Alec stared at Magnus, who had his face in his hands, and then he moved to him, letting his hand go to the others back as if in support. Magnus raised his gaze, his eyes sad, but the look of shame overpowered all. Alec felt like his heart was aching, the goosebumps on his hands evident, but most of all, he felt like he wanted to comfort the other man, to make this look in his eyes fade and be replaced by the usual charm and cheer.

"Magnus, what are you talking about?" Alec asked, trying to understand and Magnus shook his head. He was silent, his hands twisting and the rings leaving marks in his palm. Alec placed his other hand on Magnus's, making the conman startle a bit as he raised his eyes back to Alec's. The bounty hunter exhaled and gave Magnus a reassuring look. "I trust you, remember? You can trust me. You can tell me." he said, his tone gentle and soothing and he felt Magnus relax under his arm a little bit. It filled Alec with slight joy, knowing he could do that.

"Asmodeous was never a good father. He was into some shady business, not as shady as Valentine, but... he specified in sex trafficking." Magnus started and Alec's insides twisted, the horror taking place in his stomach. "When I was young, there were a lot of things I saw, but didn't understand. But our house was like a literal drug den, I could tell you that much. So, when I was about 6, I was at home and playing in my room. My father used to let the very high end clients visit him in his mansion. They were there that night and I wanted to get a glass of water, so I went to the kitchen." Magnus gave an ironic smile as he remembered the incident. "I went in and they were all in the living room. I could smell the smoke of the cigarettes, the alcohol, and well, other stuff... There were a lot of female voices in there as well. I went to fetch the water, not knowing that on the table, there lay a package of cocaine, laid out in the open. I mean, I had no clue, I was 6. So I sat by the table and accidentally knocked it over. The water went onto the cocaine." he said and Alec could hear his voice quivering slightly.

"My father beat me after that and even though I was small, I still understood what was going on. I ran away, resulting in me being in various foster homes. But about a year back, our paths collided, again. He was... different. He wanted me to join him in his operations, talking about how it would be a son and father 'enterprise' and how we could make a lot of money. He knew of my skills by then, he had spies around. I told him know and left. But he didn't stop stalking me after that." Magnus kept telling his story and Alec felt like he was there, picturing the man he'd never met. "Then, we met again, here in New York. By the docks. I was currently here to meet Catarina and I had a place down there, one no one knew about, where I could lay low. But he found me. He always did, eventually." Magnus now took a deep breath, his eyes on the ring, as he twirled it in his hands. Alec's hand was now doing circles on his back.

Closing his eyes, Magnus inhaled again, this time more calmly and the opened his eyes. "I told him, if he didn't back off, I'd kill him. I didn't mean it of course... At least, I thought I didn't. I hoped that I could never be that cruel, to kill my own father. But we got into a fight, he took out a knife and when he tried to stab me, my gun went off. The bullet went through his abdomen, but I'm pretty sure i could've saved him. Taken him to a hospital. But we were so close to the edge of the docks and we stumbled and he-" Magnus's voice was now quiet, almost a whisper as he slid his hand from Alec's, taking it away and crossing his arms, hugging himself. "He fell. And I didn't jump after him. I could've. But I didn't." the conman ended his story, closing his eyes.

Alec stood still, his hand still on Magnus's back but now immobile. He processed this and realized, Magnus was waiting for him to call him out. To push him away, or even act disgusted. But all Alec felt was horror and sorrow, for the things Magnus had to endure in his life. "Hey." Alec said softly, moving to take Magnus's hand again. He would've liked to touch his face, but felt like it was too intimate at this point. "Asmodeous was abusive towards you, so you ran. Hell, with a home like that, I would've, too. And a criminal father, who wants his son to follow in his footsteps? You had a pure enough heart to say no to him. It wasn't your fault he attacked you. And it was an accident, that the gun went off. And if you'd followed him in, you'd both be dead right now." Alec reasoned, feeling his voice get intense, like he was demanding Magnus to understand.

The conman laughed unhappily and shook his head. "I don't even know if it was an accident. Maybe I did pull the trigger. I didn't love my father, I could say I even hated him for all he had done - or hadn't. But I never would've thought about killing him. And I did. Which makes me no better than he was." Magnus now said, standing up and moving away from Alec. The bounty hunter could tell that Magnus was angry at himself and disappointed, and he couldn't let him feel this way. There was so much good in him, he'd seen it himself. He rose, too and went to Magnus, moving to grasp his arms at his sides. Magnus tried to turn away, but Alec's strength kept him in place.

"Magnus, look at me." Alec said and the conman did, his eyes now watery. Alec felt his heart wrench painfully for the man. "I know you're a good man. What he did - there's no excuse for that. And even if you think that you are a bad person, I know you are not. I'm sorry that it happened to you, but it wasn't your fault. And if that'd had been my father, who'd done all those things..." Alec paused, thinking, but then he met Magnus's eyes "I would've let him drown. A person like that would've ended up hurting a lot of people, including you." Alec ended and Magnus widened his eyes, his lips parting slightly. "You don't know me at all. You keep saying you trust me and think I'm a good person, but there's so much bad about me, that you don't know of." Magnus whispered, a single tear running down his cheek.

Alec leaned in to wipe it with one hand, while the other was still secured around Magnus's arm, almost like he was afraid he might run away. "You're heart is good, Magnus. And you always choose to do the good thing, the right thing. That's what matters, in the end, not the person who you were." Alec said, meaning every word. He'd said these things to Izzy, to Jace - not in the same form, but he was always there for them when they had self-doubts. He knew, that these things were true. 

Magnus chuckled a little, his smile making Alec feel relieved. He lifted his eyes to the brown one's and his hand was still on Magnus's cheek. "You continue to surprise me, Alexander." the conman said, quietly, his eyes now twinkling with amusement and his right arm went to Alec's waist gently. Alec took a step closer. "In good ways, I hope." he said softly, smiling as well and he leaned in, feeling Magnus's proximity with every fiber of his being. The hand on his waist tightened it's grip and he saw a flick of hesitation is Manus's eyes. He stopped, hovering over the other man's lips, wanting nothing more than to clash them together. Magnus exhaled shakily. "Alexander, I-" Magnus started, but Alec had already attached their lips in a sweet and longing kiss. 

He could feel Magnus relax against him in an instant, melting into him and Alec's hands went to his face, while Magnus's both hands gripped his waist, their bodies colliding and Magnus took a few steps back at the intensity of the kiss, making his back hit the wall. Alec pressed his against it, his hands still on his cheeks and parted his lips with one smooth sweep of his tongue, making Magnus gasp slightly. Alec felt his body being torn towards Magnus, his mind went blank, not caring about how this would end in a disaster and how they should've been staying away from each other. All he felt were the pair of hot lips against his and Magnus's hips pressed against his, both turning the originally sweet kiss into something much more.

They hear a crashing sound from outside the door and Alec jumped back, startled. Magnus looked just as surprised, his hands slowly lowering themselves. His lips looked swollen and he was out of breath, eyes alight with something that made Alec shiver in his spot. Then they heard a 'God fucking dammit' and then 'Jace!'. Then there was another thump and Alec turned around, staring at the closed door confusedly. "I get a feeling like blondie probably did something stupid." Magnus said and that made Alec chuckle, his body still very alive from their kiss. He tried not to sound so... 'kissed', as he ran his hands though his hair. "Isn't that always the case." he mumbled, when Magnus stepped next to him. He tried to ignore the intoxicating smell of sandalwood and pine that was overwhelming him and turned the doorknob, registering from his watch that it was now past midnight.

In the corridor they were greeted with Isabelle, who looked exasperated, her hands in the air in dismay, her long men's T-shirt (Stolen from Alec) that she used to sleep in reaching just above her thighs and Simon standing behind her, looking very amused, though when he saw Alec, his face changed immediately into something of horror. Alec saw that he was shirtless and in his sweats. Jace was on the ground, lying on his back in a T-shirt and sweats and around him were pieces of popcorn and his hair looked to be covered in some liquid, that may have been coke, judging by the dark stains on the carpet and the little that the cups still held on the floor.

"Oh, look at that, I was right." Magnus said, sarcastically and Isabelle looked towards them, her lips curving into a small smile as her eyebrows raised. She gave Alec a 'what's this?' look and he just rolled his eyes. "Jace, what in the fuck are you doing?" Alec asked, annoyed. He usually wouldn't have cursed that badly, but since Jace rudely interrupted his making out with Magnus, he was pretty irritated. Jace sat up, shaking his hair and made a grimace. Then he took a popcorn and put it in his mouth. "I was trying to have a movie night. Not my fault Isabelle leaves her stuff lying around like that." Jace stated, while his door opened a little more, revealing Clary, who had most likely been there for a long time already, Alec just hand't seen her. She was giggling at Jace, who gave her a glare. Isabelle made noise. "I forgot to put away the rifle after cleaning it okay But it was just leaning on the wall, how in the hell did you-" she said but Alec raised his hand, demanding silence. 

She stopped, glancing at him and Alec pinched his nose. "Let me get this straight (gay) - You two," he pointed at Jace " we're having a 'movie night', like i'd believe that, and Jace tripped over Isabelle's rifle, which she forgot in the corridor, because she was busy making out with Simon? Are we in an episode of some soap opera that I wasn't aware of?" Alec concluded, glancing at each of them in disbelief and he could hear Magnus chuckle. Simon was red and tried to stutter something, but Isabelle beat him to it. "Hey, chuckles? It's not like you two were having a friendly conversation in there either." she retorted smugly and Magnus stopped laughing. Alec's face betrayed him, going red, almost as red as Simon's, but Magnus smoothed out his clothes. "At least we kept our clothes on." he snapped and Jace gasped, staring at them both. Isabelle's mouth hung open as well. Alec slapped his own face, groaning. "Just- Isabelle, I can't believe you'd be so reckless with your things! I've told you a million times... And when did this even happen?" Alec asked then, his gaze moving from his sister to Simon, who still looked like he was slowly dying a painful death. 

Jace got up, brushing himself off. "I think since today. Also, I need a shower now." the blonde stated, winking at Clary who rolled her eyes. "Choose your audience, Jace." she said snappily, moving into the room and Jace looked very disappointed. "Oh well. Sorry for interrupting everyone's sexy time, myself included. I feel very horrendous." Jace stated and Alec threw his hands in the air. "There was no sexy time!" he half-yelled and Isabelle laughed. "There'e was a little sexy time." Magnus said, examining his nails with a smug look on his face. Alec gave him a death stare while Isabelle winked at them. "Goodnight." she said, pulling Simon back into her room, the poor guy giving Alec a very apologetic look. Jace gave them both a look, his hair still dripping. "So." he said and Alec gave him a glare. "No." Alec said, moving away from the door, Jace and Magnus, strolling down the corridor. "Okay, sorry I didn't ask!" Jace yelled to his back. "Where are you going?" he asked then and Alec turned abruptly, still walking. "I'm taking a walk." he stated and caught Magnus's small smile and wanted to slap it off him. Well, maybe not. 

Jace gave him an incredulous look but Alec was already taking the corner, leaving the two stand outside their rooms.

***

Alec was talking, his eyes on the people in the room, but always sneaking a glance at Magnus, his heart slightly full of worry. He had no choice but to tell them about Asmodeous, because the ring was a piece of evidence. However, he didn't mention most of what Magnus had told him - only that he was his son and that he had been in relatively same business as Valentine. Magnus's face was fairly immobile as Alec talked, but one worried look towards him and Magnus gave him a very small, but assuring smile. He trusted Alec to say the right things.

"Wait, but if he's dead then what's he got to do with Valentine?" Jace asked, now seemingly bored. Alec rolled his eyes. "That's what we need to find out. Chanced are it might be someone who could've picked up his operations after his death. Or..." he left the sentence hanging and saw Magnus prop up from the wall he had been leaning on. His eyes were on Alec's, the look almost one of disbelief. "What? That he might be alive?" Isabelle asked, almost laughing, but she stopped as Alec stared at them seriously. "Other people have 'come back to life', as you recall. It wouldn't be the first time." Alec said, locking eyes with Jace and Isabelle who seemed a little baffled, but their eyes were understanding. They all knew that people sometime's didn't stay dead, that's why you always double check. Magnus's face was slightly confused, but most of all, he seemed locked up. His eyes betrayed emptiness and his figure seemed slumped. Alec hated seeing him this way.

"So, what's next, boss-man?" Jace teased and Alec slapped his fingers, that lay on the table, with a stack of papers he held in his hands, rolled up. "Ow." Jace said, moving his hand and waving it around, and Alec gave him a glare. "You," he indicated to Clary and Jace "are going to go back to the Lair." he announced, ignoring Jace's protests. "Clary will be fine, give her a gun and we're good to go." he stated, before the blonde could say anything and he saw Magnus shift in the corner. "I should get back to Valentine. He needs me for that operation prep." he said, his voice hollow and Alec tilted his head, worry entering his mind again. Magnus had briefly introduced to them what Valentine had him do - he was to help smuggle another load of drugs into the streets of New York, no less, but there was a catch. Along with the shipment, there was someone who Valentine had captured, or rather his men had, in midst of trying to spoil his plan (the shipment was coming in from Spain). This person, Magnus had informed them, was one of their own FBI, a long time enemy of Valentine, at least that's what he claimed. To test Magnus, he had ordered him to bring the man to him. Most likely, Valentine wanted to see if Magnus would try and help the man escape.

"Right. I'm still not sure what we are going to do about that." Alec said then, their situation seemingly hopeless. If Magnus delivered the man, he would be singing his death warrant, and Alec would never let that happen. Neither would Magnus. Isabelle piped up. "I have an idea. I could create a diversion, so Magnus could help the man get out." she said and Alec mulled the thought over in his head. "She could be an eye in the sky. And we have a tracker on you, so she'd know where you are." Alec said to Magnus, who seemed to agree with the idea. "I don't want someone innocent to die. So yes, I am okay with that plan." he said, but Alec clicked his tongue. "I just hope he won't suspect it's us. He would kill you, putting it together that we're tracking you." he said and Magnus smiled slightly.

"Alexander, I'll be fine. Besides, Isabelle's the best shot I've seen. She can take down Valentine, before he gets the chance to take down me." Magnus assured him, and even though they weren't alone in the room, Alec smiled towards the man, feeling like it was just the two of them in the room as their eyes met. Clary coughed. "Um, so after this we have enough on Valentine to take him down?" she asked, seemingly trying not to be rude, but Alec was grateful for the interruption this time. He wasn't going to kiss Magnus in front of everyone. "Seemingly. What I don't get is why this shipment is so important. Valentine said that he's sending about 20 men with me. He's never gone so big before." Magnus said, thoughtful. "Maybe it's because of the FBI agent?" Simon asked but Magnus shook his head. Alec knew that look - Magnus thought something was off.

"Whatever it is, there's nothing we can do about it now. So, Jace. Show Clary the works. Isabelle, get ready. And Simon... I have no idea what you do on your free time, but I have no assignments for you right now." Alec finished, and Simon smiled. "I can work on some of the new stuff." he said excitedly and Alec almost rolled eyes himself. Nerds, he'll never understand them. He turned to Magnus then and when the others were busy talking amongst themselves, Alec went up to him. "And you. Be careful, okay. And don't worry, I'll find out what's the deal with the ring." he said and Magnus smiled, moving a little closer. Their proximity was definitely too close but right now, Alec didn't care. He felt the body heat coming from Magnus and almost closed his eyes, inhaling his scent. 

"I'm not worried, it's you who's handling it, after all." Magnus said, with a slightly flirty tone and Alec felt his insides turn to liquid when Magnus put a hand on his chest. "I know this is a bad idea, but... I really liked kissing you yesterday." Magnus suddenly said, his voice lower and Alec could feel him leaning in a bit. He swallowed. "Me, too." he could only say, all his senses leaving him when he felt Magnus's ringed finger touch his own. His breath almost got caught. "You're really something else, Alexander." Magnus said and Alec could never tire of hearing those words. He liked the way Magnus made him feel, he couldn't deny it anymore. He just wished they were alone.

Magnus stepped back, smiling at Alec's slightly flushed face. He turned, waving to the others and was gone. Alec exhaled and just wanted this all to be over. He just wanted all of this to be over already. But what would happen if they'd capture Valentine? What then? When all was over, would there be a chance for him and Magnus? He didn't know, nor did he want to think about it. All he could think about was how Magnus's hands had felt on his waist, his breathing mingling with his own and his lips parting for Alec. He shook his head when Isabelle called her over.

"So, what's your assignment, big brother?" she asked, eyeing him smugly. "Stop looking at me like that. And I'm going to talk to Hodge about Asmodeous. Maybe he knows something. Also, once Magnus is back where he has to be and you are moving out, I'm coming with." he said and Isabelle raised her eyebrows. "I'm perfectly capable of-" she started but Alec shook his head. "It's not that." he said, somewhat sternly and Isabelle fell silent. Then a smile creeped up on his face. "You want to be there in case something goes wrong. To protect Magnus." she said, like she had discovered something great. Alec rolled his eyes. "I just have a bad feeling about this. Besides, what's the harm in having backup?" he asked and Isabelle laughed, moving towards the weapons room. "I guess. But you really like him. And don't give me bullshit, I saw you two looking a t each other. And that kiss? I bet it wasn't your last, was it?" Isabelle talked while walking and Alec groaned, annoyed by his little sister.

"Look, I don't know. But like I've said to you before. It's complicated. Let's just drop it and focus on the mission at hand." he said, halting at the door and Isabelle did the same, placing her hand on his arm. "It's okay to feel what you feel Alec, just remember that." she said, smiling softly. Her hand went to Alec's cheek briefly, and then she dropped it, moving into the room. Alec followed, her words still echoing in his head as they geared up.

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A/N: I'm sorry this was shorter than the last one's but I'm still not feeling very well, so this is all ya get :) I hope you like it and that the malec made up for it (also, there might be typos and mistakes, I had no strength to check for them). xx