Shadowhunter in the Apocalypse

The clang of iron echoed in the training hall as Reed pushed the heavy barbell up once more, arms straining against the weight. Sweat slid down his temples and soaked the thin shirt clinging to his chest, each rep sending sharp tremors through his muscles.

The door of the training room suddenly opened, and a head picked in.

Mia's eyes landed on Reed, seeming to have found her target, she entered inside.

"There you are," Mia said, "I've been searching everywhere for you. Thought maybe you had gone home early, but no….you're here lifting weights."

Reed let out a grunt as he pushed the bar up and racked it, chest heaving. "And why exactly were you looking for me?"

"Because my dad is acting like I said I was feeling suicidal and wanted to kill myself or something," Mia replied, crossing her arms. "Seriously, he's hovering worse than usual. You'd think I was about to literally die."

Reed chuckled, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Ease up on the old man. He's just being a father. It's not easy for him, it's like sending his second kid off to war after the first one barely crawled out alive." His smile was wry as he added, "Trust me, I know."

Mia rolled her eyes, though the corner of her mouth twitched. "It's just my first supervised mission, Reed. I'm not storming hell itself. I'm not suddenly on Special Class suicide runs."

"You'd be surprised how fast it takes before you are doing that," he muttered, lying back on the bench again and gripping the bar. His muscles tensed as he pressed it up, veins standing out against his arms.

She tilted her head, studying him for a moment. "Why are you even doing this right now? Shouldn't you be prepping for your top secret 'classified mission'?" She exaggerated the last part with mocking air quotes.

"Working out helps me think," Reed said, pushing the weight up with a sharp exhale. "And right now, I need all the thinking I can get."

"Uh huh." Mia leaned against the wall, watching the way his chest tightened under the strain. "So how's that working for you, come up with anything yet?"

With a frustrated growl, Reed slammed the weight back onto the rack and sat up, shoulders slumping. "No." His voice was sharp, edged with irritation, not at her, at himself.

Mia blinked, caught off guard. "Wait… are you telling me a mission actually has you stumped?" She walked closer, brows raised in disbelief. "The Ghost himself can't figure it out?"

"Ghost isn't a God Mia" Reed dragged a hand down his face and looked at her, eyes tired but steady. "It's not the scariest mission I've ever taken. Not by far. But it's… delicate. One wrong move and I don't just fail. I die. And even if I don't, the fallout could drag everyone into a mess we can't afford. It's a job that needs luck, precision, and skill, every ounce of it. And even then, the odds aren't exactly in my favor."

Her breath caught at the quiet weight of his words. "Then don't go," she said quickly, alarm flashing in her eyes. "Just reject the mission."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Her voice sharpened, half pleading, half demanding.

Reed looked at her, his gaze unreadable but heavy with something unspoken. He didn't answer right away, and that silence said more than words could.

Mia froze, her mind piecing together fragments, she knew she was supposed to be punished for taking the serum, not to mention she had accidentally put some other shadow hunters in harms way, heck she even beat up a girl recently because she lost her cool, when the Envoy came she was sure she was done for, but Reed has imply said he had handled it.

At the time she thought it wasn't anything too surprising for Reed to handle something like that, but she just realized that maybe she underestimated the trouble she had caused;

Slowly and painfully, it clicked.

Her chest tightened. "This… this is about me, isn't it?" she whispered. "That's why they let me go so easily. That's what you meant before, when you said you handled it. You took this mission because of me?"

Reed didn't deny it. His jaw tightened, his silence a confirmation in itself.

Her face flushed with anger. "Are you out of your mind?" she burst out, voice rising. "You're willing to risk your life…..what, throw yourself into some impossible mission, just to cover for me? No! No, Reed, I won't let you do that!" She spun toward the door, fury in her steps. "I'm telling my father, and that smug douchebag envoy too, that you're not—"

Reed's hand shot out, catching her wrist. She could have broken free, her hybrid blood made her physically stronger than him, but she didn't. His touch seemed to freeze her in her steps.

"Mia," he said quietly.

Her lips trembled with fury.

He looked at her, eyes searching hers, voice low and steady. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

She blinked, thrown by the question. "What?"

"Why.." he repeated, firmer now. "do you want to be a Shadowhunter?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it. "Because…" She swallowed. "Because I want to help people. To protect the world from all things supernatural. Isn't that why everyone wants to be a hunter?"

Reed shook his head. "That's the textbook answer, the safe one. But it's not enough. Come here." He tugged lightly on her wrist, guiding her back toward him. They sank down to sit side by side against the wall, the cool stone pressing at their backs.

He cracked open a bottle of water and took a long drink, sweat still dripping down his neck. Mia's eyes crawled over him appreciatively, she loved it when he subconsciously flexed his jaw and the faint sharp scent of his sweat that seemed impossibly intoxicating. She tried to steady herself, but her cheeks were warming.

Reed passed her the bottle, and when she took it, their fingers brushed. She pulled back quickly, clutching the water like it was a shield.

"You can't break your limits," Reed said, voice softer now, "and you'll never be Special Class if all you're running on is a generic answer. I know because I've been there. I was lost once, too. For me it was all about pride, glory, and the perks that came with it." He smirked faintly. "The sexy women didn't hurt either."

Mia rolled her eyes as she slapped his arm. "You just had to throw that one in huh?"

"Why? Jealous?" His tone was teasing, but he didn't know how it made her heart skip.

"You wish," she muttered, though the heat in her cheeks betrayed her.

Reed leaned his head back against the wall, smile fading into something more somber. "Then I lost someone. She didn't die, but it was close situation. Too close. I realized the only way to protect her was to walk away for a long time. That was when it hit me. Why I needed to be strong. Why I couldn't settle for anything less than my full strength. Not for pride. Not for glory. But to protect the ones I love."

Mia's head was turning in circles, did her mentor already have a woman?

Did Reed already have a girlfriend? From the way he said it he really loved her…..were they still involved?

If they were then what would that make her? Just his student….Could she really accept that?

"Mia."

There was no way she could fall for another man after meeting someone as dominating as Reed, which other guy could come into her life and instantly solve any problem she had? But what if he already had a girlfriend, was she willing to settle for just being his student?

"Mia."

Would she be willing to be a side piece to some other woman who got the majority of his attention? She shivered at the thought. But a man like Reed, could he be kept entirely by one woman. Surely not, Powerful men made harems…it was natural in the supernatural world but she never imagined herself being in some guys harem, competing for his affection with other women!

"Mia."

But then again….Reed wasn't any guy was he?...maybe she could make peace with it if the Harem was small, and he gave her enough attention, and the other women were hot and nice too…but what if Reed wanted her to do stuffs with other girls too...her face turned red as the thought catapulted her into an entire new branch of much more inappropriate thoughts.

"Mia," She was brought out of her thoughts, Reed was staring at her with a concerned look on his face with his hands on her forehead "what's wrong….i've been calling you for a while now."

She shook her head as she came back to the present "Sorry, i….spaced out for a bit"

"I guess it was too soon to say I care about you huh" he teased, she would have blushed if she wasn't petrified.

Reed had said he cared about her, but her hyperactive imagination was focused on other things!

"You care about me?"

He looked at her deeply, "Yeah… I do."

Her lips parted as she took in the moment "uhh….and since when have you felt this way?".

Reed's gaze lingered on her mouth before he pulled back slightly, as if remembering something.

"I think it was the moment I had a particularly rough conversation with your father about you"

"Please don't bring my father up," She whispered as she came closer, and closer.

She expected him to take charge already, he had already admitted to liking her basically, what was still stopping him?

Whatever he was an idiot, she would just go for what she wanted herself.

Mia leaned forward, closing the space between them. Her lips met with his and she could swear she felt an electric rush deep in her soul, it was like she had taken countless energy drinks, that was just how she felt, especially when whatever was holding him back seemed to dissapper.

Reed suddenly lifted her by her ass in the air, she let out a cute little yelp as he placed her gently on him as he massaged her butt roughly.

Their tongues seemed to be fighting for dominance, and Reed was easily winning, she later gave up and surrendered her body to him, her senses were overwhelmed with his scent, as he tasted her moth with everything he had in him.

He lifted her and began to grind her hips on him, she let out a stifled moan as she felt his rock-solid dick through her leather pants.

'Poor Teacher' she thought as she felt the hunger of his touch on her body, 'it must have been so frustrating trying to hold himself back all this while.'