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Magnus' grip on the platter got tighter the closer he got to Alec's room, said platter was covered in small cut up pieces of fruit Alec hadn't tried before - a peace offering to say the least.
Ever since the checkup 3 days prior, Alec had reverted back into the shell he had been in when he arrived at the rehab, almost all his trust for Magnus and Cat gone.
Magnus wished more than anything he could explain to Alec what they had done and why it was necessary, but the traumatized nephilim wouldn't have a bar of it - the reason didn't matter to him, the two people he had put a bit of trust in had hurt him, that's all that mattered to him.
"Pull yourself together Bane" Magnus mumbled to himself as he reached the door, propping the tray against his hip as he unlocked it and swung it open. A rush of pale skin and black feathers quickly disappeared under the bed as Magnus entered the room as Alec dived under the bed.
"Alec? It's just me, Magnus" The warlock knew that wouldn't make much of a difference when it came to Alec's reaction, but it was worth a shot, right?
Magnus received nothing in response, making the warlock frown slightly.
"Listen I know the other day was... a lot, to say the least. Myself and Cat are truly sorry we had to put you under like that, it was a knee jerk reaction and I'm really sorry" Magnus monologed as he sat down on the floor placing the platter in front of him.
Still, no response from Alec.
Magnus sighed before picking at one of the pieces of watermelon on the platter.
"I brought you some fruit, as a way to say sorry?" Magnus continued, slightly peering under the bed. At the mention of fruit, some noise came from under the bed, slightly lifting Magnus' spirits.
Alec fluffy head of hair appeared from under the bed, a frown still slightly set on his face as he looked between Magnus and the platter of fruit laid out in front of the warlock.
"Hey Alec," Magnus said quietly with a small smile. The two were silent for a few minutes before Alec spoke up.
"Why?" His voice was soft and still rather raspy from lack of use; he refused to look Magnus in the eyes as he asked the question.
"There is no excuse for what we did Alec, we were just trying to check you over and didn't know the base of your wings were sensitive. For future checkups, we will let you lead the way alright? We want you to be comfortable and feel safe here, no one is trying to hurt you on purpose" Magnus explained, watching as the Nephilim processed the information. He could tell that Alec was conflicted, years of conditioning does that to a person,
"No more pain?" Alec questioned, his eyes finally meeting Magnus'. The warlock smiled and shook his head
"No more pain Alec, would you like to try some of the fruit I have for you?" Alec nodded quickly and made the rest of his way out from under the bed, sitting cross-legged in front of the platter. Magnus smiled as he watched Alec's eyes shoot all across the platter, examining the foreign fruit.
"So, what would you like to try first?" Magnus questioned. Alec did one more scan of the platter before he picked up a piece of watermelon; Magnus still having some in his hand.
"That's watermelon, I think you'll like it," Magnus said as Alec nodded and hesitantly took a small bite out of the already small piece. Magnus watched Alec chew and swallow the fruit, enjoying the range of emotions that came over the nephilim's face as he discovered something new.
"Well? What do you think?" Magnus queried, Alec gave him a small smile and nodded.
"It's good, watery" Alec explained making Magnus laugh a little.
"That's not surprising, it's in the name" Magnus replied as he finished the piece he had in his hand.
As soon as Alec finished his piece, his eyes began looking over the platter again for something else to try, unfortunately for him, his eyes caught the bright yellow fruit.
"This one?" Alec questioned as he picked up the fruit, it had a rough edge and the middle seemed squishy.
"Oh that's... um, that's a lemon" Magnus replied with a bit of guilt lacing his tone, he really should tell Alec that lemons weren't something you ate on its own, but it was only fair to let the Nephilim experience it for the first time.
Alec nodded and went to take a small bit at the edge of the squishy bits, a few of them popped and juice came out landing on his tongue.
Magnus saw the moment regret washed over Alec's face as he threw down the lemon and spat to the side, screwing his face up as no doubt the sour taste filled his mouth.
"What do you think?" Magnus questioned, holding in the laughter that was threatening to bubble over.
"What is that?! Ugh!" Alec exclaimed the loudest Magnus had ever heard him speak.
"Yeah it's uh... more of a fruit you eat with something else" Magnus responded as Alec spat a few more times before grabbing another piece of watermelon to get rid of the taste.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you" Magnus smirked slightly as Alec sent him a death glare, but for the first time, Magnus saw playfulness in Alec's eyes.
"I hate you" Alec responded as he attempted to keep a frown on his face.
"Oh no whatever am I to do?" Magnus exclaimed dramatically as he went to grab a piece of mango, only to be stopped by Alec grabbing his wrist.
"No, you have to as well," Alec said firmly as he moved Magnus' wrist over the lemons. Alec's hand was warm and calloused around his wrist, not at all what Magnus was expecting.
Magnus sighed before picking up a piece of lemon as Alec let go
"I suppose you're right... it's only fair" Magnus cringed as he brought the lemon to his mouth taking a large bite. His whole mouth began to sting as the juices filled his mouth, yep, just as bad as he expected it to be.
Magnus dropped the piece and coughed slightly as he forced himself to swallow what was in his mouth, refusing to spit on the floor.
"Yep, yep that's disgusting" Magnus coughed as he opened his eyes, his heart lifting when he saw Alec had a full smile on his face. This was the first time Magnus had ever seen Alec smile and it was... beautiful. His eyes seemed lighter and his whole face lit up when he smiled.
"Payback" Alec smirked as he crossed his arms.
"We're even... for now"