CHAPTER 3
Once Alec's gift- a cat statue with glitter-eyes- was placed carefully aside, Alec held the envelope, feeling Magnus' stare on him as he weighed it carefully in his palm.
"Just a card? Really?" Alec teased. Most of the stuff he'd drunk in the restaurant had worn off, but he still felt a little light headed. The bedroom still seemed to sway slightly occasionally, but for now, his mind was clear and focused on the little gift Magnus had handed him.
"Open it," Magnus insisted. Alec carefully peeled the envelope open and pulled out its contents.
Magnus watched his expression change instantly as he held up the glittering chain.
"Magnus!" Alec said, watching the light catch on it. "You shouldn't have!"
"Of course I should've," Magnus scoffed. "It's glittery. Now look at the other thing," he commanded, leaning back in his chair to gauge Alec's reaction.
Alec unfolded the wrapping (it had red cats playing with red glitter on a white background) and found himself holding a seemingly blank white notebook (with a red cat on the front playing with a stream of red glitter in the air) with the words, Open Me below.
Alec did just that.
The first page was utterly blankly white, except for four words written in beautiful handwriting on the middle of the page.
Ek het jou lief
Alec frowned, the excitement draining out of him until he felt like tea dregs. What sort of joke was this from Magnus? What did that mean? Was it another language? He sucked at languages. He looked up to Magnus for confirmation, and was rewarded with a slight inclination of the head.
He slowly flipped to the next page.
Beautiful handwriting; the words set in the middle of the page again.
Unë të dua
"What does this mean?" He whispered to himself. He was most definitely sure that this was in another language- there was no doubt about it. But Magnus knew that he didn't know this kind of stuff, so what was all this about...? Alec sunk a little deeper into the bed.
He began to flip through the thick notebook more hurriedly.
Around a fifth of the way through, Alec's eyes caught sight of some Chinese, though he didn't know what it meant.
我爱你
Then some French words, which he couldn't pronounce.
Je t'aime
Then some Italian, which didn't make sense at all.
Ti amo
"Magnus, what does this mean?" Alec finally asked. He flipped through the many, many, many pages quickly again, almost absently while he stared at Magnus. "Is this a joke?" He tried not to look hurt, he really did. Perhaps this was Magnus' way of revenge for the trick Alec had played on him.
When his fingers fell still, he heard a page flutter into place on his lap, but he didn't bother looking down.
Magnus didn't reply, but indicated the page lying open on the notebook balanced on his legs with a careless, ring-clad finger. "Why don't you look yourself?"
Alec stared at him for ten long seconds, then looked down slowly, back down to the notebook lying open on his lap, turned to a random page.
Three simple words, written in the same beautiful handwriting as all the others, lay in the middle of the page, beaming up at him.
I love you
And Alec's heart melted. He swallowed.
With the careful fingers of somebody who knew they were holding something very precious, Alec turned to another random page in the thick notebook, reading it silently.
Σε αγαπώ
Finally, he understood.
Eu te amo
His heart beat faster as he realized what he was really holding in his hands.
Я люблю тебя
It was the best possible gift anyone could have- fragile as shattered glass but as blooming as a rose- made with utmost love and tenderness.
دوستت دارم
A notebook- a thick one at that- each word on every page handwritten. Each page saying 'I love you' in more than a hundred different languages.
Each one expressing Magnus' never-failing love for Alec, no matter how different or diverse, no matter how intricate or plain: the love put into every phrase would forever be obvious.
That no matter how many or how little words 'I love you' was in another language or form or anything, the meaning would still be the same for everyone, and would always be.
Alec looked up at Magnus, feeling his heart expand at the sight of him staring at him with such a tender expression. God, he needed- needed so desperately- to thank Magnus, to kiss him, to express to him and repay him for all the love that he'd just shown him.
He opened his mouth, but all that came out of it was, "How long did this take you?"
Cursing himself, Alec readied for a Magnus telling-off, but all he got was a laugh. "You would never be able to guess. But for me it was easy. I am Magnusficent after all."
"Oh stop," Alec groaned, then jumped up and grabbed Magnus by his collar, hauling him up, out of the seat.
Their lips collided, and Alec was flying again, with Magnus' arms around him the way they were meant to be.
-
Later, while they were in bed, Magnus stroked Alec's arm and murmured, "Do you remember when I told you about Camille?"
To be honest, he was trying to wind up Alexander, for payback (yes the thought was still on his mind), but surprisingly, it failed.
Alec simply grinned at him. "Does it really matter now?"
Magnus blinked and shifted back a few centimetres. "Well- no. But, you know... just wanting to know."
Alec rolled his eyes. "I'm over it. It's in the past, and we have a future ahead for us both."
Magnus nodded slowly. "You're right. So if you don't mind me asking, what the hell were you doing this morning?"
Alec's heart beat louder as if it could cover up the sudden silence in the bedroom.
"I... well..."
Magnus stared back at him, and the temperature seemed to drop.
Alec swallowed. Took a deep breath.
"I was just having some fun."
~~~
How do you think Magnus is gonna take this all? Hope you're enjoying these chapters!
xxx, Alueta
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