Chapter Text
"So," Magnus says nonchalantly as Alec walks through the door after his talk with his mom. "How'd it go?"
Alec sighs, kicking off his shoes and taking of his jacket before he flops down on the couch beside Magnus. Magnus' arm instantly curls around Alec's shoulders and he can't help but lean into the comforting touch. Magnus had always been so good at reading him, he always knew exactly what Alec needed. And right now? Alec really needed Magnus.
Between everything that had happened last night with Max and what happened with his mother today, Alec is exhausted. Ever since the talk with his mother had drifted to Shawn, he hasn't been able to shake his fears and insecurities no matter how hard he tries and Shawn is the last thing Alec wants to be thinking about right now. Not when he's with Magnus and not when he has so many other things to worry about right now. He hates that the mere mention of Shawn can still provoke such a reaction out of him and he wishes he could just completely erase him from his memory.
"About as well as you would expect," Alec says finally, turning to press his face against Magnus' strong shoulder. With Magnus so close to him Alec is already starting to relax and he can feel the tension slowly ease out of him. Alec stays like that for a few seconds, allowing himself to bask in the comfortable feeling Magnus' presence has always been able to give him before he pulls his face away to look up at his fiancé. "Unsurprisingly, she's pissed and didn't like what I had to say one bit. She's still trying to justify what she did which just proves she's not really sorry and that she can't even take responsibility."
"Do you think she'll try anything?" Magnus asks.
"I don't know," Alec says after giving himself a minute or two to contemplate it. "She doesn't want the bad publicity something like this is going to bring and we already know she'll do anything to save her reputation. Honestly? It could go either way. She'll want to handle it as quietly as possible though, so there's a good chance nothing is going to happen."
"Interesting," Magnus asks, fingers coming up to slowly card through Alec's hair. He can't help but relax at the gentle touch. "Who knows, maybe she'll surprise us and realize that this is the best thing to do for Max."
"Is it though?" Alec says, hesitantly. "I can't help but think that maybe we're making a horrible mistake. My mother is a nightmare to deal with, this has every possibility of going wrong and if it does Max is going to get caught in the crossfires. I don't want to hurt him anymore than he already has been. I feel like this is my fault, that I somehow failed him as a brother."
"None of this is your fault, darling," Magnus says softly. "You would never do anything to hurt Max; you've done everything with Max's best interest at heart and there's a lot of evidence to prove that. Even if this backfires in some way, things'll turn out okay in the end. They always do."
"I know that," Alec says finally, "but that does nothing to stop this horrible feeling that's been pooling in the pit of my stomach ever since last night. I just... want what's best for Max, what's easiest for him, and I don't know if what we did is a good thing. This could really blow up in our faces."
"I know, darling, I know," Magnus soothes, fingers never stilling from where they're carding through his hair. "Just remember, we have Max's best interests at heart. Everything you've done, everything we've decided, is because we want what's best for him. Max knows that, I know that and eventually Maryse will know that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect your brother and you're doing that the best way you can."
Alec sighs heavily and closes his eyes, turning his face once more so it's buried against Magnus' shoulder. The familiar smell of sandalwood and the constant touch of Magnus' fingers does wonders to relax Alec. The longer he sits there the more relaxed he feels and Alec can feel his exhaustion creeping up on him in his relaxed state. He'd barely slept last night, worry for Max and thoughts of Shawn keeping him awake, and he wants nothing more than to fall asleep right here with the feeling of Magnus safely encompassing him.
"Why don't you take a nap," Magnus suggests gently. "It's Wednesday so Izzy will pick up Max from school before she takes him to his art class with Clary."
"I'm too comfy to move," Alec says, voice slightly muffled by Magnus' shoulder, and Magnus can't help but laugh at that.
"You don't have to, I'm not going anywhere."
"Don't you have meetings or work to do?" Alec asks, already half asleep.
"I cancelled them for the rest of the day," Magnus says, tilting his head slightly to press a kiss against Alec's temple. "I told Ragnor I needed some time alone with my family, he understands. Figured you and Max would probably need me right now."
Alec hums contently at that. Family is something Alec has wanted with Magnus almost from the moment he met him and he's happy to hear that Magnus sees him as such. The fact that it also extends to Max is just icing on the cake. "God, I love you. So much"
"I know," Magnus says with an amused smirk. "I love you, Alexander. More than you will ever know. Sleep now, I can practically feel your exhaustion radiating off of you."
Alec barely manages a content smile before he's out like a light.
Alec wakes to the sound of the front door slamming and familiar footsteps thumping against the wooden floors. He groans and sits up, arching his back in a stretch as he rolls the crick out of his neck. He's not sure how long he's been asleep but Magnus is still sitting next to him, scrolling through emails on his tablet, so he figures it couldn't have been too long.
Magnus turns once he feels Alec stir and gives him a soft smile, not immediately addressing the slammed door or the thumping footsteps. "Hello there, darling, did - " the rest of what Magnus has to say is drowned out by Izzy yelling his name, anger clearly depicted in her voice. Just as he had suspected, she's pissed.
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" she says, pointing an accusatory finger at Alec as she comes to a stop in front of him and Magnus.
"Hello, Iz," Alec says, trying for a calming smile. He can tell by the look on Izzy's face that it doesn't help any. At all. "Nice to see you too."
"Nope, none of that," Izzy dismisses, still fuming. "Why didn't you tell me she broke his wrist?"
Alec sighs and runs a hand through his hair, sitting up straighter. "I was going to tell you, obviously, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It's been... hectic."
"Yeah, no shit," Izzy says, starting to pace in front of them and Alec knows immediately that isn't a good sign. "Our mother broke Max's wrist, Alec. That's something I should have been told immediately."
"I know," Alec says, "I'm sorry." And he is. Very sorry. He knows he should have let Jace and Izzy know as soon as it had happened but by the time he and Magnus had decided what to do it had been late and it had completely slipped his mind. "It's just not exactly something you say over the phone and I know you've been really busy lately."
"I'm never too busy for you or Max, you know that," Izzy says, sighing heavily, as she sits on the coffee table in front of him. Alec notices immediately she's slightly less angry and he's grateful for that. "Start from the beginning, what exactly happened? Max wouldn't explain anything in detail to me."
So, Alec does. He tells her about the party where Magnus had run into Maryse and Shawn. He tells her about last night, when Max had called them crying and terrified out of his mind. He tells her about the hospital trip and what the three of them – Max, Magnus, and him – had decided. He tells her about the meeting he had today with their mother, leaving out most of the details of their conversation about Shawn. By the time he's done, Izzy's anger had been muddled into a quiet sort of rage that Alec knows from experience is not a good sign.
"And you decided not to call the cops on her because?" Izzy asks, hands clenched tightly in her lap.
"That's not what Max wants," Alec says, "and I have to respect that. He's scared and he doesn't want Mom to be made at him, Izzy. He thinks she's going to hate him if we turn her in and, honestly, he might be right about that. You know how she gets sometimes, she could easily start blaming him and that's the last thing Max needs right now. She can't even accept responsibility for what she did without making up excuses!"
"She deserves to be arrested, Alec," Izzy says. "I mean, she broke his arm! That's unforgivable."
"I know," he says, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Believe me, I know. But I don't want to drag Max through a custody battle, Mom will be ruthless which will force us to be ruthless too and Max is going to get caught in the middle. He doesn't deserve that, Izzy. I need to protect him from that. Not to mention the very real possibility that she could end up winning and if that happens, she'll keep Max away from us. For good. I can't risk that happening."
"She broke his wrist," Izzy says in slight disbelief. "Surely that's enough to keep her away from him and you have lots of evidence to prove you're a better fit to take care of him anyway. You already do everything for him; she only sees him once a month. The court would be crazy to give her custody over you."
"Will they, though?" Alec asks. Magnus takes Alec's hand, pressing a quick kiss to the back of his knuckles, and Alec gives him a reassuring smile before he continues. "There's no guarantee that Magnus and I will win. She may have broken his wrist but that's also the only time she's ever hit him and she's his mother. Remember Jace's dad? He had to nearly kill him before Jace was finally taken away from him and he had multiple claims of child abuse. What if they decide she just needs parenting and anger management classes? There's a very real possibility the court will side with her and I can't let that happen."
"I don't like this, Alec," Izzy says. She starts pacing again and Alec follows her with uneasy eyes. "Jace isn't going to like it either; he's going to be furious."
"I know, believe me. I know." Jace was fiercely protective of his siblings, especially Max, and learning that Maryse had broken his wrist was going to bring back memories Jace had fought hard to get over. "I'll talk to him."
Izzy sighs and shakes her head, hands running through her hair in exasperation. "I hate this and I hate her for doing this to him. But, I understand. I do. I get where you're coming from. I just hope you know what you're doing."
"So do I," Alec says quietly. "So do I."