War of Hearts

Chapter 16: Reunited At Last

Alec sat in the infirmary, doing what he'd been doing for the last three days: watching Magnus closely and checking for any signs of his condition deteriorating. Jace and Izzy had found him unconscious in front of the Institute with a knife stuck in his back. They had no idea how he got there, but Alec didn't care. All he cared about was making sure that Magnus got better, even though it seemed like an impossible task at the moment. They'd been taking care of him the best way they could, but Magnus had been unconscious ever since and hadn't show any signs of improvement so far.

Alec rubbed his sore eyes with the palm of his hands and sat up straight on the stuffed armchair that had served as a bed for the last few days. He only left Magnus's side when Izzy offered to watch Magnus for a couple of hours while he got some decent sleep. But Alec was determined not to leave the Institute before Magnus woke up; he wanted to be there when it happened, he wanted Magnus to know that he was there for him.

He had had a lot of time to think about where he stood on this... thing he had with Magnus. It was complicated and Alec wasn't sure what to call what they had. But he did come to the conclusion that he didn't want to lose Magnus just yet. He'd been turning Luke's words over in his head and decided it was worth it to at least try. His need for Magnus was greater than the fear of his immortality. They could deal with that later. They had the time. Finally Magnus was back and that was what mattered the most. Now he just had to heal and Alec hoped they could figure things out together.

Alec was buried so deep in these thoughts, he missed the way Magnus slightly tilted his head to the side. He only noticed the change when his eyes fell on Magnus's half open eyes. Alec's heart skipped and beat and he froze from the shock and gazed up at Magnus's face.

"Magnus?" he asked carefully, holding his breath. He hadn't even noticed that he had reached out to Magnus's hand and now held it tightly in his own.

"Alexander..." Magnus exhaled his name as a weak smile curled up on his lips. He closed his eyes again and sighed. "Am I in heaven?"

"No. This is just the infirmary of the New York Institute," Alec replied and his body tensed up. Why was Magnus asking that? Had he hurt his head or something?

"Right. What was I thinking? I'm half demon, I can't go to heaven." Magnus's voice gained some strength and Alec felt his hand shift in his. He let out the breath he'd been holding and a smile formed on his lips. If Magnus was making jokes, then it was a sign that things were getting better.

Magnus opened his eyes fully and met Alec's. They stared at each other silently for a couple of seconds. Alec could only hope his eyes told Magnus what he couldn't put into words – how much he had missed him, how much he'd been worried about him and how happy he was to see him safe again. The mixture of feelings inside him felt like a rainbow after a storm. He felt his eyes burning up with tears of joy and looked away before Magnus could notice them too. He swallowed his tears and attempted a cool voice.

"How are you feeling?" He asked Magnus trying to stay as neutral as possible.

"I've been better," Magnus admitted and he took his hand out of Alec's to sit up on the bed, grimacing and hissing in pain as he tried to sit up in the best position possible without hurting his back too much.

"No, don't..." Alec protested and jumped up on his feet to help Magnus. He touched Magnus delicately, as if he could break at a single clumsy move like porcelain. With Alec's help Magnus managed to roll himself onto his side breathing heavily from the effort and Alec frowned, his forehead creasing with worry.

"Well, I'm alive. I shouldn't complain," Magnus said once he had regained his breath and rested his head on the white pillow.

Alec wanted to be comforting, but he didn't know what to say. So he pulled the chair closer to the bed, sat back on it and reached out to Magnus's hand and held it again. Magnus gave him a smile and he felt him gently squeeze his hand, sending a wave of unexpected excitement down Alec's body. He felt like kittens were running around frantically in his stomach and the rainbow inside him was fully cast from head to toe. Alec found it bewildering that just touching Magnus's hand had this effect on him. They stayed in this blissful state for a couple of minutes, transmitting how grateful they were for having each other through tender stares and handholding. They weren't worried about anything else around them. Then Magnus glanced down on his chest frowning.