by Morgan D. (morgandeeyue)
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Shadowhunters fic. Main pairing is Jalec, but it contains canonical Clace,
Climon, Malec, and Jaia.
Angst, canon divergent.Read it here, or on AO3.
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Summary: The Seelie Queen agrees to Alec’s request for
an audience, as long as he brings Valentine’s Experiments—Jace and Clary—along
with him. (Alternative version of the events from episode 2.14.)–
“You’re
nervous.”Alec
frowns. “Do I look nervous, or…?”“No, parabatai,” says Jace, stressing the
last word. “But you might end up twisting our bond into a knot if you don’t relax.”Alec takes
a deep breath and releases the air slowly, counting his—their—heartbeats. He
keeps staring at the water running down the stream as if it might suddenly turn
into lava, but at least his fingers relax their grip on the bridge rail.Jace rests
a hand on Alec’s tense shoulder and squeezes it gently. “Talk to me. What’s on
your mind?”“Take a
pick. We’re meeting the Seelie Queen on her own turf to question her about her
possible involvement in a series of vicious murders. One wrong move, and best
case scenario, you and I and Clary end up killed. Worst case, an all-out Seelie
revolt, for which the Institute would be poorly prepared. We can’t by any means
offend her, but we need to stand our ground as well. All that, and we must be
finished in time for the Downworld Cabinet Meeting this afternoon. To which hopefully the queen, after not killing
us or declaring war, will agree to
send a representative. And then Raziel knows how that meeting will go. I don’t like that I had to rely on Raphael’s
interest in Izzy to get him to go. I don’t like that Luke showed so much
reluctance when I invited him. And I don’t like that Magnus sounded so distant
on the phone when I asked him to come as the High Warlock of Brooklyn and not
as my boyfriend.”“Okay.
That’s a lot. Anything else?”“Well,
there’s also this slight annoyance of seeing Shadowhunters that a few months
ago respected me as the acting head of the Institute now looking at me with
disdain and making bets about how many days
I’m going to last as the actual
head.”Jace
cringes. “They’re not…”“I can hear
the whispers, Jace. Apparently, ‘warlock’s boy toy’ is my new nickname.”