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Nightmares were never something Luck really worried about. Even as a child, they rarely plagued him, but that only made it all the more startling when he shot out of bed, breathing deep and sweating bullets. Adrenaline laced his pounding blood and made his whole body tremble.
Too keyed up to fall back asleep, he didn’t bother to change out of his pajamas or even put on his boots before leaving his room. There was no one passed out in the main room, at least not that he could see, and only a few empty wine bottles for him to step over on his way outside.
The dirt was cold and damp against his bare feet. Luck only wandered into the middle of the clearing just outside the Black Bulls’ hideout before throwing out his arms and smiling into the darkness. He breathed deep the soft wind ruffling his disheveled bedhead. Electricity began to spark off of him, starting as small flickers before growing into bright flashes of lightning. Discharging his magic was an easy way to work through his physical agitation when there wasn’t an enemy to unleash his energy upon, and it also helped exhaust him for the slim hope of getting any more sleep.
It was the way he had always handled nightmares growing up. His mom had been unhappy whenever he’d crawl into her bed at night, shaking from a terrible dream yet smiling as if nothing was wrong. She’d normally smack him and send him back to his room, so Luck stopped waking her up when it happened since he didn’t like upsetting her.
With every spark of electricity arcing off his body, Luck could feel himself starting to relax. There was never anything to fear when he could feel his magic tingling against his skin. The more energy he put out, the brighter it flared, the louder it crackled through the night time air. When he felt calmed down, Luck slowly allowed his magic to dissipate, but once it was gone, flashes of his nightmare bombarded his mind. He attempted one more surge of magic, but as the comforting sensation of his lightning faded, he was left feeling as horrible as he had before.
In a strangely peaceful moment of chaotic clarity, Luck slapped himself. While his stinging cheek was familiar with how his mother used to react, it regretfully didn’t help to snap him out of his rising panic. He clawed at his hair, hoping the pain would help gather his scattered thoughts. Hoping it would ground him, shackle the flashing images tearing him apart—
“What the hell are you doing out here, Luck?”
The lightning mage didn’t even realize he was hunched over as he turned his head to watch Magna approach. Whatever had drawn him out of bed, he’d only bothered to pull on a pair of pants and boots, leaving his chest bare for Luck’s quick perusal. It was a good distraction, if a short one.
“Hey, Magna.”
Raising an eyebrow and frowning in worry, Magna tried again, “Are you okay?” His hands slowly covered Luck’s and gently untangled them from the tousled blond locks. He spoke carefully, as one would to a wounded animal, and Luck realized how wide and manic his eyes must look.
“I had a nightmare,” he admitted. Pleasant warmth soaked into his hands, and it made Luck realize how cold it actually was outside. The thin layers of his pajamas offered no protection, and he suddenly realized that he couldn’t feel his toes.
“Oh yeah?” Magna prompted.
Luck hummed his confirmation.
When he didn’t offer any more information, Magna looked him over and sighed. Wrapping an arm around Luck’s waist, he guided him back towards the hideout. “Come on, let’s get you inside before you freeze your ass off.” The shivers ebbed away in the presence of Magna’s heat, and Luck pressed a little closer into his side to soak it in.
The suddenly warmer temperature change walking through the doors sent irritating prickles across Luck’s chilled skin, but they didn’t pause as Magna led him upstairs. Bypassing Luck’s, they went straight to Magna’s room. It was warmer than the rest of the building with things carelessly tossed everywhere, which Magna haphazardly kicked out of his way as he told Luck to sit on the bed.
While Luck pulled his knees to his chest, Magna rifled through his things to find an old, well-worn shirt. Holding it to his chest, he used a dose of magic so that it was nice and toasty when he tossed it to the other boy.
“Change into that,” he ordered, yanking off his boots as he did so.
The warm fabric was a welcome change from the cold one he’d be wearing, but more than that, something about wearing it just made Luck feel...better. It was hard for his mind to fall back into its nightmare induced panic when he had a piece of Magna, so he grinned and chirped, “Thanks!”
A blush burned the fire mage’s cheeks, and he muttered a, “Yeah, yeah,” before sitting next to Luck. He maneuvered him so that he was laying back onto the pillows, then pulled his frozen feet into his lap. Luck gasped a bit when warm hands brushed against his heels and firmly squeezed his toes.
They spent a few moments in silence, a genuine rarity for them, but it was nice.
Magna didn’t broach the subject until Luck’s feet didn’t feel as cold. “So you gonna tell me what you were doing outside?”
Luck hummed thoughtfully before speaking. “Expending my magic like that makes me feel better when I don’t have anyone to fight.” His foot flinched when a thumb pressed against a ticklish part of his arch that he hoped Magna wouldn’t remember later. “And it usually tires me out so I can fall back asleep.”
“If you were having a problem, you could’ve come here.” Magna’s words were quiet but sincere, and Luck looked up at him with a slightly tilted head.
“Could I have?” he asked, genuinely curious as if the thought never occurred to him.
“Well, duh! You know I’m always here for you.” The affront was matched with a look clearly expressing how much of an idiot he thought Luck was for even having to ask, but it only made Luck snicker fondly. He loved how expressive Magna was, never able to hide any thought or feeling for very long. Loved how different it was from his own chronically smiling face.
Giving a final pat to the tops of Luck’s feet, Magna crawled up the bed, kicked off his pants, and pulled them both underneath the covers. Luck thought it was funny the way his boyfriend hated wearing clothes in bed and didn’t mind at all when a naked Magna hugged him close.
Shifting around so they were facing each other, Luck took a moment to enjoy the way Magna’s hair fell into his eyes. He liked how soft and fluffy it was, but he also liked it gelled up since he knew it got in the fire user’s way during a fight. Magna quietly watched in amusement as Luck played with his hair, batting at it with a single finger.
“Mom hated it when I would wake her up with a bad dream,” he whispered, ignoring Magna’s derisive snort - though he did grab a strand of his hair between two fingers and tug.
Magna had more than a few feelings regarding Luck’s mother, none of which were positive, but he bit his tongue, knowing they wouldn’t be well received. Instead, his arms tightened around Luck, hand slipping under his shirt to rest along his back, and he said, “Yeah, well, you can wake me up anytime.”
“Even for a death battle?”
“No,” Magna declined firmly but huffed a laugh right after. “Now get some sleep, okay?” He pressed a kiss to Luck’s forehead and settled in, smiling when Luck huddled closer. Nuzzling into the blond hair - that was filled with static that tickled his nose - Magna waited until he felt Luck fall asleep before drifting off himself.