This was originally written for Sickdays on Tumblr and someone had asked me to write a sick Alec. An opportunity presented itself in the form of a prompt called Sick at a party so here we go.
XxX
Alec Lightwood hates parties. Especially the ones Magnus hosts, because there are ten times too many people at all given times, not to mention the vast majority of them are downworlders. There are dozens of creatures he's been trained to kill, there are vampires and werewolves at each others' throats and there's way-too-loud music blaring from every direction.
Alec isn't a big fan of masses. Still, he dutifully attends every crazy event Magnus organizes if there isn't Shadowhunter business to take care of. Magnus loves his parties, so Alec decided along time ago to attend them, just to humor his rather eccentric boyfriend.
Tonight he's feeling it even less than usually. His head is throbbing to the beat of the music and he feels dizzy and lightheaded, but this is the one single time Jace, Jace of all people, actually wanted to go out (that may have had something to do with Isabelle and coercion, though) and it's not like Alec could ever stand the wide-eyed sad look on Magnus' face if he said he wouldn't be coming.
He hasn't been drinking. He hasn't. He doesn't drink at all by principle. He's fairly sure no one has had the opportunity to slip anything into his glass of soda he's been nursing for maybe an hour or two and still hasn't finished. He's not supposed to get sick, he's a Shadowhunter and that's just a big no, but the pounding in his head and the churning in his gut disagree.
He doesn't know where Magnus is. He doesn't know where Jace or Isabelle are, though that he can guess. Jace is most likely sulking somewhere because he's starting to realize the whole thing was a mistake and Izzy is probably having the time of her life on the dancefloor. Clary might be somewhere with the vampire being awkward, though the only reason that interests him even the slightest is because Clary usually happens to know where people - namely either Magnus or Jace - are. He'd really like to see Magnus right now. The room is getting too hot for him, way too hot, and he can feel the heat seeping through his skin to his burning organs.
Alec might be trained to do his job under basically any circumstances, but when he has to stifle a bubbling belch that brings the taste of bile with it, he gives up. He sets his glass down on a random surface and makes his way to one of the back doors, eager to get away from the noise and the heat and the people.
The cold air outside hits him hard along with all the smells typical to an alleyway. His stomach lurches, but all in all he can breathe better here. As the door slams shut behind him and muffles the oppressive clamor, he takes a lungful of air, blessed air and his head clears for just a second of all the haze and dizziness. Alec has that exact second to realize that everything he's done tonight has been a bad decision before the lightheadedness rushes back full-force and a wave of nausea washes over him. He shouldn't have come. He should have told Magnus. He should have stayed home, asleep, waiting for Magnus with Chairman Meow. He should have, should have and should have but he didn't, and now he's in some dirty alley behind a nightclub trying to keep his dinner in his stomach.
The wall behind him is unquestionably filthy, but he leans back anyway. He barely resists the urge to slide down - he's not that far gone, not just yet. He knows he's going to throw up at this point and he'd rather do it somewhere else than his own lap. He likes his jeans.
Alec tilts his head upwards and takes a deep, shuddering breath that ends in a burp. His fist quickly finds its way to his lips, and his other hand uselessly wipes his now clammy forehead. He tries to concentrate on his breathing, deep and steady, deep and steady, maybe he won't have to vomit. His stomach is swirling, though, but if he can just hold on until the nausea passes…
He's so focused on breathing that he completely misses the door opening and the noise increasing momentarily. Magnus moves quietly like his cat, so he goes unnoticed until he lays his hand on Alec's shoulder. Alec's head snaps down in a fraction of a second, his reflexes still in top form despite his current condition. He's made it back from missions way worse off.
The sudden movement is not kind to him, though, and as soon as he realizes it's Magnus and not a threat, he lets his knees buckle. Everything around him is spinning and swaying and swirling just like his stomach, and he closes his eyes as Magnus catches him.
"Alexander?" Magnus' voice is soft and careful, full of concern. He tries to get a look at Alec's face, hands and fingers scrambling and fumbling as he tries to simultaneously hold Alec upwards. "Are you alright?"
Magnus' jacket is softer than it looks, glitter and green velvet, and Alec rests his head on his shoulder for just a moment longer before moving his weight back to his own feet, shaky and reluctant. The look on Magnus' face is worried and it's obvious he's waiting for an answer to his question that Alec barely remembers anymore. He leans back against the wall and his stomach does another somersault.
"Y-yeah, sorry. Just… just dizzy. Sorry." Alec doesn't believe himself. He tries to, but the nausea disagrees. Magnus looks equally unconvinced.
"Are you sure? Alec, you look quite pale," he states, face inching closer to Alec's. His eyes are almost glowing in the darkness, alert and observant.
Alec is about to answer, something, anything, but he's cut off by a gag that has him doubling over. Magnus takes a step back, and Alec swallows convulsively. His mouth is starting to fill with saliva.
"Oh, Alec, dear, how long have you been ill?" Magnus crouches down next to his boyfriend who has now wrapped his other arm around his stomach.
"Like, I don't know, a few hours? Must've been someth-" Alec gags again, eyes squeezing shut. Magnus brings his hand to Alec's shoulder to reassure him, ground him, let him know he's there for him. Alec is shaking. "- something I ate," he finishes his sentence.
"And you didn't bother to tell me because…?" Magnus urges, his thumb starting to rub circles on Alec's shoulder. He has the basic idea of the answer he's going to hear.
"Because you had a party and I didn't want to let you down," Alec mumbles. Then he gags again.
"Alexander, we're going to have a long discussion about putting your own wellbeing above my whimsical activities when you're better."
They sit still for a moment, Alec control-breathing and gagging and belching and Magnus rubbing his shoulder and occasionally his back and shoulder blades, until one belch turns into a retch at the back of Alec's throat and brings up the sour taste of bile and stomach acid. He swallows in back down reflexively, but it's quickly followed by another. Alec leans forward a bit as a new wave of intense nausea surges through him. Briefly he thinks that Magnus looks way too accustomed to this whole thing (but then again he's lived for a few hundred years, he's seen a lot of things) before he feels something rising in his throat.
A hollow burp escapes his lips, followed by a wave of mostly liquids. The next is quick to follow, and soon comes third and he feels dizzy dizzy dizzy and Magnus' hand on his back is the only thing keeping him grounded right now. Vomit splashes onto his shoes.
He has no idea how long it's been when it finally stops, when his stomach is finally empty, but he's glad it's over. His head is reeling and he's sweating and shaking. He's also quite aware of Magnus and Magnus' hand sending warm waves through him, trying to make him feel better.
"Uh, thanks," Alec rasps, a little embarrassed but mostly just exhausted. He wants to sleep, curl up in their bed under soft covers and sleep. Magnus helps him up with a warm, kind of crooked smile.
"Let's take you home, shall we? I'm going to thoroughly clean those shoes, by the way." Magnus wrinkles his nose in a way that Alec would probably find adorable in any other situation.
"I fully support your idea."