Truths and Passions

"Do you want to tell me what happened to you in hell?" Alec tentatively asked. He had been silently holding Magnus for a few moments, one arm firmly wrapped around Magnus' body, while with the other, he caressed the hair in the back of Magnus' head. Their half-finished coffees were forgotten on the table beside their half-eaten toasts. Alec felt Magnus' chest rise and fall against his own chest, and with each inhalation and exhalation, Magnus' body relaxed, as if in this embrace, Magnus was finally letting go of all the tension he had been accumulating since this whole ordeal began.

The feel of Magnus' arms around his waist was both tender and strong, and Alec was once again surprised by how easily things and qualities that would appear contradictory in anyone else coexisted perfectly in Magnus; how strength and tenderness, power and vulnerability, physical might and sensibility seamlessly coalesced in Magnus as if contradictions had no meaning. This was the Magnus he had fallen in love with, the one that flirted openly with him but never pushed or impose himself, the one who, when he knew Alec needed time to decide his own path, was content to wait and offer safe friendship, the one who had gone to the depth of hell for him.

"Only if you also want to tell me what happened to you," Magnus replied, his tone also tentative, his voice soft against Alec's shoulder. "But we do not have to talk about it now if you are not ready Alexander."

"The experts say that it is better to talk about things," Alec replied with a sigh. He unwrapped his arms from around Magnus' body and leaned back on the couch. He then took Magnus' hand in his as if he needed the touch to anchor him to reality. Magnus half turned, folded one leg under him, rested the elbow of his free arm on the back of the couch and his head on his hand, and looked at Alec, his expression serene and completely open.

"You were there with me, you know," Alec started, and his eyes were piercing as they looked into Magnus' eyes as if with his eyes, Alec wanted Magnus to grasp the full meaning of his words. "Or, rather, I think it was the part of you that still remains a child."

Once the first words were out of his mouth, he could not stop the rest and the story began to pour out of him as if the barriers that had contained it had broken. Alec told Magnus about the child who had accompanied him through the first part of his journey, about the things that the child had shown him, the sad and loving memories that the young Magnus had shared with him. As he spoke, he run the fingers of the hand not holding Magnus' up and down Magnus' arm, the fingers awakening every cell they touched along the way. For a split moment, Magnus felt his magic coming alive under Alec's touch, as if Alec had the power to summon it, as if his magic obeyed Alec's silent command. Magnus looked down and thought he saw Alec's fingers leaving thin lines of silver sparkles as they journeyed along his skin, as if he was drawing magical lines on his arm. The sensation was puzzling and surprising, but not wanting to get distracted from what Alec was telling him, he did not say anything. Instead, he quickly regained control over his unruly powers and turned his attention back to Alec.

"You look like you mother, you know," Alec said a few minutes later by way of a conclusion to this chapter in his tale. "She was beautiful."

"Over the centuries my memories of her have changed," Magnus said with a wistful smile. "I was so young when she killed herself. For a long time, I blamed myself for her death. At other times, especially during dark times, I blamed her for leaving me, for not loving me the way I am, for not accepting me. After all, I had no say on the conditions of my conception and birth. But over the years I have come to understand how difficult it was for her to bear a child she could not understand; how difficult it was for someone brought up in such deeply religious environment to come to terms with the fact that she had given birth to the offspring of a demon. In time, I forgave her."

"I can tell," Alec observed with a gentle, even if still sad, smile. "Your memories of her seem completely devoid of resentment. At least, I assume those were your memories of her. It could have been one of Asmodeus's tricks."

"I don't know, or rather I don't think so," Magnus stated. "Aldous recorded in his book that a few times during his experiments with petrifying warlocks, he contacted different versions of the warlocks' consciousness. It is likely that you encountered a part of my subconscious, especially considering that the child did not try to harm you, but rather help you."

"If that is the case, it was a very cute part of your subconscious," Alec said, the smile turning playful. He then leaned and kissed Magnus gently on the cheek, the touch of his lips causing goosebumps to rise on Magnus' neck and arms.

"I saw the child again," Alec continued, and now his expression grew somber. "After I fell through the demon trap, I landed in a cage in a dark dungeon. Asmodeus was there and he had you, the young you, in another cage." Alec's voice trailed off and he looked out towards the distance, his mind lost in some terrible memory. Magnus did not press for details knowing that Alec would tell him as much as he needed to and only when he was ready.

"He hurt you so badly, Magnus, and he made me watch," Alec added after a while. That had been the truly hellish part of his ordeal, and his most traumatic and painful memory of his time in the Seventh Circle. Likely knowing that the best way of tormenting Alec was not by hurting him directly, but rather by making him helplessly witness how he tortured someone else, specially someone as powerless as a child, Amadeus had made him watch as he inflicted the worst of torments on the fragile body of the young Magnus. "You were so strong and so brave," he said, and it was now his tears that Magnus wiped away, and his chest the one that rose and fell as Alec tried to bring his emotions under control. "There are things that are so horrible that are better left undescribed."

Alec felt silent for a while and Magnus thought he could see the memories that were playing in Alec's mind, and wished he could smooth them out with a gentle touch of his fingers. "Anyway, I think he eventually got tired and let his demons have at me. He likely thought that they would break me" he concluded, the memory of that child's suffering forever edged in his mind.

"My father's cruelty knows no bounds," Magnus stated, his voice as sharp as a knife. "He has a knack for discovering your weaknesses and enjoys taking advantage of them. But you must know, Alexander, that none of those things happened to me. I was already out and back home by then. He made you see those terrible things, but it was not me. It was likely a demon taking the form of the child. He wanted to break you as he tried to do with me."

Alec shifted his gaze from the window back to Magnus, and his eyes were full of questions and apprehension. If Asmodeus, who barely knew Alec, had been able to learn and then exploit his most enduring weakness, he could only imagine what he was capable of doing to someone who was of his own blood. "What did he do Magnus?" he asked and gently squeezed Magnus' hand in an encouraging gesture.

Magnus told Alec about Asmodeus' attempts to play tricks with his memory; how he made Magnus relive so many moments just to rewrite them and change them. In an even voice, Magnus told Alec how Asmodeus made him see so many of his achievements become failures; how he saw Catarina burn at the stake, and Tessa die at the hands of the monster that orchestrated her creation. As he spoke, he looked out the window, the way Alec had previously done, and kept a firm hold on Alec's hand, as if needing an anchor.

"When that did not work," he said a while later as he turned to look at Alec, "he made me see you die over and over again. He would convince me that I could save you, and every time I thought I would manage it, he found even more bloody and destructive ways to kill you." After countless bloody deaths, Magnus had been covered in Alec's blood and many times, he had thought that he would rather give up, surrender to Asmodeus' control as long as he didn't have to watch the man he loved die one more time.

"But you didn't give up," Alec commented.

"No," Magnus said and smiled sadly, "because every time I thought I was done, I heard your voice calling for me, or I felt the touch of your fingers across my forehead or along my arm, and the sensation reminded me that everything my father was making me see was an illusion. Eventually, he gave up. And then you were truly there, and he thought that he would finally win, that we would break, and he would achieve his objective. But he was wrong, wasn't he? He didn't know how tenacious a Shadowhunters you are."

"Not as tenacious as you, Magnus," Alec said. "What do you think happened to Asmodeus? Is he dead?"

"No, but I did manage to send him to a pretty deep and obscured part of hell," Magnus replied with a smug smile. "It will take him some time to climb back up, centuries I hope."

"As usual warlock, you are amazing," Alec said and kissed him, deeply and tenderly, his fingers once again tracing those maddening lines up and down his arm, those lines that made Magnus' magic unruly. Magnus felt the powerful pull of Alec's body, as if Alec was a star and he the planet caught in its orbit, hopelessly and forever tied to it.

"I am sorry Magnus," Alec whispered when after a long while of slow and ever more passionate kissing he rested his forehead against Magnus'. "You must know that me kissing that Shadowhunter is a mistake I will regret all my life. You must know that I regretted it the moment it happened. I was stupid and childish and, you were right, I was not mature enough to accept your immortality and the place of our relationship in your life. I didn't know I would hurt you so badly, I don't know how else to ask for your forgiveness."

"Shush," Magnus said and placed his index finger on Alec's lips. "We were both to blame because I didn't want to recognize that the strength of my feelings for you scared me. I could not say that I was also struggling with my own immortality and with the certainty that I would lose you one day. Instead, I placed all the blame on you."

"But Magnus, I am the most to blame. Look at what my stupidity cost you. I almost lost you; you almost lost yourself."

"Alexander," Magnus said and turned the full force of his eyes on Alec, "you must know that I didn't intend to petrify. That was all Asmodeus; he must have been lurking at the edge that separates our world from hell, bidding his time, looking for an opportunity. He found that opportunity during one of my moments of weakness. He has been wanting to come back to the mundane world ever since I vanished him almost three hundred years ago, and since I am his closest blood connection, I was the perfect candidate. It is not your fault or my fault."

"He didn't know who he was going against, did he?" Alec said, and his smile was, for the first time since this conversation began, completely unguarded.

"As one of my friends used to say: he came for roasted pig and left with his tail in flames," Magnus said with a chuckle.

For a long while, they sat in silence, their hands interlaced, their eyes in the distance, each in their own thoughts until Magnus' stomach growled and Alec laughed. "We should fix you some lunch Magnus," he said and kissed him, the kiss intending to be swift. But Magnus had other ideas and bringing his hand to the back of Alec's head held him in place while he gently but thoroughly explored his mouth until he felt heady and intoxicated with the scent and taste of Alec. At that moment, he did not care if he died of starvation as long as he could nourish his senses with the feel and taste of the Shadowhunter. However, his unruly stomach was not about to give up and its second growl caused Alec to chuckle once again.

"Come on Magnus, food is in order," Alec declared, standing up. He stood still for a moment trying to control the dizziness that suddenly threatened to make him lose his balance.

"Are you okay Alexander?" Magnus asked swiftly standing up and giving Alec a look of deep concern.

"Fine, I just got up too quickly."

"You are still convalescing and here I am tiring you out. Catarina is going to kill me if she knows I am not taking proper care of you."

"I am fine, Magnus," Alec said in a firmer tone. "Now, what do you feel like eating?"

Magnus and Alec spent the rest of the day in a state of peaceful contentment. After lunch, they went for another walk and this time, when they stopped near the water, Magnus approached Alec from behind and wrapped his arms around him, planting a gentle kiss in the back of Alec's neck and resting his chin on his shoulder. Alec relaxed against him and together they spend a long while watching a pair of bald eagles diving and catching fish. When the eagles finally flew away, their hunger apparently sated, Alec turned his head towards Magnus and Magnus' lips were waiting.

They kissed for a long while, their hands running up and down each other's arms and backs, and their fingers entangling themselves in each other's hair, only the forest and the ocean as witnesses. When the air grew colder, they walked hand in hand back to the house, talking about everything and nothing, completely happy in each other's company. They had a quiet dinner and when Alec's eyes began to slowly close at the dinner table, Magnus ordered him to bed. He then kissed him passionately at the bottom of the stairs.

Magnus did not offer to go with him and Alec did not ask. It was not that he did not want Magnus with every cell of his body. In fact, in more than one occasion throughout the day when they had been slowly kissing and caressing each other, he had thought they would finally take things further, that they would finally surrender to the desire Alec knew they both felt. It was just that he suspected that Magnus wanted to take things slow and he did not want to rush him.

"What do you say about going for a drive today Alexander?" Magnus asked the next day after breakfast.

"A drive in what?" Alec asked turning from the dishes he was washing and looking at Magnus with a surprised and curious expression.

"In my car, of course."

"You have a car?!" Alec said, his tone now astonished.

"Alexander, I may be three hundred years old, but I am perfectly capable of keeping up with technology. Of course, I have a car, a very nice car, mind you. It is parked on the mainland."

"I didn't even know you could drive Magnus," Alec said amazed.

"I am full of surprises," Magnus stated, and his smile was flirtatious and a little smug. "Anyway, I think you are strong enough to tolerate a short portal journey just to the other side of the wards. Catarina wants to see you, but she cannot portal directly here. I was thinking we can meet her by the car and then we can go for a drive, have a late lunch or early dinner at a restaurant I know before we come back."

"Okay, but do you even have a driver's license? How old does it say you are?" Alec chuckled when he saw the feigned expression of woundedness in Magnus' face.

"You are healing nicely," Catarina declared a couple of hours later after she examined Alec. "The pain on your chest should begin to subside soon, and you should also begin to feel stronger. You are not yet fit for duty though. You still need a few more days."

They were sitting on the back seat of Magnus' shiny black SUV, which was parked by the side of a road that meandered along the foot of the most beautiful mountains that Alec had ever seen. Magnus was in the driver's seat and his body was half-turned to the back to better see what Catarina was doing. He had already gotten an earful from his friend for making Alec go through a portal and no matter how much Alec had reassured her that he felt fine, Catarina remained unconvinced.

Alec thought that very few things got past Catarina, that no matter what he said, she could tell that, despite being brief and the distance it travelled short, the journey through the portal had made Alex dizzy and aggravated the pain on his chest.

"You did not tell me that your chest was paining you Alexander," Magnus now said, a wounded and concerned tone in his voice.

"It is nothing," Alec replied, his voice a little bit more forceful than he intended. He was growing frustrated with his body's slow recovery and kept thinking that he should be back to normal and to duty by now.

"Anyway," Catarina interrupted in her usual nurse-like tone. "I trust that Magnus is not tiring you out. He can be a bit tiresome, you know. You should be fine to go back to the cottage by portal but, Alec, do not overdue it. I told Jace that I would not clear you for duty until you were as recovered as possible, so don't push yourself beyond your limits." Catarina pointed her index finger first in his direction and then in Magnus' direction in a gesture meant to convey that all kinds of nasty consequences would result if either of them disobeyed.

Catarina declined their invitation to dinner, indicating that she was on duty first thing in the morning and needed to get some sleep. After she portalled back to New York, Alec and Magnus got in Magnus' car and drove through a breathtaking landscape to a quaint little village about a hundred kilometers away. The road snaked along a shoreline that separated mountains and ocean, and at times it seemed to tilt at the edge threatening to fall into the deep blue waters. The day was clear and by the time they arrived at the restaurant, Alec felt his lungs were full of the purest air he had ever breathed.

"You are a good driver, Magnus," Alec commented over their plates of cedar planked salmon and roasted potatoes. They were sitting by an enormous fireplace at an elegant restaurant, the dining room illuminated by candles, the windows framing a breathtaking view of the sun setting behind the mountains. The dining room was full, and since Alec was not glamored, he felt particularly conspicuous after so many days of isolation. A few of the other dinners turned to surreptitiously look at them, wondering, Alec suspected, about the nature of their relationship, or perhaps about the marks on his skin, which mundanes called tattoos. Magnus, on his part, seemed completely unconcerned and at ease.

"Of course, I am a good driver. I drove the very first model that Henry Ford produced."

"I am not surprised," Alec commented. "It is just that I have always felt so inept when it comes to the most basic mundane things, like driving, taking planes, or even getting a passport. You seemed so adept to all those things."

"I can teach you to drive if you want. It is really not that hard."

"I would like that," Alec said, and the conversation reminded him of their talk of fishing and ordinary mundane life a few days ago.

As the sky slowly turned from bright orange to a deep blue, they drove back in silent companionship, Alec's eyes on the landscape as if he wanted to impregnate himself in the beautiful view, as if he wanted the view to erase all the dark memories of the last few weeks. When Magnus reached and took his hand, he turned to look at the warlock and Magnus smiled, his eyes full of fire and longing. Unable to stop himself and certain that Magnus would be able to use his magic to prevent them from going off the road, he leaned in and kissed Magnus on that sweet spot behind his ear. He then gently bit the warlock's earlobe, relishing in the sensation of soft skin between his teeth, the intoxicating scent of Magnus, and the goosebumps he felt rising on Magnus's skin.

Magnus turned the wheel and parked the car on the side of the deserted road, and after swiftly turning off the engine, turned and claimed Alec's lips with a hunger and desire that surprised even him. Neither of them would remember much what happened next but in no time, Magnus had undone his seatbelt and swinging his legs had come to sit astride Alec, his hands entangled in Alec's hair. Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus' hips and with Nephilim strength pulled him even closer. One hand then found the bottom of Magnus' shirt and desperately journeyed under it searching for the feel of Magnus' skin, running fingers and nails down Magnus' strong back, the touch causing Magnus to gasp in that way that always made Alec lose his senses.

With a rapid motion that was likely aided by not a small amount of magic, someone made the seat tilt back and then Alec was lying almost flat and Magnus was on top of him, his mouth on a maddening journey down Alec's long neck and his fingers searching for the bottom of Alec's shirt. When Magnus bit him on the side of the neck, Alec gasped and grabbing Magnus' behind pulled him even closer, savoring in the way in which Magnus' hips had begun to move against his body.

Alec had never been much for riding in cars, and if someone had asked him before, he would have said that the room in the passenger side was not big enough for him and Magnus. For even if Magnus was slightly shorter, he was still a big man, they both were. But at this moment, he felt that cars were his new favorite thing, just small enough to not allow for too much distance between him and Magnus. After a long while, Alec finally gathered the nerve to bring his hands to Magnus' belt buckle, but Magnus stopped him by placing his own hands atop Alec's.

"Not like this, Shadowhunter," Magnus said, his voice coming out in a gasp. "Not in a rush or in a place where I cannot taste you and have you the way I want, or where you cannot have me the way you want."

"Oh warlock, you are driving me mad, you know," Alec said lifting his hands and running them through his hair in a way that made his hair look truly like the hair of a madman.

"I suspect that I do that a lot," Magnus replied and gave Alec one of those smiles that contained just the right amount of seductiveness and innocence. He then gently placed his hand on Alec's chest, in the spot where his scar was located under his shirt. "You didn't tell me that your chest was paining you," he said once again.

"It does not hurt any worse than the rest of my injuries," Alec lied, and he exercised all his willpower to stop the scar from reacting to Magnus' touch the way it had reacted to Catarina's, the effort increasing the pain and pressure he felt on his chest. He was pretty certain that the scar had become very visible and silvery under his shirt, and, not for the first time, felt that something was trapped in his chest, something that was struggling to get free.

"I do not want you to keep things from me Alexander. You do not have to be stoic, and I cannot help you if you do not tell when you are hurting." Magnus kissed him swiftly this time, and then shifted positions and went back to the driver's seat. "Let's go home, shall we?"

The portal deposited them in the foyer and when they came through, Alec had to reach for Magnus' hand to steady himself, the energy from the portal putting undue pressure on his chest. When Magnus, who had been talking animatedly about a concert he had once attended, looked back, Alec once again called on all his willpower to compose his features. He replied to Magnus' inquisitorial expression by gently grabbing Magnus' upper arm and pulling him closer, quieting any questions with a kiss. The contact with the warlock's body made Alec feel steady and grounded and eased the sudden dizziness caused by the journey through folded space.

The kiss quickly intensified and in no time, Magnus was pushing Alec against the wall, kissing him with ever increasing desperation, holding on to him as if Alec was a life line and he a drowning man. As Magnus pressed his body against Alec's, Alec could feel how much the warlock wanted him, and the intensity of Magnus' desire and hunger for him reignited and made the fire in his own body burn hotter. Feeling finally steady on his feet, Alec grabbed Magnus by his hips and turned, so he could now be the one to pin Magnus against the wall. With ever more desperate desire, Alec began to plant kisses up and down Magnus' neck, completely oblivious to time and space. When he felt Magnus' hands rounding his behind and pulling him closer, Alec made a superhuman effort for self-control and, remembering Magnus' words in the car, stopped the kissing. He rested his forehead against Magnus' and looked into the warlock's eyes with burning desire. After a moment, he sighed in an effort to settle his racing heart, then took a step back, and grabbing Magnus's hand, turned towards the stairway.

"Come Magnus," Alec said, his voice certain and his tone authoritative, "it is time you come to bed with me."

"Alexander," Magnus replied and halted Alec's attempt to pull him along, "you are not strong enough yet, and after all this time, I am afraid I may lose control."

"I want you to lose control," Alec replied turning to look at Magnus. "I like it when you lose control, and I know you won't hurt me, like you know I will not hurt you. I want you Magnus," he whispered in Magnus' ear. "I want to come apart, break in a thousand pieces in your arms."

The breath caught in Magnus' throat, and Alec knew he had won that argument. With certain and steady steps, he guided Magnus up the stairs and into the bedroom. However, they did not make it to the bed until much, much later, and not until Alec had put Magnus' mind completely at ease as to his physical capacities.

As soon as they walked through the doorway and Magnus closed the door behind them, Alec turned and placing his hands on both sides of Magnus' face, kissed him gently, and even innocently. Yet, the kiss was full of promises and expectations. "Magnus, I can't begin to tell you how much I want you," he said during a break in the kiss, and then closed the distance between theirs mouths once again, determined to silence any remaining objections from Magnus. This time the kiss was not innocent or chaste but rather intense and mighty, and Magnus thanked all the gods for the gift of Alec's lips. For those lips were capable of making him feel that Alec was making love to him just by kissing him; for those lips were capable of bringing Magnus to his knees and make him forget even his own name.

When he reached for the buttons on Alec's shirt, it was Alec the one to stop him by placing his own hands on top of Magnus'. "Tsk, tsk," he said and shook his head, "right now you are mine."

With slow, deliberate and tender motions, Alec began to undo the buttons in Magnus' shirt, and as he slowly exposed Magnus chest, he gently and meticulously kissed, licked and bit the newly exposed skin starting with Magnus' neck, continuing with his shoulders and the hollow at the base of his throat. Once he had kissed every inch of Magnus' chest, he walked around, and as he slowly pulled Magnus' shirt down his back, Alec run his tongue down Magnus' spine starting at the base of his neck and slowly moving lower and lower as his fingers continued drawing lines and swirls all over Magnus' skin. As Alec slowly tormented him with his wicked mouth, Magnus thought that Alec was determined to drive him insane, but he did not care if he ended up mad as long as this was the reason for his madness.

They had not made love in months and, at least for the last few days, they had ached for each other with such intensity that Magnus expected their lovemaking to be a flurry of rushed, desperate and clumsy movements. But Alec had other plans, he wanted to enjoy the taste of every inch of Magnus, become once again intimately acquainted with the body of this man he loved with a passion that seemed to have no end. He wanted Magnus' body to relinquish every possible sound of pleasure and desire. He wanted to take his sweet, sweet time, slowly removing Magnus' clothes, kissing, licking and tasting him as he went along, restraining Magnus every time the warlock tried to rush him, tormenting him with slow and sinful movements of his fingers, lips and tongue.

"Perhaps you should light a fire," Alec whispered in Magnus' ear sometime later and when he felt a shiver run down Magnus' spine. "It is a little chilly tonight."

Understanding exactly what Alec was asking, Magnus obeyed and with a flick of his fingers threw a small ball of fiery magic towards the fireplace where logs were ready and waiting. Holding him by the waist and without breaking the kiss, Alec guided Magnus towards the couch in front of the fire and when they got there, he gently pushed him to sit down. He then kneeled in front of Magnus and began to draw a line of kisses that started in Magnus neck and went down along Magnus' chest and abdomen, his hands a few inches ahead of his lips loosening belt buckle, undoing buttons, pulling down zipper, and eventually slowly peeling off Magnus' jeans and underwear with a dexterity of which only Shadowhunters were capable.

Surrendering completely and knowing he had lost the battle even before it began, Magnus melted against the sofa, leaned his head back against the cushions, and allowed Alec to explore him and possess him completely and without resistance, the fingers of one hand in Alec's hair, his other hand tightly holding on to the upholstery in a futile attempt to stop himself from taking flight. If he had been able to formulate a coherence idea, Magnus would have thought that this moment was the most sinful and lustful of his life, that his body was completely exposed, completely naked and vulnerable and in the hands of a fully dressed Shadowhunter.

"You are beautiful," Alec whispered sometime later. "To have you just like this, naked and wanting me as much as I want you, is the most wonderful of gifts." Without waiting for a retort, Alec kissed Magnus again, his mouth even more demanding and domineering, before going back to his relentless exploration of the most intimate corners of Magnus' body.

Alec's words and the ministration of his sexy mouth and wicked hands became Magnus' whole universe as Alec lifted him higher and higher in search of a climax like no other. When he could not climb any higher, he stopped and for a moment that was perhaps an eternity, Magnus floated suspended in midair, in a state of complete connectedness as if his spirit had grown tendrils that reached to the universe and towards Alec. The glamor that concealed his warlock mark burned away and his eyes shone golden in the darkness. And then, he was falling back the ground in a torrent of pleasure and ecstasy, a sensation of vertigo tightening his stomach as he called Alec's name over and over. As he fell, Alec held him tightly as wave after wave of the most exquisite pleasure washed over Magnus, blurring his vision and making him dizzy.

When the last shivers run down his spine and he felt his spirit coming back to his body, Magnus mastered as much strength as he was able and slid down the couch until he was sitting astride on Alec's lap, his body trapped between the couch and Alec's strong body. He searched for Alec's eyes and when he found them, he saw in them an expression of wonderment and love.

"There you are warlock," Alec whispered as he looked into Magnus' unglamored eyes. "There is no need for glamor with me, no tonight, not ever." He then placed his hands on each side of Magnus' face and gently kissed each of Magnus' eyelids. Magnus felt that Alec was not just kissing his eyes but his very soul, and in his lips, the word warlock was not an insult or a derision, not a disgusted comment in his condition as a half-demon, but a term of adoration and reverence.

"Alexander, what are you doing to me?" Magnus asked, the words coming out between rapid and shallow breaths. With his fingers still entangled in Alec's hair, he looked once again into the deep brown of Alec's eyes, for just a moment before shifting his gaze down to Alec's glorious lips, those lips that just moments ago had taken him to the very gates of heaven. After a moment filled with the most exquisite anticipation, Magnus claimed those lips, invading Alec's mouth with a hunger that refused to abate.

Alec's hands rounded Magnus' behind as Alec pulled him even closer, and the feeling of the fabric of Alec's jeans against his naked skin and of Alec's desire clearly palpable even through the fabric gave Magnus such pleasure that he could not help gasping loudly. For a moment, he felt that he would lose the upper hand once again but quickly and with great effort he reigned in his self-control. Magnus continued his relentless assault on Alec's lips and relished in the indescribable sensation of the Shadowhunter surrendering to the ministrations of his lips.

He would have continued kissing Alec forever, but nakedness was the order of business and Magnus felt it was his duty to ensure that Alec followed that order. "Tsk, tsk," he said with a coy smile when his lips momentarily relinquished their claim on Alec's lips, "as much as I like how my shirt looks on you Alexander, I think it would look better off you." He began to undo the buttons on Alec's shirt, while his mouth continued to demand the full attention of Alec's mouth, and he smiled against Alec's lips when he heard the loud gasp with which Alec reacted to the sensation of their skins finally touching.

As Magnus took possession of his lips, Alec run fingers down Magnus' back leaving nail marks on the warlock's unblemished skin, as if the skin was unmarked territory and he its cartographer. Meanwhile, Magnus slowly slid his hands gently and slowly down Alec's chest and abdomen and with sinuous movements that rivalled Alec's earlier ones, he disposed of belt buckle, button and zipper in his attempt to free Alec of the remaining of his restrictive clothing. Neither of them would remember how, but in no time, there was not an inch of skin in either of their bodies that was not exposed and touching, not a single corner of their bodies that was not exposed and willing to be explored. As Alec maintained his strong hold on Magnus and supported the weight of his body on his crossed legs, Magnus was thankful beyond words for the physical strength and flexibility that the Angel had bestowed on the Nephilim.

In minutes, Alec was moving with increasing desperation against Magnus, holding on to Magnus as if he was an anchor without which Alec would fly away. With each movement, he possessed and offered, took and gave pleasure with equal amounts of greediness and generosity, and with each undulation of Alec's hips, Magnus felt like he was being carried on the crest of a wave about to break. As a new climax began to build in the very center of his being, he opened his eyes and looked upon the pleasure-filled face of the Shadowhunter.

"Look at me Alexander," Magnus demanded when he felt Alec's body shudder and tremble in anticipation of a powerful orgasm. "Look at me," he repeated, and Alec obeyed, and as he looked into Magnus' cat eyes, those eyes became beacons that guided Alec home. Magnus held on to Alec's shoulders as both their bodies started a dance that they had learned and had been perfecting since the first time they made love, a dance in which each knew the other's gestures and movements as if they were their own. As they built towards a shared climax that was both a conquer and a surrender, their eyes remained locked, Alec's eyes pools of amber in which Magnus felt he could swim forever, and Magnus' unglamored eyes, golden stars that illuminated Alec's path through the darkness. When each one knew that the other had reached his limit, together, they let go and their climaxes became waves crushing against one another, part of a torrent that lifted them and let them fall until eventually it carried them both to shore.

When the last of the tremors run through his body, Alec shifted position and carrying Magnus along brought them both to lay side by side on the carpet, Magnus arm resting across Alec's body and Alec's head leaning against Magnus' shoulder. With a flick of his fingers, Magnus willed the blanket that laid on the arm of the sofa to unfold and cover them. In a gesture meant to convey appreciation, Alec kissed Magnus' shoulder and sighed deeply and contentedly.

After a few minutes in which they both laid silent, the rising and falling of their chests slowly settling down, and their heartbeats gradually going back to normal, Alec turned on his side and propped himself on one elbow. "I love you Magnus," he said, not a thread of doubt or self-consciousness in his voice, "you must know that my heart belongs to you."

"As mine is yours Alexander," Magnus replied.

Alec smiled and then leaned and kissed Magnus, and Magnus knew that the night was far from over, for the kiss carried renewed desire and longing, desire and longing that seemed to have the power to reawake his own. He completely surrendered to the sensation of Alec's lips on him, and to the feel of Alec's hands drawing circles all over his skin, reawakening his desire, enticing him to even more burning passion. He began to run fingers up and down Alec's back and redrawing the lines his nails had made earlier, as his desire fueled new desperate explorations.

"Alexander," he whispered between shallow breaths a while later, the sensation of Alec's mouth on his neck, the feel of Alec's body moving against his own, and the sensation of the muscles of Alec's back under his hands, threatening to make him forget the words as soon as they formed in his mind, "I still want you so much that I feel my heart is going to explode."

Alec abandoned for a moment his kissing of Magnus's neck and looked at Magnus, his lips forming a naughty and mischievous smile. In a sinuous movement that was typical of Shadowhunters, Alec stood up and taking Magnus' hand pulled him to his feet. The glorious spectacle of Alec's naked body illuminated by the fire that still burned in the fireplace took Magnus' breath away. Alec closed the distance between them and kissed him once again, and, suddenly, breathing was no longer important or necessary. Without relinquishing his ownership of Magnus' lips, and with confident steps, Alec finally guided Magnus to the bed, and once there he leaned back against the mattress, the white sheets reflecting the flames from the fireplace providing the perfect background for Alec's gloriously naked body. Gently but determinately, Alec pulled Magnus to him.

"Show me how much you want me warlock," Alec whispered in Magnus' ear, his words a dare and a challenge and Magnus knew that, at that moment and perhaps forever, he was the luckiest man in the world.

Alec had told Magnus that he wished to break up in a thousand pieces in Magnus' arms and that night, Magnus fulfilled Alec's wish over and over. Alec did the same and with ever increasing passion repeatedly took Magnus to the very gates of heaven and beyond, until Magnus thought he had become an angel himself.

They made love as if the world was coming to an end and this night was all they had, as if no one and nothing else existed but the two of them in this room. Every time one of them thought the other had finally sated his desire, the other reached and with wild lips and unruly fingers offered and demanded with even more passion, and in no time, they were building up again, reaching for even higher peaks, even more intense ecstasies and more delicious surrenders. Magnus journeyed along every inch of Alec's skin, and Alec extracted ever possible sound of pleasure from Magnus, as each took and gave, possessed and offered in equal measure and without not even an ounce of avarice or restrain.

Hours later, when the night was at its darkest and his body was building up towards an even more powerful orgasm, just Magnus' hand in his anchoring him, Alec opened his eyes and met Magnus' astonishingly beautiful eyes glowing and calling to him through the darkness. Something in the power of those eyes awoke and unleashed something in Alec, a force, a power of his own that had been trapped in his chest clamoring for release.

If he had to describe the sensation, he would say that it felt as if an egg had cracked in the center of his being, in a place halfway between the scars in his chest and back, and a powerful force, like nothing he had ever felt before, finally broke free. As it unleashed, the force began to rush through his veins, carrying with it his very soul, searching and reaching with hundreds of tendrils towards Magnus.

At that moment, and as if the warlock was responding to the mysterious forces flowing through Alec, Magnus' chest expanded, and his back arched against the mattress. Magic began to pour out of him in golden lines that run along Magnus' veins, and out his fingers in a steady flow that entered Alec, surged through Alec's system until it reached the very center of Alec's being, that place where only the spirit resides. The sensation was indescribable and, if this had not been Magnus' magic invading Alec's body, I would have also been frightening. But instead of being afraid of it, Alec surrendered completely to the mystical experience and kept his eyes fixed on Magnus' eyes, completely oblivious to anything else going on around him, as those eyes finally guided him towards a climax that was not just physical, but also spiritual.

What Alec did not notice was that, longing for the gratification of seeing Alec come undone in his arms once again, Magnus had opened his eyes and looked at Alec at the precise moment in which something came alight in the center of Alec's chest. It was something that looked like a silver star, a star from which points silver tendrils extended and travelled along Alec's body, momentarily painting in silver the runes on the Shadowhunter's skin. When Alec opened his eyes and looked back at him, Magnus thought he saw quicksilver momentarily shinning in Alec's pupils.

As those silver tendrils reached Magnus, a surge of power, electric and magnetic, suddenly invaded him, searching and finally reaching even the most obscured corners of him. Abruptly and as if obeying an ancient call, Magnus' magic awoke and out of its own volition began to pour out of him, searching and reaching for the power emanating from Alec's chest. The sensation of magic meeting magic, of his powers coming in contact with the powers of another, was so indescribably pleasurable that Magnus gave up his attempt to contain the climax building within him.

Possessed by sensations neither of them could later describe, they both let go and finally surrendered to a shared climax was not only physical but also spiritual and magical and, as wave after wave of pleasure washed over them, their skins glowed, silver meeting gold, and hundreds of magic sparkles came to life in the places where their skins met, shooting out into the air, bouncing against the walls and breaking in thousands of tiny multicolor stars. Magnus experienced a brief moment of astonishment but the mysterious and indescribable sensations running though his body combined with the incredible feeling of his magic running free and unrestrained, erased all thoughts and took all willpower. He felt himself fall apart in as many tiny sparkles of magic as those shining all around them.

"I feel like my soul is growing wings Magnus," Alec whispered between gasps when he finally collapsed on top of Magnus a second later, the words barely holding their coherence, and Magnus thought that he could not have found better words to describe that had just happened. So instead of saying anything, he simple held the Shadowhunter as they both shuddered and trembled against one another and their souls reluctantly found the way back to their bodies. For minutes or perhaps hours, they laid in a tangle of arms, legs and magic tendrils, as their chests rose and fell, and their heartbeats drummed in their chests.

"I swear I just felt your magic enveloping my heart Magnus," Alec said once he found his voice and was able to formulate something that resembled a coherent thought.

"You felt it too?" Magnus asked, his still scrambled thoughts trying to organize themselves in his head. "How did you do that?"

"It wasn't me," Alec replied. "I thought it was you."

"I don't believe it was me, but if it was, I had no control over it," Magnus replied, puzzlement and concern chasing confusion away.

"Whatever it was, it was wonderful," Alec whispered. As Magnus held him and he rested his head on Magnus's chest, the warlock's heartbeat slowly lured him into a deep slumber.

Alec awoke a while later, and when he reached for Magnus, found his side of the bed empty. Momentarily disoriented, he lifted his head and looked around. "Magnus," he called, his voice hoarse and full of sleep.

"Here," came Magnus' voice from somewhere near the fire.

Shaking off the cobwebs of sleep, Alec swung his feet out of bed and went in search of his lover. He found him sitting on the floor in front of a newly stoked fire, the blanket that had covered them earlier wrapped around his shoulders, the orange glow of the fire reflecting on his skin and making him look like a gold statute. Alec approached and sat on the floor behind Magnus and stretched his legs on each side of the warlock. Removing the blanket from around Magnus' shoulder he wrapped it around his own so as to cover them both. He then wrapped his arms around Magnus, enticing him to lean back against his chest, the sensation of their skin touching warming and comforting. They sat like that for a while, their eyes fixed on the flames as they consumed the logs in the fireplace, and the sky outside their window slowly turned from black to dark blue.

"Did I do this to you Alexander?" Magnus asked a few minutes later half turning and placing his hand on Alec's chest, the scar responding to the touch with a faint silver glow.

Magnus had laid awake after Alec had fallen sleep, his arms wrapped around the Shadowhunter, his body keenly attuned to Alec's body as it slowly relaxed and Alec sank deeper and deeper into sleep. He still felt a faint energy gently vibrating in the spot in Alec's chest where earlier he had seen a silver mark glow in the darkness. As he stroked Alec's hair, he tried to make sense of what had just happened, of the forces that had mysteriously awoken his own magic in ways that no power had been able to do before.

When he was certain that Alec was deep asleep, he had enticed the Shadowhunter to turn so he could examine the mark on his chest, the eight-point star that had glowed with such power and intensity earlier but that now was slowly fading as if sinking back into Alec's skin. As he rested his hand on the mark, he had felt the power that emanated from it, a power that seemed to come alive at the contact with Magnus' magic.

"Did I do this to you?" he now repeated, his voice carrying a mixture of desperation and panic.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I am taking about Alexander." Magnus's voice sounded sharp and cut the silence of the room like knife. He then shifted his gaze from Alec's eyes down to his chest where his hand still rested, and Alec followed the movement with his own eyes.

"Nobody did this to me," Alec responded. "I came back from hell with this scar on me, but it does not hurt as much anymore, and Catarina said it is healing; that it in time it may disappear altogether." Alec was downplaying the situation because he did not want to worry Magnus by describing Catarina and Tessa's look of concern and surprise when they saw the scars.

"Oh, don't get me started," Magnus said, anger plainly evident on his voice. "I am going to have some serious words with my friends for not telling me what was happening. And, do not say that no one did this to you. I was the one who blasted you with a surge of demonic energy that hit you right here," he added pointing with his finger at the place in question.

"May I remind you that without that blast I would still be trapped in hell? And, if Tessa had not used her powers to pull me, I would still be floating in the ether." Alec's retort was a little bit more forceful than he had intended. "I am fine," he continued, bringing his tone down a few notches and imbuing his words with conviction. "Better than fine; I think something is changing in me, Magnus, the Seventh Circle changed me somehow." He had not made sense of what was happening to him until his lips formed the words, but as he heard himself speak, Alec knew that what he was saying was true. Something, some force he could not explain, was changing him from the inside out, perhaps altering somehow the very structure of his being. "But the change is not a bad one. I feel it and it is not bad. The scar will likely disappear in a few days and then everything will go back to normal," he added even though part of him was not certain that would the case.

"That is not a scar, Alec," Magnus said. "I don't know yet what it is, but it is much more than a scar. We have to find a way to get rid of it."

"No, we don't," Alec replied, his voice now the one to cut. For some reason he could not quite explain, he knew that he needed to let things follow their own course. "We are going to leave it alone and just wait."

"But Alexander," Magnus started to protest.

"Trust me Magnus, it is better to wait and see what happens." Alec smiled suggestively because he did not want Magnus to fret. He, after all, was not worried any more. In fact, he felt that whatever had been stuck in his chest had finally dislodged and, at least for now, he did not feel the pressure and tightness he had felt for the last few days. The sensation was liberating and, for the first time since he came back from the Seventh Circle, he felt his body getting stronger and his injuries healing. He could not explain why, but he knew that whatever was happening to him was not evil or sinister.

Magnus looked at him for a moment and then shook his head in a gesture of surrender, but Alec knew that the surrender was temporary. He had seen Magnus get obsessed with a mystery he could not quite unravel before, and he knew that he would not give up until he unraveled this mystery. For now, however, Alec was determined not to let the scar on his chest spoil their wonderful night together. So, he decided that at least for tonight, he would do all in this power to quiet any further protest and erase any concern from Magnus' mind.

Bringing a hand to the side of Magnus' face, Alec enticed Magnus to look back at him and when he did, he took possession once again of those lips that, he was sure, would one day be his perdition.

At first, Magnus' response to the kiss was reluctant, but Alec was not prepared to give up. He intensified his assault determined to bring Magnus to his way of thinking. He enticed Magnus' lips to part and let his tongue help in the convincing by inviting Magnus' tongue to play. Magnus relaxed against his body and Alec tighten his hold on Magnus pulling him closer as he run a hand up and down Magnus' chest and abdomen, and then slowly proceeded down in maddening and enticing new explorations.

"Alexander…" Magnus tried to protest some time later, but Alec was relentless and determined to give Magnus no respite.

"Shush," he said, his lips planting feather light kisses up and down Magnus' neck, "you are mine tonight warlock, and I am yours and that is all that matters." Alec knew he had won when Magnus lifted his arms and wrapped them around Alec's neck, opening his chest up, giving Alec's hands free access.

Magnus knew at that moment that he was lost, that there was no resistance possible, that Alec was a raging storm and he a flimsy vessel caught in the gale at the mercy of powerful waves and winds. Furthermore, his body responded to Alec's sensual and lustful ministrations with a will of its own, and his magic seemed to awake in him as if Alec was the master, not only of his body, but also of his powers. Soon they were moving together once again, wind and gale dancing with one another, building in energy, climbing new heights, surrendering to instincts that were as old as time itself.

When hours later the first light of the new morning finally found its way into Magnus and Alec's room, it found them wrapped in each other's arms, moving in unison, completely oblivious to their surroundings, to the singing of the birds, the sound of the ocean and the sun peeking above the mountain tops. As that first light illuminated their sweat covered skins, they each thought that the other was the most beautiful being they had ever laid eyes on, but the thought was brief, and it was gone as soon as it formed, overpowered by the incredible sensation of yet another climax. When they fell back on the bed for the last time, Alec's back resting against Magnus's chest, Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec and brought his hand up to the spot where he knew the mark was on his chest. He then gently kissed the spot in between Alec's shoulder blades where its sister reflected the morning light with a faint silver glow.

"I love you Alexander," he said for perhaps the hundredth time that night.

"I love you too Magnus," Alec replied as sleep carried them both off and their bodies finally surrendered to the most exquisite of exhaustions.

I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it…