it was just one night.

outrage and rebellion

Alec opened his eyes slowly. He hadn't been able to sleep very well, as he had thrown up after crying so much. He decided to peel himself off Magnus and moved sleepily to sit on the stool at the end of his bed. Alec leaned forward, intertwining his fingers with Magnus'.
Slowly, Magnus' eyes flickered open.
"Magnus?"
Magnus sat up quickly, then shot back down again.
"You were hurt, Magnus. You need to rest. You've been unconscious for around a day."
"My stomach -I feel as if I've been stabbed through it," He looked down at his chest.
"Oh. I practically have."
"It's the hunger. Here, take these," Alec said, handing him a few bread rolls.
"You were attacked. The stuff carved into your chest will probably permanently scar you. It says 'J.M. Erchomai.' Erchomai means 'I am coming', and JM stands for Jonathan Morgenstern. Clary's brother. However, whilst you were unconscious,  he attacked again, and ended up killing Simon."
"Oh god, poor poor biscuit. She'll be so so devastated. Is Isabelle all right?"
At the reminder of his sister, tears came to Alec's eyes.
"She's -she's fine."
"Alec, what happened? She is okay, right?!"
Alec sighed, trying not to cry. "Yes, she is. But I'm never going to see her or Jace or Max again."
Magnus' eyes widened. He felt his stomach drop.
"Why?" he asked, although he was almost sure he already knew the answer. He tightened his grip on Alec's hand, as he looked as if he might need it.
He was right, as Alec smiled weakly and returned the grip.
"My mom, she- she got suspicious. That there was -that we were- you know. When I said there was nothing between us, she refused to believe me, and then told me I was disgusting for supporting people like that. So at that point I just snapped and told her the truth.
She told me that she wanted me out with you as soon as you woke up. And... she never wants to see me again, and doesn't want me associating with my siblings or Jace."
Alec felt tears trickling down his cheeks. He loved Magnus, so so much, more than he thought he ever would, but could he really sacrifice his entire family for him?
He didn't want to even think of leaving Magnus, because Magnus really had become as big a part of him as his family were.
And he would never leave him for his mother's happiness. Sometimes in life, you have to prioritise yourself. Even if that means making a minority of people unhappy.
"Alec, baby, hey," Magnus said softly, taking a hand to hold Alec's face. "I don't mind taking you in with me. Of course I don't. You're my boyfriend, and I love you. But...I don't know how I can help with your family. You can't be separated from your parabatai, you'll miss your little brother becoming older, and you'll miss your sister in general. I...there's no way I can prevent this, Alexander. I can't fix it. I'm sorry."
"You can fix it, Magnus. You can fix it by holding me right now, and helping me forget about everything else."

------------

Isabelle woke up in a slight daze. She could still vividly remember yesterday's events; Simon's death, Magnus almost dying, her hallucinating. Thankfully, the effects of the antidote had worn off, but she needed an iratze or two as whilst the antidote was doing its work she wasn't allowed any.
She fumbled around her bedside table for her stele. It wasn't there. She realised that it was probably actually in the infirmary, and crept out of her room, careful not to wake her littlest brother up on the way down the corridor.

---------------

A harsh, loud knock sounded on Jace's door. He figured Maryse wanted to tell him something serious, so to avoid any awkwardness he opened it.
"Jace. I have something important to tell you."
"Is something wrong with Izzy? Is she still unwell?"
"No. It's Alexander. There's something seriously wrong with him."
"What?! Why wasn't I told sooner?! Is he gonna die? I need to see hi-"
"No, Jace. That's not what's wrong with him. Nothing physical is wrong with him."
"Then I don't understand."
"He has something wrong in his brain. The - the way he perceives love is different. The way he thinks he loves is different. He's gay."
Jace made a puzzled look. "Okay, but you still haven't told me what's wrong with him. And I already knew that anyway."
Maryse looked positively appalled at what Jace said.
"What do you mean I haven't told you what's wrong with him? I just said he's gay."
"Well I'm sorry but I'm still confused as to how that's a problem. And even if it was, I don't see what level of importance this is meant to carry for me."
"Because," Maryse said carefully, clearing her throat, "I'm throwing him out so he can stay with that warlock."

----------

Isabelle creeped into the infirmary slowly. She knew Magnus was there, and didn't want to disturb him. As well as that, Simon's dead body was there too, and right now her stomach wasn't strong enough to see that.
She spotted her stele at the bed beside Magnus, and cocked her head. The lumpy figure on the bed was far too thick to be just Magnus.
On closer inspection, she found it was Alec. He was lying sleepily tucked into Magnus' arm. His face looked tear stained; he'd probably been worried about Magnus.
She crept over, trying to grab her stele, and it rattled to the floor with a very loud clang. She winced as Alec sat up and Magnus shot up like a bullet.
"Iz? Ar-are you coming to say goodbye?"
She opened her mouth, and closed it again.
"Why would I be saying goodbye? I'm not going out anywhere."
Alec's mouth formed a small o shape. He swallowed back tears. Magnus wrapped his arm around him and held him even tighter than before.
"He told me this morning. I woke up to find him sitting on that stool, and then it all happened."
"Basically," Magnus went on, "your mother Maryse forced him to come out, because she was getting suspicious. Then, she told him to leave with me when I woke, and to never associate with you, Max, Jace, or any other Shadowhunter within New York ever again."
Izzy's brain was still slightly slow from the last effects of the antidote, so it took her a moment to process what Magnus said.
"My mom...is kicking Alec out...and not allowing him to associate with any of his kind EVER again...because he's gay?"
Magnus and Alec both gave her a sad smile.
"Yeah," Alec said, voice cracking. At that moment, Magnus intertwined their fingers and held Alec's hand as tight as he could. Izzy smiled through her tears, at the love the pair in front of her had for each other.
Magnus will make sure he's safe, protected, and happy, she thought.
But I WILL find a way to see him. I know it.
...won't I?
"Alec, look at me while I say this. I promise you, promise you, that this is not the last time I will ever see you. It's illegal to tear parabatai apart like that anyway. I love you so much, big brother. Hang in there. We'll figure something out, Jace and I-"
"Um, guys, hate to, uh, interrupt this situation, but...where's Simon's body?"
Isabelle whirled round, Alec sitting up at almost the same speed. It was Magnus who had spoken.
The siblings' pale faces whitened even further.
There was a huge red stain, dark like scarlet and not totally dry. Simon's body was not there.
"How did you guys not notice this earlier?!" Izzy said, voice shaking with fear.
"Well I'm still recovering a little, and poor Alec got no sleep. I guess we thought little of it."
"And when I walked to get my stele I was too scared that I'd vomit if I looked at his body. Now I'm gonna vomit because his body isn't there."
Alec looked worried, as if he knew what had most likely happened.
"Iz, was Simon ever near any vampires? Was he ever bitten by one?"
"I -I think there was this one time -I took him to a party the first night he got here, and whilst there he got turned into a rat. The vampires took him home thinking he was one of theirs."
Alec swallowed. This could only mean one thing.
"Iz, go tell the others the news. And get them and yourself ready -we're gonna have to go to the DuMort."

------------

"What?!" Jace exclaimed. "Maryse, you can't do that. First off, he's your son. Second, what do you think it would do to Izzy and Max? Not having their big brother around? And third, it's illegal to tear parabatai apart like that. I refuse to let you just throw Alec out like he's a worthless piece of shit."
Maryse glared at him angrily.
"Jace, trust me, it's better for you all. You'll not be influenced by his disgusting habits. And that warlock- well I couldn't really care less about him."
Jace was absolutely seething. How dare she?! He could understand if she wanted to kick him out; after all, she wasn't his birth mother. But her own son?
"Look, Maryse. Maybe you can learn to get used to it. Maybe you can let Alec visit from time to time, and allow us to visit too. If you can't agree with me, can you at least compromise?"
Maryse opened her mouth, presumably to yell again, but was interrupted by Isabelle practically breaking the door down.
"Mom, mom you gotta come now- and Jace- I've got Clary here-"
Maryse looked alerted. "What happened?"
Isabelle shook her head. "Not enough time to explain. Alec is coming with us too, so if you don't wanna come now, suck it. It's important."
"Isabelle Sophia Lightwood, how DARE you talk to your mother like that?!"
"What is it?" Jace enquired.
"Simon's body's gone, and Alec thinks it's at the DuMort."

sorry the end of this chapter is so bad lmao
i've been really down recently and i'm exhausted beyond belief
ty sosososo much for 851 reads!!
my birthday is soon but honestly i'm starting to not care