Shadowhunters Oneshot Book

Caged

A/N this is a Malec Au where the Clave used a... different tactic to try to get Magnus to remove the block on Clary's memories. Therefore, this takes place mid-CoB. Please don't kill me.

Magnus woke up with a massive headache. His world seemed to spin, twist, and dance around him like water: visible, but flowing through his hands when he tried to grasp it. And then he opened his eyes and reality hit him.

His wrists were bound in front of his chest by a chain that connected to the center of the floor. Just by looking at, he saw that he could probably walk around the room, but a surge of panic rose in his chest. He couldn't do any magic with his hands like this, and the thought of being defenseless in a situation like this was something that was never a good thing. His panic was only elevated when he saw the runes on the floor. These where angelic runes, and angelic runes could only mean one thing: Shadowhunters. He was in a Shadowhunter prison. 

What do they want this time? He wondered, Don't they know that it is more polite to ask for magic than to demand it? Do they know about-

"Clary." It escaped his chest a barely more than a hushed whisper, the sound dying before it even reached his ears. Even still, a shadowhunter with a rune to give sharp hearing could have heard it. Magnus chided himself for his moment of stupidity. From now on, he reminded himself, he was in a viper's nest. He could not afford to give away anything more.

***time skip of a random asshat telling Magnus to fix the block on Clary's memories***

It had been hours, and Magnus had begun to worry that the shadowhunters had forgotten him. Not that he would have minded under normal circumstances, but under normal circumstances, he wasn't in a shadowhunter prison with no way to do magic. He really hoped that eventually he would get some food. He hadn't eaten breakfast due to an early morning customer arriving earlier than expected, and he figured that it was about dinnertime at this point. 

As if summoned by his thoughts about food, the door of his cell hissed open, and a young shadowhunter walked in with a tray. Although he was starving, Magnus pressed his back against the wall and sized up the youth.

He was tall, taller than Magnus, and had deep blue eyes and jet black hair. The shadowhunter was walking slowly, making sure the tray was balanced in his hands after each step. Unlike most shadowhunters, he did not have an air of superiority and arrogance around him. He seemed mildly uncomfortable in his own skin, which was odd for a shadowhunter. However, the most unusual thing about him was that he was looking at Magnus with pity and concern in his eyes. The disgust that shadowhunters normally showed when looking at Magnus' people was reserved only for the chain binding his wrists, like he didn't approve of this method of containment.

The youth set the tray down on the floor near Magnus. "Alec," He said. Magnus supposed that this was the boy's name, "Alexander Lightwood. Are you hungry?" Magnus was shocked. Most Nephilim couldn't care less about Downworlders. In his shock, Magnus could only nod in agreement that yes, yes he was hungry. "Of course you are. You've been here-" Alec waved his hands around the room "-for a whole day." He pushed the tray closer to Magnus, and his eyes locked onto Magnus' chained wrists. "Oh. How are you going to-" Alec cut himself off and sat down across from Magnus, on the other side of the tray, "Sorry, sorry. Do you mind if I feed you? I'm under strict orders not to untie your wrists." He sounded apologetic, something Magnus wasn't really used to from Nephilim. Not when it was directed at him.

"Honestly, at this point, I'm not really in any position to complain, now am I?" Magnus remarked, "And no, I don't mind at all." Alec seemed to take this as his cue to give Magnus some food. Somehow, Alec ended up much closer to Magnus then he had been when he started. Magnus was fine by this.  

Alec was surprisingly gentle with this, and the entire time he seemed to be nervous about being as close to Magnus as he was. He also seemed to disagree with the fact that whoever was running this thing had taken it upon themselves to bind Magnus' wrists. Magnus had figured this out from the things that Alec was muttering under his breath. He couldn't make out everything that the shadowhunter was saying, but he could hear things like "inhumane" and "fucking ridiculous" and the way that he was side-eying the chains as if they had insulted his mother. Although, honestly, Maryse was a very easy woman to insult in Magnus' opinion. In Magnus' opinion, Alec was also too pure to be Maryse's child, and was most definitely adopted.

Alec also sensed that Magnus would rather not be left alone of the night, and had slouched against the wall beside him once Magnus had finished eating. It was nice to have someone there that night. Just having Alec there made him feel less caged, less like an animal. It was also nice that Alec didn't seem too scared of Magnus. He had known some shadowhunters that would have mocked and teased him like something that was less than them, but Alec was not one of those shadowhunters. 

"You know, I don't bite. Come sit with me-" Magnus did his best to gesticulate to the spot directly beside him "-please. It's not like I can hurt you with my hands all chained up like this. I just... I just want the company." Alec nodded and shifted next to him. "I think it's stupid," Alec proclaimed in a soft, almost broken voice, "that they feel the need to chain your hands. That they felt the need to- the need to treat you like a prisoner. They could have just... asked you."

It was then and there that Magnus decided that he would like to get to know Alexander Lightwood.