Chapter Text
Magolor sighed softly, practically collapsing onto his bed. “That was the worst.” He mumbled into the bedding.
He was shaking, visibly so.
Marx chuckled softly, though it wasn’t exactly a joyful sound. A reflex to keep himself from tearing up. “Yeah… That sucked, heh.” He said, still trying to keep his tone light. He sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, careful not to spook Magolor as he did so. “…You still wanna watch the movie?” He said after a moment.
Lifting his face from the blankets, Magolor nodded slowly, a small smile crossing his face. “That sounds nice.”
Marx grinned, glad to at least get Magolor to smile. “Alright. Come on, let’s get this show on the road.”
Magolor nodded again, rolling himself into a sitting position so he could properly get himself under the covers. Might as well get cozy if he was going to be there a while. Marx seemed to have the same idea, pulling blankets over himself and Magolor while the mage messed with the TV remote to display the DVD’s main menu once more, since it had automatically turned itself off in the time he had been out of the room. The lights were off, simply because neither cared enough to turn them on when they came into the room, but the faint light of the TV’s screen was more than enough for Magolor to be reminded of his headache. He winced a little at the light, pinching the bridge of his nose to distract himself.
“Magolor? You alright?” Marx asked, looking at the mage with concern. “We don’t have to watch the movie if you aren’t feelin’ up to it.”
“No, no. It’s fine. Just a bit of a headache from earlier.” Magolor said, dropping his hand from his face. “I’ll be fine, promise.”
Marx nodded slowly, unsure if Magolor was telling the truth about how well he was doing. There wasn’t much he could do now, anyway, so he leant back and got himself comfy. Magolor quickly followed suit once he’d started the movie, coming to rest his head on Marx’s shoulder.
The metal wasn’t exactly the comfiest thing to rest on, but it was grounding for Magolor, something to keep him from overthinking the earlier interaction. Plus, he appreciated the support Marx provided, both literally and metaphorically.
Magolor lifted his head, blinking sleepily at the credits slowly scrolling on the screen. Had he missed the movie entirely? He yawned quietly, looking up at Marx. It was funny to see Marx from this angle. Usually he was looking down at the jester for one reason or another. Not that he was complaining.
Marx looked away from the screen at the feeling of Magolor’s weight shifting beside him. “Hey, sleepyhead.” He said, lightly poking Magolor’s shoulder.
“Hey.” Magolor said through another yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sorry I slept through the film…”
Marx waved his hand a little. “It’s fine. Honestly, I’m surprised I managed to stay awake the whole time.” He rubbed at his eyes and joined Magolor in yawning. “Honestly, I might go to bed. ‘S been a long day.”
“We both woke up at noon, Marx.” Magolor said.
Marx grinned. “Like I said. Long day.”
Magolor sighed fondly, leaning against Marx once more. “Fair, fair.” He didn’t quite want Marx to leave yet, even if it was embarrassing to admit even to himself. There was just something so nice about having Marx so close like this. “I just…” He trailed off, not wanting to say something potentially stupid.
“Just what?” Marx had that grin on his face, like he knew what Magolor was going to say but was waiting for him to say it aloud.
Magolor sighed, scratching at his arms, more out of habit than anything. “Would it be okay of me to ask you to sleep over? In my room, I mean.” Another deep sigh, followed by a nervous laugh. “I just… Don’t wanna sleep alone tonight.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment, and Magolor began mentally preparing himself for the worst. Then, Marx laughed softly, his grin changing to a small smile. “Sure.” He said, chuckling softly once more at the visible relief on Magolor’s face.
“Thanks.” Magolor mumbled, a grin of his own spreading across his face. “I know that Dreamland doesn’t let people have nightmares, but it’s, like, an extra precaution, I guess…” He was grasping at straws for any way it wouldn’t come off as clingy, and it was so terribly obvious to Marx that he had to hold back a snort.
“’Course. Wouldn’t wanna leave you hangin’.” Joked Marx, shifting slightly to kiss Magolor’s forehead. “C’mon, you look like you’re about to fall asleep again. Get cozy and I’ll deal with the snack bowls.”
Magolor didn’t move to let Marx get up. “Can’t that wait until tomorrow?” He said, almost plaintively, as he pulled the blankets higher over himself and Marx.
Marx laughed, snuggling under the covers with Magolor. “Sure. It can wait.” He said, draping his arms over Magolor and shutting his eyes.
“Goodnight, Marx.” Magolor said softly, already beginning to return to sleep.
Before he properly drifted off, Magolor could hear Marx’s voice on the edges of his consciousness. “G’night, Mags.”
Magolor dreamt of the abyss. The boundary between light and dark. Dozens of eyes all on him and hands reaching out for him.
The eyes stared Magolor down as the abyss spoke in incoherent whisperings, and he felt nauseous in spite of the hazy dreamlike feel of the rest of it. He couldn’t still be here. The crown was all but destroyed. The fountain of dreams was still running. So why was he here?
He felt a hand gently squeeze his own.
Looking up, Magolor saw Marx within the dark. The jester smiled at him, bright and sunny, but so distinctly different from the burning light at his back.
It was soothing.
Magolor smiled as he took a step away from the boundary and away from the light. A step into the dark.
A step forward.
The soft ringing of the alarm set on Magolor’s tablet was the first thing Magolor registered in his mind when he awoke.
When he reached over to turn off the alarm, Magolor registered Marx’s arms wrapped around him, hands resting on his chest and keeping him from moving much. Magolor laughed softly, using a quick spell to drag the tablet closer without disturbing Marx.
The spell didn’t hurt his head too badly, at least, though he did feel a little more tired than he normally would after a minor spell like that when he finally got the tablet into his hands and turned off the alarm.
Marx stirred a little behind Magolor, but didn’t do much beyond mumbling something in his sleep and pulling Magolor a little closer.
Magolor couldn’t help but laugh softly at this, opening his tablet to look over his translation notes.
He paused at the notes on the Master Crown. They had taken up so much space in his once-tidy research folder.
Creating a new folder, Magolor selected the notes and transferred them into the folder, shutting off his tablet as soon as it was done.
He could work later.
For now, he wanted to enjoy a lazy morning, for the first time in a long time.