I am so, so sorry for the unexpected and unannounced hiatus D: for those of you who don't know, I work in an adult novelties store, aka I sell sex toys and porn to the masses. retail is absolute hell during the holidays and it just wiped me out ;w;

HOWEVER! here I am! I'm back in business! and today is my birthday! so gimme some comments as presents ;D

After the genie and all its related stress, Hakuryuu wants nothing more than to go back to his normal life. Of course, his normal life is now full of magic, but in a manageable way. It's something he can handle now that he's used to it.

Judal looks sleepier than usual this morning: he's only wearing light makeup, and his hair is messy in a way that Hakuryuu is fairly sure isn't some sort of fashion statement. He yawns and waves when he sees Hakuryuu, though. "Morning!"

He stops at the front counter on his way to the back office. "Good morning. You're here early."

"Felt like getting up," he answers simply, shrugging. The dark circles under his eyes say otherwise, but Hakuryuu isn't going to question him. Judal's sleep schedule is as ever-changing and unpredictable as the wind. For now, he'll just make them some fresh coffee and leave Judal to try to stay awake at the counter.

Before he can tend to the coffee though, something else steals his attention. There's a potted plant on the desk, looking very much like it may have been squished in transit. There's no note or explanation for it, just a few stray leaves that have fallen off already. There's not even a label for what kind of plant it is, but he should be able to figure that out on his own. He's just not sure why it's here.

He'll deal with it in a bit. First he has to get the coffee started before Judal passes out. Once it's brewing, however, Hakuryuu sits down to get a better look at the potted plant taking up the better part of his work space. It looks newly purchased - it's even still in a plastic pot - but with Judal it's entirely possible that he just found it somewhere. It doesn't have any flowers right now, but from the look of the leaves, he thinks it might be some kind of anthurium. If he's right, it should be easy enough to take care of once he's breathed some new life into it.

The coffee finishes before he can do much more than move it to an unoccupied corner of the desk. He'll try to find somewhere better for it after he takes Judal his coffee.

Judal glances over, and his whole face lights up. "Coffee!"

"You looked tired," Hakuryuu says simply, pressing a mug into Judal's greedy hands.

He takes a long sip and smiles. "Mmm, this is good. You always know when I need my daily shot of sugar and caffeine."

"I thought you might fall asleep on the counter, and then how would you make snide comments about your customers?" Hakuryuu teases, leaning against the counter with his own coffee in hand. His is significantly less sweetened and lacks the whipped cream topping that Judal loves so much, but he actually wants to enjoy the flavor of the coffee. He didn't buy good coffee beans for work just to mask them with sugar and chocolate.

Judal laughs. "It's a special talent. I can shit on people even in my sleep," he says, before he returns to attempting to inhale his coffee as quickly as possible. At least he knows Judal likes and appreciates it. "Shit, I don't know how you make it taste like the fancy shit I get from the coffee shop, but I think it might be some new kind of magic."

"It's just practice," Hakuryuu assures him, but Judal shrugs. Now that he knows Judal won't fall asleep out here, Hakuryuu can get to work properly. "I'm going back to the office, but there's more in the pot if you want any. Just let me know."

"Ah, actually, did you see the…" Judal begins, but trails off. He looks nervous all of a sudden. "Eh, never mind."

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "Is this about the plant I found on my desk?"

Judal's whole face lights up again. "Oh, that! You noticed it?"

"Of course I did. It was in the middle of the desk."

He grins. "Yeah! I saw it and thought of you, so I got it."

"Oh, um. Thank you," Hakuryuu says awkwardly. What is he supposed to do with a sickly houseplant? He guesses that he can use it for magic practice and then just add it to his current collection of plants. He really hopes Judal didn't go out of his way to get him this.

"You're welcome!" Judal says enthusiastically. "Guess I'll let you get back to work."

Well then. As always, Judal has given him something surprising to deal with. This gift is going to be a project for his next day off, and hopefully Hakuryuu will be able to show him what he does with it.

x･x･x

A few days later, Judal pokes his head into the office while Hakuryuu is making his way through color-coding the various years' tax documents. "Hey, Hakuryuu, can you watch the store for a minute?"

"Of course," Hakuryuu agrees, setting his pencil down. At least he's at a fairly convenient stopping point in his current organization project. "Did you need to get something from the back?"

"Nah, I left something upstairs," he explains sheepishly, letting Hakuryuu make his way to the counter ahead of him. "I'll be right back!"

Hakuryuu waves as he goes, smiling softly to himself. There's just something very cute about Judal's various strange quirks, even though he can't quite figure out why he likes them. He settles into the comfortable chair behind the counter and looks out into the store. It's devoid of customers at the moment, but he'd never describe it as empty. There's a pulse to the store, the gentle thrum of the various magical items weaving between Judal's magic that keeps it all together, and every day it feels more and more like home in a way that nothing really has since his childhood.

Before he can get lost reminiscing, the door opens to let in a small wave of displeased looking customers, and Hakuryuu prepares himself for disappointment. He hopes Judal is grateful, or preferably, that he returns to deal with his unhappy customers.

"I need to return these plates," a woman says sharply, setting a paper bag on the counter. "They didn't match what I thought they would."

Hakuryuu glances in the bag to see that yes, they are plates that he remembers from a few weeks ago. However, that doesn't change the fact that Judal's return policy is "Go Fuck Yourself I Don't Want It Back," so he'll have to explain that politely. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't accept returns. Our policy is on the receipt and posted at the counter," he tells her, pointing at the "No Returns, No Exchanges" sign next to the register.

Her expression turns sour. "I know the owner," she says and Hakuryuu has to resist the urge to interrupt her there. "And he would never tolerate that kind of attitude. I shop here all the time!"

"Do you really?" Hakuryuu asks her. He's never seen her before, and he doubts she's the kind of person that Judal would make an exception for, but he wants to see where she's going with this.

"Of course I do. I've never seen you around, so I assume you're some sort of temp worker who doesn't know the rules. Just give me my money back for these, and I won't let your boss know that you were mouthing off," she says haughtily.

Hakuryuu sighs. "Like I said, we don't accept returns. The policy is clearly visible at the time of purchase and not up for debate."

"Well I never! I would like to talk to your manager," she insists. "I am not leaving here without my money, you thief!"

"I am the manager," Hakuryuu tells her, taking advantage of the title Judal jokingly gave him. The customer frowns deeply, looking like she's considering whether he's telling the truth or not. "The owner stepped out a bit ago, but you're welcome to come back when he's in if you'd like to argue with him."

She pales. "Well, no, that shouldn't be necessary. I'm sure he'll remember me when you explain why you did the return."

"We don't do returns," Hakuryuu says firmly, gently closing the bag and handing it back to the displeased but defeated customer. She snatches it and stomps off in a huff, but she doesn't look like she'll be back.

He doesn't get a chance to celebrate his success, though. Another customer comes up to harass him about a price they were quoted, and then someone else wants help getting something down from a high shelf, and Hakuryuu gets lost dealing with one complaint after another until he can finally satisfy them enough to leave.

As the last customer leaves, Hakuryuu lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Usually Judal handles the store if it gets busy, or they work through the rush together, but apparently today he has to get practice in dealing with every stuck up person in the city. On the one hand, he doeshave a fair amount of control over the prices, but on the other, he also knows how much it costs to keep this place running and the value of what they're selling.

Where is Judal? He said he'd be right back, but it's been at least an hour now. Hakuryuu gives the front door a good long look before pulling his phone out, just to be sure no one else wants to sneak in and monopolize his time.

Hakuryuu: Judal, where are you?
Judal: Upstairs!
Hakuryuu: I know that. What's taking you?
Judal: Uh
Judal: I'll be right down
Judal: Gimme a sec

That answered absolutely nothing, but he's not surprised. Judal probably forgot what he went up for and got lost doing who knows what, but hopefully this should get him back on track. Hakuryuu puts his phone away and gets to work straightening up the shop after the veritable whirlwind of customers he had, returning every trinket to its proper place. He feels accomplished in the end, now that the store looks good again, until he realizes that Judal is still missing.

What the hell?

Hakuryuu sits at counter and pulls his phone back out, hoping to see some sort of explanation. He sighs. Of course there isn't.

The bell over the door rings before Hakuryuu can compose a text, so he slips his phone under the counter as he looks up to greet the customer. Instead he sees Judal. Hakuryuu isn't quite sure what to say to or about him. He's wearing different clothes and somehow he's lost most of his makeup from earlier. The lack of makeup makes him seem frazzled and embarrassed, especially with the way his damp hair limply frames his face.

Judal gives him an awkward half smile. "Hey!" he says, and it's too high pitched; it's just enough off that Hakuryuu feels even more confused.

"Are you alright?" he asks, and he's met with a very unconvincing laugh.

"I'm great!" Judal insists, striding over to the counter. Up close, Hakuryuu realizes his hair isn't damp with water, but something else, and he can see something sticky holding sections into clumps. It's not a good look for him. "Sorry for taking so long, you know how things get."

"Judal, you've been gone for hours," Hakuryuu says in exasperation. "Did something happen?"

He deflates. "I mean- Yeah, I guess so. I should just stop trying to cook," he says without elaboration, leaning against the counter.

"I thought you hated cooking."

"Well, yeah, I do! But I was trying- Ugh, nevermind," Judal says, pushing back off of the counter. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. I think I have something in my hair."

Hakuryuu sighs. He's not sure how he's upset Judal, but he seems frustrated now. "It looks like batter," he supplies, and Judal laughs.

"Probably!"

Hakuryuu stares, not wanting to further upset Judal by saying the wrong thing. But that too seems wrong, and instead the two of each other stare at each other awkwardly until Hakuryuu finally breaks the silence.

"Were you hungry? I could have made you something." Hakuryuu watches Judal's face twist with frustration again. Wrong answer. "I mean-"

"No, it's stupid," Judal says. "Not your cooking, I mean. I." He sighs and goes to sit with Hakuryuu, leaning into him. "I just wanted to make you something nice," Judal whines as he rests his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. Only his feelings for Judal keep him from pushing his sticky hair away, but apparently he's too invested to be grossed out by this. "You know, 'cause you're always cooking for me and shit? I figured I could return the favor."

"Oh, Judal...you don't have to cook for me, really. I know it's not your strong point," Hakuryuu assures him.

He shakes his head. "I know! But I thought it would be romantic or something stupid like that."

"That's- that's thoughtful, but kind of weird," he says. "It's not your style."

"Maybe I'm trying to make romantic my style," he says defensively, curling in on himself more until Hakuryuu feels like he's making things so much worse instead of better. Why is he so bad at this? How does he get better?

Hakuryuu takes a deep breath and tries again. "I mean, it's just not what I'd expect or desire from you. I like you for who you are, not for some flashy romantic gesture that doesn't feel like something you'd want to do," he explains carefully, trying to get his point across without discounting the effort Judal put in. "Thank you though. I appreciate that you were trying, even if it turned into a mess."

"Please don't look at my kitchen."

"I don't want to look at your kitchen," he says firmly, and Judal laughs. That's much better.

"Okay, cool, I get it, you don't want to eat my terrible cooking," Judal says, and he finally sounds more like himself: relaxed and full of self-deprecating humor. "I guess of course you love my natural charms, like being bad at paperwork and insulting people while I take their money."

Hakuryuu laughs without meaning to and the last bit of awkwardness slips away until it feels right again, comfortable and familiar, and he's struck by just how much he likes being by Judal's side.

"You like the plant though, right? That's like, Hakuryuu enough that even my stupid ass couldn't fuck it up," Judal says proudly and Hakuryuu realizes that no, he's not going to be able to lie about this one, even if it would make Judal feel better.

"Well, it's nice," he begins and Judal groans loudly.

"Damn it, I woke up early and everything! Flowers are supposed to be romantic!" he insists. So he had gone out of his way. That confirms that suspicion.

Hakuryuu nods. "Traditionally, yes, they are, but they always seem so pointless. They'll die within a few days and then you're left with a mess to clean up."

"I knew it! I knew you'd think that flowers were just like a dumb waste, so I got you that...whatever it is, I can't remember the name," Judal explains excitedly. "It has flowers but it won't just die like a piece of shit."

"Your intentions are really sweet."

Judal narrows his eyes. "You hate it."

"I didn't say that-"

He flings an arm over his eyes dramatically. "I'm not cut out to date people, Hakuryuu, you can just tell me it straight," Judal whines.

"I most certainly did not say that," Hakuryuu tells him again, and he can see a tiny smile teasing at the corners of Judal's lips. Okay, they're back to joking. At least he's not actually upset. "I think it was a sweet gesture that could have been executed better if you stopped trying to be something you're not. Just...just be yourself, Judal. That's who I like and who I'm prepared to deal with on a daily basis."

Judal's face flushes red and he groans. "Only if you stop being sappy and shit. Don't do that."

"I was just being honest-"

"Don't!" he interrupts, grabbing Hakuryuu by the front of his shirt to pull him into a quick, messy kiss. "I've talked about emotions enough for this century, thank you very much."

Hakuryuu smiles softly. "Alright. I think I can handle that."