Work Text:
“Gladstone, take your team and make sure the perimeter is secure. Merriweather, start scouring the area. I want every building, every alley, and every rooftop cleared.” Alec barked his commands and with sharp eyes, watched his teams disperse to carry out his orders.
“Alec, it’s going to be all right. I’m sure they’re fine,” said Jace.
“Then why haven’t we heard anything?” asked Alec. “How did a group of Valentine sympathizers come together right under our nose to plan something like this?”
“We’ve done a pretty good job of keeping an eye on the city, Alec.”
“Not good enough!” Alec snapped. “Those Warlocks were sitting ducks, Jace. They had no idea that there was a threat to their safety. And we didn’t even respond. We found out about it after the fact.”
“Magnus is one of, if not the most, powerful Warlocks in the world. He can protect himself.”
“And because he is the most powerful, he’ll always have a target on his back. We need to be inside those apartments now.” He took off towards the building, almost at a run. The thought of Magnus in there hurt or worse made his heart pound. He was going in there, and no amount of equivocation from Jace made the situation better. He felt Jace reach out and grab his arm, but he threw it off, never breaking his stride.
Jace reached out and grabbed him again and yanked hard, spinning the other man around to face him. “Alec! Stop! I know you well enough to know that you have a plan, but you need to tell me what it is. You can’t go in there alone. I need to know what you’re thinking so I can back you up.”
“I know the protocol, Jace. Stop wasting time. I’ve got this.”
“Then why are we going through the front door?” Jace asked.
Alec stopped. He had planned to enter through the front of the apartment building and clear the hallways before making it to the apartment where the Warlocks had gathered. It was a sound plan and one that he’d executed before. His eyes followed Jace’s nod towards the side of the building. He didn’t know whether to be upset that he had missed this point of entry or grateful that Jace hadn’t.
“Now get your head in the game and let’s go check on your husband,” he said.
Alec took a deep breath and nodded. He mentally reviewed the orders he had just given and felt comfortable that they were sound. He knew that Jace would have pointed out if he had made a bad call. He nodded, signaling that he was ready to go. Jace motioned to the other Shadowhunters with them to continue through the front door as he and Alec made their way over to the side of the building. They scaled the side up to the designated apartment and landed on the balcony. They stayed pressed close to the wall and tried to look in through the sliding glass door.
“Get back!” Jace shouted right as a blast of magic hit the door. They weren’t hit but the shockwave from the blast knocked them off balance.
“Magnus! It’s Alec and Jace. We’re here to help.”
“Prove it!” a voice yelled from inside.
Alec didn’t recognize the voice, but he knew that Magnus and Catarina had both been at the meeting.
“I know that blast didn’t come from Magnus because I know how his magic feels. I also know how Catarina’s magic feels,” he said, “and if she is the one protecting you right now instead of my husband, then I really need to get inside.” He didn’t care that his voice broke and that he was close to panicking. He was never ashamed to show how much he cared for his husband.
“Alec.” The door slid open, and Catarina motioned them inside. Never one for displays of affection, Catarina pulled him into a hug. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”
Alec held onto her as his eyes scanned the room, desperate for a glimpse of his husband. There were about six Warlocks hunkered behind a barricade of furniture against the far wall, and a dead Shadowhunter lying in the splintered doorway.
“I’ll cover the door,” Jace told him. “Our team is on the way,” Jace announced to the room. “Watch me, and you’ll know if a friend or foe.”
Alec pulled back and asked the question that was eating up his insides. “Magnus?”
“He’ll be ok,” Catarina said. “He used a lot of magic defending us, and he’s drained.” She looked over towards the barricade.
Alec followed her glance and saw two Warlocks helping Magnus to his feet. Alec rushed over and came around the wall of furniture and pulled Magnus into his arms. He had been so scared, terrified that something had happened to his husband. When he had entered the room and didn’t see him, his mind had thought the worst. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything; he just held onto Magnus.
“Alexander,” Magnus murmured ever so softly. “We’re ok.”
Alec gave him a shaky nod but still did not let go. He knew Magnus had to be tired, and he was doing his best to hold him up because he wasn’t ready to let go. That wrong ache within him had not yet subsided, and he needed his husband in his arms. He could feel Magnus running his fingers through his hair. It should be the other way around. Alec should be the one protecting and reassuring him, but all he could do right then was hold him. He felt Magnus press against his chest, and Alec pulled back just enough to look at his face.
Magnus reached up and brushed the tears off of his cheeks and gave him a soft kiss. “We’re ok,” he said again.
“I know,” Alec replied. His voice was thick with emotion and the tears that he was unsuccessfully trying to hold back. “I know.”
“Go lead your team, Shadowhunter, so, we can wrap this up and go home.”
“In a minute.” Alec pulled him back into the safety of his arms. “I need to hold you a little longer.”