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The first time they met, it was inconspicuous.
They were simply buying newspaper from the corner stand. To be honest, they didn’t even notice each other until Magnus walked off and had left his change and was so called back to retrieve it – then needing to wait behind Alec who was paying at the time.
When Alec had turned around to leave, they accidentally bumped into each other, both nodding an apology.
The second time they met, of course it was by coincidence again. Busy on his phone, the documents Alec was carrying fell out of his hands and as if to tease him more, the wind in Manhattan sent the sheets fluttering in the air and him running after them - just like in one of those bad cliché movies. Then when he thought he'd what was the last of the sheets, Magnus suddenly walked up and handed him a pile with a soft smile, “I believe these are yours”. Alec may have been frozen at that moment for a million reasons, but first, he had to get over how well dressed and supremely beautiful the man in front of him was.
"Thank you".
"Don't mention it".
They hadn't yet realised they'd met before.
The third time they met was midweek at a batting centre. They had both gotten off work late and to blow off some steam, they’d apparently decided to sweat the night away hitting balls. It wasn’t until they had a break between turns, that their eyes just happened to meet and when the realisation came that they’d actually met before, they both smiled and in a strange way, felt grateful that they’d found that sort of coincidental fateful company.
Though, the rest of the night waned without them talking.
The fourth time was even more unexpected. A Saturday and they were sitting one row apart, behind each other at a horse racing track club. It was when Alec had turned around to order some roasted peanuts from the snack bar staff who was making her rounds, that he saw Magnus ordering sparkling water. When their eyes met, a slow smile formed that turned into a secret laughter between them.
“Do I need to report a stalker?” Magnus asked.
“I think I may need to report one too”, Alec said, the pleasantness of meeting Magnus once again, obvious on his face.
And like an act of mutual feelings, the smile on their lips lingered longer than it normally should.
“Betting?” Alec asked.
“Yes. That black beauty to the far left will surely make me rich”.
Alec hmm-ed. “My money is on the white stud to the far right”.
For the record, they both lost the bet.
The fifth time they met, things really started to seem fishy. A new photo gallery had opened up downtown. At first, neither had the intention of going until on the last night within the last 15 minutes of the exhibition, they both just happen to enter the gallery using opposite entrances – yet they met at a small painting of a golden temple overlooking a pond.
“I’ve been to that temple once. The Kyomizudera in Kyoto”.
When Alec turned around, his lips spread and widened just like his eyes. “I’m going to really need to file a report”.
Magnus laughed. “Well before we put away each other for good, why don’t we go have a drink and I’ll tell you how truly magical the real temple is?”
Alec accepted.
By their sixth time, things had already become a sort of ritual. Without even needing to make plans, they would end up seeing each other at the newspaper stall, the batting centre and the horse racing tracks. They would then have lunch together, hang out some more and tell each other things like, “See you next week, same time”.
“Yep. Same time, same place”.
They met a seventh and an eighth time.
Life was escalating though at a comfortable fun pace.
Their ninth time was by sheer coincidence, though - a planetarium. And that was probably when they both realised they were two stars forever destined to meet.
And wouldn’t it be nice if they could stay together forever?
One day, they kissed.
Wrapped their arms around each other and kissed some more – the glitter of their attraction to each other shone pretty in their eyes, making everything surreal the moment they touched lips again and again - their tongues probably got swollen.
By then, it was as clear as day that they were either reincarnated to love each other or born to fall and love each other.
There was no mistake about this.
They met a tenth and an eleventh time. Also a twelfth and thirteenth time and every time, the universe seemed to whisper to them a message.
‘Go on. Take a chance’.
‘Love like you’ve never loved before’.
‘Love like you’ve always imagined’.
‘Love like you’ve always wanted’.
‘Make the best out of this life with this one’.
'Stop being a pain in the neck and own up to your feelings'.
Before long the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and--- how many times had they met by now?
Time had started to blurred.
Their meetings had become more than mere counts, much more than mere passing coincidences. They’d developed a ritual of craving and getting and loving each other’s wholeness and company.
Weeks passed.
Months passed.
Then a bit over a year came.
They followed each other home. They exchanged keys. They met the friends. They met the family. Then one day while cutting Alec’s toenails, Magnus said, “I think we should get engaged”.
Alec laughed at the suddenness, his heart racing like a virgin on his first date. “I wasn’t even aware we were dating”.
Magnus looked at him appalled. “Well I suppose some things go without saying”, massaging Alec's pinky toe. “I like you and I know you like me. Heck, I love you and I know you love me so what do you think we should do now?”
Alec smiled, licked his lips then leaned over and swiped a kiss across Magnus's mouth, both comfortable and glad about how far they’d come. “We should go on a date”.
Magnus had then started to paint Alec’s toenails in a translucent pink polish when he asked, “Where would you like to go?”
“Do you have money?”
“I can splurge”.
“Then how about going to see that temple together in Japan? The one in Kyoto that you went to”.
Magnus smiled. It’s these little things that mattered – the way they held on to each other’s every word – cataloguing and remembering everything that reminded them of each other. “What? Don’t trust my review about how magical it is?”
Alec laughed, taking the nail polish from Magnus and carefully placing it away from them so he could pull Magnus close. “It’s just that I find it hard to believe there’s anything more magical and captivating than you”, wrapping a hug around Magnus and kissing him.
Of course, Magnus kissed back.
"Alexander, I love you".
"I love you too, Magnus".
And by now, they were both in a puddle of emotion when Magnus said, “Forget engagement. Alexander, I want to marry you now - today - at this minute - as soon as this second”.
Alec laughed. “Anytime you’re ready, babes”, then leaned over and once again sweetly kissed Magnus. “I’m not going anywhere”.
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magnus x alec 