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Alec’s head is pounding as he wakes up. The floor beneath him feels like concrete, definitely not grass like he last remembered. He opens his eyes and is welcomed by darkness, he fears that he has lost his sight until he spots a small source of light coming from what he hopes is a door. Pushing himself off from the ground, he makes his way to the light, only to trip over something on the ground.
He lands on his side as whatever he kicked lets out a grunt and groan of pain. He recognizes that voice…
“Simon?”
“Alec, what?” Simon grumbles. “Oh god, why does my head hurt.”
“Simon, can you see anything?” Alec hopes that he is looking in the direction of where Simon is.
“Give me a second, dude. I just had a Shadowhunter kick me in the stomach and my head is pounding.”
“Well get over it, we have to find a way out of here.”
“Are you always this cranky?”
“When I’ve been kidnapped? Yes, Simon, I get cranky,” Alec snaps. The headache he had before is coming back thanks to the vampire. “So can you see any exits?”
Alec listens to Simon shuffle around on the floor. Judging by the quiet curse, he’s going to assume that they are trapped. A small wind passes his left side as Simon walks to where he saw the small crack of light.
“Well, there’s a metal door here, but no handle on this side. Though it does look like it opens outwards so if we give it a hard enough shove we could probably knock it down.”
Alec searches for his stele only to find that his thigh holster is gone. Guess his captors aren’t as dumb as some of the previous ones.
“I don’t have my stele with me; I don’t know if I’ll be of much use,” Alec sighs, sitting up. “But I can give it a try.” Alec goes to where he last heard Simon with cautious steps, hands out in front of him.
“You know I could just lead you to the door,” Simon comments, no doubt watching Alec make his way through the dark room.
“I would rather be thrown into a ravener nest than do that,” he replies.
“You don’t have to be that turned off by my help,” Simon huffs.
Alec’s hand knocks into something metal, touching the object, Alec feels the frame of the door.
“Feel better about finding it yourself?” Simons snarks, suddenly right next to Alec causing him to grab Simon and pin him to the door, forearm pressed to the vampire’s throat. “It’s me! It’s me!”
“Did no one ever tell you not to sneak up on a Shadowhunter?” Alec sighs, letting go of the vampire.
“I thought since we were the only ones in the room that you wouldn’t attack me.”
“How would I know that we’re the only ones in the room, Simon? I don’t have night vision,” he says bluntly.
“Oh right,” Simon stammers. “I always forget that it’s a vampire thing, but don’t you guys have a rune for that?”
“Once again,” Alec sighs. “I don’t have my stele or else I would activate the rune so that I would know where to hit you in the face for asking dumb questions.”
“Always with the violence dude,” Simon complains. “You need to relax.” Alec may not be able to see Simon but the vampire can see him and he sends the darkest glare he can. “Right don’t piss off the shadowhunter, got it.”
“Great, now help me with the door.” Alec positions himself, shoulder out, ready to ram the door. He hears Simon stand next to him. He closes his eyes and sends a wish to Raziel that this works. “On the count of three. One. Two Three.”
They rush the door only for it not to budge, at all. He hisses as pain laces up his right arm and shoulder. Seems that whatever runes that were active from before he was taken are no longer in effect.
“Alec are you alright? That looked like it hurt,” Simon worries. Alec feels a hand come up to his arm and he swats it away. The last thing he needs is for Simon to be worrying over him when they need to be worrying about getting out of here. There’s no telling who has them and what they want to do to them and he for one does not want to stick around to find out.
“I’m fine, but I’m not going to be able to knock down that door. Think your vampire speed and strength will cut it?”
“Normally I would say yes, but I haven’t drank blood since this morning, if it’s even still the same day. I mean who knows how long we were out-”
“Simon!” Alec growls. “We don’t have time for you to go on one of your rambles. Yes or no, can you knock down the door by yourself?”
“No,” Simon answers. “Without a fresh swing of human blood, it looks like we’re sitting ducks.”
The two go silent at those words, making the unspoken ones ring louder in the room. They both know what has to be done if they want to get out of here before their captors come back. Alec thinks through all their options, one being him with a bruised and dislocated shoulder and the other drained of blood, both scenarios not ideal if Alec wants to make sure the vampire gets out of here in one piece.
“Alec I don’t like the look on your face right now,” Simon says breaking the silence.
“I think you and I both know what needs to be done.”
“No! No way, I am not feeding off of you, Alec. There has to be another way.”
“There’s not and you know it. This is the quickest way for both of us to get out of here,” Alec reasons.
“That is going to get you high and leave you defenseless and last I checked, you are the better fighter of the two of us!”
Alec hears Simon begin to pace the room. He understands the vampire’s qualms about feeding off of him. Ever since the vampire came to his office to tell him that he fed off of Izzy in her attempt to save his life Simon has made sure to never have to feed off another living person, always carrying around a bottle or flask on him.
He hates to put the vampire in this position, but it’s their only chance of getting out of here alive.
“If you are worried about me getting addicted don’t,” Alec speaks calmly. “I know how to take care of myself.”
“It’s not about you taking care of yourself, it’s about the promise I made to myself. After the whole thing with the Seelie Queen and Izzy, I just-,” Simon sighs. His voice is quiet when he speaks again. “It’s different you know, drinking blood from a bag and drinking blood from a living human. It’s been five years since I fed off of Izzy and I haven’t done it since. I worry that if I feed off of you, I won’t be able to stop.”
“Simon,” Alec whispers. Alec has to make sure his body is relaxed, if Simon hears his heart rate increase at his next words, the vampire is never going to agree. “I know that you are afraid, but I promise you, I won’t let you go off the deep end. All you need to do is drink enough of my blood to get the door open. I will stop you if you go too far. Trust me.”
Simon doesn’t say anything at first and Alec is worried that he is going to still say no. He hopes that desperation isn’t clear on his face.
“Okay,” Simon says. “You promise that you’ll stop me by any means and I mean any . I am giving you full permission to punch me, kick me, slap me, whatever. Just don’t let me kill you okay? Your family would have me decapitated and put my head on a spike before I would even be able to apologize.”
“I get it, Simon, my family is terrifying,” Alec deadpans before sobering. “I promise I won’t let you go too far, but once that door is down, we need to find our way out fast. I don’t know how well I will be able to function with the blood loss so I am going to be relying on you a lot.”
“Great, no pressure then,” Simon whispers under his breath. Alec hears him step closer and he holds out his left arm. Simon takes it gently in his hands, turns it over so the bottom of his wrist is exposed. He can’t stop his heart rate from spiking at the move and Simon’s hands squeeze in quiet reassurance. “Maybe we should sit down first, just in case.”
Alec doesn’t argue with Simon, he nods his head and goes to sit on the floor.
“Okay,” Simon breathes out. “Ready?”
“If you don’t hurry up, I will shove your fangs down on my-.” Alec lets out a hiss as Simon’s fangs pierce his skin. It takes everything in him to not fall into his shadowhunter training and fight off Simon. His right hand clutches at his thigh, gripping it tight so he doesn’t rip Simon off too soon. Alec keeps track of how he is feeling, he’s had blood loss before and knows the signs of when it’s too much.
He feels Simon’s tongue swipe at the puncture wounds and he can’t help the moan that leaves his lips as the vampire’s venom starts to flow through his veins. It’s not the first time a vampire has fed off of him, but it is the first time he has been a willing participant. His head starts to feel light and he taps Simon’s hand to get him to pull away. The vampire doesn’t, taking another long suck of his wrist and Alec uses his leg and what little strength he has to kick the vampire away.
Alec feels Simon’s mouth pull away from his wrist and covers the puncture wounds with his hand. He’s not able to keep himself upright anymore and falls on his side. He tries to sit up but his movements are sluggish, he definitely lost more blood than he thought. Alec tries to focus on anything but his pulse and finds it difficult with the venom in his system. He closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing instead.
“Oh my god,” Simon says. Alec hears the vampire shuffle away from him. “Alec, talk to me. Are you okay? Did I go too far? I knew this was a dumb plan, I can’t believe I allowed you to convince me that drinking from you was our only option-”
“Simon,” Alec groans. “If you don’t shut up right now, I will find a way to make you.”
“You’re okay,” Simon sighs. “I thought I had killed you.”
“If you think I am going to let you be the one to kill me after everything I have gone through, you are mistaken.”
“Funny one,” Simon snorts. “Think you can move?”
Alec opens one eye and stares at where he thinks the vampire is.
“Right dumb question. Alright, change of plans, I am going to get this door down and I am going to find your stele and we are going to get out of here alive, the both of us. I refuse to be the bearer of bad news to your family and I would like to still be married to your sister after all this is done. So I need you to stay alive until I get back so you can explain to your sister why you thought this was a good idea.”
Alec nods his head, resting it on the floor again and closes his eyes. He listens to Simon ram the door three times before he is able to knock it down. Light hits his lids as Alec hears a voice on the other side but can’t seem to focus on the words, his head feeling lighter and lighter as time passes. He tries to focus on any sound to make sure that Simon is okay. He can’t have the vampire dying on his watch, Izzy would never forgive him for getting her husband killed.
It seems like hours fly by the time he hears footsteps return to the room. He tenses and curls into a ball, to make himself look small in case it’s a foe, not a friend.
“Alec I found it!” Simon cheers as he rushes to Alec’s side. “I also found your weapons which I had to wrap in a blanket because it turns out, adamas hurts. Also, it seems that vampires from that illegal den were the ones to kidnap us and they were hoping I would kill you so they could get rid of the Institute Head and the Daylighter in one go.”
Alec struggles to open his eyes to get a look at Simon and make sure the vampire is okay. He succeeds for a moment, catching a glimpse of the vampire and the ridiculous smile he’s sporting before shutting his eyes again.
“Alec?” Simon calls, only to curse. “Oh god, you stopped applying pressure to the wound. Fuck, I should have wrapped your wrist before I left.”
Alec tries to pull his hand away when Simon grabs at it, whimpering. He blames his venomed mind for the reaction.
“I’m not going to feed on you again,” Simon mutters, hurt clear as day in his voice. “But I need to cover the wound and you need to activate your runes.”
Simon doesn’t wait for his reply, Alec doesn’t even know if he could give one right now. He feels the vampire wrap something around his bitten wrist and ties it tight.
“Okay here.” His stele is pressed into his hand. “Draw the runes that are going to help you and then we can make our way out of here.”
Alec tries to move his arm, but it’s not responding.
“Alec, come on we don’t have time to waste,” Simon urges, grabbing his hand while lifting up his shirt. Simon presses his hand onto his stomach. “Activate the runes.”
I’m trying , is what he wants to say but he’s starting to get tired. The stele drops from his hands and clinks on the ground.
“No, no no no no,” Simon repeats. Alec feels hands grab his face and give his head a gentle shake. “Alec! Come on buddy, I need you to stay awake. I can’t get us both out of here. I need a strong shadowhunter to help me fight off these vampires, I don’t know how many are still left in this abandoned house, but I know I’m not gonna be able to do it on my own.”
Simon’s voice is laced with panic as he feels his head shake again.
“Get up Alec, I don’t want to have to explain to Magnus what happened.” At the mention of Magnus, Alec finds himself more awake. “That’s right Alec your husband will be sad and heartbroken if you die here. So you need to find it in yourself to apply those runes. I’ll even help you.”
Alec feels his stele get placed in his hand again, Simon’s hand clasped around his. With what little strength he has and Simon’s help, he’s able to get his stele to his iratze rune. He lets Simon trace the rune and groans as the rune slowly activates. His wrist doesn’t hurt as much anymore and his head is starting to clear.
“Okay awesome!” Simon cheers. “What else needs to be traced?”
“Amisso,” Alec whispers, getting a gasp from Simon. The hand around his tightens and Alec finds the strength to open his eyes. He finds a worried Simon hovering over him with a wide grin on his face.
“Hey there big guy,” Simon laughs. “Amisso, got it okay, I need you to guide me to where it’s at and I will trace it with your hand.”
“’s not permanent,” Alec mutters, glad that he’s able to at least talk again. “You have to draw it on my body.”
“I am not an artist!” Simon squeaks. “That’s why I’m friends with Clary, she’s the one with all the artsy skills.”
Alec blames it on the blood loss that he laughs at the joke and the dread on Simon’s face. “It’s a simple rune. You know the two snake symbol on hospital signs?”
“The Caduceus symbol? Yeah, I know the one.”
“It’s that but with a halo instead of wings that wraps around the snakes’ heads,” Alec explains.
“Okay, that’s simple enough. Is there a place it will work better or can I just do it anywhere?”
“Over my heart, but I need to warn you, Simon.” Alec makes sure the vampire is staring him in the eyes before he speaks again. “You need to do this precisely or you will give me a heart attack.”
Alec watches the vampire turn pale, which is an impressive feat for an already dead person. Simon slowly nods his head and tries to give Alec a confident smile, but it looks more painful than anything else.
“No pressure right?” Simon nervously laughs.
Alec gives him a smile back and rolls to lay on his back. “I might scream,” he warns. “But once you start you can’t stop, if you stop during the rune tracing, it’ll feel like an agony rune pressing into my skin.”
“You are really not making me feel confident in my skills here, Alec!”
“Simon, you got this,” Alec encourages. As his senses slowly start to wake up, he hears banging on a door in the distance. It clicks that Simon must have blocked the door leading to this room to stop the vampires from getting in. Guess the vampire isn’t that dumb.
“I trust you.”
“You are going to eat those words once I start,” Simon mutters as the vampire presses the stele down.
Alec can’t help the yell that slips past his lips as Simon traces the stele over his heart. The hand gripping his tightens as he traces the rune over his heart. Simon is repeatedly saying sorry over and over again above him and if Alec wasn’t currently writhing on the floor, he would tell the vampire to shut up.
It feels like forever by the time that Simon finishes the rune. He knows Simon did it successfully because he doesn’t feel as lethargic as before and he’s not dead . Alec lays there panting on the floor, trying to catch his breath. He hears Simon fall back on his ass.
“Let’s never do that again,” Simon says.
“Agreed,” Alec pants.
Alec wonders how many times he can blame it on the blood loss that he laughs along with Simon. Once he gets his lungs under control, Alec starts to sit up. Simon moves to his side to assist and together they get him on his knees.
“Give me a few more seconds and I should be okay,” Alec promises.
“That’s fine, just don’t take too long because I don’t know how long my makeshift door stop will keep them out and it’s already been ten minutes,” Simon says, rubbing his hands together. Alec notices that they look red and he remembers that Simon said that he brought his quiver and bow back as well. He realizes with a bit of guilt that Simon grabbed his bow without protecting his hands.
Alec reaches to where his bow and quiver are wrapped in a blanket and shoulders the quiver.
“Thank you, Simon,” Alec says. “You saved my life.”
“Yeah, well, I almost ended it too so don’t be thanking me too much,” Simon laughs hollowly. “Let’s just make it out of here alive and then I’ll accept it.”
Alec opens his mouth to reply when he hears the sound of a door getting knocked down. Before Simon can react, Alec already has an arrow knocked back and shoots the vampire that rushes into the room. Simon gapes at the body as it disappears, eyes darting back and forth between where the body was and him.
“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” Simon jokes.
“You’re always on my bad side, Simon,” Alec admits.
The two ready themselves to fight their way out of the decrepit house. Alec grabs three arrows from his quiver to rapid-fire at any vampires that come at them. Simon finds a mop with a wooden handle and uses that to fight off any vampires that Alec can’t get to.
It’s slower than Alec wants it to go, his runes can only do so much, but eventually they make their way out of the abandoned house. It’s still night out so they can’t have been gone for too long. As they pass the threshold, Alec feels himself pass through a magical barrier which would explain why no one had come for them.
Alec looks around for any more threats before sitting in the grass and falling onto his back. Simon drops his makeshift spear and sits down next to him.
“So, that was unpleasant,” Simon comments. Alec hums in agreement as he shuts his eyes, exhaustion once again winning out. He reaches out through his parabatai rune and feels a wave of relief pulse through the bond. “How long will it take for everyone to find us?”
“Not long,” Alec answers.
“Good, that’s good.”
Alec looks over to Simon and sees him with his arms wrapped around his knees. His face looks haunted and full of regret.
“Hey.” Alec reaches over and knocks his hand against Simon’s arm. “I’m sorry that I made you do that.”
“I’m sorry that I almost couldn’t control myself,” Simon says in return.
“But you did Simon.” Alec pushes himself off from the ground and turns towards the vampire. “You could have gone back to feeding on me when I pushed you away but you didn’t. That takes a lot of strength, Simon. I told you, I would stop you and I did. You saved us back there. If we had just sat and waited, who knows what would have happened.”
“Yeah.” Simon nods and sends a half-smile his way. “Just don’t hate me if I seem attached to you in the coming days? It’s been five years since I fed on a living being and I don’t know if I’m going to handle it well.”
“Whatever you need Simon,” Alec promises. “I made you do something that you didn’t want to do. If sitting in my office helps, then I will let Underhill know and grant you access.”
“Thank you, Alec.”
“Though I’m not going to be the one to explain to my sister why her husband is coming to see me and not her.”
That gets a laugh out of the vampire. The two sit in a comfortable silence as they wait for their rescue to arrive. The sun is starting to rise over the horizon when they hear a shout of their names down the road. Alec watches as Magnus, Izzy, Jace, and Clary appear around a corner running their way. It makes him smile as he watches Jace and Magnus high tail it towards him, though Jace allows Magnus to get there first.
Magnus crashes to his knees and throws his arms around Alec. Alec pulls his husband close and he listens to Magnus talk about how worried he was and that they spent all night looking for them. Seems that the illegal vampire den they were going after had more vampires than originally thought and they had taken Alec and Simon when everyone was distracted.
Magnus takes a look at his wrist and sees the bandage and his eyes darken. Alec squeezes Magnus’ hands to get his husband to look at him, he shakes his head to wordlessly tell him not to worry. He nods his head to where Simon is being checked out and fretted over by Izzy and Clary. Magnus’ eyes widen as he understands what happened, but he nods and lets it drop.
The minute Magnus moves back, Alec has a worried parabatai in his arms. He does the same thing for Jace and although it takes a bit more of silent reassurance from him, Jace doesn’t go and attack Simon for what happened. Once he’s sure that Jace won’t punch the vampire, his brother and husband help him stand on his feet.
Magnus opens a portal to the loft stating that everyone is welcome to stay and rest for the night. Alec looks over at Simon one last time and the vampire is completely distracted by his wife as she continues to interrogate Simon about what happened. He watches Izzy rub her hands over Simon’s where there are still signs of burns. It’s clear that Simon is trying to answer what he can, giving Izzy his best reassuring smiles and just saying that he is tired from all the fighting.
Simon meets Alec’s eyes over everyone. Alec silently asks if he is okay, receiving a shrug in return and it will have to do for tonight. Alec steps through the portal, mind already filled with ideas on how he can help Simon through this.