Set four years after they defeat Sebastian; Alec went missing and has been presumed dead.

Whoa, new story! I don't know yet how many chapters I want this to be, but I'm hoping to update bi-weekly. We'll see how that goes. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my poor little laptop and my idea. If I owned TMI Malec would still be together, CoHF would be coming out much sooner than it is (14 days, guys!) and it would basically be entirely made up of Malec fluff.

"How are you doing, Magnus?"

The warlock let out a deep breath, watching as it swirled white in the nearly-winter air. All around him the last traces of autumn clung resolutely to the world: leaves of reds and golds and browns that had yet to fall, birds that stubbornly refused to fly south. Tessa and Jem walked beside him as they made their way through the park, Tessa's fingers picking at the clockwork necklace she had retrieved from the New York Institute a few years before. She glanced up at him now, waiting for an answer to her question. "Magnus?"

"A little hungry," he said. "I'm thinking either Chinese or pizza for lunch."

Tessa looked unimpressed. "You know what I meant. It's been four years."

He did know what she meant, although he was loathe to admit it. It had been four years since the fight with Sebastian, four years since he had cast Alec away and four years since he had gotten the call that had turned his world on its axis. Four years since Alec had gone missing without a trace, three years since the Clave had pronounced him dead and two years since the Lightwoods had given up hope. If Magnus was being honest with himself, he had to admit that he still subconsciously searched every face he came across for that hint of vivid blue that would bring him home. If only he could see Alec again, he reckoned, he'd be willing to forgive the boy everything.

"I –" he was cut off suddenly as a small form crashed into him from behind, pressing into the back of his knee and nearly taking his leg out from under him. Gold-green eyes wide he glanced down to find a mop of messy, ink-black hair. "What…" The child wrapped around his leg glanced up with a shy giggle and Magnus froze. The boy was baby-cute, with a wide grin complete with a missing front tooth and chubby cheeks flushed pink with the cold and huge ears, but it was the bright, familiar blue eyes sparkling up at him that took his breath away and made his heart skip a beat. "Oh,"

"Alexander Maxwell Frederickson!" Magnus stiffened at the name, turning to face the woman hurrying toward them. She was a mundane, in her mid-forties if the warlock guessed correctly, with greying, pale brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail. A moment later she was there, somewhat out of breath and glancing up at Magnus apologetically. "I'm so sorry," she was saying ruefully. "I don't know what's gotten into him! Usually he hates strangers, won't go near them."

Magnus, whose patience for kids was usually extremely limited, just shook his head as he ruffled the boy's hair. "It's fine," he assured her with an easy laugh. "He's cute. How old is he?"

"Four," she said. Magnus nearly choked. "I really just don't know what possessed him to run over here. He must really like you – he bit the last stranger who came so close. Unfortunately, that was the tenth potential adopter he's driven off."

"Potential adopter?"

The woman nodded, pushing a chunk of hair behind her ear as she looked down at Alexander sadly. "He's a ward of the state," she explained quietly. "Four years ago he was dropped off on the orphanage's doorstep with nothing but a note stating that his name was Alexander. Usually he's very sweet, if a little shy, and with his looks and coloring there are no shortage of people who would consider adopting him. Unfortunately he's also good at running people off if he doesn't like them. You really have no idea how strange this is."

As if to emphasize his perfect innocence Alexander turned to smile up at Tessa and Jem, his gap-toothed grin sweet. Tessa melted immediately, kneeling beside the boy with a warm smile of her own. "Hello, Alexander," she greeted cheerfully. The boy waved shyly with his free hand, still gripping Magnus's pant leg with the other.

"Hello." His voice was quiet, but happy.

The mundane woman watched the proceedings in utter disbelief. "I don't…" her phone rang suddenly, cutting her off. As she spoke quietly into the cell Magnus knelt, meeting Alexander's wide-eyed gaze with his own.

"Hi," the boy chirped, flashing Magnus a crooked smile. The warlock felt Tessa and Jem move to kneel beside him, but Alexander didn't seem to mind. Whatever he disliked about everyone else, he seemed perfectly at ease with the two warlocks and the Shadowhunter. "Who are you?"

"I'm Magnus," he said with a grin. "These are my good friends Tessa and James. You can call him Jem if you like."

Alexander watched them curiously, his blue eyes bright as he giggled softly. "Magnus? That's a funny name," Magnus put on a look of mock-insult and gasped dramatically.

"Alexander, that hurt," he huffed jokingly, making the four-year-old giggle again. "Oh, you think that's funny do you? What about your name? Alexander is kind of a funny name, isn't it?"

The boy shook his head enthusiastically. "No!" he laughed. "But I don't really like it anyway." He scrunched up his face in distaste. "It's too long. I like Alec better."

Magnus felt his heart skip, but smiled anyway. "Alec, huh? Are you a smart aleck?"

Alec let out a squealing laugh. "No, no, no!" he cried delightedly. After a moment he settled, looking at Magnus with yet another grin. "I like you," he decided. "You're funny, you have funny clothes, and you have pretty eyes. They look like a cat's."

"Funny clothes, huh?" Magnus demanded playfully, poking the boy's stomach and making him giggle. "I tell you, you sure know how to woo someone, Alexander." The boy just grinned. "So do you like cats, then?"

Alec nodded eagerly. "I love cats!" he agreed. His face fell slightly. "We can't have any though. Do you have a cat?"

"I have one – his name's Chairman Meow," Magnus said. Alec's eyes lit up. Before he could say anything the mundane woman came over, putting her hand on his head. He scowled slightly, whether at the intrusion or the woman's messing of his hair Magnus wasn't sure.

"We need to go," she said apologetically. Magnus nodded slowly, standing as he reluctantly brushed himself off. Meeting the woman's gaze, he could see the genuine apology in her eyes. "It's such a shame, though. You really do so well with him."

Alec looked concerned. "Go?"

The woman nodded sadly. "Sorry, little man."

"No!" Without a warning he dashed forward, maneuvering himself between Magnus and Tessa in order to grab both of their legs. "Don't wanna go," he sniffled, his gem-blue eyes filling with tears. "I wanna stay with Magnus and his friends."

Magnus knelt once more, carefully moving the boy to stand before him. As he met Alec's gaze the boy sniffed, though no tears had fallen. "Hey," the warlock said gently. "It'll be okay. Maybe I can come visit you at the shelter soon. Would that be okay? If I got special permission I could even bring the Chairman." Alec's eyes lit up again suddenly, and he smiled shyly.

"Really?"

"Really, really. But you've got to listen to…" he trailed off, realizing he still didn't know the mundane woman's name. She smiled at him and mouthed 'Susan'. "…Susan. You've got to listen to Susan, or I won't be able to come. Alright?"

After another couple minutes of convincing the boy that he would be seeing him again soon and getting Susan's contact information to arrange the meeting, Magnus and the others watched the two leave, Alec peeking back over his shoulder a couple of times to wave goodbye. Once they were out of sight Tessa sighed sadly. Magnus knew that the past few decades especially had been hard on her – she missed being a mother, having babies to coddle and fawn over and love. Simultaneously she and Jem turned to each other, speaking: "I think we should adopt him,"

Magnus sighed tiredly, running a hand through his hair. It had been a long couple of months since Tessa and Jem had decided to adopt Alec, full of meetings with case workers and adoption agencies, endless paperwork to fill out and numerous home checks. There had been a little concern at first about their ages – neither of them looked any older than their early twenties –, but once anyone saw how Alec blossomed around them they knew everything would work out. All in all it had been a lot more hassle than they were hoping for but finally, they were going to be able to bring him home.

After Magnus's downstairs neighbors with the tempestuous romance had finally cleared out, Tessa and Jem had quickly snatched up the loft and made it their own. Magnus had helped some, adding an extra bedroom to the existing two with the help of his magic. Over the past few months the three had turned the space into a warm, inviting family home that the social workers had been rather impressed by.

"Mags!" The warlock turned with a small smile to greet the small child running toward him. Alec had taken to shortening Magnus's name as he did his own, and Mags had become the title of choice. "Tessa, Jem!" He was running toward the trio now, a wide grin on his face. There was a dark blue backpack swung over his shoulders, stuffed with who knew what, and a raggedy blue stuffed cat in his arms that immediately reminded Magnus of Church. With a giggle he crashed into their legs, giving them each a hug in turn. Susan made her way over at a more casual pace, a somewhat bittersweet smile on her face.

"Well, little man," she told Alec. "You all ready to go? You have everything you need?"

Alec turned with a nod, giving her a tight hug as well. Even at four he seemed to understand that he would probably not be seeing her again for a long time, if ever. "Love you, Susan."

Susan wiped a tear from her cheek with a sad smile. "Love you too, Alec. You be good, alright?" Alec nodded solemnly. "Good. I'll miss you."

The taxi ride back to the lofts was quiet, but Alec didn't cry. He just looked out at the city passing by, throwing his companions an excited grin as the taxi finally pulled to a stop outside the building. "Are we here?" he demanded eagerly.

Tessa nodded, smiling warmly. "Welcome home."

Well, guys? What did you think? I haven't written anything in years, so I hope it's okay.

As with Clockwork I'm not going to beg you to review but, as usual, it's always much appreciated.

~Raelin Frost~