Hi all! This story is a gift to my friend Rachel (aka batpeep)!

So I'm very excited about this story, and I can't wait to see what your thoughts on it are! It's going to be a wild ride, that's for sure! I hope you enjoy the beginning of it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please come let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys!

Alec jolted out of bed, cursing loudly before realizing that it was still the middle of the night. At first, the searing pain in his hands was the only thing that Alec knew. He initially thought that he might still be dreaming, but as he reached out to turn on the lamp that lived beside his bed, he quickly realized that he was most certainly wide awake. Alec winced as his right hand touched the lamp, pain shooting throughout his entire arm as soon as his skin contacted the cold metal. But Alec ignored the pain long enough to switch the lamp on, too focused on finding out what was wrong with his hands to allow the pain to deter him.

The first thing that Alec noticed when he looked down at his hands was the fact that the wounds were something that simply could not have happened to him while he was asleep. His hands were currently covered with burns, and very fresh ones at that. And Alec knew that only fire and magic itself could have made these kinds of burns, two things that was nowhere near him at the moment. So Alec simply sighed and all but flung himself out of bed, heading toward the bathroom before he could talk himself into falling asleep once more. On his way to the bathroom, Alec plucked his stele off of his dresser as gently as he could, setting it on the counter by the sink as soon as he could do so, the pain already radiating through his arm from the contact.

Alec sighed again, this time out of relief, when his hands hit the cold water that was now pouring out of the faucet. He watched as the water flooded over the burns on his hands, refusing to look at himself in the mirror above the sink, knowing that he would only see the growing circles under his eyes and the haunting look of sleep deprivation staring back at him. After several minutes, Alec removed his hands from the stream of water and reached for his stele. He quickly drew an iratze on his left forearm, yet even as he did so, he knew it wouldn't make much of a difference. The iratze wouldn't heal the burns on his hands, it would only ease the pain. These weren't the type of runes an iratze was meant to deal with, and Alec knew that all too well.

The burns had appeared on his hands in the middle of the night, not because of anything that he himself had done, but because somewhere out in the world Alec's soulmate had burned his own hands via fire or magic. Or both. Alec couldn't help but smile as he got back into bed. After years of fighting with himself, he was finally able to admit to himself that his soulmate was also a man, and, though there were days he wished it was otherwise, Alec had become rather comfortable with that idea. Not that he was going to go around telling other people that little fact any time soon, Jace and Isabelle already knew, and that was enough for him at the moment. But there was a lovely sort of freedom in understanding himself in that way.

Alec clearly remembered the day his father had been forced to explain the whole soulmate idea to him, as it was also the day Alec's soulmate had first burned himself in much the same way he had tonight. "When two people are connected with every fiber of their being, it's something we call soulmates," Robert had begun, smiling as Alec interrupted him to ask if this was anything like parabatai. "Kind of," Robert had continued, amused by his son's constant curiosity. "Except a soulmate bond is far stronger than a parabatai bond." Alec remembered trying, and failing, to wrap his mind around that thought. "It's so strong that when your soulmate gets hurt, their injury shows up on you, too," Robert had concluded, pointing at the fresh burns on Alec's arm.

Again Alec found himself smiling at the memory of how his eight-year-old self had been so perplexed by that explanation that he'd bothered his father until Robert had eventually given him three different books on the topic. Alec remembered curling up in the greenhouse under his favorite tree and reading until Robert had come looking for him, having become so lost in the books and the simple idea of soulmates that he'd forgotten to eat or do anything but read all day. One thing that he'd never been able to wrap his mind around was the fact that it had taken him eight years of his life to realize that he'd been acquiring injuries that weren't his own. He guessed that it was because it had taken eight years for his soulmate to acquire a rather extensive injury and not just a cut or a bruise that Alec's child-like mind couldn't explain away as something he simply hadn't noticed when he'd gotten it.

Soon after that initial injury of his soulmate's, however, Alec had come to almost cherish each time he felt his soulmate's pain. It didn't take Alec very long to realize that not every person on earth was granted a soulmate; his father later explained that it was actually a rather rare occurrence for someone, especially a Shadowhunter, to have a soulmate. So over the years, Alec had grown almost fond of the fact that he had a soulmate. It was something that was special to him, set him apart. If you didn't count Isabelle. As soon as Isabelle had realized that she also had a soulmate, she'd been unable to keep from bragging about that fact every chance she got. Yet this never really annoyed Alec as much as he knew it probably should have, mostly because he knew it was just his sister's way of expressing her excitement.

Yet growing up knowing that he had a soulmate had been just as frustrating for Alec as it was exciting and endearing. More often than not, Alec was more frustrated than anything by the fact that he would not be able to tell even the slightest thing about his soulmate until the day that they actually met. Alec couldn't even tell if his soulmate was another Shadowhunter or not. One thing he'd learned from all of his research over the years was that a pair of Shadowhunter soulmates did not acquire on another's runes. No one was really sure of why this particular phenomenon occurred, but many speculated that it was due to the fact that Shadowhunters were relatively new to the world compared to the things that had been around since the beginning of time, like soulmates had.

Alec didn't know how well he trusted the speculations of the "many," but the fact that runes were effectively burned into the skin didn't seem to affect the soulmate connection in any way. So Alec had been left to wonder if his soulmate was actually a Shadowhunter or not. Despite the copious amounts of research he had done, he hadn't heard of many instances where a Shadowhunter had a Downworlder as a soulmate, but Alec knew that the lack of reports on the matter did not mean that it was impossible. Over the years, Alec had tried to make sense of the injuries that his soulmate had acquired, but whether his soulmate was a Shadowhunter or not, none of the injuries had ever seemed that out of place to Alec.

After what seemed like hours to Alec, but what he knew was mere minutes, the pain in his hands began subsiding, and he knew that his soulmate was being healed by whatever means he had at his disposal. Alec didn't need to turn the light on again to know that the burns were disappearing from his hands, and he was certain that there would be no trace of the burns in the morning. It didn't take long for Alec to fall back to sleep after that, the feeling of his healing hands lulling him back into sleep as he registered the fact that his soulmate was currently experiencing those same feelings.

Getting up the next morning was just as hard as Alec had guessed it would be, especially when he realized just how sore his hands were. They were completely healed on the surface, but as soon as Alec tried to touch anything at all, he was reminded of the pain that he'd experienced the night before. He spent a few minutes trying to stretch out his hands and release some of the tension that had built up overnight, hoping that a day full of work would get him ready for whatever sort of mission they might have tonight. As Alec wandered the Institute looking for his parents he idly wondered just how sore his soulmate's hands were. He smiled at the thought, hoping his soulmate would learn his lesson, but knowing that, based on the other man's track record of injuries, he likely wouldn't.

Alec's smile immediately vanished as soon as he entered the library, finally finding his parents in the last place he'd expected them to be. His parents had stopped talking as soon as they had heard the library doors open, but Alec didn't need to hear their conversation to know that they had been arguing. Tension was hanging in the air as Alec made his way toward his parents, and Alec tried his best to ignore it. As soon as he made eye contact with his father, however, all hope of ignoring the situation was lost. Robert promptly rolled his eyes toward the sky, then winked at Alec as best he could, as if to say that the situation with Maryse was as hopeless as it always was. Which was to say that there was no way Robert was going to get the last word on whatever matter they had been discussing.

Alec tried to smile at his father as much as he could, but he knew his father well enough to see the ghost of the argument in Robert's eyes. Over the years, Alec had grown increasingly close to his father. As a child, Alec hadn't quite seen eye-to-eye with Robert ever, but the older he grew, the more Alec seemed to see himself in his father, and that had only served to bring them close to one another. "Perfect timing, Alexander," Robert began, clearly trying to relieve some of the tension that was still floating around the room. "Your mother and I were just discussing the mission we have for you and your siblings tonight." At that, Maryse stood and made her way out of the room without a single word. Alec sent a questioning glance toward his father, but Robert remained silent until the door had firmly shut behind Maryse.

"She doesn't exactly agree with the premise of the mission," Robert explained, sinking down onto the couch as Alec came to sit beside of him. He was clearly relieved by Maryse's exit, and Alec wanted to inquire further, but he kept his mouth shut, knowing that his father wasn't inclined to talk about those sort of issues with him. "She says it's clearly 'Downworlder business' that we're meant to stay out of, but I say that's a bunch of bull," Robert continued, causing Alec to smile. The situation was starting to clear up for him despite the fact that he didn't yet have all of the details. This certainly wasn't the first time that his parents had fought over Downworlder business. Growing up, it hadn't taken Alec long to realize that Robert was a compassionate man who was just as genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of those around him as he was for him own family.

Alec listened contentedly as his father explained a bit of the background on the mission. "As you know already, there's been a mysterious spike in Downworlder disappearances and deaths over the past few months," Robert said, his voice heavy with the reality of the situation. "Despite all the searching I've tried to do, I'm not any closer to figuring out the cause of this than I was three months ago when this all began. So I want you to take Jace and Izzy with you and do a little bit of snooping around the Downworld tonight," Robert explained, clearly trying to make this sound as easy as possible. But Alec knew that a mission revolving around the Downworld would never be as easy as Robert wanted to make it sound. "Magnus Bane is throwing a party at Pandemonium tonight -"

Despite his best judgement, Alec inadvertently cut his father off with his slightly involuntary sigh. Though Alec had never personally met Magnus, he'd heard plenty of stories about him, and that was enough for him. "I know, I know," Robert said, trying, and failing, to keep the amusement out of his voice. "But we need information, and one of Bane's parties will have plenty of information. If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that nothing happens in New York without Magnus Bane knowing about it. So we need someone who can get close to Magnus easily and talk to him without much trouble, and, well," Robert paused for a moment, as if he was collecting himself and trying to pick out the best way for him to phrase what he wanted to say. "Frankly, you're the only person I can think of for that job."

It took Alec a few seconds to process what his father was saying, but as soon as he'd figured it out, he only needed to look at his father's expression to confirm his suspicions. Magnus Bane had a very strong reputation both inside and outside of the Downworld, and Alec knew all too well just what kind of man Magnus was generally seen as. As the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus had all of Downworld at his disposal, and he never seemed to forget that. Magnus was known for his extravagant lifestyle, and recently Alec had heard several people refer to the warlock as "flamboyant," though Alec wanted to make that judgment on his own.

As the pieces began clicking into place, Alec couldn't help but voice his question to his father, slightly surprised at the fact that he was able to say anything of the sort. "You think Magnus will talk to me because he'll be attracted to me," he stated, a little more than shocked at the fact that his father was currently nodding. Alec couldn't keep the question from rolling off of his tongue, but as soon as he'd spoken up, he immediately regretted it. He was trying to play it off, trying to act like nothing was out of the ordinary, but he knew that he wasn't doing very well at that. "You want me to flirt with Magnus for information?" he asked, all but wincing as he heard the uncertainty in his voice.

It was one thing for his siblings to know about his sexuality, but no matter how close he'd grown to his father, Alec still had a hard time stomaching the thought of coming out to Robert. It was something he'd thought about all too often, it was something that made him feel as though he was living a lie when it came to his father, but it was something that he couldn't get past no matter how hard he tried. Alec relaxed ever so slightly when his father chuckled. "You're the only one who could pull it off," he explained, not giving Alec any wiggle room. "Your brother and sister are both far too cocky and suspicious to do it, and I doubt that Bane would willingly give any information to a Shadowhunter who came on official Clave business."

Robert seemed to see Alec's expression then because his own face softened and his voice became much less business-like. "Of course, if it's something you're uncomfortable with, you certainly don't have to do this; I'm just certain that it would be much easier to establish trust that way." Robert sounded like he was backtracking, trying to find a way out of the hole that he was digging, so Alec flashed his father a weak smile, hoping to settle Robert down a bit. "I just think that it would be good for you," Robert continued, nudging Alec ever so gently. "You need to loosen up a bit. Have a little fun; there's nothing wrong with that. Just go be yourself and I'm entirely certain that there's no information that Bane wouldn't give you." Alec could easily tell that his father was trying to remain nonchalant, but it wasn't quite the coverup that Robert probably thought it was.

As Alec went to find his siblings and let them in on the plan, he couldn't help but go over the conversation once more. It had almost sounded as though his father was trying to hint at his sexuality, as though Robert was trying to give him permission to be who he was. But Alec knew that he was likely simply getting his hopes up. He desperately wanted his father to know that part of who he was, so he was simply over thinking the entire conversation. The mission was meant to be about information and information only, and that was going to be Alec's one and only focus. He would flirt with Bane if that was what it took to get information. He would get the information needed, and things would go back to normal. It was just a mission after all.

"So let me get this straight," Isabelle began, trying her hardest to seem nonchalant and cool. She was currently lying on Alec's bed, watching with thinly veiled amusement as Alec searched for something to wear to Magnus's party. "No pun intended," she continued, causing Alec to roll his eyes as both she and Jace chuckled at the joke. "Dad wants you, of all people, to flirt with Magnus Bane for information? Magnus Bane," she repeated for emphasis. "Clearly Dad doesn't realize how out of your league Bane is," she said, though her voice was clearly full of love and amusement. Alec rolled his eyes before he realized that neither of his siblings could see him.

"We'll see about that," Alec responded as he turned to show Isabelle the outfit he had picked out. He'd picked out a simple red button-up dress shirt that Isabelle had often said made his eyes pop. Just to annoy his little sister, Alec had also picked out his favorite black dress jacket. There was nothing wrong with it that he could see, but Izzy always said that it made him look boring. But tonight of all nights, he wanted to look put together and presentable, nothing like a Shadowhunter looking for a fight. If there was one thing Alec knew about Magnus Bane, it was that, above all, Magnus was extremely weary of Shadowhunters. Just getting close to Magnus would be hard for them, and getting information out of him would be almost impossible.

But despite everything inside of him, Alec was slightly excited about the thought of the mission ahead of them. He hated parties, that much was true, but he almost felt as though he was going to have fun watching his brother and sister helplessly try to navigate Magnus Bane. If anything he'd heard about Magnus was true, his siblings were in for the ride of their lives. It was very rare that Jace and Izzy ever met someone they couldn't handle, as they were usually the ones that people couldn't handle. But Alec was almost entirely certain that Magnus Bane was going to be a whole new world for them, and he couldn't wait to see them struggle.

As Isabelle gave her approval, Alec heard a voice coming from the doorway. "Why do you care about your clothes today?" Alec turned to see his little brother, Max, staring at him as though he'd suddenly grown an extra head. The problem was that Alec knew that this was a very valid question, and he wasn't exactly ready to have that sort of conversation with Max. Alec had always considered himself close to his little brother, or as close as they could be with nearly nearly ten years between them. But Alec knew he would always feel as though he needed to protect Max from every possible "adult" thing conceivable.

Isabelle, however, seemed to have no problem being honest with Max. "It's because he's trying to impress someone important tonight," she said in a very matter-of-fact tone. It didn't take long for Jace to add his comment by saying, "Someone who's supposedly very attractive, or so I've heard." Alec took the time to glare at both of them before moving to scoop Max up and sit with him on the bed. He very pointedly made no move to comment on what either of his siblings had said, though he hated to admit that he knew they were ever so slightly correct.

"We're going to a party on a mission," he tried to explain to his little brother. But Max was already looking up at him as though he knew that Alec was leaving out part of the truth. "I have to look presentable, don't I?" he asked, trying to smile in the least suspicious way possible. Yet Max just continued to give him a look that said he wasn't buying it. Eventually, the three of them stopped bugging Alec about his choice of clothing long enough for him to get ready for the party. For some inexplicable reason, Alec found himself becoming nervous at the thought of the night to come. The last thing he wanted to do was mess the mission up by being his nervous, awkward self, but as he realized both of his siblings looked far better in their party outfits than he did, Alec found himself doubting whether or not he was really the right person for the job.

Magnus had to admit that this was likely the best party he had ever thrown. Usually by this point in the night a vampire had tried to drink from one of his guests or a couple of werewolves had picked a fight with one another. But everything seemed to be running smoothly, and he was beginning to wonder exactly why that was. He was currently working on ignoring Raphael and Ragnor as they made googly eyes at one another, both clearly oblivious to the fact that they were very equally in love with one another. Magnus had spent the past five minutes of their insufferable conversation stretching out his hands.

Though he would never admit it to Ragnor, his hands were still horribly sore from his spell-gone-wrong the night before. He'd been trying to track an informant, someone who was supposed to give him information about the current situation in the Downworld, but apparently the informant had been smart enough to cover his tracks in a way that caused the spell to backfire on Magnus. Literally. And no matter how much Magnus wanted to deny it, the magical fire burns that had covered his hands after the incident had been impossible for him to heal on his own. He'd ended up calling Catarina, knowing that she wouldn't yell at him as much as Ragnor would have.

From the very beginning, Ragnor had tried to tell him that getting in the middle of the Downworlder situation would get him hurt. So Magnus had vowed he would no longer tell Ragnor exactly what he was doing and when, knowing that his friend would likely try to stop him at all costs. But the fact of the matter was that Downworlders were disappearing and dying at an alarming rate, and Magnus couldn't conceivably stay out of that. He was going to get to the bottom of whatever this was, and a few burns on his hands weren't going to keep him from it. "I think that's why your party is running so smoothly," Raphael leaned over to tell him, suddenly pulling him out of his thoughts.

Magnus couldn't help but sigh as he realized that Raphael was completely correct. In the middle of a large crowd of people stood three Shadowhunters who were obviously trying to be inconspicuous. And if they had been at the party for any length of time, that meant that every single Downworlder in attendance was trying to be on their best behavior, afraid of so much as drawing the Shadowhunters' attention. "Please don't do anything stupid," Ragnor said as the three of them began studying the three Shadowhunters. Magnus's eyes quickly glanced over the blond boy who seemed to be leading their group. He looked overly confident, and Magnus had to admit that he looked like the stereotypical Shadowhunter, more sure of himself than anything else in the world.

His eyes quickly skipped over to the dark-haired girl who was clearly loving the attention she was getting from the Downworlders around her. Magnus knew immediately that she was the kind of person who was used to unapologetically commanding the room around her. She was not put off by the stares of the people around her, rather, she seemed to thrive off of them. As Magnus stood, his eyes landed on the third member of the Shadowhunter party, the tall, dark-haired boy who stood behind the other two and seemed to allow them to take charge. At first, Magnus had planned to confront the Shadowhunters as soon as he stood, but he suddenly wanted more time to study the boy, so he skirted around them as best as possible, pretending to make his way toward the bar for another drink.

Yet even as Magnus did so, he quickly removed all traces of alcohol from his bloodstream via magic. Though he'd only felt a slight buzz from the few drinks he'd had throughout the night, Magnus knew that he needed to be completely sober when dealing with Shadowhunters. Inexplicably, Magnus couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the dark-haired boy. Magnus could already tell that he was incredibly different from the Shadowhunters that he was with, and that intrigued him more than he would have liked to admit. He and the dark-haired girl were undeniably siblings, but where his sister seemed to love the spotlight, the boy seemed to shy away from it. He seemed to recognize that they were out of place at the party, yet he seemed to wish more than anything that he could simply blend in with the crowd.

It seemed to Magnus as though the boy was unsure of himself, especially in the face of the Shadowhunters before him who were so inexplicably sure of themselves. But this created some dissonance in Magnus's mind as he tried to pair the personality with the incredibly attractive appearance. It was almost as though the boy didn't understand quite how beautiful he truly was, and that was such a shame to him. Magnus had always been partial to the black hair, blue eyes combination, but there was something so striking about this boy that Magnus had to take a couple of deep breaths before finally approaching the Shadowhunters.

"Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, at your service," he said as soon as he'd scooted his way in front of all three of the unsuspecting Shadowhunters. He gave them a very dramatic bow, hoping to throw them off ever so slightly so that he could easily gain the upper hand. "I can tell this is no social-call, so what can I do for the three of you?" he asked, deciding that getting straight to the point was the best course of action. Both the blond-haired boy and the girl opened their mouths to respond, but they were both cut off, to Magnus's amusement, by the dark-haired boy, something that made Magnus very happy as it gave him a chance to openly study the boy once more.

"I'm Alec Lightwood," the boy answered, clearly trying to find his footing in the conversation, which was slightly endearing to Magnus despite his better judgement. "This is my sister, Isabelle, and my brother, Jace," he continued, though Magnus was not quite sure why the other two mattered any longer. "And what makes you think that we've come here to do anything but enjoy the party and admire the -" Alec paused for a moment, obviously searching for the right word. But then his eyes landed on Magnus once more, and the most endearingly crooked of smiles spread across his lips. "Scenery?" he finished, allowing his eyes to not so secretly explore Magnus.

It was very clear from the looks on Jace and Isabelle's faces that this was the last thing they had been expecting from Alec, but Alec looked rather pleased with himself, and that was what made Magnus smile against his will. It didn't take Magnus long to decide to play it cool and see where this went, even if Ragnor would have filed doing so under the "stupid" category. "It's just that Shadowhunters, no matter how stunningly attractive, tend to end up at my parties because they are in need of something, and I can sense that the three of you are no different," he replied. This time, however, Alec seemed caught off guard by the forwardness of it all, and this gave his siblings a chance to jump into the conversation.

"We'd actually like to talk to you without an audience if possible," Isabelle said, throwing a hand toward the Downworlders who were trying to appear as though they weren't listening in on the conversation. Magnus simply nodded and lead the way to the most secluded corner of the club possible, waving at Ragnor as he did so to let his friend know that things were just fine. "We know that by now you've noticed all of the Downworlder disappearances and deaths," Isabelle began as soon as possible, her brother clearly upset by this immediate line of questioning. "We're here hoping that you might have any information that might be pertinent to our investigation." At first, Magnus was inclined to laugh at that thought. Shadowhunters rarely concerned themselves with Downworlder business, and the thought that they were concerned enough to conduct an investigation was utterly absurd to Magnus.

But then Magnus caught Alec's gaze once more, and he realized just how eager the Shadowhunter was to hear new information. He had the kind of eagerness that was genuine enough for Magnus to realize that he honestly wanted to help fix the situation at hand. But then Magnus realized something else: if the Shadowhunters were desperate enough to come to him for help, that must mean that they had absolutely no information for themselves. And Magnus wasn't about to give them all of the information he'd collected without receiving anything in return. "I do know quite a bit about the situation," he admitted, forcing a smile off of his face as Alec's eyes lit up at the admission. "But I think the real question here is what the three of you would be able to give me in exchange for my information."

Magnus spread his hands at this, as if to invite them to try their hand at whatever price he might ask. "What is it you want, Bane?" the blond boy whose name Magnus had already forgotten asked, but not before he mumbled something under his breath that was most likely about the fact that Magnus's information always came with a price. This little fact was nothing the New York Institute didn't already know. Magnus quickly considered this, his mind flipping through the millions of things he could ask the Institute to pay him with. But then his eyes landed on Alec once more, and he realized that he could have much more fun with this than he'd had in a long time.

"A dance," was Magnus's only reply, and Isabelle quickly stepped forward. "Fine," she said, sighing as the music switched into a song fit for a slow dance. "If that's what it takes." But Magnus was already laughing and shaking his head. "Not with you," he replied, trying to keep his amusement to a minimum. "I was referring to the hot one," he said, laughing in earnest as Trace, or whatever his name was, stepped forward. "Wrong again," he said between laughs, his eyes landing very pointedly on Alec. The best part of the entire conversation was the fact that Alec's siblings seemed more taken aback than Alec himself. After several heavy moments, Alec offered his hand to Magnus, and Magnus wasted no time in taking it and leading the young Shadowhunter away from his siblings.

Making their way back into the middle of the dance floor wasn't hard, as everyone was more than happy to give them room. Not for the first time that night, Alec caught Magnus by surprise as he slipped his hand into the warlock's, quickly placing his other hand on Magnus's shoulder, stepping toward Magnus as the warlock placed his own hand on Alec's hip. It had been a very long time since Magnus had met a Shadowhunter who could dance, but to say that Alec was a good dancer would have been an understatement. It quickly became evident that Alec was a much better dancer than Magnus had ever been, and the Shadowhunter took the lead seamlessly. "So about that information," Alec said, clearly trying to calm his nerves as he realized exactly what he was actually doing.

Magnus tried to laugh it off, hoping to lengthen the time they spent together. "Why not focus on the dance instead?" he asked, noticing the fact that he had to work much harder than Alec to keep in time with their dancing. It was at that moment that Alec slowed his pace, almost as though he had noticed the same thing and he was making an allowance for Magnus. Once this registered, Magnus found himself wondering if this Shadowhunter was simply too good to be true. He tried to form his next sentence to Alec, but he couldn't seem to get his mind off of the way Alec's ever so gentle touch seemed to shoot sparks through Magnus's flesh. "I think we might have to leave the information part for a later meeting," he finally managed to say, earning a smile from Alec.

When he spoke once more, Alec seemed much more relaxed, and this made Magnus happy in a way he didn't quite understand. "You're just saying that as an excuse to see me again," the Shadowhunter replied, no trace of resentment or annoyance in his voice as Magnus had first thought there would be. The simply danced for a few more moments before Magnus took the time to respond. He hated the effect the Shadowhunter already had on him, as it was the last thing he had been expecting from the night. Yet Alec's deep blue eyes were pulling at him in a way that Alec was very clearly unaware of, and Magnus was finding himself powerless against them.

"That may be true," Magnus admitted despite the fact that they both knew it was very true indeed. "But I must admit that I'm curious to know what your thoughts on the matter are," he said, trying to keep himself calm and collected as their dancing took them past Ragnor and Raphael. "You must have realized by now that I do not freely give anything. I won't be too inclined to give the New York Institute information without gaining information for myself," Magnus continued, hoping he wasn't overstepping himself already, ignoring Ragnor's very apparent scowl.

This time, Alec took the time to think the matter over, allowing the music to crash over them as they made their way around the dance floor. "You must have realized that we have very little information to give," Alec admitted, and Magnus was immediately surprised by his honesty. He was willing to bet that almost every other Shadowhunter would have tried to play it off and gain the information they needed through deception. "But I can offer you three of the best Shadowhunters this generation has to offer and all the resources the New York Institute has on hand," Alec continued, catching Magnus off guard once more.

"If I didn't know any better," Magnus began, trying his best to ignore the fact that his hand was inadvertently sliding toward Alec's lower back as they were forced to move closer together in the crowd of party-goers. "I would say you're proposing that we work together on this case," he finished, knowing that directness was the best way to go with the Shadowhunter before him. Alec simply smiled and nodded, his eyes searching Magnus's face for the slightest indication of what the warlock might be thinking at the moment.

"My siblings clearly have nothing to say on the matter as they seem to have deserted me," Alec responded, shrugging as if to say that they were better off that way. "And my father would like to solve the case as much as I believe you would, so I'm sure that I won't be met with any opposition on the matter," he concluded, as if that was supposed to be enough for Magnus as well. But the problem was that it was enough for Magnus. The warlock wasn't blind to the fact that Alec had much more of an influence over him than he probably should, but it was something that Magnus wasn't ready to give up quite yet.

As soon as the song finished, Magnus didn't hesitate to invite Alec to grab a drink with him, and the Shadowhunter refused to actually drink any alcohol, asserting that he was on a mission and if he came back drunk his father would kill him. But Alec surprised Magnus once more by sticking around regardless, chatting with Magnus in such an easy way that Magnus would have never believed the Shadowhunter standing before him was the same one he had seen trying to blend into the crowd just a short while ago. Magnus took the opportunity to study Alec even closer, intrigued by the fact that Alec was nothing like any Shadowhunter Magnus had ever met in his centuries of life.

It didn't take long for Magnus to realize that the easygoing, confident persona was something out of place for Alec. Magnus could clearly detect the times that Alec seemed to be fighting with himself inside of his mind, calculating the best thing to say and the best way to say it. Alec was clearly much more unsure of himself than it seemed at the moment, and the fact that he was fighting through that was touching to Magnus. Not to mention the fact that it didn't take Magnus long to figure out that Alec was quite hilarious and that their personalities clicked in a way that Magnus hadn't felt in a long time. Yet every time Magnus felt himself sliding into comfort, there was Ragnor in the corner of his sight, giving him a disapproving look and grounding him once more.

Multiple times throughout the night, Magnus asked himself what he was actually doing. There was no way he should be flirting with a Shadowhunter in the way he currently was, and there was certainly no way he should be enjoying it as much as he was. But there was something about Alec that had captured his attention so thoroughly that Magnus already knew it would be futile to try to get it back. "Allow me to walk you home, Magnus," Alec said at the end of the night, pulling Magnus out of his thoughts and back into the reality of the situation that had brought them together in the first place. "It's very late, and the city isn't safe for Downworlders at the moment," Alec explained, but they both knew that the explanation hadn't been necessary. Despite his better judgement, Magnus allowed Alec to do so.

They were halfway to Magnus's house when the absurdity of the situation hit Magnus and he couldn't help but laugh into the cool night air. Alec simply sent him a questioning glance, and Magnus didn't hesitate in explaining. "It's just that I am a centuries-old warlock, possibly one of the most powerful beings on this earth at the moment, and a Shadowhunter is currently walking me home," he said, smiling as Alec chuckled ever so slightly. Before the Shadowhunter could answer, they were at Magnus's loft and Magnus was already regretting their parting. Magnus couldn't help but smile as they quickly made plans to meet in a couple of days and begin pooling their information and making an action plan.

As Magnus turned toward his apartment, Alec's phone number on a piece of paper in his hand, he began to wonder just how they'd come to that precise moment. His breath caught in his throat as he registered the agility rune on Alec's neck as it glinted in the moonlight. But Magnus quickly shoved his thoughts aside, knowing that the rune's placement had to be a coincidence, knowing that his mind was simply playing tricks on him. He shut those tricks out as he made his way into his loft and fed Chairman Meow before finally allowing himself to go to sleep, refusing to let his mind win.

As Alec finally lowered himself into bed, he allowed himself to wonder how on earth he'd actually ended up spending his night with Magnus Bane. He was going to have to be more careful from now on. Sure, the night had been fun, but he'd allowed himself to get lost in the fact that he was far more attracted to Magnus than he'd first anticipated and he'd gotten carried away. Not that he really had any complaints about that. But Alec knew all too well that he was only setting himself up for disappointment later on down the road. From here on out, working on the Downworld situation with Magnus Bane was going to be strictly business.