Alec was in the middle of a high-stakes poker game when his phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Jace warned him. "Answer it and you forfeit."

Alec hesitated.

"I fold," he said, putting his cards down.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, not bothering to look at the face on the screen.

"Hello?"

"I need your help," a distressed little boy said, on the other end.

"Um, what?" Alec pulled the phone away and it lit up with Magnus smiling cheekily while sitting on the top of the Eiffel tower. The very top. "How did you get Magnus' phone?"

"No, Alec, it's me and I need your help," the little boy insisted.

Jace was looking at Alec suspiciously. Alec shrugged.

"Look, put the phone back where you found it," Alec said. "And don't call me again."

"I need help!" the little boy cried.

Jace reached across the table, snatching the phone out of Alec's hand.

"I'm sorry but Alec is in the middle of a poker game for his life. He'll have to call you back," Jace said. He hung up and dropped the phone to the floor, twenty feet below them. "Back to the game, Lightwood."

"I folded," Alec said, gesturing to the table that was balanced on the beam. His phone was probably shattered after it's fall.

"Fine," Jace said, showing his cards. Alec would have won if he hadn't folded. "Who was that anyways?"

Alec started dealing a new hand.

"Some little kid," Alec said. "I have no idea."

"A little kid called you?"

"From Magnus' phone," Alec added.

"Heh, weird," Jace said, snatching up the cards. "Alright I'll bet 40."

Alec rolled his eyes and his focus slipped. He almost slipped.

Jace held his "tree" pose with ease. This beam was the widest in the training room but it wasn't enough to stop you if you fell.

Balance poker consisted of holding a position that tested your balance while playing poker.

The one who lasted the longest kept the entire pot.

"Careful there," Jace said.

Alec glared at him.

His phone, somehow still intact down below, started ringing again.

Alec looked down.

"Does this mean I win?" Jace asked.

"I should figure out why a little boy is calling me," Alec said.

"Whatever, man," Jace said. "But—-" He looked down at that table. There was an awful lot of quarters, "—-it's up to you."

Alec looked back at his cards.

"100," Alec said.

"You're bluffing," Jace said.

"Test me," Alec dared.

"Fine," Jace said. Sliding his quarters into the center. Alec did the same.

They laid out their cards.

Alec had won, his three kings beating Jace's three queens.

Jace was out of money.

"Jump," Alec ordered with a smirk on his face. Jace wasn't a sore loser; he was an extravagant one.

He managed to get a few flips in before landing on the ground.

Alec followed, with less grandeur.

The first thing he did was answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Alec! I can't reach anything! Come home immediately," the little boy demanded.

"Alright," Alec said. "I'll be there soon."

.........

It took Alec longer than expected to get back. When he did, he could hear slamming cabinets in the kitchen which was unusual, considering they really didn't keep much in the cabinets since neither Magnus or Alec could cook.

"Magnus?"

The slamming stopped as Alec entered the kitchen, cautiously.

With his back to Alec, a little boy in white tunic and navy blue breeches stood on the countertop, barefoot.

When he turned around, the first thing Alec noticed were the familiar amber eyes contrasting the blue-to-the-point-of-black hair.

"Alec? What happened to the damn mac & cheese?"

Alec couldn't respond. He was in shock. Then he was laughing.

"By the Angel, Magnus, what did you do?" Alec asked, crossing the kitchen.

7 year old Magnus frowned, his tiny eyebrows crinkling together.

"A spell went wrong. I mispronounced natura for natus," Magnus said. "I should have used something other than Latin. I hate Latin."

Alec almost expected him to stamp his foot right there.

"Well, how do you get back to normal?" Alec asked.

"It'll wear off," Magnus said, turning back to the cabinet. "Do we have any mac & cheese?"

"No," Alec said. "Do you want mac & cheese?"

"Of course, I want mac & cheese," Magnus snapped. His voice had to be at least three octaves higher. 

It reminded Alec of the time they had played with helium after a very long night of partying.

"Alright, well we need to go to the grocery store then," Alec said. "Should I find you tiny tennis shoes?"

"Shut up," Magnus said, sitting down on the counter so he could slid off.

"Is that what you wore when you were 7?" Alec asked as tiny Magnus passed.

When Magnus looked up, his eyes were a fiery red. 

"I killed a man when I was 7," Magnus said.

"No, you didn't," Alec said.

"Fine," Magnus said, heading for the door. "Maybe I didn't. But I was still dangerous."

"You're not dangerous," Alec said, following him. He snatched up his keys and wallet as they headed out the door.

Magnus was still barefoot.

........

"So should I put you in the cart or—?"

Magnus glared at Alec for the thirtieth time since Alec had discovered him.

They were standing in the closest grocery store to the apartment.

"Just get a basket and be done with it," Magnus said.

"You're kind chubby—"

"It's baby fat," Magnus snapped. "I was a little pudgy, okay?"

"It's adorable," Alec pointed out.

People stared at them as they passed.

"Do you want to hold my hand?" Alec asked. That wasn't a sarcastic offer.

Magnus reached up and wrapped his tiny fist around three of Alec's fingers.

Alec smiled as they searched for the pasta aisle.

"So, how long does it last?" Alec asked as he glanced down aisle after aisle.

"24 hours," Magnus said. "Why didn't you pick up when I called?"

"Okay, you should have explained a little bit more—"

"I couldn't reach anything!" Magnus said. It was more like a shout than anything else.

"Shh," Alec said. They didn't need to draw more attention.

"What kind of poker were you playing?"

"Balance Poker," Alec said. Magnus didn't ask for further explanation; mainly because they had just stumbled upon the boxes of mac & cheese.

Alec reached and grabbed for the closest box when Magnus cried out.

"Not that one! The other one one!"

Alec looked down at Magnus.

"There's like twenty other options, Magnus; which one?"

"Spongebob mac and cheese."

"You don't even like Spongebob," Alec said. Magnus glared at him.

His eyes looked much more pure than usual. There was an innocence in his big eyes.

"How would you know?"

"Because I know you," Alec said. He put the original box of mac and cheese in basket.

Magnus reached in and grabbed the box out with his tiny hands, reading the instructions.

"I can't read," Magnus said, starting to panic. "Al— I can't read!"

"Calm down," Alec said. He knelt down in front of Magnus, taking the box from his hands. "What do you want to know?"

"The other ingredients," Magnus said.

"Milk and butter," Alec said. "We should probably get that too."

Alec smiled and brushed Magnus' long hair out of his face.

"Little you was really cute," Alec said.

Magnus smiled a little.

In half a second, Alec had pulled out his phone and captured the smile with a picture.

"Delete that," Magnus said with a frown.

"Absolutely not," Alec said. He grabbed Magnus' hand and they started walking towards the dairy area.

"Can we get Oreos, too?" Magnus asked as they passed them.

"Yeah, sure," Alec said. Magnus grabbed the family-sized package off the shelf, dropping it into the basket.

"Ooh! And Goldfish," Magnus said. This time he wasn't asking for permission. By the time they had milk and butter, the basket was full.

As they stood in line, Magnus snuck candy into the basket when Alec wasn't looking.

..........

Alec managed to successfully make mac & cheese while Magnus sat on the counter, swinging his feet back and forth against the cabinets, as he ate M&Ms.

It was annoying and obnoxious. It took everything Alec had not to snap at him.

They ate dinner on the couch as Spongebob flipped burgers on the screen.

Alec was beginning to feel the strain he put on himself by playing Balance Poker. He was dozing off halfway through the second episode.

Magnus was on his second bowl of mac & cheese and halfway through a row of Oreos. Not to mention the M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate milk.

Alec woke up to the screams of Chairman Meow and "chocolate!"

He jumped to his feet instinctively.

Magnus was running in circles around the apartment with the Chairman in his arms.

"Magnus!" Alec snapped.

"Chocolate!" Magnus responded. He tossed the Chairman up into the air. The cat promptly let out a terrified scream before landing on the couch Alec had been asleep on.

"Magnus, stop," Alec ordered. It had always worked with Max. But how did you tell your centuries-old boyfriend who had the mindset of a seven year old, to act his age?

So he kept going and Alec resorted to chasing him.

It actually took awhile since it turned into a game for Magnus, one that he was determined to succeed at.

But Alec had the endurance sugar couldn't give Magnus.

Eventually, he started to slow and that's when Alec got him, swooping little, giggling Magnus up into his arms.

"Bed," Alec said. Magnus squirmed and struggled but he didn't stop laughing.

"I'm not tired."

"I have a new-found sympathy for your mother," Alec said as he carried Magnus to his room.

"I never had chocolate as a kid," Magnus said.

"It's a good thing, too," Alec said, dropping Magnus onto his bed. "You will not get out of this bed, do you understand?"

"Aren't you staying?" Magnus asked.

"No," Alec said. "I'm going to my room—"

"But—"

"No. I'm sorry; I can't—" Alec shook his head. "Go to sleep, Magnus. And I swear by the Angel that if you don't go to sleep—"

"What'll you do?" Magnus asked, smiling. The smirk on his face was so characteristically him—

"I'll see you in the morning," Alec said, backing out of the room. Magnus sat up, watching Alec go.

Even though Alec knew it was just a guilt-trip to make him stay, he still felt kind of bad leaving little Magnus alone in the dark.

.......

When Magnus woke up the next morning, he felt big.

He remembered everything and was reminded by a headache that he had a sugar hangover.

When he got around to opening his eyes, Alec was sitting beside him.

"Watching me sleep now, Lightwood?" Magnus said, with a sleepy smirk.

"I was watching you morph from an awkward teenager into your current stunning self," Alec said.

"So I'm finally back to normal?" Magnus asked.

"Sorta," Alec said.

"What does that mean?" Magnus asked.

"Your eyes," Alec said.

"What about them?"

"They're brighter than usual," Alec said.

It was an odd remark to make but it was true.

The real Magnus' eyes were more dull and less prominent, for someone with amber eyes.

"Is it a problem?" Magnus asked.

"No," Alec said, quietly.

Magnus reached for Alec's hand, kissing the top of it.

"I didn't know you were into poker," Magnus said, playing with Alec's hand.

"I'm not in particular," Alec said.

"I know a fun version of poker," Magnus said.

Somehow his eyes got even brighter with the idea.

"You're going to suggest—"

"—strip poker," Magnus finished.

"You'd rig the game," Alec said.

Magnus mocked offense.

"Why I never—"

"Come on. You'd bet everything on a bad hand," Alec said. "You know you would."

"Why would anyone do something as awful as that?" Magnus asked. "I mean, me? Rigging a game of strip poker? What would make you think I would do something like that?"

"Because you're impatient," Alec said.

"Fine," Magnus said. "We can skip the cards altogether."

Shout out to @bubblydemon134 for supplying the idea for this fic! Thank you!