Work Text:
Malace || Shadowhunters || Malace || Capture the Flag || Malace || Shadowhunters || Malace
Title: Jalec Bingo: Capture the Flag
Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: polyamory (m/m/m), curse, high fantasy AU
Main Pairing: Magnus/Alec/Jace
Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan 'Jace' Herondale, Magnus Bane, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray, Simon Lewis
Summary: Jalec Bingo Prompt: cursed item. Writer's Month Prompts: flag + castle. Alec was a knight, in a relationship with the court's warlock and secretly also in love with the prince. ...Right? Then what were these dreams that he couldn't explain? There was something not adding up.
Capture the Flag
Jalec Bingo / Writer's Month 2022
Alec woke up with his head resting on his lover's chest. A very comfortable chest. On autopilot, he leaned up to kiss Magnus' cheek. How beautiful he was when sleeping so peacefully. Alec, his sleep had been anything but peaceful. He'd been haunted by bizarre nightmares. Demons, monsters, there had been a church, but it hadn't been a church. Nothing made sense about it.
"Good morning, my love," Magnus' voice was rough but pleasant.
He chased after Alec to get another kiss. It didn't take Magnus long to notice Alec was troubled, even with his mind still muddy with sleep. Concerned, he cupped Alec's face, asking silently.
"I had a... strange dream," Alec admitted that much after a moment. "I can't make much sense of it. But you were in it and... Jace was too. Only he wasn't a prince, we were... some kind of... I'm not entirely sure, but our souls were interwoven into one?"
"Curious," Magnus smiled, gently carding his fingers through Alec's hair. "Usually, your dreams about our dear prince are much more... mh... heated, if I may say so."
Alec flushed brightly and smacked Magnus' chest, at which the warlock simply laughed. Yes, Magnus well knew of Alec's infatuation with Jace. They had been friends since childhood, Alec being a knight born into the noble Lightwood family and raised to be the prince's guard.
"I feel like it's time to get out of the bed, mh," Magnus sighed. "I wish we could stay in bed..."
Alec grunted his agreement, but still rolled out of bed. Time to face his daily duties.
/break\
Magnus smiled as he watched his gorgeous knight and their gorgeous prince. Watching them spar was absolutely delightful. His eyes darkened. Perhaps it was his warlock nature; he had not been brought up in court, he didn't care much for etiquette like that. The prince was just another pretty boy that Magnus would like to see in his bed. Fueled by Alexander's desires too. Magnus wanted the pretty prince for himself, he also wanted the pretty prince for Alexander, because his Alexander deserved everything he could ever want, including Prince Jace.
"Magnus," the princess approached him, distracting him from the delightful view.
The princess looked troubled as she picked up her pace, her red curls bouncing with every step. Mh. Troubled royals were rarely a good sign. Magnus came to meet her halfway.
"What is it, biscuit?" Magnus asked before he could help himself. "I mean, princess."
Where had that come from? Peculiar. Perhaps he was a bit peckish? He hadn't had breakfast.
"I was... plagued with dreams," Clary straightened her dress once she came to a halt. "Nightmares, truly. Of horrible creatures, chasing me. Taking my mother, the queen... And you were there, and Jace and Alec, and my handmaid Isabelle and Jace's manservant Simon. But you weren't really you, it was all... it was all quite confusing. And it left me with a horrible headache."
"How... strange," Magnus had to think of Alec's nightmares. "Give me some time, I'll make you a concoction to ease your headache. Until then, perhaps you should lay down and rest?"
"That's what I told her," supplied Isabelle, once she caught up with her charge. "Come on, Clary."
Clary furrowed her brows, her eyes wandering from Isabelle to Magnus and back. Mh. This mere nightmare had really rattled the princess, hadn't it? Magnus better get to work.
/break\
A concerned frown was marring Jace's features as he brushed his sister's hair back. Clary had been suffering from terrible nightmares and today was apparently a very bad one. He placed a kiss on her forehead and then searched for Isabelle's gaze. The handmaid nodded her confirmation that she would stay at Clary's side and watch over the troubled princess. Once he left her bedroom, he closed the door as quietly behind himself as he could before making his way to the warlock's chambers.
After knocking, the door was opened by Magnus, but Jace could see a slightly disheveled Alec behind the warlock. "Ah. I... didn't mean to interrupt you."
Magnus smiled, that charming smile that made Jace want to pin the other to a wall and kiss him. Which was a bad notion considering that this was Alec's boyfriend. Alas, when Magnus ran his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face, exposing his sharp jawline, Jace once again was overcome with the urge to kiss the other. And then there was Alec, straightening his own clothes, pulling his shirt down where it had previously revealed his stomach. A similar impulse had made Jace want to get on his knees and push that shirt up to kiss Alec's stomach. Especially his hipbone. Jace had a weird obsession with Alec's hipbone, something he couldn't entirely explain.
"What is it, Jace?" Alec asked, approaching him concerned.
"I'm just... I'm concerned about my sister," Jace heaved a sigh and sat down on the arm-chair after Magnus motioned at it. "This nightmare, it's... really getting to her."
He froze when slender, calloused fingers grasped his chin and tilted his head up to look at Alec. "It's getting to her? And what's getting to you? I can see the bags under your eyes, Jace."
His cheeks turned red at the intense gaze from his best friend. "I guess... I've had... some nightmares myself. About... father. I thought I'd left that behind, but it felt so... new. I dreamed that he was back and hurting me, the me from the now... it was..."
He pulled himself out of Alec's grip and cleared his throat. Alec's eyes softened as he reached out to gently caress Jace's cheek and rest his hand in Jace's neck. The motion relaxed Jace some.
"If you want a good night's sleep, my bed is quite comfortable," offered Magnus, making it sound both serious and light-hearted at the same time. "And you would have not just Alexander's protection but also mine. How does that sound, little prince?"
The light blush on Jace's cheeks darkened further in surprise. Yes, Magnus was bold, but this kind of boldness? And to ask that, while Alec was still also in the room? How could he? Why would he? Jace's eyes found Alec, trying to see his reaction. Anger? No. Surprise, though.
"Magnus-" Alec stopped, as though he didn't know what to say.
"Oh, don't," Magnus made a dismissive hand-gesture. "Whatever stops us? These are my chambers. Who is going to stop the prince from doing whatever, or whoever, he wants? Mh, my prince?"
This time, Magnus grasped his chin and there was something in his eyes that flared that hunger. And. Magnus was right. He was the prince, who was going to stop him? He'd always slept around. Yes, he'd never dared tell his best friend about his feelings, and he thought it was too late now that Alec had Magnus, but apparently... it wasn't. So why shouldn't he take what was offered? He leaned in, deciding in that moment that he should have what he wanted when it was offered so willingly. Magnus met him in a kiss, smiling pleased against his lips. As soon as they parted did Magnus pull Alec closer. Subtly trying to tell Alec to go for it, get what he wanted. Alec looked so wondrous as he cupped Jace's face with both his hands and brought him close.
"Now, how about that nap?" Magnus suggested gently. "I promise I'll protect the both of you."
Jace frowned at that and turned to look at Alec. "Uh, I've had a nightmare too, actually."
"Okay... am I the only one who finds that weird?" asked Jace, looking at them both.
"A bit, but let's postpone this to after a nap," Magnus urged them both along.
Jace gladly let himself be led to the bed and found his way in, curling together with Alec. When he felt Magnus lay down behind him and holding him close, Jace finally relaxed.
/break\
Magnus jerked awake from his nightmare. Horrendous images of a church and lightning, a child was there too. He clung onto the prince in his bed, looking over Jace to see Alec still asleep. No, he decided in that moment. Something was wrong here. These dreams... He had to talk to others. He placed a gentle kiss on Jace's cheek and then on Alec's cheek before leaving his chambers.
"Isabelle! Simon! Wonderful, just the people I was looking for," Magnus smiled pleased. "Tell me how well you've been sleeping lately. Because there seems to be a herd of nightmares in the castle."
Simon and Isabelle, lingering in the rose garden and talking until Magnus had interrupted them, both froze up with curious expressions on their faces. Ah. So he was right on the money. Something was wrong here, someone was somehow messing with them all and it was time to break whatever spell had taken them over. So he could go back to bed with his lovers and actually enjoy it.
"I keep dreaming of dying. And a church. There's always a church," admitted Simon.
That blasted church seemed to be a recurring motif. He had to figure out what that meant.
/break\
Jace woke up with a headache in his bed. In the loft. He had had a strange dream. Without hesitation did he make his way out of his room to find Magnus and Alec, something inside him drawing him to them. He found them both in Magnus' bed, entangled but awake.
"I had the strangest dream," Jace whispered as he entered. "I was a prince and..."
"And I was the royal warlock and Alexander here was your private knight. Which was a kinky twist," Magnus winked. "That wasn't a dream, sweetheart. The six of us were under a spell. A curse, to be more precise. That ancient flag that you lot found was cursed, it sends everyone who touches it into a shared hallucination back at the castle over which it had once been hung."
"...So everything that happened in this dream..." Jace trailed off as he remembered the kisses.
"Well," now Magnus smirked at him. "I guess we do have to thank that curse for the two of you finally lowering your guard and indulging in your desires for each other."
Both Jace and Alec blushed at that. And, while processing this, Jace sat down on the edge of Magnus' bed. There had been a flag. Him, Izzy and Clary had found it during a mission, in a cellar. They had felt the magic, so they had brought it to Magnus. Who would have thought it was cursed?
"Wanna... join us in bed for a nap?" Alec cleared his throat. "If... you still want this, here. Now."
Jace didn't even have to think about that, he gladly crawled in between the two. A good curse, mh.
~*~ The End ~*~