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Clary let out a little yelp as Max tugged at her hair for the umpteenth time that evening.
The six of them, Clary and Jace, Alec and Magnus, Isabelle and Simon, were sitting in a haphazard circle around the living room, with music playing from a set of stereo speakers nearby and dozens of shacks Clary was sitting on the floor with Max in her lap, who was playing around with her hair.
“Looks like he really likes your hair,” Magnus commented, lying on the ground with his legs propped up on the couch nearby and his head in Alec’s lap. Like Clary, he was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, leaning back against the couch.
“I guess he does,” Clary said, watching as Max grabbed fistfuls of her hair, looking at it with wide eyes. Jace chuckled.
He was sitting on the floor next to Clary, palms resting on the floor behind him and legs stretched out in front. Jace leaned into Clary, whispering something inner ear, and she blushed. Magnus raised an eyebrow but made no comment.
“Okay, two minutes more and then its my turn,” Isabelle said, bouncing in her seat. She and Simon had both taken over the loveseat, Isabelle’s legs resting on top of Simon’s.
“How come you two are allowed to sit up there?” Jace asked, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, we’re all on the floor. You should be on the floor too.”
Isabelle stuck out her tongue at Jace. “No one asked you to sit on the floor, Jace.”
Jace opened his mouth to add another retort, but then Simon spoke up.
“Leave my girlfriend alone,” he said in a cool, nonchalant manner, although Magnus could sense the pride laid behind the word girlfriend. Simon was still adjusting to the Shadow World, but he seemed to take it with an easy grace. Probably because he was way into all those fictional mundane fantasy stuff.
Jace rolled his eyes. “Friendly reminder, champ - she was my sister before she was your girlfriend.”
“Oh, hush, both of you,” Isabelle cut in, shooting both Jace and Simon a withering look. Then her face brightened instantly, and he held her arms out to Clary. “Okay, come on, my turn now.”
Clary shot Max a rueful smile and disentangled her hair from his fingers. Max didn’t protest at all when Clary passed him to Isabelle. Instead, he squealed and received Isabelle’s embrace with utmost joy. Max loved all of his aunts and uncles a lot.
Magnus let a small smile make its way onto his face when Alec’s fingers brushed through Magnus’s hair, combing through the gelled locks. Alec was smiling too, shaking his head at his siblings and their significant others’ antics. Presently, Jace and Simon were engaged in heated banter, and Clary was looking between them with a look that suggested she’d rather be anywhere else. Magnus didn’t blame her - it was her parabatai and her lover caught in argument, after all.
“Well in that case,” Simon was saying, “Clary was my best friend longer than she was your girlfriend.”
“Ah, but she’s my girlfriend now,” Jace said with a grin. Simon threw his hands up, his face red with exasperation.
“Enough, you two,” Alec spoke up at last. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“In my defence, he’s being ridiculous,” Jace said, looking at Simon. “He’s simply jealous that I’m more handsome than him.”
“First of all, I’m not jealous,” Simon shot back. “Besides, it’s not like you’re the most handsome person in this room. Alec is way more handsome than you.”
“What?!” Alec exclaimed, his eyes widening. Magnus smiled up at him, and turned to Simon.
“While I don’t agree with Smedley on a lot of things, I have to say that he’s absolutely correct on this one,” Magnus said. Simon deflated at the incorrect name, but didn’t say anything.
“Well, I think you’re the most handsome person in this room,” Alec said, smiling down at him, and Magnus preened. “But I don’t think I’m more handsome than Jace.”
Isabelle, Magnus noticed, was pointedly avoiding the whole discussion and playing with Max instead. So was Clary, but she seemed more disinclined to take sides.
Jace raised both of his eyebrows, his lips twitching up into an incredulous smile. “You can’t actually be serious about this.”
“Let’s take a vote, then,” Magnus suggested with a grin. “All those who think Alec is better looking than Jace, raise your hands.”
“Leave me out of this,” Isabelle said, casting a very serious look over all of them and then immediately turning back to Max with a bright smile on her face.
Magnus raised his hand, as did Simon and-
“Clary?!” Jace exclaimed when he saw that his girlfriend’s hand was up in the air, a faintly embarrassed expression on her face. “ Et tu?!”
“Sorry,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I love you, Jace. But Alec is more handsome.” Seeing the faux crestfallen expression on his face, she added, “By like 2 percent.”
“ Okay ,” Alec said, looking surprised at the raised hands in the air. Which was silly because Magnus had told him hundreds, no strike that, millions of times just how handsome and beautiful and utterly perfect he was. Though, nowadays, he suspected Alec’s reactions to such compliments were more out of humility than low self-esteem.
“This is not fair!” Jace exclaimed dramatically, putting a hand over his heart. “You’re conspiring against me!”
“No we’re not.” Simon grinned at him. “Alec is just more handsome than you. Deal with it.”
“I really wish you didn’t bring me into this,” Alec mumbled. Magnus chuckled and patted his cheek.
“Okay, time for round two,” Jace said, sitting up straight. “People who think I’m the more handsome one, raise your hands.”
Jace was the first to raise their hand. No one followed. Alec did raise his hand, but Magnus had pulled it down just as soon as it went up.
Jace’s eyes flicked between all of them and their lowered hands, and then fell back with a wail that sounded like a dying cat. Clary pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to suppress a smile, and patted Jace’s gold locks.
“Don’t talk to me,” Jace said with a pout, swatting her hand away. “Traitor.”
A small laugh escaped Clary’s lips. “Hey, come on, now-“
“Okay, you know what?” Jace said, standing up. “Let’s ask Max. Maxie knows best.”
“Jace-“ Alec shook his head, a soft exasperated grin forming on his face. Magnus smiled up at him.
“You’re adorable,” Magnus mouthed at him. Alec scrunched his nose, only adding to said adorability, and mouthed back at him.
“So are you.”
Meanwhile, Jace was leaning over Isabelle, meeting Max’s eyes. He was looking at Jace with large, oblivious eyes, his hand dangerously close to his mouth. Magnus was worried he would start sucking on his fingers again, but then Isabelle moved his hand away.
“Okay, Maxie,” Jace said. “You tell me who’s more handsome. Me, or your daddy?”
“Jace, he can’t speak yet,” Alec said, laughing. Jace only shot him a brief grin and then turned back to Max.
“Come on, you think uncle Jace is the most handsome, don’t you?” Jace crooned, making silly faces at Max. “Don’t you?”
“Back off,” Isabelle drawled. “It’s my turn to bond with Max.”
Alec sighed when the banter started again. Magnus had been mildly concerned when these people would break out into silly arguments over, well, everything, but he quickly learnt that that was just how family was. They laughed together, cried together, went on death-defying vacations and hell together, and got on each other’s nerves all the time. It was strange, but Magnus knew to enjoy this - having a family - while it lasted.
The first family he had ever had had turned dysfunctional the moment his warlock mark came out. Magnus had never dreamed of having a family after that - he’d had friends who would die for him, lovers willing to die with him, but not a family. Not until now.
"It's getting late," Magnus said, looking out the balcony doors. "You should stay over for dinner. How about pizza?"
Everyone was enthusiastic at the thought of pizza, and it didn't take long for them to call the nearby pizza place and place their orders. Pizza, Magnus supposed, was the only foolproof way to end any banter.
Sometimes, family was a four hundred year old warlock, his little baby warlock, his angelic boyfriend and his two siblings, a little red-haired shadowhunter and her human-turned-vampire-turned-shadowhunter best friend. And this family was only going to get bigger.