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Spoke was exhausted. Running takes a lot out of someone, and don't even get him started on the exploiting.
He let out a long yawn as he stepped into the base, jaw cracking as his eyes lazily flickered around the area, searching for Mapicc.
His friend was nowhere to be found. He decided to ignore the usual slight pang of worry, Mapicc had probably just taken the long way home.
Instead of worrying, he settled down against the wall and took a long swig of a regen potion. The sweet taste coated his throat, letting the relaxing feeling spread sluggishly through his body, starting in his chest, the sensation warm like he'd swallowed soup.
He could feel his small wounds and aches starting to fade away like they'd never been there, and his head started to get foggier and foggier with sleepiness.
Just then, the sound of the door opening made him jump, and he perked up his ears to listen. It was definitely Mapicc, he could tell by the sounds of his light footsteps and the occasional clinking of him putting something down. The demon appeared by the wall, giving Spoke an excited grin. Spoke tried his best to return it, but he'd started to slouch again and he felt the sleepiness kicking him in the gut. Mapicc could clearly tell he was tired, because he could tell anything about his best friend, and he settled down next to him against the wall. "Sooo, why are we sitting on the floor, Spoke? We literally have beds like a couple blocks away." He pointed a thumb toward the beds nearby, one red and one black and only a block apart.
Spoke frowned as he looked toward the beds. "Because I wanted to sit on the ground."
Mapicc nodded in understanding, leaning into the natural chill that Spoke gave off, perks of being a voidling, his body temperature was the opposite of whatever the weather was usually. In some too cold winter nights or meltingly hot summer evenings, though, his body was unable to regulate from how extreme the temperatures were. Melting into shadow to stay cool was not fun.
Suddenly, Mapicc rolled onto his stomach, shuffling so he could look up at Spoke, elbows resting on the others legs. Spoke could tell Mapicc was just as tired as he was, but both of them were fighting to stay awake. After all, it wasn't often that they were at complete peace like this (ignoring the fact that Spoke's tall ears were still twisted toward the door in the habit of listening for danger), and they wanted to enjoy it.
Spoke's eyes were starting to droop as he stared at his best friend, his Mapicc. Their eyes were on each others, like making sure the other was still there. Red meeting white and mixing into the rosy pink that Spoke felt in his chest.
A color in his chest was quite the stupid way of describing it, but Mapicc listened, and Mapicc liked it, and isn't that what matters? Only the two of them?
Warmth seemed to swirl around them in the atmosphere of their own little bubble, their space. A syrupy and lazy feeling, coating their joints in stickiness so they couldn't move without looking like a sloth.
Mapicc finally let his head fall, breaking the stare, head bumping against Spoke's stomach. Spoke's tail wagged happily, brushing against Mapiccs hand in an 'accidentally' ticklish motion like the fox pup he was.
He could feel Mapicc yawning against his leg, making him yawn in turn, head swirling and thoughts turning to mush.
"Spoke?" Mapicc said, turning his head at an awkward angle so they could meet eyes.
"Yeah?"
"This is nice," He mumbled, yawning again, paired with a stretch this time— clearly trying to keep himself awake. "I wish it could be like this all the time."
A pang of sadness and guilt ran through Spoke's whole body, the pink feeling dulling into something muted for a tick. "Me too."
Quiet. And then,
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess."
Mapicc looked taken aback at the apology, eyes widening to show off his bright red iris.
"Sorry? Spoke, this is the most fun I've ever had in my life, you don't need to be sorry."
"But you could get killed. Now that you're associated with me, you're being hunted for what I've done." Spoke's tail stopped wagging, falling to the ground next to them.
"I won't get killed, Spoke. I can take care of myself, and even if I couldn't, and I died, I'd die knowing this was the best possible outcome of my life. You're the best friend I've ever had and one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I wouldn't regret it, even when I'm banned." His voice was firmer now, but never angry, never yelling, just firm, in a reassuring, solid way.
Spoke sniffled, looking away. "But I don't want a chance of it happening. I wish we could just run away to the farlands and live in a little house together. With no stupid BAT spies hunting us and nobody trying to kill us."
He could feel Mapicc sit up and start petting his head, between his now pinned back ears, the motion repetitive and soothing. "There's no chance. Neither of us will die or get caught, okay? Nothing will happen to us."
Spoke felt the familiar sting of tears gather in his eyes, threatening to slip out and embarrass him again. He couldn't keep crying over every small problem, he didn't used to, why does he have to now?
"Hey," Mapicc tapped his forehead, making him meet his eyes. "They can't get us. Spoke-and-Mapicc, two peas in a pod, come on. We're unbeatable."
Spoke let out a wet giggle. "Spoke-and-Mapicc." He repeated, letting a small smile grace his face.
"They wish they could get us." The deer grinned at him, then it fell into something softer, reserved for the sleepy versions of them, the emotional moments they had only in the dim light and didn't bring up again when they woke. "Nothing and nobody could ever take me away from you, Spoke. Not the scariest mobs or the strongest spy. I'll never hate you." Mapicc tapped the tip of his nose to enunciate certain words, like a parent telling a child their bedtime story. "Never say sorry for bringing me into this. It's my choice, and my choice will always be to stay with you. After all, who are we without the other? 'Mapicc' doesn't have any ring to it without 'Spoke' next to it."
Spoke felt the tears threaten to burst, but he blinked them away quickly and returned that smile. Mapiccs hands ran against his soft black ears to bring them up again, making them twitch and slowly rise back up. The fox looked up at Mapicc with big, watery eyes full of words he didn't dare to say, not wanting to drag the conversation any longer, exhaustion no longer ignorable.
Spoke grabbed the red fabric hanging at his friend's sides and tugged him into a tight hug, hiding his face in the crook of his neck and letting himself enjoy the feeling of being loved and loving.
"We should go to bed." Mapicc said, after void-knows-how-long of sitting in silence and embracing Spoke.
Spoke nodded, waiting for Mapicc to get up so he could. Together, they made their way to their respective beds and plopped down almost in synchrony.
Spoke, now buried in layers of blankets to stay just warm enough to be comfortable, looked to Mapiccs bed, being greeted with his back. "G'night, Mape," He mumbled sleepily.
"Night, Spoke." Came the deers voice from the other bed.
Spoke stared at his back until he fell asleep, letting the arms of Hypnos drag him under.
"For the record, I think Mapicc-and-Spoke sounds better. You'll always be first for as long as I have you." Spoke remarked under his breath, the snores of his already asleep friend covering it in the dead of night.
Mapicc-and-Spoke.