Wrapping his arms around Adam, he held him close, trying to find the right words. He'd never found them for Jace and Alec knew that he couldn't magically make Adam believe that he didn't find the scars offensive. "Yes, they are." He kept his tone gentle, emphasizing the words by brushing a hand through Adam's hair. "Healing takes strength. Sometimes it takes more strength to heal than it does to be injured."

For what felt like a long time, he was silent, running his fingers along Adam's back the way he had before that hadn't been ticklish for his boyfriend. "Scars really aren't weird to Shadowhunters." Alec didn't have many. Most had faded because of runes and time, but he knew where every one had been. It wasn't the same, but it didn't make him shy away from scars the way a Mundane might. "And they don't make my hot boyfriend less attractive."