Chapter Text
“I leave you alone for five minutes!”1 Alec said, trying to swallow down the urge laugh.
Both Max and Rafael, rather fairly, rolled their eyes at the hyperbole. With the younger at the end of his training and the older a fully-fledged adult and Shadowhunter in the eyes of the Clave and Alec living on Alicante time, Alec hadn’t actually seen either of his sons in what feels like days, and even then it had only been as they’d passed each other in the halls.
Angels, Raj was just as much –if not more– of an ass as he had been twenty years ago, but Alec was the Head of the Institute and the commanding officer of the idiots he called his children and as much as he wanted to, he really could not give in to the childish urge to congratulate his own personal hellions for getting one up on the man.
“So, there may have been a little fire…”2 Max tried, trailing off when Alec turned the full force of his glare on the teenage warlock.
“You set the entire east wing on fire,” Alec stated flatly. “Defend your actions, Maxwell. Why did you do it?”
“The even better question: Why shouldn't I be burning things in fire at 5am?”3 was the flippant reply he got.
“Why, Max?”
Max straightened out of his defiant slouch into a perfect parade rest. “Mr Khatri,” and he spits the name with levels of venom Alec still feels for the likes of Asmodeus and Camille, “was one of the two supervising trainers on the training patrol that occurred during the last shift two nights ago. He was there to replace Domer who was temporarily stood down from active duty due to a…”
Alec would feel sick if he didn’t know how unnatural this ‘perfect soldier’ routine was to Max and how hard he had to be concentrating to pull it off so flawlessly. As it was Alec felt the corner of his eye twitch as he lightly demanded Max, “get to the point.”
“He was wilfully and deliberately negligent,” Max said with a bluntness he’d clearly leant from Alec himself, a hint of his usual attitude breaking through.
Alec sighed, knowing he was going to finally learn the real cause behind the injury that would have Maria’s training set back a month. Shadowhunters may be far stronger and sturdier than the average mundane, but even they had their limits. And not even magic and runes have the ability to heal every wound instantly.
“He’s the reason Maria was hurt,” Rafael cut in before Max could hedge around the point for any longer. “He should have stepped in earlier but didn’t because she turned down Vidun.”
Alec was that strange mix of proud, exasperated and amused; it wasn’t an unusual thing for him to be feeling when dealing with the various shenanigans his sons, nieces, nephew and their friends got in and up to.
Cursing Raj in the privacy of his mind for the extra paperwork this was going to cause him, Alec hated the fact that it had come to this. He knew that Raj likely hadn’t intended for Maria to be injured so severely, but the fact that it had happened made it a moot point. It had happened; and Raj was responsible.
Half his mind on the fact that he would have to report this in, Alec crossed his office to the door and opened it wide.
A half-dozen teenaged Shadowhunters in training and one twenty-year-old High Warlock in training fell through and behind them stood his own husband.
“You’re all miscreants,”4 Alec said fondly, rolling his eyes as they scrambled to their feet.
“Excuse you, I’m a calamity,”5 Celine said defiant and proud with hands on her hips.
With the combined genetics of both Jace and Clary, Alec had been legitimately concerned each and every time they’d announced they had successfully procreated and were expecting another child. And, so far, Alec’s fears had been completely justified.
“We’re all nice, innocent, and angelic people here, just having fun in this wholesome Institute,”6 Alice says serenely.
“I’m the epitome of innocence,”7 James confirms.
At the same time Kira snorts, “If James is innocent, I’m not a freak.”8
Alec scowls, hating that she’s even joking about her rare status as a Shadowhunter-Warlock hybrid, one of the few survivors of Valentine’s experiments. But before he can even begin, she gives him a smile and a wink and Alec’s anger calms.
“If anyone is innocent it's me,”9 a voice declares from outside the open door to Alec’s office.
Maria’s standing behind the rest, leaning on an elegant cane. She’s the only one Alec believes and its largely down to the fact that she, of all of these idiots, is actually somewhat responsible. When she wants to be.
“No one here is innocent,”10 Alec says, giving in and smiling. “And it concerns me you’re still alive.11 Your punishment is to restore the East Wing to its pre-fire condition.”
“In my defence, I was left unsupervised,”12 Max shrugs, unconcerned.
When Alec turns to Rafael, his eldest mimics the action, equally unconcerned. “Don’t look at me, I barely can supervise myself.”13
“Yeah,” Lachie drawled. “That’s the real reason. Not the fact that you can't supervise if you're the one lighting the fires.”14
“Get out.”
The lot of them dash out in an exuberant mess of chaos; their natural state.
They were halfway down the hall when James stopped and turned back to face Alec. “You forgot to mention without magic, sir?” he said, though it came out more like a question.
“Did I?” Alec asked back. It took a second, but James grinned and gave a laugh as he ran to catch up.
Madzie alone remained, leaning against the stone wall, lips curled up into a gentle smirk.
“It’s because you raised us right. All of you; we learnt from the best who we should be.”
Alec took the bait. “And who is that?” wondering what Madzie would come up with this time.
“We are all beautiful menaces, headaches, banes and Lightwood-Banes. And we are owning it15, dad.”
Alec was frozen, heart in his throat as she raised herself up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.
“That sounds fake but I believe you,”16 Alec managed to croak out before she spun around and dashed down the hallway, stopping when she reached Maria who was trailing behind the rest of them.
Magnus laughing brought him back and Alec turned to his husband, one eyebrow raised as he asked coyly, “and what’s your excuse, then?”
“I’m adorable. And you love me. Besides, I’m too pretty for you to be disappointed in me.”17
Alec kissed the smug look off his husband face before moving to settle his head on Magnus shoulder, their arms wrapping around each other as they stood there in the middle of the hall outside his office. “I’m a hypocrite and proud18 of them, Magnus,” he said softly.
“Kind of proud,” he amended after a moment, “kind of questioning why.”19