Alice: Yeah, here's your chapter. Kthx.

Jace: Simple, I like it! You should talk like that from now on.

Alice: …

Jace: Your sense of humor is amazing.

Alice: I don't own this series, so I don't.

Jace: Sorry, she was just dumped for the first time ever. You're gonna have to excuse her. Enjoy the chapter ( I'm in it ;)

/./././././…./././././../././././././.

Alec woke with a start from a dream that sent his head reeling. He was kept held down by an embrace that could only belong to one person, erm. Warlock.

"Mmm, Magnuss, let goo."

Alec reverted to child-like tendencies when tired. He wriggled and wiggled, trying to get out of the bear hug, courtesy of his slumbering bear.

"Ngh, Alexander? Let me sleep a little longer, dear."

"You, can sleep in as late as you like. I on the other hand have a body clock, which unlike yours, is conditioned to wake up at 6:30."

"But you alllllways sleep in with me when you stay over."

The pout was audible in Magnus' voice.

"Sorry, Mag, training with Jace today. And if I'm late like last time he'll coat the floor with butter again."

"No offense darling, but your family gets weirder and weirder as I get to know them."

"I whole-heartedly agree."

Alec, who had finally shimmied out of the comfortable embrace, meandered into the kitchen and began to make coffee, his fuel for the day.

"Two creams and a sugar?"

Magnus' 'mhm'd in approval as Alec poured the ingredients into the steaming cup. He had always taken his black, to avoid being wasteful.

"Thanks honey. What a good barista, Starbucks would be lucky."

"Too bad my beverages won't quench the thirst of the demons I'll be killing today."

"Are they still coming round in the park?"

"Yeah, and the flow is increasing everyday, or it seems that way."

Alec was strapping on his gear when arms encircled his waist and pulled him flush against a tall frame.

"Please be careful."

The words were few, but that was all the language needed to convey their feelings. Short and sweet. They both knew the life of a shadow-hunter was dangerous and sometimes quick. But ever since he had met Magnus, Alec's drive to live had increased ten-fold. He tried so hard to come back unscathed, just to see the smile on his boyfriend's face as he walked through the door to the apartment, sweaty and tired, only to be called beautiful by the one person he truly loved.

"I always try, Mag."

The arms loosened, and Alec was released. He stalked over to the door and, with one final glance at Magnus, who had retired back to the couch to cuddle with Chairman Meow, he shut the door tight, and got on his way to the Institute.

./././././././../././../..

"Put it down. Put it down right now."

"Aw, now what am I supposed to do with all this?"

Alec set down his overnight bag and smacked Jace up the head, ripping the bucket of melted butter out of his hands.

"I don't know, make some waffles."

"First off, ow. Second, Izzy used up all the flour making fruit salad today."

This caused a lapse in the woody banter as the two boys laughed red-faced and teary eyed, the earlier conflict completely forgotten. Because what were brothers for if not to piss you off and then make you laugh?

"Get your shit together before I start without you."

Alec, who had composed himself by now, was waiting for Jace, still laughing at his own joke.

"Alright alright, let's go."

In the middle of the sparring, Alec was winning, Jace decided to distract with a conversation.

"So how's Magnus?"

Alec was unaffected.

"Fine, how's Clary? Wait, she's on vacation. How're those blue-balls by the way?"

Jace faltered and was completely off-balance when Alec delivered a blow from the top, which he barely parried.

"Dude! Not so loud! It sucks and she's not coming back for THREE MORE DAYS."

"Wow attached much?"

"Says the bottom who comes home with glitter on his lips every freaking night."

Alec blushed, it wasn't 'every' night…

It was during this moment of contemplation that Jace managed to swoop down and pull Alec's legs from beneath him. Before he could shout, his arms were pinned beside him and a hand was positioned at his neck. He had lost.

"No fair!"

"All's fair in love-making and war."

Alec slapped him on the arm and stood up to brush himself off.

"Going back to Magnus now?"

Alec was about to respond before a voice from down the hall cut him off.

"No one's going anywhere, demons in the park again. They say it's double what it was yesterday. Let's get a move on."

Isabelle was standing there, tying her hair up and tapping her foot.

Jace grinned and slapped on an extra sword.

The lights to the training room were switched off as the trio stepped out to do what they did best.

When their van approached the infested area, the park was empty of Mundanes. Alec thanked the angel for the cloudy day keeping most civilians indoors at the moment.

"Looks like rain soon."

Alec spoke absentmindedly,

"Great, more intensity for me."

Jack chuckled.

Isabelle silenced both with a flick of her fingers in their direction. With a sharp look she told them they were the near said demon-central. They ran from bush to bush, coming upon an area that was more dirt than grass. There they were, a whole hoard of them, they varied in shape and size, an assortment of poisonous and almost harmless. Almost. With a quick plan of attack, the team set out to conquer. Isabelle ran over to another bush behind then and using her whip, snapped at a few dog-like creatures with her whip. Alec climbed up into a tree and fired off arrows at the two fiery mammoth demons. Jace of course ran head-first into the pack and slashed at anything the came within a five foot radius of him. Alec had fired off at least eight arrows, and one of the beasts was down. As he began another round upon the other, it turned and spotted him sitting on one of the branches. Before Alec had a chance to breathe in, the animal was charging. In one sweeping motion it broke the small tree in half, sending Alec tumbling down. He grappled for anything to hold onto, but fell quickly and surely out of the tree. He met the back of a very angry demon before he could hit the ground. He regained his stature on top of the creature and it gave a roar before beginning to trample through the park, trying to rid itself of the small boy.

'Shit, shit, shit.' Alec thought. How was he going to do this without direct injury?

He took out a dagger and began to stab into the neck of the mammoth, but it's thick skin meant the blows gave no pain. Alec cursed again and reached for his bow and arrows. He had dropped them when he fell from the tree! His best chance was to get onto the head and attack there. So he climbed stealthily up its neck and into the small tuft of hair at the top of the head. He pulled out a slightly longer sword, and with one swift motion, lodged it in the skull. It gave a roar, but began to sink to its knees immediately. Alec was thrown off backwards and hit the ground accompanied by a large crack within his ribcage. His breath left him for a second and all he could do was grown when a sharp tusk dragged across his shoulder, poofing into dust not a moment later. He lay there too disoriented to cry out. The blood began to pool around his shoulder. After a few seconds, he sat up.

'Must have gotten separated from the others.'

By the looks of it he had been taken all the way to the north end of the park. One look at his shoulder and he knew it would require more than one iratze. He got to work on the first, trying no to tremble with his right hand. After two had been placed adequately, he decided it was time to stand up. Looking around, he realized he was only a few blocks away from Magnus' apartment, and right now that was the only place he wanted to be. His ribs ached with every step he took, and he was tired beyond belief. The stairs felt like a mountain, by the time he got to the top he had to stay there a minute to catch his breath.

He knocked on the apartment door and waited.

"Why do I give you a key if you never use it cutie?"

Alec slumped forward into his significant other's arms.

"Tough day?"

"You could say that."

Alec chuckled and was lead over to a chair by Magnus, who was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt. He ran a soft eye over all the bruises, pausing with a blank face when he caught sight of the slash along Alec's shoulder. It was, strange, the way Magnus felt when his boyfriend came home with wounds like these. Sobering, you could say. The small amount of fear he always held in his head whenever Alec left to go hunt always dropped sickeningly to his gut when his fears were confirmed. Well not confirmed, Alec wasn't dead, not mortally wounded, but it was the "what if" that plagued his mind afterwards. A little to the left and that slash would have bled him out. It's not like he could ask the boy to quit his life as a shadow-hunter! It just made him upset that while completely avoidable, the dangers his lover (and sometimes himself) faced were a part of who they were. There would be no them, without their jobs, Magic for Magnus, and hunting for Alec. That didn't mean he didn't have to deal with the constant thought that one day he might sleep alone again, and much earlier than he should need to. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft gaze.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you worry so much."

"No it's fine, just, lie down."

"It really doesn't hurt, my iratzes should be fine."

"An iratze won't cure a broken rib, my dear. Plus it'll take hours for one to close that gash."

The frown was still prominent on Alec's tired face.

"But your magic. You shouldn't have to waste it-"

"Your well-being is much more important than conserving a little magic."

"You're too nice to me sometimes you know…"

"I think the 'too' is unnecessary."

They both sighed, knowing this sort of little not-argument would get them nowhere, there would always be worry and there would always be upset it the aftermath of injury. But now wasn't the time for hurting, it was a time for healing.

"Lie down, time to do what I do best."

Alec felt a warm sort of velvety sensation within his chest as Magnus's hands slipped across, pushing his magic into the cracked ribs, mending them. Next was the slash on his shoulder. He coaxed the skin to a closing, and with the combined help of the iratzes, it vanished without so much as a scar. Alec shivered a bit as the rest of the blue magic simmered out of his body. It wasn't really unpleasant or even foreign anymore, just, invasive. Kind of like eating pop rocks, only the pop cracks in the smallest and deepest crevices of your insides. At last he was allowed to sit up, and he slumped forward into the awaiting arms of his lover and savior.

"Magnus?"

"Yes?"

"M'tired."

"Me too, pumpkin. What do you say we turn in? It's just a rerun of the old Toddlers and Tiaras anyways."

"That sounds amazing." He yawned, "Just like you."

The last bit was so whispered it sounded almost like a breath. But demon ears heard it nonetheless.

"You're cute when you're sleepy, and thank you for the lovely compliment, my lovely."

"Then gimme' a kish." Alec's voice began to slur with drowsiness, his cheeks forgetting to blush.

"Really, you act so much more like a child when you're tired."

"Thank you. I'm still sleepy."

"Yes that's right, let's go."

Bane scooped up the small boy and carried him princess-style into the bedroom, depositing him gently on the yellow sheets. He stood up again, but was gripped by he shirt with a pale hand.

"Don' go, come sleep with me."

Magnus found it hard not to smile.

"I'm just grabbing my phone, just a second, I promise."

He slipped the cellular out of his coat hanging on the rack and checked for messages. Quite a few actually, not from a client. Jace Wayland, or as the warlock liked to call him, golden boy.

'Just fought pack of demons, is Alec with you?'

'He ran off after we got separated, he's not picking up.'

Magnus was swift in reply.

'Yes, I've got him. He's sleeping.'

'Any bad booboos?'

'A gash and a few broken ribs, you three really need to learn to stick together.'

'Yeah yeah. Tell him to be home by five tomorrow, Isabelle wants to have a family meal "

'I'll send him with some pain killers.'

The conversation ended and Magnus turned back into the dimly lit bedroom. He plugged his phone into the wall charger and removed his garments, so as to be comfortable for the night. He pulled himself under the covers and soon enough found arms snaking around his waist, pulling him closer to the ultimate warmth. Said warmth exhaled happily when Magnus rested his chin atop his mop of dark hair.

"Miss'd you."

"It was two seconds sweetheart, now get some rest."

His retort was lost on slumbering ears, but he couldn't find himself to mind. It was late, and all was as it should be.

./././././

A few hours later Magnus jolted up in bed with a start. He ran to the window and stared into the misty streets of Brooklyn.

"Mhhh-hey. Magnus, what's wrong?"

Alec sat up, groggy, and winced at his soreness.

"Nothing, it's just…"

He looked distracted, still searching the streets, going to his other windows to investigate them as well.

"Doesn't look like nothing."

He came back and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know if it's a dream but this is the second time…"

"Second time what?"

"My alarm charms around the city are able to detect any magical force that's at least half my level. This is the second time this week, and I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but I keep sensing something within the city boundaries, or someone rather, perhaps almost equal to my own powers. But I can't be sure, it vanished both times, as soon as I opened my eyes."

Alec leaned forward and put his hand on the tired man's shoulders. He began to rub the tension out of them.

"Maybe it's nothing, but this isn't the first time you've been right about an inkling."

Magnus loosened up a bit as his boyfriend's hands worked their own magic. There was of course a possibility that there was something afoot in the city, but the doubts currently outweighed the possibilities. There was no reason for anyone of threat to be around that he knew of. No special events or Warlock family reunions.

"Maybe, but there's no reason, other than my ears playing tricks on me, for alarm. And right now, I've got a comfy bed, and a comfy babe, that I'd really like to get back to."

He turned around in a blink and enveloped Alec in his tan arms, sending them toppling back onto the pillows. He laughed as the Shadow-hunter struggled for release from his hug. Eventually he conceded defeat, and snuggled into the embrace, inhaling the strong scent of sandal-wood. Safety.

"Good night, again."

"You mean good morning, darling."

And they were fast asleep again in a matter of minutes.

././.././…/././…/../

"The rain came before we water proofed the seals-"

"It's fine, I fixed it. It's almost time anyway. I trust everything else will run smoothly?"

"… Yes."

"No more slip-ups?"

"No."

"Good night then."

/../././././././././././././.././././././././././. /././././././././.

Alice: What will happen? I guess you'll have to review to find out.

Jace: Feeling a little better I see, what changed?

Alice: Nothing, I think I just ran out of tears, so why not laugh. HA. HAHAHA. HOWS THAT.

Jace: Sarcastic and bitter.

Alice: I call it 'The Jace'

Jace: Funny. Very funny. Now let's go get you some Ben & Jerry's.

Alice: Keep reviewing if you want chapter 3 out faster. And thanks, Curlytop.

Jace: Anytime, you weepy 15 year-old. Anytime.