"How long are we going to be there?" Magnus asked from the door way. He had been by Alec's computer, looking up hotels and plane tickets, so he obviously needed to know how long they would need to stay.

Alec looked up. He was in the bedroom, packing a suitcase for the trip. There was a bunch of his clothes scattered around on the floor in a huge mess around him, and he and the suitcase was the center of a circle. He sighed, shrugged and looked down again. "I don't know. How long can you get off work?"

"As long as you need me too. I just thought, we don't know when exactly he… And you won't be in the mood to travel after…" Magnus let his voice trail off and bit his lip. He kept his eyes on Alec.

"I don't know. A couple weeks, I suppose? Maybe three."

"Let's call it four then, shall we? It'll give you a bit of time afterwards, and it'll give us a bit of time. Just to be together and be us."

Alec nodded and shut his eyes. His shoulders slumped down like all his energy just slipped out in that one sigh. "That'd be perfect." He was quiet for a bit. "I don't suppose you can actually get off work for a month, though."

"Hey, whatever you need me to. This is your little brother, I don't care about work. I really don't." Magnus walked over to him, trying not to step on any of the clothes, and sitting down next to Alec. He put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him a bit. "I just want to be there for you, whatever you need."

"Yeah?" Alec looked up at him, looked into his eyes. Magnus smiled reassuringly, but half-heartedly. Right now he'd do anything to make Alec feel just a bit better, to comfort him even the slightest.

"Yeah. So. Four weeks?"

Alec nodded, about to answer, but his phone rang. He started looking through the clothes right around him, where the ringing was coming from, and when he finally found it he just answered it in time. It was Isabelle, probably calling to say they arrived from the hospital, so he just answered it immediately.

"Hey Izzy, is he-"

"Why aren't you here? I m-miss you. Why aren't you here?" It wasn't Isabelle. No, that little, tiny voice, that was someone he hadn't spoken to for a very long time, and it was barely recognizable. It broke randomly in the middle of words; it was very weak and sounded like he was crying. No, this was Max, and he was dying and Alec wasn't there. It broke his heart.

"I-I miss you too, Maxie. I miss you a lot. I'll be there tomorrow, okay? I have a meeting I need to go to, and then I'll be there as soon as I can. How are you feeling?"

"It hurts all the time. Is it going to stop hurting?"

"Of course it will. Hey, your birthday was a few days ago, and I didn't get to ring you. I got you a present though. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you."

"When tomorrow?"

Alec closed his eyes quickly and bit his lip. "I don't know exactly. I'm probably leaving from here around 1 or 2 o'clock, we're ordering tickets now."

"Who's coming?"

"Oh, uh... I guess Izzy didn't tell you. Magnus is coming too. He's my boyfriend."

"Like Izzy has a boyfriend? Kissing and holding hands?"

Alec smiled. God, he was probably the best kid ever, and of course this was happening to him. "Yeah, just like that."

"Can boys have boyfriends too?"

"Yes, of course. Mum and dad don't like it, but we can."

"Why don't they like it?"

Alec sighed and looked at Magnus. "I don't know. There are not that many boys who want boyfriends. Not compared to the ones who want girlfriends, anyway. Maybe that's why. They're not used to it."

"Is he nice?"

"Who, Magnus? Yeah, he's amazing. I think you'll like him."

"I bet he's nice. Is he pretty, like Jace says his girlfriend is? She's not here yet."

"Oh, he's absolutely beautiful. But listen, Maxie, I gotta go. We're getting the tickets and we gotta pack and all, so I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." Max hung up first and then Alec put the phone down in his lap. He hid his face in his hands and he let out a long sigh, before he quietly started sobbing. Magnus moved a bit closer, reached over and put his arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

"God, Maggie, why does this have to happen to him? He is the best little boy I've ever met, and he's so happy even with the cancer, and he's so scared of it all. He's so accepting, he's sweet, he's a little boy who loves to read, he loves his family and spending time with us, and this happens to him of all people. It's so unfair."

Magnus just stroked his hair softly and pulled him closer. "I know, baby, I know. It always happens to the good ones. But I'm here for you any time you need me to be. I'll talk to you, I'll just listen if that's what you want, and I'll do anything for you. I love you."

Alec nodded and kept sobbing and sobbing. They sat there for a solid fifteen minutes, just holding each other and Alec crying. Eventually he stopped crying, and he just sat there. Looking out into the air and not saying anything. Magnus pulled back and looked at him.

"I'll go and get our tickets, okay baby? And then I'll call work, get a month off for whatever cost it may have, and then we'll pack. We're going to talk over the meeting tomorrow, and get ready, so you can get your book published, and then we're going to leave. Alright?"

Magnus got up and walked out of the room after Alec nodded. He walked back into the living room to the computer, and to the phone, to get this all sorted out and to get ready to go to Paris with his Alec. That was all he wanted right now.

AN:

Hey guys. Another update. It's pretty shitty, and short, but I just can't handle any more at the moment, sorry. This is what happens.

But yeah, we got a bit of Max, so that's good, I suppose.

Also, I need to ask, for later in the story. Lemon? Where are we on that? D'you guys want it or not? That's all up to you.

Actually it's like 2:50am and I should really go to bed, but I'm just not really tired, you know? Not at all. I don't really.. feel anything. I'm not tired, I'm not happy, not sad, not nothing, I can just stare into the air and nothing registers and my mind is just completely blank.

Sorry, I shouldn't put all this in here. Sorry. I'll see you around or something, message me if you feel like it, review if you want.

Love you.

Lea