When Alec was a child he dreamed of parents who loved him.
Now that he was in his early twenties he dreamed of parents who acknowledged his presence.
Alec had always known that he was not as strong as Jace, or as smart and good looking as Izzy, he was a silent waif who seemed invisible in every room.
Alec could distinctly remember the times in which he had realised that his parents didn't care.
When he was ten years old he and Jace had passed their trials and had been given permission to receive their first runes. Their parents had immediately thrown a party in their honour and invited every shadowhunter who could make it. Alec remembered when his father made the official announcement to begin their celebrations,
"Tonight we gather to celebrate the passing of the trials and the impending rune ceremony of my sons, Alec and Jace!"
Alec had immediately perked up, excited that his father would acknowledge to such a crowd that Alec was indeed his son, at any other event he would ignore the boy entirely.
Later when they were mingling amongst guests Alec had found himself without anyone to talk to and had looked around for Jace, only to find the boy surrounded by his parents and a huge crowd of shadowhunters who were laughing and congratulating a smiling Jace as he brandished his chosen weapons for inspection.
Alec had shuffled over to his mother, tugging on her evening dress in the hopes of finally having someone to talk to. His mother had glared down at him with smoldering eyes,
"Not now Alec, your father is speaking. You must learn proper propriety and manners if you are ever to carry the lightwood name in public. Go do something else," she had spat.
Alec had scrambled away whimpering slightly at his mother's rejection, fiercely supressing tears as he overheard his father praising Jace's accomplishments to an enraptured crowd. He found himself pressed in to a corner, watching as he became as invisible as the warlock who watched him from the shadows with a pitying gaze.
Alec had always trained with Jace, the parabatai finding it easy to connect and let their moves flow together. They had just perfected a double defence move of Alec's creation when Maryse and Robert had clapped loudly, startling the two boys on the training mats.
"Wonderful! You've perfected that move perfectly Jace," Maryse had praised in gushing tones.
Jace had blushed in embarrassment, "Alec came up with it all by himself," he had murmured.
"Your strength makes the move sing with power, you'll be formidable one day Jace," Robert had praised warmly.
Alec had burned with embarrassment, avoiding the gaze of his parents who so easily fawned over their adopted child. He appreciated that Jace had tried, he knew however that it was pointless, Maryse and Robert would never know the pain they put their son through.
Izzy was another case entirely.
She and Maryse barely ever got along, and yet Robert practically worshipped the ground his smart, athletic and beautiful daughter walked on, and Izzy reciprocated the feeling. When Izzy passed her trials she had taken up the whip and she had become a ballerina with deadly grace that caused her to rise amongst the ranks to become the lead female Shadowhunter of the institute.
Robert never cared that Alec had also risen until becoming head of the entire institute.
Everything Alec ever did was for the institute, he worked harder than anyone else and after meeting Magnus he loved harder than anyone else too because finally, despite Jace and Izzy being their usual glorious selves, it was he who Magnus had noticed.
"Hey Maggie, I'm going to be late tonight, dad wants to talk about the task force," Alec said apologetically as Magnus picked up the phone.
Magnus rolled his eyes as he sipped his Martini, a small smile playing on his lips at the thought of his adorable Shadowhunter who was undoubtedly looking so timid on the other end of the phone.
"It's fine Alexander, I know you have a lot more duties lately to take care of. Are you sure it's his work that your dad wants to talk about?"
There was a small silence on the other end of the phone before Alec sighed softly.
"Magnus…dad can rage at me as long as he wants about our relationship, it won't change the way I feel about you," Alec murmured softly, causing Magnus' heart to skip a beat in his chest.
Curse the adorable, sentimental sap of a Shadowhunter who could so easily break down Magnus' carefully constructed walls.
"I worry about you Alexander, you've been working so hard and I don't remember the last time I saw you eat or sleep for that matter," Magnus sighed out, causing an adorable whine to be heard over the end of the phone.
"I promise Maggie, I'll talk to my dad tonight and then be straight home to you…I need cuddles to fall asleep properly, you know that. I need my warlock," Alec whispered through the phone causing a shiver to go down Magnus' spine.
"And I need my Shadowhunter safe at home. I'll see you later Alexander," Magnus replied huskily before the call ended and he gulped the last of his martini, promising to check his stocks to pass the time.
He went through three shelves worth of potion ingredients before an idea flared in his mind, causing a small smile to grace his lips.
If Alexander couldn't make it home for their planned dinner then Magnus would bring dinner to Alec, and besides, the thought of Robert walking in to the meeting to find Alec cuddled on Magnus' lap was too good to pass up.
He conjured up a singular red rose before opening a portal directly in to Alec's office, a quippy greeting on his lips as he stepped through and it closed behind him. His eyes widening however when he saw what awaited him.
He had expected to see Alec sat behind his desk, a mound of papers awaiting his signature, a huge grin on his face as Magnus graced him with his favourite dinner and a rose before cuddling him throughout his father's meeting.
Instead he realized three things:
Alec's meeting with his father had started early
Their talk had obviously not gone as expected
Alec was unconscious on the ground whilst Robert leaned over him, grabbing at his throat.
Magnus moved before his brain had even caught up to what he was seeing, blasting a ball of magic straight at Robert that forced him off of Alec and head first in to the wall, leaving him slumping unconscious on the carpet.
Magnus raced forward, reaching out to run his hands over Alec's body, checking for injuries that needed his expertise.
Alec was covered in bruises, his arms beginning to blossom purple and black whilst his face was cut and bruised, his jaw laying at a wrong angle that told Magnus that it was dislocated, or at least broken.
Grasping the jaw gently, his hands flared blue, warlock mark lighting up his eyes in amber as the jaw beneath his hands clicked back in place, causing wide hazel eyes to shoot open and a screech of pain to emanate from a bruised throat.
Alec's eyes were blown wide in fear, raking over the room in search of threats before alighting on Robert's slumped form, pitiful squeaks leaving his throat instead of words as his vocal chords protested their rough treatment.
Magnus reached forward, gently turning the bruised face to meet his own, a calming smile on his face despite the fury and terror waging war in his mind.
"Hush now Alexander, I've taken care of things, he won't hurt you anymore. I'm going to lift you okay? We're going home," Magnus murmured.
Being a warlock came with certain perks, one of those being enhanced strength, and he used this constantly in his care of an oblivious shadowhunter, often dragging Alec to bed when he saw him getting exhausted, carrying him out of the training room on his shoulder when he saw him overexerting himself after an injury, and due to Alec's tactile nature, carrying him around the loft as he longed for touch.
He gently cradled his Alexander's body in his arms, stepping through the portal in to his loft and immediately heading towards their shared bed that held so many memories. He gently set Alec down, making sure to cradle his head gently, heart thudding painfully in his chest as Alec whimpered at the loss of touch.
"Hang on a moment Alexander, just let me fix up those injuries of yours," Magnus soothed, extending a pulse of his magic that absorbed in to Alec's skin and watching with satisfaction as the deep bruises and pain faded away to leave that perfect skin unblemished.
"Maggie," Alec whimpered slightly.
Magnus immediately crawled in to the bed beside his boyfriend, reaching out to hug Alec close, knowing that in times like these touch was one of the best comforters. The tears that slid slowly down his angel's face didn't help matters.
"H-He hit me…he always threatened to but I-I didn't actually think he'd do it," Alec sobbed, voice breaking at the thought of his much loved father having resorted to such levels of violence.
Magnus didn't know what to say, he simply held his angel through his tears, rocking him slightly and shielding him from the pains of the world. And for a moment it seemed like the two of them should just run away from all the pain others caused them, leave and trave the world together for the rest of their lives.
And yet, as it always did, duty came first for both of them. Duty to the Clave and to the downworlders.
Eventually Alec's tears subsided and he stared numbly at the wall, a small sigh emanating from his lips.
"I was never good enough for him, never as tough as Jace or as perfect as Izzy…All I ever wanted was to matter to him, to be loved as his first born son. Tonight just confirmed his hatred of me," Alec murmured softly.
Magnus tightened his hold on his angel, turning his teary face to meet his own golden eyes.
"He doesn't deserve you Alexander, your parents may not love you and the Clave not respect your decisions, but you'll always matter to me, angel".
And that was all Alec had ever needed.