As promised, what happened when Magnus and Max woke up to an Alec-less loft.

Enjoy.

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Magnus reaches for Alec as he opens his eyes. Alec isn't there. Magnus looks around the bedroom and stares at his dresser. It takes a couple of minutes for him to realize that there is only ONE dresser against the wall.

Magnus quickly sits up and jumps out the bed. He runs out the bedroom and looks around the living room. He glances into the kitchen and notices that the Keurig machine is gone from the counter.

Magnus shakes his head and closes his eyes. He concentrates on Alec's bright smile but gets nothing from the love rune. He opens his eyes, takes a deep breath and closes them again. This time he thinks about Alec's warm hazel eyes, as his thumb runs against his fingers.

Nothing.

Magnus slowly opens his eyes and stares at the empty counter space as tears run down his face.

Last night after making love, he and Alec fell asleep in each other's arms.

This morning, Alec is gone.

Magnus screams.

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Max wakes up and slowly sits up. He feels funny. He can't be sick because warlocks don't get 'sick', but he doesn't feel right. He sits there and tries to figure out what is wrong.

He hears Poppa scream and throws the covers to the floor. He gets out the bed and runs out his room. Magnus is standing in the middle of the kitchen, tears running down his face. His hands are shaking.

Max runs into his fathers' bedroom, expecting to see Daddy lying in a pool of blood.

The bed is empty. Confused, Max turns around and looks at the wall where his fathers' dressers are. But he only sees ONE dresser. He runs out the room and goes over to Magnus.

He wraps his arms around his father, "Poppa, where's Daddy?"

Magnus sobs as he holds Max, "I don't know. The love rune isn't working. Max, my angel is gone."

Max buries his face in Magnus' neck as tears run down his own face, "I'll find him and god help whoever took him from us."

Magnus holds him tighter, "Please, Max."

Max nods as they hold each other.

Magnus takes a deep breath and lets his son go, "Okay, Max."

Max runs into his room and gets his laptop. He powers it on and puts it on the kitchen table. Magnus sits down and stares at it. Max fills the kettle with water. When the water is ready, he makes two cups of tea and places them on the table. He glances at the bagels, but he isn't hungry. He asks his father, "You want anything else, Poppa?"

Magnus takes a sip of his tea and looks at his son with tear filled eyes, "You know what I want, Max."

Max nods, he kisses Magnus' cheek and sits in front of his laptop, time to find out what happened to Daddy. He drinks his tea and starts typing, "I'm on it."

Magnus sips his tea and tries not to look at the empty spot on the counter. Every time he does, tears run down his face. He tries to pay attention to what Max is typing, but he can't. He closes his eyes and once again reaches for the love rune, but still gets nothing.

He quickly opens his eyes and passes a hand over Max's forehead. Max looks at him, "What you doing, Poppa?"

"I'm locking away your memories of Daddy." Magnus passes a hand over his own forehead and takes a deep breath.

Max gives Magnus a weak smile, "Thanks." He returns to his typing.

Magnus nods and takes another sip of tea.

Max finishes typing and taps on the keyboard as he waits for answers. Magnus moves his chair closer, so he can see the screen. Max leans against him as they wait.

Max sits up as text pops up on the screen. He shakes his head as he reads, "This can't be right."

Magnus tries to read what it says, but the print is too small, "What is it Max?"

"Daddy was killed when he was seven."

"Where?"

"Central Park."

"Isn't that what happened in your nightmare when you were almost fourteen?"

Max nods, "Yes, but this time Daddy stayed dead. Grandma Maryse stepped down from being Head. Robert continued running the Institute by himself, then Aldertree took over."

Magnus sighs, "And me?"

"You gave up the High Warlock position a couple of weeks after Daddy was killed, stating that it was too stressful. Some guy named Lorenzo Rey took over the position."

"Really? Lorenzo is a phony, no taste, egomaniacal piece of shit who can be charming when he wants to." Magnus pushes his cup of tea away, "Too stressful?"

Max nods, "I guess even though you may not have been around him, you still sensed his death and it weighed on you."

"That is how I feel now."

Max hugs him, "At least we now know what happened. I saved him once, I'll save him again."

Magnus kisses his forehead, "Not a doubt in my mind."

Max nods as he types, "I don't know how it was allowed to happen again." He stops typing and taps on the keyboard, "That's weird."

Magnus looks from the screen to Max, "What's the matter?"

"The timeline stops."

"Stops? What do you mean it 'stops'? How can a timeline stop?"

"It is possible for it to stop, meaning that it's current."

Magnus looks around the loft, "You mean the timeline is now?'

Max nods as he taps the keyboard, "Let me try something." He starts typing.

"When did it stop?"

"2017"

"Obviously that's not now here."

"Exactly, Poppa." Max continues to type.

Magnus glances at the bar but doesn't want to move from Max's side, afraid that he might lose his son as easily as he lost his husband.

Max sits back and nods, "It happened in another world."

"Another world's Alec was killed as a child?"

Max nods, "All this stuff happened in THAT world."

"So where is my angel?"

Max looks at Magnus, "Daddy is in that world."

"Why?"

"I assume to either fix it or to get us to fix it."

Magnus takes a deep breath, "By whom?"

"Mistress Destiny."

Magnus sits back in his chair, "Wow."

Max nods, "Each world needs to be different, so when he was killed in that world, the same way they tried to kill him here, Mistress Destiny went, 'Nope, not going to happen'. It's like the nightmare I had that revolved around Daddy's death, but Maxine's Alec's actual death was completely different."

Magnus nods, "Okay, but the Keurig machine, his dresser are gone. The love rune gives me nothing."

"How else to get our attention?"

"She definitely did that."

Max nods, "I suspect that he isn't really gone from our world, just gone from the loft. If we called Aunt Izzy or Uncle Jace looking for Daddy, they would tell us, he was in a meeting or out doing something. But they would know who he is. That is why the love rune isn't working, like cell phones, its range doesn't include other worlds."

Magnus glances at the empty space on the counter, "Okay. So now what?"

"Easy. All I have to do is save young Alec in that world, then find Daddy."

"How do you find him?"

Max types, "I think it's safe to assume he woke up in the Institute."

Magnus weakly smiles, "His old room."

Max giggles, "After all your threats, it finally happened."

"Doesn't count."

Max smiles, "Can we assume Daddy will come to Brooklyn?"

Magnus remembers something Alec told him after Maxine's fathers helped Max. He nods, "Your Daddy would have shown up here."

Max taps on the keyboard as he reads, "Interesting."

"What?"

Max smiles, "It seems that an unauthorized user tapped into the Institute's death records."

"From?"

"The main library at Grand Army Plaza."

Magnus smiles, "My angel is in Brooklyn."

Max giggles, "And we assume he isn't alone."

Magnus nods, "Somehow I'm with him."

Max takes out his phone and syncs it to the laptop, "First, I save young him again, then I bring Daddy home." He stands up.

Magnus also stands. He kisses Max's forehead, "Be careful."

"Yes, Poppa." Max opens a portal, sets his invisibility glamour and leaves.

Magnus glances at the bar, then shakes his head. All he needs right now is Alec. He glances at the empty space on the counter and walks out the kitchen. He needs to keep busy until Max returns. He glances around the living room but can't concentrate on anything.

He starts pacing.

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As Max sets the table for dinner, he notices that the Keurig machine is back on the counter. He smiles. His fathers are still holding each other. Max walks into their bedroom and nods. Daddy's dresser also is back where it belongs.

The pizza arrives and his fathers finally let each other go.

They sit down to eat dinner.

After finishing his third slice, Magnus moves his chair closer to Alec. He rests his head against Alec's arm and holds his hand. He closes his eyes with a smile.

Max giggles. Magnus opens one eye and glares at his son, "What's so funny?"

Max smiles, "Daddy was only gone for one day."

Magnus closes his eye and holds Alec's arm tighter, "It felt like a month."

Max nods, "It did." He smiles at Alec, "So Daddy, how did you convince Magnus to help you?"

Alec smiles, "The magic word."

Max giggles, "Please?"

Alec laughs, "No, husband."

Magnus opens his eyes and looks at Alec, "Husband?"

"Yes. I told him that he was my husband and he let me into the loft."

Magnus nods, "Yes, that would have worked."

Alec laughs, "It did work."

Magnus puts his head back against Alec's arm, "As long as he kept his hands to himself."

Alec laughs, "He did."

"Good, otherwise I would have to pay him a visit."

Max giggles, "Daddy, were those the clothes you woke up in?"

Alec looks down and shakes his head, "By the angel, I completely forgot that I've been in my sleep clothes all day."

Magnus chuckles without opening his eyes, "I'm still in my pajamas, don't worry about it."

"But you weren't running around New York City. I was on the subway. The library. Dunkin Donuts."

Magnus looks at him, "You went to Dunkin, with him?"

Alec nods, "Yes, after we finished in the library, we went to get something to eat."

"Uh huh. He drank coffee?"

"No, I ordered him tea."

"You ordered?"

"Yes, Magnus. What's the big deal?"

Max giggles, "I think Poppa is jealous of other Magnus."

Magnus sniffs at their son. He closes his eyes as he rests his head back on Alec's arm, "I have nothing to be jealous about. Alexander is back with the right Magnus Bane, thank you very much."

Max smiles, "You're welcome."

Magnus opens one eye and smiles at his son. Max leans over and kisses Magnus' cheek.

Alec smiles, "It was kind of strange, how easy it was the second time around to be comfortable with him."

Magnus looks at Alec, "Just how 'comfortable' were you?"

Alec laughs and kisses him, "Not that comfortable, Magnus. I mean being able to talk to him."

Magnus nods, "Okay, because I'm seriously thinking about having a decision with him in regards to messing with other men's husbands."

Max giggles, "Besides Poppa, he wouldn't remember being with Daddy anyway."

"Oh, why not?"

"Because once he portaled away from the warehouse, where I found them, he went into the corrected timeline. All the events that happened because of young Alec's death, including meeting Daddy, were erased."

Magnus nods, "Good."

Alec smiles, "I never saw you as the jealous type, Magnus."

Magnus kisses him, "Not ordinarily, but I know how persistent I was with you, so I don't trust other mes around you."

"That made no sense."

Magnus smiles, "It made sense to me." He closes his eyes as he rests his head against Alec's arm.

Max giggles as he clears the table, "Poppa is just mad because he didn't get a chance to kill Aldertree again."

Magnus opens one eye, "What does Aldertree have to do with this?"

"Oh, he and Zachary were going to hurt Daddy and Magnus."

Magnus looks from one to the other, "What?"

Alec shakes his head, "I had it under control."

Max giggles, "Then why did Magnus yell at you?"

Magnus narrows his eyes, "He yelled at you?"

Alec kisses him, "No he didn't yell at me. Max is mistaken. He was just upset that I ran out the window and got captured."

"Don't try to distract me with kisses, Alexander. I would have yelled at you as well, if you got yourself captured. Why the hell did you go out the window?"

"Because I couldn't find a good hiding spot and Aldertree was going to find me."

Magnus takes a deep breath, "I don't want to hear any more. Alec is safe and that world is fixed. A happy ending all around."

Max nods. He walks into the living room and puts the television on.

Magnus sighs and holds Alec, "Having you gone from my arms was one thing, but seeing your dresser gone meant that you were never in my arms."

Alec holds him, "I'm in your arms now."

"And that is where you belong." They kiss.

Max giggles, "Get a room you two."

Alec smiles, "Audience is sending us to our room."

Magnus smiles, "Audience is smart, takes after me."

Alec laughs, "Oh, now he is your son."

Magnus rubs his nose against Alec's, "He is our son."

"Yes he is." They stand and walk into the living room. Max kisses them both 'good night' and hand in hand, they walk into their bedroom.

-the end-

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Yes, I borrowed Magnus' description of Lorenzo from The Powers That Be. ;D

Fluffy goodness is always a great way to end a fanfic.

Wouldn't you agree?

Love ya. xoox