◈ Magnus X Alec One Shots ◈ Malec ◈

A Wedding Without You

Suggested by- ShiBradleyBooks 

I had always liked to believe that Alec would be the one to see his son get married, with me by his side I had hoped. They had expectations of him. They knew he would do anything for his son. I, on the other hand, hadn't a single one of those expectations. I was Magnus Bane, after all. I was impulsive, flamboyant and had a knack for disappearing to foreign countries for extensive periods of time. Therefore, gaining the label of irresponsible and since Alec had gone, it seemed Max could no longer even think of me as his father. But, this was Max's wedding- it wasn't as if I couldn't turn up.

Alec was the only one could get away with that.

He had died a long time ago, in fact, so it wasn't as if he could make it anyway. The thought set my stomach reeling, flipping as if trying to churn up the sick that was inevitably going to spill- it happened every time I thought of him. I wasn't irresponsible; I didn't run because I didn't care. I ran because I knew it was for the best. I knew I reminded them all of him. Even my own son. He had looked at me with such hatred when I had returned home without him. I had made it out alive- Alec had not been so fortunate.

Still, the invitation to the wedding had been placed upon his desk by his son himself when he had finally come home. Max had taken residence in my apartment and upon my departure, he had called it his own. My wedding gift to them was the lease for the place- he and his partner would be happy there...just as Alec and I were.

'Magnus, hurry up.' Max rushed out, his voice neither angry nor happy. He seemed irater than anything else. He had stopped calling me father a long time ago and it only brought that familiar sickness back to my stomach. It seemed that was family now was to me.

A sickness.

'I'm coming, you know I have to look good for this!' I shouted as gently as I could as if not to irritate him further. Despite our relationship still being intact, it was on shaky ground and a nudge was all that was needed for it to fall apart.

'Getting a suit on should not be that hard, Magnus!' He complained, banging on the locked door. 'We have five minutes; I'm leaving without you if you aren't out by then.' I knew to trust his words and began to quicken my pace.

'Makeup takes more than five minutes!' I panicked, dabbing it on the all the more quickly.

'You don't need it... use your magic if you're that desperate!' I could tell his temper was beginning to slip- his was shorter than either mine or Alec's, it hadn't been a perk when he was younger but now it did come in handy for events such as there.

When I finally did unlock the bathroom door, we had less than thirty seconds and Max was dragging me to the taxi outside, refusing to portal there. His partner was human and although she did know of his magical abilities, they tended not to enjoy the fiasco that came along with it. So, in turn, Max had made it a redundant part of his life and only used it when it had to be used.

Sadly, that was just not how magic worked and you could see the lack of use taking its toll on the boy- whose thirty years of life had left him still looking rather young. Still, he battled through it and unlike me, didn't give up at the first chance he had. He had stayed strong and I was more than proud to call him my son because of it- even if he refused to call me his father.

The taxi journey was short. The wedding was being held in Brooklyn and there was no need to take any route longer than necessary, meaning we arrived with at least half an hour spare, much to Max's dismay- he liked to prove a point. 'See! We didn't need to hurry!' I groaned, pushing myself out of the taxi and towards the building that it would be held in. It was almost church-like but it was clear that there were no religious connotations to the place apart from the angel out from and even that was more of a show for the shadow world than anything else.

'Yes, we did. We would have missed our taxi otherwise.' I still groaned loudly, trudging through the ornate, wooden doors and to the private space at the back where Max could prepare. He would be the one to stand at the alter meaning he had arrived early for the occasion whilst his partner would be coming when the ceremony began. All that was left to do was calm his nerves and something told me that I wasn't the best to do so.

'Calm down.' I stated, almost blankly, not doing much to help. Max's breathing had begun to quicken rapidly, his breaths shallow, almost fast enough to be passed as a panic attack. It was the first sign that he was nervous at all. Max had always had a strong facade and suddenly, as the time began to near, it had broken down.

'How the hell am I supposed to calm down.' He began to shake, his voice still strong but showed such raw emotion that I almost brought him into a hug but I knew he would just push me away. 'I'm still young, in warlock terms, it took you centuries to marry dad and look at me, only thirty and I'm already marrying. This is all too sudden. Did dad feel like this when he got married to you? He was in his early twenties after all. I want Dad back.' His words all formed as one, his sentences not matching the last. His thoughts had just run off his tongue, no coherent words coming out. But it was clear what was causing this, grief. It was the grief for his lost father. Despite years passing, he still missed his father as much as I did and neither of us had truly recovered from the event. Hesitance still encasing me, I brought my arms around him and took him to my chest, cradling him as if he was a baby again. 'I know you miss him, I do too.' I whispered, his breaths calming minimally as I repeated the phrase like a mantra.

Minutes passed before his breathing became anywhere near healthy and I quickly loosened my grip only to be brought back into his arms. 'I missed you too, dad.' He addresses me, tears still staining his cheeks. For the first time in years, I smiled truthfully. I squeezed him tight and let the memories of him being a boy again fill my mind.

'I love you, now let's get you married to the one you love.' I pushed him back gently and gave him a strong look and a pat on the shoulder before we both stood and wiped away his tears together. He gave himself a quick look in the mirror and gave himself the all clear before standing in front of the door that would change his life.

'I'm glad you're here for this.' He whispered, turning back before pushing the door opening and stepping through. I followed closely behind him, taking the role of best man due to Max's unfortunate lacking in the friend's department. But it seems that because of today, I wouldn't just be there to fill in a role but to be his best man throughout life. We had just cleared away the past with a few simple words and we knew it. We knew we couldn't live without each other, just as much as he wouldn't be able to live without the one he was marrying. Just as I failed to live without Alec. But, that didn't mean I had to die, it simply meant I had to keep him in my heart.

'You're father would be proud.' I whispered in his ear just as the grand doors opened and the ceremony began.

'I know he would.'

word count: 1372

published: 17.04.17