The past two weeks had been a whirlwind for Alec Lightwood. Sitting on the rooftop with Magnus in Idris seemed so long ago. There had been mass funerals of both Shadowhunters and Endarkened. Then endless meetings with the Council had taken up most of his remaining time in Alicante. The Council had wanted to know every detail of his trip to Edom with Izzy, Jace, Clary and Simon. How had they discovered where the captives where being held? How had they gotten to Edom? How had they rescued the prisoners, killed Sebastian, and returned home?

Alec had been grateful to his friends for the amount of information they were willing to withhold from the Council, even without being asked. Even when interrogated separately, no one had given up Emma Carstairs as their source about Edom, simply saying they "overheard" someone mention it, and thought that explained a lot about how Sebastian was moving undetected. As to how they returned home, those who mentioned Asmodeus's name had refused to reveal his connection to Magnus. They simply said that Magnus had called the demon by name and he had come.

Then, there had been the week that Alec was running the Institute. Dealing with constant messages from the Clave and his parents, supervising Izzy, Jace, and Clary during their training, and continuing to search for a replacement for Hodge had left Alec physically exhausted. Trying to comfort Izzy and Clary, and even Jace to an extent, after the loss of Simon had left him emotionally fatigued. He had been a little surprised at how much he, too, missed Simon. He'd never thought he would care about the Daylighter, but he supposed that their ordeal in Edom, Simon drinking his blood, and then making the sacrifice to save them all had endeared the vampire to him in the end.

He had barely had any contact with Magnus during that week, mostly text messages and a few late night phone calls. Magnus had actually shown up at the Institute a couple times, caught Alec's eye through the window, blew him a kiss and disappeared, not wanting to add anymore stress to Alec's already full plate.

However, Alec had taken every opportunity to read the journal Magnus had given him in Alicante. He'd actually read it several times through, and now felt he understood Magnus a little better. He felt closer to him than he ever had before, and couldn't wait to see him again.

Finally, the day had come when his mother had returned home from Idris, looking thoroughly worn down. She had thanked Alec for the job he had done in her stead, then announced that his father, Robert, would not be returning to the Institute. Alec had felt a flash of anger and resentment toward his father, but had said nothing. Maryse had also informed Alec that the Clave had decided he didn't need to go to another Institute for training now that he was eighteen. They rather thought his bravery, cleverness and skill had well been tested in his trip to Edom and winning the Dark War.

That night he had talked to Magnus, who invited him to move back into the apartment, and Alec had gladly accepted.

He had spent the next two days packing his belongings. He still had a bag of his things from Magnus's that he had cleared out of the apartment two months ago when Magnus had ended their relationship. It had been too painful to actually unpack the bag, so it had sat in the corner of his room, discarded, since his return. But this time was different. He wasn't just packing to stay for a couple of days, he was leaving for good.

He had scoured the Institute searching for all his worldly possessions. He had been amazed how far and wide his possessions had scattered over the years. Jace and Izzy had helped him locate everything, laughing and joking at each item they collected. But there had been an undercurrent of sadness in their actions.

Alec had been happy to be starting a new life with Magnus, but recognized that this was also the end of his childhood. The end of his sister sneaking into his room late at night, just to talk about Max or Jace, their parents, or their boyfriends. Or when she was a little girl and had had a bad dream and would only accept comfort from her big brother. Alec knew Izzy better than anyone, and he could read the sadness in her eyes and her posture, as she tried to be happy for him.

He had remembered all the times he and Jace had explored the Institute, pretending to be hunting demons, studying each other's habits and movements until they learned to move as one. How many times had they stayed up late, talking about girls, demons, the latest weapon they wanted to try, their hopes and dreams? He had reflected, again, on the time Jace had asked him to be his parabatai, and how much it had meant to him to know Jace trusted him completely. He had briefly recalled the feelings he had for Jace, and now that he knew how it felt to be in love with Magnus, he couldn't believe how much he had tortured himself with his feelings for Jace. He loved Jace, no doubt, but not the way he loved Magnus, and he was so thankful that he had finally gotten those feelings squared away.

Clary had asked Luke to bring his truck so they could move Alec's things to Magnus's and Luke had gladly obliged. Everyone had pitched in to load the boxes into the truck, the Clary and Jace had slid into the cab next to Luke for the trip to Magnus's.

Alec had stood on the sidewalk in front of the Institute nervously looking from his mother to his sister. Suddenly, Izzy had thrown her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She had allowed one sob to escape before composing herself, kissing Alec on the cheek and saying "goodbye" rather hurriedly. He had said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Iz," rather gruffly, hoping his voice wouldn't crack, and she had nodded.

Alec had then turned to his mother and was surprised to see a tear trail down her cheek. His mother was always, always, composed, almost to the point of coldness. She never let her emotions show, except briefly when they had lost Max. She had hugged him and told him that she loved him and was proud of the man he had become. Alec had gotten choked up by those words. He supposed that even adult children were still babies to their mother.

He had slipped into the truck cab next to Jace and shut the door. He had stared out the window, waving at Maryse and Izzy until he could no longer see them. To his surprise, Jace had squeezed his hand and whispered, "Don't worry, they'll be ok. I'll look after them for you." He had smiled at Jace and squeezed his hand back in acknowledgement, then released him and turned back to the window.

They had unloaded the boxes into Magnus's, no his and Magnus's, apartment rather quickly. Luke shook Magnus's hand and clapped Alec on the shoulder on his way out the final time. Clary had hugged him and smiled brightly before following Luke out. Magnus had quietly left the room to give Alec and Jace some privacy.

Alec had looked at Jace, not really sure what to say or do in this moment. Jace had looked a little lost, too.

"Oh this is ridiculous," Jace had finally said. "We're going to see each other every day! You didn't move to the moon!" And he had grabbed Alec's hand and pulled him in for a quick embrace.

Jace had flashed him a dazzling smile, and clapped him on the shoulder before exiting the apartment.

And now Alec was leaning against the door, still staring after his friends, the events of the last weeks storming through his mind.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, lost in thought, before he felt two slender arms wrap around his waist and a head rest on his shoulder.

"Don't be sad," Magnus whispered, his breath making a wisp of Alec's hair flip.

Alec leaned back into the embrace, breaking free of his reverie. "I'm not. Not really. It's just…bittersweet. The end of an era, as they say." He turned to face Magnus and smiled. "But I want this. It's the beginning of something great for us. You know what I mean?"

Magnus smiled, too. "I do. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, as he led Magnus to the couch and collapsed onto it. He was exhausted, and glad to finally be spending a quiet evening alone with Magnus.

Alec laid on his back, Magnus draped over him and kissing him gently.

"Do you want to talk about?" Magnus said, gently.

"About moving out? Not really. It's done, and I'm happy about it." Alec sighed and they lapsed into silence again, Magnus tracing the rune scars on Alec's arm.

"Did you read my journal?"

"Mmm-hmm," Alec replied.

"And you're okay with what it said?" There was a slight edge to Magnus's voice, as if he were afraid he may have upset Alec with something in the journal.

"What?" Alec said, surprised, after all, he had been the one to request the knowledge. "Yeah. Thank you for writing it. It made me feel like I know you better." He planted a kiss on Magnus's nose, and then their lips met again.

"I'd like to hear your story…about Edom…if you want to tell me," Magnus said softly, still tracing shapes on Alec's arm.

Alec flashed a smile at Magnus. "Little Emma Carstairs told us about Edom. She'd overheard the Endarkened say they were taking Mark Blackthorn there. As soon as Jace and I realized it was a real place, we started preparations to leave with Clary, Izzy and Simon. Jace tried to go alone, but that wasn't happening. I didn't even hesitate. You were there, and I was going to rescue you or die trying. I wasn't even concerned about dying in the attempt. I couldn't leave you there. I knew it may not change things between us. I knew that if you still weren't willing to let me in, let me know the real you, we still wouldn't be together. But I wasn't going to sit in Idris and wait for news of your death. You said you needed me to live, well…I needed you to live, too."

Magnus kissed him softly, then said, "How did you get to Edom?"

"Through the Seelie Court. We discovered the Queen was in league with Sebastian. I-," Alec broke off and looked away. "I killed Meliorn. Shot him in the chest with an arrow from about 2 feet away. I was so angry that he had betrayed you, us, that…I don't know, I just lost it and shot him without even thinking about it."

Magnus gasped and whispered, "Oh, Alec." He ran a finger along Alec's jawline, concern evident in his eyes.

"I needed revenge, I think, and he was there, and he had betrayed you, taken you somewhere, and I didn't even know if you were still alive. It…" Alec sighed. "You don't understand how it felt, not knowing…"

Magnus looked at him incredulously. "You think I don't understand what it's like to worry about you? To wonder if you are alive or dead? To wonder if you will make it home at night?"

Alec smiled and kissed Magnus's temple lightly. "I guess you do understand."

Magnus searched Alec's face, contemplatively. "You're different."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you seem so much stronger, self-assured. The way you stood up to the Clave, to your parents…to me. Like you know what you want and your not going to settle for anything less." Magnus lifted himself to look Alec in the eyes. "You grew up while we were apart, didn't you?"

Alec held his gaze. "A lot has happened," he said softly. He knew Magnus was right, he had changed, grown up, and he was glad Magnus was able to see that in him.

"Indeed." Sadness crossed Magnus's face briefly. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

Alec looked into those cat-like eyes for several long moments before replying. My Alec, you've been so sad, I didn't know. Alec closed his eyes at the memory. "Don't be sorry. I screwed up. There had to be consequences. If there is anything I've learned from being a Shadowhunter, from being Jace's parabatai, it's that there are always consequences to your actions. I learned a very valuable lesson from losing you, one I probably wouldn't have learned if you hadn't broken up with me."

"I think we both learned a valuable lesson," Magnus said softly, his eyes searching Alec's face. "Sometimes I still can't believe you rescued me."

Alec sat up, effectively rolling Magnus off of him, and cupped Magnus's face in his hands, his blue eyes boring into Magnus's green-gold ones. "Magnus Bane," he said, firmly, "I would walk straight into the fires of Hell and challenge Lucifer himself…for you." And he kissed him, slowly, deeply, with all the love he had inside him.

Magnus's arms wrapped around Alec, pulling him closer into the kiss. Suddenly the kiss became more frantic, passionate. Their hands roamed over each other's body as if they had never felt each other before, as if they didn't already know every inch of the other one. They hadn't been together like this in so long, neither seemed to be able to get enough.

Alec pushed himself off the couch, catching Magnus's hands and pulling him to his feet, not breaking the kiss for even a moment. Without warning, something primal and urgent welled up inside Alec and he roughly shoved Magnus up against the wall, pressing his body against him.

Magnus's eyes widened, then darkened, and both men groaned as Alec ground his pelvis against Magnus's. A wicked, lustful grin split Magnus's face as he grabbed a handful of Alec's sweater and yanked it over his head. Alec ground against Magnus again, sending a thrill through their bodies. Their lips collided as Magnus pushed Alec backward, spun around and deftly unbuttoned his own shirt. Alec pulled the sleeves of Magnus's shirt off and the garment floated lazily to the floor.

Alec spun Magnus around and up against the wall again. Magnus groped with one hand for the handle to their bedroom door, and with the other hand for the button to Alec's jeans, as Alec kissed him feverishly. His hands connected with their destinations and Magnus expertly released the door latch and Alec's button simultaneously. A few seconds behind, Alec released Magnus's pants clasp as well.

Alec pressed Magnus into the bedroom with his body, hands caressing his back, shoulders, ribs, anywhere he could reach. As Alec kicked the door closed behind him, Magnus said, breathlessly, "You're sexy when you take control, Alexander. I rather like this side of you."

"Good." Alec grinned wickedly and pushed Magnus down on the bed. "Then you're really going to like this."