The rest of Monday passed without incident. Which, knowing his life, felt less like a relief to Magnus and more like the quiet before something inevitably went wrong.
After their shared Intro to Lit elective, he and Alex split up. She headed off to cheer practice, already slipping back into that effortlessly social, high-energy version of herself that somehow made even exhaustion look aesthetic. Magnus, on the other hand, went straight back to his room and collapsed face-first onto his bed then promptly passed out like someone had just unplugged him.
He woke up a few hours later feeling marginally less dead. Not alive, no. That was a luxury. Just… less dead. Which, unfortunately, was the best he could afford right now. So he dragged himself through the rest of his daily quest exercises. Squats and sit-ups that still hurt, but compared to the regimen that was Jordan's normal training for him these days, were more bearable. Somehow, her training had gone from only partially matching his daily quest when they started, to catching up within a week, to nearly doubling the quest's torture in less than a month.
And then, because the universe clearly wasn't done with him, observation training with Tony. Because that was still a thing, apparently.
"Awareness is not optional," Tony had declared, perched on the back of a bench like a tiny, judgmental gargoyle. "It is the difference between hunter and roadkill."
"Let me guess," Magnus muttered, rubbing his eyes. "I'm the roadkill in your analogy."
Tony considered that. "Accurate. But knowing your place is the first step to improvement!"
By the time the sun dipped low enough to paint the campus in warm gold, Magnus felt like he had been physically, mentally, and spiritually wrung out.
Dinner with Alex was less of a date and more of a mutual recovery session. They sat across from each other, both quieter than usual, both running on fumes. Alex broke the silence first.
"Okay," she said, poking at her food before actually committing to eating it. "Updates."
Magnus made a vague gesture with his fork. "Hit me."
"Strategy meeting tomorrow," she said. "In your room. We need Tony there."
Magnus glanced out the cafeteria window at the raccoon currently inspecting something in the trashcan. "…Of course we do."
A beat.
"And Harper?" he asked.
"Wednesday evening," she replied. "Dinner at her apartment."
Magnus nodded slowly.
"We'll go over what to say after the strategy meeting," she added. "Figure out the approach, align stories, all that."
"That sounds…" he paused, searching for the word, "…reasonable."
It did. On paper. But something in his chest refused to settle. A quiet, persistent unease that he couldn't quite name. Like a thought sitting just out of reach.
He tried to ignore it. Probably nothing. Just nerves. It had been a long couple of days.
Yeah. That was all it was!
Across from him, Alex watched him for a second longer than necessary. Then, very deliberately, she smiled. It was not a reassuring smile. It was the kind of smile that raised five different kinds of alarm in Magnus's head. What followed was, in Magnus's professional opinion, deeply unfair. Alex leaned in. Close enough that he could feel her breath against his skin. Close enough that his brain started short-circuiting in increasingly creative ways.
"Still tired?" she asked, voice soft, casual.
"Very," he said.
"Hmm."
Her foot brushed against his under the table. Light. Intentional.
Magnus paused mid-bite. "…Alex!"
"Yes?" she said sweetly. Her foot slid up his leg. He choked slightly on absolutely nothing.
"Don't," he muttered under his breath.
She tilted her head, innocent. "Don't what?"
Her hand rested briefly on his wrist. Fingers tracing, just enough to linger. Then…
She pulled back. Like nothing had happened.
Magnus stared at her. She smiled. Completely unrepentant. Similar things happened three more times before dinner was over. By the end of it, Magnus was both exhausted and deeply aware that he had made several mistakes in life that had led him here. They went to bed that night and… just cuddled. No escalation, no "miscalculations," none of that. Just warmth, quiet, restful sleep.
Magnus, half-asleep, had the vague realization that this was probably her way of proving a point. That she had self-control. But he was too tired to argue.
***
Tuesday's strategy meeting happened over pizza. Because that was the only thing that could get Tony to somewhat cooperate.
Boxes were stacked on Magnus's desk, the smell filling the room as Tony sat proudly among them like a king presiding over his kingdom.
"This is acceptable tribute," he declared, already halfway through a slice before the conversation had even properly started.
"Alright," Alex began, shifting into business mode with practiced ease. "Recap."
She glanced between Magnus and Sofia. "We have reason to believe someone is trying to sabotage Jordan."
Sofia leaned back in her chair, eyeing Tony warily.
"And aside from the obvious problem of harming Jordan," Alex continued, "that also threatens Magnus's life. Because right after her win at the meet is likely the only opportunity — if there ever is one — to initiate the threesome."
Sofia winced. "God, I hate the fact that that sentence makes sense to me nowadays!"
"Same," Magnus muttered.
Alex ignored them.
"And Magnus saw Tony at the meet in his vision," she added. "Which means we're probably all going. Together. And since we can't bring him on public transportation…"
Sofia looked at Tony again. Then at Magnus. Then back at Tony. Before slowly turning toward Alex.
"…Okay," she said. "I'm not against the idea. But he's not getting in my car like that!"
Tony looked up from his pizza.
"Public transport is acceptable. High density. Unpredictable variables. Potential of chaos, noise, and secondary consequences…" A small pause. "Like angry humans."
"…We're not bringing you on public transportation!" Magnus said immediately.
Tony nodded sagely. "A shame," he said. "I thrive in all three. Especially angry humans. They drop food!"
Meanwhile, Alex turned to Sofia.
"I thought we talked about this," she said. "He was there in Magnus's vision, so you obviously agree to it somehow."
"Again," Sofia said, holding up a hand, "I'm not opposed to all of us going there. But I like my car. And I'm just saying — if you want to bring him in my car, you need to at least bathe him first!"
"I'll have you know, I bathe myself regularly!" Tony said, offended.
Then, as if to demonstrate… he started licking himself.
Magnus rubbed a hand over his face. He didn't even bother translating.
"Okay," he said instead, resigned. "How clean do you need him to be?"
"At least to the point where he doesn't smell like trash," Sofia said, "or like something died in my backseat."
"I'll never agree to this!" Tony declared. "Trash smell is raccoon-kind's pride. Our identity. Our history. You ask me to abandon culture!"
"Tony, please—" Magnus began, before the raccoon cut him off:
"No! Cleanliness reduces suspicion but increases vulnerability. If you smell like nothing, you are nothing!"
Magnus blinked. To the girls, he said. "…He says you won't notice him if he's clean."
"…That's the point," Sofia deadpanned. Alex giggled.
"Tony, please," Magnus tried again, already tired, "you just need to let me bathe you once on Thursday. Then after Jordan's meet on Friday, you can go back to smelling like trash. It's for a good cause. To help Jordan. Didn't you say that sometimes a good cause requires sacrifice?"
Tony narrowed his eyes at him.
"So you actually do listen," he said. "Good! There is hope for you. But sacrifice is still too great!"
Magnus didn't hesitate. "I'll buy you pizza."
Tony stilled mid-chew. Slowly lowered the slice.
"…Continue," the raccoon said.
That got his full attention. So Magnus pressed on. "Three boxes?"
Tony didn't answer immediately. Just stared. Calculating.
"Every day for a month," the raccoon finally said, pointing a paw at him. "I know my worth!"
"For three days!"
"For three weeks! Any less and you're just insulting me."
"For a week," Magnus shot back. "Final offer!"
Tony considered. "…Fine. Acceptable."
Magnus turned to the girls.
"He agreed to take a bath," he said. "For the price of three pizzas per day, for a week."
Sofia shrugged. "Good enough."
"Now we just need to decide who has to bathe him," Alex said.
Sofia pointed at them immediately. "Isn't it obvious? You two want to bring him along, you two do it."
Magnus and Alex glanced at each other. Then Alex smiled.
"I guess it wouldn't be too bad," she said. "We could make it a fun date."
"That does not sound fun," Magnus muttered. But he didn't hate the idea either.
That wrapped up one problem. Naturally, they moved on to the next. They started mapping out what to do at Jordan's meet. How to identify the saboteur. How to position themselves. What Magnus should watch for. What Tony should search for.
Plans were drawn. Roles assigned. And, because this was them, of course there were the occasional teasing, bickering, and commentary from a raccoon who took himself far too seriously. Such as:
"Sabotage implies planning. Planning implies hunger. Hungry people likely sloppy. Humans who plot rarely account for variables like raccoons."
Or, "If sabotage occurs, I recommend biting the problem. It resolves many situations."
By the time the meeting wound down, they had something resembling a plan. Tony, halfway inside an open pizza box, raised his head. "Plans are fragile. Pizza is not. Focus on what matters!"
Magnus groaned but did not translate that.
Sofia stood, stretching. "Alright. I'll go make sure my car has enough fuel for this Friday. Just… don't forget the bath."
Tony hissed quietly, muttering about too great a sacrifice he was making. Magnus tried very hard to ignore that.
After Sofia left, Tony followed shortly after, hopping outside through Magnus's window.
Alex turned to Magnus. "It'll be fine."
"It will not," Magnus could hear Tony say from outside his window. "But you will survive. Probably."
Then the raccoon was finally gone, leaving Magnus and Alex alone.
Alex shifted her chair slightly closer.
"Alright," she said. "Harper!"
Magnus straightened a little. They went over it carefully. What to say. What not to say. How to frame things. How to keep it consistent with what they'd told others.
"When in doubt," Alex said, "default to the 'we're experimenting' narrative."
Magnus grimaced slightly. "Still feels weird."
"It is weird," she said. "But it's safer."
A beat.
"And Aura Weave?" he asked.
She considered that.
"…Situational," she said. "Don't lead with it. Only use it if things start going sideways."
He nodded. That made sense.
They went over contingencies, reactions, and possible outcomes. The conversation was calm, structured, and logical. Everything was exactly as it should have been. And yet…
That feeling came back. That same quiet unease from earlier. Magnus leaned back slightly, frowning.
"You okay?" Alex asked.
"…Yeah," he said. "Just…"
He hesitated. "…Feels like something's going to go wrong."
She studied him for a second. Then reached over, taking his hand.
"Hey," she said, softer now. "We have a plan."
A small squeeze. "We'll adapt if we need to."
He looked at her. Took a breath.
"…Yeah," he said. "Okay."
She smiled. In the same confident and certain way she always was when it mattered. And for a moment, that was enough. Not to erase the unease he felt, but to quiet it. Even if it's just for a little while.
Outside, the sun dipped lower. And somewhere between preparation and uncertainty…
They settled into something that was almost hopeful.