Loving Husband

Rome

Alec: 80
Max: 57
Rafael: 59

They sat down at the hotel room's balcony, overviewing the beautiful city. Alec could see the Colosseum and parts of the Forum Romanum from here. Rome had always been an astonishing place and he was more than happy to spend their anniversary in it.

The Shadowhunter thaught back sixty years. There were not a lot of memories that had stuck in his head as clearly as that one moment. So many things had been different back then when Magnus had stormed into his wedding with Lydia. That day had been the start of many positive changes for him.

Looking back on his life he could say without hesitation that once he had stopped living his life for his parents and started to show the world who he was he had been happier. And even though they had faced challenges and break-ups, he had felt more free, more himself than he had the first twenty years of his life.

His gaze shifted from the impressing skyline to his husband. Magnus looked at him with so much love, it was overwhelming. He loved him despite the grey hair, despite the wrinkles, despite everything that showed that he was old. And Alec loved Magnus just as much.

He wasn't as sportive as he used to be, but in comparison to mundanes his age, he was pretty fit. Most Shadowhunters, who didn't die during the hunt and reached this old age, were though. Their lifestyle was stressful and demanding but it kept their body in a good shape, concerning agility.

Alec knew that after their week in Rome he would probably be exhausted and have enough adventure for some time. But that wouldn't stop him from enjoying his time here, along with Magnus.

They still acted like a couple in public, ignoring weird looks and whispering behind their back from mundanes. Magnus' warning looks were usually enough to stop the ones that dared to approach them about it. A few months ago they had had a pretty heated argument with a mundane in London, who had seen it as her duty to get Magnus away from a 'stuffed old pedophile' because she had the unchangeable opinion that Magnus was with Alec for money or something like that.

The Shadowhunter had tried to get Magnus away from it and make him ignore the woman, but the warlock had told him that no one talked to his husband like that. It had cost a lot of time to convince him that he shouldn't put a curse on her, no matter what she said.

Alec would lie if he said that it didn't bother him at all, but he had accepted that he was mortal and Magnus was not, a long time ago. So even though it stung to see that what they had was viewed as unnatural, even if it was from people that didn't know the real situation, it didn't make him less happy in his relationship.

"It's wonderful isn't it?" Magnus brought him out of his wandering thoughts "I can't wait for tomorrow to see the Castel Sant Angelo with you again."

Alec smiled and nodded "It's amazing. Why didn't we come here a second time sooner? It's almost as I am seeing everything for the first time." It had been about fifty years ago that he had been to Rome with Magnus and it was true, he remembered parts of it but it all was still so amazing as if he had never been here before.

What he remembered most was the excitement of Max and Rafael, the way they tried to look everywhere at once. It had been wonderful to explore the city with the kids, but it was its own kind of amazing to be here just with Magnus.

His husband smiled at him "Well there were so many other places to see," he answered while waving his hands to make their dinner appear "As much as I love Rome I couldn't deprive you of all the other wonders the world has to offer. Just imagine, you could have missed out on the Maya temples or the pyramids of Gizeh."

Alec chuckled and picked up the knife and fork "I might have to let that count as an excuse," he joked, silently agreeing with what Magnus had said. He didn't want to miss any of their trips together, they had all been amazing.