The last thing Magnus wanted to do was admit to his sons exactly what his new plan was. He knew that they would both eventually be better off for it, but he also knew that telling them would likely initially cause a very large argument. He knew they wouldn't take it lightly at first, but in the end, he understood that it was the best option. It was the only thing Magnus had come up with to make the situation as right as possible.

He'd already talked to Catarina about whether or not she would be willing to help him now that his plans had changed, and though she'd been reluctant at first, she'd eventually come to see that Magnus was right. His only hope was that Max and Rafael would forgive him as quickly as Catarina had come to understand.

The first thing Catarina had asked him was why, and his only explanation had been that he simply had to. "Rafael had the unfortunate luck of falling in love with Elaine," he said, attempting his explanation as best as he could. "You know she's a warlock just as well as I do. And Max simply cannot take this anymore. It's something that I have to do for the both of them, and I will not change my mind or apologize for it."

The nervousness that overcame Magnus when he heard the door begin to open was almost overwhelming. When Rafael stepped into the living room, his face was immediately overcome by worry. "What's wrong, Papa?" he asked, his voice obviously trying to hide his concern. "What's going on?" Magnus motioned for Rafael to sit down.

"There's nothing particularly wrong, Rafael," he said, taking a seat opposite his son. "Nothing more than usual, at least. But I'll start explaining when Max gets here; there's no need to explain things twice." Rafael eyed him, and Magnus knew that he was trying to figure out exactly what was going on. It looked as though he was having a hard time doing so, but when he finally spoke up, Magnus knew his son was getting very close to the truth of things.

"This is about your immortality, isn't it?" The part that hurt Magnus the most about this question was that he could hear the break in Rafael's voice. "You've made your decision." This wasn't a question anymore, and the finality to Rafael's voice was almost enough to be heartbreaking. Magnus forced himself to keep from giving any hint as to what that decision possibly was.

"I'm going to make coffee while we're waiting on your brother," was all that he said before he got up and went to the kitchen. When he came back, he could easily see how stressed Rafael seemed to be. "How's Elaine?" he asked, hoping to take Rafael's mind off of himself and the situation at hand.

This, however, didn't seem to do exactly what Magnus wanted it to do as Rafael's face fell even further at the question. "I'm sure she's fine, but I wouldn't really know at the moment. She hasn't spoken to me all night or day because we had an argument. I don't really think I need to explain to you exactly how the whole immortality argument got started." When Magnus felt the weight of sorrow settle in over his heart, he knew that he was making the right decision.

Before he could say anything to attempt to comfort Rafael, the door opened once more to reveal Max this time. "What's going on, Papa?" Max asked as soon as he was through the door. "What's this about?" It was obvious that Max hadn't yet thought the situation through in the way that Rafael had, so Magnus decided that the best course of action was to dive straight into the conversation that was ahead of him.

"Take a seat, Max. I've made my decision about my immortality, and I would like to talk to the both of you about that. I won't do anything at all unless I get permission from both of you." Max watched his father suspiciously as he took a seat beside of his brother. It was obvious that Max was highly concerned about what his father was going to say, and Magnus couldn't blame him for that.

"I want you two to hear me out before you answer me. Let me explain why I want this, then you can tell me your thoughts." Magnus watched as his sons shared a glance much in the way that Alec and Jace used to share glances. "I wish to take away my immorality, that much remains true. But I wish to do something with it," Magnus held up a hand when he saw Max's mouth open. "I don't want to simply give it away and get rid of it. I want to make a difference with it, and I want to do something I think even your father would support."

Magnus paused for several seconds, trying to figure out how best to go about the rest of the conversation. In the end, Magnus decided that being straightforward was the only way to do so. "Much too long ago, I heard of a spell that can transfer a warlock's immortality to anyone at all. I used to think of it as pure legend, but I recently decided to look into it, and I've discovered that it's much more than legend. To put it frankly, I wish to give my immortality to you, Rafael."

The silence was absolutely deafening, and suddenly, Magnus began second guessing everything that he had thought was right. "We all three know that you're in love with Elaine, and giving the two of you the chance that your father and I never got is something that I can truly say would make me happy. But what helped me decide this the most was a lot of what Max said to me the other day. The way you talked about losing Rafael, son, it was as though losing Rafael would mean losing half of your heart. Sure, losing your father and I will hurt the both of you; I understand that. But if I can give the both of you the chance to live the kind of life I never got the chance to live, well, that's really my only dream right now."

When Magnus was done, he swallowed the lump in his throat, attempting to watch the expressions on Max and Rafael's faces, his heartbeat the only thing that told him time was still moving. Magnus was surprised by the first thing that Rafael was able to say. "Do you really mean that, Papa?" he asked, his voice showing Magnus that he didn't want to throw himself into false hope. Magnus inclined his head, afraid that speaking again would mess things up.

Rafael turned to Max then, his expression unreadable to Magnus. "I think this is absolutely insane," Max said, and Magnus watched as Rafael's face fell. He wanted to interject, but he knew that if Max was going to argue there was nothing he could do about it. "This is insane," Max repeated. "But I understand why you want to do it, Papa. If it's what Rafael wants, then you both have my blessing."

Magnus watched once more as Rafael's face lifted again. Rafael wasted no time in expressing to them both exactly what he thought of the situation. "You know that I would never dream of taking your immortality away from you, Papa. You know better than anyone that I would never want to lose you. But if you wish to take it away regardless of the situation, then there's no sense in allowing it to go to waste. Staying with Max has honestly been my dream since we were children. Of course," Rafael paused, his voice catching slightly.

"My dream always included you as well. If this is truly what you want, Papa, then you know that I'm going to accept this." Rafael paused, and Magnus looked away for a moment when he realized that there were tears in Rafael's eyes. "You giving me the chances that you never got, Papa, that's honestly the best gift you've ever given me. I would be insane to deny it. Sure, you know we're going to miss you like crazy. But you're still going to get the chance to be a grandfather before you get gray hair and leave us." Magnus was surprised to realize that he was smiling by the time that Rafael had finished speaking.

At that, Magnus got up from his seat and moved to embrace both of his children. Things had gone much better than Magnus had ever imagined, and now his only hope was that wherever Alec was, he might eventually forgive Magnus for what he was going to do. "The two of you have no idea what you mean to me," he said, keeping his seat between the boys. "I hope you two never forget that."

Rafael couldn't sleep, so he'd gotten up with his grandson, Mason, and fed him when the time was right, continuing to rock him even after he fell back asleep. He knew that he was simply nervous about meeting Max the next day, but he couldn't seem to figure out exactly why that was. It had been so many years since they had lost their papa that Rafael was on the verge of losing count, but they were meeting in the morning to spend their yearly mandatory day together, just the two of them.

Since they'd lost their papa, they'd made a point to spend at least one day together every year, knowing that their papa was gone in part because he wanted them to have the chance to live together as a family. They days that the both of them had become grandparents had been days full of so much emotion that Rafael knew he would never forget them. Their families were now so mixed with combinations of Shadowhunters, various Downworlders, and even mundanes that they had no hope of ever calling the Lightwood family a "Shadowhunter" family again.

Rafael often wished that both of his parents were there to see what their family had become. He knew they would both be terribly proud of every person who carried the Lightwood name, and their pride was something he wished he could see. Rafael put Mason back in his crib and finally dragged himself back to bed. He knew that he had to get some sleep if he were to actually meet Max the next day.

"Papa would be terribly proud of you, Rafe," Max said, staring at the headstone in front of them. They'd spent the day together in their usual way, traveling to different places that meant the most to them, but in the end, they always found themselves at their fathers' graves. "I know he'd be very proud of the choice he made." Max's voice sounded very far away, and Rafael couldn't resist the urge to wrap an arm around him.

"I don't care how much time goes by, Max," Rafael said, his voice catching ever so slightly. "I'm always going to miss them, and you're always going to be my Blueberry." Rafael chuckled as Max playfully shoved him, but he knew that Max was only doing so because he was at a loss to express what he was feeling. "I love you, too, little brother," Rafael said, closing his eyes and thanking his fathers for the gifts that both of them gave him.

I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'm really happy with how it turned out (it turned out a lot differently than I originally intended). As always, let me know your thoughts on it!