The Adventure Zone ➸ Oneshots

Magnus x Lucas || I Hate You

[Wordcount: 1,004]
[Oneshot Type: Angst, fluff]
[Summary: Magnus holds a grudge. Lucas attempts to make amends.]
[Unedited]

     "Can't we be civil?" Lucas stammered, his shaking hands held up in surrender.

     Magnus, towering over a foot above Lucas, glowered. "The time for being civil has passed, don't you think? I mean, I'm nothing if not hospitable, but we made a deal: if I ever saw you again, I would kill you."

     Lucas took a step backwards, his back pressing into the wall as he cowered at the sight of Magnus's rigid figure. It didn't matter how notoriously warm and kindhearted Magnus was; when he was angry, he was absolutely terrifying. Lucas had came to make amends, but it didn't seem that Magnus was interested in the least bit. "I just want a chance to explain myself! I'm not completely irredeemable, am I?"

     Magnus laughed humorlessly. "You think you're redeemable? That any sort of explanation can make up for the danger you provoked? You put five of the most important people in my life into a situation that they could've died in! Hell, you risked destroying the entire planet! I vored a rock because of you, a**hole."

     Lucas decided not to point out that Magnus's choice to "vore a rock" was just that: a choice. Lucas in no way prompted that action. "And I'm sorry! I really, truly am! I was scared. I had the chance to meet my dead mother again. I wasn't strong enough to resist it. Haven't you lost somebody that you'd do anything to bring back?"

     Pausing, Magnus clenched his fists. "I lost the light of my life. I was given the opportunity to revive her. The difference between you an I is that I was able to recognize how it would affect the people important to me in the present!" His voice was rising with every sentence, his emotions getting stronger with every passing moment.

     "Why can't you understand?! I don't have anybody important to me in the present! There was nobody else to consider but myself!" Lucas straightened up, grimacing as he fought back tears. "My mother was all I had. You may have people to protect and care for, but I don't. I haven't had anybody since the day she died."

     Magnus felt himself loosen up at hearing Lucas's voice break during his confession. He knew the feeling of grief all too well, and his sense of sympathy was beginning to nag at him. "And you were willing to put other people through the same pain you faced when she passed?" Magnus didn't know what he would've done if a member of his party had died in Lucas's lab that day.

     Lucas slumped back against the wall. "I didn't set out to hurt anybody. I thought I could control the power of my invention. I thought I could resist the thrall of the philosopher's stone."

     "Let me get this straight," Magnus huffed incredulously. "You thought you'd be able to resist the thrall of a grand relic?!"

     "You, Taako, and Merle managed. I thought I'd at least be able to do it for her-- for my mom. I just wasn't strong enough."

     Magnus turned away. "You're unbelievable."

     Lucas took a hesitant step towards Magnus. "Listen, I understand if you can't forgive me. I know what I did to you and your friends wasn't right. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try to make things up to you." He allowed himself a slow intake of breath. "Honestly, even though you clearly hate me, you're closer to me than anybody else alive is. You're one of the only people to pay me any attention at all, negative or not. That has to count for something."

     Magnus stayed quiet. Looking over his shoulder at Lucas before turning back around to face him, he heaved a sigh. Forgiveness and pity tended to come much too easily to Magnus. "You're one of the only people that I can't stand, you know that?"

     Lucas nodded, considering Magnus's switch from rage to disappointment to be an improvement. "You may have mentioned it a few times in the past, yes."

     "Regardless, I'm willing to forgive you. I'll forgive you, but I'll still hate you." He extended his hand for Lucas.

     Lucas offered a bitter, crooked smile as he took Magnus's much larger hand in his own and shook it in agreement. "Seems fair enough."

     They gazed at each other for a moment, hand in hand, and Magnus caved. "Okay, I don't hate you. You have skewed morals and I strongly dislike you, but I suppose I don't hate you."

     This was news to Lucas. "You sounded like you were going to kill me earlier, though!"

     "I was. I might still change my mind. Fortunately for you, I'm feeling merciful right now."

     As Magnus moved to withdraw his hand, Lucas pulled himself into Magnus's chest, doing his best to wrap his arms around him. "God, I'm such a terrible person. I'm so, so sorry, Magnus. You mean more to me than you know."

     Magnus, who hadn't been held so affectionately in years, stiffened at Lucas's action before patting him on the back awkwardly. "Hey, uh, don't push your luck, okay? I still very strongly dislike you," he muttered flusteredly. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't exactly uncomfortable with the idea of physical contact with Lucas.

     Before Lucas could respond, the door to the room flew open, revealing none other than Taako, from T.V.. As his eyes found Magnus's, the wizard exploded into laughter. "Maggie, I gotta admit: that's hella gay. Like, super duper gay," he cackled at the sight of Magnus and Lukas's embrace. "It's wild how gay that is."

     Magnus rushed to shove Lucas off of him, embarrassed by Taako's timing. "Taako, you're gay. You've described yourself as 'a gay dude' on multiple occasions," he shot back.

     "Hey, no need to get so defensive, my friend," Taako sniped with a suggestive wink. "I didn't mean to interrupt before you got to 'rush in,' if you know what I mean."

[Author's Note: Hate-love gives me life and if I wasn't in public as I wrote this, the chapter would've been hella smutty.]