#winged!alec

[whatanexcitingfewdaysithasbeen]

Winged!Alec

Shout-out to you, @skylar102

[arialerendeair]

Prompt: Magnus grooming Alec's wings in the sunlight, please? Love your writing :D

W I N G GROOMING OH MY GOD I NEED THIS SO BADLY, ALL OF THE TIME, SO YES, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!! 

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Alec loved Magnus’ balcony.  It was his favorite part of the entire loft (other than Magnus himself), not just because it was beautiful, but because he could stretch his wings out and no one else could see.  

His back was aching and his wings were in pain.  He’d had to use them, and the fight had been rough and he had already been in desperate need of a grooming.  Now if he didn’t, he was going to wake up unable to even extend his wings.  

Once he was out on the balcony, Alec took a deep breath and let his wings out, his back immediately aching less.  With a quick look at the feathers glinting in the sun, he winced, because they looked a complete and total mess.  He sighed and reached out to carefully twist a feather back into place.  Wincing, he started to work through his wings, bending them and bringing them forward to try to reach some of the further ones.  

“Need a hand?” Magnus called.  

Alec sagged in relief and looked over his shoulder.  “Any help would be wonderful,” he managed, wincing as he extended his wing again.  

Magnus stepped out onto the balcony and immediately hissed in sympathy when he saw the state of Alexander’s wings.  “Oh, Alec, what happened?” 

“Well,” Alec said, his voice hoarse as Magnus carefully and slowly started to work through his wings, twisting the feathers back into place, or letting others fall to the ground beneath them.  “I have tomorrow off and was planning to groom them then.  But then we had a fight today, and I needed them, and it was a tough fight...” 

Magnus immediately stopped what he was doing and tensed.  “You’re all right, you don’t need to be healed, right?”  

Alec extended a wing and gave Magnus a small whack with them.  “I’m fine, other than my wings.”  

Magnus relaxed and went back to work, carefully working through the feathers, his fingers glowing with magic as he carefully healed the spots that had blood on them.  “We’ll get you sorted,” he promised, finally finishing with the back of both Alec’s wings before moving to the front.  

“I always love this,” Alec whispered as Magnus carefully combed his fingers through his wings.  “Your fingers, and your magic...” 

Magnus hummed as he watched the sun hit the white and tan speckled feathers, leaning in to press a kiss to them, feeling Alec gasp.  “I know you do, darling,” Magnus promised, straightening another feather until he could comb his fingers through without issue.  “And you know I love doing this for you.”  

“You’re a lot more gentle,” Alec said and gasped as Magnus started to work towards the joint, where he was more sensitive.  “Feels good.”  

“I bet it does,” Magnus said drily, continuing to work on one wing before moving to the other, stealing a kiss as watched Alec stretch the wing with a grin on his face.  “You need to let me do this more often.”  

“You just want to get your hands on my wings,” Alec teased, grinning at Magnus and the way his eyes turned back to the feathers.  “Wing kink.”  

“I do not,” Magnus grumbled, even as he marveled at the feel of the wings against his fingers.  “Have a wing kink.”  

“Really?” Alec asked, watching Magnus twist the last few feathers into place before he tugged Magnus into his arms and wrapped his wings around them both, watching Magnus’ eyes widen and flash golden.  “You sure about that?”  

Magnus swallowed, tilting his head up for a kiss from Alexander, leaning into the push from the wings urging him forward.  “Okay, maybe...maybe a little.”  

Alec laughed against his lips and kissed him again.  “Only a little.”  

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Feel free to send me fluffy prompts for the Malec Anniversary Bash!!  

[skylar102]

DAMN IT I was going to ask for Magnus/Alec/Lucifer but then saw the "no smut" request. You’re no fun, Morgan ): Fine then, how about winged!Malec teaching their kid how to take care of his/her wings? (I just want something cute and I don’t trust you not to twist my prompt into angst if I’m even a tiny bit vague)

SDFJLSKDFDKFJ Sorry to disappoint with the no smut request xD Hope this fluff fills that void <3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is so boring,” Tyler groans as he falls back, splaying on the ground. 

“Tyler this is important,” Alec reminds the ten-year-old. 

Magnus and Alec decided that today was going to be the day that they taught their son how to groom his wings on his own. Magnus cleared their living room of all the furniture, only leaving the rug and record player to play some soft music during the lesson. With the size of Alec’s and Magnus’ wings, it would have been difficult to have this lesson around furniture without something breaking.

“They’re not even fully grown yet!” The boy gestures his arms at the ceiling before flopping them on the ground. “Shouldn’t we wait until then?”

“That’s not important when it comes to wing grooming, Ty,” Magnus says, leaning over his son. “If you don’t learn now, then that means Dad and I will have to groom your wings until you’re eighteen.”

“Would that be so bad?” Tyler pouts before putting on his most charming smile. He pushes up on his elbows looking at his parents. “You guys are the best at it.”

Alec snorts at the suck-up. Magnus turns his head to glare at him while Tyler’s smile cracks just a bit. Alec shrugs at his husband not even trying to hide his smile.

“He definitely got that from you,” Alec points out. 

“Please, Alexander,” Magnus scoffs. “I am the picture of innocence.”

Alec and Tyler share a look and a raised eyebrow before turning back to Magnus. Magnus huffs and crosses his arms.

“That he definitely gets from you, darling,” Magnus pouts while the two dissolve into giggles. 

“Alright, alright,” Alec relents, reaching over to pull Tyler up into a sitting position again. “Papa is right, pipsqueak. This is important to learn at a young age. I was the same way and waited until I was sixteen to learn how to groom my wings and it was rough.”

That gets their son’s attention. He perks up at the words, his tiny blue wings shake behind him.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Well I had to get some feathers pulled out,” Alec winces at the memory. His wings shake behind him, some dark violet feathers fall to the ground. “It’s not a great feeling. I thought I could get by and be okay, but the pain of twisted feathers on your wings. It makes it difficult to fly when every time you flap your wings pain laces throughout it.”

“Oh,” Tyler trails off, his wings curling towards him. “I didn’t know it could get like that.”

Alec smiles at his son, scooting over to curl a wing and arm around him. Alec ruffles Tyler’s head and pulls his arm back before his son can swat it away.

“Dad!” he groans as he fixes his hair. Alec pulls his son in closer before he can protest.

“I get that it’s tiring work, but in the long run, it’s going to benefit you so much,” Alec explains. “Besides, once you learn, you can pass on these skills to people you love and you can help Papa and me groom ours.”

Tyler perks up a that. “You’d really let me groom your wings, Dad? Without Papa there?”

“Of course I would, pipsqueak. But you have to let Papa and I teach you first. Before you can groom someone else’s wings, you have to learn how to do it on yourself.”

Tyler nods rapidly, his floppy hair bouncing with the force of the nod. Alec looks over at his husband and sees Magnus’ eyes have a glow to them. Magnus once told him that he could watch Alec and Tyler interact for the rest of his life and be content. That he never imagined having a family of his own. A spouse and a child. 

Alec sends Magnus a smile before beckoning him to come closer. Magnus scoots until he’s right next to Alec, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Tyler gags at the display of affection and mutters ‘gross cooties’ under his breath getting a laugh out of his parents.

“Just wait until you’re older,” Magnus notes. “I’m sure you’ll be singing a different tune.”

“Not in a million years,” Tyler declares.

Magnus whispers in Alec’s ear. “I give it 200 years.”

“I give it 50, only because I’ve seen the way he’s been looking at Madzie,” Alec whispers back.

“I can hear you!” Tyler exclaims with a faint blush on his cheeks, his hand cover his ears. “I would like to learn how to groom my wings now.”

Magnus reaches over and pulls Tyler’s hands away and presses a kiss to his head. 

“Okay, down to business, my little bluejay. No more joking.” Magnus sits up straight stretching out his golden wings, Alec following suit. They watch as Tyler straightens as well, stretching out his wings, serious face on. Alec wishes he had a camera to capture the moment. 

“Now we’re going to start with the furthest point of our wings…” 

The grooming session takes all morning. Magnus and Alec carefully instruct their son through the process of combing feathers and how to untwist them. There were moments where Tyler got frustrated with his wings but Alec and Magnus had reassured him that it was normal for younger wings to be more difficult than adult wings.

By the time noon came around, there was a pile of dark violet, gold, and blue feathers in the middle of them. Tyler once again fell on his back with a cheer of accomplishment only to sit up with a hiss. He forgot that his wings would be sensitive right after grooming them. Magnus stifles a laugh while Alec shakes his head at their son.

“We’re done!” Ty exclaims. “Can we eat lunch now?”

“Moving on before we’re even done?” Magnus asks, getting off the ground and stepping out of the room. Tyler’s wings sag at the words and turns to Alec.

“There’s more?” he whines.

“Just one more step, pipsqueak,” Alec reassures.

They both watch as Magnus reenters the room with a small chest. He sits back down in his original spot and sets the chest in front of him. With a snap and wave of his hand, the chest expands and grows in size. Opening the lid reveals a plethora of gold and dark violet feathers. 

“Would you like to do the honors, Ty?” Magnus asks. 

Tyler looks between the feathers on the ground and the chest. He stares up at his fathers with wide eyes. It seems that their son had forgotten this detail of grooming. Gathering the discarded feathers and locking them away in a box, so no one would be able to use your feathers against you. Tyler hadn’t really started to shed until a few days ago which sparked this grooming session.

“I get to join mine with yours?” He whispers.

“Of course you do, Ty. You are our son.”

Tears gather in their son’s eyes as he starts to gather the feathers off the ground and gently place them in the chest. Magnus grasps Alec’s hand and squeezes tight, both of them trying to reign in their emotions watching their son delicately place their old feathers in the chest. Magnus’ wing reaches around Alec’s back and curls around him. Alec gladly leans into the touch and rests his head on Magnus’ shoulder.

His husband never had a good grip on his wings when he got emotional. It’s one of his favorite things about him. Alec got so many wing cuddles after Magnus had a long day at work, but he would never complain. The fact that Magnus’ wings reached out to him and Tyler when he was exhausted spoke a thousand words about his love for them.

Magnus stops Tyler just as he was about to put the last few feathers in the chest. The only ones left were a feather from each of them. With a wave of his hand, the three feathers became connected at the shaft by a small string, making a necklace. Tyler looked at the jewelry in awe and rushes to put it on. He looks down at the three feathers resting on his chest. 

Alec and Magnus wait with bated breath when suddenly their son launches at them, wrapping his arms around their neck and ducking his head below theirs.

“I love you, Dad and Papa,” Tyler mutters into his fathers’ necks, his voice just a tinge wobbly.

Magnus presses a kiss to the top of his head as Alec wraps his arms around the both of them. Magnus’ wings come around all of them sheltering them from the outside world as Tyler’s sniffs fill the loft.

“And we love you, Tyler,” Alec whispers in the small space. “Forever and always.”

[myulalie]

There are rumors that Valentine is back. And he's searching for something.

When his dealings with dark magic cause swarms of demons to crawl New York, the city is not safe at night, especially for downworlders.

Alec is doing his best to keep the city safe. With no support from the Clave, the New York Institute is desperately understaffed. He begins patrolling with help from the Downworld factions - which proves to be tricky at best, and becomes almost impossible when the werewolves start hunting Alec.

His siblings have no idea of what he’s up to at night and to keep them all safe Alec needs to keep it that way.

Then, he meets the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Suddenly, patrolling also includes pop songs and bird puns in between watching someone's back when fighting demons.

But, what’s one more secret to keep? (more on ao3)

Title: A piece of night sky Chapters: 7/7 Words: 30k

Credits New York sign @tjump on Unsplash

[freakypumpkin]

I wanted to draw winged!Alec again and I thought you might be interested in the result :3 (And yes, I totally chickened out of adding runes in the end ... )

[warlocksass]

I'm 100% you remember your winged!Alec and what it has done to the fandom. And there was something about wings and jewelery. And now... just imagine Malec wedding. Jace and Clary help with decorating Alec's wings, but since they're... BIG, it was the most time-consuming thing about the wedding arragments (Izzy is probably helping Magnus with make up, so...). Clary made sure that the wings are aesthetic, and since Jace is strong, she made him do the rest of the work (...)

And now the wedding… So Magnus literally can’t take his eyes of Alec and his wings. They’ve always been amazing, big, soft, breathtaking (he would probably find many other words to describe them) but with Clary and Jace’s work… woah! And imagine that everybody made sure that the place where the ceremony happens is also big. And then there goes the “you can kiss each other” part comes. And what? Alec spreads his big, big wings, tons of glitter falls of them, and he wraps his wings (…)

around Magnus, so no one sees them kissing. And when he slowly takes his wings back, the jewelery rings beautifully, and everyone just stands up, applauds and every. single. shadowhunter spread their wings and some feathers just fall of and it looks just like a scene taken from a fairy tale <3 

So… This has been sitting in my inbox for an eternity and I have no excuse for that. Sorry! I’m not even sure if this person is still following me but I’m finally feeling like I can answer it! Let’s bring back winged!alec, shall we?

I can totally see people helping Alec decorate his wings for the wedding. Silver strings look like stars in Alec’s wings and there’s some shiny stones, too. Even some decorative stones of adamas, for protection and good luck!

So when Magnus sees him he has to take a moment because Alec always looks good to him, but in that moment, in a white jacket with gold details and his wings fully out and shining like the night sky takes his breath away for a moment.

Of course Alec’s blinding smile at seeing Magnus should take most of the credit.

When the ceremony is nearing it’s end and Magnus and Alec get to the “you can kiss the groom” part I don’t think Alec would hide. He’d be proud of how far he’d come and so happy that he’s marrying the man of his dreams that he wouldn’t even think of hiding their first kiss as a married couple.

I don’t think the kiss would get too heated, both of them grinning too much to do more than a sincere and loving kiss.

Later, though, when the party is ending and Alec is still dancing with Magnus, slowly and comfortably, forgetting there’s still people around, then he’d wrap his wings around them, kissing Magnus passionately, not wanting anyone to see this private moment of pure joy, only letting Magnus in.

Alec leaves trails of glitter everywhere for weeks after that and he doesn’t even care.

[skylar102]

The first fic of many for the Malec Server’s Wingo Fic Challenge!

Prompt: Plucking

Read on Ao3 here

Fic based on this writing prompt

Eleven days. It’s been eleven days and his captor has not heard back from his family. He’s not surprised by this, or not as surprised as he thought he would be. When the man kidnapped him while he was out on a hunt in the woods, he expected his family to at least worry. Alec shifts his shoulder causing his wings to move behind him. He hisses out at the movement. Looking down he sees the clumps of feathers on the floor. 

While his captor has been kind to him, the realization that no one was coming to rescue him hit harder than he expected. He lets out a shuddering sigh as he moves his left wing in front of him and plucks another feather out, wincing at the pain. He twirls it in his hand, the raven feather shimmers in the light from the fireplace, showing off its purple and navy hue. How a simple color could cause him such pain. 

People don’t take kindly to those with black wings. They consider them to be cursed, an ill omen, a monster. Pluck. When his wings first appeared as a child, Alec remembers looking in the mirror, excited that his had finally come in. He ran to show his parents, only for them to cry out in disgust and call him a freak. He was five at the time, but the look on his parents’ faces still haunts him to this day. Pluck. 

Jace and Izzy as they got older said there was nothing wrong with the color of his wings. They would never understand the struggle it was to walk through life with black wings. Jace’s beautiful cream colored wings were loved by all. Izzy’s light blue wings were the attention of all the men and women. Two people were not enough to stop their village and their awful words. 

“Freak!”

“Stay away from my family, you monster!”

“If you come any closer, I’ll kill you!”

“Why don’t you cut them off? Save the village from having to worry about a looming disaster, you bad omen!”

Pluck.

When he was able to, he made a harness that would hide his wings behind his back. It hurt, cramping his wings inside the contraption, but it had worked. The looks and the shouting subdued a bit by hiding his wings. The adults in the village still steered clear of him, but the children seemed to like him. 

He goes to grab another feather when a hand clamps his wrist before he can. He jumps back startled, he hadn’t even heard his captor enter the room let alone kneel in front of him. His captor releases his wrist and looks down at the pile of feathers on the ground. Alec doesn’t move and he watches his captor reach down and pick up a feather. 

Alec waits, his body tensing the longer the silence goes on; for the comments, the scathing remarks. He had hidden his wings from his captor, afraid that they would kill him once they found out his wings were black. His captor, Magnus, looks up at him with his brow wrinkled softly and a tinge of sadness etched across his face.

“I didn’t realize they wouldn't come for you,” Magnus admits, clutching a black feather in his hands. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

Alec nods at him but can’t bring himself to look Magnus in the eyes. He averts his eyes to look anywhere but Magnus. He focuses on the beautiful burgundy wings on Magnus’ back. “It’s… It’s okay,” he whispers out. It’s not okay, but he’s not about to show more weakness to his captor after he found him plucking out his wings. 

“Alexander,” Magnus says and the man reaches out a hand to touch his knee, but Alec moves back. He doesn’t know if he can handle being touched again right now. 

“If it’s alright, I want to go to sleep now,” Alec says, still avoiding Magnus’ gaze. He sees Magnus nod and stand up.

“There’s a tray of food over there.” Magnus points to the small table in the corner. “Make sure to eat something before you fall asleep.”

Alec nods but he knows he’s not going to eat anything. He hasn’t had an appetite since he hit day eight of his captivity. He hears Magnus let out a sigh and a door closing and he knows he’s been left alone. 

Alec doesn’t waste time pulling his legs up on the bed and laying on his side. His wings hurt from where he pulled out his feathers, but he doesn’t care. He just wants to fall asleep and not think about how his family abandoned him. He thought that at least Jace and Izzy would come for him and not hearing from them broke whatever was left whole inside him.

He lays on his side, staring into the flames of the fireplace. He watches at the logs crackle and burn in the heat. Eventually he finds himself falling into a fitful sleep with his wings curled around him.

Alec’s not surprised by the nightmares that come to him. He was expecting them. What he wasn’t expecting was to see his brother and sister next to his mother and father, telling him that he was a burden to the family. That they wish he was never born and that he should die already. The nightmare goes from bad to worse as he watches his family approach him with knives. He begs them not to do this but invisible hands hold him down and pull his wings back.

“It’s for the best,” his mother says. “Once they’re gone, we can go back to being a happy family again.”

“Please don’t do this,” he begs the nightmare. 

“We’re only doing what’s best for you,” his brother says. 

Alec screams as he feels the knives dig into his back right at the base of his wings. He screams and begs for them to stop. He doesn’t want this. They’re hurting him. The nightmare doesn’t listen, but why would it?

He wakes up when the knives slice through the bone. He cries out as he launches himself to a seated position. Not fully aware of his surroundings, he misses the body sitting next to him and jumps at the hands that wrap around his biceps. Shoving the hands away, he crawls backwards until he hits the bed frame, crying out again as his sensitive wings get crushed. He curls in on himself, ducking his head between his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees. 

“Shhh, shh, it’s okay, you’re okay,” a voice soothes next to him. “You need to breathe, Alexander. Listen to my breathing. Can you do that for me?” Alec tries to respond but his lungs won’t work. He jerks his head in what he hopes will come off as a nod. “Okay, that’s good. Now breathe in for me? Hold. Good. Now breathe out. Again.” Magnus’ voice washes over him as he repeats what the man instructs him to do. 

Eventually his breathing goes back to normal and he leans back against the headboard, closing his eyes.

“Are you alright now?” Magnus asks worriedly from where he sits. Alec peeks open an eye to stare at the man. The panic and worry shown clearly on the man’s face. 

“Yeah,” he breathes out. “I’m okay.”

“Good, that’s good,” Magnus sighs. The man fidgets where he sits and his eyes keep drifting up and down Alec’s body. “Do you want to talk about it?” Magnus winces as the words come out of his mouth. Alec huffs out a laugh.

“No, not really,” he replies. The man jerks a nod at that.

“Right, sorry. Of course you wouldn’t want to talk about it,” Magnus rushes out. The room goes quiet as they both sit there. The only sound coming from the fireplace which, Alec notes as he looks over, has fresh logs put on it. Magnus follows his movement. “I knew that the fire in here was going to die and I didn’t want you to freeze at night so I brought some fresh logs to put in.”

“Thank you,” Alec says. “You didn’t have to do that, I would’ve been fine. I’m used to sleeping in the cold.” Those words seem to anger Magnus, judging by the way his face closes off and his hands curl into fists where they rest on his lap. 

“What do you mean you’re used to it?” Magnus asks. “I saw your family’s house, you are well off enough that you most certainly own a fireplace or two to keep the place warm.” 

“If I lived in the house, yes, but I don't. My parents made me move out to our barn to keep the bad luck away from the house.” He doesn’t look up from Magnus’ hands as he watches his knuckles turn white. 

“They made you sleep in the barn?” Magnus grits out. “Surely someone in your town would have reported them for this?”

“If the town didn’t also hate my presence, maybe.” Alec half shrugs, hisses a bit as the movement jostles his wings. Magnus notices that and raises a hand to help before realizing what he was doing. His eyes widen and he quickly lowers his hand. Magnus stands up from the bed.

“I have some medical salves that should help your wings,” Magnus says, walking towards the door. “I’ll be right back.” Before he leaves, he nods to the tray of food still untouched by the table. “Maybe you should try and eat. It will make you feel a bit better.”

With that, Alec is once again left alone in the room. He sits on the bed in thought, confused as to how the atmosphere has changed. Before, his captor only checked in to give him food and to give him wood for the fire. He never once attempted a conversation. Was it because of his wings? Magnus had never asked him to show his wings before. Now that he’s seen them, is he going to kill him? 

Alec panics at the thought before he remembers how angry Magnus looked when he talked about his living conditions. Surprised at the barely kept in anger the spread across the man’s whole body. Was he upset that he discovered too late that the person he kidnapped had black wings? That no one was going to pay the ransom to get him back?

As questions fill his mind, his stomach lets out a loud grumble. He looks over to the table where the food from yesterday still sits. Deciding for the best, he slowly crawls out of bed, giving his body a long stretch that has him groaning at the needles that shoot along his spine. He walks over to the table and sits down. 

Fruits, nuts and veggies cover the platter in front of him. Magnus must have stopped trying to give him hot foods after he stopped eating a few days ago. His stomach’s persistent grumbling has him picking up a few nuts and tossing them into his mouth. It’s like a damn breaking, he starts to eat more and more, grabbing piece after piece of food. He grabs the glass of water on the table and downs the whole thing in one go.

“You know you can make yourself sick if you eat too quickly,” the voice by the door says. Alec looks up and sees Magnus leaning against the frame with a basket of vials in his hands. He looks back at the tray and sees that most of it is gone. He hadn’t even realized how much he ate. Magnus chuckles at the blush that crawls up Alec’s face, his wings doing nothing but admitting his embarrassment by curling around him.

Magnus pushes off the frame and sets the basket on the table, he grabs the other chair and moves it next to Alec’s. Sitting down, Magnus sifts through the basket and looks for what he needs. Alec takes the time to really look at the man. 

The first thought that comes into his mind is how beautiful Magnus' wings are. The burgundy wings attached to the man’s back are rich with the color. Alec’s not sure if the fire is playing tricks on his eyes, but Alec’s pretty sure there’s gold flecks spread throughout the feathers, making the wings glitter in the light. Looking away from the wings, his eyes scan the navy button up that accentuates his wings to the dark tan pants. 

“Aha!” Magnus exclaims, snapping him out of his trance. He looks at the man’s hand and sees a vial full of a mysterious green liquid. Magnus turns to him with a grin on his face. “This should help soothe the aches from where the feathers were pulled out earlier.” Alec eyes dart back and forth between Magnus’ face and the liquid causing the man to roll his eyes. “It’s not going to kill you, I promise.”

“You’re okay with touching my wings?” Alec asks instead, watching as the man’s face drops. 

“Of course I’m okay with that,” Magnus spoke softly. “There’s nothing wrong with your wings. They’re beautiful.” Alec can’t help the snort that leaves his body. “They truly are, Alexander,” Magnus persists. “The way they have a navy and purple tint in the light. They remind me of the night sky, when you can see the galaxy and the stars in it.”

“You can’t mean that, Magnus,” Alec whispers out. 

“But I do. They truly are gorgeous.” Magnus reaches out slowly towards his wings, pausing just before. Alec hesitates before nodding and Magnus gently touches his wings. A shiver runs through his whole body at the sensations. No one has ever touched his wings, not even his siblings. He wouldn’t let them. Didn’t want to risk them getting bad luck from touching them, but something about the way Magnus looked at him made him trust the man.

“Can I put the salve on?” Magnus asks as he continues to pet his wing.

“Yeah,” Alec says, his voice more hoarse than he expected. Magnus sends him a kind smile and goes about pouring the liquid on his hands.

“Spread your wing out for me, darling,” he says gently. Alec can’t help but comply and stretches his right wing out slowly. Looking at the wing, he can see a small patch where feathers used to be. It’s barely noticeable, but anyone who looks close enough will see that there are feathers missing.  A feeling of shame passes over him and he scolds himself for being so weak. 

Magnus touches the feathers around the area, moving them out of the way while his other hand rubs the salve on the sensitive skin. Alec can’t help the moan that leaves his mouth as the cool salve touches his skin. He already begins to feel the stinging pain fade away. Magnus chuckles at his sounds as he finishes up the spot moving back to appraise his work.

“There, all done.” Magnus smiles at him and he can’t help smiling back.

“Thank you, Magnus,” Alec says. He fidgets a bit while watching Magnus clean off his hand and put the vial back in the basket, wondering if he should ask the question that’s on the tip of his tongue. Magnus catches his movement and gives him an encouraging nod. 

“What’s going to happen now?” He blurts out before he can stop himself causing Magnus to give him a puzzling look. “I mean, you know that you’re not going to get a ransom from my family so are you going to let me go? Or are you going to kill me?”

A look of sheer horror passes over Magnus’ face at his words.

“No! I would never, never want to kill you,” Magnus says. Turning fully towards Alec, he grabs both of his hands and grips them tight. “Alexander, you deserve to see the world for what it’s truly like, not what your backwards town thinks the world is like. There are so many people with wings like yours in the world. There’s nothing wrong with you. If I have to spend the rest of my life proving that to you then so be it.”

Alec stares at the man in front of him, like he’s seeing the man who’s been his captor for the past eleven days for the first time. There’s determination set in the man’s eyes, that he’s not willing to let Alec go easily. But only one line is repeating in his head.

“The rest of your life?” Alec gets out, his mind racing. He clutches back at the hands still holding his. 

“Yes.” Magnus doubles down on the words. “I won’t let you go back to that hellscape of a village. I can’t. You deserve to be happy, Alexander. And I want to give that to you. If you’ll have me.”

Alec thinks over the words, the offer Magnus is giving him. He’s never left the village before, never wandered past its boundaries in the forest. Too afraid of what will attack him because of the color of his wings. This would be his chance to escape, to be free. He’s surprised at how quickly his answer comes to him.

“Okay,” he says. A smile slowly spread on his face. Magnus’ face lights up with joy and the man rushes to embrace him. Alec stiffens for a moment before melting into the hug.

“I promise you, Alexander,” Magnus whispers in his ear. “You won’t regret this.”

[skylar102]

Prompt: Broken Wings Summary: Alec takes Max to get ice cream and discovers that his past has caught up to him

Read on Ao3

“Come on Alec! We’re going to miss it!” Max said impatiently, tugging at Alec’s hand to move faster.

“Alright, alright,” Alec laughs as he picks up the pace. “The ice cream shop isn’t going to go anywhere. Why the rush?”

“Because they have new flavors!” Max rolls his eyes as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You know how fast their new flavors go and I will not miss them because you are a slowpoke!” 

“Just because you turned seven last week doesn’t give you the right to be bossy,” Alec comments as he picks up Max. The child screams out in delight causing a few heads to turn their way as he hoists Max up onto his shoulders. 

“I’m the tallest kid in Edom!” Max declares and he pumps two fists in the air.

“Hold on tight, Max,” Alec laughs looking up at him with a smile. Max’s bushy, curly hair bounces with every step he takes.

Max’s laughs echo along the sidewalk as Alec power walks to the ice cream shop. Above him, Max makes whooshing sounds with his black wings spread out behind him, pretending like he’s flying. Alec can’t wait to see Max’s first flight. His wings are not strong enough to carry him yet, but once he turns eight, Alec knows that Max is going to drag everyone out to see him fly. He has stated so, multiple times, to anyone who will listen. 

They make it to the shop in record time. Alec almost drops Max as the boy tries to climb down his six-foot-tall body by himself. The second his feet touch the ground, Max makes a dash for the door and is inside before Alec can even blink. Alec chuckles at the boy’s excitement and heads in after him. He doesn’t understand why they need to rush, there’s barely a line to the counter. 

“Alec!” Max waves a hand and flaps his wings to get Alec’s attention as if Alec couldn’t already easily spot him in a crowd.

Since living in Edom, he and Max are the only two that he knows of that have black wings. There was a merchant who came to town a few months ago that had black wings, but the woman was only in for the week before she moved onto the next town to sell her goods. 

She had told Alec that he was the second person she had met with black wings, but warned him to be careful should he leave such a welcoming city. The words didn’t come as a surprise to Alec because of his upbringing. He’s well aware that there are places where he would not be welcome. 

They approach the counter and Alec sees a plethora of flavors that he can’t decide which one to pick. Max, on the other hand, knows exactly which ones he wants to get. He points out to the confectioner which ones he wants and asks the man about their new flavors. Alec stands back and allows Max to get what he wants. He’ll have to send an apology message to his parents for the sugar rush Max is going to have for the next few hours. Maybe he can take the soon to be hyper kid to the park for a while before taking him back home.

“Alec!” Max calls, he already has his bowl of four flavors. “You still have to pick!” 

“Right.” Alec turns to the confectioner. “I’ll just have the chocolate and vanilla twist.”

“Boring,” Max drawls, stomping his feet on the ground in protest at Alec’s choice. “Come on, Alec! Pick something fun!”

“Chocolate and vanilla are fun,” Alec defends with a huff, his feathers mock ruffling behind him.

“But there are so many flavors to try!” Max insists as Alec takes his cone from the worker.

“Guess we’ll have to come back another time then.”

Max perks up at that and begins to bounce on his heels. His black wings almost knock over a stanchion in his excitement. Alec finishes paying for their ice cream and they make their way outside. The weather is nice enough that it won’t melt their frozen treats too quickly. They sit down at an open bench right outside the shop.

Max’s legs are swinging back and forth underneath the table as he greedily eats his ice cream. Alec has to tell him a few times to slow down or he’s going to get a brain freeze. Which of course Max ignores and proceeds to get brain freeze. Alec feels bad for laughing at a seven year old’s pain, but he did warn him. He at least tries to hide the laugh by covering it with his hand and looking away from Max. 

He makes eye contact with the two men sitting at the bench across from them. He remembers passing them on their way to the shop. Something is off about the way they’re looking at him and Max, but he doesn’t have time to decipher what it is when Max is shoving a spoon in his face to try one of the new flavors.

Once they are finished with their ice cream, he leads Max to a trash bin to toss out his spoon and bowl. 

“What do you say we spend some time at the park before heading home?” Alec asks. “We got a few more hours before your parents are done with work.”

Max nods his head rapidly, jumping giddily in place. “I want to go on the monkey bars!”

“One set of monkey bars coming up,” Alec grunts as he once again lifts Max to his shoulders. 

He thanks his job every day for allowing him to lift Max with such ease. The heavy sacks of goods that he’s had to carry these past two years is enough to give any man back problems. Having a boyfriend who not only grooms wings but gives the best back massages has its perks. Especially when the back massages are boyfriend exclusive only. 

Max is singing some tune above him as they make their way to the park. They are a few blocks down the street when he feels eyes on them again. He uses the excuse that his back is starting to hurt to lower a dissatisfied Max to the ground and looks behind him. 

He sees the two men from before and something in Alec’s stomach drops. He puts on a fake smile for Max so he doesn’t freak out and continues their walk to the park, every once in awhile looking behind them. They have four more blocks to go. He subtly glances around at anything that can be used to get away but with it being the weekday, most of the shops are closed. Alec curses under his breath and slowly picks up his pace.

Max doesn’t seem to notice the change of speed as he asks Alec how many bars he thinks he can skip this time going across. Alec tries to pay attention to Max’s words to make it seem like he hasn’t noticed the two men. They have two more blocks to go before they make it to the park and Alec sighs in relief that they’re almost there, but as he turns the corner there’s a man on the sidewalk front of him, wearing similar clothes to the two men behind them. Alec halts his steps, pulling Max into his side.

“Alec?” Max says uneasy, looking from Alec to the man. 

“Hello Mr. Lightwood,” the man says. “We’ve been looking for you.”

“Well, you found me,” Alec grits, his wings bristle behind him in a threatening manner. His instinct to protect Max outweighs his own safety. “You can leave now.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the man chuckles, pulling out a knife from his holster. “You see, there is a nice price on your head and I intend to cash that in.” Max whimpers and Alec pulls him underneath his wing. The man laughs at the movement as he fiddles with the sharp object. “Apparently mommy and daddy aren’t too happy to find out their mistake is still alive.”

Dread washes over him like a bucket full of ice cold water at the words. The mention of his parents makes his skin crawl and alarms go off in his head. He should have known that Robert and Maryse would assume he was dead when they didn’t pay the ransom. That his captor would have killed him when he found him no longer useful. Guess they didn’t factor in Magnus being his captor.

“Well they’re going to have to stay unhappy,” Alec spits at the man. “Because I’m not going with you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to come with us. We just need evidence that the problem is taken care of,” the man cackles. “And your wings look like a pretty nice trophy. ”

“Max,” Alec says as calm as he can. He glances down and sees that the boy’s hands are shaking where they clutch at his shirt, his wings curled around himself and Alec’s thigh. “Max.” The boy looks up. “When I say run, I want you to head for the nearest open shop and call for help.” Max shakes his head and plasters himself to Alec’s side. “You have to, buddy.”

“But Alec-”

“Hey.” He gives Max his most reassuring smile, before looking back at the man. “It’s going to be okay, but I need you to go get help.”

He waits until he feels Max nod against his side. He looks behind him and sees that the two men have gotten closer. Just a few steps more and they’ll be within striking distance. It’s been a while since he’s been in a full out fight. He mainly settles small disputes between vendors, rarely do fists fly. 

As soon as the two men are within range, Alec spreads his wings out and twists, hitting the men hard. One man flies into a wall and gets knocked out. The other falls on the sidewalk with a loud grunt.

“Max, run!” Alec shoves Max in the opposite direction and the boy takes off. Max looks behind him as he runs, fear prevalent in his eyes. Alec is going to make these bastards pay for that look.

Alec doesn’t watch to see if Max gets to safety when he hears the footsteps running towards him. He twists out of the way but not in fast enough as he feels the knife plunge into his left wing. He cries out at the pain but doesn’t let it stop him. The bastard has a sick grin on his face as he pulls the knife out. Alec quickly tests the wing, stretching it out to its full span. The knife didn’t hit anything critical so he’s still able to use it. It’s only then, does he start to feel a numbness spread throughout it.

He looks down at the knife coated in his blood and sees a strange substance on it. The numbness reaches the base of his wing and he sees more than feels his wing drop. Alec tries to move it but it stays fallen. 

“Amazing, ain’t it?” The man boasts. “Made it myself to help with taking those nasty wings off people’s backs. Of course, I keep the person alive. After all, I am saving them from a life of pain.”

“You’re cutting off their wings!” Alec growls, his hand goes up to his numb wing to make sure that it’s still there. “How is that saving them?”

“Having black wings is a curse,” the man casually explains. “A bad omen. It’s surprising that this town hasn’t crumbled from your presence.”

“Black wings are a blessing,” Alec states. It had taken him a long time to accept that, but thanks to Magnus and the friends he’s made in this city he can proudly wear his wings out for everyone to see. He’s going to do anything to make sure Max never has to hear the vitriol this man is spewing.

“Seems you need to relearn some things,” the man barks.

Alec gets tackled from behind and falls to the ground. He tries to use his right wing to get the crook off his back, but the man takes the wing in his hands and presses his knee against it. Alec realizes what the man is going to do and doubles his efforts to shake the man off. He begs for his left wing to move but it lays motionless at his side.

He lets out a gut wrenching scream as he feels the bone snap.

“Should have let us do our job,” the leader tuts as he crouches down in front of Alec. The man behind him presses a knee to his back so he can’t move. Not like he could anyway. The pain from his right wing is overwhelming his body. “Maybe this wouldn’t hurt as much.” The man pulls Alec by his hair to make sure he’s looking at him. “Don’t worry though, we’ll make sure that little disease that was with you gets the luxury treatment.”

Alec spits at the man which gets him punched in the face. One particular hit to the temple makes his world tilt more than it already was. The man lets out a wicked laugh as his head hits the ground. 

He should move, he has to move. He has to make sure these bastards don’t lay a single finger on Max. He won’t let them, he can’t. Alec tries to push himself up but the man on top of him slams his knee down on his back right between the base of his wings, jostling his broken one. He lets out a whimper.

“Not so tough now are we?” The goon above him cackles. “Why don’t we start with the right one, boss?”

Alec cries out as pain shoots up his wing when the men grab it. He doubles his effort to break free and get the man off his back. The two men laugh at his poor attempt and Alec receives a kick to the face. 

“Now be a good boy and let us do our job,” one of them says. He can’t focus on anything anymore, the pain is too much and his head has been hit too many times. Alec closes his eyes and accepts his fate. 

He feels the knife begin to slice through his wing when suddenly the weight on his back disappears and the knife is gone from his wing. He hears shouting and the sound of fists being thrown. He should help whoever is there but any movement hurts. 

“Don’t move,” a voice soothes. They brush the hair out of his face and Alec sees long red hair fill his vision before he sees a young woman come into view. Alec wants to ask about Max, if he’s okay, if he got away. Whatever expression is on his face makes the woman curse. “I need some help!”

“Oh my god... is he gonna be okay?”

“You have the right to remain silent.”

“He’s a freak! You should be helping me get rid of monsters like him.”

“Get them out of here.”

“Alec! Alec!” 

Alec lets out a sob as he hears Max’s voice although it’s tinged with fear and worry. He’s glad that one good thing came out of this and it was Max’s safety. He would have never forgiven himself if Max had gotten hurt or worse, gotten his wings cut off. 

He wants to stay awake to see Max with his own eyes to be sure he is unharmed, but the pain is becoming too much. The woman must see it and pats his hair again.

“It’s alright,” she reassures. “You’re safe now.”

~~~~

Alec wakes up to the sound of sniffling. It takes him a moment to register his surroundings but he finds himself on his stomach on a bed. Judging by the familiar smells, it’s his and Magnus’ bed. There’s a hand in his, clutching so tightly that Alec is worried that his hand might break. He gives the hand a light squeeze.

The body attached to it freezes as gasps and sobs leave their mouth. The hand in his squeezes back even tighter than before. A chair crashes to the ground and a thump echoes through their room. There’s a dip in the bed next to him as Magnus moves closer to his body. 

“Alexander?” Magnus says, voice hoarse. There’s a gentle hand brushing hair out of his face. “Darling, open your eyes for me? Please.”

How could Alec ever say no to his boyfriend? Opening his eyes takes effort, his right eye is a bit swollen. His pupils adjust to the low light and directly in his line of sight is Magnus, bathed in a golden halo of the fireplace behind him. He looks beautiful, he thinks. A wide but wobbly smile is on his boyfriend’s face. His eyes are red and puffy and his makeup has left streaks down his cheeks.

“Hi,” Alec whispers. Magnus doesn’t even try to hold back a sob and he lifts their joined hands to his lips.

“Hello, darling,” Magnus says. “You gave me quite the scare.”

“I’m sorry to have worried you,” he mumbles into the pillow. The hand on the back of his head feels wonderful as it pets through his hair. He almost falls asleep again when he remembers the day’s events. 

“Max,” Alec gasps. His body tenses at the memories, causing him to whimper as his right wing is jostled by the sudden movement. 

“Hey hey, relax.” Magnus rushes onto the bed to stop his wings from moving too much. Magnus gently moves his hands across the top of his wings. “Max is okay. Terrified, but okay. He’s with his family right now. Let’s focus on you getting better, okay?”

He relaxes back into the pillows knowing that Max is okay. Magnus’ hands on his wings feel delicate like he’s afraid to break them more than they already are. It’s his turn to let out a shaky breath as he feels Magnus’ hand touch his left wing and Alec can feel it, relieved to have known that the paralyzing toxin was only temporary. Now that Alec has calmed down, he realizes that Magnus’ hands are shaking.

“Come here,” Alec says, bringing his arm around to tug at Magnus’ hands. 

“Alexander, we shouldn’t,” Magnus advises.

“You won’t hurt me, come under my left wing. That one’s not broken,” he chuckles darkly. He probably shouldn’t be joking about it so soon, but it’s better than talking about it.

“That’s not funny,” Magnus scolds as he slides underneath the wing. “You could have- you almost-.”

“Hey,” Alec whispers as he pulls Magnus to his side. “I’m here.”

“But you almost weren’t,” Magnus sniffs, snuggling into Alec’s side. “God, when Max’s mother rushed into the shop with fear on her face, I thought the worst. Then I got to the house and saw the doctor tending to your wing and the broken angle it was at. The officer explained what happened and it was like all of my nightmares had come true.” Magnus’ wings are tucked tightly behind him as he and Alec try to get comfortable with as little movement as possible.

“After everything you told me about your childhood and of that hell town, to hear that hunters came after you,” Magnus’ breath shakes, “I couldn’t breathe properly until I saw you with my own two eyes. Then to see your wings…” Magnus reaches out to brush feathers on his left wing. “The wave of relief I felt to see them still on your back. I was so terrified that you had lost them to those monsters.”

“What happened?” Alec reaches for the hand on his wing and twines it with his own. He stares at their joined hands as he rubs the back of Magnus’. “Last thing I remember was someone with red hair leaning over me.”

“Those bastards got arrested,” Magnus growls. “Max was able to find a family walking down the street and luckily the father was an officer and the mother was a nurse. They were able to arrest the hunters and tend to your wings. Their daughter, Clary, was the one who stayed by your side until I could get here.”

Alec kisses the back of Magnus’ hands in silent apology. He can still see tension throughout his boyfriend’s body and shuffles the short distance to kiss him. His heart breaks as Magnus lets out a sob during the kiss. 

He knew that this might happen one day, his parents threatened him with the idea of hunters enough times that he knew to hide his wings was the best option for him if he wanted to still have them. If he still wanted to live. It’s one of the many reasons he wore a harness all the time. 

Alec will never go back to that life. He’s glad that it’s behind him and that he has the life he has now.

“I love you so much, Alexander,” Magnus whispers into his lips. 

“I love you too, Magnus,” Alec whispers back. 

Magnus tucks himself under Alec’s chin and settles in for the night. Alec feels a hand rest over his heart and the other wraps around his back.

~~~~

They’re taken out of their peaceful rest by an incessant knock on their door. Alec groans into Magnus’ hair, burrowing into it. 

“It’s late,” he whines. “Who knocks at this time?”

“It might be the officers from earlier,” Magus says as he scoots from under Alec’s wing carefully. He leans down to press a kiss to Alec’s head. “I’ll only be a moment.”

“You better, or I will get up and kick them out myself,” Alec grumbles, already missing Magnus’ presence from the bed.

“You will not move from this bed or I will tie you to it,” Magnus warns, before leaving the room. Magnus hears a faint laugh from the bed before making his way to the front door. 

He checks himself in the hallway mirror to fix up his face and get rid of any more noticeable makeup smudges. It’s not the best but he doesn’t look like he just dunked his face in water. Magnus hopes that this will be quick, he doesn’t want to spend one more second away from Alec’s side even if it’s to give another statement for the case. The knocking starts again, louder this time.

“Impatient much?” He complains as he unlocks the door. “Hello, officer, how can I-” His words stop in his throat as he takes in the couple in front of him. He leans against the doorframe, annoyance already leaking out. “You realize it’s nine o’clock at night. Normally the people who want to sell us things show up in the morning.”

The blonde-haired man shoots a glare at him, his golden wings bristling behind him. The dark-haired woman with him puts a hand on his arm, her light blue wings reaching out to relax the man.

“I’m sorry,” the woman says. “I know it’s late but we were wondering if Alec Lightwood lives here?”

Immediately his hackles rise, wings puffing out, ready to defend his home. He keeps his face neutral as he takes in the two who notice the change. The woman is smart enough to take a step back, but she has to pull the blonde man with her. 

“What does it matter to you?” He asks, biting back the anger.

The duo share a hesitant glance before gathering strength to answer his question. 

“I’m Isabelle Lightwood, this is my brother, Jace Lightwood,” Isabelle says. “We’re Alec’s younger siblings and we want to see him.”