In the months that follow Jace's departure, demon attacks increase tenfold. Like, literally tenfold. Alec's not even exaggerating. They've increased patrols from weekly to twice daily, meaning any free time Alec has is essentially when he's asleep. He usually spends it with Magnus, curled up on his couch, alternating between sneaking kisses and stealing whatever snack Magnus has. The warlock always ends up summoning snacks for Alec anyways, but it's nicer to share.
Tonight's one of those nights. They're settled on the couch, not watching Sleepless in Seattle, and eating pizza. They've ordered an "everything" pizza, because Alec likes them, and Magnus ends up picking half his toppings off, claiming he hates them, even if Alec knows it's for him to steal. Magnus is somehow under the impression Alec doesn't get enough to eat.
"I have to ask you something," Alec asks, voice muffled due to the million blankets they're nestled under.
"You can have the olives too, if you like," Magnus replies, sounding sleepy. He chuckles under his breath at something Meg Ryan says. Alec rolls his eyes.
"No, it's something serious," he starts, not knowing how to ask. Magnus gives him an incredulous look.
"Alexander, no matter how much I adore you, I'm not giving up the mushrooms. I actually like those," he says sternly. His voice does nothing to dampen the twinkle in his eyes that lets Alec know that if he really wanted the mushrooms, he could have them.
"It's about the Institute. The wards need updating. There was an… attack the other day." At that, Magnus sits bolt upright.
"What do you mean, attack? Is everyone okay? Clary? Isabelle?" Panic pours into his voice fast, and his body tenses, as if preparing for a fight.
"Everyone's fine," Alec quickly assures him. "Izzy and Clary actually make a really good team. They managed to keep everything under control. It was a couple shax demons."
"Ah, well, those girls are as tough as they look. Can it wait until morning?" Magnus asks, even though he's already moving to get up, and, in the process, jostling Alec.
"It can wait." He snakes an arm around Magnus and pulls him close. Izzy might call it snuggling. Magnus kisses him softly, slowly, and it's enough to make him forget the demon problem. The way Magnus cups his jaw makes him forget his own name.
The night goes on like that, slow kisses and cuddles until they fall asleep, cozy in each other's arms. Alec's never been so content.
Morning comes around way too fast for either of them, but eventually, Alec has to drag Magnus off the couch, telling him they both have somewhere to be. Finally, Magnus concedes, and with a snap of his fingers, puts the living room to rights. Then, he goes to get ready, waving Alec on ahead of him, claiming he needs time to put on his face. Alec restrains himself from calling him beautiful regardless of the makeup, and heads out, sending Izzy and Clary a quick text.
TO CLARY and THE BEST SISTER ON THE PLANET: Headed back. Be there in a few.
FROM CLARY: Okay! See you soon
FROM THE BEST SISTER ON THE PLANET: Naughty boy ;) can't believe you spent the night!
Alec rolls his eyes at his sister's message. One day, he's going to get around to changing her name in his phone. Preferably something rude. He'll think of something once they have Jace back.
True to his word, Alec shows up at the Institute fifteen minutes later. He's gotten good at maneuvering the city, now that he's out and about for something other than patrols. He runs into Max on his way in, making him smile.
"Hey, Max," Alec says, stooping to gather his little brother in a quick hug. Max smirks up at him.
"How was sleeping over at your boyfriend's?" Alec knows Max doesn't mean it that way, he's too innocent to, but he colors just the same.
"You get nosier and nosier every time I see you," he mumbles. Max follows him deeper into the institute.
"Can I help with the wards today?" he asks, flashing his best smile at Alec. Lesser men would've crumbled, but Alec's used to the cute little boy routine.
"Can we trust you not to start any forest fires?" Alec shoots at him. Max scowls up at his brother.
"When is everyone going to just let that go already?" Alec grins at him, pats his cheek, and leaves him with a textbook to study before going to find his mother and the girls. They're huddled around the main computer, tracking demon attacks. They seem to be maintaining a radius around the Institute, but it gets smaller and smaller with every attack. This last attack is an anomaly, because the way they've been progressing, they shouldn't breach the Institute for a few more attacks, at least. So far, they've deduced they're building a demon army, and these attacks are meant to isolate the New York branch, cut them off from Idris.
All magical communication is down now, mainly because Maryse won't let Magnus help them. At least, she wouldn't, until this last attack. The demons somehow managed to sever most forms of communication during their attack, but the mundane channels weren't hard to salvage. They've been reduced to emails and phone calls, which is much slower than portal and instant magical messages.
The demons seem to be coating the city, stretching the shadowhunters thin. They diffuse random attacks all over the city every night, making it hard to do much else, including tracking Jace and Valentine. Days ago, they learned demon attacks have all branches surrounded, all over the world.
Hell has literally broken loose.
They know Valentine's after the rest of the Mortal Instruments, which gives them sort of an edge. Select few members of the Clave know where they're hidden, but no single person knows the location of them all. After the cup was taken, the Silent Brothers moved fast to hide the Mortal Sword. The mirror's lost, but no one can figure out if that's a good or bad thing.
Alec, Maryse, Izzy, and Clary all talk about this for a while, with the younger shadowhunters insisting they need Magnus to help secure the New York branch. Maryse's resolve is slowly, but visibly, crumbling. After an hour of intense arguing, Maryse finally concedes. True to the Lightwood name, she does it dramatically, by flinging her arms into the air and crying she doesn't understand her children any more. No one cares, really, because they've finally gotten permission to get Magnus's help. Not that it mattered, considering he was coming over anyways.
Maybe fifteen minutes after Maryse agrees, Magnus shows up in his usual dramatic flair, dressed in a shimmery suit. Alec can't exactly tell what color it is; it swirls from blue to green to purple.
"Hello, Maryse," he says, voice cold and sharp. Maryse scowls at him in response.
"The wards need redone, Bane." With that, she turns on her heel and stalks out of the main hall. Alec keeps his straight face on until his mother leaves, then he breaks into a smile.
"What's got your mother in such high spirits today?" Magnus asks, with a wicked looking smile. Maybe Alec shouldn't be in the same room as Magnus, because he can't really keep his concentration when Magnus is strutting around, looking as good as he does.
"Considering Alec can no longer speak, we have to go look at the wards," Izzy interjects, just as Alec opens his mouth to say something. He glares at his sister, incredulous. Magnus chuckles, a low, rich sound. Heat rushes into his cheeks. He can't believe, after all this time, he still acts like a goddamn schoolgirl anytime he and Magnus are out in public.
They make their way outside, when Magnus winces.
"These wards are weak! Why didn't you call me earlier?" he demands. He launches into the magic immediately.
"Everyone get ready. There's a good chance this much magic will attract demons." Everyone tenses, and Izzy calls in everyone at the Institute to back him up. All ten shadowhunters show up, clutching Sherpa blades and any other weapons in their arsenal. Clary calls Simon, and Magnus takes a minute to call Raphael. The two vampires are hesitant around each other; Raphael still hasn't totally forgiven Simon, but he's been allowed back into the hotel.
Hours pass, and Magnus is still muttering under his breath, blue light emanating from his palms. Night settles, and the woods rustle with activity. Nothing's made itself present yet, but everyone's gearing for a fight.
Just as the wards are finished, demons rush out at them. The sheer volume of demons is overwhelming, but the months of fighting propel them into action. Everything's a blur of arrows and blood, and Alec is on autopilot. Spot demon, notch arrow, aim, and fire. Repeat until clear. Alec's lost in his haze of battle, until he hears a cry.
He whirls around to find Raphael, propping a bleeding Magnus up, hissing at all the demons in sight. Blood seeps from Magnus's side, staining his pretty suit dark red. Alec stands, frozen, staring in horror. Magnus looks up at him, features twisted in pain.
Suddenly, Alec's moving, fast. He reaches Magnus and Raphael the same time Simon does, a snarl on both their faces.
"What happened, Raph? Are you okay?" Simon demands. Alec notices, just now, that Raphael is also injured. Alec reaches for Magnus, holding him tight to staunch the bleeding a little. Raphael stumbles back, but Simon is quick enough to catch him.
"We're getting you out of this," Simon tells him, voice sharp and demanding. There's an edge of panic to it, however, which Clary can somehow sense, because she rushes over immediately.
"What happened?" she cries. Izzy runs over as well, a blade in one hand and her whip in the other. She and Clary launch into action, covering them, while Alec and Simon get Magnus and Raphael out of the battle.
They make it inside the Institute, stumbling all the way. Raphael's mostly healed, thanks to his vampirism. He straightens enough to help Alec get Magnus inside, something Alec deeply appreciates. He gets Magnus on the nearest table and starts the basic first aid he knows.
"I'm going back out, to back Simon up," Raphael tells him. He rolls his neck, pops his fangs, and leaves, looking battle ready. Alec carefully clears as much blood as possible, as fast as possible. Then, he moves to wrap the wound best he can.
Everything feels surreal, like he's watching a medical show. It's not him helping Magnus. It's not his hands that stay steady. It's not his mouth pressed into a line so thin it all but disappears. It's not Magnus bleeding out. It's not the warlock's eyes fluttering open and shut every time Alec touches him. It's not his wheezing, rattling breath filling the room.
It's perhaps the worst thing he has ever heard in his life.
How is he still moving?
Alec watches as fake-him gathers Magnus into his arms and sprints to the med-room of the Institute. He observes fake-him hooking up an IV to fake-Magnus, to keep the volume of liquid in his body stable. The wheezing rattle eases slowly into ragged breathing, which is arguably a much better sound.
Simon, Izzy, Raphael burst into the room, as well as other people Alec only vaguely recognizes. They bat fake-Alec's hands away, and take over helping fake-Magnus.
Alec feels a little lost. Where's Magnus when he needs him, he'd know how to fix this.
Someone wraps their arms around Alec, but he can't tell who. Everything is fuzzy; all his sense dim. Sounds fade out, his vision blurs, and the smell of blood, high and coppery in the air, eases. The pressure around his middle disappears. Fake-Alec fizzles away, and real Alec's fading fast.
Then he hears it. Magnus. Real Magnus.
"Alexander, please," he says. That's all it takes. Magnus asks him to come back to him and so he does. Simple as that.
He's alive again, and it feels like he's in the middle of a battle, senses sharp and electrified. He can see everything in the room in perfect detail, can feel everything.
Izzy's hold, which he realizes belatedly isn't a hug, is easy to break once he's back. He rips away from his friends and into the throng of doctors surrounding Magnus. They're all shadowhunters, which scares Alec a little.
Okay, a lot. It scares him a considerable amount.
Enough to, apparently, cause a scene in the med-room, or so he's told by Izzy, who's simultaneously angry and amused. He doesn't exactly remember it, but he's told he punched a doctor. Luckily, Clary thinks it's sweet, that he'd cause what his mother is calling an embarrassment to the family name. She tells him as much, loudly.
"Too late to embarrass the family name," Alec counters, pointing to her neck, where the Circle mark used to burn. His mother slams her hand on a table, and Alec has to wonder, where she thinks he gets his so called theatrics from.
The little spat is broken up when a doctor comes up the pair, healer rune glaringly obvious on his arm. He asks for Alec to follow him, because Magnus has been asking for him. They make their way over to the med-room, where Magnus is settled on a bed, looking pale, but alive.
"Oh, Alexander, there you are," he says simply, as if he'd just been gone for a minute. Alec rushes over, throat closing, eyes stinging with tears.
"Are you okay? What did they do to you?" he demands, hands roving over Magnus, checking for anything wrong.
"I'm fine, Alexander! I just need a little magic. As soon as I get Catarina on the phone, I'll be fine," Magnus says, waving a hand flippantly.
"Where is Catarina? I'll get her," Alec says, reaching for his phone.
"In Tahiti somewhere, I don't know, there's a postcard around the apartment somewhere," Magnus answers, settling into his pillows. Alec sighs; at least Magnus is back to normal again.
"Let's go home, Magnus," Alec tells him, suddenly exhausted. It's taxing to be here, especially if Magnus is hurt. He has to get the warlock home, where he can take care of him. Magnus keeps a spa kit in his bathroom, stocked with masks, creams, and fancy soaps. Alec figures a relaxed and content Magnus will be easier to care for.
"Home?" Magnus raises an eyebrow at him, but Alec won't back down. He means what he said. The apartment feels more like home than anywhere he has ever been.
"Yes, home. Come on, let's get you up." Alec carefully slips an arm under Magnus's back and pulls him up gently. Magnus raises an arm, as if to conjure a portal, but Alec bats it away.
"Oh, please, you almost died. We're taking a cab."