Don't complain about the title, please, I know it's cheesy as hell but it was either that or Alien Flower Love Drugs so I flipped a coin and this is the title you get. Anyway, Lovebug (or flower) au, because I love writing Alex as a shameless flirt and Magnus almost having a heart attack because his crush is flirting with him. I hope you like this!
It all started with that fucking flower.
Team Voltron was currently staying at one of the planets that had decided to join them in their fight against the Garla. The planet was the most forest-y place Magnus had ever seen, it was like an ecologist's paradise, just plants and trees and flowers as far as the eye could see (which wasn't that far considering the thick foliage, but still.) Sam, Blitzen and Hearthstone were talking with the planet's Elder Council about battle plans and politics and things Magnus or the rest of the team didn't have the patience for, so they decided to leave the politics to the Black Paladin and the last Alteans and explore the planet's capitol. You say they're lazy, Magnus says they're connecting with their new allies (and being lazy).
Magnus and the other Paladins walked around the city's central square. They were looking up so much their necks were cranking up, but it was worth it. Every single building in the city was a tree, as thick as a skyscraper and as tall as two of them stacked on top of each other. Their orange, purple, pink and green leaves cast beautiful shadows on the ground and the monkey-like people that walked around them. Houses and shops were somehow sculpted inside the trees without stopping them from growing and stairwells, ladders and ridges led to all the different doors and balconies dotting the trees' trunks. Ladders and walkways connected the trees with the platforms floating above their heads, reminding Magnus of mystical treehouse cities from movies on steroids.
Soon, the group found themselves walking on those same platforms, several feet above the ground. T.J dragged the Green and Blue Paladins to a food cart selling whatever food people here ate and Halfborn was examining the food with interest while Mallory was trying her best to sneak away before they made her try it. That left Magnus with Alex, the Red Lion's Paladin looking at the vines climbing the sides of the trees like she wanted to grab one and Tarzan her way around the city. Magnus wouldn't be surprised if she did that.
"I wonder what's at the top of these trees," Alex mumbled out loud. Her eyes were trained on the foliage of a pink-leafed tree and Magnus had to remind himself once more not to stare because they've already had that conversation and he doesn't need his crush asking him again why he was staring. It's because she's beautiful and he's weak, that's why.
"I dunno," the Yellow Paladin said. "Maybe more shops? Or maybe there's nothing up there because it's so high."
"I want to find out! Come on!" Alex exclaimed as she grabbed his hand and dragged him along, her eyes sparkling in that familiar way that let Magnus know something was about to go surprisingly well or horrible wrong.
Alex dragged him to the side of one of the trees were thick vines hugged the trunk. The trees were so huge that some of their creases were big enough for Magnus to lie down in. It's probably what made climbing them so easy for the locals, though those opposable thumbs on their feet might also help. Alex took a vine in her hand and tugged it.
"You're not thinking of climbing up this thing, are you?" Magnus asked, even though he knew that's probably exactly what she was thinking about and that he wouldn't be able to stop her even if he wanted to.
"Yeah?" Alex said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It'll be fun. Plus I haven't gone climbing in forever."
Magnus couldn't really argue with that. Both he and Alex loved the outdoors and exploring each planets forests and jungles was one of their favorite things to do on new planets. They've exchanged stories of the times they went camping or hiking on earth and they took every chance they got to do it again. Hiking through the forest, even if it was a blue forest with devilish cat-like creatures that wanted to eat his soul, made Magnus relax and momentarily forget that he was in the middle of an intergalactic war with the fate of the universe resting on the shoulders of a bunch of teenagers in giant robotic kitties.
Magnus sighed and took hold of a vine to see if it was sturdy. "Okay, let's do this."
Alex beamed at him and Magnus decided not to think too hard about how mesmerizing her eyes looked with all the differently colored leaves casting shadows in them. Quiznack, he was in deep.
They slowly made their way up the tree and Magnus had to admit it was a pretty nice climb. The tree's ridges and creases coupled with the thick vines made perfect footholds and handholds and they made their way up the tree swiftly. Alex had gotten the lead and she was climbing just above him, moving across the vines expertly. She was just as agile as her Lion. Magnus looked up to see where Alex was going and if there were any good places to grab on nearby. Instead, what he good was, um… a good view of Alex's rear, let's say, and he quickly looked away flustered. That was awkward and he was definitely not doing it again. His mother raised him with manners, damnit!
Eventually, after passing by several windows of curious locals, they made it to the top of the tree. Thankfully, the tree Alex had decided to climb wasn't as tall as some of the other's and they were already high up when they started climbing. Up here, the tree's branches fanned out, intertwining with the other trees and creating the domed-like ceiling of leaves above the city. Seeing all these giant branches around him made Magnus feel like he was an insect, but it was definitely an interesting sight. They moved across the tree's top, admiring all the beautiful, alien looking plants that twisted around the tree, keeping a good distance from them because you never know when one of them will try to eat you.
They were in a sort of clearing in the middle of tree where the biggest branches met when it happened. Magnus was looking at some pearlescent flower that spread its petals and started glowing every time his shadow was over it when Alex called out, "Hey, look at this!"
Magnus turned and saw her pointing at a dark red flower, its petals fading into pink at the top of its bell-like shape. When Alex walked closer to the flower it started trembling and sort of… humming? Magnus was about to tell her she should probably step away when Alex poked the flower. It trembled even harder, its humming louder and a warm light emanating from inside it. Then, with a puff, it opened and blew a fine yellow powder right into Alex's face.
Alex yelled in surprise and started coughing violently, tripping and falling on her knees among the branches. "Alex!" Magnus cried out and run to her as fast as he could. She was still coughing a bit, rubbing at her eyes to get the powder out. "Are you okay?"
Magnus gave Alex a hand and helped her back on her feet as she finally opened her eyes. They were glossy, like she had just woken up and she didn't quite see clearly yet. Her eyes seemed to focus as she looked at him and a bright smiled spread across her face. "Magnus!" She sounded so happy when she said his name you'd think they hadn't seen each other in years instead of a few seconds. Even weirder, she immediately lunged at him and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his back and nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.
"A-Alex?" he stammered out, his hands hovering awkwardly around her body. Having her at such a close proximity so suddenly wasn't good for his health if his heart palpitations were anything to go by.
"You're so warm," Alex cooed into his neck. "Like a big teddy bear."
Blood rushed to Magnus's face Alex nuzzled into his neck and he tried his best to think straight in a situation like this. What had that flower done to Alex?
"Um, maybe we should go find the others," the Yellow Paladin managed to say despite the fact he felt this close to fainting.
Alex pulled her face away from Magnus's neck to look at him. Magnus didn't even have enough time to feel relieved for the extra space because Alex looked at him with a pouting expression that looked so weird on her face Magnus didn't know what to think about it. "Do we have to?" Alex all but whined. "I'd rather stay here. I want to cuddle."
I may have dreamed of this but this is not how it happened in my fantasies, Magnus thought, panicking in the inside. "How about we go find the others and we cuddle when we're back at the castle? I-it'll be more comfortable?"
Alex looked at him skeptically. "Do you promise?"
"Ah, y-yeah, I do." Magnus never would have thought they'd come a day when he wouldn't jump on the opportunity to cuddle with Alex, but apparently there's a first for everything.
The promise seemed to appease Alex, who let him go and took his hand to lead him back the way they came. "Okay!"
The climb down the tree was trick, especially since Alex would stay too far away from him. Still, they made it to the walkway and started heading towards where they had last seen the other Paladins. Somewhere along the trip Alex intertwined their fingers together and smiled at him happily as they walked. It was almost eerie to see Alex with such a sweet smile instead of her trademark smirk.
"There you are!" Mallory yelled when she spotted them. The Blue Paladin run towards them, Halfborn and T.J close behind her. "We've been looking all over for you! Where have you-"Mallory stopped suddenly as her eyes fell on their joint hands. "Why is Alex holding you hand like you're a couple in a brochure for a wedding planning company?"
"Did you finally get together?" T.J asked, the resident firearms and defense expert's eyes glimmering with hope. T.J was probably the number one shipper along with Halfborn and Mallory.
Magnus's whole face flushed red. "N-no! There was this weird flower and it started glowing and humming and then it poofed and blew something in Alex's face and she's like this now and I don't know what to do!"
Apparently his freak out worried them enough because Halfborn gave Mallory a concerned look. "Maybe we should go find Sam and the others," he said. "They might know what's going on."
"Y-yeah, okay, let's do this," Magnus said and they headed off to the Council building. Magnus had to do his best not to focus on how nice Alex's hand felt in his own or how nice it felt when she started tracing circles on his knuckles. He especially tried to ignore the way every local seemed to eye them with that same content smile, like the way a grandparent would sigh and talk about "young love". Whatever was happening, it seemed like the locals knew what it was about.
They reached the entrance of the Council Hall, where Sam, Blitzen and Hearthstone talked with one of the Elders, a wispy looking tall woman with white fur and long purple robes with intricate designs on them (Magnus was sure Blitzen would make tons of notes about their fashion styles and trends).
"Sam!" Mallory called out. "Something happened to Alex!"
Sam turned to face them, concern written on her face, but also a familiarity that came with Alex running headfirst into trouble more times than one can count. "What happened?"
"There- There was a weird flower and- and now she's like this," Magnus said, panting and flushing bright red as Alex decided to step closer and press their sided together.
"A flower, you say?" the Elder said. Her puffy tail swayed behind her and her eyes flickered from Magnus to Alex, who was now resting her head on Magnus's shoulder. "I think I might now what this is about, but we should get the Red Paladin to the Hospital to test it first."
Magnus nodded quickly and followed the Elder as she led them to the Hospital, a large building taking up most of its tree. Once inside, the Elder walked up to the front desk, were the receptionist bowed at her and they talked in their mother tongue, a singsong language with a lot of clicking sounds and vowels. The receptionist seemed to understand what was going on and she sent the Yellow Paladin a smile over the counter. Magnus really had no idea what was happening and was having a really hard time thinking of something when Alex was pressed up against his side and was holding his hand.
"Dis way, pleaze," a nurse said to Alex, her accent much thicker than the Elder's. Alex frowned at the nurse and didn't let go of Magnus's hand. If anything, she held onto him even tighter than before.
"No," she said to the nurse curtly. The nurse didn't seem annoyed by the response, almost like she was expecting it.
"W-why don't you go with the nurse, Alex?" Magnus said. His stuttering seemed to have eased off, but it was still there. "I-I'll wait for you here until you come back."
This time Alex agreed much quicker. "Okay!" She smiled at him and followed the nurse into a room across the wooden hallway, but not before giving Magnus a kiss on the cheek. Magnus was left watching her go, his face getting redder by the minute as his friends grinned at him.
"Well, if what this flower did to her is that she wants to kiss you all the time, I don't think it's that bad," Halfborn said with a smirk. Magnus glared at him and made an incomprehensible sound that meant Yes, it's bad because at this rate my heart will explode and I'll turn into a pile of mush on the ground!
As they waited for Alex to come out of the examination room, a nurse came and asked Magnus to describe the flower as well as what Alex had looked like after it had blown its spores in her face. Magnus did his best to describe the alien (well, local for them) flower and was able to pick it out from a book with local flowers that he was shown. It's name and a description of it was next to the picture but Magnus couldn't read the language.
A couple of minutes later, the nurse that had left with Alex came back and asked Sam, Blitzen and Hearthstone to follow her. They were gone for so long Magnus started worrying that the plant was poisonous and Alex was going to die.
"Calm down," Mallory said, like that had ever actually helped someone. "Alex will be fine."
Magnus was about to retaliate but the examination room's door opened and Alex came out, all but running to where Magnus was and plopping down next to him, smiling at him brightly. He was pretty sure Alex never smiled at him this sweetly when she wasn't pulling a prank on him.
"So?" he asked Alex once she came closer. "What's wrong with Alex?"
Sam bit her lip, a nervous habit she had, and Magnus immediately started worrying. Oh no, she's sick and she's dying. "Well," Sam started saying, rubbing the side of her neck with her prosthetic hand, "it seems the plant that blew up in Alex's face creates a sort of toxin that makes the victim fall in love with the first person they see."
Magnus's face paled and he gulped, sending a side glance to Alex, who was resting against his shoulder, their fingers laced between them. When did my life become a bad fanfiction? (When he stepped inside a giant mechanical cat, probably, but it was a rhetorical question).
Halfborn, T.J and Mallory started laughing at the panic on Magnus's face because friendship. (To be honest, he would have done the same in their place.)
"How long will it last for?" Magnus asked, trying his best to ignore his friends' laughter.
Sam bit her lip again. Oh, shit. "For about twenty-four hours. Maybe forty-eight. Possibly more."
Magnus's eyes widened and he threw his head backwards with a groan. "Great, I'm going to die." Alex giggled at him – giggled, fucking giggled. Quiznack, he wasn't going to last a day. "I'm glad to know my suffering amuses you," Magnus groaned.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Alex said with a grin before leaning back against his side again.
"Isn't there a medicine or something that can get rid of this quicker?" Magnus asked. He would go insane by the time Alex got better otherwise.
Blitzen shook his head. "Unfortunately, not," the Altean Councilor said. "I'm afraid you'll have to ride it out."
Magnus groaned again. Somebody, give me strength or I'll die before the week is over.
/
They went back to the castle soon after once the political negotiations were over. They stripped off their armor (thankfully Alex didn't stick by his side during that too) and collapsed unceremoniously on the couch the way only tired teenagers knew how. Even T.J looked tired and god knows that boy has the energy of a five year old that had too much sugar.
A couple minutes later they were sitting around the table, eating whatever T.J managed to whip up with the ingredients he picked up on the planet. The guy could make something edible and (generally) tasty out of anything. He could even cook a weasel or something! He'd probably make a soup.
Despite Alex's condition, dinner went by pretty normally. Mallory and T.J talked about everything they had seen while walking around the capitol's square while Halfborn geeked out over plethora of things from the planet and Sam run them through the negotiations that happened. Still, Alex was sitting a bit closer to Magnus than she had too and every time one of them moved to use the cutlery or drink water their elbows hit against each other.
"Oh, you have something on your face," Alex said at one point. Magnus raised a napkin to his face to try and clean whatever food had strayed from his mouth, but Alex was quick to stop him. "Let me do that," she said and took the napkin from his fingers. She leaned in extremely close and gently wiped the stain from his face. Magnus was completely frozen during the hall thing, just sending nervous glances at his friends who looked on like they were watching the greatest comedy of all time.
"There," Alex said once the stain was completely wiped off, leaning back and returning to her food like she hadn't just caused Magnus's heart to skip who knows how many beats.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun," the Green Paladin said with a grin.
Soon afterwards, they were all done with their food and they were putting the plates, glasses and cutlery away. If Magnus ignored the fact that they were in a giant castle-ship in space, two of them were full aliens and another two were half aliens it was almost like they were back on earth, just having a peaceful dinner (or as peaceful as it got with them). Magnus was taking a last sip of water from his glass before putting it away when Alex spoke up.
"Magnus, can we sleep together tonight?"
Magnus, of course, choked on his water. As he coughed frantically to try and get the liquid out of his lungs, Sam looked at them with her face flushed red, looking extremely scandalized, Halfborn and Mallory were laughing and whistling and T.J was singing fucking Silent Whisper. Blitzen and Hearthstone just looked confused.
Alex, on the other hand, looked completely nonplused. "Well?" she asked. "You said we would cuddle when we came back to the castle."
Magnus set his glass down and breathed deeply to get his heart rate back to normal after almost choking. Thank Voltron, she was talking about cuddling. "Ah, yeah, alright, we can sleep together."
Of course, even if Alex had simply been talking about cuddling, that didn't stop Halfborn from yelling, "Use protection!" as Alex and Magnus made their way to the Yellow Paladin's room. Ah, yes, the magic of friendship.
The walk to Magnus's was a lot like how their walk through the city's center – awkward, with Alex standing way too close for Magnus's health and Magnus's hands sweating enough to provide water for an entire city. They stopped by Alex's to get her pajamas and then went to Magnus's room, which is when they encountered another problem.
Now, Magnus generally didn't have a problem with changing around other people. Two years in the streets before being picked up the Garrison feel-good-about-yourself project made sure of that. But there was something very different between changing in a street corner out of necessity, changing in front of bored classmates and changing in front of your crush who was currently in love with you because of an alien flower.
In the end, Magnus decide to just not think about it and get over with it quickly. He took off his jacket and hanged it on the back of his chair. He could feel Alex's eyes on him from where she was sitting on his bed but he opted to ignore it and pulled his shirt over his head as well. Alex's approving hums were really not helping his blush. Then, as he was unzipping his jeans, he felt Alex wrapping her arms around his waist.
"A-Alex!" he yelped, the blushing on his face and neck becoming ten times worse. "What are you doing?"
Alex nuzzled against his back and Magnus could feel her breath against his neck. "I'm hugging you."
"Y-yeah, I know that, but why now?" I'm going to die, this is how I died people. I'm fighting in an intergalactic war and I'm going to die from too much exposure to Alex Fierro. "I-I'm trying to change."
"Because I wanted to," Alex replied simply, like it was that obvious, and maybe to her it was. He felt the edges of her lips against his neck, feather light, and heard her whisper, "You're very pretty."
Magnus's heart beat as loudly as a drum and he struggled to think straight for just a minute so he could get her to let him go. "Um, why don't you go wait on the bed until I put on my pajamas?"
Alex moaned against his neck and quiznack, this is a dangerous situation. "But I want to hug you."
"You can hug me as much as you want when we get in bed," I never thought I'd be saying that to Alex Fierro, what has my life become? "But I need to put on my pajamas first."
Alex huffed but thankfully let go of him. "Alright, but don't take too long!"
Magnus nodded and quickly changed out of his jeans and into his pajamas. When he turned around, however, Alex was still in her clothes. "Won't you get changed?" he asked as he sat down next to her. Big mistake.
Alex stood up and Magnus felt that familiar feeling that something bad was going to happen. It always did when Alex grinned like that. "Of course," she said, before talking a few steps from the bed and slipping her fingers under her green and pink sweater vest.
With slow movements, much too slow to be how she normally takes her clothes off, she lifted the vest over her head. He watched the muscles in her arms flex as she took it off and it was when Alex send him a coy look that Magnus realize what was happening. Alex Fierro was trying to give him a freaking striptease.
Trying being the key word, because she obviously didn't know what she was doing. She smirked at him and tried to be confident but her fingers still trembled a little when lifting off a piece of clothing. Even the weird alien flower didn't seem to be able to make her perfectly brave and seductive. It didn't matter in the end because Magnus was blushing deep red, his eyes following her every movement, as much as he told himself her should look away.
Alex took of her shirt, the muscles in her arms showing how much time she spent sparring with Halfborn in the training room. Moles dotted her skin at random and Magnus noticed a particularly big cluster at her left side. Scars littered her lean back and chest, leftovers from various battles and who knows what else. Magnus had the sudden urge to hug her and kiss every single one of them and-
It was as Alex was starting to unzip her jeans that Magnus finally yelped and hid his face in his pillow. He did his best to think of normal, everyday things, like boring classes and his uncle in his underwear instead of Alex back and chest because it would be very awkward if things 'escalated' with her in the same bed. Thankfully, half-naked Randolph seemed to do the trick. For once, Magnus was grateful to his uncle.
The mattress dipped beside him and he looked up to see Alex sitting next to his in her pink and green pajamas she had bought from some random planet. There was a stamp of two cartoonish blobs on her chest, like they were children's clothing, and Magnus didn't want to think how big those aliens were if this is their kids' size.
"Why did you look away?" she asked as she lay down next to him. Magnus scooted over to give her more space.
"I, um…" What to say, what to say... "I felt sort of awkward watching and thought I better give you some privacy."
Alex was lying next to him on her side, her arm over his side. "But I wanted you to look."
Damn that alien plant, it'll be the death of me. "Well, uh, maybe some other time."
That seemed to appease Alex, who smiled at him and came a bit closer. Magnus's back was against the wall and Alex was currently trying to make herself comfortable against his chest. After some moving about, she seemed to find a comfortable spot with her head on Magnus's heart and her arms wrapped around him. She took his arm, which had been lying awkwardly near his hip, and draped it over her waist. She finally seemed content with their position and she closed her eyes with a sleepy smile. "Goodnight, Maggie," she whispered.
"Goodnight, he whispered back. Alex nuzzled her cheek into his chest and Magnus screamed in the inside. Why does she have to be this cute?
/
The first thing Magnus saw when he woke up the next day was Alex. Her cheek was squashed against his chest, her moth slightly open. Her hair stuck in all different directions defying gravity and she was smiling in her sleep. Her Garla ears sat comfortably in her hair, twitching from time to time, and that familiar purple undertone was back to her skin. (Alex was much more comfortable about her Galran heritage than Sam was and didn't mind walking around the castle with her ears in plain sight. It had been weird to get used to at first, but Magnus would be lying if he said they didn't fit her, in some weird way.) All in all, there were worse thing to wake up to.
Slowly, as more of his senses came back to him as he woke up, Magnus realized exactly how they were sleeping. Alex's hand rested against his chest, the other thrown over his back. Their legs were a tangled mess, their wholes bodies pressed against each other. One of Magnus's arms was around Alex's waist and the other cradled the back of her head. It didn't look like the most comfortable position to sleep in for the whole night, except Magnus just had one of the best night's sleep he had in a long while.
Almost unconsciously, maybe because he was still half asleep, Magnus slipped his fingers through Alex's hair. It was soft, the short curls wrapping around his fingers as he moved them through the green locks. Alex snuggled in deeper into his chest as her ears twitched happily and a content, almost purring sound left her throat. Magnus knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. Alex looked adorable right now, cuddling against his chest, and she looked so calm. Magnus felt a weird sense of pride at the fact she trusted him enough to let her guard down this much in front of him.
It's just because of the flower, a traitorous part of his brain whispered. She wouldn't be acting like this if she hadn't been drugged by an alien flower. Magnus's mood soured immediately and he was brought crushing back into reality, a reality that wasn't him and Alex cuddling in bed happily, but the fact she wouldn't act like this if she was herself. They might be close, they might be friends and they might get along great, but Alex didn't like him like this and the thought sent a painful stab through his heart.
Thanks, brain. Because this is exactly the kind of thing I want to think about first thing in the morning.
You're welcome, his oblivious brain replied. Stupid brain.
It was then that Alex started moving, making sleepy little whines as her eyes fluttered open. She looked confused for a moment, and then she smiled as she realized where she was. "'Morning," she whispered as she looked up at him, her eyes still hazy from sleep and a content smile on her lips. There might have been drool at the corner of her mouth and her hair might have resembled a bird's nest, but she looked beautiful and Magnus found himself committing the image to memory. This might be the only time he'd ever get to wake up next to Alex and he was going to remember it.
"Good morning," he said. His hand has still combing her hair but Alex didn't seem to mind. "Did you sleep well?"
Alex's smile brightened and she leaned in closer to his hand in her hair. "Great. You're a great pillow. We should do this more often."
That painful stab through his heart was back again. We won't be doing this again, he thought, but what he said was, "Sure."
Alex smiled, content with the answer and lay her head back on Magnus's chest. His fingers were still in Alex's hair and he wasn't quite sure if he should keep going. "Don't stop," Alex said, so Magnus kept going. Alex hummed as he kept combing her hair.
Magnus didn't know how much time passed while they lay like that, simply listening to each other's breathing. Alex was entertaining herself by tracing words and designs on his chest with her finger while Magnus played with her hair and gazed at her, like he was trying his best to memorize each and every line of Alex's face. The moment was simple and innocent and Magnus wouldn't mind if they didn't get out of bed at all today.
But alas, like all great things, someone had to ruin it.
The door to Magnus's room opened quietly and Magnus heard the faintest footfalls, but he didn't care enough to raise his head and see who it was. Maybe he should have because the next thing he heard was the unmistakable sound of someone taking pictures on their phone and a series of "aww"s. Standing at the door, with their phones out, was the rest of Team Voltron, including Blitzen and Hearthstone as well. Halfborn, Mallory and T.J looked like this was the best thing they had seen in months and Sam was looking at with the same kind of smile you gave to two kittens being adorable. Hearthstone and Blitzen were looking on in curiosity as they talked in sign language and Magnus caught a couple of signs that looked dangerously similar to "human mating customs".
"I told you they would be sleeping together! Pay up!" T.J cheered. Everyone, even Sam, dug their hands into their pockets and handed T.J a couple of space coins.
Alex turned her head around to look at them as best as she could without leaving Magnus's arms. She didn't look like she was angry at them, more annoyed that they interrupted her cuddles. Magnus, on the other hand, was a blushing mess.
"Can you leave?" Alex asked. "You're making noise."
They didn't seem to be insulted at all by her words. If anything, they seemed to smile even more gleefully. As they left, Mallory yelled, "Don't make too much noise, you two!" Magnus spluttered at the insinuation, but Alex didn't look at all annoyed. She plopped back down on his chest and closed her eyes, like she was about to go back to sleep.
"Um, Alex?" Magnus said awkwardly. "Maybe we should get up." He didn't want to even imagine the kind of jokes they would hear if they took too long to come out.
Alex frowned at him. She obviously didn't like the idea. "Why? I want to cuddle. This is nice."
I know it's nice, I like it too, but I don't want to face Halfborn's innuendos. "I know. We can do it again later but I'm getting hungry right now."
Alex opened her mouth to protest but, as if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly. She sighed deeply. "Okay."
Alex unwilling untangled her body from his and got out of bed. She stretched her arms far above her head and groaned in satisfaction at the sound of her joints popping. Magnus's eyes trailed her movements as she sluggishly moved to collect her clothes from where she had left them last night. Somehow this whole scene was awfully domestic and it made a pleasant, warm feeling spread through his whole body.
"I'm gonna go change," Alex said, leaning in to kiss Magnus on the cheek. "See you in a bit."
Magnus's face burned from the kiss and he allowed himself the luxury of hiding his face in his hands and making flustered noises. He managed not to freak out (mostly) for so long, but the impossibility of the situation was getting to him and he had to let it out somehow or else he'd probably blow up.
He got out of bed even though it was nice and warm and smelt like Alex. He took a quick shower and got dressed before heading to the dining room for breakfast. Everybody else was already there, including Alex, who was eating the closest thing they had to sugary cereal.
"Nice of you too join us, Magnus," Halfborn greeted him with a smirk. Oh no. "I hope Alex didn't leave you too sore. I told him to be gentler next time."
Of-fucking-course I wouldn't be able to escape Halfborn's innuendos.
Alex had the decency to blush at the comment, but the pink dusting his cheeks was nothing to the fire that seemed to be raging on underneath his skin. If this is how Halfborn wants to play it…
"I've told Mallory the same thing," Magnus said to Halfborn. "I told her I don't want to hear you scream every night, but she just doesn't listen to me."
Alex giggled from the table (bless that sound) but Halfborn didn't seem affected at all. "It's not my fault my girlfriend is fierce and beautiful," he said, making kissy faces at Mallory. She gave him an affectionate slap at the back of the head and went back to her breakfast food goo. Magnus scowled because his teasing had no effect.
Damn you, Halfborn.
Breakfast went by without a hitch, unless you count Halfborn, Mallory and T.J debating over which shot of them cuddling was the cutest, Blitzen and Hearthstone asking them about human courting and mating customs and Alex sitting extremely close and attempting to feed him, in which case… Yeah, it was something.
After they were all done with their breakfast, they split to go and do whatever they did when they weren't fighting purple alien furies in mecha cat suits. Magnus himself was going to go read a book he had picked up from the human shop in the space mall when Alex grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
"I was going to work out in the training room, will you come?" he asked. Now, Magnus wasn't much of a fighter. He was horrible at it, honestly. So working out and training weren't really things he looked forward to, but Alex looked at him with his beautiful two-colored eyes so hopefully it was impossible for him to say no.
"Alright," he said and Alex beamed at him. The Red Paladin intertwined their fingers, an action Magnus had grown used to alarmingly quickly. He did his best to enjoy the feeling of Alex's hand in his while he could. He doubted he would get to hold his hand like this once the flower's effect was gone.
They made a small detour to Magnus's room so he could grab his book before heading to the training room. Alex didn't seem to mind; more time holding Magnus's hand was a good thing for him. Once at the castle's training room, Magnus went to the side to sit and watch Alex train while the other Paladin went to set up the program he wanted.
Magnus, as per Alex's wish, watched him as he stretched and warmed up for the actual working out. Magnus could tell Alex's movements were more exaggerated, bigger than they needed to be as he tried to show off to Magnus and make him pay attention only to him and not to his book. It was working amazingly well, if Magnus's book lying forgotten to the side was anything to go by.
Why did I agree to this again? Magnus asked again as Alex stretched his arms over his head, exposing his toned belly to the Yellow Paladin's eyes. Oh yeah, that's why.
The castle's robotic voice warned Alex that the simulation was about to start and the Red Paladin got ready, his hand resting at the bayard by his hip, bouncing on his heels with restless energy.
"Simulation start," the robotic voice said and Alex immediately sprang into action. He whipped his bayard out and it split in two, connected by a shinning line of light like a futuristic garrote (which it was). Alex lunged at the first droid, wrapping the length of his garrote around its arms and bringing it crushing to the ground. He attacked the second one and tripped it into the first before it had any time to get its sword up.
Magnus could only gaze at him as he sprinted through the training room, taking down robot after robot like he was made to do it. There was an elegant, dangerous beauty to Alex fighting, to the way he almost pounced at his enemies and cut their heads off. Should Magnus find his crush decapitating droids as attractive as he did? Okay, probably not, but Alex looked wild and mesmerizing as he whipped across the room and Magnus couldn't take his eyes off him.
Alex went through several more training levels, each on throwing more droids at him. Magnus started seeing the patterns in his movements, the small way his body stance would change right before he attacked. He tried to read his movements and guess which way he would move next based on his body language and got better and better at it the more he watched Alex.
Maybe I can use it if he ever wants to train together, Magnus thought, the idea of getting a surprise hit on Alex putting a smile on his lips. Alex jumped forward, wrapping his bayard around a droids head and cutting it cleanly off. Or maybe not.
"Pause," Alex said after the last droid fell through a hole in the ground. The training program stopped before the next level was able to load. Alex exhaled slowly, wiping the sweat from his brow and putting his bayard away. He walked over to Magnus and the Yellow Paladin held out the water bottle for him.
"Thank you," he said as he took the water and plopped down next to Magnus. He threw his head back and took long gulps of water, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. Magnus did his best not to stare. (He wasn't good at it.)
"That was really good," Magnus said in an attempt to stop himself from salivating over sweating and panting Alex.
"Thanks," Alex said, smiling so brightly at the compliment Magnus was almost blinded. His ears flickered happily on his head and Magnus was once again sure he heard an almost purring sound coming out of Alex, but that was impossible. "Do you want to spar with me?"
Magnus didn't know what made him say it. Maybe it was the hopeful, loving look in Alex's eyes or the way his ears flattened sadly against his head with every second Magnus took to answer. Whatever it was, against all his better judgment, Magnus said, "Yes."
The smile that spread across Alex's face was enough to bring the dead back to life in Magnus's opinion, though maybe he's biased, being head over heels for him and all. Alex springs up from the bench and goes to shut down the training simulation while Magnus looks back at his life fondly, certain these will be his last moments. His worries stood correct when Alex took off his shirt because "he got sweaty", though Magnus was sure it had less to do with sweat and more with flirting with Magnus and torturing him.
Quiznack, why does he have to look that good? Who's idea was it to make him this gorgeous? Why must I suffer like this?
Magnus's existential questions aside, he gets ready for what's probably his last sparring section before he dies from overexposure to Alex Fierro. He stands opposite Alex in the fighting stance Mallory had shown him once, his bayard in his hands. It took the form of a sword, though Magnus really didn't know why. He wasn't a fighter, he was pretty rubbish in a fight. He wished his bayard would turn into a gun or something like that, then all he would have to do would be to aim and pull the trigger. He had told that to T.J once (big mistake) and he had gotten an hour long lecture about the complexity of good aim.
"Ready when you are," Alex said with a wink, a bit too flirtatiously for a sparring session. Magnus tried not to think too much about it and instead focused on Alex's form. Compared to his rigid and tense stance, Alex looked like he was right in his element.
Since Magnus was going to get his ass handed to him anyway, he decided he should at least get the first hit. He lunged at Alex without a warning, but the Red Paladin was able to dodge his attack without a problem. He rolled out of the way to Magnus's right, lashing at him with the end of his bayard like it was a whip. Magnus managed to bring his sword up just in time to block it.
They eventually find a rhythm of attacking, blocking and dodging, the clash of their weapons and their ragged breaths creating a sort of symphony in the training room. Sweat is making Alex's muscles glisten and Magnus is trying very hard not to stare and get distracted or else he'll get his head chopped off. He knows Alex is going easy on him; he wouldn't have been able to take him on one on one otherwise. He would be offended if he didn't know he needed it. Taking it easy or not, going up against Alex was still challenging and Magnus's muscles burned with energy and adrenaline.
It was then that it happened. Magnus lunged forward to attack Alex right as the Red Paladin wrapped his garrote around Magnus's ankle. The Yellow Paladin lost his balance suddenly and took hold of the first thing he found, which oh so happened to be Alex. His momentum sent them both tumbling to the ground.
They hit the training room's floor with a loud thud, though the impact didn't hurt as much as Magnus had expected it to. His bayard had flown out of his hands as he fell and Magnus pushed at the ground to lift his head.
Only… the ground wasn't supposed to feel the way it did and it wasn't supposed to be clammy or… move.
Dread filling his stomach at the thought of what must have happened, Magnus looked at what, or rather, who he had landed on. And, of course, because he has the worst (or best, depends on the point of view) luck, Magnus had landed right on top Alex. Alex who was currently lying beneath him, sweaty and panting and yeah, Magnus isn't going to think too much about how that looked because it wouldn't end well.
Still, and maybe he's getting redundant by this point, but Alex was a sight to behold at the moment. His face was flushed from his training and their sparring. His green head framed his face like a small halo and his differently colored eyes were gazing at Magnus with such affection in them that it made Magnus's whole body heat up. Alex's breaths, like Magnus's, were shallow, barely making any sound, as if just breathing would destroy the moment.
"I, uh, umm," Magnus stammered intelligently. His mind seemed to be malfunctioning - he couldn't process his thoughts or make words other than Alex. With the other boy so near he was all his mind and heart could focus on, like nothing else existed – the war, the rest of the castle, the dangers that awaited them next – nothing but them at that moment. Magnus had never felt such a strong urge to blurt out his feeling for Alex before and the last logical part of his brain wondered if he could be affected by the flower through Alex. The majority of his brain was admiring how kissable Alex's lips looked.
Alex seemed to be having the same thought process. He smiled at Magnus, one of those smiles that had made him fall hard in the first place, and brought his arms around Magnus's neck. "Well," he said and Magnus could feel his breath on his lips, "this isn't what I had in mind, but I like this too."
His fingers tangled in Magnus's hastily chopped hair and pulled him just an inch closer. Magnus's heart was playing the war drum inside his chest as his basic fight or flee instincts battled against each other. Should he go along with it and take probably his only chance to kiss Alex, who was intoxicated by the flower and didn't really have feelings like these for him or should he say not to this and run away to deal with a rejected flower-drugged Alex?
In the end, with a little more than an inch between their lips, Magnus choose the second one and jerked upright, bolting out of the room as quickly as he could. He run out of the training room and into the locker rooms next to it, collapsing on one of the benches like he had just run a marathon.
What just happened?
The scene played over again in his head, the small details standing out to him now that his heart wasn't pumping blood through his body powerfully enough to make him turn red everywhere. Like Alex's slightly parted lips or the small mole under his right eye or the way he looked at Magnus like he was the single most beautiful thing he had seen in the whole galaxy.
After a solid five minutes of getting his breathing even, Alex got up to find Alex, only to see him standing at the locker room's door. His ears were flat against his head, his eyes shining with unshed tears. The sight sent a sharp pang of guilt through Magnus - he hated seeing Alex like this.
"Alex," he started, but that was the only thing he managed to get out before he cut him off.
"Do you not like me?" the Red Paladin asked, voice just barely trembling at the end.
"What? No, I don't-"
"Then why did you run off?" Alex cut him off again. "I-I really like you, Magnus. I really, really like you, but…" A few stray tears found their way out of Alex's eyes and he wiped them away angrily. "B-but if you don't, then tell me. I'll understand. I can understand why someone wouldn't like me," he repeated with a bitter, humorless laugh that broke Magnus's heart. "But… just tell me. Don't run away from me."
Alex sniffed, trying to clear his clogging nose, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes. His shoulders shook as a sob made its way past his lips and he seemed angry at himself for it, which in turn made him cry harder. Magnus hated the fact this was his fault.
"I like you, Alex-" he started saying, trying to find a way to calm him down.
"Then why do you keep finding excuses to get out of something I say?" Alex snapped. "You just literally run away from me!"
Magnus didn't really have something to say to that because, technically, it was true. His moth opened and closed soundlessly as he tried to find what to say. Alex seemed to be taking his silence as a confirmation of his claims because even more tears poured out of his eyes.
"It's fine," he said, obviously not fine. "I-I get it." He wiped his eyes frantically and was about to run out of the locker rooms when Magnus caught him by the wrist. He struggled against his grip and any other time he would have managed to get out but Magnus couldn't let that happen now.
"Alex, please," he begged. He didn't know what exactly he was begging for. Please, it's not true or maybe please don't leave, but whatever he was asking for, Alex's fighting against him stopped. He didn't snatch his wrist away and he didn't look up at Magnus either, instead looking at a random spot on the floor.
"I like you," Magnus said slowly, cautiously, like the wrong word would break this emotional Alex. Magnus wondered if the breakdown was completely because of the flower or if Alex really feared they didn't like him – if they did, they wouldn't have a way of knowing considering he didn't talk about his weaknesses or insecurities often.
Magnus's words didn't seem to convince Alex as he sniffled, still avoiding to look the Yellow Paladin in the eye.
"I like you," Magnus repeated, stretching each word. "I really, really, really like you. More than just as a teammate or a friend." Alex finally looked at him again, just barely, but his sniffling had stopped. Magnus's heart beat loudly in his ears as adrenaline rushed through his body. He was finally saying the words out loud and it made him feel like he was in the middle of battle.
"You're awesome, Alex." Tentatively, he cupped Alex's cheek and wiped the tears from his eyes, tilting his head so he was looking at him. "You're bold and brave and resourceful. You're proud of yourself and you don't take shit from anyone, be it a random alien salesman or a six-armed warrior that wants to kill you." Alex laughed weakly at that as he recalled both occasions. Magnus's heart warmed as Alex smiled, his garlan ears starting to stick up from their sad position. "You're great at fighting and your pottery is fantastic every single time. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met in the universe, outside and inside."
Alex's ears flattened against his head again, this time from embarrassment as his cheeks flushed redder at the compliment. "I like you," Magnus said again for the third time. "I've been a goner for you since you head-locked me when we first rescued Sam."
Alex's eyes widened. "That long?"
"That long," Magnus nodded. He tucked a lock of hair out of Alex's face so he could see his eyes better and Alex leaned into the touch.
"Then why did you run away?" Alex asked quietly.
"I was nervous," Magnus said, speaking the truth. "I was scared. I didn't know how to react and I fled, but everything I just said is true. I'm sorry I hurt you."
Alex laughed and wiped the last tears out of his eyes. "It's fine." He seemed to think of something and then added, "Though I wouldn't mind going on a date sometime."
A pang went through Magnus's heart at the thought that the date would never happen once the flower's effects wore off, but he managed to keep smiling. "Sure, sometime."
Alex seemed satisfied with the answer. He wrapped his arms around Magnus's neck and held him close. Magnus hugged the Red Paladin back and refused to think about what would happen once the flower got out of his system, instead enjoying the embrace while it lasted.
/
The flower was officially out of Alex's system the next day. They had fallen asleep together in Magnus's bed like the previous night, Magnus's back to the wall as Alex hugged him in her sleep in what was weirdly enough a pretty comfortable sleeping position. Magnus had woken up once again with Alex sleeping peacefully in his arms, her garlan ears tickling his noce.
I could get used to this, he couldn't help but thinking. And that, of course, was what jinxed everything.
Alex scrunched her nose as she slowly woke up, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment, she seemed confused, like she didn't quite understand where she was. Magnus though she looked cute half-awake like this, but then Alex's eyes widened with realization as she understood where she was. She all but punched her way out of Magnus's arms and in her rush toppled off the bed and onto the floor.
"Alex?" he asked, sitting up to look at her where she was looking around the room from the floor. "Are you okay?"
"W-why was I…?" she mumbled as she examined the room, her ears flat against her hair. Magnus's sleepy smile dropped. The flower's effect was over. Alex was back to her old self and she was freaking out over finding herself sleeping in the same bed as Magnus when she didn't remember falling asleep there. (Which was understandable, everybody would lose it in that situation.)
"Alex," Magnus started, wanting to explain to Alex what had happened, but before he got the chance to say anything else, Alex had bolted out of the room in her pajamas. Magnus was left looking at the door she had just run out of. With a heavy sight, Magnus flopped back on his bed. Great, this was just great.
Fully awake now, Magnus got out of bed and got dressed. He didn't bother doing it quickly; Alex had probably run to her room and she wouldn't come out immediately. Plus, he was kind of dreading having to explain to Alex everything that had happened since their run in with the flower if she didn't remember the last couple of days. And if she did… well, that's a whole different can of worms.
Finally dressed, and sick to his stomach, Magnus came out of his room and went to the kitchen, half hoping and half dreading finding Alex there. Alex wasn't there, but the rest of team Voltron was, calmly eating breakfast.
"So I take it the flower stopped working?" Sam asked Magnus, looking up from her alien cerial.
"How did you know?"
"She burst in here in here pajamas and yelled 'What happened?'," Halfborn explained around a mouthful of food goo. "I explained, gave her a book about the plant, she grabbed some cereal and run back to her room."
"O-okay, then," Magnus said. Everybody looked so casual about the whole thing Magnus was starting to wonder if he was panicking over nothing. "I'll go talk to her then."
"Bring her this," T.J said, holding up a bottle of space milk (it tasted like milk, but Magnus really didn't want to know what it actually was). "She forgot to take it when she run away to hide from you."
Magnus sighed, took the milk and made his way to the Red Paladin's room. The door was closed (obviously) and Magnus spent a good couple of minutes just standing in front of it, wondering if he should knock or just walk in. Deciding being polite was the best route when Alex might be angry at him, he rapped his knuckles against the door.
"Alex?" he called out. "It's, uh, it's me. I, um… I brought you milk. Can we talk?"
Alex didn't respond for a few minutes and Magnus thought she wasn't here after all or she was ignoring him until he went away. At last, the door slid to the side, bringing Alex face to face with Magnus.
"Come in," she said, her cheeks and the tip of her ears pink. She didn't look him in the eye as she spoke and immediately turned around. Magnus walked in. He felt like he was in a Garla spaceship; in hostile territory where a single wrong step would result in him getting his head chopped off.
"So, um," he started. "Halfborn said he explained what happened to you."
Alex's blush darkened. If this situation wasn't so awkward, Magnus would be finding it weird that Alex was blushing. "Yeah, he did."
Her words were short and curt and Magnus immediately started panicking. Alex closed herself off when she was upset and it was something that couldn't happen now. Magnus was about to say something when Alex spoke.
"So, I guess now you know," she said bitterly, like Magnus had learned some dark secret of hers. If he did, he had no idea what it was.
"Know what? What do you mean?"
Alex huffed in exasperation and her cheeks darkened. "Don't make me say it," she muttered. When Magnus kept looking confused she sighed and looked at him in the eye, her face a deep red. "I like you!" she yelled. "I'd think that would be obvious with the way I acted! Quiznack, I can't believe I did all that…"
As Alex drowned in her embarrassment ( a rare sight indeed), Magnus still didn't understand what was happening. Alex was saying she liked him but the flower was definitely out of her system.
"You like me?" Magnus asked slowly.
"Yes!" Alex bellowed, making wild gestures with her hands as she freaked out. "Yes, I like you! I kept asking to you cuddle! And I almost did a strip tease for you! Good god, I can't believe I did that… I tried to show off for you in the training room, which isn't something new, but I took off my fucking shirt to do it! I almost kissed you!"
Magnus tried not to blush as all those moments were listed for him. "But you did it because of the flower," he said lamely.
"Yeah, a flower that makes you act out on your romantic feelings for someone!"
Magnus felt like he had just been punched in the chest. "Wh-what? I thought it made you fall for the first person you saw?"
Now it was Alex's turn to be confused. "What? No, it says it in the book. The flower's pollen amplifies the victim's already existing feelings and cancels their inhibitions, making them act out on them without fear." Alex held up the book for him, showing him the alien text next to a picture of the flower and it took Magnus a few seconds to remember that due to her Garla blood Alex could understand any alien language.
His heart felt like it had skipped several beats and a warm feeling spread through his body. "So you like me?"
Alex threw her arms in the air in frustration. "Yes! How many times are you going to make me say it? I like you! Quiznack, I didn't want you to find out like this…"
"Do you remember anything that happened while the flower was working?" Magnus asked.
Alex raised an eyebrow at him but nodded. "Yeah, mostly. Some things are still blank, but it's coming back to me." Alex sighed and sat down on her bed. "Thank you for putting up with me, though you didn't have to lie like that yesterday."
The smile that was making its way onto Magus's face fell away. "Lie?"
Alex sighed. "Yeah, you know. All that stuff about being in love with me. Thanks for trying to spare my feelings, but you don't have to lie."
"I didn't lie," Magnus said as he sat down next to her. She looked at him with disbelief, her ears drooping, so he said it again. "I didn't lie. I like you. I have since we met and everything I said yesterday was true. Everything."
Alex's eyes widened and her blush, which had mostly disappeared by now, returned full force. "Really?"
Magnus nodded, smiling at her. "Really. One hundred percent."
A stupidly giddy smile spread across Alex face and she hid in her hands. "I can't believe we just confessed because I got drugged by an alien love flower," she muttered, voice disbelieving but undeniable happy. "When did our lives become so messed up?"
Magnus smiled and patted her on the back. "When we followed you to a giant robotic lion inside a cave and Mallory flew us out of Earth."
Alex raised her head from her hands and glared at him. "That was rhetorical question."
The Yellow Paladin chuckled. "So, are we like, together now?"
"I'd like that," Alex said. Magnus was having a very strong urge to kiss her. "I'd also like that date we talked about yesterday."
"Alright," Magnus laughed. "Next planet we stop at, we're going out."
Alex smiled at him warmly and for a second there was silence as they simply looked at each other happily. As if on cue, they leaned in, closing their eyes as their lips were about to connect and-
"Ah!"
"Ow!"
Their noses bumped. Of course.
They looked at each other for a moment, both holding their noses in pain before bursting into laughter and collapsing back on the bad.
"Okay," Magnus said. "That was a fail."
Alex chuckled. She reached out and took his hand. "Yeah, it was." Then, before Magnus was able to do something, she leaned over and kissed him in the lips quickly. Magnus's eyes were the size of plates and they were both blushing as red as Alex's lion.
"I guess the first awkward kiss is mine," she said.
Magnus grinned at her and pecked her on the lips. "Then the second one is mine."
Alex smirked, a devious glint in her eyes. "Oh, is that how you want to play it?"
Their friends might have found them in Alex's room half an hour later, still trading small kisses, but Magnus didn't really care to be embarrassed about it. That alien flower actually led to something good.