SO, here's that chapter to that story that updates once in a lifetime. :)
THanks to everyone who actually supports this, I LOVE YOU ALL.
Here's more MAlec fluff, with feels on the horizon, somewhere.
ALEC's POV
ENjoy~
please comment and review :)
Shopping dates aren't supposed to include homicidal maniacs, yes? Because Alec was feeling exasperated with how this date had turned out. He'd been grumpy all week – no thanks to a certain run-in with his father – and Magnus had been trying to cheer him up, and Alec knew all too well he'd been more than sulky and uncooperative.
He had turned away from persuasive kisses and loving words, retreating into himself without any answer or reason given to his boyfriend. Once again Magnus had managed to drag him out of his comfort zone, bringing him out into the public eye, where he hated it the most. He had to admire Magnus for trying, but the words, or lack thereof, his father had left with him resonated with him more than he'd like to let on.
Blending into the background was something he was content with. Watching from the sidelines and protecting his siblings before they did something stupid was his specialty. He wasn't used to being the noticed one, Magnus noticing him was a novelty. The crazy rampaging man with the gun didn't even notice him, he was practically invisible to the man holding a gun to Magnus' head.
When he came back from overseas Alec has believed he would never have to serve another day ever again. His days of protecting were over, or so he had thought. Now he found himself as the sole person standing among the fearful bodies of many people.
His throat was dry, his hands clammy with sweat and his knuckles white from where he was gripping his crutches. He could hear the roaring of his blood in his ears, he could see the flicker of pain that crossed Magnus' expression. It happened before he really knew what happened, instinct he would call it.
"You should put the gun down."
The voice that rang out was clear and focused, lacking the terror he felt inside. The voice was strong, powerful, one that commanded attention and obedience.
"What did you fucking say to me?"
Alec blinked, the gun was pointed in his direction.
"I said you should put the gun down." Alec said. "Sergeant Lightwood, lost my leg in Afghanistan to a roadside bomb." He shifted his weight, indicating his missing limb.
The gun moved away from pointing at him, immediately going to Magnus' forehead.
"Another army man?" The man spoke, his eyes were flicking around the room in a nervous frenzy. "Then you agree that its utter bullshit that we should be protecting people like this." He spat out the world, spittle flew from his mouth and splatter on Magnus.
Alec let his gaze slide up from the prone figure of his boyfriend to the man standing across from him. He leaned forward on his crutches, shifting the majority of his weight off his leg and onto his shoulders.
"What set you off? Was is the people? Crowds still manage to make me nervous… Traffic is a nightmare, I can't even cross the street some days until it's absolutely empty." When did the café get so quiet? Alec continued on. "Was it the girl laughing?" He asked softly, the man flinched – Bingo.
"They don't understand!" The man yelled. "Fuck them! I-I-"
"No they don't." Alec agreed, dipping his head in acknowledgement. "They don't get it because they weren't there. They didn't chose to serve like we did, its choice. We fight so they don't have to."
His eyes flicked around the café, swallowing at the sight of the faces, and the few phones that were out. Alec dismissed them, his gaze meeting with a woman behind the café counter on the phone. Tearing his attention away from the people around him he centered his focus of the center of the situation, the man with the gun.
"We lost a limb fighting for them, this country, and everyone who lives in it, everyone." Alec added extra emphasis on the last word, hoping the break the man out of whatever rage he had been in.
The point of the gun wavered against Magnus' temple and Alec forged on.
"You lost your arm, I lost my leg for them. It was your decision to join, and whether you regret it or not it's the one you made. It was an important one wasn't it? Make the right choice here, again. We serve to protect, not cause harm." Alec wet his lips with his tongue, and breathed out a small sigh of relief when the gun dropped away from Magnus to hang at the man's side.
"I hate it when they laugh." The man said, looking down. "I hate it."
Alec had the distinct impression that he had had a conversation similar to this one before, except with his little brother opposed to a potentially volatile man with a gun.
Alec looked down. "Me too."
There was a flurry of sound and movement behind him, and suddenly the strangely silent café turned into a swarming mass of officers, all with their own firearms out. Alec was engulfed in the sea from the sudden rush of bodies as time seemed to accelerate at a drastic speed. He lost sight of the man and of Magnus among it all as he was helped out of the café an officer by his side.
He was so damn tired.
In the wake of the incident there was a flurry of policemen, reporters, emergency crews, and strangers. Alec barely had a moment to breathe from the moment the officers whisked him away from the scene and to a paramedic. Now he was seated on the back of an emergency vehicle, a shock blanket draped over his shoulders as the last of the officers left him be. He hated reporting incidents, but the debrief he gave the officers wasn't all that different from his mission reports overseas.
Alec stared at the ground, watching the reflection of people pass by in the grimy puddle of water. His thoughts flashed back to the veteran, thinking over his words and toying with the lost expression on the man's face he recognised in his own all too often. He could recognise that he was one of the lucky veterans. The ones with family and friends, with money and connections. He was one of the veterans that actually got support. Unlike the many who were thrown in combat at a young age, tossed around, then spat back out and expected to reintegrate back in society like they hadn't been fighting for their lives, like they hadn't had people shooting guns at them, like they hadn't watched their friends and comrades die or become mutilated next to them. Like they had never really even been there. For all their praise they got for their service, all the boasting and gloating people did, all the excuses of 'respecting the men who lay down their lives for their country' when those people couldn't even care about the actual veterans themselves.
There was a night in particular that Alec remembered clearly. A night that wasn't so uncommon to him. It was a night where he had woken from a nightmare screaming bloody murder, the smell of burnt tires and gasoline in his nose, stinging his eyes and blinding him. The pain in his leg had seemed too real and unrelenting, but he remembered who had been there for him; Jace. He remembered his brother talking him down, calming him and reassuring him he was safe, that he wasn't in the desert anymore. He remembered Jace's voice talking to him, and never stopping until his heart rate had slowed and his vision had focused. He remembered the shame he had felt when he realised that he hadn't been only sweating, but that his bed was wet from his own piss. He remembered that shame, and he remembered Jace helping him out of bed without a word, helping him to the bathroom and changing his sheets for him.
He remembers Jace asking if he wanted to talk about the dream, but never mentioning the bed wetting. Alec remembers hesitating, before spilling out the contents of it raw and bare. He remembers Jace staying silent, only making Jace-like comments when necessary, Alec remembers feeling loved and cared for in that moment.
"Why does the hero look so glum?"
Alec looked up, knocked out of his reverie he spotted Magnus. Standing there with a shock blanket of his own, looking as warn out and tired as Alec feels. Green-gold eyes sparkle down at him, shinning more love from them than Alec feels like he deserves. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Not much of a hero," Alec replied, scooting over so Magnus could settle down beside him. His presence is warm and comforting, familiar and steadying. His thigh pressed flush against him and their shoulders brushing each other.
Magnus glanced over at him, head tilted slightly towards him, one corner of his mouth was tilted up at the corner. "You do realise," He said evenly. "That you talked down a man holding a gun to my head, and saved my life?"
Alec shrugged, staring down at the puddle.
He heard Magnus sigh, and suddenly there was a warm hand on his cheek, grasping his chin gently and turning his face towards him. Alec stared up into Magnus gold-green eyes, dazzled, ensnared, and ready to let himself get lost on those eyes. Eyes that only ever seemed to be watching him whenever he least expected anyone to notice him.
"Oh my Alec," Magnus breathed, bending closer so their foreheads touched. His hand slipped away from Alec's chin, cradling his cheek, thumb brushing over his cheekbone and sending shivers down Alec's spine. Alec tilted his head, closing the distance between their lips as his eyes closed. He inhaled, exhaling with a little satisfied breathe as Magnus kissed him back.
"What is it?" Alec said once he pulled away, though not too far.
Magnus just looked at him, and Alec got the distinct impression it was one of those times where the issue was apparently glaringly obvious, but he failed to see what it was.
"You saved my life." Magnus repeated, there was a weight behind his words, an emphasis in them that Alec had never heard before. It wasn't the phrase, but the emphasis of something behind them, implying that there was so much more the simple four word statement than Magnus had said. Alec didn't get it.
"I couldn't very much let him get away with it, you were supposed to be taking me shopping." Alec said, trying to sound sulky.
"Supposed to be–" Magnus chuckled, a small breathless laugh that was hoarse and husky, the laugh that Alec adored. "Oh Alexander," Magnus said.
"Magnus." Alec said back, an unbidden smile tugging at his lips.
"I guess I owe you a coffee then," Magnus said, eyes dancing. "And a shopping trip."
"You're paying."
Magnus rolled his eyes, slinging an arm around Alec's shoulder as he cuddled up close. Alec let his head drop, settling it on Magnus' shoulder. They were silent, Alec content to listening to Magnus' breathing and the sounds of the people moving around them. He could stay there for a long time, if he had the chance to. It was an oddly peaceful moment after the chaos that had occurred that afternoon.
Alec jumped when his cellphone went off, interrupting the peace and shattering it. He groaned slightly, unhooking himself from Magnus' grasp to extract his cellphone from his back pocket.
Jace's icon was showing up on the screen, big and bright. Alec glanced over to Magnus apologetically, who simply shrugged and gestured for him to go ahead.
Alec swiped his finger across the screen and held the phone to his ear, bracing himself for the outburst he knew was going to happen.
"Hello?" He said tentatively.
"Alec," Jace's voice came from across the line. Quiet and controlled. "Tell me that this video I'm watching of you talk down a crazed-shooter isn't actually you."
Alec winced. "It's… It's me?" He confessed.
The phone crackled with silence, and Alec felt his anxiety draw up into his chest.
"Jace..?"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU DUCK?" The voice that sprang across the line was definitely not Jace, but Isabelle.
"Izzy I-" Alec protested.
"She has a point Alec, that guy could have shot you." That was Jace's voice again, so they had put him on speaker phone.
"He had a gun to Magnus' head," Alec protested. "What was I supposed to do?"
He heard Izzy's huff of annoyance. "I don't know, but not make yourself a target! He could've shot you, wait, did he shoot you? Are you alright?"
"Isabelle, I'm alright, don't worry. No one was shot."
"I don't like how dumb you are without me." Jace grumbled. "Getting all the action…"
"Says the one who's in an action movie." Alec said, and glanced over as he felt Magnus' fingers beginning to card through his hair. The action sent tingles through his spine, and he felt like a cat, a little too content with being pet. He leaned in to the touch, his worries bleeding out through Magnus' gentle actions.
"You could've died Alec." Izzy said, her voice catching in a way that made Alec's expression soften.
"Izzy," He said. "I won't be going anywhere too fast, only one leg remember?" He joked and was rewarded with Izzy's high and astonished, "Alec!" and Jace's laugh.
Alec chuckled with them, glancing over at Magnus' fond expression for a moment and flashing him a smile.
"How's Magnus?" Jace asked – which surprised Alec, seeing as his boyfriend and his brother didn't seem to be on the best of terms.
"Magnus?" Alec said, Magnus raised his eyebrows at him, his hand never stopping through his hair. "He's fine."
Magnus scoffed and leaned over close to the mouthpiece of the phone. "I'm magnificent."
Alec swatted him away as he leaned back, shooting him a warning look.
"He's fine," Alec repeated.
"Are you sure you're both alright?" Izzy asked.
Alec sighed. "Yes, we're both fine, Izzy. I'll see you both later tonight, alright? That way you can check for damage yourself."
Izzy grumbled something before her voice disappeared and suddenly Jace's voice was brought back much more clearly.
"You're going to be bringing Magnus to dinner, right?" Jace asked.
Alec nodded, "Yeah, why? Is that alright?"
Alec could hear Jace smirk across the phone. "It's fine, I'm going to be bringing Clary anyways."
"Clary?" Alec said. "Alright…" Alec could quite believe that the fiery redhead had actually managed to be persuaded to go on a date with Jace.
"Bye, Alec."
"Bye." Alec replied, and paused to listen to Jace hang up first before taking the phone away from his ear and hitting the end call button.
"So?" Magnus asked. "How did that go?"
Alec shrugged. "They're both worried, but mostly satisfied for now." Alec looked over at Magnus. "Are you alright for dinner at my place tonight? It sounds like some sort of triple-date thing, and they're going to want details."
Magnus smiled. "Dinner sounds lovely."
Alec hummed in response, his gaze drifting back out to the crowds of people still mulling just outside the yellow police tape.
"What's on your mind, darling?" Magnus said.
Alec hesitated. "Nothing," He said, before relenting. "Well, it's something Izzy said, she said there was a video of me circling on the news…" He trailed off, unsure of what was bothering him exactly.
Magnus said nothing for a moment. "I guess we're going to be dealing with paparazzi a little more than normal." He replied breezily.
Alec snorted. "A little more?" He said. "Magnus, everyone is going to want to know what The Magnus Bane felt when he had a gun to his head."
Magnus seemed to consider this for a moment or two, rolling the thought around in his head. "I'm going to have to tell them that it was dazzling to be saved by my knight in shining armor."
Alec rolled his eyes. "Not really shining armour, Magnus."
"So you're admitting you're a knight?"
Alec laughed, "You're impossible." He said.
"And you tell me that every day." He moved to hop down off the end of the ambulance, leaving the shock blanket behind in the ambulance. "Ready to get going?"
Alec reached for his crutched, shrugging off the blanket as he slowly maneuvered himself down. "As ready as I ever will be." He moved to settle in to place next to Magnus. The familiar pace they had coming naturally as they approached the yellow tape and the swarm of reporters.
All of them were crowding at the line, and as soon as they noticed Magnus they seemed to come alive, and a flurry of questions seemed to spring them alive. They swarmed, like flies really, and Alec had to swallow down the anxiety and the nauseous he felt rising in his stomach. A comforting hand lay itself across the small of his back and Magnus leaned in close to whisper to him.
"Don't say anything, just keep walking."
Alec looked up at the looming crowd of the odd flash going off with the sea of microphones and news cameras. He had a moment of doubt, but his gut told him to trust Magnus. He did, stopping as Magnus bent to lift the caution tape for him and the reporters backed up, slightly, to give them room.
The effect was instantaneous. The heat of the crowd and the tightly packed bodies sent Alec's mind into overdrive. Every sensation seemed amplified and blown out of perspective. The people too tall, the smell of sweat too strong, the sound of their questions too loud, his heartbeat even louder. His steps faltered and his breath picked up, Magnus' hand pressed to his back the only thing keeping him moving through the crowd, eyes locked on the pavement moving under him with every step he took. It was hard maneuvering crutches in the crowd, but he did it somehow. He only managed to hit a few people with them as he went, but he doubted that bothered them all too much.
It seemed like an eternity until they reached the car. Magnus opening the passenger side door and holding Alec's crutches for him as he slid in, tossing them in the backseat when he shut the door.
The sound was abruptly muffled, and suddenly he could breathe better. Without the press of the bodied he felt more at ease, and the tension in his shoulders bled out as Magnus climbed in and started the car.
As he pulled out Alec's head hit the headrest with a sturdy thump.
"By the Angel," He said. "That was horrible."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."