Brotherhood
It had been a long day at the Institute. No emergencies, but an endless series of forms to fill out and paperwork to file, so Alec had given everyone an evening off, except for those who were on guard duty, and had planned to dive into paperwork - he hated it, but hey, there’s nothing you can do if you’re being Head of the Institute. When he was appointed, Maryse had warned him: “You’re going to realize what a pain in the ass the Clave bureaucracy is! Better facing a demons nest than a pile of reports to fill, at least with demons you feel like you’re fulfilling your duty and doing something useful, paperwork ...nah “ and she used to roll her eyes, in a gesture Alec knew he had amusingly inherited. Alas, a gesture he happened to repeat more and more often lately.
That day had actually been devoted to said paperwork. But not wishing to suffer alone, Alec had commanded Jace to stay and help him. Jace had complained briskly: ready to throw himself into any melee, brave and reckless, he turned into a despair puddle when it came to official documents, abstruse language, almost as incomprehensible to him as a demonic language. “Give me a sword - he used to say - or let me kill demons even with my bare hands, but don't give me a report to fill, let alone checking others’. I am a soldier and paperwork doesn’t fit me, give it to my brother ”. But his beloved brother as well as parabatai had betrayed him. First relying on his sense of duty, then on their brotherly love and finally on their sacred bond, he had forced him to lock himself up in the office with him.
"I'm exhausted! - Jace exclaimed dramatically collapsing on his armchair - Half an hour's break to have a bite, and now it's nighttime, and we're not done yet! Please let me do a hand-to-hand combat with a Ravener demon, but stop torturing me with reports! " “Ah, should I be the only one destined to suffer? - Alec replied - Stop being a dramaqueen, I already have one at home waiting for me and I don't need another one at my office ".
Jace gave him a knowing smile. "Ah, right, you're late tonight too and your queen at home is going to punish you ..." he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Alec gave him a death stare. “I’m gonna pretend I haven't heard anything. In the meantime, tell your wife you’re sleeping here with me tonight because all this shit must be ready by tomorrow morning ".
Jace gasped and jumped off the chair he was half-lying on, almost tumbling. "Whaaat? But..but..no, I can’t leave Clary alone! She might, I mean, have nightmares. I need to go home to take care of her! "
“Clary, having nightmares? Nah, she's a tough girl, you can thank the Angel she agreed to marry you, there can’t be anything more scaring than that "
"And what if any demon comes into view? I need to be at home to protect her! "
“Are you kidding me? She’s more skilled than you handling a sword, so just stop it, and let's keep going. By the way, our old rooms are taken now, so we will sleep together in the single one that’s still empty".
Jace's eyes widened and he tried to utter a few words of protest, but he only managed to spit some blurred sounds, until, given another glance from Alec, he resolved to stay quiet and accept his fate.
--
It was after midnight when Alec and Jace, devastated, their vision blurred, walked towards the Institute dorm. Tired to the bones, they entered the only available room and realized there was only one bed inside, double, of course, nevertheless one only. They both muttered something under their breath, but they were so exhausted they barely had strength enough to freshen up a bit and change into comfy clothes before crawling under the covers.
However, when the tiredness is too much it is sometimes hard to fall asleep; so they both started tossing and turning without being able to rest. "Stop hogging the blankets and leaving me naked!"
"And you, stop tossing and sighing! I know you miss Magnus and I miss Clary, but shouldn’t we try and get some sleep? We’re not going on vacation tomorrow”.
Alec lay on his back exhaling one last sigh - it had to be the last one, Jace had threatened him.
“Do you remember when we were kids? When you’d just come to live with us? You had nightmares, you cried in your sleep, and I came into your room and crawled into your bed, held you, and then you fell asleep. You were telling me 'Are you really going to be my brother? Forever?'. I had never had any friends, and I was so happy to feel wanted, needed by someone. "
"Yeah, of course I remember," Jace said without turning around. “I wanted to be a tough boy, but at night I felt so alone. You’ve been my salvation, Alec, my knight in shining armor. I swore I would always be there for you, just as you were there for me, even without knowing me yet."
Jace lay on his back too, staring at the dark ceiling.
“And do you remember when you suddenly stopped coming into my room? We were what, fifteen, sixteen? When you realized you felt something for me that wasn't sibling affection. I couldn't understand then, and I thought I had done something wrong without meaning to"
"Yeah - Alec replied chuckling - But I didn't know how to tell you that I had strange dreams about you, that, well ..."
"Stop, that's enough. No more details please! " Jace smiled in the dark, then held out his hand. “But now it's all out in the open, and after all, we have become pretty good men, right? With all our daddy issues, but nevertheless..! " and burst out laughing.
Alec felt Jace's hand touch his and laced his fingers with his brother's. It was a gesture he did with Magnus too, but the meaning was so different. Two men filling his whole existence, the love of his life and the other half of his soul, and neither of them he could do without, ever. He heard Jace's breathing become steady. Alec closed his eyes and let himself slip too into a restful sleep.