Heya!
So thisi s a LOT shorter, but it just felt like an appropriate place to finish.
Secondly: we are at 94 reviews, nearly 100, so... if I get to 100 before next chapter, your reviewed wishes may come true... and I will send a snippet to the 100th reviewer, if they have an account.
Enjoy!
Lu xxx (reviews at the end)
Magnus had had enough. He was going to get his shit together and at least try to talk to Alec about everything. They had both been a bit stupid, Magnus more than Alec, and the kids deserved it for them to at least talk it out, or something… in hindsight he probably should have thought it out a bit more, what he was going to say, because he was in the lift on the way to Alec's apartment.
When he'd arrived back home the previous night, he'd been in a little bit of a panic, because when he'd gone to pick up Will from the Institute he hadn't been there, and even worse, Hodge hadn't seen him at all – and that man was eagle eyed. But soon after he'd picked up the phone, flicking through countless messages asking him what on earth had happened and what the hell the whole scene had been about, he'd come across a voicemail from Will saying that he would be staying overnight with Alec, and that he'd need picking up at about ten the next morning from his apartment, which he gave the address for, because Alec needed to get back to the hospital as soon as he good because there was 'some sort of family crisis going on or something'.
So now he was on the way up to collect Will, and he'd decided he was going to talk to Alec as well.
The whole lift was polished metal, lit with white lights that made the whole place shine and hurt Magnus's eyes. It made him wonder what Alec had managed to do to get a place like this – the last time he had seen him they'd been living in a less than brilliant and quite small place. What the man had been up to since then was a mystery to Magnus, but he must have been doing something pretty interesting and exciting to get this place. Or maybe he had just saved up – he'd always been doing that, putting a load to the side for at the time their future which had never happened. The thought threatened to put Magnus in a bad place so he stopped his mind wandering down that road and began trying to script what he was going to say.
'Hey Alec, how've you been?'
'Hello, I know I'm just here to fetch Will, but could we have a word whilst I'm here?'
'Alec…long time no see!'
'I guess we can't escape each other, can we?'
And then the lift doors opened. Magnus took in a deep breath, stepped forwards and knocked on the door.
It opened after a few moments, and then there was Alec. Alec, with those blue eyes, the blue eyes that had enchanted Magnus for such a long time, that he had missed for eight years, the eyes that spilled with emotion but had closed off at the end, the eyes that were the blue of the sea at twilight, the colour that had filled Magnus's dreams and haunted him at first, and then turned up occasionally now that it had been so long, and was a comfort. The colour that had lurked in the bushes or his imagination, he wasn't sure which, the day before, the day he had nearly made the second most stupid decision of his life. The eyes which loosing had been the most so. He gulped.
"Ummm…hi?"
"Hey."
"Ummm… I'm here to get Will…"
"Uh, yeh, sure, just… just let me get him."
He disappeared into the apartment, and Magnus sighed, ran a hand through his hair and leant his back against the cold wall, metal or tiled he couldn't tell, letting the muffled voices from inside fly over his head.
It took Alec a couple of seconds to fully accept that Magnus Bane was standing in his doorway, and to get over the shock of him turning up unannounced. He'd looked nervous and uneasy, and not like the Magnus he remembered at all; instead of glitter and colour and perfect, nearly excessive makeup, he looked like he'd thrown on a pair of (albeit fashionable) baggy jeans, a plain jumper and combed his hair, which was falling around in his eyes – just his eyes. Not even eyeliner, which Magnus always swore by. Of course, Alec had thought he was perfect, and still did, whatever, but the whole thing just screamed at Alec that something was not right.
"Ummm...hi?"
He looked awful. Well, he looked like he felt awful. Magnus could never look awful.
"Hey."
"Ummm…I'm here to get Will…"
Will. Of course. Will. How could it not have been Will? How could he not have seen it coming?
"Uh, yeh, sure, just… just let me get him."
And he turned back into the apartment to have a little chat with his eldest son.
Magnus opened his eyes, which at some point he had squeezed shut, as the door opened again and Alec came out. At this point Magnus got a full view of him – and was a little stunned. Alec had changed. Like, seriously changed. His defined muscles had always been there, but he was showing them off in a tight, black, long sleeved shirt and skinny – but not skin tight – black jeans. He couldn't help but feel a little bit proud that his – no, no his, just – Alec had started caring more about his appearance, and had flattered himself instead of covering himself up in ratty sweaters.
"I've told Will to get his suit that he was wearing yesterday and to help Max clean up the mess they've made, so he should be out soon."
"Okay."
They stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a while, heads bowed down, avoiding each others gaze, until finally Magnus had had enough of it.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out wildly. Alec looked up with very wide eyes, fast, straight at him.
"What?!"
"I'm sorry. For not listening to you, for putting us in this mess."
"Magnus, what are you talking about?!" But he looked like he knew.
"That night. That goddamned, awful night. You said…" He sniffed, "You said that we should have worked things out. And you're right. We should have. For us. For the boys. But I wouldn't listen, and know look at us. Barely even speaking."
Alec was stood with his mouth hanging ever so slightly open. Then he pulled himself together.
"No, it's not… it's my fault. If it hadn't been away all the time, it would never have gotten to that point…"
"And I overreacted Alec… if I hadn't have been so stroppy about it, the whole thing…urgh. This whole thing is so messed up…"
Alec stood there, back to looking characteristically terrified.
"Magnus…could we try and fix this? I mean, I don't know if it's rescue-able but… but I think that the boys might deserve it for us to at least be civil and talk…"
"I would love to, Alexander…" Alec flinched at the use of his full name, "And, and Will and Max do deserve it…we could try and be at least friends, and kind of see where that goes…If you want, I mean, if you just wanna kind of chat to work out where the boys are gonna stay and…"
Alec grabbed his hands, and he felt a shiver run up his spine at the touch of him again.
"I'd be more than happy to be friends. And if you want to be more than friends… we could see where it goes?"
Magnus smiled. Alec put his hands on his shoulders.
"Yesterday…I guess the boys told you about yesterday?" Alec nodded, "Yesterday, it was kind of an eye opener. And it made me realise how much I had missed you, and how much I needed you. I mean, I'd already really known it but… but I don't know. Something about what happened yesterday just made it seem…just made it seem really important."
"Well… something happened to me yesterday too and…and it made me realise that you have to value what you have. You don't know when you might lose it, you don't realise how fragile it is. So I want to hold onto this, whatever we have left, before we have nothing."
Alec had lowered his hands, and looked like he was about to cry. It was Magnus's turn now to take the other man's hands in his own.
"Alec…are you…what happened yesterday?"
"Oh, it's nothing…"
Magnus raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
"Izzy…well…she's…"
Magnus felt alarm bells ring – Alec had always been really, really protective of his family, they had meant the world to him, and clearly still did – so anything bad happening to one of them was big, and he knew immediately, remembered immediately, that it would be a very stupid idea to push it any further, and that he should just drop it straight away. So he did.
"Okay, okay, forget I asked. So…do you wanna, I don't know, go to the park or something tomorrow? After work, of course."
"Um…sure. I'll send the boys to Clary and Jace's, and I'll meet you in our spot at say, six?"
"Yeh, sounds good. Just to catch up, you know, get to know each other again, and that. And I need to sort something out with Max too, if that's alright? I think I need to get to know him, seeing as you have gotten to know Will."
Alec smiled and nodded, and just then Will and Max burst through the door, Will with a coat hanger draped casually over his shoulder and Max looking a bit nervous. Magnus waved at him.
"Hi Max."
Max waved back at him but stayed quiet and timid. Will walked over to his dad and smiled at him. Magnus grinned back.
"Well, we had probably better be off then, but I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep. See you at six!"
"See you at six."
Magnus waved over his shoulder and then with his hand on Will's back guiding him forward led him into the elevator and pressed the button that would whisk them away to the lobby. He turned just at the last moment, and saw Alec alone, Max probably having disappeared back into the apartment, smiling at him wistfully and almost it appeared subconsciously, clearly in a far away place, and it made Magnus's heart flutter just a little bit.
Torrow. Tomorrow at six. In their place.
Magnus's heart fluttered again when he realised that.
Our.
Our.
If there was an 'our'…was their still a them?
Soooooo...
Please review! Also, shoutout to all of the people who follow/favourite this story - YOU ARE EPIC!
Lanidays - more for you! xxx
Hotlight - again, inspiration from you! and thanks for the review, it made me smile :) xxx
Cheesekun - glad you are enjoyingit and nice to see a new reader! xxx
L'amore - why thank you! and it is a waiting game in terms of Izzy (ie. I am still not sure how that is going to end!) xxx
Guest - why yes. And now another :) xxx
Lu xxx