Jagnus || Shadowhunters || Jagnus || And They Were Roommates || Jagnus || Shadowhunters || Jagnus
Title: And They Were Roommates – And They Were Alpha and Omega Too!
Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, wingfic, grooming, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, shapeshifters, nesting, heat, fluff, hurt/comfort, past abuse, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, knotting, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Magnus/Jace
Side Pairings: Alec/Andrew, Helen/Aline, Raphael/Isabelle, Simon/Clary, Luke/Catarina
Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan 'Jace' Herondale, Magnus Bane, Isabelle Lightwood, Maxwell Lightwood, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray, Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, Luke Garroway, Catarina Loss, Madzie Loss, Andrew Underhill, Aline Penhallow, Helen Blackthorn, Imogen Herondale, Sebastian Verlac | Jonathan Morgenstern
Summary: When Magnus opened his home to Jace, he hadn't realized the Shadowhunter was an omega. An unmated omega, at that. Now, he had to adjust to having the omega in his space and slowly, over the course of living together, they grow closer.
And They Were Roommates
And They Were Alpha and Omega Too!
Chapter 4: And He Was a Herondale
"So... Andrew Underhill asked me out for drinks."
Jace's eyes widened in surprise and he turned to look at his parabatai. Jace had been up on the rooftop, supposedly alone. His favorite spot was still the hidden garden up here. While living at the loft, he had actually missed this. Yet being here didn't bring him the same kind of peace anymore. He... missed Magnus. Guilt and about a dozen other emotions overwhelmed him when thinking about the alpha. Factually, Jace knew that it hadn't been Magnus who had hurt him, who had thrown him around, he knew it had been Valentine, but it had been Magnus' body.
"Underhill asked you out, huh?" Jace tilted his head as he turned to look at his parabatai.
"So shocking someone would ask me out?" Alec elbowed him and leaned next to him.
The distraction was welcomed. All he had been able to think about were Magnus, Valentine and his newly found identity. It was a lot that had happened within the span of a few hours. Jace had done what he did best. He retreated. Pulled back. Not enough for Alec to drop it though. His parabatai would always come and find him, that was why they were parabatai. Alec would never let Jace fall.
"You're the most handsome man at the Institute, I've been telling you that for years," Jace now elbowed him back. "Okay but Underhill, huh. He's... nice. Diligent. Likes order. Seems a good fit. And you're both betas, that seems fairly uncomplicated. I mean, the two men thing aside."
"The two men thing," Alec snorted and shook his head, avoiding his gaze. "I've been struggling with... with that for so long. Magnus, his friendship, helped me be who I am. I've been reaching out more. He, Magnus told me a community is important. So I reached out to Aline, because I know she's like me – well, she likes girls, but you know what I mean. And we've been kind of... forming a community. Andrew... joined it. We've been hanging out. Spending time with each other."
"I'm... happy for you, parabatai," Jace smiled earnestly at him.
"C'mon. Let me look at your wings and you help me plan the perfect first date."
"Oh, you are so asking the wrong person for that," Jace chuckled and flopped down.
He sat cross-legged and unglamoured his wings, spreading them wide. Alec took a seat behind him and started gently carding through Jace's wings, sorting the feathers and taking out the loose ones.
"Don't make it too complicated," suggested Jace after a few moments. "Just... I don't know, take him out to a bar. A couple beers, maybe a game of pool. Just out of the Institute, away, with only the two of you. Testing the water. If you're not feeling it, you can call the whole thing off any time, say you had too much or whatever. But a restaurant comes with a certain standard and with the minimum time-limit of all the food."
"That... is actually solid advise. When did you become an expert on dates?" Alec chuckled.
"Clary's been making me hang out more with Simon. Since they're dating now. And Simon is so into these stupid romance movies," Jace shrugged and leaned his head back. "The two have been coming over to the loft a lot, we've been watching like... two movies a week."
"Cute," Alec snickered as he moved on to the other wing. "You should talk to him, you know."
"Who? Underhill?" Jace's face screwed up at that. "Why would I-?"
"Not Andrew. You should talk to Magnus," Alec paused for a moment and simply focused on the wings in front of him. "I've been to see him. He's... not doing too well. I think the... torture messed him up and he thinks that you're avoiding him. Which you are."
"I'm not avoiding him. I miss him. I... It's complicated, Alec. He was using Magnus' face. The way he looked at me with that face... the vicious snarl, the hatred and disgust... I can't shake it... I keep seeing it. H... He was in my home. He was in Magnus. I... I went to the loft, because I was seeking a place to feel safe and I thought with Magnus and his wards, the loft would be an impenetrable fort and... and now this and I feel... I feel vulnerable, helpless, I don't... I don't know what to do."
"Go and talk to him," Alec finished up and walked around Jace to sit down in front of him, look at him with raised eyebrows. "You've been holed up at the Institute for two days now. But you haven't brought anything with you. If you had plans of staying here, you would have brought – or at this point at least gotten – your stuff back from the loft. You haven't. All your things are still there. Even though you could have moved back even before that. Aldertree's been gone for a while now, but you remained at the loft and you still plan on going back there. So, you need to talk to Magnus."
"Sometimes, I hate how well you know me," Jace huffed. "I just... I love living at the loft. The level of privacy? I love my room and my bathroom. The view from the balcony. The... company. I didn't leave just because of Aldertree. He was the main reason, yeah, but not the only one. Alec, aside from you and Iz, everyone has been looking at me... as a traitor, the son of Valentine. Scum. I love living somewhere where I am not constantly being scrutinized for something I had no choice in. And right now? The head of the Institute is the inquisitor. Inquisitor Herondale."
"Mh... Interesting. So, the real question is now: Who are you trying to avoid more? Magnus, or your newly discovered grandmother?" Alec raised one judgmental eyebrow.
"Shut up," was the weak answer Jace was able to give his parabatai.
/break\
Catarina was not just his best friend, she was also a health-professional. After babysitting him for the past two days, she had downright forced him to go to therapy. Magnus was opposed to it, but she was a force to be reckoned with. So Magnus made an appointment with a warlock therapist, an old friend of Catarina's. Maybe he needed it. He was struggling. He'd been drinking more in these past two days already and... if he was being honest, he had been drinking more in the past few weeks. This war was taking its toll on him and this had just been the cherry on top.
"Catarina, I swear I will be at the appointment tomorrow, stop checking on me-"
Magnus groaned as he opened his door, just to pause. That wasn't Catarina. The scent of his omega overwhelmed him. Strawberries, honey and that note of roses. Without meaning to, Magnus breathed in deeply, inhaling it. The scent was still lingering everywhere in the loft, but it was becoming stale, this was all fresh and intense. Jace seemed skittish as he tilted his head. The blonde was staring straight ahead at Magnus. Not flinching away. Then again, Magnus hadn't moved yet.
"You're... here to get your things, I suspect," Magnus swallowed hard.
He didn't like it, but he had come to terms with it over the past two days. The real question was: Why didn't he like it? Why did he feel excited to have Jace's scent surround him again? He should be glad to have his loft back again. No more inconvenient roommate. The truth was, it was no more home-cooked meals, no more shared drinks on the balcony, no more movie-nights. No more Jace. And Jace was... nice to be around. Magnus liked Jace, liked Jace in his space.
"No. I'm... back home. If you'll still have me," Jace smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to avoid you. I was just... trying to process. And that was... harder with you around."
Blinking slowly, Magnus stepped aside. Letting Jace in. Jace's scent shifted, easing. Relieved. Jace was relieved that Magnus let him in. Huh. Slowly, Magnus followed Jace toward the couch. The two of them sat down together and Magnus turned to look at Jace expectantly.
"So... How's being Shadowhunter royalty treating you?" Magnus quirked his lips.
Jace folded one arm over the backrest and now buried his face in it, groaning. "Don't remind me of that. That, I have been avoiding. I... have been avoiding her."
"How come? I thought you would be happy to have found family," Magnus frowned.
"I had family!" Jace looked up at him, a vulnerable and hurt expression in his eyes. "I had Clary! I had... Jocelyn. She's dead, but I... mourned her, I thought she was my mother. I had Luke, who has been trying to be a dad. Now I lost all of that and for what. The inquisitor. The woman who has people quiver in fear. Not known for warm hugs and cookies, you know. I don't see her being happy that Valentine's son is her grandson. That's not going to end well."
"You're afraid to be rejected by her," Magnus' voice dropped to a low whisper.
His eyes softened. Of course he was. He'd been rejected so often in the past months alone. With the Frays, he thought he had it. A sister and a stepfather willing to accept him, even if his mother had rejected him. Now, he was back to the beginning, once more having to prove himself.
"Sweetheart," Magnus reached a hand out to rest on Jace's thigh. "Take it from someone who doesn't have any blood-family anymore. Don't waste it. Even if it changes your world once again, you should get to know her. Don't see it as another loss, see it as a gain."
"Right..." Jace sighed, tilting his head a little.
"Mh..." Magnus adjusted himself to sit closer to Jace, look deeply into his eyes. "You're a Herondale. You know what, I... knowing that you are... You do have the same blue eyes as Will."
"Will?" Jace echoed confused, trying to fight the blush.
"Will Herondale. I've been friends with the Lightwoods and the Herondales for a very, very long time. Will was... he was a very good man and he had the same bright-blue eyes as you."
Magnus was gently tracing Jace's face, lost in memories. He hadn't noticed it before, had no reason to suspect it. But that light shade of blue... He'd always had a weakness for blue eyes. Oh, this wasn't good. He was still trying to fight what Catarina had suggested the other day.
"I can tell you about the Herondales of the past, if you'd like," offered Magnus kindly.
"That... Yeah. Thank you, Magnus. I'd like that," Jace smiled.
/break\
Jace took a deep breath as he stood in front of the office door. He'd been in this office so often before, but this was different. He knew the inquisitor was in there. And the inquisitor was now his grandmother. He'd met her before, in her role as the inquisitor, and it was quite hard to imagine her kind and soft. After another moment, he knocked carefully.
"Come inside," called the inquisitor from inside.
Slowly, Jace turned the knob and opened the door. Magnus had given him a pep-talk this morning and he had spent all of last night telling him about Herondales of the past. Imogen Herondale sat behind the desk, like a queen on her throne. Even though she was an omega like Jace, she radiated so much authority. It was... startling. In a good way though, inspirational?
"Jace," whispered the inquisitor startled, her voice soft and surprised. "I... was wondering when you would... come to find me. I didn't want to push you."
That was nice. Jace took another deep breath as he approached Imogen. What was he supposed to do? Say? How was he supposed to act around her? He paused in front of the desk.
"I... just needed to... digest this. It was a lot. Third identity change in the past three months."
"I... I understand that, Jace," Imogen smiled thin-lipped. "I thought you were dead. I thought you had died with Céline. I... There is so much I want to talk to you about."
"Yeah," Jace chuckled just a bit. "I have so many questions."
"Come in. Sit," Imogen walked over to the sofa, sitting down herself. "You can... ask me anything."
"I... I just want to... I want to know if they... wanted me..."
Jace bit his lips and turned to look away from her. Jocelyn had rejected him. Maryse had rejected him. When he had still believed Eliza Wayland to be his mother, well, Valentine hadn't bothered to tell him many comforting lies about her. In all his life, Jace had never gotten a mother-figure who'd truly wanted him. And now there was a fourth mother who could... let him down...
"Your... Your mother wanted you so much, Jace," Imogen's voice was pained. "All she wanted was a baby. She... She was troubled, but she loved you so much. She would sing to you, you know."
"She... She did," the relief filling him was unreal.
Imogen reached out to cup his cheeks. "You... have her eyes, you know."
"I... do? Magnus said I have 'Herondale-blue eyes'..."
"Well. Herondales haven't trademarked blue eyes, you know," Imogen chuckled. "But your mother, she had heterochromia too. Blue and brown, just like yours. You inherited her eyes."
"Can you... tell me more about her," requested Jace hopefully.
"Of course," Imogen smiled kindly, settling in comfortably.
/break\
"Do you wanna go to the Hunter's Moon today?"
Jace was leaning against the backrest of the couch, head tilted down to look at Magnus. The warlock tilted his head back so he could look up at the blonde above him. There was a teasing smirk on the omega's face and his scent was all around him. How much Magnus loved that scent.
"Why, are you asking me out on a date, Trouble?" Magnus smirked teasingly.
The Shadowhunter flushed surprised and stared wide-eyed. "Wha... No. I was thinking we could maybe spy on Alec. He's on his first date. Underhill – a beta from the Institute – asked him out."
"Mh. That does sound like a lot of fun," Magnus smirked mischievously.
Magnus opened a portal for them and offered Jace his arm. Reluctantly did Jace take it. They got out at the Hunter's Moon. It didn't take them long to spot Alec, awkwardly leaning against the billiard table with a beer in his hand and a coy smile aimed at some dirty-blonde Shadowhunter.
"That's Underhill," whispered Jace. "Okay. Let's sit at the bar. Good view."
"You're evil, Trouble," noted Magnus. "It's quite delightful."
"Guys! Did you come to cheer Simon on too?"
The two turned to look at Clary and Isabelle in surprise. They were both sitting at the bar, turned toward the stage where Simon was singing. Oh. Well, that could work as a cover for them, but Magnus felt a little disappointed. This could have been like a date for them. At which point he truly should reconsider his feelings toward Jace. Or rather, the fact that he had feelings.
"Actually, we're here trailing Alec on his first date," Jace whispered toward Izzy.
"Wait, wha—at," Izzy immediately turned to scan the bar. "Underhill? That makes... so much sense, actually. The two have been working together so much. And spending time together outside of work. I think it's due to you no longer living at the Institute."
At that, Jace looked guilty, prompting Magnus to rest a hand on his thigh and squeeze it reassuringly. Magnus' attention was drawn back to Alec and Underhill. It was cute, how nervous Alec looked. Magnus was proud at that. The beta had come a long way. In the past weeks, they had spent a lot of time together and he had done his best to build up Alec's confidence.
"They're cute together," noted Magnus with a small smile.
"Ye—eah, they are. Though Underhill better not hurt my parabatai or I will be forced to hurt him."
"Easy, Trouble," Magnus chuckled and laid an arm around Jace's shoulders.
"Jace! Magnus! You came to cheer me on too? That's so sweet."
"Sure, you're basically my brother-in-law, gotta-" Jace trailed off with a troubled frown. "No, wait."
"No, that's right," interrupted Clary quickly, taking his hand. "You're my brother. I lost my mother. I got you. I am not dropping you again, Jace. You're part of the family now."
Jace's face relaxed at that and he smiled softly at her before turning to Simon. "But you know that if you ever hurt Clary, I will also be forced to hurt you, right?"
"Yeah, that's scary. Stop smirking at me like that. Please. Clary, protect me."
Simon yelped and went to hide behind Clary and Isabelle. Clary laughed softly and turned to kiss him softly. Mh, those two were pretty cute too, now that Magnus thought about it. The soft nerd alpha and his fierce spitfire omega. Honestly, that last part was why it had been so easy to believe that Clary and Jace were siblings – reckless, stubborn spitfire omegas.
"C'mon, Trouble. Let's challenge Alec and his new boyfriend to a game," prompted Magnus.
He grasped Jace's hand and pulled him along. While Underhill seemed startled (and slightly intimidated as he looked at Jace), Alec simply offered them an unimpressed deadpan.
"We thought you might want to play against us," Magnus smiled. "I would love to get to know the cutie who finally managed to lure Alexander out of the closet."
"Cutie?" Underhill blinked startled and flushed. "Uh, I'm Andrew. Andrew Underhill."
"Jace, why are you here?" Alec growled lowly, glaring at his parabatai.
"You heard Magnus. We wanted a game of pool," Jace shrugged innocently.
"I mean, I think that's a nice idea," offered Andrew, looking at Alec. "Admittedly, I didn't think our first date would be a double-date, but when I asked you out, I knew your parabatai would be a big part of your life and thus our... potential... relationship. So... I expected double-dates with your parabatai and his alpha in our future."
The more he talked, the more he flushed. Though what stood out to the other three was the ready assumption that Magnus and Jace were an item. Jace turned to stare at Underhill in stunned silence, not sure what to say to that. Magnus cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Yes. A double-date sounds like a great idea," stated Alec before either Magnus or Jace could.
He smirked at them wickedly, wrapping his arms around them both. Okay, that was fair. They crashed his date, he got them back. During the game, Magnus and Jace kept glancing at each other.
/break\
"You're not Luke," noted Jace as he came face to face with Catarina Loss.
The warlock was wearing Luke's shirt and a flustered expression on her face."I am not. And this is not how he wanted to introduce his new girlfriend to his kids. So... don't tell Clary?"
"I... had no plans to. It's Luke's business how to tell her," assured Jace. "But is he... there?"
"He is in the shower. I'll go and make breakfast, you could come with me," offered Catarina.
With a nod did he follow her to the kitchen and started helping her with breakfast until Luke walked into the kitchen. The alpha smiled and kissed Catarina lovingly before turning to Jace. He looked so happy to see Jace, pulling him into a one-armed hug. Most alphas didn't smell very appealing, but Luke, he... smelt safe. Like... family. Which was why Jace had avoided him.
"It's good to see you! I've heard from Clary that a lot's been going on with you. How are you holding up with everything, Jace?" Luke went to make coffee for the three of them.
"I'm... doing better with it now. I finally talked to... Imogen. Calling her grandma is... weird still. But we've been... talking. Magnus has been helping me a lot, actually. He's been telling me about the Herondales he knew in the past. Makes me kind of... feel like I know my family."
"That's Magnus for you," Catarina chuckled fondly. "Always helping the Shadowhunters in need."
"You know, I knew your parents too," offered Luke after a moment. "If... you want to hear about them, you could come by more often and I could tell you stories, mh?"
Jace relaxed, filled with relief. He had mainly avoided Luke because he was afraid of rejection, now that he was no longer Jocelyn's son and thus no longer Luke's problem. In his experience with the Lightwoods, he had seen just how easy it was to drop him like a hot coal when they had no longer an obligation toward him. Catarina cleared her throat and put a plate down.
"Come on now, breakfast is ready. You can be nostalgic after we eat," prompted Catarina.
Jace smiled as the three of them started eating. This was nice, a good distraction, considering he had been on a maybe maybe not double date last night. Alec and Andrew had treated it as such, but... what did Magnus think about it? He could ask, but that came with the potential for rejection.
Author's note: Next chapter, they're going to have to confront their feelings for each other. But I'm not going to make it that easy for them ;D