HeartBLOOD

Chapter thirty-one

Magnus stared at the ceiling and watched the lights flicker on it- Isabelle lived on a busy street, cars were driving past her apartment all the time, always creating new patterns of light on all her furniture. Magnus and Alec made themselves comfortable on the big couch in the living room. Magnus yawned- he hadn't had a good night of sleep ever since the fire. For whatever reason, no matter how tired he was, he just couldn't sleep. He could close his eyes, maybe take a slight nap, but nothing more than that. It has been weird those past days- he still couldn't believe all of that had happened. Luckily, nothing actually happened to him. But he lost a friend. He lost his home. He could have lost his boyfriend. He lost his stability, for a minute it felt like walking a tightrope and losing your balance, wildly throwing around your arms trying not to fall. This was what it felt like. Magnus was thankful he could stay at Izzy's, like that he was with Alec and none of them needed to be alone. It was better that way, he assumed. Nobody would want to be alone during times like these. Suddenly, he heard heavy breathing next to him- looking to his left, he noticed Alec's face was twisted, sweat running down his forehead. "Alec.", Magnus whispered, getting no reaction. "Alec!", he said a bit louder, shaking his boyfriend by the shoulder which caused him to jerk up into a seating position, gasping for air whilst looking completely disoriented. "Hey, what's wrong?", Magnus asked worriedly, striking the sweaty-wet hair out of his boyfriend's face. "Nightmare.", Alec gasped, obviously relieved he was awake. "Again?", Magnus whispered, watching Alec's chest rise and hall hectically. "Yeah.", Alec sighed and tried taking a deep breath to normalize his circulation. "It's okay.", Magnus smiled weakly and wrapped his arms around Alec's muscular torso. He might have lost weight, Magnus noticed. All of them had, probably. "It's gonna be.", Alec replied and calmed down as much as he could before struggling out of bed to get some water. On his way to the kitchen, Magnus noticed he was limping again. Deciding Alec was stressed out enough, he kept the questions to himself- he had an appointment the next day anyways. "So, why are you up, anyways?", Alec asked after having emptied his water and crawling back into bed. "I don't know, couldn't sleep.", he sighed and now looked into Alec's marine eyes. "I guess good sleep is nothing the universe is willing to grant either of us.", Alec chuckled weakly and dropped his head back onto the pillow. "At least it granted us each other.", Magnus replied and buried his face in Alec's neck, whose hand was striking his arm. "At least that, yes.", he whispered and fell back into a restless sleep.

"Well, good morning!", Isabelle greeted Alec as he scuffed into the kitchen. Blinded by the bright lights, he squinted and realized Isabelle had already made eggs. "Morning.", he replied and filled last night's glass up again. "Rough night, huh?", she asked after critically inspecting his swollen under-eyes. "I guess so- have you seen Magnus?", Alec asked, as he woke up alone in the morning. "He went to Ragnors' earlier, he spontaneously is in town for the day and Magnus decided to catch up. He told me he texted you, though." "I haven't checked my phone yet, but what are you doing up, anyways? Preparing breakfast, all dressed and motivated?", he frowned- he liked to sleep in himself, but compared to Isabelle, he was the definition of an early bird. "Well, I thought I'd do something nice for us! At least try to see some positive in us living together again.", she smiled widely and put the plates on the table. "Iz, are you alright?", Alec frowned. This was not his sister- she wasn't so hyperactive, especially not when she was sad. And he figured, she must be devastated right now. "Sure!", she exclaimed and laughed, "I am just trying to bring back some joy into our lives." Sceptically, Alec sat down and tried his sister's eggs before figuring out they were surprisingly good. "So, what's your plan for today? I guess you wouldn't know what to do with all that free time, huh?", she asked before starting to eat. "I have my appointment later, no idea what's gonna happen then.", he replied and a shiver ran down his spine thinking about it- cluelessness. Having no plan. There was nothing that made him more uncomfortable than having no idea about what was next. "Well, good luck with that!"

Luck was all he needed, and it was all he got, Alec realized as he walked out of the doctor's office. After a ton of mostly unnecessary exams they figured out, not much had changed concerning his physical condition. The doctor said the entire leg was overloaded, but that had nothing to do with what happened during the fire. Vaguely, he remembered tripping over Jonathan when they found him, but everything else was a blur, a porridge of feelings and memories and pictures, all mixed together in this chaos that woke him up at night and made him fall asleep during the day. It was weird, because talking to Magnus he realized, his boyfriend remembered every detail of his escape, he remembered when and where he had seen Alec, he remembered what he read in the news later and he remembered the smell of the hospital. All Alec remembered was fear, heat and the look on Isabelle's face when they were told not everyone made it out alive. Alec felt his thoughts spiraling into that direction again, but he tried to focus- on himself. He made it. He was here, he was alive, he was going to be okay. Despite all chances, despite Maia and Jonathan, the dressing room and the endless tunnel, despite the lack of air and his messed up knee, he made it. And now he was walking the streets of New York, a breeze in his face as if nothing had ever happened. In his pocket, he carried the new medication he had been given. 'Mess up your meniscus during rehearsal but get through a fire with a sprain and the usual soreness- good job picking your priorities, Lightwood' , Alec joked to himself after crossing the street, on his way back to Izzy's, on his way back to the place that was going to be his home for a while.