Chapter Text
Magnus finds him on a rooftop near the docks.
He doesn’t approach him, doesn’t even make himself known; but he knows that Alec hears him, if only for how his grip tightens almost imperceptibly on his bow, as if fearing that Magnus would try to magic it away. Given the blood dripping from his wrist and the rather impressive puddle on the concrete floor, it is a well-founded fear.
An arrow slices through skin and air before finding its target in a small explosion of sparks, illuminating the night sky.
“Track me?” Alec’s voice is as blank as the water, gleaming in the distance.
“Jace told me,” Magnus says softly. He watches as Alec nocks another arrow. “He called me. Said that he couldn’t find you.”
The air before them lights up with another tiny flare.
Magnus slowly makes his way over to where his boyfriend stands, too close to the roof’s edge for his liking. He isn’t sure how long Alec’s been here, but it’s long enough that his knuckles are coated in a thick layer of semi-congealed blood. His hands are shaking.
Sympathy and love rattle Magnus’s lungs. He lifts a hand.
“Don’t.” Alec’s voice is harsh, cracking with fatigue. It is staggering, how hard Magnus has to fight the urge to take him in his arms and portal them someplace far away from here, far away from the responsibilities weighing too heavily on too young shoulders.
Alec reaches for another arrow. Blood trails down his wrist and drops onto the ground. Magnus is pretty sure he can see slices of loose skin.
“You should go,” Alec murmurs, taking aim.
This, Magnus knows, is not something he can fix. Not even with magic. But he is sure as hell not leaving Alec alone when he’s like this, either.
“I’d rather not.”
“Magnus—”
“Let me be here for you, Alexander, in whatever way I can. Please.”
Alec swallows. He nods, once.
They stand shoulder to shoulder, the only sound Alec’s arrows as they cleave through the air. They stand there until the sun peaks up over the horizon, until the tear-tracks on Alec’s face have long since dried and his hands are shaking so badly that he can barely keep hold of his bow.
When Magnus places a gentle hand on his arm, this time, the bow clatters to the ground. Neither of them says a word.
Together, they watch a new day dawn.