Fading Scars: A Series of Malec One Shots

Nightmares

A moan had woken Magnus up from his sleep. It wasn't the kind of moan that would've made him smirk and turn to Alec for some midnight teasing, but rather, it was the kind of moan that concerned him.

Turning over to face Alec, he could see through the faint light in the room that his boyfriend's face was screwed up in torment. His eyes were closed, giving away that he was still asleep, but he tossed and turned under the sheets.

Magnus flipped on the light beside him to get a better look at Alec. The young Shadowhunter was clutching the blankets so hard that his knuckles were white and his bare skin was plastered with sweat as he breathed heavily through his nose. Something was obviously wrong.

"Alec? Are you okay?" Magnus whispered.

Alec tore at the blankets and whimpered. "No....leave Max alone. Don't touch him."

Magnus frowned. It was obvious that Alec was dreaming, but what was he dreaming about? From the looks of it, it was something terrible. Alec never had nightmares (that Magnus knew of anyway) and to see him like this in bed was just downright horrifying to watch.

Alec's head arched back on his pillow and he tossed and turned some more. "Magnus! No.....don't hurt him. I.....no....."

Magnus couldn't take much more of this. When tears spilled down Alec's face as he began to sob, he knew he had to do something. Letting his hand hover above Alec's head, he wiggled his fingers until a black mist rose from Alec's forehead and hovered in the air above them.

"Leave us," Magnus whispered to it. "There's nothing for you here. Let my boyfriend sleep in peace without your torment."

The mist dispersed in the air, and Magnus took note that there was an instant change in Alec as the nightmare had been pulled from his sleep. His body visibly relaxed, his hands loosening their grip on the sheets and his face finally looked peaceful.

Magnus fixed Alec's hair out of his eyes before placing an ear on his bare chest, not caring about the sweat that was still on his skin, and listened to his heartbeat. It was still hammering away in his chest.

Badump.

Badump.

Badump.

Badump.

It slowed after a few moments as Alec fell into a peaceful sleep, eventually starting to snore. Magnus rolled his eyes and kissed Alec's chest, flipping off the lamp by snapping his fingers. Any more nightmares Alec had, he'd fight off by himself. If Alec could fight demons and vampires and werewolves but couldn't fight off his worst nightmares, then Magnus would do it for him.

It was the least he could do for the man he loved who never dreams.