Malec:: The Kiss

I spotted him in the crowd, his hair pulled back out of his face, wearing fighting gear. His eyes were lined with sparkling black eyeliner, but except this his face was void of any makeup. I knew it was him before I even took all of his features into account.

"There's Magnus!" I exclaimed, pushing my way towards him, leaving Simon and Isabelle alone in the crowd. As I left, I heard the two of them whispering behind me, but I did not care.

"Magnus!" I hollered, nearing the warlock, who turned, a look of almost surprise on his face that was calmed very quickly.

"Alexander." He spoke.

"It's Alec." I corrected him, and did not let him respond before I continued speaking. "I was wondering; perhaps you would want to be my partner for this Alliance rune?" I asked him. He looked slightly taken aback.

"But, Alexan—but Alec…what about your pare—"

"I don't care." I interrupted. "And my parents shouldn't care. I need a partner, and I'm asking you."

Magnus was silent for a moment. Then he held out his hand, palm up, and said, "Do me."

My lips curved up in a small smirk. "That is a rather regrettable choice of words." I quoted Magnus, who had once said that to Jace in a similar context. Despite this, I took out his stele and became very focused, head down and intent on making the Mark perfect. I slowly drew the mark over Magnus's hand with the tip of the stele. I felt Magnus wince slightly, then become relaxed, as the stele's sting became a dull sort of burn on his skin.

"Warlocks," He began. "are not really meant to be Marked by the Angels' Marks. But this…this is not of the Angels, is it, now?"

"No." I told him as I began marking myself with the rune that would bind me to Magnus. "It is not. Clary made it. It is not like any other. It is made to be put on Downworlders."

Magnus nodded, and I felt him looking at me. I looked up when I was done, putting my stele away.

"Magnus…" I began. I was becoming aware of the fact that we may not make it out of this alive. I didn't want to make it out of this dead, but I am a Shadowhunter, and death is always accepted, understood, and, above all, expected. It is a part of our life, dying young. I did not, though, want to die as young as this. I wanted to live, to experience love and triumph and happiness. I wanted to be allowed to show the person I truly am. I wanted to be with Magnus. At that moment, I realized something. I realized that I may die, and that if I do I did not want to go without showing Magnus that I care for him too, that I want others to know that I care for him, that I love him. I wanted him to know. Love makes us liars. I didn't want to die a liar.

"Magnus…" I repeated, as Magnus said, "Yes?" And before I knew it, I had wrapped my arms around his neck, lifted my head, and pressed my lips against his own, kissing him full on the mouth.

I felt Magnus go stiff, seeming to be in a state of shock, but he did not move to pull away. Instead, he stood there, tall and still, unmoving.

I heard gasps and whispers and I became aware of many eyes staring at us. But no one moved to stop it. People spoke in hushed and surprised voices, but I did not care. Then I felt Magnus's arms wrap around my waist and he kissed me back, deepening the kiss, briefly, before gently pulling away. I ignored every pair of eyes directed at me. Instead, my eyes went to Izzy. She looked surprised, but she was smiling, her eyes shining, and she blew me a kiss. Simon, next to her, was smiling as well, a sort of glad smile, an accepting smile, directed at me. That werewolf girl, Maia, stood with them, looking taken aback, before sending toward me a small smile as well. I saw Clary, too, though not by Isabelle. I saw her near Luke and Jocelyn. All three of them, eyes bright, looked at me with looks that showed they cared about me no matter who I loved. Clary's eyes were shining, just like Isabelle's had been. Luke's and Jocelyn's expressions were proud yet happy and gentle.

Then, though I didn't want to, I let my eyes lock on my parents. Mother's hand was covering her mouth, and Father was staring, both wide-eyed and looking like they'd been slapped. I looked straight into their eyes. I knew the look in their eyes said, 'What are you doing?' and 'Oh my God.' The look in my eyes, I knew, said 'This is who I am.' I would deal with them later. Right now, I let my eyes finally look up and meet Magnus's. He looked…happy and surprised. Slowly, he let go of me. Then he took my hand.

"Come with me." He said, and he led me out of the Hall. We did not do anything more, only sat by the steps, hand in hand, letting the whispers inside the Hall slowly disperse, though the thoughts of surprise in that room would not ever go away so fast. All of that would be dealt with later.

"I love you, too, Magnus." I told the Warlock beside me. I hated that my response to his confession of love earlier had been 'You love me?' He squeezed my hand.

"When all this is over," He began. "we will deal with your parents."

"I know." I said. "I know."

I did not want to die, but if I did, in this battle, at least it would be with Magnus. But in my heart I knew I would not die. I would live. I wanted so much to live that I believed in Jace and I believed in Clary's rune and I believed that I would live. I guess, even when you believe and want that much, your brain and heart have a sudden thought of 'Will I die?' and your feelings spill out of you like a fountain. I was glad for that. I was glad.