Work Text:
One
Alec sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had been in a meeting with some members of the Clave. The representatives had come to New York to pull apart all of Alec’s hard work. They wanted to know about the impact the Downworlder Cabinet was having and whether or not it was interfering with the number of demons being killed. The thing that bugged Alec the most was the fact that they kept questioning his relationship with Magnus and if it had an impact on his duty as the Head of the Institute.
“Okay, look,” Alec sighed, having had enough. “My relationship with Magnus doesn’t get in the way of my work. Ask around, if you’d like.”
The official, Alec believed his name was Eric, narrowed his eyes at him. “These are your shadowhunters, they’re not going to say something against you.”
Alec squinted at the man, “So you’re agreeing that they respect me.”
Eric opened his mouth to protest but one of the younger Clave officials got there first. “We’re not denying their respect, or potential fear, Mister Lightwood. We are just saying that they’re not necessarily a trustworthy source.”
“Fear?” Alec questioned, anger boiling in his veins. “You think I may have threatened my staff?”
“Mister Lightwood,” Eric began but Alec was done. He’d endured their abuse for over an hour and frankly, he was tired.
“You know what, we’re done,” Alec stated his voice firm. “I have an institute to run and I will not sit here and allow you to insult my shadowhunters.”
“We weren’t insulting anyone…” Eric began, trying to match Alec’s tone but failing miserably.
“No? You accused me of threatening the people who work here and you implied that none of them could fight back against that.”
“Maybe we should have a temporary head come in, just to see…” Eric said, his eyes flitting to his colleague.
Alec scoffed and raised to his feet, placing his hands on the desk. “You know what, go ahead! But remember that the last head you bought in, Aldertree, drugged my sister to the point that she could have been killed and also allowed a maniac into the Institute.”
Alec felt a rush of pride when the two officials paled at the reminder. Before anyone could respond, a red shimmer appeared in the corner of the room. It pulsed menacingly and as the two guests eyes it suspiciously, it moved closer until it was standing behind Alec. It pulsed once more before disappearing, leaving a blanket draped across Alec’s shoulders.
Alec closed his eyes, willing his heart to calm down. There was always something about Magnus’ magic that made his heart race. He couldn’t smile like an idiot in front of these two. He knew that the Clave would be hearing about the shimmer and the blanket, not that he was bothered.
Alec cleared his throat, his gaze back on the Clave officials. “I think this meeting is over. If you have any more concerns, please contact Underhill or Isabelle, they’ll be able to send you in the right direction.”
Eric raised an eyebrow, “Your head of security and your sister. Not your Parabatai?”
Alec laughed, “Jace would probably tell you to sod off, but by all means, you can question Mr Herondale all you like.”
That seemed to do the trick. The pair said their goodbyes and returned to Idris. Alec watched them leave and sat back in his chair, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.
Two
Alec was fuming. He had asked Jace to do one simple thing, and that was to stay out of trouble. His brother however had taken Clary and had somehow pissed off a few Seelies. Jace had come back to the Institute with a freshly drawn Iraze and a slightly sheepish Clary.
“What happened?” Alec asked when his brother hobbled into his office.
“Nothing much just argued with a few Seelie knights.”
Alec squinted. “Why?”
“They tried to poisoned Clary.” Jace huffed.
Alec pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you thought that fighting them was a good idea? Seriously Jace, we know not to trust the Seelies when it comes to food and drink.”
“But Alec, they handed one to Clary! What was I supposed to do?”
“Don’t let her drink it?! Also, the fire message I got from Meliorn said that the one who drank the drink was you!”
Jace glared at him for a moment, “Okay, fine, yes Alec I drank the damn drink! Someone had to!”
“No, they didn’t!” Alec replied, his voice getting louder and harder. “You could have just walked away, ignored them, said “thanks, but no thanks” but no, you had to drink it and then get into one with them.”
“What do you expect from me, Alec?” Jace yelled.
“To use your head!” Alec yelled back. “You can’t just run into all these situations without thinking, because it falls back on my head. Not that you’ve ever cared about that.”
Jace looked offended for a moment. “I’ve always had your back, Alec!”
“I never said you didn’t have my back, I said you didn’t care that your actions fall back on me.”
Jace opened his mouth to protest when a red shimmer caught his eye. He was about to ask about it when a blue blanket appeared over Alec’s shoulders. Alec visibly relaxed and dismissed his brother, sitting back at the desk to fill out the relevant paperwork. He’d spar with Jace later and, hopefully, kick his butt.
Three
Alec stood on the slightly elevated platform in the ops centre. A few new recruits straight out of the academy had arrived and Alec was giving his welcome speech. He knew what the recruits were expecting, the Clave has their rules after all, but the New York Institute had always been a bit different.
Jace and Isabelle stood at Alec’s sides, loving the various emotions that would go over the faces of the new recruits. They always started out looking eager, and a bit excited. While Alec would talk, his voice firm while he went over the established rules by the Clave, they listened carefully, taking in what the Head was saying and agreeing periodically. Their faces changed however when Alec started talking about the relations with downworlders.
The shadowhunters fresh out of the academy still tended to believe that they were superior. A fact that Alec was generally very quick to knock out of their heads.
This group, however, seemed to have a rather pigheaded member. Alec had just finished his welcome speech when one of the new recruits spoke.
“And we’re just supposed to follow a Head who sleeps with downworlders, are we?”
Alec’s gaze fixed on the young shadowhunter. His eyes were cold and his voice harsh when he spoke. “No one at my Institute is superior in any way, shape or form. We are all equals and if that’s not good enough for you then you are welcome to return to Idris.”
“You shouldn’t be Head of the Institute!”
Before Alec could respond, a deep red shimmer appeared at the back of the room, quickly moving forward until it was next to the new recruit. It pulsed dangerously and it sounded like it hissed at him before a blanket wrapped itself around Alec.
“Alec is the best Head this place has seen,” Jace said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“And if you’re not happy with that then you can leave,” Isabelle added.
“Or be transferred to Wrangel Island.” Alec finished. “Dismissed.”
The new recruits went their separate ways, ready to learn more about the Institute. The big-mouthed shadowhunter was escorted to Alec’s office by Underhill. Alec shared a glance with Izzy and Jace before heading to the office, ready to send this unwelcome recruit as far away as possible.
Four
Alec had spent the best part of the last few hours in the training room. The amount of paperwork had been getting too much so he decided to get some training in. He had punched the punching bag for about an hour before Jace turned up. Alec had to admit that as much as Jace would bug or annoy him, especially when he got himself into trouble, sparing with the blond was always fun. They kept each other on their toes and worked well together.
They fought with blades before switching to hand to hand combat. Eventually, Isabelle came to find them and informed them that Maryse had turned up and that she was going to want to see them.
Alec groaned and headed for his room. He wanted to shower before meeting with his mother. The shower was a quick one, which mainly consisted of Alec trying to get himself mentally ready for whatever his mother wanted to lecture them about.
Alec jumped when a green blanket wrapped around him while he was finishing up, a sound that was similar to an appreciative sigh accompanied it. He smiled slightly before discarding the blanket and getting out of the shower. He dried off and dressed before heading to Jace’s room.
Jace emerged just as Alec got there and the pair headed to the Head’s office. Maryse was sitting behind the desk, her hands clasped on the surface. Isabelle and Clary sat on the sofa on the other side of the office and Izzy looked relieved when her brothers entered the room.
“Sit down,” Maryse said, her voice stern.
Jace sat next to Clary while Alec lingered for a moment. “I might remind you that I am the Head of the Institute, mother.”
Maryse glared at him for a moment and Alec sat on the other side of Isabelle. He wasn’t really in the mood to argue too much with Maryse.
“What have you four been up to?” Maryse asked, looking at them all.
“Our jobs?” Jace replied.
“You’ve been getting into situations that should be avoided.”
Alec sighed, “Mother, it’s been taken care of.”
Maryse glared at him and Alec suddenly felt like he was a child again. “So I’ve heard.”
“Why are you here?” Alec exclaimed, gesturing to the desk. “I have all that paperwork to finish.”
“Alec,” Izzy hissed as a green blanket curled over Alec’s shoulders and around his body.
Maryse ignored the blanket that was slowly turning her son into a burrito, although her gaze did flicker to the shimmer that was lurking in the corner as was fluctuating between blue and red. She returned her focus to Alec, a small smile playing on her lips.
“I wanted to say that I’m proud of how you’ve been handling things.”
Alec blinked slightly surprised. “Thank you?”
Maryse got up and walked over, prompting her children to stand too. She gave them all a quick hug before heading to the door. Just as she was about to leave, she turned back.
“Oh, Alec? We’ll discuss the blanket another time.”
Alec nodded stunned as he watched his mother walk out of the room. Once the door closed he turned to his siblings, who had equally confused looks on their faces.
“Did she just say she was proud?” Jace asked.
Alec nodded.
“I can’t believe she ignore the blanket,” Izzy stated, side-eyeing Alec.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Clary inquired.
Alec glared at her, “Nothing. Now, get back to work.”
Jace and Izzy grumbled as they left and Alec sighed as he returned to his paperwork.
Five
Alec and Jace turned the corner of the ally, following the map that had brought with them. They were on the far side of New York, hunting a group of Iblis demons that had randomly appeared earlier.
Alec had sent the nearest group of Shadownunters to the location only to find that the demons had moved on. They’d had to wait an hour for the sensors to pick them up again. Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Clary had headed out to met with those already in the area, splitting up into groups to try and circle the creatures and send them back to Hell.
“Are you sure they’re this way?” Jace asked, holding his witchlight higher in the air.
“I honestly don’t know, Jace. I’ve never known demons to just randomly appear and disappear.”
The duo crept around another turn before coming face to face with the demons they were hunting. Alec felt a shiver run down his spine. It looked like the creatures were in the middle of some kind of meeting. They were huddled together, growling occasionally at each other. Alec aimed his bow while Jace activated his Seraph blade. The moment the first arrow hit its target, the demons lunged.
Alec and Jace worked in sync like they always did. Isabelle and Clary had joined them and the shadowhunters were gaining the upper hand.
“Yeah!” Jace yelled as he killed another creature before the smile fell from his face.
“Alec?!” Isabelle yelled, her voice full of concern.
Alec was standing in the middle of the battlefield, turning on the spot, looking at the rooftops. He could see the glinting eyes of about forty more demons.
“We’ve got this!” Isabelle yelled.
Alec nodded and fired an arrow bringing the other demons into the battle. As they fought the demons and the time got later, the temperature began to drop. There were probably around five demons left when a fluffy gold blanket wrapped itself around Alec like a long coat-cape hybrid. Alec, somehow, still managed to fight and bought down three of the last five demons despite tripping over the train of the blanket
As soon as they finished, Alec noticed his siblings looking at him.
“What?” Alec asked, slightly confused.
“You wanna explain the blankets, buddy?” Jace asked, gesturing to the blanket in question. “Since this isn’t the first one.”
Alec looked at it, his face colouring slightly. “It’s nothing… It’s just Magnus’ magic. It’s … protective. Go back to the Institue, I’ll deal with the paperwork later.”
“Where are you going?” Jace asked.
“Magnus’,” Alec replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I want to talk to him about ...this,” he explained, gesturing to the blanket.
The trio nodded and they headed off in their separate directions. Alec pulled the blanket off and draped it over his arm. He loved that Magnus’ magic wanted to wrap him in blankets but it needed to work on its timing.
It didn’t take long for Alec to reach Magnus’. He knocked on the door and entered when it opened for him.
“Magnus?” Alec called, discarding his shoes, jacket and weapons at the door.
“In here, darling,” Magnus called from the living room.
Alec followed his boyfriend’s voice and smiled at the sight before him. Magnus was lounging on the couch, both feet hooked over the back of it and a book held above his face.
“Hey,” Alec whispered, all the stress of the day just melting away.
“Hello, darling,” Magnus replied, swinging his legs around so he could stand up and kiss Alec.
The kiss was soft and sweet and Alec hummed happily into it. When they pulled away, Magnus glanced down at the blanket in Alec’s arms.
“What’s this?” Magnus asked, running his hands over the fabric.
“I wanted to talk to you about this actually,” Alec said nervously.
Magnus picked up on the tone immediately and pulled Alec so they were sitting on the sofa.
“What’s the matter, darling?” Magnus asked, his hand resting on Alec’s knee.
“You know I love your magic and the fact that it does as it pleases,” Alec started, staring at his hands.
“I do,” Magnus stated, waiting for Alec to continue.
“Well, recently it’s been wrapping me in blankets. Don’t get me wrong, I really do appreciate it but it’s not always a good moment. Like tonight, I was in the middle of fighting a hoard of demons with Jace and Izzy when the blanket appeared.”
“I see,” Magnus said softly, placing his hand on Alec’s. “I’ll have a word with it.”
Alec smiled, “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Alexander.”
Magnus leaned in to kiss him softly, his magic a shimmering blue in the corner, happy that their shadowhunter was home safe.
+ One
Alec sighed as he entered the loft. It had been a long day with lots of paperwork. He collapsed onto the couch and took in the room. Magnus was away on Warlock business. He’d left a few days earlier and would only be back at the end of the week. Alec knew it was silly, but he missed the man. The loft felt empty without Magnus. Granted, Alec hadn’t been there much since Magnus had left, having spent all the time at the Institute taking care of things, and if he were being honest, trying not to think about Magnus. However, he’d been working himself thin for days and was ready to collapse from exhaustion.
Alec stretched out on the sofa, yawning softly. He was really feeling the fatigue and the more he thought about it, the more he missed Magnus. Alec grabbed his phone and opened the text conversations.
Alec: I hope you don’t mind me staying at the loft tonight.
Magnus” Of course not, darling. I gave you a key for a reason. Is everything okay, Alexander?
Alec: Yeah, just a long week at the Institute. A lot of paperwork.
As soon as Alec sent the message his phone rang. He smiled softly at the picture of Magnus flashing on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Alexander, have you not been home since I left?”
Alec flushed, “I… I was busy.”
“You need to take care of yourself, darling.”
“I know.”
The pair continued to talk for a moment, Magnus informing Alec about how his work was going. Alec jumped when he felt a gentle caress across his shoulders and a warm burgundy blanket wrapped around him, swaddling him tightly. Alec hummed softly and buried his face into the fabric which smelled strongly of Magnus.
“Darling?”
“I miss you,” Alec said softly.
“I miss you, too. Alec. I’m sorry, darling but I have to go. I’ll be home soon.”
Alec nodded, “Okay, I can’t wait. I love you, Magnus.”
“I love you too, angel.”
Alec hung up and snuggled even further into the blanket.
“Thank you,” he muttered as he fell asleep, Magnus scent surrounding him.
Magnus’ magic shimmered happily behind the couch. It gently shifted the blanket, making sure that Alec was properly tucked in. It gently tucked Magnus’ pillow into Alec’s arms and placed Alec’s own pillow under his head. Magnus may not be there to look after Alec, but his residual magic that lay within the loft was going to fill in until Magnus got home.
Love you the magic whispered, gently running a small gust of wind through Alec’s hair. We’ll always protect you.