[FRAG] Grieve in Blood

Magnotris skidded to a halt.

Morning Star was sitting on a beam up ahead, calmly, hands linked in his lap. Sterling was in front of him, playing with a rather large chunk of gold he'd presumably found. Another quick sweep of the area told him that nobody else was around. Good.

"Morning Star?" he called, stepping forwards. 

The other glanced up, a bit too jerky. "Oh, Magnotris!"

He allowed an easy smile to melt onto his face as he stumbled forwards, holding up his arms. Morning Star scrambled to his feet and darted towards him, pulling him into an equally tight hug. Magnotris sighed audibly, curling fingers in Morning Star's hair, pulling him close, the familiar smell erasing all of his stress and anxiety.

"I'm sorry I didn't explain," Magnotris whispered softly. "I just got too caught up in trying to fix the problem."

"It's okay. Once you took the coin away I sort of - it kind of cleared up."

"Good."

Morning Star pulled away, but remained close enough for Magnotris to keep both hands on his shoulder. His eyes searched Morning Star's features, his warm smile, his bright eyes. 

Magnotris let out a long sigh. "I'm just glad you're okay. I shouldn't have left you. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not." Morning Star gestured to Sterling, who waved cheerfully. "I met up with Sterling and he helped calm me down a bit, made sure I was okay."

Magnotris' hands slid off of Morning Star as he approached the other. There was still a hint of tense fear in his motions - it was hard to fully conceptualize that Morning Star had befriended the other so easily. But Sterling stood, offered a smug smile, and held out a hand to shake. The gold was left on the ground where he'd been sitting.

Magnotris stared at it. He couldn't actually touch someone made of gold, right? It'd probably burn his skin off.

"Go ahead," Morning Star called, leaning against a metal cabinet.

With a glance over his shoulder, Magnotris reached his hand out. Sterling accepted and shook, rather politely, but firmly.

"I don't think we got a chance to properly meet," he said, voice even, "I'm Sterling. He-him."

"Magnotris. Same."

Sterling let go first, hand falling back to his side. "Morning Star speaks highly of you."

"Likewise," Magnotris muttered.

The two stared for a second longer before Sterling turned on his heel, returning to his gold. It lit with some sort of yellowish glow - magic? - and teleported, presumably back to his mansion. Magnotris blinked. He hadn't been aware that gold-based beings could use any sort of magic. 

"I think we're done here," Morning Star remarked, sliding away from the cabinet to join Magnotris. "This place is kinda creepy anyways, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Magnotris took the other's hands.

Morning Star smiled at him before turning to the third party, "Sterling, we'll see you around?"

He was given a thumbs up.

Morning Star teleported. 

Magnotris wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve as their house came into focus. He pushed his glasses up his snout as Morning Star let go of his hand, clapping as he strode into the center of the foyer. The lights flicked on. 

"Today's been exhausting," he spoke, although there was an edge to his voice. "We should get some sleep."

Magnotris nodded, trailing afterwards. "Yeah. Sounds nice. Just curl up in a bed with like, a cup of hot chocolate or something."

"You like hot chocolate?" 

He shrugged. "Can't exactly drink coffee before bed."

Morning Star hummed. "Guess you never really stop learning new things about people. Are you gonna magick it up, or should I turn on the maker in the kitchen?"

"Ah," Magnotris paused, staring into the archway of said room. "Nah, I'll magick it."

"Sounds good." Morning Star opened a door to their left. 

Magnotris slid in. Morning Star clapped out a pattern, the lights dimming - bright enough to see, but not enough to hurt. Their bedroom was mostly untouched, a layer of small dust gathered on the more unused surfaces. On the nightstand laid a lamp and a holo-screen, currently turned off. The bed was made neatly; almost immaculately. Morning Star was already undoing his tie, standing at its edge.

Magnotris picked up the document, frowning. "When'd this get here?"

"Looks like it's mail," Morning Star replied, shrugging off his shirt. 

Magnotris swiped. The screen loaded before turning on, almost absurdly bright. He cursed softly under his breath and squinted at the words.

"What is it?"

"Fucking," Magnotris dumped the screen onto the table. "It's a fucking invitation from the Overseers, for the stupid - the dinner thing."

Morning Star glanced over his shoulder, pausing in unbuttoning his pants. "Well, you can't say no to a direct summons like that." 

"They're just doing this because they're still pissed at me for saying no," he muttered, snapping his fingers. His clothing was replaced with a t-shirt and shorts instantly. "Bastards. They're going to keep hounding me til I walk back on it."

"Do you really think you can hold out that long?" Morning Star finished undressing and pulled the covers back, sliding underneath.

Magnotris joined him, throwing an arm over the other's chest. "Of course I can. Fuckers aren't half as patient as I am."

Morning Star smiled, and Magnotris leaned forwards to kiss him on the mouth.

"Goodnight." he nestled his head in Morning Star's shoulder.

His eyes fluttered closed. This was a long day. Everything about the Junkyard had exhausted him on every level, emotional and physical. Cynosure had shown back up in his life, of course. He'd expected the other to throw a fit eventually... harassing Morning Star was low, though. Cy was the bitch for breaking up with him and having the gall to harass his current boyfriend.

Stupid idiot. At least he could get some sleep-

"-Magnotris, I'm not a monster, am I?"

He blinked before pulling his head back to raise an eyebrow at Morning Star. The other's expression was distant, eyes locked onto the wall, staring at something that wasn't there. Haunted.

"No, of course not," he muttered, patting the other's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

A blink, and Morning Star's eyes flicked to him. "I'm alright. Just wanted some reassurance."

He pulled Magnotris close, resting his head on the other's. Magnotris blinked a few times before curling closer, albeit slightly tensely. Reassurance... nothing wrong with that. He was worrying over nothing.

Sleep.