"Please, call me Charles." Jia just glared at Magnus, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "What's Magnus Bane doing here?" She snapped, eyeing Magnus's red frilled hair. Before Alec could speak, Charles turns to her. "Magnus Bane." He began, "Is a Warlock representative. Which means he's here to represent."

Charles turns to the others. "Don't mind her. She's an old hag." He laughs. He cleared his throat. "I've been trying to prepare Valentine for execution for a long time, but the leaders never agreed with me. I think that if we stick together, we might actually have a chance against the clave." Charles took a sip of his water.

Magnus glared at Jia, who was now texting on her phone. "Jia. Please at least pretend like you want to be here." Magnus says sarcastically, earning a worried look from Alec. Jia's eyes shot up as she slammed her phone down. "Don't. Tell. Me. What. To. Do. Warlock." She enunciated each word, spitting it out like venom.

"Alright, that's enough." Alec shot a pleading look to Magnus, who settled down in his chair. Charles raised his hand. "May I have a moment with my friend here?" He growled as he dragged Jia out. The council went for a short break. Alec sat down next to Magnus. He didn't say anything, but he kept one arm on Magnus's thigh.

"Thanks for sticking up for me." Magnus mumbled suddenly as he looked at Alec. At first, Alec thought it was a sarcastic remark. Magnus rubbed his head. "100 dollars seems a little cheap." Magnus says jokingly, though the sadness in his voice was evident. Alec's heart tightened. "Oh Mags. It was saying a bunch of stupid Shadowhunter kids and how did you know?" Alec shook his head sadly. Magnus lets out a little laugh.

"It's not like these walls are soundproof. But still. Thanks." Magnus looks down. Alec squeezed his thigh in reassurance. "We need to talk about this later. And Magnus..." He paused smiling, "You don't even have to thank me." Magnus smiled as Alec kissed his head.

Magnus was surprised at the affection Alec was showing, because both of them usually keep it under the radar. Alec returned back to his seat. Charles and a now angrier Jia came back. "Let's proceed." Alec speaks with confidence. The rest of the meeting goes fairly well, and by the end of it, everyone was exhausted. Everyone started to leave.

Charles stayed behind. He looked at Magnus. "Um, Mr. Bane, can I have a moment with Alec?" Magnus forces a smile and pats Alec on the back. He leaves. "I'm proud of you. When Maryse told me about you, I didn't think you'd be so..." He looked as if he was trying to find a word.

"Incredible." He finished, smiling. Alec blushed profusely. He didn't really know what to say. "Thank you for coming." Alec said politely. Charles smiled, the crinkles of his eyes showing. His hands wandered up to squeeze Alec's bicep.