Conditional Love

Chapter 11

Magnus presses his back against the wall in front of Alec's apartment building. He feels as if he has been broken into two, and it's all his own fault. It takes Magnus far longer than he realizes to pull himself together. When he's finally able to get a grip, he calls Ragnor.

"You better have a good reason for calling at this hour?" Ragnor grumbles.

"I need a ride home," Magnus whispers, trying to not let Ragnor hear that he's been crying. Of course, he fails. Ragnor's voice changes instantly as he realizes what kind of state Magnus is in.

"Where are you?" Ragnor asks, and Magnus gives the address. Once the phone goes dead Magnus lets his hand fall, the rest of him following suit as he hits the ground. Magnus doesn't get up off the ground until Ragnor's car pulls up.

"I'm not going anywhere till you tell me what the hell happened?" Ragnor snaps as Magnus closes the door behind him.

And then Magnus has to recount his tale. It's painful to relive, and of course, Ragnor is pissed when he finishes, just as Alec is.

"Why didn't you just tell the woman you were in a relationship," Ragnor argued.

"I was worried about the questions people would ask," Magnus replies. "I was scared it would happen again."

The look on his friend's face is that of understanding. Ragnor knows what happened in London, but there is something else in his expression as well: pity and dismay. Magnus hates the pity, but he can't be surprised, the story has upset Ragnor.

"I can't say I blame Alec for reacting the way he did," Ragnor says. "I like Alec. He's a great guy, but more than that, he's good for you. You two are complete opposites, but you seem to balance each other out perfectly."

Magnus isn't sure if he should thank Ragnor or cry some more. In the end, neither of them say anything. Ragnor starts the car and they drive in silence.

~oOo~

Magnus glances over at his friend who is sound asleep on the loveseat. Ragnor told Magnus that he needs to tell Alec exactly how he feels about him, since the one thing Magnus knows for sure is that he's completely and irrevocably in love with Alexander. Magnus has been in many relationships before, he's also been in love before, but what he feels for Alec is far greater than any love that he's had in the past. Magnus plans on doing everything in his power to gain Alec's trust once again, and have the man he loves back in his arms. He just doesn't know what that's going to be as of yet.

Magnus hasn't slept well. His neck is killing him, he feels like crapr from all of the crying he did last night, and his mind is all fuzzy. Checking the clock above his mantel, he learns that it's a quarter past four in the afternoon. Standing and stretching his sore muscles, Magnus thinks that he either needs to buy a more comfortable couch, or just never fall asleep on the thing again, before heading to the kitchen.

Chairman Meow greets Magnus with a meow, pacing in front of his food dish. Magnus feeds the cat, then goes and puts a kettle of water on for tea. He puts some bread in the toaster because he knows that he needs to eat something, but the emotional roller coaster of the last twenty-four hours has left him without much of an appetite. The toaster pops just as the kettle whistles. As he sits and eats his breakfast, Magnus contemplates what he's going to say to Alexander.

A few moments later, Magnus walks back to the living room, dressed and ready to leave. He sees Ragnor still curled up on the loveseat so he walks over, and gently nudges him awake.

"Hey cabbage, I'm going to head over to Alec's place and talk to him. Will you be here when I get back?" Magnus hopes and prays his best friend will still be here. He has a feeling that he's going to need him after his discussion with Alec.