Alec hated flying. He always had. There was just something about being suspended in the air surrounded by nothing more than a metal box with wings that made his stomach do flips. Which was stupid when he thought about it since he had faced horrors worse than this before, but that didn't lessen his fear. The only thing that had made him get on this plane was the promise of a little baby boy waiting on the other end.
For the past few months, Alec and Magnus had been trying desperately to find a way to adopt another child. They already had Staria, their now six year old warlock with curly green hair, but they wanted another. They wanted a boy. More specifically, Alec wanted a boy; a little Nephilim he could raise into the Shadowhunting life. He wanted to badly to teach his children about Shadowhunter history and draw on their first Runes, like his parents had done with him. He needed to pass that on, something deep rooted inside of him yearned for it. He had been starting to teach Staria, but with her being a Warlock, she would never be able to wear Runes. She was also starting to show signs of using magic, so Magnus had been working with her, teaching her the basics. And Alec knew she would want to learn more about Warlock history instead of Shadowhunter history as she got older, because that's what she was: A Warlock. Everyone had in them a sense of wanting to belong, to learn about their pasts. He wanted someone he could do that with. So, a week ago, Alec had got a call from the Institute in Indonesia saying that a Shadowhunter was going to give birth to a baby she didn't want to keep and that if Alec and Magnus wanted it, it was theirs. Completely overwhelmed, Alec rushed to tell Magnus the news and they boarded the first plane they could out to Indonesia. Which terrified Alec beyond words.
"Daddy?" A small voice leaked into his thoughts. He opened his eyes and turned to see Staria staring at him. "You look scared."
That's when Alec noticed his body, rigid with tension, and his knuckle-white hands gripping the arms of his seat. He laughed sharply and swallowed.
"I don't like planes." Staria widened her eyes.
"But why? Look!" She pointed out the window. "All the trees look so tiny and cute. And the clouds are so big and fluffy!" Alec swallowed again and flicked his eyes towards the window, only allowing himself a glance.
"Yes. That's very nice, sweetie."
He sucked at lying and Staria knew that. She frowned a little as she turned to her other side where Magnus was sitting.
"Papa? Use magic on Daddy to make him feel better."
Magnus chuckled and ran a hand over her hair. "I'm sorry, Star. There's nothing I can do for Daddy." He leaned forward and met Alec's eyes; his cat's eyes twinkling. "He'll just have to get over being a baby on his own." Alec gritted his teeth at his boyfriend's smirk. He hated how much he was enjoying this.
The plane hit some turbulence and Alec squeezed his eyes shut, latching his hands back onto his seat. He could hear Magnus chuckle again.
"Just hang in there, Sweetpea. We're almost there."

The Institute in Indonesia was astounding. Stone walls embedded with carvings and sculptures encompassed the entire length of the halls. They reminded Alec of the London Institute, which he had only seen in pictures. Maybe they could move here. His head was swimming with these thoughts, so he didn't hear the Shadowhunter that walked up beside them.
"Mr. Bane and Mr. Lightwood?"
Alec spun around, his hand gripped onto Staria's. A short, middle-aged blonde woman was standing, her hands laced in front of her. She had a very thick accent and her Runes stood bold against the tan dress she had on. Alec was glad when Magnus answered first.
"Yes?"
"You were wanting baby, right?" They nodded. Alec's heart-rate quickened. "You come just in time. The mother had birth short time ago." The woman smiled warmly as she looked at Staria. "I watch this one while you go to Infirmary if you want."
"That would be great, thank you," said Magnus, kneeling down in front of their daughter. Alec vaguely processed letting go of her hand and watching Magnus tell her that they would be right back.
His mind was in a fog as they walked down the hallway the woman had directed them towards. It didn't feel real. Were they really about to see their new child? A Nephilim baby that they could take home and raise like a Shadowhunter? As they entered the room, Alec thought he might faint. The bright room was filled with beds covered in white sheets and sunlight. A young Shadowhunter woman with dark hair was sitting up in one of the beds and waved them over. There were more Shadowhunter's milling about, not paying them much attention. Now he really did think he'd faint. Magnus grabbed his hand and pulled him along gently. Since Alec didn't know any Indonesian, Magnus had to do all the talking. Not that Alec minded.
After a few minutes, Magnus turned to Alec, his cats eyes wide. "Ok. She did have a boy. Good weight, healthy, definitely Nephilim." Alec would have smiled, but Magnus was hanging onto the end of his words, like he was hiding something.
"But?"
"But," Magnus took a deep breath, his face paling slightly. "She had twins. A boy AND a girl."
Alec had stopped breathing, but Magnus continued. "They were only expecting her to have one, which is why they only told us we would be getting one. Now, I know you really want a boy, so if only want to take him, we can. I mean, we'd be splitting them up, but-"
"Are you insane?" Alec snapped back into himself. His heart was beating dangerously fast, now. "Split them up? We can't split them up! What if one of them finds out later in life that they had a twin? They'll want to know who it is and they'll be furious with us for not raising them both! They'll always be wondering what could have been." Alec let go of Magnus' hand and ran his through his hair. "On the other hand, one baby is hard enough to handle. But two? Are even equipped to handle another one right now? We already have our hands full with Staria. I don't think I can do this. Now that we're here, I don't think I can. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm not ready for this at all. Am I even good enough with Staria? She's a Warlock, I don't know how to raise a Warlock, much less a Shadowhunter!" He let out a shuddering breath and felt Magnus grip is shoulders.
"Ok, you have got to calm down. Don't make me slap you in front of all these people."
Alec locked eyes with his boyfriend but still felt the panic rise in his chest. Before he could utter another word, he started hyperventilating. Magnus shut his eyes for a second and sighed. Turning to the woman on the bed, he asked her a question then nodded and grabbed Alec's arm, which was still locked on top of his head.
"Come on," said Magnus as he pulled Alec out of the room. "You need to see something."
"Magnus, I don't care about this anymore, ok? It won't work out, I won't be a good parent!"
They turned around a corner and stopped in front of a closed door. Magnus let go of Alec's arm and grabbed onto his face.
"Listen. You are completely forgetting about Star. You're amazing with her."
"You're just saying that."
Magnus took a measured breath. "No, I am not. Alexander, I wouldn't have flown all the way to Indonesia with you if I didn't think that you'd make a better parent to this baby as you are to Star, which I'm not even sure is possible."
Alec swallowed and moved his hands to Magnus' wrists. "Really?"
"Yes, really." Magnus smiled brightly, running his thumbs over Alec's cheeks. "You're the one who always reads Staria to sleep at night. Whenever you're gone and I have to put her to bed, she always, every single time, wakes up crying and comes finds me, saying, 'I miss Daddy.'. And whenever she falls or gets hurt, Staria always runs to you first. You're so much more gentle with her than I am and she knows that." Alec's breathing started to slow a little. "You ARE my other half, Alexander. And I wouldn't want anyone else helping me raise our child." Magnus dropped his hands and laced them with Alec's. "I promise."
Alec nodded and let what Magnus said sink in. What he said was true; there were things that he did with Staria that Magnus didn't. He never realized how much they meant to her, though.
"Now," Magnus continued. "Do you remember how we agreed that I would name Staria and you would name our next child?" Alec nodded silently. "Well, what were you going to name it if we had gotten a boy?"
"Max." Alec didn't hesitate. He didn't have to. "I was gonna name him Max."
Magnus smiled and he let go of Alec's hands. "Then wait here."
Turning around, Magnus reached for the door handle and twisted it, easing the door open. Alec caught a glimpse of a crib through the crack before Magnus slipped back through, a blue bundle of blankets in his arms.
"Alexander," Magnus purred. "Meet Max, our Nephilim son."
Alec's mouth slacked as Magnus handed him the bundle of blankets from his arms. A pair of dark eyes blinked up at him and squeezed shut as the baby yawned. Dark hair stuck out from the top of his head.
"No way," Alec breathed, eyed wide. "This can't be real." He didn't have to see Magnus to know that he was smiling.
"It is real, Sweetpea." Magnus reached a hand over and the baby gripped one of his fingers. "Max is ours now."
"Max." Alec repeated, letting it sink in. "We have a son, now." He lifted his face to Magnus' and smiled. "We have a son!" Maybe he could do this. If he held this little baby forever and watched him grow up under their roof, he'd be happy beyond belief. He was just starting to feel more confident when Magnus smiled and let go of Max's hand. Without a word, he turned and entered the room again, this time coming out with a pink bundle.
"Now, if you want," Magnus stood opposite of Alec and placed the babies beside each other. "We could have Alessandra as well."
"Alessandra?"
Magnus blushed, something that Alec wasn't sure he had ever seen him do. "Yeah, that was my mother's name. It was just something I came up with, we can change it later."
Alec watched the two babies squirm, reaching for each other. He shook his head. "No, I love it." He watched Alessandra open her dark eyes. "It's perfect. Max and Alessandra."
Standing there with Magnus, all of the worries he had just minutes before, vanished. Seeing their new children moving around in their blanket bundles, looking around at the world made his heart swell. He wouldn't have one, but two children he could teach his history to. Two of his children could wear Runes, train, find Parabatai and live as Shadowhunters. It was more than he could have ever asked for.
"You want to go find Star?" Magnus asked, running a hand down Alessandra'a cheek. "I have a feeling she'll be quite surprised."
Alec laughed, bringing Max closer to his chest. "I'll say. But I think she'll like it. Being an older sibling is awesome."
They turned and started down the hall, following the ornate carvings to the place they first came in. "I've heard stories from Isabelle where she might say differently," Magnus smirked. Alec laughed.
"Yeah, I'm sure she would."
As Alec rounded the last corner, he heard a little kid squeal. Before either of them could say anything, Staria ran up on them so fast that they almost tripped.
"Daddy! Papa!" She looked at them, puzzled. "I thought there was only going to be one baby?"
"Buy one get one free!" Magnus exclaimed. Alec glared at him, but ended up smiling. Staria was still confused so Magnus added, "Just kidding, sweetie. They didn't know there were going to be two babies. How do you feel about having a little brother AND a little sister?" Understanding flashed across Staria's face and she bounced up and down, nodding fervently.
Alec knelt down and Magnus did the same.
"This is Max," Alec said. "And that's Alessandra."
Staria eagerly walked over and gently touched the babies; their big brown eyes watching her curiously.
"I love them!" She said, beaming up at her dads. Magnus turned to Alec and gave him a quick kiss.
"So do we."
Alec nodded, locking eyes with Magnus. "Yes, we do."