Magnus was more than happy to lie next to Alec in bed. Of course he was. Who would be stupid enough not to? Alexander Gideon Lightwood (his middle name Magnus had discovered on Alec's driver's license) was, as Magnus had known from the moment he met him, a beautiful young man. Not just on the outside but on the inside too.
Although he had no complaints with Alec's outside. Curiosity got the better of him once Alec fell asleep and he let his eyes roam over the fallen detective's gorgeous body. From the way Alec wore his baggy clothes, one would never say he was muscular. His entire upper half was solid muscle and Magnus loved every inch of it. He had broad shoulders, a broad chest covered in chest hair that Magnus (shamelessly) wanted to lick. His six pack became more prominent whenever he breathed in, much to Magnus' delight, and it took every ounce of strength not to run a finger over them. His waist was narrowed as it disappeared into the low rise of his jeans, showcasing the arch above his hipbones. His happy trail screamed out for Magnus to touch it, but he refrained from doing so.
Magnus smiled to himself. He was sitting next to a god. Life couldn't get any better than it was right now. It was impossible. Unless Alec suddenly woke up and began to make out with him. That's the only thing that could make life so much better.
Beside him, Alec moaned softly and opened his eyes. "Oh. Hi. What time is it?"
Magnus peered at the clock on the wall. "Just a little after two. You were dead to the world for five hours. Had to check a few times to make sure you were still breathing."
"Haha. Very funny. How long were you sitting there?"
"All five hours."
Alec's eyes flew open. "Magnus! You didn't have to stay beside me the whole time! That's just.....unnecessary."
Magnus shrugged. "Too late now. It's done and over with. Someone had to make sure you didn't bleed through your bandage while your sister went to fetch the doctor. Chairman wasn't going to do it. Were you, daddy's little man?"
Chairman, propped up against Alec's right thigh, purred loudly at the mention of his name.
"See? He's very happy he didn't have to clean up your nasty blood. Such a diva," Magnus chuckled. "So how are you feeling now? Is the pain still there?"
"Not as much as it was earlier. Fuck....earlier it felt like someone took a fire poker and stabbed me with it. It hurt like hell. But now...." Alec took a deep breath. "It's easing up a bit. Not so bad."
The elevator opened and Isabelle stepped out, a tall man following behind her. Magnus nearly purred himself when he saw who he assumed to be Dr. Garroway. Muscled and well built, Dr. Garroway looked like someone straight out of the cheesy soap operas on tv. He was a beautiful man, skin smooth and the color of Hershey dark chocolate, and gentle brown eyes that took in Alec's injury as he got closer.
"Hey, kiddo. How you feeling?" Garroway's voice was rich and deep as he spoke.
"I got shot, Luke. I'm about as good as a shot person is going to get," Alec winced as Luke peeled off his bandage. "Isabelle patched me up earlier. It's a wonder I didn't bleed to death."
Isabelle glared at him. "Is that an insult or a compliment? If it's an insult, I can always shoot you again with daddy's gun-"
"Kids. Please. Let's get serious for a moment. You can settle the dispute later....." Luke examined Alec's wound carefully with experts eyes and hands. "Well from the looks of it, the bullet didn't damage any major arteries or organs. But just to be safe, I want to get an MRI done. Just to be on the safe side."
"Will I have to go to the hospital for that?" Alec whispered so that only Luke could hear.
"Nope. Thanks to modern technology, I have a portable MRI right here. Never leave without it," Luke smiled.
The scan took ten minutes to complete. By the time Luke was looking st the results, Jace burst through the elevator, a sheen of sweat on his pale face. He let a breath when he saw Alec laying in the bed getting bandaged back up by Isabelle.
"Oh Alec.....I'm so sorry...." Jace took his brother's hand and squeezed. "I was an asshole to you this morning and I'm so beyond sorry. I'm gonna make it up to you."
"Jace....." Alec shook his head. "It's fine. There's nothing you could've done. This? This isn't your fault. I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Jace looked from Alec's eyes, down to his wound, then back up to his eyes again. "I know. You got shot. I feel like I need to one up you now."
"Oh sweet lord. Jace! He's been shot! No ones going to one up anyone!" Isabelle spat. "What we're going to do is let our brother rest and recover before he can go back out on the job again."
Alec moaned. "I can't rest now! Not at a time like this! This case could be the beginning of the rest of my career!"
Jace butt in. "Speaking of career, dad called me last night. Apparently I got the promotion too."
Alec beamed. "Seriously? That's awesome! We can drive in the same squad car together again!"
"As long as you let me eat in it," Jace winked.
Luke sighed as he got to his feet. "Well, I guess my services are no longer required. Keep changing the dressing every so often so it doesn't get infected. Drink lots of fluid and get plenty of rest. Time is the best medicine here."
"Thanks, Luke. Please don't tell my dad about this? Please?" Alec begged.
Luke zipped his lips. "Unless your condition worsens, I won't speak of this to anyone else. Although it might be a good idea to tell Clary why you left her alone in a restaurant and why you rushed off in a hurry," he looked at Jace, worry in his eyes.
Alec looked at Jace. "You were with Clary?"
"Yeah," Jace nodded. "We were celebrating. She sold another painting last night. Not sure who the buyer was. Paid with big bucks too. That's why I'm so late getting here."
Magnus furrowed a brow. "How much was this painting?"
"Twenty thousand. Why?"
Magnus gasped. "So that explains the missing twenty grand from my account! Honestly Alexander, how drunk was I last night that you let me buy a painting?"
Alec scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not responsible for your bank account, Magnus. Some people drunk text. Others drunk call. You drunk buy."
Magnus paused for a moment, considering this. "True. Very true. I hope it's a nice painting. I can't hang trash up in my apartment. I have a reputation to maintain."
"Are you calling my girlfriend's art trash?" Jace growled. "Because I swear to god-"
"Before you pop a gasket, I'm going to stop you right there. No, I'm not calling your girlfriend's art trash. I haven't even seen her art before. So back off, Blondie," Magnus glared at Jace. "Now. Back to more important matters. The Morgenstern case."
"I heard you guys were working on that. How's it going?" Luke said.
"We can't actually divulge information with a mundane," Magnus pointed out. "Classified police info. Highly restricted."
Luke scratched his beard. "Okay. That's understandable. I'll head out there now-Alec. Call me if you feel a change. Got it?"
Alec nodded. "Will do. Thanks again, Luke."
Luke smiled and headed into the loft elevator, pulling the gates shut and the door down.
"Whew. That was close. I don't trust this Garroway. I think he works for Valentine...." Magnus whispered.
"Bullshit. We've known Luke since we were kids. He would never work for someone as awful as Valentine." Jace shook his head. "To even assume something like that-Luke has helped us through a lot as kids. He's Clary's stepfather."
"I agree with Jace. Luke is like family. Besides, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's kind and caring," Isabelle held Alec's hand and smiled. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? No pain or anything?"
Alec half smiled. "Only hurts when I breathe."
"Pain lets you know you're alive," Magnus whispered as he stared at Alec, who stared directly back. He was vaguely aware of Isabelle's gaze switching back and forth between them, a broad smirk on her face.
Jace took out his phone. "That's the girlfriend. What should I tell her? New evidence? Called into work? Ghostbusters?"
Alec sighed. "The truth. Tell her I got shot. She deserves to know, Jace. She's family too." He smiled up at his brother. "She can come visit if she wants. I trust her with the information we already have on Valentine."
Jace nodded. "Will do. Calling her now....."
Magnus snorted. "How big is your family? It's like an endless stream of people here."
"Our immediate family is me, Alec, Jace, our little brother Max, our mom and dad. Don't even get me started on extended family...." Isabelle sighed. "Clary, Simon, Luke, Joceyln-"
"Thank you, Izzy. We don't need to list off the entire family tree to Magnus. At least not right now," Alec interrupted. "Is Clary on her way?"
Jace slipped his phone back in his pocket. "She's getting a cab now. She should be here shortly. Knowing her, she'll stop to buy a card and flowers now that she knows you're hurt. Typical Clarissa."
Magnus clapped his hands. "I love flowers! Especially tulips. They smell heavenly when you leave them out in the 3 o'clock sunshine."
"Well they're not for you, so forget about your 3 o'clock sunshine," Jace snapped. "When she gets here, I don't want you mentioning that you're a con-"
"ALEC! ARE YOU OKAY?!" A shrill voice rang out from inside the closed elevator. When the gates and door opened, a fiery redhead raced past Magnus and went straight to Alec. "Oh my god. Jace told me what happened. How are you? Was it bad? Was Luke here? Do you need anything?"
"Clary," Alec chuckled but was cut off as a wave of pain went up his side. He gasped. "I'm fine. No, it's not bad. Yes, Luke was here and no I don't need anything. Did I answer all your questions? And how did you get here so fast?"
"I was already in the area when I called Jace." Clary laughed as she wiped her tears. "And yeah, you did. I'm so sorry about what happened. You're a hero, though. Nobody got hurt at that store-"
"Aside from himself...." Magnus grumbled.
Clary finally turned her attention to him. "Who are you? I don't remember Jace mentioning there was someone else here."
Magnus stuck out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Magnus. Magnus Bane. I'm a con-" Jace cleared his throat as a warning. "I'm a consultant on a particular case they're working on. I'm somewhat of an expert, I guess you could say."
Clary had a skeptical look on her face. Jace knew she wasn't stupid. She could see through lies better than anyone he knew. "Magnus. Familiar name. Any relation to Nafjaw Bean?"
Magnus flushed a deep red. "I'm never drinking again. That's just straight up embarrassing. Even for me."
Alec and Jace glanced at either, mirroring each other's grin.
"Anyway, I brought a card and flowers for you, Alec. Hope you like them," Clary handed him the card and placed the flowers on the counter. "I didn't have time to sign it or anything like that-"
"It's perfect, Clary. Thanks," Alec tapped the card on his lip. "You said you and Jace were celebrating something earlier? You sold a painting?"
Clary nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Nafjaw Bean over here purchased my newest piece. It was originally going to go in my gallery but he made an offer I couldn't refuse."
Magnus was still red in the face as he spoke. "To be fair, I was wasted. I liked how the colors stood out against the white wall."
"Well, you paid twenty grand for it. I wasn't going to turn you down. I'm just surprised anyone showed interest in my artwork for the book I'm working on."
"You're working on a book? You never told me this! We're supposed to be besties!" Isabelle whined.
Jace chuckled. "Don't feel bad, Iz. She never told me either. What's it about?"
Clary sat at the foot of Alec's bed. "It's a work in progress, really. It came to me in a dream. A girl discovers she's half angel and a descendant from a long line of warriors that fight demons and stuff. She meets others of her kind and together they fight the evil.....bad....thing. And that's all I got."
Magnus clapped his hands. "Sounds intriguing. But what was the painting I bought? You haven't told me what I spent nearly a quarter of a hundred grand on."
Clary glared at him again. "It was the homeland of these angel warriors. I called it Idris. Or what I imagined to be Idris."
Jace kissed the top of her head. "And it sounds really incredible, babe. I for one can't wait for you to write this book so I can play the male protagonist." This earned him a nudge in the ribs as he laughed.
"Jerk. Now tell me what case you guys are working on. I told you something about me. So tell me something about you."
Alec sighed. "Fine. Jace and I got assigned to the Morgenstern case yesterday. That's when Magnus was signed on to help us solve it."
Clary's eyes widened at the mention of Morgenstern. "Did you just say Morgenstern? As in Valentine Morgenstern?"
Alec nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
Clary played with a strand of hair and bit her lip. "Well....its just funny that you mention him. He's....he's my birth father."