Hey everyone! Wow. Just wow. I didn't expect to get so many follows and favorites in less than 24 hours. You all have spoken, so I am going to keep writing this story. Thank you to all of you that left reviews. I love to hear back from you guys.
Disclaimer: I have no legal rights here.
Warnings: I hope you don't need your heart(s) for anything. ALSO, CITY OF BONES SPOILERS!
"How did your talk with Magnus go?" Izzy asks her brother. After their adventure saving the Mundane from the vampires, they had all made it back in one piece, luckily. However, Alec was still recovering from his conversation with the warlock. He didn't have time to think on it earlier, but now that he's back in his room and everything is calm. And his sister is asking his the one question he doesn't want to hear.
"How do you think it went? He sensed my glamour and got rid of it. Then he freaked out on me and lectured me about how he's been waiting 300 years to meet me," Alec says, not looking at his sister. He had gone back to his room for some peace and to read a bit, but his sister barged into his room. He was trying to talk and read at the same time.
"Alec, you're my brother, and I love you, but Magnus is right. It's not good for either of you to be apart. You deserve to be happy," Izzy says, "Come clean to Jace. You don't have to tell him who the name is, but tell him you have it. That's the first step. He's your best friend. If you can't tell him, you're never going to get anywhere."
"What am I supposed to say 'Hey, Jace, I've been lying to you for five years. I do have a soulmate, but I burnt the name off my arm because I was scared?'"
"That'll do," Izzy smirks and stands up, "Well, I'm heading out. You two should talk." Alec is confused until he looks up and sees Jace. He glares at his sister as she leaves the room.
"Did you really burn your soul mark off?" Jace asks, walking over to his parabatai.
"Yes. Well, for the most part," Alec says.
"Why?" Jace asks, "And how does Izzy know about it? And more importantly, how did you manage to burn it off?"
"The burn rune. Every day, twice a day. For almost a month. Izzy walked in one day and gave me a better solution. A glamour rune and at the time, makeup. But her glamours have gotten better, so she stopped using the makeup," Alec ignores the first question.
"Can I see?" Jace looks at Alec, who flips over his arm. The skin looks mostly normal, aside from being permanently a little darker color and the many crisscrossing scars from the runes that were applied over and over, "It's too short for a Shadowhunter name."
"Why do you think I did it? It wasn't for kicks," Alec goes to retract his arm, but Jace's grip is steady on his arm.
"Are you going to tell me who it is? Or do I have to find out what Downworlder has a name that starts with an… M and ends with an e?"
"Jace, I'm not going to be with a Downworlder," Alec says, glad Jace is slower than his sister is.
"Why not? Who cares what people think? You're my best friend and you deserve to be happy. And if anyone gives you crap, they can deal with me."
"Jace…" Alec starts, but the blonde stands up.
"I'll talk to you in the morning. Really think about it, Alec. I'll help you find her. But you have to give me a name first," Jace leaves his room and goes to see Clary.
"Alec has a soul mark," he tells Clary.
"Really? How come I've never seen it?" Clary asks him, moving over on her bed.
"Because he tried to get rid of it," Jace says, "He covers what's left of it with powerful glamours."
"Did you see it?" Clary asks, "Is there much left?"
"First letter is an M and the last is an e. That's about all that's left. I want to find her," Jace says, "So, what exactly did Magnus tell you?"
"Well, my mother was lying about who my father is. Magnus didn't know, though. And he says my mom asked him to take away my memories. Also, there is nothing that can be done other than wait, which is frustrating. We need to find my mom. And get the Cup. But we can't do that until I remember something important."
"We just have to be patient, Clary," Jace says, "Maybe my name will show up on your arm soon, too."
"Does it really matter?" Clary asks, "We know we're soulmates. Isn't that enough?"
"I want to see it, though," Jace says, Clary lays down and Jace curls up to her, putting an arm around her middle.
"Imagine how Alec's soulmate will react to his arm. It's not going to be pretty. Hopefully Alec still gets a shot with the person," Clary says.
"I hope so. He deserves to be happy. He's been through a lot. He's always looking out for everyone else."
"Yeah, I suppose he is," Clary says. Obviously Alec hadn't told Jace who his soulmate is, so Clary keeps the truth to herself. Alec will tell Jace when he's ready and Clary is trying to get on Alec's good side. Still, Clary doesn't understand what Alec is so afraid of. Jace is his best friend. He wouldn't care, right?
"So, you really don't care who Alec's soulmate is?" Clary asks, "I mean, there has to be someone you wouldn't want it to be."
"As long as Alec is in safe hands and is happy, I don't care. I really don't. I don't know why he's hiding it from me," Jace sighs. The pair are quiet for a little while. Jace realizes Clary has fallen asleep and he closes his eyes, drifting off.
Magnus Bane had ended his party and kicked everyone out of his loft shortly after the Shadowhunters had left. They had been getting wild anyways. Plus, Magnus had no longer been in a party mood after he talked with Alexander.
Since then, he has used his magic to clean up his loft and is lounging on the couch, drinking He is wondering if he was too harsh on Alexander, but on the other hand, the Shadowhunter had literally burned Magnus's name off his arm. And in the month that he had done it, he never even stopped to think if he was overreacting. Magnus doesn't really blame Alexander, he blames the Clave. They are the ones that have trained the Shadowhunters to think Downworlders are below them and that the worst thing that could happen in your life is having a Downworlder name on your arm.
It hadn't been exactly easy for Magnus either, from day one. His mother had killed herself because of him and his step dad tried to drown him in a bathtub. It isn't even like Magnus can't pass as a human. There's only two subtle differences are his cat's eyes and his lack of a navel, but apparently that was enough for them.
Magnus discovered the Shadow World on his own when he was young. He was taken in by another Warlock and he learned the ropes. He had been taught about soul marks by the warlock when he had seen the older warlock's own mark. Magnus loved the idea and was excited for it to show up. Until it actually did.
Many, Many Years Ago
Teenaged Magnus Bane woke up one morning in his room. He is living with an older warlock who had been around for several hundred years now. Magnus is glad for the home and the education. He never really liked being on his own, so when he, lost and confused, stumbled on another of his kind, he was excited.
Magnus just happens to glance down at his arm and sees that there is now a name written on his arm. He doesn't even bother to read it before jumping out of bed and going to the kitchen, where his friend is.
"I've got my soul mark!" Magnus exclaims, then shoves his arm into the warlock's face.
"I can't read it if it's in my face," the warlock looks at Magnus.
"Right, sorry," Magnus rests his arm against the table and for the first time looks at the name. He doesn't pay much attention to the handwriting itself, he just tries to work out the name. He gets as far as the first name saying Alexander, before the warlock says something to him.
"You can't stay here anymore," the older warlock says, "Gather your stuff and leave." The warlock gets up and looks at Magnus, disgusted, and leaves his house, not wanting to even be in the same building as Magnus. Magnus stares at the door, confused, before walking into his room and packing his stuff into a backpack. He leaces the house and never looks back.
After several hours of walking, Magnus stops by a creek and sits down on the bank to rest. He looks at the name again. The Alexander part is obvious to him now, but he's struggling with the last name. He looks at it one letter at a time. L-i-g-h-t-w-o-o-d. Magnus freezes after he put the name together. No wonder the warlock had kicked him out. Compound last names meant Shadowhunters. And Shadowhunters had killed the old warlock's soul mate. Not only that, Shadowhunters are very mortal. Most only make it to their 30's at the latest. Who even knew if Alexander had been born yet or when he would be born. It could be centuries from now. And another thing: they hated Downworlders like Magnus. Magnus pulls his shirt sleeve back down over the name, knowing that it's something to keep to himself. Not only is it the case that he's meant to be with a Shadowhunter that he will ultimately lose to death, Magnus now pays attention to the fact that the name is male. People are narrow minded, especially Shadowhunters. Magnus isn't sure if he would rather Alexander be born soon or in the far off future.
It took Magnus a very long time to stop being the laughing stock of the Shadow World and become someone that is in a position of power. He's the High Warlock of Brooklyn now. Yet, looking at the name on his arm again, he may as well be that teenager looking at the name for the first time. It has taken him 300 years to meet Alexander, only to find out his name is, for the most part, gone from the boy's arm. Magnus is pretty sure he can fix that, but would Alexander even want that? Would he ever see the incredibly attractive Shadowhunter again? Magnus pours himself another drink and focuses on petting his cat, yet a warm pair of blue eyes are the only thing he can think about.
Magnus is surprised when several days later, none other than Isabelle Lightwood appear on his doorstep.
"I'm not really in a helping mood," Magnus says, "Go find another Warlock." He tries to close the door, but Izzy won't have it. She forces it open all the way.
"Your arm. Don't tell me it doesn't hurt right now because I know how it feels," Izzy says.
"What are you talking about?" The Lightwood girl isn't making any sense. Although, now that she said something, there is a pain in his arm, slowly getting worse in the exact spot that his soul mark is.
"Look, it's not my fault if your brother is further scarring himself. He made it quite clear he doesn't want to be with me. So do me a favor and leave me alone," Magnus says rudely.
"It's not him that's doing it! He's dying! A demon bit him. We need a Warlock to help him. Please help my brother. This is your chance. My brother may not be very warm to the idea of you, but saving his life might help with that," Izzy reasons with the warlock, who can't deny her logic. So, they both hurry back to the Institute and Magnus goes straight down to the infirmary.
"Everyone stay out of my way," Magnus says, walking briskly to the one occupied bed. He uses his magic to see just how bad it is, not at all realizing that he's in short sleeves. He's too busy trying to save Alexander to realize his mistake.
"Izzy, why did you go to Magnus?" Jace asks her quietly.
"We needed someone with a little bit stronger abilities than we have. Even your runes weren't working on him. This is the fastest way to save him," Izzy easily half lies to her adopted brother.
"I suppose you-" Jace looks up at Magnus and suddenly freezes, "Izzy, look at his arm."
"What about it? Jace, you know Alec actually has a soul mark. What's the problem?" Izzy asks.
"Not Alec's, Magnus's!" Jace exclaims, then crosses the room over to Magnus, already recognizing his Parabatai's name, "You knew, Izzy, didn't you?"
"Jace you have to -" Izzy starts, but Jace cut her off.
"I have to understand? Is this the big secret? Why is everyone keeping this a secret? What did Alec think I would do?" Jace says.
"To be fair, he wants nothing to do with me," Magnus looks up for a second, "But even Clary figured it out. Of course, I basically spelled it out for her."
"Clary knew? Why didn't she tell me?" Jace asks, "Great, the two people that can tell me anything didn't bother to tell me something important."
"Clary probably didn't want to do what I accidently just did," Magnus says.
"Can you fix his soul mark?" Jace asks, looking at his parabatai now, instead of the Warlock. He didn't care that Alec is meant to be with a warlock, or a male one at that. He wants Alec to be happy. And clearly Magnus cares about Alec or he wouldn't have come. But Magnus has had 300 years to accept all this and Alec has had the mark for 5 years, and has been too busy covering it up to even entertain the possibility.
"Probably," Magnus says, "I could also get rid of it completely and make it seem that it was never there. And then erase all your memories of it. But what I do, if anything, is Alec's choice, and only Alec's."
"I'm gonna go see what's taking Clary and Hodge so long," Jace says after a long silence in the room. The golden boy leaves the room and heads to the library, where Clary and Hodge are with the cup.
"You would really do that?" Izzy asks Magnus, who has finished healing his soulmate and is sitting on the other bed, having used up most of his strength.
"If that's what he wants, then yes, I will," Magnus says, "I've been in love with him for 300 years. And I thought when I met him, things would go differently, but they didn't. It's still my job to make him happy, no matter what the personal cost."
"Why?" Izzy asks him.
"The name on your arm. You've had it how long?" Magnus looks at her.
"About 4 years," she says, "Why?"
"How did it feel when you discovered it? How did you feel about the name?"
"I was happy that I had a soulmate. I knew it wasn't a Shadowhunter name. When my parents found out, they were a bit angry and disappointed. Alec didn't have a mark as far as they knew and I didn't have a Shadowhunter name. But I didn't care what they thought."
"And since then, the feeling towards that name have grown, haven't they? You hadn't even met him and you already knew you would do anything for him, right? Then meeting him was the best feeling ever, right? You would do anything for him, right?"
"Yeah," Izzy says, "Especially while he was a mundane. And it felt awful when he was dying. The pain in my arm as unbearable. Some people say that it's the same pain you feel when you lose your parabatai. Others say it's worse."
"You had feelings seeing that name constantly for 4 years. Imagine 300 years, looking at that name. Not knowing when or even if you'd meet that person. Immortality isn't always fun, but I've always had one thing constant in my life, no matter what was going on in the world.
"Alec's name," Izzy says quietly.
"Do you understand it now?" Magnus asks.
"But you'd be alone forever," Izzy says, "Do you really want that?"
"Of course not. But it's not like I haven't fallen in love over the years. I've been in plenty of relationships. With women and men. Vampires, werewolves, faeries, mundanes, you name it."
"But not any Shadowhunters," Izzy says.
"There is only one Shadowhunter I'll ever want to be with," Magnus says, "There have been offers, though. Curious Shadowhunters. I turned them down. I wasn't going to help them get back at people or 'experiment.'"
"Well, I'm rooting for the two of you," Izzy says, "Just give him time. He'll come around, I just know it."
"Thanks," Magnus says, then pauses, "Something isn't right. You might want to go check on your friends. I'll look after Alec." Izzy hurries off to find out what is going on.
Magnus find out later that Clary had found the Cup and gave it to Hodge, who turned out to be working for Valentine. The Circle leader had taken down the Institute's wards, allowing demons in. The Shadowhunters fought against him and ended up in another location. They got Clary's mother back, but at the expensive of the Mortal Cup. Now, who knows what Valentine will do with it.
Magnus had left before Alec woke up. There was too much going on and Magnus didn't want to add to it by having an important discussion with Alec. The whole thing happened a few days ago, and now on an average Tuesday night, Magnus is lounging in his loft, watching some mindless sit com and enjoying a drink. He wonders if Izzy would tell her brother about his offer. Would Alec show up and ask for that? Or would he just stay away and keep the secret between him, Jace, Izzy, and Clary? Magnus didn't know. He is pretty sure it will be one of those.
Suddenly, his doorbell buzzes and he walks to the door and presses the speaker.
"I don't want to buy anything you're selling. Unless it's Girl Scout cookies," he says, slightly annoyed.
"It's Alec," the voice says, "I think we need to talk. Can I come up?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, Alec. Come on up," he presses the button and buzzes Alec into his place. For the first time in a long time, Magnus is actually surprised by the actions of another person.
Well, what do you think? Love it? Hate it?
- TheOtherAvenger
