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It had been about a month since Alex had kissed Magnus in his room after the tug-of-war-over-a-lake-of-chocolate situation. He’d never admit it out loud, but Magnus’s brain had been fully occupied with thoughts of Alex Fierro ever since.
In the past week alone, Magnus had struggled several times to resist buying little gifts for Alex, all of which had been a combination of pink and green in some fashion (but Alex would definitely have appreciated that pink and green mug that he had seen yesterday, he’s sure of it).
After realizing that the person he’d been crushing on for a few months might actually like him back for some crazy reason, he had also been subtly trying to put a little extra effort into things like his appearance and interactions with Alex. Usually, Magnus was the victim of relentless teasing and joking at his expense when in the presence of his friends, but recently Alex had also begun peppering in brief (and potentially sarcastic) little compliments or flirtatious remarks that had Magnus’s stomach doing flips and twists.
Speaking of which…
"Your hair looks good today, Maggie. Do something different with it this morning?" Alex's voice was followed by a hand sliding into his neatly styled bedhead as she stepped into view from behind. He felt his cheeks warm at the combination of a compliment, physical contact and a rather annoying nickname (that had admittedly begun to grow on Magnus since Alex had ignored his specific request not to call him "Maggie"). She slightly ruffled his already tousled hair and the corner of her mouth quirked upwards at the redness in his cheeks as she looked down at him.
"Uh... no, I just kinda... thanks." Magnus sheepishly looked down at his breakfast plate of waffles and fruit salad, willing the heat to exit his face as Alex took a seat with the rest of floor 19 at the table.
"So Alex, are you ready for battle this morning?" TJ asked with a bright smile. Alex returned his grin, accompanied by a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Always," she shifted her gaze back to Magnus and he swallowed a half-chewed lump of Honeydew melon under her scrutiny. "Are you ready, Magnus? I don't want to have to decapitate you again this time." She winked and he grabbed a glass of water to sip with a shrug.
"I think I'll try to keep my head attached for as long as possible today."
"Good plan." TJ nodded sagely.
"Will someone please explain to my kærasta over here that there are many different reasons a man might compliment a woman's choice of weapon besides wanting to bed her?" Halfborn's exasperated words pulled our attention over to the conversation that he and Mallory had been having. Alex snorted at the segue and then rose from the table, heading for the breakfast buffet on the far side of the room. Based on Mallory's fierce glare and accusing look now directed towards TJ and Magnus, he suddenly wished he also had a convenient escape from the table.
"What are you two even fighting about?" TJ frowned, clearly just as confused as Magnus by the request.
"The neanderthal is just trying to dig himself out of the hole he dug himself into this morning," Mallory said through her teeth, shifting her glare back to her initial target. Halfborn made a growling huffing noise in his throat and rolled his eyes, looking towards Magnus, probably just to avoid meeting Mallory's sharp gaze.
"OK, all I did this morning was compliment Jane's new double-bladed ax on our way to the lounge! It was just so shiny and the green grip tape on the haft perfectly complemented the runes engraved on the..." he trailed off and swallowed hard as he met Mallory's fiery eyes once again.
"No go on, please, tell us all about how sexy her deadly weapon is!" hissed Mallory. Magnus began shoveling the last of his waffle into his mouth as the two of them returned to bickering about whether or not Halfborn would sleep with any woman wielding a shiny ax. Considering who he was dating, Magnus was surprised Halfborn had the balls (or maybe it was a lack of self-preservation) to compliment any woman's weapons that weren't Mallory's magical knives - which were beautifully sharp, elegant, and deadly.
Alex had made her way back to their table and placed a plate of eggs and sausage down before she reclaimed her seat. Today she wore loose green cargo pants with a fitted pink racer back tank top, paired with pink and green Jordan 1s. Magnus didn't stop himself from staring these days. His eyes wandered over her toned arms and then met hers as she looked up, mouth full of eggs.
"Like what you see?" She mumbled around the food. He bravely nodded and held her gaze, his stomach twisting in that way it only seemed to do around Alex. This time, she broke their eye contact with a slight head shake - and maybe it was just his imagination, but he swore there was a little flustered smile on her lips - one that she covered up with another bite of breakfast.
The five of them had just finished their food as the great horn sounded through the hall, signaling the start of daily battle preparation.
***
The crew from Floor 19 found themselves in a scraggly grove of trees and patchy grass from which they were to begin their free-for-all advance across the battlefield. Immediately, Mallory and Halfborn launched themselves forward - bellowing simultaneous, incredibly frightening war cries - into the surrounding frey.
"Magnus, duck!" TJ shouted as Magnus parried an Einharji's ax swing. He immediately dropped to a squat and sliced at the knees of his attacker as TJ cracked off a shot over Magnus’ head. His bullet struck another Einharji in the chest just as she was winding up to send a knife flying in Alex's direction.
Before he knew it, Magnus had lost sight of everyone except for Alex, who he kept at his back for a little insurance. He caught glimpses of the others slashing or shooting their way through the warriors that surrounded their group, but was a little busy slashing and stabbing in his own right to pay much attention to where they had ended up.
"To your left!" Magnus called to Alex as he lunged with his sword and sunk it a few inches into the leg of an Einharji who was charging towards her. Alex finished the job with a swift flick of her clay cutter that effectively decapitated the assailant.
"Thanks, Mags," she sounded only the slightest bit out of breath, twirling back to the right and bringing her garotte flashing towards another approaching warrior.
"So, uh... what are we?" The question left Magnus’ lips before his brain had even processed whether or not now was the time and place for this conversation.
Great job, Magnus. Today you can get yourself killed and friend-zoned!
Alex let out a breathless laugh that was more incredulous than amused. "What like, right this second?"
"Yeah, I mean-" He was cut off by an unexpected bodyslam from the shield of an Einharji who had managed to get too close on his right side as he was parrying a blow from the left. He flew back about a meter and landed on his butt - right in front of Alex. She didn't even hesitate to whip around and slice off both of the offending warrior's arms and legs. When she spun back around she offered her hand to help Magnus get up, amusement clear in her eyes.
"We're partners," she stated matter-of-factly, and pulled him to his feet just in time for Magnus to deflect a knife sailing towards her back.
"Well that narrows it down,” he muttered under hs breath, returning his focus to the melee.
What are we right this second? Partners. Great. Partners in battle? Crime? Romantically? So helpful.
For his poorly timed question, distracting both Alex and himself in the middle of the battle arena, Magnus earned an arrow to the chest. Followed by two more in quick succession.
Well, that was wyrd.
He guessed the answer to his question would have to wait, since that’s when the world decided to go dark.
***
Magnus woke in his bed several hours after lunch. Someone had very kindly brought a sandwich wrapped in plastic and a bottle of apple juice to his room and left them on the coffee table while he had been reviving. Magnus’s stomach was rumbling at the sight of food and his first order of business after a hard afternoon spent rising from the dead, was to fill it.
After scarfing down the turkey and ham sandwich in - disturbingly - only a few bites, he took a quick shower and dressed in the typical green Hotel Valhalla shirt and jeans he had become accustomed to wearing these days. Jack had yet to return from whatever date or tryst he had been on with the most recent sentient weapon he had met, so the chain of his pendant lay bare and insignificant on the coffee table where Magnus had left it this morning.
Leaving his room, Magnus headed for the small, rarely visited garden on floor 107 that he had discovered not long after their return from staving off the imminent end of the world. He came here when he wanted a quiet place to think (which was a lot). When he arrived, however - it was not empty as he had expected. Alex was already there, sitting on a bench tucked away in the corner under the large shadow of a willow tree that Magnus usually occupied. Hearing his footsteps approaching, Alex’s head lifted and her striking eyes met his.
“Is now a more appropriate time?” Magnus asked with a lopsided smile. Alex raised an eyebrow in response, humor dancing in her eyes.
“Considering the relatively low threat to our lives at the moment, yeah. This is a much more appropriate time to have this conversation.” He took a seat close enough to Alex that their knees were touching and felt a flutter of anticipation in his chest.
“Considering we’re already dead, that seemed like the perfect time to me.” Magnus had realized relatively quickly that he wanted to be able to call Alex his girlfriend (or boyfriend depending on the day) and that was something he had never really experienced before now. The intense desire for the attention of another person. The swell of jealousy that crept in when another person was just a little friendlier than usual to them.
“I want you to be my girlfriend.” Once again, before Magnus could stop his runaway thoughts from leaving his mouth, he blurted out the statement. Alex’s smirk grew slowly and Magnus was suddenly concerned that he had misinterpreted their entire relationship up to this point. Had he said something funny? What was there to smirk about right now?
“Is that a request, or a demand?” After a pause, Magnus realized that in true Alex fashion, nothing could ever just be simple. He supposed that after springing the original question on her in the midst of battle, he might have deserved a little teasing after the fact.
“It’s a request,” he nodded to punctuate the sincerity of the remark. Alex allowed it to linger between them for a moment longer before breaking their gaze to lean back on the bench as she closed her eyes. A smile played on the corners of her lips and Magnus suddenly had the urge to kiss her again. He had been thinking about their only two kisses a lot more than he’d like to admit, and he shortly wanted to experience a third, if she would be so inclined.
“I think I’d be okay with that,” Alex relented at last, and Magnus felt a sudden rush of euphoria in response.
“Okay,” he exhaled in a small voice, relieved to have their relationship defined in such a clear and exhilaratingly intimate way. His eyes once again fell to Alex’s lips just as one of her eyes cracked open to focus on him once again. The side of her mouth turned up in a knowing smile, clearly reading Maguns like an open book.
“You can kiss me if you’d like.”
He felt a faint heat rise into his cheeks and he suddenly felt alarmingly bashful. How did one person have such an intense effect on him? Someone who had been a complete stranger until only a few months ago.
Before he could think any longer about how predictable he clearly was, he closed the distance between them, slotting down over Alex’s reclined form. He paused for a moment as their noses brushed together, allowing the sharpness of her gaze to shave away the protective walls he had habitually besieged his feelings with. There was something about the self-assuredness with which she carried herself that made Magnus feel exposed and vulnerable - but in the best possible way, and only ever to her.
When their lips finally met, Magnus couldn’t stop the contented sigh that escaped his lips. He felt Alex smile into the kiss, and her arms slipped up to circle his neck. She grabbed a fistfull of his hair at the base of his neck, pulling them both up to sit, using her Einherjar strength to keep their balance. Magnus let out a soft chuckle - muted by Alex’s mouth - their bodies fit together so naturally on the little bench.