It was three simple words whispered against an expanse of ivory skin splashed with black ink.
Those words were shouted to the stars so everyone everywhere would hear them.
They were said in an undying mantra, as if to make sure everyone would know they would be forever, no matter how long or how short their forever would be.
And no matter how long it had taken, he wouldn't change a thing.

Okay, so maybe there were a few things he would change. Like, perhaps, the weather. It was a rather dark and dreary day, gray clouds heavy in the sky, preparing to let lose a torrential rainstorm at any moment. To add to the list of things he would change, he would've included 'Jace's hair'. It was looking rather….fluffy. It stuck out in every which way, and this did not seem to please the Shadowhunter at all- he kept patting and tugging at it as if this would somehow solve the problem.
And, if only for the sake of elongating the list, Alec was not here. He was off doing god knows what with Clary. Hunter business, as Magnus had grown so fond of calling it. He need not interfere with whatever slaying they were doing today, as long as it did not involve the Downworlders.
As it turned out, Magnus was not the only one pouting.
Jace was as well, quite possibly simply for the sake of pouting. Or perhaps because his darling Clary was not in his immediate sight, and therefore not in his immediate reach.

"You know," Magnus said after half an hour of silence, only interrupted by Jace's occasional curse as they walked along the empty street. "You need not worry. Alexander is by far capable enough to take care of your dear Clary."
A crack of thunder overhead was all the warning they got before rain started pouring. The god's must be angry, Magnus thought.
"If you had just let me-" Magnus began as they rushed for cover.

"No. I told you, I don't trust your magic enough to beam us anywhere," Jace grouched, finally finding them shelter beneath an awning for a flower store. Magnus' hair hung limply, sticking to his forehead. He huffed, waving a hand. Blue sparks danced from his fingers, effectively drying his hair.

"I do not 'beam' people anywhere. And if you so much as think about saying 'Beam me up, Scotty', they will never find your body."
Jace's mouth snapped shut, but the cheeky grin told Magnus all he needed to know. Magnus rolled his eyes with a sigh. Shadowhunters.
"When is it that you were told they would be back?"

"Any minute, actually," the blond replied, glancing at his watch. Magnus leaned over his shoulder, peeking at it. It read 11:23 p.m. Indeed, they had said they would meet back up at 11:25 tonight.
A boy with black hair and a girl with fiery red hair dashed through the rain towards them, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Magnus was quite familiar with that trick. A smile graced his lips and he enveloped Alec in a hug; the blue eyed boy hugged him back with a wide grin on his chiseled face.

"Mm, hello, my love," Magnus said softly, rubbing his hands along Alec's chilled arms. "You're cold."

"It is kinda cold out here," Alec replied, that smile never disappearing. Magnus turned his eyes to Clary and Jace.

"I assume you can find your way home?" he asked, head tilted to the side. Clary smiled that wonderful smile of hers, while Jace simply rolled his eyes.

"We're not incompetent," Jace replied, taking Clary's hand. The pair disappeared into the night, leaving no trace they were ever there.

"If you wanted them to leave, you could've just asked," Alec pointed out, tilting his head to the side.

"That would've sounded rude. It is nice to know Jace does use his upstairs brain every once in a while."

"Couldn't say the same for you." Alec poked Magnus's side, that wonderful grin widening.

"Oh, but the downstairs brain is so much more fun," Magnus replied, twining his and Alec's fingers together. "Did you know he pouted the entire time? He looked like a love-sick puppy."

"And you weren't?"

"Of course I was," Magnus said indignantly. "But I at least had the decency to be professional about it."
Alec laughed, his head thrown back to expose his throat, giving Magnus a beautiful view of ivory skin splashed with swirling black ink.
"Mm," Magnus hummed, bringing his lips down to Alec's neck, kissing a path down to his collar bone. "You are beautiful, did you know that?"

"I think," Alec said on a breath. "I may have heard it once or twice."
Magnus sucked a love bite over Alec's pulse point, reveling in the erratic jump of the Shadowhunter's pulse as he lavished his tongue over it.
Magnus smiled and moved back, letting his eyes wander over that lovely body before him, taking in his work.
Alec's pupils were blown, black almost taking over the icy blue behind it. His breaths came in short pants, his hair mussed from where Magnus had tangled his fingers in it.
Oh, Alec wanted him, and he looked so beautiful; pale moonlight illuminating every curve as if he were an avenging angel, eyes shining so brightly that Magnus wanted nothing more than to throw himself into those icy irises and let himself drown.
Magnus reached out, taking Alec's hand in his own, cupping Alec's cheek in his free hand, thumb idly stroking across his cheekbone. He leaned forward, kissing Alec softly and slowly and oh, it was perfect.
The only way he knew to make it better was….

"I love you." He whispered it against Alec's lips, warm breath ghosting out across cool skin. Alec froze against him, pulling back just enough to look into his eyes.

"What?" Alec breathed, eyes wide, as if he'd heard wrong, and Magnus feared he'd said the wrong thing.

"I love you." He repeated it as if that would get his point across; as if this could let Alec know he meant it and that he loved him more than he had ever loved anyone, and perhaps that should scare him but it didn't.
Alec's eyes fell closed and he pulled Magnus' face to his once more, pressing kisses along his jaw line.

"I love you too," Alec murmured, moving up to his lips to Magnus's, breathing the words into his mouth and letting him keep them as his own, claiming him and everything he was.

"Oh, Alexander," he whispered. "I love you, so much."
He let a ridiculous grin grace his features as he tilted his head back and shouted, "I love Alexander Lightwood!"
He made sure everyone knew.
Alec laughed and kissed him again, like he were a drowning man and Magnus was a breath of fresh air.
And when he kissed Alec back, perhaps the same could be said for himself.