I hate how I didn't manage to put this in my end notes schedule but I wrote it last minute yesterday so...
Anyway, happy birthday Alec!
Alec had never killed a demon before, and that was because he was always trying to protect the two people he cared for the most: Isabelle, his sister, and Jace, his parabatai (the person he loved, but he would never admit that to anyone except Isabelle, because god forbid the consequences). And that was how he almost died, he supposed. Protecting Jace by trying to kill a Greater Demon.
The demon didn't die, but Jace also didn't, and that made Alec glad.
Hearing about what happened afterward, with Valentine, made Alec feel sick to his stomach because Jace had been through so much, and Alec couldn't be there for him, he was unconscious, dying of demon poison, until Magnus Bane came over and cured him. By the time he was alright again, it was already over. Jace caught them up on what happened, and Alec felt a little guilty pleasure at the revelation that Jace and Clary were siblings, but at the same time, he just wanted to hug Jace. He really needed one, as much as he liked to pretend he didn't.
Clary came to visit the Institute, and she and Alec talked for a bit before she flew off with Jace to visit her - their - mother. And now Alec laid on his bed waiting for Jace to return, his crutches leaning against the bedstand. Alec's eyes slowly closed as he slipped into sleep.
A knock on his door woke him up. He stared at it blankly for a moment before he called, "Come on in."
Jace came inside, closing the door behind him. "Hey. You missed dinner."
Alec sat up. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
Jace shrugged. "Izzy made it. I decided to spare you."
"Ah, thank you."
Jace stared at him for a few moments, and the two of them were silent before Jace spoke again. "Is something bothering you?"
"No," Alec said quickly. "Not really."
"Liar," Jace huffed, sitting down beside Alec on the bed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Alec repeated.
Jace glanced at Alec's crutches. "Does it have anything to do with the Greater Demon?"
Alec shook his head. "Not exactly. I mean, it's partly related, but-" He groaned. "Nevermind. It's nothing you should concern yourself with."
Jace's eyes seemed to pierce through him, making shivers go up Alec's spine, before he turned away. "I'll stay here until you tell me. We're parabatai, Alec. You can tell me anything."
Except that I love you, Alec thought, but he didn't say the words out loud. "You already have enough to deal with," he said instead. "Don't let my issues bother you."
"Is this about Valentine?" Jace's voice was sharp.
"Partly," Alec muttered, his resolve starting to crumble. When Jace flinched, he quickly clarified, "I don't suddenly hate you because of who your dad is, Jace! It's just- he took you, and…" Alec snapped his mouth shut and turned away. He had said too much.
"I see," Jace said, and Alec's heart sank. He couldn't read the emotions in his parabatai's voice. What if he found out just from those words?
He'll leave me if he ever finds out I love him.
"You're upset because you couldn't protect me like you usually do," Jace said next, and Alec's head whipped towards him eyes wide. Jace rolled his eyes. "Alec, I'm not stupid. I know what you mean. And you did protect me, Alec."
"What are you talking about?" Alec demanded, leaning forward. "I didn't protect you! I laid around doing nothing while you were being kidnapped and learning your entire life was a lie!"
"You were dying, Alec," Jace responded, looking him right in the eyes. "Dying because you took a hit meant for me. Because you protected me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive."
Alec's breath caught in his throat. "N-no, you probably would have survived. You're a great shadowhunter, you would have found a way-"
"Alec." Now Jace's voice was gentle. "You saved me. And look, it's paining me to admit that I was helpless, so do me a favor and agree already so I don't have to repeat myself. Okay?"
Alec stared at him, then whispered, "Okay."
Jace got up. "There's leftovers in the fridge if you decide you want to die of food poisoning." He left toward the doorway.
"Jace, wait!" Alec got up, grabbing his crutches at the last second. Jace turned towards him. "Can we talk? About, you know… Everything that happened to you…"
"Later," Jace said. "I'm getting tired."
He wants to avoid the conversation, Alec thought. "Alright, later," he agreed, determined to hold Jace to that promise.
Jace smiled at him. "I love you too, Alec."
Alec swore all his bodily functions stopped at once as he stared at Jace in shock, but the shadowhunter simply turned and walked away.
Alec was definitely going to need a minute to process this, wasn't he.
(Or maybe more than a minute, actually. Yeah, definitely more.)
If you enjoyed reading, please leave a comment!
Upcoming Works
-Flying Solo
Date: 9/14/2022
Fandoms: The Mentalist
Series: Nico's Polyam Shipping Days
Pairings: Rigsby/Van Pelt/Jane
Summary: Jane always wants to deal with everything alone. Rigsby and Van Pelt try to convince him otherwise.
-Entwined Souls
Date: 9/16/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan
Series: Friday Funtimes
Pairings: Shinichi/Heiji
Summary: Heiji always knew that Kudo Shinichi, the great detective of the east, was his soulmate. So when he mysteriously disappears, Heiji immediately goes to look for him - and is surprised to find out he is now a child named Edogawa Conan.
-Gambling with Chess Pieces Chapter 1
Date: 9/18/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Nico's DCMK Events
Pairings: Saguru/Kaito
Summary: The identity of Kaitou Kid was discovered when Kaito was still in high school, and for the past few years, he has been on the run, searching for Pandora. But now, Saguru - the boy he was always in love with - is determined to help. Written for HakuKai Week 2022.
Upcoming Events
-HakuKai Week 2022
An event that I am hosting, celebrating the pairing of Hakuba Saguru and Kuroba Kaito. Prompts are now on my friend's tumblr (Radibe5), as well as on my AO3 collection, and reblogged on my own tumblr!