3
Swear on the Angel
Jace held Leliel lazily in his hand as he leaned against a tree, watching Alec with a less than enthralled gaze.
“Oh, come on! It’s like you’ve never used a sensor before in your life.” Jace grumbled, looking dismally at the oblong shape in his parabatai’s hand. “You do remember how to use it, don’t you?
“Of course I know how to use it,” replied Alec irritably. “Now be quiet.”
“We’ve been at this for almost an hour. I think it’s safe to say that, even if there was a demon here earlier, it’s long gone by now. So, can we just go back to the Institute?”
“No,” Alec said nervously. “I swear, I think we’re getting closer. The report said the demon has been sighted right around here lately. Just. . . Humor me. Please?”
Jace rolled his eyes and sighed. He returned his gaze to Alec, whose face betrayed a sense of uneasiness. “What are you so worried about?”
“What are you talking about?” Alec said distractedly, his eyes not raising to meet Jace’s.
Jace pushed himself off the tree and snuck up silently behind Alec, looking over his shoulder to see that the object in Alec's hand that held his gaze wasn’t his sensor, but his cell phone.
“Expecting a call?” Jace asked, and Alec spun around in surprise.
“Angel’s name, Jace,” said Alec, sounding slightly out of breath. “Don’t do that!”
“Is there something more interesting than the dangerous otherworldly demon we’re currently supposed to be hunting?”
“Of course not. It’s just...” Alec seemed at a loss for words.
Jace's expression softened. “Look, I understand.”
“You do?” Alec asked doubtfully.
“You don’t have to hide it. You aren’t that good at it, anyway. Look, I know you miss Magnus. But you can’t just keep waiting around for him to call you all the time.”
“Jace,” Alec began slowly, shaking his head. “That’s not—”
“Why are you being so defensive about it? I get that it’s hard to talk about, but I can tell that you’re not yourself lately—”
“I’m not defensive, and it’s got nothing to do with. . . I mean. . .” Alec paused a moment, thousands of thoughts seeming to run through his head. Finally he closed his eyes and sighed, beginning again, jumping on the next sentence a bit too eagerly, though not enough to raise suspicions from Jace. “I don’t know what to do about him. I always find myself looking at the phone, waiting for a call or a text, but neither ever comes.”
Alec didn’t meet Jace’s eyes as he spoke, though Jace attributed it to nerves and awkwardness. After all, this wasn’t the kind of conversation two guys normally had with each other. “Sometimes, I call him,” Alec continued, “but when he answers, I just hang up. I don’t know what to say to him. I’ll even end up at his apartment in the middle of the night, but I’d always just walk away. And then, last night, I actually went to his apartment, and there was a girl there—”
“Oh,” said Jace, following Alec, who had sat down on the soft grass below the tree.
“No, not like that.” Alec continued. “She’s just his friend. And save me the joke about that one please.”
Jace’s expression mimicked one of hurt. “I would never joke about such serious matters."
Alec laughed. “Right. Anyway, the girl, she told me a lot, and it all made me think about everything differently, and I haven’t talked to Magnus since, and I know Tessa’s talked to him, so I don’t know if I should call him or if I should wait for him to call me or if I should just go over there and talk to him in person—”
