Alec whimpered as Magnus wiped his forehead once again. His small cold had escalated into a full-blown fever in a couple of hours, something, which was starting to seem suspicious, as Magnus, would not let him leave. He couldn't even heal himself, having left his stele behind when he had stormed out of the Institute, earlier in the day. Magnus had immediately bundled Alec into his bed once he had realised how ill the teen actually was, despite Alec's attempts to downplay it. The warlock had even refused to take him back to the Institute, something that secretly thrilled Alec; it was rare for someone to be so protective of him, he was usually protecting others. Not that he was going to let Magnus know that.
"Silly, silly Shadow hunter," Magnus mock-scolded, "Spending all day in the rain,"
"Looking for your cat," Alec rasped in annoyance, trying, and once again failing to sit up.
"I'm sure Chairman Meow is very grateful, Alec. But no matter how cute you look, all bundled up, I can't stand seeing you ill," Magnus brushed a strand of dark hair out of Alec's eyes, smoothing it down onto the pillow.
"Let me go home then," Alec moaned, "I'm only going to make you ill, Magnus, and my parents will be home soon,"
"Alec, from what you told me the last time you were semi-sensible, your parents aren't due home for another week."
Alec blushed, though it was lost on his already flushed face.
"And I'm an all powerful warlock," Magnus continued, lying down next to the Shadow hunter, "I am not going to catch your cold,"
Alec started to protest again, but Magnus merely pulled him close and began to rub circles on his arm. The heat of the warlock and the repetitive motion soon lulled Alec to sleep.
***********
Alec woke a few hours later, completely disorientated. He tensed when he felt the body pressed against his own; an arm wrapped loosely around his waist, but relaxed when he remembered it was only Magnus. Alec blushed, thankfully unnoticeable in the dark. He'd fallen asleep at Magnus's flat before, but usually, Magnus slept on the couch, despite his protests otherwise. It was actually quite comfortable, he realised and blushed harder. Alec realised that Magnus hadn't woken with him and, that while he still felt a little ill, it wasn't as bad as before, and began to plot.
It took the young Shadow Hunter a while to untangle himself from Magnus, the slim warlock was deceptively strong, and once he had, he slipped quietly from the room. Finding a scrap of paper, Alec scrawled an apology, which he pinned to the fridge with a neon magnet. Satisfied, Alec began to sneak out of the room, not daring to turn the light on for fear of waking Magnus. Unfortunately, his caution proved to be his downfall, quite literally as he tripped in the dark. Chairman Meow began to wail, even as Alec shushed him from an ungainly heap on the floor. He stiffened as he heard Magnus stir in the bedroom, then closed his eyes in defeat as the light flickered on overhead.
"Alec?"
Magnus emerged from the bedroom, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them.
"What are you doing?"
Alec didn't answer, but the note on the fridge negated the need. Sighing, Magnus crouched down next to Alec, pulling him into his arms.
"I'm sorry," Alec whispered, unable to meet the warlock's eyes.
"Me too,"
Magnus pressed his lips to Alec's head, and then rested his chin on the younger boy's hair.
"I forgot. You're not used to this…I mean…if you need some space…"
"NO," Even with half a voice, Alec was still loud. "I'm not leaving you, not properly." He croaked, "I just…I don't know what I'm doing anymore."
The pair sat in comfortable silence for a while, until the chill of the kitchen tiles began to affect them. Shivering, they made their way back into the bedroom, burying themselves under the thick blankets, Alec no longer shy. After a while, however, Alec realised that Magnus was still shaking and leaned over the older man.
Magnus was deathly pale, beads of sweat dotting his forehead, his teeth clenched tightly together.
"Magnus?" Alec whispered, placing his hand on the warlock's cheek, feeling the heat instantly. "I knew you'd get ill," Alec groaned, rolling out of bed and searching for the medicine he had been taking only hours ago.