"That was amazing," Simon sighed, flopping back on the bed bonelessly.

"Not too bad," Maia agreed, resting her head on his chest. Simon pressed a kiss into her curls, relishing in being back in each other's arms. It felt like forever since they'd had uninterrupted time together. Eventually this time would only feel like a blip to him, being an immortal, but that was a problem to worry about another time. Simon was happy enough to focus solely on his girlfriend right now.

But try as he might, his mind always seemed to drift back to Alec. Wondering how he was doing. Hoping that he was getting through the days without issues. It wasn't like Simon didn't go to the institute on most days, but they hadn't had much alone time since Alec's first day back. Alec was trying to get back into the swing of things and Simon didn't want to hover. Alec needed support, not to be babied.

It was sort of jarring how quickly Alec had become one of the most important people in Simon's life. Before, they could barely even be considered acquaintances. The only reason they were around each other was because of Clary or some sort of threat. But now, Simon wanted to be around him all the time. He couldn't wait to see how it was to hang out without a crisis as the cause.

"Do you want to do something tonight? I don't have any plans," Simon asked, nudging Maia with his hip. Being a vampire had a few perks. One of them being recovery time between sessions.

"Really? No Alec?" Maia questioned, rolling onto her side to face him. He'd ended up giving her some more information about what had been going on, since claiming a vague family emergency wouldn't always fly. With Alec's permission, Simon told her that he'd needed help with a personal issue. Maia didn't press for details, which he appreciated. They both had complicated lives, so they understood the need for discretion and privacy.

"Nope. I'm all-" the sound of Simon's phone ringing cut him off. "Yours."

"Answer it," Maia chuckled, slipping out of bed and padding over to the bathroom. "Say hi to Alec for me."

"You don't even know if it's him," Simon called after her, reaching for his phone on the side table. Other people called him all the time. "Hello?"

"Simon." Simon could tell something was wrong, just by the sound of Alec's voice. He sat up fully in the bed, glancing around the room for his clothes in case he needed to make a quick exit.

"What happened?"

"My parents," Alec replied softly. Simon winced at the thought of that interaction, knowing how strained their relationship was. He didn't really have a kind thing to say about them, given what Alec told him. "They surprised me in my office today. It didn't go well."

"I'm sorry," Simon said sincerely. After everything he'd been through, Alec deserved to have things run smoothly during his return to normal life. It wasn't realistic, since nothing was ever perfect, but a person should've been able to count on their parents to make life better for them, not worse.

"I wanted to- I don't know," Alec mumbled, censoring himself before the full truth could come out. Simon had a pretty good idea of what he was holding back. Alec was surrounded by so many things that could easily help him fall into old habits. Getting through a stressful day with all the bad things within reach took a lot of willpower.

"But you didn't."

"But I didn't," Alec confirmed.

"I'm glad to hear that."

"But I wanted to," Alec said again, sounding a little more worked up. "Or not wanted, but maybe needed? I don't know."

"I understand. And I'm really, really glad you didn't." Simon heard Alec sigh on the other end of the phone. He wished he had the power to fast forward time, so they could skip all the hard stuff. But while Simon had all the time in the world now, Alec didn't. And passing over the bad stuff meant missing out on some of the good stuff too. After Alec fought so hard to stay here, he didn't deserve to miss even a second of anything good.

"Magnus is out of town."

"Oh," Simon winced. Terrible timing, of course.

"I insisted that he go and that I would be fine. It's like the universe was determined to prove me wrong."

"I'll come over," Simon declared, glancing toward the room Maia was in. He hoped she would understand.

"You don't have to," Alec argued weakly. Simon knew asking for help was still an almost impossible ask for Alec. Just calling in the first place was an amazing step, but saying the words was just a bit out of reach.

"I want to," Simon insisted. "We've barely gotten any one-on-one time together and I miss my friend."

"You shouldn't-"

"You're not gonna win this fight, so I suggest you give it up." Simon could practically hear Alec's brain trying to come up with reasons why Simon shouldn't help him, but he didn't let any out. That was progress. "Do you want me to come to the institute?"

"Could you meet me at Magnus'? I don't want to stay here much longer."

"I'll be there," Simon confirmed, not mentioning that he'd be coming from Maia's, instead of the docks. He didn't want Alec to feel even more guilty about needing his help again. Simon hung up the call, wondering how he was going to explain this to Maia.

"Called it," Maia said smugly, leaning in the doorway. Simon turned to her sheepishly, ready to spew out apologies. He was relieved to see that she didn't look angry.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Maia waved off.

"Really, I-"

"Simon," Maia said seriously, walking over and sitting beside him on the bed. "I understand."

"You do?" Simon questioned, because a part of him still didn't. To go from tolerating someone to having such a deep protective and caring relationship wasn't really normal. He didn't see anything wrong with it, but it definitely wasn't typical.

"Yeah."

"But why? Not that I'm not glad you are. It's just a lot and I get that."

"I'll admit that I was sort of annoyed at first. It seemed like you weren't being honest or just giving excuses to not be around. But once you told me a bit more about what was going on, I realized that you were just doing what came natural," Maia explained, nudging him with her shoulder. "I know what it's like to have a pack."

"A pack? We're not-"

"Well, not technically a pack. Vampires have clans."

"That's not us either."

"Those are just terms. You were right when you said earlier that you had a family emergency. Alec is your family now, just like my pack is mine," Maia explained. "When one of us is struggling, we rally around them. I can't begrudge you doing the same for yours."

"Family," Simon mumbled, considering her words. He had used the term before, but in his mind it was the easy thing to say to signify the urgency. But maybe it ran deeper than that, without him even realizing. When he'd asked Alec back at the cabin if they'd stay friends, Simon knew in his heart that he wouldn't take no for an answer. There was no chance that he would let Alec slip away from him, after really getting to know him that short amount of time. It wasn't like one of those fleeting friendships where you're sure it's forever and you promise to keep in touch, no matter the time or distance. This really was family. "I'm sorry for canceling on you. Again."

"Don't be. I have a shift tonight."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Simon pouted. Maia leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his puckered lips.

"I wanted to make you feel a little guilty," Maia chuckled, rolling off the bed and tossing his shirt to him. "I guess I'll have to flirt with a few of my regulars to help take my mind off the disappointment of us not being together tonight."

"Don't flirt too well," Simon warned, slipping his shirt back on. "Werewolf/vampire relations are strained enough as it is."

"Didn't seem that way a couple minutes ago," Maia smirked, wagging her eyebrows.

"You're ridiculous," Simon laughed, shaking his head as he looked for his pants. After Clary, he was scared he would never find himself in a fulfilling relationship. Maia was like the breath of fresh air he didn't know he needed. "I'll make it up to you."

"I know you will," Maia replied, standing back and watching as Simon finished getting dressed. He walked over to her when he was done, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Thinking about making it up to me now?"

"I would, but you know I like to take my time," Simon murmured in her ear. Before he was a vampire, he had zero confidence with women. He still wasn't all suave and debonair, but he was coming into his own a bit. Maybe all this stuff with Alec was showing him that he needed to live his life without worrying about things that didn't matter.

"I'll be waiting," Maia purred, giving him another kiss before nudging him toward the door. Simon reluctantly slid his shoes on, wanting to get to Alec, but also wanting to finish what he'd started with Maia. Her words earlier rang true though and he knew where he was needed. When your family needed you, you did whatever you could for them.


Alec stared at the phone, resisting the urge to call Simon back and tell him to forget about what he said and stay home. That he was fine and could deal with things himself. Deep down, Alec knew that he could. That he could force himself to sit quietly alone in Magnus' loft and wait for a new day to dawn. Or do the same in his bedroom at the institute. He could get through this minor setback, without anyone to hold his hand. But he didn't want to.

Maybe it was weakness, but he didn't want to be alone in his pain. He didn't want to spiral, left alone with only his thoughts. Alec would recount the whole confrontation repeatedly in his mind, picking apart every mistake he made, pointing out what he really should've said, wishing that his parents had reacted differently. He would spend the whole night dreaming up scenarios that would never happen. But he didn't want to.

Those days at the cabin were unlike anything else he'd ever experienced. Being vulnerable wasn't something he'd ever allowed himself to be. He let things out to Magnus, but there were always things he held back. His worst fear was opening up, then having the other person decide he wasn't worth the effort to deal with and walk away. Just like what happened with his parents.

But Simon stuck with him through it all. Simon didn't have any expectations when it came to him. Their relationship was a blank slate, built from the ground up. Alec could open up to him, since he'd been able to from the beginning. All the interaction they'd had before didn't count, since they were just on the periphery of each other's lives. Once they'd made the choice to be genuine with each other, they'd done it without judgment.

That's what Alec needed right now. He needed someone he could be not okay around. And since Magnus was busy, the first one he thought of was Simon. Alec knew he'd made the right choice when Simon knew what he needed without him having to say it all. Now he just had to get to the loft before anything else could happen and send him spinning.

Alec forced himself out of his chair, giving everything on his desk a quick once over. He'd done all he needed for the day and the institute would be fine until morning. There was always something else to be done, but he couldn't let himself fall back into the habit of neglecting his own needs. Even if the demon hadn't killed him, his general unwellness would've done that for him sooner rather than later.

He walked out of the office, needing to stop by his bedroom before he could leave. There were still people wandering the halls, but they were thankfully not paying him much mind. If there wasn't a crisis, everyone could perform their duties without bugging him. The only crisis going on now was the one in his mind.

Alec was just turning the corner to enter the hallway where his room was, when he bumped into a solid mass. He didn't even need to look down to see who he'd run into. Years of sparring meant he could recognize them in a second.

"Hey Alec, we were just coming to see you," Jace said, straightening out his shirt from where it had been ruffled in their collision.

"We thought you'd still be in your office," Izzy added.

"I was headed out. Just needed to stop by my room for something," Alec replied, trying to sound as normal as possible. He didn't want to worry either of them with his drama. It was bad enough that Simon had to be roped in.

"Are you okay?" Jace questioned, eyeing him carefully. Alec must not have done as good of a job as he wanted.

"Yeah," Alec responded, flashing them a tight smile. Izzy's brows furrowed as she gave him a once over as well. He needed to get away before they were able to sniff out his lie. "I'm just tired. Long day."

"Are you sure?" Izzy asked, looking unconvinced. Alec tried not to squirm under their gazes. After years of wearing a mask, he was usually better at hiding what he was feeling. Now that he'd let his guard down, it wasn't as easy putting up a front.

"Of course," Alec insisted. "I'm just gonna go to the loft, have some dinner, then go to bed." More like go to the loft, pick at some food, then stay awake all night avoiding nightmares, while Simon fussed over him.

"Alright," Jace mumbled, stepping to the side so Alec could pass. Alec suppressed his sigh of relief at getting out of this conversation without tipping them off. They probably knew deep down that something was wrong, but something was always wrong, so it wasn't that hard to sniff it out. The day there were no problems was probably a day that would never come.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Alec said, nodding at both of them as he walked the rest of the way to his room. As soon as the door was closed behind him, he sagged against it. He should've just been honest. He should've told them that their parents had shown up and it hadn't gone well. But the idea of opening up so soon after that giant failure seemed too daunting. What if they downplayed it? What if Izzy and Jace stuck up for them? That probably wouldn't happen, but it felt too risky to find out for sure.

Alec grabbed the jacket he'd gone to his room for, wishing that he'd had it with him in his office so he could've made a quicker escape. Next time he would just accept being cold on his walk. All the portalling had gotten him so spoiled. He opened the door to leave, only to be confronted again by Jace and Izzy.

"No," Jace said firmly.

"No?"

"No," Izzy repeated. Alec looked between the two of them in confusion. He was completely lost.

"What's going on?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"Izzy, there's nothing-"

"And before, we would've let you go. We would've gone about our day and let you go about yours, but we're not doing that anymore. When something's wrong, we pay attention. And we don't let you go off on your own thinking we don't care!" Jace declared, staring up at him seriously. Alec's mouth dropped open a little in surprise. He wasn't expecting them to push back on what he'd said.

"Jace."

"We're paying attention, big brother. And we care about you too much to see you hurting, even if you don't want to admit it," Izzy said, resting her hand on his arm. Alec felt his eyes well up at the gesture, but he blinked the tears away. This was not the place to lose it.

"Iz."

"We're not gonna force you to talk to us if you don't want to, but we aren't leaving either. You're stuck with us," Izzy proclaimed, cocking her free hand on her hip, as if she dared him to argue. This was the sister he missed. The one who was confident and didn't let anything stop her. And his parabatai. The person he could always count on to be by his side. If he didn't give them a chance, why would they want to keep putting in effort?

"Mom and Dad came to see me earlier. It went poorly," Alec confessed, staring down at the floor. He couldn't bear to watch their reactions.

"Oh, Alec."

"Where are they? I'm gonna go talk to them," Jace demanded. Alec felt a flash of anger spark through their bond. They weren't siding with their parents at all. They believed him.

"They left," Alec shrugged, leaving out the fact that they did it in the most soul crushing way.

"Well, you're not going home alone," Izzy announced determinedly. Alec glanced up at her sheepishly. "I know Magnus is out of town."

"I kind of called Simon already," Alec admitted. A look of hurt flitted over Izzy's face, but she quickly smoothed out her features.

"Tell him to expect more company," Izzy said, linking arms with the both of them. "We're coming too."