Once A Tale (MXM, BXB)

Diamonds and Toads: Bonus Short

Morning came too soon, as per usual. Rolf squeezed his eyelids more tightly shut under the glare of sunlight that pierced through paltry curtains before he reluctantly opened them.

Too bright...

He grumbled tiredly, rubbing his thumb into the corner of one eye, then the other, waiting for his vision to adjust. He'd had his face pressed into something dark all night, so the morning sun wasn't welcome, especially when he thought of working all day. It wasn't as though he minded working, he actually enjoyed keeping busy and moving his body, but ever since...

Movement at his side. He looked over at Magnus's sleeping face as he resettled, half-concealed by his long, long hair. This was probably why he was reluctant to get up and work. Less time in the day spent with Magnus, their conversations going late into the night as though the two of them were always trying to make up for a lifetime of lost time. Rolf moved his hand to brush Magnus's hair out of his pretty (alarmingly pretty) face before he levered himself upright.

He yawned again and slid his legs free of the bed.

It had been nearly a month since the day Magnus became human and in that time several things had changed. It was much easier to save up money when it wasn't one but two people working the day away, especially when Magnus had a quick mind and a quicker hand at picking up things. His exotic appearance and his (Rolf thought) ridiculous story about where he came from also stirred people's curiosity about him. He'd had to learn to write but he'd picked it up just like that, which Rolf found baffling in a number of ways. Rolf had to be specially taught but Magnus merely set into a task with ferocity and picked it up.

His drive was admirable.

"You've had a long time to pick up more skills than me, I can't rest for a moment," Magnus told him once, fully devoted to copying letters out on small sections of parchment. "I'll catch up to you in a year, musclehead."

At this rate, he'd surpass Rolf in far less than a year.

Rolf didn't mind, however. He'd once craved to be the best, but now he was content with the way things were. Of course, a new anxiety surfaced now that Magnus was always out and about in the town. He was charming, Rolf thought, although brusque and blunt. He quickly caught eyes and he feared for the future if some well-to-do man or woman should come into town, fall in love with Magnus and take him off to a palace somewhere.

A terrible thought...

He shook his head, leaning over Magnus's sleeping form and kissing the top of his head gently before he rose to get ready for the day. He combed his hair back into a tail, wondered at the novelty of living in a house again after so long sleeping out in the wilderness, and left after checking on Magnus and tucking him in again.

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The village was always busy in the mornings and Rolf had no shortage of work. Though he could talk to others, he preferred to work in silence, as though he were saving all of his words up for the evenings or the afternoons when he'd spend time with Magnus. Those he worked for were long since used to this, honestly more startled when he talked to them.

He had just finished loading up a wagon headed out of the village when he heard quick footsteps clattering toward him.

Glancing over, he startled as Magnus slammed himself right into Rolf's side, his arm hooking with his, a small scowl on his face. "You didn't wake me up," he scolded. "You should wake me up when you're leaving in the morning."

"You looked really peaceful."

"Everyone looks peaceful when they're sleeping." Magnus looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "Wake me up next time, got it?"