Malace || Shadowhunters || Malace || To Touch His Soul || Malace || Shadowhunters || Malace

Title: To Touch His Soul – Welcome to Pandaemonium

Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments

Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: His Dark Materials themes (daemons exist; everybody has an animal manifestation of their soul), polyamory (m/m/m), pining

Main Pairing: Magnus/Alec/Jace

Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan Christopher 'Jace' Herondale, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Isabelle 'Izzy' Lightwood, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray, Simon Lewis, Catarina Loss

Own Characters (Daemons): Celestina (Jace's Golden Retriever), Minerva (Alec's snow owl), Shyama (Magnus' black panther), Nagendra (Isabelle's cobra), Seraphina (Clary's robin), Adina (Simon's squirrel), Menelaus (Catarina's lion)

Summary: When the Shadowhunters first stumble into Magnus' club, he finds himself instantly fascinated by the pair of parabatai, who so freely interact with each other's daemons. What's the saying, curiosity kills the cat... but satisfaction brings him back...?

To Touch His Soul

Welcome to Pandaemonium

Every human – mundie, Downworlder and Shadowhunter alike – was born with a daemon. A physical manifestation of the person's very soul. As children, those daemons could still shift between various animal-forms, before they would settle. A daemon's settling was celebrated in Nephilim culture with the young Shadowhunter receiving their first rune.

To touch another's daemon was indecent and improper at best, a violent offense in some cases. It was one of the most intimate displays of affection, for one was quite literally touching another's soul. Even among lovers, it was not a given that the daemons would trust the other human like that.

Parabatai were different, because they were Nephilim who chose to tie their souls together. Usually, that simply manifested in their daemons being very close, downright inseparable. And even among them, it was rare that the daemons would go to their human's parabatai and allow to be touched.

So when Jace Wayland and Alexander Lightwood first stumbled into Magnus' life and Magnus saw their daemons freely switching between them – the snow owl settling on Jace's shoulder as easily as it landed on Alexander's wrist, the Golden Retriever sitting in Alexander's lap as comfortably as it brushed against Jace's side while standing vigilant – Magnus Bane was fascinated, to say the least.

/break\

When Jace first came to live with them, it was very obvious but wildly ignored that both Jace and his daemon had been abused. Once, Alec had seen Nagendra – Isabelle's daemon – turn into a falcon, for only a brief moment because Jace's reaction had been so violent in how he recoiled and sobbed. Nagendra apologized softly as he turned into a kitten, hiding behind Isabelle.

No one said anything. Probably because Michael Wayland had been Robert's parabatai. Maybe because that parabatai-bond had kind of dissolved and it was a tricky topic. Guilt was why the Lightwoods had agreed to take care of the orphaned boy and admitting that the child had been abused before would only pile onto the guilt. There was no changing the past anyway.

Yet Alec? He saw. And he felt. He felt protective over the young blonde with the cocky grin, who would flinch when adult men raised their voices and who didn't seem to know what to do with a hug. The boy with the fascinating mismatched eyes and that deeply seated sadness he tried to cover.

"You care a great deal about the new boy."

Alec wiggled his nose as he turned toward his daemon. Minerva was kind and soft-spoken. She tended to shift into birds the majority of time, but that had started to unsettle Alec ever since he had seen what a falcon did to Jace. What if Minerva's final form was a falcon and Jace would never be able to even look at Alec's daemon again? How would Alec be able to ever be close to Jace then?

"He's... part of the Institute now. My parents took him in, of course I care."

Minerva hummed and, mercifully, didn't comment otherwise, she simply started preening her feathers, leaving Alec to lean up his arrows and not think about what Minerva was implying.

/break\

One of the most important moments in Alec's life was the day Minerva found her final form. It had been a normal day, nothing out of the usual, nothing to indicate that the day would be special. Minerva had often shifted into owls before – all kinds of owls, it was where she had gotten her name from after all, because her first form had been an Athene owl. Since then, she had taken many different owl-breeds and other birds of prey over the years. She hadn't been a snow-owl in years though, not since before Jace had moved to New York.

Minerva and Celestina were playing and Celestina had turned into a barn owl – one of her more frequently used forms – and to give proper chase, Minerva had turned into a snow owl.

Jace however stood frozen in front of the two daemons, staring at them. For a long moment, Alec simply panicked. What if snow owls were also a trigger, like falcons? What if this upset Jace? Wha-

"You're beautiful", whispered Jace in awe as he approached Minerva. "What bird is that?"

"That's a snow owl", supplied Isabelle and tilted her head. "I remember Mine turned into one before, back when we were in Idris one winter and it was snowing."

"I've never seen one before", replied Jace, tilting his head as he watched Minerva closely.

Aware of the eyes watching her, Minerva sat down in front of the three pre-teens, tilting her head and giving Jace the chance to round him and look at him from all sides. He seemed so in awe.

"You like it?", asked Minerva, sounding rather amused.

"Yes! You look gorgeous! It really suits you. And Alec!", exclaimed Jace, sounding rather excited and startling Alec. "Like, a powerful but wise predator, right?"

Alec died a little on the inside, staring at Jace and okay yes, he absolutely did have a crush on Jace. A very huge crush. He still didn't quite know how to comprehend that this was the day Minerva chose her form and that she chose the one Jace seemed to admire so much.

/break\

Alec frowned when Jace and Izzy returned from their mission, both soaking wet and boots covered in mud. Both young Shadowhunters started to get out of their boots. While Isabelle had an easy time carrying them, with Nagendra safely and warmly to curl around Isabelle's neck and mud-free, Jace had a harder time because Celestina's paws and legs were caked in it. It was either carry the boots, or carry the daemon, whose tail was dripping and tucked between her legs. Alec smiled, just a little bit, and stretched his arms out so he could take the dirty boots from Jace, giving him the chance to carry Celestina without dragging mud all through the Institute forcing him to clean it up later. The next few moments made Alec's brain halt though, because Jace didn't pick up the boots to hand to Alec, he picked Celestina up and handed her to Alec. Hazel eyes widened in shock as he stared up close into Celestina's face, feeling her soft, but wet, fur against his fingers.

The Institute seemed to fall into total silence as all Shadowhunters going about their business paused and stared at them, as shocked as Alec. Izzy nearly slipped, so distracted with watching.

"Thanks, Alec. You're the best. Just... carry her to the bathroom right away so she can have a bath?"

"Oh! Bath. I like baths", exclaimed Celestina excitedly, resting her paws around Alec's neck.

Very carefully, Alec pulled her closer, pressed against his chest. Soaking himself in mud and rain, but as long as Celestina was safe and held protectively, that was fine. Jace looked at him a little weirdly and then looked around the room, his frown turning more disturbed.

"Why is everyone staring at us? What's their problem?", asked Jace, seeming genuinely confused.

They reached Jace's room – and Isabelle slipped in with them. "Come on, Jace. You just gave Alec your daemon. You... You do know that's not... Like, you must have noticed that no one is touching someone else's daemon? Not even mom and dad touch each other's daemons."

Jace's brows furrowed as he contemplated this while the trio headed to the bathroom. "...Huh. I... guess you're right. I don't remember ever seeing anyone touch someone else's daemon. Not even the two of you... I just... never really noticed, I guess? And it's not like I grew up in actual society with other people with daemons. And father... never told me this was like... a taboo."

"So you...", drawled Alec with a frown.

"I never touched Phosphora. The hissing and venomous fangs were keeping me from it", snorted Jace. "But father never had any... such... qualms with Tina..."

Jace's face fell, there was that distant look in his eyes again, the one he got when remembering his childhood abuse. He finished drawing the bath for Celestina and wandered out with a quick excuse. Both Isabelle and Alec knew it was because Jace always needed a moment to himself when thinking of his father. Heaving a sigh, Alec put Celestina into the bath.

"He used to kick me", whispered Celestina softly as she settled into the water. "Called me useless. Called Jace useless. Weak. Jace isn't useless, Jace is a good boy. I'm glad Jace has you now."

She made direct eye-contact with Alec at that. Tentatively, he reached out to pet her head, the motion halted and reluctant, but Tina immediately bumped her head against his hand.

"I'll... quickly check on Jace. Iz, you should at least dry up", ordered Alec.

He headed to the bedroom, where Jace was sitting on his bed, looking sullen. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?", asked Alec confused.

"If I made you uncomfortable. I didn't know this was... a big deal. But I figured, we want to become parabatai, right? We're literally tying our souls together, so why wouldn't I trust you with my daemon? Either way I'm entrusting you with my soul, aren't I?"

"I... I guess you're right", admitted Alec after a moment. "And it's okay. I wasn't... uncomfortable. I was just surprised. But you... you should join Tina in the bath, mh? Before you get a cold."

Jace had asked Alec to become parabatai only a few weeks ago, shortly after Celestina had found her own final form. A Golden Retriever. Alec absolutely loved it, it suited her so well. She had wagged her tail proudly when he had told her so. Still, somehow having Jace ask for them to become parabatai and Jace entrusting Celestina to him, those were two very different things.

/break\

It didn't take long for it to become common-place to see Jace and Alec interact with each other's daemons. While Alec was careful like handling the most delicate glass-figurine at first, he soon grew more affectionate with Celestina, petting her every opportunity, even carrying her around when she started complaining about not wanting to walk anymore (she was thoroughly abusing her power now that Alec was touching her. He was strong and very willing to carry the well-sized Golden Retriever everywhere). Minerva had taken to interacting with Jace directly too.

Isabelle wondered about it. She had never heard of such a thing and, judging by the reactions, no one else had either. She... genuinely couldn't imagine anyone touching Nagendra, not even Alec, Jace or Max. He was a part of Isabelle, too intimate to share with anyone. He had also recently found his final form! A beautiful king cobra. Everyone kept saying that it suited Isabelle well.

Celestina and Minerva suited Alec and Jace well and they complimented each other, somehow.

Isabelle wasn't stupid. She knew that Alec liked Jace a lot more than he should, in the eyes of the Clave at least. It was written all over Alec's face every time he looked at Jace. However, she couldn't quite get a read on Jace. Yes, he trusted Alec blindly, but... did he love Alec?

One could only wait and see what the future held for them both, but Izzy wished for their happiness.

/break\

Not only did Alexander Lightwood and Jace Wayland fight with fluent ease, their daemons did too. Where Jace provided cover for Alec as the archer attacked long-distance, Alexander's snow owl circled Jace's Golden Retriever above, making sure she was safe from attack while fighting viciously. The most interesting aspect had happened after Magnus transported them all to his loft though, when everyone checked their daemons for injuries – Isabelle with the snake around her neck, Clarissa with the red robin nestled against her cheek, Simon with the squirrel curled together on his head... and Jace and Alec both checking on the snow owl and the Golden Retriever. Jace had a casual hand resting on the dog's hind while checking the owl's wing, the owl sitting on Alec's arm while Alec's other hand ran through the dog's fur to check for hidden injuries.

It was peculiar and utterly fascinating for Magnus to watch. In all his centuries, he had only very rarely seen such a level of trust – he could count it on one hand and yet still have fingers left to wiggle. Yet it was obvious to see which daemon belonged to which Shadowhunter. At least it was to Magnus. And honestly, fascinated did not even begin to cover it. Magnus was intrigued.

He found delight in teasing the duo. Admittedly, he had not even meant one of them specifically when asking the "pretty boy" to go, but deciding he meant the one who didn't feel addressed by it was definitely delightful. The blonde looked so started and offended, while the tall drink of water looked as though he didn't quite know how to compute being called a pretty boy.

"Magnus Bane, you are scheming and I do not think I approve."

The two of them were finally alone, if only for a moment while everyone was busy with the tasks Magnus had given them. Heaving a dramatic sigh, Magnus collapsed onto his couch, his daemon climbing up next to him and folding her paws on his lap. Golden eyes stared at him pointedly while the black panther got comfortable. Smiling innocently, Magnus petted her head.

"Oh, shush it, Shyama. I am... merely... interested. Aren't you? Could you even imagine someone else touching you? No. I couldn't. These two, they... could be very entertaining."

"As long as you don't get your heart broken again", sighed Shyama and yawned widely. "You tend to be 'interested', just to get 'invested'... and then to get hurt. These two seem to share quite the bond already, if you get attached, you are bound to get hurt."

"Pessimistic old cat", muttered Magnus softly.

"Soft old warlock", countered Shyama.

/break\

Shyama turned out to be right, of course. No one knew him better than his daemon, yet still Magnus kept thinking he would know better. He didn't. He really was too soft, wasn't he? Growing attached like that. Flirting with Alexander had been for fun at first and then the young Shadowhunter latched onto him, perhaps desperate to find a way to move on from his feelings for his parabatai.

It was easy to fall into a romance with Alec, he was delightful and sweet and so grateful for any affection Magnus was willing to give him. Magnus was foolish to believe he could have a little meaningless fun with the pretty Shadowhunter without losing his heart.

Shyama was right. Magnus was a soft old warlock who was going to get his heart broken.

Because while he was in over his head, Alec... was still very much in love with his parabatai. He had genuine feelings for Magnus too, Magnus didn't doubt it. However, that love Alexander and Jace shared, it was too deep – not just through the parabatai-bond itself, or the years they have spent together now, but also the sheer trust between them, to touch each other's daemons.

Things only got more complicated the longer this farce lasted.

Yes, Magnus had grown quite fond of them all, particularly precious young Clary. She would never stop being that little girl, not in Magnus' mind. He often had her over for tea and biscuits. Isabelle too, who was very charming and like-minded. Simon, Magnus admittedly did not have much attachment to – he annoyed Raphael so by association alone, Magnus felt annoyed too – but Clary and Isabelle seemed quite fond of the bumbling mess of a young vampire.

And then there was Jace. Complex, pretty Jace. Homeless, family-less little Jace, who stood in front of Magnus' loft like a lost, abandoned puppy-dog, pleadingly staring at him for shelter.

Needless to say, the loft was bustling with life these days. Between Magnus' delectable boyfriend being over more often than not, Magnus' new, not entirely expected roommate and his regular visitors. Today was one of those days; Simon, Clary and Isabelle would be over for brunch soon.

"Puppy? Be a good boy and get up soon, be presentable!", called Magnus out.

He was knocking on Jace's door. The nickname and the slight teasing had somehow become second nature quick, ever since the blonde had moved in. He took it with a delightful pout. The door opened, revealing a nearly naked Jace, his hair messed-up, glare on his face as he stared at him.

"I was out scouting for Circle members until four this morning. Let. Me. Sleep."

"...There will be bacon", drawled Magnus, while drinking in the sight.

Oh, those Shadowhunters. Far too tempting to be real. He felt like fanning himself. Jace's scowl resolved into mild interest. It was quite easy to bribe the pretty blonde. Winking at Jace, Magnus turned around to make his way to the kitchen. Alec just came out of the shower, water still running down his body and goodness, they truly were out to kill Magnus, weren't they?

"You two are quite the pair", sighed Magnus, shaking his head.

"Mh?", grunted Alec confused, turning to look toward Jace, who just left his room too.

"What? What did I do this time, parabatai?", asked Jace immediately.

"I don't know", shrugged Alec with a frown. "Magnus?"

"Oh, I am a man of simple pleasures. I was just admiring the view."

While Magnus winked, Alec turned to look at Jace, who was in the middle of struggling into a shirt himself and oh. Oh, Alec knew that Magnus knew. Still, the teasing was awful. Blushing, Alec averted his eyes and instead went to Magnus' room to get changed.

Shyama was laying sprawled out on the bed, looking relaxed. She was... impressive, to say the least. A gorgeous, large black panther. She was vicious and fierce, if she wanted to be. Alec got changed, keeping one eye on the sleeping daemon, who may not have been sleeping as deeply as he thought.

"You should not pay with Magnus' heart like that", noted Shyama unimpressed.

"I... I'm not doing anything", whispered Alec a little confused.

"Do not play dumb", growled Shyama in warning, flexing her claws. "You love your parabatai. You will never stop loving him. If you can not give your all to Magnus, either walk away or man up and take the other one you want too, stop this incredibly annoying pining."

Alec stared at her startled, unsure what to even say to that. All Shyama did was yawn and stretch before walking slowly out of the bedroom. Of course did Alec know what she was talking about; Magnus had proposed it too. A... triad. To ask Jace ot join their relationship. Which was just insane. Jace wasn't going to want to date Alec, much less both Alec and his boyfriend.

/break\

Jace smiled pleased to himself as bacon kept reappearing on his plate. It was handy living with a warlock, especially one as generous as Magnus Bane. Jace suspected he was simply being buttered up, considering he was the boyfriend's parabatai. The smile on Jace's lips dimmed a little.

It wasn't that he didn't want Alec happy, he wanted Alec to be as happy as he could be. It was... Strangely enough, Jace felt jealous. He was so used to being the only one to put these kinds of smiles on Alec's lips, he was so used to being the sole center of attention when it came to Alec. Now, he had to share the spotlight with Magnus and it stirred new, strange feelings in him.

It also made him reconsider his already existing feelings. He had always loved Alec, of course he had, how could he not. Now, he started to think that maybe the love he felt was... different than he had always assumed. He was in love with his parabatai and he had... missed his window of opportunity. Now, Alec was happy with another. And a good man, at that.

That was what made it all even harder for Jace, because Magnus was a good man. Jace couldn't even resent the warlock, he was too kind and generous and he truly made Alec happy.

"I swear, this life is so exhausting, I have no idea how you all have dealt with it for so long", groaned Simon, drinking his warmed up blood. "I'm stressed and I'm not even an active soldier!"

Isabelle laughed softly at that. "In all fairness, you died. That's... stressful."

"Don't remind me that he died", huffed Clary. "There were a lot of bad moments in the past months, but Simon actually dying may beat them all..."

"Aw, knew you cared, Fray", teased Simon, though his voice was soft.

Jace watched them, and their daemons. He would never cease to be amazed by daemons. Sure, he had always had Celestina and he had seen his father's daemon but that was all. Meeting so many new people and seeing their personalities reflected in their daemons had always fascinated him. Simon's daemon was a squirrel named Adina – and honestly, Jace couldn't picture an animal better fit to represent that former mundie. Adina always scurried around Clary's daemon Seraphina. Seraphina was peculiar – a red robin, not that special, however for a girl to have a female daemon, that was rare. No one could quite explain it, but generally women had male daemons and men had female daemons. Perhaps it was due to whatever experiments Valentine really had performed on Clary, and on Jace for that matter? It was what united the siblings, even with so many things standing between them, and it made Jace feel closer to his sister.

Nagendra was, like most times, wrapped around Isabelle's shoulders. Sometimes, Jace found himself envious of this. A snake could be carried quite easily; Jace had it a little harder there with his own daemon. But then he looked at Celestina and watched her wag her tail and he really wouldn't want to change her, despite the easier carrying-size she used to have as a puppy.

"As much as I enjoy these little brunches... we used to talk strategy during them."

"Alec, you're such a spoil-spot", huffed Isabelle, throwing bread at him. "This is in fact simply a social gathering. Not everything has to be about Valentine."

Alec simply glared in reply. It made Jace smile just a little bit. He knew why Alec was so serious and throwing himself into this, it was all for Jace. Well, not just for Jace – Valentine was, objectively, a bad person and huge threat and everyone wanted to catch him. However, Alec knew about all the abuse Jace had suffered and he knew how much it tormented Jace to have Valentine running around freely. Immediately, Jace leaned a little into Alec at that, reaching an absentminded hand out to caress Minerva's wing. He tended to do that when he felt strongly. His eyes though, they found Magnus sitting opposite him, on Alec's other side, and he caught them. They locked eyes for a long moment and Jace felt strangely naked at that intense gaze.

/break\

"You're right, they really are quite interesting. Closer than any set of parabatai I have ever seen."

Catarina smiled and raised her glass to her lips while Magnus heaved a sigh. He had to show her the problem at hand; Jace and Alec, being so tempting. The two Shadowhunters were currently out on the balcony, sparring – shirtless, at that! Meanwhile, Magnus and Catarina were enjoying cocktails in the living room. Their daemons laid on the other couch, grooming each other – Shyama and Menelaus had always been very close. It helped that both were large cats, Magnus' a black panther and Catarina's a lion. Sighing once more, Magnus took his own drink.

"I know what you're going to say, but I can't...", stated Magnus, shaking his head. "Alexander-"

"Alexander is a scared, young Shadowhunter", interrupted Catarina. "Scared of breaking the Law. He may just need... a push. You have proven to be quite pushy, Magnus Bane. Don't be a pushover now. You see something pretty you like and you take it."

"That is what I have been telling him, Catarina. He won't listen", complained Shyama.

"Traitorous daemon", grunted Magnus, narrowing his eyes at her.

Shyama simply exchanged a look with Menelaus before the two large cats walked out onto the balcony. For a moment, Magnus thought they may simply have gone to pout, however they quickly returned. Shyama was carrying the golden puppy like a kitten by the neck, having Celestina laugh excitedly and confused, while Minerva followed them, flying above them.

"Hey! You can't just kidnap my daemon like that, you oversized house-cat!"

Shyama paid him no mind, simply placing Celestina down right next to Magnus. The dog looked curiously up at Magnus, tilting her head. Magnus smiled and waved at her; she was a cutie.

"Wo—oah, hey!", yelped Jace as he was being cornered by the two big cats.

They herded him and Alec both toward Magnus, until they stumbled onto the couch, Alec landing next to Magnus and Jace landing sprawled out over both their laps. Catarina laughed delighted as she took in their flustered expressions, while her daemon turned toward her once more and got comfortable on her lap. Shyama looked rather pleased with herself as she too laid down.

"What is wrong with your daemon, Bane?", grunted Jace, attempting to sit up.

"She seems very... tired of me not... seizing what I want", replied Magnus thoughtfully, quite enjoying the way Jace looked up at him and how he looked sprawled out on his lap like this. "I suppose she is right. I would like to have the both of you. After all... you are one. One soul."

And while Magnus may never reach the level of depth Alec and Jace shared, he knew there was a way even he could touch Alexander's soul. Reaching out, he gently cupped Jace's cheek. After all, the parabatai was half of Alec's soul. A dark blush lit up Jace's cheeks.

"Magnus!", hissed Alec, looking panicked and also flustered, what with the Jace on his lap.

Magnus laughed softly. "My dear, I think you have pined long enough."

"Yes, really. It's tiresome to watch. They both want you, blondie. Do want them back, please."

Jace turned wide eyes toward Shyama who unapologetically started licking her paw. Catarina's eyes were sparkling as she carded her fingers through Menelaus' mane, watching them.

"For what it's worth", offered Catarina gently. "You would not be the first parabatai to break the Law. Not even the first ones whose secret we would be keeping. Now, I think... I'll leave you to it."

She opened a portal for herself and her daemon, leaving the startled and flustered parabatai alone with Magnus. Minerva and Celestina exchanged a curious look before they joined Shyama on the floor, all three daemons watching their humans now. In an act of unexpected bravery did Alec pull his parabatai into a kiss, short and electrifying. Magnus smiled pleased, even more pleased by the dazed expression on Jace's face before Magnus stole him for a kiss of their own.

There were different ways of touching someone's soul. Sometimes, it was by sharing a love.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: I fully blame FenrirsTeeth for this story. Absolutely. But the visual of them having soul-animals that can talk to them and the parabatai-bond between Alec and Jace to be so strong they touch each other's daemons was too tempting not to write.