Author's Note: Okay, this is a silly bit of drabble that I typed up at the beginning of November last year but what the heck...I'll add it into Discussion. It fits. Kinda.

Erm, this takes place (at least) a few weeks after the last chapter. I like to think that Alec is sly enough that it takes people some time to figure out he's missing all the time. (And yeah, I suppose I'm not paying attention to how long actually passed before Alec and Magnus go public in Idris...but I'm lazy :D)

Also, yes he could have used an Iratze but whatever, it's more fun this way.

Alec walked quickly and silently through the Institute doors. It was early morning, and he hoped that everyone was still in bed.

"YOU!"

Apparently his hopes were in vain. "Good morning, Isabelle."

She stood inside the elevator, arms folded and glowering. "WHERE have you BEEN?"

"I went to a party last night, it got pretty out of hand, and I stayed after to help clean up, and by then it was so late that—"

"You were with Him, weren't you?"

Alec's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Isabelle put her hands on her hips. "I'm not stupid, Alec. I know why you're never here anymore. You're out with M—"

Alec clamped a hand over her mouth before she could speak the name. "Shut up, shut up!" he hissed. She rolled her eyes in response, but refrained from further comments until they reached Alec's room and the door was shut behind them.

She sat on his bed and crossed her legs. "So, you spent the night. Did you two…." She trailed off suggestively.

Alec flushed. "No, we did NOT." He turned his back to her and started picking up clothing that was strewn across the floor. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this. We're just friends, is all. We stayed up and watched movies. I fell asleep on his couch, and then came back here. The end."

Isabelle sighed dramatically. "So that's why you've been wearing turtlenecks and scarves, even though it's already Spring. Because you're such great friends."

"Listen. Nothing of the sort is going on, and regardless, it's none of your business." Alec pointed toward the door. "Out. I need to take a shower."

Isabelle shrugged. "A cold one, perhaps." She ducked to avoid the pair of jeans that he chucked at her and slipped out the door.

When she was finally gone, Alec slumped onto his bed. He was so tired, he could just drift to sleep…no! He had a full day ahead of him. He needed to get dressed, suck it up, and act normal. Izzy was already suspicious, he couldn't drop any more hints for her sake.

Alec grabbed clean clothes from his closet at random, and half-jogged to the bathroom, hoping to avoid any confrontation with his sister. He pulled off his clothes and stepped into the shower, turning the water as hot as he could stand. Steam filled the bathroom and Alec sighed as the hot water loosened his sore muscles.

He hadn't lied entirely. They hadn't had sex…not technically. Alec knew that Magnus was moving slowly for his sake, and he appreciated that. He always got nervous whenever they seemed to be doing something borderline. Luckily, Magnus was quite observant, and would always seem to switch tactics whenever Alec felt uncomfortable or embarrassed.

Alec frowned. It wasn't like he didn't want it. He swallowed quickly as memories of last night flashed across his mind. It was—Alec couldn't even find a word to describe it.

When his hands had…and his mouth…and oh god, Alec had wanted to scream—probably had, actually—and he didn't want him to stop, oh please, yes, keep, yes…that, do that…

Alec had wanted more, needed more, but at the same time, something held him back, and Magnus had seen that, seen the fear and hesitation, and he stayed on the other side of the line.

Alec shook his head and turned off the water, grabbing a towel and drying off. He just needed time, and it wasn't like they didn't have plenty of it. It was just keeping the whole deal a secret. His parents were probably wondering why their son had such a sudden desire to go out "on walks" and the like so often.

Maybe they suspected? Alec shook his head. If they did, they probably assumed it was a girl, and he hated to crush their hopes. Alec wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower.

"Oh…my…God…"

Alec froze. Isabelle was standing in the bathroom, holding her toothbrush and staring at him, her jaw dropped. Crap, crap…he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Before Alec could react, Isabelle had set her toothbrush on the counter and placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyes wide and ogling at his skin. "Oh my god, Alec. You have hickeys everywhere. Wow, this is the worst I've ever seen—are those bite marks?"

Alec stepped back quickly, making a futile attempt to cover himself with his hands. "I swear, Isabelle, if you tell anyone, I'm going to kill you."

She smiled angelically, and Alec couldn't help but feel like this was going to bite him (hah) later on down the road. Her eyes flicked down to his towel. "Don't tell me, there's even—"

"OUT. NOW."

She nodded, winking at him before slipping out the door, and Alec repressed the urge to sink to the floor in fetal position and panic. Who knows how long she was capable of keeping her mouth shut?

Alec prayed that it was long enough for him to move out and get a place of his own, because his parents were going to have a heart attack otherwise.

EDIT: 5/16/11

Okay, so I made a goal to wrap up all my stories on this account, and I'm sorry guys, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to salvage this one. I'm just going to say that it's finished.

As a bit of recompense, I'm going to post an additional Malec fic. Apparently it won't let me post a direct link on here, so you can just look it up from my page. It's called "It's not exactly a honeymoon". Hope you enjoy!