I have found the one whom my soul loves

[angelic_archer]

who: Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Jace Wayland
what: Dealing with a new complication in the Lightwood, Bane, Wayland household
when: Early September
where: Their apartment
warnings: sexual content



After a few strange moments, things seemed to be getting back to normal. Izzy seemed comfortable with her new role with the police even if Alec wasn't sure how his little sister ended up being a scientist when he couldn't remember her being interested in science in the past. Max was settling in and thriving now that he was allowed to explore the world and interact with Mundanes. Magnus seemed to be enjoying having a new business to run. Jace's PTSD had miraculously eased after the frightening morning when he woke up unable to remember what had happened hours before. Alec knew that was from the loss of some of Jace's memories but none of them would push him to take the cure that would force them back into his mind.

They were all happy, even if there were the occasional moments when Alec wondered about how Jace looked at him. Or how he looked at Magnus sometimes when he thought that Alec wasn't looking. If he was still the jealous boy that hadn't been able to deal with Magnus' past lovers, he would start to wonder, but he knew that Magnus loved him. Neither Jace nor Magnus would hurt him by acting on the strange... whatever it was that was going on. And Alec wouldn't hurt Magnus by acknowledging the strange tension and longing he sometimes felt when he was around his parabatai. Whatever was going on was a fluke, an abnormality created by their experiences during the wars. It didn't change that they were all content with the new life they were building.

Maybe that happiness was why Alec bought the little jar with the red string. It was part of an old legend he'd read about years ago and he'd been curious. He knew where the string would lead but he thought it might be something cute that Magnus would like: a myth showing that the two of them were bound together even if they could never official use runes to declare their marriage. Before he'd drifted off to sleep, he'd tied the bit of string to his left hand and then curled up with his husband, certain that the magic would manifest as a string leading to Magnus.

The next morning, he'd forgotten about the string until after he'd eased out of bed, gently kissing his husband's cheek before heading for the shower. Magnus might grumble later about Alec letting him sleep but his husband deserved the extra rest while Alec began his training. It wasn't until he'd finished most his usual morning routine and was about to strip out of his pajama pants when he noticed two red thread that shimmered around his finger, trailing down to lead into the bedroom.

Two. One had to be Jace and the other...

Alec smiled as he followed the red string to the bed, sitting down beside Magnus. Pressing another kiss to his cheek, he nuzzled his husband's ear, knowing that would get his attention eventually. "Karissima, there's something I want to show you."

Comments

[angelic_archer]

Watching his husband, Alec almost couldn't believe that he could be so lucky. Almost. He'd known the instant he'd seen Magnus in Wayward Pines that this was someone special, someone who held part of his heart and soul. Now that he could remember most of his past, he still cherished the simplest gestures of affection that they shared.

When that affection was accompanied by the familiar, loving warmth of Magnus' magic, he couldn't help being awed by being able to have this with Magnus. Or ignore the desire that shivered through him when his lover's magic flow into his chest. Biting his lip to hold back a moan, he barely caught his breath before Magnus was kissing him.

Momentarily forgetting about their wedding, he made a needy sound into the kiss before Magnus pulled away. Before he realized that Magnus was trying to plan the ceremony, he chased after his husband's lips, ready to kiss him again until he realized he really shouldn't distract him. "You should ask her for you, not for me." Izzy would be part of the wedding one way or another, but the 'how' should be Magnus' decision as well.

Grinning at Magnus, he knew he couldn't even pretend to be offended by the suggestion. "I might be into a little pain, but not like that. Not unless you made it worth it."

Watching Magnus as he focused on the string, Alec guided his husband's hand to his lips for a kiss. He was considering rolling them over to see how tangled up they could get in the bright red string, when he noticed that there was more than one string on Magnus' hand.

Gently touching the cord, he ran his fingers along it, assuming that it was a symbol of some lover from Magnus' past. Alec knew that his husband might have more than one soul mate, but he assumed that the string would end or be tied in a knot of some kind. Instead if trailed along the floor beside the one that Alec knew represented Jace. "Magnus, did you notice that we both have two red strings?"

[appetitive]

They were both lucky, though at times Magnus thought that it must be more than that. He'd lived for so long without someone like Alec in his life—he'd had friends and lovers, of course, but nothing compared to the soul-deep sense of connection and belonging that he had with Alec. If he thought about it, he was terrified at the possibilities of if he hadn't been born immortal, or maybe had been killed a century or even just a decade earlier, they would never have met. That kind of fate definitely felt like being each other's soulmates rather than simple luck.

Feeling Alec shiver beneath him, Magnus was drawn away from metaphysics and back to purely physical thoughts. The sounds Alec made, always so honest and unrestrained, made his cock twitch where it pressed against Alec's hip. "We should think about the wedding another time," he said, surprising even himself by they lack of interest in party planning; it wasn't surprising considering the distraction stretched out beneath him.

"Some people are into hot wax play, you know," he said with a laugh but no indication of whether or not he shared said interest. "I never want to hurt you, though, and I'm glad you wouldn't ask that of me." It would be impossible to give anything beyond the bites and scratches that were often entirely unintentional results of his overwhelming passion.

He was ready to engage in some overwhelming passion when he noticed Alec's interest shifting from kissing Magnus' hand to inspecting the very specific target of his smallest finger. Magnus hadn't given much thought to his own red string—he loved one soul at a time, always had, and Alec was very clearly the one he loved. Brows knitting together in a frown, his eyes also traced the winding curve of his second string. "What..." For once, he felt at a total loss for words. "Do you think it's because of your soul bond with Jace?"

[angelic_archer]

Rolling his hips, he tried - and failed - to give his husband an innocent smile. "Are you sure? I know how much you love parties." Playing with Magnus' hair, Alec tried to act like he wasn't thinking of all the ways he could make his husband come. That could be a form of wedding planning. It would help them on their second honeymoon.

"If you want to try hot wax, we can, but I don't think it's on my list." He'd try it if it was something Magnus really liked, but it wasn't something that had ever interested Alec. There had to be other ways to get similar sensations even when a lover wasn't a warlock who liked to use magic in the bedroom or wherever they decided to have sex. Pulling Magnus close, he gave him a sweet kiss that was a silent 'thank you' for being open-minded to both his fantasies and what might make him uncomfortable.

When he pulled away he kissed along Magnus' jaw, hands sliding down his husband's back, tracing most of a love rune above his heart. "I know you don't. No matter what they say about Shadowhunters being masochistic, I'm not." And he'd never ask Magnus to cross that line. He loved the feel of Magnus' fangs against his skin and the sting of his nails when they both lost control, but he couldn't imagine either one of them wanting more pain than that while they were together.

It was almost disappointing that they had to focus on the strings instead of each other, but Alec had wanted Magnus to see that they truly were connected even if they could never share more than the Alliance rune. He just hadn't expected there to be more strings than one connecting him to Magnus and another connecting him to Jace.

Alec studied their hands again to make sure that he hadn't been mistaken. He wasn't. One string connected him to Magnus and the others led to the bedroom door. "It has to be but why wouldn't it be yours connecting to the one that ties me to him since he has part of my soul?" Two strings implied that Magnus' soul was somehow linked to Jace's as well.

Alec hadn't really thought of how having a parabatai would influence having a soul mate. They were bound through the ritual and their childhood together, but he'd never thought of it beyond that. Until he met Magnus, he'd never thought of having anyone in his life that might be a soul mate who was also his lover. "Does it bother you?" he asked softly, unsure of how Magnus might answer. It was one thing to know about parabatai in an abstract sense, but seeing a tangible link between the three of them when Magnus had been jealous of Jace before might anger Magnus.

[appetitive]

Magnus moaned, unrestrained in the comfort of their own bedroom, as he felt Alec's hips pressing against his. "I love parties, but nowhere near as much as I love you," he replied with a soft smile that barely contained the lust simmering beneath the shining affection held in his eyes. "I love you, and your soul, and your heart, and mind, and body. I love touching you and being touched by you. I love being your source of pleasure and finding pleasure in you."

Shaking his head, he nipped at Alec's bottom lip. "No, it's not something I enjoy, darling, don't you worry." Though he had tried it, and could be enticed by the right lover, there was no reason for them to do it together when neither of them wanted it. Chuckling lightly at Alec's comment about his own kind, Magnus brushed the hair from his eyes. "And I am far from a sadist, though my enemies might say otherwise," he teased, closing his eyes as he mentally followed what he knew to be a love rune before Alec had gotten halfway through drawing it.

His mind was thoroughly distracted from love runes, weddings, and everything else by the fact that there were two strings connected to his finger. It went against everything that he believed about himself and his heart as he had always felt that he loved one person at a time. He saw nothing wrong with polyamory, just had never considered it for himself, mainly because he could be a jealous lover. "I don't know how this magic works," he said, hedging slightly as his mind fought to catch up with the situation.

His eyes slowly shifted from the string back to Alec, and he realized his husband was sensing his unease and probably thought it was his own fault. Reaching up with a hand, he set it on the side of Alec's face to cup his cheek and smooth his thumb beneath his lower lip. "I'm not upset with you," he said to begin, needing Alec to understand that first and foremost. "It's just that," he hesitated, gathering his thoughts and putting them into careful words, "I've never thought of myself as the kind to love two souls simultaneously. I care for Jace because I care for you, and I know how deeply the bond between parabatai runs."

[angelic_archer]

For a moment, Alec wished he had his husband's gift for words. He wanted Magnus to know that he felt the same about him. That he belonged to Magnus heart and soul and that he loved everything about his husband. The warm smiles that Magnus only gave him, the laughter and affection that filled each day they shared together. Even the things that Magnus had tried to hide from him, the fears for the future and the darkness of Magnus' past were things that Alec loved. "I love everything about you. The things that make you shine so bright that I couldn't imagine not falling in love you and everything else." All the things that might ruin the mood when they could spend a morning together. "Sometimes I still can't believe I'm the one that you love and want to share that pleasure with."

Inhaling sharply at the nip, he smiled as Magnus confirmed that he wasn't interested in that particular kink. His drawing of the love rune paused when Magnus mentioned enemies, a rare, dangerous light flickering briefly in his eyes. He almost said something about having already dealt with Magnus' enemies but if mentioning the future might disrupt their morning in bed, explaining that mission would definitely ruin the romantic gesture Alec had attempted with the soulmate magic.

As Magnus processed the visual reminder that their souls were tangled up with a third person, Alec almost pulled away, then told himself that this was not going to harm their relationship. It was something that Magnus needed to think over. Knowing that parabatai were bound together was different than having the proof of it tangled around their fingers. "I don't know either. Does anyone know how the magic of souls work?"

The knot of nervous worry that he'd been trying to talk himself out of eased when Magnus touched his cheek. Catching his hand, Alec kissed each finger, then Magnus' palm, wanting to reassure them both that this - they - would be okay. As he listened to his husband's explanation, he understood why Magnus would be confused. In some ways, Alec was confused and he'd grown up with the concept of parabatai and lived with sharing his soul with another for years.

"With parabatai I don't think it's you love one or the other. I don't think it means you have to be in love with both of us, but for the relationship to work, you have to care about both." The words were spoken slowly, as if Alec was trying to test them to see if they felt right. "Could we truly be happy if you hated Jace?" He knew that Jace and he had been miserable when Alec had hated Clary. That might have been part of the reason they had been estranged for so long. Carefully running a finger along the string that connected Magnus to Jace, he struggled for a moment, trying to remember if there was anything in the legends about relationships, but the Clave had almost no information on the bond. "It could be a platonic bond. Or it could be that we're like those 'buy one get one free' sales Izzy likes so much."