Impossible Love

Something Changed

When Alec got up the next morning he felt like he hadn't slept at all. His alarm hadn't gone off yet, but a look at his phone told him that he had only about half an hour left and he knew he wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon.

The events of last night kept replaying in his head and he wasn't able to shut up the questions he was asking himself about it. The worst part was that he hadn't even been able to come up with any answers. He still couldn't understand Magnus' actions.

Technically he knew that first of all he should be happy that the Warlocks had let him go, no matter what his reasoning for it was, but he still wanted to know why he did it. Not having a good relationship with one's father didn't automatically mean one wanted the enemy's side to have an advantage in a war.

He sighed and got ready for work. George was already gone and the fact that Alec hadn't noticed him leave suggested that he did at least get a little bit of sleep. He didn't feel like it though. He considered using his stamina rune to avoid being too tired during the day but discarded it quickly. Even for something like that he didn't want to make a habit of using his runes when he was supposed to be a Mundane.

After eating something he did feel slightly better, but he knew the missing rest would come for him in the course of the day. Considering that, he would probably not be in the right shape to explore tonight. Lacking sleep made him unattentive and he couldn't afford that. Magnus' ambush had shown how that could play out.

Skipping one night seemed like the best solution. The clave had been pretty clear with their orders what he was supposed to do, but it was up to him to decide how to go about it. Of course, he would have to tell Jace beforehand, or his parabatai would get worried sick over not getting contacted around the same time Alec normally used the Seelie ring to communicate with him.

He was determined not to drop out of the mission now. If he did, another Shadowhunter would have to take his place, travel through the fragmentary guarded hillside at the borders, get to the palace, get a job there, start over, risk their life. If there was one thing Alec didn't want to do it was to risk someone else's life.

Jace worries might have been justified but some strange feeling told him that Magnus would stay true to his word. Alec should have probably stuck to rational thinking, but no matter how often he told himself that the Warlock could stab him in the back at any moment he couldn't bring himself to actually believe it.

Luckily his work didn't really require him to talk with other people a lot, so he could stay in his thoughts all-day, almost forgetting that he had invited Magnus to get something to eat yesterday, until his shift was almost over.

The Warlock hadn't seemed fazed in the night at all, so the possibility that he might not even show up was highly unlikely. The way Alec interpreted it this only made things more interesting for Magnus. He couldn't see why he would have wanted to get to know him in the first place though.

Despite all of Alec's hopes, Magnus turned up, right when he was done with putting some tools away. He looked fabulous, as always. Alec felt greatly underdressed in the dirty workwear he had on. Not to mention the fact that he was tired and he was almost sure that he had dark circles under his eyes. On the second thought, no matter what he wore, he would always be underdressed in the presence of Magnus.

"Hello Alexander," the Warlock greeted cheerfully, not a sign of fatigue in his whole attitude. He either had no problems sleeping, or he had some magic potion that acted like an overpowered coffee. Or he was used to staying up late into the night. "It is great to see you again. You look a little tired."

Alec was surprised and once again questioned his own sanity. Had he just imagined yesterday? Why was Magnus acting as if nothing had happened between them? "Uhm, I didn't sleep well," he answered with the truth, desperately trying to see any hint in the Warlock's demeanor that he remembered the night too and Alec wasn't getting insane.