Archive of Our Own

Maxine tries to cope with a nightmare of the events on her eleventh birthday.

Enjoy.

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Raj pulls out a blade and stabs Daddy in the heart. Daddy's eyes roll back as Raj pulls the blade out then stabs him again. Daddy slowly falls to the floor as Raj continues to stab him.

.

.

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Maxine wakes up, covering her mouth with both hands to keep a scream from escaping. Her room is dark. It's still night time. She pushes the covers off and runs out her bedroom. She quietly steps over to her fathers' bedroom and looks in.

They are fast asleep, safe and sound in each other's arms.

Maxine wipes away tears as she stands there. They look so peaceful that she doesn't want to disturb them. But she doesn't want to go back to her bed.

Chewing on her lip, she quietly walks over to Mikey's bedroom. Her brother is asleep on his back, his arms stretched out. She tiptoes over to the bed and gently moves his right arm to his side.

As she slides under the covers, his eyes open. She whispers, "It's only me."

Mikey softly giggles as he snuggles against her. She fixes the covers around them, kisses the top of his head, and holds him tight as he goes back to sleep.

A few minutes later, she's asleep.

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Maxine slowly opens her eyes. The sun is shining and Mikey is still sleeping. She holds her brother tight as she looks out the window. It's Saturday, so she doesn't have to rush to get ready for school.

She kisses the red mark on top of Mikey's head as she holds him close.

Her badass little brother, who loves to snuggle but will burn you alive, in the blink of an eye, if you harm his family.

Maxine wonders what would have happened if Mikey had been with them then. He would have been a baby, but could he have been able to stop Raj?

She thinks about all the times Poppa would laugh and say, that Daddy has been living in the loft for such a long time, that Poppa can't remember him not being here. But in a heartbeat Daddy was gone.

Maxine closes her eyes as tears roll down her face. She remembers looking at Poppa and seeing how dead his eyes were. Maxine was scared that she was going to lose him as well.

Poppa also talks about the hostility that existed between ShadowHunters and DownWorlders a long time ago. He even said how he especially hated Lightwoods.

But that all changed when he met Daddy.

Maxine was never afraid of ShadowHunters or being in the Institute, until her eleventh birthday, when she realized that anybody can be a monster.

Even those with angel blood.

When she woke up in the orphanage, she was terrified. But a silent Mikey calmed her. Portalling into an empty loft was bad, but walking inside the Institute and seeing Raj alive was the worst thing Maxine could imagine.

Maxine kisses her brother's head as she remembers how he knocked Raj on his butt.

Mikey's eyes slowly open. Maxine quickly wipes her eyes. Mikey looks at her, "Why you crying?"

She gives him a weak smile, "Because I am."

Mikey sits up, looks around his room, then back at his sister, "Why?"

She sighs, "It's not a big deal, Mikey."

He slides off the bed and runs out the room, "Daddy! Poppa!" Maxine shakes her head.

Alec runs out his bedroom, seraph blade in hand. Magnus has flames jumping off his fingertips as he runs, from the kitchen, over to Mikey, "What's the matter?"

Mikey stands outside his bedroom and looks up at his fathers, "Maxine is crying and she won't tell me why."

Alec walks into Mikey's bedroom, and looks around. Maxine gets off the bed. Alec shakes his head as he sets the blade on the nightstand. Maxine walks over and hugs him. Alec rests his chin on top of her head as he holds her tight, "Bad dreams?"

She buries her face in his shirt, "Uh huh."

Mikey looks from Magnus to Alec's back, "I don't like Maxine crying."

Magnus smiles as he picks his son up, "We know." He carries Mikey to the kitchen table and puts him in a chair.

Alec and Maxine walk out the bedroom. Maxine goes over to Magnus and kisses his cheek, "Morning, Poppa."

He hugs her, "Morning, blueberry."

Maxine kisses the top of Mikey's head, "You didn't have to yell." She gets milk from the fridge, fills two glasses and brings them to the table. She sits next to her brother.

Mikey nods, "Yes I did."

Alec laughs as he fills two mugs with coffee, "Okay you two, enough." He sits down.

Magnus brings a plate of cream cheese covered bagels to the table and sits next to Alec, "Yes, let's have breakfast without drama."

Mikey takes a bite of a bagel, "She started." Maxine rolls her eyes as she eats her bagel.

Magnus laughs, "Young man, what have I told you about talking with food in your mouth?"

Mikey opens his mouth, "No food, Poppa."

Alec shakes his head, "Too much."

Mikey giggles, "Why does every body say that?"

"Because you are too much, raspberry."

"Uh huh, Daddy."

"Uh huh, Mikey."

Magnus sighs, "It's too early in the morning for this."

Maxine giggles, "It's almost ten. That's not early."

"Really, Maxine?"

"Really, Poppa."

Alec laughs, "Another intellectual Saturday breakfast conversation."

Mikey narrows his eyes, "What that mean?"

Magnus sniffs, "It means that Daddy is being silly."

Mikey's eyes sparkle, "I love silly Daddy."

Maxine giggles, "You love all kinds of Daddy."

"That too."

"Just like Poppa."

Magnus nods, "Guilty as charged."

Alec chuckles, "And it just gets better."

Magnus purrs, "You are our favorite subject." Mikey and Maxine giggle.

"Whatever, Magnus."

"Whatever, Alexander."

"Changing the subject, I'll take Mikey, and Poppa can find out what is upsetting Maxine."

Magnus smiles, "Sounds good to me." Maxine nods.

Mikey narrows his eyes, "I want to stay with Maxine and Poppa."

Magnus finishes his coffee, "When you come home, we'll tell you."

"Promise?"

"Yes, raspberry, I promise."

Mikey looks at his sister, "Promise?"

Maxine kisses his nose, "Promise."

"Fine." He giggles, "Sharks."

Alec rolls his eyes, "Again?"

"I love sharks."

Maxine giggles, "You love sharks more than me?"

Mikey's eyes widen, "Oh no."

"You love sharks more than Poppa?"

Mikey shakes his head, "No, no."

Maxine giggles, "You love sharks more than Daddy?"

Mikey giggles, "I love nothing more than Daddy."

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "Not even me?"

"Sorry, Poppa. I love Daddy more."

Magnus sighs, "Why do warlock children love their ShadowHunter fathers more?"

Maxine giggles, "It's the runes."

Mikey giggles as he climbs off his chair and goes over to Alec. His father picks him up and sets him on his lap. Mikey points, "Especially this one."

Maxine giggles, "Dah, Mikey."

"Dah, Maxine."

Magnus smiles as he stands, "I like the other one on his neck better."

Mikey shakes his head, "This one is better, Poppa."

Magnus clears the table, "I don't think so, Mikey."

Mikey slides off Alec's lap and stands in front of Magnus, his hands on his hips, "I do think so, Poppa."

"No, Mikey."

"Yes, Poppa."

Alec laughs as he stands up, "This might get ugly." He picks Mikey up, "Let's go sharkboy." Mikey giggles. Alec kisses the top of Maxine's head, "Later, blueberry."

She stands and hugs Alec, "Later, Daddy." She kisses Mikey's nose, "Later, you."

Mikey giggles, "Later, you."

Alec kisses Magnus, "Have fun."

Magnus kisses Mikey's forehead, "Enjoy the sharks."

Mikey giggles, "I will, Poppa."

Alec rolls his eyes, "Yeah."

Maxine giggles, "Mikey is still in his pajamas."

Mikey giggles, "So?"

Magnus shakes his head as he flicks his hand, "My son is not a hippie." Mikey's pajamas are replaced with jeans, a blue shirt and sneakers.

"What's a hippie, Poppa?"

Magnus laughs and kisses Mikey's nose, "Something you are not. Now set your glamour."

Mikey nods as his skin goes brown, "Done."

Alec smiles, "Subway or portal?"

"Subway."

Alec laughs, "Okay, then we are ready to go. Say goodbye."

"Goodbye Maxine. Goodbye Poppa."

Alec kisses Magnus, "One for the road."

Magnus smiles as he grabs Alec's shirt, "And one to keep in reserve." They kiss.

Mikey giggles as he pushes Magnus away, "No more kissing."

Maxine giggles, "It's a wonder Daddy ever leaves this loft."

Magnus winks, "If it were up to me, he never would."

Alec laughs, "Okay, time for us to go." Mikey waves to his father and sister as Alec walks to the door. Mikey and Alec leave the loft.

Magnus smiles, "Help me with the dishes, then we'll talk."

Maxine nods, "Okay, Poppa."

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Magnus holds his daughter's hand as they walk to the sofa and sit down.

Magnus squeezes her hand, "Okay, let's begin."

Maxine nods, "When Mikey was a baby."

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "You had a nightmare about Mikey?"

"No, Poppa. I want to talk about him."

"We're not going to talk about your nightmare?"

Maxine shakes her head, "Not now."

"Fine. What about Mikey?"

"Did he have powers when he was a baby?"

Magnus sits back on the sofa, "Emil mentioned in his journal that he saw on a few occasions, blue sparks at Mikey's fingertips when he was an infant."

"So, if he wanted to, baby Mikey could have done magic?"

Magnus shrugs, "It's possible."

"But blue magic is for healing. What about red magic?"

"Emil wrote that red sparks appeared at Mikey's fingertips around the time he was six months." Magnus squeezes Maxine's hand, "In fact it was the same day it happened."

Maxine's eyes widen, "Really, Poppa?"

Magnus nods, "Emil dated all his entries and that date will be etched in my mind forever."

"Wow. It's almost like Mikey knew Daddy needed him."

Magnus nods, "When I saw the date in the journal, my heart stopped. Emil's entity was quote, Today Freak's red magic appeared, it's only a matter of time, unquote."

Maxine rolls her eyes, "Yeah, matter of time before Emil got taught a big lesson."

Magnus nods, "Yes, Emil had no idea that Mistress Destiny was biding her time before putting his big plan in the toilet."

Maxine giggles, "Emil should have bought Mikey to the Institute and handed him to Daddy. Could have saved himself a lot of trouble."

"True, but this way, Emil is dead."

"Good point, Poppa." Maxine chews on her lip, "What I don't get is, why didn't Mikey put Emil in his place earlier. He obviously was more powerful than Emil." Maxine giggles, "He's smarter than Emil. So why wait?"

"And go where, blueberry?" Maxine shrugs. Magnus nods, "Exactly. Emil noted in the journal that he and his cohorts never opened portals in front of Mikey. He's a sponge and he picks up on things rather quickly. That's why even though he didn't speak for the first four years of his life, when he did start talking, he already had a large vocabulary."

Maxine smiles, "He knew to call for 'Daddy'."

Magnus nods, "He heard what you called us and when he woke up scared, he knew how to get somebody to him in a hurry."

"He's seen us open portals, but he still hasn't open one himself."

Magnus smiles, "He has no reason to leave us. But rest assured, if he needs to get to one of us in a hurry, he will open a portal."

"It's going to be Daddy."

"That's what Not Poppa said and he's probably right."

"Mikey opening portals is going to be awesome."

Magnus laughs, "Not for whoever is bothering your Daddy." Maxine giggles. He continues, "When Asmodeus was here, Mikey barely gave him any attention."

"That's the rude man, right Poppa?" Maxine wrinkles her nose.

"Yes. Even after Mikey went over to your Daddy, to keep him safe from my father, he stood there quietly as we talked. But Mikey was ready when Asmodeus started throwing fireballs."

Maxine's eyes narrow, "Rude man attacked Daddy?"

"He tried to, but he and Mikey were evenly matched. Then you showed up."

Maxine sniffs, "He told Daddy to 'shut up'. Rude."

Magnus laughs, "I thought you were going to punch him."

"I was, but you stopped me."

"Of course I stopped you. He's a Greater Demon, you wouldn't have stood a chance of harming him."

Maxine giggles, "But Mikey did."

"Yes. It would be interesting to know who Mikey's demon father is or was. Emil tried to find out, but he never did."

"Does it matter, Poppa?"

"Not really. Anyway, your nightmare was about Raj?"

Maxine moves closer to her father, "Yes."

He puts an arm around her, "Why didn't you get in bed with us?"

"You and Daddy looked so peaceful that I didn't want to bother you. Besides, Mikey likes to snuggle."

"Yes, he does. I've offered to get him a teddy bear, but he's not interested."

"Maybe a stuffed shark?"

Magnus laughs, "Daddy also mentioned that, but there's nothing cuddly about a shark."

"So, I guess, he'll have to snuggle with me."

"But not every night, blueberry."

"I know Poppa."

Magnus kisses her forehead, "It's one of the pitfalls of being a warlock, we never forget, even memories that we wish we could." He holds her.

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Maxine and Magnus are playing Battleships, when the door opens and Alec walks in holding a sleeping Mikey. He smiles at his husband and daughter, "Give me a second." He carries Mikey into his room.

Magnus nods without looking away from his board, "Fine, Alexander. D6, G7, B4, E1."

Maxine groans, "Again, Poppa? That's it, you got them all. Again."

"I've been playing this a long time, blueberry."

Alec walks out of Mikey's room and kisses the top of Maxine's head, "It took me two months to realize not to play this with him. He always wins." He kisses Magnus, "Hello, husband."

Magnus smiles, "Hello, husband."

Maxine sniffs, "I'm going to keep Mikey company." She stands.

Magnus laughs, "A couple of snuggle buddies."

Maxine giggles, "Yeah." She walks to Mikey's bedroom.

Alec helps Magnus put the game back in the box, "So how did it go?"

Magnus sighs, "We talked about Mikey."

"Mikey? She's having bad dreams about him?"

"No, basically she wanted to know if Mikey would have been able to save you from Raj."

"By the angel, he would have been months old."

"Yes, but with power. Not sure what kind of control he would have had, but it was there at his fingertips."

"That's assuming he would have been with us."

"True. But I trust that Mistress would have found a way to make that happen."

"I suppose."

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Maxine kisses the red mark on Mikey's head as she holds him. Mikey snuggles closer. She giggles.

Mikey's eyes open, "Maxine."

She kisses his nose, "I'm glad you know my name."

He sits up, "Tell me, why were you crying?"

She sighs, "I had a bad dream."

Mikey's eyes narrow, "Somebody hurting Daddy?" She nods. He lays back on the bed and holds her, "I won't let anybody hurt Daddy or Poppa or you or Not Daddy or Not Poppa or Max or any of the other Daddys or other Poppas or their children."

Maxine kisses his nose, "Promise?"

Mikey nods, "I super duper promise."

She smiles, "Super duper promise?"

"Uh huh."

"Awesome." She hugs him, "I love you."

His purple eyes sparkle, "I love you." He kisses her cheek.

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Alec went over to Mikey's bedroom to see if the kids were awake. But he stops before going in and faces his husband with a gentle smile.

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "What?"

Alec shakes his head, "I'll tell you later."

Magnus shrugs. Mikey runs out his room. Maxine walks out, goes over to Alec and holds him. Magnus laughs, "It's sharkboy and his snuggle buddy." Maxine giggles.

Mikey stands in front of Magnus and puts his hands on his hips, "I'm not sharkboy, I'm Mikey."

Magnus sniffs, "I'm the Poppa and I decide what to call you."

"Poppa being silly."

"Sharkboy."

"Poppa."

Alec shakes his head, "Behave you two."

Mikey nods, "Yeah Poppa, behave."

Magnus sniffs, "I believe he was talking to you, sharkboy."

"Uh huh, Daddy talking to you."

"Nope."

"No more Daddy kisses for Poppa."

Maxine giggles, "Now Poppa in trouble."

Magnus picks his son up, "Then no more Poppa kisses for Mikey."

Mikey's eyes widen, "Bad Poppa."

Maxine giggles, "Poppa not playing."

Alec kisses her head, "Shh, you don't want to get involved in this."

She nods, "Good point, Daddy."

Mikey smiles, "Okay, you can have Daddy kisses at bedtime." Maxine giggles.

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "Only at bedtime?"

"Uh huh."

"How about morning kisses?"

"No, just bedtime."

Magnus kisses Mikey's face as his son giggles, "Then I guess I'm going to have more Mikey kisses."

Mikey covers Magnus' mouth, "Okay. You can have Daddy kisses all the time."

Magnus nods. He kisses the top of Mikey's head then puts his son on his feet, "Do not take away my Daddy kisses."

Mikey giggles as he runs over to Alec and Maxine, "Too many Poppa kisses, I need Daddy kisses."

Maxine giggles, "I want Poppa kisses." She walks over to Magnus. He holds her tight and kisses her forehead.

Alec picks Mikey up and kisses his nose, "Daddy kisses for Mikey."

Mikey holds his father's face in his hands, "I love Daddy kisses."

Magnus rests his head against Maxine's head, "So do I."

Maxine giggles, "Poppa loves them a lot."

Alec walks over and kisses Magnus, "Daddy kisses for Poppa."

Magnus smiles, "Thank you."

Mikey giggles, "I'm hungry."

Maxine nods, "Me too."

Magnus shakes his head, "What's more important your tummies or me getting kisses?"

Mikey giggles, "Tummies."

Maxine nods, "Tummies."

Alec laughs, "I gotta agree with them. I'm starving."

Magnus sighs, "Fine. Italian?"

Alec nods, "I'm in the mood for chicken parmigiana."

Mikey nods, "Me too."

Maxine giggles, "Me three." She holds Magnus' hand as he opens a portal.

Magnus smiles, "Sounds good to me, as well."

Alec carries Mikey as he follows Magnus and Maxine out the loft.

the end

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Angst and fluffy in one short little story.

Meanwhile, I still haven't figured out my problem with Guardian Warlocks, not good.