Ask Magnus Chase and Friends

"Magnus Chase Does Not Simply 'Blush',"

Magnico one-shot request for NicoTheShipper —I hope it's not too cliche, because to me, it feels cheesy af.

Magnus backed away from the pale boy clothed in black. He wasn't exactly in the mood for random giants wandering around Midgard without a care, and on top of that, dressed like a teenage boy. The small boy cornered him, his skinny physique not wavering Magnus– but the dark power radiating from him.

"You're supposed to be dead; how did you get past the Underworld?" He snarled, holding up a black sword out of a metal Magnus couldn't identify. Was it bone steel? For all he knew, it could be a sword named Dave, and have a history for selling the best falafel in Long Island. Magnus filed that away for later research. The short boy continued to talk, "Cheating death isn't a honorable option when you're dealing with my father."

Magnus shook his head furiously and stared back as stonily, "Look, I have no idea what you're referring to, but yes—I am dead. Most giants I meet usually are more keen on killing me then knowing what's my status. Who are you?"

"I could ask the same thing to you," the other teen countered, "Wait, hold up, are you trying to tease me about that giant thing? If you're trying to distract me, it is not working," The boy pulled a strand of his silky black hair in exasperation, "Just tell me your name,"

Magnus studied the other boy's outfit. He was wearing a brown coat with a white collar over a black t-shirt. His skinny black jeans captured his lanky frame just as well. The boy had messy bed hair, and an almost unreadable, broken expression in his eyes.

The boy snapped in front of Magnus's face, causing him to float back down to reality, and face to heat up. Ogling some random (angry) teen boy at first sight? Sounds like a shitty tween romance movie. "Ahem, name?" The boy asked expectantly.

"Magnus. Magnus Chase," Magnus spat, his mind running in about five directions at the same time. Why were his cheeks warm? It was supposed to be chilly outside, and yet, Magnus didn't feel that. It took a few seconds for Magnus to realize he was blushing. Immediately, he was taken back by this observation. Magnus might be a huge idiot according to Sam, but he could be sure about one thing:

Magnus Chase did not blush.

He shook off the feeling like it was Sam the horsefly; unfortunately for him, Sam even in horsefly form is persistent in what she does.

A brief look of surprise flickered on the boy's face. That was, until it went back to the scowl Magnus had familiarized himself with, a few minutes ago.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," Nico said with a slight nod and to Magnus's surprise—a slight blush of embarrassment, "Sorry about accusing you about the dead thing. You must be the Norse cousin Annabeth's been talking about."

Magnus nodded and relaxed into his usual sarcastic smirk, "Yeah, pretty sure I'm the only Norse cousin around here. And the dead thing? It's fine. I get that called out way too many times for my liking; uh, sorry about the giant thing too,"

Nico set his black sword into the soil. He leaned against it almost naturally, like he's dealt with annoying dead Norse people before. 

He lifted his chin up slightly, then sighed, "First, don't jinx yourself, because I really don't want to be stuck with a random Norse cousin like you," he looked around as he started to continue, "Second, it's okay...Magnus," Nico tested his name out uncertainly.

"Yeah. Anyways, if we don't have any more riveting discussions about me being dead, and your scary-ass dad—I'll be off, then," Magnus said.

Nico's mouth formed a whisper of a smile, causing butterflies in Magnus's stomach. Nico then put his fingers up to his head in a mocking salute. "Let's hope we don't meet again. Or if we do meet, in a more welcoming setting. See you around, Norse dead cousin."

Nico disappeared into the shadows, quite literally.

'Norse dead cousin'? How charming. Magnus had a new nickname. Better then Beantown? Yes, please. Even with the lightheartedness of the end of their quick chat, something heavy still weighed Magnus down.

The way Nico smiled, the way Magnus, himself, blushed. Even thinking about the statement made Magnus feel weird. He blushed. Something was off. Something was completely not right.

      Because, after all, Magnus Chase did not simply 'blush'.