Hey… it's been a long week for me. But I'm alive (I think) so here's chapter eleven. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, and for those of you who are reading this but not reviewing, HELLO! I know you're out there! I won't bite! :)
And also, if you're expecting a reply to your review, well, you might get one. But fanfiction is being a bitch and is making my life difficult, so I can't, and have to resort to the lame old replying in the author's note! Yay! I'm tired. Hope your week was easier than mine.
"Babe, he's gonna be fine," Camille said, massaging Magnus' shoulders. "He just needs rest."
Magnus sighed. Ever since returning home, he'd been exhausted. He'd wanted to stay in the hospital with Alexander, but he couldn't. He'd come back to his loft exhausted to find Camille, one of his closest friends, waiting for him with Netflix starting up on the TV and two mugs of hot chocolate… though he had to admit, it was more marshmallows than hot chocolate, the way Camille always made it. They way he liked it.
"I know," he told her. "But I'm worried sick about him."
"As you should be," she noted. "Some people are too important to not worry about. I'm glad you found him, Mags."
"Me too, Cam. I'm just scared I'm gonna lose him."
"Nonsense," she scoffed. "Tell ya what. Either I can leave you to wallow in self-pity and uncalled-for worry, or I can call up the gang and we can all sit around and wallow with you. Which would you prefer?"
"The second one." Magnus supposed it couldn't hurt to let his friends in.
"Great!" Camille stood up and pulled out her phone. She texted for a minute, and in the space of a breath, there was a pounding on the door of the loft. She strode over to open it, bare feet pattering on the floor. Her long blonde hair curled down past her waist, flowing as she moved. It contrasted rather nicely with her pink pajamas, Magnus had to admit. Ragnor and Catarina shoved into the loft faster than Magnus could stand up.
"We were already on our way over when we got the text," Cat explained. "Do you want anyone else over, too?"
"The more the merrier," Magnus smiled sadly. "I need people around to keep me from breaking into the hospital to see Alexander."
"Gotta admire that dedication, honey," Camille teased, making her way into the kitchen to prepare hot chocolate for Ragnor and Cat, who went to change into the pajamas they kept in the loft for spontaneous pajama parties such as this.
When they came back out, there was another, politer knock at the door. He opened it to find Raphael, backed by two more men. They were both rather tall, but the one on the left looked remarkably like Alexander. The only difference was that he held himself with an air of confidence, something Alec lacked.
"We work with Catarina," Alexander's look-alike said by way of explanation. "I'm Will Herondale, this is Jem Carstairs."
"Pleasure," Magnus nodded, stepping inside to invite them in. Then he remembered Tessa Gray talking about her two friends Will and Jem, who had finally gotten together. "Do you, perchance, know Tessa Gray?"
Jem, who was somewhat of a willowy man with silver eyes and hair, chuckled. "Been friends with her ever since we met," he explained. "She's the reason William and I are where we are today."
"Lovely," Magnus smiled. "She's a nurse, right? I met her yesterday."
"Good to know," Will said. "But since she works in the hospital, the only reason you would've met her is if something had happened. Is everything alright?"
"My boyfriend was in a car accident," Magnus admitted, then almost cringed because he still hadn't asked Alec to be his boyfriend. Their eyes immediately flooded with sympathy. "His close friend was killed and his younger brother was injured badly, but will be okay. I'm worried sick about him. That's why Cam and Rags and Cat are here and inviting people over."
"Rags?" Will repeated incredulously, looking over to where Raphael was pecking Ragnor on the cheek.
"Yep. We're the dynamic trio—Mags, Rags, and Cat," Magnus grinned. "Sometimes joined by my fabulous sisterfriend, Camille."
Camille, upon hearing her name, held up a peace sign without breaking her enthusiastic conversation with Catarina.
"Sisterfriend?" Jem repeated.
"What are you from, the 1870s?" Magnus asked jokingly. "It's a term we human beings use nowadays to describe best friends who are like sisters. Girls call them 'girlfriends,' but if a guy says he's going to hang out with 'the girlfriends'... you can imagine. So she's my sisterfriend. Platonic soulmate. Better half. Whatever you prefer."
Jem allowed a smile at that. "Cheers to sisterfriends," he said.
"Ah, but for that, we'll need drinks!" Magnus exclaimed joyously. "Cam, how many hot chocolates you got?"
"Enough for me, you, Rags, Cat, Raphael, Jem, and Will," she called. "Y'all get your gorgeous asses in here! We have some serious tag-team moping to accomplish!"
Everyone filed into the green living room. Camille had matched mugs to people again, giving everyone a mug that matched something about them. Magnus' was rainbow glitter and read Can't Think Straight. Catarina's was blue with a white cat face. Ragnor held a green mug that said Bitch Please with white polka dots. Camille herself had a purple mug, but Magnus couldn't read what it said from where he sat, so he looked to Will and Jem. Will's mug had a duck on it, and as soon as he noticed this, he paled and turned it around so that the duck part was facing away from him. Jem cracked up at this, reading his own mug. It read, in sparkly green calligraphy, I know, I'm such a gem. Raphael's black mug had squiggly red lines trailing from two dots, with the words Bite Me in white over top of them.
"Camille, where do you find these mugs?" Magnus asked. "I know I don't possibly own mugs with this many puns on them."
"Magic, babe," she shrugged, turning hers so he could read it. T.G.I.F: This Girl Is Fabulous.
"Got it," he laughed. All seven of them clinked their mugs together.
"I'll have you know, William doesn't like ducks," Jem informed them.
"Don't like them?" Will looked offended. "They're the monsters of this earth! Devil's spawn! I almost think they're the cause of the latest demon pox outbreak!"
"Demon pox?" Camille wrinkled her nose. "Never mind. Maggie, tell us about your pretty boy!"
"Pretty boy's name is Alexander, Camille, and he's beautiful," Magnus said. "He's got the most gorgeous eyes, like you can't even believe it, and his laugh is mesmerizing and he's got four different smiles that all mean different things. He loves his younger siblings to death and is good at everything he attempts to do… painting, photography, writing, you name it. But he doesn't seem to think he's epic, either, he's so modest about it."
"You've got it bad," Ragnor chuckled, leaning back into the couch. "But no, Maggie's right. I met the kid. He's probably too good for you, Bane."
Camille giggled. "Is it wrong that I find all of this adorable?"
"No," Catarina said, at the same time as Magnus went "Yes." This caused the blonde woman to frown, shrug, and sip her marshmallow-dominant hot chocolate.
"Well too bad, cause it's pretty damn adorable."
Magnus' phone rang, and he didn't recognize the number, so he hesitated a bit before answering. "Hello?"
"Hi, is this Magnus Bane?"
"Yes."
"Alexander Lightwood is okay to leave the hospital," Tessa Gray said. "His sister is here with him, and she said she'd rather have you than a cab… please come to the hospital at your earliest convenience."
"On my way now," Magnus said, already walking to the door. Tessa hung up and he looked at his confused friends. "Guys, I'll be back sometime!"
A chorus of goodbyes came from the majority of his guests, the only outliers being a noncommittal grunt from Ragnor and Camille's gleeful suggestion that they dig around in Magnus' photo albums. He rolled his eyes as he exited the loft.
It was still pouring rain as Magnus drove to the hospital. Alec, Jace, and Izzy were sitting around in the waiting room, Jace ruffled from his night in a chair and Izzy looking relieved but anxious, two contradicting emotions Magnus wasn't sure how she pulled off. Alexander himself was perfect. Maybe he had six stitches on the left side of his forehead and maybe he was paler than usual, and maybe his hair looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, but he was perfect nonetheless. Magnus hurried to hug him.
"How's Max?" He asked, gripping Alec's arms.
"Holding on," Isabelle smiled. "He can't leave yet, since he still needs IVs and can't really move, but the doctors said it should only be about a week until he can leave. Then he'll have to take it easy for a while, obviously."
"Does he know what happened?" Magnus asked. "Alexander told me he just found the car and them over the cliff. Max was probably in the car when it happened."
"Clary's stepdad is on the police force," Izzy said. "He told Simon and Simon told her and she told me that apparently the brakes had been tampered with. He doesn't think it was an accident."
"Who would try to get Alexander into a car crash?" Magnus exclaimed.
"The brakes were working fine when we got there," Alec told them, burying his face in Magnus' un-gelled and glitter-less hair. He made a soft, contented noise and nuzzled further. Magnus made a mental note to leave his hair down more often. "I missed you," he whispered. Somehow both Izzy and Jace heard, and Izzy giggled while Jace smiled and shook his head.
"Look at that: Wondercat has turned my big brother into a total muffin."
Some thoughts invaded Magnus' mind of various ways to combine Alec and muffins. He didn't voice any of them.
"Aku juga merindukanmu," Magnus breathed into Alec's ear.
"What does that mean?" Alec wondered.
"I missed you too," Magnus replied, and tapped Alec's nose. "In Indonesian." He kissed the author's chin and let him go. Immediately he felt incomplete again, changed his mind, and brought him back into the embrace. Isabelle got a kick out of that. He scowled at her over Alec's shoulder.
"You guys are in pajamas already," he realized. "How'd you like to just come over to my place? The rest of my friends are already there."
"Ooh, will I finally get to meet Camille?" Isabelle gushed.
"Yep," Magnus grinned. "I'll send her a text and tell her to get three more hot chocolates ready." He pulled out his phone and did just that. She sent him a heart and a thumbs up as a response, and he replied with a kissy face, earning a laugh from her. Then he escorted Alec and his siblings to his car and drove back to the loft. On the way, he wondered if any of them were allergic to cats. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see, he thought. I hope they don't traumatize the Chairman.
"Maggie, you took way too long to get back here!" Camille scolded when he opened the door and ushered his friends in. "You'd think you joined a circus on the way!" She stopped and looked at Jace. "Never mind. That's exactly what you did. Hi, I'm Camille!" She gave a small wave and a grin. Her oddly pointy canines seemed to spook Jace.
"I'm Izzy!" Isabelle responded enthusiastically. "And these are my brothers, Alec and Jace. Magnus has told me about you. We need to go to the mall sometime!"
"You're speaking my language, girlfriend," Camille's grin widened. "Maybe we could drag these poor boys along for makeovers, yes?"
"I've tried," Isabelle sighed. "Alec disappears into thin air and Jace goes, but then usually ends up flirting with whatever girl is there until she forgets what she's supposed to be doing."
"Well, they don't stand a chance against me. I've got vamp strength." Camille winked. "Hot chocolate, lovelies?"
She and Izzy made their way into the kitchen, chatting. Magnus was glad his two sisterfriends hit it off. Jace just looked confused at this point, and became even more so when Will approached him, still holding his duck coffee mug.
"Hello, fellow citizen," Will said. "My name is Will Heronda—"
"Fellow citizen, my ass!" Jace exclaimed, hiding behind Alec. "There's a duck on your mug! Get it away! You are conspiring with the enemy!"
Will seemed to realize this too and, with a mortified expression, lobbed the mug across the room without looking. Jem caught it with one hand without breaking his conversation with Cat.
"Thank you!" He heaved a relieved sigh. "I fear I may have been hypnotized by the duck's devilish forces! You have freed me!"
"I can't imagine what might've happened to you if I hadn't," Jace said, concernedly patting Will's shoulder.
"I most likely would've contracted demon pox," Will mused. "Ducks transmit that disease like mosquitoes transmitted the black plague."
"Mosquitoes didn't transmit the black plague," Magnus heard Alec mutter under his breath. He forced back a chuckle.
"And demon pox doesn't exist," Magnus whispered back. Then, louder, he said, "I'm glad you two are getting acquainted, but I can assure you, there are no actual ducks in this apartment."
"Thank the Angel," Jace sighed. Camille came back with two mugs, which she handed to Jace and Alec. Jace's said Sasshole in fancy calligraphy, while Alec's was white and read I before E… except when your foreign neighbor Keith receives eight counterfeit beige sleighs from feisty caffeinated weightlifters. Weird. Magnus watched his expression shift as he read it, first confused, then shocked, then amused.
"Why do you have so many funny coffee mugs?"
Instead of answering, Magnus said, "You think they're funny?"
Alec shrugged. "Cheesy funny, but yes." He sipped the drink and made another hilarious and kissable face. "This is literally just a cup of marshmallows."
"That's Camille for you," Magnus said gleefully. "C'mon. You need to meet the rest of the gang."
Later that night, after Jace, Will, Jem, Ragnor, Catarina, and Raphael had left, Izzy and Camille were sitting on the couch in a heated conversation about outfits on fictional characters, and Alec and Magnus were just sort of chilling, unable to speak over the girls. Eventually they ended up heading to Magnus' room, where they both sat cross-legged on his yellow sheets. Alec was surprised to see a very battered copy of All the Locked Doors sitting on Magnus' nightstand. He picked it up, running his finger over his name on the cover, then over the somber picture of Mala holding a giant key and looking up as light streamed over him and tears ran down his face. Max had drawn the first draft of this, he remembered.
"How many times have you read this?" He asked Magnus, who looked up.
"Oh, don't ask that. I haven't been counting. Cat says it somewhere around sixty but I suspect it's higher."
"Damn, Magnus," Alec breathed.
"I have it memorized," Magnus grinned wolfishly. "Quiz me!"
Alec flipped to page 30 and put his finger on the first line. It started in the middle of a sentence. "Okay, what's the first sentence on page 30?"
Magnus paused for a moment. "First complete sentence? It starts somewhere in the middle of the High Emperor going off on Mala."
"First complete sentence," Alec relented.
"At least you have proof I didn't burn him," Magnus laughed. "Without context, that's actually pretty funny."
"You're right," Alec said. "I'm going to flip to a random page and read the first complete sentence with no context."
He let the book drop open. It landed on page 264, and the first sentence was Killian saying, "Let me get this straight: we met because of a broken watering can?" To which Mala replied, "That would be true if there was anything straight about this, angel." Alec found himself glancing up at Magnus, who was scribbling something in a neon pink notebook. He seemed to feel Alec's eyes, though, for he looked up and smiled, eyes flaring with affection.
"Alexander Lightwood, you inspire me," he said, putting a last note in his book with a flourish. "I've written multiple songs since I've met you."
Alec figured you inspire me was one of the highest compliments one could get from a famous musician.
"You inspire me, too," he said, looking at his knees. Magnus closed his book and put it aside, then tackled Alec down into the pillows, snuggling up to him and closing his eyes.
"Magnus?"
"Yes, dear?" Magnus didn't open his eyes, letting his arms fall to either side of Alec's chest. His forehead rested against the side of Alec's neck, causing his breath to tickle his collarbone.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to sleep, but I don't want you to leave." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. And maybe it was. Or maybe it could be. Alec shifted slightly, adjusting Magnus more comfortably on top of him, and closed his eyes as well. Magnus waited until he was sure Alec was asleep before he moved, got up on his elbows, and kissed Alec's mouth lightly. Alec pretended the contact hadn't woken him up, but one of his hands subconsciously lifted to rest on Magnus' back. His skin seemed to melt into Magnus, as though they were never meant to be apart.
It almost scared him how much he was okay with that.
A/N: So it's about one in the morning. I regret nothing. Hope this doesn't suck too bad! There will be more general Malec in the future. If you liked the whole group of friends, let me know, and I can fit them in again sometime. And the car accident was only the beginning of the trouble for these poor babies! *evil laughter*
(And to NataleeAndDal: Those were some insightful guesses! I can't tell you if you're right or not, but I can say it wasn't Camille. I'm trying to make her NOT a bitch… hope I'm doing okay. :) As for the POVs, I'll most likely stick to Alec and Magnus, with some occasional Isabelle and another character when it's necessary. And if you're wondering why I'm doing this here, it's because fanfiction sucks and isn't letting me directly reply to reviews. Love that.)