Iced Cocoa

December 18th

Alec POV

"So, are you ready?", I asked while Magnus was sitting right next to me on a gondola we have never taken before. "I don't know. I wasn't ready for the black slope yesterday but somehow I got through it." "See.", I chuckled. Today we were doing something very special- my personal favorite thing. It was early in the morning and I decided to take Magnus on a long distance ride with me. His technique was good, he had a solid speed and enough stamina. "Are you sure today is a good day?", Magnus asked, still not entirely convinced. "It's a perfect day. There's enough snow, it's neither too cold nor too warm, the sun is shining, the slopes are in perfect condition. But if you don't feel like it we can get out of this gondola and take a blue slope down to where we started.", I said. It was this very hard balance between pushing someone too hard and not pushing someone hard enough in order for them to step out of their comfort zone. "Nah, we're doing it. I didn't get up earlier for nothing.", Magnus laughed and got his gloves. "Okay then!", I laughed and gave him a high-five.

"Okay, that's the plan.", I said and folded open a map. An hour already has passed and we were on the final gondola up- unfortunately, there was no direct way to the long distance slopes so it was quite complicated to get there. "We are starting here. And we are skiing this entire thing.", I explained and traced the area with my fingers. "Who, that is long distance.", Magnus chuckled and I nodded:" But it's the best. We have loads of snacks, water and cocoa, we would survive here for a couple of days if we would have to.", I laughed. "Okay then.", Magnus replied and I gave him the first push. Immediately I heard the snow crunch under his skis.

When I looked around I saw nothing but pure beauty- the firs covered in snow, the slopes glittering, the sky bright blue. Slowly I inhaled the cold fresh air- it even seemed a bit fresher then it was in the mountains anyways. With I grin I saw Magnus ski in front of me- I could vividly remember how I saw him for the first time- so insecure. And there he was, skiing like he has ever done few other things than that. Like flashbacks, all the things we have done in the past weeks together flashed behind my eyes. The first time on an actual slope, how he fell for the first time, how we hugged for the first time, how he took his first lift, the Christmas market, dinner, the snow ball fight, the festival and the firework, how I came to his place and how we decorated the Christmas tree together. When I thought back to any of my other students, I couldn't even think of a quarter of the things that I remembered from my time with Magnus. And it wasn't because I forgot- it was because most of it just never happened. Somehow, when we met the very first day, something clicked and we just matched. We fit. We were like made to be a team. Magnus was special, he has been since the very first time I saw him. somehow I just knew that this was going o be different than anything I have ever experienced. When I now think about it it seems a bit crazy- he is my student. But still, I did things with him as if he was a friend i have known for years. I needed to admit, it was crazy how a good looking designer from LA could twist my mind in ways nobody ever managed to. In good ways, though. I usually didn't talk a lot, I usually didn't randomly hang out and accompany people home, my heart usually didn't twist in worry when one of my students took a little fall on a baby slope- I worried about him more than I have never worried about any of my students. And I have never been open with other people- not even my parents. Even with Isabelle I was a bit grumpy- but never with Magnus. When I looked into that face of his I couldn't resist but smile- it was all butterflies in my stomach and cotton candy in my brain.

"I never imagines that to be as exhausting.", Magnus sighed as we sat on a bench, almost half way through the route. "Want some cocoa?", I offered and shrugged the heavy backpack off my shoulders. "Absolutely.", Magnus smiled and grabbed a cup. "This is kind of fun though, I have to admit.", Magnus smirked as he waited for the cocoa to cool down a bit in order for him not to burn his throat. "Told you.", I laughed and poured some of the cocoa into my cup as well.

After taking his first few sips he cleared his throat and frowned. "Why do they have huts up here?", he asked, pointing at three huts a few feet away from the slope we just rode down. "They are mainly for the summer- some people hike here in the summer or winter and you most often don't manage to hike the whole route in one day. That's why half way through, there are these huts with all necessities in them in order to crash there a night just in case.", I explained. "Have you ever slept in one?", Magnus asked and I nodded. "Twice, actually. Once when I hiked a new trail with my sister and once last summer, when I was leading a hiking group and they turned out to be extremely slow so we had no other choice but to stay here." "And, what is it like?", Magnus asked. "There's more comfortable beds, I need to admit. But it definitely will do."

But little did Magnus know he would get to go through that experience himself sooner than he would have ever hoped for.