Magnus was making tea and coffee in my Mother's kitchen. He already knew some of the layout from his 'undercover' visits, so he didn't need to do any awkward searching for where we kept stuff. That left my Mother without a task, so she decided to clean the already-spotless counter top.

I offered to do it for her but she insisted on it. I'd since sat down and let her keep her hands busy while she assessed the situation. A short time later Magnus was setting a mug down in front of her; tea made the way she liked it. He'd remembered that from before. Mother seemed a little startled that he'd gotten it right without asking her about it.

She said thank you and wrapped her hands around the mug. At that point we found ourselves in silence. Then Isabelle darted in.

"Father's here." She said. Her eyes landed on Magnus for only a second before she did a double-take. "And so are you. Hi."

"Hello Izzy." Magnus smiled. He didn't let it show that there had never been a bad word said between them. I didn't know how Isabelle would take that, they hadn't seen each other since Pandemonium and she had been ignoring Magnus' existence during those days.

Izzy managed a smile back at him, just barely. Better than storming out, I guess.

"I'll go warn Robert before he comes in." Mother announced with something of a sigh as she headed for the front door.

When Mother was gone Magnus asked how my Father took his coffee. I shook my head and got up to do it myself. Isabelle was quick enough to steal my seat.

"You didn't warn them either." She observed with a frown to the both of us. "You two suck at this."

"We do need to work on our surprise tactic, Darling." Magnus agreed. "I don't think that buying drinks and painting fences is helping all that much."

I sighed and drummed my fingers on the counter. Finding flaws now wasn't going to help us at all. It was too late for Magnus to jump out the window or something.

"I think we're past the point of no return, guys." I said.

Right on cue, the parents re-entered the room. I put my Father's coffee down and indicated that he should take it. He was already too busy trying to stare Magnus down; before he'd even said his hellos to me or Izzy, or gone to find Max.

"Robert Lightwood? Pleased to meet you." Magnus greeted calmly. I was starting to think nothing ever flustered him. Even when he held out his hand for a handshake and all my Father did was stare at it coldly, Magnus didn't flinch. "Is there a problem?"

"You used my son for an affair." Said Father, one step short of through gritted teeth.

Magnus looked surprised. "Let's not be hypocrites, here. People in glass houses, and all that."

Father looked towards Mother with an indignant expression. If he was waiting for her to jump in and defend him, then he was going to die waiting. Mother only shrugged and went to gather ingredients in the fridge.

Izzy's mouth pressed into a thin line where she was trying to keep from giggling. Father was not impressed. I was holding my breath just waiting to see how that little comment would play out. If springing meetings on my loved ones was a bad idea in the first place, then I wasn't sure I could say much for Magnus' terrible habit for speaking his mind at the worst of times.

"Will you be joining us for dinner, Magnus?" Mother asked brightly. Seeing the way he'd handled her ex-husband seemed to make her instantly warm up to him. Surprising.

"Would I not be imposing?" Magnus questioned politely when he finished a sip of coffee. He made more effort to finish his drink quickly for my Mother than he had for Isabelle. Maybe he considered there to be more riding on pleasing my parents than my siblings.

My Mother flat-out insisted that Magnus join us that evening. What I hadn't expected was for him to fit so seamlessly into a family setting without a cover-story to hide behind.

Magnus could discuss all manner of things with my sister, who he shared a lot of interests with. I'd already known that. When it came to my Parents he knew just enough on those boring topics like politics and finance and fine wine to please them - as much as my Father could be pleased, anyway. He still wasn't all that impressed.

Max was, though. Magnus even remembered to take a fair interest in his talk about Teachers and friends at school. I realised it was a complete waste that my boyfriend hadn't written a book on charming others. 'Social Recoveries for Seemingly Hopeless Situations'. He clearly had a talent.

Part of the skill seemed to be in avoiding the name 'Camille'. I'd failed in that regard at our last family meal; but keeping his ex-wife out of the conversation - which sometimes involved some clever manoeuvring, because my parent's asked very leading questions - was doing wonders for Magnus' credibility.

It was as if Camille didn't even exist to him. My family seemed to like that illusion.

...It was pretty nice.

When the mood was suitably relaxed Magnus became brave enough to twine his fingers with mine in plain sight on top of the table. At this point the plates were empty and we were talking over drinks. Soft drinks for Izzy and Max.

"Are you alright, Darling? You're being very quiet." Magnus asked in hushed tones, leaning closer to me as he spoke. It wasn't so much secretive as it was intimate. He really was brave.

"You look dazed, dear. Drink something sobering." My Mother advised with typical parental concern. I hadn't drank much, about half a glass of something that tasted of bitter fruit.

I smiled at them both. "Sorry, just thinking."

"I know what I'm thinking." Izzy interrupted with a grin of her own. "Dessert!"

Magnus had to travel in the passenger seat on the way back because he'd had more to drink than I had. I'd stuck to the one glass - on a full stomach - a good hour before we left, so I wasn't worried about getting a DUI or anything. Magnus wasn't falling over himself or anything, that would have been a train wreck in the making, but he wasn't in any condition to be behind the wheel.

"I can't believe how well that went!" I beamed. No matter how many times I played the evening over in my head, I couldn't find much to worry about. Four out of five Lightwoods smiling was a good result. My Father didn't smile much anyway.

"Your Father holds me in contempt." Magnus needlessly reminded me.

"He doesn't much like anybody." I told him. The man was well known for general misery. "Trust me, that was great."

"I did what I could." Magnus sighed in response. He didn't seem to share my good faith despite the confidence he'd shown in front of my family.

"You did great." I encouraged as I pulled out of the driveway. I wasn't used to Magnus' car, nor was I insured on it, and it was far more expensive than mine. Needless to say I was being very careful. "Tonight was great."

I desperately needed to learn more descriptive words.

"If it made you happy then it was worth it, Alexander." Magnus yawned. "You know how I want to make you happy."

I did. No matter what had happened in our past; I knew what I had now. The broken parts of my life were healing. The shaky ground I'd stood on was beginning to feel stable. And it wasn't so hard to smile when it all seemed to be coming together.

I hope you liked the chapter! As per usual, a big thank you to everybody reading. Another chapter will come soon: "Last Minute Adjustments".