Just to explain to everyone, Chairman started out as a cat, but soaked up all the excess magic from Magnus and now can morph into human-form, a bit like the reverse of animagi in Harry Potter. And he can do other stuff too.
Ok, here we go . . . last chapter . . .
See you on the other side . . .
Magnus sighed loudly, flopping onto his sofa. Would this day never end !
First the vampire who wanted him to fix, of all things, a bad toothache. Then, a pixie with a rather unsightly rash, a nymph who wanted a love-potion, which Magnus had refused her on ethical grounds (it appeared Alec was rubbing off on him more than he thought) and a faerie who needed a hex removed.
And still he wasn't finished. He'd had a last minute appointment made by a tearful female lycan who'd called late last night seeking his assistance with some affair of the heart. He'd been about to tell her to call back at a more reasonable hour but then she'd said the magic words that he'd never really been able to resist. Help me.
And somewhere, deep, deep in his heart, he honestly did want to help, but he was just soo exhausted.
And he hadn't spoken to Alec since their fight yesterday. He'd wanted to call, but hadn't quite worked up the courage to actually dial the number yet. But Alec hadn't called him either, was he avoiding him?
The harsh ring of the doorbell interrupted his thought process entirely. Groaning, he pushed himself off of the sofa and trudged to his door, mashing the button which released the front door. He didn't need to check who it was, and even if it wasn't his newest client, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to take down any unwelcome visitors was it?
He stayed standing by his open door, awaiting the lyanne's arrival, when who should come slinking through the opening but his absentee cat. "Where have you been then?" he asked, bending don to scratch behind the pale ears, feeling a little silly, Chairman was only a cat, it wasn't like he could answer was it?
Hearing footsteps, he straightened up, it wouldn't do to damage his reputation too much. Normally when greeting customers, especially first - timers, Magnus liked to put on a bit of a show, intimidate them, just so's they'd have a bit of respect for his awesome powers. Not that it worked very often, but hey, it was fun when it did.
But this time, he really didn't have the heart to scare the broken figure climbing up the rickety staircase towards him. Even without his, as he liked to call them, spidey senses, he could tell that this woman was very distraught. He hadn't even seen her face or heard her speak one word, yet already his heart was bleeding for her.
"Come in," he said gently, stepping back to allow her past him. As she moved through the doorway, however, he caught a very familiar scent in the air, one he couldn't quite place. Puzzled, he filed it away for further examination when he had some time alone.
Shaking his head, he hurried to her side, guiding her to sit down on the sofa, dragging over a squashy armchair for himself to sit opposite, their knees touching. "Now, what can I do for you?" he inquired softly.
"I . . . I need your help," whispered the woman nervously, "it's my . . . husband. You see . . ."
"Wait, first tell me your name, and would you like anything to drink before we get too involved?" interrupted Magnus. If he was any judge, this would take some time, and he wanted to make his visitor feel as safe and at home as possible.
"Oh," she exclaimed, suddenly inexplicably flustered, "my name is . . . Alexis . . . and just water please?" the nervous slant to hr voice turning her voice turning everything that she'd said into a question.
"All right, as you know, my name is Magnus Bane, but please just call me Magnus," he replied soothingly, snapping into existence a tall, red plastic cup with a curly orange straw full of ice-cold water for Alexis and a frothy, marshmallow-topped hot chocolate for him. Settling down into the comfortable cushions, he readied himself for what would probably be a long and unhappy story.
"Tell me what's wrong. Take your time, there's no need to rush."
"Well . . . me and my husband have been fighting a lot recently. But I don't know how to make it better, and I love him so much . . . I can't lose him, I just can't."
"Start at the beginning. Tell me everything, and we shall see what we can do."
"We first met in a nightclub. He was popular and vivacious, completely in his element, and me? It was the first time I'd ever been in a place like that and I was quiet and a bit scared - staying close to my friends, y'know. Then, just as we were leaving, he appeared out of the blue, slipped me his number, and told me to call him.
"But I was nervous, and a little intimidated, so I didn't call, and when we next met, I could barely look him in the eye, I felt so guilty. At the time I wasn't sure if it was just a joke, I mean, why would someone like him be interested in someone like me? It made no sense.
"Nevertheless, he was persistent, even though he knew I'd had a crush on someone else for years, and eventually I realised that he was not only perfect on the outside, but in his heart as well. So we started seeing each other, and I fell for him more and more every day. But I was still afraid, afraid that he would see sense and leave me.
"I grew suspicious, when he wasn't with me I worried that he was with someone else. I was depressed and didn't want to go to parties with him, and when he went on his alone became even more desolate. But I never told him. I never told him that that was how I felt, I was terrified that he would think I was stupid and weak.
"I think he could tell that something was wrong with me, that I didn't trust him. But in truth, it's not him that I don't trust, it's me that I don't trust to be enough for him, to be good enough for him. And so we fight more and more and it's unbearable, it hurts so much but neither of us can stop it."
"What can I do? . . . Please?"
And at that, 'Alexis' fell silent, hanging 'her' head, trembling from heart-wrenching sobs. And slowly, the glamour fell away, revealing Alec Lightwood, crying on Magnus' sofa looking as lost as a little child too far from home.
Magnus was speechless. Truly speechless. Reaching up to his face, he was stunned to find tear tracks tracing their way down his cheeks.
And that was all it took.
Magnus flung himself across the small space separating him from the love of his life and gathered him up into his arms, clinging on to the boy for dear life, whispering nonsense words of love into his hair, the sound of his own tears joining Alec's in an agonizing melody of heartbreak and sorrow.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours until, exhausted by the flood of emotion, they fell asleep, each tangled in the other's arms.
They weren't out of the woods yet, but there was definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
Chairman Meow purred contentedly as he watched the sleeping couple. Springing lightly onto the sofa next to them, he circled quickly tree times, scratching the material into a more comfortable shape before settling down with his head resting against Magnus' leg. Sustaining a glamour strong enough to fool Magnus for so long had really drained him, let alone convincing Alec to go along with his plan in the first place, but it was worth it, at least now things could go back to normal, and his little family could have another shot at the happiness they deserved.
The end . . . . unless you really want more.
I am open to writing a sequel, but only if you guys really want it, I've got a pretty hectic schedule coming up, and a couple of other multi-chaps yet to be completed.
I've really loved writing this, and thankyou so much to everyone who has read/reviewed it.
Here are my thanks for the people who reviewed the third chapter -
Bookworm24601 - No worries, I'm pleased you reviewed in the first place ! And I hope the A/N at the beginning cleared up any confusion :) Please let me know what you think of the ending and thankyou for reading xxx
DisturbingEmily - Love the name, by the way. Well I hope I haven't disappointed you with the ending, and that you didn't feel you have to wait too long, I wanted to get this chapter right, so it took a bit longer than originally planned :) Thanks for reviewing all the way through, it means a lot to me that you've stuck with me xxx
mbrattoo - Yeah, I was watching Velvet Goldmine and just thought yes! perfect! Thankyou so much for all your reviews, they're really great! I hope the ending lived up to your expectations! :) xxx
IssyRedbird - Awesome! I'm so pleased you like it! what do you think of the ending? Please let me know, I love getting feedback :) xxx
Thankyou again, you're all incredible in my book! I hope you all find your own Magnus/Alec happy ending :) xxxxx
Goodbye for now!
Haunted Harlequin xx