Chapter 1 – Make up; Make out

Magnus pulled into their driveway and just sat in his car for a moment. He took a deep breath. Then another.

He needed this moment of peace to ground him before he went to join his family. It was a Saturday and he was supposed to be home but someone with a beautiful, expensive, estate decided to die and the company only wanted him to handle the case. The patriarch of the family had only been dead a few hours before the rich, spoiled, and insensitive children began the fighting. The case would be high profile for their world and his company only wanted the best; which at this moment was him. The problem with going to work on this Saturday as they were watching Christopher while Jace and Clary enjoyed a beautiful day away. And Raphael had soccer. And Max had soccer, but for a different team. Alec was being a single parent to three small children on a Saturday they were supposed to be handling together.

Magnus got called in and left Alec to run both sports and watch a one-year-old. Alec said he wasn't mad, that he understood, but his text message said otherwise. He sent it an hour ago.

iMagnus Bane, I am breaking up with you. You can get your stuff but I'm keeping our children./i

The text was followed by a black and white GIF of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch crying in the rain.

Alec had brought on the GIFs.

There was no way he was going to make it out of this one alive without significant begging and groveling. So, here he sat in his car for the last ten minutes trying to figure out to get out of trouble without bringing up the fact that its work and he had to go. He was the team lead; he had to go when the partners told him to go. He knew that wasn't going to work and had to find a way to get this by Alec. Magnus felt genuinely horrible for leaving Alec this morning with a full plate of three kids with two separate soccer team games, at different fields.

They had debated about which sports to put the kids in, Raphael wanted soccer and Max didn't care so they both got soccer for now until Max could decide on what he wanted. They also opted to put Max on a different team. His anxiety of being away from Raphael flared up again when Ragnor came to town over last Christmas. Alec didn't want to do it alone so him and Magnus both decided different sports would be best. Raphael loved his soccer team whereas Max was indifferent to it. He played well but you could tell it was not his passion. Alec went back to the drawing board and decided Max would go into a different sport in the summer or fall until they found which sport or activity Max wanted. Alec was currently looking up art programs for the boys. He wanted them well rounded.

Magnus' finally pep talk went well and he got out of his car. He heard the yelling and screaming from the backyard; the boys were on the swing set. He rounded the corner in time to see Raphael go down the slide on his stomach while holding onto Max's ankles. They landed in a pile of giggles and dirt. They would both be getting baths tonight and Magnus knew who would be getting that joyful event; him. Alec was sitting on the porch with Christopher in his lap, both just watching the boys.

Christopher was a very shy and thoughtful one-year-old, he prefers to sit and watch before joining into the fun, even with the boys. He always took his time in getting loud or fussy. He was moving his hands around with the small t-rex in his arms. He was content to stay in Alec's lap; his eyes darting around as the boys ran from side to side playing their latest imaginary game.

"Hey, babe." Magnus sat his briefcase down on the table and kissed the side of Alec's hairline, then leaned down to kiss the top of Christopher's head.

"Mmm," Chris giggled in his little baby speech.

"Come to pack?" Alec smirked up at him, tilting his head to get a better view of him, Magnus was busy removing his tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons on his shirt.

"You're funny." Magnus waved at the boys when they both called his name but neither stop playing long enough to pay him any mind. He kissed Alec briefly on the lips, hovering just above his lips before descending for one more brief kiss.

The day was warm; it was middle of spring and Michigan's weather was finally getting it's act together and acting like spring. This was the second day in the row where was weather was sunshine with no rain in sight. There was always a shower here or there in Michigan in the spring but not the last few days. The last few days had been beautiful. He should have been here with his family to enjoy their time in the beautiful weather.

"Tomorrow we should go to the store and buy some sand for their pit; it's looking low." Alec pointed out beyond the stone circle that was their bonfire pit to the square stone pit. Alec used stones to keep the sand in the general area and covered it was a plastic cover he found at a garage sale, it kept the sand dryer and the animals stayed out of it. Every year he had to add a new bag of sand since Max and Raphael were known for getting it everywhere.

"We can do that before our family dinner." Magnus reached out and tucked a stray mass of hair behind Alec's ear, it was too long and he needed to get it cut, but Magnus secretly loved it. It gave him something to really run his hands through and during sex. Damn during sex his hair had major appeal. The way he fell into his face when Alec was above him or the way he could pull on it when he was coming, Magnus really wanted him to keep it slightly longer. "I think we need to reconsider our second anniversary. I think we should go away somewhere even if it's just local, getting a hotel for the night."

Alec sighed with a slight annoyance, "The boys have their first tournament, both of them, different tournaments on the same day. We are lucky they are at the same park just different sides. And you have your work picnic the following weekend. I already told you, this year isn't going to work." Christopher decided he wanted down and squirmed hard in Alec's arms. Alec had to readjust to keep from dropping him, so he stood up, and put the baby down in the grass letting him go towards the boys following behind him at a slow pace. "Besides, we have a honeymoon coming up. If we can decide on where to go."

"Have they eaten yet?" Magnus called out to them, ignoring Alec's dig on their honeymoon. They didn't have big fights; they had little ones. Their honeymoon was one of them. "Have you eaten yet?" He sounded hangry.

"Not yet." Alec glared at him, "I know what you're thinking. I'm not hangry."

"Yeah, right," He sighed, "I'll change and make lunch." Magnus frowned, Alec was a little madder then he let on in the text.

…

More than an hour passed before Magnus finally had a moment of peace. The boys wanted nothing to do with the mac and cheese he made until Alec sat down with Chris, he took a bite off of Max's plate and all of a sudden they both couldn't get enough. It always that way with Alec and food. He would never understand the appeal they showed for Alec's plate of food or how their little minds worked.

The boys were in Raphael's room playing with the model train set he got for Christmas while Chris was passed out in his pack 'n play in the living room. It was Max's old pack 'n play from when he was a baby; Alec had a great deal of fun going through all of Max's old things to pull out items for Chris. There was no sense in Jace and Clary trekking things over to his house when he had the same things, only mildly outdated. Pack 'n plays and high chairs were practically the same, so Alec just used Max's old ones for baby Chris.

Magnus was sitting in the middle of the couch when Alec came in from the boy's room; he had them sippy cups with water and popcorn so they could play in peace while Chris was in the living room, sleeping. Alec was almost ready for them to have real cups in the bedrooms, as long as they held water. They both had carpet and he didn't want it stained. Chris was a happy baby but he still required two or more naps during the day, it was better for the world that way and he still slept all night. Magnus just watched him breathing when Alec came into the living room to stare at him.

Alec went around the couch and pushed hard on Magnus' chest, flatting them against the couch, "We should share a goodbye kiss before you leave." Magnus adjusted on the way back to allow space for Alec to join him.

Magnus smirked, loving the feel of Alec entirely on top of him. Alec's weight holding him into the couch, was the pressure he loved to feel "No matter how many times you try and break up with me today I'm not going anywhere." He ran his hands up and down Alec's back, going as far up as he could reach then down to Alec's ass, squeezing it and pulling Alec further into him.

Alec sighed at the feeling and relaxed into Magnus' embrace. "I know work is important but after the whole Underhill situation we made a deal about no working on the weekends."

Magnus mimicked Alec's sigh. They did have a deal. It wasn't long after they returned from the cabin that Alec brought him along to his therapist. Magnus didn't talk but he listened, he listened to Alec speak about his feelings and the situation and how weak and helpless he felt in the aftermath. Magnus found himself on the edge of his seat holding onto every inch of his being to not say anything and just listen. He had to do this for Alec, it was what Alec needed from him and he would give it his all. It was hard to sit back and just listen but he managed that hour and the session after that and one more before the therapist got Magnus involved. The sessions slowed down then, going to every other week, and now Alec only went once a month. He could now talk about the situation without panic, the topic of Lydia and Raj still held a note of tense pressure in Alec's voice but otherwise, he was back. Alec was back to smiling with his eyes and joking about them. Alec still had things to work through but overall he was back to being Alec. Magnus never pushed and never made Alec talk. Magnus didn't go back to therapy with Alec after those first few months unless Alec asked him to. They talked about it and Alec felt like he was glad Magnus came to listen but he needed to do this himself and he would bring Magnus when he needed him. Magnus agreed wholeheartedly.

It was after a session six months ago that Magnus took Alec out for a late night dinner, their first alone dinner since the cabin; he took Alec's hands and in his and pulled out a pair of black wedding bands. The ones Alec wanted so bad when they first went ring shopping. Magnus put Alec's ring on and asked him to marry him. He went out and bought the rings and had each ring engraved, 'Bane' on one and 'Lightwood' on the other. Alec didn't want to take his off, so Magnus didn't make him.

Magnus lifted Alec's left hand with his black wedding band up for a kiss; he left his lips pressed to his finger and the band for a moment longer, "I know, I know, I'm sorry but my boss' boss called, I couldn't say no to a senior partner." He kissed the ring again, "There will be a few times when there is an exception to that rule."

Chris stirred in the playpen and Alec looked over to make sure he was still sleeping, he had his blanket twisted and tucked under his arm; and his stuffed t-rex laid out next to him with a single hand reached out holding onto the t-rex's tail. His pacifier was working in rhythm with breathing. Chris was out for the afternoon.

"I want a baby." Alec looked back at Magnus who was currently playing with his left hand, going between twisting the ring and kissing his finger. "Magnus, give me a baby."

"I know. But we promised to get married first."

"Can we not wait?" Alec snuggled into Magnus' chest, "Let's start now since the process is going to take forever."

"Alec, we have eight months until the wedding. You're telling me you cannot wait?" Magnus twisted slightly to get Alec to look up at him. "You broke up with me via text only two hours ago."

"Fine. Let's get back together." Alec smirked up at Magnus, catching his eye and daring him not to laugh. Magnus lost and laughed out loud at him, "Shh, baby's sleeping."

"We both have Thursday afternoon off; we have a meeting with the wedding planner. Let's go over wedding details first then we can come home before we have to pick up the boys and we can try for a baby the old fashion way."

"I think you forget we don't have the right parts for that," Alec smirked when Magnus squeezed his ass one more time, harder this time. He wanted to groan at the feeling but that would not be a good idea, so he bit his cheek instead. He was going to draw blood if Magnus kept this up.

Magnus kissed the top of Alec's messy hair covered head, "I promise you, Alexander, we are gonna have a baby together."

"Dad?" Max came around to the far side of the couch to look Alec and Magnus in the eye. Magnus quickly moved his hands from Alec's ass to his lower back.

"Yeah, buddy?" Alec looked him over without raising his head from Magnus' chest.

Max sat their popcorn bowl on the small coffee table, "Can we have more?"

Alec scrunched up his brow, "You two ate that whole bowl? Already?"

"No, Max, you guys just had lunch and the popcorn. You can wait for another snack later." Magnus ran his hand up and down Alec's back. Max went to turn away, "Max, you can put the bowl in the kitchen." He called after him; Max turned back to them.

Alec nodded, "You know better than to just leave that in here."

"Can we go back outside?"

"Not now," Alec shifted on Magnus to reach over to run his hand in Max's hair, "I'm going to pull out the grill for some burgers for dinner, you can play outside then."

Raphael came out than to join them, "We want outside."

"Christopher is sleeping; you guys can go play in your rooms for a while. We will go back outside in a little bit." Magnus cut in; he settled deep into the couch. When neither child moved, he tried again, "Go play in your rooms. When Chris gets done with his nap we can go outside." He saw the look in his son's eyes, "If you two argue back one more time with us or wake Chris up early, you will both be spending dinner in your separate rooms."

"Go." Alec looked them back in the eyes when he saw them freeze. "He's sleeping right behind you. Think very carefully before you respond."

Max turned and went to the stairs leading to his room with Raphael close behind then, both silently huffing as they went. Leaving the popcorn bowl on the coffee table.

"Is it just me or are they getting more defiant as they age? They are five and six; they're a little young for teenage angst don't you think?" Alec laid back down on Magnus' chest.

"They are testing the waters with Chris being around all the time. It's only going to get worse when we have another one. You sure you want another sassy child running around."

Alec frowned, "Let's get married first."

"Come here." Magnus put his hand on the back of Alec's neck pulling him into a kiss. He tilted his head to get a deeper kiss.

Alec smiled into the kiss, using his tongue to lick Magnus' bottom lip; he wanted Magnus to open up underneath him, he wanted Magnus to allow him access. Alec pulled back, biting his bottom lip and pulling him forward.

Magnus followed him up, kissing him when Alec released his lip. Magnus brought his hands down to cup Alec's ass again, pulling hard on him, grinding them together. This was leaning to an area they shouldn't be going but it was a train wreck neither could look away from. Magnus moved a hand up the back of Alec's shirt and down to the top of his jeans, holding onto his belt from both sides.

"You two realize my child is in the room with you."

Alec pulled back to far and almost fell off the couch sidewise at the sound of his brother's voice. Magnus grip Alec's side to keep him from falling, "What the hell?"

"I could say the same." Jace walked over to make sure his son was still sleeping, "Don't you two have a room."

Alec got off of Magnus and stood up, adjusting his clothes as he went, "He's sleeping. Besides, it was just a kiss."

"Magnus had a hand on your ass and one in your pants, and you two were grinding." Jace shuttered, "Okay, I'm never saying that sentence ever again."

Magnus grinned at Jace; their relationship was very much a love/tolerate, it all depended on the day. "Jace, you will learn soon to get it while you can. It only gets harder as they get older." He stood up and went for the stairs, "I'm going to go check on our teenagers."

"Teenagers?" Jace followed Magnus's movement.

"Max and Raphael had been a little angsty lately. It started about a week ago." Alec picked up Max's popcorn bowl to run it to the kitchen with Jace close behind. "Something must have happened at school. Picked it up from somewhere."

"Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Alec washed out the bowl and put it aside to look at Jace.

He frowned, "About what Magnus said, 'get it while you can'. How do you?" He frowned deeper, "Between work, school, and Chris, it's been hard. Clary and I can't seem to make the time."

"Didn't I just spend all day watching Chris so you two could have a day date?" Alec went to the kitchen table to have a seat, motioning for Jace to follow him.

Jace nodded, "Yeah, and we did. We had breakfast after dropping him off, then we did some shopping, had lunch and now Clary is at home sleeping while I'm here." He pointed around the room as if the get his point across. "Everything is just so exhausting. How do you fit sex in?"

"Once, Alec and I had phone sex while we were both at work." Magnus announced coming back into the room, "We also messed around in the gym while the boys had a nap. Never actually had sex in the car but came close." He took a seat next to Alec, taking up his hand. "You get creative."

"Phone sex at work?" Jace grinned while Alec turned twelve different shades of red. "Really?"

"It was hot." Magnus smirked, "And a first for me. Totally worth it."

"Magnus!" That got Alec going; he was constantly looking for something Magnus hasn't done so they would do together since Magnus was always showing Alec new things both inside and outside the bedroom. "Please stop."

"You know Jace," Magnus went on completely ignoring Alec's plead to shut up. "There is a reason Alec and I are not morning people. Izzy makes fun of us all the time for it but really we don't have a lot of time to be alone. We work, we have children that demand our attention, their homework, their sports, housework and an endless list of things going on every day. Alec and I have a very active and healthy private life because make our alone time at night when the kids are sleeping. It means for late nights with little sleep but once you have a baby that doesn't sleep well at night anyway, you get used to it over time."

"I miss sleeping with my wife," Jace whined.

"I think you mean you miss having sexual relations with your wife." Magnus felt inclined to fix the sentence for him.

"Trust us, Jace, we are actually really bad at making time for ourselves and it makes our relationship difficult sometimes. Magnus and I have always put the kids first over everything but there are some aspects of your relationship you shouldn't shrink away from." Alec gave him a sad smile, "Date nights or days are some time Magnus and I suck at."

"We are getting better at them." Magnus cut in, "Trust me, you need to find the time. Sex isn't everything in a relationship but being intimate is very good for the relationship."

They heard the fussing begin then, Christopher Alexander Lightwood was awake and wanted attention.

"All yours, daddy." Magnus slapped Jace on the shoulder and pointed towards the living room.