Magnus rolled onto his side and pushed his hand beneath his pillow to watch Alec sleep. He should have been sleeping, himself, but the lack of snores from beside him had his gut clenching.

They had found the bedroom, and the doorway at the back of the throne room, and the hallway, on the way to the bedroom, and lost themselves in each other, over and over again. Then they had both fallen into an exhausted sleep in the bed that they now lay in. But it hadn't taken Magnus long to wake again when he had snuggled up to Alec in his sleep, only to lurch up when he had realized that Alec wasn't breathing.

It had taken Magnus a minute to catch up to why that was and he hadn't been able to get back to sleep since. It was too nerve-wracking not to feel the steady rise and fall of Alec's chest beneath his head.

Reaching out, Magnus brushed the stray hair out of Alec's eyes, watching him sleep. The stillness made him want to gather Alec in his arms and reassure himself that Alec was indeed alive. Alec was able to feign breathing while he was awake but it had stopped when he had fallen asleep. And it was disconcerting as hell. Knowing that it would take some getting used to hadn't made it any easier for sleep to claim him once more.

Magnus couldn't help but cup Alec's cheek, wanting to hold his world in his hand. He loved Alec, more than he thought it was possible to love someone. He had never felt this strongly about anyone in all of his centuries. But it broke his heart that Alec had sacrificed so much for him. Alec had given up his family, his mortality, and his home for him, and he couldn't help but feel a little unworthy of such sacrifices. Barring some horrific accident of fate, Alec would never face the promise of death after a long and happy life.

That thought made him feel even guiltier. Because he was thanking every angel that had ever existed that Alec would never face the long peaceful sleep after his life was over. It would never be over.

Magnus had had mortal lovers in the past and had even held a couple of them in his arms as they had taken their final breaths. He knew that Alec would be beautiful to him, whatever age Alec was. But the thought of Alec - old and grey, putting all of his burdens down and letting go of his hold on life - wasn't something that he could ever have come to terms with. No matter how many times he had told himself that that was a Warlock's lot.

Even now, after all of the years since death had separated Magnus from each of those lovers, he knew where their graves were, had even left a flower on those graves now and then, just to prove that somebody remembered the mark that those people had left on the world.

But he couldn't even imagine a gravestone with Alec's name on it. He couldn't imagine standing beside that vague, non-existent grave in 60, 100, 1000 years, placing a flower there to tell the world that Alec had existed and been loved. He had tried to reconcile that image with his beautiful, loving, alive Alexander more than once in preparation for the day when he would have to say goodbye and failed every time

But he does have a grave. He died to come here, for you. That thought had Magnus' gut twisting. Alec had died to become what he was now. He would have crawled out of a grave to get to Edom.

Scenarios flashed through Magnus' head - as they had been for the last few hours - images of all of the different ways Alec could have done it. Each one was like a knife to his gut. What if it had been painful or drawn out?

Just the thought of it had Magnus' hand tightening its grip, dashing his tears away with the other. He had to tell himself that Alec was there, right next to him, even as he watched Alec sleep. He had to tell himself that Alec would never die again, that he would have an eternity with the beautiful man beside him.

What did it say about him that he was thankful that Alec would never die now? That Alec was saddled with the same cursed existence as him? Did it make him selfish, that he wanted to keep Alec around for his eternity?

The days when Magnus had lost his magic and immortality had let him come to terms, somewhat, with his immortality. Or at least, he had come to accept that immortality came part and parcel with his magic and if he wanted one, he had to accept the other. It had been easier to reconcile the two when there was a possibility that he would never get his endless existence back. There had been a hairy moment when he had arrived in Edom and realized that he was facing it once more, just as alone as he had been so many times.

Now, his own immortality didn't scare him as much as it used to. Maybe it was because he had faced a mortal existence, maybe it was because Alec would be there with him and he wouldn't have to face it alone.

But Magnus had struggled with the idea of forever so many times over his life and knew that Alec would also have those moments when it all became too much. Alec was never meant to know that struggle. How could he want that for Alec and still be able to say that he loved him?

"Stop thinking so loudly, I'm trying to sleep," Alec mumbled without opening his eyes. Reaching out, going by the sound of Magnus' heartbeat picking up, he wrapped his arm around Magnus' waist and pulled him flush against his body.

"What are you worrying about?" Alec asked when he felt the tension in Magnus body where it was pressed against his own. Opening his eyes, he stared into Magnus' worried, glamoured eyes, searching for the problem. Has he been crying? He wondered, seeing how bloodshot Magnus' red-rimmed eyes were.

"Nothing," Magnus said with a tight smile, twining their legs together beneath the sheets and burying his face in Alec's chest. The tickle of hair against his nose and lips felt so right, as did the rise and fall of Alec's chest again, now that his Vampire was awake. My Vampire. Will I ever get used to that? He wondered.

"You forget who you're talking to," Alec said quietly, tugging Magnus' head up by his chin. "Alec Lightwood-Bane," he said, tapping himself on the chest. "Future Husband and Consort of Magnus Lightwood-Bane, Prince of Edom, remember," he said, tapping Magnus on the chest with a raised eyebrow. He knew every one of Magnus' moods and he knew when Magnus was worrying. He could feel the tension in every inch of the warm body pressed against him.

"That's what I'm worried about," Magnus muttered, looking around at the roofless bedroom. "It's not exactly home, is it? I'm worried that you will hate it here, and that you will regret leaving your life behind for me. I'm worried that you will come to resent me for giving up your mortality," he said honestly. Alec was right, he was talking to his future husband.

If there was one thing that Magnus had learned over the last few weeks, it was how important it was to communicate with Alec properly. Which meant baring his deepest fears to Alec. Staring into Alec's eyes, he realized that maybe it was okay to be vulnerable in front of him and that Alec wouldn't think him weak for it.

"We found out that Lilith was planning a coup against you and my first thought was to ask Simon to turn me - so that I could be here with you. Do you know what he said?" Alec asked, continuing when Magnus shook his head.

"He told me to think about it. About what it would mean. So I did. I looked at it from every angle that I could see. I weighed up the pros and cons. Not just of becoming a Vampire, but of what eternity would actually mean. I thought about what it would take to become this way and what that would do to my family, what it would do to me to give them up," Alec said.

"You always did like to think a situation through before acting," Magnus said with a small smile, moving a little closer. "But you sacrificed so much..."

"So did you," Alec said, shaking his head. "Why do you see your sacrifices as less than mine? You were ready to spend eternity here, on your own, so that we could be safe. So that the world could be safe. How many sacrifices have you made for us? You gave up your magic, your friends, your life, for me and those we love."

"I was thinking the same about you," Magnus admitted, a shaky laugh escaping. Trust Alec to spit his own thoughts back at him.

"How could I not? I couldn't just leave you here, Magnus. It wasn't easy, I didn't just throw it all away. Trust me, I thought about it. I also thought about what it would mean for me if I didn't come here. That was a bleak picture. You've become such an intrinsic part of my life that I couldn't see one without you in it," Alec said, his fingers playing over Magnus' waist.

"Neither could I. I was talking to a window when you found me," Magnus said, shaking his head when Alec pursed his lips. He was pretty sure Alec was trying not to laugh. "You shouldn't have had to give it all up for me though. And I hate that you had to make that decision on your own. I should have been there for you, to explain to you exactly what this life would mean. I've been there, Alexander, I know the toll an endless existence can take."

"I didn't give it up for you, I gave it up for myself," Alec said, thinking about the reasons that he'd had for what he had done. "I gave it up for both of us. I hated the idea of you being here on your own but I also hated the idea of you having to move past me when my mortal life ended. And I hated the idea of leaving you even more," he said, his hand tightening at Magnus' hip. He wanted to hold on and never let go.

"It was my decision to make, Magnus. It was my life to give up. Yes, you should have been a part of that decision process physically but you weren't there, you were here, facing Lilith alone. And that was one of the deciding factors for me because I know that if our positions had been reversed, nothing would have stopped you from coming for me," Alec said, a knowing expression on his face.

"Of course I would. I would follow you to any realm," Magnus huffed out, it was obvious.

"Exactly," Alec said with a smug smirk before his expression softened. "You were there spiritually though. You were a big factor in my decision but I didn't just do this for you. I did it for myself because I can't live without you, Magnus. And I couldn't leave you one day. Especially knowing what you gave up for me. We can't live without each other and there was another option there so I took it."

"You might regret it one day. This is not an easy life, Alexander. There will be times when the burden of so many years becomes too much, times when you will ask yourself why you did it. I don't want you to look back and wish that you had taken a different path," Magnus said - his deepest fear - the fear that Alec would find it all too much to bear.

"I'm not delusional enough to think that every day of our lives is gonna be perfect. We'll have our days where we will fight, we'll have our problems. I mean, it's us, there's always some problem that we have to deal with," Alec said, nodding his head when Magnus agreed with a roll of his eyes.

"But we will have each other. You'll be there for me when those moments rear up, someone who understands what I'm going through. And I'll be there for you. You aren't on your own anymore Magnus, you'll never have to face that again," Alec said, making a promise - to always be there - one that he could now keep.

"You're the first person to ever say that and mean it," Magnus said, raising his hand to cup Alec's jaw, his fingers sliding into the hair at the back of Alec's head. His heartfelt like it was about to burst with love for Alec. His father was the only one who had ever promised to be there forever but that was only to use his power. Asmodeus had never said those words out of love.

Maybe his father had loved him in his own way. But Asmodeus' idea of love was a warped one. Love wasn't using another person - or using those that they loved against them. It was giving up a vital part of yourself to protect the one you loved - because it would help them or ease their suffering. Love was the selfless act of caring for another more than you cared for yourself and having those feelings reciprocated. Something that he had found in Alec.

"You might hate this place but do you regret coming here to save us all?" Alec asked, wanting to drive the point home for Magnus. The tension had been slowly draining from Magnus' body but his new eyes could see it lingering in the crinkles around Magnus' eyes.

"No. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever done but I can't bring myself to regret it. Knowing that the people that I love and care for are safe gave me the strength to stay here when all I wanted to do was return," Magnus said, combing his fingers into the hairs on Alec's chest and tugging slightly. "At least with me here, you all would get to have a future and that was enough for me."

"Don't you see? You are the one that I want to keep safe. I wanted you to have a future. I wanted to have a future with you. If that meant coming to Edom, then so be it," Alec said, smiling when Magnus' eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. The smile widened when Magnus leaned forward the couple of inches that separated them and kissed the tip of his nose.

Magnus kissed the dimple in Alec's nose, his forehead, his cheek. He promised himself then and there that he would make each of Alec's sacrifices count. He would be worthy of the man who had come to a new realm for him. But he had to be sure.

"Are you really ready to give up your own future? Your family?" Magnus asked, looking up into Alec's eyes. This was the conversation that he should have had with Alec before Alec had taken that last irreversible step. While he didn't regret saving his friends and family, he did regret that he wasn't there to ask those vital questions.

"While I will always love my family, you are my future. I couldn't stay for them. I've lived my entire life for others," Alec said, being selfish for once, and not minding, for once. "But we only get one life, no matter how short or long, and I have to live mine for me, not them. You're the love of my life, the only love that I will ever have. I might be a Vampire now but I was still Nephilim and Nephilim only love once.

"This ring was no joke and neither were my promises of forever," Alec said as he brushed his finger over the engagement ring on Magnus' finger where Magnus cupped his face, twisting the metal band with small brushes of his fingers. "You are my future Husband, how were we supposed to get married if you were here and I was there, huh?" he asked.

Magnus let out a shaky laugh, his thumb sweeping up and down Alec's cheek when Alec leaned into his touch. Maybe an eternity wouldn't be so bad if he had Alec at his side? Maybe those times where it became too much would come less often, now that he had someone to share the burden with? And he could see that Alec had thought about it. He hoped Alec would still continue to surprise him when they had centuries under their belts, his Vampire was certainly still full of them.

"I don't like the sound of this future husband business," Magnus said, tightening his hold when Alec made to pull back. "The future sounds far too vague. I want to be married to you now," he said with a wink.

"Now?" Alec chuckled, turning his head to press a kiss to Magnus' palm. "There's only one problem with that, Love. There's nobody here to marry us," he said against Magnus skin. The glint in Magnus' eye had his gut-churning in the best way.

"Who said we need someone to marry us?" Magnus asked, levering himself onto one elbow to look down at Alec. "Prince of Edom, remember? If there isn't anyone to officiate then I'll make a new law. If we agree that we are married, then we are married," he shrugged. If they were waiting for someone else to come along and pronounce them married, they would be waiting a long time. Edom wasn't exactly crawling with priests or silent brothers or Warlock elders.

"Can you do that?" Alec asked, his voice low and husky, staring up at Magnus. As a man who had spent his life living by the rules, he didn't know whether to be appalled that Magnus had just made up a law like that or turned on.

"Who's going to stop me? Lilith? I'd like to see her try," Magnus said with a sly grin. Technically, he had the power to do it. Who was going to come along and tell him that he couldn't? "It's not like we have to live by the rules of the mortal realm anymore, is it? Whether we like it or not, this is our realm now. We are the rulers of it, which means we make the rules."

"Okay," Alec said, rolling onto his back to stare up into Magnus' eyes, more than a little turned on by the display of power. Magnus was right, they weren't in the mortal realm with their rules about who could marry who, and who got to decide that. "We are married then," he said, smiling against Magnus' lips when his new husband leaned over him.

"Slow down, you old romantic, you. I said that we could declare ourselves married, I didn't say that we don't get to have a wedding," Magnus said, pouting his lips forward to give Alec a chaste peck on the lips. "I've waited four centuries to get married to you. If you think that we aren't having a ceremony, you are sorely mistaken, Alexander," he said.

"Okay. I Alexander Gideon Lightwood, do take you, Magnus Bane..." Alec trailed off distractedly, his fingers playing over Magnus' hip, pulling him closer. He really liked that Magnus was just making laws up. And he was more than ready to marry Magnus in this bed. Especially if it meant getting to the consummation faster.

"Not here," Magnus laughed, pressing a finger to Alec's lips before dropping a kiss there. "Maybe we could do something a little more formal, it is the most important day of our lives, after all. This is the day we make our promises. I think that warrants clothes at least," he said, letting his eyes linger on Alec's bare chest for a moment before shaking himself off. Yes, they needed clothes at the very least.

"Fine," Alec huffed, throwing the sheets back. If Magnus wanted to dress him in head to toe designer gear he would wear it, just to get to call Magnus his husband that bit faster. "Do the magic thing because I didn't bring anything close to a suit," he said, waving his hands in the direction of his body.

"A suit? I think we can go one better than that, Alexander," Magnus said, unable to move from the bed for a moment. He feigned thinking as he shamelessly ogled his fiance's gloriously naked body, taking in every inch. The missing runes still gave him a little pang but he loved every cell that made Alec up and he understood that it had to happen in order for Alec to be there.

"Better than a suit? Like... a tux?" Alec asked, a visible shiver running through him. He was practically drooling at the thought of Magnus wearing a tux, one of his favorite looks on him. His dick gave an interested twitch when Magnus rose gracefully from the bed and stretched out. The gliding muscles under Magnus' golden skin had him around the bed in an instant.

Magnus started when Alec was in front of him instantaneously, not expecting the move. It seemed everything was going to take him a minute to get used to. Except for the way Alec grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer, that he was used to.

"Unhand me, I am an engaged man," Magnus chuckled, taking Alec's wandering hands in his own. They wouldn't be getting married any time soon if Alec didn't behave himself. Not that he was any less guilty than Alec when it came to shameless thirst.

Alec would have rolled his eyes at the joke but he was too busy imagining Magnus saying the words "married man".

Magnus snapped his fingers and cleaned them up with his magic, all of the accumulated dirt, sweat and bodily fluids disappeared, leaving both of them fresh and clean. Both of their hair shining and styled perfectly in their preferred styles, both of them smelling of his sandalwood cologne, with minty fresh breath. The confused expression on Alec's face had him explaining.

"There are no showers here. I'm not even sure if there is fresh water," Magnus said, looking up at the dying sun. He hadn't exactly explored the realm yet. For all he knew, there weren't even any oceans in Edom. There was certainly no moon to control the sway of a tide.

"But you love taking showers," Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus' waist. Maybe after the wedding, they could fix the place up. And install a shower. Their morning showers were usually a highlight of his day. Magnus' too.

"We will think of something," Magnus said, realizing that they would have to do something about their living arrangements. This was their home now and they had to make the best of the situation. Which meant that he had to stop sulking and pull his finger out. "Get dressed and meet me in the throne room in twenty minutes," Magnus said, snapping his fingers and giving Alec a chaste peck on the lips before strolling out of the room.

Alec watched Magnus go, as naked as the day the Warlock was born. A deep sigh of relief escaped him when he saw that his rucksack now sat on the bed, along with a large white box, tied with gold ribbon. It took him all of ten seconds to fall on the bottles of blood inside his bag, starving after all of the energy he had worked off with Magnus during the night.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." Magnus trailed off when he returned to the bedroom for Alec's ring and saw Alec draining a large bottle of blood like somebody was going to steal it from him, blood dripping from Alec's chin.

"Magnus... I uh..." Alec shoved the bottle behind his back, out of Magnus' sight. It felt strange that his heart wasn't pounding out of his chest, that's the reaction that he felt like he should be having. Apart from when he had first woken and been blood-crazed, he hadn't drunk blood in front of anyone else, it was still too new to him. Too weird. And he didn't want to see the looks of disgust on his loved one's faces.

"You don't have to hide it you know?" Magnus asked when he had gotten himself together, crossing the room to tug Alec's hands from behind his back. He followed the action when Alec's tongue darted out to remove any traces of the blood from his lips. "It will take some getting used to but we can do it together, okay?" he said, nodding his encouragement.

"This is your diet now, don't hide the blood. You have nothing to be ashamed of," Magnus said. He had dated Vampires before, Camille had been one. It wasn't like he hadn't seen what a Vampire's diet was like first hand. "And if you are thirsty, you only need to ask. None of this waiting until I'm not in the room," he said, peering into the bag on the bed and pulling the two bottles out of it.

"I wasn't waiting until you were out of the room, we were busy last night," Alec said, watching for Magnus' reaction when he gingerly raised the bottle to his lips. He sipped it a little more slowly, relieved when Magnus didn't pull a face.

"Is this all you have?" Magnus asked, holding the bottles up, raising an eyebrow in question at the grimace when Alec took another swig.

"Yeah, I was dreading having to ask you to conjure more for me," Alec admitted. Before a thought struck him, something that he hadn't even thought about, just assumed. "You will be able to conjure more for me, won't you?" he asked with a lurching stomach. He couldn't feed on Magnus. Aside from not wanting to hurt his husband, they couldn't risk getting addicted to each other, it would destroy them.

"Of course, don't worry, it's nothing that I can't handle with a snap of my fingers," Magnus said, wondering if Alec had even thought about how he was going to feed down here. There weren't exactly a tonne of mundanes down here and it wasn't like Alec could drink demon blood.

Alec's stomach settled, relief flooding him as he internally cursed himself out for not thinking that part through. So much for his carefully thought out plan. He drained the rest of the bottle with a few more gulps, grimacing at the taste of it.

"It tastes stale because it hasn't been refrigerated but I prefer it warm," Alec said, his eyes darting away from embarrassment once more when Magnus looked at him with a question in his eyes. The heat of the realm - while it didn't affect him - did nothing for keeping his supply fresh.

"Hey, don't. We all have to eat. Don't suffer out of embarrassment. I'll conjure you more and keep it cold with my magic until you are ready for it. That should keep it fresh," Magnus said with a shake of his head, Alec shouldn't suffer, he wouldn't judge him for it. "Oh, and you've had worse things in your mouth," he said with a wink before pulling Alec's engagement ring off his finger and sauntering out of the room.

Alec stared after his future husband, wanting to follow like a panting dog. Magnus Bane was something else! Instead - knowing that he wouldn't get to call Magnus his husband until he had gotten dressed - he untied the bow on the large white box and peeked inside.

The tuxedo that Alec pulled out was anything but classic.

The black bowtie and the black pants - pressed to perfection - were expected, as were the shining patent dress shoes. The crisp, pressed shirt, however, was black. The black jacket, knee-length, was decorated entirely in a gold brocade of baroque swirls, all picked out in gold raw silk threads.

Alec recognized the pattern as the Versace print that Magnus was partial to and upon checking the label, he saw that he was correct. A smile spread over his face as he started pulling the tux on. Even if he wasn't a Shadowhunter anymore, Magnus had made sure he would still marry in gold.

Alec sat on the bed to pull his shoes on and lace them up. Since he had asked his mother for the Lightwood ring, he had been planning the actual day in his head. None of his plans would now come to fruition. It made his stomach lurch to think that his family wouldn't be there to see it but he was ready to take Magnus as his husband. More ready than he had ever thought possible. He was desperate for it.

Peering down at himself when he stood and closed the one metal clasp that held his jacket together, just above the high waistband of his pants, Alec deemed himself ready. A nervous chuckle escaped him as he made his way out of the bedroom, fixing his shirt cuffs as he headed for the throne room. He was finally getting married.