It had been five years since they had adopted Max. Magnus could still remember all of the paperwork that they had to go through. He remembered all the questions, that seemed to be shooting out at him from seemingly nowhere. He should've prepared for it. The entire world was going to know that he and Alec were not only getting married, but that they also would be adopting a child. In the end though, when he looked back at all the sleepless nights and how stressed Alec had always seen, he knew that it had been worth it.
Max had been worth all of that. Magnus knew that there was something really special about the little boy, even though he didn't realize it himself. That was one of the things that Max had in similar with Alec. The fact that they both had such good personalities, but didn't even seem to realize it themselves.
Magnus could see changes in their son, even though they were very small. He was used to paying attention to small details like that. It was one of the things that he had picked up in his career. The small changes meant that he was slowly starting to grow up, even though there were so many changes to go.
Max had started wobbling excitedly on his still-stubby legs. His face was still round and plump with baby fat, but something about it had hardened out, now that he was older. His eyes were still bright, and the color of blueberries. That was the bane of the little nickname Magnus had given Max. His little blueberry. His voice was soft and small, which Magnus thought suspiciously was because of Alec's influence. He remembered so many times when Max had started fussing and crying as a baby that Alec would just calmly pick him up, speaking to him in a soft, low tone that sounded a bit like falling feathers.
His phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket, and Magnus blinked for a moment before picking up at the familiar number.
"Magnus? Hello?" Alec's voice was still as gentle as ever. It was one of the things that hadn't changed about him after their marriage. Magnus had seen so many sorts of marriages where someone wasn't really as they seemed. That wasn't the case for Alec. He was still him.
"Darling," Magnus purred, putting the phone up to his ear, "it's always so nice to hear from you."
His husband's voice was slightly irritated, "Magnus, I've told you before that 'Alec', or if you're really feeling sappy, 'Alexander', is just fine."
"Whatever you say, love," he said, slitting his eyes a little amused. He could almost hear Alec rolling his eyes on the other side of the phone.
"Anyways, how's it going?" Alec's tone suddenly changed, taking on an edge of complete nervousness, "is he okay? Did you make sure that he has his lunch? Tell him that I miss him, and that I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to see him off to school."
"Alexander," Magnus said, holding onto Max's hand just a little tighter, "he hasn't even entered the preschool building yet."
"Oh," cue Alec's awkward embarrassment, one of the things that always made him so endearing, "I'm sorry. I guess I'm really stressed about him. Damn, maybe I should've tried to take the day off to see him off on his first day."
"I'm here with him," Magnus told him patiently, "and it's not as if you can really take a break from filming. Especially since Raphael's the one who's directing this film."
"That is very true," Alec agreed, and he sounded just a little tired at the mere mention of the young director, "but still..."
"Would you like to talk to him before we go inside?" Magnus asked flatly.
He could almost sense Alec perking up on the other side of the phone, "Oh yes, of course!"
Magnus looked down at their three-year old son, who instantly turned his mop of dark blue curls to look up at him. Max Lightwood-Bane had the darkest hair that Magnus had ever seen, it was even, somehow, darker than Alec's. It was so dark that a slight sheen of blue was over it, glinting in the sunlight.
"Father wants to talk to you," Magnus said with a light, genuine smile, holding the phone down to him. At the mention of his other parent, Max's face instantly lit up, and he held out his free hand (the one that wasn't holding Magnus's eagerly.
"Father!" the little boy giggled happily, his smile splitting the bottom half of his face, "how's work!"
There was muffled noise from the phone, and Max's eyes brightened.
"Of course! I promise then! I'll promise that I'll be really good!"
After another moment, he burst with a quick, "I love you so much!"
Every time he said that, whether it was to Magnus or Alec, it always made his heart melt a little. It wasn't such a bad feeling, though. Max nodded into the phone, forgetting that his parent couldn't see him. He held the phone out back to Magnus, who took it. Alec had already hung up. No doubt it was Raphael yelling his always-irritated head off for Alec to get back to practicing lines.
"Father says goodbye, Dad," Max told him brightly.
"Hm," Magnus said with another smile, "did he tell you anything else?"
"He said that if I was good at school, you would buy me ice-cream on the way home!" Max's grin just seemed to get brighter and brighter. The sun was nothing compared to it.
"Of course he told you that," Magnus muttered.
Max frowned for a moment, sensing the change in Magnus's voice, "We...are going to get ice-cream after school, right? Don't worry! If we can't, I still love you!"
Damn, he was really getting too soft or old for this. Possibly both.
"Of course we can get ice-cream," Magnus told him, "your favorite. Chocolate with gummy bears and extra pink sprinkles."
He grinned, "pink sprinkles are the best. They're better-tasting than any other color of sprinkles."
"But," Magnus warned teasingly, "it's only if you're good at school today, alright? Listen to the teacher, and play nice with the other kids. Unless the other kids are mean to you."
"Then I'll kick them," Max said with a determined set in his face.
"Yep, that's right. Just like Uncle Jace and Auntie Izzy taught you." Magnus swooped down and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. He gripped Max's hand just a little tighter.
"Come on then, preschool awaits."
Then, the two of them walked into the building together. Max had a light, easy skip in his step as they headed inside. Magnus hoped that the world would be kind enough to be good to the boy. He never wanted anything to crush his spirit.
Magnus recalled when he himself had made the phone call to the preschool. The minute he introduced himself, it suddenly seemed as if the secretary was having a very hard time breathing.
Now, he got to see live.
It felt like only moments when Magnus was standing at the edge of the classroom. He could see bits of colorful paint splattered against the door. The door itself was worn down with age, some of the once-white paint peeling away along with the marks of blue and red. Past that, in the bright light filtering through the windows, there were pictures hung up in little frames.
So many small faces were grinning into the camera. It took a moment for Magnus to realized that they were old classes. All the kids must've grown up already. Magnus couldn't help but wonder where they were now? Were they doing okay in school?
He looked down at his own child, sudden worry squeezing his heart. What would happen to Max in the future? Magnus wanted to be able to protect him, but he wasn't sure if he could really do so. Max didn't notice the worried look on Magnus's face. He was too busy staring out at the classroom in front of him.
He would've expected the little boy to look afraid. That maybe he would look a little terrified and overwhelmed at what he was staring out at in front of him.
There was none of that visible on Max's face though.
Instead, he almost looked excited. Maybe a little awe-stricken, as if anything. But one thing the little boy did not look like, would be afraid.
"Max," Magnus suddenly realized that he should be probably saying something encouraging. It was his first day of school, this was supposed to be a precious memory. Magnus didn't know what he could say though, instead, he felt as if anything he would try to say would just get stuck in his throat.
It turned out, Max didn't really need to be told any words of encouragement. He looked up at Magnus, tugging his sleeve urgently. He bent down, leaning carefully on his knees to look his son right in the eyes. Whatever he needed to tell Magnus, he would be there to listen.
"I know you might be lonely without me at the house now," Max's voice was so serious, "but know that I'm going to come home soon and play with you again, okay Dad?! And besides, if you get too lonely you can always call Father to talk to you?! I'm sure he doesn't mind talking to you!"
Magnus chuckled a little, suppressing more of his smile, "Oh? But I really will get too lonely without you around!"
Max shook his head, almost in a knowing way. It made him seem older than he really was.
"I know it's going to be hard for you without me around as much, but you have to promise me that you will still try to be happy, alright?"
Magnus grinned at him, which made his son grin right back. Max may have looked a lot like Alec, but his smile was Magnus's. They had the same sort of sideways smile, which lifted up just slightly more on one corner of their face. It was the sort of smile that was instantly bright, that was contagious to everyone around them.
"Of course I'll try," Magnus said with a serious nod, "I'll try for you and for Dad. Just make sure you behave today, alright? It is your first day of school after all."
When Max rolled his eyes, Magnus was reminded so much of Alec that he almost jumped back. He didn't understand why he had such a weakness for warm blue eyes. Eyes that were the color of the sea, darker and more passionate than the light shades of the sky. As if they were light blue mixed in with ink the color of the night sky.
"I already promised Dad that I would behave, and I'm not going to let him get mad at me," he shivered a little, "Dad is scary when he's mad. He looks like he's going to barf and his hair gets all funny."
Magnus laughed, giving his head a quick rub.
"Come on then, before you go in the room, give me one last hug."
Max did give him one hug, clinging onto him tightly. Magnus didn't mind it at all.
"I love you," he told Max.
"I love you too," the reply was instant, without missing a single beat.
Then, without another look back at him, Max trotted inside of the classroom, where the light awaited him. Magnus watched him disappear into the room. That was his Max. His fearless little boy who was going to take on the world without any trouble.