Thank you for all of the reviews, and I apologize for how late this was.
Please enjoy.
Alec waited patiently for his parents' response, glancing at Max as he did so. The boy seemed to be indifferent about what was about to come, but at the same time, he had a bit of a fearful look in his eyes.
"Relationship?" his mother said, shocked. "With each other?"
Alec turned away from Max, looking at his mother with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "What? No, I'm not in a relationship with- No, I'm dating Magnus?" Alec said more as a question. "I'm not dating Max."
"And I have feelings for someone else as well," Max said quietly, halfway hoping his parents didn't hear.
"Oh thank God," Maryse said, looking relieved and placing her hand on her husbands arm. "I thought that you meant you two were together. Alexander, try to be more clear with your wording."
"So you're okay with it? With us?" he asked, Max watching carefully.
"Well," Robert cut in before his wife could say anything, "is there any possible way that this will change?"
"No," Alec and Max said simultaneously.
The burly man across the table shrugged, "Then we are fine with it, aren't we Maryse?" he said, turning his attention to his wife.
"Uhm, yes. We are," she said reluctantly, not bothering to look at her two sons.
Max could feel his lips spread into a bright smile. When he turned to look, a similar expression was on Alec's face.
The room was quiet for a moment, Max and Alec both smiling, Robert and Maryse staring meaningfully into each other's eyes, and Jace and Isabelle both looking around the table, waiting for someone to speak.
"May I be excused?" Alec asked after another moment, surprising everyone with his suddenness.
"Yes," Maryse said. "You may all be excused."
Max got up from his chair, hurrying up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door, locking it behind him before walking over to his desk.
At the moment, he had all of his poems picked out and laid perfectly in a row. He had slipped one into Tal's jacket pocket before they separated after school, and he hoped that Tal would see it before it was washed. He was sure to sign it with just a small "M. L." instead of his full name. He knew it wouldn't be hard for Tal decipher who had put it there, but at the same time, he wanted to keep it a secret until Saturday.
Max's thoughts were interrupted as a knock on the door sounded throughout the room. He slowly rose out of his chair and went to the door, opening it a fraction. "Yes?" he said, staring up into the face of his older brother Jace.
"Let's talk, Max," he said, pushing on the door, but Max held it closed as best as he could.
"What about?" he asked, not wanting Jace to see his newly acquired taste for poetry. He knew that would just lead to embarrassment.
Jace sighed, "Oh you know, the weather, the local sports teams, the usual," he said with thick sarcasm.
"Jace, I don't have time for this, so if you'll excuse me..." Max said, making to close the door, but Jace's hand caught the wooden barrier in one swift motion.
"I was just kidding, Max. Please let me in?" he asked in soft, pleading tone.
Max sighed, not being able to deny a Jace that was actually serious for once. "Okay," he said, opening the door and allowing his blonde brother in.
They both stood in the room for a moment waiting for the other to speak. "Well?" Max finally said, watching as Jace walked over to his desk and picked up one of the poems, reading it quickly before setting it back down.
"Poetry?" Jace said, avoiding the subject.
"Yes," Max said, clenching his teeth a little.
Jace raised his eyebrows, nodding his head slowly. "So, Max, now that you and Alec are both out, you seem to be bonding quite well," Jace said casually, looking at his younger brother closely.
"I suppose so," Max said, sitting on his bed with his legs folded beneath him.
"I've never noticed how distant the two us are, and I was wondering if maybe we could change that?" Jace said, looking nonchalantly indifferent.
"If you wish to do so, I could make an effort as well."
Jace smiled, not like his usual smirk that he put on for the world, just a sort of smile that made him look generally happy, "I'm glad, Max. And, I'm, uh, sorry I haven't been a very good brother for you."
"That's okay, Alec has made up for that," Max said, not meaning it to be harsh, but more honest.
"Right," Jace said, opening the door. "You want to go to the movies Friday night? Just you and me?"
Max smiled, knowing that Jace just wanted to be a good brother, "That would be nice."
"Cool," Jace smiled, walking out of the bedroom.
At least this weekend would be new and exciting for Max, with the movies with Jace and the Saturday night with Tal. Max couldn't wait.
(Line Break)
Magnus was sitting on his bed, playing with the skin on his bare stomach when his phone rang. "Hello, Magnus speaking."
"I came out to my parents," came his boyfriend's shy, yet ecstatic voice.
Magnus said up, shocked. "How did it go?" he asked, though from the tone Alec was using, he could tell it went well.
"They were okay with it. They said if it wasn't going to change, they would be okay with it. Isn't that great?" Alec whispered.
"Yes, that's wonderful. Did Max come out as well?" Magnus asked, relaxing back against his bed and pulling at his stomach again. He didn't know why, but his skin was very soft today.
"Yeah. The reason we did is because my dad is leaving tomorrow for something or another. I even told them we're dating," Alec said in a hushed tone. His voice sounded like it was echoing, but Magnus couldn't be sure.
"How did they react to that?" Magnus said with a smirk, knowing that the Lightwood parents weren't particularly fond of him.
Alec was quiet for a moment, "I'm not sure if they even registered what I said. They didn't comment on that part."
Magnus laughed, "I'm sure they wouldn't be too incredibly fond of the fact that their son is shagging someone like me. You know, glittery and sexy," he said in a smooth voice.
Alec scoffed, and Magnus almost swore he could feel Alec blushing through the phone, "We aren't...shagging," he whispered.
Magnus smiled using his free hand to trace an invisible sentence on his stomach that said, 'I love Alexander Lightwood.' "Why are you whispering, love?"
"Oh," his boyfriend said, embarrassed, "I'm sitting in the bathroom closet. Isabelle has been trying to talk to me about her date to the dance, so I told her I'm taking a bath."
"I see," Magnus purred, "So, am I still coming over to your house tomorrow?"
"If you want to," Alec said, "Mom is going to Florida to the headquarters of her job to help the manager keep from being sued. It will just be me, you and Isabelle."
"Where will Jace and Max be?" Magnus questioned, drawing his brows together.
"Jace is going over to Sebastian's house again after his baseball practice, and Max is staying after school until six for his band practice. Something about not being able to practice while finals are going on. Then he's getting a ride home from someone, so we don't have to worry about that."
"If only Isabelle would have some sort of activity that would draw her away from your home for a few hours," Magnus said with a dreamy voice.
Alec scoffed again. "If only, if only."
They talked about random topics for nearly an hour before Alec's phone beeped. "Hold on, someone is calling me."
"I bet it's Tal," Magnus said, "I gave him your number so he could call Max."
"Okay," Alec said, sounding like he was turning on the shower. "I'm going to let Max talk to him, so I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Absolutely you will. I love you, Alexander," Magnus said.
"I love you, too, Magnus," Alec said quietly, making Magnus's heart flutter. He was enjoying actually hearing those words from Alec instead of having to dream about them. Hopefully it would stay that way for a while.
(Line Break)
Alec quickly answered his cell phone even though the water in his shower was running. "Hello?"
"I'm sorry if I'm calling too late in the evening, but I, I being Tal, was wondering if I could maybe talk to Max?"
"Before you do, I would like to ask you a few things," Alec said, going into his protective older brother mode.
"Okay," Tal said, sounding a little nervous.
Alec dipped his hair into the shower, making it look like he had been taking a bath. "Do you do drugs?"
"No," Tal said firmly, sounding confident.
"How do you see Max?"
"With my eyes?" Tal said, sounding confused. Alec facepalmed, trying not to laugh.
"No, I mean do you see Max as a brother or a friend or...?" he trailed off, exiting the bathroom after shutting off the shower.
"Oh," Tal laughed nervously, "I see him as a wonderful person that I'm lucky to know. I wouldn't dare label him to just one thing. He's too special for that," Tal said quietly. "At the very least, I would see him as a friend, and possibly something more than that."
Alec smiled, happy with this response, "What are your grades like?"
"Uhm, I have all A's except for one class which is science. I have a B in that class."
"Do you use profanities?" Alec asked, walking down the hallway towards Max's room.
"Never."
"One more thing," Alec said right as Isabelle came out into the hallway, looking at him suspiciously. He just held up a finger to stop her question as he stood outside of Max's room. "If you hurt my little brother in anyway, I will personally come after you. And I must warn you, I can bench press two hundred pounds, and run the entire length of a football field at in fifteen seconds."
"Yes, sir," Tal said sounding a little scared.
Satisfied with thee response, Alec knocked on Max's door. "Max, there's someone on the phone for you."
Max opened the door after a few moments, taking the phone from Alec and closing the door again.
"Who was that?" Isabelle asked, walking with Alec down the stairs.
Alec smiled, "Tal."
"Oh," Isabelle said, wiggling her eyebrows, "What did he want?"
"Just to talk to Max," Alec said, shaking his wet hair out of his face and sitting down on the couch. Isabelle sat down next to him, twirling a bracelet between her fingers.
"Awe," she said with a goofy smile, "Anyway, now that you're out of the shower, we can talk about Simon."
Alec groaned. "Iz, I love you and all, but I'd rather not hear about your male friend."
Isabelle gave her best puppy dog eyes, but Alec didn't budge. "Fine, I'll go call Clary and talk to her about it," she huffed, walking out of the room.
Alec would give Simon the same big brother talk he had just given Tal, but he halfway knew Simon. He was a pretty nice kid that generally liked the same things as Max. And even if he did break Isabelle's heart, she would be perfectly capable of kicking his ass by herself.
(Line Break)
After Tal had spoken with Alec, he felt a little bit scared. He had never actually met Alec, but he sounded very large and intimidating.
But luckily, it was only mere seconds until Max answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Max, it's Tal."
Max sounded delighted, "Oh, hello, Tal. How are you doing?"
Tal smiled and hugged his knees to his chest with the arm that wasn't holding the phone. "I'm good. My parents said I can go to your house on Saturday."
"Cool," Max said lightly.
"Yeah..." Tal trailed off, thinking about the small poem that he had found in his jacket pocket on the bus ride home. "Max, do you like poetry?" he asked, certain that it had been Max who had stuck it there.
"Some poetry I can enjoy," Max said cautiously.
Tal nodded, then realized that Max couldn't see him. "Awesome." If Max didn't want to tell him about the poem, then Tal would play dumb. "So, Max," Tal said after an awkward bout of silence. "Isn't your 13th birthday next Tuesday?"
Max sounded surprised, "Uhm, yes. It is. How did you know?"
"Well, last year your sister picked you up from band practice and called you birthday boy. I remember because that was the day my dog had puppies," Tal explained, thinking about the puppies, and the actual dog, that his parents made him get rid of.
"Oh, that's pretty cool," Max said, and it sounded like he was smiling.
"I have a question, though. You are really smart, so you couldn't have failed, so why are you so old for your grade?"
"My parents forgot to put me in school, so they had to register me a year late. Until I had started school, I was just traveling with my mom, so she didn't think I was the age I actually was..." Max trailed off, sounding a little sad.
"That's awful," Tal said, his heart heavy with sympathy for Max.
"It's not that bad. At least I'll be eighteen far before I go to college," Max said happily.
Tal laughed along with him for a few minutes before they said their goodbyes.
Saturday couldn't come fast enough for Tal.
Sorry this was up late. If I get fifteen reviews, I'll make a special Jace/Clary, Isabelle/Simon chapter that still has lots of Malec and Max and Tal.
Please tell me what you think, and if you could, please come up with a couple name for Max and Tal, because I can't figure a good one out.
Thanks!