The Love Through Silence

Chapter 5

The next morning, there was a knock on the door. Magnus got up to get it, it was the physical therapist the Institute send for Alec. She introduced herself as Colleen. She set up the equipment that Alec was going to try to use. Magnus went up to her and asked if it was okay for him to stay just in case it was against 'Institute rules' since they had so many of those. She said that it would actually be better for him to stay just for support for Alec. Magnus quickly helped Alec get dressed and brought him into the living room. Colleen introduced herself to Alec and said "So today were just going to start off with something simple, standing. Now it's okay if you can't stand yet, keep in mind you only woke up four days ago." Alec nodded and adjusted himself in his chair to stand up. Colleen and Magnus both put their arms out to catch Alec in case he fell. Alec struggled as he pushed himself slowly off his chair. His legs were shaking, struggling to hold himself up. Alec stood up halfway then quickly grabbed Colleen and Magnus and collapsed back into his chair. He looked at Magnus with sadness in his eyes. Magnus said "Darling that was great. Give it time. You're strong, I know that you will walk. Just be patient." Alec nodded and readied himself to stand up again.

 Alec tried three times to stand up, each time grabbing onto Magnus and Colleen. Magnus kept encouraging him, but he could tell that not all of it was sticking to Alec. He felt so lost. He was a Shadowhunter. He could kill demons but now he couldn't even stand up or tell his boyfriend he loves him. When Colleen left, Alec grabbed Magnus' hand and pulled him towards him. He looked down at him as a single tear fell down Alec's face. Magnus took his face ad wiped the tear and said "Alexander, you did amazing today. You have to give your body time to get back to what it was before." Alec nodded and wiped his face then kissed Magnus.

Later that day, Magnus called Alec into the living room. Alec had taken a nap in their room. When he hadn't come, Magnus ran into their room and helped Alec into his chair "Sorry darling." Alec let out a small sigh and typed "What did you want to show me?" "Oh, right! Come see!" Magnus brought Alec into the living room and there was about a dozen books on the table. Alec looked at Magnus confused. "This my sweet Alexander, is all the sign language books I could find, there's a few DVD's in there too." Magnus said. Alec looked up at Magnus and finger spelled "T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U." Magnus and Alec both smiled and went towards the books. First, Alec helped Magnus learn the Alphabet. He had learned as a child in training so that he could tell other hunters what move he was going to make if he needed to stay silent.

Every day they would try to learn as many signs as they could. They were both pretty fast learners and caught on to the signs fairly quickly. They made the best out of their situation by doing something together and they had to admit, learning a new language together made it more fun. No one else knew about the sign language, they wanted to surprise everyone when they were both fluent enough to have a full conversation. Everyone around Alec made huge efforts to help him, he was extremely grateful that they all stayed by his side, especially Magnus who went completely out of his way for Alec.

 Three days a week, they would wake up early to Colleen knocking on their door for Alec's therapy. He had improved slightly since he woke up, even though it had only been two weeks since he woke up. He could now stand for a short period of time while holding onto Magnus or Colleen or one of the bars Colleen had. Magnus knew how hard it was for Alec, but he was so proud of his improvement and how well he had been handling his current situation. He loved him so much. He wanted to be with Alec for the rest of his life. Magnus' face would light up every time Alec stood up and had the biggest smile on his face.

 When Alec started to stand up a bit easier, Magnus would record every time he had succeeded to show Alec his progress. Sometimes, Magnus would sit on the couch while Alec was sleeping and watch the videos just to see how happy and how proud Alec was of himself. Magnus was so proud and he realized how much he actually loved him. The next few days consisted of Magnus staying up after Alec had quietly gone to sleep, preparing himself to propose to Alec. He wanted it to be perfect. Magnus didn't care that Alec was in a wheelchair and that he couldn't speak, all he wanted was Alec, no matter what.

 The next day, Magnus told Alec that he was going to a Downworlder meeting for a few hours, when really, he was meeting with Isabelle and Jace to ask for their permission to propose to Alec. He knew that he couldn't ask Maryse or Robert. Alec gave him kiss and signed "Goodbye, I love you." Magnus did the same.

 When Magnus got to the Institute and found Isabelle and Jace, he asked if they could talk to him somewhere private. They all went to the library since no one was in there at the time and sat down in a corner of the room. They didn't know what this meeting was about, and they both looked concerned, probably thinking something bad happened to Alec. He had practised days before of how he was going to ask them. He took a deep breath and said. "As you may have noticed, I am in love with Alec. I would do anything for him not matter what it is. He makes me so incredibly happy and I am so proud of him." At this point Jace looked confused but Izzy was beaming with excitement. "I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I want to ask you permission to marry him." Isabelle jumped onto Magnus and squealed "YES OF COURSE! I have been waiting for this moment since the day you two got together!" Jace then stood up and gave Magnus a hug and said "I know for a fact that you make Alec happy. I sense it. He really does love you. It would make me and him so happy for you to propose." Magnus' eyes filled with tears of joy and thanked them both.

Hours spent on how to make the perfect proposal until he finally made is decision. He was going to take Alec to their favourite part of Central Park, where they would spend a few hours talking and eating. He would bring (by magic obviously) wine and the most romantic dinner. They would lie there together and talk (or in their case sign), and when the time was right, he would sit up, get on one knee and profound his love to Alec and ask him to marry him. He was ecstatic.