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sapphicalexaandra · 6 years

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Impossibility Is a Kiss Away from Reality (17/17)

Pairing: Jace/Alec

Rating: E

Summary: “Feels good, doesn’t it?” “Mm?” “To have everything fall into place.”

Notes: Chapter 17 of Sense8 AU. No, I haven't forgotten to end this fic. I actually finished writing the chapter months ago, but one failed work endeavour later i never had the time or inspiration to edit it properly. So what's the point lingering, here's the final chapter! Thank you SO much to everyone who followed and liked this crazy story, which became so much bigger than i would've ever expected! It's sad to see it go, but i hope you're satisfied enough by this epilogue

Epilogue: Some Endings Are Beginnings

Izzy and Lydia had been seemingly stunned into silence. They sat on the couch opposite from Alec and Jace, who were instead perched on the coffee table in front of it, looking anxiously at them. They hadn’t really discussed it beforehand, but it had become clear when Izzy had realized who Jace really was that Alec wouldn’t have been able to not tell her the whole truth, so Jace had silently nodded at him to proceed. Now, they waited for the girls’ reaction.

“It does make some…sense,” Izzy finally said. “I mean, back when we were little I just accepted what Alec told me as the truth, and all these years I’ve carried that doubt about what the hell had happened, and even though at some point I realized that ‘imaginary friends’ were not possible, I don’t think I ever let that possibility go, you know? I always had this feeling that Jace was real. And I mean, who’s to say that psychic abilities aren’t possible? ‘Normal’ human brains are capable of more than we can even begin to understand, thus a further enhancement through evolution wouldn’t be so far-fetched…but does that mean that it’s genetic? You say dad is one too? But why not me, or Max? And–”

“Iz, just,” Alec interrupted her, his arms raised as if to physically protect himself from her onslaught of words, “could you please leave the sciencing to another time? We don’t know that much either, so if you want I can hook you up with that scientist, Magnus Bane? He knows a lot more than us.”

“Oh, yes, yes, I’d love that,” Izzy replied, clapping her hands with an elated smile. Then she seemed to think of something else, and she turned worriedly towards her girlfriend. “You…okay, Lyd?”

Lydia blinked a few times. “Ehm…well, I – I don’t really know.” She laughed nervously, her eyes darting back and forth from Alec to Jace, and vice versa. “I just – I think my brain might be short-circuiting right now.”

Alec nodded, feeling his throat very tight with nervousness. His sister’s easy acceptance was a relief, but Izzy had already been a part of the whole story, and she had one of the most open minds Alec had ever encountered, so the fact that he could rely on her wasn’t too much of a shock. That was why he needed Lydia, one of the most straight-forward minds he had ever encountered, to believe him.

“That’s understandable,” Jace was the one to intervene, “just imagine how we were feeling when all this stuff started happening to us.”

Jace sent him a look, which Alec responded to with a small smile.

“Oh, yeah, I literally thought I was going crazy,” Alec admitted, chuckling lightly, grateful for the fact that at least they were able to laugh about it now, while only a few weeks earlier the world had seemed to be about to end. Then Alec turned serious again, clasping his hands tightly as he spoke. “The point is, I know that this is a lot, and I wouldn’t have wanted to involve you in this. But I just…I’m tired of all the lies. You are my family, and I want you to be a part of my…new life.”

Izzy took Lydia’s hand, her smile gentle. “And I’m glad you told us, Alec. Actually, I’m kinda mad that you didn’t tell me sooner, you really thought I’d think you were crazy?”

Alec shrugged. “Ehm, yes? What other explanation could there have been? Plus, at first I thought that if I simply ignored it, everything would’ve gone away…” Meeting Jace’s eyes, Alec grinned. “Now, I’m kinda glad that it didn’t.”

Jace shoved him playfully with his shoulder. “I might think the same,” he teased, and Alec openly laughed.

“Aw,” was the sound that made them remember that they weren’t alone. Alec cleared his throat, surely bright red in the face as he turned back towards his sister and Lydia, who were looking fondly at them. He was so not used of being at the receiving end of a reaction like that.

“Alec, I just,” Lydia started speaking, “I might need some time to adjust to the idea, but know that I’m really…happy for you. For both of you, that you found each other, that is.”

Lydia cleared her own throat, and Alec was reminded that she was not much more comfortable talking about feelings than he was. But that was why Alec felt all the more grateful for her words. “Thank you, Lydia.”

“Parabatai,” she mumbled, as though trying out the word. “What a concept. Imagine if this had happened to us, Iz…”

“For real!” Izzy exclaimed. “I’m actually jealous, to be entirely honest. Having a psychic connection would be so fascinating…”

“Well,” Jace jumped in, “if you’re into the high chances of walking in on people having sex...”

“But that’s just life,” Izzy rebutted with an eye roll, causing everyone to burst out into laughter.

“Really, though,” Alec said after they had calmed down, “thank you both for not freaking out right now.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, big bro. Mom will do that for the both of us, plus some. All this time she’s been calling me almost hourly asking for you. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Damn it. Mom.” Alec smacked his forehead, the thought of facing Maryse Lightwood’s wrath almost making him wish he was back in Valentine’s facility. Almost.

Jace squeezed Alec’s hand in comfort. “Hey, it’ll be okay. I’m sure she’s just worried for you.”

“Oh, you can bet she is,” Izzy cut in. “But since I’m still feeling generous, I’ll handle her, Alec.”

“What? No, Iz, I owe her an explanation…”

“Of course you do, I just mean that I’ll call her to tell her you’re back, but you’re feeling really tired because of the journey so you’ll see her at lunch later today. You categorically can’t not come, obviously. Deal?”

Izzy had gotten up, so Alec did as well, pulling her in for a hug, holding her tight. “Yes, thank you, sis. You’re the best.”

“Of course I am,” she said while leaning back, a smile playing on her lips, “and I can’t wait to see her face when you introduce her to Jace.”

Alec’s eyes widened. “Oh, fuck…she remembers that name! How will I explain it to her? I can’t tell her the truth, she wouldn’t understand.”

“Why do you need to explain? Just tell her it’s the biggest coincidence ever,” Lydia said, shrugging.

“It’s fate,” both Jace and Izzy proclaimed at the said time, laughing when they realized that.

“Okay, fine, shut up.” Alec rolled his eyes.

Jace leaned against Alec’s arm, still laughing. “What? It is a vague enough explanation that she won’t be able to argue with it. If you want her to meet me, that is.”

Alec opened his mouth, “I – of course I want that, don’t you want…?”

Jace shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I want to meet your family.”

He had said that far too casually, and Alec frowned as remembered that he had a way of knowing what he was actually feeling without having to ask. Slipping into their connection came so easily now, and he immediately felt the maelstrom of eagerness and nervousness that was Jace. This meeting had been a long time in the making.

So Alec shook his head fondly, wrapping an arm around Jace’s shoulders to try and bring him some comfort. “Yeah.”

“Okay you two,” Izzy interjected, still smiling. “We’ll leave you to whatever the hell this is. See you at lunch.”

“Wait, you’ll be there?” Alec asked her.

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Duh. You wouldn’t survive without me, plus I want to see everything.”

Then, out of the blue, she threw her arms around Jace. Jace laughed in surprise, but hugged her back. Alec didn’t need to check to know what he was feeling this time; the joy and wonder of being accepted so easily, so openly, was written all over his face and in the way he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“Again, I couldn’t be happier for this new development,” Izzy murmured to him. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you, Izzy,” Jace croaked, and Alec was unable to resist the urge to place a grounding hand on Jace’s back.

“The station!” Alec suddenly burst out, though, before the girls could go away, remembering another crucial point. “Lydia, what did they…?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to bring it up, considering everything else, but…” Lydia grimaced. “Well, let’s just say they’re not very happy with you right now.”

Alec sighed. “Am I fired?”

“Not yet. They’re giving you the benefit of the doubt for the time being, given your situation and all, but you need to come as soon as possible and explain yourself. If you come up with something good they might be inclined to take you back, with a lot of ifs and a very likely demotion, suspension or probation…”

“We talked about it,” Izzy intervened, “and we think that the best you can do is put it on your mental state, with the promise of curing yourself for a certain period of time so that they can reevaluate you then.”

Alec’s stomach was churning uncomfortably, but he nodded gratefully. “Yeah, I think that’s best too, I’ll do that. I’ll pass by the station this afternoon.”

Demotion, suspension or probation…really, that was only the least that could happen; it wasn’t ideal, but not the worst either. Alec wasn’t looking forward to facing his boss, not one bit, but he’d grit his teeth and do it. He could never regret the actions that had led him to this sea of trouble, after all, so he’d have to own them.

That was why, when the girls left, he turned towards Jace with an easy smile, ready to face the future, but also rejoicing at the prospect of at least a few more hours just for the two of them.

Jace, however, had his arms crossed, and he stood by the couch with a clouded look in his face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alec asked him. But, of course, he already knew. “Jace, this is not a problem, everything will be alright.” He walked up to Jace, placing his hands on Jace’s shoulders, rubbing them gently. “I don’t mind, really, having a bit more time before I have to go back to work full time. This way we’ll be able to get used to our new life together.”

Jace didn’t look comforted. “I don’t know, Alec. It seems like you’re sacrificing way too much for me.”

“And you aren’t?” Alec put in, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve just uprooted your whole life. Now you need to find a job, or your visa will be revoked. You’re away from everything you’ve ever known, and you’ll have to get used to so much more than I do.”

“I don’t see all that as a problem,” Jace sighed, finally wrapping his arms around Alec. “I’m actually…excited, in a sense? I have so many ideas, like ways to kickstart my career. I could start doing covers, you know? And put them on YouTube, I’ve always liked doing that. And I can do any other common job in the meantime…do you know that I was a bartender for years?”

“No, I didn’t know that.” Alec smiled, resting his forehead against Jace’s. “You see? It all goes up from here, or if it doesn’t, we need to be able to trust each other, and rely on each other. I’m excited too, I couldn’t be more excited to have you here and start this new chapter. I know that not everything will be easy, and who knows? Maybe we’ll realize this is not what we want…but I want to look at the bright side right now. You just need to remember that you could never be a burden to me, never.”

Jace paused for a long moment, simply breathing in their vicinity. “You know,” he finally said, capturing Alec’s lips in a quick kiss. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a smooth talker, at first, but I’m very glad that you are.”

“I’m full of hidden talents,” Alec teased, before lowering his voice, whispering into Jace’s ear, “I can’t wait for you to find out about all of them…”

Jace yelped, as Alec’s hands started tickling his sides. “Wha – stop, you damn trai–” Jace’s voice died in his yells and laughter, and Alec took advantage of that to throw Jace on the couch, doubling his attack by pinning Jace’s legs under him. “You…will pay…” Jace could only say, even though for the moment he strangely didn’t make any move to retaliate.

He was breathless by the time Alec stopped, puffs of hilarity still coming out of both of them. Jace seemed ready to protest then, but Alec swallowed any word by crushing his lips against Jace’s in a far more heated, and pleasant onslaught, which Jace gave in to all too eagerly.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to put this couch to good use…” Alec murmured against Jace’s throat.

“Mmm,” Jace moaned, as they adjusted themselves more comfortably on it. “You better.”

The couch wasn’t exactly as sturdy as Alec must’ve thought, because it kept creaking and groaning almost as loudly as them, so that they often had to slow down to not crush it. However, making love in Alec’s apartment, with their bond wide open and thrumming happily between them, intensifying the way their bodies joined…made everything else quite irrelevant.

So Jace locked his arms and legs against Alec’s back, and let Alec take him with as much love as urgent need, while they panted against each other’s mouths, their kisses rough and sweet at the same time.

Then, Jace was pushing Alec against a wall, biting and sucking all the way down his neck, his collarbone, his nipple, while one of his hands pumped wildly both of their cocks in between them.

“I missed this,” Alec breathed, a chuckle in his voice. “Who knew that I’d think that only one position was so limiting…”

Jace looked up at him. “Are you really talking right now?” he told him, pointedly quickening his ministration. Alec’s eyes fluttered shut, his mouth falling open as he leaned his head back against the wall, his hands traveling down to grab Jace’s ass. And when those hands started urging the movement of Jace’s hips, in tandem with Alec’s, Jace was satisfied enough to turn his attention back to Alec’s unexpectedly inviting, hairy chest.

Then Jace found himself in front of a flat surface, which he realized was the kitchen table as Alec bent him over it. “Nice,” Jace joked, moaning as Alec traced his tongue down his spine, while Alec’s cock entered him with ease, immediately picking up a speed that had Jace rocking helplessly, after which all words escaped him. Until he was the one bent over Alec, thrusting deeper and deeper into him.

But something was missing, so Jace blinked back on the couch, the need to kiss Alec urgent and primal, as he widened his legs as much as he could to give him better access. “Harder, harder,” he begged unnecessarily, because Alec already knew that he ought to not hold back, and he was slamming into Jace with all the drive of a desperate man, an animalistic groan escaping out of him at every slap of his hips against Jace’s. So, closing his eyes, Jace sat back and let the fire and heat they were creating build from every crevice of his being, until it inevitably erupted all around him.

And rather sonorously, so that Jace couldn’t help but think about the poor neighbors. Only for a second, though, because after that he was far too busy kissing Alec, while their bodies, slick with sweat, collapsed against one another.

They stayed on the couch even after throwing away their condoms, every limb tangled together or they would’ve fallen from it. Not that Jace minded, as his face was buried rather comfortably against the crook of Alec’s neck, Alec’s arm his pillow, while Alec’s hand distractedly caressed his side and back. Needless to say, he never would’ve wanted to move.

After placing a lazy kiss against Alec’s lips, though, something crossed Jace’s mind and he let out a groan. “Ugh, why are you so distracting? I still need to call my grandmother.”

“Oh,” Alec replied. “Shit, sorry.”

“Shut up, I’m not really sorry,” Jace chuckled, forcing himself to sit up, rubbing eyes to try and wake himself up. “Speaking of, I think it’s time to start using my inheritance, if we have trouble paying for bills and stuff.”

Alec sat up as well. “What? No, Jace, I can’t let you pay for my stuff, that’s not fair…”

“Hey, I either live here, or don’t,” Jace shot back, turning his head towards Alec. “If I do, I need to contribute my share. You know that I don’t like not sustaining myself, and that’s never going to change. I’ll just have to resign myself to the thought of using my savings. It is a fresh start and all.”

Alec sighed, but he smiled at him. “Of course, you’re right. And you know what? I think we should find a new place, a place that is entirely ours, or we’ll always feel as if you’re only crashing at my place. Maybe we won’t be able to do it straight away, but…”

Jace shut him up with a kiss, smiling into it. “Yes, that’d be perfect. We’ll get there, I know it. And wow, we’re truly adults if we’re excited about buying a house, aren’t we?”

Alec chuckled. “It was bound to happen, I’m afraid.”

“Mm. Also, Mr. Lightwood,” Jace wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck, his face a breath away from Alec’s, “not bad for a first time in our ‘new life’, eh?”

“Not bad, you say?” Alec tackled Jace back on the couch, crushing their lips together. “I’ll show you not bad.”

Jace laughed rather breathlessly as Alec started kissing his neck, and he wouldn’t have wanted nothing more than to just let him continue doing that, but he had to force himself to stop this new endeavor, his fingers tangling in the hair at the back of Alec’s head. “You’ll show me later. Now, let’s get more presentable, so that we don’t traumatize my grandma completely.”

Jace knew that at that hour Imogen’s assistant would be in front of the computer, so Jace could safely Skype him, and he would call Imogen to come to the screen. Hopefully, she was home. Also, he needed to buy a new phone.

As Alec placed the computer on the kitchen table – thankfully at another angle than the earlier activity – Jace could feel nervousness rush into him as if ice-cold water was being pumped into his veins.

“Would she be okay with…me, you know, being a man?” Alec asked tentatively. He was sitting opposite from Jace, so that Imogen wouldn’t see him straight away and they could ease her slowly into the news.

“Oh, yeah. I mean,” Jace started playing nervously with his hair, combing it as properly as Imogen liked it, “she’s been cool with it so far, but it’s not like I’ve ever introduced her a boyfriend, you know? I think she’s glad that mine were always just flings, and I just know that that might’ve cemented her belief that I could never be serious or settle down with anybody but a girl…so we’ll see how she takes it.”

Alec nodded at him in understanding, stretching a hand forward so that Jace could take it. Jace intertwined their fingers gratefully, bracing himself. After a deep breath, he started the call.

And he realized just how much he’d missed his grandmother, when she was the one to answer it almost immediately. Even just seeing her face, from her stern lineaments to her critical eyes, was enough to cause a lump to form in his throat. As soon as she recognized him, her usually expressionless appearance morphed into clear relief.

“Jace,” she breathed, “you, are you okay? I heard that Valentine,” she stumbled on the name, “took you again. They told me that you got free, and that you were somewhere safe where you couldn’t contact me, but…”

Jace had to blink many times as he replied, “I know, Gran, I’m so sorry. But I’m really okay. It’s over, Valentine is gone. I – it’s good to see you.”

Imogen was clearly studying him, and Jace tried to not give away anything as Alec projected himself behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He grateful he did that, though.

“You too, my child,” Imogen finally said. “But where – where are you? When will you be home?”

The hope in Imogen’s voice hit Jace like a boulder. Could he…have made a mistake? Maybe he should’ve taken some time, before moving his entire life elsewhere. Suddenly, as the guilt took ahold of him, Jace didn’t know what to say.

Alec was immediately on it. “You can go back any time you want,” he quickly told him, “even tomorrow, I can book you a flight…”

“No, I…” Jace inadvertently spoke out loud, as he met Alec’s eyes at the other side of the table, which were full of concern and guilt for Jace’s own decision. Thankfully, though, because it made Jace remember why he was doing this; it wasn’t just for Alec. It was simply that, beside the few people he called family, nothing good awaited him in London, only streets and houses that would haunt him for the rest of his life. As he tried to convey all that to Alec through their connection, he turned back towards Imogen, “Gran…I’m not coming back. I mean, I’ll come and visit from time to time, but I – I’ll be staying in New York from now on.”

“New York? In America?” came Imogen’s dumbfounded voice.

“Yes,” Jace confirmed, “I’ve thought hard about it, and you might be happy to know that I’ll be using my inheritance until I can stand on my own feet again…but I really can’t go back to London. There’s too much there…that I want to forget. I need this, Gran.”

Jace cursed the fact that his voice cracked at the end, but that was what made Imogen, her mouth slightly open, pause and regard him with more attention. “Are you…sure? That this is what you want?”

Jace nodded, before his gaze fell on Alec in front of him, their hands still intertwined, Alec’s presence still lively and clear behind him as well. “Yes, and…there’s more, actually.” Imogen raised her eyebrows, and Jace felt weirdly exhilarated as he went on, “Well, I kinda know someone here. I’m…with someone here.”

“Ah,” Imogen mouthed. “I should’ve known that it was something like that.”

“No, I swear it’s not just that…”

“But it’s a big part of it,” Imogen concluded.

Jace couldn’t exactly correct her, so he bit his lip as he nodded. “Yeah. But I – I’m in love, Gran, and you know that I don’t say that easily, or…ever. But this is different.” Jace squeezed Alec’s hand even harder, Alec’s smile in his line of vision warming him from the inside. “This is real, and I’ve never been surer about something than I am of this. Do you want…to meet him?”

Both him and Alec were holding their breath, as they both stared into the screen to grasp any change in Imogen’s demeanor. She blinked a few times, an “Oh,” the only thing coming from her mouth.

“His name’s Alec. Alec Lightwood,” Jace started rumbling. “He’s a cop. He – he’s the best person I know, Gran. I assure you you’d love him, if…”

“So? Where is he?” Imogen urged him. “Didn’t you want me to meet him?”

Jace chuckled as he covertly took a big sigh of relief, and he looked at the real Alec getting up from his chair, as Alec’s projection disappeared. “Yeah, he’s here.”

Alec walked around the table, reaching Jace’s side. Jace nodded encouragingly at him, and Alec took a deep breath, before finally entering the frame.

“Hi, hello, Mrs. Herondale,” Alec said, plastering a big smile on his face. “It’s – it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Imogen squared Alec up and down – of how much of him she could see, of course – before replying to him, “Hello. So you’re the one who took my grandson away from me.”

Jace closed his eyes. “Gran…”

“Oh, no, ma’am,” Alec tried to recover, “I’d never…”

“Youths these days, don’t recognize a joke if it doesn’t hit them in the head,” Imogen chuckled at her own words, and Jace and Alec joined her with relief. “Talking seriously, though,” Imogen went on, “you’ll be living together from now on, if I understood that correctly?”

“Y-yes,” Alec answered her, “and I swear, ma’am, that I love,” Alec’s hand grasped Jace’s arm almost unconsciously, “I love your grandson beyond words, and my – my priority is making him as happy as I can.”

The lines of Alec’s face were set, honesty and determination oozing out of him, and Jace ended up getting lost for a moment looking at him. When he finally turned back towards his grandmother, Imogen was studying them very attentively, and Jace hoped that she saw even a fraction of what he did.

“Thank you for your words, Mr. Lightwood,” Imogen spoke again, “Jace’s happiness is also my priority, so I will be holding you to them. Now, can I please have a moment alone with my grandson?”

“Of course.” Alec’s smile was far more genuine now. “But please call me Alec.”

Imogen nodded. “Alec it is. Then I guess you’ll be calling me Imogen, if you’re to be part of the family.”

“Thank you, thank you so much for your kindness…Imogen.” With those parting words and a squeeze of Jace’s shoulder, Alec went into the bedroom, leaving them alone.

Jace sighed as he turned his attention back on his grandmother. “Gran, I am happy, like I’ve never been.”

Imogen didn’t say anything, holding eye contact with Jace for a long moment. Jace didn’t even dare blink. Finally, she averted her gaze first. “I believe you, my child. For how much it hurts me to think you so far away from me, I can’t do much more than wish you all the luck, joy and success in anything you’ve set your mind into.”

Jace didn’t even try to hold back the tear that had trickled down his face. “I’ll miss you, Gran.”

“I’ll miss you too, Jace. I am…so proud of you.” Imogen’s eyes were shining as well. “See you for Christmas?”

Jace let out a laugh as he rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. “Yes, see you then. But hey, I’ll call you often once I have a phone.”

“I’ll be counting on that.” With one last smile, the call abruptly ended, and Imogen’s face disappeared. She clearly didn’t want to linger on that emotional moment. She had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Jace didn’t mind, though. He knew his grandmother, and her acceptance and support meant to him more than he could say, in any form they came.

He was trying to wipe away more tears as he got up and started walking towards the bedroom door, but Alec beat him to it, coming out of the room and wrapping him in his arms without saying a word. Jace fell into the embrace, surprising himself when that didn’t make him stop to cry, but rather triggered new sobs to escape out of him. He didn’t know why the call with his grandmother had hit him so hard, compared to his goodbye with his friends. If he thought about it, it might be because his life, his real life had started when Imogen had taken him in, and now that chapter was officially over. Sadness was inevitable, he concluded, but that only made him more determined to make it worth it.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Alec unsurprisingly asked him. He had spoken in a whisper, and Jace could feel that he feared to offend him by insinuating that Jace wasn’t sure of his own decisions, just as much as he feared to make him actually change his mind.

Jace didn’t hesitate in raising his head, cupping Alec’s face with both hands while a tearful smile opened on his face. “Yes, silly. It’s sweet that you keep asking, but you don’t need to do it anymore. I know you don’t want me to make a mistake, but this is what I want, a hundred percent.”

“Yeah?” Alec still looked hesitant, so Jace simply kissed him, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck so that he could hop on him. “Woah!” Alec exclaimed in surprise, both of them laughing as he managed to not tumble them both on the ground.

“No more sad faces.” Jace was peppering kisses all over Alec’s face. “Okay?”

“Okay, okay.” Alec was still chuckling as he captured Jace’s lips in his, even more so when he spun them both around. “To our new life,” he proclaimed.

“To our new life,” Jace echoed, falling back on his feet. “Now, reunion number…three was more or less a success. How many more are there?”

“Oh,” Alec grimaced, “my mother and brother, then….my father.”

“Right, your father! I had completely forgotten that we still don’t know his deal…”

“We’ll see him later this afternoon, when he should be home,” Alec said. “And I think you should probably also meet my friends. I’ve been horrible in keeping up with them, I’ve basically ghosted them for months...” Jace raised both eyebrows at him, and Alec made a face. “Yes, I have friends beside Izzy and Lydia, you know.”

Jace laughed. “Of course, right, I think I got a glimpse of them at some point, was it after you were back from the hospital?”

“Yeah.” Alec took his phone out his pocket. “When do you want to meet them?”

“Why not tonight? Are there fun places to go around here? I would say so, since it’s New freaking York.”

“I thought you’d want to stay in and, I don’t know, settle down tonight?”

Jace rolled his eyes fondly. “That’s for old people. We’re young, babe, tonight we’ll be having fun.”

“You’ve just called me old and babe in the same sentence, so I’m kind of receiving mixed signals here…”

“Oh, shut up.”

They shut up by kissing once more, then Alec playfully shoved Jace away, focusing back on his phone. “Okay, so tonight it is. Oh, and…”

“Yeah?”

“Lunch is still a few hours away, so I guess…it’s better if I go to the station sooner rather than later. I – I’ll be back in time for lunch to pick you up, is that okay?”

Jace smiled. “Yeah. I think I’ll be taking a shower and steal some of your clothes, since I don’t exactly have any.” Alec chuckled, but he didn’t seem exactly please by those words. “Everything will be okay, you hear me?” Jace told him.

“Yeah, I know.” Alec returned the smile. “I have you.”

Alec tapped his fingers repeatedly on the steering wheel as he waited for Jace to come down, the conversation he’d just had with his boss whirling over and over in his mind.

“So how did it go?” Jace asked him as soon as he entered the car.

Alec sighed, managing a small smile in Jace’s direction – it’d be at least a while before he’d stop rejoicing at the sight of him. “More or less like the girls said. I’ve been suspended for a few months, until I can show a certificate that attests my fully recovered mental state.”

Jace nodded, taking one of Alec’s fidgeting hands in his, a gesture that had a striking, immediate calming effect on Alec.

“And I think,” Alec continued a bit livelier, “I think I should go back to Tessa, you know? Lie or not, it can’t hurt actually going to therapy. A lot has happened to me lately, to us, that it’s better to deal with sooner rather than later…and she would understand better than any other common doctor. You – you could even come too, if you’d like.”

Jace held Alec’s eye contact as he took in his words, a soft, pensive look on his face. “Yeah, I think that could be a good idea,” he said in the end.

The smile that opened up on Alec’s face was much more genuine now, as he looked back at Jace with a sense of relief easing into him. He hadn’t liked one bit disappointing and abandoning his boss and his colleagues, who had all relied on him, and facing them and their judgmental, distrustful looks hadn’t been pleasant at all…but he needed to remember that he hadn’t acted out of pure selfishness. Not that he could tell them – they would surely accuse him of exactly that if he even just mentioned that a boyfriend was involved – but all that mattered was that in his heart he knew that it had been bigger than himself, and he couldn’t have done anything less.

Bringing Jace’s hand to his lips, kissing softly every single one of his knuckles, feeling some sort of pride when the gesture caused Jace to smile, only served as a reminder of exactly that.

After indulging himself into that feeling for a moment, though, Alec had to force himself to bring them back to the task at hand, “Are you feeling ready to meet my mother?”

Jace’s answer came with a snort. “I can’t wait.”

Alec grimaced sympathetically, intertwining their fingers, hoping that that would at least bring him some comfort – he didn’t know which one of them.

“Hey, I’m serious,” Jace added, squeezing Alec’s hand back. “You know that I’ve always liked your family, so I literally can’t wait. Yeah, I’m nervous, but…”

Alec nodded. “I know.” It’s a chance of a lifetime. “So enjoy the moment, cause you have nothing to worry about, okay? I’m sure she’ll love you. Max too, and I think Dad as well. Izzy and Lydia already do, so…I guess I’m the one who should be nervous.” Alec chuckled.

“Actually, I think,” Jace leaned forward, smacking a kiss on Alec’s cheek, “that your mom will forgive you, so you also shouldn’t worry so much.”

Alec rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to smile dopily at Jace. “Okay, fine, let’s just go then.”

“Right, you have a car. Where did you hide it all this time?” Jace said, smirking as he twirled his head around to study it.

“In a garage. I only use it for special occasions,” Alec told him, getting into the traffic jam and already hating it.

“Uh, uh, does that mean I’m special?” Jace teased.

Alec chuckled, even though his answer was nothing but serious, “Always.”

“Mmm,” was Jace’s only reply, and Alec knew that he was touched.

They spent the rest of the drive chatting randomly, mainly about the places and the people they passed, which Jace had a lot to comment on, as he watched everything with starry eyes. It was kind of adorable, Alec had to admit.

Reaching the familiar steps of Maryse’s house shut them up, though. After they luckily found a parking spot not too far away, they walked hand in hand in utter silence until the front door was right in front of them. Alec rang the doorbell rather forcefully to get past his nerves.

For who knows what miracle, it was Izzy who opened the door, hushing them in as she rapidly instructed them of her battle strategy, “I think it’s better if you go in on your own first, Alec, so that Mom won’t feel the need to hold everything in in front of a guest for the entire time. I say let her release some steam first, then when she’s calm enough you can start explaining yourself, and bam, here’s my boyfriend Jace. Got it?”

“Iz, I don’t need you to tell me, I haven’t been born yesterday,” Alec whispered back to her between gritted teeth, while Jace watched them bemusedly on the side.

“You were about to let her open the door and see you holding Jace’s hand from the get go! Just, follow my lead, for everyone’s sake,” Izzy bit back, her lips pursed.

Alec was rolling his eyes so hard that he just knew he’d end up blind, but he still decided to do what his sister had said. For everyone’s sake. “You wait here, okay?” he told Jace, somewhat hesitantly.

But Jace didn’t hesitate to nod at him, squeezing his arm comfortingly before he leaned back against the corridor wall, only words of encouragement to be read in his mind. You can do it.

Alec squared himself. He could do it. He had faced much worse than this, hadn’t he? The entrance to the living room was right in front of him, so Alec stepped through it feeling as if he was entering a bloody arena.

Maryse was sitting on her favorite armchair, her legs crossed, one of her feet dangling impatiently. Lydia was there as well, sitting on the sofa right next to the chair, unsuccessfully trying to make small talk, even though it was clear that Maryse wasn’t listening to her at all. Both women’s attention diverted to Alec and Izzy almost immediately anyway.

Then, however, all eyes were on Maryse alone as the Lightwood matriarch rose to her feet. Alec’s heart jumped straight to his throat as she started strutting resolutely toward him without any preamble, and he had to stop himself from stepping back or closing his eyes, determined to take whatever came next like a man.

Easier said than done. He was already about to cave, a string of apologies and begs for forgiveness on the tip of his tongue…when Maryse collapsed on his chest, her arms tightly wrung around him. Alec froze for a whole four seconds before all tension deflated out of him, and he returned the hug.

“Mom,” he croaked, “I’m so sorry.”

“You idiot,” was all Maryse said, her cheek pressed tightly against Alec’s chest, so that Alec had the feeling that she was listening to his heartbeat. That only made him feel even worse.

“I swear, I wanted to call,” he managed to say next, struggling to get past the lump in his throat, “it’s just that…”

“What? What prevented you from sparing two seconds to send me a text message? To give me any sign that you were okay or…alive?” Maryse had taken a step back, glaring up at Alec with all the rage that only a worried mother could have.

Alec opened his mouth, and surprisingly the lie came easily out of him, “There was this…man after us, and I was afraid that he could track us through our phones, so I – I had to get rid of mine.”

“Us?” Maryse still looked pissed, and skeptical, but she allowed that detail to distract her.

“Mom, I want you to meet someone.” Alec was feeling less nervous, and more…embarrassed, now, so he averted his eyes. That was a mistake, though, because he only met Izzy and Lydia’s gazes instead, who were urging him along. “My – boyfriend.”

Maryse put her hands on her hips. “Seriously? That’s what all this is about? Did you know about it?” Her glare fell on the girls, who looked guiltily at each other, causing Maryse to scoff in outrage. “And you didn’t care to tell me anything? Was all that bullshit about Alec ‘needing time to himself’ and that I ‘shouldn’t have bothered him’ really necessary?”

“It’s my fault, Mom,” Alec quickly jumped in, “I asked them to cover for me. I – I didn’t want you to worry…too much, that is.”

Maryse was nowhere near satisfied by that. “So there was more be to worried about! What’s this ‘man’ you mentioned going after you?”

“It’s a shit of an abusive father…Mom, I had to help him get away from him, especially since I do that as a job. I – can I just introduce him to you?”

Maryse was still frowning, but, whether out of defeat or curiosity, she agreed with a short nod.

Alec turned around, the anxious feeling rushing back into him as he tried to prepare himself to act normal. He didn’t even need to call out to him, because Jace entered the room a moment later. He was sporting a timid half smile so unlike him that Alec was rendered speechless until Jace came to a stop next to him. It was the sound of Izzy clearing her throat that spurred him back into action.

“Mom…this is Jace,” Alec declared, planting his own half smile on his face as he looked at his mother again.

Maryse had already been extending her hand to shake Jace’s, but she visibly recoiled at the name. So…it wasn’t going to go unnoticed, just as Alec had feared. “J – Jace?”

Jace’s smile widened a bit. “Yeah, I – it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lightwood.”

Maryse was blinking rapidly, and Alec could almost see the gears spinning in her head as she rapidly looked from Jace to Alec, and vice versa.

Alec quickly let out a chuckle. “Yeah, can you believe it, Mom? That’s why I – I asked you about that childhood story the other day, cause I seemed to remember that the name was familiar. Isn’t this…the funniest coincidence? That the guy I happened to meet on the internet has the same name I gave my imaginary friend so long ago?”

Jace started laughing believably enough that even Alec would’ve thought it was real, if he hadn’t known the truth. “It is incredible, I couldn’t believe it when he told me!”

Izzy and Lydia both stepped closer, joining the hilarity. “That’s why I don’t want to hear any more word about how Lydia and I are too cheesy for you tastes, big bro. Your life is literally a Hollywood movie now, so…” Izzy stated, crossing her arms with rather convincing smugness.

Maryse was looking between all four of them now, her eyebrows raised as she studied them. She was a lawyer, distrust was inbuilt in her…yet she must’ve concluded that, in this case, it was probably better for everyone if she just went along with it. After all, what could she say? She wasn’t the kind to believe in the impossible or the supernatural, and investigating further this rather unbelievable yet not entirely impossible circumstance shouldn’t have seemed convenient to her. Not for the time being, at least. That was what Alec had counted on, after all, and he was glad when he appeared to be right; Maryse’s features, after a few tense seconds, did finally relax, and the look she fixed Jace with was only natural curiosity.

Also a bit of something else. She still hadn’t forgotten the whole ordeal. “So you…I don’t mean to pry, but I think in these circumstances I hope you can understand why I need to ask. What happened with your father?”

Jace sobered up straight away. “My foster father. He’s…he was not a good man. He’s gone now, he – he killed himself. Maybe because he couldn’t bear the guilt any longer, or…I don’t know. But I swear I didn’t ask Alec, I wouldn’t have wanted him to come all the way to the UK for me, even though I – I have to admit I needed the help. I wouldn’t have made it out of there without him.”

Jace couldn’t help but glance at Alec, and the emotions Alec saw there could never be manufactured. He impulsively took Jace’s hand, intertwining their fingers as tightly as he could. Then he faced his mother again, finally feeling any more reason to be nervous at all. “Mom, I know this is a lot, and I’m very sorry for acting rashly without letting you know what was going on, but all that matters now is that it’s over. I – I love him, and he loves me, and he’s here to stay. So we should…celebrate, what do you say?”

Jace tightened his hold on Alec’s hand, letting their shoulders touch as he smiled somewhat bashfully, his eyes lowered to the ground.

Maryse regarded them both, and not a fly could be heard in the room, before she finally let a soft smile appear on her face. “Yes, we should do that.”

When they left Maryse’s house Jace had to wonder why he had been worried at all. If him and Alec were a part of each other, it was only right that he would fit almost…seamlessly with his family. He remembered the countless times he had spent time with Alec’s parents and siblings, after all, and even though they had been completely unaware of his presence, he had still felt more at home with them than he ever was with Valentine.

Now, they had ended up talking and joking and eating together as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Max’s only comment had been that he hoped the two of them wouldn’t be as ‘disgusting’ as Izzy and Lydia, but Jace had made no promises, smirking as he took Alec’s hand in his. Max had made a face, but he’d had to cover his laughter soon after.

“What did I tell you? They love you,” Alec said jovially as they made their way towards the car.

“What did I tell you? They forgave you,” Jace retorted, laughter in his voice.

Alec rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hold in a smile.

“So where are we going now?” Jace asked him as soon as they were back on the road. It was early afternoon, but the day already seemed to have been a million hours long. They had spent an entire week alone in a cabin, so that these many interactions felt incredibly draining, and Jace couldn’t wait to be back in Alec’s apartment, just the two of them. Yet, he knew they still had a long way to go. “You want to go to your father, don’t you?”

Alec’s hands tightened their hold on the steering wheel. “Yes, but first I need to make a couple more stops.”

It was like everything was coming full circle. Jace found himself entering Magnus Bane’s apartment, taking in all the whacky furniture and the host’s bright smile in a whole new light.

“I heard what happened,” Magnus told them, “by the Shadowhunters. I’m glad everything turned out alright, but I can’t help but feel guilty. If only I had realized who you were, I might’ve warned you more about the dangers that…”

“It’s not your fault, Magnus,” Jace smiled at him, “I – we are just grateful to have met you in time, so that we weren’t complete in the dark while facing Valentine.”

Alec nodded next to him. “Yes. We won’t forget the help you gave us.”

Magnus tried to shrug those compliments, but his smile was even brighter as he regarded them both. “Well, you’re very welcome then. Jace, it’s a pleasure to meet you in the flesh. I bet it feels weird being really here, doesn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” Jace glanced at Alec, “but the best kind of weird.”

“Then don’t let me distract you from your new-found life together. I wish you all the best things.”

“Wait,” Alec jumped in, “we would love to see you again, of course. As…a friend, if you’d like. We know you’ve been in hiding for a while, so we just thought…”

“You could use the company,” Jace filled in, even though as soon as he said it he started wondering whether they were being insensitive. “I mean, not that we know much about your life, we don’t mean to assume…”

Magnus smiled ruefully. “No, you’re right. I’ve been quite lonely, always looking around every corner, being suspicious of anyone who tried to get close to me. You know, I think I was the one to give Valentine the idea to lobotomize parabatai.”

Jace’s eyes widened, while his entire body froze on the spot. He didn’t mean to draw any conclusion, but bile was already rising to his throat.

“I mean,” Magnus averted his eyes, looking far off as if he was not seeing the room anymore, “I was a student, interested in every sign of the supernatural in the world, and you can imagine my amazement when I discovered the existence of parabatai. After that, my path was set. I was too fascinated to stop studying and researching everything that was to be known…especially after Valentine and his parabatai approached me. They were eager guinea pigs, they wanted to know just as much as me, so it was a suitable arrangement for both of us. Secretly, though, they were really trying to find a way to severe their connection. They hated it. Or at least one of them did, and the other only wanted to fulfill his parabatai’s wish. Yet, even when I figured out which part of the brain was the one enabling their psychic ability, I still had no idea that Valentine would actually…”

“It’s okay,” Jace intervened, the catch in Magnus’s voice saying more that he could. “It’s not your fault. Valentine…has tricked many people. Nobody would ever believe even half the things he’s done, I’m sure.”

It was sickening to think about either way, and Jace had to share a worried look with Alec.

“I’m so sorry,” Alec said, placing a comforting hand on Magnus’s shoulder, “that this happened to you, Magnus. Or, wait, I heard this isn’t your actual name?”

Magnus managed a small smile. “No, it’s not the name I was born with, but I’ve renounced that one. Please, keep calling me Magnus.”

A smile opened on Jace’s face as well. “Well then, Magnus, do you accept our offer? We will understand, if being friends with parabatai is not…”

“I would love to get to know you better,” Magnus interrupted him.

“Then it’s set,” Alec said a bit more cheerfully. “Actually, tonight I’m having Jace meet my friends at this pub, the Hunter’s Moon. You’re very welcome to join us, even though I must warn you that my sister might attack you with questions. She’s a scientist too. I should probably tell her…”

Magnus laughed heartily. “Oh…well, wow, I mean, yeah, why not. It’ll be fun, I’ll gladly meet your sister. I – thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Jace replied, turning somber all of a sudden. “Valentine’s reign of terror is officially over.”

Magnus’s relieved nod was all the comment needed.

After having left the apartment, Jace felt ten tons lighter. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Mm?” Alec replied.

“To have everything fall into place.”

“Yeah.”

Jace, however, had the suspicion that Alec was stalling facing his father, because he took another detour. Not saying a word, though, Jace let him take them to a rather less-fancy part of the city. He knew it was where Tessa Gray had her office, he read it in Alec’s mind, but he had never been there. At the time Alec had come they hadn’t been speaking to each other.

“So we’re just showing up unannounced?” Jace asked Alec after he had parked the car.

Alec shrugged. “Well, yeah, I just hope they’ll let us in to talk for a few minutes.”

The entrance to the office was even more off-putting than the street.

“I can’t believe that you, all freaked out as you were back then, willingly came here and stayed,” Jace teased him.

“I was kind of desperate,” Alec shot back, sticking his tongue out at him that caused Jace to snicker.

“Who is it?”

The voice that suddenly spoke caught them both by surprise, and they jumped before they noticed two eyes watching them from a slot in the door.

“Ehm,” Alec started, “hello? Do you remember me? I’m Alec. Alec Lightwood. I just wish to speak to you and your...” he lowered his voice, “parabatai. And your wife, Doctor Gray?”

The eyes regarded them some more, and not very warmly. “And who is with you?”

“This is my parabatai, Jace,” Alec answered, while Jace quickly nodded. “I know I kind of disappeared on you, so I wanted to…apologize.”

There was another moment in which nothing happened. Then, the slot closed as suddenly as it had opened, but much more soundly. While they waited, Jace felt a kind of trepidation that he didn’t really understand. This was just a curtesy that Alec had felt the need to give to these people, but it was not as if their lives would be heavily impacted if they didn’t talk to them ever again. Yet, Jace was starting to realize that having more people in this city who understood them, and who could help them, might make all the difference. They were newbies, stumbling into a whole new existence with their eyes almost closed…

So when the door opened, Jace could only feel relieved.

The man’s blue eyes were much gentler, now that they could see the whole face. As was the smile that welcomed them. “There’s no need to apologize, Mr. Lightwood,” he said, “we probably should’ve been more upfront with you. It’s no wonder you freaked out.”

“Please, call me Alec,” Alec replied with a smile. “And I could’ve been more…patient.”

The man chuckled. “Maybe, yeah. Either way, we’re glad you met Magnus. He – he told us what happened to you, and that you were kidnapped by…” The man paused. “Please, would you like to come inside?”

“Thank you,” Alec said, before they were ushered into a narrow corridor.

After the door was closed behind them, the man addressed them again. “By the way, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Jace, is it?” he said, stretching out a hand.

Jace gladly shook it. “Yes. And back at you. We still haven’t met many parabatai, after all.”

The man nodded, glancing at something behind Jace before footsteps could even be heard. “I can imagine that. This is a big change for you, both of you, for sure. But let me introduce you to my parabatai. Jem, look who we have here, Alec Lightwood and his parabatai, Jace.”

A second man joined them. He was black-haired as his parabatai, but his features were clearly Asian, as Magnus had told them. His smile was even gentler, softer. “If it isn’t a pleasure to finally meet you both. I’m James Carstairs, but you can call me Jem,” he said, shaking Jace and Alec’s hands.

“But what are my manners,” the first man jumped in, smacking his own forehead, “I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Will. William Herondale.”

Jace’s eyes bulged as he stared at him in shock. “Herondale? I – that’s my surname too.”

“It is?” Will sounded just as surprised.

Jace shared a dumbfounded look with Alec. “Yes. Do you – do you know Imogen Herondale? She’s my grandmother on my father’s side.”

“Well, I’d be damned,” Will exclaimed, “she’s my aunt, my father is her brother. Wait, you…you’re the kid that was kidnapped as a child? Whose parents were…killed?”

“Yeah…that’s me,” Jace answered with a grimace. “It was Valentine who kidnapped me back then too. He raised me as an experiment, he wanted to see if he’d be able to sever my parabatai connection. And…he succeeded, basically.”

Will’s mouth was in the shape of an o, but no sound was coming out of it. He glanced at Alec almost surreptitiously, before his gaze met Jem’s, who looked just as stricken. Jace just knew that they were saying more to each other than they were letting on. Was that revelation telling them something him and Alec didn’t know? But what could that be? Maybe he was just being paranoid.

Right then, multiple sets of footsteps could be heard at the end of the corridor.

“And what is going on here?” a female voice inquired. Tessa, Alec’s thoughts surmised for Jace.

She was making their way towards them accompanied by two people, who couldn’t have been more than teenagers. One was a young blonde girl, the other a brown-haired boy.

“Dear,” it was Jem who answered her, “Alec Lightwood came back, accompanied by his parabatai.”

Jace almost flinched at the word, before remembering that for them to be there, those two kids ought to have been parabatai as well.

“Oh,” Tessa came to a stop in front of them, “you can’t believe how happy that makes me. Excuse me for a moment.”

She gestured the two teenagers towards the door, and everyone shifted out of the way to let them pass.

“Thank you for everything, Tessa,” the boy told her kindly.

“Yeah,” the girl echoed. “See you next week.”

“You’re very welcome. Remember to work on what we said,” were Tessa’s parting words, before she closed the door.

“So they’re parabatai too, uh?” Alec voiced what they had both been thinking.

“Yes, of course. It’s harder at their age, when dealing with one own’s growing emotions is already such a hassle,” Tessa replied.

His rash, angry younger self flashed before Jace’s eyes. Yeah, maybe it was better that Alec hadn’t deal with that.

Nonsense, came Alec’s reply in his head, accompanied by a rush of warmth that Jace had come to associate with Alec’s feelings for him. It’s not like I was any better. We could’ve helped each other, or just been there for each other.

Maybe you’re right, Jace acquiesced, smiling fondly at him.

“Tes, can you believe that Jace here is my second-degree nephew?” Will was saying to his wife.

Tessa looked at Jace, and he was quick to stretch out his hand to her too. “Hi, we haven’t met, but I guess Alec has told you a bit about me,” he told her.

Tessa and Alec smiled at each other, one more bashfully than the other.

“Yeah, about that…I’m very sorry for bailing on you,” Alec said, rubbing the back of his head in his awkwardness.

Tessa shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It was me who failed to choose the right way to approach you. I had just…never encountered a situation quite like yours. I thought that easing you into it would’ve suited you better, but maybe the facts would’ve reassured you more.”

“I guess we’ll never know what could’ve happened,” Alec told her kindly, “I’m grateful either way, for the advice you gave me. I did need to spend more time with Jace, it turns out.” He added chuckling.

“About that,” Tessa cut in, “I heard that you two were involved with the Shadowhunters’ last operation? How did Valentine learn about your existence, Jace? Why would he kidnap you? And what do you mean,” she addressed Will, “that he’s your nephew?”

“Don’t you think it’s better if we all go inside? I will make some tea,” Jem suggested.

“Always the most considerate, our Jem,” Will teased him, ruffling his hair as they started making their way.

“Who will do it otherwise?” Jem was rolling his eyes, but there was a fond smile on his face.

Tessa turned towards Jace and Alec, whispering conspiratorially, even though her husbands could clearly hear her. “I can’t with those two. They’ve never changed all these years.”

“You love us,” Will shot back.

Tessa could only cock her head in agreement.

After they had all settled down in the room Alec had been in all those weeks ago, Jace and Alec tried to recount everything as best as they could.

“I see,” was Tessa’s first comment. “You’re Will’s kidnapped nephew and the child Valentine had kidnapped as an experiment. Also Alec’s parabatai. I didn’t know all of this was connected to one another.”

Her gaze met both of her husband’s, and Jace had that sensation again, that some unspoken communication was passing between them. And he was more and more certain that they knew something him and Alec didn’t know.

“What do you know that we don’t?” it was Alec who voiced that thought, his voice low and serious, leaving no space for beating around the bush.

Their three guests looked at each other once more, before Tessa said, “Have you…spoken to your father recently, Alec?”

That alone said more than it might’ve seemed. Jace’s stomach dropped as he looked at Alec.

“Not yet,” Alec answered, his hands balled into fists, “I was planning to a while ago, but obviously I didn’t have the chance, since Jace was taken soon after and I had to fly to London. He has a role in this entire story, doesn’t he?”

Tessa slowly nodded. “Listen, Alec, and Jace too. Robert is…a complicated man. I’m not going to tell you how to act or react to what he’ll have to say, but please, I’m asking you to keep an open heart. He has come a long way…”

Alec placed his cup of tea on the coffee table, then he rose. “Thank you, for everything. So we’ll see each other next week?”

Tessa seemed about to protest, but in the end she could only resign herself to that dismissal. “Yes. Remember, that you must be willing to work with me, for real this time, or we won’t get anywhere.”

“Yes, thank you, Tessa,” Jace jumped in, rising as well. “We will keep an open heart, and an open mind,” he added with a smirk.

“And you can chat with us any time you want,” Jem said, “you know what visiting is, right?”

“Yes, we do,” Jace replied, “we’ll really be looking forward to have more parabatai to talk to. We’ll surely hit you up with lots of questions.”

“Fire away,” Will said cheerfully, “and we definitely need to invite you for dinner some time. Say hi to Auntie Imogen from me, by the way.”

“Will do.”

Jace felt very much uplifted from that visit, but nothing could hide the fact that Alec had fallen completely silent, besides the few pleasantries he exchanged before the two of them were escorted at the door. Their guests could see it too, and Jace had to be thankful that they were graceful about it.

They were half way to the car, Alec walking straight ahead as if he wasn’t seeing anything in front of him, before Jace finally concluded that he needed to do something about it. “Alec, hey.” He grabbed Alec��s arm, forcing him to stop.

Alec reluctantly turned towards him, his eyes downcast so that Jace couldn’t resist cupping his face with both hands, trying to smooth the creases that had formed there.

“It’s okay, we already knew your father was involved in some way,” Jace reassured him, “now we need to just listen to him, then go on with our lives no matter what.”

“What if it’s really bad, Jace?” Alec sounded pained. “He hid what I was from me all my life, what if…?”

“He’s clearly not a totally bad guy if Tessa and the others don’t hate him,” Jace suggested. “Please, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay? And anything that happens, don’t forget that I’m here for you. I’m kind of an expert in bad fathers, you know. Yours can’t be worse than mine.”

A chuckle escaped from Alec’s lips, but he shook his head before finally looking Jace in the eyes. “Never say never.” He still took Jace’s hands in his. “But thank you.”

And when Alec leaned forward, Jace let him fall into his arms all too eagerly, holding him as close as he could. Being able to give him support was something that Jace didn’t know would feel so good.

He hadn’t wanted to do it. He still didn’t want to do it, and get the incontrovertible proof of his father’s lies. Yet, while he drove towards Robert’s house, dead silent in his rage, Alec felt the need to do it.

Visiting someone who wasn’t Jace was still quite foreign to him, so he had to concentrate much harder. It took him a while, but, in the end, he managed to lock onto his father’s presence – that was how he chose to call it – in the realms of his mind. It wasn’t very pleasant – most of the memories associated with his father weren’t the best he had – but projecting himself after that came easy enough.

Their eyes met through the mirror Robert’s face was reflected into. They were in a bathroom, and Robert was washing his hands. He stilled as soon as he recognized his son. He didn’t turn around, though, and Alec didn’t give him the time to anyway.

“I’m coming over now, you better be there,” he told him curtly. There was no point in saying anything else, and no particularly hard emotion grew in Alec at his first psychic interaction with his father, only more of the same. So a moment later he simply returned to the car. “He’s home,” he informed Jace.

Jace nodded mutely. There wasn’t much else to say between them either. Not quite yet.

The door to Robert’s apartment building turned out to be already open, so they saw no point in wasting time with formalities. Alec strode inside more than anything, climbing up the stairs two at a time, not needing to see that Jace was following right behind. Jace’s presence was literally second nature to him after all.

Robert’s apartment wasn’t as grandiose as the house he’d shared with Maryse for many years, but it couldn’t be said that Alec’s father didn’t like commodities. Alec found him sitting in his very richly, modernly furnished living room, clearly trying to feign an air of tranquility and openness, judging by the three tea cups waiting on the coffee table and by the way Robert didn’t shy away from greeting them as soon as they entered.

“Hi,” Robert said, rising and walking up to them with a successful-enough smile, even though it couldn’t quite mask his anxiousness. Not in Alec’s eyes anyway. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, son. And welcome…Jace.”

Even just that hint of knowledge was threatening to cause Alec to start blowing smoke from his ears, so he thought better not to say anything, but rather cross his arms.

It was Jace who stepped forward and shook Robert’s proffered hand – Alec hadn’t realized there were quite so many people he’d have to do that with. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lightwood.”

“Back at you. But please, call me Robert.” Robert gestured to the couch. “Take a sit, and a cup of tea. I bet you have a lot of questions, so make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you. We do have a lot of questions,” Jace replied amicably, while in his mind he was scolding Alec for his callousness. I’m gonna kick you if you don’t start acting normal. Please, just give him a chance.

Alec sighed. “Dad.” Robert looked at him with trepidation, the hope of finding some sympathy in his son’s eyes shining through on his face. “We already had tea, so let’s just sit down,” was all Alec could manage instead.

Robert nodded, trying to mask his disappointment as they all found their seats. Silence reigned, and it was clear to Alec that Robert and Jace were waiting for him to say something.

Alec sighed again. No reason to stall any longer. “Just tell me why you never told me,” he started. “Why, Dad?”

Robert’s fingers were fidgeting, a nervous tick his son had inherited. Robert sounded tired as he finally spoke, “What would’ve been the point, Alec? I thought that your parabatai connection was gone forever.”

“What would–? That is really all that you have to say?” Alec’s voice had already risen, so he tried taking a deep breath before continuing a bit more slowly, “Did it ever cross your mind that I might’ve wanted to find Jace anyway?”

“And so what, Alec?” Robert’s tea cluttered on the coffee table as he put it down. “Should I have flown you to another country to have you meet an imaginary friend you didn’t even remember?”

Alec gritted his teeth, wishing those words away, no matter that – especially since they made some modicum of sense. He simply refused to accept that no other option could’ve been possible. Had Jace and him been entirely hopeless? Was there really no other way things could’ve gone? “But you knew he was real, didn’t you? And fine, maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to come along, but still…couldn’t you have found some help or, I don’t know, done some research on what had happened to me? How could you know that my connection was really gone forever? Why didn’t you do anything to make sure of it?!”

“Research.” Robert chuckled bitterly. “Son, you must realize now that there’s not much research on parabatai, and if there is, it’s by someone who can’t be trusted. I didn’t know who to trust, so the best solution seemed to keep you in the dark, safe from…them.”

It does make sense, Alec, Jace told him softly. It would’ve been too dangerous.

Alec pretended he didn’t hear that. “What about the Shadowhunters? Didn’t you know about them?”

“No,” Robert replied, “I never knew they existed until a few years ago. And even then, I didn’t think they’d be very…accepting of me.”

Alec raised his eyes on his father, whose face was even more somber now. Alec’s stomach dropped, and he had to force the question out, already dreading the answer, “And why is that?”

“You were in the Circle, weren’t you?” Jace surmised.

Robert lowered his eyes to the ground. “I’m not proud of it. Actually, it’s the biggest regret of my life.”

“How could you?” Alec asked that to the carpet, his voice low, vibrating with barely repressed anger. “You hated your parabatai too?” he spat out.

“I wouldn’t say I hated him, but…” Robert audibly gulped, “I guess it’s not like that for you, since Jace is here now, but I hated having someone in my head, everywhere I went. He was so…confusing, while I just wanted to be normal.” Bitterness was oozing from his tone. “Valentine – Valentine had seemed the solution. He promised me he’d give me my life back. But I never,” Robert’s voice cracked, “ever would’ve joined him if I had just known…how exactly he’d do that. My parabatai…”

“Was lobotomized,” Alec concluded, closing his eyes for a moment as the horror of that fact settled in him. He squeezed almost desperately the hand Jace intertwined with his.

“I was finally free.” Robert’s eyes, risen to the ceiling, were shining with tears, and Alec had trouble looking at him directly. “Or that was what Valentine triumphantly told me. But oh, was he wrong. I was never free, ever again. So I fled, left the country, hid myself away from every parabatai I’ve ever known. I built a family in the hopes I could forget, and be at least a little happy…but you already know that turned out too. I ruined my marriage and was a failure of a father, you being a parabatai like me seemed such a cruel joke, and I never forgot Michael.”

It was hard to say what Alec was feeling. He couldn’t deny he was still reluctant to let go of his anger and distrust towards his father, but the sadness of that story was getting to him. “I’m sorry, Dad. That’s just…horrible, I–”

“Michael?” Jace cut in, a strange note in his voice. “Your parabatai was called Michael?”

Alec glanced at him, confused, then at his father, who was staring at Jace with a strained look on his face. “Yes,” Robert strangled out, “Michael Wayland.”

It took another second before Alec’s eyes widened. “Wait, but wasn’t that–”

“The fake name Valentine used when he was raising me? Yeah,” Jace said, nodding more to himself than at Alec. “I always thought he had made it up.”

“No, he didn’t,” Robert said barely above a whisper, as if he didn’t have the strength to talk any louder.

“But wait, I mean, Dad,” Alec swallowed hard, “did you know…?”

“Of course I knew,” Robert was staring at his hands, “you talked about Jace constantly, and one day you mentioned that he was called Wayland and that his father was named Michael.”

Alec rose to his feet without barely registering his movements. “And you must’ve realized that that couldn’t be right, since Michael Wayland was dead, so it must’ve been…”

“Valentine,” Robert said in an exhale.

Every sympathy he might’ve had for his father evaporated like smoke. “You knew all along,” Alec might as well have been growling, “that Valentine had Jace, is what you’re saying. And I’m sure I must’ve mentioned that Jace was isolated, starved and afraid of his father…”

“Alec…” Jace had gotten up too, but Alec shrugged off the hand he had placed on his shoulder.

“And you did nothing? Don’t you dare tell me you couldn’t have done anything! You could’ve called the cops, child services, you could’ve…”

“On what proof?” Robert sounded pained. “The words of an over-imaginative child?”

“I said don’t bullshit me! You were afraid of Valentine, weren’t you? That’s why you didn’t do anything!”

Robert rose to his feet. “Yes, yes I was afraid, I was afraid for you! That guy was a maniac, how did I know that he wouldn’t have taken you too and done to you what he had done to Michael? I know that I was a coward, but back then, can you blame me for being relieved when you appeared to have been cut off from Jace forever? Yes, I was relieved that you didn’t seem to remember anything, I thought it was for the best, because now you could have the life I never…”

“For the best! But not for Jace, am I right? What did you care about a random, far away, abused child? Oh yes,” Alec strode towards the door, nails cutting his palms, his back to his father, or he feared what he’d do to him, “I do blame you.”

“Alec, stop.”

Alec stopped on his tracks, more out of surprise than anything. “Jace? Let’s get away from here, from him.”

“Alec, I’m not that child anymore, I can speak for myself.”

Jace’s hard tone make Alec turn towards him, eyes wide in confusion. “Jace, did you hear what he said?”

“Yes, I did.” Jace crossed his arms. “And I get it. What could he have done, all on his own, without proof, and from another country? Be reasonable, Alec, he never owed me anything, so if I’m not angry about it, you shouldn’t either.”

“Are you – are you kidding me?” Alec choked out, at the same time his father said in a small voice, “You – you’re saying you forgive me?”

Jace turned to face Robert. “I wouldn’t call it that. I don’t know what it is, but I’m done letting the past affect my future. Lots of people have hurt me, in numerous ways, and if I start counting every single person who was directly or indirectly responsible for it I wouldn’t have a family. Just…” Jace sighed. “I don’t want to start a feud. I want to hope that you’re a better person now, Robert.”

Robert’s hands were shaking as he lowered his head in defeat. “I – I don’t know, I’ve been…trying. But I haven’t really done anything that noteworthy either.”

“Trying is a first step.” Jace smiled. “And thank you for being honest, not everyone would’ve had the guts to admit all that.”

Alec couldn’t believe his ears. The tea must’ve been spiked, because he was positive he was having some sort of hallucination. “Jace. How can you be so calm about this?! I – I’m out of here.”

“Alec!” Two voices called after him, but he was already at the door.

Jace caught up to him on the street, his footsteps echoing behind him. “Did you hear what I said? I’m not forgiving him! I just don’t want to be fueled and controlled by hate and anger anymore! Can you understand that, Alec?”

Alec rounded on him, a frustrated sound escaping from him as his hands gesticulated wildly in the air. “So am I just supposed to pretend that none of it happened?!”

“No.” Jace walked up to him, catching Alec’s hands and holding them firmly, but gently. “Of course not. But you have a father who loves you and who is striving to be better. No matter how imperfect, I’d give anything to have one like that too.”

Alec had his eyes closed, shaking his head at the words. “I don’t think he’s that much better than Valentine, and who needs someone like that? Jace, I know that you don’t think that much about it because you don’t think that much about yourself. But you deserved, you still deserve better, and I can’t just ignore how severely people have failed you.”

Jace’s smile was soft, a glint shining in his mismatched eyes. “Right, I forgot that I’m speaking to Mr. Protector of the Weak.”

Alec frowned. “You’re not weak.”

Jace shook his head, letting go of Alec’s hands. “You’re right, failing me is not that high on the severity of crimes according to me. It’s just any other Tuesday. Still…I’m not letting you fuck up your relationship with your father. With that I mean, just talk to him some more. Yell at him, whatever, demand more from him, okay. But don’t throw him out of your life. Will you do that? If not for yourself, for me? Please?”

A part of Alec still stubbornly wanted to not give in and keep holding on onto what he thought was the actual right thing to do…but how could he resist the eagerness in Jace’s voice? Alec sagged, leaning forward until his forehead rested against Jace’s, breathing in his vicinity. So far he’d blocked Jace’s emotions out, locked too hard in his own turmoil, but finally letting him in allowed some of Jace’s peacefulness to flow in him like balming water. It wasn’t lost on him how not long ago he had been the one trying to lift Jace up from the edge of despair. It had been easy to hope for the better back then, when he wasn’t the one at the center of it all. Yet, if Jace had forgiven so many people and decided to embark with him into this whole new – exciting, yes, but uncertain – journey…maybe Alec just needed to do the same. Believe in him.

“Okay,” Alec whispered. “I promise I will try.”

And Alec was starting to feel kind of bad about his rash behavior, but feeling Jace’s lips against his put a smile on his face. “Thank you,” Jace said after breaking apart. “That was quite a lot of drama for one day, wasn’t it?”

Alec chuckled, unable to resist the need to wrap his arms around him. “Yeah. I’m so tired.”

Jace took a step back, slipping out of the embrace to take one of Alec’s hands. “Then it’s time to head back home. We deserve a nice dinner, then some fun. Still meeting your friends tonight, right?”

“Are you sure you want that? We could postpone…”

“Nope. This day wouldn’t feel complete otherwise, you feel me? Let’s go to this Hunter’s Door.”

“It’s Hunter’s Moon.”

“Whatever. I’ll be drinking you under the table either way.”

Thoughts of his father accompanied Alec for the rest of the evening, together with emotions that ranged from fury to sadness. More than once he was about to project himself in Robert’s apartment again and yell at him, or simply look at him so that maybe he might’ve been able to make up his mind about him. But he always stopped himself at the last second; it had been enough drama for one day indeed, and he was honestly tired of it. He’d face him another time, another day.

When he arrived at that conclusion, Alec felt much more serene. It was his and Jace’s first full night in New York, and it didn’t deserve to be clouded by misery. After freshening up at home and resting for a bit, he was the one to prompt them to head out again and go eat someplace nice.

Alec had never dated much, so being able to bring someone, bring Jace to his favorite place – an Italian restaurant not too far from the Hunter’s Moon – shone a light deep inside him that managed to erase any other shadow of the day. It was just him and Jace, eating, talking, holding hands and stealing a few kisses here and there. And their laughter brightened the room.

“Look who decided to show up!” was what they were greeted with as soon as they entered the bar after dinner, by a girl with dark hair and clearly Asian features. “We thought you might’ve realized you had better things to do and just dived back home…”

Jace snickered under his breath, while Alec, the suggestive tone not lost on him, grinned and bit back, “And I see you were so saddened by that that you decided to start rejoicing without us.”

The table where Alec’s friends were sitting at was loaded with half-full drinks, as a matter of fact. Jace recognized only Alec’s sister and her girlfriend, while he had seen the other four only in passing once, in Alec’s apartment, what seemed like an eternity ago.

“You caught us!” Izzy exclaimed, smiling cheekily while she brought her hands up in front of herself.

Alec shook his head fondly. “Well then, everyone, this is Jace. My – my boyfriend.”

Alec was clearly resisting the urge to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, which Jace found completely adorable. So he smiled, waving rather awkwardly at the people who were studying him with curious looks. No one seemed hostile, thankfully.

“Finally!” the first girl spoke again.

“Jace, this one who is talking so much is Aline,” Alec told him with a smirk. “We’ve been friends since high school, and I’m afraid she’s always been this way.”

“Rude,” Aline shot back. “I’m just excited to finally see you again, you traitor, and to meet the guy you apparently hadn’t mentioned to neither of us.”

“I agree, it was rude,” the blonde girl next to her intervened.

Alec rolled his eyes. “You know that my business is my business. It was just…complicated.”

To put it mildly, Jace teased him.

You said it, Alec agreed, a corner of his mouth quirking up.

“I’m hearing a lot of excuses here, and not enough apologies,” a guy with long hair in a ponytail replied in a sing-song voice.

“Fine, fine,” Alec said. “I’m sorry for ghosting all of you and not telling you what was really going on with me. You happy?”

Ponytail shrugged, then conceded with a nod.

“Speak for yourself,” Aline commented, crossing her arms. “I’m still not happy.”

“You’re never happy,” Ponytail retorted.

“C’mon guys, let’s not,” another guy with far shorter hair and a very nice jacket cut in.

Jace always thought that banter was the best insight you could have into any group of people, especially friends, so he was thoroughly enjoying the scene. Memories of his own friends back in London danced at the back of his mind, however, which turned his smile a little more rueful.

Alec was shaking his head in that way of his, when he was exasperated but secretly fond. “Anyway, Jace,” he addressed him again, “the girl next to Aline is her girlfriend Helen. Ponytail here is Meliorn, and the one next to him is Raphael.”

“Nice to meet you,” Raphael said.

“Hey,” Meliorn was tagging at his hair, “why would you call me ponytail, Alec, I resent that.”

Both Jace and Alec grinned as they shared a secretive look.

“They’re both Izzy’s ex-boyfriends,” Alec went on in his introduction in a much more conspiratorial tone, “and I still don’t know why we kept them.”

Jace laughed heartily, followed by all the girls at the table – Izzy and Lydia most of all – while the two guys voiced their outrage.

“I see, you finally show your face again and the first thing you do is insult us?” Raphael bit back.

“We will not forget that!” Meliorn exclaimed.

But when Alec burst out laughing too, they couldn’t help but join.

“We’ve already missed all the fun?” another voice coming from behind jumped in.

“Hey,” Alec turned around to greet the newcomers, “you came. Jace, these are my colleagues, Victor and Raj. I saw them at the station this morning and I invited them.”

Jace shook both of their hands. It seemed like that was all he had been doing that day. “Hello. And you haven’t missed much, just some fun introductions.”

“I can imagine,” who had been pointed at as Raj said. “Did Alec mention that he owes me big? I had to cover for him all this time!”

“I’m sorry, man.” Alec clapped his shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Lydia, Alec,” Raj had lowered his voice, “I can’t believe you left me with her, what kind of friend are you?”

Jace could tell that Lydia had heard, and she was now rolling her eyes pretty hard. Both him and Alec grinned at her apologetically, as soon as Raj was too busy finding a seat at the table. Jace promised himself to make it up to her just as well.

“So you’re the guy Alec almost fucked up his career for,” the other guy, Victor, told Jace matter of factly. He put a hand on Jace’s shoulder, though, and he sounded teasing, so Jace took it in stride.

“Guilty as charged,” Jace shot back.

“You must be something else, then,” Victor replied, raising an eyebrow.

You are, was Alec’s thought from where he had gone to sit down.

Jace ignored him, suddenly feeling kind of hot in the face. “Nah, I’m just a regular guy who got very lucky. Alec is the one who’s something else.”

Idiot.

Victor nodded thoughtfully, before smiling. “Well, welcome to New York then.”

“Glad to be here.”

“Hey, Magnus!” Alec called out.

Jace turned around. Magnus was walking through the bar looking kind of lost, but his face lit up as soon as his eyes landed on the group.

“Hey there,” Jace greeted him.

“Hey there back,” Magnus replied.

“Everyone, this is…a friend,” Alec was saying, “Magnus Bane.”

There was a chorus of hello while Magnus came closer.

“Hello, Officer,” Magnus waved at Lydia jovially. “Glad to see my life saver. Thank you again for solving my case.”

“Oh, so you solved it?” Alec asked her, his eyes widened.

Lydia shrugged, but she looked clearly proud. “Yeah, just a bunch of kids hoping to make some money. They made the mistake to put what they stole on the internet. Amateurs.” Lydia looked at Magnus. “But I didn’t know you were invited! Here, sit with us.”

Everyone had found a seat, Jace fitting in next to Alec, while Magnus sat down next to Raphael, when Izzy whispered at them, “Wait, so that one is…?”

“Yes,” Alec replied. “But don’t go off on him, be a little sensitive, you know? It’s a touchy subject for him.”

“Of course, of course.” But Izzy’s eyes were already alight with thousands of scientific questions, and Jace had to chuckle under his breath. “I’ll be very discreet.”

“You don’t know what it means to be discreet, babe,” Lydia teased her.

“Oh, shush.”

“So Jace,” Aline started, leaning with her elbows on the table, a mischievous glint in her eyes, “how did you two meet? You’re from London, I hear.”

Jace tried not to seem discomposed. “Yeah, I am. And we met on the internet, you know, classic 21st century love story.”

“Mmm,” Aline hummed, looking at the hand Jace had unconsciously intertwined with Alec.

Immediately, Jace felt hot again, a fact both nerve-wracking – he was never so awkward about his conquests – and exhilarating – Alec was no usual conquest. That could only mean that Jace had to look at his boyfriend’s handsome face and pointedly press his lips against Alec’s stubbly cheek, enjoying when Alec’s ears went all red. And Jace knew that he had a goofy grin on his face when he broke apart, but he found that he didn’t really care, not even when he caught Aline and Helen sharing meaningful looks with Izzy and Lydia. He hoped they were happy about what they saw.

“And you moved all the way here,” Helen commented, not unkindly. “It’s a very…brave move, especially since this is the first time you see each other in person, right? I – I mean no offence, of course.”

“No, you’re right,” Jace told her. “It’s definitely a bold move, it’s natural that you all must be skeptic. In any other circumstance I’d be right there with you, I would’ve never seen myself do something like this. But hey, either cupid has made us very stupid…or very wise.”

“We’ll let you know,” Alec cut in, and everyone laughed.

Jace easily bumped his shoulder with his. They already knew.

“But enough with the nagging,” Meliorn jumped in. “We’re here to have fun, remember? So what do you do for a living, Jace?”

“Cause that’s not a nagging question,” Aline murmured under her breath.

Jace chuckled. “I’m a musician. I was in a band, back home, but I’m thinking of now starting my own endeavor.”

“Oh wow, interesting!” Meliorn exclaimed, earning a glare from Raphael who seemed to be deep in conversation with Magnus, which Jace could only be glad about. “Do you play an instrument, or sing?”

“Both,” Jace answered. “I play both guitar and piano, but I was the lead singer in the band.”

“Then you need to sing us something!” Izzy said excitedly.

Jace’s eyes widened. “Oh no, no…”

“Izzy,” Alec scolded his sister.

“What? It’s a fair request!”

“Oh yes, please, you must! There’s a karaoke here!” Aline said.

Meliorn was grimacing. “Sorry, man.”

“He doesn’t have to, guys, c’mon,” Alec tried to intervene.

“It’s okay, Alec,” Jace relented, shaking his head at Alec’s reluctance. “Just so you know guys, karaoke is beneath me, but I’ll do it just for you. That’s how much I want you to like me.”

Accompanied by a renowned roar of laughter as well as whooping sounds, Jace, after stealing a quick kiss from Alec, made his way towards the corner where he could see the karaoke station was.

Don’t you dare serenate me a cheesy song, I’m warning you, came Alec’s mental voice. Especially our song. You hear me? I swear that I’m gonna kill you if you do that.

Oh, Jace had definitely something in mind, so he tried to shield his thoughts from Alec, which he knew was going to drive him mad, and he could already feel him fuming from all the way on the other side of the room. But Jace only grinned.

He whispered his chosen title to the DJ, then picked up the microphone.

As soon as the song started playing, Jace saw recognition sparking in Alec’s eyes straight away. Then Alec started laughing, and nothing could’ve erased the grin spreading wide on Jace’s face. He started singing.

He had chosen the right song, because everyone seemed to know the words, and the entire bar, Alec included, lit up and sang along when the chorus started.

And I say, hey yeah yeah, hey yeah yeah, I said hey, what's going on?

Then Jace couldn’t resist, and he stretched out a hand, making the come-hither gesture right in Alec’s direction. He looked outraged for a moment, and started vehemently shaking his head, but his friends wouldn’t let it pass and at the end he was unceremoniously shoved out of his chair by his sister.

When he reached Jace up stage, any intention to complain evaporated, though, and Alec was singing, very badly, into the microphone along with Jace with not a care in the world. Jace had never felt happier.

He stood corrected, when he looked back into the crowd and he spotted Clary’s red head and Simon’s ridiculous glasses, that was when everything became perfect.

Not too bad, is it? he told Alec.

Alec kissed him as an answer, longer and more deeply that would’ve been appropriate, but the world around them had vanished from Jace’s mind. Not bad at all, he could only think, as the song ended.

Twenty-eight years and my life is still Trying to get up that great big hill of hope For a destination.

#shadowhunters #jalec #jalec fic #my fic #impossibility is a kiss away from reality #sense8 au

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