Chapter 12

(A resolution for the Lightwood family.)

"Dance with me," Magnus whispered close to Alec's ear; they were alone at the table while Clary, Jace, Izzy, Simon, Luke, and Jocelyn were on the dance floor. Max was running around doing his own thing, usually with Jem & Will when they weren't at the DJ booth.

"No." Alec went back to looking at something on his phone.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Magnus drew out the word no. That was honestly not the response he was looking for or the one he thought he was going to get. It gave them an excuse to hold each other in public without Jace making some snorty joke about them. He thought Alec would have jumped at the idea.

"I mean no." Alec looked up from his phone, clicking the screen off. "I don't dance."

Magnus put his hand on Alec's shoulder so he could get closer to his new fiancée, he didn't want anyone to hear what he had to say next. "It will be good practice for our own wedding."

"Ah, no. No dancing there either." Alec was forced to look away, Magnus was too close.

"What?" Magnus had to pull back then, "What?" He repeated, he couldn't believe his ears. Now that had to think about it every time Magnus and Max played around dancing Alec never played along.

"Don't feel bad, Magnus, he doesn't know how." Izzy who was closet to them with Simon spoke up.

Magnus felt the burning desire to smile but that wouldn't help his case. "You're 26-years-old and you don't know how to dance. Why didn't you say something? I would have taught you beforehand."

"I'm good." Alec sent a glare in his sister's direction. He didn't need her help; he was perfectly okay with not knowing. Making a fool of himself was not something he enjoyed nor willing to do at this moment.

Magnus stood up fast, "No, come on." He had his hand on Alec's wrist and started pulling. Alec was forced to stand up or fall out of the chair and onto his face. He tried to pull back his arm once standing but Magnus was strong, it was all his years of working out.

"No, Magnus, stop!"

"Nope," he pulled him in close, quickly putting Alec's arm around his back to be able to lock him in place. "You will dance with me." Magnus smiled at Alec's deer in the headlights look but he wasn't entirely lost, Alec did know enough to wrap his arms around his waist. Whether it was to hold on because he wanted or because he didn't want to fall over from the force of being pulled.

"Magnus, please don't make me do this." Alec had a pleading sound to his voice that went straight to his eyes; he stepped back to drop his hold on him.

Magnus squinted at him, he saw Max running by and bent down to catch the boy around the stomach and lift him up, "Fine, I'll let it drop for now but I'm not letting this go. I am going to get you to dance with me." He let Max squirm in his arms before passing him to Alec, "Go play with your dad, he's scared of me now." He left them on the dance floor and left the barn. He wasn't mad, just annoyed. Why couldn't Alec do anything he wanted to do, whether it was embarrassing or not?

Alec sat Max down, "What did Magnus mean?"

"Nothing, go play." Alec rarely dismissed Max but he didn't want to be held up anyway. "I'll be back." And he followed Magnus out of the heated barn, why he did so without his jacket was a loss to him and he was going to pay for it later. "Magnus, wait."

"Go back inside."

"You can't be mad because I don't want to dance."

"I'm not mad, I'm annoyed. You aren't even going to dance with me at our wedding?" Magnus stopped under a tall tree; it blocked some of the cold. It was unnaturally warm for the winter day but there was still a chill on the air. Being out here was going to get them sick.

"I don't dance." Alec stepped up close, "I could just make it up to you, later."

"You are not going to use that to get back on my good graces."

Alec couldn't help himself; he smiled his sly smile that always had a positive effect on Magnus. "What happened to never turning it down?"

"Oh, I'm not turning it down, I'm just saying it's not going to help change my mind about being annoyed."

Alec crushed his lips against Magnus, pulling on his jacket to get him in close. Magnus had to bring his arms up around Alec's waist to settle on his lower back. They continued kissing without notice that they were being watched for a moment.

Simon came back into the barn with a strange look on his face, Izzy sent him outside to double check on Alec and Magnus, Magnus huffed off and Alec followed, so she wanted to double check if they were good. "Everything's fine." He went back to the dance floor.

Jace frowned, "You sure?"

Simon turned bright red, he should be overseeing them together but every time he saw them do anything besides a simple kiss, it always shocked him. He had never seen Alec be anything but calm and collect, so it was strange to see him lose control which happened a lot around Magnus. "They're making out up against a tree. I think they're good."

Jace laughed, "Sounds like Alec and Magnus. You should have seen the position I caught them in early this week."

"Jace!" Clary slapped his arm; he shouldn't be talking about his brother that way.

"What?" He smirked at his family. "They left the door open. I was just coming to tell them dinner was almost there."

"Jace, you really can't shut up, can you?" Alec spoke from the open door. He had Magnus beside him, holding onto his hand.

"What it's not like I said who was straddling whose lap?"

"What's that?" Max pipped up, standing next to Jace. He didn't understand what the adults were talking about again. It happened a lot and he didn't always ask about it, the confusion sat on his face this time. "Alec?"

"How many times do I have to tell you there is a child running around? How can you always forget Max is here?" Alec wanted to pounce on Jace; he was always saying things he shouldn't and Max picked up on them every single time. He wasn't going to let it slide this time, wedding or no wedding.

Magnus scoped Max into the air, bringing him above his head then back to his chest, "Nothing you need to worry about."

Clary stepped forward, "Alright enough, Jace say you're sorry and stop letting it happen." She hit his arm as it reminding him she meant business when he murmured something that sounds like sorry, she pulled on his arm. "Back to the dancing. Alec, leave the dance floor unless you're dancing." She smirked at him; it was on the clear way to get him not to beat up her groom. She also went the childish route and stuck her tongue out at him, in the playful manner they always had with one another.

"He can stay and dance." Magnus pipped in, he had the biggest smile on his face, hoping Alec got his joke.

"God, no." Alec stepped off the floor to get back to his seat, Max was there in a heartbeat, climbing onto his lap. "Hey, buddy."

"Was Jace being mean?" He asked in his little voice.

"No, just inappropriate." Alec leaned back in his chair when Magnus joined them, resting his arm on the back of Alec's chair. He felt a calm come over him. "Jace said something he shouldn't have for such small ears."

"Who's got small ears?" Max brought his hands up to touch Alec's ear. "You?"

Magnus laughed at the child's joke; Alec elbowed him. "Nope, you." He snuggled down to him. "Let me see." He pushed Max's messy hair back. "Yep, defiantly you." Max giggled and shrunk away from Alec and Magnus. Alec had to hold on tight, or he would have dropped the boy. Magnus went in for the tickle then, getting him to giggle even more. Alec had to laugh at the screech and giggle that Max let out. It was loud in his ear but it felt good to hear. Max had been affected today; there was no confusing thoughts, no lawyers, and no lawsuit. He was worried that Jace and Clary's wedding would be overshadowed by the things going on but it wasn't. Everyone was having a good time and he was glad his brother got the day he always wanted with Clary. Max settled down only slightly to defend himself from Magnus' tickles, so Magnus used the break to kiss the side of Alec's face, just above his cheek. Alec smiled at him then went back to attacking Max's sides. He was honestly scared that he would lose him, so he finally decided to just be in the moment. Talking with Magnus had relieved a huge part of that stress but the fear was still there. Max finally got himself free and went running to Jace, who picked him up and continued his dance with his wife as a threesome. Alec leaned back against Magnus' arm.

"Hello?" Alec didn't usually answer unknown numbers, but he felt like the number was familiar to him and with the court case still up in the air he thought it was a good idea always to answer his phone. He stepped away from the party as to not interrupt any conversations.

"Alec, its Maryse."

Alec froze, noting it was the first time his mother called him Alec and used her first time. "Yes."

"I need to speak to you; I'm part in front of the farm. Would you please come see me?"

He seemed not to be able to move, he didn't want this day to be ruined, but he knew it had no choice. He looked at Magnus who was staring at him, he tilted his head and nodded at him. When Magnus began his walk to him, he turned to walk to the front of the barn. Magnus frown at him but followed. "Give me a minute." Then he hung up the phone.

"What's up?" Magnus was a few steps behind Alec before speaking.

"My mother is out front and wants to talk to me. I don't want to go alone." Alec held out his hand to Magnus. "Come with me?"

Magnus took his hand with a nod, "Of course." Magnus had already grabbed their suit jackets as he walked past them. No one in the wedding party would follow them, Magnus was sure of that. He caught Jace smirking at them out of the corner of his eye and was confident they would keep Max in line and not allow the boy to follow his two favorite people. Magnus let Alec lead the way, this was his mother and he needed to be the one who stepped up first.

They went around the house and down the long drive where a silver car was parked with Maryse standing outside of it with her arms crossed, her typical look of annoyance on her face. "I was hoping you would have come alone."

"Not anymore." Was Alec's only response, he knew his mother wouldn't understand the underlying meaning, but it was for Magnus' benefit anyway. Alec felt Magnus squeeze his hand; his message was received. They were going to get married and Alec was holding on the secret with Magnus for dear life, he didn't want to outshine his brother on his wedding day.

"I did love you, despite what you may think." Her normal look of annoyance still on her face, undermining her meaning. "You were always a good child, one to be proud of. You picked up where we lacked without question." There was a quiet moment between the three of them. "Izzy came to see us a few nights ago."

Alec saw her look slip for just a moment then back in place with typical annoyance and disdain. He always found it uncaring and cold, that feeling still held true today. Her looks always outweighed the good, which he finally realized. "What do you want?" The mention of Izzy going to see their parents was news to him, she never said a word about it. But he wasn't going to let on to it; his mother didn't need to know anymore.

"Robert and I have dropped our suit. We are returning to Europe and leaving Max with his true father." She moved to the driver side of her car then with two more words of parting she was gone, "Good luck." She got in her car and took off without a look.

Alec just watched her go, stepping out of Magnus' grasp to watch her go. Was he stupid for wanting her to say she loved him or his siblings? He felt the pain then, it was over, finally, why was he feeling pain. He must have said it out loud without knowing because Magnus answered.

"Because you've lost your parents, it's only natural to feel pain." Magnus put his hand around Alec's waist, pulling him into a strong back hug. "I don't think I've ever told you about my father. He abandoned me after my mother died, she was thing tiring me to him. It hurt because I didn't understand and it still hurts to talk about even though he was never a real parent to me. You know my mother died when I was four and that day I lost both of my parents and it still pains me to talk about. It is only natural that it pains you, you had a good relationship with your parents at your point. You had good memories mixed with the bad."

Alec put his head back, leaning it on Magnus' shoulder. "Will I be okay?"

"Of course, Alexander" Nudging him with his head, "You have a wonderful family, with a beautiful son, and me."

"You." Alec turned in Magnus' arm, looking eye to eye. "I do have you. You're mine. All mine." He could have lost himself in the green-gold speckled eyes he held so dearly to him. He did he live without him before, and how would he ever be able to live without him the future. He almost ruined them by being selfish and cold; he would never make that mistake again.

"Always." Magnus ran his hands up and down Alec's back. "And you're mine."

"You bring out everything in me that I thought I couldn't be." Alec didn't want to look away from Magnus; he couldn't feel the cold as his adrenaline was pumping at that thought that Max was his, free and clear, all his. His family wasn't going to be broken apart. He knew if he lost he would his quit everything to move closer to him. He didn't tell Magnus or his family but he knew deep down he couldn't leave Max and follow his child anywhere. He suddenly had the need to tell Magnus the truth, "I would have left, you know. Followed my parents to whatever country they planned to take Max to."

"Alexander."

"I feel so guilty now for saying it out loud. It would mean leaving everything behind."

"Of course, you would." Magnus knew Alec truly did feel guilty for saying the words out loud, but Magnus already knew he felt that way. "He's your son; I wouldn't expect any less from you. I would have followed you, in a heartbeat." He had to kiss him then, Alec's slightly shocked face; as if he didn't except that answer. Magnus meant those words; he had never loved anyone the way he loved Alec and Max, he would have done anything to keep them. "Come on, let's go tell everyone the good news." Magnus stepped back with Alec still in his arms, it only worked for a moment before Magnus tried to step out of their embrace but Alec held him in place.

"Wait." As if Magnus could say no to Alec. "I want Jace and Clary to have their time in the spotlight before we tell them about Max. And about us. It's hard enough not to tell them we're engaged." He peppered a kiss to each corner of Magnus' mouth then his nose, his eyes, his cheeks. "Let's wait to tell them everything tomorrow."

Magnus tugged Alec's tie loose, taking it apart, but leaving it looped around his neck. Then a few buttons of his shirt, just two, enough so he could loop one finger around the silver chain. He pulled up; the chain including the ring came out of the shirt. He dropped it against Alec's chest. "I've got an idea." Magnus picked up the chain and the ring, pulling him a few steps back away from the house and towards the cars. "I've got an excellent idea."

Alec smiled, biting his lower lip, "I'm sure you do."

Magnus waited until they were next to their car, the cold didn't seem so bad with his heart pumping and the closeness to Alec. He leaned in close to his ear, "Slutty wedding sex."

Alec groaned, shivering at his cold breath on his ear, "I love you."

Magnus kissed Alec then, hard, pulling at the necklace to bring him in closer. No one would miss them yet; it gave plenty of time to play for a while. He pushed back, forcing him against their car, "I love you too." He leaned in then, putting his hands on the car above his head.

The End.