FIFTY CHAPTERS! WOOOOOOO! I was originally going to stop Sparkle and Glower after this one, but I think I'm going to go for 100.
Struck
Whenever Alec talked about the first time he'd officially met Magnus Bane he made sure to lie through his teeth and say it was the party where that Mundie got turned into a rat. It wasn't that Alec found the true story embarrassing or disturbing or negative in any way. For once, he was only able to see the positives of a situation that could have caused a lot of stress and dramatics. To Alec, the story of how he met his warlock was too special to share with anyone but Magnus. It was one of those stories that would be told time and time again, after dinner and during anniversary parties. That wasn't what he wanted. He wanted it to keep its magic, its secrecy.
The whole thing started with a stupid stuffed octopus.
o-O-o
Alec was thirteen and confused. Isabelle was eleven and in love. Jace was twelve and a brat.
If Alec had to explain how Burt the Octopus ended up hanging from the power lines on close to Broadway, that was what he would say. To shorten a long story, Jace grabbed Burt and went running. Isabelle chased him and Alec chased Isabelle. They had all run half of Manhattan when Jace was found standing on top of a Dumpster, taking aim. Alec begged him to stop and Jace threw it, Isabelle screaming like a wounded animal the whole time. The stupid octopus caught and Isabelle tackled Jace to the ground, all the while Alec sighed and went to look for a stick to knock it down. The two others disappeared and Alec figured that he could throw rocks at the stupid googly eyed thing until it came loose - which proved to be partially effective. The stuffed animal tumbled out and Alec went running headlong for it, not looking where he was going.
Burt fell into his arms as the ground slipped out from under him. Alec didn't even notice that he'd stepped off the curb until he saw the car speeding for him, mid-fall. It hit him, his ribs taking most of the impact. Alec rolled up over the hood, tangled up in shock and pain. The taxi jerked to a halt and he spun back down onto the asphalt. Alec's breath rattled his chest as he stared blankly up at the sky. Where were Jace and Isabelle? They weren't even going to know he'd died in the street because of their stupid bickering.
"Holy shit!" cried the cabbie. Suddenly the sky was covered with a middle aged Italian man's face. "You okay, kid?"
Alec coughed and felt something warm come out of his mouth. The cab driver meant to say something else, but was knocked backwards by blue sparks, out cold. A pair of troubled cat's eyes appeared in his place. Alec knew immediately that the man was a warlock, but his head felt like it was filled with cement and he couldn't stay awake any longer. The warlock was saying something, but everything echoed like he was at the end of a terribly long hallway. Alec shut his eyes and couldn't open them again.
The next thing he knew, he was lying on a strange couch, smelling apples and cinnamon.
Alec struggled to sit up, immediately taking in his surroundings and scoping out an exit. His ribs tingled madly, underlined with a pain that told him he was coming out of some sort of anesthetic. If he moved too much it hurt to breathe. After a wild second of gaping at the complicated steampunk clock sitting on top of the TV stand and the sunny yellow knit blanket covering him, he noticed a dirty octopus grinning at him from the cluttered coffee table. Beside that was a half-consumed cup of tea, still steaming. The sound of a toilet flushing snapped Alec out of his trance and he tried to get to his feet. The bathroom door opened just as he got off the couch.
As the High Warlock of Brooklyn rounded the corner, Alec took his first step towards the door and they both made a discovery - his foot was broken.
Alec swore and stumbled forward, catching himself on the back of the couch. The warlock rushed over to him, offering help. "Honey, let me look at that," he said. Alec reached for his stele, only to find it missing. He'd left it on his nightstand back at the Institute. "It might be broken."
He didn't know what to do. A dizzy spell decided it for him, making his knees go weak. He slowly let the warlock help him back onto the couch. Alec gave him the once over. Tall, lean, sparkly, and young - he didn't look evil. Not with a smile like that. Alec couldn't look at his eyes, though. Not when they were split like that. The warlock folded himself on his knees and slowly rolled up the leg of Alec's frayed, grass-stained jeans. The once thin, pale limb was purple, black, and terribly swollen. Gently, the warlock turned his leg so that he could see the inside. Alec swallowed. The bone had gone through the skin. How had he not felt that?
"And this," said the warlock, "is why I don't tip cab drivers."
Despite himself, Alec actually laughed. It didn't last long, though, because his ribs really hurt. Little did he know that the magic that had saved his life was still mending them. Alec licked his bottom lip. "I should, um..." And then he couldn't talk anymore. The warlock had peered up from his ankle, letting him get a clear look at his face, and Alec felt like he'd been slugged in the gut. Alec had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. Usually when he had thoughts about boys being attractive, he shook the feeling away and buried it deep, deep down - that didn't happen with the warlock.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. "Are you going to puke? I'll get a bucket."
Alec shook his head and dropped his gaze. "I should call home. Hodge can fix this."
There was a crackle of blue light and a numbness. Alec tried to pull away, but his ankle was in a vice grip. The warlock made quick work of it. The bone snapped back into place with a dull sort of pain and the wound it caused was closed. Unlike his ribs, no pain lingered. Six minutes later, Alec was completely healed. "Try it out," the warlock said, standing up. He stretched like a cat and Alec tried not to stare.
Slowly, he rolled his ankle and then put pressure on it. Good as new. "Thank you," he mumbled.
A hand ruffled his hair and Alec shrugged away from it. "No problem, dollface. I'm Magnus Bane, by the way."
Alec half gasped. He knew the name, but had always imagined some wizened old man with cloven hoofs or a dragons tale from the way his Father talked about him. Magnus was staring at him, one eyebrow arched. Alec suddenly felt very rude. He tried to smile politely and said, "I'm Alec Lightwood." He held out his hand for a shake and Magnus gave him a high five.
"Lightwood, huh? So my mundie cab driver managed to take out a Shadowhunter." He sat down in the worn green recliner, crossing his legs and picking up his tea. "A lot of people I know would say that's luck."
Alec frowned. "Would you?"
Magnus shrugged. "I fixed you up, didn't I?"
The frown only deepened. "But how much is it going to cost me?"
"Your first born," the warlock smirked, bringing his cup to his lips. When Alec just stared at him gravelly, he laughed. "Joking."
Alec took a deep breath and relaxed a little. The worry was less that he was afraid of giving up his first child and more that he didn't really want a first child to begin with. Not if they had to become Shadowhunter's as well. "I have some money," said Alec. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three crumpled bills and a folded coupon. "Uh, they're all ones, but this coupon is good for a free chili dog. They're really good."
To his dismay, the warlock just laughed. "Keep your chili dog," he said. "I was the one who got you hit with a car. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, nobly saving that squid from a grizzly death."
"It's an octopus," he grimaced. "His name is Burt."
Once again, Magnus cracked up. Good to know that Alec was such a riot to him, though it wasn't like he minded. Magnus only looked better when he laughed. His shoulders lifted and his head tilted up just a little. His eyes almost closed, only letting the tiniest glimmers of green shine through. They were nice that way. He let himself stare at Magnus, and when the warlock stopped laughing he didn't look away.
"How about I take you and Burt home?" he offered, standing up. Alec stuttered a 'No thank you', but Magnus waved it away. "One second. I just have to get my coat."
Twenty minutes later, Magnus finally decided on a coat and they were on their way. Alec didn't know what to say, but that didn't matter thanks to the sheer volume of words that came out of the High Warlock's mouth. He told Alec his whole morning as they walked towards the subway, and then recounted the incident with the cab and the impact, all the while cradling Isabelle's dirty stuffed octopus like it was a baby. Alec was slightly embarrassed to be seen in public with someone so loud and flashy, but he wanted to stay with the warlock just a little longer as they came closer and closer to the Institute. Magnus was funny and nice, not evil and scary. Besides, it was night time and no one was paying attention.
They were a block away when the warlock stopped. "You should probably go on alone from here," he said. "The last thing I need is a bunch of Shadowhunter's thinking I kidnapped one of their little ones."
Alec furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not little! I'm thirteen."
"Oh yeah?" smirked Magnus. "That's still little to me."
Alec grabbed his sister's stupid octopus and held it by one tentacle, crossing his arms. "In three years I'll be sixteen. That's old enough to drive. And in five years I'll be nineteen. I'll be an adult."
And then, of all things, the warlock said, "When that day comes, be sure to call me. You're gonna be a cute one."
If it was a joke, Alec seriously didn't get it. He blinked as Magnus laughed, cheeks turning red as he slowly realized what he'd meant. "I, uh, that's not... I'm not... We're both..."
"Don't give yourself an aneurysm," Magnus said as he started walking backwards. Those twenty minutes were well spent - he carried that close cut black jacket ridiculously well, especially with his hands in the pockets. "I'll see you later, Alec."
The Shadowhunter fought the urge to say, "You promise?" and turned around, head down the rest of the way home. When he entered the Institute, he saw that Isabelle and Jace had fallen asleep in the pews. Jace had a nasty black eye and a bag of melted ice dangled from his wrist. Alec whipped Burt the Octopus at Jace's head, waking them both, and then stormed off to his room, refusing to tell them where he'd been all day and for half the night.
o-O-o
When Hodge grilled him the next day, Alec said he'd gone for a long, long walk with Burt the Octopus to get away from Jace and Isabelle's fighting. Being grounded was worth it, especially later down the road when Alec met Magnus again. The connection had been instantaneous. Alec remembered his apartment, his name, his bizarre clothes - but his memory hadn't done his face any justice. The skin glowed in real life, and the eyes were like chips of emerald. The crackling warmth that had surrounded his ankle seemed to stick to the air around Magnus. The best part wasn't recognizing him, though - it was being recognized. Five years later and Magnus still remembered the little Shadowhunter he'd nearly killed with a cab. Even though he'd grown up, the warlock still knew who he was.
That was the story they never told, the one they kept quiet for only the two of them.
Fin.
