Hey.

Some of you may know me from 'Changing the Equation' (another Magnus and Alec fic). If not, check that out on my profile if you like.

This is just a light one shot about what Magnus and Alec's first meeting might have been like. Set in the time of Valentine's uprising.

Random fact: The collective noun for a group of Jellyfish is a 'smack'. Therefore, it is a 'smack of jellyfish'.

Enjoy.

Magnus grimaced as he landed with a thud in the kitchen of the Lightwoods. He dusted himself off, slightly annoyed at the loud and ungraceful entrance he had made. Even if no one was around, he still liked to think that he could maintain his royal air. Still, it shouldn't matter.

The house was supposed to be empty, as the Lightwood parents had been rushed off to an emergency in central Idris. Apparently, someone had caused quite the scene in the central square, as part of an anti-Valentine movement. Magnus grinned to himself.

Not that he had anything to do with that.

Nope, not at all.

Luke had been very clear about what to do: Be in and out without half an hour, and leave no trace that he had been there in the first place. Magnus had merely shrugged at the time, finding the mission more annoying than anything else, as well as the instructions.

His whole purpose was to steal orders from Valentine which had been issued already. Luke had said that he knew the couple well enough to know that they would never tell Valentine that they had lost their orders, and would feel threatened by the intrusion. Sometimes Magnus wondered exactly what kind of relationship Luke had had with the Lightwoods, finding it strange that he was able to sell them out with ease.

"No matter," muttered Magnus to himself, pulling himself off the marble floor from where he had fallen just moments ago. "It's all for the greater good."

Magnus didn't have any attachment to the Lightwoods. Throughout the time he had known the family, they had generally been annoying, but well meaning. He could still remember Gabriel, being irritating for the side of good. He almost felt bad for Robert, being sucked into Valentine's group. He had always seemed mildly remarkable, along with his wife, formerly known as Maryse Trueblood. And then there was their baby son. He couldn't remember his name.

Nobody ever spoke about the child when the anti-Valentine schemes were going on.

Magnus could still hear his conversation with Luke.

'What if they get back early and find me knee deep in documents? What then? Do I kill them?'

He had known the answer before he had even begun.

'Do what you have to. How many do you think are going to die in the uprising?'

Did that include the child?

Magnus knew that he shouldn't even think about doing something; it was wrong on more levels than he could think of, but it was a question all the same. Would he be killing children in the uprising?

Magnus frowned, knowing that he had to get the silly documents before the Lightwoods came back, before the thought struck him.

Was the child there?

The distraction he had set would have been sudden. Did that mean that the Lightwoods had run off suddenly, leaving their baby alone. Magnus shuddered at the thought of leaving a child alone in this house. How many enemies did they have?

Far too many, thought Magnus, to leave a baby alone…

Magnus quickly shook himself out of that thought. Child or no child, this family was fighting for evil; for Valentine, and had to be stopped!

Except the family wasn't fighting for Valentine, were they?

Just Robert and Maryse.

Magnus sighed and forced himself to walk through the kitchen, telling himself that the extra noise he was making was because of the floorboards, and not because he wanted to see the Lightwood child.

The documents were easy enough to find, and somewhat useless too. The uprising was in a few days, and this was information they had collected weeks ago. Magnus supposed that he had been correct in assuming that Luke's ulterior motive for this mission was to say 'We're watching you', more than anything else.

Doing things like this made Magnus wish that he had kept his nose out of Shadowhunter business. He and the Clave had never seen eye to eye. Magnus had decided this to be a good thing. To agree with such monsters was the last thing he wanted.

Magnus found himself pacing down the hallway, out of the small library feeling extremely unaccomplished. If they were trying to send a message, couldn't they just set something on fire already?

But Shadowhunters were tricky little swine, who could start a war, and as long as they pretended not to, it didn't exist.

The hallway felt longer this time, the stone beneath his feet telling him not to continue. Magnus knew why.

He really wanted to see the child.

Going against every instinct in his body, Magnus began sprinting back down the hallway in search of the Lightwood nursery.

Magnus looked around the room with distaste. He should have expected this from Shadowhunters, he thought.

Magnus, a man of great taste, had always had a soft spot for childish decorations; stickers, mobiles and cute posters. Even if it clashed, there was something about surrounding someone who was vulnerable with things of comfort that made Magnus smile. This room, however, couldn't comfort a child if its curtains depended on it.

The walls were painted black, making the room seem dark, even though Magnus had paid his visit in the late afternoon. There was only one small window, which had curtains drawn shut to let in only a little stream of light.

No posters.

No stickers.

No mobiles.

There was also an eerie silence, causing the warlock to wonder if there was a child in there at all. Maybe he had underestimated the Lightwoods. Maybe the child was in a safe house after all. Magnus heard a faint 'thunk', and knew that this had merely been wishful thinking.

Striding across the beige carpet, Magnus stood before the small crib. A part of him hoped that there would be a demonic looking monster, like the Morgenstern child, with an appearance which made him think that he would grow up to be just like his parents. That was what he wanted. Something that would remind him that this family was evil, and that like so many other lines he had witnessed, it would carry through the family.

Looking down, Magnus had never quite felt so disappointed.

In the crib lay a small child, maybe two years old at most, looking at him through large blue eyes. He was small, and round, with fine black hair that reached his shoulders. Perhaps he would look like Maryse? Something about him looked completely new, though. Seeing as the boy was already awake, Magnus spelled the lights to get a better look, and was pierced by striking blue eyes.

Nope, not a young Maryse.

Nor a Lightwood…

The child did not seem to have anything in his cot aside from blankets, the lack of toys standing out to Magnus.

Magnus could feel sympathy rushing though his body, as well as something entirely new.

Magnus Bane didn't like children, yet this baby held the warlock in his gaze.

For the first time in his whole life, Magnus wished he could have a child. One like this though, with his beautiful blue eyes and silent, inquisitive nature.

Yes, Magnus thought, finding himself smitten. A child just like this.

The babe didn't make a sound. Magnus wondered if he had been trained to do this, to remain silent. For a moment, Magnus felt a surge of fury, only to lose it a second later. Rationally thinking, if there were ever an attack on the Lightwood home, the worst thing that could happen would be that the child would draw attention to himself.

Maybe, Magnus realised, that was the reason behind the black walls, too. In case anyone came looking in a rush, they would scarcely realise that there was a child in there at all. The dark walls might also help the baby sleep through the day. Still, such silence from a child was unsettling.

Slowly, eyes filled with awe over the baby boy, Magnus picked the child up. He was light, but not underweight. There was a small sound, almost like a giggle, as Magnus held him. Eventually, the baby grasped the warlock's finger, with the strength only a baby Shadowhunter could possess. Breaking free of the boy's tight grasp, Magnus reached for a necklace which dangled around the boy's front, knowing it to be a name plate.

"Alexander," Magnus said aloud, breaking the child's silence like a spell.

"Man!" Alexander said, pointing at Magnus's face, which had been coated with outstanding amounts of eyeliner.

Magnus chuckled.

"Lucky guess, kiddo."

Magnus carried Alexander over to a nearby chair, perching him onto his lap as he sat down. The rest of the room was empty.

Staring at Alexander, Magnus felt the irrational, yet undeniable, urge to steal him away from this place. Could it not have been torched at any given moment? And what if Robert and Maryse died? Would anyone care to look after the boy?

If they were exiled?

Imprisoned?

Would it not be more humane to steal Alexander away now, and raise him as his own? He had never had a son, and the thought of saving the boy was almost too much-

But he couldn't, could he?

He couldn't just steal a child, with his high profile. He couldn't pass the boy off as his own, under any circumstances. He was a warlock.

Still on his lap, Alexander had nuzzled himself into Magnus's chest, seeming ready to sleep. If the warlock carried him away, he wouldn't have to wake him up. The thought of leaving the boy left Magnus strangely empty. The child would never remember him, and maybe the absence of such memory would someday elude Magnus too, but at that moment, Magnus wanted the boy Shadowhunter to know that someone had once tried for him.

Smiling a sad smile, Magnus conjured classical looking toy cat from an old toy store he had seen in was soft, and had intricate Victorian clothes stitched onto it. Magnus nor Alexander had ever seen anything like it. The warlock placed charms on it, to protect the person near it from several dangers, and presented it to Alexander.

Taking it in his hands, the baby squeezed it experimentally, as though he hadn't a clue what to do with it. Grinning from ear to ear, Alexander embraced it wholeheartedly, earning Magnus a delighted laugh.

"What do you want to name it?"

Alexander thought for a moment, before responding, apparently recognising the word 'name'.

"Alec!"

"You want to name it Alexander? How very old fashioned of you. How about this?" asked Magnus, drawing the symbol of his own name in runic on the cat's foot. The incantation, Magnus knew, would only ever allow for Alexander to see it. "One day, when you're older, you will ask who this was. You won't know, but you might find out. I'm not so elusive."

Alexander grinned as though he had understood, when he really just enjoyed being so close to another person. It felt like years between visits, at times.

Sighing, Magnus saw the familiar flash of one of Luke's fire notes. He didn't even need to read it to know that it was telling him to leave the area immediately. Magnus carried baby Alexander over to his cot once more, placing him down gently as though not to break him. Tucking the boy under the covers proved an unusually emotional moment for Magnus.

Alexander looked up at him expectantly.

"Bye bye," waved Magnus, unsure of what to do.

Alexander shook his head, sending locks of hair flying in a thoroughly adorable manner.

"Hug."

Magnus smirked leaning over the child and obliging as best he could, the size ratio made the task slightly difficult. Just before Magnus could pull away, he felt the small child press his lips to the corner of his own mouth. It had to be the sweetest thing Magnus had ever felt.

It wasn't so much the kiss as the trusting nature of the child. The uncorrupted innocence of the baby.

How long could that possibly last in the Shadowhunter world?

Couldn't he keep Alexander safer?

Another fire note appeared, identical to the first. Luke was getting impatient.

Standing up, Magnus turned away to exit, before turning back one last time.

The only thing allowing him to leave was the thought that one day, those brilliant eyes would fade to brown.

His silence would become waves of anger.

His innocence would become wariness.

All lies, he knew, but it made it easier to justify leaving Alexander in this place.

"I will see you again, one day, Alexander."

But Alexander was already asleep.

Sixteen years later, Alec would still have the toy cat, though he kept it hidden in his room. The mark Magnus had made had faded to the point of almost being unrecognisable, but when Magnus one day showed him his name in runic language, Alec had realised immediately.

Sixteen years later, Magnus could still remember the child from that night, but had still never seen him, even as they lived in the same city.

Sixteen years later, Magnus Bane would find himself answering the door to the sound of three knocks, and the voice of a young man telling his sister not to be rude, and allow himself to be thrust into a Nephilim based mess all over again, because of the beautiful eyed, quiet, innocent child Magnus had once adored, projected into the eighteen year old's body.

Sixteen years later, Magnus would fall in love with his Alexander all over again, but in a way which he could never have imagined.

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