The late afternoon sun hit them the moment they stepped out of the venue, warm gold bleeding across the parking lot and bouncing off rows of cars still packed from the meet. Around them, athletes, parents, and exhausted officials moved in loose streams toward exits and vehicles, most of them completely unaware that the entire competition had nearly turned into a covert federal investigation.
Jordan finally released Alex from the aggressive headlock-drag she had maintained for most of the walk over and stretched one shoulder loosely.
"Okay," she said. "How are we getting there?"
Alex answered by tossing a set of keys at her. Jordan caught them automatically, then stopped walking and frowned down at the familiar Chevrolet logo resting in her palm. She stared at it for several seconds before slowly looking back up. "You met my parents?"
"Yeah," Alex answered casually as she started toward the Hales' black Chevrolet Suburban. "Your mom was more than happy to let us borrow the car. She just asked that you return it to them personally."
Jordan scowled immediately and unlocked the SUV with a sharp click. "Oh, you just love to meddle in my life, don't you?"
Magnus wisely said absolutely nothing as he climbed into the backseat. Jordan slid behind the wheel while Alex took the passenger seat like she belonged there. Which, considering how many years she had apparently spent attached to the Hale household in one way or another, she probably kind of did.
Alex shrugged as Jordan started the engine and pulled them out of the parking lot.
"Shouldn't you be thanking me?" she asked. "My meddling finally got you the dad you always wanted, didn't it?"
"You really want to get punched today, don't you?" Jordan scoffed, tightening her grip on the wheel as she stared ahead through the windshield.
Then her eyes flicked briefly toward the rearview mirror.
"How did you know, though?" she asked. "Doesn't seem like your boyfriend broke his promise."
"He didn't need to." Alex rested an elbow against the window. "We met your parents earlier, remember? Helped them dismantle a sabotage attempt in the process. You're welcome, by the way."
Jordan blinked once.
"Okay," she said slowly. "What happened? Because I didn't notice anything was off."
"You weren't supposed to. That's the point." Alex shifted slightly in her seat. "They didn't go for anything obvious. Just messed with your heats, lane assignments, and timing equipment. Nothing blatant enough for anyone to notice."
Then she tilted her head toward the backseat. "Only reason we figured it out was because he had a premonition about it."
Jordan glanced at the rearview mirror again. Magnus immediately developed a sudden and powerful interest in the passing scenery outside.
"…Damn, Chane," Jordan said after a second. "That's twice I owe you now."
A beat.
"I mean, I probably still would've won today regardless," she added. "But still."
"Your dad almost locked the entire venue down, by the way," Alex continued. "I've never seen Uncle James that scary before. Kinda see where you got your temper from now."
Jordan scoffed. "Man can't even hold a normal conversation with his daughter for someone who cares so much."
Alex let out a short huff of laughter.
"I mean," she said, "that also applies to you. How many normal conversations have we had in all the years we've known each other?"
"Screw you, Locke!"
Alex flinched instinctively before firing back on reflex:
"Right back at you, Vanessa."
Jordan froze. The SUV drifted slightly before she corrected it immediately. Her eyes snapped toward the rearview mirror.
"Okay," she said slowly. "When did you tell him?"
Alex froze too, realization visibly crashing into her several seconds too late. Then she deadpanned:
"Would you believe he heard it from your parents today?"
Jordan stared at her through the mirror like Alex had just personally insulted her intelligence.
"Do you think I'm dumb enough to buy that, Locke?" she asked flatly. "Your boyfriend's an open book, and he definitely doesn't look like someone who only learned my first name today."
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. Behind them, Magnus tried very hard to disappear into the backseat. He had even considered using Invisibility for a moment there. After several seconds of awkward silence, Jordan barked out a laugh.
"Relax, Chane," she said. "I'm in a good enough mood today that I'll let this slide."
Then her grin sharpened slightly. "But if you ever mention it to anyone…"
She let the threat hang comfortably in the air for several seconds before adding:
"And don't even think about ever calling me that!"
Magnus swallowed. "Duly noted."
Silence settled over the car again, though this time it wasn't awkward. Just the quiet aftermath of a very long and tiring day. Then Jordan's eyes narrowed slightly as she finally clocked something.
"…Wait," she said slowly.
Her gaze flicked between Alex in the passenger seat and Magnus sulking in the back. "You two still not done fighting?"
Alex whipped around immediately. "You told her?!"
Jordan snorted.
"He didn't need to. Open book, remember?" She smirked toward the mirror. "One look at the state he was in yesterday morning was enough."
Then, because Jordan apparently believed mercy was for weaker people, she twisted the knife deeper. "And you weren't any better, Reyes. Half the campus is already betting on how long your fight's gonna last. Some people are even taking bets on whether it ends in a breakup."
Alex swore viciously under her breath and slumped back into her seat.
"People seriously have way too much free time on their hands," she muttered. "Why the hell are they so invested in other people's love lives?"
Magnus slowly covered his face with both hands. Honestly, at this point, public humiliation was probably just part of dating Alex Reyes. Unfortunately, Jordan was not done.
"So," she said casually while turning at an intersection, "what're you two fighting about anyway?"
Both Magnus and Alex answered immediately.
"Nothing."
"…Not important."
Jordan huffed a short laugh. "Well, can't be that bad if you two are still together like this."
***
The place Jordan brought them to turned out to be a privately owned kickboxing gym tucked between two warehouse buildings near the industrial side of town. No front desk staff. No music. No crowd. Just harsh overhead lights, heavy bags hanging silently from ceiling mounts, and a full-sized ring occupying the center of the room.
Apparently, this was normal.
"You have keys to this place too?" Magnus asked as Jordan unlocked the door.
Jordan scoffed while stepping inside. "Please. You think Reyes and I can legally work through our issues in public anymore?"
She gestured around herself. "This is where she and I come whenever we're pissed at someone, or at each other, to… work through our problems."
She threw an arm around his shoulder and dragged him down by the neck. "Speaking of, roughly six weeks ago, were you the 'no one' who got her pissed off enough that she wanted to take a swing at me?"
Magnus did the mental math. That would be around Lila's week, right after he told her about the System. That would make a lot of sense, actually.
He glanced at Alex, who was avoiding eye contact. Jordan noticed too and laughed. "So you were!"
"Thanks for reminding me of that. I'm going to enjoy paying you back later for hanging up on me that day, Vanessa," Alex said while locking the door behind them.
"You should be honored," she added, turning toward Magnus. "No past boyfriends of either of us have ever gotten invited here."
"That's because you have poor taste in boyfriends," Jordan said casually. Then, glancing at Magnus, she added: "Until now."
"Oh, you're one to talk. Most of your boyfriends, you dated to piss off your dad!"
Jordan scoffed loudly, but didn't disagree.
Magnus watched the two women move around the familiar space with practiced ease and suddenly felt very aware that he had entered their environment now. He wisely decided not to involve himself in whatever this dynamic was.
Jordan jerked a thumb toward the benches near the ring. "You can sit there and look pretty or whatever."
Magnus blinked. "I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a compliment?"
"No," she scoffed. "It means don't touch anything."
Alex snorted softly and disappeared toward the changing rooms before Magnus could answer. Jordan followed a second later, though not before tossing one last look over her shoulder.
"You better not fall asleep before the fun part, Chane."
The door swung shut behind her.
Magnus spent the next few minutes sitting awkwardly on the bleachers and trying very hard not to think about the fact that two beautiful women were currently changing in the next room. And that if everything went according to Alex's plan — whatever it was — he would be having sex with both of them before the day ended.
So naturally, his brain offered up something worse: how catastrophic these last couple of days had been.
Hell, today alone had been insane: a secret sabotage investigation, federal agents, general James Hale apparently deploying covert operatives like an overprotective Batman with military funding, him somehow accidentally talking down a terrified father in the middle of everything.
And in the middle of that, Harper had agreed to meet them tomorrow night.
Because of course — of course — even though he and Alex were avoiding the topic, they were still internally circling it anyway. Because underneath everything else, the fight between them still sat there in his chest like unresolved static.
Then the changing room door opened, and Magnus looked up automatically — only to immediately forget what coherent thought was.
Jordan came out first wearing black compression shorts and a dark sports bra beneath an open hoodie she shrugged off while walking. Her muscles stood out sharply under the ring lights — runner lean but powerful, all explosive athletic control and coiled aggression. Tape already wrapped around both hands.
Alex stepped out a second later wearing fitted training shorts and a grey tank top with her hair tied high behind her head. Even dressed for a fight, she looked unfairly gorgeous. Softer curves than Jordan's hard athletic lines, but no less dangerous for it. Where Jordan looked like raw momentum waiting to happen, Alex carried herself with smooth, deliberate control — poised, precise, and entirely confident in her own body.
And Magnus abruptly understood several things about himself he probably didn't need explained.
Because apparently watching two gorgeous women he cared about prepare to beat the hell out of each other was doing extremely dangerous things to his brain chemistry. Which would have already been bad enough by itself.
Except his stupid, traitorous brain immediately dragged up that conversation with Alex from weeks ago.
You'd better realize how lucky you are that I'd rather share you than lose you.
And suddenly Magnus understood her side of that conversation a whole lot better. Because she had been right. It wasn't simple anymore.
Everything he told her back then was still true. He didn't want to cheat on her. Didn't want to betray her. Couldn't even imagine wanting anyone instead of her.
But attraction itself? Especially the physical kind? That part was messier.
Because if Magnus was being completely honest with himself, there was no universe where he could pretend he wasn't aroused by both women currently climbing into a kickboxing ring under dramatic overhead lighting like the universe itself had decided to personally test his survival instincts.
And if this had been a different reality — one without the System — maybe he could have just acknowledged those feelings privately and gone on with his life loving nobody but Alex.
But his reality did have the System. Which meant things were no longer that simple.
On the ring, the women were stretching.
Jordan bounced lightly on the balls of her feet once they squared up, still visibly riding the high of competition despite the full meet she had already finished earlier.
Alex stared at her for a second. "You ran half the track events today."
Jordan grinned. "Don't worry, I still have enough juice left to beat you up."
"Good," Alex said while tightening one glove lazily. "Wouldn't want this to be too easy."
Jordan's smile sharpened immediately. "Oh, I missed this."
"Shouldn't have hung up on me six weeks ago then."
Then they crashed into each other.