Hi again! Yes, I know I've been absent for a while, but I have two good excuses: 1- I had my schedule packed up because of not one, but two speech contests. And 2- Guess what? I won second place in one and first place in the other? See, it was worth it!
So, going back to the story now that everything will be going back to normal again. After reading Born to Endless Night and writing Who Could Ever? Icouldn't stop thinking about these lovely family.
You see, I had this mental image of Alec holding the baby or speaking with him and Magnus being just fabulous, and that is exactly how this story took form on its own.
I might write something else with Max and his parents, something that might include Adam Lambert because I totally love that guy, but not right now. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this!
Family Life
Alec Lightwood stared at the light blue painting of the bedroom wall as he laid in the bed he shared with Magnus, dozing peacefully. That, until he heard the soft ruffling of the hinges from the door of the room and the unmistakably small steps that came after it, slow and soft enough to reveal the one walking didn't want to be discovered.
"Maxwell Lightwood what are you doing here?" Alec asked before even looking at his son as he turned on the bed, looking at the door fast enough to see Max slowly getting to his feet after he had been crawling in an attempt to not be noticed by his parents.
The child, upon knowing he had been discovered let out a surprised yelp and then, slowly, trying as hardly as he could to ignore Alec's raised eyebrow, Max jumped to the bed and slid into the covers, between Magnus' sleeping figure and Alec's inquisitive gaze.
Max took a big intake of air before answering, his chin held high and his back straightened in that cute manner that he always used whenever he thought he was doing something very important.
"Can I... Can I stay with you?" he asked, looking into Alec's eyes and trying to imagine he was brave as his daddy was whenever he went on a hunt.
Knowing what Max's question would be before the boy even said anything, Alec could only continue to look at Max inquisitively.
"Max, this is exactly why you have your own bedroom" he informed, matter-of-factly.
"But it's dark!" Max argued.
"I'm pretty sure there's a witchlight in there" Alec pointed out, feeling the beginning of a smile tugging at his lips.
"But you're not" Max pouted, pushing out his lower lip while looking at his father with something that should have looked like a plea but that seemed more like a very cute tantrum in his childish features.
Right then, Alec decided to have an internal fight with his feelings. Firstly, he let his eyes soften at his boy's words and forced himself not to take the six-year-old child in his lap and tell him that of course he could stay, but he then tried to harden his gaze again and act like the responsible adult he was supposed to be—with few to no results.
Meanwhile Alec tried to decide what to do, Magnus chose the moment to show he was awake too by turning to his left side and circle Max's shoulders, earning and excited yelp from the boy as he tickled him.
"Oh, c'mon, Alec, it'll be just for tonight, right?" the older warlock piped in cheerfully. "Tell him it'll be just for tonight" he whispered to Max in a not-very-low voice.
"Daddy?" Max chanted, his big, black eyes shining brightly in the faint light. "Please? Just tonight?"
"Magnus, that is exactly what we said last month, and the month before that, and the month before that" Alec listed. In return, Magnus just send him a disarming smile.
"Daddy?" Max repeated, blinking repeatedly just so the effect with his eyes was exaggerated. "I promise I'll stay on daddy's side of the bed and I won't kick you".
Max stared at Alec with his beaming black eyes, smiling while at the very same time managing to be pleading. Next to him, Magnus decided to do just the same and grin at the Shadowhunter, his yellowish eyes shining in the darkness.
Alec narrowed his blue orbs as he felt the weight of the two pair of begging eyes on him. Sometimes, he really wondered why he had married someone that more often than not made him feel like he had two kids instead of just one. Seriously, the only one who ever seemed to support him on these kind of arguments was the Chairman, and that was plainly because he could stay with the bed of the guests' room never mind where Max spent his night.
"Just tonight?" Magnus repeated, blinking his eyes just like Max had done three seconds before. Sometimes, Alec also wondered who was the one teaching the other to be a complete monster when it came to convince him of doing things he should not do.
Alec knew for a fact that he had lost that argument the moment he stared into Max's black eyes and smiled. A part of him ―a very distant part of him― wanted him to be the strict but loving father who would refuse to those beaming eyes and guide Max right back to his own bedroom. The other part of him ―which was the biggest one― knew he'd find himself unable to do it and would surrender. He sighed.
"Just for tonight, Max" he yielded. "And I promise you that first time you kick me I'll take you back to your room myself, get it?"
He hadn't even finished talking when Max had already jumped from where he was in the bed to give him a tiny speck on his left cheek.
"Thank you" he squeaked before rolling back into Magnus' embrace. On the boy's side, Magnus blew the Shadowhunter an exaggerated kiss. Alec simply rolled his eyes.
"Now you two go back to sleep right now because I'll be busy tomorrow and I won't allow you to sleep in, got that?" Alec ordered, faking a stern voice. And for once ―for the first time in the day, at least— Magnus and Max actually obeyed him and laid their heads on the pillows. Alec sighed softly; well, the day was over now.
Max was the first one to fall asleep, his head comfortably supported by Magnus' left shoulder, and even when the warlock followed their son soon enough, Alec still had the time to give Magnus his responsible-adult remark.
"You're pampering a potential criminal there" Alec said, as seriously as he could manage while staring into Magnus' grinning face. "And the day will come when Max will be a crazy and rebel teenager and you'll say 'Oh, Alec, what did we do wrong?' and I'll shamelessly tell you that it is your fault for allowing this kind of pampering when he was younger".
"This little guy? A crazy teenager?" Magnus asked, gently ruffling Max's hair, an adoring smile placed in his lips. "I think not. Bet he'll be just like you. The craziest thing he'll ever do will be read the second book of a series instead of the first and deliver a homework late".
"Pray for that" Alec retorted, faking he had really been offended by Magnus' comment. "Because if he turns out like you there'll be Hell to face".
Magnus chuckled, that soft, deep laugh that worked on Alec like a spell and always pulled his lips into a smile as well.
"You love me" Magnus said simply, sending him another kiss in the air, before finally deciding to close his eyes and sleep.
Alec was still trying to think in something filled with sarcasm and taunt to retort to Magnus when he realized the warlock was already asleep.
He sighed. He really needed to find a come-back to those words because Magnus always shielded behind the fact that Alec did love him whenever he wanted to get anything. And Alec never could refuse anything to that statement.
Fortunately enough, both Max and Magnus were the kind of people that fell asleep soundly as soon as they found themselves comfortable in bed, like a puppy, unlike Alec himself, who did spend around half an hour tossing and turning in the bed, concentrated in Magnus' soft breathing.
This time, just not to break the habit, his blue eyes continued to be opened even when it had been a while since Max and Magnus had fallen asleep. With his right elbow supported by his own pillow, he took those minutes of insomnia to look at the people he loved the most fondly, eyes beaming with affect.
He knew it was totally impossible for Max to fulfill his promise of only staying on Magnus' side of the bed, and the reason was simple: Magnus was part of the population that changed position in his sleep once every ten seconds, until he somehow managed to use the whole bed, which meant that, one way or the other, consciously or unconsciously, Max would end up on Alec's side of the bed. The Shadowhunter rolled his blue eyes tiredly, but the fond smile in his lips gave him away.
And there it was: after another rather violent turn from Magnus, a sleeping Max decided it was safer for him to roll on to Alec's side and nuzzle into the Shadowhunter's chest instead.
Alec smiled. He knew Max was not even scared of the dark in true, he was simply happy just by knowing his parents were there, like a puppy that wagged its tail at a pat in the head or a scratch behind its ears, he just wanted to feel his parents next to him, like the loving presences he had always known. That could be easily solved Alec thought as he circled the boy's shoulders, bringing him even closer to him before he too, decided his to-do list of the day was over and took in the comfort of sleep.
Even when the fact that they had been saying that day would be the last one they'd allow Max to stay with them for months, and even when Magnus sometimes did seem to have signed-in for being throttled, this was the life he had chosen, and this was the family he loved more than anything, Alec knew. And this was the life he wouldn't change for nothing in the world, even if that meant sleeping late more often than not.
And? What do you think? Please let me know your opinions in the comments!
Read you soon!