Max and Magnus have a lot in common. Both love a certain ShadowHunter and have the same fear.

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Magnus opens his eyes and looks up at Alec. His husband is still asleep. Magnus looks over at Max and their son is also still sleeping.

Magnus smiles as he remembers Max as a toddler, squealing "Daddy" as soon as Alec walked into the loft.

Alec, no matter how tired he was, would always bend over and pick their son up. Max would cover his face with kisses, then Alec would put him back on the floor and make his way to Magnus. After a kiss 'hello', he'd rest his forehead against Magnus' and close his eyes. Some nights he was too tired to eat the dinner Magnus saved for him, but Magnus always had a glass of his headache remedy waiting for Alec. After drinking it and kissing Magnus again, Alec would walk to their bedroom. Max would follow as fast as his tiny legs would go.

After turning off the lights, and securing the loft, Magnus would walk into their room. Alec would be fast asleep with Max resting on his chest. Some times Max would be sleeping, but most of the time, he'd be awake. Depending on what side of Alec's chest he was laying on, Max would either be tracing his deflect/block rune or the love one.

When Max saw Magnus, he would put his finger to his mouth and whisper, "Shh, Poppa, Daddy is sleeping." Magnus would smile and quietly make his way to the bed. He'd get under the covers and lay against Alec's side. He and Max would smile at each other and fall asleep.

Magnus slowly looks up. Alec's eyes are open, clear and fixed on Magnus.

Magnus quickly lowers his eyes and rests his head on his husband's chest. All hope of his, for lack of a better word, meltdown from yesterday being forgotten with, are shattered. Alec's experience in regards to relationships may have been lacking but his skills as a ShadowHunter are sharp. Except for that one time that will probably haunt Magnus for the rest of his life.

Magnus only hopes that Alec waits until after breakfast before he insists on talking about it.

"Magnus."

With a sigh, Magnus looks up, "Good morning, Alexander."

Alec smiles at him and leans closer for a kiss. Magnus kisses him. Alec pulls him closer and Magnus forgets everything but how good it feels to be in his husband's arms.

Max giggles, "Audience is awake."

Alec nods, "Yes you are." He lets Magnus go.

Magnus gets out the bed and stretches. Alec watches with a smile. Magnus leans over and kisses him, "Like what you see?"

Alec smiles, "Always." He swings his legs around and gets out the bed.

Max gets out the other side and joins his fathers.

Alec squeezes Magnus' hand, "I need coffee."

Max giggles as he runs ahead to get an elevator. Alec and Magnus walk out of the room. Magnus smiles, "So you have stuff to do this morning?"

Alec smiles, "It can wait until after we talk."

"Oh. We can talk tonight."

They get to the elevators, Max has one waiting for them. Alec shakes his head, "After breakfast."

Magnus sighs and says nothing as they step into the elevator and go to the main floor. They step out and walk to the dining room. Max runs to get them drinks, while Alec and Magnus fill a plate with various danishes.

Izzy and Jace are at a table and the Lightwood-Bane family join them.

Alec takes his first sip of coffee for the day and sighs, "Now I'm ready for anything."

Max giggles as Magnus nibbles at a cheese danish.

Jace looks at Alec, "I'm really sorry, Alec."

Alec laughs, "I should have looked before I stepped back."

Jace glances at a silent Magnus, "Magnus..."

Magnus cuts him off with a wave of his hand, "Forget it Jace."

Izzy sighs and stands up. She grabs Alec's sleeve and pulls him away from the table. They walk out the dining room. Max looks at Magnus, "Aunt Izzy is ratting you out."

Magnus nods, "I figured she would." Max giggles.

Magnus finishes his danish and tea, as Alec and Izzy walk back into the dining room. They walk back to the table. Izzy sits down and Alec grabs his mug and finishes his coffee.

He glances at Max, "Blueberry, keep yourself busy, Poppa and I are going home."

Max nods, "Okay, Daddy."

Alec walks over to Magnus and takes his hand, "Enough stalling." Magnus sighs and stands up. After saying goodbye to everybody, Magnus opens a portal and he and Alec leave.

They walk into the loft.

Magnus puts his arms around Alec and closes his eyes. He relaxes as Alec holds him tight and the calmness wraps around him. He buries his face in Alec's neck, takes a deep breath and whispers, "Max visited when the forsaken attacked you and Hodge."

"I know, Izzy told me. But I'm still not understanding why you were upset about my concussion."

"It really wasn't the concussion I was upset about, it was just your acceptance of getting hurt."

"Magnus, I'm a ShadowHunter, getting "hurt" is in the job description."

"Well, it shouldn't be."

Alec laughs, "Now you sound like Max."

Magnus holds him tighter, "That's because we both love you and hate to see you in pain."

"Or dead?"

Magnus glances quickly at Alec, "Izzy told you everything."

Alec kisses him gently, "She knew you would either lie or leave out stuff."

Magnus buries his face in his husband's neck again, "She's right."

"Magnus, I love my job, but if it upsets you, then I'll find something else to do."

Magnus pulls away from him, "No, Alexander, I would never make you choose between being a ShadowHunter over Max and I. I just want you to be more careful."

Alec smiles, "You made me choose between you and Lydia."

Magnus sniffs, "Lydia is a great woman, but I saw you first. Hell I claimed you when you were seven years old. The proof is right there on your neck." He gives the Love Rune a gentle kiss, then kisses Alec's lips, "My angel."

Alec laughs as they rest their foreheads against each other, "That's better."

Magnus laughs, "If somebody had told me that I would have found love and comfort in the arms of a ShadowHunter, much less a Lightwood, I would have portaled their foolish ass to the moon, then sent them a bill for services rendered."

Alec smiles, "You can do that?"

"Do what?"

Alec giggles, "Open portals to the moon."

"For that sorry individual, I would have tried."

"Magnus Bane, I love you."

Magnus kisses him, "From the moment you looked at me and stammered out your name, I didn't care how long it took, but I was going to make you mine."

"Sorry it took so long."

Magnus kisses him, "It was worth the wait. Oh by the way, I found out that my seeing you training without a shirt, was a clever plan on your part."

Alec blushes, "Max?"

"Yes, he saw you run into the training room and strip off your shirt before I showed up."

"Oh."

Magnus laughs, "Tease."

Alec blushes, "I thought it was a good idea at the time."

Magnus kisses his neck runes, "It was a wonderful idea. It made me more determined than ever to get my hands on you."

Alec closes his eyes as he moans, "I think we are done talking."

"Yes, we are." He kisses Alec as they make their way to the bedroom.

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Jace finishes his coffee, "Max, are you going to pay me a visit tonight, while I sleep?"

Max giggles, "No, Uncle Jace, you are safe for now."

"That is a relief. Let me get to work. Later." He leaves.

Max looks at his aunt, "Aunt Izzy, what did you think of Daddy and Lydia getting married?"

Izzy laughs, "I thought it was a horrible idea but I stood behind anything Alec did."

"But you got Poppa there."

Izzy winks, "I stood behind Alec, but that doesn't mean that I was going to let it happen without doing anything to stop it."

Max giggles, "Poppa was so badass, walking into a ShadowHunter wedding and stealing the groom."

Izzy laughs, "When you put it that way, it was either badass or crazy. There was no guarantee that Alec would pick what was right for himself over what he thought was his duty."

Max nods, "True." He takes a deep breath and glances around the empty dining room, "Aunt Izzy, what happens to unwanted warlock children?"

Izzy reaches for his hand, "Max, you are not unwanted."

Max weakly smiles, "I know, but I'm just wondering."

She squeezes his hand, "Your fathers love you. They love you as much as they love each other."

"I know, but sometimes I get scared..."

She shakes her head, "No, Max. There is nothing for you to get scared about. Have you talked to them about this?"

He shrugs, "Daddy says that me and Poppa have the same, in his words, "ridiculous insecurity", that he will leave us."

She smiles, "My big brother is a wise man."

Max smiles, "My Daddy is wonderful."

Izzy laughs, "You are too much. But to answer your question, most warlock children become "unwanted" when they are around eight or so, that is when their warlock mark usually shows up."

"But I was a blue baby."

She nods, "Which is why your bitch of a mother left you here. I guess we should be lucky she did that and not put you in a garbage can somewhere. I'm not sure if she knew that this was more than a church, anyway, you found a great home."

"But what if Daddy and Poppa weren't together?"

She squeezes his hand, "Max, why would you think that?"

He shrugs, "I'm just saying, what if."

She sighs, "Fine. In that case, we would have tried to find a warlock to take you in. Being a baby, might have been a problem. If no warlock wanted that responsibility, than you would have been put in a Clave orphanage. When you were old enough, a warlock would have been bought in to teach you about creating a glamour and gaining control over your magic."

Max whispers, "Sounds kind of cold."

Izzy nods, "Unfortunately, the Clave isn't interested in giving DownWorlders love, they are interested in controlling the situation."

Max looks at his Aunt's hand holding his blue hand, "And if I refused to be 'controlled'?"

She takes his hand in both of hers, "Enough Max. You are just upsetting yourself for no reason. Your fathers aren't going anywhere. YOU aren't going anywhere."

He shrugs, "I know, but..."

She interrupts him, "No 'buts' about it. Where is this coming from?"

"My last visit. Daddy proposing to Lydia got me thinking what would have happened if Poppa hadn't have shown up."

"By the angel, Max, that is bullshit. I was there. Alec was two seconds away from pulling away from her, as she bought the stele to his wrist. He was not marrying her, with or without your Poppa walking in."

"Then what would have happened?"

Izzy shakes her head, "Mom and Dad would have been pissed but life would have gone on. And before you even ask, I do believe that your Daddy would have ended up knocking on your Poppa's door. You seem to have forgotten about a certain rune that was waiting to appear."

Max slowly smiles as he nods, "Yes, Poppa has been in and out of Daddy's life since he was a boy."

"Exactly. They were meant to be together and YOU were meant to be with them. Now no more 'what ifs' about it. YOU are stuck with them."

Max giggles. He pushes his chair back so he can hug her, "Thank you, Aunt Izzy."

She holds him tight, "You are very welcome."

"Is there something we should know about?"

Max giggles and runs to his fathers. He wraps his arms around both of them and closes his eyes, "I love you."

Alec laughs as he holds Max, "Love you too, blueberry."

Magnus hugs Max, "Alexander, I think he was talking to me."

Max giggles as he kisses Magnus' cheek, "I love you, Poppa, but I love Daddy a wee bit more." He kisses Alec's cheek.

Magnus sniffs, "Oh, I didn't realize that."

Max smiles, "Poor Poppa." He watches Alec walk over to Izzy and sighs, "Aunt Izzy, no telling."

She smiles at him, "I have no idea what you are talking about." She pulls Alec further away.

Magnus nods, "Max, there is no attorney client privilege when you talk to your Aunt Izzy. She will blab to her brother as soon as she gets the chance."

Max sticks his tongue out at his aunt, "That's just rude." Izzy laughs as she continues to talk to Alec. Max sighs as he holds Magnus.

Magnus kisses his forehead, "I've gotten used to it."

"Still rude."

Magnus laughs, "But it does get things out in the open easier."

Max nods, "I guess so." He watches Alec walk towards them. His father's eyes are gentle as he looks at Max.

Alec kisses Max's forehead, "You two are too much alike for your own damn good."

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "Hey, how did I get in trouble?" He glares at a laughing Izzy.

She walks over and hugs everybody, "My work here is done. I have demons to get rid of." She leaves the dining room.

Alec fills a mug with coffee and sits at a table. Max and Magnus look at each other and sigh. Max grabs a bottle of water and Magnus fills a mug with coffee. Max sits across from Alec and Magnus sits next to his husband.

Alec nods, "Max, what is this talk about 'unwanted warlock children'?"

Magnus looks at Max, "What?"

Max sighs, "Aunt Clary is now my favorite aunt."

Alec smiles, "I doubt that, but don't change the subject."

Max sighs, "I was wondering what would have happened if you had married Lydia and not Poppa and not been here when I was found. That's all."

Alec takes Max's hand in both of his, "Listen to me carefully, Max. Even IF your Poppa had not walked into the ceremony, I wouldn't have gone through with it. It was a spur of the moment decision I made after talking to your Poppa."

Magnus sniffs, "What part of what I said did you translate to mean, propose to the woman you just met?"

Max nods, "Exactly."

Alec kisses Magnus, "Shh." He turns back to Max, "Max, I was duty driven when I first met your Poppa and thought I wouldn't be able to be with him. So I took the road that was better for my career and proposed to her. But once the ceremony started, I realized it was a bad decision and for the first time in my life I did something that made ME happy."

Magnus smiles, "Made me happy, too." Max giggles as Magnus kisses Alec, "Made me very happy."

Alec sighs and shakes his head, "You two are idiots. I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

Max giggles, "Aunt Izzy already explained all this to me, Daddy."

Alec sighs, "No more talk about unwanted warlock babies?"

Max smiles, "I promise."

"Good." He looks at Magnus, "No more panic attacks every time I get hurt?"

Magnus takes a deep breath, "I'll try."

Alec nods, "Good enough." He kisses Magnus, "Now, I have an Institute to run." He stands.

Magnus stands and pulls him close. They kiss.

Max waits until they part, then he stands and hugs Alec. Alec kisses his forehead, "Both of you go home and try to keep out of trouble until I get home tonight."

Max giggles, "Okay, Daddy."

Magnus sniffs, "Rudeness must run in the family." Max giggles.

Alec smiles and pulls him close. They kiss. Magnus smiles, "I love you so much."

Alec smiles, "I love you more."

Max hugs his fathers, "I love both of you."

Alec laughs, "Time to break this up."

Magnus nods, he creates a portal. He kisses Alec once more, then he and Max leave the dining room.

Alec smiles as he walks out of the dining room.

-the end-

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