4. Something a little complicated

Sorry it's been a while since I uploaded. I've had assignments and school and annoying friends who bug me to write another story. But thank you to those of you have reviewed, you've made my day with every key stroke.

So, without further ado, here is chapter four.

Magnus hung up the phone violently, channelling all his anger into jamming it into the receiver. It was a tad unnecessary, true, but it helped. He walked away from the kitchen, from where he had been talking to Alec, muttering to himself all the way. It had been Alexander's and his friends doing, but, after all, did he really expect anything different? Especially with Jace and Isabelle involved. Although, it must be said, he didn't think time travel would occur. And what does Jace plus time travel equal?

Trouble. And Magnus was not looking forward to it.

He walked into his living room with venom, his socked feet making small thumps in his carpet. His couch was filled with people who did not belong there, which only served to make him angrier. His stomach boiled and his blood seemed to speed up in his veins. With a careless glance at the occupants, Magnus threw himself onto an armchair and buried his head in his hand until all he could see was black. Black was good, black was calm, he could cope with black.

"Um, excuse me sir?"

Magnus snapped his head out of his hand. "WHO DARES TO INTERRUPT ME?" He roared in the general area of the couch.

He heard Will let out a breath as Jem raised his hand quietly. Jem was always someone who did things quietly, Magnus reflected. Even if he was destroying demons, he barely made a sound.

"Sorry, sir." Jem apologized, "I didn't mean to upset you, it's just that, well, we are rather lost and we actually do need some help."

If only looks could kill, Magnus though wistfully, then maybe I could destroy all of them with my stare.

"I do realise this."

"Oh, and, by the way," Will interrupted, "By 'rather lost' we mean rather, completely lost and by 'rather, completely lost' I mean we have no bloody idea where the bloody hell we are and we really need your bloody help."

All Jem did was mutter about his parabatai's rather lax use of the word 'bloody'.

In a way, Magnus kinda felt happy that they were here. He didn't like to think of them dead, he had grown to love all of them in a complicated way he couldn't understand. He would never admit it to their faces (especially not Will's) but he'd missed them when they'd gone. Even though Tessa was still alive in present time, she hardly wrote anymore and the only word he'd heard from her was decades ago when she told him that she was happy and well and there was no need to respond to the letter. There was something about these crazy London-ers, that made him want to pull out his hair and smile like a lunatic at the same time.

"How exactly did you get here?"

"Um, well, you see, that very…complicated." Stammered Will, in a very un-Will like way.

"Trust me," Magnus assured, thinking of all the time he'd spent with Jace and Alec, "I'm used to complicated and a little bit of senseless danger."

"Did you hear that, Will?" Tessa asked from her spot on the couch, "Senseless danger."

"Oh yes, Tess, I heard," Responded Will, "Fortunately, my type of danger is well thought through and rather clever."

Jem snorted.

As did Magnus, Tessa and Jessamine.

Will had evidently decided that he did not like being snorted at, and had to immediately remedy that by diverting the attention to somebody else. Magnus would have excepted something light hearted and petty, nothing too diminishing of character. Although, what came next out of the impossible boy's mouth shocked him.

"You," Will cried, pointing to Magnus, "I've seen you before."

On instinct, Magnus refused. "No, Mr Herondale, I believe not."

"Yes I have," Exclaimed the blue eyed boy, "You're Magnus Bane, you've done some favours for me back in London, although why you're covered in glitter is a loss to me."

oOo

The streets of Brooklyn whirled past Alec as he sat in the cab. His brain wasn't focusing on the outside world, it was too busy trying to dissect what Magnus had said on the phone.

"Oh yes, honey, I have evidence I can show you."

Evidence? What exactly did he mean by evidence? All Magnus said when Alec asked him this was to tell him to come see for his self. It wasn't a very pleasant conversation, and Alec couldn't help but feel a sinking pressure in his stomach about his boyfriend's obvious upset mood. To be more correct, Magnus was upset with him. The Shadowhunter wasn't sure why, or for what reason, but it made him want to fix it as soon as possible. It wasn't like those times when they just bickeredor fought over silly things like who should feed Chairmen Miaow, or whether or not Alec should wear glitter, it was something serious, something that didn't just scratch the surface. Magnus was an old person, no matter how he looked on the outside. You could tell by his eyes that he had seen many things, fought many battle, lost so many people…

It nearly tore Alec apart to think of Magnus heart broken. But what had the time travel rune done to hurt Magnus so badly?

Oh.

Please tell me the rune didn't work, he thought franticly to himself, oh God, no, that would be not, so not very good.

But it sure would explain a hell of a lot.

If someone from Magnus' past showed up it could open old wounds, wounds that Magnus maybe kept closed for a reason. Oh God, what have I done? By the angel, if he'd done that to Magnus…

Alec's heart sunk at the mere implication of damage to his boyfriends emotions.

Nervously, he glanced to the blonde boy beside him in the cab. Jace, as always, was the perfect image of arrogance. He had laid a slender arm on the window, so that his elbow was dangling out. The air whizzing past sent his hair flying around his face, and his gold eyes were sparkling with a hidden wickedness.

Worry, yet again, gnawed at his gut. Was it the right thing to do to bring Jace along? His parabatai never really was buddy-buddy with the Warlock, and had a knack of pushing Magnus' buttons, would Jace just make him more annoyed?

Suddenly, the Taxi braked to a stop. The cab driver, a man in his late forties, turned to look at the two teenage boys'.

"That'll be $35, thanks boys."

Jace reached into a pocket of his trousers and pulled out a forty, told the cabbie to keep the change, and jumped out of the Taxi, curiosity evident in his eyes. Alec followed suite, not as eager to see what was inside Magnus' apartment.

oOo

"Oh God," Magnus mummed to himself before addressing Will, "Yes, hello William, it's so nice to see you, after such long time."

"Long time?" Asked Will, "I saw you two weeks ago."

"Did you?" Magnus said wearily, "Oops."

This whole business was all very tiring. The Warlock was not used to having to watch what he says, and he especially not used to having his past show up on his doorstep, either. There was a reason Magnus didn't like to mention the past, and he was now faced with telling Alec who exactly these people were. Honestly, out of all the people who could have been brought back by the time travel rune, it had to be Will Herondale, Jem Castairs, Tessa Gray and Jessamine Lovelace, what are the odds?

Why did he have to fall in love with a Shadowhunter?

"Yes, Bane," Interrupted Will, jolting Magnus out of his thoughts, "So unless you have a very confused perception of time, you are implying that we have not seen each other in a while."

"It's complicated."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "If you are Magnus Bane, and I am assuming you are, you will be very aware of the fact that our lives are nothing if not complicated."

"My dear, Tessa," Magnus said with the tiredness of immortality, "This is a new type of complicated."

And just as if they had heard his words, Alec and Jace knocked on the door.