Epilogue: Homebound

Twenty-seven years later…

"Professor Lightwood!" a young female voice called.

Mundies, Alec thought with a sigh, always appearing at the worst possible time. With a swift movement of his hand, he snatched the fire message from where it hovered a couple of centimeters above his head, and as he turned to greet whomever was calling him, put the sheet of paper in his jacket pocket.

The young woman calling him looked momentarily startled. She had obviously seen the flaming paper bird that had a moment ago appeared out of thin air and flown in Alec's direction. But then, as it happened when most mundanes got brief glimpses of the shadow world, denial won over hard evidence. The young woman shook her head faintly and, obviously convincing herself that she was the victim of her own imagination and not wanting Professor Lightwood to think she was unhinged, tentatively smiled at Alec.

The young woman had been waiting inside the café ever since Professor Lightwood's lecture ended a few minutes ago, hoping for a few moments alone with one of the handsomest, most popular, and most successful professors in the Comparative Literature Department at Berkeley. Attractiveness, popularity and success were qualities that the young woman considered equally important when it came to assessing someone's sex appeal, and Professor Lightwood possessed them in abundance. No wonder his classes were always full, and that most female students, and likely some male ones, looked at the professor like he was a delicious morsel of food. Who cared that he was likely as old as her father; she did not discriminate in that regards. Besides, Professor Lightwood with that muscular tall body and that almost ageless face looked nothing like her father.

Since the beginning of the term, the young woman had sat in the front row of Professor Lightwood's Thursday afternoon lecture, at a spot that was impossible to miss. She had chosen her attire carefully every time, her ensembles revealing enough to make even a dead man come to attention. She had also made a few clever remarks and asked a couple of pointed questions during lecture, enough to give the impression that she was smart, but not enough to appear overbearing. The Professor had acknowledged her a few times and had on a couple occasions smiled at her as he entered the room, and those gestures had fueled the young woman's determination. She had heard some classmates comment that the professor stopped for a coffee and an hour or so of work every Thursday at this very café. She had observed him do so for the last two weeks and had chosen today as the day she would finally approach him.

When the tall handsome professor entered the café, the young woman had sat up straight, smoothed the front of her very tight and almost see-through shirt and run a swift hand through her long blond hair. Professor Lightwood had walked to the counter and, after handing a bill to the teller, collected a paper tray with two lattes, which the barista – a young man with thin dreadlocks that stuck in all directions – had already brewed in evident anticipation of the customer's arrival. Professor Lightwood had smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with the café's employees, but rather than seating as he usually did, and to the young woman's surprise, had turned and walked in long sinewy strides towards the exit door.

"Professor Lightwood!" she had called as she quickly got up from her seat and followed the professor to the exit. The sudden change in plans had surprised her but she was not yet ready to give up.

"Professor Lightwood," she had called a second time, as she opened the door and followed the professor out of the building. He was already halfway down the stairs that lead to the entrance to Eucalyptus Grove. "Can I have a mom-moment…?" she added, the last word coming out with a stutter. For a split second, the young woman had thought she saw something glow like fire a few centimeters above the professor's head, something that she would have sworn looked like a burning bird. It must have been a trick of the light or her imagination, for when she looked again, all she saw was a piece of white paper in the professor's hand. I must cut down on the coffee, she thought, it is making me see things.

Professor Lightwood turned, put the piece of paper in his pocket and looked at the young woman with deep brown eyes that she was sure were capable of melting ice.

"What can I do for you miss…?" Professor Lightwood asked.

"Chastity Williams," replied the young woman, as she descended the remaining steps and came to stand a step above the tall handsome man. "My friends call me Chaste." Chaste thought that up close the professor was even hotter than at a distance with big brown eyes that seemed to look right into her; salt and pepper hair that became almost white around the temples; laugh lines around his eyes and around his well-defined lips, and long fingers that he now had wrapped around a paper tray containing two cups of coffee. The thought of what Professor Lightwood was capable of doing with those long fingers made her blush and she had to reign in her composure before she started hyperventilating.

Alec gazed down at his feet, making a grand effort to stifle yet another sigh. He wondered whether this child's parents had imagined their baby girl walking around dressed – or rather undressed – like that when they named her, or that one day chastity would be the last thing in her mind. It then occurred to Alec that Magnus would have a field day if he learned of this exchange. Every year his husband bet him on the number of students – and sometimes new colleagues – who would try to flirt with Alec. No matter how many years passed and how much younger than him the students got, Magnus always won the wager.

"What can I do for you Miss Williams?" Alec asked in the most professional and distant tone he could manage without appearing rude. She was, after all a student, someone he had a role in educating. When he looked back at the girl again, he thought that the young student with her tight jeans, her exposed navel and her extremely revealing t-shirt could be his daughter. He doubted though that Sofie would ever approach an older man with Chastity Williams' intentions. Sofie would find the gesture and the outfit demeaning, a symptom of what she would call the ever-enduring patriarchal structures of power. Nope, thought Alec, thanks the Angel, his daughter was too strong, self-contained and mature for this kind of behavior.

"I was hoping to speak with you about your expectations for the final assignment," Chaste replied with a smile that she expected contained the right combination of flirtatiousness, coyness and mystery. She then rolled a lock of hair around her finger in a gesture that never failed to call attention.

"I answer assignment questions during class, Miss William."

"Please call me Chaste," Chaste insisted. "I am rather shy. I would prefer to discuss my questions in private," she hesitantly added as she batted her eyelashes in a suggestive way. "I would like to get some clarification; I really want to get a good grade."

Alec resisted the impulse to laugh out loud, for he doubted very much that shyness was a defining feature of Chaste' character. If Chaste had paid closer attention she would have noticed the effort Alec made to stop himself from sighing and rolling his eyes, but she was obviously oblivious to the fact that her flirtations were lost on him.

"Miss Williams," Alec replied, putting special emphasis on addressing the young woman in the most formal of ways. He had learned a long time ago to deal with these kinds of encounters. "I suggest that you speak first with my teaching assistant and if you still have questions after that, bring them to next week's lecture. Other students might benefit from them." Make every moment a teachable moment, Alec thought, remembering the lessons he had learned from his own mentors.

"Oh, ah," Chaste stumbled, "I would prefer to speak to you directly and in private. I am not good at speaking up in class," she insisted, and Alec thought that if she continued batting her eyelashes that way, she would definitely take flight. "It would only take a few minutes; perhaps I can buy you a cup of coffee." The fact that Alec already had a tray with two cups in his hand seemed to be lost on Chaste. A refusal was not the answer she had expected and, thus, had to improvise. She could not fathom why this man was acting as if he was oblivious to her charms.

"I am sorry Miss Williams," Alec replied as he looked at his watch. "But I am afraid this would have to wait until class. I am in a rush and my husband would not like it if I am late for our getaway weekend." He then gave the young woman a courteous nod, turned and walked away. If he had looked back at least once, he would have seen the look of utter surprise in Chastity Williams' face and the way her jaw dropped almost to her chest, but Alec had a strict policy when it came to disappointing students' expectations; he never laughed at their embarrassment.

A few meters away, he stopped and sat on a park bench by the entrance to Eucalyptus Grove and took the fire message from his pocket. He did not need to read the whole content; he already knew what it contained. For it was not the first such message he had received in the last couple of weeks. The Clave was calling him back to duty; they had left him alone for long enough and they now wanted him back. He did look at the bottom of the page though, at the words inscribed in ink right below the signature and seal of the newly appointed Consul, the only part of the message that was new. A few words were clearly legible there, words written in his brother's unmistakable scribble, words with the power of twisting destinies: "You took a solemn oath when you left, brother, that if I ever needed you, you would come back; I need you now."

Alec read the words a second time, the words with which Consul Jace Herondale, his brother and parabatai, was reminding him of his oath, an oath that even after seventeen years still carried the same power than the night in which he had first sworn it.

The gentle touch of a familiar gaze on him, like the caress of butterfly wings, made Alec look up and glance in the direction of the parking lot. There several meters away, Magnus was waiting, leaning against the hood of their silver convertible, looking as handsome and lovely as ever despite the glamor than concealed his agelessness. He had his hands in the front pocket of his black jeans. His light blue linen shirt hugged his muscular body perfectly. His hair, a little less spiky and glittery than he used to wear it and which he he had peppered with stylish gray highlights, blew in the freeze, and the afternoon sun made his skin glow even more golden. Magnus' glamoured eyes shone in a way that even after twenty-two years of marriage had not lost their power over Alec. A few passersby, men and women, looked at Magnus with appreciative expressions, obviously unable to resist the mysterious pull of his husband's magnetism. But Magnus, as usual, only had eyes for him, just like Alec could never have eyes for anyone else.

Alec sighed and smiled. He put the fire message back in his pocket, stood up and walked in the direction of his husband, determined to postpone the inevitable moment of decision a little longer, Chastity Williams completely forgotten.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asked when he reached Magnus. He then offered him one of coffee cups and took the other for himself. Knowing that Magnus liked his coffee hot, Alec snapped his fingers and sent a few silver sparkles into his husband's coffee cup magically warming the liquid within.

"Long enough," Magnus replied with a coy smile. "So, Chaste Williams?"

"Didn't anyone tell you, Magnus, that eavesdropping is a very bad habit, especially when using magic?"

"I could not help myself, Alexander," Magnus replied, and he took a sip from his coffee cup. "I wanted to know my competition."

"I am very sorry Magnus," Alec said, a feign tone of regret in his voice, "I didn't want you to find out this way, but Chaste and I are in love."

"It was bound to happen one of these days," Magnus replied as he brought one hand up to his heart and sighed loudly. "I knew that one day you would not be able to resist your students' advances any longer."

"What is going on with these students?!" Alec asked giving up all pretense, his tone one of puzzlement and frustration. "They get younger and younger every year, and no matter how old I look, they are not deterred."

"What can I say Alexander? Middle age suits you and many of these youngsters, especially the women, have father issues."

"Well in that case, next year I will grow a white beard that will reach all the way down to my very prominent beer belly."

"Not a beer belly, please," Magnus pleaded as he stifled a laugh. "So, if my numbers are correct, Miss Williams makes five this year."

"If you say so," Alec replied with a resigned sigh.

"In that case, you owe me dinner."

"Only if you tell me how many men and women have made advances on you," Alec rebutted.

"A gentleman has no memory, Alexander. So, do you want to drive or shall I?" Magnus added as he leaned away from the car and presented Alec with the keys.

"You drive," Alec replied, "I can take over later if you get tired." Alec knew how much Magnus enjoyed driving their convertible on the highway, the feel of speedily maneuvering around cars, the sensation of freedom that came over them every time they managed to carve a weekend away and go to the cottage.

"Very well," Magnus said as he walked towards the driver side and got in. Alec mirrored the movements and got in through the passenger side.

"Did you bring my bag?" Alec asked glancing towards the small space behind the front seat. "I had some books that I would like to start reading."

"Yes, everything is here," Magnus replied.

"Did the kids get off okay?" Alec then enquired as Magnus turned on the ignition and backed out of the parking spot.

"Everybody left without any hiccups," Magnus replied. "Joshua left first, Kaya opened the portal for him. Our daughter's skills are developing amazingly fast. Joshua still teased her though, told her that one of these days she would send him to the moon by mistake. But a minute after stepping through, he called from Luke's farm to tell me that he had 'surprisingly' arrived in one peace." Magnus drew air quotes around the word 'surprisingly' with the index and middle finger of the hand not holding the steering wheel. "Our son has a flair for the dramatic."

"I wonder whom he got that from," Alec replied with a playful smile. "He is the youngest," he added, "and was born with a gentle soul. How about Mat and Sofie?"

"Matt left after school. He was looking forward to a weekend of working on college applications with his study group. I don't know why he bothers. He already got early admission to Berkeley medical."

"You know Harvard and Oxford are his first choices," Alec replied, his eyes on the landscape. "He wants to go to his father's alma mater." He then smiled, and Magnus saw deep and barely concealed pride on Alec's face.

"Kaya and Sofie left soon after," Magnus continued. "Izzy and the cousins were waiting for them to start their survival training weekend in the Canyon. I am sure they will come back Sunday with new cuts and scrapes. Kaya was looking forward to trying a new healing spell Catarina taught her."

They were getting on the highway, picking up speed as they headed north west. In a couple of hours, they would reach Mendocino National Park, where they would stop for an early dinner, before parking the car and portalling to their cottage by the sea. This had become their routine every time they went away to their cottage for the weekend. Rather than portalling directly there, they always drove part of the way. At the beginning they had told themselves that it was for the sake of pretense, that it would look suspicious if Professor Lightwood disappeared into a closet at the university with his husband and never came out. They had argued that this was also a way to ensure that the kids live as much a normal mundane life as possible. But over time, they had dropped all pretense and recognized that they enjoyed the leisured drive, especially on sunny days when they could lower the top and enjoy the breeze. In the early years of their lives as parents, they had packed the kids into the big family car, but as the children grew and developed their own interests and relationships, their group had begun to shrink until it was just the two of them once again.

Time does fly, Alec thought as he gazed towards the distance. He extended his arm over his head and let the wind run through his fingers, as if to imbue the thought with a physical sensation.

Twenty-seven years had passed since they went to the Seventh Circle and their lives changed forever; twenty-two years since Alec had stopped aging and he and Magnus professed their eternal love in front of all their friends and family; and, seventeen since that fatidic night when Magnus and Alec welcomed Sofia and Matias Bane-Lightwood into the world and became parents for the first time. Seventeen years since he left the ranks of the Shadowhunters and decided to live as much a mundane life as was possible under the circumstances.

"You took a solemn oath when you left, brother, that if I ever needed you, you would come back; I need you now." His parabatai's words echoed in Alec's mind, the words feeling as heavy in his mind as the fire message felt in his pocket. The words had the force of the oath they reminded him of, the oath he had sworn that night seventeen years ago when he and Magnus had sneaked out in the middle of the night, pierced the border between the shadow world and the mundane world, carrying the twins, determined to fulfill the promise they had made to their dying mother a few months before.

They had not planned to be in South America when the Montevideo Institute was destroyed during one of the worst demon attacks in years. It had been pure chance or perhaps fate. For a few months, Magnus and Alec had been planning to portal to Machu Picchu for a long weekend of hiking and sightseeing. That night, they had gone back to their hotel after a long day exploring the ruins of the ancient city. Magnus had drawn them a bath and they had spent a wonderful hour soaking in the tub; washing away sweat and grime; laughing and talking; completely oblivious to the troubles of the world; happily looking forward to a quiet dinner and a night in the enormous canopy bed, lost in each other's arms, making love with a passion that did not go away despite years of sharing the same bed.

Alec had been in the process of getting out of the bathtub when his phone had begun to ring insistently. He had quickly sprung into action, donning his Shadowhunter gear and wrapping his bow and quiver across his back. Magnus had dressed in equally swift fashion, determined, as usual, to follow his husband into the very depth of hell if needed.

Hell had been precisely what they had found when they stepped through the portal and onto the grounds of one of South America's oldest institutes. The building had been completely engulfed in flames, the demonic energy that fed the fires making them burn so hot that even brick and rock melted; the stench of sulfur and burning flesh impregnating the air and making it hard to breathe. It was the middle of the night and many of the Montevideo's Shadowhunters had been asleep. Those who had been on patrol were starting to arrive and were running back and forth in a state of utter confusion and disbelief.

Alec and Magnus had quickly taken command and had organized search and rescue teams as well as teams in charge of bringing the fire under control. Using magic spells designed to protect them from burns, they had been among the first to walk into the burning building and begin to painful task of searching for survivors. They had found mostly horrid death and destruction. That is until they reached the almost completely consumed doors of what had been the infirmary. There among charred debris, they had found the body of Matias Almendros, his chest pierced by the venomous sting of a demon, his face hidden under his long blond curls. A few steps away, laid the body of the demon, a seraph blade piercing him from chest to back.

Magnus had seen the young Shadowhunter only a handful of times, and thus did not remember him very well, but Alec knew him. Matias and his wife Mariana had been students of Alec's during one of his terms teaching at the Idris Academy. The young man had been a mundane that had fallen in love with a Shadowhunter. In order to be with her, he had taken the great risk of drinking from the Mortal Cup in order to ascend and become Nephilim. He had survived the procedure and upon marrying Mariana, had taken her last name and become a member of an old Shadowhunter family. They had then moved to Montevideo to run the institute with her parents.

When Alec met them, they had been newlyweds and Marianna had confided on Alec that she admired him for his determination to live according to his own decisions, no caring what rules or social conventions he broke in the process. She had also confessed that she had wanted to leave the Shadowhunters when she met Matias; that she had never wanted to impose ascension on the man she loved, but Matias had told her that being a Shadowhunter was her calling and he could never ask her to give that up. Neither of them had known that their life together would be short and its end tragic.

Magnus had been the one who, after confirming that Matias was dead, had walked into the ruins of the infirmary, convinced that he could hear someone calling for help. Alec had followed close behind, his bow in hand, an arrow nocked and ready to shoot. They had found Mariana trapped underneath part of the roof that had collapsed. Magnus and Alec had combined magic powers to free her, and what they found underneath rendered them both speechless. Alec had heard that Mariana was pregnant, but he did not know how far along she was. But it took only one glance for him to realize that her pregnancy was quite advanced and that she had gone into labor in the middle of the attack. She was also gravely injured and dying.

"Help me Alec," she had pleaded between painful gasps, "I don't want my babies to die in my belly, but I don't have the strength to deliver them on my own. You have to take them out."

Alec had glanced at Magnus and immediately known that the situation was even more dire that he had suspected. For after running a quick hand over Mariana's body to assess the state of her injuries, Magnus had looked at Alec with hopelessness in his eyes and had almost imperceptibly shaken his head.

"There is no hope for me; I am dying," Mariana had stated grabbing Alec's hand with surprising strength, confirming Magnus' assessment. "But there is still hope for the twins if you help me." She had then shifted her gaze towards Magnus and the force of her gaze was as powerful as her grip. "You have to deliver the children," she had added as another contraction run through her body.

That is how it came to pass that Alec and Magnus helped a dying courageous Shadowhunter bring into the world two beautiful children. In the process and in an act of selfless generosity, Mariana Almendros made Alec and Magnus parents. Their daughter had arrived first, crying at the top of her lungs, all Shadowhunter willfulness and strength, her blond curls – like her biological father's – making her look like a cherub from a renaissance painting. Magnus had wrapped her in his jacket and had placed her on Mariana's chest. She had kissed her on the forehead and named her Sofia after her own grandmother. Their son had arrived a couple of minutes later, quiet and wide eyed; observant and thoughtful; an old soul from the very beginning; a mane of chestnut brown hair – the same tone as his mother's – reaching almost to his shoulders. Alec took off the grey hoodie he was wearing under his jacket and wrapped it around his tiny body. Mariana kissed him as she had kissed her daughter and named him Matias after the man she had loved and who had died protecting his family.

The twins took their first breaths as their mother took her last and with that last breath, Mariana extracted a final and solemn promise from Alec and Magnus, to give their children the freedom to decide their own destinies. "Let them decide for themselves whether they want to have our life, Alec," Mariana had said as she laid dying in a pool of her own blood, "the way you two have done. They are your children now," she had added looking from Alec to Magnus; "don't let The Clave decide their fate or taken them away from you." She had then laid her head back on the stone ground and with a last sigh closed her eyes. A few seconds later, Magnus had placed a finger against the side of her neck and confirmed that Mariana Almendros had passed from this world.

Magnus and Alec had looked at one another, each of their expressions mirroring the mixture of fear, surprise and uncertainty they saw in the eyes of the other. They then looked down at the small bundles in each of their arms and, at that very moment, all fear and uncertainty disappeared. "We need to get them to safety," Magnus stated gazing around at the death and burning devastation that surrounded them and hugging Sofia closer to his chest in a protective gesture.

"Right," Alec responded jumping into action with unexpected foresight, "you need to leave and take the children to New York, Magnus. I will join you as soon as I can. Go to the mundane Health Department first thing tomorrow and register their birth and then ask Jem to perform the Nephilim protection ceremony on them."

Nephilim children were not usually registered in the mundane records and many of them did not even hold birth certificates or passports. Yet at that moment, Alec had understood that if he and Magnus had any hope of both keeping their children and honoring Mariana's dying wish, they needed to move fast and think ahead.

"Okay," Magnus had said, no needing any further explanation to understand Alec's meaning. He had then fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Tessa's number. Less than two minutes later, Alec had kissed Magnus on the lips and then their son and daughter on the forehead, before Magnus stepped across the event horizon of the portal Alec had opened, carrying one child in each arm.

The following morning, Luke had accompanied a nervous Magnus to register the twins' home birth. For the occasion, Magnus had worn an unusually conservative dark grey suit and foregone all make up and jewelry, and for months afterwards, Luke had teased him that he had looked like an insurance salesman. At Alec's insistence, the children had been entered into the records as Sofia and Matias Bane-Lightwood with Magnus and Alec as their parents. Alec had insisted because he wanted no one to ever doubt that the twins were as much Magnus' and they were his. When Alec finally portalled back to New York the evening after the Montevideo attack, a small circle of their closest family and friends were waiting in their apartment for Jem to perform the ceremony that would protect Sofia and Matias against any demon attack until they reached the Nephilim age of maturity.

The arrival of the twins had marked the beginning of the end of Alec's term as Head of the New York Institute and of his life as a Shadowhunter. While by them Nephilim law granted some recognition and protection to same-sex relationships – thanks in great part to Alec's efforts – it did not yet grant parental rights to same-sex couples. The Clave was especially reluctant to allow a Downworlder, someone with demon blood, to raise two of the Angel's chosen, no matter how respected Magnus and Alec were among the Nephilim. Thankfully, Alec's condition as a Nephilim-warlock hybrid was known only to their closest family and friends, or the situation would have certainly been hopeless.

Over the next several months, Magnus and Alec had fought fiercely for their children, countering with carefully articulated rebuttals every attempt made by The Clave to challenge their claim as Sofia and Matias' parents. The Clave had insisted that the children needed to be raised within a 'properly constituted' Nephilim family; that, as was traditional with most orphans, the twins should grow in an Institute and within a 'proper' Nephilim environment; that two men were ill equipped to raise children, specially girls; that a warlock was not the right kind of influence for a Nephilim child. The Clave had even attempted to track down members of the Almendros family hoping to find even a distant relative willing to challenge Alec and Magnus' claim on the children, but the whole Almendros' clan had died in Montevideo.

Magnus and Alec had fought The Clave at every turn, calling attention to the backwardness of their arguments; opening their home to be inspected by Clave delegates; calling witnesses to attest to their parenting skills and their love for their children; demonstrating with increasing certainty that they were the twins' unquestioned parents. After months of relentless battle and scrutiny, The Clave had run out of arguments and had no other choice but to grant Magnus and Alec temporary guardianship of the twins. The decision had included two important caveats, however: Magnus and Alec were ordered to submit to periodical visits and assessments "for the purpose of ensuring the children were growing up in the proper environment and with the right influence," and that if something ever happened to Alec, "the children be returned to the custody of the Clave."

That evening, Alec and Magnus had gone home where Jace, Clary and Izzy were waiting, Matias placidly sleeping on Jace's arms and Sofia bouncing in Izzy's. After greeting their children and family, Magnus and Alec had walked towards a closet and had extracted from it a few already packed suitcases.

"We are leaving," Alec had informed his siblings as he handed Jace the letter in which he resigned as Head of the Institute and to the ranks of the Shadowhunters. "You are now in charge Jace, you will do fine. We will be in touch as soon as we get settled, but I am afraid we won't see each other for a while, perhaps years."

"Why?" Izzy had asked, tightening her hold on her niece. "You already have guardianship of the children. In time, The Clave will give up and leave you alone."

"That might be the case," Alec argued, "but we cannot live with the fear that if something happens to me, Magnus would lose the children too. Besides, we made a promise to Mariana to give our children the right to choose their own destiny," Alec added. "In order to fulfill that promise we have to go away and give them the option of growing up far from The Clave's influence. Besides, you know the Clave will not easily give up. "

"We do not want our children to grow up feeling that their family is abnormal," Magnus had added, "or that it is wrong for them to have warlocks as parents."

"It won't be forever," Alec had stated as he hugged his sister. "You won't be able to reach me or track me for a while. I am activating my anti-tracking rune, but I will be in touch, I promise. And, as soon as we are settled, and it is safe, we will arrange for you to come visit."

Alec had then embraced his brother and Jace had demanded the oath that he was now asking Alec to fulfill, that when he needed him, he would come back. Over the next seventeen years, Jace never reminded him of the oath, for they both knew that Nephilim oaths were unbreakable and needed no reminding. Despite the fact that Jace had fought many battles and wars since Alec left the Shadowhunters, his brother had never before asked him to fulfill his promise either. For Jace had also sworn that night that he would only call on Alec if the situation was truly dire, which apparently it now was.

Izzy and Jace had thought at first that Magnus and Alec were being overly cautious, but over the next two years, they had realized that they have been right to be so. The Clave had constantly demanded to know the whereabouts of Alec and the children, arguing that it was their prerogative to ensure the children 'proper' upbringing, that Nephilim children could not simply disappear or be taken away to be raised by Downworlders. Two years had passed before The Clave gave up; two years in which Izzy, Jace and Clary got to see their niece and nephew only on special occasions and always in secret.

The Clave eventually stopped challenging Magnus and Alec's claims on their children, making it possible for them to no longer live in hiding. Still, Magnus and Alec kept their distance. Alec never again stepped into the Institute and did not visit Idris. Magnus avoided to work for the Nephilim as much as possible preferring his private clients. They also remained committed to giving their children as much as possible an ordinary life, a life of soccer games, regular schools, science and art fairs, and weekends away.

Alec and Magnus never concealed their ancestry or the conditions of their birth from their children. They taught them everything they could about their history, and Alec even trained them to defend themselves. However, they also remained true to the promise they had made their mother and, thus, did not pressure the twins to follow on their ancestors' footsteps. That is why despite the fact that Nephilim children usually received their first rune at the age of six, Sofie and Matt did not go through their first running ceremony until they were eleven and choose to do so. Even then, the ceremony took place, not at an Institute as it was tradition, but at Luke's farm surrounded by friends and family, mundanes, downworlders and Nephilim. By then, two more siblings had joined the Bane-Lightwood family: Kaya and Joshua.

Alec had wanted to protect his children, to give them choices, to open up as many opportunities as possible for them to decide on their paths. Yet, as Magnus now negotiated highway traffic and Alec watched the landscape pass by, he wondered whether he could continue to keep the promise he had made Mariana now that Jace had finally asked him to fulfill his oath.

The gentle touch of a familiar hand atop his own called Alec back to the present and as he turned to look at his husband's lovely face, he smiled.

"What are you thinking so hard about Alexander?" Magnus asked.

"About the passage of time," Alec replied. "When did we go from packing four children in a family van along with what seemed like an endless supply of toys and children books to being just the two of us again?"

"Are you feeling old Alexander?"

"No, I just hoped it would last longer," Alec replied, placing his other hand atop Magnus', trapping his lover's hand between his own. "I had hoped the children would be along for the ride a bit longer. I had hoped that at least Joshua would still want to go away with us."

Magnus had noticed that Alec had been particularly quiet since he picked him up at the university. It was not an uncomfortable silence because over the years they had learned to live with and respect each other's need for quietness, to not take silence personally, to not assume that they were shut out of the other's thoughts simply because they were not yet ready to put them into words. Magnus suspected though that something important was occupying Alec's thoughts and knew that he just needed to wait until his husband was ready to speak what was in his mind.

He was turning into the parking lot of their favorite restaurant, a quaint little bistro run by a werewolf named Marcia and her husband. Once he parked and turned off the engine, he half turned on his seat, took Alec's hand in his once again, and looked at him with loving intensity. Middle age and parenthood suited Alec, he thought. Fatherly concern and love softened his features and gave him a vulnerability that made Magnus fall even more deeply in love with him, if that was possible. "Kaya will remain with us a while longer," Magnus said.

"Perhaps," Alec replied. "But Magnus, I know you have been looking out for the signs already. I have also been watching her, knowing that soon the day will come when she will stop aging and will become full-grown warlock, frozen in time. I know you are anticipating that as well."

"Yes," Magnus replied with a sigh. "But I don't think that will happen for another few years. She is only sixteen and her power are not yet fully developed. We still have time."

The twins had been three years old when the phone rang one morning. When Alec picked up, Jem told him that he and Magnus needed to portal to a small remote village in Japan. "There is someone I want you to meet," Jem had said, "someone who needs the two of you very much."

They had been living in Oxford, England for the past two years, ever since they left New York. They had gone there because Magnus owned a house in the outskirts of the town, a house big enough for them to raise their children in safety. After a period of uncertainty in which Alec had contemplated what he wanted to do with his life now that he no longer was a Shadowhunter, he had decided that he wanted to go to school. Magnus had suggested that perhaps he should improve his magic skills and work as a warlock, but while Alec had mastered quite a few magic powers, especially those needed for healing, he knew that he would never be a powerful warlock and was fine with that. Yet, he had always liked reading and considered himself intelligent enough to navigate the mundane education system, even if he had never stepped into a mundane classroom in his life. He had asked Magnus to get him mundane education credentials in addition to a mundane passport, birth certificate and social security number, and, after months of independent study, he had gained entry into a Masters in English Literature at Oxford. During those first years, Magnus taught Alec how to drive and navigate the most mundane aspects of human life, like grocery shopping, paying bills, and doing maintenance work in their home. They avoided using magic as much as possible, not wanting to call attention to themselves and except for his anti-tracking rune, which Alec redrew every so often, his runes had slowly began to fade from black to a faint silver.

Alec divided his time between the classroom and parenting. At the beginning he had considered getting a job; after all, he had walked away from his life with just two suitcases, leaving all his possessions and any wealth his might have had behind. But Magnus had told him that they were quiet wealthy and that even if neither of them worked for money for a couple of decades, they would still be okay. Still, Alec had encouraged Magnus to continue providing his warlock services and had helped him set shop in a converted barn adjacent to their Oxford house. He had insisted not because they needed the money, but because he knew Magnus would be unhappy if he stopped doing magic. Magnus would not be Magnus, his Magnus, if he did not have a chance to also be a warlock. Magnus had drawn the line at demon summoning, however, afraid that even the most benign form of dark magic could place his family at risk. Thus, during those first two years and for years afterwards, he had mostly offered white magic services, potions, love spells, spells meant to ensure economic success or fame, etc. He had also continued working in the translation of ancient documents and manuscripts, a job that did not require much magic.

Magnus and Alec would remember those first years as an endless chain of diaper changes, feedings, sleepless nights, and hours of cuddling with the twins. They took the twins for long walks around the park and even met other parents with whom they struck friendships, organized playing dates and birthday parties. Eventually, neither of them could remember a time when Sofie and Matt were not part of their lives. They fiercely loved their children and celebrated every small and no so small achievement – first smiles, first steps, first words – with a mixture of happiness and sorrow. For with each of Sofie and Matt's new achievement, they grew more independent and loss some of their babyhood.

A few months after he started graduate school, Alec was admitted into a doctorate in English Literature. As a Shadowhunter, he had always enjoyed teaching younger recruits, and in university, he had discovered a passion for research and writing.

When Jem called, Alec had been in the middle of planning for his doctorate thesis research, his time divided between parenting the twins and studying. Alec would remember that call as another important and unforgettable milestone in his and Magnus' life. At first, Magnus had been reluctant to portal to Japan arguing that the children were too small to be left under Catarina's care; that he did not understand why Jem could not simply portal to Oxford himself if he needed to see them. However, all his complaining had stopped as soon as they walked into the orphanage where they met Kaya Misako, their daughter.

Jem had been waiting for them at the other side of the portal that took Alec and Magnus to a secluded corner on the grounds of an old nunnery that now served as an orphanage. As soon as they arrived, he escorted them into a room with whitewashed walls, terracotta red tiles on the floor, and windows that looked out towards the mountains and the forest in the distance. White metal cribs – some empty, some occupied – were lined up against the walls and the room smelled of a mixture of bleach, sour milk and urine. Jem had introduced them to a grave looking Dutch nun in a long black and white habit, who had taken them to a corner of the room where a small child – no older than two – sat quietly in her crib. She had long blue hair that reached half way down her tiny back, and her silver colored eyes looked at them with wide curiosity. Kaya had gazed from Alec to Magnus and, recognizing them as kin, had extended her tiny arms towards Magnus, and just like that Magnus had surrendered to his daughter's charms. "She reminds me of you," he had whispered as he looked from the child to Alec. "Your eyes shine in almost the same tone of silver when magic runs through you."

Kaya had been abandoned at the orphanage's doorsteps when she was no more than a couple of days old. She had spent the first two years of her life being looked upon with increasing unease by the nuns in charge of the place. The strange color of her eyes and the fact that her hair changed from almost white to dark blue depending on her mood both fascinated and scared the women. She was, otherwise, a pleasant, intelligent, thoughtful and quiet child and had a knack for calming the other children when they were upset by simply looking at them with those silver eyes. The nuns had named her Kaya and later added Misako as her second name because she was truly a fascinating creature. When it had become obvious that the child had unique abilities, the Dutch nun had contacted Jem whom she had met during one of Jem and Tessa's trips to Japan, and Jem had called Magnus and Alec. Alec had taken one look at his husband and at the way he held and smiled at Kaya and had known that it would be futile to try to separate them.

"Can we do it Alexander?" Magnus had asked, wanting to give Alec the choice to say no, thinking that perhaps he could find another way to help this small warlock child.

"I don't see why not, Magnus. We can afford it and we already have two, how hard can it be to raise three?"

"That is not what I mean," Magnus had replied, placing Kaya in Jem's arms and taking Alec by the hand towards a corner of the room. "You are busy with your studies and the twins may not like having a new member in the family."

"We will manage Magnus," Alec had replied and had placed a gentle hand against Magnus' cheek.

Wanting to make sure that Alec continued with his studies uninterruptedly, Magnus had reduced his hours of work and the number of his clients in order to spend more time with the children and do more of the parenting. At the end, his concern for the twins had been unwarranted. Sofie and Matt had seamlessly adjusted to their new sister, simply extending the circle of complicity to include Kaya, and Kaya had loved Matt and Sofie from the very first moment.

The two sisters had developed an immediate complicity and closeness, a closeness based on shared passion for adventure. From the beginning Kaya followed her sister everywhere, even when Sofie began to attend regular Shadowhunter training under Izzy's tutelage. They always joked that if they could, they would become parabatai, but that even if they couldn't, they would still fight together. With Matt, Kaya had the most special relationship, a relationship built less on fighting and training, and more on common intellectual interests. Kaya and Matt read similar books, had similar tastes in art and music, and even shared a love for graphic novels. Kaya had been the first one to whom Matt had told that he had no desire to join the Shadowhunters, that his passion was human medicine and that he hoped one day to become a doctor. The confession had been unnecessary; for Kaya had known as much a long time ago.

Joshua had arrived to complete their lives three years later. By then, the Bane-Lightwood family had settled in Berkeley where Alec had secured an assistant professor position in the Comparative Literature Department. He had just published his first academic book: "Among us: The influence of the supernatural in popular culture," a book that would eventually become required reading in many literature and popular culture studies programs and that had secured him a place of respect among his scholarly peers. He was also in the process of writing "Quest", the first in the series of fantasy novels that would eventually made him a well-known and respected author. He and Magnus always joked that Alec had made a career of turning into fantasy for mundane readers what for him was reality.

"I am the only author I know who writes autobiography and people think it is make-believe," he used to say every time any of his downworlder friends asked about his novels.

Alec had been at first reluctant to return to the States, concerned that the closer they were to New York, the more likely it would be that his old life would call him back. He was also worried about uprooting the children, but Magnus had argued that the children would adjust and that moving back would make it easier for them to develop relationships with their aunt, uncles and cousins. By then, Izzy and Jace had children of their own. Magnus, on the other hand, had no trouble moving back, for his business had always carried him back and forth. They eventually settled back in the States with not even a hiccup, the fear of losing the twins almost forgotten, their time in New York a pleasant memory that no longer caused nostalgia or pain.

Magnus and Alec had been having a quiet breakfast in their kitchen the morning Joshua entered their lives. The five-year old twins and four-year old Kaya were surprisingly still asleep, and Magnus and Alec were enjoying the unexpected peace.

"You woke me up in the middle of the night," Magnus had been whispering in Alec's ear, "you should do that more often."

"You are always the one to wake me up," Alec replied, planting a soft and tender kiss on Magnus' lips, "it was about time that I got the upper hand, don't you think?" He was about to claim Magnus' mouth more resolutely, when the doorbell rand. "Hum, who could it be so early on a Saturday?"

"I don't know, but if you pour me another cup of coffee, I will go find out," Magnus had replied.

That is precisely what Alec had been doing when Magnus walked back into the kitchen a few moments later. "We are going to have to either move or stop answering our door, Alexander," he said in a tone that conveyed a mixture of humor, surprise and puzzlement.

Behind Magnus, walked Luke Graymark and Maia Roberts, a small bundle wrapped in a white blanket securely in her arms.

"What is going on?" Alec had asked, standing up to greet his longtime friends. As soon as he gave Maia a half-embrace, the small bundle in her arms stirred and began to complain in a cry that Alec recognized as one of hunger. Gently moving the blanket aside, Alec peered into the black eyes of a new born baby – perhaps not older than two weeks – with a head covered in soft black curls and a face the color of cinnamon. Alec had looked from the baby's face back to Maia and then towards Luke.

"We were in Savannah, Georgia last night, attending a meeting of the local werewolf clan," Luke had explained. "Someone left this baby outside Maia's hotel room with a note saying that his name is Joshua, no last name, no birth certificate, nothing. The note only said that the mother wanted him to be with his kind."

"That is a werewolf child," Magnus had said as he came to stand beside Alec, his tone one of amazement and concern. He too looked at baby Joshua who by now was beginning to wonder when someone would finally feed him. Magnus had recognized the scent of wolf in the child. "It is rare for a child to be born a werewolf and happens mostly when a woman is bitten during pregnancy. Most of the time, werewolf children do not survive birth; this one is a fighter. Who is the mother?"

"We do not know for sure," Maia responded, "but we suspect that it was a young woman whose body washed up to shore this morning. She was apparently at the meeting last night. Marie, the clan leader, told us that they had never seen her before. They do not know her name or where she lived. We think she committed suicide. We did not know where else to take him."

"So, you brought him here?!" Magnus replied, his tone a little bit more forceful than he had intended. At the sound of a raised voice, Joshua had given up all pretense of being patient and had begun to wail.

Alec had stepped into action immediately, warming a bottle and bringing it to Maia. "I have never fed a baby," Maia had confessed. So, Alec had taken Joshua from her. Joshua had immediately quieted and had happily taken the bottle, content for the first time in hours to be in the arms of someone who obviously knew what he was doing.

An animated discussion had ensued between Magnus, Luke and Maia, but Alec was not paying attention. He was mesmerized by Joshua's placid expression and by the unmistakable scent and feel of a newborn baby. "We should keep him Magnus," Alec had stated a few minutes later, interrupting Magnus who at that moment was saying to Luke that he and Alec might not be the best suited to raise a werewolf child.

"We will help," Luke had immediately offered. "I can be uncle Luke and take him to my farm on weekends and during the full moon and eventually introduce him to our pack."

Magnus had sighed loudly and shaken his head at Alec but had not argued any further. For he had seen in the face of his husband that any argument would be futile. And just like that, a morning that had begun with remembrances of a night of passionate lovemaking had turned into the first day of their lives with Joshua. "Well, I guess I better go dig out my ugly 'insurance salesman' suit so I can go register our son," Magnus had stated as he finally approached Alec and kissed first him and then the forehead of the small child who now slept placidly in his husband's arms.

"You are coming with me Luke as it is tradition, so do not go anywhere," he then added as he turned towards the stairs. "We are going to need a nanny, preferably one that is also a werewolf.

"I know just the one," Maia stated. "She is a friend of mine."

"Your family is officially the United Nations of the Shadow World," Simon had teased them at their annual Christmas party that year, as he held a bouncing six-month-old Joshua in his arms. Joshua looked at his uncle with the fascinated attention with which he approached every new face. "You now just need a vampire and a Seelie."

"Do not put any ideas in Alec's head," Magnus had pleaded with a smile as he took Alec's hand in his and brought it to his lips for a kiss. He had then reached and run a gentle hand through Joshua soft curls, the gesture completely loving in its unguardedness. "Besides, I already raised Raphael. That was enough for me, thank you very much."

"What are you going to do when he begins to turn during the full moon?" Simon had asked.

Alec and Magnus had already thought of that eventuality. They had sold their house and were buying a bigger place in the outskirts of the city, a place with a big enough basement and backyard to accommodate their son's growing needs. They had also hired Maia's friend to help out.

However, at the end, Joshua had been an easier child than they had expected, quiet and thoughtful, a born-poet, a sensitive soul as well as practical man. He had accepted his own nature and the changes that came over him every month with the same ease with which he had accepted that he was a black child living in a multiracial two-father family. After all, he had two dads, one Asian one white, his oldest brother and sister were half-Latino and wore runes on their skin, and Kaya, who was Japanese by birth, had hair that changed color with her mood. What if he turned into a wolf once every full moon?

"You know Joshua is the one who needs the most to spend time with his kind," Magnus said as he looked into Alec's eyes, his tone full of understanding. "He treasures his weekends with Luke and the pack, the feeling of running free through the forest under the full moon. That does not mean he does not need us anymore. He is just twelve, still a child."

They had parked the car and were now having dinner at their friends' bistro. Magnus reached across the table and took Alec's hand, the gesture completely unguarded despite the fact that they rarely expressed affection in public. He understood Alec's nostalgia for times gone by, for mornings spent playing with the children, for the sound of small feet running down the hallway and even for midnight feedings and sleepless nights. He understood because he shared the feeling. Magnus had lived many lives and had seen many people he loved age and die. He knew that Alec was still learning what it was like to live on after the ones you love are gone, what it was like to experience so much grief that you curse your immortality. He just hoped that Alec would not have to experience that loss for decades to come.

"I know," Alec replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Still, I think I am starting to get empty nest syndrome. Don't you miss the feeling of a small body wrapped around you, of short legs dangling down as you carry one of the kids to bed? Soon, Matt will be off to college and become a doctor, and Sofie will go to the Idris Academy with Izzy's kids, and then join an Institute and become a Shadowhunter. Kaya will eventually go off and live her own life. Joshua is the youngest of our children and I found myself feeling reluctant to let him go."

"Yes, I miss that too," Magnus replied with a smile that conveyed as much nostalgia as Alec's words.

Alec and Magnus had dinner in easy companionship, and as they enjoyed their meals, they talked about holiday plans, the cost of tuition for medical school, Sofie needing new Shadowhunter gear, Kaya mastering a particularly complicated spell, and Joshua wanting to spend two weeks that summer camping with Luke and the pack in Yellowstone National Park. Anyone listening to their conversation would have recognized the mixture of pride and concern that characterized most parents, even if the content of their conversation was somewhat foreign.

After dinner, they said good bye to Marcia and her husband and, as they always did, asked them to keep an eye on their car. They then picked up their duffle bags from the back of their convertible and walked a few hundred meters into the forest before Magnus opened the portal that took them to their cottage by the sea. They stepped through onto the foyer of their home and as soon as the portal closed behind them, Alec turned, dropped his bag on the floor, and wrapping an arm around Magnus waist, pulled him closer and kissed him deeply and tenderly on the lips. Magnus welcomed the gesture and corresponded the kiss with equal enthusiasm and a little possessiveness. He had been wanting to kiss his husband since he first saw him talking to that flirtatious student outside the café.

"Have I told you lately that middle-age suits you Magnus?" Alec asked once his lips relinquished their claim over Magnus'. "The silver in your hair and the lines around your eyes make you look very interesting and sophisticated."

"Thank you," Magnus replied, and it was now him the one to take possession of Alec's lips, the kiss passionate but unhurried. After all, they had the whole weekend and there was no need to rush. The pleasure of making love without rush or concern about a child waking up was one of the best parts of having children old enough to have their own lives, Magnus thought. That and the pleasure of having Alec all to himself for a couple of days, to be able to peel his clothes off slowly in the living room, in the bedroom or wherever he wanted; the incredible exhilaration of making love to his husband anywhere in their house.

"Humm, welcome home husband," Alec whispered a moment later.

"Thank you, husband," Magnus replied. "How about a drink?"

"That sounds perfect," Alec replied. He took a step back, kicked off his shoes and socks, walked across the room and opened the glass door leading to the terrace, the setting sun calling to him.

Magnus also kicked his shoes off, but rather than immediately following Alec outside, he walked towards the kitchen counter where he began to mix their drinks. As he did, he looked at his husband through the window, Alec's face turned up towards the sky as if wanting to soak the last of the sun. Even after decades of a shared life, the gesture still reminded Magnus of their first time in the cottage, when he found Alec with his arms extended towards the sky, looking like an angel about to take flight. No matter how many holidays and weekends they spent in the cottage, and how many sunsets they welcomed together, Magnus still thought of that first time with a love that never ebbed, and he knew that no matter how many decades and centuries passed, that would be memory he would always make this place home.

The cottage that once had sheltered them while Alec recovered from his injuries and in which he had first discovered that his experiences in the Seventh Circle had changed his nature forever, had, in their twenty-seven years together, become their most valued and treasured possession. It was the place they went when they wanted quiet, the place that, during their years living in hiding from The Clave, became their secret meeting place with their close family and friends. Over the years, the cottage had grown to accommodate the needs of a growing family, with rooms added to accommodate playing and quiet times, times out, privacy and eventually training. When Alec started school, Magnus had built him an office besides his, a room that looked out towards the mountains and the ocean and with bookshelves covering three of the walls.

The cottage and the island were also the place where Magnus first taught Alec and later their children how to fish. It was the place where the twins received their first Shadowhunting training, Matt always the first one to master combat skills even though he could not bear the thought of hurting anyone and had no desire to become a Shadowhunter. Eventually, the children had learned to fight as a team, the twins moving with as much ease with Kaya's magic as Alec had moved with Magnus'. Even Joshua became a natural member of the team, the three older children learning to appreciate the advantages of having a four-legged team member with the agility of a wolf. In the process, Joshua also gained the confidence that his siblings would protect him even at the expense of their own safety.

Of course, like in all families, there had been difficult moments: times when the children did not get along with each other or with their fathers, and they fought most of the time over trivial things. Perhaps the hardest of those times had been with Sofie who had, from a very early age, wanted to become a Shadowhunter and had not always understood why her fathers had decided to live so far away from her people. Furthermore, she could not understand Matt's complete lack of desire to join her, his refusal to become her parabatai, and his preference for science and books instead of weapons and training. With all her teenage passion and fire, she had insisted that Alec make Matt train, arguing that it was their duty to defend humanity, to fend any demonic threats, a duty she considered more important than any futile attempt to heal mundanes.

"We promised you biological mother that we would allow you to choose your own fate," Magnus had told Sofie after one of her heated arguments with Alec in which she had pretty much accused him of being a coward for running away from his duty.

She had been thirteen at the time, and, having instantly realized the unfairness and hurtfulness of the comment, but still too proud to apologize, had stormed out of the room. Magnus had found her later sitting on the same beach where he and Alec has spent so many wonderful and private moments together. "Do you think it was easy for your father to leave his life? He is the one who lost the most in the process. He gave up his place as a leader, his relationship with his own parents, his family and home. He had to learn how to live like an ordinary mundane. He did all of that for you, so you and your brother could one day decide how you wanted to live your lives."

"Dad, I am sorry I was mean to father," Sofie had eventually said as she sought the shelter of Magnus' arms. "I don't know what gets over me sometimes. I get so angry."

"You have the volatile temper and the passion of a Shadowhunter," Magnus had replied as he stroke her long blond hair. "Those qualities will serve you well among the Nephilim if you learn to make them work in your favor."

Despite having been shared the same wound and having been born at the same time, the twins' personalities were as distinct from one another as their physical appearance. Matt was tall, muscular and with the alabaster skin and reddish-brown wavy hair he had inherited from Mariana Almendros. His looks were a sharp contrast to his petite sister with her light peach-tone skin and the long blond curls she had inherited from her biological father. Their different personalities and interests had made adolescence particularly hard for them, a period marked by a friction that was only now starting to abate. Magnus knew he was not supposed to have favorites, but he had a soft spot in his heart for the twins. He had, after all, helped bring them into the world. He also recognized himself in the fiery Sofie more than he did in Kaya – despite the fact that Kaya was a warlock like him – and he recognized Alec in Matt, the same thoughtful and sensitive nature, the same selflessness, the same kind heart.

Of course, Magnus loved Kaya and Joshua. Kaya with her amiable personality and her special ability to make people feel at ease seemed to have taken the role of the glue that united her siblings. She got along with Matt and shared many of his interests as much as she got along with Sofie with whom she shared a love for adventure and a desire to fight evil. Kaya also knew that her condition as a warlock meant that she would likely be the one to accompany his siblings as they aged, that their lives would be shorter than hers, and she did not want to waste any time in disagreements and fights.

Joshua, being the youngest, was the one that kept the family laughing, the eternal comedian, the one with the ability to break through any tension, and to laugh at himself as much as at others. Yet, underneath all that, he was a kind and sensitive soul, an accepting man, a lover rather than a fighter. He also worshipped Alec with a love and loyalty than accepted no critique. He was still too young, but Magnus suspected that Joshua was gay; he had already seen the signs, the way his heart seemed to skip a beat every time a handsome boy was in the vicinity, and he hoped that Joshua would discover himself in a welcoming and accepting community, a better world than the one in which he and Alec had grown up.

Thank the Angel that Sofie's difficult teenage years were almost over, thought Magnus as he walked onto the terrace with a drink in each hand. Except for the usual crushes and heartbreaks, Matt had never gone through the kind of rebellious stage Sofia had gone through, and Kaya was too sensible to let hormones get the better of her. While Joshua was still to hit the dreaded teens, Magnus suspected that his youngest son was too much of a practical man to rebel or to agonize over his sexual identity. If he could accept his monthly transformation as a fact of life, he would likely accept any other aspect of his identity, as well as the ups and down of teenage years with similar equanimity.

"What should we do tonight?" Magnus asked as he handed Alec his drink. Leaning against the rail, he took a sip of his own cocktail and briefly glanced in the direction of the mountains behind which the sun had all but disappeared.

"I don't know," Alec replied turning to look at his husband and smiling in that suggestive way that always made the color raise to Magnus' cheeks. "What do you have in mind?" he added and when Magnus looked back at him, bit his lower lip in that way that he knew drove Magnus crazy.

Magnus shifted his gaze from Alec's eyes down to those sinful lips. After a moment of delightful anticipation, he leaned in and gently and tenderly kissed Alec, his free hand reaching and caressing his husband's cheek. Alec closed even more the distance between them, his free arm rounding Magnus' waist and pulling him closer. He then parted his lips a little, the gesture an invitation to Magnus' tongue to come out and play. Magnus responded without delay, his heartbeat picking up speed, his body awakening in response to Alec's beckoning.

"Humm, right now, the only thing I want, warlock, is to have you naked, willing and all to myself," Alec stated during a break in their kissing.

"Your wish is my command Shadowhunter," Magnus replied, and taking a step back, took Alec's hand and led him up the stairs and to their bedroom, depositing his drink on the kitchen counter along the way. Alec also left his drink on the counter. Alcohol was, after all, overrated. He preferred to get drunk in the scent and taste of Magnus.

"You and me, shower, right now," Magnus said as soon as they entered their bedroom and with a quick snap of his fingers, he willed the door to close behind them.

"Humm, as usual, you read my mind, Magnus," Alec replied, as he began to undo the bottoms on Magnus' shirt and plant soft kissed along his neck and on the newly exposed skin. In no time, they were both shirtless, golden and silver skins melting into one another, goosebumps awakening along arms and chests. As he rounded Alec's behind with both hands, Magnus pulled him along towards the bathroom and once there, and with already familiar but still surprising dexterity, he undid belt buckle and zipper at the same time that he sat on the edge of the tub and pull Alec closer, determined to explore his lover's body until Alec called his name at the top of his lungs.

After a long while in which Magnus explored him with that blessed mouth of his, bringing him almost to the edge of insanity, Alec looked down at the loving face of this man that was not only his husband, the companion of his life, but also and most importantly, his lover. Magnus looked up at him and smiled, and Alec run a gentle hand through his hair. "No, this would not do," he bended down and whispered in Magnus' ear. "You know there are no glamors in this house," he added as he pulled Magnus to his feet and wrapped an arm firmly around his waist.

Alec then snapped his fingers and silver streams of magic began to sparkle between them. "Middle age becomes you Magnus, but we agreed that we would never use glamor here," he added as he run a gentle hand along Magnus' hair and then his face. As if he was peeling a thin layer of skin and with a steady, yet gentle stream of silver magic, Alec removed the glamor that concealed Magnus' agelessness: the laugh lines around his eyes, the wrinkles along his forehead and the silver strands of hair that made Magnus look like a handsome fifty-something.

Imitating Alec's gesture, Magnus also run a hand along Alec's hair, face and arms, peeling away with golden streams of magic the wrinkles, laugh lines, sun spots and silver hair that made his husband look like a well-preserved middle age man. As he did, he briefly thought of Chaste Williams and all the other students who had, over the years, harbored crushes on Alec and wondered whether Alec remained so alluring because no matter under how much glamor he concealed his agelessness, he could still not dissimulate his beautiful youth.

In moments, the glamor they wore in public, the disguise they used when meeting his children's friends, and when Alec went to work or they attended functions at the university was gone. In moments, they looked like two men in their late twenties, the way they would look for the rest of their lives.

"There you are, Magnus," Alec said with a smile. He then leaned in and kissed Magnus with a passion that knew no end, his brother's summoning, his students, his work all but forgotten. All gone, just Magnus left, always and only Magnus.

Gently, he pulled Magnus along as he walked backwards and into the shower stall that occupied one whole wall. Along the way, he reached for Magnus' belt buckle and with swift movements helped his husband out of his jeans. Once they were both naked, he turned on the water and let the shower washed away any remaining vestiges of glamor and any reminders of the mundane world they had left behind. This was the best part of their time at the cottage, Alec and Magnus knew. Here in this refuge, they could be themselves, two magic creatures, two lovers, two men that had decided to build a life together.

They explored each other's bodies for a long time, the water from the shower shutting out all other noises and creating the illusion of being completely isolated from the world. Minutes later, Alec was surrendering to a powerful orgasm, Magnus following suit soon after, and as he held his lover's trembling body, Alec thanked the Angel for perhaps the millionth time for this man and this life he felt so fortunate to have.

"More," Magnus whispered in Alec's ear a few moments later as Alec run a soft towel along his skin. "More, I want more of you," he repeated just before claiming Alec's mouth for another passionate kiss.

"Greedy, aren't you?" Alec replied. Yet, he knew that he too wanted more, that the night was just starting and that there were still hours left to spend in the arms of his lover. With determined strength, he pulled Magnus closer, their naked bodies fully alive and wanting once again.

It was now Magnus the one to pull Alec along in the direction of their bed, he the one to kiss and gently bite his long neck. When he finally felt the edge of the bed against the back of his legs, he turned and, switching positions, gently but firmly pushed Alec backwards and onto the bed. He then climbed in top of him, determined to spend as long as his strength allowed possessing and relinquishing, giving and taking until there was nothing left of him but exhaustion and love for this man he was fortunate to call his own.

The sky had started to turn from dark to light blue when Magnus woke up alone in bed several hours later. "Alexander," he called as he lifted his head and looked around the empty room. When he received no answer, he got up, put on a pair of pajama bottoms and one of Alec's hoodies and went in search of his husband. He found him out in the part of the terrace that faced east, dressed in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and an old t-shirt, his gaze lost in the distance. Grabbing one of Alec's old sweaters from the back of a sofa, Magnus headed outside to join him.

"So, are we going back?" he asked as he approached Alec and wrapped the sweater around his body. He then leaned against the rail and looked in the same direction of Alec's gaze.

"Back where?" Alec asked, his mind apparently lost in some distant thought.

"Back home, to New York and the Shadowhunter, of course," Magnus replied.

"You knew?" Alec asked turning to look at his lover, his expression one of surprise.

"No really, but I suspected it. You have been unusually quiet for the last few days," Magnus explained. "Besides, I saw you getting that fire message this afternoon."

"How do you know what it says?"

"I don't know, but I can guess," Magnus replied. "Newly appointed Consul Jace Herondale called me two days ago and while he did not say anything directly, I suspect her was trying to assess the situation. He asked about the children and whether you were about done with the last of your novels. He is asking you to come back, isn't he?"

Magnus was proud of Alec, of his intelligence as well as his determination to excel in any endeavor he embarked in. Alec had approached his life as a mundane with as much dedication as he had lived his life as a Shadowhunter. Not only that, he had used his knowledge and experience in the Shadow World to his advantage, as material to write three successful novels. Now, Jace was apparently asking him to once again leave his life behind and return to the ranks of the Shadowhunters.

Alec sighed and nodded. "Jace wouldn't ask me to fulfill my promise if it wasn't serious. Do you know what is going on Magnus?"

"I don't," Magnus replied. "Like you, I have stayed away from Shadowhunter business for all this time. I have made it a point not to ask Izzy or Clary any questions either."

Alec had not stepped into an Institute, let alone the New York Institute, since he and Magnus walked away. Over the years, his siblings and friends had learned to avoid any conversations related to Nephilim or Shadowhunter politics for respect to Magnus and Alec's decision to live separate from that life and give their children as much of a free choice as possible. When Sofie began to train with Izzy, it had been Magnus the one to portal her there, and Izzy had made it a point never to involve their daughter in any Shadowhunter missions until Magnus and Alec were ready to give permission. "It must be serious though," Magnus now added. "Otherwise, Jace would not be asking. What have you decided?"

"I have not decided anything," Alec replied turning and reaching for Magnus' hand. With his index finger, he traced the contours of the wedding ring he had placed in Magnus's finger twenty-two years ago. "This is not a decision I can make on my own. It is our life Magnus and we have to think of the children."

"I won't tell you what to do Alexander," Magnus said reaching with his free hand and placing it against Alec's cheek. "But you know that I will follow you to the end of the earth if necessary like you did for me." Magnus was not just referring to when Alec went to hell in search of him. He knew that when Alec decided to leave New York and the Institute, he had not only done it to protect their children. He had done it to protect Magnus, to make sure that Magnus never lost the family they had built together. Alec had followed Magnus into the mundane world and now he, Magnus, would follow him back to the ranks of the Shadowhunters if necessary.

Alec leaned in and kissed him, the kiss grateful and humble. "Thank you, Magnus," he whispered. "Thank you for loving me and for the family you have given me. I could not ask for more, and because I cannot ask for more, I don't want to ask you or the children to sacrifice the life we have in order to go back."

"I am not sacrificing anything, Alexander, and neither are the children," Magnus replied. "The children will be okay. We will make sure of that. Matt will be going to medical school in the next few months and we will protect him with all the protection spells we have at our disposal. Sofie will be happy to go back and Kaya and Joshua are as prepared for the move as the twins. We knew that this day would come one day. That is why we made sure the children were prepared."

"Still, going back is likely to make my condition as a hybrid harder to conceal," Alec stated. "You know how bigoted my people are."

Alec sighed and turned to look once again towards the distance. The sun had begun to peek from behind the mountains, golden light slowly displacing night, a halo against which Alec's face appeared even more angelic.

"We are going home then," Magnus said, not a question but statement.

Alec inhaled deeply, and as he exhaled, Magnus saw an almost imperceptible transformation in Alec's posture and demeanor, a transformation that only he, the one that knew Alec best in the world, was likely to see. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders slightly, and a look of determination rose to his eyes and settled in the lines of his face. And just like that, Alec was no longer the popular university professor and author who broke his students' heart; he was no longer the ordinary family man who dropped his children off at school every morning. Just like that, the Shadowhunter that Alec always carried within came back to the surface and right before Magnus' eyes, Alec became the warrior who loved peace; the man who would heed his brother's call even if it meant to leave behind the life he had worked so hard to build; the courageous Nephilim who had one day left everything behind to follow the man he loved because he wanted to build home and family with him.

Alec turned and looked into the unglamored cat eyes of his husband, the gold undertone of his lovely skin reflecting the sunlight and accentuating his ageless youth. In those eyes and on that face, Alec saw unconditional love, faithfulness and loyalty, and Alec knew without the shred of a doubt that Magnus would be by his side to the very end, that in the same way that he, Alec, would give his life for Magnus, Magnus would do the same in return. Alec knew that no matter where fate took them, as long as Magnus was by his side, he, Alec, would have home, kin and country.

"I guess we are," he replied and nodded. He then wrapped an arm firmly around Magnus' shoulders, the gesture meant to convey his resolve to protect his husband with his very life no matter what came their way. Magnus wrapped his own arm around Alec's waist, the gesture equally determined, for he would go to the end of the earth and beyond for this man he loved and would love for all eternity.

THE END

I apologize for taking so long to post the last chapter in this story. I have been out of the country on a study and research trip.

I hope you enjoy reading this last installment. I wrote it in short chunks and during my breaks. I am sure it still needs work.

Thanks for reading and for sticking with this story to the end.