Two Dads, One Family

10

Alec wakes up the next morning to a silent house and an empty bed, Magnus is probably keeping the peace then. The Lightwood gets up and walks around his home, checking the boys' room first. Alec smiles at the sight of Max and Raphael still out for the count. He closes the door as quietly as possible before going to his daughter's nursery. The second Alec walks through the doorway, his heart melts.

A shirtless Magnus is swaying in the middle of the room, a content Madzie against his chest. The baby cuddles into her papa's chest and sucks on her pacifier. Alec smiles and watches, meeting his boyfriend's eyes.

"Hey, babe." "Hello, darling. Figured you deserved to rest a bit longer. How did you sleep, my love?" "Slept great. Glad to see the boys still in bed. We need the quiet after last night." "I'm still very impressed by your actions. You're quite the superdaddy." "Thank you. You're fairly impressive yourself." Magnus and Alec share a sweet kiss before the taller male holds his family close to him, having his love and Madzie swaying gently with him. The baby smiles up at her daddies and coos around her pacifier.

"Yeah? You sleep well too? You certainly slept through some chaos, guppy." "Da..." "Yeah? Want your daddy?" Magnus hands Madzie to Alec with a smile on his face, smile growing when he sees the man kiss all over the happy baby's face. Madzie giggles a bit and cuddles into her daddy's chest, making Alec coo at her before kissing her head.

"This is what we need today, happiness and cuddles. It's wishful thinking I'm sure, but I'll wish all I want." "I'm sure the boys are too tired to go too wild today." "Need I remind you the sleepovers are always at my place? You haven't handled them both when they're cranky and tired." "Oh, come on. They can't be that bad." Alec starts laughing, unable to help himself. Magnus looks a bit concerned at how his boyfriend is reacting and feels the urge to heavily brace himself. Alec kisses his boyfriend's temple and smiles at him.

"They feed off of each other. The second one of them whines, we're doomed. I'm sure Madzie is old enough now to get sucked in as well. Just follow my lead and put stools in two corners of the living room, they'll get used." "Two corners?" "Just in case they both need a time out. Raphael hasn't had one with me yet but you can never be too sure." "Oh dear..." Alec laughs softly at his boyfriend's worried expression and kisses his cheek before leaving the room. Magnus puffs his cheeks out in a pout before following behind the duo. The older male watches the younger place down the mentioned stools before setting Madzie in her highchair, scanning the fridge for breakfast items.

"Damn, should've gone shopping. I'm out of pretty much all breakfast stuff except dry cereal and I don't want them having a lot of excess sugar this morning." "Go get what you need, I can stay with the kids." "You sure?" "Positive. You always take care of everyone, let me do the same." Alec smiles and kisses Magnus gently before retreating to get dressed. Madzie babbles and smacks the tray of her highchair as Magnus looks at his phone, double checking the details for an appointment he has the next week.

Magnus gets about ten minutes of silence before he hears two sets of footsteps approach. The father looks up to see two sleepy boys with insane bedhead. Magnus smiles in amusement before beckoning them both to him. Max looks around and pouts as Raphael welcomes his papa's fussing over his hair.

"Where's daddy?" "He went to go get breakfast stuff, he'll be back soon." "What's he getting?" "I don't know, Max." "Why not?" "Oh, someone's a bit snippy. Take a deep breath. Raphael, is your pull-up dry?" "Duh. M'not a baby, papa." "Two boys with attitude. Not a fan. Why don't you boys take a seat in the corner for a few minutes and calm down?" "You can't do that! Only my daddy can put me in time out!" "Maxwell, stop yelling at me." "NO!" Raphael and Max both cross their arms in unison, matching scowls on their faces. Alec was right, they're monsters. Cranky little monsters. Magnus sighs and rubs his temples before looking at both boys, who are still holding their grounds.

"Okay. Here's how this will go-" "No! You're not my daddy so I don't gotta do nothing! C'mon, Raph!" "Yeah!" "Boys!" Max and Raphael both run to the master bedroom and lock the door, giggling as they hear Magnus struggle with the door. After trying for about a minute and a half, Magnus gives up and runs to the kitchen. He spots a content Madzie telling herself a story in her high chair and smiles at her, spreading some of her strawberry yogurt baby puffs across the tray and moving it so it's fastened to the counter and can't be tipped over. Magnus then searches the drawers and finds a serrated butter knife, remembering a trick from his youth taught by his mother before she passed. The man runs back to the master bedroom and listens first.

Max and Raphael are running around and giggling like crazy. The younger of the two goes into the private bathroom and does his thing as the other boy jumps on the bed, not paying enough attention to the door to realize that they're about to be busted.

Magnus sticks the tip of the butterknife with the serrated edge facing the ceiling instead of the floor like a key would, turning it clockwise until he hears the click. He then slowly pulls the door open after turning the unlocked knob and watches both boys now bouncing on the bed. Magnus quickly gets inside and grabs both boys off the bed. Raphael squirms out of the older man's grip and runs to the living room, Max struggling a bit to get freed. Magnus keeps a secure hold on Max, one hand around his waist and the other across his shoulders. The father of the group watches his son running when he feels a strong and sharp pain on his hand. Magnus yells and drops Max on the bed, checking his hand immediately after. Sure enough, little teeth marks are on his right hand below the thumb. He looks a bit longer and notices the blood seeping through. Magnus takes a moment to breathe before walking to the kitchen.

Madzie tilts her head at her papa, sticking the last puff in her mouth. Magnus smiles at her and takes another deep breath before he starts washing his hand. Max and Raphael watch from the edge of the kitchen.

"Whatcha doin?" "He's washing off your cooties." Magnus winces when the soap meets the broken skin, making both boys pay attention. Raphael leads Max to the sink and they catch a glance at the red on Magnus' hand, making a connection that he got hurt.

"I did that?" "It's alright, Max. It was an accident." "I'm sorry." Magnus looks down to see two sets of teary eyes. He gives them a small smile and dries his hand, wrapping it quickly with bandages from the first aid kit Alec keeps in the kitchen. Magnus finishes dressing the wound and pulls both boys into a hug, kissing each on the side of their heads.

"You both are still in trouble. However, I see the guilt and I want you to know I'm not mad. I'm upset and disappointed, but I'm not angry and I still love you both. I think a few minutes in the corner for both of you will suffice and some apologies. Agreed?" Max and Raphael nod against Magnus' shoulders, feeling bad for hurting him and giving him a hard time. Max takes the bandaged hand behind his head and kisses where he bit him, remembering his daddy doing that for him. Magnus smiles and boops his nose, ruffling both boys' hair.

"Sorry, papa." "M'real sorry, papa. Didn't mean to hurt you." "It's alright, boys. C'mon, corner time. Five minutes, okay?" Max and Raphael nod in sync before taking a stool each. Magnus starts his timer as they sit down, cleaning Madzie's face while they wait.

About halfway through the time, Alec walks through the door with some grocery bags. Magnus hides his injured hand behind his back and smiles, accepting the kiss he's given.

"Two more minutes, boys." "Wow, didn't expect this. Hope they weren't too much chaos." "Alexander, darling, I can be a super dad too. Everything went fine." "Oh yeah? Why is there an open first aid kit behind you, Mags?" Magnus can feel his eyebrows shoot to his hairline at the knowing smug smirk he's getting from his boyfriend. Alec shakes his head and grabs the hidden hand, kissing the back of it.

"We can talk about that later. After timeout is over, I think some pancakes and bacon can smooth the morning over." "Wonderful idea, love."