TMI belongs to Cassandra. Beta'd by naelany.

This takes place a week after the end of CoLS. I read on Cassandra's Twitter that CoHF will start two weeks later. So this is sometime in between the books.

Blame the arguments and injuries and the whole darkness of the chapter on my PMSing self and at how upset I am over the end of CoLS. I had to write this.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Alec asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Yes," Jace groaned in annoyance. "I told you. The message was clear: an inoffensive little demon bothering the people in Tribeca at night."

"Then why bother? These ones go away on their own."

"I am bored and slowly burning up. You're moping around. I wanted to do something fun."

"That's not funny," Alec muttered, stomping along-side his friend. Their shoes made loud, slapping noises on the asphalt. Suddenly, the dark-haired Shadowhunter stopped. His hand came up, halting his parabatai. "Did you hear that? A scream."

Jace nodded. "Quick. Before anyone else gets hurt."

"Wait, Jace. It doesn't sound like a human."

"True, you sound like a banshee when you scream."

"I don't scream," Alec said firmly, but the tips of his ears turned red.

"My room is right next to yours." There were no other words needed, or any reminder of why Alec was screaming—especially at night. "I'm sorry, Alec." Jace regretted reminding his friend of his recent break-up.

"I think it's a Buzzragorr demon," his friend commented as if they hadn't touched the subject of his nightmares.

"Be reasonable, Alec. No one has seen one. We know of it… You know, the books say 'five times the size of other demons, it has an armored body, many limbs, and each appendage ends in a spiked chitinous talon. It has elephant feet, huge and splayed. It has the head of a giant mosquito, complete with insectile eyes and a dangling blood-red feeding tube. It screams like a human and is very, very strong.'"

"Someone must have seen it at least once for such accurate description. Let's be careful, Jace."

Huffing, the blond boy drew out his Seraph blade, called its name and walked with purpose to the warehouse's door. Tired of the same argument every time, Alec followed, mirroring his parabatai's actions.

In the dim moonlight pouring through the windows, they could make out the form of the demon. It had an armored body but they couldn't see past that since it was facing away from them.

"It looks like an Ahiab Demon," Jace said under his breath. Extracting a knife from his pocket, he gestured to Alec that he'd attack from behind.

It was a bad idea, but there was no time for Alec to react—he knew that when fighting demons you had to be silent and quick. This particular demon looked asleep, or so it wanted them to believe.

As they approached, it came as a surprise to realize Alec had been right in guessing the nature of this demon. They had never seen one like this. Jace pointed to the exposed skin at the base of the demon's neck, then he threw his own head back as if to show Alec what he wanted him to do, before he made to stab the air in front of him. His friend understood him and nodded seriously.

Not being at all afraid the thing might awake, Jace pushed his knife in the demon's neck. As anticipated, it raised its head and Alec stabbed it in the chest. To their surprise, it fell limply.

It had been too easy.

"Huh. Everyone's afraid of this thing?" Jace joked. He kicked one of the extremities of the demon.

"It's not dead. It didn't disapp— JACE!" Alec shouted in horror when his friend was lifted by the demon. One of the limbs wrapped around his parabatai's waist, cutting in his skin. With adrenaline pounding in his veins, Alec brought his Seraph blade into the demon's side, repetitively. The pain distracted Buzzragorr, who flung Jace across the room where he fell in a mass of crumpled limbs.

Alec had only a second to stare worriedly at his friend before he saw the demon's feeding tube approaching his face. Disgusted and filled with hatred at the thing, he attacked him with all his force, grateful of the stamina and speed runes Jace had applied on him before leaving the Institute.

He wasn't sure how he managed to outsmart the creature, but he kept going with the sole purpose in his mind to make sure Jace was safe. The second the demon exploded—after Alec stabbed it in the head with such force it cracked the skull—he was running across the room.

Blood pooled around Jace's body and his skin was deathly white.

"No. By the Angel. No. JACE!" He fell to his knees and shook his friend's shoulder. "Jace, please. This is not funny. Please, open your eyes."

He drew out his stele and placed an iratze on Jace's torso, where his skin was visible through the torn shirt. When nothing happened, Alec tried to stay strong and figure out a plan. What was he to do?

Concerned for him, Isabelle had gone to Idris to bring their mother back. He'd insisted he didn't need her but often found himself thinking of his mom when a wave of sadness clouded his mind. He'd tried to stay strong for them and to run the Institute as best as he could, but at night he allowed himself to break down. Apparently, he didn't think of Jace being able to hear him.

The other option was Clary, but she'd be worried sick and mostly be in the way instead of helping.

Then suddenly he knew who he needed—Magnus. Even thinking the name and conjuring his handsome face in his head sent ripples of pain through Alec. But there was no one else he knew who could help.

He must help me, Alec thought. I'll demand his assistance as the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

"Come on, Jace. You'll be okay." He wrapped his friend's limp arm around his neck and hoisted him up.

Brooklyn wasn't that far from Tribeca, but carrying one hundred and fifty pounds of dead weight on your back felt like the end of the world. Alec had never been aware of how fit and muscled his friend was, until he had to drag him for over half an hour after him. He'd stopped every now and then checking of Jace's vitals and taking a moment for himself. He wondered if he was wounded himself at how faint he felt, though there was no visible injury.

Finally, arriving in front of the familiar building, Alec saw the couple who lived a floor below Magnus—the ones who always fought. They left through the front door, not looking back which gave the Shadowhunter the chance to catch the metal door before closing. He knew he'd have to ring Magnus's doorbell, but considering he was in the building, maybe, just maybe, the warlock wouldn't send him away.

"Almost there," Alec whispered, trudging his way up the stairs.

He intended to knock on the warlock's door, but after climbing two flights of stairs with Jace's body on his back, he only managed to fall into the hard wood. "Magnus!" His heart leaped into his mouth when no sound came from inside. "Magnus, please! It's Alec."

A loud mewling sound could be heard from the other side of the door before the bolt was unlocked. Alec toppled over when the door opened.

Out of instinct, Magnus reached out to steady him. He was about to voice how upset he was for being awoken at that insane hour, especially by his ex-boyfriend, but the words got stuck in his throat. Alec was covered in black liquid, result of a demon being killed, and his shirt was stuck to his shoulder which was covered in blood.

"Lord above! What happened to you?" Magnus asked, his voice filled with concerned.

"Jace," Alec whimpered. "Please, help him. Please, he got hurt."

For the first time since he opened the door, Magnus noticed the other Shadowhunter. He looked to be in worse shape.

"Come in, come in." He stepped away and gestured to the guest bedroom. Once the door was shut behind the Nephilim boys, he helped Alec, supporting Jace's body. "Care to explain to me what the hell happened to you two?" They placed the blond boy on the bed and after a snap of fingers, all his soiled clothes disappeared except for his underwear.

Alec felt sick at the purple bruises covering his friend's skin and the red gashes oozing blood.

"Alexander, you need to collect yourself!" Magnus said sternly. "I will need your help. Go to my bathroom and bring me a towel and a bassinet full of cold water. Quick."

Meanwhile, the warlock disappeared in his study to grab different potions and drugs he might need to heal the young boy.

Alec turned out to be a very helpful assistant once he collected himself, handing Magnus anything he needed. When they stopped the bleeding and after checking for any other injuries, the warlock started working on a potion to ease Jace's pain once he awoke.

"What kind of demon did you fight?" he asked suddenly.

Alec glanced up, meeting the cat-like eyes he'd missed so much. "It was a Buzzragorr demon."

Magnus didn't manage to mask his surprise. Looking between the two Shadowhunters, he shook his head in disbelief. "You must be perfectly trained to win that fight. You could have died, you foolish boy!"

You have no right to be upset! "That's true, and the fact that I was so angry I could have killed a Greater Demon on my own, helped me win the fight. I've never felt so much rage as in the moment I saw that creature hurt Jace."

"Anger and battle don't go hand-in-hand, Alexander. I thought that was a golden rule—use your brain, not your heart."

"I suppose you never had to feel that ever before. You don't understand— Is he going to be okay? For a moment out there I felt him distancing, you know? I couldn't feel so close." Tears brimmed in his eyes. "I will pay you, Magnus. Save Jace."

"You can't afford my services, Alec. I'm doing you a favor. When he wakes up, I'll give him this potion. In the meantime, let me take a look at your shoulder."

"My…" Alec glanced at his shoulder in surprise. He'd been sure it was Jace's blood, but apparently he'd been injured as well. "I didn't—don't feel a thing."

"Adrenaline is still pumping high in your blood. But trust me, you will feel soon. And it will hurt. Follow me."

Magnus led the way to his bathroom where he disinfected Alec's shoulder and applied a cream that stung once it came in contact with his skin. "There you go."

"Thank you," Alec whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"Don't be absurd, Alexander." Magnus turned to the sink to wash his hands. "You must rest. You can sleep in my bed. I'll stay by your friend's side in case he wakes. It was a nasty demon you encountered."

Alec wanted to retort, but simply nodded and after kicking his shoes, he got in Magnus's bed. He tried not to think of the wonderful times they'd shared in there. Everything smelled so familiar, but for the first time in days he fell asleep without crying, and slept without nightmares marring his dreams.

What raised him from his slumber was a soft voice saying his name and a hand on his cheek. "Alexander. Alex—Alec. Wake up, swee… Wake up, Alec."

Confused of his surrounding, he opened his eyes, looking around, blinking rapidly against the glaring light until Magnus came into focus. Alec's eyes widened and a loud gasp left his lips.

It hadn't been a dream, more like a living nightmare.

"Jace!"

Magnus smiled ruefully, thinking that wasn't what he wanted the Shadowhunter to say first thing in the morning. "It does concern your friend, yes. I'm afraid it is beyond my powers to help him more than I already did."

"Wh-what? No! Don't tell me that."

"He's alive and stable, but the poison on top of his condition… I hadn't taken into account the fire within him last night."

"Magnus!" Alec gripped the warlock's wrists. "What do you need? I'll do anything. Do you need my energy? Should I call the Silent Brothers? Anything."

"You need to calm yourself. I already have one patient. No need for two." Magnus got up, slipping from Alec's grip. "The Silent Brothers are a good idea. Go ahead to the Institute. I'll bring Jace along in an hour."

Biting on his bottom lip nervously, Alec reached again for Magnus, but dropped his hand before they made contact. It looked like he wanted to say something, though he never got the courage to start that conversation. Not now when his main concern was his parabatai.

Right before he slipped out of the warlock's apartment, he heard his name being called. Turning, he found Magnus closer than he anticipated. "Stay strong, Alexander. He needs you." After nodding in understanding, Alec left.

That wasn't what Magnus really wanted to say. He actually wanted to take Alec in his arms and smother him in hugs and kisses, to tell him how much he loved him and that they could work it out. He was willing to give them another try because the past week had been pure torture for him.

He was brought back to reality by a toe curling scream. Ah, it finally took effect, he thought to himself pleased. He didn't want Jace in pain by no means, but having him conscious would help to know what he could do to for him.

When Magnus arrived in his guest bedroom, he found the blond Shadowhunter trying to sit up, teeth gritted and arms around his waist.

"Stubbornness runs in family, I see," he commented, walking to the bed and pushing the boy back until he was lying down.

"Alec! What have you done to him? Is he all right? Why am I here?"

"He brought you to me last night. You were half dead. I saved you."

"This is what you call saving? I feel like I'm being ripped apart from inside."

"The demon's poison in contact with the heavenly fire didn't allow my healing spells to take the desired effect. I sent Alec after the Silent Brothers. We're meeting back at the Institute in an hour."

.

.

.

After sending the message to the City of Bones, Alec began pacing the long corridor at the Institute, constantly checking his watch. The hands of the clock seemed to move backwards.

Exhaustion caught up with him eventually and he threw himself on the bench by the elevator. Church curled next to him, purring softly when he mindlessly petted his fur. Both of them jumped, startled when the cage rattled loudly as it went down.

Alec sat up straight, his mind working a mile per minute.

I hope Isabelle didn't bring Mom. It's not the best time.

Please, let it not be Clary. She'll kill me for keeping this information from her.

When the elevator returned to his floor and the door opened, Alec was surprised to see Magnus with Jace in his arms. His friend looked extremely vulnerable.

"How did you get in here?" Alec blurted out, still not quite over the shock of seeing the warlock inside the Institute without being allowed in.

"I had this injured Shadowhunter at hand," he answered slightly amused. As if to point it out, he nodded to Jace's wrist where some dried blood had coagulated there.

"Oh. Well, come on." Alec led the way to the infirmary. Church tagged along, looking curiously at Jace.

Once Magnus placed the blond boy on a bed, he turned toward Alec. "Good news: he was conscious for a few minutes after you left. But then I told him about the Silent Brothers checking on him and lost him again. Can't blame him, though. The Brothers scare grown up people. I've seen strong and fearless Shadowhunters shrinking at the sight of the Brothers."

"It's not like they're extra pleasant to look at."

"And they won't be pleased at all to hear about Jace's stunt. What was in your head to allow him out of the Institute and to go demon hunting? I always thought you were smarter than that."

Alec huffed, narrowing his eyes at the warlock, but before he could scream at him, the bell rang loudly. "We're not done with this," he hissed before storming out of the room to go answer the door.

He led Brother Zachariah to the infirmary and took upon himself the guilt of being reckless and allowing Jace out when he should have been resting, especially while they were working on a cure for the heavenly fire.

Leave me alone with the patient.

He didn't have to say it twice. Both Magnus and Alec left the room. They found themselves outside the infirmary door glaring at each other.

"Is it true what you said?" Alec muttered, not looking at Magnus.

"What part?"

"That you think I'm stupid."

"I never said that, Alexander."

"Well, but you implied it! You said you thought I was smarter than that."

"That is true," Magnus acknowledged the statement. He held his hand up before his companion could retort. "But not in that way. As in, you were more considerate and a careful friend."

"So now I don't care about Jace? If you want to know, I tried to stop him."

"You didn't try hard enough, Alexander. He's not well."

"Are you lecturing me, Magnus? I'll hear it all from Mom soon enough. Isabelle is in Idris to bring her back because she's worried about me! You know why that is?" He didn't allow Magnus time to answer. "Because of you!"

"Alex—"

"And I accepted Jace's stupid idea to go demon hunting because the call we got was about a minor demon. Whoever sent the message has no idea what a minor demon is, or has probably only seen Greater Demons to say Buzzragorr was small. Besides, I needed the distraction more than him. Why didn't you answer my calls?"

"Alex—"

"You insist on calling me on my full name when I told you a thousand times I hate it!"

"I remember you saying you liked how it sounded—"

"Not anymore. You broke up with me, remember? Or maybe for you these things get blurred around the edges. You can't tell the difference between yesterday and last month."

"ALEXANDER!"

"What?" Alec whispered meekly, knowing he had overstepped an invisible line.

"Is it my turn to spew out everything? Well, let me tell you why I didn't answer your phone calls. I was too upset with what you'd done. It affected me so much because I care for you a great deal. When someone you love hurts you the way you hurt me, you will know why I've chosen the short way out. I preferred to live in pain at breaking up than the pain at having you by my side every day concocting some horrible plan to shorten my life."

Guilt ate up at Alec's insides. He reached out to take Magnus's hand, but the warlock stepped away. It felt like a punch in the gut for Alec.

"Mag…" He swallowed hard. "Magnus, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry is not enough, Alexander. Sorry doesn't wipe out your desire to shorten my life just so you'll know I will be by your side for the rest of your life and grow old with you." When Alec made to answer, Magnus held his hand up. "What would you have done if I told you that I wanted to find a way to make you live forever? You'd have been happy, I bet. Immortality is better than mortality in some people's conception."

"I would have never… I only wanted to know if there was a way!"

"Spare me the apologizes. We're done, Alexander. I'm here to help your friend."

"But can't you understand why I've done it? I wanted to talk to you about it. I swear. But the main reason was…to know about you, to understand that you truly felt for me differently than you have ever felt for anyone else—especially Camille."

"Please, do not compare yourself to Camille."

"Then should I compare myself to Will?" Alec raised his voice. "Who is Will? I want answers." He restrained himself from stomping his foot like an immature child.

"What's going on here?" Maryse asked in a wary tone from behind Alec.

"Mom!" He whirled around, staring at her in shock. Then he saw the people behind her: Robert, his father, and Isabelle, along with Clary.

"What happened to you, sweetheart?" His mom voiced her concerned as she walked to him and cupped his face.

In that moment he remembered he was still covered in demon blood. Maybe he should have taken a shower at Magnus's the night before. He could feel his cheeks burning under his mother's scrutinizing gaze.

"Is Jace okay?" Clary questioned shakily.

"Why do you ask that?" Alec shifted away from his mom, looking at the red-headed girl.

Clary pointed to Magnus, who was leaning against the wall watching the family interacting.

"Oh. Yes. He's…" Before Alec could come up with a lie, a loud shout of pain reverberated from the infirmary.

Magnus was the first to move and rush inside, quickly followed by everyone else. Loud exclamations exploded around Alec, but he couldn't hear the words. He felt responsible for Jace's pain. It took a few sips of the green liquid Magnus forced him to take for Jace to calm down and fall back on the bed. He was conscious, but seemed to be pain-free.

"Alexander! Do you want to explain to us what happened here?" Robert demanded, grabbing his son's shoulder and turning him around.

The gesture made Alec grit his teeth, trying not to show he himself was in pain. His shoulder throbbed, but he swallowed once before telling them what had happened the previous night. Everyone was upset with his carelessness, especially his mother. She vehemently confirmed how disappointed she was in him, and his actions proved to her he wasn't ready to take over the Institute in New York as she'd hoped. That last bit of information seemed like a stab to Alec and he fled from the room, shame burning at his insides.

He didn't leave his room until late at night when he was sure no one was awake or walking the corridors. Some part of him had expected someone—mostly Magnus—to come check on him, but no one had disturbed him. After a detour to the kitchen where he grabbed a bag of chips, he made his way to the infirmary.

To Alec's surprise, Jace was awake and reading from a heavy book. As he approached the bed, his friend looked up and gave him a small smile before pressing his finger to his lips. It had escaped Alec, but then he noticed Clary was curled into Jace's side, one arm thrown around his waist as she slept peacefully.

"How are you?" Alec asked quietly, sitting at his friend's feet.

Jace lifted one shoulder. "Like before. All the demon poison excitement has worn off."

"Don't say that! I was so afraid, Jace!"

He laughed as quietly as he could. "Thought you could get rid of me so easily?"

"Jace," Alec said in a warning tone.

"Ah, you're no fun. Like everyone else. I'm still alive!" he protested.

"All thanks to Magnus and Brother Zachariah."

"Actually, all thanks to you. I heard Magnus saying that if you'd have come later…"

"No, Jace. Seriously, are you feeling better?" He looked concerned at his parabatai.

"Better than when I was poisoned, yes. Still slowly burning, yes. Nothing has changed there. The Brothers are still trying to figure that one out, and I was threatened to be taken to the City of Bones and shackled to a pillar if I attempt to get out and hunt demons. That Zachariah guy has a way with the words—he knows exactly what to say to make you need a change of underwear."

Alec chuckled. His friend was more than okay. "Well, I really wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have agreed to your crazy idea of going after that demon. Look what happened."

Jace's golden eyes widened. "Speaking of…what happened to the demon?"

"I killed it." Pride bubbled in Alec's chest. "It took a hard blow to the head to get it down."

"Damn, I missed the fun. What did your parents say? Were they proud of you for killing a Buzzragorr demon? This is huge, Alec! You deserve a medal!"

"I wish they were as enthusiastic as you, Jace. But they're ashamed and upset. I could have gotten my best friend killed. I was reckless."

"What?" Jace hissed, looking worried. "They have no right to be upset with you! It's my fault everything that happened. You saved me. You killed that demon—which is huge by the way! You confronted your own personal demons by taking me to Magnus. You're my hero, Alec."

"When you put it that way…" The black-hair boy said softly, feeling embarrassed at how his friend spoke of him. He didn't feel like a hero, and he was still not over Magnus. It still hurt—the pain was raw in his chest.

"I do! We need to talk to everyone. Let me explain to them how heroic it was of you to—"

"Jace, you were unconscious. No one would take you seriously."

"I would," a small voice mumbled from Jace's side. "Is it true?" Clary's eyes found Alec's.

"Yes, Clary! He saved me. I can't believe everyone is upset with him. Has the world turned upside down?" Jace groaned. "Since when do you get in trouble, Alec? That used to be me."

"Well, you getting in trouble got me in trouble," Alec joked, poking his friend in the leg.

"Now you know how it is to live on the wild side."

"Jace, since I've become your parabatai living on the wild side is part of me. Just sitting next to you is an action you never know how it will end."

That made all of them laugh. Until Clary yelped and withdrew her hand from around her boyfriend. Instead of feeling guilty, Jace burst into a fresh round of laughter at how true his friend's words had been. Being happy seemed to fuel the fire inside him, making him glow.

"Now, Jace. Don't go up in flames. Calm down," Clary said between giggles.

Alec knew that the euphoria would vanish the moment he had to face his parents, but until then he'd enjoy these peaceful moments with his friends. He knew that eventually everyone would see what Jace had said—that he had saved Jace and had the courage to do what others probably wouldn't have been able to face only a week after breaking-up. Also, he knew that what had happened with that demon and Jace getting hurt would be nothing compared to what waited for them in their upcoming battle with basking in these moments was the smartest thing he could do.

There will be more outtake of the books, in random order and various POVs.