All I Want For Christmas Is You - a Magnus/Alec fanfiction

Epilogue - New Year's Eve - Toby

New Year's Eve - one year later

People surprise you. Like, if you had to bet who would stay calm in a crisis, my money would've been on Magnus. But when I broke my arm training, it was Magnus who majorly freaked out, and Alec who came to the rescue and stayed relatively calm. 'Relatively' being the key word here; he cried when he found out it was broken. But yeah, people surprise you. Like when I found out Luke was a werewolf, or Simon was a vampire, or Simon was dating Isabelle Lightwood. That last one might have been the most surprising. I've stopped being surprised by most things. That happens when you live with the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Over the past year, I've learnt exactly what that means. What it seems to mean is just a lot of long and boring meetings in Idris that he attends with Alec, which is where we are now. It's where we always are. Idris is our second home.

"Okay, you're alright here on your own for an hour or so?" Alec checks, stationing me on a bench outside the meeting hall. "If you need anything, go and ask someone who works here in the Gard. Okay?"

"Alec, I'm fine." I assure him.

"See you in a bit." Magnus says, ruffling my hair, and I wave as they disappear into the crowd within the hall, returning my wave, smiling. I'm well-stocked to stop me getting bored whilst I wait for them. For a while, I went into the meetings, but I fell asleep twice and it was so long and dull. Beside me, sit half a dozen comics and mangas, a bottle of lemonade and enough snacks to last me twelve meetings. I shift my back against the wall and stretch my legs out along the bench, red high tops drumming as I pick up the comic book I'm currently reading and start poring over it. I'm absorbed in the story until someone coughs.

"Hello?" they ask.

I look up to see a man with ginger hair sticking up in peaks all over his head. He has an armful of messed-up papers and files. It looks as if he's running late to the meeting. The Clave will love that.

"The Council's in there." I tell him, nodding to the door. "The meeting started a few minutes ago but I'm sure you're fine to go in." I'm not sure, but that seems rude to say.

"Thanks, I...yeah, yeah I will." He tells me. "I just wondered, are you Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood's kid?"

"Yeah." I answer and he smiles.

"I just wanted to thank them, tell them how much they mean to my daughter." He explains. "She really looks up to them. They mean the world to her."

"What's her name?" I ask.

"Emilia." He tells me. "Emilia Youngblood."

I grin. "Thanks, Mr Youngblood. That's really nice of you. I'll tell them. I promise."

He nods, thanks me, and dashes into the meeting room, seeming to once again realise how late he is. This happens all the time; people letting me know how important Magnus and Alec are, how much they mean and do, how lucky I am. I just tell them the same thing: I know. And it's not just shadowhunters, but downworlders too. I'm used to it. I'm also very used to being addressed as their child. That's okay. They are my family, after all. I told them this, and Magnus had laughed.

"The Angel was like, 'Hey, this kid didn't have a dad until he was ten. Better make up for it now and give him two.'"

I grin thinking of this, and start sketching my favourite frame from the comic I'm reading. Clary gave me my own sketchbook, and it goes with me everywhere in my backpack. By the time the meeting ends, I've covered the whole page in drawings, my original sketch having descended into madness, an immense explosion of warriors with swords, dragons breathing fire, and blazing angels.

"Toby, that looks awesome!" Alec tells me, and I smile.

"Come on, let's go." Magnus says, and we start out. I see the man I spoke to earlier talking to Jia Penhallow, and turn to Magnus and Alec.