Chapter 8-

Too Many Emotions, Too Many Revelations

Simon and Max talk, he tries to reassure him.

Alec and his parents come to the apartment to talk to Max…

Notes:

Okay, so we are just gonna go right along ahead with the angst thing, kay?

Okay"

You know it'll all be all right in the end

***Just a reminder…every chapter will have at least 2 parts, so if you read one with just one, the other part will be added the next day…Sorry for any confusion, but this way I can keep on some kind of schedule.

If you only read the first part of the last one you are missing out, the second part is one of my favorite emotional scenes I have ever written***

_Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon_

"T-thank you, Simon…" Max said softly taking the glass of water, sipping cautiously, still trying to get his breathing under control.

"It's no problem" Simon said gently, sitting back down beside him.

Max glanced down, shaking his head

"S-sorry, a-about dragging you all into this mess…I j-just didn't know where else to go-"

"Max, it's okay, really…I'm glad you got here safely, I wish you would have called, one of us could have picked you up…"

"I-I know…I forgot my phone and I just c-couldn't go b-back" he stopped, shaking his head, taking a deep breath,

God, he just barely got himself to stop crying, he didn't want to start again

Simon slid closer, putting his arm around Max, comfortingly, Max leaned against his shoulder,

"Shh…it's okay, I know…I'm just glad you made it here safely. Being out there by yourself is really dangerous"

Max nodded slightly,

"I-I know…I wasn't thinking, I j-just panicked and had to get out of there, I couldn't face them, c-couldn't h-hear w-what they would say…"

"I understand…I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It will be okay; this is the worst part…

It will get better, I promise"

Max shook his head, forlornly

"No it won't…h-how could it? My parents hate me…"

Simon shook his head

"No they don't Max"

"Yeah, they do…y-you didn't hear how they were talking, about you guys, a-about Alec…

God, I knew they were harder on him than the rest of us, but I had no idea they were this bad with him. I could never understand why he never felt like he could get their approval…I didn't know it was because of this…

I had no idea he was dealing with this…god, nearly all his life…I-I don't know how he's put up with them for this long.

I-if they a-act like that with me…I d-don't k-know what I'll d-do…"

Simon hugged him tight, patting his back soothingly,

"Shh, it's okay, It's alright…

Max, I didn't hear them, and I know what they said was harsh…but they don't hate you, any of you, okay?"

"Simon, they s-"

"I know…I know Max. It is horrible when you hear someone you love talk like that, I know…But Max; they really do care about you guys. In their own way they were actually trying to protect you. I know what they said, and how they went about it was ALL wrong, but, from their perspective, they were trying to keep you safe."

Max shook his head

"But that's just stupid…"

Simon gave him a slight smile, nodding

"I totally agree; it is stupid and ignorant and backwards, and at this point they really should have a better grasp on the subject…hell, their oldest son has been out for nearly two decades…they have had more than enough time, and there really isn't an excuse for that level of ignorance…

But nothing they did says they hate you, or Alec, or Jace or Izzy, for that matter.

Three of their children have came out…well, four now" he said, giving Max a faint smile, squeezing his shoulder

"And, while it is true that they have not been supportive of this, they haven't really hid their disapproval, they have also never tried to kick any of you out, they never cut off ties with Alec, never tried to keep him from any of the rest of you…

They may not be supportive, but they do see you all as their children first and foremost…that means more to them than whatever else you may be.

That is something; it really is...

That means there is a chance you could get past this, because both you and your parents want to…

Both sides see each other as worth the effort it may take.

That is not nothing…

Sometimes that is all it really takes.

So long as BOTH sides genuinely want something to work, as long as neither is willing to give up,

As long as both actually care,

It can work.

As long as neither of you is willing to give up entirely, there is always hope…

Always…" he finished softly, glancing down

Max stilled, really taking in Simon's words, how he said it…the depth and the emotion…

He wasn't just empathizing; he was speaking from experience…

Max leaned closer, hugging him slightly,

Simon glanced up, curiously

"I'm sorry…" Max said softly

Simon shrugged

"I'm okay" he said quietly, he squeezed Max's shoulder,

"You will be too"

Max gave the slightest bit of a nod, taking a deep breath, steadying himself.

They heard the lock click, and the door being to open…

_Other-Other-Other-Other-Other_

Max sat quietly as he heard the five people shuffle quietly into the room. He glanced up cautiously, first catching sight of Magnus and Raphael settling down on the loveseat. Both of them were sitting rigidly, nearly on the edge, totally focused, eyes trained on Maryse and Robert, clearly they were going to try to stay out of it, but ready to jump in if needed.

His parents paused next to him, but he refused to look up…still afraid what he might see on their faces…

He scooted a bit closer to Simon.

He heard Maryse exhale sharply, before seeing Robert take her hand and them both taking a seat awkwardly on the lounge.

Simon set up slightly beside him, not moving over, but shifting forward a bit. He felt Alec settle next to him on the opposite side slipping his arm comfortingly around Max's shoulders,

He took another deep breath to steady himself…

He leaned over a bit against Alec, glancing around the room at the others, from Simon to Raphael and Magnus, before finally taking one last deep steadying breath and looking at his parents.

Neither side seemed to know how to go about starting.

Finally Maryse began

"Max, what were you thinking? Running off in the middle of the night, why would you do that?"

"Because I couldn't stand to see you look at me with the same disgust I saw when you were talking about Alec and his friends…I couldn't stand seeing that my own parents hate me, too…" he said softly, in barely a whisper

The both looked stricken

"M-Max, wh-what would…no, we don't hate you. You're our son, we could never hate you" she said, glancing over at Alec,

"We couldn't hate any of our children, how could you think we would?"

"W-why wouldn't I think that? How you were talking about Alec and the others, you talked like they're dangerous, wrong…Something I should avoid at all costs.

It's obvious they disgust you…And I am just like them…

Why wouldn't I think you'd hate me just as much as them?" he finished, softly, in barely a whisper

"Max, honey…We, we could never hate you, or Alec…never

…we were just trying to protect you."

He shook his head, finally looking directly at them

"I don't need to be 'protected' from my big brother. I don't need to be 'protected' from his partner, a fellow detective, who is without a doubt, the nicest person I have ever met or from his partners' boyfriend, one of Alec's best friends, who I know would put himself between me and any kind of danger without so much as a second thought. I don't need to be 'protected' from the person who makes my brother happier than I have ever seen him."

He sighed, glancing from Magnus to Raphael, and finally to Simon, before turning back to his parents

"These guys are some of the best people I know. They have done amazing things, helped so many people, they have saved lives…

But you don't see any of that…

All you see is that they are not straight…

That is all that you care about."

Robert sighed, glancing at the other men, he shook his head faintly

"Max, I am sorry if that's what it seemed like to you, but it's just not that simple…"

"Yeah, it kind of is…you met them for all of twenty minutes. I told you about them solving a case at my school, saving the life of my teacher. All this week, ever since the break in, they have been working, nearly nonstop trying to find out who did it…trying to keep me safe. Trying to make me actually feel safe. THEY have been doing everything they could to protect me, all week.

Every one of them has gone out of their way to check on me, to make sure that I was alright…to keep me up to date with what's happening, to answer any questions I have about it, and to just let me know that if I need anything someone is there.

Magnus, Simon and Raphael have done nothing but try to help me…

Try to find the people who broke into our home…when I was there alone…people who where right outside my bedroom door while I was hiding in the closet on the phone with 911, scared to death.

And you guys see them together, and all you see is that they are not straight and you can't get them away from me fast enough… keep me not only away from them, but from my own brother.

You lied to me to keep me from spending time with my brother, because, what? He has friends that are like him? He's seeing someone? And he doesn't skulk around like it's some horrible, deep, dark secret?"

They looked somewhat ashamed…Glancing at the other men, before looking back to Max,

Maryse shook her head

"I-it's not that…we knew that Alec would have 'relationships'…but you are very young and him flauntin-"

Max huffed, rolling his eyes slightly

"Alec has never 'flaunted' anything…ever.

I'm almost sixteen, Alec has been out, literally, my entire life, this is the first time I've ever met anyone he has been dating. I've met Izzy's girlfriends a few times and I've met more random people Jace has been 'seeing' than I can keep track of…

But Alec doesn't do that. If Alec is okay with me meeting someone who is part of his life, it means he expects them to be around for a while, it means that he trusts that they are safe for me to be around, it means that THEY mean enough to him, are special enough to him, to introduce me…

Alec is happier now than I have ever seen him…he deserves that…and the SECOND you find out about it you try to ruin it.

It's horrible, disgraceful to treat your own son like that…to try to make him choose between the best chance at happiness I've ever seen him have or getting to still see his little brother who is having one of the worst weeks of his life.

Do you have any idea how screwed up that is?"

Robert shook his head

"W-we're not trying to do that…we wouldn't try to keep Alec from you, not for long…we just wanted a chance to go over what is and isn't appropriate around you-

You are quite young and impress-"

"Stop with the explanations; they're all a bunch of crap anyways…

You weren't worried about my 'safety'; you weren't trying to 'protect' me, you weren't just trying to be 'cautious' or whatever other justifications you can think of…

You did not want me being around them because you thought it would make me gay.

The same way you think Alec somehow 'Made' Izzy and Jace not straight."

"We don't thi-"

"Yes, you do…you blame him for it…"

"No, Isabelle and Jace made their own choi-"

Max shook his head, giving a harsh laugh

"Oh my god, stop saying that!

It is not a 'choice'! No one 'chose' this… No one chooses who they are attracted to…No one chooses how they feel…you don't choose who you fall for…It just happens.

You see someone, and your brain just stops working, and you get flustered and tongue-tied and you can't talk, or you can't STOP talking, or blushing, or stammering, and nothing seems to come out right…and you usually feel like an idiot around them, but you still really want to be around them anyways…and it's kinda awesome, but kinda scary at the same time.

You don't decide when that happens, you don't choose to feel like that, and you don't choose who makes you feel like that…

I-it just happens…" he shrugged, shaking his head, taking a deep breath before continuing

"I really don't know how you guys haven't got this by now, but being gay is not contagious…it's not a sickness, or a choice, or a fad, or a style, or anything else, it just…it just is

We didn't 'choose' to be gay, anymore than you 'chose' to be straight." He finished softly, looking down

The room was silent for a moment, no one really knowing what to say to that…

"Very well said, sweetheart…I could not have put it better myself." Magnus said softly, he had a gentle, soft smile, it was directed at Alec, Max looked over just in time to see Alec catch the look, blushing faintly, but returned the smile.

Max glanced over at Simon who was giving him a warm, kind smile, glancing down Max saw Raphael had moved closer to the corner of the loveseat, his fingers interlaced with Simons. He looked up at Raphael's face, he's expression was softer than it had been all night, he gave Max a gentle smile and nod, before looking back at Simon

Finally he looked over at his parents, taking a deep breath…

"I want to be able to be happy…I want to be able to really talk about my life and my friends and the people I care about and not have to worry that it makes me matter less to you.

I-I don't want to have to lie to you guys…I don't want to have to feel like I have to hide who I am or who I care about. I don't want to have to try to remember to tell my friends to hide who they are so you will still let me see them…

I-I really don't want you to hate me…I don't want to feel like I hate you… I don't want to feel like I should hate myself.

I d-don't want a time to come when one of us gives up, or decides that our family is just not worth the effort.

I really don't."

Maryse shook her head, both her and Robert blinking slightly…

"Max, honey…that could never happen…nothing you, or Alec, or Isabelle, or Jace could do would ever cause that…You are our kids…we love all of you…

I am sorry we ever made you feel that that was even a possibility" she glanced up at Alec "Any of you"

Alec nodded faintly, but there was still a shadow of doubt to his expression. It faded when he turned slightly looking at Max giving him a soft, impressed smile

"Max…that was really brave. I am so proud of you…are you okay with going home?"

Max nodded hesitantly

"Y-yeah…okay…" He said softly,

Robert sighed

"Max…do you want to go home with us, or would you rather stay at Alec's tonight?"

Alec glanced over in surprise, raising his eyebrow slightly

Max perked up hopefully,

"Could I?" he asked relieved, glancing from his parents to his brother

Alec shrugged

"Of course you can, you are always welcome, you know that"

Robert nodded

"Yes, it sounds like you think you would feel safer, sleep better there…" He glanced over at Raphael hesitantly

"After all you have been through this week, you deserve to be somewhere you feel safe"

Raphael gave him a slight, barely there nod, seeming to relax, just the faintest bit

Max glanced around the room once more, giving a faint sight of relief….

It might just be okay after all…

_End Of Chapter Notes_

Okay, so…this was a tear jerker too…I know this is a lot of emotion, but I honestly really love how this is going (Even if I have made myself tear up a few times)

I love the speeches…I love Max's explanation,

I'm really trying to kind of toe the line with Maryse and Robert:

It'd of been easier to have them just as horrible materialistic, self absorbed people who are just cold and selfish and don't care, or hateful and callous…

I didn't want to do that…

I think they do actually love their kids, which I tried to indicate (the school pictures in the house, keeping their kids rooms intact, exc.) I'm trying to portray them as genuinely caring about their kids; they just don't really get the gay thing and are rather ignorant on the subject, thus they tend to fall back on stereotypes and well, panic...

I kind of think they genuinely don't realize how they seem to the kids, especially Alec.

They genuinely don't realize what they are doing hurts them…

I think, from their perspective, they really are trying to just do what is best for their kids (They are just rather off on what that exactly is)

It's more complicated, but I think it's also more realistic…

Anyways…

What do you guys think so far?