Ultra Jump September 2021 cover and Jojolion Chapter 110: “The Radio Gaga Incident, Pt. 2” color artwork, feat. Josuke and Yasuho. On newsstands August 19th.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Middle Ground by meetmeatthecoda
Fandoms: The Blacklist (US TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5/5 (complete)
Words: 13,996
Tags:
No Archive Warnings Apply, Anne Foster/Raymond Reddington, Anne Foster & Raymond Reddington, Elizabeth Keen/Raymond Reddington, Raymond Reddington, Anne Foster, Elizabeth Keen, Neville Townsend, Dembe Zuma, Aram Mojtabai, Donald Ressler, 8.13, strong t rating, for canon typical violence, nothing graphic, but just in case, Lizzington - Freeform, Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Buckle up
Summary:
Picking up right where 8.13 left off. When Anne is put in harm's way in the stand-off with Townsend, Red and Liz face have new obstacles to face in their relationship, including their biggest challenge yet: forgiving each other. Strong T rating for canon typical violence. 5 chapters. Lizzington.
Notes:
Well, here's the final chapter of this roller coaster of a fic! Thank you so much to all the loyal readers who have been commenting along the way, your support means everything to me! I hope you all enjoy the conclusion of this! New projects are coming soon! Much love to everyone! :) <3
AND THERE’S THE FINAL CHAPTER! GO ENJOY THE ENDING YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!
Also to the lovely anon that requested that Buddie oneshot like a month ago, I swear I saw it and I have a plan I’m just trying to find motivation to write it (and I will most likely get it cranked out tonight and edited+posted tomorrow for your consumption!)
Multifemale appreciation fic Chapter 31! (The LAST one!)
Hey guys, the FINAL CHAPTER, Chapter 31, of my fan fiction is now up! This one is Vanya Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy (a happy coincidence that season 2 comes out today!), suggested by @umbrellaacadnetflix, @castiel-saved-me-from-myself, @mishandjen-tellmehow & @the-songs-we-knew!
Alec had taken two days off, per Magnus’ and his siblings’ insistence. He hadn’t even tried to fight them on it because deep down he knew that the rest did him good. On top of that it no doubt eased the others’ minds as well.
However, he didn’t remember when had been the last time he’d been away from the Institute for this long. The bustle and hustle of the ops center was worlds apart from the peaceful bubble he had been in at the loft where it had been just him and Magnus, and countless hours spent on the couch.
It didn’t help that the reason Alec had been away was because he was recovering from a fight that nearly led to his death.
He wondered what the other Shadowhunters thought about that. Their leader had been injured in a battle, had managed to lose his weapons and miscalculate the risks, sending his partner back to the Institute before deeming the situation completely clear.
But still, if given the chance, Alec wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe he’d hold onto his stele and his weapons a bit tighter, but he wouldn’t take back his decision to send Jace back. Who knows what could have happened to the mundane if Jace wouldn’t have taken him to the safety. Alec stood behind his choices.
The situation was cleared now, the Shadowhunter behind the turnings dead and the further investigations had showed that she was working alone. The mundane was safe, Jace was safe, and Alec himself was safe. It had been a close call, but there was no point on dwelling on it anymore. What happened, happened, and all he could do was do better next time.
But despite the psyching he had given himself, feeling all the eyes on him wherever he went still made Alec feel self-conscious.
Alec was just about finished with his tasks for the day, more than eager to go back home and see Magnus. They had been texting throughout the day, Magnus concerned about how Alec was holding and Alec assuring him that he was fine. He might have told Magnus several times that he didn’t need to worry, but deep down Alec couldn’t help but appreciate the concern his boyfriend had for him. He knew it came from the heart.
Alec knew that while he had been the one trapped and injured, the situation had left a mark on Magnus too. Alec couldn’t even imagine how he would have felt if the situation were reversed.
Alec had caught Magnus on his phone two days ago, and it had taken a while before he’d realised that Magnus was listening to that voicemail again. Alec had made him delete it immediately, because while the majority of the message was positive, in a way that it was something Alec wanted Magnus to be able to hear whenever he wanted, the context gave its own kind of heavy weight to it. He’d rather repeat those words to Magnus in person, now that he knew he was able to do it.
Shaking those thoughts from his head, Alec walked towards the weapon room, carrying a folder he wanted Izzy to take a look at. It was about a weapon they had found from the Central Park, obviously from the Shadow World but unlike anything they had seen before. He hoped Izzy would either know something or would be able to find out through her contacts.
He just needed to do this and then he could go home.
He couldn’t wait.
As he was nearing the room, Alec saw two kids standing in the corridor, whispering to each other and looking at his way every now and then. It was obvious that he was the topic of their gossip.
He stopped when he reached them, trying to look as friendly as possible because the kids obviously knew that they had been caught - if their wide eyes were any clue.
“Hey,” Alec greeted casually. “What are you talking about?”
“Mr. Lightwood,” the girl said with a small voice, the boy hiding behind her a bit. Looking at them closer Alec realised that they might be siblings, the girl most likely the older one of the two. “Is it true what they say?”
“It depends. What have you heard?” Alec asked curiously, crouching down to be less intimidating.
“That you killed a bunch of monsters with just your arrows,” the girl clarified, a hint of awe in her eyes, the look mirrored in her little brother's eyes.
“It is,” Alec told them, nodding. But he knew he couldn’t take all the credit. “But I also had help from my friends.”
“Was it scary?” The little boy asked curiously, still hiding behind his sister.
“Yeah,” Alec answered, because it had been.
He could have given the impression that he had been fearless - it was what he had been taught from the young age. To never show weakness. But as he’s grown up, he’s learnt that it is important to know that it’s okay to show what you are really feeling and it is okay to be afraid. He’s learnt that you can survive even if you aren’t as fearless as the heroes in ancient myths.
“It was really scary at some points,” he told them honestly.
“But how did you do it?” The girl asked, obviously curious. “There was just one you and so many of them. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“Maybe not now,” Alec told the girl, smiling a little at her eagerness. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do it at your age either. You have to practice and grow up.”
The kids nodded, looking serious until a voice called their name and they all saw a woman standing a bit away from them.
“Bye mister Lightwood,” the girl said, the boy waving at Alec before they ran to their mother.
“Bye,” Alec called after them, standing up again.
He watched as they disappeared behind a corner and then continued what he came to do, walking through the open door to the weapon room where he found his sister standing behind a desk, looking at something on the computer screen.
“Hey Izzy,” Alec greeted, and Isabelle lifted her head and smiled at him brightly.
“Hey Alec,” she replied, walking around the table to give him a quick hug. “I thought I heard your voice. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine Izzy,” Alec said, pulling away from the hug. He decided to mention the conversation he just had, because for some reason he couldn’t just put it in the past yet. “I met two kids in the corridor, they seemed to be impressed with what I did in the building.”
“And they are not the only ones,” Isabelle said, a wide smile on her face. “As awful as it all was, it really did wonders to your reputation.”
“What?” Alec asked, thoroughly confused. He sure hadn’t felt so when everyone had been staring at him throughout the day.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it,” Isabelle said, her words coupled with an eyeroll. “People are impressed. The word has gotten around about how you defeated a full army of Foresakens on your own and with limited weapons.”
“I thought they were judging me,” Alec said honestly, his eyebrows furrowed. “For losing my weapons and getting myself into that mess.”
“Oh Alec,” Isabelle said, a fond smile on her face. “Could you stop thinking so little of yourself?”
It was Alec’s turn to roll his eyes, and while he changed the subject by showing Izzy the folder he’d been carrying and turning the conversation back to work, his sister’s words didn’t leave his mind.
People were not disappointed, they were impressed. While Alec still didn’t like the extra attention he got, he had to admit that this new knowledge made it a lot more bearable.
Alec wasn’t surprised when he was greeted by Magnus the moment he stepped into the loft.
“Hey,” Magnus said, kissing Alec’s cheek. “How was your day?”
“Considering we were texting barely two hours ago, not much new has happened between then and now,” Alec said teasingly, hanging his jacket up before turning back to Magnus as he remembered something. “Actually. Something did happen.”
Magnus lifted his eyebrows in curiosity, leading Alec furter into the apartment.
“I told you about all those looks I got during the day?” Alec reminded Magnus, and Magnus nodded. “Turns out they weren’t judging me. They were all impressed by what I did.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Magnus mused, taking Alec’s hand and gently pulling him forward. He placed a soft kiss to Alec’s lips before he continued. “They should be impressed, and you shouldn’t always assume the worst.”
“You’re just like Izzy,” Alec complained, a smile on his face.
Magnus shook his head, a smile on his face as he stepped away, keeping his hand on Alec’s as he started walking again. “Come on, follow me.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“There’s something I want to show you,” Magnus replied.
Alec followed Magnus to his apothecary, the room in the loft that looked the most like Magnus, if Alec had to choose one. Alec loved to spend time in the room, the organized clutter and the wide variety of odd ingredients and old books such an interesting setting. The best part was to see Magnus work, see the focus and the flourish his boyfriend had when he worked. When Magnus led him to the big table in the middle of the room, Alec realised that he was going to show him something he’d been working on.
“I want to give you this,” Magnus said, lifting the small silvery object from the table.
“A ring?” Alec asked, his heart skipping a beat and his eyes widening a little.
Magnus must have noticed because his own eyes widened and he continued quickly.
“It’s not that kind of ring,” he said hastily. “While I love you deeply and would love to offer you whatever version of forever we have on the table for us, this is not that ring. I hope to one day give you that, but that day isn’t today. This ring, however, does hold a more heavier meaning than a simple accessory does.”
Alec listened carefully, trying no to smile too much at Magnus’ words about their future. He lifted his eyes from the ring to Magnus’ eyes, before looking at the ring again. It did look like a normal ring. It was made of silver, a simple band with no decorations. Different to what Magnus usually wore, but something Alec saw more fitting to himself. Magnus must have thought so too.
“Never again do I want you to feel like you’re alone,” Magnus said, his voice heavy and expression somber. He took Alec’s right hand and Alec gave it willingly, watching as Magnus slipped the ring onto his ring finger. “Even when you have no way to contact me, you’ll have this.”
Magnus interlaced their fingers and Alec could see an identical ring on Magnus’ finger as well. “How does it work?”
“Twist it around three times, and I’ll be there,” Magnus explained, his tone serious. “If you can’t get a hold of me by calling, or with a fire message, or simply if there’s no time for those, you can use this ring.”
“Does it work both ways?” Alec asked, because there might be a day when Magnus would need his help as well. “Can you get in contact with me too?”
Magnus smiled, seemingly touched by Alec’s first reaction. He pulled their hands apart to twist his own ring three times and the sudden heat Alec felt on his finger startled him. He looked down to see the ring glowing faint orange - the heat was noticeable, but not intense enough to burn.
“This way we’ll know that the other one is in danger,” Magnus explained. “And since there’s a bond between the rings, I can track you through it, and it should work for Shadowhunter tracking as well.”
Alec stepped closer, bringing his arms tightly around Magnus and murmuring his words into his neck. “Thank you, that’s such a good idea.”
Magnus just hummed in response, returning the embrace just as tightly. “I really needed to find a solution. What happened the other day - it can never happen again.”
It had clearly left a mark on them both, but maybe with this they could both start to properly move on. Now they knew that if worse came to worst, they would be able to count on each other. The rings might not have been wedding rings, but by no means were they any less. What would be a better mark of a true love than a promise to always be there if the other needed you, to want to know that the other was safe?
As much as the ring was an invention born from fear, it was also born from care and need to protect. It was also something Alec hoped that neither of them would ever need to use.
There in Magnus’ apothecary, holding his boyfriend tightly, Alec felt the last of the tension fall from his body. With this, Alec truly believed that they would both be able to heal from what had happened.
And besides, they both knew that they weren’t doing it alone.
-.-.-
A/N: First things first, a huge thank you to everyone who has read this story! All the notes and replies and tags have truly made my day every time. You've made writing my first multichapter fic a really nice experience! I've written fics for almost five years, and I've had several multichapter fics planned - some have even had a chapter or two written - but I've never gotten further than that. I was almost starting to give up hope that I would ever have the attention span to actually finish one. But now I have!!
I've already started writing another multichapter fic that is actually inspired by an anon message I got. To avoid it becoming a source of stress I want to have it mostly written before I start to post it, so I make no promises when that will be. I posted a little excerpt a couple weeks ago if anyone is interested! :)
Okay I'm going to stop now, you came here to read the fic and not a novel-length a/n. I hope you enjoyed this! :)
There is no salvation; Paul has known that ever since Jane left. He doesn’t think anyone could help -he knows no one can help. There is only him, and darkness, and Jane’s laugh in his ears. Then there’s John, who is like water in his hands, but like a stone in his thoughts.
John is unreachable. John comes and goes, John pulls and pushes. There is a certain look in his eyes when he watches Paul at nights, when he thinks Paul is sleeping. He is broken, and Paul doesn’t think anything can fix him. Doesn’t think he can, because someone would have to fix him first.
There is no salvation, and Paul doesn’t believe in fate. Not even when John’s smile makes something fall into place.
