Chapter Text
Magnus was almost positive that he had destroyed every clock in the loft, yet he swore he still heard the incessant ticking coming from somewhere. The sound had been grating against his nerves all morning, and he was sure that he would lose his mind if it didn’t stop soon. He turned from staring at the ceiling to looking out the window, pillowing his hands under his head. He watched the clouds slowly drift across the bright blue sky, trying to get his brain to stop increasing the fear that was becoming more and more noticeable in his chest with each passing day.
It had been over two weeks, and not a single word had come. He didn’t know what he had expected. It wasn’t like he wanted Alec to call him in the middle of fighting off the Circle. But he had thought he would hear something, anything, about what was happening by then. He had barely slept since Alec left, the memory of the last words he spoke replaying over and over in his head like a broken record.
His wide, hazel eyes shone with a determined light that Magnus had seen plenty of times before, but something about them was different in that moment, heavier than usual. He wore a crooked smile anyway, as if he knew exactly what would light Magnus’ insides on fire with affection and wanted to keep him warm while he was gone. He held the omamori charm up and took Magnus’ hand, placing it in his palm and wrapping his fingers around it. “After everything that happened with the Soul Sword I promised myself that I would never lie to you again. I don’t care if I have to crawl home. I’ll find my way back to you. I always do.” With one last lingering kiss and a quiet, “I love you,” he was gone, and Magnus clutched the charm as though it was the only thing keeping him upright.
He held it in his fingers then, twisting it around and around as though it contained the solution that would bring Alec back to him. Magnus wasn’t used to not having the answers. He had lived for centuries with the knowledge that just the snap of his fingers could bring him almost anything he wanted. Then, he had finally found the one thing that magic couldn’t control- love- and it felt as though the universe was hell-bent on keeping it out of his grasp. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door open, or the soft footsteps that traveled closer and closer to the bedroom. He only looked up when he heard a small, breathy chuckle sound from the doorway, and he was sure his heart stopped completely when his eyes landed on that wide, lopsided smile that he loved more than life itself.
Alec had a cut above his eyebrow that seemed to be healing already, but other than that he appeared to be unscathed, and Magnus was speechless. For so many days he had assumed the worst, tried to prepare himself for the utter destruction of his heart, yet there Alec was, handing the rapidly beating organ back to him like it was foolish to ever worry.
“You’re back,” Magnus said, and he wanted to slap himself for stating the obvious, but he couldn’t seem to form any sort of coherent sentence in that moment. Alec nodded, his grin still huge as he slowly walked over to where Magnus was now sitting up on their bed. He reached out as soon as he was close enough, pulling Magnus to his chest tightly. Magnus could barely breathe, but he also couldn’t care less, every cell in his body singing with joy.
“I had something to prove,” Alec joked, speaking softly into Magnus’ ear, and Magnus let out a tearful laugh, burrowing his face into his boyfriend’s neck. He took in the feeling of Alec’s body against his, the smell of sweat and earth and everything that made Alec who he was, and after over two weeks he took a breath of relief.