It occurred to me in a recent reread of the TMI series that, if Magnus has aquaphobia because his stepfather tried to drown him (which I don't think is unlikely), jumping into the East River to rescue Alec would have taken a lot more out of Magnus than it originally appeared. Then I just had to rewrite the "take my strength" scene from Magnus' point of view. I hope you enjoy!
Title comes from the quote "Love is like jumping into cold water. It takes your breath away every time." I can't find an original source; if anyone knows what it is, please tell me!
Disclaimer: I don't own TMI. Any dialogue you recognize came directly from the book.
When Magnus saw Alec fall off the ship, he acted on instinct. There was no thought at all; he enchanted the truck quickly and threw himself into the water, grabbing Alec and heaving him out of the treacherous waves. Magnus's own fears didn't play in at all; they were completely ignored in favor of saving Alec. Only once Alec was safe on the back of the truck did the panic set in.
Magnus' clothes were tight and wet against his skin, and if he had had a single ounce of magic to spare, he would have used it to dry them. He didn't have enough to manage it, though. He was utterly drained; it was really only a matter of time before he lost consciousness. He hoped Alec would wake up before that.
Suddenly, Alec choked and coughed, spewing out the river water in his lungs. Magnus wanted to do something to help him, but he was so exhausted he wasn't sure if he could make it all the way over to the other end of the back of the truck. "What-what happened?" Alec asked, his teeth chattering.
"You tried to drink the East River," Magnus said, and he was proud to find that his voice was entirely steady. The longer he sat in his wet clothes, the more he wanted to tear them off and get away from the water as soon as possible, but he knew he couldn't. "I pulled you out."
Alec reached for his stele, which wasn't there; Magnus assumed it was somewhere at the bottom of the river. Normally, he could have retrieved it with a flick of his fingers, but even that tiny amount of magic was more than he could handle. Suddenly, Alec jerked upright, his eyes panicked.
"Isabelle! She was climbing down when I fell-"
"She's fine. She made it to a boat. I saw her," Magnus assured Alec. He reached for Alec's head, wishing he could heal him. "You, on the other hand, might have a concussion."
Alec batted away Magnus' hand and Magnus felt his heart clench. "I need to get back to the battle," Alec demanded. "You're a warlock. Can't you, I don't know, fly me back to the boat or something? And fix my concussion while you're at it?"
Magnus leaned back against the truck, drawing his hand back. Alec looked a little embarrassed and ducked his head in the way that Magnus found so stupidly endearing. "Sorry," he added. "I know you don't have to help us out- It's a favor-"
"Stop," Magnus stated, his heart splintering slightly in his chest. "I don't do you favors, Alec. I do thinks for you because- Well, why do you think I do them?"
Alec looked as if he wanted to respond for a moment, but he was struggling with the words. Magnus honestly wondered what he'd say. "I need to get back to the ship," he finally said in a small voice.
Magnus wanted to be angry, to push the point, but he was too tired. "I would help you," he told Alec, which was true, despite everything. "But I can't. Stripping the protection wards off the ship was bad enough - it's a strong, strong enchantment, demon-based - but when you fell, I had to put a fast spell on the truck so it wouldn't sink when I lost consciousness. And I will lose consciousness, Alec. It's just a matter of time." Magnus drew his hand over his eyes, not wanting to watch the emotions play out across Alec's face. He didn't want to see when it settled on disgust or annoyance. "I didn't want you to drown," Magnus added in a softer voice. "The enchantment should hold enough for you to get the truck back to land."
"I- didn't realize," Alec admitted. Magnus looked up at him and was shocked to see pity on his face instead of some darker expression. Magnus was aware he looked fairly pitiful, but he didn't expect to see sympathy on Alec's face.
Then Alec did something even more surprising when he held out his hands for no reason Magnus could divine. "Take my hands," Alec told him, which didn't make any more sense. "And take my strength too. Whatever of it you can use - to keep yourself going."
The offer was more than Magnus could have ever dreamed of. He didn't dare to move. "I thought you had to get back to the ship," he replied cautiously.
"I have to fight," Alec corrected. "But that's what you're doing, isn't it? You're part of the fight just as much as the Shadowhunters on the ship - and I know you can take some of my strength, I've heard of warlocks doing that - so I'm offering. Take it. It's yours."
Magnus took Alec's hands cautiously. Alec was right about a warlock's ability to share strength, but he didn't seem to know the details; a warlock could only take the strength of someone who was compatible with them. Magnus had no clue if Alec would be compatible - to tell the truth, he didn't know if it was even possible for a Shadowhunter to be compatible with a warlock. But if Alec was offering, there was no reason not to try.
Magnus closed his eyes, invisible tendrils of magic curling around Alec and finding his strength. With a gentle tug, Magnus tried to pull it into his own body. For a second, Alec tensed and resisted, but then his body relaxed and a slow but steady stream of strength flowed from Alec to Magnus.
"It's working, isn't it?" Alec breathed. "I can feel it."
"It's working," Magnus confirmed, using Alec's strength to search for his stele, at the bottom of the river, and retrieve it. One of Alec's hands jerked up to catch the stele as it flew to him, dripping wet.
"Thank you," he murmured as he drew an iratze on his neck, healing his concussion. Magnus used another bit of Alec's strength to dry himself off, only feeling slightly guilty about it. The water still surrounded him and made his heart beat faster than it should, but as long as he himself wasn't wet, Magnus could concentrate a bit better.
Alec's strength bolstered Magnus and his magic - when Alec began feeling drained, he sketched a Strength rune on his forearm, which faded quickly but remained long enough to help. Alec grew paler and paler but showed no signs of being willing to give up; Magnus figured he ought to know his own limits, but also decided he'd cut him off if Alec didn't stop soon.
Then Valentine's ship exploded into a ball of fire and, before Magnus even knew what was happening, Alec broke the connection by throwing himself on top of Magnus, protecting him from the debris with his own body. Magnus could feel the tension in Alec's body, could feel every time he winced in pain, but Alec's grip was iron; he didn't move from his position on top of Magnus until the fire died down.
"Are you okay?" Magnus demanded the second Alec pulled back. He could see instantly that he wasn't; Alec's face was drawn and tight with pain.
"I just need an iratze," he replied in a strained voice, unlacing his gear to reveal his back, which was dotted with burns. Magnus watched him scrawl an iratze on his left shoulder. He hated that he couldn't draw it for him, but no one but a Shadowhunter could draw runes. Magnus watched the wounds begin to heal as Alec finished the iratze, letting out a sigh of relief.
"What do you think happened to the ship?" Alec asked. Magnus avoided looking at it; being on the water was bad enough, but looking at the reflection of fire on the water would only make his already-pounding heart go faster.
"No idea," he replied. "Shall we go back to shore now?"
They didn't make it all the way back to the shore before they met with another Shadowhunter boat, this one carrying Isabelle Lightwood, who immediately called for Alec to join them. Alec did, and Magnus called on reserves of strength he didn't know he had to help heal the most seriously wounded Shadowhunters before declaring that he was done, ignoring everyone who tried to get him to come back, and hopping in a cab back to his apartment in Brooklyn.
Magnus' apartment was dark when he entered it, which was utterly unacceptable; he only realized his hands were shaking when he tried to flip the light switch and it took him three tries. He changed his clothes - even if they were dry, they still smelled like the East River - and changed into his comfiest pajamas. Chairman Meow curled up into his lap as Magnus settled down onto the couch, wishing for the first time that he had regular television instead of channels linked to his magic. He didn't even have enough power to keep the TV running.
With every light on in the apartment and no hints of water anywhere, Magnus felt a bit better, but he was still exhausted and shaky in the aftermath of his panic, even if he hadn't actually allowed himself to panic at all. He jumped about three feet in the air when his phone buzzed, ignoring it for a minute before deciding that he ought to at least check it, just in case.
It was a short, simple text from Alec. thanks for saving me. Magnus looked down at it and smiled softly. Nephilim never thanked him for his services, and now Alec had done it twice.
The residual phantom chill of the water faded a bit as Magnus held his phone tightly, one hand buried in the Chairman's soft fur, and thought of what he and Alec would do the next time they were together.