CHAPTER 5: HE PASSES THE TIME
[S1E2 The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy (Part III)]
They drove for a while, until they reached their destination. Alec opened the door to the back of the van, hopping out and holding a hand out to assist Margo. Though the brunette did not need any help, she adored the kind gesture. It was unspoken but it did not go unappreciated.
They were under a bridge. Graffiti covered the pillars supporting the bridge. Fires made in trashcans lit their way. Old, rustic run-down cars filled the spaces that the tall grass and shrubs were unable to.
"Yeah, this place isn't creepy. Not at all," Simon spoke up once they were all out of the van.
Isabelle chuckled from beside him. "Don't tell me you're afraid."
Simon scoffed, looking over the scenery. "Are you kidding me? I was born afraid... which sounded a lot better in my head."
Margo rolled her eyes, her arm wrapping around Alec's in the dark before he spoke up. "Let's check it out."
Jace left Clary behind as he went to go check with his other experienced Shadowhunters.
When Alec pulled Margo towards Jace and Isabelle, the brunette gave her best friend a small smile. "Hey. If something goes wrong... if something happens to her, that's on us. You know that, don't you?"
Jace nodded up at his parabatai understandingly. "Yeah. And you know exactly what'd happen if Valentine gets the Cup before we do. She's lost everything, Alec. I know exactly what that feels like." His eyes wavered to the girl standing beside his parabatai. "You do too, Go, which is why I don't understand your hostility to this."
"Hey." Alec quickly stepped protectively in front of Margo.
Margo could stand up for herself, though. "She had everything, Jace," she simply said, her voice void of emotion. "We never had anything - nothing that we could remember. She had everything and she let it slip between her fingers. That's not our problem."
Jace stared at Margo a little too long before turning back to Alec. "What's your problem with her, anyway? Your family always used to welcome strays."
The comment was worse than the one he had spoken before. Margo's arm fell from around Alec's as she took a step back, not believing her ears. Had Jace Wayland just said what she thought he said?
Isabelle's hand supportively rubbed her parabatai's back. "You were never a stray," Alec replied calmly, turning back to see Margo. "Neither of you were."
"The point is, nothing's changed. We're in this fight together. There's just... one more of us." With that, he turned back to Clary, motioning for her and Simon to follow them into the unknown.
As Margo walked forward, eyes trained on the ground, she walked right into Alec's chest. She looked up, allowing him to grab her hands. "You're not a stray, baby."
It was amazing how he could just sense when Margo wasn't feeling herself. She appreciated his sixth sense a lot.
Her eyes fluttered to their surroundings before they landed on Alec. She saw Simon and Clary passing by the pair, the former of whom did a double take when he saw the scene in front of him. Nevertheless, they both proceeded on, giving them their privacy.
"But I am," Margo fought, suddenly feeling a heavy burden on her shoulders. "I came here when I had nowhere else to go. I had nothing but a backpack with me. No memory. What do you call that?"
He smiled softly at her, cupping her cheek. "I call that the night when my life changed. You found your way to Institute that first night because you always belonged there, and I think deep down, you knew that. You are not a stray, Margo Rose Devereaux, and you never were." He pressed a kiss to her cheek before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and walking the way their friends had not too long ago.
Upon finding the entrance to the tunnel leading to the Silent Brothers, Clary suddenly stopped, gasping at the skeleton next to the entrance. Margo waited on her patiently, leaning against Alec and feeling his arm pull her closer. Then, Clary regained herself, sighing. "I can do this."
"Yeah, you can. You're Clary freakin' Fray. You can do anything," Simon helped raise her confidence.
As he went to walk into the tunnel, Jace stopped him. "All right, hold up."
"Surprise, surprise. No mundanes allowed, just like in the training room, right? Wrong. I've seen every horror movie ever made and the funny best friend who gets left behind... dead man."
Isabelle laughed from beside Margo, causing the girl to let out a small chuckle herself. "You're not that funny," Jace corrected, "But by all means, go ahead." As Simon began to walk again, Jace spoke up. "Of course, the minute you enter, you'll die."
"Problem is, now I don't trust you."
"He's not lying," Margo offered.
"Now," Izzy added. "He was before."
Alec kept his arm around Margo as the two walked up to Simon. "The rune energy in the City of Bones will kill any mundane who dares to enter. So, please..." He raised the hand of the arm over Margo's shoulder, motioning towards the tunnel.
"The Brothers creep me out. I'll mind the mundane," Izzy spoke up as Clary and Jace looked at each other.
"Your sacrificed is noted, Izzy."
"Talk about sacrifice. I'm missing a financial analysis class," Simon mumbled a she walked up to Isabelle.
Alec once again used the hand of the arm wrapped around Margo to gesture towards the mundane. "I can't be here anymore, so, Jace, we're going to mind the perimeter."
And with that, he led Margo away to do just that.
Once Jace and Clary had disappeared inside the tunnels and Isabelle and Simon were far away, Margo turned to Alec. "You know what I could use right now?"
"A nap?" Alec guessed.
"A nap," Margo confirmed. He knew her too well. "When we get home, I am totally taking a couple hours to myself, just sleeping in my nice, comfy, big bed. But, you know, that big bed is kind of spacious and it's lonely sleeping alone..."
Alec rolled his eyes, understanding exactly where this was going. "I'll be there," he promised. She nodded, grinning. Margo never admitted it to him, but she always slept better when he was by her side.
The two made their way around the perimeter a few times before choosing to stay beside Isabelle and Simon.
After moments of silence, Alec could be found leaning against the open gate of the tunnel, arms crossed. Izzy was staring at the mundane, playing with her hair. And Margo was sat on the floor, by Alec's right leg, resting her head against it, eyes shut.
"So, is cracking someone's mind open supposed to take this long? Maybe we, or... you should go check?" Simon spoke up, motioning towards Alec.
Alec rolled his eyes. "Jace has it covered."
Margo yelped as she saw a multi-legged creature crawl by her, catching Alec's attention. He took her hands, helping the brunette up before booping her nose. "You can handle demons, vampires, werewolves... but one centipede and you go running for the hills," he teased, ruffling her hair.
Isabelle chuckled from a few feet away. "Take my word for it. The Silent Brothers are quite unpleasant."
"That's not helping. Not at all. What if Clary can't handle the Brothers?" he stammered. "What does that-"
Alec cut him off, looking at Margo as she stared at him lovingly. "It literally never stops talking." The brunette softly laughed.
Simon scoffed from where he stood by the fire, warming up. He turned to Margo. "Is your boyfriend always so charming?"
She smiled, raising a hand to fix a stray hair on Alec's head. His hand caught hers when she lowered it, placing a kiss on the back of it. "Always," she answered Simon whilst staring at Alec.
It was true. Around her, Alexander Lightwood was always charming.
"Firstborn," Isabelle substituted Margo's answer. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."
Simon hummed, answering her. His words flew right out of Margo's head when she noticed Alec's other hand wandering her side, landing on the flesh just below her shirt, by her waist. He traced shapes on her bare skin, watching as her eyes fluttered closed. Her hands landed on Alec's shoulders, which held her up as she felt his fingers inching up her skin.
She felt his movement stop just before he spoke up. Her eyes opened, glancing behind her at Isabelle and Simon, who were about to walk back to the van.
"Where is it going?" Alec asked, annoyed that the mundane had ruined the moment.
Isabelle smirked. "We'll be right back."
"Izzy..."
"What? He passes the time," she responded to her best friend.
Simon tensed. "I can hear you guys, you know?" Isabelle rolled her eyes, leading him back from where they came.
Margo turned back to Alec, smirking. "So, we're all alone now."
He smirked right back. "Well, would you look at that? We are." And his hand resumed its slow torture, creating a fire that burned deep inside Margo. She couldn't get enough of him.
His hand roamed her body, leaving electricity wherever his fingertips touched.
Her breathing hitched as Alec's fingers wrapped around the belt loops on her jeans and pulled them, inevitably pulling Margo closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers tugging softly at the hair on the nape of his neck.
His head leaned on her shoulder, his breath hitting her exposed collarbone, making the brunette shiver. His lips found the crook of her neck, placing soft kisses up and down, leaving Margo an unraveled mess. She gasped, feeling a moan find its way up her throat and out of her mouth. Momentarily, Alec stopped kissing her neck when he heard her moan. He leaned back, smirking at her. He loved the effect he had on the smaller Shadowhunter.
Margo realized something. Just as Izzy had said about Simon, Alec also passed the time. But it was more than that. He didn't just pass the time. He made time stop. His kisses and his touches made Margo feel like they had forever to themselves. She felt like they could do anything they wanted, in any amount of time. They had their own little forever.
Before he had the chance to resume his precious butterfly kisses on her neck, the leaves inside the tunnel crackled and snapped.
Alec's hands slipped out from under Margo's shirt, turning towards Jace and Clary as they walked out of the tunnel. "What happened? What did you find out?"
When Clary didn't say anything, Jace spoke up. "Valentine is Clary's father."
Oh lord.
However surprised Margo was, Alec was surely going to be worse. He was going to lose his cool, very soon.
"Wait a minute. You're telling me this girl shows up out of nowhere and she's Valentine's daughter?" There was no trace of his playful demeanor from a few minutes ago. "Did it occur to you that she might be a spy? This might be part of her plan?"
"Alec, that's enough." To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Jace who said those words, it was Margo. Though she wasn't always on Alec's side, she never spoke to him like that. The oldest Lightwood sibling turned to her, eyes wide in confusion and disbelief. "That first night, when I arrived at the Institute, I showed up out of nowhere. I had no memories. You didn't think I was a spy, did you?"
He couldn't reply to that.
The truth was, of course he didn't. She was Margo. His Margo. She couldn't be a spy.
Alec didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with Clary though.
Before he could even take a step near Margo, Clary spoke up. "Do you think I planned for my mom to get kidnapped? Or for Dot to be taken? Or to have a giant sword dangle over my head and find out that my father is one of the most dangerous people in the world? Really?"
Her breathing began to tremble when she looked around, seeing Isabelle walking up to the four without the mundane. "Where's Simon? Where's Simon?"
"I told him to stay in the van. I've searched everywhere," Izzy sighed.
Clary nearly freaked then. "You were supposed to protect him!" she yelled at Isabelle. "Simon!" She ran off to where the van was.
Margo groaned. "These mundanes are killing me," she commented before her and the other Shadowhunters followed Clary to the van. Clary was panting when she reached the open van door. In the seat, Simon's earbuds and headphones rested. "No. Simon!"
"Is that the mundane's name?" A new voice broke out among the gang. They all looked up, to see two vampires standing on a supporting beam of the bridge. One held Simon upside down, threatening to fall. "I'm afraid Simon's coming with us."
Clary yelled from directly behind Margo, piercing the girl's eardrums. Margo winced, holding her ear as Clary screamed. "No! No, he's not a part of this!"
"And it'll be my pleasure to kill you unless you return him," Jace threatened.
Alec chose the most inopportune moment to remind everyone, "Careful. We'd be violating the Accords."
"Alec!" Margo shouted, softly nudging him, reminding him of just how unnecessary the comment was at a time like this.
The vampire eyed Margo. "I'm afraid your boyfriend's quite right, sugar. The Night Children have broken no laws. We're negotiating. The mundane, unharmed, in exchange for the Mortal Cup." Simon gasped as the other vampire holding him lost her grip on his leg for a second. "And the clock is ticking. Tick-tock, people."
"Clary!" Simon yelled before the vampire duo and Simon disappeared.
"Simon... No!" Her breathing became heavy as she continued to yell his name, as if it would help. Her shouts went unanswered and unheard.