A Hidden Past

*********** A long time ago/ Pippa's POV***********

"Come on Harry! We can't be late!" A girl's voice called.

She was outside on a dirt road, in front of what looked like an ancient version of today's high rises. The walls of the building were a clay orange, in the midday sunlight they looked warm and inviting. The little boy, who couldn't be older then nine years, poked his head out from a gap in the building, where in modern times a window might've been. His hair was a golden brown, his eyes a shining green with hints of gold. His eyes....so much like his mother's....

"Coming Pip!" He hollered at the girl before darting back inside.

Even from here, the girl could here his pattering footsteps. Like usual, the boy was taking them two at a time. He was a little too short to being doing that with ease as of yet, but he did it anyway. It was what his father did in their house, and the boy wanted to be just like him. When the young child finally reached the girl, she gave him a glare.

"Pip? Really Harry? You know my name is Penelope." She glared at him. Harry was dressed as he normally was: casually. It used to bother her. Nowadays, she just let it go. There was no point trying to tame the wild child of the family.

"Oh come on Pip, you let Da call you Pippa all the time! And you didn't have a problem with it when I was little." He whined, leaning on her arm.

As he was small, Penelope could bare his weight with ease. As Harry was the youngest sibling, she like all the other siblings felt responsible for him. He doesn't exactly keep us from worrying...

Every other day, Harry was a walking accident just waiting to happen. Just the other day, he'd almost fallen off a cliff. He said his mind had been elsewhere so he didn't know where he was going. She could relate to that in some way. Like their mother, Penelope was an artistic type. She was always creating new things, new art.

And when she wasn't, her thoughts would drift to what she should make next; the world filled with so many possibilities. That didn't mean; however, that she didn't have some awareness. Some times, her brother was just too much of a moron for her to handle. This moron was currently giving her the puppy eyes. Puppy eyes, were one of the few things she couldn't resist.

"Ugh, fine....but Pippa, not Pip. Call me Pip again and I'll throttle you." She shoved him gently off of her. The push held no malice to it, so Harry only staggered a little before regaining his balance.

"Okay sis! So, where are we headed today? I've been dying to stretch my wings!" He said excitedly.

As if to demonstrate this, he let his wings phase into view. The soft bronze feathers flapped up and down, making her brother rise in the air about a foot or two. Pippa rolled her eyes at him, unimpressed. Harry never understood the importance of being careful about when he should let his wings show.

For the most part, people couldn't see them unless they wanted them to be seen. That included when they were phased into this reality plane as well. Their father had been very firm about exerting caution regardless, saying that there were a select few individuals who could see their wings if phased. A select few of those individuals were bad...and would want to cause them harm. Pippa shuddered at the thought of any of her family getting hurt because of something so integral to them.

Harry didn't notice her fear. Instead, the young boy was preening his feathers. Harry's wings, like his hair were a sparkling golden bronze in color. Here and there were flashes of white amidst the bronze, like little pieces of star. Her wings, were different then her brother's. In fact, all her siblings had different wings. Father said that was because they are different people, each special in their own way. Their wings reflected that difference.

"Father wants us to meet him at the High Grounds. Did you tell mother where you were headed?" She queried. Mother didn't often make the trek to the spot they practiced flying. As she was the only wingless one of the family, it was hard for her to get to such an enormous height without assistance.

Father never minded carrying her up there, but she didn't like to burden him. Mother always said she had things to do anyways. And she did have a point; they'd moved into the new house a few short months ago. There was plenty of things to do, many of which involved the upkeep of the place. And anyways, she could see them in the sky regardless, her eyes enlightened to see through glamours father put in the sky. As it was, she still liked to know what they were doing. It gave her peace of mind to know they were safe with their father.

"Of course! Mum told me not to bring home any more birds and to be back by sundown." He told her. Pippa nodded, that sounded right to her.

"Alright. Come along then! I'll race you!" She sprinted a few steps before leaping into the air, her wings allowing her to soar into the sky.

Pippa's were described as a vibrant fire, the colors of burgundy and orange and yellow and white and even the faintest pinkish blue all melding together to create them. Like her brother Harry, her wings weren't dissimilar to her fiery red hair.

"Hey! No fair you got a head start!" Harry shouted somewhere below. She could here his rapid wingbeats as he tried to catch up to her. Pippa tilted her head back, letting out a raucous laugh. Days like these were always her favorite.

********Time Skip********

Pippa was panting by the time Harry and she landed in the grassy clearing of the High Grounds. Her wings were more developed then her younger brother's, as she was twelve but they still weren't fully developed. As such was the case, it was harder for her to fly as fast as her older siblings Daniel and Sara. They are the oldest of the bunch, being fifteen years old a piece and their wings were both almost fully developed.

Father had told them that they'd each reach full wing maturity around 17-20 years of age. Sara said it was a reminder of all they had to look forward to. Daniel remarked that it was how long they had to still wait before being able to fly as well as their father could. The two twins were opposing mirrors of each other, something Pippa had learned over the years. Sara saw the glass half full, Daniel saw it half empty. Both could be viewed as true.

"Dan Dan! Sar!" Harry cheerfully exclaimed when he saw them, just about crashing to the floor as he landed in a tussock of grass. The terrain was spotted here with springy tussocks. The ground that wasn't covered in grass consisted of scattered clay along with a chalky substance from the pillars. A cloud of dirt puffed up as he did, gray brown dust spritzing into the air, making Pippa sneeze.

Daniel and Sara were chatting amongst themselves near an old stone pillar. The High Grounds were an abandoned construction site. A school was supposed to be built there, overlooking the city below. This was how people in these days often constructed things, as education was to be the highest point of every town. It was one of the highest of principles, education.

This school however was never completed, and likely never would be...at least not any time soon. The construction workers claimed it was too dangerous for young students to learn at a place so high up. Pippa supposed they had a point. The High Grounds had several sheer cliff faces. The drops were so deep that if anyone fell off they surely would die. It was one of the reasons their father had kept all his children far away from those points when they were little, making sure they stayed safe.

"Harry, Penelope, about time you arrived." Daniel commented, his blue eyes fixed on her. The boy was pale skinned like his father, his hair a jet black.

Daniel was at the age where he wanted to seem tough. That facade failed him most times though. It failed him now too, as one of his hands was combing through Harry's unruly locks. The nine year old was hugging Daniel; the little child was a clingy octopus whenever he got someone underneath his grasp. Sara and Pippa would shove the boy off nowadays, leaving Daniel as the only sibling who'd let Harry do what the boy termed his 'koala hug'.

"Yeah, that couldn't be helped. Har here was taking forever to get out of bed." She told her older brother. Sara laughed at that, Harry just let out a complaining whine. Sara was tan skinned unlike her twin, her eyes a gentle hazel. These eyes sparkled when she laughed, the multiple colors shifting through them. She shushed the young boy by stroking one of his wings with her own.

Sara's wings were mostly a pearlescent white, with brown, blue, and yellow feathers woven in here and there. Sara's essence was a brilliant silver. Her wings were opposite of her twin's. Daniel's wings are a sleek black, with deep blue hues around the edges. Every once in a while Pippa would spot a glowing white in his feathers. In those moments, Daniel's wings would look like a gorgeous night sky. In parallel, Sara's wings were an early dawn.

"Well, you're both here now. Let's get some stretches in before Da shows up." Sara told them. The other siblings agreed to this, arcing out their wings to warm them up for today's training. Besides flight training, their father trained them how to fight hand to hand and with weapons. Their father understood the importance of being skilled in a great many things; that included being able to protect yourself.

A flutter was heard, like the flap of a bird's wing. "No need to wait for me." A familiar voice called from behind. Pippa and her siblings turned to see their father standing behind them, his wings curling up in their usual spot behind his back.

"Da! Yay! You're here!" Harry called darting over to hug onto his waist. If there was one person Harry would always break away to hug, it was their father.

The man was well over 6 feet tall, a giant amongst mortal men quite literally. He had pale skin that somehow never burned, blue eyes that shined like stars, and soft black hair. To many outsiders, their father is an imposing man. A man not to be trifled with. To her, he was just Pippa's loving dad. A man that would do anything for his family.

"Hey Da." The twins greeted in what was almost unison. They told her before that they weren't telepathically linked, that they didn't have some magical twin bond, but in moments like these she decided they must be wrong.

"Da, it's so good to see you." Pippa came to her father's side that wasn't being squished by Harry, wrapping her arms around him. She felt his large hand brush down the small of her back, a gesture of affection he performed daily. His hands were calloused from many years of fighting with his prized weapon: the bow and arrow.

"It's good to see you four as well. Now, are you ready to start the warm up maneuvers." At their murmurs of agreement, he led them through the practice rounds. Even though he was a master at flying, their father would also perform these maneuvers too. He said it was always important to loosen up to avoid cramps during flight. Pippa didn't imagine it possible for him to get cramps, considering what he is, but she didn't call him out on it.

After they were done doing warm up laps near the ground, father had them practice flying in tight quarters. In the High Grounds, there was a patch of forest growing around the abandoned school. This was the area that they did tight quarter flying in.

With little space between the pine, willow and magnolia trees-all in full bloom- it was imperative that they used small wing strokes. Strokes that were never fully extended. If their wings spread too far they'd hurt themselves and if they moved too fast they were likely to drop to the floor. In these training sessions, father always watched from the tree tops, assuring his children were safe. On this day, Pippa was glad he did.

*******Harry's POV/Time Skip*******

Finally, it was Harry's turn to practice tight quarter flying. His father had been unsure about letting him do this type of flying so young. Harry was suspicious that this had nothing to do with age and everything to do with the lack of attention he put on flying. Sara had remarked this after he applied the puppy eyes on her. So now he was flying with a steady pace between the trees, doing his best to make everyone proud.

The forest around him was lush with greenery. Wild, springy grass grew rampant all over the place alongside tumbling roots and vines. Low hanging bushes with soft pink flowers grew here and there, spread sporadically amongst the trees. He made a quick banking turn around one of them, snagging up a few of the flowers as he flew by.

He was careful to avoid the many thorns surrounding the prickling stems. Harry had been cut enough times to have learned his lesson. Sara loves these...and they're finally in season! His eldest sister would appreciate having another one of these pretty pink things to put in her hair once more.

His next stop was the small pond at the edge of the forest. The dinky thing was about ten feet wide. As it didn't come from any stream, father had said it was a creation of excess rain water into a deep divot in the ground.

Harry didn't know what a divot was, and he didn't feel inclined to ask the walking dictionary that is his mother about it either. So he resorted making up stories as to how the pond got there in the first place. His favorite was a gigantic meteor falling from the sky and crashing there. The construction workers had hauled the thing away, leaving behind a huge hole in the ground in its place. To fill the void, the workers brought buckets upon buckets upon buckets of water there, not stopping until the hole was finally full of water.

Harry liked this story best because it was the weirdest story he'd come up with so far. His imagination was allowed to roam free at home. His father always told them "all the legends are true" and well, he didn't say made up stories couldn't count, now did he? With a happy laugh, Harry did a loop around the pond, allowing one of his wings to stretch out and touch the water.

Usually, when he did this some of the deep green water would spray up around him. It would be a cacophony of rainbow, very brief but pretty all the same. That was not what happened this time. This time, the water sprayed upwards, something else moving along with it.

A shadow rose up from the pond. It was an oozing black, with tentacles coming from just about every direction. It's face was filled with several beady red eyes. A sharp red beak was under them, with equally sharp tusks protruding from it. What was the worst was it's wings. Massive, blood red and filled to the brim with purple suctions, the beast was truly a terrifying sight.

Harry flew away in terror, letting out a fitting scream as the thing flew after him, sending trails of spewing black poison into the trees. The trees that the liquid did hit withered at its touch, letting Harry know that the sizzling liquid was some form of acid. An acid that would likely burn through him too if he wasn't careful.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAA HELP!" He cried out. A rush of fear gave him the adrenaline to out fly the monster, but he didn't know how long it would last. In his haste to get away from the creature, he forgot how to maneuver through tight spaces, which led to him crashing into a pine tree. His wings hitting the rough bark with a solid thump thump. He scrambled to his feet, turning to see the beast was just a mere three feet away now. Up close, he could see that the creature was well over ten feet tall, it's wings about the same lengthwise. It was lunging at him now, and Harry ducked his head, terrified of what was to come.

Except the pain never came. Instead, the creature let out a loud gurgling cry before collapsing into to the ground. Harry looked up at the noise, seeing his father flying very fast at the creature. His da had stabbed the thing with a glowing sword that was destroying the monster from the inside out. The creature could do nothing against his father's strong grip, his father's face betraying how he felt.

A cold fury had replace the man's affectionate smile; his fear for his son trumping all else. From Harry's point of view, his father looked like the avenging angel he was always meant to be. The man didn't even flinch as the creature withered underneath his strike before disappearing just like it had come: into thin air. The only sign the creature had been there in the first place being the withered trees and black acid laying in dark puddles on the forest floor.

Harry heaved in an unsteady breath. It's finally over, thank God. His Dad wasted no time rushing over to him, side stepping all the puddles of acid. He took the boy's face in his palms, staring searchingly into his eyes.

"Son! Are you alright? That tentacuflit demon didn't hurt you, did it?" He asked worriedly, searching his body for injuries.

Harry tried to keep his voice steady as he responded. "Y-Yea, I'm fine. Just shaken up..I'm surprised you got here as fast as you did. The pond's on the other side of the forest."

His Da rolled his eyes. "That's what family is for. I'm always going to protect you from harm...even if it's because you went to the pond I told you to stay away from." His Da chided him gently.

"Harry!" Sara shouted. She and the rest of his siblings were flying towards them.

Their eyes bright with alarm as they noticed the signs of the demon's attack. That, and Harry's shaken up form as well as the glowing sword at their father's side. The sword was covered in ichor now, rivulets of the sticky, filthy stuff dripping onto the ground. Normally, the sight of one of their father's many heavenly weapons would've had them all in awe. Now, they just sidestepped it with mild disinterest to reach their youngest brother.

Daniel was first to reach him, pulling the smaller boy into his arms. Harry felt Daniel's fierce hug, wrapping his arms around his brother to return it, albeit with less force. While his rapidly beating heart calmed down, his father explained to Pippa and Sara exactly what happened just moments before.

Daniel was listening too, but his main focus was on calming Harry down. Harry just focuses on the warmth his brother was providing. His heart slowly returned to its normal rhythmic beat. As Harry, his siblings and father are all immortal, their hearts beat differently then the mundanes did. Mundanes, like their mother. My mother, who will someday go where we can't follow...

The mere thought of it made him shudder. He forced the prospect of it a way. There was several years to go before he had to worry about that. Harry forced himself up from the ground, Daniel following him with a steadying hand on the small of his back.

"So, the demon's gone now, right?" Pippa asked.

"Yes. I made sure of that. The tentacuflit demon is now rotting in Edom where it belongs." Father scooped up his sword, wiping the shiny weapon clean of demon ichor on the grass.

"Thank goodness for that! Harry, what were you thinking, Da told you not to go out to the pond." Sara said, her tone reprimanding. Of all his siblings, Sara was the mother hen of the bunch. The rule abider.

Father cut in before Harry could respond. "That doesn't matter now. What's important is that Harry's safe. That, and that I destroy the pond. I wasn't certain, but now it's clear to me that the pond is a well-hidden demonic rift. An entrance to the demon worlds." He told them, rising to his feet.

Father didn't bother flying now. Instead, he allowed his children to follow behind him as he made his way to the pond on foot. The deep green water was the same as it always had been, a few water lilies attached to its surface. The lilies appeared as though nothing monstrous had shot out of the water moments before, only a few ripples spreading across the surface as a frog or toad swam by. The water was too murky for Harry to tell.

"Step back." Father ordered in his all business tone. With this voice, their father was every ounce the primordial being he'd always been. Harry forgot just how powerful his father is some times.

"Okay." Pippa murmured, gesturing for the others to take some steps back until they were amongst the tree line.

When father saw they were safe, he began his assault on the water. Shining white light spewed from his hands, not dissimilar to a warlock's magic. It crackled in his palms, and with a flick of a hand the energy spiraled into the pond.

The disgusting water was lifted into the air and evaporated into thin air. The few frogs and toads that made their home in it were placed gently on the ground. The little amphibians croaked in alarm, hopping away quickly. Once the water was gone, the demonic rift that had been hidden for so long finally appeared. It was a gaping thing swirling with shadow.

A burning smell rose from it, smoke rising into the air. Harry and his siblings watched as their father closed the portal with ease, the portal winking shut. It took with it the smoke and burnt smell brought with it. Harry let out a sigh of relief when it was gone. The boy was all for imagination, but that demon had been something out of a horror story.

Father turned to face them when he was done with the portal. "Remember kids, never go near one of these rifts. They're much to dangerous for any of you to handle on your own." He told them, his expression severe.

"Yes Da." Harry agreed, he didn't want to go near one of those anytime soon. Pippa and Daniel also agreed. It was Sara who had a question to ask.

"Will we ever be able to one day?" Sara asked. Father tilted his head in thought. He ended up shrugging his shoulders.

"With each day that's passed you kids have shown me just how much potential you all have to do great things. Anything is possible, but for now it's time to go home. Your mother is waiting for us right now. With dinner too." He added. Harry's stomach rumbled at that. Hearing this, Pippa barked out a laugh, the others joining in.

"Well, I can tell how Harry feels about that." Father said, amusement in his tone. He motioned for them to follow him into the sky. "Let's get going." With shared laughter, the four siblings followed their father home, the monster from the pond left behind in memory.

********Present Day/Daniel's POV********

Three figures stood on the roof of the New York Institute, their gazes focused on the people entering and exiting the building through the doors below. One in particular, had their attention. He was the tallest among them, his pale skin and dark hair making him blend in with the crowd to most people.

But not to them. The three figures could see deeper then mere flesh, and see the difference in this man's soul. The secrets behind hazel eyes that the man had no idea about. Hazel eyes that reminded Daniel of a person dear to him. A person he'd lost a short time ago.

He felt a soft nudge at his elbow. "Hey, what're you thinking about?" A gentle voice asked. Daniel turned to see Pippa's inquisitive green gaze staring at him. He sighed.

"I was thinking about the good ole days. You remember when Harry was attacked by that tentacuflit demon right?" He asked her.

"How could I forget. Mother kept bringing up for the next few years every time we got into a fight with a demon." He dipped his head in agreement.

"What about it?" Another voice asked. That voice belonged to the third occupant on the roof, that being Harry.

Harry had changed a lot since his their childhood days. His sunshine demeanor was a bit more subdued now, his clothing reflecting that. He wore an dark orange jacket, a black undershirt underneath. He wore dark blue jeans, orange and white sneakers finishing off the outfit. It was a casual look for him, one that he often wore.

He was similar to Daniel in that way, though Daniel hardly ever wore color. The blue eyed male wore a black leather with a long sleeved dark blue shirt underneath it. His jeans were also black alongside his combat boots. The lack of fashion on either of the brothers' parts was why Pippa always said it was up to her to bring fashion to the family. Because of they were doing however, Pippa's outfit wasn't too elaborate tonight.

Pippa wore plain forest green dress that went down to just above her knees, the ends of it made of lighter ruffles. Like Daniel, she wore a dark leather jacket. This one hugged her frame nicely just as the green flats on her feet felt nice on her feet.

Around her neck, she wore a silver necklace. Attached to it was a vial filled with sparkling blue energy. Her bright ginger hair flowed behind her, a thick green headband keeping the hair out of her eyes. As she hadn't cut her hair in a while, it pooled down her back reaching as far as her chest. In her ears were pearl earrings, the phosphorescent lighting of the city shading them a dark pink.

"You remember that father told us we're full of possibilities, capable of anything." Daniel said. Pippa nodded, a small smile flitting across her face. Harry became thoughtful.

"He always did believe in us...I just hope that faith wasn't misplaced." Harry replied, referring to what was soon to come.

"You're not wrong about that. I think we can though, we just can't give up once it starts." Pippa told them. Daniel nodded, his expression grim as he stared at the man below.

The hazel eyed man was talking amicably with his husband. With them were the man's siblings, who were also chatting. Outside and waiting for them was two others. One was a short ginger haired girl and a lithe boy with brown curling hair. The group was headed out to some event, if the yellow van parked out front and the tickets in their hands were anything to go by.

"Yes, and it will start any day now." He conceded, watching the group as they drove away in the van, away from the Institute they were leaving behind. Soon, the awakening would begin. Daniel could only pray that it would go well.

*****Alec's POV*****

Sunlight flittered in through the openings in their room's burgundy curtains sending spiraling sunlight down across the bed. Alec has moved out of Magnus's arms already, having woken up a few minutes earlier. He watched his husband's sleeping form with his own sleepy smile.

Whenever he woke up before Magnus, in the early hours of dawn, he loved to watch his husband sleep. Magnus was always a beautiful sight to behold, but there was just something extra special about the way he looked when he was conked out in bed beside him. His soft, tan skin was so smooth. His hair laid flat on his face, free of all the product the warlock put in it.

Most important of all was his facial features. In sleep, all of Magnus's features soften, leaving behind a Magnus untouched by any pain or sorrow. A small smile played at the warlock's lips showing a Magnus at peace with the world. Alec loved seeing that part of his man, no matter how short of a time he got to.

Beep. Beep.....Beep. Beep.

With a bleary annoyance, Alec turned to his phone on the nightstand. He always set a timer so he'd assure he wasn't late to work. Not that it always went as planned. Let's just say, Magnus could be very very distracting in the morning. And who would Alec be to deny his husband anything. At least he hadn't learned Izzy's puppy dog eyes yet. The moment his warlock learned that trick he'd truly be doomed.

The time on the phone read 8:00. As it was the weekend, and one of Alec's few days off at that, he allowed himself a lazy morning in. Magnus too had scheduled that he'd be off work today so that they could enjoy a lazy day in. That, and they were to meet Jace, Izzy and the others tonight at the New York Institute to head to a concert in town.

He was never interested in these types of things, but the only one who shared his view was Jace. Sadly, the Parabatai were outvoted. Alec supposed, as long as Izzy and Clary didn't go to overboard on the squealing about their favorite singers, he'd be okay. That, and if Magnus regaled them in his many adventures at concerts during his lifetime. Alec could listen to his husband talk all day long. He could never get tired of listening to his melodic voice, especially when it was happy.

With a yawn, he hauled himself up from bed careful not to wake the sleeping occupant still in it. Casting one last glance at his husband he then made his way out into the den. He'd learned upon living with Magnus for over the past year that the man loved redecorating when the mood struck. As such, a black leather couch was in the center of the room with two similar arm chairs on either side facing a flat screen tv on top a big cabinet block where several movies were stored. The storage thing was painted a nice white color.

This was for movie nights with friends...a tradition they tried to hold each Friday. It was also for when Magnus educated Alec in Mundane culture...or Project Runway. Magnus really likes Project Runway, and Alec would never admit it aloud but he was starting to like it too.

In between laid a soft purple rug, a glass rectangular table atop of that. This was for drinks and the occasional fashion magazine or newspaper. As both of them enjoyed cleanliness, everything was usually in its rightful case. This didn't include the Apothecary, as Magnus constantly had to keep supplies on tables whether for potion brewing or clients on a daily basis.

As of this month, the walls in the den were set as a deep blue that matched one of the designer suits Magnus bought for him. It had been a very passionate night when the walls changed color....his husband said in he'd been inspired while tugging the threads off him as they stumbled into the bedroom.

With a leisurely pace, he made his way over to the record player that was placed not far from the balcony. Being an immortal and a lover of classical hits, his husband kept a wide variety of records nearby. Being a lover of music throughout the ages he also had a CD player and speaker system on the other side of the dining room table. Alec scooped up one of the records, sliding it on the player and starting the music. A soft beat started playing, filling the room with relaxing sound. He then made his way into the kitchen.

Simon and Clary had both came over last night to hang out while their significant others were at some Clave meeting Alec didn't have to go to for once. While he usually had a long day of work, being the Inquisitor and all, he'd gotten done a couple hours early. As a result, he got to spend a few hours with the pair alone before Magnus returned home from his client. The duo stayed over for dinner, for which Alec made chicken fettuccine.

He was still annoyed by Simon's constant chattering, but he did appreciate how much the other male cared for his sister. He'd never seen Isabelle so happy before, and he knew that Simon was good for her. The over talkative vampire had grown on him. Though he might not be a vampire much longer...

Humming to himself Alec moved to grab a few of the pans underneath the stove. These pans were a burgundy red on the outside with a black filling. Walking over to the fridge he got out the frozen ingredients needed for bacon, eggs and pancakes.

He set them down on the cabinet before grabbing the rest of the ingredients from the nearby cabinets. Like the TV cabinets, these were also white. Unlike the ones out in the den, these had sleek granite countertops. For the next twenty to twenty five minutes Alec put all his focus into the pans with their contents sizzling on the stove.

********Magnus's POV/Time Skip********

Magnus woke up to the smell of a pleasant aroma coming from outside his room. Hmmm...Alec's cooking again. His husband had gotten better in the culinary arts ever since the stew fiasco. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he got out of bed, the currently golden sheets pooling around him.

He grabbed the black silk robe he hung up on the door hook and slipped it on. In lazy mornings like these, his robe and boxers were usually all he wore. They weren't expecting company this morning so there was no need to rush getting ready.

The door opened with a soft creak as he made his way out into the den. From here he could smell the aroma of breakfast even more, his stomach letting out a small rumble in anticipation. Magnus wasn't more of a morning person outside of his husband's days off from work. Those days all bets were off because he always wanted to make the most of them. His eyes flickered over the many pictures hanging on the walls as he made the way to the kitchen.

Most all the photos were of him and Alec. There were several photos from dates that happend in all sorts of places in the world. He particularly had a soft spot for the photos from a photo booth in Tokyo commemorating one of their first dates in another country. He fondly gazed at the wedding pictures and honeymoon pictures. Those are some of the best moments of his entire life. Magnus had lived for a long time, but he'd never been married. Everyday being married to Alec was like a brand new adventure to him.

"Oh great, you're up! Good morning, I was just finishing setting the table." Alec called out to him.

Magnus turned in time to see Alec set down the last plate of food on the kitchen table before making his way over to him. The young Shadowhunter gave him a swift peck on the lips which Magnus happily returned before Alec led him over to the table, his callused hand gently gripping one of his own. His husband pulled out his chair, pushing him in close to the table before moving to sit down himself.

"Good morning to you too." Magnus murmured. "I see you've been up and about already." He gestured to the plates of pancakes, bacon and eggs. Beside them were glasses of fresh orange juice.

Alec gave him a nod. "Yea...I was hungry and I wanted to do something nice for you so..." he gestured lamely to the table. Magnus grinned at him, reaching over to put his hand on top of Alec's.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture." He murmured. Alec grinned back at him. The two ate in companionable silence, exchanging a few aimless words. The sun continued its descent into the sky and the music of the record player kept on going.

*******Time Skip/Jace's POV*******

Jace was laughing as he once again pinned Simon underneath him. The vampire was glaring up at him. Both were covered in slick sweat after training for the past two hours. After several months of training, the two had advanced to swords. Jace's seraph blade gleamed at his touch, Simon's didn't but that was for obvious reasons. Every so often however, a faint flicker of light shined in it. If Jace had to guess, this was because Simon is a Daylighter.

"Hehe...looks like you lost again." Jace remarked. Simon let out a huff of annoyance, his brown eyes blazing.

"Yea well just you wait, I'll get you next time." He promised. Jace snorted at that, holding back the I doubt that in his tongue. He stepped off the other male, extending a hand to haul him to his feet. Simon gladly took it, trying to appear unruffled as Clary and Isabelle approached them.

The two girls had been training this morning already and had taken out some time to watch them. Ever since Clary had been reintroduced to the Shadow World, she'd been hard at work learning every skill she knew in the past. Her memories were proving to be the biggest challenge to her, because while Clary did remember so so much...there was also parts of her memory that were still missing.

She'd described it to Jace once as sifting through sand on the beach. She kept looking for the buried treasure that is her memories, but some of them still were out of reach. Catarina had scanned Clary's mind for the past few months in a row. The healer warlock had told them that Clary's mind was in a state of flux. It was as if in her effort to remember, she pushed certain memories out of reach. Both Magnus and Catarina ended up concluding that only time would tell if Clary would indeed recall everything or not.

Ever since Clary had returned to them, something Jace still thanks the Angel for, she'd been training in a lot of things. When his girlfriend realized that she'd asked Izzy to be Parabatai before she lost her memory, Clary had been eager to start working towards that goal again. Normally, Parabatai pairings were formed at a younger age, but the Clave had decided as this was a special circumstance that they'd still allow it.

Jace was happy for them. Having a Parabatai was one of the best things in the world. He didn't know what he'd do if he had to go through life without Alec by his side. He could feel his brother's heart beating alongside his own, his emotions and energy to something Jace could anchor himself on.

"Hey guys!" Clary greeted, her eyes sparkling. "Looks like Jace took you out again huh Si. I thought you said this was gonna be the day you'd finally beat him for a second time." Clary teased her lifelong friend.

"Unfortunately, there's only so much vamp speed can do against extra angelic might Fray. I'll get him next time for sure." He promised, placing his sword back on the rack that was next to them. Jace went to do the same.

Izzy came over to her boyfriend, her hands landing on Simon's shoulders so she could pull him in for a chaste kiss. Jace looked away, making a mild gagging sound at the PDA. Clary swatted him for being an idiot. In response, Jace tugged Clary close to his side, not minding the sweat that clung to him.

When she pulled back she added in. "He did have you on the ropes for a while there Jace. Don't try to deny it." She remarked. Simon beamed at his girlfriend, kissing her again.

Jace rolled his eyes. "Suuuuureee." He said sarcastically. "And I suppose next you'll tell me Magnus likes acid washed jeans."

Isabelle snorted at that. "I'm surprised you know that about him. I didn't think you were paying attention when you were dragged along to the mall last week."

Jace shuddered at the mention of that boring experience of last week. It was a time he'd rather forget. He didn't know how someone could spend an hour in that place...let alone five. He also didn't know how Alec went through it daily. It's probably because he's so whipped for Magnus. His Parabatai was completely compliant to his husband's will on almost every occasion. The Shadowhunter was more than happy to do whatever his husband wanted. Jace supposed he would be the same way...but only with Clary.

"Yea, well shopping for clothes is boring. I still don't know how you two managed to spend an hour in the makeup aisle." He muttered.

Izzy gave him a smile. "What can I say, beauty takes time." She tossed her hair over her shoulders. Ever since Isabelle had become the head of the NY Institute, she often wore her hair up. To see it down was an uncommon occurrence.

Simon stared at Izzy with a dreamy smile as he gazed at his girlfriend. Jace wanted to gag again. Izzy and Simon had been together for over a year now. The couple were so smitten with each other, almost to the level Magnus and Alec were at. Not that anyone could ever beat Alec in the smitten contest...except maybe Magnus. Those two truly are lovebirds to say the least.

"It certainly does." Simon agreed. The vampire moved so he kept one arm wrapped around Izzy, the other extending to wrap around Clary. Back when they first met, Jace would've been annoyed by the affectionate gestures Simon often showed Clary. Now he recognized them for the friendly gestures that they indeed were. He had moved on from being jealous long ago, becoming good friends with Simon during his separation from Clary.

"So, you guys should go get cleaned up before we leave for dinner. Remember, we've got that big concert to go to tonight." Clary told them.

Jace nodded, using the towel he left on the table to wipe his face clean of sweat. He tossed the other one to Simon who caught it with ease. Vampires couldn't sense temperature changes, being dead and all though they still could sweat if their body heat went up high enough. Simon had a thin sheen of sweat himself, so he began wiping his face clean.

"What time's the concert again?" Jace asked. It had been a few weeks since Simon had bought the tickets. Whoever the band was, Simon, Izzy and Clary had been talking about them for several weeks. Jace didn't care enough to learn the band's name, but whoever it was, the three liked them a lot.

"The concert starts at 8, but everyone knows its best to get there around thirty minutes to an hour early if we want to get a good spot." Clary told him.

"Like that'll matter for you. You always sit on Alec's shoulders during concerts, remember." Jace said.

"It's true, " Simon agreed, "with Alec's towering height, you've got the best seat in the house." He said jokingly. Clary mock glared at him, but there was no real heat behind it.

Izzy leaned in and whispered something into the other girl's ear, causing her to snicker. He wasn't sure what his sister said, but it sounded an awful lot like 'Jace, Magnus and jealous'. This also sounded right, as Jace and Magnus would look at the pair jealously during concerts. Jace jealous because he wanted Clary on his shoulders. Magnus jealous because he wanted Alec all to himself, shoulders and all.

Jace cleared his throat. "If that's all, we should hurry. The restaurant reservations are set for 6:00, and it's already almost 5 now. And you two take forever to get ready." He gestured to the girls. Izzy huffed, but didn't disagree with him. Jace had a point about girls taking their time in getting ready.

Izzy gave Simon another kiss before stepping away from him. "Did you bring a change of clothes here or do you need to go back to your apartment?" She asked him.

"I brought a change of clothes with me earlier. They're in Jace's room. I'll see you in the foyer in about an hour." Izzy agreed, the two going their separate ways.

Jace watched them go before turning back to Clary. "I'll see you an hour too then." She grinned and nodded.

His girlfriend reached up on to her tip toes, pulling him down by the back of his neck for a kiss. Jace pulled her close to him, their bodies brushing. Kissing Clary always filled him with such euphoria. It was like he felt a bit of heaven in every kiss. Maybe it was all the Angel blood. Who knows? When she broke away, he couldn't help the whine of protest that sounded off in the back of his throat.

Clary smirked at his response. "Don't be late." She told him, strutting away. Jace watched her go, staring shamelessly at the work of art his girlfriend is. By the Angel, I've got to keep her from spending so much time around Izzy. At this rate, I won't be able to control myself.

He had a feeling Clary wouldn't mind that though, not from him. The red head had become much more confident since her return to the Shadow World. Jace found it enticingly hot, but also troublesome for him. Especially when it came to getting work done. Eh, but what can I do? It's not like I mind. With those thoughts in mind he left the training hall.

*******Time Skip/ Alec's POV*******

Alec tugged at the sleek black tie around his neck, making sure it was on right. He was in front of the mirror now examining his choice of clothing for the evening out. He is wearing a black blazer with a blue undershirt. Black pants and loafers rounded off what Magnus termed a 'dashing' look for him. The most important accessory he wore, his silver ring glistened on his finger. Alec couldn't see the words currently, but he could feel the engraving of 'aku ciinta kamu' in Magnus's lilting handwriting there.

Satisfied with his look, Alec moved to sit on the bed to wait for his husband. Magnus was already in his outfit of choice for the night. His husband was doing his last minute make up touches before they headed out. Like Alec, the warlock was wearing a black blazer and tie. He wore a burgundy red under shirt underneath that. Sleek black pants and boots with red varnish finished off the look alongside his own collection of rings.

Magnus wore less rings nowadays, saying that as long as he wore the most important one (the engagement/wedding ring) then all was well. Alec thought it was because Magnus just like proudly proclaiming that he was very much taken. Whatever the case was, it made Alec feel warm inside.

Hearing the sink shut off he stared at the door in anticipation. Magnus opened the door and stepped out. Alec was unsurprised to see the brilliant red streaks in Magnus's now coiffed hair. His husband always enjoyed dying the tips of his hair and was even trying to get Alec to try it as of late. So far, Alec had only done it once, along with painting his nails. That was quite an interesting day...

Magnus moved forward to kiss him softly. When he stepped back, he said, "Well pup, I think it's time we got going." With an elaborate flick of the wrist, a portal opened in front of them. They were set to meet the others at the Institute, with Simon's van to take them to dinner and then the concert.

Alec mock glared at his husband. "Pup? Again Magnus? Why do keep using that nickname?" Magnus let out a small laugh, not at all surprised with his disgruntled expression.

"What can I say dearest, around the other Shadowhunters you act so strong and intimidating, " Magnus walked around him, his arms stroking down his sides. Alec nodded, this was true. "But at home, you act like the big, adorable softie you are deep down. My pup." Magnus tugged Alec to his side, two arms wrapped tight around him bringing him in close.

As Magnus was wearing slight heels on his boots, so they were around the same height now. Alec couldn't help but flush at his husband's words. He pressed his face into the crook of Magnus's neck, breathing in his sandalwood aroma. Alec was much more use to Magnus's flirty and teasing mannerisms nowadays, but he still was caught off guard once in a while. Especially when he uses that infernal nickname.

Though personally, Alec didn't mind it. Nicknames were one of the many ways his husband showed he cared about him. Not that I'll ever tell him that. Nope, the secret that he liked being called pup would likely be taken to his grave.

Alec pulled away from Magnus, having thought of a witty comeback. "Well, if I'm your pup, then your my kitten." Alec emphasized the words grinning.

Magnus was surprised by the comeback. "Alexander. I'm over 800 years old...I don't see how I could be a kitten." Alec wanted to coo at the reddening of his husband's cheeks. Magnus was rarely one to blush, but when he did...By the Angel, he's just so adorable.

Alec booped him on the nose, laughing. He then grabbed his husband's hands in his own, their rings clinking together. "Yes, you are. You have the beautiful cat eyes, you love being cuddled and loved on and you also are quite territorial just like a cat. Remember how you got around Underhill?" Alec teased, pressing a kiss to his husband's forehead.

Magnus flushed even more, trying to think of a good response. He couldn't come up with one, so he conceded to Alec's point. "Ugh, fine. I suppose you have a point. But at any rate, your still my pup. The most adorable and hottest Shadowhunter to ever live." Magnus said smugly at Alec's darkened flush. The warlock knew he'd one this round.

Alec didn't know whether to be pleased at being called the hottest Shadowhunter or embarrassed at being termed most adorable. Either way, his cheeks were flushing a dark red. He resigned to changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Okay fine, but let's get going now. We don't want to keep the others waiting." Alec told him. Magnus agreed and together the two stepped into the portal to the Institute.

*******Magnus's POV******

The entrance to the New York Institute was as it always had been in the evening, busy. Shadowhunters muttered their hellos as they entered and exited the building. The ones who were leaving were decorated in fresh gear, swords and daggers, whips and staffs, bows and arrows all with them to varying levels. Magnus was certain that even though he saw plenty of weapons in these Shadowhunters, they had many concealed weapons on their persons as well.

The returning Shadowhunters were those who'd been out on patrol earlier. He could see it in the lack of weapons some of them carried. More importantly he saw in in the ichor covering their gear and the visible wounds littering their skin. Luckily, none of them seemed to severe but Magnus still watched them go with a little worry. He may not like all Shadowhunters, but most of the people at the NY Institute were kind enough to him and it wouldn't please him to see them hurt.

"Alec! Magnus! Good to see you two are here on time." A familiar voice called.

Magnus and Alec turned in almost perfect unison to see Jace coming towards them, Simon on his heels. Both young men were dressed accordingly for tonight's events. Alec broke away from his grip on Magnus's hand to wrap his arms around his Parabatai, pulling him in for a hug that Jace gladly returned.

When they pulled away Alec went to Simon an awkwardly shook his hand. Simon had told Magnus once that he was determined to get Alec to like him; Magnus in response had told him 'good luck'. Alec and Simon were somewhat closer now but the Shadowhunter still regarded Simon with mild distaste.

Magnus knew this had nothing to do with Simon. It did however have everything to do with the vampire's relationship with Izzy. As long as the Simon and Izzy were dating only, Alec would pretend not to like Simon. Secretly, Alec did view him as a friend...and also the best boyfriend Izzy had thus far. Not that he'll tell Simon that anytime soon.

While Simon and Alec were doing their usual greeting, Magnus sidled up to Jace. "Hello Jace. How was the training session today?" He knew Simon and Jace had been sparring earlier that day, Alec had told him this morning. Apparently Simon was determined to win.

Jace let out a chuckle, his mismatched eyes gleamed in the low light of the Institute's front entrance. "It went the same as usual. Simon tried to win but as always didn't succeed." Jace had a cocky smirk on his face.

"Oh really. But I heard you moved onto practicing with swords. From what I've heard, that means he's beaten you at least once." Magnus said.

Jace scratched his neck at that. "Well, he got lucky one time. It won't happen again." He assured the warlock.

Magnus bit back a chuckle, giving Jace a friendly pat on the shoulder instead. "Sure it won't. I've lived for a very long time, and one of the things I've learned is that you can never say never. It just makes whatever it is more likely to happen." Jace was about to reply when another voice cut them off.

"Big Brother! Magnus! So good to see you!" Izzy's cheerful voice called. The guys turned to see Isabelle and Clary walking down the Institute steps to meet them on the sidewalk. Both girls were dressed stylishly as always, their heels clacking on the hard ground.

"Izzy! Biscuit! So good to see you both." Magnus store forward to pull them both into a hug. Alec offered a similar greeting, pulling both girls into a hug. When Alec broke away from Clary, Simon piped in. The male was checking his watch studiously; it was a nice brown Rolex Magnus had gotten him for Christmas the other year.

"Guys, hate to end the welcoming party but we need to get going. We have less then fifteen minutes to to get to the restaurant." He told them.

"Then let's get to it, shall we." Clary linked arms with Jace, the two headed for the van parked out front. The other two couples held hands, following them over to the van. None of them noticed the three figures watching them from the rooftop above.

******Alec's POV******

It was another busy day at work for the Inquisitor. Alec was busy at work in his office reviewing forms and signing documents. He was currently skimming through one of the pages for the new draft of the Accords. Every some odd amount of years, the Clave would get together with the Down Worlders to have the document renewed.

This go around, Alec hoped to add in some new clauses that he hoped wouldn't be too controversial to the rest of the Clave. It would be much easier to promote new changes if a majority of the representatives are on board. This was why he was carefully going through everything, making sure to word every clause he'd added just right.

There had been a slight ache in his head all morning. The steady pounding of blood in his ears raged on within him, making his eyes hurt as he read the forms. The small print wasn't doing anything good for him. He'd taken some headache medicine for the pain this morning. Alec had figured that the ache was from the alcohol of last night, the concert a fond memory hung on tethered hooks in the back of his mind like a net.

Alec hadn't gotten drunk last night per say, though he was at least a little tipsy by the time they'd left the stadium. So when he woke up with a hurting head this morning, his arms wrapped around his husband, Alec had been certain it was just a bit of a hangover of sorts. The headache hadn't left him yet though, and it was continuing to grow more and more bothersome.

There was a knock at the door, a resounding sound that echoed throughout the room. Alec glanced at the clock he kept at his desk. It was a small wooden thing, sturdy but old. It had been here for a long time, one of the few relics from past Inquisitors that he'd left in the room. An Angelic Power rune was scrawled across its back in an inky black paint.

Alec had no idea why that rune was placed there and he supposed he never would. He squinted at it to read the thing, the sun coming in through the windows making its surface a bit too reflective for his liking. The time on it read 11:30. Ah, so he's finally here...oh joy....This was one meeting Alec wasn't looking forward to.

Not bothering to look up, he called out to the person outside the room. "Come in." The door opened and closed, the new occupant coming into his office.

"Lightwood, I'd say its a pleasure to see you, but you and I both know it's not." The voice told him.

Alec looked up to see Horace Dearborn sitting down in the chair across from his desk. Horace Dearborn, aka one of the most biggest thorns in his side since becoming Inquisitor over a year ago. Sighing, he put away his form. He knew he wouldn't be able to work on it while this jerk was in the room.

"Horace Dearborn, what can I do for you?" He asked, forcing the politeness in his tone. The man in front of him was wearing one of his usual fine trimmed suits. It was a grayish color that matched the greying tinge of his short reddish brown hair. The man's eyes regarded him narrowly with a coldness Alec felt right back at him.

"I'm here because your new proposals are outrageous. You must get rid of them at once." Horace said with a barely concealed anger.

Alec barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Oh, do tell? How are my proposals...outrageous, as you say?"

"You can't possibly believe we should work alongside Downworlders. Making your little downworlder cabinets a mandatory thing......it just can't be done." The man practically growled.

Alec responded with an even tone. "Oh, really? But we haven't even tried yet, so how would you know? In New York, having the cabinet has improved relations massively. It's created a transparency we should always have with the rest of the Shadow World."

Dearborn snorted at that, responding in a snide tone. "Just because it works in New York doesn't mean it will work out elsewhere. If you haven't noticed, Downworlders are nothing but monsters. Slaves to their impulses of destruction and other demonic acts. But I suppose you're blinded by love, what with you shacking up with one of the monsters and all." The man was smirking at the end of it, feeling triumphant.

Now, Alec is a very patient man. When it comes to anger, he wasn't one to just explode on people. That was his siblings' job. Jace and Izzy were like two bursting volcanoes when they were mad. They would spew fire into the sky, burning red everywhere with smoke blinding the sky with its thick, puffy clouds. Their anger, while not always justified was passionate and truly how they felt at that exact moment.

Alec was a different story. Being the eldest of four children, Alexander Gideon Lightwood had heavy expectations on him from early on. As he was the one meant to be in charge of the Institute someday his parents taught him how to act, and more so how to control his emotions. 'Emotions cloud judgement'...his voice echoed in his mind.

Alec had changed a lot since that phrase had been drilled into him. So much so one could say he was a different person now. In Alec's opinion it was a better one. Any person with Magnus by their side would be.

Buuuutttt, just because he was a tactful politician that didn't mean he never was angered. No, Alec could get mad. Instead of letting it show though he let it fester inside of him, concealed by intimidating flares and a forced politeness he didn't agree with whatsoever. Normally, the festering anger would fizzle out with time.

After all, when people are made its often due to circumstance, having not processed information to fully ponder things out before reacting accordingly. In the heat of the moment, many people are prone to saying things they don't mean. When said people look back on it, they realize often that they should've said things differently or even worse, that they said things they really didn't mean.

Alec's anger was often contained. It was let out in the quiet peace of home late at night; Magnus's comforting presence along with the safety of the loft always made Alec relax and unwind. The two talking things out always helped him to destress. In fact, there had been many meetings with Clave members now that had resulted in that very outcome. Today was not one of those days.

Alexander is a well contained person but like all people he has boundaries. One of those boundaries happens to be Magnus. As in, no one talks ill of his husband. Alec would rip them metaphorically into pieces if they did. And it didn't help that he was speaking badly about the DownWorld in its entirety too. Not that it was surprising, as Dearborn was never one to hide the fact that he despised all those with demon blood.

So Dearborn was about to meet the same fate now as he sat in his office, leaning backwards in the chair across from him. The smug jerk was still wearing that obnoxious grin that Alec wants to beat out of him. Yes, when Alec gets truly mad, he's like a destructive volcano that hasn't been active for a very long time. One of the most deadliest kind of all.

"Excuse me. What did you just say?" Alec spat out icily. "I know you weren't talking about my husband like that." He stared at the other man with narrowed hazel eyes. His head continued to ache, but he ignored it for now.

Dearborn hadn't yet noticed Alec's barely concealed rage so he repeated himself. The audacity that man had in saying such awful things made him want to go out and give Dearborn a proper beating he no doubt deserved. As the man was a respected Clave member (why was beyond him) Alec relegated himself to verbally beating him up instead.

"I know that you don't like Downworlders. You've made that fact very clear. Despite that, many many shadowhunters do not share your, dare I say horrid opinion. You and your little 'friends', " Alec spat out, referring to Dearborn's followers, "are some of the worst representatives the Clave could ever have. You have no respect for our allies and continue to treat them like garbage. If you ever, and I mean ever talk about my husband like that again, I will do what ever it takes to make sure that your prejudice is made very clear to the rest of the representatives, along with all the horrible things you've done in the past few years." Alec all but snarled.

Dearborn stared at him with an inquisitive gaze, his face beginning to perspire. The man seemed worry now. Alec knew that the other guy understood he was angry. Good, maybe now he'll show some respect. His headache continued to rage on, blood pulsating in his ears. Alec let the pain fuel him, ready for another speech if the need arose.

Thankfully he didn't have to. Dearborn rose to his feet rather hastily, the chair creaking behind him as it was pushed back. The man's eyes darted to the door, a surefire sign he was ready to leave. Beneath that was a hint of anger, no doubt from getting told off. Alec hadn't even needed to go through the long list of wrongdoings Dearborn and his 'cohorts' had been participating in.

The man understood he already knew several of them. Alec had a terrible suspicion there was even more wrongdoings that even the Clave didn't know about. Wrongdoings that would lead to worse things for the Shadowhunters. But as there wasn't much in the means of hard evidence, Alec knew this was one snake he wouldn't be able to catch right now. The knowledge sent a trill of fiery rage through him, but he tampered it down.

"I'll take my leave then." Dearborn responded, not waiting for Alec's response before leaving. The door closed with an ominous clang, like a foreshadowing of what might come later on. Alec stared at the door for a few more moments, analyzing the chipping paint in its structure. Then her turned back to his forms, the aching in his head remaining as a constant unwanted companion for the duration of the day.

******Pippa's POV******

Pippa and her brothers often made a challenge of getting into new places without permission. With Alicante it was a different story. None of the nephilim of the present would know about Pippa, Harry or Daniel or that they'd been welcome in the City of Glass before the Adamas towers were even created. As this was the case, the three of them slipped in undetected to the homeland of the angel blooded warriors.

The three were currently perusing a weapon's shop known as Diana's Arrow. Apparently, the shop owner wasn't there today and hadn't been for a few months. Diana Wrayburn was said to be tutoring some young Shadowhunters over at the LA institute giving Pippa and her brothers the perfect opportunity to shop without curious eyes watching them. Harry let them in through the back entrance, his lock picking skills worked like a charm.

No one knew they were in the store. As buildings in Alicante didn't have any wards (those were around the city with the Towers) the three didn't need to worry about any alarms going off. Daniel had told them to pick out some weapons for the upcoming mission ahead. The three were running low on certain supplies so this was the perfect time to stock up.

The store was well-lit in witch light stone lighting, a soft blue white filling the air. This was the only light in the establishment, as the yellowed curtains were draped over the windows. Even if they hadn't been, Pippa doubted anyone would've seen them. The windows were covered in dust and grime. Whoever owns the place hasn't been here for a very long time.

Normally, the three would've gone to an establishment that was open but as they were trying to remain undetected they went with the place that had been recommended to them from a friend. Diana's Arrow was known for its massive cache of weapons. The most proudly crafted ones created by Wayland the Smith were sitting neatly in many holsters. Little did the shop know that the famed weapons master was actually in the room right now. Out of all the weapons, those weapons had only the thinnest layers of dust.

From somewhere in the store, she heard Daniel sneeze. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that he did. She'd scooped up a whip to examine, a sturdy silver thing made of powerful electrum, and found dust clumped all over it. She shook the thing out, letting the grayish clumps pile up on the hardwood flooring.

Despite the dust, Pippa could still see that the store was well organized. Each aisle of shelves was labeled with what type of weapons were there. Pippa had headed down the aisle with whips, Daniel went to the bow and arrow section, and Harry over to the swords. The checkout center was easy to find. It was a big mahogany island with a cash register and golden bell sitting on it. Behind the island was a yellowing plaque with weapon prices on it.

Her hands rested on the weapons she chose. A leather whip wound with electrum and two golden daggers with platinum hilts. Personally, Pippa was into daggers as her weapon of choice. The whip was a secondary option, something someone else long gone would've liked. She didn't really know why but she found herself buying it regardless. All the siblings had this problem, doing things for a missing person that would never return.

"Hey sis! Did you see all my weapons on the shelves. I must say, they really do treasure the genuine articles huh." Harry said happily. In his right hand he gripped a silver long sword made by...well, himself. The male was examining it now, looking gleefully like a kid at a candy store. Considering weapons were one of Harry's favorite things in the world she supposed that rang true.

"Yes. I guess they don't recall what an idiot you are." She said with a chuckle. Harry pouted at her, letting out a small whine.

"Aw...come on Pip, you know you love me." He said, making kissy noises. She glared at him, pushing him away.

"Of course I do, but call me Pip again and I'll backhand you into next week." She warned, twirling one of her daggers.

"Fiiiiiiinnnnnnneeeee. You're no fun." Harry sighed, going to fish out the money needed to pay for his long sword. He stared at the cash speculatively in his hand, looking thoughtful.

"Ya know, since I am Wayland the Smith, you'd think I wouldn't have to pay for my own weapons." He began. Pippa let out a snort.

"Uh huh, you and I both recall you gave all those away virtually for free back then. You'd think you would've been a better business man. All the stuff you made is worth a fortune now." She responded.

"Ouch, that's hurtful. Though your not wrong. With the all the money these are going for now, just imagine if I were to make even more, selling them for these prices. I'd be rich!" He said, grinning.

"Har, we're already rich, remember. We've been alive for about a thousand years. If time doesn't give you an opportunity to acquire wealth, then I don't know what will." She put her money into the register, grabbing Harry's and doing the same.

"You're not wrong." He agreed. "Though I think I will start making new weapons again." Pippa gave him a curious look.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that with no weapon's forge?" She asked him.

Both of them recalled Harry's forge. Before the Iron Sisters existed, Harry had been one of the weapon's masters responsible for creating the weapons for all the other Shadowhunters to use. His forge had been right near the heart of a dormant volcano. The place was constantly scorching with heat but Harry had never been one to mind.

The brick walls of the establishment were constantly filled with fresh coals and delectable adamas. Harry had once told her that working with those materials had filled him with such a euphoria that it made him feel like he was in Heaven. Father had laughed at that, saying he knew from personal experience that Heaven wasn't the kind of place to fill one's hair with soot everyday.

They'd all laughed at that, Harry resigning himself to a fate of showering daily. Not that her brother had minded the mess, but his wife at the time certainly did. So did his husband almost a hundred years later. It was still mind boggling to Pippa that her brother would fall in love with people that were such clean freaks compared to him. I guess opposites do attract after all.

"Well, I guess you have a point there. Maybe the Iron Sisters would let me work with them if I told them who I was." He said.

"Hmmm, maybe, but I doubt they'll believe you. Last I heard, they believe you're dead." She reminded him.

Yes, the three siblings were immortal, making staying in touch with certain mortal acquaintances impossible at times. As their father once told them, they could never reveal what they are to the Mortal world as those people would likely fear them. As a result, Pippa, Harry and Daniel always had to move from place to place every ten years or so. In the case of the nephilim, they'd had to fake their own deaths. Leaving had left a sour aftertaste in her hearts but she knew even then that it was unavoidable.

Harry let out a bitter laugh at that. "Yea, they certainly do."

Daniel picked this moment to return to them. Slung over his shoulder was a sleek black bow. A quiver of arrows was alongside it, blue fletches (I think that's the word for it, someone correct me if otherwise) on each end of the shaft. The blue matched Daniel's eyes, something a fashion savvy person such as herself appreciated.

Wound tightly around his wrist was another whip. Spotting Pippa's already bought whip, he rubbed at his own awkwardly. Pippa couldn't help but feel bad for him. Out of all of them, the twins had shared the deepest connection. Losing that...well she didn't like to think about it.

Hastily, the eldest placed his own money in the register before turning to meet them. "I checked out upstairs while I was at it. I think we can make a home base here for a while. It's close to our target and the owner isn't set to be back for another two months." Daniel told them. The clinical way that the eldest referred to their own father as a target didn't settle well with Pippa at all.

"How's the room situation?" Harry asked curiously.

"Why, you worried about sharing a bed with one of us?" Pippa teased. "We don't bite." She poked him in the shoulder with one of her daggers.

Harry mock glared at her. "Of course not. I just don't want you stealing all the covers again."

"Oh yea, well at least I'm not a starfish that takes up the entire bed." She retorted.

"That was one time in Venice and you know it!" He glared. The two squabbling made Daniel rolled his eyes, so done with their crap. He watched them with bored blue eyes, not entertained by their fighting. The opposite of her...somewhere in her mind recalled.

"If you two are done squabbling I'd really appreciate it. We need to get back to the matter at hand." Daniel told them. The two turned to him, feeling sheepish. Silly squabbles over beds didn't matter, not with everything else going on.

"Sorry." The two muttered. Daniel gave a little nod in response.

"If you would've let me finish, I would've been able to tell you that there are three rooms. So one for each of us. We'll teleport some of our stuff into the rooms and then get down to business." Seeing the other two agree, Daniel headed up the stairs with his new weapon in tow. Pippa and Harry weren't far behind him.

The upstairs of the shop was much like the downstairs. Faded yellow curtains blocked out the incoming light from outside. The hallway walls were painted a gentle green, many pictures hung all over it. Pippa's fingertips drifted over a few of them gently. Most of them were covered with a thin film of dust. Pictures like this included two older adults with two children, one boy and one girl. The boy seemed strangely unhappy in most of the photos, but Pippa had no idea as to why that might be.

The newer photos were much easier to examine. The frames on them were brand new, with small runes engraved on them. Runes for family and love. She grinned at one of the pictures in particular. This picture had a young woman with two kids. None of them were related, that much was clear. Despite that however the photo seemed to scream out family at her. They faintly reminded her of herself and her brothers.

The young girl had blond hair with confident brown eyes. The boy next to her had his arms wrapped around her in a friendly gesture, his blue green eyes sparkling as they were fixed on the girl. She could see the Parabatai rune peeking out from under the boy's short sleeved shirt on his shoulder. It was only a guess, but she suspected the two were indeed Parabatai.

The woman beside them had been in many of the other pictures. Her hair cascaded around her face in silky waves. The woman's eyes screamed to a knowledge that she knew a lot despite her young age. Placing the photo back on the counter she'd found it, Pippa went to the room neither of her brother's had claimed as of yet.

The walls were a pale pink, the bed spread queen sized. There was a mahogany dresser, and a small closet by the window. A lamp sat by the bed, a spiraling leaf pattern decorating it. There was a small half bath attached to the room...she supposed the accommodations would do for now.

With a flick of the wrist, she began to summon up some of her belongings for their stay in the shop. She reminded herself that she'd leave clean the place up before they left; it would be a sufficient payment for staying there over the next few days.

*******Magnus's POV*******

To say Magnus's day had been boring would've been a massive understatement. Over the past seven hours, he'd dealt with six clients. All of which had made rather ridiculous requests of him. He could still recall the first two experiences, they'd left a sour taste in his mouth.

How on earth did they think resurrecting a greater demon to make their sweet sixteen party phenomenal was a good idea? And the second one, wanting their dog to be a human so they could talk to them and understand what they're saying? I get that dogs are friends, sure, but turning them human....that just seems a step too far. Not to mention all the things that could go wrong...

His thoughts were interrupted by a key sliding into the lock at the door. He looked at the clock across the apartment. Realizing that it was already 6:30 pm, he perked up. That must be Alexander! He grinned as the door opened, his husband footsteps sounding in the apartment. Eventually his figure appeared in the entryway of the Apothecary where Magnus was. The warlock had been working in the Apothecary for the past hour, making up a potion for a client coming by tomorrow morning.

Alec smiled at Magnus spotted him, going over to meet the other man who'd been across the room behind one of the shelves in the room. The two embraced happily, kissing one another for a few minutes. There kisses were sweet and gentle, the feather light feeling of filling Magnus with euphoria.

"Hello Alexander, glad to see you're back home from work." Magnus said as they broke apart, Alec's arms still wrapped around Magnus's waist. The other man bent forward nuzzling into his neck.

"I missed you today." Alec murmured quietly, Magnus strained to hear his words. The warlock grinned when he made sense of them.

"I missed you too sweetheart. How was your day? I hope Dearborn didn't give you too much trouble." Magnus pulled away to look at his husband in the eyes.

Alec's eyes darkened momentarily at the mention of Dearborn. Uh oh, I'm guessing it didn't go well...not that I'm surprised. Dearborn's one of the most prejudiced Shadowhunters I've ever met, and that's saying something coming from me. He hoped the awful man didn't give his husband too much trouble.

"Oh, well, it was nothing much out of the ordinary. Except for Dearborn, that guy really is a pain." Alec said.

"I can't say I'm surprised to hear that." Magnus responded.

"The worst part is that he was saying awful things about you. If he wasn't a respected member of the Clave I would've torn him a new one." Alec growled out.

Magnus laughed at that, Alec's protectiveness was always so adorable. It's also very hot. Most importantly, it truly made Magnus feel cared for. He couldn't recall another person ever loving him as much as Alec does, and he doubted he ever would.

"Do you still have that headache from this morning?" He asked the Shadowhunter.

Alec sighed, giving him a small nod. "Yea, unfortunately. I think it got worse when I had to deal with that jerk."

"I'm sorry to hear that, mind if I try something?" Magnus asked. Alec agreed, allowing his husband to place his hands on his forehead. Magnus sent out a healing blue light through them, the light disappearing into Alec's mind. A few moments later he stepped back, eyeing Alec curiously.

It was the strangest thing, but when he tried healing Alec there seemed to be something unusual at work. A strange force that was blocking Magnus's magic from doing much of anything. It took the form of an intangible white light; it was untouchable and very resistant to Magnus. He had no idea why this was or how it had gotten there, but he decided he'd find out soon.

"Does your head feel any better?" He asked. The warlock was certain the magic didn't do much, but he wanted to make sure.

Alec confirmed his worries. "No. I didn't feel much of anything to be honest. What's going on Mags?" He asked worriedly.

Magnus let out a sigh. He didn't want to worry his husband, but they'd made a promise shortly after their wedding to never lie to one another. After all they'd been through, it made sense to make such a promise. And it still held true now, much as the truth might hurt sometimes. Being honest with one another only made them stronger together. With this in mind Magnus responded honestly.

"To be honest Alexander, I have no idea." He told his Alexander. The Shadowhunter seemed upset to hear that, but was trying not to let it show.

"Really? That's....that's not good. What's going on with me?" He asked Magnus. The warlock shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not certain. You seemed to have some sort of hidden force buried in your mind. I have no idea where it came from though. It's not letting me heal your headache at any rate, but other then that it doesn't seem to be doing much of anything." Magnus told him.

He didn't mention that the thing seemed to be closely woven into his very being. It just made no sense, and he didn't want to confuse Alec with something he didn't understand either. I will once I do....

"So then what should we do?" Alec asked his husband, his hazel eyes wide. Magnus thought about it.

"Let's go into the den and sit on the couch. I'll examine you again and we can see if we can figure out what's going on." Magnus told him. Alec murmured his agreement.

The High warlock led his husband over to the couch in the den. Alexander practically sank into the comfort of the cool black leather couch, letting out a small moan. Magnus eyes him fondly, snapping his fingers so two steaming mugs appeared on the counter nearby. Some honey tea for Magnus, and some fresh hot chocolate for Alec.

Five little marshmallows float in the steaming mug with an blue acrylic 'A' on the side. Alec termed five marshmallows as the perfect amount. Magnus didn't know why the number five was so important, but he decided not to question it. Allowing Alec to take a few sips of his chocolates concoction, Magnus got snuggled down into the couch himself. Once the two were comfortable, having drank a bit of their hot beverages, Magnus cast his blue magic on Alec again, trying to feel out the unknown force.

This time, the strange force did not respond to Magnus the way it had before. Whatever it was had no qualms about Magnus's energy surging into Alexander now. It was almost as if the stuff was sentient, though that had to be impossible. It's like it's deemed me trustworthy. Just what in the world is in my husband?

********Alec's POV********

Try as he might, Magnus was unable to identify the force inside Alec's head. Whatever it was in Alec, it was laying dormant inside him now. At the very least, he was able to lessen his husband's headache a little. This gave him a slight bit of relief.

"Thanks." Alec murmured as his headache faded out a little. The ache was still there, but it was manageable now. When he'd left his office, Alec hadn't wanted to keel over, his head had hurt so much. The pain had spreading throughout his body, every movement he made pulsating with pain. Needless to say, it had been a struggle getting home from work that day.

He didn't understand what was going on with him. Apparently there was some sort of energy attached to him. What it was and how it got there was beyond his knowledge.

"Magnus, have you figured out what's going on with me yet?" He asked his husband.

The warlock's sparkling blue magic was drifting around his head, occasionally sinking into it. Magnus's gaze was trained in concentration at some point unbeknownst to him on his forehead. If Alec saw a few drops of sweat sliding down Magnus's own face, he didn't mention it. Eventually, Magnus dropped his hands, the light in the sparking out. As Alec didn't feel much of a change in his headache he guessed whatever Magnus had done wasn't successful.

"I'm sorry my darling Alexander, but whatever is going on with you, regular magic can't do anything for it." Magnus told him. Alec sighed, he'd been expecting that.

"It's fine, you tried your best...did you at least figure out what was going on with the...energy in my head?" He asked him tiredly.

Magnus gave a small nod. "While I'm not 100% certain, I can confirm that this energy is definitely of angelic origin."

Alec tilted his head at that, the plush cushion behind his forehead crinkling slightly. He'd long since went from sitting up against the cool black leather to laying down on his back. His long legs were sprawled over Magnus's lap. The warlock had long since removed his shoes. Magnus was rubbing at his feet softly now, an odd sort of comfort. Magnus was skilled at a great many things, body massages was just one of those many talents he'd gained over the years.

"Angelic origin....but why would that stuff be in me? Sure, I'm a nephilim, but I don't exactly have any powers or anything like that." Alec said.

Magnus gave a shrug of his shoulders, just as stumped as his husband. "I don't have all the answers, but at the very least it's protective of you and not a cause of harm." Alec nodded at that. "I'll research up on it tomorrow, and I'll let you know what I find." Magnus promised him.

"Are you sure? I thought you were booked for tomorrow. I don't want to be a bother." Alec told him. Magnus gave him a fond, exasperated look.

"Yes, I know. But to me, nothing is more important then you. I love you Alexander, never forget that I love you more than anything or anyone." Magnus pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Alec sat up once Magnus moved back. He moved forward, embracing the Warlock gently in his arms. "Thanks Magnus. I love you too."

The two began to kiss again. They fell into each other, Magnus crashing down on top of Alec as the Shadowhunter fell back on the couch. Alec savored the warmth Magnus provided, the sweet taste of honey on the warlock's lips. Magnus really was addicted to sugar, and it showed in the amounts of pastries and other sweet treats his husband often ate. Somehow, he never gained weight from them. Alec deduced it to being some sort of super Warlock metabolism. Magnus was licking his way into his own mouth, no doubt tasting the sweetness of marshmallows and cocoa.

"Let's take this to the bedroom." Magnus murmured silkily into his ear. His voice sent pleasant tingles up Alec's spine.

With a his headache momentarily forgotten, Alec and Magnus got up from their spots on the couch. They headed towards the bedroom. Their kissing was recommencing, Magnus peppering pecks all along Alec's deflect rune. Alec moaned at those soft touches, rubbing his hands along Magnus's back. The two went giggling and stumbling through the wooden door, a no doubt pleasurable night laid out before them.

*******Unknown POV******

Peeking in through the balcony door window, was a set of strong blue eyes. The hooded figure had sleek black feathered wings curled up behind him and was unseen by the two men on the couch. The two men who were now getting more heated now, moving their no doubt.... erotic activities to the bedroom.

It was odd, seeing the hazel eyed man with someone else. The hooded figure hadn't seen the man that happy in a very long time. It made him feel sorrowful about what was to come. There was no telling how the man's partner would react to upcoming revelation. He could only hope their relationship would remain strong throughout the upcoming ordeal.

At any rate, he'd heard the whole conversation, and had been pleased with what he had gleaned from it. Things are going according to plan. Taking a few steps to the edge of the quiet balcony, he spread his wings and took off. Just as he'd arrived unnoticed, he left unnoticed too.