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Rio enjoyed floating around Magni’s lab when he had the permission to do so. The laboratory was rife with interesting things: there were liquids of all sorts of colors sitting gingerly within flasks and bottles strewn throughout the lab. Numerous shelves and drawers stored ingredients that Rio had never heard of before (seriously, what was “astral oil” even made of?).
But the ghost wasn’t actually here for those things. The truth was, Rio liked to quietly watch Magni while he was at work. He couldn’t help but stare at the alchemist’s profile as Magni read through the brewing recipe in his hands, his cape’s gloved appendages reaching diligently around his workspace for the ingredients the potion called for. Occasionally, Magni stopped to inspect his mixtures for inconsistencies with a careful eye and nodded to himself when it looked about right. And if he was really immersed in his craft, Magni would even start humming after a song he liked.
It was… attractive. Rio liked this serious side of Magni. Being able to observe him from this close made his spectral heart come to life once again, beating earnestly with every glance he sent Magni’s way. Rio wondered to himself what it would be like to shorten the distance between them, to press up close to Magni’s warm, living body, and whisper in his ears everything that Rio likes about him—
“Rio, you okay over there?”
The ghost snapped out from his thoughts, blinking. “Oh! Um, yeah. I’m alright. Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been staring at me a lot today. There must be something weighing on your mind if you’re spacing out this much.” Magni threw some dry leaves into a mortar and began crushing them into a fine powder. “Or maybe I just look that good.”
Rio laughed. “Yeah, you’re right! I was just thinking that the great Magni Dezmond is just really, really cute, you know?”
An honest truth thinly disguised as a playful joke. The alchemist chuckled with him. “I’m glad you can see and state the obvious! You ought to convince my guildmates of your observation — they don’t seem to recognize me like you do. I think they must be blind or something.”
“Maybe some other time. I’m too comfortable right now~”
Rio laid his head over a spot on a table that Magni had cleared out for him, relaxed. The alchemist hadn’t been sure whether any of his potions could have effects on a ghost like Rio, but Magni wasn’t eager to take any risks and moved his equipment somewhere else. And besides, having extra space set aside for some company in the lab with him didn’t hurt.
Maybe it was the gentle bubbling of the potions in progress, or the soft crunching coming from the mortar and pestle in Magni’s hands. But Rio felt his eyelids start to fall closed and his breaths grow deeper. Eventually, Rio gave in, and after a prolonged silence Magni realized that his friend had fallen asleep.
The alchemist wrapped his cape around himself, seeking warmth. Unbeknownst to Rio, there had been a sudden chill in the air that settled just a few minutes before. Magni had wanted to say something about it when it happened, but Rio had been staring at him with such a soft look on his face that Magni felt conflicted. Should he say something anyway, or keep quiet and save Rio of his potential embarrassment?
In the end, he chose the former. The cold prevented Magni from moving his hands the way he wanted to for his potion brewing — the shivering was starting to make it dangerous to work — so he got Rio’s attention and roped him into a conversation. Instantly, he felt the chill in the air recede a bit, enough for the alchemist to move more comfortably.
The leaf was now fully crushed. Magni set the completed powder aside on his desk and glanced over to Rio. The sleeping spirit looked so at ease where he was, his head resting on top of his crossed arms.
Rio, too, was very, very cute.
(He sends one of his cape’s hands over to pet the ghost’s head.)