Chapter Text
When Alec woke up, their bedchamber was dark, the sky still caught between night and day. The nights were longer now that the height of winter was upon them, but winters in Edom were nothing compared to winters in Idris, and Alec was just glad to be home.
They had left for Araboth in the summer. But when Magnus had eventually recovered enough magic after their exhausting flight from Araboth to send a fire message to Edom, even though help had arrived within only a few days since they could now cross the Drowned Lands unhindered by the influence of the Angels, Alec and Magnus had returned to find that they had been gone for almost two seasons, and the people had started to fear that their kings were lost to them. They had missed the Harvest festival, but thankfully the midwinter feast would be in a few days' time - fittingly a time to reflect and let go of the past, give thanks, and make plans for the coming year with the people they loved - and Alec was glad that they would have a chance to celebrate it with their family and their people.
Magnus was still asleep beside him. Alec brushed back a lock of hair from Magnus' forehead, heart full as he looked at his husband's peaceful sleeping face. They had all suffered from their journey across the Angels' domain, and although Magnus was still looking a little worn, they were all recovering.
Alec slipped out of bed quietly and made his way to the outer chamber. As he had seen Magnus do, Alec conjured up an orb of magic, concentrating on balancing it at the tip of his fingers, then made it travel up and down the length of his arms. All the Idris-born who had survived the journey to Araboth had been more diligent about practising their magic after they had returned to Edom, having since tasted what it was like to have magic at their fingertips, and it had come more easily, as if their bodies had finally remembered the pathways to the magic they had been born with.
"The control you have gained over your magic in such a short time is impressive. Truly, you are a man of many talents."
Alec was so surprised he nearly sent the ball of magic flying into a shelf, only pulling back just in time. He turned around to find Magnus leaning against the doorframe of their bedchamber, watching him with a sparkle in his eyes.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"Not at all," Magnus replied with a mischievous smile. "I'm only sorry that I didn't wake up earlier so I could admire more of the... view."
Alec huffed out a laugh and crossed the room towards him. Magnus' hands found his waist, pulling him closer, and Alec leaned down to give him a slow lingering kiss.
"Come back to bed," Magnus murmured.
Alec shook his head, smiling. "I have a better idea."
The tub in the privy room was made of smooth stone, rectangular, and large enough for both of them to sit comfortably. The servants had already filled it with fresh wash water the night before, scented with a mixture of herbs and flowers, and the water was always kept at just the right temperature. They kept their eyes on each other as they undressed, smiling at each other but not touching just yet, and settled into opposite ends of the tub to avail themselves of the bowls of soft soap.
"Could you help me with my back?" Magnus asked.
Magnus' back was smooth and unscarred unlike Alec's, every muscle beautifully defined. Alec kissed his shoulder when he was done rinsing off the soap and Magnus hummed contentedly.
"Do you want me to help you with yours?" Magnus asked, turning around.
"Later," Alec said, crowding Magnus against the side of the tub and climbing into his lap, a thrill going through him as he watched Magnus' golden eyes dilate.
Magnus smiled and tilted his head up for a kiss, hands roaming over Alec body and trailing lines of magic on Alec’s skin that gradually worked their way inside Alec's body, making him shiver and gasp. They rocked against each other as they shared increasingly heated, messy kisses, the water in the tub lapping at their skin. Alec reached behind to push a finger inside himself, moaning against Magnus' lips when Magnus' finger joined his. When he was ready, Alec lifted himself a little off Magnus' lap and guided Magnus into his body, keeping his eyes on Magnus' - a smooth slide down, as slowly as he could bear it, and a tease that Magnus had not expected judging by the heat in his gaze, and by the time they were fully joined both of them were already breathless.
Alec took his time, hands braced on Magnus' thighs as he worked on finding the right rhythm, and Magnus settled his hands lightly on Alec's hips to steady him, letting him set the pace. When Alec finally found the right angle for Magnus to hit the spot inside him that sent shocks of pleasure through his body, Magnus tightened his grip on his hips and held Alec in place while he thrust up into him, hard, then harder, until Alec was crying out Magnus' name with each jolt of pure sensation.
His magic was mixing with Magnus', heightening their pleasure and driving them both closer and closer to the edge, and when Magnus finally put a hand on him, all it took was a few strokes for him to start spilling his release into Magnus' fist. He writhed and clenched down uncontrollably on Magnus, loose-limbed in the wake of the pleasure coursing through him, and with a sharp gasp Magnus pulled him down so that he was buried inside Alec to the hilt. Magnus grasped his wrist and kissed the rune that bound them to each other, grinding deep in pursuit of his own pleasure, and in a few moments he found his climax inside Alec.
After, they stood at the window watching the pale winter sun rise over the forests and distant hills. The land was bare and white with the snow now, but in the coming spring it would be green again, full of life. And although Alec could not see mountains of Idris or the Drowned Lands from here, unlike the vision that Ramiel had showed them, the mountains had not collapsed and the ocean had not washed out the poison of Bardiel's domain. There had been talk of using adamas to drive back the Drowned Lands from the ocean and reclaim the no man's land between so that their two kingdoms would finally be one, and Alec had to admit that he was looking forward to it.
"Izzy came to me yesterday. She wants to return to Araboth some time in the near future to reinforce the white tower and make sure that the Tree will be safe, and perhaps salvage whatever scrolls she can from the halls," Alec told Magnus. "She also spoke of retrieving whatever is left of Lilith's body and bringing her bones home to her people."
"I think Lilith would like that. It is a worthy quest - she is very brave," Magnus said. "But a portal will not take her that far, and travelling by sea and land will not be easy even with the Angels all vanquished."
"No, she intends to fly there," Alec said, shaking his head at the memory of his sister's ingenuity. "Remember the Angel Gadreel? The pieces of its vessel are still in Idris. She is thinking of rebuilding what she can of it and controlling it the way you did Ramiel."
"Isabelle is a clever woman indeed," Magnus said with a laugh. "This explains why Raphael came to me to ask if he could step back from the council and leave Lily as the representative from Sanguine. I suppose he plans to escort your sister, for controlling Gadreel will need more magic than what she is capable of at the moment."
"Are you saying that Raphael has intentions of courting my sister?" Alec asked with a frown.
"He is a good man."
"I suppose. And Izzy knows her own mind," Alec allowed. "It is strange to think that perhaps nothing from that vision of the future that Ramiel showed us will ever come to pass."
"We live in a brave new world, with no visions or prophecies to govern the path ahead," Magnus agreed, then cleared his throat. "Even if Isabelle does end up marrying Raphael instead of Clary like she did in the vision, there might not be children from their union either. Raphael is... not like that," he said carefully.
"I see. And you are the last of Asmodeus' children, as I am the last of my father's bloodline," Alec said.
"But family is more than that, is it not? Many people have died in the war, and there are children who have lost both their parents..." Magnus trailed off, looking away as if he didn't quite dare to see Alec's reaction.
"Yes," Alec replied softly, smiling at Magnus. "I want all of that with you. A family, children to call our own." Alec took a deep breath. "You once told me that it is easy to promise to die for someone, but much harder to promise to spend your life with them. And so I promise you this: we will make a life together through the good and the bad and everything in between."
"I would like that. I would like that very much indeed," Magnus said with a smile, his hand finding Alec's.
Soon the world would come knocking on their door and it would be time to face the day and the myriad duties that fell to the kings of Edom and Idris, but for now they were just as they were - Alec and Magnus. And that was enough.