AN: Ok, so one of my friends got me started on this show, and it's absolutely amazing. Seriously, I am in love with it. And I started shipping these two pretty quickly, so yeah. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Magicians. Sci-fi does.
For reasons Alice would never understand, Margo had been asking to study together for the last two weeks.
Not that it was a surprise that people wanted to study with her. Alice, for all she tried to stay humble, knew she was good. She was more than good at the magic she practiced- she was far beyond what most of the first year classes taught, making homework easy and giving her more than enough time to continue her own, private studies. In fact, she had become a sort of go-to for the Freshman class. If someone had a question about magic, any kind, even the forces outside of the physical magics that were her specialty, they went to her. And even if she didn't know the answer off the top of her head, she could generally find out quick enough.
So no, the fact that people wanted to study with her wasn't what threw Alice, though the extra attention was a bit difficult to get used to. No, it was the fact that Margo wanted to study with her that confused the poor dear.
Margo was an interesting case. More interested in the houses' tri-weekly parties (meaning three times a week, not every three weeks) then she was in school, her grades and grasp on magic were, nonetheless, still quite good. She made most things seem easy, even those it was clear she was struggling with, and the only reason she would ever have a book in her hand most days was because two had been mating near her door and she hadn't been able to sleep. So she'd stolen one to get some shut eye.
So why Margo of all people wanted to study with her, Alice really wasn't sure. Eliot she could have understood- he still believed her parents had given her private lessons and she was just holding out some amazing spell from the rest of the group. Quentin needed all the help he could get, Penny liked being near her because she could shut out her mind and the mind of others, and Kady just seemed to like the peaceful company. The rest of their little group that had somehow been thrown together in this interesting turn of fate, she could understand.
But not Margo.
And the worse part was they didn't eve study! Alice probably wouldn't have looked too much into it if, once they had gotten to whatever area Margo had chosen for them to study at (always somewhere impractical- by the lake or a clearing in the forest or on top of the tallest tower on campus. Never somewhere sensible like the library or their rooms) they had actually gotten work done.
But no. Every single time she pulled out her books to begin, Margo would quickly steal them away with a smirk and demand a chat first. About the most random of things, too. Margo, so far, had drilled her about her family, her favorite animals, best childhood memories with Charlie, her favorite foods, what places she wanted to see in the world, her plans for the future, and had asked, many times, about her favorite color. And whenever Alice had tried to answer quickly so they could get to work, Margo had just pursed her lips and waited until the younger girl gave a more in-depth answer, turning what Alice had hoped would be a five minute chat into a three hour long discussion arguing about the perfect shade of teal.
What had confused Alice the most, perhaps, was the fact that she kept agreeing to go with Margo at all. It wasn't like it was ever planned- every day, for the last two weeks, Margo had showed up on the steps outside her last class, waiting there to take her arm and pull her away to whatever she had planned for them next. Quentin would just laugh and tell them to have fun, absolutely no help when she cast him that pleading look, leaving her to her fate. But it wasn't a fate she had to deal with. She easily could have told Margo 'no,' that she didn't want to go with her that day, and that would have been the end of it. Alice was sure Margo would stop if she just said so.
But Alice was also sure some kind of spell was involved, because whenever she opened her mouth to demand that Margo let go of her, she found the words dying on her tongue before they were even born. Something about the sly look Margo always gave her, the way she would laugh when she saw the frustrated look on Alice's face, and the way her hand would slide down her arm until she had taken Alice's hand in her own, their fingers interlacing as Margo pulled her forward, kept Alice quiet.
It was magic, for sure. What kind, Alice had no clue, but it was magic. One day she'd be able to break the spell the other woman had cast over her. But that day, Alice decided with a sigh as Margo pulled her away again, was not that day.
Surprisingly, Margo took them to the house. A strangely empty house, which should have set off alarms right then and there, because the house was never this empty and this quiet, but for once Alice was so relieved to go somewhere normal that it didn't register with her that she should be concerned.
Of course, Margo opening the door to an inside forest did set off those alarms, especially when she saw what else Margo had done to their home.
It was surprisingly normal. A simple red and white checked blanket spread on the grass, held down at the corners with rocks the size of someone's fist. A picnic basket set off to the side, the contents a mystery she was hesitant to find out. A large, slightly rustling box on what had been the couch but was now a tree stump, something that concerned her almost more than the transformation of their living room. And what looked like an entire cauldron of alcohol sitting at the head of the blanket, where Margo was gently tugging her towards.
"Like it," Margo asked as she flopped onto the blanket, patting the fabric next to her when Alice continued to stand. "I bet Eliot and some other nerds they couldn't transform this entire place for a day. I technically lost, but they're all in the nurse's with the worst magic hangover, so I'm still the winner."
"Why did you have them do this," Alice asked as she slowly sank to the blanket next to Margo, her bag sliding off her shoulder to land in the grass next to them. "I thought we were finally going to study."
"Me, study?" Margo asked with a laugh, pulling a glass out of thin air and filling it with drink from the cauldron to hand to her. At least, Alice thought it was from thin air- she hadn't seen any before, but she had been so distracted by everything else that had been done to their home, she wasn't entirely sure. "Alice," Margo said, "I haven't studied in years. What makes you think I would start now?"
She fished her own drink in the silence, a bemused look on her face as Alice sipped at hers.
It was nice. Light, fruity, sweet- something she could actually enjoy, instead of drinking just to make the others happy. Not that she did that often, but occasionally it was nice to see them smile for real, especially lately, even if that meant the heavy taste of almost metal coating her tongue for a few hours.
It was gone before she realized it, Margo handing her another, and perhaps it was because she was drinking on an empty stomach, or perhaps it was because this, all of this, was clearly beyond anything they had done over the last few weeks that was confusing her, but Alice finally asked.
"Why have you been hanging out with me?"
"Are you hungry," Margo asked, blatantly ignoring the question and turning away, grabbing the basket to pull it over. "I can't say I'm the best chef," she admitted as she pulled out food, sandwiches wrapped in parchment paper and little cakes floating up to slowly spin around their heads, "but I try."
Her smile was the smallest it had ever been as she handed Alice a parchment covered meal before reaching up, grabbing one of the cakes, and occupying herself with that instead of the searching look Alice was giving.
Signing to herself, promising she would get a real answer out of the girl after she had eaten, Alice unwrapped the paper and took a bite, prepared to scarf down her food to clear her head and get down to the serious business of interrogating her friend.
She almost choked on the first bite as her favorite, the exact sandwich she had finished describing to Margo a few days ago as the best sandwich combination she had ever eaten, found its way into her mouth. Recovering under Margo's concerned glance, it was with slow chews that Alice reached up and grabbed one of the cakes as it floated by her ear.
Chocolate lemon. Her favorite dessert.
"Margo," Alice finally said as she swallowed heavily, locking Margo with a searching stare that kept the other woman from stuffing more food into her face to keep her from answering, "what is this?"
"Would you believe me," Margo finally said after a few, long moments, "if I said it was a date?"
Alice almost laughed. The idea of her and Margo, being on a date, when Margo had made it clear she could have anyone she wanted, was hilarious. They were in the same house of magics, they had gotten tangled up in some twisted magical destiny bullshit, and they were sort of, maybe, kind of, friends.
And that was it.
No matter what Alice might have thought when Margo had tried to keep her from leaving that very first time, it was very, very clear that they were just maybe friends.
Except Alice couldn't laugh, because Margo was refusing to meet her gaze. Margo was refusing to look up from her skirt at all, where she was playing with the hem, picking at the beginning of a loose thread. Margo's face had fallen into a neutral, guarded, look, and when, after a few moments of silence, she did finally look up, it almost looked like Margo, the same Margo she had never seen even frown, was about to cry.
So Alice didn't laugh. Instead she reached over and took Margo's hand, interlacing their fingers as she spoke.
"So…these whole two weeks were…"
"I like to think of them as pre-dates," Margo said smoothly, a calm coming over her as she ran her thumb across the back of Alice's hand, her lips curving into a smirk. "Quentin was useless in giving me ideas on how to woo you, so I had to go to the source."
"So all the questions?"
"Were to get to know you, duh," Margo said, rolling her eyes. "You're too private of a person, and I wanted to make sure things were perfect. Which is why the forest," she said, guessing the next question Alice was about to ask. "You seemed to like it the most there, so yeah. Plus, it got the rest of the physicals out of our hair for a few hours. Like I said," she said, winking at Alice as she reached for her drink again and took a sip, "a win-win for me."
"A win-win for me too," Alice admitted, her smile wide. Shifting so their sides were pressed together, Alice gently leaned against Margo until she lifted up her arm and wrapped it around Alice's waist, Alice's head tilting so her face was almost buried in Margo's neck.
She had thought, once, when Margo had admitted she liked competition, that there might have been something there, but she had quickly brushed the idea away. Margo could have anyone she wanted, and that had been more than clear from day one.
But apparently Margo had wanted her.
"What's in the box," Alice asked a while later, licking the last of the chocolate lemon cake crumbs from her fingers. The two had continued to eat mostly in silence, a gentle, companionable silence, broken by small spurts of conversation as they tried to figure out where they stood. Something they still had yet to come to a conclusion on- first dates were rarely the place to change relationship status, though, so there was no rush.
They would have time to talk about that later, and for now, Alice was more curious about what had been rustling in the box then the far future.
"A present," Margo replied, putting down her drink and pulling away from Alice (a regrettable move, Alice quick decided, as her waist and side became cold) and waved her hands, her fingers fluidly casting the spell without a second thought. In moments the box had risen off the tree stump couch and floated over to them, settling gently onto the blanket before them. "I made them for you."
"For me," Alice said, half question and half statement, a warm glow in her chest at the thought. "Margo, you didn't have to. This was already too much."
"If I'm going to get my girl," Margo said with a smirk, "I'm going to do it right. Go on, open it. They're probably getting restless."
Alice complied, tugging the top off carefully to not hurt what awaited her, and almost dropped the top right back onto them as they greeted her.
"Margo," Alice said, her voice a half whisper as she reached into the box, pulling out the first ceramic horse, glazed in her favorite colors, "Margo, they're beautiful. How did you-"
"Know you liked horses," Margo interrupted, leaning forward to help the other horse from the box, setting it on the blanket between them. A little larger than Cancer Puppy had been, it shook out its mane and jumped into Alice's lap, nickering at the other she still held. "That was kind of obvious, sweetheart. As for how I made them, well…" Reaching over, Margo took the horse from Alice's hands and gently tilted it, showing the runes carved into its belly. "They're self-resetting, so the horses should live forever. Assuming you don't let Quentin get his hands on them."
"Don't be mean," Alice laughed, taking the horse and putting it on the blanket next to its other, the two mares quickly pressing into each other's sides and rubbing nuzzles. Smacking Margo lightly on the arm, Alice one again leaned into her, resting her head on Margo's shoulder to watch as the horses began to play, running after each other from one end of the blanket to the other. "They really are beautiful, Margo. Thank you."
"I'm glad you like them," Margo said, clearly pleased as she rewrapped her arm around Alice, pulling her in close. "I really am."
"Hey Margo?"
"Ye-" When Margo looked down to meet Alice's gaze, tilting her head so they could see each other as they talked, Alice took the opportunity of having Margo's face so close to hers to close the distance between them, pressing their lips together in a soft, gentle kiss, one that lingered even as they pulled apart a few seconds later, Margo's eyes wide and Alice's just fluttering open.
"I really enjoyed our date," Alice said softly, biting her lip ever so slightly, only to laugh as Margo's gaze darted down to watch the movement. "I think I'd like a second one."
"I would too," Margo replied breathlessly. "But first, if it's alright with you, I'd like another kiss."
Alice just laughed and kissed her again, and a third time for what it was worth.
(There might have been a fourth, but Quentin came in and almost stepped on one of her horses, killing the mood just like he'd killed Cancer Puppy. A fact Margo jollily reminded him of as she grabbed one horse, Alice grabbed another and her bag, and they went upstairs to Margo's room to continue their study session).