#ashareewrites

1. Ignore the thing. Just because other people watch it, doesn't mean you should. (This could go on for 1 season or 15, you never know!)

2. Inexplicably find yourself intrigued by said show. Usually brought on by a YouTube black hole that ends with you watching fanvids for a couple you know nothing about.

3. Read fic. A LOT of fic. Arguably too much fic considering you've still never watched the thing.

4. Watch one episode just to see. End up binging entire show in a time frame that says a lot about your social life or lack thereof (once again, could be 1 season, could be 15, you commit either way!).

5. Read even more fic. Who says you can't commit to Ao3's entire catalog of work for the show? Quitters, that's who.

6. Start memorializing fic ideas in your Google docs but don't commit to actually writing them.

7. Give in and start writing the damn thing.

(The above is really just a long winded way to say I just caved to writing fic for 9-1-1. Oops?)

Sometimes the best things happen by accident.

Or the one in which Magnus and Alec adopt a baby.

Alec loves Magnus and everyone in the office knows it. Or, the vague Office-ish AU that spiraled out of my control.

Magnus found himself leaning forward, eager to hear what she had to say about Alec.

“And Alec,” she squeezed his hand again with a watery smile, “Well, Alec makes me strong.”

“I don’t know how much you know about my divorce,” she continued, “But it should have happened much sooner than it did.”

Magnus shifted uneasily in his seat, feeling ill at ease with the idea that Maryse was sharing more than Alec might feel comfortable with. Sensing his discomfort, she smiled softly, tucking her hair behind her ears, “Don’t worry, Alec won’t mind me sharing this with you.”

“Looking back, there were a hundred reasons why I should have left him, but my love for Robert always overshadowed the bad. I thought about leaving a million times, but I could never make myself take that step. At least not until the reason was Alec.”

Seeing the warm smile grace her face at the mention of her eldest son made a long-buried part of Magnus ache as he wondered if his own mother had once worn a similar expression while thinking of him. Her obvious love for Alec was etched on her face and, suddenly, Magnus found himself unable to feel anything but fond toward her.

“When Alec told us he was gay, I was shocked. He was my baby and I just didn’t know.” Maryse shrugged her shoulders, looking ashamed even now. “I remember standing frozen in place as I desperately tried to rewind our time together to figure out how I’d missed such an important part of his life. I’m his mother, I should have known.”

Her gaze darkened as she moved onto the next part of her story, “Robert didn’t take the news well. He said terrible, hurtful things and instead of protecting Alec, I just… stood there.”

A tear skated down the curve of her cheek, “I heard every word Robert said but it was like I couldn’t comprehend anything. He decimated Alec right in front of me and I let him.”

Seeing the devastation on her face, her decade-old pain clear on her face, Magnus only knew that he wanted to ease her mind. “Maryse,” he said carefully, “You should know that Alec isn’t dwelling on the thirty seconds that you spent processing his news. He’s too busy adoring you for everything that happened after.”

“So, he’s told you?”

“Parts of it. The way he tells it, you turned into an avenging angel on his behalf and kicked Robert out of the house within minutes.”

A surprised laugh slipped out of her at the description. “I did. Hurting me was one thing, but I refused to let him hurt Alec. I may have failed Alec when he needed me, but I wasn’t about to let it happen again.”

Hearing how differently Alec and Maryse viewed their history was staggering. Maryse so caught up in her perceived failure as a mother and Alec who all but worshipped her for the fierce way she’d loved him in the aftermath.

“You didn’t fail me.”

Maryse and Magnus both turned to the doorway where Alec stood, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze soft as he looked at his mom. “Not then and not now.”

“Oh, Alec,” she breathed, “I’m so sorry.”