Foreign Affairs
chapter two.
❨ 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐞 ❩
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𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐉𝐎𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐏𝐒 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐂 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐌. He ran up to Kai, who had gone into the Ops Center with Isabelle. Clary ran in and the rest of the Institute started to gather in behind them.
"Who sounded the alarm?" Alec questioned out loud as he ran up behind Leon.
"What's going on?"
"Oh no. Jace."
The hologram table was lit up with a holographic image of Jace, spinning around on the table. The words "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE" were written in read over Jace's image.
"Aldertree said he wanted to rescue Jace," Clary said, turning to Isabelle and Alec.
"Actually, Clary, I said I wanted to find him. And you gave me the clue I needed to do just that."
They all turned around to the sound of Aldertree's voice and Leon narrowed his eyes on him as he walked up to the table.
"What did you tell him?" Alec snapped at the girl.
"Alec, I — "
"Is this everyone?" Leon crossed his arms over his chest and the room fell silent. "Fantastic. First up, all Downworlders are forbidden from entering the Institute without my prior approval. For those still present, good day."
Leon turned to Kai and he shook his head. "Magnus went home after his interview. He doesn't like Aldertree very much."
Leon snorted softly. "Yeah, that makes three of us."
Leon turned back to Aldertree, who had just forced Luke to leave Jocelyn. Then he was turning to Simon, the vampire he was kicking out so close to dawn.
"You too...Simon. Simon, right?"
"It's almost dawn," Simon told him out loud. "I don't have anywhere to go."
"Hey, you're a smart guy," Aldertree mused, lightly hitting Simon's arm. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
"Simon, come on," Luke assured him.
Simon turned to Clary to say goodbye before he left with Luke. When they were gone, Aldertree clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention to him again.
"Now...Let's get to it." Leon glared at him as he looked toward them again. "I've reviewed your statements, along with the reports of your unsanctioned missions. And I can come to no other conclusion that Jace Wayland is a traitor to the Clave."
Leon furrowed his brows and his jaw dropped in disbelief as Aldertree sauntered past them during his 'revelation' about Jace.
"Jace is not a traitor," Alec argued with him.
"Point of fact," Aldertree stated, getting closer to Alec as he spoke. Leon was made at Alec, sure, but Aldertree getting close to him make Leon's fingers curl into fists. "Clary said Jace called to warn you about Valentine's trap, which got me thinking...Jace had multiple chances to kill Valentine, but chose to let him leave. Now, Valentine, Jace, and the Cup are missing. Do the math."
"There is no way we're gonna help you hunt Jace," Clary told him sternly.
Aldertree smirked at her, "And I'd never ask you to. You and your friends are prohibited from any further involvement for the hunt for Jace Wayland."
"What?" Isabelle asked him incredulously.
"The rest of you, back to work. I'm lifting the lockdown on the Institute, except for Clary and Jocelyn." Clary crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, "Given your relationship to Valentine and Jace, I want to keep a close eye on you."
Aldertree started to walk away and Clary started after him. "This is ridiculous!"
"Clary — "
"No!" she snapped at her mother, turning to her. "We cannot just sit around. Okay, they're going to kill Jace. He's your son."
"I know you think you understand this world, but you don't."
"Dismissed!" Aldertree yelled at them.
Leon turned to Kai while the Lightwood siblings followed Aldertree.
"Let's spar."
Kai was already in loose clothes to train so they made their way to the training center. Leon grabbed his weapon from his belt and snapped it open.
Kai grabbed a wooden staff while Leon twirled his staff in his hands. He could tell that Leon was on edge and that was why he agreed to spar so early in the morning — when neither of them had gotten any sleep since Jace disappeared into the portal with Valentine.
Hopefully, sparring will get Leon to open up.
Kai swung his staff down at Leon and the latter deflected it with his own staff. Leon used his bow-staff to shove Kai backwards before he swung it across toward Kai's head.
Kai ducked and he shoved the flat end of his staff into Leon's stomach with a quick jab. Leon grunted, coughing as he stumbled back.
When he regained himself, he spun around the bow-staff and held it in both hands. They threw the staffs back and forth, the wood and the steel staffs clinging together with each hit.
"Wanna tell me what's on your mind?"
Leon narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He swiped the staff at Kai's legs and succeeded in knocking Kai to the ground. He pointed the end of his staff at Kai's face and glared down at him.
"Nothing's on my mind. I'm fine."
Kai rolled his eyes and grabbed his staff. He shoved it between Leon's feet and knocked him to the ground. When Leon was on the ground, Kai grabbed his bow-staff from his hands and tossed it to the ground.
"Yes, there is. You only want to train like this when you're bothered by something. So, talk."
Leon kicked his legs up and he caught Kai's arm between his legs. His hand grabbed Kai's wrist as the latter dropped his staff. Then, Leon twisted his body weight to fling Kai back to the ground, this time to his stomach.
Leon rolled onto Kai, holding his arm back against his chest. Kai groaned but he didn't tap out.
"Aldertree brought up Alec's wedding during my interview. He threatened to send me back to London for not doing my job."
Kai's eyes widened and he used his other arm to leverage himself against Leon. He managed to snatch his arm free from Leon's. Then, he twisted his upper body to grab Leon, spinning him onto the ground instead.
"Are you serious?"
Leon grunted. "He said it as Alec 'calling off' his wedding for me. Which is just Aldertree being smug and indirectly talking about our kiss in front of members of the Clave."
Leon reached behind him and his fingers grazed one of the staffs. He struggled to grab it, but he did. He quickly grabbed it with both hands and shoved it against Kai's chest, shoving the man off of him.
Kai fell onto his back as Leon jumped to his feet. Kai found his own staff and then he, too, jumped on his feet.
"What about the London thing?"
Leon lunged through the air and swung the staff down on Kai as he landed firmly on his feet. They swung their bow-staffs back and forth, each time the staffs clanking together.
"He kept talking about me and Alec, instead of Jace. I told him I was leaving the office and he threatened to send me back if I didn't change my tone when I talk to him."
Leon ducked when Kai twirled the staff around toward his head and then he kicked his leg up to kick Kai backwards.
"He blamed me not doing my job on me getting involved with Alec."
Kai rolled his eyes and swung his staff around to Leon's hip, but he blocked it efficiently.
"That's rubbish. You weren't involved with Alec until yesterday."
"Yeah, I know that."
Leon twirled his staff over his head and swung it down on Kai, hitting him in the arm. Kai grunted and dropped to his knees to attack Leon from below. Leon kicked his leg out to Kai's head but the latter used his staff to knock Leon's foot away.
Leon spun around with Kai's action and twisted his staff around with him. Kai blocked the hit and then knocked Leon's staff away, knocking his feet in the process.
Leon landed on his back with a grunt, the air leaving his chest for a second. Kai spun to his feet and then swung the end of his staff down, pointed at Leon's face.
"Don't let Aldertree get to you through Alec. You're better than that, Leon."
Leon glared and knocked Kai's staff from his face with his hand. He held his hand out and Kai helped him back to his feet.
Kai gently hit Leon in the shoulder and called the session quits. "Let's get some sleep, yeah? It's late."
Leon nodded, breathing heavily after the little session. Kai put his staff away and Leon folded his back in half.
He held it in his hands as they two of them left the training room and retired to their own rooms for the night.
Leon showered while everyone else was asleep before he went back to his room again. As soon as he fell back on the mattress, he was asleep.
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The next morning, while he was getting dressed, there was a soft and almost hesitant knock on his bedroom door.
"Come in!" he called out softly, pulling his bomber jacket over his arms. Then he sat on his bed to put on his boots.
The door opened but Leon was too busy lacing his boots to see who had entered his room. He just assumed it was Kai or maybe Izzy.
"Leon." Not Kai. It was Alec. "I'm not good at apologies, but I'm...I'm sorry."
Leon exhaled deeply through his nose, moving onto his next boot to tie it. "Continue."
"I'm...really sorry."
Leon stood up from his bed to walk back to his desk where his weapons' holster and stele rested. He wrapped the belt around his waist and clipped it.
"For?"
Leon reached down to clip the strapped on the holster around his thigh. He grabbed his stele from the desk and stuck it into the pocket on the holster.
"Can you just stop for a second?" Leon sighed harshly and turned around to look at Alec. "You were right," Alec continued, "When I called off my wedding, that was for me. But this is all just...It's very new."
Leon walked around his bed to stand a little closer to Alec. "This may surprise you, but you're pretty damn new for me, too, Alec."
Alec sighed, "Look, with Jace missing, it's just like..." Leon rolled his eyes. "The ground has shifted, and I can't keep my balance. Just — "
As Leon tried to storm passed Alec to leave his room, Alec reached out to grab his arm and stopped him. Leon turned to him, staring down at Alec's hand around his arm.
"I didn't mean to take it out on you," Alec told him gently. Leon looked back up at Alec gently. "I'm sorry."
Leon exhaled deeply and quirked up a small smile. He couldn't stay mad at Alec. He understood what he was going through, with his parabatai missing; even if it didn't excuse the way he had taken out all of his anger on Leon and everyone else when they were doing the best they could.
"You're forgiven." It looked like a weight was lifted from Alec's shoulders when Leon said those words, and Leon's smile grew a little more. "Also...You're great at apologies."
He reached his hand out to fix the collar of Alec's jacket that he had noticed and Alec smiled shyly but happily at him.
"Thanks," he said to Leon. "Been working on it."
Leon looked up at Alec and he sighed softly. "Here's the thing, Alec," he started gently. Alec glanced back at him and he continued, "Things are bound to get complicated. We're always going to face challenges. So, when things get crazy, don't push me away."
Alec nodded his head slowly and then Leon sighed slightly. He didn't want to do this, but he knew it was the only option they had left.
"Come on," Leon told him, taking his hand and pulling him from his room.
"Where are we going?"
"To Magnus," Leon answered with a sigh. "I really don't like this, but we have to find Jace before Aldertree does."
"Wait, you mean..."
Leon stopped and turned to Alec with a small smile on his face. "We'll use your rune to track Jace. Only if Magnus agrees to help. If he doesn't, I'm sorry, but we'll just have to find a different way to track him."
Alec quickly nodded his head in understanding and the two of them made their way out of the Institute. They climbed down the steps and crossed through Battery Park when they heard someone behind them.
"Alec." It was Maryse Lightwood, and as usual, she basically ignored Leon's presence. "Alec, slow down."
Alec breathed out deeply through his nose and he stopped. When he stopped, so did Leon. Alec turned around to face his mother as she walked toward them.
"Where are you going?" Maryse asked her son, standing in front of him.
The pedestrians of the park continued their day around them thanks to their glamour. They also didn't see the church as the Shadowhunters did, in all it's beauty, thanks to the strong glamour and wards around the church.
"We're going to Magnus'," Alec answered his mother. "I couldn't just sit in there and not do anything. He and Leon will help me find my brother."
"Jace is not your brother. He's not your blood," Maryse told Alec stiffly.
Leon couldn't believe what she was saying because it was only a week ago that Maryse was treating Jace better than she treated her own children.
"He's closer than blood," Alec reminded her incredulously. "He's my parabatai."
"Alec, we looked like fools taking in Valentine's son, caring for him like our own."
"It was the right thing to do," Alec told her.
"It was a mistake," she corrected him. "It put our family in danger." Leon stiffened and he was honestly grateful that his parents were better than that. Maryse was out of line to suddenly dismiss Jace like she hadn't raised him and made him the man he was.
Maryse sighed and she reached out to hold Alec's arms. "You need to forget Jace. He made his choice."
Alec moved away and his mother's hands fell from his arms. "Do you even hear what you're saying?" he asked her. "If you kill him, you kill a part of me."
"When you have a cancer, you cut it out before it destroys you," Maryse told him stiffly.
Instinctively, Leon's hand reached to his hip where his parabatai rune was. He didn't see the rune as a 'cancer'. It was an honor to be Kai's parabatai, to be linked with his best friend. It made them stronger and better.
And it was like that with Jace and Alec as well.
Alec looked away from his mother when she said those words and he looked over his shoulder to Leon, who's eyes were wide after he heard her words as well.
"Son...Life is full of hard choices."
Alec scoffed in disbelief with a shake of his head. He looked back at his mother and he said, "Don't kid yourself. You're not making a hard choice. You're saving your own ass. And unlike you, I don't push someone away just 'cause they're a hard choice."
Alec turned away from his mother and walked away. Leon started to follow him when Maryse acknowledged him for the first time.
"Mr. Cleartree."
Leon stopped in his tracks. He was tired of being called that. But he turned around and he looked at Maryse. Alec had stopped and turned, too, when Maryse called for Leon.
Maryse stared down Leon with a stern expression. She was not happy at all, and she still definitely didn't like Leon.
"Don't forget what Aldertree told you, Mr. Cleartree," she warned him.
Leon narrowed his eyes. Now, Alec was going to ask Leon what she meant and Leon hadn't wanted to bother Alec with Aldertree's threat to send him back to London.
"Thank you, Maryse," Leon said stiffly, "but I am doing my job. Playing the diplomat, being the Clave's pawn." He took a step forward and scoffed, "I know you don't like me, but did you have to stoop to the same level of low as Aldertree? It's not going to stop me from helping Alec, so you just wasted your breath for nothing."
She held her chin in the air with a huff and Leon turned away from her and walked off, passing a bewildered Alec on his way.
"Leon, wait," Alec called after him. Leon kept walking, ignoring Alec because he didn't want to tell Alec about what his mother told him or what Aldertree told him. "Leon."
Alec's hand wrapped around Leon's forearm and he stopped, sighing in defeat as Alec stood in front of him.
"Talk to me. What was that about? What did my mom mean?"
Slowly, Leon took his arm out of Alec's grasp and he crossed his arms over his chest instead. "At the end of my interview, Aldertree threatened to send me back to London if I disobeyed an order."
"What?"
Leon sighed and shook his head, "Look, Alec, I can deal with it. And he can't send me back because Evelyn is just going to deny the transfer request."
"But he threatened you."
Leon shrugged, "It's nothing, Alec. Aldertree, Kai and I...We have a bit of a history. We're basically rivals."
"What happened?"
Leon started walking forward and Alec fell in step beside him. They walked through Battery Park and headed through Brooklyn toward Magnus' apartment.
"A couple years ago, three of our own Shadowhunters were killed by a vamp. They were just headed back to the Institute from the local pub," he started to explain as they walked.
"But what does that have to do with you?"
Leon and Alec kept walking down the sidewalks of Brooklyn, glamoured from the mundanes. Leon often felt peace in being invisible to the mundanes. He could watch them without being watched back.
"The day before, I had been meeting with some Downworlders about some mundane murders outside of London," he continued to explain. "The vamp that killed the Shadowhunters was among those Downworlders in the meeting."
"And Aldertree tried to say you had something to do with the murders," Alec concluded.
Leon nodded his head with a sigh. "There was a trial, much like Izzy's. I was almost sent to the Gard for high treason. And what your mom said, about cutting a cancer out before it destroys you? That nearly happened with me and Kai. Because if I had been sent to the Gard, I would've been executed. They didn't want to ruin Kai with my death."
Alec let out a sharp breath and looked over to Leon as they walked. "He almost got you killed. And you're okay with him being head of our Institute?"
"Of course not, Alec," Leon answered him with a stern shake of his head. "I don't want to be in the same country with him let alone in the same Institute." Leon sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Neither does Kai, but what choice do we have? Sure, we can ask to be transferred back to London — "
"No," Alec protested sharply. "No, please don't do that."
Leon chuckled and stopped walking. Alec did, too, and Leon reached out to touch his arm gently. "I won't. Kai won't either. So, our only option is just to deal with it."
Alec nodded and then the two of them started walking again.
"Did he say anything else to you during your interview?"
Leon frowned and hesitated to answer. He hadn't wanted to tell Alec about what Aldertree said about Alec's wedding — and the kiss they shared in the middle of the wedding hall.
But he hesitated too long and Alec knew that there was more. Leon couldn't lie now.
"He did, didn't he? What did he say?"
Leon sighed softly as they continued to walk. "He just had something to say about your wedding, is all," Leon answered.
Alec's face contorted into anger with what he had said, but Alec just took a deep breath. Neither of them said anything else as they came up to Magnus' apartment.
That was when Leon started to notice that the sun was setting quickly behind the horizon. The New York air was becoming chilly and crisp, which felt nice on Leon's exposed skin.
But then they headed into the building, hoping that Magnus could help them track their missing friend.
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i kinda love the rivalry with Aldertree, idk why but it's gonna be good.
signed,
hellocreation