Author's Notes: Perhaps this chapter should've been posted before Nightmares. Somehow, it feels strange to address people as Mr and Mrs in stories, yet, there must be parents. What else could they call them? Some of this is based on my own experiences. Enjoy!
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Title: Bed Partners
Words: 1 123
Summary: They had always been together since the beginning.
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Tyler couldn't quite recall how long they had shared a bed for. He vaguely remembered that when they were children, Trian used to sleep on the couch and he used to sleep on the bed in Trian's room. Those were the days when the Lizray family had first taken him in. At that time, Trian's parents used to stay at home to look after the two boys. Mrs Lizray did most of the cooking, although Tyler preferred Mr Lizray's cooking on the rare occasions when the monk decided he wanted to make something. Mrs Lizray would always reprimand her husband afterwards though, saying that he used too much sugar or cream in his desserts. Trian's parents had also always said that they'd build another room so that Trian didn't have to sleep on the couch all the time, but they never got around to doing it. Trian himself didn't seem to mind though.
Every morning, Mr Lizray would wake Trian up to go to the Yuno Magic Academy. It used to take a good fifteen minutes to shake him awake, until his mother got so fed up she dumped a bucket of water on her son. From then on, Trian would wake up the moment he was called for fear that he would be startled awake by cold water. However, he would be bleary-eyed for at least the next twenty minutes. The first thing Trian would do (when he was fully conscious) was to bring Tyler to the breakfast table. In those times, Tyler had been unfamiliar with the house and needed help to find his way. His friend would guide him, although once Trian nearly steered him into a wall because he was half-asleep.
Then, one day, his friend pushed the couch into his room. When asked why, the boy replied, "So I don't have to walk as far to wake Tyler up."
His parents had sighed and shaken their heads, and went to buy a bed. They didn't want their couch disappearing. The bed was moved into the room, and the couch was pushed back to where it belonged.
When they had gotten old enough to live by themselves and had finished studying in their respective schools, Mr and Mrs Lizray returned to their duties to the Pronteran Church. Mrs Lizray often journeyed solo in some of the most dangerous parts of Rune-Midgard. The Church always had faith that God would deliver her safely back, as she was one of their most experienced battle priestesses. She often complained about her missions on her return, but she always did it with a smile. Mr Lizray, on the other hand, never talked about his missions, instead telling them stories of the places he visited. Sometimes he would tell some of the folktales from the more 'mysterious' lands.
One problem with not having Trian's parents in the house all the time was that Trian would never wake up in the mornings. Tyler would wake up and yell at his friend to get up. But Trian never would. Tyler never decided to cast a Cold Bolt on his friend (although on occasions he was strongly tempted to), which, in retrospect, was probably the reason why Trian never developed an instinct to wake to avoid the repercussions.
The solution Trian found to that problem (after Tyler had berated him severely for sleeping past noon) was to push their beds together and sleep like that. Trian's logic was that if Tyler needed to wake him, he could easily poke him in the back or something. Of course, it never really worked. Sometimes he would wake up, but most of the time, Trian simply rolled over and went back to sleep. Because their 'bed' was actually made of two single beds pushed together, there was a problem where they would fall in the small gap in between. Tyler, personally, had never fallen in there, but Trian seemed to do it a lot. In annoyance, his friend stole his parents' double bed (they weren't exactly using it) and they had slept in it together ever since.
Everyone in Yuno had been long accustomed to both of them living together. There wasn't anyone in the floating city who did not know them. They were the first high wizard and the first scholar in a hundred years or so. It was not surprising that almost everyone knew their histories, and that the Lizrays had practically adopted Tyler. Because of that, none of the Yunoans found that Trian and Tyler living together in the same house unusual. However, when the fact they slept in the same bed got out, there were many raised eyebrows. Wild rumours flew around the usually calm and reserved city. It even got to the point that Yuno's Sage Council had to call the pair for questioning to dispel some of the more shocking and explicit rumours. That had been an extremely embarrassing day for all parties involved. Still, they continued to sleep together, too lazy to change their habits now that they had a semi-working routine.
As time went on, Trian had become worse and worse in the mornings. His friend became completely incomprehensible until he had drunk something. Most of the time it was coffee, but occasionally it was tea or just plain water. The alcohol was always reserved for night. More than half the time he went straight back to sleep the moment he woke. If there was anything important they had to do in the mornings, Tyler found that the most effective way to wake him up would be to kick him off the bed, though Trian still only actually got up an hour later. Then his friend would complain about the bruises, even though he would have healed them away long ago. Tyler wouldn't have their simple life any other way, though.
Tyler lay on his back, listening to Trian's soft breathing in the small hours of the morning. It was a comfort to know that there was someone there beside him. It was a comfort to know that there was a friendly voice in his darkness. It was a comfort to know that there was someone he could rely on to guide him through his darkness. Despite all his complaints, Tyler was glad Trian had gone to all that trouble just to be there for him. In return, Tyler did his best to be there for his friend when he needed him.
Smiling to himself, he let his fingers play with the soft strands of Trian's hair that lay within his reach. His friend's too-long hair often got in the way, but they were a reassuring reminder that Trian was always there. And for Tyler, just knowing he was there was enough.