A Little Bit of Chaos, and a Whole Lot of Love | A Collection of Malec One Shots

alec over the ages [iii]

[Fifty Two]

"Please?"

"No."

"Please, daddy?"

"Absolutely not. And calling me daddy at isn't really helping your case."

"Dad..."

"Max, I said no."

"Come on, dad, let him."

"Rafael...."

"Alec, dear, I really don't see the harm."

"Well, I do." Alec argued, slightly annoyed. "He's not going out with that werewolf again."

"Dad! Jake hurt me once, and he didn't mean to."

"I said what I said, Max. Let him know that if he wants to go out with you, he can. Over my dead body."

"What is your problem, anyway? What, is it that I'm gay?" Max said angrily, almost shouting the words.

At that, Alec burst out laughing. Magnus couldn't help but let out a small chuckle himself.

"Do you honestly think that that's what I'm worried about? That you're gay?" Alec asked incredulously, in between fits of barely controlled laughter. "In case you haven't noticed, Max, I'm not really in a position to judge." He gestured towards Magnus.

Immediately, Max shifted tactics.

"Papa?" He asked innocently, using the voice he had used when he was a little kid as he unleashed the full force of his puppy eyes on Magnus. Instantly, Magnus hesitated; he could feel his resolve faltering.

Magnus could tell that what his son had had with Jake was special; Max was almost as smitten as him and Alec. It was clear that the werewolf was just as lovestruck as well. He knew that whatever had happened between the two was simply a misunderstanding, but he didn't want his son to get hurt.

Unfortunately, Magnus couldn't really stop himself from giving in to everything his children wanted.

Admittedly, while Alexander had been better at handling them when they were younger, and Magnus was much better with teenagers, he still couldn't refuse most of the time. Especially when Max pleaded him like this.

It couldn't really hurt, could it? Everyone made mistakes, everyone deserved a second chance. Besides, hadn't he done the same thing with Alec?

"Oh, just go." He said, gesturing towards the door, a beaming smile stretched across his face.

For a moment, Max looked confused. When realization of what had just happened dawned on him, a smile as wide as Magnus's own adorned his expression.

"Thank you!" He cried breathlessly, squeezing his father tightly before rushing towards the door. On the way out, he cast a wary glance towards Alec but made no move to ask him once again, for fear that he would be held back.

Once Max was out, the door of the loft slamming shut behind him, Rafael chuckled to himself and turned to head back into his room, pointedly looking at Magnus and Alec before disappearing inside. Magnus nodded.

"Alexander?" He asked cautiously, making no move to touch the strangely silent shadowhunter. When Alec didn't turn to look at him, however, he placed a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Alec flinched, which stung, but thankfully didn't pull away.

"Why did you let him go?" Alec asked Magnus, his voice sounding a bit off.

"Alexander..." Magnus said again. "They're young. They made a mistake. They deserve a second chance. When we got one, why shouldn't they?" Magnus asked gently, lightly squeezing his husband's shoulder.

Once again, Alec didn't respond.

"Is everything okay?" Magnus asked, worried. He had expected Alexander to lash out, or to not talk to him, or to maybe lecture him on how Max might get hurt all over again. He hadn't expected this.

"What is it?" He questioned, this time walking around the other man to get a good look at his face.

He was shocked to see tears.

"Alec?" He asked, his hands instinctively going around the others man's waist, holding him in a comforting yet grounding force.

For a while, neither said anything. The room was filled with silence, and the occasional soft sob from Alexander. Magnus wanted to ask what was wrong, but he knew that Alec would open up soon.

Sure enough, he did.

"I just...I know we've talked about this." Alexander began, pulling away from Magnus but holding onto his hand. Instantly, Magnus knew where he was going with this, but said nothing. Maybe there was nothing to talk about, but they had still put this conversation off for far too long.

"I've just been thinking about it a lot more recently." Alec said hesitantly, cautiously looking at Magnus both for reassurance and to make sure he was up for the conversation.

"Alexander..." Magnus didn't really know what to say, not after he'd said everything he possibly could. "I will always love you, no matter what."

"See, that's the problem. I know you will, which is why leaving you is going to hurt you. And I can't...I can't do that to you." Alec said with difficulty, the words sounding choked.

"That's years away. Let's just focus on the here and n-"

"No." Magnus was taken aback. "Magnus," Alexander continued. "You can't keep saying that. I'm already fifty two. Look at me. My hair's graying, my skin's getting wrinkly and there's only so much longer I can keep fighting demons. Assuming I survive."

"Don't say that." Magnus said quickly, not wanting to hear it. He didn't want to hear any of this, it hurt too much.

Magnus shut his eyes tight, willing himself to get a grip on things. After what seemed like forever, he opened them again, only to find himself staring into Alec's beautiful hazel eyes.

"See?" Alexander asked him. "It hurts you even now."

"Alexander." Magnus said. "I'm not saying it won't hurt. I'm saying I'm willing to go through the pain. Because it's you, Alec. I'd burn the world down for you. From the day I met you, I knew you were it for me. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, and I never will. And if I have to, I will endure the pain over and over again to be with you." He finished, breathless.

"Magnus..." Alec trailed off. His eyes were filled with love, and at that moment, Magnus wanted nothing more than to hold him tight and never, ever let go.

So that's what he did.

He pulled his husband into a fierce hug, clinging on to him tightly as he buried his face in the shadowhunter's neck. Alec rested his head on Magnus's hair, breathing in the smell of sandalwood he loved so much.

"We'll get through this, Alexander." Magnus's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"Okay." Alec responded simply, his voice quivering.

"We will."

×××

[a/n:]

this ended up being a lot longer than i'd expected. and it arrived a lot later. i'm very sorry; i've been busy on twitter.

speaking of which, #SaveShadowhunters .

all the love,
dana.