Alec and Jace were sitting at a long table in the weapons room, finishing off some Seraph blades that had yet to be named.

"I wonder what Hodge and Clary are talking about," said a frowning Jace, not looking up from the blade in his hands.

"Hm. I'm sure you do. It wouldn't be the first time -what is it now, this half-hour?- that you've wondered much the exact same thing." Spat Alec, more annoyed than really necessary.

Jace made an odd noise, and continued playing with his blade.

Alec started again.
"Honestly, I don't see what you see in her. She's a mundie, Jace- even if she does happen to have Shadowhunter blood. You can't just put a blade in somebody's hand and expect them to be a warrior. She's still mundane in all the ways that count."

Jace bridled. "Of course she isn't! All the ways that count, my ass, Alec. She's a Shadowhunter too." He shot Alec a distasteful look. "At least she's killed one demon. That's more than you can say."

Alec started. Jace had never been openly mean to him, despite his many weaknesses, and he could feel the hurt biting his insides as he swallowed noisily and looked away, his tell-tale blush flooding his face with unwelcome warmth.

"Fuck off, Jace. You're such a dick; and you don't know when to shut the hell up. God damnit! You and your stupid hormones- this is all for some dumb girl! She isn't even pretty!"

For a second Alec thought that Jace had somehow not heard him, but then he felt the force of a fist connect with his jaw. He gasped in shock as his head rolled back, and he fell out of his chair. His skull hit the linoleum with a sickening thud. Alec blinked a few times in confusion and sheer surprise as he lay sprawled on the cold, hard floor of the weapons room.

Jace swore and got out of his chair, which pulled Alec out of his state of shock. He jumped up and rubbed his jaw subconsciously.

"Oh, shit, Alec... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I... that was mean of me, to say that about you before. But Clary- she's not dumb, or stupid. She's clever, and smart, and.. you're right. She isn't pretty." Alec looked at him in surprise, eyebrows shooting up into his unkempt hair, hope rising in his chest- "She's beautiful. And I think I'm falling for her, hard Alec."

Alec shrank back in disappointment, blushing a deep scarlet.

I'm so stupid. He thought to himself.

"Not that you'd understand." Jace sat back down at the table and resumed his business with his blade. Alec merely stood there in terror.

She wouldn't have told him?

Panic flooded his head, and he felt himself drain of colour and warmth, being replaced with the sudden urge to be violently sick.

Jace could never know about his feelings for him. It would ultimately ruin their friendship, Alec just knew it. Jace took Alec's silence to be anger, and he sighed before setting the blade down once again.

Meeting his eyes, he spoke again.

"Really, Alec, I'm sorry for being a dick." He paused, but Alec didn't respond. "Huh. Fine, I'm sorry for punching you too. Though you should be able to handle a hit." He snickered. Alec narrowed his eyes.

Alec spoke suddenly. "What?"

Jace looked surprised. "What, what?"

Alec frowned. "What!"

"Wait- what are you talking about?" Jace raised one eyebrow.

"Me- not understanding? Clary? What?" Understanding lit up Jace's beautiful face.

"Oh, that. Well, uh, Alec, you know..." he laughed nervously.

Alec was frozen.

"WHAT, JACE?" His words came out harsher than intended, and he sat back down to alleviate the tension a bit.

"Er..." But Jace was saved, because right then the red-headed mundie came bursting into the room, following a tired-looking Church.

Jace looked up as the door shut behind Clary. "Where's Hodge?" he said.

"Writing to the Silent Brothers."

Alec repressed a shudder. "Ugh."

She approached the table slowly, conscious of Alec's harsh gaze. "What are you doing?"

"Putting the last touches on these." Jace gestured towards the seraph blades. "Sanvi, Sansanvi, and Semangelaf. They're seraph blades."

"Those don't look like knives. How did you make them? Magic?"

Alec was horrified, as if she'd asked him to put on a tutu and execute a perfect pirouette. As if a Shadowhunter would use magic.

"The funny thing about mundies," Jace said, to nobody in particular, "is how obsessed with magic they are for a bunch of people who don't even know what the word means."

"I know what it means," Clary snapped.

"No, you don't, you just think you do. Magic is a dark and elemental force, not just a lot of sparkly wands and crystal balls and talking goldfish."

"I never said it was a lot of talking goldfish, you-"

Jace waved a hand, cutting her off. "Just because you call an electric eel a rubber duck doesn't make it a rubber duck, does it? And God help the poor bastard who decides they want to take a bath with the duckie."

"You're drivelling," Clary observed.

"I'm not," said Jace, with great dignity.

Alec was getting tired of their bickering, so interrupted them. "Yes, you are. Look, we don't do magic, okay?" he added, not looking at Clary. "That's all you need to know about it."

Ignoring Alec, she turned to Jace. "Hodge said I can go home."

Jace nearly dropped the seraph blade he was holding. "He said what?"

"To look through my mother's things," she amended. "If you go with me."

"Jace," Alec exhaled, but Jace ignored him.

"If you really want to prove that my mom or dad was a Shadowhunter, we should look through my mom's things. What's left of them."

"Down the rabbit hole." Jace grinned crookedly. "Good idea. If we go right now, we should have another three, four hours of daylight."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Alec asked, as Clary and Jace moved toward the door. Clary glanced back at him. He was half-out of the chair, expectant. Of course Jace would want him to come along, to help him-

"No." Jace didn't turn around. "That's all right. Clary and I can handle this on our own."

Alec glared at Clary in disbelief. That devil! who does she think she is, taking Jace away from me? She shut the door behind her on their way out.

Alec groaned and buried his face in his hands. Thing were definitely not going his way laetly- even more so than usual.

In a desperate attempt to calm down a little- maybe even relax, Alec took a long, hot shower and then climbed into bed early for a change.

One thing was for sure, though.

Alec Lightwood was not going to be talking to anybody when he woke up. Inevitably, his dreams all included Jace, and Clary for a surprise, though they were both present for extremely different reasons.