Drop of Magic (Malec)

Old Wounds and Alcohol Don't Mix

      Sunday is spent in my tiny apartment. I wake up too early to be allowed, hearing the usual thumping of the downstairs tenants arguing about heavens knows what. The clock on my bedside table says 7:23. With a sigh, I heave myself out of bed. I slept horribly. Compared to Magnus' guest bed the night before, my bed pales in comparison. There's a persistent spring that wedges it's way in between my shoulder blades each night, causing a horrible knot to form where it prods, and it squeaks whenever I move. It's the least comfortable thing I've ever slept on, and I'm starting to consider exchanging it for a rug in the center of the floor. It couldn't be any worse. I stretch my arms high above my head and groan at the tension that aches in every joint and bone in my body. I hear my phone buzz on the nightstand, and frowning in confusion, I pick it up. 

Bane: Hope your sleep was as wonderful as you are. I have to work all day, but maybe meet up for dinner tomorrow? 

I sigh dreamily before mentally cursing myself for how teenage-love-struck girl I sound. Magnus does funny things to my head. I type back a quick response, horribly lacking in the sweetness that Magnus easily exudes before hopping in the shower. Everything with Magnus feels too good, like a dream that I didn't know I wanted so badly. Everything in my life that I'd come to accept as the norm over the past 2 years now seems so sub-par that it hurts. I find myself longing for Magnus' soft couch, his delicious cocktails, his suave remarks, stunning smile, his glittery spiked hair and his soft eyes. He feels like the question and the solution, like my mind saw him and knew that this was what I'd been waiting for, but wondered what comes next. I still don't know. 

I order in Chinese, moping slightly about my current state of life and refusing to cook anything. I eat in a silence so unlike the rare ones Magnus and I shared over the few hours I got to spend with him. The silences with him are companionable, gentle and soft, but this silence is heavy and laden with loneliness. I sigh deeply, shoving the take out box away from me and burying my face in the cushion of the couch-that-is-not-nearly-as-good-as-Magnus' and groan loudly into it. Tomorrow, I tell myself. Tomorrow I get to see him. 

      I guess he has an effect on me that I'm unaware of. I know this, only because Simon points it out the second I finish my accounting Monday morning and join him down in the break room for my first cup of coffee. 

"Morning Simon." I greet, heading to the coffee pot and pouring myself a cup. He raises a thick brow at me behind his glasses, obviously confused. I shrug and smile at him. At this, he nearly chokes on his coffee. 

"Who are you and what have you done with Alec?" I laugh out loud, light and soft, something so unlike myself. There isn't a touch of bitterness or sarcasm tainting my mood today, and that's something so rare it's setting Simon on edge. 

"I'm just in a good mood, Simon, no need to freak." He shakes his head slowly from side to side as if he's trying to get a hold on me. 

"What happened at that interview with Mr. Bane?" I smile, involuntarily this time but decide to keep the major details between Magnus and me for now, just until I understand everything a little better. 

"Uhm...we had dinner, did the interview, and went back to his place for coffee." Simon fumbles with his coffee mug at this, nearly spilling the rich liquid over his t-shirt. He's struggling for words, and I smirk a bit, having rendered him completely speechless for once in his life. 

"You...went to Mr. Bane's mansion afterward...for coffee." He doesn't say it like a question, spacing the words out like he can't understand them. It feels almost like an accusation. I push that feeling aside and nod as if it's not a big deal, but I can feel my heart flip inside.