Story: „Just Alec, now"

Chapter 13: The counsellor

Rating Story: NC-17

Rating Chapter: R

Warning(s): AU/AH, mature content, swearing, language

Pairings: Malec, Jem/Will (TID)

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare thought of the wonderful world of the mortal instruments and infernal devices. I just play with them and change their life a bit.

AN: This chapter contains time skips. Please don't be confussed ;)

{June 2008}

Alec opened the door to the loft. He felt exhausted after his last Kyuudou training session. There was a competition that saturday and Maia had decided that he schould take part in it. She didn't ask him if he felt ready for that much attention - he preferred to stay in the shadows of the others. He sighed and closed the door behind him and hung his jacket up. It was June and he was glad for the air condition in their loft as he couldn't stand being outside any longer than necessary and he didn't feel the need to sweat at home as well.

The young man got his bag from the floor and turned around - to run into a solid chest that smelled faintly of tobacco. He looked up into friendly hazel eyes, he couldn't recall to ever have seen before.

"Hello, Alexander. It is nice to finally meet you in person.", the man said smiling at the teen in front of him whose mouth was slightly open.

"Oh Henry, don't scare the young lad." A petit woman hit 'Henry' on the arm and took his place in front of Alec. The teen was still buffled and hadn't said a word since entering the loft. Her brown hair was in a high bun and her chocolate brown eyes were looking amused at the raven haired teen.

"I'm Charlotte and this is my husband Henry. We talked on the phone at Christmas. Do you remeber?"

Alec blinked once, twice and nodded slowly. He remembered having talked to a 'Henry' and 'Lotti' living in London. They were the foster parents of Will and had taken him and his sister in when their parents had died. And appearently now they were standing in their loft in New York and Alec didn't have a clue why they would be here and where his guardians or Magnus were.

"Not very talkative, are you? Well maybe Magnus is the more outspoken one in your relationship.", the ginger haired man mused as he turned around to get back into the living room area of their loft. Charlotte looked darkly at her husband as she laid her arm around Alec's waist and walked the teen to the sofa where he took a seat with her next to him and Henry opposite them.

"So tell me, Alec, how is school going and your training?" Charlotte was asking while getting a bottle of water and a glass from the kitchen. She sat them in front of the blue eyed teen and smile reassuring.

"I... well... good. I... Where is Will or Jem?"

As if he had heard Alec's question the door to the loft opened and Will came in. He stopped short as he took in the occupants of his living room and scowled.

"What are you two doing here?"

Henry barked a laugh and stood up to greet his foster son with a hug.

"Lotti was yearning to meet Alec and to visit you and James and Magnus. We haven't seen each other in more than two years."

"So you decided to break into the loft and scare the hell out of Alexander who hasn't met you in person?"

The men had moved into the living room and Will hugged Charlotte who kissed his cheek.

"That was the lovely idea of Henry. He wanted it to be a surprise and he had surprised me by taking me to the airport last night to fly here. Never in my life, I had to travel with just one change of clothing."

Alec visibly relaxed when Will took a seat on the armrest next to him. The older man lay a hand on the teen's shoulder rubbing it affectionately. They talked until Jem and Magnus came home and some more while they made dinner. It was decided that Henry and Charlotte would be staying with them until they had to fly back to London the following evening.

Henry was looking out of the windows of the living room. He took a sip of his whisky while he observed the midnight sky. The child - Alexander - had warmed up to them during dinner and even let Charlotte hug him when he had wished them a 'good night'. The ginger haired man had been hesitant when Will had asked him to get the paperwork for a guardianship done and he tried to talk his foster son out of it when he saw a picture of the boy he and Jem would be taking in. The resemblance of William as a child had been a mild shock to say at least.

"You're still up?"

The older man turned around to his foster son and smiled at him.

"I could be saying it's due to 'Jet-lag' but we both know that it would be a lie." He took another sip of his whisky emptying the tumbler. "I wanted to talk to you without the interruption of the children, Jem or Charlotte."

Will refilled Henry's tumbler and got one for himself.

"You could have come to the office. Garroway would have been delighted to see you."

Henry 'hmm'd and took another sip.

"Asmodeus is not in the US any longer."

"I know. He had been under surveillance."

"Have you told Magnus?"

"No. Why would he need to know that his biological father has left the country on one of his many business trips? It's not that he would be interested anyway. He hates that man. Even more so after he got to know that Asmodeus had his eyes laid on Alec."

"Alexander - Alec - he is a nice boy. Very polite. Nothing like you at that age."

Will snorted into his drink.

"Are you still afraid I want to live my fantasy with a son looking like me and Jem as my wife? You know as well as I do, that something like that would never happen."

"I heard that the marriage of same-sex couples in New York is possible."

"Have you had too much whisky?"

Henry sighed into his drink and looked at the city in front of him.

"William, how long have you been together with Jem, now?"

"Nearly seven years."

"And how long have you been in love with him?"

Will kept silently sipping his drink. Henry knew how long Will had been in love with Jem. Even during his marriage with Tessa, he had been thinking of his friend and sometimes he would dream of them together. The raven haired man had been horrified when it first had happened and kept it a secret from his wife. She didn't need to know that sometimes when they were making love her husband was thinking of another man under him.

"Are we done talking about my love life?"

Henry smiled at the other man and got an envelope out of his jacket's pocket.

"The information you wanted. I don't know why you needed me. Those things can be looked up in your databases as well."

"Just to make sure there wasn't anything international missing from our database."

Henry rolled his eyes as Will opened the envelope. He took out an file folder and opened it slowly. The first thing he saw was a family picture of the Lightwood family probably taken 2 or 3 years ago. He read through the scarce information provided on the next pages. Nothing. There wasn't anything in there what could give them a clue as to why Robert had taken Alec to the Institute and where he got the information about the Institute in the first place and where to go to 'sell' Alec. He closed the file folder and emptied his tumbler.

"Found something?"

"Nothing I haven't known before. But still..." He exhaled loudly and got up from his seat on the armchair. "Why didn't his mother look for him? I mean is it really possible that he can fake messages and telephone calls and so on just so that she wouldn't go looking for him? What about the siblings?"

"Maybe she knows and helps him fake the messages?"

"Do you think Charlotte could do something like that to Matthew or Charles if the other had been taken away?"

"William, calm down before you wake the children or James. We don't know yet why the rest of the family hasn't been looking for him. Maybe Robert or someone else is helping. We have to wait and in the meantime they were put under surveillance."

"I wish I could do more."

"You could. Take your family and come visit us in England. There will be a celebration at the end of July and Charlotte and I would be glad if you could be part of it."

"How would a visit to England help me solve the case?"

"It would help you stop thinking about the case day and night. Sometimes you need to distance yourself before you can end a case to your satisfaction. With Asmodeus gone there isn't another lead you can follow, am I right?" William just nodded. "Then you can as well take some time off and show Alec the land of your ancestors."

Will rolled his eyes but nodded. "I'll take it into consideration." With a pat on the head and a final 'good night' Henry made his way to his bedroom leaving Will to think in the living room.

{July 2008}

Jem was searching through his suitcase. When he found the small package of ginger tablets he handed them to Alec who was still looking slightly green from his first flight. Magnus was sitting next to him rubbing small circles into the younger teen's back.

The blue-eyed teen chewed the tablet thoroughly before he swallowed and took a small sip from the water bottle. The flight to London had been the first in his life and everything had been fine - until they hit a turbulance short before they landed at Heathrow Airport.

Sighing he leaned against Magnus who was still rubbing his lower back. If they hadn't been in such an open area he would have gladly moaned his approval. But he had to wait for that until they reached the residence of Will's family where they would be staying over.

"Feeling better?"

Alec opened his eyes and saw Jem hovering over him. As he didn't feel anymore like he would bring up his last meal the younger teen nodded.

"Then we should propably find William and get into the car. It's still a two hour drive to Henry's."

The gray-haired man put his suitcase on top of the other two suitcases and put Alec's bag on top. Magnus hoisted his backpack up and steadied his boyfriend who was swaying as he got to his feet. They made their way through the airport to the underground garage where Will was already waiting with their rental car.

They put their belongins into the trunk and took their seats. Alec and Magnus who were sitting in the back cuddled as close together as the seat belts allowed. The blue-eyed teen closed his eyes willing his stomach to calm at least until they were safetly in a home with a full functional bathroom and hopefully comfortable beds.

The journey didn't take too long at least that is how it felt to Alec. Soon after he had drifted off he was shaken awake by his boyfriend who was looking as awake as himself. Will was already getting their suitcases from the trunk handing two of them to a young man somewhere between 17 and 23. He carried Alec's bag and a suitcase himself, Jem taking the last one. Alec blushed as he felt useless because his guardians felt that he couldn't carry a suitcase. His stomach was upset, there was nothing wrong with arms. He sighed and followed the others taking Magnus' offered hand.

Charlotte came out of the house and greeted them eagerly. Her hair was in a ponytail and she looked years younger from the last time Alec had seen her. She kissed Will and Jem on their cheeks and moved in to hug Magnus and himself. He cringed shortly because the sudden movement made him dizzy again. A small hand found its way to his forehead.

"Oh you poor dear. The flight wasn't to your liking, then?" She slung her arm around his waist and lead him and Magnus inside where Henry was greeting their guests. The young man who had helped to bring their baggage inside was Charlotte's and Henry's youngest son Matthew who was 19 and studying at the university. He had Henry's gentle eyes and his blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. They shook hands and the young man led Magnus and Alec to their room upstairs.

"So is it true? The magnificient Magnus has been tamed and has had a boyfriend for the last 10 months?", Matthew was asking as he sat down on the bed next to the suitcase he had carried upstairs.

"Nearly 10 months now, my dearest Matthew, and what is it to you? Jealous?"

The blonde man sighed and eyed Alec who didn't know what to make out of their conversation.

"Kind of. He is cute. Looks a bitt too much like Will for my liking but I see what you see in him." He smirked at Magnus who was just rolling his eyes and unpacking his things. "Have you already 'you know'?"

"My aren't you nosy today?" Magnus packed his clothing into the drawer of the wardrobe and got his and Alec's suits from the suitcase. "And as long as you refer to sex as 'you know' I won't answer you. Not that it is any of business to begin with."

Matthew pouted on their bed before he looked Alec straight into the eye and smiled. "Want to go look at the horses?"

"What?" Alec had blushed throughout their conversation and the sudden change of topic was unexpected. "I.. There are horses?"

"There are three to be exact and they need feeding anyway. You can help me and tell me wa bit more about yourself."

Matthew pulled Alec out of their room and downstairs so fast that the younger teen didn't have the time to protest. They were outside and walked over to the stables were the equipment was kept. The three horses of the family - Donner, Blitzen and Vixen - were already waiting for their food. Matthew told him a lot about the estate, the family - Matthew's brother Charles was 7 years older and married with a child and another on its way - and the horses. He got some information out of Alec - his Kyuudou training and the competition he had won in June, what kind of books he liked to read and that Alec could not dance for his life although it was expected from him at the festival - but as his questioning got too private the raven haired teen kept silent. His cheeks were burning by the time they escaped from the stables and Will who had been sitting on the terrace just arched an eyebrow and scowled at Matthew.

"Matthew, may I talk to you?", Will was asking the youngest Brainwell son after dinner. The three teenagers were sitting on the floor in front of the vast DVD collection to decide what to watch while the adults talked in the study.

"Sure." The blonde young man stood up and followed the older man outside the room. They went beyond the study and outside into the garden. Will stopped and sat down into the grass looking at the empty paddock. Matthew took the hint and sat down next to him waiting for the older man to start talking.

"I don't know what your parents have told you about Alec or his relationship with Magnus but I want you to stop teasing him."

Matthew huffed next to him and lay back into the grass looking up into the sky. "They didn't tell me much. Just that he is like Magnus in some aspects of his past life and that they are together. Didn't think it was possible for Magnus to be in a committed relationship."

"He is now or had been for the past ten months and I hope that that won't change for the near future if ever."

Matthew kept silent and looked at the clouds passing over them. "Do you really think there is something like 'ever-lasting love' out there?"

Will lay down next to his foster brother and observed him from the corner of his eyes. "For someone who believes: definitely." It was getting late and the sun slowly set in the west painting the sky a deep red.

"Do you think that a relationship can work if one of the partners isn't all that interessted in being intimate?"

Will's eyes snapped open to the younger man's question. He looked at him with big round eyes while Matthew blushed a deep red.

"What?!"

"I can't very well have that conversation with mother or father, now can I?"

"And I'm the only person available?"

"Well I can't ask James. That would be so... wrong somehow and I think he would try to 'solve the problem' from a scientific point of view. Magnus is more than a year jounger than me and definitly very active... Charles is married with kids and I can't just ask my older brother about something like that."

"I'm your older brother, too."

"But it's not embarrassing to aks you, okay? Now would you be so kind and answer my question?"

Matthew's cheeks were still a deep red and he was huffing from his little rant. Will took his time before answering his question.

"Does your partner know?"

"Who says that this about me?"

"Matthew, please. You wouldn't ask me something so specific if it wasn't about you."

"I well... I don't know. I think he thinks that I'm just shy or something."

"When Jem and I started dating we weren't jumping each other's bones from minute one despite our lingering feelings from the past. I thought that he was careful of my feelings and I wanted to treat him like a true Gentleman. So we weren't intimate. We waited until the other was ready. What I didn't know at that time was that Jem wasn't just careful of my feelings but very afraid of going further with our physical relationship. He had done... stuff that he is not proud of to get what he wanted and before I came along that was his medicine. After finding him nearly dead in his flat and a discussion with his doctor I got to know how far he had gone to nurse his addiction. We talked that night when he was able to leave the hospital and then some more over the next months until we both were ready to take the next step."

Matthew was listening silently to Will's story.

"And how does that help me?"

"I think you should talk to your partner and tell him how you feel. It won't do your relationship any good if you both assume things from the other and just wait. If he wants to be with you then he won't pressure into something you don't want."

Matthew sat up and nibbled on his bottom lip. "Thank you. I'll consider this." He stood up and left Will alone lying on the grass.

"When exactly have I become a counsellor for teenage boys and their relationships?", the raven hair man asked no one in particular.

"When you decided to be the guardian of two boys with a troubled past, William." Will opened his eyes and looked up at Jem who had taken Matthew's vacated seat in the grass. "It is beautiful out here."

"And how long have you been eavesdropping, James?"

"Oh just for the last part of your conversation and I think it was helpful although Matthew doesn't know that yet."

Will snorted and looked up at the sky again where the first stars were visible."I thought you were asexuell when we first met again." Jem just 'hmm'd and lay down next to Will with his head on his partner's chest. "You're not offended?"

The gray haired man silently stroked over Will's chest before he answered, "No. I thought as well that I was asexuell because prostituting yourself for your addicition isn't really a turn on, if you ask me. But I learned to enjoy the more physical aspect of a relationship with you again. I'm greatful that is was with my first love." He inhaled deeply and kissed the underside of Will's chin.

Will stroked lightly over Jem's back. He liked his lips, "James?"

"Yes?" The raven haired man heard that Jem was getting sleepy.

"Marry me."

AN2: So points to all people finding all the characters from TID and TLH =D Sorry for 'borrowing' them but they just fit inside.

Guest: Thanks for your review. I hope to update on a regular basis from now on (at least until the end of August)