Chapter 105: Apparently, Everyone Has Their Priorities, and Magnus Is the Only One Who Doesn’t Understand Any of Them

It was Thursday morning, and Magnus was, as usual, on his back on the ground, staring up at the sky. There wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t hurt: three out of four days this week, he’d been subjected to sparring with Jordan; and two out of those three times, it’d been because of something Alex said or did.

A water bottle landed next to him, followed by a towel landing squarely on his chest.

Jordan was already walking away. “Same time tomorrow, Chane.”

Magnus wiped the sweat from his face, then glanced down when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out expecting another message from one of the group chats, but the name on the screen immediately caught his attention.

Alex: My period is over early.

Alex: This afternoon/evening works for Sofia, you’re free too, right?

Alex: Come over when you’re done with Jordan. We should go over logistics just in case.

He stared at the messages for a moment, then typed back:

Magnus: On my way. Can I use the shower at your place after, though?

Alex: Sure. Want me to join you? ;)

Magnus: No. I’m still sore because somebody riled up Jordan yesterday.

Alex: That bad? Should we postpone it, then?

Magnus: Oh no, I’m not saying I’m too sore for sex. I’m saying you’re getting a timeout for what you did.

He smiled at the angry and pouting emotes she sent back and made his way to her room.

“You’re getting a bit too cheeky lately, you know that?” Alex said as soon as she opened the door for him.

“You did say I should work on my self-esteem. I’m just following your advice.”

“Uh huh.” She bumped his shoulder. “Anyway, I’m clean, and I’ve already talked to Sofia. Since we’ve done this before and nothing’s notably changed since last time, we can just go with the flow. This is more or less just a quick check-in to make sure everyone’s ready and up for it.”

“Okay?”

“Actually—” She wrinkled her nose. “—you should probably shower first.” She pushed him toward the co-ed bathroom. “We can talk more after you’ve stopped smelling like sweat and Jordan’s punching bag.”

One quick shower later, he walked back into her room wrapped in a towel as he dried himself off. “So, this afternoon?”

“Yeah, we should all be free. Sofia’s wanted this for a while, and both you and I’ve decided to go ahead with it, so we might as well just do it.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Sounds like you’ve already worked everything out.”

“I have.”

“Wait,” he began slowly. “So why did you make it sound like it’s urgent that I get here immediately? This seems like it could have been handled over texts…”

“What? You don’t want to see me? Do I need a reason to see my boyfriend now?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Alex smiled. “Relax. I’m just teasing you. But there’s really no particular reason. I just wanted to see you before we go grab breakfast together. And I want to go over the whole Emily and Dash thing again.”

“Alright. Is there news or something?”

“Not since we last talked about them, no. But you’re still up for trying again, right?”

“What’s the plan this time?”

“Remember how they seemed like they were caught off-guard yesterday morning—when I ambushed them at breakfast?”

“Sort of, you didn’t even tell me you were gonna do that.”

“It was a spontaneous idea.” She shrugged. “Anyway, since that almost worked, I’m gonna try again later if we run into them. I’ll invite them over for dinner or something. And I want you to focus your powers on them, see if you pick up anything useful.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“That’s it, really. Now get dressed. We’re going for breakfast, I’m starving!”

***

They ran into Emily and Dash in the quad between classes, purely by chance. The other couple paused briefly before resuming their walk toward them. Alex squeezed his arm once as they approached.

“Hey,” Emily greeted them.

“Hey, you two.” Alex smiled back.

“Alex. Magnus.” Dash nodded politely. “Thought more about our proposal yet?”

“Still thinking,” Alex replied.

“Take all the time you need,” Emily said with a smile. “Don’t take too long, though.”

“Actually, I was thinking,” Alex said as her hand discreetly tightened around his biceps, “maybe we should stop pretending we're going to figure each other out through Student Council meetings. Magnus and I could have you two over sometime. No Council stuff, no strategy, no agenda. Just dinner.”

Emily’s smile froze in place. Dash visibly paused.

The reading from Affective Discernment was already returning:

Confused. Nervous. Worried.

But it barely lasted a second before Dash recalibrated.

“Dinner sounds good, Alex,” he said. “We’ll have to see when we’re free first, though.”

“Yes.” Emily recovered a split second later. “We’ll text you?”

“We’ll be waiting then.” Alex smiled back.

Then the couples went their separate ways.

When they were alone again, Alex said quietly, “They’re hiding something.”

“Yes,” Magnus confirmed. “But you rattled them just now.” He summarized the earlier reading for her.

“And they’re definitely not closing the door firmly on non-business stuff. They’re just purposefully keeping us at arm’s length for some reason.”

“What’s the plan then?”

“Nothing for now.” Alex shook her head. “For today, we should both refocus on Sofia.” She turned and pecked his cheek. “I’ll tell you when I come up with something else.”

***

By four o’clock, Sofia returned to her and Alex’s room, dropping her bag onto her desk before dropping onto the bed with a grin that immediately made Magnus reconsider being anywhere near this conversation.

“So,” Sofia asked, her lips curling into a disarming grin, “are we done with the board meeting? Or do we need a motion to approve the agenda first?”

“We like being organized,” Alex said, completely unbothered.

“You like being organized,” Sofia corrected, pointing at Magnus. “This one just goes along with whatever you tell him.”

“That’s not—” Magnus started.

“It’s a little bit true,” Alex said, patting his knee fondly.

Magnus sighed.

“So,” Sofia continued, her gaze moving between them again, “Maya gave me the full recap of what happened at the beach house during her week.”

Alex didn’t even look up. “Maya has a big mouth.”

“She really does.” Sofia sounded almost proud of it. “Which means I know all about your new kink, Alex. And frankly, I’m offended you didn’t tell me yourself.”

Alex froze halfway through folding the sheet, a faint pink flush immediately creeping up her neck. “It’s not like that.”

“Right.” Sofia turned her attention to Magnus. “So, if we’re already optimizing our strategy for my Trust stat today, I was thinking… why don’t we reenact Maya’s vision?”

Magnus blinked. While he was still considering whether he wanted to ask or not, Sofia already continued.

“You know,” Sofia said casually, waving a hand in the air. “By having Alex wear the strap-on for me while you enter her from behind. It’s efficient. Everyone gets involved simultaneously.”

Alex’s head whipped around so fast her ponytail slapped against her shoulder. The faint pink immediately became a vivid crimson.

“Sofia!” Her usual composed strategist persona collapsed almost completely. “Absolutely not! We are not doing that.”

“What? I thought you liked being organized.” Sofia laughed, clearly delighted with herself. “You always say ground rules and logistics come first!”

“Logistics, yes. But that is just chaotic geometry!” Alex snatched the nearest throw pillow and shoved it directly into Sofia’s face. “Shut up!”

Magnus sat on the edge of the mattress, burying his face in his hands as Alex continued her increasingly flustered scolding and Sofia laughed behind the pillow.

“I swear,” Magnus muttered into his palms, “do you girls literally share everything with each other?”

“Pretty much,” Sofia said from behind the pillow, entirely unrepentant. “Now get the condoms, Magnus. Your girlfriend is blushing so hard she’s about to overheat.”

Alex finally yanked the pillow away and tossed it toward the end of the bed, glaring at Sofia. “I am not overheating.”

She took a slow breath, smoothing back a stray strand of hair as she deliberately pulled herself back together.

The embarrassment didn’t disappear completely, but the flustered reaction faded, leaving the quiet confidence Magnus was more familiar with. Alex shifted closer to him, letting one hand rest against his knee as her gaze moved between him and Sofia.

“Fine,” Sofia said, shifting closer as well. “Same ground rules as last time? Anything changed?”

“Same as last time,” Alex confirmed. Her tone softened as she settled into the lead again.

There was no uncertainty this time. They had already done this together before.

Alex drew Magnus toward her first, setting the initial rhythm and giving him the reassurance he didn’t realize he needed. Sofia stayed close, watching them with a faint smile before naturally joining in.

Even with all that familiarity, though, Magnus’s brain still somehow found ways to overthink things before Sofia caught his eye.

“You’re thinking again,” she murmured, her earlier teasing giving way to genuine warmth.

“I think that’s just what my brain does,” Magnus offered weakly.

“Then tell it to take the afternoon off.”

“He’s trying,” Alex added with a soft laugh.

“Just relax.” Sofia giggled. “You did fine the last time. And you’re doing fine now.”

That was enough to break the last of his overthinking, letting the lingering tension dissolve into the comfortable rhythm they all shared as the atmosphere shifted from casual banter into charged intimacy.

Sofia didn’t waste time. She slid her hand down Magnus’s chest to guide him flat onto his back. She hovered over him, her eyes bright with mischief, while Alex settled beside them, her hand sliding under Magnus’s shirt to graze his skin. Sofia leaned down, her lips brushing against his ear.

“Let’s see if we can actually shut that brain of yours up,” she whispered, before sliding down to take him into her mouth.

The sensation was immediate and overwhelming. Sofia was uninhibited, her tongue working with playful intensity that made Magnus arch his back. Alex joined in, her touch moving in tandem with Sofia’s. He let out a shaky breath, his hands finding purchase on Sofia and Alex as he surrendered to the attention of both women.

As the heat rose, the focus shifted. Sofia pushed herself up, her chest heaving, and guided him to roll her over. She lay on her back, her expression open and eager. He entered her with a slow, deep thrust that drew a sharp, needy gasp from her. Alex didn’t move away; instead, she crawled up the bed, her body pressing against his side, kissing his neck and whispering into his ear.

“See? You’re doing great, babe,” Alex murmured, her hand sliding down to guide his hips.

Emboldened by her words, his movements became firmer, more decisive. He gripped Sofia’s hips, driving into her with a steady, rhythmic force. Sofia’s playful commentary had faded into breathless sounds, but the heat in her expression remained. She arched beneath him, her fingers digging into his forearms, her eyes locked onto his with a passion that made him feel completely seen.

Then, with a knowing look at both of them, Alex climbed over her roommate’s body and carefully lowered herself, sitting directly over Sofia’s face. “Still into breath play, Sof?”

Sofia’s reaction was immediate. She leaned into Alex, her tongue working frantically against her, the restriction of Alex’s weight adding a layer of intensity that made Sofia’s entire body tremble. Magnus felt the vibration of her pleasure through their connection, and he responded instinctively, his movements becoming more urgent. He used a subtle flick of telekinesis to lift Sofia’s hips just a fraction, changing the angle to hit a particular hard-to-reach spot. The combination of the breath play and the deep penetration sent Sofia into a frenzy, her muffled cries echoing against Alex’s thighs.

Eventually, the focus shifted back to Alex on her back, Magnus moving with her. Sofia’s energy adapted to Alex’s, her hands and mouth keeping her connected to both of them. They became a blur of tangled limbs — Magnus filling Alex while Sofia worked her way around them, her lips tracing the line of Alex’s jaw before dipping down to tease her breasts.

The intimacy was messy and loud, stripped of the “logistics” they had joked about earlier. It was just the three of them, breathing the same air, sweating into the same sheets. And somewhere along the way, Magnus had stopped overthinking entirely, his focus narrowing down to the warmth of their skin and the way their voices blended together.

As they reached the peak, the synchronization was almost natural. Magnus felt the tension building between all three of them, and as he always did when instincts had taken over, he didn’t try to anticipate what would happen next. He simply stayed in the moment and followed it through, his own release hitting him with a force that left him momentarily breathless. Sofia collapsed against them, her own climax racking her body in shuddering pulses, her face buried in the crook of Alex’s neck.

Eventually, the intensity faded, leaving all three of them exhausted and tangled together on the mattress, their breathing slowly returning to normal.

Magnus stared at the ceiling. Alex curled into him proprietarily while Sofia was already sitting up and opening the mini-fridge to hand out water.

“So,” she said casually as she gave Magnus a bottle, “did it work? When can I actually talk to Tony?”

He looked at her menu as he took a sip, focusing on her Trust stat.

Trust: 88%

His stomach dropped. It didn’t work. He stared at the blue text, doing panicked math in his head. We’re still short. Her thirty-day window is ticking down and we’re stuck at—

The number shifted after three seconds.

89%

He held his breath, not daring to move. Three more agonizing seconds passed.

Then…

90%

But the System hadn’t announced the quest completion yet, which was very suspicious. So, Magnus stared at the screen like it might change its mind and drop below ninety percent again.

91%

Then the familiar chime finally sounded in his head:

Apparently, as everyone in his life kept telling him, he was an open book. So, even without being able to see or hear the System, Alex and Sofia were already hugging and celebrating the quest completion before he even needed to tell them the good news.

Naturally, what that meant was Magnus focusing on opening the Epic Crate immediately, since he was already Level 9.

He stared at the two porcelain dolls in his Inventory for a long moment, almost unable to believe his luck.

“You got a doll?” Alex guessed when he remained stunned.

“No,” he said slowly, then added as confusion settled over Alex’s and Sofia’s expressions, “I got two dolls.”

“That’s—” She smacked his shoulder before pulling him into an embrace. “That’s great!”

“I mean, I hope you won’t have to use them, obviously,” she added, uncharacteristically babbling now. “But this means you’ll be able to survive two more impossible scenarios.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “This is great!”

Sofia cleared her throat beside them and raised a hand. “Okay, don’t want to ruin the moment and all, but since I’m eligible now, can I get the animal power now?”

He stared at her. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Sofia said impatiently. “Seriously. Tony is fascinating.”

“He’s trying to convince me to eat garbage.”

“Exactly. That’s part of why he’s fascinating.”

Magnus’s stare turned into a glare.

Alex started laughing. “I kinda agree with her.”

“You two have genuinely deranged priorities, you know that?” Magnus muttered. “You could ask for Telekinesis. Invisibility. Aura Weave. Literally anything useful. And all the powers you could get, you both just want to talk to the menace who's currently trying to convince me to eat trash.”

“I mean—” Sofia snorted. “—he might be a menace, but he’s a fascinating and delightful menace.”

“Now,” she added after a moment, “if you’re done whining about it, pucker up!”

Magnus closed his eyes and decided, not for the first time, that arguing with the women in his life was a losing proposition. Then, he sighed and leaned into the kiss.