Efflorescence (Sequel)

Efflorescence Twenty One (Final)

Robert walks out of the kitchen, wearing a pale blue dress shirt, tucked into black slacks, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Initially, surprise colours his features, but it isn't long before it melts into a welcoming smile. Robert comes forward and I briefly leaves Alec's hold to hug his father, who pats my back a few times before pulling back to look at me.

"Magnus Bane, you're back," he grins and grips my shoulder for a moment before dropping his hand. "You'll have to tell me all about Milan. I can't wait to hear everything." I chuckle and nod in agreement, making a mental note to come up with something other than my incessant wallowing to tell him.

"Of course, Robert." Maryse comes into the living room, her heels tapping the floor sharply. Alec's hand fits into mine, squeezing twice and I find myself relaxing despite being faced with someone I despise so much.

"I thought I heard your voice," she muses quietly before her gaze snaps to Alexander. "I'm glad." 

Confusion washes over me instantly, and I feel Alec shift beside me, glancing to see his brows pulled together. "You are?" He clarifies slowly, moving slightly closer to me. I understand his concern- Maryse comes across like a predator, and he's afraid to fall into her trap. 

"You've been terribly unhappy since he left. I know that you thought staying was a good choice, and I don't think it was the worst choice you've ever made. But you gave up everything you've spent your life working for. Max is grateful, so am I. But you need to worry about yourself, too." 

I feel the air around us lose its tension, feel Alexander relax beside me.

"You two should go see Max. He's doing homework in his room." Robert suggests, still smiling. It feels better than anything that he's on our side, too. That maybe I've been seeing everything wrong this past while. Maybe it's never had to be Alec and I against the world. If we'd only opened our eyes just a little wider, we'd have seen there are others fighting alongside us, every day.

Max looks up when Alec taps on the doorframe, smiling instantly at the picture the two of us make in the doorway.

"Magnus!" He calls, getting up from his desk and coming over. I open my arms as he falls into my chest. Over his shoulder, I catch Alec looking at us, a soft, adoring smile on his face. We chat for awhile, and I promise to take Max to Milan one day when he's fully recovered. It's nice to make plans like this, knowing that I'll be able to follow through this time. 

***

"We don't have anywhere to go home to," I remind Alec as he packs his things the next day. "I'm living out of a hotel room. I mean, I have an apartment in Milan. But we don't have a place in Brooklyn anymore so what's your hurry?" Crossing my arms, I lean on the door frame and watch him meticulously fold his clothes. 

"I'll go anywhere with you. We can make it home." I smile at that, my chest filling with warmth. 

"Yeah, that's true. Though, mushiness aside. We seriously need to look at apartments before we head to Brooklyn." Sighing, he puts the shirt in his hand down and turns to me. 

"When did you become the rational one?" He crosses the room to me, placing his hands on my hips. 

"I've had a lot of time to think in the past three months." I shrug and slide my hands up his arms until they're clasped behind his neck. 

"I'm sorry," it's like a mantra, the way he repeats it so often, but it never loses its sincerity. He really is sorry, so sorry for how the past three months went down. But I don't want him to be. We've both made tragic mistakes in the past while, mistakes that may not heal for a long time. But they'll get better far quicker when we're together. 

"I've forgiven you. I forgave you the moment it happened, you know that." I place a kiss on his jaw, a soft, sweet reminder that it's okay now. 

"You shouldn't let me get off so easily. I really screwed up, Mags." 

"So have I in the past. And you forgave me, too." He doesn't say anything now, and the morning falls quiet around us, but it's peaceful and soft, gentle and warm and I don't think it could get any better than this. 

We eventually curl up against the headboard of his childhood bed, underneath the blue duvet I bought him so many years ago, with cups of tea in our hands and a laptop on our legs between us. 

"How about this one?" I ask, clicking on an apartment listing. 

"Too far from your work. I don't want you to have to leave so early in the morning." I hum in agreement and keep scrolling. 

"Maybe we should get a house," he suggests finally, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. 

"A house?" I quirk a brow, turning fully to look at him. 

"I've been thinking..." he begins slowly, but he won't meet my eyes. I wait patiently, knowing he'll tell me when the wording is right. "This time, it's for real. I'm not letting you go. And within a couple of years, I want to marry you. I don't care how it happens, but I do. And then, what about kids? You want kids, right?" My brows are practically lost in my hairline and I'm sure my heart has completely stopped beating. The fact that my Alexander, sitting here beside me, honestly wants to spend the rest of his life with me is unbelievable. I never thought I'd get so lucky. 

"You want to marry me?" My voice is breathless, so quiet it doesn't even sound like me. His gaze meets mine and he quirks a lopsided smile that makes my chest tighten endearingly. 

"Well, yeah. Sooner rather than later. We finally have my moms blessing, I guess," he shrugs and kisses my forehead lightly, pushing a few unruly strands of hair away and tucking them back into place. 

"I want to marry you, too," I confirm, to which he chuckles softly. 

"I'd hope so or else this would be awkward." I laugh, too, and it feels so good I could spend all day here, laughing at nothing just to feel the high. 

"So is this your way of indirectly proposing?" I ask, kind of joking, but seriousness tugging incessantly at my heart. 

"You could call it that." I smile softly, which he returns with a soft kiss that leaves me breathless and all kinds of flustered.

"And about kids, yeah, I do want some eventually. Why don't we start with a cat, though? I mean, we can barely keep ourselves alive." He laughs, a little louder than last time and it rumbles against me where our bodies touch. 

"Okay, a cat sounds good. What would we name it?" He wonders out loud as he changes the type of place to houses on the laptop, researching. 

"I don't know, Chairman Meow?" I suggest, half kidding, but also kind of fond of the name. Alexander's laughter hits an all-time high and I join in, burying my face in his shoulder and hoping I'll never have to leave. 

 And I think to myself, that this moment is one I'll look back on, in ten or twenty years, and realize it was pivotal. A moment where things change, or shift, open and become something new entirely. It's simple, there's really nothing extravagant about it, but it never had to be. Sometimes, especially with Alexander in my life, the most simple, average things hold the most beauty. Sometimes that's all it takes.   

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A/N: Okay this wasn't what I expected, but I think this is the end! I really love the feel to it, and I don't want to drag it on any longer if it has no point. I may upload an epilogue and/or some bonus chapters if that's what you guys want! Please comment or message me and let me know so I know which direction to take this, or if you're content with it ending right here. 

Thanks again for all the love and support for this story and all my others. I honestly pour my heart and soul into my writing, and it's amazingly rewarding to see it pay off in the way you all enjoy it. 

Thanks again, and until next time, bye!

-Sierra