A couple months later, it was time for Rafael's rune ceremony. There was a small gathering before the silent brother: Maryse, Jace, Clary, Alec, Magnus and Max. Rafe made his way to the silent brother while saying his practiced words, "With the angel I trust with my life and vow to uphold the laws of heaven, I take this mark to honor Him, to bring His light into me and vow to uphold the laws of heaven so I may join the ranks of the Shadowhunters,The guardians of peace."
Alec gave his son an encouraging smile. Slowly, the silent brother took a stele to the young boy's inner lower arm. A small wince passed over Rafe's face as the adamas burned his skin in the shape of a voyance rune. The next rune,enkeli, or angelic power, was the symbol of a shadowhunter. Alec heard a small sniffle come from next to him. He looked down at Magnus. The warlock's makeup was running down his cheeks with the tears he shed. Alec placed a comforting hand on his waist and quietly kissed his forehead. Magnus met his eyes and gave him a smile.
After the ceremony, the party began. Alec walked over to his boyfriend with two glasses of red wine. He handed one to Magnus, who took it gratefully. "I have to say, I never thought you'd cry at Rafe's rune ceremony", Alec teased.
"I realized that our boys aren't going to be so little anymore. They're growing up, Alec."
"I know, Mags, I know." Alec began, but he was interrupted by Max running up to the couple.
"Dad! When will I get Marks like Rafe?" he asked excitedly. Magnus and Alec exchanged a look.
"Oh, Blueberry, you're a warlock, you don't get Marks, but guess what?", Magnus said.
"What?" Max asked. Magnus handed Alec his glass of wine and picked up his son.
"You'll get to learn magic in a couple years, and you'll be able to summon demons and perform spells. Do you know the best part, though?"
"What, Papa?" Max asked impatiently.
"You'll never die. You'll grow up and eventually stop, then you'll live forever."
"Will you live forever, too Papa?"
"Yes, Max, you and I will live forever, but we'll be together."
Max wrapped his small arms around Magnus. "I love you, Papa."
"I love you, too Blueberry." Magnus set Max on the floor once they were done hugging, and the little warlock ran off to get into trouble.
A couple hours passed before the party was over. Magnus and Alec put both boys to bed before collapsing onto the couch in the living room. They were both now wearing sweatpants and t-shirts. Alec's arm instinctively went around Magnus, pulling him into his side.
"Alexander?" Magnus asked thoughtfully.
"Yes Magnus?"
"What are we going to do when our boys grow up?"
"I'll still be here for you."
"But for how long?"
Alec moved to face Magnus. "Is this what's bothering you? The fact that I'll die someday?"
Magnus interlaced his fingers with Alec's. "Well, yeah, I love you Alec, and I don't want to lose you, or Rafe for that matter."
"You've talked about watching the people you love die in the past", Alec pointed out.
"Yeah, but remember, I didn't let myself fall in love with anyone else for a century. Then you came along and ruined everything", Magnus teased. Alec rolled his eyes before leaning down and kissing Magnus. Magnus was the one to pull away from the kiss. "You said the boys were asleep?"
Alec smiled, "They should be by now."
"And how long do we have before Max wants in our bed, or needs his badass Shadowhunter father to save him from a monster?"
"If you'd stop asking questions, we'd have about half and hour."
Magnus pushed Alec off him and stood up. "Are you coming?" he asked as he headed for their bedroom. Suddenly, Magnus felt Alec's arms wrap around his middle. He held back a yelp of delight as Alec surprised him by picking him up. He quickly regained his composure before saying, "Alexander! How dare you pick me up, but I must ask, have you been working out?" He pinched Alec's bicep.
"You noticed."
"How could I not?" Alec set Magnus down on their bed and began to kiss him. Magnus' hands slid down Alec's sides until he reached the hem of his shirt.
Just as he began to take off the shirt, a small voice yelled, "Dad!" from Max's room.
"Don't move. I'll be right back."
Two minutes later, Alec came back... with Max in his arms. He set Max down on the bed, and he immediately crawled under the covers. Alec and Magnus got into bed on either side of their youngest son. "Some other time, I guess" Alec said over Max's head.
"We'll get our chance. He has to grow out of this sometime, right?"
"What's some other time?" Max asked.
"Nothing, Blueberry. Go to sleep, okay?" Magnus kissed the top of Max's head. Soon, Max was asleep. Carefully, Alec got up and carried Max back to his own bed without waking him up. When he got back to his and Magnus' room, Magnus was already asleep. With a sigh, he got back into bed. Slowly, so he wouldn't wake Magnus up, he wrapped his arms around the warlock before finally getting to fall asleep himself.
