Okay, so, I know 99% of you probably want to kill me right now, since I haven't uploaded in so long.

But I swear I would have, if I had been inspired. I wasn't entirely sure what to do with this story, but I had a brainstorm today, so I suppose we're back on track. (:

Thanks for your patience!

When Jace woke up the next morning, he would have sworn on the Codex that last night had all been a dream. But when he became fully aware of his surroundings, he felt something warm and soft in his arms, and slowly opened his eyes. He smiled.

Alec lay beside him, curled up and looking considerably like a cat. His breathing was even and his face smoothed out, making him look incredibly peaceful. Jace thought it was a nice contrast from his usually nervous air. He shifted so he could run his thumb lightly across Alec's pale cheek.

There was a flutter of eyelids and a moment later Jace found a bewitching pair of blue eyes looking up at him.

"Morning," Alec murmured with a smile. Jace chuckled.

"You're never this agreeable in the morning. I should sleep with you every night."

Alec flushed and rolled his eyes. "You're never gonna get over that whole book-throwing thing, are you?"

Jace shook his head. "No. I'm traumatized for life, my friend. Paper bound together with a hard cover? Forever my kryptonite."

Alec rolled his eyes again and grabbed a pillow, smacking Jace over the head with it. Jace was too disoriented at the moment to duck, and gasped as the pillow made its impact. Alec laughed and made a soft squeaking noise when Jace pushed him back on the bed, pinning him down by his wrists. Alec and Jace laughed for a few moments before it slowly stopped; they finally realized their position.

Jace stared down at Alec, and Alec stared back up, giving an almost imperceptible nod. Moving slowly, trying to show Alec that he could behave, despite his dramatics in the hall yesterday, Jace pressed his lips to Alec's. He tasted like toothpaste, despite the fact that it had been at least nine hours since the boy brushed his teeth.

The kiss went a little deeper than it had last night. Jace's hands continued to pin Alec's over his head, neither of them really realizing it. Alec squirmed underneath Jace a bit, and Jace smirked, running his tongue over Alec's bottom lip. Shuddering, Alec began to open his mouth a bit wider…

"Hey, Lightwood, have you… HOLY SHIT."

Jace and Alec snapped up, immediately moving away from each other. They glanced up to see Matt, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Dude, Craig totally has to polish my weapons for a month because of this. Thank the Angel! I was right!"

Alec was bright red, but Jace merely laughed. "Nice, man. Anyway… why are you here?"

Matt's face brightened in remembrance. "Oh, right! I was going to ask Alec if he got the invitation for the Defense Against Magic class."

Alec nodded, still a bit red. The envelope had shown up on his and Jace's beds. Apparently, the seminar was only for the most skilled hunters. Alec was surprised, but definitely felt flattered. "Uh, yeah. Jace and I both got it yesterday."

Matt smiled. "Good. You guys might want to get ready. The seminar is in half an hour." He left, with one last smirk at the two.

Jace sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Well. I guess we should. Get ready, I mean."

"Yeah. I guess." Alec paused for a moment, before glancing at Jace. "… But we have been known to be able to get ready in five minutes, haven't we?"

Jace grinned at him, pushing the brunette back onto the bed. "I like the way you think, Lightwood."

"Ugh, fuck this guy. I know he has a reputation for being fashionably late, but forty five minutes is just insane," Justin complained, sitting back in his seat with an annoyed expression.

Jace, however, could not care less about the guest speaker. He sat between Justin, Craig on his friend's other side, and Alec. His hand currently rested on Alec's knee, who was blushing all the way to his ears. Jace loved it when Alec blushed, and he was doing everything he could to make it happen, much to his friends' distaste.

"You know, this seminar isn't mandatory," Justin reminded them, making a face. "You could always… Oh, I don't know…"

"GET A ROOM!" Matt yelled from across the mini-auditorium. All the boys turned to look at the direction he was yelling, and Alec sunk low in his chair while Jace smirked.

"I would, but I spent all my money on getting one with your sister!"

Matt rolled his eyes, but grinned before glancing at Alec and turning in his seat. Jace suddenly realized who was sitting next to him, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Uh… Just kidding," he muttered, looking down at Alec briefly.

Alec blinked, looking a bit confused as to why Jace was sharing this with him. "Um, I know."

Jace was about to respond when Ben seemed to materialize next to Alec.

"Alec," Ben murmured softly. "A quick word?"

Jace's expression darkened slightly, but Alec frowned, giving Jace a comforting glance before standing.

"Sure."

Jace watched them walk away, glowering. Justin let out a low whistle. "The expression 'If looks could kill' comes to mind…"

Jace didn't say anything, continuing to watch the two talk. It looked entirely civil, with Alec standing a good five feet away from Ben, but Jace still didn't like it. Ben, like all of the rest of the Doyle boys, could be extremely sly and manipulative when they wanted to.

After around five minutes, Alec walked back and sat down next to Jace, his face expressionless.

"What did Galloway have to say to you?" Jace asked, frowning deeply. Alec looked slightly taken off guard by his hostility.

"Um, he just wanted to know what was going on with us. You and I, I mean."

Jace raised his eyebrows. "So? What did you say?"

Alec's expression was puzzled. "I told him the truth. That I didn't know."

Frowning, Jace began to reply, when the Headmaster Lore began to speak. Alec turned his head to listen, and Jace grit his teeth but did the same. He could talk to Alec later.

Headmaster Lore was a thin, tall man, with absolutely white hair and cloudy blue eyes. There had been an ever constant rumor that he'd lost both of his eyes to a Greater Demon, and the eyes he had now had been made by a warlock in Japan called Genichi. Regardless if the rumor was true or not, the Headmaster's eyes never failed to unnerve the students. "Thank you for joining us, boys. Now, you all are our best and brightest here at Raziel, and we've decided to give you a special treat."

"A lesson," Justin muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Some treat."

"So, we have brought in the top professional to teach you how to properly defend yourself. He has requested that he introduce himself, so I will allow him to take the floor and do just that."

Everyone clapped politely as the Headmaster moved aside, and they watched curiously, their eyes widening, as the "expert" walked onto the stage.

He was an extremely handsome man, that was for certain. His eyes looked catlike, a perfect combination of gold and green. It looked like he'd rolled around in glitter before he arrived; his face, body, and clothes were all caked with the stuff.

Jace glanced over and saw Alec's eyes widen slightly. Looking back, Jace saw the man's own eyes sweep over the room before landing on Alec, his lips quirking up into a secretive smile.

"Hello," the man said, as if he were speaking directly to Alec. "I'm Magnus Bane."