Hey guys! Chapter 12 is finally here, sorry for the long wait, and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I apologise for the lack of Magnus in this chapter, however he will definitely be back in the next chapter.. Promise!

Oh, and thank you for the reviews replying to my authors note.. I decided to continue with the story (obviously) but I will let you know if I have any plans on new stories or anything!

Thanks for sticking with this story even though I've been sucky at updating. I hope you enjoy reading...

The institute was quiet when Alec stepped through the doors; it was only six in the morning, and with no morning training session scheduled, everybody was still in bed. Deciding he was in need of a quick caffeine-induced boost, Alec started on making himself a coffee.

Magnus was busy all day, which surprisingly, was a good thing. It left Alec the whole day to prepare for the approaching date: Magnus' birthday.

The shadowhunter had a vague outline of an idea for what he was going to do for his beloved, however his plans required the expertise of Isabelle to pull off- thus, an entire day without Magnus was for once, a positive occurrence.

It was after ten before anyone else in the institute had woken up, which Alec thought was ridiculous, since they were shadowhunters and were supposed to ready at all times, morning training session or not.

And so, at exactly 10:04 a.m., Isabelle finally decided to grace Alec with her presence, considerably more chirpy than was usual as a result of the lay in she'd been allowed today. It was only once in a blue moon that a shadowhunter didn't have a training session to attend at the crack of dawn, and so Isabelle had thoroughly made use of the free time.

"Morning," Alec said, coffee mug in hand as he leaned against the counter. Isabelle gave him a wry smile as she seated herself at the kitchen island.

"Well, well," Isabelle began, snatching the mug out of Alec's hand to take a sip for herself, "I'd have thought you'd be spending as much time as physically possible with Magnus now that you're back together, but here you are." At Alec's expression, she added seriously, "not that I'm complaining, of course,"

Alec rolled his eyes and pulled on Isabelle's long ebony locks affectionately, giving her an appreciative smile. Isabelle wrinkled her nose and went on, "so, what does bring you here without your beloved one and only then, dear brother?"

Alec's expression sobered, "I need your help."

"For the last time Isabelle, I don't want, or need a makeover!"

Sat with his arms crossed on Isabelle's bed, he sent her a firm glare, which Isabelle studiously ignored, continuing to find a matching bag to go shopping with.

Shopping. Ugh. Alec couldn't think of anything worse.

At Alec's stubborn expression, Isabelle let out a sigh, and finally looked up at him, her face exasperated.

"Alec. Seriously. You want this to be the best birthday ever for Magnus, right?" At Alec's reluctant nod she continued, "Well then, you shouldn't be doing this because you want to do it, but to make Magnus happy, on his birthday at least, don't you think?"

Alec sighed, gnawing on his bottom lip in frustration. She was right, of course, and Magnus would love this, it was true. And Alec did want to make this the best birthday Magnus had ever had. And so, with almost no reluctance now, Alec met Isabelle's gaze with a firm nod.

"Ooh, we have to go in here!" Isabelle squealed, totally in her element in the shopping centre amidst the hundreds of other avid shopaholics. Alec groaned as Isabelle dragged him into yet another clothing store.

Despite the fact that they'd been in multiple shops already, and Isabelle had forced him to buy more clothes than he'd owned in his entire eighteen years of life, apparently none of those were actually 'suitable' for Magnus' present, and they had yet to find the 'perfect' outfit.

But, Alec wasn't about to voice his complaints, considering he wanted Magnus' day to be perfect, and if he had to withstand this torture to make it perfect, then so be it.

After traipsing around the store after Isabelle for a good few minutes, Alec finally saw something that he actually liked. The jeans were skinny, much too skinny for his usual taste, but Alec found he rather liked them; he couldn't say that the fact that they were black didn't have anything to do with his liking of them. Admittedly the rips on the knees and the silver zippers where pockets should be were a little too out there for Alec, however since this was for Magnus' benefit and not his own, he decided they would be fine.

"Isabelle!" He called out, and she came rushing over, shopping bags in hand, with a bundle of shirts and jackets thrown over her arm. When she saw what Alec was holding, she gasped.

"OH MY GOSH. Alec, that's perfect. I can't believe you picked them out on your own!"

Alec gave her a wry smile, "Yes, I know. The wonders of the universe never cease to amaze me either," Isabelle stuck her tongue out at the sarcastic reply, but nevertheless carried on.

"Alec, you absolutely have to these on, now!" She shoved the bundle of clothes into his arms and pushed him in the direction of the changing rooms with a firm, "GO!"

The jeans were skin-tight, as was expected, and he knew Isabelle would definitely approve. He threw on one of the many shirts Izzy had picked out for him, this one a black dress shirt with a silvery sheen to it. Compared to some of the clothing that Izzy had picked out for him thus far, it wasn't actually too bad.

Stepping out from behind the curtain of the changing room, he was met with a squeal of delight as Isabelle's eyes made a swift perusal of his outfit.

"Wow. You look hot. That's definitely the one," She sent him a wry smile, "I'm proud of you, big bro,"

He rolled his eyes, but sent her an appreciative smile in return. Really, he was just glad this shopping trip was finally over.

Sat in Starbucks, Alec sipping from a plain black coffee and Isabelle a caramel mocha, they were discussing the topic of Magnus' birthday.

"So what exactly are you planning on doing for him?" Asked Isabelle, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well, I was thinking of taking him out," Alec replied.

"Yes, well, that much was a given," Isabelle rolled her eyes and flicked her ebony hair out of her face impatiently, "where are you planning on taking him?"

Alec frowned, "See, that's where you come in. I wanted to take him somewhere fun and exciting- a club or something -hence why I asked you for help with what to wear, but I have no idea where or which club to take him to. I have no knowledge about this sort of thing... But I thought you might?" And he leaned forward expectantly.

Isabelle's face broke out into a slow smirk, "You thought correctly, brother dearest. Don't worry, I know the perfect place."

Okay, there's chapter 12! Again, sorry it took so long, I had a bit of writers block and it took me a while to get back into the swing of things, but here it is. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Please review and tell me if you liked it and what you thought? Sorry for the lack of malec love in this chapter, but next one is Magnus' birthday! Got to say I'm excited about writing that one... And hopefully I'll be able to write/post it ASAP.

Thank you so much for reading.

~Dreams Of Oblivion