Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N.: So I sat down to translate some texts of a History book from German to English and ended up writing this. What the hell, self?
Just to say it, I know Izzy didn't actually call Magnus when Alec was attacked by the Greater Demon in CoB, but hey, this is my story so I get to change up the facts as much as I want. Also, caution: Some CoG spoilers and, most importantly, be aware that I go from nerve-wrecking angst to tooth-rotting sweet fluff in about 0.173 seconds. You be warned!
Also, thanks to xTsukuyomii for editing.
V.
The telephone always rang at the most inopportune moments, Magnus mused. In this case, he had just run himself a wonderfully relaxing bubble bath and was already halfway in the tub when the loud, shrill noise of his phone disturbed his peace. He groaned, annoyed. Maybe he should contemplate establishing official business hours to ensure no one would ever disturb him again when he did not want to work, but then again, that would gravely constrain his flexibility and would complicate taking breaks and/or even long holidays on a whim. The second option was to unplug the phone altogether whenever he was off duty, but if he ever did that, he would probably not be very inclined to ever plug it in again, and now that would be detrimental for his income. Simply ignoring the call wasn't really an option, either, because only God knew how long it would take until the ringing would stop, and that would put a strain on his nerves that he didn't want to deal with. It might give him wrinkles, and he was so not having that.
Magnus snapped his fingers once and the item in question appeared in his hand. "I'm busy," he growled as soon as he'd picked up, fully indenting to hang up immediately, but the sobs of a vaguely familiar voice on the other end of the line made him hesitate.
"Magnus? Magnus, please, you have to come soon!" Now that the girl was actually speaking, he recognized her voice quickly. For a second he wondered just how exactly he and Isabelle Lightwood had gotten to first-name basis, but he pushed that thought aside, since, judging from the sound of her voice, this was not the time for lessons on manners and 'How To Behave Around Adults'.
"What? Did your little mundane friend get turned into a rat again?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Because I swear, if he did then-"
"It's not Simon," Izzy interrupted him. "It's Alec. He was attacked by a Greater Demon."
Magnus sat up so abruptly that his bath water almost spilled over. A second later, he was already out of the bathroom, hastily throwing on some clothes and rushed out of the door.
He reached the Institute in record time and nearly knocked Isabelle over upon entering, only stopping to steady her when he realized that he needed her to tell him where Alec was and how he could get there. The Institute was a labyrinth for all those who didn't come here frequently and of course Magnus, being a warlock and all, did not belong to that category of people.
Luckily, Isabelle Lightwood seemed to have the same thoughts. "Follow me," she rasped, taking hold of his arm and dragging him along as she raced down the corridors. It was one of those times when Magnus told himself again that he had to do more workout, because he was so unfit it was embarrassing and maybe, just maybe, a bit more stamina would come in handy in the future. He nearly stumbled and knocked Izzy over again when she suddenly jerked to a halt in front of the door to the room that Alec was in – Magnus could tell because he could smell the stench of demon poison coming from the room. Bracing himself, he pushed the door open and walked quickly to the single bed that stood in the room. The sight made his gut clench – Alec lay there, under a thin blanket, completely motionless and paler than Death, although his face was twisted in pain.
"Very well then," he said once he'd regained his breath and composed his demeanour, "off you go."
The girl stared at him, puzzled. "What? But I-"
"No buts," Magnus said firmly, making a shooing gesture with his hand, "I need to concentrate, and I can't concentrate when I have a babbling nervous wreck looking over my shoulder. Out. And don't you dare disturb me."
Isabelle stared at him, her face completely void of emotion, but then turned around and walked to the door. She stopped once again, doorknob in her hand and asked, without looking at him, "Can you save him?"
Magnus rolled up his sleeves. "Sweetheart, I'm not the High Warlock of Brooklyn for nothing. Now shoo. Go and play with your...well, I suppose puppies won't work. Whips, maybe?" He cautiously peeled back the blanket to inspect the wound, ignoring the Nephilim's glare. "Let me work my magic. I'll update you as soon as I've finished. Out."
He didn't pay heed to the soft steps and the sound of the door clicking shut at all as he bent over Alec and grimaced. The damage was worse than he'd thought, but it wasn't so much the deep wound in Alec's chest that worried him, but rather how far the demon poison had spread already. It was a wonder the boy wasn't writhing in pain, even though he was unconscious. The Shadowhunters had probably given him a lot of painkillers, which was frankly the only reasonable thing they could have done, since it at least kept him immobile. The whole healing ordeal would have been a lot more complicated if he'd had to worry about restraining Alec, too.
Magnus took a deep breath and began to weave his spells.
Half an hour later, he collapsed onto a chair that he had only just managed to conjure up before he would've hit the floor. Magnus grimaced. He absolutely hated the feeling of being drained of his energy. Healing Alec had taken more effort than he would have suspected, but at least he had managed to do it; the boy would be perfect save for the big scar that would remain in the middle of his chest, which was a small price to pay when surviving the attack of a Greater Demon.
Rubbing his eyes, he thought that he should probably get up and inform Isabelle that her brother would be alright. Magnus hauled himself up and staggered towards the door. He had the sneaking suspicion that he was swaying more than when he was completely shit-faced and that by tomorrow he would entertain the worst headache ever. Lovely. He stuck his head outside and sure enough, Isabelle Lightwood was sitting on the floor in front of the room, just like he had suspected, and jumped to her feet as soon as she heard the door creak. She opened her mouth to speak but Magnus cut her off before she could even utter a single word. "Yes, he will be fine, no, you cannot come in because he needs rest, yes, I will stay to watch over him and make sure his condition stays stable." With that, he shut the door in her face again and trotted back to his chair.
At some point, he must have given in to his exhaustion and fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew was that there were sunrays obnoxiously streaking over his face, disrupting the comfortable darkness that had surrounded him earlier. Magnus blinked a few times to clear his vision and immediately focused his look on the Shadowhunter on the bed.
A pair of blue eyes stared back. "Magnus?" Alec sounded incredulous. "Magnus Bane?"
"Guilty as charged," Magnus grinned slightly.
"What are you doing here?"
Magnus shrugged. "Well, apparently you decided it would be fun to let yourself be half-devoured by a Greater Demon, but neither your sister nor I agreed with this sentiment. You made quite a mess in the front hall, too. It will take more than just a bottle of acid to get that stench out." Magnus wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"You healed me."
"And ruined one of my best shirts in the process," Magnus added, holding up his sleeve for proof. He had splattered a bit of demon poison on it last night, and now there was a gaping hole in the fabric. "It was Armani, too," he continued, looking sad, "You'd better appreciate that."
Alec blinked, confused, and Magnus could tell he had no idea what he was talking about. Hell, he had probably never heard of Armani before. What a shame. Magnus would put ten thousand dollars that the boy looked even more adorable when he wasn't wearing holey, black sweaters that hid his delicious body.
"You know, I'm really disappointed that you didn't call."
Alec blushed a furious shade of red. "I didn't think you meant it," he murmured almost inaudibly.
"I always mean what I say, muffin," Magnus said, inspecting his perfectly manicured nails. "The offer still stands, if you ever feel up to it." He heard light footsteps approaching, and, guessing that Isabelle had come to check on her brother and would not let herself be sent away again, got up. "I'd better get going before I have to witness some sappy family reunions scene. Try not to get yourself into trouble again, okay? I mean, you do look positively edible and I can totally understand why that demon wanted to take a bite, but really, if you want some demon to nibble on you, you can just come to me," he winked.
Alec turned an even darker shade of red and choked on his spit.
IV.
The night surrounded, wrapping in a perfect cloak of utter darkness and silence. Alec shuddered. He usually wasn't afraid of the dark, but this night, with the thick fog hanging between the trees of the park, the atmosphere was kind of eerie. He had decided to take a walk to clear his mind and just get away from everyone – especially form Jace who, now that he had found out that Clary was his sister, was in a worse mood than usual and kept lashing out at everything and everyone who came too close.
Alec stopped abruptly when he heard the sound of a branch breaking behind him and reached for the seraph blade he kept on his belt. Then the sound of someone whistling reached his ear and he relaxed. It wasn't a demon.
"My, my, look who it is. I see you finally discarded your crutches."
Alec's eyes widened and he whirled around. "Magnus?" he asked, surprised. The warlock was the last person he'd expected to meet. "What are you doing here?" He had the strangest feeling of a déjà vu – as far as he remembered, those were exactly the words that had come out of his mouth the last time he'd seen the downworlder. God, Magnus must think he was incredibly dumb.
Amusement played around the corners of his mouth and mischief glistened in Magnus eyes as he replied. "Would it be creepy if I said I followed you?"
"...Yes."
"Oh well then. In that case I didn't follow you." Magnus grinned now.
Alec frowned.
A giggle escaped Magnus. "You are so easy to mess around with. Don't worry, darling, as cute as you are, I don't have stalker tendencies. I had a job hereabout and am just on my way home." He cocked his head to the side. "Accompany me? You can protect me from the big bad demons."
Alec smiled despite himself. "What, are you afraid of the dark?" he teased.
"No, but it's the least you can do to make up for the fact that you still haven't called me."
The smile dropped. "I – I didn't have your number."
"I am in the phone book, you know," Magnus said. "And you know where I live."
"I'm sorry," Alec apologized. "I was busy and I – well. But I wanted to. Call you, I mean. I still haven't thanked you for saving my life."
"You're welcome. I do hope, though, that thanking me wasn't the only thing you wanted to do," Magnus grinned as he fished for his key. Alec hadn't realized they had already reached his apartment.
He blinked, confused. "What else should I want to do?"
"Well, I was hoping you felt the urge to be ravished again." Magnus laughed as Alec blushed and spluttered like a little kid. "Come on up," he said, opening the door, completely ignoring Alec's discomfort and embarrassment, which was probably a good thing, because Alec felt constantly embarrassed when he was around the warlock.
"Coffee?" Magnus asked and gestured him to sit down.
"Black, please."
Magnus shot him a vaguely amused look. "Figures."
"...Huh?"
"Never mind." Magnus snapped his fingers and a cup of steaming hot coffee appeared in front of him. "So, what hav-"
The warlock was interrupted crudely when, all of a sudden, a tiny white, furry ball shot past him and, with a screeching sound, pounced on his and dug his claws into the Nephilim's skin. Alec yelped and unsuccessfully tried to peel the little demonic creature off him, only to have it bite his hand and not let go, regardless of how hard Alec tried to shake it off, until Magnus grabbed the creature's neck and pried it off him.
"Chairman Meow!" Magnus scolded indignantly, lifting the furry ball up so that it was face to face with him. "Behave yourself. Just what has gotten into you?"
Alec blinked, rubbing his aching hand. "Chairman Meow?" he repeated. "That is you cat?" He examined the animal closer. "That's not a cat," he said, finally. "It's the size of a hamster."
Chairman Meow hissed viciously. "Tsk tsk," Magnus made. "That's not very nice."
"Are you talking to me or to your pet?"
"Both of you, actually. It's not very nice of you to insult my cat, and neither is it nice of you" he shot Chairman Meow a stern look, "to attack my guest. If you don't cease this insupportable behaviour immediately, I feel impelled to lock you in the bathroom."
The cat hissed once more but otherwise stopped squirming and, when Magnus set him down, stalked out of the room with his nose held high, which was presumably supposed to look arrogant and superior but, since he was so small, only made Alec snicker. That is, until Chairman Meow turned to give him one last death glare that made him shut up immediately.
"By the Angel, this cat is diabolic." Alec mumbled as he looked down on his hand. "Ow."
Magnus made a strange noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a couch and Alec realized he was trying to contain his laughter. "I can't believe you just got bested by my hamster-sized cat. Aren't Shadowhunters supposed to be able to deal with more dangerous creatures than him?" Seeing the annoyance on Alec's face, Magnus decided to drop the teasing for a while. He sat down next to the Nephilim and took his scratched and punctured hand. He had to admit, Chairman Meow had done quite a bit of damage here. "Let me kiss it better?"
Alec blushed furiously, but made no move to withdraw his hand. He did tense ever so slightly, though, when Magnus's lips ghosted over the wounds, using a bit of his magic to heal the cuts. When he had finished he looked up to examine Alec's face; nervousness and slight embarrassment were clear on his face, but he didn't look repelled, so Magnus decided to just go for it and, before Alec could realize what he was planning, pressed his lips to his.
For a second, Alec just sat there, immobile, thinking that maybe he'd had a heart attack or a stroke that impeded him to move. Then it occurred to him that no, that hadn't happened at all, and that Magnus was probably waiting for any kind of reaction. Tentatively, Alec started kissing back and his eyelids fluttered close. Magnus smiled against his mouth, practically glowing with delight.
Alec was very close to forgetting pretty much everything around him when suddenly a loud bang jerked him out of his thoughts. He pulled back and gave Magnus a confused look when he saw that it was the kitchen door that had been slammed shut.
Magnus just grinned. "Chairman Meow is quite possessive of me," he explained. "But there is no way in hell I'm letting him interrupt us. The only one allowed to pounce on you is me now."
"I-"
"You can thank me later for saving you from my oh so vicious and dangerous pet," Magnus chuckled. "Right now, I know how you can put your pretty mouth to a better use."
And so it was.
III.
Most people didn't know it, but the cat eyes weren't the only resemblance Magnus had to his favourite animals. For example, there was also the unnatural grace with which he moved, as well as his arrogance and his desire of freedom, which were known to be the character traits mostly attributed to felines.
But most of all he absolutely hated water, unless it came out of his shower head.
He seriously didn't know where his aversion to water originated from, but his first guess would always be that the experience of his father trying to drown him in a puddle of muddy water contributed to it. It had been eight hundred years, and still he could remember the feculent and slightly metallic taste of the water filling his mouth and sticking on his tongue. This was why he usually avoided going near water and one of the reasons why he felt pretty uncomfortable on the swimming truck he was currently standing on. It had taken Magnus almost a century to work up the courage to finally learn how to swim, and although he was generally glad that he could do it now (it was a soothing thought now that he was surrounded by water) he would rather be anywhere else. God, he'd even prefer the dungeons he was thrown into at some point during the fourteenth century.
But the truth was that there was no way Magnus Bane would ever move from the spot he was currently on, because Alec was fighting on this bloody ship with the other bloody Shadowhunters against those bloody demons, and if he weren't there to take care of the shields, they would all die. Personally, he didn't care about most of the Shadowhunters out there all that much, but as long as Alec was on that ship he wasn't going anywhere either.
He was still pissed at the blue eyed Nephilim for not being man enough to tell his parents and/or siblings about their relationship (or, you know, at least that he was gay, that would've been a start), but all the anger vanished while he observed his boyfriend, keeping a close eye on every move he made. Not for the first time since the fight had started Magnus wished he would be able to fight alongside Alec, to be closer to him, to be able to protect him. For a second he hated himself for being so stupid as to fall in love with a Shadowhunter in the first place. It wasn't exactly the safest job and he knew that Alec would be lucky if he made it to twenty-five, regardless of how good a Shadowhunter he was. The mere thought of losing Alec one day made his heart clench and twist in a way that, in all his eight hundred years of life, he had never felt before.
That was why, when he saw Alec jumping in front of Jace (stupid, stupid, stupid boy, why did he always try to save Jace?) and being knocked over the railing, falling into the cold water of the Hudson River and not surfacing again, he didn't hesitate to dive straight into the waters at all, not even for the fraction of a second.
II.
Alec felt numb as he walked through the streets of Alicante. Destruction was everywhere but he couldn't bring himself to care. In fact, he didn't even see most of it because he didn't watch where he was going. He had run into several people on his way, nearly knocking them over and hadn't even bothered to stop and apologize. He didn't care if they thought he was rude. He didn't really care about anything, not even to where he was going; he had no destination in mind. He was walking just to get away, away from his family, away from the terrible image of Max lying lifeless on the ground that wouldn't leave his mind.
Everyone had a different way of dealing with their pain, their loss, Alec guessed. Isabelle had locked herself in her room, sobbing loudly, refusing to come out or let anyone in until Simon had showed up. Jace had disappeared to God knew where (Alec supposed he'd gone to see Clary – Clary would always be the person he'd go to first) and his parents...well, he didn't even know where his parents were. Frankly, he didn't care all that much. Alec knew that he should've been there with them and Isabelle, trying to support each other, sharing and carrying each other's pain, but he couldn't. He simply couldn't do it. Seeing his sister cry made his heart break even more, and he didn't have the strength to hold her. He couldn't be the strong one who would get his family through all of this He didn't want to be. He wanted to break down and cry and be held and be told that it would be okay, although it would never be.
But he, unlike Jace and Isabelle, had nowhere to go to. Magnus had left Alicante temporarily with the Book of White to heal Jocelyn – he didn't even know Max was dead. He didn't know how much Alec needed him right now.
Alec had never felt so hollow in all his life. He wasn't even sure whether he would be able to cry. It was like there was nothing left inside of him. Only a few minutes ago, he had felt like throwing up, but even when he retched nothing was coming up. He was tired, tired to the bone, but he couldn't sleep, because as soon as he shut his eyes he saw Max again, and he couldn't, he just couldn't –
A broken sob escaped his throat. Alec stumbled and tried to steady himself on the nearest wall as he fought down the new wave of nausea that swept over him. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Alec was just about to turn around and tell whoever it was to leave him the fuck alone when the distinct and familiar scent of burnt matches and cinnamon reached his nose.
Magnus.
The warlock didn't ask any questions; Alec assumed that he had heard about everything before he came to look for him. He just wrapped his arms around him and mumbled into his ear, "Come." Alec let Magnus lead him away. Alec didn't register where to; all the time, he kept his face buried in the warlock's shirt, successfully blocking out the world. It wasn't until Magnus led him into a small room and helped him lie down on the narrow bed and crawled under the sheets next to him that the tears began to run down his face.
Magnus held him through the night, a constant, soothing warmth beside him, picking up the shattered pieces and putting them back together.
I.
Alec's back hit the wall before he could even blink, and merely a split second later he found himself staring into very familiar green-gold cat-eyes that were glistening with anger and something else he couldn't really identify.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Magnus snarled, and Alec thought that he had never seen the warlock so worked up over anything. Not even when he'd found out that Alec had a crush on Jace. Not when Chairman Meow had puked into this newest designer shoes, or when Alec had accidentally put his 200 $ Dolce shirt into the drier, thus causing it to shrink down to a size that would only fit Magnus's tiny cat. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
Alec could only stare at him incredulously, because clearly it wasn't him who had lost his mind but his boyfriend. "Magnus," he began slowly, as if talking to a small child, "you just almost ripped your ex-girlfriend's head off and you're asking me whether I have lost my mind?"
"In case you didn't notice, she was trying to kill you."
"She was about to Change me," Alec contradicted steadily. "Which was what I wanted her to do."
Magnus' chin dropped. "Why on earth would you want her to turn you into a vampire?" he asked. Then Alec could see the comprehension dawning on him. "This doesn't have anything to do with your stupid idea that we cannot be together because you are mortal and I am not, does it? Please tell me it doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Why?" Alec asked, hurt. "Why would you not want me to become immortal? Is the prospect of spending eternity with me not good enough? Not exciting enough? Not enough diversion, is there? I'm just going to annoy and bore you in a few years, so it's better if I'm mortal and you don't have to worry about ditching me, because I'm going to die anyway and then you'll be free again?"
All that could be seen on Magnus' face was utter shock. "You aren't really thinking that, are you?" he inquired and clamped his hand over Alec's mouth before he could reply. "You stupid, stupid Nephilim." He sighed. "Really, I ought to lock you in my bedroom and never let you out again in order to protect you from your own stupidity. Just to tell you once again, since you clearly didn't listen all the other times I told you, I love you and of course I'd want to spend eternity with you. And if there is something that comes after eternity, I'd want to spend that with you, too. We will find a way, I promise, but I will not watch while you throw away your principles and everything you are and let yourself be bitten by a vampire just to be with me. And not just any vampire, no, on top of that it had to be Camille!"
"What's wrong with Camille? And what's wrong with being a vampire? Simon obviously copes pretty well."
Magnus shook his head. "Firstly, a vampire is pretty much exactly the opposite of what you are now, and I know you'd eventually hate yourself for being what you've become. Plus, I can't imagine you'd be thrilled to only be able to walk around during the night. And Camille – do I really have to lecture you about Camille? Even you can't be that naive as to trust her."
Alec shot him a weak glare. "She used to be your girlfriend," he pointed out. "I figured that if there was any vampire I could trust, it would be her. She'd do it for you."
Magnus snorted. "She'd suck you dry and leave you to death, that's what she would do, just to toy with me."
Alec swallowed audibly. "So-"
"So it's decided. No more going out for you alone when I can't watch over you to make sure you don't do something incredibly moronic," Magnus said decisively and swept his hand over the thin scratch on Alec's neck, the only proof that he had almost been bitten by a vampire only minutes prior. Blue sparks escaped from his fingertips and the wound disappeared.
"You just want an excuse to keep me in your bedroom."
A sly grin crept over Magnus' face. "Oh sweetie, I don't think I need an excuse for that." He sobered immediately, though. "I mean it, Alexander. Promise me you'll never do this again. I can't always appear out of thin air when you need me."
"Can't you? You're making a pretty damn good job until now," Alec joked weakly.
"Alexander."
"Right." He inhaled deeply. "No more trying to get bitten by a vampire. I promise."
Magnus shot him a stern look. "...I think I'll have to extend this vow later, but right now I can't think of any other methods you might try to get your way. Be aware that I will be very, very, very upset, though, if you ever do something even remotely akin again. Don't try anything that I do not approve of. I promised you we'd find a way, and we will. Just don't go off on your own and take the matter in your own hands, because you have the craziest ideas ever that will only get you killed. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Good." Magnus took his hand and interlaced their fingers. Alec stared at their connected hands for a moment, thinking about how much he wanted to hold Magnus' hand forever and then pushed the thought far away for the time being. If Magnus said they'd find a way, then he would. Alec only hoped he would find a solution to their problem before it was too late.
0.
"No, Alec, don't-"Magnus exclaimed and reached out to stop him, dropping his glass in the process, but it was already too late – he had opened the door and the damage was done.
Alec felt his jaw join the broken glass on the floor (well, at least it would have if it had been biologically possible) as he stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. Then, making a strangled noise in the back of his throat, he hurried to slam the door shut again.
"- not to open the door."
"What?" he asked dumbly. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. I was too busy screaming in my head."
"I said, I told you not to open the door," Magnus repeated patiently. He frowned. "Are you alright? You are turning green."
"I want to puke."
Magnus' lip twitched in wry amusement. "Please make sure to miss my boots. They're brand-new and very expensive."
Alec decided to not point it out that Magnus never paid for anything. "Or do you have some acid?" he asked. "I need to cleanse my brain of that...that..." Alec failed to find a word for what he had just witness. "Urgh."
Magnus was laughing now. "This, my dear," he said, "is why you do not open closed doors yourself. You wait till the person inside opens it."
"But I needed to talk to Jace and – and I knocked and he said 'yes' and- urgh." Alec grimaced. "How was I supposed to realize that he and Clary were – are – going at it?"
"Just a tiny tip for the future: whenever both Jace and Clary are missing, don't go looking for them," Magnus chuckled. "At least not in one of their bedrooms. Really, Alec, you ought to have known better. A closed door is usually closed for a reason."
"I hate you," Alec murmured. "How can you laugh about this? I just walked in on my brother having sex. I will be mentally scarred forever. This is even worse than walking in on Izzy and Simon. I'll never be able to look him in the face again. "
"Wait – you walked in on your sister and the Daylighter, too?"
"Don't remind me of it, please. It bad enough as it is." Alec buried his head in his hands and groaned. "Oh God! Can you make me forget this, like you did with Clary?"
"Sorry, darling," Magnus flicked his hand, "not a chance. I quite like the thought of you never looking at Jace again. Also, you brought this on yourself. I did warn you not to open the door."
"I hate you," Alec repeated weakly.
"And just think that it could have been worse – just think about what it would have been like if you'd walked in on your parents-"
"Magnus!" Alec wailed. "Stop putting mental images in my head."
"Sorry, love. I couldn't resist."
A/N.: I suppose you didn't really expect that last one. Well, neither did I. I did play to 'kill' Alec, but then...well. My mind works in strange way. Anyway, reviews are lovely and inspire me to write more. So just hit the shiny button, don't be shy, we all know you want this!