Max arrived at the stairs to the training room at the same time as Isabelle and a brown haired kid. 'Oh! Hey Max,' Isabelle greeted as they ascended up the stairs. 'This is-'

'Max!' Alec jumped up from a bench on the other side of the training room. Surprised by the excited greeting, Max responded with a confused 'Hey?'

'Alec!' The kid ran across the room and tackled Alec in a bear hug. During their hug, Rafael had made it over to Max' side and the two of them were staring at the huggers with equal confusion (and a bit of jealousy. Alec was their dad). 'Max, Raf, this is Max, our little brother,' Isabelle introduced when the hug ended. Ooooh, Max thought. That explains it. But he looks different from the pictures. Where are his glasses? He broke out of his train of thoughts when he saw the other Max approaching him. Max straightened a bit under the younger boy's stare. 'You're blue', was the first thing he said. Max forced himself not to wince. 'If you can look confident…' his father's voice reminded him.

'I've noticed,' Max deadpanned, earning a couple of chuckles from the others. The other Max just nodded. 'I'm Max.' The brunet said, stretching out a hand for Max to shake. 'It's short for Maxwell.' Max took his hand. 'I'm Max, short for… uhm…. Nothing actually.'

Rafael was the next to shake Maxwell's hand. 'I'm Rafael,' he said while slinging his other arm over Max's shoulder, 'Max' older brother.' Max seemed to be confused by that. 'But you're a shadowhunter,' he pointed out, 'and he's a warlock. How can you be brothers?' They've been asked that question for as long as Max could remember. It usually came paired with a tone of mockery or disgust. Being the defensive older brother, Rafael was usually quick to snap those bastards off. But Max also knew that Rafael had a soft spot for younger children.

'Because we're family,' Rafael answered calmly. 'It's just like…-' Rafael frowned, trying to find a way to explain it. '-Jace! Yeah. Max is my brother like how Jace is yours.' He smiled, Max could see that he was pleased with himself for coming up with that –obvious, in Max' opinion- example.

'But Jace is not my brother,' Maxwell stated matter-of-factly. The older Lightwood siblings gasped in shock. 'Max!' Izzy exclaimed. 'How can you say such things!'

'But it's true!' Max defended. 'He's adopted, we're not related!' The Lightwoods seemed to be at a loss for words, all they could do was gawp at their little brother. Wow, Max thought, there are definitely some issues in this family. Rafael was the one to speak up and intervene by placing a hand on the youngest Lightwood's shoulder in an I'm-older-than-you-and-more-knowledgeable-so-let-me explain-it-to-you-you-little-child manner. It was something he'd picked up some time ago from Raziel knows where, and he loved to use it on Max. Having understood the meaning of the gesture, Maxwell shook off Rafael's hand with an irritated look. Rafael shrugged in indifference, but his expression grew serious as he spoke: 'So what, Max. Maxwell. Lightwood. Who cares that Jace is adopted. I'm adopted, and so is Max. And do you think that our parents love us less than if we were their biological offsprings? Of course not! Cause guess what, that doesn't work in a gay relationship. Blood doesn't mean family, Max, and it definitely doesn't mean love. Dios Mio! Do you think, that if it was true, Max would've been abandoned in front of the shadowhunters academy as a baby by his mother, knowing damn well what could've, or would've happened to him? Do you think, that our father would've left me alone, starving in that dark and dirty alley in Buenos Aires, haunted by all the monsters and demons that I could see? I wouldn't trade my family for the one I don't remember, and Max wouldn't trade it for the cold hearted mother he's never known. Family doesn't start, and does it end, in blood, Max. It's created by love, and without it, there wouldn't be a family. If you still think that you need anything else than love to be a family, then you couldn't be more wrong.' At the end of his speech, the Lightwood siblings were silent. Max glanced at Alec and Izzy, checking their reaction. Alec seemed shocked, but Max could see the pride in his eyes and perhaps a hint of pity. Izzy on the other hand was wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. Aah, Max thought. Typical aunt Izzy. Always a sucker for a good sob story. Though Max didn't consider his past worthy to be called a tragic back story. Yeah, he got abandoned by some mundane woman. But he doesn't remember it and he now has a loving family. In his opinion, being abandoned was probably one of the best things that could've happened to him.

Rafael's story, on the other hand, was much more of a sob story. Too young to remember his last family, but old enough to be traumatized and still be haunted by the nightmares. Isabelle took a step forward and pulled her not-nephew into a tight hug. And while the air inside Rafael's lungs was being squeezed out by Isabelle's hug, Max turned to face his younger namesake and asked: 'Do you love Jace?'

Maxwell looked down, shifting his feet, and shrugged.

'Let me rephrase that. If Jace was to be hurt, would you worry?'

Maxwell nodded, still staring at the ground.

'If he'd leave, would you miss him?'

Maxwell hesitated, then nodded.

'As much as you'd miss Alec or Izzy?

It took him longer to answer this time, but he nodded nevertheless.

'If that's so, doesn't it mean that you see him as a brother, or at least view him as someone with equal importance to you as Izzy and Alec?'

'Yeah, I think so.'

Max grinned, proud to have gotten the kid in front of him to realize that he did think of the narcissistic blond as his brother. It didn't take Izzy long to pull him into the hug. Max enjoyed the hug, even though he couldn't breathe. Who needed air anyways?

.

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.

'Since we're in the training room,' Alec started, interrupting the moment the boys were having with Izzy, 'we should probably do some training.' Izzy sighed as she released the boys. 'Can't you see that we were having a moment, here, Alec?' She groaned.

'As a matter of fact, I did', Alec said with a smug smile on his lips. 'But I could also see that Max has grown since the last time we've seen him, and I'd like to see if his time in Mumbai has paid off.'

'Mumbai?' Rafael asked. 'What were you doing in Mumbai?' Max too was quite confused, No one mentioned Mumbai being part of the family history. Maxwell brightened at the mention of Mumbai. 'I went there to study and train with others', Maxwell said, smiling fondly at the memories. 'It was great! I've learned so much.'

'So much indeed,' Izzy grinned. 'Max, why don't you tell them why you're back early?' Maxwell's cheeks flushed red. Alec looked frowning down at his brother. 'I thought you were back early for the wedding?' The wedding. Just the mention of it made Max's stomach turn. There's no way he'd let his not-father marry someone other than Magnus. But the subject was soon forgotten as the conversation went on.

'I got in trouble,' Maxwell said, shuffling his feet.

'Trouble? what kind of trouble?' Alec asked, his voice filled with concern.

'I got hungry so I tried to draw the Nourishment rune, but I confused it with the heat rune, and I may have set fire to the Institute.' Upon hearing Max's confession, the Lightwood-Bane brothers doubled over in laughter. Alec started to laugh too after overcoming his shock. 'It's not that funny', Maxwell pouted in embarrassment. 'Oh, no no no no no,' Rafael assured Max, his laughter dying down as he tried to catch his breath. 'There's nothing to be embarrassed of. It's just that these things usually happen to Max and me, and everyone always says that only we manage to end every project in some kind of hazard. We've accidentally started two fires in the Institute, Max set fire to our apartment-'

'That only happened because you distracted me while I was trying to summon the cat-demon you wanted!' Max interrupted. If Rafael was telling stories, he'd better tell them right. 'Oh! And there was this incident at the LA Institute where we filled the entire living room with snow and turned the hallways into ice rinks.'

'Once again, you were the one that wanted to reenact Frozen. Not Tavvy, not me, you .' The Lightwoods were laughing at their bickering and its context. Alec was the first one to recover. 'Okay, okay, guys, stop bickering. You can vent out your frustrations during the training.' He turned to his sister. 'Izzy, can you go get the training swords?' She nodded and went to fetch the swords.

'But what about Max?' Maxwell asked.

'What about Max?' Alec asked.

'Well, he's a Warlock. Does he need or know how to do shadowhunter training?'

Again with the prejudice. Max was getting sick of shadowhunters thinking that he couldn't do what they did just because he's a warlock. 'Of course he-' Rafael stopped when Max placed a hand on his arm. He didn't need his brother to fight his battles, he could handle it himself. 'As a matter of fact, I do know how to train the way shadowhunters do.' Max said, trying to imitate his father's so called smiling bitch face. 'I have been trained with my brother by the best shadowhunters way longer than you, so don't get too cocky, cause I can beat you in an instance.'

'Prove it,' Max challenged, showing off his Lightwood arrogance and competitiveness.

'You're on, bitch.'

'Max!' Izzy exclaimed, dumping the wooden training swords at her feet. 'Language!'

'But Raf says it too!' Max whined, instantly shattering his cool kid act.

'Rafael isn't allowed to say it either,' Alec said, using the same voice as their father would whenever he's scolding them. 'And Rafael-' he looked Rafael sternly in the eye- 'you need to set a good example for your brother.'

'It's not like it's a bad thing!' Rafael protested. 'And you guys say it too!'

'That's because we're older,' Isabelle said, pulling the classic age card to settle the matter.

'Language isn't about age, it's about expressing yourself in the way you want.' Rafael retorted, being the smart-ass that he was.

'Okay, enough,' Alec declared, putting an end to their squabble. He turned his attention to the two Maxes. 'Now how about you both show us what you know.' He picked up two wooden swords and handed one to the both of them. 'Remember, this is just a training, and I expect you both to fight fair.' The two nodded.

'Good. Now take your positions.'

Max rolled his shoulders. Grinning, he looked the younger boy in the eye. 'I'll go easy on you.'

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.

The sky was already darkening when Magnus portalled into the Institute's library again. After a day of searching and reading in the Spiral Labyrinth, he was ready to fall face down onto a couch and sleep for a week. With the help of Tessa, Catarina and a couple of scholars, he'd been able to create a portal that made interdimensional travel possible without it being an accident. Magnus had never been more grateful for those stuck up magic nerds. The first person Magnus saw as he stumbled out of the portal was Clary. She immediately rushed to his side, preventing him from facepalming into the carpet. He thanked her. Magnus doubted that he'd manage to get up if he'd fall, and he'd rather not be seen passed out, probably drooling on the ground. He had a reputation to uphold.

'By the Angel, you look horrible, Magnus!' Clary exclaimed as she brought them over to the couch. 'Thanks, biscuit, what nice of you to say that', Magnus groaned.

Clary blushed in embarrassment. 'I didn't mean it l-'

'I'm just messing with you, I know that I look terrible.' Magnus reassured her. He'd never thought that he would ever speak those words. 'It's hard to maintain a perfect appearance when you're trying to invent a new kind of portal while you're surrounded by know-it-all scholars and constantly worrying about your children at the same time.'

'Did you find anything?' Clary asked hesitantly.

'Yes, we did,' Magnus answered with a proud smile. 'We, well mostly Tessa and I, managed to create a portal that'll allow us to travel through the dimensions.'

Clary beamed. 'That's-'

'But,' Magnus interrupted. His face grave and tired. There's always a 'but'. 'If what Simon said is true, then there are billions- no, an infinite amount of different universes. I may be immortal, but even I do not have the time to check every single one of them.' Clary's face fell, and knowing what her next question will be, Magnus shook his head. 'We still haven't found a way to locate them yet. I wanted to keep on searching, but Tessa and Catarina kicked me out of the Labyrinth, insisting that I'd rest.'

'And they're absolutely right,' Clary agreed. 'You're in no shape to do anything helpful right now. You can continue after you've slept till dawn, at least.'

Magnus nodded, not capable of disagreeing. 'Where's Alec,' he asked.

'Resting in his old room,' Clary answered. 'Jace dragged him there after he worked himself to the bone and then decided to vent out his frustrations and worries by sparring with Jace. He basically passed out in the training room out of overexertion.'

Magnus cursed. 'And he told me to look after myself.' He sighed. 'I should've to give them to him sooner,' he thought out loud.

'Give what to him,' Clary asked, not understanding what he meant. Magnus pulled out two crystals out of his pocket: one blue, one red. Both had a leather cord around them so that they could be worn as a necklace.

'What are those?' Clary asked, unable to take her eyes off the shining crystals in Magnus' hand.

'They were supposed to be Alec's birthday present,' Magnus answered. He sighed. 'The boys are growing up, they'll be wanting to go out hunting for demons like any other reckless shadowhunter, and you know how Alec gets. He'll be constantly worried about their safety and will probably end up getting in the way. That's why I made these, they're connected to the boy's life force. The blue one's Max and the red one's Rafael. If one of them is physically wounded, the crystal's color will start to fade. And if it becomes life-threatening, the crystal will start to flicker. When we found out that they were gone, Max's crystal was almost clear and Raf's was dull. I swear, I almost fainted. Or vomited. Maybe both.'

'But the crystals are shining red and blue. Does that mean-'

'Yes, biscuit. It means that they're healed now. And thank God for that, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if my children died somewhere in another dimension while I'm incapable of saving them, or at least help in any way. It also means that they're taken care of, or at least unharmed. I can only hope that it'll still be that way until we find a way to bring them home.' Magnus pocketed the crystals and tried to stand up. His head started spinning immediately and he almost fell back onto the couch. Almost. But he forced himself to go on, he was not about to embarrass himself again in front of Clary. He bade her good night and with a great amount of effort, he managed to drag himself to Alec's bedroom. The light of the hallway shone into the room, illuminating Alec's sleeping figure. Magnus stood at the doorway and took a moment to admire his boyfriend's peaceful appearance. He then closed the door behind him as quietly as he could and tiptoed to the bed. He'd been pretty quiet in his opinion, but then again, Alec had alway been a light sleeper.

'Magnus?' Alec mumbled with his eyes closed, his voice drowsy. ''S that you?'

'Yes, Alexander, it's me', Magnus responded softly. He sat down on the bed and pulled the crystals out of his pockets before snapping his fingers to remove the makeup and change into his nightwear. He randomly picked one of the two crystals and pulled it over Alec's head.

'What's this?' Alec asked. He opened one eye to look at the crystal.

'It's a gift, Alexander', Magnus answered, pulling the other crystal over his own head before laying himself down beside his boyfriend.

'Tis blue.' Was Alec's only comment.

Magnus chuckled. 'Yes, it is.'

'C'mere' Alec groaned, pulling Magnus towards him. They fell asleep in each other's arms. Foreheads touching, legs entangled, and the two crystals shining softly between them.