Dead Breath
@indigothemuse
tw: blood mention/description, death mention
Simon Lewis is a vampire. Simon Lewis is a Downworlder. Simon Lewis was a mundane. Simon Lewis was off limits. But maybe worst of all, Simon Lewis wasn’t a girl.
What he was, was the kind of person so alive he dragged the humanity out of everyone else. He was the vampire who didn’t run away the from the fight, instead running towards Jace through that Hellmist.
He was the one who Jace dragged bloody through the Portal, forgetting the rules of the Clave for long enough to get the stupid Daylighter out of New York and into the worst possible place for him to be.
Jace wasn’t thinking about more than Simon’s blood soaking into his black shirt. Sense only hitting him when Jia Penhallow carried Simon to an empty bedroom and Jace stared in the mirror of the bathroom closest to Simon.
“They’re going to kill him,” he whispers to his reflection. The roots of his hair are showing, a red tinted brown leading into gold. Hair the color of dried blood. He turns of the sink and tries to scrub the copper red deep dark almost purple blood off his hands.
“They’re going to kill him,” he whispers to the blood that won’t come off his hands. The water runs pink but the blood stays on his hands. His shirt smells like when he found Simon on the boat, coppery and of death.
Dead. Dead like his father should be. Dead like his falcon. Dead like he thought Simon was. Dead like dead and Jace can’t breath if he’s going to keep breathing in death.
“They’re going to kill him.”
He steps out of the bathroom, death still stuck in his lungs, Simon’s blood on his hands, his shirt, his life. Simon will be hungry when he wakes up, Jia always keeps a steak in the fridge. Simon can drink the blood from that, can’t he?
Jace stands outside the door with a flask of long dead blood in his jacket. He hears Izzy talk, then he hears Simon’s voice, awake and alive and bright and dead and alive alive alive. He waits, he breaths in death and he waits. For what, he doesn’t know until he’s not waiting and the words coming out of his mouth aren’t what he wants to say.
But they haven’t ever been so he keeps saying them. When Simon doubles over, he begs Jace to make Izzy leave. Izzy looks to Jace, rolling her eyes with a sigh that he knows means Can you believe him? Like I’m leaving.
“Izzy, go.” She protests, he knew she would. “Listen to me Izzy, or I’ll pick you up and carry you out.”
Izzy leaves with a slam. Simon starts talking, he’s hungry, stumbling over his words and mumbling a sorry in there. Jace throws him the flask, then helps him unscrew it when his hands shake to hard to even hold it.
He has to pour it into Simon’s mouth. The Daylighter smiles sheepishly, Jace screws the cap onto the flask and puts it back in his jacket. He stands up, throwing some stupid remark that flares anger in Simon’s eyes.
“Alec wants to see you, Jace. It’s about Simon,” Izzy says. She’s come back in the room. Simon insists on coming too, and won’t let Jace make him stay. So he throws another insult he doesn’t mean and keeps quiet as Simon and Izzy talk.
“They want to see Simon, I’ll come back for him when they want him, but make sure he’s decent enough whenever I get back.”
Alec leaves, and Jace finds himself saying something he never really wanted to do. Talk to Simon alone. Or maybe the thing he wanted to do too much.
Maybe he just wants to talk to Simon alone while Simon’s still alive. Alive with his bright smiles, burning eyes, bouncing steps, breathing lungs, tanned skin, curled hair.
Simon looks to Jace, and the corner of his mouth quirks up and Simon stands up. Jace’s heart beats hard.
“Fine, lets go.”
Simon follows Jace through the hallways on the Penhallow house, into the library that only Jia uses. Jia isn’t here, they’ll be left alone. Alone with Jace’s death and Simon’s life. He finds a small nook between a bookshelf and the wall and tucks him and Simon into it.
Close enough to feel Simon’s breath on his cheek.
“What is this about? Mad I bled all over you?” There’s a challenge in Simon’s voice, so Jace takes it.
“This does happen to be my favorite jacket, for your information, but that’s now my problem with you currently. I told you to tell everyone that Clary was staying in New York. Willingly. To stay with her mother. Neither of us need them bringing her here.”
“You mean you don’t want her here. Because if she’s here, you look like the asshole you are, won’t they, Wayland,” Simon hisses, his breath cold on Jace’s cheeks. Jace pushes Simon against a bookshelf.
“Shut the hell up, Lewis. I don’t what her here because I want Clary safe. I thought maybe we wanted the same thing, for once. If you want to go pick her up and bring her through the Forsaken, be my guest.”
Simon pushes Jace into the wall, his back cracking. Simon’s not used to his strength, guilt flashing in his eyes. So Jace smirks and stomps on Simon’s foot. Better anger than guilt in Simon’s eyes, anger keeps people alive, guilt gets people dead.
“You absolutely dick. Tell me what this is really for, Wayland, or next time I drink your blood it won’t be to save my life.” A lie, they both know it.
“I told you Lewis, I needed you to tell them Clary wanted to stay in New York.”
“Know what I need? You to shut the hell up and stop lying to me. If that’s what you wanted, you wouldn’t have dragged me back here.”
In truth, Jace doesn’t know why he dragged Simon back here. But he knows the anger in Simon’s eyes makes him feel just a tiny bit as alive as Simon.
He also knows that Simon isn’t angry because of Clary, or Jace, or the reason Simon even got dragged into this mess that’s going to kill him.
“Tell me what you want from this, Lewis. Tell me why you’re so angry that I wanted you to tell them something so goddamn simple. What the he.l dl you want right now, because it sure as hell isn’t what you’re saying it is.”
Simon breaths hard, staring right into Jace’s eyes. Anger burned, something else behind it. Something that made Simon lean closer, close enough for Jace to count even the smallest freckles on Simon’s face.
“I want you to kiss me. Prove to me that this isn’t about Clary, and fucking kiss me.”
There’s still anger in Simon’s eyes, a smile on his lips. Jace doesn’t smell death anymore, the life Simon has filling his lungs.
So Jace kissed him. He kissed him like it was a challenge, and maybe it was. He kissed him like it was the last thing he’d ever do. He kissed him and he kissed him and he kissed him, pushing him against the bookshelf again.
Jace is alive, gasping for breath in between desperate kisses of death. Simon might die tonight, but what’s a few more kisses with a dead guy, and Jace won’t let Simon die more than he is already.
He won’t let Simon die tonight. No, he won’t let Simon die. Even when Simon’s blood is covering his hands, Jace Wayland won’t let Simon Lewis die.
“You actually did it. You madman, you actually kissed me. You kissed me.” Simon laughs, breathless and gasping for the oxygen he doesn’t need.
“Angel, Simon, of course I did,” Jace breathes. His hands are on Simon’s neck, curls falling onto Jace’s fingers. “You told me to.”
Simon pushes Jace off of him, anger flaring back into his eyes. Brown eyes narrow and Jace’s shoulders dig into the wall.
“So that’s why you kissed me. Some sick joke so you can guilt me into lying to all of them. You pretentious asshole.”
Simon starts to walk away, Jace grabs his wrist, even know Simon could pull away in a second if he wanted to. Simon doesn’t, but he rips his wrist out of Jace’s grip.
“I kissed you, Lewis, and I don’t kiss people for stupid reasons. That, Lewis, would be a stupid reason.”
“Then tell me what you kissed me for. Tell me why you kissed me.” Jace pulls Simon back into the nook. Simon doesn’t try to push out of the nook.
“I kissed you because you’re alive, you’re alive so much it hurts.”
Simon leans close, lips grazing Jace’s. Just when Jace thinks Simon is going to kiss him, Simon whispers onto his lips,
“If it hurts, why kiss me?”
“I’m no stranger to pain, Lewis. Now fucking kiss me or leave.”
And Simon kissed him. Hard and soft, back pressed hard against the bookshelf and Jace is no stranger to pain. And he kisses him back, he kisses him back, and he kisses him back, pushing right on back.
Two dead breaths mingling in a nook of the library, life seeping out of them.
Simon Lewis isn’t a girl, but damn is he a good kisser. Simon Lewis is a vampire, a Downworlder, a Daylighter, and so fucking alive. And Jace isn’t going to say no to breathing in Simon’s life.
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fic masterpost
figured I should probably make one of these | she_who_reads on AO3 | no permanent MCD or unhappy endings | no smut | all posted to AO3, some also on Tumblr | putting it under the cut because this got LONG
Consul Alec Lightwood (soon to be Lightwood-Bane)
Malec | G, no warnings | One-shot | Missing scene from QoAaD in which Alec tells Magnus that he was elected Consul | AO3
bargaining (for you)
Malec | G, tw amnesia | ch 8/8 | Alec makes a different deal with Asmodeus. Angst follows. | AO3 | Series (extras) | Tumblr
Whumptober 2021 (Series on AO3)
together
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence | ch 5/5 | Alec has been kidnapped. We're not sure by whom, though… | AO3
hunger
Malec | G, no warnings | one-shot | Magnus is magically exhausted for the first time since the Owl incident. It brings back bad memories. | AO3
an eye for an eye (a son for a son)
Malec | G, tw minor self-harm & vampirism | ch 4/4 | An alternate universe in which Imogen Herondale demanded justice for the death of her son when the Circle fell, and the Lightwoods didn't get off so scot-free | AO3
hope (and the lack of it)
Malec | G, tw magical illness | one-shot | missing scenes from QoAaD when Magnus is sick with the blight | AO3
flightless angel
Malec | G, tw violence, blood | two-shot | Canon divergence from CoHF in which Shadowhunters have wings, Raphael lives, and a different deal is made to escape Edom | AO3
by proxy
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, torture | two-shot | Magnus’s voice was hoarse from screaming, and his wrists chafed from the magic-suppressing cuffs on his wrists, but he was otherwise unharmed. He wished he wasn’t: if he had been the one getting beat up, his husband wouldn’t be. | AO3
don't you die on me
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, presumed character death | two-shot | And then, to Alec’s horror, the Alliance rune on his wrist flickered, and he looked to Magnus just in time to see him fall. | AO3
bleeding through the bandages
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, blood & injury | one-shot | Magnus is stabbed with a seraph blade fighting Circle members. | AO3
immortality (and what a certain Shadowhunter will do to get it)
Malec | G, tw blood | one-shot | Alec figures out how to become immortal. This is how it happens. | AO3
escape (getting home)
Malec | T, tw implied/referenced torture | two-shot | Alec is kidnapped by Circle members. He escapes. | AO3
adrift
Malec | G, tw dehydration | ch 3/3 | In a few days, Alec would be dead. His head ached dully, his mouth felt dry. He tried to stand up, and his head spun for a few moments before he steadied. He wished he could see Magnus one last time. | AO3
self-sacrifice
Malec | G, tw self-sacrifice, suicide for saving others purposes (no MCD) | one-shot | that scene from Sherlock BBC (s4e3) where Sherlock has to choose between killing John and killing Mycroft, except with Shadowhunters | AO3
learning to love
Malec | G, tw implied/referenced & internalised homophobia & aphobia | one-shot | Alec was sixteen when he realized that he was asexual. A story of self-discovery, of coming out (the first time, and then again, and again), and of acceptance. | AO3 | Tumblr
libertate bellantis
Malec | T, tw canon-typical violence, implied/referenced torture | ch 17/17 | They met in a coffee shop. Alec, a member of the Resistance, Commander and Acting Head of New York. Magnus, known to the Shadowhunters only as Bane, one of the most powerful warlocks in the world. Both think the other is mundane. (Both are wrong.) Both will find out the truth. Plus, Valentine has been leading a worldwide Clave-sanctioned genocide of the Downworld for the last twenty-five years, and now Alec and Magnus have to work together to stop him... | AO3 | Series (sequel and extras)
Unforeseen (series)
Malec | T, tw canon-typical violence | 3 works | Alec has magic, Malec are very soft, and there are shenanigans. | Series on AO3 | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Deruned
Malec | G, tw derunement | one-shot | An alternate universe in which Alec didn't marry Lydia, but he didn't kiss Magnus at the wedding, either. There are more consequences than you might think. | Inspired by Universes of You by giidas | AO3
Febuwhump 2022 (Series on AO3 | Tumblr Masterpost)
Choices and Self-Sacrificial Tendencies
Malec | G, tw demonic possession | two-shot | Magnus is possessed. Alec doesn't want to hurt him. | AO3 | Tum/blr
dreaming of you
Malec | G, tw minor mention of blood | two-shot | Magnus knows he’ll never have a soulmate — he’s the son of a Prince of Hell, after all. Alec has been dreaming of his soulmate for as long as he can remember. | AO3 | Tumblr
Chronic Pain
Malec | G, tw chronic pain | one-shot | Alec has chronic pain. Magnus finds out, and does what he can to help. | AO3 | Tumblr
bone deep
Malec | G, tw unconsciousness, hypothermia, delirium | two-shot | Magnus’s skin was cold to the touch. | AO3 | Tum/blr
home
Malec | G, tw illness, mention of death | one-shot | An unknown disease sweeps across the Shadow World. | AO3 | Tumblr
hidden scars
Malec | G, tw scars, discussion of past injury | one-shot | After a fight, Magnus can’t keep up the glamour that usually covers his old scars. Feels and hurt/comfort follow. | AO3 | Tumblr
magic (is more than the caster)
Malec | G, tw human experimentation | two-shot | Malec get captured, Valentine is an evil maniac, Magnus is a BAMF, and his magic loves Alec almost as much as he does. | AO3 | Tum/blr
Belief
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, body-swap | one-shot | Alec knew two things: he couldn’t risk letting Valentine free, and he couldn’t risk letting Magnus die. (2x12 canon divergence.) | AO3 | Tumblr
growing pains
Malec | G, tw descriptions of pain, mention of suicide | one-shot | Alec is poisoned at a Clave function. Magnus makes the antidote in time, but everything is not over yet. | AO3 | Tumblr
with great power
Malec | G, tw earthquake | one-shot | There’s a lot of responsibility associated with great power. Magnus has the opportunity to stop a tsunami. | AO3 | Tumblr
burning bright
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, blood | one-shot | Trapped under a magic-suppressing ward without access to weapons, Magnus uses an ability Alec didn’t know he had. | AO3 | Tumblr
Gospels
Malec | T, tw swearing, mention of kidnapping and torture | one-shot | Magnus Bane has been taken. Alec Lightwood is not merciful in his quest to take him back. (Conversations during the in-betweens and the after from Revelations by ClinicalChaos.) | AO3
let your voice be heard
Malec | G, no warnings | one-shot | Shadowhunters don’t sing. aka five times Alec remembered that he wasn’t supposed to sing, and five times he knew he could (because this 5+1 idea is totally unbalanced and the characters deserve better). | AO3 | Tumblr
Shadowhunters Pride Bingo 2022 (Series on AO3 | Tumblr Masterpost)
of love & names
Magnus-centric, Malec | G, tw transphobia | one-shot | The best thing that Asmodeus ever did for him, Magnus sometimes thought, was letting him choose his own name. Or: Magnus is trans, has friends, and (finally) feels accepted. | AO3 | Tumblr
U — Understanding [Shadowhunters Ace ABC]
Alec-centric, Malec | G, tw internalised & institutionalised homophobia | one-shot | Isabelle realised that her brother was not straight when she was fifteen and he was sixteen. Or: Izzy loves her brother, but some wounds go deeper than she can fix. (Ft. gratuitous light/dark metaphors, sibling antics, and angst with a happy ending.) | AO3 | Tumblr
of colourful nails & the defeat of homophobes
Malec | G, tw homophobia | one-shot | Magnus’ nails glowed with every colour of the rainbow. Or, Alec paints his nails and is politically savvy. | AO3 | Tumblr
N — Natural [Shadowhunters Ace ABC]
Malec | G, tw internalized & external homophobia & aphobia | one-shot | Alec is ace and gay, Maryse is evil, Alec meets a certain Magnus Bane, and the road to self-acceptance is long and hard — but it's a bit easier when you have friends and family to support you. (Ft. pining idiots and Alec writing books.) | AO3 | Tumblr
sweeter than sugar
Malec | G, tw minor mention of homophobia | one-shot | Pretty boy. Darling. Alexander. Sayang. Husband. Five times Magnus called Alec something that wasn't his name, and one time Alec returned the favour. | AO3 | Tumblr
G — Gaze [Shadowhunters Ace ABC]
Magnus-centric, Malec | G, tw aphobia | one-shot | Magnus sometimes found the gazes of strangers unnerving. Or, Magnus is demisexual and sex-positive, people are not always understanding, Camille is a bitch, and Alec loves Magnus. | AO3 | Tumblr
pull me closer
Jimon | G, tw mention of Jace's abusive childhood, panic attacks | one-shot | For most of Jace’s life, his assumption that he was straight went unchallenged. Jace is definitely not straight and in love with Clary. That doesn't change just because Simon's cute and funny and brave and— well, Jace is straight, so obviously he doesn't like Simon that way. (Right?) | AO3 | Tumblr
(beyond) this place of wrath and tears
Malec | T, tw for mention (not graphic) of the following: biphobia, racism (anti-Downworlder and anti-POC), whatever it's called when people want men not to wear makeup, suicidal thoughts, and depression | one-shot | People tend to hate what they do not understand, and while Magnus can ignore most cruel words, he sometimes fears there might be a fragment of truth in them. Fortunately, he has Alec. | AO3 | Tumblr
Never Alone
Malec | G, tw violence, reference to rape/non-con, and vampirism, all at canon levels | ch 21/21 | 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). | AO3 | Tumblr
the implications of language
Malec | G, tw minor reference to Magnus' mother's suicide | one-shot | 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. | AO3 | Tumblr
bloody but unbowed
Malec | G, tw implied/referenced torture, discrimination against Downworlders | one-shot | Twenty years ago, the Circle won. Six years ago, Alec Lightwood began freeing every Downworlder to enter the Institute’s cells. A week ago, he was caught. Nobody’s going to free him. | AO3 | Tumblr
Whumptober 2022 (Masterpost | Series on AO3)
Unscheduled Meetings
Malec | G, tw canonical MCD for Thule Malec but not for other versions of Malec | one-shot | A (relatively) everyday trip to confront a warlock results in something decidedly not everyday. Who would’ve thought Alec’s magic held the key to unlocking the multiverse? | AO3 | Series on AO3 | Tumblr
Could Cry Power
Malec | G, tw kidnapping | one-shot | People are disappearing from New York, and Alec has no idea why. What he finds out is worse than he’d expected. | AO3 | Tumblr
mothers & sons
Malec | G, tw suicide attempt | one-shot | Maryse is evil and there are some particularly nasty spells hidden in the Institute’s archives. What follows will leave scars. | AO3 | Tumblr
of demons & protection spells
Malec | G, tw canon-typical violence, self-harm | one-shot | Maryse Lightwood doesn't show up at Magnus' door, but instead helps Alec kill Jonathan. Magnus leaves New York, heartbroken, but refuses to join his father in Edom. Asmodeus isn't happy about that. | AO3 | Tumblr
(and if i couldn't walk) i'd crawl to you
Malec | G, tw blood loss, canon-typical violence | one-shot | A routine patrol goes wrong, and Alec is left bleeding out in an alley. | AO3 | Tumblr
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