The door snicked softly behind Jace as he finally left, following the others to meet with the Queen. Magnus, settled cosily on the plush ruby sofa with an ankle crossed over his long leg, arched an eyebrow across at the tall dark haired boy as Alec stood. He moved away from Magnus, wandering over to the window and looking out at the gray grizzled day beyond. Inside it was warm and bright, soft and comfortable, but part of Alec wished he were out with the others, heading to the Seelie Court. The other part of him, the hidden, private part that made him intensely nervous yet excited, was delighted that he was trapped here, unable to escape. Magnus was smiling knowingly at him, sharp white teeth lightly grazing his lower lip, looking like a big kid about to unwrap a really, really good Christmas present.

"Drink?" Magnus stood, reaching over to the cocktail tray and tilting a glass at Alec, gesturing to the bottles.

Alec considered. On the one hand, staying sober and in control was an excellent idea while the others were out there risking themselves. The Seelie Court was dangerous and delicate to navigate. He worried about Jace's diplomacy, or rather lack thereof, and whether it wouldn't get them all in a host of trouble. And day drinking seemed just too much the opposite of sober, reckless and irresponsible.

But there was another voice inside him that called out for him to let go, to see where fate took him. After all, fate had got him here, inside the apartment, and it was now up to him to take a very different kind of control of his life. Maybe it was a new place where he could be completely himself, comfortable in his own skin. And for that, he would most definitely need alcohol.

He nodded. "Sure. Make it strong."

Magnus threw him an amused glance, considered the assorted liquor and decisively grabbed a couple of bottles, big and small, and threw a scoop of ice into a stocky crystal tumbler. Alec watched him work, crushing something in the base of the glass and curling off a piece of orange peel with a short paring knife that had appeared out of nowhere. The sharp smell of citrus filled the room as he skewered a red glace cherry on a toothpick and dropped it in.

"Enjoy," he said, holding out the tumbler. "A little sweet, a little bitter, with a kick in the tail. Could be me, could be you." Alec took the glass, lightly brushing hands as Magnus let go. "Tell me if you like it," he murmured as he made no effort to move away, standing directly in front of Alec.

Alec sipped at the drink, tasting the orange and the whiskey, and a sweet complex flavor behind it all. He quirked his mouth into a genuine smile, blue eyes crinkling and looked straight at Magnus. "This is actually delicious." He took a long swallow, feeling the smooth slow burn of the alcohol shock through his body. The warlock twitched the glass out of his hand and took a substantial sip before returning it. "It's bad to drink alone, and at that rate you'll finish it before I can have any at all."

"You can always make yourself one," Alec said, gesturing at the tray.

"Ah, but I've run out of cherries." Magnus reached into the drink and pulled out the toothpick. He paused and looked intently at Alec, cat eyes darkening until the slit pupils were almost entirely black. "Can I have yours?" he asked slowly, pulling the red globe away from the wooden point and holding it up.

"Um, sure," said Alec. Magnus stood preternaturally still, glancing at Alec's mouth, then flicking his eyes up to meet the blue ones opposite him. He held the cherry and gazed steadily at Alec, only moving to delicately lick the drip of alcohol off the base.

The shock of sudden realization caught Alec by surprise and he blushed deeply, catching his breath as the true meaning of Magnus' subtle question hung in the air between them. His heartbeat quickened as he stared at the warlock, blue fires banked, cat eyes gleaming, hair starting to escape its glittery sculpted perfection. He wondered how it would feel to have that magic through him, inside him, licking at him and filling his veins with flames. He had a choice to make, and in that moment it seemed like no choice at all.

"Yes," he said slowly, deliberately. "If you want it you can have it." He watched Magnus bite the cherry in half and pluck the drink from his hand, take a slug and hand it back. Alec drained the glass and set it aside.

"I've always wanted it," Magnus said, offering the remaining piece to the blue eyed Shadowhunter. "From the first time I saw you."

Alec took the half cherry and slipped it between his lips, feeling with his tongue the roughness of the bitten side. He closed his eyes as he swallowed, and opened them as Magnus slid a finger down the front waistband of his jeans and pulled him close, settling his other hand firmly across the base of Alec's spine. Still Magnus hesitated, waiting. Until Alec bent his head and kissed him, hard, parting his lips and sliding his tongue into Magnus' willing mouth. Alec tasted citrus and cherry, and when he broke the kiss he knew Magnus tasted the same things on him. Magnus sucked in a breath and took a step back as he pulled off his own silver shirt, throwing it haphazardly across the room. He found the hem of Alec's t-shirt and raised it up, taking his time dragging his hands up the side of Alec's slim body and flicking the shirt onto the sofa behind them. He caressed the sprinkling of crisp hair in the centre of Alec's chest with warm fingertips, then bent his head across and rested his mouth on Alec's shoulder, just below his pulse. "This is where vampires bite," he breathed, moving up and lightly nipping at the smooth skin, touching the massive dark rune on the side of Alec's neck. "But warlocks have other, better tricks." He took Alec's hand and led him, unresisting, toward the bedroom.

The bright sun shone through the windows of the apartment as Jace strode through the door and banged it shut behind him. Magnus winced as Jace flung himself onto the nearest couch, grimaced, reached behind him and pulled out what looked suspiciously like Alec's t-shirt. He shook it and a stele fell out onto the plush red rug under his feet. He gazed over at Magnus, standing by the window stretching and yawning, looking for all the world like a big cat just woken up. "I thought you were a morning person?" Jace asked, light and innocent. "Shouldn't you have been up for hours?" Magnus scowled at him. "So, if Maryse Lightwood walked through the door right now, she would definitely not find her firstborn son handcuffed to your bedpost?" he continued casually, dropping the t-shirt onto the coffee table. He looked wrecked, taut skin across his temples with deep shadows under his eyes and a graze of golden stubble across his chin. A vein stuck out on his forehead and a bruise stretched across one cheekbone.

"Is Maryse likely to walk through my door?" asked Magnus loftily.

"She's been barging through everybody else's doors, so...yes." Jace bent and picked up the stele, considered it thoughtfully and used it to draw an iratze just under his collarbone. Sitting back with a sigh, he tossed it onto the rumpled t-shirt in front of him.

Magnus flicked his fingers, releasing the faintest of blue sparks. The master bedroom door let out a faint snick.

Jace raised one eyebrow at Magnus. "Really? Really?"

"Can't be too careful," said Magnus airily. "Anyway, he's exhausted, poor kitten."

"I bet," muttered Jace. He lay back against the cushions, considering this strange new world he appeared to have walked into. Magnus was behaving casually, but Jace could see his nerves betraying themselves in the way he kept straightening the same books.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making me twitch. Do you have any coffee? I need coffee."

"Fine, I'll get you coffee. Don't touch anything." Magnus looked relieved as he went into the kitchen. Jace heard faint scraping noises and the click of the percolator. The chink of crockery followed.

The bedroom door cracked open and Alec emerged, rubbing the back of his neck, hair askew and tousled. He was barefoot and dressed only in tight black torn jeans much too short for his lanky frame. "Magnus, there's something wrong with the door. It's sticking," he called, looking down for something on the floor, Jace out of sight over on the far sofa. He stretched and grimaced, pulling his shoulder blades together as he arched his naked back, muscles bunching and rippling as he moved. Red streaks looking to Jace suspiciously like fingernail scratches swept across his spine. A clear, deep bite mark was at the side of his neck.

"Looking for this?" Jace asked, holding up the stele. Alec whirled, flushed and swore under his breath as Jace smirked at him. He could see that the scratches extended right across Alec's pectorals and a blush red obvious handprint was low down on one hip. A whole lot of yesterday's dark, crisp runes were faded away.

"Why are you here?" Alec grabbed for the stele and shamelessly scrawled an iratze on his side, closing his eyes as the numbing coolness washed over him, the incriminating marks losing their angry redness. He tucked the stele in the back pocket of the jeans and took the t-shirt off the table, pulling it over his head.

"Seriously? I left you here to go the Seelie Court, remember, did you develop Stockholm Syndrome in the last 24 hours? Would you prefer I was Maryse? And you know if you abuse that flexibility rune you'll go blind."

"Shut up." Alec looked around the living room, eyes searching past Jace.

"He's in the kitchen," Jace supplied helpfully. "Making me coffee sometime this year," he called loudly past Alec. Alec rolled his eyes and sat on the opposite sofa, glancing quickly beneath it. Jace caught a glimpse of something shiny that clinked as Alec pushed it out of sight with the back of his heel.

"So I was right about the bedpost," Jace said under his breath. "Wow."

By the time Magnus returned with a tray of cups, milk, sugar and a pot of steaming black caffeine, Alec had retrieved his socks, drawn three more iratzes and was tying his boots back on.

He still wasn't looking at Jace but he sat comfortably and had poured himself a large cup of black coffee.

"Well, this is civilized. I'm glad you obeyed orders for once, Jace, and stayed exactly where you were supposed to be." Maryse Lightwood stood framed in the front doorway, Isabelle behind her. Alec froze and Jace smiled broadly.

"I hope he hasn't been too much trouble, Magnus?" Maryse turned her smile to the warlock.

"Not at all, although his taste in television is terrible," Magnus returned Maryse's smile with a bland, disinterested one of his own. Jace coughed and rubbed his nose. Isabelle came over and grabbed the pot, pouring a cup full and loading it with milk and sugar.

"Great coffee, Magnus."

"He made it for me," Jace said proudly. "I only had to ask once, too."

Magnus shot him a glare and Alec sucked his breath through his teeth.

"Am I missing something?" Isabelle asked Alec. He shook his head, muttering uncomfortably. He was almost positive his mother was standing on Magnus' silver shirt.

"Well," Maryse said with crisp authority, "it's time for us all to go up to the Institute. Alec, Isabelle, you need to dress appropriately for the Council. Jace, come along." She swept out the door as Izzy reluctantly rose and finished her drink, handing the cup to Magnus. She pulled Alec to his feet, giving him no choice but to follow her. Magnus slid a finger down his forearm as he went past, murmured "Later?" Alec nodded briefly.

Jace was the last to leave. As the others turned the corner, he swung back through the door to smirk at Magnus.

"If you're looking for the handcuffs, they're under the sofa", he called with a rakish grin. The warlock involuntarily glanced back across the room, craning his neck, then narrowed his eyes at Jace, waving his hand. Jace laughed as the door slammed in his face on what had been a very, very enlightening morning.