Chapter Text
Magnus feels the demonic presence the moment he passes through his wards. He took the long way home, it was nice weather and he only had to walk a few blocks; it nice to stretch his legs. Now, he regrets it.
He’s not worried about the demon hurting him; the energy signature suggests it’s a lower demon and Magnus has the element of surprise on his side. It’s not himself he’s worried about. It’s Alec. Alec who’d texted about forty minutes ago that he was headed home.
Magnus takes the stairs two-at-a-time, too frazzled to remember that magic exists until he’s in front of his apartment door. He blasts it open, nearly swinging the door off its hinges and barges inside.
The loft is too quiet. Alec is alone with a demon and there should be fighting sounds, if nothing more than Alec’s stefps on the hardwood. There’s nothing, and Magnus’ heart plummets, his stomach seizing.
Angry red magic blossoms around his fists as he scans the apartment, following the demonic energy towards the bedroom.
He doesn’t have time to prepare himself. He moves through the open door, ready to attack, ready to use all of his magic healing Alec, only to pull up short.
Alec is curled up on the bed, no signs of ichor or blood on him, his sweater untarnished, his face calm. Most importantly, his chest moves slowly up and down as he lets out a gentle snore. Usually, the sight would be enough to have Magnus instantly softening, filling with love and a desperate desire to slide in beside him.
However, normally there isn’t a demon sprawled across Alec’s legs, separated only by the golden duvet.
The demon, a hellhound that can’t be older than a few months, isn’t asleep. It’s watching Magnus with ruby eyes that seem unnaturally bright against its deep black fur. Magnus stares back, the threat clear in his unglamoured warlock mark.
He’s ready to blast the demon back to Edom, the only thing holding him back being an overwhelming sense of confusion. The hellhound doesn’t look aggressive, despite the way it’s laying over Alec’s legs. It looks… peaceful. Content. And Alec is unharmed. In fact, the both of them look entirely too comfortable, all cuddled up and looking as thick as thieves.
Magnus stays frozen in the doorway, terrified if he moves he’ll startle the hellhound into attacking. He lets the magic form into something more tangible and flicks his fingers just enough to send a light wave of it down Alec’s spine. As much as he regrets waking Alec when the Shadowhunter is finally resting, he needs more information, and Alec in a less vulnerable position.
Alec’s face scrunches, his eyes twitching behind his closed lids, but then he settles back into unconsciousness. Magnus has known Alec long enough to know he’s not exactly a light sleeper. He only sleeps like this when he’s either exhausted or believes himself and everyone he loves is safe so deeply that he can finally rest.
Magnus flicks again, his magic a little more insistent as it trapezes up Alec’s chest. The hellhound lifts its head, sniffing at the air. Magnus doesn’t know much about hellhounds, they’re rare even in Edom and tend to be loners, but it seems they can smell magic.
The hellhound lets out a low whine and somehow that’s what finally rouses Alec.
Magnus prepares to attack, ready to have the hellhound sent back to hell the second it tries something, as Alec blinks awake.
The demon stays put, though it turns its gaze to Alec as Alec glances between it and Magnus. He looks far too comfortable for being pinned down by a creature from hell. “I can explain.”
“You can… explain?” Magnus echoes, feeling a little lightheaded.
He nearly lets a spell fly as the hellhound gets to its feet. But instead of pouncing at Alec, it jumps off the bed and heads for Magnus. Nothing in its posture suggests it intends to attack him, but Magnus keeps his magic at the ready.
“I found her on a mission.”
Magnus doesn’t look away from the approaching hellhound as Alec speaks, only distantly realizing that Alec had brought the demon into his loft. He hadn’t spared any thought as to how it had gotten past his wards until now, too focussed on Alec’s safety.
The hellhound reaches him, but all it does is sniff at his shoe and the hem of his pants. Then it flops back onto its hind-legs, sitting like a puppy and staring up at him with fiery eyes, watching his magic.
Intrigued, Magnus lets a bit of his magic drift down. The hellhound hops up, attempting to catch the harmless magic sparks between it’s razor sharp teeth. The thing looks like a killer, it’s built for that, but it’s acting like, like a puppy.
Magnus finally allows himself to begin to relax. He doesn’t let his guard down entirely, but he diverts his attack magic into harmless wisps that curl around the room, prompting the hellhound to chase them.
When it, she, barrels after one too quickly to stop and ends up hitting her head lightly on the bedroom wall, Magnus decides it’s safe for him to cross the room to sit beside Alec. “So you found a hellhound on a mission and brought it home?”
“I would’ve asked, but I didn’t want to worry you or make you feel like you had to rush home.”
“Okay,” Magnus still feels a little out of it as he tries to process everything. The hellhound catches the last of the magic and swallows it before padding over to them. Alec leans down to pet her without hesitation, proceeding to lift her into his lap. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
“We were finishing up a mission near the docks, she was hiding in an alleyway and she just seemed so… nervous.”
“So you decided to befriend her?”
“I couldn’t kill her when she wasn’t hurting anyone.” Alec’s eyes are large, pleading with Magnus to understand. “It mostly seemed like she was confused, and lost. And she never tried to hurt me, she’s really sweet.”
It’s easy to tell that Alec is already fond of the hellhound. And, by the way she’s leaning into his touch, the feeling is mutual.
“Sweet… right…”
Alec glances over to smile softly at him. “Look at her, Magnus.”
It’s hard not to watch the demon, a large part of Alec still expects her to attack. She’s currently curled up on Alec’s lap, head pressed against his stomach. The image is undeniably sweet.
“I figured you’d know what to do with her. We can send her back to Edom if we need to,” Alec’s pinched brows suggest he’s not a fan of that option, “But I don’t think she’s a threat.”
“It does see like she’s been in this realm long enough to have learned her behavior from stray pets rather than other hellhounds,” Magnus reluctantly concedes.
“Exactly! I know there’s a theory that all demons are inherently bad, but there’s no proof. I mean, we know demon blood doesn’t make someone evil, why wouldn’t it be the same with demons themselves?”
Alec beams at him and Magnus sighs, knowing he’s already lost if Alec is brining up magical theory to justify the goodness of the hellhound. He presses a little closer, tucking his head into Alec’s shoulder and reminding himself that Alec is here. Alec is safe. The sleeping hellhound in his lap isn’t a threat.
“If you’re against returning her to Edom, what exactly did you have in mind?”
Magnus is scared he already knows, but he has to ask. Surely his Shadowhunter can’t be suggesting they let a demon, however friendly, stay with them.
But because it’s Alec, he doesn’t even hesitate, “We can keep her. Teach her that eating humans is bad and eating magic is okay, I mean Vanta must already be eating something to stay alive and it’s not people.”
“Vanta?” He’s already named the thing, Magnus thinks with no small amount of fondness. Alec can be a little rough around the edges, years of Clave teachings making him a perfect soldier, but he’s also the most loving person Magnus knows. The moment he starts caring about someone, he fights tooth-and-nail for them.
“Because of her fur,” Alec brushes his fingers through the long fur in question. “Vantablack is the darkest known shade of black, so it made sense.”
“Of course it did.” Only Alec could think anything about adopting a friendly hellhound made sense.
“Can we keep her?”
Magnus can hear the hope in Alec’s voice, and he already knows there’s no sending Vanta away. As if Magnus could deny Alec anything. “Yes, darling, she can stay.”