HELLO AGAIN! happy 2020, here's chapter 30! I actually finished the rough draft back in December, but work has been far too hectic to get it typed up and edited...until now! all of your lovely comments have been amazingly sweet encouragement, and I really appreciate every one of them ;w;

I hope y'all enjoy! :D

Judal banishes Hakuryuu from the office the next day, telling him that his services are needed at the register, and he watches Judal slip into the twisting hallways that make up the rest of the shop. He doesn't hear from him for hours, lost in the nearly endless depths of the shop, and Hakuryuu deals with a quiet day alone.

One day turns into many as Hakuryuu falls into a new rhythm, one of slow days interspersed with the few customers who wander in, wondering whose children were left outside. Since the black eyed children first showed up, foot traffic has dwindled and customers have gotten nosier, and Hakuryuu thinks that it's probably for the best that Judas has isolated himself. He's already exhausted all his date ideas, and letting Judas close the store because he's fussy is the sort of thing that he's trying to get them away from.

For now, he can do some reading between customers, keep the store together, and try to remind Judal that they know how to solve problems together- it just takes time.

Late one evening, after the sun has long since set and Hakuryuu is debating closing up for the day, Judal emerges from the back with a hefty stack of books trailing behind him, bobbing slightly as they float effortlessly.

"Don't tell me not to," Judal says, nearly collapsing against the counter to meet Hakuryuu's exasperated look. "I know there's no one in here, and they're heavy."

"It's your store," Hakuryuu concedes, patting his head while Judal whines.

He shrugs. "Yeah, yeah…look, I had to go digging for some of these, and I don't even fucking know if they'll help," he says, gesturing for the stack to settle on the counter. There's a thin layer of dust on the cover of the top book and all of them carry the same weight of age. There's old power in these, forgotten and important to few, enough to permeate the air around them. Judal, as always, seems unperturbed. "So…I'm just gonna go through more shit—"

"I can help you, you know," Hakuryuu reminds him. "That's how it usually goes- we tackle it together, each doing what works best for us, and lines the pieces up to come to a solution."

He sighs, waving a hand back and forth. "I mean, yeah, usually, but we haven't gotten anywhere with those little brats. I deal in magic items and I can't even chase some magic kids off my steps? Talk about being shitty at my job."

Hakuryuu takes the pile of books into the office, and it's only the soft jangle of Judal's jewelry that lets him know he's being followed. "I'll start looking through these tomorrow. Trying to work without getting enough sleep won't help either of us."

"Ugh, I know," Judal whines.

"I know it's frustrating, but sometimes it takes awhile. Remember the Barren Neotoma?"

He nods, still looking thoroughly unconvinced. "And more people died while we took our time, and stupid Sinbad had to show up and help bail my ass out anyway," Judal says, kicking some dust on the floor dejectedly.

"That's not exactly—"

"I mean, I did at least get the last laugh. I got that…I dunno what you wanna call it? That sphere of power it left behind? That little shit," he says, perking up.

Hakuryuu gives him a questioning look. "What did you end up doing with that?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. Honestly forgot I had it until just now," he admits. There's a beat of silence before Judal's eyes widen. "Oh, fuck."

"Judal—"

"Look, I set shit down and forget it all the time! This just happens to be bigger than usual," he groans, already on his way out of the office as he heads out of the shop. Hakuryuu makes a mental work to take care of the closing paperwork in the morning and follows him.

"Not now, brats," Judal snaps at the black eyed children, barely giving a backwards glance to see if Hakuryuu has caught up. The lock clicks, they're in the alley, and they're up the stairs so quickly it must be magic, and Judal shoves his apartment door open.

"I really hope no one stole it," Judal says rummaging through a box.

"Is that a possibility?" Hakuryuu asks incredulously, picking a pile of clothes that he's fairly certain Judal hasn't gone through for weeks.

Judal turns to him, a nervous smile on his face. "Probably not! There are all sorts of alarms on this place, but look, with everything that's happened over the past few months, I'm just gonna assume anything goes!"

"Sorry," he says, carefully looking in the pockets of each pair of pants he picks up, before folding and setting them aside.

"It's whatever," Judal begins, before groaning. "Okay, fuck, you're right. I should keep things better organized."

Hakuryuu gives him as sympathetic of a look as he can muster. "I'll help you once we've got this all sorted out."

He throws a pile of baubles back into the box and moves onto another. "Thanks- ugh, this is just a shipment I forgot to take downstairs," Judal groans. He raises his wand, leisurely draws a sigil in the air, and shoves the through it in frustration.

Hakuryuu doesn't hear anything break, but he isn't optimistic. "I'll take care of it tomorrow."

Judal waves him off. "It's fine," he says, wandering off down the hall toward his bedroom. Hakuryuu shakes his head and gets back to searching, making sure to put everything in neat piles. He's going to get through all of Judal's laundry eventually, even if he has to do it one small batch at a time.

For awhile, there's only the sounds of rustling fabrics and shifting boxes in the apartment. Hakuryuu doesn't know what this condensed chunk of energy looks like, but he's certain that he should be able to feel it. He can't get a read on where it might be, but if it's been here since they dealt with the Barren Neotoma, he's probably gotten too used to it to pick it out from the rest of the magic in the room.

Judal's screeches pull him from his thoughts. "Got it!" he exclaims, barreling down the hall to sit next to Hakuryuu. A pitch black sphere is shoved in his face with Judal's grinning face behind it, though sphere is a generous term for it. The edges flicker and fluctuate as it rests in Judal's open palm.

"You found it," he says lamely.

"Yeah!"

Now that it's in front of him, Hakuryuu can feel it. It's every ounce of magic that it fought them with and they threw at it, shoved into a form that should be too small to contain it. "Do you think the black eyed children can sense it?"

"Mmm, probably. Especially since I think it's leaking…"

"What?!"

Judal shrugs. "I dunno. It's raw magic that isn't really held together by anything," he explains, far less worried than Hakuryuu is. Finding it has only brought up more concerns.

"Judal!"

"What? That's what this shit does," he says, as casual as explaining what sauce he wants with his chicken nuggets.

Hakuryuu takes a deep breath as he realizes, once again, he has to be the voice of reason. "We should take care of it, then."

"Huh?"

He sighs heavily. "Do something to stop it from leaking? Can we seal it away somewhere?"

Judal eyes it for a moment, brows furrowed as he takes it in. Hakuryuu watches him consider it seriously, contemplating a situation that hopefully isn't "toss it back in a pile somewhere" as he rolls it around in his palm. Time weighs heavily, slow as molasses and stretching for far too long, until Judal's eyes snap wide open. He grins and grasps it between his fingers before dropping it in his mouth and swallowing, all in one fluid motion. Hakuryuu doesn't have time to react or perhaps try to stop him; it's over so quickly, and Judal gives him a satisfied grin.

"Problem solved!" Judal says cheerfully, much to Hakuryuu's horror.

Thinking back, he clearly remembers Judal saying the he wasn't going to eat it without being careful, but then again, he'd also claimed that he would put it somewhere safe. "Did you ever actually make sure it was safe to ingest?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

Judal almost has the good grace to look embarrassed. "Uh. Yeah, I'm sure it is," he says, not meeting Hakuryuu's eyes.

"Why are you like this?"

"Nothing's killed me yet!" he says, cackling, and Hakuryuu can only hope his luck continues.

x･x･x

Judal tries to send him home, but Hakuryuu insists on staying. He just ingested an unknown sort of magical energy, and without supervision, who knows what could happen? After an impressive amount of whining, the compromise involves ordering in dinner from their regular Chinese place while Hakuryuu straightens up. Judal lounges on the couch, and even amidst piles of dirty clothes and half-empty takeout containers, he manages to exude an air of confidence and sensuality that Hakuryuu could never hope to achieve. He does his best not to stare, but the air around Judal is different now, in the most subtle of ways. He keeps glancing over furtively, mostly fueled by worry that the curse they placed on the Barren Neotoma is still lying dormant, waiting for a chance to strike someone else. But Judal seems fine and feels fine, just different.

There's a slowly growing warmth, one that is decidedly Judal but fueled by something else, something more, something different than before. As it builds, more and more with each passing moment, it reverberates within him. Judal's magic flows through Hakuryuu because of their bond, so subtle and familiar that it's easy to forget. Now, though…

Now, Hakuryuu can't forget; he can't think of anything else. The box of miscellaneous things to be sorted, the laundry to be done- it all pales in comparison to the overwhelming feeling of Judal.

What is Judal? Hakuryuu had given up wondering; he had all the answers Judal was willing to give. But now…now that he's lazing like a satisfied, spoiled cat on the couch, like a hunk of immeasurable power was nothing but an afternoon treat, Hakuryuu can't help but wonder again.

Judal yawns and stretches, and when he grins, Hakuryuu realizes he's been caught staring. "Like what you see?" Judal teases, leaning over to reveal a tantalizing strip of pale skin as his shirt rides up.

"Stop that," he says lamely. "I'm trying to help you clean."

He laughs, sharp and low, and it's so decidedly Judal that Hakuryuu can't help but smile. "Then why were you just staring at me, huh?"

Hakuryuu gives him an appraising look before answering. "Because you're surrounded by dirty laundry and doing nothing about it."

The slack-jawed shock he gets from Judal is so so satisfying, Hakuryuu has to stop himself from laughing or grinning. The growing magic is still bleeding from every fiber of Judal's being, but for now, he looks far more human again.

"Asshole," Judal says, shoving some clothes off the couch. "Sit with me. You're stressing out for no reason."

Hakuryuu debates arguing with him; his mess could have lead to so many problems, and they could probably get everything done in a night if they pushed themselves. But the magic in the air tugs on something deep within him, and Hakuryuu surrenders. "I'm very good at that, you know," he says, closing the box he was working on and joining Judal on the couch.

He laughs again. "Oh, I know," Judal says, eyes glittering with mirth and power, and Hakuryuu almost wishes he didn't to reach out and— take it? Become a part of it? He's not sure, but the thrumming in his veins is irresistible.

Hakuryuu pulls Judal closer and kisses him, like he'll be able to taste the magic on his breath, and with every needy gasp from Judal, it almost feels like he can. Judal doesn't hesitate to climb into his lap, trying to press himself closer as he kisses the edges of Hakuryuu's scar. It's messy and needy, a release of built up stress that neither of them quite realized they were carrying, until it explodes into Hakuryuu gripping Judal's hips tight enough to bruise, his fingers pressing against the the thin silk of Judal's pants.

Judal makes pleased noises when Hakuryuu kisses the delicate skin beneath his ear and moans when he nips at the ear itself, and that's enough to push him further. He bites at Judal's neck experimentally and the Judal's needy moans are a satisfying sign of encouragement. Harder bites lead to Judal grinding down on his lap, gasping out his name, and trying in vain to bring them closer together.

Between it all, there's still the dizzying warmth of magic from Judal drawing him in and setting him alight with the promise of power. Each kiss that Judal demands reminds him of their connection - as if he could possibly forget - and reinvigorates him, pulling magic and power out of them both to further entwine it.

Hakuryuu pulls back, just a bit, to try to breath and Judal makes a desperate sound as he tries to tug him back in. "Don't—" Judal begins, before apparently thinking better of it and leaning in to kiss Hakuryuu instead.

Judal tastes like familiar and unfamiliar magic all at once, from the new power coursing through him and the magic Hakuryuu already knows well. As Judal whines, demanding more, there's a tinge of exhaustion to it, and Hakuryuu tries to focus on how nice Judal feels instead of the knowledge that he has no idea when Judal last slept.

"Don't be so distant," Judal says between kisses, nipping at the edge of Hakuryuu's lips with a self-satisfied smirk.

"I'm not—" he tries to argue and Judal cuts him off with a kiss, laughing the whole time. Hakuryuu is quickly losing control of the situation, but he knows his fate was sealed the moment he let Judal into his heart. It's terrifying to trust again, to open up to someone even a little, and—

"You're stressing out," Judal teases, voice nothing but a fond whisper as he kisses the shell of Hakuryuu's ear.

"No, I'm not."

"Liar," Judal shoots back. "I can feel it."

"Then you should know that I can feel how tired you actually are," Hakuryuu says, trying for light teasing and failing, his genuine concern showing through.

Judal groans, and it's not an attractive sound. "Yeah, yeah, I never sleep enough- can we go back to making out?" he whines, dropping his head onto Hakuryuu's shoulder.

"Only if you promise to actually sleep after," Hakuryuu says, patting his head comfortingly. He gets a very wet sigh in response. "Judal, please."

He licks Hakuryuu's neck sloppily. "What?"

"Stop that."

Judal laughs and licks him again. "Stop what? I'm just expressing myself."

Hakuryuu sighs and shoves him off gently. "If you're just going to lick me, I'm sending you to bed."

"Ugh, fine, you got me," he says, stretching as he clambers out of Hakuryuu's lap. "Now that the rush is wearing off, I feel tired? It's bullshit."

"You'll feel better after," he reminds him, only for Judal to whine more. "Judal—"

"No, I know, I know!" he grumbles. He putters about quietly, throwing a few clothes back into piles as he tries to make his way out of the living room. Hakuryuu watches him move about until he can't take the seemingly random movements anymore.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

Judal shrugs. "I dunno. Killing time while I try to think of an excuse to make you stick around."

"You could just ask," he says patiently. So often Judal is demanding, but then there are times like now, where he surprises Hakuryuu all over again.

"You say no to things if I don't have a reason," he counters.

Hakuryuu takes the shirt Judal is holding away from him. It's so creased from him nervously balling it up that he's going to have to steam it, but there's something so endearing about it that he can't be mad. "What do you want?"

"Stay over," Judal says, all hesitation gone as he meets Hakuryuu's eyes. "You're worried about me, I dunno, exploding or whatever, right?"

"Yes, I had the apparently foolish concern that your actions might have consequences," he says dryly, already thinking about what the chances are of Judal's spare bedroom being habitable.

Judal cackles and grabs Hakuryuu's wrist. "Told you nothing can fuck with me!" he says cheerfully.

"Perhaps the universe should stop letting you get away with so much," he says, but there's no honesty in it. He somehow doubts that Judal could learn to be less reckless overnight.

"Nah."

Judal drags him along, past the door to the other bedroom and into his own. With most of his makeup already smeared off, Hakuryuu can see dark circles under Judal's eyes, even before he slips into the bathroom to remove the rest.

"There's pajamas in the dresser," Judal calls from the bathroom. "The bigger one, I think the, uhhhhh, bottom drawer?"

Hakuryuu finds a drawer of leggings and wrap pants instead, but one drawer up is full of soft pants and loose shirts with silly prints- probably the pajamas Judal was trying to direct him towards. At least they're similar sizes, enough that the first matching set he manages to put together actually fits.

"Cute," Judal tells him, eying the bunny print pajamas. "You look comfy."

"Thank you," he says. Judal looks the same as before, save for losing the last remnants of his makeup.

"Don't worry about it," he says, giving Hakuryuu a tired smile. "Come on, I'm admitting defeat."

Hakuryuu watches him crawl into his bed - surprisingly gracefully for how many pillows there are - and he fixes Hakuryuu with an impatient look. "Well? Are you coming to bed or what?"

He hesitates for a moment - they've been "together" for a bit now, but they still haven't discussed exactly where they want it to go. There's something about being invited into his bed after how much they were touching each other earlier that makes Hakuryuu want to ask what they're going to do, but he can't quite find the right words.

Judal sighs, breaking into his thoughts, and gives him a sleepy grin. "I just wanna cuddle. Is that too much to ask?" His voice is light, teasing without too much pressure, and it puts Hakuryuu at ease.

"No, you're fine," he says, and joins him.

x･x･x

The next morning, Hakuryuu extracts himself from Judal's grasp and the mountain of pillows to start his day. While Judal sleeps in - something that he has needed to do for awhile - Hakuryuu starts the laundry and clears trash out of the living room and kitchen. Once all the remaining dirty clothes are sorted into hampers, it looks cleaner than Hakuryuu has ever seen it. He takes some of the trash out on his way to pick up breakfast because, as always, Judal's pantry is tragically empty.

The black eyed children watch as he walks out of the alley, their empty, glossy eyes following his path. Even though they've stopped asking him to be let in, they haven't stopped watching him, as though they're waiting for him to slip up.

He walks past them without a glance. Today is going to be a better day, or at least one where he ignores their negativity.

Hakuryuu returns to find Judal looking lost in his own living room. "Good morning," he says, surprised to see Judal up already.

He blinks at Hakuryuu, bright red eyes still bleary from sleep. "Where's my stuff?"

"I started cleaning up," Hakuryuu explains, leading Judal to sit at the now clear kitchen table. "I only threw out obvious trash, don't worry. A lot it was clothing that needed washed."

He nods slowly, allowing Hakuryuu to put food and coffee in front of him. It's a little jarring to know he's the same man that exudes magic and an air of distant fantasy while he's picking at his breakfast sandwich. "Okay."

"I'll make more coffee," Hakuryuu tells him and gets a still tired but grateful smile in return. "Did you sleep well?"

Judal takes a few bites of his food before he answers. "Yeah, sorta. I had weird dreams."

Hakuryuu finishes setting up the coffee maker and joins him at the table. "Oh?"

"Mmhm. Probably residue from all the magic bits," Judal says between sips of coffee. "Should go away soon- don't look so worried."

He realizes he's frowning without meaning to and tries for sympathetic instead. "I'm sorry. It just sounds bad."

Judal shrugs. "You're always looking for a reason to worry. I'll be fine."

"If you say so."

"I'll get better faster if you give me more coffee."

"You're not even done with your first cup."

Judal whines and reaches for the bag of food, grinning when he pulls out a mixed berry pastry. Hakuryuu shakes his head and gets up to grab the creamer - one of the few unexpired things in Judal's fridge - and sugar. He's managed to master the sugary sweet drink that Judal calls coffee, and Judal accepts the fresh cup gleefully.

Hakuryuu finally takes his own breakfast from the bag and settles in with his coffee. The two of them eat in a silence that has become so comfortably familiar that Hakuryuu isn't sure he could go back to a life without it. He stopped wanting any sort of close partner years ago - friends never understood him and romance fizzled out before it could begin - but somehow, Judal has made him believe he can actually have something like that.

Even if he has to watch Judal dip his sugary pastry into his overly sweet coffee, Hakuryuu finds himself embarrassingly fond of him.

"I'm gonna chase those little bitches off," Judal announces, interrupting Hakuryuu's sappy thoughts.

"The black eyed children?"

He grins, which would be more impressive if there wasn't jam in between some of his teeth. "Yeah! What better way to test out all this extra power?"

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "Is it going to work?"

"Dunno. I hope so!"

He should disagree and tell Judal to come up with a better plan, but he's come to realize that they never go into anything with solid, perfect plans. They wing it every time and make it work, so he's just going to have to push through his nerves.

x･x･x

Judal takes the steps two at a time, almost flying with each leap, and Hakuryuu can barely keep up. He's not complaining; it's exhilarating to see him so full of energy again. It pushes him forward and out the door, into the alley, toward the street—

Hakuryuu hears Judal cackling laughter before he sees the cause. He finds Judal pointing at the black eyed children outside his shop as they eye him with bewildered looks. It's as though they've never seen him before, or at least never properly taken him in, though Hakuryuu knows they have, every day for weeks on end.

"What's up, you little shits?" Judal asks, grinning. "I heard you were looking for something."

They stare at him, as unblinking and still as always, but there's something different in the air. The girl considers his words carefully before answering hesitantly, with less confidence than they've had the whole time they've haunted his doorstep.

"Yes," she says, a thin hunger behind the single word, reminiscent of the one they ran into on the way home from the farm.

"So, where is it?" he asks, grin widening as he leans in. Hakuryuu almost thinks he sees the black eyed children shudder, though they hold their ground.

She shakes her heard. "That's not for you to know."

He cackles again and there's a static charge of energy around him, of magic crackling in the air, and Hakuryuu can only watch silently as Judal's very core shifts to accommodate how much power he has now. The black eyed children cower as he exudes it, all but the barest remains of their confidence left.

"I dunno, I think I've got it figured out," Judal says, and there is a cruelty in his eyes, hidden in his gloating words and grins, that Hakuryuu rarely sees. It's a desire to fight and destroy something that wronged him, and perhaps something more- something that Hakuryuu can't identify yet.

The girl tries to back up and hits the glass of the front window. "You—" she begins, surprisingly honest fear in her voice as realization dawns. Even with their expressionless eyes, the black eyed children look distressed.

"He took it," the other black eyed child says, horror and awe blending together to further fuel Judal's pleased laughter.

He crouches down to stare the boy in the eyes. "Sure fuckin' did! So why don't you brats piss off, before I decide to tear you apart for loitering."

Hakuryuu still expects them to stay - none of their previous attempts could make them budge. For a moment, it even seems like he's right. The black eyed children stare at Judal, silently judging, until—

The girl takes the hand of her companion and pulls him away from Judal. They make brief eye contact and Hakuryuu feels the subtle pulse of their distinctively wrong magic as they wordlessly communicate with each other. In a blink, they're gone, moving down the sidewalk in motions that aren't quite right, until they're out of sight.

"And stay the fuck away!" Judal calls after them gleefully. He whoops triumphantly and shoots Hakuryuu a satisfied look. "See, I told you it would work!"

"You said it might," Hakuryuu reminds him, shaking his head.

Judal shrugs. "Good enough!"

Hakuryuu smiles back at him as the magic slowly dissipates, flowing back into Judal until it's mostly contained again. There are still hints of it reverberating in him; if Judal's new acquisition of power is going to affect him this much, Hakuryuu is going to have to learn to prepare for it.

This time, though…

Hakuryuu kisses him twice: the first one is brief and all he planned to do, but it leaves him wanting for more. The second lingers on his lips and in his blood, until Judal pulls back with a breathless smile.

"So that's the secret to more kisses?" he teases, and Hakuryuu doesn't dignify him with a response.

"We should open the store," he says instead, pulling keys from his pocket.

Judal sighs and drapes himself on Hakuryuu's shoulders. "Spoilsport!"

"Someone has to continue to be responsible," he says, hiding his smile as he unlocks the front door.

"Fine, fine, you win this time. But only because I'm in a good mood!" he exclaims, gesturing down the street in the direction the black eyed children went.

Hakuryuu can't be upset with Judal's instant mood improvement, and the rush of Judal's magic and success is more than enough to push any lingering doubts from his mind.