#alicesme

Amaya begins bouncing in his arms, impatient and wanting to get back to her tea party. Magnus laughs and sets her down, allowing her to take him by the hand and drag him to sit next to Alec on the ground beside the coffee table.

He leans in close and presses a kiss to Alec’s lips, relishing the feeling after three days of not being able to do so. A small noise of contentment escapes Alec’s throat, and Magnus feels his lips curve up in a smile against his, just as his fingers come up to touch his neck, to touch the beads of his necklaces.

When they pull back, Alec’s eyes are shining with unbridled joy. It’s a look Magnus wants to paint into permanence, so that it could exist long after they’re both gone, if only to add some beauty and wonder to the world.

Amaya stamps her feet and clears her throat loudly to call their attention. Magnus turns his gaze to her, grinning.

“Well, I’m certainly glad I made it back in time for this wonderful occasion.” He says, winking at a giggling Amaya as he takes a tea cup from her, “Thank you, darling. When did you come up with this idea?”

“She heard one of the girls at daycare talking about tea parties and she just had to have one.” Alec says fondly, tugging gently on one of Amaya’s tight, black curls. “So of course, we stopped at the toy store on the way home and picked up the world’s best tea set.”

“Wan’ a cookie?” Amaya holds out an empty plate to her parents, who each pick up a “cookie” with enthusiasm.

“Mmm, this is good, sweetie.” Alec says, making exaggerated noises of content as he takes bites of his “cookie.” Magnus nods along in affirmation, going so far as to pick up another one from the empty plate. The resultant beam that spreads across his daughter’s face is worth everything.

“Thanks Daddy.”

Amaya turns her attention to Frankenstein, and soon becomes embroiled in a deep conversation with him, refilling his tea cup every two seconds and taking sips of her own, pinky stuck out. Magnus is filled with a sense of wonder, as he so often is, when he looks at his daughter. Nothing in the entire course of human history has ever looked so beautiful, and nothing probably will. She was a little warlock who had come to them after Alec had found her abandoned in a feral werewolf hideout on the outskirts of the city when she was but a month old. She was barely alive, and it had taken weeks of close monitoring and every drop of magic Magnus had to slowly nurse her back to health. When the time came to put her up for adoption, Alec had taken one look at him and Magnus knew that they felt the same – Amaya was their daughter. And they’d be damned if they let anyone take her away from them.

Magnus looks at Alec, then. He’s wearing sweatpants, and a dark blue sweater, worn and soft with use, the same one Magnus has slipped over his own head more times than he can count. His feet are bare, tucked under him. When he’s like this, Magnus loves him more than he can put to words. When he’s just Alexander, his husband, and the father of his child. To no surprise at all, Magnus finds that he just can’t tear his eyes away from him.

Sue him. The sight of this ridiculously tall, strong Shadowhunter man who also happens to be the Head of his Institute wearing a princess tiara and graciously accepting a refill of his tea cup from his five-year-old daughter is more adorable than it has any right to be.

Alec catches Magnus smiling like a lovesick fool at him. “What?”

“You’re wearing a purple tiara.” Magnus notes, warmth curling in his chest.

“I am wearing a purple tiara.” Alec says proudly, grin widening and gazed fixed on Magnus as he picks up his tea cup, sticks his pinky out and takes a sip from the cup, eliciting a giggle of delight from their little girl. Alec turns to her and presses a kiss into her curls.

God, Magnus loves him so damn much.

“Who’s sitting there?” Magnus asks, gesturing to an empty spot right next to Amaya.

“Ah.” Alec says solemnly, “That’s for Mr. Rags.”

Magnus bites back a grin and schools his features. “Oh. So I take it Mr. Rags isn’t back from vacation yet?”

“No.” Alec sighs along with Amaya, who looks at the empty spot with a forlorn look.

Mr. Rags, bless his soul, was Amaya’s stuffed tiger who had gone missing after Madzie had accidentally created a portal to an alternate dimension during one of her lessons with Magnus. To prevent a complete and utter meltdown, Magnus and Alec had made up the story that Mr. Rags was away on an extended vacation travelling the world.  

Amaya busies herself with pouring tea for her other guests, stopping at each one and having long conversations with them.

“God, she’s beautiful.” Alec murmurs, setting his cup down and shaking his head in disbelief, “She’s so perfect. How can one person be so perfect?”  

“She gets it from her dad.” Magnus says, grinning. Alec rolls his eyes, but he takes Magnus’ hand and brings it up to his lips nonetheless, pressing absent-minded kisses to his knuckles, to the wedding band on his ring finger.  

Everything that Magnus thought he would never have is alive in front of him right now. A family, his family, something that’s worth any adventure the world could offer him. His world centers around this. His daughter sitting across from him with an earth-shattering smile on her face, and the love of his life sitting next to him, his hand clasped around Magnus’, holding on the way he’d promised he would at their wedding.  

It’s a life he’d only ever dreamt of, on cold nights when he had nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. A dream brought to life by the best person he’s met in his centuries of life.

“Let’s have another kid.” He blurts out then, turning to look at Alec.

Alec’s face holds no surprise, or shock, but rather his eyes shine with the promise of Magnus’ future. He tightens his grip on Magnus’ hand, just as Amaya comes to them to crawl into his lap, resting her feet on Magnus’ thigh. Alec’s smile becomes impossibly wider.