Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or The Mortal Instruments. Only this story.

A Crack

Why was he here? Ragnor thought to himself. Castor's butt crack had deemed to give everyone a fifth peek as his pants rode down on him again. Had it been a blue eyed shadowhunter's butt crack the story would have been completely different; he wouldn't have minded staring at that butt. Unfortunately, this was not the case. No, this butt crack was light-golden and feathered; apparently Castor's razor could not reach all unmentionable areas. Not that Ragnor himself required his lover's crack to be… His gaze momentarily drifted up at said blue-eyed male, as he gently ran his thumb back and forth on Ragnor's hand. Alec looked at him with such innocent eyes.

Ragnor mentally shook the thought from his head and called out to castigate Castor for the fifth time.

"Castor! Bloody wear fitting pants! How is that too hard? You can use MAGIC." His fingers flared out to emphasize his point.

Castor was currently busy making a dimensional door, but he was never one to let criticism slide. "Some of us actually like looking fresh! Besides ladies love this look, old man!" He turned his heard over toward Catarina. The effort of the slow movement clearly visible in the sweat drop trailing down the side of his face, and the strain of it forcing his jaw to clench and unclench. Regardless, he still had a side grin on his face, because another thing he could never pass up was hitting on lovely ladies. "Am I right beautiful?" He said, as he punctuated his words with a wink.

Catarina scoffed, rolled her eyes and went right back to healing Ragnor. "In your dreams, young one."

The spell being cast between his brother and him wavered slightly, and his face tightened. Castor tried to make it seem as though he went back to concentrating on the spell, but some might say he was internally pouting.

Alec noticed the flicker of the spell. "Hey! Pay attention!" He glowered at Castor. The Clave might not have meant to take his title seriously, but he took his duty seriously.

Oh great, another grouchy male, Castor thought. He gritted his teeth and was barely able to squeeze out a word; "I am." Pollux, who was also having difficulty, side glanced at Castor. "Are you ok?" He whispered to his brother. "Yeah." His brother whispered back. "We're almost done."

They were almost done, but Alec could see that they weren't going to make it. An unfinished spell or a spell that is abruptly stopped incorrectly could be cataclysmic. He stood up and started walking towards them. Ragnor's eyes widened. "Alec," He said, but Alec waved a hand signaling that it was going to be alright. "Alec don't."

Alec stopped by Castor's side and held out his hand to him; "take my hand," he said. Suddenly, amongst the insane energy of light beams shooting out from the twin's spell, every warlock was staring at Alec as though he had just lost his mind. "What?" Castor replied; still shocked from Alec's interruption. Pollux who knew exactly what Alec intended cried out, "we don't know how to do that spell!" His strained words came out in a hurried jumble. Now it was Alec's turn to look astonished, "what?"

"Alec look out!" Ragnor saw it before anyone else. The twins had been too distracted, and their light banter had finally taken its toll. Castor's hand dipped, unbalancing the spell, and a beam of light shot out in Alec's direction. Castor did his best to maneuver the beam away, but in the end Alec was struck. During this brief distraction, Pollux was forced to take the brunt of the spell, which quickly brought him to his knees. He cried out from the overwhelming burden he had to take on.

Ragnor was immediately off his feet, and by Alec's side. He roughly grabbed Alec's arm and dragged him away from the Gemini twins. Catarina quickly ran up behind Castor and placed her hand on his back. She started pumping energy into him, and guided him as best she could to finish the spell.

Ragnor should have been the one to help the twins finish the spell, but he only had concern for Alec. "You stupid Nephilim!" He yelled down at him. His hands had already started working to rip his jacket and shirt away from the wound. Alec could only blink in response; the pain and blood loss left him incoherent.

Ragnor let out a frustrated sigh, and finally got a good look at his wound. A large gash bled from Alec's left side and under his arm. Already so much blood had pooled underneath him; it left Ragnor frightened. He didn't waste any time. Ragnor immediately got to work mending Alec's wound. "What were you thinking?" He whispered, with a slight quavering voice. Ragnor didn't really expecting a reply, but he got one. A reply that was so quiet, he almost missed it. Alec let out a breathy and meek, "I wanted to help," before plunging into dark unconsciousness.

Little did the group know that several feet below the mountain were three pleased beings. The beings supposed they could be charitable and retract the push of their power for now. After all this was mild entertainment for them, and they had bigger plans just around the corner.

L

L

Alec didn't know how much time had passed before he began to stir. His mind was a fuzzy mess, as he tried to piece back together what had happened. He had gotten hurt, and did something stupid, again; a disappointed sigh escaped his lips.

"Don't beat yourself up too badly. Sure you could never look like me, but you have the special honor of being my parabatai". Alec looked to the side of his bed to find Jace. His tone was light, however his expression was anything but light. He could have given Pollux a run for his money when it came to the seriousness of his appearance; his whole body was tight and rigid. Jace looked like he hadn't moved from his spot in a long while.

Alec swallowed and pursed his lips together before preparing to speak his first words. "Where's Ragnor?"

Jace could not believe it; he stared at Alec dumbly. "Are you serious?" Jace asked, then corrected himself. "Of course you're serious. Alec those downworlders almost killed you."

Alec started to shake his head, but stopped; wincing from the pain of the small movement. "It was my fault."

"It was your fault? That chicken headed warlock almost deep fried you!" Jace's voice was getting louder with the incredulously of the situation. His concern for his parabatai was clearly getting the best of him.

"He didn't almost deep fry me! I distracted him. It was an accident." Though Alec was weak he met Jace's gaze head on. His fuzziness was all gone. In its place was a headache, which coincidentally helped him focus more. "What does that have anything to do with Ragnor?"

Ragnor? Jace eyed Alec more seriously now. What was it about this Ragnor? Had he brainwashed his parabatai? He was only joking earlier about Alec moving on, but had he really?

"I'm starting to think you need a break. You've been spending so much time with them; I'm worried you're starting to think you can cast magic too."

This earned Jace, Alec's classic unamused stare. Instead of responding he shook his head, and started scooching off of the bed. Jace quickly stopped him by putting his hand on Alec's shoulder. "Whoa, slow down there Harry Potter you just woke up."

Alec's head snapped toward Jace; he was fixing to get out a biting remark when a snort was heard from the bed next to his.

Ragnor was waking from his own slumber when he turned on his side to face Alec. "Would that make me Voldemort?"

"No!" "Yes." Alec and Jace answered at the same time, which ended up with both of them giving each other the evil eye.

Jace removed his hand from Alec's shoulder, letting Alec sit up. Still he kept an eye on him; Alec was in no condition to be moving so much. Alec felt Jace's concerned eyes on him, but his gaze couldn't seem to move from Ragnor. "What happened? Did you get hit too?"

Ragnor shook his head slowly, but that small movement seemed to tax his strength. "No I was busy tending to a certain shadowhunter that had foolishly gotten in between the cross fires of a powerful spell."

Alec blinked, processing Ragnor's words, and he found a warm feeling entering his chest. He had saved him. Ragnor had risked his life to help him. The warmth soon drifted up to his cheeks, and he looked down quickly before anyone could see.

"Did he just call us powerful?" "No, he called the spell powerful." The double doors to Alec and Ragnor's room opened to reveal the Gemini twins and Catarina Loss. They all approached with the twins leading the way. Pollux had a steady serious gaze, while Castor, although his posture was straight, the ends of his smile were slightly down turned. When his gaze drifted up toward Alec, he could see that the usual mischievous spark Castor had was not there. In its place he could see sadness and remorse. "How are you feeling Ambassador Lightwood?"

Alec's eyebrows raised, and he looked at Castor as if he had just grown a second head. It was odd for the warlock to be acting in such a way; he usually took everything so lightheartedly. "I'm uh…"

"Miserable. Horrible. Completely deranged." Answered Jace, as he positioned himself in front of Alec blocking Castor from his view. "You see a rooster headed warlock was clucking about showing off his crowing abilities when he shot my parabatai. What is he supposed to do now? He's a Lightwood, and now his skin has been tainted with an ugly scar." Pollux's stare turned steely as he settled his gaze on Jace, and Jace had no problem matching Pollux's stare. Castor ignored the insult and focused his efforts on keeping his voice from wavering as he solely responded to Alec. "I'm sorry."

Alec bowed his head to show that he held nothing against Castor. "It was an accident. I know you didn't mean to hit me." He said, and offered him a small forgiving smile.

Ragnor who had been looking at Alec, turned away before his eyes betrayed him. It had been so long before something had touched his heart, but seeing Alec humbly forgive Castor was too much. His smile had been sweet and gentle, and Ragnor knew it would haunt his dreams. Luckily, Ragnor also knew how to be discreet, and the quick soft look on his face escaped the other members in the room.

Catarina ever so perceptive was the one to break the silence. "I don't think it was an accident." All eyes turned to her, and they waited for her to elaborate. "I was replenishing Ragnor's strength, so I wasn't sure about the faint push I was feeling, but now I'm sure of it." She paused, before delivering her verdict. "There was another power interfering with yesterday's spell." Catarina turned to face Ragnor; someone else with as much experience as her who may understand her findings more deeply than the others. "Castor and Pollux, though younger than us, should have been able to carry out spell. They should not have had as much trouble as they did completing it. Something else had to have been making it harder for them to complete the spell."

Ragnor nodded in agreement. He sighed as he said. "It is as I feared. The Fair Folk are aware of our current actions, and doing whatever they can to stop us." Again, the room fell silent; this time processing Ragnor's confirmation. His words made the threat of danger from the fairies more imminent. The group's cheerful demeanor they had earlier in the day was going to be changed from now on. They all had determination written across their face; they would take their task more seriously from now on.

Alec certainly was not going to let them attack his home or his people ever again. "The Clave has to be notified." He said with a voice of authority. He made to get up; but Jace still was not going to let him stand. He put his hand on Alec's chest stopping his movement, and Alec's angry response was just as swift. "Jace stop! This isn't a game. Protecting Alicante is my charge. I'm the Warlock Ambassador. I'm responsible for them, for this! They were attacked on my watch."

Jace retorted back with a biting tone. "No one is saying the Clave isn't going to be notified you brooding drama queen!" The mood in the room shifted, and the warlocks immediately busied themselves with examining the Romanesque details about the room. Everyone except Ragnor whose gaze was intently focused on Alec, as his heart gave an unexpected lurch. Castor also remained staring at the duo due to his inability to resist the drama. Had Castor been completely back to his normal self he would have zapped himself some popcorn to enjoy the telenovela dramatics from the pair of shadowhunters; but as it was he was still semi-mopping over hurting Alec. So, he settled with watching the shadowhunters with internal glee.

"Alec you're hurt and you're not thinking straight. I'm the one who thinks they're invincible; not you. You actually deduce and use logic." Jace still hadn't removed his hand from Alec's upper chest, but he had lowered his tone and was speaking more directly to Alec. "You can't do everything on your own. Let me help you." Alec had already started shaking his head no, but Jace plowed on with his advice. He changed tactic and opted for a reasonable one. "I'll only be notifying The Clave, Alec. Nothing more, it's a simple task that any Nephilim can do, and it would make sense coming from me. If they see you left your bed looking like this your sanity will come into question, and with it their decision on your 'liaison' appointment."

With those last words Jace moved back and removed his hand. He stayed by Alec's side waiting for his decision. Alec's gaze was directed at his bed sheets while he took a few moments to make up his mind. Then he took a deep breath, and looked up. "Fine, but take one of the warlocks too. They were there and they can help answer any questions to explain what happened."

Jace nodded solemnly and turned to look at the warlocks. He decided that he wouldn't take the twins, because they were an occupational hazard. The blue one needed to stay because she specialized in healing, which at the moment was something Alec needed. He originally didn't want to take the green one because he had been making goo-goo eyes at his parabati. Then he decided he would take the green one, because he had been making goo-goo eyes at his parabati. He wanted to keep him away from Alec. In Jace's mind, Magnus was surprisingly the lesser of the two evils. In his opinion at least Magnus had a reputation of saving Alec instead of putting his life in danger, so Jace naturally would take any action to help get them back together, and keep him away from the green one. "I'll take the green one."

"Green one?" Alec had a curious face momentarily, and briefly thought of a certain mundane comic book character. "His name is Ragnor Fell." "My name is Ragnor Fell." Both, Alec and Ragnor piped in at the same time. They looked at each other and then looked away with equally tinted cheeks.

From across the room Catarina cleared her throat, as if she was about to scold little children. "If you haven't noticed, Ragnor is recovering too. He over extended his resources while healing your parabati. She paused momentarily to give Jace a pointed look, then continued his her orders. "It would be better if the twins go with you. I need to stay and monitor their condition," she indicated to Ragnor and Alec.

Jace lifted his head in indignation, and replied. "I'm not taking both of them. There's a good probability they'll turn me into deep fried Heronsticks by the end of the day." Castor glared at Jace, and he started marching over to him. "What did you say pretty boy?" His palm started glowing white hot along his way to Jace. The closer he got the brighter and louder it sounded. Jace also reacted fast unleashing a seraph blade and drawing a quick rune for swiftness.

However, before Castor made his way up to him, his brother answered "I'll go." Jace and Castor stopped in their tracks, and turned to look at him. "What? Pollux this kid is unpredictable! He's not right in the head I tell ya! You can't go with him." Castor's palm stopped glowing, and he turned his body toward Pollux. "We never separate."

"You don't decide this." Pollux met Castor's gaze with an even stare. "We have been attacked brother. Do you understand the seriousness of the situation? Our kind will now be targeted as well. I will go with this one." He nodded toward Jace; who had an incredulous look. "I will tell our allies details of the attack, and you will stay with the others. Your magic was the one that was compromised. Catarina and Ragnor will be here to balance you if the Fae decide to strike again."

Castor was talked into submission. Shame caused him to nod and silently agree with his brother; while Jace had a smug look about his face.

Pollux turned to address Jace. "You will do well to remember that your kind came to us asking for our help. It is by our magic that we will defend your land and saved your parabatai's life."

Jace sobered up and the smug look that he had on his face vanished. He didn't acknowledge Pollux's words; instead he grabbed his jacket and began heading for the exit. "Let's go." Pollux respectfully nodded to Alec in farewell and looked at his brother one last time before following after Jace.

Castor was left gaping as he watched his brother walk out. The group said nothing for a beat. Alec eventually leaned forward to get a better view in order to make sure Jace was gone. Then he slowly hobbled out of bed. The instant his foot touched the floor he felt stinging pain shoot up his left side, but that did not stop him.

"Alec, what are you doing?" Ragnor's irritation and concern seeped through. "You're going to reopen your wounds!"

Catarina was also about to comment when Alec got back into bed. The only difference was that it was not his bed that he got back in. Instead he forced Ragnor to scooch over as he slid in next to him. "Well that's one way to solve a problem." She said cheerfully, while a curious Castor arched an eyebrow.

Alec finished his movements by seeking out Ragnor's hand and holding it in his own. He had a bit of red in his cheeks, which was moving up to his ears. Then, he carefully avoided everyone's eyes, as he asked "so...what are we going to do today?"

Castor clicked his tongue as he slyly answered, "it's kinda clear what you're going to do, or shall I sa-".

"No!" Immediately, Ragnor cut off Castor's remark with his clipped tone, and sent a glare at the younger warlock. "You shan't."

"Shan't? Who even says 'shan't' anymore? Just exactly how old ar-"

Catarina cleared her throat again, then ordered "You, Alec and Ragnor, are going to rest for a few more hours. It's still very early in the morning. I'll redo the spell before you sleep, and then we are all going to go out to acquire some clothing for our next task."

"What? Why do we need clothes for our next task?" Alec asked.

"Because tomorrow is the Biannual Accords Ball, ambassador." Catarina had a determined smile and Castor winked in the background.

Alec and Ragnor collectively groaned.

Author's Note: Hello! Long time I know, so the ball may be in the next chapter or the following one. You can rest assured that I will finish this story, but life has taken place. Hopefully it will be finished before the end of the year.

Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review if you would like. I really enjoy reading them.

Take care!

PepperB