Disclaimer: I don't own anything involving the Mortal Instruments, aside from the books.

Alec was hungry; in fact, if it hadn't been for the complimentary breadsticks, he would've been classified as starving. He had been sitting in the restaurant for over an hour, waiting for Jace to arrive.

He was used to Jace being late to things, but he usually showed up, eventually. If it had been anyone else Alec would have left by now. He was a shadowhunter. He did NOT get stood up. There's a first time for everything, he thought as he finished his third beer. This was an "off the beaten path" place that often catered to shadowhunters and downworlders. And they, thankfully, didn't have very strict rules about underage drinking.

Alec suddenly caught sight of a tall, golden-haired figure coming through the door. His heart leapt to his throat, then plummeted to his stomach when he notice the tiny fiery locks of the girl standing beside him. Of course. He should have known when Jace offered to take him out to dinner to make up for his stupid, reckless behavior the past couple of weeks that he would bring Clary. The two were practically attached at the hips nowadays.

He had known better than to expect anything more than a dinner between friends, between parabatai, but he was hoping for at least that. Just the two of them.

The effect of the alcohol on his empty stomach was not a good one. He was feeling lightheaded and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to hit something or scream. Probably both. One thing he knew for sure was that he did not want to be her; having dinner with the man of his dreams and the girl that man was infatuated with.

Although, recently there had been another man who had been making a fairly regular appearance in Alec's dreams, even since the night they'd met...

"Hey, what's with that face? You look like you have a bad taste in your mouth." Jace announced as he pulled out a chair for Clary at the table. Alec snorted and pushed his own chair back.

"Nice of you to finally make an appearance. Have a nice dinner, the bread here's delicious." He stood up to leave, surprising even himself with the ferocity of his tone. He was pissed, bit he hadn't meant to sound that pissed.

Jace was staring at him like he'd grown a horn and Clary was looking around at the other tables, looking like she would've rather been anywhere but there. That made Alec chuckle again. Good, if she wants to be around Jace she had better get used to that awkward feeling. Jace is one to make scenes.

Although, Alec was the instigator tonight.

Jace looked like he was about to make a snide retort, but Alec was already moving towards the door.

Ok, so storming off wasn't exactly the most mature thing to do, but it was the only course of action that his drunken, angered mind could think of that didn't end in violence.

His stomach was growling as he left the restaurant, but he no longer cared. He just wanted to be out in the cool night air, away from Jace. His pace picked up once he was outside, eventually breaking into a run. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do once he got there, all he knew was that he needed to get away.

His shadowhunter grace normally allowed him to dash though the crowds of New York with ease, but his emotional state combined with the alcohol in his system was making it difficult for him to concentrate and avoid bumping into the few people who were in his way. After a few more blocks he had to stop. Running had not been such a good idea after all. He crossed the street and headed for the "park", which was really just a small patch of trees and mulch and a koi pond.

Alec dropped to his knees the moment he was concealed by the branches and began to heave, thankful that the only thing he'd eaten in the past 8 hours was two breadsticks. He hugged his arms around his stomach, trying to dull the pain, unsure whether it was emotional or physical. Tears leaked from his eyes, despite how hard he willed them back. He had stopped vomiting, but the nausea was still there. Along with the anger, hurt, confusion, and a myriad of other feelings churning around inside of him. A cool breeze blew his dark hair from his face and made him shiver. He was in a thin cotton tee shirt and jeans, forgetting his jacket back at the restaurant in his haste to leave, and now the air that had felt good on his burning skin before was starting to chill him to the bone. He sat up, moving away from the pool of vomit that was quickly seeping into the mulch, and rubbed his hands up and down his arms, trying to make the goose bumps fade.

"Here, take this." A vaguely familiar voice commanded as a warm leather jacket was placed around his shoulders. Alec turned his head swiftly, looking behind him to see who was there.

Another really bad idea.

Alec's entire world spun, his eyes shut and he felt for a moment that he would start puking again, but the warm hands that were now cupping his face brought his equilibrium back and he felt confident he could open his mouth without incident.

"Thank you." He whispered, his eyes still shut. He wasn't nauseous anymore, but he still couldn't bear the thought of opening his eyes. He knew that voice and the last thing he wanted was for the man that it belonged to, to see him like that. He wished it had been anyone else in the world sitting in front of him, even Jace. Just not him. Not Magnus Bane.

One of the warm hands on his face moved to brush a lock of Alec's hair behind his ear. The shiver that wracked his body was misinterpreted by the other man, and he shifted to put his arm around Alec's shoulders, pressing their sides together. The hand on his cheek moved to his forehead to check the shadowhunter's temperature. After a moment he asked "are you still feeling cold?"

"No." Was all Alec could manage to reply. It was the truth too. His body felt like it was on fire; burning from the inside out, and yet he had absolutely no desire to ever move from this position.

"Are you still feeling nauseous? I can help with that if you are." Magnus had taken his hand off the boy's forehead, but was still holding onto his shoulders, staring onto his young face. So, so, young and yet... There was wisdom there. Behind the insecurity and pain, there was a depth matched by few.

"No, I'm fine." Except for the fact that I'm about to die from embarrassment, Alec thought.

"Then why aren't you opening your eyes?" Magnus asked curiously. There was a small twitch of a smile on the corners of Alec's mouth as he pondered his answer. Because I don't want to acknowledge that this is real? Because I don't want to see the look of disgust and pity on you face? Because I don't think my insides could handle much more tonight and looking at you makes every part of me go insane? He could think of a thousand reasons, but he said none. He couldn't make himself talk.

"Alright then... I suppose you'll just have to trust my exceptional skills as a guide dog." Magnus abruptly stood up, yanking Alec along with him. Alec waited for the waves of nausea to return, but they didn't. Magnus must have been waiting too because they just stood there a moment before he slipped his hand into Alec's, intertwining their fingers, and began walking. Every now and then Magnus would call out directional commands to him, making sure he didn't walk out into traffic or bump into people. Alec had attempted to open his eyes after a few minutes of this, but Magnus had insisted that he'd started this game so he had to finish it.

"Step up...another, another, two more... There, ok stand still for a sec." Alec heard a jingling, then the sound of a key being turned and a door being opened.

"Ok, this way," Magnus pulled Alec along, through the doorway. Up more stairs and along a zigzag of corridors. At least, that's what Alec thought. He was playing by the rules and hadn't peeked once, so for all he knew they could be in a loft walking around in circles. Although, he was pretty sure he knew exactly where they were. His heart picked up its pace a little.

"Ok, turn... Now sit." Alec reached down, trying to make sure he didn't fall off of whatever he was about to sit on. His hands landed on something soft, like a couch only... Springier. His chest tightened. A bed. He was sitting on a bed.

"You should see your face. It's really quite adorable." Magnus chuckled, sitting down beside him. "Not that it isn't always..." he spoke softer, his breath hot on Alec's neck. The shadowhunter swallowed and tried to change his expression to the bored, stoic one he usually wore around people.

"You can open your eyes now if you like." Magnus was so close to him, he could feel the heat coming off the warlocks beautiful body. He wanted to touch that body. To feel weight of it on top of his own, to outline every muscle, every curve with his hands, with his mouth...

"What ever are you thinking about Alexander? Your cheeks have gone positively scarlet." The chuckle was back in Magnus' voice, but there was something else too. Something Alec could quite place. He turned away quickly so as to hide his face.

"Nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything. My fever must've come back." he knew he sounded stupid and childish, but he didn't know what else to say. How could he possibly vocalize the ideas that had been running through his head just now? He could barely comprehend them himself. He'd thought he was in love with Jace, but he'd never imagined doing with Jace the things he suddenly wanted to do with the man sitting next to him.

A hand brushed against his forehead, then his cheeks, and down to his neck, sending electrical shocks or excitement through his body.

"You do feel warm. Perhaps you should lie down." He softly pressed a hand on Alec's shoulder, pushing him down onto the bed. Alec felt the fire that had started burning inside of him ignite into a fierce blaze. His thoughts were running wild, imagining doing things he hadn't even thought he knew how to do. He was anxiously awaiting whatever Magnus had planned next. His breathing was heavy and his body was screaming for the warlocks touch...

Thought I leave it on a cliffhanger, gotta keep 'em wanting more right? Please R&R. Let me know if I'm wrong on anything to do with the books and what you like/don't like.