Undone || Malec

ELEVEN

"...we're Lightwoods."

Silence consumed the room. Expressions morphed into shock and confusion. Isabelle, Jace and Alec caught each other's eye with silent question. How was it possible? Rafael tried not to smirk at the way Jace looked like he was straining to understand. His uncle shook his head; he prepared for the denial. 

"That's not possible."

Max sighed in disdain, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought. A lot of convincing and negotiation needed to happen before Magnus, Simon and the Shadowhunters even considered helping them get home. 

"We don't have any extended family..." Isabelle added, "at least ... not any we know off." She looked unsure, sharing another contemplative gaze with her brothers. No one seemed to have anything else to say, still caught up in how impossible it was. "Do you know your father? Is he our blood connection?" She asked curiously, doubt still coating her words. 

Max held back laughter at the ridiculousness of their situation and Rafael hid a smile behind his hand. "Oh we know who our father is." Max confirmed with mirth. 

Their father was in the room, narrowed eyes watching them like a hawk. The suspicion in his gaze was clear as day, but the elder Lightwoods had lied about their lineage before; they'd hidden that their ancestor had gotten demon pox and shamed the Lightwood name, not to mention the fact that Robert and Maryse were active members of the circle. Who knows, maybe there were hidden family members as well. But why?

Suddenly Alec had a moment of clarity and he paled rapidly. He knew why they might have wanted to cover up the boys' existence. Rafael caught the haunted look on his father's features and wondered if he'd caught on with only their vague explanation. 

"Robert ...?" Alec whispered hesitantly, almost like he didn't want to know. The mood soured instantly in the room. Anger took place upon Jace's face whilst Izzy just looked uncomfortable, fingers fiddling with her bracelet. Simon and Magnus shared an awkward glance, not prepared for being included in the Jeremy Kyle-esque Shadowhunter drama. 

Max and Rafael were horrified. They'd heard about their grandparents affair but it was a fairly taboo subject in their household. Max felt sick. "No, no, no, no!" He quickly jumped in. "No, no way, ew, no!" He continued and Rafael glared at his brother, flicking his ear. 

"Don't overdo it." Rafael grumbled quietly before turning to the confused party in the room. "Robert isn't our father." Rafael confirmed calmly.

Jace finally lost patience. "Then who is?!" 

The boys shared a look. They couldn't put it off any more. "Alec is our father." Max finally admitted, going a little shy as he waited for their family's reaction. 

Alec almost choked on his tongue, not believing what he'd just heard. Isabelle gasped dramatically and looked at her brother like she'd never seen him before. Many emotions warred within her; surprise, doubt, confusion, and pride. She never expected her law abiding big-brother to be so scandalous. Her inner rebel applauded it but her inner sibling felt betrayed by her lack of knowledge. 

Jace looked like he was in pain from trying to comprehend the whole situation. His face couldn't settle on one emotion and he kept looking like he wanted to say something but nothing came out. He also looked at Alec like he'd never seen him before and wondered how his own parabatai could be a parent and he not know it. Was their relationship a lie? How was it possible? How young was Alec when he had them? I THOUGHT HE WAS GAY?! Jace's mind was spinning with this knowledge and he felt the denial rushing back up his throat - there was no way he could be so wrong about his brother.