Alec could hear the sound of someone training, and soon saw Sebastian, this time practicing with daggers instead of the rapier, which sat only a short distance from him, propped up against the wall.
"Trying out long distance weaponry?" Alec asked as he walked into the room, relieved to have a break from his siblings.
He had told them both to go and spend some time with their respective partners, after they had tried to make up for their recent absences. Sebastian spun around to look at Alec, a dagger gripped in his hand, ready to be thrown. As soon as he recognized it was Alec who stood in front of him, Sebastian dropped the dagger, and took a few steps back, looking shocked at the action he had almost followed through.
"Sorry," he whispered, and he then looked up at Alec again, "I didn't mean to…I've been very…jumpy…lately."
"Well after almost being killed that's understandable," Alec said, not too put off by Sebastian's actions.
When Jace had first arrived at the Institute he had been far worse, especially when Alec decided to jump out and scare him for a laugh one time, and was almost decapitated by the kitchen knife Jace had decided to carry around on his person at all times. His parabitai had come along way from the young child that had turned up at their doorstep all those years ago.
"You're neck is healing well," Alec observed as he saw that the cut was disappearing into nothing more than a silver, slightly raised, scar.
Sebastian put his hand to the wound subconsciously, his fingertips tracing along it.
"I wish everything else could be healed with a rune," Sebastian said as he walked to the target on the far wall and started to remove the daggers.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you in such a physically weak state?"
Sebastian did mind, but after everything Alec had offered him, he decided it was time to come clean.
"After I managed to haul myself out of the river Sebastian dumped me in, I had no idea where I was, and I had no idea who to trust. I dragged myself all the way to Alicante with no one's help, mainly because I didn't know which shadow hunters to trust, and I didn't have any connections. Jonathan took everything I had, so between walking across France to the Idris border and living only off of stuff I managed to steal, my body suffered," Sebastain said, and as he continued to speak he pulled the daggers out of the target with increasing aggression. "And then the worst part is I got to Alicante, and once I told the Clave I had next to no information on Jonathan, they completely dismissed me. They just sent me here, and told me to 'integrate into the shadow hunter life'. Apparently they believe I was too sheltered in Paris, and they thought that the Penhallows would just give me the same treatment."
"The Clave are a bunch of assholes," Alec said in response, making Sebastian laugh, and nod in agreement.
He had been expecting pity or shock from Alec, but was pleasantly surprised by the older boy's reaction.
"They were arguing about you, when I was there," Sebastian admitted softly.
"I wonder why," Alec said sarcastically, guessing that they were still gossiping about what happened in the Hall of Accords.
"Something about added responsibility being passed down," Sebastian continued, which caught Alec's attention. "A few of them said you were too young, not even nineteen yet, and then others said you had proved you were responsible enough…and then they said something about shame, and the Accords Hall. They seemed to be in disagreement over whether your closer relationship with down worlders was a good or bad thing."
Alec listened in silence and watched as Sebastian placed the daggers he had used back in the weapons cabinet.
"How did you hear all of this?" He asked.
"I may have done some eavesdropping… Hanging around and waiting to be shipped off to New York wasn't very entertaining, so I had to find something to do," Sebastian said as he walked over to the rapier he had quickly become fond of, and also placed that back in the cabinet.
"You can keep that, if you want. It's not like anybody here uses it," Alec said, gesturing to the sword.
Alec was rewarded with a bright crooked smile from Sebastian as he thanked the older Nephilim.
"Don't mention it," Alec said back softly, confused by the way his heart stuttered as Sebastian looked at him with such open appreciation.
The people around Alec were always trying to hide their true emotions; both of his siblings hated revealing weaknesses such as feelings, his parents were very isolated and secretive, and of course Magnus had kept every aspect of his life he could hidden, and then there was the boy standing in front of Alec, filled with the same honesty that Alec also found himself displaying, although Alec's honesty usually came from his inability to lie.
"You should rest, if you want to regain your strength," Alec said, and Sebastian laughed at the mother hen nature that Alec developed over the years as a stand in parent for Jace, Izzy, and up until more recently, Max.
"Fine, but only for you," Sebastian said mischievously, which furthered Alec's increasingly conflicting feelings about the newcomer.
Sebastian smiled to himself as he walked away from Alec and up to his own room, reveling in the slight blush he had seen appear on the older boy's cheeks.
"We could get the new High Warlock to help with healing him," Jace suggested while he sat around the living room with Alec and Izzy, whilst Sebastian rested upstairs.
"We could never afford to hire him," Alec pointed out, knowing they no longer they had a warlock who would pay them special attention.
"He just has to get better the normal way," Izzy said.
"Such mundane methods always take so long," Jace complained.
"We don't really have a choice," Alec said.
"How did he even get in such a bad state? Jonathan said he just dumped him in a river, which doesn't explain why he's so worn down," Izzy said.
Alec went to answer, as Sebastian had explained his reasons, however something held him back. Sebastian hadn't said it was private information, but it had still felt as if he'd been sharing a private experience, so Alec simply shrugged his shoulders.
"That's not the point. The main thing is we just have to keep an eye on him, but try not to overbear too much," Alec said, knowing that the last thing the seventeen year old would want was someone watching over him at all times.
"He still shouldn't be our main concern at the moment," Izzy said.
"Who's a concern?" Sebastian asked as he walked into the room, his hair still tussled from sleep.
He was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, as he didn't have any others, and they were starting to show the signs of being worn too much. Already they didn't look like they quite fitted properly, and were probably something the Clave had given him.
"The other Sebastian," Jace said, and Alec saw Sebastian stiffen at the misuse of his name.
"Could you call him something else? I don't really like sharing my name with the psychopath who tried to kill me."
Alec winced as he saw the look on his parabatai's face darken.
"What, like Jonathan?" Jace asked menacingly.
"Well that is his name, isn't it?" Sebastian asked unknowingly.
"You know what, while we're at, why don't we all just call him Jace," the golden boy suggested with false enthusiasm.
"You've lost me," Sebastian said, not understanding Jace's sudden mood swing.
"He and Jace share the same first two names," Alec explained to Sebastian whilst giving his brother a warning look.
"We could just call him Morgenstern," Izzy suggested in an attempt to restore the peace in the room.
"And have him even more associated with Clary?" Jace asked, instantly becoming defensive of his girlfriend.
"Who is Clary?" Sebastian asked, looking more and more confused.
"Technically she and Jonathan are siblings," Alec said.
"Alec!" Jace said warningly.
"Well they are, and what else am I supposed to call him?" Alec said defensively.
"It's not like anyone calls you Jonathan," Izzy said in an attempt to be helpful.
"Valentine used to," Jace said darkly.
"How does he know Valentine?" Sebastian asked.
"He was my father," Jace snapped at Sebastian, and Alec stood up from where he'd been sitting on the couch, giving Jace another measured look.
"Wait…what? I thought he was your brother?" Sebastian asked Alec.
"He is… he's our adopted brother."
"Anything else I missed?" Sebastian asked.
"Clary is my girlfriend," Jace said, once again sounding defensive of her.
Sebastian suddenly looked confused by this, and he started to think out loud.
"So, if Jonathan is Valentine's son, and Clary's he's sister, and you're also Valentine's son… isn't that incest?"
This only made Jace even angrier, and he looked as if he was going to hit Sebastian.
"You have no idea," Izzy mumbled to herself, but Jace still shot her a dirty look.
"No! I'm Valentine's adopted son."
"I though you were adopted by the Lightwoods?" Sebastian asked appearing perplexed.
"I was, when I was ten. Before then I was tricked into believing I was Valentine's son, and he also raised the other Jonathan, his actual son, in secret."
"I will never again complain about my life being complicated," Sebastian said jokingly, although his attempt to lighten the mood failed.
"Is this funny to you?" Jace asked, taking a threatening stride closer to Sebastian, and Alec stepped in between the two.
"Jace, calm down, he didn't mean anything by it," Alec said.
"Oh what, now you're defending him over your parabatai?" Jace asked venomously.
"Jace you know it's not like that. Sebastian has been through a lot, and all of this is a lot to take in," Alec said as he started to notice the slight glow of Jace's skin, "now I really need you to just take a moment to calm down, okay?"
Jace looked at Alec curiously, and then down at his own skin, and then understood Alec's last words, and so he stopped to take a few deep breaths. Once the glowing faded away Jace took one last glance around the room, before leaving without an explanation. Izzy went to go after him, but Alec reached out to stop her.
"Just give him a minute, he'll come back when he's ready."
"Well he's definitely someone to keep you on your toes," Sebastian said, his joking words allowing Alec to relax even after the tense atmosphere he had just been surrounded by.
"You don't know the half of it."