Long time no see? I feel really bad... it's been months and I'm getting really inconsistent. BUT, I promise I'm not abandoning this. I'm going to see this through to the end. So this chapter comes, slowly and terribly cheesy, but it's here. Let me know what you thought and hopefully - god - the next chapter will be out in the next week or so.


"Jace, we have to go!"

"I'm coming!"

"What are you doing? Giving birth? You've been up there for ages!" Alec shouted from the bottom of the stairs, snorting as there was another groan and a thud that was undoubtably Jace hitting a wall.

Magnus grinned, looking over to Isabelle who was rolling her eyes and leaning against the wall. "That boy takes so long to get ready." She said with a sigh.

Alec gave her an incredulous look. "You're one to talk!" He snorted. "You took almost two hours to get ready-"

"-And I made sure to start early enough to be on time."

"-And you look exactly the same." Alec sighed. "I don't see the point."

"Of course you don't!" Isabelle shouted, waving her arms around and gesturing to her brother. "You look like you just walked out of bed and it doesn't seem to bother you at all."

"I think it's hot." Magnus smirked, letting his eyes skirt over Alec's rumpled ensemble. His boyfriend flushed and his sister let out another long sigh.

"Well that was obvious."

"God," Jace said dramatically, floating down the stairs, "now is not the time for bickering. We're going to be late."

"And whose fault is that?!" Isabelle cried, dropping her purse on the ground with an alarmingly loud thump.

Jace raised his eyebrows, what Alec liked to call the 'shithead smirk' slowly growing on his face. "Isabelle relax, no one blames you. But what the hell do you have in that thing?" He pointed at her purse. "Because it's either a brick, a human child or a copy of the bible. I'm not sure which worries me more." He added to Alec, who shook his head and looked skyward.

Letting out an animalistic growl, Isabelle picked the bag up in one hand - with surprising ease judging by the obvious weight of it - and slammed it into Jace's stomach. Alec's hand flew to his mouth, clenched into a fist and doing nothing to hide his unadulterated glee. Magnus laughed and dragged Alec to the car, trailing behind Isabelle who'd made her leave just after the hit.

"Definitely bricks." Jace wheezed, stumbling after them.

"You shouldn't have pushed her." Alec said with a chuckle, his shoelaces untied and dragging along the floor. "She can be very violent."

"I can hear you, assholes!"

Both brothers froze and Max sniggered from his spot at the kitchen bar.

"Why are you sitting there?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother, who did nothing but raise an eyebrow back and sigh.

"I figured this way we could all get in trouble together and Mum wouldn't use any of us as the example."

Magnus noted the looks of surprise on his older siblings faces, but Max - who'd been fiddling with an iPad the entire time he'd been sitting down - didn't see it. Isabelle wandered over to him, looking over his shoulder and turning the iPad off.

"Then let's go get yelled at together." She said with a smile, pressing a kiss into her little brother's hair.

"Okay." He shrugged, jumping off the barstool and wandering ahead of all of them.

"Does my hair look okay?" Isabelle asked suddenly, trying to catch a glimpse of it in the reflection of one of the framed photos on the wall. Alec gave her a funny look and sighed.

"I literally just said it looked-"

"I wasn't talking to you." His sister huffed. "I was asking your boyfriend, because clearly out of all the people here he's the only one who's opinion I can trust."

"Excuse you-" Jace said and it was unclear whether or not he was kidding or if the offence on his face was real. He glanced down at his clothes quickly, then looking at Alec's and letting the offended expression slip away in favour of a horrified one. "Am I being lumped in the same category as Alec!?"

Magnus snorted, flattening a bump in Isabelle's hair gently. She sent him a graceful look and waved a hand at Jace. "Does it really matter? I think the two of you look equally as helpless."

"I'm not helpless."

"And you're also not in the car." Maryse said, sending them a look from where she leaned on the door out to the garage. "What gives?"

"Isabelle thinks I have no style."

"And Jace thinks I'm actually goin' to let him touch my hair."

"And Magnus thinks Alec is hot." Max piped up, sending them all a mischievous smile.

Magnus opened his mouth to defend himself, but found himself floundering and left flushing. Alec looked much the same, his mouth gaping at his little brother, who slipped out the door behind their mother and was heard dashing to the car.

"That-"

"Save it." Maryse said, silencing Alec's stammers, and Isabelle and Jace's laughter with one look. "Get in the car. Otherwise we're going to be embarrassingly late and I'm going to have to explain to Elaine that we're late because of hair and people's hotness."

Without another word, she walked out to the car, hardly making a sound.

"Am I the only one tempted to be late just to see if she'll actually tell them that?" Jace asked, getting nothing by silence and a dramatic sigh from Isabelle who sashayed out the door, only stopping at one more picture frame to try and catch a glimpse of her hair.


Magnus was startled to see that the Lewis' house was almost the same size and of the same grandeur as the Lightwoods', but there was also something distinctly different about it. The Lightwoods' house looked like sunshine, bright and brilliant with white paint that gleamed in the sunlight. But the Lewis' house was more shaded, the driveway lined with apple trees and large blooming flowers.

When they got out of the car Rebecca was there, hands on her hips and smile on her face. "I thought y'all weren't comin'!" She called, greeting Maryse with a hug.

"I wasn't sure we were ever going to make it out the door." Maryse admitted, giving Rebecca a beaming smile. "But we finally did."

"It was Jace's hair." Isabelle sighed. "That was what made us late."

"There were a few other things," Maryse said slowly, "but let's stick with Jace's hair."

Rebecca laughed and beckoned for them to follow her into the house. They walked through an open hallway, that was lined with more flowers, artwork, and framed pictures of Rebecca and Simon.

"Wow," Maryse said, stopping to look at one of the paintings, "your work gets more and more impressive by the day Rebecca."

Gaping, Magnus stopped next to her and looked from the painting to Rebecca. "This is yours? Oh my god. It's f- amazing." Magnus stuttered. He caught Jace laughing in his peripheral vision, but ignored it in favour of Rebecca thanking him and Maryse, protesting the complements with a faint blush.

The Lewis' kitchen was big and open, but more modern than the Lightwoods'. The Lightwood family kitchen was a true family kitchen. There were tacky fridge magnets, mismatched cups and a sunflower on the windowsill. The Lewis family kitchen was more professional, with large ovens and granite counter tops.

Magnus breathed in deeply, practically groaning. "Whatever apple pie is in the oven smells amazing."

"I like him already." Came a voice and Magnus looked up - really down - to see the woman who could only be Elaine, Simon and Rebecca's mother. She had Rebecca's eyes, but Simon's nose, and there was a certain birdlike way about her. She was slight and short, looking almost like you could snap her in half without really trying. She was wearing a bright blue apron that, despite the fact she'd obviously been cooking, was spotless. Her hair was black curls that tumbled over her shoulders.

"All it takes is a comment about apple pie?" Simon asked. He was leaning on the counter, even then towering over his mother. He gave them a sideways grin that was mostly directed at Isabelle.

"Shush, you." Elaine said, smiling nonetheless. "He's givin' me grey hairs that one."

"You could use hair dye." Simon shrugged.

Elaine gasped like this was impossible and almost to the point of blasphemy. "I've earned these grey hairs young man. Years of waitin' for the moment my hair goes so grey they'll give me discounts down at the market."

"Aren't we all?" Maryse laughed and Jace groaned, though the smile on his face was telling enough.

It was cute, the way that Elaine went on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Maryse and all the kids brought her in for hugs, kissing her on the cheek like she was a favourite aunt. She beamed at them all and even dragged Magnus in for a hug. Simon's mom smelled like chocolate chip cookies and roses. Magnus had to bend down to hug her, but found himself smiling as she pulled away.

"He's a cute one, isn't he?" She said, pulling gently on one of his hairs. "Rather bright though, nothing like our boys here. Goodness, you all look like mountain men next to him! You'd think he was homosexual this one."

Magnus' whole body froze, though Elaine had turned around to pour Maryse 'a well deserved tea' and didn't see. Simon and Rebecca winced, and cast Magnus a look of apology, before fixing on their smiles as their mother turned around. Magnus gave Elaine a smile he hoped didn't look too much like a grimace. He opened his mouth, wondering if the words that were going to come out would be about apple pie or the impending topic of his sexuality. But then his eyes fell on Alec, who was biting his lip, with his dark hair falling into his eyes despite the fact they just got it cut. And the words dried up on Magnus' tongue.

"Why don't we send the kids downstairs?" Robert suggested, giving Magnus a look that was almost pitying. Magnus didn't totally love Robert, mostly because he was never around and also because he didn't make food like Maryse did - he was a teenage boy, c'mon. But in that moment, he had never been more grateful.

"Whatever you say," Elaine shook her head, "you're probably right though. These kids don't want to listen to us babble. My deal is this, y'all go downstairs now, but you're up for dinner."

"Down for dessert?" Simon bargained, looking thoughtful.

"Sure." She shrugged. "Now go! There are drinks downstairs, but come up if you need anything at all."

They all trooped downstairs, Isabelle mentioning something about Clary's hair and trying to get the other girl to take her advice. Jace and Alec followed them more quietly, though Jace leaned over to whisper something in Alec's ear. Max didn't follow at first, but Alec stuck out his hand and guided the younger boy down the stairs. And so, Magnus followed them, walking next to Simon and trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry." Simon mumbled, when the others were out of earshot.

"For what?" Magnus asked, surprised how level his voice was. He had a feeling he knew what Simon was talking about, but he didn't want to assume and make things even more awkward.

"For my mom." He shrugged. "She means well, I guess. She just misses the point every time. For a devout Christian, she's not very good at the whole 'love thy neighbour' part."

"I think she is." Magnus said softly, thinking of the pies and the hugs. He thought of the way that she greeted the Lightwoods and the feeling of motherly warmth she radiated like a sun. "She's traditional, I guess, but she's nice. More than nice, she's wonderful."

"She's painfully homophobic." Simon sighed. "Well painfully everything. She always gossips, this girl got pregnant last year and my mom practically said she was Satan-"

"She's not a bad person Simon."

"I can't tell you with confidence that she's the best person."

"No one's the best person. Though, I'm quite partial to Alec."

"I've noticed." Simon said sarcastically, though the frown was melting into his usual half smile and the tension was seeping out of his forehead. It made him look younger than he was, untouched by the word and carrying boyish charm. "I'm still sorry though. You could have told her off."

"If I had, would it have made things better?" Magnus asked. "Would it have made her like me? The first step is acceptance. I'm not going to hate everyone who hates me, but rather extend my hand in friendship."

"Why?"

"Because one day, I hope they'll do the same."

Simon fell quiet, before suddenly surging forward and hugging Magnus. Magnus wasn't sure what to do, so he hugged Simon back. It was a rare moment of friendship, a moment where Magnus realized that he barely knew Simon, but he was going to miss him. Then Simon pulled back and there was a little bit of blush colouring his cheeks. "I can see why Alec likes you." He said, grinning. "You're a little bit amazing."

"Oh," Magnus laughed, winking, "flattery will get you everywhere. And Simon?"

Simon, who'd stepped down a few stairs in the heartbeats of pause, turned around. "Yeah?"

"I can see why Isabelle likes you."

Floundering for a moment, Simon froze on the stairs. Magnus laughed and rushed past him. When Simon's laugh echoed after his, and they raced down the rest of the stairs, Magnus wondered what it would really be like if he stayed. Stayed forever in this tiny town with Alec to love, Simon to laugh with, Jace to tease, Clary to draw with, Rebecca to consult, and Isabelle to gossip with. But there was that nagging feeling, that he was the odd one out and that the people here were lightyears better than he could ever hope to be. That feeling that home was Camille's bedroom on a hungover Sunday morning. The look on Will's face when Magnus said something stupid. He couldn't leave anything at home behind, but part of him wanted to put Texas in a jar, so he could look at it whenever he wanted and be reminded of sunshine and small town gossip.


The downstairs of the Lewis' house was the almost as relaxing as the media room in the Lightwoods'. There was a huge TV, a bookcase that was filled with DVDs, the cases spilling out from the shelves and onto the floor where they puddled on the carpet. The coffee table that was almost in the middle of the room was littered with more games, empty bottles of soda and random junk. The rest of the gang - Magnus had decided that they were a gang now - with the exception of Rebecca, were sprawled out on the two plush couches. Max was collapsed on the beanbag chair in the middle of the room and Magnus thought he was sleeping until he whispered for Simon to pass him a Coke.

"So, why were you guys actually so late?" Simon asked, holding out a soda to Max, who grinned at him.

"Don't ask." Jace sighed, sliding down on the couch. Clary looked at him, but he shook his head. There was a smile creeping onto his face, so Magnus knew that he wasn't as annoyed as he acted.

"Magnus thinks Alec is hot." Max said, equally as enthusiastic as when he was telling their mother. He clearly thought that this was the prime moment to say something.

"And Isabelle thinks I have no fashion sense - she thinks I'm Alec!" Jace said, setting everyone off. Because at that moment, all at once, the four Lightwoods and Magnus all started to talk - and yell - at once.

"Don't you talk about my boyfriend like that!"

"But he has no style!"

"His style is just fine thank you very much!"

"Magnus thinks Alec is hot!"

"Max!"

"Alec, the boy speaks the truth!"

"What do you know about Magnus thinking I'm hot!?"

"Nothing!"

"The same amount you know about how to style your hair!"

"Magnus thinks Alec is hot!"

"Thanks Max. Thanks."

"My hair looks awesome."

"It looks rather atrocious."

"You're not even my sibling! You can't say that! Besides, look at your hair, it's so weird!"

"What is this blasphemy?!"

"Your hair is weird!"

"I like his hair."

"I think we all figured that out."

"Shut up."

"But Magnus is right, your hair is terrible! God knows what you would have done to mine!"

"I would have perfected it!"

"Magnus thinks Alec is-"

"WE KNOW!" They all yelled in unison. Rebecca was coming down the stairs and she laughed.

"Magnus thinks Alec is what now?" She swept some junk off the table, setting the plate of fruit she was carrying in one hand down and raising an eyebrow at them. Alec flushed and rubbed a hand over his face groaning.

"Don't even ask." He said. "Just don't."

"My hair is wonderful though, right?" Magnus asked Isabelle, who looked over his hair quickly before nodding. "It's better than Jace's?"

"Everyone's is better than Jace's." Isabelle said, barely getting the words out before Jace lost his mind and made to start yelling again. Then, glancing at Clary out of the corner of his eye, he fell silent and flattened his hair, looking to Alec for approval. Alec took one look at his hair, shrugged and was then promptly smacked on the arm.

"Hey!" Alec cried, clutching his arm. "What was that for?"

Jace sighed, running his fingers through his bangs. "For being useless? I thought gay guys were supposed to be good at this kind of thing."

"That's just a generalization." Magnus shrugged. "We're pretty good at sucking-"

"Max is right there and my parents are upstairs." Alec said, slapping a hand over Magnus' mouth. "And as long as they're on the same planet, I never want you to finish that sentence." But there was a sparkle in Alec's eyes and a confusion in Clary's that made Magnus want to die laughing. Clary looked at Jace curiously, but Jace had slapped a hand over his forehead and just shook his head again, begging her not to ask.

"Noted." Magnus said as Alec pulled his hand away. He sighed, leaning on Alec's shoulder, but keeping a wary eye on the staircase. Clary followed his eyes, raising a brow at him. "Just in case someone comes down." Magnus mumbled.

Clary frowned, tucking a loose strand of hair back into her bun. Her red hair was just starting to spill out of her bun, curling over her ears. "Sorry guys, that really sucks. I can't believe you can't tell people you're dating. That's so weird."

Alec shrugged. "It doesn't totally matter I guess, because we know that we're dating. That's enough for now." Magnus didn't quite agree, but he nodded for Alec's sake. He would do anything to make Alec happy and even when it was hardest for Magnus to play along and pretend like nothing was happening, he tried. Someday maybe they could be together without having to worry about things like that, but for the time being it was almost too much to believe that they were sitting in a room with a bunch of other people and Alec's hand was inching towards Magnus'. Magnus didn't want to push Alec, but he couldn't force himself to be a secret forever. Someday.


They got partway through Thor, the only movies they ever seemed to watch being Marvel movies - the best movies, according to Alec and Max - not that anyone was complaining. Then, just as Odin fell into the Odinsleep, they were all called upstairs for dinner.

Elaine was laughing at something Maryse was telling her, the two of them beaming so wide their faces were almost split in half. Maryse shook her head and took another sip from her tea, her hands cupping the mug for warmth despite the clammy Texas weather. She turned around slightly and smiled even wider when she saw them.

"There they are!" She called and Elaine looked over from where she was putting on her mittens to sigh.

"Our babies!"

"This is them sober." Robert whispered, making all the kids laugh and Maryse roll her eyes at her husband. Elaine snickered and Robert shrugged. "You two are fine on normal terms, but put the two of you together and it's the equivalent of most people with two bottles of alcohol in their system."

"He's just jealous because we're gossiping about things he doesn't understand." Elaine stage whispered. Louder she started to give them jobs. "Alec, hon, show Magnus were the cutlery and things are and start on the table. Max, you're goin' to pour the drinks, alright? Water for everyone and then whatever they feel like. Isabelle, you and Rebecca are on plating with me. Simon you need to sort out the-"

Elaine's voice because background noise as they launched into action, Magnus following Alec further into the kitchen. Alec pulled open a long drawer that was filled with ever size and kind of cutlery Magnus had ever seen and many that he hadn't. His eyes popped open and Alec raised an eyebrow at him.

"You've never seen forks before?"

"Not this many." Magnus snorted. "I thought city-folk were supposed to be the overly civilized ones, but here you all are, with the world's classiest set of forks."

"You are all packed away in the city like sardines." Alec shook his head, plucking out one fork, looking at it carefully and nodding. He handed Magnus a handful of forks and nodded. "That'll do for salad. And anyways," he continued, "you guys don't have any room for this kind of thing. You're all living in tiny little rooms and things."

"Apartments."

Alec grinned. "Yeah, those. I can't imagine not having my own house."

They wandered over to the table, Magnus holding the salad forks and a selection of tiny spoons that Alec had insisted they'd need. Alec was carrying knives and more forks and spoons. They were laying them out on the table when Magnus looked up at Alec and muttered softly.

"If you ever came to live with me in the city you'd have to live in an apartment."

Alec nearly dropped all the cutlery he was carrying, fumbling them - and giving Magnus a heart attack, he was carrying knives for god's sake - and gaping at Magnus. Magnus tried to ignore the flush that was creeping along his cheeks and he shakily put the forks on the table.

"Come live with you?"

"Pretend I didn't say anything."

"I don't think I can."

Magnus fell silent and Alec just sighed. They finished laying the cutlery on the table just as Isabelle came sliding out of the kitchen with four plates, one in each hand and two laying on her forearms.

"I'm going to become a waitress." She cried, beaming at them. "Look at this skill." Isabelle spun and Alec on reflex caught the plate that nearly spilled to the floor.

"That's some real talent." Jace snorted, raising an eyebrow. "People can make bets on how much food you're going to drop by the end of the meal. It'll be a riot. Maybe they'll even pay you to show off some good old fashioned cleaning skills-"

Clary elbowed Jace in the ribs, sending him a look. "Play nice."

"Jace doesn't do nice." Alec said matter-of-factly, putting the plate on the table. "He only does really annoying and sort of annoying. But the switch is broken so he's been caught on really annoying for some time now."

"How long is some time?" Magnus asked.

"His entire life."

"Shut up." Jace hissed, rubbing his ribs and shoving Alec. But the smile bled through his scowl a little and Isabelle giggled, dishing the other plates out onto the table with just enough flourish to be ridiculous.

"Let's eat!" Elaine yelled, smiling at them all and gently untying the apron from around her waist. They all gathered around the table and sat down, Magnus sitting between Alec and Max, ending up across from Clary. Magnus was ready to start eating, because there was the most gorgeous salad in front of him that not only had a crazy blue sauce, but perfectly shaved almonds. But the people around the table all held hands, and Magnus looked up confused. Alec shot him a smile and mouthed 'grace'.

Magnus took their hands slowly, having never said grace before in his life. He wasn't sure exactly what to do, but it didn't seem to faze anyone at the table. Elaine took the lead and she asked them all to think of all that they had to be thankful for. By the time they were done and digging in to eat the salad, Magnus was stunned. Because looking around the table, thinking of his friends at home and those he'd found here, he couldn't believe all that he had to be thankful for.


They finished Thor during dessert, Magnus never willing to admit that he got teary eyed when Jane and Thor were separated. And goodness knows he wasn't going to talk about how he felt about Loki.

Simon sighed, "I guess we should take the dishes up. Mum will have a cow otherwise."

"We don't have any cows." Rebecca said, grabbing two of the plates and shooting him a smirk. "It might be nice to have one around. Fresh milk and all."

"Go away." Simon sighed, stacking the cups and picking them up, tilting the stack so that they didn't tumble to the floor. His sister just giggled and started up the stairs.

Isabelle picked up some of the plates and told Max to grab the napkins, sending Magnus a grin and sashaying up the stairs, starting into the story of how she was going to be the greatest waitress to ever walk the Earth. Max nodded, and Magnus couldn't tell if he was actually listening or if he was just pretending for Isabelle's sake.

Clary reached for the rest of the plates, but Jace waved her off.

"I can carry the rest of the plates up." Jace shrugged, stacking them all quickly. Clary winced at the noise, but shot him a thankful look. "You just hang here with Magnus and Alec and make sure they don't try to-"

"Don't finish that sentence if you want to live." Alec said in a monotone voice.

Jace's mouth closed with an audible click and he picked the plates up. "Just stay here." He sighed, trudging up the stairs after Isabelle, Max, Simon and Rebecca.

As soon as they were gone, Magnus fell over into Alec's lap. "I've eaten too much food." He whined. "I'll never be able to get up. Ever again."

"The Elaine Curse." Clary beamed. "I'm honestly surprised Simon isn't obese."

"That's a mystery." Alec agreed, reaching forward to have another sip of his coke and trying not to dislodge Magnus' head at the same time. "Although the fact Elaine can't make pancakes might be the deal breaker."

"You Lightwoods." Clary shook her head, laughing. "Y'all take your pancakes so seriously."

"As everyone should." Magnus mumbled into Alec's thigh. Alec snorted but nodded and Clary rolled her eyes.

"The two of you are going to be so happy together."

"Indeed we are." Magnus said softly, sitting up to instead rest his head on Alec's shoulder. "Indeed we are."

Alec grinned, glanced at the staircase quickly before leaning down and pecking Magnus on the lips. Magnus, never one to give in too easily, grabbed Alec by the shirtfront and kept him there a while longer, savouring the tang of apple pie on his lips.

And then they broke apart to Clary sighing.

"Sometimes I hate the two of you, you know."

"Why?" Magnus hummed, running his fingers through Alec's hair.

"Because you make it seem so easy."

"It's really not." Alec frowned, knowing that was mostly his part. "But if you really care, you can make it work."

"Speaking of making things work." Magnus trailed off, giving Clary and expectant look and waiting for her to spill everything she really needed to say. She sighed and looked down at her drink. She was wearing green nail polish that almost matched her eyes, but despite her artistic side it was chipped and messy.

"It's not going to work, I don't think."

'Think what?" Alec asked, looking between the two of them. Magnus realized that he didn't know, that no one else knew that Clary and Jace were more than just watching each other from a distance.

Magnus didn't say anything for a moment, but then just sighed. "Nothing." His voice was soft and though Alec was scowling, he figured it was Jace's place to tell his best friend what was going on.

"Okay." Alec trailed off, but made an effort to bounce back, smiling at Clary and sighing nonetheless. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Magnus and Clary never found out what it was, because of the yell that sounded from above their heads.

"Alec!"

"What!?" In classic sibling fashion, instead of going upstairs to talk to Jace, Alec chose to not move a muscle and shout back.

"Come see this!"

"What?!"

"Just come see!"

Alec let out a sigh of magnificent proportions, but dragged himself off the couch. Placing a kiss to Magnus' cheek and shuffling up the stairs, he left Clary and Magnus alone in room, silence settling between them.

"And then there were two." Clary said, her smile tense.

"Cut the crap." Magnus said and Clary almost recoiled. "Sweetie, we're basically friends now, so I'm not going to treat you with my sweet smile acquaintance gloves anymore. So here's what I want to know, what's the deal with you and Jace?"

"We're going on a real date." Clary was avoiding his gaze, her wide green eyes firmly planted on the carpet in front of her.

Magnus gaped at her, before clapping his hands like a child on Christmas. "This is good! He finally asked you on a date that wasn't lurking in the dark corners of his bedroom."

"You say that I'm like his mistress." Clary muttered, trying to fight her smile.

Huffing, Magnus leaned back and let his arm fall over the back of the couch. "Mistress. Weird make-out-in-the-hallway, not tell anyone, dark corners lover." He shrugged, pulling his fake thoughtful face - the one that made Will want to punch him - and then sending Clary a devilish grin. "Sounds like the same thing to me."

She gasped, laughing and throwing a pillow at him. "You're despicable."

"And you're finally becoming a real couple. Honestly biscuit, I'm happy for you. If he ever breaks your heart, you just say the word and I'll send my thug after him."

"By thug do you mean Alec?"

"Maybe."

Clary laughed into her drink and Magnus smiled, taking a tentative sip from his. Then, there was noise on the stairs and Alec came into view. Magnus wondered for a brief moment how someone who didn't really care what he looked like could ever be so effortless beautiful. It wasn't fair, but damn it if he wasn't the luckiest bastard alive.

"And here comes the thug." Clary whispered causing Magnus to snort and slap a hand over his mouth. Alec cast a look between them, raising an eyebrow.

"What now?"

"Never mind that, what did he want you to see?" Magnus asked, winking at Clary and then angling his head up to look at Alec who was now perched on the edge of the couch.

"His angry birds high score." Alec huffed, causing Magnus to laugh again. Magnus cast Clary a look of disbelief, a look of 'that's your boyfriend?'

And Clary just shrugged, looked down at her lap and with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, smiled. It was the smile that was sweeter than candy, the one that made your face hurt and yet you couldn't stop, it was the kind of smile that made someone beautiful. The kind of smile that made you stop and stare, the smile of someone who was part of something more. And Clary and Jace were something, and Magnus hoped, for both of their sakes, that it was more.

Just then, the rest of them came trooping down the stairs. They piled onto the couches and the floor, readying themselves for the start of Thor 2 - a must-see according to Max. Only Isabelle and Simon stayed standing. Isabelle was looking surprisingly pale, Simon following just behind her looking nervous but excited.

"We have an announcement." Isabelle said suddenly, standing in front of the TV. Jace lowered the remote, almost in slow motion and Alec groaned.

"Please for the love of god tell me you're not pregnant. We're not a made for TV drama."

"It's not a baby." She hissed. "But it is a secret, so you're all sworn to secrecy. Forever." Isabelle bit her lip as they all nodded and Jace put a hand over his heart in mock oath, opening one eye slightly to look at them all. There was a flicker of a smile, starting in her cheeks and tugging at the edges of her lips. "Simon and I are dating."


Hey! So, I was a little worried about this one because it introduces Elaine. Elaine is Simon and Rebecca's mum (for those who don't know - I couldn't quite remember her name for a while), who those of you in my secret club have already met, but she came out a little differently than I was intending. Because I sort of had to take the prejudice she had for Simon being a vampire and transfer it over to modern day. So... she's Christian instead of Jewish because I know that there are branches of Christianity that harbour less than pleasant feelings towards gay people and I can't say the same for Jewish people. So, that's why they say grace and all that - though I'm not sure if Jewish people do something similar? I'm clueless.

So here we are. I tried to show that Elaine isn't a bad mum, because she never comes off that way in the books, but more that she doesn't quite understand? A little bit like Robert but she hasn't even made the connection that Magnus is gay yet, she just thinks he's gloriously sparkly.

Also, part of the reason why I'm being so slow with chapters is I have a job! At a book store, which for those of you that live in Canada it's name is also a colour ;). Just a hint, don't stalk me. And I'm also working on a couple of oneshots that I'm hoping will come up around Christmas time - at least one of them - they're called Angel and Sunshine.

xx

Ps: The Bane Chronicles murdered me. That is all.

PPs: I tried to write Sizzy. I did. Jace and Clary are a struggle too.