parabatai: lost & found

[wayfaring_stranger]

who: Jace Wayland and Alec Lightwood
what: Quiet discussion and figuring things out.
when: Soon after their arrival.
where: The Coffee Shop
warnings: Will update as needed.

All the stories are true. No one mentioned the one about a portal to a place whee worlds collided and he had to get a job. But here he was wandering an unfamiliar street with his parabatai and still staring at the sky. It was beautiful. He just couldn't feel the beauty or the awe or much of anything. He could feel Alec. That was all he needed at the moment.

"All the stories are true. We've seen a lot of things being part of the Shadow World, but I never imagined anything like this."

Comments

[wayfaring_stranger]

Jace pressed his face in closer, breathed Alec in for a moment before carefully shifting over so he wasn't laying on top of him. He stayed close, his leg draped over Alec's and his arm over his chest. "Did you actually sleep? I can move if you're uncomfortable. And don't say your fine because you're worried about me."

He would move to make Alec more comfortable, but he would happily stay where he was for a few more hours if Alec didn't mind.

[angelic_archer]

Relieved when Jace moved, he inhaled deeply. His breathing hadn't been restricted but it was more comfortable without his parabatai on top of him. If he wasn't tired, lulled by having Jace beside him after months of separation, he probably would have thought it was weird that they were tangled up together. They'd slept together before but Jace usually kept to his side of the bed or just enough contact to know Alec was there. "Jace, I drained myself so much that stamina runes stopped working." Pausing, he let out a yawn that almost popped his jaw. "I could probably pass out at the Dumort and not care who tried to bite me." No one would. Lily would make sure that he was safe but Jace knew it wasn't an option that he'd normally choose.

[wayfaring_stranger]

Jace lifted his head, seriously concerned. He hadn't realized how bad it had been for Alec. Looking down at the way he was still draped over him he reluctantly moved his leg and gave Alec more personal space.

"Go to sleep, Alec." He was still close, could still feel Alec's warmth through his clothes, and it was with pained effort that he finally withdrew his arm, keeping his hand on Alec's chest. He closed his eyes, but he didn't think he could fall asleep again. "You should have told me-I should have listened. I'm sorry."

[angelic_archer]

Arching an eyebrow when Jace finally moved, he tried to keep the amusement out of his expression. When they were younger, Alec would have been in a panic over having his best friend draped across him in such a compromising position. Now it wasn't embarrassing, just awkward due to the bed barely being big enough for two. "You go to sleep, Jace."

Muttering under his breath, he grabbed Jace's hand and tugged him back into place the way he'd been after he moved his leg. "Should have told you what?" Closing his eyes, he focused on the bond, on the relief he felt that the ache he'd lived with for months was finally gone. "You weren't in Wayward Pines when it happened." Shifting slightly, he managed to get his hand to Jace's neck and began running his fingers over blond hair. "You don't have to keep apologizing."

[wayfaring_stranger]

"If I were a better parabatai I wouldn't need to apologize. I should have been there with you. I should have listened when you tried to tell me about the wards and zombies."

Jace curled into and around Alec. Somehow, no matter how he tried, Alec was always taking care of him. The focus always shifted to him even when Alec needed to be taken care of and listened to and respected for being one the best Shadowhunters.

"I can't sleep. Tell me something you liked about Idaho."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't completely true either. He could sleep with ALec's hand and his heart, his warmth seeping into Jace through their bond and their clothes. But he wanted to hear ALec's voice, too. He wanted to hear him talk about something he liked, something that made him happy.

[angelic_archer]

Maybe he was too sleepy to understand Jace or the injuries he'd had at the hospital were effecting him more than Alec had assumed. Nothing his parabatai said made sense. "I barely told you anything about the zombies and weird magic or mad scientists dragged me into another reality. That's not something you could have helped with."

Assuming that he wouldn't get an answer related to the apologies, he was quiet for a moment. Some of the things he'd liked weren't the kinds of things parabatai were supposed to share with each other. "I liked the shop. It was cluttered with ridiculous Mundane things, but it was mine. It was comfortable like the library at the Institute. We started a garden."

Jace had always been fond of the greenhouse at the Institute and the strange plants Hodge grew. "I planted pansies in yard and we had a topiary guard the house." That sounded strange, but it was also perfectly normal for Magnus." As he spoke, he continued stroking Jace's hair. "I had these beautiful training rooms. Stunning weapons and spaces that were calm."

[wayfaring_stranger]

As Alec spoke, Jace imagined everything. At least, he tried. At some point, between Alec's soothing voice, the warmth he could feel through their bond, and the comfortable way Alec touched his hair, he must have fallen asleep again. He didn't dream of monsters wearing the face of once beloved fathers. He didn't dream of pain and lies. He didn't dream he was turning into a demon and betraying everyone he loved.

He didn't dream of Alec, dying and turning to dust in his arms.

He didn't dream at all.