"So," Max knew he was about to be mortified as his dad Alec sat down beside of him. He had that tone that said he was there to talk about something humiliating, seemingly a talent of his. "What are your thoughts on that Blair you've been talking about?" Max couldn't help but smile as he looked over at his dad, who looked visibly uncomfortable. He hated how endearing it was when his dad did something like this, mostly because he knew Alec was doing it only because he cared.
"Dad? Are you and I really going to talk about girls?" Max was slightly relieved when Alec chuckled and relaxed a bit.
"Well, I guess we aren't now, huh?" Alec looked at his son with a thankful gaze, and Max could tell just how much he hadn't really wanted to attempt to talk about girls in that way. He couldn't help but smile at his father, the father who was sometimes mostly clueless when it came to women.
Max reached over and placed a hand on top of his father's. "She's wonderful, Dad. But it stops there. I'm a warlock. She's not. End of story." He could see emotion stir up in his father's expression, but he couldn't quite read exactly what it was. His father, Magnus, had always been much better at reading Alec than Max had ever been.
"What are you saying exactly, son?" Max could hear the edge to his father's tone. "Your father is a warlock. I am not. Why should that mean anything for you and this girl?" He hadn't meant to offend his father, hadn't meant anything against his dads' relationship, but he knew that's exactly what it sounded like.
"I'm not saying anything, Dad. I more so meant that she's a mundane." He sighed, knowing he was about to get another sort of lecture. "So she doesn't have any idea that the person I really am even exists. And if she did, she'd be disgusted by me." Somehow, it felt good to just get that out, to finally say that to anyone at all because he'd been feeling that way since he started school.
His father's brows furrowed in the way that his dad, Magnus, liked to endearingly make fun of. Max knew what was coming, he knew what Alec was about to say, but he let him say it anyway. "Max, listen to me. If you ever tell her or any of your other friends the truth and they are disgusted by who you are, then you would be better off without them. End of story." All Max could do was nod and hug his dad, already making plans for the weekend.
"Are you cold?" Max turned to ask Blair as they made their way to Blair's house that Friday night. Max had taken a chance and asked her to go to the movies with him, no strings attached. He had been surprised when she had actually agreed to go.
"I'm fine, Max," she responded, her voice soft and light. They had seen some sort of romantic comedy, but Max had spent most of the time thinking of the girl sitting beside of him, wondering if he should even attempt to make a move. "Thank you for walking me home though, you didn't have to."
He smiled, replaying the conversation they had had just minutes before. Blair hadn't wanted him to take the time to walk her home, claiming that this part of town was perfectly safe. Max had insisted, not able to give any reason because the things he knew she was unsafe from, she didn't even know existed.
"I know that, Blair. Let's just say that I've always wanted to be the gentleman both my fathers have always been." As he said this, he glanced to the side, suddenly feeling as though they were being followed. He momentarily wrote it off as paranoia, but as Blair responded, it became clear that they were being followed, and not by one of the harmless brats from school.
"Well, you're doing a very good job of that." Max heard Blair respond, but he didn't really register it. He was too busy wrapping his fingers around the dagger he always kept inside his jacket. He couldn't fight with seraph blades, but that hadn't kept his fathers from teaching him how to fight with his body as much as his magic.
Just as he began to try to come up with something to tell Blair, anything to get her out of the area, she stopped short, staring at the boy in front of them. Max could tell that the demon was using glamor because he could easily see past it, see the demons true form. But to Blair, Max knew he was just another boy.
"Step away from her," he said, gently grabbing hold of Blair's hand and stepping slightly in front of her, his voice much stronger than he had imagined that it would be. The demon laughed, and somehow Max heard both what Blair heard and what the demon's laugh really was.
"Max? Can we just go? This is creeping me out." Max didn't move, knowing it wouldn't be that easy. He had never actually killed a demon himself, but he had the feeling that he would either have to kill this demon or die in the process of trying.
He started to respond to Blair's question when the demon lunged at them, going for Blair first. This was the demon's mistake because before it reached her, Max had already struck out with his blade, just as quickly as any Shadowhunter would have. He turned just enough to see the terror in Blair's eyes, knowing that the demon had dropped its glamor when it had been cut.
Without pausing to attempt to speak to Blair, Max fumbled inside his jacket once more. Because he couldn't fight with seraph blades, his fathers had spent about two years inventing a weapon that he could hold that would also kill demons. The only problem was that the demon had to already be wounded for it to work, hence the dagger he carried around as well.
Before he could get a grip on his other weapon, the demon lunged at him again, knocking him off his feet. He would have hit the wall beside of them, and hard, too, if it hadn't been for his magic. He closed his eyes as he flew through the air, focusing only on slowing himself down. When he opened them again, all he saw was the demon leaning over Blair who was sprawled on the ground.
Leaping back into action, Max was on the demon before it realized what was going on. As soon as he had dispatched the demon, he was on the ground beside of Blair, sparks flying from his fingers in the way his dad had taught him. Luckily, the demon had only knocked her down, it hadn't clawed at her or bitten her, so there was no venom flowing through her veins for him to deal with.
Max sighed in relief when she began to open her eyes. His relief, however, was short-lived. As soon as she began to sit up, she pushed herself back against the wall as far as she possibly could. As far away from Max as she could possibly get. It was then that Max looked down to realize that the fight had caused him to lose his glamor as well, his blue skin shining in the moonlight.
"Wh- what are you?" Blair's voice was full of fear, and Max couldn't blame her. He thought about replacing his glamor, but he knew it was too late. He was going to have to tell her and leave the rest up to her.
"Blair," he began, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. I'm still the same Max you've always known. Just let me get you back to my apartment, then I can explain everything to you. But we're not safe out here, not right now."
Surprising him, Blair slowly nodded, making a move to get up. "What was that thing?" she asked as they began to walk once more.
"It was a demon," he said bluntly, deciding that being direct was the best course of action at the moment. He glanced over to see her swallow nervously, but her stride didn't waver, surprising him once more.
"Dads!" Max yelled at them as soon as they were inside. "We have an emergency!" He immediately heard them both rushing to the living room. They entered as he sat Blair down on the couch, identical expressions of pure worry adorning their faces. "A demon emergency," he finished as they both stopped short upon seeing him without his glamor.
From there, his dads helped him explain things to Blair. She remained silent the entire time, an unreadable expression on her face. When they had finished telling her as much as she needed to know at the moment, she looked back at Max. It was then that he realized just how nervous he was, just how worried he was about what she would say.
"So," she began, carefully choosing her words. "If your dad," she pointed toward Alec, "is part angel, part human, then what does that make you and your other dad?" she pointed toward Magnus this time. This was the question that Max had been dreading, but he took it in stride, knowing that he would have to tell her sooner or later.
"Warlocks are part human, part demon. That's why I did magic when I was fighting, that's how I healed you, and that's why I'm blue." When he finished, he expected her to look at him with disgust, to tell him that he was a monster, to do anything other than what she actually did.
She got up from the couch and walked straight toward him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "You should have told me, Max. And you should have told the boys, too." He looked down at her in disbelief, not really sure that he was hearing her right.
"Wait," he said, lightly pushing her back so that he could look into her eyes. "So you aren't disgusted by me? You don't think that, this," he motioned to one hand with the other, "is appalling?" He felt both of his fathers stiffen behind him, knowing they were both hoping for the same answer.
"No Max, that's insane." Blair sounded a bit like she was being betrayed. "Why would I think that of you? First of all," she stepped back slightly, but she took hold of his hands as she did so. "You saved my life. And it's like you said before, you're still Max, you're still my best friend. And second," she paused for a moment, smiling the smile that never failed to make Max's heart skip a beat. "I think your skin is beautiful," she finished, bringing one of his hands up to give it a gentle kiss.
Before Max had time to think about what he was doing, he found his lips on hers. He heard one of his dads laugh, he had no idea which, but he was willing to bet it was Magnus. When he pulled away, Blair was smiling even wider, and he took that as a sign that she hadn't been offended by his kiss.
"Never mind, Max." He simply raised an eyebrow at her, suddenly nervous that she was going to take something back. "I want to change what I just said. You're not my best friend." His heart stopped at that, getting the sinking feeling that she was going to change her mind. "Oh don't look so scared," she teased. "I was thinking that if you're going to kiss me like that, then you'd better just go ahead and become my boyfriend instead."