The Institute was quieter at night.

Not silent never silent. There were always footsteps somewhere in the halls, the distant clatter of weapons in the training room below, muted conversations drifting beneath closed doors but quieter. Softer. Like the entire building finally exhaled after spending all day pretending it wasn’t held together by stress and old stone.

Alec Lightwood stood alone on the balcony outside his room, forearms resting against the railing as the city glittered beneath him.

New York looked different from up here.

Smaller.

Manageable.

Which was funny, considering his life had felt anything but manageable lately.

He heard the balcony door slide open behind him and didn’t turn immediately. He already knew it was you. Your footsteps had a rhythm he recognized now something his body picked up before his brain did.

“You know,” he said quietly, eyes still fixed on the skyline, “most people knock before sneaking up on someone trained to kill things.”

There was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice. Barely there. The kind most people missed.

But not you.

Finally, Alec glanced over his shoulder, blue eyes catching yours beneath the dim light spilling from his room. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, runes scattered across his skin like faded constellations. Exhaustion sat heavy on him tonight. Not physical exhaustion something deeper than that.

The kind he carried silently.

Always silently.

“You should be asleep,” he muttered, though it lacked any real bite.

Truthfully, Alec had been hoping you’d come.

That was the dangerous part. Not demons. Not Downworld politics. Not the constant pressure of being the eldest Lightwood child with the weight of an entire legacy pressing down on his shoulders. You.

You were dangerous because somehow you made him forget how to keep his walls standing.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. The city noise drifted far below while the wind tugged lightly through his dark hair.

Then Alec looked at you again really looked at you and his expression softened in that quiet way only a handful of people ever got to see.

It was subtle.

A small drop in his shoulders. The tension easing from his jaw. His gaze warming just enough to make your chest ache if you stared too long.

“You ever think about leaving?” he asked suddenly.

Not sarcastic. Not defensive.

Honest.

“Just… disappearing somewhere quiet for a while. No Clave. No missions. No expectations.”

His fingers tightened slightly around the balcony railing before he let out a soft breath through his nose.

“I think about it more than I should.”

That confession alone felt rare coming from him.

Alec wasn’t good at needing people. Wasn’t good at talking about the things buried underneath years of discipline and responsibility. He spent most of his life being the reliable one the steady one. The weapon. The leader.

But around you, things slipped sometimes.

Around you, he became human before he could stop himself.

His eyes flickered down briefly before returning to yours.

And quieter now

“So why do I only ever picture you there with me?”