Hodge watched Magnus get into the SUV with the FBI agent and ran a rough hand over his face. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. This was what happened to sloppy ass people who didn't know when to quit. He'd found what he was looking for in Magnus' apartment, proof that Camille wasn't entirely psychotic, but it had just become useless. Telling Asmodeus to control his son was off the table. If he was informing on his father to the FBI, or if the FBI was in any way watching him, the heat on this particular situation had just escalated to a point well beyond what Hodge was used to dealing with.
Camille was off the rails.
Camille was unusually shaken by this whole situation, which worried Hodge. He still thought everything could be managed if no one lost their cool, but Camille was clearly losing her grip. Because of that he was reluctant to call her and tell her that Magnus was currently in the company of the FBI. In what capacity Hodge couldn't exactly determine. He didn't want to send her off the deep end, but neither did he want to sit on this new development. He really just needed to take Magnus out. They had a shipment ready, Asmodeus was prepared for the buy, and Hodge wanted this wrapped up. The kids were going to bring them a very large payday.
Sighing to himself he figured Magnus would be spooked now, but it wouldn't be any reason for him not to go to work. So he figured his best bet at this point was to stake out the club, but he had a few stops to make before he settled in for the night. No sense hanging around an FBI agent's house and asking for trouble.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Alec opened his eyes and couldn't keep the soft smile from his face. Magnus looked so peaceful with the morning light illuminating his face. They'd fallen into bed together completely exhausted from the day before, and Alec couldn't remember when he'd slept so comfortably.
Alec has always been good at repressing things. At ignoring what he doesn't want to be true or what he doesn't want to think about until it's too late. Looking at the man in his bed, he couldn't run away from it any longer. He wanted Magnus. Had wanted Magnus for a long time. The love he was feeling, it hadn't come from nowhere. It had built up over time into this thing that he thought he could never have, so much so that he hadn't even considered it.
He's always known Magnus is attractive, it's one of those things he's become accepted as fact and just didn't dwell on, but lately it's been hard not to pay attention to the way he looks. There are the obvious things, like his eyes, his cheekbones, and that mouth, but there are the more unique things, too, that Alec has started to notice, like how his body just seems to line up with Alec's, and how he shrinks down when he's trying to protect himself from something bad, and how he crosses his arms to ward off any physical interaction from others when he's scared.
He had no way of knowing how Magnus felt, they had only briefly spoken the night before, but he was pretty sure Magnus was invested.
"Good morning darling." the husky sound of Magnus' voice made Alec sigh with contentedness. He pulled Magnus closer until his head was resting just under Alec's chin.
"Good morning."
"Time is it?" Magnus asked into his bare chest. Alec grabbed his phone and looked at the time.
"A little after 6." and before Alec can go further Magnus wraps himself around Alec like an octopus and then groans as he buries his face further into Alec's chest.
Alec chuckles. "Jace and Clary will be by soon. We should probably get up."
Magnus waves a hand in the air, shakes his head, and makes a grumbly noise while jerking the covers up over them. Alec kisses his exposed shoulder and then slips from the bed.
"Noooo Alexander come back." came the muffled whine from the nest of blankets.
Alec laughed and sat back down on the bed. "Magnus…"
Magnus poked his head out from under the blanket, "Get back in this bed now." He commanded, though it didn't really carry any kind of punch. It was far too fond and kitten like to be anything other than a plea. Alec, not one to deny gorgeous adorable men pleading with him, pulled the covers back and slides in next to Magnus. "We can't stay here all morning."
Magnus arched his brow, the sleepy softness of his face slowly fading away. "I will not have you thinking you can leave me in bed without morning kisses Alexander. That is not acceptable."
Alec laughed outright. This man. This wonderful man. Alec brought his hands up to cup Magnus' face, and to give him the required morning kisses. Alec pulled back and ran his thumbs along Magnus' cheeks. "If we don't get out of bed, Jace is going to come in here and drag us out."
Alec watched Magnus' face dip into a glower. "Oh if your little brother thinks he can come in our room and…."
Alec interrupted him with a hard kiss and a bright smile.
Magnus looked confused.
"Our room?" Alec said.
Magnus blushed and Alec was delighted. "I mean if that's…"
"It's perfect." Alec pulled Magnus in close again. "But I'm serious about Jace."
"If you feed me, I'll consider getting out of bed."
"Hmmm I think I have cereal."
"Bacon." Magnus said with a whine. "Baaaaacooonnn."
Exasperated, Alec kissed his nose. "Fine, Cereal and bacon."
Magnus gasped, "But eggs, and those little butter biscuit things you make."
Alec laughed, remembering suddenly Magnus' love of all things breakfast related. He'd invited himself to breakfast continuously throughout college. "I suppose I could be persuaded to cook."
"Alexander, I have been through a trauma. I am horrified that you are less than eager to spoil me." Magnus said cheekily and with a dramatic flounce, throwing an arm over his face.
Drama. Queen. Alec let an evil grin come over him. "Oh you think I don't spoil you?" With that Alec rolled out of bed and jerked Magnus up into his arms bridal style, sheets and all.
"Where are you taking me, you heathen." Magnus tried to be serious, but his giggles wouldn't be contained.
"I think you're in need of a shower."
Magnus went tense and looked at Alec wide eyed with disbelief. "Alexander," Magnus said, tone dripping with heavy warning as Alec walked into the bathroom. "Don't you dare."
Alec grinned wickedly, "Problem, Magnus."
"Alexander Gideon Lightwood, put me down right now." Magnus shouted.
"Here, you want me to put you down here?" Alec said with a mischievous grin.
"I mean it, put me down." Magnus eyes went wide the closer they got to the shower. "if you put me in a cold shower I will kill you. I mean it." Magnus hissed as he started to try and wriggle his way free of Alec's hold.
"Honestly Magnus, what do you take me for?"
Alec in very quick succession turned on the cold water and dropped Magnus under the spray, Magnus' shrieks echoing off the bathroom walls. Twisting and pulling to get out of the sheets, Alec turned the warm water on after a moment, and laughed uncontrollably at Magnus. He looked like a drowned rat. So distracted with Magnus' adorable fury, he was caught off guard when Magnus' hand shot up and jerked him into the shower. Soaking wet but happier than he'd been in years, Alec laughed.
Magnus pushed the sheets away, and brushed his wet hair back from his forehead. "You are in so much trouble."
Alec gave his best innocent me look, and watched Magnus' lips twitch. "Good morning beautiful." Alec said with a delighted grin.
"Oh no, no, no you will not be complimenting your way out of this nonsense. I cannot believe you, are you an actual child?" Magnus was still sitting on the floor of the shower, looking more like a drowned kitten than Alec had ever seen him; but he was also laughing, and then he slapped Alec's chest and tried to stand up.
"Here let me." Alec started to say as he carefully helped Magnus stand.
"Oh no, you are banished from showertime activities, in fact that's your punishment. Out. Out." Magnus shooed him out of the shower, and Alec laughed as he made his way to the kitchen to start breakfast. He was a little surprised at his spontaneity, but the more he reflected on himself and just everything, he felt a light come on inside him. It wasn't that he was boring, it was that he really needed someone to help bring out this side of him. The side that teased his brothers and sister, the side that wasn't overwhelmed with doing everything perfectly, the side that could laugh and love and….Alec ran a hand over his furiously beating heart, the side of him that could be free to be himself.
Izzy and Lydia had both said he didn't need to change to find love. Looking over his shoulder at the man in his shower, he thought they might just be right. He only needed to find someone who could make waking up more pleasure than pain.
And if there was anyone in this world that could help him start his day with laughter, it was Magnus Bane.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Maia took a deep breath to calm her shaking hands.
Raphael, she thought, what the hell have you gotten me into. Meliorn hadn't come in this morning, and before this very moment she wouldn't have been all that worried about it. Bartenders called in all the time, Meliorn needed the money so that was a bit unusual, but not entirely unheard of. Crouched down under the table, behind Camille's desk where she'd been cleaning because Meliorn called in for the early cleaning shift, she couldn't help but wonder if he was even alive.
Camille and someone named Hodge were on the phone together, and they were definitely talking about the dead kids, but what had Maia shaking in terror was their blatant discussion of killing Magnus. No question or hesitation.
Maia very carefully slipped her phone out of her pocket and nervously opened it, quickly silencing the thing, setting it to dark mode, and breathing a sigh of relief she hadn't drawn any attention to herself. She navigated to the voice recorder app and hit start.
"I don't fucking care if he's riding Alec's dick, you will take care of him." Camille demanded. The other side of the conversation couldn't be heard, but whatever Hodge said pissed her off.
"Hodge. Listen to me. Magnus is not a secret assassin sent by his father. He knows basic hand to hand, Asmodeus would have seen to that, but he's not a villain. Just shoot him. Clean and easy." Camille had begun to pace and her anger was only growing.
"The shipment will arrive on time, Asmodeus is coming here personally to oversee the sale of the kids, and then you and I are out. This is the last job. All the money is in place we just need to see this through. Magnus jeopardizes this and you know it."
"I don't care. Do it." Camille hung up the phone and Maia continued to sit under the table, and watch the spike of Camille's blood red heel pace back and forth. Soundless on the carpeted floor of the office, Maia watched her heel sink in with every step forward and backward.
Camille made another call.
"Asmodeus, my apologies. I know. I fucked up, Hodge and I both fucked up. You won't regret it." She hung up quickly after that. Clearly talking to herself, Maia watched her pull a gun out of her purse and check the safety. "One more chance so I'll be leaving nothing to chance." Camille's voice made Maia shiver, she sounded like an actual demon.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Don't lose it. Her shaking fingers scrolled through her contacts.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Jace wouldn't stop grinning at him over his scrambled eggs, and Magnus was having a very hard time controlling his desire to slap Alec's brother. Little shit that he was. Jace hadn't bothered to knock on the front door to announce his arrival, oh no, no, no that would just be too much to ask. Instead he'd opened the door right as Magnus was about to get another early morning kiss from his delicious host. He'd purposefully come out of the shower with his towel very loosely wrapped around his hips, and made his way into the kitchen to distract Alexander while he made mouth-watering bacon. He'd just gotten his arms around Alec's neck when the infuriating blonde had cleared his throat obnoxiously from the doorway.
Alec had blushed hotly at the interruption, but Magnus wasn't about to be deterred. "Go away."
"I have some info about who broke into your place." Was all it took for Alexander's attention to be fully stolen away. Magnus begrudgingly conceded that his safety might be more important than kisses, but just barely. Glowering over his shoulder he'd stomped back to the bedroom to dress himself and curse the intruders. Clary, the traitor, had giggled at him as he went.
Alone in the shower earlier he'd made his decision. He wasn't going to let Alec go, well unless he ran away, but if given the chance and the opportunity Magnus was going to keep him. Forever. Camille had broken his heart in a way he'd never experienced before. He'd never felt as useless as he had when she told him directly that he was less than what she needed. It had taken him years to understand that the only person's happiness he was responsible for was his own. It had taken him far less time to understand that Alec was a good influence on his happiness.
From the moment he'd seen Alexander he'd felt something, it was too bad he'd decided back then that a broken heart was too scary to fight for him. Now that he knew exactly what a broken heart felt like, he desperately wished he hadn't been so afraid all those years ago. He wasn't going to make that same mistake again.
Joining the others in the kitchen had been so much easier than he imagined. Jace and Clary simply accepted Magnus' place by Alec's side and he was grateful. The teasing he could honestly do without, but he knew it was because they loved him.
"Alright, so we know that Valentine worked for Asmodeus, and we know that he's the one that's been killing the kids. That ties Valentine to the trafficking." Jace said seriously as he pushed his plate away from him.
"When did you find out Valentine was killing the kids?" Alec asked.
"Last night the forensics came back, and it was definitely him." Clary pushed back from the table and began gathering the dishes. Magnus stood up to help her.
"What about Magnus' place?" Alec pulled the folder Jace handed him, open and began flipping through the pages.
"That's the thing, I don't think they're related, or if they are we don't have the link yet. There was a truck outside Magnus' apartment, and it's been regularly seen at Pandemonium." Jace crossed his arms over his chest. "I was hoping Magnus might recognize it." Magnus came back in the room and flipped through the photos looking for something recognizable.
Then it hit him. Square in the face. His eyes went wide and he leaned against the table. "Fuck."
Alec was up like a shot moving around the table to draw Magnus into his arms. "What is it?"
Clary and Jace faded away as he drew in a deep breath of Alec's sent. "I saw them kill Valentine." He said with a shaky but confident voice.
Alec swore and Jace and Clary weren't far behind him. "Magnus what happened?"
"I was doing my nightly rounds, before it gets super crazy. It was the second night you came to dance. They came out of the side entrance and Valentine was stumbling. I assumed he was drunk and his friends were helping him, they put him in the back of an SUV. Not that one, and then Hodge walked away from them." Magnus shook his head baffled. He knew he'd recognized him that night, why the hell hadn't he put it together.
"Who the hell is Hodge?" Jace demanded.
Magnus frowned, "He's worked for my father for years. Him longer than Valentine. I don't have any idea what he does, but I know he's who I saw with Valentine that night." Magnus said certainly.
"That's why they tossed your place." Alec pulled Magnus in closer and squeezed. "They either saw you there that night, or they think you know something, my money is on the parking lot surveillance being gone as well."
"Ordinarily I would agree with you, but my father would never sanction it. As much as we don't see eye to eye, my father would never…" Magnus trailed off his eyes going wide and horror overcoming him. He pushed out of Alec's arms and began to pace.
"How could I be so stupid?" Magnus said harshly.
Alec was moving closer but Magnus couldn't. He held his hand up. "Have you checked to see how often my father and Camille's phone records overlap?" Magnus couldn't help the desperate plea inside of himself that was screaming no, this couldn't be true, but further down deep inside of him he knew it was the truth.
Alec winced. And he was certain.
"I haven't got the data back, but I had already thought to ask. Just to cover our bases. And I bugged her office."
Magnus was furious. Not at Alec, he was doing his job, no he wanted to go on a rampage and rip that vile woman to shreds. His eyes flashed as he looked at his family. "Go see what you can find, I'm going to the club." Turning on his heel he wasn't shocked to feel Alec's arms come around him.
"Magnus, please don't do anything rash." Alec whispered into his ear. How the hell had he stayed away from this perfect man for so long? Not only was he not trying to take over his life by ordering him around, he was letting his worry come through without shutting Magnus down. He had never in his life been loved by someone who didn't want to control some aspect of his life. It took every ounce of control he had not to swing around and shout I love you as openly and loudly as he could. But Alec deserved better. He deserved to hear it for the first time, when it was just the two of them, and when things weren't so damned desperate.
Instead, he turned around and kissed him. Arms wrapped around his waist and he smiled into the kiss. "You'll be careful as well?" He asked gently.
"Of course." Alec said as he nuzzled into Magnus' shoulder.
Magnus heard Jace's phone ring, but it was his tone that snapped him out of his daze.
"Maia, calm down you're not making any sense. Yeah. yeah. Shit. Holy fuck. Do not move, do you understand me, I'm coming to get you. Stay there. Yeah Magnus is here with us, we'll make sure he's safe. Yeah." Jace pulled the phone down a bit.
"Maia's at the club, and has recording of Camille plotting to kill you. I'll take Clary, you two head to the precinct. We need Magnus to ID Hodge anyway. We can just kill two birds this way." Clary and Jace were out the door almost before he finished speaking. God he hoped Maia was okay.
Magnus watched the world around him whiz by. He could barely keep up. His ex was trying to kill him. "Magnus, are you alright?" Alec asked him, and Magnus snapped out of it.
"I don't know…this is so surreal. Obviously my father is basically the mob, but I've never actually known about a hit on me if there's been one. I'm just trying to process, also I saw a man murdered and that's never been..."
Alec ran his hands up and down Magnus' arm, "you don't expect to see a murder, unless there's a shot or a bang or something obvious, it's far outside most people's experience." Alec kissed him, and ran a finger across his cheek. "I'm going to keep you safe."
Magnus looked up at him and an idea began to form. It maybe wouldn't solve everything, but it might have the least amount of fall out for everyone. "I'm going to keep you safe too Alexander."