Chapter Text
Alec is in the storage room to arrange a few carton boxes of goods, that have been just delivered. He is wearing overly big headphones and listening to a Spotify playlist called Dance '80 '90 '00. He seems to be totally engrossed with the task at hand and with the music.
Well, Alec is happy; why shouldn't he be? It's Friday, tonight he's going to attend his last lesson at the dance school and then tomorrow it will be Isabelle's birthday, and for once, he doesn't dread the incoming party, rather he looks forward to it.
Besides, he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Magnus since Wednesday night. He feels weirdly excited about seeing the guy again and he can’t really wait to dance together one more time.
Who knows if Magnus would agree to go and have a coffee together? Sure, he should ask him first. Alec tries not to let his enthusiasm be held back by his usual self-confidence issues...
Yet, why would a gorgeous man like Magnus want to go out on a date with him? Alec shakes his head, admonishing himself. No, not this time. Magnus is kind and affable and if he hasn't misread the signs in his behavior, he finds him cute at least. He hopes cute and not a charity case. Admittedly, Alec caught him giving him an unmistakable look a couple of times. There was something in that look that gave him goosebumps. And Alec is thrilled to be dancing close to him again. Their bodies almost touching… His handsome face, a few inches away from his. Suddenly he feels a surge of anticipation and excitement and lets himself be completely overwhelmed by Gloria Gaynor's voice singing her Can't Take My Eyes Off You and without even noticing it, he finds himself widely swaying his hips and shaking his shoulders in time, singing along. With his headphones on, though, he doesn’t realize he is yelling way too loudly.
I love you baaaaby, and if it's quite all right, I need you baaaaby to warm the lonely night…
Jace, thinking his brother is having a bad case of intestinal colic, rushes to the back of the store, into the storage room, just to find himself in front of an unbridled, wild Alec, who is unrestrainedly dancing there, in front of the shelves. Jace tilts his head to the side, puzzled, but he has to admit Alec is moving with surprising grace, completely lost in the rhythm. He dances and puts the football shirts on the shelves, dividing them by size, as it was the normal way to do that task.
This is something unprecedented. Why doesn't he have his phone with him? He needs to make a video because no one is going to believe him. No one.
He goes back to the sales area, behind the counter, as he doesn’t have the heart to disturb his brother’s frenzy and happiness. He has never seen him so free and disinhibited, and he can’t help but smile at himself.
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When Alec enters the classroom, Magnus is already there and welcomes him with a genuine smile that almost blinds him. Alec can't help but notice again how attractive Magnus is. He's practically perfect, he can't find anything that doesn't attract him. And he is not talking about his mere appearance. His voice, his joviality and kindness, his talent, his elegant hands, his deep and warm eyes, his smile, even his smell, enveloping but not aggressive and so damn alluring. How can he dance with him without being distracted? Impossible. Magnus is obviously staring at him with an amused smile on his lips, patiently waiting for him to come to his senses. Alec seems to have the tendency to zone out each time he meets him as if he were knocked out by his mere sight. Alec shrugs internally, he's so smitten he doesn't even bother worrying that he's probably making a bad impression.
The lesson finally can begin. The first song Magnus chose is Chriss Isaac's Wicked Game. Magnus takes him in his arms, but instead of grabbing his hand and putting the other arm along his shoulders, in the usual pose a couple would take to dance, he snakes both his arms around Alec’s neck and pulls him close to himself. Alec gasps. He did not expect this closeness. Magnus glances at him through his long eyelashes.
"You know Alec, sometimes, at a club, they play slower and more sensual songs. In this case, the movements are simpler, see?"
And Magnus begins to sway following the sweet rhythm of the song. Alec wraps his arms around his waist and realizes that their hips are dangerously close. Magnus keeps looking at him, in the eye. Alec tries to relax and follow the soft swaying, even though the awareness of Magnus' body practically pressed along his own is intoxicating. Magnus rests his head on his shoulder and Alec breathes in the heady scent of his shampoo. They keep dancing and after the chorus repeats for the second time, Alec hears Magnus humming along with the song near his ear, his warm breath gives him chills and his voice is soft and tuneful.
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you…
Strange what desire will make foolish people do…
Magnus lifts his head and looks him straight in the eye. Alec notices that Magnus’ eyes are glowing and he enjoys the moment they are having. It’s quite magical.
They keep dancing on the spot, only alternating their bodies’ weight from one foot to the other.
Then the song fades and both men remain silent, overwhelmed by the intensity of whatever they shared.
Alec pulls back, suddenly embarrassed by his own feelings. But Magnus just smiles at him and the lesson goes on. Magnus teaches him some more tricks and steps and they dance and dance, enjoying themselves. The last song Magnus chooses then is Hips don't lie by Shakira.
"Look, we are almost done. Now we are going to see if you can really let go and dance without any worries, ok? Just dance as you feel it, don't think about what I may expect from you. Just move, feel the music, ok? This is a sensual song, so lower your center, keep your knees slightly bent, and wiggle that pretty ass of yours as if tomorrow never comes."
Alec laughs.
"Ok, I'll try."
The music starts and Magnus begins to move. He is smooth in his movements and Alec goes along. And indeed, he sways his hips and wiggles his ass and spins on his heels and moves his arms according to the music, just as freely as he feels it. It's easy and it feels so good. Suddenly Magnus gets closer and lodges his leg between his, and one of his hands lands on his hip, keeping him in place.
They start moving together, their body brushing one against the other. It's sensual and exciting and so different from the way they danced to the first song. Not even one hour ago, Magnus was in his arms, looking soft and almost vulnerable. Now Magnus’ lower parts are pressed against him and he keeps pulling him to himself with the hand that is now on the small of his back. Magnus's other hand is on his chest and Alec wound his arms around his back. They are impossibly close and Alec is about to catch fire. This is so much more than just dancing.
With a quick and sudden move, Magnus spins him around and presses his chest against his back, continuing to sway. His hands are on Alec’s stomach and his mouth on his nape. Alec continues to follow Magnus' movements until his hands begin to slide along his abdominals, slowly, his fingers digging into the skin beneath the fabric of his shirt. Once he reaches Alec’s chest, Magnus hugs him tightly, brushing his slightly parted lips along the side of his neck.
Alec shudders violently and turns around quite abruptly. Magnus opens his eyes wide, a flash of fear in his eyes. Has he exaggerated? But Alec throws his hands around his waist pulling him hard to himself and then looks him in the eye, circling his hips in an allusive way.
Magnus is short of breath and then he thinks about how unprofessional it would be to kiss Alec in his class during their lesson. Luckily, the song ends and Alec pulls away. They look at each other, remaining a few inches from each other.
Then Alec smiles at him and he looks in his eyes as if he was looking for something.
The silence stretches for a few seconds until Alec finally breaks it, his voice low and deep.
“Are you free tonight? What about a drink?”
Magnus relaxes and his smile widens.
“I’m free and I’d love it.”
They go to a bar near the school, nothing fancy since neither of them got the chance to go home and dress for the occasion. But they don’t really care about that.
Alec had brought a clean T-shirt to change from his sweaty one, and he washed himself in the school's changing room.
It’s Friday, so the bar is quite crowded, but they find a couple of free stools at the counter and have a beer there. It's not the best of privacy, but Alec assumes it's okay anyway. He just wants to have a little chat and get to know Magnus better.
“So, you already know I am a dance teacher and I own my own school, but what do you do for a living?”
Magnus inquires, sipping his pint of amber beer.
“Oh… well, I… wait a sec, you own the school? I thought you worked there. Great, it’s great, ehm, your school is very nice.”
“Thank you, Alec, actually it is mine and Catarina’s. She is my best friend and we studied together.”
“I see, well, I own a sports store with my brother Jace. We have always liked sports as I already told you and so at first we had thought about opening a gym maybe, but then someone we knew was selling the store and you know, one thing led to another.”
“I know… It happens, life can be unforeseeable.”
“Yeah. Anyway, Jace is a personal trainer, so sometimes he gives some private lessons and during summer, I teach archery to a few classes of kids.”
“How nice… So you have a sister and a brother, right?”
“And another brother, he is the youngest, Max is now 25 and he is a cybersecurity expert, while my sister is a cardiologist."
"You seem to be very fond of your siblings."
"I am, we are pretty close, even if Jace is a lazy, rowdy messy guy and Isabelle tends to be meddlesome and overprotective. But I wouldn't want them any other way. Max... He is the little one of the family and sometimes he takes advantage of it, he knows that the rest of us would never deny him anything and we tend to spoil him. But he is a smart boy with a heart of gold.”
“It must be nice to have such a close-knit family."
"It is. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"No, I am an only child and my parents returned to Indonesia about eight years ago. They helped me open the school, but then they decided to go back to the place where they were born. My father is much older than my mother and when he retired, he preferred to leave the US and go back to where his family is. I visit them whenever I can.”
“I guess you miss them."
"Sure, but I know they're fine and happy. And I'm happy here where I am, I have my school and my friends."
"And nobody else?"
Alec blushes at the implications of his question. Magnus smiles coyly at him.
"No… there hasn't been anyone else in a while."
"There is no one for me either, you know, besides my siblings and a few friends. I'm not exactly a sociable person."
Magnus smiles.
“You seem perfectly sociable to me.”
The evening passes by, fast and carefree, between light chatter and laughter, a couple of pool games when no real winner emerges, and a darts challenge when Alec makes a killing.
"Ok, ok, you humiliated me. But that's not fair, you definitely have a good aim, since you shoot with a bow."
"What can I say, I told you, I'm good at all sports." Alec declares proudly as a smirk tugs on his lips. He is actually having a great time.
"Oh, now we're being cocky, aren’t we?”
"Not cocky, just honest. Give me a ball, a bat, a kettlebell, a racket, a bow and you’ll make me a happy man."
"Well, now you can also dance."
"Well, no, I wouldn't say that. You're very good as a teacher and I certainly feel less awkward, but to say that I can dance is an exaggeration. You... you are wonderful though when you dance. You have an extraordinary elegance, I could spend hours watching you."
Alec blushes and looks down. He is being unusually brave and outspoken this evening.
"Thank you, dear. Well, in case you want to see me dance again, I will perform in a charity show next week, on behalf of the school. We are supporting an initiative in favor of an LGBT association... The proceeds of the evening will go entirely to the association."
"Oh, wow, sure! When is it?"
"Saturday next week."
"Okay, thanks then, I'll be there."
"Then I'll get you a ticket. My treat. It would be nice if you did a little donation though."
"Of course, thank you… Should I give you my number? So then you can send me the address and the details. I mean…"
Magnus nods and smiles. The impromptu evening went better than expected, Alec is nice, funny, and all in all a kind soul. In a week they will meet again and now the numbers have also been exchanged. It looks good, very good.
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"Code red! You have to help me, Alec!"
Alec wasn’t expecting a distress call from his sister in the middle of Saturday morning. She sounds to be in panic.
"What's going on Iz?"
"They called me from Pandemonium, it seems that last night there was some failure in the plumbing, and tonight they can't open the club, so the party is canceled."
"Oh no... What now?"
"Now I'm waiting for Raphael who has a friend who works in another club, the DuMort, and also Maia who has contacts at Hunter's Moon, which is a bar, though, not a club and I wanted to dance so damn much. I hope Raphael will find me a booth I can reserve with so little advance."
"Do you want me to ask Jace if he can think of anything?"
"Yes thanks, I need all the help I can get. I called him just now but he didn't answer his phone."
"Well, he's in the middle of a sale. He is showing some skates to a couple of girls and let's just say he's... focused on them."
"Yeah, I guess… The skates or the girls?"
They both giggle. Jace is beyond redemption, he can flirt with literally anyone.
"He's a great salesman, though, I wish I had half the gab of him."
“Yeah, but you are good at managing the shop, if it were left in Jace's hand you would not find anything after only a couple of days.”
This is utterly and sadly true, Alec admits.
"Anyway, so as soon as he's done I'll talk to him, ok? And don't worry, Iz, we will find a solution."
"Ok, I really hope so..."
"I'm sure, talk to you later."
When Isabelle hangs up the phone, Raphael walks into her study, carrying two cups of coffee.
"So, unfortunately, the DuMort is fully booked tonight. But I called Meliorn just to warn him of the little snag we had for the evening and he proposed we go to the Chandelier, he has already checked and there would be a private booth still available for us. Apparently, he knows the owner."
"What!!?? Oh wow, this is amazing, that place is very exclusive, I love it, it's decadent and so baroque. That's fine, can you confirm with him then? I’ll let everyone else know about the new location. Gosh, this Meliorn is great!"
"Sure. By the way, did you tell Alec that Meliorn will be there too? And that he saw a picture of him and showed interest in him?"
"Of course I did!"
The Hell she did. She didn't tell him and didn’t intend to. In her defense, she knows her brother, and just convincing him to take those dance lessons was uncertain, she will not risk his brother avoid to approach Meliorn because he is afraid of possible advances. Better to play the surprise card. Given the flirtatious attitude of the new doctor, Alec has no escape, according to Isabelle, even more so if he can't play defense from the beginning.
"Ok... Because you know Alec, what he is like with new people, especially if he doesn't expect them to be there. So, who will be there tonight?"
"You and I, Jace and Alec, Simon, Maia and Andrew of course, Meliorn, Clary, my cousin Aline with Helen, her girlfriend and Max with a couple of friends of his, and… that’s all."
"Perfect, I'll call Meliorn then and tell him to reserve a booth for 14 or 15 people max."
"Thanks, Raph, and thank Meliorn for me, he saved my birthday party."
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After lunch, Magnus is in his office doing some administrative work. He loves teaching, he doesn't like the administration part that much though. Well, it is part of the job, so it needs to be done. On Saturday afternoon there are no classes and soon he will go home to relax a bit and tonight he will go to some club with Catarina. So nothing to complain about. Everything is going great.
He really wants to dance a little and have some fun. He also needs to get distracted since he can't help but keep thinking about Alec. They went for a beer, but was it a date? Alec seemed to enjoy their little flirtation, but they didn't even kiss although Magnus wanted it so much. Instead, they said goodbye in front of the bar, agreeing to see each other at the charity event in a week. And he could also text him, in the following days, just to… keep in touch.
Anyway, Alec will be there to see him dance, so Magnus remains optimistic, maybe he will be able to invite him on a real date then. He is lost in his thoughts when his phone pings with a text from Cat.
"Mags, still at school? Look, I heard from Tessa and she got three passes for the Chandelier and invited us to go with her tonight, I know you've wanted to go there for a long time and it's always so hard to get an invitation. What do you think? "
Oh, the Chandelier. This is awesome.
"I say it's fantastic! All right, tell Tessa that we’ll go, if you are up to it too."
"Sure, I love the idea. See you tonight. Are you coming to pick me up?"
"Of course, I'll take an Uber, see you later xxx"
Wow, finally. Magnus had been trying to find an invitation to one of New York's most exclusive clubs for months. He makes an impromptu decision. He gets up, fuck the paperwork and the accounting, now it’s time to go shopping. He has to find an outfit that is absolutely perfect for the club they are going to, he wants to overdo it tonight, he wants to be magnificent.
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Alec and Jace enter the club after giving their name at the entrance. The bouncer looks at them from top to bottom, scrutinizes them carefully. Then he murmurs something incomprehensible but lets them in.
Gosh, thank goodness he turned to Jace for help to get dressed. He would have put on black jeans and a loose and comfortable dark denim shirt, but Jace patiently explained to him, as one would talk to a child, that dress codes exist for a reason and that he is going to dance in an exclusive club and celebrate his sister and not to shoot at the range. Alec, after puffing and rolling his eyes, repeatedly, got his brother to choose his clothes for him and well, he has to admit that the result is amazing.
Fitted black pants and a white muscle-fit T-shirt with black and silver geometric patterns on the front, so tight that his biceps were barely contained. Over the shirt, a waistcoat, black in front and silver gray in the back, and black Chelsea boots to complete the outfit. Besides, Jace had insisted on putting some eyeliner on his eyes and some gloss on his lips. Jace wasn't used to wearing makeup, but luckily Isabelle had left a clutch bag at Alec's house with some products in it.
Alec enters the club and for the first time, he doesn't feel completely out of place. He is happy to be there to celebrate his sister's birthday with his friends. Dancing doesn't scare him that much anymore.
They arrive at the booth and the others are already almost all there. Alec notices that only Raphael is missing.
After hugging his sister and greeting the others, he goes to get a beer, and then he sits at the table next to Aline until Isabelle gets to him.
"Hey, big brother, can you show me what you learned in class? Shall we dance?"
Alec is slightly nervous now, but he wants to try and please Isabelle, so he gets up and heads to the dance floor with her. Jace, Maia, Simon, and his best friend Clary follow them.
The music the DJ is playing is not bad at all and Alec immediately lets the rhythm carry him away. He starts moving next to the girls. Isabelle looks at him smugly and happily, while Jace and Simon are visibly shocked. Since when has Alec been dancing? And since when is he so good at it?
They continue to move all together following the rhythm of the music until Alec turns around and sees him.
He's... breathtaking. Magnus is in the middle of the dance floor, dominating the scene and dancing between a couple of girls. His movements are pure sin and his clothes...
God, he looks like he just jumped off a fashion runway. Not that Alec is into fashion, but he appreciates that little fabric that is clinging to Magnus’ body, being it either transparent or very tight. So, there is a lot of exposed skin. A lot.
Alec stops dancing altogether and stares at Magnus for a few seconds until Jace approaches him worried.
"Hey, buddy, are you okay?"
"What? Oh... Jace, yeah, sorry, I'll be right back."
Alec walks through the crowd towards Magnus and the closer he gets, the more he can appreciate the details of his outfit and also of his makeup. He is nothing but a marvelous vision.
When he's a few steps away from him, Magnus finally spots him and freezes.
"Alec? What are you doing here?"
Alec swallows and then he reaches out.
“Magnus, do you… would you… would you care to dance with me?”