Wanting to learn more about magic, because it is a part of Magnus and Alec wants to know everything about Magnus, Alec starts reading Magnus' spell books (with permission of course.)
And let's just say some magical rituals are a little,… peculiar.
Alec: "Magnus? Why did you make a handwritten note beside this spell about 'only applicable during thunder storms'?"
Magnus: "Oh, because one needs to get struck by lightning for that spell."
Alec, alarmed: "Excuse me, did you just say you need to get struck by lightning!?"
Magnus: "Don't worry, Darling, the after effects usually disappear in a day or two."
Alec: "You let yourself get struck by lightning?"
Magnus: "Sometimes magic requires a little extra boost. Granted, the numbness and electric tingling isn't pleasant. But it's much better than having to get poisoned with snake venom for that one specific divination spell."
Alec: "#!+%!!!"
(Alec demands to be told about all the spells that could kill or seriously harm the man he loves, that Magnus only use them if there is absolutely no other way, and that Alec has to be present.)
Since I'm also very weak for protective!Alec and BAMF!Alec, what about... Alec is at an archery tournament in Idris, competing against the best ones in the world, and while preparing for his turn, he hears very nasty comments about his family and especially about Magnus.
I AM SO HERE FOR BAMF!ALEC SHOWING UP ALL THESE BASTARDS WHO TRY TO TRASH HIS FAMILY AND HIS HUSBAND.
Also the video Jace is talking about (and some of the tricks Alec and Lovelace both do) is found HERE. If you’re an archery nerd, I highly recommend checking it out.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Alec stretched, carefully prepping himself for the next round of the archery tournament. He heard a loud whistle and turned back to the crowd, waving to Magnus and his family. Looked like Jace had even made it back from the hand to hand competition, his medal proudly displayed. Now he just had to get his own medal.
The accuracy competition was never the best indicator of skill - with still targets and no time limit to their run, the real equalizer was the field challenge testing their mastery of their weapon. Alec bounced on the balls of his feet, keeping his heartrate up. The challenge changed every time they ran the tournament, designed to test their skills, ability to think on their feet, and force them to confront the weaknesses of their weapon.
Alec glanced around at the others. Seven others. Four of whom he had easily outshot in the accuracy challenge. It was the others who he would have to beat in the field challenge. Especially Richard Lovelace. Alec gave him a respected nod. He was one of the reasons Alec was in the tournament, he’d watched Richard dominate the tournament when he was a kid, and he’d fallen in love with archery ever since.
“What the hell does Lightwood think he’s doing here? Thought he was nothing more than a desk jockey these days with the cushy Head position.”
Alec tightened his hand on his bow, ignoring the sound of Alan Carstairs behind him.
“Seems to think he can still hang with actives. We’ll be happy to show him up. He’s the pity candidate, the local boy. I mean, just look at his...husband. A warlock?”
Alec forced himself to breathe through the roaring rage in his ears, staring straight ahead, fury settling over him like a wave.
Carstairs snorted. “It’s a mis-aimed attempt at regaining some family honor. Between his mother being de-runed, his father divorcing her, marrying a warlock, the Lightwood name is in the fucking dirt.”
Breathe. Alec ordered himself. Breathe. Channel anger. He looked back up to the stands and raised his hand to his mother and Magnus, both of them sitting side by side, Maryse gesturing to the course, likely explaining to him how it was going to work.
“At least we won’t have to worry about him. Lovelace is slated to win again.”
Alec ran through his final set of stretches, his eyes on the clock. He was the only competitor who had brought more than one bow, though he was pleased to see both he and Lovelace had adjusted quivers. Then again, the odds of actually having to use the Longbow were slim to none, but better to have it than not.
“Competitors to the starting line.”
Alec slung his longbow over his shoulders and adjusted the quiver strapped to his thigh. He held his head high as he approached, waiting at the line.
“Gentlemen, you will each take the course one at a time. You will have three minutes to hit as many targets as you can, as accurately as possible, then you will enter the arena where you will enter a fight simulator. If, at any time, you need to end the contest, you have a flare to set off. Are we ready?”
Alec nodded, keeping his hand tight on his bow as their order was drawn. He went last and kept his smirk to himself. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing as he listening to the sound of the course going live. While they couldn’t see what they were going up against, they could listen.
~!~
Magnus watched the first competitor race through the course, sacrificing accuracy for speed, some of his shots going wide of the targets.
“Maryse, why does Alexander have two bows? None of the other competitors do.”
Maryse chuckled and shook her head. “It’s a bit of a point of pride for Alec. In all the years he has been doing this competition, not once has there been a challenge where they have to shoot beyond the range of the standard compound bow he uses. He carries that with him to show that he’s prepared for anything - because the tournament promises to throw anything at them.”
Magnus hummed, turning his eyes back to the action as the crowd made a noise of displeasure. The first competitor had reached the arena, but he was already surrounded in the fighting simulation and he was knocked down by a demon only moments later, sounding the end of his run.
“Why do they make them do hand to hand at the end, as archers?” he asked her, the second competitor dashing into the arena. Another who was sacrificing accuracy for speed. He shook his head and scowled.
Maryse smiled and watched the archer stumble, tripping after not watching his footwork. “They need to be able to handle themselves in any situation. Many archers often assume that they will always have others on the front line there to protect them. Their hand to hand suffers.”
Magnus frowned and looked at her. “But Alec-”
“Has always made it a point to excel at hand to hand. Partially due to practicing with Jace, but also because he is well-aware of what the weaknesses of his weapon are,” Maryse said, glancing over at him. She grinned and gave Magnus’ arm a pat. “Alec’s main competition will be Richard Lovelace. Alec watched him do this competition when he was a kid, and is the reason Alec picked up a bow in the first place.”
Magnus squinted. “They’re both using different quivers.”
“Yeah,” Jace put in, leaning closer to Magnus. “It improves their draw time. It takes a lot of practice to re-learn your muscle memory, but their rate of firing is almost twice as fast.”
“So why doesn’t everyone do that?” Magnus asked, looking over at Jace.
“Muscle memory. That shit is hard to learn when you’ve been doing it one way for more than a decade. There was a mundane a few years back who found a way to fire three arrows in less than a second.” Jace grinned at the shock on Magnus’ face. “With runes? Alec can do it in half a second.”
Magnus whistled under his breath and looked back out on the course. “So what you’re telling me is we’re in for a show?”
Jace grinned, bright and wide. “You have no idea. Like I said, the only one who is going to give him a run for his money is Lovelace.”
Magnus turned his attention back to the course, unable to keep from grinning. “I look forward to it.”
~!~
As Lovelace was called to the course, Alec caught his eye and smiled as he watched Lovelace pull three arrows from his quiver, holding them easily in his draw hand. “Good luck,” he called. The nod he got back made him smile and he relaxed, until Carstairs walked closer to him.
“You wish you were half as good as he is, Lightwood,” Carstairs growled.
Alec gave him a bland look. “It’s Lightwood-Bane, Carstairs,” he drawled, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.
“You think you’re going to beat us when you’ve been sitting behind a desk for months?” Carstairs sneered. “Hell, maybe you’ve forgotten what it’s like in the field, and spend all of your time in your office fuck-”
“You would be wise,” Alec said, his voice quiet and vicious. “To stop right there Carstairs.” His eyes glittered dangerously. “You wouldn’t want me to embarrass you too badly, would you?”
Carstairs snarled. “You’re no better than a downworlder yourself, Lightwood.”
Alec’s eyes sparked. “Then show just how good you are. Because you’re going to have to be beyond your best to beat me.”
“You think because you copy your hero Lovelace that you’re going to beat the rest of us?”
“I’m going to beat you,” Alec said, his voice a promise. “Because I am better than you will ever be at archery. And I will prove it today.”
“Carstairs! You’re next!”
Alec watched him go and cracked his neck, his eyes flickering up to the leaderboard. Lovelace’s score was posted and he smiled. The accuracy was no comparison, but he hadn’t gotten to as many targets as some of the others. He took a deep breath. Three more, then he would go.
The next two runs of the course were quicker than he expected, and the scores posted were abysmal. Alec frowned and watched the last person, a Blackthorn he didn’t know well, approach the course.
“Lightwood-Bane, you’re up next.”
Alec stood upright and got into position at the start, taking another deep breath, pulling five arrows from his quiver, holding them easily in his draw hand. He would not sacrifice speed for accuracy, but there was a reason he still trained as much as he did, as hard as he did.
A roar from the arena told him that the last run was almost complete. There was a collective groan not long after and Alec closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His turn.
“Timer starts when you cross the line!”
Alec nodded and looked to the stands, where Magnus was waiting and smiled, turning to face the course. Time to show them all what he could do.
He stepped across the starting line, his strides long and purposeful.
Three targets, flying into his view. He had them dispatched in an instant, his blood singing with the challenge. He didn’t stop for the next target that flew from the woods at a high speed. Alec shattered the clay target with his next arrow and picked it up off the ground as he continued down the course.
Five Shax demons appeared on the course, skittering towards him. Alec drew both arrows and fired, dispatching two of them in a single volley, and the remaining three with the next, not breaking his stride through the course. He heard the roar of the crowd and drew five more arrows, his head on a swivel as he proceeded through the course.
Target after target, Alec made it a point to hit them all, all without stopping, whether in the air, hidden in the forest around him, or demons ambushing him from all directions. The sound of the crowd was background noise as a target was thrown up in front of him, and he didn’t hesitate to fire an arrow into the head at point-blank range, striding past it as the target fell behind him.
His timer was counting down and he was approaching the end of the course, as the targets came faster. Alec broke into a jog, swiveling to hit target after target, his eyes bright and focused, refusing to miss a single one.
A screaming demon came at him head-on and Alec didn’t break his stride, shooting it through the neck, moving through the cloud of simulated ichor and shadow, to reach the end of the course. There was a cliff and he frowned, stopping at the edge. Thirty seconds remaining before he entered the arena.
In the distance, he spotted a target floating under a balloon more than 100 yards away and his eyes widened. He dropped his compound bow and laughed, pulling his longbow off his back, pulling out a single arrow, grunting under the draw weight, counting down the time to himself.
He tracked it carefully, led the shot and fired, hitting the target dead on. Alec smirked and picked up his compound bow, pulling the longbow onto his back again as he moved into the arena.
“With an unprecedented score in both accuracy and targets destroyed, Alec Lightwood-Bane moves into the arena! How long will he last against the hoarde of demons we have in store for him?”
Alec ignored the announcer and stepped into the arena, watching the area around him ripple as the simulation settled into place. Buildings settled around him. Urban area. Close quarters. His eyes tracked the sky as he crept forward, five arrows in his hand again.
When he turned the corner, he saw why so many had fallen so quickly. A hoard of Ravener, Shax and two Behemoth demons. Alec gave himself a moment to breathe before he drew all five arrows and fired, advancing on the hoard.
Alec drew as fast as he could, pulling five arrows at a time, shooting demon after demon, dispatching them in waves of shadow, ducking under a swipe of poisonous claws, only to shoot the ravener in the face, watching it disintegrate. A shax demon managed to knock his bow out of his hands, but Alec rolled out of the way, pulling out his longbow, holding it easily between his hands before he spun back into the fray, using his bow like a quarterstaff to dispatch and injure as many as he could, avoiding the Behemoth demons attempting to pin him into a corner.
“And time!”
Alec exhaled hard, his hand still tight around his longbow as the rest of the simulation disappeared from around him. The other contestants were staring at him and Alec couldn’t keep the grin from his face. Lovelace looked impressed, and that was amazing, but Alec lifted his eyes to the stands and found Magnus, Jace, Izzy and his mother, cheering for him.
“The winner, by decisive hand to hand victory, and top marks in our field challenge, is Alec Lightwood-Bane!”
Alec laughed, pushing his hair back and off his face, moving to pick up his compound bow as the crowd screamed again. He made his way over to the other competitors, shaking their hands, sharing a few words with Lovelace that had him grinning like a boy again before he turned to Carstairs. He held out his hand and raised his hand.
“I’m not about to shake the hand of a man in bed with downworlders,” Carstairs sneered.
Alec frowned at him. “I beat you fair and square.”
Carstairs snorted. “Bullshit. There’s no way you could have been that fast. I’ll be having the Consul look into the results. You may not be using runes, but you are augmented, hell, I’m sure your precious warlock brewed you something this morni-”
Alec stepped up to Carstairs, using every inch of his height to look down at the man, an arrowhead pressed threatening to his jugular. “Insult him again and you will find yourself unable to draw breath.”
“You can’t threaten me!” Carstairs sputtered.
Alec leaned in, his eyes dark and dangerous. “I think you will find I can. And I think, Carstairs. You will find that it isn’t a threat if you push me. It is a promise.”
He pulled the arrowhead away and headed for the stands, grinning up at Magnus, where his husband was waiting for him. “Magnus!” he waved his hand and started to jog towards the stands.
“Alec!” Izzy shouted. “Behind-”
Alec spun, summoning his bow and an arrow to his hands in a seamless motion, tracking the arrow Carstairs had fired at him, before releasing his own, knocking it out of mid air and to the ground. He lowered his bow as the whole crowd went silent.
Carstairs stared in shock. “Did you just-”
“I told you,” Alec said. “I am better than you will ever be.” He turned his back to Carstairs again and jogged towards Magnus and grinned at the stunned look on his husband’s face.
“You know,” Magnus said faintly as Alexander stepped closer. “I know how dangerous you are, how good you are what you do, but-”
Alec grinned, bright and cheeky. “But seeing me put it on display does things to you?”
Magnus nodded, reaching out to yank Alec in by the t-shirt, kissing him hard, determined to show just how affected he was.
Alec’s eyes were dark as he stared at Magnus and licked his lips, winking at him. “Later,” he promised, turning to Jace and Izzy, wrapping them both in a hug, grinning happily.
Prompt: Alec saving Magnus from guys at the club who get a little too touchy with Magnus.
Featuring protective!Alec, (hesitantly!) dominating!Alec, and love at first sight. @malecgivesmelife 💜♥️💖
••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Alec was across the club before he had a chance to blink. He didn’t know who any of these three men were, but he knew he had to protect the glittery one. The one that gained Alec’s attention the moment he caught site of him sauntering down from the balcony. All lean muscle and pure power and downright beauty. The way he held himself was captivating, and he would’ve found that unnerving if the mere sight of the man didn’t send a jolt of calm through him.
See, Alec had been gulping down the last drops of whatever blue thing he had ordered (to then go make a move!) when he catches two men corner the one he’s subconsciously nicknamed ‘the glittery one.’ The moment that he sees the one in the red suit grab for the glittery one’s wrist, though, Alec loses it.
He has the one in red (that has, wait, is that a mullet?) on the floor not a half minute since he put his hands on the sparkly one, and the pale skinned man in the skinny jeans, who he knows without a shadow (haha shadow) of a doubt is a vampire, Alec head butts him. And then knees him in the face when he starts to keel over.
To be left forgotten and half concussed.
Alec of course isn’t out of breath by the end of it. But he almost feels like he should be, with the amount of adrenaline pumping through his veins and the image of two bleeding men groaning beneath his feet. But, hey, Shadowhunter.
When Alec’s eyes slide up to the glittery one, now gawking at him (it wasn’t exactly the first impression he was looking to make after all), he’s able to notice, now that their distance has shortened (by what feels like half a mile) that “the glittery one” has the most incredible demon mark he’s ever seen. Cat eyes, of all things! And he’s even more riveted than he was before having ran across the club and pummeled the two dudes that were getting far too handsy with this beautiful man, who has now snapped his jaw shut, and looks about ready to either flea or start grinning. Maybe he hasn’t made up his mind.
He finds out though when within one second and the next, the man with the most beautiful eyes, reaches his hand out. He can’t help but think it makes him look all the more demure. And he doesn’t even use that fricken’ word. ‘Demure,’ really brain?!
Alec does the only thing he can think of, and that’s grasp the man’s elegant, ring laden fingers with both of his hands and places a smooch upon his knuckles. A quick kiss, yes, but it wasn’t a peck, either. And Alec, having not been able to take his eyes off of that of the warlocks, had kept Magnus’ complete attention during the whole exchange.
At this point, they’re both blushing. Which catches Alec off guard because he doesn’t remember the last time that that happened.
“Oh! My name is... Magnus. Magnus Bane. You may have heard of me. I’m not as helpless as I may look— just to be clear; I had that handled. But you, Shadowhunter, hmm? What kind of business do you have within the walls of my... little establishment? Perhaps I can be of... service.” And he outright winks, as if his nerves aren’t clear on his face. Alec tests the name out before responding.
Magnus Bane. Alec was still partial to sparkly one, but he could admit ‘Magnus Bane’ had quite the ring to it. If only he could roll the man himself on his tongue.
“I’m not on official business. I— Alec. Name’s- Alec. You’re going to laugh— but I had to get away for the night. My sister. Love her to death. Set me up on a blind date which, ok, he was nice looking, but dating a mundane? A mundane who, get this, doesn’t even believe Narwhals exist? Yeah, sure, okay.” Alec scratches the back of his neck at admitting so much, when he’s not use to that. But the Warlock looks intrigued and that keeps him going.
“So, I was hoping I’d meet someone here that I could potentially... be with, instead. Someone... someone like you.” Alec gets the words out alright but his declaration has his blood rushing.
“You, Alexander are quite the little charmer, aren’t you? Hmm, well, lucky for you, my bed’s big enough for two, and oh look at the time... it’s—“ Magnus inhales on a gasp when rather then let him finish his albeit creative flirtations, Alec has him shoved up against the bottom railing that leads up to the balcony.
Alec’s mouth is a hairs breathe away from Magnus’ when he bites his own lip and looks back up into what are now closed eyes. “Hey, Magnus. I want you. Is that— are you purring? Oh Raziel— you’re actually purring. Magnus. You are too fucking adorable. I really am lucky.”
Alec nuzzles his nose up under Magnus’ right ear and then nibbles there until the volume of his purring becomes loud to the point that it makes Magnus’ squeak out a protest in embarrassment. Alec immediately backs up two and half steps, and then he moves his hands behind his back, out of respect, yes, but also to strengthen his self control that has started to obviously slip.
“If you’ll have me, I’ll take such good care of you, Magnus. What do you say?”
Magnus’ eyes snap back open at that, and it suddenly feels like the room is spinning because Magnus’ looking at him like he can see Alec’s soul from where he’s standing.
And then Magnus says “yes,” before barking out a small pleased laugh and moving back up beside Alec. He then proceeds to dance his arms about with both utmost precision and some dramatics, opening a portal right where Magnus had been leaning.
And Alec lifts a brow, and releases his own pleased (and openly impressed) laugh before he offers his left palm out to Magnus.
With hands intertwined, they move toward the sparkly rainbow tinted portal, as well as their gloriously entangled futures.
Magnus struggles with dealing that he has lost his magic. He tries to make Alec believe that he's taking it well, but Alec knows his boyfriend well enough to know Magnus isn't at a good place. So, he's there to let Magnus know that he's still a wonderful, magical and perfect person even without his magic and that maybe, there's a way to get his magic back.
Magnus was looking himself in the mirror and he wasn’t able to recognise himself. Yes, it was still the same face staring back at him, only now his cat-eyes were put on display constantly. Technically, he looked the same as always and it was just Magnus that couldn’t recognise himself. He wasn’t his old self anymore, not since he gave up his magic in Edom and was now dealing with accepting that. At first, he thought that it wasn’t going to be that difficult, but just a few days without magic, he realised just how much he relied on it. Not only as a warlock doing favours for his clients, he wasn’t going to miss that so much. But he relied on using magic in other, everyday things.
For example, opening doors, applying makeup, walking, cooking… He used his magic for all of those things and now doing everything manually, without the help of his magic felt weird and exhausting. Yes, he missed magic. God, he missed his magic more than anything, but he knew that it shouldn’t matter that much since everything ended up well because of him. Jace was freed, Lilith was gone and Alec survived the arrow in his chest thanks to his friend, Catarina.
That day… was horrible. Never in his life did Magnus feel so powerless and useless. Not being able to heal Alec on his own was a horrible feeling. He knew of just what spell to use, but he couldn’t and he hated himself at that moment. But thankfully, Catarina was there and Alec was just fine. A few days in bed and he was as good as new. But still, that didn’t change the fact how horrible Magnus felt and he sighed as he watched at his makeup free face, which was becoming a norm. Applying makeup without magic took time and patience and with Magnus being at wits end, he just didn’t bother like putting make up one some days and something was telling him that it was going to be one of those days again.
Magnus knew Alec felt guilty about him giving up his magic for him and his parabatai. That was why Magnus never said anything about missing his magic and he pretended that he was taking it well. But Alec wasn’t a fool, he knew how much Magnus regretted giving up his powers and even though they haven’t exactly talked about it yet, Alec promised to himself that he was going to get Magnus’ powers back. Somehow, even if it meant going to Edom. He couldn’t handle seeing Magnus like that , he was miserable, no matter what he liked to claim.
It was morning and Alec slowly made his way to Magnus’ bathroom, where he saw Magnus watching himself in the mirror and Alec puffed his cheeks when he saw that Magnus wasn’t really there. He had that distant look in his eyes and he was lost in his thoughts. Alec noticed Magnus doing that a lot lately and he huffed under his breath. Communication is the key element to make a relationship work. Communication and effort. Maybe they could have a talk about it? The hunter pressed his lips together and leaned against the door frame, finally waking up Magnus from thinking and he looked over his shoulder.
“Alexander,” said the warlock cheerfully and Alec grinned when his boyfriend went closer to him, to give him a good morning peck on top of his lips and Alec’s eyes fluttered shut as he applied one more kiss on top of Magnus’ lips and the older one grinned, then turned around and went back to the mirror. Alec followed him and stepped behind him, wrapped his arms around Magnus’ wait and rested his chin on top of Magnus’ shoulder, looking at Magnus’ reflection in the mirror.
“What kind of a look should I go today for?” asked Magnus as he was looking through his makeup and Alec shrugged. He didn’t know and didn’t really care. Lately he noticed that Magnus was bare faced a lot and that was a surprise to him, in a good way. He loved how Magnus looked with make up, of course. It made him look fabolous and hot, but without it… he was adorable. He had this soft aura around him and with his hair not spiked up, Magnus was just adorable.
“I like you like this,” said Alec and nuzzled into the crook of Magnus’ neck, who chuckled and then slowly leaned his head back a little, resting it against Alec’s and he giggled when he felt Alec pressing a few kisses up to his ear and the Shadowhunter then looked back at them in the mirror. “I’m serious, you don’t need makeup. I mean you look good with it, but without it, you’re still amazing,” said Alec and a dreamy expression came upon his face. “And soft.”
“I look… soft? ” asked Magnus and started laughing. “Should I be insulted right now?”
“No, it’s a compliment,” said Alec and grinned. “You know, soft , like all I wanna do is cuddle you,” he then explained himself better and Magnus chuckled.
“Ah.”
“Yes,” said Alec proudly and then turned Magnus around in his arms and cocked his head to the side. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” said Alec and Magnus looked up, waiting for Ale to continue. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been looking kind of distant,” he said and Magnus looked down, already knowing where this was going and he didn’t like it. Yes, he knew he needed to work on his communication skills, but… “I know that we haven’t talked about it yet, but you giving up your powers for me… I mean I thanked you but never really asked how you were doing. I mean you literally gave up a part of yourself for me and I-”
“Alexander,” stammered Magnus, forcing himself not to shut Alec out again. He didn’t like lying to him, it was just that pretending that the issue didn’t exist was so much easier. “I’m struggling, but,” said Magnus and shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, I’ve been through a lot so far and this just just another bump in the road of my long life. So don’t you fill your pretty little head with useless worries and-”
“You’re doing that again,” said Alec and shook his head. “Shutting me out and I don’t like it. I know you don’t want to being a burden to me, but like I’ve said, you’d never be a burden for me and I want to know how you truly feel, because I’ve told you already how guilty I am about it… that you did that…. for me,” stammered Alec and Magnus sighed.
“And this is another reason why I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to make you feel guiltier than you already are. I’ve already told you that there’s nothing you should feel guilty about and-”
“Magnus,” said Alec and the warlock groaned, rolled his eyes, but nodded in the end because he knew that Alec was right. They needed to communicate if they wanted to get through this. The warlock looked down and his shoulders slumped down as he was chewing on his lower lip and he cursed. Yes, Alec had learned how to read him like an open book and it had its advantages and disadvantages. Nothing got by Alexander and he slowly looked up, wearing a nervous expression and Alec slowly cradled his face, making Magnus feel at ease as he leaned against the touch, closed his eyes for a split second, then opened them again and Alec’s heart leaped into his heart. Gosh, those beautiful cat-eyes were just gorgeous and he liked that they were out in open now constantly. But Magnus didn’t like that, he hated his own eyes, because they reminded him of his father.
“I just,” stammered Magnus and sighed. “I don’t know who I am anymore without magic,” whispered Magnus and Alec felt his heart dropping when Magnus said that. “I feel useless without it, like I’m a stranger to myself,” he said and he looked down again and Alec pressed his lips together. “Magic was my everything and without it I’m no-”
“Hey, that’s no true,” said Alec and gave him a little smile. “It wasn’t your magic that made you magical. You’re still magical in my eyes and always will possess magic,” he said, trying to cheer up Magnus, but his words didn’t really make a difference and Alec sighed. “Look,” he said. “I don’t know how horrible it must be to lose a part of yourself like that, but please realise that you aren’t useless without your magic,” said Alec. “You’re still the same wonderful and beautiful man I fell in love with,” he said and those words made a little smile appear on Magnus’ face.
“My, my, Alexander… you really have a way with words,” he said and Alec rolled his eyes, but was happy that he saw Magnus smiling, before the smile disappeared again and he bowed his head down again. “I hate it that I can’t glamour my eyes,” said Magnus then and sighed.
“I love your eyes,” said Alec.
“I don’t. They’re like my father’s and-”
“Nope, I don’t believe that they’re anything like your father’s,” said Alec even though he hadn’t met Asmodeus in person. “Your eyes are full of love, affection, warmth and are so beautiful,” said Alec. “I doubt Asmodeus’ eyes are anything like yours,” said Alec and Magnus felt his cheeks heating up.
“Oh, Alexander,” said Magnus as another smile crept upon his face. “Yeah, life without magic is difficult,” complained Magnus and shook his head. “I mean I have to walk places now. Walk! Magnus Bane doesn’t walk,” joked Magnus and Alec grinned, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend.
“Worry not, I’ll teach you how to live without magic,” said Alec. “Oh, we can train together,” said Alec and his eyes lit up. He had always wanted to spare with Magnus and this gave him a perfect opportunity and excuse to do just that!
Magnus hummed in amusement. “Prepared to get your ass kicked, Shadowhunter,” challenged Magnus and Alec grinned up to his ears. This was more like it, Magnus showing a bit of his competitive side. That showed that Magnus felt a bit better now about the whole magic thing, but ALec knew that Magnus would still have a long way to go before he was completely okay with the terms that he had lost his magic. Then again, who said that it was a permanent thing? Magnus wsas still very much a warlock! He still had his warlock mark, the eyes, so maybe the magic was just locked somewhere deep within him and he needed something that would unlock it. If not, then Alec would have to pay his father in law a little visit and make him see the light! He should return Magnus’ magic back. He was the prince of hell, he had enough of his own magic, so Magnus deserved his own magic back! Alec was prepared to fight-
“Alexander, you have that look on your face again,” said Magnus in amusement and Alec cocked his head to the side, Magnus chuckling. It looked like Alec came up with an idea or something, he had something that looked like an eureka moment and Magnus was amused.
“What look?”
“The one when you get when you think of a good idea. Well, what you think would be a good idea,” said Magnus and Alec grinned.
“Maybe you can get your magic back,” said Alec and Magnus arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you need to unlock it or something like that. Maybe you still have it, but Asmodeus just locked it away somewhere within you, or,” said Alec. “I’ll go talk to Asmodeus and convince him to give you your magic back,” said Alec and Magnus started laughing. “What? Don’t laugh, I’ll fight him,” said Alec, prepared to fight and Magnus’ laughter got louder, because Alec was ridiculously adorable. This overprotective side of him was adorable, prepared to fight everyone that wanted to hurt any of his beloved people.
“My father’s a greater demon, remember?”
“So? I took care of Azazel all on my own,” said Alec and narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, yes… I remember. You’re a big, bad Shadowhunter,” said Magnus and Alec grinned when he saw that Magnus was playing along. But still, there was some truth behind the ridiculous words coming from Alec’s mouth; maybe there was a way and Alec was going to find out if there was a possibility to bring Magnus’ magic back. In the meantime, he was going to look after Magnus and make the dealing process easier for Magnus. Well, he was going to try to at least, but seeing a genuine smile on Magnus’ face showed him that his help was working.
“Hell yeah I am and Asmodeus will give you your magic back as soon as he sees me,” said Alec and Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck, the hunter bringing Magnus’ waist closer to himself and Magnus’ smile faltered a bit when he saw that Alec got serious. “I’m serious though, you’ll get your magic back,” he said and Magnus looked down. “I mean it,” he whispered and Magnus slowly looked up, troubled expression on his face, which melted away when Alec leaned in to kiss him.
“Take care of me until you get my magic back?” asked Magnus, half joking, half being serious. Alec wanted to laugh, but when he saw that Magnus’ expression was serious and desperate, he nodded and hugged him.
“Yes, of course,” said Alec and kissed Magnus’ temples. “Always.”
“Thank you,” muttered Magnus as he melted into another hug that Alec gave him and a little smile spread across his face. This wasn’t so bad, thought Magnus and closed his eyes, sighing. Maybe that day wasn’t going to be so bad and he allowed himself to blindly believe in Alec’s words.
Yes, his magic was going to come back. Until then, he’d have to learn how to live without it, but with Alec by his side, that shouldn’t be so difficult, he was sure of it.
Hello! First of all THANK YOU for this wonderful blog! :) Second, I saw past anon asks (and I checked the tags to be sure) and I though maybe you would like to know these fics. For protective!Alec: A Horse That Loves You by Lemur710 (+ insecure and bamft Magnus) - The Right Kind Of Love by onyxmoon (+ hurt & insecure/vulnerable Magnus + possessive!Alec + FEELS) - Where do we go from here? by TeachMePatience (tortured!Magnus and fuckedup Clave). I hope you like them :)
Thank you so much for the recs!
A Horse That Loves You by Lemur710 ( PG13 | 1/1 | 5,563)
Magnus rushes into battle to rescue Jace—and comes to terms with what it means to love a shadowhunter with a parabatai.
The Right Kind of Love by onyxmoon (Explicit | 1/1 | 30,242)
It starts during their first fuck after “The Incident” as Magnus was calling it now. Alec had been hovering over him, effectively turning Magnus’ brain into mush when it happened. It wasn’t the sentence that Alec uttered out in the midst of the heat, but the way he looked at Magnus.
Like he was something invaluable.
Something worth saving.
It scares Magnus because Alec looked like he sincerely meant that. And even more he fears that he might actually believe it himself.
Where do we go from here? by TeachMePatience (Mature | 23/23 | 58,616)
Magnus Bane becomes a shadowhunter prisoner and hostage for his 'crimes' against the Clave. Head of the Institute, Maryse Lightwood tasks her son with guarding this high profile asset.
Alec loves their relationship but unfortunately, reflecting can sometimes cause more pain than an actual wound... Or the one where Magnus is injured in battle and Alec can't help pessimistically thinking of better times, written for the malec hiatus exchange!
A/N: I believe it’s safe to post this here now so here ya go! (italic is flashbacks)
Everything had been going well.
Alec and Magnus had received a distress call from Simon and Raphael, not long after the two vampires had set out to gather information on the pack of werewolves repeatedly threatening to attack Luke.
Naturally, both Magnus and Alec had internally grumbled at the thought of cancelling movie night but grabbed their coats, their weapons and magic at their disposal within seconds. It had just been a regular battle, full of demons and dust – as well as the small addition of werewolves - with Alec and Magnus fighting beside one another, seraph blades and flames working together. It had just been their regular routine… until one of the werewolves' demons had managed to sneak up on them.
Neither Alec nor Magnus had noticed the surreptitious creature slowly inching towards across the battlefield, taking advantage of shadows and clouds. Just as Magnus had fired at the rogue werewolf heading towards Alec, said shadowhunter had briefly left the warlock's side to save Jace from what would have probably been certain death.
Of course, that was the pivotal moment.
As soon as Jace gratefully smiles through gritted teeth and a wave of relief washes over Alec, he hears something he'd rather not: Magnus' cry.
As much as he tries to stifle it, Magnus can't help crying out when the poisonous tip of the demon's tail pierces his skin. Alec watches in mute, frozen horror as more and more of the weaponised tail digs itself into his skin, until the sharp appendage has travelled all the way through his body. It may have been the blink of an eye for others, but for Alec, it's seconds full of eternities, all full of a pain he can't name.
He remembers the time he'd been worried about something piercing Magnus' skin…
"Alexander?" Magnus calls from their study, his voice quiet and yet the brightest one Alec's ever heard and ever will hear, he's sure of it.
"Yeah?"
"How do you feel about sushi?"
"What?"
"How do you feel about sushi?"
"Who's that?" Alec asks, then curses himself when he hears Magnus laugh.
"The food, love, the food."
Alec groans in embarrassment, giving up on his book and pulling himself to his feet, his eyes immediately drawn to Magnus' warm smile as he opens the study door, folding his arms. "Sushi's great, I guess."
"Great! Do you want candlelit or movie night?"
Alec frowns for a second, then realises what Magnus is asking and something inside of him – most likely his heart - melts. "You're making dinner?"
"There's nothing to say we can't have it for break-"
Before Magnus can finish his sassy remark, Alec walks forwards and presses their lips together as softly as he can, for only the briefest of milliseconds. As expected, Magnus blushes and smiles, holding his hands up in mock surrender as he goes silent.
"Movie night sounds great," Alec whispers, stepping back to go finish his book and let Magnus work on the spell his last client had asked for.
Unfortunately, he fails to see the little box behind him and crashes into it, sending the little needles showering down, a few of which land on Magnus. Most of them bounce off but one lands directly on his arm, piercing his flawless skin, and he flinches, pulling the sharp object out and rubbing his arm.
"I'm sorry!" Alec bursts immediately, kneeling down to see if his warlock is okay.
"It's only skin-deep, don't worry, sweet pea."
"Are you sure?" Alec asks, carefully picking up the other needles and sliding them into the little box before any more harm can come to them.
"Absolutely," Magnus assures him.
"Still, I'm so-"
Now it's Magnus' turn to interrupt his boyfriend's sentence with a kiss, silencing his apology with an act of love. Alec smiles as he pulls back, sharing an exasperated look with Magnus and then glancing behind him before standing back up this time.
"The protagonist's sister dies at the end!" Magnus calls as Alec is leaving the room.
"Magnus!"
"I'm joking, I've not even read it!"
Alec shakes his head fondly, the sound of their simultaneous laughter echoing like soothing background music. The harmony of their laughter is always sweet enough to make him grin like an utter fool but, for the sake of their love, he doesn't even care.
He doesn't recognise the sharp, anguished scream that escapes his lips when he watches the demon's tail suddenly jerk forwards, eliciting another pained cry from his beloved, and then rapidly retreat so that the demon can fly back to attack someone else, as if it hadn't just dared to touch the high warlock of Brooklyn. He does, however, recognise the weak moan that slips from Magnus' throat as he starts to slump towards the ground.
Alec has never been more thankful for his speed rune.
Alec catches Magnus just before he hits the ground and injures himself further but there's no way to stop the sheer amount of blood escaping the veins it should be flowing through. Before he can help it, he's choking back a sob, wrapping his arms around Magnus and praying to everyone who'll listen for him to be okay.
The population of the world may as well be two at this point because Alec suddenly can't remember anyone except the person in his arms.
"Magnus, please- I, I can't- you can have my, my strength…" Alec rambles, blinking furiously.
He sits with Magnus between his knees, the warlock's head lying on his shoulder and his back leaning diagonally against his chest. He wraps his arms around Magnus' shoulders, trying to cocoon his boyfriend in a healing embrace as if the pure love of a hug can somehow make everything better. If only.
Magnus smiles, wincing, but each acute inhale sends jolts of fear straight through Alec's hope and he can't help his face crumpling as he tries to have faith.
"Al… Alec…" Magnus whimpers as his eyes flicker between gold and brown. If losing control of his glamour wasn't bad enough, Magnus calling him 'Alec' is a red alert to say he's getting weaker.
"Mags… please, no- come on…" Alec bites his lip, desperately staring at the kaleidoscope of his beloved's eyes. Hee always loves Magnus' eyes but this isn't why he usually sees those alluring colours…
"Freak!" someone calls - someone who must have the sight because there's no way they could have seen them otherwise.
Magnus and Alec both jump, Alec instinctively going to stand in front of Magnus like a human shield. He glares at the man scowling in their direction. "Something wrong?"
"There's something wrong with your boyfriend's eyes!" The man spits.
"They're just contacts. Honestly, are you blind or something?" Alec asks coldly.
The man's eyes widen and he holds his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, man, I didn't know. I just thought his eyes were freaky!"
Alec's jaw clenches and his hands form fists as the man carries on explaining how weird Magnus' eyes would be if they weren't contacts and only a soft, familiar hand on his shoulder stops him from actually lunging forwards.
"Have fun at the party, dudes!" The man chirps as he carries on walking, having assumed everything without letting either of them talk or even noticing that one of them was attempting to stop the other from killing him.
As soon as he's gone, Alec whirls round and places his hands on either side of Magnus' face, staring into his eyes until the rest of the world fades away. "He was wrong, you know?"
"About the party?" Magnus asks, the strain in his voice suggesting that he isn't as unaffected as he's trying to be.
"Magnus…" Alec sighs softly.
As per a silent request to Magnus that only he could have deciphered, the two of them are able to stand beside their sofa within a few seconds, at which point Alec gently pushes him to sit on the sofa and kneels on the floor in front of him.
"Magnus, I love you." Alec doesn't even hesitate to say it, the sofa luckily being low down enough for him to be almost at Magnus' eye level.
Magnus hums, a smile flickering on his face. "I love you too, Alexander."
"No, listen to me," Alec gently orders, "I adore every piece of you and that includes the pieces others don't understand. Just because he couldn't accept your eyes doesn't make you a freak."
Magnus' smile is much more genuine by now, and he pulls Alec up to sit on the sofa beside him. "Thank you."
"Now, it's a little dull in here," Alec says, apparently ignoring the bright blue sofa they're sat on and the paintings of autumn leaves on the walls. "How about you light up the room with those golden eyes?"
Magnus laughs and lets his eyes flutter shut for a second before taking a deep breath. Instead of opening his eyes, however, he moves forwards and attacks Alec with a warm embrace, the two of them falling sideways and rolling off the sofa. They land with Magnus on the carpet, Alec lovingly looming above him.
"Magnus!" Alec giggles.
"Alexander," Magnus mimics, his arms wrapped around his shadowhunter.
Alec smiles into Magnus' colourful eyes and gently kisses the warlock's nose, yelping as he retaliates by rolling them over. "You are the best shadowhunter I've ever met."
Alec blushes, because of both the sudden adrenaline rush and the compliment. Magnus winks, grinning slyly. "And, for the record, I also think your eyes are a masterpiece I would happily sink under."
"Oh, by the angel…" Alec pulls out his stele, then remembers that an iratze won't work on a warlock and kisses Magnus' forehead, biting his bottom lip to stop his sobs.
He tries to make Magnus comfortable, one hand wrapping around Magnus' nimble fingers. "Please, Mags, use my strength, please!"
He can feel the meek pull of Magnus' magic but he knows that not enough is ebbing away for anything to happen. It's a vicious cycle, needing strength to take someone else's strength. It's a torturous cycle and Alec can't do anything to stop or hinder it.
"Magnus!" Alec can hear the desperation in his voice but he doesn't care; he can feel the blood escaping Magnus' wound as if it were his own soul being soaked up by his black institute gear.
Magnus coughs, but each one stops halfway as if he can't draw in a breath. Every time his breathing stops for even a millisecond, Alec's heart plummets and he can't hear anything but the broken pulse of his favourite warlock.
"C… Cata…" Magnus croaks then groans and buries his head in Alec's jacket.
Alec's confusion only lasts a millisecond before he realises what Magnus means – even in imminent danger, their almost psychic connection is practically perfect – and he finds a way to reach his phone, already dialling.
"Pick up pick up pick up!" Alec chants as the phone rings, his memory betraying him with a painful parallel.
"Don't you dare- No, Alexander, do not pick-" Magnus is cut off when Alec, against his wishes, lifts him up.
"Pick me up, did you say?" Alec teases, spinning around as Magnus stifles a shriek, his arms around Alec's neck and his eyes closed.
Alec grins to himself and carries Magnus through their apartment. At one point, he pretends to slip and Magnus yelps, his grip on Alec tightening as if magic had suddenly ceased to exist. Not that Alec is complaining.
"I'm not going to drop you!" Alec laughs as Magnus pulls back slightly, his natural eyes glowing with adrenaline, ire, and endearment.
"I hate you," he mumbles in a way that suggests he does the exact opposite.
Alec chuckles and pretends to drop him again, watching Magnus' eyes widen with alarm as he yells, "Alexander!"
"Yes?"
"Put me down and I'll show you yes!"
"What does that even mean?" Alec asks, unable to stop his laughter.
"It's a work in progre- Alexander!" Magnus' voice rises half an octave as Alec fools him for the third time.
"Okay, okay, sorry!" Alec giggles, letting Magnus down in front of their bed but then trips and falls forwards, pushing them both down.
"Oof!" they both gasp simultaneously, rubbing their foreheads and wincing.
Alec can see himself in Magnus' eyes as he leans on his elbows to avoid further injury and he grins at how flushed they both look. He leans down and gently kisses Magnus' nose, laughing brightly as Magnus then kisses his nose in turn. Lacing their hands together, he pulls both Magnus and himself up, the two of them stumbling as they trip over each other's feet.
"You're ridiculous," Magnus whispers.
"You owe me an ice cream," Alec replies smugly.
Magnus rolls his eyes but nods fondly. "If it's an ice cream you want, an ice cream you shall get."
"Where are you?" Catarina asks as her greeting; she must have sensed there was an emergency. If he was in the right state of mind, he might have thanked his past self for making sure the ID on Catarina's phone flashed as absolutely urgent if called with his institute number, but he's too caught up in his bleeding boyfriend to remember that.
But as Magnus whimpers softly, the grip on Alec's hand weakening, he forgets how to form a sentence.
He forgets that anything but the two them exists, and he drops the phone, shifting position enough to place his hand on Magnus' perfect cheek, trying his best to smile. Magnus' gaze catches his for a moment and the two of them find the strength to hold it for a few seconds before Magnus jerks, gasping in a fresh round of pain.
"Oh no…" Alec mutters to himself as he sees the wound start to faintly glow. Painful glowing on a battlefield cannot be a good sign.
"Alec!" someone calls, and someone else picks up the phone. Someone has a quick, sharp, rushed conversation and someone tries calling his name, but he doesn't pay attention. How can he focus on anything when the most important person in the world might be dying?
"Magnus, please, hold on, please-" Alec whispers, pulling the warlock closer and hoping, praying with every scrap of faith he can muster.
There's a small part of him that senses the wave of magic, the literal sparks in the air, the arrival of someone who possesses enough magic to create a portal, but most of his brain is preoccupied with hoping he won't have to attend a funeral anytime soon, and trying to figure out a loophole for possible death.
"Magnus?"
"Alexander?"
"What will you do when I'm gone?"
"What?"
"I want you to promise me you'll take care of yourself an- and find someone else to, someone else to make you smile when- when I can't d-do it myself."
Magnus is in front of Alec in an instant, his eyes wide and his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay, love?"
Alec opens his mouth to reply but only a small sob escapes and his lower lip trembles as he tries to hold back the rest of his emotion. Within seconds, Magnus has enveloped him in a warm bear hug and the two of them are soon wrapped in the fluffiest blanket known to exist.
"I- I'm sorry, I-"
"Shhh," Magnus soothes, "you're allowed to cry."
Alec sniffles and burrows his face into the crook of Magnus' neck, his shoulders shaking as he wraps his arms around Magnus as if the warlock had randomly turned into a personal teddy bear. Magnus just smiles sadly and kisses the top of Alec's head, holding him tight and murmuring any poems he can remember.
It's almost an hour later when Alec's sobs subside and he looks up at Magnus with a teary smile. "I love you."
"I love you more, Alexander," Magnus whispers, leaning forward so their noses brush.
Alec giggles and meets him halfway, his eyes brightening as the two of them take part in the softest nose battle known to man. Of course, Magnus lets him win, whatever that means, and Alec ends up smiling, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he bites his lip. None of his attempts to stifle joy work, however, and Manus beams at him. "There's that precious smile!"
"Magnus…"
"Don't you 'Magnus' me, Alexander. I will fight for that smile!"
"You're so dramatic!" Alec groans.
"I've waited a long time for a smile like yours and I think a little exaggeration is more than necessary." Magnus raises an eyebrow.
Alec smiles again. "Thank you,"
"Of course!"
"No, I mean… thank you for waiting," Alec corrects, his voice quiet.
"Alexander, my darling, I would wait every lifetime for you," Magnus declares and Alec's face flushes as red as the warlock's ruby ring so he avoids talking and simply leans up to kiss Magnus' chin.
"Alec!"
The sharp, magical cry of Catarina manages to penetrate his downward spiral of diminishing hope, and he looks up to the blurry figure of a blue and white smudge.
"Oh-" Catarina cuts herself off, trying not to swear as she sees the wound.
"Help," Alec manages before he has to bite back a sob, trying not to focus on his stained, red hands and the metallic scent of blood.
"What did this?" Catarina asks, as her hands start to glow.
It's not even a second before the glow from her hands reaches Magnus' skin and he jumps, softly moaning and trying to move away, towards Alec, before going still. Both Catarina and Alec freeze, their eyes wide and panicked, but they sigh in relief when Magnus exhales weakly, both still confused but no longer hopeless.
"That's not meant to happen," Catarina says before worrying her lip. Alec thinks he hears over people try to input some advice but he can't bear to listen, tightening his hold on his beloved.
"I have something for you," Alec declares as he walks into their apartment.
Magnus manages to grin and fondly shake his head at the same time, planting a quick kiss on Alec's cheek. "Please don't tell me you found a turtle too?"
"A- a turtle?" Alec asks, bemused.
Magnus sighs with relief, "Oh, thank goodness. I've had four stray turtles put under my charge already and I think Chairman will take my eyes out if I announce the arrival of anymore."
Alec makes a note to ask about that later and pulls the peculiar bag from behind his back as he winks. "I need you to trust me."
"Of course," Magnus answers without missing a beat.
Something flutters in Alec's heart but he just smiles and places his hand over Magnus' eyes as an unspoken order to close his eyes. Once he can be sure Magnus isn't watching him, he opens the bag and stifles another laugh before placing the borderline pretentious hat on the warlock's head.
Magnus stiffens for a second. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Maybe?" Alec grins as Magnus opens his eyes. He laughs as Magnus walks to the mirror and stares at his reflection as if contemplating the existence of hat-makers.
"Alexander… I think we need to talk about your fashion sense…" Magnus says finally, one hand tentatively poking the abundance of oversized flowers resting atop his head. "I actually quite like it."
Alec can't help his voice rising an octave as he asks: "You do?"
"Nope." Magnus grins and the hat's on Alec's head before he can react.
His jaw drops in mock horror. "Magnus!"
"What? You look cute!" Magnus coos, miming a camera and winking with his natural eyes, something that he knows will both drive Alec mad and make his heart melt.
"I dare you to wear it all of tomorrow!" Alec blurts smugly, folding his arms; Magnus' nose scrunches up as he rolls his eyes and reluctantly nods in agreement, apparently unconvinced by Alec's fashion sense and accessory choices.
"You will, won't you?" Alec taps a foot.
Magnus sighs, "You know I will… but only if you wear it for the rest of today!"
"But we're going to watch that new film!"
Magnus just flashes him an innocent smile. Alec groans in frustration but he can't argue with the sparkle in Magnus' eyes so he just grumbles and walks into the kitchen to grab an apple, inwardly smiling to himself as he hears the bright laughter behind him.
Alec has no time to even think before the three of them are moving, flying, travelling through a portal back to Catarina's apartment. Alec and Magnus fall in a heap of blood, sweat, and tears mixed with sobs, desperate hopes, and love.
"Alec, try to keep him awake!" Catarina calls as she dashes into the other room, grabbing bottles and various other things as she goes.
"Mags, hey, are you awake?" Alec asks softly, unsure of what to do; he tries to nod encouragingly as Magnus' eyes fly open and he weakly nods, trying to muster a smile but not doing very well in convincing Alec that he's not in immense pain.
"Oh, by the angel, please- just, just hang- just hang on for me, please?" Alec mumbles, swallowing the anchor of fear rising in the back of his throat.
"Oh, Alec…" Catarina sighs as she reappears, but her sympathy is overtaken by the medical side of her mind, and she quickly checks Magnus' pulse before taking a deep breath and starting to chant.
She falters when Magnus' breathing hitches but Alec nods at her, encouraged by the soft glow of just about everything around them. Licking her lips, she continues muttering rapidly, her voice tripping over itself and her words blurring together like trees zooming past a car window on a country lane late at night.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Alec questions as he sees Magnus holding out his hands.
"Apparently I've committed some kind of crime," Magnus answers dryly.
Alec frowns to himself. "What?" he asks, having wanted to spend the afternoon cuddling in front of a fire or someplace just as cosy.
Nobody offers an explanation as they snap the bracelet onto Magnus' wrists and Alec darts forward to steady the warlock as he buckles under the sudden loss of his magic. Making his mind up, Alec turns to the other shadowhunters. "I'm coming with you."
They just shrug, apparently not bothered too much and clearly just following orders they don't understand, and Alec grins, his arm around Magnus more for the sake of it than for supporting him.
"Did they say anything about where we're going?" Alec asks the car they're in starts moving. Apparently, a portal had been out of the question so they were taking a mundane road in a mundane vehicle.
"No."
Magnus puts his head on Alec's shoulder and Alec rests his on top of Magnus', the two of them humming in harmony. They've gone through the entirety of the latest album Magnus had shown Alec before the car suddenly speeds up and sharply turns, sending them both crashing into each other.
"Ouch!" Magnus exclaims loudly, just to spite the shadowhunter driving.
Alec rubs his head as he pushes off the window and stares at the green blur outside the window. "Are cars built to go this fast?"
Magnus glances outside only for a second before shaking his head. "Not really, no…
"Well, that's not worrying at all…"
"I wonder how bad my crime is," Magnus says, "for us to be bending mundane laws."
"Oh, it's so bad."
As soon as Alec says that, Magnus' eyes focus on him like a spotlight. "You know what I've done?"
Magnus' eyebrows fly upwards as he thinks through what he could possibly have done; Alec can't help feeling quite happy with himself to finally give Magnus a taste of his own medicine.
"Okay, you win… what have I done?" Magnus asks, his curiosity stronger than his competitive side.
Alec clears his throat rather dramatically. "You've stolen my heart."
Magnus stares at him blankly for a few seconds before he bursts out laughing, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he processes Alec's joke.
"You're an idiot!"
"You love it," Alec grins.
"Of course I do, you're my idiotic shadowhunter," Magnus laughs.
If anyone with the sight had been staring into the car, they would have seen two utterly unamused shadowhunters sharing an exasperated look and turning the radio up to drown out the cheesy jokes that seem to come hand in hand with a relationship. Of course, they might also see the couple sat in the back, totally immersed in said relationship and oblivious to anything else.
"Magnus, please…" Alec whispers as softly as he can, resting his forehead on Magnus' sweaty locks. He tries to focus on the way his colourful hair still somehow looks like it belongs in a magazine instead of worrying about how alarming his breathing is becoming.
Catarina pauses only to exhale and gulp in some air before chanting at eight hundred and fifteen miles per hour, her eyes closing as she concentrates; Alec just stares in awe.
"Alexander-" Magnus breathes before stiffening and stilling.
"NO!" Alec yells, his eyes widening and his gaze travelling to the still-muttering Catarina. "No, no no no no no, NO!"
His eyes have started to fill up with unauthorised tears at the thought of never having properly said goodbye when Magnus abruptly jerks, coughing and glowing.
Alec and Catarina are both blown backwards as Magnus seems to literally brighten brighter than any light known to any species, and Alec has to shield his eyes to avoid potentially becoming blind. They both start to cough as they pull themselves up and wince at the intense glow still threatening their vision. That doesn't, however, stop Alec from rushing to his feet and immediately stumbling to Magnus, incoherent versions of the warlock's name escaping his lips.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Alec groans as Magnus repeats his newest pet name.
"Because nicknames are fun!"
"Why don't I call you anything other than 'Magnus' then?" Alec asks, his eyes then lighting up mysteriously.
"Oh no… I know that look…" Magnus sighs, already knowing that Alec is one hundred percent planning something but not too worried because trust is a thing they both believe in.
It's only five minutes later when Alec calls: "Hey, cupcake, can you come here a second?"
Magnus' entire face scrunches up as he lets the new pet name sink in and Alec's plan dawns on him but he does as Alec asks, walking into the study.
"Yes?"
"You're not busy, are you, honey?"
"No…?"
"Kiss me?"
Magnus blinks.
"Aw, come on, babe, it's a simple request."
Magnus can't tell if Alec's smirk or his words make his heart melt but, either way, he has to mentally reboot to fix his composure.
"Are you alright, sugar?"
"That's it, this is over before it begins!" Magnus exclaims and lunges forwards.
Soon enough, his fingers are brushing Alec's sides and they're both laughing as they try to tickle the other. Magnus holds his poker face for a little bit longer than Alec, who's almost immediately gasping and trying to form a single word. Unable to avoid Magnus' hands, he's got no choice but to laugh and to try forming a protest as he succumbs to hysteria. He ends up emitting a jumble of sounds that all vaguely resemble 'Magnus' but could easily be mistaken for gibberish.
"Are you satisfied, sweet pea?" Magnus asks, breathless, as he pulls back, his smile way too innocent for someone who's done what he has.
Alec sucks in a breath as he glares but then nods slowly. "Alright. You win, muffin."
"Alexander!"
He sighs in relief when he catches sight of Magnus sitting up, clearly dazed.
"Magnus!"
Magnus looks up sharply, and his confusion expression morphs into a grin as his eyes lock with Alec's. "Alexander?"
"Oh, Magnus, I thought you were dead!" Alec breathes, wrapping his arms around and practically folding himself around Magnus.
Magnus gasps but closes his eyes with a smile. "I'm still here, not to worry."
"You absolute… stupid… hairdryer!" Alec sobs into Magnus' shoulder.
He hears Catarina snort behind him but dismisses the realisation, his mind preoccupied with how close they got to being taken away from each other. He doesn't even realise that Magnus slightly shifts the two of them so they're not in danger of smashing the coffee table in the centre of Catarina's room, especially since it's currently littered with powders and bottles and everything else magical they'd required.
"Alexander?" Magnus murmurs, his voice thick with emotion.
"I love you," Alec replies, knowing exactly what Magnus was trying to articulate because he's thinking the exact same thing.
"Aku Cinta Kamu."
Alec's never been so happy to hear those words.
He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and rests his forehead on Magnus', letting their eyes stay locked onto one another. Their noses brush as they both shut their eyes, relieved beyond belief.
"This is cute and all but can you take this somewhere a bit… safer?" Catarina sounds both sassy and awkward as she points to the table full of potentially life-threatening substances.
"How did you get a hold of the blue-?"
"Ah, ah, ah. Let's not name it aloud." Catarina winks before putting her hands on her hips. "And for the record, I will personally kill you if you scare us like that again."
Magnus smiles sheepishly but both Alec and Catarina can see it's still smaller than usual. Alec swallows the lump in his throat and finally, finally acknowledges that there are others aside from Magnus in the world.
"Thank you," he says to Catarina.
"What he said," Magnus jokes, but Alec can practically see the exhaustion written in his expression and decided to bypass the humour, going straight to the concern.
"Can we-?"
"Yeah, you guys know where the guest room is," Catarina interrupts before he even needs to ask.
Alec can't help thinking back to the last time they were here when Magnus had dragged them to a party for Catarina's rose bush. He smiles at the thought and asks: "Do you still have that rose bush?"
Catarina's confusion lasts only a split second before she laughs and nods. "Of course, it's on the balcony. I can never throw away a plant that's been blessed with a Bane party, now can I?"
"That'd be a tragedy," Magnus winks.
"You're a pair of idiots," Catarina sighs, rolling her eyes. She picks up the most dangerous-looking vials before walking to the door, where she pauses and turns back. "I expect breakfast to be made in the morning?"
Alec watches the two of them interact and can't help wishing that he and Magnus could make the same stupid jokes and share the same traditions but then Catarina leaves and Magnus drops his powerful veneer to reveal someone who just almost died and he realises that the two of them have something much better: honest, genuine, open trust.
"Are you okay?" Magnus asks softly.
Alec has to blink several times before he registers the question. "I don't know… you almost died. You weren't breathing… Magnus, I… I can't live without you."
"Oh, Alexander…" Magnus doesn't try to tell Alec he shouldn't say such things because he knows it applies to both of them.
"I need you alive," Alec whispers so quietly that even Magnus, who's practically conjoined to him at this point, can barely hear it.
Instead of saying anything, Magnus pulls Alec closer and the two of them share an understanding silence that isn't really a silence because they're murmuring 'I love you's but it still counts as a silence because they love each other and that's all that matters in the moment. In the end, despite both of them dying, whether it be emotionally or physically, they're alive with each other.
It’s difficult to decide which scene was the best in 2x12 ... but I think I’ll go with Alec unerringly hitting his target, even when he was send flying.
