#magnus x falafel

[royally-sea-green]

Magnus, from inside his room: I love you so much...

TJ, walking past the room in the hallway: Guys! You have to listen to this

Halfborn, ear to the door: Oh my gods, is he talking to Alex?

Sam: I don't know if we should be intruding on their special moment...

Mallory, opening the door: I need a video of this-

Alex, walking in from another hallway: Oh, are we spying on Magnus again?

*the team opens the door to find Magnus talking to falafel*

[cabinofimagines]

At the Museum

I am back for NOW I still have braincells which will be consumed SOON by my blorbo's. I changed the request slightly, so although the reader is from Camp Half-Blood, their godly parent is not specified! Closely based on this thing written by Riordan

Gods my thesis is killing me

Pairing: FAMILY! platonic! Magnus Chase and Annabeth Chase x FAMILY PLATONIC GN!reader Chase Request: could you do something where reader, annabeth, and magnus are cousins and readers a daughter of apollo or hecate. like her/their parent was natalie's twin. this has been in my mind forever and i thought i would share it. Word count: ~1.8k Warnings: same amount of death jokes as the Magnus Chase books

-Asnyox

You only ever had vague memories of your time with your family. Laughter, sand in your face, perhaps it was at a beach, maybe it was a sandpit. It didn’t matter anymore, for although those memories once were the only thing you had left of spending time with your family it no longer was. After Magnus ‘disappeared’ (read; ran away and died and then came back to life) you finally managed to stay connected with your cousin.

You see, although your parents always wrote the lack of connection to Magnus and his mom off as ‘religious differences’, but that didn’t mean it had to stay that way.

This weekend, Annabeth invited you and Magnus to come to New York for a visit. You had been staying at camp after summer, however with the newly revived and resurfaced cousin Magnus being able to come over you did not hesitate. Annabeth noticed that there was an exhibit at the Discovery Center in Times Square called The Vikings and decided it would be perfect to meet at. You know, given that Magnus apparently was the son of a Norse god, and neither you or Annabeth were too well versed in that pantheon.

“You bring me to New York and show me Vikings?” Magnus sighed, “I’ve got enough of those in Boston.” “Look I think it’s important to understand your world Magnus,” Annabeth smiled, “and I promise to take you to Mamoun’s Falafel and Shawarma afterwards,” “It’s a lot less boring than the Greek architecture exhibit,” You commented. Annabeth punched your arm softly. “I will just ask Percy next time (Y/n), no more bonding time for us.” She joked and you gasped. “Betrayal!” You exclaimed, and you noticed Magnus smiling. After a moment of hesitation, you spoke up again, “It sucks, you know, that we just,” you looked at your cousins sadly, “That we never got to be a family together. No holidays, or meetings. I barely even knew what you would look like Magnus!”

“But we can catch up now,” Annabeth softly grabbed your hand and squeezed it, “right some wrongs or something.” Magnus nodded. “I literally have all the time of the world now,” he shrugged, “most of the time anyways. We’ll be a family from now on, help each other and stuff.” “Yeah, that’s nice,” you sighed, “I’m glad.”

“Well, let’s get the exhibition over so I can get some falafel.”

───────────

One of the first things you saw was a full-sized reconstruction of a Viking River boat. The most impressive part? Someone made it with historical tools, meaning no saws and no machines. Magnus commented on how, if the boat would have been more portable, he could’ve taken it with him on his quest to stop Ragnarök. Sadly, unlike the one he got, which folds into a handkerchief, this one he could not carry around.

“Huh, life must have been pretty hard for Vikings back in the day then,” you joked, eliciting laughter from both your cousins. It was then that Magnus gasped.

“The Hammer of Thor! I found it! That was legit the easiest quest ever.” He pointed at a display case, “You know, this is the second time I found it.” You quietly laughed as Annabeth go a mischievous smile on her face. “This is just a silver replica,” she pointed out and Magnus sighed, “The Norse wore these all the time, kind of how Christians wore crosses.” “Dammit!” Magnus exclaimed. The security glared at him, and he looked apologetically at them, “sorry.”

As you were walking together through the exhibition, there was some comfortable banter between the three of you. At a depiction of Jormungand, Magnus noted how it did not look like the serpent at all, while you joked when coming across a necklace made from beads that that person must have spent a lot of years at camp. At one point, Annabeth looked a little melancholic when she saw a bracelet that looked like Thalia’s.

“Must be why Valkyries wear keys on their belts,” Magnus guessed. “So they can lock up their stuff and flog anyone who tries to take it.”

“I want to meet these Valkyries,” Annabeth said.

“I can introduce you to one,” Magnus offered, “You both can come to Boston and meet my friends,” he pondered, “Perhaps there will be a Greek Mythology exhibit, so I can get you back for bringing me here.”

“I will take you up for that, Magnus.” You cackled.    

Further into the exhibit, you stumbled onto bones from an actual Norseman. There was a lot of information about how the living situation of this person had been, however Magnus tried to lighten the situation. “I’m pretty sure I did Bikram yoga to the death with this dude last week,” Magnus squinted his eyes as if to examine the bones more closely, “he must be an einherji now.” “How do you do yoga to the death?” Annabeth asked, before her eyes widened, “Wait. I don’t think I actually want to know.”

Quickly after you entered the room with Norse instruments. Among everything there was something that looked, and sounded, suspiciously familiar.

“Is that a kazoo?” you guessed, “Did Vikings invent the kazoo? I am going to change religions.” “Ugh,” Annabeth said. “I got Percy a kazoo as a joke one time, and he would not stop playing it. It’s literally his only musical talent.” “Where is Percy?” Magnus asked. “I though I’d get to meet him.” Annabeth frowned. “He’s studying. He is not allowed to do anything fun until he passes his midterms.” “Ouch,” Magnus said, “His mom grounded him?” “Nope,” you interjected, smiling knowingly. “I did,” Annabeth said, “If he doesn’t graduate high school, he doesn’t get to go to college at New Rome with me. And if that happens, I will have to kill him with a kazoo.” “That is if he doesn’t die during the,” you flailed your arms around a little, “‘Godly entrance exam quest’ or whatever bullshit he has to do.” Annabeth sighed, “Yeah, because saving the world twice is not enough for a scholarship apparently.” Magnus looked at the two of you as if you were crazy, “You know that, even if it’s ‘to the death’ at least Valhalla has free education.” “I would rather not have Percy die yet, but thanks for the offer.” Annabeth sighed, “Are those Viking ice-skates?”

“They’re made out of deer bones, they used to be strapped to your shoes.” You mused, “looks pretty metal to me, to be honest. Just, whip out your bones, to your shoes and away you go!” “Sideways,” Magnus speculated, “straight into the nearest tree.” “I’d hate to see Viking skis,” Annabeth said. “You would need really big deer for those.” You commented, before moving along to the next display full of Viking swords.

“That’s sad,” Annabeth said, “Nothing is left but corroded metal.” “Oh, you should’ve seen Jack when I pulled him out of the river,” Magnus said, “He looked much worse.” “You named your sword Jack?” you questioned him. “No, he named himself that.” Magnus answered. “He … what?” “I’ll introduce you later. But I’m warning you, once he starts talking, he doesn’t shut up.”

“Your sword talks?” Annabeth asked and Magnus nodded nonchalantly. “Does he also talk to other swords? Or weapons?” you asked, and Magnus kept nodding. “I’ll let him answer for himself, I am sure he would love the attention,” Magnus grimaced, “just not here and now.”

You agreed to keep going forward. There were several pieces of jewellery, including a broach that looked amazing despite being on the earth for thousands of years. “I think it’s supposed to resemble the pendant on Brisingamen, Freya’s necklace,” Magnus mused, “It looks nice, but the real necklace is much fancier.” “Why are you blushing?” Annabeth asked. “I am not blushing,” Magnus insisted, “Freya just has a nice ear- uh, necklace. I mean necklace.”

You were already standing a bit further, reading the text next to some shoes with spikes in them. “Hey Magnus,” said boy turned to look at you, “did you know that if you die a dishonourable death and you go to Helheim, you are buried with spikes on your shoes like this? Apparently the road to Hel is icy and slippery.” “I did not know,” he remarked, “but wouldn’t deer-ski’s be faster?” he joked. “Personally,” Annabeth piped in, “I’d go for the deer bone ice skates. Can’t die by hitting a tree if you’re already dead, right?” All three of you laughed, before moving onto the next display. It contained a magic amulet, used for cursing your enemies or protecting yourself from rune magic.

“I wish Hearthstone was here,” Magnus said, “He would love this.” “Yeah,” Annabeth said, “Carter and Sadie would think that was pretty awesome too.” “Why does everyone know people that I don’t?” you said.

“Oh, Hearthstone is a friend of mine,” Magnus clarified, “He’s an elf, I guess. Likes rune magic.” “Yeah, and Carter and Sadie are some uh… Egyptian friends of mine.”

You looked at her, “Egyptian? Are you telling me-“ “Maybe we’ll talk about that at lunch,” Annabeth said, “Over falafel and a large bottle of Advil.”

As you moved further with Annabeth you both shuddered at a bunch of sickles. “I don’t like sickles. They remind me of a certain Titan,” Annabeth elaborated, but as you both kept walking you didn’t notice that Magnus lingered at this exhibit.

You see, the sickles were actually a talisman that was the symbol of Frey. They would be used for the harvest. And maybe it was Magnus’s imagination, but the light seemed to get brighter and warmer in the display case when he looked.

“Hey dad,” Magnus said, after which he reluctantly moved along.

One of the last displays of the exhibit was a bunch of little silver Valkyrie amulets. As Magnus caught up to you and Annabeth he spoke up, “Sam would love these,” “I’ve got to meet Samirah one of these days,” Annabeth said, “She sounds great.” “Yeah,” Magnus said, “Just try not to meet her the way I did, by dying.” “I think if we die, we get a different afterlife,” you commented, but Annabeth ignored you. “Deal,” she said, “Ready for some falafel?”

“The answer to that is always yes,”

And as you headed out to get lunch, a little bit of your family got repaired. It might be a while until you were as close as you were when you were little, but in time it will get better. That is, if no one died an early death (again).

[misformillie]

🌱🧆HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGNUS CHASE!!!🧆🌱

Also happy death day!

I honoured your existance by actually leaving my house and buying falafel!

[the-half-blood-nerd]

If Magnus sees this restaurant he would totally riot, but if the name of this restaurant is literal, then he would like RIOT riot

[seaoborgium]

[iamacrazyfansowhat]

Consider this, Magnus and Alex walking in Valhalla, asking random people if they like falafel and someone answers that they hate falafel, so Magnus, being completely in shock, sits in a corner crying and Alex is torturing that pure fellow to death, like "How dare you make him cry like that". And just after a few days there is that dare to walk up to Magnus and Alex and tell them straight to their faces that you hate falafel.

Nobody has ever survived that dare....

[solangelomarliemalec]

Sponsored by falafel

[liliiskingcoleisking]

Alex just voices my thoughts 💗💗😂😍😘😚

[helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson]

Hey, can you do headcannons of some of the underrated friendships. I love the ships and couple but I feel like sometimes the fandom forgets the friendships. Thank you!

I’m not sure if I know all the friendships you’re talking about but I’ll try my best

Percy and Grover:

Whenever Percy or Grover are traveling they stay in contact using their empathy link, sometimes Percy will just sing the same song over and over again in his head or think about an aluminum can in great detail for a long time to annoy him

Percy attends Grover’s council meetings as his hype man, he loudly supports everything he says and gets Juniper to cheer with him every time Grover makes a decision

Percy and Charlie:

They bond while they take care of Mrs. O’Leary, they take her on walks around the city and talk about Silena and Annabeth

Beckendorf thinks it’s so funny that Percy doesn’t realize he’s in love with Annabeth but never teases him about it because he understands how that feels

Percy and Clarisse:

They still pretend they hate each other of course, but they can sometimes be spotted giving relationship advice to each other and talking about various things

Clarisse is one of the only people that Percy genuinely enjoys sparring with because she sort of provides a challenge and her trash talk is so good

Annabeth and Thalia:

Just like Thalia takes Percy out for cheeseburgers, she and Annabeth go to feminist lectures and then spend the afternoon talking about them

Thalia is the only one Annabeth consults when she’s redesigning Olympus, they went up there a lot and walked around while she was planning

Annabeth and Piper:

Rick mentioned they have an inside joke about stealing each other’s breakfast, I like to imagine that on Piper’s first real day at camp, Annabeth walked up to her holding her own plate of food and Piper, who didn’t know how things worked and was so used to people getting stuff for her, just took it out of Annabeth’s hands assuming it was for her and walked away. Annabeth took her food the next day and it just went on and on

Piper and Leo:

They love pulling pranks on people, but it’s kind of a Nick/Winston situation (New Girl) where Piper pulls perfect subtle pranks that take a ton of effort (like carving out the soles of Jason’s left shoes so he stands unevenly and doesn’t understand why he’s uncomfortable) and Leo either goes way too little (like putting sand next to someone’s foot) or goes way too large (like convincing someone they’ve been evicted and actually letting them move out

They binge Criminal Minds together, they’ve spent whole days in Bunker 9 eating junk food and watching it

Magnus and TJ:

Magnus likes taking TJ into Midgard because he finds his interactions with mortals to be so funny

Magnus shows TJ the movie Glory (movie about the 54th Infantry with Cary Elwes I was forced to watch in US History) and TJ spends the whole time crying because he and his friends really had been remembered as an important part of history

TJ, Mallory, and Halfborn:

Keep in mind they’d been friends for hundred of years before Magnus came along, at that point they knew each other ridiculously well, they were so well-versed in each other’s fighting styles they won war games several times just the three of them (twice with X)

When they go out on donut runs TJ always gets glazed, Mallory gets strawberry icing with sprinkles, and Halfborn gets whatever the holiday donut is at the time. They could go on their own but they like going together (sometimes they go out of their way to get mugged so they can fight people)

Alex and Amir:

Alex goes and hangs with Amir a lot, he likes to tease Amir about Sam but he always volunteers to chaperone their dates because he wants them to be happy

Amir gives Alex free falafel whenever she wants it, and in turn she makes him a ton of pottery that he uses to decorate the shop

Carter and Walt:

They like to play basketball together, neither of them are very good (although Walt is slightly better) so they only play when Sadie isn’t around so they don’t get made fun of

Walt likes going to museums with Carter and sometimes he freaks Carter out when Anubis informs him that there’s a spirit standing right next to him

Sadie, Liz, and Emma:

After they defeat Apophis, Sadie goes back to London and gives Liz and Emma thorough explanations (and tells them all about her new boyfriend)

Sadie visits them at least once a month and they do normal things, like go to the movies or get their nails done, although once or twice Sadie may have taken them trough portals to go to places like Rome or Brazil just for fun

[dyleeart]

Funny video edits I want if Riordanverse gets adaptations

(I’m only saying Riordanverse bc HOO and MCGA might get adaptations too)

Percy and Annabeth crushing on each other for x minutes straight

The Seven being a mood for seven minutes

Nico being angsty for x minutes

The Kanes being siblings 

The gods being trash(as usual) for x minutes

The love story between Magnus Chase and falafel (and then show scenes with Magnus and falafels lol)

Brason, the superior ship (and the video is just a parody of that vine of a guy hitting his head on the doorframe but with Jason instead lmao)

Grover eating stuff for x minutes straight 

Annabeth being the only one with a braincell in the group

Alex being a disaster for x minutes 

Leo’s jokes for x minutes 

Reyna being a QUEEN 

Did Hearthstone really pass out even more than Jason Grace? (and the video counts passing-out numbers of both characters)

Blitzen and Hearthstone sharing one braincell for x minutes

Feel free to add on :)

[percyscourt]

Imagine a CANON Percy x Magnus Friendship

Annabeth introducing them

Percy being wary of Magnus being dead, Magnus being wary of Percy dating his cousin

Them getting in little fights over the most stupid things; the color blue, wolves, the best food, the best cities, etc

Percy taking Magnus on a tour of New York to "show him a real city" Magnus insisting the whole time that Boston is superior

Percy and Magnus texting each other each time they find a new skatepark

Them laughing about how bad Annabeth is at skateboarding

Percy and Magnus sharing sarcastic comments and corny puns

Percy complaining about Sumarbrander; "Why does YOUR sword talk?"

Percy avoiding swordfighting Magnus as Jack has the tendency to break out into Bruno Mars songs

Percy visiting Valhalla to practice new tricks and skills, sometimes killing Magnus, then watching him resurrect

Magnus introducing Percy to falafels, and Percy buying him alarge pizza in thanks

them eating that same large pizza in under five minutes

Magnus and Annabeth ganging up on Percy on the fact that he doesn't like to read

Percy introducing Magnus to comic books

Magnus then starting to call Percy Spider-man; "Hey! You both live in NY and you like pizza!"

Percy then calling Magnus Thor, which Magnus reminds him is inaccurate

Magnus later introducing Percy to Thor, and Percy trying to hide his disappointment; "He reminds me of a mix between Dionysus and Ares-"

Magnus and Percy visiting stables with Hazel Levesque just to talk to the horses

Magnus introducing Percy and Alex...then regretting it

Percy inviting Magnus to CHB just to see Nico's reaction; "Why's he....dead? He is dead, isn't he?"

Magnus and Percy bonding over their love of rock'n'roll- and begging Annabeth to listen with them

Annabeth denying

Percy and Magnus both being fiercely protective of Annabeth but at the same time scared of her

Magnus introducing Percy to the rest of the einherjis as his cousin's "Future Husband" and his future cousin in law

Percy and Magnus just joking around together and Annabeth loving that the two boys she cares about are friends

[that-one--book-nerd]

The Magnus Chase fandom over the years

BEFORE The Sword of Summer: OMG RICK RIORDAN IS WRITING A NORSE MYTHOLOGY SERIES???!!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHH I'M SO EXCITED!!! AND MAGNUS C H A S E??? HOW WILL HE BE RELATED TO ANNABETH??? HOW WILL THIS TIE INTO PJO/HOO/TKC???? WOOHOO!

AFTER The Sword of Summer: *screaming* THAT WAS SO GOOD! I LOVE MY SON MANGO CHEESE! BLITZEN X HEARTHSTONE! SAM IS SO KICKASS!! AAAHHH REPRESENTATION FOR UNDERREpRESENTED GROUPS!!! FALAFELS X MAGNUS 4EVER HAHA! JACK THE SWORD IS ICONIC I LOVE HIM! haha the abbreviation for The Hammer of Thor is 'thot'

AFTER The Hammer of Thor: *screeching* ALEX FIERRO MY BADASS TRANS/GENDERFLUID CHILD I WOULD DIE FOR HER/HIM!!!!! MAGNUS X ALEX FOREVER! wait what's their ship name? BLITZSTONE H A S TO BE CANON OH MY GODS! THAT SHOWER SCENE! wait no not like a smutty shower scene this is aimed at middle schoolers but trust me it'll make you cry okay. MAGNUS AND ALEX ARE THE LITERAL SHIP OF THE DEAD SO THEY HAVE TO BECOME CANON IN THE NEXT BOOK

AFTER The Ship of the Dead: HOLY SHIT PERCY AND ANNABETHOH MY GOD! jack x riptide? lmao what *incoherent sobbing* FIERROCHASE!!!!! IM MAD BLITZSTONE WASN'T EXPLICITLY STATED AS CANON BUT I MEAN THIS IS RICK RIORDAN HE WOULDN'T DO US DIRTY LIKE THAT…WOULD HE? *nervous laughter* NAH. AAAHHH SNOW!! AAAHHHHH CHOCOLATE!!!!!! SAM AND AMIR ARE SO CUTE!!! GUNDERKEEN IS GOOD SHIT!!!! TJ IS MY SON!!!!!!! THE ROAST SESSION WAS THE BEST!!! MAGNUS IS SO PURE HE LOVES ALL OF HIS FRIENDS SO MUCH!!!! THANK YOU RICK FOR BLESSING US WITH THIS

[cabinofimagines]

Interrogation 

Okay, so I promised to write more for Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (to myself) so, therefore, have this short piece of uuuh to have some of it. It sure am not used to write for MCGA but I sure can learn! It’s short but hey.

Pairing: Magnus x reader (platonic, but could be read romantically.) Request:  Could you maybe write something for magnus or hearthstone? Maybe just dating headcanons, thank you!  (Hearths will be posted later!) Word count: 796 Warnings: spoilers from the first chapter of the first book, I guess. 

-Asnyox

‘Well, this is my first time to be asked on a double date by a sword.’ you laughed, as Magnus’ face flushed. ‘Gods, I am sorry, ‘it’s just, Jack would not keep his mouth shut.’ ‘Does he even have a mouth?’ you rested your chin on your hand, ‘I mean he is a sword after all.’ Magnus let out a sigh, but forgot to hide the small smile forming on his lips. 

Meanwhile, Jack was going off, uh, flirting with your sword. ‘Is it just you, or is it hot in here?’ You sided eyed the couple, wondering if he knew that your weapon, in fact, could not talk. 

‘So, if this is a double date, we should get to know each other, right?’ you asked, ignoring the quick stammering in your chest. Sure, you have known Magnus for a bit before now. Both of you met on the streets, Magnus disappeared without a trace, there was a funeral. You met his cousin at the funeral, Annabeth. 

And then he had the audacity to come back, right as you were cornered on the streets by wolves. You didn’t know how the wolves got in Boston, but what you did know is that you were glad to have gotten an heirloom that, apparently, turned into a sword. 

Although, you were sure that if Magnus had not saved you with Jack’s help, you might not have been here. 

‘Yeah, uh, sure,’ Magnus stammered, apparently slightly uncomfortable under your sharp gaze, ‘What-’ 

‘How did you survive?’ you shot him. Magnus’ eyes widened. This man should really work on his poker face. ‘You died, you had a burial. I saw your body Magnus.’ You sat up right and straightened your shoulders, ‘and now you just come back, with a talking sword, mind you. What is going on?’ You send Magnus your sharpest glare. 

You didn’t notice the conversation of Jack and your sword fall silent. The whole of Fadlan’s Falafels was muted for you, because the only thing that mattered was finding out how he survived. Magnus opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Abdel putting food down in front of us. 

‘Now, now (Y/n),’ Abdel let out a hearty laugh, ‘I don’t know what you asked this poor boy but you could be less hard on him.’ he winked at you as you laughed at him. ‘Well, eat up and be on your way.’ Abdel said as he walked away to help more customers. 

As you turned back to your interrogation subject, he had already buried his face in the falafel. You decided to, for a moment, drop the conversation and take a bite. As you swallowed it, you figured you had given Magnus enough of a break.

‘So, why did Abdel not care for the flying, talking sword, and how did you survive?’ you inquired again, as you took another bite. Magnus tensed, but he quickly figured that if you were hunted by wolves, saw Jack and had your own weapon, you would not be safe for long, left in the dark. 

‘Okay, I will tell you, but you’ve got to promise not to freak out.’ he said, already having finished his falafel. This man just inhales it or something. You nodded, continuing to eat. 

‘The real basics are, I died. And I went to Valhalla, where I became an einherjar.’ he looked at your face, which only seemed confused. ‘A what?’ you asked, having finished your meal. ‘Warrior of Valhalla, we’ll fight in Ragnarok.’ Magnus explained and you both stood up to leave the place. As you walked into the Boston winter cold you let out a breath.

‘And the wolves? The talking weapons?’ you asked, not bothering to look at your -undead- friend. ‘The wolves were after you?’ Magnus’ reply sounded more like a question, ‘I think at least. The magic weapons are a, uh thing indeed. Got mine through a quest. How did you get that sword?’ You could feel his gaze on you as you tightened the grip on the hilt. ‘Family heirloom. It was a ring, but now here we are.’ you shrugged, ‘So, the thing with Abdel? A prophecy?’ you finally turned your gaze to the blond. 

‘Some kind of magical mist, uh, normal people can’t see the stuff we do. The prophecy is a long story.’ Magnus explained. ‘But I can see what you’re doing?’ ‘You’re not normal? I, I don’t know what it is. Perhaps you are a demigod of some sorts?’ You squint your eyes, looking forward into the masses. ‘Hey aren’t that Hearth and-’ 

‘Oh, they’re probably looking for me. Good to see you (Y/n), stay safe!’ and Magnus ran off. He did not explain anything, but at least he was alive. Or undead, or something.

---

[fierrochase]

yo do u have any fierrochase fic recs

is the pope catholic?? yeah you know it!!

into themselves we fell by sleepynir

This is probably my all-time favorite fierrochase fic - human AU where Alex works in the Fadlan’s falafel shop and Magnus is a customer. It’s utterly sweet and also really hilarious. (tw for a short moment of homophobia & transphobia)

Bound X by imwastingmylifeinhere

One of very few multi-chapter Fierrochase fics on here, and it’s a great one! Alex and Magnus get magically bound to each other by one of Hearth’s runes (totally an accident) (not) and have to deal with that. Plus background Blitzstone, Gunderkeen, and even Percabeth. And it’s complete, thank god

We Contain Multitudes by lancelot_of_the_revolution

An AU where Alex is a famous actress and fashion model and does a photoshoot with fashion designer Blitz, thus meeting Magnus too. And other stuff happens too. It’s real cute and I recommend it highly. 

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to seduce me by omfg_otp

You could’ve died, you know? by omfg_otp

These two are quick drabbles, 300-some words each, quick reads but cute ones too!

1 Year Anniversary by TheNerdGun

Couldn’t resist throwing one jeffierrochase fic into this list as well - T.J. and Magnus try to do something nice for Alex on their one-year anniversary. 

That’s just a few of them - if anyone else has a favorite fic they’re itching to tell the world about, shoot me an ask!

[imwastingmylifeinhere]

Bound X Ch 8

On ao3 Thanks to @tearfulmelody for editing this!

The next day, Alex and Magnus were walking through the streets of Boston.

After they had gotten their asses handed to them at team combat practice to the death, Alex took Magnus out for the falafel she had promised him. Hunding snuck them out of the Hotel and they had spent some time just wandering around the town.

It felt good, being able to be so relaxed around someone. No fear, no need to put up a face. When she was living in the streets she had never been able to relax, she couldn’t afford it. Her old home wasn’t much better for obvious reasons. As pissed as she had been when she first came to Valhalla, she had grown to love that place and the friends she made there.

They wandered around aimlessly until they decided to head to Fadlan’s Falafel. As they walked in the store Alex was telling Magnus a joke, one of those that was purposely so bad it was funny. Magnus laughed at them in the way most people did: rolling his eyes at how bad it was. The difference was that most people’s laughter didn’t make her heart skip a beat like Magnus’ did.

They walked up to the counter to give their order. Amir was behind the counter, giving an old lady her change. When he saw them walking into the store he smiled at them and waved.

“Hey, guys! It’s good to see you, how have you been?”

“Great,” Magnus answered cheerfully. “Alex here owes me falafel, so we came to the best place in town.”

Amir chuckled. “You have to buy Magnus falafel? Did you lose a bet or something?”

“Nah, I’m not losing a bet to this guy. I bribed him into something.”

“That explains it. Magnus would cut off his own arm for free falafel.”

Amir and Alex laughed at that. Anyone who had ever knew Magnus knew about the boy’s near obsession with falafel. He wouldn’t have minded if it was the only thing he could eat for the rest of his life or, rather, the rest of his death.

“Hey, that’s not true!” Magnus protested. Then, as an afterthought, “Exactly how much falafel  are we talking about?”

All three of them laughed at Magnus’ joke (or at least Alex hoped it was a joke). Once they had ordered, they sat down at a table near the back. Alex kept telling her awful jokes, Magnus kept laughing at her awful jokes, and Alex kept telling even more awful jokes just to hear his laugh again. Gods, she wanted his laugh as her ringtone.

… well, not her actual ringtone, that would be creepy. But you know what she meant. She’s a girl in love, cut her some slack.

Still, there were only so many bad jokes and puns a person could hear or say in a day, and eventually their conversation moved on to different topics. Somewhere amidst all the weird stories they were sharing Alex made the grim mistake of asking Magnus about his books.

Yes, it was stupid, but could you blame her? He had a huge library in his suite and she had gotten curious. Asking him about his books was dumb enough, but then Alex was stupid enough to ask him which one was his favorite. That led to Magnus spewing out book titles for five minutes.

Alex would have complained more, but honestly… She wasn’t really paying attention to what Magnus was saying.

Yes, that might sound mean, but the only reason she wasn’t listening to the words coming out of his mouth was because she was too busy noticing everything else about him. From the random, animated gestures he made as he talked to the way his eyes twinkled and his face lightened up. She might not know anything about the books Magnus was talking about, but she loved to see him so passionate about something. Honestly she could sit here and listen to him talking about the things he loved all day.

(People walking by that saw the way the green haired teen looked at the blonde boy made a lot of them smile. A woman even sighed to herself, thinking how great it must be to be young and in love.)

“I shouldn’t have asked,” Alex muttered as Magnus said the I-don’t-know-I-stopped-counting-after-15th book title. How he remembered them all was beyond her.

“I think that's all,” Magnus finally finished. Part of Alex wanted to scream hallelujah, but another part of her was disappointed she couldn’t see Magnus fanboy anymore.

“Geez, I didn’t know you were such a bookworm, Maggie,” she sighed.

Magnus suddenly perked up, like he remembered something. “Oh, and there’s-“

“There’s more?!” Alex cut him off, a bit too loudly. A few people turned around to look at them.

“I was just going to say Harry Potter,” Magnus answered innocently. Alex was pretty sure he had only done that to mess with her. “It’s a classic.”

“Finally something I recognize. Harry Potter is a classic, even I've read that and I’m not the biggest book fan.” The books were really fun and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t pretended to be an animagus at least a dozen times.

“Say, what house are you in?” Magnus asked.

“I’m a Slytherin. It might be part of the reason I chose to dye my hair green.”

Magnus snorted. “Seriously?”

Alex nodded. “Well, it’s also one of my favorite colors. I remember I was still reading the books when I first saw the Urnes symbol and thought it looked like what Slytherin’s insignia would be like. I mean, it forms an ‘S’ and everything.”

“Huh, I never thought of that.”

Alex leaned on the table. “And let me guess, you’re a Hufflepuff?”

Magnus smiled. (Fuck me, I love that smile.) “What gave it away?”

“Probably the fact you’re a sunshiny cinnamon roll who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

They continued the Harry Potter conversation well into desert. They were having an intense fangirling session, debating about different things, like Quiddicth, the veil Sirius Black fell in and how extremely gay the Cursed Child was.

“Like, I was so pissed at the end,” Magnus said at one point. “Their relationship was built up through the whole thing, reading the script felt like reading gay fanfiction, and yet they expect me to believe Scorpius likes Rose, who hardly appeared during the whole thing and when she did she treated him terribly!”

“I take it you have experience with gay fanfiction?” Alex asked slyly.

Magnus’ ears went red in embarrassment but he didn’t shy away from the question. “I’ve been watching ‘Yuri on Ice’ lately and the fanfiction is pretty good.”

“Isn’t that the anime about ice skating?”

Magnus went on to explain to her what happened in the show and they were having a lot of fun. Without realizing it, they had moved a lot closer.

That is, until a man that had sat down next to them muttered something about “disgusting fags”. Alex couldn’t what he looked like from where she was sitting, but judging from the look on Magnus’ face, the man’s expression must have been just as mean as his words.

If they were in Valhalla, things would have been more straightforward. She could just attack whoever said it and kill them. She had done that a couple of times when some of the oldest einherjar were disrespectful about her gender. She tried talking to them at first, but it soon became clear they only respect power. So she did the logical thing and showed them she could kick their asses if they got on her bad side.

But she couldn't do that now. They weren’t in Valhalla, so the man would be dead for good. For one thing, Alex didn’t kill people (at least not people who couldn’t come back to life) and killing him would just be messy (police, people running around screaming etc).

But she wasn’t going to let that scumbag get away with it either. Guess what asshole! Some people aren’t straight! Get over it!

If he hates gay people so much, then…

Alex picked up a piece of baklava with her fork and held it out to Magnus. “Say ‘ah’, pumpkin,” she said in her most sugary voice. She spoke loudly and, if the sound of distaste that came from the man behind her was anything to go by, that asshole heard her. The corner of her lips quirked up in a smirk.

Understanding flashed in Magnus’ eyes before he leaned forward and took the baklava from Alex’s fork. He looked straight into her eyes the whole time, as if they were playing in some sappy romance movie.

Magnus picked up another piece and held it out for Alex, his other hand cupped underneath so the syrup wouldn’t drip. He fed it to Alex, calling her ‘sweetie pie’, and his voice was so lovey dovey Alex would have cracked up under different circumstances.

It was Alex’s turn to feed Magnus. As ridiculous as this was, it was kinda fun. She got to feed and be fed by her crush and piss off an asshole. That’s a win-win in her book.

As Magnus took the piece of baklava from her fork, a big, fat drop of syrup dripped from his lips. He reached out for a napkin but Alex got a bright idea and stopped him.

“Let me get that,” she said. Instead of getting a napkin and wiping it away for him, she leaned in closer, so close she could feel Magnus’ breath, and kissed the corner of his lips to wipe away the drop of syrup. A bolt of lightning went through her at the contact and her heart beat like a drum in her chest. She did her best to remain calm and not potentially combust. She wondered if people watching her thought she was so bold and confident, doing things like this, when she was freaking out in her head.

She leaned away, licking the syrup from her lips. “Sweet,” she said and smiled at Magnus. She tried to imitate similar moments she had seen in movies. They had always been really hot and she hoped she had pulled it off or else this was going to be a bit embarrassing.

Well, Magnus seems pretty red, so I guess it worked.

There was a loud screeching sound as the man got up hastily and left the shop, leaving some bills on the table. Alex watched him as he practically ran away and she smirked.

“Take that, you soggy piece of toast,” she said triumphantly. She would have done another gesture at the man’s back, but there were children in the restaurant. Alex had a no-cursing-around-children policy.

They paid for their food and said goodbye to Amir, who assured them that what they had done was awesome.

“I managed to film it,” he told them with a smile. “I’m sending this to Sam, she’ll love it.”

Alex smiled. Her sister strongly believed all people were equal no matter what and she loved it when rude jerks were put in their place.

They left the shop after they told Amir to tell Sam hi from them. They were walking towards Public Garden, trying to find the bakery Halfborn had been talking about. They had found the shop by accident about a week ago, when Halfborn was distracting T.J in the part while Magnus, Alex and Mallory were trying to find a cake. In the end they had bought a box of cupcakes that they all ate together while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ obnoxiously loudly to T.J .

As they walked into the cozy café-bakery they were met by the sent on baking cakes and sweets. The décor was in shades of black and beige like the last time and a large display case full of cakes was next to the register. They spotted a red velvet cake in it, shaped like a heart with a red bow on it made from fondant.

Well, Halfborn wants to be romantic, Alex thought with a smirk.

“Hello, how can I help you?” the girl behind the counter asked them with a smile.

“We’d like that one,” Alex said, pointing to the cake she and Magnus had wordlessly agreed on. Magnus might be a cinnamon roll but he was also a little shit and Alex loved that.

The girl put their cake in a box with a bow on top after they told her it was a present, before handing it to Alex. “There you go, sir,” she said.

“Thanks,” Alex replied sharply. She knew the girl had no idea that she was female today and that she was just doing her job by being polite, but she was still met with the familiar annoyance of being misgendered. “But it’s she,” she corrected.

A little gasp went past the girl’s lips, her face the dictionary definition of ‘oh no, I fucked up’. “Oh my god, I’m really sorry miss,” she apologized hurriedly.

Alex nodded. “It’s okay.” Some people don’t even apologize.

They walked out of the store from the side entrance, since the shop was at the corner of the street. Two boys around their age were leaning against the wall. They were trying to pull of the whole ‘angsty edgy bad boy’ look. Alex didn’t pay them any mind as she walked past.

But then something hit her leg, something feeling suspiciously like a leg. She would have dropped the cake if it wasn’t for her einherjar reflexes. Magnus was immediately at her side, helping her get up. In any other situation, Alex would have mentally cooed at Magnus helping her like this, not because she needed his help but because he wanted to help.

Now all she could think was This fucking bitch tripped me.

“Alex, are you alright?” Magnus asked concerned.

“Yeah, are you okay dude?” one of the boys said. Alex could have been deaf and still recognize the mock sympathy dripping from his every word. “Oops, I meant girl,” he snarled. He and his friend cackled like they were so funny and Alex was contemplating murder.

Ignore them, the logical part of her said. Don’t make a scene. They don’t deserve it. There just a couple of assholes, it’s not like you haven’t been through this before. They aren’t worth getting worked up over.

She stood and refused to look at the two boys behind her. “Yes, I’m fine, Magnus. Let’s go.” Her words were sharp and icy, like a sudden snowstorm.

She moved to leave but the second of the two boys grabbed her wrist and, Alex realized with horror, groped her butt. Her heart dropped to her stomach from fear and if this had been the first time some asshole had assaulted her or grabbed her from behind she would have reacted differently. What she did now was twist her arm in a well-trained motion and break his grip. Shocked, the boy was too late to react when Alex turned around and slapped him hard across the face.

“You fucking freak!” he yelled after her, but Alex ignored him. She walked away quickly, feeling sick to her stomach.

~~~~~~~

Saying Alex was in a bad mood for the rest of the day would have been the understatement of the century.

He felt horrible. He was pissed off and angry and furious, and yeah, all those words mean the same thing but just one of them didn’t feel enough to explain what he was like right now. It felt like someone was holding his heart in an iron grip, squeezing it as if it was a grape, and Alex was fighting back. Every nerve in his body burned with the need to move, to get all this frustration out. He spent the whole day glaring at anyone and everyone and nobody got too close to him, as if there was a bright red bubble of anger around him people were afraid to go in for fear of their lives.

And Alex knew he shouldn’t be feeling like this. Those boys were just a couple of faceless assholes that didn’t matter and he shouldn’t be this angry over what they said and did. But he was and that made him even more furious.

Don’t think about it, he told himself. They aren’t worth ruining your day over. What they said doesn’t matter, your friends don’t agree with them.

Yeah, but… what if they do?

It was that crippling doubt that made Alex want to scream. He was confident in who he was, male or female. Partially at least, he had built that confidence as a shield. Some people wouldn’t accept him, some people would hurt him, and he didn’t let them change him. This is who he is, deal with it. If they didn’t then he wouldn’t deal with them.

But he didn’t want to do that now. He couldn’t bear the thought of Halfborn, Mallory, T.J, Sam, Hearthstone, Blitzen or Magnus leaving him. For the first time in a long while he felt like he belonged, like he had a home. He was happy. The thought of losing that tore him apart.

Don’t think about it, stop thinking about it.

He tried to distract himself, go about the rest of his day and act normal, but it didn’t work. When Halfborn took the cake from them he could see in the Viking’s eyes that he was expecting a joke from Alex, but nothing came. He tried pottery, since that always calmed him down, but he couldn’t do it. All the pots came out wrong; leaning too much on one side, having holes in the bottom or even collapsing. Alex threw them against the wall, hoping it would ease his anger, but it didn’t. He was curt and clipped toward Magnus when he told him his pronouns were he/him now. In combat practice, he fought horribly and died fast.

And throughout the whole day, poor Magnus was trying to help him. He brought up the incident, asking Alex if he was okay or if he wanted to talk about it, but he snapped at him and told him he didn’t want to talk about. Alex immediately felt bad afterwards.

Here you are, worrying about your friends leaving you and you’re pushing them away. Great job, idiot.

But Magnus still tried to cheer him up. He put on all the songs Alex had said he liked, he gave him those breadsticks they had at dinner because he ‘happened’ to have some and told him every punny joke in existence, even asking Jack to tell some after a point. But Alex’s mood didn’t improve. No matter what Magnus did to help, his traitorous mind said “Hey, isn’t it great having a nice friend like this? Imagine if he didn’t want to be around you anymore”.

Night didn’t come fast enough but when it did, Alex went to bed without a word to Magnus or anyone else. I just want this day to end.

~~~~~~~

In the dream, Alex was a girl.

She was in her room, but not her room in Hotel Valhalla. The room had plain white walls, with a couple of posters of pots and random mountains, the generic kind you’d find in some travel magazine. There was a bed, a desk and a wardrobe along with a green carpet. Despite her favorite colors being pink and green, there was no pink in this room. Her mortal father and his wife had banned her from anything pink.

Overall, her old room back at her father’s house was dull and cold. It wasn’t the temperature - the heating was on, so it was warm inside, despite the cool autumn weather - it was just the aura the room gave off. It lacked warmth, like no one actually lived there. Just like the rest of the house, really.

Alex was kneeled in front of her bed, her heart thumbing in her chest. She was nervous but she wanted to do this. Her father wasn’t home, it would be safe; no one would see her. Her father and stepmother had gone to some tennis tournament and they had left Alex home alone. They’d say she had a lot of homework and needed to study like the good child she was as an excuse if anyone asked why she hadn’t come. They just didn’t want her with them and their snobby friends because they thought she was an embarrassment.

Well, she didn’t mind since she didn’t want to go anyway. Anything was better than a whole afternoon around stiff rich jerks that would constantly misgender her.

She reached under the bed and pulled out a white shoe box. It said Paints, careful of leaks on it in permanent marker. It didn’t have any paints in it, the words were a precaution so the cleaning staff wouldn’t open it. They didn’t want extra work, after all.

She took off the box’s lid carefully, as if it would break if she breathed too hard. Newspapers stained with paint covered what was in the box in case anyone did open it. She hastily threw the papers aside, eager to look at what was inside.

She took the dress out. She had never owned a dress, a skirt, or anything of that sort. All her clothes were gender neutral. She had tried on more feminine clothes in dressing rooms, but she never had one that was hers.

But now she did. This was her dress and she was going to wear it. Not in a dressing room, paranoid that someone would see her and take it from her.

With her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest, she threw off her clothes. She pulled the dress over her head and didn’t look in any mirrors. She pulled open the drawer she held her pottery supplies in. In the very back, hidden inside a jar of nails from when she tried woodwork, was a little bag of hair accessories. Frilly hair bands her hair was too short for and hair clips with cute designs on them. They were some of the only feminine things she owned because they were small enough that she could hide them easily. She took one of the clips and pinned some of her hair back.

She ran to the bathroom, somehow nervous someone would see her even though there was no one other than her home. She walked in with her eyes closed. Once she was in front of the mirror – she knew the room by memory – she opened them.

She gasped. She –she looked like a girl. She looked like a girl! This was it, this was it! This was right!

She was smiling so much her cheeks hurt. Yes, yes, yes, yes! She couldn’t help a happy scream and her arms flapped around, like a fangirl that just got a singed edition of her favorite book.

She was running around the house, loving the way the skirt moved against her legs. She did stunts and rolled along the carpets, alternating between songs, one moment singing Girls just wanna have fun and the next I believe I can fly. She ran to the stairs and she was three steps down when she got an idea and run back up. She jumped on the railing and slid down, laughing like she was in some cheesy high school flick.

She landed in a mess in the carpet but she didn’t care. She lay down, laughing her head off and making angels in the fluffy material. She jumped up, still smiling brightly, to look at what she had made when she heard it.

The sound of the door opening.

A man in white tennis clothes stood at the open door. His hair was dark like Alex’s, stuck to his forehead from the rain and he held a tennis racket in one hand. Next to him stood a woman in fancy clothes, her eyes wide in shock and her mouth hanging open. The man’s expression was identical to his wife’s for a moment, before it changed to rage.

Alex felt her hearth plummet to her stomach. Her blood ran cold in her veins. It was as if she was falling from a high building; all air was pushed out of her lungs and all ability she had to think rationally was gone, replaced with an almost animalistic feeling of danger, yelling at her to flee.

No, no, no, no.

Her father moved forward, firm with anger, and Alex staggered backwards, limbs trembling in fear. Her father seemed to be growing taller, as big as a giant towering over her, and Alex was trying to shrink down to be as small as possible.

“I-I t-though you w-weren’t going to b-be home until l-later,” she stuttered out.

“Why are you wearing a dress?” her father asked as if Alex had never talked. In the silence that had fallen in the house his voice sounded like a boom of thunder.

“I-I-I… it’s… I’m not-“

“I asked you a question!” he roared and Alex took an unconscious step backwards.

It’s for a school play. I was dared to wear it. Excuses ran through her head, but she knew none of them would work. They had seen her, a girl, not the girl forced into a boy’s life that felt as wrong as walking upside down most of the time.

“I-I bought it,” she stammered out.

Her stepmother, still at the door, gasped in horror. Her father’s face was completely transformed with anger, beat red like the carpet in the kitchen. Alex backed away, afraid she would be hit.

She was, but not by fists. By words.

“I knew there was something wrong with you,” her father spat out. He was looking at her like she wrong, as if she was an annoying smudge on a paper he wanted to erase from existence. “From the moment that woman, man, whatever it was, left you here, I knew there was something simply wrong with you. I thought it was your blood, who your other parent was. Still, I took you in and raised you.”

He laughed, a cold, cruel laugh that cut Alex like a knife, like the notion of having her as a child was the most ridiculous joke he had ever heard. “I never should have,” he continued. “I should have just given you back to whatever your other parent was or left you in the street.” He moved toward her and Alex moved backwards, until her back hit the wall and she had nowhere to go.

“F-father-“ Alex started to say. What she would say she didn’t know, but she didn’t get to find out either. A white hot pain erupted from her cheek as her father slapped her. The force of it sent her falling to the ground, taking the glass flower vase next to her with her. It broke on impact, spilling water and shattered glass all over the carpet. As Alex sat up, looking at her father in horror, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, the broken glass cut her hands.

Moments earlier, she was laughing and dancing on this carpet. Now she was lying on it scared and bloodied.

Her father walked towards her, stepping on the flowers that had previously been in the vase. Alex flinched back, afraid of another hit.

“Don’t,” her father barked, “don’t ever call me father! I will not have a freak, a tranny as a son! You have twenty minutes to get your things, whatever you can carry in a backpack and leave this house. Don’t ever dare to come back here or I will call the police!”

Somehow, through the haze of her tears, Alex got her things and ran out of the door. At least the rain would wash away her tears. She ran down the front steps and-

He was in a dark, foggy place. He was in his pajamas now, not his dress, and he wasn’t as young as he had been just a moment before. He looked around, trying  to see in there was anyone here, when a figure stepped out of the fog.

Loki.

“Well, that was quite a scene,” Loki said. He had that condescending smirk on his face, like he knew something you didn’t and thought of you as an idiot because of it. Alex didn’t know why Loki was here but it couldn’t be for good.

“What do you want?” he demanded.

“Why so curt? I just wanted to know more about my son. I didn’t know that was how you got kicked out.”

Alex glared at him even harder but didn’t move. Loki was strong and he didn’t have his garrote.

“That must have hurt you a lot. I mean, he wasn’t the best father, but he was your father.” He chuckled. “Imagine what it will be like when it’s someone you love a lot.”

“What are you talking about?” Alex asked but Loki had disappeared. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he whipped around to Loki standing right behind him.

“I’m just stating the obvious, dear. Everyone has abandoned you. Your mortal parents, that girl you had a crush on about a year back. Imagine what it will be like when your friends leave you.”

The fog twisted, like soup in a pot, before it formed images.

“How will you carry on when that feisty redhead doesn’t want to be your friend anymore?” The fog twisted into Mallory, looking at her with disgust and hate before turning her back at him and walking away.

“Or what about that big, smart Viking friend of yours?” Now it was Halfborn, sneering as he punched him.

“How will you react when your friend from the Civil War turns against you?” T.J, glaring as he aimed at him with his riffle. Monster, he mouthed.

“Your sister?” Now it was Sam, looking at him like he’s a piece of trash and snarling insults at him in Arabic.

“What will you do when that Son of Frey you love hates you?” Alex felt his heart plummet to his stomach. He hadn’t realized when he had started crying. He watched through the tears as the fog twisted into Magnus. Magnus, with his kind face twisted in anger, grey eyes glaring at Alex as if to kill him. “I could never love a freak like you!” he yelled at him.

“Stop!” Alex shouted. His hands came up to cover his ears, to block out Loki’s words. It did nothing, he could still hear him. He’s lying, what he’s saying isn’t true, he’s lying…

“What will you do,” Loki continued, his words daggers stabbing Alex straight through the heart, “when everyone leaves you, child?”

~~~~

Alex woke up tangled in his blankets, cold sweat running down his body and his eyes wet with tears. Through his blurry vision he saw Magnus kneeling next to him on the bed, his grey eyes filled with worry.

“Magnus?” Alex said weakly, voice barely above a whisper. Magnus as he was right now contrasted so boldly against the Magnus Loki showed him. This Magnus, the real Magnus, didn’t have deep lines in his face from anger, he didn’t look at Alex like he was something horrible he wanted to get rid of.

“It’s okay Alex, it’s alright, everything is fine,” Magnus said in a soothing voice, like a mother talking to her child after the child had a nightmare.

The tears in Alex’s eyes welled up even more as he threw himself at Magnus, burying his face in the blonde’s night shirt and cried. What Magnus said was what made Alex realize that this was Magnus. The boy he knew, the boy he had fallen in love with, wasn’t the one Loki had showed him in the fog. They looked alike, but the Magnus in the vision was nothing more than a doppelganger. The real Magnus would never look at Alex like that.

“It’s alright, it’s okay Alex, everything is alright, it’s okay,” Magnus kept whispering, hugging Alex as he rubbed circles on his back. Alex’s entire body shook and trembled as he cried, but Magnus just held him tighter. “It was just a nightmare, it wasn’t real, you’re alright.”

Alex wasn’t sure how long it took him to calm down enough to be able to talk. Magus kept rubbing his back in this really soothing way and Alex tried to relax and forget about the nightmare but he couldn’t. ‘It wasn’t real’ Magnus said as he was trying to calm him down but it was.

“It was,” Alex said, his voice croaky from crying as he detached himself from Magnus’ shirt and looked up at him. “It-it was real.”

Alex’s father had caught him wearing a dress and he had kicked him out. It had happened, it was real. And what Loki showed him… it hadn’t happened but it could and it made Alex want to through up just thinking about it. He needed to talk, to get out of his chest, or else he knew it would gnaw at him and destroy him from the inside. He knew Loki’s tricks.

“Wha-?” Magnus started asking before Alex cut him off.

“It was my dad,” he said. “My mortal dad. It was when he found out I’m trans.”

Even in the darkness of the room Alex could see Magnus’ face going paler. “Alex, you don’t need to tell me this if you don’t want to, it’s alright-“

“I want to tell you,” Alex interrupted him. A part of him was yelling at him not to say anything. This was something he had been carrying inside him for years; telling another person about it would make him extremely vulnerable. But he knew he had to talk about it to someone or else he wouldn’t be able to move on. And if there was anyone he trusted enough to share this with it was Magnus.

“I’ve never told anyone and-and I need to get it off my chest because it’s killing me,” he continued. “Just-just please listen.”

Magnus might have nodded but Alex couldn’t tell since he had buried his face in Magnus’ chest again. Just because he had decided to go through with this didn’t mean it was easy. The way Magnus hugged him made him feel better.

“That’s what the nightmare was about,” he started after taking a deep breath. “My dad- I thought he and my stepmother would be out, something about a tennis tournament my dad was taking part in. I was home alone and- I had bought that really pretty dress in secret. I kept it hidden inside a shoe box under my bed. They weren’t meant to be home and-and I wanted to see what it would be like to dress up as a girl and look like I felt.”

Alex’s voice wavered as he went on. Magnus pulled him closer and rubbed his back more. It helped Alex keep talking without bursting into tears again.

“But- the tournament got canceled because of rain. My dad came home and he-he saw me in the dress. He started yelling, calling me very bad things and saying he should have never taken me into his house. I tried to talk to him but-but he hit me and yelled at me to leave and never come back.”

Alex might have imagined it, but Magnus’ hold on him tightened.

“I’ve kept the dress too, you know. Every time I see it I remember that day and I feel horrible but I still keep it.” He tried to laugh it off, like it was no big deal, but the laugh quickly turned into a sob. He fought to hold back the tears and keep talking. “Then-then the dream changed. Loki showed up. He said my friends probably feel the same why my mortal dad did. That sooner or later they would throw me out too.”

Alex hid his face in the fabric of Magnus’ shirt. Tears fell from his eyes again and he couldn’t hold them back. Talking about it, not just his father kicking him out but what Loki had said, hurt. It hurt so much.

“Alex, look at me,” Magnus said. His voice was firm, firmer than Alex had ever heard it before.

“They’re wrong,” Magnus said.  “Your mortal dad and Loki; they’re both wrong. We won’t leave you. Not me, not Mallory, not T.J, not Halfborn, not Sam or Blitzen or Hearthstone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a boy or a girl, you’re still Alex Fierro, the green haired badass who cut my head off once with a clay cutter, who makes punny jokes and loves pottery, who likes hiking and called me sunshiny and a cinnamon roll, who’s beautiful and amazing and one of the best people I’ve ever met. I lov-“ Magnus stopped, like he had wanted to say something else but changed his mind. “We all like you for who you are and that’s not going to change.”

Alex was left staring at Magnus, trying to process what he had just said. A smile made its way onto his face and he wiped some tears out of his eyes. What have I done to deserve such good friends?

“You’re so sappy, Magnus.”

“Maybe,” Magnus said and shrugged. From his place on his chest Alex could feel Magnus’ muscles move to make that small movement. “But if you think you’re getting rid of me and the rest of our friends anytime soon, you’re wrong.”

I can think of a lot worse things. “Guess I’ll have to deal with you,” Alex smiled.

They stayed like that, hugging each other close, for a little while longer until Magnus’ arms around Alex’s waist loosened and he moved to go back to his bed.

“Can you stay here tonight?” Alex asked, keeping Magnus’ arms around his waist.

Magnus looked surprised for a moment but he nodded. “Of course.”

~~~~~~~~~

Alex woke up somewhere comfortable and warm, like he had fallen asleep inside sunshine. This was probably the best sleep he has had in ages.

As the world came into focus around him, he realized there were arms wrapped around his waist and someone’s chest rising and falling under his head. Last night came back to him, the nightmare he had, how he had woken up crying to find Magnus looking at him worried, how he had opened up to him and told him about his father.

So I slept all night cuddling with Magnus, Alex thought. Well that’s… something…

Something that made Alex’s heart skip a beat and his insides all warm and fuzzy. There was a part of him, the part that felt like a schoolgirl with a crush around Magnus, that wanted to go scream in excitement at someone about it. But she didn’t want to move; cuddling with Magnus was way too good for him to give it up unless it was absolutely necessary.

He felt Magnus move next to him and looked up to him with a sleepy groan. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Magnus said. Damn him, he looks adorable with bed hair. “Did you sleep well?”

Alex could hear the question Magnus wanted to ask but didn’t: did you have any more nightmares?

“Yep,” Alex said cheerily and rested his head back on Magnus’ chest. “Slept like a baby. You’re really warm, you know. And comfortable. Like a big teddy bear.”

Magnus chuckled. “If I’m that comfy then you can use me as a cuddle pillow any time you want.”

Alex paused. He did a double take, taken aback by Magnus’ boldness. Did Magnus just give me permission to cuddle with him whenever I want?  

Alex gave Magnus a smile. “I’d really like that.”

Alex lay back on Magnus chest and got comfy. Magnus made no move to leave so Alex didn’t either. He hadn’t actually cuddled with someone before, but this was really nice. They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms under Magnus’ covers. Alex nuzzled his face into Magnus’ shirt and sighed. As sappy as it might sound, he had never felt more at peace than he felt now.

“Magnus?” Alex spoke, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for everything,” he said. “For trying to cheer me up yesterday and staying with me last night. It really helped. I’ve never been able to fall asleep again after these nightmares.”

Magnus readjusted his arms around Alex, pulling the other boy closer. His hand went up from his back to Alex’s green hair, resting there hesitantly. When Alex said nothing about it, Magnus started playing with the soft green locks. “It’s no problem,” he said. “And if you ever have a nightmare like that again you’re free to come and wake me up.”

I love this boy so much, Alex thought as he smiled at Magnus. He buried his face in the blonde boy’s shirt, not wanting Magnus to see the lovestruck look in his eyes or just how moved a simple offer to help out with his nightmares made him. People genuinely wanting to help and be by his side wasn’t something he was a accustomed to.

I can get used to it, thought.

“Thanks,” he whispered into Magnus shirt.

“It’s nothing.”

Magnus kept playing with Alex’s hair as they cuddled. This whole scene, cuddling in bed, with Alex’s head laying over Magnus’ heart and Magnus’ fingers stroking his hair, felt like it had come straight out of a romance movie. The thing that would follow in that movie, and the thing Alex really wanted to do, would be Alex leaning up and kissing Magnus.

But Alex didn’t do it. For all the teasing and hints she dropped Magnus, even almost kissing him in public to piss of a homophobe, he couldn’t bring himself to do it now. Instead, a different thought came to the shapeshifter’s mind and this one he followed through.

I wonder if Magnus is ticklish.

Alex slowly brought his hands from Magnus’ back to his front, letting them rest against the other boy’s stomach. Magnus didn’t react to that and, with a devilish smirk, Alex started tickling him.

“Wha-!” Magnus let out a surprised noise akin to a squealing seal. He gasped and curled up in a ball to protect himself from Alex’s fingers. That won’t stop me! Alex pounced on Magnus with a war cry and tickled every part of the boy’s body he could get his hands on.

“Alex! Ah ha ha ha! Sto- Stop!” Magnus yelled, or at least tried too. His words came out between fits of roaring laughter that made whatever he was saying almost impossible to understand.

Despite his protests, Alex didn’t halt his attack, tickling him with even more ferocity. He was enjoying himself way too much to stop now!

Magnus moved suddenly, pushing Alex back. He fell on his back on the bed with a surprised gasp. Alex realized with horror that he was the one getting tickled now. Magnus’ fingers danced all over his body, tickling any place they could find. Alex was shaking from the force of his laughter, cursing how ticklish he was.

“Magnus! St-stop! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!”

But Magnus didn’t listen to him. His fingers moved up Alex’s body, to his armpits.

Alex’s eyes widened. “Magnus! No! Not-not there! Stop!” If there was one place he was super ticklish (at least more than everywhere else), it was his armpits. Magnus had just found his Achilles’ heel.

Alex was kicking Magnus. He wasn’t really thinking about it, it was just something he did when he was being tickled. Yet despite how much he kicked Magnus’ legs, the other boy wouldn’t stop.

But then he did. Alex didn’t know why he suddenly stopped tickling him, but he didn’t care. He took his chance and flipped them over, hovering over Magnus and straddling his hips. “Got you,” he said before he started tickling Magnus again.

Magnus was trashing around, trying to get away from Alex’s fingers, but that was hard to do with Alex literally sitting on his hips. Magnus’ shirt rode up because of how much he was moving around and Alex smirked when he saw the exposed skin. His hands quickly moved there and Magnus was laughing even more now, since this tickled more than being tickled over his clothes.

Alex was having the time of his life. He never knew tickle fights could be this fun! He wasn’t going to stop tickling Magnus until he surrendered, until he could hardly breathe from laughing too hard.

Or that was the plan until his eyes fell on Magnus laughing face and he felt like he just caught a glimpse of heaven. (Well, technically he’s already in heaven, but whatever.) Magnus’ hair fell around his face like a golden halo, his skin flushed red. His eyes were squeezed shut and a huge smile took over most of his face. So this is what angels look like.

As Magnus caught his breath, he looked up at Alex, his chest heaving up and down as he panted. Alex was staring and he knew it, but he just couldn’t look away from those bright grey eyes. It was as if he was looking at a storm outside his window, clouds of dark and light grey mixing together as lightning flashed inside them.

Alex’s eyes trailed down, from the freckles all over Magnus’ nose to his lips. They were a pretty pink shade Alex could only wish to paint one of his pots with and they looked so soft. Before he realized how or when, Alex was leaning down. There wasn’t a single thought going through his head and he moved in a daze, like the rune binding them together was pulling him closer. Ragnarok could start right then and Alex wouldn’t notice, too caught up in Magnus.

Their faces were so close Alex could fell Magnus’ breath on his face, just a little more and their lips would meet…

“Magnus! Alex! Wake up sleepyheads, it’s morning!”

Alex was snapped back to reality by Mallory’s voice. Mallory and Halfborn were standing at the doorway of Magnus’ room, the redhead’s mouth handing open as her face flashed as red as her hair while her boyfriend was smirking at them.

You have to be kidding me.

“I-it’s not w-what i-it looks l-like!” Magnus scrambled to explain.

Alex knew exactly what it looked like. He was straddling Magnus’ hips as he was hovering over him, the sheets around them a mess, their clothes half off from the tickle fight and their faces flashed and a breath away from each other.

It looked like they had been making out.

“W-we’re s-sorry to interrupt!” Mallory yelled as she rushed to get out of the room and this embarrassing situation. She dragged Halfborn behind her, who yelled “Have fun! And use protection!” before he shut the door behind them.

Needless to say, they couldn’t go back to what they were doing. They got up to get ready for the day, and there was only one thing in Alex’s mind as he did his morning rituals.

I’m going to kill Mallory and Halfborn for ruining my chance to kiss Magnus.

~~~~~~~

Alex wasn’t sure she heard right.

She and Magnus were walking back to Magnus’ room after meeting with Annabeth and Percy. Alex was busy talking about what happened that day and she hadn’t noticed Magnus looking at his feet nervously. She only stopped talking when Magnus spoke.

“Um, Alex?” he said.

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking…” he trailed off. Alex was getting curious. She had never seen Magnus like this. He refused to meet her eyes and he was rubbing his hands against the fabric of his pants. “Would you, uh, w-would you…”

Magnus looked like he was preparing to do something really scary, like jumping of a high place or walking into a haunted house, before he blurted something out so fast Alex didn’t catch a word.

“WouldyouliketogoonadatewithmetoseeFantasticBeasts?”

“What was that, Magnus? You spoke too fast, I didn’t understand,” Alex said.

Magnus took a deep breath. He looked like he would much rather fight a giant than repeat what he said.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” he asked.

And that’s when Alex’s mind sort-circuited. She couldn’t have heard that right. Did Magnus… did Magnus really just ask her out? This was real, right? She wasn’t dreaming it again, was she?

Alex would have liked to say he response was something smart and witty. “I thought you’d never ask” or even a simple “I’d love to” would have been much better than what she actually said.

“What?”

“I-I really like you,” Magnus said. Alex’s heart skipped a beat at his words, but Magnus wasn’t done. “And I’ve wanted to tell you for some time but I was really scared to. I-It’s fine if you don’t want to, but… would you like to go on a date with me?”

So Alex hadn’t heard wrong. Magnus had asked her out on a date! She wanted to jump up and down screaming “Yes yes yes yes!” but the part of her brain that still functioned (even if barely) recognized that was a very bad idea. She gathered up all the self control she had and answered Magnus question, though it’s needless to say what her answer was.

“Yes,” she said, and thankfully she didn’t yell that. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

You all know what's coming next: the big date! I'd love to hear any predictions you might have about it!