Fading Scars: A Series of Malec One Shots

The Bond That Breaks

This scene takes place while Jace dies by Valentine's hand and Alec feels the parabatai bond break in City of Glass

Alec pulled an arrow back on his bow and let it free. It landed right between the eyes of a demon with six horns, and it disintegrated to the ground.

There were demons everywhere. The wards were down, no thanks to Sebastian, and demons of all kinds were making their way into Idris. Alec hadn't even seen some of these before. Demons with scorpion tails, demons with leathery bat wings, demons with poison sacs under their chins. This was the stuff of nightmares.

Alec released another arrow at a demon with a poison sac. It landed in its arm, which didn't do much good considering you had to aim for a more weaker spot like its heart or forehead. It merely paused to look at the wound before advancing on Alec again.

Alec backed up and found himself pinned to a wall by his throat as the demon grabbed his neck. His bow dropped to the ground, his hands reaching up to grab the demon's clawed hands. He choked as it squeezed, mercilessly, and made a feeble attempt at freeing himself which didn't do much good. He could feel the air in his lungs slowly leaving him as he struggled to breathe.

The demon suddenly roared and burst into blue flames around him. Alec sank to the ground and watched the blue flames disappear in the air, revealing the person who caused the demon to explode behind them.

"Alec. Are you okay?" Magnus knelt down and placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Just trying to get some air in my lungs," Alec gasped for air and coughed. "Where's Izzy? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She's at the Penhallow residence, last I saw. Not sure where she is now, though. Are you sure you're okay?"

Alec sat up, nodding. "Yeah I'm fine. Just needed to catch my breath, that's all."

Magnus frowned. "Then what happened to your left shoulder?"

"My shoulder?" Alec pressed a hand to his shoulder and pulled away, his hand covered in blood. "I don't remember getting-" His body suddenly seized up in pain and he cried out.

Magnus grabbed his hand. "Alec?! Alec! What's wrong?!" Magnus watched in horror as Alec arched his back in pain and his shoulder bled more. Tearing his shirt open, Magnus saw the cause of the bleeding and agony.

It was Alec's parabatai rune.

Magnus bit his lip, unsure of what to say. "Alec....your parabatai rune-" He winced when Alec let out heart wrenching cry of pain. "I wish I could take the pain from you...."

Alec whimpered in pain, tears now rolling down his face. "Jace....he's dead. He's dead...."

"Hang in there, Alexander. The pain doesn't last for long."

"Not the physical pain, but the emotional one does...." Alec let out a final cry of agony as another wave of pain washed over him. Exhausted, he fell to the stone ground on his back, breathing heavily. "Jace. He can't be dead...."

"Don't give up on me now, Alec. You can get through this. I know you can."

Alec shook his head. "I can't. Not without Jace. Not without my parabatai. I feel so lost and broken, Magnus. So lost...."

Magnus was about to say something when a demon came up from behind, hissing. This one looked like a spider, its jaws clicking and teeth glistening under a sheen of saliva.

He got to his feet and raised his hands. Blue sparks crackled from the palms of his hands as the demon spider attacked. It exploded in a shower of fireworks as Magnus gripped it in both hands, and he was soon able to return his attention back to Alec.

"Alec. Listen to me. We have to get you to your house-" He paused, seeing a strange expression on his boyfriend's face. "What's wrong?"

Alec sat up, a hand on his parabatai rune, which had faded into a white scar on his skin. "It's Jace. He's okay."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean he's okay?"

"What else could I mean? He's okay. He's fine. He's alive. I can feel him again. The string that ties us together....it's whole again."

Magnus helped Alec to his feet, keeping a hand on his arm the entire time. "That's not possible. You felt him die, Alec. People just don't come back to life. That's not-"

"Possible. I know. But I know what I felt, Magnus. One minute he was there and then he wasn't and now he's there again. I can't explain it to you. You wouldn't understand..." Alec craned his neck to look at the rune on his collarbone. "Is it still whole?"

"I can't tell. It's covered in blood. Just let me...." Magnus removed a handkerchief from his coat pocket and dipped it in a trough of water next to them. Gently, he placed it on Alec's shoulder and removed the blood with the wet cloth. Once it was gone, Magnus could see a full parabatai rune on Alec's pale collarbone.

"So? Is it still faded?" Alec's voice had a tinge of anxiety to it as he spoke.

"It's not faded. It's still there," Magnus saw a sigh of relief go through Alec. "Can you walk? We need to get out of the heat of the battle. We're too exposed here in the open like this. Plus you're too weak to fight."

Alec nodded. "Yeah I'm good. Let me just grab my bow."

Magnus picked up Alec's bow and put it over his shoulder. "I'll carry it for you. Now lean on me for support. I'll get us out of here safely."

Alec smiled weakly. "Thank you, Magnus. For everything."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Don't thank me yet. We're still not safe. We could die at any second."

Alec shrugged. "At least we'd die together, right?"

Magnus peered up into Alec's eyes. They looked so sincere and honest that Magnus couldn't help but smile. "Right. As long as I'm with you, dying doesn't seem so bad after all. I've had 600 years to think about it. Dying alongside the boy I love doesn't seem so bad when you really think about it."

A roar in the distance brought the boys to attention again, bringing them back to reality.

"That sounded really close," Alec whispered.

"And really big. On second thought, I'd rather not die today. I'm getting us to safety as quickly as possible," Magnus grabbed Alec's good arm and draped it over his shoulders.

"That sounds like a good idea. I don't want to die today either," Alec shuffled alongside Magnus as they made their way to the Lightwood house. "What do you say we get Taki's after all this is over? I could use a distraction."

Magnus thought about what he meant for a second and remembered that his little brother Max had died earlier that day. "That sounds great. I love Taki's. And I also love distractions."

Alec smiled. "Me too."

They made their way up the Lightwood steps and raced inside, locking the door behind them. They could hear the demons at the door outside, trying to claw their way in but the doors had runes of protection on them.

"So.....it's a date then?" Alec whispered, leaning against the door and listening to the noise outside.

Magnus smiled, revealing pearl white teeth. "Of course. It's a date-" His breath was taken away when Alec leaned in and kissed him roughly, despite the crowd of Shadowhunters in the room with them watching their every move. When Alec finally pulled away, Magnus was left in a state of shock. And he doesn't get shocked very often.

"Was that too much?" Alec asked, breathing heavily.

Magnus shook his head. "No. That was perfect. Absolutely perfect."