Pandemonium wasn't at all what Alec expected on a Friday night. For starters, it was crowded, and he didn't do well with crowds. Secondly, the lineup went around the corner of the block which was much too long for his taste. As patient of a person as he was, he wasn't about to spend an hour in line for something that was already arranged at 2 in the afternoon tomorrow.
"How long are we going to have to wait in line?" Jace yelled over the noise.
"Jace, please. I'm the owner of the damn club. We're not waiting in any line." Magnus pushed ahead of the crowd. "Follow me, boys! I'll show you what VIP is like when you're with Magnus Bane!"
Alec scoffed. "If he keeps referring to himself in third person all night, I'm walking out into traffic."
"Don't be so dramatic. VIP isn't a bad thing. We could get free drinks!" Jace shimmied his way past a girl with purple dreadlocks.
"Jace, we're on the job. We can't be drinking. It'll impair our judgment."
Jace looked back over his shoulder at him. "You're no fun at all."
They finally made their way to the front of the line. Magnus was speaking with a huge bouncer with muscles bulging out of his black t-shirt. Once he saw Jace and Alec, he nodded and moved out of the way for them to pass by. The crowd behind them protested angrily.
"See? I can work magic here. It helps being the head honcho of New York's finest club," Magnus winked at Alec. "Who's up for a drink?"
"I am. I'll have two shots of-what's the best drink you have?" Jace yelled over the music.
Magnus pointed to a name on the menu. "Demon Poison. Not actually poison, mind you. But one shot alone will knock you off your feet. Dare to try it?" He watched as Jace tilted his head as he took the shot, gasping and coughing. "You're tougher than you look, Blondie. What about you, Alec? Shot?"
Alec looked down at the dark green liquid in his glass as Magnus slid one down to him. "I don't think this is a good idea. We have work tomorrow. I'd like to be sober for it."
"Come on, bro. One shot. Or two. It's not gonna hurt anyone. What dad doesn't know, won't kill us," Jace snatched another shot and drank it. "Whoo! Oh shit. I love this song. I'm gonna go dance! If you see me dancing with random girls, don't tell Clary!"
Alec made a move to stop him but he was too late. Jace was already making his way to the dancefloor, shaking his arms to the beat of the music as he walked away. "I really don't think this is a good idea, Magnus. You've never seen Jace drunk before. It's not pretty."
Magnus burped. "You know what's pretty? You." He poked Alec in the chest. "You're very pretty. You have nice eyes. I like hazel."
Alec leaned away. "You're drunk already? What the hell do they put in these drinks? Fairy dust?" He jumped in surprise when Magnus shoved a drink in his face. "I don't-I don't drink, Magnus-"
"Drink it. It'll relax your nerves. Maybe even make you brave enough to dance."
Alec peered at the liquid again, sighing heavily. "Fine. Just one drink."
Magnus smirked as he watched Alec tilt his head back and take the shot, his Adam's apple bobbing attractively as he swallowed. When he came down from the shot, his face screwed up in disgust. "Come on. It wasn't that bad! Was it?"
Alec coughed. "No. It was awful. It tasted like shit. What's in it?"
The song changed to a heavy beat as Magnus grabbed Alec's arm. "Demon poison. Remember? Now come on. We're dancing."
Alec let himself be dragged to the dancefloor by the arm. He couldn't escape. Not this time. There were too many people around him and the grip Magnus had on his arm was like a vice grip. Even if he could get away, he wouldn't know where to go. He was so used to following Jace around that he felt lost without his little brother by his side.
Magnus raised his arms up and moved to the beat of the bass. He didn't have a care in the world right now. He was on the dancefloor with the hottest detective in the world who's also probably the biggest party pooper in the world. But at least he was hot. It's not like you could lose Alec in a crowd. Or not notice him. It was impossible not to notice Alec. Tall, raven black hair, hazel eyes that turned golden whenever the strobe lights flashed a bright color. He was shockingly beautiful in more ways than one.
Alec, on the other hand, stood as stiff as a board as the crowd around him danced. He didn't like it when someone brushed up against him or someone nudged him from behind and he stumbled forward. It was too much for him; too loud for him. He longed to be back home curled up in his bed with a book. Or visiting his parents. That was his typical Friday night. Not this......not this club scene.
Something clicked all of a sudden. It was like a rubber band had snapped and everything suddenly made sense. The music. The flow of the crowd. Magnus. Yes, Magnus made sense. The con man looked like he was having the time of his life under the strobe lights, bobbing his head and bouncing his body to the bass. It looked so natural to him.
Magnus reopened his eyes to see Alec staring at him, hazel eyes burning with desire. He knew this look. He'd seen it a million times before but this time it felt special somehow. Different. He wanted to dance with Alec; not to try and steal his wallet, but genuinely dance with him for fun.
He slowly edged forward towards Alec. Not once did his gaze waver away from the hazel stare that continued to watch his every move as the beat grew heavier. He felt adventurous, so he took a hand and slipped it under Alec's shirt onto his uninjured hip. Alec twitched in surprise but never made a move to get Magnus' hand off his skin. So far so good.
"Just follow my lead," Magnus said in Alec's ear, just loud enough to be heard. Alec nodded. Magnus could see that the other man was scared but of what, he had no idea. He continued to dance anyway and prayed that Alec would lose himself in the music.
By some miracle or another, Alec finally gave in. It was a good song, all things considered. He completely forgot about his wound. The music was incredible. It made him feel alive. The bass reverberated in his ribs and in his back and chest. He never listened to wild music like this; his mother would never approve. He grew up on classical music. Opera. Music you'd never think a six year old would have playing in his bedroom. His six year old self would be mortified of the way his present self was acting.
Sweat was now pouring from the both of them. Much to Magnus' delight, Alec's shirt was sticking to him (if only it was a white shirt) and his black hair was clinging to his forehead. He had half a mind to push it off of Alec's forehead. As if he read his mind, Alec reached up and with a large (but beautiful) hand, pushed his hair off his forehead and down over his face, eyes closed as he lost himself in the music once again. It was when the bass dropped again that Magnus knew that Alec's body was meant for him. Every gap, every angle, every bit of space belonging to Alec was made specifically for Magnus. He knew this because they were dancing so close that they practically shared the same breath.
Magnus couldn't contain himself any longer. He leaned in and placed his lips on Alec's neck, sucking gently. Alec tasted of cologne and sweat; a combination that could only be surpassed by his mother's home cooking (God rest her soul). It drove him crazy. The longer he sucked on Alec's skin, the more he wanted to take him to a dark corner and makeout, and there were a lot of dark corners to choose from.
Suddenly Alec pulled away. He looked devastated by what just happened and kept looking from Magnus' eyes to his lips and to his eyes again.
"What the fuck was that?!" Alec yelled.
"I'm so-I'm so sorry, Alec. I don't know why I did that. I'm sorry!" Magnus spluttered. Which was unusual. He was never at a loss for words. Only Alec made him this way.
Alec shook his head. His expression was hard to read, even with the bright lights overhead. He gripped Magnus' shirt tight and tugged him forward with a sharp jerk. Magnus thought for sure he was about to get punched in the face. But no. Alec pulled him in by the shirt....
And kissed him.
Did Magnus even call for fireworks at his club? He couldn't quite recall. All he knew is that he heard sharp whistles around him that sounded like distinct fireworks. Or maybe they weren't. All he could focus on was Alec's deliciously sexy mouth as it moved in sync with his own. Much like Alec's body, his mouth was also made just for Magnus.
Alec moaned. Little did Magnus know, he had no sweet clue what he was doing. He'd never kiss anyone before this moment. Should he use tongue? How much tongue? Which way should he tilt his head? Too many questions ran through his head the longer he kept his lips on Magnus. But it felt good. He felt alive. More alive than the rush of adrenaline he always got when he was out on the field.
The song ended and the crowd cheered and whistled at the DJ. This was when both men pulled away and stared at each other in awe. Or was it a hint of something else? The strobe lights had messed with their vision. Neither of them knew what they were looking at.
"We should-we should probably...." Alec stuttered.
"Look for Jace? Yeah. That's a good idea. Wonder where he went off to?" Magnus forced a chuckle as they left the dancefloor in search for Jace.
Jace, as it turns out, hadn't gone far. He was standing beside a large red curtain with his arms folded over his chest. He seemed to be listening to something, his face scrunched in concentration. When he saw Alec and Magnus approaching, he raised a hand to stop them from speaking.
"Shhh. I just saw the mayor go back there. She's talking with someone but I can't tell who it is," he nodded his head toward the curtain. "It sounds like a man but I can't tell. Could be a deep voiced woman for all I know."
Magnus snorted. "You have experience with deep voiced women, Jace? Move. It's my club. I'll listen in on the conversation."
He pushed past Jace and leaned in close to the curtain, listening carefully. "Something about a job. It'll be cold soon. Money is tight-oh someone just sneezed. Bless you."
"What else can you hear? We're looking for solid evidence, remember? If we overhear anything right now, it will never hold up in court," Alec pointed out.
"Thank you, captain obvious. You think I don't know that already? I've been to court. I know how it works," Magnus listened closely again. "This is pointless. We're better off looking through the security camera footage to see what went on back there."
Alec shot him a look. "You mean to tell me that there's a security camera back there? That caught the conversation and the person she was talking to?!"
"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. There's also a door back there in the VIP room so she could make a quick getaway with whoever she came here with. How good of a hacker is Isabelle?"
Jace laughed. "She changed my math average back in my senior year by accessing the grading system. From home. Does that tell you anything?"
"Actually, it does. You sucked at math," Magnus have Jace a pat on the back and a smile. "As much as I'm enjoying myself here at the club, I'm afraid we need to head back to Alec's. Think we can get Isabelle to come over to help access the cameras?"
Alec nodded. "I'll call her when we get back. Should I call a taxi too? We're all still sort of buzzed so...."
Jace slicked his hair back. "I feel great. Those three shots of Demon Poison and that Bloody Mary hit the spot. I'm good for another couple of hours."
"You say that now but as soon as you go home, you're going to hit the pillow and fall asleep instantly. You're like that all the time," Alec said. "I had one drink and it was enough for me."
Jace made a face. "You were never a partier anyway. You more or less went to them to make sure I didn't hurt myself or choke on my own vomit."
"Well that's an image I definitely didn't need. Let's call that taxi, shall we? The sooner we get back, the sooner I can go to bed. Partying with you two took the energy right out of me." Magnus unconsciously reached a hand up and felt his lips. They were tingling; he could still feel Alec's lips on his.
"Sounds good. Take me home. If I'm going to vomit, I'd much rather do it in the comfort of my own house," Jace paused just outside the building, holding his stomach and gagging. "On second thought-"
Alec grimaced as Jace threw up on the side of the road.
**********
After the taxi dropped hace off at home and Magnus and Alec's at Alec's place, Isabelle had accessed the security cameras right from her own school dorm, stating "I'm lazy. Don't want to come over. I'll just do it from here" which she did, much to their surprise. Her skills were not to be underestimated.
"Okay. So we entered the club around....and then we eavesdropped at.....so the cameras had to have picked up the feed just before we left. Is there any sound? How do I get sound?" Alec frantically tapped on the screen. "Is there any sound?"
Magnus took the tablet from his hands. "Yes, there's sound. Just be patient," he looked up at Alec and sighed. "We need to talk about earlier, Alec."
Alec shrugged. "About what?"
"You know what. The kiss? On the dancefloor?"
"Oh. That. I was drunk-"
"You had one fucking shot. Get over yourself. Drunk, my ass. Just admit that you like me and be done with it."
Alec scowled. "You're so goddamn full of yourself! You think the world revolves around you and everything will always work out the way you want it to! Well guess what? It doesn't!"
"Oh yeah? Well you're so goddamn repressed that you can't see that there's someone right in front of you that happens to like you for who you are! You think the world is against you and everything will always go the opposite way of what you want it to! Well guess what? It won't!"
Alec was breathing heavily as Magnus spoke, his anger boiling his blood and making his heart beat rapidly in his chest. "I'm not repressed. That kiss didn't mean anything-"
"Keep telling yourself that, Alec. You and I both know that kiss meant something. Don't lie to yourself like this-"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Magnus. Jus-just go the fuck to sleep, okay? We'll go over the footage at the precinct tomorrow. I'm not in the mood right now."
Magnus scoffed. "Figures. Should've gave you more than one shot. You're probably much more fun when you're buzzed."
Alec stomped over to his bed and peeled off his sticky shirt, drenched with sweat. He winced as his hip stretched. "I'm never drinking again. Once was enough. Especially if it's with you. You're a nightmare! Honestly! You get under my damn skin and you stay there! Just go away!"
Magnus slid down onto the couch as Alec crawled into bed, somewhat hurt by Alec's words. After a few moments of silence, Magnus whispered "You can't hide from yourself forever, Alexander."
There was a momentary pause. "I can sure as hell try," Alec whispered back before flicking off the lights.
Then the room went dark.