Turning in his chair at Magnus' desk, Alec flexed his fingers. He gave a quick look over his shoulder to make sure his taskmaster wasn't watching before he shook out his hand, but he should have known that Magnus was always watching him.

The warlock turned with that graceful flip of his head that drove Alec wild. "How are you fairing, Alexander?"

It felt like it had been forever, with the Institute beyond busy dealing with Valentine, but it had only been two days since Magnus had assigned him the lines, ten pages to remind him to trust his gut instead of just following the Clave's orders. He was determined to finish as soon as possible, if for no other reason than the fact that he was desperate for Magnus' touch, forbidden until he was finished. He didn't want to go another night without it. The first page he'd finished immediately the day Magnus had assigned him the task, before leaving for the Institute. Two more he'd completed that evening after filing the necessary paperwork with the Clave to launch the Downworld Cabinet. But his fingers didn't fly with magic that night like Magnus' had brewing some potion for a client. Of course, there was something about watching Magnus work that distracted him. His long, strong fingers dancing in the air. Those big, beautiful rings that decorated his long, strong fingers. The energy and grace that emanated from those dancing, bejeweled long, strong fingers. It had been enough to make him dizzy.

Frustrated, he'd managed one page yesterday morning before Izzy was calling him with some urgent need for him back at the Institute, and one last night before he'd nearly fallen asleep at his desk. Determined, he'd finished two this morning which left him with almost three full pages to complete if he had any hope of having sex that evening.

And he did have hope.

"Almost done," he said, picking up the pen one last time. "I have five lines left."

He felt Magnus peer over his shoulder and the scrutiny made his heart skip a beat. Until four of his completed lines disappeared. Alec groaned.

"Nine lines left. Neatness counts, Alexander," Magnus told him.

"My hand is cramping, Magnus." He couldn't help the whine that came out of his mouth even though he knew he'd been rushing. "I could barely draw my arrow this morning. Jace asked me what was wrong and I had to make up some story about hurting it in training."

"Is that why you're considering sending him to the Seelie Court?" Magnus teased.

"What? No, of course not." It didn't hurt though, that it might prevent some unnecessary embarrassment.

Magnus chuckled. "Discipline isn't meant to be easy, Alexander, and you wouldn't want it that way. But remember, this is at your pace. You could always wait to finish tomorrow morning. Lessen the pain in your hand, but wait one more night before-"

"No," Alex said firmly. Fighting with him had been bad enough, but they'd barely even been able to make up yet. "No more waiting."

Magnus chuckled again and poured two glasses of champagne while Alec went back to his work, making sure that every last letter was perfect. He finally slammed the pencil down with satisfaction. "There," Alec said. He stood up and held out the last page of lines. "Finished."

Magnus took it and gave it a quick once over before going back to the desk where Alec had sat. He opened the drawer that held the other completed papers. Placing them together, he rolled them up, and reached into a second drawer, pulling out a scroll case. Dark leather with red and gold filigree, it looked ancient. "A gift from Count Axel von Fersen, of course," Magnus explained at Alec's questioning look.

"Oh, of course," Alec said.

Magnus gave him a quick smile before he took Alec's ten pages of carefully penned work and gently slid them inside the case. Placing the lid back on, he held it out to Alec. "For you to keep at your desk in your office. To look at, whenever you might need the reminder."

Alec looked at Magnus, his breath hitching with surprise. He took it. It was heavy and possibly the most thoughtful gift he'd ever received. For more reasons than one.

"Thank you." His voice choked with love.

Magnus smiled that beautiful smile. He picked up the champagne glasses and held one out for Alec. "You're welcome," he said, clinking their glasses. Alec took a sip, for once enjoying the taste. Magnus drained his. "Come." Magnus took Alec's glass and the scroll and set them both on the coffee table. "Let me see what I can do about that ache in your hand."

Magnus led him over to the couch. He sat back against the arm and pulled Alec down to sit between his legs. After the past few days, there was nothing Alec wanted to do more than relax against his boyfriend's chest and put his feet up.

Well, almost nothing.

Magnus picked up a small bottle of oil that he rubbed between his palms, then took Alec's hand in his. "How does that feel, darling?"

"Perfect," Alec nearly purred, closing his eyes. And it really did. He didn't know why but, unlike Jace and Izzy, guilt had always plagued him until he'd paid the price he believed he owed. When he was young it was easy, there was always a parent or a tutor or a member of the Clave around to make sure that when he 'broke noses', there were consequences. But now that he was older…it was almost a relief to know that Magnus would still be watching out for him. Giving him what he needed.

Which right now was this heavenly massage. Magnus pressed his thumbs into Alec's wrist with just the right amount of pressure and rubbed small circles into tired muscles. Alec groaned as every bit of tension released. "By the angel, Magnus, that feels amazing."

"I'm just getting started, beautiful."

Alec allowed himself just for a moment not to think. As Magnus moved his soothing touch from his wrist to his palm, he didn't think about the Institute or Valentine. As the oil mixed with magic, a warmth spread from his hand to his heart, and he didn't think about Jace or Izzy or Clary or any number of people whom he loved and whose fate felt like it rested on his shoulders. As the ache in his hand began to subside, he let himself not think about whatever horrors Magnus had seen and felt behind Valentine's skin. With the gentle pull of each of his fingers, he let himself let go and slip into a world where nothing but this moment, right now, existed.

"I love you," he breathed. Magnus' only answer was to guide Alec's hand to his mouth, tantalizing him as he kissed each finger before drawing it in with his tongue, sucking gently. It was dirty and it was breathtaking and Alec's pleasure quickly spread from his fingers through his body. "I need you Magnus. I can't wait any longer. Please."

"Really." Magnus reached down to the bulge growing in Alec's pants and thumbed over the fabric. "So eager," Magnus teased.

But instead of waiting for Magnus to lead, Alec spun around, kneeling between the warlock's legs, and pressed their lips together. He cupped Magnus' head, pulling him closer. The taste of champagne flooded his tongue when he deepened the kiss, torn between a desperate need to both show his gratitude and take back his power.

"Bedroom. Now," Alec said.

Alec pulled him up by the lapels and they kissed their way to the bedroom, discarding clothing along the way. Alec didn't hesitate to lower Magnus on to the bed and straddle him. "You're a cruel disciplinarian, you know," he growled playfully, grabbing Magnus' hands above his head and pressing them into the mattress.

"But you loved it," Magnus goaded, leaning up to kiss Alec.

"And you love this," Alec answered. He kissed him hard, grinding into him this time, pressing their aching cocks together until Magnus was the one begging. Adjusting so he held Magnus' wrists in one hand, Alec slid his other beneath his boyfriend's ass, clutching it, digging his nails into his skin.

"You make me lose my mind, Alexander. I need you inside me," Magnus whispered. "Need you to fuck me."

Alec laughed. He loved how Magnus lost all access to flowery language when he was like this. He reached over to the drawer at the bedside and rummaged through for condoms. There were some things that magic could provide but some things they still needed to rely on the mundane world for.

Magnus hitched up on his elbows just to watch him roll it on. "Fuck, Alexander, I am so ready for you."

"Now who's eager?" Alec grinned, throwing the wrapper on the floor. He eased himself inside Magnus, sighing at the heat consuming him. The warlock's eyes flashed gold and he fell back down onto the bed.

"I will always be eager for you, darling." Magnus trailed his fingernails over the runes on his back and Alec couldn't help but shudder at his touch. "For your broad shoulders, and strong biceps and of course your most impressive abs." Alec could feel his cheeks flush. "For that hair that flops adorably in the wind. For the trust you've given me. And for those eyes, Alexander, that light up every time I enter a room. I will always be eager for those eyes to see me."

"Well, who can see anything else when you're in a room," Alec said. He leaned over, slowly trailing his lips up Magnus's chest, until he flicked his nipples with his tongue, teasing as they hardened. He slowly blew soft air over them until Magnus shivered. "Between the color, the glitter, and that gorgeous face-"

"It's true. It's a sacrifice to be this perfect, but someone has to do it."

Alec smirked down at him. "Such a martyr."

Magnus raised a brow. "You always have to have the last word, Lightwood, don't you?"

Alec scowled at him for just a moment. "Shut up and kiss me."

Magnus didn't have to be told twice and he cupped Alec's neck, pulling him down. His tongue caressed along Alec's lips, and Alec swelled inside him, thrusting, hot, strong, and demanding. Magnus rocked his hips, meeting his every move.

Alec had never been with anyone else so he didn't know if the things Magnus made him feel were from magic or experience, and he'd rather kill himself than ask Jace or Izzy. But fucking Magnus felt better than anything he'd ever felt in the world. It felt like the angel rushing through him. Like getting his Parabatai rune but even better. It felt like they were one, united together, if only for a moment.

His mind emptied of everything but the pleasure coursing through his veins. He wondered if it was only through this love that their angelic blood truly came to life. Inside Magnus he felt safe, warm, like nothing could ever hurt him. Hurt them.

And for just a moment he wondered why it had been him, out of the thousands of people over the past hundred years, that had caught Magnus' eye.

Magnus brushed his cheek. "Is where you are in your head right now a good place or a bad place?" he asked.

Alec blinked out of it and flashed Magnus a bright smile. "Very good," he said and surged his hips forward as if to prove it. He pressed their foreheads together. "I'm going to make you feel so good, Magnus," he whispered

Before Magnus could speak, Alec captured his slightly parted lips, licking along them, then darting his tongue inside. It was Magnus who deepened it, begging for more, drawing Alec's dominance out of him. Alec was more than happy to oblige. He ran his hand beneath Magnus' thigh and lifted his leg to rest on his shoulder.

"Should I make your thigh ache as much as you made my hand?" Alec asked, thrusting forward, stretching Magnus' hamstring. The warlock threw his head back and hissed with pleasure. The position made it easier for Alec to hit Magnus' prostate and the way his boyfriend fell apart beneath him only turned Alec on more, giving him more confidence. Alec snapped his hips hard, driving into him.

"You like that do you?" Alec asked harshly, between panting breaths. Hard and fast Alec was fucking him, the slap of their balls against one another only adding to how good he felt. Magnus wasn't one to just lie there though, he met Alec's vigor with his own, reaching out to grasp Alec's ass and pull him down, trying to grind his cock between their stomachs.

"Why don't you put that aching hand to good use, Alexander," Magnus gasped.

Alec flipped his black hair out of his eyes. "I don't know Magnus, I kind of like you having to work for it." He smiled slyly. "Maybe you can come without me touching you?"

"Oh I definitely can, Alexander," Magnus said and then he flipped them over so Alec was on the bottom, Magnus sitting atop him. And he didn't move. "But can you come without me fucking you?"

"Shit, Magnus," Alexander groaned and he sat up, wrapping one arm around his boyfriend's waist, grasping Magnus' throbbing cock with the other. "Okay, let's see what we can do."

Magnus leaned back on his hands, giving Alec better access and both of them better leverage. Their skin gleamed with sweat, and they trembled with the effort and the arousal coursing through their veins. It didn't take long before Alec flipped Magnus back over, kissing him. Sexual, sensual, and spicy all at once, Alec fucked him without mercy. Eyes flashing gold and sparks flying from Magnus' fingers, magic surrounded them and surged through them.

"By the angel," Alec cried, his fist moving over Magnus' cock with the strength and speed of the rest of his body.

Magnus arched his back, clenching around Alec. Alec's toes curled, his stomach coiled, and he let go inside his boyfriend with a happiness that only two months ago he would have never thought possible. Pulsing in Alec's hand, Magnus dug his nails into his runed shoulders and came with a fierceness he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Heart racing, breath gasping, Alec's arms finally gave out and he rolled over gently, snuggling into the man he loved. Magnus combed his fingers lazily through Alec's hair and Alec felt a contentment beyond words. He absentmindedly brushed his fingers over Magnus' skin, teasing his sensitive nipples until Magnus covered his hand and held it over his heart. Alec kissed his chest softly.

"That was…incredibly hot," Magnus said.

Alec gazed up at him. "As hot as Di Vinci? Freddie Mercury?" He flashed a cockeyed grin. "Cassanova?"

"Alexander-" Magnus started.

But Alec just laughed. "I'm kidding Magnus. Don't worry-"

"It was hotter," Magnus told him. "Hotter than all three of them combined."

Alec scoffed and shook his head. "You don't have to say that."

"I'll portal us to Idris right now," Magnus told him. "I'll swear it on the Soul Sword."

Alec looked at him. He still wasn't sure that he believed him. But he was sure it didn't matter if it was true. "I love you, Magnus."

Magnus kissed him on the forehead and squeezed him tight. "I love you too."

Alec remembered when he was very little sitting behind his father's giant oak desk in this very office, watching him make decisions for the Clave, for the Institute, and for the Shadowhunters around him. It had looked so glamorous, so powerful. His father had known so many secrets that, just like Max, Alec had tried desperately to find out. He had big dreams of one day taking his father's place, running the Institute himself, understanding what went on in Idris and Alicante and within the inner circle of the Clave, knowing all of their secrets.

Alec didn't want to know anymore.

Banishing the ghost of that little boy, he took a seat behind the same desk. It seemed smaller. Constricting. It asked him to keep the secret that the Shadow World was not nearly as safe as he had thought just a moment ago.

It asked him to lie to the man he loved.

Reaching into his desk, he pulled out the scroll case and turned it in his hand. How many times since Magnus had ordered him to write those words over and over had he taken them out to read them? To remind him of the duty he had, not just to the Clave but to himself.

I will follow my gut before I follow orders.

He pressed the sealed case to his lips.

He'd taken them out and read them before his first meeting with the Downworld Cabinet, giving him the strength to fight for an alliance and a transparency that the Clave did not want.

He'd taken them out and read them after his mother had told him that despite his father's affair, they would continue to put politics and the Clave before their own happiness, and he promised himself he would never do that.

He'd taken them out after he set Luke free from prison after he'd tried to kill Valentine, understanding where the anger came from and knowing that the Clave had nothing to gain from starting a war with the Downworld.

When his father had walked in the door of the Institute, declaring that Alec would do as he was ordered, when his father had told him that despite letting Valentine slip from their fingers that he'd remain head of the Institute, when he'd learned that this time, there would be no consequences for his actions, he took them out and he'd read them. Every single line.

The words that Magnus had made write until they seeped into his very soul had given him strength. He'd had the strength to meet with the Downworld despite the Clave's misgivings. He'd had the strength to keep Luke's actions to himself despite the fact that if the Clave ever found out, he could be de-runed. He'd had the strength to tell his father he didn't care what the Clave said, he would get Izzy a portal to Idris to save his Parabatei. He'd had the strength to tell his father that he couldn't promise to keep the Clave's secrets from the man he loved, and he'd had the strength to tell his father that he could either trust him to be a leader or not.

But now, alone, behind the desk where he had grown up wanting to sit, it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room and he was gasping for breath. There were no good answers. The Clave had lied, had said they had the Soul Sword, had said that they were keeping the Downworld safe from Valentine. When the truth was, they weren't keeping anyone safe at all.

Neither his father nor the Clave had earned his obedience in this.

But telling Magnus. The High Warlock of Brooklyn. The most powerful Downworlder he knew other than the Seelie Queen. Magnus, who hated the Clave and hated Valentine but loved the Downworld and loved Alexander.

Magnus, who would be forced to choose.

Alec didn't want to know the Clave's secrets anymore.

He opened up the drawer, and he placed the scroll case back inside. This time he didn't have the strength to even open it. He didn't have the strength to fight for transparency, or to put his own happiness ahead of the Clave, or to prevent the war between the Downworld and the Shadowhunters that seemed inevitable. He didn't have the strength to read those words.

There were other words though, words that he had repeated so often since his childhood that they'd seeped into his soul too.

FACILIS DESCENSUS AVERNI.

The descent into Hell is easy.

Alec had never truly understood what it meant before. He understood now.