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Magnus was far from immune to the occasional ogling of handsome men when they decided to make a habit of running in front of his apartment. Mostly it was a passing fantasy, nothing more than an admiration for toned calves, or other body parts that he could catch glimpses of.
Except this one kept coming by. This one, with the dark black tattoos decorating his arms, chest, and back, kept coming by the building.
So, Magnus decided that it wouldn’t be a horrible idea to move his workout to a similar time in the morning and take advantage of the grassy area in front of the building to do it. If only so he could get a better view.
Starting his yoga routine in the morning was exhausting, but he always made sure to reward himself with a coffee from across the street afterward. Magnus knew exactly how good he looked in his workout clothes, and he wasn’t afraid to tip well so the baristas didn’t take his flirting too seriously. (He was rather infatuated with Mr. Running Man, but he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone else.)
The first day Magnus managed to be out, on time, and mid-routine before the man started to run by, he was in the middle of a pose, breathing out slowly, his eyes half-shut. He didn’t realize he’d missed his favorite view until he caught sight of a sculpted back in nothing more than a tank top and running shorts, heading past the grass. He sighed longingly and decided there was no harm in staring at the way his ass flexed in those shorts if there was no one else around to judge him for it.
He glanced at his watch and made note of the time. 6:18 am. Maybe Running Man was more consistent than he’d realized.
Magnus turned his attention back to his stretches and flowed into the next pose, exhaling slowly. Maybe if he got really good at the timing, he could make sure that he was in certain poses by the time Running Man came by. Couple that with the perfect outfit, well, he had no doubt that maybe he could at least garner a few additional moments of attention for himself.
The next morning was more of the same, though this time, Magnus saw Running Man coming by and took several extra seconds longer in a pose to let his eyes linger. Fuck. He was gorgeous, and he wanted to trace every single one of those tattoos with his mouth. How low did they go? The loose shorts today were a tease and Magnus let himself entertain the fantasy of pinning Running Man to a tree before dropping to his knees for the remainder of his work out.
No one had ever said he wasn’t good at multitasking, after all.
On the third morning, Magnus was confident that he was going to pull this off. He’d managed to be outside a few minutes early, which meant he would be in the exact pose he wanted to be, he was wearing skin-tight leggings and a shirt that barely counted as one. Of course, in that exact moment that he was about to shift into downward-facing dog, Running Man turned the corner. Magnus froze, his eyes locked on him.
He was shirtless.
He was shirtless, his chest was sculpted by the gods, and fuck that chest hair had no right to look that goddamn attractive, and those abs-
Magnus’ body made it known that he was not supposed to be lingering in this specific pose for as long as he was in a very abrupt second. A yelp escaped him and he fell down to his knees, his thigh cramping rather painfully as he curled up on the grass, hurriedly massaging the muscle in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, fuck,“ he muttered to himself.
He looked up, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Running Man before he turned the corner, only to find the man standing a few feet away, a concerned look on his face. Magnus blinked, his eyes tracing a bead of sweat as it trailed down Running Man’s abs before he yanked his eyes up to meet the amused expression of the other man. "Uh, I’m fine?” he croaked, his voice hoarse.
Running Man gave him a nod and a bright smile before turning to head down his path. Magnus waited until he was positive the bastard was out of earshot before flopping dramatically back on the grass. “Fuck,” he swore, groaning as he pressed his hands to his face. On one hand, though, it didn’t seem like Running Man had minded him staring a fucking hole in him.
Magnus let his hands flop to the ground and hummed. "Huh,“ he whispered. "Well, I think I can work with that. Fourth time’s the charm, right? Right.”
The next morning, it rained. Magnus groaned and huddled on his porch under an umbrella. He wasn’t going to risk getting sick, even with a chance to seduce Running Man, so here he was, standing, hoping for a glimpse because he knew that Running Man didn’t care about the weather.
Soon enough, like clockwork, Running Man turned the corner, jogging towards the grass patch. Magnus sighed and leaned against his banister, uncaring of how wet his sweatpants and shirt were getting. Except then Running Man was stopping in front of the grass, staring at it, and if Magnus wasn’t entirely mistaken, it looked like he was frowning. Then he was looking up, and Magnus froze as he realized Running Man had spotted him and was waving.
A whimper escaped him as he waved back, and he watched Running Man resume his jog down the sidewalk. His heart was pounding as he chewed on his lip. Had Running Man been looking for him, just as much? Magnus groaned and pushed his fingers through his hair before nodding. Okay, maybe that was the case. Which meant he had to be ready for tomorrow.
Day five of operation ‘Ogle the fuck and maybe seduce the Running Man’ dawned bright and sunny. Magnus grinned at the first hints of light, not a cloud in the sky. His stomach twisted in anticipation and he had to keep himself from running downstairs too early. Once the timing was right, he got himself settled on his mat and moving through the different yoga exercises. When the time got close, Magnus took off his shirt, the heat of the sun already starting to make him sweat.
Between the lack of shirt and the short gym shorts, he was wearing, well. Not much, by definition. Magnus was well-aware he wasn’t playing fair, but he wasn’t about to lose whatever game they were playing. Once he caught sight of a brief flash of familiar chest hair on display, Magnus shifted into downward-facing dog, spreading his legs just a little bit more than he usually needed to. He forced himself to breathe through the stretch, right at the same time that he heard a 'THUD’ followed by loud cursing.
Magnus moved out of the pose and stood up, turning around, only to see Running Man on the ground, a tree in front of him. He blinked and put two and two together, taking a few steps towards him before he started laughing. "Did you just…“
The glower he got in response only made him start laughing harder and Magnus was bent over nearly in half before he managed to offer a hand to Running Man, to help him stand up.
"That was your fault, I refuse to take any blame for it.”
Magnus raised his eyebrows and let his eyes drift down the pale skin and dark tattoos on that bare chest before meeting the eyes of Running Man again. "Uh-huh. Just like you running shirtless was entirely unplanned, right?“
Running Man gave an innocent smile. "You didn’t pull anything, did you?”
Magnus narrowed his eyes. "Just like you didn’t break anything, I’m sure?“
Running Man snorted. "Nothing other than my pride.” He held out his hand and offered a smile. "Alexander, uh, Alec, Lightwood.“
Magnus took his hand and shook it, doing his best not to shiver and dream of those long fingers and exactly what they could be used for. "Magnus Bane, and it’s a pleasure, Alexander.” He grinned and winked at Alec. "I’m a big fan of the early morning scenery, as one might say, and I daresay you are as well?“
Alec rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Is that what you’re calling it?”
Magnus simply raised his eyebrows. "I’m not the one who just ran into a tree because they were…distracted, darling.“
Alec sputtered. "You’re, you’re barely wearing anything! I couldn’t, I mean, fuck, you were-”
“Attempting to tease you and pay you back for running around with that tantalizing chest of yours on display?” Magnus asked, keeping his voice innocent. "Maybe, yes.“
Alec’s eyes narrowed and he raised a challenging eyebrow. "Oh really? And what were you planning to do if I fell for said teasing and payback?”
“I’d tell you that you could see me wearing nothing and that my shower is more than big enough for the both of us,” Magnus teased, winking at Alec. He turned and headed towards where he’d left his yoga mat, bending over to put his ass on display for Alec again before he stood up, the mat under his arm. Alec was still staring, a glazed look in his eyes and Magnus grinned, pleased. "If you want, of course.“
"Fuck,” Alec whispered, walking towards Magnus. "Uh, I’m not small? You sure your shower can fit me?“
Magnus let his eyes trail down Alexander’s body slowly, deliberately, before he licked his lips and watched those eyes darken. "Believe me, I have noticed. And I look forward to seeing just how well you fit into my shower.”
Alec stopped in front of Magnus and stared down at him, his eyes tracing that plump lower lip before he reached up and pressed his thumb to it. "Might have to borrow a change of clothes,“ he whispered. "I’m sure you wouldn’t mind, would you? Me parading around in your clothes?”
Magnus gave a shaky inhale, groaning against the thumb pressing into his lip. "Well, someone’s giving as good as they get.“
"We’ll see, won’t we?” Alec teased, grinning. "Wanna lead the way to your apartment?“
Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand and started to tug him inside. "Don’t worry, I have to make sure you finish your work out, after all.”
Alec laughed in delight. "I look forward to it!“