Archive of Our Own ^beta

Magnus wakes to his beloved shaking his shoulder, sweatpants ruffled and hair a mess— but his eyes? The cerulean nebulas hold a look of panic that he had never wanted to see from his darling.

“Do you remember,” Alec’s words splice through the air like shattered glass, whispers rushed with an undercurrent of fear, “when I told you to be prepared for the worst?”

Magnus jolts up, nodding as Alec continues, “I need you to sit in the panic room and no matter what you hear, don’t come out until I come get you, or tires hit the gravel outside.”

“Alexander—“

“There isn’t time. Go.”

Magnus watches and his darling pulls daggers from their lamp, and sending one last look to Alexander, he slips into the hidden room behind their bookshelf.

Magnus can’t focus, lighting a match in the room. His fingers find the closest things as he struggles to catch his breath.

He can feel the heat from the candles that burn around him, he can smell the pine and vanilla that encases the sweatshirt wrapped around his chest. He sees the glisten of Alexander’s necklace that has wrapped around his neck.

He breathes out, readjusting until he hears the dull, solemn thud feet away from the room and then nothing. There’s silence for far too long, and Magnus’ fingers twitch the the lever on the door.

Just as he slips the lock open, the door opens and Magnus falls back.

“Did you actually just try to open the door?” Alex blurts, crossing his arms as if there’s not blood threatening to drip into his eyes, “Magnus if we have kids they are going to be the worst behaved— oh.”

Before Magnus can help himself, he’s sitting his husband on the bed and going through the all to familiar motions of cleaning Alec’s wounds.

“You are an idiot. A stupid idiot,” Alec grins, walking to the window as Magnus reaches for more rubbing alcohol, “I can’t— are there more?”

“No,” Alec murmurs, letting the royal blue curtain slip from his grasp, “They’re not dead earlier. I took the address from them, Isabelle searched their backgrounds, they don’t have foreseeable employment. We should be safe. Tomorrow I’ll get more deadbolts for the front door, maybe take more precautions.”

He continues, taking Magnus free hand as he sits before his husband once more, “Jace is driving them to a remote dock, taking every possible precaution. Isabelle’s guarding our entrance so we can rest. Everything is taken care of for the time being.”

After a long pause, filled only with the stench of antiseptic, Magnus inquires softly, almost fearfully, “Is it over?”

“For now. But my darling,” Alec crones, cupping Magnus cheek with a warm calloused palm, “I will never let anything happen to you.”

“And you?”

“I love you.”

Magnus rolls his eyes, moving the stray hairs from flaming azure eyes, “I love you, you dumbass.”

And despite everything, Alec laughs, and it’s music to his ears.