Luke found them, and Clary was relieved to see that he was relatively unharmed. The four of them brought Jocelyn back to the Institute. It was then revealed to them that they had to hand over the Cup in order to help Izzy.

Jonas had mentioned her and described her as a friend. So Clary was unsurprised when her brother agreed to hand over the Cup.

They ended up in what was- apparently- Jace's room. Jocelyn was kept within, and Clary remained by her side. Jonas stood with Jace, and the two conversed under their breaths. Clary didn't bother trying to eavesdrop, not really caring about what they were discussing.

All that mattered was that she'd been reunited with her mother… Even if her mother was under the influence of some kind of potion.

She glanced up when she noticed that the two men had fallen silent.

Both of which were staring at a man with dark, tousled hair and a guarded posture. Clary frowned at the newcomer, trying to discern who it might be.

Jace approached him, stating in an even tone, "Jonas gave Lydia the Cup. Hodge is taking her to lock it up until she goes back to Idris."

The man replied as though what Jace said wasn't that big of a deal. "Okay."

"'Okay'?" Jace shook his head, frustrated. "That's it, Alec?"

Alec, Clary thought. Jonas hadn't told her a lot about the Shadowhunter, but she knew that he was supposed to be a close friend of Jonas'. She glanced at her brother and found him staring resolutely at the ground.

Huh, she mused internally.

"I don't want to get into it," Alec replied. He turned to leave.

"Stop," Jace said. Alec paused, turning back to face the blonde. Jace stepped down the stairs so that he was level with the other Shadowhunter. "I do wanna get into it. You almost killed me. You weakened our parabatai bond just to find me."

"You betrayed me. You lied to me," Alec countered. "You attacked me when I was doing what we should've been doing together."

Clary began to realise just how much more she needed Jonas to catch her up on.

"I didn't betray you, Alec. I saved you from yourself!" Jace shouted. He paused, turning to take a breath before facing the other Shadowhunter and speaking in a calmer tone. "If you'd have taken Meliorn to be tortured, you would have that on your conscience for the rest of your life."

Alec scoffed. "Really?"

Jace insisted, "Really."

"Everything you do is for a higher principle. You took the Cup," Alec said. "And you nearly handed it over to Valentine."

"That was not our intention. You know that."

"'Our intention'?" Alec quoted back, and opened his mouth to argue further.

"Stop it," Jonas snapped, speaking for the first time since the argument started. He walked up to Alec, eyes blazing. "Leave. Now."

Alec seemed… stunned.

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Then, instead of Alec leaving, it was Jonas who slipped past the other man and disappeared down the hall.

Alec was frozen for a moment longer, before he too left, though in the other direction.

Magnus was relieved when Alec showed up to let Izzy know that everything had been settled. The Cup was returned, Izzy was no longer going to be banished and now Magnus was going to get his reward.

...That he didn't really want.

Alec grabbed his bow from the stand, and then handed it over along with his quiver of arrows.

Magnus took them with a gentle grasp, and met Alec's stare with his own.

"As promised…" Alec exhaled slowly. "Payment in full. Thank you."

Magnus nodded at the Shadowhunter, and then made to leave. He paused, though, not wanting to leave it at that. "I just want you to know," Magnus began. "Lydia was wonderful in court. She's great."

"So you get it," Alec said, sounding pleased.

"No, Alec," Magnus disagreed. "I get her. I like her. But you don't have to marry her."

Alec's gaze hardened. "Yes, I do, Magnus."

"You'll be lonely all your life, and so will she. Neither of you deserve it." Magnus paused. After a moment, he chuckled humorlessly to himself and offered the bow and quiver back to Alec. "I don't know what to do with these. You keep them for me."

Alec glanced at Magnus, but took back his possessions without a word.

Magnus bid a hasty retreat.

He had someone he needed to talk to.

Magnus knocked on the door and didn't have to wait long before it was opened.

"Magnus," Jonas greeted, sounding surprised.

"Jonas," Magnus replied, both in greeting and to confirm his suspicions. Jonas nodded, and Magnus offered him a smile that was warm and charming. "It's so lovely to be able to see you again."

Jonas ducked his gaze, but there was a tilt to his lips that was entirely too adorable. "Do you want to come in?" Jonas asked, taking a step back.

Magnus inclined his head and obliged, stepping inside. Jonas closed the door behind them, and then went to lean against the nearby bedpost.

"I heard you've been busy," Magnus said. He didn't know the specifics, but he'd gathered some of it.

"Oh yeah, it's been exhausting." Jonas sighed, and then asked, "How about you?"

"About the same." Magnus then gave him a quick run down. "After the Forsaken attack, I was hired to increase the amount of wards in the Institute. Then I helped Jace steal Alec's stele–"

Jonas grinned. "Nice."

Magnus continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, though now feeling pleased by Jonas' commendation. "—To get the Cup. Then Alec requested I represent Izzy in her trial. Now that was a load of nonsense."

"Damn." Jonas whistled. "You need like… a vacation.

"I think we all do." Magnus sighed and sat down. "That wasn't even the worst of it."

Jonas eyed Magnus with concern.

On one hand, he didn't want to tell Jonas about Alec getting married. On the other hand, Jonas deserved to find out about it from someone who would understand what he was going through. Not that he and Magnus were all that close, but he figured it was better hearing it from him instead of from Jace or the like. There was also a chance that Jonas already knew, and if that was the case Magnus definitely wanted to discuss it with him.

"Jonas," Magnus began, steeling himself. "I need to tell you something"

Jonas raised a brow. "Yeah?"

Magnus swallowed. "It's about Alec."

"Oh."

"...And our relationship with him."

"Right." Jonas let out a shaky breath. "This doesn't sound good."

Magnus inclined his head. "It may upset you, but you need to know."

"Okay," Jonas said and drew in a breath. He sat himself down next to Magnus, hands nestled in his lap. "I'm ready."

Magnus wet his lips before beginning, "Alexander has decided that to restore the Lightwood name, he has to marry." Magnus met Jonas' gaze evenly. "He and Lydia are getting married."

Jonas stared at Magnus.

He stared at Magnus for a very long moment.

Then, he exclaimed, "WHAT?"

Magnus held Jonas' gaze, empathetic.

"How could he do this?" Jonas asked. "Why would he– And to Lydia? He's not even– Urgh!"

Jonas leapt to his feet and began pacing, gesticulating wildly as he did so. "You know, the last time Alec and I had a moment alone he kissed me– And said that he wanted to do it again! He said it would be nice."

"I'm truly sorry, Jonas," Magnus said.

Jonas shook his head. "No, no. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever–" Jonas cut himself off with a sigh. "I can't believe this."

"I know," Magnus commiserrated.

"You know, I'd even just decided to tell him about my DID."

Magnus' eyes went wide. "Really?" Then, he exhaled. "I'm so sorry, Jonas."

"It's not your fault." Jonas shrugged. "How could I trust him, now? I thought we… Ugh. Nevermind."

Magnus allowed a moment of silence before asking, "What made you want to tell him?"

"It's kind of a long story." Jonas began ticking off his fingers as he explained. "When we saved Meliorn, he offered us a chance to find Valentine. We, of course, agreed. Meliorn sent me to an alternate universe to find a portal that would take us wherever we wanted."

"I see," Magnus said. "So I'm assuming you arrived in your other self's body?"

"Yep," Jonas replied, popping the 'p'. "Turns out, other me is dating Alec. They've been together for a while, as far as I can tell." Jonas paused, drawing a breath as though to steady himself. "Alec knew about my DID."

"Oh," Magnus said, surprised.

Jonas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know right? But, God, Magnus. He was so good about it. Like… it was incredible."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Magnus said.

Jonas grinned. "It was even better when he found out I was from another universe. I told him about Alec and I, about how we might've kinda been dating– which I guess is all ruined now, anyway– and I mentioned that Alec doesn't know I have DID."

"What did he say?"

In a quiet, soft voice, Jonas said: "He said that as long as I was patient with my Alec, he'd understand and support me— and you know what? I believe him." Jonas let out a disappointed sigh. "It's a shame Alec's gone and done this."

Magnus let out a small sound of commiseration, before offering, "But I do have a plan."

...Not so much a plan, but a promise to himself not to give up on Alexander.

Jonas paused, and turned to Magnus looking hopeful. "Ooo. I like plans."

Magnus hummed non-committedly. "Well, let's just hope it works."

The two fell silent, and Jonas sat back down next to Magnus. Magnus studied his fingers closely, clasping and unclasping them. After a few moments of thought, he glanced over at the Shadowhunter next to him.

"So… You kissed Alec?"

Jonas grumbled, "Don't remind me."

Magnus blinked. "You didn't like it?"

"No," Jonas said in a drawl. "It was terrible."

Magnus chuckled at his sarcasm. "All right then." He deliberated for a moment, before turning to Jonas. "If you'd like, I'm more than happy to show you what a real kiss feels like."

"Oh," Jonas said, the tips of his ears turning pink. "Really?"

Smiling faintly, Magnus leaned forward. Jonas did as well.

They met halfway, lips joining in a tender kiss.

Magnus was pleased to find that Jonas was quite the kisser. He reached up to card his fingers through the Shadowhunter's hair, letting himself be lost in the kiss.

Then his phone buzzed and the moment was broken.

"Magnus?" Jonas asked when the Warlock pulled back to check his phone.

"Ah," Magnus winced as he read the message. "I'm afraid one of my dear friends has angered a Seelie and gotten himself into some trouble. He needs my help."

Jonas frowned. "Oh shit. Can I help?"

"Thanks, but it's best I do this myself." Magnus got to his feet. "Gerald takes a while to warm up to."

Jonas nodded, and got up to see him leave. "When I get back... we can pick up where we left off." Magnus hesitated and added, "If you want."

Jonas scoffed. "Duh."

"And," Magnus continued. "I'll bring us some ice cream."

"No one in their right mind would turn down ice cream."

Magnus shot the man an amused look, before saying goodbye and portaling himself out of there.

When he returned, he knocked on the door as per usual. Instead of Jonas opening it, he heard a shout, "Come in!"

Magnus entered, and closed the door behind him. He then turned to find Jonas relaxing on the bed, doodling in a sketchbook. The Shadowhunter was lying stomach down, kicking his legs back and forth in the open air. He'd also put on an adorable, black, green and grey beanie with a logo that read 'Ben 10' on it.

The man looked up at Magnus, expression shifting to one of confusion. "Who the heck are you?"

Unsure what was going on, Magnus began, "Er–

"Nevermind," Jonas said, cutting Magnus off. "Unless it's something important, get out of my room. I'm busy."

Magnus paused. "But I brought gelato from Gelateria del Teatro in Rome…"

"Hold on a sec," Jonas shifted so he was resting on gangly arms. "You're telling me you've just come from France?"

Magnus began to correct the Shadowhunter, "Rome is in Italy–"

"Pfft, that's not what's important!" Jonas cut him off. "What's important is that you're lying!"

"I am not lying. I wouldn't ever lie to you."

Magnus really meant that. The person before him was too important to ever risk being untruthful to.

Jonas narrowed his gaze at the warlock. "Prove it!"

Magnus rolled his eyes and held up the bag of said gelato. He placed it on the bed in front of Jonas and said, "The receipt is inside. So is the gelato."

He watched as Jonas rifled through the bag. The Shadowhunter's eyes went wide as he took in the many buckets of ice cream and then he reached in and pulled out a crumpled receipt.

"I can't read this. It's not in english."

"Exactly."

Jonas' lips pursed in consideration. "Okay, say I believe you… Why are you bringing me gelato?"

"Can't a man bring his friend gelato?"

"How are we friends if I don't even know you?" Jonas' gaze narrowed. Magnus's confusion grew. "Wait, you're not friends with my ma or momma are you?"

Magnus was definitely confused. "Who?"

"Casey and Gnash." Joey continued, "But I call 'em momma and mom, and I switch between ma and mom with Casey."

Oh, Magnus thought. So this was the child of Casey and Gnash. What had his name been?

Joey, Magnus remembered, as realisation struck.

"I'm afraid not." Magnus offered a hopeful smile. "Though I am friends with Owl and Jona–"

"Jonas?" The boy huffed. "Man, I can't stand that guy. You shouldn't be friends with him, you should be friends with me instead."

Seizing the opportunity, Magnus replied, "How can I be friends with you if you don't introduce yourself?"

Joey nodded succinctly. "Good point." He offered Magnus a polite smile. "I'm Joey. I'm twelve, and I'm the coolest guy in the system."

And utterly adorable, the Warlock thought.

"Nice to meet you, Joey." Magnus smiled back. "My name is Magnus."

"'Magnus'?" Joey quoted back, scrunching his nose in distaste. "That's a mouthful. Can I call you Maggie?" Before Magnus had a chance to answer, Joey continued, "So, Maggie, how old are you? Are you part of a system too? How did you get to France and back here so fast? What's the difference between gelato and ice cream? Next time you go to Rome, can I come with you?"

"Um." Magnus swallowed, and then sat down on the edge of the bed to answer. "Yes, very old, no, Italy- not France- and with magic, gelato is creamier, smoother, silkier and denser than ice cream, and okay but only if you get your parent's permission."

Joey studied Magnus closely for a few moments, and the warlock shifted uncomfortably under the boy's knowing gaze. "Well," Joey said, finally. "Maggie, here's the deal, if you prove to me that magic is real then I will let you have a single spoonful of some of this gelato."

"But I bought the gelato," Magnus replied, a little bit petulant.

In response, Joey merely pulled out a tub of gelato, took of the lid, and stuck a plastic spoon in it. He pulled the scoop of gelato out slowly, and then shoved it into his mouth.

With a contented noise, Joey sat back and gestured to Magnus in a 'go on then' gesture.

Magnus… Magnus could realise when he'd been beat.

With a huff, Magnus held out his palm and flicked his fingers, summoning the holographic image of a cute cat into his palm.

Joey gasped. "Woah!" He looked between the holograph and Magnus. "Can you do anything else?"

The warlock scoffed. "Can I do anything else?" he quoted back. Snapping his thumb and forefinger, he changed the image to that of a puppy, then a volcano and finally a waterfall.

Each time he changed the image, Joey grew more and more amazed. When Magnus finished with a flourish, Joey was hanging off the side of the bed. He was looking up at Magnus, mouth agape.

When he realised that Magnus was done, he flipped himself upright into a sitting position and shouted, "That was totally wicked!"

Magnus couldn't help but grin. "Thank you," he said, pleased.

"So are you like… a wizard? Like from Harry Potter?" Joey asked.

Shaking his head, Magnus explained, "No, though I can cast magic, I'm what's called a Warlock."

"Warlock," Joey repeated, testing out the word. Then, he nodded and looked up at Magnus with bright eyes. "I like it! It sounds epic, like you're some powerful badass."

Magnus felt his lips twitch, both humbled by Joey's easy acceptance and amused by the kid's genuine enthusiasm. "Well…" He smirked. "I am pretty badass."

"Yep!" Joey shifted on the bad, sitting back on his heels as he brought out tubs of gelato. "So you can have some of this french ice cream with me, 'cause then we can be friends and I can have a friend that's a badass!"

Magnus didn't bother correcting him this time. Instead, he sat down next to Joey and replied, "Okay. Can I have some of the Stracciatella gelato then?"

"The what now?" Joey asked, but he dug through the containers and found the tub with the corresponding label. He handed it over to Magnus along with a spoon.

"Which one are you going to have?" the warlock asked as he took the gelato from the boy's hands.

"I dunno," Joey replied. "Is there a strawberry?"

In response, Magnus picked through the tubs and then handed the right one over to Joey.

"Sweet," Joey said with a grin. He opened the container and began eating, humming happily at the taste.

Glad that his new friend was pleased, Magnus began to consume his own tub of gelato. He took a few spoonfuls, marvelling over the delicious taste. Then he reached over and picked a tub at random. "Yum." Magnus licked the spoon clean. "This one's good, try it."

He held the tub out to Joey. Joey stared at it suspiciously. "What flavour is it?"

"Shh," Magnus hushed him. He nudged the tub closer. "Just try it."

With a shrug, Joey scooped a tiny amount of the sorbetto onto his spoon and then eyed it closely. "It looks like vanilla."

Magnus gestured non-committedly.

Joey shot him an unimpressed look, but shoved the spoon into his mouth. After a moment, Joey's face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew! Banana? Are you trying to poison me?"

Magnus chuckled and pulled the tub back to himself, dipping his spoon into the banana sorbetto. "I take it you don't like bananas."

"Nope," Joey said. "And it sucks 'cause mom loves them and is always eating them. She keeps trying to get me to like them but that's never going to happen."

"Stay strong, kiddo," Magnus encouraged.

Joey nodded. "Will do, Maggie."

The two of them spent the next couple of minutes trying all of the different flavours. Joey took the opportunity to tell Magnus about his life. Mostly though the kid just lamented over the fact that his mothers wouldn't let him play GTA.

When they were too full to eat anymore gelato, Magnus vanished the containers, much to Joey's amazement. The warlock then settled down onto the bed, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. Joey followed his lead, but laid stomach down.

He brought his sketchpad with him, and Magnus turned to watch with interest as the boy doodled what appeared to be a ravener demon.

"Why are you drawing that?" Magnus asked, curious.

"Because they look cool," Joey replied, as though it was obvious. "Mom doesn't want me to have anything to do with them. Momma agrees, but she says it's okay if I draw them or whatever."

"Ah," Magnus said. He couldn't imagine this adorable twelve year old being in proximity to a demon. He told Joey, "When you next see your parents, you can let them know that I'll make sure you never get anywhere near the demons."

"Don't have to," Joey said. "Mom's listening. She says thanks."

Magnus blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah, our communication is pretty good, and mom always makes sure that she knows I'm okay when I'm out." Once he finished explaining, Joey focused back on his sketching.

Magnus fell quiet, thinking of Jonas and how he was worried about the man.

He hadn't exactly taken the news well.

...Magnus wondered if he could ask Joey whether–

"Jonas says hi, by the way." Joey waved his hand, as though brushing something off. "He's saying some more stuff too, but it's all super boring. I'll spare you the details."

Magnus shook his head fondly at Joey. Then, he replied, "So Jonas is okay?"

"Yep," Joey confirmed, popping the 'p'.

"I was just worried about him, because I shared some bad news with him and now… well, he's not here." Magnus smiled gratefully at the boy. "Thank you for letting me know that he's okay."

Joey smirked. "No problem. It's nice to have someone else to hang out with." Joey frowned. "You're the first person to know about all of us in a while. The last one was Kyle and his dad."

"Kyle?" Magnus replied. He was unfamiliar with the name.

"Yeh but they moved away so we haven't seen them in forever." Joey shrugged, legs beginning to kick back and forth again. "But now you're cool so I can hang out with ya'."

"I'm glad," Magnus replied, and he really was. There weren't a lot of people he was close with, at least none that didn't secretly want him for his powers and connections.

Joey returned to his drawing, and Magnus watched him. There wasn't much… polish to the child's art, but it was enough for Magnus to make out what Joey had intended to draw.

"Do you want to see my room?" Joey asked as he finished off a werewolf and started on a new page.

Magnus smiled indulgently. "I'd love to, my little Turnip."

"I'm not little!"

Magnus chuckled. "Sure you aren't."

Joey glared at Magnus, poking his tongue out at him. Magnus laughed at the kid's antics. Joey huffed and turned back to his sketchbook.

"This is my bed," Joey explained as he drew a square on the page. "It's a bunk bed. I know I don't really need a bunk bed but I begged mom and momma for ages and they finally gave me one."

Magnus nodded, because that made perfect sense. Bunk beds were pretty cool— if you could fit in them.

"Then I've got my desk" —Joey drew another, smaller square at the other side of the page– "that I draw on."

He then drew a circle in the corner. "This is my beanbag. I sit there and play my DS sometimes, mainly Pokemon– Eevee is my favorite."

"I've never played Pokemon," Magnus replied.

"You poor, deprived soul," Joey commented. He flipped to a new page and began drawing something that looked like a dog, or a lion cub. "This is Eevee."

"It's cute," Magnus said.

Joey exhaled in a 'pfft' noise. "It's not cute, it's fierce and strong–"

"And cute," Magnus finished for the boy.

Joey sighed. "Alright, and cute."

Joey flicked back to the page that had his room layout on it. "There's a line of cupboards and drawers along here to store all my stuff. Like, toys and things. But I don't really need any of it these days."

"Too busy playing Pokemon?"

"Nah, it's more like hanging out with my parents and doing cool stuff. The last couple of years have been a lot better for us so I get more time with my family."

"That sounds nice."

Joey nodded. "It is. And 'cause we're communicating better I get to come out more often to hang out with Jonas' friends. Jonas may be lame, but his friends aren't." Joey gestured towards Magnus. "Like you."

Magnus was not sure how to handle all of these compliments.

Joey didn't seem to mind his lack of response. He closed up his notebook and asked, "Hey, do you wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure," Magnus said. He didn't have any plans.

With a grin, Joey slid off the edge of the bed and hurried over to the corner of the room. "We saved up for a laptop and as soon as we got it I downloaded a bunch of movies. Well, Hoot helped me 'cause he's cool like that, but anyway."

He returned to the bed, a sleek, black laptop in hand. The top of it had a bunch of different stickers on it, from Disney characters to various brand logos.

The two of them sat up against the headboard, Joey starting up the laptop and resting it on a pillow that he draped over his lap. Once it had booted up, there was a login screen with a few different accounts to select.

Joey logged into the one labeled 'J-man', typing in his password one key at a time. Magnus was amused to watch the kid type, as Joey pressed the buttons with only his two index fingers.

It was a slow, but endearing process.

"What're we going to watch?" Magnus asked. He diverted some of his attention to dimming the overhead lights with magic, giving the room the perfect vibe for movie watching.

"Let me see," Joey replied. He clicked on a folder on the desktop called 'movies' and began scrolling through the list. "Mad Max!" Joey exclaimed as he spotted the title. "Let's watch that!"

Magnus opened his mouth to agree, but then Joey winced and shook his head. "Nevermind. Mom says no." He paused for a moment, and then sighed. "Now she's yelling at Hoot."

"They should stop so that we can watch a movie."

Another pause, and then Joey laughed. "They stopped! Mom says sorry, but I have a pick a movie more 'my age'."

Magnus chuckled at the kid's bitter tone, but then helped Joey decide on a new movie. They settled on How to Train Your Dragon. Much to their relief, Joey's mother didn't disagree.

It was about ten minutes into the movie that Magnus realised just how late it was. He only noticed because Joey had begun yawning every now and then. Despite how much the kid seemed to like the movie, he soon began to nod off.

Magnus didn't have it in him to nudge Joey awake once he was finally asleep.

Instead, he packed away the laptop with magic, so as not to disturb the boy. Then, he climbed out of the bed carefully and then used magic once more to tuck Joey under the covers.

Joey curled up on his side and let out a contented sigh.

Satisfied, Magnus turned off the lights and exited the room, leaving Joey to his slumber.

So I've been super unmotivated these last few days after everything that happened with dom, especially as someone part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I'm not going to go into it, because I want this to be a safe space for ya'll- but if you were affected by it, I hope this chapter might've made ya feel a little better :) Sending love to all of you out there that need it, remember you're not alone. We're here for ya'll!

twi-fic luver: I'm afraid you won't be finding out about that for a little while, since there's a lot that's gotta happen until that. But I think you'll like how it goes down! I'm really proud of it so I hope ya'll enjoy! Thank you for the review xo