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Chapter 2
Here he was, once again, a few days later, setting another vase full of flowers down on Magnus's doorstep. This time, they were tulips. And this time, there was a card.
The second Alec had purchased it, he had immediately felt regret. It was stupid. Cards were stupid. But Alec was trying his best to do this, to do it in a way that would seem sincere without having to actually do it in front of Magnus.
He had tried so hard to convey all his feelings of regret through that card, to show Magnus just how sorry he truly was, and he could only hope that it had come out the right way on paper. It had sounded good in his head, but he couldn't help and second guess himself.
He had half a mind to just grab the flowers and the card and just run for it, and pretend he had never been there. He couldn't, though. He somehow knew that this would help his cause, help Magnus see that he was really trying, though Magnus still refused to see him.
With how hard Alec was trying, there was no way Magnus could keep rejecting him. No way.
It was late, way past midnight, and Alec was more than tired. The Clave had Alec and the rest of his family searching every night for the past three weeks for a twelve-year-old rogue vampire that had somehow killed the head of the New York coven, Camille. They had orders to take her down the moment they found her, and they had yet to do that.
Alec wiped sweat from his brow, checking to make sure the card was in exactly the right spot at exactly the right angle before turning, breathing deeply, and heading down the long stairwell once again. He couldn't count the number of times his feet had touched these steps.
Tonight seemed different, somehow. Maybe it was because Alec was almost dead on his feet, so exhausted from weeks without proper sleep and hours upon hours of patrolling.
He could barely see in front of him anymore. He yawned and stretched, deciding to take a shortcut through a few back alleys to get back to the Institute. He figured with how tired he was now he would be able to get a decent amount of sleep once he arrived home.
He was only a block away from Magnus's apartment before it happened. Small, almost powerless demons came out of nowhere, their long bodies skulking through the shadows towards him. Any other time, this would be easy for him to handle on his own, but not today. He was too tired, way too exhausted, and his only thought was to run because there was no way he could win a fight against one of them in this state, let alone five.
He should have known better. He had been trained for so many years for moments like this.
He turned to run, turned his back to the demons and he knew that was a grave mistake. One of the demons lifted its long, barbed tail and whipped it against Alec's clothed back, ripping through the fabric like it was nothing. Shadowhunting gear was made for battle, yet this demon's tail somehow ripped right through it.
Alec cursed and grabbed the dagger at his belt. Whispering its name, he swung at the demon that had attacked him first, slicing through the thick meat of its tail. It howled and icor began oozing from its wound, splattering the ground beneath it. Alec raised the dagger and sliced down once more; ripping through the demon's head before it disappeared completely, leaving disgusting ooze in its wake.
The other four growled harshly and before he knew it, Alec was on the ground, hands grabbing at the demon on top of him whose jaws were snapping at him, trying its hardest to bite and wound. There was no one to help him, no one near enough to cry out for and Alec was blacking out, tired arms still straining to push the demons away.
He awoke in his own bed, eyes wide as he gasped and writhed, having awoken from a nightmare. Isabelle was at his bedside, looking down at him worriedly.
"What…?" his voice trailed off, hoarse and gravelly from sleep.
Isabelle stared down at him disapprovingly, though her hand reached out to push his long-ish hair back. "You shouldn't have gone to Magnus's apartment. It could have waited another day."
Alec shook his head, wincing at the feeling of his brain sloshing around. "No, I would have been fine any other time. I had let my guard down when I shouldn't have and…"
"You could have been killed by a bunch of lesser demons." Isabelle frowned, the sides of her mouth twitching as she fought a small smile. "Oh, what shame you would have brought upon our family! A Lightwood, killed by demons that little children could have fought off!"
Alec rolled his eyes and managed a small smile. "Haha, funny, Iz." Then he asked, puzzled. "How did I get back here anyway?"
The moment Isabelle spoke Alec could tell she was lying, but he didn't feel like bringing it up. He could live with the lie for now. "I took Jace with me to go find you. I figured since you had looked so tired and depressed that we could help cheer you up by dragging you away from Magnus's apartment and home for a cup of coffee when we found you like that…" Isabelle sighed. "You had a really deep cut across your back and a few bloody scrapes on your arms and torso but other than that you were fine. You probably passed out from exhaustion."
Alec nodded and lay back against his pillows, sighing. He still felt tired, but he doubted he could sleep. When Hodge had been there and Alec would have trouble sleeping, he would always bring him a cup of some herbal tea to help him calm enough to sleep.
He closed his eyes and turned onto his side, away from Izzy, wincing once again at the sharp pain in his back. Neither of them said anything for a while, and Alec almost thought Izzy had left the room before she started to speak.
"Why are you trying so hard" She asked, voice quiet and filled with an emotion Alec couldn't quite understand. "To win Magnus back?"
"Because I love him," Alec murmured, not even bothering to turn to look at her. "And I'm an idiot."
He must have fallen asleep because when he next awoke, he was alone, and a glass of herbal tea lay on his bedside table, steam rising from the mug in swirls. He drank it gratefully and lay back against his pillows, closing his eyes as he attempted to dream of a different time, when Magnus had taken him to Paris…
