Chapter Text
Alec was biting on his lip as he was connecting the vires, hoping that his plan was going to work. When he was on his way from work, he ran into something. Not something, but more like someone. When Alec was coming back from work he liked taking the shortcut from it, which meant that he had to walk through a lot of hidden and small alleys, which he didn’t really mind. It meant that he was home sooner than later and that was always a plus in his book. Especially that day because he had a very long and not very interesting day. Alec lived alone, enjoying his solitude after a long day at work, surrounded by stupid people. Alec wasn’t what you’d call a people person, he liked being alone and the only people that he could really stand were his close friends and his family. That was about it, otherwise he was pretty closed off kind of guy, working in an office, which was okay. It wasn’t too difficult, he had a decent boss and the salary was good, so he didn’t really have much to complain about.
Many people felt sorry for him, though. Both of older siblings, Isabelle and Jace, were living with their significant others. Max, who was still young, was living with Maryse and Robert, who were always trying to find someone for their son - so that he wouldn’t be alone and no matter how many times Alec tried telling them that he was fine on his own, they wouldn’t give up. But Alec didn’t mind it too much because he knew that it was coming from a good place. So, he would whine and roll his eyes, but deep down he was happy that his parents cared so much for him, trying to find him someone that would make him happy.
Alec had a few boyfriends so far, but it never really worked out. All of them would claim that Alec was too cold; it lasted for a few months, but then the magic fizzled out and Alec was faced with the harsh reality that he would probably never find anyone, which was okay. Alec was happy on his own, like he was, sailing on the forever alone boat, which was fine. At least he made himself believe that. Even if he didn’t have anyone, he wasn’t lonely though. As a hobby, in his free time, he liked repairing robots, who usually kept him company. Technology was fun and Alec liked experimenting things.
Artificial intelligence was nothing out of the ordinary at that day and age. They came a long way and even though robots were there at first to help the humans out, that has also changed. Not all artificial intelligence was well accepted though - there were still too many idiots in the society that didn’t like that robots walked among them. They looked completely human, could feel the emotions, though many would argue that they managed to learn how the emotions felt, but that they weren’t exactly real emotions. That they were just codes uploaded onto their drives and that it was so simple, but Alec came to learn that it wasn’t as simple as people liked to think.
Sure, to some extent it was true, but robots were so much more than that, especially androids. Other types of robots didn’t have a mind of their own, but androids were something else. They looked just like humans, one wouldn’t be able to tell if they were human or made out of metal. It was really difficult to tell them apart and Alec was always fascinated by them from a young age. From a young age he would help Robert in his repair shop - that was where he also got the hobby of repairing and tinkering. He wasn’t an actual, licenced mechanic, it was just for fun. And something to get by, to pass the time. Alec sighed and then glanced over to the side.
When he was coming back home he ran into an android that was just tossed aside on one of those narrow and dark alleys. It made Alec sick down to his stomach as that wasn’t the first time that he’d seen something like that happen. He couldn’t muster to believe that there were still people like that; it’s been a century now that androids were members of society; they had the same rights as the other humans, but there were still idiotic people like that, who thought that they were lesse r than them just because they weren’t human. It made him so mad, biting into his lip and he huffed under his breath.
The android that he found was a much older model; it was one of the first models that were ever produced, but on the outside he had a face of a young man. He looked quite severely damaged, Alec could tell that he would have to do quite some tinkering to get him to start up again, chewing on his lip and he shook his head. Just who could have done something like that to him? The android was attacked, it wasn’t because it was an older model. Androids could easily run for decades - they could get older, just like humans. They were human. They could eat, they could breathe, they could think, they could love, they could-
Alec firmed fists with his hands because he was beyond angry. Once he would know who did this to this young man, he was going to report them to the authorities because he couldn’t not say anything. Even though the android was severely damaged on the outside, his hard drive and software were completely intact - that goodness. Alec hummed, connecting the other two wires and rubbed the back of his neck.
He’d been at it for a few hours now and he was getting somewhere, smiling along as he glanced over to the other. The young man looked around the same age as him and Alec’s smile widened. He was handsome, Alec trying to remind himself that he shouldn’t be really drooling - not until he would get him to work again and chewed on his lip. His cheeks heated up and he cleared his throat. Still, he looked like an angel, Alec giggling and he again had to force himself to continue working on him.
It was his legs that had the most damage on them, but he was slowly making progress. Alec could have activated his software already, but he didn’t want to shock the poor guy. It could be traumatic if he saw the state that he was in, so Alec was being sensible about it, biting his lip again as he was focusing on the work and he looked over at the side where he saw Church. Church was his pet, he was his cat and was also a robot. Alec found him dumped in the bin and took him home immediately. Church was with him ever since and Alec smiled when he saw Church slowly coming over to him and he cocked his head to the side.
“You can come closer,” said Alec and Church let out an annoyed meow - ah, yes, he was quite grumpy for a cat. Well, all cats were grumpy, but Church was even grumpier and Alec was laughing along because Church didn’t seem to like the new company that they had in their apartment. Apart from being grumpy, Church was also very jealous. Alec was laughing along because Church came closer to android and was carefully studying it.
“No need to be jealous, Church,” said Alec and winked. “I’m just doing my job. I have to repair him like I repaired you, remember?” asked Alec and Church meowed and then slowly came even closer to the other, gently touching his palm with his paw and he looked over to Alec. “Now, who allowed you to be so adorable?” asked Alec and Church meowed in confusion. “Come over here and help me,” said Alec, signing to his lap and Church happily ran over to his side and he happily meowed when he was in Alec’s lap.
Church was amazing and the perfect and only companion that Alec ever needed in his life. Church listened to his problems, he could vent when he was telling his cat about his problems and he was always there when Alec was in the room that he kept his tinkering tools. Church was always helping him along - helping by sitting in his lap and curiously watching Alec work. Honestly, it was amazing and Alec was happily humming along, Church slowly laying down and turning onto his back, demanding tummy rubs. Alec started laughing and he arched his brow.
“Aw, you see I’m working, right?” asked Alec, but Church didn’t care and because Alec wouldn’t comply immediately he started howling loudly. Alec was laughing, but in the end he did as he was told, Church happily purring in his lap and enjoying his tummy rub, Alec’s laughter getting louder. “Oh, you silly kitty,” said Alec and clicked with his tongue. “You have me completely wrapped around your adorable little paw, don’t you?” asked Alec and Church was only staring up at him. Alec grinned back and when he wanted to kiss his little head, that was a cue for Church to jump away.
Church was very selective when it came to affection that he liked and didn’t like. He enjoyed tummy rubs, but he hated kisses and Alec pouted and shook his head. “Poor me, I just wanted to kiss you,” said Alec, Church carefully looking at him over from the door and Alec shook his head. “Oh, you’re such a dork, Church,” said Alec and then looked towards the android in front of him and his smile faltered a little bit, removing some of the hair that was falling over his forehead and he puffed his hair.
“What’s your story, I wonder,” said Alec and bit his lip. “Well, don’t you worry. You’ll be back on your legs in no time. I still need a few spare parts, but by the end of the week, you’ll be working and I’ll make sure that whoever did this to you will pay,” said Alec, running his fingers through his hair and he continued with the repairs.
“Just a bit more,” said Alec, who was again talking to himself. It was three days later and his repairs were slowly coming on an end. He managed to get all of the needed spare parts, some of them he got from his father’s workshop, who was always happy to help him out. Alec was happy with how fast he was making the progress and he was beginning to grow quite impatient to finally start up the other one; he was very interested to get to know the other, again looking over to his face and his face heated up, puffing his cheeks. Alec’s smile widened and he finally placed all of the tools down.
“Finally, I managed to repair you,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms together. “Now let’s see,” said Alec, slowly making sure that the androids' legs were properly working, slowly moving them up and down and there was nothing wrong with them - yet. They moved smoothly, which was good and he smiled. Ah, he felt a sense of pride and happiness; he felt accomplished. Church wasn’t with him at the time being, he could hear him running around the living room and he smiled.
“Let’s start you up,” said Alec softly, reaching back behind the android’s neck and his cheeks heated up again when he leaned closer. Usually he didn’t really have difficulties with this part, but unlike the other androids, this one was different. He was crazily good looking and Alec had to force himself to look around and he gently pressed the button that was on the other’s neck, closing the opening slit and then leaned quickly back because he didn’t want the other to catch him being so close to his face.
Still, it needed a bit for the android to start up. The first thing that lit up were the other’s eyes, shining in a golden colour and Alec’s eyes widened. Oh, his eyes were gorgeous. Android opened his eyes, but Alec could tell that he was still starting up. Hence it was an older model, he needed a bit, but after a few minutes, his eyes stopped shining. His eyes were now dark, unfocused and Alec felt his heart jumping up to his chest. He felt his palms getting sweaty and he bit into his lower lip. Okay, this was it - he worked fine, right? Ah, this was always such an exciting moment; he couldn’t wait to get to know him.
It wasn’t really a surprise that it took awhile for the other to start up properly. Not only that he was an older model, but he was also severely injured before. Alec was patiently waiting as the android was slowly adjusting to his surroundings. The other was looking around the place, visibly confused because he had no idea where he was nor how he got there. He slowly extended out his hands, studying them. Then he glanced down over to his legs, slowly moving his toes. Alec was also on the edge, hoping that he repaired him properly and it looked like everything was working just fine. Huffing in relief, Alec chewed on his lip and nodded. Okay he was going to have to explain things now to him. And ask him a couple of things as well, hoping that the other was going to comply.
Magnus, the android, was slowly coming back to his usual self, still a little bit loopy, but he felt fine and he glanced towards the other that was sitting on the other side of the room now and he then slowly straightened himself up. He then looked around the room again and his eyes widened a little bit - it looked like a mechanic shop. He flinched and he looked back towards the other. Who was he? Did he get him to use his spare parts? The last thing that Magnus was aware of was being thrown out and then-
“W-where am I?” stammered Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. His voice was shaky, but soft and Alec liked how it sounded. It was pleasant to his ears and he clasped his hands together, opening his mouth to explain a few things to the other.
“You are over at my place,” said Alec, but knew that he didn’t explain much with that. He exhaled softly and then rubbed the back of his neck. “I found you a few days on the street, you were in very bad shape, so I brought you back to my place,” said Alec and the other was still quite freaked out, which was understandable. “And fixed you up. I hope you feel okay, I can take another look at you just to be sure,” said Alec softly and Magnus looked up and down the other. Then he looked towards his legs, extending out his hands as well. Everything seemed fine.
“I feel okay,” stammered Magnus and then glanced towards the other. He was a human, right? Magnus could tell. “You’re a human, right?” he asked painfully slowly and Alec tensed up a little bit. The tone of his voice was tense - the one who did this to him was definitely human and Alec nodded. Magnus chewed on his lip and silence fell between them.
“My name is Alec Lightwood,” said Alec softly and Magnus looked up at him.
“And this is your… workshop?” asked Magnus, very much confused.
“Well, not exactly,” said Alec, leaning back and he felt his cheeks heating up because Magnus was staring at him way too much. “Repairing and tinkering is more of a hobby,” confessed Alec and then puffed his cheeks. Magnus was still very much confused - so this complete stranger found him, brought him in and… repaired him? Magnus flinched because he knew that he would probably have to pay the guy, looking down and he shuddered. He knew that the damage down to his system was pretty bad and it had to be pricy, but he didn’t have the money that would-
“How much do I owe you?” muttered Magnus and Alec cocked his head to the side. “I don’t really have much, but-”
“Oh, please don’t worry about the money,” said Alec quickly, waving it off. “It’s not like that, it’s… I told you, it’s a hobby, you don’t have to pay me anything at all,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes grew. This human was full of surprises, wasn’t he? “I mean it, you don’t have to pay me for it. I’m happy that you’re up and about, that’s all the payment that I really need,” said Alec and Magnus cocked his head to the side.
“Are you sure you’re human?” escaped past Magnus’ lips and Alec snorted.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I was at least the last time I checked,” joked Alec and Magnus blinked a few times.
“You’re an angel,” muttered Magnus and Alec started laughing loudly.
“Oh, trust me, I can guarantee you that I am not an angel,” said Alec and shook his head. Another reason for bringing Magnus back home like this and not charging him any money was because he found him hot. Usually he would charge people money, of course, much cheaper than a licenced mechanic, but it was still quite some sum. But for Magnus it was free of charge. His cheeks heated up a little bit and Magnus finally cracked a smile and it was the brightest smile that Alec had ever seen.
If anyone was an angel it was Magnus himself!
“You’re funny,” said Magnus and slowly stood up. Alec was also quick on his legs and he was right by Magnus’ side, who was slowly taking steps forward, his legs feeling still a bit unstable, but it was due to the new parts that he needed to get used to. Magnus looked at Alec, who was carefully studying his movement - the guy was genuinely worried about him, huh? “I can tell you one thing,” said Magnus and Alec looked towards him. “Even though you're not licenced you’ve done a much better job than the most of the others licenced workshops,” said Magnsu and Alec’s face heated up.
“W-well, I’m not sure about that, I mean-”
“Especially given that I’m old as fuck,” joked Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head.
“It’s not true,” said Alec quickly and Magnus looked over at him. “You’re young,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. Ah, Alec was trying to be kind, huh?
“I’m one of the very last left original models made a century ago, angel, I think it’s safe to say that I’m-”
“Amazing,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow and Alec quickly glanced down and cleared his throat. Magnus wanted to laugh, but he could tell that Alec was serious, so he didn’t and he glanced down. “I’m sorry if I sound like a fanboy, but it’s,” said Alec and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re beautiful,” said Alec and as soon as he realised what left his mouth he wanted to stuff it back inside. He was so lame!
“I am?”
“I-I-I didn’t mean it in a weird way,” said Alec and then started walking around the room. “I mean the way you’re programmed… no that sounds weird,” whined Alec and then face-palmed himself. “I mean your face is pretty as well… I don’t know. I will stop talking. Okay, yes thank you,” said Alec and then finally managed to keep his mouth from running.
Magnus was listening to all of that rambling and in the end he just giggled. The human was adorable and that said a lot - Magnus usually wasn’t a fan of them. He had a lot of personal reasons to not like them, but this one was different. He patched him up for free, he seemed to really genuinely care for him, he wasn’t a dick like the others - at least from what he knew about him now - and he was cute. Dark, handsome, tall - perfect. Not to mention that he was a giant dork. Usually Magnus was put off by stammering, but not by this one. He laughed softly and shook his head.
“You’re adorable,” commented Magnus and Alec’s cheeks reddened even more.
“Pft, who, me? Not at all, not at all,” laughed Alec nervously and Magnus gave him a little smile. He was again walking around Alec’s room, turning over to him and Alec happily clasped his hands together; he was happy to see that the other was walking happily around. “By the way,” he said and Magnus turned to him. “What’s your name?” asked Alec curiously.
“Oh, how rude of me,” said Magnus. “Magnus, Magnus Bane,” said Magnus happily and Alec smiled, nodding. He stepped closer to the other and offered him his hand. A handshake? Right, Alec saw him as an equal! It was… a nice feeling. He knew that most humans were like Alec, anyway. Magnus happily took Alec’s hand and shook it.
“Nice to meet you,” said Alec with a wink and Magnus beamed at him.
“Indeed,” said Magnus and chuckled. “I do wanna pay you back somehow, I can’t… I mean,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. “Is there another way that I can pay you back?” asked Magnus and Alec hummed, biting his lip and eventually he thought about it. He really didn’t want Magnus to feel like he was in debt about it, but when he thought about it again he knew that he would probably feel the same. ”Maybe I can help you out with your hobby? I know a thing or two about repairing stuff,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.
“Seriously? Oh, yes please!” said Alec. Oh, Magnus probably knew so much more than him - Alec was always eager to learn. “You could be my tutor - or something like that,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened. He chuckled and looked away. Ah a tutor and a pupil. Magnus was hoping something more towards… well, having Alec as his pupil was going to have to do for now. Smiling, Magnus nodded.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, my little grasshopper,” said Magnus and Alec laughed loudly.
Alec wanted to say something, but then there was loud howling being heard from the door and Alec laughed. Magnus’ eyes widened - it was a cat? Oh, he loved cats! Excited, he clasped his hands together. “Sorry, that’s Church, he’s a needy kitty,” said Alec and Magnus was in awe.
“I love cats,” said Magnus. “Can I meet him?”
“Of course. Just a bit of heads up - he is very grumpy,” said Alec and walked over to the door, opening it for Church to step inside and the first thing that he did was walk over to Magnus and was carefully studying him. Magnus decided to slowly squat down and let the cat come to him but not even a minute later the cat was sitting in his lap and was happily purring. Alec was in awe. “How did you do that?” asked Alec and Magnus winked.
“Magic,” said Magnus and Alec hummed along.
“Teach me?”
“Too soon, little grasshopper,” said Magnus and Alec only started laughing. It was going to be fun having the other one around for sure!