Part 2 of 4 of Four Seasons

Summer time in Brooklyn was always interesting. I tended to shake things up a little bit by making it snow for the boys or casting a spell on their pool toys so that they moved on their own while the boys played with them. It was never dull moment during the Summer.

It was also the season that Alec and I got married in. I remember the day all too well. It started off a little cloudy but by the afternoon, the sun was blazing and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. I couldn't ask for a better day to have a wedding.

Alec was fumbling with the cuffs of his suit. It wasn't hard to tell that the man was nervous. I was nervous too; I was just better at hiding it than he was.

"You're doing it wrong," I said to him as his button popped open for the millionth time.

"No kidding. I don't even think I put my pants on the right way this morning when I woke up," he chuckled nervously as I helped him with his cuffs. "I feel sick to my stomach, Magnus. Like I'm going to throw up."

"That's just your nerves. You'll be fine once we're out there reciting our vows. You did remember to bring your vows, right?"

Alec nodded. "Yes. I got them in my pocket. Put them in there last night so I wouldn't forget." He took a deep breath and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"

I looked him over and smiled broadly. "You look extremely handsome. Are you sure we can't just elope? So I can recite my vows naked to you?"

He laughed at this. I loved his laugh. It was as nice as petting a puppy or getting extra icing on your chocolate cake. "I'm sure. My family would probably kill me if they didn't get the chance to see me get married. Especially Izzy. She put so much thought and effort into planning our special day."

This was true. Isabelle and Clary had been planning our wedding for years. Yes, Alec and I had been engaged for 4 years. We both had been so busy that we really couldn't find the time to just get married. It was actually Isabelle who put her foot down one day and claimed that the wedding was happening asap. Sure enough, two weeks later the institute was decorated and suddenly it was our wedding day.

"I can't believe we're finally getting married," Alec smiled. "It seems like a lifetime ago that we just met."

"Memory demons. Bringing lovers together since the dawn of time," I smirked as Alec grinned at me. "Do you have any regrets?"

"Regrets?" Alec shook his head. "None. None whatsoever. Every decision I've made thus far has led me to this point in my life. I wouldn't go back and change a thing."

I nodded. "Neither would I, Alexander. Neither would I."

And just like the blink of an eye, we were married. Vows were shared, cake was crushed in our faces, we danced the night away. Just like that it was over. I barely even had time to fully relish in the feeling when I realized that this actually happened. I was married. I had a gorgeous husband and two sons now. This dream I've had ever since I could remember had finally come true. I had the family I always dreamed of.

Two summers after we got married, we got into a fight. It was stupid, really. Looking back on it now, I regret all the awful things I said to Alec at the time. I'd take them all back if I could.

"What do you mean, they voted against Downworlders adopting Shadowhunter children?!" I shouted at him.

Alec, the Inquisitor at the time, gripped his hair in frustration. "What else could I mean, Magnus? Huh? I submitted a request for a new law and it was turned down. They see it as an atrocity. Downworlders raising Shadowhunter children is like having two gay parents to them."

I laughed. "Oh okay then. I'd hate to know what they think of us then. You're gay. I'm bi. We have two sons. One of them is a Shadowhunter. We must be the talk of the office!"

"They let us keep Rafael, Magnus! Do you know how hard I had to fight to make that happen?! I'm trying to do the same for other families as well!"

The veins in his neck bulged as he yelled at me. Alec never yelled. He barely even rose his voice when the boys were doing something they shouldn't. He spoke to them in a calm, stern voice and they both knew he meant business. Every time.

I remember hearing a sniffle that day and turned to see Max and Rafael peeking around the corner of the doorway, Max wiping his tears and Rafael gripping his brother's shoulders with protective hands. They must've heard the fight and came out to see what was going on. The look on their faces nearly broke my heart that day. Like it was the worst thing that could have ever happened to them.

"Daddy? Why are you and papa fighting?" Max whispered.

Alec glanced at me before gathering the little blueberry into his arms. "It's okay, Max. Papa and I were just a little upset with each other. We weren't fighting."

"Sounded like fighting to me," Rafael grumbled. He delevoped a sassy personality over the past four years. He really did come out of his shy shell.

"Well, we weren't. Okay? Now go back to bed. It's a school night. You don't want to be tired during your studies tomorrow, do you?" I ruffled Rafe's hair and he smiled. "I know how much you love learning new runes. And Max loves trying new spells."

Max smiled as he cuddled into Alec's neck. "I set my socks on fire today, daddy."

I frowned. "And you didn't say anything to anybody about this?"

"It's okay, papa. I put it out before it spread," Rafael seemed pretty proud of himself so I pat him on the shoulder, which seemed to please him. "Max isn't supposed to practice spells without you. I told him this already."

Alec smirked over Max's head at me. His dimples smile made me smile, regardless of the events that just occurred ten minutes ago. "We're very proud of you, Rafael. You took responsibility and action. That's very grown up of you."

That was the last time Max ever set his clothes on fire. But that's not to say he didn't set anything else on fire. Three years later (during summer, coincidentally) while Rafael was away at the institute for his training, Max made the microwave explode. No magic was involved. He just made it explode by putting something he shouldn't have inside. He was devilish like that. He was always getting into trouble.

"I'm sorry, papa. I was experimenting with some key ingredients for a recipe." Max had discovered cooking channels recently. His new obsession was cooking. Or trying to, anyway.

"What were you trying to make? It stinks in here," I plugged my nose as I opened the door to the microwave. The inside was a complete disaster. Burnt to a crisp, smoke coming out of it. I remember at the time thinking why did this child get into so much trouble?

"The box said 30-35 minutes in 450 degrees Fahrenheit. I couldn't find the temperature so I set the microwave to 35 minutes. These were the results, unfortunately...." Max was old enough now to conduct experiments, whether it be with magic or my beloved kitchen. Most of his tests turned out to be a disaster, but that never did stop him from trying again.

I sighed. "Here, bud. Let me show you how to cook this, okay? We'll surprise daddy and Rafe when they come home from the institute, okay?"

Max beamed and nodded. "Can we say I cooked it? With no help from you?"

I chuckled. "Sure. Your secret is safe with me."

I look back at memories of my kids all the time and laugh. It was never a dull moment with Max and Rafael. Those two always managed to bring out the laughter in me and put a smile on my face. Same with Alec. The once serious Shadowhunter had a serious soft spot when it came to his boys. Even when he became Inquisitor and came home from a long day at work, Rafael set up the dinner table and prepared a hot bath for Alec. Max would cook up a delicious new recipe he found online or in one of his hundreds of cookbooks and serve it for dinner. We were a happy family. Always laughing, always teaching new morals to the boys and always making sure we were safe and sound at the end of the day.

Summer was also the season when Rafael got a girlfriend. Now 14, puberty was beginning to set in; he was growing fast, his voice was beginning to deepen and he began to develop an interest in girls. Everywhere he went, he had an eye on the ladies around him. He was a real charmer, much like myself. He was a smooth talker and often got his way with everything and everyone. This got him into trouble sometimes.

Max, on the other hand, was a lot like Alec. He was now 12 years old; skinny and lanky as Alec had been at that age, his dark hair was wild and curly and his eyes were wide and full of life. He loved to learn and had a thirst for knowledge. Glasses on the edge of nose, I'd always find him with his face buried in a book as he tried out new spells and recipes. He showed real promise in the culinary arts as well as spell casting. I remember him telling me once that he wanted to open a restaurant with exotic foods from all over the world. I believed he had the passion and determination so I told him to follow his dreams.

One day, Rafael came up to me during one of my conferences with the Clave. Sometimes I'd work from home or I'd go into Idris myself. This time, I had decided to stay home, mainly because Alec wasn't here to watch the kids while I was gone.

"Papa? Can I ask you a question?" Rafe asked.

"I don't know. Can you?" I smirked as Rafael rolled his eyes. "Yes, son. Go ahead. Ask away."

Rafe took a deep breath. "How do you....um.....kiss a girl?"

Max, who was sitting on the couch with his legs sprawled over the arm began to laugh. "Rafe got a girlfriend! Rafe got a girlfriend!"

Rafael whirled around. "Shut up, Max! No one asked for your opinion!

"Rafe. Watch it," I said, my tone serious. "Why do you want to know? Are you and Marceline...."

His face turned red. "I really like her, papa. I want to kiss her but I don't know how...."

"Like this!" Max cried and began kissing the back of his hand and making animal noises. He giggled as Rafael made a move to chase him, screaming and running to his room.

"Not exactly helpful, is he? All those books he reads and he hasn't learned to shut up...." Rafael grumbled, stopping when I glared at him. "Sorry. He's just so annoying..."

"He's also your brother and you love him regardless. Now. You wanted to know how to kiss?" He nodded and watched me attentively. "Rule number one. You have to be in the moment."

"In the moment?"

"Like....it has to be romantic. Maybe outside on a starry night. Or out on a picnic. How many dates have you been on."

Rafe shrugged. "Maybe three? Or four? I haven't counted."

I scoffed. "You plan on proposing on the fifth date? Getting married on the sixth?"

"What? No! I'm 14! I'm too young to get married!" He gagged and shuddered. "Do I have to go to dad and ask him about this?"

"Ask me about what?" Alec walked in through the door, nearly tripping over his Inquisitor robes.

"Rafael wants to know how to kiss a girl, Alexander," I grinned as Alec's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh....I don't think that's my area of expertise, Rafe....sorry."

Raphael nodded. "I forgot, dad. Sorry. Should I just wing it? Go with the flow as mundanes say?"

I shrugged. "Do what you think is best, kiddo. I'm sure Marceline would love you for trying regardless, right?"

"Who knows. Girls are confusing anyway. One minute they're fine and the next they have their seraph blade to your throat demanding to know if their hair looks okay."

"That sounds like your aunt Izzy," Alec called out from the bedroom. When he came back out, he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "She did that to me once when I told her that her hair looked frizzy. Called her Frizzy Izzy."

I choked back a laugh, trying not to imagine a 14 year old Alec being threatened by his 12 year old sister.

"My point being....just do what your gut tells you to do. Kiss the girl. If she doesn't like it then you know it wasn't meant to be. At least you can say you tried, right?" Alec draped an arm over Rafael's shoulders.

Rafe nodded. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks papa. Thanks dad."

After Rafe went to his room, I clearly recall there being a lot of kissing of our own that night. We both laid down on the couch together, window wide open with a nice breeze blowing in, and we just kissed. It had been a while since I let my fingers roam over Alec's hard muscled body, and I enjoyed it. He seemed to be too as he gripped my hips and moaned softly.

"Shhh. You'll wake the boys," I whispered between kisses.

"The boys are dead to the world when they sleep. They can sleep through a demon war and they won't hear a thing," Alec kissed my neck and gently sucked on the skin there. "Remember the hickies we used to leave on each other's skin?"

I laughed. "Of course. Didn't Jace ask you if you were bit by a vampire one time?"

Alec's deep laugh vibrated through my body. "He did. I told him I fell."

"On your neck?"

We both burst out laughing and cuddled together on the couch for a while longer before we both eventually fell asleep.

For me, Summer had always been a time for romance. It certainly had been for my family. And regardless of the outcome, we could always say that we tried. Because in the end, that's all that really mattered.