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Alec lets out a shaky breath as he adjusts the sleeves of black button up. He casts his gaze across the street, seeing the restaurant’s name lit up in bright red. Rain is falling heavily, the only thing shielding him from the cold water being his barely functional umbrella.
Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he quickly scrolls through his contacts, fingers shaking.
“Hey, big bro.”
“Izzy. Hi. I’m outside the restaurant.”
“What’re you waiting for? Go in.”
His dearest sister, Isabelle, had managed to convince him to go on a blind date. Izzy keeps promising this girl is amazing, and will be perfect for her brother. Alec can’t find it in him to turn down her wishes, despite knowing all too well that he won’t be interested.
So that’s how he finds himself here: standing in the pouring rain, across the street from an Italian restaurant where a pretty lady is waiting for him.
“What if… What if she’s not there?” Alec says, attempting to talk himself out of this. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Alec,” Izzy groans, and he can sense that she’s rolling her eyes. “Stop putting yourself down. You’re a catch.”
He sighs heavily, willing his feet to let him cross the street. “So… Lisa? What does she look like?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Izzy-”
“Have fun. Use protection. Call me later.”
With that, she hangs up.
Alec closes his eyes for a moment, his steps coming to a halt. He doesn’t feel like doing this. He wants to turn around, and go back home to his bed. Time and time again he has tried going on dates with women, but none of them has interested him.
Pocketing his phone and running a hand through his damp hair, he shakes all thoughts from his head. This girl might be the one. The right girl. A girl he can take home to his parents. So why not take the chance.
With a final deep breath, he steps up to the door, closes his umbrella and enters the building.
The room is dimly lit, soft jazz music floating in the air. He ignores the feeling of self-consciousness as he walks through the dining area and over to a table in the corner. He stares out the window while he waits, enjoying the faint sound of rain hitting the glass.
Not long after he sits down, footsteps can be heard making their way across the floor, towards Alec’s table. He doesn’t think much of it, assuming it’s just a waiter passing by, but then the person calls his name.
“Alexander?”
The voice is soft and airy, and definitely not a woman’s.
Alec pulls his gaze away from the window, finding a man standing in front of him. The stranger’s eyes meets his, and Alec’s heart starts pounding against his ribcage. His brown eyes shine under the fairy lights in the ceiling; his coral lips are parted ever so slightly, a strand of pink hair hanging over his forehead. He’s gorgeous.
“D-Do I know you?” Alec blurts out in confusion, wondering why this handsome man is talking to him.
The stranger chuckles softly, his gold-rimmed eyes crinkling slightly. “I’m Magnus,” he says, taking a seat opposite the brunette.
Alec stares. Oh.
“Is something wrong?” Magnus frowns.
“I-I need to… Uh, excuse- excuse me,” he manages to get out before he stumbles out of his seat, head spinning as he tries to locate the bathrooms. He doesn’t catch Magnus’ response as he flees the scene, scrambling for his phone on the way. He locks himself in a stall, dialing his sister’s number and shakily tugging at the fabric of his jeans.
“Is this a joke?” Alec asks in a wobbly whisper as soon as the girl picks up.
“What?”
“Magnus.”
Izzy stays quiet for a moment. “What’s wrong with Magnus?”
“I’m not gay, Izzy,” he denies, shaking his head slowly, his eyes darting around the small toilet nervously.
“Alec-”
“I’m not.”
“Look. If you don’t wanna be there, you’re free to leave,” she sighs. “I’m just trying to help you.”
The man covers his face with his free hand, desperately attempting to calm down. He is seconds away from a nervous breakdown. “I can’t- I can’t do this.”
“Magnus is such a nice guy, Alec. He won’t judge you, or expect anything from you. I promise.”
“If mom ever finds out about this-”
“Stop overthinking. You’re on a date with a handsome guy, and as I said; you can either go sit down, enjoy a nice meal and get to know him, or come home and live to be sad and repressed another day.”
Alec exhales slowly. “I gotta go.”
Before his sister can reply, he ends the call and shoves his phone back into his pocket. Stepping out of the stall, he shuffles over to the mirror, staring himself down for a second. He looks a mess. His hair is still damp from the rain, curling ever so slightly at the tips.
With a sigh, he makes up his mind: he’s not gonna run away because he’s scared.
Not this time.
When he comes back to the table, a young waitress is talking to Magnus. She smiles at him as he approaches with his hands stuffed into his pockets.
“Well, hello,” she greets kindly. “You must be Magnus’ date.”
He blinks at her, shocked at how easily she said those words, as if it was completely normal. He only offers a tight smile in return before settling down in his seat again.
They proceed to order drinks, Alec a glass of water, and Magnus some sort of French wine. The waitress walks away, and they’re left in silence.
“Are you alright?” The elder asks, tilting his head and trying to connect their gazes. Alec avoids his eyes, rather picking up his menu and staring blankly at it.
“I’m fine,” he replies quietly.
“Alexander,” Magnus sighs, a ring-clad finger reaching out to tilt the menu down. “I can tell something’s wrong.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Is it me? Are you… disappointed? Am I not what you expected?”
He finally looks up at the man. “No, you’re not what I expected. I was expecting a woman.”
Magnus’ eyes widen. “Oh,” he breathes, retracting his hand from the table. “Are you… straight?”
Alec feels a practiced yes sitting on his tongue, but it won’t come out of his mouth. He bites down on his lip harder than necessary, mind churning for something to say.
As he debates what to answer, he takes in the man in front of him. His eyes are kind, no trace of judgment to be found in them. For some reason, he seems trustworthy.
“I’m… I’m not,” he starts slowly, physically struggling to get it off his chest. Magnus shoots him an encouraging look. He takes his hundredth deep breath of the night, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I’m not out. To anyone.”
Magnus is quiet for a moment, frowning slightly. “Alec, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Alec glances around, eyeing the other guests, noticing that no one seems to care that they are two men sitting at a table together. He swallows dryly. “I just- I’m not comfortable- I’m not out,” he says again, shaking his head at his own words. “It has nothing to do with you. You’re great- I mean, you’re- you’re nice, but I’m not…”
“Do you want to leave?”
A pause.
Then: “No.”
Magnus’ lips curl up at the corners. “Alright then,” he speaks softly, gesturing to the menu. He reaches out, his long fingers stretching around his wineglass filled with shining liquid, whereas Alec’s small glass of water looks rather sad where it stands. “Order whatever you want. It’s on me.”
“I can pay for myself,” Alec protests, biting his bottom lip as he watches the elder swallow his drink.
“I insist.”
They’ve both ordered their meals when Magnus speaks up again: “So, Izzy tells me you’re in law enforcement?”
“Yeah. I'm a police officer,” he admits, feeling more at ease.
“Admirable.”
Alec blushes, avoiding eye contact again. “Thanks.”
Their food comes and conversation flows easily – or, easily on Magnus’ part, and a bit wobbly on Alec’s – and before they know it, they’re getting ready to leave.
As they exit the restaurant, Alec sighs at the nonstop downpour. He opens his umbrella, eyeing his date. “We can share, if you want,” he blurts out without consulting his inner self-consciousness first, and soon finds himself walking side by side with another man, so close that their shoulders are brushing against each other.
“I had a really good time tonight, Alexander,” Magnus smiles gently as they close in on Alec’s apartment complex.
“I did too,” Alec whispers, just loud enough for the elder to hear. His grip on the umbrella tightens.
Their steps come to a halt, and they both stare up at the tall building, before turning to face one another. Alec’s heart almost jumps out of chest as he sees how close they’re standing, and takes a step back. The small umbrella can only do so much, and as he moves away from Magnus, heavy raindrops fall onto the man’s head.
“Oh, dear,” he laughs melodically, shielding his perfectly styled hair with his hand.
“Shit, sorry,” Alec frowns and extends his arm, holding out the umbrella for Magnus to take. “Here.”
Their fingers graze as Magnus grabs onto it, holding it over his head and taking a careful step closer so that they can both be sheltered from the rain. “Is this okay?” he asks, looking up at Alec with his beautiful brown eyes.
Looking around, he notices that the street is fairly empty, so he nods.
“I would love to do this again sometime.”
“Magnus, I… I think you’re great, but I don’t know if- I need to think about this,” Alec admits, eyes trained on the ground. The pavement shines like silver under the hard rain. “I’m just- I don’t know what I would tell my- my parents, and I wish I could, but… I need time.”
Magnus smiles fondly. “Take as much time as you need, Alexander.”
“Really?”
“Really,” the man confirms, reaching out and gently grabbing onto Alec’s hand, bringing it up to his face. Their eyes meet as he presses a feather light kiss to the back of his hand. He lets go of it, and Alec cradles it to his chest, a shy smile on his face. Magnus steps back, letting the rain fall onto his date once more, a grin dancing on his lips.
“Call me,” he says as he starts walking backwards down the street, before turning around and disappearing around the corner, leaving a newly soaked Alec standing on the street, a warm feeling bubbling in his chest.