IT'S STILL BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN MY TIME ZONE I'm sorry for the late update! I had some final edits for this chapter and then a hectic night at work, so I couldn't get to my computer ;w; sorry! D:

They manage to settle back into a rhythm now that there's no cursed item to focus on. It's similar to before, with Judal quizzing him on magical items, but now he's helping customers more than he's organizing paperwork. He's even occasionally taking them further into the back rooms and then leading them out on his own. It gets easier every time, just like recognizing magical items, until one evening he realizes he barely has to think about it to avoid getting lost.

"See, I told you it would work out," Judal says. He's sitting on the counter unprofessionally, watching Hakuryuu clean as they chat. It's part of their usual routine, though Hakuryuu wishes he wouldn't choose to sit on the counter right after it was wiped down.

"I just didn't think it would become so easy," he says. "It's such a labyrinth."

Judal shrugs. "I like it that way."

"Of course you do." Hakuryuu wipes down a particularly dusty bench and frowns. "Is this new?"

"Nah, I just had it in storage. But I got the feeling it would finally sell, so I brought it out."

"Well, it's not going to sell looking like this. Why didn't you clean it first?"

"I think you've known me for long enough to know that answer to that."

"You're giving me a headache," Hakuryuu tells him, which isn't entirely a lie. His head has been bothering him for days now, mostly in the slow lull of the evenings.

"Am not!"

He frowns, but crouches to scrub some dirt from the bench's legs. "I've had one for at least a week, but only at work."

"You'll never convict me," Judal declares, sticking his tongue out.

"Somehow that makes you sound more guilty," Hakuryuu points out, and Judal shrugs.

"Maybe I am, then."

"Don't joke," Hakuryuu tells him, his frown deepening. "Why would you give me a headache?"

Judal shrugs. "It could just be a side effect of something else."

"If this is about me being stressed out all the time, you're wrong. I don't usually get stress headaches."

He jumps down from the counter and makes his way over to Hakuryuu. "Nah, not this time."

"What-"

Judal has his wand out very suddenly, a focused look on his face, and he taps it firmly on Hakuryuu's chest. There's a jolt, like a shock of cold lightning through his whole body, he sees stars, his breath catches, and-

"Got it!" Judal says triumphantly.

Hakuryuu clutches his chest, still reeling. He blinks, trying to clear his vision, and does his best to look at Judal angrily. "What did you do?"

"Don't sound so upset. I was helping you. Someone had a tricky little spell on you, hidden so deep that I didn't notice it at first. But now you're free!"

He can't imagine why he'd have any sort of spell on him; before Judal, he'd never experienced magic. Now that the pain has faded and his breathing has returned to normal, Hakuryuu tries to see if he feels different. Nothing, so far. "I feel the same," he says.

Judal waves a hand dismissively. "It's not going to change your life immediately."

"Then what was it doing to me?"

"It was keeping you from being magical," Judal explains. "Guess someone wanted to make sure you were boring forever. Who knows why."

Hakuryuu eyes him dubiously. "Judal-"

"No, I'm serious!" He looks put out. "Is this really what you're gonna refuse to believe me about?"

"I- I don't know. I just don't see why someone would do that to me. Or even when it would have happened."

"It was some sort of customized spell, but I don't recognize who did it," Judal says. "They were pretty powerful, but still no match for my abilities!"

Hakuryuu touches his chest where Judal's wand was, still not feeling anything different. "Should I be thanking you?"

"Of course!" he exclaims.

x･x･x

The next day, Judal bursts into the office and sets a stack of books on the desk in front of Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu cringes as a cloud of dust shifts around them, but Judal still looks proud.

"What have I told you about making a mess on the desk?"

He whines. "This is important. I spent forever digging these out of storage for you!"

Hakuryuu glances at them. They certainly look old enough to have been tucked away for awhile. "Maybe if you weren't so disorganized, it would be easier to get things out of storage."

"Whatever," Judal says, poking the top of the stack. "I haven't needed these for a long time, cause they're all beginners stuff. But since you're a beginner, I figured they'd work for you."

Hakuryuu takes the first one from the stack and looks at it more closely. "Are these spellbooks?"

He grins. "Sure are!"

They're all thick tomes, and on closer inspection they do look the part of mystical spellbooks. If he really can do magic, like Judal seems to think, these would be incredibly valuable. "I didn't bring a notebook with me," Hakuryuu says, frowning.

Judal looks at him oddly, before bursting into laughter. "I guess you'd want to take notes! Well, that's fine. If you wanna go home and get one or something, I think I can manage without you for a bit."

"Oh, you can?"

"I can. It's my store after all!" Judal manages to look fondly annoyed, and Hakuryuu smiles at him. What a strange man.

When Hakuryuu returns from the store - with some candy to placate Judal - there's a very simple looking wand sitting with the books on the desk.

"Oooooh, gummy worms," Judal says, taking the package appreciatively.

"You're welcome," Hakuryuu says, picking up the wand cautiously. It's warm to the touch, just like Judal's was, and he can feel it pulsing in his hands. "Is this for me?"

Judal smiles, soft and honest, before shoving a gummy worm in his mouth. "I don't keep many on hand, but I was pretty sure I had a wand somewhere," he explains, chewing loudly. "You'll need one eventually if you're gonna learn anything."

"Thank you," he says, deeply grateful. "I'll see if I can."

"You can," Judal says simply, and leaves him to read in peace.

x･x･x

Every time Hakuryuu thinks they've got a routine going, Judal changes it. Now he's reading spellbooks on top of paperwork, with Judal trying to test him during lulls in business. It's similar to when he was learning to recognize magic, but more intense and harder to quantify.

"How did you figure out I had any magic potential?" Hakuryuu asks him one evening. He's finally managed to grasp most of the basic concepts, but he's still struggling to cast spells.

Judal doesn't answer at first, and Hakuryuu is starting to think he's just being ignored, when he finally says something. "Something seemed weird when you got my wand," he says in carefully measured words, and Hakuryuu realizes that Judal probably doesn't have to explain his reasoning often. "It still felt like you, like something had happened, but I had Dunya to deal with."

"I felt something odd when I picked it up," Hakuryuu admits, and Judal grins at him.

"Probably happened 'cause I'm just that powerful."

"You are so full of yourself," Hakuryuu tells him, shaking his head, and Judal just shrugs.

"I know I'm good, and I don't see the point in hiding it. I worked hard to get this far!"

He nods. "That still sounds like a nice way of saying that you don't care to be humble," he says, picking up his wand and notes. "I'm going to try to get some more work done, since it looks slow enough that you can watch the store alone."

Judal looks suitably put out. "You know, I used to run this place all alone before you showed up," he gripes.

"Oh, I know," Hakuryuu says, heading to the office, and he can just barely hear Judal whining after him.

It's just as frustrating as it was the day before, and he's finding it hard to believe that he actually has the ability to do anything more than memorize theories. He's trying to trust Judal, but….he's been at it for hours now, and he's got nothing to show for it.

"Still working?" Judal asks, leaning against the doorway.

"Yes," he says shortly.

Judal laughs a little. "You sound annoyed."

"I'm just having some trouble moving past the basics, I guess. I'm sure I'll get it eventually," Hakuryuu explains, hoping that Judal will leave him alone.

Instead, Judal comes over and leans in to look at his work, far too close for comfort. Hakuryuu is just trying to focus; magic makes sense on paper, but he can't make anything of it. It's discouraging, and Judal watching so closely certainly isn't helping.

"Would you stop that?"

"Hm?" Judal is close enough that the question reverberates against his ear, and his soft warm breath is distracting Hakuryuu even more.

"When you're watching me, it's harder for me to focus," Hakuryuu explains.

Judal chuckles against his neck, and Hakuryuu nearly gasps from it. "You're too tense. It's like anything magical; you have to relax."

"I can't relax when you're like this."

Judal takes his hand, curling their fingers around the wand together, and Hakuryuu can feel the magic in his touch. It travels through the wand as Judal murmurs the words of an incantation in his ear, and then out into the world, shaping and rewriting the energies that already surround everything, exploding into a joyous riot of color and delicate snow that dissipates before it even hits the ground. It finally makes sense in a way, how words and thoughts can come together to create something, and his fingers tingle even after Judal lets go.

"Did that help?" he asks Hakuryuu.

"I...think so, actually," he says hesitantly. "I'll need to think it over some and try it on my own, and that-"

"Then do it," Judal interrupts. "Try it out!"

Hakuryuu glares at him but tries anyway, thinking back to the feeling of Judal's hand on his, of the way the spell felt, and tries to recapture that feeling of clarity and understanding. The magic inside him twists and bubbles, and then the power courses suddenly down his arm and through the wand, crashing into the table and encasing it in a thick layer of ice. Hakuryuu staggers back a bit- it's hardly elegant, but he revels in the success of finally casting something.

"There you go!" Judal exclaims happily, slinging an arm around Hakuryuu's shoulders and half pulling him into a hug. "Knew it!"

Hakuryuu doesn't push him off, instead staring at the ice feathered across the table. It wasn't easy, but he made it happen. "You always manage to make any praise for me sound like you're congratulating yourself."

"That's part of my charm," Judal says. "But I am proud of you."

"Funny way of showing it."

He sticks his tongue out. "I do what I want!"

Hakuryuu laughs, and he almost hopes that Judal has gotten comfortable sidled up against him. But before the thought can worry Hakuryuu, Judal pulls away, flitting back to work, and Hakuryuu isn't sure what to make of any of this.

x･x･x

"Now that you can do the absolute basics, I wanna figure out what you'd actually be good at," Judal declares the next day. Hakuryuu sets aside his paperwork and glances to the front, wondering if he should flip the sign to closed. He really does wonder how the store stays open with how much free time Judal seems to have, but there must be enough private buyers that it works out.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" he asks, and Judal grins at him.

"Somewhere in here, I have this crystal ball thing that'll show us," he explains, looking proud of himself.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I just gotta find it. So can you watch the front while I go looking?" he asks, wandering off without waiting for Hakuryuu's answer.

He returns surprisingly quickly and plunks a cloudy glass ball on the front counter. Hakuryuu recognizes it as a piece of decoration that he dusts semi-regularly, but he hasn't seen it since he started practicing magic. "Ta-da!"

"Here I thought this was just for aesthetic reasons."

Judal laughs. "I got it from an estate sale and didn't realize what it was for a long time," he answers. "Guess I'm an idiot sometimes."

Hakuryuu eyes it up. "What does it do?"

"Just touch it and put a little magic in it," he says, placing his hands around it. The smoke inside changes to a bright blue until Judal lets go. "See? I'm best with water, so blue. You read about all the boring organization systems, right?"

"Of course. It was quite useful, and-"

"Boring!" he interrupts. "Come on, feel up my balls."

"Judal!"

He laughs and moves aside, giving Hakuryuu room to touch the crystal ball. It feels mundane at first, but once he applies a small amount of magical pressure, that changes. The cool glass glows and the smoke shifts, darkening until it's nearly pitch black, before it settles on a rich purple.

Judal leans over it. "Oooh, life magic! Not exciting, but useful," he exclaims, sounding pleased. "I'm shit at almost everything life related, so I guess you can learn to cover my ass."

Hakuryuu watches the purple smoke in the ball, swirling and twisting, and thinks about the possibilities. He hasn't done anything with life magic before - probably because Judal is bad at it - so he's excited to try it out. Maybe this magic will feel as effortless as Judal makes it look. The smoke turns back to a neutral gray when he lets go, and Judal still looks pleased.

"We should celebrate," Judal begins, and Hakuryuu already knows where this is going.

"What sweets do you want this time?" he asks, and Judal looks momentarily shocked. It's kind of cute.

He composes himself and grins at Hakuryuu. "You've figured me out, huh? I was going to say ice cream, but I guess we could do something else…"

"I do like ice cream," he agrees, and Judal's gleeful smile makes it worth it. "Should I go get my car?"

"Nah, I actually have some upstairs. I'm gonna put this away and get it," Judal says, picking up the crystal ball. Hakuryuu lays out some paper towels whiles he's gone, in the vain hope that maybe Judal will make less of a mess of the counter this way.

He returns with bowls, spoons, and a carton of ice cream, all balanced precariously with magic. "I hope you like fruit!"

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

"Fair," Judal agrees, setting everything out on the counter. Hakuryuu takes the carton to mini fridge once they've served themselves, and when he returns he doesn't see Judal or either bowl of ice cream.

"Judal?" he calls out, confused.

The front door opens and Judal sticks his head in. "I'm sitting out front! Join me!"

It's a nice evening, and sitting on the front steps with Judal is more pleasant than he could have guessed. They watch the sky fade from blue to rich reds and oranges and then into the deep purple of early night, with Judal leaned slightly against his shoulder. Hakuryuu's bowl is sitting almost forgotten at his feet, and he keeps putting off cleaning up and going back inside.

"You're more fun than I expected," Judal says, surprisingly quiet.

"People don't usually call me fun," he admits, and Judal shifts against him.

"Mmm, maybe that's the wrong word," he agrees. "You're good company, though."

"Thank you," Hakuryuu says, resisting the strange urge to pull Judal closer. "Where's this coming from?"

Judal shrugs and rests his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. "Just thinking."

He reaches to take Judal's empty bowl from him and their hands brush. It's different somehow, like a spark between them, and he doesn't think this has anything to do with magic. Judal doesn't move away though, instead twining their fingers together, and Hakuryuu's doesn't want to take his hand back.