Hello again!

I know I said that I wouldn't upload a new chapter for at least a fortnight but I couldn't help myself. I have been itching to upload this chapter for ages so I thought what the hell!

Thank you to Janna, eli-rose and maggie for being my first reviewers! It really cheered me up to know what you all thought. I really do love hearing what people think of my stories, even if it is just constructive criticism, so please feel free to leave a comment. Also thank you all to those who have already put this series onto their favourite/following lists.

Quick note: This chapter is set after The Dark Artifices when Rafael and Max are twelve and ten years old. Beatriz also makes a small cameo so spoilers from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy and from A Long Conversation. It also features our lovely favourites Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments. (Again, spoilers for the above!)

Hope you all like it. Enjoy!

The Lightwood-Bane Chronicles

A Lesson in Tolerance

"Why does it always have to be our boys?" Magnus muttered as the glittering blue portal that had brought him and Alec to the New York Institute, collapsed on itself with a quiet pop. "Just once, I'd like to be able to drop them both off someplace for the afternoon without getting an emergency message saying that they've gotten into trouble again."

Alec let out an exhausted sigh as he pushed open the doors to his old home to let them both through. He hadn't lived at the Institute for just over ten years but seeing as he was there nearly every other day, either dropping off Rafael and Max to do some training with the other local Shadowhunters or attending alliance meetings between the vampires and the werewolves, everything still felt familiar as if he had only just moved out yesterday. "They might not even be in trouble Magnus. Jace didn't even say what happened, just that we needed to come and pick them up." Alec heard a snort come from behind him as they entered the elevator and pressed the button for the training room floor. Alec turned to his husband and caught Magnus in the middle of rolling his cat-like eyes. Most days Alec would have happily ignored this, knowing that Magnus never meant anything by it, but today wasn't one of those days. Alec let out an annoyed huff. "Look Mags, let's just go retrieve them and we can sort it out at home."

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open to reveal Clary pacing anxiously in the hallway in front of them, her hand rubbing soothing circles on her swollen belly. Clary looked up at them and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, you're finally here. Hurry now, we've only just managed to stop some of the students from contacting the Clave."

Alec swallowed nervously as he and Magnus quickly followed Clary down the hall towards the training room. There were sounds of shouting and thumps coming from the other side of the doors which only grew louder as Clary threw them open to reveal the chaos inside. A large group of about a dozen Shadowhunter students were gathered around the crash mats, egging on what appeared to be a fight. Alec wasn't sure exactly what was wrong until he saw Jace in the middle of the crowd along with the Institute's new weapons trainer Beatriz, struggling to break up a fight involving four or five students. It was only then that Alec noticed the bright glittering sparks of magic shooting into the air above their heads.

"Don't even say it Magnus," Alec snapped as Magnus turned to him.

Clary strode up to the group pushing her way through the students. "All right! Break it up! Stop it right now or so help me, you'll all be sorry."

Alec and Magnus followed her lead as the students started to dissipate. Some of the students looked perfectly happy to give them a wide berth, especially when they noticed Magnus's hands spark with blue flames. Lying in a heap on the mat was their son Max, now a gangly ten year old with sprouting horns curling from his dark blue head sporting a bruised eye and a swollen lip, trying to stop the tears of pain in his eyes from falling. Alec felt a pang of horror in his chest which quickly changed into simmering rage as he clapped sight of a young Shadowhunter boy lying unconscious next to him with a bloody nose and a missing tooth.

"I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him!" Rafael yelled as he struggled against Jace's restraining arms. Magnus swooped down to Max's side and helped sit him up as Alec turned to his parabatai. Rafael's yelling had now turned into angry grunts and the occasional exclamation in Spanish.

"Anytime you'd like to give me a hand here Alec, I'd be very grateful." Jace remarked dryly as he struggled to restrain Rafael's flailing arms.

"Rafael, that's enough!" Alec barked at his son before grabbing the back of the boy's shirt and dragged him away from the mat. Rafael still struggled but only half heartedly, his face still fixed with fury towards the boy on the mat. Beatriz turned to the rest of her students and ordered them to the showers to calm down whilst Clary knelt down to check over the boy. Magnus had managed to get Max to stand up and was limping unhappily next to his Papa as Jace led them all to his office.

Alec deposited Rafael on the leather couch in the corner next to Max who was whimpering as he cradled his right arm to his chest. Jace closed the door to his office and let out a breath shaking his head before slumping down in the chair behind his desk. Magnus was now standing next to the couch casting worried glances at Alec who stood looking at their sons with his arms crossed.

Jace picked up a glass and the jug of water that was sat on his desk and poured himself a drink. "Just what I needed today," He sighed before taking a sip. Magnus raised his eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I'm sure this was exactly what you needed Herondale. But alas, this isn't about you Blondie." Magnus quipped folding his manicured hands in front of him. "Why don't you go and check on Biscuit? All this stress can't be good for her in her delicate condition."

Jace rolled his eyes and stood up, casting a cautious glance at Alec who hadn't moved an inch. "Alright, shout if you need me." Jace wove around his desk and clapped his hand on Alec's shoulder. "Go easy on them brother. Good luck boys."

And with that Jace left the room, closing the door and leaving them in silence. Alec remained quiet. Magnus began to wonder whether it was possible for someone to get so furious that it struck them dumb with rage.

"Well?" Alec eventually spoke breaking the silence in the small room. Magnus could sense the anger coming from his husband's tense body, and so it seemed, could their sons who were now looking pointedly at the floor. "Somebody better have a good explanation for that ungodly debacle in the training room."

"He started it!" Rafael piped up earning the attention from both of his parents. Max seemed to shrink back in to the fabric of the couch, as though if everybody's attention was on his brother they wouldn't notice him. Rafael sat up straight, flicking his unruly brown hair out of his eyes as he met his father's eyes defiantly. "He was picking on Max so I clobbered him one."

"And that makes it alright does it?" Alec's normally placid tone rising which made Max flinch. There were only a few times before Max had seen his Dad angry but never this furious.

"Alexander, perhaps we should save this for when we get home." Magnus suggested calmly. Alec shook his head furiously.

"No Magnus, I want a proper explanation from our sons before we go anywhere." Alec turned his attention to Max and upon seeing the boy cowering on the seat, softened only slightly. "Max, what happened?"

Max sniffled and winced as he tried to move his arm to wipe his running nose. Magnus softened and conjured up a tissue and a first aid kit. Gently he knelt down beside the young warlock and dabbed his little blue face with the tissue, before bandaging up his arm. Rafael shuffled closer to his little brother, his eyes shifting warily around them as if expecting another attack. "Bernard was calling Max horrible names. He kept saying that he shouldn't be in the Institute training with us because he wasn't a Shadowhunter like me and you." Rafael spoke as he carefully wrapped his arm around Max's shoulders in an awkward hug.

"He called me a f-filthy demon spawn." Max grumbled morosely.

"He said what?" Magnus asked in a deadly calm voice as Alec noticed blue flames sparking erratically around his fingers. Max looked up at his Papa tearfully, leaning into Rafael's side for support.

"He called him a demon spawn." Rafael repeated darkly. "So I punched him."

"That still doesn't make it right for you to hit him until he's nearly dead." Alec said sternly, now feeling calm enough to think rationally. Rafael looked up at Alec in astonishment.

"You'd do the same for Uncle Jace!"

"He's got a point Alexander." Magnus interjected, as he cleaned Max's lip. "In fact I know that you would do a lot worse if anyone said anything bad about your family."

"I'm not disputing that, but you're better than this Rafael." Alec crouched down until his was almost eye level with his son. "We raised you better than to use this kind of behaviour."

"But that's what Shadowhunters do." Rafael frowned. "We protect the ones we love."

Alec nodded imploringly. "Yes, that is what Shadowhunters do. And I'm glad you stuck up for your brother but if we used our fists all the time on ignorant people, we'd just get bloody knuckles. Rise above it and prove to yourself that you can be better than them."

Rafael sat quietly in thought for a moment before he spoke up. "So are you saying I should have just ignored him?"

"Your father is saying you both should ignore him." Magnus said turning the tissue in his hand into a burning puff of blue smoke. "Besides, that kid is an idiot and is raised by stupid Nephilim parents. No offense." He quickly added with a look at both Alec and Rafael.

Alec stood up and ruffled Rafael's hair. "Come on, lets go home."

"Are you going to ground us again?" Rafael asked nervously, helping Max stand up. Magnus led them out of the room towards the entrance of the Institute. They could always send a note to Clary and Jace later when they get home. It was too late now to let them know in person as the sun outside had already begun to set on the busy city streets.

"You're both absolutely grounded." Alec replied much to Rafael's distress. "And if your father and I are ever called because you two have been in trouble again, you can rest assured you'll be grounded for the rest of your lives."

"The rest of my life..?" Max whispered horrified, glancing at Magnus's back. "Forever and ever, Papa?"

"Oh, most definitely." Magnus called back over his shoulder. A bright blue doorway appeared in front of them as Magnus conjured up a portal to their apartment in Brooklyn. They stepped through the portal and were greeted with a put out Chairman Meow who had started to become quite grumpy in his old age.

Alec nudged the boys towards the bathroom. "Right, both of you get cleaned up for dinner. If you're quick, I might just put your Aunt Izzy's soup in the bin instead of making you eat it." The boys shot off towards the bathroom, with Rafael leaping over the back of the sofa in an attempt to make it through the doorway first. Alec let himself smile a little. Magnus strode over to his husband and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"What are you thinking about Alexander?" Magnus whispered quietly, as Chairman Meow wove around their legs.

Alec turned and wrapped his arms around Magnus's waist, giving him a kiss with a smile. "Is it bad that I feel proud Rafael broke that kid's nose?"

Magnus snorted. "No. Trust me if I'd got hold of him, that kid's broken nose would be the least of his worries when he's sporting a horrible case of boils and an awful monobrow."

Alec chuckled with a smile before it slipped from his mouth and was replaced with a thoughtful frown. Magnus looked up at his husband's weary face, which was slowly starting to show his age, if only a little bit through the crow's feet at the corners of his bright blue eyes. Magnus knew what that look meant. "Alexander, it'll be alright. Boys will be boys after all. It doesn't mean you're a bad parent."

"It's not that. I was thinking about Max." Alec replied looking on towards the bathroom where he knew Max was with his brother. "No matter what we do to try to change people's minds, there are still those who will always try to ruin what we're doing and just hate. And our boys are being put through that. What if Max grows to hate Shadowhunters?"

"We won't let that happen. Besides, you and Rafael are Nephilim and he loves you both to pieces." Magnus said. "We lead by example and we can't go wrong."

"Dad, we're done!" Max called as he and Rafael appeared from the bathroom, Rafael wiping his hands on his jeans. Alec painted on a smile and told them both to set the table as if nothing had been worrying him at all. Magnus let go of Alec and picked up Chairman Meow, giving the feline a scratching under his whiskery chin.

As Max began to conjure up plates and cutlery, Rafael walked up to Alec and wrapped his arms tightly around Alec's waist in a hug. "I'm sorry I punched Bernard Dad. I'll be better, I promise." Rafael spoke, his voice coming out muffled against Alec's chest. Alec softened as he held onto Rafael, remembering the time he had found Rafael growing up almost feral on the streets of Buenos Aires.

"I know Rafe." Alec replied leaning down and placing a kiss to the top of his son's head. "I know."