let them boys be

(softly glowing, like constellations across your skin)

summary: Cody can't sleep, so Mio pulls down the stars for him.

notes: i've been meaning to do something with soft magic/subtle fantasy feels for a while, so here you go. i've just moved back home from the dorms, so i'm in the process of putting up my ever-growing collection of glow-in-the-dark stickers.

(softly glowing, like constellations across your skin) - 

"Mio? You still awake?"

Mio tries his best to ignore the soft voice of his roommate, but when the restless rustling of blankets doesn't cease, he reluctantly opens his eyes.

"What is it, Cody?"

Silence. Then Cody is shuffling into a sitting position, blankets scrunched up over his curled position. He looks impossibly small, hunched against the wall like that. "S-Sorry for waking you up," he says, "I---um, n-never mind. You should go back to sleep. You have a morning class, right?"

"So do you," Mio points out. He sits up, too, rubbing a hand over his eyes. In the dimness of their shared dorm room, he can just make out Cody's wide eyes staring at him. Mio tilts his head. "Can't sleep?"

Cody nods. He glances down at his knees, pulled up against his chest. "I'm sorry. This keeps happening."

"You can't help your nightmares, Cody."

"But still, I---I just. I'm interrupting your sleep, too, and that's not---"

"It's fine," Mio cuts in firmly. He feels a little bad when he catches the other boy's little flinch, but he continues, "It's not your fault."

For a quiet moment, they just breathe. The space between the two beds in this tiny room suddenly seems too vast. Too empty. Too cold. Cody is still hiding in his blankets. Mio wonders if he's shaking. He probably is. The boy is a jittery, excited thing during the day, but when night falls, his mind seems set on tormenting him. Mio doesn't know what the nightmares are about, but they've been there since they moved in a month ago, and he finds himself angry about the nightmares, not just because they disturb his sleep, but also because his roommate doesn't deserve this restless sleep. Cody has been nothing but nice to him since they met, and Mio wants to repay the favour.

"Can I go over there?" Mio asks, keeping his voice soft.

"Y-Yeah."

Throwing back his comforter, Mio pads over to the other bed. He sits next to Cody, close enough to feel slight trembles still running through the boy's body. Mio clenches his fist, thinking about what he can do to make his roommate feel better.

His eyes catch on the glow-in-the-dark stickers Cody's put up in their first week. He'd asked Mio if it was okay to put them across the four walls since he had so many. Mio didn't mind. The stickers, full of stars and sheep and owls and flowers and even dinosaurs, spill across the room in a now-familiar pattern. Mio feels his lips tilting up as an idea comes to him.

"Cody," he says, "close your eyes for a second."

He doesn't look over, but hears a muffled hum in response. Mio's hands are raised and his gaze fixed on the stickers above his desk as he concentrates. His palms start to feel warm, and a familiar weight in his gut settles. He pulls.

Slowly, carefully, the glowing stars peel off their stickers, floating through the air towards the two boys huddled on the bed. Trails of gold, like pixie dust, trace constellations between the stars. Mio focuses, flicking his right hand, and tugs. Several owls slip off the walls, while the sheep follow more meekly. They dance around each other, light bodies softly pulsing. Mio pulls some more, and soon, glowing fishes are swimming lazily through their room, too.

"Cody," he says, nudging the boy slightly. "Look."

He knows the exact moment Cody spots the animated glowing stickers, because he lets out a small, delighted gasp. 

"Mio, this is..."

Mio watches Cody's eyes grow round, his mouth hanging open as he stares. The stars reflect off his eyes, illuminating the freckles on his skin. Curling his fingers, Mio snatches a fish and persuades it closer to Cody. The boy laughs, reaching out a hand just shy of touching.

"I thought," Cody says quietly, "you didn't like your magic."

"It's not very useful or practical," Mio says. "Animating objects and making them glow. But I suppose sometimes it has its uses."

Cody smiles, and Mio blinks. For a moment, he thought he saw soft gold swirling through Cody's skin. He glances up and finds glowing sheep and stars settling above Cody's hair.

"Thank you," Cody whispers. "This is beautiful."

Mio watches Cody's finger trace through the golden constellations, and finds himself comparing the freckles on Cody's skin to the stars floating around them. 

"Yeah," he says. "It is."

He stays up with Cody, keeping the stars glowing until the other boy nods off onto his shoulder. Gently, he returns the glowing animals and stars back to their respective places on the wall. Using his magic drains him a little, but when he looks down at Cody, snoring lightly against him, he thinks he doesn't mind it at all.