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Alec huffed sadly as he sat at his breakfast bar, eating his toast and drinking his first of many coffees for the day. Spring had sprung, and Alec was in hell. There is so much pollen in the air that he could barely step outside his apartment. Sitting out on his balcony to work in the morning was completely out of the question.
Alec loved working on his balcony in the mornings. He found the fresh air and listening to the city waking up around him made for one of his most productive times of the day, but sitting there sniffing, sneezing and rubbing his eyes wasn’t fun, so he’d been stuck inside the last few mornings. He’d miss the fresh air, but more than that, he’d miss his daily chat with his neighbour.
Magnus sat on his balcony and sighed heavily. It was the third day in a row that Alec was nowhere to be seen. Magnus had enjoyed the last few weeks, catching his new neighbour on his balcony and exchanging good mornings. But the last few days, he seemed to have changed his routine, and Magnus missed his daily fix of Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome.
Despite having his apartment sealed tight, Alec still seemed to spend the whole day with itchy eyes, a runny nose and constant sneezing. He hadn’t been able to write anything all day, and he was starting to stress out because his editor wasn’t very forgiving when Alec missed his submission deadlines.
Alec had already taken two antihistamines, despite the recommended dose being one every 24 hours, but the damn things were just not working.
Magnus made his way home after a long day. He was tired and grumpy, looking forward to a well-cooked steak, a martini, and then a long soak in his tub. He was fumbling with his keys at his front door when he heard a sneeze, followed by two more in quick succession and then a stream of curse words.
It had definitely come from Alec’s apartment, and he sounded horrible. Maybe Alec had a cold or the flu; hopefully, it wasn’t COVID. That little demon had started to rear its head again and had been making the rounds around their area. Magnus heard Alec sneeze again. Yep, he was obviously sick, and that explained why he hadn’t been spending his mornings on his balcony.
Concerned, Magnus decides to make Alec his mother’s tried-and-tested chicken noodle soup. Magnus wasn’t sure if it actually helped with a cold, but it always made him feel better when he was sick. Springing into action, Magnus got to work.
Two hours later, Magnus stood at Alec’s front door, a large Tupperware container in hand.
Alec was lying on the couch, using what was probably the last of his good tissues. He was feeling miserable and very sorry for himself. He was considering taking another antihistamine when there was a knock on his door.
Dragging himself up to answer the door, Alec was surprised to find his gorgeous neighbour, Magnus, standing on his doorstep.
“Magnus?” Alec questioned, taking in the container he was holding.
“Hi, Alec,” Magnus said sweetly. “I heard you when I arrived home earlier, and you sounded horrible, so I made you my mother's cure-all chicken noodle soup.”
Alec was a little stunned but then couldn’t help the huge grin that spread over his face. Magnus had made him soup!
“Wow, thank you,” Alec said sincerely. He couldn’t remember the last time someone did something so sweet and thoughtful for him.
“I’m almost 100% sure it's allergies,” Alec explained, opening the door and letting Magnus inside his apartment.
“I have antihistamines,” Magnus said, smiling.
“I’ve already taken two,” Alec explained.
“And they still aren’t working?” Magnus asked, concerned.
“Nope,” Alec said sadly. “I was considering taking another.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you’ve already overprescribed.”
“I know,” Alec said, dropping onto his couch.
Magnus made his way into Alec’s kitchen and popped the soup on the counter. He knew his way around the apartment easily, as it was a mirror image of his own.
“I don’t understand how the pollen is still affecting me,” Alec said. “I’ve got all my windows closed. I swear it's like it's coming from through the vents.”
“Oh,” Magnus said, jumping up and making his way over to the controls for Alec’s heating and cooling system. “Just as I thought, you have your system set to fresh air.”
“Isn’t that just the fan?” Alec asked.
“It is, but it also drags in air from outside.”
“Damn it,” Alec groaned.
Magnus turned off the system. “I’ll be right back.” He said as he rushed out of Alec’s apartment and back to his own. A quick rummage through his medicine cabinet and he was back in a few moments.
“These might help,” Magnus said, handing Alec a nasal spray and eye drops. “Also, this is the number for my doctor and best friend, Cat. She makes house calls.”
“Really?” Alec asked, surprised.
“Yep, she started her own small practice and found that during COVID, people were scared of leaving their homes, so she started doing home visits.”
“Thank you, Magnus,” Alec said, smiling.
After giving Alec instructions on how long to heat the soup for, Magnus left him to rest.
Alec was on the phone with Dr Loss within moments of saying goodbye to Magnus, and luckily for him, she was available to see him early the next morning.
Cat was terrific. After a quick examination, she explained to Alec that over-the-counter allergy medication worked perfectly well for 80 per cent of the population. And for the rest, there were prescription medications that could help relieve allergy symptoms. She had brought along a box of prescription antihistamines for Alec to try, and also written out a repeat prescription for him.
It had been two days since Magnus had last seen Alec in his apartment after making him soup. He’d received a charming text message yesterday thanking him once again for the wonderful soup and also for Cat’s details.
Magnus hoped that Cat would be able to help Alec, and he’d be back on his balcony for Magnus to flirt with soon.
What Magnus didn’t expect was Alec standing at his door, cake in hand and a massive smile on his face, moments after he’d arrived home from work.
“Thank you,” Alec said, smiling widely at Magnus as he handed him the cake decorated with large sunflowers.
“I wanted to get you flowers, but they aren’t my friend, so I got you the next best thing,” Alec explained. “It’s lemon poppyseed with lemon frosted sunflowers.”
Magnus almost did a little happy dance right there at his door. Not only did Alec get him a cake, but he remembered Magnus’ love for anything lemon-flavoured.
“Thank you, Alexander,” Magnus beamed at him. “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? We could share.”
“I’d love to,” Alec grinned.
“Dr Loss was wonderful,” Alec explained as they took a seat on Magnus’ couch with their steaming mugs of tea and a slice of cake each.
“She is, isn’t she?” Magnus smiled.
“The medication she prescribed has really helped. I was able to leave my apartment today, and I didn’t sneeze once.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“I am,” Alec said. “And I finished my rewrite, so my editor is happy too.”
“That’s wonderful,” Magnus smiled.
“Yes, now I have a little more free time,” Alec explained. “So, I was wondering if you’d be free for dinner anytime this week?” Alec asked shyly.
“As a thank you?” Magnus asked.
“More like a date,” Alec blushed.
“In that case, I’m free any night for you, Alexander.”