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Alec's world dipped and swayed as he walked, his consciousness wavering with every step. He wasn't completely aware of where he was going, only that he had to make it before he passed out. He was somewhere in Brooklyn, that much he knew. He had run into some demons on his patrol, and had almost made it out unscathed, until one jumped out at him at the last second before he left. He thought he had gotten them all. His side felt warm where the demon's claws had sunk into his skin, but the rest of his body was shaking from the combination of the brisk fall air and the venom spreading through his bloodstream.
His mind was a blur, unable to focus on anything for more than a few seconds, and it was a miracle he was still moving forward at all, but he had to get there. He didn't know where there was, but his feet guided him nonetheless. A pair of golden eyes swam in his vision, shimmering as though they were under water, and he followed the sense of peace they gave him until he was suddenly at the top of a set of stairs. He lifted his hand to knock on the door in front of him, knowing it was his only safe haven, but everything around him seemed to fade away before he could, and darkness swept over him.
Time lost its meaning for a while, ceasing to exist as Alec stumbled in the pitch black, surrounded only by empty space. He held his hands out in front of him, expecting to hit a wall or reach an end, but the path he was on seemed to be infinite. The silence was disturbingly eerie, the inky world around him drowning him. Sometimes he thought he saw flashes of color, streaks of blue magic, flashes of brown and gold eyes, a glimpse of a wide smile and crinkled eyes, but every time he tried to focus on them they disappeared instantly as though they were never there at all. Despite the fact that his journey seemed never-ending, he kept walking, simply because he knew there was something- someone- he was walking toward, no matter how far away it was.
He woke to the sound of hushed voices, quiet but harsh, and immediately felt at home. He had grown up hearing noises like that all the time- his parents arguing quietly in his father's office when they thought everyone was asleep, angry members of the Institute stomping down the hallways after a long night of fighting, and when they were older, Isabelle whispering on the phone with her boyfriends- and it calmed him. When he finally forced his eyes open they were immediately met with blue silk sheets, and the name that popped into his mind at the sight caused warmth to flood in his chest.
Magnus.
The hushed voices stopped then, and it was silent for all of five seconds before the door crashed open. Jace was the first one through, his eyes wide as they met Alec's. Isabelle was behind him, her entire face lit up with a smile that could stop the entire world in its tracks. She pushed past Jace and walked to the bedside, grabbing Alec's hand and squeezing it tightly for a moment before letting go and slapping his arm.
"Ow," Alec said, or rather, whispered because his voice didn't seem to be working properly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What was that for?"
Isabelle glared at him, shaking her head as she picked up a glass of water from the bedside table and offered it to him. He moved to sit up and winced, pressing his mouth into a thin line as pain shot through his side and down his body. He took the water from her and drank the entire thing in one go, suddenly realizing how thirsty he was.
"You were unconscious for five whole days, big brother. That's what it's for." Alec's mouth dropped open at the words, and Isabelle shook her head, averting her eyes as Jace walked over.
"We thought you weren't gonna make it at first," he said, his attempt at being nonchalant extremely obvious. Alec couldn't think of what to say, his mouth still slack with shock, until he finally said the only two words that came to mind.
"I'm sorry." Both of his siblings rolled their eyes simultaneously, and Alec almost had the urge to smile then. He knew that he had scared them, but he was glad that they didn't hold it against him.
"If there's anyone you should be apologizing to, it's Magnus. You scared the crap out of him. He found you facedown in the hallway outside of his door. It took him a full ten minutes to clean all of your blood off the floor. He must really love you," Jace said, and just the mention of his boyfriend's name sent Alec's heart into a frenzy. "Speaking of which, we should probably go so you can talk to him. He's dying to see you, but he wanted us to have a little bit of time first. So please do us all a favor and stop almost dying on us."
He squeezed Alec's shoulder, sporting his usual smirk, and then turned and headed for the door. Isabelle followed after him after telling Alec one more time that she was really glad he was okay, and just like that they were gone. The loft was silent for a moment and Alec squirmed, remembering the darkness he was submerged in, but then Magnus was standing in the doorway, and those brief flickers of hope rushed back to him all at once.
Streaks of blue magic, flashes of brown and gold eyes, a glimpse of a wide smile and crinkled eyes.
It was all there in front of him, in Magnus. His glamour was gone in that moment, his cat eyes wide and vulnerable as they took the fact that Alec was awake. He seemed frozen to the spot, his fingers twisting his rings over and over again in a nervous attempt to calm himself. His gaze never left Alec's, though, and after a minute Alec couldn't stand the quiet anymore.
"Hi," he said, and he knew that it was a stupid greeting, too blasé and simple, but it seemed to break Magnus out of his thoughts. His eyes promptly filled with tears, and Alec felt his heart shattering with every second that they weren't touching. He lifted his arms, motioning for Magnus to come to him, and he complied. One minute he was standing in the doorway, and the next his face was buried into Alec's neck, tears wetting his skin and shaky sobs leaving his throat.
"I'm sorry," Alec repeated over and over, his heart wrenching with every shuddered breath that left his boyfriend's lungs.
When Magnus finally calmed down, he lifted his head and met Alec's eyes again, resting his hand on his cheek as though he needed to make sure he was actually real. He looked for a moment, and slowly but surely his lips began to curl up into a smile. It was small and crooked, but it was there, and Alec felt like every cell in his body was lighting up, turning him into something brilliant. That's always how he felt with Magnus' eyes on him, like he was being lit up from the inside out, his blood replaced with streams of gold and his nerves with exploding stars. Magnus took all of the dark, broken parts of Alec and turned them into something worth admiring.
"I love you," Magnus said, and just like that any memory of the darkness Alec had felt before was washed away. "But if you ever do that again I will revive you just so I can kill you again."
"Noted, and I love you, too," Alec said, then leaned over and kissed his boyfriend with the knowledge that he had his entire world underneath his fingertips.