Chapter Text
Magnus jerked awake, the images from the nightmare he’d just had still burning vividly in the back of his mind. Not again. Ever since meeting his father in that horrid demon realm, he’d been reliving the memories of his past that he’d tried so long to forget almost every time he went to sleep. The one he’d just seen hung behind his eyelids now as he tried to clear his head. The image of his mother, hanging by the neck from an old rope stained with blood, in the barn that still smelled of the horses that had fed in it only a few hours before. Magnus hidden in a corner, not even 10 years old, ducked behind a stack of hay as he took in the look of horror on his dead mother’s face.
He tried desperately to shake the memory away. Instinctively, he reached out his hand next to him and lightly grabbed Alec’s, intertwining their fingers; his presence bringing him back from his haunted past and reminding him that he wasn’t alone. Alec gently stirred awake and turned to face Magnus. He pulled himself closer and brought his hand to Magnus’s face, wiping away a tear that Magnus hadn’t realized was there. Alec’s hand lingered on his cheek and Magnus placed his own on top of it and closed his eyes, inhaling Alec’s musky scent. He said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever god may be listening for bringing Alec Lightwood into his life.
“Are you okay?” Alec whispered softly.
Magnus smiled wistfully. “I am now, Alexander”, he murmured, pulling Alec’s hand away from his face and kissing it softly.
“Come here”, Alec said, and it wasn’t a request. Magnus shifted closer and Alec wrapped his arms around him. Magnus rested his head on Alec’s shoulder and shivered pleasantly as Alec kissed the back of his neck, sending chills up and down his spine.
“I love you”, Alec whispered into Magnus’s back.
“I love you too”, he mumbled back, barely getting all of the words out before he fell back into the hands of a deep, dreamless sleep; his dark memories fleeting him for the time being as he lay consumed in the only thing important to him now.