Small Town Days [Malec]

Life Tip #17- No One Will Ever Deserve You

Black suit. Black tie. White dress shirt.

Magnus had to go back to his house, sneaking in the back door (she had changed the locks), and retrieve his suit from Homecoming.

It was only an inch too small in every possible way, verging on comical.

It was Tuesday; Robert had been dead for four days and the funeral service was set to be held at three, followed by the burying, and a reception at the Lightwood residence.

Alec elected to do a closed-coffin funeral. It was a selfish decision, triggered by the fact that Alec couldn't face his father in life, so he wouldn't face him in death.

The funeral would be Alec and Magnus' first official public appearance, and in a church no less.

Magnus was the only one that wasn't too busy to be worried.

It wouldn't surprise him if more than half the town was there to pay their respects and get some gossip in return.

Magnus stopped Alec just as they were leaving, to adjust his tie.

"Let's not push it, okay?" Magnus said.

"Of course not," Alec said, looking Magnus in the eyes.

Magnus looked away because Maryse was coming out of her room for the first time. His hands dropped away from Alec's tie.

That night at his house, he hadn't seen how beautiful Maryse was, despite being in her late 40's. She radiated a calm mourning.

She was upset, yes, but not out of control.

That was the facade she put up to protect herself.

The truth was that she wasn't okay. She had proved that by locking herself in her room for days, leaving her children to fend for themselves.

"Hi, Mom," Alec said.

"Good afternoon," she said. Her hands were clasped around a black little purse.

Alec stepped around Magnus, who was still staring, and hugged his mother.

"I missed you," she said. Then she let him go. "We should probably get going."

Isabelle came thundering down the stairs, trying to slid on her heels while taking the stairs two at a time.

"I'm ready," she said, still trying to secure a strap.

"Magnus is driving," Alec said.

That was news to him.

.........

Alec and Magnus hung back in the car as Isabelle and Maryse went in together.

Alec was the one who didn't get out of the car.

"I don't know why I miss him," Alec said. The humidity was beginning to seep into the car.

"Because you loved him," Magnus offered.

"But why?" Alec asked.

"Because you're human. You're supposed to love your parents."

"He never did anything," Alec said.

"We'd be having an only slightly different conversation if you didn't love him," Magnus said. "You'd be asking me why you didn't love him. I'd give you answers and you still wouldn't feel good enough. I can't give you an answer. It's all abstract. You accept the fact that you loved him or you didn't."

Alec opened the door with a scary amount of force.

Magnus got out of the car just as quickly, trying to catch up with Alec.

"You know, he never deserved you," Magnus shouted.

Alec looked back as he stood on the steps of the church.

Magnus continued walking towards him.

"'We accept the love we think we deserve,'" Alec said. "Do you know what that's from?"

"Yes," Magnus said. "I actually did my homework in the 9th grade."

Alec smiled slightly.

"Okay," Alec said. He held out his hand and Magnus took it.

Screw the town.

........

The pastor's usually kind gaze looked particularly cold when he spoke with Alec before the sermon.

Maybe it was Magnus' presence at his side, their fingers intertwined.

The funeral was uneventful. People whispered. The nicely-dressed corpse of Robert Lightwood seemed to scream for attention from within his coffin.

Then he was laid into the ground, right beside his son.

"The good are gone too soon," someone commented from the back of the assembled crowd.

Alec laughed internally.

If this was the graveyard for the good, his father would find himself out of place and lost.

He was an evil man and Alec was just as bad for thinking it.

.............

"Magnus, this is my aunt," Alec said. Magnus shook the bitter woman's hand.

"What your father would have thought," she growled as she dropped Magnus' hand.

He had to use every ounce of willpower to avoid rolling his eyes.

Some ideologies would never die.

"Well, I'm sure he would agree with you, Auntie," Alec said. His pent-up anger had reached max-capacity though. "But I didn't give a damn about his opinion so I sure as hell aren't giving one about yours."

She looked taken aback, her once narrow eyes opening to their full extent.

"Alexander Lightwood, you are going to hell!"

Magnus was thankful the other funeral-goers hadn't quite arrived yet.

"Virginia!" Maryse shouted from across the house.

Maryse strode into the room, heels clicking on the worn hardwood.

"If you will not be respectful, I will have to ask you to leave," Maryse said.

"This--" She pointed a bony finger at Magnus. "--this is disrespectful to my brother's memory!"

"My husband wouldn't have appreciated you shouting in his house, first of all, and secondly, he wouldn't have allowed you to discipline his children."

"Someone has to," Virginia Lightwood snapped.

"Thank you for stopping by, Virginia," Maryse said.

Virginia let out an angry puff of air before storming out.

"Thank you," Alec said.

"Let go of his hand," Maryse ordered. Magnus let Alec's hand go, to Alec's surprise. "She may be a crotchety old woman but she's right; your father wouldn't have liked it and I'm tired of this family being the center of the town's gossip."

"Mom--"

"Alec! Not today!" She left the living room in a fury as well.

"We should stay on her good side," Magnus said. He put a hand on Alec's cheek and tried his most comforting smile. "Between the two of us, she's the only parent we've got left."

"That's morbid," Alec snapped. Magnus shrugged, pulling away from Alec.

The doorbell rang.

"And so it begins."