Just a short little piece I whipped up after catching up on the Magi manga. This is also posted on Archive of Our Own, as are all the rest of my stories.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Ja'far never found himself far from Sinbad's side. It wasn't exactly on purpose, they just always seemed to gravitate towards each other instinctively. Sindria was a small kingdom, and yet the two could always be found only a few rooms apart, if apart at all. There were times when Sinbad had to take trips and leave Ja'far in charge of Sindria, but neither of felt particularly comfortable during these times, not that they would admit it to anyone else. It was just how they are, and how they had been ever since Ja'far had been sent to assassinate Sinbad after he had defeated his first dungeon. Neither of them could really say how they had gotten so close, but neither would change it for the world. There was an implicit trust between the two of them, nothing was hidden and there were never any doubts. To Ja'far, Sinbad was sort of a shining beacon of hope. Of course, no one would ever catch him saying something so... poetic. But it's exactly what the king was, he made people believe that everything would be wonderful and that he would take care of everything.
Of course, Ja'far got stuck with most of the paperwork involved with "taking care of everything" but Sinbad was the only one who could do the actual work with the other people. The man was crazy, drank too much, and was way too interested in women, but no one could deny that the had a way with words. Ja'far often found himself envious, he had always been the scary violent child, no friends and no family, living off of killing from the age of 6. He wasn't even sure how he had ended up here, entrusted with so much. Sometimes he was sure that things would be better if he left, even now his temper got the better of him from time to time, and Sinbad was the only one who could snap him out of it. And yet, Sinbad always wanted him around, always asked for his opinions, always trusted Ja'far to have his back. And somehow every time Ja'far started to have these thoughts, Sinbad would be right there with a stack of paperwork to go over, an event to plan, or even just with a bottle of something to drink and plans to ignore work for the rest of the night. It happened more often than Ja'far cared to admit, but it was nice having someone who cared and knew him that well, and wasn't so afraid that they pushed him away. Sinbad could overpower him if need be, and that was reassuring. Ja'far hoped that he was able to help Sinbad even a fraction of what Sinbad did for him.
Of course, he would never know, but he would keep trying to give everything he could to his master, his king, his friend.