Maybe what I should do is treat him like I would if I was trying to genuinely romance him like I would if he was a girl. With a girl I start off as friends and let her get to know me, so she knows I’m safe when I do eventually ask her if she wants to get a coffee with me. I would make sure she feels comfortable with me before I ever approach her for a real date, and that kind of long term strategy takes time. Magnus deserves my time and effort, too. He might already know I’m safe, but making him comfortable with the idea of me as a romantic partner might take more time. I don’t mind putting in the effort, plus it would fit into our business strategy, and what’s the harm of making a fiction less fictional?
Well, except the chance that it will go bad. Except, I don’t think there’s an alternate universe that exists where Magnus and I can’t be friends no matter what we go through. We’re the kind of people to get along, the type of personalities that mesh. Even if we date and break up, we would remain friends. At least we would try.
I certainly would.
Alright, that settles it, I’m going to try to date my best friend.
“Anyone have any ideas for unique dates? Something that isn’t food oriented.” I look up to find the chat has been busy while I wasn’t studying.
They’ve been talking amongst themselves about what they would love to see happen with me and Magnus. It’s cute that they’re so adamant that we should be together. At least I have their support, even if they don’t know they’re supporting me.
River walk
Fishing
Amusement park
Aquarium
Volunteer work
Ghost tour
Museum
Art walk
“You guys had those suggestions at the ready,” I laugh, jotting each one down even as more scroll by. “I’m going to use these, thanks.”
More date ideas scroll by, and eventually they do start devolving into food related dates, but I stop them, thank them for their help, and say goodbye just as Magnus gets back. I turn around to greet him, surprised to find him laden with a laptop bag, a backpack, and a stack of books in his arms. His eyes immediately find mine, and the bags under them have me standing and moving to take his books before he’s even two steps into the suite.
“Food, water, nap,” I tell him, taking his books and setting them on the shelf, then helping him get out of his straps. I set his backpack by the door, along with his laptop bag.
As I grab him by the shoulders, he groans softly. “I don’t think I have time for a nap today. I have seventy papers to get graded that I had to put off already because of the conference last weekend. I need to call our hotel for spring break because they changed our reservation from a double queen to a single king,andSasha called me while I was in class; she’s ready for us to look through the pictures she took. She’s going to put together an album for us, and then we also need to figure out which ones we want commercial licenses for. And my parents are on campus this week. They’re auditing my classes and want to take us to dinner.”
Ok, the first thing he needs is a hug, so I pull him into my body and tighten my arms around him. “The hotel isn’t important. I can call, but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t have two beds. We just have to be careful about keeping the sheets clean is all. We can put towels down or something. I can also call Sasha and make arrangements with her to comelook at the pictures after spring break. That will keep, and she’ll definitely understand a hectic schedule.”
Magnus presses his face into my chest, relaxing a little into my hug, and nods miserably. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I told you I would do it all, and I’m?—”
“Nope, fuck that. I’m perfectly capable of doing anything you need me to do. How about if you drink some water, text your parents to arrange dinner tomorrow night, and then lie down and try to nap while I take care of food. I’ll wake you up to eat, then you can tackle the grading?”
Magnus whimpers softly and groans. “Ok. Ok, I can do that.”
I kiss the top of his head and squeeze him a little more before trying to let him go, but he wraps his arms around my neck and holds me tighter. “Carry me?”
I chuckle at his ridiculousness and pick him up under his butt. He wraps his legs around my waist and I carry him to his bedroom, laying him on his bed before he releases me. “Text your parents and then close your eyes. I’ll take care of food for us while you rest.”
He turns over, eyes already closed, and completely ignores me. The outline of his phone is in his pocket, so I reach in and pull it out. I unlock it with his passcode and pull up a text thread he already has with his mother.
Me:This is Trent. Magnus just got home, and he’s already asleep. He mentioned dinner, and I told him tomorrow would be better.
Emily:He did look exhausted when he left. Dinner tomorrow is fine. We will let him know where to meet us.
Me:I’ll let him know.
I’ve never met the woman, but I know Magnus has talked about me with her, so hopefully tomorrow’s dinner will be fine. Hopefully they don’t know about our business venture.
I cover him up with his blanket and hit the light as I leave his room. I gather up the ingredients to make him a bowl of Comfort Noodle Soup, the fancy name I call ramen that I put real meat and vegetables into. Since I started cooking for him, I’ve started experimenting with adding to the soup base, and I’m pretty proud of myself for my creation. I mean, yes, I did use a recipe I found online for it, but I didn't follow the recipe, I used it as a guideline, and now my ramen tastes amazing.
