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Magnus was dead on his feet.
His day was meant to be relaxing, spent watching movies with his friends and drinking wine and getting pleasantly tipsy before he went to bed at a reasonable hour for once in his life. They had been planning it for weeks, constantly rescheduling due to Catarina’s unexpected shifts and Magnus’ unpredictable clients, and finally they had all agreed upon a time and place.
He should have known what would happen.
Ragnor and Raphael were the most irritable men that he had ever met in his life, and them being together defied all of the rules of existence. It was as though their powers of sarcasm and intolerance for human interaction combined to form one big monster, and when they pointed those qualities at each other instead of the usual innocent victims, it ended in chaos. They had been dating for two years, and they rarely fought, but when they did it was always a disaster.
They just had to pick the night that was supposed to be about catching up and having fun to have one of their ultimate battles. The first few hours were fine, just long enough for Magnus to let his shoulders drop and his head fall back. He had been in need of a break, and he was finally getting it after so many nights filled with unending work and steaming cups of coffee to keep him awake. It was one weekend before he had to get back to it, and he was planning on milking every minute for all they were worth. But then Ragnor misspoke, and Raphael froze, and it all blew up from there. Magnus and Catarina had tried to break it up, but that just ended with Magnus having a cupcake thrown at his head- the evidence was still in his hair hours later- and Catarina storming out furiously when Ragnor told her that her new coat was ugly because he thought she was taking Raphael’s side.
Magnus had left shortly after, deciding not to get caught any further in the crossfire. He ended up at a bar down the street, only to run into his ex and get a drink dumped on his head barely five steps in the door, and after that he just gave up. There was icing in his hair and his left eye was burning from where a little bit of vodka had gotten into it and he just wanted to sleep for the next 24 hours and forget the night ever happened. So he hailed a cab and climbed in, ready to get as far away from that place as possible, when suddenly another man grabbed the door before he could close it and fell halfway inside, his face landing directly in Magnus’ lap.
Now, normally Magnus wouldn’t mind men jumping into his lap, but he was in no mood for anything of the sort at that moment, and he let out a huff of disbelief. He just couldn’t seem to catch a break.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, pushing at the man’s shoulders in a failing attempt to get him to stand back up. The stranger mumbled something, his voice lost in the fabric of Magnus’ pants, and Magnus almost wanted to laugh. Almost. “Get up.”
The man moved his arms, scrambling to find purchase to push himself up, while the cab driver threatened, “Hey buddy, either kick your friend out of the car or get out. This isn’t a day care.”
“He’s not my friend,” Magnus insisted through gritted teeth, and he was seconds away from shoving the man out of the car, but then he realized that he wasn’t moving anymore.
Great.
Magnus was a lot of things, but he was certainly not the kind of person to leave a man unconscious on the sidewalk. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm the anger that was trying to rise inside of him, and grabbed the man under his arms, pushing him out of the cab and sliding out after him. The cab driver barely waited for him to close the door before he was speeding off, looking for his next customer, and Magnus had no idea what to do. The stranger smelled like alcohol and he looked a little bit green around his lips, and Magnus held him out a little bit further from himself, praying that the man didn’t decide to projectile vomit onto his expensive jacket.
“Looks like I’m calling an uber,” Magnus muttered to himself, struggling to keep the man upright while he pulled his phone out of his pocket. His arms were already starting to get tired, and all he wanted to do was go to sleep, so if that meant he had to deposit a random stranger on his couch for the night, then so be it. He’d probably be gone before Magnus woke up anyway, too embarrassed to face whoever he had inconvenienced. At least he was easy on the eyes. The dark, messy hair might even have been cute if it hadn’t been for the passed out drunk aspect of the man.
The uber driver side-eyed Magnus as he dragged the man into the car and buckled him in, but he didn’t feel the urge to explain. It wasn’t exactly a riveting story anyway, and he was too exhausted to even attempt to form an excuse. The drive seemed to stretch on forever, and Magnus was already half asleep by the time they reached the loft. He muttered out a quick thank you to the driver and threw the stranger over his shoulder, clutching his legs as he stepped into the building and smiled tiredly at the bewildered doorman as he passed.
Magnus had never been more grateful for an elevator than in that moment, and when he finally lowered the man down onto the couch, he let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly set up the stranger so that he was laying on his side, and set a blanket over his body, putting a bucket on the floor beside him for good measure. He really hoped he wouldn’t throw up on the couch, but at least that was something he could deal with the next day.
He trudged into his room, shedding his shoes and clothes as he went, and after an impressively short shower to wash the icing and vodka off of himself, he passed out a few seconds after his head hit the pillow.
He woke up the next morning to the sound of cursing and a loud meow from a clearly disgruntled and confused Chairman, and rushed out of his room in his boxers to see none other than the man from last night lying face down on the ground, his groan amplified by the bucket that had rolled sideways next to his head. This time, at least, he was coherent enough to actually push himself up, and before Magnus even had time to think about how to deal with the situation, their gazes met. It was close to so many of the over exaggerated reactions Magnus had seen in movies that he had to stop himself from laughing. The stranger’s mouth dropped open just a little bit as he looked Magnus’ bare torso up and down, and he quickly scrambled to his feet, nearly slipping when his foot got caught in the bucket- which was thankfully empty.
“How did I get here?” he asked, carefully moving back a couple steps, “and where is here?”
Magnus took the liberty of letting his own gaze roam, taking in the man’s broad shoulders and stunning hazel eyes. Now that he was rested and a whole new day had begun, he could actually appreciate the opportunity that had literally fallen into his lap.
“So you can speak,” Magnus replied, letting one corner of his lips pull up in a smirk as he sauntered past the stranger to enter the kitchen. “I was beginning to think you had permanently killed all of your brain cells, and that would just be a shame. The stereotype is that the gorgeous ones don’t have any wits about them, but I know for a fact that’s not true. I’m living proof.”
He turned around just long enough to wink at the man before disappearing through the doorway, and then he set to work on making coffee. He was already wide awake, but it was a habit at this point, and he figured he might as well try to be somewhat of an acceptable host. There was nothing but silence from the other room for just a moment, and then the man hesitantly stepped just inside of the doorway, his hands clasped together behind his back.
“Did we…” He trailed off, looking lost for a moment before unclasping his hands and using one to gesture between himself and Magnus. “You know?”
Magnus rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help the genuine smile that spread across his face. There was something about this guy that made him feel different, more light-hearted and easy going. He hadn’t felt like that in a while, and he didn’t want it to end. At least not yet.
“We interacted for about thirty seconds after you jumped into my cab and landed face first in my lap, and then you passed out and I ended up calling an uber because the cabbie kicked me out. So while you did become well acquainted with my crotch for a moment before I dragged you back onto the sidewalk, nothing else happened. I wasn’t going to leave you there unconscious on the side of the road, so I carried you up here and set you up on the couch.” The man’s face had turned a bright shade of pink as Magnus told the story, and it was actually quite endearing if he did think so himself.
“I am so sorry. Oh my god. I can’t believe- I am never letting my brother take me out drinking again.” He began to ramble, running a hand through his hair as nervous energy built up inside of him, and Magnus stepped forward, raising a finger to rest in the air just an inch or so in front of his mouth. He shut up immediately, almost going cross-eyed as he looked down at Magnus’ hand, and a wide, toothy smile lit up his face, causing Magnus’ heart to jump in his chest. He had a beautiful smile, that was for sure.
“What’s your name?” Magnus asked, his voice calm despite the chill that was running down his spine. He lowered his hand to let the man speak, trying not to get distracted by his bright eyes and suddenly cheerful demeanor.
“Alexander,” he mumbled, seemingly distracted as his eyes drifted down to Magnus’ mouth. “Everyone calls me Alec."
“Well, Alexander,” Magnus replied coyly, swaying his shoulders back and forth just a little bit. “I can assure you I’m not everyone. Coffee?” With a tilt of his head, he gestured toward the machine, and Alec nodded, the grin not leaving his face.
They spent the rest of the morning talking, exchanging insignificant information just to keep the conversation going, and when Alec stumbled out the door with Magnus’ number fresh in his contacts on his phone, Magnus couldn’t help but be grateful for the fact that his night hadn’t gone exactly as planned.