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Chapter Text

"You know what would be great right about now?" Jace shouted, ducking under another tentacle before stabbing upward and dodging out of the way of the spray of venomous blood.  

"I'm sure you're going to tell us!" Alec shouted back, drawing another arrow, firing it, and forcing the demon back another two steps.  

Jace yanked Clary out of the way of another tentacle that darted forward and shoved her toward Izzy before blocking the one coming for him with a second blade.  "Your all-powerful husband to figure out what the fuck was summoning these things so we could stop having to kill them in the middle of New York!"  

Alec growled and glared at his parabatai, even as he stepped up and sliced a tentacle in half that was darting forward for Jace's back.  "He's trying!"  

"Tell him to try faster!" Izzy snapped, her whip darting forward to hit the demon in the eye, making it screech.  "We're going to end up with more mundane interference at this rate and we've already lost seven!"  

"Speaking of!" Clary shouted, drawing another rune into her palm before firing it at the demon, forcing it back six steps.  "Mundane approaching from three o'clock, Izzy, can you-"

"Got it!" Izzy growled, turning her attention to the mundane who had wandered into their perimeter wide-eyed.  If it wasn't the sixth of these demons to show up tonight, he never would have gotten close.  She forced a smile to her face and waited for him to meet her eyes.  "Hey there, you need to-" She blinked when he stepped right past her.  

"Hey!  You're looking for me, right?"  

Izzy turned around to stare at the mundane, wide-eyed, who was waving at the demon.  The demon had frozen, and had turned to stare at the mundane who was standing in the middle of their battlefield, his hands tucked into his pockets.  "Wait, you can't-"

"Oh I'm perfectly fine," the mundane answered, smiling at her.  "Don't worry, we're taking care of the others right now."  He stepped in closer to the Nightmare and held out his hand.  "There you are, he's been worried, and he's taking care of your siblings right now."  

Izzy gave Alec and Jace quick looks, her weapon dropping into her hands again.  "You know who has been releasing these into the mundane world?"  She paused.  "Who the hell are you?"  

The mundane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.  "I probably can't convince you to pretend to just let us go, can you?"  

Alec looked at the demon who was surprisingly subdued beside the mundane and scowled.  "If you're the one who has been summoning these demons into New York, you're under arrest under the order of the Clave, and you'll be coming with me."  

Hob sighed, louder this time, looking back at the Nightmare.  "All right, here's the deal.  I'll send you back, since he's sending the others, and I'll try to clean things up."  A gurgle and worried pop of acidic bubbles had Hob smiling and he reached out to give it a pat, his hand sizzling briefly.  "Don't worry, we both know that you didn't mean to hurt anyone."  

"There are seven dead mundanes thanks to them!" Clary snapped.  

"They're not actually dead, they're paralyzed, and they're going to be fine," Hob corrected, pointing at her.  "But I'm not surprised you don't know that.  Now, where is-" The sight of a swirling orange portal had his eyes widening and he turned back to the Nightmare.  "I'm going to be fine, don't let him worry, got it?"  Tugging on the Dreaming's power, he pressed his hands to the Nightmare, and in a swirl of sand, it was gone.  He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to face the team of angry college student-aged kids.  With tattoos.

"I can explain," Hob said, holding up his hands.  He paused and considered that for a moment.  "Actually, you're not going to believe any explanation, but if you want me to explain, I can.  These aren't your normal demons, which is why you weren't able to stop them."  

Magnus stepped forward and drew his magic down the length of the mundane in front of him, and his magic recoiled at the touch of ancient magic sunk so deep into his very being, there would be no removing it.  He schooled his face and narrowed his eyes.  "What are you?  Why did you summon them here?"  

Hob rubbed a hand over his face.  "So much for a vacation."  He pushed his hair out of his face.  "You'd better not make me late for my conference tomorrow, and if I don't sleep, my husband will come looking for me and I promise that's something you're all going to want to avoid."  

Alec looked at Magnus and then back to the mundane in front of him.  "You're going to need to return with us.  You need to be questioned."  

Hob shrugged.  "Sure, no problem kid.  Like I said, places to be tomorrow, and if I don't sleep tonight, you're going to have big problems on your hands."  

There was a worrying amount of truth in that quiet statement and Magnus glanced at Alec and gave him a nod as Jace and Isabelle stood on either side of the mundane and began to escort him to the Institute.  He reached out to brush his fingertips against Alec's side as they fell a few steps behind, out of hearing range of the mundane.  

"What's with him?" Alec asked, narrowing his eyes.  "He's mundane."  

"Not entirely," Magnus answered, his eyes on the mundane.  "There's very old magic in him.  Old as the planet, if not older.  I'd almost say we've captured a god of some sort, but he's very... human." 

Alec turned his attention fully to the mundane again and the way he walked, taking in his unhurried pace and posture.  "He's not afraid of us, and he can see us while glamoured.  And he sent that demon... wherever it went."  He glanced at Magnus.  "Is the portal that they were coming through closed?"  

Magnus frowned.  "It is."  His magic was crawling under his skin uncomfortably.  "However, I wasn't the one to close it.  Someone else did.  And it's a similar type of magic to what's in him."  He gestured to the mundane.  

"Do you think he's a danger to us?"  Alec asked, his attention sharpening.  "We can have him-"

"I wouldn't touch him," Magnus said, his voice soft.  "He is coming with us because we have asked.  I suspect, if we were to take him into any captivity, and do anything he doesn't suggest, the retribution would be severe and immediate."  He brushed his fingertips along Alexander's arm.  "I have to go see to the mundanes that were injured by the demons with Catarina, but I will come to the Institute afterward."  

Alec nodded.  "Stay safe, Magnus."  

Magnus smiled and winked at Alec.  "Only as long as you do the same, Alexander."  He gave a bow and stepped through another portal.  

Hob glanced behind him as the kid who was clearly the leader stepped up beside him again, all three of them clearly escorting him as they hurried through the streets of New York.  He looked up at the stars.  Hopefully, Dream was dealing with the Unseelie who had caused this whole mess, but visiting Titania always ended up putting him in a foul mood and the last thing he would want would be to come to rescue Hob from some sort of magical entities that had decided he was a threat.  

If push came to shove, he could use the sand to escape, but he didn't particularly want to do that unless he had to.  Better to see how they treated him first.  Especially since all of them were armed and very clearly able to use the weapons.  He glanced back at the kid behind him.  "You're a damn good shot with that bow, by the way."  

Alec blinked and frowned at the mundane.  

"It's probably got a draw weight of what, eighty?  Ninety pounds?"  Hob looked back at it again, spinning around to face the kid behind him as he continued to walk backward, looking at the bow strung over his shoulder.  "That'd be my guess.  Probably a bitch to train with though, having to carry one around that size."  He shrugged and spun around.  "Smaller than a longbow though, so I suppose I shouldn't talk."  

"Who the hell are you?" Jace asked, looking over at the mundane.  Ahead of them, Clary giggled and Jace did his best not to smile when he heard Alec sigh.  "You're a mundane who can see us, see demons, but you're not a warlock?"  

Hob blinked and looked at the blond jock in entirely too much leather beside him.  "You can call me Hob."

Alec's eyes sharpened and he shared a glance with Izzy.  Anyone who knew to answer that question in that precise way had had dealings with the Seelie, or the Unseelie, that much was clear.  

Hob grinned and threw him a wink.  "I know better than to give my full name when I'm dealing with magical shit I don't understand.  Granted, I understand more than I used to since I got married, but there's still plenty I don't.  So who are you guys?"  

"Answer my questions first," Jace demanded.  "You're a mundane who can see us.  How?  We're glamoured."  

Hob tilted his head and looked at him and studied him for a long second.  "It doesn't work on me," he said with a shrug.  "I can see it, now that you've said that.  It's a bit like a camera doesn't want to properly focus on you.  But I can still see you.  And the thing you're calling a demon wasn't actually a demon."  

"Yes, it was," Clary said.  "It showed up on our sensors and everything."  

Hob looked at the redhead ahead of him and hummed.  "Doesn't make it a demon.  Poor thing was panicking and you were attacking it, so of course, it fought back.  Granted, being poisoned and then let loose in a city is a worst-case scenario for them..." he sighed and shook his head.  

Alec stepped up closer, on Jace's other side, and stared at the mundane.  "Who poisoned them?"  

"Someone who is being taken care of," Hob said confidently, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  "Took me too long to get all of them sent back home, but we had to divide and conquer."  He shrugged.  "My husband will make sure they don't come through to your part of the world again."  

"And I repeat," Jace said, scowling.  "Who the hell are you?"  

Hob laughed, his head falling back.  "Kid, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, so I'm not going to bother."  He looked around and shivered, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets.  "You going to have coffee wherever we're going or do I need to bribe you to stop so I can get some?"  

Izzy looked at him with a frown.  "You drink coffee?"  

"Of course, I bloody drink coffee, what do you think I am, an alien?" Hob shot back, whistling as he kept walking.  "Now how far are we from this place of yours?"  He turned his attention back to the tallest kid among them and found himself being studied.  "And where did your husband pop off to?"  

"He's helping the mundanes who were attacked," Alec said.  

"Ah," Hob nodded.  "He'll be able to undo the paralysis.  If he can't, for whatever reason, let me know.  I'll talk to my husband, if yours can't, mine certainly can."  

Alec narrowed his eyes.  "Magnus is one of the most powerful warlocks alive."  

Hob raised his eyebrows and smiled.  "And my statement still holds true."  He stepped forward at the urging of the blonde and shuddered under the weight of magic that abruptly settled around him.  "Christ, what the fuck is that?"  

Isabelle stopped and turned to look at the mundane who had paused just inside their wards.  "What?"  

Hob grunted and reached up to poke at the magic he could feel trying to wrap around him and contain him.  "Call off the magical guard dogs or I'll push back."  When all of them gave blank looks, Hob sighed and reached out to his connection with Dream, breathing in deep, reaching for the part of him that he rarely touched, but was useful when he needed it.  Power draped around him, his crown shimmering to bright life in his hair, and his robe, a mirror image of Dream's, but in silver, fell around him.  

An instant later, the weight was gone and he sighed in relief, putting his hands into his pockets again.  He turned to look at the kids staring at him in shock now.  Hob shrugged.  "Your magical borders are heavy and I don't feel like getting the headache that will come with them."  Now, if he wanted to, stepping into the Dreaming would be a matter of seconds, and they would have no way to easily hold him.  He grinned and gestured to the cathedral in front of them.  "Shall we go inside?  You mentioned bringing me in for questions."  

Alec shared a glance with his siblings and nodded to Clary.  An uncomfortable feeling turned over in his chest and he pulled out his phone, texting Magnus to rejoin them soon.  Whoever they were walking beside, wearing a crown and a robe made of silver and stars was not someone that he wanted to get on the wrong side of, Magnus had been right. 

"This way," Alec said, stepping in front.  "We want to understand what it was that attacked our city and how to prevent it from happening again in the future."  

Hob hummed and followed the kid into the cathedral, letting out another low whistle.  Behind him, he caught sight of Matthew slipping through the door and up into the rafters, grinning.  Of course Dream would send him to keep an eye on things, because his husband was first and foremost a worrier when it came to anything.  "I can tell you who opened the portal, and we're dealing with it, but you might want to keep an eye out for them in the future."  

Alec led the way into one of the conferences, glad that Operations, for the most part, openly gaped for a few seconds at the mundane with a crown, and what mimicked a robe of spun silver walked with them.  He opened the door and held it open and gave Izzy and Clary a nod and relaxed when Jace stepped in with him and shut the door behind him.  

Hob raised his eyebrows and sank into one of the seats around the table, leaning back against it.  "I was impressed that you were holding your own against what you were fighting.  Glad I got there when I did."  

"Thank you for your assistance," Alec said, sitting down across from him.  "But you said they weren't demons?"  

"No," Hob said with a shake of his head.  "They look like some I have seen, so I have no doubt that is the reason they tripped your sensors, but they are not creatures of Hell.  Far from it, in fact."  He leaned back in his chair.  "I suspect that's also why you couldn't find the source of them easily."  

"If they weren't demons, then what were they?" Jace asked, leaning back against the wall of the conference room.  "And why the hell are you wearing a crown?"  

Hob fought down the urge to laugh at the grumpy blonde and winked at him.  "I'm wearing a crown because it's mine as King Consort.  I don't like it, but it's a power thing.  When I use it here, it shows up."  He reached up and tapped at the shimmering starlight in his hair and smiled at it.  He shrugged.  

Alec narrowed his eyes.  "You aren't answering the question."  

Hob looked at the kid in front of him and let out a quiet hum.  "Quite right," he agreed.  "I could tell you what they are, but it's better that I don't.  Know that they were taken from their home, given something that would drive them mad, and then released into your world.  My husband came to get them back, and I happened to be in the same city, so I came to help.  He doesn't like being in more than one place at once."  

"Who is your husband?" Alec asked, narrowing his eyes.  "The kind of power you're talking about..."  

Hob laughed and shook his head.  "No comment and no answer.  Your city is safe from what happened, and it won't happen again, unless one of the Fae decides that they have a vendetta against you.  But even then my husband's wrath should be enough to keep them away."  He shrugged.  "It's a violation of their treaty, so the punishment will be severe."  

Jace rubbed his forehead.  "Do you always talk in fucking riddles?"  

"No, actually," Hob admitted.  "But there are few things I would keep as safe as I do my husband's secrets, and that will never change."  He shrugged and settled back in the chair, yawning.  "He's keeping an eye on me though, so it looks like I won't get a visit from him as long as I sleep tonight."  

"You understand," Alec started.  "You have given us no proof that you are not the one who summoned those creatures, and that you will not do so the second you are out of here.  You have told us nothing."  He crossed his arms over his chest.  "Explain why I should trust you, or anything that you say."  

Hob tapped his fingers on the edge of the table.  "I did send the creature back to its home and kept it from attacking all of you."  He held up his hands which were still healing from the acid burn.  "Hurting myself in the process, mind you, but you were doing more damage, and I couldn't let you keep hurting it."  

"So it is yours," Alec said, narrowing his eyes.  "Why did you summon them here?"  

"I just told you I didn't," Hob said.  "One of the Fae did, and we're handling that."  

"By 'we', I'm assuming you mean your husband?" Alec challenged.  "Who we have seen no proof of, and there is no guarantee that he exists or will do anything to prevent this from happening again."  

"Christ if I realized it was going to be this big of an issue I wouldn't have bothered coming with you," Hob muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.  "Okay, kid, look."  

"My name is Alec Lightwood-Bane," Alec snapped.  

Hob snorted and smiled.  "All right, Mister Lightwood-Bane.  I'm not a danger to you.  The creatures are no longer at large in your city.  The humans they tried to hurt are all going to be perfectly fine.  They aren't going to come through again, and the person who brought them through is going to be stopped and punished.  What other answers do you need?"  

"How about proof, for any of that," Jace said, his tone mild.  "Because right now, you've given us none of it, like Alec said."  

Hob stared at the both of them for several long moments and looked up at the corner of the room where Matthew was blending into the shadows.  "Oi, Matthew."  He could feel both of them were surprised when the raven landed on the table beside him.  "I'm going to tell them what's going on once the other one is back.  Alec's husband here.  He'll know to keep his mouth shut.  Can you let him know?"  

"He's not going to like that," Matthew answered.  

Alec's eyes slammed wide.  "What the..."

"Did that bird just fucking-"

"He'll survive," Hob said, pointing a finger at Matthew.  "We're not going to cause another political incident and I know that he has his hands full with Titania right now, so he can deal with her and I can deal with this."  He paused and grinned.  "Besides, you know the drill.  I'll be fine, and you can tell him I'm in full King Consort mode.  That always makes him happy."  

Matthew scowled and spread his wings.  "He's going to make it rain."  

"It will be fine," Hob reiterated, holding out his hand before tossing Matthew into the air.  In seconds, he had disappeared into the shadows of the room and he turned back to the shocked two kids in the room with them.  "All right, as long as my husband doesn't come in here to yell at me, I'll explain what happened once your husband comes back."  

Alec frowned.  "Why do we have to wait for Magnus?" 

"I suspect," Hob started.  "That he is going to understand much more of what I have to say than the two of you will.  I also think that he will be able to tell you I speak the truth."  He glanced toward the door and saw the very man he was speaking of approaching, and the power curling around him was unmistakable, and Hob stood up when he opened the door.  

Chapter Text

Magnus froze for a brief second after stepping in the door, at the human who was wrapped in what could only be Endless power, a crown on his head, before slamming the door shut behind him.  "What are you doing in our world?"  

Hob laughed, giving a quick bow before sinking back into a seat.  "It is my world as well.  I am a full homegrown human."  He tilted his head and smirked, gesturing to the crown.  "I did marry into power, as I know you can feel now that you're here."  He paused and rolled his shoulders.  "However, if you would be so kind as to ensure privacy for the three of us, I will explain what is going on."  

"This I gotta see," Jace said, scowling.  "I don't believe that you're some sort of King though."  

"He is," Magnus said, his voice soft, keeping his eyes on the human when they flicked up to him again.  They were radiating a kind of power that had him wanting to draw his own power tighter around him to protect Alexander and Jace.  "He is precisely who he says he is.  And the last thing we want to do is bring his husband into things."  

Alec glanced at Magnus, the seriousness in his tone, and gave a short nod.  "Then tell us what is going on."  

Hob let out a breath and waited for the heavier blanket of magic to settle around the room.  "The creatures you were attempting to kill are not demons.  They're Nightmares, from the Dreaming, the realm of Dreams."  

Magnus sucked in a hard breath, staring at the human in front of him.  This was the husband of Dream of the Endless.  They would need to be very careful.  "What were they doing in the Waking world?"  

"Waking world?" Alec asked, looking at Magnus.  "Is that our world?"  

Hob leaned forward, grinning brightly.  "So you do know.  I thought I could feel Kingship on your shoulders."  He tilted his head and glanced at Alec Lightwood-Bane.  "Which would make him your King Consort."  He huffed and shook his head.  "He'd be so proud of me for engaging in proper diplomatic relations."  

"It is," Magnus said.  "But what were the Nightmares doing released here?"  

Hob sighed.  "That is what my husband is trying to find out.  There was a tear ripped into the Dreaming and they were released into New York.  Whoever did such is an enemy to both your world and ours, and he will handle their punishment."  He pushed his fingers through his hair.  "I'm actually in town for a conference and I'll be here for the rest of the week.  I was expecting to take a bit of a vacation and see the city."  

"Do you know what was given to your Nightmares to make them attack mundanes like that?" Magnus asked.  "They were not lethal, at least for now, but..."  

"I don't," Hob said with a shake of his head.  "That's something for my husband and King to figure out.  My job was to get them home while he prevented more of them from-" A horn echoed in the distance and he stood up, ignoring the surprise from the others in the room.  He shook himself and tried to focus.  

Jace looked between Alec and Magnus, but they both seemed as bewildered as he did.  "What's wrong?"  

"I don't know," Hob answered, clenching his eyes shut, trying to listen.  "Can you not hear that horn?"  The blank looks told him that they could not, which meant that it was coming from the Dreaming.  But what would be approaching the Dreaming?  What the hell was wrong?  An uncomfortable feeling started to crawl up his spine.  He turned back to the other King in the room and took a deep breath.  

"Can you..." Hob twisted a hand in mid-air, silver magic swirling around it.  "The, the veils between worlds.  Can you feel them?  If something is wrong with them?"

Magnus frowned.  "I, if I look, yes, I think I can."  

Hob took a deep breath, placing both of his hands on the table.  The uncomfortable feeling was getting stronger and stronger by the second, and the horn was getting louder.  They needed to move, and quickly.  He looked at Alec Lightwood-Bane and watched him straighten.  "How many soldiers can you summon to fight demons should you need them?"  

Alec frowned.  "Are you talking in-"

"In an emergency, in all-out war, how many?" Hob asked, keeping a steady gaze on him.  

"More than two thousand, with the ability to call more in terms of backup," Alec answered.  "What the hell is going on?"  

Hob looked at Magnus and raised his eyebrows.  "The walls between the hell realms and the waking world and others are being torn down if I had to guess, aren't they?"  He cursed.  "Should have known that it wasn't just the fae."  He rubbed a hand over his face and walked around the table and pressed a hand to the glass, watching as it rippled under his touch and became a mirror.  

Jace stood up, staring in shock at the glass.  "What the hell are you doing-"

"Shut up," Hob snapped.  "Tell me how many of the walls are down."  

Magnus closed his eyes, trying to concentrate, but even now, there was a clamor growing at the back of his mind, alarms that he had set that were long since set in the case of an emergency, in the case of the day that Hell would try to come for their world once again.  "Most of the Hell realms."  

"Fuck," Hob swore, pressing his hands tighter to the glass.  "Lucienne!"  

Alec's eyes widened as a woman appeared in the mirror, fire, and destruction behind her.  "What, where..."

"Shut the borders!" Hob ordered.  "That is a formal order as King Consort.  Shut the gates, and bar all entry.  Gather the Dreams who cannot fight into Fiddler's Green and task the Nightmares with protecting them.  We are trusting you to keep the Dreaming safe."  

Lucienne gave a nod.  "Do you know what they're after?"  

Hob gave a terse nod and tightened his hand on the sword that had appeared at his side.  "You need to get a message to our King."  He glanced behind him.  "Hell is coming for me, to get to me, to use me as leverage over him, and they are going to bring every single force they have to bear to do it."  

Her eyes widened.  "They wouldn't dare."  

"They wouldn't dare attack the Dreaming," Hob corrected.  "Whatever forces are there now will easily be brushed aside as rogues.  They are coming for me."  A shudder ran up his spine and he gritted his teeth.  "You need to stay there and run things.  Tell Matthew to get to him.  Tell him what is happening."  

"You can't go up against them alone," Lucienne said.  "It's suicide, if they are coming for you."  

Hob gave her a terse grin.  "Then it's a damn good thing I am who I am, right?"  He stared at her and pulled his hands back from the glass.  "I'm going to be pulling power from the Dreaming.  Keep everyone as safe as you can, Lucienne.  I'll get in touch soon."

"Sir!"  

Hob let his power fade from the glass as he pushed his hand through his hair, dislodging his crown and staring down at it for a long moment, breathing in deeply.  He and Dream had known for years now that it was possible Hell would use him as leverage to be able to get to Dream.  Had planned for it, over and over again.  But it had been a war waged on the Dreaming, not on the Waking world, where his disappearance would not be easily noticed.

"The walls are down," Magnus said.  "The Hell realms are all poised to attack the Waking."  

Hob cursed at the confirmation and turned to look at the two other children in the room and then at the one with magic.  "Where's the nearest gate?  The thinnest it will be."  

Magnus glanced out at Operations.  "I don't know the-"

"Central Park," Alec said, crossing his arms over his chest.  "Why the hell are they coming for you?  If you're that important, you need to stay away from all of them, not head into the middle of the fight."  

Hob looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath.  "Because my husband embarrassed the devil in front of all of their generals, now they have a vendetta against him.  At his full power, they cannot challenge him, and they believe they can get to me if he is absent and unable to come to my aid without risking a dissolution of a treaty with the fae," he explained, his words quick and clipped.  "Which means we are about to have a demonic army descend on the city, and they are all going to be looking for me."  

"Are you sure?" Jace asked.  "Who the hell is your husband-"

"His husband is several hundred magnitudes more powerful than I am," Magnus said, his voice terse as he stared at the human in their midst.  "Who he is, precisely, does not matter as much as it is that we keep his human safe."  

Hob's eyes glittered.  "I'm going to be the one keeping all of you safe, unless you'd like to fight with me."  He turned and walked toward the door.  "You're going to want to summon all of the reinforcements that you can.  We are going to be facing wave after wave of demons."  

"Woah, hold on, you can't go up against those demons!" Jace said, reaching out to grab the mundane by the arm.  He blinked in surprise when he found a knife pressed to his throat and froze, staring with wide eyes.  

"Kid," Hob said, holding the knife steady, meeting his golden eyes.  "Whatever powers and fighting ability you think you have?  The only one here who can likely match me is that one."  He gestured to Magnus.  "If I pull my full power as King Consort, as much as I don't want to do that for the repercussions it could have, it wouldn't be a contest."  He smirked.  "Now, get moving."  

Hob holstered the knife and strode into Operations, glad when he saw that Alec Lightwood-Bane was only a step behind him.  The Institute was put on full alert and Hob ignored the blaring alarm as the Gate in Central Park was piled up.  The warning in the back of his mind was blaring louder by the second and he tightened his hold on the sword at his side.  The thinner the gate got, and the more soldiers that piled around him, the tenser the room became.  

"How far are we?" Hob called above the din, continuing to watch the projection, spinning it with his fingertips.  "From the Gate?"  

"At least twenty minutes," Alec said.  "We're about to send the first wave out.  They'll protect you-"

"No need," Hob said, winking at him.  He put two fingers into his mouth and whistled, loud and shrill for a few seconds before he turned to look at the shadows of the corner of the room. 

Magnus turned to look and shuddered as the whole room went shockingly chill and all the lights blinked out for a few extended seconds and then returned to normal.  When he blinked, there was a man in sunglasses and a white suit standing beside Hob, a disconcerting smirk on his face.  

"Where the hell did you come from?" Jace asked, his hand on his sword.  

"Doesn't matter," Hob said, turning to look at the Corinthian.  "Here's the deal."  He narrowed his eyes at the Nightmare.  "You help me out tonight, I won't tell him about your rendezvous with the incubus and succubus couple-" he held up a hand at the immediate scowl.  "And you'll get to be my Nightmare, for at least a month."  

"Two months."  

Magnus looked over at Alec in confusion but his husband appeared to be just as clueless as he was about whatever that was.  He shook his head.  

Hob narrowed his eyes.  "We can discuss it if you can keep me safe.  We've got demon hordes about to descend and I need someone covering my back."  

Alec stepped up with a frown.  "I can-"  

"Not as well as he can," Hob said with a gesture.  He raised his eyebrows at the Corinthian.  "Come on, I know you want the chance to stab me a few times, don't pretend you don't."  

The Corinthian sighed.  "He gets so angry when I stab you."  

Hob laughed and shrugged.  "I promise I won't let him get too mad this time, especially if you keep me safe."  

"Fine.  But you don't let him unmake me."  He pulled a knife out of his jacket.  

"No unmaking," Hob promised and watched the alarms on the table blare dark red, cursing.  

"Well that doesn't look good," The Corinthian said, raising his eyebrows before turning to look at Hob Gadling.  "He's going to be very cross with you for getting into trouble on your own again."  

Magnus stepped up with a sigh and gathered magic around his hands.  "I can summon a portal-"

"Don't bother," Hob said, turning to look around Operations.  "Cori, do me a favor and go there, step into one of the demons and I'll take care of the rest."  

"Oh yeah, give me the easy job," Corinthian muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  "I'd better get a lot of stabbing, Gadling!"  

Hob rolled his eyes and watched him walk away.  He turned to the doorway nearby into a conference room.  "Faster and less magic required than a portal," he explained, shutting the door, and pressing a palm to it.  It was easy to feel The Corinthian stepping into the mind of a demon, the lethal whisper that slid across his mind, urging him to stumble and sleep because he was exhausted.  The second the demon fell into the daydream of rest, Hob had what he needed.  

He tugged the door open and gestured to the gathered soldiers.  "Let's go.  Shut it behind you after you are done and it will close."  Hob stepped through and unsheathed his sword, his robe shifting to armor that flowed over him in a wave as he approached the demons.  Their attention was on him in seconds, and he strode forward, the power of the Dreaming wrapping in tighter and tighter waves.  

The demons at the front had their teeth bared and more were pouring through the gate.  Hob walked up to the first one.  "You know," he said, rolling the sword in his hand.  "If you all wanted to capture me so badly, I thought you would have planned it better."  An arrow hit his shoulder and deflected off his armor and Hob turned to look at the demon, a smile hovering on his lips.  

"You're going to come with us, Robert Gadling, or we're going to wreak endless havoc on this world, and destroy it.  How many humans will we have to kill?" Another demon snarled.  

In an instant, Hob had his bow in hand instead, and there was an arrow through the demon's face, sending him crashing to the ground.  He slung his longbow over his shoulder once again and faced them.  "I think that's a solid no, but just in case you're confused, my answer is, indeed, no."  

A cry went up from the demons and Hob grinned, trading his bow for his sword once again.  He felt a shiver run up his spine as The Corinthian stepped up behind him.  He glanced at the wicked knives in his hands and smirked.  "Good Nightmare."  

"Fuck you," Corinthian muttered.  

"Magnus," Alec called, glancing over at him.  "Is there anything that can be done to close the barriers between the hell realms and this one?  Can we shut them again?"  

Magnus pressed his lips tighter together.  "They'll close on their own.  They aren't meant to stay open this long, or to let this many through."  His lips thinned.  "This is the only place they've broken through for now, but there are others who could be at risk."  

"Then we keep the fight here and find a way to cut them off," Alec said, taking a deep breath, glancing behind him as more and more shadowhunters poured out of the doorway, facing the demon army in front of them.  He kept his eyes on the silver armor of Hob, and the man in white next to him.  

"This is going to be a hell of a fight," Jace said, his eyes darting to the demons.  "I think we're going to be outnumbered at least two to one, if not more, soon.  We need to move."  

"I know," Alec agreed.  But something in him was stopping his immediate advancement, and it might have been the way that Hob was clearly unafraid of the group in front of him.  "We'll attack in a second."  He wanted to see what, if anything, the mundane (or not so mundane) in front of him could do to help them out.  

Hob glanced toward the gate and relaxed, marginally, when no towering figure that he would recognize in seconds stepped through.  While it was clear Lucifer had given the order, if they had also stepped onto the field, his chances of survival decreased dramatically.  He rolled his shoulders.  "I don't suppose if I agreed to come with you, you'd let everyone else go?"  

A snarl from a demon gave him the answer that he needed for that, and Hob sighed.  "That's what I thought.  Oh very well then."  Gathering more of the Dreaming's power around him, with a grunt, Hob shocked the first several rows of demons in front of him to sleep and watched them tip over, their eyes firmly shut.  His crown shimmered on his head and his armor was glowing.  It would be his first time going into battle as the King Consort of Dream of the Endless, but it was far from his first time on a battlefield.  

Magnus dashed forward the second he saw the demons go limp and fall to the ground, Alexander a split second behind him.  He threw his magic forward and incapacitated more, sending them to the ground, before finally scrambling forward, gathering more magic around his fingertips. 

Hob waded into the battle and was grateful for the army at his back, since they had quickly formed a perimeter and were keeping the demons in Central Park (for the most part, he'd seen a few flying demons escape, but Magnus had assured him that they would be taken care of between blasts of magic).  Unfortunately, the tide had not stopped, and the demons kept attempting to cut him off from the others, confirming that it was him they were looking for.  Hob sent out another wash of power, but it was smaller than the others, and he could feel the strain on the Dreaming.  

"You're not going to be able to do that much longer!" The Corinthian snapped, slicing through another demon and stepping through another.  "The Dreaming is under attack, and your sainted husband and Lucienne are protecting the borders there."  

"Fuck," Hob swore, and cut down another demon, panting hard, even as he spun into another attack, then another.  That meant if he kept pulling power, he was taking it away from Dream and what he would need to keep the Realm safe.  "Time for something ill-advised then.  Give me your knives!"  

Corinthian turned to him and raised his eyebrows.  "What?"  

"I can't do it with the sword, I need dreamstuff!" Hob snapped, shoving his blade at Corinthian, taking several of his knives in his hands.  "Now keep up, I'm going to take out as many of them as I can before I have to let go of the Dreaming."  He kept the knives close and let out a hard breath. 

"Whatever you're doing, it'd better be good!" Magnus snapped as he stepped up behind the mundane and the power gathering around him.  It was starting to flicker in a worrying fashion, but it was growing steadily despite that.  He took out another few demons and watched as several more arrows flew past him and into another demon.  Alexander and Jace were fighting only a few feet away.  

"I'm about to lose the ability to do something about it," Hob said, his chest heaving as the armor around him fell away, all of it coalescing into his hands.  He clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath.  "So I'm going to do something I probably shouldn't."  

The Corinthian shoved another demon off of him and turned to face the King Consort, stepping in close to press their foreheads together.  "Concentrate," he snarled, meeting the surprised eyes in front of him.  "Your only limit is imagination.  You are the King's Consort, you hold his power, the power of the Dreaming.  You are his chosen, and there are none here who would dare stand against you.  You have done battle with far more and far worse for him.  Now stop pussyfooting around and show everyone who you are."

Hob felt something in his chest expand at the snarled order from The Corinthian and settle, the Dreamstuff between his hands starting to burn.  He was right.  Everything he had said was true.  Focusing, Hob took another deep breath and let his eyes fall shut as he reached out to feel everyone on the battlefield, those with his magic that he recognized and those that he did not.  He stepped away from The Corinthian and heard the shout of his name from Magnus, but it didn't matter.  

Imagine.  

What was the most devastating thing he could imagine with the blades in his hands?  Hob smiled faintly and breathed, letting his head fall back as they started to break apart and shatter between his palms, petal blossoms starting to gather around him.  He was King Consort of the Dreaming, lover of Dream of the Endless, and even more than that, he was Hob Gadling, he who could not die, gifted by Death herself.  What fear did he have of those who came for him?

They should fear him. 

"Scatter," Hob breathed, and let the petals free from his hands.  The silver petals became a tornado, each one of them a sword, a piece of Dreamstuff honed into the sharpest of blades that sliced through and took down demon after demon around him.  The circle of spinning petals moved faster and faster, responding to his silent commands, and with a sweeping wave of his hand, Hob sent them through all the demons he could feel on the field.  

His name was shouted, but Hob focused on the portal, pushing the petals forward.  There was a metallic tang in the back of his throat, but he would not pull from the Dreaming, this was only him now, and the parts of him he could offer the magic he used.  The petals shimmered in the air, the same silver as peerless steel, slicing through throat, belly, and vulnerable flesh, spinning closer and closer to the portal.  There was more and more shouting behind him, but Hob stepped forward, opening his eyes to focus on the demons still trying to push through the portal, to get to him.  

"You," he panted, staring at them, his skin on fire with the command.  His crown shimmered and began to fall around his ears, shimmering and shattering apart into sparks of Dreamstuff under the weight of his actions.  "Will not break through!"  Hob snarled again and stepped forward, his hands commanding the petals as they swept through wave after wave of demons, leaving devastation in his wake.  The smell of blood was getting stronger and heavier by the second and he could see the petals were smeared with red now, red that he recognized, that was coming from him.  

The next wave of demons screamed the second they stepped through the portal as Hob continued his slow advance.  He could feel the blades, the magic at his back, but there was a steadily growing fear, a worry, as he kept up the petals, sweeping through the demons, keeping them back.  He would protect them, he would, Dream would protect the Dreaming, and he would protect the Waking and-

"Hob."  

The sound of a blessed voice had Hob falling forward, exhaustion claiming him as his mind, at last, broke under the weight.  He didn’t feel how he fell into a safe embrace and weightless shadow, nor did he hear the sounds of battle any longer.  

Chapter Text

Magnus nearly slumped in relief when a shadow fell onto the field with a terrible scream.  His magic was sputtering, exhausted, but all at once, the Other power that had hung around the human exploded around them all, lancing through the remaining demons before at last sealing the portal and sealing it away.  The exhausted shadowhunters were slowly realizing that the battle was over and Magnus grinned tiredly as Alec stepped up beside him and wrapped him in his arms.  They were both trembling, but as he looked toward the mass of shadow near where the portal had been, he swallowed hard and approached it.  

"What is that?" Alec asked, lifting his bow over his head as he gestured Jace to begin getting their people home.  Magnus hadn't let go of his hand and they were moving closer to it.  

"Not what, who," Magnus explained, stepping up closer to the shadow.  "That is, if I am not mistaken, Hob's husband."  Based on the power that he could feel, he had no doubt that he was right, but he needed to make sure that Hob was all right, since the human had saved them all at the end with whatever he had done.  

"Give him a minute."  

Alec looked over at the man in the white suit, still wearing his sunglasses, and holding Hob's sword, watching the writhing pit of shadows.  "Who are you?"  At the smirking grin, a shudder ran up his spine, but he met those inky black sunglasses.  

"Your worst Nightmare," he drawled.  "But that aside, give him a minute.  Mister King Consort killed himself several times over with that stunt and my boss is a bit pissed about it."  

Magnus frowned.  "He what?  What do you mean?"

The Corinthian laughed.  "Yeah, you wouldn't know that he's prone to this sort of shit unless you knew him better, but you know how the petals were covered in blood at the end there?"  

"Yes," Alec answered, glancing at Magnus.  "I assumed it was because they were slicing the demons."  

"Yeah, no.  It's because he kept generating more and more of them.  But because he didn't have more of what he used to make them, he used himself."  

"You are aware I can hear every word, Corinthian.  You overstep."  

The Corinthian fought down a shudder and gave the shadows a deep bow.  "I only answered the questions that those who fought to protect him deserve to answer, and came when the King Consort summoned me."  He paused and held up the sword before it dissolved a moment later.  "I kept him safe," he added, almost pouting.  

Magnus stared at the man in the white suit who was now full-on pouting now and got the sense he was in a staring contest with the mass of shadows, especially when he sighed again, as though there had been a conversation silently happening.  

"Yes, yes, I'll head back.  But you can ask him yourself!"  Corinthian said, bouncing on his heels before he turned to the others, giving them a wave.  "See you in your Nightmares!"  

"Corinthian!"  

The snarl in that voice sent shudders down his spine and Alec turned back to the mass of shadows that was slowly starting to fade and reveal the form of a man.  He swallowed as Hob appeared not long after, far paler than he had been, his clothes torn and shredded, shadows covering him in a starry blanket.  

"You are the ones who demanded Hob come with you," Dream stated, looking between them with narrowed eyes.   "On what authority do you command my Consort?"  

Magnus stepped forward and bowed, low and deep.  "We meant no harm to him.  However, we have our own duties to our people to keep safe."  He gestured to Alec to stand beside him and took his hand, facing Dream of the Endless once again.  "I am Magnus Lightwood-Bane, son of Asmodeus, and rightful heir to Edom, and this is my King Consort, Alexander Lightwood-Bane, heir to the Lightwood Nephilim line, and Head of the New York Institute."  

Dream hummed in consideration, looking between them.  "You were the ones hunting my Nightmares that were pulled into the Waking world."  

"We are sorry for that," Alec said, nodding at him.  "We did not know they were Nightmares until Hob was able to explain."  His eyes darted back down to him.  "Will he be all right after what he did?"  He glanced at Magnus.  "Does, does he need healing, we have someone we can call if-"

"He will be all right," Dream stated.  "He cannot die, and has merely exhausted himself." 

Alec blinked and stared down at the mundane in the lap of the... King of whatever it was that Magnus knew and would tell him later.  "You mean that literally, don't you?"

"He does," Magnus agreed.  He'd seen the way that Hob had torn himself open again and again to keep up the barrage of petals, the way he'd stumbled, his heart had stopped before he'd managed to keep going again, far beyond what should have been possible.  He glanced at the Endless and shuddered under the weight of the gaze there.  Coming to the attention and knowledge of one of the Endless was not something he had ever wanted to do in his life, immortal or not.  

"You know what I am," Dream stated, his eyes narrowed at the warlock, the King of Edom, though the realm was no more.  "Do you not share Lucifer's vendetta against me?"  

Magnus felt Alec tense beside him and met Dream of the Endless' eyes dead-on.  "I do not.  I may be heir and have assumed Kingship, but I was the one to send my father to be trapped in limbo prior to receiving the crown and the power it includes.  But I am not and never will be one of their generals, or one who answers their call, or commands.  I am my own, as is the realm of Edom."  Power rippled through the air, a simple truth, and Magnus, a lifetime of politics behind him, took another step forward and let himself smile.  

"In fact," he continued.  "I would not be against forging an alliance with the Dreaming.  Edom is no more, as you likely well know, but those within its purview and the magic of such a realm do exist, and those I control and would offer in the alliance."  

Dream narrowed his eyes.  "In return for what, Edomite King?"  

Magnus shrugged.  "Honestly, I don't want anything.  However, if you are aligned against Lucifer, I imagine that you need all the allies you can get, and I am happy to be one of them."  

"Oh I like him," Hob mumbled, opening his eyes as he rolled in Dream's lap, his whole body aching as he groaned.  His head swam and he groaned.  "I would murder someone for some orange juice."  A flicker of blue sparks near his hand and a large glass of the juice had him laughing as he picked it up.  "Cheers, whichever of you did that."  

"I do not believe in an unequal trade," Dream said, frowning.  "You could request things I am in no place to give at a later date, and I will not place myself or the Dreaming in that situation."  

"Then-" Alec paused when both Magnus and the King looked to him and he cleared his throat before speaking again.  "Then we will make a request."  He tightened his hold on Magnus' hand.  "I am sure that it has not escaped your notice that I am a Nephilim, a mortal, while my husband, my King, is immortal."  There was a flicker of eyes between the two of them, but Alec didn't flinch under the perusal.  

Hob closed his eyes and sighed, flinching away from the reminder of the pain that awaited the two of them.  Even in the form of a treaty, there was nothing that Dream could do to help their situation.  

"Alec," Magnus started.  "He can't, that isn't in his ability to offer, love."  

Alec shook his head.  "I don't wish for it to be granted from him."  He straightened his spine.  "Especially if it is not in his ability to do so."  

"Then what, precisely, do you wish for, Consort?" Dream asked, his eyes narrowed.  "What you hint at is a gift that only my sister can bestow in truth."  

"I don't need that level of immortality," Alec said, gesturing to Hob.  "I'll even go as far to say that I do not want it, because it is not what Magnus has."  He could see the surprise in those blue eyes, so he continued.  "I wish to offer a trade for knowledge."  

Dream tilted his head, more curious by the second.  "In this, perhaps, I could assist.  Knowledge of what?"  

Magnus swallowed and kept his eyes on Alec, but his husband was certain of the course ahead of them, and there was no anger on Dream of the Endless' face, only polite curiosity, which was better than the wrath he'd expected.  

"If there are no other avenues, I will seek out becoming a vampire to share his lifespan," Alec said, stating his need plainly.  "However, the knowledge I wish to learn is if there are other avenues I can take to extend my lifespan."  He paused and offered a small smile.  "I need something more concrete than rumor and conjecture, and while rumors have a basis in truth, they are not much on their own."  

Dream watched for several long moments, tilting his head to the side.  "I will grant you what you seek, but the means, not the information itself."  His lips curved in a faint smile.  

Hob let out a huff of a laugh.  "Oh you're going to make Lucienne very cross with you," he muttered, pushing himself upright before he immediately leaned against Dream once again.  

"What does that mean?" Alec asked, looking between the two still on the ground.  "Could you clarify?"  

Dream hummed and looked down at Hob, reaching out to take his hand and squeeze it, slowly and gently.  "There is a library that contains every book that has been written, and every book intended to be written.  Every story ever recorded."  

Magnus sat up, his eyes widening.  "There is?"  

"Indeed," Dream said, amused.  "I will give you access to such a place while you sleep, for it is in the Dreaming.  I will even give you the ability to remember your Dreams, for the answers you seek are in such a place."  His eyes narrowed.  "In return, I would sign a treaty of loyalty and peace with Edom and her King."  

Magnus gave a deep bow and tried to keep the eager grin off his face.  "I would be honored to sign such a treaty."  

Hob yawned and gave Dream a tug, standing to his feet.  "I'm going to leave the two of you to do the thing.  I know you have all that sort of official stuff.  I'm going to go talk to the kids and send them home."  He stumbled for a second before stretching.  "I won't go far."  

Dream let out a grunt and watched as Hob approached Alec Lightwood-Bane and tugged him away and back to where the other Nephilim were still waiting and watching them with wary eyes.  He brought his full attention to the King in front of him and bowed his head.  "Thank you for your assistance in protecting him."  

"I understand," Magnus said, inclining his head in return.  "No thanks are required from one of the Endless."  He paused and offered a small smile.  "I will be telling Alexander, and only him, who you are.  He will need to know, if our allyship is called upon."  

Dream nodded and summoned a treaty to his fingertips, perusing it, before offering it to Magnus Lightwood-Bane.  "Acceptable terms."  

-

"Come on, let's get your people home," Hob said, yawning again, his body sluggish.  He could feel the part of him that missed the attachment of the Dreaming, a yawning, deep gap within him, but he'd need to revisit the Dreaming in order to establish it properly again.  Thankfully, having Dream here meant their bond was flooded with energy and he had what it would take to open another portal.  It took him a minute of searching, but he found a makeshift doorway in a tree and used it to open an entrance into the building they had all come from. 

Once the soldiers were gone, Hob let the portal fall to the side and sagged again in relief, yawning wide, ignoring the pointed look from Dream.  He was going to sleep like a rock tonight and probably be tired tomorrow too, but that was maybe deserved.  He looked over at the kid next to him and reached into his pocket, fishing out his phone, before unlocking it and holding it out to him.  

Alec raised his eyebrows.  "What do you want?"  

"Your phone number," Hob said, shrugging.  "Seems like a handy thing to be able to get in touch with each other, especially with the treaty they're signing, neither of them will think of something practical like phone numbers."  

Alec snorted and entered his number into the phone, watching as Hob sent him a message a moment later before pocketing his own phone.  "How old are you?"

Hob huffed and glared at the kid.  "Rude to ask, you know.  Do you ask your husband that question?"  

Alec shrugged.  "I have, and he's lied every time.  I suspect it's close to around five hundred since his best friend keeps teasing him about milestone birthdays."  He glanced at Hob again.  "You strike me as older."  

"I am," Hob answered, his arms still crossed over his chest.  "Closer to seven hundred than six hundred."  He glanced back at Dream.  

Alec fidgeted before looking at him again.  "Is there a secret to it?  A trick?  There are warlocks who simply... calcify, who can't find something to keep living for, even though they have immortality."  

Hob hummed and tapped his foot on the ground.  "Curiosity, if you want my honest answer.  There is always something to look forward to, some new discovery, some new part of life, some new place to travel."  He looked further down the street.  "You can't be in a hurry to do everything and have everything all at once when you're immortal.  You'll always have time, so appreciate that."  He shrugged.  "It took us more than six hundred years to exchange names."  

Alec's eyes widened.  "That's... a long time."  

Hob shrugged.  "When you have forever, does it really matter?"  

That was a perspective he'd heard Magnus mention in passing - decades-long grievances, because they had the time to hold them for that long, but this was something far beyond that scale.  He nodded and let out a breath.  "Curiosity."  

"It will be lonely," Hob said, his eyes far away.  "I've lost much.  So has my King.  Loss defines life sometimes.  It will not always be happy.  But it will be more happy than sad, and that is what I always try to remember."  He shrugged and looked at the kid again.  "You seem sure.  I thought I was sure too, when it happened."  

Alec swallowed.  "Have you ever been less than sure?"  

Hob smiled sadly.  "More than once.  But I've persevered and never regretted it."  He tilted his head and looked at Alec and gestured to his phone.  "Use that.  I would love another immortal friend who isn't one of my King's siblings."  

"He has siblings?" Alec asked, his eyes widening.  

Hob snorted.  "Yes, he does.  And no, they're not like him, they're different, and yet the same."  He shrugged.  "I never know how to describe them other than they are very much themselves."  He pushed his fingers through his hair and yawned again.  "But seriously.  Use that.  Come visit me in England if you and your husband need a vacation, I own a pub."  

"I'll do that," Alec said with a nod, reaching down to touch his phone once more, resolving to memorize the phone number that he'd been given so he couldn't forget it.  "Do you have any regrets?"  

"Oh, thousands," Hob said with a shrug.  "There's blood on my hands that I will never wash away, no matter how old I get, and there are things I did that I will regret for however long my life is."  He paused and looked at the kid, and the fear that filled his eyes.  "But if you are asking if I regret immortality?  No, no I don't."  

Alec nodded once again and turned to face where Magnus was standing with the King, shadows swirling around the both of them.  The fact that Hob did not regret it, even now, after hundreds of years, gave him hope for the future, whatever it would be for the both of them.  He knew that he would make similar mistakes, but he could keep going.  

"Kid?" Hob said, reaching out to press their shoulders together.  

Alec scowled, glaring at him.  "I am not a kid, no matter how much older you are than me."  

Hob shrugged.  "Still a kid to me, you can't be over twenty-five."  He took a deep breath and tapped his fingers on his thigh.  "You're stepping into a world you know very little about, based on what I've seen so far.  I know you want to research and find the answers you seek, and I don't begrudge you that.  But you need to learn far, far more, and your husband won't be able to teach you everything."  

"What do you suggest?" Alec asked.  

"My husband didn't put an expiration date on the treaty, or what he is gifting you both.  Use it to your advantage.  There is far more than the answers you seek in that library," Hob said, his voice quiet and far away.  "I can help you with some things, stuff I've learned in the last few years.  Especially around Dream and his siblings, though I hope that he is the only one you ever have cause to meet."  

A chill ran up his spine, slow and steady and Alec glanced over at Magnus and the way he shimmered with otherworldly power.  There was a similar, except so much more type of power around Hob's husband, and the reminder of their power disparity had fear gripping him.  "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's research and studying.  I'll take your advice."  

"Don't worry too much," Hob said, giving him a hard pat on the back.  "I'm telling you stuff I wish someone would have told me to make my life easier.  I promise that it's not all doom and gloom.  It'll be far more of the good times than the bad."  He stretched again.  "And if you need help, use my number."  

Alec looked down at his phone in his pocket.  "I don't-"

"Kid," Hob started, meeting his eyes when he looked up in surprise.  "Call me if you need help, I don't care what kind of help it is.  You don't strike me as someone who leans on others often, and you're the one everyone leans on.  I'm sure you can lean on Magnus, but there are times when you can't.  I've been a soldier for hundreds of years before.  I promise I could get it, whatever it is."  

Alec swallowed, something uncomfortable and tight growing in his chest and he stared down at the ground, even as the magical weight disappeared moments later, and Magnus was striding toward them.  There was something in the way that Hob had said that, that meant that he knew, maybe more than he would admit to, just what the burdens on him were.  He met kind brown eyes and gave a quick, jerky nod.  

"I will," Alec promised, managing a smile.  He took a deep breath.  "Guess I'll see you around?"  

"Oh you'll see me in the library, don't worry," Hob said with a wave.  "One of my favorite places to hang out when he's busy and I dream.  I'll help you make friends with Lucienne."  He made his way back over to Dream, stumbling only once, glad when Dream's hand came out to steady him.  "Have a good night you two!"  

Alec watched Hob step up closer to his King, the two of them sharing a slow kiss before they were swept away in a swirl of sand.  He reached out and was glad when Magnus' fingers were tangled in his.  He leaned in closer and took a slow, deep breath.  

"He likes you," Magnus said, managing a small huff of laughter.  "I don't know if it's a good thing or not, to be liked by one such as him, but he does like you." 

Alec leaned into Magnus, relaxing now that they were alone and they could make their way back to the Institute.  “Who is he?”  

Magnus hummed.  “I’m sure he’ll introduce himself properly at some point, or maybe he’ll expect Hob to do it.  But he is known as Dream of the Endless.”  

“So he’s a God?” Alec asked, frowning.  

“Far more than a God,” Magnus said, chuckling and shaking his head.  “You just met one of the most powerful creatures in the entire universe, the personification of Dreams and Nightmares.”  

Alec blinked and stared at Magnus.  “He’s…” 

Magnus gave him a pat on the hand.  “I have some books you can read about them, don’t worry.”  

“Good,” Alec said weakly.  “That’s… that’s great.”  

~!~

A week later, Hob glanced down at his phone with a frown as he shut his office door behind him when he realized that Alec was calling him and swiped the call open immediately.  “Alec?  Is everything all right?”  

“I think my head is going to explode,” Alec said, staring down at the book in his lap.  “Magnus is gone for the moment, and I swear if he gives me a cryptic answer one more time I’m going to stab him, so I’m calling you.”  

Hob blinked and started to smile, biting down a grin as he shouldered his bag and headed out of the room.  “I can see that being an issue.  What is it you need answers about?”  

“What in the Angel’s name is an anthropomorphic personification?”   

The fact that he managed to ask the question, right as Hob turned the corner and met Dream’s eyes where his husband was waiting for him, had him bursting into laughter hard enough to nearly fall over.  Ignoring Dream’s increasingly concerned look, Hob sucked in a deep breath and chuckled again.  

“Thank fuck I am not the only one who has asked that question,” Hob answered back, grinning as he stepped up beside Dream and kissed his cheek.  “Dream’s picking me up from work, so we’ll see how long I can stand the force of his glare while I answer your questions.”  

Alec sighed in relief.  “Thank the angel.  Okay, so let’s start there.  He’s… an idea?”  

Hob took Dream’s hand as they started to walk.  “The collective unconscious, actually.”  

“That doesn’t make it any clearer,” Alec said with a huff.  “Magnus tried to explain about his realm and it’s all-” 

“Absolutely fucking batty, right?” Hob said, swinging Dream’s hand idly as they crossed campus.  “Here’s the piece of advice I’ll give you because it’ll save you a lot of trouble.  Stop trying to rationalize it and just take everything about him at face value.  It’ll prevent a lot of headaches.”  

Alec swallowed.  “So… he is all our dreams.  And nightmares.”  

“Yup!” Hob said cheerfully.  “He’s also his realm.  It is him.  That’s why it rains if he’s in a pissy mood-”  He paused and met Dream’s eyes.  “Don’t give me that look, it’s true.”  

Alec rubbed at his temples, looking down at the book in front of him, tracing his fingertips over the pages, the information laid out in front of him.  “I’d…” he paused and frowned.  “I’d like to meet him, some day.  When, when we’re not in the middle of a fight.  Do you think we could?”  

Hob blinked and stopped in the middle of the courtyard, pulling Dream to a slow stop, looking at his phone.  “Sure,” he agreed, his voice softening.  “If I can know why.”  He couldn’t help the protectiveness that rose up in him.  For far too long, Dream hadn’t had someone in his corner, but now he did, and that was never going to change.  

“If he’s anything like Magnus at all, I don’t think he has a lot of friends,” Alec admitted.  “Power like that doesn’t often lend to close friendships.  And while it’s obviously on a different scale, I get the responsibility on some level.”  He tapped his fingers against the book in front of him.  “But it’s because of him, because of dreams, that I’m… where I am now.  With Magnus.  I, I dreamed of a better future, a future that I wanted.  I’d like to thank him for that sometime.”  

Hob tightened his hand around Dream’s and looked up at him, blinking proud tears away after a few long moments.  “I think we can definitely do that, Alec.  Maybe Magnus can portal you both over to have dinner at my pub.”  

Alec relaxed and leaned back in his chair.  “Just know that Magnus is going to critique your wine choices.  He always does.”  

Hob laughed.  “Good thing that Dream is the one who picked out most of my wines.  I’m sure he’ll find the selection perfect.”  He paused and looked at the phone before continuing.  “Don’t let this be too big.  It’s not, I promise.  You’ll see.”  

Alec didn’t have a response to that, so he murmured a brief sound and relaxed further when Hob disconnected the call.  Closing the book on his lap, he leaned back against the chair in Magnus’ office and stood, putting it away for the time being.  He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Magnus.  They had a double date to organize at some point in the near future.  

A double date with a more-than-God and his husband.  Alec felt the panic swell again and forced himself to take another deep breath.  

A double date with two he might want to call friends.  

There.  That was better.  

~!~ 

“You trust him with much,” Dream said, even as they began walking again.  

Hob shrugged.  “I’d rather him hear it from me, and get what are answers he can actually understand, rather than the semi-conceptual answers that you and his husband will give him.”  He grinned at Dream.  “Besides, it’s nice to have another human to talk to about this.”  

“He’s a Nephilim.”  

Hob shrugged again and lifted Dream’s chin for a kiss.  “Still human enough that he won’t argue the point.”  He smiled.  “Suffice to say that both of us like having someone else to talk to about our relatively all-powerful husbands.”  

Dream raised an eyebrow.  “All powerful?”  

“I might have made a few phone calls about Magnus,” Hob said idly, leading Dream through the crowds of students, until they were at last on the route home, their shoulders brushing with each step.  “Then after those few phone calls, I received a few more, very pointed ones.”  

Dream hummed.  “Which means what, precisely?”  

“He’s more of a Nephilim than his husband is and he keeps that fact very quiet,” Hob started, his voice soft.  “That he has the power of Edom in his veins, it wasn’t consumed by the destruction of the realm and he does not use it.  That he is one of the most powerful living warlocks.”  

“Those are accurate understandings of his situation, yes,” Dream agreed.  “It is how you could feel that he was a King.  You recognized the power, albeit more subconsciously than I do.”  

Hob nodded and glanced at Dream and smiled faintly.  “Also learned a few more interesting tidbits, because it turns out we’ve crossed paths, more than once.  Indirectly, most of the time, but I’ve had quite a few long-standing questions answered that I’ve had over the last few centuries.”  When Dream turned curious eyes to him, Hob grinned.  

“Let me tell you about the rumors I heard about the man who got banned from Peru…”