The house is coated in a soft purple light, the sheen of it shining out of the windows and coating the grass beneath. By now, Malakai has grown used to it, but still. He rolls his eyes at the repetitive color scheme which only seems to get brighter every holiday season. He unlocks the front door and walks inside, relieved that at the very least, obnoxious Christmas music has never joined in with every other sensory-painful thing that Dream insists on using.
He shrugs his jacket off and drops it over the coat rack Dream has insisted on keeping by the door for longer than Malakai has had intimate knowledge of this house. He stretches, feeling the familiar ache in his back, before wandering through the rooms, looking for him. If there's one thing they have in common, it's back issues, and Dream has done a few things to accommodate them both over the months- trying out different mattresses until they find one that works for both of them, masseuses with knowledge of back injuries, and even installing a hot tub next to his pool.
Malakai isn't that surprised to head outside and find the man sprawled out in the hot tub, arms resting on the side of the tub, head tipped back against the cool concrete. Malakai quirks an eyebrow at him, carefully unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off, folding it and setting it onto the table, before kicking his pants off and slipping into the hot water. He presses his feet to Dream's and nudges.
"You finally arrived home, I see," Dream murmurs, his voice sounding sleepy and slurred.
"Yes, I did," Malakai says, continuing to tease Dream's sole with his foot.
"That's good, because if I sat in this water alone any longer, I'd be falling asleep." Dream dunks himself under water for a moment, then surfaces again, shaking his hair out, before scooting over towards Malakai. "How is your back doing?"
"Not bad," he muses. "I expected worse after the match, but I'm feeling... ok."
"That's good," Dream murmurs, leaning into him and resting his head on Malakai's shoulder.
"I see the purple lights have made their triumphant return."
"I'd keep them up year around if I could," Dream hums, glancing back at the house and enjoying the purple gleam reflecting off of his skin, the water.
Malakai rolls his eyes. "I know you would," he mumbles, exhaling softly as Dream rests his hand on his lower back. "I'm glad you don't though, I think it'd ruin the novelty of it."
Dream lifts his head and stares at him for a moment before resting back against him. "Yeah, sure," he mumbles, already drifting back off. "You've always hated my lights."
Malakai smirks, content to brace him in the water and stare down at how the light glints off of his skin. "I don't hate it exactly," he mumbles. "But sometimes I like to look at you in regular lighting." He smooths a hand up and down Dream's back, teasing magic along his spine, trying to search for any discomfort following him into his sleep. Finding none, he settles back in the water and hums. "Rest well, then."