youfeelluckypunk | (no subject)

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It's been all of two hours since Reid had stopped by the store to surprise his boyfriend with a late lunch. Luke can never have too much to eat, after all, and they'd both agreed just the other day that they ought to stop by the Thai place near their apartment for a meal again sometime soon. Today had seemed like a good choice. Today had seemed like it could only go well.

Now, the food sits in its paper bag on the ground, just inside the doorway of the store, discarded and forgotten as Reid rushes to lock behind him before moving to his next intended destination.

Luke is gone. Not gone from the city, Reid knows that much, he's already called his boyfriend's cell phone and it's still in service and anyway, it'd been clear the second he'd approached the outside of Graymark Books that something wasn't right. The closed sign had been put up, the door locked and the lights shut off, but it's not a full moon tonight and Luke had mentioned nothing about closing early. If there'd been an emergency, Reid would already know about it, and it'd been past the time Luke typically takes a lunch break so that'd been another possibility dismissed, too, all before he'd even found what was inside.

It's clear there was a struggle, unsurprising considering Luke is a werewolf, but what's puzzling is the fact that while the inventory that'd been knocked over hadn't been cleared up, someone had still taken the time to make it look like the store was closed. His first thought is that this is a message directed toward him. Reid remembers Luke mentioning an attempted attack last week, he certainly remembers Marcus admitting the leaders of the vampire clan responsible for the string of murders they've been investigating had see to it that he be followed; but foolishly, he realizes, he'd never thought Luke could possibly be any real danger. That he might be responsible for the love of his life being in any kind of trouble, any kind of pain, just as a pointed message to get Reid to stop digging makes him physically ill--to the point that he'd actually had to rush to the bathroom to throw up before attempting to text every contact in his phone who might have seen Luke today.

The only person he texts again, after the slew of questions he receives back, is Alec. Of all the people he knows, Alec is the one closest to what he considers family, one of the people he trusts the most after Luke. Now, Reid stands at Alec's door, pounding as hard as he can, entirely ignorant of the noise he's making in his desperation to seek help.

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Alec had been stood up.

He and Magnus had been supposed to have a date and while Alec was initially uncomfortable with it not because it would have been public but because he just wasn't good at dates, he'd agreed. He'd agreed and he'd waited and Magnus had not shown up.

He'd gotten angry then, stalked over to his apartment and found it empty save for Olivia and Henry. And while Alec had feared that Magnus had run, had decided he wasn't worth it, he'd quashed that part of himself quickly.

Something else was going on. He'd called Magnus and received no answer. He'd looked and found him nowhere. Now, he was back in his apartment, getting weapons together when someone pounded on his door.

Magnus wouldn't knock. It hurt to think that but he yanked the door open anyway, frown already on his face when he saw Reid.

"Reid." His tone was harsh, rough. He didn't apologize. "What's wrong?"

For a moment, Reid doesn't even know what to say. He doesn't know where to begin, how to explain exactly how he's certain Luke hasn't just gone out for an errand when it's only been a few hours since they'd last exchanged texts, and he recalls having felt this distinct sense of helplessness before when Maeve had been taken. It occurs to him, not for the first time today, that loving him must be like poison, and the thought threatens to make him sick in the doorway of Alec's apartment, but Reid manages to regain a bit of control over himself.

"He's gone," Reid says, and it's vague, but he can't imagine the wild look in his eyes is difficult to define. "I went to the store, I-- I bought us a late lunch, you know, we've been talking about getting Thai so I got Thai, and I took it home but the store was closed. It's too early to be closed, Alec, and he won't answer his phone or his messages, and the inventory was knocked over like there was a struggle, and he's gone."

Reid can't even quite bring himself to say his boyfriend's name, afraid of what it might happen if he does, and there are already hysterical tears brimming in his eyes as he pauses to comb his fingers through his hair, tugging manically at the ends.

Dropping his arms back to his sides, hands balled into fists, Reid takes a breath. "I need your help. Something's wrong, I know it is, I need to find him."

Without a word, Alec ushered Reid inside so he could shut the door tightly behind them. His heart, which had already been racing, sped up even more though outwardly, he tried to remain calm. He could feel the cold knot in his stomach expand, could feel the ice settling in his bloodstream, chilling him.

But, he remained calm. He didn't know how when he wanted to scream but he guessed that since he'd gone years without showing emotion, he still had that ability inside him.

"I'll help you," Alec said firstly. He wasn't going to sit around and just wait for this to resolve not when it now involved two people he cared about. Not when Reid was standing in front of him looking like he was going to fall apart.

After a pause and some mental arguing with himself, he shared, "Magnus is gone too. It's not a coincidence. Was there anything in the store that helped you? Anything at all? Nothing's out of place at Magnus' apartment. The cats are fine."

It's not as if Reid had even considered Alec would turn him away but he's relieved when he's allowed into the apartment, though he's already pacing back and forth across the living room by the time Alec turns back around. Up until this point, Reid thinks he's managed to keep it together impressively well enough, in the sense that he hasn't shut down almost entirely for a time like he had after Maeve had disappeared. He'd managed to get a hold of himself then to find her, and Reid knows he'd be able to do that now, too; but hearing that Magnus is gone, realizing that Alec must be going through the same internal turmoil (but masking it far better) as he is, makes Reid's knees buckle, and he stumbles backwards until the back of his legs hit the couch.

Sinking onto the cushions, Reid stares blankly at the floor, knowing he needs to answer Alec's question but finding it immensely difficult to find the words to speak at all. Finally, after one failed attempt, he looks back up at Alec, his hands trembling in his lap. "Our cats are fine, too." That helps with nothing, but it's the first thing he can think of to say. Ultimately, it only serves to level him again because he's reminded that Alec is very much suffering the same fears, the same worries without falling apart. He needs to follow suit, and he needs to do it quickly.

Clearing his throat, he pushes himself back off the couch, rubbing at his jaw as he thinks. "The only sign of struggle was the books that were on the floor. Luke wouldn't have just left things like that and even if he had, that would mean it had to have been an emergency. He wouldn't just rush off for something important like that without telling me. When I got there, the lights were off, the store was locked up, the sign said the place was closed. Someone did that, someone wanted to keep people from poking around as long as possible."

That there's nothing out of place at Magnus' is unsettling, it indicates that either Magnus had been taken by people he'd possibly known or at least found nonthreatening when he'd let them in, or he'd been taken on his way to somewhere else. "When's the last time you talked to him? Has he mentioned anything feeling off lately? Luke had mentioned to me last week that he'd been attacked, but they'd run off as soon as his claws came out. Between Luke and Magnus, it feels..."

Personal.

Meeting Alec's gaze, his shoulders tighten. "I think I might know where to start. At least, I know someone who might be able to tell us. Bring some weapons, make sure you have crosses and holy water if you have room to carry them. I'll explain on the way, we can't waste any more time."

"We were supposed to go out last night," Alec told him, grabbing his stele from the table where he'd dropped it so he could start burning Marks into his arms and legs. He wasn't planning on sitting idly by while this was going on, not a chance. He paid no mind to Reid being right there, watching him burn his skin. He figured that he'd probably seen Luke change so this wouldn't be difficult to watch and, if it was, he could turn away.

"He didn't show up," Alec told him grimly. "I thought he'd stood me up so I came back here to yell at him and he wasn't here. He wouldn't stand me up either. He'd call, tell me. His phone just sends me to voicemail. I've left him like thirty already."

It wasn't benefiting him, leaving voicemails like that and he knew he'd be embarrassed later when everything was all right (because it would be all right) but it'd given him an outlet for feelings that he had no idea how to deal with.

"He was fine. Nothing seemed off," Alec said, glancing up briefly. "You think this was the Night Children? Magnus wouldn't let himself get taken by vampires. He's too powerful for that."

But, it was a start. It was a place to go and despite his argument, he nodded, shoving his stele into his belt and reaching for his bow and arrows. "Lead the way."

It's entirely possible, from what Alec has said, that Magnus has actually been gone for much longer than Luke has, and Reid watches blankly as Alec burns a rune onto his arm while he tries to go over what few facts he has. Alec makes a good point, Magnus is a powerful warlock and Luke an undeniably strong werewolf, neither of them make particularly easy prey for any vampires that might be prowling for them; but then again, he thinks back to what Marcus had said about the leaders of his clan having Reid watched, and he can't help but wonder whether they'd finally decided a severe warning would be the best way to get a message through to him.

If that's the case, they'd been right. They have his full attention.

"Even if the vampires aren't directly responsible for taking them, it's possible they were still involved," Reid reasons as they walk out the door. Alec looks just a little conspicuous with his bow and arrows, but they can brush off any questions easily enough with an explanation of mere target practice and anyway, the sun will be setting soon. That it hasn't gone down yet is why Reid wants to rush all the more, he can use that to his advantage when they reach their destination.

It doesn't take long to get there and on the way, Reid explains the interrogation he and Luke had held, the aggressive tactics they'd used to get information out of Marcus regarding the deaths caused by the vampires. It's revenge collateral, he'd explained, a punishment for those who actively seek someone out to bite into them, to suck their blood, but can't come up with the money promised to pay for it.

"This vampire, Marcus, if he knows something, I think we can get it out of him," Reid says, "he's not the self-sacrificing type, and he gave in pretty quick at the threat of pain." They're approaching Marcus's house, the one that looks rundown and abandoned in a way that's very much purposeful, an effort to keep the average person away. Reid leads Alec to the back of the house, where he fully anticipates that the doorknob is still missing from when Luke had broken it off, and he's relieved to see he was right. Marcus will have nowhere to run, not with the sun still out, and especially not with Alec here with him.

Without any preamble, Reid steps inside, not bothering to check if Alec is following because he knows he is, but they don't get far before there's an ice-cold hand curling over his arm and shoving him against the wall. It pulls a stunned gasp from him and as soon as he recovers from the shock, he realizes he's face-to-face with a smirking Marcus.

"I see you brought the kiddie with you this time," Marcus says, sparing a glance at Alec. "What, no big bad wolf to keep his lover safe? Guess that shows how much he really cares."

While Reid talked, Alec listened and followed quietly. This was what he was used to, covering someone's back like a silent sentinel. He was comfortable in this role even if he wasn't anything close to comfortable right now. He was conflicted and he felt like his stomach was in knots but he'd deal with that later when he was alone, when he didn't have to let anybody else lean on him.

Alec could immediately feel the presence of vampires even before they'd gone inside. He knew they were here and he'd pulled a dagger out, taking into account the close quarters and leaving his bow where it was. He wouldn't be able to get off a shot with how fast vampires were and he didn't want to waste arrows.

The vampire grabbing and shoving Reid into a wall happened fast. But, Alec was fast too. The vampire had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before he grabbed at the back of his shirt and bodily pulled the vampire off of Reid, ripping him away hard enough that he'd go flying into the opposite wall or furniture or whatever else lay behind them.

"Do that again and I'll do worse, vampire," Alec told him, glancing at Reid to make sure he was all right. Once satisfied with what he saw, he nodded and clasped his hands in front of him, making sure his Marked dagger was in plain view of the vampire.

Alec looks to him, and Reid offers a barely perceptible nod, though his ears seem to be ringing from the impact of his back against the wall and the rush of adrenaline that's coursing through him now. That Marcus had been the one to say anything about Luke in the first place only serves to make Reid angry, to make him believe all the more that the vampire must know something, must have had something to do with Luke and Magnus's disappearances. Maybe later on, he'll recognize there had been no real logic behind the theory, that he'd merely followed the only lead he could come up with, which he doesn't think is altogether unfair.

Right now, though, Marcus is groaning against cracked drywall in the same way he had when Luke had done the very same thing Alec had done the last time they'd paid Marcus a visit. There's something satisfying about it, seeing that Luke and Alec are similar in their methods, and Reid takes a few steps forward to glare down at the fallen vampire.

"He's gone," Reid says simply, closely observing Marcus for a reaction.

"Who's gone?" Marcus asks sharply, glancing nervously at Alec. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about. You come into my house again, you have someone throw me around again, and it's supposed to make me want to show and tell?"

"You don't have to show me anything," Reid counters, "I just need you to tell me where my boyfriend is."

"I don't fucking know anything about that," Marcus argues, lifting a finger to point at Alec. "Or maybe I do. But if you don't tell him to back the hell off, you're not getting a goddamn thing out of me."

"I haven't moved since you moved," Alec pointed out, staying still and calm behind Reid's shoulder. He didn't move to put the dagger away, though. If this vampire, this Marcus thought he was going to use his power to dictate this conversation, he was wrong.

"He doesn't need to tell me to back off unless you decide to be an idiot again," Alec added after a moment. He glanced at Reid and nodded. He wasn't going to interrupt whatever Reid wanted to do. He wasn't the guy who could weave words, talk people in circles. He was the guy with the Marks burned into his skin and the ability to toss people into walls.

"Talk," Alec ordered darkly. "Now. I'm not in the mood for your games."

Reid briefly meets Alec's eyes to give a nearly imperceptible nod back before looking back at Marcus. "He's just remembering what Luke did to him the last time we were here," he says, and he would be smirking for show by now if not for the ever deepening concern he feels for his boyfriend and Alec's. "Isn't that right? You're remembering what it was like to have his heel at your throat. To test his limits a little more every time you threatened me."

With a soft but impatient sigh, Reid steps closer to Marcus the kneels, knowing Alec could cross the room in an instant if the vampire were to try anything. "I will do worse to you," he promises lowly, "if you know something and aren't telling me. I'm not walking away from this house tonight until I'm satisfied with the answers you give me. So tell me the truth. What do you know about where he is?"

Shifting under Reid's scrutiny, the vampire's eyes dart between him and Alec, as if trying to determine whether there could be any chance at all of escape. "Look," Marcus huffs, "I was just minding my own business when you came in here, okay? Aren't you a cop, aren't you supposed to be ethical or something?"

"Ethical," Reid echoes, letting out an empty laugh. "I'm happy to be ethical until it comes to the people I love being in danger. I won't ask you again. What do you know?"

"I'm not getting involved in shit just because you're pissed you aren't getting fucked tonight," Marcus counters.

In the brief silence that follows, there's a noticeable change in the air. The tension grows thicker, tenser, and when the first crack sounds through the room, Reid isn't sure whether it's due to Marcus's face or his own fist. All he knows is that after the second, third, fourth punch to the vampire, he feels for the first time while hurting someone that he never wants to stop.

Reid was much better at talking than Alec was. He knew how to talk circles around both mundanes and Downworlders. Alec was content to just stand there, watching intently and waiting for a signal that he might be needed. The vampire, Marcus, seemed to be listening and Alec thought that maybe they'd actually get somewhere.

That was until Marcus' comment about sex. Alec tensed and was about to dart forward and wrap his fingers around that neck when Reid started beating on the vampire mercilessly. Alec hadn't known he'd that anger, that rage inside of him.

He let it happen for a few seconds before he moved, reaching for Reid's arm to pull him back. He wasn't trying to save Marcus but he was trying to prevent Reid from breaking his hand (if he hadn't already) and getting himself into trouble with the mundane authorities.

"Stop. Stop," Alec ordered, clamping down on Reid and holding him tight. "He's not going to tell us anything. Save your strength."

Even as he struggles against Alec's hold on him, Reid tries to persuade himself to calm down, forcing himself to recognize that his knuckles are bleeding, that he's in pain, that Marcus is on the floor laughing. It's a humorless kind of laugh, one that sends another burst of anger through Reid, but Alec doesn't let him go and so, he has no choice but to fall back, the tension draining from his body. His muscles will be sore later from tensing so hard, and he's pretty sure his knuckles are at least fractured, but Reid doesn't care.

Pushing himself to his feet with his good hand and cradling the other against his chest, Reid stares down at Marcus with wild eyes. "If you had anything to do with this, I'll come back here, and I swear, I'll kill you myself, you son of a bitch."

Marcus wriggles backwards until he meets the wall, inching upward into a sitting position as he wipes the back of one shaky hand over the blood spilling from his nose. There's a cut on his cheek, a bruise blooming beneath one eye, all these wounds that will likely heal by the time Alec and Reid leave this house, but it only makes his smile all the more unsettling.

"It wasn't us," Marcus insists, though Reid isn't sure it's even feasible to believe him at this point. "One of ours was taken, too. I don't have names. I don't have locations. Not this time. You're lucky you came with your kiddie, doc, you really are. Otherwise I would've snapped your neck by now. Come back here again, and I won't be so accommodating."

Swallowing hard, Reid slowly turns, tugging at Alec's sleeve as he does. "Come on," he says, all the fight and adrenaline draining out of him, "let's get out of here."

Alec believed him. He didn't know why and it didn't make this situation better but Alec didn't think that Marcus truly knew anything concerning the whereabouts of Luke or Magnus. It was frustrating and it was made only more so by Marcus' smile and his laughter.

Alec let Reid go, nudging him towards the door but he didn't immediately leave. Instead, he stepped closer to Marcus, crouching down and grabbing for the collar of the vampire's shirt.

"You do anything to him and I'll find you and you do not want that happening, vampire," Alec told him darkly, dangerously. He couldn't do anything now, not if he didn't want to break the Accords but there was an urge, a powerful desire, to just bring the dagger into the vampire's heart.

He stood up and went to rejoin Reid. "Go. It stinks in here."

Reid is very aware that Alec doesn't immediately follow him out, but he doesn't stop to check on the reason why. His heart is racing and so is his mind, though the increasingly severe pain in his definitely fractured hand is threatening to overwhelm any sense of rational thought he may be close to possessing right now. Carefully moving his hand in front of him to get a better look, hissing as he does, Reid grimaces at the sight of the blood and swelling, knowing he ought to go have it checked out by a doctor but already deciding he won't.

There's no time to deal with this right now, he needs to find Luke and Magnus, and every second that passes is another away from the man he loves. The man he's supposed to marry. Letting his eyes slip shut for just a moment, Reid lets out a long, slow exhale in attempt to collect himself, though it doesn't work particularly well. At the very least, he finds himself capable of nodding once Alec is back at his side, and they leave the house without another word until they've reached the street.

"I'm sorry," he finally says, keeping his eyes straight, not sure yet whether he's willing to meet Alec's gaze. "I didn't mean to lose control like that, I just--" Deflating a little, Reid sighs. "You understand. I wanted him to know something because I don't know where the hell else to start looking."

"I get it," Alec said, nodding. His eyes flicked down to Reid's hand, checking the damage. Mundanes were fragile, their bones breakable and considering how many times Reid had his the vampire before Alec had pulled him away, he had to wonder if there was any damage.

"Your hand?" he asked, nodding down at the injury. "Is it broken? Do you need some ice or to go to the hospital?"

It wasn't something Alec necessarily wanted to do, not when lives could hang in the balance and people were gone. But, Reid was important too and he didn't want him hurting if something could be gone. He'd be no good if he was in too much pain.

More than a little embarrassed about his outburst, Reid frowns down at his hand, giving a slight shake of his head. "Fractured, maybe. Not broken. I've had much worse, there's no need to go to the hospital. All they'd do is wrap it and try to give me painkillers." He smiles wryly at Alec. "Can't take the painkillers, obviously. And it might take me awhile, but I can wrap it myself. There are bandages at the apartment."

At the apartment, which is empty but for the cats, and Reid's smile fades quickly at the reminder that the only reason his hand is in this condition in the first place is because Luke and Magnus have gone missing.

"Any ideas on where they could be?" Reid asks, voice softening. He's sure he knows the answer but there has to be something that can lead them at least in the right direction. "I know we live in a city where people really can just... disappear. But that's not what happened. Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Magnus? Anyone who could possibly be responsible for this?"

"There's plenty of people would want to hurt Magnus," Alec said, tone tight and emotionless. He didn't want to think of Magnus not being in this city anymore. He didn't want to think of him back in Manhattan, back in his loft while Alec was left behind.

He didn't want to be left behind. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"I don't know if any of them are here," Alec continued with a shake of his head. This place wasn't full of Magnus' exes or enemies. He was over four centuries old but he'd only been in this city, this world for a few months. "As far as I know, everyone loves him. He's never told me about people hating him."

Alec swallowed thickly. "I've never asked though." Maybe he should have asked.

"No, of course not," Reid says, his tone slightly detached, though he has processed what Alec had said. "Neither have I. But it's like you said, I don't know anyone who's met Luke and dislikes him. He's good, and he's kind, and he helps people in every way he can and-- and-- and god, I need him back. I need to get him back."

He knows he needs to keep it together, Alec doesn't need to deal with him having a breakdown in the midst of having lost his own boyfriend, but Reid's hands are trembling and it sends shooting pain through his knuckles and up the length of his left arm. Squaring his jaw, he forces himself to ignore the pain and takes a step forward, unsure of where he's going to go next but very aware that they can't just stay here.

"I'm sorry," he says, trying to keep his voice steady, "I just-- I don't know. I thought this would help, talking to Marcus, I thought we might be able to get something. Apparently, whoever did this isn't going to make finding them easy." He glances down at his hand, cringing at the ugly swelling and drying blood. "Look, the best thing to do might be to see if anything else was left behind at the store. We don't know exactly when or where Magnus was taken so our best lead right now is going back to the scene of where Luke was." He pauses, grimacing. "Do you know if this has happened to anyone else?"

"I'm fine," Alec said, waving off the apology. He would always be fine, he would always project an image of being fine unless his chest was ripped open and he was halfway dead. If he wasn't that, then hew as fine.

"Simon Snow," Alec said after a moment. "Baz's boyfriend. We've got tracking runes and I tried one with one of Magnus' rings but didn't get anything specific. It's confusing. I couldn't figure out where it was telling me to go."

It had given them something and they'd looked in the general area but still hadn't tracked down anyone or anything. "I can try it with something of Luke's, if you'd like. Maybe it'll be stronger or different."

Simon Snow. Magnus. Luke.

Reid doesn't know enough about Simon to really see a connection yet, though if anything, all signs would still point to the vampires being responsible. The leaders of the vampire brothel know he is, know who Luke and Alec and Magnus are, might even know who Baz is if his cover's been blown; but then, why target the partners of the people he cares about? Ultimately, it doesn't seem personal, as much as it may feel that way, nothing about this really makes any sense.

It's his job to work through things like this, to connect dots and solve cases, but there's a reason why agents and officers and detectives aren't meant to get too close to investigations that pose a conflict of interest. His mind is more on Luke than it is anything else and that's dangerous, it clouds his judgment, because all he wants to do aside from finding his boyfriend right now is personally tear apart anyone who might have hurt him. That's not an especially conducive state of mind to be in when trying to wade through the murky waters of a case.

"We'll try it," Reid says, nodding. It may not work, but he's willing to try anything and everything that might even possibly get them closer to finding Luke.

It doesn't take long to get back to the store, though Reid gestures for Alec to follow him up the stairs directly to the apartment. Even if they do go back down to look at the mess that'd been left behind, he also needs to take certain measure to take care of his hand. "Come on, I'll find you something of his. Can it be anything? Clothes, a shirt, something simple like that?"

"Anything that's hit, yeah," Alec said, reaching into his belt for the stele. The tracking rune he'd carved previously is gone, leaving only white raised scars in its wake. Alec yanked the sleeve of his shirt up and found a spot on his wrist.

"If it's something he's used recently, all the better," Alec said, breathing deep while he drew the rune, watching the stark black lines sink into his skin. He clenched his fist and put the stele away.

Alec wanted this to work. Even if it hadn't worked for Magnus or Simon, maybe it would work for Luke. Maybe Luke would be closer or maybe the rune would find him easier. Maybe maybe maybe.

Alec tried not to feel sick.

His eyes darting around the room, Reid paces for a moment, trying to determine which of Luke's possessions would be best to offer. A large part of him is distracted, thinking of how surreal this feels, how strange it is that everything in this apartment can look so utterly normal when nothing could be further from the truth. Luke is gone, taken, and Reid can't wrap his mind around what right their apartment has to appear just the way it always does. There's no logic to that, he knows, but he's not tapping into logic right now. All he can think about is that he'd do absolutely anything to get his boyfriend back.

"Here," he says, finally reaching for a discarded flannel that'd been left on the couch after he and Luke had hastily made the journey from the living room to their bedroom last night. They hadn't bothered to pick up after themselves this morning because they'd end up running late, too wrapped up in each other to be willing to get up, which doesn't make for the first time that's happened.

He misses Luke, his heart aches for him, and Reid hands over the flannel like he's giving up a lifeline.

"Please let it work," he murmurs, wrapping his arms around himself as he watches.

Alec took the flannel and balled it up so he could get as much of the fabric between two hands as he could. He pressed his hands together around the piece of clothing and closed his eyes, reaching out.

It was dark, just like it had been with Magnus, and it was hard to see anything. It was like pushing through thick, wet mud. Alec kept meeting resistance but he eventually saw the silhouette of what looked like Luke. He was alive, Alec could tell, but he wasn't moving much. There were nondescript walls surrounding him and then Alec was snapping back, snapping out of the trance and opening his eyes.

He took a few huge breaths and handed the flannel back to Reed. "He's alive but I can't -- I don't know where he is. He's somewhere though. He's not gone from the city."

"No," Reid says, his voice void now of any real hint of emotion, and he suddenly feels so tired. Whatever Alec had done, it hadn't worked, at least not in full, though Reid supposes he should at least be grateful for the confirmation of something he hadn't doubted. "No, he's not gone from the city."

His legs practically keep out from beneath him then, and he reaches out to steady himself against the arm of the couch before sinking down on the cushions, staring blankly at the book of poetry they'd been flipping through together the previous night, before they'd ended up distracted by each other. That's what their life is supposed to be, nights spent reading poetry to each other or pretending they only watch Space Hospital ironically or falling into bed without any regard for the fact that a delivery is meant to come to the door at anytime.

It's not supposed to be this: a severe sense of grief, of terror that he can't shake, because Reid knows if anyone had been able to overpower Luke, this isn't just a random coincidence. Luke had been a target and more than likely, so had Magnus.

"I should go back out there," he says, forcing himself to look back at Alec. "After I've fixed up my hand. I need to keep looking. If I stop, I might allow the possibility that he might not come back, and I can't do that. He's coming back, all of them are."

Alec knew he'd given Reid basically nothing. He knew that what he'd done had been something but not enough. Nothing would be enough until Luke was back home, until Magnus was back home. Anything else was a failure.

"Fix your hand," Alec said, glancing down at Reid's injury. "Do you need me to take you by the hospital? If you don't set it properly, it's going to heal wrong and it's going to be painful."

Mundane bodies were fragile. He was so used to being able to draw an iratze and heal himself within minutes, hours, days where mundanes needed weeks and months sometimes. He normally wouldn't care how Reid handled his injury but this time, he cared.

"No."

He nearly apologizes for the shortness, but Reid doesn't. Alec likely wouldn't acknowledge the apology, anyway, which is just as well, and Reid examines his hand more closely with a mild grimace.

"It's not that bad." Not exactly the truth, but he's still not going to the hospital. When Luke is found, maybe then Reid will go, but he won't waste time with any doctors to be told what he already knows-- some of the knuckles are fractured, he needs to take care not to aggravate the injury and ice it so the swelling goes down.

With a sigh, he stands back up from the couch. "I'm going to go get a towel from the bathroom." Hesitating, Reid nods toward the kitchen. "There's ice in the freezer. If you could make me a pack, I'd appreciate it."

Alec didn't argue. If Reid didn't want to go to a hospital, Alec wasn't going to force him to. He knew that he'd likely react the same way if the positions were reversed, if he wasn't able to heal quickly and couldn't use iratzes. So, he nodded at Reid and walked into the kitchen.

He found the ice easily enough and rummaged for a few more seconds before finding a plastic bag to dump it in. He sealed the bag and went back out to meet Reid once again.

While he waited, he let himself think that, if anything, once Magnus and Luke had been found (because he couldn't entertain any other possibilities), Magnus would be able to heal Reid if he was feeling up to it. That was Alec's optimal scenario.

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