"For you know that I myself am a labyrinth, where one easily gets lost."
― Charles Perrault

.

Alec had never thought of himself as a bad person. Sure, he wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine, but he wasn't an asshole. He always helped old people carry their grocery shopping. He gave all the change he had on him to the homeless person sleeping in the park everyday when he went running. He had never cheated on any of his boyfriends, no matter how terrible they had been. He even recycled. All in all, he considered himself a pretty decent person.

And then, Magnus Bane had come stumbling into his life and he wasn't so sure anymore.

Firstly, he had started smoking regularly, which was a bad vice although it wasn't actually the reason why he questioned his integrity. The real reason was the very obvious, very growing, very disturbing crush he had developed for his neighbor. If the attraction had only been physical, Alec could have dismissed it as just that. The problem was that it wasn't just that.

Magnus was as handsome as he was kind and as sexy as he was caring. He was exciting, interesting, intelligent and independent. Basically, he was everything Alec had always looked for in a man. Everything but single.

So, that was it. Alec had a huge crush on his very much taken neighbor and it forced him to question everything he had ever known about himself.

At first, he had tried to disregard it but he couldn't lie to himself anymore. They had been neighbors for five months and his crush hadn't diminished one bit, on the contrary. It kept growing every time he spent time with him, whether it was just a quiet chat on their balconies in the evening or a movie night in either of their apartments. He had had to stop himself a few times from just grabbing him and kissing him breathless.

He didn't understand Magnus's relationship with Raphael. They were striking contrasts, Raphael the perfect gloominess for Magnus's ecstatic happiness. They were always bickering and Alec had wondered once or twice if this was some weird form of foreplay between them but had never allowed himself to go deeper into that thought. He really didn't want to imagine his neighbor with his boyfriend.

Raphael came by Magnus's apartment at least twice a week and Alec usually chose these moments to go run in the evenings instead of mornings. Lately, he spent most of his evenings with him, sometimes with his siblings, Clary or Simon but when Raphael was over, he tried to find whatever excuse he could summon to refuse Magnus's invitation. Until today, he hadn't raised any suspicion. Well, not in his neighbor anyway. Isabelle was another story.

He loved his sister. He really did. She was one of his favorite persons on Earth and he would have offered his life for hers without blinking. But truly, she could be his worst nightmare.

She had always been overinvested in his love life, always prying for information, always trying to find him a boyfriend. Most of the time, he didn't mind, mostly because he had grown to be accustomed to it. But right now, when there was nothing he could do to actually get the man he was crushing hard on without becoming an even more terrible person than he already thought he was, it was just annoying.

It all started like this. Isabelle had spent the night at his place. They had gone out the night before in a club and by gone out, he meant she had dragged him along in spite of his protests. They had drunk, reasonably so, but by the time they had been out of the club, it had been late so he had offered her to sleep in his guest room.

They were having breakfast, chewing on their cereals unenthusiastically when his front door opened and Magnus walked into his kitchen, dropping a pile of letters on the table. Alec straightened up on his chair but that was the only indication he gave away.

"Got your mail," he said by way of greeting, opening Alec's fridge to help himself to an apple.

"Thanks", Alec replied simply.

He didn't remember giving Magnus his mailbox key but it didn't really matter if it could save him a trip down the hall, where the old lady on the ground floor, Mrs Rollins, usually talked to him for an hour. He was too polite to turn her down. Magnus talked to her happily, which wasn't much of a surprise.

His neighbor took a seat next to Isabelle, chewing thoughtfully on his apple.

"So, I have a favor to ask you," he declared innocently but his eyes were telling another story.

"Ask and we'll see if it's worth my time," Alec teased, taking a sip of much needed coffee.

"It's too early for you to be so cheeky," Magnus shot back, leaning forward to pinch him on the hand.

Alec protested loudly, waving his hand away.

"I decided to redecorate," his neighbor announced solemnly, "and I bought a marvelous Persian carpet on the Internet but they don't deliver so I need someone to drive me to the shop. You've got a car. Do the math."

"Where the hell do you work to be able to afford redecorating every month?" Isabelle chimed in, sending him an incredulous look.

"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you and I'm quite fond of you two so let's not go down that road," Magnus retorted playfully.

In the five months they had been neighbors, Alec still hadn't been able to make Magnus talk about his job. If he even had one.

"Why don't you ask Raphael? He has a car," Alec replied, cutting short his sister's attempt to pry further into it.

"Why would I ask Raphael?" Magnus uttered and he looked genuinely surprised, almost offended. "You're much better company and it's a forty minutes ride." He leaned forward, tilting his head to meet Alec's eyes with his pleading gaze. "Pretty please."

"Fine," he grumbled and did his best to look exasperated but there was a small smile playing on his lips that betrayed his true feelings. "But you're buying me pizza tonight."

"You're a marvel, Alexander Gideon Lightwood," Magnus beamed, leaning back in his chair.

His grin was so sincere and so luminous that Alec's stomach twisted almost painfully.

"Do not use my full name ever again or I swear I'll kill you in your sleep," Alec deadpanned, doing his best to appear threatening. He failed. "How do you even know my middle name?"

Magnus smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head no. "I'll never tell."

Alec growled, darting his eyes to his sister who was suddenly very quiet. "Izzy!"

"What?" she exclaimed defensively. "He asked!"

"You didn't have to tell him!" Alec retorted, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Have you seen his puppy eyes?" Isabelle protested loudly, pointing accusingly at Magnus, who nodded in agreement, looking very proud of himself. "I'm only human!"

"Don't blame her," his neighbor chimed in, his smirk even wider than before. "No one is immune to my natural charm."

Alec snorted, raising an eyebrow at him in a doubtful manner. Magnus winked playfully at him and he blushed, focusing back on his cereals. Damn it.

"Anyway, I have to go," he stated, rising to his feet. "I have my yoga mat waiting for me and I promised Guadalupe I would go over for lunch afterwards. Izzy, you're welcome to join me. I would say the same to you, Alexander, but your glorious self would distract me and by glorious self, I mean your ass in yoga pants."

Alec chocked on his cereals and his entire face turned crimson.

"Not that yours is not distracting, Izzy, but well…" he cut himself off with a graceful, dismissive wave.

"Thank you. Who's Guadalupe?" Isabelle asked with a smirk, sending a knowing gaze to her still blushing brother.

"Raphael's mother. She loves me, obviously," Magnus replied condescendingly. "But then again, it's just my natural charm."

He blew them a kiss. "Alexander, I'll pick you up after lunch for our little road trip."

"I'm driving so technically, I'll pick you up," Alec deadpanned. "I'm so glad no one was ever crazy enough to give you a driving license."

"That was rude and unnecessary Gideon," Magnus stopped at the door to turn back and pout at him. He avoided swiftly the spoon Alec threw at his face when he used his middle name, giggling. "Congratulations Isabelle, you just became my favorite Lightwood."

"Because I wasn't before?" she chimed back with a playful grin.

"No, I'm afraid it was Gideon. He has these marvelous blue eyes of his and I'm weak," Magnus retorted mischievously. "See you later!"

And just like that, he was gone. Alec snorted, shaking his head at his neighbor's antics before focusing back on his cereals, a happy smile on his lips. It took him a few seconds to realize his sister was staring at him.

"What?"

"So, when do you ask him out?" she asked, grinning widely.

Alec huffed, rolled his eyes but didn't reply.

"Come on, you can't tell me there's nothing there!" she went on, pointing at him accusingly. "If I hadn't been there, he totally would have pinned you down on the table to have his wicked way with you!"

Alec blushed and really, he was too old to blush so regularly. Even sixteen-year-old him didn't blush that much.

"Isabelle," he grunted in warning.

"Seriously, he's flirting with you and –"

"Isabelle, just drop it," he cut her off, slightly more aggressively than he had expected it.

Her mouth fell open and she stared at him for a minute, surprised. He hadn't wanted to be so abrupt but he hadn't been able to help himself. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He had specifically forbidden himself to do so. He couldn't, not when Magnus was very much taken. Yes, he was pretty sure Magnus had flirted with him with at a few occasions but then again, Magnus flirted with basically anyone and everyone. It was one of the reasons the old lady from the ground floor talked to Alec so much, because she had noticed that they were somehow friends and she liked to tell him how charming Magnus was. Like he didn't know.

Isabelle didn't pry more but she observed him quietly with knowing eyes and a tiny smirk that she always sported when she was plotting on doing something Alec wouldn't approve. It was very disturbing.

.

"You said it was the next on the right!" Alec growled, glaring exasperatedly at his copilot.

"Yeah well, I was wrong! Why did you even listen to me? You know I have no sense of direction whatsoever!" Magnus snapped back.

"Oh, so now it's going to be my fault because I listened to you?" he protested loudly.

"Yes. You're the responsible one. You should know better," Magnus replied stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't even know where we're going!" Alec argued. "You said you had looked at the map before leaving!"

"Just pull over and ask someone," he sighed, pointing at a couple walking down the street.

"I'm not asking my direction to them. They look like serial killers!"

"Oh God, are you one of those macho men who refuse to ask for directions?" Magnus sighed, his voice hoarse with frustration.

"When the people I'm supposed to ask to look like they could kill me, yeah," Alec snarled sharply.

"Stop judging them, I'm sure they're lovely people!"

"Oh, really? Okay then," he deadpanned, biting his lip irritably.

He turned the car around and pulled over next to the couple, who was still stumbling down the street. He lowered his window, leaning over to talk to them.

"Excuse me?"

The couple stopped and they turned toward the car in a perfectly synchronized movement. They were both tall and dressed up like they were coming back from the Middle Age. The woman was wearing a long brown skirt with a grey blouse buttoned to the top and even Alec, for all his lack of fashion sense, could tell how badly it looked. The man was a good head taller than her and was wearing a brown suit that had seen better days. They were both wearing "Pro-Life" pins on their jackets and big crosses around their necks. They looked like they had come out straight out of an old horror movie.

"Shit," Magnus whispered next to him. "Okay, I take it back. Drive."

"I can't drive now, I've stopped the car and I talked to them," Alec protested lowly, turning around to face him in the passenger seat.

"I don't care. Drive. He's giving me the creeps," Magnus ordered but he shook his head no, refusing to bulge.

The man walked over to them. "Yes?" He had a horrible nasal voice.

Magnus leaned over the gear lever, almost lying on Alec's lap, to talk to the man. Alec froze. That was extremely close to an awfully sensitive part of his anatomy.

"Sorry," Magnus exclaimed, smirking his overconfident smirk of his. "My boyfriend got lost on our way to the abortion clinic where we're meeting his feminist sister who got knocked up by a guy she fucked in an orgy. Ugh, youths these days, you know what I mean?"

"I hate you," Alec grumbled, slamming his foot on the pedal. The car took off immediately.

"God will punish you!" the man was yelling behind them, raising his fist in anger.

As soon as they were out of sight in the rearview, Alec turned his head to glare at Magnus, who was biting his lip not to laugh.

"I'm sorry. Zealots are my weakness. I can't behave myself around them," he said but he didn't sound apologetic at all.

"Oh, because normally you can behave yourself?" Alec blurted back, rolling his eyes.

Magnus laughed. It took them another half hour to find the damn shop.

.

"Isabelle?"

Simon stepped into Alec's apartment cautiously. He had seen the Lightwood siblings quite often since Magnus had moved in, mostly the eldest one, because he always seemed to be in his neighbor's apartment but he had never been inside his before.

When he had gotten a text from Isabelle asking to come over as soon as possible, he had been surprised but his curiosity had gotten the best of him and he hadn't been able to help himself. That and he couldn't exactly say no when a stunningly attractive woman asked him to meet her. He was only human.

"In here!" came Isabelle's voice.

He stepped into the living room and indeed, there she was, sitting on her brother's couch with a contemplative look on her face. She was even more gorgeous than in his memories.

"Uhm. You texted so… I'm here," he stuttered, passing a nervous hand in his already disheveled hair.

"Sit down," she ordered and he could only compel. "We need to talk."

"Am I in trouble?" he asked carefully. He couldn't think of anything he had done wrong, especially toward her, because she had been mostly ignoring him whenever they were in the same room since they had met. He didn't blame her, they were definitely not in the same leagues.

"No," she dismissed, rolling her eyes at his apprehension. "I need your help."

"Okay," he replied and he sounded unsure even to his own ears. "With what?"

"Magnus and Alec," she announced like it was obvious.

"Are they okay?" he inquired, because her tone suggested otherwise.

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded, dropping her chin on her hand thoughtfully. "We need to do something."

"Do something about what?" he asked again. "I'm not sure I follow. You're being very cryptic."

"Something about the obvious sexual tension between them!" Isabelle exclaimed impatiently.

Simon did a double take, raising an eyebrow at her. She let out a deep breath and turned her thunderous eyes on him.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Simon took a few seconds to reflect on his answer and he leaned forward, dropping his elbows on his knees.

"Isabelle –"

"Izzy," she interrupted.

"Izzy," he started again, in a soft but firm voice. "I've known Magnus Bane since I was four years old and he was nine. It's been roughly twenty years. In all these years, I've learned a few rules when it comes to him. One: Do not ever question his fashions choices. Two: Do not try to make him stop drinking or smoking because he will punch you. Although he will most likely miss. Three: He acts like an asshole sometimes, but he's a wonderful person under these layers of glitter and arrogance. And finally: do not ever get involved in his love life because it will just go very, very wrong. Also, he will punch you."

Isabelle knew there was probably a story behind all of his affirmations but she didn't care. Simon had some trouble to gulp when she glared at him, her lips tightening with annoyance. She looked like he was really boring her. Simon wasn't really surprised; it was the usual he got from attractive girls.

"There's more, but these ones are the most important," Simon added awkwardly, nervously scratching his knee.

"He wouldn't punch me," Isabelle replied confidently.

"I am amazed by the fact that it's the information you chose to focus on."

"Well, I am pretty amazing," she retorted with a wink.

Simon could not argue with that.

"Okay," she sighed eventually. "See it that way. You would not get involved in Magnus's love life. You would be getting involved in my brother's love life."

He blinked at her. She was very adamant.

"Somehow, this sounds worse," Simon said. "I don't even know your brother that well."

"Simon, I'm doing this whether you help me or not," she stated with finality. There was a fire in her eyes that made him feel very small. "But I'd like it better if you'd help me, because I need someone on Magnus's side." She leaned back in the couch, her dark hair flying behind her shoulders. "And I thought it could be a nice occasion for us to get to know each other. I could have asked Clary or the grumpy one."

Simon knew she meant Raphael. Whenever someone he knew said the word grumpy, it usually applied to Raphael.

She was looking at him, her dark eyes almost begging but there was a tiny smirk on her lips that showed that she knew exactly what she was doing. Simon had never been good at saying no to beautiful girls and Isabelle was easily the most beautiful of them all.

He sighed, defeated, and nodded slowly.

"Great!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm calling it Operation Malec. Mission one: we need to get Alec drunk. He's a whore when he's drunk."

Simon was already regretting this decision.

.

A carpet should not be so heavy, Magnus pondered to himself as Alec and he dropped his new acquisition on the floor of his apartment. They collapsed on the floor in perfect sync in the middle of his living room, both breathing heavily. Alec turned his head to look at him, glaring accusingly.

"Gideon, you can't blame me for the weight of the carpet," Magnus said before his neighbor could even open his mouth. "I did not know it would be so heavy."

"Oh, I'm blaming you alright," Alec grumbled crankily. "It was supposed to be a two hours trip. We left at three. It's almost eight."

"Fine, blame me but I'm not buying you pizza if you're sulking."

Alec snorted, his lips twitching on the side. Magnus beamed proudly.

This could have been weird, mostly because they were still laid on the floor, glancing at each other in an awkward angle but Magnus thought it was nice. Peaceful. And the company was both good-looking and pretty great, so there was that, too. It was almost scary, how he could drown so easily in these stunning blue eyes but really, he saw no reason not to do it. Getting lost in Alec's eyes was always a pleasant distraction from the rest of the world.

They were close and Magnus would just have to move a few inches if he wanted to kiss him and God, he wanted to. He glanced down at Alec's oh-so-tempting lips and really, who was going to stop him?

Alec. Alec stopped him. He cleared his throat and frowned, going up on his elbows and raising an eyebrow at the wall that separated their apartments.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

Magnus was annoyed because they had shared a sweet moment that had been interrupted rudely but he was also perplexed because, indeed, there were noises coming from his neighbor's apartment. He nodded and Alec's frown deepened as he rose to his feet, Magnus on his heels. They stumbled in the corridor and Alec rummaged in his pockets to find his key, only to find his door already unlocked.

He glanced back at Magnus and put a hand on his shoulder protectively.

"Stay back," he muttered.

He stepped inside slowly and his whole body looked ready to fight. His shoulders were tensed and he was leaning forward a little bit, as if he expected to have to duck to avoid a blow. One of his hand was still held back, sheltering Magnus protectively and Magnus had never needed protection, had always been very capable of taking care of himself but he found himself endeared by the gesture anyway. Even through the edginess of the situation, he couldn't help but smile at the general sweetness that was Alec Lightwood.

"What the f –"

Alec cut himself off, his mouth falling open in shock. They had arrived in his living room and it was full of people, most of them Magnus didn't know. They were scattered all across the room and on the balcony, red paper cups in their hands. There was soft music resonating but not loud enough to hail the neighbors.

Magnus watched, as bewildered as Alec, as people paid no attention to them, chatting and laughing and partying.

"I'm going to kill her," Alec growled through clenched teeth, his eyes looking for someone in the crowd.

Finally, they settled on a tall figure on the balcony and Magnus easily recognized Isabelle's wild dark hair. Alec strolled forward, his steps confident but made a little edgier by anger. Magnus followed, weaving in and out of the crowd.

"Izzy!" his neighbor yelled once they were outside. "What the hell is this?"

She looked taken aback to see him there for a moment but quickly recovered.

"Surprise!" she shouted overenthusiastically and Magnus raised an amazed eyebrow. She had some nerves. He loved her.

"Yeah, for a surprise, it's a surprise!" Alec barked, waving toward the amount of people still crowding his apartment. "Would you like to explain to me why there are about twenty complete strangers in my living room?"

"We're celebrating!" she exclaimed again, a wide beam on her face. "And my apartment is too small so here we are! And they're not all strangers. Simon is here. Jace and Clary, too."

"What are we even celebrating?" Alec growled angrily.

Magnus watched with interest as his blue eyes darkened with fury, his whole body tensed. It shouldn't have been that hot but well, Magnus was weak and it truly was.

"Leo winning an Oscar, obviously!" she replied, shoving a drink in his hands.

Magnus had to bite his lip not to laugh. Alec's mouth fell open once more and he looked at his sister incredulously as she had just grown a second head. He could have pinpointed the exact moment when he gave up. His shoulders slumped and he released a deep sigh, shaking his head in defeat.

"Well, if you ask me, that's a pretty decent excuse to throw a party," Magnus chimed in, smirking.

Isabelle beamed at him, handing him a cup that he took gratefully. Alec glared at him.

"Everything is an excuse to throw a party with you," he accused but the anger was gone from his voice. "You threw a party last month for your cat's six months birthday. Which is not even a thing."

"Hey!" Magnus protested, looking dreadfully offended. "Are you saying Chairman Meow doesn't deserve the best things?"

"I'm saying it's a cat," Alec deadpanned. "He doesn't appreciate these things. And he was hiding in my apartment for the whole night."

Magnus pouted at him because he was a grown-up adult and it was an adult thing to do.

"Why do you have to rain on my parade?" he complained, taking a long sip of his drink.

It was rum, his favorite.

"And I'll have you know that the Chairman was very pleased. He didn't cry at the dog's neighbor for a week afterward."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Alec said, his lips twitching with amusement.

Magnus turned back to Isabelle, who was looking at them attentively. There was something in her dark eyes. She looked proud and shrewder than he had ever seen her. Somehow, it was not reassuring.

.

Isabelle woke up the next morning in her brother's guest room. She had not drunk too much so she didn't have too much trouble to get out of bed. She took a shower, put on the clothes she had prepared the day before and she felt ready to face the day. But first, she needed to check that their plan had worked. She had left Alec and Magnus together at some point during the night, when their flirting had become almost sickening and her brother had been tipsy enough that she knew he was going to loosen up soon.

She sneaked across the hall quietly and opened the door of his bedroom as silently as she could.

Alec was still sleeping, his naked torso rising up and down with his breathing. There was a muddled shape tangled in the sheets next to him and all she could see was the dark hair but she knew. She bit her lip to muffle her cry of victory and closed the door behind her, tiptoeing her way to the kitchen.

Simon was already there, swallowing a coffee with slow sips, his brow furrowed in what looked a lot like pain.

"My head is killing me," he announced when he saw her. "I drank too much. Did I do anything embarrassing?"

"Well, you did take off your shirt at some point because you claimed to feel too hot from all the dancing," she chimed in with a smirk. "Congratulations on those abs, by the way, I was not expecting that!"

Simon banged his head on the table, grunting. "I want to die."

"Don't be so dramatic," she giggled. "It was funny. You're like Alec, you need to loosen up a bit once in a while!"

She leaned forward, putting both of her palms on the table. "Speaking of my dear brother," she added, her voice lowering to a whisper, "Operation Malec was a success! They are both still sleeping in Alec's bedroom."

They were highfiving when the front door of the apartment opened. They watched in bewilderment as Magnus strolled in, carrying a box from the bakery down the road. He was dressed up in one of his usual eccentric outfits but it was definitely not the same clothes he had worn the day before. He looked showered and his make-up was done.

"I brought donuts," he exclaimed cheerfully. "I figured you'd be hungry."

"Where did you come from?" Isabelle asked, her eyes wide with puzzlement.

"Uhm… My apartment?" Magnus replied with a teasing smirk. "Did you drink so much that you forgot I live next door?"

"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head. "You're not supposed to be in your apartment, you're supposed to be –"

She cut herself off, looking at Simon in panic. "If you're here, who's –"

This time, she was interrupted by Alec stepping in the kitchen, rubbing his still sleepy eyes with his hand. He went straight to Magnus.

"God, I love you so much right now," he growled as he grabbed a donut, immediately chewing on it. "I'm starving."

Magnus laughed and took a donut himself, taking a seat around the kitchen table while Alec poured himself a mug of coffee. Isabelle looked between them with wide eyes.

"Who's the guy in your bed?" she blurted out, pointing a reproachful finger at her brother, before she could stop herself. Not that she would have anyway.

Alec choked on his coffee and his face slowly went crimson.

"Izzy!"

"What? I saw him. So, who is he?"

Her tone demonstrated very clearly that she would pester him until he answered and he was probably too hangover and too tired to argue with her about it.

"His name is Alaric," he replied with a defeated sigh, still blushing. "You should know, you invited him," he added with a glare for good measure.

"Alec, you're such a whore when you're drunk!" Isabelle yelled accusingly.

Her brother's face reddened even more strenuously. "Isabelle!"

He hissed in pain at his own outburst, raising a hand to massage his painful temples.

She didn't reply but glanced incredulously at Simon who was glancing right back. From his seat across them, Magnus snorted but didn't say anything, looking down at his donut like it held the answers to the world's mysteries.

Well, Mission One from Operation Malec appeared to be quite a failure.

.

Hello lovelies!

What did you think of the chapter? Izzy's matchmaking skills need some work but her intentions are good ;) haha

Thank you all again for the support and kind words. You are lovely!

Next chapter tomorrow hopefully, if not, it will be Monday!
And here's your cookie (baked with love):
"We need to talk about Operation Malec."
(...)
"Cleary, the first mission was a failure," Simon replied matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his mocha. "I don't think we should continue with this."
Isabelle snorted and rolled her eyes. "So, we need to plan a night out. Somewhere festive but still intimate enough so they can find a quiet corner to make out."
It was like he hadn't talked at all.

Isabelle is nothing if not persistent. Also, she's definitely team Malec all the way!

All the love,
L.