Life with Magnus

By Shin Sankai

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Chapter Three

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"We're heading off now!" Magnus gave the two young men a wave as he locked the front door. He always went out the back and down the alley since that was the quickest way to his loft apartment in Brooklyn.

Wiping down the last of the glasses and stacking them away, Magnus moved from behind the bar and began shutting off the lights. It was then he noticed something on the ground, where Alexander had been sitting. He walked back over and picked it up. It was the man's grey scarf. Luckily it didn't look like it had a drop of alcohol spilled on it, but just in case, he would take it home and wash it and hoped that Alexander would return in the near future so he could return it to him.

Magnus turned off the rest of the lights and made his way down the back, knocking on the office door. He listened to the mumble behind it and turned the handle opening it up. "I'm heading home." Magnus voiced as he dropped the money from the till, the cash and the receipts in a zipped bag, onto Ragnor's desk.

Ragnor was always one to stay for several hours after closing, but then his bar didn't truly have set hours for operation. It all depended on Magnus most evenings since he was the only bartender that Ragnor had right now. As long as nothing went wrong in Magnus' day job, usually the bar was open between 7 and 8 in the evening and closed between midnight and 1am Monday to Friday and then Saturday it was open from 6pm to 1 or 2 in the morning, unless clientele was slow then they'd decide to lock-up early. And Sundays was a precious day off for Magnus as no amount of money could persuade him to work seven days straight.

"Thanks for the hard work." Ragnor had been shuffling some paperwork and finally raised his eyes and took note of the scarf dangling over Magnus' shoulders. He knew exactly who it belonged to but decided not to voice a thing.

Instead he continued to gaze over at a very tired looking Magnus. His dear friend had been working a lot these past few months and when he made comment of needing to drop his hours, at first he thought he were joking, but having looked at him now, maybe it was really time to get in another helper. After all, his dear friend was usually so immaculately dressed, even if to him the black and white uniform was just so boring to wear, but his shirt was half out, his vest undone and the bow tie around his neck was gone.

"Get some rest." Magnus gave Ragnor a wave, closing the office door and then out the back he went.

He strolled down the alley, pulling his coat tighter around his slender form and couldn't help but wrap Alexander's scarf around his neck since for once he didn't have one on himself. As soon as the scarf was snug around his neck, the man's deep musk scent hit his nose making him take a deep breath in.

Magnus was pretty much on autopilot as he finally came upon the large red brick building that had been turned into exclusive and very large loft apartments. He was very fortunate to have one of them and the one with the best view of the bridge and river, if he didn't say so himself. He did after all, come from money, and it had been the only thing he had ever asked his father for, the man being his guarantor for the hefty loan on the property. That had been quite some time ago now, and Magnus was close to paying off that portion of the loan and then he would once again be free of his father.

Placing in his security code, since the front doors automatically locked after 8pm, Magnus slipped inside and made his way up the elevator to the top floor. He unlocked his door, kicked it closed as it auto-locked behind him and made his way directly to his own makeshift bar and started creating a martini for himself. He glanced down when something brushed his pant leg.

"Hello Church," He softly cooed, brushing long fingers over the purring cat who slunk away, making its way down the palely lit hallway to another section of his apartment.

With his drink mixed, Magnus made his way out onto his vast balcony, not caring that it felt even chillier up here then it did walking the deserted streets down below. He leaned against the railing, gazing upon the bridge and the lights twinkling on the water and thought over what happened this evening. It also gave him the chance to remain within his warm coat and Alexander's scarf, it still wrapped around his throat, his nose once more diving into the cotton material to smell the man's scent. Was he becoming a scent pervert?

"Magnus..." He jolted from his thoughts, turning his gaze back into his apartment where a little girl dressed in hello kitty pyjamas was rubbing at her left eye, peering sleepily over and up at him.

"Madzie..." Magnus mumbled as he darted back into his apartment, closing the wide glass sliding door and locked it. He felt insanely guilty at times as he forgot he didn't live alone anymore. "Hello there sweet pea, its very late, and you should be in bed asleep." He placed down his half drunken martini and crouched in front of the youngster.

"Catarina said you would be home at 11..." Magnus darted his gaze to the clock. It was just after 2am. He placed his hand on her head,long fingers brushing through her tousled brown hair.

"I'm sorry sweet pea, work was very busy." He didn't want to admit to the four year old that cleaning up had taken longer as he kept getting lost in his own thoughts about a certain Alexander Lightwood. "Let's get you back to bed." He picked up Madzie, carrying her back to one of the spare bedrooms in his home and tucked her back into bed. Not that he could call this room a spare bedroom anymore as it was truly Madzie's now. It was filled with her belongings from her previous home and lots of toys and bright colours on the walls too. He had wanted it to be as bright and cheerful as possible even if Madzie herself were not. Not yet anyway...

Magnus watched as her eyes fluttered closed, her tiny hand clutching some of the material of his jacket. His heart swelled with love for such an innocent child, caught in a most tragic accident which ended the life of her mother and her grandmother. He'd known both women for years and had been present when Madzie were born. She had no other living family and when Magnus received the call that there had been a horrible car crash, and she was the only survivor, he immediately wanted to begin the process of adopting her, no questions asked. There was no way he would allow her to go into the foster system and neither would he allow her to roam the streets of New York like he had. But fortunately for him, when the will was read, he was indeed named Madzie's guardian, and the adoption process was pretty smooth and seamless.

"Magnus..." His gaze dropped to Madzie's mumble, he bending to press his lips against her temple, fingers brushing lightly against her neck where scars lay. It was but a miracle she had survived is what his dear friend Catarina Loss had said. She had found out about the crash from a friend of hers at a hospital they'd been rushed to and had instantly phoned Magnus during the early hours of the morning, he rushing to Madzie's side and never rested until he watched her dark brown innocent orbs flutter open. And to think, nine months later, and here they were now, living together in his loft apartment.

"Sweet pea, please sleep well through the night." Sometimes he hated to say that to her, even if she were asleep now, but he was dead tired himself and was in dire need of a good sleep, even if he had to be up in four hours time.

It wasn't odd for him to startle awake during the wee hours of the morning as Madzie's cries echoed down the hallway as she was thrashing in her bed, in the midst of a horrible nightmare, possible flashes of the accident assaulting her. Then there was the fact some nights, he would turn over, nearly crushing the youngster who had sneaked into his bed sometime during the night. Little things like that, he was still trying to become accustomed to, but he didn't think they were doing too badly all things considering.

Magnus clicked on the night light, dousing the room in glowing stars and then crept down the hallway, passing Church who was going to slink into Madzie's bedroom as he would jump onto her bed and curl against her tiny body for extra warmth.

He opened his bedroom door and softly closed it behind him. The décor of his own room was a vast difference to Madzie's. His was decorated in blacks, reds and golds. He had the finest silk sheets on his bed, the current set were gold in colour. A variety of ornaments were displayed and a large ocean sunset framed painting was over the bed. There was a plush leather lounge, a mahogany desk and leather chair and two massive windows which overlooked the city, bridge and river as well. Then there was his vast walk in wardrobe loaded with mountains of clothing which he'd been meaning to clean out. And then lets not forget his immaculate black and white marble ensuite.

Falling face first onto his bed, head dug between four plush pillows, Magnus didn't have the strength to get changed just yet and just kicked off his shoes, listening to them lightly thud against the flooring. He closed his eyes, just for a moment he decided, as he truly needed to get changed and remove Alexander's scarf from his neck before he became too attached to it.

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Magnus darted awake when he listened to his alarm ripple through the quiet expanse of his master bedroom. He cracked open an eye, moving his hand to switch it off and then rolled onto his back looking up at the ceiling. Crap, he'd slept in his clothes and Alexander's scarf the entire night.

Rolling out of bed, Magnus darted into his ensuite and turned the taps on full, giving the water a moment to heat up as he removed all his clothing and placed them in a laundry hamper to wash later on. He ducked under the warmth as he needed to get rid of his muscle aches and to also snap the sleepiness from his body. There was much to do today and he needed to look presentable.

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Magnus dashed about his apartment, still getting ready for the day as he'd spent a little too much time in the shower. He spiked up his hair with quite a few products in it to keep it that way. His dark hair had a few purple streaks sprayed into it thanks to some powerful coloured hairspray he'd gotten a hold of. Actually he had an entire rainbow collection of coloured sprays in his large vanity cupboard. His black and purple silk shirt was unbuttoned as he ran after Madzie who thought they were playing a game of tag. Whilst he loved that she was slowly coming out of her shell from the ordeal she went through, now was not the time to be running around like this when they were going to be late!

"MADZIE!" Magnus' raised and strained voice made her freeze on the spot, her big eyes glancing up at him as he quickly buttoned his shirt, shoving it into his trousers and then placed on a deep purple crushed velvet jacket. "Sorry sweet pea, we really need to get going." He watched her frown, knowing he was going to get the silent treatment for most of today. Magnus shoved his sock covered feet into a pair of shiny and chunky buckled boots, picked up Madzie and then pried his door open. He grabbed his bag and slammed his front door shut, it letting off its usual click advising him the auto-lock worked and then he was rushing down the large and exquisite spiral staircase instead of waiting for the rather slow elevator.

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Out on the streets of Brooklyn, Magnus flew down the pavement, weaving between various other strangers heading for work or they were on their daily jog or walk with their significant other, friend or pet. How he hated running, not that he was unfit or anything, far from it in fact, but he never liked being sweaty. Well unless it was during sex but that was another story. Because at least that could be fun!

Whilst rushing down the street at lightening speed, Magnus was thankful that his business was only four blocks from his home, even if those four blocks felt like they took forever to get to some days. And then his loft apartment was only another two blocks from Ragnor's Bar which was in the other direction. Really, he had picked an excellent location for business and pleasure.

Sliding to a halt in front of an old building, it in dire need of a massive overhaul, but it was still functional in Magnus' books. He had the entire downstairs, just sharing a communal foyer area with other businesses, but never used it as he had a construction company come in and bash down some of the brick work so he could create a separate entrance to his business.

Magnus once again contemplated whether he should change the flashy and sparkly sign, not truly having an ounce of business about it, which read Warlock Day Care in sparkly gold and silver lettering. But then he wouldn't be him if he did something completely boring and normal.

Sighing in relief, Magnus opened the small gate, noticing the sliding door was slightly ajar as he knew his one and only employee was already inside. Mind you, since he finally opened this business, and still continued to work his night job at Ragnor's bar, in order to remain on top of his finances, she was always the first to arrive. The only time when he arrived first was if she had prior engagements to attend to.

Entering his business, Magnus watched as Catarina Loss was setting up a set of small tables and chairs for the two children that were always the first to arrive. She'd pulled out the coloured pencils, crayons and even chalk and lots of paper to keep them busy. Magnus placed Madzie on her feet, she heading quietly off to a corner, probably to sulk a little due to the incident earlier, and then also to amuse herself with flipping through books and trying to read the words within. How he wished she would interact with,

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaagnuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!" His gaze shifted to an adorable little redhead who drawled out his name in her sugary sweet voice. He was greeted with a sunshine smile and an ecstatic wave.

"Hello Biscuit, how are you today?" Magnus placed on his extra special smile for the children in his care. Not that he had a lot in his care, but he'd always wanted to open his own day care facility regardless of whether he had ten or more children in his care or the three that he actually had – one which he never got any money for – well now he didn't – not since he'd adopted her.

"I'm ok, but..." He watched her shift her gaze to the doodling blonde boy, black chalk in hand, who seemed to be pretending like he was ignoring everything around him, but he could totally hear what the little girl was saying. "Jace was picking on me."

"No!" Magnus voiced in shock, hand to his heart. "No one would dare pick on my little Clary Fairchild." A giggle bubbled up from her lips as he gave her a tickle. He crouched to the ground, Clary now sitting on his left thigh, her right arm still wrapped around his neck as they both peered at Jace's latest drawing. "What's Jace drawing there?"

"A baddie..." Magnus shifted his gaze to Catarina who just shrugged her shoulders. It was pretty much a "kids will be kids" shrug, she always telling him that they had wild imaginations.

"And what's Jace going to do with the baddie?"

"Make sure it stays away from crybaby Clary." Granted the crybaby comment wasn't necessary, but he was dealing with four year olds here and it flew over Clary's head as it appeared she interpreted what Jace had said as "protect Clary" and as such she detached herself from Magnus and hugged a shocked looking Jace.

He'd been looking after these two for the past three years now, their mothers were best friends and now they worked in the same office building so they always met here at the same time, dropping off their son and daughter religiously and then off they rushed to the subway to head into the City. Magnus was certain these two would stay life long friends...if not something more. He watched Jace push Clary off him and then promptly ran away from her. Magnus dropped his gaze down at Clary to see her trembling lip, but she made a cute little huff and bravely snatched up Jace's drawing to look at it herself. She pulled another facial expression before lying on her belly on the tiled flooring as she began to scribble bright yellow wings onto the black figure which was meant to be a demon. Ok, so he hoped they would be friends at least.

"A little late this morning, Magnus?" He finally turned his attention to Catarina and was graced with her warm smile.

She'd practically become a mother to him when he was around 11 years old. His childhood was not particularly great, having run away from his own father. He'd been so confined to a life of rules and regulations, and a physical hand or two as well. Such a restricted upbringing was totally not Magnus' style, and he felt like he were suffocating. His father had quite the temper if he placed a foot out of line and he fled his home which was massive, but to him it had felt like it were swallowing him whole. Many dark situations had occurred in his life, a lot he wished he could forget and somewhere along the line he finally ended up at Catarina's home. He was standing on her doorstep, much like a drowned rat, since a massive thunderstorm had hit the city that evening. He had gazed pathetically up at her through damp locks of hair, being quite unwashed too, since he roamed the streets for months and months on end.

Magnus had never felt like many people loved him, if any at all, even though he was someone who was willing to give out all the love he had, but that evening he had watched Catarina burst into tears, she wrapping her arms around his drenched skinny self, telling him off for not contacting her sooner as she'd been worried sick about him. That was the first time he had truly felt loved.

Catarina was someone truly dear to Magnus and someone he would never be able to repay his debt to either. She had saved his life. She feed and clothed him. Allowed him to stay in her home and even financed him through school. She showered him with attention, sometimes a little too much, but it was all so new to Magnus back then, so at times he felt smothered, but then he'd never been used to anyone showering him with so much love and attention before, even if at times she got cranky with him, but she had always said it was because she cared and worried about him. And then there were all the choices he never knew he truly had in life due to the strictness of his father and of course, later on, and the part of his life he also hated and profusely tried to forget about, his mother and stepfather. When Magnus had graduated from school, from College as well, Catarina was right there in the crowd, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

For whatever reason he was unsure of, Catarina did not have her own family and he often wondered if she were ever lonely, but even to this day, twenty years on, he could never ask her.

"Sorry, I had trouble with Madzie this morning." He glanced to the adorable girl, all on her own as she had ignored Clary's friendly gesture to come and draw with her.

"She still has trouble sleeping?" He gave a nod.

"She is, but then I got back pretty late from Ragnor's as well..."

"Magnus..." And there was that worried voice, like she were about to start a lecture about him working too hard and if things were tough for him, she was more then willing to help. However, before she could even launch into her usual speech, Magnus let out a heavy sigh of his own.

"I don't know what else to do for Sweet Pea. Should I sleep next to her, hold her hand until she is fast asleep or maybe I should do some research and see if there is a drink I can make her to calm her mind down. Should I start analysing her nightmares or see if there is something she can take to stop them from happening? Or maybe I need to book an appointment to visit a specialist and..." Magnus died off when he felt Catarina cup his cheek, she gazing all motherly up at him.

"Well look at you sounding all fatherly..."

"Well..."

"Excuse me, this is Warlock Day Care, right?" Magnus felt his body stiffen in an instant, not yet turning around as his eyes drew closed.

Surely his ears weren't playing a trick on him as that deep voice sounded so much like...

# To be Continued #