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fanficsbykay · 3 years

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Seven Days

Summary: The Clique's Six annual reunion is coming up and so are a lot of secrets and changes. Can one week bring friends closer together, or further apart? Find out in Seven Days, based on the Mary J Blige song. Rucas Centric. Joshaya; Smarkle;

Word Count: 2,190

Chapter 1: A Friend of Mine

MONDAY

She tossed the thin dark purple cardigan on and listened to Maya rant about the inconvenience of their impromptu reunion. Riley giggled as Maya waved off a euphemism about Farkle and Isadora flying in late that evening. Riley grabbed her keys and shuffled Maya towards the front door. Maya groaned and leaned back into Riley’s arms purposely making it hard for the bubbly brunette to move her.

“Maya,” Riley chastised and the blonde smirked.

“Oh come on Riles, do we really need to go get party supplies? It's just us six!” Maya groaned.

“Maya it's been a year since all six of us were together! Aren’t you excited to see our friends?” Riley pouted.

“Yeah, I guess,” Maya said and rolled her eyes.

Riley knew it was a front, and that Maya was just as excited as she was. Despite being close the clique six had spread out across the continent for college. Maya and Riley stayed true, and both got into NYU. While Riley went to Steinhardt for English Education, Maya found her calling at Tisch for Collaborative Art. Although in different programs, they became roommates in a cramped two-bedroom, a gift from their parents. Their friendship never wavered and if anything it got stronger over the last few years. As their junior year ended they wanted to celebrate with their best friends. In just mere months they would be college seniors, and then off to more school or careers.

“Farkle got us a suite,” Riley teased and Maya grinned.

“A suite? Okay, Minkus, guess that business degree is working after all,” Maya mused and stood up straight.

As the girls found their place at NYU, Farkle and Isadora found their place at Stanford University. Although Princeton University was their goal, they both realized the move across the country would do them good. It was no surprise that both of them had done well successfully that they were graduating before their friends. Farkle in the fall will be attending Stanford Graduate School of Business and Isadora will start her Ph.D. program in Neuroscience. Another reason for their motley crew of friends to come together.

“It's more like a graduation gift from his parents,” Riley said and led Maya out of their apartment.

“I can't believe those two geniuses are already going to their second degrees, I barely think I am going to make it out of my bachelor’s,” Maya groaned as Riley locked the door.

The two linked their arms together and Riley giggled.

“Maya you're doing great in school, As and Bs,” Riley exclaimed.

“It's only because I am actually interested in school now, why couldn't we just jump to college?” Maya asked as they walked down the stairs.

“That's not how life works,” Riley said as they left the apartment building.

Loud city noises blare down the streets and the crowds shuffled through masses of New Yorkers. Both girls leaped into the mass and followed the flow down the street.

“I hope Party City isn't crowded,” Maya said as Riley smiled brightly.

A benefit of having an apartment in Union Square was that everything was close by to them. They could pop in, get some supplies and grab lunch all within walking distance.

“I doubt it, no major holidays, just some graduations in a few weeks,” Riley said.

“So … we talked about Smarkle, is there a particular someone you would like to talk about before we see them?” Maya teased.

“Zay? I heard he might double major,” Riley shrugged.

“What is he? Can he?” Maya asked as Riley nodded.

“I mean he is a dance major, maybe he wants to do something in that field but more,” Riley said.

“Sounds like a lot,” Maya mused.

“I know but it's Zay, and Duke is letting him do it, why not take advantage?” Riley said

Zay’s college choice was a surprise to all of them. They knew Zay was eclectic and loved to do different things, but they all assumed he would go back to Texas. He threw them for a loop when he decided to go to Duke University in North Carolina for Dance. They knew he liked ballet but didn't think he would take it on as a major.

“Wait! You deflected! You know who I was talking about Riles. A certain cowboy down in Texas,” Maya teased.

Lucas.

Lucas’s choice was no surprise to Riley, she knew what he was interested in since they were in the seventh grade. So when he announced he was going to Texas A&M Riley was excited for him no matter what. They decided it was in their best interest to break up and stay as friends. Allowing one another to explore these new waters without being weighed down by a significant other. However, it didn't matter to Riley as she never found anyone to match Lucas on any level. Sure she went on dates and flirted around, but nothing was serious. No one was able to make her feel like he did.

“Lucas?” Riley asked.

“You said Huckleberry’s name, that's a big step for you,” Maya said with a grin.

“I always say his name, it's you who insist on these nicknames, Maya we’re twenty-one now. Don't you think it would be a good time to drop the nicknames?” Riley asked.

“What and miss out on annoying moral compass, do you know me Riles?” Maya fake gasped and Riley chuckled.

“Yes I do, and to answer your question, there’s nothing to talk about, Lucas and I are friends, with the exception of Smarkle, we are all friends,” Riley said and directed Maya into Party City.

“You two were always more than just friends,” Maya said as Riley dragged her towards balloons.

“Why are we getting party supplies again?” Maya groaned.

“Well while we are just becoming seniors, Farkle and Izzy are graduating. I thought it would be nice to have something like a little congratulations thing during our reunion,” Riley said as she perused gold and silver balloons.

“Do we have to get gifts?” Maya asked.

“I’m getting them cards, and I got them each something small, just a congrats thing. You don't have to, you know how I feel about gift-giving,” Riley said with a smile.

“You love it you fruit loop, I guess I’ll look for something here,” Maya sighed and followed Riley down the aisles.

As the girls scoured the store for supplies, they kept the conversation light about their friends. Catching one another up on information to prepare for the annual reunion. Maya laughed as she picked up small party favors and found two keychains for her friends.

“Look one for each of them, the dollar sign for Farkle, and the brain for Izzy,” Maya said as she jingled them.

Riley playfully rolled her eyes and smiled at her best friend. However, she knew the two would love Maya’s gift and treasure it because that is what friends do.

“I have a special order to pick up,” Riley said as she walked towards the counter.

“Special? Oh, Riles, what did you do?” Maya asked as Riley talked to the cashier.

Riley emptied her basket of balloons, candy, and streamers. She smiled as the cashier revealed a bag with Stanford University decorations.

“Of course,” Maya said.

“It's going to be so much fun,” Riley said as the cashier rang up her things.

“Fruit Loop, look I am going to the other cashier to pay for this, don't get any more supplies,” Maya chastised as she walked away.

Riley playfully rolled her eyes once more and smiled as the Cashier scanned the items. Riley’s eyes caught a glimmer of gold and she saw a gaudy gold plastic necklace with a horseshoe. She bit her bottom lip in complementation and took the plunge.

“Could I get that too?” Riley said as she pointed to the necklace.

The cashier rang it up and gave her the total. Riley swiped her card with no hesitation and smiled as she was handed the bags. Maya had sauntered over with her small bag and raised her eyebrows.

“Got everything?” Maya asked as Riley nodded.

Riley sat at her desk as she edited her final paper for class. One click and she would officially be done with her junior year. However, she couldn't stop herself from continuously changing the ending. Something felt off, and she didn't know what it was. She glanced at the clock and saw it was well past 11:00 PM, and she was exhausted. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn.

Her phone vibrated and she glanced at it. It was a text but who it was, surprised her. She didn't know why he would text her so late but he had to have a reason. Sure they chatted outside the group chat but it was mundane, and not so late.

Lucas: Hey you up?

Riley: Unfortunately, is everything ok?

Lucas: Yeah can I call?

Riley hesitated but ultimately confirmed that he could. Before she knew it, her phone was ringing in her hands. As she took a deep breath she picked up the call.

“Hey,” She whispered.

“Hey,” Lucas responded.

“Hey,” She repeated.

“I thought we grew out of that,” He chuckled.

“I thought so too,” Riley said as she leaned back in her seat.

“Sorry to call so late it's almost midnight over there right?” He asked.

“Yeah but it's fine I was up, I was working on my final paper,” Riley said as she scrolled through the document.

“Riley Matthews hasn’t finished her homework, oh no the world is ending,” He joked.

“Oh stop it, I have till tomorrow midnight to submit it but I wanted it done before … the reunion,” Riley said.

“That's the Riley I know, am I interrupting? Do you want to finish it?” Lucas asked as he cleared his throat.

Riley paused and leaned back in her chair. A part of her did want to finish the paper, but the other part of her wanted to know why he called, especially this late.

“I think my brain is fried, I know something is wrong, I just can't put my finger on it, I can talk. What's up?” Riley said as she tried to make her voice sound light.

“I kind of wanted to hear your voice,” Lucas said, his voice deepening.

“My voice?” Riley questioned.

“Yeah … I just needed to hear it. Talking to you has always been easy Riley, and I thought I would call one of my best friends,” Lucas said.

Riley could tell something was wrong, but just like her paper, she couldn't put her finger on it. She twirled some hair around her finger and listened to him.

“What did you want to talk about? Tomorrow?” Riley asked.

“I’m excited to come home,” Lucas said and Riley could feel her heart race slightly.

“Texas isn't home?” Riley asked.

“No it isn't, not when everything I love is back in New York,” Lucas said

“Like your friends,” Riley said.

“Yeah but a particular one in mind. Plus I wouldn't feel so lost, and I think … I need to be found” Lucas said his voice lofty and Riley bit her lip.

“Are you okay Lucas, you sound … off,” Riley asked as he chuckled.

“You definitely know me the best, yeah I’m good, I had a drink and I think … it's getting to me. Don't mind me, I’m sorry for interrupting. Goodnight Riley,” Lucas said and hung up the call before Riley could say anything.

Riley looked at the phone puzzled at what just happened. She thought about waking Maya but she decided against it. Instead, she crafted a long but well-intended text to the Texan. She needed him to know she wasn't judging him and that she was there for him.

Riley: Hey, you sounded off. I know you said you drank but, it didn't seem like that was what was going on? You know you can talk to me always if you want to call back we can talk about what's bothering you. I hope you're okay Lucas, I’m always here for you.

Riley sent the message and returned to her paper. She glanced at her phone every few seconds and waited to hear it vibrate back but it didn't. She sighed and started to type up her conclusion, so she could finally finish her paper. As she saved the document and uploaded it to her college portal, she checked her phone. Still nothing. As she submitted the paper, she got up from her seat and went to the bathroom to do her bedtime routine.

Lucas crossed her mind with each task, and she wondered if tomorrow it would be easier to talk. She hoped all was alright, and she wished he would have told her what's wrong. As she finished her routine she bounded for her room. She flicked her light off and crawled into bed exhausted from the day. She grabbed her phone to plug it in to charge when she saw a new alert. She swiped through to see a response from Lucas.

Lucas: I love you.

#rucas fanfiction #rucas fanfic #Rucas #gmw fanfic #GMW #girl meets world fanfiction #girl meets world #joshaya #smarkle #riley matthews #riley x lucas #lucas friar #maya hart #Josh Matthews #isadora smackle #farkle minkus #zay babineaux #charlie gardner #gmw fanfiction

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fan4196 · 4 years

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Come home

Hey everyone here's another Jolex fix fic. Thanks @angry-slytherin for beta reading. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

"Alex put your stupid phone away, we are having dinner. You know the rule, no electrics or toys at the table!" Izzie's snortes strictly.

With a quick glimpse on his phone Alex can see the name of his wife. It's another voicemail from her. With a heavy heart he turns his phone around and puts it next to his glass.

From then on he eats silently, deep in his thaughts, thinking about his Jo. He misses her so much, but he has to do this. He's not like his dad, he really wants know his kids.

Alex phone is still in the kitchen on the dining table when it starts ringing again. Alex is putting the twins to bed so Izzie is the only one in the kitchen. She walks over to the phone and looks on the illuminated display. A picture of Alex in a dark blue tux with a brunette woman his arms is showing up. The caller ID is saying 'Princess'. The call ends before Izzie could pick it up and the phone turns to its lock screen. It's another picture of Alex and the brunette woman. This time Alex is wearing a black tux and vampire teeth. The woman, who Izzie supposes is his wife, is wearing the same white dress like in the picture before but ruined with blood.

Who the hell does something like this to their wedding dress? Izzie would never do that. Not in a million years.

Annoyed by all those calls Izzie takes the phone, turns it off and puts it away.

"Have you seen my phone? I left it on the dinning table after dinner but it's not there anymore." Alex walks into the kitchen after putting the twins to bed. He wants to call Jo. He needs to hear her voice, but he can't find his stupid phone.

"Yeah I put it away. It was ringing all the time so I turned it off and put it away." Izzie answers him casually, like it's the most normal thing in the world to hide other peoples phones.

"What the fuck. Where is it? I need it." He asks angrily. What the hell is she thinking?

"No, Alex. You agreed to spend some time with us without distractions and that phone was distracting you. So no, you will get it back, just not today." She answeres him, turning back to washing the dishes.

"Wow. You haven't changed a bit Izzie. Everything is always about you. I came here to meet my kids. I thought yeah, maybe Izzie changed. Maybe we can be friends again and coparent the twins. But you obviously haven't changed a bit. Now give me my phone back because I need to call my wife."

Izzie's throwing the towel onto the kitchen counter beside the sink hard and crosses her arms over her chest.

"No! You wanted to meet your kids and if you want to stay and get to know them you have to play after my rules. No phone! No contact to Seattle! And don't you ever talk to my kids about your stupid wife again!"

Alex's blood starts boiling. No one speaks about his Jo like this. No one calls her stupid. No one! Not even Izzie. Yeah, she's the mother of his kids but she has no freaking right to badmouth Jo.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALKING ABOUT MY WIFE LIKE THAT! SHE'S ANYTHING BUT STUPID. MY WIFE IS THE MOST BRILLIANT, MOST AMAZING, MOST CARING WOMAN AND DOCTOR I HAVE EVER MET AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK DIRTY ABOUT HER BECAUSE YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW HER! SHE'S THE REASON I'M HERE. I'M A BETTER MAN BECAUSE OF HER. SHE TOLD ME TO COME HERE EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT I'M HERE FOR. BECAUSE SHE TRUSTS ME. I LOVE HER TO DEATH. AND IF I WANT TO TALK TO MY CHILDREN ABOUT MY WIFE THEN I WILL." Alex screams angrily. Balling his fists, resisting everything to not punch Izzie in her stupid face.

"Of course you take her side. Because she screws you." Izzie says provocatively.

"HELL YES I TAKE HER SIDE. BECAUSE SHE'S MY WIFE AND THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME. UNLIKE OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM. I WOULD NEVER, LEAVE HER THROUGH A DUMBASS LETTER AND SEND HER DIVORCE PAPERS. NEVER! BECAUSE SHE DESERVES THE WORLD. AND YES SHE SCREWS ME, BETTER THAN YOU EVER DID!" He has no idea why he said that, but he wants to hurt Izzie. And if he couldn't do it physically he has to use his words. It's also the truth, so he has no problem admitting this in front of Izzie.

It's silent in the kitchen. Izzie's eyes fill with tears, but Alex doesn't care. With quick steps she leaves the kitchen, leaving Alex alone. He really doesn't care, all he cares about is finding his stupid phone and calling his wife. He hasn't spoken to her since he left and he misses her voice. Also because, if he's not hearing Jo's calming words anytime soon, he's sure he will kill Izzie.

After an hour of searching he finds his phone in an empty cereal box in the back of a cabinet.

Turning it back on he has to smile as soon as he sees his screensaver. God, he misses Jo so much. When he opens his missed calls from the last few days his smile fades and he starts to get worried. He has five missed calls from Jo. Two from Mer. One from Link. One from Cristina and even one from Bailey. Something wasn't right.

As quick as his fingers can he tips on Jo's contact and waits anxiously for her to pick up, but after a few rings it goes straight to voice mail. He starts walking worried through the kitchen and decides to go outside. He needs air. He tries another time. It's ringing again, this time she picks up.

"Alex."

"Oh my God, Jo. Are you ok? Is everything alright?"

"Yes." Jo's answering shortly and her voice cracks.

"Jo. Stop. Why are you crying?" Alex askes worried, wishing he could put his arms around her right now and kiss her tears away.

"I- I thought you were dead or screwing another woman or leaving me. I- don't know. I called your mom and she told me that you've never been with her. And-"

"Oh, Princess. I'm so sorry. Crap, I'm sorry, Jo. I- I'm- Maybe you should sit down. Where are you?" He's asking carefully before he tells her everything.

"In the scrub room of OR 3. I was doing an appendectomy when you called."

"Who's doing it now?" Alex askes quickly, a little confused if she left an patient open just to talk to him.

"One of the new interns but I paged Mer already- and there she is. Let me unscrub real quick and I will call you back ok?" She sniffs.

"Sure, Princess. Take your time." With a smile he ends the call.

Alex's now sitting on the bench under one of the big trees in the front yard of the farm. It's dark already but he doesn't care. All he cares about is not crossing Izzie's way again today and his phone in his hands, waiting for Jo to call back.

After another ten minutes his phone rings and he immediately picks up.

"Hey. I'm done and in the attendings lounge sitting on the sofa." Jo's saying a little nervous. Alex takes a deep breath and starts.

"Please don't be mad, don't scream and please let me finish before you say something, ok?" He's nervous too, because he has no idea how she will react.

"To be honest I can't promise that-"

"I'm with Izzie, Jo. The day we reached out to old doctors from the hospital for Mer's trial I also called Izzie. We talked and I heard voices in the background. I asked her if she has kids and she said yes. She then told me that she used the frozen embryos from back when she had cancer and that she has twins- I have twins. I had to get to know them, Jo. I'm so sorry, but I have kids and I needed to be better than my dad and get to know them." He's waiting for Jo's reaction, prepared for everything but she's silent.

"Jo? Did you hear me?" He's asking, to make sure she's still there and she heard him.

"I stole a baby." She's answering quickly, letting go a breath she was holding.

"What?" Alex askes confused, not quite getting the connection to what he just told her.

"Remember when I signed up for this Safe haven thingy? Well Ben called me, the day you left, that there was a baby found at Station 19. I went there and he was so sweet and so tiny and I- ahm I took him home."

"You stole a baby?"

"Yeah, kind of. But Mer and Link put sense into me and I brought him to the hospital. He got checked out and I talked to the social worker. Sooo- we have an one month old little baby boy now, Alex."

"Oh my God, Jo-"

"I know. To my defense if you have babies without me, I can have one without you too." She's laughing.

"You are incredible, Jo." He replies softly.

"Mmhh I know. Now tell me about your kids and Izzie."

"I don't really want to talk about Izzie. We had a fight."

"About what?"

"About you. She called you stupid and I told her to shut up. And I may or may not also told her that you are better in bed that her."

"Alex!" She snorts, but laughs afterwards.

"What, it's true- God, I miss you."

"Mmhh. I'm sure. Three weeks without sex must be hard for you."

"Oh shut up, woman. But trust me when I come home we won't get out of bed for a week."

"Wrong. Remember we have a newborn now."

"You're killing me, Princess." His voice is playful and he's laughing.

They talk for another two hours. Joking, laughing, talking. Until Jo gets paged to a trauma in the pit.

They say their goodbyes. Tell each other 'I love you' and Alex promises to book a flight home for the next day.

#Jolex #jolex #jolex fanfic #jo karev #jo x alex #jo wilson #alex karev #alex #grey's anatomy #grey's #grey's fanfic #Fanfic #fanfiction #fan.4196

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icanthelpbut-love-you · 4 years

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a snowfall kind of love

Malec discord secret santa fic featuring the prompts “snowed in, hot drinks, and tipsy cuddling” for @hanukkahmagnus. Happy Hanukkah!!!

read on ao3

Alec stifles a giggle as he frantically tries to fit the key into the lock, feeling Magnus shiver and huddle as close as possible against the snowstorm raging around them.

Growling through chattering teeth, he fumbles when the ice on the door causes the key to slip.

“Lillith, Alec it’s cold out here! Can we hurry up and get inside – preferably before rather than after we both get frostbite?”

Any other time Alec would point out that as a warlock and a shadowhunter it would be difficult for either of them to actually get frostbite given the whole accerlerated healing situation (even without considering runes or magic). But it’s almost impossible to even see the lock a few inches in front of his face through the swirling snow and Alec needs all his concentration to try and wrestle the key into submission so they can get inside rather than take that chance.

So he settles for a distracted “I’m trying,” chuckling when Magnus presses closer and mutters under his breath about the cold and incompetent shadowhunters.

He does, however, startle as Magnus slides his freezing hands around Alec’s waist to emphasise just how cold he is, but manages to recover and finally fit the key into the lock. A teasing admonishment dies on Alec’s lips as they tumble inside. It takes both of their strength to close the door against the wind outside, but it finally concedes with a flurry of snow. The howling wind outside cuts off to a muted roar. They collapse against the door and Alec can feel Magnus shaking with laughter, even as they both shiver.

He has to admit, this isn’t how he expected their evening to go. It’s the last day of their mission – if you can even call it that when it essentially amounted to Magnus helping out an old warlock friend with a spell that’s slightly above their power level, with Alec tagging along because the spell is tangentially clave business (the official reason) and because Magnus wanted his company (the more accurate unofficial reason) – so the last few hours were supposed to just be some finishing touches and socialising. But the spell had, as ancient, translated-through-several-language spells are liable to do, become unexpectedly complicated when they tried to complete those finishing touches. Which meant they fell behind schedule just long enough for he and Magnus to get caught up in a sudden snowstorm on the way back to their lodgings.

Laughter abating, he turns to Magnus and is sent into a fresh fit of giggles. The warlock is covered from head to toe in snow, and Alec is sure he’s in no better condition himself, but even more amusingly his normally-perfect mowhawk is in complete disarray from the wind. And – Alec reaches out and runs his hand through Magnus’ hair to confirm, ignoring the disgruntled huff he gets in response – is frozen stiff, crackling against his fingers.

“Why didn’t we just portal?” Alec asks, still gasping for breath slightly. Even for a trained shadowhunter, their cabin is a fair distance from the quarters where Magnus’ warlock friend lives. Especially when he’d been expecting a leisurely stroll through the gorgeous snowy mountains.

“And ruin the fun?” Magnus quips back, “We couldn’t possibly.”

Alec fixes him with a disbelieving look and stares pointedly at the floor where the snow coating their clothes is starting to melt into a puddle around them.

Magnus remains unabashed, but his tone does become a little more serious as he continues.

“Old warlock formalities. I can’t portal on another warlock’s land without permission, even if they are an old friend – the wards wouldn’t allow it,” he explains.

“C’mon Magnus don’t act like I don’t know exactly how powerful you are. You could circumvent the wards in seconds.”

“You flatter me, Alexander,” Magnus chuckles and Alec rolls his eyes.

“It’s not flattery if it’s true.”

And it is. He’s seen Magnus perform feats of magic he can barely comprehend and he’s well aware of the incredible power running through the warlock’s veins (a little too aware at times but that’s definitely not the point).

Yet when he says as much Magnus gets slightly shifty-eyed – as he always seems to when Alec compliments him on things that really should be obvious.

“Maybe so,” Magnus concedes with a shrug, after a brief pause, “But it would be an unforgivable breach of etiquette and deeply insulting to our host. I can only imagine the fallout if I made a show of the fact I could dismantle their wards for anything other than incredibly extenuating circumstances – I’d never be invited anywhere again!”

Alec has to admit he can’t argue with that; the importance of respect (or at least the illusion of it) between different factions and an understanding of the careful etiquette required to maintain it is one of the few things that translates directly between shadowhunter and warlock culture. The melodramatic way Magnus explains it still has him stifling a fond eye-roll though.

Looking out window as it rattles in the wind, Alec considers the snow still swirling outside before turning to his husband. He feels a grin creep onto his face as Magnus eyes him quizzically.

“Looks like we won’t be able to make it home this evening like we planned,” he says slyly.

Magnus mock pouts, and Alec can only smile wider at the glint of mischief in the warlock’s brown eyes.

“Such a shame,” Magnus says, taking a purposeful step closer until they’re pressed flush against each other, “The two of us, stuck in this quaint cabin in the middle of the mountains,” he inclines he head in invitation, breath puffing against Alec’s cheek in the scant space left between them and voice dropping to a low whisper, “Alone until the storm passes.”

Alec gladly obliges, pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss. He breaks away just as it starts to turn heated, dodging Magnus’ attempt to dive back in as soon as they part and grinning at the disappointed noise Magnus makes.

“I really like the way you think,” he murmurs, “But I should probably call Izzy and let her know that we’re stuck. Rather than just disappearing for the evening.”

The unimpressed look on Magnus’ face says he doesn’t see why, but he obligingly fishes the phone from Alec’s back pocket where his hand has wandered and passes it over.

(If asked, Magnus would firmly maintain that he showed commendable self-control in only copping a brief feel. Alec refuses to acknowledge either that or that frankly unbecoming squeak that escaped him.)

Izzy picks up after the first ring, clearly worried considering he’s calling her on what should be a routine mission. Concern quickly turns to scepticism, though, when Alec explains the situation. He gets as far as relaying Magnus’ spiel about the politics of portalling through a fellow warlock’s wards before she interrupts.

“I’m pretty sure being caught in a freak snowstorm counts as extenuating circumstances hermano,” she says dryly.

There’s a moment resounding silence where Alec is left floundering for a plausible reason why they can’t just send a fire message explaining the situation and get permission for a portal. Then Magnus cuts in.

“That would be a good point if I wasn’t utterly drained from this evening. All those complications in the spellwork – completely exhausting,” he explains smoothly, “I doubt I’ve got enough magic to create a portal if I tried.”

Izzy’s responding eyeroll is almost audible but she doesn’t call either of them on their bullshit. Alec is hit with wave of gratitude – he and Magnus have barely had any alone time since the wedding (perks of being high ranking leaders of their respective people) and several hours uninterrupted in the middle of nowhere sounds like heaven.

Unfortunately, Izzy knows this too if her suggestive parting encouragement to “have fun” is any indication. Alec doesn’t even need to look to know that Magnus is composing something even more suggestive to say back.

“Goodbye Izzy,” he groans and hangs up before Magnus can respond, all previous gratitude towards his sister dispelled at the prospect of having to listen to her trade innuendos with his husband.

He’s barely turned his phone off before Magnus snaps his fingers to summon a blanket and light the fire, alighting on the couch before flicking the blankets back to make space. He shoots an expectant and distinctly cat-got-the cream look at Alec who promptly bursts out laughing

“Magic depletion?” he asks increduosly.

“Oh yes,” Magnus confirms as Alec slides in next to him obligingly and snuggles up under the blanket, sighing at the warmth of his husband pressed up against him. Magnus promptly sends up another shower of sparks as he summons a steaming mug – heaped with cream and complete with actual sticks of cinnamon – for each of them, “And I think cuddling in front of the fire with the man I love is exactly what I need to recover.”

Alec presses closer with a shake of his head, still chuckling as he raises the mug to his lips.

“Well, far be it from me to deny you something so vital to your recovery,” he teases, taking a sip.

And almost doing a spectacular spit-take.

“By the Angel Magnus, how much alcohol did you put in this?”

“Just enough,” is the smug reply he gets, “Does wonders to warm you up.”

Alec raises an eyebrow in response, but the effect is definitely ruined as he takes another long sip. He tangles their legs together, rucking up Magnus’ shirt to trace patterns on his torso. Magnus shivers, though Alec’s not sure whether from the sensation or just because his hands are cold

“You know what else is good for warming you up?” he asks.

Magnus grins.

“Why don’t you enlighten me.”

“Body heat,” Alec murmurs, skimming his hands down Magnus’ ribs to emphasise his point.

He’s barely finished talking before Magnus is putting his mug to the side and shucking off his shirt, encouraging Alec to to the same with a murmured, “Can’t argue with that.”

When they’re settled again, hands gently roaming over bare skin – not with any intention but rather to just touch – Alec reaches for his cup again, relishing the warmth. His hands still feel like they’re made of ice but the hot drink and Magnus’ heated skin is definitely helping. Draining the rest, he tries not to wince at the way the alcohol has settled at the bottom of the mug making it somehow even stronger.

He catches the fond smile on Magnus’ face but before he has a chance to ask, Magnus is swiping a finger across Alec’s upper lip. He draws back and Alec has just enough time to process that some of the (frankly ridiculous amount) of cream from the cocoa must have got caught there.

Then Magnus sucks his finger into his mouth, licking it clean a way that crosses the border into indecent, and Alec’s brain short circuits.

A thought strikes him (once he’s regained the ability to think, albiet a little less clear than before) as he watches Magnus finish off his own mug with a smug wink before refilling them both. Tilting his head up from where it’s settled on Magnus’ shoulder, Alec steals a thorough kiss.

Magnus’ free hand immediately comes up to cradle Alec’s face and Alec parts his lips to deepen the kiss. Hauling Magnus closer until Magnus is practically sitting on his lap, Alec groans at the heady combination of chocolate and whiskey he can taste on Magnus’ tongue.

Eventually he manages to pull himself away and is gratified – always is, no matter how many times they do this – when he’s greeted by brilliant gold as he meets Magnus’ gaze.

“Just as I suspected,” Alec says, managing to keep a very serious demeanour until Magnus looks at him – still somewhat dazed – with such pure confusion that Alec can’t help but give in, “Tastes much better that way.”

Magnus narrows his eyes.

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I mix you a drink,” he says wryly and Alec snickers. It’s hard to tell, he thinks, whether the giddy boldness he’s feeling is because of the spiked cocoa when this is how Magnus has always made him feel anyway.

However, it quickly becomes clear that at least some of it is definitely from the cocoa, which is starting to settle over him in a pleasant fog. It’s the most content he’s felt in quite a while; curled up against his husband who’s shifting to pull the blanket more comfortably over them, with no responsibilities until at least tomorrow morning, and so, so warm despite how frozen he felt when they first sat down. Though he’d never hear the end of it if he said anything, Magnus definitely has a point about the cocoa’s warming properties.

Manuavering so his head is in Alec’s lap, Magnus makes a soft noise of approval as Alec automatically moves to run his hands through his husband’s hair. Within seconds Magnus is dozing.

Evidently there was also some truth to Magnus’ claim of magical exhaustion, as much as he was using it as an excuse, Alec muses as he toys with his sleeping husband’s hair. It wouldn’t be surprising given Magnus’ well-documented tendency to use jokes and flippancy to mask any and all vulnerability. Thinking about it now, Magnus hasn’t done anything more complicated than a summoning spell since they got back to the cabin, even though Alec can call to mind several other times where Magnus would normally resort to magic out of pure impatience.

The realisation drives home to Alec, not for the first time, how much they’ve both changed in the time they’ve known each other. When they first met, there’s no doubt that Magnus would have insisted he was fine and stayed awake well into the night to prove it. Raziel knows Alec spent their first few months visibly terrified, but in hindsight Magnus was just as bad. The only difference was he knew how to hide it. Now the Alec knows what to look for, there were so many things that screamed out how worried Magnus was that Alec would think less of him for any show of vulnerability.

It’s humbling that Alec is the one Magnus lets down his guard around now. Because it’s one thing to know someone will watch your back, but another thing – a completely different level of trust – to properly relax around them.

And Magnus is completely relaxed. Alec can feel the familiar presence of Magnus’ magic flowing just below his skin, reaching out as it always does when they touch. But it’s mellow. Sleeping, for lack of a better word. For someone like Magnus, who’s always on high alert and whose magic rests even less than he does, that’s almost a miracle.

Stirring slightly, Magnus (or at least his magic) seems to register that Alec is still awake, and with a gentle glow from Magnus’ fingertips the lights dim and the fire dies down to a pile of smouldering embers. Only then does it hit Alec how exhausted he is too. The combination of whiskey and the fading adrenaline from the day’s excitement is as potent as any sleeping draught Magnus could have brewed in his apothecary.

Lulled by the rhythmic up and down of Magnus’ breathing and the repetition of his hand still carding through Magnus’ hair, Alec catches himself dozing. The last thought he registers before he drifts off, wrapped up in the blanket and Magnus’ arms, is that they should definitely work out how to arrange another snowstorm next time they want some time to themselves.

#malec #malec fic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #isabelle lightwood #shtv #malec fanfic #my fic

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cristinablackthornkingson · 5 years

Text

Shadowhunters Short Story #45 Baby Girl Lightwood-Bane.

It is a warm spring evening in May of 2014 when Magnus and Alec Lightwood-Bane are broken from their blissful domestic bubble while playing with their sons, by the sharp ringing of the landline.

With a sigh Alec stands up with Max on his hip and makes his way over to the phone. No doubt it’s someone from The Clave with more work for him, just when he thought he had finished for the day and could spend some quality time with his husband and children.

“Hello?” Alec answers the phone, shifting Max in his arms as he begins to squirm and wriggle.

“Alec! Can you come to The Institute right now? Please? Clary and I really need your help!” Jace’s panicked voice comes down the line, immediately sending Alec into a fit of anxiety and worry. Had something happened to he and Clary? Was there news from Idris?

“What’s wrong what happened? Are you okay, is Clary okay? Is it the baby?” Alec asks in a tone equally as panicked as Jace. Clary is 6 months pregnant and Jace has been extremely protective of her over the last 6 months, rushing to summon The Silent Brothers every time she so much as flinched. Maybe now something really was wrong.

“Yes! Wait no! I mean yes it’s the baby but not our baby.” Jace hurriedly says.

“What do you mean Jace?” Alec asks in a confused voice.

“So this morning Clary and I went to go visit her parents but when we got outside there was a basket with a baby lying in it, on the front steps. There was a note saying that the mother didn’t want the baby, but there was no explanation as to why. The baby’s dressed in pink so we think it’s a girl but we didn’t check, we brought her inside and she seems to be either a Shadowhunter, a cub, half Faerie or a mundane, we have no idea though, can you come help us?” For a few minutes Alec is speechless, brought back to that day in Idris 5 years ago when Simon had rushed up to tell he and Magnus about the blue baby left on the doorsteps of The Academy. No one knew how long Max had been there and no one knew how long this little girl had been on the steps of The Institute, no matter the weather during the day, it’s freezing cold at night, so cold Max could’ve died and so could this little girl. Clearly mothers who have unwanted pregnancies feel like they have no other option, since abortion is illegal among Shadowhunters (something that Alec is trying to fix, he feels like everyone deserves a choice and that they should decide what to do with their bodies, not him.) He will have to work on setting up a safe place for unwanted babies to be dropped, where they would be safe and warm and found immediately.

“We’ll be right over.” Alec tells his brother, then hangs up without even saying goodbye.

“Is everything alright?” Alec hears Magnus ask from behind him.

“Yes and no, there was a baby left on the steps of The Institute this morning, Jace and Clary have no idea what to do and want us to come over.” Alec says, running his hand through his messy black hair.

“How those two are going to cope with their own baby is beyond me, come on let’s go help them before they drop the baby.” Magnus says in an amused tone.

20 minutes later Magnus, Alec, Max, Rafe, Clary and Jace are standing in the drawing room of The Institute looking at the baby in her bassinet which has been placed on the sofa. Max and Rafe are fascinated by the baby but Clary and Jace are looking at her as if she is some new breed of demon.

“How long have you had her?” Alec asks, reaching into the bassinet to stroke the baby’s flushed cheek.

“About an hour.” Jace says.

“Have you picked her up or fed her in that hour?” Magnus asks, raising an eyebrow at his brother and sister-in-law.

“We don’t have any formula or anything and she seems happy in there so we didn’t see a reason to pick her up.” Jace tells them.

“And how are you going to cope with your baby when he’s born? You’ll have to hold him and feed him you know.” Alec says, smiling at the baby as she grasps his finger in her little hand.

“Yeah but it’ll be different with our own baby, and mom and Jocelyn and Luke have promised to come help out when he’s born.” Jace calmly says.

“Daddy.” Max pipes up. “Is this my sista?” He adds, looking from the baby to Alec. Alec and Magnus had discussed adopting again and have agreed that they want more children, and this little one does need a home. Alec shares a look with Magnus who smiles at him and then turns to look at Max. Placing his hand on Max’s back he says

“Yes Max this is your sister.” Max’s eyes light up in delight, and Clary and Jace sag with relief.

“What’s her name?” Rafe quietly asks, looking between his dads.

“She doesn’t have one yet Rafe, we have to think of one for her, can you think of any good names?” Alec softly asks his eldest son. Rafe shakes his head.

“That’s alright, we can come up with a good one, we chose your middle name and Max’s name, we can choose a good name for your sister.” Magnus softly says.

“How are you going to find out what she is?” Clary curiously asks, leaning against Jace, her hand resting protectively over her swollen stomach.

“I’m sure The Silent Brothers could tell us, or we could take her to Catarina for a blood test, it doesn’t matter what she is anyway, she's our daughter first and foremost.” Magnus firmly says.

Later that evening, when Rafe and Max are down for the night, Magnus and Alec place the baby on a pillow between them on the bed and try to come up with a name for her.

“We kind of have a theme going on with the boys, we named them both after someone that was important to us, maybe we should keep up that theme?” Alec softly suggests.

“Good idea, why don’t you choose her first name and I’ll choose her middle name?” Magnus says. He doesn’t want to name his daughter after one of his ex-girlfriends like Etta, he could choose something like Lucie for her middle name, since he and Lucie were quiet close when she was younger, but he wouldn't do that without Tessa’s permission, and he Alec wanted to name their daughter tonight.

“Okay, I think I’d like to name her after a family member, not mom or Izzy but one of my ancestors or something.” Alec quietly says, mentally running through a list of the names of his ancestors.

“You always liked the name Sophie didn’t you?” Magnus asks.

“Yeah but she doesn’t look like a Sophie.” After a minute’s pause, Alec’s eyes brighten and he says “I think I’ve got it.”

“What is it?” Magnus asks.

“Anna, after Anna Ligthwood. Tessa and Jem told me a lot about her, she was gay like me and non-binary and she refused to hide who she was even in a time when being gay was illegal among mundanes and a lot of Shadowhunters were extremely homophobic, I want our daughter to never be afraid to be herself, so don’t you think the name is fitting?” Magnus smiles at Alec and nods. He had liked Anna Lightwood very much, she was a wonderful person, they were good friends when she was a young adult, she had been one of the only Lightwood’s he ever liked.

“I think it’s perfect. Anna Catarina Ligthwood-Bane, what do you think?” Magnus softly asks. Catarina is one of his oldest and closest friends, she has done so much for him over the years, she’s one of the best people out there, she gets so little recognition for all she does, the least he can do is name his daughter after her.

“It’s perfect, welcome to the family my beautiful Anna, we love you so much.” Alec quietly says, leaning down to press a kiss to the baby’s forehead. She is absolutely beautiful, with a few wisps of a light blonde hair, pale skin and big green eyes. Both Magnus and Alec think she might be part fae. A few years ago that would have terrified them, with the cold peace in place they would’ve been terrified someone would want to hurt her or that The Clave would insist she be sent to Faerie. Neither of them had the slightest clue how to raise a baby who is half fae, but if she is half fae then surely they can get help from Mark and Helen Blackthorn along with Kieran. Helen and Aline’s daughter is part fae, as is Cristina, Kieran and Mark’s daughter.

Over the next few days Magnus and Alec settle into life with three children. Anna is mostly a very happy and content baby, she adores her big brothers who always manage to make her smile and laugh. She is spoiled already by Maryse who is thrilled to have a sweet little granddaughter, she talks non stop about how she cannot wait for Clary and Jace’s son to be born so she can have pictures of all four of her grandchildren together.

A week after adopting Anna, Alec and Magnus summoned a Silent Brother to see if he could tell them what species she is. After examining her for only a few minutes, Brother Enoch confirmed that little Anna is part Fae part Shadowhunter. Alec rang Aline in the LA Institute that evening and asked if she and Helen would be able to give them some advice on raising a child who is half fae. They agreed that next week, Alec, Magnus, Helen, Aline, Mark, Cristina and Kieran would meet up for a while to discuss the matter. Rafe and Max can play with Tavvy and the babies are all between 2-6 months old, so they won’t be difficult to keep occupied.

Tonight Alec has a Clave meeting which means Magnus will be on his own with the three kids for the first time, but he’s not worried, Max and Rafe are extremely well behaved and Anna isn’t fussy, she’ll be delighted to have some quality time with her big brothers. Alec needs to be at his meeting in an hour, but he hasn’t come out of his and Magnus’ room since he went in there about 2 hours ago to change Anna, Magnus suspects he fell asleep but if he’s to be on time for his meeting he needs to get up soon, so while Max and Rafe have their dinner Magnus heads into his and Alec’s room to wake his husband.

When Magnus steps into his and Alec’s room, he sees Alec lying on his back on the bed, fast asleep with Anna curled up on his chest, also fast asleep. Magnus quickly pulls his phone from his pocket and snaps a picture of his husband and daughter, something Tessa encouraged him to do when he and Alec adopted Max.

“Alexander.” Magnus softly says, taking a seat on the bed next to him and running a hand through his hair. “Time to wake up blue eyes.” Alec’s eyes flutter open and he smiles softly at Magnus.

“Hey, how long have I been asleep?” He asks in a tired tone.

“About two hours now, I wouldn’t have woken you but you have a meeting in an hour.” Magnus softly says.

“Ugh stupid meetings, I don’t want to go to a meeting I want to stay and snuggle Anna and play with the boys.” Alec says, holding his daughter close and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Now now Alexander, you can’t hog her all night, she’ll love having quality time with her papa and her big brothers, Max and Rafe have been talking non stop all day about how they’re going to help out with her, they refuse to change her diaper but Max says he will change her if I teach him how to use his magic to change her.” Magnus says in an amused tone. Alec laughs lightly.

“He’s so funny.” Alec says. He would give anything not to have to go to this meeting tonight, it’s very tempting to cancel it or hand it over to Diego, who is The Inquisitor.

“That he is, thank God he hasn’t got Jace’s sense of humor though, now come on, you’ll be late for your meeting.” Magnus says. Alec groans and passes Anna to Magnus, before pushing himself off the bed.

“It’s ridiculous that I have to go to a meeting when we just adopted a new baby, I need to work on new rules for paternity and maternity leave, Jace should be able to stay with Clary and their baby when the baby is born, Clary shouldn't be called out on missions while she’s 6 months pregnant, I know I should think and say that nothing comes before The Angel but family does, you and the kids and mom, Jace and Izzy are far more important to me than my religion ever will be.” Alec rants as he looks around for a shirt to change into.

“I agree with you Alexander, I hate the thought of Clary or any other pregnant woman going out and fighting demons, it’s not safe, everything is off balance for them, but things can be different now you’re Consul, maybe you could bring up the issue of maternity and paternity leave tonight? What is the meeting about?” Magnus asks.

“Nothing in particular just a general meeting to review all that’s been going on lately, levels of demonic activity, what’s going on in Idris, stuff like that. Jace will be there, Mark, Julian and Ty Blackthorn as well and I think Jem is coming and taking Kit, I’m sure they would all back me up if I wanted to discuss changing the rules about maternity and paternity leave.” Alec explains while buttoning up his shirt.

“Of course they will, Mark has a young daughter and Julian is about to be a father in a few months, Tiberius is very protective of his little nieces and Kit and Jem are extremely protective of Tessa and little Cordelia, they all have reason to want better maternity and paternity leave and anyone who doesn’t, well they don’t have to take maternity or paternity leave, but the choice should be there.” Alec finishes tying his tie and nods before leaning in to briefly kiss his husband.

“You’re right, as usual. I love you so much that I changed the world for you and I’ll do the same for the rest of my family.”

Later that night, in the nursery, little Anna wakes up having lost her pacifier and begins to fuss and whine. Suddenly a tall, burly man with thick black hair streaked through with gray, blue eyes and a black beard materializes in front of the crib.

Robert Ligthwood smiles down at his granddaughter, drawing enough energy to grab her pacifier and give it back to her.

“Shh now little one, it’s alright grandpa’s here.” Robert quietly says, stroking the baby’s cheek. This is the first time he has come back to this plane since his death two years ago. He has kept an eye on his family, knows that Jace is about to be a father and that Max and Rafael are growing so fast and will be such wonderful, amazing young men. He had not planned to come visit his granddaughter but when she began to cry and fuss, his instinct made him rush to her side, as he had his own children when they were little.

“She’s absolutely beautiful.” A voice at Robert’s shoulder says. Robert turns to see Michael Wayland standing beside him, and grins at him. They had been reunited in the afterlife and talked things through and repaired their broken relationship. Robert filled Michael in all that had went down since his death and constantly bragged about his grandsons.

“Of course she is, she’s my granddaughter.” Robert jokingly says.

“I’m beginning to wonder if Jace got his arrogance from Valentine or you.” Michael says in a light tone.

“He has every right to be arrogant, he’s a wonderful young man, as is Alec and Isabelle is an amazing young woman.” Robert says in a proud tone. Little Anna looks up at her grandfather with wide blue eyes, and reaches her arms up to be lifted. “I’m sorry little one.” Robert softly says. “I wish I could lift you and hold you, my beautiful granddaughter.”

“When we were teenagers, if I had of told you your son would marry a downworlder and two of your grandchildren would be downworlders you would have pitched an absolute fit.” Michael says in a solemn tone.

“Unfortunately you’re right, I was an ignorant little brat, all I care about now is that my family are happy and healthy, which they are, thank The Angel. I just wish I could be around to see this little one grow up, Max and Rafe have already grown so much, I miss them so much.” Robert quietly says, trying to hold back his tears. Just when he had been getting his life together and fixing his relationship with Alec, Isabelle and Jace, he had been killed. Perhaps he deserved it, perhaps it was payback for all those innocent downworlders he had harmed and killed in his teenage years.

“You can still see them, Jace’s son will be able to see you whenever you’re around and you can choose to show yourself to Max, Rafe and little Anna here, I know it’s not the same but you can still see them and let them know how much you love them, and I know your kids aren’t going to let their kids forget about their grandpa.” Michael softly says, placing a hand on Robert’s arm.

“I know.” Robert quietly says. A few seconds later Anna starts to cry and whine again. Not wanting her to wake Magnus and Alec, Robert reaches out and gently strokes his granddaughter’s cheek, fixes her blankets, etc. “Shh little darling it’s all right, you’re okay, don’t cry Anna, grandpa’s here.” Robert coos, but the little girls cries just grow louder and louder.

A few seconds later, the nursery door creaks open and Alec stumbles in, bleary eyed and unable to see very well in the dark. He crosses the room to the crib and gently lifts his daughter into his arms, when he does, she immediately stops crying and a smile lights up Alec’s face.

“Oh baby, I bet it gets lonely in here huh? Seeing as your papa and I share a room and your brothers share a room too, maybe you should sleep in with papa and I, hm?” Alec whispers to the baby, not wanting to wake Magnus or the boys. Max had slept in his crib in their room until he was about 1, Rafe often climbed into bed with them in the middle of the night, too, when he had been adopted. At first Rafe had had his own room, but half the time Max would end up in Rafe’s bed by the morning so they decided to let them share a room which made them both very happy, it would make sense for Anna to sleep in Magnus and Alec’s room.

As Robert watches his son tending to his daughter and being a far better father than he himself ever was, he feels an immense sense of pride, his son, Consul, husband, father to 3, big brother, it seems there’s nothing Alec can’t do and Robert could not be more proud that Alec and Magnus are carrying on the Lightwood name with their 3 children.

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humansunshineao3 · 5 years

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Tied To You

Clary's soul is trapped, tied to Izzy. How can she move on when there's so much left unsaid?

Content warning for death and grief, but it has a happy ending!

When Clary woke up, she was floating in a very white room. She turned over in the air, looking over her hands. They were runeless, so how was she flying? As she looked down at herself, she noticed a shock of red hair on the bed below her, and with a jolt she realised that it was her body lying on a hospital bed. There were several doctors and nurses stood around the bed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” one doctor said, “it’s like her body is missing something that it needed to survive, but… Iron levels are fine, oxygen levels, glucose levels… Everything is perfect. There’s no reason why her body would give up.”

Clary knew what her body had been missing. Apparently, the angels’ decision to take away her runes and angel blood had left her mundane body unable to cope. It had been a death sentence. Strangely, Clary wasn’t too disturbed by it. At least she remembered her life in the shadow world, this way. She could watch over her friends.

One moment Clary was musing about her new ghost life, and the next she was floating near the ceiling of a familiar room. When she looked down she recognised Izzy’s bedroom, her heart leaping when she saw Izzy herself sitting at her dresser. Izzy’s fingers were gently resting against a photo frame, and Clary wriggled around to try to get a better angle, curious. As she got closer she saw that Izzy had tears on her cheeks, and instinctively she reached out to put her hand on Izzy’s shoulder, but her hand fell through. She couldn’t touch her.

“I should’ve told you while you were here,” Izzy whispered, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Clary. I should’ve said it.”

“Should’ve said what?” Clary asked, tilting her head to the side. How had she gotten here? Had Izzy summoned her? It didn’t seem like Izzy was doing any kind of ritual. It was strange; Clary felt an irrepressible desperation at the thought that she’d missed when Izzy had said right before she materialised.

Clary floated down to sit on Izzy’s dresser, wondering what it all meant. The stories went that ghosts stuck around to resolve unfinished business, and all the legends were supposed to be true. But Clary had tied up her life in the shadow world pretty neatly, considering she only had a day to do it. Letters written to Jace, Izzy, Alec and Magnus explaining what had happened, instructions for them to move on, to leave her to live her mundane life in peace, and go on protecting the shadow world without her, in her memory.

Of course, she hadn’t realised that she’d die. She wondered if Izzy and the others knew.

Izzy moved away from the dresser, workout clothes in her hands. As she started to get undressed, Clary floated towards the door with the intention to go and check on Jace, but once she’d passed through Izzy’s bedroom door she found that she couldn’t go any further. She could feel a tug at her centre, right where her bellybutton was, like there was some invisible string fastened there, keeping her from wandering off. As Clary pulled on it, she suddenly found that she could move away from Izzy’s room again, but before she could get much further she was jarred to a halt once more. When she turned around Izzy was locking the door of her bedroom.

As Izzy turned away from where Clary was floating, presumably to head towards the training centre, Clary was pulled along behind her, forced to follow Izzy at a distance of about 10 metres. As hard as she tried to get away, Clary couldn’t get far away from Izzy. The invisible string she could feel, she realised, was tied to Izzy.

But why?

They weren’t far from the training centre when Izzy’s phone started to ring. When Izzy picked it up, Clary heard Alec’s panicked voice on the other side of the line, though she couldn’t make out the words.

“You’re meant to be on your honeymoon,” Izzy said, her eyebrows furrowing, “what’s so important that you had to-?”

Whatever Alec told her must have been terrible news, because Izzy’s knees went weak, her hand reaching out to catch herself on the wall.

“That can’t be true, it’s not her, it can’t be.” Izzy insisted. “Clary got turned back into a mundane, she said, she’s safe. It can’t be her, Alec, it’s not possible.”

Clary came a little closer, her eyebrows furrowing. “I’m okay, Iz, it’s alright,” she murmured, wishing that Izzy could hear her.

Izzy gasped and turned around, her eyes wide. Clary moved back a little. Had Izzy heard her? “Yeah,” she said into the phone, “I’ll meet you at the morgue.” Once she hung up the phone, Izzy reached her hand out towards where Clary had just been standing, and Clary moved back into its path, disappointment flooding through her when Izzy’s hand passed right through her chest.

Of course it wasn’t that easy.

Travelling by portal as a ghost was unpleasant, to say the least. It was like being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. Clary stuck close to Izzy as she tried to get her bearings back, her head scrambled from the travel. Alec and Jace were there to give Izzy tight hugs. Clary felt strange looking at Jace. He looked terrible; his eyes were red rimmed and he looked like he hadn’t slept or showered since Clary had seen him at the wedding, but Clary didn’t feel the pull that she’d felt towards him in life. In theory, she felt sorry for him, but she didn’t quite feel it. It was like that feeling was a ghost, not her. Clary’s eyes returned again and again to Izzy, who was trying to comfort Jace.

“They’re ready,” Magnus said from down the hall, and disappeared into a room. The Lightwood siblings all looked at each with varying degrees of sadness and sympathy, and Clary floated along behind them as they followed Magnus into the room and crowded around the viewing table where Clary’s body lay with a sheet over it.

“I can’t do this,” Jace said quietly, taking a step back. “I can’t. I have to…”

“We can do this, you don’t have to be here,” Alec told him gently, squeezing his shoulder. “Go wait outside, it’ll be alright.”

Jace sniffed and turned to go, walking quickly out of the room and back down the hall. Izzy was hugging herself tightly, her hands restlessly brushing up and down her biceps. Magnus pulled back the sheet, his face anguished.

“Oh, Biscuit,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I should have protected you.”

“You couldn’t have done anything,” Clary insisted, her eyes on Izzy, who looked about two seconds from crumbling. As Izzy let out a muffled sob, Magnus reached out to Alec, gripping his hand tightly.

“What is it, Magnus?”

“Shush. Be quiet. I think I just heard…” He was looking around the room, his glamour dropped. “Clary… If you’re here… Speak to me.”

Clary straightened up. “Magnus, I’m here. I’m okay. Tell Izzy that I’m okay.”

Magnus looked right at her, and if Clary still had a heartbeat, it would’ve frozen. “What are you still doing here?”

“Magnus, what’s going on?” Alec asked, and Magnus shushed him.

“I don’t know,” Clary answered, “I’m stuck to Izzy, I found her right after she said something to me, and I feel like I need to hear it. It’s like this… Yearning.”

Magnus’ eyes moved to Izzy, who had tears streaming down her face. “Alec, I need you to leave the room.”

“What? Why?” Alec asked defensively.

“Just…” Magnus gave him a hard look. “Do it.”

Alec put his hands up and left the room, closing the door behind him. Once he’d gone, Magnus came around the table to put his hands on Izzy’s shoulders.

“You need to tell Clary how you feel.” He told her, and Izzy shook her head, her hands coming up to cover her face.

“I c-can’t,” she sobbed, “Jace…”

“Isabelle,” Magnus said seriously, “she needs to hear it. She wants to hear it. Her soul is crying out, it needs to resolve a deep, deep magic inside of it.”

Izzy sniffed, trying to get herself together. “What magic?”

“The greatest magic there is,” Magnus smiled slightly, “true love.”

As Magnus said the words, Clary felt the truth of them. She’d always felt so close to Izzy, from the moment they met. When she fought with Izzy, there was a gut-wrenching pain that didn’t come close to any loss she’d experienced. She wanted more than anything, before she’d lost her runes, to become parabatai with Izzy, to bind their souls…

“Oh my God,” Clary whispered, “Izzy, I love you.”

With a gentle, encouraging squeeze from Magnus, Izzy turned to look down at Clary’s body. “Clary… I love you.” She said thickly, her fingers touching Clary’s cheek.

Travelling through the portal had nothing on the sensation of being sucked back into her body. One moment Clary was floating opposite Izzy and Magnus, and the next she felt a rush of air and a shock of breath as she sat up on the table, within her body once more.

“Biscuit!” Magnus laughed, tears sparkling in his eyes.

Clary only had eyes for Izzy. “You… All this time?”

“H-how did you-?” Izzy asked breathlessly, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“With your residual Heavenly Fire energy-”

“I don’t care,” Izzy insisted as Magnus started to explain, running her fingers through Clary’s hair.

Clary leaned close. “All this time?”

Izzy swallowed hard, nodding. “And you?”

“It took me dying to realise it,” Clary huffed out a laugh, “but yeah. Yeah, I do.” She reached out, curling her hand around the back of Izzy’s neck to pull her into a kiss that tasted like salt and Izzy’s lipstick.

#clizzy #clary fray #izzy lightwood #shadowhunters fanfic #canon verse #writing #good to reblog

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ralfstrashcan · 5 years

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3x19 Reaction / Commentary

I didn't even skip breakfast today, it's almost as if I'm a real functioning adult ahahaha.

SDFALFJSKLDFJASDF I'M ALREADY A MESS

Ngl those first few shots made me think I had fallen headfirst into a zombie apocalypse movie. Wind swooshing through the speakers, no living soul in sight, no cars driving, just Magnus walking along the street, on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams hahahahaha sorry I'll stop.

Wow what a jerk.

There's been so many hilarious jokes about the “What fool summoned you” line, and my favorite one will forever remain this.

So, points to Magnus for asking, minus points for buying this shit not-sound-at-all story. Even “fatherly love” can't just screw the laws of nature, okay, Magnus shouldn't just skim over this. Then again I can definitely cut him slack on this because he is a little preoccupied with other problems at the moment.

Listen, Magnus's body language throughout this whole scene (and also throughout the sneak peek we saw for 3x20) is so expressive. Imma skim over it because I plan to do a thorough Relationship / Scene Analysis for Magnus and Asmodeus, so let me just leave this picture here uncommented.

No wait, I have a question. Isn't Magnus's magic occupied with guarding Lilith's home? Did Asmodeus pick it up before summoning himself or did he call it just now? Also, does Asmodeus know that Lilith is on the loose? Then again, is she even? Because no Shadowhunter can be bothered to look for her and she did say that she wanted to go back to Edom... but that was probably a lie to get Cain to cooperate. And how could she even send herself back to Edom? So many questions. Anyway moving on because who cares about Lilith.

Magnus's face when he gets his magic back. ....................yes I have no witty words here, sorry.

Lol okay I have. I love this scene, I absolutely LOVE Magnus's face and how expressive it is, but I've also been dreaming of an epic eye-sparkling, energy-crackling mid-battle-scene where Magnus regains his magic for uhhhh almost a year now, and in terms of dramatic-ness this was pretty anti-climactic. And I think we can agree he won't lose his magic again and then get it back in a more dramatic fashion. Also where are his cat eyes I feel cheated.

I mean, come on, even he gets to show them!! Btw what a dick cunning move to use them to manipulate Magnus. Since they made a compelling argument the first time around.

Also LOL Asmodeus playing nice for one second and when Magnus denies him he immediately shows his hand with “I won't take no for an answer.” Man has no patience XD

Finally I wanna give a huge HUGE shout out to Magnus for resisting Asmodeus becuase can you even imagine how low he must be feeling and yet he has enough presence of mind left to realize that whatever comfort Asmodeus offers can't be true, there must be a hook and it's best to stay away. Dude what strength.

“I only lost sight of her for a minute.” “Enough time for the Evil Rune to have taken hold.”

Uuuhhhh since when?? Did they also go to the bathroom together before?? Did I miss that?? I mean, sure, Clary was drifting sometimes, but she spent a whole half episode in the same cell as Jonathan with Jace “away” behind the glass wall and out of her sight, so...... yeah. This is a little sudden.

She keeps saying that but we have yet to see her actually filter anything. #nofilter

“No one can hurt us if we get to Morning Star first. And once we have that sword the entire world will be terrified of us....”

So he wants that evil sword not to open a rift but to keep the NY Shadowhunters off his back so he can live his life in peace. I-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g.

Yes, good. Finally learned your lesson.

.............Or not??? I mean it's not like Clary pretended to be on his side before, to lull him into a false security and gain the upper hand. Why would he fall for it now? Because he acts like Jace is the only risk factor here, and Clary is of course truly and wholly on his side. I mean, true, the circumstances are different since she freed him and all, but like. Guy must have trust issues by now. Where are they.

Also

he should start a self help group with Alec hahahahahaha *weeping*

Me, waiting for the next episode of Shadowhunters. (Also I just noticed Simon says “me neither” not “mine neither” so it sounds as if he's not Izzy's thing, either and LOL I couldn't agree more ahahaha.)

Uh-huh, I agree. Perfect timing. I mean, it's not like there was a glaring 98% there earlier, and as if he didn't have plenty of time before to bring this unfortunate line of conversation up. This is on you, Simon. Don't blame the filtering.

HAHAHA ASK ALEC, HE'S GOING TO THROW IT AT HIM HAHAHAHAHAHA

Seriously though. Just, uh, crush it into powder, add some saline solution, done. And I'm not even a scientist. This is intuitive. The heck.

I'm 1000000% on board with all of this, okay. Over excited Alec is the best Alec. Handholding is the best. Magnus's weariness of surprises is headcanon confirmed. Yes to all of it.

So there were a few lines that were widely interpreted as allusions to their kinky sex life and tbh I never bought any of it because I thought it was seeing too much where there was nothing, but this is so very obviously meant in a kinky way that I'll accept it. Another headcanon confirmed ahahaha this episode is so generous to me.

Ugh I'm so gonna have to write something about that. And knowing myself, it'll be sad closeted Alec daydreaming of all the things he can never have.

Question time, what are those weird rivets thingies? Do they hold any meaning? Is their placement of importance? Because they look very deliberate and very there. I'm confused.

Also, this scene was designed to drive me crazy. There's 7 different shots where we see the lock's placement and there are no less than 3 (!!!!!) different placements. Placement #1, #3 and #5 are consistent (though really, #1 and #5 shouldn't even count because they are clearly the same shot, just with Magnus's hand reaching for the lock) on the left side of the yellow lock, to the bottom left of the Dips lock.

Then we see Alec placing it in an empty compartment at the very edge of the construction (placement #2), only for it to be on the compartment below that in the next shot (placement #4), sharing space with a little gray-blueish lock. This is the same place from where Magnus removes it then (placement #6).

I hate inconsistencies, okay, and I really did notice all this the first time watching. I can't not-see stuff like this. The only fun that comes out this detail obsessiveness is the lock that clearly ships Captain America and Captain Marvel (left) and the lock that was placed from two years in the future (right) because ahahahaha did the show forget it takes place in 2016?? It would seem so.

And yes, I chose to focus on this instead of the fact that Magnus incinerates their lock because that hurts my heart too much to think about, okay. That scene was perfect, the music swelling in all the right places and just. So heart-wrenching. I might've teared up a little. You can't prove anything.

Why she not removing those paper thingies? Seems impractical.

Paint on face trope? Check.

Yeah Raphael, lemme pay you some respect for facing your mistakes like that. I like it a lot.

Istg if they don't give him GPS this time and just rely on the tracking rune again, which Jonathan and Clary will insist he blocks, then imma flip my shit.

.......................so many fanfics want to be written here, okay. So many.

Also is no one gonna talk about the fact that they all put the ring on the pointer when that's not the intuitive position to place a ring? For security reasons alone you should put it on your middle finger so it doesn't accidentally slip off. Oh right, I forgot. Magic ring.

I love how Alec's voice wavers and you just know he sends Jace away because he'll start crying if he doesn't (even if in this screen cap Alec looks weirdly happy). Btw headcanon that Jace didn't realize something was up at first and was only tipped off when Izzy asked earlier if Alec was okay, and then he prodded at the parabatai connection and realized... there was nothing. Just a solid wall of nothing, because Alec's been sealing off his feelings completely.

1) Wow, Simon, your condolences are amazing. 2) Please, explain? Is she in a coma? Walking around as if she'd had a lobotomy?? But whatever, just skim over this, she's a minor character anyway and nobody cares about her *shrug*

This is the LAZIEST plot convenience I ever had to see with my own two eyes. I really can't work up the energy to rage about this. Just, wtf. Then again, not calling ahead with vital information seems to be Luke's Thing, just remember the 3x15 disaster. At this point it might as well be considered a character trait of him and no longer plot convenience. *sigh* Also, Shadowhunters are major creeps, am I supposed to believe they don't have a few liters of all of their soldiers' blood stored away somewhere, for reasons?

Uh-huh, Izzy. And if you care to remember, that was about 20 episodes ago. And since vampires have a constant craving for blood they seem to have some kind of metabolic. If you want to tell me that Jace's blood is still IN Simon, then either a) he's been chipping away at the Jace-blood-stash he has hidden in his second gastric and if that runs out he'll no longer be a daylighter or b) Jace's blood went into Simon's cells and changed him on a molecular level..... in which case, to extract it they'd have to remove it, un-daylighter-ing Simon in the process. Or maybe just parts of him? Imagine if he was a daylighter except for his left arm or something. In any case, this is majorly ridiculous and I can't believe I have to suffer through this.

????????????? Who opened that portal? I mean, if he had to call on a warlock to get away, wouldn't it have been easiser for Izzy and Co. to stop him from running through that portal and make him donate some blood first? Instead of forcing this bullshit logic on me? Ugh. But I get it, this is necessary to justify a Sizzy scene. Whatever.

Hahahhahha.

Which means nothing, since Jace can activate his runes without his stele. Or did they forget that part again?? I mean, it's been half a season since he last did that.

“And if it wasn't for our connection I suspect you'd do it again.”

lolololol hilarious.

HAHHAHA WILL YOU STOP WITH THE HILARITY

Honestly, the way they all act I get the distinct feeling I'm watching an exasperated kindergartener and two particularly clingy toddlers vying for her attention XD

Uuuuhhhh yeah hit me with more Malec Flashbacks to make me feel shitty, why don't you.

Okay, consoled. Btw thanks for confirming another headcanon that between the two of them Magnus is the one easier swayed by puppy eyes.

HAHAHAHA of course my mind immediately interpreted that as a misguided pun about Magnus being a Prince of Edom hahahaa wtf Alec

Dammit, his eyes. You can really see how he's allowing himself to start dreaming about it.

Also, can't believe they had a kiddie talk with at least some seriousness, what, two months into their relationship?? Haha. And internally Madzie was like “Uh boring grown up talk, at least I got my sprinkles.”

See, this is what I have problems with. On the one hand, even with all his emotional turmoil going on, Magnus is still enough in his right mind not to fall for Asmodeus's sweet talking, but on the other hand he revisits all of those memories and doesn't realize Alec breaking up with him can't have been real? This doesn't really add up. Either he is out of his mind with emotions that he can't see this very very strange happening for being something fishy (then he shouldn’t have been able to so easily resist Asmodeus), or he's still level-headed enough not to be driven by emotions entirely (then he should have realized the breakup was fake).

toddler fight intensifies

I'M WHEEZING HAHAHAHAHAHAH R U FOR REAL. Also remember my statement from last week? Where I said “I mean, in a way it's nice to know that Demonic Clary isn't smarter than Regular Clary.” Turns out she's so much worse than Regular Clary XD

Lol Raphael is that still you talking or the Plot Point? Because ngl, when I saw that sneak peek promo thingy where Jordan eyes the dramatically last vial of serum in the Institute I immediately thought they want to cook up a conflict there, where he steals the last vial needed to help save Clary and bla bla bla. I really hope they don't go down that road because I feel he should be better than this by now. *sigh* In any case, while I enjoyed the first part of this plot line with Raphael coming here to make reparations, this feels really forced and convenient.

OH MY GOD THANK YOU SIMON FOR ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WTF I NEED ANSWERS

Wow can't believe they pulled this obvious and clearly unfitting parallel to Sizzy. I mean, Simon lost his glasses back in S1 and even before that Izzy noticed he was hot in like ep 2. She's been appreciating him as a friend since at least 2B if not sooner. So please don't pretend that she just didn't notice what a great guy he is, because she did. She knows he's someone you can count on, who's there when you need him, with advice or a joke or just to listen to you. She knows all this, and has for seasons. But, surprise surprise, you don't fall in love with everyone who's a great guy and a good friend. That is a thing. Friendships are a thing. Anyway, at least I can wholeheartedly agree that in any possible scenario Izzy is the hot girl XD

HAHAHA JACE THAT'S PAYBACK FOR ALL THOSE TIMES YOU INTERRUPTED MALEC HAHA KARMA IS A BITCH RIGHT

.......or just use glamors to look like Downworlders. Just saying.

Jonathan using the cuts to get a secretive chest grab in on Jace, but I know all those sleazy tricks and you can't slip that feel-up past me #busted

*weeping tears* yeah, and he'll never get the real deal. what a tragedy.

“...the Downworlder club. I think the runes front and center on my neck make a compelling argument, don't you agree?” Also the foreboding background music totally spoiled this 'twist.' (I'm using ''s because it was totally obvious this wouldn't work.)

Look I just love Alec, okay. I LOVE ALEC.

*waves hand* elite guard *waves hand some more* blue mark on his neck *smacks self in the face with waving hand* look i'm pretty sure Meliorn doesn't have a mark like this and he's like, the only Seelie that gets regular screen and talking time with the queen. But I'm way too behind schedule to start looking into it, I might edit something in here later (or never ahahaha).

OH DEAR THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

YES YES YES PLEASE

DUUUUDE WHY ARE YOU GIVING HIM IDEAS WHAT THE HELL

Also, remembering that short sequence of Magnus shooting red magic at his temples from the promo doesn't bode too well for the rest of the episode. Dammit.

You had one job, Lindsay. One. Job. (Yes, please imagine the Loki Gif here. I just love him a lot, okay. Loki <3<3<3)

(^pls imagine her little disenchanted headshake because any screen caps I tried to take made her look drugged out of her mind lol.)

Yep, this is it. This is it.

Sooooo.... how exactly did they persuade the bouncer? Just curious.

HAHAHAAHAH duuuuuude hahahhaa.

........when exactly did Jonathan spy all that? I mean, I've been having questions about the pacing since that ep with the Baby Jonathan Flashbacks, because that manibus whatever demon? Referring to 2x05. So Jonathan only got to earth after that? Howwww? Not thanks to Valentine, right, since he didn't even know Jonathan existed until 2x15 where Jonathan intercepted him from his portal to Idris? And didn't they say Sebastian Verlac disappeared half a year ago?? How does that all match up?

In any case, I feel like the seelie queen suddenly having a warlock boy toy who she can't order into her realm and who she has monthly scheduled appointments with that the whole shadow world knows about is a) totally absurd b) pretty ooc for her and c) reeking of plot convenience. They just couldn't find a better excuse for her to be at a certain place at a certain time. They should have made her attend a fashion show, or hell, a gardening contest. Would have been more credible than whatever this is.

“I grab the queen. Clary portals the three of us away.” “The four of us, including the queen.”

HAHAHHAHAHHA I CAN'T XD XD XD #slightly consoled

WHEN THE HELL DID JONATHAN READ / WATCH THE SHINING ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW WTF!!!!!

1) This doesn't work in real life. Do you have any idea how much time it takes to catch a snow flake or a raindrop this way? I know because I've tried, and the anwer is ages. 2) Seems a very uneconomical way to distrubute drugs. Whoever invented that business model must be in deep depts by now. 3) What kind of shitty plan was that on Jonathan's part? Get Jace on drugs, he'll surely expose himself to be a traitor? I hate the fact that it works. I hate that everyone's shitty plans always work (re: Sizzy's dilettantish prison infiltration) because that's why they all keep making shitty plans. Positive reinforcement and all that. The only one who always gets punched in the face for making okay-to-good plans is Alec, and that's why he's the overthinker. So unfair.

“Well this is awkward because I just stole it for you.”

So frakkin predictable. Also, how did he steal it from the table when Izzy and Simon where guarding it?? It clearly was still there when Maia left and like

Did Jordan just grab it and run? So many questions.

Don't get me wrong, that whole forging the sword sequence was super badass, but like, if you're wielding scorching hot metal it seems a little impractical to just wear security goggles and a leather apron. There were freaking sparks flying and Izzy ducked. What the hell. What about, idk, unconventional but, a protective suit?? And Simon isn't any better. “Oh, I could die from this sword? Just lemme hide behind this doorway real quick.” *sigh* One of these days a character should die because of dumbass behavior, maybe that'd teach them all a lesson.

Also, this is totally logic. They had a splinter from the original sword that they then made tons of serum from, which they saved 3 vials of..... and somehow this was still enough to forge a whole new frikking sword that's apparently just as powerful as the original one. I don't even know where to start with this bullshit.

.................dude, if you wanted to persuade her you should have pointed out the ring to her. But maybe this isn't about logic at all, this is about wanting to know if he is Clary's first choice without logic or reason, and that would make sense for his character, even if it's not the most sensible or productive course of action.

Me, during the fight scene: “Wow, I believe all that Seelie guard slaughtering is not going to end up in a Downworlder vs Shadowhunter war again..... ha..... hahahaha.”

Arguing with a possessed person. Again. Honestly this is the, uhhh, fifth time this happens on this show? And people just seem to never learn. SIGH

Yeah, by not following the plan and acting stupid, so my sympathy is pretty limited aka non-existent. Btw his slide across the Institute floor was hilarious. And also, pretty nice of Clary not to just kill him. This is the second time she's spared him. Interesting.

ISTG IF THIS SCENE ENDS WITH A CLIFFHANGER IF HE GOES THROUGH WITH IT OR NOT IMMA FLIP MY SHIT

*manic laughter* I love that this makes so much sense. Asmodeus needs Magnus's heartbreak so he'll be susceptible to Asmodeus's influence. So his motives are shitty. On the other hand it's not as if what Asmodeus says to Magnus isn't the truth. Fighting through this will make Magnus stronger, no doubt. Knowing he can be this low and still get back on his feet without running away and succumbing to the pain. And I'm glad, for obvious reasons, that Magnus didn't go through with the memory removal because ain't nobody got time for those issues. Mending the breakup in a satisfying was will be hard enough as is. Back to the scene at hand, I gotta say I love this about Asmodeus: He doesn't lie outright, he mostly lies by omission, and he speaks enough truth to really screw with everyone's perception. It's awesome. He is such a great antagonist and his dynamic with Magnus is highly fascinating.

Conclusion: Not enough Malec (seriously, their only scenes together are flashbacks? the frakkin audacity) but tbh I'm still too high on endorphines since the memory removal didn't happen that I'm mostly okay with it. And the Jonathan-Jace comedy was nice.

#shadowhunters #3x19 #magnus bane #alec lightwood #isabelle lightwood #clary fray #jace wayland #asmodeus #simon lewis #jonathan morgenstern #maia roberts #kyle #luke garroway #raphael santiago #reaction

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sordidpassionsandlockedemotions · 7 years

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(High-school mundane Magnus,Alec fluff au)

Alec was actually slightly nervous pacing around the house waiting for Magnus to drop by,they’d both planned to work on the project for the weekend and finish it that night. Figured no avoiding working on it with his crush on hearing a knock at the door glanced at the clock wasn’t like some big deal was it? Making his way to the door opening it to reveal the person standing there. Brain immediately went ‘woah’ but he shook it off. “Hey Magnus.”

Seemed as if the other had embellished the makeup,and outfit from school that morning. It was eye catching enough,the clothes and Magnus without the slight change of outfit. Biting his tongue a moment moving aside to let the other male in. “Hey Alexander,so take it just us?” Nearly coughing Alec quickly followed up with a reply.

“Uh no mean my parents,little brother is out of town but Izzy’s here-.” Was he talking too fast? Seemed so great start to what was just a stupid report nothing more. Just then Izzy came bounding the stairs,”Izzy where are you headed?” Please say nowhere he pleaded silently on seeing her dressed up for some party most likely.

“Alec,big bro it’s called a party have fun working on your project.” She was out the door shutting it before he could try convincing her to stay,or say anything. Meanwhile Magnus just looked amused while he was internally panicking because here he was home alone with Magnus freaking Bane to work on a project but he also was spending the night-and he really set himself up apparently.

Pointing awkwardly to the living room trying to recall how to talk,”Right-uh so figure do it in the living room can order pizza later or whatever and-.” Great he’d only gotten worst this is why he normally didn’t like talking with Magnus,spending time. Okay he loved it but not in the capacity of feeling like some obvious idiot one of many because the other had that affect on so many.

“Or we could throw a party,cause trouble since have this place to ourselves.” Followed by a laugh,”Guess not your type of scene though is it?” He headed into the living room meanwhile Alec flicked himself to snap out of it otherwise the only work getting done would be a series of stupidity. Following him and sure enough as soon they started working he was able to regain his ability to focus by doing all the hard work,more than his share.

Laying on his stomach writing with his feet in the air,tongue stuck out writing but his eyes glanced at Magnus big mistake because brown eyes met his hand sprawled accidentally smearing lead over his hand and the blank paper nearby luckily nothing of what they’d done,or important. “We’re done maybe now can have the rest of the night off,Alexander?”

Dropping the pencil studying everything around him,”Yeah sure I’ll order the pizza,can grab soda and cups,you can pick the movie.” Doable enough right? Everything put back away in their bags and Alec scrubbed at his hands really harder than needed in the kitchen to get rid of the lead. Ordering the pizza than reappeared with two cups of soda pausing on seeing what was a massive fort instead of the living room. “Uh Magnus?”

A head poked out,”Bit childish?” Yeah it was but mainly Alec was kind of impressed not that he’d say so. Instead glanced at the time wondering what to do now,pizza and a movie shouldn’t seem like a nerve wracking experience yet here it was the biggest ever. Then was the question of the inevitable sleeping,and breathe he trailed off noting could worry later.

“Uh yeah-mean suppose it’s fine though kind of cool actually and will make it seem like a really comfy theater so there’s that.” Hopefully space enough he could stay a good distance away because if not major design flaw for sure. Unless was one of those ways to mess with him,which Magnus did a good amount as Izzy claimed ‘flirting’ but Alec wasn’t all that sure. “Pizza will be a while so figured make some popcorn here take the soda.”

He was trying to find the popcorn when Magnus appeared in the kitchen leaning against the counter,”Hey Alexander how long till the pizza’s here?” Alec almost freaked out at the sudden voice but instead finally retrieved the popcorn before turning to face-eyes noting how he was so smoothly leaned against the counter swear it was second nature for him.

“10 minutes estimated- but just depends naturally.” In about 5 they were inside the fort eating popcorn,pizza,and drinking soda watching some action movie Alec honestly didn’t even recognize at all. Paying attention to it,and not the eye catching figure next to him. Though at one point saw a hand steal popcorn out of his bowl,”Hey you have your own.”

Magnus just tossed a piece into his mouth,”Yeah I know yours is better though,could say it’s sweeter for some reason.” His eyes landed on Magnus putting the bowl on his left side before glancing back at the tv noting out of the corner of his eyes a head shake followed by a shifting from Magnus. “But also just have more I’ve eaten most of mine.”

He gave a nod a few more movies later Alec was just so tired,maybe just the result of trying so hard to be indifferent around Magnus the amount of time together. Meant to head up to his room or something but just passed out vaguely aware of what he thought was a pillow.

Eyes opened slowly noting sun through sheets? Remembering where he was but more aware of what was body heat and his head-was on Magnus’ chest so hadn’t been a pillow. Quickly uncurling from him scooting away knees tucking up to his chest he really wasn’t sure how to say anything when the other woke up. Clearly fell asleep first so wasn’t like could just be left unknown.

Then he saw Magnus stir,maybe it would just go unmentioned or something along the lines of him having just been tired nothing else to it anyways right? Crossing his legs running a hand through his messy hair right as those eyes opened,”What time is it Alexander?” All he said but Alec overthought it to death before glancing at the time on his phone.

“9 in the morning,you probably have to go don’t you?” The thought actually hurt a bit maybe because much he’d been on high alert,he’d had fun and wasn’t that terrible waking up close to Magnus-not that he’d bring that up ever to anybody. “I’ll clean this up,see you Monday?” His voice had warmed up fairly fast but just as with Magnus’ had been some rasp-though Magnus’ had been much more a good thing than his own.

But then there hands touched on a cup Alec had reached for pulling it back yeah Magnus was staring at him with something he couldn’t place. “Not really and I should help you clean up,long as I can maybe get some coffee for it?” Why not no need to be weird he scolded himself.

“Uh yeah sure Magnus.” Cleaning up was mostly quiet same with coffee but there was some energy that was unspoken,words he figured on Magnus’ end maybe something like ‘so can’t hang anymore’. Cradling his mug in both hands eyes lowered at it maybe Magnus would just finish and leave already. Because he felt like the 15 minutes was a century long.

“Hey can I ask you something,Alexander?” His pulse elevated even more hated when people asked that,and he knew vaguely where it could go. What with what had happened,couldn’t quite lie about it or if he’d been too obvious deny it that great. Instead watched those ringed fingers around the mug in Magnus’ hand before glancing at him.

“Sure Magnus.” Regardless what was bound to follow Alec figured the act was up unless some miracle happened to help him avoid it. Watching him place the mug down wait was he actually nervous? Magnus Bane never was so that didn’t help sooth his nerves at all.

“Why do you think I wanted to do the project with you?” Huh,not what Alec expected at all in fact his brain scrambled for an answer. Actually thinking on it they both could have easily done it on their own,or Magnus with anybody he wished to.

When it clicked his eyes widened,”Wait you’ve been crushing on me?” No way Magnus was so out of his league,and surely everybody knew better. Besides-oh that explained a lot actually which made him feel even more stupid hearing the laugh that followed.

“Took you long enough,yeah thanks for noticing have been all year Alexander.” Blushing he stared at his mug well then he must have really taken a while as Magnus put it. “And what about you,mean did wake up to you looking like were going to flee your own house.”

“I uh-no I wasn’t just waking up-okay look I honestly hadn’t intended to fall asleep or curl up next to you.”

“But you liked it,just like I did didn’t you?”

Nodding about to say more but Izzy came loudly down the stairs announcing her existence before walking into the kitchen,”Morning Alec,Magnus.” She grabbed a box of pop tarts before vanishing out the door with a fleeting,”I’m off to enjoy my Saturday,be back later.” Alec just stood there slightly confused meanwhile Magnus just watched but when she was gone felt eyes fall back on him.

“Yeah.” Dumping his mug out vaguely aware of a ringed hand putting the empty one next to it in the sink. They were so close and Alec still had no clue where the conversation was headed either. But then turned around only to notice they were closer than he’d thought. “Hey Magnus?”

“Yes Alexander?”

“Maybe we should give this a shot,or I don’t know guess if you want-because-.” Trailing off couldn’t help get lost in the proximity,how it was now out there for better or worst. “I’d kind of like more nights like last night.” Putting his heart on the line,made him feel sick but the risk was already there for sure. Magnus seemed to stand there thinking for what felt ages and each second made him think he’d really screwed up.

Then there was a soft smile causing the glitter lined eyes to sparkle all the more,”Sounds good,though I’m not going to ask you out just yet.” Okay whatever was Alec’s initial thought but then was a slight bit of panic. “After all been a intense morning without that.” Yet as he said that Alec couldn’t stop shaking the impulsive action growing like a fire inside him. Maybe,just maybe could kiss Magnus here and now couldn’t he?

Right then almost was like he lost control of his own actions,because he did finding his lips pressed against Magnus’. Arms around him even when buried his face into the other’s chest a reassuring hug of sorts meanwhile his head was so dizzy. “Sorry.” Was now looking into his eyes again searching if had really just messed up,or really anything.

“You could have asked,but either way it was nice so don’t be.”

#malec au fic #malec au fics #malec au fanfics #malec fic #my fanfics

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sargentcow · 7 years

Text

Malec + 78. “Please just be my best friend and not the person I confessed my love to?“ Jace considered Alec his soulmate. His other half. His brother. He knew what Alec was thinking without asking, and he knew his every reaction. So when a glittery stranger walked in and shook his tailfeather, he was certain Alec wouldn’t care. Jace was very wrong. The glittery stranger had a name, Magnus Bane, and Alec seemed to care enough to spend the night away from his shared apartment with Jace. When he got home the following morning, Jace discovered two things about Alec. He did the walk of shame with dignity. Alec’s smile was beautiful. No, Jace didn’t have romantic feelings for Alec; but he was, quite honestly, shaken to his core by Alec’s smile that morning. It was very obvious that Alec had gotten laid, and it was weird. Not a bad sort of weird, just…weird. Alec had always been the business before pleasure sort of guy, not stopping to enjoy the moment but diving into work head first and without question. This could be one of those one night stands Alec sometimes went for, a momentary fling that burned hot until the flames went out and Alec was back to business. Jace was very wrong. The glittery stranger was no longer a stranger. A few weeks later, it was official. Alec was dating Magnus Bane. What kind of name was Magnus Bane anyway? It sounded like a cartoon, which wasn’t very far off because Magnus Bane was a walking art exhibit. Everything about him was flawless and perfect, from his hair to the way he made coffee in the morning, which according to Alec, was quite the process. Now, Jace knew what Alec was thinking when he met Clary. Alec had treated her very badly in the beginning, ignoring her and giving her the stink eye every time she got too close to Jace. She was a threat to Alec because Jace was spending less time with him and more time with her. It took a drunk night out to find out what was bothering him, and Jace regretted every second of it. Jace had thought that Alec saw him as a friend, but he had been very wrong. Between a bottle of tequila and reruns of The Terminator, Alec had confessed his crush on Jace, and it changed everything he thought about Alec. Every shoulder bump, every kind word of encouragement he had ever given Jace, it all felt different. Alec seemed to not remember anything from that night, which Jace played along with to protect him. Alec eventually warmed up to Clary. The two even had conversations about politics and other things Jace didn’t understand; and honestly, if he didn’t know Alec was gay, he would have been worried about their closeness. All Clary had said to him is that they had talked it out and established a mutual understanding that matured into a sibling-like bond. Back to the problem at hand, Jace was now feeling threatened. Alec was spending more time with Magnus and less time with him. They were disgustingly adorable, with their inside jokes and googly eyes. Jealousy wasn’t a nice feeling. Yes, Jace was jealous. And he knew why. Alec now had someone else to make him happy, and Jace understood how it could make Alec think he was in love with him--because Jace had his own meltdown about it. So, in the beginning, Jace treated Magnus horribly. He made fun of Magnus about everything, and he played pranks on him and even tried to talk Alec into not including him during their weekly bowling night with Izzy and her husband, Simon. Of course, Alec had argued that Izzy wanted to meet Magnus in order to give her stamp of approval. Much to Jace’s dismay, Magnus had charmed the Jimmy Choo heels off her feet and they became best friends within the hour. Needless to say, Magnus put his brand on their family, and that brand was smiles and giggles. Magnus was funny, handsome, charming, hard working, and annoyingly perfect. When Alec and Magnus had their first fight, Jace had seen an opportunity to break them up. However, seeing how miserable Alec was, Jace just didn’t have the heart. He had even driven Alec to Magnus’ apartment and knocked on the door until Magnus let them in. Alec did the walk of shame the next day with even more dignity than ever. Jace thought he knew Alec. But when Alec had asked Jace about how he knew that he wanted to marry Clary, he figured out that he didn’t know Alec at all. As Jace explained how Clary was the person he couldn’t live without, how she was the first person he thought about when he woke up and the last person he thought of when he went to sleep, instead of bumping his shoulder and calling him out for being cheesy and weird, Alec had smiled. “I want to ask Magnus to marry me.” That had been the turning point in their platonic soulmate relationship. In the following weeks, he went ring shopping with Alec, and they had come up with an elaborate plan on how he was going to ask. Alec went all out. He had booked a table at the same restaurant they had their first date in, he got their cousin Julian to play the violin for them, and he even wore a suit. “Were you this nervous when you asked Clary?” Alec asked, while Jace fixed his tie. “You’ll be fine, Alec,” Jace replied, dusting his shoulder off and nodding approvingly. “Thanks,” Alec fixed his collar, looking at the time. “Shit.” Jace snapped his fingers in front of Alec’s face, drawing his attention away from the clock on the wall. “Hey, look at me. It’s going to be fine.” “What if he says no? What if Julian doesn’t get to the restaurant in time?” Jace sighed heavily. “Alec stop fretting.” “Can you please just be my best friend and not the person I confessed my love to?” Alec blurted out, and Jace froze. Alec knew Jace better than anyone, and he wasn’t wrong in that moment. Jace had been keeping a small distance between them since the night of Alec's confession, not wanting to make things weird for either of them. But Jace had been wrong, because Alec did remember. Clearing his throat, Jace put his hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Alright. Julian is working at that restaurant tonight, he has his violin-” “Magnus loves it when Julian plays the violin.” “Hey! Focus!” Jace slapped Alec’s shoulder lightly, and Alec nodded. “Everything is ready, Magnus is waiting, and you are getting engaged tonight. Magnus would be crazy to say no.” “Really? I’m not- I mean, there are so many reasons that he could say no. I snore, I hog the covers, I can’t dance-” Jace slapped his cheek lightly, and Alec took a deep breath. “Thanks.” Jace nodded. “Don’t mention it. Now,” he said, cupping Alec’s cheek. “You’re a great guy, Alec. You’re kind, funny, annoyingly handsome and yes, you dance like a one legged chicken, but-” Alec gave him an evil glare at that. “But, you have one of the purest and kindest hearts I have ever gotten to know. Magnus loves you. He’s going to say yes.” Alec was silent for a moment, before smiling brightly at him. “Thanks, Jace.” Jace smiled back. “You’re welcome. Now go get your man.” Alec took a deep breath and grabbed the car keys from the table. “Wish me luck.” “You don’t need luck, bro. You got this.” Alec laughed and left. Later that night, Jace’s phone lit up with a single text message. “He said yes!” After cheering with Clary, he finally realized it. He always knew Alec. Alec wasn’t happy until he met Magnus. Not to say that Magnus was the only thing that could make Alec happy. Magnus drew out a side of Alec that Jace knew. He loosened up, he had fun, he stopped putting his family before himself, he enjoyed life. That was all anyone ever wanted for Alec, for him to be himself and enjoy life. He could finally have that with Magnus. Just like Clary had done for him. Alec accepted that. If he could make the effort to get to know her, Jace could do the same with Magnus. The only thing they had in common was Alec, as far as Jace knew, but that, Jace figured out, was enough reason. Next bowling night, Jace picked Magnus for his team, and it turned out to be his lucky night. They not only beat Alec and Simon, but Magnus also gave him the best suggestion for a present for Clary’s birthday. The glittery stranger was no longer a stranger. He was family.

#shadowhunters #malec #drabble #magnus bane #alec lightwood

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bussanbaby · 7 years

Text

Fire & gasoline

Influenced by @abloodneed ‘s gay thirst for Magnus Bane. Don’t ever change, Izsak.

When the lights go red and the alarm rings out in the Institute, Magnus is with Alec. They’re in his room, now barely ever used and dusted over, but still necessary for those rare occasions they stay overnight, too tired or maybe just too lazy to portal to Magnus’ loft – their home, away from the world. Aside from just wanting to spend more time with Magnus, this is one of the reasons Alec moved out as soon as the decision was just formality hanging in the air, a question to be asked and answered with a sweet smile – not having to be woken up with something akin to horror movie shelter sirens in the middle of the night.

It’s a hollow kind of sound, urgent and calling for attention – Alec breaks their kiss to roll his eyes and sigh out a resigned curse, because getting interrupted seems to be their thing, but Magnus just laughs before briefly pressing his kiss-wet mouth over Alec’s deflect rune, the soft prickle of the goatee making Alec give a breathy chuckle.

They’re tangled in each other up against the door, long legs wrapped around a muscular waist, Magnus’ weight pressed against Alec, chest to chest, Magnus’ hands travelling over Alec’s thighs and ass, Alec’s hands tugging at hair, bodies alive with slow dripping pleasure that’s now been ripped from them in the most unfair of ways. The air between them is humid with possibility, with the unspoken ideas, some of them including Alec dropping to his knees and some with them sans clothes, just coal-hot skin, moans reverberating through the room like a choir echo and Alexander whispered like a praise.

Magnus swallows before speaking, his voice gravel-hoarse from equal parts desire and disuse. “Plenty of time to continue this later, pretty boy.”

Alec gives that crooked smile as his eyelashes flutter with the sound of the nickname. It’s obvious how much he enjoys the way it rolls off of Magnus’ tongue, a specialty, something reserved only for him, the sweetest kind of drug. They both move with the utmost reluctance – Magnus slides his hands up torturously slow until they reach a waist he knows by heart like a well-used map and allows Alec to get used to standing again; with satisfaction, he watches Alec’s thighs tremble. It takes the highest levels of self-control Magnus possesses to keep his hands steady as he straightens out the wrinkles in Alec’s t-shirt, who looks awfully enticing, all red mouth and quick heartbeat, lower lip trapped between teeth like an invitation and eager body unable to stop reaching out for Magnus – fingers playing with the shimmery necklaces, like he wants to do nothing more than to pull him back in.

It’s one more kiss, chaste in comparison to the predecessors, a promise of more later, coats picked up from the floor, then the door clicks shut behind their backs, loud in relative silence like the thud of a judge’s gavel. They leave the room with fingers linked; Magnus lets himself be pulled along the breezy hallways, even though he knows the way like the inside of his pocket. Alec is walking in long strides, the Pavlovian instinct to fight and defend ingrained into him like a rune, but Magnus is right by his side, matching his pace easy like breathing; he would say they spend too much time together to be this attuned, but no amount of time is ever close to enough.

The OPS center is crowded with Nephilim dressed in black, the hustle and bustle of getting battle-ready loud in their ears like a buzzing of a beehive. They’re akin to them, Magnus thinks, relentless in their duties, moving like dark shadows against the glow from the blue-tinted screens. Whispers hang between mouths, did you hear, did you know, most seem to put on their gear like it’s nothing more than motions, habitual thing like dressing themselves in the mornings. The late hour doesn’t help their enthusiasm, as some of them were already getting ready to tuck in for the night.

When they step down the small set of stairs into the main area, some heads turn behind them. There’s voices saying Good evening, Mr. Lightwood and Welcome, Mr. Bane, there’s respectful head nods and lingering glances as they pass through the mass of bodies, the Red Sea parting willingly. Magnus can feel the somewhat fresh shift in attitude, partially due to Alec taking over as the Head of the Institute and installing his own rules while the iron’s still hot and partially from the New York Shadowhunter community seeing more of Magnus in battle, seeing his true power aside from the fearful rumors, seeing how easily he mows through enemies with magic as red as their blood as it spills over his hands. How quickly once-tedious battles end in a snap of fingers as soon as Magnus Bane shows up. He’s the golden-plated feather tipping the scales of justice in favor of his allies.

It spreads like wildfire in spoken word and takes over like a plague. The tongues speak of dog-like things with multiple gnashing jaws full of jagged teeth, summoning circles as nothing more difficult than hopscotch; they tell the story of scorched marks where he stands and of thunderclaps when his anger boils to a point of burning; they whisper he glows with energy like a supernova, creating and destroying in equal measures; they wonder if he is the son of a god fallen from grace just to find different reign. It’s the kind of well-deserved recognition that makes them step out of Magnus’ way and it feels so good to be royalty.

Quickly, they find Isabelle who fills them in on what’s happening , but not without sparing them each an appraising look and a smile with an obvious meaning. As Alec straps on his thigh holster and the brace for his bow, she explains: an attack from the Circle members that they haven’t caught yet, a sort of retaliation for capturing Valentine and ruining their plan of mass murder; it’s the whole package – rogue Shadowhunters, a bunch of Forsaken and demons summoned in exchange for sacrifice of the innocent. Izzy twirls her staff and calls it a good workout, then they pour outside.

The show starts.

While the sun has set long ago, an acne-scarred full moon hangs high up in the sky, bathing the park before them in pale light, shifting through the bundles of white fog that curl along the uneven ground. Stars blink slowly, dying and rebirthing themselves above their heads, accompanied by the warm, dim glow of yellow-tinted lanterns dusted all around the alleys until the dense line of trees. Lazy New York hums around them, anonymous laughter and cars driving from somewhere else to somewhere else.

Even though the Nephilim ranks are more sparse than ever (some lost to previous skirmishes, some still out on patrol duty), there’s something hanging in the air that feels charged with adrenaline and determination and a will to win. A dark, navy sky hangs heavy and the moonlight blinks across Magnus’ earcuff when he turns to look at Alec. His jaw is tight and the focus in his eyes sets something alight inside Magnus’ chest, the raw strength in his stance, the tall way he stands. The shadows in the dips of his cheeks and in the hollow space beneath his brow bones make him look like a marble-carved demigod frozen in time. Magnus’ heart thrums with anticipation. They were made to be fighters, they were made to run like wolves side by side, to draw blood and bare their knife-sharp teeth.

Across from the Institute cathedral, down the hill: their enemies, surrounded by cotton candy waves of fog. A match-n-mix of familiar and new faces, disfigured and angry, seeking revenge for things done right. Magnus smiles as the tips of his fingers flicker to life with yellows and oranges and reds, a violent sunrise of power. Alec barks out orders - fan out, don’t get surrounded, aim for leaders first, keep the Institute safe; he draws his bow, nocks an arrow and glances sideways with a quirk of his mouth. Magnus replies with a smirk of his own.

“You ready?” He asks, hands poised in the air like a conductor’s with a song about to begin in a chorus of screaming voices.

“I’m always ready.”

Alec releases the chord on his bow and the arrow flies with a high arch, not aimed at anyone in particular. Magnus speaks a spell under his breath and a ball of blue light soars just as high and meets Alec’s arrow just as it starts to fall. The runes on it flare up as it disappears just to turn into its own multiples – a carpet attack to start things off with a bang.

The Circle members start rushing forward in a loose charge and some fall, struck by the sharp rain. After that, it’s all organized chaos – the two sides mix in a clash of Seraph blades, but Magnus and Alec never stray far from each other, working like a one minded creature.

Magnus’ movements are graceful and dance-like when he dodges a blade coming at him from the side – a quarter twist, a quick swipe of feet and a heart burned out of a traitor, a perfect imprint of his palm left behind. After Magnus pushes his magic into the Circle member’s chest, the smell of burnt flesh lingers like a warning. The next two are grabbed by the necks, and when Magnus claps his hands together, the skulls smash against each other, there’s a wet crack followed by eyes rolling back and bodies falling limp. Magnus feels his magic sing wild like a flame doused with gasoline – it crawls up his forearms, licking at the golden buttons on the sleeves of his favorite maroon coat, stark against his red-splattered, once white shirt underneath.

The fabric twists and fights against the sweeping movements as Magnus sends a force wave to knock down a demon, a lumbering amalgamate of what probably used to be different entities fused together. Before he even opens his mouth with an offer, an arrow whizzes past and lodges itself in where the demon’s energy source should be. Billows of ash dance around the edges of Magnus’ boots as he swivels around.

A couple steps behind his shoulder, Alec with eyes glimmering all mirth, dangerous and an enticing kind of flirty. Magnus can feel a wandering gaze, hazel eyes working their way from Magnus’ mouth to his chest, all the way down then all the way back up. It’s the kind of look that’s hungry for more, for something sweet and something with a little bit of spice. Alec raises his bow, quick and sharp with a well-aimed shot at someone to Magnus’ side, a 1-2-3 movement before his attention is back where it was.

Alec looks up from beneath the fringe of dark eyelashes, a small flush over his cheeks and nose from the cold, a sly tilt to his mouth. Magnus can’t help the fond smile working its way onto his own lips.

“You seem distracted, Alexander.” He teases, turning away brown-eyed to survey the fog-muddled park, but when their gazes meet again, it’s amber and green and yellow against shimmering gold.

The shadowhunter in question swallows around the words stuck in his throat at the sight of Magnus’ cat eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing enticingly with the motion, making Magnus want to surround it in pretty purple marks. The battle is still going around them, ruthless and ugly, and they’re both well aware of the fact, but there’s a tide pulling them close, half a mind focused on surviving and half only on the one before them.

“Cause you’re distracting me, Magnus.” Alec finally speaks in a tone that sends a pleasant wave of warmth through Magnus’ chest and they both step closer to each other, intent on not losing their impromptu staring contest.

There’s someone sneaking up behind Alec, but Magnus doesn’t bother – with a flick of a wrist, he forms a ball of energy and sends it curved towards the black-clad enemy, knocking them a couple of feet back with the impact; powerful enough to kill in seconds. Yet, Alec’s eyes never stray from his, unbelievable trust put in Magnus’ strong hands, shoulders squared, but his deer-eyed gaze soft and full of veneration. This is what love is.

Magnus puts his hands on Alec’s waist beneath the worn leather jacket and tugs him closer by the beltloops, close enough to feel Alec’s chest move against his own and feel his need like a physical thing, how much he wants to touch Magnus and it’s almost overwhelming still, to be wanted this much.

“Come on, we have a battle to win.” The words are left without heat, gruff chastisement just for the sake of it being said and on the record; as much as Alec is a responsible person, he is not a saint.

Their lips brush against each other as Magnus speaks.

”Try to keep up with me, Shadowhunter.”

Alec all but purrs, but what actually escapes him is a low chuckle, teasing and amused in equal parts.

“Is that a challenge?”

“It just might be.”

“Okay. You’re on.”

The playful tension between them is palpable like a touch of fingers down a spine, a push and pull, a competition, where the prize doesn’t change - it’s always kisses, no matter whether you’ve won or lost, just that the latter comes with a bit of ribbing.

They’re nose to nose and Magnus can feel the tickle of Alec’s mussed up hair on his forehead when he reaches for his thigh. Deft fingers tug at the straps of the holster and slide underneath them, the warmth of Alec’s body radiating through his pants, infinitely hotter where Magnus’ digits press in before he undoes the little latch and pulls the Seraph blade free between them. It splutters to life, at first flickering white only to fill with a crimson red, like ink spilling in water and Alec draws in a sharp breath through his nose, both of their faces lit up in the glow.

“We should get a drink after we’re done here. Also, I’m borrowing this for a minute. ” Magnus says, all casual, and turns away, new weapon bared and ready to kill.

As Alec nocks another arrow, his eyes are glued to Magnus’ back as he stalks off after a scared-shitless Circle member; he swallows around the dryness in his throat and continues to take down enemies, one by one, falling like marionettes with the strings cut before they get too close for comfort. Alec never fails to find a delighted sort of thrill running through his body at the instances of Magnus’ power – usually, it’s only an everyday part of casual spells, but when they train with each other or go out into battle, it’s something entirely else. It’s a carnivore waiting to sink their teeth into soft flesh, it’s the knife-sharp focus, the stone-steady calculation, the easy-coming elegance of his hands moving in the air; all of it always manages to draw Alec’s gaze, make his heartbeat skip and stutter.

Bit by bit, they move down in an uneven wave, Magnus and Alec pushing forward and leading at the front – a famed battle couple; Lightwood and Bane, the Warlock and the Nephilim, the yin and the yang. Where at first their sole existence together raised eyebrows and elicited mocking laughter (it’s impossible, it won’t last, they’re too different), now hushed silences blanket the crowds when their names are said, because they are not a force to be reckoned with. They are frostbite coated anger and the harshest of judgment.

Do not cross them.

While Magnus opens a ribcage with a twist of the blade, the enemy’s fingers scrabbling at the hilt stuck deep in his solar plexus, a wordless plead for mercy that Magnus does not offer, sternum cracking and ribs giving way to rough strength until the last breath is gone, there’s Alec aiming a shot straight through the middle of the Circle rune, the arrow breaking through muscle and bone and veins like through butter. The round rune lights up bright red as the body drops with a cut-off noise of surprise.

Pleased with himself, Alec turns to Magnus, who’s watching him, a corpse at his feet and blood dripping down the blade, hair tousled artfully and teeth glinting in a wolf’s smile.

“It was a solid eight out of ten.” He says just to provoke while he wipes the sword on his pants leg, cat eyes glowing in the night’s dark.

Alec makes a noise of offended incredulity, throwing his hands out to his sides. “Oh, come on, it was at least a nine. It was a bullseye!”

Magnus shrugs with only one shoulder, busy with forming a ball of magic he hurdles at a group of Shax demons. The magic envelops the beings, sucking them into its center like a black hole. They both watch as the already strange bodies twist and contort before bursting into ashy confetti, just without the satisfying pop, instead with a cacophony of screaming that makes Magnus wrinkle his nose in a displeased manner.

“Okay, an eight and a half, but no more.” He answers, raising his free hand to point at Alec’s chest.

Alec just snorts, eyes rolling as he pulls another arrow from the quiver over his shoulder. "Okay."

It’s a long battle - longer than anticipated, since reinforcements seem to appear out of thin air and when Alec reaches back to grab another arrow, he finds his fingers grasping at nothing – he’s clear out of ammo and there’s two people with Seraph blades coming at him. He’s got maybe ten seconds flat and just thinks fuck it, before aiming a kick straight to someone’s guts and swinging his bow around like a staff; perhaps the methods are crude, but this is Alec Lightwood at his truest – a dirty fighter, all raw strength and the sound of knuckles against bone. The pain is ever-present, but it just adds more flavor – the sting of splitting skin, blood running down his hand, the purple and blue bruises.

That’s when he stops thinking and lets his body go – throws a handful of earth and tackles his blinded enemy to the ground, a gloved fist driving down over and over again, his own teeth gritted as the man beneath him heaves a breath, the last of his consciousness gone. Alec Lightwood may be a leader, a diplomat, but he’s still a skilled hunter, blood-thirsty and merciless because if you are not with me, you are against me.

The one he stunned with the hit from his bow, a woman with what seems to be blonde hair, puts him in a chokehold, but before she can tighten her grip, Alec stands up with a noise deep in his throat, unsteady with the added weight on his back as she clings to him, relentless. He grabs at her arm, fingers digging into flesh and hurls her over his shoulder, enjoying the heavy, breath-taking thump she lands with.

Then there’s Magnus saying his name and Alec just stretches his arm out to the side as he goes into a crouch, intuition and well-trained strategies paying off – the tips of his fingers graze the hilt of his blade and he tightens his grip around it; a perfect throw executed without a single spared glance. Alec allows himself a moment of smugness about it before driving the sharp tip through the attacker’s skull.

Magnus reaches to set his hand on Alec’s arm – they’re both breathing kind of heavy, because this is not a three-person brawl, but a fully-fledged clash of two worlds that they’ve been fighting with all they have.

“This has gone on for too long.” Magnus says and after Alec agrees with a hum while he reaches to retrieve his bow from the ground and set it on his shoulder. Magnus moves away a couple of steps and goes down on one knee, his hands pushed against the dirt, fingers digging into the soft, cold soil while he speaks words that do not belong to any mundane language. The earth beneath their feet shifts and shakes and roars to life; Alec watches people stumble to keep themselves upright as their enemies are swallowed by chasms appearing and disappearing at a certain warlock’s will, his eyes closed and brow furrowed in concentration.

Some trees fall in the process, the yellow lamplights flicker and fade. It only lasts for a moment and is over quickly like a beautiful firework show, but instead of vivid colors, it’s death in a spectacular manner. Magnus gets up and dusts off his pants, looking over his shoulder with a pleased smile as Alec gives him a slow clap, before dipping into a courteous and exaggerated bow accompanied by a flourish of hands.

“That was… incredible.” Alec says, voice soaked with a flirtatious kind of fascination.

“Want to get out of here?”

Alec nods and they start walking slowly away from the crowd – there will be reports to write, papers to sign and work to be done around the cathedral, but for now they’ve done their part, bloody hands tangled between them. It’s so quiet now, in comparison – no clang of metal against metal, no noises of fatigue, just people looking around for their companions, gathering weaponry and treating the wounded ones.

When Magnus opens a portal, Alec bumps their elbows together. “I want a milkshake.”

Magnus hums, looks down first at himself and then at Alec – both of them dirty, splattered with different shades of crimson. “Do you think we’ll get a discount if we walk in looking like this?”

They both laugh at that mental image and start to step through the swirling gateway.

“What, the ‘oh god, you’re covered in blood, everything is 20% off' deal? I don’t think so.”

“You never know, Alexander.”

#malec #shadowhunters #Magnus Bane #Alec Lightwood #my fics #amorverus #darquebane #abloodneed #tw violence #i'm kind of happy with this

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intangibel · 7 years

Text

Stand by you (2x08 missing scene)

This is set between Magnus’ scene with Jace & the party. Magnus deserves to be treated with respect and both he and Alec deserve to have their relationship spoken about with respect by Alec’s family. Parabatai have it out and Malec are happy.

Thank you so much to @ladymatt (it was a long edit session but you were an angel as always) and @blj2007 (i really appreciated your comments and support !!)

When Alec walked into the living room he was surprised to see Magnus standing at the drink cart tossing back a glass of whisky. When he’d seen him earlier he’d seemed so happy about how plans were going for Max’s party. But maybe one of the suppliers had been unreasonable, he didn’t really understand half of what went into planning one of these things.

“Well, I delivered the invitation to Mother and they’re coming. So that’s one less thing we need to worry about,” Alec said, coming to stand by Magnus, relieved that at least that meeting was over.

"Well Alec I must say I'm surprised, I felt sure she'd object," Magnus paused as Alec’s face hardened, “she did object didn’t she, Alexander?”

“And I made it very clear that we care about Max and that whatever function was being held we would be attending together.” Alec paused and then grinned, “so she decided to accept your very generous offer to host it.”

“Why, Alexander, I wish I'd been there to see it!” Magnus said making no attempt to hide his glee at the prospect of Maryse being put in her place.

“It needed to be done.” Alec said simply, although his smile suggested he felt at least slightly triumphant about his success, “So, have you seen Jace? I said I'd tell him whether she was definitely coming. I think he needs a bit of time to prepare given he hasn’t seen her since she practically disowned him after everything happened with Valentine. I assume he’s still here, somewhere?”

“I'm glad it's not just me that needs to prepare for the arrival of Maryse Lightwood!” Magnus said sarcastically, “but if you’re looking for your darling parabatai I believe he’s still occupying the roof terrace.”

“Hey,” Alec said concerned at the way Magnus’ face clouded at the mention of Jace. “What did he say to you?”

“What makes you think he said anything?” Magnus asked evasively as he took another sip of his drink, obviously trying to cover for his earlier slip.

“Well for starters, you’ve never called him ‘darling’ before and you look hurt. So I'm guessing Jace pulled some kind of protective bullshit and said something awful to you.”

“I think I can handle your Parabatai’s digs, Alexander,” Magnus said dismissively, rolling his eyes.

“It’s not whether you can, Magnus. It’s that you shouldn’t have to!” Alec said furiously, angry at having to defend his relationship to everyone. Turning, Alec stalked off towards the stairs determined to have it out with Jace once and for all.

Magnus stared after the retreating figure of his boyfriend, trying to remember when someone had last defended him the way Alec was. The realisation that it had never happened before, left him rooted to the spot.

Alec’s cell phone ringing, moments later, spurred Magnus back into action. He grabbed the phone and seeing it was Max calling reminded him that they couldn't afford to have more problems to deal with, and headed for the stairs.

"Hey, Jace!" Alec said, storming up to the rooftop, "what the hell did you say to Magnus?"

"Seriously, Alec? I'm just watching out for you," Jace said rolling his eyes and going back to the books he was looking at.

Alec moved quickly, grabbing Jace by the arms and lifting him up until he dropped the book and stood, "No, you're not. You're being an asshole and you hurt Magnus."

"By telling him the truth? That this fling will burn out now you've taken it to the next level?"

Alec saw red. His leg slamming into the back of Jace's knees and taking advantage of Jace's surprise to follow him down pinning him to the ground. Alec couldn’t hold the words in anymore. They flew out in a torrent, not caring that he was practically yelling in Jace’s face, “for someone who's supposed to know my feelings, supposed to know me better than anyone else ever could - you somehow manage to be completely oblivious. You have no clue how I feel about Magnus or how he feels about me. I suggest you think about the fact you’re still here when anyone else would’ve kicked you out by now.”

For a moment their gazes held, Alec’s breath sounding harsh and fast in the silence as the anger that had been building inside him finally found voice, “and I don't owe you anything, but maybe this will help you get it through your thick skull. Do you wanna know the real reason I was so happy this last night and this morning? Because it wasn’t the right time for us, but staying here, sleeping and waking up beside Magnus - it felt right. It felt like I’d finally found where I was supposed to be. And that’s so much more than I ever thought I’d have. I’ve spent my whole life knowing I couldn’t have what I wanted. That while you and Izzy would get to fall in love, marry and have families, I’d have to choose whether I obeyed our parents’ wishes. A choice that might have ended up costing me my life.” Alec paused, giving that a moment to sink in. “But Magnus? He sees me,” Alec said gesturing at himself to emphasise his point, “exactly as I am and he still chose me. And I chose him. Do you think we’d do this if it wasn’t real? Do you have any idea what this could, at any time, cost either of us?” Alec released Jace, getting up fast and turning away, suddenly needing space.

“Alec?” Jace’s voice was soft, he must have moved quickly to be back standing so close behind him.

Alec hung his head, trying to tap into the well of strength he knew he had inside. When he spoke it came out as a harsh whisper, “you’ve been through hell and I get that, but this - picking fights and pushing me away - isn’t the answer. Because this time it’s not just about you figuring this shit out on your own. I can’t let you screw this up for me.” Alec sighed, hating the words he needed to say, “don’t make me choose Jace, I - I can’t.”

“Alec!” Jace was in front of him now, catching him as he swayed, holding him close.

Alec stiffened, trying to resist the comfort he craved because it wasn’t enough unless something changed.

“I’m sorry, Alec. God, I’m so sorry,” Jace whispered, holding him tight, “you’re right. I’ve just - been so wrapped up in everything that I didn’t -“

Alec sighed, allowing himself to finally relax, dropping his chin to Jace’s shoulder, “I know.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wouldn’t, I’m not asking for you to choose, Alec. I want you to be happy.”

“I am, Jace. I finally am.”

“I hadn’t realised, I’ve never felt like that about anyone Alec. I didn’t realise you -”

This time it was Alec who moved with lightning speed. His hand clamping over Jace’s mouth, his temper flaring again, “no! You don’t get to take those words from me. I’ll say them when I’m ready. And I’ll say them to Magnus.”

Alec could see regret flare in Jace’s eyes, but still, he kept his hand where it was. He waited for Jace to nod, to be sure he understood before finally pulling back.

“I’m sor-” Jace began, but Alec cut him off with a sigh.

“Save it, Jace, I know. It’s Magnus you should be apologising to. Just promise me-” Alec was gearing up to say more when he saw the blush rising on Jace’s cheeks and noticed Jace’s eyes had left his. Knowing what he’d see and damning Jace in every language he knew for them needing to have this conversation here, Alec turned putting some necessary distance between Jace and himself.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Magnus said his face twisting into an apologetic grimace, “Max called and I was on my way up with your phone, when I heard yelling and wanted to check you weren’t about to do something rash like throw Jace off the roof.”

Walking forward Alec reached, taking his phone from Magnus and then offering his hand to Magnus, who paused for a moment before lacing his fingers through Alec’s.

Leaning in Alec said quietly, “I’m sorry you had to hear that, and that now I need to go call Max back. I think Jace has something he wants to say to you while I’m gone. Can we talk about it after?”

“Thank you, Alexander. Talking about it after sounds fine,” Magnus said, his other hand reaching up to cup Alec’s cheek, his eyes warm with affection, “but can I kiss you now?”

“I’d like that.”

#my fanfic #sh 2x08 #self-indulgent fix-it #missing scene #malec #jace & alec #parabatai #do not disrespect magnus and expect there to be no consequences #alec defending his boyfriend #malec ending up happy #malec fanfic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #jace wayland #shadowhunters #shs2

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humansunshineao3 · 6 years

Text

Fighting the Good Fight [Ch. 9]

Alec Lightwood just wants to run his Institute in peace.

This is the story that could’ve unfolded if Jace didn’t exist.

Rating: Mature

Pairings: Magnus/Alec, Clary/Izzy

Tags: Jace doesn’t exist, transgender alec lightwood, retelling of the TV show, Internalized Transphobia, Panic Attacks, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff, Lightwood Siblings Feels, Izzy and Alec are parabatai, Family Dynamics, homophobia

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Happy Sunday! I have now gotten to the point where I'm ready to confidently say that I will be posting every other Sunday from here on out!

On a less happy note, this chapter is ROUGH. It's hard going for everyone, not least for me. There is an intensely, intensely personal scene at the end with Alec and Magnus that I honestly can't believe I wrote. These are my honest feelings about my own chest and transition, and honestly I'm scared to share them! But I keep telling myself, maybe it'll help someone feel less alone. So... Here you go. Please be gentle if you decide to criticise that scene.

Read with caution, here are the trigger warnings!

Previous Chapter

EPISODE 9: RISE UP

“Simon, it’s Clary. Please pick up the phone, we have to talk about this. I’m worried about you. You don’t have to go through this alone, Simon.”

Luke sighed, pacing a few feet away as Clary left her third message on Simon’s answering machine. “Clary, let me go after him. I’ll make sure he’s alright.”

“But I did this to him, Luke, it’s my job to make sure he’s okay.” Clary pointed out, eyes raw and red-rimmed from the emotional upheaval of the last 48 hours.

“You’re a good friend, Clary, and when Simon’s head is clear, he’ll need you. But right now he needs someone who understands what he’s going through. And I’m sorry, kid, but you don’t. Let me talk to him. You go back to the institute, do your job. Simon will be fine, I promise.” Luke insisted, his hands on her shoulders.

Clary opened her mouth to agree, but before she could vocalise it, her phone started to ring. “Simon?” She asked breathlessly.

“Uh… No. You raised Simon?” Izzy asked, shock in her voice. “Clary, you shouldn’t have done that without me or Alec, it’s dangerous! Are you alright?! Where’s Simon?!”

“He’s fine, I’m fine. I’m with Luke. Simon’s with Raphael.” Clary explained, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Clary… You should have said something.”

“The two of you disappeared, there was no time to discuss it!” Clary snapped.

Izzy was silent on the other end of the phone. Clary sighed.

“What’s up?”

Izzy hesitated for a moment. “There was an attack on the institute, there’s a Clave official here wanting to speak to you, and Alec’s hurt… I need you here, Clary.”

“Oh. Iz, I’m sor-”

“We need you back here, like… Now.” Izzy carried on, “Raphael and Luke will look after Simon.”

Clary sighed, looking at Luke. “I’m on my way.”

Izzy didn’t answer her, hanging up and turning her attention back to Alec. The forsaken’s mace had taken a chunk out of his arm, and Robert had insisted on patching him up. The three of them were sat in awkward silence in the infirmary; Alec was still tense and embarrassed that one of Valentine’s creations had gotten the jump on him.

“An iratze isn’t going to cut it on this,” Robert pointed out unhelpfully, and Izzy and Alec glanced at each other. “Keep it bandaged for a couple of days, make sure it stays dry. Iratze every hour or so.”

Alec hummed noncommittally, and Izzy squeezed his knee. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now, if one of you could supervise the warlock when he turns up, that would be helpful. Your mother and I have to go and brief Lydia on what happened.”

“Which warlock?” Izzy asked, watching Alec out of the corner of her eye.

Robert looked at her blankly. “Does it matter?”

Izzy shrugged, and stood up. “I’m going to go and find Clary. You can supervise our guest, right, Alec?” She asked, mischief glinting in her eyes.

Robert looked between his two elder children suspiciously, but he didn’t have the inclination to ask. As long as whatever they were doing didn’t get back to the Clave, he didn’t care what they did.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” Alec answered, not bothering to return Izzy’s smirk as he headed to the ops centre to greet Magnus.

He had to explain to him sooner or later that he was planning to marry Lydia and have surgery he didn’t want, right?

“Alexander!” Magnus was, uncharacteristically, early, and looked delighted to see Alec. Alec was taken aback by how beautifully Magnus was dressed, clad in a navy blue suit with a frilly shirt, his eye makeup dark and striking as always.

Alec just wanted to run away. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He didn’t want to hurt Magnus’ feelings. But he owed Magnus an explanation. He knew that.

“Hey,” Alec smiled, lifting his chin a little. “Sorry to keep calling you back like this.”

“Oh, it’s fine. At least this time I’m not burdened with the company of… What’s her name again? The Clave envoy?”

“Lydia?”

Alec was definitely going to vomit after this.

“Ah, yes, that’s right.” Magnus turned his attention to the wall, waving his fingers to get the magic started. “She seemed… Intense.”

Alec nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched Magnus work. “She’s… Yeah, she’s… Focussed.”

“I much prefer having you as my supervisor,” Magnus told him over his shoulder, “anyway, enough talk of dreary Miss Clave, are you alright? I heard that you were there when the forsaken attacked.”

“Oh, yeah,” Alec squeezed his arm a little, eyebrows pinching together from the pain, but it was centering, in a way. It took his mind off how unbelievably awkward he was being.

Magnus hummed, spinning around and smiling brightly at Alec. “There. All fixed. No more forsakens are going to be getting through these wards.”

“Nothing will get through?”

“Well…” Magnus sighed, “even my magic has limits. But I can’t think of a way Valentine could get a homemade monster through these.”

“Right,” Alec pursed his lips. “Good.”

There was an awkward silence between them, and Magnus frowned.

“Do you want me to take a look at that injury? I can have it healed in no time…”

“I’m fine, Magnus.”

“If anything were to happen to you…”

“Magnus!” Alec snapped, jerking away as Magnus reached out to touch him. “I don’t need your help, I’m… Fine.”

Magnus looked confused, and a little hurt. “Alec, have I upset you?”

Alec squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “No, Magnus. No, I just…” He glanced around, his stomach twisting in knots as he spotted Lydia walking purposefully towards the two of them. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

Lydia didn’t give Magnus a second glance, her eyes trained on Alec. “We’re bringing in the Seelie Knight Meliorn to gather more information on Valentine’s return. I thought you’d like to be there.”

“Nice to see you again, Miss Branwell,” Magnus smirked, hands tangling together behind his back. Lydia gave him a stiff nod.

“Why Meliorn?” Alec asked, but he was interrupted by Izzy running past him. He followed her with his eyes until he saw Meliorn walking in from the other side of the room, flanked by two of their bigger shadowhunters.

“Meliorn?!” Izzy reached his side first, Lydia hot on her heels. “What are you doing here?”

“The Clave called me in for some kind of conference,” Meliorn explained, a little taken aback when Izzy hugged him tightly. “What are you…? I thought you never wanted to see me again.”

“My family…”

“Despises downworlders? Well, yes.”

Izzy pressed her lips together. “I had to, for Alec.”

Meliorn looked at her with disapproval, his lips pursed.

“What’s going on?” Magnus asked Alec.

“I have no idea…” Alec admitted, folding his arms.

“Meliorn, the Clave has ordered that you be placed under arrest.” Lydia informed him, as unruffled as ever.

“Now, wait a minute…” Alec started, “he’s under arrest? I thought you said you wanted to talk to him.”

The two bulky shadowhunters closed in on Meliorn, each taking one of the Seelie’s arms. “We have reason to believe that Meliorn has been soliciting state secrets from a shadowhunter on behalf of Valentine Morgenstern.” Lydia explained, giving Izzy a disdainful look.

“What kind of mental gymnastics did you have to do to get to that conclusion?” Alec snapped, “you’re really blaming Valentine’s attack on Izzy and the Seelies?! Why would the Seelies want Valentine to rise?!”

“I can see the Branwell family resemblance,” Magnus sneered, glowering at Lydia. “Now, if you’d kindly pay me for my services, I’ll be on my way. This place is a hub of bigotry, and I can’t stand to be here any longer than necessary. By the way, my prices just doubled.”

“I didn’t tell Meliorn anything, all I did was ask him why the Seelies had stopped communicating with the Clave.” Izzy insisted, turning to give Lydia the full force of her glare.

“Guards,” Lydia sighed, ignoring the Lightwood siblings as she took a checkbook from her jacket. Meliorn was dragged away, and Alec put a restraining hand on Izzy’s shoulder. “I assume this will be enough to appease your outrage, Mr Bane,” Lydia murmured as she wrote out the check, ripping it out with a flourish and handing it to Magnus.

Magnus looked at the number, pursed his lips, and ripped it in half. “I don’t take checks.”

“Well unfortunately the institute does not have a safe full of gold or whatever it is you’re intent on collecting, so I suggest you take it up with the Clave directly.” Lydia replied coolly, and Alec winced.

“Lydia, he did his job.”

“And he’ll be paid. Just not by me.”

Magnus raised his chin, and turned a sweet smile to Alec. “You know, it really is a testament to how much I enjoy your fleeting company, that I keep coming back here, Alexander.”

Izzy glanced nervously at Lydia, who was looking at Alec with raised eyebrows.

“Thank you for your help Mag… Mr Bane.” Alec gave him a tight smile, inclining his head respectfully.

Magnus was obviously taken aback at the formality, and narrowed his eyes a little, glancing between Lydia, Izzy and Alec. “You know where to find me if you need anything else.”

“You’ll be dealing with me from now on, Mr Bane. Mr Lightwood is no longer in control of this institute. Please communicate with my office from now on rather than contact Mr Lightwood. His duties do not include chaperoning downworlders.” Lydia cut in, taking Alec’s elbow.

Alec couldn’t repress the way he recoiled at her touch, his shoulders raising to his ears.

“I see.” Magnus’ eyebrow arched a little at Lydia’s words, and he didn’t look at Alec, either. What on Earth had happened since the last time he spoke to Alec, in his bedroom, only yesterday? “Well, I have some business in the infirmary before I leave, delivering some potions. I presume I’m free to make my way there myself, or do I require a chaperone for that, as well?”

“Isabelle,” Lydia said pointedly, “please make sure Mr Bane doesn’t get lost on his way to the infirmary.”

“That’s not necessary, Lydia,” Alec tried, but Lydia didn’t look at him, her steely blue eyes fixed on Magnus’ dark, simmering ones.

“It’s fine,” Izzy insisted, looping her arm through Magnus’. “We always have great fun together. Don’t we, Magnus?”

Magnus smirked at her, before turning with a perfectly innocent expression back to Lydia. “Yes. Isabelle and I are the very best of friends. Come, my dear, we have much to discuss.”

Lydia looked like her head was about to explode when Izzy and Magnus sauntered off together, whispering to each other with matching grins on their faces. Alec’s lips twitched. He’d never found pettiness particularly attractive before, but Magnus was so endearing and ridiculous in the way he tried to get under Lydia’s skin, Alec couldn’t help but fall a little deeper.

“We need to find another warlock to use.” Lydia insisted, and Alec quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Magnus is the best warlock in the city.”

Lydia pursed her lips. “I don’t like his attitude.”

Well I don’t like yours, Alec opened his mouth to say, but took a deep breath instead. “If we refuse to recognise Magnus’ authority among the warlocks in New York, it could cause political awkwardness. I’m afraid you and Magnus will have to put your differences aside.”

After a moment of consideration, Lydia allowed it. “I suppose you’re right.”

“For the record, he’s right.” Alec pointed out, “the arrest of Meliorn will only strain relations with the Seelie Queen, which makes her more likely to be loyal to Valentine. You have no concrete evidence to suggest that the Seelies are involved with Valentine in the slightest. It’s a bad move.”

“Better he’s arrested than your sister,” Lydia answered, looking up at Alec. “You’re lucky that the Clave decided to forgive her foolishness instead of punish her for it.”

“What foolishness do you mean? Sleeping with a Seelie? Because the last time I checked, there was no law against shadowhunters being romantically involved with downworlders.”

“She told him state secrets, Alec. It’s a serious offence.”

“I’m sorry, were you there in the room? Did you overhear their conversations?” Alec asked sarcastically. “Because to me it sounds like you’re making a lot of assumptions here, Lydia.”

“Alec, the law is hard, but it’s the law. This is not my decision. I am simply following orders.” Lydia said firmly. “If we’re going to be married-”

“Keep your voice down!” Alec hissed, looking around to check that no-one was listening. Really, he was double checking that Magnus was out of earshot. He’d hate to have him find out like that.

Lydia gave him an unimpressed look. “If we’re going to be working together you need to respect that I follow the Clave’s orders without question. They know what’s best for all of us.”

Alec bit back a retort, knowing that Lydia would turn him over to the Clave without batting an eye if she suspected that he was anything less than blindly loyal.

So much for a strong partnership.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clary caught up with Izzy and Magnus in the infirmary. Izzy was sitting on one of the beds, watching Magnus restock the potion cabinet with glass bottles he was conjuring from his apothecary one at a time.

“I think something’s changed since yesterday. When we were alone, he was a sweetheart. And now he’s acting like the idea of my touch terrifies him. I’m not sure what I did…” Magnus was saying, and Izzy nodded, humming.

“He does seem extra tense today.” She agreed, “it’s probably because he has to hide the cup from Lydia.”

“Who’s Lydia?” Clary asked in lieu of announcing her presence.

Izzy didn’t meet her eyes, instead looking down at her feet. “Lydia is the Clave envoy, and she’s awful. She just arrested Meliorn, she’s blaming him for the forsaken attacks.”

“What? Meliorn has nothing to do with any of this…” Clary shook her head. “Now I understand why you warned me not to trust shadowhunters,” she told Magnus, who snorted.

“Lydia’s just the mouthpiece of the Clave, no better or worse than any of them. It’s just Alec and Izzy that are extraordinarily liberal.” Magnus explained, twisting one of the bottles on the shelf so the label showed clearly.

“If this is the attitude the Clave have, we can’t let them get the cup before we stop Valentine.” Izzy decided, standing up. “Magnus, we need to steal it.”

Magnus glanced over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. “Why do I have to be involved?”

“If I were capable of stealing Alec’s stele, I’d do it myself. We need you to conjure it.” Izzy shrugged.

“Absolutely not!” Magnus laughed, “if Alec found out…”

“Alec will understand. He hates the Clave more than any of us.” Clary insisted, folding her arms. “Magnus, you can put it back in his pocket the second we have the cup.”

“It’ll take literally a minute.” Izzy promised. “I’d just ask him to give us the cup, but he needs plausible deniability, and besides, Lydia’s been sticking to him like a limpet.”

Magnus sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingertips. “And you have a plan to stop Valentine with the cup?”

“Yes,” Clary answered a little too quickly. “It’ll be safe, I promise. It’s hidden inside a painting; Valentine wouldn’t be able to get it out of there without me or my Mom, so even if it did fall into his hands…”

After another moment of contemplation, Magnus dropped his hand from his face. “Fine. I’ll do it.” He promised, and the two women breathed a sigh of relief. “Hopefully I’ll find Alec alone and we can get to the bottom of exactly what’s going on with him…”

“You’ll both feel better if you talk about it,” Izzy encouraged, slipping her hands into her back pockets.

Magnus rolled his head on his shoulders and groaned. “Alright. Go to where the cup is hidden, text me a picture of your exact location. Once you’ve used the stele, put it back where it appeared and text me. Then I can put it back where it belongs.”

“Got it,” Clary nodded, giving Magnus a pat on the shoulder as he walked past her out the door.

Neither her not Izzy said anything for a moment as they found themselves alone.

Clary wasn’t going to apologise for bringing Simon back. She couldn’t have done anything differently. And Izzy had been raised to believe that becoming a vampire was a fate worse than death.

“We should go to the ops centre,” Izzy said quietly, “it won’t take Magnus long to find Alec with his magic.”

Clary hummed in agreement, faltering in the doorway until Izzy caught up with her, and they were on their awkwardly silent way.

“How’s Simon?” Izzy asked, hesitation in her voice.

“He’s with Luke and Raphael. He was freaked out when he woke up, but Luke said that he’ll adapt.”

“Yeah… I’m sure he will.” Izzy offered.

Clary sighed. “I’m not sorry that I raised him. I’m sorry that I got him killed, and I’m sorry that I didn’t consult you and Alec, but I would have done the same thing no matter what either of you said.”

“I know,” Izzy sounded troubled, but not surprised. “I’m trying not to be angry but you have no idea what kind of discrimination Simon is going to be faced with. I feel like you took this decision too lightly.”

“Lightly?!” Clary almost laughed in disbelief. “Nothing about the last week of my life has been light, Iz.”

Izzy pressed her lips together. “You’re right.”

“You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t do the same if you were me and Simon were Alec.”

“I don’t know what I’d do in that situation. But I know I’d be tempted.” She admitted, squatting down by the in-floor storage.

“So you get it?” Clary asked. There was an edge of hope in her voice that melted Izzy’s resolve a little.

“I do,” Izzy confirmed, “it just made me feel weird that you didn’t talk to me about it. But… I was busy. I don’t know. Forget it.”

Clary shrugged a little. “I like that you were honest about your feelings. You don’t bullshit, and…” Clary smiled, slipping her hand into Izzy’s. “It’s one of the things I like most about you.”

“Yeah?” Izzy grinned, tilting her head to the side, and Clary nodded, squeezing her fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magnus found Alec in his bedroom, but this time he didn’t approach the door. Instead, he checked the hallway, making sure that no shadowhunters were around to see what he was about to do. It would not do to be arrested for spying on a shadowhunter. Lydia would take any opportunity to lock him up after his dig at her family, he knew that. Perhaps it had been foolish to rile her, but there were limited opportunities for Magnus to be petty, being the High Warlock. He had to take his openings where he got them.

He swept his hand along the wall, rendering it see-through, and spotted Alec’s stele in his jacket pocket where it was slung over his desk. Alec himself was perched on the edge of it, in his binder, changing the bandage on his forsaken injury. With a snap of his fingers, Magnus banished the stele to the ops centre floor, where Izzy had photographed, and waited, bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently.

After a few moments that felt like an eternity of trying not to peek at Alec’s private moment, Magnus’ phone buzzed, and he put the stele back where it had been right as Alec reached for his jacket. Magnus put the wall back the way he’d found it as Alec headed and panicked for a moment, before just pressing his hands to the wall.

“Magnus?” Alec asked, opening his bedroom door. “What…?”

“I sensed a blip in the wards,” Magnus lied, but Alec quirked his eyebrow. “Alright… I was worried about you. You seem tense.”

Alec checked up and down the hallway much like Magnus had. “I want you to hear this from me, alright?”

“Alright…” Magnus echoed, fiddling with his cravat.

“I’m getting married.”

Magnus’ face was blank for a moment. “You’re… What?”

Alec grimaced. “I’m marrying Lydia.”

“Lydia?”

The utter flatness of Magnus’ eyes was freaking Alec out, and he found it all tumbling out, unable to stop himself.

“After Izzy kissed Clary, my Mom told me that the only way to keep the Clave from finding a reason to banish Izzy and I was to have surgery and marry a woman. Lydia came along, and she seemed competent, if a little…”

“Racist?”

Alec swallowed hard. “I know I can bring her around. She’s stubborn, but if I can show her how corrupt and bigoted the Clave are… We’d make a solid partnership.”

“A solid partnership?” Magnus sounded bitter, now. “That’s hot.”

Alec felt a wave of pure misery wash over him, and for a moment he thought he might just cry, right here. He knew it was a bad idea to marry Lydia, he knew he’d regret it, but he didn’t know what else to do. “Magnus, please, try to understand. I can’t have it all. I have to make compromises if I want to live as a man and remain a shadowhunter.”

Magnus swallowed hard, nodding. “Right. Yes, yes, I… I get it, Alexander.” He sighed. “I get it. But Lydia?!”

“Not many women would marry a trans guy, Magnus.”

“Trans is not all that you are.” Magnus insisted, stepping closer, his hand going to Alec’s arm. “You’re fierce, loyal, sensible, intelligent, good-natured, and kind. Not to mention absolutely beautiful to look at. You deserve better, even if it’s not me. Even if you do have to marry a woman, you… You should marry a woman who’s good to you, even if you can’t be in love.”

Alec could feel his eyes misting, and he dragged his gaze away from Magnus up to the ceiling. “I don’t have the luxury of having what I want.” He whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “What I want is you. But I can’t fall for a downworlder, be trans, be gay, and keep my position. Something has to give, Magnus. And… I’m sorry, but I can’t sacrifice my transition for you.”

“I know, I don’t want you to,” Magnus insisted. “I’d never, ever want you to do that. I’d only want you as your whole self. I’d want everything that you are.” He reached out to brush his fingertips against the middle of Alec’s chest, right over his heart. “All I want is for you to feel whole, Alec. I know how it feels to have nothing but empty space inside you, and I never want that for you. Please, Alec… Please, at least look into other women. Maybe there’ll be one who won’t care about you having surgery. Don’t settle like this.”

“I always knew I had to have surgery at some point, Magnus. It’ll be… Fine.”

Magnus looked utterly heartbroken, and Alec couldn’t look at him any more.

“I’m sorry.”

Magnus shook his head, sniffing. “I’m sorry, too.” He reached up tentatively, running the backs of his fingers along Alec’s cheek. “If you ever need a place to run or an ear to listen, you know where I am.”

“Yeah,” Alec nodded, his heart heavy.

“Goodbye, Alec.”

Alec shoved his hands in his pockets as Magnus stepped away, staring resolutely at the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, we have the cup and the portal necklace. We just need to play keep away from Lydia until we figure out a way to track down Valentine.” Izzy murmured, watching as Lydia strutted around the ops centre barking orders like she owned the place. “I think you should get out of here, Clary. We’ll give you a blocking rune and you can go to and visit Simon. You’ll be safe with him and the vampires, as long as they don’t know you have the Cup.”

“Yeah, good call,” Clary agreed, hitching her satchel a little higher up her shoulder, slipping her fingers inside it to check that the tarot card was still there. “If they ask where I am, just say you don’t know. Plausible deniability and all that.”

Izzy nodded, rubbing Clary’s arm. She noticed Lydia watching them from across the room, and glared at her over Clary’s shoulder. Lydia glared back, but looked away after a moment.

“What’s going on?” Alec asked, appearing behind Izzy.

“Clary’s going to go and check on Simon. Somehow I doubt that Lydia’s got her best interests at heart, and Simon needs her support right now.”

“So you decided to raise him?” Alec asked, though there was no judgement in his voice. “How’s he taking it?”

Clary shrugged. “I’m not sure. Luke’s with him, though, so I know he’s being looked after. I’ll see you both later, yeah? Let me know when Lydia’s finished her rampage.”

“Yeah, will do,” Alec promised, one eye on his fiancee as Clary hurried out of the room. Lydia watched her go, but made no move to follow, instead turning her attention back to the screen in front of her.

“I hate her,” Izzy growled quietly. “She calls Meliorn in and arrests him, then acts like it’s all out of her hands. If she’s going to racially profile downworlders, I wish she’d just admit it.”

Alec inhaled sharply, picking up a quiver of arrows to inspect them. He stayed quiet as Izzy breathed heavily next to him, her chest heaving with outrage.

“Well? Aren’t you mad?”

“Of course I am,” Alec murmured, “what she’s doing with Meliorn is wrong, but if she really has had orders direct from the Clave, she can’t exactly ignore them.”

Izzy snorted. “You believe her? Did you know that she’s sending Mom and Dad back to Idris?”

“Good,” Alec replied bitterly. “I don’t want to see them.”

“I know, but without them here Lydia’s going to be watching us a lot more carefully,” Izzy pointed out, folding her arms. “Anyway, what’s going on with you? Magnus said you were acting weird with him.”

Alec pursed his lips, putting down the quiver. “Lydia told me that Mom and Dad were in the Circle.”

“What?!” Izzy hissed, face screwing up in disbelief. “That’s not possible, they don’t have circle runes. Why would she lie about something like that?!”

“Iz, come on,” Alec sighed. “Think about it. Their hatred of downworlders, their insistence that we have to have squeaky clean records, the fact that they never talk about what they were doing to fight against the Uprising…”

Izzy shook her head. “But they don’t have circle runes…”

“Because they acted as double agents when the Uprising got out of hand and Valentine started killing shadowhunters. In exchange for information about Valentine’s planned attacks, they were granted a pardon after Valentine fell. Lydia told me that our parents were in the Circle, so I sent a fire message to Ragnor Fell in Idris, remember, our old downworlder relations teacher? He confirmed it all, Iz. It’s true.”

Part of Alec wished he hadn’t told his sister the truth, at least not so bluntly. She looked like she was about to cry or punch something. He sighed, and opened his arms. Izzy fell into them, burying her face in his side.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Iz… We have to prepare ourselves. Our parents were in control of the institute when that forsaken got in. They could have gone back to Valentine.” Alec told her, swallowing hard. “Which is why I’ve had to make moves to protect us quickly.”

Izzy pulled back to look up at him, her eyebrows pinched in the middle. “What kind of moves?”

“I asked Lydia to marry me,” Alec confessed, the words spiky in his mouth.

“You did what?!” Izzy’s tears were gone now, and instead she looked positively murderous. “You asked that stuck-up, snobby, racist piece of shit to marry you?! Have you lost your goddamn mind?!”

“Izzy, she’s like, right across the room…”

“I don’t care! She arrested Meliorn, Alec!”

“And she’s going to let him go the moment she realises that he’s innocent.” Alec assured her, “we can watch the interrogation from here. Look, there she goes…”

Lydia paraded out of the room with two shadowhunters flanking her, heading for the elevator and, no doubt, the magic-proof cells in the basement. Alec and Izzy hurried over to a terminal and Alec quickly logged into the cameras, flicking through the video feeds until they found Meliorn’s cell. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the glass in front of him. As always, he looked totally unruffled.

“Meliorn,” Lydia walked into the cell, the two shadowhunters from before hot on her heels. They closed the door of the cell behind them, and Meliorn got to his feet. “What do you know about the attack on this institute that occured yesterday?”

Meliorn raised an eyebrow at her. Izzy shook her head a little as she watched.

“And Mom thinks I’m the one who doesn’t know how to keep things polite with the Seelies…” She muttered, “Lydia’s got a real flair for diplomacy.”

Alec sighed, and elbowed Izzy lightly, trying to listen to Meliorn’s response.

“I am aware that there was an attack, that somehow a creature of evil intent crossed your sacred wards.” Meliorn explained.

“And how did you learn of this attack?”

“The Seelie Queen sees everything, and I am one of her closest advisors. She was concerned that if one of Valentine’s creations got into an institute, they could get into the Seelie realm.”

Lydia hummed. “And did you know that Seelie blood was used to create these creatures?”

Meliorn blinked slowly. “It doesn’t surprise me, considering we have angel blood that would allow it to pass through your wards.”

“But did you know this before I just told you?” Lydia pressed.

Meliorn tilted his head to the side. “I had assumed.”

Lydia quite clearly didn’t believe him.

“Why am I here, Miss Branwell?” Meliorn asked, looking around the plain, vacant room. “It would seem to me that the Clave has greater problems than determining whether or not the Seelies are giving blood willingly to Valentine.”

Lydia frowned, bristling visibly. “Is that a threat?”

“No, you dumbass,” Alec hissed, rolling his eyes.

“You’d say that about your fiancee?” Izzy asked sarcastically, and Alec gave her a dirty look.

“You realise that one of your own is already in possession of the Mortal Cup, and is hiding it from you?” Meliorn asked, a smug note in his voice.

Lydia flexed her neck, chuckling hollowly. “That’s impossible.”

Meliorn smiled sweetly. “It seems as if your leadership skills aren’t quite as pristine as you’d have the Clave believe.”

“Fuck yes, Meliorn,” Izzy growled.

“Shush, if he implicates us, we’re dead,” Alec muttered.

“Who is it?” Lydia demanded. Meliorn sighed, and clasped his hands together behind his back.

“Miss Fairchild has more reason than most to want to get to Valentine first.”

“Clary Fairchild has the cup?!” Lydia demanded, and Alec and Izzy closed the video feed, bursting into action.

“You call Clary. I’m going to do some more research, figure out if there’s any solid evidence that will free Meliorn.” Izzy told him, and he nodded, pulling out his new phone. Luckily, the institute had several spare phones ready to go; demon ichor tended to wreck iPhones, anyway.

“Clary? Have you activated your blocking rune?” Alec demanded the moment she picked up the phone.

“Uh, yeah. Alec, why? Has something else happened?” She asked.

Alec started pacing back and forth. “Lydia knows you found the cup, she’s going to be coming after you with everything she’s got. You have to figure out a way to use that portal shard, because you’ve got 48 hours, tops.”

“Oh, shit.” Clary muttered. “Okay, okay, I’ll call Magnus, ask him if he can help me with it. He invented portals, right? Maybe he’ll know what to do.”

“Yeah, yeah, good call. If anyone can tell us how to use it, it’s him. I’ll keep you updated as much as possible, Izzy will try and join you when she can, okay? Are you in a safe place?”

“I’m with Simon and Raphael, at the Hotel DuMort.”

“Well, not exactly safe, but…” Alec chuckled despite himself. “Alright. Tell Simon we’re thinking of him.”

“Uhhh… Sure. He’ll appreciate it. See you soon, Alec.” Clary said, before hanging up.

“Alec! There you are!” Lydia called, and Alec shoved his phone in his pocket as he spun around, hoping that he didn’t look as freaked out as he felt. “I need your help. We’re moving Meliorn to the City of Bones.”

Alec’s mouth fell open. If he hadn’t looked freaked out before, he knew he definitely did now. “Are you insane? You have no evidence that he’s done anything wrong and you’re going to expose him to the Silent Brothers? Lydia, the Seelie Queen will be furious, this could mean war.”

“We need more information. This isn’t a sentence, it’s just that the Silent Brothers are better equipped to question him.”

“Using the Soul Sword, which could very easily kill him.” Alec pointed out, “no. No, this is insane, you cannot be serious. Come on, Lydia, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth a war with the Seelies.”

Lydia raised her chin. “The Clave has already given its support to my plan. It’s done. Are you going to help me with the transfer, future husband, or am I going to have to confine you to your quarters?”

“If the Clave commands it, I will help. But I want it on record that I think this is a mistake.” Alec answered. There was no way he could help Meliorn from his locked bedroom; he had to go along with Lydia’s plan so he could somehow foil it.

“Your opinion has been noted.” Lydia nodded, her shoulders easing a little. “We’re doing the right thing, Alec. We need to have all the information.”

“Information isn’t as important as a man’s life.”

Lydia sighed, taking Alec’s elbow and leading him to a quiet corner of the ops centre. “Alec, you know I lost my husband. Do you know how?”

“No…” Alec answered slowly. What did that have to do with anything?”

“John and I were running the Lisbon institute. We had a tip-off that there was a nest of demons in the South of the city, and we managed to catch a werewolf that had been doing supply runs for them. The Clave told me to use any means necessary to get the information we needed out of this werewolf, but I refused to use the Silent Brothers because, like you, I was afraid for the wolf’s safety. So we just took him at his word that there were only 20 demons in the nest.”

Alec sighed, pursing his lips. He knew what was coming.

“There were over 150. The werewolf had set us up, and… We were overwhelmed. John was killed right in front of me, and it wasn’t just the werewolf’s fault. It was mine. If I’d had the stomach to put the wolf through interrogations, if I hadn’t assumed that werewolves and downworlders actually want to stop demons, if I’d thought that they had a shred of humanity…”

“Lydia, that was one werewolf…”

“Then John would still be alive.” Lydia insisted, her lips twitching.

Alec shook his head, hands on his hips. “I understand why you’re loathe to trust downworlders, but not all of them are allied with demons.”

“But enough of them are, Alec. I can’t take that chance. Not again.” Lydia said firmly. “Now, where did Miss Fairchild go? Meliorn made some allegations against her that I need to look into.”

“What kind of allegations?” Alec asked, his heart thumping so hard it felt like he was about to have a heart attack.

Lydia straightened up, looking Alec square in the eye. “The Seelie Queen believes that Miss Fairchild is in possession of the Mortal Cup. I don’t suppose you’d be able to shed some light on this, would you? I mean, it has been your job to keep an eye on her.”

“If Clary has the cup in her possession, it’s news to me.” Alec told her, and it wasn’t a lie. As far as Alec knew, the cup was hidden in the floor under their feet. But he wasn’t about to tell her that.

After a long, searching look into Alec’s face, Lydia glanced away, scanning the room. “Where’s your sister? No doubt she knows where Miss Fairchild is.”

“Izzy’s working in the laboratory, trying to find some evidence to free Meliorn. Leave her out of this, you know that it’s a conflict of interest for her.” Alec urged her, “it’s best if she hears of Meliorn’s fate from me. If she knows where Clary is, I’ll let you know.”

Lydia nodded. “Alright. We’re planning to move Meliorn at 1900 hours. Report back here at 1800 hours for the briefing.”

“Got it,” Alec went to move away, but Lydia put her hand on his chest. He froze, eyes wide.

“Alec, we’re doing the right thing. I know you’ll understand when we bring in Valentine.”

Alec swallowed hard, clenching his hands together behind his back.

“I think maybe we should spend some time together, once we’ve dropped Meliorn off. It would be awful marrying a stranger, wouldn’t it?” She coaxed, looking up at him with a tentativeness that made Alec want to vomit.

“I’m very busy,” he said quickly, stepping out of her reach. “And I think it’s best that we keep this professional.”

Lydia frowned. “Come on, Alec, we’re going to be husband and wife. We should be on friendly terms.”

“I’ll think about it,” he promised, stumbling backwards and getting the hell out of there before she could creep him out any more.

Magnus was right; Lydia was not right for him, even if he took love out of the equation. She repulsed him. She was rude, arrogant, bigoted, and selfish. He hated her.

What the fuck was he going to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Magnus reached out to his friends in the Seelie Realm, but with this stuff happening with Meliorn, Magnus doubts that any of them are going to be open to helping us.” Clary explained, her voice tinny through Izzy’s phone speakers.

“And he’s sure we definitely need a Seelie’s portal?”

“Yeah, he said he’s not capable of making a portal to an alternate dimension, at least not without a Seelie to help him.” Clary explained, “the portal from the shard is in this alternate dimension, one that Magnus can’t access alone.”

Izzy sighed. “Fuck. So we have to get Meliorn out of the Clave’s control.”

“We have an opportunity,” Alec told her as he walked into the room, making her jump. “Lydia’s planning to take Meliorn to the City of Bones. Wait, before you go off on a rant, hear me out. I’m part of the security working the mission, and I got you out of it because of a potential conflict of interest. So, you and Clary can pick off the rest of the security detail, and then I can, quote unquote, fight off the mystery attacker, and Meliorn can escape with you and Clary. Meliorn can make the portal for Clary while you race back to the institute to establish your alibi.”

“Iz, that sounds like it could work. I can ask Raphael to help, as well. You know he doesn’t want a war to break out.” Clary suggested. Izzy just looked shocked.

“She’s really handing him over to the Silent Brothers? Just like that?” Izzy asked, her eyebrows pinched.

Alec sighed. “She has a whole tragic backstory that she gave me telling me why she likes wringing information out of downworlders with torture. I’d feel bad for her if she wasn’t using it as an excuse to persecute an entire race.”

“Sounds like Lydia,” Izzy scoffed, squeezing Alec’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Raphael says he and four other vampires can help us out. Magnus said he’ll provide an alibi for Izzy and go by the institute to cover for her just in case she doesn’t get back in time.” Clary told them, and Alec smiled.

This was totally going to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Does everyone understand their roles in the operation?” Lydia checked one last time, eyebrows furrowing as she noticed Magnus making his way around the edge of the ops centre.

Alec watched her follow Magnus with his eyes, relieved that she’d seen him herself. It would make Izzy’s alibi of working on the forsaken corpse a lot more believable. Lydia walked up to him as the rest of the shadowhunters dispersed to grab their weapons, and Alec tucked his hands into his pockets.

“What’s he doing here?” She demanded.

“I told you, Izzy’s working to find evidence on the body that Seelies weren’t involved in creating it. I’m guessing Magnus is here to help her.” Alec shrugged, “she’s not gonna let you get away with this without a fight.”

Lydia nodded, pursing her lips. “I can understand that. Her loyalty is admirable, it’s just a shame that it isn’t directed at the Clave.”

“The Clave has yet to give her a reason to trust them.” Alec said quietly.

“You trust them, and you have more reason than her to resent them.”

Alec laughed humourlessly, slinging his bow over his shoulder. “Don’t remind me.”

“Sorry. Good luck.” Lydia smiled, squeezing his arm.

“It won’t take long, we’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Did you think anymore on our relationship? I really think we should at least try to develop some kind of bond, Alec.” Lydia pressed.

God, did she ever give up? “I haven’t had time to think about it… It’s been less than three hours.”

“Right,” Lydia nodded, “it’s just that, I admire you. I admire your spirit and your love for your family. I think that we could have something nice. Maybe we’re not going to be the love story of the century, but I think we could be happy. If we tried.”

“Maybe, I don’t know. Look, I need to go.” Alec murmured. Was he being cruel? Should he give her a chance?

As he turned to go, Alec caught Magnus’ eye across the room, and the both of them froze, reading utter misery in each other’s eyes. Alec couldn’t breathe for a moment, and for once it had nothing to do with his binder.

Magnus was the first to turn away, and Alec watched his retreating back head down the corridor towards the elevators. When he snapped out of his reverie, Lydia had disappeared, and Alec sighed, heading for the door.

Alec was the one who’d been put in charge of physically escorting Meliorn, his hand firmly on the Seelie’s shoulder. He hadn’t explained the plan to Meliorn, hadn’t had the time, but Meliorn didn’t seem surprised when two of the shadowhunters that had been bringing up the rear suddenly disappeared from behind them with strangled yelps. The vampires hadn’t been seen, too fast for their eyes to keep up, and Alec breathed a sigh of relief that Clary and Izzy wouldn’t be implicated.

“I’ll take Meliorn on towards the City of Bones, hold this position!” Alec commanded, breaking into a jog and pulling Meliorn along with him.

“Are you going to betray your sister, Mr Lightwood?” Meliorn asked placidly, and Alec looked behind them. Once he was sure that the rest of the team were occupied trying to fight off the vampires, Alec stopped and used his stele to unlock Meliorn’s handcuffs.

“We have a plan. We’re going to free you, but we need your help to stop Valentine. Can you make portals to alternate dimensions?” Alec asked, tugging Meliorn around the corner out of sight.

Meliorn looked surprised, for once. “Yes, I can. Why do you need an inter-dimensional portal to catch Valentine?”

“Clary has a portal shard that will take her to Valetine’s lair, but the portal it belongs to is in a different dimension. So can you help us?”

Izzy and Clary came around the corner, slightly out of breath, in time to hear Meliorn assent to their plan.

“Valentine must be stopped,” Meliorn agreed, “but I can only allow one shadowhunter to enter this alternate dimension. It’s a world where demons no longer exist, it’s very peaceful. The Clave was shut down centuries ago, and downworlders exist in harmony with the mundanes. It is very heavily guarded by the Seelie Queen.”

“Clary should go,” Alec said, turning to Izzy, “she’s already missing as far as the institute knows, and Clary’s going to need the prestige of stopping Valentine if you two are going to get married.”

“Married?” Clary repeated, eyes going wide. “We haven’t even been on a date yet!”

Alec narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re not serious about my sister?”

“Alec, oh my God,” Izzy groaned, shoving him lightly. “Focus. Yes, okay, we’ll send Clary. The two of us have to go back to the institute anyway.”

Meliorn pursed his lips. “I can only keep the portal open for 24 hours. Demons will be drawn to it, tempted by a pure and peaceful world. If you don’t find and go through your portal by then, I’m afraid you’ll be lost to that world, and you’ll cease to exist in ours.”

Clary nodded, “understood. Iz, can I talk to you for a second?”

“You have to be quick, Izzy needs to beat the others back to the institute.” Alec reminded them, though the last thing he wanted was to rush them.

“It won’t take long.” Clary promised, tugging Izzy a few feet away from the two men. “Listen, I don’t want to do this with you still mad at me. If I die…”

“You’re going to be fine, Clary. You’ve got the element of surprise on your side. Your plan is going to work.” Izzy insisted, gripping Clary’s hands. “You’ve been training for this.”

Clary sighed, stepping closer to wind her fingers in Izzy’s hair, their foreheads coming together. “But if something goes wrong, I need you to know that I don’t regret a second of it. Not meeting you, not becoming a shadowhunter, not… Nothing. I wouldn’t trade that kiss we had for anything.”

“Me neither,” Izzy whispered, closing her eyes as her hands wrapped around Clary’s wrists. “And I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t come back, so please be careful, Clary.”

“I’m coming back,” Clary assured her, her hands dropping to Izzy’s waist. “You know how stubborn I am.”

Izzy grinned, and angled her head in for a kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec didn’t have time to ask Izzy if she was alright, because Meliorn opened a portal for her back to the institute the second that she turned away from Clary, and half a second later, Clary and Meliorn had disappeared through a second portal. Alec found himself alone, though after a moment, Simon appeared before him.

“You need to look like you’ve been fighting,” he pointed out, ruffling Alec’s hair.

Alec batted his hand away, fixing his hair. “I’m an archer, I wouldn’t have been fighting hand to hand either way.”

“Wait so you’d just stand there and let someone take your prisoner? That’s lame, dude.” Simon teased.

“I see vampirism didn’t cause you to lose your sense of humour,” Alec smirked, rumpling his shirt.

Simon shrugged. “Takes more than a little bit of death to stop me from taking the piss out of you.”

Alec laughed, shaking his head. “Alright, noted. Now get out of here before the others see you.”

Simon saluted at him, and was gone with a breath of wind.

The other shadowhunters didn’t seem surprised that Meliorn had gotten away, and Alec knew they didn’t suspect any wrongdoing; a couple of them had heard the snarls of vampires, so no doubt Lydia would play it off as a downworlder vigilante and move on. They trudged back to the institute, Alec pretending that he was injured so Izzy would have more time to get herself and her alibi situated. The other shadowhunters in the team retreated to the infirmary or to their quarters the moment they were back, leaving Alec to explain their failure to Lydia.

“Meliorn got away,” Alec told her, “we were ambushed.”

Lydia sighed, shaking her head. “He was our only lead.”

“He’ll be back under the protection of the Seelie Queen, now. Besides, look at it this way. Now you won’t have the torture of a downworlder on your conscience.”

“Clary Fairchild is still missing. I wonder if she had anything to do with it…” Lydia mused deliberately, a careful eye on Alec’s face.

“I wouldn’t know.” Alec shrugged. “I’m injured. May I be dismissed?”

Lydia straightened up. “You are?”

“Well, I think the iratze got most of it. I just feel a little twinge in my side.”

“Was it really that bad? Who attacked you?”

“I’m not sure,” Alec answered, “the others think it was a downworlder of some kind. I didn’t get a look, my bow was basically useless.”

Lydia hummed, pressing her lips together. “Well, I expect a full report. Though it can wait until tomorrow. Where’s your sister?”

Alec tilted his head to the side. “I assume she’s still downstairs. I wasn’t gone too long, was I?”

“Of course. I’ll check the security logs.”

Alec’s eye twitched. “Don’t you trust her word?”

“No, not really,” Lydia answered coolly. “Her judgement is clouded by her personal relationship with the Seelie. As far as I’m concerned, she’s our main suspect in this matter.”

“What?” Alec laughed, shaking his head. “You’re going to accuse your fiance’s sister of conspiring to thwart a Clave mission?”

“So now I’m your fiancee…”

Alec put his hands on his hips. “Lydia, what exactly is it you want from me? I’m trying to reach out to you, here.”

Lydia raised her chin. “I know you’re trying to manipulate me, and it’s not going to work.”

“Think whatever you want.” Alec huffed, “I’m going to get checked over. Go and check on Izzy if that’ll make you feel better.”

When Alec got back to his room after a quick check over in the infirmary, Robert was sitting on his couch. Alec quirked his eyebrow, and slowly closed the door. At the sound of the door clicking shut, Robert’s head snapped up, disturbed from whatever it was he’d been thinking about.

“Alec, I have news.” Robert told him, smiling with a gentleness that Alec found unsettling. There was something in his father’s eyes that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and it made him nervous. “We found a warlock medical professional, and she lives right here in New York. Now, she’s not a surgeon, but your Mom reached out to her, and she’s confident she can supervise a mundane doctor to make sure you get the care you need.”

The breath had been squeezed out of Alec’s chest after Robert’s first sentence, and he forced himself to fill his lungs, looking down at the floor. He hadn’t thought in a million years that they’d find someone so soon; he’d counted on having more time. “Oh. I see.”

“Yes, her name is Catarina Loss, and she works at Ambrose hospital as a nurse.”

“Wait… Catarina Loss is a warlock?!” Alec couldn’t believe it. He’d known Catarina for ten years; he’d never suspected for a second that she was anything more than mundane. “She’s been giving me my shots forever.”

Robert made an impressed face. “So you already trust her. Excellent. We can schedule the mastectomy for next week. We booked you a consultation for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” Alec gasped, eyes going wide.

“Well, the sooner, the better.”

Alec shook his head, clutching at the hem of his shirt. “That’s too fast, I can’t.”

“Alec, you have nothing to be afraid of. Catarina know what she’s doing. You might be able to have keyhole, and then you’d be up on your feet almost instantly.” Robert assured him impatiently. “You always knew this was coming.”

“I-”

“By the way, I heard that you proposed to Lydia Branwell.Thank you for asking your mother and I for our thoughts on the matter.” Robert gritted out, holding up a hand to wave away whatever Alec had been about to say. “We would have appreciated having some input in our family’s future. Miss Branwell isn’t exactly what we had in mind, considering she’s stolen our institute from us.”

“The reason you and Mom aren’t running the institute is because you’re both traitors.” Alec blurted out, feeling cornered. “I know you were in the Circle.”

Robert had the grace to look surprised, at least. “Who told you?”

“Does it matter who told me? I should have heard it from you.”

“We weren’t allowed to talk about our time in the Circle, that was part of the deal.” Robert insisted.

Alec snorted, running his hands through his hair as he wheeled away, putting some distance between him and his father. He could feel rage and fear rolling through him, choking him, and Alec couldn’t take it anymore. “You made me feel like nothing I ever did would be good enough to live up to you. You spent my entire childhood drilling into me that I had to continue the perfect family record. And it turns out, you were using me. You’ve been using me and Izzy all this time to try and erase your mistakes. You thought that if you made your kids into the perfect soldiers, everything you did would be forgotten. Only the angel fucked with you, didn’t he, Dad? He gave you a son with a vagina and a daughter who likes girls. It’s what you fucking deserved. You killed innocent downworlders and honestly, I’m glad that me and Izzy fucked up your little comeback plan. So I’m going to do this my way, and I’m going to do it without you. I don’t want you involved. I don’t want you near me. I want you out of this institute.”

Robert clenched his jaw, crossing the room and grabbing the scruff of Alec’s t-shirt, shoving him against the wall. As he glared into Alec’s eyes, Alec realised that the emotion from before, the one masked by gentleness, had been hatred. “You don’t get it, do you? You have no power in this situation. You have no right to kick me out of my home. Let me open your eyes for you, Alexander,” he spat, “you might think that you have control over what’s going to happen to you, but with a brief fire message to the Clave I could get you deruned and banished in a heartbeat. You will get this goddamn surgery and any other surgery I deem necessary, and you’ll marry whoever I tell you to. Because I have had it up to here with your entitled, spoiled, melodramatic, squeaky little voice ranting and raving from your high horse. Learn to keep your mouth shut, or I’ll make you disappear. I have another son. And that one isn’t defective.” He snarled, giving Alec one last push before backing off and storming out of the room.

All that registered in Alec’s mind was shock. His father had never, ever laid a hand on him before. They’d fought about things, they’d yelled at each other a few times, but Robert had never threatened him like that. Alec couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he had no idea what to do. There was no way that he could worry Izzy with this; she was already stressed about Clary, and Lydia was suspicious of her. She had enough on her plate.

Alec took out his phone, and called the one person he knew would hear him out.

“Hello, this is Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. How can I help?” His voice sounded bright and friendly, and Alec remembered that he had a new number, one that Magnus didn’t know.

“Magnus, it’s me. Alec.”

“Oh…” Magnus hummed, “what can I do for you, Alexander?”

“I, uh…” Alec looked up at the ceiling, blinking back tears. “I know that… You don’t owe me anything, and I have no right to ask, but…”

Magnus inhaled sharply. “Are you alright?”

“No… No, I’m not.” Alec confessed. “Magnus, I don’t know what to do.”

“Where are you, Alexander?”

“In my room, in the institute. Are you still here?”

Magnus was quiet for a moment, and Alec jumped out of his skin as a portal appeared in front of him. Alec hung up the phone, and stepped through the portal into Magnus’ living room. He breathed out in relief the moment the portal closed behind him, and Magnus stepped closer to him, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“What happened?” He asked softly, gentle eyes flicking over Alec’s face.

Alec swallowed hard. “They scheduled my top surgery for next week. They found a warlock faster than I thought.”

“About that…” Magnus tilted his head to the side, “it just so happens that Cat is a friend of mine. She called a moment ago to ask if I knew of an Alexander Lightwood, and, well…”

Alec snorted, wringing his hands together. “And here I was thinking New York was a big place.”

“Why don’t you sit down, hmm?” Magnus coaxed, “you look like you’re about to vomit.”

“Maybe I am,” Alec breathed, raking his hands through his hair as he sat on the couch. “Magnus, my father just threatened to have me banished if I don’t do what he says.”

“He did what?!” Magnus demanded, sitting down next to him to check him over for injuries. “Did he hit you?”

Alec shook his head quickly, “no! No, of course not. He just… Shook me a bit.”

“I’m sorry, Alec, he has no right to do that.”

“Magnus…” Alec looked up into Magnus’ face. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. What am I supposed to do?”

Magnus swallowed hard, and took Alec’s hands in his. “It’s going to be alright, Alexander. Catarina can always refuse to do the surgery; I’m sure she could find some medical reason why it’s a bad idea…”

“I don’t even know that I don’t want it, I… Fuck!” Alec hissed, pulling his hands out of Magnus’ grasp and clenching his fists in his lap. “I hate my chest, I hate wearing my binder, it’s the worst thing about being trans. But… The thought of lying on a table, completely immobilised and helpless, while some stranger cuts me to pieces… I can’t. I hate it. I could just die. Just like that.”

Magnus nodded, his face grim. “Look, I don’t know much about surgery. But I know a lot about Catarina. And she would never let you die on the table like that. She will do everything in her power to keep you safe.”

“I know. She’s great. Weirdly, she’s…” Alec’s shoulders slumped. “She’s been the closest thing to a friend I’ve ever had, outside my family. I always felt like I didn’t have to pretend around her. I trusted her, instantly, from the moment we met. And knowing that she’d be there with me helps, it’s just…” He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth a few times.

“I’m not going to judge you, Alexander. Ever. You can say it.” Magnus assured him, rubbing Alec’s shoulder.

Alec looked down at his hands. “Part of me knows that I look good naked. Objectively. And that… Makes a difference. Right now, if I wanted to, I could put on make-up, go out to a nightclub and pick up any guy I wanted. I mean sure, I’d look butch, but… Once he saw me naked, we’d be good to go. I have…” He cringed, “I have nice boobs. And I feel like, I don’t know, it sounds so fucked up.”

Magnus shook his head, encouraging Alec to go on. “It’s not fucked up. You feel what you feel.”

“I feel like I’m obligated to keep them. Like I’m just wasting a perfectly good pair of boobs. And… I’m scared that if I take that step, if I actually… If I get rid of them, then I can never go back to being a straight cis girl. And I don’t want that, I don’t want to be girl, not ever again, but… I just can’t explain it. It feels dangerous. It feels like ripping a safety net out from under me. I just… No gay man is ever going to want me. You know? And… If I get rid of my boobs, no straight man’s ever going to want me either.”

“Alexander, you don’t know that.” Magnus said gently. “I know a lot of gay men, okay, trust me. And I promise you, more of them than you’d think are open to sleeping with trans men.”

Alec sighed, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter either way. I’m going to marry a woman. Probably never going to see another human being naked, let alone have sex with them. I’m just getting carried away, I should just be rational about this.” He rubbed his forehead. “Rationally, I need to continue my transition, because I want to live as a man. The Clave will only fully accept me as male if I get surgery. Ergo, I have to get surgery.”

“I know better than most how cruel the Clave can be,” Magnus said quietly. “I… I don’t know what to say, Alexander. I know that your duty as a shadowhunter means everything to you, and I know that you feel like you have to marry, that you have to conform. But… I wish you didn’t have to.”

“Me too, Magnus.” Alec admitted, patting Magnus’ knee. “But without my career, I don’t know who I am. I need to belong. Otherwise…” He glanced around the room, avoiding Magnus’ eyes. “What’s the point of me?”

Magnus opened his mouth, eyebrows furrowed, but he couldn’t find the words. For once in his long life, he was speechless. There was nothing he could do to fix this confused, lost young man.

Alec had to find his own way, and Magnus had to let him.

“I should go back to the institute,” Alec pointed out, “I need to change out of my binder.”

Magnus nodded, waving his hand to summon a portal. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you any answers, Alexander.”

“It’s alright,” Alec replied, getting to his feet, smiling a little. “I needed to say all that out loud. Hearing it… It helped me figure out that I’m being melodramatic. I mean, God, the world could end at any second; Valentine has risen. And I’m here worrying about boys finding my body attractive.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m being selfish. My father was right.”

“No, he wasn’t.” Magnus went to get up, but Alec was gone, stepped through the portal and disappeared.

Magnus sunk back into the couch with a long sigh, putting his head in his hands.

Next Chapter

#transgender alec lightwood #shadowhunters fanfic #shadowhunters fanfiction #fighting the good fight #ftgf verse #content #writing

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