His phone rang twice before he picked it up.

"What is it now?" He grumbled.

"Sir. It's regarding the raid. There's been some.....complications."

He rolled his eyes. "What kind of complications?"

"Well, some of the Downworlders escaped. And there were two cops there as well."

The chair creaked as he quickly leaned forward. "Did you see their faces?"

"No sir. But we know one was really tall with black hair. He wasn't alone. The other man he was with was a little bit shorter and with dark hair. Didn't see their faces. We just know that one was a cop."

Once again, the chair he was sitting in squeaked as he rose to his feet to look out the window. "Did you see where they went?"

"No sir. It was pretty crazy with all the gunfire and the crazy homeless people running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

He sighed. "Very well. Keep tabs on the Downworlders. Those cops might go back to them for more information. If they do.....you know what to do."

"Right, sir. Of course. I'll call if there's any further information."

"Of course you will. You know what will happen if you don't." He hung up the phone and yelled, throwing the phone against the wall in frustration. Sitting back down into the old leather chair, he felt the silver ring on his left hand, a large letter M in the center of it.

**********

The entire precinct was decorated when Alec went in the next morning. Turns out, his promotion ceremony was today (with no heads up at all about it) and he didn't even have a speech prepared. He'd seen tons of cops at ceremonies with his father as a kid. Words were exchanged, a new badge was given, then the person getting the promotion says a few words themselves.

"What's with the decorations? Someone's birthday?" Magnus tapped a balloon floating beside Alec's desk with a finger.

"Magnus. Honestly. How many birthdays have you been to that had a banner that said 'Congrats On Your Promotion'?"

Magnus shrugged. "I've seen worse. Went to a funeral with a banner that said 'Life Is Beautiful! It's A Girl!'"

Alec rolled his eyes. "You're not helping. Although that is pretty funny. God rest that person's soul, but that is funny."

Jace collapsed in his chair across from Alec. He didn't look overly pleased about the ceremony interfering with work. "Did dad tell you the ceremony was today at dinner last night?"

Alec scoffed. "Dad and I didn't exactly get around to talking much."

"Shit. That doesn't sound good. What happened? More drama? Izzy drop out of school?"

"No," Alec shook his head. "I.....came out last night."

Jace was quiet for a moment. "How'd they take it?"

Alec looked up at their father's office window and saw Robert looking out at him. As soon as he made eye contact, Robert quickly looked away and closed the shades in the window. "Not well, judging by how he can't even look me in the eye. He must hate me. Mom too."

Jace frowned and pat him on the leg. "I, for one, am very proud of you. Fuck what other people think. Your siblings got your back, big bro. Don't let anyone else try to bring you down because I'll take them down."

Alec smiled broadly and blushed. "T-thanks, Jace. That means a lot to me. I just wish they felt the same way."

"Give mom and dad time. They'll come around. They can't hate you over something like this, Alec. You're their child. You're the tallest sixth grader I've ever met."

Alec laughed. "Gee. That makes me feel so much more insecure about my height."

"Who's insecure? Who are we talking about?" Magnus came over to their desks holding a tray of coffees. "Are we talking about what went down last night? Because let me tell you....no offence but your mom is a real piece of work. Almost slapped a bitch last night. Ugh. Never saw anyone so stuck up in my entire life and I thought my dad was awful. Pffft. Nope."

"At least she didn't disown you or anything...." Jace sipped his coffee. "That would've been bad."

"It wouldn't surprise me if she's writing up her Will right now and leaving me out of it. Is there even a paper you have to sign to disown someone? I don't know how that works. Izzy would know more about it than I would." Alec groaned and leaned back in his chair. "My life is shittier than a toilet full of shit right now. It can't get any worse."

Magnus have him a reassuring pat. "I'm sure it'll get better. But I'll spare you the whole 'It Gets Better' speech. Most of it isn't true anyway. Change of topic for a moment. When is this ceremony beginning? I hate ceremonies."

Jace checked his watch. "At two. It's after 11 now. Didn't dad tell you this?"

"Jace. I told you already that we didn't exactly talk last night. Not after I kissed Magnus in defiance towards mom-"

"You kissed Magnus? Seriously?" Jace looked at Magnus for the truth. "For real?"

"Why, you jealous?" Magnus purred. "But yes. We did smooch. Your mom looked like she saw a ghost."

Jace breathed out a laugh. "I'm so pissed that I missed this. Damn Clary's mom for making me move boxes. Think you could act out the kiss again?"

Alec choked. "No! Jace! What the fuck? Do you have a fetish or something? You like seeing dudes kiss other dudes?"

"No. I just want to see my brother finally become comfortable in his own skin for once in his life."

Alec was at a loss for words, but he got lucky when a group of men in familiar outfits entered the room. Every cop stopped to stare, even Magnus. The young woman in the front of the group wore dark sunglasses and had long blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"Who's in charge here?" She called out. "I'd like to speak to the person in charge please. I hope somebody knows."

Feeling oddly brave, Alec stepped up. "I'm the son of the man in charge. I'm a detective. Can I help you with something?"

The woman peered up at him through the top of her sunglasses. "Detective Alec Lightwood, I presume. I've read your file. You're quite...colorful."

Magnus coughed to cover up a laugh.

"Your father called in yesterday and requested my assistance. So here I am. Where is the Commissioner?"

Alec crossed his arms over his chest. "Who are you exactly? I need to see some credentials."

The woman chuckled. "Your file mentioned that you were thorough. I'm glad you're proving it right." She pulled out a wallet and flipped it open. "I'm Agent Lydia Branwell, FBI. I've been sent here to help clean up the Morgenstern case."

"But that's my case. My partner and I were assigned to that case-"

"And to be honest, Detective, you're not getting the job done as quickly as we'd like you to. This case needs to be closed. Like yesterday. Now can I speak to your father if it's not too much trouble?"

Alec scowled but said nothing as he led her to his father's office. Once she was inside and the door and shades were closed, he went back over to his desk and sat in his chair so hard it made a noise that sounded as if it were going to collapse under him.

"FBI, huh? Since when the NYPD call in there for favors?" Jace whispered.

"Never. That's just dad not trusting us with the job. Either that or he's doing this to spite me...." Throwing his coffee into the garbage bin beside his desk, Alec grabbed his coat in a hurry. "I'm out of here. I'll just grab my new badge on the way out-"

Jace grabbed his shirt. "Like fuck you are. I'm not doing this alone. You're not leaving me, Alec. We're in this together. We're partners. We made a vow to protect each other-"

"It's a promotion ceremony, Jace. Not a wedding."

"Still. You can't just leave me. What would dad say to that?"

"I agree with Jace on this one," Magnus chimed. "You can't just run away with your tail tucked between your legs whenever things get tough. You got to man up."

"Says the man wearing glitter," Jace said.

Magnus leaned in closer to Jace. "I will smother you in your sleep with a pillow, Jace Wayland. You will die surrounded by a sea of glitter."

Alec stepped between them, unable to take anymore. "Guys! Fine! I'll go to the ceremony! But as soon as it's over, I'm researching the CUP. I need to find out more about it. Catarina didn't exactly give us a whole lot of info to go by."

Jace's face was screwed up in confusion. "You're googling a cup? Why?"

"Not a cup, you moron. The CUP. Abbreviation for Centralized Utilization Program." Magnus looked around as if he were looking to see if anyone was listening in. "I don't think this is the best place to talk about it. After the ceremony and you boys get your Boy Scout badges, let's head back to Alec's to discuss it further. It's safest there."

Alec nodded. "I agree. We don't know who could be listening in here...."

The three men glanced around the room suspiciously. From a first glance, it seemed as if everyone had their own thing to do and what Jace, Alec and Magnus were talking about seemed like the last thing they wanted to worry about or focus on which in this case was a good thing for the three men.

"We should probably get a quick speech ready for the ceremony. I hate winging it," Alec whispered.

"I love it. No one expects you to show up and say something off the top of your head," Jace kicked his feet up on his desk as he sat down. "Besides. It's kinda my thing."

"We all have our things. Don't we, Alec?" Magnus winked and laughed as Alec turned red in the ears. "I can help you write your speeches, if you want. I'm good with words."

Jace shook his head. "I'll politely decline. Knowing you, you'll write something that's actually a spell and turn everyone into toads."

"Shit. Busted. What shall I do now that my evil plan is thwarted?" Magnus' voice was thick with sarcasm. "Are you two even capable of writing a heartwarming speech in two hours?"

"Alec can. He wrote his entire English exam in less than an hour and scored the highest possible mark in our graduating class." Jace shrugged. "The entire Lightwood clan is smart in some form or another. I'm not smart like they are. I'm just the stray they took in."

Alec shot him a cold look. "You were never a stray."

Jace returned the look. "Whatever. Let's just figure something out. I just want this over with so I can get back to my job."

Luck was on their side. Just when they were finishing up their speeches, one of the deputies called them into the conference room to get ready for the ceremony. The room was already crowded (and it was a fairly large room) and amongst the crowd was Agent Lydia Branwell. She was speaking to the Commissioner in a low voice when the men stepped into the room and took a seat behind the podium and Magnus took a seat in the audience.

"What's she doing here? She's not even from this precinct," Alec hissed.

Jace shrugged. "Beats me. Now shut up. They're starting."

Robert Lightwood stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. "My fellow law enforcers. My friends. My family. We're gathered here today to celebrate two of our own as they progress through the difficult life of a cop. These two are thick as thieves," he paused as the audience chuckled. "They're brothers in more ways than one. They grew up together. They're closer than any other partners you'll see here under his roof. I'm glad to call them my sons and I'm so proud of the men they've grown into today. So to honor them, I'm presenting them their Detective's badge to show that they're now officially Detectives."

Alec watched as his father reached into a small wooden box and took out two small, shiny badges. Beside him, Jace was bouncing with excitement and was about ready to dive in and grab his badge, but Alec held him back by the sleeve.

"Jace Lightwood. I'm proud of you, kiddo. To be completely honest, your mother and I didn't think you were even going to get through high school-" Jace snorted at this. "But yet here you are. A handsome, strong young man. You go above and beyond to protect both the people you love and the people around you. You deserve this, bud. Congratulations."

The audience cheered and clapped as Jace went up to get his badge, grinning proudly as Robert handed it to him and shook his hand, giving him the stage for his speech.

"I'll make this short. I was going to streak through the room just like I did on my high school graduation, but I decided not to. I know. I'm denying you all this," he indicated his body and a few people wolf whistled. "But I just wanted to say thank you so much. I realize I'm not the greatest cop. I don't listen most of the time. But I don't do it to spite anyone. I do it because sometimes you have to do the wrong thing in order to make a right." He looked out into the audience, who was dead silent as he spoke. "And that's it! Thank you! Drinks are on me at Pandemonium tonight!"

The audience cheered again as Robert approached the podium again. Alec felt his palms getting sweaty. He didn't know what to expect from his father speech wise. It could go either way.

"My oldest son always followed the rules and played by the book. Not once in his life did he ever step out of line. He loves to please people..." Robert paused. Alec heard him take a shaky breath. "He loves to please people so much that he doesn't take the time to stop and think about his own happiness. He constantly puts others before himself and that's the best characteristic a cop could ever have. I'm beyond proud of my first born. No words can even describe how proud I am. With that being said....Alexander Lightwood."

Alec wiped his palms in his jeans and got to his feet, his heart pounding in his chest. When he stood beside his father, he could see in his father's eyes that he meant every word he said. The badge lay in Robert's outstretched hand. All he had to do was take it...

"Alexander. I am so proud of you. Regardless of everything....I love you. No matter what. Don't you ever forget that. Understood?" Robert took a shaky breath and looked Alec in the eyes.

"Yes, sir. 10-4," Alec nodded. He could feel the tears threatening to escape down his face the longer he stood there and stared at his father.

Robert cleared his throat. "Is there anything you'd like to say while you're up here?"

Alec thought about it. "No. I've said everything I needed to say last night."

Robert nodded. "Okay. Fair enough. I respect that." He turned to the podium again. "That concludes our ceremony. Now get back to work. Crime doesn't stop for nobody."

The room was filled with the shuffle of feet and charter as everyone cleared out, including Jace. Once everyone was gone, Magnus made his way over to Alec and embraced him.

"Oh, Detective! I can say that now and it's official! How does it feel?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with joy.

"Good. Really good. No more uniform. That's a plus," Alec chuckled. He smiled and turned to see Robert approaching him. "Dad. I mean, Commissioner-"

"Alec. No one's here. Call me dad," Robert gave him a small smile and glanced at Magnus. "So....how long has this been going on? Are you two in love?"

Alec sputtered. "Love? What? No." He nervously squeezed his fingers. "No. It's....uh....it's sort of a different-"

"It's all very new," Magnus chimed in, smiling.

Robert glanced between them. "Right. Okay then. So....right. I should get back to work." He turned to head towards the door when he paused. "Promise me you'll both stay safe?"

"Dad!" Alec exclaimed. "Now isn't the time-"

"I know. But if I don't say it now then I probably never will," he pat Alec on the shoulder. "Stay safe. Both of you. Break my son's heart and I'll have you in jail for so long you'll never see the light of day again."

Magnus flinched. "I won't. I promise."

Robert nodded and turned to look at Alec. "You should visit your mom when you can. Talk to her." He silently went back out into the hall towards his office, leaving Alec and Magnus alone in the room.

"Wow. That was something else. Maybe your father doesn't feel the same way your mother does? He actually supports you and your homosexual demon?" Magnus giggled.

"Yeah. That was something else...it almost sounded like that's what he wanted to say last night but couldn't." Alec sighed. "I guess we'll never know. My dad isn't one for sharing feelings. Never was."

Magnus frowned. "I think he shared more than his feelings today, Alec. He bared his heart out to you. It was his way of telling you that he's proud without actually revealing the real reason why."

Alec nodded, unable to respond when Jace poked his head into the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"Maybe. Probably. I don't know-what do you want, Jace?" Alec snapped.

Jace scowled. "Jesus. Sorry. Grumpy....anyway, there's a guy here looking for you. He's weird as fuck. English dude by the name of Ragnor. Isn't he the one who streaked naked that one time? He was drunk?"

Magnus rolled his eyes as Alec spoke. "That's the one. What does he want us for?"

"Dunno. Said to meet him in the alley in the back. Didn't say what for. Need backup?"

Alec shook his head. "We're good. Magnus and I talked to him last night. He probably just has more information for us."

Jace nodded. "Okay. Holler if you need me."

Magnus followed close behind Alec as they made their way to the back alleyway behind the precinct. "Is this wise? Being seen in broad daylight with a Downworlder? We could get caught by Valentine's men."

Alec put his gun in the holster attached to the belt around his waist. "We'll be fine, Magnus. Trust me. We'll be fine."

Magnus nodded. He sure hoped Alec was right.

Because he couldn't afford to be wrong.