Chapter 2 – Cecily vs. Raphael & Max Part I

"Cece, leave Kitty and Gray alone," Magnus called to his daughter, picking up her hand and pulling her back from the cats. They were resting on the back of the couch and she was standing on the couch, reaching for them. "Daddy is going to get you for standing on the couch. On your butt, Cece." He waited for her to flop down on the couch before he let go of her.

"Papa?"

Magnus sat down next to Cecily to try and wrestle her shoes onto her. They were going to the park if he could ever get his kids out the door. It was Tuesday and he had come home early when the kids had a half day or Admin Leave. He and Alec had a trade-off system when taking time off for the kids unless it was something along the lines of him having court where there was no way they could get off.

"Yes, buddy?" Magnus answer without looking up at Max, Cecily was squirming which made getting shoes on her feet a difficult task.

"I want ice cream." Max smiled from his spot by the door with Raphael, they were both waiting on Magnus and Cecily to be ready to leave.

Magnus looked up at him with a frown, "You know Raph can't have ice cream right now." Raphael kept getting sick from some dairy products but not all, so they were testing foods on him per doctors' orders to see which really made him sick and which didn't. Max sat there in thought for a moment, Magnus could practically see the wheels in his head turning, he was looking for a way to get ice cream while not being rude to Raphael. Magnus knew that look well. "Max, the answer is no. Whatever you are trying to come up with the answer is no. We talked about this and we agreed that we would all go without ice cream until we found out if that's making Raph sick. It's not fair to eat it in front of him."

He finally got Cecily's shoes on and let her go, she went to her brothers, having already forgiven them for their Berry mishap, stood with them.

"How about we take a picture for daddy since he's stuck in the office?" Magnus quickly took a picture of all three of them by the door, then he went over to get down on one knee and take a selfie with all the kids. He sent them both off to Alec and pushed the kids out the door. Max and Raphael were talking about some new game a kid had at school, while Cecily held onto Magnus' hand and her new teddy bear in the other. Alec tried to get her to name it something else but she would have none of it and called him, Berry. She pointed out that this one was a little boy, even though the bear had one pink paw with the year inscribed on it. Monday after work Alec picked her up and spent a daddy/daughter day at the mall with dinner and a teddy bear adventure. Magnus got the boys and spent time taking them out to dinner. None of them had gone out much so Alec and Magnus agreed that it would be helpful to spend some time out. Cecily finally fell in love with a bear and the whining ended, so did her glaring at the boys which took over a week to get stopped.

Magnus felt his phone go off and it was a simple response to their photos.

Cute family, Mr. Bane.

He smirked and sent back a GIF of a Chuck Norris putting a thumbs up. He grinned at Alec's response and tucked his phone away.

The walk to the local park was only two minutes but Cece was in his arms before they even made it to the end of the street. She snuggled into his neck with the newest Berry tucked in her arms between their chests. She was in that cuddle all the time stage and neither he nor Alec ever complained. At least she wasn't in the 'I'm not going to listen and torment my baby sister' stage that their boys had adopted. They knew it was going to be a little hard on the boys but they had been so good with Chris and Charlotte, but apparently, it was different when the baby didn't go away at the end of the day. The boys were only a few steps ahead of him until the park came into view and they ran the rest of the way to see who could get to the slide fast enough.

"Hey, be careful of the smaller kids," Magnus yelled after them but he got no acknowledgment back.

He took Cece over to the toddler side of the park and watched her eyes light up over the small swing. She finally upgraded out of the basket swing and it was now her jam to spend hours on the little swing, she kept talking about how it was made just for her. Their swing set in the backyard didn't have a little swing so she couldn't go on her own.

He kept glancing over to the boys to make sure they were staying out of trouble.

The park was new this year to their community and had the fresh new equipment. They tried to bring the kids out every couple of days in the summer to get them out of the house and active, it was never hard to get them to play outside which helped but they still allowed them to have their game time when they wanted. Usually, they only allowed that on the weekends, homework was the most important part of the week.

Max was still a natural when it came to just reading it and knowing it. He hardly needed any help with any assignment and he still got top marks. Raphael was a little different. He learned best by explanation over reading and so it was usually them sitting at the table and working it out. He also got good grades and was good at focusing when they worked through the problems. Each boy learned differently and it came down to whoever was available for the evening. It didn't matter if it was Alec or Magnus, he still focused and sat through the problems.

Magnus fell head over heels in love with his husband when last summer Alec took Raphael to the bookstore for one on one time and pick out some study books for the summer. He made sure Raphael was open to the idea first beforehand and they did it in secret and Raphael was all too happy to show off his new workbooks and his icee, not ice cream, that Alec got him from the café. It was these little reminders that he married his dream man that just made his heart explode. Alec and Raphael had a bond just as strong as Alec and Max. They both took the time out of their schedules to spend solo time with their children as well as family time. It wasn't always easy, but they made it work the best way they knew how.

His phone went off then, it was Alec.

"Husband?" Magnus answered.

"My afternoon meeting got canceled. I'm thinking of cutting out early."

"Oh yeah, that would be perfect. I have Raphael's doctor appointment tonight and I wasn't looking forward to taking all the kids with me."

Alec laughed into the phone, "I would kind of love to see that."

"You're not nice." Magnus frowned and gave Cece a slight push to get her a little more speed, she kept dragging her feet and would slow down too much which was lead to a complaint on her telling him to push her. "His appointment is at five. Can you be home?"

"Of course. Where are you?"

"Park. Cece is quite demanding with her swing." He smirked when she looked up at her name. He blew her a kiss. She went back to focusing on her swing; she didn't really understand anyway.

Alec laughed again, "I have to go. Love you."

The phone clicked off with the disconnection and went back to focusing on Cece. He glanced at the boys quickly, they were still climbing up the slide then back down, another boy around their age had joined in on the fun.

"Hi, I've seen you out here before."

Magnus turned to the female voice in front of him. She was standing off to the side of the swing with her young son in her arms, at least Magnus figured he was hers since they both had light blonde hair and super dark brown eyes. It seemed an odd combination to Magnus, so he spent longer focusing on the child then he should have.

"That's my son, Even and this is Isak. My ex-husband was from Denmark and he had the family names picked out."

Magnus was trying not to frown at her, he didn't ask, "I'm Magnus and this is Cecily. The boys are Max and Raphael."

She smiled at him, "They play from time to time, so it's nice to know their names. We should do a play date some time." She tilted her head to the side.

Magnus had been around the dating scene enough before Camille to know what that smile and head tilt meant. He knew he was a good-looking man and people hit on him all the time, sometimes in front of Alec, even though it was clear he was taken. He actually frowned at her this time. "I'll have to ask my husband when a good time is."

"Oh, you're married?"

Magnus saw her smile faltered for a moment, he wanted to smirk at her shock but he held himself back, "Yep." He flashed his left hand up to show off the black wedding band, "You might have seen Alec here from time to time. He brings the kids here as much as I do."

"Oh maybe." Her head tilted way back to the other side.

Apparently, him being married wasn't a deal breaker for her, Magnus groaned internally, this was going to suck. The words slammed around his head where they accidentally slipped out, "Yeah, we like to come together but he's working while the kids had a half day."

"Yeah, Even had the same half day. It was too nice out to stay indoors."

"I agree. The kids are enjoying themselves."

"Papa, push," Cece called out, then looked to the lady. "Go away." She frowned.

Magnus pushed her and smiled at his daughter, even she was catching onto the lady's motives and didn't like them. "Sorry, she wants Papa time. I'll see you around." He dismissed her with that hoping she would get the point and leave. She didn't, at least, not right away. Magnus willed himself not to say anything else until the women did decide to leave.

"Daddy!"

Magnus frowned and looked up, Alec was walking towards them, still dressed in his work clothes and Magnus noticed he was wearing the famous red tie of his. The things that tie has seen made him smile a huge grin, work events for both of them and bedroom events.

"Hey, baby girl." He knelt down and caught the swing as she came at him, "Having fun?" He kissed her forehead and let her go.

"Yep." She popped out the ending with a dramatic flair, which was all Magnus. "Papa. Push."

"I was at home when I called." Alec stood up and kissed Magnus. "Cute blonde." He tilted his head to the side.

Magnus followed his head tilt and sure enough, it was in the direction where the blonde had sat down. He realized he didn't even know her name but he knew the names of her kids. "She didn't even quit when I flashed my ring and went on and on about my sexy husband."

"Sexy?"

"Okay, I didn't say sexy but I did talk about you a few times." Magnus shrugged.

"Oh, then let's do this a few more times." Alec pulled on Magnus to him by his shirt, wrinkling the fabric, and pulling him into a deep kiss. Alec grinned into the kiss as he pulled back just a breath away and went in for another kiss.

"Daddy? I'm done." Alec pulled back to look down at Cece who was tugging on his pant leg. He released Magnus and pulled her up into his arms. The bear tucked in close, "I'm thirsty."

Magnus eyed the boys, they were nowhere near being done but he didn't want to be alone at the park with the blonde one. "You want Papa to take you home?" Magnus asked.

"NO." She buried herself into Alec's side, he had a smirk on his face. "I want daddy."

"Do me a favor and no flirting with the blonde one." He grinned.

Magnus frowned, "That's not funny."

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." He glanced over and she was staring at them, "Although, the staring is a bit creepy. She doesn't care about the fact your married?"

"I would rather deal with a fight with the boys then stay here alone. She creeps me out."

Alec's eyes went wide when Magnus spoke louder then he should have, if Magnus didn't feel comfortable then he wasn't going to leave him here alone; he knew that feeling. He looked at the boys, "Max, Raph, let's go." He yelled over to them. They both stopped and stared at him. He could always tell when they were sticking in for a fight, "Now." He called again.

The blonde woman came over, "You must be Alec, Magnus, was telling me all about you."

Cecily popped up to look at the women again causing Alec to quickly adjust himself to her fast movement. The boys came over then and Cecily flopped back into his chest, her forehead knocking into his collarbone. One of Max's favorite moves from when he was her age. The vibration hurt, "Ouch, Cece, stop that." He groaned when she twisted again, getting as close to him as she could, pulling on his tie at the same time. If he didn't know better, he would think Cece was staking her claim on him, "I am. And you are?"

"Victoria." She smiled looking from Alec to focus on Magnus, "Can't the boys play a little longer? Even would appreciate it."

"I'm sorry, they can't," Alec answered but Victoria's eyes never left Magnus. Alec could practically see her undressing Magnus with her eyes. He frowned, "Let's go boys." Alec tapped Max on the back of the head to get him moving, "What do you guys want for dinner tonight? I was thinking Chinese."

Magnus pulled on Raphael who took little effort to catch up to Max, "Have a nice day." He said following Alec. When he got close enough, he picked up Alec's free hand, intertwining their fingers. "Very creepy." He whispered to him.

Alec nodded, "Yeah, she could have undressed you with her eyes a little less."

Max and Raphael were distracted and far enough ahead to not say anything except about what they wanted for dinner.

Magnus groaned, "Can we forget this ever happened?"

"Until the next time, you come alone to the park." Alec pointed out, they turned down their street, Magnus was silent the rest of the way home. The boys were standing on the front deck area waiting on them. He put Cece down as soon as they made it inside. "Boys, take Cece downstairs and play until dinner."

"Dad, we don't want her," Raphael complained.

"She's a baby." Max cut in. "She cries."

"Guys, stop." Magnus tried to cut in but Raphael frowned at him.

"Can't she stay up here?" Raphael cut back in. "Play with you."

Alec stared at Raphael and Max with wide eyes, Magnus saved him and spoke up, "You know what? I am sick and tired of you guys being mean to your sister." He spoke with a stern voice, eyeing both of the boys, "How about you both sit your butts on the couch in time out until dinner. You will have three hours to figure out how to get along with her."

Alec finally unfroze his brain, "Seriously, you two." He shook his head. Cece froze in front of him, he was sure she didn't understand much beyond neither of them not wanting her.

"Daddy?" She turned to Alec, raising her arms up to be picked up, "I'm not a baby."

Alec picked her up with a frown, her bear squished close to her. "How can you two be so mean to your sister lately? You're supposed to be her big brothers and protect her. I can't believe you guys. I'm going to change."

Magnus frowned as Alec made his way upstairs, she wasn't crying but she was frowning, not understanding. "You know last week when I packed up your toys and I gave them back to you just two days ago?" Magnus waited for their nods, "They're gone again. And this time the PlayStation is gone, gone. Maybe when you have no toys and no games, you two will figure out how to be nice to your sister. I don't want to hear one word between you two, do you understand me?" He waited for another nod from each of them.

…

It was almost dinner time and both the boys were pushing Alec's limits even further. They had to use the bathroom more times than he's ever seen them in their entire lives. Magnus had taken Cece to go pick up Chinese, the doctor's office called and had to reschedule Raphael's appointment due to a sick doctor. Alec didn't want to treat the boys to take out but he had taken nothing out and he didn't want anything to make for dinner. He groaned again when he turned around to see Max standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"What?"

"Dad, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I bet you are. Go sit down." He watched Max frown, he walked him back to the living room, "What is the deal? What is so wrong with having a little sister?"

Raphael shook his head, "I don't want to play with her all the time."

Alec frowned, sinking down onto his knees to look at his kids, "You two are supposed to protect her not hurt her feelings. How would you like it if Max told you he didn't want to play with you?" He looked at Max, "Or if Raphael didn't want to play with you? I do not ask you guys to play with her all the time but once in a while I need you to watch her while Magnus and I are busy."

"I like her but she's a baby and she cries when she doesn't want to play the same game." Max filled in for him.

Alec asked, "You like her? You don't love her?"

"We do." Raphael cut in. "We do love her."

"She's not a baby, she's a toddler, and she loves to spend time with you guys. She always wants to play because you are her brothers." Alec sighed, "When we talked about the possibility of having another child, you two were both on board and excited." He wanted to cry, never in a million years did he think Max and Raphael would be this mean and reject her. They were always messing with her and being mean. The bear incident was just the final straw. When they didn't say anything but look at each other, "Alright, fine, I will never ask you to play with your sister again. But all your toys are still gone. Tomorrow when you're both at school, I'm cleaning out your rooms. Everything in the basement is gone. PlayStation and all your games." He already looked at his calendar and sent his boss an email that he wasn't coming into the office tomorrow. He had vacation time to burn and he was standing his ground. He was going to clean out their rooms. "I'm glad you two like to read because the books are the only thing you guys get to keep."

"Dad-" Max and Raphael whined at the same time.

"No, you guys can't be nice to Cece you don't desire your toys. Magnus and I work hard and we pay for those toys, they are mine and I can do what I want with them."

The front door opened then, Magnus let Cece run in first, "Daddy, Papa gave me a cookie." She held up part of her fortune cookie to show him. She looked to Max and Raphael, "Want some?" she asked in all of her two-year-old innocence.

Alec stood up and let Max and Raphael talk with Cece, she broke her cookie to share with them completely forgotten about why she was upset with them earlier or them hurting her bear. Magnus squeezed his arm as he went into the kitchen. "Alright, go wash up for dinner. Come on, baby girl." Alec picked her up and took her into the kitchen to wash the cookie from her fingers.

"Dad, we're sorry." Max frowned at him.

Alec nodded, "I know. Go wash for dinner."

"You still love us?" Raphael asked, neither had moved yet.

That got Alec's attention. It was like the light bulb went off and he suddenly had a complete picture in front of him. That's what this was about. They thought he and Magnus didn't love them anymore. Alec still made it a point to tell each of his children he loved them every day, most times more than once a day. "Go see papa." He put her down and pushed her towards the kitchen. "Do you guys really think we don't love you anymore now that we have Cece?" He waited for them but neither moved a muscle. He went back to them, kneeling back in front of them. "Max, Raphael, listen to me." He picked up each of their hands, "Nothing in this world will ever stop my love for you. You two are my boys and that will never change. I love you both so much. I do love you both! I tell you both I love you every day because I mean it. Don't ever think for a second we don't love you."

Max let a few tears fall and Alec wanted to join him, it was breaking his heart that his boys thought they didn't love them anymore. "That's what makes this hard for me and papa. We are disappointed that you can treat Cecily this way." He squeezed their hands. "She loves you too. She came in here and the first thing she did was want to share her cookie with you guys." He stood up, "I want you both to go apologize to your sister and give her a hug and kiss. She loves your guys and I know you love her too."

The rest of the evening went smoothly for the most part. Max asked Cece to play and she said no then ran off to her room, she was still her sassy self. Max just looked at his parents and Alec shook his head. He told them to go downstairs to get ready for bed. They were both going to bed early tonight. He wasn't going to give them a moment to play. Alec made sure to give them each a hug, a kiss and told them he loved them before sending them downstairs.

"We still taking toys away."

"Oh yes," Alec nodded, "The PlayStation and games for sure. I'll be a little easier on their toys in their rooms but they are gone. I am not dealing with this crap from them. They need to learn what they did was wrong."

Magnus nodded, "I was thinking maybe we need to do something to make them realize we are all in this together and I think we should legally change their last names."

"What?"

"We all have different names. I get we are blending but I think we should get them to have the same names. Change them to Lightwood-Bane." Magnus reached out to take Alec's hand in his, "I've actually been thinking about it for a while. I was thinking of changing my name first. But I think we should do it for the kids."

"Let's ask them and see what they want to do." Alec stood up and kissed Magnus softly on his forehead. "You get the boys, I'll get the girl."

"Yeah, I want to talk to them about the whole 'not loving them' thing." Magnus stood up and headed for the basement while Alec headed for Cecily's room.