Chapter Text
Finral turned onto his side, trying to get comfortable. The bed was fine. Better than fine; however Henry's magic worked, it generated better mattresses than the Bulls had been using before. But no matter how he positioned himself, sleep wouldn't come.
Finral was ecstatic that Yami had finally found a new base. The old one had been bursting at the seams. When Luck and Magna had chosen the Black Bulls at the last exam, Finral had put his foot down. Rooming with Gordon to give Gauche space had been borderline acceptable, so long as Finral ignored the creepy dolls. Jamming two more people into their room was not. Or, even worse, trying to stick a couple of property-damage-prone battle freaks in with Gauche's hair-trigger temper and all of his precious, highly flammable Marie memorabilia.
So of course Yami found a house that was actually a magical construct generated by a guy left bedridden by a unique mana-draining condition. Finral had no idea why he'd expected anything less bizarre. But with all of them under one roof, the drain was so subtle as to be unnoticeable. Unless one actually got within ten feet of their new landlord, anyway. Them living here was saving Henry's life, though, which was worth a little awkwardness when talking to the guy.
It was quiet compared to the first base. Finral couldn't hear the low whisper of Gordon mumbling incantations in his sleep, or the 'fsssshu' of Grey's snoring from the next room. Henry's place was big, too. Finral could sense some of the other Bulls if he strained, but it wasn't the same. After years of sleeping right under the blanket of Yami's dark magic from the room above, the lack of it made Finral feel like he was trying to sleep with a light in his face.
Finral knew it'd get better. He'd had trouble sleeping when he first moved out of House Vaude, too. Not that he'd slept well in House Vaude by that point. Still, there was a lot to be said for familiar surroundings when one was trying to get shut eye. His mind kept trying to find landmarks and footholds that weren't there. The way Henry's magic shifted Finral's spatial beacons along with the rooms they marked didn't help. Convenient for keeping track of where the bathrooms were, but it made Finral mildly queasy when he paid too much attention too it. Hopefully that would pass.
After another hour, Finral gave up. Sitting up, he looked over at his bookshelf. He blinked groggily at it, then sighed. Can't sleep, too tired to focus. Great. Instead of trying to read, Finral put on his boots, then grabbed a coat and his grimoire bag. Maybe a little stargazing would help him reorient himself. The Forsaken Realm was big, but not so large that the stars would be different here.
Finral had noticed a rooftop terrace from outside. He could try to find stairs. Or he could just port up, check its position (and if it was still there) and port down to it. That sounded quicker and easier.
A gesture opened a horizontal portal a finger width from the stone floor. Anticipation already improving his mood, Finral jumped through.
The darkness of his bedroom was replaced by an open sky of stars. Cold air stung his cheeks. His stomach swooped, and the lingering sluggishness was chased away by adrenaline as he fell toward earth. A few hundred feet below, his eyes picked out the worn stone of the terrace. Another portal and a quick touch of magic to reinforce his legs was all it took. Finral landed neatly on the terrace, the portal above him winking out as he straightened.
“Good timing. I was just thinking about you.”
Finral startled so badly he almost went over the low stone wall around the edge of the terrace. Whipping around, he saw Yami leaning against the outer wall of the attic, an unlit cigarette dangling from his fingertips. Even in the poor light, Finral saw Yami smirk at his reaction.
Finral huffed, readjusting his coat. Yami's magic was harder to sense at night, and they were around each other so often that Finral had long since relegated it to background noise anyway. Just because Yami got a kick out of startling him didn't mean it counted for points. With as much dignity as he could muster, Finral asked, “Do you even have a plan for how you're going to find your way around when I'm out of the house?” Figures he's too lazy to go find his own room.
Yami shrugged. “Hang out in the common room until you get back.”
Finral wasn't even surprised. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered, “Of course that's your answer...” This guy, honestly. Finral dropped his hand from his face with a shrug. “Well, I'm here, so I'll get you back to your room.” There was a small pang of disappointment. Finral hadn't come up to the roof looking for company, but the thought of stargazing alone was somewhat lackluster now.
Yami shook his head before Finral could open the portal. “Nah. Not ready to head back down.” Finral blinked in surprise, disappointment morphing into curiosity. Yami held up the cigarette, wiggling it pointedly. “Need a light.”
Finral didn't quite manage to hide a small smirk of his own. “What were you going to do if I didn't know where your lighters were anymore?” he asked, opening a small portal with a gesture. “I know I'm the Black Bulls' pack mule, but you should carry some things yourself.” As he spoke, Finral reached into the portal, feeling around for a second before his fingers closed on a lighter. He tossed it to Yami as the portal closed.
Yami caught it. Making a 'tch' noise almost indistinguishable from the click of the lighter, Yami said, “You set a marker in my room, you saw where I put everything. Not like I rearranged my dresser drawers.”
Finral huffed a laugh. “That's not enough for most spatial mages to calculate from, you know.” By now Yami knew more about spatial magic, and specifically portal magic, than most civilians or even knights ever would. Guess there's still a few gaps. It was a complicated element.
Yami lit the cigarette. The brief illumination of the flame caught the amber in his eyes as he looked at Finral. “Didn't recruit just any spatial mage, so what's your point?”
Or not. Finral felt his cheeks go pink. He knew how to deal with flattery from ladies. Over a year with the Bulls and he still didn't know how to answer Yami's intermittent praise. At least it was indirect, if obvious. Finral would probably combust if Yami just started throwing around blunt words of approval.
Not that it was going to happen. Yami saved the occasional 'good job' or 'nice one' for the times Charmy or Gauche scored good hits during a fight. Now that everyone was moved into the new base and Yami could start training them properly, Luck and Magna would probably earn the same succinct accolades.
“Guess I don't have one, then...” To avoid looking at Yami, Finral tipped his head back to look at the stars.
The tiny stab of jealousy was old news. It was dwarfed every time by the still-unexpected reassurance that Yami valued Finral's skills despite his lack of combat ability. That was better than Finral had ever gotten at House Vaude.
Being disowned still hurt. The feeling of rejection like paper cuts every time he signed something, 'Finral Roulacase.' But whenever he remembered that he'd never have to go back to the Vaude manor ever again, the sheer relief was dizzying.