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“Wherever we are, we are as one.”
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“Jace, come on,” Alec urged his parabatai towards his bedroom, throwing a cautious glance behind them to ensure no one was watching. If word got around that Alec Lightwood was keeping his parabatai from medical treatment, the mistrust would become rife before he even had a chance to explain. Idrisian politics ran Institutes, and theirs was no exception.
Alec shouldered the bedroom door open and pushed Jace inside, as gently as he could. The second they were away from prying eyes, Alec strode towards his parabatai and drew him into a fierce hug. “You’re okay,” Alec promised, gripping the back of Jace’s head like he could physically meld their bodies together if only he held on tight enough. “You’re safe. I promise I won’t let them near you.”
Jace uncharacteristically whimpered, and pushed further into Alec’s embrace. Alec could feel tears staining the fabric of his t-shirt, but he didn’t care. Jace needed him. As he held his parabatai, the moment everything went wrong on their mission played like a broken record through his head, over and over. If only he'd been paying enough attention.
Like two hearts on fire, Jace and Alec ripped through the cemetery, dispatching a herd of Forsaken with ease. Fighting side by side, they were one. Alec felt at peace knowing Jace was with him, and he could admit that he felt the most connected to his parabatai when they were fighting together. Jace would insist that they were the closest when they were taking each other apart slowly, stifling moans in the privacy of one of their bedrooms, but Alec couldn’t agree. In battle, their hearts beat as one.
“Yo, Alec, behind you!” Jace shouted, and Alec whirled around just in time to miss one of the Forsaken trying to shove a clawed hand into the meat of his arm. He pulled his seraph blade from its holster and ran the Forsaken through, smirking when it collapsed to the ground, dead. Alec turned back to his parabatai, about to issue a thank-you, when Jace screamed.
One of the Forsaken had him pinned to the ground, and Alec realised the cause of his distress almost immediately; two of his fingers were bent backwards at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. Rushing forward, Alec dispatched the Forsaken and dropped to his knees at Jace’s side.
“Parabatai! You okay?”
Jace didn’t respond, other than letting out a cry of pain as he folded in on himself and began to sob. Alec brushed a shaking hand over his parabatai’s shoulders, his heart thundering in his ears. “Jace…what’s wrong?” He had known Jace to take a seraph blade to the stomach without making a sound before. To hear him crying over a couple of broken fingers was nothing short of terrifying.
“D-Dad…” Jace choked out, and Alec’s heart sank. He wrapped his arms around his parabatai in a fierce embrace, trying to communicate love-safety-home through the steady pulse of their bond. He felt Jace begin to tremble in his arms, evolving into full-blown shudders the longer they sat, until he was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Alec tried hard to keep his own emotions in check as he held his parabatai close, whispering reassurances into his ear. Of everyone in their lives, he was the only one that knew the truth about Jace's father.
A difficult midnight talk came back to Alec in a rush; he remembered Jace drifting his fingers over the keys of the piano in the supply room and recounting learning how to play with his father. The man broke one of Jace's fingers every time he made a mistake. The memory churned sour in Alec’s stomach, and he swallowed hard against the onslaught of emotion. He wanted to kill Michael Wayland for ever hurting his parabatai.
“Don't - Don't let them treat me,” Jace implored, lifting one hand to Alec’s cheek, digging his nails into the other boy’s skin. His golden eyes were wild, desperate. “Don't let them touch me, please.”
Alec nodded quickly, covering Jace's hand with his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I won’t, I promise.” He could guess why Jace didn’t want anyone at the infirmary to touch his broken fingers, and he would keep him safe from the entire world if he had to.
Jace buried his face in Alec’s chest once more, and Alec felt his heart break for him. Jace was the strongest person he knew, and Alec was sure that seeing him break down like this and not being able to take his pain away was one of the worst things he would ever feel. Alec closed his eyes against the gutwrenching sobs his parabatai was letting out, and sent a prayer up to the Angel; for security, and peace.
Alec was startled out of his thoughts by the telltale creak of his bed, and he turned to see Jace collapse on top of the covers. He wasn't asleep, not yet, but Alec could tell he was beyond exhausted. It took the better part of an hour for him to calm down, and their slow progress back to the Institute meant it was an hour after that before they arrived home. His parabatai wasn't crying anymore, but the emptiness in his eyes was almost worse.
Alec hesitated, dreading his next words. The last thing he wanted to do was cause his parabatai more pain. “Jace…I have to set your fingers.”
To his surprise, there was no protest. Instead, Jace turned to face his parabatai and offered his hand without a word. Alec’s breath caught in his throat at the obvious display of trust. He took Jace’s hand gingerly, feeling for the first broken joint.
“Okay,” Alec murmured, “This is going to hurt, but after I set the fingers, I can apply an iratze and they'll heal.” Jace didn't respond, his hand limp in Alec’s. His eyes were barely open, and the only indication he gave of having heard Alec was a small, delayed sound of assent.
Taking a deep breath for the both of them, Alec took Jace's first broken finger between his and bent it back into place as fast as he could. Jace let out a loud whimper and opened his eyes wide, tearing up again. The look on his face was cautious, but still content; he trusted Alec. The weight of his faith settled like a hot coal in Alec’s stomach, and he swallowed hard.
Alec reached forward and ran his hand through his parabatai’s hair, trying to offer as much comfort as he could to remind him that he wasn't back in Michael Wayland’s care. He doubted the man ever gave Jace any comfort, or love. “Just one more,” he told Jace kindly.
Alec grasped Jace's last broken finger in his palm and set it as quickly as he could, trying hard to ignore Jace's wince and the full-body flinch that accompanied the movement. Alec quickly pulled out his stele and traced an iratze over Jace's knuckles, watching as the bruises and scrapes from their Forsaken fight disappeared under the burn of the rune.
Jace let out a shaky sigh when the damage was healed and the pain eased, a raw relief settling on his face. He blinked back a few stray tears and reached for Alec in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. His heart filling with love for his parabatai, Alec returned the embrace as hard as he could, holding Jace like he could somehow take all of the trauma of his past away through sheer will alone. Jace tilted his head upwards and brushed a kiss against Alec’s lips, communicating without words his feelings about his parabatai. It was a silent Stop blaming yourself and Alec knew it. Alec tangled his hands in Jace’s hair and kissed him too, strongly. I will always have your back.
“Thank you,” Jace said, too exhausted to specify the gratitude, but Alec knew what he was saying. The gentle thrum of their bond was all the words they needed.
“Always, parabatai.” And Alec knew with his whole heart that there was nothing he meant more.