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Furihata laid his head on his hands and looked across the table at Akashi diligently writing his homework.
The sight brought him back to late nights in their castle’s study, sitting with books of history and law piled around them, stacks of parchment covered in the king’s neat writing. Furihata remembered the looks of concentration and frustration that passed over his majesty’s face from the stress of running the world. He could see a similar look in Akashi’s face now as he solved whatever homework problem he had been assigned. He hadn’t known the king in his youth, but he could imagine that he had been as serious and intense as Akashi was.
Though for all his seriousness, Furi remembered the bright grin of his king when he saw Furi’s magic. It used to be Furi’s favorite way to distract him when he started getting too in his head worrying, planning, stressing, etc. He would enchant the ink into bright colors, make sparks appear from his pen, or conjure animals of light to playfully lead his king away from his work for a time. He used to try and tell Furi that nothing would ever get done if he kept pulling him out of his parchments, but the grateful smile he would give Furi when he ultimately found his mood lightened was always worth any scolding he gave.
Furi smirked as an idea formed.
Subtly, so that Akashi wouldn’t react to any sudden movement, Furi shifted so that his hands were in front of his face and could move somewhat freely. With a last glance across the table to ensure he was still unseen, Furi closed his eyes and shaped the magic that had stayed with him throughout all his many lives. He could feel the - for lack of a better word - stiffness with his magic that came from a lack of use, but being the greatest sorcerer in the world was no small accomplishment, and though rusty, the magic came to his fingertips willingly. Furi opened his eyes as he cupped his hands together and blew a butterfly made of bright glowing embers off his palms and over the scattered textbooks, onto the eraser-tip of Akashi’s pencil.
There was a second where Akashi didn’t seem to notice, but then he stopped writing, eyes widening and lips parting in shock. He quickly looked up at Furi and his mischievous smile, then slowly smiled as he realized what Furi had done. With the wonder of a child, he brought the butterfly up to his face, gently spinning it to see the ever-changing patterns Furi had magicked onto its wings. With an extra push of magic, Furi made the butterfly flutter from the eraser to Akashi’s nose. It sat for a few moments on the now cross-eyed boy before flying around his head, leaving a comet-like tail of orange, red, and yellow sparks in the air.
Akashi swiveled in his seat to follow it, grinning with joy and reaching out a finger for the insect to land. He cupped the bug gently between his hands, gasping when it disappeared with a small firework.
Akashi set his hands down in his lap and looked across the table. His eyes were shining with joy and something else that Furi couldn’t quite put a name to. Furi felt his lips pull into an answering grin. For this boy, for his king, for this smile? He wouldn’t regret a single moment spent waiting for him.
They both soon returned to their studies, but their smiles never fully faded for the rest of the afternoon.