Chapter Text
“Blitzen and Hearth are gonna kill me!” Magnus complains to Alex as Alex rummages in the back of her wardrobe trying to find something that will fit her.
Alex rolls her eyes at her boyfriend’s dramatics.
“No they won’t, especially not Hearth, he’s way too calm and gentle.” Alex points out.
“Oh Gods you’ve never seen Hearth angry, dude is freaking terrifying Alex, terrifying ! I’ve only seen him mad once and I never want to see that side of Hearth again, I mean he learned rune magic from Odin , for Fray’s sake! He’ll probably turn me into a plan or something.” Magnus frets, running a hand through his hair as if certain he’s facing grave danger, again .
“Mmm that would be unfortunate, I kind of need you around to help me raise this kid, the only other person I would even slightly trust around here to help me raise my kid is Mallory.” Alex sighs, not wanting to indulge in Magnus’ panic and dramatics.
Alex then pulls out a white shirt and mauve cardigan and frowns at the clothes.
“Ugh I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought these, but they’ll have to do for now I guess. Turn around while I get changed, Magpie.” Alex instructs her boyfriend, making a twirling motion in the air with her hand.
“Alex you’re having my baby, I’ve seen you without a top on, it’s nothing new.” Magnus laughs, earning a scowl from his girlfriend, quickly regretting his words.
“Look Magnus I’m not feeling very confident today, the body dysmorphia is bothering me again, I’m trying to get used to and accept how my body looks now I’m pregnant and showing, but that’s easier said than done. I don’t even want to see myself without a top on, and I certainly don’t want anyone else to see me without a top on, especially not my boyfriend. Yeah you’ve seen me shirtless before, but you haven’t seen me shirtless since the bump got so big, so please, just turn around, ok?” Alex confides, glancing at her bump in the mirror and running a hand over across it, trying to just get use to it being there. She's finding it hard to get use to her pregnant body, especially because the bump keeps growing and changing, always stirring up new emotions in Alex.
Magnus’ face drops in empathy and he flushes slightly at having been so thoughtless.
“Right, of course! Alex I’m so sorry, that was so thoughtless and stupid of me, I didn’t think about the body dysmorphia or anything. Of course I’ll turn around, I’ll leave the room if you want.” Magnus apologises in a sincere tone, feeling like a truly awful boyfriend right now.
Alex shakes her head, some of her green hair falling into her face, it’s getting a bit long for her liking, and her roots are getting a bit too grown out as well, she’ll have to look for hair dye that’s safe for pregnancy.
“It’s fine, just turn around.” Alex tells Magnus, not upset with him per say, more so upset that she has to deal with this body dysmorphia bullcrap again.
Magnus nods and does just that, turning to face out towards the atrium, a smile growing on his face as he thinks of Alex and how much he adores her.
“Hey Alex?” Magnus calls.
“What?” Alex replies, just about getting the buttons on her white shirt to stay closed.
“I love you.” Alex can’t help but smile. She’s glad Magnus didn’t try and tell her she has no reason to feel dysmorphic or be insecure about her body. The thoughts aren’t based in any reality, Alex knows that deep down, but at the same time those thoughts still cause very real and very understandable feelings, and sometimes she just wants to be allowed to feel how she feels.
“Love you too Magpie.”
20 minutes later Magnus and Alex are walking through the streets of Boston hand in hand, heading for Blitzen’s best where they assume Blitz and Hearth will be, it will either be there or Chase Space.
As they walk, Magnus can’t stop thinking about Annabeth and how she deserves to know what’s going on too, he promised her no more secrets, he can’t go back on that. Given that it’s still relatively early in the afternoon, Magnus is sure if he texts or calls his cousin now, she’ll be able to make the journey up to Boston, have lunch with him and get back home to New York before it gets too late.
“I have to tell Annabeth about the baby soon, like really soon, today if I can. Do you think you’d be up for meeting her for lunch or something?” Magnus asks Alex, knowing that she is still struggling with nausea and vomiting and lack of appetite.
As soon as Magnus mentions the word ‘Lunch’, Alex wrinkles her nose up and shakes her head.
“Listen I love Annabeth but even just thinking about food makes me want to barf right here and right now, I cannot be around all those food smells at a café or something. Why don’t you just meet up with her by yourself? It’ll probably take most of the day for Blitz and I to find some good clothes for me and design new ones, you could have lunch with Annabeth while we do that.” Alex suggests, knowing that Magnus doesn’t have the same level of interest in fashion and fashion design that she and Blitz do.
“Yeah I guess I could do that, you don’t mind not being there when she finds out?” Magnus asks, knowing that Alex prefers to tell people big important things like this, herself.
“I'm sure, honestly I don’t have the energy to do two things today, and like I said, I love Annabeth but I need clothes that fit me more than anything else, and look good on me.” Alex grins, a hand resting over her bump as she thinks of all the amazing clothes Blitz will design for her, and for the baby when she’s born.
“Alright here goes nothing.” Magnus takes his phone out and quickly texts Annabeth.
Hey, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, I have something to talk to you about, nothing’s wrong so don’t panic! Any chance you could come up to Boston today or maybe tomorrow?
Just a few minutes later, he gets a reply.
I hate it when people have to tell me things, it’s always something bad or wacky. Yeah I’m free today so I can come up, I’ll text you when I’m in the city ok?
“Well no going back now, Annabeth is free to meet today.” Magnus tells Alex, quickly showing her the message from his cousin.
“Aww lighten up Beantown I’m sure she’ll only almost kill you.”
5 minutes later Alex and Magnus push open the door to Blitzen’s best, Magnus walking in first and Alex joining him at his side just a few seconds later, slipping her hand into his, undeniably nervous about sharing this big news with their friends, though also quiet excited. It's nice to have something positive to share, for a change.
Thankfully the shop is totally quiet after the lunchtime rush, and the only ones on the shop floor are Blitz and Hearth themselves. Blitz is standing near the cash register, tidying a rail of clothes that got messed up in the rush, while Hearth sits on a stool behind the cash register, just watching Blitzen with eyes full of love, clearly head over heels for the dwarf.
Alex still doesn't understand how Magnus was oblivious enough to not notice that Hearth and Blitz are in a relationship with each other, and have been the entire time Magnus has known them. He just never realised, and happened to never see them do anything more than hold hands or hug, which he thought was entirely platonic.
When he hears the door open, Blitzen looks over with Hearth following his gaze, to see Magnus and Alex walk into the store, neither of them noticing anything out of the ordinary just yet, though Blitz does notice Alex’s unusual choice of clothing, well, unusual for Alex that is.
“Hey guys.” Magnus greets his friends, waving hello to Hearth who isn’t close enough to read his lips.
“Kid! Good to see you! And you Alex! Where you guys been? It’s been a while!” Blitz exclaims, happy to finally see his good friends again, he really has missed them.
“Yeah about that, we’ve got a secret we want to share with you.” Alex says, her tone a mixture of hesitation and excitement. It is pretty cool that she and Magnus get to surprise people and give them good news for once, and Alex is looking forward to seeing Blitz and Hearth’s reactions.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Blitz asks, judging by Alex’s tone of voice that this isn’t a bad surprise, thank the Gods.
With a grin, Alex steps out from behind the rail of clothes in front of her, revealing her bump that is not at all hidden or minimised by the shirt, which is fit snugly against her stomach.
“Surprise?” Magnus tries for a cheerful tone but it comes out more like a question when he sees the look of complete shock on his friends’ faces.
“Alex… are you…?” Blitz trails off, moving his gaze from Alex’s stomach to her face.
“Hmm?” Alex pretends not to know what Blitz means for a second, just for the drama. She then laughs and points down at her belly “Oh! You mean this? Yeah, I’m pregnant.”
Blitz stares at her for another few seconds, looking like he is questioning everything he has ever known, occasionally stammering out the beginning of a “What?” or “How?” He raises one hand to his forehead as if to check himself for a fever, his eyes growing wide as he tries to comprehend this news.
Meanwhile Hearth frowns at them, certain he must have misinterpreted Alex’s signs, although that wouldn’t explain her rounded stomach.
Hearth raises his hands as though he is about to start signing, then seems to rethink it and drops his hands, repeating this process a few more times. All of which Alex is finding pretty damn funny, she low-key wants to whip out her phone and film Blitz and Hearth’s reactions, to look back at in months and years to come.
Magnus waves his hand in front of Blitz’s face, looking at the dwarf with concern.
“Hey Blitz? You good, buddy?” Magnus asks in a tone of concern. Can dwarves turn to stone from shock? Is that what's happening right now?
“I…. how?! ” Blitzen finally exclaims, his face still a mask of confusion and puzzlement.
“I doubt you want the details.” Alex casually replies, fluidly signing as she speaks.
A look of horror crosses Hearth’s pale face and he shudders in his seat, shaking his head at the thought of what Alex is implying, not something he wants to think about.
Is this a joke? Hearth asks, not sure what answer he is hoping for.
“No my friend it is not, as for how it happened; well as you know our lovely Magpie here is the son of Frey, who you also know is the God of fertility. So it means that Beantown here is Mr. Fertile and has the super cool rare power to knock someone up even in the afterlife, and I just so happen to be the unlucky person.” Alex sighs, laying a hand across her bump. Though she doesn’t really consider herself unlucky to have gotten pregnant. Sure if given the choice she likely wouldn’t have chosen to get pregnant, but she doesn’t regret it now for one second and is ready to make the best of this tricky situation.
“Well… so… does Odin know? Will you be allowed to keep the baby, raise them yourself, if that’s what you want?” Blitz asks, simultaneously worried about how Magnus and Alex will handle parenthood, and also worried about how negatively it would impact them and the baby if they were to be forcibly separated.
“It is what we want, and yeah we actually just spoke to Odin yesterday, and Frigg. Odin seemed hesitant at first but once Alex told him how much we love this kid already he agreed that it would just be cruel to take the baby from us after they're’ born.
And also.... yesterday there was prophecy from the Norns... about our kid." Magnus replies, a little hesitant and nervous to talk about the baby's destiny and fate at Ragnarök. It's not something he has entirely wrapped his head around yet.
"What do you mean? A prophecy about what exactly? Can prophecies even happen to someone who hasn't even been born yet?" Blitz asks in confusion, clearly never having heard the story about Percy and The prophecy from when he was 16.
"Apparently they can.... Yesterday at dinner, one of the Norns came right up to Alex and put her hand on her belly. To summarise.... the prophecy said that uh... our kid is... well... they're gonna lead the winning side at Ragnarök." Magnus begins, his tone turning shaky with fear towards the end. The thought of he and Alex's child always having such a huge responsibility hanging over them is pretty frightening. What if the poor kid can't handle that pressure and ends up cracking under the stress?
Isn't that a good thing? Hearth asks, not sure why Magnus seems so shaken up by this particular fact. If this baby is one day going to fight at Ragnarök, then surely they'll be fighting with the Gods and Einherjar? And if they're destined to lead them to victory, maybe it means a change of fate for others too. Maybe Odin will end up surviving, maybe all the Gods will.
"It would be... if that was the end of the prophecy." Alex clarifies, signing as she speaks.
"There's more?" Blitz asks.
"Yeah... two more things actually... the thing is... the baby.... they're not guaranteed to fight with the Gods and Einherjar... there's a possibility that they uh... might side with Loki." Magnus hesitantly admits, not even wanting to think about Loki being anywhere near this kid.
"What? But... why would they side with Loki? That makes no sense!" Blitz nervously laughs, trying not to think about the fact that Loki could easily trick and deceive this kid into siding with him. Much like he tricked Magnus, Sam and Alex into helping him get free of his bonds not all that long ago.
"We don't really know, which is the scary part. Maybe it's more of a technicality, since the baby will have free will- they could freely choose to side with Loki, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will." Alex theorizes in a hopeful tone. She really can't imagine her kid one day growing up and choosing to fight on Loki's side, especially when they inevitably find out about all the horrific things he's done to their family and so many others.
"I hope you're right, kid." Blitz agrees quietly, now understanding Magnus and Alex's fear.
You said there were two more things, what else? Hearth asks, before anyone can forget.
Magnus and Alex share a look, and then Alex takes a deep breath and without hesitation, says "Our baby is going to survive Ragnarök. They're going to be the one to rebuild Asgard.... and lead it."
No one speaks or signs or even really moves a muscle over the next few minutes, as Hearth and Blitz try to comprehend and process this last bit of news.
"Wow." Blitz finally says after a while, his voice soft and quiet. "That... that's a big deal."
"It is... and it's scary, but getting pregnant with this baby has only made me more determined than ever to keep Ragnarök at bay for as long as possible. This kid needs and deserves a chance to grow up, they deserve to have a normal childhood before they have to start training and preparing for doomsday, and preparing to become the leader of the new world." Alex tells them in a sure and determined tone, looking lovingly down at her belly and running a hand across it's surface, feeling the baby kick in response.
"Exactly." Magnus agrees. "The best place for our baby to grow up is in Valhalla."
"We’ll split our time between there and Midgard, Samirah and Amir need to be really involved with her, Percy and Annabeth too, and you guys of course. We’ll still help out plenty at Chase Space too, though probably not till after the baby is born, because pregnancy is making me
so
sick.” Alex explains, still feeling just as nauseous and queasy as she had at the start of the pregnancy, at this point she’s used to throwing up practically everyday and always feeling queasy.
Baby is girl? Hearth signs, noticing how Alex had called the baby ‘ her'.
“Well we think so, Alex has a feeling that the baby’s a girl, but they could be a boy, we don’t know for sure and we don’t care, we’re just so excited to meet this little one, I want her to look just like Alex.” Magnus says in a soft and sweet tone, smiling warmly at Alex and laying a warm hand on her stomach.
Alex rolls her eyes but smiles at how loving and sweet Magnus is towards her and the baby.
Hearth interrupts the sweet moment (which Alex is grateful for, not liking public displays of affection) by clapping his hands once to get their attention.
We will help with baby, excited to meet her, you are going to be great parents. Despite their young age, Hearth knows just by the way Magnus and Alex talk about their baby, that they’re going to be amazing parents, he knows they will love and protect and cherish their child no matter what, and never see them as anything less than perfect.
“Thanks pal, we’re really excited for you to meet her too.” Magnus grins, as Hearth stands up and moves to embrace Magnus tightly.
Once Hearth pulls back from the hug, Magnus sees Blitz smiling proudly at him.
“Awww come’er kid, I can’t stay mad at you! Hearth’s right, you’re gonna be a great dad.” Blitz says, pulling Magnus in for a warm hug. The kid is just too adorable and innocent to stay mad at.
“Thanks Blitz, that means a lot to me, I hope you’re right.” Magnus softly admits, while Hearth hugs Alex, though not really fully being able to with the bump in the way.
Blitz pulls back from the hug and looks at Magnus with fondness and love, then he frowns and slaps Magnus on the side of the head, as if to knock some sense into the adorable but stupid kid.
“OW! What the hell man?!” Magnus exclaims in a tone of confusion, rubbing his head while Alex hides a laugh behind her hand.
“What did I tell you about always using protection, huh?! Didn’t Hearth and I teach you better?!” Blitz sternly asks, remembering when he and Hearth awkwardly sat Magnus down in a corner booth of a fast food place when they were living on the streets, and doing their best to give him a decent education on sex and all things related to it, unsure if Natalie had ever talked to him about any of it before she died.
“Blitz! Dude, come on ! I’m dead, nobody ever told me I would need to use protection when I’m dead! I didn’t know I could have a kid in the afterlife! That’s something my dad failed to explain to me.” Magnus defends himself, although Frey probably doesn't know about this power either.
“Oh no, no excuses! We taught him better than this, right Hearth?” Blitz asks, signing as he speaks and looking directly at the elf.
Hearth nods solemnly.
Was very awkward conversation and you didn’t even listen to us. Should always use protection unless trying to have a baby. Hearth signs, cringing at the memory of the uneasy talk with Magnus.
“Hearth not you too! Come on, nobody could have predicted this could happen!” Magnus argues, hating it when Hearth and Blitz go all disappointed-dads on him.
Right, but didn’t know for a fact that it wouldn’t happen either, so should have used protection. Hearth replies, having an answer for everything, it would seem.
“Kid it’s ok, you don’t need to be ashamed or embarrassed, we’re not mad at you honestly, just… a little disappointed.” Blitz kindly says, which just makes Magnus even more embarrassed.
Hearth nods his agreement and signs Baby is big responsibility, have to be sure you are ready for that.
Magnus wishes the ground would just swallow him up right now, even if it means going to Helheim, anything would be better than this embarrassing conversation. And he suspects Hearth and Blitz are finding it more than just a little funny to embarrass him like this.
“Oh my gods you really are his dads!” Alex laughs, leaning back against the counter where the register sits, enjoying the show, an embarrassed Magnus is her favorite Magnus. Just then, she realises something and immediately perks up. “Wait! If you’re his dads then that means_”
“Oh no! Absolutely not!” Blitzen interjects in a warning tone, clearly able to see where this is going.
“That means you’re the baby’s grandparents! Awww Grandpa Hearth and Grandpa Blitz!” Alex teases, earning a scowl from Blitz and no reaction at all from Hearth.
“Absolutely not! Uncle Hearth and Uncle Blitz! I am way too young to be called grandpa, we both are! But on to more pressing matters, Alex what in Odin’s name are you wearing?!” Blitz asks in a distasteful tone, wrinkling his nose up at the terrible excuse for an outfit.
Alex frowns and looks down at her outfit. “It’s the only thing I have left that will fit me, that’s the main reason we’re here, can you make me some pregnancy clothes in my style? Please?” Alex hopefully asks, knowing Blitz can get pretty busy with the store, and doesn't always have time to take custom orders.
“Oh as if you even have to ask, I’d be a terrible friend if I left you to wear things like that atrocious get up, I mean come on, a cardigan and leggings? What are you, 60?” Blitz teases, going behind the counter to grab his measuring tape.
“No, just really pregnant, thanks to Beantown over here.” Alex sighs, making Magnus roll his eyes at the nickname.
Is baby going to call you dad? Or Beantown? Hearth signs to Magnus, his mouth quirked up into a rare smile, as he finger spells Beantown so fast that Magnus highly doubts it’s the first time he’s signed the nickname.
“Oh shut up or I will teach the baby to call you grandpa Hearth.” Magnus grumbles.
Hearth just shrugs. Ok, don’t care what she calls me, just want her to be happy .
“Ugh you are impossible to black mail!” Magnus sighs, making Hearth smirk in amusement.
What do you wanna do while Alex and Blitz are busy? Hearth signs to Magnus. Usually they keep eachother company and entertained when Blitz and Alex are working together like this. Oftentimes playing card games, or sometimes Magnus lets Hearth teach him about runes and their meaning and purpose. Other times they just shoot the breeze and talk about anything and everything.
Have to go meet Annabeth later, tell her about baby, she doesn’t know yet. What do you wanna do? Magnus replies, deciding to let Hearth choose this time, seeing as the last time they hung out like this, Magnus got to choose their activity and made Hearth watch The Great British Bake Off with him. (A habit of his he will not be judged for, he loves the cozy vibes and the camaraderie among the bakers!)
Hearth shrugs, not being too fussed on what they do, he just likes to spend time with Magnus, plus he’s still trying to really process that Magnus is going to be a dad soon. To Hearth, Magnus is still just a kid, though of course like Hearth himself he has had to grow up quiet fast and all too soon.
Talk? He suggests.
Sure, what about? Magnus asks, while Alex and Blitz go through to the back.
You, Alex, baby. Tell me everything, when did you find out?
Magnus sighs and sits back in his chair.
Everything? Good thing we have a lot of time to waste
.
So for the next while Magnus tells Hearth all about how Alex discovered she was pregnant, how she then told Magnus, how they hid the pregnancy for a few weeks, trying to wrap their minds around it, before eventually telling their hallmates, and then being summoned for a meeting with Odin and Frigg themselves.
By the time Magnus has told Hearth everything, they both need to take a few minutes to fully process the enormity of the situation.
While they sit thinking, Magnus hears footsteps behind him and soon feels Alex hug him from behind, looping her arms around his shoulders and leaning her head against his.
“Hey.” Magnus softly says, turning to kiss Alex on the cheek.
“Hi.” Alex replies, her tone breathy as she stifles a yawn. “Your daughter’s really craving some cherry flavoured candy.” she adds.
“Oh so she’s my daughter when she’s kicking real hard and making you crave stuff, but the rest of the time she's our daughter?” Magnus laughs, remembering having a very similar conversation with Alex yesterday, when she was trying to work on her pottery, but couldn't get comfortable for more than a few minutes at a time because the baby was kicking so much and so hard.
“Mhm, that’s right. So since I’m the one who is, ya know, actually growing this kid from scratch and giving her life, I figured the least you can do is go to the store and get us that cherry candy?” Alex grins in a knowing tone, fully aware that Magnus would do this even if she didn’t ask, but she likes to poke fun at him anyway.
“Hmmm I guess that’s fair, but should we really be feeding her sugar before she’s even born? ” Magnus teases, earning him a laugh from Alex.
“Chase, I’m like 5 months pregnant with your baby, your baby who is damn heavy I might add, because of your weird son of fertility God powers, get me the damn candy.”
He gets her the damn candy.
He and Hearth walk down to the small bodega a few doors down from Blitzen’s Best, Hearth joining Magnus because he wants to see the cat that belongs to the owner of the bodega, who always hangs out in the store and seems to really like Hearth.
A few minutes after leaving the bodega, as Magnus stands outside the store with Hearth, waiting for his friend to finish playing with the cat by dangling the ends of his scarf just a few inches above the cat's head, making the cat jump up and grab at the scarf, Magnus suddenly feels a weight land on his back and arms loop around his shoulders, like Alex had done back at Blitzen’s Best.
Without meaning to, Magnus lets out a very long and very high pitched scream, freezing in place, even though his instinct should be to fight, especially now he’s an Einherji.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees Hearth reach for his pouch of runestones, after of course, he has finished playing with Steve the cat, having turned around just in time to see the terror flash across Magnus' face.
Just then Magnus sees long blonde hair fall into his face and hears laughter, a loud burst of laughter as if someone has just witnessed the funniest thing they have ever seen. And he recognizes that laugh.
“
Annabeth?!
” Magnus asks in a shocked and breathy tone, a hand going to his chest to make sure his cousin didn’t scare Jack so badly that he jumped off Magnus’ neck chain and fell into the gutter or something. “What the hell?!”
Annabeth is now doubled over with laughter, hands on her knees, her face scrunched up in amusement.
“Oh my gods!” Annabeth gasps, wiping at tears of laughter and fanning her face with her hand to try and calm down. Only, when she sees Magnus’ shocked and astounded face, she busts up laughing again, wheezing and stammering something about “Your face” and “Priceless.”
Hearth looks at Magnus, puzzled.
What is going on?
Hearth signs. He’s met Magnus’ cousin once or twice before so he know Magnus isn’t in any real danger, but he’s not sure why she jumped on Magnus or how she seemingly appeared out of thin air.
Magnus looks at Hearth with an equally bewildered expression and shrugs. Think my cousin been possessed by The Joker. This gets a small smile from Hearth.
Possessed by The Joker- good one. Hearth signs, the amusement clear on his face.
"Oh my gods, oh Magnus that was so funny, your scream, your expression, the fact that you just stood there…” Annabeth has to try really hard to hold back another fit of giggling. “It was priceless.”
“Where did you come from?!” Magnus demands, still a little breathless from the scare. Thank Gods Alex isn’t here, or she would’ve filmed the whole thing and sent it to all their friends by now, probably captioned it something like Local Einherjar who previously postponed Ragnarök, jump scared by his cousin, screams in lowercase.
“New York, duh.” Annabeth dryly replies with a smirk. Magnus rolls his eyes.
“I mean how did you just… appear like that? Did you like… drop out of the sky or something?” Magnus asks, glancing up at the clear blue sky just in case it is raining Greek demi-gods. Hearth follows his gaze, like he’s worried about this too.
“My mom’s gift comes in handy for questing
and
pranking.” Annabeth grins, spinning her Yankees baseball cap around on her index finger, her other hand resting on her hip.
“I hate that stupid hat.” Magnus grumbles. This is not the first time Annabeth’s used her cap to get one over on him. Just a few months ago the two of them plus Percy and Estelle were playing hide and seek, Annabeth and Estelle against Magnus and Percy. Annabeth had not only used her hat to keep herself and Estelle hidden, (The invisibility magic of the cap worked on Estelle too because Annabeth was holding the toddler on her hip) she had also used it to sneak up on Magnus and Percy and practically make both boys jump out of their skin.
Annabeth just laughs, then turns and smiles at Hearth and signs Hey, sorry if I scared you, only meant to scare Magnus.
Hearth just smiles slightly and shakes his head.
Didn’t scare me, you are right, Magnus’ face, very funny.
“Hey, quit talking about my face!” Magnus exclaims, signing as he speaks so that Hearth isn’t forced to read his lips.
“Aww sorry cuz, your face is adorable!” Annabeth teases, lightly grabbing Magnus by the chin and planting a kiss on his cheek. “So what do you have to talk to me about?” Annabeth’s tone turns more serious and concerned, when she remembers she didn’t come up to Boston
just
to prank Magnus.
Magnus sighs and runs a hand through this hair.
“I’ll tell you over lunch, we have a lot to catch up on.”