Chapter Thirteen

It took a week and a half for Alec to get the arrow to stick in the target for the first time. Everyone had been in the training room when it had happened and despite the congratulations he got from them all, Alec didn't feel like it was deserved. Isabelle got too excited about it, jumping up and down and declaring that this was the start; this was when he was going to start improving; that by the end of the month, he'd be a pro again.

Alec wondered if Isabelle remembered that it took him ten years to master archery or if she just chose to ignore that fact.

It wasn't that he couldn't aim properly, his general aim was just fine. It was that his webbed hands couldn't grip the bow right anymore and every time he notched an arrow, pulling the string back and letting go caused it to go askew. It was getting horribly frustrating and as the days went on, the stronger the desire to give up grew. The urge to throw down the bow and declare that he would simply have to face the Clave as he was now felt like a ball of lead in his stomach, reminded him of how he couldn't let it happen. The consequences of such a thing were too catastrophic. For not only him, but his family.

Everyone tried to lend a hand.

Clary wasn't exactly an expert but she would lend a hand whenever she could, even if it was just fetching things or standing in certain places to help Alec eye something. Isabelle would attempt to put the pressure on, trying to see if putting the weight of the situation would somehow scare Alec into working better. When that didn't work, she would try and give advice where it was needed; even though her archery knowledge was limited.

Jace spent hours in the training room with Alec. He would spar with him, increasing Alec's ability to fight with his new aquatic features; watch him shoot at the target and state was he could tell was going wrong; sometimes he just trained on his own while Alec practiced, ready to calm his parabatai down if he got too frustrated with himself.

They all knew how aggravated Alec was becoming. Every miss; every hour wasted; every second that he didn't improve; irritated the oldest Lightwood awfully. They had to stop him from giving up.

Magnus, unwittily to the others, was the greatest help of all. He didn't fuss. He didn't flock around Alec like an anxious chicken. He didn't press Alec for something to do that could help. He just sat in the training room, keeping Alec company, watching carefully for any signs of upset. The only time he ever interfered was if Alec got too vexed and wanted to give up. It was rare that would happen when the warlock was around. Somehow, his presence in the room soothed Alec's tangled nerves, even if neither realised it.

Alec was once again growing stronger in all manners of battle. He could spar with Jace just fine, winning a lot of the matches even with his webbed hands and gills; he was able to wield a seraph blade again; and he could climb high structures once more-something that had been achieved with great difficulty due to his hands. However, the only thing he still couldn't do was the one thing he wanted to learn the most. He needed to have his ability to shoot back. It wasn't just a talent he had been blessed with, it was something he had worked hard for. The fact that Alec couldn't do it anymore wasn't the sort of thing he could shrug off. Not this time. He needed to learn it again, webbed hands or not.

"You're making marvellous progress," Magnus commented at the end of the second week.

"Marvellous progress," Alec repeated through gritted teeth, holding the string of his bow back for as long as he could, despite the protest of his webbed fingers. "Marvellous progress will be when I can hit the damn bullseye again."

"Even if you show the Clave that you're capable of improvement, they may be willing to spare you," said Magnus.

Alec snorted. "I wish they were that merciful," he muttered. He hissed when the web split, causing blood to spill from his hand.

Magnus picked up on it immediately, noticing the scarlet red as it slid between Alec's fingers and dripped from his wrist to the floor. Even though he was bleeding, Alec remained motionless, holding his position like a statue. "Alexander, stop," he ordered, marching across the room in one swift movement. "What's hurting yourself going to achieve?"

"Nothing," Alec replied. "But if it helps me then so be it."

"How will hurting yourself help?"

"I'm hardly doing it on purpose. This is how I hold my bow when I shoot," Alec explained. When he released the arrow, it sprung across the room and lodged itself in the middle of the target. Magnus gaped at it for a moment, mesmerized at how easy it had been for Alec to do it, before returning his gaze to Alec. His gaze slid down Alec's arm to his hand, which shook violently as it continued to bleed.

"You can't do it like that anymore," the warlock said softly. "You must find another way."

Alec shook his head. He pulled his stele out of his back pocket and drew a healing rune onto his hand. He cursed when it simply faded. The runes only worked on the parts of his body that weren't affected by the Downworlder blood. It was becoming difficult for Alec to adjust to because, due to his stubbornness, on a daily basis he would rip the webs on his hands purposely, hoping that maybe they wouldn't grow back. But they always did.

"If it comes down to it, I am willing to do anything to protect my family," Alec answered.

Magnus rolled his eyes and lifted the Shadowhunter's arm with the curl of a finger. He clicked his fingers and healed Alec's wound, making the cut seal up and clotting the blood flow. "You need to think of a different way."

"Of what? Shooting?" Alec scoffed. "If you haven't noticed, thinking of a different way has been getting me nowhere."

"Alexander," Magnus said firmly, "I know you can do it."

Alec shook his head. "I don't know anymore," he muttered. "There's only two weeks left now. I can't see myself being good enough by the end of my Duty Leave."

Magnus examined Alec's hand carefully, ensuring that he healed it properly. "Don't worry about your Duty Leave just yet," he said. "We'll cross that bridge when it comes."

"It's my job to worry," Alec said fiercely. He was embarrassed by Magnus' fussing and pulled his hand away from the warlock sheepishly. "It's not exactly the most admirable personality trait but it can't be helped."

Magnus smiled. "I find it extremely endearing."

Alec flushed and looked away peevishly, unable to let himself believe what Magnus said. Magnus noticed that the Shadowhunter had a habit of doing that. If the warlock said anything strategic-anything to do with their approach to the war or his own magic-then Alec would believe it with no problem. If Magnus said something complimentary about Alec personally, however, the Shadowhunter would convince himself that the warlock was only fooling him around.

"I can't do this," Alec muttered. He looked to the target and clenched his jaw. "The only way it works is if I rip my fingers apart."

"Which isn't an option," Magnus added.

"I will make it an option," Alec said darkly. "If the need presents itself."

Magnus was becoming irritated by this version of Alec. His dedication was commendable but being committed to the point of self destruction was not something to appreciate. To Alec, it was only a bit of a blood. A bit of blood to protect his entire family. He didn't seem to understand that ripping the webs in his hands would only cause them to grow back stronger each time, until each one was indestructible. Besides, Magnus was not going to allow Alec to hurt himself.

"You will not," Magnus said firmly.

Alec narrowed his eyes menacingly. "And who are you to tell me what to do, anyway?" he growled.

Magnus narrowed his own eyes, matching Alec's angry gaze. "You know I am right," he snapped.

"Do I really?" Alec snapped back.

"You are not going to hurt yourself just to prove a point to the Clave!" Magnus barked.

Alec didn't even flinch. "I only have two weeks left!"

"And you will do what you can in those two weeks," Magnus answered pointedly. "Without harming yourself further."

They stared at each other furiously. Magnus could understand Alec's desire to go as far as he possibly could to achieve success-he had been through a similar period himself-but as long as he was around, he was not going to let the Shadowhunter reach that point himself. Even if he was already a little bit there.

Alec's blue eyes sparkled. "Why are you still here anyway? You could have easily left when we came here but you didn't. What's keeping you here?"

Magnus sighed. "You really need to ask that?" he answered.

Alec cocked his head and frowned. "Yes, I do."

"If you really must know, I have become too involved with events to part myself from them," Magnus replied. He couldn't help noting that they had gotten extremely close to each other, nearly chest to chest. "I feel responsible for what Laguna and Caspian did to you."

"I see," Alec murmured. "Well, there's no need. What happened was my fault, not yours. I free you of the responsibility." He looked slightly worried. "Would that mean you'd go?"

Magnus exhaled, unable to stop himself from smiling. "I would never leave you, Alexander. Not now. Not until I know you're safe."

Alec rolled his eyes. "You're impossible," he mumbled.

"I know," Magnus smirked.

Alec's eyes flickered from Magnus' eyes to his mouth and he ground his teeth together, as if having to restrain himself doing something . . . he'd regret? Magnus raised his eyebrows when their eyes met again, still smirking. Alec scowled, convincing himself that he was being stupid, and tried to turn away. Magnus grabbed the Shadowhunter's arms, stopping him from turning away. Alec tried to stay scowling but as soon as he reconnected his gaze with Magnus' it melted away, like snow in sunlight.

"Did I mention that you're impossible?" Alec stuttered, his breath catching as their mouths drifted closer.

"Yeah, you did," Magnus teased.

Alec leaned forward, surprising Magnus by being the one to instigate the kiss, and connected their lips. Never one to complain, Magnus accepted it. He touched Alec's face and drew him closer, feeling his heart flutter in his chest for the first time in what felt like forever. Alec dropped his bow and took Magnus' hand in his own, wrapping his webbed fingers around the warlock's tanned hand. It shocked Magnus how much the simple gesture anchored him. How it made him feel like everything that had led up to this moment was necessary, because it brought him to Alec.

"I'm sorry," Alec pulled away to whisper. "My hands are disgusting."

"Don't be ridiculous," Magnus answered, tightening his own fingers around Alec's webbed ones. "You are not disgusting in any way."

"Aren't I?" Alec laughed, completely unconvinced.

"Not in the slightest," Magnus replied, kissing Alec gently. The Shadowhunter inhaled, his breath catching in his throat in the process. The gills in his neck moved as they took on the job of breathing for him, allowing the kiss to prolong for a ridiculous amount of time (with the addition of Magnus' magic added on to help the warlock himself breathe longer).

"Alec?"

Alec jerked away, spinning around in horror to find his little brother Max standing in the doorway of the training room. "Max!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

Max pushed his glasses up his face and frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just, um, training," Alec explained quickly, stepping back from Magnus sheepishly. He cursed when he stepped on the bow that he'd dropped on the floor.

"With the warlock who opened our portal for us?" Max frowned.

"Sure," said Alec, glancing at Magnus nervously.

Max stepped into the room and approached his brother and Magnus curiously. "I thought Downworlders weren't allowed in the Institute," he said.

"Magnus is . . . different," Alec answered.

"Hey, kid," Magnus said, crouching down to Max's eye level. "Want to see something cool?"

Max beamed. "Always."

"Hold your hand out." Magnus flicked his painted fingers outwards, causing blue sparks to erupt from the tips. They formed a sparkly blue stream that wound around Max's body. The magic piled into Max's hand and formed the shape of a book. Magnus leaned forward and blew, making the thick blue coating to blow away, revealing a copy of a manga beneath.

"Awesome!" Max exclaimed. "This is the one I've been waiting for!"

"Thank your brother," Magnus grinned, looking over his shoulder at Alec, who was looking really confused. "He told me about it."

Max looked at Alec with wide, happy eyes. "Thanks Alec!" he said. He looked to Magnus and said, "You're cool, I like you."

"You can't tell Hodge about me being here," Magnus said. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Duh!" Max replied. He clutched the manga tight to his chest and ran out of the room, keen to begin reading his new manga.

Alec stared at Magnus, long after his brother was gone, completely stunned. "How did you remember that?" he asked incredulously.

"You told me when we were resting after the encounter with Laguna and Caspian," Magnus shrugged, standing up. "I have a selective memory."

"And you chose to remember that?"

Magnus winked. "I thought it might come in handy."

Alec's eyes softened. "Thank you. That means so much to him," he said. "Things haven't been easy on him. You've probably made his year." He smiled, the action so bright that it lit up the entire room. Magnus smiled back and leaned forward, unable to resist kissing Alec again.

Alec stepped back nervously and tripped over the bow which still remained on the floor. Magnus chuckled and shook his head, despite the Shadowhunter's ignition. "Have a nice trip?" the warlock teased.

"Shut up," Alec snapped, flushing bright red. He snatched up the bow and sighed. "You're distracting me. Zip your lips and let me practice."

Magnus curled his finger under Alec's chin and drew him toward him, pecking his lips affectionately. Alec drew back, suddenly nervous and unsure about the entire kissing ordeal. "I make no promises."

A/N: I'll be taking my Christmas Hiatus from the 19th of December-4th of January. None of my stories will be updated between this period of time (: