Alec found himself rushing through the halls of a hospital he'd never been in before, hoping to hell he wasn't too late. He'd gotten the call at half past two in the morning, and caught a plane straight away. He'd never expected he'd do it, if it ever came down to it, not anymore. But here he was, leaving everything for Magnus.
"Magnus Bane." A low voice purred in Magnus' ear, "It's been a while, hasn't it, huh baby?"
Magnus spun around faster than he believed humanly possible and craned his neck to see who was speaking. He felt his heart pounding in his ribcage. Jonathan. He hadn't seen Jonathan in years, hadn't spoken to him since he moved to America. Before that, they had dated.
Well, dated perhaps isn't the right word. Where Magnus lived, there were certain rules you had to follow if you wanted to survive, especially if your parents were too rich to live in the area you did. You keep you head down, and you keep to yourself, and you don't speak unless spoken to. Looking like Magnus did-black spikes and thick eyeliner-he was spoken to a lot. But not for the right reasons.
There were two battling 'gangs' on the streets, The Rebels and The Rockets. The Rockets especially liked to pick on Magnus, so of course The Rebels decided to make him an honorary member. Being an honorary member also meant sleeping with Jonathan whether he wanted to or not. The term dating is to be used very lightly.
"Uh, yeah." Magnus mumbled, his voice higher than he'd like it. "It's been a long time."
Jonathan stepped forward towards Magnus, grinning. The smell of his cologne was suffocating, and there was a glint of something unthinkable in his eyes. Magnus had to tell himself not to flinch when Jonathan tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.
"You got rid of the spikes." Jonathan hummed, "I liked them. Not the only thing you got rid of though, huh. Your little Californian is gone too, huh."
"You said if I got rid of him, you wouldn't hurt him." Magnus hissed, worry surging through him.
"Hey baby, calm down. Adam's safe." Jonathan cooed, tracing a fingertip down the side of Magnus' face.
"Alec." Magnus corrected, unable to stop himself from shuddering.
"C'mon baby, don't be like that." Jonathan sighed, tilting Magnus' chin to look at him. "Don't be mad at me, baby, I'm sorry."
Jonathan leaned closer, lips barely brushing Magnus', but that's all it took for Magnus to flinch away. That was a bad move on Magnus' part. Jonathan is what you might call volatile, and isn't too great at dealing with anything anywhere close to rejection.
Jonathan grabbed Magnus roughly by his waist, and shoved him hard against the wall, the brick nipping at the side of his face. Jonathan placed his mouth near to Magnus' ear, "C'mon baby, be good now." He growled threateningly, "You never do make things easy, do you baby? Tsk tsk, maybe I should teach you a lesson."
Alec reached Magnus' room, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. When he'd gotten the call, they'd said something about an assault, and of course Alec feared the worst. He hadn't listened much to what the person on the phone had said, too busy thinking about how he was going to get to New York.
Magnus almost forgot to breathe when Luke turned up in London. Magnus had been out in search of coffee for Alec to help with his hangover, when he rounded a corner and Luke appeared. His eyes were the same, cold and unfeeling, but accompanied by a huge smile. Magnus felt sick immediately.
Luke was Jonathan's right hand man and-although neither of them would ever say anything due to Jonathan's tendency not to be very understanding-he often took advantage of Magnus' fear of the gang and his own status, by taking advantage of Magnus. He, in some ways, made Magnus' skin crawl far more than Jonathan ever did.
He had a lit cigarette hanging limply out of his mouth, and was dressed all in black-bomber boots, leather jacket, thick silver chains and jeans too skinny and compressive to be healthy. Magnus' mouth went dry, and he struggled to swallow down his fear. His hands were clammy, and his breath caught in his throat.
"Bane." He cooed-Magnus never knew why the members of the gang talked to him like he was a baby, he assumed it was just another way to torture him-taking the cigarette
from his mouth, exhaling smoke that made Magnus feel like he was choking."It's been a long time since we last saw each other. You've changed a lot."
Magnus nodded not knowing how else to react, and racked is brain for something to do. Maybe he could run, but he knew Luke too well for that. Luke would find him, and it would be painful. Magnus was smart enough to know he had to stay on the spot and take whatever was coming to him.
"I have a message for you, from J." Luke explained, "His exact words were lose the American, or you'll lose the American."
With that, Luke spun on his heel, and walked away. Magnus didn't get coffee, he practically sprinted back to his hotel room and packed his bags. He let himself stare at Alec a while, imprinting his look in his brain so he could remind himself of it whenever he missed him, because he knew he wouldn't risk ever talking to him again. Then he woke him up, and said his final goodbye.
Alec told himself to breathe, told himself to stop thinking the worst, that Magnus was okay. Magnus had to be okay, because Alec honestly didn't know what he would do if he wasn't. After everything they had been through, this couldn't be the end of the road. This couldn't be how it ended! He never even got to say a last goodbye...
"J-Jonathan." Magnus stuttered, running a hand through his spikes, his thick jacket constricting his movements, but the English winter had begun. "C-can I talk to you?"
"Not now baby, I'm busy." Jonathan grumbled, counting a huge wad of money, facing away from Magnus.
"Please." Magnus begged, "It's really important."
Jonathan growled, before turning to face Magnus, a look of distaste on his face. "What?" He spat.
"I-I'm moving. To America." Magnus explained, looking at his shoes. Nervously, he added, "Tomorrow morning."
Alec stayed at Magnus' side all through the night, watching over Magnus as he slept. Magnus looked terrible, he was pale and there were dark rings around his eyes. There were bruises all across his jaw, and there was a long line of love bites trailing all the way into his hospital robe, and Alec knew they weren't the same ones he had given to Magnus in London. Alec was more worried about what he couldn't see, however. Like Magnus' broken ankle, and bruising on his stomach and back, not to mention the unknown number if internal injuries.
Mimi had said she would take care of the firm until Alec returned, and said that Alec shouldn't come home a second before he had to. Alec was grateful for her. She could have reacted so badly to the news that Alec was in New York because Magnus was in hospital, but no. She had been so lovely. Alec felt guilt rise inside him for how atrociously he had acted during their relationship. His father would not be pleased.
In front of him, Magnus stirred and shifted under the hospital sheets, and Alec shot forward. He didn't awaken, so Alec settled back in his chair. Nurses had been through to check on Magnus, and some of them even flashed Alec a smile, but most just frowned. Alec wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that they were so stoic, but he didn't ask. Didn't talk at all, just kept his gaze fixed on Magnus' frail body, and worried. He couldn't do anything except worry.
"Were you never gonna tell me?" Jonathan yelled.
The money was scattered across the floor, laying where Jonathan had thrown it in his fit of rage. Magnus cowered away from him, crying. He hated himself for being so weak, but he was so scared. Jonathan was volatile at the best of times, and Magnus had never seen him this angry before, not once.
"I'm telling you now!" Magnus sobbed.
Jonathan growled and swung his arm, fist clenched. He missed purposefully, instead denting the wall next to Magnus' head, far too close for Magnus' liking. Magnus was surprised Jonathan hadn't hit him yet. Jonathan wasn't scared of leaving bruises. It was almost his claim on Magnus, almost like he was saying, "I've done this to him, what do you think I'm going to do to you if you so much as look at him?"
"Yeah, the day before you leave!" Jonathan yelled, "You better watch out, Bane, because you're nothing to me anymore. You know how dangerous that can be!"
If Magnus tripped over his own feet on the way out, well, he was too scared to really care very much.
The door to Magnus' room opened slowly, but Alec had fallen asleep and didn't notice. Jonathan lingered in the doorway, observing the scene. He knew who the black haired guy was, and he was far from happy to see him. What was he doing here? Jonathan didn't care, he just wanted him to leave. He cleared his throat loudly.