Chapter Text
“This is really remarkable,” said Alec as he watched Rafael play with Magnus’ son. Magnus cocked his head to the side a little bit, sipping on his coffee and Alec looked away when he felt the other’s eyes on him. He cleared his throat and then decided to explain. “What I mean is that Rafael finds it very hard to open up to other people, it’s hard for him to make friends,” he said and then bit onto his lip. Magnus gave him a little compassionate look and then looked over at Rafael and Max; they were at the playground corner of the mall, while Magnus and Alec were chatting over a drink, their eyes constantly over their children. They were close, so there was no fret and Magnus then looked back at Alec, who was now chewing on the straw of his coke and he cleared his throat. “It’s not like him to be so trusting, so I’m just in awe when I see them play,” said Alec and then sighed happily; it was finally good to see Rafael finding a possible friend that was more of his age and not a family member.
“Well,” said Magnus and then glanced at the kids again and took in a deep breath. He chuckled when he saw Rafael chasing Max around the place and he then grinned, going back to Alec. “I’m glad to see that my son has such a positive effect on yours,” he said and Alec didn’t say much, but he just nodded. Magnus had a lot of questions, but he didn’t know if it would be too forward of him to ask them, so he pursed his lips and then studied Alec. Alec seemed rather young, a couple of years younger than himself, perhaps. Either way, he must had been young when he had Rafael, but he wasn’t going to go into too much personal details. “So, what is that you do, Mister Giant?” asked Magnus, teasing Alec a little bit and Alec rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face said it all - he didn’t mind that kind of a nickname at all. Especially if it was coming from someone as good looking as Magnus. He pressed his lips together and then clicked with his tongue.
“Well, for now I’m a barista,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod. “But when Rafe gets a bit older, I’m thinking of going back to school. I was actually going to become a lawyer before I dropped out,” he said and Magnus could tell that there was more to that story, but he didn’t push it too much. Whatever it was, it had to be somehow connected with that ex of his and he didn’t ask too much. He knew how touchy subject that was. “And how about you? What is that you do?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled all the way up to his ears. So, Alec was curious about him! That was definitely a good sign and Magnus cleared his throat.
“Oh, just office job for me,” said Magnus and sadly sighed. “I guess I can’t complain too much, I get paid more than enough, but it’s just so boring and my boss is a huge pain in the neck,” he said and Alec seemed surprised because he was expecting to hear something else apparently? Magnus cocked his head to the side a little bit and glanced over at Alec, who seemed to be contemplating if he should make a comment about it or not. In the end, he decided to speak up after all.
“That’s surprising,” said Alec.
“Yeah?” asked Magnus and then chuckled. “How so? I don’t give the typical I work a boring job in an office vibes?” asked Magnus and Alec chuckled as well and then grabbed onto the coke and took a bit sip of it.
“I thought you’d be a model or something like that,” said Alec and then ducked his head down, Magnus trying not to laugh. A model, who? Him? Alec had a good imagination, though, he had to give him that. “I mean,” said Alec as he still wasn’t done. “Someone as good looking as you, it would make a perfect sense,” said Alec and Magnus perked up. So, Alec was interested, like he thought! He just needed a verbal confirmation and that was exactly why Alec said it out loud. He didn’t really get if Magnus was really hitting on him or not, so he made it loud and clear about it and then looked at Magnus, waiting for a reaction and Magnus grinned.
“You’re kidding, right? If anyone should be thinking about modeling career, it should be you. Agencies would he hoarding for you,” said Magnus slowly and Alec’s flush deepened a little bit more and both of them went silent for a little while; both of them had quite a lot on their mind and Magnus could see that Alec couldn’t really hide his smile even if he was trying really hard to do it, Magnus was about to say something, but then he heard Max crying from the play corner and he was quickly on his feet. Alec also looked alarmed and he walked after Magnus because he wanted to make sure that everything was okay with the boys and while Max was bawling his eyes out, Rafael was sitting next to him and trying to cheer him up. It looked like Max stumbled over his feet when he came down from the slide - nothing too serious.
“Papa, papa,” cried the boy and Rafael didn’t know what to do. He wanted to go and get help, but he also couldn’t just leave Max, so he decided to stand by his side and try to cheer him up, but it wasn’t really working. “Hurts,” cried the boy and was holding onto his knee. Magnus didn’t really wait around, he literally ran over to the boys, jumped over the low fence that was around the play corner and then ran up to his son, quickly going down onto his knees and gently placed his hand on top of Max’s head. Max continued crying, extending his hands out because he wanted to be picked up by his dad and Rafael was standing next to them, his eyes filled with worry.
“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” said Magnus, rocking Max in his arms and it took a few minutes, but Max was calm and Alec huffed under his breath, walking up next to Magnus and he looked down to his son, who looked concerned. Rafael looked up at Alec and then held his hand because he was scared.
“Is Max okay?” asked Rafael and Alec picked his son up and then nodded.
“I’m pretty sure that it’s just a little fall,” said Alec and looked at Max, who was now hiding his face into Magnus’ shoulder and he didn’t want to be let down for a very long time, hiccuping. Magnus made sure that Max was completely fine; he just got scared more than it actually hurt probably and he pressed his lips together, kissing Max’s cheek. Considering that the boy could move his leg without any pain, it meant that he was okay. “Is he okay?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded.
“Yes, he’s fine,” said Magnus and then looked at Rafael, who still looked worried. “Maxie is okay, Rafe, no need to worry. And thank you for being by his side before the two of showed up,” said Magnus and gently ruffled Rafael’s hair. Alec’s heart melted and Rafael looked proud of himself. Alec was also proud of his son for staying there with the little boy; he was really mature for his age and he happily sighed. Max was still in the process of calming down, feeling a little bit fussy, so Alec wanted to do something that would take the boy’s mind off of the recent events. Magnus and Max have done so much for them; they helped him and Rafael to get reconnected and invited them for a drink, so Alec wanted to do something that would show his gratitude.
“Hey, Max?” asked Alec and the boy glanced at him. His big eyes were still filled with tears and Alec gave him a gentle smile. “Do you like ice cream?” asked Alec and Max slowly nodded, because of course he loved ice cream! Alec happily smiled and then cleared his throat. “How about we all go for one?” he asked and then glanced at Magnus. “If that’s okay with you, Magnus,” said Alec. He just wanted to excuse to hang out with the two of them a bit more. He didn’t get to go out much besides his job and this was the perfect opportunity to meet someone new; to get a bit closer to Magnus.
Magnus was smiling because he knew just how much Maxie loved ice cream; especially the blueberry one and he grinned. Magnus gave him a little nod, because of course it was okay for them to go for a little treat; he had nowhere to be and he wanted to spend more time with Alec and his son; they were a fun pair to be hanging out with. “Of course,” said Magnus and the smile that he got for Alec was blinding. And adorable. He cleared his throat and then he looked down at Maxie. “What do you say, should we go?” he asked and Max quickly nodded because his eyes were shining with excitement and he could barely contain himself. “Do you think you could walk?” he asked and Max nodded.
Rafael started whining as well because he wanted to be put down as well, he wanted to be with Max and Alec started laughing. “Yes, yes,” said Alec and placed Rafael down, who went straight over to Max and Alec was in awe; Rafael has transformed into a social butterfly in just a span of an hour. Fascinating. “So, shall we go?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded. Alec wanted to go pay for their drinks first, but Magnus decided that the drinks were on him and Alec was just… swooning. What a gentleman, but Alec was determined to pay for the ice creams and they slowly walked together. The kids in front of them, Magnus and Alec behind them and weren’t really talking much, just smiling and walking. Magnus caught Alec stealing glanced at him and vice versa; Alec’s heart was pounding and his cheeks were probably red like tomatoes!
“Max, which ice cream is your favourite?” asked Rafael on the way and Magnus nudged Alec behind them. Alec smiled and sent him a little wink, both of them listening to that very important conversation that the kids were having; but then again - ice cream was a very important thing to kids. Max seemed happy to be asked such questions.
“Blueberry,” he said happily. “You like blueberry?”
“I never had blueberry ice cream,” said Rafael and Max let out a surprised squeak. Magnus was laughing, trying his best not to burst out laughing. “Dad, today I will try blueberry,” announced Rafael and looked behind them, Alec just giving him a little nod, but he was again astonished. Rafael had a hard time with trying new things and being spontaneous as well! That was very much Alec’s trait as well and it seemed that Rafael had inherited it as well, but it was just so amazing how open he was at the moment.
“This is just amazing,” commented Alec.
“Hmm?”
“For him to be willing to try a new type of food , this is big for him. It’s been a bit of a challenge when it comes to that department, a very picky eater,” said Alec and sighed. Magnus chuckled; but Rafael did tell him that dad was a good cook that makes yummy food. “Sometimes it’s a real struggle when it’s time for eating, it’s just… yeah ,” said Alec and then sighed. Magnus gave him a compassionate look.
“I must say I am lucky that Maxie isn’t a picky eater, but,” said Magnus. “Rafael did say that you’re a good cook before,” said Magnus and Alec snorted. “I’m sure that it’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it. When he’ll get older it’ll get better,” said Magnus and Alec nodded because that was pretty much true.
“I guess you’re right,” said Alec because that wasn’t the first time that he was being told that. Apparently, he was a picky eater as well, which was confirmed by his mother and father. “Well, I’m just happy that Rafael is finally prepared to give new things a try,” said Alec as the kids continued discussing ice cream flavours. “He’s usually not very spontaneous at all - he gets that after me,” said Alec and laughed nervously.
“Seems you’re both trying things out of your comfort zone today, huh?” asked Magnus and winked. “Because going out on a date with a guy that you barely know two hours seems pretty spontaneous as well,” commented Magnus and the look on Alec’s face was priceless. Alec knew that Magnus was into him, but- Maybe Magnus was getting a bit ahead of himself, but he just said it in the heap of the moment. And it seemed like a dare - sort of. It was fun, relaxing. They were slowly getting to know each other, chatting and Magnus liked what he was finding out about Alec. Maybe a pre-date?
“We’re on a date?” whispered Alec, so that the kids wouldn’t hear him.
“I mean unless you don’t want it to be?” asked Magnus and then bit his lip. “Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, we’ve just met, so of course. I thought you were interested in me,” said Magnus and glanced away. Even if he was, Magnus was going too fast. Alec had a past, he was divorced, so of course he’d want to take things much slower. So should have Magnus, and he usually was, but this was different. He just felt a connection, the kind that he didn’t feel with anyone - not even with Camille and he married her. “Oh, gosh, you must be just… look, I didn’t mean anything bad by it, it’s just been… so long since I’ve felt… hope in love… never mind. Forget I ever said anything, I was just-”
“Magnus, calm down,” said Alec and started laughing. So, he could lose his cool like him, huh. “Of course I don’t mind and for the record, yes… I am interested. Very much so,” said Alec and Magnus took in a deep breath. “I’m just not used to be hit on by such… hot guys like yourself,” whispered Alec and then grinned. Magnus gulped and then finally calmed down, a little bit. But he was still- “I mean, I’d be very much-”
“Papa,” exclaimed Max and the moment was ended. Alec closed his eyes and Magnus started giggling because kids knew just when to interrupt. “Ice cream!” he said, pointing and Alec glanced around. Ah, it seemed that they’ve already reached the destination. Great! Max smiled and then nodded. Magnus and Max were the first ones to make the order and Rafael was in awe when Max got his ice cream in a cup with chocolate syrup and some sprinkles on top.
“I want like this too, dad,” announced Rafael and Alec chuckled, making the order double and Rafael was just looking at his cup because it looked so cool and amazing.
“And what will you be having?” asked Alec, talking to Magnus, but luckily Magnus had someone that was going to decide it for him.
“Blueberry,” said Max and Alec burst out laughing. He really liked that blueberry, did he?
“He really likes blueberries, huh?”
“Yeah, his nickname is a Blueberry,” said Magnus and Alec grinned.
“Adorable,” said Alec and then looked at Max. “Should I have the blueberry as well? Seems like the hottest choice at the moment,” said Alec and Max just nodded; his recommendation skills were on point and in the end Magnus and Alec didn’t have much choice than to chose blueberry as well.
As it turned out, Magnus and Alec had their cars parked right next to each other; talk about destiny, right? It was a long day for both of the boys and they were already all seated in the cars, resting and Magnus smiled as he watched Max for a little while as Alec was putting a seatbelt on Rafael, who was looking really out of it - tired as well. But both of them had fun and Alec grinned. The visit at the local mall turned into a whole day experience and it felt good - it felt good to be finally out like this after a long time. He then straightened himself up, handed Rafael his toys and then looked over at Magnus, who was waiting for him; to say goodbye, for now. One thing was for sure - they both wanted to see more of each other and Alec took in a long breath.
‘’This was fun,’’ said Alec and Magnus nodded, leaning against his car and he happily sighed.
‘’I had a blast,’’ said Magnus and then smiled. ‘’And seems that the boys have as well,’’ he said and grinned when he saw Max yawning. He bit into his lip and then glanced back at Alec. ‘’I’d like to do this again, sometime,’’ he said and Alec quickly nodded. Yes, he would very much like that as well! ‘’And that time, maybe just us?’’ he asked, wishful and Alec nodded again. Yes, a million time yes!
‘’I would love that,’’ said Alec and then made a little pause. ‘’I’d love to go on a second date with you,’’ he said and Magnus laughed nervously. Right, that from before! Alec really didn’t mind it? Magnus was happy that Alec didn’t think too much of it - Magnus was just so giddy that he finally met a person that was more than just decent. Alec was pretty great, given how much he knew him and he then cleared his throat and took in a deep breath. ‘’If it’s okay with you?’’
‘’Oh, of course it is,’’ said Magnus and then winked. ‘’I’d like to take you out for a dinner?’’
‘’Yes.’’
‘’How’s next Friday, any plans?’’ he asked and Alec shook his head.
‘’Nope and even if there were, they would be getting cancelled,’’ said Alec and Magnus started laughing. That was good news. ‘’I, um, I’ll give you my number and we can talk more about the plans later?’’ offered Alec and Magnus nodded. Alec told him his number, which Magnus called right away so that way Alec had his number as well. Alec spent a few extra minutes looking at the screen and he sighed. ‘’Awesome,’’ said Alec and Magnus grinned.
‘’Very much so,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled happily. They chatted for a bit more, but then it was finally the time for the two of them to say their goodbyes and both of them left home hopeful and giddy inside; they both couldn’t wait for the second date to happen.