Disclaimer: Of course I don't own this, I barely own the laptop I'm writing on…

Summery: Magnus meets his new neighbors, specifically the most handsome man he's ever laid eyes on, the problem is- he's moving in with his girlfriend…

Isn't is ironic?

It was one of the longest days Magnus could recall, long and tedious and exhausting. The whole subway ride was spent fantasizing about a hot and relaxing bath- it was high time he christened all the bath goods he got as a birthday present from his friends months ago, and a glass or two (or three) of some heavenly martinis. It would have been nice if he could throw a nice medium rare stake into his relaxation routine but alas, he had none- and right now he was too tired to even think about stopping anywhere to get one. So alcohol and hot water were his comfort for tonight. What could be better?

When Magnus pushed open the door to his building he found the elevator's door propped open by a box and the elevator itself full of cardboard boxes, indicating someone was in the process of moving in, and normally Magnus would be delighted to meet new neighbors, but right now he just felt the overwhelming temptation to slide down onto the floor and start crying, really? Today? After the day he's had he was pretty sure if he couldn't use the elevator he was just going to crash in the lobby- there was no way in hell he was climbing three sets of stairs to his floor! Magnus was already lamenting the loss of his bath and booze when a cheerful voice sounded behind him,

"Hey, sorry for hogging the elevator," Magnus turned around to see a beautiful, petite woman with flowing black hair, secure in a rather messy ponytail and a big smile on her ruby red lips. Gathering all his remaining strength Magnus smiled back,

"You must be new the neighbors," He drawled softly, trying to keep any irritation or sarcasm from slipping out too much, after all it wasn't the young woman's fault he had a bad day and besides, it was always a good idea to keep a decent relationship with the neighbors, especially if they were new and didn't know him. He was already in a feud of sorts with his upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Herondale who seemed to hate his very existence. Not that he cared much what an elderly, bi-phobic and probably racist woman thought, but this new one looked like a nice woman, so there was no reason to antagonize her so soon.

"What gave it away?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye and Magnus decided he liked her very much, even if he didn't have the strength to join the banter right now, "I'm Isabelle, Izzy, by the way. we're moving to 3C." She stuck out her hand and Magnus shook it with a genuine smile,

"Magnus, 3D, at your service." Izzy's eyes shone brighter at hearing that and she beamed at Magnus,

"Oh, next door neighbor! This is so great!" Magnus tried to return her smile but instead found he was barely stifling a yawn, which he quickly covered with his hand, damn he was in a bad way... Luckily Izzy noticed and decided not to hold him up with pointless chitchat, for which Magnus was grateful, "You look exhausted. Take the elevator up, I don't want to keep you here all night. Just send it back down afterwards." She said generously as she walked briskly to the elevator to remove the box that was keeping it open, Magnus nodded in thanks,

"Thank you dear, you're an angel." Moving into the elevator he found the few inches of space still remaining between the boxes and pressed the button for the third floor. Going up he decided he actually liked having all the boxes around him, they were comfortable to lean against and right now, pretty much the only thing keeping him upright. When the doors opened his eyes were drawn immediately to the figure standing next to apartment 3C. He was tall, taller than Magnus by a few inches, his hair was inky black and a little messy, not that Magnus was complaining. When the man heard the elevator doors swishing open he turned and Magnus was mightily glad he was held upright by the boxes because he was definitely getting weak in the knees. Damn the man was hot! Everything about him ticked all the right boxes for a 'Magnus' crush', those big hazel eyes, those sharp cheekbones, those muscles… even the frustrated frown on his face was adorable. Oh, yes, weak in the knees indeed. Pulling himself together with renewed energy Magnus stepped out of the elevator with a soft, flirtatious smile on,

"I thought you were Izzy, I forgot my key downstairs..." The man said with an awkward half smile and really that was just too much for poor Magnus' heart. Balling his hands into fists to avoid the temptation of pushing the man back against the nearest wall and devour him, Magnus' smile widened,

"Sorry to disappoint, I'm Magnus, the next door neighbor." He said and helpfully pointed at his door. He pushed his hand forward for a shake, feeling he owed himself at least a small contact with that gorgeous specimen, and damn, even the rough skin of the man's hand was a turn on, Magnus couldn't help it- people who worked with their hands were so fucking hot! And Magnus was gone, completely gone.

"I'm Alec." He said flatly and several things clicked for Magnus at once- Alec wasn't flirting back, in fact he looked almost scared which meant he was probably shocked by Magnus' appearance, Magnus had to deal with straight people doing that from time to time, but the clincher was- Alec was moving next door to him with a woman and since Magnus knew the layout of the apartment next door (same as own, no shady stalking business) he knew there was only one bedroom which meant- Izzy was his girlfriend, perhaps fiancée, possibly even wife and Magnus was standing in the hall trying to pick him up?! Thankfully he was saved from complete and total embarrassment by Alec's phone ringing. The gorgeous man gave Magnus an apologetic smile and turned to take the call and Magnus saw the opportunity and fled into the safety of his apartment. Leaning his back against the door Magnus avoided the temptation of banging his head repeatedly against it, if only because he was pretty sure Alec would be able to hear it from the hall. Well, that was a very disappointing end to a very unnecessary day.

The next morning Magnus went out to his morning run, and if he wore his skimpiest outfit which showed all his assets beautifully, well sue him! But the hall was empty when he left and the only person he encountered upon returning was Mrs. Herondale from upstairs who gave him disproving glares throughout the elevator ride, so no change there. After a shower and a hearty breakfast Magnus decided he would stop obsessing over his new neighbors and try to relax. It was a Saturday, and after the long week he's had he more than deserved some rest. He was pretty sure he was ready to put the idea of Alec being-too-hot-to-stop-thinking-about down to exhaustion and the fact that he was barely conscious last night but that didn't exactly stop him from rushing to the door when he heard noises in the hall. Looking through the peephole he saw Alec and Izzy, each carrying more boxes, laughing and bantering. Damn, even through a mucky peephole the man was gorgeous! This was so unfair! For a few seconds Magnus debated going next door and offering to help, but he still had a tiny bit of pride- not that anyone would guess seeing him stalking his hot new neighbor through his peephole, and he wasn't going to chase after someone who was taken. Instead he retreated inside, grabbed his cat Chairman Meow and went to sit in the tiny balcony trying to absorb the autumn sun before it got too cold. He absolutely needed to stop thinking about Alec, and the sooner the better, before he somehow got too attached. He needed to avoid his new neighbors, not engage with them in any way, and also find someone new to lust after. This was New York for fuck's sake, there were tons and tons of people around who would be dying to spend time with him! All he needed to do was get out there and find them. With a sense of purpose he rose from his chair, causing the Chairman who was sleeping soundly on his lap to jump to the floor looking very unpleased indeed,

"Come on Chairman, I need you to help me find something to wear!"

~~~oo0oo~~~

Magnus floated into consciousness and immediately wished he hadn't. His head was pounding like a tribal drums circle has taken residence between his temples, his mouth was dry as if a dune in the Sahara has blown straight into it and his stomach rolling dangerously. Why did he think it was a good idea to drink so much? Without opening his eyes he reached next to him with his hand, a little afraid of what he might find. Luckily the bed next to him was empty and Magnus sighed in relief. Even though picking somebody up had been the explicit point of going out the night before his heart wasn't really in it, and the whole night was basically a disaster in terms of trying to forget his hot and very much taken neighbor.

Dragging himself out of bed, Magnus in nothing but pajama pants and a silk robe, felt his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water while trying to work his tired brain and remember if he had any painkillers. After a couple of glasses full of water, which were drank without pause he started to feel less like roadkill but the thought of going all the way to bathroom to look for painkillers was still as unappealing as ever. Before he could muster the strength to peel himself off the kitchen counter a loud knock sounded on the door causing Magnus to jump and the headache to return full force. Muttering obscenities under his breath he managed to make it to the door and opened it revealing Ragnor, Cat and Raphael on the other side, laden with food. Right, their weekly Sunday brunch which was his turn to host- great! Pulling the door open with a sigh he tried to smile as he invited his friends in.

"Magnus, you look like shit!" Cat declared, peering at him with concern,

"Thanks love, it's always nice to see you too." He grumbled at her and she laughed merrily, a sound that Magnus usually loved but right now grated on his nerves. Cat, the ever prepared nurse pulled a bottle of painkillers from her purse and handed two to Magnus with a fresh glass of water. Magnus was so grateful to her he nearly wept. Having friends in the medical field was the best.

"You've done it again, haven't you?" Ragnor snapped, and Magnus would have rolled his eyes if his head wasn't still pounding and he was scared they might fall out. Cat and Raphael looked perplexed as they started to get the brunch ready, going back and forth between the kitchen and living room, and Magnus wanted to shout at Ragnor to be quiet. Sometimes it was a real bummer to have a friend from so far back who knew all about you in minute details.

"What do you mean?" Cat asked and Magnus hoped to nip this in the bud,

"Nothing, he means nothing, let's eat!" He declared loudly though no one made a move to pick up a fork or a mini quiche,

"Every time Magnus has a crush on someone he can't have he goes out and drinks his own weight in alcohol," Ragnor, the ungrateful little shit, couldn't really help himself despite the death glares Magnus was sending his way, "Usually bringing home a little side piece to warm his bed." He finished triumphantly and Magnus seriously wanted to strangle him, as soon as the pounding in his left temple stopped!

"Ok, brunch is canceled this week, you can all go!" He called, waving his hands at his friends, even if he didn't hold much hope of them actually leaving, he had to show his disapproval somehow. Naturally the three others were ignoring him completely, filling plates with food that was mocking Magnus' very existence.

"Should we expect someone to come out of the bedroom or did we miss the walk of shame?" Raphael intoned in his usual drawl and Magnus was seriously contemplating grabbing a knife and stabbing all his so-called friends! It would be a shame to ruin the carpet though, it was a fine one.

"Nobody is coming out of the bedroom! I didn't bring anyone home!" He snapped, trying to save the last remaining crumbles of his dignity, wondering what it would be like to have nice friends who were supportive and helpful instead of those assholes! Well, he would keep Catarina, obviously, she was the nicest and she did carry prescription drugs on her at all times. But the other two…

"Oh, it's bad this time…" Ragnor the Relentless was pushing on, "Who is it?" Magnus gave them all a look in turn, now that the painkillers were finally kicking in he felt like he was returning to the land of the living, he realized he actually kinda wanted to tell them the truth, sometimes they actually had good advices. One can hope, right?

"My new neighbor." He told them with a soft sigh. He really didn't want to think about that was going on next door, how Alec and Izzy were probably having a leisurely breakfast, laughing and unpacking and…

"What's wrong with them?" Cat wondered aloud as she handed Magnus a plate full of goods, and got a weak smile in return,

"Nothing! He's perfect!" How dare they assumed anything was wrong with Alec? He looked up to see three pairs of eyes looking at him with anticipation and sighed, picking at his food and refusing to meet anyone's eyes, "And he's just moved in with his girlfriend…"

"Well, isn't it ironic?" Raphael let out a soft snort and Magnus, Cat and Ragnor stared at him with perplexed expressions, but as usual Raphael refused to explain his little quips. If people weren't clever enough to get them, it was on them.

"What do you know about him?" Catarina, the angel, asked gently, but Magnus knew her well enough to read the meaning behind it. She was worried this was shaping up to be another Camille-sized disaster. Magnus tended to get swept with his romantic notions way too easily and usually ended up sobbing and snotting on Cat's shoulder when his heart got broken.

"He's very tall, and so gorgeous," He was gushing, but right now he didn't care. His fail-proof plan to forget Alec had already gone up in flames, so he might as well immerse himself in his fantasy, "His eyes are amazing, and so full of..."

"Magnus!" Ragnor rudely snapped him back to reality, and Magnus pouted at him, "What. Do. You. Know. About. Him?" He spoke slowly, as if Magnus was a child that needed things to be spelled out to him, and Magnus sighed again, defeated,

"His name is Alec." Ragnor shook his head,

"You disappoint me, boy." He declared gravely and Magnus pursed his lips, glaring back at his friend, so yes, this was way less than ideal, fantasizing about a man he knew basically nothing about, but he really didn't need or want his friends to point that out to him.

"Alright!" Cat called, clapping her hands together to break the glare-off that Magnus and Ragnor were locked in, "Let's change the subject! I'm thinking about adopting a kid!"

~~~oo0oo~~~

Magnus had probably never been so happy to return to work on a Monday. Work meant he couldn't actually obsess over Alec, and it also meant he couldn't actively spy on him and Izzy through his peephole- not that he was doing that! Well, once maybe. Ok, it was two times, but one of those times there was a very loud crush in the hall, so Magnus felt compelled to inspect! But sadly turned out to be another floor tenant throwing his bikes in anger against the wall, and honestly, Magnus really didn't want to get involved in that.

So Monday was good, going to work, having other things to occupy his brain and then coming home too tired to do anything but eat take-out and watch inane shows on Netflix with Chairman Meow silently judging him. He was a very judgy cat but Magus had learned to ignore him a long time ago. He couldn't completely avoid his new neighbors and he did run into Izzy a couple of times in the hall or the lobby and she was always friendly to him, causing Magnus to feel ten times worse for lusting after her boyfriend.

He saw very little of Alec that week, but the few times he did only drove home the fact that the man was simply sublime and that Magnus was going to have to move out before he did something colossally stupid. It was a shame really, this apartment was really nice and affordable, and he's been here for almost three years already and was not eager to start looking for a new place anytime soon.

When Friday rolled around Magnus was nowhere near over his crush, in fact it seemed to be getting worse, but he at least managed to keep it under wraps and not do anything stupid that would expose him. He did get a call from Ragnor on Wednesday telling him what a fool he was but Magnus was quick to hang the phone up in his face, and yes, it felt good! Right now he was standing in the lobby looking over his mail- this was his usual Friday thing before going up to his place (on normal weeks when he wasn't being kept behind and pummeled to the ground with work that is), checking the mail in his box and scoffing at the fact that people still used paper to communicate. Of course most of it was junk, because it was the 21st century and the internet existed, but he still dutifully went over everything to make sure he didn't miss anything like a surprise inheritance (or more likely, a nasty surprise bill) before he would take the whole lot to the recycling in the corner.

"Hey Magnus!" Magnus gulped and turned around with a forced smile on his face. Great way to avoid his new neighbors, standing exposed like that in the middle of the lobby…

"Isabelle, darling, how are you?" Izzy beamed at him and shrugged beautifully, making Magnus feel even more guilty and not even knowing it.

"I'm so glad I ran into you," She said brightly, "I want to invite you to our house warming party." Magnus was screaming inside with frustration, why are the gods punishing him like this?

"When?" He asked feebly, trying to keep himself together and not fall apart until he was alone,

"Tomorrow, at seven. But obviously you can come whenever you want, just follow the noise." Both of them let out a small laugh, and Magnus felt like this was the most awkward conversation he's even attended, wondering how to further this along without sounding like he's trying to escape. Damn Alexander and his beautiful eyes making him stutter and stumble like a teenager! He, who was so suave and had such a way with words. It was undignified!

"Will Alec be there?" Really Magnus? Really?

"Of course!" Izzy didn't even seemed surprised by the question, furthering Magnus' frustration and guilt. He needed to get out of there fast before he confessed and ruin Izzy's day and possibly life.

"I'd love to come, darling." He said at last, because what else could he do? She literally knew where he lived! "I'll see you tomorrow." He added on his way to the elevator, hoping beyond hope it'll be on the ground floor and not make him wait too long. Izzy waved him away and continued her way out of the building, which was very lucky because the elevator was on the top floor and seemed to stop in every. fucking. floor on the way down. As soon as Magnus stepped into his apartment he pulled out his phone and opened the text chain he had with his friends, typing frantically,

Magnus (4:23pm): mayday! mayday!

Raphael (4:23pm): WHAT?

Magnus (4:24pm): Izzy just invited me to a housewarming party!

Raphael (4:24pm): Who?

Magnus (4:24pm): the gf of the hot guy

Raphael (4:24pm): Ah, already lost interest.

Catarina (4:26pm): Raphael be nice

Catarina (4:26pm): Magnus are you going?

Magnus (4:26pm): I said I would…

Ragnor (4:27pm): why would you say something as daft as that?

Magnus (4:28pm): what was I supposed to say? sorry but I think your bf is too hot and I cant come to your party bc I might jump his bones in front of you?

Ragnor (4:29pm): You could probably drop the 'sorry'

Magnus (4:29pm): ha ha

Magnus (4:29pm): I need one of you to come with me!

Catarina (4:30pm): sorry honey, I have a shift at the hospital

Magnus (4:30pm): Raphael?

Raphael (4:32pm): I'm coming down with something, yeah, it's called straight people are boring.

Ragnor (4:33pm): wait, aren't you straight?

Magnus (4:34 pm) guys! not the time for a raphael existential crisis!

Magnus (4:34pm): only one drama queen in this group at the time!

Magnus (4:34pm): ragnor? come with me?

Ragnor (4:35pm): I would literally rather go a slam poetry reading by your stupid evil ex

Magnus (4:35om): thanks for nothing you useless assholes! hope you die a slow and excruciating death!

Magnus (4:35pm): not you Cat, love you girl

Catarina (4:36pm): love you too Magnus

Tossing the phone in anger on the sofa Magnus followed with a dramatic sigh. Great. Now not only did he rope himself into what was sure to be a night of hell, he was going to have to face it alone. To be honest, Raphael would have probably put such a damper on the party it would be over in less than ten minutes if he came, and Ragnor was probably going to spill all of Magnus' secrets to Alec even before he had a shot of anything alcoholic, but it would have been nice to have Cat there to make sure all went smooth and he didn't end up with a black eye or a restraining order.

"Chairman, will you come with me to the party tomorrow?" He asked his cat who had just jumped on the chair opposite the couch, but the treacherous creature only yawned wide and curled into himself, turning his back to his owner completely ignoring Magnus and his predicament.

~~~oo0oo~~~

The next evening Magnus found himself standing in front of the 3C apartment door, holding a bottle of wine and second guessing himself, pretty much as he did since this morning, and now it was already close to 8:00pm, but Magnus was nothing if not fashionably late. With a last check of his hair and a deep fortifying breath he knocked on the door- better to get it over with as soon as possible! The door was opened by a widely smiling Izzy, who Magnus could tell was already well in her way to being drunk- very promising for a party.

"Magnus! You came!" She cried happily as she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. "People were starting to think I made you up!" She babbled happily as she led him through to the living room, and Magnus couldn't help but smile,

"Here you go darling," He handed her the bottle and she actually squealed with happiness. Well, if this was what parties at Izzy's were like maybe he should stop by more often.

"I'll go open it!" She cried happily and Magnus shook his head fondly, though he doubted that was the smartest idea for her. Before he could express his concerns for the well being of Izzy's liver, his other arm was grabbed by someone and he turned to see a beautiful redhead woman by his side,

"You must be Magnus!" She said, her buzz less noticeable than Izzy's- either she drank less or she could hold her liqueur better. "I'm Clary, I'm so glad to finally meet you!" Magnus had to admit this warm welcome was getting to him, he couldn't help it, he loved attention. Entering the living room Clary declared loudly, "Hey everyone, this is Magnus from next door!" Everyone in the room looked up, and there was chorus of "Hey Magnus!" which made him smile and he waved at the room in general. Everyone had a cup in their hand and were well into getting sloshed- apparently he was a little too fashionably late…

"Let's see," Clary said by his side, holding her own cup up and pointing at people with it, "These are Jace, Simon, Andrew, Aline and Helen," Magnus received nods and waves from the crowd which he returned with a big smile, they seemed like a lovely bunch, and if circumstances had been different he'd love to be their friend. "And these are my step dad and Izzy's mum. They're dating!" Clary added with a conspirator-like whisper that Magnus found hilarious because it was pretty obvious by the fact they were practically glued together and no one around seemed to care. Glancing around the room he noticed a glaring absence of a particular someone. Trying his best to sound casual he turned to Clary,

"Where's Alec?" Clary rolled her eyes but before she could answer Izzy squeezed herself between the two of them, handing Magnus a cup of what looked like sangria but smelled like the inside of a wine barrel- well, no wonder everyone was well on their way to become paralytic…

"Oh, he's hiding in the bedroom…" She intoned somberly, even though Magnus could see Clary biting her lip to hold a smile, "Hey!" Izzy cried loud enough for both him and Clary to jump in alarm, "You should go and get him to stop being such an antisocial prick-biscuit and come join us!" Izzy beamed at him as if it was the best idea she'd ever had and Magnus wanted to laugh- oh poor oblivious and clearly too-drunk-to-think-straight Izzy, sending him to find her wayward boyfriend like that… Before he could think of a proper excuse to refuse she pushed another cup into his hand and turned him in the direction of the bedroom, before she grabbed Clary and headed back to the party.

Magnus started making his way towards the bedroom slowly- how was that a good idea? Though he couldn't really deny that this was what he actually came to the party for, to see Alec, he hadn't really expected to be physically pushed towards him. Well, he was being asked nicely, nay he was given a mission! What else could he do?

Standing in front of the closed bedroom door Magnus took a deep breath, and another. Hell, he was definitely not drunk enough for this! Or maybe sober was better? He tended to get very handsy when drunk so… Shaking his head to himself he balanced both cups in one hand so he could push the door open. As soon as the door opened Alec lifted his eyes from the book he was reading, prone on the bed barefoot in a pair of plain dark jeans and a black T-shirt, and still perfect in Magnus' eyes. When he saw Magnus he sat up, running his hand in his hair and looking wide eyed at the man in front of him,

"Magnus!" He cried, "You made it!"

"I did." Magnus said, trying to keep his tone friendly and not too flirty, "Izzy sent me to get you." At that Alec rolled his eyes and slumped back onto the bed, something that Magnus found incredibly cute, naturally. Damn, everything that man did made Magnus want to jump him, this was not fair! "Here." He handed one of the cups to Alec who sat up and gave it a sniff before recoiling,

"I think Izzy's trying to kill us all with this. I told her one bottle was enough..." He said as he carefully put down his cup on the nightstand. Magnus looked at his own cup for a moment before he decided to follow Alec's lead and placed the offending drink on the nightstand as well. Sober, he needed to stay sober! "So, Izzy sent you over to try and get me to join the party?" Magnus shrugged, sitting himself carefully on the edge of the bed and crossing his legs, very much aware that Alec's eyes were tracking every movement,

"She did mention you were an antisocial prick-biscuit." Alec let out a snort of laughter that caused Magnus' heart to clench painfully at the adoring expression on Alec's face. As if he needed another reminder of how bad an idea this was, sitting alone in a room with the object of his affection while the other man was swooning over his girlfriend.

"I have a feeling I should resent that," Alec said thoughtfully, "But weirdly the part I most object to is being called biscuit." Magnus smiled, trying to avoid Alec's eyes because the mirth in those hazel irises was too much for him,

"I know what you mean. I call my cat that sometimes."

"You have a cat called biscuit?" Alec folded his ridiculously long legs under him, leaning towards Magnus, and looked genuinely delighted by the fact that Magnus had a cat. Ok, so a closet cat lover- hot! No! Not hot, interesting. Yes, interesting!

"No, his name is Chairman Meow, biscuit is more of nickname." If Magnus thought Alec was charmingly hot before, once he saw the wide grin on face at hearing Magnus cat's name he had to ball his hands into fists in his lap and look away. Too much, this was all too much. He should just make up some excuse and get the hell out of here. He wasn't even going to go home, he was going to have to go and crush at Cat's until he found a new place to live!

"Chairman Meow," Alec rolled the name on his tongue softly, "I like that."

"I should really..." Magnus started, hoping to let Alec know he really wanted to get back out there without insulting him, but he never finished his sentence because Alec burst in,

"Can I kiss you?" Magnus' eyes widened in shock. What the hell just happened? He managed a feeble 'huh?' when Alec suddenly realized his words and quickly tried to backtrack, "Shit, that came out totally wrong…" He was waving his hands around and his face grew steadily pinker as he fumbled through his words, "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out on a date with me and totally screwed it up…" Once Magnus' paralyzed brain caught up with what Alec was saying he jumped off the bed and turned to glare at the other man. He was about 87% sure he wasn't hallucinating and that Alec actually asked him out, on a date!

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He cried then immediately turned his volume down, the last thing he wanted was Izzy bursting in and learning what a horrible boyfriend she had! And right in the middle of her house warming party, no less! "How can you ask me that when your girlfriend is literally in the next room?" Magnus had to admit it kinda felt good, letting out all of this anger. Yes, he was lusting after his taken neighbor, but at least he had the decency to feel bad about it! Something that apparently Alec didn't have. "Her mother is here! Have you no shame?" Alec, who looked at Magnus wide eyed through his tirade, looked positively scared by Magnus' violent reaction,

"Her moth… Wait…" He stopped himself when something finally clicked for him and looked at Magnus in disbelief, "You think Izzy is my… girlfriend?" Magnus crossed his arms over his chest in defiance, his irritation dissipating at Alec's confusion. He did not expect that!

"Well, isn't she?" He huffed and Alec's face contorted in a grimace,

"Ew, NO!" He cried loudly, before he too seemed to remember there were other people close by and lowered his voice, "She's my sister!" Magnus took a step back in surprise, wow, that was a turn of events he did not foresee… Wait…

"Your sister? What kind of brother and sister move into a one bedroom apartment together?" Magnus cried out, he liked to think of himself a progressive man who accepted each and all, but that seemed a little too progressive, even for Brooklyn. Alec jumped off the bed, looking ashen and just as shocked as Magnus, running his hand through his hair,

"I don't know," He cried back, fiddling with his fingers in angst, "I don't live here!"

"Huh?" Alec sighed as he ran his hand through his hair again, a nervous tick of his. This was not going at all like he expected,

"I don't actually live here," He explained slowly, "Izzy does, with her girlfriend Clary- the redhead." He added in case Magnus was going to make that into a sordid affair as well,

"Right, OK…" Magnus was starting to feel the weight of all the misunderstandings on him, somewhere in the back of his mind there was some guy, who looked a lot like him but sounded like Ragnor who was jumping up and down and yelling 'kiss him you fool!' but most of him just wanted to clear everything out first because really, assumptions are the the mother of all fuck-ups. "It's just, you spent a lot of time here this week…" Alec waved a hand in dismissal and sighed,

"Clary's an artist and she was commissioned to do a huge mural for a ridiculous amount of money so she was upstate for the last couple of weeks, so Izzy roped me into doing all the heavy lifting for her. Clary just came back a couple of days ago." Ok, so that all sounded like a very plausible story and right now Magnus had two choices- either Alec was telling a huge, complected lie to try and get Magnus into bed and then probably cut him up into tiny pieces and dump him in the Hudson, or… Magnus imagination was running too wild with weird scenarios and Alec was actually telling the truth, in which case…

"So… You're single," Alec smiled in relief, glad that Magnus didn't bolt yet, and was finally getting on with the program,

"Yes. And gay." He added in case Magnus was still somehow confused by all this.

"That is very good to know…" Magnus practically purred, now completely in his element. This was what he wanted all along after all, and now that all the loyalty issues were solved there was nothing stopping him enjoying pursuing this man to the fullest.

"Yeah," Alec shrugged sweetly and Magnus was seriously tempted to jump his bones again, and he definitely would have if Alec hadn't opened his mouth again, "There is a guy I'm interested in but he seems to think I'm dating my sister…"

"Hey, it's an easy mistake to make!" Why were they even talking about this again? It was bad enough he made that mistake the first time and wasted a whole week pining and beating himself up for it!

"Magnus, we look exactly like each other!" Yes, now that Alec said it out loud- sure… there was a passing resemblance… Fine, they did look like each other! Only a maxi version and a mini version that was what probably threw him off in the first place. Anyway…

"Are you going to kiss me or make fun of me all night?" Alec pretended to think about the answer, the cheeky little bastard!

"Tough call…"

"Shut up!" Magnus growled, finally fed up with all the ridiculous foreplay and grabbed Alec's shirt to bring him closer to him, crashing their lips together. Fuck yes! This was so overdue in Magnus' opinion it wasn't even funny. Alec kissed back with just as much enthusiasm, his arms snaking around Magnus' waist and Magnus pushed him softly backwards, never breaking the kiss. Hell, if it was up to him he'd probably never stop kissing that man. The motion of his movement caused Alec to falter and the two of them fell on the bed in a messy hip of limbs, but even that didn't stop them kissing. Suddenly Alec pulled back, his eyes wide,

"Wait!"

"Really?" Magnus was not whining, he was definitely not whining!

"That's my sister's bed…" Alec explained sheepishly, looking almost apologetic but very determined not to soil his sister's bed by having sex in it. Magnus could see his point,

"Right. Well, lucky for you I know a guy who lives pretty close who would love to continue this on his bed." The way Alec's eyes sparkled in delight and his smile grew wider made Magnus tingly all over. Oh yeah, he loved the new neighbors!

Author's note: It's been quite a while since I wrote something, you know how it is, life… Anyway, I'm really happy I could get this out and I hope I'm not too rusty.

Thank you so much for reading. Let me know what you think!

I'm not sure why but I feel the need to explain the title- as you should all know! it's a line from the wonderful song 'Ironic' by Alanis Morissette. When Raphael says that during brunch he specifically refers to the line 'it's like meeting the man of your dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife.' But you all got that, right?