"Why can't you just be more like your siblings?"

Suddenly, the tension in the loft was not only thick and putrid, but frozen, and Magnus couldn't breathe. Hazel eyes stared in shock at the man before him. Then, with a rueful shake of his head and a low "screw you", Alec was leaving. The door to the loft swung shut before Magnus had the mind to stop him.

They had been arguing for over half an hour, the tension between them palpable and harsh though their voices had never risen. Magnus couldn't even remember what exactly had started the argument, though he knew well enough that it had to do with the Institute and by extension the Clave. It probably hadn't been that big of a deal really - certainly not worth the time and energy that had been wasted - but the warlock had had enough. For too long he had pushed aside his frustrations that Alec was still focusing too much of his attention on what the Clave wanted from him, denying both of them in the process. Too many times Alec's duty to the shadowhunters had ended a beautiful evening together, had him coming into the loft looking for a favor to ask on the Institute's behalf rather than a date, had shied away from the older man's touch simply because there were eyes on them, had made ignorant mistakes because of the rigid and prejudiced manner that he had been raised in and still clung in some ways.

Bitter and enraged, the warlock gathered his power and flung it across his decorative living room. An ornate clock and 17th century painting crashed to the floor. Glass scattered everywhere. Blue sparks emmanted from his black nailed fingertips, and he closed his eyes as the rest of his home was brought to ruin.

He had known from the very beginning that dating a shadowhunter, especially one as repressed as Alec Lightwood, would be challenging. The trouble alone was the reason Alec was his first shadowhunter. There was just too much bigotry in that world to produce the kind of people that were not only decent but whose souls were attractive.

Still, he had hoped that Alec would be different. Afterall, Alec had stepped away from a gorgeously golden Lydia and kissed Magnus in front of a room full of important and judgemental eyes. It had been that hope that had carried Magnus through those moments of doubts and nervousness, had given him patience to deal with the stress and grumpiness, and tried to understand the responsibilities that naturally fell upon the young man's broad shoulders.

It wasn't until hours later, after his loft had been completely destroyed and his makeup was utterly ruined, that he stopped. Defeated by his own frustrations and shame, he reached into his pocket to touch the omamori charm that Alec had bought him just a few weeks earlier. Closing his eyes, he used his magic and the charm to locate his shadowhunter and created a portal to get to him.

Unsurprisingly, the portal led him to a balcony. Alec had a tendency of seeking sanctuary in high, open places. What he had thought to find, though, was Alec to be shooting off his arrows into the sky. It had been a common enough sight to see: Alec training until his hands bled when the emotional pain was too much for him to handle. Instead, the tall, handsome shadowhunter was slouched against the brick wall of the balcony, his knees curved to his chest and his head bowed into the fold of his arms.

"Alec…" Magnus called softly. It was painful to watch the young man give the briefest flinch at the sound of his name. All at once, the irritation that had boiled over disappeared. "Alexander?"

He didn't dare step forward, afraid of the reaction he would receive. All he could do was stand nervously off to the side, staring down at this sad form of his boyfriend, and wait for Alec to decide where they go from there. He waited out the long, tense minutes that passed, until he couldn't take the silence anymore. Fear gripped his heart at the thought that his impulsive insult had wrecked one of the most meaningful relationships he had had in all the centuries had lived, he whispered apologetically, "I didn't mean it like that."

It was just that at times he watched Jace and Isabelle live their lives as they were meant to be, performing their duties as the children of the Nephilim when needed, but also knowing when they just needed to say hell with the rules and went with their guts to do what they believed was right. There were times, when he saw this, that he wished Alec felt secure enough in who he was to be as free as they so obviously were.

Head still buried in the folds of his arms and bent knees, Alec's reply was almost too low to hear. "Do you know how hard it is to be the big brother to the best shadowhunter and the most beautiful, intelligent person there is?"

Guilt pressing into Magnus painfully, he stepped closer to the young man. Slowly, he sank to the balcony floor beside Alec, their elbows just a fingertip apart, careful to not make physical contact.

"No matter how much I tried, I was never on their level. I always second best when it came to either of them. Where ever we are, whatever we're doing, my little siblings always outshine me." He sniffed, and Magnus hated to think that there were tears falling from usually stoic eyes as he continued to hide himself. "They shine like the sun, and I'm just the background sky.

"And I got used to it as I got older," he was shrugging the thought off as if it weren't a deeply seated insecurity that had been thrown at him in a moment of a heated argument. "That when either of them were in the room, no one would ever notice me. But then you came along, and you made me feel like I wasn't just a part of the background anymore. You made me feel like I could shine too." He shook his head with a scoff. "I'm so pathetic."

Dark eyes were wet with unshed tears as Magnus wrapped his arm around the shadowhunter and rest his cheek against his boyfriend's shoulder. "You do shine," Magnus promised. "To me, you shine like the moon, lighting up the darkness." All of his adoration and devotion was poured into his words, hoping they would be heard for the truth that they were.

Finally, Alec lifted his head and sad eyes peered into his dark brown. "So you don't wish I was someone else?"

Magnus gave a small, guilty smile, "Oh, Raziel no. I chose you for all that you are." When nothing was said in response, he continued, remaining honest but contrite. "My frustrations got the best of me, and I'm sorry for that. It's just that it can be quite frustrating when you continue to do everything the Clave and the Institute tell you, despite having already proven that you can do better." He sighed, "But that gave me no right to say what I did to you. "This is new, for both of us, and we both need to learn to be patient...and to compromise."

The sadness slowly seeped away from beautiful hazel eyes, only to lower shyly. Pink dusted his cheeks and nose. "Sorry I overreacted," he mumbled.

"Being emotional is not overreacting Alexander. Now," he stood, holding out his hand for the other to take, "how about we go back to the loft and simply enjoy each other's company. No business to be discussed. Then tomorrow, if we still need to discuss anything, we can do so calmly."

Alex nodded and took his hand. "Sounds good." Almost nervously, he moved into the warlock's space and kissed him chastely.

Magnus smiled against the kiss. When Alec stepped back, the other kissed the side of his cheek, the caressed lovingly. "You, my beautiful shadowhunter, are my moon."

"Does that make you my stars?"