So sorry for not updating yesterday, my internet was not working :P But here's the new chapter! And I really hope you like it :)
I'm sorry for the last chapter being an Author's Note...I've deleted it now, but sorry if I made you think it was a new chapter :P
Anyways, thanks for those who read chapter 34! :D You guys are awesome :) And thanks to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed :)
There's an important note at the end, so please check it out ;)
I own nothing
Alec and Magnus reached Karen's doorstep and they both noticed her car was in the driveway, which meant she was back from work and from picking up all the kids from their own schools. Magnus climbed off his car and Alec followed. They were both silent as they approached the main door. They had left everyone else back at Clary's and Simon's neighborhood. They had wanted to know what had happened, but Magnus wasn't feeling up to talking, so he promised them to tell them some time later. He still had a lot of things to process and he needed time to decide if he wanted to believe Connor or not.
"Thank you…for being there and all" Magnus said softly when they stopped outside the door.
"No need to thank me" Alec said shrugged
"I…I'll see you tomorrow" Magnus started turning to open the door.
"Are you sure? Don't you want me to stay?" Alec asked quickly "I can stay if you want me to"
"I'll be alright" Magnus said
"And are we?" Alec asked quietly "You and I…are we alright?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Magnus frowned confused
"I thought you were mad at me" Alec shrugged looking down at his shoes "For not wanting to go and talk to Connor…I promised to be there for you and when you wanted to I refused and I…I just-"
"Alec, darling, shut up" Magnus said fondly "I'm not mad at you"
"You're not?" Alec asked hopefully looking up at him
"Of course not" Magnus shook his head "You were there for me just like you promised…I wouldn't have been able to talk to him if you hadn't been there, holding my hand and assuring me everything would be alright"
"But now…" Alec trailed off
"It's not that I don't wanna be with you right now" Magnus explained "But I just need some time to…think about everything. There's a lot of things Connor said that are hard to believe and I need time to think…"
"That's alright, I understand" Alec nodded "Just…promise me you'll call if you need anything"
"I promise you" Magnus nodded and then leaned down to peck Alec on the lips. Alec returned the pressure before pulling away. They smiled at each other before parting.
"Wait!" Magnus called before Alec left.
"What?" Alec asked turning around to look at him.
"How are you going back home?" Magnus asked "You don't have a car"
"I thought I could just walk" Alec said
"No, not happening" Magnus shook his head "I'm not letting you walk all the way to your home…do you know how dangerous the streets can be?"
"I'm pretty sure I'll be fine" Alec rolled his eyes but smiled fondly at his boyfriend "I can take care of myself"
"I know you do darling" Magnus said walking closer to him "But I'm still not risking it…take my car"
"Magnus, I can't take your car!" Alec exclaimed refusing to take the keys his boyfriend was offering him "You might need it"
"I probably won't need it until tomorrow and by then you can come pick me up and we'll be fine" Magnus shrugged offering the keys to Alec once more.
"Are you sure?" Alec asked taking the keys carefully
"Of course" Magnus grinned "Come early tomorrow, we can go to get some breakfast and then we'll make your video"
"Alright…sounds like a plan" Alec smiled.
They kissed once more before parting ways. Magnus walked inside the house as Alec pulled over the driveway and drove away. Magnus sighed once he was inside his own home and pulled off his jacket and shoes. He left the jacket on the hanger and the shoes near the door before making his further inside the house. Soft music reached his ears as he approached the kitchen door. Walking inside, he could hear Karen singing softly to herself while she prepared the dinner. He could hear the twins playing videogames in the living room and Charlie's own music coming from upstairs, but it still didn't distract him from the sound of Karen's soft and melodic voice as she sang along to the songs playing on her radio. And for some reason, his eyes started filling with tears and everything that he had feeling came crumbling down. He hadn't cried since the breakdown he had after his father had visited. He refused to cry. He had allowed himself a moment of weakness that day, but it wasn't happening again. Magnus hated to cry and he barely let himself do it…but now, after everything that had happened, it all just came crushing down. Suddenly air wasn't enough for him and it was as if his lungs couldn't get enough oxygen. He felt cold and alone and he just wanted to curl up and cry while warm arms embraced him.
"Magnus?" Karen asked, noticing him in the doorway of the kitchen. Seeing how pale Magnus looked and how he was about to burst in tears she turned off the stove where she had been cooking and rushed to Magnus's side "Magnus? Sweetie what's wrong?"
"M-Mom…" Magnus said softly and tears started to fall.
Karen quickly embraced him and pulled him against him. Magnus wrapped his arms around her frame tightly and buried his face in her shoulders, sobbing and crying uncontrollably. Karen robbed his back and head with her hands and tried to sooth him.
"It's alright baby" Karen whispered in his ear "You're alright…I'm here…you're fine"
Magnus continued to sob against her shoulder and just kept holding on tighter. He felt as if everything around his was falling and crumbling down and he needed something to hold on unto or he would fall as well.
"Come on Magnus" Karen said softly "Let's get you to your room and then we can talk, alright?"
Magnus nodded, still crying but trying to stop the tears. Karen leaned away from him, still keeping him at arm's length so she could hug him easily. Magnus refused to let go of her arms, not daring to stop any physical contact. Karen smiled sadly at him. She moved one of her hands to touch his cheek and trailed her fingers down his jaw and chin. She tried to keep her own tears at bay, her own heart hurting at seeing Magnus so broken and desperate. She cleaned the tears away from his cheeks and then leaned up in her tiptoes to kiss his eyelids. She then guided him upstairs and towards his room. She then directed him towards his bed and made him sit down. She moved to his closet and pulled out something more comfortable to wear. She sighed when she saw all the tight clothes and shirts and jackets. She didn't know how Magnus could wear all those clothes and be comfortable, but she loved his style and how radiant Magnus looked when he wore every single outfit. She searched for a moment, trying to find some sweatpants or hoodies, but there was none.
"You need more comfortable clothes" Karen chuckled, but then decided to pull out some pajamas pants. After looking for a moment, she found a black sweatshirt. It was a lot bigger for Magnus's frame, and it looked rather old and the color was fading on the sleeves.
"What's this?" Karen asked showing the sweatshirt to Magnus.
"It's Alec" Magnus murmured "forgot to give it back"
"Already stealing clothes from each other" Karen smiled "I think it's sweet"
"It's such an ugly sweater" Magnus wrinkled his nose, but there was no real malice behind his voice.
His cries had calmed down now. His body still jumped with a few dry sobs now and then, but no new tears were running down his cheeks. His eyes, however, they were red and puffy, and all his make-up was running down his cheeks. Karen smiled sadly at him and handed him the clothes she had selected.
"Change into this" Karen ordered him "I'll be right back"
"Where are you going?" Magnus asked quickly, his eyes widening and already panicking at the thought of Karen leaving him.
"It's alright, I'm not going far" Karen soothed "I'll just tell Charlie to finish getting dinner and to eat with the kids"
"A-And…you'll come back?" Magnus asked quietly
"Of course" Karen smiled.
She moved closer to him and then kissed his forehead fondly. She told him once more to change into the pajama pants and Alec's sweatshirt before leaving the room. She found Charlie instantly. She was peering by her bedroom's door, Alice and Danni behind her. The twins and Nick were on the staircase. They all looked at Karen a bit guilty at being found spying on them, but they didn't move away. Karen sighed and gestured for everyone to get inside the girls' room. Once everyone was inside, she closed to door and turned to face everyone.
"Is Magnus alright?" Danni asked
"Why was he crying?" Alice asked with a frowned.
"Your brother is having a really bad time right now" Karen explained softly "He's alright, but he needs to cry and get it all out of his system"
"I don't like it when someone cries" Nick said sadly
"You don't have to worry angel" Karen said fondly, smiling at Nick "Magnus will be fine, I'm sure he'll tell you himself once he's feeling better…but until then, don't bother him alright?"
"Is he coming out of his room?" One of the twins asked
"I don't know" Karen shook her head "But I need you guys to eat dinner and go to bed, alright? I'll be with Magnus if you need me…Charlie, could you please finish dinner? Everything already on the stove"
"Of course" Charlie nodded
"Thank you" Karen smiled at everyone and then left the room and went back to Magnus's room.
The door was closed from where she had closed it behind her after she left. She knocked twice and waited for an answer. There was a small and quiet 'come in' from inside and Karen pushed the door open, peering inside carefully. Magnus was curled on his bed, wearing the more comfortable clothes and staring at the wall with empty eyes.
Karen's heart broke all over again. This was not her Magnus. This was not her son. The Magnus she knew and loved was always happy and radiant. He wore bright colors and had a mischievous smirk and a dashing grin and eyes that sparkled with excitement and joy. But now…now there was nothing but dull pain reflected on those beautiful emerald-golden eyes and Karen wanted to just take all his pain away.
She moved closer and gesture for Magnus to give her some space in the bed. He moved away, making space for her and she climbed into the bed. She spread a blanket over both of their bodies and then she wrapped her arms around him. He leaned against her touch, resting his ear on her chest and listening to her heartbeat.
"I went to see Connor" Magnus whispered "He is my step-brother"
"What happened?" Karen asked "Did he do something?"
"No" Magnus shook his head "We just talked"
"Did you alone?" Karen asked
"No" Magnus shook his head once more "Alec, his siblings, Simon and Clary were there…"
"What did you talked about?" Karen whispered.
And so Magnus started talking. He recounted every single word that had been spoken that afternoon in the park on Clary's and Simon's neighborhood. He told her everything that Connor had said, how he had reacted, what Alec had said, and every single detail. At some point tears started to run down his cheeks once more, but he didn't sob. They were just silent tears.
"A-And now…" Magnus's voice finally broke "now I don't know what to think"
"What does your heart tell you?" Karen asked softly.
"What?" Magnus asked confused.
"What does your heart tell you is the right thing?" Karen asked again "You can overthink every single detail of what has happened over and over again trying to find the 'rational' thing to do about the whole situation…but in the end, all that matters is what your heart says you want"
"So…you're telling me to stop thinking about it so much?" Magnus asked confused.
"I'm telling you to stop thinking about what should be the right thing to do" Karen said patiently "I know you Magnus, I know the way you think…you think that you should hate your father, that you should stay mad at him for what he did. You think he doesn't deserve your time and you think it shouldn't affect you so much…but what is it that you really want? Do you want to keep on hating him forever?"
"No" Magnus whispered, surprised at his own admission "I-I…I don't"
"What do you want?" Karen asked gently.
"I want my dad" Magnus said so quietly Karen almost didn't hear him "I want someone to be there to call my dad…I want what Connor has"
"That's it then" Karen said with a smile "Go get that. Don't let yourself suffer and chase what you want"
"But Karen…" Magnus said hugging Karen tighter "You will always be my family…The kids and you, I don't want to leave you…it doesn't matter that my father came back…I still want to be your son"
"Oh Magnus" Karen said kissing the top of his head "You will always be my son"
"Are we still going through the adopting process?" Magnus asked quietly
"Of course" Karen smiled "It's almost done…we just need for your father to retire his request to adopt you and the paperwork will be handed over to us"
"Do you think it'll happen?" Magnus asked
"I'll organize a meeting with your father to talk it all over" Karen said "But don't worry your pretty little head about it…we're always be a family."
Thanks for reading! :) Lemme know what you think with your reviews and follows and favorites! :D Sorry for all the angst :S
IMPORTANT NOTE:
I am hosting a contest. It is called "Malec Christmas Challenge" and anyone who feels like it can join!
There will be two categories in which you can participate:
-One-Shot category
-Multiple-chapter category
I created a whole forum for people to sign in and join the challenge, so if you're interested you can check out the rules there and join
Here's the link:
fanfiction .net (/) forum (/) Malec (-) Christmas (-) Challenge (/) 163817 (/)
There are prices for those who win on each category! So check it out and join! :D
Thanks!
xxX