Jace caught up with him eventually. Of course, it had to be in an elevator where it was impossible for Alec to avoid him. He felt uncomfortable with Jace ever since the dilemma with the memory demon. Still, Jace was his parabatai, he'd do his best to keep things normal. Or, as close to normal as possible

"Hey."

Alec inclined his head in greeting. "Hi."

Jace sighed and began without preamble, "I just don't get it," the elevator doors opened and they stepped out, Jace continued, "You're the acting head of this Institute. If there's a diplomatic mission, you should go. Let's switch assignments."

"Nope," Alec said. They made their way past the rows of monitors and working Shadowhunters. "This time I'm actually gonna obey orders, and babysit the newbie."

"Jonas?" Jace glanced at Alec. "He's more like a responsibility."

As they reached the top of the steps, Jace grabbed Alec's shoulder. "Hey," he said. Alec turned to face him. "Hey, you'll keep an eye on him, right?"

Alec remained silent, avoiding the other man's gaze.

Jace slapped him on the arm lightly and asked, "What is wrong with you?"

Alec sucked in a breath, nervously meeting his parabatai's gaze. "I, uh…" He stuttered for a moment. "You have every right to be mad at me."

"What did you do?" Jace grinned. "Throw my leather jacket in the washing machine again?"

"This isn't a joke," Alec replied in an impatient tone. He hesitated for a moment, building up the courage to speak. "At Magnus's. The demon image of you..."

"That?" Jace asked, sounding surprised. "You love me... so? I love you, too, Alec."

Alec felt frozen, his brain had ground to a halt. Jace loves me? He thought, desperate for it to be true.

"Come on, man." Jace smiled and patted his shoulder. "We're parabatai. We're brothers."

Reality came crashing down on Alec, and he looked away, feeling both embarrassed and sickeningly disappointed. The worst thing though, was that he wasn't surprised. He knew– Had always known that Jace couldn't love him like that.

...He'd still hoped, though. Deep down inside of him, and that hope had helped him to deny the truth.

Now that the truth was staring him in the face? Alec felt broken.

"We've spent almost our whole lives together," Jace continued, oblivious to Alec's internal meltdown. "How could we not love each other? This is what's been bothering you? Seriously?"

At his inquisitive look, Alec plastered on a smile and stammered out, "Yeah. Yeah– I, uh– You're right. That's true. I just thought you'd think that–"

"What?" Jace questioned. When Alec didn't continue, he said, "Whatever, okay. If you want to follow Mom's orders tonight, that's great. But… please, just do me one favor… Swear to me you won't take your eyes off of Jonas. He's good people, and our best shot at finding the Cup."

Alec stared at Jace.

Jace chuckled to himself, and admitted, "I… I can't believe I even asked you that." He grinned and pulled Alec into a hug. "You won't let me down."

Alec melted into the touch, but did his best to hold himself together. He clapped Jace twice on the back and then the two split apart, with Jace turning and walking off into the distance.

Alec watched him go, and then felt the inexplicable need to go and see Jonas.

So... that's what he did.

Alec made sure to knock on Jonas' door when he arrived at the man's room, because he understood privacy, unlike some people. (Though, it was probably Alec's fault because he often forgot to shut his door.)

When Jonas answered and opened the door, Alec stormed inside and began to pace.

He felt eyes on him for a moment, before the door was shut and Jonas said, "What happened?"

Alec ground his teeth and walked faster. "Jace."

"That guy you have a crush on?"

Alec froze. His head snapped in Jonas' direction, eyes blazing.

Jonas crossed his arms.

"I don't have a crush on him," Alec said.

Jonas' quirked a brow.

Alec huffed and sat down on the edge of the bed, foot tapping out a staccato rhythm.

Jonas exhaled in a harsh rush of air, as though this whole situation was beneath him. "He's straight."

"You're straight," Alec retorted without giving it much thought.

Jonas laughed. "No I'm not."

Alec's gaze snapped up, finding an amused smirk on the man's face.

Alec wasn't sure exactly what happened in those next few moments. He saw a gorgeous man with shaggy, auburn locks and full pink lips turned up at one edge. He saw a man, that was not straight, that was attractive and amazing and brave and right there in front of him.

He saw a man named Jonas, and Alec wanted to kiss him.

Before he could second guess himself, Alec surged to his feet, walked up to Jonas, grabbed the man's face between his hands… and kissed him.

For a moment, for one blissful, perfect moment, Alec was lost in that kiss.

Then, the moment was broken when Jonas shoved Alec away, hard.

Alec stumbled back, nearly falling on his ass as he barely managed to regain his footing. He stared at Jonas, feeling nothing but empty shock. The auburn haired Shadowhunter sneered (sneered) at Alec and said, "No. No, and don't you ever try that with me again."

Jonas then spun on his heel and disappeared out through the door.

Alec felt awful. There was a horrible, burning ball of emotions sitting heavily in the pit of his stomach. He'd tried to list all of the things he felt: embarrassment, regret, sorrow, anger, frustration, confusion, fear, hopelessness… but the list just went on for too long. He gave up, because trying to narrow down all of his emotions down was only making him feel worse.

Alec hid in Jonas' bedroom for a good ten minutes before stepping out into the hall. He then carefully made his way to his own room, not wanting to run into anyone (especially Jonas) on the way. Once he was safely in his room, Alec climbed into bed, curled up on his side, and shut his eyes.

He remained like that for a good long while, until finally he found the will to get up and face the world again. Alec rubbed at his face and stamped down on the emotions whirling in his gut.

When he emerged into the main room, his gaze caught on a familiar head of shaggy, auburn hair in the training room. Confused as to why Jonas would be there, Alec went to investigate.

Jonas wasn't really doing anything. He was staring at the table of weapons, seeming deep in thought. Alec, unsure on how to proceed, cleared his throat.

When that didn't draw the man's attention, Alec called, "Jonas."

Jonas looked up, gaze flittering around as though confused, before his peridot eyes landed on Alec. A bright, but shy smile grew on the man's face. "Alec!"

Alec stared at him, completely bewildered by his reaction.

"I'm not late, am I?" Jonas asked.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Alec walked over over to Jonas and whispered, "You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I kissed you!" Alec blurted, a little louder than he had intended. He glanced around worriedly, but nobody seemed to have heard.

"You kissed me?" Jonas asked, sounding confused.

Alec swallowed. "Fine, if you want to pretend it didn't happen, then I can do that."

"Wait." Jonas' lips stretched into one of the widest and happiest smiles Alec had ever seen. "You actually kissed me?"

"Nope," Alec said, because if this was a game? He wanted to win it.

"Oh," Jonas said, brows furrowing as though he was confused.

If anyone had a right to be confused, it was Alec. He pointedly avoided Jonas' gaze and made to leave. He knew that there was shit to be done, but Alec was feeling rather petulant in that moment.

Before he could, Jonas reached out and grabbed his elbow. "Hey," Jonas said, and Alec reluctantly looked up to face him. The auburn-haired Shadowhunters' expression was sincere, eyes beseeching. "Whatever… Whatever I did to upset you, I'm sorry. Really."

Alec wasn't sure what to say to that.

As though sensing Alec's uneasiness, Jonas tried for a change of subject. "I was thinking, if we can't use the crystal, then we'll have to go with Plan B."

"Plan B?" Alec prompted, running on autopilot.

(Admittedly, a part of him felt a little bit better now that Jonas had apologised. Though, he was still very confused.)

"There was a box." Jonas shaped his hands as though to show the size. "Tiny, looked intricate, probably not worth anything though. Shame." He chuckled to himself in amusement. "Anyway, Jocelyn would pull it out every now and then and cry all over it."

"'Cause?"

Jonas explained, "It had the initials, JC, on top. Jocelyn said my father's name was Jonathan Clark. Maybe there's something inside that could help us track Valentine."

Interest piqued, Alec asked, "Where can we find the box?"

"I think it's still back at the loft." Jonas grinned. "Let's go get it."

Alec's phone began to ring, and he dug into his pockets to grab it as he replied, "Absolutely not. Not without permission."

Jonas scoffed, clearly unhappy with Alec's answer.

"Just–" Alec tried to say something, but gave up and instead walked to the side of the room so he could answer the phone. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Alexander. Hi," a tinny voice greeted through the speaker. "It's Magnus. We met the other day. You know, with the demon."

"Uh, yeah…" Of course he remembered the warlock. With the guy's flirting and the undeniable attraction Alec felt for him, how could he not? "Yeah, hey, what's up?"

"I was just thinking it was really nice getting to know you. You seem... sympathetic. Would you like to go out for a drink some time?"

A drink? Alec thought. His mind flashed back to his attempted kiss with Jonas earlier. Clearly he wasn't interested, but Magnus seemed to be. "That sounds fun, um… When?"

"How about right now?" Magnus asked.

Alec paused and turned around, because he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Jonas and… and Jonas was gone. "Um… You know, now's not a really good time for me." Alec felt panic seize his chest, but he pushed that aside and focused. "Another time? Gotta go."

He hung up and dashed out of the training room. He ran down the halls, figuring he'd check to see if Jonas was in his room before he did anything drastic. Skirting between two other Shadowhunters, Alec skidded around the corner and sprinted over to Jonas' door.

Without bothering to knock, he shoved the door open and looked around.

The room was empty.

Okay, Alec thought. He tried not to worry too much, because at least he knew where Jonas was going. Still… He was pretty damn worried.

Alec finally caught up with Jonas when the man stopped to buy a donut. A donut.

Jonas had bought the donut and made himself invisible again by the time Alec reached him.

"What are you doing?" Alec questioned as he neared. Jonas turned to stare at him with innocent, doey eyes as he bit into his donut. "Do you realise how dangerous this is?"

Jonas shrugged and continued eating his donut.

Alec scowled at him. "How did you even glamor yourself anyway?"

"Jace gave me a stele."

Alec scowled at the man. "When?"

Jonas chewed and swallowed before answering. "A while ago, does it matter? My plan worked, I forced your hand. Now you're out in the open world." Jonas smirked. "Enjoy the fresh air, Alec."

"'Open world'," Alec repeated with a scoff. He paused for a moment, taking in their surroundings. The only thing that really caught his attention were all of the people moving about, doing absolutely nothing. He gestured around vaguely. "Mundanes. Look at them. Running around like ants." He turned back to Jonas and said, "Let's go."

He started walking, and as he passed Jonas he saw the auburn haired Shadowhunter stuff the rest of his donut into his mouth. After a few moments of walking in silence, Alec felt a hand on his elbow, stopping him.

With extreme reluctance, Alec turned to face Jonas.

"You know what? If you were any more gloomy right now, you'd have your own personal storm cloud following you." Jonas frowned, appearing concerned. "What is it? Is it Jace? Is this because you love Jace?"

Alec jaw clenched at his words, and he replied, "Don't start this again."

Jonas chuckled. "What's the big deal? We all suffer through unrequited crushes." Jonas paused at his words, looking sheepish as he avoided Alec's gaze. "Admit it, you're in love with Jace."

"Forget it. You know what?" Alec glared at Jonas, and the man's eyes finally met his. "You're in love with Jace."

"No," Jonas said, and then huffed. "I have much better taste than that."

"Oh, yeah?" Alec eyed him closely. "Like who?"

Jonas shifted uneasily and averted his gaze. "Does it matter?" Jonas finally looked up and continued, "Alec, we have a real problem to solve, okay?" Jonas nudged Alec with his elbow. "Come with me."

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes. "This better be quick."

When they neared the loft, Jonas led him off the main pathway and Alec eyed him, confused. "Where are we going? Isn't it the other way?"

"This is a shortcut," Jonas said.

"All right, well," Alec began. "We have to be careful. There are eyes all over this place and everybody in the Shadow World's looking for you."

Jonas smirked. "Don't worry, this is a special secret that I had to trade all of my pokemon cards for."

"'Pokemon cards'?" Alec repeated, and then said, "Nevermind. Lead the way."

They made their way around a wall and then into a fenced off area. Jonas walked over to the ladder of a fire escape and began to climb. Alec watched him as he waited, gaze sliding over Jonas' form, from the defined line of his shoulders, to the slight curve of his ass.

Clearing his throat, Alec focused on the ladder and began to climb.

"I haven't done this in four years," Jonas said, sounding like he was finding this whole thing fun. "It's gotten a lot more… viney since I've last been here."

"Viney, sure." Alec scoffed. "Climbing a fire escape excites mundanes. I'll never understand you people."

"I thought we agreed I was a Shadowhunter now? Or at least a 'newbie' Shadowhunter."

Alec shot him a look. "There are moments when you don't particularly suck," he allowed.

"Gee." Jonas narrowed his gaze. "Thanks."

They came to a stop at the top of the fire escape and Jonas stopped. "Huh." His green gaze scanned across the walls of the building. "I don't remember it looking like this."

Alec told Jonas, "These are runes and wards of protection cast by a warlock." The two Shadowhunters climbed off of the fire escape and moved to examine the runes. "Some of these have been here for years."

"Protection, huh?" Jonas scoffed, as though Alec's words were some kind of joke to him. He walked up to the wall and started tracing the runes.

Alec watched Jonas, entranced by the man's nimble fingers as they ran over the brickwork.

"This is from when Simon and Clary were engaged to be married," Jonas said as he came upon a heart with initials in it.

"They were engaged?" Alec asked. "I'm almost certain I don't wanna hear that story."

Jonas shot him a wry look. "I'll spare you the details." He exhaled in a slow waft of air. "A part of me was always jealous of Clary. Things were... different for her."

"You two are twins, right?" Alec asked, Jonas nodded. "Were you close?"

"No," Jonas said, and that was that. He walked over to the door and tried to open it.

It wouldn't budge.

"I don't suppose you have a key?" Jonas asked Alec.

Alec shot him an incredulous look. "It's your house."

"Mmm," Jonas hummed non-committedly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black satchel. Alec watched as he knelt in front of the door and opened up the pouch. Jonas then selected a tension wrench and a pick.

"You know how to pick locks?" Alec asked. He was both impressed, and a little concerned.

"Nope," Jonas said. "But it can't be that hard, right?"

"But then why do you have a lock picking kit?"

Jonas shrugged. "It's not mine."

Alec stared at him, feeling utterly lost.

He watched the auburn haired Shadowhunter work at the lock for a few minutes in silence, then, miracle of all miracles, the lock turned and Jonas grinned. He tried the knob, ignoring the deadbolt for the moment, and the door swung outward.

"I'm glad I only had to do the one lock," Jonas said in relief. "I really had no idea what I was doing."

Alec looked to the sky, questioning why this was his life. When he looked back down, Jonas had already disappeared inside of the building. Alec stepped inside and caught up with Jonas in the hallway.

"So, where do we find this box?"

Jonas replied immediately. "In the room where she keeps all of the boxes, duh."

"And where is that?" Alec questioned.

Jonas stared at him.

Alec sighed. "You were joking."

Jonas smirked. He then pointed at a room in the corner. "You try over there, I'll go–"

"We're not splitting up."

"...Okay," Jonas said, drawing the word out. "Then we'll start with Clary's room."

"Why Clary's room?"

Jonas' expression soured, shifting into something dark. "Because I would rather not start with Jocelyn's room."

"Oh," Alec replied eloquently.

Jonas led the way into a room that was burnt to a crisp. He stood off to the side, taking it all in. "Unless Clary's new aesthetic is crispy chicken, I'm guessing someone tried to burn any evidence that might've been in here."

Alec nodded in agreement. "Start looking," he said, and they did.

He didn't really understand a lot of what he saw. Most of it was burnt beyond recognition, and everything else was just random junk that was of no help to them. A few times, though, he spotted Jonas staring at such pieces of junk for long stretches of time

Alec was the one to find the creaking floorboard. It took him ages, but when he did he crouched down and pulled aside some carpet. Then, using his nails, he lifted the board and reached inside.

"Jonas," Alec called as he pulled something out. The man wandered over, and Alec turned to him, holding the object out. "Is this the box you remember?"

Jonas took the box, staring at it. Then he said, "Yep," and handed the box back to Alec.

"You don't want to do the honors?" Alec asked. Jonas shook his head.

Growing concerned about his… friend's silence, Alec pried open the box and frowned at the contents within. "What the–"

A crash outside interrupted his question, and Alec's head snapped up.

"There's someone here," Alec said. He turned and shoved the box into Jonas' hands. "Get what you need. Do not move until I get back. We've been here too long."

He rushed outside and to the fire escape, climbing down a few rungs of the ladder before dropping to the ground. Drawing his bow, Alec peered out across the backyard. A rustle to his right caught his attention, and he snuck forward, notching an arrow as he went.

The bush rustled again, and Alec pulled back the string, aiming his bow around. He tracked the movement of some creature as it dashed all about the yard. Alec rushed to his left as he tracked a black blur dart out into the open. He let his arrow fly, but it embedded in a nearby pot plant.

His target, which he couldn't quite make out, raced out into the street. As it left through the alley, Alec's gaze caught on a passing truck and then the black sedan behind it. He watched as Jonas was dragged towards the car, struggling with all of his might.

Alec didn't hesitate.

He sprinted forwards, because they had Jonas.

He ran as fast as he could, faster than the human eye could clearly track, but the sedan sped off before he could reach it. Alec slowed to a stop, then spun around, as though a solution might just come to him randomly.

When it didn't, he rubbed the back of his head and hurried back to the loft.

He had to message Jace.

Alec paced around the burnt room, angry with Jonas, angry with himself. He'd messed up. Alec had left Jonas alone for one second, thinking the man would be safer inside, and he'd been taken.

Alec cared for Jonas, the man that so selflessly devoted himself to finding the Cup and saving the Shadow World. He didn't want to lose him before they could even have a chance at… something. Whether it be just friendship, or the something more that Jonas continued to hint at but never confirmed.

Alec was leaning towards the former, considering the failure of a kiss they'd just had.

Taking his fury out on inanimate objects, Alec gripped a nearby stereo and ripped it from its place. He threw it against the wall and looked around for something else to smash.

"Where is he?" Jace questioned as he and Izzy rushed into the room, distracting Alec from his rampage. "Where's Jonas?"

"He's gone," Alec admitted, averting his gaze.

"What do you mean, gone?" Izzy questioned.

"He got arrested, when I was securing the fire escape. I–- I… I got distracted." Alec paused a beat to compose himself so he could continue. "It was an unmarked car. I… I– I don't know where they took him."

Alec's eyes flickered about, unable to focus too long on Jace as the man crowded in, appearing outraged and breathing heavily. "What did you do, Alec?" He asked. After a few, intense, scary moments, Jace turned and stormed off.

Alec reached up and scratched at the back of his head again, feeling helpless. He watched as Izzy raced off after Jace. Alec figured that he should probably follow. He made sure he grabbed the box before he went after them.

He caught up with the other two outside in an alley. Jace held something between his palms, Alec wasn't quite sure what it was. Alec stood off to the side as he watched Jace try and track Jonas.

After a few moments, he winced and panted, opening his eyes as he cursed, "Damn it. He's not showing up." Jace turned to Alec. "We need to parabatai track."

Alec walked over to help without resistance. He wanted to find Jonas, he wanted to fix his mistake. Jace activated a rune on Alec's palm, and then clasped their hands together around a photograph. They tried for a while, before Jace scowled. "Alec, concentrate."

They tried again.

"Alec!" Jace snapped when it didn't work.

"I'm doing it," Alec said. "He's not showing up."

Jace ripped the photograph from Alec's hand and walked away.

"Just like I thought," Izzy announced suddenly. "He wasn't arrested."

Alec's heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach.

"It was your job to look after him!" Jace shouted, as he rounded on Alec.

"I did my best, Jace."

Jace stared at him for a moment that felt like hours. He then exhaled in a harsh huff and looked away. Jace was disappointed in him. For Alec, that felt like a punch to the gut.

A shrill ringing noise pierced the air, startling the three Shadowhunters. Alec felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, and he pulled it out, frowning at the unknown number that was displayed.

He answered, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Alec? It is me. I managed to borrow a phone."

At first, Alec didn't recognise the voice with it's irish lilt and measured cadences. Then it hit him. "Jonas?" Alec replied, shocked.

"I hope you are not disturbed that I have your number. I thought it best to have it memorised for emergency situ–"

"That doesn't matter," Alec cut him off. He felt Jace and Izzy staring at him, glanced up to see them crowding in. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I am as well as can be expected. I was stuck in a shipping container, but then I was released by an unexpected ally that tells me he can save me, but I doubt it." There was a pause, and the muffled sound of another man's voice. Then, Jonas continued, "I am at the Jade Wolf Chinese Restaurant on the pier at Greene St."

"We'll be there soon," Alec told Jonas. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Oh, please." There was a scoff. "It is like you do not even know me, Alec."

The call ended with a click, and Alec turned to the other two Shadowhunters. "I know where he is."

"Then let's go," Jace said, and the three raced off to save their friend.

(hides under blanket) please don't be mad at me about the kiss!

All will work out in due course. Also, a lot of things will be explained very soon! Also, more Magnus!

Guest: Here's your update! and JSJLFJLFSJ you're too kind!

Haku Hazeru: Violla! And I hope you enjoy these coming chapters, things really kick up a notch (both in the relationship aspect of things and the action/drama side of things)

As always, I love hearing from you!