Arrested (Book 1 of the Arrested Trilogy) {malec au}

Chapter Sixteen

"I have to ask this because if I don't, it'll be burning a hole in my mind for the rest of the evening. What the hell was that back there?"

Alec tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with one hand while resting his head on the other, elbow propped against the window. They were parked in an empty parking lot outside a grocery store and it had begun to rain heavily. "I got angry. My mother tends to do that sometimes. It just took me all this time to finally say something to her."

Magnus sighed. "I'm proud of you. Just so you know. Now you can finally be yourself." He laughed and rubbed his lower lip with a finger. "I have to hand it to you, Alexander. You certainly know how to make a statement."

Alec looked over at him. "I'm the same person I always was. Now everything's just out in the open." He sighed heavily. "God, I wish it was under different circumstances. That's not exactly how I planned on coming out to my family."

"I've yet to meet someone who's successfully planned the way they wanted to come out to their family, Alec. It almost never goes as planned. The main thing is that you did it. That's a weight lifted off your shoulders." Magnus took Alec's knee and gave it a squeeze. "Don't you feel better now that you did?"

"Not really. My parents probably hate me."

"They don't hate you. You're their son. They can't hate you-"

"Your dad hated you."

Magnus flinched. "Ouch. Harsh."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean....I didn't mean it like that, Magnus. I'm just so scared right now....I'm scared I just ruined the rest of my life."

Magnus' heart clenched as Alec began to cry, forehead resting against the steering wheel. Undoing his seatbelt, he climbed over and slid over on top of Alec so that a knee rest on either side of the seat and his back was against the wheel. He held the sides of Alec's face and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Please don't cry, Alexander. I hate to see you cry."

Alec sniffed. "I haven't cried since I was ten years old."

Magnus wiped another tear that fell down Alec's cheek. "And you don't have to cry now. I'm here. You're not alone."

Alec's heart soared when Magnus leaned in and kissed him; his life suddenly burst into colors whereas before it was black and white with occasional shades of gray. Magnus gave him rainbows and sunshine and was everything bright and beautiful. He didn't feel scared when he was with Magnus. He didn't feel alone. He didn't have to try and be someone else. He was free.

"Mmm. Magnus...." Alec moaned as he gripped Magnus' sides.

"What?" Magnus rasped. "I'm a little busy here."

Alec giggled as Magnus moved his lips to suck on the left side of his neck. "Magnus. Please. You're vibrating."

"I'm what? Oh. That's my phone." Magnus reached into his pants pocket and pulled it out. "It's an unknown number."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Text or phone call?"

"Text. It says 'meet me at the old abandoned church in New York. You know which one'."

Alec shook his head. "It sounds too suspicious. Ignore it."

"We can't ignore it, Alec. What if it's the message from the Downworlders that we're expecting? We have to go there. This could be our one chance to get some answers."

Alec sighed heavily. "Fine. But we're finishing where we left off when we get back home."

Magnus smirked as he slid back into the passenger seat. "If you say so. Are you sure? If you're uncomfortable-"