't blinking I had to fight it. I finally had to look down at the table and relieve my poor dried out eyeballs.

"Jace. What you saw was a mistake. I shouldn't have let him get to me like that."

"What happened? What did that filthy bastard do to you?" Izzy spit out like the words were venom. She had been the loudest in her negative opinions of Magnus thus far. I suspected it was because she had actually liked him a lot- even rooted for our relationship- and considered his breaking up with me to be some sort of personal attack against herself. If that makes any sense.

"I don't know if name calling is going to work out so well, Izzy. You will have to at least try to get along with him. If you help me you that means working with him too." I paused and waited for her to stop looking so mean. It never happened. If anything, she looked meaner after she processed the information. I continued anyway.

"So, he's living with me until he can figure out a safe place to stay. He wont be going back to his apartment for a while. Nobody really knows how to fix the damage since no one's been dumb enough to mess with that stuff in ages."

"But what happened, Alec. I know there's more." She continued her onslaught of furry. Jace just kinda sat there smirking, probably happy that Izzy was yelling at me.

"We made out." I yelled back. I mind went back to Magnus's hands on me and his body pressed up against mine. I had to swallow the little smile that was threatening to show up on my face.

Izzy saw it anyway. "Alec, kick him out. I don't care where he goes. He's a big boy, hell he's an old man. He'll figure out somewhere to live. I will not allow you to fall for that jerk again. He's no good for you, Alec. He's a fucking inconsiderate snake and you can do so much better than him."

Surprisingly, it was Jace who stopped her rant. "Ok, Izzy, I think he gets your point. Tone it down a bit."

"Shut up, Jace! You know what I'm saying is true." Jace didn't look at her or respond, which made Izzy more pissed. She stood up, abruptly. "Screw this shit. I'm going to go see Simon."

With that, she stormed out, still grumbling about how stupid boys were, or something like that.

Jace looked at me and actually laughed.

At first I didn't know what to do, but eventually I joined him and laughed a bit, as well.

"You love him still." Jace had sobered up and was staring me down again. I hated his staring contests. He always won.

"Yes." I said softly.

"He loves you still."

"How would you know?"

"Let's just say that I have visited him a couple times and all he was ever doing was moping around, looking like hell. I mean, he answered the door wearing clothes that looked suspiciously like the ugly shit for clothing that you wear and he wasn't even wearing glitter. Not wearing glitter." Jace whispered the last sentence and looked scandalized at the very thought.

I felt my eyes grow bigger as I sat frozen. "You know what's scary? Sometimes you sort of remind me of him." I said slowly, vaguely repulsed. "Really, I mean, you're both conceited bordering on narcissism. You're both very obsessive about your looks… I think I might need therapy."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Probably the only reason you could get over my perfect self." He grinned impishly at me, showing off his canines. "You went and found second best, which, I'd like to point out, is no small feat."

I cover my ears with my hands like a child. "Oh my fucking angel. Jace- shut up."

I could seriously picture Magnus saying something exactly like that about Jace. It was more than a little disturbing. (And yes I know what you are thinking. I did previously harbor a weird and complicated crush on Jace not too long ago. It wasn't even a real crush, though, so it didn't really count, right? I would really appreciate it if you'd just keep quiet about it, thank you very much.)

"Ok. I'll stop." Jace turned serious again. "If you stop lying and tell me the truth."

I put my hands back on the table. "The truth about what. I've been pouring out my heart here already. Guess that's not good enough."

"Hey, I'm your parabatai. And in case you don't remember, we are some of the only people who can say that we've been to hell and back together and not be exaggerating. I know when you're not being honest with me. And I know when you're not being honest with yourself. So stop trying to derail the conversation. You want him back, don't you."

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say to him. I was honestly confused, too. From the way he reacted to what he saw in my apartment, I thought he hated the idea of Magnus and I just as much as Izzy did. Now, I'd be damned if Jace wasn't trying to encourage me to give him another chance.

"I'm confused." I finally confessed to Jace. "Do you want me to stay away from him or not?"

"You should be happy. I know you haven't been happy for a while." Jace sighed. "How I feel- or anybody else, for that matter- shouldn't matter. Don't think about anyone else, for once. You gotta go with how you feel, Alec."

Jace was sounding eerily similar to what Magnus was saying earlier.

"Jace, you know I'm not just resisting him because of my pride or anything like that. He still, to this day, doesn't think he should tell me anything about his past. He thinks I'm just being naïve by wanting to be let into that part of his life. As long as he feels that way, I can't be with him, no matter how much I want to be. No matter how much I love him."

Jace sighed. He looked contemplative, but he didn't say anymore on the matter. He didn't have to, though. We had discussed this before, ad nauseam. He'd been the only person that I had discussed my real reason for staying away from Magnus. I knew that he would understand. Jace honored and respected the truthfulness just as much as I did. Maybe even more.

I changed the subject. "I'm having a full meeting on Friday at 5pm with Luke, Magnus and possibly some other warlocks that he trusts. I believe Luke is having Jocelyn join us. Please tell Izzy. Oh and Clary and Simon, too." Jace looked pleased that I'd invited Clary.

I continued. "Actually, I want you guys to come early, if possible, so we can go over everything before people we don't know get involved. Its time to get team good back together and figure this out."

Jace smiled at that and agreed. We went our separate ways, but not before planning to meet up later to hunt.

I didn't have anything else to do in the city so I picked up a pizza and some chicken alfredo and went back home. I was expecting Magnus to be gone, but he was sitting on the couch when I got there, stroking the Chairman's fur and just staring off into space.

I sat the food down and cleared my throat to get him to look up at me. "There's some food here, if you'd like some."

His eyes darted to me briefly and then over to the food on the table. He gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes and mumbled something, shaking his head.

"Ok, well, If you don't mind, I need to tell you some things."

Magnus nodded his head and finally looked at me without looking away. He looked like a kid that had just been told that Christmas was cancelled. I could barely keep eye contact with him.

"We will have a meeting here on Friday at 5. Will that be enough time for you to round up some warlocks that you trust? I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier."

"Should be." He answered curtly. "I will be sure to get them here for you."

"I want to tell you about David. You asked earlier and I promise its related to work." I said and relayed the information I suspected about David that I shared with my siblings earlier.

Magnus took the information with a blank face. He looked at me with a funny expression that I couldn't place. "I found a place to stay. I'm sure that will relieve some stress for you."

My pulse sped up and my stomach felt queasy for some reason. "Where?" I asked him.

"Well tonight I will probably be at a friend's, but after that I will move into a hotel."

"No." I said loudly, startling him. "Your staying here. I can't have you get attacked again." I ran my hands through my hair, looking at him pleadingly. "Please. Just stay here so I don't have to guess if you are safe."

His eyes softened as he looked at me. "If you insist. I just thought that it would be better if we put some distance between us."

"Well, I obviously can't keep you here if you want to leave. It doesn't have to be awkward, though. Its up to you but I think there is enough space in here for us to coexist. I'll probably be gone a lot for the next few days. And when I am here, I'm usually in my office or bedroom."

Magnus nodded.

"If you need anything let me know. I will be in the office for the rest of the evening and then I'm gonna go hunt with Jace. I can leave you a note in the morning again of things I need you to do. If I even need anything. Is that ok?"

He only nodded again.

I grabbed some pizza and pasta and headed to my office to make lists and phone calls and fill out reports. I did see Magnus get up and linger around the pizza box before I closed my door. He still looked sad, but I was glad that he was going to stay. I needed him close to me. At least until we fixed the our faerie/vampire problem.

I felt guilty for feeling that way. I didn't want to send him mixed signals, although I'm very sure that I was just that. I just hoped that I wasn't hurting him too much. I hoped I wasn't hurting myself too much, too. Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew that we both had a long way to go in getting over each other and moving on. Living together was surly just prolonging things, but we were both adults and we would just have to deal with it.

Thanks for reading! Another chapter in a couple days!