The law is the law. Maybe...

Chapter 14 - God, what have I done?

Time flew by quite fast. Alec was getting better. They were enjoying each other's company. Dr Loss took the stitches out and said they were healing nicely and Alec had to go back in 4 weeks. She wanted to have one last look at him before letting him go back to work. It turned out that Nurse Ass' name was Annabella. A week and a half went by. They were slacking off a lot, hooked on watching some show. Sometimes they just watched TV all day. They made a big bowl of popcorn, sat on the couch and watched Netflix. They talked a lot. They laughed a lot. They got to know each other better and better. They became very good and close friends. Of course, there were still some things left unsaid. Especially on Alec. He didn't tell Magnus about his wounds. How could he tell him, he would have had to tell him everything. He didn't have the courage yet. He had been putting it off. And Magnus was patient. He didn't force it, Alec had told him he needed time to talk about his wounds. He was willing to give him time.

Asmodeus has also made efforts. Sometimes he brought them pizza unexpectedly. He didn't go in, just handed it over, smiled at Magnus and said goodbye. It's been almost 2 weeks since he drunkenly passed out at Magnus' loft, and every day since then he had called or texted him. Magnus' heart slowly began to soften. Pandemonium was in a bit of a job crisis. Three people had quit. So Magnus took a shift at the bar once in a while. But they soon found a new bartender. It was even harder to find a new cleaner when Raphael called Magnus one afternoon.

"I have a CV in front of me for the cleaner job." Raphael said into the phone. 

"Sweetheart, and how much do you think this is my duty? You know I don't do that sort of thing. You hire who you think is good for the job." Magnus said as he put the phone on speaker, because he was eating lunch with Alec.

"I think you'll be surprised. The job applicant's name is Asmodeus Bane." Rafa said, and Magnus choked the water he had just taken a sip of. Alec's eyes widened, but he jumped up and started patting Magnus on the back.

"Thank you, I'm fine. He's completely lost his mind."

"Magnus, he asked you for a chance. He wants to prove himself." Alec said.

"Jeez Rafa, I can't believe I'm saying this myself, but get him on the job. Give him his chance."

"But he owns this whole place. How am I supposed to hire the owner as a cleaner?"

"Remember that legally he is no longer the owner, but you and I. He gets 20% of my share. And I'll stand behind the bar if I have to. If he wants a chance, he'll get it."

"Okay, but if we have to fire him because I catch him drinking, you're the one who's going to fire him. I couldn't do it."

"Deal."

"Oh, and one more thing. Our Saturday show. Jane got the flu. We need someone to replace her. Do you still have your costume? Can you replace her?"

"Raphael, honey, no way. It's been over three years since I've done something like this. Find someone else."

"It was just an idea. But if I can't come up with something, we'll talk about it later. Okay?"

"No Rafa. I'm too old for this."

"You know that's not true. There's still no one better than you on the pole."

But Magnus was adamant.

Alec was much better, he didn't need the cane anymore, he didn't need to be bandaged every day. He was having a good time with Magnus, but he knew he couldn't take advantage of his kindness, so he thought it was time to go home. Besides, he noticed that, although he and Magnus had become really good friends lately, he felt he was repressing his emotions for some reason. He knew the reason for that. But it was so complicated, and it didn't help that the person he could talk to about these things was on the other side of the world.