Chapter 1 – New Neighbors

(Magnus moves in and meets Alec and his son.)

Magnus grabbed the baby monitor off the kitchen table and went outside to sit on the front porch. His son, Raphael had a horrible time sleeping over the last few days and he was finally out for his nap. He didn't sleep well in unfamiliar places so the drive from New York City to Michigan suburbia, every night in a new hotel and the long time in the car was not going well for him. Raphael wasn't used to extended periods of time in the car so what should have been a two-day trip turned into three days because Magnus didn't want to push his son. It had more than two weeks until he began his new position so had a little time to spare. He still had to find Raph daycare and a kid's program. His son was a very social child and Magnus didn't want to stop that, so he wanted to get him into a routine as soon as possible so when he did go to work, it wouldn't be a complete shock to him.

He needed a change of pace and getting away from the city was the best option he could find. His ex-wife still felt like she had a claim on his son when her rights had been terminated almost a year ago. They had been divorced for nearly two years now. It was a little over a year ago when Raphael came home from a visit with Camille that he had a strange bruise on his side. When Magnus asked about it she had some excuse that didn't make sense, he went to child services next and began the fight, but it didn't take long to win sole custody of him. However, Camille didn't see a problem with just dropping by so when his last remaining relative died he took all the money and moved to another state.

He was a lawyer and it wasn't very simple for him to just up and move anywhere. He found a job almost six months ago and took the bar for the new state; he had no problems passing which lead him here. He choose this area because of their topnotch schools and lower crime rates. It was a simple three-bedroom condo in the heart of a suburban city known for its money. He wasn't super rich but he did make enough to not think about money issues. This position would be more than his old one and the lower cost of living was going to let him do well for him and Raphael, and it was all away from the city. He would miss a few of his friends, but Ragnor promised to visit from time to time which was the most important one, Ragnor and Raphael adored each other and he didn't want that relationship to dissolve just because he had to get away from his ex-wife.

It was a mid-Saturday afternoon and the weather had a slight chill to the air, it was springtime in Michigan and required a light jacket to be outside. He wasn't wearing one, he had been unpacking for the last day and a half and was overheated from all the rearranging. A semi-truck with all their belongings had been shipped ahead of time. His friend, Catarina, who happened to be in town for work and was able to help since he took an extra day to get here. She was a godsend and someone else he would miss dearly. She had left the night before which was bittersweet, Michigan wasn't one of her normal stops for work, and it would be rare for him to see her now.

He was ready to go back inside when a black SUV pulled up into his neighbor's driveway, he stopped over the day before, but no one answered the door. When he finally noticed the car it had been too late in the day. He had an end unit, so he only had the one condo next to him. He stood up when the driver made eye contact with him.

Magnus froze for a moment on his walk to the car after it had stopped, the man who got out of his was adorable and the most beautiful human being he had ever seen. He was tall, as tall as Magnus which wasn't rare but helped, black hair and these bright blue eyes that Magnus felt he could stare at for days. He was built like an athlete with muscles for days, the t-shirt he was wearing was a dull color gray but did such nice things for his profile. He was also wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and standard combat books. Overall not bad but not the same fashion sense that Magnus had. He knew he was staring a little too long, which he hoped it wasn't noticeable.

"Hello, I'm Alec."

"Hello, Alec. I'm Magnus. I moved in yesterday from New York with my son." Magnus made the awkward point back to his house as if Alec wouldn't know where he lived; he mentally kicked himself for that move.

"That condo has been vacant for three years; it's nice to have someone move in. I have a son as well; he's three." Alec smiled.

"My Raphael is four, that's perfect." Magnus matched Alec's smile with one of his own. That smile was intoxicating.

"Oh, that's great. We'll have to introduce the kids."

"Alexander, I've been waiting for you." The voice came from his front door.

"Sorry, Clary I got stuck with a client." Alec hated his full name which thankfully no one used except for Clary when she was mad at him for something.

The fiery little redhead that Magnus now had a name for came down the steps holding an adorable small child with the messy head of jet black hair, just like his father.

"I have to get to my mother's." She nodded to Magnus and handing the child off to Alec. She kissed Alec on the cheek before kissing the ball of black hair, who in turn giggled.

"Bye." He called after her.

Magnus noticed her leave but he also noticed the large diamond on her hand with a matching wedding band, damn his neighbor was married and he was still thinking of what he could do to Alec to entice that smile out of him. That was disappointing but such is life.

Alec watched her leave before turning back to his new neighbor, "This is my son, Max and that was Clary but you can meet her later. I was supposed to be home before lunch." He rocked Max a little, it was a little late for nap time and the kid was crashing fast. He should have been out by now, but he couldn't fault Clary when she was helping him out because of a last-minute meeting. "I have to put him back down. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, of course. Have a good nap, Max. I'll see you." Magnus was surprised when Max looked up at him and is discovered Max had a pair of light eyes to match his father, they weren't blue but a light hazel. Magnus heard another little giggle as Alec or should he say 'Alexander' climbed the stairs leading to his front door, he didn't look back but Magnus knew the feeling of being focused in on your child and couldn't fault him.

Alec sat Max down on the couch that was just inside the front door to take his shoes off; he had a strict rule about no shoes in the house. Max just sat there, "Dad?"

"Yep?" Alec scoped him back up into his arms.

"Who's that man?"

Alec climbed the stairs to get to the bedroom area of the second floor; there were two bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor while the first floor had the living room, kitchen, a half bath, and the third bedroom. Once all his siblings moved out, he remodeled the basement into a gym area. He couldn't always make it out of the house to work out and it was a good stress reliever, so he needed a place at home. The basement was his room for a long time, until his two siblings, Izzy and Jace, moved out. Their parents had died in a car crash over four years ago, they had some money stashed away for their children but it wasn't a lot. It was enough for Alec to get on his feet after Max was born, the year after they died. His parents never got to meet their grandchild. Jace was using his portion to pay for his apartment and wedding to Clary; he was just turning twenty and Clary had just turned eighteen, they got married only six months ago and were living in an apartment across town. His sister Izzy was living in the same apartment complex and shared her apartment with her boyfriend, Simon. Both couples were high school sweethearts. Alec was the only one who left high school single and stayed that way. He kept their family home, he did offer to sell and split the profit but they both declined, he needed somewhere to raise Max and it was almost paid off. Alec assumed all the bills which part of the money went to pay for so he owed next to nothing. It was a huge chunk of money from the trust but it was helpful now to almost be paid off, just another two years.

Alec was lucky in his career that his freshman year internship at college offered him a job in the first round and he was able to work there while in school which built his career and set him up for after graduation. He was currently a Training and Development Manager at a large staffing firm. He had just been promoted last month which added Manager to his title and a slight increase in pay. He and Max never struggled but it was paycheck to paycheck when his parent's money ran out for a year or so, he used the rest of the money to help offset the bills which was another help as most of them were paid off, it left them with more money from his check and he was bouncing back. It was a relief to leave that stress out of his life.

"He's our new neighbor. He said he's got a son who's four." Alec went into Max's room and put him in his bed, they just transferred his crib into a small twin a year ago and he handled it very well. Max was early at everything; he was even potty trained for over a year. Alec wanted to cut cost and diapers were stupid expensive for something you go through so many of. Max took to it well and his daycare was a big help keeping him in the routine.

"Can I meet him?"

"Yes, but first you need to sleep for your nap." Alec pulled the blanket over him, pulling out his favorite stuffed animal. Sometimes people thought he had a five or six-year-old but he just had a child who developed mental very fast, he was even walking just after one. He went from army crawling straight into walking, skipping the super crawling stage. He was convinced Max was going to be a genius or he was going to have a five-year-old teenager. The doctors just said some kids advance fasters then others. "Sleep." Alec kissed his cheek and clicked on the baby monitor; he was hoping to get some yard work done while Max was out.

Once Alec got downstairs after changing and saw his sink of dishes, he decided yard work would have to wait for Sunday. Since they were in a condo, he didn't have to do anything in the front but his fenced in backyard was all his to take care of.

Alec caught a glimpse of Magnus in his backyard from his kitchen window and was reminded of his good looks. He was tall with blackish hair, it was shorter on the sides and slightly longer on the top, with the tips a darker shade of red, it blended nicely and made Alec want to run his fingers through it. He also had the most amazing looking eyes, nothing like he had ever seen before. They were a goldish-green and he felt like he could be staring into heaven. Alec wasn't sure on Magnus but he seemed to get a vibe from him when they were staring at each other. Magnus spent a little longer than most when giving him the glance up and down. Alec was 'batting for the other team' as some would say, he was 100% gay and something told him Magnus wasn't necessarily playing for the straight side either but he wasn't sure and he wasn't about to ask.

Alec wasn't in the closet but he wasn't out of it either, only his close family and friends knew, the rest of the world didn't need to know. If asked, he told the truth but he didn't go out of his way to announce it to the world. He wasn't hiding but he wasn't one to shout anything from the rooftops. Max knew, at least he tried to explain it to him once, he didn't really get it from the look of complete confusion so Alec knew he would just explain it again later. He didn't even want to explain anything to him but he was worried Max would be confused if he ever brought someone home.

Alec had a boyfriend in high school and another in college until he had Max, that's when the relationships stopped. He didn't feel anyone was safe to bring home to his son just yet so his dates usually ended after a couple of dates or one-night stands. He wasn't really that type of person but he was a man with needs, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to end a night in the bedroom however it had been almost a year since his last date. He just didn't have the time with work and Max. It was hard to get a babysitter or his siblings to come over every time he wanted to go out, so he just stopped. Izzy seemed to have a harder time about it then he did but when he asked her to babysit it was a fight, so he stopped asking her as well. He could date when he was older and if not then so be it. His career and his son were the focus of his life and he was perfectly okay with that arrangement.

Alec put the dishrag down, sticking his baby monitor in his back pocket, and went out his side door to talk to Magnus, "Hey, Magnus." He went over to their shared fence.

Magnus turned around; he was currently unboxing some toys he bought Raphael. His son never had a backyard before and needed some toys. So, he got him a sandbox and a water table thing that had nemo all over it. He was currently working on the sandbox. "Hello."

"You said you are from New York, do you need anything? I thought you might not know this area well." Alec felt he sounded stupid with the words just popping out of his head, he wasn't even sure why he felt the need to come outside but his gut told him to talk to him.

"Actually, yes. Anyone on this block a babysitter?" Magnus sat the box down and went closer to where Alec was standing.

"Emma. She's three doors down from me and amazing." Alec smiled, thinking of the way Max adored her and his friend Julian. "She usually brings Julian with her, it's her friend from over the next row, but he's a great kid. They are both great kids. Max always loves to play with them."

"Daycare?" Magnus felt relieved that he was getting some of his concerns out of the way, but a better way to find out about the area for Raphael then someone who's already done the work. It would be a great starting place.

"I put Max into Einstein's. It's a daycare, school type place. They have fun times but also learning. Its only three miles from here over on the next mile road and two streets to the east." Alec pointed in the direction he needed. "I was reluctant to put Max into the program at first because I wanted him to have fun but they only add school work in a little each year to get them prepared for the routine of a school day."

Magnus smiled, Alec was really dedicated to his son which was made apparent very quickly, "Uhm, I like that idea. Thanks." His baby monitor made a sound then; he had it sitting on the window ledge so he could hear it. "Ah, that's Raphael, thanks for the advice."

"Welcome to the neighborhood." Alec watched Magnus leave before going back to his own home. Something kept egging him about the way Magnus was looking at him, there was no way he was straight but that wasn't it either. There was just something he couldn't put his finger on.

Clary came home much later that night; she was late to her mom's which meant she was late for her entire day, she couldn't really fault Alec, he rarely asked for help, so she always helped when he did. She wasn't sure how he did it all by himself but he managed and barely asking the family for help. He never got over Izzy's blow out from two years ago; she hurt his feelings and the questions for help stopped then. He never asked her for help and only asked Jace and Clary if he had no other choice, he even turned to a babysitter over his own family. Izzy took offense with Max's mother and it was a fight that kept everyone at bay. Alec never prevented anyone from seeing Max but he didn't ask anymore. He took the approach of 'if you want to be in my son's life then you will make an effort, not me'. Jace and Clary went over for Sunday dinner every other week, Jace had to work every other weekend or it would have turned into a weekly dinner. Izzy and Simon didn't come in the beginning but now they came the same weeks as Clary and Jace. Jace would go over at least once a week to just hang out as well, the days and times varied but he had to see his nephew. Clary spent the most time with Max.

"You're late?" Izzy asked from her spot on their couch; she was there with Jace and Simon who were playing a video game.

"Alec's meeting ran late, so I was late to my mom's." Clary dumped her jacket and purse by the door. "The condo next door sold."

"Really?" Izzy turned to follow her movements.

"Yeah, Alec has a super-hot neighbor. This man looks like a Greek god, perfectly shaped face." Clary was in art school and everything she spoke about was related to art in some way.

"What?" Jace paused the game without telling Simon which earned him a glare.

Izzy sat up on the couch a little higher; Clary was in the kitchen getting something to drink. "Seriously?" Izzy had an internal fight with herself on a daily basis, it was no one's fault but her own that Alec slowly started drawing away from the family. She was seventeen and stupid, she had just left the house with Simon when Alec asked for help so he could get into work early the next day and Izzy being a foolish teenager, who shouldn't be out on her own, made some stupid crack about Max's mom which started a Lightwood sibling war. He practically kicked her out of the condo, if it wasn't for the fact she moved out the weekend before. Their relationship was strained ever since Alec tried a few times to get her to talk to him but she refused and now it was hard to go back. She felt horrible about it but didn't know how to speak with Alec anymore. Jace, Clary, and Simon had a more comfortable relationship with Alec and Max. It was her own fault but after so many times, Alec stopped trying and she didn't know how to say she was sorry. She was only nineteen now but she saw the error of her ways, Max didn't know her the same way he knew everyone else and it pained her but she didn't know how to fix it.

Clary came around and stepped over the back of the couch to sit behind Jace, who was sitting on the floor with Simon, they were wedged between the couch and the coffee table, "Yep, I saw him outside earlier and he stopped Alec as soon as he got home to talk to him. I felt sorry for giving him Max and running but I was almost an hour late and I couldn't stay any longer."

"Oh damn, too bad family dinner isn't until next week." Simon looked at them; he was slowly trying to convince Izzy to talk to her brother more. He had to work tomorrow, as well as Jace and Clary. "Izzy you have tomorrow off, why don't you stop by?"

Izzy turned a little red, she had spaced out for a moment, "I have school work due Monday." It was her typical excuse, homework.

Clary put her hand on Izzy's knee, "It's okay, Iz."

They all tried to support both sides but everyone knew Izzy was wrong. They just accepted it and moved on; Clary was making it her mission to get Alec and Izzy talking again. Alec didn't hold it against Izzy, he just stopped ask her for anything. He also didn't go out of his way to talk to her either. Alec was the most chill person on the planet but getting Izzy to break was proving to be impossible. Clary vowed never to stop trying.