Piano Days and Other Malec One-Shots

Things That Change and Remain

A/N: Hi! I usually hate Author's Notes, but I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been reading, commenting, and voting. It means a ton to me. Probably more than a ton because 2,000 pounds just isn't enough love for you guys. Thank you! ~A

A shoutout to @MariferBtr for her wonderful and encouraging comments!

There was only place left in New York City to get decent Chinese takeout. It just so happened to be the same place Magnus had been going to for exactly a hundred years.

The faces and the menu had changed, but not by much.

Tao's Diner prided itself on keeping the business strictly in the family. Magnus could respect that. But he was still very open to the changing times.

It was a world without borders.

Hover cars could have you anywhere within an hour, as long as you knew which buttons to press and which traffic guards to tip off.

Buildings grew taller and taller. Most of them even had parking floors right in the middle, separating the top and bottom. Magnus kept his apartment far above such floors. They were noisy and loud.

The world was in the sky now; only the dead remained on the ground.

The dead and the poor.

Even Tao's had moved twenty floors up from it's original restaurant.

So Magnus moved up with them.

But he still had his roots in the ground.

When he did go down to the street-level, it was once a week, a black leather jacket on, a white takeout bag from Tao's in hand, and sunglasses on, no matter what the weather.

And no matter what the weather, he was in Battery Park, one of the last remaining green spaces in the city, from noon to one on Fridays.

There was a oak tree in the park. It was the only oak remaining in the state and it was protected under a bundle of state laws with lengthy titles.

Under the tree was a little bronze plaque and a bench.

Magnus would sit on the bench, the bag by his side and one by one, he'd pull the takeout boxes out, eating it's contents, and conversing with the oak.

It had been a particularly hard week. It was the first week of summer and the oak was regaining it's life and strength. It was the first time Magnus had ever been to the bench and not have to wipe off snow, rain, or dew.

"Good afternoon," Magnus said, setting the bag down beside him.

There was a slight breeze. The bag trembled.

"You would not believe the week I've had," Magnus said. "I-- uh-- I had to testify against Cat. You'd just tell me that the Law is the Law and it's hard and--" Magnus opened the container of shrimp lo mein and started pulling apart his chopsticks, shaking his mind free of Nephilim doctrine. "She was in the wrong. She shouldn't have killed the werewolf. And I know that. But she was also my best friend."

Magnus took a shaky breath and started eating.

He was silent for awhile.

"Isabelle called today," Magnus said. "She wasn't doing so well. She's not doing so well-- I shouldn't speak in the past tense when telling you about the elderly. Eventually, the nursing staff shut down the communication link. Clary sent me a message, telling me that she was going to go check on her tomorrow. They can cure cancer but they can't cure Alzheimer's," Magnus sighed. "What a screwed up world we live in."

Magnus picked out all of the shrimp and ate those.

"They burned the noodles," Magnus murmured. "I hate it when they burn the noodles."

The wind picked up, blowing a stray napkin away.

It was biodegradable so Magnus didn't chase after it.

Everything was biodegradable.

The next container was the rice. He put the leftover noodles in the bag. Chairman Meow the Second (or Sekh, as Mangus had started calling him) would love it. That cat ate almost everything.

"I also discussed creating a family tree with Clary," Magnus said. "As a sort of project. We'd include Jace in the Lightwood family, just so we could follow he and Clary's kids. Speaking of their kids, Gabriel married Emma Blackthorn's girl, and they're already expecting. Gabriel's calling tomorrow. He said he wanted to ask me something. I'm not quite sure what he wants."

The rice was slightly salted, so eating it plain wasn't a complete bore.

But there was something monotonous and mundane about chewing though.

"Clary suggested that maybe he wants to name the baby after you," Magnus said. "Alexander."

Magnus still loved the way the name rolled across his tongue.

"I guess the kid would be your grand-nephew. Our grand-nephew," Magnus said. "I can't forget about myself."

Magnus glanced behind him at the oak.

"My mother loved oak," Magnus noted.

The tree itself had been imported from Charleston, South Carolina. A tree scientist estimated it to be at least 1,500 years old. Which was older than Magnus.

His eyes looked down to the plaque; it and the dedication of the tree had been the real struggle.

But through a bit of persuasion, Magnus was able to convince the City Commissioner to dedicate the tree to the person of Magnus' choosing.

To Alexander.

That was it.

"I miss you," Magnus breathed.

His eyes closed.

He was out of tears. Enough had been cried in the year following Alec's death.

This was him moving on.

Something warm was kissing his cheek.

Magnus' eyes flew open and his head turned.

"Alec--"

There was no one there.

A phantom kiss.

Magnus' heart raced.

His eyes scanned the park. It was deserted, as usual.

The mundanes in the sky had given up on natural beauty.

"I'm going insane," Magnus whispered.

There was no one left to hear him.

Isabelle was fading and Clary would be close after.

Catarina was set to receive her punishment for killing another Downworlder tomorrow in Idris.

The Shadowhunter race was fading. The next generation was disinterested; they had lost their sense of duty and the Clave had never reformed enough to purge themselves of their corruptness. Alec and Jace had tried desperately to change that but it was too late. Soon there would be no one left to protect this dimension.

Magnus didn't want to be around when the Downworld rose up.

Up to the sky.