#looking at lorenzo looking at malec with happiness

[the-great-lightwood-bane]

of demons & protection spells

Malec | Rated general | tw canon-typical violence, self-harm

Day 4: alt prompt: protective

Summary: Maryse Lightwood doesn't show up at Magnus' door, but instead helps Alec kill Jonathan. Magnus leaves New York, heartbroken, but refuses to join his father in Edom.

Asmodeus isn't happy about that.

A/N: this is random but whatever

Read it on AO3 or below the cut.

Maryse Lightwood didn’t go in search of Magnus Bane. 

Her children were fighting Jonathan, trying to save Clary, and she refused to stand by and do nothing as they risked their lives. Deruned or not, she could still wield a knife. She would not leave them alone. 

After, when Jonathan was defeated, she could make Alec and Magnus figure themselves out, because she knew there was more to their supposed breakup. 

First, though, she grabbed an arsenal of weapons and went after Alec, Izzy, and Jace. 

~

Jonathan screamed as his bond with Clary shattered, and black wings burst from his back, throwing Alec backwards. 

Maryse hurled her knife into his chest. 

Jonthan looked down at it, then at her, then laughed. “You’re nothing but a mundane — your blades can’t hurt me—” he cut off with a gasp, looking back down at his chest. 

“It’s drenched in holy water,” she informed him. “Should keep you down until we can find a way to kill you properly.”

“I can help with that,” Alec said, activating a seraph blade, and severed Jonathan’s head from his body. 

Maryse smiled. “Good. Now let’s go check on the others.”

~

“Come with me,” Asmodeus said, standing in the middle of Magnus’ apartment. “Rule at my side, in Edom, where you belong.”

Where you belong. Magnus had never belonged in Edom, parentage be damned. He’d come closer to belonging here, with Alec, but Alec was gone, and magic or no, his absence left a hole in Magnus’ soul. 

But that didn’t mean Edom was any better. Magnus had lived there for decades, when he was younger and knew no better, and he’d vowed never to return. “No.”

Asmodeus arched an eyebrow. “No? What’s left for you here, without your precious Shadowhunter?”

“More than I have in Edom,” Magnus replied, raising his head to meet the demon’s eyes, so like his own. “You have never cared for me, and never will. It is against your nature. I left you once, when there was far less for me in this realm than there is now. Alec — Alec may have left me, but I will not come running back to you of heartache. He taught me that much, at least.” 

Darkness grew on Asmodeus’ face, lips curling into a snarl. “You would refuse my offer, after I have returned your magic?”

“You should’ve asked me to join you before giving it back,” Magnus retorted, and flicked his fingers to create a pentagram around Asmodeus. It was easy enough to build a banishment spell, and Asmodeus was sent back to Edom before he’d gathered enough magic to break free of Magnus’ pentagram. The loft fell silent again. 

Magnus’ eyes landed on Lorenzo, in his cage. Without Asmodeus present, the anger slumped out of his shoulders to leave nothing but heartache. 

He didn’t want to stay in New York, not when he’d run the risk of seeing Alec around every corner, not when they’d visited nearly everywhere in the city and left memories that would haunt him. He flicked his fingers to return Lorenzo to normal, and stepped through a portal before the other warlock managed to scramble to his feet, cursing. 

The portal spit Magnus out somewhere in the middle of Beijing, the first place to come to mind that he hadn’t visited with Alec. 

He looked down at his hands, watching blue magic weave through his fingers. A few days ago, he’d had Alec, but no magic; now it was the reverse. He almost wished he could return to that point, but that way lay madness. He had his magic; he had his friends; the world was his oyster. 

Surely, if he lost himself in the dizzy spin of life, he’d forget all about his heartbreak. 

~

A crowd of Edomai clustered around Asmodeus as soon as he reappeared in his realm. He killed them with a swipe of his hand, their energy adding to the fury boiling in his veins. 

That boy. That stupid, stupid Nephilim, who’d dared to love Asmodeus’ son, dared to love a Royal of Edom. If it hadn’t been for him, Magnus would have joined Asmodeus rather than given up his magic; Magnus would have come running back to his father without hesitation, if Lightwood hadn’t gotten in the way. 

After the deal, Asmodeus had thought that he’d won, that Magnus would now have nothing to hold him back. But Magnus had refused Asmodeus’ offer; even after Lightwood had broken up with him, he hadn’t followed his own father to the only place he could ever truly call home. 

It was all the Nephilim’s fault, he decided. Somehow, the boy must’ve communicated with Magnus, or left open the possibility of them getting back together; Magnus had remained hopeful and not realised the foolishness of loving a mortal. 

That would have to be repaired, which meant Asmodeus needed to break free of Edom once more. 

Then, he’d get rid of the pesky Nephilim and bring his son back to where he belonged. 

~

Magnus left the party early. 

He hadn’t planned to — it was a warlock party, which were usually enjoyably chaotic and often involved drinking contests causing feuds to last decades, and he’d figured it was just the thing to distract him from Alec. 

It had failed, just as all the other parties or clubs he’d been to in the last few weeks had, leaving Magnus as lonely as before. 

In the past, heartbreak had always been, fundamentally, fleeting. He’d mourned lovers for months, years, decades even, but he’d always gotten through it sooner or later. He’d known Alec for only three months. It didn’t make sense that he was unable to lose his heartache, even for a moment. 

He hadn’t seen Alec in all that time. He’d heard news, of course, that the Shadowhunters of New York had defeated Jonathan and saved Clary, and that things had calmed down somewhat, but he’d refused on principle to ask after Alec, and anxiety was chewing at him. 

Which was ridiculous, because Alec had broken up with him. Magnus owed Alec nothing. Worrying about his wellbeing was idiotic, when Alec was certainly not sparing Magnus a second thought — not when the spark he’d fallen in love with had vanished along with Magnus’ magic to leave nothing but a shell of a person. 

And yet, Alec refused to leave Magnus’ thoughts. Magnus hadn’t gotten drunk often, since every time he did, it became even harder to avoid thinking about Alec. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol wasn’t an option. He’d tried to drown it in people, but he’d never managed to bring himself to go home with anyone — nobody was enough like Alec, nobody looked quite like him and looked at Magnus quite the way he did. 

Alec had broken Magnus’ heart in a way it hadn’t been broken before, and there was nothing Magnus could do but try to breathe through the heartache. 

~

When Lilith’s progeny died, Asmodeus seized his chance. 

He didn’t have his son’s magic, and the loss was a painful one, but Lilith didn’t have her son either — and if Asmodeus could defeat her, he could absorb enough of her power to break free of Edom. 

She was at a weak point, Asmodeus was prepared, but she’d been gathering power for months. The battle would be long, and hard, but without beating her, Asmodeus wouldn’t be able to get out of this realm. He attacked. 

For demons like the two of them, time was relative, but the battle stretched long and hard. In the end, though, Asmodeus destroyed her, and new strength flowed into him. 

A portal opened before him with a flick of the finger and he stepped through onto the streets of New York. 

~

Alec knew going out on patrol alone was foolish, but it’d become habit in the last few weeks. 

Without other people, there was nobody else to worry about, nobody he risked hurting if he misjudged, if he took on more than he could handle. Nobody to scold him for disobeying the rules he himself had instituted to protect his Shadowhunters. Only himself and his blades and his bow and the demons he killed. 

Izzy and Jace disapproved, of course, but he was Head, and that came with certain privileges — including the right to schedule patrols, and if he scheduled himself whenever a small demon nest popped up on their maps of New York, there was nothing they could do about it. 

It gave him a break from the cold of the Institute, from the emptiness of his room without Magnus there. It was something to do in the long hours that stretched on, despite the pile of paperwork on his desk; he couldn’t sleep and hated lying alone in the bed he’d temporarily shared with Magnus, so he went on patrol instead. 

He didn’t admit it to anyone but himself, and scarcely even that, but the patrols were also a way to let himself hurt without having to hide it. If he was injured and he waited too long before putting on an iratze — nobody would know it but himself, so long as he kept his bond with Jace sufficiently muted. If he let a demon get closer than it needed to, if he chose to fight hand-to-hand rather than from a distance with a bow, who could know?

His goal wasn’t to kill himself; he wasn’t suicidal, he didn’t want to do that to his siblings, and anyway he still had hopes of convincing the Clave to be more open to Downworlders. The physical pain was just a distraction from the mental and emotional pain that seemed to have lodged permanently in Alec’s heart. 

He’d known breaking up with Magnus would break his own heart, too, and that was an acceptable sacrifice — it always had been, after all. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when he heard that Magnus was partying his way around the world with not a care for Alec, no matter how justified it was. 

Perhaps his preoccupation was why he didn’t notice Asmodeus’ presence until the blast of red magic was almost upon him, and it was too late to dodge. The deadly spell washed over him, and Alec closed his eyes. 

He didn’t expect to open them again. 

~

Magnus wasn’t expecting to feel his magic ping him about an attack on his wards. 

Not the wards on himself, nor the wards on the hotel he was staying at, but wards somewhere else — wards located in New York. The attack was magical, not physical, and judging by its strength, the attacker was either a Greater Demon or a very powerful warlock. Magnus felt a drop in his magic levels as the wards drew on his energy to repel the attack. 

There were three people in New York who Magnus had placed wards upon to protect, but he suspected it was neither Catarina nor Raphael who was under attack. 

Alec might’ve broken up with him, but Magnus had never removed the wards he’d placed before he’d lost his magic, to keep Alec safe under magical attack. He’d tried to add a spell to defend Alec against physical attacks, too, but Alec had refused on the basis that he was a Shadowhunter and he didn’t want to be constantly draining Magnus’ magic every time he went on patrol. 

Magnus’ portal spat him out on the streets of New York. Sure enough, there was Alec, blinking in surprise amidst a clearing haze of red magic — Edom’s magic. Magnus’ wards were curled around him, protective, keeping him from harm as Magnus had enchanted them to do. 

Asmodeus stood in front of Alec, snarling. “You should not have been able to survive that, Nephilim. My son is defending you, isn’t he?”

“I doubt it,” Alec returned, and Magnus couldn’t help cataloguing the shadows under his eyes, the thinness of his frame. He was still beautiful, always beautiful, but he looked haunted, pained, and Magnus didn’t understand why. He’d been the one to break up with Magnus; what right had he to be miserable? 

“Magnus doesn’t want anything more to do with me, and I don’t blame him for it,” Alec went on, and there was something strange in his tone. “I completed the deal, as you very well know.”

“Did you, though?” Asmodeus arched an eyebrow, stepping closer, magic bleeding off of him in waves. Magnus noted that he was far more powerful than he should be; had he succeeded in defeating Lilith and absorbing her energy? Was that how he’d gotten here? “Magnus refused to join me in Edom. I think you cheated me.”

Alec scowled. “I went through with your deal. I broke up with him, you gave him back his magic. If he was smart enough to still refuse to follow you into Edom, that’s no concern of mine.”

“On the contrary,” Asmodeus said, while Magnus’ brain was still spinning with the implications of what the demon had said. “I think he needs to learn a lesson, still, that loving a mortal is a bad idea. Your death should do the trick nicely.”

The huff of almost-pained laughter coming from Alec’s mouth took both Asmodeus and Magnus by surprise. “I already told you — Magnus wants nothing more to do with me. He’s not going to change his mind and join you because I’m dead.”

“We’ll see about that,” Asmodeus said, and his magic thickened into a blade in his hand. 

That yanked Magnus out of his stupor. Alec was warded against magical attacks, but not physical ones; he would have no defence against Asmodeus’ blade. 

A swirl of magic, and he was standing between the two of them, halting Asmodeus in his tracks. He didn’t give the demon a chance to attack again; he was powerful, but Asmodeus was on a completely different level, and if it came down to a fight between the two, Magnus would lose. 

So he didn’t let it come down to that. 

A burst of magic to knock Asmodeus out, and Magnus summoned a portal, careful to leave its other end undetermined. Asmodeus was sucked in, the portal closed, and silence fell on the alleyway. 

Slowly, Magnus turned, until he was facing Alec, who seemed frozen. 

“Are you alright?” Alec blurted, hand reached out tentatively in the space between them. 

“Fine,” Magnus said reflexively. “I — Alexander, did you — did you make a deal with Asmodeus?”

Alec’s lips twisted sideways into something too wry to be called a smile. “The condition was that you could never know, but I suppose that doesn’t matter now.” He glanced at the spot where the portal had been. “You were suffering, Magnus, and I nearly didn’t see it. I did the only thing I could to make it better.”

That was Alec in a nutshell, Magnus knew: so desperate to do all he could to make it better. He’d once told Alec he’d blow up the very ground he stood on to make something right, and that had been truer than he’d thought. 

Tumblers were clicking into place in his mind, all the pieces matching up. The way Alec had showed no sign of wanting to leave Magnus until the day after Magnus had broken down in his arms. The coldness in Alec’s voice when he’d broken up with him. In that moment, Magnus felt immensely stupid for not having realised.  

“I’m sorry,” Alec said softly, when Magnus still didn’t reply. “I — I said things to you, Magnus, things I didn’t mean, and I’m so, so sorry. I understand if you don’t want to see me again—”

“Of course I want to see you again, you idiotic Nephilim,” Magnus managed, and then he was stepping forwards and Alec was there and he wrapped his arms around his love as tightly as ever he could. “I am absolutely furious with you for this, darling, and we’re going to need to have a long conversation about not making important decisions without talking to the other, and also about the assumption that I’d rather trade you away for my magic, but I’ve been missing you rather desperately for the last few weeks, and—”

Anything else he had to say was cut off when Alec kissed him, hands clutching Magnus’ lapels as they had the first time they’d kissed. 

“I love you,” Alec told him, and Magnus could do nothing but smile and return the words.

#whumptober2022 #no.4 #protective #altprompt #tsc #tmi #fic #my fic #canon typical violence #self harm #magnus bane #alec lightwood #magnus x alec #malec #alec lightwood bane #magnus lightwood bane #alec x magnus

[greentealycheejelly]

Hello hello! It's your secret Santa here! I'm so excited to make something for you!

I do have a few questions:

1. Do you favor Alec or Magnus more?

2. What are your three favorite Malec scenes?

3. Do you want your gift to be winter/holiday themed?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Any special requests?

Hello!! 👋 I'm happy to hear from you! Here are my answers.

--- Do you favor Alec or Magnus more?

Aah, I don't know, I really like them both. Sorry, that's not helpful. 😅

--- What are your three favorite Malec scenes?

[S01E06] The "I'm not being cryptic, I'm being coy" scene. I love everything about scene - Alec trying to clean Magnus's couch, Magnus doing that small unnecessary bit of magic with the drink, Magnus shushing Alec, Alec's charmed little smile, just... that whole conversation. Actually, all their interactions that episode are great.

[S02E06] End of the date "relationships take effort" scene. The way Magnus is so resigned as Alec walks away. And the way Alec stops, takes a deep breath, and - despite their sad sad date, and their apparent differences, and his own insecurities - chooses to stay. Chooses Magnus. And Magnus immediately looks so hopeful? It's great.

[S02E20] "I don't think I can live without you" scene. Mostly just for the fact of them getting back together, because I had been very sad while they were broken up. But also, because Alec looks scared and sounds like he can't quite catch his breath, but he just goes ahead and says that? Like, he just got rejected... a few days ago? And he chooses to just bare his heart like that? God. I love his blunt, emotional bravery. And then Magnus calls back the "relationships take effort line" and makes Alec smile. And they kiss. And that alley has very pretty lights.

(this was very hard... I can't believe I had to leave off both of the wedding scenes)

(wait, honorable mention: that scene where they're investigating Lorenzo's house, and Alec is distracting Lorenzo, and Magnus is hiding behind a couch, and Alec and Magnus are just pantomiming and making the most ridiculous faces at each other? Amazing.)

--- Do you want your gift to be winter/holiday themed?

Only if you feel like it! Go with whatever the muse hits you with.

--- What is your favorite color?

I think I like... sky colors? Sunset, sunrise colors? Purples, pinks, blues, and yellows? I realize that's a lot of colors, but they're all very pretty colors! Here is a thing I painted while trying to figure this out.

--- Is there anything else you'd like to add? Any special requests?

I can't stand the body-swap episode (not fond of body-swap trope in general, and that episode in particular), so I would appreciate it if you could avoid it. No other special requests. Hope you have a good time working on this!

#replies #malec secret santa

[neurogliadudette]

Nothing to see here, just me crying watching Malec wedding scene to watch Brother Zachariah officiate the wedding and how he would be missing Will and Tessa and to see Magnus happy...

#malec #magnus bane #alexander gideon lightwood bane #tsc #brother zachariah #jemmy carstairs #raphael is in the front seat! #looking at lorenzo looking at malec with happiness #i am not crying #i just love maryse lightwood #i lied i cried for 30 mins and had puffy eyes

[hellofavillain]

“Think about the message that would send to others like us.”

#malec #heline #underhill x lorenzo #shadowhunters #malecdaily #THIS SHOW #look at all the lgbt characters being alive and happy #my stuff

[lynne-monstr]

so when everyone joined their alliance runes together in edom, assume they all got access to the entire group's abilities. like before, the shared power manifests differently for each person.

alec's magic immediately turns from gold to blue.

#sh ramblings #alec lightwood #malec #poor lorenzo is a little miffed #but he cant be too irritated #because the look magnus and alec share is just so ridiculously schmoopy and happy

[bytheangell]

Elle’s 2020-21 Bingo Masterlist

The Seelie Realm - Seeking Peace | Jace/Meliorn

Jace feels the grounding connection of the Alliance Rune fade away he finds himself drawn to the Seelie Realm, and to the one person who can help him keep from losing it entirely.

Shadowhunter!Magnus - Chosen Family | Magnus & Ragnor & Catarina

“Three go in, three go out,” Magnus, Ragnor, and Catarina say together. “Let’s do this,” Magnus adds, facing the small nest of ravener demons with a wicked grin on his face.

Hunt - A Very Successful Hunt | Clary/Isabelle

When Clary shows up at the Institute, Izzy falls for her hard and fast. Unfortunately, a few mixed signals leave each of them thinking their pining is one-sided until they're finally forced to talk about the unspoken tension between them.

Rivals - Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans | James/Cordelia

Cordelia does her best to sift through her conflicted thoughts and emotions after seeing James and Grace together.

Drunk Confessions - Want the Same Things | Jace/Simon

After Clary kisses Jace in the Seelie Realm, Simon can hardly blame her - after all, if he were in her position he would've kissed Jace, too. He just doesn't mean to admit that to Jace.

Enemies to Lovers - Had to Go Too Far to Know How Far to Go | Jace/Andrew

After growing closer to, and rather fond of, Andrew Underhill, Jace feels particularly betrayed to discover that Andrew's the one turning him in for sneaking out all the time.

Vampire!Alec - Married to the Dark | Alec & Simon (background Malec)

“You’re doing this tonight, aren’t you?” “Simon…” “Don’t lie to me, Alec. Those were goodbyes.” Simon doesn’t phrase it as a question. “Yeah, they were,” Alec answers anyway. “Obviously, I don’t expect you to be the one to do it. I’ll find someone else, just don’t tell the others.” “That’s the thing,” Simon says. “I don’t want to, but I also don’t want you to go to anyone else. If you are going to go through with this… I’ll do it.”

Meet Ugly - I’ve Never Been a Natural (All I Do Is Try Try Try) | Simon/Raphael

“What gave you that impression?” Simon shakes his head. It’s beginning to dawn on him that Raphael doesn’t remember, and he isn’t sure if that makes it better or worse. “You told me, the first time we met. The night you… uh…” Simon really doesn’t want to say ‘the night you kidnapped me’, given everything they’ve worked through to put that rather unfortunate first meeting behind them. Simon clears his throat instead. “When I wouldn’t sit still, you said you really hated fidgeting.” --- Simon's kept that one tidbit in the back of his mind the whole time he's known Raphael, and is usually a lot better about keeping still than he's being that night.

Two Person Love Triangle - Truth Be Told | Magnus/Alec

When Magnus is tasked with getting close to Alec in order to get information on his father Robert, he doesn't expect to like Alec even half as much as he does. And that, well, that's definitely a problem now.

Shadowhunter!Simon -  Love Me When It Hurts (1/3) | Jace/Simon, endgame Raphael/Jace/Simon

Jace isn't ready to lose Simon when he dies - and the vampire blood in Simon's system means he doesn't need to. But will the complications of Simon's new existence as a vampire be more than the couple can overcome, especially when they find Raphael ingrained into their lives more than any of them were ready for?

Children of the Night - Love Me When It Hurts (2/3) | Jace/Simon , endgame Raphael/Jace/Simon

Simon returns as a vampire and struggles to strike a comfortable balance between his old and new lives.

Getting Back Together -  Love Me When It Hurts (3/3) | Raphael/Jace/Simon

Raphael does his best to help Simon and Jace reconnect, and in the process finds himself growing more fond of Jace than he ever intended on. Not that it matters, because once Simon and Jace are back together he'll be out of the picture entirely... right?

Rune Ceremony -  All I’ve Ever Known Is How to Hold My Own | Kit/Ty

Kit can't help but feel as if something - or someone - is missing from an important moment in his life.

Forbidden Love - Forbidden Feelings | Magnus/Alec, past Magnus/Camille

It occurs to Magnus that perhaps, somewhere along the way during his very extensive life, something got a little turned around.

Because the love that’s supposed to feel ‘forbidden’ to him - the sort of love that feels like he’s tempting fate, like he knows he shouldn’t want it as much as he does - should probably be the ‘love’ (if it was ever truly ‘love’) from the manipulative woman in front of him.

It certainly shouldn’t be the kind and compassionate love from a Shadowhunter who stops to ask if a raincheck is okay while being ordered into a potentially life-or-death demon attack debriefing.

Potions Gone Wrong - Just Enough to Get By | Magnus/Alec, Magnus & Jace

When Alec gets attacked by a rogue warlock, Jace goes against direct orders to contact Magnus to try and save his injured and slowly dying parabatai.

Free Space - Making Time for What Matters | Luke & Alec, background Malec & Luke/Maryse

Alec and Luke both have a bad habit of overworking, often at the expense of their personal lives. At least they're getting better at looking out for each other, even when they aren't looking out for themselves.

Long Distance - Go the Distance | Lorenzo/Andrew

Andrew is more than a little worried about he and Lorenzo spending a month apart so early in their relationship, but it leaves them with some valuable lessons about communication.

Arranged Marriage - I Don’t Want to Say I (I Want to Say We) | Lorenzo/Andrew, background Malec

When Andrew overhears that Lorenzo - who he's been secretly dating for months now - is going to be forced into an arranged marriage with a shadowhunter, he does the only thing he can: he volunteers.

Shadowhunter!Raphael - Come Around | Raphael/Jace/Simon

Jace wonders if there's more to the frequent requests for him at the New York Institute than meets the eye, and decides to test a theory...

Bodyswap -  If You Don’t Belong, Don’t Be Long | Magnus/Alec & Simon/Isabelle

When a potion goes wrong, Magnus and Simon switch bodies. It's up to Magnus to figure out how to fix it, and up to Simon to control Magnus' magic enough to use it in the final steps.

Sex Club - The Right Company | Jace/Simon

Simon makes a joke about Jace and the other leather-clad Shadowhunters that leads to some interesting potentialities he hadn't considered before.

Marriage - Your Happiness is My Own | Gabriel/Cecily 

Gabriel arranges a surprise for Cecily on their wedding day.

Traveling - Take Me With You - Jace/Simon

When Jace gets assigned as Simon's bodyguard during his upcoming tour, he certainly doesn't plan on growing as fond of the musician as he does.

Rivals - Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans | James/Cordelia, Cordelia & Matthew

Cordelia does her best to sift through her conflicted thoughts and emotions after seeing James and Grace together.

Best Friends to Lovers - Make This Leap | Clary/Simon 

Whatever Simon has to say, she’ll handle it. She’ll be ready. “I’m in love with you.” She isn’t ready for that. --- A Clary POV of Simon's confession of love in 2x08

Proposal - your heart was glass (i dropped it) | Magnus/Alec

After breaking down, Magnus tries to push himself to get through the lovely dinner Alec set up for them... but he quickly realizes this wasn't meant to be a typical dinner date.

#shadowhunters #tsc #malec #jimon #reyhill #jordelia #rjs #climon #gabrily #sizzy #luke/maryse #KitTy #saphael #heronhill #jeliorn #a surprise to no one I WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH THESE PAIRINGS FOR BINGO FICS #but here they all are in one place! #so many thanks to Toby for another wonderful year of Bingo which always inspires things I wouldn't have written otherwise! <3 #hmdiscord #shbingo #magnus bane #alec lightwood #jace herondale #simon lewis #raphael santiago #lorenzo rey #andrew underhill #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #clary fray

[rainyhuman]

This is ur invite to rant ab the sh finale,,,, 👀

THANK YOU!!!

ok SO 

the obvious is that it was rushed which i dont really blame them for because they did what they could and like thank god we got the malec wedding right BUT

there were NO scenes of magnus with his family before his wedding however there were scenes of alec with his family so like????? (ofc why did i expect anything else, like im not saying alec shouldn't have scenes with his family but what about magnus??)

magnus did all the planning??? bitch no he didnt alec and magnus did it together bc theyre BOTH getting married and they BOTH are excited about it

we have this wholeass talk with fucking jace who's so surprised about the fact that ALEC IS GOING TO LIVE WITH HIS HUSBAND??? and then he's like "don't be a stranger" and we wasted minutes on this stupid talk for no reason because guess what? alec goes halfway across the world away from jace so like WHAT WAS THE POINT????? WE COULD'VE HAD MAGNUS WITH CAT, RAPHAEL AND MADZIE BUT NO (a 1 minute scene of them helping him get ready would've been ENOUGH)

we didn't even get to see magnus asking cat to be his best woman like WHY

iNSTEAD we got a fucking lorenzo redemption arc WHICH BTW wasnt even a fucking good redemption it was the typical 'the show is ending so we're going to give this character who made the main characters' lives miserable a redemption arc so that its all happy!!!!!' like fuck OFF

and then to top it all off we had fucking reyhill becoming canon which we did not need (them being gay is literally homophobic i can't) like people literally FORGOT that lorenzo made magnus' life fucking miserable (didn't allow other warlocks to help him -> magnus lost his magic, fucking took his loft when he has a MANSION) just bc he was confirmed as queer like S T O P IT

omfg also izzy deserved to be alec's suggenes like who did alec go to for magnus advice??? who wanted their happiness from the starting??? who DESERVED to be suggenes???? IZZY DID!!!! NOT FUCKING JACE (who we all know was suggenes just because hes alec's parabatai)

also um RAPHAEL DESERVED TO WALK MAGNUS DOWN THE AISLE (HIS FUCKING SON NOT MARYSE) look i get it, maryse got a bs redemption arc which she did nothing to work towards and she was the one who told magnus that alec was going to propose but omfg magnus is centuries old,,,,,,, he's wanted to be married for SO long and maryse is an ex circle member, she's killed many of his friends and his people and its such a slap in the face to not have his OWN SON walk him down the aisle instead of MARYSE

WE GOT MADZIE DANCING WITH LORENZO INSTEAD OF MAGNUS AND CAT AND ALEC AND RAPHAEL!!!!!!! LIKE WHAT???? i deserved to see madzie dancing with magnus can you imagine 🥺🥺🥺

look even if magnus forgave lorenzo (which um no he shouldn't have, people are allowed to be mad at their abusers shut up with the forgive and forget bs) cat and alec and raphael wouldn't,,,,,, do ANY of them seem like the forgiving type? especially when it comes to magnus? NO they don't

ragnor is alive and should've been at the wedding tbh

also um i know the only reason behind the wedding being at the institute was spite (and also bc they had no time) but magnus deserved to have his first and only wedding in a place that was not a place of oppression for his people and for this very reason It Is Canon that they have vow renewals every decade at fancy places that they both love

ALSO luke wasn't at the fucking wedding WHY? (ik they gave a reason but i dont remember it and it was probably bullshit)

tldr: i KNOW they didn't have the time but they wasted what time they DID have on stupid fucking scenes

anyway um ik i just complained about a ton of things (and ykw im not going to apologise for it, i am right) but one thing i loved was malec's last scene it was just so 🥺😭💖 like the parallel....... it kills me every time

#THANK YOU KASHEW A KITH FOR YOU <3 #kashew-arts #lol where do we start with all the anti tags huh #also if anyone was waiting for me to talk about the whole clary thing..... sorry jhdshfj like its just bs and again one more #'its the finale so we gotta do smth dramatic' thing #but also amazing that clace weren't even together in the end ajsdhfj #anti lorenzo rey #anti andrew underhill #anti jace herondale #anti sh #malec #asks #anti parabatai bond #anti maryse lightwood #catarina loss #madzie loss #raphael santiago #shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood #lover 🥺💞

[khaleesiofalicante]

Ok but you know that headcanon that on Halloween the line between the living and the dead become thin and blurred so it's easier to summon ghosts??

Imagine magnus summoning Ragnor just before their wedding, because he wants alec to meet the one man who knew him better than everyone, and wants Ragnor to know he took the last advice he gave him.

And Ragnor appears, looks at malec and their rings and says, "I told you so" and magnus can't even be annoyed because he missed his best friend, his first ray of hope, and he just,,,bursts into tears because he never let himself cry when Ragnor died. And Ragnor is helpless that he cannot touch his friend and console him.

And then they spend the rest of time with magnus quietly sobbing and telling Ragnor everything, Ragnor thinking of ways to destroy Lorenzo from the other side, alec just sitting, both warlocks having forgotten proper introductions and sees a sadness he didn't even know existed lift off of Magnus, sees magnus shining and happy in a way only Ragnor is capable of making him.

And when Ragnor has to leave, he looks at Alec and says, "just because I'm dead doesn't mean I cannot destroy you. I have my ways, so you better cherish my dearest friend else you'll be living a hell you won't know how to get out of"

And before malec can say anything, Ragnor struts away, which alec didn't think was possible for a ghost. And magnus bursts into tears and Alec calls Catarina because this is one part of magnus' pain he's not aware of, doesn't know how to heal.

And later when he aske Catarina she tells him it can't be healed, tells him magnus will always live with Ragnor's death and his memories, tells him Ragnor still knows magnus better than anyone else, even in death.

And when alec thinks of those few hours he observed the two, he realises it's true. He realises no one can know magnus like Ragnor did, DOES, not even him.

(sorry for spamming you but if I sobbed you have to too)

Oh this was so sad and beautiful at the time!

I really do wish the show had focused a little more on Magnus and his relationship with Ragnor - since we know Ragnor basically raised him :(

ALSO YES RAGNOR GIVING ALEC THE SHOVEL TALK LET'S GOOO

Note - perhaps maybe write a tiny ficlet based on this? ;)

#magnus bane #ragnor fell #shadowhunters

[normal-thoughts-official]

look i want charlie's pov on malec more than anything. tall scary mobster(?) brother of cute gf is melted soft puddle for this weirdly hot dude with great eyeliner and also just generally charlie interacting with magnus actually. hey do u think if he ever found out about the shadowworld he might talk to magnus about it for someone not so close but still trustworthy and kind and safe? aaaaaaaAAAA

ok but you are right and you know what? FUCK IT. au with charlizzy endgame he can be part of the polycule lmaoo and we get to see all the dumb shenanigans that come with that

like LOOK i get why izzy would tell him that the lightwoods are jewelry makers, it's not THAT far from weapons forgery so she can probably pull that lie off, maryse probably knows a little something about it too, and besides there is her shop, but alec? Alexander Gideon Fucking Shit At Lying Lightwood? NO WAY

i mean look alec is smart and he is cunning and he actually can lie when a plan involves it (he was pretty convincing with "i will bring magnus to the clave myself") and he definitely knows how to navigate diplomacy and stuff like that, but when it comes to actually pretending to be something he's not? especially if it involves improvising? my man lightwood fucking sucks. it's the truth. the same man who convinced lorenzo he would arrest his own boyfriend went "TheSE CeiLInGS ARe spECtaCULaR" not a few moments later. do you think he knows JACK SHIT about jewelry other than what magnus and izzy like or don't like? do you think he even knows what mundanes use as means of transportation? this man doesn't know what bees are. i have to laugh

charlie is probably already half convinced that they're in the mob or some shit anyway, with the way Fucking Shit At Lying Lightwood went all "she told you we're jewelers pffft". also he saw izzy kick that vending machine. like he probably thought it was hot valid but come on now. a woman in stilettos KICKED a vending machine right in the middle without even flinching while she was in the hospital tired as shit with withdrawal sweats. charlie ain't stupid. but also he pretends that he buys it and is all ":) love jewels" just to see what they will come up with

alec gets desperate and asks magnus for help. magnus is just like why do you think i know shit about jewelry making?? alec is like "well you mix up stuff all the time. also you wear them. didn't you design our wedding ring?" and he's like "alec i used mAGIC for that. also do you think making POTIONS is the same as making JEWELS?" and alec is like "i'M DESPERATE"

cue the both of them having an intense research session. for like two whole weeks you can find the both of them at any given time watching boring as fuck documentaries about jewelers and taking notes and shit. they even get some tools so they can PRACTICE just in case charlie fucking? asks to see alec work or something? they are himbos. and of course it's all for nothing because that is NOT the part someone who's not in the field would focus on, so as soon as charlie goes "so, what's your specialty?" alec's like "what's a specialty"

bonus he looks up maryse and you know because shadowhunters are fucking dumbasses she probably just spawned into the mundane world without any documentation or backstory or ANYTHING so he finds out that maryse lightwood doesn't fUCKING EXIST and her shop just manifested fully formed one day. at this point the mob is the only possible explanation

charlie idly wonders if he should go to the police, if anything to ask about them, but he doesn't want to ruin the lightwood's lives, they are nice. then one day he walks by the police station and who does he see if not maryse's FUCKING boyfriend. "oh my god, they are infiltrated"

charlie probably thinks that alec buys magnus all his fancy stuff with like laundered money or something. he's all like "haha hey glad to see that they are so accepting of gay people in the mob- i mean jewelry making business :)"

and THEN he asks magnus and alec how they met and they are like "uh" and magnus is like "alec was. a frequent client" cuz you know not a LIE but what the hell was this mobster always going to Fancy Guy for? maybe alec doesn't buy him his stuff maybe magnus is ALSO in the mob. maybe he's a hitman or something. damn, they are really open minded in the mob

except magnus is too sweet and nice to be a hitman so either he's excellent at pretending or he also has nothing to do with any of this. maybe he's like, a tailor or something. mobsters also have to buy regular stuff right? they wear a lot of suits in the movies or whatever. maybe he's their lawyer. he's gotta be pretty good at what he does if he manages to save these guy's asses in court, because they kinda suck at blending in (bonus somehow izzy's trial comes up in conversation so he is like. oh my god magnus IS their lawyer. and his admiration for the guy just doubles cuz really, how)

so he decides, you know, if this guy is also unrelated to the mob he should probably talk to him or something. magnus is trustworthy, he figures. also, i mean, same situation, right? regular folks who just found themselves in love with weirdly sweet mobsters. maybe they can trade tips. if magnus is their lawyer, he probably knows how stuff works better than charlie anyway

so one day he shows up at magnus' and he's all like "i want to preface this by saying that i won't tell anyone" and magnus is sweating already because FUCK there's a potion simmering not two rooms away and alec's bow is rIGHT BEHIND CHARLIE HANGING IN THE DOOR. and charlie is all "do you know what the lightwoods actually do?" and magnus is like "uhhh, yes, they are jewelry makers" and he's like "come on magnus. did you really think i wouldn't figure it out? they aren't jewelry makers. did you know that maryse lightwood doesn't EXIST? hell, i bet none of them do"

cue dramatic "i know what they are" "say it. say it out loud" "mobsters" "what?" "what?" "uh"

and magnus is all like "haha charlie don't be silly of course they are not mobsters. excuse me" and shoos charlie away somehow

he probably has to EXPLAIN to the lightwoods what the mob even is cuz let's be real, there is no way they know. and everyone is like well this is very fucked up! and alec is like "hey actually we should just pretend to be mobsters, that would be easier. it's way closer to what we actually do. jewels, izzy? really?" and izzy is like "alec i'm not telling my boyfriend that we are MOBSTERS!!!" and alec is like "well of course not, that's what a mobster would say. but we can pretend that we are pretending to be jewelers but REALLY we are pretending to be mobsters who are pretending to be jewelers, leave some clues here and there, and actually convince him because he thinks he knows our secret" and izzy is like "no!!!" and alec is like ":("

(magnus is like "that was a very good plan, honey" and alec's like "right?" and magnus is like "yes, very complex, i like it. you'd make a good mobster, you could use your Shadowhunter Mode" and izzy is like "can you guys PLEASE save this for later")

anyway they probably sit charlie down and have a "charlie we are totally not mobsters and here is why" talk but charlie is very clearly like "hmmm. doubt" so after some more sweating and shit they decide to just tell him the truth lmao

bonus points if charlie goes all "THAT'S your newest lie?" and then magnus starts floating or something and he goes "oh ok i see. can i lie down for a second". i mean realistically he would probably test them but once magnus straight up portals them to paris he kind of has to face that maybe he wasn't that right. maybe luke even turns in front of him and shit. or the lightwoods use the runes to become invisible. you know. but THEN he goes "oh ok i see. can i lie down for a second"

but hey at least his cute gf isn't killing people on the side! just demons. who exist. well he can just not think about that!

hey this is random but i was picturing someone mentions that the mob sells drugs and izzy is kinda upset because, you know, she's struggled with addiction lmao. and protective ass alec is like >:( but then later izzy talks about it with charlie and it's like, sweet? extra points if she's like "worst part is that you're not even that wrong. i dragged raphael in with me" and they talk about that you know

anyway yes you are RIGHT about him going to magnus to talk about the shadow world, like, at least it's not the mob! and he was ready to talk to him about that anyway. and magnus out of all of them is the one who best understands mundanes so he can help a lot because he kinda knows what charlie will be thinking, unlike the rest of them. hell, maryse is taking classes on being a mundane. like. come on

and just aaa honestly i would just really like to see that friendship? and see charlie being all excited cuz you know he's a DOCTOR so imagine all the shit he can learn from them! and eventually magnus mentions catarina and charlie gets to meet her and he becomes kind of her inside man helping her cover her tracks when she uses magic to cure a patient that wouldn't make it otherwise or something, and he is really happy with that. and it's just sweet you know? and just yeah generally give me charlie getting close to the downworlders, maybe even getting gifts from madzie because he's been helping her mom so much, like enchanted flowers or something, please and thank you daodhsaoijdsaoi

#shadowhunters #sh #malec #izzy lightwood #sh crack #alec lightwood #magnus bane #charlie #daoushdajdasoijdas his tag is just charlie #catarina loss #madzie loss #ask #anonymous #long post #crack #himbo husbands #himbo alec lightwood

[echo-bleu]

no. 13 pretty please? 😢 feeling super angsty 😅

My brain went straight to 3x10 and my frustration that Alec's near death wasn't even mentioned in the next episode, and then to 2x20 and the time Jace did die. It’s a canon divergence where Magnus didn’t go to Edom but got Lorenzo and the other warlock to help free Jace instead. I swear this was meant to be a short fill, but as usual, it got out of hand so it’s 3.8k.

This is heavy angst with a happy ending so head the warnings.

(and yes it’s Malec, thank you for sending me another ask to clarify :) it’s the only ship I write anyway)

Thank you so much to pinstripedJackalope for betaing!

[temporary character death (I swear it doesn’t stick), major injuries, blood and death]

Read on AO3.

13. “I thought you were dead.”

Magnus’ stomach drops as he finally catches sight of Alec and Jace. He went as fast as he could, absorbing the power of a dozen warlocks, but it wasn’t fast enough. Jace — or the demon controlling him — is kneeling over a prone Alec, slowly, cruelly driving an arrow into his chest.

“They say the worst pain a Shadowhunter can feel is the loss of his parabatai,” he growls, his voice distinctly not Jace-like. “It's time for Jace to finally feel it.”

“Jace,” Alec murmurs, struggling to breathe, as Magnus lurches toward them. “It wasn’t you.”

It’s just like Alec, to use what may be his last words to give his parabatai absolution, to try and prevent more pain and guilt. But Magnus can’t let it happen. He can’t let Alec die.

He doesn’t let himself consider that he may already be too late.

The overwhelming magic inside him reacts to his every thought, his every emotion, and it uncurls before he can even command it, roaring in his chest. Magnus throws his hands in front of him and it rushes out, burning through his body, coming out of his palms in an explosion of blue and yellow light. It heads straight to Jace, and Magnus can only pray that it won’t kill his body as well as drive the demon out.

Jace is thrown back and hits the wall with a force that would have instantly killed a mundane. But he rises to his feet immediately after falling, his whole body shaking as something dark and slimy escapes his mouth. He throws up violently, as if ejecting everything evil inside him is making him physically sick, too.

“Alexander,” Magnus murmurs. Magic is still humming under his fingers, but it’s useless now, after that uncontrolled pulse of pure power. He’s still linked to the other warlocks, he can feel their energy, but his own body is too spent to use it. He stumbles to Alec, his legs giving out from under him.

He crawls the last few feet on his knees, desperate to get to Alec.

“Mom...said you’d...make a dr–dramatic entrance,” Alec chokes out, blood running out of his mouth. His breathing is ragged and painful, and he starts coughing, his whole body wracked with agony. Magnus grips his shoulder and stares at his ashen face, at the arrowhead sticking out of his chest. “Alexander.”

“’t’s okay,” Alec murmurs. He coughs up more blood. Somehow, his hand finds Magnus’, and his weak grip shakes Magnus out of his shock.

“No, no, don’t you dare die on me,” he squeezes Alec’s hand tightly, tears running down his cheeks.

He hovers his other hand over Alec’s chest, but he needs more time, time to replenish his magic, time he doesn’t have. All he can get out right now is sparks. He tries to send them to the other warlocks who have joined the fight against Lilith, to call for help, but he doesn’t think they make it that far.

Jace falls to his knees on Alec’s other side, one hand clutching his hip where Magnus knows his parabatai rune is. “Alec,” he murmurs. “Come on.”

“Don’t...blame yourself,” Alec sputters around a mouthful of blood. He tries to inhale, but he chokes instead. “I...don’t...blame you,” he still manages to tell his parabatai.

“Don’t speak,” Jace murmurs. “Magnus, you gotta do something.”

His face is a mask of pain, while Alec’s is lax, like he doesn’t even have enough energy left to react to the agony. Magnus swallows back his tears. “I can’t. I’m all out.”

“Magnus, he’s gonna—”

“I know,” Magnus chokes on his tears.

Jace cries out as Alec’s body grows lax, his weak hold on Magnus’ hand slipping. Magnus scrambles to look for a pulse, but he can’t find one. “Alexander—”

“No, no, no,” Jace murmurs, sobbing. “I can’t feel him.”

“Alexander!” Magnus cries out, forcing magic into Alec’s body, but it putters out before it can even leave his hands. Alec doesn’t move, doesn’t react, doesn’t—

“He’s gone,” Jace murmurs, sagging.

“NO!” Magnus yells.

But raging doesn’t help. It doesn’t change reality. And the reality is that Alec is dead under his fingers.

“No,” he sobs, lying his head on Alec’s chest, against the arrow still sticking out. “No.”

His voice breaks.

“Please. No.”

*

Hands grip his shoulders, lifting him up. “Magnus.” It’s Jace’s voice, and then another. Catarina. “Magnus. Come on.”

“No,” Magnus resists. “Alec—”

“He’s gone, Magnus,” Catarina murmurs.

“The fight is over.” Lorenzo. “Lilith is gone.”

“Clary?” Magnus hears Jace ask.

“Safe. We got her and her vampire out just in time.”

Magnus doesn’t let go of Alec’s body. It should matter, that they made it, they succeeded. That the threat is gone. But he can’t get past Alec’s unmoving form in his arms.

Jace’s warm, muscled body is against him now, hugging him, while Catarina pries his hands off Alec. Magnus lets her, his strength spent. He can’t stop sobbing. It comes out in hiccups, tearless sobs of agony as his heart cries out for Alec to wake up, to move, to open his eyes. But Alec stays still, cold and pale under the streetlight, the red of the arrow fletching in his chest burning Magnus’ eyes.

Jace shakes against him in another rhythm, shivering like his body is giving out now that it’s no longer connected to Alec’s. He doesn’t sob — he doesn’t even cry, eyes dry and unfocused and empty. Magnus bites his fist hard to stop his uncontrollable sobs, not caring when he tastes blood, and grabs Jace’s hand, wordlessly trying to get a reaction out of him.

“Jace?” he manages to croak out after several tries, words refusing to come out.

Jace turns his eyes to him, but he’s still not there, his reactions sluggish and aimless. “Alec,” he murmurs. Then something else, indistinguishable.

Magnus looks back at Alec’s body, and another hiccup wracks his body. He can’t contain this pain. He’s lost many people in his life, held a few of them as they died, but never—

Never like this. It wasn��t supposed to be so soon. He knew Alec would die eventually, but—

No.

No.

The sobs are violent and painful, making him retch, like his body doesn’t even know how to deal with the emotions coursing through him. His magic, weak as it is, responds with fire and ice, coursing through his veins and erupting around him in ephemeral flames that have Catarina jerk away.

“Magnus! You’ve got to control it!” she shouts.

Magnus can barely hear her. He can’t feel anymore, the agony overriding his senses until there’s nothing left.

Alec is gone.

He half-wants his magic to destroy him, to let him pass along with Alec, but it’s too weak even for that. He feels like his body is dying from the sheer agony of his heart, but it will hang on, and force him to live another day.

Another day that won’t have Alec in it.

*

Magnus shatters.

He’s only vaguely aware of what happens next. It feels like hours, hours of him and Jace hanging on to each other in one last bid to avoid their broken souls scattering altogether, refusing to let go of Alec’s body. Catarina gives up on shaking him after a while and moves away, and Magnus loses track of her, of everything that isn’t Alec and Jace.

Isabelle’s heartbreaking scream is what shakes him out of it. “Alec!” she cries as she crumples over her brother’s body, Clary at her tail.

She shakes him to no avail, sobbing, until Jace reaches out and puts his hand over hers. “He’s gone,” he murmurs brokenly.

Isabelle collapses in Clary’s arms, as Clary kneels on the floor, in shock. Alec remains still and ashen between them and Magnus, and Magnus realizes he’s still crushing Alec’s limp hand in his. He doesn’t let go.

“Ave atque vale,” Luke breathes, and Isabelle looks up at him, shaking her head in denial. Magnus chokes and buries his head in Alec’s chest again, willing time to stop, stop until he can figure a way out of this. Isabelle grasps his shoulder hard, her grip bruising and anchoring.

Magnus sobs anew, throat and face and heart burning. He can’t hear these words. He’s not ready. He’s not ready to make this real.

“Ave atque vale,” Jace murmurs, and Magnus can’t breathe.

*

“Wait,” Jace says, and everyone freezes.

Magnus doesn’t know how long they spent sitting there. Minutes. Hours. Too long. Not long enough. His legs hurt and his lungs burn and his head is full of cotton.

Alec’s hand is cold in his.

The warlocks are gone, except for Catarina. Isabelle is still kneeling beside them, though Clary has stood up and she’s shivering in Simon’s arms now, Luke hovering close to them.

Magnus doesn’t really know how he’s aware of all that. He can barely keep track of what’s going on within his field of vision, and his eyes haven’t left Alec’s still face, and the insulting blood red of the arrow’s fletching.

Why red? Why does Alec use red arrows? Magnus has never asked. He should have.

He never will, now.

Fuck.

Jace slowly, awkwardly untangles himself from Magnus, pushing him with his elbows. Magnus lets himself be handled like a puppet with its strings cut — that sums up how he feels. He can barely hold himself up on his own, once Jace’s support is gone.

Jace is pointing at something, gesturing, and things are moving. Magnus wills himself to focus, even though he wants to never have to think again. He wants to lay down beside Alec and let himself drift off to sleep, and maybe never wake up.

He wants to wake up from this nightmare and find Alec alive and well beside him, eyes full of sleep, morning light kissing his face and making his skin golden.

He wants Alec.

“Magnus,” Isabelle calls him, and he shakes himself. He follows her finger and looks down, at Jace, at Jace’s parabatai rune — the space on his hip where it should be — and it’s…

It’s there. Black on pale skin, the pattern unmistakable. It’s still there.

It should be gone.

“How?” Magnus croaks out.

“I don’t know,” Jace says. And for the first time in however long this nightmare has been, there’s something beside agony in his voice. “I can’t feel him, but it’s still there.”

“That means he’s not dead,” Clary says, coming closer. “Right?”

Magnus looks back at Alec’s unmoving body. “But then—”

“I don’t know,” Jace murmurs.

“Alec’s rune disappeared,” Isabelle says. “When you died,” she points to Jace. “His rune was gone.”

“But mine isn’t.”

Magnus looks between them, then at Alec again. Jace was dead. Jace was dead, and now he isn’t, because he was resurrected by—

“Catarina!” he calls, struck by a sudden thought.

Catarina is at his side in seconds.

“Cat, I need you to restart his heart,” Magnus says.

Catarina moves uncomfortably. “Magnus, he’s gone.”

“I don’t think he is.”

She looks at him with something like pity in her eyes, and at any other time, that would have angered him. But he’d have to be able to feel something beside numbness for that.

Numbness and the nameless, pulsing hope taking roots at the back of his mind. What if—

“Please,” he begs. “Just do it.”

Catarina looks ready to argue, but she looks at the others, and she sees the same budding hope in their eyes. Jace points to his rune, and Magnus can see the moment she understands, her eyes widening.

She places her hands on Alec’s chest carefully, one on each side of the arrow, and sends out a pulse of magic. Alec’s body responds violently to the shock, his back arching, but he doesn’t otherwise move.

“Again,” Magnus pleads.

Alec’s chest glows white. Again. His body jerks up. Again. Magnus holds his breath.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Nothing changes.

Catarina lets her hands fall, her magic sizzling out. Magnus wants to scream, to throw something, to destroy, but he just sags and Isabelle lets out a sob. Jace lets out a slow, controlled breath, hand on his still present rune.

“One more,” he murmurs.

Catarina shakes her head. “It won’t do anything.”

“Please.”

Magnus doesn’t let her argue. He places his own hands on Alec’s chest and wills his magic out, what little isn’t burning his body from the inside out.

The shock sends him flailing backward into Jace’s arms, but his eyes never leave Alec’s face.

Please, he begs silently.

Wake up.

“I’ve got a pulse,” Catarina breathes out, fingers pressed to Alec’s neck.

“He’s alive,” Jace says, like he doesn’t really believe it himself. “He’s alive.”

Magnus breathes for what feels like the first time in hours.

*

“He’s alive,” Jace breathes. He keeps repeating that, so much that the sentence loops in Magnus’ head. It’s good. He needs the reminder.

Alec is unmoving and pale in the infirmary bed, the whiteness of the sheets and the harsh neon lights accentuating the ashen quality of his skin. At least the red arrow is gone, though it still haunts Magnus’ nightmares. Instead, Alec’s chest is bare but for the thick bandages holding him together, a tube still coming out of his lung to drain the blood. The small oxygen cannula under his nose is a welcome change from the respirator that breathed for him for the last two days, though Magnus now finds himself regularly checking with his hand that Alec is still breathing.

His heart keeps skipping beats in fear, every time he forgets for a second that Alec is safe and finally on the mend.

For all that Alec was alive once Magnus revived him, getting him stable has been an uphill battle. Catarina poured every bit of magic she had left into repairing the lung pierced by the arrow, while she drained the blood out the mundane way, so Alec would stop drowning in his own blood. The injuries were too severe for iratzes to be of much use, even when drawn by Jace.

It’s been almost sixty hours, and Jace hasn’t slept. Magnus dozed off in his chair a few times, his head resting on his and Alec’s linked hands — powering through the magic overuse-induced crash has proved impossible, however much he wanted to stay awake in case Alec—

In case Alec woke up, Magnus tells himself firmly. That’s it. He’ll be okay.

“He’s alive,” he murmurs back.

Jace has been burning through stamina runes one after the other. There’s a shadow in his eyes that matches the one in Magnus’ heart, a hole in the shape of Alec that has filled itself with inescapable dread. He was dead.

Magnus wonders if that’s how Alec felt when Jace died. He remembers sitting with him on the floor of the ops center for nearly an hour, his heart constricting the longer Alec remained there motionless, eyes empty like he couldn’t even see the world around him. He wonders if Alec has been carrying this fear ever since, that Jace might die again, if that was what Magnus couldn’t put his finger on when they argued about his immortality.

Alec was dead for half-an-hour, and Magnus wonders if they’ll ever heal from that.

*

“I thought you were dead.”

Alec stares up at Jace, unimpressed. It’s not the first time he’s woken up, but it’s the first time he’s off the painkillers that made him too loopy to hold a conversation. His hand twitches in Magnus’ as he looks at his parabatai, propped up on pillows, the oxygen cannula slightly crooked under his nose. His other arm is splinted and resting on a pillow, the broken bones only partly healed.

Things have started to settle into a routine. Magnus has still barely left the infirmary — the advantage of magic is that he doesn’t even need to go home to shower — but he’s let Isabelle put him a cot in a corner of the room to sleep. Jace crashed once Alec woke up the first time and slept for twenty-four hours straight, and now he’s back, as annoying as ever. The others come and go, bringing books and food, as Alec spends more and more time awake.

It’s been five days. Magnus doesn’t need to check that Alec is breathing every other minute anymore.

“I was dead, apparently,” Alec mutters. “Anyone figure out what happened with that?”

Magnus shifts in his seat. “I think I may have. I talked about it at length with Catarina and we are of the same opinion.”

Catarina has come by for an hour every day to check on Alec and help along his healing. This kind of delicate work isn’t Magnus’ strong suit despite his superior raw power, and he prefers to let her do it as long as she’s willing. It’s given them the time to have in-depth conversations.

“And?” Jace prompts.

Magnus shakes himself, realizing that he’s zoned out. Focusing on anything has proven difficult. “And this is just another proof that you two don’t do things by halves,” he says. “The last time I really looked at your bond with my magic was when Alec got lost trying to find you, Jace. Back then, it was a simple soul bond, anchored by the runes on your bodies.”

“Do you mean it’s changed somehow?” Alec asks. Magnus studies him, to see if he should put off this conversation until later. Alec’s face is drawn with lines of pain, but he’s more alert than he’s been since that night. He frowns in worry, and Magnus knows that despite his state, he’ll insist on hearing it now.

“When I looked at it again, there was a third component,” Magnus says. “Beside your two souls. A tether, of sorts.”

“What do you mean?” Jace asks.

“I think…” Magnus hesitates. “I think that when Biscuit made the wish and resurrected you, Raziel didn’t just bring you back to life. He tethered your soul to this realm. And because of the soul bond, that extends to Alec.”

“So it...kept me here, even when my body died?” Alec asks.

“Yes. That’s what I think.”

The parabatai exchange a look, one that Magnus can’t completely decipher. “Does that mean we can’t die?” Jace asks as Alec lets his head rest back on his pillow, exhausted.

“Quite possibly,” Magnus says. He doesn’t know yet what to do with the relief he feels knowing that. The Alec-shaped terror in his heart has quietened until it’s barely there.

But there are other consequences to this, and he doesn’t know how Alec will take them.

Alec coughs painfully, his good hand slipping from Magnus’ to clutch at his chest. Magnus immediately slips a hand behind his neck to help him sit up until the fit stops.

“Do you need more painkillers?” Jace asks when Alec leans back, spent.

Alec shakes his head, his eyes closed.

“Alec. I can feel your pain.”

“I’m good,” Alec refuses stubbornly. “Magnus.”

“Yes, darling?” Magnus leans closer.

“That tether… It means we’re immortal, doesn’t it? That’s what you’re not telling us.”

Magnus swallows. “I think it might,” he admits. “Nothing’s certain, but—”

“Immortal,” Jace sighs.

Alec’s hand finds its way back to Magnus and he wonders if ‘I’m sorry’ is an appropriate response. Like immortality is an illness of some kind. Some days, it feels that way.

*

They don’t talk about it again until Alec is released from the infirmary. He’s still weak and in pain, but Isabelle and Maryse have caught him twice now trying to smuggle paperwork to his room to work, and he’s declared that he can’t stand the thought of staring at the same four walls any longer.

Magnus immediately volunteered to take him home and take care of him.

“Can you help me with this?” Alec calls from their bedroom, sounding disgruntled. As Magnus has learned in the past week, Alec hates asking for help. Really really hates it.

Given that he has no other choice, Magnus has been trying to make it as painless as possible. He finishes putting on his robe and walks out of the bathroom.

“What is it?”

Alec is sitting on the bed, stuck halfway through taking off his tee-shirt, with his still splinted arm getting in the way. His sling is lying on the bed beside him along with his pants. Magnus rushes over and simply banishes the tee-shirt, hand slipping underneath Alec’s arm to support it through the pressure change. “There,” he smiles.

“Thanks,” Alec grumbles. “I hate this.”

Magnus kneels in front of him and strokes his cheek. “I don’t,” he says.

Alec raises an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“I hate that you’re in pain,” Magnus elaborates. “But I’m really, really glad you’re alive. And I get to take care of you, which is a nice bonus.”

Alec leans into his touch, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he says.

“Scared doesn’t cover it,” Magnus sighs. “For a while there, I—” he chokes on his words, the memory raw in his mind. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought you were dead and I realized that I’ve never loved like I love you. That I can’t lose you.”

“I feel like that, too,” Alec says.

Magnus bites his lip. “The life I’ve lived, Alec… I’ve learned that we can survive anything. The pain, it stays, but… We live on. When we got together, I knew that you were going to die one day, that I was setting myself up for a lot of pain, down the road. I fell in love with you and I decided that it was worth it. And then you died. And it was...worse than anything I’d imagined.”

Magnus feels a tear run down his cheek. Alec leans forward to rest his forehead against Magnus’, burying his hand in Magnus’ hair. “I don’t know what I feel about being immortal yet,” he says. “But I know that I don’t want to lose you. Ever.”

Magnus lets out something that sounds almost like a whimper. He’s not sure if it’s retrospective fear or relief. “I love you,” he murmurs.

“I love you too,” Alec whispers. “I think...if I had been given the time to decide, the ability to choose...I’d have chosen to become immortal with you. To love you forever.”

“And now?” Magnus asks.

Alec stays silent for a moment, thinking. “I still get to do that,” he says. “It’s not my choice, and it’s going to be a little more...complicated, but I still get to be with you forever. And that’s an incredible gift.”

Magnus lets out a sob and leans forward to meet his mouth, kissing him gently. “Forever,” he murmurs.

#shadowhunters #malec #malec fic #alec lightwood #magnus bane #jace herondale #mine #echo's fanfiction #prompt fill #asks #ask meme #hmdiscord

[sivan325]

37 for Malec?

Of course, it was fun to write it. 2k words. Light angst, happy ending. Read on AO3 *-*

Magnus woke up late and looked around to see nobody around him. He heard his son giggling and his boyfriend laughing with him and left the bed, wandering around looking to see where they were.

When he did, his heart skipped a beat. Max and Alexander were sitting in the living room, playing. His boyfriend’s skin was blue like a Blueberry.

“Daddy, blue, like me…” Max giggled.

“Did you need to use paint for…?” Magnus asked as he looked at his boyfriend who was covered with blue paint and little Max, who was next to him, giggling.

“Look, I just want to do whatever is best for him, even if it means to be painted with blue,” Alec replied to his boyfriend, as he added, “We had a great day, why won’t you join us?” 

“I would love to, but I need to get back to work,” Magnus replied sadly as he noticed the sadness washing over his boyfriend.

“Come back soon, I can guarantee how I’ll be looking when you return,” Alec told him, smiling as he took their son and walked to another room.

Magnus sighed heavily; he would love to stay with his boyfriend who finally got himself a day off to play with Max, but he knew that he couldn’t have both. Ever since he became the High Warlock of Alicante, he barely got to see his boyfriend and his little Blueberry.

He portals to his office, wishing that his job would be over soon, the silence in his office making him yearn to be at home with them.

“What is troubling you, Magnus?” Lorenzo asked as he looked at him with concerned eyes.

The new friendship that he gained with Lorenzo eased his problems now and then, and he was glad that the older man and he saw eye to eye now. 

Magnus smiled sadly before he replied, “I sometimes wish that I could put my clients on hold to be with my family.”

Lorenzo smiled at him as he told him, “What is stopping you then?”

Magnus gestures with his hand over one big pile of papers that were on the table and some that were falling on the floor, and to the other pile with clients’ newest request.

“So…?” Lorenzo asked, not knowing why his friend looked so troubled.

“What do you mean ‘so’?” Magnus asked, looked at his friend with a dumbfounded look.

“You are the High Warlock of Alicante.” Lorenzo reminded him.

“I don’t understand,” Magnus told him, not getting what his friend implied, and then he looked back at the piles as he walked to sit on the chair, “I have work to do.”

Lorenzo looked at his friend, not knowing why he was not taking a break, did he not realize that he was the High Warlock of Alicante? He did wonder what was the cause of the change that his friend did not seem to understand.

“Oh, and Magnus,” Lorenzo remembered before he opened himself a portal, “Isabelle asked me to tell you that you are needed, I didn’t understand why, after all, I’m the High Warlock of Brooklyn now.”

And then he was gone, leaving Magnus alone with his thoughts and piles of papers.

 Wanting to work hard all day, he muted all his notifications and did not pay any attention to his phone all day, as clients often came to him for more advice and potions

At one point when he took out his phone just to check what the time was, he noticed that he had several calls from his boyfriend, his sister and brother in law, and much more texts.

He rolled down to the latest text from his sister in law, not knowing why she texted him. Didn’t she know that he had work to do?

[Isabelle to Magnus, 11:47 PM]

 Magnus Bane, where are you?

 [Magnus to Isabelle, 11:59 PM]

 Working, still am, btw.

 [Isabelle to Magnus, 00:15 AM]

 Should you not be with your boyfriend and your son?

Hold that, did you speak with Alec?

 [Magnus to Isabelle, 00:22 AM]

 No, you are the first one I responded to since I unmuted my phone. Why?

 [Isabelle to Magnus, 00:23 AM]

 Maybe you should speak to him. Also, I hate to text, can you call me?

 Magnus sighed heavily before he dialed.

 “Magnus, are you alright?” Izzy asked.

 “I’m good, I just need to sort out my piles of work, then I will go home to sleep,” Magnus replied.

 “Did you know that your boyfriend took a week off including the day that he was at home, your home, yesterday?”

 “No, did he tell you why?” Magnus asked, somehow his work did not matter at that moment.

 He wondered what the reason was behind his boyfriend taking off a whole week and not telling him.

 “No, he did not, I learned it from Jace who heard it from someone else,” Izzy replied to him.

 “Why won’t he tell me?” Magnus asked with frustration in his voice.

 “Magnus, did you eat and drink anything today?”

 “I conjured myself some coffee and other stuff, I guess I was lost in time. Do you know how much work I still have left?”

 “Oh, believe me, I know, even though I’m the head of the institute, I know, and I believe that your boyfriend knows as well since he is getting all the reports from other institutes.”

 “Then, I don’t understand, why would he take a week off, doesn’t he have to work?”

 “That you needed to ask him before even calling and texting me.”

 “I will, maybe I will do one better, portal myself home,” Magnus told her.

 “See that you do that, instead of working. Bye Magnus.”

 “Bye Izzy.” He closed his phone.

 He placed it on the table, watching the pile of papers that still lay on the table. Magnus knew that later on today he would have the same amount of paperwork and clients that will want to seek his help.

 Magnus sighed heavily before he opened his phone again, not even bothering to read his boyfriend's last text as he texted him.

 [Magnus to Alexander, 00:45 AM]

 I will be home late, do not wait up.

 Closing his phone shut, Magnus figured that his boyfriend was already in bed so there was no need to wake him up by entering the loft and that he could come in the early hours of the morning. It would give him a chance to finish the remaining paperwork, and he knew that Tessa wanted it to be done.

 Still working in the wee hours in the morning, Magnus felt very tired, not even noticing what he was doing as he covered his head with his hands and slept on the desk.

 Only to be woken by his phone vibrating next to him on the table. 

 “The High Warlock of Alicante speaking, what do you need?” Magnus asked, his eyes closed-back, not noticing who called him.

 “I need you, Magnus Bane, not the High Warlock of Alicante, and so does our son.” Alexander's voice crawled into his mind, waking him up from his slumber.

 “What time is it?” Magnus asked, weeping his eyes from the sleep web.

 “Close to 10 AM, I tried to reach you all yesterday and today, but you prefer to call my sister first and not me,” Alec replied, his voice shaking.

 “Oh, well, I’ll try to be home soon,” Magnus said, not knowing if he were trying to convince his boyfriend or himself.

 “Lie to me then.” With that, the call was over.

 Magnus looked at his phone, shocked and yet he felt completely awoken by those words. He could not believe that his boyfriend told him that, but he could sense that there was something wrong, Alexander's voice was shaking. He just hoped that nothing wrong had happened.

 He dialed another number, “Lorenzo, I need your help.”

 “What is it, Magnus?”

 “I need you to take some of my clients, my boyfriend needs me,” Magnus told him.

 “You do realize that you are The High Warlock of Alicante, right?”  Lorenzo asked, hoping that his friend would get the message.

 “I don’t understand, say what you mean clearly,” Magnus asked.

 “You can work from home and the clients can come by to your home if they want some help. Work at the office be damned, your family is much more important, Magnus Bane. You need them as much as your boyfriend and your son need you. Go get the hell out of your office and be with them,” Lorenzo told him, urging him to do so.

 Magnus smiled as he heard his friend talking to him like that, maybe he just needed the push to do it.

 “Thank you, Lorenzo.”

 “Don’t mention it. I’ll deal with the Lightwoods siblings while you’re gone.”

 “Wait, what do you mean deal with them? What are they going to do?” Magnus asked with concern in his voice.

 “Nothing you need to deal with. Now go be with your family, Bane.”

 Lorenzo hung up the phone, hoping that his friend would not go back to work.

 Magnus sighed heavily before he rose from the chair, tucked his phone in his pocket, took whatever he needed, and opened a portal home.

 As he walked through the portal, he could see that the house was in disarray, but his Blueberry was tucked closer to his boyfriend as they slept in the living room. The blue paint was still on his boyfriend's skin, but it didn't seem to bother him that much.

 Magnus used his magic to move them to the bedroom as he joined them.

 Alec could feel a hand holding his chest as he hugged the little one, not letting him go out of his sight. The little boy certainly grew a lot on him and he loves him so much, but he missed his boyfriend. As he turned around a little, he could see his boyfriend's face looking at him.

 “Mags?” Alec asked, “Are you really here?”

 “I’m here, Alexander,” Magnus replied and moved his hand to cup his boyfriend's face as he faced him, “I want to make up to you and Blueberry.”

 “You have two blueberries now…” Alec smiled at him.

 “Oh right,” Magnus smiled as he took the little blueberry and hugged him, “Papa is here.”

 “Papa… we missed you…” Max told him as he yawned.

 “I missed you too,” Magnus told his son and asked him, “What do you say we go and make daddy a large breakfast?”

 “Pancakes…” Max claps his hands, turning into a bat as he flies toward the kitchen.

 “Blueberry… wait…” Magnus hurried after the bat.

 Alec looked at them as he drifted off to sleep, still feeling tired. Max certainly was just as hyperactive as his little brother.

 The next time he woke up, he noticed that the blue paint was off his face. He guessed that Magnus had a hand on it. As he yawned, he heard Magnus calling his name from the living room. He left the bedroom only to see his boyfriend and their son sitting by the table, waiting for him to sit down with them.

 As Alec looked at the numerous plates on the table, he was shocked. He knew that he could not eat all of those, but he had his family next to him, and that was what was all-important right now.

 Alec ate as he helped Max with his food while his boyfriend also ate and looked at them with love in his eyes.

 After they finished, they moved to the living room and Magnus asked his boyfriend, “Since you have taken one week off, would you mind us taking a vacation with Blueberry?”

 “Actually, I took one week off to do something different with you and Maxie,” Alec replied to him.

 “What do you have in mind?” Magnus asked, not paying attention to his phone as it buzzed in the background and his screen kept lighting up with every call.

 “Aren’t you going to answer your phone?” Alec asked, with the hope that his boyfriend was not going back to work, but he needed to know so that he wouldn’t have any false hope.

 “I’m the High Warlock of Alicante, I can take some time off to be with my family.” Magnus smiled at him.

 Magnus could see his boyfriend's face changing as he looked much happier, “Are you alright, darling?”

 “I’m okay now,” Alec replied and added, “Now, where were we?”

 “Your idea and the week off,” Magnus reminded him.

 “Oh right, about that,” Alec told him as he told them his plans, and Max kept shouting with joy at his daddy and papa.

 The End!!! 

#ask me #prompt fill #shadowhunters #malec

[cuubism]

dissolution

part one: illusion  |  (read on ao3)

Malec | Rated M | hurt/comfort, monster-of-the-week, post-canon, angst w/ a happy ending

*cw: graphic depictions of violence*

4.5k words | Chapter 1/5

Summary: Over the course of his long life, Magnus has gotten pretty good at handling pain on his own, and this time is no different. He certainly doesn’t need Alec’s help dealing with it. He’s fine. He’s fine.

or: altered realities, traumatic experiences, and learning to let yourself be comforted

“And I could not believe that I would hurt you so terribly by going.” 

Magnus could have sworn he’d silenced his phone, but here it was, ringing on his nightstand, sharp and loud in the soft silence of his bedroom.

He cursed as he fumbled for it, hoping to quiet the ringing before it awoke—

“Magnus?” Alec’s hand found his thigh in the darkness as Magnus shoved himself upright. His voice was a murmur, long and drawn out with sleepiness. “Is everything okay?”

Magnus watched as his phone, now silenced, lit up again with the same number. The screen was bright enough to cast a diffuse blue glow over his face, his hands, their rumpled sheets, Alec’s expression, growing more distinct by the second as he woke up fully.

Apparently, everything was not okay, at least for whoever was calling. Magnus laid a hand over Alec’s where it still rested on his thigh, and picked up.

It was one of his Warlocks. Well, he really shouldn’t think of them as his Warlocks, not when he was no longer their leader. But they still called him for help, sometimes, instead of reaching out to the actual High Warlock.

Not that Magnus would ever tell this to Lorenzo Rey.

“Magnus,” the person on the other end of the line was saying, sounding panicked. “Magnus, I­— it went so wrong, it—”

Magnus recognized the voice as Lucy, a young Warlock that he’d tutored in a few complicated incantations—what felt like decades ago but was probably only six months or so. “Hush, dear,” he told her, voice soft—as much not to startle Alec as to comfort Lucy— “just tell me what happened.”

As she started to explain, Magnus was already sliding out of bed, magicking himself into street clothes. Lucy had tried to summon a memory demon to feed it— Magnus couldn’t quite glean what memories from her scrambled explanation— and it had escaped the pentagram. She had it trapped in a room of her apartment, but couldn’t manage to banish it.

Not a great situation, and one that Magnus wasn’t surprised was beyond the capabilities of a young Warlock to handle.

He sighed. His bed was calling him, but he couldn’t leave her to deal with her mistake alone. “I’ll be right there,” he told Lucy.

“What happened?” Alec asked as Magnus hung up. He was sitting up in bed now, watching fondly as Magnus puttered around the room, gathering a few things that he might need.

“One of my former underlings summoned a demon, and it escaped.”

“It escaped?”

Magnus stilled, looking up at Alec carefully. But whatever expression he was expecting to find on his face—I’m Head of the Institute and I must lay down the law, something like that—he didn’t find. Alec was merely looking at him with mild concern.

“Do you want backup?”

Magnus smiled sadly at him. “I appreciate the offer, but no. She’s just a well-intentioned kid, she doesn’t need trouble with the Clave.”

Alec winced, and immediately backtracked. “That wasn’t what I— I wasn’t going to report her. Just… have your back.”

As much as Magnus liked the sound of that, he didn’t think stepping out of a portal with the Head of the Institute on his arm would do anything to ease Lucy’s panic. “I appreciate that, darling, but I don’t want to put you in the position of having to keep a secret. This is well within my ability to handle, I assure you.”

Alec didn’t look too upset, he just nodded. He surely understood what Magnus wasn’t saying: that the Warlock community still didn’t trust the Clave, and liked to handle their own affairs whenever possible.

“Well, call me if you change your mind.”

Magnus blew him a kiss as he opened a portal. “Try to get some more sleep. Dream of me,” he teased.

Alec reached out to catch the kiss and press it to his heart, grinning. “Always.”

Magnus stepped into Lucy’s apartment.

Which was on fire.

He doused some of the flames as one started to crawl up his leg, cursing, spinning around to try to understand what was going on.

Furniture was shoved in every direction, scorched and toppled. All the lights had been blown out. There was a memory demon, he could sense it, pulsing and vibrating against the wards in one of the bedrooms. But there was also something else.

And Magnus was standing smack dab in the middle of a pentagram.

“Magnus!” Lucy shrieked, and Magnus spun to face her. She was cowering behind an overturned couch, cowering from— “I’m sorry, I had no choice!”

Footsteps behind him, an emanation of power—

“Don’t blame the young one,” a voice said, “she is only grieving. Who wouldn’t want to see their lover again, at any cost?”

Magnus turned around.

He never thought the appearance of a Greater Demon would be cause for relief, but that was what surged through Magnus’s body as his eyes locked with those of the being in front of him. Because for a second, he had thought, Asmodeus. But instead it was—

“Belial.” Magnus crossed his arms, affecting a nonchalance he didn’t feel. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

The demon paced around the edges of the pentagram. He was hard to look at directly, always shifting like a hall of mirrors, occasionally reflecting the faces of people Magnus knew, or had once known.

Bait. Magnus refused to rise to it.

Belial shrugged with a ripple of his strange body. “Oh, you know. I was in the area, figured I would drop in. Or drop you in, as it were.”

Magnus didn’t understand. He and Belial didn’t have a particularly strong history. Magnus had run into him a few times in his long life, but nothing to justify—

“What did you do to Lucy?” he finally realized to ask.

“Only offered her the grandest prize: a reunion with her dead lover. If she would lure in the High Warlock.” He smirked. “Needless to say, that reunion won’t be happening. Even I can’t bring back the dead, and if I could, well,” he shrugged at Lucy. “I wouldn’t.”

“I only wanted the memory demon, Magnus, I promise,” Lucy sobbed, “he just— he came, too, and I—”

“You believed what a master of illusions told you,” Magnus said.

Lucy was silent.

Magnus couldn’t really find it in himself to be angry with her. She was so young, and grieving a monumental loss. He couldn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t try something crazy, himself, if he were so desperate.

Something Belial had said was nagging at him. Lure in the High Warlock.

Wait.

“You’re looking for your son,” Magnus said. “Aren’t you?”

Belial sighed. “Yes, yes, I’m looking for Lorenzo Rey. And instead I got you. Funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?”

It was four in the morning, and Magnus was trapped in a pentagram in a burning apartment, all because some demon had snagged the wrong High Warlock. Life could be so incredibly annoying. He just wanted to go back to bed, and now he had to deal with this.

“Yes, funny,” Magnus drawled, reaching for his phone, because oh, right, Magnus was trapped in a pentagram, which meant Belial was outside the pentagram, which meant Belial was loose in the apartment, which meant a Greater Demon was loose in New York—

“None of that,” Belial said before Magnus could dial. He snapped his fingers, and the pentagram flared with purple flames. Magnus’s phone flickered and died as the wiring short-circuited, zapping his fingertips.

“Now, Magnus, I have a game I’d like to play with you, but before we start: do you have any information on my son’s whereabouts?”

Magnus had no love for Lorenzo, but that didn’t mean he was just going to hand him over to his father.

“Nope,” he said. “I don’t think I do.”

“I thought you might be difficult.” Belial stepped up to the edge of the pentagram. Magnus struggled to hold his ground.

“Just tracking him yourself too hard for you?” he taunted.

Belial shrugged. “This is more fun.”

His nonchalant persona vanished in an instant. Before Magnus could even see him move Belial’s magic was around his throat, squeezing—its touch burned Magnus’s skin, clashing with his magic—Magnus pried at the invisible grip, choking as Belial lifted his feet off the floor. He tried to summon his magic but it wouldn’t come, the pentagram—

“Tell. Me. Where. He. Is,” Belial growled. His eyes were a steady point of fire in his ever-shifting face.

“Fuck—” Magnus grit out, “—off.”

Belial snarled and tightened his grip, and Magnus was running out of air, and was he really going to die for Lorenzo fucking Rey?

He reached for his magic, he pushed against the pentagram’s barriers, he pushed, he pushed—

Magic exploded out of every pore of his skin, throwing Belial off, drenching the apartment in energy. Magnus collapsed to the ground, heaving in breaths, and looked around, and saw—

—a gap in the pentagram.

Lucy had crawled forward and scraped open a hole in the drawing, releasing Magnus. Then the burst of energy he’d released had thrown her back against the wall, where she now lay, still.

“No,” Magnus gasped, “no, Lucy—”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Belial was back on his feet, shaking himself together. He looked irritated.

Magnus shoved himself upright, swaying a little before he got his balance back. He called his magic to his hands. It looked like this was going to be an old-fashioned fight, after all.

Even with a… less human-looking one, like Belial, it was easy to forget what Greater Demons were. To assume their power was that of an average Warlock or demon. Magnus should have known better than to forget.

Belial didn’t hurl fireballs at him, like he had been expecting. He didn’t try to grab Magnus or bind his hands, as another Warlock might have done.

He lifted a finger, and reality warped around them.

The walls caved in, the firelight flickered and turned blue, the floor tilted, and Magnus felt himself slide, losing his balance, falling—

He put out his hands to catch himself, and saw that he had bloody claws instead of fingers, magic twirling out of them in fits and spurts—his bones hurt like he was changing shape—when he looked up at Belial again, it was his father who stared back.

It’s just an illusion, it’s just an illusion, it’s just an illusion—

He tried to remember what he knew about illusion magic as the floor kept shifting under him.

Find a grounding point.

He pictured Alec. Soft and rumpled less than an hour ago, as he caught Magnus’s tossed kiss.

He waited to see if the illusion would manage to twist this, too. It didn’t. Magnus poured all his remaining magic into the memory, solidifying it, focusing on it instead of on the roiling walls.

One of Alec’s arrows appeared in his clawed hand.

Whether he had summoned it from Alec’s quiver, or fabricated it out of magic and the atoms in the air, Magnus didn’t know. It didn’t matter. He solidified his grip, and plunged it into the floorboards.

The illusion shattered. Magnus lost his balance and fell as the floor suddenly straightened, the room returning to normal in a violent instant.

Belial, too, had been thrown off balance, but he surged forward on his hands and knees, teeth bared, ready to defeat Magnus by physical force if that was what it took.

Magnus scrambled backwards, raising his now-normal hands in defense—

The door flew open, slamming into the wall. Magnus barely noticed—Belial was on him, all mirrored eyes and sharp teeth, and Magnus shoved him away with all the ferocity in his bones—

There was a low, spinning fwoom, a thunk, and Belial’s eyes widened in comical surprise at the knife sticking out of the back of his neck.

Before he could say anything at all, he was a pile of dust.

Magnus shoved himself backwards, brushing the dust off violently, shaking. He didn’t think to look up until a pair of boots entered his line of sight, and a runed hand reached down to pick up the blade.

“Seriously, bro,” Jace said, “if you’re going to fight Greater Demons, you could at least invite me.”

It took longer than Magnus liked to admit to gather himself together. Jace offered his hand, and Magnus pulled himself up, straightening his jacket. “An oversight, Blondie, I apologize.”

Jace gripped his arm as he swayed a little. “Whoa. You okay?”

Magnus smiled thinly at him, pulled away, patted him on the shoulder. “Fine. Thanks to your convenient timing. How did you—”

“Map lit all up with the demonic energies radiating out of this place. Knew something was up. Didn’t know it was a Greater Demon, though.” Jace bounced on his feet. He looked like he was still vibrating with energy, still spoiling for a fight, never mind that he’d just banished Belial.

“You came to a fight alone?”

“Nah. Just outpaced my backup.” Jace grinned, feral, the expression perfectly fitting in the apocalyptic remnants of the apartment.

Running heels clicked in the hallway outside, and Isabelle burst into the room, whip at the ready. “Jace, you can’t just—”

She stopped as she took in the destruction and stillness—and in the middle of the stillness, Magnus.

“Magnus!” she rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug, tight and fierce despite her small stature. She pulled back and looked him over. “You were caught up in all this? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, dear. Though I’m not looking forward to cleaning up this mess.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll handle it.” She turned to Jace, about to say something else, but didn’t get the chance.

Someone moaned behind Magnus, and there was the sound of a body scraping along the floor. Before Magnus could even think of turning around, Jace’s blade was in his hand and he was shoving Magnus out of the way.

Oh, shit. Lucy.

Magnus guided Jace’s blade down. “She’s not a threat.” He went over to her, crouched down beside her slumped body.

“Lucy? Oh, I’m so sorry, are you alright?” He pressed a pulse of magic into her to restore her strength, was surprised to find she wasn’t seriously injured. Slowly, she sat up and leaned against the wall.

“Is— is he gone?”

“Banished,” Magnus told her, “yes.”

Relief broke over her face, but then she started to cry. “Oh God, oh God, I’ll never get him back now, I’ll never—”

“Hush,” Magnus said, pulling her into a hug, “hush. I know it hurts to acknowledge, but it was all just an illusion. Belial could never help you. He just wanted to take advantage of your grief.”

“I’m so sorry, Magnus, I’m so sorry, I didn’t summon him, I swear to God, I just wanted— I just wanted to feed the memory demon my memories of Marshall, I can’t take it anymore, I can’t bear remembering him and not having him— and then Belial offered—”

“I know,” Magnus said, holding her, “I know.”

When Lucy had calmed down, and retreated to her room to put herself together, Magnus turned to Jace and Izzy. “If it is alright with you,” he began, and it wasn’t really a question, “I would like for the Warlock community to handle this.”

They saw the steel in his eyes, and exchanged a glance. “Magnus, I want to accommodate that,” Izzy said, “but we can’t very well hide the demon popping up on our sensors.”

“Report the demon, take all the credit you want for banishing it,” Magnus said, “just leave Lucy out of it. I will ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Izzy hesitated, then nodded. She turned to Jace. “Did you call Alec?”

Magnus had been wondering where he was. Shouldn’t he have been alerted as soon as such a massive spike in demonic energy was picked up?

“No, wouldn’t— ah, shit. I knew that would come back to bite us in the ass.”

“What?” Magnus looked between the two of them, alarmed. “What would?”

“Normally, as Institute Head, Alec gets notified automatically whenever a strong surge of demonic energy is detected,” Jace explained. “But we, well.” He grimaced. “We sort of… reprogrammed the Institute computers not to do that.”

“You what?”

“Just for this weekend!” Izzy jumped in. She looked at Magnus imploringly. “It’s his weekend off, and he— he never takes time off, we didn’t want it to get interrupted.”

“Obviously we would have called him if there was like, a world-ending catastrophe,” Jace added.

Magnus sighed. In truth, he couldn’t blame them. He was just as dedicated to getting Alec to rest more, even if his methods were more seductive, and less deceptive.

“He does deserve the time off,” Magnus told them, and watched as Izzy planted her face in her palms. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“You’re just saying that because you understand. He’s going to kill us. Especially when he finds out that you got hurt when he wasn’t on call.”

And that… that was probably true.

“Isabelle, it will be fine. I’m fine,” Magnus said, trying to assuage her panic. Izzy looked at him critically, like she wanted to contest that.

“Well, no need to alarm him now,” Magnus continued. “I’m heading home presently; I’ll talk to him. I’ve decided I’m passing off the rest of this wonderfully fun excursion to the man whose actual job it is to deal with it.”

The room where the memory demon was still contained pulsed with a sudden burst of energy, and Jace jumped.

“Including,” Magnus said, “that fellow over there.”

“Is it secure?” Izzy asked.

“Oh, yes. It will be fine until Lorenzo arrives to banish it. No need to worry your pretty little heads.”

Magnus sent off a quick fire message to Lorenzo, informing him of the situation. Then, after a moment of thought, he sent another:

Heads up. Your father is looking for you. —M.B.

Magnus couldn’t do much to protect Lorenzo from Belial—and frankly, wasn’t particularly inspired to try—but he could at least warn him.

“Well,” he said, looking back up at Jace and Izzy, who were watching him with some concern. Magnus wondered what he looked like right now. A mess, no doubt. “It was lovely seeing you both this fine morning—” and it really was morning now, the sun starting to peek in through the windows “—but I must be off. Beauty sleep to catch up on, and all that.”

Magnus opened a portal, and winked at them, and two steps later he was home.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Early dawn light was spilling in through the sheer curtains of his living room, setting the dust motes aglow. Magnus really needed to reactivate his cleaning charms. They’d expired more than a week ago, but he’d been too busy and preoccupied to do anything about it.

Magnus could smell coffee drifting in from the kitchen, which meant Alec was awake. He wasn’t normally an early riser on his days off, which likely meant he hadn’t gone back to sleep after Magnus had left.

Magnus felt momentarily transfixed by the swirling dust motes, the bite of the coffee, the humming he could hear from the kitchen as Alec bustled around. The blue flames, the tilting floor, Belial’s metaphorical hands on his throat. He pictured the loft warping around him, golden light going green, soft fabrics sharpening, bricks collapsing in on themselves. His father’s voice, an echoing laugh.

He blinked. Same old loft. Same old Magnus.

He went into the kitchen. Alec was standing at the counter, hair fluffy from sleep, wearing a sweatshirt whose sleeves were too short (one of Magnus’s), pouring a cup of coffee. As Magnus stepped through the doorway, Alec turned to him with a soft smile. “Coffee?”

—and nearly dropped the mug he was holding.

Between one blink and the next Alec had placed the cup down on the counter and crossed the kitchen to be right in front of Magnus. He gripped Magnus’s shoulders, and he was scanning him, increasingly alarmed, and Magnus wanted to fall asleep between his hands.

“What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt? I thought you said this was a simple problem?”

“Yes,” Magnus began. “It was supposed to be.” He eyed his husband, trying to predict Alec’s reaction to what he was about to tell him. “Alexander… before I explain, I need to make sure you understand two things. One, I am fine. Two, I didn’t lie to you earlier. I believed— I was told— that this was a minor incident.”

If anything, Alec looked more concerned than before. “Okay? Magnus—”

“It wasn’t just a memory demon.” Magnus took a deep breath. “Lucy summoned Belial.”

Alec sucked in a harsh breath, and then his hands were on Magnus again, tighter, pressing down, looking for injuries, confirming that Magnus was whole and alive. He pushed Magnus’s singed jacket off his shoulders, and then he was running down Magnus’s shirt, looking for—Magnus didn’t know what. Blood, or the absence of it. Or maybe just touching. He was leading him over to the couch, sitting him down. Magnus let him, and kept talking.

“By accident, mind you. She really is a well-intentioned young woman, just going through a tough time right now. Belial made her reach out to me. Actually, you know, he wanted Lorenzo, can you believe it was just a ridiculous misunderstanding? Lorenzo owes me several drinks after this…”

He was rambling, and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop himself. And Alec was listening, but also not, his hands trying to run over every inch of Magnus’s body, and it was grounding, in a way, because Magnus’s bones might no longer be shifting under his skin but that didn’t mean he felt like himself.

“…so, after we banished him,” he continued, and Alec looked up.

“We? You and Lucy?”

“No,” Magnus said, “Jace.”

“Jace? Jace was there?”

“In the nick of time,” Magnus said, and it was really hitting him now, how close he had come to— he didn’t know what fate. “Right in the nick of time. He saved me, Alec.”

Alec stared at him with an indecipherable expression, jaw working.

“He saved me,” Magnus repeated. “It was close.” And that was about as close as he would get to admitting he felt shaken.

Alec was quiet for a long moment. Then his hands were on Magnus’s jaw and he was pulling him in—rough, fingertips dragging on skin—and crashing his lips into Magnus’s.

Magnus gasped at the suddenness of it, and Alec swallowed the sound, pulling him closer, closer, until Magnus had to climb into his lap to achieve that, which he did, straddling Alec’s thighs, grounded by the solidness of him. This couldn’t be an illusion, an illusion would be perfect, and this had an uncomfortable real edge to it: the sharp drag of Alec’s stubble, the too-hard pressure of his fingers, the burn in Magnus’s lungs as he drank, and drank, and drank of Alec’s mouth, and didn’t come up to breathe.

Magnus wanted that edge of pain, needed it. He moved Alec’s hand to his hair and urged him to pull, and Alec did, but not hard enough. He didn’t bite Magnus’s lip, or suck a bruise into his neck, or do anything else Magnus wanted. It was as though Alec couldn’t bear to hurt him any more than he had already been hurt, little though that was.

And then Alec’s hands moved to his neck, ever so gentle, and pain flared down Magnus’s body, and he gasped, and his glamour dropped.

And Alec flinched.

Magnus was moving off him before he even knew what he was doing, shame and hurt rolling through him like he had never—

Alec grabbed his arm and held fast.

Magnus yanked.

Alec held firm.

“Let me go—” Magnus snapped, and then he realized. Alec wasn’t looking at his eyes.

He was looking at his neck.

“Magnus,” he breathed, “what…?”

Oh, yes. The burns. Magnus must have glamoured them automatically, hadn’t even realized he was doing it. And while he was incredibly relieved that Alec wasn’t having the long-awaited adverse reaction to his Warlock mark, he didn’t particularly want this either.

He pulled out of Alec’s grip, and stood. This time Alec let him go. “A minor injury,” he said. “Belial’s magic reacting to mine.”

He could see Alec thinking, watched as understanding clicked through in his brain. “Oh, Magnus…” He seemed at a loss.

Alec reached for him, and Magnus shifted away, uncomfortable, trying to disguise the motion as nothing. Alec dropped his hand.

“They will heal on their own, in time,” Magnus assured him.

“That wasn’t what I— never mind.” Alec looked down at his hands, forlorn, picking at the skin. When he looked back up, his expression was resolute. “So you said you banished Belial. There’s probably still a lot of work to do to clean this up, right?”

“I believe your sister has it covered,” Magnus said.

“My sister? You mean Izzy’s involved in this, too?” Alec’s jaw flexed, he looked pained, and when he spoke again, his voice cracked, previous resolve crumbling into ash. “Am I the only one who didn’t know this was going on?”

“It’s okay,” Magnus said, trying to head off the imminent spiral. “We took care of it. It was under control.”

“No, it wasn’t, Magnus. You yourself admitted that it wasn’t under control. I’m— I’m not blaming you for what happened! But don’t try to pretend like you just waltzed in there, and it was all easy, and nothing bad happened.”

Magnus blinked. “We handled it.” He reached up to rub at his stinging neck, unconsciously, but dropped his hand when he saw Alec’s eyes follow the movement.

Alec looked shattered. Barely anything had even happened to Magnus, and he looked shattered.

“You were out there, almost getting killed, and I was just… here,” Alec said.

“Killed? Alec, please, I can handle—”

“Yeah, Magnus, almost killed. I’m not trying to traumatize you further, but that sure as fuck sounds like what happened.”

Traumatize?

“Alexander.” Magnus approached him slowly and rested a hand on his arm, hoping to steady him. “I’m fine. A little banged up, maybe. Nothing that won’t heal.”

It had the opposite effect that he wanted. Alec jerked away from him, shaking his head. He turned away as if the mere sight of Magnus was unraveling his control.

And Magnus… Magnus didn’t know what Alec wanted from him.

“Alexander…”

“Why,” Alec said suddenly, looking at his phone, “the fuck wasn’t I notified?”

“Ah.” Magnus wandered back towards the kitchen, finally picking up that cup of coffee Alec had offered what felt like ages ago. The first sip was incredibly restorative. “That may have also been your siblings’ doing.”  

“Explain.”

“They turned off your Institute notifications. They wanted you to have a nice weekend.”

Alec’s hand clenched around his phone, and he grit his teeth, looking like the weight of several worlds was on his shoulders. “I’m going to kill them. I am going to kill them. They’re on ichor duty for the next seven years, I swear to God.”

“Yes,” Magnus said, “they thought that might be your reaction. Go easy on them?”

“No,” Alec said, and his eyes were on Magnus again, on his burned neck, his filthy clothes, his hands that were holding the coffee mug with the slightest tremor. “I don’t think I will.”

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

part one of five. updates on weekends

read part two here

#malec #malec fic #shadowhunters #My writing #dissolution fic

[hopesilverheart]

Title: I loved your colours (before I loved you) Artist: @calliartss​ Rating: Explicit (Chapter 10 only) Pairings: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Clary Fray, Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood Word Count: ~95k Summary: Magnus Bane is a journalist who's always dreamed of modelling for Lightwood Fashions. When the CEO Alec Lightwood starts looking for new models for their spring collection, he jumps on the occasion.

In the meantime, Alec Lightwood is struggling with the idea of finally announcing his role as co-designer. When Magnus Bane strolls into his life, Alec is torn between keeping his secret or throwing all caution to the wind.

This fic was created for the Malec Discord Mini Bang 2020.

Chapter 3: You lie a million little times

Magnus still couldn’t quite believe he was about to do this.

A week and a half had passed since his audition at Lightwood Fashions. A week and a half of having an official contract as a model. A week and a half of planning and phone calls with his new managers and running around trying to handle both his job at Fade Media and his increasingly busy schedule with Fray.

He had never been happier. And now he was going to make his life even better by quitting the job he had hated all along. This way, his new team would never have to find out about his past with their competing Media company. Not that he thought anyone would judge him for it, but he would rather not have to speak about it again. Ever, if he had anything to say about it.

He knocked on Lorenzo Rey’s office door, a smile on his face. His boss called him in less than a second later, and Magnus let himself in, dropping a pile of files and loose paperwork on the man’s desk.

“What is this?” Lorenzo asked, pushing the pile aside with a frown. “Have you finally decided to catch up on all the work you’ve been missing this past week? You’ve always been one of my best employees, Magnus, but you’ve been letting yourself go lately.”

“I have indeed,” Magnus nodded, smirking smugly at his boss. “I’m quitting, Lorenzo. I signed all the necessary papers with Fade this morning, but I thought I would stop by and say goodbye to you, too. Those papers are all the articles I started over the past month but won’t be able to finish, as well as advice for the colleagues I actually like. I wish I could say it was a pleasure working with you, but I’d be lying. Good luck trying to find someone as good as me to fill the spot I’m leaving behind.”

“You’re quitting?” Lorenzo exclaimed, eyes wide and fists clenched over the edge of his desk. Magnus’ smile widened at the man’s obvious distress. He had always known he was a vital part of the company, but it was nice to get confirmation from his boss himself. “What on earth possessed you to do such a thing? You can’t have possibly found a better job than the one you currently have. The only company that surpasses us is… No.”

“Oh yes,” Magnus grinned. “I was offered a contract by the Lightwoods and I would be a fool to refuse it. Your competition is about to crush you now that they have me on their side.”

“You’re their new Head Editor?” Lorenzo asked. Magnus almost opened his mouth to correct him, but then he saw the fearful look in his former boss’ eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time his pride got him in trouble. Instead of denying it, Magnus shrugged nonchalantly, staring down at his nails. “I can’t believe it. I thought Maryse was still looking for someone, but I guess she wanted to keep this particular coup de maître under wraps. Damn it, Bane, do you have no loyalty?”

Magnus tensed and narrowed his eyes at Lorenzo, anger simmering underneath his skin.

“Not to you, no,” he seethed. “You have treated me like an errand boy for the past few years, acting as though you’re so much better than me for getting the position I rightfully deserved. I have worked harder than anyone in this office, you included, but was still pushed to the side because of my ex’s pettiness. So no, Rey, I don’t have loyalty when it comes to the people in this company. The Lightwoods were eager to give me the promotion I’ve been denied here, and I would have been a fool to refuse it.”

It wasn’t all a lie. He would have been a fool to refuse the contract Lightwood Fashions had offered him. However, that wasn’t what Lorenzo thought he was talking about and Magnus knew it. He just didn’t want to be mocked for his life choices. He may not be leaving to become Head Editor, but he would still be happier with Fray and her team than he had ever been here. He didn’t need Lorenzo throwing that happiness in his face by telling him modelling wasn’t a proper career.

“Well then, I look forward to seeing your pieces in their rag,” Lorenzo snarled, dismissing him with a single wave of his hand.

The man’s last words echoed inside Magnus’ mind as he walked out of the office, out of the floor, out of the building. Lorenzo was expecting to see Magnus’ name in future Lightwood publications. If he didn’t, he would undoubtedly figure out that Magnus had been lying about his position and new job.

That was something Magnus was desperate to avoid.

It took him a while to figure out what to do about it. He walked around aimlessly for what felt like hours, barely aware of what was going on around him. He knew what the easiest and most logical solution was. He could easily avoid Lorenzo forever and pretend like he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Sure, his former boss would probably figure out what Magnus had been up to eventually, but hopefully he would have forgotten about his claims of being Head Editor by then.

However, Magnus wasn’t always the most logical person out there. He was fiercely competitive and more than a little resentful about the years he had spent locked in an office that didn’t reflect all the work he put in. So, instead of putting together a rational plan that would keep him out of Lorenzo’s way, he came up with another idea.

An idea which, in hindsight, was absolutely terrible. He knew, even as he pulled out his phone to call Raphael, that he would regret it later. The truth had a way of coming out, and this plan was tempting fate to do just that.

Once again, Magnus wasn’t claiming to be completely logical.

“Magnus, what is it?” Raphael asked him, sounding harried. “I’m a bit busy, so please make this fast.”

“I need a tiny favour,” Magnus answered immediately. He had planned on explaining everything to his friend and maybe have him talk him out of his terrible plan, but… “Do you have Isabelle Lightwood’s number?”

A pause, then a shuffle. Magnus hadn’t even realised Raphael was in a loud room until the background noises disappeared.

“Why on earth do you need Isabelle’s phone number?” Raphael sounded suspicious, not that Magnus could blame him. Whilst his question was seemingly innocent, his friend knew him well enough to understand something else was going on. “I swear Magnus, if you’re trying to get into Alec’s pants already, I’ll make sure the entire office knows about it.”

Magnus scoffed indignantly. Yes, he found Lightwood ridiculously attractive, but he wasn’t about to ask him out so soon after meeting him. He wasn’t even sure the man was interested, for heaven’s sake.

“It’s not about her brother,” Magnus rolled his eyes, hoping his friend couldn’t sense it through the phone. “I swear, I just need her number for friendship purposes. She’s a nice woman, we got along well the few times we talked, we’re going to be working together a lot, and I just want to talk to her. Is that so hard to believe?”

The answering yes was silent, but Magnus heard it anyway. Once again, he understood why his friend was so suspicious, but he didn’t want to argue with Raphael about a stupid phone number all day. He had other things to take care of, and he couldn’t do that if he didn’t have a way to contact Isabelle.

“Fine,” Raphael sighed after a few seconds of silence. “But I don’t want to be blamed for anything if this is another one of your hare-brained schemes. I like my job, Magnus, and I don’t want you to screw things up for me because of some weird seduction you have planned.”

“Once again, not a seduction!” Magnus exclaimed, stepping into his apartment building – he wasn’t even sure when he had gotten there – and taking out a pen to scribble Isabelle’s number onto the back of his hand. “But thank you for this, Raphael! I’ll buy you dinner or something later, I promise!”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Raphael sighed, hanging up without waiting for Magnus to answer.

A good thing, too, since Magnus would have had to lie to satisfy his friend. Whilst he had done stupider things in his life, this definitely ranked in the top ten. Part of him wished Raphael hadn’t been busy so he could talk Magnus out of his plan, but another – bigger – part of him felt like fate was telling him to go through with it.

So he threw himself onto his sofa and pulled up a new contact, typing out a message before he could talk himself out of it.

It was foolish and would not end well, but Magnus didn’t let himself think about it too hard. He didn’t let himself think about all the ways in which this could go wrong, all the ways in which it was wrong. Instead, he told himself it was his way of making a point, of proving he could achieve what everyone had denied him over the years.

Pride, he told himself again, would be his downfall.

He sent the message to Isabelle and didn’t let himself second doubt his words.

***

The coffee shop Isabelle had asked him to meet her at was on the same street as the Lightwood building. It was bigger than what Magnus was used to at his usual coffee shops, but it was light and airy and the man at the counter had been nothing but kind to him, so he let himself enjoy the few minutes of calm left before the storm. A storm he was bringing upon himself, but a storm nevertheless.

“Magnus!”

He looked up from his phone and sent his most convincing smile Isabelle’s way. He couldn’t let her know something was up from the very start. What he was about to ask her was more than a simple favour, and he needed to make sure she wasn’t about to spill his secrets before he told her anything.

“Isabelle, thank you for meeting up with me on such short notice,” he greeted her, watching her wave the barista over. The blond man rolled his eyes at her but came up to them anyways.

“Izzy.”

“Jace, my favourite brother in the world, would you please bring me my usual drink,” the brunette batted her eyelashes at Jace – her brother, apparently, not that Magnus could see the resemblance. “I promise I’ll pay you later.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure of it,” the blond barista grinned, going back to the counter and – presumably – getting Isabelle’s drink ready.

Once that was done, the brunette turned back towards Magnus and grinned at him widely. To her, this was probably nothing more than a meet-up between two people who wanted to get to know each other and become friends. Magnus felt bad for having to lie to her and use her for his own gain, but she was his only shot at making sure Lorenzo didn’t find out about his tiny, white lie.

“I wasn’t aware you had another brother,” he started, glancing at the barista again. The two of them looked nothing alike, though he knew better than most that family wasn’t always a question of blood.

“He’s adopted,” Isabelle chuckled. “Our parents took him in when we were younger, and he’s been a part of our little family ever since. He’s the only one who didn’t want to work in the family business, hence the coffee shop.”

“It’s very nice,” Magnus said stiltedly. He wasn’t usually this bad at small talk, but his nerves were getting to him.

“It is,” Isabelle hummed. “Now, how about you tell me why you’re really here? I’m never one to turn down coffee with an acquaintance, but I have a feeling there’s more to this than a casual encounter.”

“You’re not wrong,” Magnus winced.

He hadn’t wanted to jump straight into the thick of things, but Isabelle clearly wanted to get to the point of their meeting. Once again, Magnus took it as a sign of fate that this was the right thing to do.

“Tell me, Isabelle, do you know where I work?” he asked, wanting to see how much Isabelle and the rest of the Lightwood team knew about him. Out of everyone, Isabelle was the one most likely to have heard of him before, and therefore the biggest liability. “Besides Lightwood Fashions, of course.”

“I assumed you worked for another media company,” the brunette shrugged. “Although my brother and the fashion team are under the impression that you work for Lightwood Media, for some reason. Did you purposely mislead them, or did they come to that conclusion themselves?”

“I never mentioned the company for which I worked, but I didn’t tell them I worked for your mother,” Magnus shrugged. He truly hadn’t wanted to lie about his job, although he hadn’t wanted to talk about his position at Fade Media either. “I didn’t know they would assume I worked for Lightwood Company already. However, that might- It might work in our favour if you agree to help me with this slightly insane plan I have in mind.”

“Insane plans?” Isabelle asked, her lips twitching into a mischievous smile. “Those are my favourite kind. Good thing you came to me and not anyone else on the team, because I’m pretty sure they would all have stopped listening as soon as you mentioned a plan.”

“Lucky me,” Magnus grimaced. “I would really appreciate your help, but I’ll also understand if you can’t help me with this. It’s a little bit… I wouldn’t say illegal, because I don’t think it is, but it would definitely involve a lot of lying and covering things up and a few manipulations here and there.”

Isabelle cocked her head to the side as though she was looking for something on Magnus’ face. He didn’t know what it was but, when she shrugged and nodded after a few seconds of examination, he figured that he had passed her test. It wasn’t acceptance, since saying yes to something before knowing the details would have been a stupid thing to do, but it wasn’t a rebuttal either.

“I told my former boss that I was quitting my company in order to come work for the Lightwoods,” Magnus explained slowly, glancing down at his coffee, and fiddling with the cup in an attempt to settle his nerves. “I didn’t tell him I was joining as a model, so he assumed your mother had hired me as her Head Editor for the Media side of things. I’ve been vying for that spot within my former company for years, so I understand why he assumed that. The thing is, I sort of hate this guy, so I didn’t…”

“You didn’t deny it,” Isabelle finished for him, looking torn between exasperation and amusement. “Oh god, Magnus, you are so screwed. Head Editors are mentioned all over our magazines, so there’s no way he won’t notice you’re not on there. You should have just told him the truth, it would have been a lot less humiliating than what you’re going to go through when he realises you lied.”

“About that…” Magnus grimaced, hoping Isabelle would catch his train of thought. He really didn’t want to talk about his half-assed plan out loud, especially since he knew it would probably sound a lot worse in words than it did in his head. “That’s when you would come in, if I were to put my plan into effect.”

“Where I- no,” Isabelle gasped, her eyes widening comically. “Magnus, please tell me you’re not implying what I think you are. Are you asking me to put your name into our magazine even though you don’t work for us? Because if you are, I’m not sure that’s something I can do. My position is pretty good, yes, and I have access to a lot of things thanks to my mother, but if someone found out…”

“No one would have to find out!” Magnus exclaimed, desperate to get her on his side. “Look, your brother and the fashion team already think I work for you, so it’s not like they won’t believe it if we tell them I was recently promoted. From what I understand, your mother is really only involved with the administrative side of things, so I’m sure you could come up with a cover story, and… And I could still do the job, alright? I know I can’t get paid unless your mother actually hires me, but you could tell her this is a test run of sorts.”

“You want me to tell my mother I’ve found us the perfect Head Editor and convince her to put you on a trial period?” Isabelle repeated, her eyebrows raised and her lips pressed together. “All the while telling the rest of the team, both Media and Fashion, that you were officially hired a few weeks or months ago? Do I have this right?”

Magnus winced again. He had known it would sound terrible once someone laid it out in front of him. Instead of calling the whole thing off, however, he only nodded affirmatively. It was a crazy plan, but it was his crazy plan, and the only way to make sure no one let the wrong thing slip out at the wrong moment.

The only person who would know the full truth was Isabelle, and probably Magnus’ friends since he couldn’t keep anything from him. The rest of the Lightwood employees would just assume he had been there for a while but had only recently climbed up the hierarchical ladder and, by the time someone looked into it, Maryse would have hopefully hired him. It wasn’t perfect, but he had done worse in the past.

At least he had been sober when he had come up with this particular plan.

“Look, I know this sounds insane,” Magnus sighed, chuckling mirthlessly at Isabelle’s dubious gaze. “Fine, it sounds downright impossible to pull off, but I promise it isn’t. The hardest part of this whole thing is getting your mother to agree to have me on a trial run. However, I’m quite sure I could convince her if you really can’t.”

“This is absolutely crazy,” Isabelle groaned, resting her head in her hands and shaking it for a few seconds before looking back up at him. “You do realise people won’t take it well if they find out you’ve been lying to them, right? Being a model means maintaining a good relationship with your team, and if anyone figures out you’ve been lying about something as important as your job…”

“They won’t,” Magnus said decisively. “The only people who will know about the deception are you, your mother, and myself. My friends will probably figure it out too, but they won’t tattle.”

“I want to help you, Magnus, I really do,” Isabelle said after a few seconds of silence. “I think you’re a good guy, and I believe you’ll be an amazing model for this collection. On top of that, my brother already likes you, which is a miracle in and of itself. I’m also sure you’d make a wonderful Head Editor, but this… You realise if this comes out, people will paint you as someone no one can trust, right?”

“I know,” Magnus told her seriously. “But look, the place where I used to work… Lightwood Media is my only chance at getting a better position than the one I wanted over there. It’s my one shot at proving I’m as good as they knew I was, my one shot at proving they should have promoted me from the get-go. If this works out, I’ll have everything I ever dreamed of having, and Lightwood Media will have the best goddamned editor in New York City. Your brother will still have his model, and it’ll be even easier to work around my schedule if I’m part of your Media team. I know the fallout could be horrible, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“If my mother agrees,” Isabelle added.

“If your mother agrees,” Magnus nodded. “Although she can’t know I’m doing this as a way to get back at my boss. As far as she’s concerned, I’ll have to be nothing more than an amazing editor who quit his job just to join her team.”

“That’ll definitely appeal to her ego,” Isabelle hummed thoughtfully.

As soon as he saw the calculation and determination in the brunette’s eyes, Magnus knew he had won her over.

“So you’ll help me?” Magnus bit his lip, glancing at Isabelle hopefully. “Even though this is insane and probably a terrible idea and will more likely than not end disastrously?”

“I will, even though everything you just said is absolutely true. The things I do for people, I swear. You’re going to owe me a lot, Magnus. I want free coffees on my desk every morning and shopping days with you as well as your unconditional friendship. Also, you have to promise me you won’t drag me into anything crazier than this, because I’m not sure I could handle it.”

Magnus nodded, knowing very well she deserved all of that and more for what she was going to do for him. He thanked whichever god had created Isabelle Lightwood and thrown her Magnus’ way, because he wasn’t sure he could have made it through this impossible situation without her.

He also thanked whichever deity had given him a friend who was just as insane and reckless as he was. In between Raphael, Catarina, and Ragnor, Magnus usually got more speeches bringing down-to-earth than offers to help. Not that he could blame his friends, given how crazy he got sometimes.

“Thank you, Isabelle,” he murmured, squeezing one of the woman’s hands with both his own. “Seriously, this means the world to me.”

“Don’t mention it,” the brunette grimaced. “Seriously, let’s not talk about this ever again. I’ll get you your trial period, and you’ll start working on Monday. Feel free to tell everyone else you just recently got promoted, but don’t mention that god-awful plan ever again.”

“Works for me,” Magnus shrugged, eager to change the subject. He racked his brain for a topic and grinned widely when his thoughts strayed back to a particular redhead. “So, want to talk about your crush on Clary Fray instead?”

Isabelle’s face turned bright red, and Magnus burst out laughing. Perhaps the beginning of their friendship was a bit strange, but he didn’t doubt Isabelle and he would get along perfectly.

***

He got a text from his new friend and colleague less than a day later, confirming his new job as Head Editor. Apparently, Maryse Lightwood and Isabelle didn’t always get along, and the elder saw this as a way to get back on her daughter’s good side. Magnus wasn’t about to complain about the subtle bribing, not when it meant he was officially an employee of Lightwood Media. Or at least, as much as he could be for now.

“What’s got you looking so relieved?” Catarina asked him, raising a curious eyebrow at him and gesturing towards his phone. “Got a date with that hot boss of yours?”

“A date with Lightwood?” Magnus asked, frowning. He had barely even seen his new boss. Fray and the man spent their days locked in their offices, probably getting ready for the collection and the photoshoots and everything else that needed to be organised. “No, although I did just receive amazing news from his little sister.”

“Ah yes, your fellow model. What good news would this be, then?”

Magnus froze, suddenly realising he hadn’t told Catarina about his plan. He hadn’t wanted to alarm his friends too soon, especially not since his position within the Lightwood Company hadn’t been confirmed yet.

And perhaps he also hadn’t wanted to deal with their judgement and disappointment whilst he was still trying to sort out his own warring feelings. He could already imagine the exasperation on Catarina’s face, the frustration on Raphael’s, and even the amusement on Ragnor’s. He could also perfectly imagine what they would tell him once they found out what he had done.

“The delightful Isabelle may or may not have gotten me a job at Lightwood Media,” Magnus started, not wanting to reveal too much too soon.

Catarina’s face lit up, a congratulations undoubtedly at the tip of her tongue, but Magnus saw the moment when she realised something was off. She snapped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes in his direction, clearly not believing this was just some innocent job at the bottom of the chain. She knew him too well for that.

“Magnus, what did you do?”

“Always so suspicious,” Magnus sighed dramatically, though he dropped the act when Catarina failed to laugh. “Alright, I may or may not have concocted a bit of a plan with the lovely Isabelle. It’s not my fault, though, I swear! It’s just that Lorenzo was being so smug about me quitting and then I mentioned the Lightwoods and he assumed I had been hired as their Head Editor, and I…”

“And you let your pride get the better of you again,” Catarina completed for him, groaning and burying her face in her hands. The gesture reminded him of Isabelle’s reaction and Magnus had to hold back the completely inappropriate giggles that almost spilled past his lips.

“It’s not that bad, alright? The fashion team already thought I was a part of their media company, so they won’t suspect anything. The media team will be fed some white lie about me wanting to keep my importance a secret for a while. And Maryse Lightwood herself accepted to put me on a trial run. Isabelle may or may not have misled her about a few things, but it’s all clean and real. I actually do have somewhat of a job there.”

“One that you got because you convinced your new friend to help you out of a sticky situation,” Catarina pointed out. “I know you wanted that position badly, Magnus, and I understand why you didn’t want Lorenzo to think any less of you, but you do realise this could go horribly wrong, right?”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Magnus sighed. “Look, I’ll admit I could have come up with something a little smarter and a little less impulsive, but Lorenzo threw me off guard and I reacted before I could sit down and think.”

Catarina shook her head exasperatedly, but at least she didn’t comment on his stupidity and lack of forethought any further. She clearly didn’t agree with his choices, but she wasn’t about to repeat herself a hundred times, especially since the deed had already been done.

“Raphael is going to be so mad,” she said a few minutes later, once she had downed the rest of her wine. “He gets along well with the Lightwoods, and if they find out and think he was involved in this whole mess…”

“I’ll make it clear he wasn’t if it comes to that,” Magnus waved her concerns away. “Raphael means too much to me for me to throw him under the bus like that. If possible, I’ll even try to keep Isabelle out of it. I’m the one who came up with this entire plan, and I don’t want anyone else to pay for my poor decision making.”

If anything, that only seemed to annoy Catarina further. Her brows furrowed deeply and she pursed her lips as she always did when Magnus said something she didn’t appreciate.

“I hate that even when you do these dumb things, you’re still one of the best people I know,” she breathed out. “But just so you know, this is one of the most idiotic plans you have ever come up with.”

“Yes, yes, I’m aware of that,” Magnus smiled at his best friend sheepishly. “What can I say? I love a good challenge once in a while. But this isn’t all bad; I’m getting a new friend out of it, for one, and I’ll get to show Lorenzo up, even if things come out eventually. On top of that, I get a job at a place I actually love, which is exactly what you’ve been telling me I need all along.”

“And I stand by that,” Catarina sighed. “I just wish you didn’t have to lie and manipulate your potential future boss to achieve your goals.”

“Oh please, what’s one small lie in the grand scheme of things?” Magnus chuckled. “The probability of people finding out is a lot lower than the probability of this remaining a deep, dark secret for the rest of my life.”

“For your sake, I certainly hope so.”

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #fanfic #my writing

[silver-lily-louise]

No Competition - a Shadowhunters fanfic

Summary:  On her bad days, when she's feeling uncharacteristically insecure, Izzy worries about the feelings Simon used to have for Clary. When she confides in Alec, he realises that he and Magnus have never really addressed his childhood crush. Or the small fact that Alec still shares part of his soul with that very person.

A/N: There is NO Jalec in this fic. It’s just Malec having a chill conversation about Alec’s past crush, and Magnus feeling so secure in their marriage that it honestly doesn’t faze him. Please enjoy! <3

Read it on AO3, or below!

~oOo~

Alec’s position as Inquisitor doesn’t often bring him back to New York. It’s a little eerie wandering through the familiar halls, noticing the subtle ways they’ve changed in the months since he was last here. The lights seem a little starker, and the air a little warmer – but then again, perhaps he’s just grown too used to the soft glow of Alicante, and the northern winds that chill the streets of Idris.

The most notable difference is also the most intangible, and it takes him a moment to realise what it is. The wards. He and Magnus celebrated their first anniversary not too long ago, and his husband’s magic is a comforting, familiar hum over most places Alec finds himself these days – his office in Alicante. Their loft. Magnus’ arms at night. The same used to be true of the New York Institute, but in Magnus’ absence, Izzy’s obviously had to call in another warlock to maintain the wards. Most probably Lorenzo, Alec’s brain supplies; though whether that realisation is born of his fleeting familiarity with Lorenzo’s magic, having wielded it in Edom, or whether it’s just sensible to assume the High Warlock of Brooklyn is the one maintaining the wards, Alec isn’t sure.

He pauses a moment, clearing his head, and knocks on the door of an office that was his not so long ago. ‘Come in,’ Izzy calls, and Alec steps inside.

Izzy looks up from her desk with a smile, and stands to wrap Alec in a hug. ‘Hey, you. I wasn’t expecting you so early.’ ‘I thought we could get lunch before the meeting this afternoon. By some miracle, Lydia’s briefing actually ended ahead of schedule,’ he explains. That’s another weird fact of his life, now – his friendship with Lydia, which is warm and light-hearted despite their complex history. Alec often ribs her about the thoroughness of her briefings; she never goes over the allotted time, of course, but she’s infamous for being one of the only people to consistently use it to completion. I’ve found it’s important to take my time and get all the facts straight, she said once, a trace of amusement in her expression. I remember that once, I was at a particularly important political ceremony – and if I’d rushed it? If I’d reached the end before it could be called off? Well, right now I’d be married to someone who was completely wrong for me. I’m actually pretty sure he was gay. Alec had glared at her, trying to stop his traitorous mouth from twitching upwards to return her smirk. (Magnus had made no such effort, chortling in delighted earnest.)

‘How’s Simon?’ Alec remembers to ask, before he can get too lost in his own head again. Which immediately stops being a problem, because Izzy’s hesitation and hastily-covered unease seize all of his attention. ‘He’s good,’ she says, too brightly. ‘Yeah, he’s good.’ ‘Izzy.’ It’s not a question. He raises an eyebrow, in a way that he knows Izzy will correctly interpret as Come on, you’ve gotta know by now that I can see right through you?

Izzy meets his gaze defiantly – Magnus has always insisted that Lightwood stubbornness is genetic, though he admits that wouldn’t explain Jace – but after a few seconds, she sighs in mild defeat. ‘It’s nothing,’ she insists. ‘It’s stupid.’ ‘Maybe it is,’ Alec says with a shrug, ‘but if it’s bothering you…’ He trails off, because despite how far he’s come in terms of healthy communication, he’d still rather leave certain things – such as I’m always here if you need to talk – unsaid, as long as they’re understood.

Izzy’s always understood him better than most. She drops down into a chair, gesturing for Alec to take the one next to it. ‘It’s stupid,’ she says again, ‘and I know it is, because things are going great with Simon. He’s sweet, and kind, and I trust him.’ She’s silent for a moment, and Alec prompts her. ‘But?’ ‘But,’ she sighs, ‘I’ve had a long week, and I’ve barely seen him because he’s helping Clary readjust to the Shadow World. Which is great,’ she adds hurriedly. ‘Obviously, I’m so, so happy she’s back.’ Me too, Alec thinks, because his brain doesn’t have nearly as good a poker face as his demeanour. ‘But she and Simon… I don’t know,’ Isabelle continues, seeming a little frustrated now. ‘I’m not usually like this, and I probably wouldn’t be if I wasn’t so swamped here. But I can’t help thinking… it’s Clary, and Simon was crushing on her for years before I was even in the picture. No matter how good we are together, how can I compete with that kind of bond?’

Alec’s not sure what to say to that, so instead he just stands up, and pulls Izzy into another hug, feeling her lean heavily against him. ‘I could always ask Magnus to threaten him,’ he offers. ‘He thinks the world of you, and after eight centuries to perfect it, I bet he gives an incredible shovel talk.’ Izzy laughs, pulling away, and Alec feels himself smile. Mission accomplished. ‘It’s okay,’ she says. ‘Like I say, I’m just tired, or this wouldn’t even bother me. I trust Simon. And Clary, too.’ She wanders over to the coat rack, draping her jacket around her shoulders. ‘Now, you mentioned buying me lunch?’ Alec frowns. ‘Who said I was buying?’ He shakes his head in mock-disapproval. ‘Honestly, this Institute’s hospitality towards official visitors really has slipped, hasn’t it?’ They bicker like that all the way to the diner. Alec keeps an eye on his sister, pleased to see that she rarely stops smiling the whole time.

***

Alec wants to toss and turn, frustrated with this stupid insomnia, but he doesn’t want to wake Magnus. He sighs, his eyes not so much heavy as stubbornly being refused the luxury of opening again. Izzy’s words have been echoing around his head for hours, ever since he portalled back from New York – and now, lying in the dark without any distraction, they threaten to consume him with worry.

Simon was crushing on her for years before I was even in the picture. No matter how good we are together, how can I compete with that kind of bond? Alec’s hand shifts down to graze absentmindedly against his parabatai rune, and he sighs again.

He didn’t realise it until Izzy confessed her moment of insecurity, but Alec and Magnus have never really talked about Alec’s old crush on Jace. Magnus obviously knows about it – it’s one of the first things Magnus said to him, and it was maybe the first time Alec had ever been told that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Since then, they’ve been through hell together in every figurative and literal way, and throughout it all they’ve had such a whirlwind romance that there’s barely been time to think beyond I love you and I want you and always.

But now, Alec’s thinking that maybe they should have made time for this particular conversation. Though nowhere near as all-consuming as his almost-immediate feelings for Magnus, Alec’s crush on Jace was long-lasting and pretty damn significant throughout his younger years. And yeah, with the benefit of hindsight, he’s fairly certain it wasn’t even about Jace for the most part, besides the initial attraction; it was Alec needing an outlet for all his repression and shame, directing that side of him towards someone who he knew wouldn’t immediately hate him for it. And, if he’s honest, towards someone who he couldn’t have – so that he could hide behind that, instead of risking developing feelings for a more viable option, and then having to face them head-on.

But even if it wasn’t a typical crush, it wasn’t nothing. And Magnus surely has to know that Alec loves him, there’s no way he could think otherwise – but he’s been hurt before, too many times for any mortal to count. What if on the bad days, the ones when even the spark of Magnus’ magic seems to dim a little and the years seem to weigh heavy in his bones, he’s thinking along the same lines as Izzy after a long week? Remembering how Jace’s image appeared in front of Alec when they summoned the memory demon? How a part of his husband’s soul still belongs to a man he had a crush on for about a decade?

Alec resists the urge to sigh again, but Magnus’ breathing hitches anyway, and Alec rethinks – yet again – his semi-serious theory that his husband is at least a little psychic. He watches as Magnus’ face scrunches, his eyes shifting between gold and brown as he blearily blinks them open. ‘Alexander, what’s wrong?’ Alec huffs out a miniscule laugh. ‘Who says anything’s wrong?’ Magnus frowns, gently swatting at him. ‘Try again. Your thoughts are much too loud for everything to be alright.’

Alec swallows, wondering how he should phrase his concern. ‘Does Jace bother you?’ he blurts out, before wrinkling his nose in self-annoyance. Okay, in terms of tone, they’re apparently going for blunt and graceless.

Magnus’ eyes widen in surprise. ‘What?’ he says, a small, incredulous smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. ‘He’s annoying, sure; but he’s your brother, that’s essentially his job. Plus, since we moved, and he doesn’t just… show up at inopportune moments anymore, I’ve grown to like him a lot better. It seems he’s much more palatable in small doses.’ He laughs quietly – but when Alec doesn’t join in, his expression turns a little more serious. ‘Alexander,’ he says earnestly, ‘I knew your mother when she was still a Circle member. Never in a million years did I think that one day I’d be friends with Maryse Lightwood, but here we are. Trust me when I tell you that of my in-laws, your slightly-irritating parabatai is hardly the tallest hurdle to jump.’

Alec just shakes his head. ‘No, it’s not that. It’s not just that he’s annoying, or the, uh… boundary issues,’ he says, ignoring Magnus’ smirk because this is far too serious a conversation for him to use the term cockblock. Alec groans, settling back further into his pillow. He wishes he’d never brought it up, but it’s too late now. ‘I was talking to Izzy, and she was feeling down, because Simon was so busy with Clary that she hadn’t seen him much. And she started talking about how – you know, how he used to feel about her, and the… bond that still exists between them. And I just… I just didn’t want…’

Thankfully, Magnus’ face lights up in understanding, and Alec lets the sentence die unfinished. ‘Ah,’ Magnus says. ‘You’re worried that I may feel the same way?’ ‘Not worried,’ Alec says tiredly, looking up at the ceiling. ‘Just… I know it’s weird. And I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.’

There’s a few beats of silence, and then a hand is gently guiding Alec’s gaze back to his husband, who’s smiling softly. ‘Alexander,’ he murmurs, ‘it’s alright. I promise.’ He presses a chaste kiss to Alec’s lips. Alec’s eyes stay fixed on Magnus’ expression as they part. ‘Yeah?’ Magnus nods, still smiling. ‘Yeah. You’ve accepted my past without quarrel – well,’ he amends, when Alec arches an incredulous eyebrow, ‘with far less quarrel than I’m accustomed to. The point is, we moved past all of that. What kind of hypocrite would I be if I couldn’t get over you having a childhood crush?’

‘But it’s different,’ Alec insists, wishing he could just accept Magnus’ answer at face value and hating that he has to protest. ‘Jace is still in our lives. He’s still a part of me. That doesn’t weird you out?’

Magnus looks away for a moment, and even though he knows an instant platitude wouldn’t be enough, Alec’s heart lurches a little. ‘I’ll admit,’ Magnus says slowly, ‘that I don’t fully understand the emotional ramifications of a parabatai bond. I’m not a Shadowhunter, so it’s likely that I never will.’ He meets Alec’s eyes again. ‘But it doesn’t matter, because I trust you.’

Alec holds his gaze for a moment, a little overwhelmed. Magnus smiles again, more brightly now. ‘Besides,’ he says, shifting gracefully until he’s straddling Alec, hands either side of his head, ‘let’s review, shall we? You left Lydia at the altar. You pissed off Clave officials more times than I can count. You asked Stanley to turn you into a vampire so you could get to Edom; and when you managed to get there anyway, despite that brilliant plan falling through, you told me in no uncertain terms that you would stay there with me. Forever.’

He leans closer, his breath ghosting over Alec’s lips as he chuckles softly. ‘Not to mention, there were all those times you reminded me of that old superstition – how did it go? Ah, yes: Nephilim love once,’ he says, in a poor approximation of Alec’s voice that makes him smile helplessly anyway. Magnus’ smile widens in response, his eyes shining bright and golden. ‘Alexander, I hope you didn’t think you were subtle. Why should I worry about anyone else intruding on this side of your life, when any idiot could see how smitten you are?’

Alec leans up, closing the distance between them with a soft kiss, one full of promise. ‘Well, I guess you’ve found me out,’ he murmurs, a little breathless. ‘So I s’pose there’s no point denying it. I love you.’

Magnus gasps in exaggerated shock. ‘What a coincidence,’ he breathes. ‘I happen to love you too.’

It’s a long time before they get up and start their days, and the last thread of doubt in Alec’s mind settles. After all, it’s hard for anyone to be jealous when you feel like the only two people in the world.

~oOo~

#shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanfic #malec #malec fanfic #shtv #shs #alec lightwood-bane #magnus lightwood-bane #isabelle lightwood #mine

[deamaia]

top 10 under appreciated malec scenes 👀

anon…… anon….. anon you really want to listen to me talk about under appreciated malec scenes knowing that i TALK? Ok :)! in no particular order

1.

this entire scene and the one that follows are so good and almost no one talks about them :(( they don’t deserve that. you have first of all malec in the morning, we see how casual and comfortable they are with each other, then you have that weird sexual talk about shampoo the voice alec uses? girl that wasn’t about shampoo at all, “hold that thought” and then alec’s smiles????? hello??? and then the one after lorenzo leaves where alec finds out he is gonna be marrying into royalty and then he completely changes his demeanor from loving supportive boyfriend to soldier ready to break into someone’s house but still keeps his sweet magnus voice ugh the excellence

2.

this damn scene. the kiss is under appreciated magnus is head over heels in cloud nine. but like the entire context of the scene? alec forgot about dinner and magnus instead of being angry he just goes there to see if everything is ok and is like “no problem love we can have dinner right here” and then makes a whole ass romantic fancy table dinner appear just because he wanted to enjoy a quiet night in with his boyfriend can you hear me sobbing

3.

this scene right here. magnus is so used to people just making up assumptions about him or people leaving him after finding out about him or his past. he doesn’t even look at alec when he says “i hope you don’t think less of me” for having a prince of hell for a father and alec is so confused because to him there’s nothing that would ever get him fall out of love with magnus his “are you kidding?” is so funny to me because this boy seriously cannot fathom not being head over heels with magnus no matter what 

4.

maybe not the whole scene but the bit where magnus talks about valentine and he says to alec “you said total transparency” and alec nodds? chef’s kiss babey. they are such a team and alec is there to support magnus no matter what, he just stands back and let’s him tell something traumatic because it’s his to tell and no one else’s, and even if he knows the reactions it will cause he is behind magnus during every second. and it also shows how much magnus trusts alec and how much they both understand each other… magnus just asks that and then alec nodds and it’s magnus’ moment only. they have a relationship where they are both equal and they respect each other sm 

5. 

listen listen listen the parts of this scene where they are alone? are so damn good ughhhhhh but when they are talking about their first date… they forget about the disgusting talk alec just had with his mother, they forget about every single problem, they are just excited to go on their first date and they are so happy and relaxed with each other… and if you pay attention to alec’s eyes he keeps glancing down to magnus’ lips…  like boy you just made out in front of everyone at your own wedding calm down a little bit

6.

the scene isn’t under appreciated at ALL but this moment is and i will never shut up about it because FUCK i don’t know how to describe this moment tho that’s the problem, it’s something you have to see and listen to to understand just how good it is. alec starts reading the invitation and once he gets to magnus’ name he melts, his voice gets softer and he turns to look at magnus, he just has so much love for him and you can listen to it, and then you have magnus looking at alec back.. the Hearteyes the Talent the soft connection they have… it’s seriously one of the softest malec moments but you can’t describe it you have to see it 

7.

this entire scene ugh i love it sm. first you have alec seeing magnus all glammed up and he is like wow which cute and then you have alec all excitedly entering the door and you can see him getting ready to kiss magnus it’s adorable also magnus 100% grabbed his butt in that moment i know it in my heart then you have magnus being worried about alec and he is like im safe im with the high warlock of brooklyn remember and they are so cute and flirty but then the fight ojsidfhs that damn fight is so good. the timing for everything is perfection magnus is confused because why would alec bring up a killing during such a lighthearted moment between them? and then alec just drops the bomb that he needs to test magnus’ dna and magnus ofc believes he doesn’t trust him and once again alec is putting the clave before him, and then alec is like “let’s not be over dramatic” because he doesn’t understand why what he is asking for is so bad, and then magnus king of my heart makes sure to be as over dramatic as possible, alec again not realizing that what he just asked for is sick he is quick to want to get close to magnus again, smiling and being like “thank you for understanding” and magnus is like no bitch gtfo and it’s so good because you can see magnus’ frustration and hurt and alec not understanding for a moment but then you see him getting it and uhgihsdoa it’s just so good i love it

8.

magnus is so confident and so ready to get this man he just calls him like “hey remember when your brother almost died yesterday lmao fun you wanna go get a drink” and then alec is Ready to go he is so flabbergasted at first and he is like “that sounds fun” keep in mind this boy was deep in the closet but he still wanted to go out with magnus :’) and magnus didn’t waste any time he wanted that date Now and alec was gonna say yes but then clary did her clownery and alec couldn’t go and then magnus being like “i love a challenge” bitch first of all hell yeah he wanted to pursue alec but the implication that making alec love him is a challenge oidshoidshfa hello? sir that boy is Whipped 

9.

maybe it isn’t a malec scene but listen underhill asks alec if he wants to play and alec says no and do you know why he says no? because that’s his and magnus’ thing it’s something so mundane and dumb that only the two of them share with each other, it’s their go to date do you hear me sobbing… also you know he is thinking about his first date with magnus because in the following scene he starts reminiscing of it and it’s obviously a very sacred memory to him :((((

10.

i love this scene. alec goes to talk to magnus and their conversation is kinda awkward but comfortable like they can just naturally talk even if something bad has happened between them. the smile alec gives him after magnus says how he got his energy back and then, they talk about the demons like that’s actually what he went there to talk about, because they know there’s something under the layers, and then alec cant even take a sip of his drink because he just cant keep putting it off and he just comes out and asks if they can talk and he leaves first and magnus just chugs his drink because he knows the talk is gonna be Something hieofhasoidf such a good natural scene that had hidden meaning in it 

#long post #lmao yes please lmk if i should put this under read more so that no one has to see it unless they want to #Anonymous #ask

[normal-thoughts-official]

Eros and Psyche aus are pretty common, I've seen a few Malec ones, but consider, Apollo and Hyacinthus. Beautiful, gnc immortal being with a lot of failed relationships? Pretty mortal from an important family who thinks the society he lives in needs to change? Hella amgst? Lorenzo can be Zephyr, angry because Magnus 'gets everything he wants' and he 'doesn't deserve to be happy'. For the flowers there are species of roses called Alec's red roses (pinkish red) and Alexander roses. (orangey red)

n i c e tho imma be real ill need that to have a happy ending fifndkdndkdmdk but yeah ur right they do fit the characters

other deeply unexplored greek mythology au idea is hades and persephone, like.... hello? when magnus was stuck in edom and alec said he'd go and be there with him? that's the first thought that came to mind. like the angels intervene or something and they end up with the six months at a time deal or something. and it fucking sucks because Magnus doesnt fucking want to be in edom. its slightly more bearable when Alec is there, but still, he misses the people, the food, the world, his family. and edom is filled with terrible memories, he told asmodeus that being there again was his worst nightmare, so like. good amgst

and he hates that he's there, hates every second, has terrible nightmares with the worst memories from his abuse and childhood that wake him up in a fit of sweating and thrashing, hoarse from screaming, and when he wakes up and sees where he is? he wishes he was still in that dream

and Alec knows it, and hates it, because Magnus is there dealing with this alone for over half of the year, and he can't see the things that he loves anymore. Magnus was always so lively and intelligent and curious, he liked to travel the world, meet people, learn new languages, read about new cultures, invent things, study. the world was always Magnus' canvas, to be created as well as explored, possibilities and knowledge and he just loved it so much?? and now he's kept away from it all. and no one but Alec can even visit because it could disrupt the rift. he only gets to hear from Raphael, or Cat, or Madzie, through Alec. it's hell. i mean obviously but. it's even worse

meanwhile as soon as Alec sees himself back in the real world hes just. so angry. he's tried everything, even bargaining to take magnus' place, because magnus doesn't deserve to keep losing everything for Alec, he should be able to make a sacrifice too, Magnus shouldn't be forced to live in a nightmare like this...... and he doesn't sleep, doesn't eat, just throws himself into research on how the fuck to get Magnus out of there, to bring him back where he belongs, god damn it, because Magnus deserves the entire world at his fingertips, and the world deserves Magnus back, because without him it's like there's nothing

and when the day comes that Alec finally gets to go back to edom, when he can finally rest even if for a little bit, because even if he's getting nowhere there'll be something he can do for Magnus, keep him company, give him love, tell him everything he's missed and bring him presents and news from his friends and family, hold him, make his life a little better, protect him... he's so fucking relieved, and so is Magnus, and Magnus hates that he's relieved because he's just dragging Alec with him to his nightmare, what is wrong with him, is he so rotten that he thrives in bringing people down with him to this nightmare, does he want to take it from Alexander, who has his family and friends too, dull his light and hurt him, is he becoming like his fucking father-

except as soon as Alec gets there he runs to Magnus, desperately, barely able to breathe, and all but leaps on him, holding him so tight and smiling once he feels him in his arms, acting like its the first time he's breathed in months. and it feels so good, Magnus can barely handle it, because even if he's still in hell, at least he feels loved

besides, there's always that doubt at the back of his mind, telling him that maybe this time alexander won't come. maybe he's finally done with this, tired of wasting his life with Magnus, who has nothing to offer him but more and more broken pieces of himself. but he does come, and when he does, he looks like he's in heaven, not hell, simply because Magnus is there and he can finally be with him, take care of him. and it's not- it's not what Magnus wants, and it's not enough, because he's still trapped and hurt and bleeding inside, but when Alec hugs him for the first time, it feels like it

and the last day of Alec's in edom is always so. franctic and desperate, Alec not wanting to let him leave his side for a single second, holding him tight, handling him so gently Magnus feels like he'll break from the carefulness of his touch, and he says goodbye between kisses, holding magnus' face, promising him that he's gonna keep looking, that he's not going to give up, he's not, he's not, he promises, Magnus won't be there long, Alec will get him out, no matter what it takes, he promises- and then he's suddenly gone and everything is empty and Magnus chokes up and cries. and Alec, back on earth, screams and punches his punching bag until his knuckles are bleeding, in deep frustration and hurt and that feeling of being so useless, too useless to help Magnus, too useless to even be there with him, even though he promised, he promised his forever, and he promised he wouldn't let Magnus be hurt again

and Magnus stays in edom and cries and wakes up from the new nightmares instinctively reaching for his side, like he's gotten used to in the last few months, and then chokes up as he realizes that he's alone again, that he can't even have that semblance of comfort he used to for these few months, and this time it might be for real, because Alexander has to give up eventually, doesn't he?

so he moves on and tries to busy himself and keep the world safe, and, if possible, try to make edom at least a little better. he keeps his presents and hopes against hope that he'll see his family and friends again

until one day, he wakes up thrashing, not from nightmares, but from this weird dizziness and pain, like he's going to throw up, like he's been poisoned, and when he sits up, he feels himself be yanked back, and he blinks, and he's on his loft. and Alec is laughing and looking so relieved, izzy by his side holding his shoulders, and Madzie and Raphael both leap on him, smiling and crying at the same time, because they'd missed him so bad and god it's worked, Magnus is back, he's back and saved and edom is sealed and no one will ever have to be there again. and Cat also hugs him, and then izzy and finally Alec, laughing as he holds Magnus' face and kisses him so gently, and Magnus smiles through tears, and thanks them, for not giving up on him, for being there. and its so emotional and ddmdodm for the first few days raph and cat and madzie are all glued to magnus' side, catching up, telling and retelling the same stories Alec had told him a thousand times, but they all relish in it, telling them again and again until it starts to feel like Magnus was there. and the family is back together, and they're all okay, and that's all that matters

#i went off #sorry #ask #anonymous #sh #shadowhunters #malec #malec fic #malec ficlet #malec hc #magnus bane #alec lightwood #raphael santiago #catarina loss #madzie loss #brotp: i'll do whatever it takes to protect them #long post #overflowing trashcan