#Magnus tried to show off he doesn't care for the magic--Alec tried to show that it didn't matter--

[the-great-lightwood-bane]

I posted 524 times in 2022

72 posts created (14%)

452 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cuubism

@alexander-gideon-lightwood-babe

@shadowhunterstvsource

@the-great-lightwood-bane

@thelightofthebane

I tagged 514 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#tsc - 499 posts

#tmi - 478 posts

#magnus bane - 418 posts

#alec lightwood - 387 posts

#magnus x alec - 346 posts

#malec - 345 posts

#alec x magnus - 345 posts

#magnus lightwood bane - 343 posts

#alec lightwood bane - 339 posts

#fanart - 192 posts

Longest Tag: 84 characters

#like. is magnus' closest thing to a relative really the woman who tried to kill him?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

congrats on 100 followers! for the ask game: malec?

thank you!

my favourite thing

The way they support each other and balance each other out. Magnus fears he's too much, Alec doesn't think he's enough; Magnus is flamboyant and dramatic, Alec is more reserved; they're both willing to sacrifice themselves for others, but because they're also willing to sacrifice themselves for each other, it balances out. Malec are just... very well-matched, imo.

my least favourite thing

(I will have you know this is very mean and a very hard question to answer.) uhhhh probably their communication problems? Like, I realise that a significant portion of the canonical breakups was mostly just... for Drama™, but in both book and show, there are some pretty significant communication failures. In the books, for example: the whole p511 breakup? BAD COMMUNICATION. Alec is (understandably) upset that Magnus isn't telling him about his past; Magnus is (also understandably, although mistakenly) worried that Alec would leave if he knew about Magnus' past. But because neither of them are willing to actually, yk, discuss this, Alec goes to Camille to learn about Magnus, and then Magnus feels betrayed and breaks up with Alec. In the show, the worst communication failure is imo the whole Magnus-losing-his-magic fiasco. Magnus gives up his magic because he thinks he comes second to Jace in Alec's life, which probably isn't true but Alec hasn't told Magnus that; Magnus refuses to tell Alec how much he's struggling with not having his magic; when Alec realises, rather than talking to Magnus about it, he goes off and makes a deal with Asmodeus which hurts them both.

my overall rating out of ten

11/10 Most of the communication failures I prefer to blame on the author not the characters, since a lot of it is actually kinda ooc imo. And Malec are just AMAZING, okay???

do I ship it + why

I SHIP IT SO MUCH that is probably obvious from my blog but. it bears repeating. (I already talked about the way they balance each other out, so I won't go over that again.) On the surface, they're very different in an opposites-attract kind of way: extroverted vs. introverted, warlock vs. Shadowhunter, cats vs. dogs (u can't change my mind, Alec is a dog person), etc. But underneath, they're actually very similar: they're both touch-starved imo (Shadowhunters aren't big on physical affection, Magnus was basically alone for the century prior to meeting Alec), they're both quite a bit more emotionally mature than Clary, Jace, Izzy, or Simon (Magnus is obviously way older, Alec had to grow up really fast & take care of his siblings from a young age), they both recognise all of the problems with the world and want to fix them, they're both subject to discrimination, they're both BAMFs who are extremely protective of those they love, they both had pretty sucky childhoods with bad father figures, they're both leaders for their respective groups... In my opinion, that type of dynamic — different on the surface, similar deep down — is the best type of relationship, because they're not carbon copies of each other, but they're also not diametrically opposed in terms of beliefs, experiences, etc.

headcanon/other thoughts

Immortality. To be completely honest, I feel like all of the resolutions to the immortality debate — Alec becomes immortal, Magnus becomes mortal, they stay the same — have upsides and downsides, perhaps in equal measure. Alec becoming immortal is a really common headcanon and definitely an attractive one — Magnus won't have to lose Alec! Alec loves him enough to stay with him! It's adorable & romantic & I LOVE fics that explore this idea. There are also a few hints at it in the show. It's probably unhealthy for Alec to become immortal purely for Magnus' sake, but it's not just about that for him: he can live longer to watch over his siblings & their descendants (and his descendants), he can keep the Shadow World changing and see all of his dreams through to the end, he can stay with any immortal children he has. But I'm torn over whether it's really feasible or not: okay, there are couples who stay together all their lives, and there's the whole "Shadowhunters love once" thing, but... can you really promise to stay with somebody forever? It's just a lot, and sometimes it feels like Alec is changing too much of himself for Magnus' sake. Magnus is living proof that immortality is as much a curse as it is a blessing, and is it right for Alec to be subjected to it, too? Even if they do stay together, they'll watch humanity make the same stupid mistakes over and over and over and over. Is that really a good future? I'm unsure. Magnus becoming mortal is a lot less common than Alec becoming immortal, but it many ways I personally find it more attractive. Immortality is a curse — Magnus has lived for centuries already, and it's somehow very fitting that with Alec (the first one to accept his eyes, the first one he's been with in over a century, arguably the one he's loved the most), he chooses to age and die with Alec. More importantly, he chooses to live with him: to go through life together, experiencing it all side-by-side without the spectre of immortality between them. In both the books and the show, there's plenty of angst to go around about Alec wanting Magnus to be mortal (show: when Magnus has lost his magic; books: the Camille debacle), but I think that in either case, that's not really a barrier to it since there were extenuating factors in the show and Malec's relationship really evolved from there in the books. For us — humans — spending our lives with somebody is considered the best outcome. I'm personally a fan of this idea. Option three is that everything stays as it is. This might actually be the least common headcanon, since it brings with it a necessary heartbreak: Alec is going to die, and Magnus is going to live on. But there's a quote in the books (maybe GOTSM?) which I can't remember exactly but it's something about how even after Alec dies, Magnus will go on, and all of the changes in the world that Alec makes will also go on. The world will be a better place for Magnus in the future because of Alec, and even if Alec isn't there anymore, I think there's something very poetic in it. Also, in both the books and the show, Malec struggle with dealing with Magnus' immortality and they eventually figure it out — isn't it kinda undermining that character arc to make one of them mortal/immortal? Honestly, there's a story to be told in all three — there's heartbreak and love in all three — and I find the concept really fascinating.

I have gone on for possibly too long about this, but thanks again to anon for the ask!

38 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#4

Never Alone

Chapters on AO3: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

Malec | Rated general | tw violence, reference to rape/non-con, and vampirism, all at canon levels | Dæmon AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-it, Canon Era, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Other Additional Tags To Be Added, Slow Burn

Summary: In a world where Shadowhunters’ dæmons never lose the ability to change shape, Clary spends her eighteenth birthday learning why Hunter can still shift.

Or, a shameless fix-it featuring BAMF Magnus and Alec, logical problem-solving rather than the disaster that was Jace, Izzy, and Clary — and, of course, Malec falling in love (in a slightly less difficult situation).

A/N: Written for the TSC What if…? Bang (@tsc-what-if-bang). Prompt: What if Clary and Simon didn’t go to Pandemonium that night?

My mind immediately went to why Clary and Simon wouldn’t go, and combined with the sad lack of dæmon AUs in this fandom, this fic was born!

The amazing art (above) is by @magnus-the-maqnificent! I'll link to their tumblr post here once they've posted it.

As I know it might get hard to keep track of everybody's dæmons' names and preferred forms, I've made a tumblr post with a list here.

Many many thanks to MugiwaraLexi for being an amazing beta — your support and advice has been invaluable!

This fic is fully written and edited, and I’ll be posting twice a week on Monday and Thursday for most of it, except for from August 23rd to August 30th (no posting as I will be away). Sorry for the delay, but after that, I should get into a regular posting schedule!

Read chapter 1 on AO3 or below the cut. (Future chapters will be posted on AO3 and linked above.)

Prologue — Clary

Summary: Her mom was finally — finally — going to explain.

Clary doesn’t go to Pandemonium on her eighteenth birthday. 

A/N: First chapter! This one’s Clary’s POV, but all of the following chapters will alternate between Alec and Magnus. (I’ll be posting the first Alec chapter in a few hours.)

~

Clary felt excitement bubbling in her chest. Hunter hopped eagerly around the room in his rabbit form, before leaping into the air, changing into a bird, a butterfly, and back to a rabbit again. 

Her mom was finally — finally — going to explain. 

Clary had first realised that she wasn’t normal when she’d been fourteen, and her dæmon still hadn’t settled. Hunter was often in rabbit form, but he could still change to any animal he wanted, while all of her friends’ and classmates’ dæmons had chosen a preferred animal and could no longer change. 

She’d thought for a while that she was a late bloomer or something, but puberty had come and gone, and Hunter could still change shapes as effortlessly as ever. She’d grown increasingly worried about it, wondering what was wrong with her, until her mother had finally explained that there was, in fact, something different about Clary. And then her dæmon, Aaron, had shifted from his swan form to a different one. 

Unfortunately, Jocelyn Fray had refused to explain anything more than that to her daughter. Instead, she’d declared that Clary was “too young” and promised to tell her everything — including why neither of their dæmons had settled into one form — when Clary turned eighteen. 

Today was her eighteenth birthday, and also the day that she’d gotten accepted into the Brooklyn Academy of Arts. While she considered Simon’s offer of going to Pandemonium to celebrate, she wanted to know why she was like this. She’d waited four years; maybe she could’ve waited another day, but she didn’t want to. 

So she said as much to Simon — he was the only person she’d ever told about Hunter — so they decided to save the celebrating for the next day. 

Hunter leapt up on Clary’s lap, and she curled her fingers around him to keep him in place. “I know you’re excited and nervous, but I am too, and you’re only making it worse by jumping around,” she told him. 

“I know, I know, but we’re going to find out why!” Hunter replied. 

Clary’s response was cut short when her mother came in and sat down in the chair opposite Clary. It was almost formal for a moment before Jocelyn huffed out a laugh and wrapped Clary in a hug. “You’ve grown up so much.” Clary refused to have the oh-look-at-my-daughter-she’s-all-grown-up conversation right now; she wanted answers. “Are you going to tell me why Hunter can still shift?” she asked, cutting her mother off before she could start. 

“Yes, I am.” Jocelyn smiled, looking slightly sad. “It’ll take quite a bit of history and context. I can only hope that you don’t hate me at the end of it. 

“I probably wouldn’t have told you about all this if it hadn’t been for Hunter, but I need to explain everything else first. Take this.” She held out a long, thin, silvery-grey stick, shaped vaguely like a pen. “It’s called a stele, and it’s a bit of a family heirloom, I suppose.” 

“We Frays have heirlooms?” Clary asked, surprised and somewhat sceptical. 

See the full post

60 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

#3

the implications of language

Malec | Rated general | minor tw for mention of Magnus’ mother’s suicide | Canon Compliant, although it's a mix of book and show, you don't need to have read either, Canon Era, Non-Linear Narrative, Languages, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane,Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Is a Nice Thing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i love them ur honour

Summary: The first time it happens, it’s only because Magnus is exhausted.

Or, Indonesian is Magnus' mother tongue — the language he slips into when he doesn't have the presence of mind for anything else. Alec wants to learn. 

A/N: I came up with this idea thanks to Li, so I'm gifting it to them!

Translations are from Google Translate and/or indolang.com; if there are any errors or insensitivities, please tell me so I can fix them!

Read it on AO3 or below the cut. (AO3 has translations, tumblr doesn't.)

The first time it happens, it’s only because Magnus is exhausted.

Between a series of demanding clients who he ranted about to Alec over text, not one but two rifts opening up and requiring a warlock to close, and then a horde of demons that had escaped through the second rift before Magnus had managed to close it, it makes perfect sense for Magnus to be tired out. Alec lent him strength to close the last rift, so he isn’t too magically exhausted, but the day was a long one, and Magnus doesn’t have the energy to keep up his usual walls.

“—kemarilah, sayang,” he murmurs half into his pillow, half to Alec. Sayang is something Alec recognises — Magnus started calling him that after they’d been dating a little while; he doesn’t know what it means, other than a probably-endearment in another language. He doesn’t recognise the other word, either, but he can wait to figure it out; for now, Magnus obviously wants Alec to come closer, and Alec obeys.

“Selamat malam,” Magnus mumbles, almost incomprehensible, curling an arm around Alec to pull him closer.

“Good night, Magnus,” Alec says, and he falls asleep with Magnus in his arms.

~

He looks it up the next day. Alec isn’t entirely sure how trustworthy Google Translate is, since it’s saying sayang is Malay for “dear” while kemarilah is Indonesian for “come here”, but he remembers that Magnus was born in Indonesia; when exhausted, he slipped back into his mother tongue.

It’s… actually kind of adorable, when Alec thinks about it; he’s sure that Magnus speaks more languages than he could ever count, and he speaks English impeccably, but it’s somehow heartwarming to know that when he isn’t watching his words, he still falls back on Indonesian.

Alec speaks fifteen different languages as part of his training in politics — enough to communicate easily with the Head of any major Institute worldwide; all of them speak English, yes, as that is the language of Alicante, but people are more comfortable in their native language and that can be essential. (Alec speaks six demonic languages, too, but that’s a different matter.) Indonesian, however, he doesn’t know — the Jakarta Institute is Indonesian, but a ley line fluke means that there aren’t many demons there and therefore not enough Shadowhunters to merit the status of major Institute. And even if Alec had learnt modern Indonesian, it probably wouldn’t match up with Magnus’ Indonesian, since a bit of research suggests the language had changed over the years.

He wonders if Magnus would like it if he learned, or if it’d be invasive — if Alec would be insinuating himself into an aspect of Magnus’ past where Magnus didn’t want him.

He plans to talk to Magnus about it, but between Valentine and the Soul Sword and Jonathan and all the chaos Clary brings, it never seems like the right time. I love you, he says, and Magnus says it back, but it’s only a few weeks later that Magnus walks away from him, from them, because of the stupidity of the secret Alec kept. Even after Valentine’s gone and they get together again, their relationship feels new, unsteady, uncertain; it feels like it might crumble if Alec steps the wrong way, so he watches himself and doesn’t bring up the question, though it hovers in the back of his mind. Especially when he sees all the pain that Magnus’ past has brought him; would Magnus want to be reminded of that?

~

Then, of course, there’s the Owl and Jonathan (again) and Lilith and Asmodeus, and Alec is too caught up in worrying over Magnus’ magic to ask. They go from exes to fiancés in under twenty-four hours, and then they’re married and Alec doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy.

Their wedding night, Magnus holds him close with a poorly-concealed desperation that speaks of days in Edom, not believing Alec would come. Alec hugs him back, because he, too, spent far too long believing that they were over. Magnus is here, in his arms, and yet Alec’s mind can’t quite trust in it, as though a breath of wind could shatter this perfect dream.

“Aku cinta kamu, Alexander,” Magnus says softly.

Those words, Alec knows. “I love you too.”

Magnus smiles against his chest, a hidden thing full of a love that, incomprehensibly, has been given to Alec; Alec’s own smile is pressed into Magnus’ — into his husband’s — hair, soft and silky against his face.

Alec wants to talk about Magnus’ past, wants to ask if he can learn Indonesian, too, but he’s exhausted and he’s barely slept since — he casts his mind back, trying to remember — since before Magnus broke down in his arms, the night of the failed proposal. After that, he’d been occupied with the pain in Magnus’ voice and the deal that he was considering; then he’d been unable to sleep for the ache where Magnus should be, combined with guilt for the pain he’d caused him; then Magnus had been in Edom, and Alec had been searching for a way to get him back, and— well. Alec hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time.

Magnus isn’t much better, he knows, but the sleepy mumble Magnus gives against his chest quiets the aching fears and thoughts. Gently, they fall asleep.

~

“—tolong berhenti, tolong jangan sakiti aku,” Magnus is murmuring, soft and heartbreaking, voice cracked with pain. “Saya akan baik-baik saja, saya berjanji, saya tidak melakukan apa-apa, tolong.” 

“Shh,” Alec says, pointlessly. Magnus can’t hear him; he’s deep in some delirium that Alec can’t penetrate, thanks to a particularly lucky demon that’d managed a hit before Alec had killed it. “Shh, love, I’m right here…”

“Aku tidak membunuhnya, pergilah,” Magnus continues. Alec doesn’t know the words — he wishes, more than ever, that he could’ve managed to learn more Indonesian than he has, and makes a vow to fix that as soon as possible — but he recognizes the tone. Desperation. Fear. “Maaf, ayah, aku tidak mau…”

See the full post

91 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#2

“what’s Magnus’ love language” “what’s Alec’s love language”

why does there have to be just one. malec can have ALL the love languages. as a treat.

in this essay i will—

97 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Magnus with long hair.

(ik this idea has been brought up before, but i'm just. thinking about it a lot.)

Magnus with long hair — not super long, but long enough that he'll tie it back in a bun to keep it out of his face.

Long enough that Alec can braid it, little cute braids or longer ones, while Magnus is taking a nap with his head in Alec's lap.

Long enough for Alec to run his fingers through it properly, admiring how soft it feels.

Long enough that Magnus can brush it out, let it hang down if he doesn't want to style it.

Long enough that Magnus is almost insecure about what Alec thinks — is it too feminine, too different, too untraditional? — although Alec rather likes it than otherwise.

Long enough that he can do the thing™ where the character ties their hair back and then is very very competent™.

Long enough that he can put flowers in it — maybe Alec braids them in, maybe he does it himself.

just... Magnus with long hair <3

188 notes - Posted March 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[magnusbae]

I am genuinely so glad that they restored Magnus' magic in the end and didn't resort into the 'overcome anything or you're weak' routine.

It's important to represent the journey of overcoming loss, yes. But it's also important to acknowledge that sometimes losing a fundamental part of yours is too much.

Magnus' heart was in the right place, he gave up on it twice willingly despite it being part of his whole being, part of who he is.

But I find it incredibly important that Alec understood that he had to do anything and everything he could in order to make Magnus whole again.

And no, it doesn't make Magnus weak or unable to overcome. It just means that he truly made a selfless, impossible sacrifice-- and it's okay if he's unable to be happy after it. That's the whole point of sacrifice.

Alec helping him get his Magic back, is really what love is about.

#Magnus Bane #Alec Lightwood #Malec #Shadowhunters #It's like.... I dont know.... I really don't like the indication that Magnus is somehow less for actually NEEDING his magic. #Saying Magnus is 'less' without his magic is wrong because magic is literally part of Magnus just as blood is part of our body. #It's like taking away your eyes and tongue and legs and asking you to be happy. #Ofc you might be--but would you really be weak for not being? #Magic is so deeply intertwined with Magnus- the way he feels the word-- the way he interacts with the world #That losing it couldn't have meant anything but devastation. #It's not even about power (surely a perk but) it's about his sense of self- his being--his life. #And it's OKAY. God damn it. #Magnus tried to show off he doesn't care for the magic--Alec tried to show that it didn't matter-- #They all acted like it's shameful to admit that yes- Magnus has magic and yes its a big reason why he's needed and loved #Just the same as Izzy being able to Mae weapons and the Shadowhunters runes and so many other abilities. #Being useful is not a shameful thing to admit and feeling loss at being useless is really not unheard of. #ANYHOW THIS GIANT RANT IS JUST TO SAY THAT I THINK MAGNUS HAD EVERY RIGHT TO BREAK DOWN OVWR HIS MAGIC AND #I AM SO GLAD ALEC DID WHAT HE DID TO RESTORE IT #I feel like the whole gang was supposed to urgently look for ways to fix it the moment it had happened. #If Jace can run around the whole world searching for Clary... He could at least read a book or something re: magnus power #After all he gave them up for him #BUT YEAH OKAY GODS I'LL STOP #buns.txt #buns.hc

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

KEEP YOU IN MY WALLET- Lightwoods & Banes (4/6)

"You should eat something."

"I'm not really hungry." Alec replied.

Even the thought of eating something made him want to throw up.

Jace didn't say anything and quietly sat back on the floor against the door of Maryse's room.

Izzy was sitting cross-legged in front of them, with a far off expression on her face.

Alec wanted to hold her, but his own heart felt a little too heavy today.

Today was the day Max had died. It had been a decade, but the pain was still there.

Not even a fraction of it has lessened.

It has only gotten manageable.

"What kind of a teenager do you think he would have been?" Izzy asked softly.

"He would have been a total nerd. But like much cooler than Simon." Jace said.

Izzy chuckled.

Alec couldn't find it in his heart to smile today.

It was different every year. Sometimes they were able to talk about their brother, while other times, they could barely take his name.

Maryse would join them usually, but today, she couldn't bear the pain and had locked herself inside the room.

Grief worked differently every single day. Some days people held it together, and other days they let it consume them.

Alec felt like it was consuming him today.

Jace and Izzy were talking while Alec was lost in his thoughts when a portal opened, and Max and Rafael stepped out. Magnus followed them close behind.

"Daddy!! Daddy!!" Max's voice echoed around the place.

Alec groaned internally because he had tried to avoid them today.

Ever since he had woken up, he had felt like he was drowning, and the sadness had easily turned into anger and irritation.

He knew he would be snappish today and didn't want that kind of energy around his kids and Magnus, so he had left for the institute early in the morning.

Alec's heart hurt at the realisation that not even Magnus and his kids could bring him comfort right now.

It also made him feel incredibly guilty.

"Daddy!! Uncle Jace!! Aunt Izzy! Look what we made!" Max yelled and jumped towards Jace, who caught him in his arms.

"Hey, my little man. What did you make?" Jace asked.

Rafe ran and took the plates from Magnus and showed it to them.

"We made Apple crumble today!" Rafael exclaimed.

"We did it on our own", Max added.

Rafael turned to him and smacked him in the head lightly. "Bapak helped us."

Magnus was standing leaning against the wall, looking fondly at the two of them. And with a lot of concern for Alec.

Both the boys ran towards Alec and showed him their work. "Daddy?? Taste it?"

Alec wouldn't have waited even for a second on any other day, but he wasn't in the mood right now.

"I'm not hungry, buddy. I will eat it later. I'm sure it is very good." He replied.

"Please, dad", Rafe requested.

Alec did not have the energy to deal with anyone right now, so he kept on thinking of some excuse to leave the room when his eyes fell on Rafael's hand.

Which had a few cuts on them.

"Rafe! Rafael, come here." Alec pulled his son towards him.

He took both of Rafael's hands in his and looked them over. There were light red marks on them. His heart started beating faster, and he started panicking.

"Rafael, how did this happen?" He asked.

"Uh, we were cutting the fruits. But Max healed it."

Alec was sure Max tried, but he was eight years old and wasn't a champion at healing magic which is why the hand wasn't properly healed.

It didn't look bad, but Alec's brain wasn't working rationally right now.

All he could see was his son being hurt.

He took out his stele and kept on drawing Iratze over Rafe's hand. The cuts looked healed, but his brain wasn't ready to believe that.

"Dad, I'm okay." Rafe said softly.

"It doesn't look okay."

His eyes trailed over Max.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay daddy!" Max replied nonchalantly.

Alec checked him over too but didn't find anything.

"Why the hell were you two in the kitchen alone? What were you doing?" He asked a little harshly.

"Daddy we.."

"No, how many times have I told you two to be careful? You could have gotten seriously hurt."

"Alexander"

He glanced at Magnus. "How could you leave them alone, Magnus."

"We wanted to make you something, daddy," Max said, his voice barely audible.

"Why?"

Max hated apple crumble. He did not like it when his desserts had anything healthy in them.

Alec is the one who likes them because Max, his brother, used to love them.

"Because you were sad today. Bapak told us."

Alec's heart dropped at the words.

"You did this for me?" He asked.

Rafael and Max nodded at him. "And Uncle Jace and aunty Izzy."

The guilty that he had been feeling only intensified, and he felt like an asshole.

The boys moved away from him and ran towards the training room.

"Boys.." He tried to stop them, but they had already left.

"We'll go after them," Izzy said, and she and Jace went after them.

His eyes met Magnus's, "I'm an asshole right?"

His husband chuckled lightly. "Only a little."

Alec groaned and went to look for the two of them and found Max and Rafael in the training room, huddled closer to Jace and Izzy.

He knelt down and sat in front of the two of them."

"Hi"

Both of them ignored him.

Jace and Izzy gave him pitying looks.

"Max, Rafe. Will you look at me?" He asked.

The boys turned towards him.

Rafael looked sad. Max looked grumpy.

"I'm sorry."

"Why," Max asked.

Magnus and Alec were teaching their kids about boundaries. How they should call people out on their bullshit and that no one had the right to shout at them.

And that people should know what they are apologising for otherwise, they wouldn't learn from their mistakes.

He should have known that it was going to bite him in his ass one day.

"I was having a bad day and I took it out on you. It wasn't fair at all."

"Is it because of what happened to Uncle Max," Rafael asked. The boy knew too much for his age.

Jace and Izzy inhale sharply at the words.

He took Rafael and Max's hands in his.

"Yes..I...When you got hurt, it reminded me of him, and I got scared. I don't like it when you two get hurt. I'm sorry." He whispered.

It was getting harder to get the words out.

"It's okay. It happens." The older boy said.

He brought his son's injured hand to his lips and kissed them softly. Rafael smiled shyly and put his arms around Alec's neck, and hugged him tightly.

Jace and Izzy were smiling softly over his shoulder.

"Do you feel better now, daddy?" Max asked.

Not really, he thought.

"I know what you need." Max said.

Alec looked at him, and then Max being the absolute dork he was, kissed Alec's forehead.

Like he has been doing ever since he was a toddler because Alec has a habit of giving forehead kisses. Alec couldn't help but fall in love with the little demon more than he already did.

"Where's the apple crumble? I think I'm hungry now."

As soon as he said the words, the container appeared in front of his hand. He looked up to find Magnus smiling at him softly.

He kissed the boy's forehead again and stood up to walk towards Magnus, who opened his arms easily, and Alec let himself fall against his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"I know." he replied.

Magnus understood better than anyone else.

Alec clutched his shirt even tighter, and Magnus pressed a soft kiss against his head.

He turned slightly into Magnus's arms to look at the boys.

Max and Jace were fighting with each other for the pie while Rafael was sharing his plate with Izzy, whose eyes seemed a bit lighter than they had earlier.

"How is it now, love?" Magnus asked.

Alec's eyes met Magnus's, and he smiled for the first time since he had woken up.

"Manageable."

-For anyone who ever lost anybody. I hope something made your heart smile today. 💚🌻

tag list: @elettralightwood @khaleesiofalicante @noah-herondale-lightwood @sociallyineptbibliophile @ahanahahaha @anarchistbitch @i-am-a-really-good-lawyer @romas-dorogaya @wtf-is-reality @awecwightwood @alexandergideonslightwood @magnus-the-maqnificent @raziyekroos @ziorite @priorities-as-straight-as-alec (let me know if anyone wants to be added or removed)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

#these babies will be getting more existential crisis in the next two chapters #keep you in my wallet #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #lightwood bane family #max lightwood bane #rafael lightwood bane

[liron-ao3]

Smells like home

They've been chasing this rogue warlock for hours now. Magnus wishes he could get the group of shadowhunters accompanying him off his tail, but the Lightwood siblings are an unshakeable adjunct that is slowing him down. That he seems to be developing a fever isn't helping either, but he tries to push the thought of it far, far to the back of his mind. Warlocks don't get sick. They just don't open one portal after another for hours on end. Side-effects are bound to show up.

The blond nephilim and the woman don't seem to mind. The eldest brother looks a bit pale, though, but maybe that's simply his complexion. Magnus doesn't know him well enough to judge it.

Magnus sends his magic out into the woods surrounding them and curses. "I lost them."

"What do you mean, you lost them?" Jace barks. "You're the most powerful warlock in the U.S."

"In North America," Magnus corrects. "Their trace is too faint to catch anymore. I told you to leave it to me. I would have been faster on my own."

Jace opens his mouth to reply, but Izzy grabs his arm. "It's useless. Let's go back to the Institute and start over."

Magnus nods and flicks his hand to open a portal. He sways a little after, even though his magic isn't depleted yet. Strange. But his attention is pulled away quickly when he hears a thump from the side and Izzy screaming, "Alec!"

Magnus is by his side in a split second, kneeling where he slumped to the ground. "What's wrong?" he asks, a surge of worry flooding him. Magnus has always been a caring person, but the intensity doesn't match their relationship. He met Alec just this morning, and the shadowhunter has barely said anything the whole day, only whispered into his parabatai's ear now and then.

"My bones. Everything hurts," Alec hisses and curls to a tight ball towards Magnus.

"Limb pain?" Izzy asks, rubbing her brother's back cautiously. "Maybe a spell?" She looks up at Magnus who is scanning Alec with his magic.

The warlock shakes his head. "No." He chuckles in relief. That would have been difficult to explain. The Clave might have accused him of causing this. "We should just get your brother to his omega, and he should be fine."

Magnus' inner animal howls loudly at his own words. Thinking about it, it hasn't been this agitated for quite some time. Maybe never. Magnus must be really coming down with something. He should call Catarina as soon as they're back in New York.

"Alec doesn't have an omega," Jace says, clearly annoyed at the suggestion.

"Well, he's in rut," Magnus states. "Doesn't smell like it, but he is."

"That can't be," Izzy insists. "Every shadowhunter in the field is on suppressants. You've taken yours, haven't you, Alec?"

"Course I have," he grunts, holding his aching stomach.

Magnus raises his eyebrows, unimpressed. "Then they may not be as strong as your scent blockers."

Jace rolls his eyes. "What do you know about it?"

Magnus scoffs. "I've been brewing my own suppressants for centuries now, boy. It's so strong that your precious Clave doesn't even know my second gender."

He brushes a hand through Alec's sweat-damp hair, sending a bit of pain-relieving sparkles through the alpha's body. Alec relaxes somewhat under his ministrations, and Magnus' animal settles down a little.

"I thought you were a beta. Your smell is so faint and… uncharacteristic," Izzy states.

Magnus' lips curl into a tired grin. "What you're smelling is my perfume, dear." His face turns sombre again as he looks at Alec still curled up in a tight ball, slowly losing consciousness. "We should get your brother to the Institute. Your doctors surely know what to do."

***

Magnus doesn't even know why he's waiting here, outside of the infirmary. It's not as if he could help. It's just Alec's rut, nothing that can't be gained control of with infusions and proper monitoring. But something is telling him to stay, despite the fever rising in his own body. The voice sounds suspiciously like his animal.

He opens the buttons of his jacket and loosens his cravat before he closes his eyes for a moment and tries to calm it down. 'It's just exhaustion,' he tells himself. He hasn't slept properly in three days since the magical attacks started.

After a long moment, he opens his eyes again and flinches. How couldn't he sense her coming?

"Any news, Isabelle?" he asks nonchalantly as if he hadn't seen the frown on her face and the arms crossed over her chest. Sitting up in his chair is a chore. He forgot to call Catarina. He truly should.

"You're an omega, aren't you?" Izzy asks. Magnus' eyes grow wide just a fraction, but she sees it. "By the Angel, you are!" she breathes.

Magnus shushes her. "What does it matter?" he asks, already reviewing his options in his head. He knows the Clave will use this knowledge against him, as they did against other omega downworlders in the past. He'll have to be even more careful in the future.

He chuckles mirthlessly to himself. Such silly thoughts to have in the nephilim headquarters of New York City.

"So, what you're gonna do now, darling? Using your precious alpha voice on me?" he quips. Usually, this young alpha couldn't impose herself on him, but he can feel his strength bleeding out of him, minute by minute. He was stupid not to call his fellow warlock for help. It's too late now. So, he needs to put up a good facade and hope for the best.

Izzy laughs out loud. To his surprise, it doesn't sound condescending. "Am I stupid? You're my brother's mate. Why would I deliver you to people who don't care about his well-being?"

Magnus stares at her, shaking his head vigorously. No! That can't be true. "That's poppycock! I would go into heat if he were my true mate."

She steps closer, her scent wafting off her soothingly. He takes a deep breath of it. It's not perfect, but if she's right, then any good-smelling alpha could take off the edge. Is that why she washed off her blockers? Did she try to help her brother with her familiar scent?

Izzy leans in and scents Magnus from up close. "There's the sandalwood, but… what is it, faintly underneath? Lily of the valley, honeysuckle and magnolia. Mmm… your scent is wonderful."

Lily of the valley. This fragrance only comes out on top when he is in heat. Dammit! She's right.

She pulls back and looks down at him. "You're burning up. I think your suppressants are failing, even though they are much better than ours, so it seems." She turns her head and looks at the door of the infirmary. "They are doing everything they can. But my bullethead of a brother must have been suffering for hours without saying a word. He's in pretty deep. He'll make it, but… Of course, he'd get better with you at his side."

Magnus shakes his head. Usually, he has a quick tongue, but for once, words elude him. His true mate can't be a shadowhunter. A Lightwood at that! But everything points to it, so he sighs in defeat.

"Your parents won't let me near him," he grinds out, his voice morphing into a growl. Oh, he hates it when his omega takes over control.

"My parents are busy in Idris. Come on. Go to your mate."

The word echoes in Magnus' head. Tentatively, he follows Izzy. He tries to ignore the critical looks the nurse and doctor give him. His eyes are fixed on Alec. His alpha.

He always thought that warlocks don't have true mates. None of his friends has found theirs, Tessa excluded, and that poor woman had two. But he always thought that was due to the Nephilim blood in her veins.

Not that it would matter. Alec's scent is proof enough. It layers itself around Magnus' body, calls for him like a siren.

Stepping next to Alec's hospital bed, Magnus breathes a sigh of relief. The alpha looks even paler than before, but he doesn't seem to be in any pain, lying calmly, a sleeping beauty.

Magnus doesn't need to do it. He could just leave—the Institute, Brooklyn. He could start somewhere new, ignore destiny, live a life without compromises, without bigotry and prejudice. Alec wouldn't have to know. Magnus knows that the Clave turns a blind eye to gay relationships as long as the Nephilim do their duty, marry and multiply. But Magnus can't be the dirty little secret. Not even for his true mate.

And still…

"Could we have some privacy?" Magnus asks quietly.

"We can't leave the acting Head of the Institute alone with a warlock," the doctor spits.

"He's not just a warlock. He's Alec's…"

Magnus stops Izzy with a single look. "I can heal him," he states confidently, though a little breathless. The room is full of Alec's rut scent. Magnus can taste it on his tongue as his heat rises quickly. It's containable, no matter what old-school alphas say. Omegas are strong. As strong as every alpha. He won't just bounce on his mate. He's a civilised person.

"I need space for the spell," he murmurs, feeling his legs turn to jelly. "And privacy." But the doctor and the nurse don't budge.

"As Alec's substitute, I order you to leave," Izzy says firmly, and Jace's head shoots up. Magnus didn't even see him sitting at Alec's bedside until this point, all his senses focused on his unconscious alpha.

"What are you doing, Iz!?" Jace hisses. "Alec could die."

"I'm doing the right thing. Come on. We're leaving."

Jace shakes his head. "I won't."

"Jace!" Izzy hisses, watching the medical personnel retreating.

"It's okay, Isabelle," Magnus says and lifts the blanket. "He'll know soon anyway." And with that, he waves his hand over himself, leaving him in silken pyjama bottoms and all artificial perfume removed.

Jace stares at him with his mouth agape as he watches Magnus rubbing his wrists over Alec's cheeks and nuzzling against the scent glands on the alpha's neck before he slips under the covers.

Magnus' scent slowly breaks through the suppressants and mingles perfectly with Alec's. Magnus takes a lung-full and his muscles relax. He wasn't even aware of how tense he had been all day.

"You're Alec's omega," Jace breathes, finally catching up.

Magnus hums, lost in Alec's scent enveloping him. "Scenting should be enough with the medication they gave him," he murmurs.

"And you?" Izzy asks with worry lacing the words.

"My suppressants. I'll be fine," Magnus sighs, the words a little slurred. He's clearly high on his mate's pheromones.

Jace still gapes at him, flabbergasted. But Alec's vital signs are improving minute by minute, and when Izzy tugs at Jace's arm, he follows her to the door without resistance.

He turns one last time. The mates look peaceful together, and as strange as it is to see his parabatai like this, Jace can't help but smile before he closes the door behind himself. No one needs to witness the intimate moment when Alec awakes, holding his omega in his arms for the very first time.

#a/b/o #alternate first meeting #heat and rut #no smut #alpha alec lightwood #omega magnus bane #Malec #Malec fandom #Malec fic #Malec fanfic #Malec fanfiction #Malec oneshot

[lovemalecforever]

Chapter 24

The Power Couple.

Magnus was enjoying one of his favorite Indonesian dishes, Ayam Bakar Taliwang, chewing on the juicy chicken while listening to his husband's rambling about his newfound powers. He didn't want to show that he's losing interest now, as the winged nephilim was continuously rambling about it for over an hour, so he pretended that he was listening because he didn't want to upset his husband, who was sounding way too excited. He was replying with whatever came into his mind first when a few balls of paper napkins hit his face.

"Ow! Alexander, what was that!?"

"Were you even listening to what I was saying?"

Magnus gulped, he actually wasn't. He stopped listening to him about twenty to twenty-five minutes ago and was simply enjoying his food. "Yes, I was." He lied, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"Then what was I saying?"

Magnus gulped yet again. He had heard him saying something about Catarina so he tried to come up with whatever fits the situation.

"Uh... Umm.. you were saying how Catarina had helped you in becoming an immortal."

Alec gave him a cold glare and Magnus lowered his eyes, realizing that he got it wrong and was now caught as well. He didn't like the look his husband was giving him.

"I was telling you how I accidentally hurt Catarina with my magic and you said 'wow' on it. Really, Magnus! Were you even listening to me at all? Or was I just talking to myself this whole time?"

Magnus looked at his husband apologetically. "I did listen to you, Alexander. But, you were talking about the same thing for over an hour that I lost interest in the topic. I just didn't mean to upset you so I...." He trailed off, unable to complete the sentence.

"Topic!" Alec sighed and rubbed his temples. "Leave it!" He said flatly and silently got back to eating his food.

Magnus mentally cursed himself, he didn't know what was going on with him, why was he like this since morning. He reached out to grab his husband's arms but Alec shoved it away.

"Alexander, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it as it sounded. I.. I keep ruining our anniversary again and again. I'm sorry." He said while playing with the food on his plate.

Alec noticed that and sighed. He reached for his warlock's hand and held it gently. "It's okay, love. And I'm sorry too, I overreacted. I got way too excited that I presumed you would be interested in hearing about it."

"Alexander, don't say that. I am curious to know more about your powers, it's just that, my mind is not getting stable. I haven't been feeling well since this morning, and I really think it's something other than about the dream or Camille. I'm sorry, Alexander. I really didn't mean to ruin your mood or hurt you but I still keep doing it." He said, the guilt in his voice was clearly visible.

Alec took the warlock's hand, brought it near his lips, and pecked the back of his hand tenderly. "Don't feel guilty, love. Do you want to go back home? We can take the remaining food back home and eat on the couch or bed if you want while watching any of your favorite movies."

"Please!?" He tried his best not to sound desperate but failed completely.

Alec let out a deep breath and shook his head. "Why haven't you said anything before, Magnus? You keep pretending that you're enjoying it here when you're not."

"I am enjoying it here, Alexander. It's just that.."

"You didn't want to make me upset, right?"

Magnus sighed and nodded. He knew he couldn't win from his husband over this.

"Angels! Magnus! You're impossible." He leaned over and pecked him softly on the lips.

Magnus clicked his fingers and sent all the remaining food and gifts to their home. They were about to leave when both of their phones buzzed loudly. Magnus read the message and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alec asked when he noticed the expressions on the warlock's face.

"Jia send me a message asking if I'm fine now and to be at the gard tomorrow by 4 in the evening to record our statement. What does it mean? What statement and how does she know I'm not well? Do you know anything about it?" He looked at the winged nephilim.

Alec looked at his phone and sighed. He had a similar message from Jia as well. But he now had some explaining to do to his husband. "She doesn't actually. It's... um.."

"Alexander?"

Alec sighed loudly. "Do you remember when I was gone for some business while you were changing?" Magnus nodded so he continued. "I... I actually went after Camille."

Magnus' eyes widened at that and his heart started racing badly. "What? Alexander, why? You know what she's capable of, what if something happened to you? What if she attacked you? If she would've-"

"Magnus! Mags! Calm down! You're forgetting I'm immortal now. Besides, Camille, she's dead." He confessed.

"Wait, what? How?"

"Magnus, I..um... I went after her to actually kill her only. Since the time you had told me about her return, I was planning this. I wanted her to be gone from our lives. Look, I'm sorry. I know she was your ex, you had a history with her. You must have loved her once, so this must be-"

"Alexander, stop. Yes, I might have. But not anymore. Not after how she had always treated me and what she had done. And anyways, the Clave would have given her a death sentence, after all, right? I might have a few good memories with her, but those are just memories now, if she's dead, it's for the best. I'm not going to be upset about it. So, please Alexander, don't worry about what I would think or feel, okay?"

Alec relaxed at that and nodded then kissed his warlock softly.

"I still don't get it, how am I involved in this?"

"She played with Daniel's brother's heart too and was responsible for his death. He wanted revenge on her because of it. So, when I told him about her return, we both formed a plan to kill her and end it once and for all. Catarina was in this, by the way. We obviously couldn't let Clave learn the truth, so Daniel glamoured himself as you and we informed Jia that she attacked us from behind and I didn't have any other option than to kill her. It needed to look real so..." He cleared his throat then continued. "Jia wants the statement in detail." He confessed everything to his husband but he noticed that he had a confused look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Umm... I get it, but... who's Daniel?"

"Daniel Nightstorm."

"Sorry, whom?" He looked at the winged nephilim with confusion.

Alec gave him an ice-cold glare. "You really weren't listening to me at all. I was talking to myself the whole time like an idiot. Just leave it! I don't have the energy to explain everything to you all over again when you're not even interested in listening to me. Just leave this conversation for next time when you actually want to listen. Now just create a portal so we can go back home."

Magnus looked like a lost puppy, looking anywhere but at Alec. He really didn't mean to ruin their evening, but things were not in his favor, and judging by the tone Alec just used, he really needed to make it up to him. Because if he didn't, it would look like he didn't care which was wrong.

"Alexander, I'm sorry, I really am. My mind is not stable and I don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't mean to hurt you. I-"

"Mags, calm down, it's okay. Let's just get back home, okay?"

Magnus nodded and quickly created a portal. They stepped into it and landed in their living room. While they were stepping out, Magnus stumbled and almost fainted, when his husband's arms caught him at the right moment.

"Magnus! Are you okay? What happened?" Alec quickly helped him to sit on the couch and gave him a glass of water.

"I have no idea. This has never happened before while portaling. I feel like my body is getting weak with every passing second. This is weird."

"Come on, let's just get to bed. Just try to rest it out, you faced a lot today."

Magnus nodded and Alec helped him to change into his comfortable night suit, then they both lay down on the bed and Alec wrapped his arms and wings tightly around Magnus, making sure that his husband was comfortable. Whatever anger he had in him had vanished completely the moment his warlock fell in his arms. When he was sure that his husband had slept peacefully, he kissed him on the top of his head then closed his eyes and dozed off.

*********************************

*Few hours later*

Alec woke up to the sound of weird noises that were buzzing in his ears. He grunted and woke up, that's when he realized that the sounds were coming from his husband. He looked at him and saw that he was tossing and turning and whimpering a lot and it seemed like he was in pain. He shook him gently to wake him up.

"Magnus! Mags! Wake up, love!"

Magnus mumbled something and started whimpering again. He was curled up like a ball, hugging himself tightly.

"Love, wake up!" He shook him a little harder this time.

Magnus jolted awake and looked at his surroundings frantically. He was sweating really badly even when it was slightly cold outside.

"Magnus! Love, are you okay?"

"I... I don't know. My whole body feels like someone had beaten me really badly, Alexander. I don't understand what's happening to me. And my magic... I can't explain it!" He held on to his husband tightly and Alec's wings curled around him, taking him in a warm embrace.

"Do you want me to call Catarina? Maybe she could help?"

"Okay, just do something, anything. I don't know what's happening!"

Alec kissed his temple softly, then quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Catarina's number. Within a minute a portal opened up in their bedroom and Catarina came out of it, looking all worried.

"What's going on? Are you both okay?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"I am, but Magnus is not and we have no idea why." Alec answered while caressing the warlock who was holding on to him as tightly as possible.

Catarina walked towards them but backed off when she felt strong waves of magic hitting her with full force.

"What the!"

"Cat, what happened?" Alec asked.

"I don't know exactly. Magnus, is your magic fine? Did something happen? Because I felt really strong magic hitting me when I approached you both."

"I have no idea, Cat. Please, help me!" He almost whimpered.

"How, Magnus? I can't even come near you!"

"I don't know, but please do something." Magnus begged.

"Mags! Love, calm down!" Alec ran his hands gently on his back and looked at Catarina. "Cat, can you at least examine him from afar. He has been feeling weird since morning, but this started happening a few hours ago. Check him, please."

Catarina nodded. She focused on her magic and started scanning his full body, the magic surrounding Magnus was so strong that she had to concentrate on her magic to go through it. Once she was done her eyes went wide and she looked between both the men.

"Cat, what's wrong? Is he okay?" Alec asked.

"The hell was that!"

"What's wrong with me, Catarina?"

She looked at Alec with shock written on her face. "The energy surrounding you both, it's..." She trailed off, not sure how to put it.

"Cat, what is it?" Alec asked.

"Alec, it's exactly the same as the one on the day of your awakening, when I put the immortality rune on you, but I don't understand..." She suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked outside the window then at Alec.

Alec saw a mixed look of anger and concern on her face and frowned. "What is it, Cat?"

She cleared her throat. "I know it's a really personal question, but, have you both had sex recently?"

Magnus' face turned red on that. "What the hell! Catarina Loss! Have you lost your mind!? How is our sex life related to it in any freaking way!" He looked at his husband who had gone completely pale. "Alexander, what is it?"

Alec looked out the window then at Catarina and gulped. "Crap! I completely forgot! Cat, please help him, I swear I forgot, and anyways, how can you expect me to resist my husband!" He tried to defend himself but in complete vain.

Magnus looked between the two people who definitely knew something in confusion. "Okay, what is going on? What are you both talking about?"

"Care to explain, Alec!" Catarina said flatly and crossed her arms.

"Uh.. um... Magnus.. actually, I.. um... I wasn't supposed to get intimate with a downworlder till full moon after my awakening, and.. um... it's full moon today, and we had sex this morning, so..." He trailed off and looked down, blaming himself for forgetting something this crucial and being responsible for the pain his husband was in right now.

Magnus looked at him in shock. "Wait, so this is happening to me because we had sex!? But, what exactly is happening to me, Alexander?"

Alec looked down and started playing with his wedding ring. "I have no idea." He said in a low voice.

Magnus looked at the winged nephilim and saw the look of guilt on his face. "Alexander, hey, don't blame yourself. You don't know, right? We'll figure it out, but don't stress yourself over it."

Catarina sighed, she knew she couldn't be mad at him either. "Sorry Alec, I'm just worried about Magnus. Don't blame yourself for it. I should've known that you both men can't keep your junks to yourself at all."

Both men's faces turned tomato red at that and they exchanged a knowing look. They know not to mess with her when she's mad or worried.

Alec cleared his throat and looked at Catarina apologetically. "Cat, there must be something in that book. We should look into that."

She nodded and waved her hands, within seconds a huge book appeared on their bed and Magnus' mouth fell open looking at that.

"What the hell! Wow! You really researched a lot, Alexander." He looked at his husband who was continuously rubbing soothing circles on his back, which was helping him a little but he didn't know how and why.

"Anything for you, love. Cat, can you check what's written on it? I hope it's nothing worse, I'll never be able to forgive myself if something happens to him."

"Sure, but before that, Alec, are you using your magic? Because I'm able to feel it and it's starting to affect my magic."

"Wait, what?" Magnus asked and looked at his husband.

"Umm.. yes, I'm trying to calm him down and relax. I can't see him like this. So,-"

"Alec! Are you crazy!" She shouted. "You know your magic is dangerous for us downworlders and you're using it on Magnus! Are you out of your mind!?"

Magnus' eyes widened at that and he looked between both of them.

"Cat! Calm down, please. I've..." He looked at Magnus then at Catarina. "I've used my magic on him before and it didn't affect him, I don't know why but it didn't, so I thought if it's helpful in this situation, I'll use it. He was in so much pain and I can't see him like that." He looked at Magnus and cupped his face from one hand. "I'm sorry, Magnus, I know I shouldn't have used my magic on you without your knowledge but you were so worked out, so much in pain that I couldn't help myself. I can't see you like this, Magnus. I know it was wrong, I shouldn't have done it, b-"

"Alexander, relax, I'm not mad, instead I'm feeling lucky that I have such a caring husband. I don't know why I'm immune to your magic, but whatever it is, we're in this together. We'll figure it out. And, thank you for being there whenever I needed you."

"I'll always be there for you, love."

Magnus smiled warmly at that and leaned in to kiss his winged nephilim, Alec responded with the same passion making the kiss deeper until they heard a loud clearing of a throat and they broke apart quickly, their faces red as a beetroot.

"You both are insatiable! No wonder this happened!" Catarina said while shaking her head in disbelief.

"Let's.. umm.. look in the book. hopefully, we'll get some answers." Alec said, trying to change the topic.

Catarina sighed and opened the book where the whole procedure was written.

"Okay, let's see what's happening to Magnus."

Once the person becomes immortal there are few precautions that have to be taken. >After performing the spell, the person has to stay away from everyone; at least for a day, and be around nature until their powers are completely awakened. > The person can't get physical/intimate with anyone till the full moon; especially with a downworlder.

If by any chance either of the above happens, go to the chapter titled "Consequences".

The three exchanged a look and Catarina quickly turned to that page. All of their eyes widened when they saw the length of the chapter. For the second precaution, there were so many downworlders mentioned that they didn't even know existed anymore. Catarina quickly opened the page where the 'Warlocks' were mentioned.

•Warlocks•

If the new angel gets intimate with a warlock when it's still a full moon, even with a kiss, the said warlock will start having an immunity towards the angel's magic, making his/her mundane blood 0.5% angelic, which will make him/her immune to any angelic weapons, including the soul sword.

If the said couple crosses the level of intercourse, the consequences are stronger and against the nature.

After 24 hours of intercourse, the said warlock will start having body pain similar to when the shadowhunter went into the awakening of his/her powers. The intensity of the pain will be really low compared to the shadowhunter's, but the warlock's powers will become ten times stronger than it was before. His/her magic will be able to merge along with the angel's, and the couple will become nearly invincible.

The three exchanged looks and Magnus held the winged nephilim's hand tightly.

"If this what I'm feeling is low, then how strong would the pain you've gone through at the time of your awakening, Alexander?"

"You don't want to know that, Magnus!" He said sheepishly.

Magnus looked at him with pure love and adoration. He still wasn't able to believe that he had someone like him in his life. He then looked at Catarina, who was still looking at the book. "Is there more, Cat?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Magnus."

The couple exchanged a look and looked at Catarina. "What is it?" Alec asked.

Every angel, whether it's original or created, possesses very strong nature's magic and heavenly powers. They are really pure and angels with silver powers are the strongest ones, they just don't possess magic, they are capable of creating new lives, hence, also known as The Creators. If a silver angel fails to follow the procedure and has intercourse with a warlock, they will change one of the main things warlocks are known for, that is, them being sterile. The warlock will no longer be sterile as they have the blood and merged magic of The Creator.

Magnus's mouth hung open at that and his eyes filled with tears. "I'm... I'm no longer sterile!" Even if he was married to a man, this was a big thing for him. For centuries he was burdened with one thing, his inability to bear children, and now that it's no longer there he didn't know how to react.

"I don't know what to say, Magnus. I'm happy and worried about you at the same time. Every warlock wants this, and now that you have it, it just feels too real to be true." Catarina said her tone clearly had a bit of sadness to it.

Magnus noticed it in no time. He knew his best friend really well. She isn't just a warlock, she's a woman too and it means more to her than him. It's obvious that she's hurt but isn't showing it.

"Catarina.." Magnus started softly, "I didn't expect something like this to happen, I know what you've gone through, how you've lived your life and now learning that my sterility is gone, it would be hard for you to-"

"Magnus, it's okay. I came to terms with it a long time ago. I'll admit that I feel sad, but I'm happier for you. Now, let me continue."

"Wait, there's more?" Alec asked.

"Yes, there is."

The angel by committing this mistake and betraying the laws of nature will be punished. But, because angels are pure and stronger than any other species, any punishment given to them is easy. Henceforth, the punishment will be given to that warlock he/she had intercourse with, as they won't be able to see others in pain.

"No! No, please, not to Magnus. Cat, please check if there's a way it can be avoided. Please!" Alec said desperately, his heart was racing badly and his wings started flipping.

"Alexander, angel, calm down. Whatever it'll be, I'll face it. I don't care what happens to me until you are safe." Magnus said and held the winged nephilim's hand tightly.

"Magnus, are you crazy, no. I won't let you."

"Alexa-"

"Will you both stop! There's more, so let's see first what it is then think about it." Catarina said, frustrated with their constant PDA, but she knew that they didn't care about others watching them.

The couple exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.

A warlock identifying features include their warlock marks and their sterility. Their possession and expertise in different types of magic comes next. There are many warlocks who are stronger than the others. But everything has its limits. Be it a warlock mark or their powers. As a consequence of the angel's mistake and as mentioned before their powers will become ten times stronger. The said warlock will gain a new warlock mark with unknown powers in them. They'll know the powers of it with time.

This new warlock mark will be a set of wings similar to that of the angel's, the only difference being they'll be stronger and the color of them will be determined by the abilities of the warlock. When the process of gaining wings will start, the amount of pain will increase five times, which is still low from what the former shadowhunter had faced.

This said warlock will now have ten times stronger powers, his/her sterility gone, and a pair of wings whose powers they will discover over time. They will be way too stronger than any warlock should be and they won't be able to control their powers easily. And the angel won't be able to help him/her, because no one can bear this strong force of powers and the warlock will suffer his/her whole life because of the angel's mistake.

The three of them had a look of shock written on their faces when Catarina was finished reading that.

"I don't understand, those are the consequences? Me becoming more powerful and gaining a new warlock mark? Is that it?" Magnus said, making Alec and Catarina exchange a worried look.

"Magnus, you don't know how strong it would be!" Catarina said.

"Magnus, love, I'm sorry, it's all be-"

Before Alec could complete, Magnus let out a loud cry of pain and held himself tightly. Alec's eyes widened at that and he wrapped Magnus in his arms tightly.

"Cat, get out of this room, now!"

"But, Alec, Magnus!? If he needs something..-

"I've been through this, Cat. I know what happens. It's dangerous for you to be here. Wait in the living room if you want, but please leave the room."

Catarina nodded then she left. Alec quickly wrapped his arms and wings around Magnus tightly and Magnus buried his face in Alec's shoulder, letting out all the screams there while gripping his night T-shirt tightly.

Around an hour later, when Magnus' screams were lowered and the body pain was gone, he looked at the winged nephilim with complete respect who had helped him to go through it and control his magic, else he didn't know what would have happened.

"Alexander, thank you."

"Are you okay, love?"

"Yes, apart from my shoulders feeling heavy, yes."

"Crap! You need to get up for the next part."

Magnus obliged without thinking, he knew his husband had gone through the same and knows what he's doing.

Once they both had stood up and were standing in the middle of the room, Alec held his warlock's hand tightly and squeezed them. Not long after, a pair of 8 foot long appendages appeared beside Magnus, which were similar to the winged nephilim's. Alec looked at them with his silver eyes filled with awe and Magnus gasped. The wings were huge and their color was similar to Magnus' true cat eyes. Each feather was black at the base, merging into shades of gold.

"They're beautiful!" Alec breathed out, his wings fluttered with excitement, and stroked the gold ones gently.

Magnus looked at his new wings with a mix of shock and surprise on his face. His expressions became curious when they curled slightly when the silver one's stroked it. He didn't realize that his glamor had disappeared.

Alec looked at him and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like myself, but a little more full of powers, I don't know how to put into words but I don't feel much different."

Alec walked closer to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I guess whoever had written it had no idea how strong my beautiful husband is. That he's not just 'any' warlock, but the strongest and most powerful warlock."

"Alexander, I really don't get it, I don't see them as any kind of 'consequences', my sterility is gone, I've gained new powers and a mark, and however strong it would be, I'm always ready to face it."

"You know what I've been told, Magnus?"

"What?" He asked curiously.

"That Angels work in weird ways. Maybe they didn't want anyone else to be more powerful than them, so they put it as consequences so that others will avoid doing it in fear of hurting their loved ones and they will always remain superior."

"Hmm... point. But still, I don't know how I'm going to cope up with these wings and my increased powers!"

"We'll work on it together, Magnus. I know that you're strong enough to face it and I'm with you in this."

"It means a lot to me, Alexander. Thank you." He looked into his silver eyes from his gold ones with pure love shining in them.

Alec's silver eyes wandered around his husband's wings, then into his eyes and he smiled softly. He leaned in, nosed his face up, and brushed his lips with his husband's. When Magnus responded by wrapping his fingers around the back of his neck and the back of his hair, he tightened his grip around his waist and deepened the kiss. Their wings fluttered and wrapped around each other, blending into each other with the perfect mix of silver and gold.

When they broke the kiss they looked into each other's eyes with a warm smile on their faces. With this new day, they knew that a new journey was awaiting them. They had an eternity to spend together now, with each new day bringing some new surprises and heartbreaks, happiness and sadness, love and loss, friends and enemies. They knew that they were about to go on a long journey filled with adventures.

"I love you, Magnus."

"I love you too, Alexander."

#asaab #angst with a happy ending #angst #fanfic authors #alec lightwood #fanfiction #lightwood bane family #malec forever #malec fic #fantasy #fanfic #happily married #magnus bane #malec

[sugarandspace]

Day 31 - Free Day (Halloween) (AO3)

Alec stepped into Magnus’ loft to find no hint of his boyfriend. They were supposed to go on a date to an outdoor Halloween themed event, and they had agreed to meet here at six o’clock. Alec checked his phone to make sure he was in time, and saw that it was only a few minutes before six.

“Magnus?” Alec called as he walked further into the loft.

“In the bedroom,” came the muffled reply.

Alec followed the sound to the bedroom, stopping at the door when he saw his boyfriend in front of the full body mirror doing what appeared to be finishing touches to his costume.

Costume that threw Alec off more than any other costume probably could have.

Magnus was wearing a dark purple button up shirt, tucked into his black pants. The shirt had some sort of silver decorations on it, subtle until the light caught them. He wore matching silver necklaces, hanging low on his chest. The clothes weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but there were two things that Alec hadn’t expected to see.

Magnus was tying the strings of a long velvet cloak, black as night, the end of it almost touching the floor. The cloak was dramatic and gave off a mysterious vibe, which was hindered a bit by what Magnus was wearing on his head.

A pointy hat with a wide trim.

Alec didn’t know what to say, standing at the doorway with his mouth slightly open, looking at the unexpected sight.

“What do you say?” Magnus asked, turning around to face Alec so that Alec had a proper look at his face that was previously covered by the wide trim of the hat. His eyes were lined with black, a hint of silver sparkling amongst the makeup as well. Most of his hair was hidden under the hat, a few strands hanging over his forehead - purple streaks highlighting the usual black.

“You’re dressed as a… Warlock?” Alec asked.

“Yes,” Magnus said, doing a little spin which caused his cloak to flare around him. He looked proud of his costume. “I mean what would be more fitting?”

“I guess you have a point,” Alec agreed, his surprise melting to amusement.

“You’re not wearing a costume,” Magnus noted, his brow furrowing a little as he took in Alec’s black jeans and a jacket.

“It’s not really my thing,” Alec said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve never dressed up for Halloween.”

“Never?” Magnus asked, shocked by Alec’s confession.

“I mean it’s not a popular thing amongst Shadowhunters,” Alec explained. “Some go to mundane or Downworlder parties but you know that those aren’t my thing.”

“We have to fix this!” Magnus exclaimed and moved Alec so that he was standing in front of the tall mirror, Magnus standing next to him, a thoughtful look on his face. “What do you want to dress up as?”

“You don’t have to-” Alec started but Magnus interrupted him quickly.

“Nonsense,” he dismissed and continued quickly. “We could do a couple costume?”

Magnus moved his hands in the air, the normally graceful act of doing magic looking somewhat comical when combined with his accessories. Alec was so focused on Magnus’ movements he almost missed what he was doing.

Almost. Because the as soon as he turned his attention back to his own reflection, he couldn’t ignore the two big cat ears on top of his head.

“No.” He said immediately, shaking his head.

“C’mon Alexander,” Magnus said, clearly amused. “You could ride on my broom.”

“Take them off,” Alec demanded, finding the situation more humiliating than amusing.

Magnus seemed to sense that, since he snapped his fingers and the ears were gone.

“Thank you,” Alec breathed.

“Oh no, don’t thank me yet,” Magnus said. “We need to figure out a costume that would fit you better. Oh, now I know!”

Alec was almost scared to look in the mirror, but he did nevertheless. He watched as his clothes turned all white, wondering what Magnus was up to. It wasn’t until he saw two tall wings sprouting from his back that he realised what he was supposed to be.

“An angel,” Alec said, looking less than impressed while Magnus was grinning next to him. “Really?”

“What would be more fitting, my angel?” Magnus asked. “Me going as a warlock and you going as an angel. Both are such clever costumes, don’t you think?”

Alec just shook his head in response.

“Just out of curiosity,” Magnus asked as he turned Alec’s clothes back to normal and made the wings disappear. “Which bothered you more, the wings or not wearing anything black?”

Alec rolled his eyes but smiled, unable to keep a straight face. “Can we just go already?”

“I’m not leaving until you have some sort of a costume,” Magnus said. “At least something. You want it to be simple, right? Something that doesn't’ attract much attention?”

“Yes,” Alec agreed, because he knew that it was pointless to fight Magnus in this. There was no way he was going to be able to leave this loft without being somewhat dressed for the occasion.

Magnus looked thoughtful for a moment until he seemed to get an idea.

“Sit down,” he said and pushed Alec backwards until the backs of his legs hit the bed behind him. He did as he was told and sat down on the soft bed, watching as Magnus disappeared into the bathroom.

Alec didn’t know what to expect but he was surprised when he saw Magnus returning a moment later with a colorful palette and a large bag.

“Oh no no no,” he said as he watched Magnus sit down next to him and lay the different types of makeup on the bed between them. “I don’t want makeup.”

“Do you trust me?” Was all Magnus asked, and Alec thought about it for a moment. Wearing makeup seemed ridiculous. On Magnus it looked gorgeous, but even though Alec had never tried it before, he just knew he would look stupid. But on the other hand, Magnus hadn’t made him wear the costumes he didn’t like, so there was no harm in giving it a go. It seemed like it would make Magnus happy, if the pleading look in his eyes was anything to go by, and Alec was confident he would take it away if Alec didn’t like it. So with a final deep breath he nodded.

“Okay.”

“Close your eyes,” Magnus said, smiling encouragingly. “And don’t open them before I say so. I don’t want you to see it before it’s done.”

Alec nodded, closing his eyes. He tried to imagine what he looked like, but found himself unable to visualize what kind of marks the different swipes and pokes left behind. In the end he gave up, deciding to just focus on Magnus’ gentle touches on his face.

“All done,” Magnus said eventually, when Alec was starting to feel like he could fall asleep then and there. Carefully he opened his eyes, facing Magnus who looked at him with obvious interest in his eyes, curious to see Alec’s reaction.

Alec turned his head to face the mirror, and what he saw made him stand up and walk closer to the mirror to be able to examine it closer. He knew Magnus was good with makeup, his face proving that nearly every single day, but to actually witness him do it - with absolutely no magic - made Alec appreciate the skill a lot more. This was art.

“What do you think?” Magnus asked, a hint of nerves in his voice.

Alec looked at his face, at the small shadows on his cheeks making his cheekbones look sharper, similar shadows around his eyes making them look sunken. His face looked almost skeletal, but it was done with subtle makeup, far from a full face paint. The black made his face look even paler, his black hair and clothes and the rune on his neck a perfect contrast.

“It looks so cool,” he found himself saying, looking briefly at Magnus’ proud face before finding his eyes drawn back to the mirror.

“You’ll go out wearing that?” Magnus asked, his tone hopeful.

Alec thought for a moment before he responded. “Fine.”

-

The event was packed with people. It was a fair like event with a lot of little stands, all offering Halloween themed food or games or trinkets. Alec thought he would have felt more out of place since he was wearing makeup out in public, but he felt like he blended in with the odd looking crowd. He was used to people looking at them when he was out with Magnus, but it felt odd to have some of those looks aimed at himself specifically.

Alec wondered briefly if Jace had mentioned anything about taking Clary here, or if they were going to see Izzy and Simon - until he decided that he’d cross that bridge if he got to it. He was too happy to care, walking around the brightly lit fair with his hand in Magnus’, the air filled with easy conversation.

They were sitting on a bench sharing a candy apple Magnus had insisted Alec gave a try when a small girl stopped in front of them. The girl couldn’t be much older than Madzie, and she was dressed into a bright pink princess dress, her dark curls topped with a crown.

“Well hello there your majesty,” Magnus greeted the girl and bowed his head, making Alec smile and the child giggle. “Where are your parents?”

“Right there,” the girl pointed at a couple that was standing ten feet from them talking to some other couple. “They are talking about boring adult stuff.”

“Ah, adults do that sometimes,” Magnus nodded seriously.

“I like your hat,” she told Magnus before looking at Alec. “You look scary.”

Alec didn’t know how to respond, feeling bad for scaring the kid. But he didn’t have to, because Magnus replied to the girl.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, little one.” He said. “He’s really the kindest skeleton I’ve ever met.”

“He looks good scary,” the girl replied and looked at Alec again. “Halloween is a scary day. Your face looks really cool.”

“Thank you,” Alec replied and smiled at the girl’s compliment.

“Can you do magic tricks?” The girl asked Magnus, her attention back on him. Alec bit the inside of his cheek trying to suppress a smile, wondering what Magnus was going to answer.

“Well of course I can,” Magnus said, and really, did Alec expect anything less. “I am a warlock after all.”

“Show me!” The girl asked practically bouncing where she stood.

“Hmm,” Magnus thought for a moment until he handed the candy apple to Alec. He reached his hand forward, behind the girl's ear as he said, “Abracadabra.”

Alec watched the blue sparks glow as Magnus conjured a small red rose behind the girls head, retracting his hand and showing the flower to the girl.

“Looks like you have flowers in your hair,” Magnus said as he gave the rose to the girl who looked at it in awe.

“Sophie, you can’t just wander off like that!” A woman’s voice said from behind her, her worried looking mother appearing next to the girl, her father in tow.

“I’m sorry if she bothered you,” the father said, looking at both Magnus and Alec.

“Not at all,” Alec assured the man and Magnus nodded next to him.

“It was an honor to meet a real princess.”

“And he’s a real warlock!” The girl told her parents excitedly. “He did real magic!”

“Is that so?” Her mother asked her, looking at Magnus and Alec. “Again, we are sorry, and we hope you have a good rest of your night.”

“You too,” Magnus replied and they nodded at the small family, watching as they walked away while the girl explained the trick to her parents, gesturing animatedly and showing them the bright red rose.

“I never thought that I would be saying this,” Alec started, turning his attention back to Magnus. “But that was cute, watching you perform magic to that girl.”

“Look at you, praising me for breaking the rules,” Magnus teased, bumping his shoulder to Alec’s.

Alec shrugged his shoulders. “Weirder things have happened tonight.”

“True,” Magnus said as he stood up, giving his hand to Alec as they continued walking through the fair. “I’m surprised you agreed to wear the makeup.”

Alec ate the rest of the apple and threw the stick to the bin they walked past while figuring out how to phrase his thoughts.

“It’s new,” he started. “I’ve never done anything for Halloween and I’ve never tried makeup. I still don’t think that it’s really my thing, but it was fun to try it tonight. And I quite like Halloween, I’ll let you drag me into another event next year.”

“Are you going to wear a costume?” Magnus asked, lifting his eyebrows.

“Maybe,” Alec replied teasingly. “Are you going to dress up as a warlock again?”

“I don’t think so,” Magnus said. “It’s boring to repeat a costume two years in a row. I have to wait and see what feels right. This costume was something I knew I needed to wear this year, for nostalgic reasons.”

“What were those reasons?” Alec asked curiously.

“We used to do this with Ragnor back when people first started celebrating halloween like this,” Magnus explained, gesturing the people around them in various kind of costumes. “We thought it was funny, a twisted kind of irony when we had to dress so unlike we usually do to be able to be ourselves amongst the people.”

Alec didn’t miss the way Magnus’ shoulders dropped when he mentioned his old friend, but a small smile remained on his face - a sad smile but a smile nonetheless. He didn’t know what to say so he settled for holding Magnus’ hand a bit tighter, and walking a bit closer. Magnus continued talking, his posture straightening slightly.

“That’s so great about Halloween,” he said. “People can be whoever they want to be and express themselves in a way they usually can't. For some it means they can be more like themselves.”

Alec thought about the statement, and found himself thinking that a man he was a year ago wouldn’t have worn makeup to such a public place, he wouldn’t have let anyone apply it to his face in any situation. Compared to year ago, he had grown more open, and the way he looked right now was a great example of that. He’d learnt so much and let go of so much he had been taught. He was letting more of himself show to the people around him, and while he wouldn’t exactly call wearing makeup ‘being more like himself’ he would describe his willingness to try new things, his open mindedness, and his ability to not care about what others thought about him with those words.

“I think I get it.”

“I knew you were going to like Halloween,” Magnus said smugly. “I already have so many good ideas for what we can dress up as next year.”

By the angel, this Halloween wasn’t even over yet and Magnus was already planning next year. Alec wondered if he’d still like the idea of Halloween a year from now, and feared what costumes he would have to go through before that.

But for now he rolled his eyes and laughed, deciding to focus on the moment and the date they were having.

-

The rest of my Flufftober works can be found here!

#malec #shadowhunters #alec lightwood #magnus bane #shfanficnexus #jenna writes flufftober #i did it!!! #oh my god i did it

[gingersnapwolves]

Re: the Shadowhunters Searching Ceremonies idea... I feel like Camille actually plays a really similar antagonist in a lot of ways in the show already, doesn't she? The 'ugh, why would Magnus want a Shadowhunter, this must be a joke' thing. Otoh... so does Maryse? Like, maybe the 'this can't possibly be true, it's just a joke' thing comes from Alec's family instead of Magnus' "family"?

okay okay okay SO LISTEN

On every warlock’s 25th birthday (because immortality and soulmate/arranged marriage AUs don’t mix well), they perform a ritual to find their perfect match. It’s normally a little thing, but for Magnus it is a Very Big Deal, because he’s Asmodeus’ son and Asmodeus is a Very Big Deal, let’s say it’s a royalty AU or something pretty close to that okay no wait, it’s like a Mafia things. Asmodeus is a big name in the Underworld, magical crime and such. Which Magnus isn’t really into, but Asmodeus doesn’t care, he’s like “do your own thing and just don’t do anything that would hurt The Family”. But even so, Magnus choosing a partner is a big deal.

Magnus has been in an off-and-on relationship with Camille for several years, so everyone knows he’s going to choose her, and his father supports it and it should be all good, right? Nobody knows that Camille is abusive and Magnus has tried to get away from her multiple times, but always winds up getting back together with her for various reasons. So the ritual is coming up and he doesn’t know what to do, but there isn’t really much he can do, because he can’t just not do the ritual.

The thing is, the ritual works whether the participant wants it to or not. So everyone’s standing there and waiting and they do the spell, and Magnus is looking around and the whole world is just gray, gray, gray, and a black void where Camille is standing and then this person made up of brilliant colors at the back of the room, and Magnus is drawn to him automatically.

Then the spell is over and everyone is standing there with their jaws ajar because Magnus Bane, son of a Prince of Hell, just picked the bartender

Because Alec was there as an undercover police officer, checking out what the ritual was like and gathering information on various Underworld parties, and he got in by pretending to be part of the catering crew. It never occurred to him to worry about getting chosen, the reason they sent him to this one specifically is because everybody already knew that Magnus was going to choose Camille.

Camille is livid and Asmodeus frankly thinks it’s kind of hilarious, what the hell does he care because he probably has like two dozen children. Alec doesn’t know what the hell to make of it because obviously Magnus Bane is a very very bad man, right? And his parents are horrified and he’s going to lose his job and THIS IS TERRIBLE and also Magnus is beautiful and Alec just wants to stare at him for five hundred years. Should he play along? Maintain his cover? Tell Magnus the truth and run? WHAT SHOULD HE DO?

Write fic about it, obviously.

#oh my god guys #this fic could be amazing #I must begin work on it immediately #malec #shadowhunters #asks #fic stuff

[liron-ao3]

For The Hunter's Moon Discord Masquerade exchange 🔞

Ti amo

Magnus dries his hair as he walks out of the en-suite bathroom into their bedroom. He smiles at his husband, who is leaning against the headboard and so enthralled in a book that he doesn't even hear him coming in. For a long moment, Magnus simply enjoys the beauty of his shadowhunter, the runes scattered over his torso standing out prettily against his skin.

Magnus squints as he tries to decipher the title of the book that so crudely blocks his view from even more enticing skin. It's most definitely not one from his personal library. Magnus would never buy a paperback. But Alec has been discovering self-publishing authors lately and some of them he likes so much that he buys them in print.

Magnus looks at the woman on the cover. She's holding an old Venetian mask in her hands. The warlock chuckles at the memory of him and Catarina crashing a party in Venice once, Cat hidden behind a full mask, gown, and gloves. He probably still has the maroon frock-coat he wore that night somewhere in his storage. It used to be his favourite.

The sound of his amusement pulls Alec's attention from the pages and to his husband. The book is swiftly put on the nightstand. Magnus can read the title now. Masquerade.

Magnus enjoys Alec's roaming eyes for a moment, then smirks to himself. He snaps his fingers and where a towel was hanging lowly on his hips just a second ago, he's clad in satin boxers now, their maroon, shiny fabric standing out beautifully against his golden skin.

Alec bites his bottom lip at the sight, eyes sparkling in a shallow wave of heat. But it's nothing compared to the look on his face when his eyes travel up over Magnus' abs, his chest and to his face that is now hidden behind a feathery half-mask that perfectly accentuates his beautiful cat eyes shining golden through the holes.

Alec's breath hitches and his tongue shoots out to wet his lips in anticipation as he watches Magnus walking closer, swaying his hips lasciviously.

He kicks the blanket off his feet eagerly and Magnus sinks down onto his lap. "We should go to Venice," Magnus says before he places a soft kiss on the corner of Alec's mouth. The same twitches upwards in amusement.

"What? Now?" Alec chuckles. Not that he would be against a portal to Italy, but he thought his husband had other plans.

"No, of course not," Magnus purrs, his lips wandering over the cut of Alec's jaw, their softness a stark contrast to the coarse scruff after a long day. "But we should go one day. I could dress you up and hide your face away so that no one knows what beauty lies underneath."

He rolls his hips, eliciting a soft moan falling from Alec's mouth. "We could see an opera in Teatro La Fenice or take a gondola ride at night." He sneaks one hand between them, snaps his fingers and wraps his hand around Alec's already hard cock. It had taken some time for Alec to get used to being undressed so swiftly, magic tickling his skin when the cool air hits it. Not that he would complain. His husband's impatience usually pays off for him, too.

Magnus catches Alec's noises of pleasure with his mouth, makes him even more breathless than he was twenty seconds ago.

"I could show you the Museo Correr," he murmurs, his hand moving over Alec's dick. "Or we'd go to Scuola Grande di San Rocco."

Alec moans. "If you keep on doing that, imma come."

"What? From a lazy hand-job?" Magnus chuckles and stops his ministrations.

"Nothing about this is lazy," Alec breathes more than says. "And speaking Italian isn't helping. You sound so hot."

Even behind the mask, Alec can see Magnus' eyebrows rising at the admission. Alec tries to kiss the delighted smirk off Magnus' face, but his lovely husband has other ideas.

Magnus' hand starts moving again and his lips graze over Alec's ear, reciting what sounds like poems, his voice rough from emotions.

Alec closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the headboard. He has no idea what Magnus is whispering into his ear. It could be the most beautiful Italian poem or the menu of Magnus' favourite ristorante. Alec doesn't care. The tingling of Magnus' breath on his skin, the tenderness of the syllables and the sureness of his touches—the mixture sends shivers of pleasure through Alec's body.

Magnus' voice wraps around his heart just like his hand around his cock, making the arousal spike way too soon. Alec grabs his husband's face and pulls him into a kiss, all tongue and teeth. It doesn't take him long to come with Magnus' name on his lips.

"Ti amo," Magnus whispers and kisses the corner of his mouth again.

"I ti-amo you right back as soon as I can breathe again," Alec chuckles, face beaming in a post-climax afterglow.

Magnus snaps his fingers to clean up the mess and raises his hands to open the bow holding his mask in place.

"No. Leave it on. It suits you," Alec protests.

Magnus chuckles and snaps his fingers again, leaving Alec in a mask, too, its blue colour making his eyes shine.

Alec smiles and pulls him into another kiss, soft and languid now. "Are there still masquerades in Venice today?"

"Mmh," Magnus hums as Alec rolls him on his back. "Not as thrilling as those I visited in—"

The rest of the sentence dies on his tongue as Alec keeps his promise and kisses his love into Magnus' skin, the mask's feathers sending goosebumps over it. Stories of times gone by don't matter here and now. Not with Alec's lips where his navel should be.

"Ti amo," Magnus whispers again to the only person throughout his very long life, who he truly doesn't have to hide from. He smiles down at Alec pulling his briefs down. One day, Magnus will tell him 'I love you' in every single language that he knows.

#malec #malec fandom #malec fic #malec fluff #malec smut #malec fanfic #malec fanfiction #fluff and smut