"You can say his name, I'm not...really trying to keep it a secret anymore," Alec said shyly. He'd tried that in the immediate aftermath of finally deciding he didn't want to stay away until he realized that literally no one cared who he was with. No one was going to report him to the Clave, no one was going to look at him with disgust, no one stopped talking when he entered the room and no one looked at him twice.

"I'm not broadcasting it to everyone or going out of my way to tell people but I'm not hiding him or anything," Alec said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Luke told me I should bring him over here for dinner or something before you came over with food and sweaters."