Max Lightwood had died terribly young and without leaving a mark of his own upon the world, save for the grief etched onto his family's souls, but he had a lingering residence in the subconscious of a flamboyant yet deeply scarred warlock who knew whole-heartedly that he would forever love that little boy for the kind words he'd spoken to him so many weeks ago, just after he'd saved Alec from dying from a Greater Demon's poison. It happened just after he'd slumped back into a chair, pushing his hand over his face and into his hair. Using so much magic was exhausting and for what? For the love of a Shadowhunter? Magnus was no fool. He could tell when someone was deeply ashamed of his natural feelings, and boy, was Alexander Lightwood ashamed of who and what he was. So based on that knowledge, what was the point of saving him? True, he'd latched onto this boy simply because of his raven black hair and sapphire blue eyes, and also his resemblance to William Herondale, whom Magnus had kissed once so very long ago.

And yet…he just couldn't help but wonder if he could coax the boy to come into his own and learn to love him—Magnus—in return.

Days had gone by, and things seemed to deteriorate and improve all at the same time. Jace Wayland had been accused of helping Valentine Morgenstern, and Magnus' relationship with Alec extended into the physical aspect. He'd had Alec come over numerous times and well…Magnus doesn't kiss and tell, but things certainly heated up fairly quickly. He'd even snuck into the boy's room at the Institute and their relationship had culminated in an overwhelming sense of having to be as close to that person as possible, and they were. When Magnus had looked over some time later and seen that Alec had fallen asleep, he'd decided that it was time to go home. He yearned to stay by his side and fall asleep beside Alec, but the risk of being caught in bed with the Shadowhunter had overridden any desire to continue the night into the morning. Besides, Chairman Meow was probably hungry and tearing apart all of Magnus' luxuriously fluffy pillows.

So he'd quietly crawled out of Alec's bed and shrugged into his clothing. But before he departed, he'd leaned over and kissed his love on the forehead. Alec had murmured in his sleep and rolled over to bask in the lingering warmth left from Magnus' body. It warmed his heart.

Walking through the Institute gave Magnus chills, and it only fueled his desire to leave as soon as possible. He didn't want to be caught.

Magnus was an almost four hundred year old warlock but he acted so much like a mundane at times that it was appalling.

"Who are you?" Magnus had stopped dead in tracks and spun on his heel to face a young boy who resembled the other Lightwood children he'd met. The boy was small and thin with a mop of black hair and he had dark eyes covered by thin wire glasses.

"Who, may I ask, are you?"

"I asked you first," the boy said stubbornly. "But since you asked nicely, I'm Max Lightwood."

Magnus chuckled. "Ah, I see. So your older brother is Alec and your sister is Isabelle?"

"Yes, but how'd you know their names?"

"I healed your brother once, and I've helped out here on a few occasions."

Max Lightwood had stared at Magnus with unabashed intensity for a few moments before he'd blurted out "Are you dating my brother?"

"Perceptive little one, aren't you?"

"I'm not little!" Max had shouted before clapping his hands over his mouth.

"No, of course not. To answer your question, yes, I suppose I am dating your brother. We hold hands like a couple would, but he doesn't want your parents or Jace or Isabelle to know we're going out." He'd lowered his head, looking sadly at his leather boots. $34.99 at Marshall's.

"But why? It seems okay to me."

"Well, thank you, but in the society of the Nephilim, our relationship is taboo and is frowned upon. They don't like it, and your brother is afraid they'll take his Marks."

"That's not fair."

"No, it's not," Magnus had agreed. "But that's their law, and the law is hard."

"Can't Alec tell people and they don't tell the people in Idris?"

Magnus had shaken his head. "No, because many years ago, your parents got into trouble and were forced to live here. They don't want to further anger the Clave," Magnus sighed. "Why am I telling you all of this? It's not like you would really understand it."

"I understand what's going on a lot more than you might think. Everyone treats me like a child and they push me out of the room when things aren't right, but I listen."

"You won't tell anyone about our talk, will you? It might make Alec very sad."

Max had shaken his head, smiling innocently like only a child could. "No, I promise I won't tell anybody."

And he hadn't told a soul.

That secret had gone with Max Lightwood to the grave.

Now, curled up on the couch with Alec in his apartment, he felt a little sad that the first supporter of his and Alec's relationship was gone and wouldn't be able to share a smile with Magnus that said "See? I told you I wouldn't tell the secret."

Alec twisted his head, noticing Magnus' stiffness and touched his cheek gently. "What's the matter?"

Magnus smiled down at Alec and squeezed him closer. "Nothing my love," he said, his face buried in Alec's shoulder. "I'm just thinking of how fortunate we are."

Alec chuckled and sighed happily. "Yeah, Max would've loved to have known. He was really accepting for a kid."

"Yes, I'm sure he would have accepted us."