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Alex couldn’t honestly say that he was surprised anymore by the heated feeling that grew in his stomach every time Magnus Chase walked into the room.
At first, he’d blamed it on the whole ‘son-of-Frey’ thing Magnus had going on – it was definitely how Alex had convinced himself that there were no feelings involved when he’d kissed Magnus the first time.
But, no. It wasn’t hard to distinguish the two sensations, once Alex had figured it out. Usually, he felt the warmth of the summer sun, and a little less on edge because of Magnus’s aura. The feeling of liking Magnus… Well, it was essentially the same thing, accompanied by a hot, fizzing feeling in Alex’s gut.
Magnus Chase was something else.
Alex had nearly lost his mind upon hearing Loki’s snarled insults at the flyting. Instead, he had held back, tense and fuming as his mother had hissed lies at his friend. Alex’s jaw clenched, scowling as he remembered the wide-eyed, pained expression on Magnus’s face as Loki had grinned. “You didn’t think that meant anything, did you?”
But Magnus had pulled through. He had overcome the odds, defeated the literal god of trickery and deception with the power of friendship . It was so absurd that if Alex hadn’t been so overwhelmingly relieved, he might have laughed.
Magnus had also said some other things during the flyting. Some things that had been weighing especially hard on Alex’s mind. Things that had a lot to do with Alex’s mouth and Magnus’s mouth, and what happened when you put them together–
“And when she kissed me under that blanket yesterday…well, that was just about the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Alex couldn’t stop thinking about it. And, Gods, the way he had turned a fiery red when Alex teased him about it on the ship afterward made Alex want to do it again badly.
Because, yeah, Alex had accepted it. He liked the absolute mess that was Magnus Chase. And that mess liked him back.
(Alex hadn’t spent long stewing about whether Magnus would still like him as a him. He had been a little anxious, initially, but Samirah had quickly beaten it out of him – verbally, of course. No violence during Ramadan. Also, Alex knew Magnus enough to know that the other boy was better than that).
So, now that it was all over, Alex wanted to talk. About the plans for the Chase Mansion, about the kiss, about it all. Magnus would probably be in his room – they hadn’t seen each other since Alex left to chaperone Amir and Samirah, but he doubted Magnus would be taking part in any extra-curricular activities right now. Something about traveling on a ship for weeks and postponing the literal end of the world made it hard to be calmed by a class in Bikram Yoga to the Death.
Chaperone duties over, Alex left Sam and Amir in the care of their family, before transforming into a flamingo and making his way back over to Valhalla.
Forgoing the opportunity to rest a bit in his own room, Alex headed straight for Magnus’s. The door was already open, and there was a strange mess of some rich, brown liquid leading to the door.
Alex reached the entrance just in time to see Magnus – absolutely dripping in the brown stuff – tug off his shirt. Making the conscious effort to stare anywhere but Magnus’s bare skin (Alex was bold, but not that bold), Alex spoke. “You might want to close the door before you start changing.”
Magnus spun, mouth half open. Alex had to stifle a laugh when he noticed the other boy had the brown goop dripping out of his hair as well. This was good, this was safe. A goofy Magnus was familiar territory.
Leaning more comfortable against the doorframe, Alex let his disbelief surface. “Did you lose a mud wrestling contest?”
When Magnus glanced down, Alex fought the urge to stare with him. Have some decorum , Fierro. It was a lot easier to keep his eyes trained on his face when Magnus’s ears started turning pink. Cute.
“Uh. It’s chocolate.”
Alex fought a smile. “Okay. I’m not going to ask.”
“How was Eid?”
Alex hadn’t really stayed long enough to find out. “Fine, I guess. A lot of happy people partying. Lots of food and music. Relatives hugging each other. Not my scene.”
“Right.”
Alex continued. “I left Sam and Amir in good company with their whole families. They looked… Happy doesn’t cover it. Delighted? Ecstatic?”
“Head over heels?” Magnus contributed, “Over the moon?”
The flustered swoop in Alex’s stomach had absolutely nothing to do with this interaction. Nothing at all. Nope. “Yeah,” he met Magnus’s eyes. “That works.”
There was silence for a moment, neither one sure of what to say. Alex bit back a smirk as Magnus’s ears turned a shade darker. Maybe it was time to save him from his embarrassment.
“So anyway,” he said, “I was thinking about your proposal.”
His words had the opposite of the intended effect. Alex couldn’t complain though. Despite the fact he was trying to change the subject to allow Magnus to save face for just a little longer, having him wide-eyed and flustered was definitely good as well.
“My what?” he choked out.
Alex powered through. “About the mansion.” And then, unable to help himself – “What did you think I meant?”
“No, of course. The proposal about the mansion. Absolutely.”
Good recovery, Magnus. “I guess I’m in. When do we start?”
Truth be told, Alex loved the idea. A safe space, for the people who needed it and had nowhere else to go. It sounded like the sort of haven that Alex would have wanted himself, back when he was alive.
“Uh, great!” Magnus was saying. “Tomorrow we can do the initial walk-through. I’ll get the keys. Then we wait for the lawyers to do their thing. Maybe a couple of weeks?”
“Perfect.” That hot, fizzy feeling was stirring in Alex’s stomach again. “Now go take a shower. You’re disgusting. I'll see you at breakfast.”
Magnus blinked. “Okay.”
Alex was about to leave, really, he was, but…
He wanted to kiss Magnus.
“One more thing.” The words were out before Alex could stop them, but he’d started now so he may as well commit. Gods . Who did this to him?
(Magnus).
Alex moved closer, insides buzzing. “I’ve also been thinking about your declaration of undying love or whatever.”
And, wow, it was most definitely worth staying to see the way heat bloomed across Mangus’s face, his cheeks as red as his ears.
“I didn’t– it wasn’t–”
Alex grabbed his face and kissed him. The fizzing sensation in Alex’s gut exploded, bubbling into a giddiness that Alex wasn’t sure he’d experienced before. And Magnus was kissing back, leaning in, even. Gods.
Pulling back, Alex met Magnus’s eyes. He was sure he had chocolate on his face now, matching Magnus’s own mess. The blond boy's eyes were wider than Alex had ever seen them, and his mouth hung agape. He looked like he was trying to say something, but wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to say. Alex left him to it.
“Eh,” he shrugged, trying to pretend that butterflies weren’t forcing their way up his throat. “I’ll keep thinking about it.” Oh, he most certainly would. “I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, definitely take that shower.”
Alex left the room feeling like he was on top of the world.