Hello Readers!

This fic is me dipping my toes into the Mortal Instruments fandom; hope it goes well.

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the Mortal Instruments series.

This particular fic is set some years after the Shadowhunter Academy installment 'Born to Endless Night' so it will contain spoilers.

It's endlessly fluffy; you may need to brush your teeth afterward.

Enjoy!

Magnus drifted into consciousness when he felt the mattress dip softly beside him. The room was dark, save for the single beam of light from the street lights breaking through the crack in the curtains, but as he rolled over he could see the outline of his boyfriend taking great care to be as quiet as possible. Magnus smiled sleepily and an old, soft shirt brushed against his elbow.

"Hey." He whispered into the darkness, "Everything okay?"

He felt more than saw Alec nod tiredly against the pillow.

"Me, Maia and Lily have everything covered. Turns out it was just a group of werewolf and vampire kids on a weeklong bar crawl."

He sounded more amused than he probably should have. Magnus grinned and closed his eyes, curling up around Alec and rubbing his hands up and down his back.

"Kids these days. No injuries to speak of?" Though his tone was light, the meaning behind it was quite serious.

Strong, brave and formidable Alexander might be but he was also particularly prone to injury. Injuries small or large were to be avoided if possible; Magnus had a vested interest in Alec after all. The object of his interest was also 97% asleep but somehow still mustered the energy to minutely shake his head, which Magnus felt against his collar bone and mutter,

"How was Max?"

"A perfect delight, as always, my love. We had an inspiring story time."

His colourful recount of their story time adventure before bed fell on deaf ears however; sore and tired, Alec was lost to the waking world. His beloved was a warm and welcome weight against him, his son was sleeping peacefully down the hall, surrounded by a veritable zoo of stuffed animals. All was right with Magnus Bane's world.

Magnus was roused again, after what felt like a luxurious sleep, by a little finger prodding at his cheek. He opened one cat eye and spied Max's curious little face mere inches from his own.

"Hello petal." He whispered, aware of the exhausted lump under the blankets to his right.

"Papa, what's wrong with daddy's eye?" Max chirped in what could only be considered a stage whisper.

Gently dislodging the heavy arm across his chest, Magnus heaved himself up and peeled back the blankets. He grimaced at the spectacular bruise that had become his boyfriend's left eye. An impressive shiner, certainly, but the yellowing around the edges suggested it was quickly fading in the presence of an iratze. With a feather light touch he traced the edge of the black eye with a finger and pulled Max up into his lap with his other arm. At four years old, Max Lightwood was a ball of boundless energy; he seemed to have inherited all the best traits of them all (not that Magnus was bias, certainly not.). Alec's gentle spirit, Magnus' sass, Jace's wit, Clary's curiosity and Isabelle's fire. A perfect little being that made his days feel brighter than he could have ever dreamed possible.

Magnus held Max's little hand in his much larger one and traced the boy's fingers over the iratze on the inside of Alec's wrist (who stirred slightly but didn't awaken). Max's dark eyes were wide and curious.

"See this, love? This is a special kind of magic daddy uses to help make himself better. It's working right now."

"Magic like we can do?"

"No, not like ours. This is daddy's special kind of magic that he uses because he's part angel."

"Oh. And his eye will get better?"

Magnus pressed a kiss to Max's curly, dark hair.

"In no time at all. Shall we let daddy sleep a bit longer?"

Max nodded his head exuberantly; a habit he'd taken to a few weeks ago. Alec hated it. Max's head whipped up and down so quickly it looked like it would rattle his brains. It secretly made Magnus laugh; his son reminded him of a blue bobble head. Climbing out of bed as quietly as he could, Max took precious care to smooth the loose blankets back over Alec's shoulders and planted a wet, smacking kiss on his forehead.

Magnus, heart swelling a little with fondness, caught his boyfriend's amused, quirked smile as he lifted Max into his arms. Alec opened one blue, unbruised eye, and shared a secret smile with Magnus over their sons head before he rolled back over to catch a little more sleep.

Breakfast time with his son was always an adventure in Magnus' eyes. In the days he'd existed before Alec had steamrolled into his life, the good majority of his mornings had been spent hunched over the breakfast island… or the couch… or the bath or one memorable occasion that had found him draped over the television. Nursing a hangover and surrounded by the remains of the previous night's party. Empty bottles, spilled liquor, scattered decorations and even the left over party guests. Easily cleared with a deft wave of his hand, but the fact remained that he could scarcely remember a single occasion out of those mornings that he'd been happy.

Now though, his mornings were bright. His apartment was light, open and toddler safe. Children's cereal was stocked in a cupboard, animal themed cups and plates stacked on a shelf, miscellaneous toys that should have been tucked into the monkey toy box were often scattered on the floor, the remains of last night's couch fort was still holding strong and Disney DVD's were lined up under the television.

Magnus, in all his immortal years, in all the thousands of ways he'd decorated his homes, could never have imagined this, nor how much he would come to love it.

He settled Max into his green booster seat at the breakfast island and draped a towel over his own neck.

"Hello good sir, what may I get you for breakfast?"

Max grinned at his silly papa.

"Strawberry waffles please papa!"

"An excellent choice."

Magnus snatched a plate with a cartoon lion grinning atop it and draped his towel over it. With a mischievous grin he waved his fingers over it, blue sparkles dancing merrily. Max leaned forward, transfixed and clapped delightedly when Magnus whipped the towel away to reveal a delicious looking plate of strawberry covered waffles.

" Voila!"

Setting the plate down in front of Max, with his matching lion themed knife and fork, Magnus contemplated the role of magic in Max's life. For mundane children, magic was wondrous and mysterious, a magician at a party or a magic kit bought for Christmas. The hope that it was real was what kept it alive and brilliant in their minds, but to his son, to whom magic was ready to be wielded the older he grew, it was no less wonderful to him.

He and Alec had always made sure that Max knew exactly who and what he was; though they had left out the details of how they had come to keep him until he was very much older, Max was well aware that he was a Warlock, that magic would one day be his to control as his papa could. Magnus thanked whatever higher powers there were in this world and others that Max lived in a home where he didn't have to hide, or be ashamed of what he was. His blue skin was accepted and celebrated, his fledging powers encouraged and honed, his bright and bubbly personality could flourish and shine. Though in the beginning of their adventures in child rearing had been difficult, the Lightwood clan had unified around them and became a comforting presence that Magnus never could have foreseen.

Robert and Maryse Lightwood, far from being disgusted that their Shadowhunter son had chosen to raise a blue warlock child, their once stony hearts had grown tender. They even seemed to find a kindling friendship left from the ashes of their burned marriage; all in love and awe of their newly acquired grandson. Any protesters from Shadowhunter ranks that had learned of their situation and made noise about it were quickly silenced by the combined forces of Robert and Maryse, who tried to keep news of such naysayers away as much as they could.

Nowadays it was not unusual for Magnus to speak to either of Alec's parents on the phone for a period of time, telling them all about Max's day until Max was old enough to snatch the phone from his hands and babble on at them himself. Alec told him once that his parents had even confided in him that it was the highlight of their week, hearing little Max chirp on about the friends he'd made, the things he'd seen or the tasks he'd accomplished.

Magnus didn't comment on the fact that Alec's eyes had been bright and damp looking when he'd told him.

Isabelle had taken to being an aunty like a bird could take to the skies. Alec would perhaps condemn her a little for spoiling Max rotten, but she whole heartedly ignored him and continued to do so anyway. Any chance she could get away from the institute for an afternoon were spent taking Max to the park or out for ice cream, she would even bring Simon along most times. Simon, who had been the one to find Max and hand him over to Magnus and Alec had formed a musical bond with Max. He and Isabelle had bought him an Ipod that Isabelle and Alec had absolutely no clue how to work, but Simon seemed to delight in introducing Max to all kinds of music and teaching him new songs.

The first song he'd taught Max had been Twinkle Twinkle, which Max had sung for weeks on end afterward (which had been Magnus' and Simon's ringtone for probably an unreasonable amount of time).

Jace seemed to have become a third dad to his Parabatai's son. Magnus was reasonably sure that Jace had even tried to train Max to call him dad (to Alec's daddy and Magnus' papa) but he was pretty sure that Clary had put a stop to that, bless her little heart. Jace had, on more than one occasion, hoisted the boy into his arms and threatened to take him away and keep him forever; he was far more fun that daddy and papa anyway. Max would sometimes scream in protest, around the biggest, gummiest smile, or wholeheartedly agree with his uncle's wonderful plan and offer to go pack his little hippo suitcase. Which usually ended up with Max and Jace having a sleepover that neither Magnus nor Alec wanted to hear any details about. Clary had let slip once that the pair would usually build an extravagant fort and hunker down to watch something called 'Turtle Mutant Ninjas', whatever that was, until they both fell asleep.

Jace would always argue that every child needed a mischievous, corrupting influence in their life. If Magnus didn't know Jace so well, if he didn't know that Jace would lay down his life for the boy or slaughter anything or one that dared touch one of his blue curls, well, Magnus might have turned him into a toad by now.

Clary was the one who liked story time the most. Whenever she had been called upon to babysit, he had often found her curled into a nook in a library, Max perched in her lap, sucking his thumb quietly as she read to him. Or Max came home, covered in paint to match the paint splattered in Clary's red curls. They had been making masterpieces, she'd exclaim, when Magnus would groan at the experience of a suddenly colourful bath time. And an equally colourful bathtub.

Magnus munched on an apple and leaned over with a napkin to wipe strawberry sauce from his son's cheeks and forehead. How on earth he always managed to get it up there was beyond him.

"Papa?"

"Yes munchkin?"

"Why does daddy have a hurt eye?"

Magnus settled himself across the island from his son. Only recently had they begun to introduce Max to the lightest of explanations into the Shadowhunter lifestyle. While a born and raised Nephilim child would have be raised surrounded by their culture and the knowledge of what they were to grow to be, Magnus and Alec had decided to take a lighter approach. The relations between Downworlders and Shadowhunters had immeasurable improved over the years, but those tenuous stereotypes and stubborn attitudes still remained.

As a team, Maia, Lilly and Alec had become a well known, dynamic trio that had inspired Downworlders and Shadowhunters alike to band together, but trouble would always lurk in other forms. Due to the nature of his birth and what he was, Max would never be able to bare runes, or ascend or become a Shadowhunter. He would take after his papa, which had dangers all its own.

He knew his Lightwood family were part angel, that they were Shadowhunters and saved people. That was the extent of it for now, but only recently had he begun to question where Alec would go sometimes at night, why he was sometimes tired or sore or serious.

"Do you remember how we told you that daddy is a Shadowhunter, pumpkin?"

"Yeah, he saves people." Max, though worry still scrunched his button nose, looked immeasurably proud of that fact. Magnus privately thought that Jace was encouraging Max to associate Shadowhunters with superheroes.

"He does, he's very brave and he helps a lot of people, but sometimes it's a bit dangerous."

Max's dark eyes began to grow wide with worry.

"Will he get hurt a lot?"

Magnus swallowed, unsure of how to answer and annoyed that Alec was sleeping the day away while he faced the hard questions of the morning. He paused and considered his words carefully, he would not lie to his child, but nor could he share the whole truth. Nephilim children grew accustomed to the fact that they might die young very early on. Alec had once confided in him that one of Robert's early Shadowhunter lessons had been all about preparing for not only the sudden death of loved ones, but also the fact that Alec was more than likely going to die young due to his protective, sensitive nature.

After he'd been told, Magnus had to remind himself that Robert had spent the last few years putting 100% effort into understanding and building bridges with Alec Or else he would have met a very untimely end himself at Magnus' hands. It was entirely plausible that Alec could be killed on any hunt on any given day. Even he couldn't tolerate that fact.

"Sometimes he will get hurt, but don't forget how many people look after daddy."

This was also a fact; one that comforted Magnus in the wee hours too.

"He has uncle Jace, aunty Isabelle, Clary, Simon, he even has Lilly and Maia and all the other Shadowhunters. So many people love your daddy and want to look after him."

"Even you?"

Magnus leaned right over the table and dropped a kiss onto Max's forehead.

"Especially me, pumpkin."

"And me too? I can look after him as well?"

"Why don't we work as a team to protect daddy?"

Magnus didn't think his lips could stretch into a bigger smile when his son became a frantically nodding little bobble head.

After several cartoons, that Magnus found more and more baffling the longer they watched, the magical pair found themselves huddled together outside Alec and Magnus' bedroom door. Magnus was crouched down low to Max's level as he gentle pushed the door open.

"You know the plan petal?"

"Yup. Creep in, like a mouse, and be very nice and gentle to wake daddy up."

"You got it. Tally-ho my son!" he staged whispered dramatically.

Max blinked up at him owlishly.

"Tally what? What's a ho?"

"An excellent question sweetpea, save it for your daddy… or your uncle Jace."

Max nodded very sagely and began to tip toe into the room; Magnus straightened and leaned against the doorframe, feeling giddy. This had become a ritual of sorts for whenever Alec had been out most of the night and needed to sleep in a little; Magnus would deploy their child to wake Alec up, knowing full well he would receive a warmer welcome than the grumpy Shadowhunter attitude Magnus was usually met with.

Alec was sprawled on his back, one arm tucked behind his head and the other lay over his chest, his long legs akimbo; he looked beautifully soft and rumpled. Magnus leaned his temple against the frame, feeling disgustingly tender inside as he watched Max creep up on his sleeping love.

Once upon a time, Magnus used to invite folks of all kinds to his famous parties with invitations; invitations that promised them a rapturous night full of delights. He hadn't known the meaning of the words back then. There could not be a sight more delightful than this.

Max had climbed up onto the bed, little limbs like a monkey's as he scrambled up to perch carefully next to Alec, who was still very much asleep as far as Magnus could tell. Their son lifted a tiny blue hand and very delicately started to push the dark locks off Alec's forehead. It was clear to Magnus that he was mimicking how he'd need both his parents wake each other before, but watching Max's hand clumsily, but softly, brush through Alec's hair made something twist so deeply inside Magnus' chest that he felt his eyes sting a little.

"Daddy? Your eye is a funny colour. Are you awake?"

Max squealed in surprise however when he found the covers being tugged promptly over his head. Magnus watched his blue child be enveloped by the white sheets and smiled when he heard the faint sounds of muffled giggling.

"What are you two up to under there?" he asked, pulling the sheet up to peek underneath.

Max was curled up like a little blue bundle in Alec's arms. The Shadowhunter was tucked up around him and Max was whispering happily in his ear, the pair of them grinning when they spotted Magnus lifting the sheets.

"Well, this is all very secretive."

"Not so much a secret apparently; who invited you?" Alec cheeked, eyes twinkling happily.

"How very rude Alexander; the host doesn't have to be invited to his own party."

"Are we going to a party?" Mac chirped from Alec's arms.

They laughed and Magnus reached over to ruffle his son's hair then, for good measure, ruffled Alec's as well (and received a deadpan look for his efforts).

"No party I'm afraid sweetpea, but we have something equally as excited to show daddy, remember?"

Max stared at him blankly and Alec raised an unimpressed eyebrow in response.

"Remember? The magic trick?" He said again, with emphasis.

"Oh! Yeah!" Max scrambled out of Alec's arms (only Shadowhunter pride stopped Alec from wincing at the sharp little elbow in his sternum.) He perched at Alec's feet gesturing for Magnus to come closer, whispering,

"The plate papa."

Magnus fought hard to keep his lips from stretching into a smile, he really did, but the serious look he tried to adopt seemed to satisfy his son. Alec bit down on his lip, eyes bright and blue and lovely.

With a flicker of blue, a plate materialised atop Magnus' outstretched hand. Max wiggled a little on his knees and held both hands palm down above the plate. His little blue face was scrunched up with such concentration that Magnus briefly pondered whether Max would give himself a headache. Alec looked enraptured as Max wiggled his fingers with a few gentle blue sparkles twinkling down onto the plate.

For a moment, the trio held their breaths in anticipation, until suddenly, with a little pop, three pancakes came into existence.

They were uneven and lumpy and one seemed to have a bite already taken out of it, but to Magnus, they were the most beautiful looking pancakes he'd ever seen.

Smile stretching his lips, he looked at Alec. The Shadowhunter's face was radiant in his delight; glowing with pride and love and joy. He looked magical.

"Maxxie! You- when did you - ?" Alec didn't wait for him to answer before he near lunged across the bed to tug a giggling Max into his arms. He was a such a tiny thing, Magnus thought. When he was buried in Alec's arms (impressive biceps and all) with his boyfriend's lanky body curled around him like a protective shell around a pearl, he seemed impossibly tiny.

Such a lovely little family he had.

Alec was pressing kisses into Max's baby soft locks as their child laughed breathlessly; his pride in himself bursting out of him as though there weren't enough room in his lungs to contain it all. He reached a grabby hand out and snagged the biggest pancake, happily munching on it, content within the arms of his parents.

Magnus shimmied forward across the sheets, wrapping a lanky arm around Alec's shoulders, pressing a slow, smoochy kiss to the bared nape of his neck.

"Don't we have a clever little blueberry?"

Alec grinned up at him, the remnants of bruising fading around his eye, and Magnus recalled a boy from so many years ago. The memory of that boy seemed like a shadow now as he looked at Alec; he seemed like pure light. Blue eyes like sunny skies with their boy snuggled into his arms.

Oh, Magnus thought, what a time to be alive.