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As the leader of an organised crime organisation, Alec worked odd hours. It was inevitable, really, since the bad guys – or the good ones, depending on who you asked – were rarely accommodating.
He didn’t really care, since it wasn’t like he had anything else to do with his days, but it meant he was at his apartment at extremely strange times. He didn’t leave in the morning and come back in the evening like everyone else. If anything, it was the other way around. And then, there were the times when he disappeared for a few days before coming back as though everything was completely normal.
His neighbours had – thankfully – learned not to question him or his busy and incomprehensible schedule. They let him have his privacy, and he let them have theirs. The only time he ever communicated with any of them was when he needed someone to take care of his cat. He was many things, but a bad pet owner wasn’t bad of them.
He had just been on one of his business trips when he realised something had changed whilst he was away. It took him a while to notice, since he was too busy taking care of Church to look out of his window at first, but he eventually realised the neighbour in the apartment building across from his had changed.
Instead of being greeted by the lazy woman who spent more time wandering around naked than anything else, the sight across from him was a lot more pleasant.
The first thing he noticed was how good of a dancer his new neighbour was. The man was dancing around carelessly, clearly singing along to something as he moved around elegantly. His steps were precise in a way Alec could appreciate. Steadiness and skill were two of his biggest turn-ons, especially on such a beautiful face and gorgeous body.
Those were the second things he noticed. The man was a vision, all golden skin and colourful hair and clothes that stuck to his body as he weaved around his living room. Alec had never been one to spy on his neighbours, but he might just have to make an exception for that one.
His silent observation went on for weeks. Every time he came home, the man was up. It was strange, but Alec certainly wasn’t about to complain. It wasn’t like his neighbour was trying to hide his sinful moves, if the open curtains were anything to go by. And it wasn’t like Alec was watching him have sex. He just knew how to enjoy a good show, and his neighbour was quite the entertainer.
Finally, after over a month of watching the man without saying anything – or even looking him up, which was unusual for Alec – an opportunity came up. Alec would have to disappear for two or three days on a mission with his best people, and he couldn’t leave Church alone. Usually, he stuck to the neighbours in the apartments right next to his, but he supposed he could spice things up for the sake of his curiosity.
He was out of his apartment, dressed in one of his finer suits, before he could talk himself out of it. Church was in his arms, knowing exactly what was going on, and Alec was confident that he could talk his handsome neighbour into cat-sitting. He had seen a white blur of fur dash around the other man’s apartment every once in a while, which meant he would be more open to it than his asshole neighbour who didn’t care about anything other than himself.
The only reason Alec ever left Church with him was to annoy him. But getting on his neighbour’s nerves was a lot lower than getting a date with his other neighbour on Alec’s list of things to do. Maybe he’d invite his sister over to his apartment sometime soon and let her deal with Kyle. She would certainly adore getting her wicked way with someone Alec disliked.
It was one of her favourite pastimes.
By the time he reached his handsome dancer’s apartment complex, there was a wide smile on Alec’s face. There was nothing he liked better than a plan to seduce one of his neighbours and aggravate another.
Finding the correct bell to ring was child’s play. Alec had made sure he knew the numbers to every apartment in the area when he had moved in, just in case one of his work friends decided to show up or move in unannounced. Thankfully, he had never heard of a Magnus Bane before.
He would have hated to have to get rid of such a pretty man because of entanglements with a crime organisation. Although he was sure the dancer would have made a formidable opponent. After all, no one moved like that without knowing the basics of fighting, and Alec had a feeling his neighbour knew a lot more than just the basics.
“Hello?” The voice coming from the intercom was metallic and slightly robotic, but Alec already felt a shiver trail down his spine. Something about Magnus Bane’s voice screamed of sin.
“Hello, Mister Bane,” he greeted as politely as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was scared the man away by appearing too intimidating. His sister said it was an issue he had to work on and god, he was trying. “I’m sorry to interrupt your day like this, especially since we’ve never met, but… This is going to sound strange but I’m your neighbour and I noticed you have a cat, just like me. I have a business trip coming up and I was wondering if you might agree to cat-sit for me.”
The more he spoke, the more Alec wanted to slam his own head onto the wall. He sounded like a foolish stalker, which was the last thing he had wanted. Damn it, he should have talked to the man normally before trying to get a favour out of him. Alec knew how much people hated being used, and that was exactly what he was doing right there.
Well, it wasn’t his intention, but it would definitely come off as demanding. There was no way the man would do anything other than snap at him to leave, let alone-
“Oh, okay,” the neighbour said slowly, obviously as confused about Alec’s offer as Alec himself was. “Well, come on up, then. Am I right to assume you’re the handsome neighbour whose living room window gives onto my own?”
Alec choked on air, eyes widening as he took in his neighbour’s words. Seemed like he wasn’t the only one to observe people through his window. It made him feel both better about himself and worried about what the dancer might have seen. He just hoped he had never taken his gun out in front of the man.
Before he could overthink things, the door buzzed open and Alec stepped into the building, skipping the elevator and going straight for the stairs, needing a moment to gather his thoughts. He reached the fifth floor in what felt like less than a minute, but he thought he had done a good job at collecting himself.
And then he saw his beautiful dancer in the flesh, just a few steps away from him.
From afar, the man had been gorgeous, but from up close? He was downright divine. Alec gulped, feeling a flush rise to his cheeks as he took in Magnus Bane’s figure. He was suddenly starting to regret coming here for something as mundane as cat-sitting. Because for all that he was a crime lord with plenty of minions at his beck and call, Alec was also terrible at dealing with handsome men.
Especially handsome men who smiled at him as brightly as his dancer did.
“Well, well,” his neighbour grinned. “You really do have a cat. I was wondering if it was just an excuse for you to come see me, but I suppose I can’t refuse your offer if you truly have a pet. Did your usual cat-sitter bail on you?”
“No, I’d just much rather leave my cat in your capable hands than his grimy ones,” Alec shrugged. “I mean, not that I- It’s not like I know if you’re really capable, but you, you know, seem to really like your cat. Not that I’ve been watching you, since that would be very, um-”
“Creepy?” His neighbour suggested, laughing lightly at Alec’s stammering. “Don’t worry, I’ve been doing the same thing in return. It’s hard to keep my eyes off the attractive man who happens to live next to me. Although, I have to admit your hours and schedule are impossible to keep track of.”
“You tried?” Alec raised his eyebrows, chuckling at his neighbour’s disconcerted pout. “I don’t have a schedule. I run a business, so my hours are never really over. I come when I can, which is why you probably haven’t noticed a pattern.”
“That explains a lot of things,” the dancer smiled, his eyes crinkling adorably. Alec felt his mouth dry up at the sight. The man was just so effortlessly stunning, it wasn’t fair. “But talking about business, isn’t that why you were dropping your little friend here? This might not have been the first meeting I imagined, but I’m not going to complain about another cat. What’s his name?”
“Church,” Alec answered, scratching the grey fur under his fingers fondly. “He’s a lot to handle, but I love him anyways. My sister thinks he’s the devil, but I’ve dealt with much worse than a single, grumpy cat. Don’t worry, he has good taste. I’m sure he’ll adore you.”
“Why thank you…” As the man trailed off, Alec realised he hadn’t even introduced himself. Instead of facepalming as he so desperately wanted to, he forced a sheepish smile onto his face and extended a hand out to shake his neighbour’s – Magnus’.
“Alec,” he breathed out, having to physically force himself to let go of the dancer’s hand. “Alexander Lightwood.”
“Well, Alexander,” Magnus purred, taking Church from his arms and rubbing his cheek against the cat’s head affectionately. Church didn’t even flinch. “It was a pleasure meeting you, really. A little unconventional and quite surprising, but definitely a pleasure. Perhaps our next encounter could be slightly more formal. A date, maybe?”
Alec nodded, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink even as he looked up from underneath his eyelashes and smiled at Magnus softly.
“That sounds wonderful,” he murmured. A quick glance at his watch showed that he was running late for work. Cursing underneath his breath, he sent an apologetic look Magnus’ way. “I really do have to get to work. Thank you again for doing me such a huge favour even though we don’t know each other. Church will be much happier here than he ever was with Kyle.”
“You’re very welcome,” Magnus beamed, handing him a business card before shooing him away. “Now go on, I don’t want to be the one who makes you late. Call me when you want to pick Church back up, and I’ll make sure we have a reservation to a nice restaurant. Does that work for you?”
“Yes, yes, that’s more than okay!” Alec grinned, drinking in the sight of his handsome neighbour holding his fluffy cat one last time before turning away and rushing down the stairs.
Lydia was going to tease him about this forever, especially when she found out that he had gotten distracted by a pretty boy, of all things.
Not that he regretted it. After all, he had just scored a date with the most beautiful human being he had ever met. If that didn’t count as a win, then he didn’t know what did.