A/N: Guess what, guys? It's here! The FINAL chapter of this tale! I know, I'm in a total shock over the idea. (That being said… Check the ending author's note after reading the chapter. I've go a suggestion.)
THANK YOU, a million times, for all your reviews and love! You have NO IDEA how much it means to me that you've been sticking around for all this time. (HUGS)
Okay… Are you ready? Let's go, and see how this story ends. (gulps) I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride!
X
Although Catarina must've stopped by numerous times during the night, it was the light of a new morning that awakened Alec. He groaned and scrunched up his nose, unwilling to leave to lovely dream he'd been having. Until the memories came rushing back in a flood. He shuddered, instinctively tightening his hold on the body in his arms.
Magnus was warm. Not from fever. But from life.
Encouraged by that realization, Alec opened his eyes. To find a pair of bleary but familiar dark ones looking back at him. For the longest time they just stared at each other. It felt a lot like waking up from a long, horrible nightmare.
Magnus smiled. As much as anyone who just almost died and was still clearly in pain could. A tender hand reached out and brushed Alec's cheek. Likely to make sure that he was really there. "Morning", Magnus whispered hoarsely. As though it was just any other morning with the two of them waking up together.
Alec couldn't help it. He smiled, too, barely able to believe that what he was seeing was real. His heart was beating so fast that he feared it might burst. "Good morning."
All of a sudden Magnus's smile changed to a frown. "Alexander? What's wrong?"
It was around then Alec realized that tears were gathering to his eyes. Unable to offer a verbal response, he tightened his hold on the warlock instead and buried his face in the older man's shoulder. Much like he did when they found each other after the Soul Sword was activated by accident.
/ "… we always seem to find our way back to each other …" /
He'd never been gladder to be right.
Alec was so emotionally overwhelmed that he forgot about Magnus's injury and didn't realize how tight his hold was until there was a soft groan. Startled, he loosened his grip. "I'm so sorry…!"
Magnus shook his head and refused to let go. "… 's okay." The warlock spent a second or two on catching his breath. "Seems… we'll have to be careful for a while."
Guilt and a wide variety of other things swirling in his mind, Alec squeezed his eyes shut. He did his best to hold it in. But a sob nonetheless broke out.
Immediately a loving hand was caressing his hair. "Shh…" They were pressed together so that they felt each other's breaths. It had a tremendous soothing impact. "It's okay. Everything's alright."
It was infuriatingly hard to believe that, when Alec had been to a world where he saw the worst kind of an ending to… all this. When he'd… "I lost you", he choked out. The awful memory was still more than enough to slam all air from his lungs.
/ "… made me relive memories I've spent centuries trying to forget …" /
Alec now knew what having such a memory felt like.
"What?" Magnus's hold on him tightened. "Alec, you didn't lose me."
Alec had no idea how to start the necessary explanation. How to open the talk they'd have to have, as badly as it scared him. It turned out he didn't have to figure it out right at that moment.
Even with Catarina's skilled healing, Magnus was still far from fully recovered. Alec's chaotic trail of thought came to a pause when the warlock fell asleep in his arms. The archer's heart still beat too fast while he kept holding on. He refused to go back to sleep, afraid to wake up in a reality where Magnus had faded to dust.
It was foolish, Alec knew. But he was hoping to stall the talk for a long time. As it turned out Magnus refused to allow that. Because the warlock still remembered his slip of a tongue upon waking up a second time. And demanded answers.
So Alec told him. Rambling and choking on his words along the way. He went through the whole incredible and horrible story. Edom… Lost magic… Death… Time travel… Diah… Immortality…
While they stared at the new, blood red rune Magnus's eyes were unreadable. For a time. Until a glare, so sharp that it made the Shadowhunter shiver, hardened. "She had no right to do this to you!"
Alec remained silent, because he agreed. How could he not? This was toying with his life in the most dramatic way. He was still furious and scared.
"And the way she risked your life…!" Magnus shook his head, obviously imagining a version where it ended far worse. "She used you…!"
"Magnus." Alec wasn't sure if his boyfriend was ready to hear what he had to say. But he needed to let it out. "Do you have any idea how gladly I said 'yes'? I was ready to use dark magic! Or go to Edom myself! I'm glad she came and made her offer."
Magnus continued to glare at the rune. Which was when Alec remembered Diah saying that her brother would stop listening the second she'd enter the picture. The centuries old man breathed sharply, several times over. Angry magic sizzled and hissed around clenched fists. "Alexander… Can you step outside, for a moment?" Magnus went on tensely when he failed to comply. "I'm not in control over myself right now and I don't want to risk hurting you. So, please…!" The warlock trailed off.
Alec didn't want to leave. But he remembered entirely too well how bad he felt after every time he lashed out at Magnus. So he nodded slowly. "I'll… be in the living room." He was at the door when he went on. "I love you."
Magnus met his eyes. Affection shone brightly through the rage that wasn't directed at him. "I love you, too."
Alec had barely closed the door when noise that was so loud he jumped erupted. Several items were hurled at walls and shattered. Magnus didn't scream, snarl and curse. Magic did all that for him. With a grimace the archer retreated to the couch, deeming that a safe distance. And waited, since he apparently had all the time in the world.
It took over half an hour before the noise quieted. And another two hours before the bedroom's door opened and Magnus walked out slowly. Neither of them spoke while the warlock took a seat beside him, both of them too deep in thought for anything verbal.
In the end Magnus went first, pointedly not looking at him. "I know that you don't want immortality." They discussed the topic after their fight over the box and Alec's drunken bar night. "I don't know how to remove a rune from Edom. But… I'll do anything…"
"What if I rather keep it than risk you doing something stupid to get rid of it?" Alec sputtered. He shook his head when Magnus looked at him incredulously. "I don't… I don't think I want it. I never asked for it. But, if it's what I'm stuck with…" He shrugged helplessly. "There are worse things than centuries with you."
Magnus stared at him in utter disbelief, with a breathtaking amount of love. Like the thought of someone wanting to share an immortal life with him was something he hadn't dared to entertain. "You continue to surprise me." The warlock then sobered. "Alec… We may not get centuries, you know that. Immortality… It's not a guarantee of a long future. We don't even know what tomorrow brings."
Alec shrugged again. This time determinedly. "Aren't you the one who's been trying to tell me to make the most of whatever we get?" He should've listened sooner. But, better late than never, he supposed.
He still had so many things to learn. And by the Angel, when it came to relationship things, he was a slow learner! Now… Now he had forever to get it right.
Immortality. Maybe, after he'd processed it for a decade or two, he'd learn to enjoy the sound of that. He already knew that things could've been far worse. He'd seen the worst, after all.
Magnus smiled, and kissed him soundly. They left their foreheads pressed together afterwards, both needing the comfort. "What about… all those people you'll lose?" the older man asked cautiously.
Alec shuddered, feeling a sharp slash of ache. "I don't want to think about it." He really, seriously didn't. (Of course he was already overthinking it.)
After several lifetimes of losses Magnus understood better than well. The older man gave him a long moment. "And the Clave? If they find out what you did for me… And if they discover your rune…" The man trailed off.
Alec had already thought about that. (Of course he had.) "It'll be a lot of more years until they'll get suspicious over me not aging like I should. When that time comes…" He shrugged. Yet again. He guessed he'd be doing a lot of that until everything sunk in. "The world's our oyster. Right?"
A flicker of amusement radiated from Magnus while they both lingered in the memory of a certain lovely date. "That it is. For as long as we get." And that might be a very long time indeed.
Never, ever would Alec have expected that the losses would start from Max. It happened almost exactly four years later. On the boy's second more challenging mission.
A hunt gone wrong. A second's delay. And his little brother was gone.
Alec raged. Lashed out. Attacked everyone in his pain. Until Magnus found him from the bathroom floor, once he finally broke down. "Magnus…" He ran out of words. (How had his boyfriend dealt with pain like that, over and over again, for ages?)
"I know", Magnus whispered. "I know." They both knew far too well how true that was.
They held on to each other for dear life until the morning dawned.
A month later they headed to a trip around the world. Because they needed and deserved a vacation. A week and a half into their trip they were at a luxurious hotel in a paradise the name of which Alec couldn't remember. Through an open balcony door a warm wind and the intoxicating scent of exotic flowers floated in. In the darkness of the room two bodies that knew every inch of each other arched and pulsated from pleasure. Until they shuddered almost simultaneously, pleasure driving them wild before it exploded. Breathless gasps and groans announced that both men were very satisfied with the outcome.
Alec still felt greedy and needy, afterwards. Magnus lay calmly, humming from pleasure when the Shadowhunter left a trail of kisses on his naked form. Lips… Neck…
And then Alec found his lips lingering on top of a small, star-shaped scar. It was almost directly above Magnus's heart, at the exact spot where the archer had his immortality rune. The already faded but still far too visible sign of injury seemed deceitfully harmless. Yet it nearly stole the warlock from him.
"Hey." Magnus's gentle hand forced his gaze away from the scar and to a pair of dark eyes. "I'm right here."
Alec stared at the man who meant the world to him. And found himself uttering something that'd been on the tip of his tongue for a while already. "Will you marry me?" Realizing what he just did, the archer felt himself blush radiantly. "I… I mean… I don't even have a damned ring, so I get it… if you don't want to, but… I'd want to…"
Magnus interrupted him with pulling him to a kiss. Unshed tears and love shone in the warlock's eyes when they finally broke apart. "There's no one else I could ever imagine marrying, Alexander." Then, probably sensing that things were becoming too emotional, his new fiancé went on. "But I'm expecting… a damned ring, somewhere in near future. You know how much I love wearing those things."
"I love you", Alec countered.
"Show me how much", Magnus challenged.
Alec gladly did just that.
Months after their engagement Alec responded to an alert at the Institute. Barging through the doors, he braced himself for a demon attack. Instead he saw a child-shaped form huddled under a blanket near the entrance. Soft, mew-like whimpers came from the fabric's covers.
Alec had enough experience and wits to realize that it could've been a trap. But something pulled him like a magnetic force. With a gentle, careful hand he moved the blanket. Just enough to reveal a tiny, terrified face.
Blue face.
The boy was about the same size as a one -year-old child. Horrified eyes stared at him, wide and wild until something like recognition dawned. "Daddy?" the tiny warlock whimpered hopefully.
Alec knew, right there, that there was no way he'd be able to just forget about the boy and leave him to strangers. Not knowing what else to do, he called Magnus. Surely a grown warlock was the best person to make sure that everything was alright with a far smaller one? And to help Alec decide what to do.
The boy had obviously made up his mind, if the way he clung to Alec was any indication. The Shadowhunter was far more hesitant. He and Magnus had never talked about having children. What if his fiancé was against the idea?
It turned out that Alec was once again worrying over nothing.
The two warlocks looked at each other. And in an instant it became apparent that a connection had been formed. "Hello, Little Blueberry", Magnus greeted softly.
The boy didn't exactly speak, rather chirped in a very excited manner. At that moment it was decided that he was going home with them. Choosing a name took a couple of more days.
In the end Alec came to think of one. He glanced towards Magnus, who had their young charge enchanted by a silly little magic trick. "How about Max?" he suggested tentatively.
Looking away from the magic momentarily, the child beamed. "I'm Max!" the boy announced, proudly and happily. Then allowed Magnus's tricks to charm him again.
Magnus smiled. Alec was glad to receive a kiss as well. "You heard him. He's Max", the warlock pointed out with amusement and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Of course he knew full well how important the name was to Alec. "Besides, we can't keep calling him just Little Blueberry forever."
Roughly five years later they were shocked by another loss. One neither of them had seen coming. Circle members attacked and Magnus didn't make it to the scene before it was too late.
Alec and other Shadowhunters rushed in moments later. To find Magnus kneeling in a pile of dust. There was a horrible, broken and hollow expression on the warlock's face. "Raphael, he… He's gone."
Magnus didn't say a word for a long time after that. During those endless hours Alec arranged Izzy to babysit Max. Then, with tremendous effort, he succeeded in prying his fiancé up so he could take him home. After watching Magnus sitting on their couch for over an hour, utterly still and unresponsive, the Shadowhunter considered calling Catarina for assistance. Until all of a sudden Magnus was moving with purpose, a hand slipping to his pocket.
Alec didn't look or pry to find out what Magnus put into his memory box to remember Raphael by. It was his fiancé's personal matter, and he'd grown up enough to respect that. He did glance to the side upon hearing a softly murmured word. "What…?"
Alec's heart thudded when he realized that Magnus just found his letter.
'I put this letter here, right on top of yours, so you'll find it on the kind of a day when you need to read my words the most. I'm so sorry that I ever imagined, for even a second, that I could become just an arrowhead in a box for you. I finally understand what you were trying to tell me. If I would ever lose you, I wouldn't move on, either. Because you're the first and only of great many things for me, too. And I'm grateful for every single day that I get to have with you.'
Alec wasn't sure what happened next. But all of sudden they were both on the floor, with Magnus holding him so tightly that it almost hurt. Neither of them said a word, didn't have to. Their respective letters expressed everything necessary.
When Magnus eventually broke down to sobs Alec tightened his embrace in a reminder that although the warlock's world just cracked, it didn't end.
A few months later Magnus found a surprise that made their family whole.
He'd been visiting someone who used to be a friend and had no other choice but to deem the meeting infuriatingly pointless. Frustrated and exhausted, he fantasized about the stiff drink he wouldn't get because he had a young son waiting for him at home. Until he felt something unexpected.
A tiny hand, trying to steal his wallet.
The almost-thief operated quickly but Magnus was faster. Seconds later he arched an eyebrow upon facing a boy who seemed a few years older than Max. The eyebrow rose higher when he noticed a couple of runes. "A pickpocketing Shadowhunter? Now this… must have a fascinating story."
The boy, who was visibly terrified, swallowed hard. "I… I don't have any money, and I'm hungry. I'm sorry…!" It was then the child came to think of something and frowned. "How… How did you know that I'm a Shadowhunter?"
Magnus smiled. "I know quite a bit about them. My fiancé is one." He considered for a moment. "How about I buy you a meal, so we can both ask a few more questions?"
The boy was taken aback upon learning that Magnus was a warlock. But only briefly. He was too young to have had certain traditional Shadowhunter prejudices sink in deep. The child revealed that he'd been on the streets since his mother died. For so long that he couldn't remember the name she gave him. In return Magnus told him about Alec.
"So… A warlock, and a Shadowhunter…" The boy chewed on his food loudly, too hungry to mind his manners. "How… does that work?" It might've sounded rude, if it wasn't asked so innocently.
One corner of Magnus's lips quirked upwards. "Someone very wise told me once that relationships take effort." He tilted his head. "You remind me of Alec, a little. And… You look a lot like someone who was important to me." Ache stabbed him when memories floated to his head. "His name was Raphael."
The child was very clearly curious. But also didn't want to be nosy. Dark eyes glanced towards the food that'd vanished. "I'm sorry I tried to steal from you", the boy muttered sincerely, downcast eyes full of shame. "I'll… I'll pay you back. I mean, for the food. One day."
Magnus's mind was made up. He could only hope that Alec would agree. "Well, to do that you'd have to come with me, wouldn't you?"
Alec was very understandably caught by surprise when Magnus came to see him at work with a strange child. But smiled, anyway. "Well… Hello, there. And welcome to the Institute." The two Shadowhunters shared an adorably solemn and professional handshake. "What's your name?"
"Rafael", the boy answered.
Eventually, after a couple of more eventful years of raising their unexpected family, Magnus and Alec remembered to get married. It wasn't like they would've needed to prove their commitment to their closest ones, or especially to each other. But the idea of making it official proved to be irresistible.
Once upon a time Alec worried about people not accepting his sexual orientation and his relationship. That very day he was amused by what a fool he'd been. With a seelie marrying them as a somewhat subtle act of rebellion against the Clave, and Shadowhunters, warlocks, werewolves and even a vampire in attendance… (Two of them being their own children, no less.) With representatives of all of different races giving their blessing… He'd never felt more accepted, even if a lot of people still frowned upon who and what he was.
They exchanged beautiful rings, made of white gold. The one Alec received had a stone the color of which matched Magnus's cat eyes perfectly. Magnus's carried a stone that was the exact shade of Alec's immortality rune. Both rings had the same words engraved inside. 'forever yours'
Later they shared their first dance as a married couple. Overcome by the moment, Alec leaned to his husband's ear. "Remember when I told you that I'd always dreamed of meeting someone like you?"
"Oh, I most definitely do."
Alec smiled. (It hurt a little, since he'd been grinning like an idiot most of the day, but he didn't mind.) "I was wrong. This is better than my dream."
Magnus chuckled. "Alexander Lightwood. Who would've thought that you have such a sappy side?"
As a punishment Alec dipped the older man. "Only for you", he proclaimed. "And that's Lightwood-Bane, now." He said the new addition to his surname with a silly amount of pride.
Magnus's smile matched his own. When they were chest to chest once more the warlock kissed his cheek. "I like to sound of that."
Time continued to pass by without a shred of mercy. Years changed to decades. Inevitably came the day when Alec had to leave the Institute behind. Far too many people were growing curious about his never aging nor dwindling physique. It was only a matter of time before one of them would find out too much.
Alec looked at the building that used to be his home. That was his workplace. For many years it was his whole world. Leaving it behind, walking away from the life he'd known… It was no easy feat. But even with the melancholy he knew that he wasn't losing the things that mattered the most.
His friends and family would visit often. If he'd eventually have to leave the city they'd be only a portal away. He'd get to see them whenever he wanted to. And he'd be a Shadowhunter for however long he'd live. He wasn't letting anyone take that away from him.
And what were the things he was giving up in comparison to what he got to keep and receive?
A hand squeezed his. Magnus's eyes full of worry and understanding. "Are you ready?"
Alec nodded, before looking towards the building and everything it represented, one last time. He'd given it enough. It was time to trust it to the hands of others. He was at peace with that thought. "Yeah. Let's go."
Several more decades later the story of a warlock and a Shadowhunter falling in love was passed on from a person to another as a legend. Like it was just another fairytale. But it wasn't without an impact. Painfully slowly, but surely, old prejudices were questioned. How could such a love have been wrong?
"They got their happy ending, right?"
"The story isn't over yet, but… Yeah", Alec affirmed. (Under different circumstances it might've amused him how he, of all people, was retelling the tale.) "They're happy."
"Good. In that case I like that story." Jace, old, wrinkled and silver-haired, gave him a curious look. Then frowned. "I'm… supposed to know you, aren't I?" That seemingly simple question hurt so much that it was almost unbearable. "Why don't I know you?"
Alec gritted his teeth and shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Just…" He swallowed thickly. "Just sleep. The medication always makes you drowsy."
Jace seemed too exhausted to do anything else but comply. On the verge of falling asleep the man fought to stay awake for a few more moments. "Clary, my wife… Did you see her on your way in? Where did she go? She was just here…"
Fighting the tears was one of the hardest battles Alec had ever fought. His whole body shook. "She just stepped outside for a moment." His voice was so hoarse that it was almost unrecognizable. "She'll be back soon." He'd been through Jace remembering that Clary died a long time ago and grieving losing her all over again a horrible number of times. He found himself praying that this wouldn't be one of those occasions.
Minutes later Alec practically ran out of the room and into the arms of the man waiting for him in the hallway. Neither said a thing while Magnus held him. Operated as his pillar of support while Alec cried, silent tears of loss and agony.
Somehow it was worse to lose someone so completely while they were still alive, close enough to be touched yet in a whole another world.
Much later that night Alec and Magnus lay in their bed, tangled together and unable to sleep. The archer was desperate to distract himself from the sorrow over Jace. Eventually he came to think of something. "The warlock who originally asked for the immortality rune to be created… And the Shadowhunter… I never got the chance to ask Izzy how their story ended."
Magnus mused for a long moment. Remembering. "Well… Even I don't know all about it. And I'm not sure if what I know is the truth of things. But, in the version I've heard the Shadowhunter was very ill and dying. So sick that no amount of magic could cure it. The warlock decided to do anything and everything to help."
The hair in the back of Alec's neck stood up when it occurred to him that the despair was similar to what drove Magnus to Edom in the original timeline. He had to swallow before he found his voice. "And, the rune… Did it save the Shadowhunter?"
Magnus hesitated. "No. The Shadowhunter chose death over the curse of immortality."
Alec… didn't know what to think about that.
Magnus went on, quietly and reluctantly. "The warlock was there when the Shadowhunter died. And was never heard from again."
Time, it seemed, had made Asmodeus grow softer. Enough so to allow Diah one day to go and visit topside. She wasn't given or needed long. Out of all available options, she used that time to visit a certain ancient grave. The first name had faded from view over time, but one could just barely make out the surname.
'Lightwood'
Diah gritted her teeth. Still, even after hundreds of years, the pain cut deep. But at least she no longer felt like crying. "You refused to accept the gift I bargained with my father, when I found out how ill you were", she murmured. "It took me almost two hundred years to figure out that it wasn't to avoid the curse of immortality. But because you knew that using it would curse me to a life in Edom. It took me that long to figure out that instead of not loving me enough you loved me too much." She shook her head. "You noble idiot…! Didn't you understand how much better of a place this miserable world would've been with you in it? Even if we could've never been together? Going to hell would've been a small price for your life."
A gentle breeze of wind caressed her face. After decades in Edom, she shivered at the contact. "Just so you know… I did put that gift to good use, at last. Because I figured that at least one person from both our families deserves an eternity of happiness. Magnus and Alec had better use it well." She scoffed. "You Lightwoods are the weakness of Asmodeus's children, it seems."
After those words she finally did what she came for. She placed a single, white rose to the grave. Then, cat eyes visible, she left the tombstone behind and opened a portal. Just before heading to hell, she lifted her gaze towards the sky up above. She then snorted at her own uncharacteristic sentimentality and pushed herself through the portal. There was nothing worth staying for, anyway.
At the exact moment when heaven and hell separated the lovers once again, it began to rain.
Once Magnus finished the part of the story he knew, Alec shivered. Deep in thought, he leaned his head against his husband's shoulder. And imagined a world where he'd chosen the same and left his warlock walking the Earth alone.
Magnus couldn't miss his troubled thoughts. "I've… brought so many things you didn't ask for to your life." A thumb rubbed the back of his hand. "You don't regret it, do you?"
It wasn't an entirely simple question. Especially after all the losses they'd already faced together. They still had a mortal son who wasn't getting any younger while they stayed the same. And he had a parabatai who likely didn't have very long left to live. It was a horrible thing, to feel his heart ache and know that the worst pain was yet to come.
Then, for the millionth time, Alec remembered Magnus turning to dust in his arms. And he realized that the question was easier than he'd thought. "Magnus Lightwood-Bane, I could never regret a life with you." He meant those words, from the bottom of his bruised but still strongly beating heart.
Magnus rewarded his answer with a long, languid kiss.
There was no knowing what the future would bring. Or how long that future would be. But if decades had taught Alec anything, it was accepting that uncertainty as a part of life.
After losing his whole future for a while, he greeted each new day they had together as a miracle. And he looked back fondly on all those days they'd already had. Starting from the very beginning.
/ "I'm Magnus. I don't think we've been formally introduced."
He smiled. (He didn't know it yet then, but he felt alive for the first time in his life.) "Alec." /
End
A/N: (ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER: The nickname Little Blueberry is from the books. I LOVE it!)
Aaaw! How's THAT for a happy ending. (smiles) So many losses along the way, though… (whimpers)
SO… Was that a worthy conclusion? PLEASE, do let me hear from you! Every review makes my heart sing.
SOMETHING I'VE BEEN CONSIDERING… How would you feel if at some point, I'd start posting a collection of oneshots about Magnus and Alec's immortal lives together? There are so many things that couldn't be covered in this chapter. And how cool would it be to see them through centuries together? (grins) Let me know your thoughts!
For now… THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for sticking through this story! (HUGS) It went on a hiatus for a while. But we found our way back to each other and made it through. (LOL, sorry, I couldn't resist.)
Who knows. Maybe I'll see you again…?
Take care!
Guest: A quite nice twist, right? (BEAMS) Let's hope that Magnus agrees… (winces)
The next chapter is the last. We'll see how this tale ends.
Massive thank yous for the review!
Shin: A quite cool twist, right? (grins) Let's hope that the boys are able to cope with the idea. Those poor dears have been through so much, they deserve to have each other for all eternity!
LOL! I know exactly what you mean.
Monumental thank yous for the review!
